South Africa: RSA, Kingdom of Eswatini conclude Komati Treaty review consultations The South African government, in conjunction with the Eswatini government, has concluded public consultations to review a treaty between the two countries on the development and utilisation of the water resources of the Komati River Basin. The treaty is being reviewed through the Joint Water Commission (JWC) between the Republic of South Africa and the Kingdom of Eswatini in order to broaden the scope of work of the Komati Basin Water Authority (KOBWA). This will enable the authority to complement and enhance efforts towards the provision of water management related services by the two countries. The first public consultation took place on 2 March 2023 in Malelane, Mpumalanga, and the second was held in the Kingdom of Eswatini on 9 March 2023. KOBWA is an international organisation formed by South Africa and Eswatini to manage operations and maintenance of the Driekoppies Dam (in SA) and Maguga Dam (in Eswatini). The organisation has been responsible for designing, constructing, operating and maintaining the Maguga and Driekoppies Dams, as well as associated infrastructure, which was constructed mainly to provide assurance of water supply for irrigation purposes in both member States. Addressing delegates and stakeholders during public consultations, the Department of Water and Sanitation's Chief Director for International Water and Sanitation Corporation, Duduzile Mthembu, called for concerted collaborations to foster transboundary relations. The Komati River Basin Treaty was signed in 1992, with a focus on design, construction, operation and maintenance of the Maguga Dam, in Eswatini and the Driekoppies Dam in Schoemansdal, South Africa. It is through the treaty that we have seen the successful completion of the construction of the two dams. We now have to consider other avenues to look into broadening the scope of the treaty and thus ensure water security in both countries, Mthembu said. Echoing Mthembus sentiments, KOBWA Chief Executive Officer, Trevor Shongwe, affirmed that the effects of climate change - which often result in drought and severe flooding - require innovative thinking and adaptation measures. We have seen how floods have wrecked peoples livelihoods and the damage caused to the environment. The review of this treaty should enable all of us to proactively curb or prevent the dire effects of climate change, Shongwe said. Stakeholders who attended the public consultations in the two countries included small-scale farmers, irrigation boards, and catchment agencies, amongst others. The treaty under review can be found on the KOBWA website www.kobwa.co.za and inputs can be sent through email on treatyreview@kobwa.co.za until 31 March 2023. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2023-03-10. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. USAID Administrator Samantha Power visits Can Tho City On her third day in Vietnam on Friday, USAID Administrator Samantha Power visited Cai Rang Market, a wholesale floating market in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho, to see firsthand how the Mekong Deltas waterways play a critical role in the agricultural sector, and to hear from local farmers on how their livelihoods are being impacted by climate change. USAID Administrator Samantha Power visits Cai Rang Market on March 10 Power also met with the Can Tho Peoples Committee leadership and discussed USAID cooperation with the local government. Power meets with the Can Tho Peoples Committee leadership On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the US-Vietnam Comprehensive Partnership, Power stressed the United States desire to strengthen our relationship with Vietnam and, under the Mekong-US Partnership, address climate change, environmental protection, public health, and inclusive growth in the Mekong Delta. She also highlighted USAIDs long-running assistance to Vietnam to strengthen its ability to prevent, detect, and respond to emerging infectious disease threats. Power visits Can Tho University Power then traveled to Can Tho University, a USAID partner and the Mekong Deltas leading university, and met with environmental studies students to hear their experiences and perspectives on the challenges Vietnam faces due to climate change. The conversation reflected the dedication and commitment that Vietnams rising generation of leaders have for tackling global challenges. 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. Nine House Democrats broke from the party on Thursday to overturn a Biden administration water regulation, siding with most Republicans on the disapproval resolution. The measure, which passed in a 227-198 vote, seeks to terminate the Biden administration rule that determines which waters must abide by federal regulations as part of the Waters of the United States. The Biden administration when compared to the Trump administration has a broader outlook on which bodies of water should be protected. In a floor lookout this week, the office of House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) said the administrations rule expands the federal governments regulatory power and places the burden on small businesses, farmers, local communities, manufacturers, and private property owners. The vote was largely along party lines with a few exceptions. One Republican, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.), opposed the measure, and nine Democrats supported it: Reps. Sanford Bishop (Ga.), Jim Costa (Calif.), Angie Craig (Minn.), Henry Cuellar (Texas), Don Davis (N.C.), Jared Golden (Maine), Vicente Gonzalez (Texas), Jimmy Panetta (Calif.) and David Scott (Ga.). The office of House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) urged members of the caucus to vote no. In a statement following the vote, Davis said he supported the resolution to side with the farmers and agricultural communities of eastern North Carolina. Let me be clear: clean water is important to all farmers and our agricultural communities depend on it for their livelihoods. What I cannot support is a rule that creates uncertainty for our farmers, he added. The Hill reached out to the other lawmakers for comment. The resolution to overturn the administrations water resolution now moves to the Senate, though it is unclear if it will clear that chamber. A spokesperson for Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) told The Hill that the senator will vote in support of the resolution, and Rep. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) said he is undecided. The resolution needs a simple majority to pass. Story continues Even if the measure does pass the Senate, however, President Biden is expected to veto it. In a Statement of Administration Policy, the Office of Management and Budget said If Congress were to pass H.J. Res. 27, the President would veto it. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Walmart / Walmart / Like its competitor Costco, Sams Club claims to offer great values. In fact, the motto of this membership warehouse club is savings made simple. And while its true that smart shoppers can save big at Sams Club, you shouldnt assume that youre always getting the best deal make sure you know all the ways to save hundreds on your grocery bill. While many people flock to Sams Club for the bargains and bulk purchases, there are some secrets the company doesnt want you clued in on like the fact that sometimes you dont even need a membership to shop there. Thats right! And theres more little-known policies that could affect your shopping experience. The Future of Finances: Gen Z & How They Relate to Money Read: 3 Signs Youre Serious About Raising Your Credit Score Individuals looking to save money at Sams Club should take advantage of all the opportunities the store offers to score discounts and freebies. Here are nine ways to get the most from your Sams Club membership and boost your savings. Tran Van Quyet / Getty Images/iStockphoto Save Money on a Membership Shoppers can purchase an annual membership for $50 or a Sams Plus membership for $110. The latter offers consumers $10 cash back for every $500 spent, extended warranty coverage and extra savings for travel, pharmacy and business services. Before purchasing, look for Sams Club membership deal on a daily deal site such as Groupon, said Mary Hoover, creator of the money-saving blog MissiontoSave.com. Typically, the membership price is the same with these offers, but they include Sams Club gift cards and coupons. However, consumers can sometimes find discounts on memberships along with the gift card and coupon offerings. trekandshoot / Shutterstock.com Use Walmart Gift Cards Although using a gift card sadly wont let you to shop at Sams Club without a membership, they offer other sweet perks in place of that. Sams Club members of all tiers can purchase items online and at brick-and-mortar locations using a Walmart gift card. They can even use Walmart gift cards to fill up on gas at Sams Club fuel stations. [x] Story continues South_agency / Getty Images Tap Into Military or Student Incentives Sams Club regularly offers special incentives for military personnel as well as student memberships according to Regina Conway, a consumer expert with Slickdeals.net. For example, active and former U.S. military members who renew or join can get a $10 gift card with a basic membership purchase. Additionally, the Sams Club Collegiate Membership includes a $15 gift card incentive for new purchases and renewals. Noel Hendrickson / iStock.com Get Free Samples and Products Loyal Sams Club customers know they can score almost a full meal by shopping at times when food samples are offered. However, they might not realize that they can collect product samples as well. According to Maria Tiongco Ramos, implementation specialist and creator of the money-saving blog ASavingsWOW.com, shoppers can get free product samples simply by scanning their membership cards at the Freeosk kiosks located in stores. The samples sometimes contain coupons. In other cases, you can get free, full-sized products, such as personalized photo mugs or photo books. gorodenkoff / Getty Images/iStockphoto Get Free Prescription Drugs Sams Club offers no-cost prescriptions for certain medications, a benefit that could add up to hundreds of dollars in savings per year, Ramos said. You have to be a Sams Plus member to get the 10 free prescriptions that the Sams Club pharmacy offers, however. Additionally, members can get over 600 generic medications for $10 or less with additional discounts on qualifying select brand ones. Shutterstock.com Hunt Down Clearance Items Sams Club has a tendency to clear out seasonal items and products that the retailer is not planning to restock. Said Conway, buying items on clearance is a great way to save some cash. Clearance items can usually be found in the back of the store, Roe said. She recommends asking your stores associates to find out when certain items will be marked down for clearance. silverkblack / Getty Images/iStockphoto Use the Scan & Go App Standing in line for groceries is such a drag, but guess what? Sams Club has a cool app that lets you skip the line! All you gotta do is download it, start adding items to your cart, and scan their barcodes with the app. And get this you can even pay for everything right there in the app! Once youre all done, just show your digital receipt to a club employee and youre free to bounce. Grocery shopping just got a whole lot easier, folks! Edwin Tan / iStock.com Crack the Code Hey, wanna be a savvy shopper at Sams Club? Well, listen up! You might already know that Sams Club offers great deals, but did you know that you can snag even more savings if you learn how to decipher their price tags? Each tag will have either N, A, or C on it. N means Never Out which basically means its always in stock and wont be going on sale anytime soon. A means Active which means theres plenty of stock left to sell, and the price is probably not going to change soon. And C means Cancelled which means the item is being discontinued and theyre trying to clear out the stock. 3523studio / Shutterstock.com You Dont Need a Membership to Buy Alcohol If youre not a member of Sams Club but you need to stock up on some booze, no worries! Thanks to a nifty little law, all Sams Club stores are required to sell alcohol to anyone who walks in the doormembership or no membership! And let me tell you, theyve got some seriously good deals on beer, wine, liquor, and more. Were talking savings of up to 15-25% on top-shelf brands, people! So whether youre a member or not, head on over to Sams Club and get the party started. More From GOBankingRates Laura Beck contributed to the reporting of this article. This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 9 Secret Ways to Save Money at Sams Club These nannies have hard-set boundaries. These nannies have hard-set boundaries. There are 2.2 million domestic workers in the U.S., and a lot of them are nannies. Nannies have busy, demanding jobs with tasks that can completely vary from family to family. They may be responsible for driving children to school, making meals or live-in caregiving. Nannies work in private homes, often putting them outside of public view, so their critical roles in families and society can be undervalued and exploited. Misunderstandings can happen between what parents think they want in a nanny and the reality of what its actually like to employ or be one. Thats why HuffPost reached out to nannies for what they think about working for families and the biggest wonts they have learned. These are their hard-earned lessons. Responses have been edited for clarity and length. 1. I wont accept money under the table. Ive been in the industry for over 25 years now. And I remember when I first started, that was the big thing: People paying you under the table and not paying their taxes. I remember even working for a family and they were lawyers, so they figured out how to get around it. I was like, I cant buy a car because I dont have any proof of income, because I got paid in cash. ... It was really weird. At the time, I was young and I did not understand the whole business of it. It definitely was done and its still done even though its illegal. People still try to pay you under the table. On a bigger scale, when COVID happened, so many nannies who were getting paid under the table couldnt file for unemployment. Its a big no for me. Kimberly C. Brown, the CEO of the Nanny Kim on the Go consulting agency in Jersey City, New Jersey. 2. I wont be paid less than a livable wage. Story continues About 10 years ago, I took a nanny job that paid $200 a week, so a lot of the stuff that I post [on TikTok] is based on real experiences that I have gone through within the last 10 years. A lot of people undermine our education and our professionalism because they assume its a little girls job. I am a professional and I have tons of education, and it is not comparable to being a teenager [babysitting]. Coco in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Cocos last name has been withheld for privacy reasons.) 3. I wont forbid a nanny from answering a phone or leaving the house. I would never tell the nanny they cant take the child outside or cant answer their phones at work. People have to realize that nannies work during the day when most calls come in. A lot of people, they feel like nannies need to be on all the time. That could be exhausting and wear your nanny out really quick. [I would never] assume that they dont have emergency calls that may come in. Ive definitely had that at work or at a job where theyre just like Oh, I dont want you to answer the phone for anybody but us or I dont want you to have your phone on at all. Ive worked with families where they wont give me a key to the house, because they dont want me to go in and out. They dont want me to take the kid to the park. I just sit in the house all day with them until they come back. And thats just not normal. Brown. 4. I wont assume a nanny is a housekeeper. I am more than happy to help out and I understand that managing their home is part of my position, but its not my job to scrub your baseboards. Its not my job to wash your windows. Its not my job to clean out your pantry and your fridge. Ive even been asked to take the dog to the vet or come over if I have a day off, lets say, and they say something along the lines of We dont need you today, but we just need you to stop by and water the plants. Something like that, to me, is inappropriate. I live an hour away, and Im not going to drive an hour to water your plants. This job is very weird because you can be family with your bosses. Its strange. You dont want to be treated like any regular-degular employee, because if I wanted to do that I would work at a day care. Coco. 5. I wont contradict a familys decisions. As a nanny, I wont contradict my employers, even in the smallest ways. Parents deserve to be respected in their absence, and my role is to be a supportive team member. I may offer advice or information, but ultimately will defer to the parents judgment. As long as the children are safe, I follow the guidance and preferences of my bosses when making decisions in their household. Amber Sembly in Atlanta. 6. I will not work without guaranteed hours in my contract. An issue that Ive seen happen to other nannies and even to myself as well a couple times is a family will hire you, theyll say whatever hours they need, say its Monday through Friday, 8 to 5. Those are the set hours youre going to base your life around, youre going to keep your schedule open. But then every once in a while, the parent might get home early. But that affects your pay at the end of the day. So those guaranteed hours just keep you safe in case they do send you home early. Vacations thats a big one as well, especially with spring break coming up right now. [The family I work for is] going out of town with the kids for spring break, but Im still getting paid for that week because of my guaranteed hours in my contract. Maiya Mosley in St. Louis. 7. I will not hire a nanny without meeting them. If I were to hire child care, whether its short-term or long-term, I would definitely make sure my kids are comfortable with them and do a trial, even a few hours or so. Luckily for me, Ive never had any issues. But I always think its crazy when people are like OK, come over tomorrow night and watch them. And Im like: OK, you havent even met me yet. Are you sure? Calling references, too you want to do your due diligence. Luckily I have very good references and kids really like me, but I would never message someone on an app and be like, You sound great, come over tomorrow. Teniya Renee in Boston. 8. I will not arrive home late. I wouldnt come home late. Obviously, it happens, but I would definitely let the nanny know Hey, Im running behind, because nannies also have things to do after work. Being a nanny can often seem like, to a family, that youre beholden to them. Thats a big one that comes up for nannies. Danny Rosenthal, the owner of United Nanny Agency in Chicago. 9. I will not assume a nanny knows what I need. Most families dont realize that hiring a nanny means opening a small business in their home. Families have a huge learning curve ... [and] hardly ever set expectations or explain how to accomplish the tasks they have set out for them to do. Families have no idea that they prefer their clothes folded a certain way or that they prefer one brand of paper towel over another thats real but every family is particular. Very particular. If you want a nanny to do something, you need to show them. If you want a nanny to buy something, you need to tell them what brand, what store and which aisle. Years of experience means a nanny is capable of learning how to work with a family, but it doesnt mean they know how to do everything the way you like it. Rosenthal. Related... Spring Break Travel season is here, and AAA is seeing an increase in families traveling together. Those who plan to travel to popular destinations like Florida may run into pricey hotel rooms and busy beaches. AAA says now is a great time to travel to Europe. Right now is off-season for travel there, making it one of the most economical times to travel there. >>Medical tourism: Traveling outside US for care is common However, if Europe is a little much for you, AAA suggests heading west to places like Seattle or Oregon. For those craving the beach, AAA says its a great time to visit the east coast to places like Rehoboth Beach in Delaware. Great time of year to go up and see them. Not as much for the weather, but for the experience. Florida beaches, I think, are going to be really busy this spring break, says Lori Comer, retail store manager at AAA. Mississippi, Tennessee, and Georgia are all great destinations to explore if you are looking to travel without breaking the bank. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. (Photo illustration: Jack Forbes; photos: Giorgio Viera/AFP via Getty Images, Joe Raedle/Getty Images [2], Allison Dinner/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) Florida began its 60-day legislative session this week as Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis addressed the GOP-led Legislature in his highly anticipated State of the State speech, which has been widely viewed as an indicator of how he might promote himself as a potential 2024 presidential nominee. DeSantis is in a strong position within the state, Michael McDonald, a political science professor at the University of Florida, told Yahoo News. A pliable Legislature with the supermajority of Republicans means that he can get basically whatever he wants out of the Legislature. So DeSantis has to continue to campaign, and hes going to use Florida policymaking as a way for him to pitch his proposals and make campaign statements through the policies that he enacts here. GOP state legislators are expected to back DeSantiss proposals. Were going to get his agenda across the finish line, Kathleen Passidomo, the Senate president, said in February. Here are some of the biggest takeaways from what DeSantis is proposing and their implications for Florida, and how the legislation might reflect his agenda should he enter the 2024 race. Abortion access Pro-abortion-rights demonstrators marching in Boston in June 2022. (Craig F. Walker/Boston Globe via Getty Images) Just minutes before DeSantis addressed the Legislature on Tuesday, state Republicans filed bills to ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. If approved, the legislation will impose further restrictions on abortion access in the state, which in 2022 banned the procedure after 15 weeks, without exceptions for rape or incest. This proposal, however, does allow for exceptions to save a persons life or in cases involving rape or incest, with specific conditions. The legislation would restrict any person other than a physician from inducing pregnancy termination and would allow only physicians to provide abortion-inducing drugs in person. DeSantis has managed a delicate balancing act on the issue of abortion. He touted in his speech that the state of Florida is proud to be pro-life. But McDonald noted that the governor is walking a tightrope wanting to appeal enough to the Republican base that he can win the nomination, but not wanting to take such an extreme position that he will alienate general-election voters. Story continues The largest hot-button issue is abortion in this country at the moment, McDonald said. Weve seen the pro-choice position prevail in places like Kansas and Kentucky, even. So that is a real vulnerable issue for Republicans going into 2024. Currently, Florida is the only state in the Southeast that allows abortions up to 15 weeks. During a press briefing on the same day Republicans filed the bill, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre criticized Republican officials extreme efforts to curtail abortion access. This ban would prevent not just the nearly 4 million Florida women of reproductive age from accessing abortion care after six weeks, but would also impact the nearly 15 million women of reproductive age who live in states across the South with abortion bans and would no longer be able to rely on Florida as an option to access care. We know that these bans are already having a devastating impact on women's health, Jean-Pierre said. DeSantis has previously stated that he would welcome such legislation and in February said he would approve a so-called heartbeat bill. He did sign a 15-week ban on abortion within Florida, McDonald said. But in the State of the State address that he made, he basically tossed it back to the Legislature, saying, I'll do whatever the Legislature sends to me, which is not a very authoritative and definitive statement about abortion. The Guttmacher Institute, a pro-abortion-rights research group, said in a statement to Yahoo News that the bill has nothing to do with science and everything to do with politics. Given overlapping logistical hurdles including potentially long wait times for an appointment and two in-person trips with a 24-hour waiting period as is required in Florida getting an in-state abortion may be impossible to achieve, the organization said. Education DeSantis signed H.B. 7, known as the Stop Woke bill, in Hialeah Gardens, Fla., on April 22, 2022. (Daniel A. Varela/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images) DeSantis has used education as a major springboard for diving into national politics. We must continue our momentum with K-to-12 education by increasing teacher salaries, enacting a teachers bill of rights, providing paycheck protection for teachers, expanding school choice and fortifying parents' rights. Our schools must deliver a good education, not a political indoctrination, DeSantis said in Tuesdays address. The agenda for this legislative session reflects his remarks, as he seeks to squash the so-called woke agenda. Among his proposals is a higher education bill, House Bill 999, that would ban public colleges and universities from funding activities that espouse diversity, equity and inclusion. The bill intends to provide direction to each constituent university on removing from its programs any major or minor in Critical Race Theory, Gender Studies, or Intersectionality, or any derivative major or minor of these belief systems, which is any major or minor that engenders beliefs in the concepts defined. DeSantis has touted the proposal as acting in the name of academic freedom and has said the initiatives drain resources and drive up costs. Under his proposal, there would be mandated courses in Western civilization and the protections of tenure would be limited. Our student groups and college administrators are starting to become concerned that it means that they will have to eliminate all diversity spending and diversity funding, Democratic Florida House leader Fentrice Driskell, the founder of How We All Win, told Yahoo News. What DeSantis has done is effectively made DE&I a boogeyman and hes tried to turn it into a dirty word in Florida. You also look at what he's done with New College, which is based in the Sarasota area, where he took this liberal arts college and has effectively started the process of re-creating it in the image of Hillsdale College, which is a private Christian institution. Another aspect of education that DeSantis plans to tackle is expanding school vouchers a move that the Florida Policy Institute, an independent nonprofit, says could cost $4 billion in the first year alone. Under the voucher expansion, every Florida student from kindergarten to 12th grade would be eligible for vouchers that could be used for private or religious school tuition, private tutoring or other expenses. The proposal would remove income requirements for vouchers and also make vouchers available to homeschooled students. Currently, Florida has a universal income and disability-based voucher system in which only certain people qualify for vouchers. The income is capped at 375% of the federal poverty level, which is about $112,000 for a family of four. We have looked at the cost of that, and if you consider currently enrolled kids who are getting vouchers already, you look at kids in private school who have never been in public education, who are also eligible for these vouchers, Norin Dollard, senior policy analyst at Florida Policy Institute, told Yahoo News. If you look at homeschool, which is another new population that would be eligible for these vouchers, all of those things together would reach $4 billion of the state share of just K-through-12 education. Critics say the bill would grossly defund public schools and siphon off tax dollars in greater amounts annually with no plans to put money back in to support public schools. Policy experts agree, and say districts that are planning school budgets do not know how many people are going to take the voucher, so they might be operating with fewer state dollars coming in than they anticipate. Theres such a thing as a public good, Dollard said. We all pay in because we all benefit. So what vouchers do is, it lets parents opt out of public education. We all contribute to public education because we all benefit. Florida ranks 48th in the nation for its average teacher pay of $51,009. DeSantis has proposed distributing $200 million more toward increasing teacher pay in 2023. Gun rights A customer shops for a handgun at a store in Delray Beach, Fla. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images) Under a concealed weapons bill, Republican lawmakers are pushing a proposal to allow people without felony arrests or certain arrests linked to substance abuse to carry a concealed firearm in public without a permit requirement. Supporters are calling it constitutional carry. We also understand that part of fighting crime is to protect Floridians rights to defend themselves, DeSantis reinforced in his address. A constitutional right should not require a permission slip from the government. It is time we join 25 other states to enact constitutional carry in the state of Florida. Currently, any permit seekers in the state are required to undergo a background check, fingerprinting and a training course, and to fire a firearm in front of an instructor. I expect DeSantis is going to play to the base on gun control, McDonald said. So I don't expect there to be any major backlash on his overtures to the Republican primary electorate. The proposal has drawn sharp criticism from gun-control advocates, and also opposition from some gun-rights groups that want Florida to be an open-carry state. Immigration Migrants from Cuba line up to board a bus to be driven to a Customs and Border Protection station in Marathon, Fla. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images) We believe that borders matter, and we have fought against illegal immigration in the state of Florida. ... We must further strengthen our laws against illegal immigration by enhancing employment verification, increasing penalties for human smuggling and further disincentivizing illegal migration to the state of Florida. Florida is not a sanctuary state, and we will uphold the rule of law, DeSantis declared during his address. One DeSantis proposal would eliminate out-of-state tuition fee waivers for undocumented students. The proposal would repeal a 2014 policy that provided certain high school graduates, most of them Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients or those who are DACA-eligible, with in-state tuition rates to continue higher education as undocumented immigrant students. Were heavily reliant on immigrants for labor, for our higher education enrollment and graduation rates for our STEM graduates, which is a significant goal of our state university and college systems, to have a skilled, strong STEM-educated workforce, Alexis Tsoukalas, a policy analyst for Florida Policy Institute, told Yahoo News. The legislation claims that [Florida lawmakers] want to focus on it and it likely would have a much larger appeal. What that is yet were still determining. DeSantis also wants to expand the use of the E-Verify system, which would require private companies to use the platform to check employee work authorization. With this legislation, Florida is continuing to crack down on the smuggling of illegal aliens, stopping municipalities from issuing ID cards to people here illegally, and ensuring that employers are hiring American citizens or those here legally, DeSantis said in a February news release. More than 1 in 5 Floridians, or more than 4 million people, are immigrants, according to data from the American Immigration Council. Experts such as Tsoukalas call the proposals harmful and warn that the overhaul could leave thousands of immigrants in limbo. It's only going to make Florida less welcoming to so many of our residents who make Florida the state that it is, Tsoukalas said. We simply would not be Florida without immigrant Floridians. And many of these provisions, because they are so broad and because they target such a wide swath of people were still figuring out the impact. Other proposals include making it a third-degree felony to knowingly transport, conceal or harbor an illegal alien within or into the state, which can result in a sentence of up to five years behind bars, with five years of probation and a $5,000 fine. A person can also face a second-degree felony if the migrant is younger than 18 years old, as well as up to 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. A positive bill that Florida should consider that now has a counterpart in both chambers in this session is a bill to allow drivers licenses for all Floridas residents, regardless of documentation status, Tsoukalas suggested. Numerous other states have done this. Theyve seen reductions in insurance costs, improvements in public safety, and many non-immigrants have actually stood in solidarity and gotten some of these IDs because they increasingly recognize the benefit that immigrants bring. Defamation DeSantis last month urged the Supreme Court to revisit libel laws, saying they are used to smear politicians and discourage people from running for office. (Wilfredo Lee/AP) Another proposal, H.B. 991, would make it easier to sue for defamation and for the speaker to face huge penalties which could potentially weaken protections for journalists. According to the bill, defamation or privacy tort refers to libel, slander, false light, invasion of privacy, or any other tort founded upon any single publication, exhibition, or utterance, such as any one edition of a newspaper, book, or magazine, any one presentation to an audience, any one broadcast over radio or television, any one exhibition of a motion picture, or any one publication, exhibition, or utterance on the Internet. Editing any form of media so that it attributes something false or leads a reasonable viewer to believe something false about a plaintiff may give rise to a defamation claim or privacy tort. DeSantis, a frequent critic of the media, has called for revisiting the 1964 Supreme Court ruling New York Times v. Sullivan, which provides some protections for reporters from lawsuits. Florida lawmakers are also considering some requirements for journalists who cover politics to sign onto a state registry. It makes it much more difficult for you to stand up for your own rights and to hold people accountable who would treat you in a discriminatory manner, Driskell said. Thats just wrong. We know that because Ron DeSantis, for example, encourages the type of division that would lead to people getting bullied or picked on because of their gender identity or their sexual orientation. Hes really trying to protect people who would help carry his water on those issues. Death penalty Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz is led from the courtroom on Aug. 4, 2022. (Mike Stocker/Pool/Getty Images) On the heels of Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz being sentenced to life in prison, the Florida Senate moved forward with a bill on Monday that could scrap a requirement mandating unanimous jury recommendations before death sentences can be imposed. Senate Bill 450 would give judges more authority to sentence defendants to death based on the recommendations of eight of 12 jurors. The bill comes after the Florida Supreme Court ruled in 2020 that such decisions had to be unanimous. After Cruzs trial, DeSantis said he would support the bill, saying that the shooter of the 2018 massacre would not be exonerated. Hes guilty. Everyone knew he was guilty from the moment this happened, DeSantis said at a press conference, according to a local NBC news outlet. Of the 27 states that implement the death penalty, only three do not require a unanimous decision. Florida leads the nation in death row exonerations, meaning weve gotten it wrong more than anybody, Driskell said. If were going to sentence someone to death, we have to be right about it. Florida has a track record of getting it wrong. Robert Blake in 2004. Mike Fanous/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images Actor Robert Blake, a former child star who went on to win an Emmy for the 1970s television show Baretta and was later acquitted in the killing of his wife, died Thursday in Los Angeles. He was 89. Blake's niece, Noreen Austin, said in a statement her uncle died from heart disease. Born Michael James Gubitosi on Sept. 18, 1933, in New Jersey, he started performing early; at 2 years old, he appeared alongside his brother and sister in the vaudeville act The Three Little Hillbillies. His family moved to Los Angeles, and now going by the name Bobby Blake, he starred in Our Gang comedies for five years and had a notable turn in the movie The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. As an adult, he starred in 1967's In Cold Blood and earned an Emmy in 1975 for playing Tony Baretta, a detective with a pet cockatoo, in the television show Baretta. He received another Emmy in 1993 for his portrayal of the title character in Judgment Day: The John List Story. List killed his wife and three children before going on the run and assuming a new identity. Blake met his second wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, at a jazz club in 1999. She gave birth to a daughter in 2000, Rosie, and named Marlon Brando's son, Christian, as the father. DNA tests showed Blake was the biological father, and he married Bakley later that year. On May 4, 2001, Bakley was shot and killed while sitting in Blake's car in Studio City, California. They had just eaten dinner, and Blake told police he had returned to the restaurant to retrieve his gun, which he had accidentally left behind, and then found Bakley slumped over in the passenger seat. Blake was arrested a year later, with prosecutors accusing him of hiring a hitman to kill Bakley so he could have sole custody of Rosie. He denied the allegations, and was acquitted; later, a civil jury found him liable for Bakley's death, and he was ordered to pay her family $30 million. He told The Associated Press in 2006 that his goal was to have a second act in Hollywood, and "give my best performance. I'd like to leave a legacy for Rosie about who I am." Story continues You may also like Egyptian archeologists discover Sphinx from 1st century A.D. How Republicans are reacting to Tucker Carlson's 'off the rails' Jan. 6 stunt Codeword: March 8, 2023 The stowaway burrow owl perches on an exit door sign aboard the Royal Caribbean's Symphony of the Seas cruise ship. Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission A burrowing owl scored a weeks-long tropical vacation after stowing away on a Royal Caribbean cruise. Officials with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission finally captured the bird in January. Despite being ocean-bound for weeks, the bird appeared to be in good health, officials said. A burrowing owl unwittingly boarded a Caribbean cruise ship earlier this year, scoring himself a two-week tropical vacation before wildlife officials rescued the fugitive flyer and ended his unpaid getaway. Passengers onboard Royal Caribbean International's Symphony of the Seas started spotting the bird around the ship in January, according to a Facebook post from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission. The owl could be seen all around the massive boat, which is the second largest cruise ship in the world, perching on exit signs, hiding in planters, and overseeing group activities from sky-high railings, the agency said. The animal was apparently a fan of life's luxurious treasures photos from the rescue mission show the owl hanging out above the ship's Cartier store. Over the course of at least two weeks, the bird grew increasingly popular, appearing in passengers' social media posts and eventually prompting the Wildlife Rescue of Dade County to contact the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission about a rescue attempt, Ricardo Zambrano, a wildlife biologist with the state agency told The Washington Post this month. Zambrano arrived in Miami on January 21, where the ship was briefly docked in between journeys, with trapping nets in tow. His mission was clear and the countdown was on. Zambrano and cruise crew members only had a one-hour window in between one passenger group disembarking and another arriving for their week-long trip to Mexico to capture the stowaway, the wildlife commission said. "It was trap-weary and onto us," Zambrano told the Post. "We had to do it quickly, before passengers came back onboard." With the help of crew members, Zambrano placed mist nets around the owl's perch on an exit door sign, hoping the bird would be scared into flying directly into the enclosure. But two failed attempts later and the owl was still free. Story continues Ricardo Zambrano and crew members work to capture the stowaway owl. Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission As the rescue team prepared for their third try, the bird flew to a 10th-story balcony, the wildlife commission said. Helpful crew members created a diversion below, making noise to distract the owl as Zambrano snuck up from behind and successfully netted the owl off the railing. "I got lucky," he told the Post of his hour-long operation. The bird's capture marked the end of his free vacation, which lasted at least two weeks. He was escorted off the ship and had "nothing to claim in customs," the agency said. Despite having been ocean-bound for half a month, the bird appeared to be in good health, officials said, though he was transported to the South Florida Wildlife Center as a precaution. Staff members at the center told the Post that the owl was "very skinny" after his cruising ordeal. Burrowing owls, which are a threatened species in Florida, typically feed on small reptiles, birds, frogs, and rodents; it's unclear how the bird sustained itself during the cruise or whether it partook in the ship's all-you-can-eat buffet. The owl was released on February 18 in Davie, Florida, according to the Post, a mere 25 miles from the terminal that housed its former getaway ship. Read the original article on Insider A woman dresses up her child at a hospital in Bamiyan (Reuters) In a small village circled by velvety white snow-topped mountains in Afghanistans Bamiyan province, Aziza Rahimi mourns the baby son she lost last year after a harrowing birth with no medical care. It was too hard for me when I lost my baby. As a mother, I nurtured the baby in my womb for nine months but then I lost him, it is too painful, said Rahimi, 35. The villages rugged and remote beauty in Bamiyans Foladi Valley comes with deadly barriers for pregnant mothers. A narrow road to the village with few vehicles is sometimes cut off by snow, severing a lifeline to hospitals, clinics and trained health workers. However, a potentially life-saving improvement is on the way for Rahimis village. It is one of several around Bamiyan that have sent 40 young women to train for two years as midwives in the provincial capital, after which they will return home. Aziza Rahimi, 35, lost her son at birth (Reuters) Snow covers the mountains in remote Bamiyan (Reuters) Isolation can become a death sentence in any difficult birth, doctors and aid workers say, contributing to Afghanistans extremely high maternal and infant mortality rates, among the worst in the world. The United Nations estimates an Afghan woman dies every two hours during pregnancy and childbirth, making Afghanistans maternal mortality rate the highest in Asia. The trainee midwife programme has been spearheaded by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) with the Watan Social and Technical Services Association, a local charity. They hope to expand the programme, which also takes place in neighbouring Daikundi province. A trainee midwife examines a woman at a hospital (Reuters) People sit beside their tents in front of the ruins of a 1,500-year-old Buddha statue (Reuters) Since taking over in 2021, Taliban authorities have barred women from universities and most charity jobs, but they have made exemptions in the healthcare sector and UNHCR says local health authorities are supportive of the project. We want to serve the people of our village When the roads are blocked of course there is no means of transportation, people even use donkeys to move patients to the clinic centres, but sometimes there is not even the opportunity for that, said Mohammad Ashraf Niazi, the head of UNHCRs Bamiyan office. Story continues Rahimi, who has five other children, said riding a donkey was out of the question when she was jolted by pain while nine months pregnant in the middle of the night four months ago. Stumbling, bleeding, for two hours to her in-laws house after her husband was unable to find a car or ambulance to take them to hospital, she gave birth there. The baby died shortly after. Too late, an ambulance arrived. A mother holds her child as she rests in her arms, while women line up outside of a doctor's room, at a hospital in Bamiyan (Reuters) A trainee midwife examines a woman and her newborn baby (Reuters) Women giving birth experience a very different situation in Bamiyans main city hospital where the trainee midwives work alongside staff, and with the help of a trainer learn how to assess and guide pregnant women, deliver babies and provide post-partum care. We want to learn and serve the people of our village, said one 23-year-old trainee, who walks two hours each day to the hospital. UNHCR asked the trainees not to be named for safety. In one small hospital clinic, with dozens of women waiting outside, a trainee midwife guides a woman with the help of a book of images on what to expect to prepare for birth under the watchful eye of two trained health workers. A teacher lectures trainee midwives (Reuters) A waiting room at a hospital in Bamiyan (Reuters) Trainee midwives attend a class (Reuters) Any women with risks of complications are admitted to a maternity ward in a nearby building where another trainee midwife takes the blood pressure of a pregnant patient suffering from an infection, and checks regularly on a woman who gave birth six hours earlier, her baby daughter nestled by her side. Many of the trainee midwives, some with small children of their own, have faced logistical and financial challenges, often having to travel huge distances or live far from home to attend the programme. At first, I didnt want to study nursing or to be a midwife, but after I faced problems and pains during my pregnancy, I got a desire to study midwifery, said a 20-year-old trainee, the mother of an 18-month-old son who struggled to access care in her village. She said many women and families in remote areas did not have the information and support they needed to prepare for a safe delivery. We have to change such kind of thoughts... I want to go to remote areas to treat women who face problems. Photography by Ali Khara Reuters Alex Cochran, Deseret News In February 2022, an eyebrow raising summit called Alpha Con came to Salt Lake City, hosted by Jeremiah Evans, the brash, Utah-based entrepreneur who calls himself The Bull. The conference garnered ridicule online for its flashy antics, steep price of admission and its promotional poster featuring an all-male speaking list. It also came about three days after Chad Goeckeritz, a dentist in Draper, says he invested in Alpha Influence, one of Evans companies. I was like, oh my heck, what did I get myself into? Goeckeritz said. Related Now, more than a year since the conference came to Salt Lake City, companies associated with Evans that claim to set up and manage e-commerce ventures on Amazon for a $40,000 investment are racking up complaints and allegations of fraud. Dozens of former clients say they were misled, describing a similar experience they claim they made a fraction of the money promised, if any money at all, their stores were frequently shut down for violating Amazons policies, and Alpha Influence would not respond when its clients started to ask questions, they said. The Deseret News obtained 51 separate complaints filed with the Utah Department of Commerces Division of Consumer Protection since March 2022 against companies associated with Evans, most naming Alpha Influence LLC. The companys registration with Utah Division of Corporations expired in July. The other companies include Alpha Automation and Alpha Financial. One complaint was filed against Alpha Credit Solutions, describing a near identical situation spelled out in the other complaints, though no company has ever been registered in Utah under that name. Meanwhile, 73 former clients, many of whom did not file a complaint, say theyre gearing up for a lawsuit, according to Greg Christiansen with the Draper-based firm Guardian Law. In an emailed statement to the Deseret News, Evans described the company as an e-commerce platform that managed a drop-shipping arrangement through a signed contract that allowed for products to be listed on Amazon.com, then purchased from a third-party retailer to ship directly to the consumer after an order was placed. Story continues This arrangement did not require purchasing or holding inventory in advance of the sale and was a very popular business model for all during the first few years of Alphas business. Indeed, many of the stores Alpha managed were very successful in generating significant profits for customers. That is until Amazon changed its policies, Evans said. In an effort to provide a remedy to Amazons policy changes, Alpha assigned these contracts and business assets to a third party who agreed to transition customers to a preferred platform at no additional charge. Unfortunately, that transition has not been successful. Evans statement did not elaborate on how or why the transition to another platform had not been successful, and did not address the Division of Consumer Protection complaints. Evans did not respond when asked to elaborate. I think Ive been scammed Many of the complaints name Evans, claiming he used his social media presence to recruit clients for Alpha Influence, which was registered in Springville. The complainants claim that for $40,000, the company promised large, monthly returns in passive income through dropshipping, a form of e-commerce where a business doesnt actually own inventory, but instead acts as an intermediary, purchasing goods as needed from another party. Alpha Influence would set up an Amazon store, telling the client it would manage logistics for a cut of the profits, usually around 30%, according to former clients and documents shared with the Deseret News. They would see a return on that $40,000, Alpha Influence told them, within 12 to 18 months, although in some internal documents they said it could be as soon as seven months. The 51 complaints obtained by the Deseret News levied against companies associated with Evans add up to more than $2 million invested. However, former clients and Christiansen with Guardian Law say that likely represents a fraction of the companys overall clients. Goeckeritz, the dentist from Draper, said he learned about Alpha Influence through a former employee who claimed to be making up to $7,000 each month with the company. He consulted his accountant and his financial planner, and spent about three months learning about dropshipping and e-commerce. The investment seemed solid his company would completely monitor the store. There was zero requirement for me other than paying the monthly bill and making sure there was a working capital. That was all I had to do, Goeckeritz said. By mid-March, Alpha Influence helped him onboard, setting up several profiles for online vendors. And then from there, it was pretty much silence. There was very little communication, said Goeckeritz, who told the Deseret News he was then put in touch with Ecom Partners, described as a division within Alpha that automates and manages your Amazon store, according to Alpha Influence documents shared with the Deseret News. Goeckeritz still wasnt seeing much movement with his Amazon sellers account, or hearing an explanation from anyone associated with Alpha. Sometime last summer he received an email from Evans claiming they had sold every Amazon store to another company, which wanted an additional $25,000 within the next year, Goeckeritz says. Thats when he called Guardian Law and told them: I think Ive been scammed. Most of the complaints follow a similar pattern. Clients usually invest $40,000, making the payment via wire transfer or credit card, according to former customers and Christiansen. Alpha then tells its clients the Amazon stores take time to start generating income, which according to the complainants is often around 120 days by then, the deadline to dispute both a wire transfer or credit card payment have expired, leaving the client with little recourse. Many complainants also say their stores were shut down because they were in violation of Amazons terms and conditions. We were under the assumption that (dropshipping) was against Amazons policies but Alpha reassured us and promised ... they operated where it was not against any policies, wrote one person who invested over $46,000. Amazon does not allow dropshipping and canceled the store almost immediately, wrote another, who says they invested $30,000, but only made about $2,000 back. For those who couldnt afford $40,000, Alpha Financial offered a solution, detailed by Christiansen. After paying a $4,000 down payment, the client would then apply for several credit cards using a script provided by Alpha. A screenshot of a text shared with the Deseret News shows someone from Alpha giving a client instructions for applying for a credit card. Here are somethings that they will ask for, the text reads, before listing things like 200k annual business revenue, 5 employees, and Business is 3-5 years old. US bank usually asks for a specific date, put 5/2/2016, the text reads. According to the complaints, the company goes dark on its clients once they start to ask questions. Both Goeckeritz and other former clients who spoke on the condition of anonymity had similar experiences. A flashy entrepreneur Evans has a large following. Hes been featured on a local Utah TV news station, where he was dubbed the next Tony Robbins, has a glowing profile in Forbes, and garnered an endorsement from conservative commentators like Tomi Lahren, who described Evans as someone who is willing to stand his ground and is truly convicted in what he believes in. Im a very analytical person, I need to crunch the numbers. For those of you wondering whether you should pull the trigger, do it and do it asap, said Dallin Pili, a former client, in a testimonial listed on an internal Alpha document. His online presence leans heavily into the Alpha brand, replete with pictures and slow-motion videos of him shooting rifles, working out, sitting on a private jet and posing in front of a Lamborghini. It also features clips from his two podcasts, The Alphas Creed and The Bullpen. He has some 460,000 Instagram followers. Whether its self improvement, improving and scaling your business, or needing to elevate your mindset; AlphaCon is for YOU! Evans wrote on Instagram in January 2022. A month later the conference was underway, and by March, the first complaint was filed with the Utah Division of Consumer Protection. One of the complainants said they grew up with Evans, came across his social media presence and decided to invest; one said they learned about Evans through their son; another claims someone from Alpha Influence reached out to them over Instagram. A flashy entrepreneur type who promised to help people have it all: healthy bodies, thriving businesses, travel opportunities, etc, one person wrote to the Division of Consumer Protection. While he seemed a bit out there, Alpha had been mentioned a few times in the press by creditable publications. They had announced AlphaCon, which didnt fare well in public, but they seemed to be creditable entrepreneurs. In one complaint, a former client claims Evans refused to offer a refund because he learned the clients father was speaking to the Utah Division of Consumer Protection. He said he would not give me a refund and that we (we being my father, brother, cousin, and myself) would be hearing from his attorney, their complaint reads. Most say they invested $40,000, but at least one complainant says they paid Alpha $85,000. By July a Reddit user started a thread titled Alpha Influence Scam? Did anyone else get scammed? the user asked, naming Evans and his associate Kole Brimhall who, according to his Instagram profile, is Alpha Influences Executive/Head of Sales. The thread garnered more than 230 replies, and the complaints to the Division of Consumer Protection kept coming. A number of users banded together, and turned to Christiansen at Guardian Law. A class action lawsuit is imminent, they say. It completely drained my savings, says the man who started the Reddit thread, who asked to remain anonymous. He invested in Alpha with his mother, and told the Deseret News it will take a long time for them to build back the money they lost. My mother, in fact, had to borrow against her house. SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) Three white men serving prison sentences in the 2020 killing of Ahmaud Arbery are asking an appeals court to throw out their federal hate crime convictions, with two of them arguing their histories of making racist comments don't prove they targeted Arbery because he was Black. Every crime committed against an African American by a man who has used racist language in the past is not a hate crime, defense attorney Pete Theodocion said in an appellate brief written on behalf of defendant William Roddie Bryan. Arbery, 25, was chased by pickup trucks and fatally shot in the streets of a Georgia subdivision outside the port city of Brunswick on Feb. 23, 2020. His killing sparked a national outcry when cellphone video Bryan recorded of the shooting leaked online more than two months later. Greg McMichael and his son, Travis McMichael, armed themselves with guns and pursued Arbery after he was spotted running past their home. Bryan joined the chase in his own truck and recorded Travis McMichael shooting Arbery at close range with a shotgun. All three men were sentenced to life in prison after a jury convicted them of murder in a Georgia state court in 2021. The following year, they stood trial again in U.S. District Court and were found guilty of committing federal hate crimes in Arbery's death. That jury was shown roughly two dozen racist text messages and social media posts by the McMichaels and Bryan. They all filed legal briefs in their federal appeals March 3 with the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Atlanta. Attorneys for Bryan and Greg McMichael say their hate crime convictions should be overturned because the evidence shows they pursued Arbery thinking he was a criminal, not because of his race. Greg McMichael initiated the chase when Arbery ran past his home because he recognized the young Black man from security camera videos that in prior months showed Arbery entering a neighboring home under construction. None of the videos showed him stealing, and Arbery was unarmed and had no stolen property when he was killed. Story continues Arbery's race was a fact of no greater import to Gregory McMichaels calculus than Mr. Arberys biological sex, the shorts he was wearing, his hairstyle, or his tattoos, wrote Greg McMichael's attorney, A.J. Balbo. He said there would have been no chase had the runner been a Black woman. Bryan didn't know the McMichaels and had never seen the security camera videos. Still, his attorney said that Bryan had every right to assume Arbery was likely a criminal after seeing him run by with the McMichaels in pursuit and ordering Arbery to stop. Arbery never called out for help or gave any signs that he was the victim of an unprovoked attack, Theodocion wrote on Bryan's behalf. Travis McMichael's appeal makes no effort to challenge whether racism motivated Arbery's killing. Instead, his attorney argues a technicality, saying prosecutors failed to prove that Arbery was chased and killed on public streets as stated in the indictment used to charge the three men. Defense Attorney Amy Lee Copeland says documents show that Glynn County officials declined to take over responsibility for the streets of Satilla Shores from a private developer when the subdivision was dedicated in 1958. She argued there's no record that the county ever changed its mind. Defense attorneys made the same arguments challenging racial motives and whether the streets were public during the federal trial in February 2021. Prosecutors argued at the trial that the McMichaels and Bryan chased and shot Arbery out of pent-up racial anger. Bryan had used racist slurs in text messages saying he was upset that his daughter was dating a Black man. A witness testified Greg McMichael had angrily remarked on the 2015 death of civil rights activist Julian Bond: All those Blacks are nothing but trouble. In 2018, Travis McMichael commented on a Facebook video of a Black man playing a prank on a white person: Id kill that f----ing n----r. On the question of whether the streets were public, prosecutors showed 101 service tickets for work the county performed in the neighborhood, mostly dealing with ditches and drainage. Copeland argued nothing showed the county paving or maintaining the streets except in relation to drainage repairs. The U.S. Justice Department, which prosecuted the hate crimes case, has 30 days to file legal briefs in response to the hate crime appeals. Spokespersons for U.S. Attorney Jill Steinberg, the federal prosecutor for Georgia's Southern District, and for the Justice Department in Washington declined comment Friday. The 11th Circuit has not set a date to hear oral arguments in the hate crime appeals. Both McMichaels received life prison sentences in the federal case, while Bryan was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Also pending are appeals by all three men of their murder convictions in Glynn County Superior Court. The Air Force plans to begin repaying up to $65,000 in student loan debt to attract more enlisted members once it finalizes the details of the program in the coming days. The Air Force's loan repayment program will be a "critical benefit," the recruiting service's commander, Maj. Gen. Ed Thomas, told reporters Wednesday at the Air & Space Forces Association Warfare Conference in Aurora, Colorado. The loan repayments will be on top of other education benefits, "so we believe this will be a very attractive option that will ... increase our applicant pool of people willing to come serve," Thomas said. The Army already repays up to $65,000 for "highly qualified" enlisted applicants, and the Navy matches that and may tack on an additional $50,000 enlistment bonus. The National Guard may repay up to $50,000 in student loan debt. The active-duty Air Force and Air Force Reserve will both offer loan repayments but will differ in certain aspects of their programs. The Reserve already repays a portion of student debt for certain enlistees, while the active-duty Air Force will begin its version of the program in the coming days, a spokesperson for the Air Force Recruiting Service told Military.com. Some of the details of the Air Force's new active-duty program: It's only for first-time enlistments. Recruits aren't limited by their Air Force specialty code. Recruits can get both the loan repayment and an enlistment bonus for the same enlistment. Repayment will be available until the program's funding runs out. Details of the Air Force Reserve's existing program: It's capped at $20,000, paying $3,500 a year over a six-year enlistment. It's for both new recruits and prior-service airmen, but those who reenlist and are eligible for another incentive can't get the student loan repayment. It's only for "critical" career fields listed in the Air Force Reserve Officer and Enlisted Bonus Incentive Guide. It has no funding limit. Story continues Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said at the conference that the Air Force will likely miss its recruiting goals for the year. Thomas said declining familiarity with the military on the part of many Americans is one of the major recruiting "headwinds ... that we're going to have to come to grips with as a nation." Amanda Miller can be reached at amanda.miller@military.com. In the evening of 10 March, an air-raid warning was announced in the city of Kyiv and a number of oblasts. Source: map of alarms, Colonel Yurii Ihnat, spokesman of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in a comment to Ukrainska Pravda and on air of the Apostrof TV channel Details: At 18:39, a siren sounded in the capital, currently the central and northern oblasts and part of the east are "red". As Ihnat clarified to Ukrainska Pravda, a takeoff of a Tu-22M3 strategic aircraft from the Shaykovka airfield in Russia was recorded. This aircraft is the carrier of long-range Kh-22 air-based cruise missiles, against which Ukrainian air defence is powerless. At 18:58, the all-clear was given. The Air Force spokesman explained on air that the plane had seemingly changed its course and the threat was over. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Air-raid warnings were issued across Ukraine on the morning of 10 March. A Russian MiG-31K, which could be armed with Kinzhal air-to-surface ballistic missiles, took off from an airfield in Belarus. Source: alerts.in.ua, Ukraines air-raid warnings map; Belaruski Hajun, an independent Belarusian military monitoring media outlet, on Telegram Details: Air-raid sirens were sounded in Kyiv and a number of oblasts in central Ukraine at 09:12. Several minutes later, air-raid warnings were issued across the rest of Ukraine. The sound of sirens signifies the threat of missile and air strikes. It is essential to go to a shelter at the time the sirens sound. Belaruski Hajun reported that a Russian Aerospace Forces MiG-31K, which can carry Kinzhal missiles, took off from Machulishchi airfield at 09:02. Update: The all-clear was given at 10:41. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Vivian Powers-Smith shows photos of her brother Brian "Egypt" Powers after his slaying in 2020. Akron police and the U.S. Marshals Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force have arrested a man in the shooting death of Brian "Egypt" Powers nearly three years ago. Bobby Lee Bell, 48, is charged with murder in the death of Powers, who was found shot to death just before 8 a.m. June 13, 2020, near East Buchtel Avenue and Chapel Drive. After reviewing and analyzing evidence, conducting interviews and following up on numerous leads and tips, Akron detectives said they developed enough evidence to identify Bell as a person of interest in the case. Bell, who was already being sought in connection to Powers' killing, was spotted on South Arlington Street on Thursday morning and taken into custody without incident, according to a Friday news release. Officers recovered a loaded handgun and other evidence during Bells arrest, the news release said. Investigators determined that Powers walked about a hundred yards after he was shot before collapsing near the church, Powers' sister, Vivian Powers-Smith, said in 2020. A groundskeeper found Powers lying face-up and motionless on the sidewalk outside of a church near downtown Akron. Authorities later determined that Powers was a homicide victim who died from wounds caused by a single bullet that pierced both thighs. He was 43. Following his death, Powers' friends said they feared he may have been a victim of a hate crime. Powers, who was gender non-conforming, was also known as Egypt, A month after the homicide, police said they had not turned up any information on a suspect or a witness. Investigators did not recover bullets or casings at the site only Powers cellphone and the medical examiner did not know the time of death. Powers last phone call was shortly after 3 a.m., about five hours before his body was found. In the top photo, young women show T-shirts they wore to commemorate Brian Powers during a memorial service at Akron's Hardesty Park. In the lower image, Powers has colorful braids, a style his family said he often wore. Bell also faces charges of weapons under disability, alleging he was prohibited from having a gun; improper handling of firearm in a motor vehicle; possession of crack cocaine; and drug paraphernalia. Story continues Any loss of life is tragic, and I hope this arrest provided closure for the Powers family and those who knew and cared for him. Our commitment to public safety and helping to make for a stronger Akron remains unchanged," Akron Police Chief Chief Steve Mylett said in the news release. A note on terms: Brian Powers, also known as Egypt, was assigned male-at-birth and lived as both a man and woman. For this reason, we use the term gender non-conforming to describe Powers, and which GLAAD defines as a term used to describe some people whose gender expression is different from conventional expectations of masculinity and femininity. We continue to refer to Powers by he/him/his pronouns, following extensive interviews with those who knew him. This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Bobby Lee Bell charged in 2020 death of Brian Powers in Akron Photograph: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images Al Gore has warned it would be recklessly irresponsible to allow an enormous, controversial oil drilling project to proceed in Alaska, speaking ahead of a decision from the Biden administration on whether to approve it. Gore spoke amid growing alarm among Democrats and campaigners that the Willow development will drastically undermine the USs effort to confront the climate crisis. Related: Texas youth organizers take aim at the biggest oil field in the US The vast, multi-billion-dollar ConocoPhillips oil project, to be situated on the tundra of Alaskas northern Arctic coast, is awaiting approval from the federal government that could arrive as soon as Friday. Gore, the former US vice-president and leading climate advocate, told the Guardian that the planned drilling would threaten local communities as well as the task of curbing dangerous global heating. The proposed expansion of oil and gas drilling in Alaska is recklessly irresponsible, Gore said. The pollution it would generate will not only put Alaska native and other local communities at risk, it is incompatible with the ambition we need to achieve a net zero future. We dont need to prop up the fossil fuel industry with new, multi-year projects that are a recipe for climate chaos, Gore added. Instead, we must end the expansion of oil, gas and coal and embrace the abundant climate solutions at our fingertips. The Willow project has become a leading target for climate campaigners due to the huge volume of planet-heating emissions it could unleash. The drilling operation would extract up to 180,0000 barrels of oil a day, about 1.6% of total US oil production from one site alone. In a grim irony, ConocoPhillips has said it may have to re-freeze ground that is rapidly thawing as the Arctic heats up in order to stabilize the drilling equipment. An exploratory drilling camp at the site of the Willow project on Alaskas North Slope is seen in 2019. Photograph: AP This drilling would result in 278m tons of greenhouse gases over a 30-year lifespan of the development, according to the administrations own estimates, the equivalent of adding 2m gasoline-consuming cars onto the road or running more than 70 coal-fired power plants for a year. The pollution produced would comfortably wipe out the emissions saved from all renewable energy projects on US public lands by 2030. Story continues The Department of the Interior has said it has substantial concerns about the Willow projects impact upon the climate and the subsistence lifestyle of native Alaskan communities but has completed an environmental review of the development that it said would improve it, such as drilling at three sites rather than five and reducing the number of roads and other infrastructure that would be built in the wilderness. The prospect of the administration approving a full or abridged version of the project has sparked alarm among local communities, climate campaigners and Bidens Democratic allies. The International Energy Agency has said no new fossil fuel infrastructure can be built if the world is to avoid disastrous climate change and two dozen Democrats in Congress have written to Biden warning that Willow poses a significant threat to US progress on climate issues. The lawmakers called upon the president to stop this ill-conceived and misguided project. A wave of opposition to the Willow project has hit the White House in recent weeks, including in-person rallies in Washington DC and a viral #StopWillow campaign on social media. An online petition calling for the project to be halted has garnered more than 3m signatures. Critics have pointed out the project fatally undermines Bidens promise to deal with the climate crisis, which he has called an existential threat to humanity. President Biden continues to address climate change during high-profile speeches and events but his actions are contradictory, said Siqiniq Maupin, executive director of the Sovereign Inupiat for a Living Arctic, an Indigenous group that has warned the project would endanger the subsistence lifestyle of native communities that rely upon the migration of a caribou herd, as well as other established patterns in the environment, to live in their Arctic surrounds. Biden has come under pressure from proponents of the project, too, with Alaskan lawmakers and some native groups arguing Willow would create much-needed jobs and investment for the region. Lisa Murkowski, a Republican senator from Alaska, has called the size of the project minuscule and that it has been meticulously planned to avoid harm to the environment. The battle over Willow is likely to end up in the courts, with environmental advocates vowing to keep fighting any iteration of the project. I think that litigation is very likely, said Jeremy Lieb, a senior attorney for Earthjustice. We and our clients dont see any acceptable version of this project. People on the internet are having a bit of fun with the suggestive shape of Easter-themed marshmallows being sold at a supermarket. On March 2, Twitter user @missviaborsi, whose real name is Viola Borsi, shared an image she took on a recent trip to an Aldi in Manchester, England. In the tweet, which has now been viewed more than 6 million times, the shopper found something off with her bag of Dominion brand Marshmallow Bunnies and Chicks. Sorry Aldi, but that aint a Bunny pic.twitter.com/I2J9qfdQYz MissV (@missviaborsi) March 2, 2023 Sorry Aldi, but that aint a Bunny, wrote Borsi along with an image of the confection in question. Though the ahem, package is small, the shapes within dont look like Easter bunnies and chicks, but rather something much more ... shall we say ... phallic (which reminds us of Target's unintentionally racy Santa cookies from 2020). Users agreed with Borsi and took to the comments section to have some from with the scandalous shape of the grocery store offering. I'm trying so hard (hehe) to see how these could even remotely resemble bunnies and I'm just not seeing it Ghostly Toast (@WhatAmICooking) March 10, 2023 Im trying so hard (hehe) to see how these could even remotely resemble bunnies and Im just not seeing it, replied one user on Twitter. Is that a bunny, or are you just a little too excited to sell these?? joked another, tagging the official Aldi Twitter and including plenty of cry-laughing emojis. Maybe the ch was supposed to be a d and its a printing error Ail (@Aileencc82) March 6, 2023 Maybe the ch was supposed to be a d and its a printing error, tweeted another user along with a shrug emoji. Story continues Some folks in the thread shared images of other accidentally suggestive food theyve purchased, with some admitting they bought the very same marshmallows without realizing the raunchy resemblance. I bought these for my 7-year-old daughter! exclaimed one Twitter user, adding a pair of flushed face emojis to their tweet. Ooops. Aldi UK did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Still, the chain, which is the United Kingdoms fourth largest supermarket with 990 stores in the country, definitely has a sense of humor about the whole thing. We can't even defend this one https://t.co/TvwZIDz3yi Aldi Stores UK (@AldiUK) March 6, 2023 We cant even defend this one, wrote the official Aldi UK account in a rewteet of Borsis original image. Aldi UK continued to have fun with the whole debacle, responding to several saucy tweets. When one Twitter user suggested they place the treats in the specials as adult toys, the account responded in jest. Me reading some of these wild comments and suggestions, Aldi UK replied. Speechless Andy, speechless! Dominion brand Marshmallow Bunnies and Chicks (Aldi) For Borsi's part, she says she's surprised by the attention her tweet is getting. So, im not gonna lie, it was my brother who actually popped it in the cart, Borsi tells TODAY.com via direct message. We were at checkout when i noticed the shapes and what they are supposed to represent. The 25-year-old Borsi joked that even though she and her brother are both adults (he's 32) that they both like snacks and filled their cart with all sorts of treats. She says her brother bought her strawberry pencils candy and rainbow strips as well, but it was the marshmallows he picked up that were of particular interest. I just posted (didnt even tag [Aldi], havent even thought of doing it) thinking me and my friends here on twitter will have a good laugh, Borsi says, adding that they did end up buying the marshmallows, which she said were fine. I did not expect it at all ! Borsi says of the reaction to her photo, adding that it was after Aldi reacted to the picture that it went viral. She says shes seen the image pop up all over the internet this week and memes have even been sent to her by friends she has all the way in the Netherlands. People are still cracking up. While the bunnies and chicks dont appear on the Aldi website in the U.S. either fortunately or unfortunately they still are for sale in the U.K. Aldi even warned customers that if they want the saucy snacks, they should pop over to their local shop soon. This is one of our Seasonal items, so is only available whilst stock lasts and judging by the comments, it would seem everyone is rushing to stores for them for some reason, Kane! So better be quick! - Aaron Aldi Stores UK (@AldiUK) March 7, 2023 This is one of our Seasonal items, so is only available whilst stock lasts, and judging by the comments, it would seem everyone is rushing to stores for them for some reason, Aldi UK tweeted. So better be quick! This article was originally published on TODAY.com Alex Murdaugh filed a notice Thursday to appeal his convictions in the killings of his wife and one of their sons and the life sentence handed down by a judge. A jury convicted Murdaugh, 54, last week of two counts of murder in the fatal shootings of Margaret, 52, and their youngest son, Paul, 22, in June 2021. Murdaugh, once an influential lawyer in the state, was also convicted of two weapons charges on March 2 after around three hours of deliberations. Circuit Judge Clifton Newman sentenced him to life in prison without parole the next day. Image: (Joshua Boucher / The State via AP, Pool) The notice filed in court Thursday does not include arguments. Attorneys for Murdaugh listed in the appeal notice documents did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday evening. One of them, Dick Harpootlian, had raised issues at trial about the preservation of the crime scene. Murdaughs lawyers moved for a mistrial after the jury reached the guilty verdicts, but Newman denied the motion and said there was sufficient evidence for the jury to have reached its guilty verdicts. Margaret Murdaugh and Paul Murdaugh were fatally shot near dog kennels on the familys hunting lodge estate in rural Colleton County. Alex Murdaugh called 911 at 10:07 p.m. June 7, 2021, claiming that he had been away and had returned to find them killed. Prosecutors said he killed them to distract from a widening probe into long-running financial misdeeds, which included allegations that he stole from his clients, and to gain sympathy. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com Alex Murdaugh during his sentencing at the Colleton County Courthouse - Joshua Boucher Richard "Alex" Murdaugh, the South Carolina lawyer convicted last week of murdering his wife and son, has appealed his conviction and life sentence, according to new court records. Murdaugh, 54, the scion of a prominent American legal family, was found guilty on March 2 of shooting dead his wife Maggie, 52, and youngest son, Paul, 22, on their family estate on June 7, 2021. Attorneys for Murdaugh, who prosecutors said carried out the murders as part of an attempt to hide a drug addiction and theft of millions of dollars, filed a notice of appeal before the state's appeals court. The notice filed in court on Thursday does not contain details of the grounds for the appeal. Circuit Court Judge Clifton Newman sentenced Murdaugh to prison for the remainder of his life, with terms for both murders to run consecutively. It was the sentence requested by prosecutors, who did not seek the death penalty. Murdaugh had faced a minimum of 30 years in prison for each of the two counts of murder under South Carolina law, as well as up to 10 years for two related firearms charges. Attorneys for Murdaugh filed a notice to appeal his convictions - Andrew J. Whitaker During his trial, prosecutors said Murdaugh fatally shot his wife and son to distract from an array of financial misdeeds, including the theft of millions of dollars from his law partners and clients, money used to feed a years-long addiction to opioids and support an expensive lifestyle. Murdaugh's lawyers tried to paint their client as a loving family man who, while facing financial difficulties and a drug addiction, would never harm his wife and child. But the key piece of evidence was a Snapchat video on his dead sons mobile phone, which took a year for investigators to unlock. It was taken minutes before the killings at the kennels on the family property where the bodies were found. The voices of all three Murdaughs could be heard on the video. Murdaugh had originally told police, and maintained for 20 months, that he had not been at the kennels. Even during sentencing, he maintained his innocence, saying: "I respect this court, but I am innocent. I would never under any circumstances hurt my wife Maggie. I would never under any circumstances hurt my son Paul." Former banker Russell Laffitte hopes to use Alex Murdaughs confessions on the witness stand to overturn his own convictions on six counts of bank fraud. Russell Laffitte never conspired with me to do anything, Murdaugh said on the stand, as he admitted for the first time to a stunning array of thefts from his own clients and the law firm that his family founded. But in relying on Murdaughs testimony, Laffitte is attempting to use the words of a recently convicted double murderer, whose practice of weaving elaborate webs of deceit was the subject of much of his trial for the killings of his wife and son. The one-time CEO of the Palmetto State Bank, Laffitte has yet to be sentenced following the guilty verdicts in November 2022. He is facing up to 30 years in prison for conspiring with Murdaugh to misappropriate millions of dollars from the bank that the Laffitte family founded and ran for generations. As a first time offender, he is expected to receive less than the maximum sentence. The motion, filed Thursday in federal court, argues that admissions Murdaugh made while testifying in his own trial for the murders of his wife and son are new evidence that clears Laffitte of wrongdoing. Such evidence, if introduced at a new trial, would likely produce an acquittal, the motion argues. It is the first motion filed by Laffittes new lawyers, Mark Moore and Michael Parente, and comes just three days after U.S. District Court Judge Richard Gergel denied a motion by Laffittes previous legal team requesting a new trial. The filing came the same day that Laffittes previous attorneys formally withdrew from the case, citing his substantial failure to fulfill financial obligations. Under federal law, judges can sometimes grant a new trial under a range of circumstances, including when there is newly discovered evidence. Murdaughs testimony clearly showed that he took full responsibility for his own actions... Mr. Laffitte did nothing wrong and did not have any knowledge of Mr. Murdaughs criminal activity, the motion reads. Story continues Laffittes motion states that many of the federal charges that Laffitte was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud and misapplication of bank funds require that Laffitte had knowledge of and intent to commit the thefts. Murdaughs testimony clearly undercuts the elements required to prove these crimes, the motion argues. In a dramatic, and perhaps desperate, move during his own trial for the murder of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, Murdaugh admitted to decades of lies, thefts and manipulations while insisting that he was not guilty of the killings. I dont dispute any of this, that I took money that didnt belong to me, that I misled people that trusted me to do that and that what I did was terrible. I dont dispute that, Murdaugh told prosecutor Creighton Waters during a grueling multi-hour cross examination. Murdaugh refused to testify at Laffittes federal trial, citing his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. He still faces over 90 charges across 15 different indictment for financial crimes. But as Judge Clifton Newman sentenced Murdaugh on March 3, he questioned whether the disbarred lawyer would ever be able to stop lying. The jury concluded that you continued to lie and lied throughout your testimony, Newman told Murdaugh, as he sentenced the disbarred attorney to two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole. When reached for a comment, Moore told The State Media Co. that the motion speaks for itself. Throughout Murdaughs six-week trial, the jury heard exhaustive testimony about the lies Murdaugh told about his whereabouts the night of June 7, 2021, and the double life he constructed from a foundation of deceit: On the surface he was a successful, upstanding lawyer with deep familial connections to the Lowcountry community and law enforcement. But secretly, he stole millions of dollars from his clients and the firm his family founded over a hundred years before in order to stay one step ahead of debts, cover up previous thefts and fund a $50,000 a week opiate pill habit. Legal battle continues for Lafitte Laffittes latest legal moves come amidst a series of shakeups and setbacks for him since he was convicted. The new motion came the same day the attorneys who represented Laffitte at his federal trial, Bart Daniel, Matt Austin, and Josh Myers, of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP, formally withdrew as his attorneys. In their notice informing the court that they would no longer be representing him, they stated that Laffitte failed to fulfill his financial obligations to counsel for representation at trial and for post-trial relief. Lafitte has been formally represented by Moore, a former federal prosecutor, and his associate, Parente, since Jan. 1. Daniels and Austin did not respond to a request to comment for this article. No explanation was provided for the delay between Moore and Parente taking over Laffittes defense and the filing of the notice to withdraw from the case. In rejecting Laffittes initial appeal, Gergel wrote there was sufficient evidence to uphold each of the six counts of fraud against Laffitte. The ex-banker had acted with reckless disregard for Palmetto State Banks interest, and made various false representations to hide fraud, the judge wrote. Laffittes attorneys also lost their bid in contending that Gergel acted wrongly when he made a last-minute decision to replace two sitting members of the jury with two alternates. In his ruling, Gergel acknowledged the substitution of two alternate jurors was unusual but fair and reasonable under the circumstances. Moore and Parente both work for Columbia-based Nexsen Pruet. Moore is a widely respected lawyer who has the reputation of being a tenacious legal pit bull, according to lawyers who have seen him in action. He is one of the few S.C. defense lawyers who has beaten federal prosecutors in a jury trial. Journalist John Monk contributed reporting to this article. GENEVA (Reuters) -Japan has become the latest country to join an alternative mechanism for resolving disputes to the World Trade Organization, it said in a statement on Friday, in a move that observers say could urge others to follow suit. The top appeals bench of the global trade watchdog which rules on trade disputes has been idle for more than two years because of holds on appointments during the administration of former President Donald Trump. The United States, which continues to resist regular calls to approve appointments, is instead leading discussions on how to reboot the dispute system. "As an interim measure until the dispute settlement function is restored, the Japanese government decided to join the MPIA," Japan's economy ministry said in a statement, referring to the Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement. European Union Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis welcomed the move on Twitter, saying that global trade rules were the best "guard rail against economic fragmentation." Japan, a regular user of the WTO dispute system including in a recent case with South Korea, is the 26th member to join the alternative arrangement, according to the MPIA website. Parties include the European Union, Canada and Brazil. "Japan's membership may increase pressure on wavering potential members, like the United Kingdom and South Korea," Dmitry Grozoubinski, executive director of the Geneva Trade Platform, told Reuters. He added that its adhesion would offer a legal path forward for any future disputes between Japan and China, since they are both members. The paralysis of the WTO's top dispute bench means that the losing side can appeal the outcome from the lower court into a legal void, as has happened to Japan twice. This has led to fewer cases being brought to the WTO. (Reporting by Emma Farge in GenevaEditing by Christian Schmollinger and Matthew Lewis) (AP) Its been over a month since a train carrying hazardous chemicals catastrophically derailed in the small town of East Palestine. Youd be forgiven for sometimes feeling that in the days since, some nefarious cover-up was going on, or that officials and corporate leaders werent always being straight with the public. Top officials from Norfolk Southern, which owned the train whose nearly 50 cars went off the rails, have skipped multiple town meetings, all while pleading for community trust. There was the bizarre instance of a cable news reporter pushed to the ground and arrested during a news conference with Ohio governor Mike DeWine. There were the weeks when Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg dragged his feet over visiting or even speaking of the accident. There were made-for-TV stunts like officials standing in a kitchen in East Palestine drinking tap water, a political gesture so common and contrived in ongoing disaster scenes one commentator dubbed it the devils milkshake. And of course, there was the indelible image of a black cloud of smoke rising from the crash site, as officials conducted a controlled chemical burn, amid reports of mass animal die-offs and families breaking out in respiratory symptoms. Even with later assurances that the tests showed local water supplies were safe to drink and the local air had returned to safer contamination levels typical of a normal US city, how could a community like East Palestine possibly feel safe? Add to that decades of eroding trust in government and science, capped off by a pandemic that further shredded the social fabric, and put this volatile mix of anger, suspicion, and fear on social media, and you have the conditions for another kind of toxic spread: conspiracy theories about the Ohio disaster. Online, commentators spread unverified claims about cover-ups, poisoned farms, and far-flung impacts well before the facts caught up. This was a perfect storm, Professor Erik C Nisbet, director of the Center for Communication and Public Policy at Northwestern University, told The Independent. Story continues But, according to observers, social media also played a vital role in spreading information and helped bring the railway incident, and the numerous corporate and government actors who helped cause the crisis, to the centre of national scrutiny. As a conspiracist and a scientist would agree, when it comes to most things about the Ohio derailment, theres more than meets the eye. One of the challenges of getting accurate information out there about any industrial accident is managing peoples expectations. Communication should focus on what officials know, what they do not know, what they are doing about the accident and what they want people in the area to do, Professor Jacqueline Ewart of Griffith University, who researches disaster communication, told The Independent. A large plume of smoke rises over East Palestine, Ohio, after a controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk Southern trains (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) Credibility of those delivering messages is essential. The focus should be on the right source providing the right message, at the right time. Given the rampant speculation and fear about the disaster that has spread through the East Palestine community and online, it seems officials havent quite threaded this needle. There were legitimate scientific reasons behind decisions like burning off chemicals at the site, and ordering and then concluding evacuations, and there are things the government still doesnt know yet, like the long-term impact of these choices. Byproducts from the burn could be very toxic and we dont know yet know what they are, Dr Erin Haynes, professor of preventive medicine and environmental health at the University of Kentucky told The Independent. They have probably settled onto the soil. Theyre in the homes on surfaces and they could be in the waterways in the sedimentsWe do not know the long-term consequences of that exposure. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg tours the site on 23 February It will take detailed, long-term monitoring of a kind that isnt currently being done to monitor this risk, she said. On the flip side, theres also more research needed on the acute ways those in East Palestine were exposed to contaminants from the derailment, whether they were local residents or first responders, who were sent to put out a fire on the tracks without proper PPE, according to the American Rail System Federation union. The acute exposure, we dont have a lot of information about, Katie Mauck, a chemistry professor at Kenyon College, said. What was happening in the days before this fire was put out? Professor Mauck also points to other lingering questions, and potential for distrust, when it comes to the matter of soil contamination. We dont know, she said. Im glad residents are asking questions about the soil removal and remediation. Norfolk Southern wanted to leave it where it was. Rail company officials have skipped multiple community meetings, breeding suspicion from residents in East Palestine (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) Eventually, officials ordered the rail carrier to move the soil, which had been reburied in efforts to reopen the train tracks, originally trusting the company to handle the task on its own. Later, the US Environmental Protection Agency stepped in in late February and promised it would monitor the process "from the moment trucks and rail cars are loaded until the waste is safely disposed of. Such instances, according to Professor Nisbet, the communications expert, further erode public trust. So much of our regulation environment in this situation is reliant on the bad actor, he said. The initial water testing wasnt done by any government agency; it was done by the rail company itself. We have outsourced so much. We rely on the organisation that was potentially culpable for the crisis. Making matters even more difficult, credible expert voices, bad actors, and concerned citizens alike all were communicating about the situation on the ground on social media, further fracturing perceptions about what was really going on. Social media can be helpful. It alerts people to a situation. Its a way for widespread dissemination, Dr Haynes of the University of Kentucky said. But because of that it allows widespread dissemination of false information, so it can go both ways. You have to be very cautious when using social media. Fact-check, find the source of that information. Questions remain about long-term impacts of chemicals released in derailment (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) To people like Nick Drombosky, who has become a prominent source on TikTok for news and commentary about the Ohio train derailment, social media has been the key to making East Palestine a household name. Mr Drombosky isnt a public health official or environmental scientist. He has scientific knowledge from going to engineering school, but his past ventures in bikes and e-scooters arent related to rail accidents. However, he researches industrial disasters as a hobby, and said he was inspired to start making TikToks about East Palestine in the early days after the derailment because he felt most of the news media wasnt giving enough attention to the story, and if they were, it was with too much credulity and too little scientific literacy. Generally, the responsible party says they think everything is OK. The press says that everything is OK, so lets go home, he said. When this one happened, it was very clear to me early on that there was more than what everybody was letting on to, just from the fundamental facts of the situation. Clearly, it struck a nerve. Some of his videos have millions of views. While The Independent hasnt verified every claim on Mr Dromboskys videos, some of his key concerns matched up with those of outside experts and community members, including questions about the lingering effects of burning off chemicals at the crash site and the need for more scrutiny of soil contamination. (Professor Mauck, the chemist at Kenyon, reviewed a small selection of Mr Dromboskys videos and said he seemed like a very reasonable guy with a pretty good technical background.) Some caution against getting any public health or science info online, particularly TikTok, thanks to its rapid proliferation of bad information and algorithmic incentives to post eye-catching content, but Mr Drombosky argues those same criticisms could be levelled at the traditional media. Anything new, you can just say, its new. Its unproven, he said. We dont know how it works. What I would argue, look at traditional media now. We have networks like Newsmax and OAN and Fox News. These are not news sources. Theyre treated as news sources. Theyre not held up to any sort of journalist standard. Former President Donald Trump stands next to a pallet of water before delivering remarks at the East Palestine Fire Department station (Getty Images) If I am saying something thats wrong, not only do you have the ability to correct me, the app would actually love if you corrected me, and they could feed your correction of me to the millions of people who just saw the original, he added. The TikTok creator pointed to the recent example of how Black Lives Matter protests and the 2020 racial reckoning played out in Pittsburgh, near where he grew up. Without social media, the community wouldve been unaware of aggressive police tactics. All across the country, networks like Twitter and Facebook were key to sharing videos of police excessive force and publicising protests, all outside the traditional confines of the legacy media. Others are far more sceptical that social media can cure the information vaccum that decades of distrust in government, extreme political polarisation, and a hollowed out media ecosystem have created. Professor Nisbet of Northwestern worries about networks like Twitter rolling back their fact-checking policies, and wants to remind information consumers about the self-gratification and reinforcement of ones existing views thats fed by social media algorithms. People want certainty, he said. If one source is saying in a measured way, This is what we know and this is what we dont know, and another source is proving certainty, they might gravitate to that source, because they have that need. It can be false information, but it provides a sense of certainty. Others, like Professor Mauck, take more of a middle ground, seeing the risks and rewards of social medias integral place in the public conversation after the derailment. I think Twitter for me, especially throughout the pandemic and now with this derailment, has been such a great source for direct information, she says. But youve got to be smart about where youre getting the information from. One challenge is that we have is how social media has been splintered. Everybody is getting things from different sources. Were at the mercy of algorithms. Having that media literacy has become more difficult. TikTok is a prime place where that can happen in terms of somebody said something and you take it at a face value. Further, she argues, social media has been really foundational to the change that has been spurred because of this disaster. And until that change starts to slow down the more than 1,000 train derailments a year in America, the fissures in public trust and media credibility exposed in East Palestine only seem set to deepen. People might not agree on who can be trusted, but something is fundamentally broken when millions of Americans believe those in power cant be. By Rozanna Latiff and A. Ananthalakshmi KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) -Malaysia could face further political polarisation and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim risks a backlash as his administration prosecutes his opponent and predecessor Muhyiddin Yassin just three months after a divisive election, analysts say. Muhyiddin, who was prime minister for 17 months between 2020 and 2021, was charged on Friday with abuse of power and money laundering over projects launched under his premiership. He has pleaded not guilty and said the charges were politically motivated. Anwar has dismissed that and said the matter was entirely up to the law enforcement agencies. But the case could make the Anwar government even more unpopular among the country's conservative, ethnic-Malay majority for targeting the opposition even as it has senior leaders in its fold facing criminal graft charges, observers told Reuters. That in turn could bring more political uncertainty in a country that has seen five prime ministers in six years. Anwar's alliance is expected to face a formidable challenge from Muhyiddin's coalition at regional elections in six states, which are due by June. "It's a big test for Anwar, who has people in his government who are facing corruption cases," Bridget Welsh, political analyst at the University of Nottingham Asia Research Institute, told Reuters. "His administration will face a broad crisis of credibility unless there is an effort to undertake more meaningful reforms... This narrative of persecution feeds into the polarized dynamic of Malaysian politics," she said. Muhyiddin is the second prime minister in Malaysia's history to be charged for corruption soon after losing an election, and his case has thrown a spotlight on the various fissures in the country's politics. In a multi-ethnic, multi-faith country Muslim ethnic Malays form a majority, while the ethnic Chinese and ethnic Indian minorities are mostly Hindu, Buddhist or Christian. Story continues Anwar runs a progressive, multi-ethnic bloc but has faced criticism for joining hands with the corruption-tainted United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) party to form a government after he failed to win a majority in last year's election. Anwar appointed UMNO president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as his deputy despite multiple criminal graft charges. Muhyiddin leads a conservative ethnic-Malay, Muslim alliance that has portrayed itself to be clean of corruption, and that made huge inroads in the Malay heartlands in the election. Anwar does not enjoy popularity in that base, surveys have shown. In another possible political fall-out, the charges against Muhyiddin could potentially weaken his party and strengthen the role of the Islamist party PAS within the opposition bloc, said Oh Ei Sun, a senior fellow with Singapore's Institute of International Affairs. "A PAS-dominated Perikatan will be heavy on religious sentiment. That can echo with an increasing conservative cohort in Malaysian electorate," Oh said, referring to the opposition bloc. REVENGE POLITICS? Anwar maintains that the case against Muhyiddin was not politically motivated. For stability, it is important for his government to signal that it was not targeting the opposition, said political analyst Wong Chin Huat. "As long as Anwar can hold and expand the middle ground by demonstrating state impartiality, instead of revenge politics, his government would be safe and the international community needs not worry about political instability," Wong said. Unlike recent Malaysian premiers, Anwar has not made any changes to the leadership of the country's law enforcement agencies upon winning power. In fact, Muhyiddin appointed the top civil servants who were instrumental in the investigations into his alleged graft: the chief of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and the country's attorney general. The MACC on Friday denied interference in its investigation process. Muhyiddin is not the first Malaysian leader to blame political motivations for the accusations against him. Anwar himself served jail time for corruption and sodomy before becoming prime minister, charges he insists were designed to keep him from power. He was pardoned in 2018. Malaysian politics has been in a flux since Najib Razak lost elections in 2018, bringing to an end an uninterrupted rule by the UMNO party that had governed for more than 60 years since independence. Najib, who has also claimed political persecution, is now serving a jail term for graft related to the multi-billion dollar scandal at state fund 1MDB. (Reporting by A. AnanthalakshmiEditing by Frances Kerry) (This March 10 story has been refiled to correct spelling of name to Feierstein, instead of Fierestein, in paragraph 15) By Phil Stewart and Michelle Nichols NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The surprise deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore diplomatic ties offers much for the United States to be intrigued about, including a possible path to rein in Tehran's nuclear program and a chance to cement a ceasefire in Yemen. It also contains an element sure to make officials in Washington deeply uneasy - the role of China as peace broker in a region where the U.S. has long wielded influence. The deal was announced after four days of previously undisclosed talks in Beijing between the Middle East rivals. White House spokesperson John Kirby said on Friday that while Washington was not directly involved, Saudi Arabia kept U.S. officials informed of the talks with Iran. Relations between the U.S. and China have become highly contentious over issues ranging from trade to espionage and increasingly the two powers compete for influence in parts of the world far from their own borders. Kirby appeared to downplay China's involvement in Friday's development, saying the White House believes internal and external pressure, including effective Saudi deterrence against attacks from Iran or its proxies, ultimately brought Tehran to the table. But former senior U.S. and U.N. official Jeffrey Feltman said China's role, rather than the re-opening of embassies after six years, was the most significant aspect of the agreement. "This will be interpreted - probably accurately - as a slap at the Biden administration and as evidence that China is the rising power," said Feltman, a fellow at the Brookings Institution. NUCLEAR TALKS The agreement comes as Iran accelerates its nuclear program after two years of failed U.S. attempts to revive a 2015 deal that aimed to stop Tehran producing a nuclear bomb. Those efforts have been complicated by a violent crackdown by Iranian authorities on protests and tough U.S. sanctions on Tehran over accusations of human rights abuses. Story continues Brian Katulis, of the Middle East Institute, said that for the U.S. and Israel the agreement offers a "new possible pathway" for reviving stalled talks on the Iran nuclear issue, with a potential partner in Riyadh. "Saudi Arabia is deeply concerned about Iran's nuclear program," he said. "If this new opening between Iran and Saudi Arabia is going to be meaningful and impactful, it will have to address the concerns about Iran's nuclear program - otherwise the opening is just optics." Friday's agreement also offers hope for more durable peace in Yemen, where a conflict sparked in 2014 has widely been seen as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. A U.N.-brokered truce agreed last April has largely held despite expiring in October without agreement between the parties to extend it. Gerald Feierstein, a former U.S. ambassador to Yemen, said Riyadh would "not have gone along with this without getting something, whether that something is Yemen or something else is harder to see." GROWING ROLE FOR CHINA China's involvement in brokering the deal could have "significant implications" for Washington, said Daniel Russel, the top U.S. diplomat for East Asia under former President Barack Obama. Russel said it was unusual for China to act on its own to help broker a diplomatic deal in a dispute to which it was not a party. "The question is, whether this is the shape of things to come?" he said. "Could it be a precursor to a Chinese mediation effort between Russia and Ukraine when Xi visits Moscow?" When it comes to Iran, it is not clear that the results will be good for the U.S., said Naysan Rafati, senior Iran analyst at International Crisis Group. "The drawback is that at a time when Washington and Western partners are increasing pressure against the Islamic Republic ... Tehran will believe it can break its isolation and, given the Chinese role, draw on major-power cover," said Rafati. China's involvement has already drawn skepticism in Washington about Beijing's motives. Republican Representative Michael McCaul, chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, rejected China's portrayal of itself as peace-broker, saying it "is not a responsible stakeholder and cannot be trusted as a fair or impartial mediator." Kirby said the U.S. was closely monitoring Beijing's behavior in the Middle East and elsewhere. "As for Chinese influence there or in Africa or Latin America, it's not like we have blinders on," he said. "We certainly continue to watch China as they try to gain influence and footholds elsewhere around the world in their own selfish interests." Still, Beijing's involvement adds to a perception of growing Chinese power and influence that contributes to a narrative of a shrinking U.S. global presence, said Jon Alterman, of Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies. "The not-so-subtle message that China is sending is that while the United States is the preponderant military power in the Gulf, China is a powerful and arguably rising diplomatic presence," he said. (Additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle, Jonathan Landay and David Brunnstrom; Writing by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Don Durfee and Daniel Wallis) By Kirsty Needham SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian nuclear submarines are key to defending the country's 36,000 kilometres of coastline and maintaining an edge against China, whose growing military presence means conflict can erupt without notice, defence officials and government advisers said. The shift from Australia's diesel-electric fleet to nuclear-powered subs brings additional range, stealth and strike capability - crucial capabilities given Canberra's reliance on sea cargo for trade, and undersea cables for telecommunications, they said. "This is the biggest step forward in our military capability that we've had since the end of the Second World War," Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles said on Friday. "This, more than anything that we can do, it will allow us in a pretty difficult world to look after ourselves." Reuters has reported Australia is expected to buy up to five U.S. Virginia class submarines in the 2030's, before building a new British-designed submarine in South Australia under a partnership with both countries dubbed AUKUS. Sooner than that, around 2027, U.S. nuclear submarines are expected to be deployed in Western Australia. The three countries are expected to announce details of the plan on Monday in San Diego. The shift from six conventional submarines to a nuclear-powered fleet comes with a price tag estimated at A$100 billion-A$170 billion ($66 billion-$112 billion), Australia's biggest-ever defence project. Nuclear submarines are a key area where the United States has an edge over China's navy, which is the world's largest, said Peter Dean, co-author of Australia's Defence Strategic Review, which was handed to government last month and will be made public in April. It is vital that Australia has the same capability to deter - or, if necessary, fight - China as it expands its nuclear submarine fleet and ranges deeper into Australia's northern waters, he said. Story continues "The number one thing submarines do is hunt other submarines," he said. "We need to be able to track those submarines, and if it did come to a conflict with anyone, to respond appropriately. They are a really important part of our deterrence capability." A U.S. Defense Department report last year said the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) had a fighting force of 340 ships and submarines, including 12 nuclear submarines - six equipped with ballistic missiles - and 44 conventionally powered submarines. The report added that China would build a guided missile submarine by the middle of this decade. Sheer numbers can be overcome with superior technology, analysts said. "Chinese submarines are of less advanced technology and noisier than they should be so more detectable," said Bates Gill, executive director for the Asia Society's Centre for China Analysis. United States Studies Centre chief executive Michael Green, a former U.S. National Security Council member who wrote a paper for the Pentagon seven years ago on undersea warfare, said he estimated then the U.S. had a 15-year lead over China in that realm. "The Chinese are developing carrier-killer ballistic missiles to target surface ships, aircraft carriers and destroyers. This undersea warfare advantage, this edge, is absolutely critical to deterring China against thinking it can use force against anyone in the region," he said. Green says PLA officials told him a decade ago that Beijing sought to control the waters around the Pacific's "first island chain" of Taiwan, Japan and the Philippines - which all have treaties with the United States - to create a buffer. They also hoped to push U.S. forces from the "second island chain" spanning the U.S. territory of Guam to the Pacific islands, which count Australia as a traditional aid and security partner. China's failed effort last year to strike a 10-nation security and trade pact in the Pacific islands renewed concern about Beijing's naval ambitions, he said. "They want to take the fight to our neighbourhoods so that we can't concentrate our forces to deal with a contingency in the first island chain," he said, referring to an attack on Taiwan. The U.S. has long wanted to base its nuclear submarines in Australia, and if that is the near-term solution under AUKUS, it is a significant shift, Gill said. AUKUS will also see the joint development of long-range missile systems, pre-positioning of material and a larger U.S. military footprint in Australia, he said. "The public mood has dramatically changed towards China," he said, pointing to polling by the Lowy Institute think tank showing Australians see China as a threat. Such moves nonetheless remain politically sensitive, despite bipartisan support from the two major parties, and would face some community opposition, he added. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said Australia will retain sovereign decision making as it integrates with AUKUS allies - from the workers who will build the submarines to training programmes. He declined to comment on costs on Friday but said Australia would "make sure that we invest more in our defence". Dean says the Defence Strategic Review has set out a plan to handle a conflict that begins without warning - preparations that range from ammunition and fuel logistics to workforce requirements and base locations. China's diplomats have said AUKUS violates a Pacific nuclear-free treaty, and the country has told the International Atomic Energy Association the pact is an act of nuclear proliferation, although IAEA has said marine nuclear propulsion is allowed if monitored. Beijing says its military expansion in the region is for defensive purposes. ($1 = 1.5193 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Kirsty Needham. Editing by Gerry Doyle) Vehicles travel on 200 South in downtown Salt Lake City after snow flurries on Wednesday. Another storm is expected to provide valley rain and mountain snow across Utah primarily on Friday. | Carter Williams, KSL.com A small storm that passed through northern Utah on Wednesday and early Thursday produced as much as another 15 inches of snow in the Wasatch Mountains near Logan and a half-foot of snow in the Providence area, according to the National Weather Service. Meteorologists say it was an appetizer to another winter storm arriving in the state Thursday night into Friday morning. The weather service issued a winter storm warning for a storm that has the potential to deliver 1 to 2 feet of snow or more in Utah's mountains. The storm is expected to be milder in the valleys, even producing up to an inch of rain in lower-elevation areas. However, that is also raising some flooding concerns, especially as temperatures begin to warm up after a cold start to the year. Incoming wind, rain and snow The storm is expected to arrive either late Thursday night or early Friday morning, impacting northern Utah before the rest of the state, said KSL meteorologist Matt Johnson. The system will build up through the morning, providing a mix of valley rain and mountain snow by the morning commute. "It will continue throughout the day in waves and periods of valley rain and mountain snow," he said. "The valley rain continues (into Friday night) as a cold front tries to move on through, and then (the storm) extends down into central and southern Utah by Saturday morning." The winter storm warning states that multiple feet of snow may end up falling in the mountains. Twelve to 22 inches of snow or more are possible in the Wasatch Mountains south of I-80 and in the western Uinta Mountains, including Alta, Brighton and Scofield. The highest amounts are expected in the upper Cottonwood canyons, the mountains in Utah County and the west Uintas. Wind gusts may also reach 70 mph or more on exposed ridgetops. Ten to 20 inches of snow are projected for the central and southern mountains, including areas like Alton, Brian Head, Cove Fort, Fish Lake and Joes Valley. Wind gusts could range from 55 mph to 65 mph. Nine to 18 inches of snow or more are forecast in the Wasatch Mountains north of I-80, including Mantua and Logan Summit. Wind gusts may also reach 65 mph on exposed ridgetops. Story continues The weather service warns that travel may be "very difficult to impossible" at times in the mountain areas, especially on Friday evening. "Patchy blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility (and) strong winds could bring down tree branches," the alert states. "If you must travel, keep an extra flashlight, food and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency." If there is any valley snow produced by the storm, it will be small. The snow line may end up at about 6,500 to 8,000 feet on Friday. But the storm has the potential to deliver a quarter of an inch to 1 inch or more of rain across the state by noon Saturday, Johnson said. The higher totals are expected in the southern portion of the Wasatch Front into central Utah. It's also expected to be windy in the valleys Friday. The weather service issued a wind advisory for the Wasatch Front and Tooele Valley into southern Utah, where sustained winds of 20 to 35 mph and gusts of up to 55 mph are forecast in those areas. Flooding and avalanche caution KSL meteorologist Kevin Eubank explained that the rain could cause flooding issues in some communities this weekend. "Anytime you bring in rain on top of snow, it exacerbates the potential for flooding because you're not only dealing with the water coming in the rain but you're dealing with all the water that's being melted in the snow," he said. "And beneath the snow is generally frozen ground, so it isn't like the ground can absorb that rain. ... The ground can't handle that water." You may have heard that rain is forecast. This means rain will fall on snow for some. What can you do in preparation? Make sure window wells are free from any snow If you notice any debris blocking drains, remove the debris so water can freely move through. #UTwx pic.twitter.com/UT2kyMxZGP NWS Salt Lake City (@NWSSaltLakeCity) March 9, 2023 He added that communities that currently have several inches or feet of snow on the ground are most at risk, such as parts of the Wasatch Back and northern Utah. The risk is lower in places that don't have as much snow on the ground. It's why some communities are already taking precautionary measures. Wellsville city officials, for instance, announced the city was holding a "sandbag filling party" at its maintenance building Thursday, where volunteers could fill up sandbags in preparation for any flooding "just in case" it begins this weekend. The sandbags, while supplies last, will be available for residents through the spring as long as flood risks remain in place. With so much snow on rooftops in mountain communities, roof avalanches will be a significant hazard with more snow, warmer temperatures, and the potential for heavy rain. Both adults and children have been killed by roof avalanches.@NWSSaltLakeCity @NWSLosAngeles pic.twitter.com/BsCqoybvJz UtahAvalancheCenter (@UACwasatch) March 9, 2023 Avalanche danger is also expected to increase this weekend as a result of heavy snow. This may impact more than just the slopes. The Utah Avalanche Center tweeted that "more snow, warmer temperatures and the potential for heavy rain" could cause "roof avalanches" from the rooftops of buildings with lots of snow. The agency advises people to be "extra cautious" around these types of buildings this weekend. A spring warmup? These concerns may continue into next week because another system is forecast to arrive on Tuesday, bringing more valley rain and mountain snow. Utah is also warming up as it heads into spring. Temperatures may reach the mid-50s along the Wasatch Front and possibly even the low-70s in the St. George area by Monday and Tuesday. Full seven-day forecasts for areas across Utah can be found online, at the KSL Weather Center. Contributing: Aimee Cobabe After Russia invaded Ukraine, guerrillas from Belarus began carrying out acts of sabotage on their country's railways, including blowing up track equipment to paralyze the rails that Russian forces used to get troops and weapons into Ukraine. In the most recent sabotage to make international headlines, they attacked a Russian warplane parked just outside the Belarusian capital. Belarusians will not allow the Russians to freely use our territory for the war with Ukraine, and we want to force them to leave, Anton, a retired Belarusian serviceman who joined a group of saboteurs, told The Associated Press in a phone interview. The Russians must understand on whose side the Belarusians are actually fighting," he said, speaking on the condition that his last name be withheld for security reasons. More than a year after Russia used the territory of its neighbor and ally to invade Ukraine, Belarus continues to host Russian troops, as well as warplanes, missiles and other weapons. The Belarusian opposition condemns the cooperation, and a guerrilla movement sprang up to disrupt the Kremlin's operations, both on the ground and online. Meanwhile, Belarus' authoritarian government is trying to crack down on saboteurs with threats of the death penalty and long prison terms. Activists say the rail attacks have forced the Russian military to abandon the use of trains to send troops and materiel to Ukraine. The retired serviceman is a member of the Association of Security Forces of Belarus, or BYPOL, a guerrilla group founded amid mass political protests in Belarus in 2020. Its core is composed of former military members. During the first year of the war, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko realized that getting involved in the conflict will cost him a lot and will ignite dangerous processes inside Belarus, said Anton Matolka, coordinator of the Belarusian military monitoring group Belaruski Hajun. Last month, BYPOL claimed responsibility for a drone attack on a Russian warplane stationed near the Belarusian capital. The group said it used two armed drones to damage the Beriev A-50 parked at the Machulishchy Air Base near Minsk. Belarusian authorities have said they requested the early warning aircraft to monitor their border. Story continues Lukashenko acknowledged the attack a week later, saying that the damage to the plane was insignificant, but admitting it had to be sent to Russia for repairs. The iron-fisted leader also said the perpetrator of the attack was arrested along with more than 20 accomplices and that he has ties to Ukrainian security services. Both BYPOL and Ukrainian authorities rejected allegations that Kyiv was involved. BYPOL leader Aliaksandr Azarau said the people who carried out the assault were able to leave Belarus safely. We are not familiar with the person Lukashenko talked about, he said. The attack on the plane, which Azarau said was used to help Russia locate Ukrainian air defense systems, was an attempt to blind Russian military aviation in Belarus." He said the group is preparing other operations to free Belarus from the Russian occupation and to free Belarus from Lukashenkos regime. "We have a two-headed enemy these days, said Azarau, who remains outside Belarus. Former military officers in the BYPOL group work closely with the team of Belarus exiled opposition leader, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who ran against Lukashenko in the 2020 presidential election that was widely seen as rigged. The disputed vote results handed him his sixth term in office and triggered the largest protests in the countrys history. In response, Lukashenko unleashed a brutal crackdown on demonstrators, accusing the opposition of plotting to overthrow the government. Tsikhanouskaya fled to Lithuania under pressure. With the protests still simmering a year after the election, BYPOL created an underground network of anti-government activists dubbed Peramoha, or Victory. According to Azarau, the network has some 200,000 participants, two-thirds of them in Belarus. Lukashenko has something to be afraid of, Azarau said. Belarusian guerrillas say they have already carried out 17 major acts of sabotage on railways. The first took place just two days after Russian troops rolled into Ukraine. A month later, then-Ukrainian railways head Oleksandr Kamyshin said there was no longer any railway traffic between Ukraine and Belarus, and thanked Belarusian guerrillas for it. Another group of guerrillas operates in cyberspace. Their coordinator, Yuliana Shametavets, said some 70 Belarusian IT specialists are hacking into Russian government databases and attacking websites of Russian and Belarusian state institutions. The future of Belarus depends directly on the military success of Ukraine, Shametavets said. Were trying to contribute to Ukraines victory as best we can. Last month, the cyberguerrillas reported hacking a subsidiary of Russias state media watchdog, Roskomnadzor. They said they were able to penetrate the subsidiarys inner network, download more than two terabytes of documents and emails, and share data showing how Russian authorities censor information about the war in Ukraine. They also hacked into Belarus state database containing information about border crossings and are now preparing a report on Ukrainian citizens who were recruited by Russia and went to meet with their handlers in Belarus. In addition, the cyberguerrillas help vet Belarusians who volunteer to join the Kastus Kalinouski regiment that fights alongside Kyivs forces. Shametovets said they were able to identify four security operatives among the applicants. Belarusian authorities have unleashed a crackdown on guerrillas. Last May, Lukashenko signed off on introducing the death penalty for attempted terrorist acts. Last month, the Belarusian parliament also adopted the death penalty as punishment for high treason. Lukashenko signed the measure Thursday. Belarusian authorities are seriously scared by the scale of the guerrilla movement inside the country and dont know what to do with it, so they chose harsh repressions, intimidation and fear as the main tool, said Pavel Sapelka of the Viasna human rights group. Dozens have been arrested, while many others have fled the country. Siarhei Vaitsekhovich runs a Telegram blog where he regularly posts about Russian drills in Belarus and the deployment of Russian military equipment and troops to the country. He had to leave Belarus after authorities began investigating him on charges of treason and forming an extremist group. Vaitsekhovich said his 15-year-old brother was recently detained in an effort to pressure him to take the blog down and cooperate with the security services. The Russian Federal Security Service "is very unhappy with the fact that information about movements of Russian military equipment spills out into public domain, Vaitsekhovich said. According to Viasna, over the past 12 months at least 1,575 Belarusians have been detained for their anti-war stance, and 56 have been convicted on various charges and sentenced to prison terms ranging from a year to 23 years. Anton says he understands the risks. On one of the railway attacks he worked with three associates who were each sentenced in November to more than 20 years in prison. It is hard to say who is in a more difficult position a Ukrainian in a trench or a Belarusian on a stakeout, he said. PHILADELPHIA (AP) With the Philadelphia Flyers in need of a complete franchise overhaul, Chuck Fletcher called the shots at the NHL trade deadline and came up empty. A day later, the Flyers sent Fletcher to represent the team at a town hall meeting for season-ticket holders, where he was about booed off the stage. His week only got worse. A series of bad contracts, unfortunate injuries, sagging attendance and one of the worst records in the NHL ultimately doomed Fletcher, whom the Flyers fired Friday from his position as general manager and president of hockey operations. The team promoted franchise great Danny Briere to the interim general manager role, the latest front-office shakeup for an organization that has not won a Stanley Cup since 1975. Briere, who served as special assistant to the GM, is considered a rising star in the front office. Maybe he'll have a concrete plan for a rebuild which could involve more lean seasons that Fletcher did not express over his 4 1/2 seasons on the job. The Flyers went 141-145-43 under Fletcher. The Flyers, who had just one playoff berth in Fletchers tenure, play Saturday in Pittsburgh. Philadelphia is 24-30-11 this season under first-year coach John Tortorella and set to miss the playoffs for the third straight season. The Philadelphia Flyers organization has always been defined by grit, determination, and a standard of excellence. Over the past several seasons, our team simply has not lived up to that standard, so today, we will begin to chart a new path forward under a new leadership structure for Hockey Operations," Flyers Chairman Dave Scott said. Briere, who helped the Flyers to their last Stanley Cup appearance in 2010 when they lost to the Chicago Blackhawks, was promoted last year from his player development role to special assistant to the GM. Flyers fans deserve a better team than what theyve seen on the ice over the past few seasons, and a clear plan to return this team to Stanley Cup contention, Scott said. We know that this will be a multi-year process, and we are committed to doing it right, because we want to put this franchise on a path toward winning the Stanley Cup, period. Story continues Briere didnt know how he wanted to stay involved with hockey once he retired in 2015 from a 17-year career with 307 goals and 696 points. He met shortly with former Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren, who signed Briere to a free-agent deal and invited him to spend time on the administrative side of the operation. Briere learned the business from the ground up marketing, ticket sales, social media, finance and caught a break in 2017 when the Flyers parent company bought an ECHL team in Maine. Briere largely oversaw the day-to-day operations of the team. Scott said the Flyers will look to restructure the front office and that starts with breaking the general manager and president roles into two jobs. We view this as a critical opportunity to not only re-establish the standard of excellence that our fans expect, but also to bring new energy, accountability, and strategic vision to our organization, he said. The Flyers havent won the Stanley Cup since consecutive championships in 1974 and 1975, and have advanced to the second round only three times since that 2010 run. Fletcher's biggest blunders may have come last week, when he failed to receive anything at Friday's deadline for James van Riemsdyk or other aging, expensive players. The deals that were presented to me were not good deals for the Philadelphia Flyers. Last summer, being more aggressive was not going to be good for the Philadelphia Flyers, Fletcher said last week. Maybe in the short run it makes me look better, but we dont want Band-Aids anymore. We want to build this the right way and were committed to doing it. Those are my words, my actions will have to back it up, but were committed to doing it." He went all out in 2021 with a series of moves that didn't really pay off. His trades for defenseman Ryan Ellis and forward Cam Atkinson yielded nothing because of injuries, and the Flyers have received little production out of the rich contract extensions given to Joel Farabee, Sean Couturier and others. Scott noted as much Friday, saying Fletcher faced significant challenges, including some that were outside of his control. Fletcher was hired in December 2018 to replace Ron Hextall now Pittsburgh's general manager and soon fired coach Dave Hakstol, who is coaching the Seattle Kraken. Fletcher hired Alain Vigneault as coach but a promising first season that included a trip to the Eastern Conference semifinals in the 2020 COVID-19 bubble unraveled. The Flyers became the first team in NHL history to have a pair of 10-game losing streaks within the first 40 games of the season and Vigneault was fired early last season. Scott said he didn't see the Flyers undergoing a three-, four-, five-year rebuild at all while Fletcher continued even early this season to tout the team as a playoff contender. Tortorella never saw it that way. The blunt coach who won a Stanley Cup with Tampa Bay has insisted he needs time and patience to turn the Flyers into winners. He might get there, eventually. Fletcher just won't be along for the ride. ___ More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports Getty Images Update: On March 10, 2023, King Charles granted his brother the Duke of Edinburgh title. "His Majesty The King has been pleased to confer the Dukedom of Edinburgh upon The Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Forfar, on the occasion of His Royal Highnesss 59th birthday. The title will be held by Prince Edward for His Royal Highnesss lifetime," reads a press release shared by Buckingham Palace. "The Dukedom was last created for Prince Philip in 1947, upon his marriage to Princess Elizabeth, who held the title of Duchess of Edinburgh before acceding to the throne in 1952. The new Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh are proud to continue Prince Philips legacy of promoting opportunities for young people of all backgrounds to reach their full potential." Original: The Queen and Prince Philip have three sons: Prince Charles, who is Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall, Prince Andrew, who is Duke of York, and Prince Edward, who is Earl of Wessex. So why does Prince Edward lack the same title as his brothers? The answer may provide a look into the future of the royal family. To be sure, Prince Edward is not the only royal sibling without a duke or duchess title: his sister, Princess Anne, has the title of Princess Royal, which she was given in 1987. But Edward is the only male child of the Queen and Prince Philip to lack the Duke title. Instead, he is the Earl of Wessex, a title given to him on the day of his wedding in 1999. So why is he an earl? Its not because hes the black sheep of the familyquite the contrary, as hes known to be especially close to his parents. Apparently, it was all his choice. According to The Telegraph, he was set to be Duke of Cambridge, but declined because of a character named Lord Wessex in Shakespeare in Love. "He liked the sound of it and asked the Queen if he could have that instead, a royal courtier told the newspaper in 2010. Now, Prince William has the title of Duke of Cambridge. In fact, Wessex isnt even a current region of the United Kingdom. According to Britannica, it was one of the kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England, whose leaders eventually took over the entire country. The area of Wessex is prominent in the legend of King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table, and the novels of Thomas Hardy. Story continues But his earl status might be only temporary. The Sunday Times reports that Prince Edward will become the next Duke of Edinburgh, a title currently held by Prince Philip. Technically, the title of Duke of Edinburgh would go back to the crown after Prince Philips death, and then would go to the next-in-line to the throne, so that would be Prince Charles. But the Queen could reissue the title to Prince Edward; if Charles is king by then, he wouldnt have to give his brother the title if he didn't want to, but it seems likely Prince Edward will one day end up as Duke of Edinburgh. That would even out the royal brothersat least, that is, until their oldest brother becomes the monarch. You Might Also Like By Sam Tobin LONDON (Reuters) - Technology giant Apple on Friday told a London tribunal that Britain's competition watchdog had "no power" to launch a probe into its mobile browsers because it did so too late. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) opened a full investigation in November into cloud gaming and mobile browsers over concerns about restrictions by iPhone-maker Apple, as well as by Google. Apple filed an appeal in January at the Competition Appeal Tribunal in London and argues the investigation is "invalid". Its lawyer Timothy Otty said on Friday that the market investigation should by law have been opened last June at the same time as the CMA published a report on mobile ecosystems, which found the two tech giants had an "effective duopoly". He added in court filings that Apple has "suffered serious prejudice" as a result of the CMA's decision, having "had to repeatedly divert management time and technical resources away from its business activities". However, the CMA's lawyer James Eadie said the watchdog had complied with the legal time limits, because it initially decided not to open an investigation in December 2021. He argued in court filings that a ruling that the investigation is invalid would cause "significant prejudice to the public interest which outweighs any burden shouldered by Apple". "A finding of invalidity would terminate the market investigation and leave unaddressed the CMA's concerns about the lack of competition for mobile browsers and cloud gaming," Eadie added. Friday's hearing took place on the same day that the CMA said it was extending the deadline for its analysis and review into Apple's terms and conditions for app developers until May. (Reporting by Sam Tobin; Editing by Christina Fincher) (Reuters) - Apple and its supplier Foxconn were among the companies that lobbied for a landmark liberalisation of labour laws in the southern Indian state of Karnataka earlier this month, the Financial Times reported, citing three people familiar with the matter. The legislation led to introduction of laws that now allows 12-hour shifts, as well as night-time work for women, similar to company practices in China, the report said. Apple has been shifting production away from China after the country's strict COVID-related restrictions disrupted the manufacturing of new iPhones and other devices in the country and also to avoid a big hit to its business from tensions between Beijing and Washington. The report comes a week after the Karnataka government said that Apple Inc's iPhones would soon be assembled in the state and that a total of 300 acres have been set aside for a factory. Apple, Foxconn and the Karnataka government did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. (Reporting by Akriti Sharma and Kanjyik Ghosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich) Around this time next year, you may have to make a decision whether or not to buy a new type of HomePod that comes with a display. According to notable Apple analyst Ming-Chu Kuo, the tech giant might unveil the next-gen HomePod with a 7-inch panel within the first half of 2024. The display, which will be manufactured by Chinese supplier Tianma, "could enable tighter integration with Apple's other hardware products." That signifies a "significant shift in the company's smart home strategy," he said. Kuo's prediction echoes earlier reports by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman that the company is developing a kitchen accessory that combines an iPad with a speaker. Just this January, Gurman reiterated that Apple is working on a slate of smart home devices in a bid to compete with Amazon's and Google's offerings. One of the products it's reportedly developing is a low-end iPad that can control various IoT devices, such as thermostats and lights, and can be used for video chats. It remains to be seen whether that's also the display that would come integrated with the HomePod. By launching a speaker with a smart display, Apple will finally be able to offer a direct competitor to Google's Nest Hub and Amazon's Echo Show models. Apple is lagging behind its peers when it comes to smart home devices its smart speaker, for instance, came years later than the Echo. Bloomberg said way back in 2017 that it's because Apple's executives had a hard time figuring out where it would fit into its product ecosystem. Since Apple is clearly still in the midst of catching up with its competitors in the space, users can either choose between the HomePod mini and the newer 2nd-gen HomePod that was launched in January for now. The new model has a touch panel at the top, but it has limited capabilities that include adjusting the volume, skipping tracks and summoning Siri. Two lives were forever changed by a gun carried into Jakes, a popular Five Points bar, the night of July 24, 2021. The first belonged to Jonathan Wise, who fired the gun he carried in his waistband during a scuffle with a bouncer. The second was Geoff Sears, a manager at the bar who says he will spend the rest of his life dealing with the consequences of a bullet that tore through his body. I have not had a normal day since the injury and may never, according to my doctors, Sears, 35, told the court in a victim impact statement. On Thursday, Judge Debra McClaslin sentenced Wise to five years in prison for shooting Sears. You could easily be standing here on a murder charge, McClaslin told Wise, as she made the decision, in her words, to take away his 20s. Wise, 23, had pleaded guilty to assault and battery, a less severe crime than attempted murder, his original charge. He is a good kid who made a terrible decision, said his attorney, Greg Collins, as he asked McClaslin to consider a suspended sentence. This was just one night, Collins said. It only takes one night, McClaslin shot back. In deciding on five years, with credit for a year he already served, McClaslin said she considered that he had no prior record but weighed it against the life-changing harm he had done to Sears, who has endured multiple reconstructive surgeries and now lives with daily pain. He has no prior record, McClaslin said, but I cant just let people go around shooting people. McClaslin also expressed confusion about why Wise felt the need to carry a gun in Five Points, which like many South Carolinians she expressed fond memories for. Given the opportunity to address the court, Wise faced the judge and apologized to Sears, Sears family and his coworkers. He described being the oldest of nine siblings, and needing to provide for his family. I am not a menace to society, Wise said. Im not careless but I made a careless mistake. Differing accounts of the scene and questions about Wises intentions Wise maintains that he never meant to shoot anyone led the prosecutors office to downgrade the charge, Assistant 5th Circuit Solicitor Carter Potts told the court. Story continues Prosecutors also dismissed the weapons charge against Wise. His attorney said that Wise brought the handgun that night because he was scared he might be robbed on the way home. Since being released on bond in 2022 from the Alvin S Glenn Detention Center, where his lawyer says he was jumped twice and witnessed two stabbings, Wise had worked his way up from a valet to a full-time technician at the Jim Hudson Toyota dealership. He had not been in trouble with the law since his release. This was really a one-off situation, Collins told the court. July 24, 2021, was a busy night just like any other at Jakes Bar and Grill, a popular watering hole in Five Points. Reading a statement in court, Sears recalled how both the bars indoor and outdoor areas were at legal capacity, with 315 customers crammed into the bar, meaning that customers could not move freely between the two areas. Sears, who said he was 10 to 15 feet away, noticed an individual he now knows to be Wise get into an argument with a bouncer and was being escorted out. Attorneys stated that Wise got into an argument with the door staff when he was denied re-entry to a part of the bar that was at capacity. The argument escalated, and Sears recalled seeing Wise shoot the gun point-blank at the bouncer. Instead the bullet struck Sears, entering his upper groin. Telling his side of the story, Wise said he was panicked and fearful for his life during the chaotic confrontation in the bar, when he said was trying to walk away while multiple people screamed and grabbed at him. Its a messed up situation to be in. Nobody knows what theyll do until theyre in that position, Wise said. Both the prosecutor and defense attorney indicated in court that the evidence did not suggest that Wise was trying to harm Sears, but what happened after is not in dispute. Wise fled, pursued by a Columbia Police Department trainee who was at the bar. He ultimately escaped, tossing the gun over a fence in the Shandon neighborhood. He was arrested the same night. Since the shooting, Sears says he has had multiple surgeries to reconstruct parts of his urinary tract and lower intestines. He had endured multiple catheters, a ostomy bag and several rounds of serious infections. He recounted how his parents would have to pack his bullet wound with three feet of surgical gauze. He said that he had had been unable to work and had drained most of his savings over the course of a year. While undergoing the surgeries, he had been forced to rely almost entirely on his parents, Sears said. This is not a good person, and the court should not trust this person within our community, Sears said. There is something truly evil about a person that would fire a gun with such reckless abandon. Sears said that he continues to suffer anxiety, PTSD and depression from the incident. I am always looking over my shoulder and have thoughts of people harming me, Sears said. Another shooting haunts Five Points More than 20 members of the food service industry filled the courtroom pews in solidarity with Sears. They were the foot soldiers of Columbias food and beverage industry, a defining feature of the city, said long time Columbia lawyer Joe McCulloch, who was in court speaking for Sears and the industry more broadly. Although he is primarily a defense attorney, McCulloch found himself urging McClaslin to consider a serious sentence for Wise in order to help protect service workers from the lightning strike of people like Wise. He was a lousy shot, McCulloch said of Wise. Which may have made him the most dangerous person in town that night. But Sears was not the first bystander to be shot in Five Points. In 2018, Howard Boone Jr. was paralyzed from the neck down after a gunman fired into a crowd following a St. Patricks Day festival. In 2013, USC freshman Martha Childress was also paralyzed after being struck by a stray bullet while waiting for a cab in Five Points. Note to readers: This story has been updated to reflect that teachers will not be able to participate in the guardian program. The Lee County School District will move forward with the creation of a policy that will allow school staff members to carry a gun on campus. If the Lee County School Board approves the policy, staff can enroll in Florida's Coach Aaron Feis Guardian Program, which is designed to train armed school staff to help school police officers in the event of a threat on campus. The program was established after the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that left 17 people dead. The Lee County School District said teachers and other staff members who work in a classroom will not be able to become guardians. So far, 46 of the state's 67 county school districts currently participate in the program. Collier County has not voted to participate in the program. At a meeting Tuesday, 12 people spoke during public comment on the resolution passed unanimously by the board that directs staff to create the policy, and only two were in favor of the program. Teachers, parents and community members argued that adding more guns to campus would not make them, or their students, feel safer. "Allowing more guns on campus does not make me as a teacher or a parent feel like a campus is more safe," said Noel Hercek, who has been a teacher for 23 years. "I find it alarming... The shortage of teachers is going to increase. This makes us feel very, very unsafe." Andrew White, a parent of a Lee County elementary student whose wife is a teacher in the district, is firmly against the guardian program. He said he worries about the teachers having targets on their backs to be assaulted by students who go after the gun. "I know for an absolute certainty, the heart of teachers, you will find people who will gladly throw themselves in front of a bullet if you ask them to," White said. "You are absolutely escalating this. You are saying to the teachers, please be human shields, please accept the responsibility that you will have to shoot a child in your care." Story continues The two community members in favor of the program argued that teachers who want to take up arms to protect their students should have the opportunity. "We can talk about teachers being willing to die for their students, give them shield," Robert Daniels said. "If you have people who are willing to live with the PTSD and protect the students, then yes, do it." Students and parents reunite at South Fort Myers High School after a threat of a gun was called in Friday afternoon. Lee County SheriffOs Office declared that there was no active shooter after officers searched the school. It was declared a OswattingO incident. Increase in weapons, threats of violence The push for the program comes now because of an increase in social media threats of violence and weapons in Lee County Schools, as well as swatting the act of making false calls to emergency services in an attempt to get a large number of law enforcement to a specific location. School board member Chris Patricca has a son who attends South Fort Myers High School, which this year has been targeted by swatting efforts. "I sit here as a parent that's been in those shoes, thinking that my kid was in a building with gunshots and other dead kids," Patricca said, taking a pause to collect herself. "I don't know yet that I fully support this because the policy has not come in front of the board." Weapons found in schools on rise: 'Students should never have to worry about their safety' In the 2021-22 school year, Lee schools recorded 81 incidents linked to weapons possession, according to data compiled by the Florida Department of Education. That's a nearly 69% increase from the 48 reported in the 2020-21 school year and a nearly 119% increase from the 37 reported in the 2019-20 school year. This school year alone, three students at South Fort Myers High School have been arrested for bringing a gun on campus. During the week of Valentine's Day, the anniversary of the Parkland school shooting, two students were arrested and there were three threats of gun violence in Lee schools. In contrast, the Collier County School District, which does not have a guardian program, reported 36 incidents in the 2021-22 school year, the data states. That's an increase of 12.5% from the 32 incidents in the 2020-21 school year and a 157% increase from the 14 incidents in the 2019-20 school year. Gun arrest at school: Third South Fort Myers High School student arrested for gun on campus Gun threat: South Fort Myers High given all clear following gun threat, all 67 Lee Schools searched While Board Member Cathleen Morgan voted to support the resolution, she said she is very uncomfortable moving forward. "I'm not happy that it's come to this that we have to put people in the scope that we were even talking about putting people in the school with guns. I think that's all wrong," Morgan said. "I think the focus is wrong. I think the focus needs to be on all of the preventative strategies particularly with respect to staff training, student training, etc." How would the program work? If the board approves a guardian program policy, school staff who wish to participate will need to undergo extensive training provided by the Lee County Sheriff's Office. The training would include 12 hours of diversity training, 132 hours of firearms safety and proficiency training. Candidates would also need to pass a psychological evaluation and a drug test. If they are approved to become a guardian, they will need to complete ongoing training, weapon inspection and firearm qualification annually. If a candidate fails any part of the application process they will be barred from the program, the resolution states. Vice-Chair Sam Fisher, who said he fully supports the program, stressed that should a policy pass they would not pressure or force any teachers to participate. "This is volunteer only. Nobody should be pushed into this, it should be only people that want to step up and do this," he said. "I want to make that clear, there will be no pressure from anyone up here." This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Florida school district considers allowing school staff to carry guns It took two years for the DOJ to conclude what we already knew that the patterns and practices of the Louisville Police Department were especially aggressive towards Black people, said a BLM board member. The Louisville Metro Police Department has agreed to enter into a consent decree with the federal government after the Department of Justice found that Louisville police officers routinely engage in discriminatory practices. During a press conference on Wednesday, Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general for civil rights, told reporters that the Louisville Police Department can do better and that Louisville residents deserve policing that is fair and non-discriminatory. She added that authorities in Louisville breached the publics trust and discriminated against Black people through unjustified stops, searches and arrests. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke (right) speaks during a press conference at Louisville Metro Hall in Kentucky, on Wednesday as Attorney General Merrick Garland looks on. The U.S. Justice Department found that Louisville police have engaged in a pattern of practices that violate constitutional rights following an investigation prompted by the 2020 fatal police shooting of Breonna Taylor. (Photo: Timothy D. Easley/AP) The Justice Department also found that Louisville officers consistently engage in conduct that violates constitutional rights and federal law. For two years, the DOJ shadowed officers, participated in ride-alongs with law enforcement, watched thousands of hours of body camera footage, reviewed documents regarding the LMPDs conduct and spoke with city leaders, judges, lawyers, community members and advocacy groups to address deficiencies within the department. Attorney General Merrick Garland told reporters that the police department used excessive force, including unjustified neck restraints and the unreasonable use of police dogs and tasers. During the press conference, Clarke maintained that Louisvilles law enforcement also took part in discriminatory practices against its Black residents. Black drivers were almost 50 percent more likely to be searched than whites, she stated. LMPD charges Black people at higher rates than white people for the same misdemeanor offenses. Black Lives Matter board member Cicely Gay told theGrio policing does not keep the Black community safe. It took two years for the DOJ to conclude what we already knew that the patterns and practices of the Louisville Police Department were especially aggressive towards Black people, she said. Story continues The overall system of policing is racist, targets and harms Black people, Gay continued. Policing does not keep us safe. Breonna Taylor, seen in an undated photo, was killed by Louisville police inside her apartment during a flawed raid. The killing of the 26-year-old EMT prompted an investigation of the Louisville Metro Police Department, which has now entered into a consent decree with the federal government. (Photo: Provided by Taylor family attorney Sam Aguiar via AP) The DOJ launched an investigation into the LMPDs policies following the death of Breonna Taylor. On March 13, 2020, Louisville police officers shot and killed the 26-year-old emergency room technician during a flawed narcotics raid as she slept in her apartment. While speaking with reporters, Garland recounted the events that unfolded, noting the officers were executing a no-knock warrant when they shot and killed Breonna Taylor in her own home in the middle of the night, however, they found no evidence of any crime. Clarke told reporters that the DOJs investigation found that police officers in Louisville regularly sought search warrants without justification defying federal law and putting ordinary citizens in harms way. They often serve these warrants at night, she said. These tactics are dangerous. Officers can be misidentified as intruders, and they may misinterpret shock and surprise as a threat. All of this puts the public at risk. Gay told theGrio the DOJs findings support the call to defund the police. Theres no being held to account for this kind of misconduct and blatant racial discrimination, aggression and abuse towards Black people. This is why the system just cant be reformed. It must be defunded, she said. According to Garland, in recent months, the Louisville Metro Police Department has implemented changes that include no longer issuing no-knock warrants, deploying behavioral health professionals for certain 911 calls and providing violence prevention services to the community. The DOJ has also recommended 36 additional measures, which include better training for officers and policies that reprimand officers for misconduct. People listen to a speaker at a Black Lives Matter protest in a park in Brooklyn on Sept. 24, 2020. Across the country, protesters took to the streets that day to voice their anger at a Kentucky grand jurys decision to charge only one of the three Louisville Metro Police Department officers involved in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor. Black Lives Matter board member Cicely Gay said most of the recommendations proposed after a federal investigation that followed the killing have been tried and failed. (Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Gay criticized the DOJs proposed recommendations. The solutions that the report proposes have been tried and failed, most of the recommendations, she told theGrio. I want to underline recommendations. Theyre not mandatory and wont reduce police harm and killings of Black people. These are bare minimum efforts, Gay added. They should be expected of anyone who is actually trying to protect people and keep us safe. TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku and Android TV. Also, please download theGrio mobile apps today! The post Assistant AG Kristen Clarke after DOJ probe: Louisville PD can do better appeared first on TheGrio. An Athens teenager will be charged with murder after the victim of a shooting that occurred Sunday in the Five Points area of Athens died at Piedmont Athens Regional Medical Center, Athens-Clarke police announced Friday. Anthony Quinn Brown, 19, of Magnolia Street has remained in jail since the day of the shooting without bond on an aggravated assault charge, but Athens-Clarke police said Friday that charge will be upgraded to murder. The victim, JaVanni McDavid, 24, of Athens was shot in the head shortly after midnight March 5 at a home on the 100 block of Northview Drive, according to police. Police said they were notified Thursday of his death. Dogged pursuit: Interview leads veteran cop to link unsolved triple murder to Dixie Mafia Bethlehem shooting:Athens teen charged with shooting Bethlehem juvenile five times in Winder At the time of the shooting, police had reported that McDavids wounds were life-threatening. The shooting occurred at a house, where police said a party was occurring. Numerous young people ranging in age from 15 to 20 were at the house, according to the report, Police were summoned to the house after a person called to report hearing gunshots with the first caller reporting more than 40 shots, according to the report. When the first officer arrived, he spotted a man walking in a dark area of the neighborhood. The officer reported he saw the person pull an object from a pocket and run into a stand of trees. A gun was later recovered on the ground and the man who fled was later identified as a 20-year-old resident of Westlake Road. Police found McDavid unresponsive on the ground with a head wound, officers said. Police were unable to locate a suspect, but a video from the Northview Drive house showed a scene in which a white car drives off Pinecrest then stops in front of the house. The video shows numerous bright flashes coming from the vehicle before it leaves. Police said a man also exits the house and the video shows him firing a gun down the street. Story continues About nine hours later, the police departments Strategic Response Team and detectives with the Robbery Homicide Unit arrived at a house on Magnolia Street, a neighborhood street that runs from West Broad Street to Baxter Street. Police reported a white 2009 Honda Accord was parked outside the home. Two residents, one identified as the suspect Brown, and the other as an 18-year-old Hartwell woman, were detained at the house. Brown was taken to jail and he was also served with two warrants charging him with violating his probation. The car was towed to the police department and a search was conducted on the house, police said. This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Athens teen faces murder charge after shooting victim dies in hospital COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) Attorneys for Alex Murdaugh on Thursday filed a notice to appeal his convictions for the murder of his wife and son along with his life sentence. The trial in rural South Carolina lasted six weeks and included more than 75 witnesses, but culminated in a jury taking less than three hours to find the 54-year-old Murdaugh guilty last week. Murdaugh called 911 on the evening of June 7, 2021, saying he found his son and wife dead when he returned home from a one-hour visit with his mother, who has dementia. Authorities said Paul Murdaugh, 22, was shot twice with a shotgun, each round loaded with different sized shot, while Maggie Murdaugh, 52, was struck with four or five bullets from a rifle. A crime scene report suggested that both victims were shot in the head after initially being wounded near dog kennels on the Murdaughs sprawling rural property. Prosecutors took more than a year to charge the disgraced lawyer with murder but decided not to pursue the death penalty. Murdaugh, who is also charged with about 100 counts of financial and other crimes, adamantly denied any involvement in the killings. Murdaugh could have received as little as 30 years behind bars, but the judge gave him the maximum: two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole. After the trial, some jurors said that the key piece of evidence in finding the lawyer guilty was a video on his son Paul's cellphone that was shot minutes before the killings at the kennels near where the bodies were found. Murdaughs testimony only cemented what they were already thinking that he easily lied, and could turn on and off his tears at will, jurors said. Attorney Dick Harpootlian filed Murdaugh's appeal to the South Carolina Court of Appeals. SYDNEY (Reuters) - The South Australia state government said Friday that the first nuclear submarines under the AUKUS pact between the United States, Britain and Australia may be built overseas, but that there could be more than the eight in the initial agreement. The Australian federal government has indicated it would construct the nuclear-powered submarines in the South Australia state capital of Adelaide, but state premier Peter Malinauskas said he was unclear about the number of orders. "My hope is we end up producing a lot more than eight nuclear submarines here in South Australia," Malinauskas told ABC Radio. "There is not an example anywhere in the world of any nuclear submarine production line starting and then stopping ... so once you start producing nuclear submarines, you keep producing nuclear submarines." Foreign Minister Penny Wong said she believed AUKUS would be "enormously beneficial" to her home state of South Australia, as the pact was expected to create local jobs. Reuters, citing four U.S. officials, reported on Wednesday Australia was expected to buy up to five U.S. Virginia-class nuclear submarines in the 2030s as part of AUKUS. Adelaide was chosen as the base in 2016 when France won a A$50 billion ($33 billion) deal to build 12 submarines for Australia before Canberra ditched that in favour of AUKUS, causing fury in Paris. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, on an official trip to India, will meet U.S. President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday in San Diego, site of major U.S. Navy operations, to chart a way forward on AUKUS. AUKUS will enable Australia to receive the technology required to deploy nuclear-powered submarines amid China's military buildup in the Indo-Pacific region. China "firmly objects" to AUKUS, its foreign ministry said this month. ($1 = 1.5228 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Gerry Doyle) (Reuters) - Australia's corporate watchdog said the country's six largest banking services providers have paid or offered A$4.7 billion ($3.10 billion) in compensation to customers who suffered losses for fees charged for services that were not provided. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said on Friday it undertook a review of the systems which led to wrongful fees being charged by the country's four biggest banks - Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Westpac Banking, ANZ Group and National Australia Bank - plus investment bank Macquarie Group and wealth manager AMP Ltd. The watchdog's order for customer compensation came at a time when each of the 'Big Four' - which account for the majority of lending in Australia - are being closely scrutinised for abusing their market dominance in the wake of scandals involving misleading financial advice, insurance fraud and interest-rate rigging. The largest business lender in Australia, NAB, took the lead and coughed up A$1.49 billion in compensation as of the end of 2022, followed by CBA and Westpac coughing up a payout of A$1.13 billion and $1.03 billion, respectively. ASIC said its final update on remediation figures "draws a line" under its eight-year long programme of addressing financial institutions' failure to provide ongoing services to fee-paying customers. ($1 = 1.5177 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Riya Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri and Rashmi Aich) Katie Harshman, principal of Minnequa Elementary School, takes the podium at a press conference held by Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Tuesday, March 7, 2023. Two Pueblo-area schools were recognized for math growth and achievement by Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Tuesday, March 7. Avondale Elementary School and Minnequa Elementary School were among the 12 Colorado schools to receive the Governor's Math Bright Spot Award a $50,000 prize that considers a school's math growth since 2019. Awards are from the Governor's Emergency Education Relief federal fund and may be used for enrichment programs, faculty development, student resources and tutoring services. Pueblo County High School:Creepy and kooky 'Addams Family' musical coming to Pueblo County High School Carlos Perez is in his second year as principal of Avondale Elementary. Despite facing pandemic challenges, he said the school has demonstrated significant growth in its Colorado Measure of Academic Success (CMAS) math scores. In 2018, math scores at Avondale Elementary had a median growth percentile of 38. The following year, Avondale students improved their scores to a MGP of 43. In 2022, the school recorded a MGP of 84. The growth would not have happened without a committed teaching staff, Perez said. "Every year is a challenge, obviously, but certainly with COVID-19, online learning, the learning loss ... for them to achieve this, it's really just a testament to their work." Avondale's strengths go beyond math. In 2022, the school received a "performance" rating of 79.2% from the Colorado Department of Education the highest School Performance Framework score of any elementary school in Pueblo County School District 70. Minnequa Elementary also has shown significant growth in its math scores since 2019. The school had a MGP of 35 in 2018, but improved to a MGP of 73.5 in 2022. Katie Harshman, principal at Minnequa Elementary, started with the school 12 years ago as a teacher. Six of those 12 years, the now performance-rated school was in turnaround status. "It feels really good now where we're at, but we don't forget our beginnings ... it was just chipping away, getting better each day and making improvements, giving real time feedback, loving teachers, because they are our biggest asset." Story continues Polis announced the Math Bright Spot Award winners at a press conference Tuesday in tandem with the announcement of "Colorado Kids + Math = Success," bipartisan legislation that intends to improve post-pandemic math achievement across the state. The legislation includes a $25 million investment in afterschool STEM programs and professional development for more than 36,000 math educators throughout the state. Harshman was among the Colorado educators and lawmakers to take the podium at Polis' press conference. Students at Minnequa Elementary tuned into a live stream of the press conference to see their principal. "It was only five years ago that Minnequa faced closure and today we are proud to be a part of this round of Math Bright Spot award winners," Harshman said. "This turnaround was a community effort and it took district leadership, consultant support, educators, scholars and family members working together to make it happen." Pueblo Chieftain reporter James Bartolo can be reached by email at JBartolo@gannett.com. Pueblo East High School:Pueblo East students battle it out for culinary supremacy in annual 'Food Truck Wars' This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo elementary schools recognized by Gov. Polis for math success For 2023, the N.C. Azalea Festival is keeping it local. On Friday, the festival announced Carli Batson, a Wilmington native, Wilmington resident and former Miss North Carolina, as its 76th Queen Azalea. Batson, a former Miss Wilmington who won Miss North Carolina as Miss Cleveland, a town in Johnston County, represented North Carolina in the 100th Miss America pageant in 2021. More: Carli BatsonWilmington native Carli Batson wins Miss North Carolina, to compete in Miss America pageant Carli Batson of Wilmington won the Miss North Carolina pageant on June 27. She'll go on to compete in the Miss America pageant in December. Batson is a dancer who grew up performing in Wilmington's theater community. A graduate of Appalachian State with a major in Communications and a minor in Theater Arts, her parents are Keith and Lisa Batson of Wilmington. "Wilmington will always hold such a big place in my heart," Batson told the StarNews in 2021. "The love from the Wilmington community is unlike any other." Also Friday, the Azalea Festival made other announcements, including the 2023 Azalea Festival Princess, Avery Braithwaite. Miss North Carolina Carli Batson waves to the crowd as thousands of people came out to take part and watch the 75th Azalea Festival Parade in Wilmington, N.C. Saturday April 9, 2022. [KEN BLEVINS/STARNEWS] The festival's "invited guests," sometimes called festival celebrities, are Miss North Carolina Karolyn Martin; longtime Wilmington broadcaster Frances Weller and her twin sister, philanthropist Margaret Weller Stargell; U.S. Army Korean War veteran Harold Davis; United States Navy Admiral Daryl Caudle; Wilmington native and World Series champion (with the Boston Red Sox) Trot Nixon; and the festival artist, Ana Brown. This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: N.C. Azalea Festival announces 76th queen, Wilmington's Carli Batson Editor's note: It has been six years since Robert Kelly's children burst into the room, and our hearts, while he was doing a live BBC interview on March 10, 2017. A year later, in 2018, he looked back on the experience. The professor known as "BBC Dad" would like to set a few things straight. No, it wasn't staged. And yes, he was wearing pants. Robert Kelly, who inadvertently became a viral star in 2017 when his two children barged into a live interview he was giving, reflected on his family's internet fame in an essay published by an Australian think tank. "People often ask me and my wife what it has been like to suddenly become virally famous,'' he wrote. "It has mostly been fun, and sometimes weird." The "BBC Dad" moniker, he concedes, is something "I will likely carry with me for the rest of my life." Robert Kelly (Ha Kyung-min / AP) In March of 2017, Kelly, an associate professor of political science at Pusan National University in South Korea, was speaking live from his home office about the ouster of South Korean president Park Geun-hye when all hell broke loose behind him. His daughter, Marion, who was 4 at the time, burst into his office with a "hippity-hoppity" strut that has since become internet shorthand for confidently entering a room. Walking into work on a Friday like... pic.twitter.com/QPVKjiBT57 Justin Abraham (@jjabraham) March 10, 2017 Baby brother James rolled in behind her before Kelly's wife, Kim Jung-A, scrambled to corral the toddlers and hustle them out of the room. Somehow, Kelly kept his composure through the whole scene. Later, at a press conference to address the viral moment, Marion stole the show with her pink glasses and stylish outfit. If she isn't President of Earth by the time I'm 80, I'll be bitterly disappointed. pic.twitter.com/f5qEfaaPT7 David Llewellyn (@TheDaiLlew) March 15, 2017 In his essay for the Lowy Institute, Kelly sought to put to bed bizarre conspiracy theories, including one that the moment was staged to gain notoriety for his family. Story continues "Our children were 9 months and 4 years old, respectively, at the time,'' he wrote. "I cannot imagine trying to coordinate anything this complicated with children of that age. Sorry, it was just a legitimate family blooper." He also addressed the rumor that he didn't stand up to shoo his children away because he wasn't wearing pants. He indeed had pants on, he said; he was just hoping BBC correspondent James Menendez might cut the interview short. "I did not stand up because, as they say, the show must go on,'' Kelly wrote. "Had I stood up and broken out of frame, any semblance of professionalism would have been lost." This has been re-tweeted 1200 times, so I guess I should say this was only bc I am traveling and had to use a laptop. Once Im home, it will be the same set-up as always. https://t.co/6bjc1wFT5O Robert E Kelly (@Robert_E_Kelly) March 11, 2018 Kelly also wrote about his family's loss of anonymity as they became minor celebrities in South Korea. He has caught people taking pictures of him buying milk at Costco. "Apparently BBC Dad's calcium consumption is a hot issue,'' he wrote. The biggest reaction has come from fellow parents, who could relate to Kelly's attempt to balance his work and home life. "Many of the comments we received were from parents who had had similar experiences, such as locking themselves in the bathroom so their kids could not interrupt a radio interview,'' he wrote. He noted that the family has made a few bucks off the video, but nothing substantial. The biggest plus has been the increased number of invitations to speak at events. "I was also invited to the Philippines and China, where I was introduced on one panel as 'BBC Dad ... and, oh yeah, an expert on Korea,'" he said. Follow TODAY.com writer Scott Stump on Twitter. This article was originally published on TODAY.com As tensions mount between Kyiv and Minsk amid Russia's war, Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko claims that the CIA and the SBU were behind the Machulishchy airfield explosion. Ukraine rejects involvement. Two high-profile trials come to a close, resulting in lengthy prison sentences for Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Ales Bialiatski, and their respective co-defendants. Belarusian authorities dub the Belarusian Association of Journalists a so-called "extremist organization" in yet another attempt to silence the country's civil society. Belarus sentences Tsikhanouskaya to 15 years in prison Belarusian authorities sentenced opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya in absentia to 15 years in prison on March 6. She is accused of several crimes, including endangering Belarus' national security, plotting a coup detat, and inciting civil unrest. The co-defendants in her trial Tsikhanouskaya's colleagues also received prison sentences. Belarusian authorities sentenced Pavel Latushka to 18 years in prison. Volha Kavalkova, Maria Maroz, and Siarhei Dyleuski were each given 12 years of jail time. The trial was conducted in absentia, as neither Tsikhanouskaya nor her co-defendants are in Belarus. "I don't think about my own sentence," Tsikhanouskaya said on Twitter in response to her verdict. "I think about thousands of innocent, detained & sentenced to real prison terms. I won't stop until each of them is released." Tsikhanouskaya ran against Lukashenko in the 2020 presidential elections after her husband, blogger Siarhei Tsikhanouski, was arrested and jailed. Her campaign platform included the release of political prisoners and strengthening democratic institutions in Belarus. In August 2020, Tsikhanouskaya was forced out of the country after the fraudulent Belarusian presidential election, which saw Lukashenko retain power. Since then, she has advocated for a free and democratic Belarus. Story continues Belarus sentences Nobel Peace Prize laureate to 10 years in prison Belarusian authorities sentenced Ales Bialiatski, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and the founder of human rights watchdog Viasna, and three of his colleagues to prison on politically motivated charges. A Belarusian court sentenced Bialiatski to 10 years in prison. His colleagues, Valiantsin Stefanovic, Zmitser Salauyou (tried in absentia), and Uladzimir Labkovich, were sentenced to 10, eight, and seven years in jail, respectively. The four co-defendants were convicted of smuggling and financing "actions grossly violating public order," according to Viasna. The EU's diplomatic service condemned the defendants' sham trials, calling them "yet another appalling example of the Lukashenko regime trying to silence those who stand up in defense of human rights and fundamental freedoms of the people in Belarus." "We must do everything to fight against this shameful injustice & free them," Tsikhanouskaya said on Twitter. The trial against Bialiatski and his three colleagues began on Jan. 5. During his final statement on Feb. 13, Bialiatski said his trial was "unfair" and reiterated his innocence. Belarus "needs a wide civil dialogue directed at national reconciliation," Bialiatski said, denouncing the crackdown on Belarusian civil society by Lukashenko's regime and calling on authorities to declare amnesty for political prisoners. Bialiatski was awarded the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize in October alongside the Russian human rights organization Memorial and the Ukrainian human rights organization Center for Civil Liberties. Belarus' KGB dubs Belarusian Association of Journalists' extremist' Belarus' KGB added the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), an NGO promoting freedom of expression and independent journalism in Belarus, to its list of so-called "extremist organizations." The BAJ was established in 1995, supporting freedom of expression and independent journalism in Belarus. In 2022, the BAJ was awarded the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize. Belarusian Nobel laureates Sviatlana Alexievich and Ales Bialiatski are members of the organization. Lukashenko's regime banned the organization in August 2022 in yet another attempt to stifle the country's civil society. The BAJ responded to Belarusian authorities' decision to label it an "extremist organization," saying the decision was "aimed at intimidation and repression to stop the work of independent media, which is crucial for society." BRUSSELS (AP) Belgium is banning TikTok from government phones over worries about cybersecurity, privacy and misinformation, the country's prime minister said Friday, mirroring recent action by other authorities in Europe and the U.S. The Chinese-owned video sharing app will be temporarily prohibited from devices owned or paid for by the Belgium's federal government for at least six months, according to a post on Alexander de Croo's website. TikTok said it is disappointed at this suspension, which is based on basic misinformation about our company. The company said it's "readily available to meet with officials to address any concerns and set the record straight on misconceptions. TikTok is owned by Chinas ByteDance, which moved its headquarters to Singapore in 2020. The company sought to distance itself from its Chinese roots, saying its parent company is incorporated outside of China and it's majority owned by global institutional investors. But the European Union's three main institutions and Denmark's defense ministry have already ordered employees to remove the app from devices used for official business. Similar bans have been imposed in Canada and the U.S. The tussle over TikTok is part of a wider global rivalry between China and the U.S. and its Western allies over technological and economic supremacy. De Croo said Belgium's ban was based on warnings from the state security service and its cybersecurity center, which said the app could harvest user data and tweak algorithms to manipulate its news feed and content. They also warned that TikTok could be compelled to carry out spying for Beijing, he said, without being more specific. We are in a new geopolitical context where influence and surveillance between states have shifted to the digital world," de Croo said in an online statement. We must not be naive: TikTok is a Chinese company which today is obliged to cooperate with the intelligence services. This is the reality. Prohibiting its use on federal service devices is common sense. TikTok said user data is stored in the U.S. and Singapore and pointed to new measures to ease European concerns by storing user data in European data centers. The Chinese government cannot compel another sovereign nation to provide data stored in that nations territory, the company said in a statement. Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the decision of the Belgian parliament historic The Belgiums Workers Party abstained from the vote. Belgiums parliamentarians honored the memory of Holodomor victims and condemned the manipulation of historical memory by the Russian regime, whose goal is to ensure its own survival. Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy thanked Belgium on their important decision, calling it a deeply symbolic step today. Belgiums recognition of the Holodomor as a genocide of the Ukrainian people is crucial in restoring historical justice, especially now during Russias genocidal war against Ukraine, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter on March 10. On Dec. 15, 2022, the European Parliament recognized Soviet starvation of Ukrainians in 1932-1933 as genocide. Read also: Ukrainian parliament declares Russia's actions in Ukraine as genocide of the Ukrainian people 2022 marked 90 years since the Soviet authorities imposed an artificial famine in Ukraine through the brutal confiscation of grain and other foods, starving millions of Ukrainian to death. 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 Joe Mixon The sister of Cincinnati Bengals star Joe Mixon has been named as a suspect in the shooting that took place at his home. Shalonda Mixon, 34, was present at the running backs Ohio property when the shooting occurred. According to TMZ Sports, Hamilton County Sheriffs Office stated that several juveniles were playing a game called dart wars with toy Nerf-style guns. Documents state around 8:25 pm, police responded to a call at the residence about a juvenile being shot. Two of the teens playing that game told authorities that one of the other players ran along the side of the house. Shortly after, he came under fire. The outlet states the unknown shooters aimed at the 16-year-old from Joes backyard. Documents revealed a total of 11 rounds were fired. They also said a bullet struck the teenager in the foot as he attempted to run away. The teen was taken to the hospital as police began to survey the area. The Daily Mail reported they left the 26-year-olds home at 3:20 am without making any arrests. Upon further investigations, authorities documented that a black Honda Accord was spotted leaving the property shortly after the shooting. Shalonda and a man named were said to be in the vehicle. The post Bengals RB Joe Mixons Sister, Shalonda, Named As Suspect In Shooting At His Home That Left A Teen Hospitalized appeared first on Blavity. The HCSO told The Daily Mail that no arrests and charges had been filed as of Thursday. We understand that there is very specific interest in this story due to the nature of the home being connected to Bengals player Joe Mixon, they said. The spokesperson continued, We cannot confirm additional details outside of what is outlined in the Incident Report. Our investigative team continues to review the evidence and conduct interviews. The Bengals player has not released a statement regarding the incident at his home. The running back has had his own issues with the law as of recent. Story continues One day after the Bengals loss in the Super Bowl, a warrant was issued for his arrest claiming he pointed a gun at a woman in downtown Cincinnati. The Daily Mail states he allegedly told the woman that she should be popped in the face, and added I should shoot you now. The police cant get me. The outlet reports that the charge against Mixon has since been dismissed at the request of the Hamilton County Prosecutors Office. Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast/Smartypants Pictures When some people hear the word documentary, a wall goes up and their eyes glaze over. Documentaries often get a bad rap for being boring or preachy, the kinds of films that you would watch in your AP History class that are so stale, youd rather just be doing actual work. Its no coincidence that the documentaries and docuseries turned out in quick succession by major streaming forces like Netflix are designed to be loud, outrageous, and over the top. This kind of programming is relatively inexpensive to make, but in order to reel in audiences, youve got to hook them with something flashy. Its unlikely that youll find anything like The Tinder Swindler or The Price of Glee on the Oscar Nominee shortlist. Instead, the Academy tends to keep things a little more classic when it comes to its choice of documentaries to highlight. But that doesnt necessarily mean that these films will shake that archaic notion to equate documentaries with an afternoon siesta. It just means that these films acknowledged by the most vaunted cinematic voting body should have something enduring to say. Here Are All the 2023 Oscar Nominations Major significance can come in small packages too. While feature-length Oscar-nominated documentaries can feel heady or inaccessible (sometimes literallyanyone waiting to see All the Beauty and the Bloodshed still has to wait a couple more weeks to stream it on HBO Max), their abbreviated counterparts provide a worlds worth of information in less than an hour. Indeed, the five documentary shorts up for the Oscar this year are all working in top form to pack as much substance as possible into a tight runtime. While animated and live-action shorts are great ways to find hidden talents in small-scale cinema, documentary shorts let us glimpse into less well-trodden parts of the world and humanity. Each of these shorts will teach you something about yourself or, perhaps, our society as a whole. Maybe even both! Because thats what great documentaries do: They challenge us to examine our minute impact in the scope of a much bigger and ever-changing world. And 2023s Oscar-nominated documentary shorts just happen to do that in a convenient, bite-sized fashion. Story continues The Elephant Whispers Coming out of India and streaming on Netflix, The Elephant Whispers is a stunning tale of the way love can transcend human boundaries. In the Theppakadu Elephant Campone of Asias oldest elephant sanctuariesanimal caretakers Bomman and Bellie fall in love, while raising injured orphan elephants. Their passion for these majestic creatures brings them closer together, as they begin to care for a young elephant, Raghu, like he were their own child. The Elephant Whispers is a story of both loss and hope regained. Bellie has experienced significant grief in her life, losing both her husband and her daughter. When she cried, Raghu wiped her tears with his trunk. And thats just skimming the surface of what these intelligent creatures are capable of. The elephants in Bellie and Bommans care learn to love as humans do, empowering the same affection in their reliable caretakers. Its a truly beautiful tale, only as long as an episode of your favorite sitcom. Just make sure to turn off that obnoxious English dubbing that Netflix will play over the film as a default. The Elephant Whispers is streaming on Netflix. Stranger at the Gate An American entry into the race, Stranger at the Gate tells the story of PTSD-stricken veteran Richard McKinney, whose deeply ingrained, violent hatred of Muslim Americans is transformed by an act of love. During McKinneys time in the military, he was taught to view the people he killed as anything but human. After 9/11, McKinneys hostility toward the Muslim community in his home state of Indiana worsened under the inextricable rhetoric of his military training. McKinneys loathing took him to the brink of a breakdown, resulting in him planning to bomb an Indiana Islamic Center. However, things take a turn in McKinneys life when he goes to scope out his enemy for himself. McKinney is welcomed into the Islamic Center, embraced by the community. After 25 years of boiling hate, his entire life changed with just eight weeks of care from people he simply had failed to understand. But while Stranger at the Gate is a harrowing depiction of state-sponsored, militaristic brainwash, it poses a troubling and confounding thesis. The film places the responsibility of kindness toward strangers upon Islamic community members, not the white person who went in looking to assassinate them. Stranger at the Gate centers the evil it rebukes, making for a shockingly misguided short that should be kept far away from Oscar history. Stranger at the Gate is available on YouTube. How Do You Measure a Year? The last of this years Oscar-nominated docs to hit streaming, this DIY-esque film finds filmmaker Jay Rosenblatt sitting down with his daughter on her birthday, every year for 17 years, to ask her the same series of questions. Its sort of like the more humble version of Billie Eilishs annual Vanity Fair interview. As the years tick by, we see Rosenblatts daughter, Ella, grow up from a toddler to a teenager. And in turn, we get the opportunity to watch Ella transform from a product of her surroundings to a young woman with her own thoughts, ideas, and deep emotions. Even for anyone threatened by an existential crisis when pondering the passage of time (like yours truly), How Do You Measure a Year? is a fascinating look at just how quickly life really does fly. Its also a reminder of the importance of loving unconditionally in every single, valuable second. How Do You Measure a Year? is streaming on HBO Max. Haulout Haulout, which is also streaming on YouTube, is a documentary short out of the U.K.. It follows scientist Maxim Arbugaevs study of the worlds largest walrus haulout. For the uninitiated, haulout is a term used for when walruses migrate onto land between foraging. Due to warming oceans that have resulted in melting ice caps, walruses have fewer slabs of ice to rest on. Instead, they must all huddle on one small patch of land, causing the limited amount of space to become increasingly crowded. Haulout is a real bummer, but its an important one to watch nonetheless. As the walruses crowd, theres a bigger risk for trampling and stampeding, meaning that walrus deaths are occurring at higher rates than ever before. Haulout takes a more subtle approach to driving its message homethrough remarkable overhead shots and stunning wide-angle lenses which capture the severity of this one sliver of a larger climate crisis. Eventually, the low, droning hum of 95,000 walruses starts to sound more like a deafening cry for change before its too late. Haulout is available on YouTube. The Martha Mitchell Effect The Martha Mitchell Effect is the most accessible entry in this years Oscar-nominated short doc lineupboth literally and narratively. You can stream it over on Netflix, and youll be hooked into it faster than you could say, Nixon ruined my marriage. The film explores how Martha Mitchell, the wife of President Richard Nixons attorney general and campaign manager, became publicly known as a political firecracker. Mitchell would often call the president, drunk after a party, and explain just how shed like things done. In 1970s America, when women were still expected to defer to their husbands and be content with homemaking, Mitchell redefined public perceptions. Thats also when she became a problem for Nixon. After the Watergate scandal, Mitchell was reportedly held prisoner by the Nixon administration for threatening to leak damning information to the press. The story transforms into a fascinating tale of how doing the right thing caused an irreparable schism in Mitchells marriage, while making her the face of scandal. Mitchell got the ball rolling on Nixons resignation, and that balls unstoppable force almost crushed her entirely. The Martha Mitchell Effect is a captivating exploration of the steps that men in power will take to silence womenand the courage it takes to defy them at every turn. The Martha Mitchell Effect is streaming on Netflix. 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. An image of a dog with swirling lines in an oil painterly style. Sometimes, I prefer my dog to look a little bit more like a Pieter Bruegel artwork, and thanks to AI, that possibility is at my fingertips. You now cant go anywhere without finding some company shouting from the rooftops about generative AI. While the folks at Snapchat and Discord are busy slapping OpenAIs ChatGPT into their systems, companies like Shutterstock and Adobe think more people would be interested in using a AI image generator when grabbing a stock image. Dont mind Getty Images though, they have some pretty negative thoughts about AI. Maybe youre trying to see what the fuss is about, or perhaps you just want to create something new or cool, but AI image generators remains an interesting bit of tech, especially when used for fun and not profit. Leaving the question of whether AI-generated pictures are legitimate art by the wayside, the best system-produced images are more than just ways to create strange nightmare depictions of celebrities portrayed in various art styles. At the same time, its not enough for the digital artiste to vaguely offer an impressionistic, oddly shaped interpretation of users original pictures or prompts. Read more Theres a middle ground amid all this crush between technology and art that even the most untrained in the arts of brush on canvas can comprehend. What can inspire us? What can intrigue us? That is what AI image generators have the capacity to do. So we turn to the free AI art generators, or at least the ones that offer free trial options. Theres systems like Jasper, which released its AI art generator Jan. 17. But while its program seems interesting, theres no way to get a free trial without inputting credit card details where it will automatically charge you after five days. Sorry, but thats not free. For the purpose of these rankings, I wanted to ignore the hubbub around total terabytes of training images, but the total time it takes to create each image, their standard free resolution, and usability are all taken into account. To best rank each program, I gave them all the same, rather esoteric, text prompts based on some books Ive recently read. Those books include: Story continues Under the Pendulum Sun by Jeanette Ng Prompt: A man and woman stand under a pendulum sun in the heart of Arcadia. The Dispossessed by Ursula K. LeGuin Prompt: A lone mathematician stands on a dusty planet owning nothing. A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine Prompt: A foreign woman struggles alone against the machinations of a cosmic empire. There are several image generators which require photos instead of text prompts. As much as I would like to keep it consistent, I want to be inclusive of different systems rather than exclude them. For the image generating platforms that dont allow for text prompts, I used the same image for each one: Say hello to the young greyhound named Skip. Some systems, like ArtBreeders collager model, ask users to be a little more creative when generating images by formatting shapes and images into new art. In my own tests I found it did not create art with any meaningful quality, so I did not include that feature in the list. Artbreeders Splicer model kept deforming the image to the point it was unusable, and I quickly used up its three upload slots for the free version. Sorry, but no dice, Artbreeder. Also, other systems like MyHeritages AI Time Machine sure is neat, but for one, it doesnt like it when you put in dog pics. More importantly, it requires you invest put in a credit card to sign up for a free trial. That doesnt meet my definition of free. Im no art critic by any imagination, but at least I can tell whether AI generated art actually attempted to depict a prompt in a way thats not derivative or that relies upon copying and replicating art found on the internet. To be honest, Im pleasantly surprised by some of the results from a few of the more popular free art generators. Lets take a look, shall we? Want to know more about AI, chatbots, and the future of machine learning? Check out our full coverage of artificial intelligence, or browse our guides on How to Use ChatGPT and Everything We Know About the OpenAI chatbot. 18. ModelScope A screenshot of free AI text-to-video generator ModelScope The first text-to-video AI generator to catch the internets attention, ModelScope, was released in March 2023. The AI video generator is rudimentary, producing only 2-second clips that feature odd distortions much like early AI image generators. Many of its videos also bear the Shutterstock logo, hinting at where it gathers its training data from. From Gizmodos test drive of ModelScope: The AI text to video system called ModelScope was released March 18th and already caused some buzz for its occasionally awkward and often insane 2-second video clips. The DAMO Vision Intelligence Lab, a research division of e-commerce giant Alibaba, created the system as a kind of public test case. The system uses a pretty basic diffusion model to create its videos, according to the companys page describing its AI model. SLIDE #217. Runway Gen-2 A screenshot from the AI text-to-video generator Runway Gen-2 Runway teased its Gen-2 AI video generator in late March, offering several 3-second clipsan eye, a mountain, an apartment. The text-to-video AI is not publicly available as of April 1, but it offers tantalizing possibilities. The Gen-1 version, a video-to-video model, can create and transform existing videos based on text prompts or reference images. From Gizmodos comparison of Runway Gen-2 to ModelScope: Gen-1 could transform a simple render of a stick figure swimming into a scuba diver, or turn a man walking on the street into a claymation nightmare with a generated overlay. Gen-2 is supposed to be the next big step up, allowing users to create 3-second videos from scratch based on simple text prompts. Since February, the relatively small 45-person team at Runway has been known for its online video editing tools, including its video-to-video Gen-1 AI model that could create and transform existing videos based on text prompts or reference images. Gen-1 could transform a simple render of a stick figure swimming into a scuba diver, or turn a man walking on the street into a claymation nightmare with a generated overlay. Gen-2 is supposed to be the next big step up, allowing users to create 3-second videos from scratch based on simple text prompts. While the company has not let anybody get their hands on it yet, the company shared a few clips based on prompts like a close up of an eye and an aerial shot of a mountain landscape. 16. Fotor Image: Kyle Barr/Fotor Oh boy, turn your image into NFT art, how grand a design. Well, beyond attempts to monetize the poor greyhound, lets see what Fotor can do to make Skip a little more painterly. Using the programs GoArt creator, theres honestly nothing here that I havent already seen from a Photoshop filter. Though the program is relatively easy to use, I dont see any real fun to be had making an image a little more sketch-like. The program does have a neat little photo editor, but if you want an image without a watermark youll have to pay, but really you shouldnt expect anything less. There are better, free programs available online if thats all youre looking for. 15. Pixray Image: Kyle Barr/Pixray Using Replicates standard vqgan engine on Pixrays free site, I created two very confused images and one that could be construed as a modern art interpretation of what a desert looks like. Its an older system and is still using features from generative adversarial network algorithms. That would be just one factor, but the images take a fair bit of time to process and even then their resolution is incredibly tiny. 14. Deep AI Image: DeepAI DeepAIs rather simple and rudimentary AI generator doesnt have a lot of bells and whistles, and despite all that it doesnt have much else going for it anyway. The text to image API system simply doesnt have the bells and whistles more updated systems have. The images are more collages of images found on the internet than any real attempt at creating something new. 13. Hotpot AI Image: Kyle Barr/Hotpot AI Hotpot.ais art generator is a pretty rudimentary program, but in the time since I first tried the program, it has gotten much more capable. The company is also advertising different features, like tools to remove objects and backgrounds from photos, though those do indeed cost money. The whole free aspect is where Hotpot hurts the most. Creating small, thumbnail-sized images is free, but doing anything more, including resizing or allowing commercial use costs a subscription. Im surprised by the quality of the images generated, especially how each image definitely has a lot of classic Sci-Fi and fantasy feel to them, but the limitations on the free versions hurt it the most. 12. Runway.ML Image: Kyle Barr/Runway.ML Runway ML was one of the two startups that helped give us Stable Diffusion, and its free text-to-image service has the same quality as the earlier open source versions of the software. As Runway continues to get millions in investment funding, according to Forbes, the company has moved on to AI-based video editing tools, image expansion services, along with the rest of its suite of customizable AI tools, most of which require payment to get the most out of. But as for this free service, users get just 25 images to start before being asked to upgrade, which isnt so great compared to some others. The actual quality of images when using these non-specific prompts leaves quite a lot to be desired. Also, like Stable Diffusion Runway has a fascination with fake text meant to resemble a book cover. 11. Dream Studio Image: Dream Studio/Stability AI The Dream Studio beta AI art generator is free, and it has a lot of bells and whistles other AI art generators dont have, like the ability to scale the width and height of the image while telling it how close you want the image to be to your prompt. Its developed by Stability AI, which recently released a much more popular AI art generator (click through to find out more of Stable Diffusion). The system is also surprisingly fast, just by the examples above you can see the AI isnt afraid to mix and match art styles on a whim. Unfortunately, using my prompts resulted in some interesting renditions, but a few weird and strangely derivative images as well. Several times when I used the A Memory Called Empire prompt I received images with broken text in no human language, almost like an alien book cover. Its a sign that the system really wants me to give it more information, to tell it to rip off one particular artist or another. It does so much better when you give it the name of an artist to copy off of, but its similar to our next AI art generator in that regard. 10. Stable Diffusion Image: Stable Diffusion (Stability AI) A lots been said about Stability AIs free art generator while it was in closed beta, but on Aug. 22 the free image generator finally got a full release and since then its been one of the more talked about image creators. Stable Diffusion is open source, free, and unfiltered compared to the likes of Dall-E or Googles (still publicly unavailable) Imagen. Its basic page on Hugging Face is pretty rudimentary, but you can make it much easier to use with some simple freeware tools, though youll have to install Python to get it working. Stable Diffusion relies on a model based on the LAION-5B data set that filters out watermarked images and logos, according to its own page. Based on a report from tech blogger Andy Baio, many of the images are mostly sourced from Pinterest and other photo and art blogs. My attempts at asking it to create its own art without telling it to ape copy one particular artist were largely unsuccessful. It kept offering me black and white images without any kind of style or substance. Without asking it to copy a specific artist, it only offers pretty disappointing works compared to what other users have managed to get. It seems the system is much better at coming up with art when you specifically ask it to do it in the style of a particular artist. This, of course, introduces a host of ethical problems especially for the living artists people may be emulating, as shown by fantasy artist Greg Rutkowski who was interviewed by MIT Technology Review and said he was worried the number of fake AI art bearing his name would eclipse his own visibility. 9. VQGAN+CLIP Image: VQGAN You got to love freeware, and this Python-based Google Colab notebook is relatively easy to use, so really, you have to give major props for a system thats both relatively simple and open and available to all users. All you have to do is go to the link, scroll down and input your prompt in the text box, then either hit Ctrl+F9 or Runtime - Run All. But of course were ranking systems artistic ability. The system progressively iterates on the design, so you can see where the AI is trying to go with each image. My prompts offered some really interesting results but a few head scratchers as well. 8: StarryAI Image: StarryAI I appreciate StarryAIs clean interface and simple systems, though of course this is another one that gives users a few free credits to start before eventually asking you to cough up for more. Again, theres nothing wrong with getting users to pay for creating a whole lot of art, but it does have to be worth it. This art generator also lets users upload an initial image to give the AI a leg up, but theres no hand holding allowed here for these rankings. The art itself is a mixed bag. I like what It came up with for The Dispossessed but cant really tell what it had in mind for A Memory Called Empire. 7. Dall-E Mini (Craiyon) Image: Craiyon The system once known as Dall-E Mini, now Craiyon, creates a host of different images it hopes fits the bill, so I chose the closest out of all of them to the spirit of the prompt. The images themselves are pretty low resolution, which does detract from the fact its giving you so many options to choose from based on a single sentence. Even when choosing among nine different tiles, the art left a lot to be desired. Compared to other AI art, craiyon really does feel like its grabbing images from all over the internet and turning them into a hodgepodge of an approximation of what it thinks is the prompt. 6. Deep Dream Generator Image: Deep Dream Generator Googles Deep Dream Generator claims it can transform images into stylized works of art. The main feed of images on the site does make it seem very evocative, but of course its not exactly easy to make an image of young Skip appear as more than just a dog with a Photoshop filter on. I put young Skip in the style of Pieter Bruegel, the famed Dutch artist behind works like The Blind Leading the Blind. It came out okay. I tried it with a mandala pattern and it was interesting, I guess. I then added a Salvador Dali painting to the style, andwellit came out kind of boring. Its definitely a fun tool, but it feels like Im playing with a sophisticated color-in-the-lines book rather than generating any real art. 5: Nightcafe Image: Nightcafe The Nightcafe system will only let you do a few images before asking you to pay up, but like some other AI image generators it gives users a whole selection of different styles to choose from. It wants users to buy credits in order to make more arts or bump up the quality and resolution of each image, and you will run out fairly quickly. The art itself is all over the place. I appreciate what it tried to do with The Dispossessed but it wouldnt even create a human-looking being in either of the other two prompts. The image resolution is also not great, and the art is very strange even in the default oil painting setting. Sure, its nice to be able to try out the system to see if you like it first, but even for just $10 a month, I cant say you wont find better options out there. 4: DALL-E 2 Image: DALL-E 2 DALL-E 2 may have been the most hotly anticipated AI image generator since it was initially put into its beta release back in April. However, as shown by these examples theres been multiple releases to cash in on the AI-art craze. OpenAI, the makers of DALL-E, finally released their system to the wider public Sept. 28. Like many other systems, it offers users a slate of 50 free prompts, plus a few more each month. Users can also pay for more image generation credits. My experiences with DALL-E have been interesting, to say the least. I find the system does not compute specific artists too well, and even when you give it pretty detailed instructions it defaults to an impressionistic art style. Of course, thats not what this ranking is looking to do. For this, Im more interested in what each AI system is capable on its own without giving it an image to specifically replicate. DALL-Es systems obviously draw from a whole host of real photos and art, but it still largely fails to replicate faces. However, the generator did seem fond of the prompt for A Memory Called Empire and it offered several inspiring images that capture the essence of the book. 3. Stable Diffusion 2 Image: Stable Diffusion The sequel to the first Stable Diffusion, developed by Stability AI, may struggle to call itself a full iteration compared to its original incarnation, but the new system released in late November is certainly an upgrade in many ways from its predecessor. In its announcement blog, Stability AI noted it had introduced a new text encoder which was developed by LAION, the open source project which also provided the massive image set that Stable Diffusion draws from. Stable Diffusion 2 also displays images at a much better resolution and is also better at upscaling them, according to Stability AI. They also mention it features a greater ability to facilitate depth of field, though in my own tests with my prompts that didnt really come up. When using the system to generate my open-ended prompts, I was surprised at the crispness of some of the generated images. I want the AI to generate images without mention of any particular artist, style, or format. Without prompting it to base a face on any one person, the system still struggles to generate a realistic head. Still, I was surprised what it came up with for my Under the Pendulum Sun prompt. Strangely, every single time I fed Stable Diffusion 2 my A Memory Called Empire prompt, it came up with a comic-inspired display. I picked the best one, but it is especially concerning that the system wants to keep replicating text. Its more evidence of how much the system has likely borrowed from scans of actual comics and comic artists. 2: Wombo Dream Image: Wombo Dream The Wombo Dream system allows you to create art in multiple different styles such as old retro art, Salvador Dahli, orsimplyGhibli. I chose a different style for each based on the style of each book. It also allows you to include a reference image that Dream can use, but Ive restricted the system to its own imagination. You can also turn the images into NFTs, but thanks, no. I have to hand it to Wombo, some of this art is truly evocative. Im especially taken by the Throwback filter, as it definitely gave it the 1970s art style look you might see on an old album cover. Though as you can tell, its very loose with its interpretations. The weirdly erotic sense I get from its interpretation of A Memory Called Empire is strange since that wasnt the prompt. I was very surprised by its interpretation of Under the Pendulum Sun, so it gets rather high marks. 1: Midjourney AI Image: Midjourney The crown of the AI art generation scene falls on none other than Midjourney. Its gotten quite a lot of hype since its open beta first burst up from the weeds of Discords servers, but its honestly one of the best AI art generators available. Though Ive seen some rather strange depictions of ships and other objects, the crispness of the generated images could convince somebody they were done with human hands. I will say that Midjourney does have a little sense of repetition, as Ive seen similar poses among the stoic, female design among other user-prompted images. However, that doesnt take away from how evocative the art is, especially based on such strange, convoluted prompts. I mean just look at it! Several of the images based on The Dispossessed prompt could be the actual cover to the book. Several of those in the last panel are easily how I might imagine Mahit Dzmare from A Memory Called Empire would look like. The program remains beholden to Discord, and the bot offers the first few generated images as a trial, then asks users to pay $10 for a monthly basic membership with 200 images. Update, April 2023: Midjourney has grown so popular that its creator has stopped offering free trials, citing inability to meet demand. CEO Dave Holz told The Verge the discontinuation of the free version happened because of massive amounts of people making throwaway accounts to get free images. Though Midjourneys website still lists free trials as an option, attempting to use the /imagine prompt to generate an image in the Midjourney Discord will return the message Due to extreme demand we cant provide a free trial right now. Please /subscribe or try again tomorrow. Bonus: Midjourney Magazine Illustration: Midjourney The company behind our favorite AI art generator is launching a monthly magazine. A subscription will cost you $4, though the company is offering copies of the first issue for free. Why would a potential subscriber want to pay for print copies of free online images? We thought it would be fun, and the community agreed, so we did it, Midjourney founder David Holz told Gizmodo. More from Gizmodos story on Midjourney magazine: The company behind the tool will feature images in its simply and uncreatively titled publication picked from among the 10,000 images rated highest by its sites community members, according to its website. Interviews with image makers and Midjourney enthusiasts will also appear in the magazine. The Midjourney Community Showcase page displays images submitted and rated by users. Want to know more about AI, chatbots, and the future of machine learning? Check out our full coverage of artificial intelligence, or browse our guides on How to Use ChatGPT and Everything We Know About the OpenAI chatbot. More from Gizmodo Sign up for Gizmodo's Newsletter. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. Author Jodi Picoult is blasting officials in a Florida county for pulling several of her books from school libraries, saying that prohibiting literature sows division. Martin County is the first to ban twenty of my books at once, Picoult told The Washington Post in an op-ed published Friday. The Sunshine State county released a list of more than 60 books this week that it said would be removed from the shelves at its public school libraries. The move, the Storyteller author said, is a shocking breach of freedom of speech and freedom of information. Additional books barred by the school district include titles by James Patterson, Toni Morrison and Judy Blume, among others. The Storyteller, Picoult said, is about the Holocaust and has never been banned before. Most of her books that were pulled, Picoult said, do not even have a single kiss in them. They do, however, include gay characters, and issues like racism, disability, abortion rights, gun control, and other topics that might make a kid think differently from their parents, she said. Books bridge divides between people. Book bans create them, Picoult told the Post. Last year, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed legislation requiring school libraries to seek community input on the materials they have available to students. DeSantis also put his signature last March on the Parental Rights in Education bill dubbed the Dont Say Gay bill by critics. The law restricts classroom instruction related to sexual orientation or gender identity in the states primary schools. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. BET+ is ready to tell the story of Tonesa Welch, the First Lady of crime family BMF, with Vivica A. Fox directing Judge Greg Mathis and Tressa Azarel Smallwood exec producing. Deadline reports that the streamer has greenlit The First Lady of BMF: The Tonesa Welch Story, a biopic inspired by the life of Welch, who inspired the BMF character Markisha Taylor, played by La La Anthony. According to Deadline, Welchs story was first brought to light in BET+s docuseries American Gangster: Trap Queens. Actress Vivica A. Fox will direct from a script by Gabrielle Collins. The post BET Sets The First Lady Of BMF: The Tonesa Welch Story; Vivica A. Fox To Direct, Greg Mathis And Tressa Azarel Smallwood To EP appeared first on Shadow And Act. The biopic follows Welchs life as she rose to prominence in Detroit as a drug dealer and eventually earned the moniker of The First Lady of BMF from federal prosecutors. Starting out her career as a teen mother, the film shows how Welch used her craftiness and creativity, hustle and hard work to build a life for herself in the crime world, according to the description. Welch tells a harrowing story about riches, remorse, personal responsibility, and redemption set amidst the lavishness and extreme violence of Detroits crack era and Americas war on drugs, states the description. Smallwood and Mathis will executive produce with Donte Lee and Delece James. Production on the film begins in April in Washington D.C. and will debut on the streaming service late 2023. The biopic will give Welch another chance to tell her story the way she sees fit, since she currently isnt happy with how the BMF character inspired by her represents her as a person. She and fans of the Starz series have called out the show for writing Markisha as a woman who is in a relationship with a teenage Terry Flenory, who is still in high school in the current storyline. Fans have called the character a predator, with rapper/BMF actress Kash Doll defending Anthonys portrayal. Story continues Welch herself wrote about the series on Instagram. WTF who wrote this part of the Story. [Terry] 17 Im 26 years my husband a [kingpin] but Im having sex with a 17 year old whos supposedly still in high school, she wrote. So before [Terry] goes on the run he comes to my job, its close for the day we sneak in the janitors room and have Sex. I guess hes [too] young to have an apartment hes still in high school or lives with his parents. I guess they have Markisha looking like a pedophile. If This was reverse and Markisha was 17 years old yall be trying to put him in jail, she wrote. Why are they portraying this role like thisI never kiss this man until he was i25 [sic] years old. This is crazy. This is what happens when you hire the wrong representative. She continued, Please no more DMs dont ask me why I cant explain it. But half yall believe this sick shit. Markisha character is shown in bad likeness I dont agree with the timeline or the character traits. This show pretends its not me but everybody in Detroit or half the country know its me. Who else work at the insurance company? The Biden administration is asking Congress for more than $6 billion in assistance to support the war effort in Ukraine in the 2024 fiscal year as Russia's full-scale invasion continues with little sign of letting up. The White House has allocated $6 billion to assist Ukraine, NATO, and European allies "by prioritizing funding to enhance the capabilities and readiness of the United States, allies, and partner forces in the face of continued Russian aggression," according to the budget document. The budget also includes $63.1 billion for the State Department and USAID, which is close to a $5 million increase from last year's enacted budget. According to the State Department, $1.7 billion will be allocated to support Ukraine and other partners affected by Russias war against Ukraine. The requested aid for Ukraine also includes $753 million to help the country counter Russian malign influence and to meet emerging needs related to security, energy, cybersecurity, disinformation, macroeconomic stabilization, and civil society resilience. The White House's request emphasizes the U.S.'s commitment to stand with Ukraine as long as needed. This Budget cements our commitment to confronting global challenges and keeping America safe, U.S. President Joe Biden wrote as part of the introduction of the budget. It outlines crucial investments to outcompete with China globally and to continue support for Ukraine in the face of unprovoked Russian aggression. Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the U.S. has provided more than $75 billion in humanitarian, financial, and military support to Ukraine, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy. Of that total, the Biden administration has directed more than $31 billion in security assistance to Kyiv and NATO allies, per Congressional Research Service data. (Independent) President Joe Biden has approved a state of emergency and ordered federal assistance to support California after a massive storm slammed into the state on Friday. The huge atmospheric river is tipping excessive amounts of rain onto the state, bringing risk of widespread flash flooding and rapid runoff including in areas still buried under heavy snow. This is a breaking news and is being updated President Bidens nominee to lead the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) doesnt need a waiver from Congress to be confirmed, the Biden administration told lawmakers Thursday. Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas), the top Republican on the Senate Commerce Committee, has insisted that FAA nominee Phil Washington must secure a waiver due to his retired military status, citing federal law that says the FAA administrator must be a civilian. Republicans would likely vote down the waiver, dooming his nomination. In a letter to Cruz obtained by The Hill, Department of Transportation general counsel John Putnam said that Washington has engaged in solely civilian pursuits and clearly fits the plain and widely understood meaning of the word since retiring from the U.S. Army in 2000 after 24 years of service. No further analysis is required to confirm Mr. Washingtons eligibility, Putnam wrote. If Congress had wanted to impose additional restrictions on individuals with prior service in the military, it could have done so. Cruz has stressed that previous FAA nominees with retired military status those who served for 20 or more years had to secure a waiver from both the House and Senate. But Putnam wrote Thursday that those waivers were not necessary to make the nominees eligible to serve as FAA Administrator. The letter will likely enrage Republicans, who argued that Washington who took over as CEO of Denver International Airport in 2021 doesnt have enough aviation experience to lead the FAA. They also point to an ongoing corruption probe into no-bid contracts that Washington handed out as head of the Los Angeles Metro. If Senate Democrats force this nomination through without a waiver, a legal cloud will hang over every single FAA action, Cruz said at Washingtons nomination hearing earlier this month. Congress and the President have strictly, repeatedly, and on a bipartisan basis interpreted the law, since it was written, as excluding retired military members like Phil Washington, Republican Senate Commerce Committee spokesperson Melissa Braid said in a statement. Story continues Without a waiver, Washington would only need to get 50 votes in the Senate, where Democrats hold a 51-49 majority. The spat comes as the FAA nears the one-year mark of operating without a Senate-confirmed administrator. In recent months, the FAA suffered an unprecedented system meltdown that grounded all U.S. flights and oversaw several near-crashes at large airports. Republicans have said the issues show the need for a qualified administrator, while Democrats say the FAA needs leadership as soon as possible. Mr. Washingtons experience not only meets, but exceeds the qualifications of the position when viewed historically, Putnam told Cruz in his letter. Biden nominated Washington in July 2022, but his nomination stalled amid concerns from senators. He has slowly picked up support in recent weeks, receiving endorsements from three former FAA administrators, a top airport service workers union and Frontier Airlines. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. On Friday, President Joe Biden awarded the Medal of Honor to Paris D. Davis, a retired colonel in the U.S. Army, for his heroic rescue of fellow soldiers during the Vietnam War. By awarding Davis the nations highest military honor, Biden recognized the Army veterans extraordinary service and began to set right a long history of Black soldiers like Davis being overlooked for their service and bravery. The post Biden Gives Medal Of Honor To Black Vietnam War Hero Who Rescued Soldiers After Being Shot And Beaten appeared first on Blavity. The incident for which Davis received the Medal of Honor occurred in June 1965 in Bong Son, Vietnam, and sounds like the script of an action movie. Rising the ranks within the Army, Davis was, at the time of the 1965 firefight, a captain and one of the first Black men to lead a Special Forces team. In this role, Davis and three other Americans led a group of South Vietnamese troops in an attack against North Vietnamese forces, but the Americans and their allies soon found themselves in trouble. Davis, while calling in for backup against a North Vietnamese force of several hundred fighters, continued to battle while risking his life to save each of his three fellow American soldiers wounded in the fight. One by one, Davis pulled the soldiers to safety and continued to fight using several weapons and hand-to-hand combat while others treated their wounds. Davis was shot, beaten and wounded during this time from a grenade explosion. At one point, he had to fire his rifle using his pinky finger after the grenade blast damaged his hand, according to a report about the fight. Yet, as President Biden noted when giving Davis his medal, by the time the battle was over, Davis had saved each one of his fellow Americans every single one. As CNN reported, Davis has achieved many firsts and received many honors throughout his career. After the 1965 battle, Davis served two more decades in the Army, earning such honors as the Silver Star, Bronze Star and Purple Heart. He retired in 1985 with the rank of colonel. In 2019, he was inducted into the Army Ranger Hall of Fame. However, throughout this time, the Medal of Honor remained the major award Davis never received. In addition, the paperwork associated with his nomination was lost on two separate occasions, a coincidence that some have attributed to racial bias. Biden called Davis to let him know he would finally receive the Medal of Honor. Far from being bitter at the delay in recognition, Davis reportedly told the president that America was behind me. During the ceremony, Biden proclaimed the day he awarded Davis the Medal of Honor may be the most consequential day of his presidency. Davis story is extraordinary, not only for his heroics in 1965 but for his decades of service and sacrifice for a country that often did not treat him fairly or recognize his accomplishments. His receipt of the Medal of Honor thus represents a personal achievement and a small measure of progress for the United States in its recognition of Black soldiers and citizens. (Bloomberg) -- US President Joe Biden will address the Canadian Parliament and meet with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to discuss Ukraine, Haiti, and protecting North American airspace after the incursion by an alleged Chinese spy balloon during a visit later this month. Most Read from Bloomberg Biden will travel to Ottawa from March 23-24, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement. US presidents typically make a visit to Canada one of their first international trips, but Biden has not visited the northern neighbor yet, in part due to a scaled-back travel schedule during the pandemic. The two leaders will discuss defense cooperation and modernizing the North American Aerospace Defense Command, strengthening supply chain resilience, taking bold action to combat climate change and accelerate the clean energy transition, and working together on regional challenges, including instability in Haiti, she said. The pair also expect to discuss improving collaboration to address migration patterns in North America, as well as the synthetic opioid crisis. Trudeau has promised to raise the issue of irregular migration with Biden during the visit, as thousands of asylum seekers each month have been using a dirt road to cross from New York into Quebec. Canada wants to renegotiate a border deal that creates a loophole for migrants if they use an irregular border crossing instead of an official port of entry. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. The state Senate could approve a bill Monday requiring every public school in Georgia to conduct intruder drills and gang identification training. Channel 2s Richard Elliot took the text of the bill to parents in DeKalb County, who told him they think intruder drills are a good idea but also say, they dont like them. Even the bills author wishes there was no need for a bill like this one. Jarvis Hamptons kids went to Redan High School in DeKalb County. Its safer for the kids. Thats what you want, be safe in school, Hampton said. Like other parents, he thinks about those searing images outside Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas where a gunman got into the school, opened fire, and murdered 22 students and teachers. He likes the idea of intruder drills but doesnt like the reason why he thinks schools need them. Its a sad commentary on where we are not, but you still want to have the kids safe. Im a little older, so when I was in school, you didnt have all of this, but now, its just a different time now, Hampton said. Dawsonville lawmaker Will Wade wrote the school safety act. This is going to help encourage schools to update their school safety plan, Wade said. TRENDING STORIES: The bill requires all public schools in Georgia to conduct intruder drills. It also requires schools to submit a safety play to Georgia Emergency Management and homeland Security and trains school employees to recognize gang activity, which is considered a big problem in schools across the state. Like Hampton, Wade said he wishes it wasnt necessary, but believes it is. We have to make sure that we continue to have thoughtful but relevant measures to protect our students and our faculty so that when theyre in that capsule of education, they dont have to worry about outside threats, Wade said. Story continues Elliot also spoke with Timothy Martin Sr. His son, Timothy Jr., goes to a DeKalb Elementary School. Hes all for the bill, but also worries those intruder drills will scare kids like his son. To me, personally, its a need for everything thats going on, but at the same time, it might scare him. Thats what Im worried about, Martin Sr. said. Elliot attempted to contact several metro school districts for comment on this story. DeKalb County said its public safety gang unit shares information with its law enforcement partners. Since this bill already passed the House, if the Senate agrees to it, it could go straight to the governors desk. RELATED NEWS: Billionaire investor Bill Ackman calls on the US government to consider a bailout of Silicon Valley Bank if private investors won't step up. Brian Snyder/Reuters Ackman called on the government for a "highly dilutive" Silicon Valley Bank bailout if the private sector doesn't step up. The risk of the bank failing could have a domino effect on the rest of the banking sector, he said. SVB is a go-to bank and lender to startups in the tech sector and a crucial part of the ecosystem. Billionaire investor Bill Ackman says the US government should consider a "highly dilutive" bailout of Silicon Valley Bank amid jitters about its financial position. The bank's failure "could destroy an important long-term driver of the economy as VC-backed companies rely on SVB for loans and holding their operating cash," Ackman said in a series of tweets on Thursday. "If private capital can't provide a solution, a highly dilutive gov't preferred bailout should be considered," he said. Ackman, the founder and CEO of hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management, said a bailout for the bank should protect depositors rather than equity holders or its management. "We should not reward poor risk management or protect shareholders from risks they knowingly assumed," he said. He further said that "the risk of failure and deposit losses here is that the next, least well-capitalized bank faces a run and fails and the dominoes continue to fall. That is why gov't intervention should be considered." Ackman's tweets had been viewed 1.2 million times in their first five hours online. On Thursday, the SVB Financial Group-owned bank's share price tanked by over 60% to $106.04 after it said it was facing a $1.8 billion loss due to a $21 billion firesale of its bond portfolio. To cover losses, SVB wants to raise $2.25 billion by selling stock and issuing related securities. The bank's in damage-control mode now. Greg Becker, the CEO of Silicon Valley Bank, told clients to "stay calm" at a conference call on Thursday, Bloomberg reported, citing a person familiar with the matter. Story continues The events spurred concerns among tech VCs and founders about Silicon Valley Bank's financial stability. Some notable VC firms advised their portfolio companies to withdraw their funds, which in turn, increased the risk of a bank run. In the worst-case scenario, this could leave the bank with too little cash for its operations. SVB Financial Group shares extended losses on after-hours trade, falling 22% to $82.50 apiece. The stock is down 54% so far this year. Silicon Valley Bank did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment sent outside regular business hours. Read the original article on Business Insider Bitcoin (BTC-USD) fell more than 9% Friday morning to $19,700, a eight-week low. The largest cryptocurrency lost more than $52 billion in market capitalization value since Tuesday. Ahead of the release of the U.S jobs report for February and after earlier events such as the liquidation of Silvergate Capital and continued regulatory pressures on the industry, this remains a tough environment for crypto," Edward Moya, a senior market analyst with Oanda said. Ether (ETH-USD) is down by 10% for the same 24-hour period, it is also changing hands at an eight-week low, tumbling below $1,400 per coin. Cryptos total market capitalization fell more than 8% through Friday morning from $994 trillion to $914 billion as measured by Coinmarketcap. Crypto investors and businesses are grappling with what the liquidation of Silvergate Capital (SI), a crucial U.S. banking partner, could mean for the crypto asset class access to dollars. "It wont be a smooth transition for the industry at all," Noelle Acheson, author of the Crypto Is Macro Now newsletter, told Yahoo Finance. Silvergate offered a payments network that allowed customers to exchange U.S. dollars between accounts 24/7 to match the liquidity needs of the crypto market. The bank suspended the offering last Friday. The other most amenable bank to crypto firms, Signature Bank (SBNY), is also actively reducing its exposure to digital asset business. "If small banks such as Customers and Pathward (formerly MetaBank) dont step in to fill the gap, other alternatives include the Euro and non-dollar backed stablecoins, Conor Ryder," an analyst for Kaiko said Thursday. "It's a blow to the ecosystem but its unlikely to be a permanent one," Acheson added. Crypto markets were also under pressure Thursday as broader financial stresses in the banking sector emerged amid new challenges as Silicon Valley Bank, news which sent shares of its parent company SVB Financial down 60% on Thursday as the benchmark S&P 500 fell some 1.8%. Story continues Slivergate CEO Alan Lane, second from right, is applauded as he rings the New York Stock Exchange opening bell before his bank's IPO begins trading, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2019. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) Elsewhere, the Biden Administration is proposing to raise $24 billion for the U.S. government by closing a tax loophole. The loophole allows investors to harvest their crypto losses to offset capital gains and income for individuals. "As other countries are bringing crypto safely into the regulatory perimeter, we should be doing the same," said Paul Grewal, Coinbase's chief legal officer, before a U.S. House Financial Services Committee Thursday afternoon. Largest among U.S. crypto firms, Coinbase (COIN) has several banking partners and is not as immediate a risk from Silvergates liquidation as smaller startups given the exchange ended business with the firm last week. Even so, CFRA Research has chosen to maintain its hold rating on shares of Coinbase at neutral. "Although COIN has more measured exposure directly to SI, indirect impacts around the health of like-kind clients and/or general investor enthusiasm (i.e., trading activity) could also create an overhang on COIN's fundamentals," CFRA analyst David Holt said in a Thursday note. Shares of Coinbase fell 7.8% Thursday to $58. They traded more than 1% lower during Friday's pre-market session. The Office of the New York Attorney General is also suing KuCoin, the fourth largest crypto exchange by trading volume for failing to register as a securities and commodities broker-dealer "My office is taking action against cryptocurrency companies that are brazenly disregarding our laws and putting investors at risk, Attorney General Letita James said in the release. Price have been updated to reflect Friday morning prices ahead of the U.S. February Jobs report. David Hollerith is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter @DSHollers Click here for the latest crypto news, updates, values, prices, and more related to Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, DeFi and NFTs Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance Lamor Whitehead Controversial Brooklyn Bishop Lamor Whitehead is back in the news. The New York Daily News states the Bling Bishop has been hit with a new fraud charge. Prosecutors said he fabricated the funds he had stored in his LLC and used fake bank records to apply for a sizeable business loan. Court documents state Whitehead told a bank his business, Anointing Management Services LLC, had an average of $2 million available under his control. During investigations, it was found the account actually held less than $10. In 2018, Whitehead applied for a business loan for $250,000. The Leaders of Tomorrow International Ministry owner submitted fake bank documents in his online loan application. The outlet states the bank denied the business loan several times, but Whitehead continued to use the false bank documents. According to Madame Noire, in February 2019, the 45-year-old pastor included the false statements in a loan application for a $1.3 million mortgage to fund purchasing his six-bedroom, seven-bath Paramus, N.J., mansion. The Manhattan Federal Court documents did not state whether the mortgage loan was approved. Whiteheads attorney, Dawn Florio, said he intends to fight these allegations and others. Lamor Whitehead will be pleading not guilty when he is arraigned on the [superseding] indictment and denies those charges. The post Bling Bishop Lamor Whitehead Hit With New Fraud Charges Related To False Bank Docs For His Mansion, Account Revealed To Have Less Than $10 appeared first on Blavity. This new charge is just another added to the list of accusations of fraud and extortion brought against Whitehead. As Blavity previously reported, a federal indictment issued in December 2022 stated that Whitehead allegedly scammed a parishioner out of about $90,000 from his retirement savings. The U.S. Attorneys Office stated that Whitehead used the parishioners savings to buy luxury goods and fulfill other personal reasons. She was under the assumption that the money was an investment. Story continues Prosecutors also claim the bishop extorted $5,000 from a businessman after he was unsuccessful in receiving a loan from the same person for $500,000 in exchange for favorable actions from the New York City government. The Department of Justice confirmed these were favors Whitehead knew he could not obtain. Whitehead was charged with two counts of wire fraud, one count of extortion and one count of making material false statements. The pastor was thrust into the public eye in July after he was robbed at gunpoint while rendering a sermon on a live stream. The gun-wielding robbers made it off with $400,000 worth of jewelry lifted from the pastor and his wife. His flashy style didnt sit right with social media as the particulars of the robbery played out. Some even accused the pastor of staging the heist for notoriety. He later confirmed that the value of the stolen items was over $1 million, and he was offering a reward for anyone with information. The pastor went live on his Instagram on Wednesday and discussed the new charges. For everybody thats praying for me, thank you, man. And for everyone that wish my downfall, thank you because the Bible says that, God says, Ill make your enemies your footstool, he said. You gotta be careful with touching a bishop; even if you feel like Im not one, I am one. And if you become an enemy of God, right, thats on you. The Daily Mail says Whitehead pleaded not guilty to four of the five counts he now faces and is out on a $500,000 bond. (Corrects date in headline and first paragraph) WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Ethiopia and Niger from March 14-17 to discuss regional issues and meet with an African Union leader, the State Department said on Friday. In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on March 15, Blinken will discuss implementation of the cessation of hostilities agreement in northern Ethiopia, the State Department said. He will also meet with African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat to discuss global and regional priorities. In the first visit to Niger by a U.S. secretary of state, Blinken will meet President Mohamed Bazoum and Foreign Minister Hassoumi Massaoudou in Niamey on March 16, it said. (Reporting By Paul Grant; Editing by Doina Chiacu) WASHINGTON (AP) Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Ethiopia and Niger next week as the Biden administration accelerates a push to engage with Africa to counter Chinas growing influence on the continent, the State Department said Friday. Blinken will visit Addis Ababa and Niamey starting Tuesday to discuss the peace deal that ended hostilities in Ethiopias northern Tigray region and counter-terrorism efforts aimed at Islamic extremists in Niger and the Sahel more broadly. His trip will be the fourth high-profile visit to Africa this year by top members of the Biden administration. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, and first lady Jill Biden have already gone there. Blinken plans to meet with both Ethiopian and Tigrayan officials in Addis Ababa and will be the first secretary of state ever to visit Niger, which has hosted U.S. military operations targeting Islamic State affiliates in the area. In discussions with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Tigrayan officials, the State Department said Blinken would focus on implementation of the cessation of hostilities agreement to advance peace and promote transitional justice in northern Ethiopia. The Tigray conflict led the U.S. to suspend some preferential trade agreements with Ethiopia, which the country is eager to have restored. But the top U.S. diplomat for Africa said Friday that a full normalization of relations will depend on more action from Addis Ababa, particularly after the earth-shattering Tigray conflict. What we're looking to do is refashion our engagement with Ethiopia, said Molly Phee, the assistant secretary of state for African affairs. We would like to be able to have a partnership that is commensurate with their size and influence and with our interest and commitment to Africa." But to put that relationship in a forward trajectory we will continue to need steps by Ethiopia to help break the cycle of ethnic/political violence that has set the country back for so many decades," she said. Story continues The conflict in Tigray erupted a year after Abiy received the Nobel Peace Prize for making peace with longtime rival Eritrea. The Ethiopian and Eritrean governments saw the Tigray regional leaders, who had long dominated Ethiopias government before Abiy took office, as a common threat. An estimated 500,000 civilians were killed in the two-year conflict that ended with a peace agreement signed in South Africa in November. U.S. officials mediated in that deal. The conflict cut off the Tigray region of more than 5 million people, with humanitarian aid often blocked and basic services severed while health workers pleaded for the simplest of medical supplies. In a meeting with the Addis Ababa-based African Union Commission chair, Moussa Faki Mahamat, Blinken will also try to blunt both Chinese and Russian attempts to win support from African nations over Russias war with Ukraine; a topic that has raised considerable concerns amongst formerly colonized states. By Aditi Shah and Shivangi Acharya NEW DELHI (Reuters) -Boeing Co said on Friday it would set up a facility in India to convert 737 passenger planes into dedicated freighters to tap into regional and global demand for the service. The investment, which adds to the U.S. manufacturer's expansion into India on top of a record plane order by flag carrier Air India, comes despite a global economic slowdown that has weakened the global air cargo market. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said global cargo demand in January fell almost 15% year-on-year. Air freight rates are 28% below the levels seen at the same time last year, data provider WorldACD said on Thursday. But in India growing e-commerce demand and manufacturing of smart phones and other electronics for domestic use and export is strengthening the outlook for freighters, Salil Gupte, Boeing's India president told reporters in New Delhi. Gupte said there was demand to convert more than 1,700 passenger planes globally into freighters over the next 20 years, with about 600 coming from Asia. "So it is only fitting that we have the capability to have a line to make those freighters here in India, not just for India, but for the region and for the world," he said. Boeing with partner GMR Aero Technic, an Indian maintenance, repair and overhaul provider, will over the next 18 months set up the facility in Hyderabad to convert old passenger planes into freighters. The deal adds to Boeing's $1 billion supply chain sourcing from India and will help support India's ambitions to become a global cargo hub, Chief Strategy Officer Marc Allen told reporters in New Delhi. He did provide any details about when the facility would be set up or the size of the investment. The planned facility comes amid a push by Boeing to expand in India, including a $24 million investment to set up a logistics centre for aircraft parts. The slump in travel triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a record-breaking scramble to convert older passenger jets into freighters. But analysts say that aircraft lessors could now be stuck with excess freighters, or be forced to cancel conversions, as cargo rates fall. (Reporting by Aditi Shah and Shivangi Acharya; writing by Miral Fahmy; Editing by Sudipto Ganguly and Jamie Freed) Former President Trump national security adviser John Bolton on Friday argued against labeling Mexican drug cartels foreign terrorist organizations after the idea has garnered support among some GOP lawmakers, saying it would not solve the problems related to the groups. I dont underestimate their threat. Ive been talking about it for a long time. We were very worried about it in the Trump administration. The cartels in Mexico, the cartels in Colombia have been growing in strength, Bolton said on NewsNations Morning in America. But I think it fuzzes things up to label something as bad as the drug cartels a terrorist organization, Bolton continued. Theyre not like Hamas or Hezbollah. Its a different threat; its a serious problem. As I say, Im not underestimating it at all, but I think rhetorical gimmicks dont help advance policy. Bolton, who spent roughly a year as former President Trumps national security adviser, argued terrorist groups like Hamas operating in the Middle East pose a different problem than drug cartels and therefore require different solutions. He suggested the U.S. should be in talks with Mexico about having a military presence south of the border to help combat the cartels, another idea that has been the subject of chatter in the wake of a deadly kidnapping of Americans last week. Four Americans were kidnapped by armed men last Friday after crossing the border for a trip to get a medical procedure. Two of the Americans were found dead on Tuesday. The two others arrived back in the U.S. on Tuesday and began receiving medical treatment. Republicans have responded by calling for a tougher approach to the drug trade in Mexico. Advocates argue that designating a group as a foreign terrorist organization would provide additional resources for prosecution and give greater authority to freeze financial assets. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) spoke Wednesday about legislation that would classify certain Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organizations, describing them as a national security issue. Graham said Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) would join forces on the measure, and he suggested at least some Democrats would be involved. Story continues An FTO designation is the highest designation you can give a criminal terrorist enterprise thats not a nation-state, Graham said, citing nine different cartels that he argued would warrant the designation. The White House has dismissed the suggestion, however, arguing that labeling the cartels as foreign terrorist organizations would have minimal tangible benefits. The United States has powerful sanctions authorities specifically designated to combat narcotics trafficking organizations and the individuals and entities that enable them. So, we have not been afraid to use them, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Alissa Quart, New American dream Credit - Illustration by Shout for TIME The classic leather boot has had many names over the yearslace-up, cowboy, congress, pale rider. To get your work boots on your feet 200 or so years ago, you would stand up and grab two small leather flaps on the sides, known as bootstraps, and pull the boot up. From this everyday activity, the idiom to pull yourself up by your bootstraps was bornand with it, a torturous myth that true success meant getting ahead on only your energy and steam, without help from your family, government, or community. While it was initially understood to be an absurdity, over time it became a phrase that millions of people take seriously. The phrase is now, arguably, the basis of the American Dream and its embrace of an individualism that shades into a brittle self-sufficiency. For years, I have been struck by how much the self-made myth shapes public opinion and policy. As a reporter focused on inequality, I frequently see this relentless individualistic stance, even in the messages I receive from readers about how the poor are responsible for their own scarcity, strangers wagging their proverbial fingers at single mothers or people whove been evicted. They are following decades of instructions that Americans have to accomplish everything on our own, from poor women being called welfare queens during the Reagan era to todays Republican politicians opposing college-debt relief as a debt-transfer scam. But there is also a very different version of the American Dream from this one. Its closer to what was first imagined by James Truslow Adams in his 1931 book on the subjectmore inclusive, more communitarian, and less singular. Its catching on. You can see it in the rise in the number of people joiningor attempting to createnew unions, and in the range of citizens now helping decide the budgets of their local governments. These are just two examples of the new American Dreamers that taken together show that collective action and community-focused activity are growing in popularity. Story continues Read more: U.S. Labor Unions Are Having a Moment Their numbers include people who are joining psychological subcultures that operate like mutual-aid networks of the mind, with what one practitioner called survivor-centered and survivor-aware care. Cissy White, one counselor in a kind of new peer-to-peer counseling community, was a trauma survivor herself. She led webinars during the pandemic, sharing memories of her extreme poverty and neglect as a child, including the father she knew living unhoused. But while all of this suffering could have hardened her toward those less resilient and made her self-focused, it had instead made White more rigorous in her generosity. Another woman spoke of her own abject poverty in childhood and young adulthood, how she once spent her days drinking so much I was dying. White nodded in acceptance. A chorus of attendees also responded. While the need for mental health care is often cast as an individual failing, those who are rethinking mental-health care believe we shouldnt have to hustle to access assistance or attempt to get healthier through self-help alone. The fight for this new American Dream tends to require both social smarts and organizational abilities. For example, thats what people needed to participate in the mutual-aid groups that have risen up around the country since the pandemic. Local strangers connected by Google Groups, Google Calendars, and calling trees to bring groceries, eyeglasses, and medication to one another; they placed fridges in urban areas with complimentary food inside. In 2021, there were an estimated 800 such groups nationwide, but informally, scholars who study voluntarism told me there were many more. Near my apartment in Brooklyn, a volunteer group was organized by community activist Crystal Hudson, who today occupies New York Citys 35th District council seat, to help the aged and the financially stressed in our neighborhood, including her own mother, before she passed away. The result of that group was that creatives in their 20s were buying chicken feet and pig feet and taking them to the doorsteps of elderly Caribbean Americans. It meant that Hudson herself heard people cry on the phone when I asked them what they want us to buy. They told me, No one has ever asked me what I want to eat before. Mutual-aid groups can rethink charity and create spaces where the giver and receiver are more aligned. The new American Dream can also be seen in alternative labor organization meetings or people rallying for higher salaries after a hard day as an underpaid adjunct professor or a low-wage restaurant worker. Think of the wave of protests by workers at universities and museums in 2022. These new brain-worker labor activists realize that advancement comes from better wages and benefits, not just from their creative endeavors. They certainly wont get it from the person at the top making over a million dollars a year. At one college recently, even the students joined, occupying the main glass building to insist that their adjunct professors, who are often paid poverty wages, get adequate raises and insured health care. In late 2022, faculty and graduate students in the massive University of California system marched and even kayaked to demand living wages, while in New Yorks Hudson Valley, sculpture-park workers picketed in front of a private club hosting an event for their trustees. These are not the typical union activists. Instead, they are culture workers banding together to address how they are underpaid and insecure. Even though they work in fields that tend to be highly individualistic, one of the striking adjuncts told me they had found new strength by bonding together: We are woven together more tightly with our new social capital: that of raised awareness. The dream also means workers entering their workplaces on different terms. This includes worker-owners of todays rising number of worker cooperatives, like the people who make up western North Carolinas Opportunity Threads, a worker-owned cut-and-sew factory that specializes in customizing patterns. Ive spoken to a dozen workers at different worker-cooperatives and in their communal effortsin these cases, the workers own their own farms and also work the land, or they co-own their own catering company and cook the food thats delivered as welland they all describe a feeling of collective strength in their work, that their labor is offering a livelihood rather than just earning them their keep. According to the nonprofit U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives, there are now 465 verified worker-owned co-ops in the country, up 36% since 2013, with about 450 more are starting up. Worker-owners are often better paid too, according to the Democracy at Work Institute. Finally, the new American Dreamers include people who have joined participatory budgeting citizens groups in cities around the country. These are residents who are holding their municipal governments accountable, learning the ins and outs of their local governments and proposing to put civic money into improving park spaces or creating accessible paths to the public beach for the disabled. As one participatory-budgeting attendee said, theyre allocating money in ways that were not how government money was usually spent. The neighborhoods inhabitants then vote on these citizen proposals at city-council offices or even at a folding table in front of the local grocery store. An estimated 150,000 Americans have taken part in them since the practice was imported to the U.S. from Brazil over 10 years ago. Despite the inspiration these pioneers show, many are still under the sway of the old bootstrap myth. A recent Center for American Progress study found that 60% of Republicans agreed with the statement People get stuck in poverty primarily because they make bad decisions or lack the ambition to do better in life. Others polled by Pew Research Center in 2020 supported the idea that people are poor because they have not worked as hard as most other people. Opinions like these are why alternative community efforts must continue. National prosperity requires community support as well as individual effort, as business historian Pamela Laird reminds us in her book Pull. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, Its a cruel jest to say to a bootless man that he ought to lift himself by his bootstraps. We must internalize these words and actions as elements of the new American Dream. It can emerge only out of heterogeneous communities, in which members help one another, if we are ever to escape the Bootstrap Society. Taken together these group efforts radiate outward, burning away the toxin of our relentless individualism. Adapted from Bootstrapped: Liberating Ourselves From the American Dream 2023 by Alissa Quart. Reprinted by permission of Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. BOSTON (AP) A couple who run a nonprofit aimed at reducing violence in Boston, already charged with using the organization as their own personal bank, now face allegations that they misused COVID-19 relief funds, federal prosecutors said. Monica Cannon-Grant, 42, who founded Violence in Boston Inc., and Clark Grant, 39, were charged on Thursday in a superseding indictment with misusing funds received from the city of Boston and lying about their income in order to receive assistance intended for residents struggling to pay their rent. The couple, who bought a house in Taunton, now face a total of 27 charges, including 17 counts of wire fraud, prosecutors said in a statement. Grant's attorney said via email Friday that she had no comment. An email seeking comment was sent to Cannon-Grant's attorney. According to the superseding indictment, Cannon-Grant and Grant, who ran Violence in Boston Inc., used some of the organization's more than $50,000 in pandemic relief funds for personal expenses, including to pay their car loan and car insurance bills. They also concealed thousands of dollars of household income in order to obtain $12,600 in rental assistance from the city's Office of Housing Stability, the indictment alleges. In addition, the pair is charged with defrauding the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance by submitting a forged employment document that allowed another family member to receive more than $40,000 in unemployment assistance. Cannon-Grant is also accused of filing false tax returns for 2017 and 2018 and failing to file tax returns for 2019 and 2020. The couple will appear in federal court in Boston at a later date. Cannon-Grant and Grant pleaded not guilty last March to the original 18-count indictment charging them with using Violence in Boston Inc. funds to pay for personal expenses including hotels, car rentals, auto repairs, restaurant meals, nail salons and personal travel. The nonprofit was founded in 2017 with $1,000, according to its website. Cannon-Grants activism, including the organization of a rally in the city in 2020 to protest the killing of George Floyd and other Black people by police, has earned her numerous awards, such as The Boston Globe Magazines Bostonian of the Year award, and a Boston Celtics Heroes Among Us award. A womans body has been found in a southern Ohio landfill weeks after she was reported missing, police say. Gene Scott, 46, has now been charged in the death of his girlfriend, 40-year-old Renee Benedetti, whose body was found on Wednesday, March 8, the Columbus Division of Police announced Thursday. Police said in a news briefing streamed by WSYX that the situation began as a missing persons case in January. Cleveland Police Department investigators reached out to Columbus officers about a possible homicide involving Scott and Benedetti, according to Commander Mark Denner. Officers learned Scott and Benedetti were seen in Columbus on Jan. 26, Denner said. Investigators at the time could not determine a homicide took place, and Benedetti was considered an endangered missing adult in a Feb. 1 news release. Less than a day later, Scott was found and arrested on a weapons charge in Kentucky, Denner said. Scott told police he was in a heated argument on Jan. 29 with Benedetti while in their Columbus apartment, according to WSYX. Mr. Scott stated that during this argument that he grabbed Miss. Benedetti by the throat with his hands, and choked her until she was motionless on the floor, WSYX reported. He then wrapped Benedettis body in a rug, according to The Columbus Dispatch. Denner said Benedettis body was disposed of in a dumpster in southern Ohio. Authorities searched the Rumpke Landfill in Georgetown for more than two weeks before Benedettis body was discovered Wednesday, Denner said. Georgetown is about 105 miles southwest of Columbus. Police believe Scott acted alone in the incident. He was charged with murder on Thursday, police said. Investigators did not mention a motive for the killing. Boyfriend kills mom of 4 in front of kids after shopping trip, California reports say Man killed girlfriend and her friend when he found them having sex, Wisconsin cops say Man shoots girlfriend point-blank in head and drops her off at hospital, TX cops say Roberto De Zerbi said he has a long contract and is happy at Brighton amid speculation he could replace under-fire Tottenham manager Antonio Conte. Brighton are eighth in the Premier League having taken 25 points from 17 matches following De Zerbis arrival as successor to Graham Potter on the south coast. Contes future at Spurs is a hot topic following the north London clubs indifferent domestic form and recent exit from the Champions League. And De Zerbi, 43, has been mentioned as a possible candidate to take over from Conte, 10 years his senior, should the Italians spell at White Hart Lane come to an end. But when quizzed on the potential vacancy at Spurs, De Zerbi, who has a contract with Brighton until the summer of 2026, said: We are happy because the people are speaking about our quality of play. But we have to be focused on the next game. We have a clear focus and a clear target. For the players and for me it is the same. We have a long contract here at Brighton. Im happy to work here and enjoy working with these players. I cannot ask more and, for me, it is a good moment for me and my life. Following their impressive run of form, the Seagulls, who face Leeds at Elland Road on Saturday, could be forgiven for holding ambitions of qualifying for Europe. They are only three points adrift of sixth-placed Newcastle, having played a match less than Eddie Howes side, and seven points behind Spurs, with three games in hand. But De Zerbi added: We know very well that to arrive in a European spot our target is going to be difficult. We have to push, we have to think game by game. Tomorrow is the start of a difficult period for us because we play on Saturday, Wednesday, Sunday but we want to play every game with our quality and style. Im looking forward to playing in the stadium in Leeds and I know it will be [a] hot [atmosphere], but if we want to continue with our dreams we need to win there tomorrow. Full-back Tariq Lamptey, who was substituted in last weekends 4-0 win against West Ham, is a doubt with a knee injury but Levi Colwill, sidelined for almost two months, might be available. LONDON (Reuters) -Britain's King Charles named his younger brother Prince Edward as the new Duke of Edinburgh on Friday, handing him the title last held by their father Prince Philip, Buckingham Palace said in a statement. Edward, 59 on Friday, becomes the latest member of the royal family to be granted a new title since Charles became king in September after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth. William, Charles's eldest son and heir to the throne, was named Prince of Wales, while the children of his second son Harry, no longer a working royal, were officially named as prince and princess earlier this week. Edward's new title comes after he took on a number of his father's roles, including at The Duke of Edinburgh Award charity which encourages young people to undertake challenges. "The new Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh are proud to continue Prince Philips legacy of promoting opportunities for young people of all backgrounds to reach their full potential," Buckingham Palace said, referring to Edward's wife Sophie. Philip had held the title of the Duke of Edinburgh since his marriage to the then Princess Elizabeth in 1947 until his death in 2021. (Reporting by Sarah Young; Editing by Kate Holton) Bryan Kohberger was allegedly rummaging through his garbage wearing latex gloves in his parents' Pennsylvania home when police arrested him late last year, officials said. The 28-year-old University of Idaho murders suspect was allegedly carefully sifting through trash in his parents kitchen when authorities took him into custody in December which one prosecutor said was an apparent attempt to cover his tracks. RELATED: Mom Sentenced For Forcing 5-Year-Old Daughter To Fake Seizures And Fabricating Girl's Medical Condition Kohberger was found awake in the kitchen area dressed in shorts and a shirt when investigators stormed his parents' Albrightsville house on Dec. 30 at approximately 1:30 a.m., Monroe County First Assistant District Attorney Michael Mancuso told Leighton, Pennsylvania news channel BRC News13. At the time, Kohberger was wearing latex medical-type gloves and apparently was taking his personal trash and putting it into separate Ziploc baggies, Mancuso added. Bryan Kohberger sits with his attorney Bryan Kohberger sits with his attorney during a hearing in Latah County District Court on January 5, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho. Photo: Getty Images Kohberger, 28, is facing four counts of first-degree murder in the killings of University of Idaho students Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, whose bodies were discovered in an off-campus home on Nov. 13. The four students had been stabbed to death. The seized items referenced by Mancuso were previously documented in police search warrants, however, the prosecutors recent comments provide fresh context regarding exactly what Kohberger was allegedly doing at the exact moment police busted him. Kohbergers actions, prosecutors added, could help explain why days earlier, authorities had failed in attempting to obtain Kohbergers DNA by searching through his familys trash. Investigators had then-collected forensic evidence belonging to Kohbergers family members, including his father, but not from [Kohberger], Mancuso theorized. Story continues James "Tim" Norman attends the Soul Train Awards Since the quadruple murder, the Pennsylvania prosecutor also speculated Kohberger had become savvy at obscuring his forensic footprint. It could very well explain some of the other aspects of the case from Idaho, some of the lengths that a person would go to to avoid having their DNA left behind when they know or shouldve known that there was an investigation underway, Mancuso added. Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves Photo: Instagram During the December search warrant of Kohbergers home, authorities also seized a pair of his size 13 Nike shoes, a black Washington State University Cougars sweatshirt, his underwear, black socks and shorts and other items, court records show. Four medical-style gloves, a white T-shirt and a silver flashlight were also recovered by investigators. State police had previously petitioned the courts to allow troopers to carry out the raid at night. A cheek swab that was performed on Kohberger on the night police arrested him, was also key in building the murder case against him, according to officials. Kohbergers DNA obtained during the search warrant ultimately matched the snap button for the sheath of the knife that was left behind at the scene of the killings. The knife used in the killings hasnt been recovered. Oxy App Kohberger is a former criminal justice graduate student at nearby Washington State University. He faces the death penalty if convicted in the murders of Mogen, Goncalves, Kernodle and Chapin. Kohberger didnt know the four victims, according to law enforcement. Investigators are also probing the possibility Kohberger could be behind in other unsolved killings in Pennsylvania. His next court date is scheduled for June 26. Kohberger previously waived his right to a speedy trial. A firefighter who died in an explosive blaze in Buffalo, New York, last week was remembered at his funeral on Friday as a talented cook who whipped up delicious meals for his colleagues and as a husband and father who loved his family and his city. Firefighter Jason Arno was a socialite, master chef, gambler, magician, server and firefighter, his brother Delton Arno told mourners at St. Joseph Cathedral in Buffalo. Every new day made memories for a hundred lifetimes. Delton Arno said he and his brother were together through summer bikes, boats, trampolines laser tag, hikes on islands, being stranded in the airport, drinks in Mexico, funerals," adding, More than anything I am so thankful. Jason Arno, 37, was battling a blaze in a vacant commercial building on March 1 when an explosive backdraft sent flames shooting through the windows and knocked firefighters outside to the sidewalk. Arno issued a mayday call from inside the building, then went silent. His body was found hours later. The cause of the fire is under investigation. A light snow fell Friday as thousands of firefighters from around the country gathered outside the cathedral. Inside, mourners remembered Arno as a Buffalo native who loved his family and his city. He made it his mission to make our city a better and safer place for everyone, Mayor Byron Brown said. Brown said that after graduating from an all-boys Roman Catholic high school in Buffalo, Arno, who was known as Jay, enrolled in culinary school at a local community college and was chosen for an internship at a top restaurant in Italy. Arno worked at restaurants and bars around Buffalo, Brown said, and then saw his life change in 2019 when he and wife Sarah-Elizabeth welcomed their baby daughter Olivia. Putting family first, Jay made the decision to enter the fire academy in February of 2020 and soon became one of Buffalos brave and committed firefighters, the mayor said. Vincent Ventresca, president of firefighters union Local 282, said Arno loved being a firefighter and was a valued crew member everywhere he went. Jay loved to cook and he was awesome at it, which works out well because firefighters love to eat, Ventresca said. There is truly something special about sharing a well-cooked meal with your crew at the firehouse. Arno's death was the first line-of-duty firefighter death in Buffalo, a city of 276,000 in western New York, since two firefighters fell through the floor of a burning building and died in August 2009. Usually, when one insider buys stock, it might not be a monumental event. But when multiple insiders are buying like they did in the case of Standard Chartered PLC (LON:STAN), that sends out a positive message to the company's shareholders. While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing. See our latest analysis for Standard Chartered The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Standard Chartered The insider Pi-Cheng Hung made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for UK376k worth of shares at a price of UK4.88 each. Even though the purchase was made at a significantly lower price than the recent price (UK7.75), we still think insider buying is a positive. Because it occurred at a lower valuation, it doesn't tell us much about whether insiders might find today's price attractive. While Standard Chartered insiders bought shares during the last year, they didn't sell. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date! Standard Chartered is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket. Does Standard Chartered Boast High Insider Ownership? 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. Standard Chartered insiders own about UK48m worth of shares. That equates to 0.2% of the company. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders. Story continues So What Does This Data Suggest About Standard Chartered Insiders? It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Standard Chartered shares in the last quarter. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. Overall we don't see anything to make us think Standard Chartered insiders are doubting the company, and they do own shares. Therefore, you should definitely take a look at this FREE report showing analyst forecasts for Standard Chartered. If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt. For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. 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 A busy road in Washington Township will be closed for road work starting today. >>PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Stretch of Mad River Road to be closed in October Rahn Road will be shut down to all traffic from March 13 through the 17 while the Public Works Department repairs a 72-inch stormwater pipe, according to a Washington Township Spokesperson. Rahn Road will be closed between Southford Avenue and Country Place starting Monday morning at 7 a.m. Road closure signs will be posted on Rahn Road at Mad River Road and Alex Bell Road. Westbound traffic will detour south on Mad River Road to west on Alex Bell while eastbound traffic will stay on Alex Bell to Mad River Road Road going north. IOI Corporation Berhad (KLSE:IOICORP) stock is about to trade ex-dividend in 4 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 an important date to be aware of as any purchase of the stock made on or after this date might mean a late settlement that doesn't show on the record date. Thus, you can purchase IOI Corporation Berhad's shares before the 14th of March in order to receive the dividend, which the company will pay on the 24th of March. The company's next dividend payment will be RM0.06 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of RM0.14 to shareholders. Last year's total dividend payments show that IOI Corporation Berhad has a trailing yield of 3.6% on the current share price of MYR3.89. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether IOI Corporation Berhad's dividend is reliable and sustainable. As a result, readers should always check whether IOI Corporation Berhad has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut. See our latest analysis for IOI Corporation Berhad Dividends are typically paid out of company income, so if a company pays out more than it earned, its dividend is usually at a higher risk of being cut. IOI Corporation Berhad paid out a comfortable 47% of its profit last year. 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 41% of its free cash flow as dividends, a comfortable payout level for most companies. It's positive to see that IOI Corporation Berhad's dividend is covered by both profits and cash flow, since this is generally a sign that the dividend is sustainable, and a lower payout ratio usually suggests a greater margin of safety before the dividend gets cut. Story continues Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends. Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing? Stocks in companies that generate sustainable earnings growth often make the best dividend prospects, as it is easier to lift the dividend when earnings are rising. If business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. That's why it's comforting to see IOI Corporation Berhad's earnings have been skyrocketing, up 23% per annum for the past five years. IOI Corporation Berhad is paying out less than half its earnings and cash flow, while simultaneously growing earnings per share at a rapid clip. Companies with growing earnings and low payout ratios are often the best long-term dividend stocks, as the company can both grow its earnings and increase the percentage of earnings that it pays out, essentially multiplying the dividend. Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. IOI Corporation Berhad's dividend payments per share have declined at 1.0% per year on average over the past 10 years, which is uninspiring. Final Takeaway Has IOI Corporation Berhad got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? IOI Corporation Berhad has grown its earnings per share while simultaneously reinvesting in the business. Unfortunately it's cut the dividend at least once in the past 10 years, but the conservative payout ratio makes the current dividend look sustainable. Overall we think this is an attractive combination and worthy of further research. So while IOI Corporation Berhad 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 2 warning signs for IOI Corporation Berhad (of which 1 is potentially serious!) you should know about. If you're in the market for strong dividend payers, we recommend checking our selection of top dividend stocks. 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Sign up here A bystander says she has permanent damage to her leg after she was shot by a police officer on a crowded street, according to a Colorado lawsuit. Angelica Rey, 23, was walking with a friend in downtown Denver and celebrating a work promotion when she was shot in the leg by a police officer who had opened fire on a suspect, according to the lawsuit, filed on March 7. At around 1:30 a.m. on July 17, three Denver police officers were on patrol downtown, according to the lawsuit. They tried to approach a man who had punched another person and had a bulge in his pocket that looked like a gun, the lawsuit says. The man walked away, and as the officers ordered him to stop, he took a gun out of his pocket and threw it onto the sidewalk, the lawsuit says. Two officers fired six shots at him, the lawsuit says. The third officer, Brandon Ramos, who had a side view of the man, shot at him but missed, the lawsuit says. Dozens of people were walking on the sidewalk in front of the suspect. A total of five bystanders were shot and a sixth was injured, according to the Denver Post. One of the shots hit Rey in the leg, causing her to immediately fall to the ground, the lawsuit says. Panicked people in the crowd started to run, and Rey, who was nearly trampled, was taken to a hospital in an ambulance, the lawsuit says. The bullet severed a nerve in Reys right leg, and she has permanent neurologic injury, the lawsuit says. The Denver Police Department said in a statement to McClatchy News that it could not comment on the lawsuit. Ramos is suspended without pay pending the outcome of his criminal cause, according to the department. The City Attorneys Office of Denver did not immediately respond to a request for information from McClatchy News. Ramos is facing eight counts of assault, four counts of reckless endangerment and one count of reckless use of a weapon, the Denver Post reported. The other two officers who shot at the suspect that night were not charged after a grand jury investigation found that they had a clear backdrop to shoot, according to the outlet. Story continues In the lawsuit, Rey said since the shooting, she has experienced economic loss, medical expenses, pain, suffering, emotional distress and loss of quality of life. She is requesting damages, relief for her economic losses and attorneys fees. Man grossly disfigured by K-9 wins $1.35 million, lawyers say. This isnt justice Woman ends up shot by officer as her friend struggled with police in NY, lawsuit says Deputy yanks man from car and fatally shoots him outside middle school, lawsuit says By Steve Gorman and Brendan O'Brien LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Emergency officials in several California counties spent Friday patrolling levies and swollen rivers as an "atmospheric river" storm drenched the already-sodden state with torrential rains, causing floods that washed out roads and prompted evacuations. The latest deluge from dense streams of Pacific moisture sweeping California's skies soaked some mountain areas still clogged with piles of snow dumped by a recent spate of paralyzing blizzards, while bringing even more snow to higher elevations. The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said it was investigating what role, if any, late-February snowstorms may have played in the demise of at least eight people, most of them elderly, found to have died alone while snowbound in their homes over the past two weeks. Residents in the town of Big Bear and nearby mountain enclaves have said their communities were ill-prepared for the severity of winter storms that local authorities called unprecedented for Southern California's high country. The latest blast of heavy showers and gusty winds arrived Thursday night and peaked early Friday, sweeping a vast region that is home to some 26 million people, including greater Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay area and metropolitan Sacramento. Flood watches and advisories extended from San Diego and Mexican border to the Shasta-Cascade region of northern California. The National Weather Service (NWS) reported rainfall totals ranging from 3 inches to nearly 10 inches across the region. U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday declared an emergency in California, ordering federal assistance to help state and local authorities cope with the severe weather. The storm was the product of what meteorologists call an atmospheric river, a high-altitude current of dense, subtropical moisture streaming into the West Coast from the warm Pacific waters around Hawaii. It marks the 10th such weather system to hit California since Christmas, adding to an exceptionally wet, snowy winter in a state that in recent years has been plagued far more by drought and wildfires than by severe precipitation. Story continues Among areas hardest hit on Friday were riverfront communities in central California where numerous streams engorged by runoff of rain and melting snow from surrounding mountains were transformed into raging torrents. 'FULLY SATURATED' About 2,000 residents were under evacuation orders and warnings in San Luis Obispo County, as crews there spent the day monitoring levees, creeks and rivers and filling sandbags, said Rachel Monte Dion, the county's emergency services coordinator. Some personnel spent hours in trailers watching for flooding in low-lying areas across the county, which was pummeled by heavy downpours in January, causing a levy to fail and damaging homes. "Since January, it's been raining steadily here and so our ground is fully saturated and our creeks are full," Dion said, adding that flooding on Friday struck parts of the coastal wine country town of Cambria and the beachfront community of Oceano. The collapse of one roadway in Paso Robles for the second time since January left a couple hundred residents outside that town cut off again, Dion said. In Santa Cruz County, another road washed out by a flooded creek near the town of Soquel left at least 400 homes in adjacent foothill and mountain communities isolated, county spokesperson Jason Hoppin said. Elsewhere in the county, communities along the swiftly rising San Lorenzo River were ordered evacuated before it reached flood stage, then receded, Hoppin said. Authorities were still keeping their eye on the Pajaro River, which drains a much larger area and thus takes longer to rise and fall, he said. Evacuation orders were issued along the Monterey County banks of that river, where "the levee is a little bit lower" than on the Santa Cruz County side, Hoppin said. On Friday morning, the weather service issued a flash-flood warning for parts of Tulare County, urging residents: "Move to higher ground now! This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation." The Tulare County sheriff has issued evacuation orders and warnings for several areas where rivers and streams had either overrun their banks, were nearing dangerously high levels or where a levee was breached. At least one bridge was reported washed out. The growing frequency and intensity of such storms amid bouts of prolonged drought are symptomatic of human-caused climate change, experts say. The swing from one extreme to another has increased the difficulty of managing California's precious water supplies while minimizing flood and wildfire risks. (Reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles and Brendan O'Brien in Chicago; additional reporting by Nathan Frandino in Soquel, California; Editing by Rosalba O'Brien & Shri Navaratnam) California water officials opened the main spillway at the Oroville Dam on Friday afternoon, doing so for flood control purposes for the first time since 2019. Ted Craddock, deputy director of the State Water Project, said the water elevation at Lake Oroville has risen by close to 180 feet since Dec. 1 after a parade of storms this winter, now standing at about 840 feet 60 feet shy of its maximum. State water officials began to increase releases from Lake Oroville, which is operated by the state Department of Water Resources, on Wednesday for flood control purposes, Craddock said during a virtual news briefing ahead of the successful spillway opening at noon. The dam was the center of a 2017 crisis. Torrential rainfall that February damaged the Oroville Dams main spillway. When rerouted water threatened failure on the dams emergency spillway, more than 180,000 residents downstream of the dam in Butte, Sutter and Yuba counties were ordered to evacuate. Extensive repairs followed, and state water officials let water flow down the newly rebuilt spillway for the first time on April 2, 2019. As part of the reconstruction effort, we installed instrumentation throughout the structure, Craddock said. So we can monitor the pressure, drainage and also movement of the spillway as well. Spillway flow Friday began at 15,000 cubic feet per second, which Craddock called a relatively small release. The spillway is capable of releasing up to 270,000 cubic feet per second. As we look further into the upcoming storms, its possible we will be making adjustments to our releases, he said. Releases during the rebuilt spillways only prior use, in 2019, peaked at 25,000 cubic feet per second. Craddock said that due to near-record level snowpack in the Sierra this winter, water officials are confident that snowmelt will help to replenish Lake Oroville following flood releases and the end of the rainy season. Water releases are also underway at the Folsom Dam, which is operated by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Story continues Water flows down the new spillway at Oroville Dam on Tuesday, April 2, 2019 in Oroville. What is the Oroville Dam? The Oroville Dam opened in 1968 and is the tallest dam in the U.S. at 770 feet. Located just northeast of Oroville city limits, water from the dams main spillway flows into the Feather River. The main spillway failed catastrophically in February 2017, when a large and cratering fracture formed amid weeks of heavy rain, leading operators to curtail water flow onto the emergency spillway. The wreckage of the main spillway at Oroville Dam in February 2017 left tons of concrete and other debris piled up in the Feather River below. The state plans to open the rebuilt spillway Tuesday. The emergency spillway is a concrete lip along a hillside. When water began to spill over the lip, the hillside began to erode, and dam officials feared the emergency spillway would fail and release a wall of water downstream. Emergency authorities on Feb. 13, 2017, ordered some 188,000 residents of the Feather River Basin to evacuate. Dam operators then ramped up water releases on the main spillway, easing lake levels and pressure on the emergency spillway. The emergency spillway held, and evacuation orders were reduced to warnings the following day. A forensic team in 2018 determined the crisis resulted from long-term systemic failure by both state water officials and federal regulators, writing in a nearly 600-page report that design flaws were exacerbated by insufficient repair work over the years. The crisis cost $1.1 billion, including more than $630 million in spillway repairs. The Department of Water Resources says repairs and improvements made during 2017 and 2018 have brought the dam up to state-of-the-art standards, Craddock said Friday. Workers release water from the Santa Anita Dam after a series of January storms. On Thursday, state and federal officials outlined their preparations for flood control and reservoir management as new storms were forecast to hit California. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times) With back-to-back storms to hit California in the coming days, state officials are scrambling to make strategic releases from key reservoirs in hopes of preventing a repeat of the flooding that killed nearly two dozen people in January. At least 10 rivers are forecast to overflow from the incoming "Pineapple Express" storm, which is expected to drop warm, heavy, snow-melting rain as it moves from the Central Coast toward the southern Sierra beginning Thursday night into Saturday. Among them are rivers that flooded at the start of the year, when nine atmospheric river storms pummeled the state. The waterways include the Cosumnes River near Sacramento, where more than a dozen levee breaches sent floodwaters onto roadways and low-lying areas, trapping drivers and contributing to at least three deaths along Highway 99. "This is a very dynamic system," Department of Water Resources director Karla Nemeth said at a briefing Thursday. "Rivers and creeks can rise very quickly, and so it does have the potential to be a dangerous situation, particularly in areas that had experienced flooding before." Officials activated the State-Federal Flood Operation Center on Thursday morning, Nemeth said, which indicates an elevated level of coordination and monitoring before the storm. Yet another atmospheric river is expected to follow early next week, and there is a potential for a third around March 19, according to state climatologist Mike Anderson. "We were well on our way to a fourth year of drought" at the beginning of January, Anderson said. "We're in a very different condition now." The incoming storm will fall atop soaked soils and some of the deepest snowpack California has recorded. Both can exacerbate the potential for runoff and erosion. The conditions are in some ways akin to those that led to a near catastrophic failure of the Oroville Dam in 2017, when heavy rains damaged an emergency spillway and threatened to send floodwaters down to communities below. Story continues Officials on Thursday said there is no danger of a similar event now since the spillway has been reconstructed with several feet of thick concrete. However, the second-largest reservoir in California is about 60 feet below its maximum elevation, said Ted Craddock, DWR's deputy director of the State Water Project, and operators have begun releasing water to ensure room for incoming flows. Increased releases from Oroville's Hyatt Power Plant started Wednesday, Craddock said, with more to begin Friday from its gated spillway at a combined rate of 15,000 cubic feet per second from both facilities. It will mark the first use of the main spillway since April 2019. "This is a relatively small release out of the spillway, and as we look further into the forecast, with the possibility of additional storms, we will be adjusting releases from the lake," Craddock said. Officials from the DWR, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are also ramping up releases at other locations before the storm, including Lake Shasta and Millerton Lake, said Levi Johnson, deputy operations manager of the Central Valley Project with the Bureau of Reclamation. Folsom Lake which primarily acts as a flood control system for the Sacramento area still has "quite a bit of storage space," Johnson said, but officials are anticipating flows there will increase with the current storms. Releases went up to about 15,000 cubic feet per second Thursday, and then will increase to 30,000 on Friday. "These releases are in anticipation of the inflows due to these storms," Johnson said. "We will be prepared to increase further if needed and as we see how the inflows from these storms shape up." Despite assurances, some people in the Central Valley said they're concerned about the risks of devastating floods in the coming days. "I am fearing levee failures and flooded homes," said John Ennis, a civil engineer who owns a consulting firm in Fresno. Ennis said he's worried that "there's just going to be too much water on top of the snowpack, and it all dissolves at once" a scenario that could send floodwaters roaring down from Sierra Nevada into the Central Valley. Anne Lynch, integrated water management lead with the consulting firm GHD, said it's good news that the state's reservoirs are being actively managed for flood control, especially in areas that saw flooding previously. "They're managing for our water supply, which has also got to be front-of-mind, but they're also managing for the ability to not have reservoirs overtopping," she said. "It's a complicated thing." Some areas that flooded during the previous storms, such as Wilton, are "natural flow areas" that almost always flood during heavy rains and are likely to flood again, Lynch noted. Although some incidents are inevitable, she said, such events are also reason to invest in infrastructure. "There's the things that are outside of our control, and then the things that haven't been built," she said. In high-elevation areas, the biggest threat from the storm will probably be structural damage as rain makes the snowpack even heavier, UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain said during a briefing. The state has seen a spate of roof collapses from heavy snow, including a grocery store providing crucial supplies in Crestline. "The bigger concern with flooding is actually at lower to medium elevations," Swain said. That includes areas at about 5,000 feet and below in Central California and the southern Sierra. "There really will be significant melting of the snowpack which is substantial at those elevations as heavy rain falls into it," he said. "But really, the main flood threat is coming from the fact that the storm is just going to bring a significant amount of rainfall in its own right." According to the National Weather Service, some of the highest flood risk will be in coastal areas from Salinas to San Luis Obispo, and throughout the Central Valley. New Excessive Rainfall Outlook for tomorrow. Central Coast has been updated to high risk for flooding. Last time the Bay Area and Central Coast was in a "high risk" was 2010. #cawx pic.twitter.com/CI238KspXR NWS Bay Area (@NWSBayArea) March 9, 2023 Officials in Fresno, Madera, Modesto and Santa Cruz counties have issued evacuation warnings for some communities due to likely flooding. San Luis Obispo County, which saw significant flooding during the January storms, has the "potential for similar impacts" from the incoming system, the weather service said. Crews are "battening down the hatches and getting ready for the storm series," said Mark Bingham, fire protection district chief in the Santa Cruz mountain town of Boulder Creek. "We're hopefully ready for what Mother Nature throws at us." In the Merced County town of Planada, officials went door to door to many homes Wednesday and Thursday to warn of possible disaster. The town was almost entirely flooded after a levee broke in January. "People are full of fear," County Supervisor Rodrigo Espinosa said from his car as he returned from watching crews lay sandbags at nearby Bear Creek. He hoped that the sandbags, debris clearance and other infrastructure improvements would prevent a worst-case scenario. Swain said that some effects of the storm may not be felt right away, but that the state's heavy snowpack "is all going to have to come downhill eventually." "Even though the flood peaks don't look extremely high on any individual river system with this event, what's going to start to happen is we're going to see now elevated flows on a lot of major rivers for a very prolonged period of time so not just for hours or even days, but very possibly more like days to weeks or longer," he said. Adding to the challenge are increasingly unpredictable patterns driven by climate change, as well as the difficulties of securing funding for flood control projects in an often bone-dry state, said Lynch, of GHD. Warm rain-on-snow events and other extreme weather can upend the natural timing of snowmelt that state water managers have long relied on. "The amount of snow we got this year was awesome, but it has its own challenges for the system, because we designed it and built it for one kind of reality, and we've got a changing reality that weve got to move to address," she said. Ennis, the Fresno resident, works with developers and farmers and said he's concerned about potentially dangerous circumstances, including sudden levee breaks that could put people at risk. "There's only one thing that keeps me up awake at night as a civil engineer, and it's water. It's this kind of situation," he said. "You're potentially talking about insane volumes of water." Times staff writers Jessica Garrison and Susanne Rust contributed to this report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. As California Republicans meet in Sacramento for a convention this weekend, Rep. Kevin McCarthy's ascension to speaker of the House is expected to be a top cause of celebration. The Bakersfield Republican is scheduled to address delegates at a Saturday luncheon. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) Californias 2024 primary election is less than a year away, yet no prominent Republican has announced plans to seek Californias open U.S. Senate seat another sign of the decline of a onetime GOP powerhouse that produced two presidents and four governors in the span of just over a half-century. As one of California's most highly prized political posts, the Senate seat is being vacated by retiring Sen. Dianne Feinstein, first elected to the office in 1992. Even before Feinstein announced she would not seek another term, some of the state's most well-known Democrats were lining up to vie for the seat. The same cannot be said of GOP hopefuls a sign that the Republican Party barely exists at the state level, said Jack Pitney, a political science professor at Claremont McKenna College who was a decades-long Republican until Donald Trump was elected president in 2016. As more than 1,000 members of the party faithful and their guests prepare to gather in Sacramento this weekend, Pitney noted that a GOP candidate has not won a statewide election since 2006, and California hasnt elected a Republican to the U.S. Senate since Pete Wilson in 1988. So, if youre a Republican trying to get people to donate to a Senate campaign, youre asking them to make a bad investment. If youre a rich person seeking to self-fund a campaign, youre likely to lose a lot of your own money, Pitney added. Obviously, one never says never. Its possible we could have political and demographic changes in years to come, but at least for the next couple election cycles, its very difficult to see how a Republican can win a Senate race in California. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, pictured on an escalator, announced earlier this year that she would not seek reelection. Still, as the party gathers for a three-day convention starting Friday near the state Capitol in downtown Sacramento, there are bright spots most notably Bakersfields Kevin McCarthy winning the gavel as speaker of the House. He will headline the Saturday convention luncheon. To have a Californian a Republican from California, someone who has been so committed and so dedicated to the California Republican Party this is a big deal for all of us and we are happy to celebrate, said state GOP Chair Jessica Millan Patterson. Story continues The party also helped successfully defend GOP Reps. Mike Garcia of Santa Clarita, David Valadao of Hanford and Michelle Steel of Seal Beach in competitive congressional races, aided farmer John Duartes win in a new Democratic-tilting district in the Central Valley and nearly ousted Rep. Katie Porter in Orange County, despite the Democrats enormous financial edge. Steel and Duarte are scheduled to speak on a dinner panel Saturday evening. Millan Patterson said the party picking up five California congressional seats since 2020 was instrumental to McCarthy becoming speaker. California Republicans are taking a victory lap for sure, she said. Holding these seats as well as Rep. Ken Calvert's Riverside County district next year during a presidential election, Democratic voters are more likely to turnout are essential to ensuring the GOP holds the House. The state's presidential primary, which is scheduled on Super Tuesday in early March next year, also has the potential to be pivotal in the GOP nominating contest because California has the most delegates of any state in the nation. Millan Patterson said that some Republicans were testing the waters for a potential Senate run and could emerge during this weekends convention. But she added that she expected the states early presidential primary and targeted congressional and legislative races to be the state party's primary focus of the 2024 election. California has the most Republican voters in the nation because of its size, but they are vastly outnumbered by Democrats and roughly on par with voters who decline to express a party preference. This has prompted a strategic shift by the party to use its limited resources to focus on the races where it can be most successful, a strategy first championed by former legislative leader Jim Brulte when he became state party chairman in 2013. When youre the majority party, people suck up. Donors suck up. Volunteers suck up. So you have more money than you could possibly spend efficiently, Brulte said, pointing at the enormous sums of money Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom raised for non-competitive races. The states Democrats have a significant financial edge. In 2022, the California Democratic Party reported raising $29.7 million and ending the year with $17.2 million in the bank, according to the secretary of states office. The state GOP raised $13.5 million in the same period, with $652,000 remaining in its coffers at the end of 2022. When youre the minority party, not just in California, when youre the minority party in any state, you have to much more jealously guard your resources because you dont have that many, Brulte said. I think at the end of day, helping maintain the congressional majority is priority No. 1. Picking up a couple legislative seats would be a good thing as well. Brulte expects a GOP Senate candidate to emerge but is skeptical that he or she would receive significant national or state party support. Lanhee Chen, a well-regarded academic and policy advisor to Republican presidential candidates, ran for state controller last year and performed the best of any GOP statewide candidate in recent memory (and won the most votes of any Republican candidate in the country). He lost by 10.6 percentage points. The Stanford University lecturer said he has been urged to run for the Senate seat but has misgivings for several reasons: Running statewide in California is enormously expensive and GOP donors are tired of investing in statewide races here because of the lack of success in nearly two decades. Making inroads among the heavily Democratic voting blocs in Los Angeles County and the Bay Area is a daunting challenge. There is great uncertainty over who will be the Republican presidential nominee and appear at the top of the ticket. And a federal race places a pointed focus on issues such as abortion, gun control and immigration that are particularly divisive in blue states such as California. I just dont see a pathway to winning there, Chen said. It hasnt stopped people from talking to me about it. Other Republicans who have recently run in statewide races radio host Larry Elder, former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, state Sen. Brian Dahle of Bieber, attorney Mark Meuser have not publicly expressed any interest in running for Senate. So far, 14 people have filed paperwork to run for the seat with the Federal Election Commission eight Democrats, five Republicans and one candidate affiliated with a minor party. Reps. Porter, Adam B. Schiff and Barbara Lee all Democrats are the most visible candidates in the race. The remainder are unknowns. Under California's jungle-primary system, the two candidates who receive the most votes move on to the general election regardless of party. If the Democratic vote splinters among multiple candidates, a Republican could advance if GOP voters consolidate behind one candidate. Given the states electoral tilt, the chances of a GOP candidate being successful in a statewide contest here appear to be extremely slim, barring an unprecedented shift among the state's voters or Watergate-like event. But political observers argue that a strong voice raising issues such as taxes, water policy, high-speed rail and other matters important to California voters would elevate political discourse in the state and benefit all voters. Its amazing to me that no one is coming in to say, I want to push candidates to respond to these very real concerns in a basically one-party rule state, said Jessica Levinson, an election law professor at Loyola Marymount University. Theres a bunch of things that arent hot-button national topics where you would think we would benefit from a diversity of viewpoints. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. A teacher who received a "teacher of the year" award has been arrested for allegedly sexually abusing a former student, according to police. Jacquelina Ma, 34, a sixth-grade teacher at Lincoln Acres Elementary School in National City, California, was arrested and charged with three counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14, and three counts of oral copulation with a child under 14. Police were tipped off to the alleged offences after the mother of a 13-year-old called and reported suspicions that her child had potentially been having an "inappropriate relationship with a former teacher," police said in a statement. On the evening of March 6, 2023, the National City Police Department was contacted by a concerned parent who suspected that her 13-year-old child was possibly having an inappropriate relationship with a former teacher. National City Police Detectives and School Resource Officers immediately began investigating the allegation, police said in a statement. On the morning of March 7, 2023, officers developed probable cause to arrest Jacqueline Ma (34-years-old), a current teacher at Lincoln Acres Elementary in National City. Law enforcement has not released further details on the allegations, citing the age of the victim and an ongoing investigation. Only one victim has been identified, according to the National School District Superintendent Leighangela Brady, who spoke to NBC 7. "We know that our entire school community is as stunned as we were by this news," she said in a statement to the outlet. "The district will cooperate with law enforcement and cannot comment any further on the pending investigation. We will continue to do everything possible to keep our students safety, needs, and education first and foremost." Ms Ma was named one of the San Diego County Office of Education's "Teachers of the Year" for the 2022-2023 school year, and has been teaching since 2013 according to her LinkedIn profile. Story continues Police arrested Ms Ma at the school's campus, according to CBS 8. The arrest took place on campus but was away from students, as both law enforcement and our site staff collaborated to ensure that student learning and the campus climate were not interrupted," Ms Brady told parents in a letter. "We can confirm that the student no longer attends our school, and we assure you that we will do everything we can to support the investigation. She was booked into the Las Colinas Detention Facility, but has since posted a $100,000 bail, according to Law & Crime. Lincoln Acres Elementary School in National City, California. Google A "Teacher of the Year" has been accused of sexually abusing a former 13-year-old student. Jacqueline Ma, 34, a sixth-grade teacher in California, was arrested on numerous felony charges. After winning the award, Ma had said it was important for teachers to be a "champion" to the kids. A California elementary school educator who recently won a "Teacher of the Year" award has been accused of sexually abusing a former 13-year-old student. Jacqueline Ma, 34, told a local news outlet KUSI News in August, shortly after she was named as one of the five 2022-23 San Diego County teachers of the year, that it was important to be a "champion" for the kids. Earlier this week, Ma, a sixth-grade teacher at Lincoln Acres Elementary School in National City, was arrested on school grounds on numerous felony charges, including lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14. The National City Police Department said in a press release that it arrested Ma on Tuesday morning, a day after the department said it was contacted by a "concerned parent who suspected that her 13-year-old child was possibly having an inappropriate relationship with a former teacher." Detectives and school resource officers "immediately" began investigating the allegation, according to the department, and police said they "developed probable cause to arrest" Ma, according to the press release. It was not immediately clear whether Ma had retained an attorney. Ma posted bail the same day she was arrested and was ultimately released, but authorities arrested her again on Thursday on additional felony charges, including possession of child pornography and preventing or dissuading a witness or victim, according to online jail records from the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. The award-winning educator remains booked at the Las Colinas Detention and Reentry Facility, the records show. Officials from the National School District did not immediately respond to requests for comment by Insider on Friday. Superintendent Leighangela Brady told NBC 7 in a statement that Ma "was re-arrested by law enforcement as their continued investigation into allegations of inappropriate conduct with minors secured additional information to press felony charges." Story continues Brady called the situation "deeply troubling" and said that Ma is "on leave and will not be returning to the campus," according to NBC 7. When Ma accepted her "Teacher of the Year" award last year, she thanked her students and her husband, according to a YouTube video of the ceremony. Ma previously told KUSI News in an interview that it was "surreal" to be "chosen to represent all of the amazing educators in San Diego." Ma called it a "huge honor." "Just being that champion for those students, allowing them to believe in themselves and see themselves the way that you believe in them and see them," Ma said at the time. An announcement from the San Diego County Office of Education about last year's teachers of the year said Ma "considers the relationships she maintains with her students her greatest accomplishments." Read the original article on Insider OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada on Friday banned the import of all Russian aluminum and steel products in a move that Ottawa said was aimed at denying Moscow the ability to fund its war against Ukraine. "Ukraine can and must win this war. We continue to do everything we can to cut off or limit the revenue used to fund Putin's illegal and barbaric invasion of Ukraine," Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said in a statement. The ban covers both finished and unfinished products, and would impact the import of products such as aluminum sheets, aluminum containers as well steel tubes and pipes, according to the statement. Canada, along with its Western allies, has taken coordinated actions against Russia over its invasion in Ukraine. Ottawa has slapped sanctions on more than 1,600 individuals and entities over the invasion and supported Kyiv with over C$5 billion ($3.6 billion) in financial, military and other aid. "We are ensuring Putin cannot pay for his war by selling aluminum and steel in Canada, in coordination with action taken by the United States today," Freeland said. Russia calls its actions Ukraine a "special military operation" to combat what it describes as a security threat from Ukraine's ties to the West. Last month, the United States announced a 200% tariff on Russian aluminum and related products that came into effect on Friday. Russian aluminum is produced by Rusal, which accounts for about 6% of global supplies. Canada imported C$45 million of aluminum and C$213 million of steel products from Russia In 2021, according to official data. ($1 = 1.3794 Canadian dollars) ($1 = 1.3794 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Ottawa) By Ismail Shakil and Molly Cone OTTAWA (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's Google will stop blocking news articles from some Canadian users' search results on March 16, a company executive told a Canadian parliamentary panel investigating the tech firm on Friday. Last month, Google started testing limited news censorship as a potential response to a Canadian government bill that aims to compel online platforms to pay publishers in Canada for news content. Google has claimed that the test is like thousands of other product tests the company conducts on a regular basis. The tests, which the company says affected less than 4% of Canadian users, began on Feb. 9 and were scheduled to run for five weeks. Speaking to a parliamentary committee investigating the tests, Google's public policy manager Jason Kee confirmed that the tests would end next week. "I want to underline these are just tests. No decisions have been made about product changes," Kee said. Last month, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said it was a "terrible mistake" for Google to block news content in reaction to "Online News Act," a government bill that created rules for platforms like Meta's Facebook and Google to negotiate commercial deals and pay news publishers. "It really surprises me that Google has decided that they'd rather prevent Canadians from accessing news than actually paying journalists for the work they do," he said at the time. During the panel, questions were raised about local journalism outlets, like the 13-14 local, weekly papers that MP Martin Shields has in his riding. "Blocking is something that I think irritates the local people, the grassroots people. The unintended consequences here of this move, I dont think is a way to negotiate and I think it's a mistake on your part," Shields said to Sabrina Geremia, the head of Google Canada. Geremia said Google is a contributor to news in Canada, driving 3.6 billion free visits from Canadians visiting links to news sites, and has licensing agreements in place with over 150 publications coast to coast. Story continues Facebook has also raised concerns about the legislation and warned it might be forced to block news-sharing on its platform. Canada's news media industry has asked the government for more regulation of tech companies to allow the industry to recoup financial losses it has suffered in the years that the tech giants steadily gained greater market share of advertising. Ottawa's proposal is similar to a ground-breaking law that Australia passed in 2021, which too triggered threats from Google and Facebook to curtail their services. Both eventually struck deals with Australian media companies after a series of amendments to the legislation were offered. (Reporting by Molly Cone in Toronto and Ismail Shakil in Ottawa; Editing by Aurora Ellis) A Canadian woman spent four years fighting to get the right healthcare and finally received a cancer diagnosis. Shes now telling others to be persistent. Laura Landry-Rudolph, 32, from Antigonish, Nova Scotia in eastern Canada, had doctors tell her for nearly a half-decade that the painful and expanding rash on her inner thigh was chafing or eczema. She posted an emotional video on Facebook in February, saying that it was in fact cancer, which was revealed after a dermatologists biopsy. The healthcare system is f***ed, she said at the time. Why did it take my doctors four years, four years?! Thinking it was f***ing chafing in my inner thigh? And now its spread, and now I have to find out if its in my blood. Ms Landry-Rudolph told Global News that she spoke out to urge others to be tenacious if they feel that something is wrong. You know your body, you trust your gut. And my message, simply, is you have to advocate for yourself and be persistent in getting the answers that you deserve, she told the outlet. She has cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. The Canadian Cancer Societys website states that its a rare kind of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The 32-year-old started having symptoms during her pregnancy with her first son. She visited the doctor and was prescribed creams. About 18 months later, the rash had grown, it was now painful, and it had begun leaking fluid. Laura Landry-Rudolph got a cancer diagnoses after four years (Screenshot / Global News) I was fearful that I had an infection. So I would visit [the ER], then again I was given antibiotics and no answers, she said. During her second pregnancy, the rash had appeared on the other side of her body, on her left hip. Then I knew in my gut that something is not right, she told Global News. She was told by several doctors that it was chafing or eczema. She spent more than a year on a dermatology specialist waitlist. She called her family doctor about the wait, at which point she was told to call and ask herself, leading to her being booked in following a cancellation by another patient. Story continues Hadnt I made that call that day myself, I wouldnt be in treatment right now, she said. When I went up to see the specialist, he took one look at me and said, this is not something we see every day. So in that moment, I was distraught. I had my mother with me. I was scared, I said, I have babies. Im a young mother, Im 32 years old. Weeks later, she saw another doctor who gave her the news. He said, What you have is called cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. And I said, Well, what is that? And the physician responded with, I have no knowledge around this type of cancer, you can choose to Google it or choose not to. Im so sorry that I had to deliver this news to you, she said. My world collapsed. I was left in the dark, I had to go pick up my kids from daycare thinking mummy might die. I dont know what stage Im at, I dont know what type of cancer I have. All I know is I have a rare cancer that this physician has zero knowledge over. She said four years ago, two per cent of her body was affected today that number is seven per cent. If it wasnt for me asking, I probably never would have gotten this diagnosis, she said. My message here is not to belittle any physicians at all, whatsoever. But, if you notice something on your body, you listen to your gut and you push to get the answer. Nova Scotia Minister of Health Michelle Thompson, a registered nurse, told Global News that work is being done to create clearer pathways to get speciality care. Everything were doing in terms of the investments and the pilot projects that were trying is in an effort to expedite peoples diagnosis, she added. The Premier of Nova Scotia, Tim Houston, who took office in August 2021, said at the Progressive Conservative annual general meeting last month that none of this happened overnight and it will not be fixed overnight. But, I want you to mark my words. I may have inherited a broken system, but I will do everything in my power to fix it. Canton Police Department, Ohio CANTON City police are investigating a shooting that left a city man dead. Police were dispatched to the 1300 block of Greenfield Avenue SW around 10:44 a.m. for a report of a shooting. Officers found Steven Troyer, 55, of Canton in the driver's seat of a running vehicle, Lt. Dennis Garren said. He was unresponsive and had several gunshot wounds. Canton paramedics transported Troyer to Aultman Hospital where he was pronounced dead. The investigation is ongoing and further details were not available. Fatal shooting:Canton man facing murder charge in shooting death of Adrian Armstead; 3 others charged Anyone with information should call the Canton detective bureau at 330-489-3144. Anonymous tips can also be sent through Tip411 or the Stark County Crime Stoppers. This article originally appeared on The Repository: Steven Troyer dies from multiple gunshot wounds; police investigating A frantic Hollywood-style car chase played out at a North Carolina airport when a motorist drove onto the tarmac, then barreled through windows into the terminal, according to the New Hanover County Sheriffs Office. It began around 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 9, at Wilmington International Airport, and concluded minutes later with one man under arrest, the sheriffs office said in a news release. A vehicle ... breached the fence line at the airport and drove onto the tarmac, the sheriffs office reported. The vehicle then retreated from the tarmac and the driver was engaged by deputies with the New Hanover County Sheriffs Office. The vehicle ultimately ended up inside the terminal after crashing through doors and windows. Details of how the car was stopped were not released, but a photo shows the front end was heavily damaged as it sat in the terminal. The driver was identified as Tray Anthony Dvorak and investigators have not released a motive. Dvorak was arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon on a government official, speeding to elude arrest, trespass on airport property, disorderly conduct and resisting/obstructing/delaying a government official, the sheriffs office said. Bond was set at $50,000. A Facebook page reports Dvorak lives in Wilmington. Airport officials reported the security breach on Twitter late Thursday and noted no one from the public was injured. The incident had minimal impact to operations, and the terminal was expected to be fully operational on Friday, officials said. Kidnappers tied victim to chair with barbed wire, carved crosses in face, NC cops say Video shows boaters being pulled from ocean after vessel stalls miles off Outer Banks Alligator living at Walmart in NC stirs debate, as many demand it be allowed to stay China-Europe cultural freight train departs from Xi'an to Kazakhstan People's Daily Online) 14:40, March 09, 2023 A China-Europe cultural freight train left Xi'an city, northwest China's Shaanxi Province for Kazakhstan on March 7, 2023. The train is loaded with gifts featuring Chinese traditional art to be delivered to women and children of the North Kazakhstan Region of Kazakhstan. The gifts include hand-painted scarves, shadow puppetry, paper cutting works, and straw patchworks. Children in Xi'an have also drawn paintings of their hometown, and written letters to children in Kazakhstan. Friends from afar, how are you? Welcome to my hometown, Xi'an! We are home to the eighth miracle of the world -- the Terracotta Warriors. We also have tasty steamed cold noodles. Come and visit my city! writes Niu Wenyue, a child in Xi'an. At the departure ceremony, the organizers presented international students from Kazakhstan artworks of Chinese intangible cultural heritages. The Women's Federation in Xi'an and Xi'an Women and Children's Activity Center plan to promote the creation and exhibition of handicraft works made by women in Xi'an and North Kazakhstan Region to increase their income though handicraft works. The Women's Federation in Xi'an will also encourage more entities, enterprises and women to engage in cultural exchange activities along the China-Europe freight train routes. (Web editor: Tian Yi, Du Mingming) CIUDAD VICTORIA, Mexico (AP) The anonymous tip that led Mexican authorities to a remote shack where four abducted Americans were held described armed men, people wearing blindfolds and plenty of activity around a ranch. Authorities headed for the rural area east of Matamoros on Tuesday morning, leaving the highway and driving remote dirt roads looking for the described location, according to Mexican investigative documents viewed Friday by The Associated Press. Finally, they saw the wooden shack far from any homes or businesses, surrounded by brush, and a white pickup parked outside that matched the one the Americans had been loaded into last Friday. Then they began to hear someone shouting, Help! Inside the shack, the documents said, Latavia Tay McGee and Eric Williams were blindfolded. Beside them were the bodies of Shaeed Woodard and Zindell Brown, wrapped in blankets and plastic bags. When authorities arrived, McGee and Williams shouted desperately to them in English. A guard who tried to escape out a back door was quickly apprehended, the documents said. He was wearing a tactical vest, but there is no mention of him being armed. The four Americans had crossed into Matamoros from Texas so that McGee could have cosmetic surgery. About midday, they were fired on in downtown Matamoros and then loaded into the pickup truck. Another friend, who remained in Brownsville, called police after being unable to reach the group that crossed the border. A Mexican woman, Areli Pablo Servando, 33, was also killed, apparently by a stray bullet. In the letter obtained by The Associated Press through a Tamaulipas state law enforcement official Thursday, the Scorpions faction of the Gulf cartel apologized to the residents of Matamoros where the Americans were kidnapped, Servando, and the four Americans and their families. But relatives of the abducted Americans said that the purported apology has done little to dull the pain of their loved ones being killed or wounded. Story continues Woodard's father said he was speechless upon hearing that the cartel had apologized for the violent abduction captured in video that spread quickly online. Ive just been trying to make sense out of it for a whole week. Just restless, couldnt sleep, couldnt eat. Its just crazy to see your own child taken from you in such a way, in a violent way like that. He didnt deserve it, James Woodard told reporters Thursday, referring to his son's death. The cousin of Williams, who was shot in the left leg during the kidnapping, said his family feels great knowing he's alive but does not accept any apologies from the cartel. It aint gonna change nothing about the suffering that we went through, Jerry Wallace told the AP on Thursday. Wallace, 62, called for the American and Mexican governments to better address cartel violence. U.S. Ambassador Ken Salazar told reporters Friday that U.S. officials had contacted President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador directly over the weekend to ask for help in locating the missing Americans in Matamoros. He said the cartel there must be dismantled. The letter attributed to the cartel condemned last week's violence and said the gang turned over to authorities its own members who were responsible. We have decided to turn over those who were directly involved and responsible in the events, who at all times acted under their own decision-making and lack of discipline, the letter reads, adding that those individuals had gone against the cartels rules, which include respecting the life and well-being of the innocent. A photograph of five bound men face-down on the pavement accompanied the letter, which was shared with The Associated Press by the official on condition that they remain anonymous because they were not authorized to share the document. A separate state security official said that five men had been found tied up inside one of the vehicles that authorities had been searching for, along with the letter. That official also spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the case. On Friday, Tamaulipas state prosecutor Irving Barrios said via Twitter that five people related to the violence had been arrested on charges of aggravated kidnapping and homicide. He said only one other person had been arrested in recent days. ___ Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Mark Stevenson in Mexico City and Acacia Coronado in Austin, Texas. President Biden has been on a good streak with his partys left flank, but progressives are now fretting about his direction. First, there was Bidens surprise announcement that hed sign a GOP resolution disapproving of a Washington, D.C. crime bill that eased some sentencing laws. Then came reports that administration officials are thinking about keeping migrant families in detention centers, which outraged members of the Congressional Hispanic and Progressive Caucuses. Both news stories were reminders that Biden is a centrist who will sometimes be at odds with the progressive side of the Democratic Party. Its just another reminder of who Biden actually is, said one left-wing Democratic consultant who works with progressives. Thats his instinct. Democrats acknowledge that immigration and crime are as politically charged as anything. And many see Bidens reported considerations as mostly political. Biden decided to back the Republican resolution on the D.C. crime bill after Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot failed to advance in a primary amid criticism over her record on crime. Its not clear that the administration will return to the Trump-era family detainee policy, but it is true that the GOP is working to portray Biden as weak at the border. In both cases, the White House is seen as having political reasons to move toward the middle on the two issues, especially since it worked for him in 2020. Its still a frustration to liberals who have nudged Biden to the left with some success. They want him to sustain what they see as progress. Jeff Cohen, who co-founded the online activist network RootsAction, sees a disconnect between Biden and what liberals sometimes hope to see. Many in the mainstream media and Democratic leadership want to portray President Biden as the second coming of FDR, he said. Organizers like himself say Biden is mostly unable or unwilling to utilize the presidential bully pulpit to mobilize the public toward a progressive and popular economic agenda, Cohen said, a concern that has been exasperated in recent weeks. Story continues Progressives have long irritated moderates over their stances on immigration and crime. The left wing was constantly attacked by Democrats after Republicans used the electorally charged slogan defund the police against them. But Biden and his supporters appear to see benefits in taking them on over crime. Far left progressives launched defund the police and abolish ICE and mainstream Democrats have paid the price ever since, said Jim Kessler, who serves as executive vice president for policy for the centrist think tank Third Way. If you look at recent elections in New York City, San Francisco, Minneapolis and Chicago Democratic voters have punished mayors and city councilmembers theyve deemed as unresponsive and overly progressive on crime, Kessler added. Progressives argue Biden will be hurting himself if he does not nix the immigration policies that he and fellow Democrats widely criticized as inhumane during the Trump years. We strongly urge the administration to reject this wrongheaded approach, Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Judy Chu (D-Calif.), and Nanette Barragan (D-Calif.) wrote in a statement issued after The New York Times reported that administration officials were contemplating a return to family detentions. The White House has not indicated whether they will move forward with the policy. Im not going to go in on rumors that are out there or conversations that are happening at this time, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said this week. She added that no decisions have been made. The sheer possibility, however, has progressives spooked. And it comes on the heels of what some believe was a misstep on the D.C. crime bill. Moderates are looking to counter the GOPs crime attacks by showing areas controlled by Republicans where violent crime is on the rise. According to data analyzed by Third Way, the murder rate in the 25 states that voted for Donald Trump has exceeded the murder rate in the 25 states that voted for Joe Biden in every year from 2000 to 2020. On other issues, progressives say Biden has done a lot right. They have hailed his support for Social Security and Medicare and believe some of the partys legislative accomplishments on things like climate and health care are significant. They think they played a role in those wins, even as they acknowledge they would have gone farther if they had been able. Still, as Biden prepares to announce his reelection bid, the fissures within the party are becoming more apparent. Liberal lawmakers who usually praise the president have been more outspoken, and activists from various interest groups have been quick to offer their organizing support. Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) used the term enraged in reference to the new migrant border discussion, while other House progressives offered equally strong sentiments. Moderates suggest the president is showing signs of being ready for primetime, when the battle for the White House will be filled with GOP criticisms on the controversial topics. Rather than being upset that centrist Joe Biden is governing like a centrist, progressives should ask themselves why they are losing so much support in the urban communities they consider their base, said Kessler. Biden is where the American people are on both issues and hes reflecting where most Democrats are as well. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. (iStock) Each year, at 2am on the second Sunday in March, the clocks go forward in the US which signals that beginning of Daylight Saving Time. Although the day that the clocks go back in the fall is sometimes considered the good one as people get an extra hour in bed, the system of changing the clocks twice a year can be controversial. In 2019, the European parliament voted to get rid of the change of clocks after a study found that 84 per cent of people in countries that took part in daylight saving time would like it to discontinue. However, a YouGov poll found that majority of Britons were marginally in favour of keeping it, with 44 per cent voting to keep the current system and 39 per cent voting to scrap it. There are also some health concerns linked to the time change, as some studies have shown it disrupts the bodys natural sleep cycles, which can affect both physical and mental health. So what is the impact of turning back the clocks on our health? How does changing the clock impact physical health? According to the Mayo Clinic, the human brain has a biological clock, also known as a circadian rhythm, that runs on a 24-hour cycle. Whether it is gaining an extra hour or losing an hour of sleep, this causes disruption to the sleep cycle and can be difficult for some people to adjust back to a normal schedule. Disturbed sleep could also potentially lead to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease. A 2019 study by researchers at Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts General Hospital examined the impact of sleep deficiency on heart disease in mice. It found that, after 16 weeks, mice who had their sleep cycles disrupted developed larger arterial plaques compared to the mice with normal sleep patterns. The sleep-deficient mice also had twice the level of certain white blood cells in their circulation, and lower amounts of hypocretin, a hormone that plays a key role in regulating sleep and wake states. This appears to be the most direct demonstration yet of the molecular connections linking blood and cardiovascular risk factors to sleep health, said Dr Michael Twery, director of the National Heart, Lunch and Blood Institutes National Centre on Sleep Disorders Research in the US. Story continues Losing an hour of sleep during the time change in the spring has been linked to a surge in heart attacks and strokes. In the US, hospitals report a 24 per cent spike in heart attack visits every year on the Monday after the clocks go forward. Turning the clocks back means an extra hour in bed (Getty Images) Research has also shown an increase in car accidents when the cars go back in the colder months as drivers adapt to the time change. According to data by Zurich Insurance, drivers are more likely to have an accident between 4pm and 7pm in November, as the evenings get darker earlier. After the clocks change, the company noted a 10 to 15 per cent increase in accident volumes during that time compared to the rest of the day. How does changing the clock impact mental health? When the clocks go back in the autumn, we get an extra hour of daylight in the morning however, this only lasts a couple of weeks before the days shorten and the sunrise gets later and later. On the shortest day of the year, 21 December, the UK enjoys less than eight hours sunlight. The increased hours of darkness can result in low mood and depression in some people, as well as fatigue, muscle pain and weakened bones due to a lack of vitamin D from exposure to sunlight. Some people also experience seasonal affective disorder (SAD) as a result of the shorter days. According to the NHS, SAD symptoms include a persistent low mood, loss of pleasure or interest in normal everyday activities, irritability, feelings of despair or guilt, and sleeping for longer than normal. The health service says that the lack of sunlight may stop a part of the brain called the hypothalamus from working properly, which may affect the production of melatonin (a sleep hormone) and serotonin (a mood hormone), as well as the bodys circadian rhythm. Fabian Bimmer/Reuters A mass shooting at a Kingdom Hall of Jehovahs Witnesses in Hamburg, Germany, has left at least seven people dead and dozens of others injured, local police and media reports have confirmed. Authorities also said that they believed the shooter was among the dead after finding a body among the carnage that fit the description of the killerbut added that the investigation remains ongoing and that there may have been more than one assailant involved in the massacre. Hamburg police have not officially disclosed how many people were killed, but said in a statement: According to initial findings, a shot was fired in a church on Deelboge street in the #GroBorstel district. Several people were seriously injured, some even fatally. We are on site with a large contingent of forces. Bislang liegen keine gesicherten Informationen zu dem Tatmotiv vor. Wir bitten darum, keine ungesicherten Vermutungen zu teilen und/oder Geruchte zu streuen. #schieerei #hh0903 Polizei Hamburg (@PolizeiHamburg) March 9, 2023 A second statement from the department said a motive for the slayings isn't known yet. The background is still completely unclear, a spokesperson said. The newspaper Bild reported that seven people had died and 25 others were injured, including eight who were seriously injured. A police spokesperson said that those killed had gunshot wounds. Das geht jetzt seit 20min so. Irgendwie beunruhigend pic.twitter.com/niZZo0F0Ep Oliver Steffens (@dat_olen) March 9, 2023 Emergency alert systems warned residents to stay in their homes, FOCUS reported. Some messaging went as far to say, Today at around 9 p.m. one or more perpetrators shot at people in a church. Story continues The officers themselves also heard a shot coming from the upper floors of the building. They went upstairs and also found a body there, police spokesperson Holger Vehren said immediately following the shooting. Shocking footage captured by the BBC showed the moment heavily armed officers with assault rifles stormed the building and began clearing rooms, as well as the moments before officers set up a formal perimeter around the scene. Video shows armed police storm a building after Hamburg shooting https://t.co/byKmvgDUoq BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) March 10, 2023 Hamburgs mayor, Peter Tschentscher, called the attack shocking in his first public comments since gunfire erupted around 9 p.m. My deepest condolences to the families of the victims, he wrote on Twitter. The emergency services are working to track down the perpetrator(s) and to clarify the background. Hamburg is Germany's second-largest city, with nearly 2 million residents. 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 suspect in a series of L.A. armored car heists is seen in CCTV footage. (FBI) A fugitive suspected of being a ringleader of a prolific L.A. armored car robbery crew was captured by the FBI on Wednesday evening. James Russell Davis, one of at least seven alleged robbers involved in the heists, was taken into custody in Rancho Cucamonga less than a week after law enforcement officials publicized their search for him, said Donald Alway, assistant director in charge of the FBIs Los Angeles field office. Authorities disseminated his image and characterized him as a mastermind behind a yearlong series of carefully planned armored car heists carried out with assault-style rifles. The robbery crew has stolen more than $500,000, according to the FBI. A federal arrest warrant was issued for Davis, 34, after he was charged last month in a federal criminal complaint with conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery. An alleged accomplice, 36-year-old Deneyvous Hobson, was taken into custody Feb. 21. At least five others believed to be part of the "Chesapeake Bandits" so called because investigators say they devised the holdups at a home on Chesapeake Avenue in L.A.s West Adams neighborhood remain at large. A video of one of the heists shows masked bandits wielding guns including an AR-style rifle with a short barrel, an optical sight and a large extended magazine. The bandits would force security guards to the ground at gunpoint, zip-tie them, and grab the bags of money before fleeing. James Russell Davis faces conspiracy and robbery charges, authorities say. (FBI) In announcing a reward of $25,000 for information leading to arrests of any of the suspects last week, LAPD Chief Michel Moore said detectives investigating the armored car robberies had found connections among the crimes, which were committed at various banks last year in Hawthorne, Inglewood and Los Angeles. Alway said the bandits would conduct surveillance on the locations, using multiple vehicles and personnel. The group had drivers who would remain in their vehicles during the robberies, he said. Three weeks before the first holdup, at a credit union in Hawthorne, two men believed to have been Hobson and Davis were seen in a white Chevrolet Tahoe for approximately one hour while a future victim, J.G. a Sectran Security, Inc., driver parked his armored car and collected cash from ATMs, according to the criminal complaint. Story continues A bank employee noticed the men and called police. A police officer questioned the two, who provided identification with the same Chesapeake Avenue address, according to an affidavit filed with the complaint. Three weeks later, to the day and almost the exact same minute ... J.G. was robbed while collecting cash from the same ATMs, Elizabeth Cardenas, an FBI special agent, said in the affidavit. The robbers were three men who used what appeared to be an AR-15 rifle and a handgun during the robbery, authorities said. They stole the guards gun and about $100,000. The crew allegedly pulled off a similar heist about half a mile away in Inglewood on June 9, stealing nearly $93,000, authorities said. A vehicle matching the description of Davis Tahoe was seen leading a getaway car within 30 minutes of the robbery on a nearby Ring camera. According to court records, Hobson has previous convictions for robbery and assault with a deadly weapon, and Davis has a conviction for receiving stolen property and possessing burglary tools. At least five other individuals believed to be part of the Chesapeake Bandits have yet to be identified. Surveillance photos of them can be seen on the FBI's website. Anyone with information is urged to call the FBI with a tip. A reward of up to $25,000 is being offered in exchange for information leading to an arrest in the case. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. BEIJING (AP) China on Friday accused Canada of smearing its reputation over allegations China is secretly operating two overseas police stations in Quebec. Canada should stop sensationalizing and hyping the matter and stop attacks and smears on China, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a daily briefing. China has been ... strictly abiding by international law and respecting all countries judicial sovereignty," Mao said. The spokesperson did not comment on the existence of the police stations or whether they were operated by Chinese government authorities. Canadians of Chinese origin have been victims of activities carried out by the stations, Sgt. Charles Poirier of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said Thursday. Canada will not tolerate any type of intimidation, harassment or targeting of diaspora communities, Poirier said. The RCMPs Integrated National Security Team has opened investigations into the suspected police stations in Montreal and Brossard, a suburb just south of the city, he said. The Spanish human rights organization Safeguard Defenders says China has scores of such stations across the globe, including in the U.K. and the U.S. In a report last September, it said the stations were used to harass, threaten, intimidate and force targets to return to China for persecution." The Chinese Foreign Ministry has previously described the foreign outposts as service stations for Chinese people who are abroad and need help with bureaucratic tasks such as renewing their Chinese drivers licenses. Such citizen services are normally performed by an embassy or consulate. Beijing has launched dual multi-year campaigns to bring suspects wanted mostly for economic crimes back to China, but says its agents overseas operate in line with international law. U.S. authorities say that has not always been the case. The outposts have fueled global concerns that the ruling Chinese Communist Party is seeking control over its citizens abroad, often by using threats against their families and welfare, while undermining democratic institutions overseas and gathering economic and political intelligence. Story continues Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said Thursday concerns over foreign interference were behind Canada's refusal to issue a diplomatic visa to a political operative for China last fall. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the presence of Chinese police stations in Canada concerns us enormously." Weve known about the (presence of) Chinese police stations across the country for many months, and we are making sure that the RCMP is following up on it and that our intelligence services take it seriously, Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa. Canada-China relations nosedived in 2018 after China jailed two Canadians on allegedly trumped-up charges shortly after Canada arrested Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of technology giant Huawei and the daughter of the companys founder, on a U.S. extradition request. They were sent back to Canada in 2021 on the same day Meng returned to China after reaching a deal with U.S. authorities in her case. BEIJING (Reuters) - China's parliament on Friday approved a plan to re-organise institutions under the State Council, or cabinet, according to state media. Earlier this week, China unveiled a plan for a sweeping reform of central government institutions, including the formation of a financial regulatory body and national data bureau and a revamp of its science and technology ministry. (Reporting by Ryan Woo; Editing by Himani Sarkar) [Source] A Chinese electric vehicle company was forced to remove its cars facial recognition feature after its implementation was heavily ridiculed on social media. In a video that went viral on Weibo, an XPeng Motors car owner demonstrated how his vehicles facial recognition system required him to kneel down and position his face in front of the car's front bumper to activate it. According to the car owner, he was asked to do an identity check after the car brands recent system update logged him out. The clip shows him placing his face in front of a camera to fit the circular space the app designated. The owner then realized that the app decided to use a camera near the car's front bumper. "Never in my life would I have expected this," said the car owner. More from NextShark: Ancient China used face-whitening cosmetics before Ancient Greece, study claims After the video went viral on Weibo, other users shared similar experiences using their XPeng car. The feature, which supposedly enables XPeng cars to verify the identity of the drivers, proved to be unpopular among users. Some complained about the humiliating posture that drivers must take in order to access their own vehicle. Others simply dismissed the product for its difficulty to use. More from NextShark: Jackie Chan speaks out on viral video of violent attack on women diners in Tangshan There were also those who said they instead use a third-party app that the vehicle brand has yet to properly adapt. XPeng Motors responded quickly to the negative feedback with an apology statement that discusses its customers. In a statement, the company said that it was working to improve the system and would be seeking feedback from users to ensure that any future updates were better received. More from NextShark: Republican Indiana governor is latest US official to visit Taiwan The announcement also noted that the feature would be removed from its cars. Enjoy this content? Read more from NextShark! Mosquitos help solve home robbery case in China [Source] Geng Quanrong, the Chinese national accused of slaying his Nigerian ex-girlfriend, has accused the latter of injuring his genitals and denied intending to kill her at a court appearance this week. The 47-year-old textile businessman is facing a culpable homicide charge for fatally stabbing 22-year-old Ummukulsum Ummita Buhari in her shared home in Janbulo quarters, Kano state, on Sept. 16, 2022. He pleaded not guilty the following month. While being cross-examined at a Kano High Court Thursday, Geng detailed his version of events of that night, saying it was Ummita who had summoned him to her home to take her pet dog, Charlie. Earlier in the day, Ummita allegedly sent Geng a video of herself that showed her playing with Charlie and sitting on clothes Geng had bought for her for their planned wedding. More from NextShark: Over 300 Rally Against Anti-Asian Hate With Asian American Federation in NYC However, Geng said Ummita did not return his call when he arrived at her house. Instead, he was allegedly met by her mother, Fatima Zubairu. On reaching her house, after she refused to pick my call, I sent her a text message. Later her mother (Fatima Zubairu) opened the gate and I got in to pick Charlie, Geng told the court, according to Vanguard. I did not talk to the deceaseds mother because she does not understand English and I dont understand Hausa language. Zubairu previously alleged that Geng started stabbing Ummita as soon as she let him into their home. More from NextShark: Chinese man spends $51,000 building a luxurious mansion with AC and swimming pool for his pet dogs He always comes around wanting to see her and she has been refusing. This time around when he came, he kept knocking on the door. When I was fed up of him hitting the door loudly, I opened the door and he pushed me aside and got in and started stabbing her with a knife, Zubairu told Daily Trust after the incident. Geng told the court he did not intend to kill Ummita and that she injured his genitals. I did not intend to kill Ummukulsum and I dont want to be killed. She injured me on my genitals and I cannot show the court, Geng claimed. It is against our Chinese culture and I am a Muslim. Story continues More from NextShark: Elderly Filipino Woman is 'Getting Better' After Brutal Assault in NYC The court admitted the exhibits, which include Ummitas videos, Gengs phone, their electronic conversations and the receipt of a gold jewelry worth 5 million Nigerian naira (approximately $10,900) that Geng had given Ummita. Geng will return to court on March 29. More from NextShark: CCTV captures moment girl in China falls out of moving car as it drives away unaware In Chris Rocks latest live Netflix special, Selective Outrage, the comedian mentioned a moment in his parenting journey when he had to teach his daughter Lola Simone, now 20, a valuable lesson about consequences. The post Chris Rock Admits He Asked Dean For His Daughter Lolas School Expulsion appeared first on Blavity. According to People, Rock, 58, touched on a story about his daughters high school experience at a predominantly white school. Rock recalled when Simone got in trouble on a high school class trip to Portugal for sneaking out past curfew. Lola and four of her little white girlfriends decided they were bored, Rock said, explaining they snuck out and went drinking. Of course, they got busted. Rich white schools, they dont play that s-, he continued. Rock explained that he and his ex-wife Malaak Compton-Rock decided to get an attorney to help them handle the incident and during that time he realized that his daughter and friends were not taking the matter seriously. Lola is like, Daddy, stop it. Youre so serious! Ill be back in school in no time, Rock said as he reenacts his daughter. Rock said he knew at that moment his daughter needed to feel the consequences of her decisions. Sticking to the course of action, Rock called a meeting with Simones dean and requested his daughter be expelled. I need you to kick my daughter out of this school, Rock said. I need my Black child to learn her lesson right now before she is up on OnlyFans and some sh*t, he told Lolas dean. Please kick my child out, he continued. They kicked her out. They kicked them all out, but they kicked my child out first. Rock reflected on that parenting moment resulting in success. Simone learned from the incident and worked hard to attend prestigious schools and programs. Today, shes studying culinary arts in Europe. Rock shares two daughters, Simone and Zahra Savannah, 18, with ex-wife Compton-Rock. Chris Rock's Netflix special, "Selective Outrage," premiered Saturday. (Kirill Bichutsky / Netflix via Associated Press) Chris Rock accused Will Smith of "selective outrage" in his latest special, but it seems Netflix has been selective with the comedian's performance. Days after Rock's stand-up comedy special "Selective Outrage" debuted Sunday, Netflix has edited out one of the comedian's less-than-smooth jokes from the set, according to several reports. A source familiar with the production told The Times on Friday that Rock and Netflix agreed on the final cut and that such edits are common for comedy specials. Netflix also displays a caption noting that the special was "streamed live and edited" in its current iteration. The joke in question was one where the "Madagascar" star seemingly confused two of Smith's dramas. For the joke, Rock recalled his 2016 Oscars hosting gig and the #OscarsSoWhite controversy surrounding the annual awards show. Jada Pinkett Smith said in 2016 she'd boycott the Oscars given that only white performers were nominated in the four acting categories. According to Rock, the "Matrix Revolutions" star tried to convince him to do the same. "His wife said I should quit the Oscars. I shouldnt host because her man didnt get nominated for 'Emancipation.' The biggest piece of s ever,'" he said in the live edition. Will Smith's "Emancipation" wasn't released until 2022. Rock meant to reference Smith's 2015 film "Concussion." During the live show Rock realized his misstep and corrected himself. Netflix's current version seems to have worked over the stumble entirely. "Years ago, his wife said I should quit the Oscars. I shouldn't host. She f said [you] should quit 'cause Will didn't get nominated for 'Concussion,'" Rock said. "What the f." According to Rock and his special, Pinkett Smith "started this s. "Nobody was picking on her. She said me, a grown-ass man, should quit his job because her husband didnt get nominated for 'Concussion,'" he continued. "And then [he] gives me a concussion. What the f, man?" "Selective Outrage" was the first time Rock spoke out at length about Smith's infamous slap at the 2022 Oscars. The comedian dedicated the final portion of his special to taking shots at the Smiths and their recent history of controversy. "Will Smith practices selective outrage. Everybody knows what the f happened. Everybody who really knows, knows I had nothing to do with that s," Rock said. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Julia Fox is speaking out on her brother, Christopher Fox's, arrest after police raided a residence and arrested him on weapons and drug charges. Christopher Fox, 30, was arrested March 8 after the New York Police Department raided his apartment after obtaining a search warrant related to an ongoing investigation into ghost guns and narcotics, NYPD confirmed to USA TODAY in an email March 9. The NYPDs Ghost Gun Team seized several ghost gun parts, as well as equipment for pressing narcotics pills, an NYPD spokesperson said in a statement. Team members also discovered materials typically used as components in explosives, including pressure cookers and various chemicals, which can also be used for manufacturing narcotics. The found chemicals were deemed non-hazardous. Kodak Black: Rapper ordered into drug rehab after allegedly testing positive for fentanyl Julia Fox spoke out about her brother's arrest on TikTok Thursday, saying she's "embarrassed" by the situation. "I know my brother and I've always known him to be the sweetest, most gentle, kind, soft-spoken (person)," Julia Fox said. "But I will say that both my brother and I have a lot of trauma." Julia Fox said while she's been able "to release a lot of that rage" from childhood trauma, her brother "internalized it." Harvey Weinstein sentenced to 16 more years, says he doesn't deserve 'life in prison' Christopher Fox was arrested on a total of seven charges: criminal possession of a controlled substance, manufacture of a machine gun, manufacture of a rapid fire mod device, manufacture of a dangerous instrument, criminal possession of a weapon, criminal possession of a firearm and criminal use of drug paraphernalia. The spokesperson added that the matter is believed to be contained and has no apparent nexus to terrorism. A full investigation is underway. Ghost guns are firearms that are often assembled from kits, do not contain serial numbers and are sold without background checks, making them difficult to trace and easy to acquire by criminals, according to a press release from the Department of Justices Office of Public Affairs. Story continues NYPD will continue to fight relentlessly against illegal guns against both the steady proliferation of traditionally-manufactured firearms and the increasingly prevalent numbers of illegal, untraceable but fully functioning weapons known as ghost guns, the NYPD spokesperson said. Tory Lanez found guilty in shooting of Megan Thee Stallion: All the emotional revelations Rapper Gunna pleads guiltyin racketeering case in Atlanta This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Julia Fox breaks silence on brother's gun, drug arrest The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department is seeking help finding a 14-year-old who was last seen running from school in January. Kamonie Teasley left her school on Tuckaseegee Road in west Charlotte on Jan. 18, according to police. Teasleys family is worried for her safety. Public's Assistance Requested in Missing Person Investigation https://t.co/aojAWmlVxO CMPD News (@CMPD) March 10, 2023 ALSO READ: CMPD searching for man last seen in east Charlotte Authorities said Kamonie is known to spend time at the transit center and library in Uptown, as well as the hotels in the Sugar Creek corridor. Anyone with information on Kamonies whereabouts is asked to call 911. This is a developing story. (WATCH BELOW: 64-year-old man reported missing from Rowan County) Coinbase today told users that it is updating the terms and conditions of its staking serviceone month after U.S. regulators cracked down on similar products. Americas biggest cryptocurrency exchange said in an email to customers on Friday that staking will continue and emphasized that clients will earn rewards through protocols and not Coinbase itselfwhich is a particular point of contention among U.S. regulators like the SEC. Staking is the process of locking-up cryptocurrency to keep a blockchains network running. Proof-of-stake assetssuch as Ethereum, Cardano, and Solanarequire people to pledge the blockchains native cryptocurrency to the network and earn rewards for doing so. It can be a complicated process to do it yourself, so exchanges like Coinbase offer to do the process for their clients. Coinbase acts only as a service provider connecting you, the validators, and the protocol, the company said today, adding that there will also be a transparent Coinbase fee. The biggest change, however, is that users must now unstake certain assets before selling or transferring them, which brings Coinbases service more in line with the kinds of staking services that exist on blockchain networks natively. The assets that must now be unstaked on Coinbase are Solana (SOL), Cosmos (ATOM), Cardano (ADA), and Tezos (XTZ). Up to now, users who hold Solana on Coinbase, for instance, earn staking rewards passively without the need to opt into the service, and can transfer and sell those assets whenever they wish. But that is changing. Coinbase now cautions that any asset staked on its platform may take between a few hours or a few weeks before it can be unstaked and then moved or sold. The time required is due to protocol rules and Coinbases processing time, the email to customers read. Are Regulators Taking Aim at Crypto Staking? Rumors Suggest New SEC Scrutiny The update to Coinbases terms comes after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last month fined Krakenanother popular American digital asset exchange$30 million because its staking product allegedly violated securities laws. Story continues The SEC said that Kraken had failed to register the offer and sale of their crypto asset staking-as-a-service program. The regulator also ordered the exchange to halt its staking service for U.S. customers. Kraken agreed to pay the fine but said it would still offer staking services for non-U.S. clients through a separate Kraken subsidiary. According to the SEC, staking services may run afoul of federal securities laws in the U.S. when exchanges make themselves too much of an intermediary by determining the returns its customers would receive, instead of strictly the protocol. Defendants determine these returns, not the underlying blockchain protocols, and the returns are not necessarily dependent on the actual returns that Kraken receives from staking, the SEC said last month in its complaint against the San Francisco-based exchange. KINGSTON, R.I. (AP) The University of Rhode Island has removed a partial Malcolm X quote from the facade of its main library 30 years after members of the school's Black Student Leadership Group and others protested because they said the shortened quote misrepresented the fuller meaning of the civil rights leaders message. The inscription on the Robert L. Carothers Library and Learning Commons was installed in 1992 and was meant to be a tribute, but instead, led to the takeover of a campus building, the university said in a statement Friday. The inscription read, My alma mater was books, a good library ... I could spend the rest of my life reading, just satisfying my curiosity. The full quote, from The Autobiography of Malcolm X, reads: I told the Englishman that my alma mater was books, a good library. Every time I catch a plane, I have with me a book that I want to read and thats a lot of books these days. If I werent out here every day battling the white man, I could spend the rest of my life reading, just satisfying my curiosity because you can hardly mention anything Im not curious about. The 1992 protesters held a 30-year reunion in November, and it was at that time that school President Marc Parlange, who took over in 2021, pledged to have the quote removed. The removal of this inscription started 30 years ago, when a group of URI students had the courage to stand up and speak out against injustices happening at that time, Parlange said in a statement. Our university is grateful to those students for their courage, and I am grateful to todays generation of student leaders who, advocating in that same spirit, continue to inspire our ongoing work to foster a truly inclusive and equitable community. Michelle Fontes, who participated in the 1992 protest and now works at the university, welcomed the change. I am happy to have been part of the activism that took place in 1992 and this quote finally being removed is proof that our new administration is listening and striving to do better," she said. The university is installing blank panels of matching granite where the quote used to be. Malcolm X, a leader in the Nation of Islam who advocated for civil rights and Black empowerment, was assassinated in 1965 at age 39. A 19-year-old college student who police say racked up more than $500,000 in fraudulent purchases while working at a store at the Burlington Mall faced a judge on Friday. Ariel Foster, 19, of Boston, was arraigned Friday in Woburn District Court on charges including larceny over $1,200. A plea of not guilty was entered on her behalf and the judge set her bail at $1,000. While employed at Lovisa, a jewelry store in the mall, Foster put together an elaborate credit card scheme to fund a slew of lavish purchases, according to the Burlington Police Department. On three separate dates between February 2 and February 22, prosecutors allege that Foster scanned items from the store onto the register, increased their price, and refunded the cost of those items to her credit card. Surveillance video from inside the store also appeared to have been tampered with, prosecutors added. An investigation showed that Foster stole a total of $547,187 from the company through a total of eight transactions, according to police. Foster is said to have used that money to purchase a $35,000 Tesla, nearly $6,000 in Delta airline credits, almost $5,000 worth of Louis Vuitton items, and hotel stay in Maui that topped $20,000. Foster was taken into custody Wednesday after detectives executed a search warrant at her dorm room on the campus of Lasell University in Newton. The judge also ordered Foster to stay away from Lovisa, the mall, and the victims involved in the case. She is due back in court in May. 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 19-year-old college student was caught making expensive purchases with thousands of dollars she stole while working at a jewelry store in Massachusetts, police said. Bank records revealed the Lasell University student bought a $35,000 Tesla, charged more than $20,000 to a hotel in Maui, Hawaii, and spent nearly $6,000 with Delta Airlines, according to the Burlington Police Department. Shes also accused of splurging nearly $5,000 on Louis Vuitton items with money swindled from Lovisa, the jewelry store in the Burlington Mall, in a credit card scheme. Now the woman, of Boston, is facing a larceny charge, police said in a March 9 news release. Greed took over. I dont know how else I would classify it, Burlington Police Chief Tom Browne told CBS Boston. When I saw (her) age I was surprised as well and when I first saw the amount I thought it was a mistake. Burlington police detectives responded to Lovisa for a credit card machine breach on Feb. 22 and an investigation ensued, the release said. On three occasions in February, the student, while behind the stores cash register, is accused of scanning store items and increasing their prices. Then, police said she refunded the items inflated costs to her credit card, which showed eight refund transactions from Lovisa totaling $547,187. Following a subpoena of her financial institutions, a refund transaction from Lovisa America LLC was found by investigators, according to police. The students dorm room at Lasell University was searched and she was arrested on March 8, police said. She posted bail and will likely appear in Woburn District Court on March 10 for an arraignment, according to the release. If one of my children came home and said they are trying to buy a Tesla while they are trying to go to school thats certainly going to raise those flags for me, Browne told CBS Boston. Lasell University, a private institution in Auburndale, in also investigating the student, according to NBC Boston. Story continues Burlington is about 15 miles northwest of Boston. Banker stole millions from customers and then lost it on the stock market, feds say Bank worker gave up customer identities in plot to steal thousands from banks, feds say Worker funds wedding with stolen money then brags about bonuses on TikTok, feds say Cassandra Nichole Franklin, 40, is being sought by Columbus police as the suspect in a Feb. 22 murder of 36-year-old Michael Sarratt. An arrest warrant for murder has been issued for murder. Columbus police are searching for a woman wanted in connection with a Northeast Side murder. Cassandra Nichole Franklin, 40, has been charged in a warrant obtained by Columbus police homicide detectives with the Feb. 22 murder of 36-year-old Michael Sarratt. She is described as a 5-foot-1, 131-pound Black woman with black hair and brown eyes. Franklin was last known to be driving a small, white four-door SUV with a gray or black front quarter panel on the driver's side, police said. Homicide detectives are trying to locate a woman charged in connection to a Feb. 2023 shooting on Rankin Ave. that left a 36-year-old man dead. A warrant has been filed for the arrest of Cassandra Franklin who is known to be driving a small white four-door SUV. pic.twitter.com/B16bGjkfiJ Columbus Ohio Police (@ColumbusPolice) March 9, 2023 Police were called at 9:41 p.m. Feb. 22 to a home on the 2100 block of Rankin Avenue on a report of a shooting. Sarratt, of the East Side, was found by responding officers inside the home with a gunshot wound. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died at 10:30 p.m., police said. Columbus police say Cassandra Franklin, wanted on a warrant for a Feb. 22 murder, was last known to be driving this vehicle. Anyone with information is asked to call Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-TIPS. mhenry@dispatch.com @megankhenry This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus police issue warrant for woman's arrest in Feb. 22 murder (Bloomberg) -- A Democratic super-PAC is coming out early and big for the 2024 presidential race, launching ads in battleground states to tout President Joe Bidens economic agenda. Most Read from Bloomberg American Bridge 21st Century wouldnt disclose how much its spending on the television and radio commericals, except that the expense could reach the mid-six figures. But initial buys identified by the tracking firm AdImpact show $142,928 in reserved time in the target markets as of Thursday. That would make it the largest advertising expenditure of the 2024 campaign to date. Besides coming nearly 20 months before the presidential election, the ads are notable for the locations where theyll appear: Greensboro, North Carolina; Flint, Michigan; Erie, Pennsylvania and Green Bay, Wisconsin. We feel like its an important segment because traditionally a lot of the independent expenditure groups go after the major media markets, said Tiffiany Vaughn, spokesperson for the political action committee. And sometimes our message doesnt get delivered to smaller communities, the rural beltway voters who can get overlooked. All of the cities are in states that will be contested by both parties. The ads are timed for this weekend to coincide with the second anniversary of Bidens signing of the coronavirus stimulus package, the American Rescue Plan. They would focus on differentiating the president from Republicans on Social Security, Medicare, insulin prices and infrastructure spending. The commercials dont single out any specific Republican by name, but some versions show images of former President Donald Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Trump in November announced his third campaign for the White House, and Biden and DeSantis are widely expected to announce their campaigns. Story continues American Bridge is known for its opposition research and attack ads against Republican candidates. Its biggest donors last year included Stephen Mandel of Lone Pine Capital, Michael Moritz of Sequoia Capital, and Deborah Simon of Simon Property Group. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. Zubin Mehta walks onstage to conduct Mahler's Symphony No. 3 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Walt Disney Concert Hall. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times) Zubin Mehta walks onstage more slowly than he did in his youthful, dashing days and is helped by a cane. He conducts sitting down. Sunday afternoon at Walt Disney Concert Hall, his arm movements lacked ostentation and could barely be seen from behind. What hasn't changed is the Mehta Sound, something so bold and individual it requires a formal name. The Los Angeles Philharmonic had a majesty that only Mehta can get. At 86, he needs no flamboyance. His mere presence is enough. That presence was felt from the moment the stage doors opened. The crowd began cheering before the conductor could even be seen. By the time he reached the podium, not only the orchestra but most of us in the hall were on our collective feet. Mehta has endured health problems in recent years, but this performance of Mahlers Symphony No. 3, at an almost brisk 96 minutes, displayed the quintessential majestic grandeur of the Mehta Sound. The cheers at the end were like those for a rock concert. The Mehta Sound always encompasses massed brass and big percussion. Here, too, double basses and cellos resonated like sonic pilings dug deeply into the symphonic earth, becoming the foundation of the longest symphony in the standard repertory. Everyone onstage appeared galvanized by Mehta. Andrew Bains potent horn call that opened the Third instantly called the audience to attention. Marc Lachats oboe could have been the jolting voice of a wild animal in the jungle. All the many solos in the symphony be they flute, clarinet, violin, trumpet were Mehta-ized. That also went for the strings, the Los Angeles Master Chorales womens chorus, the Los Angeles Childrens Chorus and the amber-toned Gerhild Romberger, who sang the short alto solo about human suffering. In six movements, the symphony is a vast meditation on life and nature, comprising our angst and our enthusiasms. The finale is a long slow movement that offers a swelling thanksgiving for the privilege of being alive. Story continues Zubin Mehta conducts the L.A. Philharmonic in Mahler's Third Symphony at Walt Disney Concert Hall (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times) Where does Mehta Sound come from? When I asked him about it in late January at his Brentwood home, he was nonchalant. He has said that in his 16 seasons as music director of the L.A. Phil, from 1962 to 1978, he always had the raptly beautiful sounds of the Vienna Philharmonic in his mind, as heard in the citys glorious concert hall, the Musikverein. In fact, Mehta created something quite different. No one has ever mistaken the acoustically duller Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, which Mehta opened with the L.A. Phil in 1964, for the Musikverein. The spectacular recordings Mehta made with the L.A. Phil in UCLAs Royce Hall were engineered to produce a kind of wide-screen, Technicolor orchestral effect that first revealed the extraordinary impact that Mehta now achieves in his annual visits to Disney as the orchestras conductor emeritus. Mahlers Third was Mehta's last recording with the L.A. Phil. He taped it in March 1978, three months before the end of his final season with the orchestra. That fall he decamped to the New York Philharmonic. By the time the two-LP set was released in May 1980, Mehta was already making slicker, less vital recordings in New York. Meanwhile, the L.A. Phil had been given a new identity by Carlo Maria Giulini, the poetic Italian conductor. The Mahler set got little attention. It had been a long time, 45 years to be exact, since Mehta had performed Mahlers Third with the L.A. Mehta told me that he simply felt like doing it again. His stamp is dissimilar to that of Esa-Pekka Salonens, who happened to choose Mahlers Third to open his first season as music director of the L.A. Phil in 1992 and went on to make a luminous recording it a few years later with the orchestra. Gustavo Dudamel luxuriated in his own warmly sympathetic recording of it with the Berlin Philharmonic in 2014. For his part, Mehta has made two more recordings of the Third. One, in 1993, was with the Israel Philharmonic, during his half-century tenure as the orchestra's music director. Here the symphony has a hair-raising, scrappy authority. The other was a robustly magisterial live recording made in the Musikverein, as part of a tour with the orchestra of the Bavarian State Opera (where Mehta served as music director from 1998 to 2006). Mehta has also had been chief conductor of the Teatro del Maggio Musicale in Florence, Italy, and the Palau de les Arts in Valencia, Spain. But L.A. and New York made Mehta the commanding Mahlerian he has become. The arresting analog engineering of the Royce Hall sessions are where you witness the marvelous Mehta Sound where each sonority has a personality, even a kind of chutzpah. Mehta said that when he then programmed the Third in New York, he studied it with Leonard Bernstein. Lenny came to my performance with the New York Philharmonic, Mehta recalls. Afterwards we went to his apartment, and we talked about it. He told me that the last movement had to be 26 minutes. Yours was faster, he said. Its not fast. The last moment is very slow. In his recordings and at Disney Hall on Sunday, Mehta's last movement stubbornly remained between 23 and 24 minutes. Mehta doesn't go for Bernsteinian transcendence, but rather outward glory. Mehta doesn't prepare his climaxes, he stuns you with them. He insists upon awe. "Bernstein had many things to tell me, and I appreciated it a lot of it, especially about how to deal with the orchestra and about interpretation. He told me what he liked and what he didnt like. He once came to my performance of Mahlers Fifth and didnt like it. Zubin Mehta conducts the L.A. Phil in Mahler's Third Symphony at Walt Disney Concert (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times) Shortly after becoming music director of the L.A. Phil and not long before her death in 1964, Mehta visited Alma Mahler, the composers widow and a composer in her own right. I didn't know her well, but I speak Viennese, he said referring to distinct Viennese German pronunciation, so we got along very well, and she showed me everything, with all her different husbands, including architectural designs, models, autographs," notably from her later spouses, including the architect Walter Gropius and novelist Franz Werfel. She made me miss my plane to Paris," Mehta continued. "I had a rehearsal in Paris I had to cancel. She just held my hand and wouldn't let me go. I asked her so many questions about Vienna. However, Mehta says he did get to know Anna Mahler, a noted sculptor and the second daughter of Gustav and Alma, very well. "Anna used to construct huge statues," Mehta says. "She had the death mask of her mother." I took her once to a play at the Mark Taper Forum, he recalls. "She fainted during the intermission of the play. Suddenly this man came to help me. I saw it was Charlton Heston. He didnt know who she was, and I didnt know him. He just saw a woman falling and so he wanted to help. During our conversation back in January, I was tempted to ask him about the fictional Lydia Tars grotesque performance of Mahler's Fifth Symphony in "Tar." But more pressing at the moment: his views on whether Gustavo Dudamel might become the next music director of the New York Philharmonic, which everyone in New York seemed to believe. Although Mehta's tenure with Americas oldest orchestra was rocky at times, particularly from some journalists who found him flashy and superficial, he wound up lasting 13 years as its music director, longer than any other. Did he think Gustavo Dudamel would go to New York? No. Paris and L.A. made more sense to Mehta, who has seldom been back to New York. No conductor after Bernstein (that includes Pierre Boulez, Mehta, Kurt Masur, Lorin Maazel and Alan Gilbert) maintained much of a relationship with the orchestra. Mehta, on the other hand, has appeared regularly with the L.A. Phil for more than six decades. In a follow-up phone call after the news that Dudamel had, indeed, accepted the appointment to become the New York Philharmonic's music director beginning in 2026, I asked if Mehta had any advice for Dudamel. He didn't, explaining that much has changed over the years and that he currently had little contact with the orchestra. But he had confidence that Dudamel would win the players over. Other than New York, Mehta has kept his ties with all his former orchestras and opera companies, along with the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics, which he conducts regularly. I promised when I left the Los Angeles Philharmonic that I would keep coming back, and I have, he says. He has kept his main residence in L.A. and has become seemingly more beloved with every passing year and appearance. Next week he returns to Florence for a production of Carmen. He is now preparing to conduct his first Lulu next season in Florence, with William Friedkin directing Berg's opera. At least that's the plan. The Maggio Musicale, which is so devoted to Mehta that it named one of its theaters after him, is in crisis. Its superintendent, Alexander Pereira, recently resigned in the wake of a fraud investigation over his use of the companys credit card. A civil servant has been appointed to replace him. Mehta says hes sorry to see Pereira go and will meet the new head, Onofrio Cutaia, for the first time when hes back in Florence. Zubin Mehta conducts the L.A. Phil at Walt Disney Concert Hall (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times) Mehtas longstanding connection with the Israel Philharmonic also continues, although he is concerned about the political havoc brought on by the new far-right government. While no fan of Benjamin Netanyahu, Mehta says that he mainly got along with the various ministers of culture until the last one. But he looks with dismay at the chaos that now roils Tel Aviv, where orchestra players are as likely to be found in the streets demonstrating as they are rehearsing. Mehta also discounts a rumor that health problems have caused him to cancel some appearances in Munich in June. Last year, I worked from January to November nonstop," he explains. "And I couldn't look at music anymore. Mahlers Fifth once again reared its head. I started looking at the Mahler Fifth Symphony, which I've done more than 50 times. I couldn't. So, I canceled. I was supposed to also have a huge tour of Asia, which they canceled because of expenses. So, I took advantage of that and said, 'let me take two months off.' Mehta says he will happily spend the time off in L.A., where he is most comfortable. While his career still centers in Europe and Israel, as it has since leaving the New York Philharmonic in 1991, he always returns home, where he will now have the time and peace to study the very difficult Lulu. And while he rarely conducts anywhere in U.S. other than L.A. these days, he remains ever faithful to his old orchestra. This weekend, he leads an imaginative psychedelic program of Ancient Voices of Children, written in 1970 by George Crumb, a composer Mehta championed in L.A. and New York, and Berliozs Symphonie Fantastique. In December Mehta has two more weeks with the L.A. Phil, focusing on Beethoven and more Mahler (Symphony No. 1). What he has always missed in L.A., though, is the opportunity to conduct opera. It's always been central to his work, and it's something he has always excelled at. Los Angeles Opera has yet to stage Lulu, I note. Mehta doesnt say anything and just gives me a quizzical smile. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on Covid-19 on March 30, 2022. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images The House passed a bipartisan bill that would require the Biden administration to declassify information related to COVID-19's origins. Biden hasn't said whether he'll sign the bill into law. The origins of COVID-19 have long been debated and theorized. Congressional lawmakers ramped up pressure on President Joe Biden to declassify intelligence about the origins of COVID-19, sending a bill to his desk that would require his administration to do so. The House of Representatives unanimously approved the bill, titled the COVID-19 Origin Act of 2023, in a 419-0 vote on Friday. Every House Republican and Democrat present supported the legislation. The Senate likewise unanimously passed the legislation, introduced by GOP Sens. Josh Hawley of Missouri and Mike Braun of Indiana, last week. "Now the American people will be able to see what their government knows about COVID origins and those who lied about it can be held accountable," Hawley tweeted on Friday following the bill's passage. Since the start of the coronavirus outbreak in China more than three years ago, the origins of the disease have been theorized and debated, often sparking political feuds. Speculation has swirled that the virus transferred naturally from animals to humans or accidentally leaked from a lab in China. Without conclusive evidence, experts have been unable to reach consensus and determine where COVID-19 came from. Republican lawmakers have vowed to investigate Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who has said that known evidence shows it's likely that COVID-19 originated in nature; he has also said experts must keep an "open mind" about the possibility the virus leaked from a lab. International investigators have been stymied by China's refusal to provide evidence from the earliest known coronavirus cases, and American intelligence agencies are split on determinations of which origin theory is more likely. Story continues The bill comes after the US Energy Department recently concluded with "low confidence" that the pandemic was likely the result of a lab leak. FBI Director Christopher Wray also recently publicly endorsed the lab leak theory. The bill would require the director of national intelligence, Avril Haines, to declassify all information related to potential links between China's Wuhan Institute of Virology and the origins of COVID-19, including the lab's activities and research, any researchers who became sick, and the symptoms they experienced, and to submit a report to Congress with the information. Biden has not publicly said whether or not he'll support the bipartisan bill. Some lawmakers on Friday warned against vetoing the legislation, which would be the first of Biden's presidency if he chooses to. "Congress has sent a clear message that it's critical to provide full transparency regarding what is known about how this pandemic started, how taxpayer dollars may have been spent on risky research, and if labs performing such research are upholding the highest standards of safety," a group of Republicans said in a joint statement. "The presidentshould he consider vetoingought to consider the irreparable damage it will cause our ability to restore public trust in government." Indeed, lawmakers could likely override a potential veto with a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate. A White House spokesperson did not immediately return Insider's request for comment. Read the original article on Business Insider Republican House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) warned against a central bank digital currency (CBDC) Thursday, assailing the technology as an affront to American values of privacy, individual sovereignty, and free markets. The lawmaker's comments came during a panel hosted by the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington D.C. He described CBDCs as a struggle for power between the American government and its populace. But the Federal Reserve has said it wont issue a CBDC without written approval from Congress. And the technology could foster greater financial inclusion while lowering costs for consumers, analysts have said. As the federal government seeks to maintain and expand the financial control to which it has grown accustomed to, the idea of the central bank digital currency has gained traction within the institutions of power, Emmer said today. I'm confident that American values will always prevail against the power-hungry whims of unelected bureaucrats. His concerns stem from a belief that a CBDC in the U.S. would erode Americans financial privacyallowing government agencies to track individual spendingor be used to choke out politically unpopular activity. CBDCs are similar to stablecoins in the sense that they are digital tokens pegged to the price of a sovereign currency like the U.S. dollar. However, instead of being issued by private companies on decentralized networks, CBDCs are issued and maintained by their respective governments or central banks. As countries such as Japan and Australia forge ahead with exploring the technology, nearly 90 countries worldwide are either piloting, developing, or researching the technology, including the U.S., according to the Atlantic Councils CBDC tracker. Emmer cautioned against a mindset that the United States has fallen behind other nations like China, which has steadily rolled out its digital version of the Yuan. The countrys CBDC was integrated this week into the popular social media and payments app WeChat, as reported by Forkast. Story continues Last September, a hearing was held before the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services, where some officials said America must establish a CBDC to preserve the greenbacks status as the worlds reserve currency. Nothing could be more dangerous than adhering to a manufactured sense of urgency like this and ultimately developing a CBBC that is not open, permissionless, and private, Emmer said Thursday. During the event, Emmer drew attention to a bill he reintroduced last month that would limit the Feds ability to issue a CBDC directly to individuals, even though the central bank has repeatedly said it would need approval from Congress to do so. If you want to just assume people are going to do the things that you expect them to do, you do that at your own risk, he said. They are already moving in this direction. Emmer has positioned himself as an outspoken advocate for the digital assets industry on Capitol Hill, calling out the Securities and Exchange Commission for its regulation through enforcement approach and scrutinizing the Treasury Department over its blacklisting of coin mixer Tornado Cash. Less than a mile away from the Cato Institute, Vice Chair for Supervision of the Fed Michael Barr spoke about CBDCs during an event hosted by the Peterson Institute for International Economics, another American think tank. Barr said the Fed is aware of privacy concerns that have been raised over establishing a CBDC, adding a CBDC in the U.S. should have the same degree of insulation from government oversight that bank deposits currently do. Fed Chair Ponders Potential for Digital Dollar to Send Bitcoin to Zero Theres [a] set of questions people raise around privacy, he said. How much information would the central bank or other government entities have about the uses? Barr said that while the Fed is very focussed on research and development for a potential CBDC, it still isnt certain whether the technology will be put to use. Yet, the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco is actively recruiting senior-level developers. We havent made any decision about whether we think its a good idea, Barr said in reference to a CBDC. We want to do it only if there was a consensus that this was something that was good for the country. During congressional testimony yesterday, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell refrained from commenting with certainty whether a CBDC could impact stablecoins already in use, explaining a lack of regulation renders the reserves of some opaque. San Francisco Fed Hiring for Digital Currency Development Barr said that stablecoins warrant some form of federal oversight as private forms of money that draw on the credibility of the U.S. Theyre a form of private money that borrows the trust of the central bank, and I think [its] absolutely critical that we get the regulatory oversight of that right, Barr said. I think theres a critical role for Congress to play right now in establishing a framework. He added that in the event a CBDC does get launched within the U.S., stablecoins could become more popular among some people if theyre worried about privacy and they dont trust the government. HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) Connecticut is suing the operator of the state's 23 highway rest stops, alleging the company is refusing to pay more than $2.7 million in back wages owed to food service workers for Subway, Dunkin' and other restaurant chains, state Attorney General William Tong announced Friday. The state labor commissioner's lawsuit was filed against New Haven-based Project Service, which runs the service plazas along interstates 95 and 395 and Route 15. The company is responsible for any failure of its subcontractors to follow wage laws and other legal requirements, according to the lawsuit filed in Hartford Superior Court. The lawsuit alleges that from 2017 to 2019, the plaza workers were not paid the state's standard wage, an amount for certain state contractor employees that typically is a few dollars per hour higher than the state's minimum wage. A state investigation found more than 2,000 workers were underpaid, Tong said. Project Service did not respond to phone and email messages Friday. These workers did their job, and they deserve to be paid their full compensation, Tong said in a statement. Project Service was put on notice years ago that their subcontractors were underpaying workers in violation of state law. They have continuously refused to make their workers whole despite repeated warnings and demands. The state is seeking payment of the $2.7 million wages, damages of $2.7 million and more than $700,000 in civil penalties against Project Service. Messages also were left for representatives of Subway, Dunkin', Chipotle and Taco Bell, which have restaurants at the rest stops that are named in the lawsuit, as well as for the franchise owners. A Dunkin' spokesperson said the company does not comment on litigation involving its franchisees. Dunkin' workers at the rest stops are owed $1.8 million of the $2.7 million total back wages, the state's lawsuit said. In 2020, state officials said they recovered $870,000 for workers at McDonald's restaurants in three service plazas for similar wage violations. Photo of crowd at press conference At a February press conference, an attendee holds a sign commemorating slain environmental activist, Manuel Tortuguita Paez Teran, who was killed by police in January during ongoing protests. Police charged twenty-three additional people with domestic terrorism felonies in Atlanta, Georgia this week, after arresting dozens in alleged association with ongoing protests against the construction of a planned police training facility. The reasoning for these new, hefty charges: dirty shoes, according to a report published Wednesday night from the Intercept. In the arrest warrants, referenced by defense attorney Eli Bennet during a Tuesday hearing, police cited the mud present on some of the defendants footwear as evidence that they had been involved in vandalism and arson more than a mile away from the site of the arrests, per the Intercept. The warrants also referenced defendants having phone numbers written on their arms and that a few of them allegedly carried shields. Read more From the outlet: The probable cause stated in the warrants against the activists is extremely weak. Police cited arrestees having mud on their shoes in a forest. The warrants alleged they had written a legal support phone number on their arms, as is common during mass protests. And, in a few cases, police alleged protesters were holding shields hardly proof of illegal activity which a number of defendants even deny. The arrests were made when police swarmed a music festival in a public park over the weekend. Demonstrators held the family-friendly festival nearbybut not at the frontline ofcontinuing protest actions against the sprawling, planned training center (nicknamed Cop City), according to a statement from the Defend the Atlanta Forest coalition. At the park, police arrested 35 alleged vandals on Sunday night who were attending the series of musical performances organized by the activists. The cops accused the arrested attendees of committing acts of arson and other property destruction, and charged 23 of them with domestic terrorism, according to multiple reports. Story continues Out of the 23 charged, just one was released at the Tuesday hearing. That defendant, an attorney whod been acting as a designated legal observer for the National Lawyers Guild, was let out on a $5,000 bond, per the Intercept. The remaining 22 were denied bond, and remain jailed. The latest arrests bring the number of people charged with domestic terrorism in relation to Cop City to over 40, as nearly 20 were previously charged in January. In Georgia, a domestic terrorism conviction carries a maximum sentence of up to 35 years in prison. Prior to the Sunday arrests, a particularly intense confrontation between police and protestors had broken out. A subgroup of the anti-Cop City abolitionist and environmental activists allegedly targeted the construction site of the $90 million Atlanta Public Safety Training Center earlier in the evening, according to a police press release. Law enforcement officials claimed protestors threw rocks, fireworks, and Molotov cocktailsdamaging construction equipment. Protestors are opposed to Cop City for various reasons. Some environmentalists hope to see the 85 acres of city-owned land thats been granted to the police department turned into a public park instead of a closed training ground. They also say that cutting down 85 acres of forest would be damaging to the local ecosystem. The total 400 acres of forest that would contain the training center is one of Atlantas last and largest remaining greenspaces, according to a report from the New Yorker. Another predominant theme in the pushback stems from concerns over how the very expensive Public Safety Training Center could, in fact, harm the public. Both activist groups and regular Atlanta locals have expressed fears that, if built, Cop City will lead to a more militarized police forcewith particularly dangerous consequences for Black people living in the city. Forest defenders, as many of the protestors refer to themselves, have described the planned facility as a place where police would be practicing urban warfare. In Atlanta, Black people are about 14.6X more likely to be arrested for non-violent offenses than white people are, according to data from the non-profit Police Scorecard. In nearly one of every 1,000 arrests, Atlanta police employ force. In about 3.2 out of every 100,000 arrests, Atlanta police shoot the person. 88% of the people killed by Atlanta police officers are Black, Police Scorecard notes. In a public comment period soliciting feedback on the training center proposal in September 2021, Atlantas city council received over 1,700 hours of remarks from people. About 70% of those comments opposed Cop Citys construction, per the New Yorker. Yet the city council approved it anyway. The activists who have subsequently set up shop occupying the surrounding forest and working to delay and stop the facilitys construction are accused of damaging property. In response, dozens of them have been charged with terrorism. Yet the protestors havent killed anyone. Police, on the other hand, have. Officers shot and killed activist Manuel Esteban Paez Teran, who went by Tortuguita, on January 18. Cops claimed the 26-year-old fired first with a purchased handgun. A state trooper was shot at the scene and later reported to be in stable condition. However there were no civilian witnesses to the shooting, and the state investigation bureau has said theres no body camera footage of the incident. Many of Tortuguitas friends described them as professing nonviolent ideology, and have expressed doubts about law enforcements version of events. More from Gizmodo Sign up for Gizmodo's Newsletter. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. David Dee Delgado/Reuters Police responded to Silicon Valley Banks (SVB) New York offices on Friday as panicked clients demanded their money amid the institutions shocking implosion. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) seized SVBs $209 billion in assets just a few hours later, ordering the bank closed and taking control of its $175.4 billion in deposits. The massive meltdown marks the biggest bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis. SVB, the 16th-largest bank in the country, has been one of the startup industrys most important banks, according to Fortune. But after Peter Thiels Founders Fund on Thursday raised questions about SVBs financial health, recommending that its clients withdraw their funds from the bank, and, in a now-deleted tweet, investor Michael Burry compared SVB to Enron, SVBs stock immediately tanked, cleaving some $80 billion from its market cap in a matter of hours. While hedge fund king Bill Ackman recommended the federal government bail out SVB if they couldnt raise enough private money to stay afloat, SVB CEO Greg Becker implored customers to stay calm, Bloomberg reported. Musk Apologizes After Mocking Disabled Twitter Employee He Publicly Fired Dor Levi, a former Lyft exec now running his own startup, was at SVBs Park Avenue South outpost on Friday, alongside numerous other company owners trying to access their fundsor at least get some answers from the bank officials holed up inside. Its just frustrating, Levi told The Daily Beast, explaining that he had most of his firms money with SVB because it was the safe choice. Now, no one at the collapsing bank will return his calls or respond to his emails, Levi said. Contagion is real. Our payroll provider was using SVB. pic.twitter.com/V2UbRsnq8i Kevin Yun (@kevinyun) March 10, 2023 At a crossroads, Levi went to try his luck in person. Story continues Everyone came there because our bankers told us to go there, he continued, explaining that he had been told by an SVB representative that the New York location would cut him a cashiers check. And we just had some questions. No one from the bank came out, they just told the security guards, Dont let them up to the second floor. Yet, said Levi, If you want a bank run, this is the best, friendly bunch you could ever desire. The handful of startup founders outside, desperately working their phones, posed no threat whatsoever. But one SVB client wanted to wait inside the lobby, instead of on the sidewalk. This prompted a call by building management to the NYPD, according to Levi. Two cops showed up shortly after 9 a.m., calmly discussed the situation with those involved, and the man left without further incident, said Levi (who also departed shortly thereafter). An NYPD spokeswoman told The Daily Beast that cops were called but that no arrests were made and no incident report was filed at that location. JUST IN: Circle $USDC held an undisclosed amount of cash in Silicon Valley Bank $SIVB. pic.twitter.com/0U1iKTUS08 Watcher.Guru (@WatcherGuru) March 10, 2023 Levi said he was always worried about something like this, and maintained accounts at SVB and another bank, as well as some crypto and stablecoin investments, to hedge against a collapse. However, in an ironic twist, Levi was always more worried about my other bank, SVB was my safe bank. Because of this, he said most of his money is with SVB, which remains out of reach. The waiting is the worst part, according to Levi, who said he and many others like him are now in crisis mode, in triage mode. We all went with the best-in-class, Levi lamented. Levi now has more faith in J.P. Morgan, where he maintains his other accounts, noting that their bankers answered his urgent emails and phone calls last night into the early morning hours. James Baer, a California-based attorney and restructuring expert, said on Friday that he expects the fallout from SVBs failure to spread far and wide. There is a psychological element to this, Baer, the president of CMBG Advisors, told The Daily Beast. Theres no reason Silicon Valley Bank had to go out of business immediately. But people started panicking and getting their money out and it started feeding on itself. All accounts are FDIC-insured up to $250,000, but as the Associated Press pointed out, it is unclear how many accounts exceed that ceiling. Those with more money will get their $250,000, and a receivership certificate for the rest, Baer explained. That means when and if SVB files for bankruptcy or goes through another sort of liquidation proceeding, those customers will get their money first, he said. The fallout from Silicon Valley Bank has spread to Sweden's largest pension group after the fund more than doubled its holdings in the Californian bank during the past year.https://t.co/wMdb7fN2tl Anthony DeRosa (@Anthony) March 10, 2023 Still, according to Baer, they could, in actual practice, only get back a portion of their funds. If people arent made whole, people then begin to lose confidence in the overall financial system and the entire apparatus begins to crumble as more and more depositors pull their money out of their own banks. Whats happening now, which is terrifying to people, is that companies are not able to make payroll because theyve got their money at Silicon Valley Bank and their accounts are frozen, Baer said. Boards of directors can be held liable if they dont make payroll, so theyre trying to borrow money to ride this out. The question is, when is the money [at SVB] going to be available? No one knowsand it may never be available. Journalist Eric Newcomer, who pens a widely-read newsletter focused on startups, wrote Friday that one major investor told him about ten of his portfolio companies had pulled out about $1.5 billion collectively from SVB. They requested the funds on Thursday at around 6 p.m. EST, and got it this morning, according to Newcomer. It remains wholly uncertain how the SBV crash will end, though Baer sees lots more turbulence and fallout on the horizon. Its like trying to land a 747 on an aircraft carrier, Baer said. And the answer to the question, How do you land a 747 on an aircraft carrier? is, you dont. For Levi, who feels confident that hell get his money back from SVB eventually, not having any sort of closure is still excruciating, for now. As he told The Daily Beast on Friday, Ive been better. A request for comment sent to the SVB communications team was met with an auto-reply that provided a link to an FDIC announcement of the banks takeover. 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. LONDON - (NewMediaWire) - March 10, 2023 - Derm's favorite skincare brand, COSRX has been named a 2023 TOP Brand Seller by Amazon. This prestigious award recognizes the top-performing brands across various categories on Amazon, based on their sales growth, customer satisfaction, and overall performance. This year, COSRX's exceptional growth and success in the highly competitive e-commerce marketplace have earned the brand a place on this highly coveted list. In 2022, COSRX experienced outstanding growth on Amazon's marketplace, with an average increase of 266% in overall sales and 105% with hero products. Most notably, in the United States, the snail line has experienced a significant increase in sales thanks to the TikTok famous products the Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Essence, Advanced Snail 92 All in One Cream, Advanced Snail Radiance Dual Essence, and Advanced Snail Mucin Power Sheet Mask. Moreover, during the 2022 Amazon Prime Day event, the Acne Pimple Master Patch led to record-breaking sales, achieving a 660% increase compared to the previous year. Furthermore, the viral Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Essence became the top-selling product in the entire beauty category during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotional period. COSRX products have also enjoyed unwavering popularity not only in the US but also in the UK and Europe too. In the UK and Europe, the brand experienced remarkable growth, with a 198% increase in the UK and a 493% increase in Europe for hero products alone. "During the COVID pandemic, COSRX went the extra mile to ensure people could shop at ease, even when quarantined at home. They carefully regulated their inventory, so all best sellers were readily available, and made use of Amazon's fulfillment service to expedite delivery. All this effectively shortened the wait time enabling customers to purchase and receive their products quicker than ever, driving up consumer experience. Also, we have been careful to choose products that meet the specific characteristics of Amazon's marketplace and develop advertising strategies to help customers find and buy our products more easily," said a spokesperson for the brand. "We are honored to receive this award and want to thank our customers, who have supported us throughout our journey. As a brand that remains committed to our products, we will continue to provide the best products and service for our customers," she added. For more information about COSRX and its products, please visit Amazon.com. About COSRX With its powerful yet affordable skincare solutions, COSRX has quickly become one of America's favorite skincare brands. Using a minimal number of highly effective natural extracts in concentrated doses, COSRX products deliver visible results by treating skin with only the essentials it needs and nothing it doesn't. Find its best-selling skincare solutions at retailers nationwide, including Ulta, Revolve, Dermstore, and Amazon. Koh Sze Kiat / Getty Images President Joe Bidens budget proposal for the 2024 fiscal year calls for fully restoring the Child Tax Credit (CTC) enacted in the American Rescue Plan. The CTC cut child poverty in half in 2021 to the lowest level in history. See: What Is the Average Social Security Benefit at 65? Learn: With a Recession Looming, Make These 3 Retirement Moves To Stay On Track The Biden administrations budget plan, released on March 9, would expand the tax credit from $2,000 per child to $3,000 per child for children six years and older, and to $3,600 per child for children under six. In addition, the budget would permanently reform the credit to make it fully refundable. This means children in the lowest-income families would not be excluded and would allow families to receive monthly advance payments. My budget restores the full Child Tax Credit, which cut child poverty in half to the lowest level in history. President Biden (@POTUS) March 9, 2023 The president also aims to permanently expand the Earned Income Tax Credit for childless workers to help fight poverty. The expansion of the CTC expired in Dec. 2021 due to Republican opposition and objections from Democrat Se. Joe Manchin, who wanted a work requirement added to the credit. According to the US Census Bureau, child poverty fell to 5.2% in 2021 a record low down from 9.7% in 2020 because of the monthly checks sent out to parents, Business Insider reported. The CTC expansion helped lift 2.9 million children out of poverty, with 1 million of those children under six years old. The budget proposal still needs Congressional approval, but the House and Senate are not obligated to pass the budget. Normally, changes are made prior to a budget passing. In addition, Congress could opt to pass a continuing resolution instead, ABC Action News reported. Take Our Poll: What Do You Plan To Use Your Tax Refund For? Republican lawmakers have already voiced their opposition to the proposal, but there has yet to be a counteroffer. Story continues More From GOBankingRates This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Could the Child Tax Credit Come Back? If the 2024 Budget Passes, It Might Courteney Cox attends the L.A. premiere of "Shining Vale" in 2022. (Willy Sanjuan/ Invision / Associated Press) Courteney Cox says fillers are not her friend. The 58-year-old actor revealed her beauty secrets and cosmetic missteps on Tuesdays episode of the Gloss Angeles podcast. When asked what her biggest beauty regret was, the Friends star didnt hesitate in saying she went too far with fillers. Its a domino effect, she told podcast hosts Kirbie Johnson and Sara Tan. You dont realize that you look a little off, so then you keep doing more, cause you look normal to yourself. You look in the mirror and go, That looks good. You think, and you dont realize, what it looks like to the outside person. According to the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery, dermal fillers are gel-like substances injected beneath the skin to add volume and smooth creases. They can be used to enhance the contours of the face as well. While Hollywood and cosmetic upkeep go hand in hand, more and more stars (including Jennifer Lopez, Cameron Diaz and Paulina Porizkova) are speaking out against chasing youth through Botox and fillers. Cox ultimately opted to have the filler removed or dissolved and said, Thank God theyre removable. The Scream actor also said that she had thought about posting before-and-after shots of herself, one with full filler and the other once it had been removed. But her publicist wouldnt let her. I look at pictures of me when I thought I looked OK, she added, and I cant believe it. This isn't the first time the Emmy-nominated actor has opened up about her issues with cosmetic procedures. In February 2022, she told the Sunday Times that she hated the constant speculation about her appearance: "The scrutiny is intense, but I don't know if it could be more intense than what I put on myself." Hearing people talking about her ultimately led to removing the filler. "There was a time when you go, 'Oh, I'm changing. I'm looking older.' And I tried to chase that youthfulness for years," she said. "And I didn't realize that, oh, s, I'm actually looking really strange with injections and doing stuff to my face that I would never do now." Story continues Cox told Johnson and Tan that she didn't just regret the fillers. Thinking that I was getting older when I was really young, thats just a bummer, a waste of time, she said. I messed up a lot, and luckily I was able to reverse most of that. And now Im just older. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. There aren't many people aside from firefighters who would run toward a fire. But when a Seattle business went up in flames last month, a group of coworkers sprang into action to save their neighbors who happened to be dogs. As Smoke rose from The Dog Resort, a doggy daycare in Seattle's Lake City neighborhood, employees from PSR Mechanical raced to across the road. Greg Hagen was one of the employees from the HVAC company who ran to the Dog Resort. "You could see the smoke pouring out of the building and the noise from the dogs, from the emergency responders, the firefighters, police everybody that was responding," Hagen told CBS News. "So, it was a lot of noise, it was chaos. And it was one of those situations where we didn't know exactly what to do, but we knew he had to help." Employees from PSR Mechanical joined forces with other members of the community, including employees from a nearby Mexican restaurant, to help save about 60 dogs. / Credit: PSR Mechanical Hagen said he and his coworkers joined forces with other members of the community, including employees from a nearby Mexican restaurant, to help save about 60 dogs. "So there was about nine of us and we all took different roles. There were some of us that raced over there and grabbed dogs, there were some of us that helped secure the yard so that...small dogs couldn't get back out into the street. There were employees taking care of the dogs, playing with the dogs," he said. The employees at PSR mechanical made sure all the dogs were kept safely in their yard until their owners came to pick them up. / Credit: PSR Mechanical The PSR employees corralled the dogs into their yard as firefighters battled the flames. "At the point, it was great to see, because a lot of dogs had settled in," Hagen said. "It was like they had been given a new play park. So, they were starting to have fun and run around throughout our yard and that was very cool to see." Not only did they calm scared pups, but anxious parents who came to pick them up. "They had taken their dog there that morning and had seen it on the news and were absolutely frantic," Hagen said, adding that his team helped reunite pet owners with their beloved dogs. "To see their faces once they saw their dogs, it was very emotional. There were a couple of us that were pretty close to breaking down in tears as well. When you see people show up and see their dog playing in the yard and it's safe." Story continues Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell visited both PSR and Aceitunos Mexican Foods, and presented them employees with a letter of recognition. / Credit: Mayor Bruce Harrell None of the dogs were harmed in the fire, and their neighbors at PSR have been hailed as heroes. Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell visited both PSR and Aceitunos Mexican Foods to thank the employees who helped rescue the dogs. He also presented them with a letter of recognition. "Yeah, it was a chaotic moment, and I wouldn't want to go through that again, but we're just glad we could help," Hagen said. ArtNation, hosted by Denim Richards, debuts on Smithsonian Regulators seize control of Silicon Valley Bank Rain and snowmelt could cause flooding in California James Cleverlys intervention aims to remind both parties that talks should stick to matters devolved to Edinburgh - Toby Melville/PA The Foreign Secretary is to order a crackdown on SNP ministers exceeding their powers by using meetings with overseas governments to promote Scottish independence and attack Brexit. The Telegraph understands that James Cleverly is to write to Britains embassies to remind them that a UK diplomat should be present during meetings between SNP ministers and foreign governments. Whitehall insiders highlighted concerns that the Scottish Government is using Foreign and Commonwealth Office resources and relationships to set up the meetings, only to use them to talk down Britain. They said Scottish ministers had been using the talks in particular to promote independence and criticise Brexit, despite foreign relations being a policy issue reserved to Westminster. Although UK diplomats should already be present during meetings abroad involving Scottish ministers, it is hoped Mr Cleverlys intervention will remind both parties that the talks should stick to matters that are devolved to Edinburgh. Breached the law His intervention came after the Foreign Secretary held talks on Monday with Alister Jack, the Scottish Secretary, who demanded action to rein in the SNP. Lord Offord of Garvel, a Scotland Office Minister, told peers that Nicola Sturgeons government had breached the law in its foreign activities by discussing independence. He told the Lords that the UK Government was aware that they had recently been encroaching on reserved matters in its foreign engagement on issues such as separatism and the constitution. Warning this was a breach of the Scotland Act 1998, which created devolution, Lord Offord said the situation would be very closely monitored by UK ministers going forward. ZURICH (Reuters) -Credit Suisse shares hit a new all-time low in early trading on Friday as the European banking sector suffered the fallout from a sharp sell-off in U.S. financial stocks. The embattled bank's stock fell to 2.463 Swiss francs on the Swiss Market Index amid the sell-off. Rival UBS was down 4.7% as European banking stocks headed for their largest one-day fall in nine months. Europe's STOXX banking index was down 4.2% and set for its biggest one-day slide since early June, with declines for most major names including HSBC down 4.5% and Deutsche Bank off 7.9%. U.S. lender SVB Financial Group scrambled on Thursday to reassure its venture capital clients their money was safe after a capital raising led to its stock collapsing 60% and contributed to wiping out over $80 billion in value from bank shares. (Reporting by John Revill; editing by Jason Neely) Families in LaGrange are growing increasingly worried about violence involving teenagers. This comes as one family is preparing to bury their 16-year-old son. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Ashli Lincoln was in LaGrange Friday, where community activist Bruce Griggs said crime is getting worse, even in small communities like his. This crime is like a disease, Griggs said. Its out of hand and is spreading, not only in Atlanta. Its getting worse and its going to continue to get worse. TRENDING STORIES: Griggs said theres a growing trend of gun-related incidents happening in the community, which has a population of just over 31,000 residents. Thats small-town west Georgia. And thats not normal, Griggs said. So its definitely a state of emergency in this city. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Erica Truitts 16-year-old son, Nasir, is the latest teen victim of gun violence in LaGrange. Nasir, who was an innocent bystander, was shot after an argument erupted at a skate park last week. Police arrested 15-year-old Brandon Harrison and charged him with murder. Its got to stop, it has to stop, Truitt said. They got to do something. You never want to get a phone call saying something happened to your child, Harrison has been charged as an adult in Truitts murder. Truitt is the second teen to be shot to death this month. On Saturday, Griggs and police are holding a youth event at a local park as outreach to encourage teens to put the weapons down. There are individuals that are down in that small town, which is my hometown, who are afraid, Griggs said. In 2022, the number of cases of teenage gun-related deaths or injuries more than doubled from the year before. Griggs said poverty, access to weapons, gangs and drugs are factors contributing to the increase. A Mississippi man has been sentenced to 42 months in prison for a federal hate crime after burning a cross to intimidate a black family in Gulfport in 2020. The Department of Justice said in a press release Thursday the man was sentenced to 42 years in jail. The DOJ corrected that Friday morning, saying the sentence was 42 months. Axel Cox, a Harrison County resident, violated the Fair Housing Act when he used threatening and racially derogatory language toward his Black neighbors and burned a cross to intimidate them on Dec. 3, 2020, according to court documents. Cox, 24, was sentenced before U.S. District Judge Halil S. Ozerden and was ordered to pay $7,810 in restitution and to serve three years of supervision following his release from his prison sentence. According to documents, after a dispute with the Black family victims, Cox wedged two pieces of wood together to form a cross, placed it in clear view of the victims residence, doused it in oil and set it alight. During this incident, Cox yelled threats and racial slurs toward the occupants of the house. Cox admitted that he lit the cross on fire because the victims were Black and that he intended to scare them into moving out of the neighborhood. This cross burning was an abhorrent act that used a traditional symbol of hatred and violence to stoke fear and drive a Black family out of their home, said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Departments Civil Rights Division. While one might think cross-burnings and white supremacist threats and violence are things of the past, the unfortunate reality is that these incidents continue today. This sentence demonstrates the importance of holding people accountable for threatening the safety and security of Black people in their homes because of the color of their skin or where they are from. Cox was indicted by a federal grand jury on Sept. 20, 2022. Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea Cabell Jones for the Southern District of Mississippi and former Trial Attorney Noah Coakley II of the Civil Rights Divisions Criminal Section prosecuted the case. A Croydon man was found guilty Wednesday of straw purchasing 17 firearms dating back over a decade, according to the Attorney General's Office. Officials said Frederick Corneilius Brown Jr., 64, was found guilty Wednesday of 17 counts each of illegal firearms transfer and knowingly falsifying documents regarding handgun purchases. What is straw purchasing? Straw purchasing is when someone who can legally purchase a firearm does so with the intention of selling the weapon to someone who legally can not own one. People who are unable to legally have firearms include convicted felons, those who are convicted of domestic violence and people with a diagnosed mental illness. Straw purchasing has been the focus on several investigations in both Montgomery County and Bucks County in recent years. Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub said prior to winning re-election in 2021, that his office would have a renewed focus on gun trafficking and straw purchases. Late last month, Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele announced the arrest of an eight-person gun trafficking ring that he alleged illegally sold 94 firearms throughout the region, including Bucks County. What was Brown convicted of doing? Brown, whose trial began Monday, was found guilty of purchasing 17 guns, dating back to 2011, and disposing of them without reporting them lost, stolen, or legally transferred to another person. Three of the weapons he purchased were recovered from other people during other criminal investigations, the AG's office said. Authorities said many of the firearms purchased were a Taurus G2C 9mm pistols, which are frequently trafficked because of their cost and availability. Brown was arrested in February 2022. Eight arrested in gun operation:Gun trafficking ring busted in Montco and Bucks County. How police say 94 guns were sold Man charged with straw purchasing:DA: Philly man bought guns in Bucks, then illegally sold them in the region Story continues Woman charged with gun trafficking:Former corrections officer from Bensalem charged with gun trafficking in Montgomery County What's next in the case? Brown, who has been in Bucks County Prison since March 2022, was taken back to the jail following his conviction Wednesday. He will be sentenced at a later date, however as of Friday no date has been scheduled yet. The AG's office's gun violence task force worked with state police and the Bucks County District Attorney's Office in the case. Straw purchases fuel the gun violence that plagues too many of our communities. If you buy a gun that ends up in the hands of a violent criminal, my Office will do everything in our power to ensure you face time in prison. This conviction is the result of collaboration between local and state agencies that are committed to making Pennsylvania safer from gun violence," said Pennsylvania State Attorney General Michelle Henry. "The Bucks County District Attorneys Office was integral in this case, and I want to thank them for their efforts. This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Croydon man straw purchased 17 guns in Pennsylvania Crystal Wilson, the adoptive mother of 10-year-old Jesse Wilson, pleaded not guilty before the Maricopa County Superior Court early Friday morning in connection to his disappearance and death. The plea, delivered by Wilson's attorney, set the stage for the upcoming legal battle in which she faces charges of abandonment and the concealment of dead body parts. Wilson was present during the arraignment on Friday, dressed in county orange, dawning the words "Unsentenced", after being extradited to Arizona from Gainesville, Georgia on Saturday. More from the case:Adoptive mother extradited to Arizona in case of boy's disappearance and death Wilson arrested in December On Dec. 12, 2022, Buckeye police held a news conference announcing Wilson's arrest in connection to the disappearance and death of her adopted son, Jesse. "Through the course of the investigation, it was a blessing and a curse that it was a high-profile case because we had got a lot of leads on this case, but all of our leads led back to Crystal being responsible," Buckeye Police Chief Larry Hall told members of the media. The case made headlines back in 2016, when Jesse went missing, last seen in his bedroom on the night of July 17, 2016. At the time, police had determined that Jesse left his room through a window. Wilson reported him missing the morning after. The search went on for nearly two years, until March 8, 2018, when a Buckeye employee located skeletal remains near the intersection of State Route 85 and Broadway Road, six miles from Wilson's home. Later that month police confirmed the remains were Jesse's. The area where the remains were located was in the perimeter where initial searches had been conducted, but according to police, because of flooding at the time, initial searches did not lead to his remains. Jesse's cause of death had been considered "undetermined," but police still investigated the case as a homicide. Buckeye police investigators had even reportedly been "inching" toward a no-body homicide case against Wilson just five weeks after the boy went missing. Story continues The case eventually broke after Buckeye police reassigned it in November 2020 to a new investigator, who gathered new evidence and reexamined old leads. The new Buckeye detective worked with the Maricopa County Attorney's Office to explore new angles. Ultimately, Wilson was linked to Jesse's body through the use of DNA evidence along with "visual evidence" placing her near the area where Jesse's remains were found. Wilson had left Arizona just weeks before Jesse's remains were recovered in 2018 and had been living in Georgia before her arrest on Dec. 13, 2022. Crystal Wilson's trial is now set for July 6, 2023. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Crystal Wilson pleads not guilty in death of adopted son Jesse Wilson It was another one of those losses. A young, bright Ukrainian who had a long life to live. Somebody who many perceived as immortal because the countrys future was hard to imagine without their dedication and patriotism. Somebody for whom thousands, both friends and strangers, would gather in central Kyiv to say final goodbyes. This time, it was 27-year-old Dmytro Kotsiubailo, known by his call sign Da Vinci. He was one of the youngest commanders in Ukrainian history, a legendary soldier, and a Hero of Ukraine, killed by Russia near Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, on March 7. (Russian President Vladimir) Putins horde is taking our most beautiful sons and daughters, said the priest during the memorial service at the St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery on March 10, with hundreds of people clustered inside around Kotsiubailos body and his family. Dmytro showed, through his example, how to love and defend your country, the priest went on. Kotsiubailo was the commander of the First Mechanized Battalion Da Vinci Wolves. He died with a weapon in his hands going into the battle first his battalion wrote on their official Telegram channel. He lived and died like a hero, the post said. Dmytro Da Vinci Kotsiubailo, commander of the First Motorized Battalion Da Vinci Wolves, speaks on the phone in Donetsk Oblast in August of 2022. Kotsiubailo, who was one of the youngest commanders in Ukrainian history, was killed by Russia near Bakhmut on March 7, 2023. (Stas Yurchenko) Kotsiubailo was born in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast in western Ukraine. He was an active participant of the EuroMaidan Revolution, also known as the Revolution of Dignity in 2013-2014, when Ukrainians took to the streets to topple pro-Russian then-President Viktor Yanukovych. When shortly after Russia invaded Ukraines Donbas and annexed the Crimean Peninsula, Kotsiubailo took up arms. He was wounded by a Russian tank shell in battle in Donetsk Oblast that same year, but came back to the front line having recovered just three months later. Story continues Eastern Ukraine truly was his home, Melaniya Podolyak, a Ukrainian activist and Serhiy Prytula Foundation project coordinator, who knew Kotsiubailo, told the Kyiv Independent. She says Kotsiubailo barely ever left the front line in the nine years of Russias ongoing war. The young soldier was a part of the First Assault Company within the 5th battalion of the Ukrainian Volunteer Corps (DUK), a military wing of the Right Sector a Ukrainian nationalist movement. For years, DUK were autonomous volunteer formations independent from the Ukrainian military, taking part in some of the toughest battles in the east of Ukraine. In 2016, Kotsiubailo who was only 21 at the time became the commander of the First Assault Company, which has operated under the name Da Vinci Wolves ever since. Dmytro Da Vinci Kotsiubailo, commander of the First Motorized Battalion Da Vinci Wolves, looks over the shoulder of an aerial reconnaissance drone operator in Kherson Oblast in March of 2022. Kotsiubailo, who was awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine in 2021, was killed near Bakhmut on March 7, 2023. (Stas Yurchenko) Back then, he was a year younger than me, yet he had the authority, and always went into the battle himself, a 28-year-old soldier Pavlo, who goes by nom de guarre Belarussian because of his origins, told the Kyiv Independent. He asked to conceal his full name citing fear for the security of his family, who are still back in dictator-ruled Belarus. After immigrating to Ukraine in 2017, Pavlo spent two months fighting with the Da Vinci Wolves in Donbas before joining the Azov regiment. Pavlo said that Kotsiubailo never sent his soldiers into battle alone while sitting it out, only sending to the front line those who were prepared. What surprised me was that every single one of Da Vincis positions were fully equipped for a full-scale battle there were all weapons imaginable, Pavlo said, comparing the conditions to some of the official units in the Ukrainian army that were undersupplied at the time. Every person who came to Da Vinci was given everything they needed to work comfortably from bulletproof vests and helmets to personal hygiene products Da Vinci always said that you have to prepare for the worst. In December of 2021, President Volodymyr Zelensky presented Kotsiubailo with the nations highest award the Golden Star order, as well as the Hero of Ukraine title. Kotsiubailo became the youngest commander to receive the title, as well as the first volunteer fighter in the history of Ukraine to be awarded while still alive. Dmytro Da Vinci Kotsiubailo, commander of the First Motorized Battalion Da Vinci Wolves, receiving the highest national award, the Golden Star order, from Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Dec. 1, 2021. Kotsiubailo was then titled Hero of Ukraine. (Dmytro Kotsiubailo/Facebook) He was never prideful, despite being a remarkable commander at such a young age. He gave himself to the war, to defending Ukraine, Podolyak said. In 2022, most DUK battalions, along with Kotsiubailos unit, were fully integrated into the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Da Vincis Wolves grew to form a battalion, mobilizing hundreds of new people. The battalion specializes in artillery and offensive operations, according to Ukrainian Toronto Televisions interview with Alina Mykhailova, Da Vincis Wolves paramedic and a deputy of the Kyiv City Council, who was also Kotsiubailos partner. Under Kotsiubailos command, Da Vincis Wolves took part in Ukraines triumphant counteroffensive in Kharkiv Oblast in September, fighting to liberate Balakliia and Kupiansk, among other towns. An artillery piece operated by soldiers from the Da Vinci Wolves battalion fires towards Russian positions in March of 2022. The battalions legendary commander, Dmytro Da Vinci Kotsiubailo, was killed in battle near Bakhmut on March 7, 2023. (Stas Yurchenko) There was never anything more important for him than his personnel they were his family. The execution of combat tasks wasnt as prioritized as the saving of human life, the lives of his men, Podolyak said. Five months into the all-out war, Ukraines Forbes put Kotsiubailo on their 30 Under 30: Faces of the future list, along with many other famous young soldiers and paramedics, including Mykhailova. Dmytro "Da Vinci" Kotsiubailo kisses his girlfriend, Alina Mykhailova, who is also a paramedic with the Da Vinci Wolves and a Kyiv City Council Deputy, in August of 2022. Kotsiubailo and Mykhailova have been serving together since 2017. (Kostiantyn and Vlada Liberovy) The memorial service at the St. Michael's Monastery, which was attended by Zelensky and Finlands Prime Minister Sanna Marinn, was followed by a march to Kyivs Independence Square. Thousands of people walked through the blocked roads, chanting glory to Ukraine, and glory to Da Vinci. Zelensky presented Kotsiubailos mother with the Cross of Combat Merit, which was posthumously awarded to her son, according to the presidents Telegram channel. Everyone had the chance to say goodbye to Kotsiubailo in an open coffin after respects were paid by top Ukrainian officials, including Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Military Intelligence Chief Kyrylo Budanov, and Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov. At every stage of his life, he proved himself as a hero, Budanov said. x null x null x null x null x null x null x null Add images Remove gallery ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Note from the author: Hi there Im Anastasiia, the author of this article, and I want to thank you for reading it. Frankly, this was terrible to write. Every single day, my country loses its best men and women our colleagues, friends, husbands, and daughters. Da Vinci was one of those incredible people on whose shoulders and dignity rested the future of Ukraine, and Russia killed him. Support the Kyiv Independent so we can continue preserving the memory of Da Vinci, and many others. Daily Show guest host Marlon Wayans finished out his week behind the desk with a look at an unusual political scandal unfolding in Tennessee. Or as Wayans put it in his Thursday night monologue: An anti-gay Republican just got caught in a thirst trap. Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, who has supported laws targeting the LGBTQ community, has been commenting on a 20-year-old mans thirst trap pics, including comments such as love it and clapping emojis. When the story broke, a spokesperson for McNally fired back: Trying to imply something sinister or inappropriate about a great-grandfathers use of social media says more about the mind of the left-wing operative making the implication than it does about Randy McNally. Wayans wasnt convinced. I love his excuse, though. His excuse is hes a great-grandfather, the comic/actor said. That doesnt make it better. The worse part is you know he probably called his grandson in to teach him how to use Instagram. Wayans then did an impression of exactly that: YouTube: Young America's Foundation Transphobic political commentator Michael Knowles delivered a hate-filled speech at the State University of New York at Buffalo Thursday evening despite ongoing protests leading up to the controversial event and even the schools president condemning dehumanizing rhetoric. The Young Americans for Freedom, a student organization devoted to conservative ideas, hosted Knowles on campus, where the political pundit was supposed to give a speech on How Feminism Destroys Women (And Everything Else). However, he rambled on for about 10 minutes about the so-called confusion of transgender people, his dissent on gay marriage, and ridiculed a slew of publications recent reportsincluding The Daily Beastfor slamming his transphobic views. Feminism has made everybody miserable, especially women, he said with a smirk. Knowles, 32, claimed that feminist teachings could make another woman miserably enlightened as she stirred from the slumber of her oppressive serenity. He hailed Phyllis Schlafly as a housewife hero who denounced feminis but failed to mention that the conservative activist who fought to ensure the failure of the Equal Rights Amendment in 1972 was also a lobbyist, writer, and attorney. Knowles also insinuated that feminist movements only took place at the time of womens suffrage in the 1920s and with bra burnings of the 1960s. He neglected to acknowledge other moments of womens independence and perseverancein spite of sexthroughout human history. I think women understood the world a lot better before feminism, he said. I think women were obviously much happier before feminism. I think women understood the relationship between men and women and their own nature much better before feminism. Phyllis Schlafly, Mrs. America, Was a Secret Member of the John Birch Society The conservative commentator never really explained his definition of feminism until he was asked during the question portion of the event. (Only two of the eight students who asked questions following Knowles speech seemed to support him.) The thespian-turned-political pundit then talked in circles about whether or not women having the right to vote was a good or bad thing. He also denied that women became more intellectually enlightened after the Second Feminist Wave of the 1970s. Story continues I dont think any of those women could hold a candle to Phyllis Schlafly in a debate, he said. The propaganda of that period in the 1970s was written by the Second-Wave feminists, but it does not reflect the truth. Protests before the event forced Knowles to take the stage more than 30 minutes after the event was supposed to begin, but his speaking engagement was further delayed by demonstrators in the audience. Trans lives matter! protesters chanted louder and louder as Knowles stood at the podium. Do you have anything else to say? Knowles mocked them and smiled. Translivesmatter. OK, I think I got it. Does anyone have a pen so I can write that down? Within minutes, the protesters were escorted out of the auditorium. Knowles blew up in the political sphere during the Conservative Political Action Conference last weekend when he said transgenderism must be eradicated from public life entirely. There can be no middle way in dealing with transgenderism, The Daily Wire columnist said at the conference, but also repeated Thursday night. It is all or nothing. If transgenderism is truemen really can become women, then its true for everybody for all ages. If transgenderism is false (as it is), if men really cant become women (as they cannot), then its false for everybody too. And if its false, we should not indulge it. Michael Knowles Says Transgenderism Must Be Eradicated at CPAC Journalists and activists blasted Knowles jargon, denouncing it as openly calling for genocide against trans people. Local Buffalo activists went to task in efforts to reverse the hate they felt Knowles was going to spread to the community. [Showing Up for Justice] stands in solidarity with transgender students and employees at the @universityatbuffalo and other community groups who condemn the transphobic, racist, misogynist, and genocidal rhetoric of Michael Knowles, the Buffalo chapter of Showing Up for Justice, a group for ending white supremacy, posted on its Facebook page. Knowles also promotes great replacement theory, the racist ideology that motivated Peyton [sic] Gendron when he murdered ten Black Buffalonians last year, the organization added, along with services for mental health. Defense of Democracy, an organization fighting against oppression toward marginalized communities, released a series of videos in support of university students not in favor of the event. Our volunteers in PA stand in solidarity with the students at University of Buffalo. #noplatformforhate pic.twitter.com/y0XPAHxovo Defense of Democracy (@_dofd) March 9, 2023 Other organizations, like Our City Action Buffalo, hosted alternative events during the same time as Knowles planned speech at Slee Hall. The outrage prompted the University at Buffalo to release messages in support of the LGTBQ+ community. Our university community thrives because of our diversity. We see the humanity and dignity in every member of our scholarly community. We are grateful for the many meaningful contributions of our feminist activists and scholars, and our LGBTQ+ students, faculty and staff. We are immeasurably enriched by your work, your perspectives and your voices, university president Satish Tripathi released in a statement Tuesday. At the same time, as a public university, we must support the constitutionally protected democratic principles of the First Amendment[to protect] speech no matter how noxious the content, he added. Of course, it is neither easy nor comfortable doing so when the speech in question offends and dehumanizes many members of our university community. Consequently, even as we recognize the powerful role that free speech plays in maintaining our democracy, it leaves us to grapple with language that the First Amendments robust protections permit. Representatives for Knowles did not immediately return The Daily Beasts request for comment Friday. 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. Heavy rains from an atmospheric river washed away a road washed away in Santa Cruz County on Friday. (Tayfun Coskun / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) California's deadly storm season turned even deadlier Friday as the first of two atmospheric river storms descended on the state, prompting widespread evacuation orders as it flooded creeks and rivers and dropped warm, heavy rain atop the state's near-record snowpack. One person, who has not been identified, was killed when a portion of a roof collapsed at a coffee distribution warehouse in Oakland, authorities said. He was a worker at the facility, where at least one other employee was injured in the collapse. The fatality comes after a series of nine back-to-back atmospheric river storms in January contributed to nearly two dozen deaths, including people killed by falling trees and surging stormwater. Heavy snowpack in recent weeks contributed to at least 13 deaths in the San Bernardino Mountains, where many residents were trapped for days behind walls of snow. At least two recent deaths have been confirmed as storm-related, according to Nancy Ward, director of the California Governors Office of Emergency Services. The extreme weather has resulted in "15 shelters open in nine counties, more than 9,400 people under evacuation orders, approximately 54,000-plus people without power, and unfortunately two deaths that have so far been confirmed by the coroners office to be storm-related thus far," Ward said Friday. The Office of Emergency Services has readied high-water vehicles, search-and-rescue teams, fire resources and other emergency operations to respond to areas most vulnerable to flooding and overtopped rivers, Ward said. A dangerous excessive rainfall event is underway across much of Central California. Areal rainfall totals of 4-9 inches through today, atop areas with saturated soil and deep snowpack will cause widespread and severe flooding impacts, particularly in the High Risk (pink) area. pic.twitter.com/ll8JbKtjDE NWS Weather Prediction Center (@NWSWPC) March 10, 2023 President Biden approved an emergency declaration request from Gov. Gavin Newsom, authorizing the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to support state and local responses to the storm. Story continues Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency in 34 counties, activating the California National Guard and other state agencies to respond to storm-related emergencies. "California is deploying every tool we have to protect communities from the relentless and deadly storms battering our state," Newsom said. "In these dangerous and challenging conditions, it is crucial that Californians remain vigilant and follow all guidance from local emergency responders." As Friday wore on, the "Pineapple Express" storm which is gathering warm, subtropical moisture from Hawaii made landfall in several communities from the Central Coast to the southern Sierra. "This is an unrivaled, unparalleled weather event not experienced in several decades," Kris Mattarochia, science and operations officer with the National Weather Service in Hanford, said during a briefing in Fresno. "There will be high water in areas that are usually not impacted. So everyone needs to be ready. Combined with snow melt, the Kings River, along with smaller streams like Mill Creek, will be pushed to limits which are unimaginable." More than a dozen locations along the state's river systems were surging above flood stage, including portions of the Eel, Russian, Salinas, Carmel, Sacramento, Merced and Cosumnes rivers and Bear Creek, according to the National Weather Service. Nearly 30 more were above "monitor stage," indicating the potential for overtopping and flooding in low-lying areas. Major flash flooding was reported in the Tulare County area of Springville where officials conducted dozens of water rescues Friday morning and in Kernville, where the roaring Kern River surrounded some houses and mobile homes, spurring an evacuation order. Similar scenes played out across the state as the powerful storm delivered heavy precipitation at a steady clip. In San Luis Obispo County, emergency crews rescued two people and a dog who were stranded on an island in Paso Robles, officials said. Elsewhere in the county, people sandbagged the doors of low-lying businesses along San Luis Obispo Creek, where the churning brown water continued to rise. "Hopefully, we're as prepared as we can be," said Gina Wigney, 27, an employee at a property management company where the doors were blocked with sandbags, tarps and wood barriers. In January, the creek flooded and covered the road, inundating the business. Wigney said the water was about 5 inches deep and damaged furniture and drywall. After that, she helped pull out the soaked carpet, which was replaced with new tile. Main Street in Soquel. Avoid the area. Residents north of Bates Creek cannot pass. Road crews are working on a solution. pic.twitter.com/wuKx7NmcjP Santa Cruz County (@sccounty) March 10, 2023 The California Department of Transportation has asked the public to limit nonessential travel during the peak of the storm in affected areas and to be extremely cautious if travel is necessary. As little as a foot of water can sweep a car off the road, the agency warned. Nearly 90 flood watches and advisories were in effect, including urgent flash flood warnings in portions of Tulare, Fresno and San Luis Obispo counties. Evacuation warnings were in effect for dozens of communities as reports of rapidly rising rivers, streams and creeks rang out. In Santa Cruz County, the San Lorenzo River crested Friday morning, prompting evacuation orders for Felton Grove, Paradise Park and Soquel Village due to flooding. "After a while, you've just got to laugh, otherwise you're just gonna have horrible mental health," said Cindi Busenhart, a resident of Soquel who was nearly stranded after a portion of the road near Bates Creek collapsed. Save for a small wooden footbridge, Busenhart and all of her neighbors are for the most part stuck unable to drive in or out, depending on friends and relatives on the other side to help with transporting people, food and goods. "I don't know how long it's gonna take before they can actually, like, fix it. I mean, the creek is just raging," she said. "It didn't take a little bit of a road out. It took a massive amount of the road out. ... There's no way out." Santa Cruz County communications manager Jason Hoppin said emergency operators and county crews were watching the levee system along the rising Pajaro River, which is likely to crest at 9 p.m. Friday. "It's an old levee," he said. "And once it gets over 28 feet, we start to get a little nervous about it. So we have eyes on it looking for any signs of trouble." He said the latest forecast called for the river to crest at 30 feet. If the levee fails, the town of Pajaro which is in Monterey County would be most at risk, which is why Monterey has issued evacuation orders for the area, he said. On the Santa Cruz County side of the river, flooding would likely inundate agricultural fields north of Watsonville. "So if something were to happen, there's a couple of levees that it has to go through ... so we're not super worried about the town, he said. "But we are worried about the levee, and we are worried about Pajaro." Meanwhile, floodwaters surged through the town of Three Rivers outside Sequoia National Park, according to video shared by the National Park Service, which showed partially submerged trees amid white-capped waters. Video from this morning in the town of Three Rivers, several miles outside of Sequoia National Park. Reminder that Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks are closed to visitation. Roads nearby are hazardous and in places impassable. Please do not travel to the affected area! pic.twitter.com/zAszKozdhj Sequoia & Kings Cyn (@SequoiaKingsNPS) March 10, 2023 And in Fresno, officials responded to at least 25 weather-related incidents, including a few rescues, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection unit Chief Dustin Hail said during a Friday afternoon briefing. Among them were three women in Olympic Valley who were rescued after a culvert washed out and sent waters swirling around their home. The county has filled more than 25,000 sandbags for residents, Hail said, and theyre going as quickly as they are filled. The storm is falling atop soaked soils and some of the deepest snowpack California has recorded, including historic snow in the San Bernardino Mountains. On Friday, residents and officials were bracing for the arrival of rain. "It's just going to make the snow heavier," said Rich Eagan, a spokesman for the county's incident command team. Its also adding weight to the roofs. There have been multiple collapses in the area, and with about an inch of rain forecast for some parts, Eagan said it would be "a miracle" if there weren't more. The state has already seen a spate of roof collapses from heavy snow, including a grocery store providing crucial supplies in Crestline. The roof of a Dollar General store in Amador County reportedly collapsed Thursday night. As the warm rain fell lightly but steadily in Valley of Enchantment, helping melt the record snow, Kim Kuhm said residents were pulling up at a volunteer food pantry with empty sandbags, looking to get them filled. But instead of sand, there was just snow and ice, she said. Jacob Barrett worried that water might build up and pour into his home if the rains picked up. I grabbed the snow blower, and I made trenches, he said. Several of the state's rivers flooded when January's back-to-back atmospheric rivers sent water rushing over levees and onto properties and roadways. Officials were hoping to prevent a repeat of that deadly scenario and were making strategic releases from the state's swelling reservoirs to make room for incoming flows. At Lake Oroville, California's second-largest reservoir, officials opened the main spillway Friday afternoon for the first time since April 2019. The threat won't ease when this storm moves out this weekend. Another atmospheric river is expected to follow early next week, and there is a potential for a third around March 19, according to State Climatologist Mike Anderson. Clovis resident Sheri Sinclair said rain had already started flooding her yard Friday morning. She was picking up sandbags from the city, which she planned to place around her house. "This is unprecedented a once-in-a-lifetime thing and we need to heed the warnings," said Sinclair, 62. Sinclair said she has plenty of food and a pump to help empty her yard. But she feared the storm could be even worse than the ones in January. "This is gonna be bad," she said. Times staff writer Grace Toohey contributed to this report from Lake Arrowhead and San Bernardino. Gomez reported from Fresno, Garrison from Sacramento, James from San Luis Obispo, Rust from Palo Alto and Smith from Los Angeles. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Cafe Boulud The iconic and prolific French chef behind two-Michelin-starred Daniel in New York just announced a forthcoming Beverly Hills restaurant his first West Coast location in his 50-year-plus culinary career. In late 2023 or early 24, Boulud is expected to open his lauded Cafe Boulud at the base of the Mandarin Oriental Residences, where he will also oversee a members-only dining program for the luxury condominium complex, including a poolside lounge. L.A. is a big food town, Boulud said. Nobody is deprived of anything good, but I think L.A. always embraces something new, and we hope to be embraced by L.A. I told Wolfgang [Puck] that if he opened in New York, I'll open in L.A., and of course Wolfgang opened in New York [in 2016]; I said, Well, maybe I'm keeping my promises to Wolfgang. Cafe Boulud with locations in New York, the Bahamas, Toronto, Palm Beach, Fla., and Lenox, Mass. takes its name from the chef's great-grandparents former cafe located outside Lyon, France. L.A.s menu will take the format of New Yorks, which famously involves four chapters from which to order a la carte: La Tradition, for classic French dishes such as lamb Provencal or foie gras torchon; La Saison, for seasonal items such as duck with peaches and grits or beef Wellington with root vegetables; Le Potager, with produce-forward creations, including roasted carrot salad or Swiss chard ravioli; and Le Voyage, which reinterprets global cuisines through a French lens for items like Vietnamese-inspired crab bisque. At breakfast or lunch, which the chef intends to launch at a subsequent date, Boulud sees the menu as being a bit more flexible and casual, with light, nutritious and less elaborate dishes than one would find on the four-chapter dinner menu. It's going to be different in a sense that the cuisine can be a little bit more summery, Boulud said. It starts with very good ingredients, of course, and I have no doubt that in L.A. they have the finest ingredients when it comes to freshness and opportunity to embrace what the farmers market produced. I think it's going to be very interesting. I mean, in New York we depend a lot on California. Story continues The wine program, given its proximity to Californias Central Coast and the Napa region, will heavily feature West Coast wines in addition to French. The 60-seat restaurant, roughly 2,000 square feet, will feature a slightly tropical, garden-like design with retro-inspired accents such as large brass palm fronds. The residents-only food program, called Boulud Prive, will be designed for convenience, the chef says, with items such as avocado tartine or lobster rolls. 9200 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, cafeboulud.com Uoichiba, the new hand roll bar from the dry-aged-fish specialist behind the Joint, sells sets of hand rolls such as lean tuna, left, and fatty tuna. (Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times) Uoichiba A new hand-roll bar from one of the countrys dry-aged-fish specialists is now open at Culver Citys Citizen Public Market food hall. Liwei Liao sells retail and wholesale seafood through his Sherman Oaks fish market and seafood counter the Joint and at his new temaki and chirashi bar, his years-long specialty dry-aged fish is on full display. Tapping chef Hiroo Nagahara (of Silver Paper and formerly Bao Hiroo) to help construct the menu and hand-roll program, Liaos Uoichiba serves temaki in three- to six-roll tasting sets with bites such as fatty tuna; steelhead with dehydrated shiso; ginger-marinated prawns; and daily specials such as lump crab with shiso and crunchy rice crackers, all with a keen eye toward both texture and temperature. Rice is cooked continuously in small batches throughout the day, and a small, heated box keeps sheets of nori warm but still crisp. House-made soups, such as fish stock or a miso fish fumet, also are available, as are to-go sashimi bento sets. Look for a market-price chirashi bowl when Liao, also known as dry-aged fish guy, is behind the counter. Uoichiba is open Wednesday and Thursday from 5 to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday from noon to 9 p.m.; and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. 9355 Culver Blvd., Culver City, instagram.com/uoichiba.la Din Tai Fung Santa Monica Din Tai Fung, home of handmade xiao long bao and other Chinese and Taiwanese specialties, is headed to the Westside. The Taiwan-founded chain with nearly 200 locations globally is set to open a sprawling, 10,615-square-foot restaurant on the third floor of outdoor shopping center Santa Monica Place; currently there is no estimated opening date. The new outpost will offer indoor and outdoor seating, plus ocean views. Across town, the Glendale Din Tai Fung, currently housed at the Americana at Brand, is scheduled to relocate to the adjacent Glendale Galleria later this year , while another location is slated for Anaheims Downtown Disney . 395 Santa Monica Place, Santa Monica, dintaifungusa.com/us Din Tai Fung's famous xiao long bao, noodles, handmade chocolate mochi dumplings (pictured) and other specialties are slated for Santa Monica. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times) Love Hour Bar The team behind one of L.A.s most popular smashburgers now operates a bar in Koreatown. Love Hour began as a pop-up but now serves burgers, seasoned fries, chicken nuggets and one of the citys best fried fish sandwiches from a walk-up window. The adjacent space that was once home to Beer Belly (from Love Hour co-owner Jimmy Han) is open as Love Hour Bar with beer and wine. According to co-owner Michael Pak (Koreatown Run Club), the bar has been in the works for about 18 months. The team behind burger window and pop-up Love Hour now operates a bar in Koreatown serving beer, wine, burgers and more. (Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times) To be honest, we just wanted a simple window situation to serve burgers and get everyone out quick, but to build community, we were like, 'How do we do something inside four walls?' said Pak. We figured a bar is a great place where everyone can come in and hang out and end the week. The tight menu of natural wines will rotate every month or so and focus on natural wines primarily from California. The craft beer menu also prioritizes local makers, with options such as Torrances Smog City Brewing Co. and Inglewoods Three Weavers Brewing Co. Guests can order Love Hour food from the walk-up window and bring their meals into the bar, though in coming months Love Hour Bar will launch its own unique bar-food menu inspired by the owners childhood favorite dishes. The space offers booth seating, 10 barstools and a patio, plus a photo booth, and will host guest bartenders, weekend DJ sets and other programming. Love Hour Bar is open Wednesday to Saturday from 5 p.m. to midnight, with burgers available until 10 p.m. 532 S. Western Ave., Los Angeles, love-hour.com Burritos La Palma Highland Park The lauded local chain from Albert Banuelos which serves some of Jonathan Golds favorite burritos in Los Angeles has expanded to Highland Park, taking over a food stall at La Tropicana Market. The newest outpost of Burritos La Palma serves an identical menu to the original El Monte location, including signature burritos of house-made flour tortillas filled with long-simmered birria; refried beans with cheese; chicken tinga with potatoes; or shredded beef with green chiles and potatoes. Plates and quesadillas are available, as are packs of fresh flour tortillas. A fan-favorite torta featuring pork, Canadian bacon and cheese will be available soon, with only 30 of the sandwiches made each day. Burritos La Palma is open in Highland Park Wednesday to Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. 5200 Monte Vista St., Los Angeles, (323) 740-5624, burritoslapalma.com Burritos La Palma now serves its El Monte menu from a counter at Highland Park's La Tropicana Market. (Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times) This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - As the number of migrants arriving at Panama's southern border by traveling through a perilous jungle area known as the Darien Gap has sharply increased, officials met Thursday to roll out a plan to bus migrants close to the country's northern border. The decision comes less than a month after dozens were killed in the deadliest migration accident in Panama's history when a bus headed north fell off a cliff. Now, officials will temporarily provide buses to transport migrants arriving from the Darien Gap to the Chiriqui province, which borders Costa Rica. According to government, almost 58,000 migrants mostly from Haiti, Venezuela and Ecuador entered Panama in the first two months of the year through the Darien Gap, a lawless stretch of mountainous jungle. "That is a sharp contrast from the same time last year, when we didn't even have 10,000 people coming into Panama," immigration director Samira Gozaine said. Officials stressed the measure to transport migrants was temporary and that if the number of those arriving through the Darien Gap continued to increase, resources could become even more strained. (Reporting by Milagro Vallecillos; Writing by Kylie Madry; Editing by Sandra Maler) President Joe Biden made a quick reference to Donald Trump on Thursday then just as quickly dismissed him. I had a big fight with the former president, and maybe future president, Biden said at an event in Philadelphia, referring to the 2020 election battle. The crowd jeered the reference to Trump. Bless me father, Biden said, then made the sign of the cross: President Biden jokes that Donald Trump is the former president and maybe future president. pic.twitter.com/5baZuwR8Xi The Recount (@therecount) March 9, 2023 The sign of the cross has a range of meanings, from a blessing to a means of warding off evil. Biden, a Catholic, uses it on occasion in a joking manner, as he also did last week when referring to conspiracy theorist Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). He asked the crowd if they remembered Greenes jeers during his State of the Union address, when she interrupted his speech with shouts of liar! The crowd laughed, and Biden made the sign of the cross. Biden doesnt like to mention Trump, and often omits his name when he does. At one point, Biden referred to him simply as the former guy. Im tired of talking about Donald Trump, he said less than a month after taking office. I dont want to talk about him anymore. Charlotte Evans (left) and Kelly Gallagher won Winter Paralympic gold for Great Britain (Steve Parsons/PA) (PA Archive) Kelly Gallagher and guide Charlotte Evans won Great Britains first gold medal at the Winter Paralympics in this day in 2014. Two days after suffering the disappointment of finishing last in the downhill, Gallagher and guide Evans made history with victory in the womens visually impaired super-G in Sochi. In the aftermath of that blow, a tearful Evans had vowed to bounce back and her confidence proved well-founded. On this day in 2014, history was made.@Kellygallagher and @CharEvans1 won our first ever gold medal at a Winter Paralympics in Sochi.#ImpossibleToIgnore @C4Paralympics pic.twitter.com/OUHPHLRCda ParalympicsGB (@ParalympicsGB) March 10, 2021 She said at the time: I am the blubbering wreck, but our communication was awesome and we have no excuse. You can see my disappointment, but we will come back fighting. The Britons were the first of the six pairs to tackle the course and having posted a time of one minute and 28.72 seconds they faced an anxious wait to see if their time would be beaten. Slovakias Henrieta Farkasova, the downhill gold medallist, crashed out and when Australian Melissa Perrine also failed to finish, British gold was secure. Congratulations to Kelly Gallagher and Charlotte Evans on the first British Winter Paralympic gold! #sochi2014 X vb Victoria Beckham (@victoriabeckham) March 10, 2014 For Northern Irelands Gallagher, then 28, redemption proved sweet after she had doubted both herself and her partnership with 22-year-old Evans. Story continues Gallagher said: I lost all of my faith in myself, in Charlotte, in our processes, in what we were doing, and I was like, I only have a couple of hours to put this together because were going to be back on snow and weve got to race. We wouldnt have got here if it wasnt for Charlotte. When I havent believed in myself, she has believed in us and believed in herself. There was further good news for Britain when Jade Etherington and guide Caroline Powell, who had finished second in the downhill to claim the nations first Paralympic medal on snow in 20 years, added bronze to their haul. Daylight saving time begins at 2 a.m. on Sunday, when the clocks will spring forward an hour. AAA advises motorists and pedestrians to make adjustments for safer travel, and the American Red Cross advises people to test smoke alarms. Many will find on Monday that their normal morning commutes will be darker than theyre used to, which can be especially dangerous for pedestrians and children waiting at bus stops, said Theresa Podguski, director of legislative affairs, in a news release. Moreover, less sleep can lead to an increase in the number of drowsy drivers, so motorists should prepare themselves to adjust to losing an hour of sleep and then driving in darker conditions. Since drowsy driving can be as dangerous as drunk driving, AAA East Central advises motorists to take the following steps: Plan for an extra hour of sleep to offset the time change; Avoid heavy foods before driving; Avoid medications that cause drowsiness or other impairment; For longer trips, schedule a break every two hours or 100 miles. Pedestrians should take the following steps to increase their safety: Pay attention while walking, especially near crosswalks; Wear bright colors or reflective clothing at dusk and at night; Carry a flashlight when walking in the dark; Make eye contact with drivers when crossing streets; Walk on the sidewalk, or walk facing traffic if there are no sidewalks; Cross at intersections, and never run out from in between parked cars on the side of the road. Another way to stay safe is to test smoke alarms when turning clocks forward, the American Red Cross says. Working smoke alarms can cut the risk of dying in a home fire by half. Install smoke alarms on every level of the home, including inside and outside bedrooms and sleeping areas. Test alarms monthly and replace the batteries at least once. Replace smoke alarms that are 10 years or older. Practice two-minute escape plan, the Red Cross advises. Make sure everyone in your household can get out in less than two minutes the amount of time you may have to get out of a burning home before its too late. Story continues As many as seven people die in this country every day from a home fire, but smoke alarms cut your risk in half, said Jorge Martinez, CEO, American Red Cross of Greater Pennsylvania, in a news release. Protect your household this weekend. Turn your clocks forward and test your smoke alarms. TRENDING NOW: Family says goodbye to man shot, killed in McKeesport last week Woman dead, man injured in West Homestead crash Pittsburgh police searching for missing, at-risk man VIDEO: Penguins announce $30 million upgrades to PPG Paints Arena DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts The collapsed roof of Goodwin & Son's Market in the San Bernardino Mountains community of Crestline. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) After weeks of historic snowfalls that buried parts of the San Bernardino Mountains in up to 100 inches of snow, residents have only now started to clear roads, reopen businesses, run errands and get in touch with snowbound neighbors. But the respite may be short-lived as a new storm is forecast to strike the region Friday morning and linger into the weekend. The latest storm is expected bring more rain than snow to the region, giving locals a bit of optimism that a recovery from the unprecedented weather is within reach. "I think people feel that there's a little bit of a light at the end of the tunnel, and people aren't quite as concerned with the rain as maybe we should be," said Alexander Vallejos, who operates the Twin Peaks Farmers Market in Twin Peaks. "But I think a lot of us are kind of wanting to get back to a sense of normalcy." Caltrans snowplows have cleared the majority of highways around the mountain communities, but most county roads are still either limited to one lane or blocked with snow. San Bernardino County on Wednesday launched a new service to deliver medication refills to homes, responding to concerns that prescriptions for elderly residents who were snowed in were running out. Requests for those deliveries can be made by calling the county's snow response call center at (909) 387-3911. In the mountain community of Crestline, Amber Dickey, 37, was busy earlier this week delivering groceries and running errands for her neighbors who still struggled to get out of their homes because of all the snow. "It looks like we might not lose the bowling alley. It's nice to not have to lose another business," Dickey said pointing to a group of workers using a snow blower to clear the roof of a nearby building. Several other buildings on the street caved in, including Goodwin & Son's Market, the community's only supermarket. "I was born and raised in Crestline. I've never seen Goodwin closed," she said. "It's sad because they've done such a good job as our community grocery store. It's sad to watch your community have to try to recover from something like this." Story continues But recovery efforts may be delayed by a new storm rolling in from Northern California, raising the risk of flooding in the mountain and foothill communities. The incoming storm could dump up to 1.5 inches of rain on communities in Lake Arrowhead, Running Springs and Crestline. Mt. Baldy and Mt. San Gorgonio could receive up to 3 inches of rainfall, according to the National Weather Service in San Diego. The good thing is rain is better than snow at this point, and theyre saying the snow level isnt going to be [below] 9,000 feet," said Rich Eagan, a public information officer for San Bernardino County's incident management team, which is responding to the recent storms. He pointed out that all the mountain communities are at elevations well below snow levels, most around 4,000 to 5,000 feet. "Were hoping that what happens from the rain, its going to melt some of the snow," Eagen said, adding that flooding is not a major concern. "I don't really think the rains are going to create major issues for us. I think it's going to help us, to be honest," Eagen said. He said the county has now cleared 98% of county roads with at least a single lane open. Others are not so optimistic. Ivan Arnold, director of Operation Mountain Strong, a grassroots relief effort helping conduct search and rescues on the mountains, worries that the combination of heaps of snow and rain is going to be a recipe for disaster. "Theres a tremendous amount of snow and the rain is really gonna affect it. Its gonna turn it into slush and were gonna have significant flooding," Arnold said. He fears that the rains could flood low-lying areas and exacerbate roofs already damaged from the snowstorms. As the storm approaches, mountain residents continue to hustle to clear as much snow from their roads and properties while the skies are clear. Travis Lett has been digging out snow from his 4-foot-deep swimming pool in Crestline for the last four days. He fears there could be more power outages because of the rain. "Im almost finished so I can get down the hill for supplies and a generator," Lett said Thursday. "I dont have much time before we are trapped in the rainstorm." Lett is confident his home will survive the latest storm because it is on a hill, but he's worried about his neighbors at lower elevations. "Its going to flood the bottom of the town," he said. "The water cant escape [because] all reservoir openings are clogged with snow." For the last two weeks, Rudy Zamora, 62, had been struggling to clear mounds of snow that stood 5 to 8 feet high around his Crestline home. He was able to get free groceries from Goodwin and Son's Market last week, after the roof caved in and the market handed out what it could salvage. But Zamora has not been able to get his truck out of the driveway. His street was plowed Monday and he can finally see the road. "I figured if I shoveled snow a little each day, or a lot each day, I'd be able to keep up with it," Zamora said, slightly out of breath. During a winter storm last year, Vallejos and his fiancee, Holly Walker, lost power at their home in Skyforest, a community southeast of Lake Arrowhead. They roughed it for several days. When the latest storms rolled through they felt prepared, but they did not expect to be stranded for 12 days. "We weren't caught off guard so much as it kind of was like with COVID. The feeling was it just kept going on," Vallejos said. Though they have cleared channels around their home for the incoming rain, there's a feeling that it's just another issue on top of everything else. "Obviously there's a little bit of concern," Vallejos said. "I feel like a lot of people right now are just trying to focus on the people who need help in the community. There are still people who are snowed in and can't get supplies." The series of storms also snowed in Wildhaven Ranch, a nonprofit wildlife sanctuary in Cedar Glen. But neighbors have been helping Diane Dragotto Williams, the sanctuary's founder, dig pathways to the animal enclosures and ensure that the structures don't cave in. There is no money coming into the shelter because the business is closed, and she relies on donations and the generosity of her neighbors. Her neighbors have accompanied her while she feeds the animals. But some of the larger carnivores require special handlers to feed, Williams said, and that has been difficult to do when the roads are blocked and the handlers can't make it to the sanctuary. "Generally, on a daily basis, yes they need to be fed, but not for every single species," Williams said. Earlier in the week, a busload of inmates from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation under the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection arrived in Cedar Glen and helped residents dig out their driveways. The inmates also helped clear out some of the enclosures at the sanctuary, Williams said. She's optimistic that the incoming rainstorm will be moderate. "The snow is very slowly melting. I can see maybe a foot has gone down since it has been warm in the last few days," she said. "So that's encouraging." This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Fire crews document the damage of a house with a collapsed roof on Monday in Crestline. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) More than a dozen people have died in San Bernardino County's mountain communities in the wake of back-to-back snowstorms that dumped historic amounts of snow more than 100 inches in places stranding many in their homes for two weeks, county officials said. The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said Thursday it has responded to 13 deaths since Feb. 23, though investigators have determined that only one had a "direct correlation to the weather," according to a news release. That person died at a hospital after a car crash during the storm. Four were people who either died at a hospital or were in hospice, officials said, and therefore will not be investigated. The rest are under investigation by the coroner's division of the Sheriff's Department. "The preliminary information we have at this time is the circumstances observed at the scenes did not present as weather-related," according to a statement from the agency. "Many of the deceased had significant medical histories or chronic conditions." Sheriff's officials released limited information for the nine deaths not linked to hospitals or hospice care and reiterated that investigators do not believe the weather or a lack of food or resources contributed to any, calling them "natural." However, no cause of death has been determined in any of them. But residents in mountain communities who spoke with The Times pushed back on that notion, saying many were stranded without food, electricity, heat and medications for days, if not weeks extremely stressful conditions they believe contributed to, if not caused, the casualties. Crestline resident Liberty Guerrero said she knows three people all of them elderly who died in the last week. She said the nearby Cedarpines Park community is a big elderly community. They live in the boonies, and nobodys gone there yet." "Theyre going to find more [dead]," Guerrero said. The first death the one sheriffs officials said had a direct correlation to the weather was a 39-year-old woman killed Feb. 26 after being struck by a vehicle in Fawnskin, officials said. That incident matches the story of Barbie Hughes, whose family said she was killed while trying to help someone stuck in the snow. Story continues Two days later as the second of two brutal snowstorms began to wane a 65-year-old woman living on Irene Street in Wrightwood was found dead by a neighbor, according to the Sheriffs Department. While she had no known medical issues, sheriff's officials said she had complained of "flu-like symptoms." She was last known to be alive the previous day. On March 2, a 77-year-old woman was found dead by her landlord on Zell Court in Crestline. She was last seen by her landlord the week before, deputies said. The woman had a "documented medical history," though details were not provided. On March 3 about a week after the snowstorms began deputies found two men dead during separate welfare checks. Deputies went to look in on a 77-year-old on Sycamore Lane in Crestline's Valley of Enchantment neighborhood after family had been unable to reach him. When they arrived, they could not reach the residence, and a neighbor forced their way in and found the man dead, authorities said. It was only with advanced equipment that deputies were able to remove the mans body. While officials acknowledged that weather contributed to the challenge of reaching the residence, they did not indicate the conditions led to the mans death. The other man was found in Big Bear Lake on Barker Boulevard, and while his medical history was unknown, officials said the 62-year-old had recently made complaints of feeling sick and taking over-the-counter medication. That same day, family found a a 33-year-old relative dead in his bedroom in Arrowbear. He had been alive the night before, they said, and had only limited medical conditions, which were not specified. On Monday, Michelle Hakes sister was found dead in Big Bear after her family called for a welfare check when her sister wasnt responding. She said her sister, 46, needed medical care during the storms, but her family didn't realize how urgent it had become. Hake said shes convinced that if access had not been limited because of the storms, her sister would not have died. That same day, a 93-year-old identified by neighbors and family as Elinor "Dolly" Avenatti was found dead in her home on Inspiration Road in Crestline by a neighbor. Those who knew her said she was a fixture in the community and still very active, but officials said she had a "diagnosed medical history," although details weren't shared with The Times. Rhea-Frances Tetley, who lived across from Avenatti, said their street was without power for six days, during which Avenatti hadn't been able to leave her house because of the snow. Although neighbors delivered food and checked in on her, Tetley worries the extreme conditions took a toll on the otherwise lively woman. On Wednesday, a 68-year-old man who neighbors said had been sick for a while was found dead in his home on Crest Forest Drive in Crestline. Neighbors said firefighters had to dig out snow for at least 30 minutes to access his home. And residents fear there will be more bodies found. Crestline resident Megan Vasquez said that although the region has a lot of elderly residents and people with medical conditions, she doesn't think they all died from natural causes. "It mightve been a person with major diabetes whose blood sugar got out of control. Is that a natural death or was that contributed to by the storms? she asked. Vasquez went door to door Thursday looking for houses with no footprints or with cars buried under the snow. She found a 90-year-old woman with no food in her house who had recently undergone hip surgery. "She was covered in bruises, with eyes as big as saucer plates," Vasquez said. "What would've happened to her if I hadn't gotten there? Theres gonna be a lot more than 13 because we havent dug everyone out yet, she said. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. A racially insensitive tweet from a political columnist at the Toronto Sun posted on Wednesday is drawing strong reactions on Twitter. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, who faced off against Loblaws CEO Galen Weston Jr. during a committee hearing on food insecurity in the House of Commons was seen wearing a yellow turban. Toronto Sun political columnist Brian Lilley took to Twitter shortly after writing "Jagmeet looks like he wore his No Name turban today just to grill Galen Weston at committee. I know he changes the colours for special days or occasion but didn't expect to see No Name yellow today. Is it on purpose or a coincidence?" Jagmeet looks like he wore his No Name turban today just to grill Galen Weston at committee. I know he changes the colours for special days or occaision but didn't expect to see No Name yellow today. Is it on purpose or a coincidence? pic.twitter.com/rOmModWgkc Brian Lilley (@brianlilley) March 8, 2023 Twitter users were quick to type strongly-worded responses opposing Lilley's tweet, which has garnered over 900,000 views as of Thursday afternoon. Canadian Minister of International Development Harjit Sajjan posted a photo of himself with his own take on Lilley's tweet. Carolyn Jarvis, Chief Investigative Correspondent with Global News just needed one word to express her thoughts. Story continues OFFSIDE. Carolyn Jarvis (@CJarvisGlobal) March 9, 2023 Rishi Kumar Nagar, a teacher and journalist based in Calgary, AB, responded with how the tweet was seen as mocking. Brian! Its totally inappropriate to mock the religious article of faith. Please delete it! Rishi Kumar Nagar (@RishiKNagar) March 9, 2023 Another user took to the comment section to provide insight into the significance the colour yellow has in India. Yellow is the sacred color of India. The color of sunshine and happiness. Believed to have healing powers. Many gods in India are dressed in yellow - Lord Vishnu, Lord Krishna, and Ganesha. It's synonymous with turmeric, which has been used as a medicine for centuries in India. P Smith (@rwbb60) March 9, 2023 Many comments were left by social media users who seemed astounded that the tweet remained up on the site nearly 24 hours after it was posted. You can still delete this Christo Aivalis (@christoaivalis) March 9, 2023 Sarah Hoffman, deputy leader of the NDP also chimed in, offering the context she saw Lilley's tweet in. This sure sounds racist. Is that on purpose or a coincidence? Sarah Hoffman (@shoffmanAB) March 9, 2023 Singh, the first member of a visible minority to lead a federal party in Canada, is no stranger to racism. In May 2022, protesters at a provincial campaign stop in Peterborough, Ont. hurled expletives towards the leader an incident he says is one of the most troubling of his career yet. Again in October 2019, while campaigning in Montreal, a male approached Singh at Atwater Market and urged the NDP leader to "cut off" his turban to "look like a Canadian." "This is Canada, you can do whatever you like," Singh said to him before walking away. "I got a turban and a beard and I'm out here talking about loving the language, fighting against climate crisis, investing in people, investing in universal medication for all,' that people can see ... maybe it isn't a good idea to have divisive laws that discriminate [against] people based on the way they look," Singh told reporters while addressing Quebec's controversial secularism bill earlier that day. Washington More Democrats in Congress have been vocally supportive of banning Chinese-backed TikTok in the U.S. in recent months, reflecting what experts say is an increased willingness to challenge Beijing and crack down on the massively popular video app. The growing number of Democrats backing a TikTok ban has coincided with rising tensions with China and renewed national security concerns about the vast trove of data TikTok collects on its millions of American users, information that officials warn could be accessed by the ruling Chinese Communist Party. (ByteDance, TikTok's Beijing-based parent company, has said that the company protects user data and does not share information with the Chinese government.) The showdown over a Chinese surveillance balloon that drifted over the U.S. before being shot down off the coast of South Carolina last month only heightened calls in Congress for action against TikTok and foreign adversaries over technology that could be used to spy on Americans. "TikTok is a modern-day Trojan horse of the [Chinese Communist Party], used to surveil and exploit Americans' personal information," Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, the Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said last month. "It's a spy balloon in your phone." In February, McCaul's committee advanced a bill that would give President Biden the power to ban the app on all mobile devices in the U.S. and take aim at other foreign technologies. All Democrats on the House panel voted against that measure, citing concerns that it was overly broad and could be used to block tech from U.S. allies. But all Democratic senators supported a bill banning TikTok from federal devices in December. A bipartisan group of senators, led by Democrat Mark Warner of Virginia and Republican John Thune of South Dakota, recently unveiled their own bill that would allow the president to crack down on foreign apps like TikTok. Ten other senators co-sponsored the bill, including five Democrats. The White House said President Biden supported the measure, the first time he has signaled a willingness to ban TikTok. Story continues Sen. Mark Warner, a Democrat from Virginia, speaks during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington on Tuesday, March 7, 2023. / Credit: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images In February, Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado called on Apple and Google to immediately remove TikTok from their app stores because of national security concerns. "Unlike most social media platforms, TikTok poses a unique concern because Chinese law obligates ByteDance, its Beijing-based parent company, to 'support, assist, and cooperate with state intelligence work,'" Bennet, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, wrote in a letter to the tech giants' CEOs. Days after Bennet's letter, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told ABC's "This Week" that a TikTok ban "should be looked at." Keith Krach, a former undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment in the Trump administration, said members of both parties have long backed taking action against Chinese technology, even if Republicans have been more outspoken in the past. "I had a lot of closed-door sessions with Congress," Krach said. "And honest to God, I could not tell the difference between a Democrat and a Republican when it comes to the China issue, particularly when it comes to technology." Rising tensions with China over a range of geopolitical hot-button issues including China's saber-rattling over Taiwan, potential support for Russia in Ukraine and the spy balloon "galvanized bipartisan focus on this national security issue," said Len Khodorkovsky, a former State Department official under Trump. Hannah Kelley, a research assistant at the Center for a New American Security, likewise said Democrats' willingness to speak out in favor of taking action against TikTok reflects "a convergence in the urgency and action needed to address those concerns." She pointed to frustrations over continuing negotiations between TikTok and the Treasury Department over steps the company could take to address national security concerns and continue operating in the U.S. "I think a lot of that urgency comes from sort of a valid impatience with how long the [Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States] process has taken and continues to take," she said, referring to the federal regulator responsible for reviewing certain foreign investments in the U.S. Jim Lewis, senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the risk posed by TikTok has become apparent to lawmakers over the past year, and Democrats' willingness to challenge China could be seen through the lens of the 2024 elections. "Nobody wants to be cast as being soft on China, so that's probably why you're seeing a lot more support than you saw a few months ago," Lewis said. While support for a TikTok ban appears to be growing among many Democrats, others have said the app could avoid being cut off from the U.S. market if the company finds an American buyer. "The company must either divest from dangerous foreign ownership, or we will take the necessary steps to protect Americans from potential foreign spying and misinformation operations," Sen. Angus King, an independent from Maine who caucuses with Democrats, said in a news release with Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida announcing another bipartisan bill in February. Democratic Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, the ranking member of the House select committee on China, has also supported a ban as long as the company "remains under [Chinese Communist Party] control." The Illinois Democrat, along with committee Chairman Rep. Mike Gallagher, Republican of Wisconsin, introduced legislation in February targeting the app. But Krishnamoorthi has expressed doubts that the app would actually be banned on a national level. "I don't think it's going to get banned," he told "Face the Nation" in February. "All we're saying is if TikTok is going to operate here, don't have that user data and algorithms controlled by an adversarial regime." TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is set to testify before the House Energy and Commerce Committee later this month as bipartisan pressure builds to take action against the company. A spokeswoman for the company said the public debate is "divorced from the facts" and the "significant advances" it has made in implementing safeguards. "A U.S. ban on TikTok is a ban on the export of American culture and values to the billion-plus people who use our service worldwide," TikTok spokeswoman Brooke Oberwetter said in a statement. Former Secret Service official talks security for Trump ahead of arraignment Recovery efforts underway after deadly tornadoes rip through South and Midwest California may set a new snowpack record after series of atmospheric rivers A deputy with the Fresno County Sheriffs Office was arrested under suspicion of a DUI following a crash in late February. The California Highway Patrol on Thursday reported the collision happened around 10 p.m. Feb. 23 at Goodfellow Avenue, west of Rio Visa Avenue in eastern Fresno County. The deputy, identified as 31-year-old Dean Zavala of Fresno, was driving a Nissan Maxima east on Goodfellow when he failed to maintain control of the vehicle and veered to the left of the roadway before the Nissan overturned, colliding into a chain link fence, CHP said. The vehicle landed on its wheels on the south shoulder of Goodfellow Avenue. CHP said Zavala exited the vehicle and got a ride from a passing motorist. He called the authorities and reported the collision. Officers responded to Zavalas home and determined he was intoxicated. He was arrested for misdemeanor DUI of alcohol, CHP said. He was cooperative and had no prior DUI convictions, CHP said. He was cited and released. CHP said a complain will be filed with the Fresno County District Attorneys Office for the DUI charge. The investigation is ongoing. The sheriffs office said Zavalas Nissan is a Fresno County vehicle and hes currently not working. Zora, a multi-level bar, restaurant and nightclub with rooftop seating at Ingersoll Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway in Des Moines, is on the market for $4 million. Facing legal trouble and slow business, the owner of Zora is seeking to sell the multi-level bar, restaurant and nightclub, asking $4 million. The commercial listing for the 5,500-square-foot building at 2120 Ingersoll Ave. appeared Wednesday, the day before owner Edwin Allen III pleaded not guilty in Polk County District Court on a stalking charge. Police say Allen conspired with his fellow bar owner Steve McFadden in January to stalk and track McFaddens ex-girlfriend using a GPS device planted in her car. Allen declined to comment. Allen, 45, built the Zora Bar & Rooftop from the ground up after purchasing the land for $450,000 in May 2020 and clearing the existing structure, a former Pizza Hut that had been the home of Flanagan's and later the Waverly bar. When Zora opened in August 2021, its manager said Allen, a longtime residential landlord, had spared no expense, pouring nearly $5 million into the project. The view from the rooftop at Zora, a multi-level bar, restaurant and nightclub with rooftop seating. Among its opulent features, the building had a $15,000 custom chandelier made in the form of the Zora logo; a $35,000 chrome commercial-grade griddle stovetop, visible from the dining area; custom exterior lighting; and two levels of rooftop seating with a view of downtown Des Moines, the uppermost one reservable for VIPs. The bar, however, has often appeared to be doing sparse business, particularly amid a lengthy streetscaping project. Then, on Nov. 26, 2022, 29-year-old Alonzo Lee Kearney was shot to death after a fight broke out in the bars parking lot. Police described the scene as chaotic, and though there were more than 20 witnesses, no one was arrested. The shooting, followed by the January stalking case, generated a lot of negative comments about the business and Allen on social media. And last month, a former tenant of one of Allen's residential properties, Cyndi Collins, sued him under Iowa's Civil Rights Act, alleging he demanded sex from her in exchange for a break on her rent just after he'd resolved harassment claims by other tenants with a guilty plea to disorderly conduct. Story continues Allen has fallen more than $8,000 behind on the businesss property taxes, which were due in September, county records show. He also has twice increased the amount of a $2.9 million, 20-year loan from Community First Credit Union in Ottumwa on the Zora building, which was assessed at $1.51 million in 2022, county records show. This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Des Moines' Zora bar for sale as owner Edwin Allen faces legal troubles Florida governor Ron DeSantiss new book sold 94,300 copies in its first week more sales than Donald Trumps, Hillary Clintons, or Barack Obamas books notched in their respective first weeks, according to NPD BookScan figures obtained by Business Insider. By comparison, Clinton sold 86,200 copies of her memoir Hard Choices in its first week, while Obamas book The Audacity of Hope sold 67,500 copies during that time. Trumps 2015 book, Crippled America, sold just 27,687 copies in its first week. DeSantiss book The Courage to Be Free hit No. 1 on Amazons top 100 list on its release day, February 28. The book captured the No. 1 spot on the New York Times best-seller list for print and e-book nonfiction this week. That designation does not take into account bulk purchases. The book was No. 1 on Amazon Charts for the week of March 5, as well. The massive sales come despite a widely publicized review in the New York Times that suggested the book reads like a politicians memoir churned out by ChatGPT. The book paints DeSantis, a Yale University and Harvard Law grad, as an everyman who was raised in a working-class home with family ties to steel-country Ohio and Pennsylvania that made him God-fearing, hard-working and America-loving. He describes summers spent working at a local electric company to help pay for college and feeling like a working-class outsider at Yale. DeSantis takes on the media and the GOP establishment in the book and writes about his work in Florida, including pushing back against draconian Covid-19 lockdowns and fighting against indoctrination in schools. The governor kicked off a book tour last week that will take him across the country as he flirts with a 2024 presidential bid. More from National Review By Jason Lange and Alexandra Ulmer WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A fundraising group tied to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis raised close to $10 million in February, a major haul as the Republican eyes running for president next year, according to a financial disclosure released on Friday. The disclosure by the Friends of DeSantis group, which was formed to back DeSantis' campaigns in Florida's 2018 and 2022 gubernatorial elections, points to it having about $80 million in the bank at the end of last month. Even though DeSantis easily won re-election months earlier in November, Friends of DeSantis last month took in some of its biggest contributions in years, including $2.5 million from billionaire options trader Jeff Yass, the disclosure showed. Public opinion polls show DeSantis as the strongest threat to former President Donald Trump for their party's nomination for next year's presidential contest. DeSantis made his first trip to the early nominating state of Iowa on Friday as he tests the waters for a presidential bid, only days before Trump is slated to campaign there. Friends of DeSantis' bank account puts DeSantis on a similar financial footing as Trump, who unlike DeSantis has formally launched a 2024 presidential campaign. Trump and an allied Super PAC he has financed reported having close to $80 million across several fundraising accounts at the end of 2022. Those accounts include Trump's Save America group, which was registered with election regulators to support allied campaigns rather than his own, but has transferred at least $60 million to a pro-Trump Super PAC expected to support his campaign. Super PACs are big-money groups that can legally raise and spend limitless sums to help a candidate as long as the spending isn't controlled by the candidate's campaign. They typically get substantial funding from the wealthiest Americans. The Friends of DeSantis group, which is registered in Florida to support DeSantis' gubernatorial campaigns, would also be unable to legally finance a presidential run by DeSantis. Story continues But Friends of DeSantis is also expected to transfer money to a Super PAC backing the Florida politician's presidential aspirations. On Thursday, a former senior official in Trump's administration announced he had formed a Super PAC with the aim of getting DeSantis to enter the White House race. Government watchdogs have attempted legal challenges against such transfers in the past and one is currently seeking to block Trump's financing of the Make America Great Again Inc Super PAC. But because leadership at the Federal Election Commission typically deadlocks on sensitive partisan questions, the regulator is unlikely to challenge transfers to Super PACs, said Shanna Ports, a campaign finance lawyer with the Campaign Legal Center, a non-partisan government watchdog. "The FEC has laid out a roadmap for how candidates can get away with it," Ports said. Paul S. Ryan, an election law expert at the Funders' Committee for Civic Participation, said he was concerned about money from local elections being used in federal campaigns, as state contributions limits can be more lax than federal ones. "The Supreme Court has said repeatedly over decades that big contributions can buy access and influence," said Ryan. DeSantis' political team did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Friends of DeSantis said in its disclosure that it has raised $222 million since its founding, including $9.9 million in February, and has spent $140 million. If DeSantis joins the presidential race, he will also have to compete with former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, as well as other potential candidates such as former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. (Reporting by Jason LangeEditing by Alistair Bell) Joe Exotic just told TMZ that Netflix's "Tiger King" ruined his life. (Santa Rose County (Fla.) Jail / Associated Press) "Tiger King" made Joe Exotic a pandemic-era star, right? Wrong, says the man himself. Exotic, a.k.a. Joseph Maldonado-Passage, told TMZ on Friday that the Netflix docuseries ruined his life. And he claims it's a project he never did. "I didn't do 'Tiger King,'" he said in an exclusive interview from federal prison in Fort Worth, Texas. "Did 'Tiger King' ruin my life? Absolutely." Maldonado-Passage said he was "filming a little tiger show" in 2016-2017. "Then Netflix and [series co-director] Eric Goode and all of them turned this into a conspiracy to kill Carole Baskin, to make a show. Anything you saw me in was real filming that I filmed at the zoo. Everything they filmed after 2018 when I got arrested was all pre-set-up and we have evidence that they were all paid to say what they said." "Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness," the seven-episode program that dropped on March 20, 2020, just as COVID-19 was shutting down the world, became instant bonding material among viewers cast adrift from their normal lives. "Social media, when not dedicated to combing every aspect of COVID-19, is debating the merits of the series and the fate of its eccentric cast," The Times' Lorraine Ali wrote in April 2020. "And its hard to blame captive audiences for responding passionately to its themes of being caged, scared and losing touch with the world outside the compound." Ali called it a "car wreck of a show" and added, "Like Joe Exotic, its sensational, absurd and begs to be watched. It's infectious in all the worst ways." "Tiger King" later added a less successful second season that arrived in November 2021. Maldonado-Passage was arrested in 2018, years before "Tiger King" showed up, on charges of attempting to hire two different people to kill Big Cat Rescue founder Carole Baskin, who had been critical of his treatment of the animals under his care. He was convicted and sentenced to 22 years in prison, then unsuccessfully sought a pardon from President Trump in 2020. Later he said he was denied because he was "too innocent and too GAY" for a Trump pardon. His prison sentence was reduced to 21 years in July 2021. Story continues Maldonado-Passage was diagnosed with what he called "aggressive cancer" of the prostate in November 2021; by February of this year he was reportedly refusing treatment. The cancer has reportedly spread to his bladder, and he has filed a do-not-resuscitate order with authorities. "I just have the attitude that if God gives me the will to move on, do not bring me back to this world," he told TMZ. Then again, if he's lucky enough to get out of prison alive, he said he wants to marry on-again boyfriend Seth Posey to whom he's bequeathed all his possessions and then do a concert tour. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. When the Environmental Protection Agency last week ordered testing for dioxins after the recent train derailment and fire in East Palestine, Ohio, it acknowledged that residents could be facing a familiar and infamous foe from its past. Contamination by dioxins toxic chemicals known to cause cancer, disrupt the immune system and cause reproductive harms have been at the center of notorious environmental cleanups from Times Beach, Missouri to Love Canal, New York to Mount Dioxin in Pensacola, Florida. Dioxins dont break down easily. Once in the food chain, the compounds tend to accumulate in people and animals. In key ways, the smoke-belching fire in East Palestine offered the right recipe to create these compounds, experts say. I saw that cloud up above East Palestine, and I was immediately concerned about dioxins, said Dr. Ted Schettler, a retired physician who is the science director for the Science and Environmental Health Network, a nonprofit group. This is exactly the circumstance where you expect dioxins to form. Its not yet clear if dioxins were created in the derailment or what level of contamination existed in East Palestine before the disaster. Sampling and testing are expensive and can take a long time, experts said. It may take weeks or months before the risk is clear. During Congressional testimony Thursday, Debra Shore, an EPA regional administrator for midwestern states including Ohio, said testing of materials sent to a contaminated waste facility in Indiana showed very low levels of dioxins. The EPA said that it would require Norfolk Southern to test directly for dioxins and to perform a cleanup anywhere levels are found that are unacceptable for human health. The EPA has said it believes the risk that dioxins were produced during the fire is low. Norfolk Southern will also complete a background study to assess the level of dioxins that were already in the environment before the derailment. In a statement to NBC News on Tuesday, EPA deputy press secretary Khanya Brann said the agency would review every aspect of a sampling plan to ensure it was as protective as possible and would modify it if it doesnt meet the agencys standards. Story continues In a news release Wednesday, the EPA announced that it had approved a Norfolk Southern plan for soil sampling. The plan requires contractors to inspect at least 277 sites within 2 miles of the derailment to look for visible ash. Sites with visible ash will be sampled; at least 20% of sites without ash will also be sampled. Testing will take at least a week to return results. In an emailed statement, Norfolk Southern said it had submitted several plans to the EPA for approval to address dioxin testing. We pledged to pay for the clean-up activities to date and will continue to do so, while thoroughly and safely cleaning up the site, and we are reimbursing residents for the disruption this has caused in their lives, the Norfolk Southern statement said. We are listening to the concerns of the community as restoration work moves forward. In recent decades, environmental health regulations dramatically reduced the risk of dioxins for most of the U.S. and helped push dioxins out of the public eye. Now, the threat in East Palestine spotlights the compounds toxic history, the risk they could pose to East Palestine residents, and why outside experts have implored the EPA to closely monitor the complicated sampling and testing processes. Dioxins, if found in even small amounts, could reshape food webs, impact peoples long-term health and alter East Palestines long-term prospects. It doesnt take much compared to other toxic chemicals, said Dr. Arnold Schecter who has written a textbook on dioxins and their health effects. Dioxins are a byproduct of industrial processes and historically have been associated with paper mills, the vinyl industry and medical waste incinerators. But they can be created any time theres a poorly controlled fire involving chlorine, which is why the derailment and cloud of smoke in East Palestine are of such concern. Five of the derailed cars in East Palestine contained vinyl chloride. When you burn vinyl chloride, you can generate quite a lot of dioxins, said Linda Birnbaum, a toxicologist and a former director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. She said its possible that residents of East Palestine and its surrounding areas could have inhaled dioxins in the cloud of smoke created in the incident. Any dioxins produced could settle in soil and water where the smoke traveled. There, they could begin to affect animals, contaminate locally produced foods and pose a risk for anyone working or playing with the soil. Image: Olivia Holley, 22, and Taylor Gulish, 22, collect water samples from Leslie Run creek on February 25, 2023 in East Palestine, Ohio. Holley and Gulish are testing the pH and the total dissolved solids (TDS) of the water. (Michael Swensen / Getty Images file) If you eat it, it goes down to your body and basically gets into your liver and stuff and distributes throughout your body, Birnbaum said. Dioxins are stored in fat tissue and can remain for years inside a body, she said. Health conditions can manifest decades after exposure. In 1976 in Seveso, Italy, a chemical plant exploded, leaking dioxins into nearby towns. About 200 people developed cases of chloracne, a skin condition that looks like acne and forms only in the most serious exposures. Studies of residents decades later reported increases in cancer risks, deaths from diabetes and effects on fertility. After dioxins were sprayed throughout the town of Times Beach, the federal government bought out the entire town in 1983 and relocated its residents. After more than a decade of cleanup, the emptied town became a state park. The EPA in 1996 began the process to relocate the residents in a neighborhood of Pensacola, away from Mount Dioxin a mound of contaminated soil that had been left behind by an abandoned wood treatment plant. The cleanup has taken nearly three decades. The EPA released its first health assessment of dioxins in 1985, which identified the compounds as likely carcinogens. The agency regulates their levels in drinking water and soil; the Food and Drug Administration monitors for dioxins in the food supply. Because of the regulations that have gone in effect, levels have dropped dramatically, Birnbaum said, estimating that average peoples bodies contain about one-tenth as much dioxin than they did 30 to 40 years ago. Theres international consensus that dioxins are bad chemicals, and we dont want to have them. Experts said a sampling program for East Palestine would require careful design and very sensitive testing because even tiny amounts of dioxins can be dangerous. Birnbaum said dioxins in the soil should be tested down to levels in parts per trillion, meaning that they could detect one dioxin amid a trillion other particles. Drinking water samples require even more perceptive testing. The concentrations of dioxin which can cause adverse effects in people are extremely low. Youre trying to measure things at very low levels. You need sensitive methodologies, Birnbaum said. Experts said a transparent sampling plan should be made available to the public. Are they going to sample the air, the soil, the sediment, the water? What are they going to sample and how many locations will they sample? said Stephen Lester, a toxicologist and the science director of the Center for Health, Environment & Justice. Sampling results are only as good as the sampling procedures. Schettler questioned whether Norfolk Southern should be overseeing sampling efforts, given the legal and economic implications if dioxins are discovered and the scientific precision needed for public confidence. Norfolk should pay for the analysis; the public shouldnt pay for it. But Norfolk Southern shouldnt do the analysis, Schettler said. It really needs to be done by the agency or a disinterested third party. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com [Source] Netflix is gearing up for the release of A Tourists Guide to Love, a romantic comedy set in Vietnam that stars '90s teen icon Rachael Leigh Cook. Cook, who rose to fame in 1999 after starring opposite Freddie Prinze Jr. in the hit teen romantic comedy Shes All That, will be playing Amanda, an American travel executive who joins a group tour in Vietnam after experiencing a bad breakup. During her time abroad, she meets Sinh, a tour guide who makes her reconsider what it means to love. Vietnamese American actor Scott Ly, who plays Sinh in the film, told Netflix earlier this year that his character is a happy-go-lucky, very loving person who just loves life and lives in the moment. He always goes for it, kind of like me. More from NextShark: #AsiansForBlackLives: Harry Potter Star Responds to JK Rowlings Racist Name Choice Ly, whose parents immigrated to Texas from Vietnam, expressed his gratitude for the chance to reconnect with his roots, saying, It was like coming home. Words can't describe it, really. Eirene Tran Donohue, who penned the films script, told Netflix that A Tourists Guide to Love is based on the aftermath of a real-life breakup that occurred right before a five-week trip to Vietnam. More from NextShark: Meet the winner of Netflixs Physical: 100 On my last week in Vietnam, I met a Canadian backpacker who was very much a free spirit and very adventurous. It made me realize that I didn't actually want a safe predictable life. He was supposed to be my holiday fling, [but] we have been together ever since 22 years. Netflix noted that A Tourists Guide to Love, directed by Steven K. Tsuchida ("Community," "Dear White People"), was filmed entirely on location in Vietnam one of the first U.S. films ever to do so. Donohue added: More from NextShark: Fans are upset after Nintendo erases Marios butt in Direct announcement There are almost no American movies set in Vietnam that aren't about the trauma of war. It was really important to me to tell a story about life now. One that was full of joy and love and celebration. I wanted to change the conversation about Vietnam, to highlight it as a modern thriving country whose stories are worthy of being told. Story continues Some film locations include Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Da Nang, Hoi An and Ha Giang, according to Tsuchida. His movie also notably takes place around Tet, one of Vietnams most important holidays. Tet is a holiday that focuses on new beginnings, Donohue shared. Releasing the past year and stepping into a new one, opening yourself up to opportunity and setting intentions and seeking good fortune. Creating the life that you were meant to live. That [is] very much a central theme in the movie plus you get to have all those beautiful party scenes! More from NextShark: 'Squid Game' director reveals Season 2 plotline, in talks with Netflix for Season 3 In addition to Cook and Ly, the film features Ben Feldman, Missi Pyle, Nondumiso Tembe, Andrew Barth Feldman, Jacqueline Correa, Alexa Povah, Morgan Lynee Dudley, Glynn Sweet, Nsut Le Thien and Quinn Truc Tran. This is not Cooks first time starring in a Netflix film. In 2020, she starred opposite Damon Wayans Jr. ("New Girl," "Happy Endings") in the romantic comedy "Love, Guaranteed." A Tourists Guide to Love will premiere on Netflix on April 27. Crew on board a Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C Orion, scan ahead as they search for missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 debris or wreckage on March 22, 2014 in Southern Indian Ocean, off the west coast of Australia. / Credit: Pool / Getty Images It's been nine years since Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, a Boeing 777 with 239 people on board, vanished. Now the story of its disappearance, along with the fruitless search for survivors, is being explored by Netflix. An Australian led-hunt for the plane ended in 2017 and a private firm's search ended the following year. The investigation searched nearly 50,000-square miles of sea floor. Searchers spent around $160 million in the hunt for the plane and found only some debris from the flight. The plane itself has never been located. The streaming giant launched "MH370: The Plane that Disappeared" on Wednesday. The day marked nine years since the plane went missing on March 8, 2014, during a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. The first 90-minute episode of the docuseries deals with the first few days after the Boeing 777 vanished. The second episode dives into conspiracy theories about the plane's disappearance, and the final episode deals with the ongoing search for answers by some journalists and family members. Chinese relatives of passengers on the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 take part in a prayer service at the Metro Park Hotel in Beijing on April 8, 2014. / Credit: WANG ZHAO/AFP via Getty Images The series features scientists, reporters and family members of victims who were on the plane. In all, 153 of the 240 people on board were Chinese nationals. Series director Louise Malkinson said the families want the people to keep talking about the flight's disappearance. "The families want a platform to be able to say, 'Come on, it's been nine years,'" Malkinson said in a Netflix release about the series. "They were all united on that." California could see major flooding, forecast shows 2023 Oscar predictions and what to watch for at this year's Academy Awards Health risks associated with daylight saving time Pai Lin, a rescue elephant who spent over 25 years in Thailand's trekking industry. The Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand said the work has deformed her back forever. Amy Jones/Moving Animals/WFFT Pictures of rescued elephants show the toll of the tourist trade on the hard-working animals. Years of hard labor can deform their spines out of shape, causing pain. Unlike horses, elephants were not bred to be ridden and tourist treks can cause irreversible damage. A picture of an elephant rescued after decades of hard labor shows the terrible toll tourist rides can take on the creatures. Elephants who carry tourists on treks in South Asian countries often end up with unnatural kinks in their backs. The rides can deform their spines from a normal dome-shaped appearance, according to the Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand (WFFT). Side-by-side images show how labor can deform an elephant's normally domed-shaped back. Amy Jones/Moving Animals/WFFT Pai Lin, the elephant shown on the left, was rescued after more than 25 years in the trekking industry. Now 71, she lives at the WFFT's sanctuary, where she can roam free. Boon Chuey, shown below, is another elephant whose spine was deformed by the tourist trade, per the WFFT. Another rescue elephant called Boon Chuey also has a damaged back after decades of work, per the WFFT. Amy Jones/Moving Animals/WFFT Elephants can spend decades of their long lives carrying tourists on a "howdah," a cast iron seat that is strapped to their backs with ropes. and blankets. The weight of the seat and passengers can irreversibly cave in and sink the animal's backs. Both Pai Lin and Boon Chuey still carry scars from the pressure points of the seats on their backs, per the WFFT. A typical "howdah" placed on the animals' backs. Amy Jones/Moving Animals/WFFT "Pai Lin arrived at our sanctuary in 2006 after working in the Thai tourism industry," Edwin Wiek, director and founder of the WFFT, told CNN. She could be forced to carry up to six tourists at a time, per CNN. "She was given up by her previous owner who felt that she was too slow and always in pain and couldn't work well anymore," he said. Pao Lin the elephant now lives in the WFFT wildlife rescue center. Amy Jones/Moving Animals/WFFT "It's important to understand that elephants, unlike horses, are not bred to be ridden. They are not domesticated animals and are taken from the wild and kept in awful conditions," said Wiek. Read the original article on Business Insider Dr. Paul W. Lambert, right, senior business fellow at the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation, speaks at the Faith and Belief at Work Case Competition at the Hinckley Center at Brigham Young University in Provo on Friday, Feb. 17, 2023. On his left are Father Greg McBrayer and Izzy Rivera. | BYU Sorensen Center As the corporate world moves toward embracing diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, building a welcoming space for identities like race and ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation have taken center stage. But what about religious or spiritual inclusion? In late February, Brigham Young Universitys MBA program hosted teams from 10 universities to answer this question. The event, dubbed the Faith & Belief at Work Case Competition, pitted teams comprised of four MBA students each against one another to offer a solution to a real-world problem one company might face in implementing a faith-related DEI initiative. The center of the competition was the idea that people of diverse backgrounds and faiths (or no faith) could collaborate in an environment in which faith is not viewed as something to be accommodated, but to be embraced. With the rise and attention on equity and ethics and justice and accessibility and all these buzzwords that have the risk of just being buzzwords we really only have to look as far as our faith teachings to know the solutions actually already exist, said Sumreen Ahmad, the global change management lead at Accenture, in the events keynote address. Its up to us to live, model, and invite others. BYU Sorensen Center The genesis of the competition was last November, when four BYU students attended the Business Ethics Forum at Baylor University. In a similarly formatted event, the students participated in a case competition and were involved in social and networking events. Each meeting began with a prayer, and the students, who identified as Christians, Sikhs, Muslims or a number of other religious affiliations, spoke openly and frequently about their faith. We were just blown away, Matt Young, an MBA student, said. Upon returning to Provo, Young and his fellow students felt the need to do something similar at BYU. In a pluralistic society, they reasoned, every workplace or educational environment should allow all people of any faith or no faith to feel comfortable and welcome. Story continues We thought, if theres anybody that should be promoting this, it should be BYU, Young said. Students and faculty sponsors from 10 MBA schools, including the University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) and Northwestern University (Kellogg), arrived in Provo midweek and were welcomed with a soda mixer. (You dont have to have alcohol to have fun, Young said.) At 8 a.m. the next morning, teams were given the case prompt, and they worked on presentations until midnight. While students worked on the case, their faculty advisers went on tours of Temple Square and Welfare Square in Salt Lake City. Throughout the two-day event, meetings began with prayer, and volunteers were requested. One was offered by a Latter-day Saint, another by an Evangelical. A Muslim student prayed in Arabic, and an atheist student offered a spiritual thought. Having been a part of corporate America for more than half of my life, now Im seeing the culture shift that is happening to be inclusive of faith, said Izzy Rivera, senior analyst of Legal Operations at Equinix, one of the events sponsors. They dont have to leave that checked at the door when they come into work. Rivera, along with several other event sponsors, was a judge for the case competition. Sponsors included BYUs Sorensen Center for Moral and Ethical Leadership, PayPal, Sputnik Donuts and American Airlines (who offered two round-trip domestic flights to each member of the winning team). The importance of embracing faith in the workplace is a matter of simple math, explained Father Greg McBrayer, chief flight controller and corporate chaplain for American Airlines. If someone begins a full-time job at 18 and retires at 65, he said, they will spend over 95,000 hours at work. If that person attends a two-hour church service each weekend, they will spend around 5,000 hours at church. It is essential to create a work environment where people of faith can live their faith, he explained, because it creates a better employee, creates a better work environment and creates a better bottom line. You cannot compartmentalize your work and your faith, McBrayer said. I want people coming out of university to expect to see faith inclusion as a part of the culture of the companies (they will work for), said Becky Pomerleau, director of PayPals SOX program. Brian J. Grim, the founding president of the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation, said he expects this will be an annual event, with BYU taking the lead. Thats an indication of the commitment here, but also the interest across the nation, Grim said. [Source] A divorced couple in northern China who remarried following their son's autism diagnosis has touched the hearts of many on social media. Originally married in 2013, the couple filed for divorce in 2019, purportedly due to poor communication. The ex-wife, identified only by her last name Huang, was granted custody of their daughter while the father, who was not named in local reports, was granted custody of their then-1-year-old son. However, the divorced couple ended up staying together in the same house due to COVID-19 restrictions. Shortly after, Huang and her ex-husband noticed something unusual in their sons behavior. After bringing the boy to a specialist, they later discovered that their son had autism. More from NextShark: Why the 1,022 fake SpaceX employees from China could be part of an elaborate scam Their son's condition prompted Huang and her ex-husband to work together and provide the best possible care for him. The ex-husband began selling fish to cover his son's rehabilitation treatment expenses. Huang started bringing the boy to other provinces in hopes of getting better medical advice from experts. As the couple faced numerous challenges together in the past two years, they found themselves comforting one another. More from NextShark: Chinese news outlet accidentally posts censorship instructions on Russia-Ukraine coverage Having seen how each other worked hard to support their family amid all their problems, the divorced couple ultimately overcame their communication issues and decided to remarry each other in January. My son is five and a half years old. His rehabilitation treatment has not achieved much progress," Huang was quoted as saying. "No matter what his condition is in the future, we will face it without any misgivings. As their story circulated on social media, many praised how the couple placed their child's needs first and re-ignited their relationships in the process. Story continues More from NextShark: Hate rush hour? This $140,000 Chinese electric car can fly over traffic jams There were also those who said they were touched as they understood how autism can be a challenging diagnosis for families to navigate. Enjoy this content? Read more from NextShark! Mississippi lawmaker sparks outrage for racist meme on suspected Chinese spy balloon Xesai / Getty Images/iStockphoto President Joe Biden released his administrations $6.8 trillion budget for fiscal year 2024 on March 9, a blue-collar blueprint to rebuild America in a fiscally responsible way that leaves no one behind, which includes a series of higher taxes on wealthy Americans and on corporations. See: Can I Draw Social Security at 62 and Still Work Full Time? Learn: 3 Signs Youre Serious About Raising Your Credit Score The budget, if enacted, would notably implement a Billionaire Minimum Tax of 25% on taxpayers with wealth greater than $100 million to ensure the top 0.01% pay taxes as they go, just like everyone else who earns a paycheck, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a March 9 statement. The administration said in its proposal that the reforms to the taxation of capital gains would reduce economic disparities among Americans and raise needed revenue. The tax code currently offers special treatment for the types of income that wealthy people enjoy. Whereas the wages and salaries that everyday Americans earn are taxed as ordinary income, billionaires make their money in ways that are taxed at lower rates, and sometimes not taxed at all, the administration said in a fact sheet, adding that this, combined with sophisticated tax planning and giant loopholes, allows many of the wealthiest Americans to pay an average tax rate of just 8% on their full incomes. Commenting on the new 25% tax, the Patriotic Millionaires a group of high-net-worth individuals, tweeted: Billionaires pay a lower tax rate (on way more money) than working people. The ONLY solution is to tax wealth and unrealized cap gains. These new taxes also aim at reducing the deficit by $3 trillion and provide expanded funding for tax credits for workers and families. Concretely, the way this proposal translates for Americans is that for one, the budget would restore the full Child Tax Credit enacted in the American Rescue Plan, to $3,000 per child for children six years old and above, and to $3,600 per child for children under six, from $2,000 per child, according to a White House fact sheet. Story continues Meanwhile, the Earned Income Tax Credit expansion for childless workers would become permanent. In addition, the taxes would help expand access to affordable, high-quality early childcare and learning, enabling some parents to re-enter the workforce. Another way the taxes could help lower-income families is that it would boost financial aid for higher education. Indeed, the proposal includes an increase to the discretionary maximum Pell Grant by $500, expanding access to the grant to reach over 6.8 million students with money for college, according to the budget. Through President Bidens proposed budget plan, the average American will have the support they need to get ahead in life, said David Carlucci, consultant and former New York State Senator. Restoring and expanding the child tax credit will give hardworking families the breathing room they deserve. Aging adults will be able to access the medicines they need through strengthening Medicare and lowering health and prescription costs. It is clear that if passed, this budget will give Americans the resources necessary to flourish in todays world. Take Our Poll: Do You Think Bankruptcy Is an Acceptable Way To Escape Student Loan Debt? Republicans, meanwhile have been criticizing the administrations proposed budget, calling it reckless. The House Republican Leadership said in a statement on March 9: We must cut wasteful government spending. Our debt is one of the greatest threats to America and the time to address this crisis is now. Yet, President Biden is proposing out of control spending and delaying debt negotiations, following his pattern of shrugging and ignoring when faced with a crisis. More From GOBankingRates This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Does Bidens 25% Billionaire Tax Help Your Budget? JetBlues deal would hurt those travelers who can least afford to see travel costs rise, said Vanita Gupta, Department of Justice associate attorney general. The Biden-Harris administration is heading to court to stop JetBlue from purchasing Spirit Airlines Inc. to protect consumers from surging airfare prices. In a press release that theGrio obtained, the Department of Justice stated, the merger would hurt working and middle-class families who will not be able to afford price increases. The agency said, travelers may no longer be able to afford to travel at all. JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes told USA Today that he is disappointed in the DOJs decision to disrupt the acquisition. A Spirit airlines plane is pushed back from the gate on July 27, 2022 at Miami International Airport in Miami. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) On Tuesday, the justice department, Attorneys General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the District of Columbia and the State of New York filed a civil antitrust suit to block JetBlue from acquiring Spirit Airlines for $3.8 billion. The DOJ believes if the two airlines merge it would increase airfare for the average consumer and limit flying options for many Americans. In the complaint, the DOJ asserts that the merger would eradicate the Spirit Effect, whereby Spirits presence in a market forces other air carriers, including JetBlue, to lower their fares. Most airlines like American, Delta and United offer basic economy alternatives to higher-priced airfare. Doha Mekki, DOJ principal deputy assistant attorney general said those rates were a result of disruptive choices Spirit made, prompting other airlines to respond. If the merger prevails, major airline companies will no longer feel pressured to present low-cost flight options to consumers. During a press conference on Tuesday, Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta told reporters that budget airlines like Spirit play a key role in the economy and JetBlues deal would jeopardize that. Attorney General Merrick Garland said another one of the departments major concerns is that the merger would disrupt competition in the airline industry because JetBlue and Spirit service many of the same routes. Story continues For example, on the Boston-Miami/Fort Lauderdale route, which serves about 1.5 million passengers annually, JetBlue and Spirit together currently account for nearly 50% of the market and for service between Boston and San Juan, the two airlines account for nearly 90% of the market, he said. In a file photo, Attorney General Merrick Garland announces a lawsuit to block the enforcement of new Texas law that bans most abortions on Sept.9, 2021 at the Justice Department in Washington, D.C. Garland is against merging JetBlue and Spirit because he says it would disrupt competition in the airline industry. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) Garland said eliminating the competition between JetBlue and Spirit would cause harm to consumers. Mekki warned that if JetBlue is able to acquire the low-budget airline, those seeking low fares and desire more control over how they spend their money will no longer have a chance to choose Spirits low-priced, unbundled fares. TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku and Android TV. Also, please download theGrio mobile apps today! The post DOJ says JetBlue and Spirit merger would harm millions of Americans appeared first on TheGrio. Donald Glover has joked about his Community co-star Chevy Chase using the N-word. The actor and musician starred opposite Chase across five seasons of the hit show, which also starred Danny Pudi, Alison Brie, and Gillian Jacobs. Glover, 39, appeared at the 2023 Writers Guild Awards in New York on 5 March to present Atlanta executive producer Paul Simms with an honorary award. During his speech, he recalled how the award that Simms would be receiving was named after former Saturday Night Live writer Herb Sargeant, who had starred on Weekend Update, hosted by Chevy Chase. Chevy Chase once called Herb one of the funniest writers working in television, Glover said onstage. Chevy Chase once called me You know what? This is about Paul. Later during his speech, Glover recalled meeting Simms on the set of Girls. I asked Lena [Dunham], Hey, what made you decide to work with Paul [Simms]? And she goes Honestly, this n**** lets me do whatever I want, said Glover. And I remember thinking two things. One, Lena is using the N-word extremely liberally. Who does she think she is, Chevy Chase? And two, thats the kind of producer I want. (YouTube / NBC) A representative for Dunham told The Independent that she had never used the term. Glover has also confirmed that he was joking. As noted by The Hollywood Reporter, the comment is in line with earlier reports of Chases on-set behaviour during his time on the show with Glover. In a 2018 interview with The New Yorker, Community creator Dan Harmon said Chase would try to disrupt Glovers scenes and make racial cracks between takes because he was jealous of his co-stars talent. here is Donald Glover presenting an honorary award to Paul Simms and talking about Lena Dunham saying the n-word pic.twitter.com/QNaJki8cei Kathryn VanArendonk (@kvanaren) March 6, 2023 I remember apologising to Donald after a particularly rough night of Chevys non-PC verbiage, and Donald said, I dont even worry about it, said Harmon at the time. Story continues Glover added that he saw Chase as fighting time. Chase told the publication that he was saddened to hear that Donald perceived me in that light. In 2012, a source told The Hollywood Reporter that Chase had apologised immediately after he used the N-word on set. The slur was not aimed at Glover or his Black co-star Yvette Nicole Brown, but used when Chase questioned dialogue in a scene with their characters, said the source. Airing from 2009 to 2015, the NBC sitcom followed a group of adult students at a Colorado community college. It was announced in September last year that the long-promised Community the Movie is going ahead. Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs, Danny Pudi, Alison Brie, Jim Rash and Ken Jeong will all be returning for the film. Glover, Chase and Brown are not yet attached to the project. Mr Trump on Truth Social called it a political witch hunt - AP Manhattan prosecutors have signalled to former President Donald Trump that he could face criminal charges relating to his alleged role in hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels, the New York Times reported on Thursday, citing four unnamed sources. The former president was told he could appear before a Manhattan grand jury next week if he wished to testify, the newspaper said. It said such invitations almost always mean an indictment is close. A lawyer for the former president confirmed to Reuters that Mr Trump had been invited to testify. "He has a chance to appear before the grand jury as all people subject to an investigation do," Mr Trump's attorney, Susan Necheles, told Reuters. If Mr Trump is charged, it would mark the first ever indictment of a former president and add to legal challenges faced by Mr Trump as he seeks the Republican nomination for president in 2024. While being given the opportunity to testify indicates that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg could charge the president, the prosecutor could still decline to indict Mr Trump. A spokeswoman for Mr Bragg declined to comment. Marc Scholl, a former prosecutor in the Manhattan district attorney's office, told Reuters that Mr Trump being given an opportunity to testify suggests that the grand jury had heard evidence implicating him in a crime. "The invitation should mean the prosecutor is preparing to seek criminal charges." "If he (Mr Trump) does appear, he will have to waive immunity and answer the prosecutor's questions," he said. Mr Trump on Truth Social called it a political witch hunt. "I did absolutely nothing wrong, I never had an affair with Stormy Daniels, nor would I have wanted to have an affair with Stormy Daniels. This is a political Witch-Hunt, trying to take down the leading candidate, by far, in the Republican Party." Ms Daniels has said she had a sexual liaison with the former president and received $130,000 before the 2016 presidential election in exchange for not discussing her encounter with Mr Trump, who denies it happened and in 2018 told reporters he knew nothing about a payment to Ms Daniels. Mr Trump's former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, was sentenced to three years in prison in federal court in New York for orchestrating hush payments to Ms Daniels and another woman, former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who said she had a months-long affair with Mr Trump before he took office. Mr Trump is facing multiple legal challenges and investigations, including over his handling of classified documents and his alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Donald Trump had asked a judge to ban his infamous Access Hollywood video from an upcoming defamation trial against him. LOGAN CYRUS/AFP via Getty Images E. Jean Carroll is suing Trump for defamation. The trial is slated to start April 10. A judge ruled Friday that Carroll can refer to the Access Hollywood tape during the trial. Carroll sued Trump when he loudly denied her claim that he raped her in the mid-1990s. Former President Donald Trump's efforts to get his infamous Access Hollywood tape banned from an upcoming defamation trial were foiled by a federal judge on Friday. Judge Lewis A. Kaplan ruled that that the video clip in which Trump can be heard boasting about sexually assaulting women can be presented as evidence during E. Jean Carroll's defamation lawsuit against Trump. The case is slated to go to trial next month. In a 2019 article for New York magazine, Carroll the longtime Elle advice columnist accused Trump of raping her in the mid-1990s in a changing room at the Bergdorf Goodman department store in New York City. When Trump loudly denied Carroll's story, she sued him for defamation. Carroll has since filed a second lawsuit against Trump for the alleged assault itself, but the Friday ruling pertains only to the first lawsuit. Trump's attorneys tried to get the Access Hollywood video banned, calling it "irrelevant and highly prejudicial." Advice columnist E. Jean Carroll is suing Trump for defamation. Seth Wenig/AP But Kaplan said the video is relevant because whether a sexual assault occurred is key to the case. "The core of the alleged defamation in this case, although it is broader, is that Mr. Trump's statements in words and in substance included the assertions that Ms. Carroll lied in claiming that Mr. Trump raped her, that her accusation is a 'hoax.' Thus, in order to prevail on her libel claim, Ms. Carroll must prove that Mr. Trump sexually assaulted her," Kaplan wrote in his ruling. "Unless she proves that sexual assault, she cannot establish that Mr. Trump's charge that her story was a lie and a hoax was false." Judge Kaplan also ruled that Carroll can call two witnesses who have made sexual misconduct allegations against Trump: Jessica Leeds and Natasha Stoynoff. Story continues Both women claim that Trump kissed and groped them without their consent in Leeds' case on a flight in 1979, and for Stoynoff while interviewing Trump for People magazine in 2005. Kaplan said that Leeds and Stoynoff's testimony was relevant in a "he said, she said" case where there would be no physical evidence of the alleged crime. "Ms. Carroll's case, absent these witnesses likely will depend upon her personal credibility in the courtroom, the credibility of two witnesses whom she allegedly told of the alleged rape contemporaneously, and the jury's assessment of Mr. Trump's personal credibility," Kaplan wrote. "Mr. Trump's alleged sexual assaults on Mss. Leeds and/or Stoynoff, if the jury is permitted to hear their testimony and believes it, is likely to weigh heavily in the jury's determination. In consequence, their testimony, if received could prove quite important. Indeed that surely is why Mr. Trump seeks to exclude it." Also at issue in Friday's ruling was Carroll's request to play several of Trump's campaign speeches at trial, in which he denied sexual misconduct allegations. Kaplan reserved judgment on whether those clips could be played until trial, and ordered that they not be mentioned in opening statements. When reached for comment on Friday, one of Trump's attorneys, Alina Habba, said, "We maintain the utmost confidence that our client will be vindicated at the upcoming trial." A representative for Carroll declined to comment. Read the original article on Business Insider The so-called "supreme courts" of the Russian terrorist enclaves in the "LDPR" (Luhansk and Donetsk Peoples Republics) in the occupied part of Donbas have convicted Maksym Butkevych, a human rights activist and journalist who served in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and was captured, to 13 years in prison. Source: Novaya Gazeta Europe, referring to the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation Details: Illegitimate courts have reportedly sentenced two more Ukrainians, Viktor Pokhozey and Vladyslav Shel, to eight and a half and eighteen and a half years in jail respectively. The terrorists accused the Ukrainians of "ill-treatment of civilians and the use of prohibited methods in armed conflict". For reference: Maksym Butkevych joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine in March 2022. He is a Ukrainian human rights activist and journalist and the co-founder of ZMINA and Hromadske radio. Background: Butkevych was captured by the Russians in June 2022. Russian propagandists reported on Butkevych's capture by publishing a video of the interrogation. It was alleged that the Ukrainian military, including Butkevych, "surrendered near Hirske". On 23 February, at the Berlin Film Festival, representatives of the Ukrainian film industry called upon the international cultural community to demand Butkevych's release from Russian captivity. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Days after Drew Barrymore revealed that her drinking became bad enough after her 2016 divorce that her therapist quit, the actors therapist is sharing why. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Barrymore detailed how alcohol became more challenging to avoid after her split from Will Kopelman, with whom she shares two daughters, 10-year-old Olive and 8-year-old Frankie. Eventually even her therapist, Barry Michels, had to step aside. He just said, I cant do this anymore, Barrymore said of Michels. It was really about my drinking. I said, I get it. Ive never respected you more. You see Im not getting better. And I hope, one day, that I can earn your trust back. In an emailed statement to TODAY.com, Michels explained why he stopped treating her at the time. Occasionally, a therapist has to suspend treatment until a patient is willing to stop certain chronic self-destructive behaviors that are impeding the therapy, Michels said. Fortunately, in this case, I was dealing with Drew Barrymore one of the strongest and most stalwart people Ive ever met. She did the right thing for herself, and we were able to resume our treatment together. The psychotherapist and authors name might be familiar to those well-acquainted with lifestyle and wellness companies. Gwyneth Paltrow has touted his name for years and has collaborated with him on podcasts and articles on her website. Barrymore said she did eventually stop drinking, and two years after her sessions with Michels ended, she returned to resume treatment. The opportunity to do The Drew Barrymore Show in 2019 she explained in the profile ultimately pushed her to make the conscious decision to get a handle on her addiction. I was like, I cant handle this unless Im in a really clear place, she explained. Barrymores sobriety has been a topic of media coverage for nearly as long as she has been a figure in Hollywood, which began to take shape in her early childhood. Story continues In the years since, the E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial actor has been frank about having a childhood marred by addiction. In 2005, she spoke about having a drug addiction as a 10-year-old in an interview with NBCs Dateline and about having been forced to enter rehab by the time she was 13. These days, fortunately, Barrymore says her life is very different. My worth has been so wrapped up in this job and this life because its given me so much, she explained in her profile for L.A. Times. I realized that just with me and my girls, I am truly happy. Id always thought Id be on this hamster wheel for this whole life. But maybe there will be something different before the lights go out. This article was originally published on TODAY.com Last month, the European Commission announced that it would follow the United States lead and ban the use of TikTok on government-issued devices. In setting this policy, the Commission cited concerns about cybersecurity and safeguarding government data. I found this announcement timely given that, at the same time, I was wrapping up meetings with privacy and data security leaders in London, Brussels, and Dublin. I traveled to Europe expecting to catch an earful about the damage the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has done to commerce between the U.S. and in Europe, and I was not disappointed. The EUs latest exercise in regulatory overreach has tied the hands of business leaders and thrust the bodys Data Protection Authorities into a wide-ranging privacy enforcer role. These regulators have been forced to mediate customer service disputes with telecommunications companies, help dispose of joint bank accounts during divorce proceedings, and settle fights between neighbors about property lines. However well-intentioned, the implementation of the GDPR shows how broad-brush regulations can backfire. By letting the EU get out ahead of us, the U.S. is now playing catch up in a world with a skewed perspective on what these laws should look like. And while some progress has been made on the new EU-U.S. Draft Privacy Framework, its future is far from certain. Until the U.S. enacts national consumer privacy and data security laws we will remain stuck in a battle with data protectionists who want to export Europes laws into the United States. Still, we do find common ground on one crucial issue. Although the U.S. is spinning its wheels on data privacy, were gaining allies in the fight against Beijings global domination of the tech market. I was heartened to see how European policymakers are coming to realize what we in the U.S. have known for a long time: the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is not our friend. For the first time, many EU officials have opened their eyes to the national security and human rights concerns that have fueled pushback against the expansion of CCP-controlled companies like Hikvision and DJI. And although countries like Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands continue to purchase and install compromised equipment from Huawei and ZTE, the Commissions anti-TikTok rule is evidence that Europe is taking the risks posed by Chinese surveillance technology seriously. Story continues Although our approach to problems in the tech space may differ, Americans and Europeans do understand that we must solve them together. But how? The answer is threefold. First, American and European lawmakers most impose clear policies to keep Chinese influence at bay. From the Secure Equipment Act, which I co-sponsored in the U.S. Senate, to the bans on TikTok we are seeing around the world, we have a growing list of effective policies that frustrate Chinese influence. Its time to add to it. Second, we need to champion a favorable business climate in Western nations that attracts investment and talent from around the world. The U.S. must act swiftly on privacy and data security without putting innovation on the chopping block; EU policymakers, on the other hand, need to fix the problems with the GDPR and show they have learned from their mistakes. Last, we must set a baseline for what consumer data is and establish clear parameters governing how that data may be collected, used, and retained across all major industries. Here in the United States, this means rejecting the European model and tasking a single regulator, the FTC, with enforcing the standards that Congress lays out. The momentum is there, but it will fizzle quickly if we dont act soon. Tennesseans and all Americans will benefit if the U.S. and Europe both work to ensure that democratic values, not those espoused by the CCP or heavy-handed regulators, drive the future of tech innovation. Marsha Blackburn is the senior senator from Tennessee and is a member of the Commerce Committee. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Prince Edward has been announced as the Duke of Edinburgh, a title that previously belonged to his late father, Prince Philip. King Charles III conferred the title on the former Earl of Wessex in celebration of Edwards 59th birthday on Friday (10 March). Doing so also honours the wishes of their late parents, Queen Elizabeth II and Philip. But, while it was long expected that the dukedom would be passed to Edward after Philips death, the King was reportedly reluctant to give the title to his youngest brother. Buckingham Palace said in a statement today that Charles was pleased to confer the Dukedom of Edinburgh upon the Prince Edward, adding that the title will be held for Edwards lifetime. The dukedom was last created for Prince Philip in 1947, upon his marriage to Princess Elizabeth, who held the title of Duchess of Edinburgh before acceding to the throne in 1952, the statement continued. The new Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh are proud to continue Prince Philips legacy of promoting opportunities for young people of all backgrounds to reach their full potential. However, it has taken the King six months since he ascended the throne to confer the title to Edward. He became the new monarch after Queen Elizabeth II died in September 2022. Heres everything you need to know about what the title change will mean for Edward and his family. What are Prince Edward and Sophies new titles? Prince Edward and his wife, Sophie, were given the titles of Earl and Countess of Wessex when they married in 1999. Prince Edward and Sophie pose with their children Lady Louise and James as they take part in the Great British Beach Clean on September 20, 2020 (Getty Images) They will know be known and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh. Edwards old title has been passed down to his 15-year-old son, James. James was previously the Viscount Severn, but is now the new Earl of Wessex. The couple also have a daughter, Lady Louise. She will remain as such. The Succession page on the royal familys website has been updated to reflect the title change. Why has it taken six months for King Charles III to give the title? It was reported in 2021 that Charles was reluctant to hand their fathers title to his youngest brother. Story continues After Philips death that year, the Duke of Edinburgh title was inherited by Charles, who was previously the Prince of Wales. When Queen Elizabeth II died in September 2022, Charles acceded the throne and became King. The Duke of Edinburgh title was then reverted to the Crown. It was the late Queen and Philips wish that Edward should inherit his fathers title when the time came. In 1999, Buckingham Palace said in a statement: The Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and the Prince of Wales have also agreed that the Prince Edward should be given the Dukedom of Edinburgh in due course, when the present title held now by Prince Philip eventually reverts to the Crown. Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and Sophie, Countess of Wessex attend the Duke of Edinburgh Award's 60th Anniversary Garden Party at Buckingham Palace on May 16, 2016 (Getty Images) But a source close to Charles told The Times in 2021, when Charles held the title: The prince is the Duke of Edinburgh as it stands, and it is up to him what happens to the title. It will not go to Edward. Last year, it was also reported that the King was in favour of a slimmed-down monarchy, which would have included Edward not inheriting the title. A source told the Daily Mail: The King wants to slim down the monarchy [so] it wouldnt make sense to make the Earl the Duke of Edinburgh Its a hereditary title which would then be passed on to the Earl and Countess of Wessexs son, James, Viscount Severn. It appeared that Edward knew about his eldest brothers reluctance. During an interview with the BBC to mark what would have been their fathers 100th birthday, he was asked: You will be the next Duke of Edinburgh, when the Prince of Wales becomes king, that is quite something to take on? Edward answered: It was fine in theory, ages ago when it was sort of a pipe dream of my fathers and of course it will depend on whether or not the Prince of Wales, when he becomes king, whether hell do that, so well wait and see. So yes, it will be quite a challenge taking that on. Will Prince Edwards son inherit the title when he dies? No. The dukedom will not pass to James when Edward dies paving the way instead for one of the Prince and Princess of Wales children to potentially be given the title in the future. The most likely candidate is their youngest son, Prince Louis, as their eldest, Prince George, will be heir apparent when William becomes king. Prince Edward and Sophie pose with their children Lady Louise and James as they take part in the Great British Beach Clean on September 20, 2020 (Getty Images) James will become the Earl of Wessex and Forfar when the title of the Duke of Edinburgh reverts to the Crown, the Palace said. Edward will also remain for his lifetime the Earl of Forfar, another of his titles, but will use the Duke of Edinburgh because it is the more senior Scottish title. A man and a woman were arrested after Alabama police said they were caught with a gun, drugs and a stolen fire hydrant. The duo, a 43-year-old man and 39-year-old woman, face multiple charges after theyre accused of swiping the hydrant in front of a Regions Bank in Mobile, the citys police department said. Officers said it happened March 9 just before 5:30 a.m. They arrived at the bank after getting a call about the heisted hydrant and spotted a car that matched the suspects description, according a news release. Officers stopped the vehicle and found the hydrant inside, along with a firearm and drugs, police said. Authorities didnt release additional details about the incident. Both were arrested and charged with theft of property, failure to disclose a weapon, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia, the release said. College student stole $547K from her jewelry store job and bought a Tesla, cops say Manager leaves Walmart with $135,000 cash stuffed into shopping bag, Illinois cops say Man crushed to death while trying to steal catalytic converter, GA car salesman says Officers have the names of the robbery suspects captured in surveillance footage at the European Fine Art Fair in Maastricht - Photo courtesy of the police Dutch police are hot on the heels of a notorious crime gang behind a multi-million-pound peaky blinders jewellery heist. Officers have the names of the suspects who escaped with gems worth more than 30 million at a Maastricht art fair last June, and believe they are part of a gang known as Pink Panther. The daring thieves made headlines after strolling into the art fair smartly dressed in suits and flat caps and making off with jewels in the middle of the day. A team of 20 officers is now honing in on a specific group of suspects from the Balkans, including an Albanian and a Montenegrin thought to be in hiding. Gang has stolen goods worth 334m over 25 years Investigators believe they are members of the infamous Pink Panther gang, linked to 25 years worth of heists accumulating an estimated value of 334 million, according to the De Telegraaf newspaper. The news is vindication to Dutch detective Arthur Brand, known as the Indiana Jones of the art world, who voiced suspicions the gang could be involved in the weeks after the robbery. The 53-year-old has been working with detectives and believes a breakthrough could be on the horizon. You know the Pink Panthers are not easy to catch, Mr Brand told The Times. It is a big, big breakthrough. I know the team working on it, they are very determined to catch these guys and they will. They are not far off. The case is part of a Europol diamonds file on thieves who have participated in 160 heists since 2016, including 32 robberies in Germany, 27 in Switzerland and ten in the Netherlands. A confidential list has been circulated to police forces throughout Europe, with between five and ten robbers deemed high-value targets seen again and again in incidents but never caught. It is thought that three of these are on Europes most wanted list. GOMA, Congo (AP) The death toll from several attacks this week by extremist rebels in eastern Congo has risen to at least 45 people, local officials said on Friday. Dozens of people were killed by rebels using machetes over two days when rebels from the Allied Democratic Forces, a militia with links to the Islamic State group, killed civilians in several villages in North Kivu province, said Saidi Balikwisha, the province's deputy. Here, three or four days don't go by without us recording deaths, the result of barbarity of the ADF terrorists. That is why once again, we repeat, we need a considerable military force to come that can contribute to the restoration of peace, he said. Little has been done to help others whose homes were burned down by the rebels, he said. Conflict has been simmering in eastern Congo for decades as more than 120 armed groups fight for power, influence and resources and some to protect their communities. The ADF has been largely active in North Kivu province but has recently extended its operations into neighboring Ituri province and to areas near the regional capital, Goma. The ADF rebels are accused by the U.N. and rights groups of targeting, maiming, raping and abducting civilians, including children. Earlier this month the United States offered a reward of up to $5 million for information that could lead to the capture of the groups leader, Seka Musa Baluku. On Thursday, AP reporters saw bodies lowered into a mass grave in Mukondi where more than 30 people were killed by gunshots, knives and machetes, according to authorities. Community members shovelled dirt over the bodies against a backdrop of destroyed houses. The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Congo condemned the killings and is urging Congo's authorities to investigate and bring those responsible to justice. Malkia reported from Kinshasa, Congo Gov. Gavin Newsom, left, signs the Housing Crisis Act of 2019 in the Los Angeles backyard of homeowner Felicia Smith. He signed several other housing bills in Smith's yard, where builders are converting her garage into a rental unit. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) Huntington Beach deserves to be sued. California has a crippling housing shortage that has driven up home prices and rents, fueled homelessness and pushed residents and business out of the state. And yet the city's leaders somehow think their wealthy Orange County coastal enclave should be exempt from producing its fair share of homes. Of course the city shouldnt be exempt. Its welcome news that Gov. Gavin Newsom and Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta sued Huntington Beach for violating state housing laws. The lawsuit should be a warning to other communities: California is cracking down on cities that try to evade new laws aimed at encouraging homebuilding. Huntington Beach and other cities complain heartily that state lawmakers trample on their local control. Indeed, the state has adopted ambitious new laws that, among other things, require that cities approve backyard homes and duplexes in single-family neighborhoods and enact enforceable plans that identify where new market-rate and affordable housing can be built. Those laws, however, were adopted for good reason cities failed to build housing. Over decades, local elected leaders bent to Not In My Backyard demands to block or restrict housing in the name of preventing traffic or protecting neighborhood character. As a result, the state hasnt built enough housing to keep up with population growth. To ease the shortage and bring down prices, California will need an additional 2.5 million homes by 2030. But the state builds only about 125,000 units a year. All cities will have to make it easier to build more homes. Even Huntington Beach. Despite numerous warnings from state officials, the Huntington Beach City Council recently voted to refuse applications to build accessory dwelling units or duplexes in single-family zones, banning projects that are legal under state law. The council is also planning to ignore applications filed under the builders remedy, a provision of state law that says housing developers can ignore local zoning and propose whatever they want in cities that have failed to write a housing plan that meets state requirements. Builders remedy projects just need to ensure 20% of the units are affordable. Huntington Beach no surprise does not have a compliant housing plan. Story continues Hours after Newsom and Bontas announcement, Huntington Beach filed its own lawsuit in federal court, challenging the state requirement that the city make room for more than 13,000 new units in the coming years. The lawsuit accused the state of making an unbridled power play to turn Huntington Beach into a high-density mecca. The beach city's leaders seem more interested in preserving some idealized vision of suburbia than helping people who live and work in Huntington Beach and want more housing options. People such as Ty Youngblood, who planned to build an accessory dwelling unit at his 80-year-old mothers house so his family could live with and take care of her. After paying for engineering and architectural plans, Youngblood said, his project is now blocked. Though Huntington Beach is the most openly resistant to complying with state housing laws, there are other galling examples of cities trying to get around their obligations. Officials in Sausalito proposed putting new housing on sites that are underwater . Woodside leaders, infamously, tried to declare the tony Bay Area community a mountain lion sanctuary to thwart duplex developments . And in La Canada Flintridge, a pastor agreed to list her church as an imaginary site where affordable housing could be built so the city could claim its housing plan was in compliance with state rules. Californias housing crisis is too severe to tolerate obstructionism. So, Newsom and Bonta, keep up the righteous fight against NIMBY cities. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Eight people have been arrested in connection to the Feb. 9 shooting death of Matthew Leary Jr., 20. Eight people have been arrested in connection to the Feb. 9 shooting death of a 20-year-old Bunkie man, according to the Rapides Parish Sheriff's Office. Matthew "Lil Matt" Leary Jr. died at the scene of the shooting, the Church Heights Apartments on Bayou Road in Cheneyville, early that morning. The sheriff's office reported at the time there appeared to have been an altercation between Leary and the occupants of a vehicle before the shooting. On Friday, the sheriff's office issued a news release that said three Alexandria men have been arrested on charges of second-degree murder. Aaron Demond Jones, 25, was arrested on Feb. 28. Quantavius Jamar Richard, 27, was arrested on March 1. The last man, 23-year-old Diamante Swaizer, was arrested by U.S. marshals in Porter, Texas, and is awaiting extradition, reads the release. Porter is about 34 miles north of Houston. Jones, who is being held in the Rapides Parish Detention Center #1 with bail set at more than $1 million, also was booked on one count of obstruction of justice. Matthew Leary shooting:Cheneyville man found dead by Rapides deputies after call about shots being fired Alexandria shooting:Boy shot as occupants in 2 cars open fire on Gus Kaplan Drive Swaizer also will be booked on a charge of obstruction of justice when he's returned from Texas. Richards also was charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a felon, one count of illegal use of a weapon and one count of obstruction of justice. He's being held on a $751,000 bail. In addition to those arrests, five others were arrested on obstruction of justice and other charges. Two are from Marksville and the others are from Alexandria, Marrero and Porter, Texas. All but one have bonded out of jail. The investigation is continuing, and more arrests are possible. The sheriff's office asks anyone with information about the case to call Detective Billy Fuller at 318-641-6008 or Crime Stoppers of Cenla at 318-443-7867. This article originally appeared on Alexandria Town Talk: Alexandria, Marksville, Texas residents arrested after fatal shooting Elon Musk took control of Twitter in late October. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images A former Twitter exec told i News that Elon Musk was behaving "like the local drunk." Bruce Daisley said that meant employees would no longer be as proud to work at Twitter. Musk has fired thousands and accused one of using his disability as an "excuse" to do "no actual work." Elon Musk, who recently publicly lashed out at a former worker, is behaving "like the local drunk," an ex-Twitter vice-president told i News. Bruce Daisley, who was Twitter's vice-president for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa until January 2020, criticized Musk's leadership of the company in an interview with the outlet. He referred to Musk's clash with Haraldur Thorleifsson, a former Twitter director whom the tech mogul accused of using his disability as an "excuse" to do "no actual work." "The more Musk behaves like the local drunk getting into slanging matches with disabled ex-employees the less current employees will be proud to say they work there," Daisley told i News. Musk has since apologized for his comments towards Thorleifsson, who has muscular dystrophy. Daisley also referred to the chaos caused by the company's much-reduced workforce. Just a week after taking control of Twitter, Musk laid off around half of its workers. Since then, more have been fired, been laid off, or quit, and the site has suffered from a number of outages which some critics have attributed in part to the reduced headcount. "It's a little bit like the character in the cartoon who runs off the cliff but doesn't fall straight away," Daisley told i News. "Initially a lot of commentators were willing to say that the Twitter business was full of slackers, Elon had fired 75% of the employees, and it was still running. Well now Wile E. Coyote has looked down and realised gravity does apply to him, too." Musk said this week's outage, which affected images and external links, was caused by a "small API change" that had "massive ramifications." Twitter did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment on whether jobs cuts may have contributed to the outages. Story continues Criticism of Musk's leadership and treatment of staff has mounted. He's argued publicly with workers who disagreed with him, told staff they needed to work "extremely hardcore" or be laid off, and set up beds in Twitter's San Francisco headquarters for staff to sleep in as they work long hours, in some cases through the night. Musk has also called in engineers and execs from his other companies to work at Twitter, given workers strict deadlines, and taken drastic measures to cut costs and boost revenues. Under Musk, Twitter has become "a pressure cooker," an employee who still works at the company and who spoke on the condition of anonymity told i News. "There are no guidelines," the worker continued. "There's no respect. There's absolutely zero transparency. It's awful." Read the original article on Business Insider Elon Musk is reportedly attempting to build a company town where Tesla , Boring and SpaceX workers might live. The mooted town, which is around 35 miles away from Austin, Texas, would likely be called Snailbrook, The Wall Street Journal reports. The publication unearthed documents that lay out plans to build 110 homes next to Boring and SpaceX facilities in Bastrop County. The report states that Boring employees were invited last year to apply for housing, with rents expected to start at around $800 per month for a two- or three-bedroom home. The median rent in nearby Bastrop is around $2,200 a month, so the workers would be paying below-market rates. Still, employees who lived in the town would be further beholden to Musk. In addition to receiving a salary from his businesses, they'd be paying him rent. They'd have 30 days to leave the home were they to get fired from Boring or otherwise depart from the company, the report notes. Executives have discussed inviting workers from Musk's other companies to apply for Snailbrook housing too Tesla's Texas Gigafactory is around a 30-minute drive from the town of Bastrop. Plans for the town include converting a home into a Montessori school for up to 15 students, as well as possible incorporation. The latter would allow Musk to set certain rules for the municipality, which would also apparently need to hold a mayoral election. Entities in Musk's orbit have snapped up at least 3,500 acres of land in the Austin area over the last few years, records are said to show. Last year, Musk, his architectural designer, former girlfriend Grimes and Ye (aka Kanye West) reportedly discussed ideas for the town several times last year, though nothing was finalized from those talks. Meanwhile, nearby residents have raised concerns about the environmental impact of the projects. As the Journal notes, Boring has applied to discharge up to 140,000 gallons of industrial wastewater a day into the Colorado River. Worries have also been expressed about how testing of Boring's tunneling machines may affect groundwater and wells. Embraer SA (NYSE: ERJ) reported fourth-quarter FY22 revenue of $1.992 billion, an increase of 53% year-over-year, marginally beating the consensus of $1.99 billion. Adjusted income per basic ADS was $0.235 versus $0.3116 last year, which missed the consensus of $0.33. Embraer delivered 80 jets in Q4, of which 30 were commercial aircraft and 50 were executive jets. ERJ delivered a total of 159 jets in FY22. Embraer increased the number of aircraft delivered by 12.7% compared with 2021, even with significant supply chain constraints. The company had a firm order backlog of $17.5 billion in 4Q22. Adjusted EBIT margin expanded to 8.3% in Q4, compared to 4.3% in 4Q21. Adjusted EBITDA margin improved to 11.5% from 8.2% in 4Q21. The net Debt/EBITDA ratio decreased from 3.9x in 2021 to 2.1x in FY22. Adjusted Free Cash Flow w/o EVE (FCF) in 4Q22, with cash generation of $584.3 million, leading to FY22 FCF of $540.1 million. FY23 Guidance: Embraer expects commercial jet deliveries of 65-70 aircraft and executive jet deliveries of 120-130 aircraft. The company sees revenues of $5.2 billion-$5.7 billion vs. consensus of $5.37 billion, an Adjusted EBIT margin of 6.4%-7.4%, and an Adjusted EBITDA margin of 10%-11%. ERJ expects FY23 adjusted free cash flow of $150 million or better for the year. Price Action: ERJ shares traded higher by 6.46% at $14.74 on the last check Friday. Photo Via Company Don't miss real-time alerts on your stocks - join Benzinga Pro for free! Try the tool that will help you invest smarter, faster, and better. This article Embraer Shares Gain After Q4 Results, Aircraft Deliveries Increase By 12.7% In FY22 originally appeared on Benzinga.com . 2023 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Emily Ratajkowski has opened up about the dissolution of her marriage to film producer Sebastian Bear-McClard and shared why she didnt leave sooner. In a Thursday appearance on the podcast Going Mental With Eileen Kelly, Ratajkowski said that for a long time she didnt have the courage to leave her relationship with Bear-McClard. The couple wed in 2018 and share a son, Sylvester Apollo, 2. Reports about their split, and rumors that Bear-McClard had cheated, surfaced in July 2022. Although Ratajkowski told host Eileen Kelly that she wanted keep details about their split under wraps since their divorce is not yet finalized, she did reveal there was time she was really, really unhappy. I was 100 pounds, and I just had a baby, and I got really skinny because I was not OK, she said, before adding that she took antidepressants. I think so much of what I learned coming out of that relationship is to trust your instincts and gaslighting is a real thing, she said, adding: I didnt understand that it was actually going to be so nice to come back to myself. As for what gave the model the push to leave, Ratajkowski suggested that a line was crossed and that the decision was so clear at that point. Sebastian Bear-McClard and Emily Ratajkowski at the 2020 Film Independent Spirit Awards on Feb. 8, 2020, in Santa Monica, California. Sebastian Bear-McClard and Emily Ratajkowski at the 2020 Film Independent Spirit Awards on Feb. 8, 2020, in Santa Monica, California. Ratajkowski was recently romantically linked to comedian Eric Andre. The two caused quite a stir on Valentines Day after the comedian posted a nude photo of them on Instagram on the romantic holiday. The model hinted on TikTok days later that their situationship had ended. Ratajkowski told Kelly in Thursdays podcast episode that she had been dating someone for a few weeks, but she stayed mum on further details. Related... Russian invaders attacked the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast with rockets and heavy artillery Read also: DTEK reports on Ukraines power situation after Russias latest mass missile and drone attack A fire broke out at the site of the strike on the energy facility in the town of Nikopol, though it has already been extinguished. As a result of the attack, three settlements lost power. Engineers are on the scene attempting to restore electricity. Russian forces attacked the village of Chervonohryhorivska with heavy artillery on two occasions, damaging properties belonging to transport and agriculture companies, as well as an administrative building. In addition, three private homes, three other buildings, cars, and power lines were also damaged by the attacks. During a Russian mass missile attack on March 9, energy infrastructure and industrial facilities in four districts of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast were hit, killing one and injuring four. 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 Insights Batu Kawan Berhad's estimated fair value is RM25.07 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity Batu Kawan Berhad's RM21.60 share price indicates it is trading at similar levels as its fair value estimate In this article we are going to estimate the intrinsic value of Batu Kawan Berhad (KLSE:BKAWAN) by taking the forecast future cash flows of the company and discounting them back to today's value. The Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model is the tool we will apply to do this. It may sound complicated, but actually it is quite simple! 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. Anyone interested in learning a bit more about intrinsic value should have a read of the Simply Wall St analysis model. Check out our latest analysis for Batu Kawan Berhad Crunching The Numbers We're using the 2-stage growth model, which simply means we take in account two stages of company's growth. In the initial period the company may have a higher growth rate and the second stage is usually assumed to have a stable growth rate. To begin with, we have to get estimates of the next ten years of cash flows. 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, so we discount the value of these future cash flows to their estimated value in today's dollars: 10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 Levered FCF (MYR, Millions) RM1.14b RM1.21b RM1.27b RM1.33b RM1.38b RM1.44b RM1.50b RM1.55b RM1.61b RM1.67b Growth Rate Estimate Source Est @ 6.46% Est @ 5.59% Est @ 4.99% Est @ 4.56% Est @ 4.26% Est @ 4.06% Est @ 3.91% Est @ 3.81% Est @ 3.74% Est @ 3.69% Present Value (MYR, Millions) Discounted @ 16% RM989 RM903 RM819 RM740 RM667 RM599 RM538 RM483 RM433 RM388 ("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St) Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = RM6.6b 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. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at a future annual growth rate equal to the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield of 3.6%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 16%. Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2032 (1 + g) (r g) = RM1.7b (1 + 3.6%) (16% 3.6%) = RM14b Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= RM14b ( 1 + 16%)10= RM3.3b 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 RM9.9b. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of RM21.6, the company appears about fair value at a 14% 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. Part of investing is coming up with your own evaluation of a company's future performance, so try the calculation yourself and check your own assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Batu Kawan 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 16%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.517. 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 Batu Kawan Berhad Strength Debt is well covered by earnings and cashflows. Dividends are covered by earnings and cash flows. Weakness Earnings declined over the past year. Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Chemicals market. Opportunity Current share price is below our estimate of fair value. Lack of analyst coverage makes it difficult to determine BKAWAN's earnings prospects. Threat No apparent threats visible for BKAWAN. Moving On: Whilst important, the DCF calculation shouldn't be the only metric you look at when researching a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/overvalued?" For example, changes in the company's cost of equity or the risk free rate can significantly impact the valuation. For Batu Kawan Berhad, there are three additional items you should look at: Risks: Be aware that Batu Kawan Berhad is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis , you should know about... 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 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 GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - A bright yellow cargo plane carrying tents, medical equipment, and other humanitarian aid landed on Friday in the eastern Congolese city of Goma - the first delivery under an EU scheme to support some of the region's millions of displaced people. Fighting between the Congolese army and the M23, a rebel group claiming to represent the interests of ethnic Tutsis in eastern Congo, has exacerbated an existing humanitarian crisis with over 5.5 million people displaced across several provinces. "Today, this population only wants a lasting peace so that they can return to their home environment," the governor of North Kivu province, Constant Ndima Kongba, told reporters at the airport. The European Union last week promised to send aid worth over 47 million euros ($50 million) to North Kivu to support immediate needs such as nutrition, healthcare, water and sanitation, shelter and protection. A second plane with EU-funded supplies is scheduled to arrive next week, the EU's ambassador to Democratic Republic of Congo, Jean-Marc Chataigner, said at Goma airport. "It is a real opportunity for us to show our total solidarity with the Congolese population," he said. Insecurity has spiralled in Congo's volatile east over the past year, partly due to the major comeback of the M23. But with regional focus turned to North Kivu, attacks by other groups have also intensified in neighbouring Ituri province in recent months. Eastern Congo has struggled with instability and conflicts since the 1990s that have killed millions and given rise to dozens of militias, some of which remain active. ($1 = 0.9398 euros) (Reporting by Djaffar Sabiti; Writing by Anait Miridzhanian; Editing by Leslie Adler) By Kate Abnett BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The European Union wants to hold joint naval exercises as part of plans published on Friday to step up its efforts to protect critical infrastructure at sea. Concerns about threats to Europe's maritime infrastructure were heightened by attacks in September on the Nord Stream pipelines, which left them spewing natural gas into the Baltic Sea. The EU has updated its maritime security strategy, outlining plans to hold an annual naval exercise from 2024 and coordinate member countries' national efforts to protect gas pipelines, undersea data cables, offshore wind farms and other critical maritime infrastructure. EU environment commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius told Reuters that planning had been under way before the Nord Stream blasts, but had been strengthened in response to them. "After that, member states were very clear that we need to further strengthen cooperation, build capacity, ensure that our critical infrastructure is better protected," he said. The EU plan sets out to increase cooperation between the EU and NATO, expand coastal patrols and improve efforts to identify threats early - such as by using EU satellite programmes to detect unidentified vessels. The EU will also produce a risk assessment, disaster recovery plans and regional surveillance plans, according to the strategy. "The threat level is increasing," Sinkevicius said. Energy infrastructure is a particular concern, as Europe expands its offshore wind farms and its use of liquefied natural gas terminals to replace Russian pipeline gas. The Netherlands said a Russian ship detected at an offshore wind farm in the North Sea last month was part of attempts by Moscow to gain intelligence to sabotage infrastructure. Improved surveillance of maritime areas should also help countries monitor and respond to environmental degradation and the effects of climate change such as sea level rise. Authorities in Sweden, Germany and Denmark are investigating the blasts on the Nord Stream pipelines, which were constructed to supply Russian gas to Europe. They have said the explosions were deliberate but have not said who might be responsible. (Reporting by Kate Abnett; Editing by Angus MacSwan and Kevin Liffey) Eurojust and the Joint Investigation Team intend to bring to court this year cases concerning crimes in Mariupol and Bucha, as well as other episodes involving mass graves and gross human rights violations. Hamran believes the cases will be transferred to the court system within several months, not years. Read also: Center for Investigation of Crime of Aggression against Ukraine will begin work in July The first stage is to interview victims and witnesses, according to high legal standards. Also, digital evidence such as videos, photos etc. should be analyzed and stored, Hamran explained. The second stage is the analysis of the information to decide on the prosecution strategy. Read also: Pentagon blocks transfer of evidence of Russian war crimes to ICC, NYT reports We're speaking now about thousands of pieces of evidence, the official said. We want to pick the strongest cases out that could bring success in court. And, of course, we won't wait for ages. Our strategy is to make strong cases to transfer them to national courts. That's why I estimate that it will happen in the next few months, not years. Read also: Russia created network of torture facilities in occupied territories of Ukraine, investigation shows According to him, investigators should be focusing their efforts on the most serious and gross violations of international law during Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine. "It is worth considering the cases of Mariupol, Bucha, and others where mass burials were found, as well as the cases of gross violation of human rights and dignity," Hamran added. Read also: U.S. backs Hague Court investigation into Russian war crimes, says State Department Eurojust is an EU agency dealing with judicial and police bodies of EU member states. It backs an international investigation of the Russian war crimes. In particular, Eurojust has set up a Core International Crimes Database (CICED) to collect and store evidence on war crimes committed in 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 By Philip Blenkinsop STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - The European Union is warming to the idea of concluding a major free trade deal with Brazil and its Mercosur neighbours, with "decisive progress" possible by July, a senior EU official and Sweden's trade minister said on Friday. The EU and the Mercosur bloc of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay completed negotiations 2019 but the deal has been on hold due to concerns, particularly in France, about Amazon deforestation and Brazil's commitment to climate change action. The European Commission has proposed Mercosur accept clear sustainability commitments, on which European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said it was already consulting EU members and lawmakers and Mercosur countries. "We see the next EU-Latin America summit in July as an important reference point, by when we should have decisive progress on this," he said after a meeting of EU trade ministers in Stockholm. Johan Forssell, trade minister of Sweden, which holds the rotating EU presidency, expressed hope that the process could be completed in the coming months. "I think there is genuine support for moving in this direction," he told a news conference. "Of course there are concerns, details and technical aspects but I believe we are moving in the right direction." The European Union believes Luiz Inacio Lula's defeat of Jair Bolsonaro in October's Brazilian presidential election has created a window of opportunity. Lula has promised to overhaul Brazil's climate policy. While Germany has pushed for a swift conclusion, France has said it is waiting to see progress in Brazil. Simon Coveney, trade minister of Ireland, which like France is wary of increased beef imports, said fellow ministers believed a final deal could be concluded this year. "There are strong positives and some negatives as well," he said referring to the likely impact on Ireland. "We will try to be constructive in the context of Mercosur also, while recognising that Ireland has particular concerns that we need to try to protect against." (Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Hugh Lawson) Tents occupy an area under the Whilamut Passage Bridge near the railroad tracks between Glenwood and Eugene. Eugene and Springfield officials want to protect waterways, sidewalk accessibility and more as they consider changes to ordinances about sleeping, sitting and lying on public property. Councilors for both cities continued discussions this week about potential changes, inching closer to updated ordinances. Cities across Oregon must update their ordinances by July, or otherwise ensure they comply with a state law passed in 2021. The law prohibits cities from banning camping or sleeping in public spaces, though it allows for regulations that most people, including those experiencing homelessness, would consider fair. Officials in Eugene and Springfield must balance friction over the use of public spaces such as parks and sidewalks for things other than their traditional use and peoples need to sleep somewhere. The changes are a "narrow slice" of a larger issue with several more parts, said Springfield City Attorney Mary Bridget Smith. The changes would only apply to city-owned property that's open to the public, Eugene City Attorney Kathryn Brotherton told councilors Wednesday. Springfield is moving faster than Eugene, with a public hearing set for April 17. Eugene officials plan to hold another work session to discuss possible changes before holding a public hearing. Those meetings likely will take place in April and May. Campers line a street in the Gateway area of Springfield in March. Why cities have to change their camping and sleeping in public ordinances Rulings in Martin v Boise and Blake v Grants Pass that favor people challenging camping bans found the Eighth Amendment means a governmental entity cannot criminalize conduct that is an unavoidable consequence of being homeless namely sitting, lying, or sleeping. The decision in Martin adds that reasonable restrictions based on where, when and how people use public spaces might be allowed and that full bans could be allowed if there is enough true access to shelter. That means there are enough shelter beds and there are no barriers to access. Story continues The ruling in Blake adds it doesnt matter whether a prohibition would mean a civil or criminal violation, and that people who must sleep outside can take minimal measures, such as using a sleeping bag or setting up a tent, to keep themselves warm and dry. It also considers whether people dont have access to shelter due to gender, age or another constitutionally protected attribute, a lack of sobriety or a criminal record. House Bill 3115 followed the ruling in Martin and the initial decision in Blake. The state law, passed during the 2021 Oregon Legislative, requires any city or county law regulating the acts of sitting, lying, sleeping or keeping warm and dry outside to be objectively reasonable to people, including those experiencing homelessness. Cities can regulate when, where and how people sleep, sit, lie and keep warm and dry. Changes Springfield is considering Springfield councilors have previously expressed interest in some specific time, place and manner restrictions. Theyve said they would like to regulate when people can camp by putting a 24-hour limit on staying in one place. Officials also have indicated they want to prohibit camping in rights of way because of safety issues, limit sleeping on sidewalks to preserve accessibility and protect waterways and environmentally sensitive areas. Councilor Joe Pishioneri asked Monday night about strengthening protections for greenways, which are spots of land dotting riverbanks. Springfield also likely will limit the storage of personal property and require people to maintain distance from sites where others are sleeping. Councilors said they dont want to allow burning or warming fires and discussed lowering the standard fine for prohibited camping. The current fine for prohibited camping is $720, Smith said. Lowering it could demonstrate the reasonableness of the regulations, she said. Councilors expressed interest in doing so because fines can further impede people experiencing homelessness from improving their situation. Officials also asked about regulations on trash and debris. Councilor Victoria Doyle said a lot of the concerns she hears from people are about the mess people leave behind after camping or sleeping somewhere. Changes Eugene is considering Eugene staff presented potential changes based on overarching goals of accessibility, public health and safety, Brotherton said. Potential amendments include prohibitions on camping on: Roads and other public properties meant for vehicle traffic and in parking lots and on-street spaces. Sidewalks when it isnt possible to leave at least four feet for access and share-use paths when it isnt possible to leave at least 10 feet. Land adjacent to buildings if camping there would block access to the entrance, exit or stairs. Property thats within five feet of a waterway. Proposed changes also would prohibit depositing, discarding or storing debris, human waste or other trash and would ban draining sewage, graywater or similar substances from a holding tank. The proposed changes would not apply to properties closed to the public, Brotherton said. That means the city would still prohibit camping in areas that are not open to the general public, including parks when they're closed overnight. A camping site takes shape in February in a grassy area along West 7th Avenue in Eugene. Law enforcement would treat other properties the same as private property, Police Chief Chris Skinner said. That means Eugene police would need property owners, even the county and other public agencies, to submit a trespass letter before acting, he said. Councilors indicated theyd like a larger buffer zone than five feet for waterways. Some of them also asked for more clarity on what changes would mean for where people can and cant camp. Councilor Emily Semple said it would be good to have a really specific list of where you cant camp but wondered what that would leave open for people to sleep. People dont always think through a list of prohibitions, Semple said. They just want to know what they can do. Semple would like to see the regulations mapped out and said if the list of prohibitions is too onerous, people will ignore them. Officials also asked about the citys ability to enforce any new regulations. The volume likely will remain overwhelming, Skinner said. Police dont have the resources to get to everything now, he said, and that limitation wouldnt change. Councilor Randy Groves said the city needs to consider that and make sure regulations are enforceable and not just one more rule on the books thats just there on the books. What's next? Springfield staff are drafting an ordinance and will bring it back for a public hearing on April 17. Eugene will hold another work session on possible changes, likely in April. The council then would hold a public hearing on a draft ordinance in May. Contact city government watchdog Megan Banta at mbanta@registerguard.com Follow her on Twitter @MeganBanta_1. This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Eugene, Springfield, Oregon may change camping ordinances Rat on street. Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images A new study has found that New York City rats can actually be infected with the COVID-19 virus. "Our findings highlight the need for further monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 in rat populations for potential secondary zoonotic transmission to humans," said the lead author of the study Dr. Henry Wan. CNN reports researchers trapped and processed samples from rats around the city and found that 16.5 percent of the tested rats tested positive for the virus. The report writes that the virus was "identified in sewage water systems" and "coincides with outbreaks in resident human populations," but "no evidence has shown that SARS-CoV-2 viruses in sewage water are infectious." This shows "that sewage rats may have been exposed to the virus through airborne transmission ... or indirect transmission from unknown fomites." Rats are not the only animal to be infected by the COVID virus. Dogs, cats, deer, primates, and hippos were all also found to have contracted it, however, "there is no evidence that animals play a significant role," according to the Centers for Disease Control. However, the "findings highlight the need for further monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 in rat populations to determine if the virus is circulating in the animals and evolving into new strains that could pose a risk to humans," Dr. Wan said. Dr. J. Scott Weese, director of the Centre for Public Health and Zoonoses at the University of Guelph remarked that the findings are a "reminder for the future, and that we need to be approaching things in the broader context, animal and human health all together." You may also like America's 'cataclysmic' drop in college enrollment Weather phenomenon La Nina comes to an end after 3 years Egyptian archeologists discover Sphinx from 1st century A.D. NEW CASTLE, Ind. A former New Castle woman once convicted of setting a fire in the Henry County jail has now been sentenced to 15 years in prison for a federal drug conviction. Jacqueline Annette Anderson, 37, more recently of Rushville, had pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis to possession of meth with intent to deliver. On May 6, 2021, Rush County sheriff's deputies stopped Anderson's Chevrolet Blazer for a traffic violation. After a police K-9 indicated there were controlled substances in the vehicle, deputies found numerous sealed bags containing a total of 267 grams of meth inside. Investigators said Anderson also had a zipper pouch containing meth along with brass knuckles in her possession. More:Muncie residents indicted on federal charges in interstate drug conspiracy Judge Sarah Evans Barker recently sentenced Anderson to 15 years in federal prison, and ruled she would be on probation for 10 years upon her release. "Methamphetamine dealers like this defendant fuel the scourge of substance abuse disorders and drug poisonings affecting our communities," U.S. Attorney Zachary Myers said in a release. In 2017, Anderson received a two-year sentence in Henry Circuit Court 2 after pleading guilty to arson. She and three other female inmates in the Henry County jail had been accused of setting materials on fire to ignite a mattress. A plea agreement in the Henry County case called for dismissal of five drug-related counts against Alexander. 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: Former New Castle woman sentenced to 15 years in federal meth case Newsmax Newsmax host Eric Bolling took a pointed swipe at his former Fox News colleague Tucker Carlson on Wednesday night over recent revelations that Carlson privately admitted to hating former President Donald Trump passionately. After the Trump-boosting Newsmax star said he just cant get past this, MAGA superfan Kari Lake agreed that Carlsons secret Trump hate sounds awful before she expressed hope that the Fox host has since had a change of heart. Despite portraying himself publicly as a Trump-sympathetic figure, text exchanges dug up by Dominion Voting Systems in its $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit found the Fox News star repeatedly trashing the ex-president. I hate him passionately, Carlson texted an unknown Fox staffer just two days before the Jan. 6 insurrection, adding: There isnt really an upside to Trump. With other messages showing Carlson calling Trump a destroyer and demonic force, Bolling said he just couldnt understand how his ex-colleague would pretend to like Trump publicly while blasting him in private. Fox News Journalists Sound Off on Soul-Crushing Dominion Filings You know, this whole revelation of the emails that Tucker Carlson at Fox was texting or emailing toor texting to some of his producers and whatnot, Bolling said. And one of them is really disturbing to me. It's I hate him passionatelythat Tucker said about President Trump. He continued: I mean, how, how do you, like, I think people are giving Tucker a pass on this, but I just cant. I just cant get past this, Kari. I cant understand how a guy who can portray himself as a huge Trump fan on television, saying he hates him passionately, is very, very much looking forward to the day he didnt have to cover Trump being in the White House every day. Lake, the election-denying former Arizona gubernatorial candidate vying to be Trumps 2024 running mate, attempted to give Carlson the benefit of the doubt, especially since Carlson is currently presenting a whitewashed version of the Capitol riots. Story continues Well, from the way you describe it, it sounds awful, she replied. I have not read the emails, so Im reluctant to comment and say anything that would disparage Tucker because I havent read all of the emails to even know what context that was in. But it sure on the surface sounds awful. And hopefully, hes had a change of heart and realizes that President Trump is the greatest president weve ever known, and he is the man to turn this around. Adding that shes happy with the work hes doing to get the word out about the Jan. 6 insurrection because we have a lot of people who are political prisoners sitting in jail, Lake demurred when it came to attacking Carlson any further. But I just dont know enough about the context of those emails, she said. I havent read them myself. So Im reluctant to comment on that. Of course, it should be noted that the Dominion filings show that Fox News executives and stars were increasingly concerned about losing viewers to Newsmax following the 2020 election because disgruntled MAGA supporters were upset over Foxs early Arizona call for President Joe Biden. Dominion alleges that Fox News knowingly allowed baseless election fraud conspiracies to air in order to claw back viewers who were ditching Fox for smaller right-wing competitors. Furthermore, Bollingwho left Fox News in 2017 amid sexual misconduct allegationsbroadcasts his primetime Newsmax program head-to-head against Carlsons much higher-rated Fox show. In its never-ending quest to compete for Foxs audience, Newsmax has also repeatedly taken shots at Carlson. In fact, one former Newsmax host claims he was fired for refusing to go after the Fox News host. 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 25-year-old woman pleaded guilty Thursday to physically abusing four children all under one year of age while she was working at a Johnson County day care. Rachel B. Schrader, of Kansas City, Kansas, admitted in Johnson County District Court to four felony charges brought in June 2021, the Johnson County District Attorneys Office announced in a news release. She is due back in court May 3. According to court records, the day care contacted police when staff noticed a baby had been injured and started an internal investigation. Surveillance cameras in the rooms captured footage of Schrader kicking, slamming, slapping, shaking and hitting infants, police investigators found. Over the course of March 2021, authorities documented 170 times where Schrader allegedly abused children or showed serious neglect. In one instance, footage showed an infant being tossed from her lap and landing face-first on the floor. In another, she was seen kicking an infant in the chest after another teacher left the room. During her initial interview with police, Schrader allegedly said she only knew of one case of losing her patience with a child. The case was investigated by the Johnson County Sheriffs Department. What does China's innovation-driven development strategy mean for the world? Xinhua) 08:12, March 10, 2023 -- Boasting the world's longest and most extensively used high-speed rail network, China has been helping multiple countries construct and upgrade their rail transit with its advanced railway technology. -- Through multilateral mechanisms such as the Belt and Road Initiative and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, China's sci-tech achievements have delivered new options in 5G communications, biomedicine and numerous realms, while also providing growth momentum. -- Over recent years, China has adopted various policy tools to promote global sci-tech cooperation, opened up large-scale scientific infrastructure, jointly established R&D platforms and expanded the scope, field and scale of open innovation. BEIJING, March 9 (Xinhua) -- From the Yutu-2 lunar rover roaming on the "dark side" of the moon to the Fendouzhe submersible exploring the 10,000-meter deep ocean, and from salt-tolerant rice growing in tidal flats near the sea to Chinese unmanned equipment guided by the Beidou Navigation Satellite System to help African farmers boost crop yields ... the saga of China's sci-tech innovation continues to unfold. During the ongoing "two sessions," Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasized the imperative to accelerate the implementation of the innovation-driven development strategy, saying that speeding up efforts to achieve greater self-reliance and strength in science and technology is the path China must take to advance high-quality development. Over 10 years into the nation's innovation-driven development strategy, China saw its ranking in the Global Innovation Index jump from 34th in 2012 to 11th last year, with the economy expanding at an average annual rate of 6.6 percent between 2013 and 2021, contributing over 30 percent to world economic growth. When reinforcing its strength in science and technology, the country has also been committed to sharing its technology with worldwide partners and cooperating to improve global science and technology governance. INNOVATION-DRIVEN DEVELOPMENT "The close attention paid by the government and the country to innovation as an engine of growth is paying off," said Daren Tang, director general of the World Intellectual Property Organization. Indeed, China's historic progress in building an innovative country attests to the judgment: science and technology are the primary productive force, talent the primary resource and innovation the primary driver of growth. The innovation-driven development strategy put forward at the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) has led China to join the ranks of the world's innovators, with success on various fronts over the past decade. The country has expanded its research and development (R&D) expenditure from 1 trillion yuan (about 145 billion U.S. dollars) to 3.09 trillion yuan (about 445 billion dollars) in the past decade, the second highest in the world, with its R&D intensity rising from 1.91 percent to 2.55 percent, according to Ministry of Science and Technology. This screen image captured at Beijing Aerospace Control Center on Feb. 9, 2023 shows Shenzhou-15 taikonaut Fei Junlong waving after exiting the space station lab module Wentian. (Xinhua/Liu Fang) Furthermore, China has coordinated its innovation blueprint with its strategy for invigorating China through science and education, which underscores development based on progress in science and technology and the workforce development strategy focusing on fostering high-quality talent. Now the country has become home to the largest cohort of R&D personnel around the globe. Apart from calling for moving faster toward self-reliance in science and technology, Xi in late January pledged more efforts to ensure better allocation of innovation-related resources to make the country a global pacesetter in major sci-tech areas and a pioneer in advanced interdisciplinary fields, and ensure that China will become a major world hub for science and innovation as soon as possible. GLOBAL PUBLIC GOODS The implications of China's innovation-driven development extend beyond its borders. Boasting the world's longest and most extensively used high-speed rail network, China has been helping multiple countries construct and upgrade their rail transit with its advanced railway technology. World Bank Vice President for South Asia Martin Raiser said China's rail technology would bring urban development, tourism and regional economic growth. An Fuxing bullet train runs on the China's section of the China-Laos Railway on Jan. 27, 2023. (Photo by Xu Zhangwei/Xinhua) Take the China-Laos Railway, a landmark Belt and Road project. Since operations began in December 2021, landlocked Laos has become a land-linked hub in Southeast Asia. The railway's Lao section has created more than 110,000 local jobs. Through multilateral mechanisms such as the Belt and Road Initiative and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, China's sci-tech achievements have delivered new options in 5G communications, biomedicine and numerous realms, while also providing growth momentum. Gu Qingyang, a scholar at the National University of Singapore, said the extensive application of China's sci-tech accomplishments not only leads to its domestic industrial upgrading, but also lends impetus to the neighboring areas. Photo taken on Nov. 20, 2021 shows the venue of China 5G+ Industrial Internet Conference at the China Optics Valley Convention &Exhibition Center in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province. (Xinhua/Wu Zhizun) Similarly, at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2023 earlier this year, Saadia Zahidi, the forum's managing director, said, "when it comes to technology and innovation, much of what is being developed in China will change the world." Given the size of its economy, China will help boost worldwide growth and inject optimism in the medium and long term, Zahidi told Xinhua. GLOBAL SCI-TECH GOVERNANCE China would never innovate behind closed doors. That's why the country has been dedicated to advancing global governance in science and technology. In late February, Xi restated his call for promoting the openness, trust and cooperation of the international science and technology community and making new and more significant contributions to the progress of human civilization. Over recent years, China has adopted various policy tools to promote global sci-tech cooperation, opened up large-scale scientific infrastructure, jointly established R&D platforms and expanded the scope, field and scale of open innovation. In a typical example, China has advocated expanding international cooperation in the space sector. Romanian astronaut Dumitru Prunariu said China "actually invited all countries to perform scientific experiments" on its Tiangong space station. In addition, the country also welcomes broader collaboration in deep space exploration. China has engaged in sci-tech cooperation with more than 160 countries and regions, participating in global science projects such as the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor program -- one of the most ambitious energy projects in the world and the Square Kilometre Array -- an intergovernmental radio telescope project. This aerial photo shows vehicles to be exported at a port in Lianyungang, east China's Jiangsu Province, Jan. 13, 2023. (Photo by Geng Yuhe/Xinhua) Meanwhile, the country's accelerated transition from "Made in China" to "Created in China" shows the developing world how to uncover a development path suited to their own conditions. China's experience in education, scientific research and technology is "inspiring" to Arab countries, Mohamed Abdel-Fattah Moustafa, head of the Arab Union for Education and Scientific Research, told Xinhua. Its cooperation with other developing countries in education, scientific research and technology localization will help "create a new international community based on cooperation, exchange of benefits and mutual win," he said. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan) By Jody Godoy (Reuters) - Former U.S. Congressman Stephen Buyer was convicted by a New York jury on Friday of trading on inside information he learned in 2018 as a consultant to T-Mobile US Inc (TMUS.O) ahead of its $23 billion merger with Sprint. Buyer was a Republican from Indiana in the U.S. House of Representatives between 1993 and 2011 before working as a corporate consultant. Prosecutors said at a trial that began on March 1 that Buyer bought Sprint stock after learning from a T-Mobile executive that the telecommunications companies were in merger talks in 2018 and engaged in another insider trading scheme in 2019. Buyer took the stand at trial and denied trading on inside information. His attorney did not immediately return a request for comment on Friday. The former congressman was found guilty on four counts of securities fraud. Judge Richard Berman will hold a sentencing hearing on July 11. Buyer made more than $100,000 from the Sprint trades and more than $200,000 on stock in Navigant Consulting Inc, which he purchased before Guidehouse acquired the company in 2019, according to prosecutors. Prosecutors urged the jury to focus on the timing of Buyer's trades, which came as employees at his client companies learned about the mergers. Buyer's attorneys argued that no hard evidence showed when he learned about the two mergers and said he had relied on public research to pick the stocks. The former congressman was one of several people, including a former Goldman Sachs banker, arrested on insider trading charges in July as part of a crackdown by Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. (Reporting by Jody Godoy in New York; Editing by Josie Kao) A Washington DC federal judge has ordered former Trump White House aide Peter Navarro to turn over to the National Archives and Records Administration numerous emails he sent and recieved from his personal email account during his time in government, ending a lawsuit the Department of Justice filed against the ex-White House trade adviser last year. Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ordered Mr Navarro to begin immediate compliance with her ruling, which granted a government motion for summary judgment in the case. The DOJ lawsuit arose out of a dispute over emails to and from Mr Navarro during his time serving as Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy under former president Donald Trump. The emails were hosted on Mr Navarros private account on the ProtonMail encrypted email service, and while federal law requires government employees to forward any official correspondence to their government email accounts within 20 days of sending or receiving such correspondence on their personal accounts, he never complied with that provision of the law. Under the Presidential Records Act, the National Archives was to take possession of all Trump administration records at the end of Mr Trumps term on 20 January 2021. When Archives officials learned of Mr Navarros private email usage, they asked him to provide any emails in his possession that were not turned over before Mr Trump left office. Judge Kollar-Kotelly noted that Mr Navarro ignored repeated requests from the Archives, and only began to engage with the government once the Department of Justice advised that hed be sued if he failed to turn over the emails in question, which constituted roughly 250 presidential records. But the ex-Trump aide, through counsel, refused to turn over the records unless he was granted immunity from prosecution in exchange for returning the records. After the DOJ filed suit seeking return of the emails, Mr Navarros lawyers argued in court papers that the department could not sue for them because the Presidential Records Act has no enforcement mechanism, nor does it have a deadline by which he had to turn them over. Story continues But the senior district court judge, who was named to the federal bench by President Bill Clinton in 1997, wrote in her opinion that Mr Navarros arguments ignore or contravene the statutes purpose, framework and provisions. The PRA makes plain that Presidential advisors such as Dr. Navarro are part and parcel of the statutory scheme in that they are required to preserve Presidential records during their tenure so that they can be transferred to NARA at the end of an administration, she said. The dispute over the Trump-era records is not Mr Navarros only tangle with the DOJ. Last year, a District of Columbia grand jury indicted him on two charges of criminal contempt of Congress for ignoring a subpoena for documents and testimony issued by the House January 6 select committee. Mr Navarro is expected to be tried on those charges later this year. By Francesco Guarascio and Toby Sterling HANOI/AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -Suppliers to Dutch chip-making machines giant ASML Holding NV are considering building plants in Southeast Asia instead of China amid political tensions between Beijing and the West, according to two sources and documents seen by Reuters. Officials from a dozen tech companies are set to visit Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore next week, according to a note from the Brabant Development Agency, a Dutch public body involved in organising the trip. "The majority of the companies (are) joining because they are considering to expand/setup production locations in either Vietnam or Malaysia," said the note prepared by the agency together with Brainport Industries, which represents 200 high tech manufacturing companies based near the Dutch city of Eindhoven. The possible investments are part of a wider, long-term strategy to reduce exposure to China, two people familiar with the plan told Reuters. The dozen companies on the mission are almost all contractors to ASML, one of the world's top suppliers to semiconductor manufacturers such as TSMC , Samsung and Intel. Some have production facilities in China. The Dutch government has never granted ASML a licence to sell its most advanced machines to customers in China, following pressure from Washington, which is seeking to hobble China's ability to make its own advanced computer chips and to slow down its military advances. ASML's lithography systems can cost up to 160 million euros ($170 million) each and are used to create the circuitry of computer chips. The Dutch government on Wednesday announced new restrictions on exports impacting ASML's second-best range of chip-printing tools, which could lead to Chinese retaliation. SINGAPORE HEADQUARTERS? Among the companies on the mission is Neways, which helps ASML develop electrical control units, power controls and wiring systems for lithography systems, according to the company's website. Story continues A spokesperson for Neways declined comment. ASML supplier NTS Group, which is a provider of precision mechanics tools, is another company that will join the business trip, Brainport said. The other companies on the trip are Bestronics, AAE BV, BKB Precision, HQ Group, KMWE Group, Sempro, Sioux Technologies and VDL ETG, according to one of the documents and Brainport. "VDL Groep has different branches in Asia ... We have no intention at all of leaving China," the company said in a statement. Other companies could not be reached for comment on Friday. Singapore is being considered as a potential location for regional headquarters, the note said. ASML declined comment. One person familiar with the organisation of the trip said one of the companies was in advanced talks with partners in Vietnam to build a factory. A second company was also likely to invest there, the person said declining to name the firms and to be named because the information was confidential. A second person involved in the organisation of the trip said that Malaysia was also a likely choice for new investment because some of the companies already have facilities there. ($1 = 0.9398 euros) (Reporting by Francesco Guarascio in Hanoi and Toby Sterling in Amsterdam; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise, Louise Heavens and Josie Kao) By Oliver Griffin BOGOTA (Reuters) - Protected areas in Colombia's Amazon region are at risk of increased damage because of lengthy staffing delays as the government has yet to renew contracts with national parks staff this year, according to government data and interviews with officials, would-be employees and environmental advocates. Reuters spoke to 11 people who reported contract delays for would-be workers at nine reserves in the Amazon region, including Chiribiquete, which spans an area more than twice the size of Wales and is home to several Indigenous communities. Just over 6% of the Amazon rainforest - an ecosystem scientists consider vital to curbing climate change - is in Colombia, according to United Nations figures, some contained within 11 national protected areas. Small numbers of permanent staff at national parks rely on much larger numbers of contractors to run community outreach programs, do ecological work or serve as park guards, among other roles. "We (permanent staff) are few," an official at one Amazon park, who asked not to be named, told Reuters. "There's no management of the parks because those of us (who are working) can't do anything." Park rangers are the vanguard for protecting ecosystems against criminal interests and irreversible degradation, said Bram Ebus, a consultant for the International Crisis Group. "Colombia's national parks institute has been understaffed and underfunded for a long time, but not taking care of regular contracting of park rangers also makes (parks) uncontrolled," said Ebus. Some 1.86 million hectares of Colombia's Amazon were deforested between 2001 and 2021, according to the government, and Crisis Group said in a 2021 report that staffing is well below best practice. Swathes of the country's forests are destroyed each year for cattle ranching and illegal mining, among other causes, according to the government. As of Friday morning, 22 contracts for personnel for working on the national parks agency's Amazon reserves had been published via Colombia's national contracting agency. Story continues Last year, at least 107 contractors had deals for work on Amazon reserves by January, data from the agency seen by Reuters showed. WORK DELAYED Setbacks are due to plans to overhaul the system for hiring contractors and budget cuts inherited from the previous government, which impacted timelines for hiring staff despite a spending increase now in place, said national parks director Luisz Martinez. The government of leftist President Gustavo Petro, who took office seven months ago and has pledged to lower deforestation, plans to initially replace annual contracts for national parks workers with four-year. "Ideally, we wouldn't have stopped. Ideally, it would've been well planned, but it didn't go that way," Martinez said, adding delays are not expected next year. The Environment Ministry declined to comment. Five would-be park workers told Reuters the delays meant they had been forced to find other jobs. One contractor has received their offer but said colleagues are still waiting. All nine employees and would-be workers voiced concern about protection of parks amid staff shortages. "Processes that have been in the works get pushed back, like restoration, environmental protection and community outreach," one former employee said. (Reporting by Oliver Griffin; Editing by Julia Symmes Cobb and Aurora Ellis) SHANGHAI (Reuters) - The Shenzhen Stock Exchange has sought help from an intelligence technology firm to detect fraud and vet listings, said people with knowledge of the matter, as China adopts high-tech weaponry against crime and corruption in its bid to attract investors. The bourse has been testing EC Guard's technology in recent weeks and staff have had training, said the people, declining to be identified as they were not authorised to speak with media. The Shenzhen Stock Exchange did not respond to Reuters' request for comment. EC Guard declined to be interviewed. The initiative is in line with thinking at Shanghai's bourse whose president in a parliamentary session this week proposed combating fraud with big data and artificial intelligence. Pressure to upgrade regulatory technology, or RegTech, in China's $57 trillion financial industry has increased as the government reforms capital markets and weeds out corruption. Last month, the anti-graft agency said it would stop the "revolving door" of former regulators joining banks and leveraging regulatory connections, while the securities regulator - which said it uncovered nearly 100 accounting scams last year - vowed "zero-tolerance" toward corruption. The regulator itself was dragged into a high-profile corruption case in 2021 when a former official was found to have made illegal gains from investing in listing candidates. China is also reforming initial public offering (IPO) rules to speed up stock listings. At the same time, bourses are tightening vetting processes, said a Shanghai-based banker. Underwriters have to increase scrutiny to company documents as well as examine executive cash flows and related transactions to ensure listing applicants can pass rigid health checks from increasingly savvy authorities, the banker said. CHINA'S PALANTIR EC Guard was established in 2002 and modelled after U.S. big data analytics firm Palantir Technologies Inc, showed August bourse filings by business partner Xiamen Jihong Technology Co Ltd. Its five main clients are security and law enforcement departments, the filing showed. Story continues The United States in 2019 placed EC Guard on its so-called entity list of companies that are subject to U.S. trade restrictions for reasons such as national security. The Shenzhen exchange has not signed any agreement with EC Guard but, like other regulators and regulator affiliates, is looking for better tools to cleanse the securities market, one of the people said. The bourse has already invested heavily in RegTech. In 2021, Deloitte helped it build a corporate profile model to detect accounting fraud. EC Guard collects information from public sources, but has technology that can scour the deep web - websites invisible to conventional search engines - and dark web - encrypted cyberspace ripe for illicit activity - one of the people said. Using that technology, EC Guard can identify relationships between users helping regulators identify potential illegal activity and also trace a company's ultimate shareholders to ensure they are legitimate owners, the person said. The Shanghai Stock Exchange, the country's largest bourse, stepped up its fight against fraud in December with a new generation of systems that supervise securities trading. Cai Jianchun, the bourse's president, this week said government agencies should share data, and that fighting accounting fraud requires cutting-edge technology. The exchange has disclosed 2021 technology investment of about 1.6 billion yuan ($229.5 million), nearly double that of a year earlier. ($1 = 6.9723 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Shanghai newsroom; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and Christopher Cushing) (Reuters) -It's crunch time at Tesla Inc, where Elon Musk is looking to crack the code for making better, cheaper batteries. The electric-vehicle maker is recruiting Chinese and Korean materials suppliers to help lower the cost and boost the energy of its newest battery cells, even as the company struggles with battery-related performance and production issues that have helped delay the launch of its futuristic Cybertruck, according to people familiar with the plans. Tesla has tapped China's Ningbo Ronbay New Energy and Suzhou Dongshan Precision Manufacturing to help trim materials costs as it ramps up production of 4680 battery cells in the United States, according to the sources, who asked not to be named. The details of these arrangements have not previously been reported. If the Austin, Texas-based EV maker is able to work out the performance and process kinks and meet its ambitious production targets, the 4680 ultimately could be the linchpin - rather than choke point - in CEO Musk's dream of building 20 million vehicles annually by 2030. Neither Tesla nor Musk could be reached for comment. As part of its efforts, Tesla also has signed a deal with Korea's L&F Co to supply high-nickel cathodes that could increase the energy density of its 4680 cells, one of the sources said. The automaker aims to augment its own output with 4680 cells from Korea's LG Energy Solution and Japan's Panasonic - an insurance policy to secure future EV production, two of the sources said. LG and Panasonic are expected to supply cells for Cybertruck, one of the sources said. A shortage of batteries means "the factories stall," Musk told investors in early March. The new battery is expected to play a key role in the launch late this year of the edgy, stainless-steel Cybertruck, the company's first new model in more than three years. Tesla had considered three battery options to ensure that launch is not delayed again: smaller 2170 cells used widely in other Tesla models, 4680 cells and less-expensive lithium iron phosphate cells, but the EV maker favored waiting until the 4680 cells are ready, the sources said. Story continues Details about Tesla's Cybertruck battery strategy, including use of 4680 cells and consideration of other options, have not been reported. In 2022, Musk said he did not expect 4680 batteries would be a "limiting factor for Cybertruck or anything else." The Tesla-designed 4680 cell - so named for its external dimensions (46mm diameter, 80mm length) - is crucial to future production plans. Tesla intends to make versions at factories in Texas, California, Nevada and Berlin for use in vehicles from Model Y to Cybertruck, the sources said. But Tesla is still struggling to ramp up the first wave of production, Musk acknowledged at Tesla's investor day on March 1. 'TESLA IMPACT UNDERESTIMATED' Despite the immediate problems, some analysts remain optimistic Tesla will resolve these issues. "While execution risk remains and many details are unknown, Tesla's impact on the global battery industry may still be underestimated," Morgan Stanley said after investor day. Musk first announced the new cell at Battery Day in September 2020. At that event, he promised a 50% reduction in cell cost through a series of innovations, from a larger cell size to a new "dry" electrode coating process that could dramatically reduce the size and cost of a battery factory while boosting cell performance. Repeated delays in moving the new cell from the initial prototype phase to full-scale production also have pushed back introduction of the long-awaited Cybertruck, which was designed to take advantage of the cell's potential improvement in energy density and power - advances that have yet to materialize. But it will take time for suppliers to ramp up production. Panasonic is running a pilot 4680 production line at its Wakayama factory in Japan, and plans to start volume production later in the fiscal year that ends in March 2024. Shoichiro Watanabe, chief technology officer of Panasonic Energy, last month said the company's new Kansas battery plant will focus initially on 2170 cells, but it will eventually shift 4680 production to North America. Last year, LG said it planned to open a new 4680 production line at its Ochang plant in Korea in the second half of 2023. Tesla's first-generation 4680 cells, built at its Fremont, California, factory, failed to hit an energy density target, people involved say. The automaker so far has been able to dry-coat the anode - the negative electrode - but is still having issues with dry-coating the cathode, where the most significant gains are expected to be made, the sources said. Tesla's attempt to ramp up production of the dry coating process has thus far resulted in enough batteries only for about 50,000 vehicles annually, Musk and company executives have said. In 2020, Musk said Tesla would have enough 4680 capacity in-house to supply 1.3 million Model Ys. While executives said it seems likely Tesla will be able to increase 4680 output five-fold by year-end, the company is hedging. Musk is betting if Tesla ends up with too many batteries this year, that is a good problem to have. It can use those for the energy storage systems it sells to utilities and consumers. Tesla also has been installing first-generation 4680 cells with "wet" cathodes in so-called structural packs in Texas-built Model Ys. A majority of those vehicles use the older 2170 cells. Tesla plans to use a cathode with more than 90% nickel in the next generation of 4680 cells, two sources said. L&F is expected to be one of the suppliers of that high-nickel cathode, another source said. (Reporting by Zoey Zhang in China and Hyunjoo Jin in San Francisco; Additional reporting by Norihiko Shirouzu in Austin, Texas, and Daniel Leussink in TokyoAdditional reporting by Paul Lienert in DetroitEditing by Ben Klayman and Matthew Lewis) Gabe Erales, the former executive chef at an Austin, Texas, restaurant, won the 18th season of Bravos Top Chef in Thursday's finale, a crowning honor from TV's preeminent cooking competition. As Erales star ascended, details emerged that the star chef was fired in 2020 from Comedor, a modern Mexican restaurant, for violation of the restaurant's policies on harassment and discrimination. Although members of the "Top Chef" production team knew details about the firing, both from conversations with restaurant management and Erales, Bravo aired the season featuring a winner who was terminated just weeks after the show finished filming. In December 2020, Erales did not respond to an inquiry from the Austin American-Statesman, part of the USA TODAY Network, regarding the dismissal, but the El Paso native, who helped land the sophisticated, downtown restaurant a spot in the Austin360 Dining Guide Top 10 in 2019, as well as honors from Texas Monthly and Esquire magazine, confirmed details of his firing with the American-Statesman this week. Gabe Erales won the Portland, Oregon season of Bravo's "Top Chef" in Thursday's finale. Erales admitted to having a consensual sexual relationship with a female member of his kitchen staff in the summer of 2020 -- and then reduced cutting her hours in November after he returned from taping the culinary king-making show in Portland in September and October. Erales said he cut the hours of the woman based on her performance, though Comedor chef-partner Philip Speer told the American-Statesman he did not deem the woman's work as sufficient reason for hours being cut. At the time of the chefs departure in December, Comedor's owners said that Erales was let go due to violation of our policies and for behavior in conflict with our values. In June, Speer clarified to the Statesman that Erales was fired for repeated violations of the company's ethics policy as it relates to harassment of women. After I returned from Top Chef, I made some business decisions as a manager that affected this employee and were found to be discriminatory and I realized that those were bad decisions, Erales told the Statesman this week. Ive spent the last six months really reflecting on these mistakes and taking the necessary steps to be a better husband, a father, a chef and a leader, through therapy, through spirituality. Story continues Erales says that while though his relationship ended with the female kitchen employee when he returned from Portland, he continued communicating with her in an unprofessional manner. The Statesman is not naming the employee due to the nature of the allegations. She declined to comment for this story. A spokeswoman for "Top Chef" declined to comment for this story. However, a source close to "Top Chef," who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly, said the show learned from Comedor in December that Erales was fired for violations of the restaurants harassment policy but said the restaurant did not provide further details about the firing. The source said Erales told the production team hed had a consensual relationship with a member of his kitchen staff, a relationship Erales told them ended in August, and that Erales said he later curtailed the employees hours. The source said that in addition to a background check before casting, the company looked into Eraless behavior on the set of Top Chef, found no problematic behavior and decided to continue airing the show as planned. The person added that scrapping the entire season would not be fair to the other 14 chef contestants and a production team that endured the challenges of the pandemic to produce the show. But host Padma Lakshmi addressed the issue on Twitter after the finale aired. "As someone who has been sexually harassed, this topic is a serious one and merits openness," she wrote. "We filmed Top Chef in October of last year & were not aware of the allegations now coming out about Gabe. This should be investigated & the network should consider its best action." But she clarified in a follow-up tweet that "no one has alleged sexual harassment on the record or otherwise to Bravo/Top Chef and we judges didn't have any indication of inappropriate behavior from Gabe during his time on set." The revelations come amid a national reckoning over sexual harassment of female employees in various industries. A recent survey of women who work as servers, bartenders or in other food industry roles found 70% reporting being sexually harassed by their employers, coworkers or customers, according to a CBS News story. Erales, who is planning to open Yucatan-inspired restaurant Bacalar in Austin in fall 2022, says he believes that manager-employee relations are very detrimental to a work environment and definitely impact the success of a business, especially a kitchen," adding that moving forward, my position in a restaurant as an authority figure is an important one and I know that in order to improve our industry, creating a positive non-toxic work environment begins with a plan of checks and balances that need to be in place before the doors open. The recently gilded TV star says he has never had a sexual relationship with any other employee who reported directly to him at any restaurant. He says that his firing has served as a moment of growth for him to focus on his responsibilities as an honest husband and a focused leader. Im even more thankful for the management team for enforcing their core values in an effort to keep a safe work environment because I would not not have been able to face my personal challenges had this not happened," Erales said. The Top Chef winner receives $250,000 from sponsor S.Pellegrino Sparkling Natural Mineral Water, a feature in "Food & Wine" magazine and an appearance at the "Food & Wine" Classic in Aspen. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: 'Top Chef': Winner discusses allegations that led to lost job A 22-year-old man charged Friday in a fatal shooting at Lakewood Towne Center shot a man 13 to 15 times, according to court records. Pierce County prosecutors said he shot the man for no reason. Sarome Jaquan Marquis Stabler was charged in Pierce County Superior Court with first- and second-degree murder in the killing of a 38-year-old man who has not been publicly identified. According to charging documents, multiple witnesses reported seeing the defendant shoot the victim in the parking lot of a Target store and continue to fire gunshots while the man was on the ground. Pleas of not guilty were entered on Stablers behalf at arraignment Friday afternoon. Commissioner Craig Adams set bail at $1 million. He said the facts alleged in prosecutors probable cause document were somewhat chilling. Arguing for that bail amount, deputy prosecutor Afton Gregson said that given the random nature of the shooting, she considered Stabler a threat to the community. This was basically an execution, Gregson said. He shot the victim 13 to 15 times for no reason, to include emptying his gun into the victim while the victim was lying on the ground helpless. The killing was the first homicide recorded in Lakewood so far this year, and the 10th reported across Pierce Countys cities and towns. At this time last year, Lakewood had one homicide, and the county total was 23. Stabler does not have a criminal history, Gregson said. During the proceeding, Stabler told the court he had been unemployed for about a month and was meant to start a new job Friday. He said hed previously been paid to help take care of his grandmother. The shooting was reported shortly after 3 p.m. at 5618 Lakewood Towne Center Blvd., according to court records. Lakewood Police Department officers responded after receiving multiple reports of gunfire in a parking lot. Officers found the victim with gunshot wounds to his chest, back and on an arm and leg, prosecutors wrote in charging papers. West Pierce Fire & Rescue personnel transported him to Madigan Army Medical Center, where he died shortly after arriving. Story continues Stabler was standing about 15 feet from the victim, and a black pistol was on the ground between them, records state. The defendant complied with officers orders and said the gun was his, and that he owned it legally. He walked up on me reaching and I got, I got scared, Stabler allegedly said, according to the probable cause document. Surveillance video captured shooting Officers detained Stabler without incident. In an interview with detectives, the defendant allegedly confessed to shooting the victim, and he said he had never met or seen the man before. Stabler told detectives the man walked up to him quickly, staring at him without speaking. Records state Stabler said the man reached into a backpack strapped on front of his chest, and he asked him what he was reaching for, but the man didnt answer. Stabler allegedly said he asked the man a second time, but he still didnt answer. According to the probable cause document, the defendant said he felt in fear for his safety so he shot the man. At arraignment, Gregson said surveillance video from a business at the shopping center didnt support Stablers version of events. Records state the video showed the two walking toward each other in the parking lot. The video had no sound, so its unknown what was said, but there was no physical interaction before the shooting. Stabler is allegedly seen pulling a Glock 17 semiautomatic pistol out of his jacket, then firing at the other man as he was about 8-10 feet away. Two witnesses who spoke with police reported hearing the defendant say something to the effect of, Whyd you do it? over and over as he fired rounds at the victim. Officers recovered 13-15 expended shell casings and bullet fragments, according to the probable cause document. A black Glock 17 with a gray slide was recovered. Five witnesses reported seeing Stabler shoot the man, records state. One, a bus driver, told police the victim was standing near the defendant while holding various bags. The driver said the victim appeared to be transient. He said the defendant suddenly retrieved a handgun, and then he heard seven gunshots, followed by two more while the victim was on the ground. For the first time, the UPAB-1500V 1.5-ton gliding bomb was presented to the public four years ago in Moscow at the International Aviation and Space Salon exhibition Bombers from Russias Aerospace Forces have used their latest 1,500 kg UPAB-1500V guided bombs against Ukraine for the first time, as reported by Defense Express on March 4, citing its own sources. The outlet states that the aggressor's air force first used these munitions a few weeks ago, against a target in Chernihiv Oblast. The next day, Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat confirmed reports of the Russian invaders using gliding aerial bombs, dropping them on targets in Ukrainian territory. NV asked Katkov about the main danger these weapons pose, where the enemy will use them, and what the Ukrainian Air Force can do to counter it. NV: What do you know about the Russian UPAB-1500V bomb? What are its characteristics and what is its main risks? Katkov: The first time this munition the export version, by the way was demonstrated publicly was in Moscow in 2019 at the International Aviation and Space Exhibition. At that time, the representative of the developer of this bomb, from [Russian state-owned military research and development firm] Region, stated that it had already been tested. Thus, there is no reason to say that these munitions are already being mass produced in Russia, because the time period since the munitions debut to its serial production has been quite short. Read also: Russian invaders changing tactics in missile attacks, says NSDC head Regarding the capabilities of the UPAB-1500V, it is a gliding bomb. At the same time, it is large in size, with a weight of 1,500 kg, of which approximately 1,010 kg is the warhead. That is, it is a more than powerful munition. The developer claims that when this gliding bomb is dropped from an airplane from a height of 15 km, its range is up to 40 km. The munition is equipped with an inertial and satellite navigation system and can hit highly protected objects. What is more, the detonator has three modes, including a delayed mode that is, it detonates after the bomb has gone deep into some kind of bunker. Story continues All things considered, this is a pretty dangerous munition. And according to our sources, the Russians have already used it, since the analysis of its fragments allowed it to be identified specifically as UPAB-1500 V. At the same time, there is a cautious assumption, given the protocol and methodology of using this munition, that the Russian Su-34 front-line fighter-bomber destroyed near Yenakiieve on March 3 was the specific air-craft that carried this UPAB-1500 V. The thing is that the methodology is too similar to the use of this munition, because the enemy plane was shot down at a considerable height, and in the photo and video you can see the aircrafts contrails and this characteristic loop. NV: That is, this type of bomb can be dropped only from the Su-34? Katkov: So far, there is no information about which aircraft of the Russian Air Defense Forces this munition was developed for. But very likely, we are talking about the Su-34 "cruising" bomber. Perhaps the Su-30 and Su-35 are still possible. But it seems to me that the Su-34 is at least the main carrier of the UPAB-1500V. NV: And where can the enemy most likely use this type of bomb? Katkov: At the front edge [frontline and border areas], because the bombs use parameters allow for it to be dropped and cause damage at a distance of up to 40 km. The "up to" parameter is important here, since the Russians often declare capabilities for their weapons much greater than they actually have. Therefore, in theory, these are exclusively frontline areas, so that the bomber does not enter the active range of Ukrainian air defense forces. Read also: Ukraine Air Force says countrys air defenses to be further strengthened NV: What can the use of this munition affect? Katkov: Its use is quite limited. We are not talking about mass use, but rather I can't say its experimental but were actually talking about single samples. In addition, given what is happening with the Russian military-industrial complex, which is suffering under Western sanctions, it is possible that a small number of these bombs were actually manufactured long ago, and the Russians are just using them now. But it should be understood that this information is quite limited. And it can be quite difficult to identify exactly what they have used especially if the Russians use these bombs on the front line, where there is no way to understand what exactly they dropped. But there was a case when the Russian Federation used this munition on a target in Chernihiv Oblast, where there were fragments that made it possible to identify this gliding bomb. In addition, a few weeks ago, the Russians showed a video where they seem to have used some type of munition with a rather powerful explosion in the Avdiivka area. And that could have been a UPAB-1500V munition, too. But no matter what, they themselves are not shining light on this development, are not making it some kind of "analogousness" and this, perhaps, indicates that the real number of these munitions does not allow for any kind of PR action. NV: But the Russian Federation has a similar, but smaller caliber UPAB-500V munition. Could the Russian military have more of those bombs than the UPAB-1500V? Read also: Ukrainian Air Force explains why Russians started launching Shaheds from north Katkov: I think that this munition is also in singular quantities, and perhaps even in smaller quantities [than the UPAB-1500 V]. Because, given the cost of installing, roughly speaking, the unit responsible for guiding this bomb, one can assume that it is simply not profitable for the Russians to reduce the caliber while reducing the effectiveness of the munition. In addition, there is also the issue of the accuracy of the guidance system itself. After all, the traditional Soviet approach, which is still followed by the Russian Federation, is that if the munition has low accuracy, then its warhead is simply increased in order to cover the deviation. NV: In that case, how can the Ukrainian Armed Forces fight back against these weapons? Katkov: Destroy the carriers of these bombs. This is the only option, because in this case, you should fight not with the munition, but with the bombers carrying it. The bombers can be destroyed by anti-aircraft missile systems. After all, in order to launch a gliding bomb, Russian planes need to climb much higher, and in this way, a fighter flying at an altitude of 10-15 km will be clearly visible on all radars, and this, in the presence of a long-range air defense system, makes it possible to hit this aircraft. But you can't put air defense systems under every bush, so it's extremely important for us to get Western fighters that will allow us to see the target much further and detect it earlier, and receiving Western long-range air-to-air missiles will make it possible to drive away enemy aircraft from the front-line zone. In addition, aircraft are more mobile means of air defense, and Western fighters will also make it possible to gain superiority in the air. NV: And at the current stage, can the Ukrainian Air Force offer some counter in response? Perhaps there are Western analogues? Katkov: There is information that the U.S. has provided us with JDAM kits [equipment based on GPS technology that turns simple free-fall bombs into all-weather guided munitions]. Moreover, according to Western sources, we are talking about JDAM-ERs [Extended Range], which has improved aerodynamic characteristics. Thus, during high-altitude flight, the striking range of this munition is up to 70-80 km, and at low altitudes, when using the camber method [when the nose of the aircraft rises in order to launch a munition along a hinged trajectory] up to 40 km. 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 TikTok logo is seen on a cell phone on Oct. 14, 2022, in Boston. Some experts are speaking out against TikToks new AI beauty filter, Bold Glamour. | Michael Dwyer, Associated Press Those who had a Snapchat account in 2015 may remember the first augmented reality face filters they could give users doggy ears, devil horns and make them look like they were vomiting rainbows. Back then, the digital mask would glitch when the cameras view of your face was interrupted by things like hair, glasses or fast movement. Augmented reality has progressed far beyond that, and TikToks beauty filter Bold Glamour can prove it. This filter doesnt glitch like the first ones did, and users have been putting hands over their faces and tugging at their skin to prove it. Luke Hurd, an augmented reality consultant whos worked on Instagram and Snapchat filters, explained in a TikTok video that the filter uses a type of artificial intelligence called a generative adversarial network. They take your image here of you, and they compare it to a dataset of other images, and then redraw your pixels, pixel by pixel, on the output of your camera feed, Hurd said. Previous filters have used a mesh that simply goes over the face, rather than reconstructing it. Related It doesnt glitch out the same way because theres not a 3D model sitting in front of your face, Hurd said. It is the actual output of the camera feed its not being overlaid in front of it. Bold Glamour makes lips plumper, cheek bones more defined and skin brighter. More than 18.5 million videos have been made using the effect, and users are shocked at how realistic it looks. However, many experts are speaking out against the filter, saying its bad for mental health. Linda Charmaraman, a senior researcher at the Wellesley Centers for Women, said via The Washington Post that filters like these contribute to unrealistic beauty standards, which are detrimental to the self-worth of younger users, especially women. Renee Engeln, director of Northwestern Universitys Body and Media Lab, also spoke on the danger of Bold Glamour, per NPR. Story continues Your own face that you see in the mirror suddenly looks ugly to you, she said. It doesnt look good enough. It looks like something you need to change. Related Beauty brand Dove even started the hashtag #TurnYourBack to encourage people to steer clear of the filter. No filter should tell you how to look, the company captioned its post. 80% of girls are already using filters by the age of 13. Its no wonder their perception of beauty and their self-esteem are distorted. The hyper-realism of Bold Glamour has also led some experts to express concern for the future of internet safety. Memo Akten, computational art and design professor at the University of California in San Diego, said this is a sign that deepfakes could soon become mainstream, according to the Post. Deepfakes use artificial intelligence to digitally alter the way someone looks and are often used to spread misinformation. Its a step toward the world we have seen in sci-fi movies where we can no longer tell what is real, Akten said. Related The claim: Post implies the government is tracking unvaccinated individuals A Feb. 16 Instagram post (direct link, archived link) makes a claim about the federal government's surveillance efforts. "The federal government is tracking the unvaccinated," reads the text featured in the post. "Under this program, doctors at clinics and hospitals have been instructed to ask patients about their vaccination status, which is then added to their electronic medical records as a diagnostic code, known as ICD-10 code, so that they can be tracked inside and outside of the medical system," reads part of the post's caption. Some commenters expressed concern that this meant the government was tracking their movements. "Careful my tracking is good out to about 500 yards!!! Leave me alone," reads one such comment. The post generated nearly 200 likes in less than a month. Follow us on Facebook! Like our page to get updates throughout the day on our latest debunks Our rating: Missing context The implied claim here is wrong. Medical experts said federal laws protect a patients medical information from being disclosed. The codes attached to a certain patient are used to track general trends or other medical purposes, according to experts, not for tracking specific individuals. Post misleads on medical codes Medical experts told USA TODAY the post exaggerates the use of ICD-10 medical codes by health care professionals and other entities. ICD-10 stands for the tenth revision to the International Classification of Diseases, a manual of codes used by health care professionals to classify diseases and mortality statistics, according to the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Since 2015, the Department of Health and Human Services has mandated that all entities covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) which includes health care providers, health care clearinghouses and health plans use ICD-10 codes for electronic healthcare transactions, according to the CDC. Story continues In April 2022, the ICD-10 manual was updated to include three codes tied to COVID-19: "Unvaccinated for Covid-19" (Z28.310) "Partially vaccinated for Covid-19" (Z28.311) "Other underimmunization status" (Z28.39) A health worker administers a dose of COVID-19 vaccine during a vaccination clinic in Reading, Pa. On Friday, Feb. 3, 2023. These codes allow medical professionals to collect data on vaccine efficacy, like how many unvaccinated and vaccinated patients are sick or dying in the hospital or intensive care unit with COVID-19, Dr. Eric Burnett, an internal medicine expert at Columbia University, told USA TODAY in an email. The claim asserts the codes are used to track people "inside and outside of the medical system," but that's not how the system works, experts say. Burnett said it would "most certainly be" a HIPAA violation, for example, for health care professionals to share patient info with non-HIPAA entities like the FBI for tracking purposes. Fact check: False claim that Hunter Biden paid Joe Biden $50,000 in rent for Delaware home There are parts of HIPAA that allow public health authorities like the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration to have access to the codes, according to Burnett, but this information typically excludes patient identifiers like names. They cannot just ask for the information because they feel like tracking certain individuals," Burnett said. "They need a specific reason for doing so." Even if these entities had a specific reason, the information sent to them would need to comply with HIPPA regulations. "If they do need specific patient information for example, if a person came in contact with HIV they can get it from a HIPAA-protected entity, but only the minimum amount of information needed to achieve their goal," Burnett said. Bert Kelly, a CDC spokesperson, also told USA TODAY in an email that the CDC "does not have any (patient-specific) data on the codes and does not track this information." The codes are also present on bills submitted to an insurer to address why the patient made a hospital visit, according to Karen Joynt Maddox, co-director of the Center for Health Economics and Policy at Washington University in St Louis. "These codes are only on bills, so they arent public," Maddox said. "If I go to my doctor and they put a code in a bill that indicates I have diabetes, that information doesnt go to my employer or to my neighbor or to my senator. There are laws that protect personal medical information." USA TODAY reached out to the social media users who shared the claim for comment. Reuters and AFP also debunked the claim. 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: ICD-10 medical codes track trends, not individuals By Kanishka Singh (Reuters) - Canada is starting to lay the groundwork for a foreign agent registry amid media reports of alleged Chinese meddling in the country's last two elections, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said on Friday. Canadian authorities have started several invstigations into the allegations, which Beijing denies. Here are some investigations by Canada on the issue: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR PROBE Trudeau said on March 6 he will appoint an independent special investigator to probe alleged election interference by China. The independent special rapporteur will be an "eminent Canadian" and will have power to make recommendations on foreign interference including a public inquiry, Trudeau said. PARLIAMENTARY PANEL PROBE Trudeau has also asked lawmakers in parliament's national security watchdog to start a probe. The National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) will report its findings to parliament. NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCIES' THREAT-HANDLING PROBE The Canadian prime minister has asked another oversight agency, the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency (NSIRA), to conduct a review of how Canada's national security agencies handled the threat of foreign interference in Canada's elections, especially "around the flow of information from national security agencies to decision makers." The agency will also report its findings to parliament. POLICE PROBE INTO MEDIA LEAKS Police said they were investigating media reports that cited secret intelligence, alleging Chinese interfere in Canada's elections, for potential violations of information security laws. The police has indicated its probe is targeted only on the information leaks and not on the allegations of Chinese interference. The Security of Information Act, which was previously known as the Official Secrets Act, deals with protecting sensitive government information. MEDIA LEAKS PROBE BY CANADA'S SPY AGENCY Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) has said CSIS and other domestic security partners were also investigating the sources of the media leaks. (Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Angus MacSwan) BERLIN (Reuters) - The attack at a Jehovah's Witnesses worship hall in Hamburg, in which a gunman shot dead seven people including an unborn child before killing himself, is Germany's latest shooting in recent years, placing already strict gun laws under further scrutiny. An overview of major shootings in recent years: - In February 2020, a 43-year-old man killed nine people with a migration background in a right-wing extremist and racially-motivated attack in the city of Hanau, east of Frankfurt, before shooting his mother and himself. - In October 2019, a gunman who denounced Jews opened fire outside a German synagogue on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year, and killed two people as he livestreamed the attack. - In July 2016, an 18-year-old German-Iranian man killed nine people, most of them Muslims, in a right-wing motivated rampage at a shopping centre in the southern city of Munich. - In March 2011, two U.S. soldiers were killed in an Islamist-motivated attack on a U.S. Army bus at Frankfurt airport. - In March 2009, a 17-year-old shot dead 15 people in Winnenden and Wendlingen in south-west Germany in a school and went on the run before killing himself. - In April 2002, 17 people died in the city of Erfurt when a 19-year-old shot 16 people and then himself at a school. (Reporting by Andreas Rinke, Writing by Rachel More,; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne) BERLIN (Reuters) - Here are some facts about the Jehovah's Witnesses and their community in Germany, shaken by a mass shooting at a Jehovah's Witness hall in Hamburg on Thursday. - The Jehovah's Witnesses are an international Christian denomination that was founded in the United States in around 1870. They have around 8.7 million active followers in 239 countries worldwide, according to the denomination's website. - The first German branch was founded in 1902 in Elberfeld in west Germany - before the "Watch Tower Society" was renamed Jehovah's Witnesses. The denomination was not granted legal recognition however until 2005, in the city of Berlin. Since 2017, they have been recognized as a public corporation everywhere in Germany. - Jehovah's Witnesses have struggled to have their beliefs and practices accepted in some parts of the world. The group has faced court proceedings in several countries, mostly over its pacifism and rejection of blood transfusions. - Russia banned the group in 2017. The Russian Orthodox Church has depicted the Jehovah's Witnesses as a dangerous foreign sect, allegations the group denies. - There are 175,558 members in Germany, meaning about 1 in 500 Germans are Jehovah's Witnesses, according to the denomination's website, which was updated in January. In total there are 2,003 congregations and 884 places of worship, called Kingdom Halls of Jehovah's Witnesses. - Jehovah's Witnesses were persecuted in Nazi Germany for their refusal to swear allegiance to the Nazi regime or join the military. Thousands were sent to prisons or concentration camps. - The denomination was also banned in former communist East Germany in 1950 which like most Communist-run countries was in general hostile to religion. - There have been several attempted attacks against Jehovah's Witnesses in various countries in recent years. In 2009, an 82-year-old man tried to shoot Jehovahs Witnesses in a Kingdom Hall in Bielefeld, Germany, in revenge for his daughter joining them in 1967. The attack failed because no shot was released from the automatic pistol. On Dec. 25, 2022, a couple attempted arson with explosives at a Jehovah's Witness' Kingdom Hall in Thornton in the U.S. state of Colorado. They were both previous members who were no longer welcome. No one was injured. (Reporting by Janina Kaeppel and Sarah Marsh; Editing by Frances Kerry) LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The following are select facts about the life and career of screen actor Robert Blake, who was acquitted in 2005 of murdering his wife but later found liable for her death in a civil trial: * Blake was about 6 years old when he started his Hollywood career. Before that, he and his brother and sister were part of an act known as "The Three Little Hillbillies" on the vaudeville circuit. Even though his earnings would provide most of his family's income, Blake said his father used him as "his punching bag." * One of Blake's childhood roles was playing a Mexican boy who implores Humphrey Bogart's character to buy a lottery ticket in "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre." As a child he also worked with Laurel and Hardy, Jack Benny, John Wayne, John Garfield and Gene Autry. * While Blake was awaiting his murder trial, actor Anthony Hopkins visited him in jail and said he had studied Blake's work in the movie "In Cold Blood" as preparation for playing the creepy killer Hannibal Lechter in "The Silence of the Lambs," according to the Los Angeles Times. Other jailhouse visitors included musician-composer Quincy Jones, comedian Mort Sahl, and Scott Wilson, Blake's "In Cold Blood" co-star. * Blake's son Noah Blake became a television actor with credits that include a regular role in the 1990s sitcom "Harry and the Hendersons" and one-off parts in shows such as "The Office," "ER" and "Diagnosis Murder." (Prepared by Bill Trott; Editing by Stephen Coates) By Laurie Chen BEIJING (Reuters) - China's rubber-stamp parliament, the National People's Congress (NPC), wraps up on Monday, capping what is expected to be the biggest government reshuffle in a decade after setting a modest target for annual economic growth. Coming months after President Xi Jinping secured a norm-breaking third term as supreme leader, the sessions will further consolidate his authority and outline key government policy goals. Here are key details and issues to look for: WHAT IS THE NPC? The 3,000-member NPC is China's national legislature, and in principle the most powerful state body under the Chinese constitution, although in practice the ruling Communist Party wields more power. Besides meeting annually to deliberate legislation and appoint government personnel, it oversees the State Council, China's cabinet. Its top body, the roughly 170-member NPC Standing Committee, meets more frequently to pass legislation. The Standing Committee also has the power to amend semiautonomous Hong Kong's mini-constitution, known as the Basic Law. The NPC meetings overlap with those of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), a political advisory body. Together, the annual meetings are known as the lianghui, or "Two Sessions", and usually last between one and two weeks. WHICH GOVERNMENT POSITIONS WILL BE FILLED? In the biggest personnel change, Li Qiang is poised to be confirmed as premier after being ranked second in order after Xi when the new seven-member Politburo Standing Committee was revealed at October's congress of the ruling Communist Party. Li will make his public debut during a televised media conference on the final day of the session, where he will answer questions that have been submitted in advance. Several top economic jobs will go to a new crop of Xi loyalists, many with little overseas exposure, replacing an older generation of officials viewed as more reform-minded. Story continues Xi confidant He Lifeng is expected to become vice premier overseeing the economic portfolio, while top state bank official Zhu Hexin is likely to replace Harvard-educated Yi Gang as central bank governor, sources have told Reuters. The NPC will also appoint top government positions including vice president, NPC chair, vice premiers, state councillors, head of the Supreme Court and ministers. Xi himself will be confirmed in his third presidential term. WHAT KEY POLICY ANNOUNCEMENTS HAVE BEEN MADE? China set a modest target for economic growth this year of around 5%, lower than many analysts had expected. It will boost defence spending by 7.2% this year, slightly outpacing last year's increase and pledged "peaceful reunification" with Taiwan as well as resolute steps to oppose Taiwan independence. China's science and technology policies should aim to build the country's strength and self-reliance, while coal will remain a key to energy security. The country will guard against risks among property developers while deepening financial reform and further opening up to foreign investment. WHAT ABOUT REORGANISATIONS? China has unveiled plans for a sweeping central government reorganisation, including the formation of a financial regulatory body and national data bureau, and a revamp of its science and technology ministry. A new national financial regulatory administration will replace the existing banking watchdog and bring supervision of the industry, apart from the securities sector, into a body directly under the State Council, or cabinet. A new national data bureau will be responsible for coordinating the sharing and development of data resources, as well as planning the digital economy and promoting initiatives. It will be overseen by the National Development and Reform Commission, or state planner. WHO IS ATTENDING? This year, 2,977 nationwide delegates have been chosen to attend the NPC and are "broadly representative" of society, state news agency Xinhua reported. Each provincial-level region is represented by a delegation, as are Hong Kong, self-ruled Taiwan and the People's Liberation Army (PLA). According to Xinhua, 26.5% of delegates are women, a slight increase from last year, and about 15% are ethnic minorities, many of whom will be prominent in traditional attire amid the sea of dark-suited delegates gathered in the cavernous Great Hall of the People on the west side of Tiananmen Square. (Reporting by Laurie Chen; Editing by Tony Munroe and Lincoln Feast.) Tom Merton A medical device company sold devices that were implanted into patients with chronic pain, according to prosecutors. But, the DOJ alleges that the devices were plastic and didn't do anything. The company made millions of dollars off the devices, and its CEO is being charged with fraud. People with chronic pain were implanted with fake plastic medical devices and now the former CEO of a healthcare company is under federal indictment. In newly released court documents, the Department of Justice accuses Laura Perryman, the former CEO of Florida-based company Stimwave, of scheming for years to sell the phony implantable devices and make millions by defrauding Medicare. Stimwave developed a system that was billed as an alternative to opioids for pain management, federal prosecutors said. It included three components: an electrode array implanted into a patient's body to stimulate nerves, a battery worn externally, and an implantable 9-inch long copper receiver that transmitted energy between the battery and the electrode device. Stimwave sold the system to doctors, who performed the implanting procedure, for $16,000 a pop. But, according to court documents, doctors told Perryman that they were having trouble implanting the 9-inch-long receiver into many patients' bodies. So, Perryman offered them an alternative device that could be cut down to fit more easily into patients' bodies, prosecutors said. But that alternative was just a piece of plastic that had "no medical efficacy at all," according to the DOJ. Perryman sold the phony device to doctors for $16,000 anyway, racking up millions in profits for her company and defrauding federal healthcare programs in the process, the DOJ alleges. Court documents allege that Perryman instructed her employees to vouch for the phony devices, despite knowing that they were useless. Perryman was arrested on Thursday and charged with healthcare fraud, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and healthcare fraud, according to the press release. She faces up to 30 years in prison. Meanwhile, Stimwave agreed to pay $10 million in penalties, cooperate with the federal investigation, and create new procedures to make sure its in compliance with the law, the Department of Justice said. Read the original article on Business Insider Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Courtesy of the Crenshaw family Last August, a police officer in Greensboro, North Carolina, gunned down Nasanto Antonio Crenshaw, an unarmed Black teenager, as he allegedly attempted to evade a police stop in a stolen vehicle. According to a new lawsuit filed on Thursday morning by Crenshaws mother, the officer fired two additional shots as the vehicle rolled slowly past himeven though he wasnt in harms way. This is a bad shooting, said lawyer Harry Daniels, who likened the boys death to that of Andrew Browna Black man shot and killed in his car by police in North Carolina. Daniels represented Browns family in a case that settled for $3 million the same summer that Crenshaw died. Had the video been out thered [have] been marching protests all over in Guilford county, Greensboro. So this is no different than other ones you see: a Black kid unarmed, shot and killed by police, he said. That's another day in America right now. The City of Greensboro referred requests for comment to the police department. Police department spokesperson Josie Cambareri told The Daily Beast in a written statement that since the incident, both state and local authorities have been investigating what happened that dayand that the cop is still on the job. Video Shows Indicted Ohio Cops Whaling on Helpless Suspects As is standard protocol, the officer involved has been on administrative duty since the day of the incident, wrote Cambareri. In addition to the criminal investigation from the [State Bureau of Investigation], GPD does an internal investigation to determine whether or not policies were followed. State authorities did not immediately respond to requests on the status of their investigation, or whether it had been submitted to the local District Attorneys office. According to the familys lawsuit, a yet-unnamed police officer responded at 9 p.m. on Aug. 21 to reports of a stolen vehicle on West Market Street. Crenshaw, 17, was later found to be the driver of the car which had multiple passengers, according to the familys suit. Story continues The officer followed the car to the parking lot of a local business and attempted to block Crenshaws vehicle in a dead-end section of the lot. When Crenshaw tried to turn the car, he swiped the front of the officers vehicle and stopped in a parking spot. Thats when the cop exited his vehicle, commanding the group to lie on the ground. Thats also when the situation escalated, the familys lawsuit claims. Crenshaw turned his wheels to the left as he proceeded out of the parking space in an attempt to evade the policeman and his vehicle, reads the lawsuit, which was based on the family and legal teams viewing of video footage. Some passengers also bailed out of the car and ran on foot, leaving Crenshaw and another minor alone. Nasanto Antonio Crenshaw Courtesy of the Crenshaw family Then, the cop fired his first shot. He then fired two more as the car rolled slowly past the officer, the lawsuit claimed. According to the lawsuit, bullet trajectories allegedly show the cop was standing to the side of the vehicle when he fired all three shots. Crenshaws sister, Nakita, said that the 14-year-old in the car told her that her brothers neck was hanging down, according to reporting by Triad City Beat. At no time was the Defendantin the trajectory path of Nasantos moving vehicle, the lawsuit stated. At 9:08 p.m., eight minutes after receiving gunshot wounds to his right forearm, right-side rib cage, and a gunshot wound to the right side of his neck, Crenshaw died, according to the court filing. I feel like you overshot my brother, Nakita also told Triad City Beat. According to the Supreme court decision Tennessee vs. Garner deadly force cannot be used on someone who is fleeing unless the officer has a good-faith belief that the suspect poses a significant threat of death or serious physical injury. The lawsuit, filed against the City of Greensboro and the unnamed cop himself, claims that the cop was never in danger and demands compensation for Crenshaws loss of life in the latest of questionable shootings of Black men and boys by policemany of which follow a car chase. While the family initially spoke out after the shooting, Daniels told The Daily Beast that they were forbidden by a court order to tell others what they saw on bodycam footage shown to them in the wake of their sons death. If the police were justified... you and I would have seen that video, same damn day. When its something they did wrong they cover it up, Daniels told The Daily Beast. 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. Wakita Dorietys legal team claims unreleased bodycam footage makes it clear her unarmed son, Nasanto Antonio Crenshaw, turned the car he was driving away from police and did not pose a threat. The family of a Black teenager killed while evading a traffic stop has filed a lawsuit against the city of Greensboro, North Carolina, and one of its police officers. An unidentified officer with the Greensboro Police Department fatally shot Nasanto Antonio Crenshaw in August, and on Thursday, his mother, Wakita Doriety, announced a federal wrongful death lawsuit against that individual and the city, according to a joint press release from her lawyers, Harry Daniels and Chimeaka White. Ill never get to hug my son again, Doriety said in a statement. Ill never get to hold his hand or tell him I love him. Nasanto Antonio Crenshaw (above) was shot to death by a Greensboro Police Department officer in August. His mother, Wakita Doriety, this week filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city and the unidentified officer. (Photo: Courtesy of family attorneys Harry Daniels and Chimeaka White) Greensboro and the GPD have declined to name the cop who killed Crenshaw, 17, or make the body-worn camera footage of the incident public. However, after watching the video, Dorietys legal team claims it is clear the unarmed teen turned the car he was driving away from police and did not immediately pose a threat. White says the footage clearly shows what happened, but the police department is unwilling to publicize it because theyre the ones running from justice. At the end of the day, this officer shot and killed a child because he was taking a joyride, Daniels added in the statement. He wasnt armed and dangerous. He didnt pose a threat. He was running for his life and this officer gunned him down. Daniels, a civil rights attorney, also represented the family of Andrew Brown Jr. in their $30 million lawsuit against the Pasquotank County Sheriffs Office in North Carolina. A Pasquotank County deputy shot and killed Brown in April 2021 after 10 officers attempted to serve him with a warrant for drug-related charges, theGrio previously reported. Eyewitnesses claimed deputies shot Brown as he tried to drive away in his car, posing no threat. An autopsy later verified his death was caused by a gunshot wound to the back of the head. Story continues In June, Pasquotank County officials disclosed a $3 million settlement in the case. The circumstances surrounding Crenshaws death are reminiscent of Browns killing, according to the attorneys press release. They stole my son from me, Doriety said, and they wont even release the name of the officer who did it. TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku and Android TV. Also, please download theGrio mobile apps today! The post Family of teen fatally shot by police sues Greensboro and officer appeared first on TheGrio. Anthony Fauci on Thursday forcefully denied suppressing the lab-leak theory in the early days of the pandemic, after former CDC director Robert Redfield accused the former chief White House medical adviser of sidelining him from conversations about Covids origins. Appearing before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic on Wednesday, Redfield accused Fauci of intentionally excluding him from a call with virologists in February 2020 because Fauci knew he believed the virus emerged from a Chinese virology lab and didnt want Redfield convincing other experts of that view. I do think it illustrates one point thats worth really focusing on: when you have a group of people that decide there can only be one point of view, thats problematic, he said. And Ill keep on saying thats antithetical to science and unfortunately thats what they did. Asked to respond to the accusation by Fox News Neil Cavuto Thursday evening, Fauci insisted he kept open mind about the pandemics origins and was not responsible for inviting attendees to the call with virologists. I almost have to laugh at that, Fauci told Fox News. Thats totally bizarre. First of all, I wasnt leaning totally strongly one way or the other. Ive always kept an open mind. As the data evolved, and evolutionary virologists began to look at the data, it looked much more likely that it was a natural occurrence from an animal reservoir. I have always kept a completely open mind that it could be one or the other. Fauci went on to call Redfields accusations disturbing. During the February 1 call, a group of evolutionary virologists suggested that Covid may have stemmed from a lab accident and may have been genetically engineered, according to the memo. But just three days later, four of the experts who attended that meeting wrote a paper, later published in Nature Medicine, that argued Covid had mutations that supported the explanation that it had been transmitted to humans from animals. Emails obtained by the subcommittee revealed that Fauci prompted the paper, as one of its authors put it in a cover email to a scientific journal. Story continues During the Wednesday hearing, committee chairman Jim Jordan implied that Fauci dangled a multimillion-dollar grant to induce the researchers to change their previously-held opinions that the coronavirus originated from a lab in Wuhan, China. And then three months later, shazam, they get $9 million from Dr. Fauci. Well, isnt that something? Jordan said at Wednesdays hearing. In his Thursday interview, Fauci insisted that the grant had been approved before his call with the virologists and emphasized that the grant had to survive many layers of scrutiny before being approved. More from National Review Anthony Fauci, who led much of the U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic, said testimony from former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert Redfield that he was excluded from a conference call about the possible origins of the virus was unequivocally incorrect. Fauci told Fox News Channels Neil Cavuto in an interview on Thursday that he was not involved in deciding who would be involved in a call he took with a group of evolutionary virologists to discuss the possibility that the virus was engineered. He is totally and unequivocally incorrect in what hes saying that I excluded him, he said. I had nothing to do with who would be on that call. Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, made his comments in response to testimony that Redfield gave on Wednesday before a House select subcommittee investigating the COVID-19 pandemic. Republicans serving on the committee focused much of their attention on the theory that the virus escaped from a research laboratory in Wuhan, China, causing the pandemic to start. Redfield said he believes this theory based on the biology of the virus itself more so than the theory that the virus naturally spread from an animal to humans. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.), a member of the subcommittee, asked Redfield about a meeting that Jeremy Farrar, the director of the British charity Wellcome Trust, organized of 11 top scientists from five time zones, including Fauci, to discuss the pandemic in February 2020. She said Fauci responded to an invitation he received for it that he wanted to keep this group really tight and keep the discussion in total confidence. Redfield testified that he had multiple conservations in January 2020 with Fauci, Farrar and Tedros Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organization, about scientists needing to explore both hypotheses. Malliotakis asked Redfield why he was excluded from the call Farrar organized, and Redfield responded that he was told that they wanted a single narrative and he had a different point of view about the origins of the pandemic. Story continues Fauci told Cavuto that he believes it is unfortunate that Redfield made that absolutely incorrect statement in a public setting. He said he did not add or remove anyones name from the list of who would be included in the call. Fauci said half of the people who were present on the call believed the origin of the pandemic might have been a lab leak, making his rationale of why he thought he was excluded invalid. Hes a good guy Ive known him for years. Im just really a little bit disturbed about why he said that, which was completely untrue, he said, referring to Redfield. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. The Fayette County Public Schools board has entered into a settlement with JUUL after the board filed a lawsuit against the e-cigarette company in late 2019. While we are unable to share details of the settlement, our Fayette County Board of Education will be considering how best to invest the funds to battle the scourge of vaping in our schools, district spokeswoman Lisa Deffendall said Wednesday. The board voted on the settlement at its most recent school board meeting on Feb. 27. The settlement amount is confidential, Attorney Ron Johnson, of Louisville, told the Herald-Leader this week, but suffice to say it was to the satisfaction of the Board as they voted to accept it. I am very happy for my school district clients that a settlement was achieved, and in just three years since the litigation began, Johnson said. Johnson said 18 other Kentucky school districts filed identical lawsuits against JUUL. All school boards that have met so far this month have voted to accept the settlement, while some have not yet gathered, he said. I do not anticipate that any school board will vote to reject the settlement, Johnson said. The other school districts are Boone, Breathitt, Bullitt, Clark, Daviess, Estill, Harrison, Hart, Hopkins, Jefferson, Jessamine, Larue, Madison, Marion, Martin, Montgomery, Warren and Wolfe, he said. The e-cigarette companies caused a youth vaping epidemic leading to addiction and health issues for Lexington students, Fayette school district officials have alleged. Although the Fayette school district did not keep data separately for e-cigarettes, disciplinary incidents involving all tobacco rose by 310% from 2015 to 2018, district officials told the Herald-Leader in 2018. Johnson said Altria is the second defendant in the case. They are a big tobacco company, he said, formerly called Philip Morris. They owned a significant stake in Juul so they were complicit in the marketing to children. The litigation against that defendant is still on, he said. In December 2022, Attorney General Daniel Cameron announced that Kentucky would see $14 million from settlements with JUUL. The agreement marked the end of talks between 34 state attorneys general and JUUL, and follows a two-year investigation by the group of states that found the company illegally and knowingly advertised its products to minors. FBI director Chris Wray dodged a question about whether the Hunter Biden laptop story is disinformation during a House Intelligence Committee hearing on Thursday. There is an ongoing investigation that is relevant to that. So I have to be careful of what I can share on that here, Wray said when asked whether the laptop story was disinformation by Representative Elise Stefanik (R., N.Y.) Stefanik pressed again, and Wray replied: I dont think theres anything I can share on that in open setting. WATCH: FBI Director Chris Wray refuses to answer whether he believes the Hunter Biden laptop story is disinformation. pic.twitter.com/dCQVhEChvo Rep. Elise Stefanik (@RepStefanik) March 9, 2023 While much of the mainstream media and a group of more than 50 former senior intelligence officials dismissed the laptop story as Russian disinformation when it first emerged in October 2020, the validity of the laptop has now been confirmed by several news outlets, including the New York Times and the Washington Post. CBS News reported in November 2022 that it had conducted an independent review of Bidens laptop that showed no evidence that the laptop hard drive was faked or tampered with. After analyzing the hard drive, digital forensic investigator Mark Lanterman told CBS News that a voicemail from President Biden in which he tells Hunter he has to get some help with his drug problem helps confirm its authenticity. Other recovered images of credit cards, a drivers license, and a Social Security number offered further proof for the review. Just the sheer volume of what were dealing with, it would be difficult if not impossible to fabricate, another analyst told CBS News. On Thursday, Stefanik asked Wray if he was aware the bureau had been in possession of the laptop since December 2019. Story continues I cant speak to exactly when we had the laptop available, Wray said. As you know, there is an ongoing investigation run by the U.S. attorney out of Delaware from the prior administration that we continue to work very closely with . . . Stefanik interrupted to say, And we have an ongoing investigation as well. Wray then concluded: Our Baltimore field office is working very hard with that U.S. attorney. And I expect them to pursue that case as far as it takes. Earlier on Thursday, Stefanik asked Wray if he was aware the FBI was in contact with Twitter about the laptop story. The platform blocked the New York Posts report on the laptop in October 2020, claiming at the time that it was in violation of its hacked-materials policy. I dont believe FBI personnel were in contact with Twitter about the Hunter laptop story specifically. I think there were people in contact with Twitter about Russian disinformation efforts, he said. Stefanik replied, Of which Hunter Biden laptop story was included, according to the FBI. I dont know exactly what youre looking at, but I am happy to talk about what it is the FBI does and does not do with respect to social-media companies, Wray said. Twitters former head of safety Yoel Roth was seemingly meeting with the FBI on a weekly basis around the 2020 election, according to the Twitter Files released by Twitter CEO Elon Musk in December. Journalist Matt Taibbi shared a screenshot of Slack messages in which Roth cites a weekly sync with FBI/DHS/DNI and a report from the FBI concerning 2 tweets. The tweets apparently related to false claims about fraud in the 2020 election. More from National Review With the help of Google, the FBI arrested a man with a history of mental illness who threatened to kill Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, other Democrats, federal agents and LGBTQ individuals he referred to as "freaks" who "deserve to die," according to a new criminal case unsealed Friday in U.S. District Court. The case involves a 30-year-old Sebawaing resident named Randall Robert Berka II, whose mother bought him three long guns and a pistol over the last year despite his history of mental illness. He was involuntarily committed for mental health treatment in 2012 and declared legally incapacitated by the state of Michigan, which prohibited him from owning a gun, according to the criminal complaint. The mother, however, eventually feared her son's mental health treatment was not working and grew scared of him so much so that she cooperated with the FBI in securing criminal charges against her son this week, authorities said. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer speaks to the media on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023, during a news conference at University Club of Michigan State University. Google reports threats made on YouTube "Michelle is scared of Berka, does not think the mental health treatment is working, and believes Berka should be arrested and put in prison," an FBI agent wrote in an affidavit, noting the mother also said her son is a regular pot user. Berka II, who was arrested on Thursday at his home and charged with illegally possessing firearms, landed on the FBI's radar after making numerous threats over YouTube to kill FBI agents, members of the LGBTQ community, President Joe Biden and Whitmer. According to the criminal complaint, it was Google that alerted the FBI about the threats, triggering an investigation that led federal agents to Berka's house. More:Appeals Court grills Crumbley lawyers, cites 'plenty of warning signs' More:FBI: We need help finding this missing Michigan woman. She may have been killed. 'I am willing to kill these people' Among Berka's statements that raised red flags were: (H)ey fbi! My name is randall the 2nd and I live in sebewaing Michigan and I am willing to kill these people Illkill anyone who tries to take my guns. ANYONE. I AM DONE. TRY TO CONFISCATE THEM FROM ME AND I WILL KILL. Story continues Im more than willing to kill whitmer and I do live in Michigan. Ill assault her ugly face with my bullets." trans freaks and gays ... they all need to die." im going to kill these democrats biden deserves to die He also talked about using his gun "on a drag show" and ripping "the whole crown of freaks" apart, and killing FBI agents. "I'll shoot the FBI if they ever show up ... if fbi ever shows up to talk to me ill just shoot at them Uses marijuana daily, has guns, ammo and body armor U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison thanked Google for the heads up. I applaud Googles vigilance in this matter, and we hope members of the community will, likewise, pay attention and report such conduct to law enforcement, she said in a statement Friday. After learning of the comments, the FBI visited Berka's mother on Thursday at her workplace, where she disclosed the following: She advised the FBI that her son was previously involuntarily committed for mental health treatment, takes medication, uses marijuana daily and has four guns in his bedroom guns that she bought for him along with ammunition and body armor. The U.S. Attorney's Office declined to comment on whether charges would be brought against the mother. Berka is jailed pending a detention hearing on March 15, when a judge will decide whether to release him on bond or keep him locked up pending the outcome of his case. Federal prosecutors plan to ask the judge to keep Berka locked up. If convicted, Berka faces up to 15 years in prison. Contact Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@freepress.com This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: FBI: Mom bought mentally ill son guns. He threatened to kill Whitmer. A federal judge on Thursday ordered Peter Navarro, former President Trumps trade advisor, to turn over hundreds of emails from a personal encrypted account that he used while working in the White House. The Justice Department sued Navarro for the emails from his Proton Mail account in August, after he refused to turn them over without a grant of immunity. The former Trump advisor was required to turn over any records generated or received while working in his official capacity for the president under the Presidential Records Act (PRA). This explicitly includes records sent or received on an unofficial account. Navarros attorneys identified between 200-250 emails that would qualify as presidential records in response to a request by the Department of Justice, but he refused to turn them over. In Thursdays opinion, District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly rejected each of Navarros arguments as to why he felt he didnt need to turn over the emails from his personal account. Navarro claimed, among other things, that the PRA does not impose an obligation on him to turn over presidential records, cannot be enforced because there is no explicit mechanism, and is vague and unsettled, all of which the judge rejected. These arguments ignore or contravene the statutes purpose, framework and provisions, Kollar-Kotelly noted in her opinion. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. A man living in Flower Mound who prosecutors allege supplied fentanyl to a trafficker connected to an overdose was charged on Wednesday in U.S. District Court with conspiracy to distribute a schedule II controlled substance. Stephen Brinson was a source of supply of fentanyl for Donovan Andrews, a Carrollton dealer who took advantage of the arrest of Luis Navarrete and Magalo Cano to advertise his pill business, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Northern District of Texas. Andrews is tied to one juvenile fentanyl overdose, and Navarrete and Cano and their supplier, Jason Villanueva, are tied to 10 others, prosecutors allege. When he arrived at the Carrollton jail, Brinson, who is 18, said he was minding his own (expletive) business in my white-(expletive) house in Flower Mound, and told law enforcement officers that his case would be helped because he is white and lives in Flower Mound, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office. Law enforcement officers identified Brinson after they arrested Andrews and his driver, a juvenile Hebron High School student who they allege served as a chauffeur for the dealer in exchange for fentanyl pills. In the drivers phone, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents found text messages identifying the Instagram user superstarxs, who was later identified as Brinson, as a plug, or source, for fentanyl pills, according to a complaint under which Brinson was charged. Law enforcement officers on Wednesday executed a search warrant at Brinsons house in Flower Mound and said they encountered his 19-year-old girlfriend apparently under the influence of fentanyl. She told the officers there were crushed fentanyl pills near the nightstand in the room that she and Brinson shared and said Brinson had two safes in the room. Inside one, Carrollton police said they found bags of about 1,000 blue counterfeit M/30 pills that field tested positive for fentanyl, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office. Story continues The officers said they also found a digital scale covered in drug residue, small drug baggies used for repackaging for sale, and cash. On a table at the bottom of stairs, they said they found a note from Brinsons parents that outlined chores. Dont meet people in front of the house or in view of the house. the note warned. Brinsons father told law enforcement he and his wife knew their son used fentanyl but that they did not know he was dealing pills in front of the home, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office. Inside Brinsons Lexus, officers said they found an FN 5.7 pistol and an AR-15 platform rifle. Inside his sock, they said they found a bag containing an M/30 pill. The maximum prison sentence for the conspiracy crime with which Brinson was charged is 20 years. (Reuters) - Former Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico's Smer-SD party, which has called for an end to military aid to neighbouring Ukraine, has taken the lead in an opinion poll for the first time in more than two years. The NATO and EU member country is due to hold an election in September after the centre-right coalition cabinet lost a vote of no confidence in December due to rifts among the ruling parties. The poll by the IPSOS agency for Dennikn.sk news website, released on Friday, showed Fico's Smer-SD, or Direction-Social Democracy, with 16.2% of the vote, edging narrowly ahead of the Hlas (Voice) party, formed by a centrist faction that has split off from Smer, at 16%. The poll was taken on March 7-9 among 1,017 respondents, Dennikn.sk said. Smer has taken to increasingly harsh rhetoric against Brussels and what Fico has called "Western propaganda". Last month, Fico said that "Ukrainian fascists" started the war in Ukraine in 2014 and there was no way Ukraine could take back Crimea annexed by Russia. The Slovak political scene has been increasingly fragmented with a total of nine parties standing a chance of winning seats in parliament in September, according to the poll, including the Democrats party set up just on Tuesday by current Prime Minister Eduard Heger. It polled 4.8%, just under the 5% threshold to win seats. Even if he scores the highest number of votes, Fico may find it difficult to find coalition partners beyond the far-right Republic party. The Voice party may be the kingmaker after the election if neither Fico and the far right nor the liberal-conservative camp can pull together a majority. The current government has strongly backed Ukraine in its defence against Russia, sending weapons to Kyiv and considering the transfer of its grounded fleet of MiG-29 fighter jets. Fico was prime minister in 2006-2010 and in 2012-2018. He was forced to resign in favour of then party colleague and now Voice leader Peter Pellegrini after mass protests against high-level corruption that followed the murder of an investigative journalist and his fiancee. (Reporting by Jan Lopatka in Prague; Editing by Susan Fenton) SYDNEY (Reuters) - Fiji's former long-serving prime minister Frank Bainimarama pleaded not guilty in a Suva court on Friday after being charged with abuse of office and held in police custody overnight. Fiji's Director of Public Prosecutions Christopher Pryde approved the charges of abuse of office against Bainimarama and suspended police commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho. Bainimarama, who led the Pacific island nation for 16 years until narrowly losing an election in December, rejected the charge. The magistrate granted him and Qiliho bail and ordered them not to leave the country, the Office of the Director of Prosecutions said in a statement. The charge relates to a complaint by the University of South Pacific in 2019 that the two had terminated an active police investigation into the activities of former staff members of the university. "I served as Fiji's prime minister with integrity and with the best interest of Fijians at heart," Bainimarama said outside court, according to video taken by Fijian media outlets. "I am going to fight this charge not only for my own reputation but for democracy, all Fijians, and of course for the constitution," he said. Qiliho was not immediately available for comment. Bainimarama resigned from parliament on Wednesday after being suspended last month for sedition and insulting the president. (Reporting by Kirsty Needham; Editing by Robert Birsel) Sanna Marin in Kyiv on March 10, 23 Yes, I think we can discuss (F/A-18) Hornets, whether they could be transferred to Ukraine and what kind of preparation that would entail, said Marin. Read also: Turkey resumes Finland and Sweden NATO accession talks She added the question is still in very early stages of discussion and requires broad international cooperation. In 2021, Finland placed an order for 64 U.S.-made 5th gen F-35A jet fighters to replace its aging fleet of F/A-18 Hornets. First F-35s are expected to arrive in Finland in 2025. Read also: Hungary further delays Finland and Sweden joining NATO Marin visited Kyiv on March 10, meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and attending the memorial service for Hero of Ukraine Dmytro Kotsyubailo, who was killed in battle near Bakhmut on March 7. Read also: Finland begins building wall on Russian border The PM announced a forthcoming package of security assistance to Ukraine will include heavy military equipment, and EUR 29 million ($31 million) in humanitarian aid. 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 Sanna Marin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy 27-year-old Dmytro Kotsyubailo, a member of the 67th Separate Mechanized Brigade, was killed on March 7. He had been an active participant in the Revolution of Dignity and had fought for Ukraine since the Russian war began in 2014. He commanded a volunteer platoon at first, then he became a company commander in 2015. He was awarded with the title of Hero of Ukraine in December 2021. He also served as the commander of the 1st Separate Mechanized Battalion Da Vinci Wolves of the ground forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Read also: Hero of Ukraine Dmytro Kotsyubailo killed in battle for Bakhmut Read also: Friend and photographer gives details of death in action of Hero of Ukraine Da Vinci 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 Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin met President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on March 10. Zelensky and Marin visited wounded soldiers in a Kyiv hospital and attended the funeral of fallen soldier Dmytro Kotsiubailo, killed in action on March 7. Zelensky hanked Finland for supplying aid to Ukraine's energy sector following Russia's mass missile strike. The press release states that the primary focus of Zelensky's meeting with Marin was defense and security, with Zelensky extending his appreciation to Marin for Finland's defense aid. Marin noted that Finland had just delivered its 14th defense aid package to Ukraine, which included heavy weaponry, and pledged to continue providing support. "I am confident that we will continue to strengthen our collaboration in this area for the benefit of our peoples, as well as the independence and sovereignty of Ukraine, Finland, and our European neighbors," Zelensky said. Apart from defense and security, Zelensky and Marin also discussed the significance of halting Russia's attempts to evade sanctions by trading with third-party nations, particularly with regard to products that hold significance for the Russian military industry. "We must come to the point that global sanctions are introduced that completely block any possibility of restoring the missile potential of the Russian Federation, obtaining new drones and technologies," Zelensky said. Zelensky expressed his appreciation to Marin for Finland's backing of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, aimed at addressing the worldwide food crisis resulting from Russia's obstruction of Ukraine's ports. Both leaders stressed the importance of renewing the deal and extending it to additional ports. Additionally, Marin voiced her support for Ukraine's peace plan and its endeavors to bring Russian war criminals to justice. "We support President Zelenskyi's peace formula and want this plan to start working. Only lasting peace can give our family of European countries, the Euro-Atlantic family, peace and prosperity. We want Ukraine to join NATO as one of the allied states of this Alliance," Marin said. Marin also expressed Finland's willingness to take part in Ukraine's post-war recovery, reconstruction, and modernization efforts, with a particular focus on "green" energy, digitalization and telecommunications, education, energy and energy efficiency, waste processing and water treatment, as well as construction, planning, and infrastructure. Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin met President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on March 10. Zelensky and Marin visited wounded soldiers in a Kyiv hospital and attended the funeral of fallen soldier Dmytro Kotsiubailo, killed in action on March 7. Zelensky thanked Finland for supplying aid to Ukraine's energy sector following Russia's mass missile strike. The press release states that the primary focus of Zelensky's meeting with Marin was defense and security, with Zelensky extending his appreciation to Marin for Finland's defense aid. Marin noted that Finland had just delivered its 14th defense aid package to Ukraine, which included heavy weaponry, and pledged to continue providing support. "I am confident that we will continue to strengthen our collaboration in this area for the benefit of our peoples, as well as the independence and sovereignty of Ukraine, Finland, and our European neighbors," Zelensky said. Apart from defense and security, Zelensky and Marin also discussed the significance of halting Russia's attempts to evade sanctions by trading with third-party nations, particularly with regard to products that hold significance for the Russian military industry. "We must come to the point that global sanctions are introduced that completely block any possibility of restoring the missile potential of the Russian Federation, obtaining new drones and technologies," Zelensky said. Zelensky expressed his appreciation to Marin for Finland's backing of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, aimed at solving the worldwide food crisis resulting from Russia's obstruction of Ukraine's ports. Both leaders stressed the importance of extending the deal to additional ports. Additionally, Marin voiced her support for Ukraine's peace plan and its endeavors to bring Russian war criminals to justice. "We support President Zelensky's peace formula and want this plan to start working. Only lasting peace can give our family of European countries, the Euro-Atlantic family, peace and prosperity. We want Ukraine to join NATO as one of the allied states of this alliance," Marin said. Marin also expressed Finland's willingness to take part in Ukraine's post-war recovery, reconstruction, and modernization efforts, with a particular focus on green energy, digitalization and telecommunications, education, energy and energy efficiency, waste processing, and water treatment, as well as construction, planning, and infrastructure. Stanley Johnson, left, and Fiona Bruce on Thursday's Question Time. (Getty Images/BBC) A Labour MP has accused Question Time presenter Fiona Bruce of trivialising violence against women after her intervention about Stanley Johnson being a wife-beater. The discussion surrounded allegations, first reported in 2020, that Johnson broke his wifes nose in the 1970s. On Thursday's Question Time, Bruce intervened to relay claims from friends of Johnson - who is reported to have been nominated for a knighthood by his ex-prime minister son Boris - that it was a one-off incident. Kate Osborne, the Labour MP for Jarrow, said this was disgraceful. She said: DV [domestic violence] is rarely a one-off - no quote of the reality from Charlotte Fawcett [Johnson Wahls maiden surname] he hit me many times. A BBC spokesperson said in a statement to Yahoo News UK that Bruce was not expressing a personal opinion. "It is the job of BBC presenters to ensure that the context of those allegations... is given to the audience, and this is what Fiona was doing last night." #InternationalWomensDay this week and #bbcqt Fiona Bruce trivalises violence against women: Stanley Johnsons friends say "it was a one off" that he broke his wife's nose Disgraceful. DV is rarely a one off - no quote of the reality from Charlotte Fawcett "he hit me many times" pic.twitter.com/OErNaV572F Kate Osborne MP (@KateOsborneMP) March 10, 2023 In the discussion around Johnsons reported knighthood nomination, panellist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown had said: He was a wife-beater, Stanley Johnson - on record. Bruce then said: Let me just intervene, Im not disputing what they are saying but just so everyone knows what this is referring to Stanley Johnsons wife spoke to a journalist, Tom Bower, and she said Stanley Johnson had broken her nose and she had ended up in hospital as a result. Story continues "Stanley Johnson has not commented publicly on that. Friends of his have said it did happen, it was a one-off. Boris Johnson, sister Rachel Johnson and Charlotte Johnson Wahl pictured in 2014. (Getty Images) Yes. But it did happen, responded Alibhai-Brown. In October 2020, it was first reported - via newspaper serialisations of a Boris Johnson biography by Bower - that Johnson hit Charlotte Johnson Wahl and broke her nose, leaving her needing hospital treatment. He made me feel like I deserved it, Johnson Wahl, who died in 2021, said in the book. Johnson, as Bruce said, has not commented on the incident. But friends told the Mail on Sunday, which serialised the book, that it was a one-off. They divorced in 1979. The BBC's full statement on the row read: "Domestic abuse is abhorrent, and we would never wish to suggest otherwise. "When serious allegations are made on air against people or organisations, it is the job of BBC presenters to ensure that the context of those allegations - and any right of reply from the person or organisation - is given to the audience, and this is what Fiona was doing last night. She was not expressing any personal opinion about this situation. Watch: Boris Johnson's honours list shows self interest - Labour It's not the only allegation that has been levelled against Stanley Johnson. In 2021, senior Tory MP Caroline Nokes and a journalist publicly accused him of touching them at Conservative Party conferences. Johnson said he had no recollection of either incident. Meanwhile, appearing on Thursday's Question Time, immigration minister Robert Jenrick said prime ministers should absolutely not hand honours to family members. Jenrick, who served in Boris Johnson's cabinet before being sacked in 2021, said: As a principle, is it wise for a prime minister to nominate a member of their own family for an honour? No, absolutely not. Read more: Should Gary Lineker lose his job at the BBC? Have your say Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said earlier this week: The idea that Boris Johnson is nominating his dad for a knighthood - you only need to say it to realise just how ridiculous it is. Its classic of a man like Johnson." The ex-PM's sister, Rachel, defended the potential nomination, telling The News Agents podcast: If my brother hadnt been prime minister, I think my father could have been in line for some sort of recognition in his own right. Hes done much more for the Tory Party and the environment than dozens of people who have been given gongs to at this point. Throughout their relationship, Emily Blunt and John Krasinski have been by each others side, both on and off-screen. As theyve continued to gush over their marriage over the last 12 years, theyve also become one of the most beloved celebrity couples in Hollywood. The pair first met in 2008 and went on to have their first date the same year. They quickly hit it off, as Krasinski has said that he knew Blunt was the one after their initial date. After tying the knot in 2010, their family grew, with the couple becoming parents of two daughters by 2016. In addition to their separate careers, Blunt and Krasinski have also worked on the big screen together, and have become known for celebrating major career milestones together. From their first date to their happy marriage, heres everything to know about Blunt and Krasinski and what theyve said about their relationship. They met and went on their first date in 2008 The pair first met in Los Angeles through a mutual friend. During an episode of Late Night with Seth Meyers in 2018, Blunt recalled how she was introduced to Krasinski while he was sitting next to another one of their friends: Justin Theroux. I was in a restaurant, [Krasinski] was in the restaurant. I was sitting with a mutual friend, she explained. And my friend Gray goes Oh my god, thats my friend John. And that was it. He was sitting with our friend Justin Theroux, and he abandoned Justin and came over to us. He just stood there and made me laugh. Later that year, they went out on their first date. While they wouldnt share too many details about the occasion, during a 2018 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the couple told the publication that their evening together included pizza and a visit to Krasinskis apartment in Hollywood. The Office star continued to play coy about the date, explaining: Its so precious, I dont want to talk about it. Is that all right? The couple got engaged in 2009 Krasinskis representative confirmed to People in August 2009 that he and Blunt were engaged after less than a year of dating. However, both stars kept details about the proposal private. Story continues Blunt and Krasinski got married in 2010 (Getty Images) The couple officially tied the knot in July 2010 at George Clooneys estate in Lake Como, Italy. However, during an interview with Elle in 2016, Krasinski revealed that he didnt plan on getting married in Clooneys home at first. I grew up with the Boston vibe and the Catholic vibe, he explained. I dont want to put anybody out. George said: I have this place and you should feel free to use it. Only on the fourth ask did I say yes. Because the first three times I thought: Theres no way he is serious. But I started to see his feelings get hurt. I actually hurt George Clooneys feelings. During their first few years of marriage, they both expressed how meeting each other changed their lives Following their wedding, the couple started to open up more about how their relationship came to be. During an interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2011, Krasinski said that he knew Blunt was the person for him right away. It was one of those things where I wasnt really looking for a relationship and I was thinking Im going to take my time in LA, he recalled. I met her and I was so nervous. I was like: Oh god, I think Im going to fall in love with her. As I shook her hand I went: I like you. During an interview with InStyle in 2013, Blunt agreed with her husbands sentiment, and explained how being introduced to him ultimately impacted her life. Meeting John really changed my life, she told the publication, as reported byE! News. When I feel the support that I have from him, I feel invincible. Theres someone behind you on your good days and someone in front of you on your bad days. They welcomed their first child in 2014 In February 2014, Krasinski announced the birth of his and Blunts daughter, Hazel, on Twitter. Wanted to let the news out directly. Emily and I are so incredibly happy to welcome our daughter Hazel into the world today! Happy bday! he wrote. The couple went viral in 2015 when Krasinski crashed his wifes award acceptance speech In 2015, the pair walked hand-in-hand at the Critics Choice Awards, where Blunt won the Best Action Movie Actress award for her role in The Edge of Tomorrow. As she was about to give her acceptance speech, her husband came out from backstage to congratulate her. He went on to give her a hug and kiss on the cheek before running off the stage. Blunt and Krasinski welcomed their second child in 2016 The actor took to Twitter in July 2016 to reveal that he was now a father of two. What better way to celebrate the fourth... than to announce our fourth family member!!! Two weeks ago we met our beautiful daughter Violet, Krasinski wrote at the time. In 2017, they announced their first film together Although the couple had been known for their separate acting projects, Krasinski took to Instagram in March 2017 to announce that he and Blunt would be starring in A Quiet Place together. In the post, he shared a screenshot of an article confirming the news, along with a caption that read: Question: John, whos the one actor youve been wanting to work with? Answer: (see above) Krasinski opened up about working with his wife in 2018, ahead of their movies release In Blunts January 2018 cover interview with Vanity Fair, her husband also spoke about her acting skills. Krasinski, who directed A Quiet Place, went on to detail how meaningful it was to witness his wifes performance on the movie set. The air changes in the room when she starts doing what she does, he said. Its so honest and so pure and so powerful. Its like a superpower that she can just unlock and do so specifically with not many attempts. He continued: For me, I love acting, and Im so lucky to be doing it. But shes on another plane. This weird intersection happened while filming where I totally forgot I was her husband. I was just watching her performance and was lucky enough to be in the front row. Four months after the interview was published, A Quiet Place was officially released. They began filming a sequel to A Quiet Place in 2019 Krasinski took to Twitter in July 2019 to confirm that another Quiet Place film was in the works. At the time, he shared a photo of the films clapperboard, which had Part II written on it. However, Blunt later revealed that she and her spouse werent initially set on making this film. We were both really reluctant and unnerved at the idea of trying to do another one, she told Variety in March 2020. A lot of people came into the studio and tried to pitch ideas and we were both like: Were not going to do it. (Getty Images for Paramount Pictu) Three months after the first Quiet Place movie was released, Krasinski changed his mind and decided he wanted to do a sequel, as reported by Variety. The couple attended the world premiere of A Quiet Place Part II in March 2020 at Lincoln Center in New York City. The film wasnt released in theatres until July 2021, due to the pandemic. Blunt opens up about raising their children during the pandemic in 2020, ahead of her 10-year wedding anniversary During an interview with People in May 2020, in celebration of her 10-year anniversary, Blunt explained how much she values her marriage. Having Johns support is everything, because we are each others confidant, the Mary Poppins Returns star said. That shared understanding has really been a very vital anchor for me. She also described how her daughters had been her and Krasinskis lifeline throughout the pandemic. Being around little ones during the pandemic was such a saving grace because they would just be bouncing around the house, and your job is to protect them from what is happening and make sure their life remains joyful, she said. That was a pretty great lifeline for John and me during the pandemic, for sure. Krasinski and Blunt discuss showing their movies to their children in 2022 During an interview on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in July 2022, Krasinski said that his daughters saw his movie, DC League of Super-Pets, and really enjoyed it. They loved it, he said. They were laughing very very hard. I think up until now they didnt actually believe I was in the business, because theyve never seen anything Ive done. One year before his interview with Jimmy Fallon, his wife also opened up about showing one of her films to her daughters. During an appearance on Live with Kelly and Ryan, she said that, while her children havent been invested in her movies in the past, there was one film that they really liked: Jungle Cruise. They are usually disinterested in seeing me on screen, but theyre really into Jungle Cruise, she said. They love the jaguar; they love DJ [Dwayne Johnson]; they love the dynamic; they love the whole world. Krasinski says he wouldnt be anywhere without his wife in December 2022 interview During an interview with Parade at the end of last year, Krasinski continued to gush over his spouse and the impact shes had on his life. I wouldnt be anywhere in my life without her, he said. On a daily basis, but certainly career-wise, as a dad, she pushes me to be better every single day at everything I do. The pairs appearance at the SAG Awards in February made headlines (Getty Images) Last month, the couple attended the SAG Awards, where Blunt was nominated but missed out on a Best Actress award. While walking the red carpet, they were seen exchanging a few private laughs and whispers with each other. Krasinski also continued to support his wife by standing back and smiling as she posed for photos on the red carpet. On social media, fans were quick to praise the couples relationship and flirtatious interactions. If I dont grow up and have a love like Emily Blunt and John Krasinski, then I dont want it, one person wrote on Twitter. MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Five purported Mexican drug cartel members have been arrested over the recent kidnapping and killing of Americans in the border state of Tamaulipas, authorities said on Friday. Two Americans and a Mexican woman died after gunmen opened fire in broad daylight on a group of four U.S. citizens soon after they had driven into the city of Matamoros from Texas on March 3. All four Americans were subsequently abducted. By the time officials found the Americans on Monday, two were dead. On Thursday, five men were handed over, left on the street in Matamoros with their hands tied, along with a letter of apology for what had happened. The letter, which was signed by a group claiming to represent a faction of the Gulf Cartel, said the five were responsible for the attack on the Americans. The Tamaulipas attorney general's office said in a statement that five men had been arrested on suspicion of taking part in the kidnapping and killings. An official at the office said they were the same five men who turned up on Thursday. The attack on the Americans sparked recriminations from U.S. politicians, particularly among Republicans. Some used it to step up calls for military action to be taken against the cartels in Mexico, a suggestion that President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador vigorously rejected. Ken Salazar, U.S. ambassador to Mexico, also dismissed the idea of any military intervention. "Some proposals have been put on the table, talk about a military force in Mexico. It's not going to bring us the solutions that we need," he told reporters on Friday. Law enforcement officials in Mexico are investigating the possibility that members of the Gulf Cartel kidnapped the four foreigners, believing that they were encroaching on their turf, according to a government document seen by Reuters. (Reporting by Noe Torres, Sarah Morland and Dave Graham; Writing by Valentine Hilaire; Editing by Brendan O'Boyle and Rosalba O'Brien) Tieghan Gerard, a food influencer known as Half Baked Harvest, is facing backlash for what some are saying is a lack of respect for a cultures cuisine as well as appropriating it for her platform and not responding to criticism. Gerard posted a video of her recipe, 25 Minute Banh Mi Rice Bowls, on Instagram Tuesday, showing viewers how to make coconut rice, ginger-sesame ground chicken, pickled vegetables and cucumber salad. She mispronounced the name of the Vietnamese dish and grouped together various Asian ingredients as banh mi. People were quick to comment on the inaccuracy of the recipe and her incorrect pronunciation. You guys are going to love these banh mi rice bowls, she said, pronouncing the dish as bon-my, when its pronounced as bun-mee. Commenters said they were confused by the name of Gerards recipe since it was a rice-based dish using non-Vietnamese sauces and seasonings like Thai basil and sambal chili paste. Banh mi, meaning bread, is a short baguette generally topped with sliced meat, pickled carrots and daikon, chilis and cilantro. The ginger/sesame/honey flavors are definitely leaning more heavily into Japanese and Thai cuisine than Vietnamese. Especially the inclusion of Thai basil, one commenter said on the video, which garnered 1.8 million views. Hundreds of comments called out Gerard for the dish and her silence around the mispronunciation. I love you, your content and recipes. However, please acknowledge the mistake/ youve made here and not just sweep it under the rug. People make mistakes and that is OK. Ignoring after knowing what is right is NOT, one person commented. You have a platform, make it right. How are you still not addressing this feedback? Makes what you said about listening to your followers seem super disingenuous, another said. Gerard, who has 5.2 million followers on Instagram, hasnt acknowledged the backlash and has continued posting videos and stories on her account. Story continues Why not call it Vietnamese-Inspired Rice Bowl or Sweet and Spicy Rice Bowl? You can always mention your influences in the post description, one commenter said. Gerard did not respond to NBC News request for comment. This isnt the first time Gerard has faced backlash for misappropriating Asian cuisine. In February 2021, she was called out for posting a recipe titled Weeknight ginger pho ga (Vietnamese chicken soup), TODAY reported. Fans criticized the dishs name on Instagram, saying it was not pho but rather a quick noodle dish with chicken and sesame chile sauce. Gerard changed the recipes name on Instagram and her website to easy sesame chicken and noodles in spicy broth, but her websites URL still says chicken-pho. It was never my intention to offend or hurt anyone or the culture. I will make sure to be much more conscious when deciding on recipe titles in the future and be sure to do more research, she previously said in a statement to TODAY about her noodle dish recipe. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com Empty fruit and vegetable shelves at an Asda in east London last month. (PA) Eggs have been the food item least likely to be available in UK adults weekly shop, figures show. Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures detailing food shortages show nearly three in 10 - 28% - adults in Great Britain were unable to buy eggs at some point in January. This was followed by fresh vegetables (18%), fresh milk (17%), frozen foods (16%) and bread (16%). It follows weeks and months in which consumers have faced, at best, buying restrictions on certain fresh produce, and at worst bare shelves as retailers grapple with supply problems. Fresh food shortages continued through February into March, with the ONS reporting 27% of adults were unable to buy essential items - that they would usually buy on a regular basis - between 22 February and 5 March. This was up from 11% reporting unavailable essential items a year ago, the ONS said. Food shortage patterns between December 2021 and March 2023. (ONS) Empty egg shelves have been a feature in supermarkets since November amid supply disruption caused by spiralling costs, as well as bird flu. The British Free Range Egg Producers Association said at the time that the cost of feeding hens has jumped 50%, while energy prices have increased by 40%. Meanwhile, the UK was facing its largest ever bout of bird flu, with a highly pathogenic variant circulating. In recent weeks, many fresh vegetable shelves have also been bare in supermarkets across the country. Shoppers started seeing shortages of tomatoes around 20 February, with retailers saying a combination of bad weather and subsequent transport problems in north Africa and Europe were causing significant supply problems. Empty fruit and vegetable shelves at an Asda in east London. (PA) The shortages spread to other products, leaving shelves bare of fresh produce items including cucumbers, peppers and lettuce. In the winter months, the UK imports about 95% of its tomatoes and 90% of its lettuces - most of it from Spain and north Africa. On Monday last week, the situation even led to food minister Mark Spencer summoning supermarket chiefs to explain what they are doing to get shelves stocked again and "outline how we can avoid a repeat of this". Story continues Even MasterChef presenter Gregg Wallace waded into the debate, reminding the public of the benefits of tinned or frozen vegetables. "They are not an inferior item," he said after collecting an MBE last week. Watch: Use preserved vegetables to combat shortages, says MasterChef host Gregg Wallace However, on Friday, supermarkets had started to drop customer limits on buying certain fresh fruit and vegetables as the supply issues that led to the widespread shortages began to ease. Discounted grocer Lidl was the latest to confirm it is lifting all restrictions on fruit and veg by Monday. Asda also confirmed it had removed limits of three on cucumbers, lettuce, salad bags, broccoli, cauliflower and raspberries - leaving restrictions of three on just tomatoes and peppers. However, the National Farmers Union (NFU) has previously warned the recent shortages could be the tip of the iceberg. Read more: When will the cost of living crisis end? NFU deputy president Tom Bradshaw said a reliance on imports has left the UK vulnerable to shock weather events. Soaring energy bills exacerbated by the war in Ukraine have also put off some UK vegetable growers, he added. Its really interesting that before Brexit we didnt used to source anything, or very little, from Morocco but weve been forced to go further afield and now these climatic shocks becoming more prevalent have had a real impact on the food available on our shelves today. Selaine Saxby, Conservative MP for North Devon, even suggested seasonal eating last month, telling the House of Commons: 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." Ford Motor Co (NYSE: F) reportedly plans to lay off 1,100 jobs in its Valencia plant in eastern Spain. The job slash is a part of the automotive giant's changes in its car production lineup in Europe, reported Reuters. Ford had decided to stop manufacturing minivans and S-Max station wagon-like cars in its Spanish plant. Also Read : Ford Offers Discounts For Mustang Mach-E Electric SUVs In China In 2022, the company said it was pushing back investment in Spain because of a revised Europe outlook. "Ford will work constructively with its union partners to reduce the impact of the separations on employees, their families, and the local community," the report quoted a spokesperson of Ford. Also Read : Ford Unveils All-Electric School Bus Modeled On E-Transit Cargo Van Price Action : F shares are trading higher by 0.64% at $12.53 in premarket on the last check Friday. Photo Via Company Don't miss real-time alerts on your stocks - join Benzinga Pro for free! Try the tool that will help you invest smarter, faster, and better. This article Ford Plans To Cut 1,100 Jobs In Spain: Report originally appeared on Benzinga.com . 2023 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. In the United States, our form of government is a representative democracy, meaning citizens vote for their government officials. But Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has other ideas. Of course the oligarchs run Russia. But guess what? Oligarchs run the United States as well, the 81-year-old Democratic Senator says. And its not just the United States, its not just Russia; Europe, the UK, all over the world, were seeing a small number of incredibly wealthy people running things in their favor. Wondering what this means in the context of global governments? Heres everything you need to know about oligarchies, including examples. What is an oligarchy? The general definition of an oligarchy is a form of government involving the rule of a few persons or families. According to National Geographic, Greek philosopher Aristotle used the term in contrast to aristocracy (the elite upper class) to describe the rule of a few for corrupt and unjust purposes. One of the more modern uses is the phrase iron law of oligarchy, a concept by German sociologist Robert Michels that says democracy is an oxymoron that it will ultimately fall to the hands of an elite few. US-Russia tensions: Putin suspends nuclear arms treaty, Ukraine war anniversary Just Curious?: We're answering life's everyday questions Examples of oligarchy Because oligarchy is often used as a derogatory term for a corrupt government, several countries have been described as such throughout history. The term oligarch has been most recently used to describe well-connected, influential wealthy Russian business leaders. Before Russian President Vladimir Putins rule, a group of Russian oligarchs had control over most of the countrys economy. When Putin rose to power, he offered them a choice of prison or loyalty the loyal oligarchs are making bank through extra fat government contracts, NPR writes. In 2018, the Trump administration released a list of hundreds of Russian politicians and oligarchs that have "flourished" under Putin, created from publicly available sources of Russian billionaires. Story continues Russian gas monopoly Gazprom head Alexei Miller, left, and head of Russian Lukoil oil company Vagit Alikperov, two of the names identified on the U.S. Treasury's "Putin List." This post-Soviet oligarchy also occurred in Ukraine, but the war is changing that. Many Ukrainian and U.S. analysts told The Washington Post financial losses and government pressure are diminishing the power of this wealthy group. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a deoligarchization law in 2021 that cracks down on monopolies and places limits on the political influence of the elite. China defines itself as a communist "people's republic," though some have called it an oligarchy because leadership has remained in the hands of a few for several decades. Iran has been called both a theocracy and a clerical oligarchy because of the power clerics hold. In Iran, a Supreme Leader (chosen by an Assembly of Experts) runs the country with 2,000 clerical field operatives, according to National Geographic. In the Philippines, President Rodrigo Dutertes claim of dismantling the countrys oligarchy garnered criticism from several sides from those who said there never was a problem, from those who said its far from ended and from those who accused Duterte himself of associating with oligarchs, Philstar reports. The United States has also been called an oligarchy in the past few decades, with one study determining the American economic elite representing business interests have more impact on U.S. policy than the average citizen. Still, others argue that America is more an imperfect democracy than an oligarchy. Who is the military commander in chief?: The powers of a US president Supreme Court basics: How many justices are there and who are they? What are the main forms of government? While not an exhaustive list, here are some definitions of different types of government seen around the world: Absolute monarchy: A monarch rules without being hindered by other governing bodies Anarchy: Lack of governmental authority, a condition of lawlessness or political disorder Authoritarian: State authority is imposed on citizens' lives Communist: The state controls the economy with a single party in power. Private ownership is eliminated with a goal of all goods equally shared in a classless society Democracy: Power is retained by the people Democratic republic: Citizens vote for representatives who hold governing power Dictatorship: A ruler or small group wield absolute power without a constitution or laws Ecclesiastical: Church-administered government Emirate: Power in the hands of the ruler of a Muslim state, an emir Monarchy: Supreme power is in the hands of a monarch, usually a king or queen and usually hereditary Socialism: A central government produces and distributes goods to seek a more just and equitable society Sultanate: Supreme power rests in the hands of a sultan Theocracy: A Deity is recognized as supreme leader Totalitarian: Government subordinates individuals to the state, controlling political, economic and social attitudes, values and beliefs This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What is an oligarchy? How oligarchs hold the power in some countries. A former Fort Jackson trainee who hijacked a school bus full of children has been found not guilty by reason of insanity. A spokesperson for the 5th Circuit Solicitors Office told WOLO that after reviewing the opinions of two doctors, a judge determined that 25-year-old Jovan Collazo was not able to discern right from wrong. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] In May 2021, Fort Jackson officials said Collazo hijacked a school bus in Forest Acres at gunpoint. There were 18 students on board. Officials said Collazo had been at the post for three weeks at that time. As we were traveling, I guess he realized there were several students on the bus -- kind of scattered throughout, Kenneth Corbin, a South Carolina bus driver, told Good Morning America. He decided to move all the students up front so he could keep us all in close proximity, and when he did that, especially some of my kindergarteners, they started asking questions. The students, according to Corbin, asked if the man was a soldier to which he hesitantly answered -- yes. They asked him, Why are you doing this? He never did have an answer for this one. They asked, was he going to hurt them? He said No. They asked, Are you going to hurt our bus driver? He said, No. Im going to put you off the bus, Corbin recalled. He sensed more questions coming and I guess something clicked in his mind and he said, Enough is enough already, and he told me to Stop the bus, and just get off. Collazo was charged with 19 counts of kidnapping, armed robbery, carjacking, pointing and presenting a firearm, use of a weapon during a violent crime and unlawful carry of a weapon on school property, according to WOLO. TRENDING STORIES: Story continues WOLO reported that Collazo also attempted an escape from Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center while in custody. The spokesperson told WOLO that Collazo would be taken to a mental health facility for further treatment [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] IN OTHER NEWS: Former Licking County Building Services Director Donald Dunston (left) seated next to his attorney, Steven Nolder, during Wednesday's change of plea hearing in Licking County Common Pleas Court. NEWARK Former Licking County Building Services Director Donald Dunston pleaded guilty to five felonies Wednesday in Licking County Common Pleas Court and will be sentenced March 27. Dunston, 58, of Blacklick, admitted to his part in what the prosecutor called a "phony invoice scheme" and the theft of nearly $193,000 from Licking County government from 2015 to 2018, when he was fired by the Licking County Commissioners. He pleaded guilty to attempted engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, theft in office and three counts of tampering with records. All are third-degree felonies. Prosecutor Robert Smith, of the state auditor's office, said there were more than 100 tampering charges that could have been brought. Judge David Branstool told Dunston each of the five counts carries a maximum prison sentence of up to 36 months and a maximum fine of up to $10,000. Smith said Dunston could receive anywhere from no time to 15 years. William Crawford, of Frisco, Texas, who was also involved in the invoice scheme, was sentenced Wednesday to four years in prison, State Auditor Keith Faber announced. Crawford pleaded guilty in January to felony counts of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, theft, and tampering with records. Crawford and Dunston were one-time neighbors in Texas. Smith said, "We delayed this (Dunston plea agreement) because Mr. Dunston cooperated as soon as he was arrested. We wanted to delay his case until Mr. Crawford's case was resolved. (Dunston) was cooperative and gave a complete statement of everything he did." Smith told the judge that Dunston has paid full restitution, which includes the $192,672.97 stolen and audit costs of $20,397.50. Crawford appeared for his sentencing at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday in front of Judge Tom Marcelain. Dunston then appeared for his change of plea hearing at 9:30 a.m. in front of Branstool. Windy Miller, of Frisco, Texas, a third person involved in the beginnings of the scheme, was indicted and pleaded guilty in 2021 to a single felony count of theft. She was sentenced to 10 days in jail, five years of community control and fined $2,500. Story continues Dunston moved to central Ohio in 2012 and started his job with the county on Dec. 19, 2012, as supervisor of building services. He was promoted to facilities director on Jan. 24, 2017. He earned a salary of $68,989 in 2017. Part of his job was ordering cleaning supplies. Smith told the judge that Dunston arranged with Crawford to have phony invoices prepared, beginning in September 2015. The first seven phony invoices were prepared by Miller, who operated a company in Frisco, Texas. She prepared invoices for equipment the county regularly used in cleaning, Smith said. Dunston would approve the invoices and send them through the normal chain of operation, signed off on by the county commissioners, Smith said. Then, the invoices would be paid, with the money sent to Miller, who deposited it and split it with Crawford, who mailed some of it to Dunston, Smith said. After Miller broke her ankle and stopped being part of the scheme, Crawford set up a phony company called Crawford R.A.W. Janitorial. Beginning in October 2015, Crawford prepared the phony invoices similar to what Miller had done, and emailed them to Dunston. The scheme fell apart in In April 2018, after Dunston was caught filling up a vehicle not owned by the county with gas on the county credit card. He was then fired by commissioners. In process of examining Dunstons records, the commissioners saw the two sets of invoices to Miller and Crawford. Licking County Commissioner Tim Bubb said in a January interview that county officials discovered Dunston was getting more fuel than his car would hold. Then, video evidence showed Dunston putting gas in the vehicles of friends or family after filling up his car's tank. Then, we discovered hed been stealing more than gas, Bubb said. We went to his office and started investigating his spending. He had been buying more than he needed, or materials we didnt need. And things were not adding up. We started calling vendors in Texas to verify what was ordered and shipped and found they were fictitious companies. We couldnt find all the suppliers. The commissioners informed the Licking County Sheriffs Office. Miller admitted her role to the sheriff's office and a full investigation began, with the state auditor getting involved in June 2018. The state auditor's Special Investigations Unit identified six checks totaling $19,203 that were paid to a Texas business, Whirl of Windy, for supplies and services that were not provided to the county. The SIU determined that 109 checks totaling $173,469 were paid to Crawfords business, Crawford R.A.W. Janitorial, through fake invoices approved by Dunston, knowing that no supplies or equipment were provided to the county, according to the state auditor. kmallett@newarkadvocate.com 740-973-4539 Twitter: @kmallett1958 This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Ex-county building services director pleads guilty in theft scheme The son of a former Horry County police chief was arrested earlier this month for various charges, online booking records show. Cameron Rhodes, 24, of Conway, was arrested by Horry County Police Department and booked into the J. Reuben Long Detention Center March 4 on charges of reckless driving, failure to stop for a blue light and having marijuana, according to booking records. He was released March 5 on a nearly $55,000 bond. Rhodes is the son of former Horry County Police Chief Saundra Rhodes. Cameron Rhodes allegedly sped away from police, who were trying to conduct a traffic stop after he failed to maintain lane and improper turn in Conway, according to an incident report. A vehicle pursuit ensued. During the search of Rhodes vehicle, police found 9 pounds of marijuana, the report said. Rhodes criminal history showed two prior convictions for marijuana and a prior conviction for failure to stop, the report said. In 2020, Rhodes was sentenced to probation after pleading guilty to possession with intent to deliver marijuana, possession of a controlled substance and unlawful carrying a pistol. In that incident that occurred in 2019, Conway police stopped Rhodes for failing to use his turn signal. When officers approached the vehicle, they smelled marijuana, according to court reports. Rhodes also had a pistol under the seat and he did not have a concealed weapons permit. Ken Cuccinelli called DeSantis the "strongest Republican available" for the 2024 election. Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images and Mario Tama/Getty Images) Former Trump official Ken Cuccinelli has launched a super PAC backing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Cuccinelli was once a close aide to former President Donald Trump. Cuccinelli is now calling DeSantis the "strongest Republican" candidate the GOP has for 2024. A senior Trump-era official has launched a super PAC backing Florida Gov. DeSantis for a potential 2024 presidential bid. Ken Cuccinelli, who was acting deputy secretary of Homeland Security from 2019 to 2021, launched his new PAC, Never Back Down, on Thursday. "DESANTIS 2024! Run, Ron, Run!" reads an announcement on the PAC's website. "SIGN OUR PETITION & URGE RON DESANTIS TO RUN!" In a video on the PAC's website, Cuccinelli also urged people to donate to a potential DeSantis 2024 campaign. "The energy is there, grassroots conservatives see the governor as a leader and a fighter with a winning conservative track record who will lead the Republican Party to victory in 2024," Cuccinelli said in a statement on Thursday. Cuccinelli called DeSantis the "strongest Republican available" during an interview with Fox News on Thursday. Cuccinelli, who pushed hardline immigration policies under the Trump administration, praised DeSantis for rolling out more restrictions on undocumented immigrants from Mexico. "He is just head and shoulders above the rest of the field in that respect, so this isn't negative to anybody else. It's just a recognition of how good Governor DeSantis is," Cuccinelli told Fox. But Cuccinelli was once close to Trump and had a direct line to him, per Politico. Cuccinelli's Thursday announcement backing DeSantis one of Trump's top political rivals marks a shift in his loyalties. Trump has continually attacked DeSantis. In the last four months, Trump has said DeSantis is "very disloyal," called DeSantis several insulting nicknames, and claimed that DeSantis cried in front of him while asking for an endorsement in 2018. DeSantis has not announced a 2024 run, but he's been touted as a strong contender for the GOP nomination by Republican insiders. Story continues Other DeSantis supporters have also started independent PACs backing the governor. Longtime Republican campaign strategist Ed Rollins founded the Ready for Ron PAC in May, gathering petition signatures and voter data for the governor. GOP donors have also bolstered DeSantis' political war chest with million-dollar checks, per CNN. The Washington Post, citing two anonymous sources, reported on Thursday that DeSantis has privately told his allies that he plans to run, but that he doesn't intend to announce until May. If DeSantis does run, he'll be facing off with Trump, who in November kicked off his third presidential bid. Cuccinelli and representatives for DeSantis and Trump did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment. Read the original article on Business Insider Violent crime in Fort Worth fell 13.4% in 2022, the city announced Friday. The city credited the #FortWorthSafe initiative for the reduction. It was launched in April 2022, with a goal to reduce crime by 10% within 12 months. There were nearly 700 fewer violent crimes reported in 2022 compared to 2021, assistant police chief Robert Alldredge said in a press release. Homicides were down 24.5%, from 102 to 77, and nonfatal shootings were down 23.9%, from 380 to 289, according to the release. Business robberies were down 10.4%, but robberies of individuals were up 1.5%. Fort Worth police attributed this success to the use of neighborhood cameras, city departments working to improve blight and improving community-police relations. Mayor Mattie Parker applauded the police for its hard work, and said the the reduction was encouraging, according to the release. Violent crime is committed by a small number of people in a small number of places, but it affects all of us, said police chief Neil Noakes in a 2022 video promoting the program. A 2022 police analysis showed that 2.9% of 824 police reporting areas accounted for 22.39% of the citys reported violent crime. The areas are no bigger than a few blocks. Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/PBCSO For years, Fox News has pushed the narrative that the United States is undergoing a cataclysmic crime wave driven by drugs and young punks with guns who rob unsuspecting small businesses and get off easy because of soft-hearted judges. Fox News might as well be talking about its own managing editor. Tom Lowell, a longtime Fox News Channel producer who now runs the law-and-order-obsessed newsroom, took part in a 1986 liquor store burglary in South Florida that ended in a drug bust. And he got a slap on the wrist, despite cops saying the burglary was extensive. Documents recently obtained by The Daily Beast shed light on what exactly Lowell, now 62, did years before society gave him a second chance, allowing him to launch a successful TV journalism career. Fox News Journalists Sound Off on Soul-Crushing Dominion Filings The New York Times first mentioned Lowells criminal past in a deep-dive last year about Tucker Carlsons dramatic ascent at Fox News. The Times noted how Lowell had become a major force behind the changes in the news-side coverage before offering up a quick aside about the burglary. He was considered a favorite of the elder Mr. Murdoch, who appreciated his tabloidy approach to news curation, New York Times reporter Nick Confessore wrote. He was less popular among his subordinates, who nicknamed him the burglar, on account of his reputation for stealing credit for ideas, and because of a long-ago incident that became Fox lore as he rose: In his 20s, Mr. Lowell and two friends were arrested after breaking into a liquor store in Florida. Several current and former Fox staffers said Lowell is known as a conservative fixture from the Roger Ailes era, referencing the Fox News chief who was ousted in 2016 following a bevy of sexual misconduct allegations. According to Fox sources, Lowell is clean-cutalmost always in a suit and tieand is very pro-police. One Fox News source said Lowell was intent on making cops look like heroes during the Black Lives Matter protests. Story continues Until The New York Times piece dropped last year, many at the network were unaware of his criminal past. Still, several network insiders and staffers said they had yet to hear about the burglary until The Daily Beast approached them for this story. After Tucker Carlson called for the GOP to campaign on Americas Crime Crisis last summer, the networks daytime programming was inundated with hosts and commentators calling for states to build more jails over the out-of-control crime crisis. The spike in crime, according to Fox personalities, was due to progressive prosecutors who kept giving criminals chance after chance after chance. He's tough on crime, one Fox News insider, stationed at the headquarters in New York City, told The Daily Beast. He thinks the city is a Democratic state and thats the reason for the high crime rates. While Lowell declined to comment himself, a Fox News spokesperson was clear that Lowells transgressions occurred decades ago and that he has turned himself around despite dealing with personal demons. Lachlan Murdoch Waves Off Dominion Lawsuit: Just a Lot of Noise and Politics This incident took place nearly 40 years ago and is nothing more than a cheap shot at Tom, a stellar journalist, who has worked incredibly hard on his recovery and rebuilt his life after overcoming addiction, the Fox News spokesperson said in a statement. The spokesperson also noted that Lowell has passed previous background checks throughout his journalism career, including an extensive security clearance for an interview at the White House with then-President Barack Obama. The details that follow are from Palm Beach County Sheriffs records. Lowells story is a lot more interesting than him and a couple of friends breaking into a liquor store. The real story began Jan. 7, 1986, late on a cool and cloudy night in West Palm Beach, Florida. According to police records, Lowell, then 26, borrowed his girlfriends dads boxy 1977 Plymouth Volare. He drove with his pal, David M. Frey, about a half-hour away to a cluster of shops in the suburbs. They had a stolen sawed-off shotgun loaded in the trunkan illegal modification thats meant to increase the lethality of the firearm at close distance. Their target that night was a low-lying commercial building where a liquor store shared a wall with a hardware shop. As described in police records, the liquor stores alarm company recorded audio of the burglary and caught men instructing each other to get this and no, dont get that, indicating that Lowell was an active participant and didnt just wait outside. They started out in the hardware store then broke into the liquor store. They came in through the roof, recalled Walter Morris Jr., the son of the couple that owned Moores Liquors. Lowell and Frey used a steel rod from the hardware store to force their way into the liquor store, according to reports later written by several officers who responded to the scene. They then used a large chisel and 1-pound hammer to break into the liquor stores safe and cash register. The duo even swiped a snub-nosed Smith & Wesson revolver that Walter Morris Sr. kept beneath the counter just in anyone ever tried to rob him. My dads been missing his .38 forever. He never got it back, Morris Jr. told The Daily Beast. Court Docs Show Fox News Chief Was Trying to Help Kushner At some point during the burglary shortly after midnight, the store alarm went off and the pair ran away. They dropped some of their tools in the store and fled into the nearby woods, where deputies later found their footprints, according to police records. But what the cops found in the silver car, which was loaded to the brim, made it an easy case. Lowell left his drivers license and a pawn shop ticket with his personal information in the vehiclealong with five cans of Milwaukee Best beer, a case of cheap Clan MacGregor Scotch, another case of Smirnoff Vodka, a bottle of Bacardi rum, and an assortment of goodies that included a foot-long crowbar, bolt cutters, a machete, an eight-inch kitchen knife, a vial with a cocaine rock inside, the stolen and loaded Browning shotgun, and two Fisher-Price toy walkie talkies. The cars main cabin and trunk were filled with a long list of other stolen items, but they are redacted from the police records. The sheriffs office had the car towed, and detectives picked up the case on the following day. They interviewed Lowells girlfriend, who they say initially lied but eventually came clean about the boys plan that night. With a search warrant in hand, detectives raided Lowells place that afternoon. Police said they found Lowell and Frey doing cocaine. When the men spotted the cops, they made a run for it out the back, only to encounter two cops waiting for them. Det. Hagan directed suspect Thomas Lowell to assume horizontal spread eagle position on the ground, reads one report. A cop dog found the stolen revolver stashed in the bushes, and both men were taken into custody. While Frey allegedly confessed to everything, police records show that Lowell demanded an attorney and refused to talk. When the criminal case wrapped up later that year, records show, Lowell was sentenced to three years probation after pleading guilty to two counts of grand thefta third-degree felony. Under Florida law, he could have faced up to five years in prison. It took Lowell several years to get his life back on track. He eventually moved to Massachusetts to study broadcast journalism at Emerson College, then landed a job as a news producer at a local station in Erie, Pennsylvania. He worked at several local TV stations and even returned to South Florida, where he worked at Miamis Fox affiliate, WSVN. A review of public records did not show Lowell having any run-ins with the law after this 1986 burglary. Hes been at the Fox News network since 2003, where he launched the weekday morning show Americas Newsroom and started two programs with the same anchor: America Live with Megyn Kelly and The Kelly File. The network made him vice president and managing editor of news in late 2016, just as Fox News made a further rightward turn at the start of the Trump presidential administration. He was then promoted to executive vice president in December 2020 and was placed in charge of all daytime news editorial contents. Jaw-Dropping Filings Reveal Civil War Inside Fox News The liquor store owners son told The Daily Beast hes an avid Fox News watcher and was surprised to hear that the guy who burglarized his parents store ended up directing the networks coverage. How the hell did that happen? he asked. Sounds like he was a good talker. Knowing my mom and dad, they probably didnt want to prosecute. They were Catholic. They were forgiving. While much of Foxs over-the-top coverage on rampant crime in Democrat-led cities is driven by the networks firebrand opinion hosts, the conservative cable giants daytime news programmingwhich Lowell has overseen since late 2020has also leaned in hard on the crime is out of control narrative. In the run-up to the midterms last year, Fox News weekday programming went all-in on fearmongering about violent crime, averaging 141 segments a week, according to research by liberal watchdog Media Matters for America. The network has also unleashed on-air campaigns to oust George Soros-funded prosecutors that it feels are too lenient on criminals. The breathless coverage of crime has only continued on the networks airwaves in recent weeks. On Tuesday, midday news show Your World with Neil Cavuto devoted a lengthy segment to retail robberies in Portland, Oregon. After reporting that Walmart was shutting down two stores in the city because of crime, Cavuto turned to a muffler store owner who grumbled that law enforcement wasnt doing enough to deter would-be robbers. Our prosecutors do not threaten them at all, the owner fumed. So all of these druggies, the thieves, they know they wont get in trouble. Its almost like you do something wrong, we slap your hand and send you out the door. Diana Falzone contributed to this report. She was an on-camera and digital reporter for FoxNews.com from 2012 to 2018. In May 2017, she filed a gender discrimination and disability lawsuit against the network and settled, and left the company in March 2018. 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. Fox News In his first television interview since being badly injured near Kyiv nearly one year ago while covering the Russian war against Ukraine, Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall recalled his jarring experience Thursday to Sean Hannity. Hall, who lost both feet, the use of his left eye, and required surgery on his left hand, had been traveling by car with Fox News photographer Pierre Zakrzewski and Ukrainian journalist Oleksandra Kurshynova, both of whom were killed after their vehicle was struck. We slowed down at an abandoned checkpoint and out of nowhere, the first missile came, Hall recounted. [It] lands about 30 feet in front of us. Immediately, Pierre shouts, Reverse the car, reverse the car! There were two Ukrainians driving as wellfive of us in the car. The car got stuck. We couldnt go back. After Zakrzewski urged everyone to get out of the car, another missile hit. And that one, I went black, Hall recalled. And I was in a dark place. I couldnt feel or see. Id taken some shrapnel in the eye and a matchbox-sized shrapnel in my neck, and I was out. I was out dead. Hall then said he had a vision of his daughter, who also told him to leave the car. [It was as] real as if she was in front of me. Out of nowhere, she came to me, he said. And I came to, and I opened up my eyes and my instinct took me towards the car door, and I scrambled and I pulled myself out. And I got out of the car, and the third bomb hit the car itself right after that. Zakrzewski, still alive, warned him about Russian drones and that he should keep still, Hall said, and when he tried to get the attention of a nearby car, Zakrzewski said it might belong to Russians. And I said, It doesnt matter. Im so badly injured. Ive got to go, Hall remembered. Halls book, Saved: A War Reporters Mission to Make It Home, goes on sale March 14. His full interview with Hannity is set to air Friday. 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. Saturday updates: Read the latest weather news here. Yet another atmospheric river storm blasted into California on Friday, bringing dangerous flooding rains, heavy snow and howling winds to the state, and also triggering evacuation orders. One person was killed Friday morning when a roof collapsed at a warehouse in Oakland, possibly due to the heavy rains in the area, CNN reported. In Watsonville, California, in Santa Cruz County, officials ordered people in low-lying areas to evacuate as rivers and streams rose. Also on Friday, President Joe Biden approved a federal emergency declaration for California due to the storm and the resulting flooding and landslides, Weather.com said, which added that the move paves the way for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Statewide, more than half of California's 58 counties were under a state of emergency Friday due to the storm. A swath of California is under either a winter storm warning or a flood watch, with the weather expected to continue to cause problems most of the weekend. Several inches of rain are expected at lower elevations in parts of California, leading to flooding risks in areas already hit hard by snow, such as Lake Tahoe. Snow will impact higher elevations. Wind gusts of over 100 mph were reported in the high elevations of the state on Friday, AccuWeather said. Here's what you need to know about Friday's weather: Traffic moves on the Golden Gate Bridge as people carry umbrellas while walking down a path at the Golden Gate Overlook in San Francisco, March 9, 2023. California is bracing for the arrival of an atmospheric river that forecasters warn will bring heavy rain, strong winds, thunderstorms and the threat of flooding even as the state is still digging out from earlier storms. Rain, snow melt triggering California floods The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning that began Thursday afternoon in northern California and will continue through Sunday morning. Snow levels are expected to drop to as low as 4,000 feet on Friday night and into Saturday in the eastern Sierra, and there will be periods of heavy rain, according to the National Weather Service. Portions of the state were under a rare "high risk" warning for excessive rainfall, according to the Weather Prediction Center. Forecasters say the combination of rain and significant snowmelt could cause life-threatening flooding, mudslides and avalanches. Story continues "It really ups the ante," said Bob Larson, senior meteorologist at AccuWeather. Of particular concern, he said, are places between 2,000 and 5,000 feet, including Lake Tahoe. San Francisco could see between 2 and 4 inches of rain. Santa Barbara on the central coast could get 1 to 2 inches. Los Angeles could get up to an inch. Urban flooding is possible in areas from Redding down to Santa Barbara. The storm will mostly let up by Sunday but another system is set to hit the state on Monday, Larson said. "It's kind of a one-two punch," he said. "Here we go again." Traffic moves on the Golden Gate Bridge as people carry umbrellas while walking down a path at the Golden Gate Overlook in San Francisco, March 9, 2023. California is bracing for the arrival of an atmospheric river that forecasters warn will bring heavy rain, strong winds, thunderstorms and the threat of flooding even as the state is still digging out from earlier storms. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu) ATMOSPHERIC RIVER: Storm heading for California could melt snow, cause floods LA NINA: Weather phenomenon that worsens hurricanes and drought, is gone after 3 years San Bernardino authorities investigate deaths in California Officials in California were investigating 13 deaths, with eight of those possibly connected to the wintry conditions that slammed parts of the state in late February into early March, the San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department said in a news release. Authorities have confirmed one directly weather-related death from the earlier storms; the victim was involved in a car accident during the storm and later died at a hospital, the sheriff department announced. Eight deaths remained under investigation as of Friday, according to authorities. The preliminary information we have at this time is that the circumstances observed at the scenes did not present as weather-related, the news release noted. Winter storm map Storm to dump inches of snow over Midwest, Northeast A separate Midwest storm could bring between 6 and 10 inches of snow to Milwaukee, a few inches to Chicago and 4-8 inches in Detroit. The brunt of the storm should hit the Midwest Friday before moving east across Pennsylvania and New York. Some parts of Pennsylvania and New York could see 3-6 inches of snow. New York City may only get about an inch of snow. In places like Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, the storm should mostly bring rain, Larson said. The storm will also impact parts of the Northeast, with some rain and snow likely late Friday and a stronger chance of snow on Saturday in parts of Connecticut and Maine. US weather watches and warnings The South Rain and thunderstorms are possible across Arkansas, Tennessee, southern Kentucky and into the Carolinas starting Friday. The storms carry the potential of hail and damaging winds, and temperatures should plummet, with below freezing temperatures expected across much of northern Arkansas. Meanwhile Florida remains unusually rain-free and unseasonably warm. Drought conditions and fire danger has increased as a result. National weather radar Contributing: The Associated Press This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Emergency declaration for California amid atmospheric river storm A Mexican Red Cross ambulance transports two Americans found alive after their abduction in Mexico last week, in Ejido Longoreno, on the outskirts of Matamoros, Mexico, Tuesday, March 7, 2023. Associated Press A friend of the four kidnapped Americans said she was kept in the dark about their Mexico plans. Cheryl Orange traveled with the group from South Carolina, but never crossed the border with them. The four Americans were abducted last week by armed men after crossing the border in Mexico. A friend of the four Americans shot at and kidnapped by gunmen in Northern Mexico in a deadly ambush said she agreed to join the group on their road trip for her pal's planned cosmetic surgery but was kept in the dark that they were headed to Mexico for it. Cheryl Orange traveled with friends Latavia McGee, Eric Williams, Zindell Brown, and Shaeed Woodard in a rented white minivan from South Carolina to the southern edge of Texas last week. Orange told CNN on Thursday that her best friend McGee "hit me up and asked me to join her, to accompany her in a trip to Brownsville, Texas, for cosmetic surgery." The group departed last Thursday, and Orange told CNN that when they arrived in Texas, she learned McGee's surgery was scheduled to happen in Mexico. "Once I got there I was then informed that her procedure was being done across the border," Orange told CNN. Orange told authorities that she never crossed into Matamoros, Mexico, a town near the Rio Grande and the southern US border with Brownsville, Texas, with her friends last Friday morning because she left behind her identification, according to a police report obtained by Insider. "I didn't have proper identification, so I couldn't join [McGee] to go across to the border," Orange told CNN, adding that she stayed behind at a Motel 6 in Brownsville. That allowed Orange who alerted the police on Saturday after her friends did not return to ultimately avoid the terrifying abduction that left Woodard and Brown dead. Orange told CNN she assumed that McGee did not know about any risks of traveling to Matamoros. "She's not going to travel to danger," said Orange, who described McGee as "a beautiful person." Read the original article on Insider Missing your flight can be a nightmare, but unknowingly booking the wrong flight to the wrong country is in a category all its own. Thats apparently what happened to one TikToker and her friend when they recently planned a trip to Budapest. Encyclopedia Britannica describes the bustling Eastern European city as the political, administrative, industrial and commercial center of Hungary. Its even been hailed as one of the worlds most popular travel destinations. But unfortunately, instead of getting tickets to Budapest, the two friends mistakenly purchased tickets to Bucharest another Eastern European city located in Romania. (Oops.) By the looks of her TikTok, @sophealice and her BFF didnt actually catch the error until they made it to the airport. She filmed their reaction while going to board the flight, which was clearly marked Bucharest at the gate. They sound similar right, she wrote in her post caption. Since it was too late to back out, the two friends decided to see what Bucharest had to offer and chronicled their surprise trip in subsequent TikToks. Once there, the pair visited castles, strolled city streets, drank in a local Bierhaus and checked out other cultural landmarks. According to @sophalice, it was stunning even if it was one big, hilarious mix-up. In another follow-up, she explained how it all went down. Essentially, what happened was my best friend who lived in Australia initially, now hes gone to New Zealand he came over and surprised me, the TikToker explained. I had no idea he was coming, and then he was like, Surprise! and I was like, Yeah, great and then he was like, Oh, also, I booked us a trip away were going somewhere in Eastern Europe. Both the trip and the destination were meant to be a surprise, but when the pair showed up at the airport, her friend realized hed made a critical mistake. That said, they wound up having no regrets. It was amazing, @sophalice shared. Story continues A lot of people on TikTok said theyd also visited Romania and loved it. I was in Bucharest may 22 and it was class honestly want to go back, one person shared. bucharest is banging anyway, one person noted, while another called the entire country a lovely place to visit. In The Know by Yahoo is now available on Apple News follow us here! The post Friends accidentally book flights to the wrong country appeared first on In The Know. More from In The Know: This outrageous Amazon cheese board is the best way to be a fancy adult host on a gremlin budget IMPORTANT: I found the viral aesthetic iced coffee glasses that are all over TikTok This TikTok filter claims to tell people when theyll get pregnant I walked over 5 miles in these comfortable rubber sandals, and my feet werent even sore Frontier Airlines has confirmed to The Independent that airport gate agents are paid a bonus for charging passengers for oversized baggage during boarding. The budget airline came under fire after a passenger claimed to have been charged $100 (85) to check a bag which appeared to fit the size requirements. Dyana Villa shared a video of her experience travelling with the budget airline to social media, in which she and her friends can be seen fitting their bag into the luggage sizer, which dictates what constitutes hand luggage. The woman alleged that she and her friends were told to pay an additional fee, despite them demonstrating that the bags clearly fit in the bag sizer. In the video, which has been viewed nearly 100,000 times, the agent can be heard saying, They dont fit, youre forcing them down. A second airline employee then comes over to inspect the bag in the sizer and is heard saying: Thats our policy, ma'am. Since sharing the footage, Ms Villa uploaded another post in which she claimed to have been contacted by a Frontier Airlines attendant who said staff are eligible for a $10 (8.50) bonus for every passenger bag they check and collect a fee for. Ms Villa recounts the email from the airline staff member in which she claims they say, Im so tired, weve been getting so many complaints and then people complain to us, etc. She adds: I could have just Venmoed them $10. A Frontier spokesperson told The Independent that the fee is simply an incentive for our airport customer service agents to help ensure compliance with our policies and that all customers are treated equally. Story continues The spokesperson rejected Ms Villas baggage complaint, however, claiming that she had brought a second carry-on bag. The video fails to show that the customer using the sizer box had an additional carry-on bag, they said. Each customer is allowed one free personal item that must fit within the smaller sizer box. This customer had more than one bag and they were not able to combine them into a single bag that fit in the personal item box. The second customers bag did not fit into the free personal item sizer box without removing much of its contents. Most customers pay for their bags in advance, in accordance with our policies, and we provide multiple reminders and opportunities to do so at a lower price in advance of departure. Allowing these customers to board without paying would be inequitable to every other customer who was already onboard with paid bags. According to Frontier, passengers are entitled to one personal item, measuring 14H X 18W X 8D, including handles, wheels and straps. Think purses, totes, computer bags, briefcases, diaper bags and kids backpacks, it reads. Note: the size of your personal item will be checked during boarding, it states. Items larger than the allowed dimensions are subject to an additional charge. This story has been amended to include Frontier Airlines statement. Isolated but natural gas-rich Turkmenistan has recently become a subject of geopolitical competition owing to the energy crisis in Europe and Western energy sanctions imposed on Russia as a consequence of its invasion of Ukraine. During a mid-December 2022 tripartite meeting in Turkmenistan between the presidents of Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Turkey, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan sought to make the case for Ashgabat to join the Organization of Turkic States and to start exporting its gas via the Caspian Sea and Turkey to Europe. Turkmenistan, however, prefers to remain neutral and maintain positive relations with Moscow, which would be at risk if the country decided to export its gas to Turkey bypassing Russia. Moreover, Russias plans to divert its trade and gas export routes towards Asian markets potentially offers a prominent role for Turkmenistan. BACKGROUND: For several years, Turkey has promoted greater integration between Turkic states in the South Caucasus and Central Asia. Ankara played a main role in upgrading the status of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States, which in 2021 changed its name to Organization of Turkic States (OTS). Turkey has ambitions to turn OTS into a serious international organization, which would foster closer economic and political ties between its members, and become a serious geopolitical player. Ankara aims to attract Turkmenistan to join OTS, using cultural and ethnic ties as a vehicle for closer energy cooperation. Cooperation with Turkmenistan, which has the 6th largest gas reserves in the world, can help Turkey realize its long-standing goal of becoming a natural gas hub for Europe. Although Turkmenistan already holds an observer status in OTS, Ashgabat is in no rush to become a full member. In September 2022, Turkeys Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu announced that Turkmenistan would join OTS in November during the organizations summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Turkmenistan nevertheless refrained from joining. During the mid-December 2022 trilateral summit of Turkish, Azerbaijani and Turkmen presidents in Awaza resort, Turkmenistan, Turkish President Erdogan with Azerbaijans backing apparently also sought to get Turkmenistans approval for joining OTS. Baku and Ankara have a joint interest in convincing Turkmenistan to export its natural gas via Azerbaijan to Turkey, which would upgrade the Southern Gas Corridor. IMPLICATIONS: The summit in Awaza was touted as a historically important meeting between the three leaders, however, it brought no tangible results. Turkey and Azerbaijan failed to secure Turkmenistans approval to join OTS. Ashgabat prefers to remain neutral and simultaneously maintain positive relations with the other significant regional powers China and Russia. Although Turkey and Russia would gladly see Turkmenistan in international organizations under their auspices such as OTS or the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization and Eurasian Economic Union, Turkmenistan has held on to the neutral status stipulated in its constitution. Hence, Turkmenistan has declined to take part in closer integration between the Turkic nations of Central Asia and the South Caucasus in order not to endanger its relations with Russia. Moscow is particularly concerned that Ankara will gain a foothold in Central Asia and sees OTS as a vehicle for expanding Turkeys influence in the region. Russias is currently preoccupied with its war in Ukraine and its influence in the South Caucasus and Central Asia is weakening, which presents an opportunity for other regional powers to make inroads into this space. Turkmenistans decision to refrain from joining OTS was met with approval in Moscow. Faced with Western sanctions and blocked access to Western markets, Russia needs new strategic partners and alternative trade and energy export routes. Hence Russias recent overtures to Turkmenistan and efforts to deepen the strategic partnership with Ashgabat. In particular, Moscow wants to boost the capacity of the International NorthSouth Transport Corridor and include Turkmenistan as a transit country and a hub for Russian goods exported to South Asian markets. Preparations are underway since Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin during his recent visit to Ashgabat on January 19 signed several important intergovernmental agreements regulating phytosanitary standards, migration and closer cooperation between customs services. Simultaneously, Russia appears interested in joining the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) project a planned massive gas pipeline with a capacity of up to 33 billion cubic meters (bcm) annually, intended to carry Turkmen gas in the south-eastern direction. Russian top officials, including Energy Minister Nikolai Shulginov, have recently declared Moscows interest in partaking in this project, which coincides with Russias new strategy to divert its hydrocarbon exports away from Europe to South Asia. During the summit in Awaza, Turkey and Azerbaijan sought Turkmenistans commitment to export its natural gas to Turkey via the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Aware that Russia will object to any major trans-Caspian pipeline, the sides apparently discussed alternative options for bringing Turkmen gas westwards. From Azerbaijan, gas could be transported through the existing pipeline infrastructure of the Southern Gas Corridor whose capacity can be expanded to accommodate additional gas volumes. As an alternative to a traditional pipeline, Turkish officials have floated the idea of transporting liquefied Turkmen gas across the Caspian Sea in ships. Erdogan also endorsed an interconnector pipeline project, which would carry 10-12 bcm annually from Turkmenistans offshore gas fields to Azerbaijans gas pipeline system. Nevertheless, these talks also ended without much progress. Ashgabat clearly does not want to endanger its expanding partnership with Moscow and exporting Turkmen gas to Turkey and further to Europe would bypass Russia. Turkmenistan also appears more interested in increasing its gas exports to China. On January 5-6, Turkmenistans President Serdar Berdimuhammedov made his first visit to China after succeeding his father in early 2022. In a joint statement, Berdimuhammedov and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping declared to speed up construction of Line D of the Turkmenistan-China gas pipeline, which will the pipelines throughput capacity with 30 bcm. The leaders also committed to multiple other energy projects including second-stage development of the Turkmen Galkynysh gas field. There might also be another reason for Turkmenistans current disinterest in exporting its gas westwards. According to energy analysts John Roberts and Julian Bowden, Ashgabat is not interested in a low-capacity interconnector pipeline and wants to revive the idea of a Trans-Caspian Pipeline with a capacity of 30 bcm annually, connecting Turkmenistan to Italy. However, such a pipeline will be more costly and take far more time to construct than a simple connector, and as such is not acceptable for the EU which needs to find alternatives for Russian gas as soon as possible. CONCLUSIONS: Shipping its gas westwards to Turkey and Europe would decrease Turkmenistans dependence on its largest gas customer China and bring more revenue to its troubled economy. Meanwhile, Ashgabat decided to decline Turkeys and Azerbaijans realistic offer to export its gas to new markets, and has opted for closer cooperation with China and Russia instead. However, this might not ultimately be beneficial for Turkmenistan since it will only intensify its already significant dependence on China, which clearly has the upper hand in their relations. Also, stronger cooperation with Russia in the trade and energy spheres is in its initial stages and Moscow has other partners in the region such as Iran or Azerbaijan which it can rely upon to realize its plans to reroute its trade and energy exports to South Asia. Russia has demonstrated in the past that it is not a reliable partner for Ashgabat when it abruptly stopped buying Turkmen gas at a time when Turkmenistan was grappling with an economic and gas export crisis. Natalia Konarzewska ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ) is a graduate of the University of Warsaw and a freelance expert and analyst with a focus on political and economic developments in the post-Soviet space. The SEC accused Nishad Singh of taking about $6 million from FTX for "personal use and expenditure." NurPhoto/Getty Images FTX's Nishad Singh forfeited a $3.7 million vacation home to the US government, Bloomberg reported. The mansion, bought weeks before FTX's collapse, is believed to be tied to Singh's crimes. The SEC accused Singh of withdrawing $6 million from FTX for personal expenditure. FTX's former chief engineer Nishad Singh relinquished a $3.7 million vacation home in the Pacific Northwest to the US government because prosecutors believe it's tied to his crimes, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. The 27-year-old bought the six-bedroom house, overlooking the San Juan Islands that lie between Seattle and Vancouver, on October 25 just weeks before the crypto exchange filed for bankruptcy, according to Bloomberg. He reportedly paid for the property using money from his personal FTX account. Sources told Bloomberg he'd agreed to give up the property as part of his guilty plea in the federal fraud case about the exchange's collapse, in which founder Sam Bankman-Fried and other executives were accused of misappropriating FTX's customer funds. These sources requested anonymity because the forfeiture was withdrawn from court records. Singh's lawyers Andrew D. Goldstein and Russell Capone did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment about the forfeiture. The property stands on a wooded hill with fruit trees, and features a lap pool and a hot tub, per Bloomberg. Singh pleaded guilty to six criminal counts including wire fraud and conspiracy charges in February. FTX and 130 affiliated companies including trading firm Alameda Research filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November, after it was exposed that Bankman-Fried had funneled billions of dollars of FTX's customer funds to prop up Alameda. Nishad pleaded guilty alongside other former FTX executives including co-founder Gary Wang and former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison, who are both cooperating with federal prosecutors. The Securities and Exchange Commission separately accused Singh of creating a code that allowed Bankman-Fried to easily divert the funds to Alameda. They also accused him of taking $6 million from FTX for personal expenditure and making donations to charity. Bankman-Fried, who was arrested in December, has pleaded not guilty to eight criminal counts. He was then released on a $250 million bail agreement confining him to his parents' home. Read the original article on Business Insider TOKYO (Reuters) - The Group of Seven (G7) and other like-minded organisations renewed their pledge to support Ukraine's energy sector, Japan's foreign ministry said after the group convened for a meeting on Friday. Japan's foreign minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said Japan intends to provide about 10 autotransformers and 140 units of power-related equipment to Ukraine, according to a statement released by the Japanese foreign ministry. During the meeting, which was co-hosted by Hayashi and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Hayashi also praised Ukraine for overcoming "the harsh winter despite repeated Russian attacks on energy infrastructure." Russia has bombarded Ukraine's energy infrastructure in recent months, and on Thursday launched missile strikes across Ukraine, killing at least six civilians and forcing a nuclear power plant off the grid. Although Ukraine is currently meeting its energy needs, it has seen between 40% and 50% of its energy system damaged by Russian missile and drone strikes during the winter, according to Ukrainian prime minister Denys Shmyhal. (Reporting by Sakura Murakami, Editing by Louise Heavens) As Linda Clary wept over her sons body last June, she begged him for answers. I need to know. What do you need to tell me? she recalled saying at the time. What do I need to do? What happened? To her, his answer was clear: Mom, I did not go willingly, I did not commit suicide, I fought and youve got to fight for me, she said. Now, nearly a year of uncertainty after her 33-year-old son, John Umberger, was found dead in a Manhattan townhouse following a night out at a gay bar, Clary is finally getting some answers. The New York City Medical Examiners Office ruled last week that the mysterious deaths of her son and Julio Ramirez, a 25-year-old social worker, who died in a separate but eerily similar incident were homicides caused by a drug-facilitated theft. At least five drugs were found in their systems, including fentanyl, lidocaine and cocaine. Both men were found dead last spring after visits to LGBTQ venues in Manhattans Hells Kitchen neighborhood. Both had their bank accounts drained following their deaths. For Clary, at least one official is finally acknowledging what she said she knew from the beginning: Her son was a homicide victim. Her frustration echoes that of several gay men who told NBC News they survived similar incidents between December 2021 and October 2022, saying the medical examiners homicide ruling revived concerns that authorities were initially dismissive of their cases. To the police, it looked like John had gone out to a club, been robbed, emptied his credit cards out of his wallet but he still had his wallet, no phone and he came home and did a bunch of drugs because he was so depressed over what happened, Clary said, referring to her initial conversation with the New York City Police Department. Thats where it was like, Im sorry, thats not my child. I can assure you if that were to happen, thats not what John would have done. Linda Clary and John Umberger. (Courtesy Linda Clary) Determined, she flew to New York from her home in Georgia on June 4, a week after her sons death, to claim his body and get answers. And with the help of six family members and her sons friends, she retraced his last hours from information she was able to get through his bank transactions, phone records and those who saw him last. Story continues The group of seven then showed up to the 19th precincts office the next day to present to police what they were able to gather. They looked at us like we were from outer space, Clary said. No one was interested in finding out the truth. She said the group met with officers and presented their information. Two days later, she received a call from the homicide detective assigned to her sons case and has since felt confident in the departments investigation, commending the detective as having the utmost professionalism and committed to finding the truth. But in early November five months after her sons death she became frustrated with the pace of the Manhattan District Attorneys Office involvement in her sons case, and turned to local media in the hopes of applying pressure. In a statement, a press secretary for the Manhattan DAs office, Doug Cohen, said that the investigation is active and ongoing. The local reports in early November prompted more gay New Yorkers to step forward with similar accounts. In mid-November, the NYPD confirmed it was investigating additional accounts of grand larceny at other local gay bars that resembled the cases of Ramirez and Umberger. It also confirmed that it was investigating similar encounters that occurred at bars without LGBTQ affiliations. John Umberger; Julio Ramirez. (Linda Clary / Family photo) Tyler Burt, 27, is among several gay men who told NBC News they had encounters similar to those that killed Ramirez and Umberger. After visiting a gay bar in Manhattans East Village in December 2021, he woke up the next morning confused and with $15,000 of funds and items stolen from him, he said. Unable to fully recall what happened, he said he believes one or more individuals used his unconscious face to unlock his phone and bank accounts using facial recognition technology. He also said he believes some sort of drug was slipped into his drinks, knocking him unconscious and causing him to black out. Burt said he reported the encounter to the police the day after the incident occurred. He described the NYPD as being, at times, unresponsive and reluctant to do things like review surveillance footage. He shared with NBC News an email chain he had with the detective on his case, which showed that several of his requests for updates went unanswered for days and weeks at a time. It just felt like it was not a priority at all, he said. I was the one following up, bugging this guy time and time again, and I was just getting nowhere. He has not received an update on his case since last January, he said. He did, however, receive a call from the detective assigned to his case in November after previously speaking with NBC News. The detective scolded him for speaking with the media, saying that it could compromise their investigation, Burt said. Portrait photo of Tyler Burt. (Tyler Burt) A 51-year-old Manhattan resident who asked not to be named out of fear of putting himself in danger of retaliation from the individuals involved in his victimization said that after he had a similar encounter at a Hells Kitchen gay bar last July, the NYPD gave him a little bit of a runaround. He said he repeatedly made unanswered phone calls to the detective assigned to his case and came up empty-handed when he showed up to his local precinct office searching for answers. In the end, they told me to stop going there, that theres nothing else they could do, he said. Several of the men who were interviewed for this article also described their initial interactions with the NYPD as accusatory, with police repeatedly challenging them on their denials of illicit drug use and questioning their levels of alcohol consumption. It did have a little bit of a feeling of like, you know, maybe you shouldnt have gone to a seedy gay bar, said one man, who reported he was robbed after visiting a Chelsea gay leather bar in October. The man, a 48-year-old Manhattan resident, asked not to be named out of fear of putting himself in danger of retaliation from criminals involved in his encounter. (He works at MSNBC, which, like NBC News, is owned by NBCUniversal.) In a statement, an NYPD spokesperson confirmed that its Crimes Against Persons Unit, along with the Manhattan North and South Homicide Squads, are jointly working with our partners in the New York County District Attorneys Office to investigate several incidents where individuals have been victims of either robberies or assault. The spokesperson added that some of the victims are members of the LGBTQIA+ community, however it is believed that not all of the victims are. The spokesperson, however, did not address specific questions about the allegations made by Clary and Burt. State Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, whose district includes the Manhattan neighborhoods of Hells Kitchen and Chelsea, where many of the encounters have occurred, slammed the NYPD for what he described as foot dragging. Sadly, these lives were discounted because they were gay men who were at nightclubs, Hoylman-Sigal, who is gay, said. And for whatever reason, there seems to be a bias against taking these types of crimes as seriously as if it had happened to someone else. The NYPD did not directly answer questions regarding his remark. People hold signs for a vigil commemorating Julio Ramirez (Julius Constantine Motal / NBC News) New York City Council member Erik Bottcher, who is gay and whose district also includes Hells Kitchen and Chelsea, said in a statement that victims of crime deserve to be treated with the utmost respect, regardless of their race, gender, sexual orientation or gender identity. Any actions to the contrary must be identified and corrected to ensure that all New Yorkers feel safe and comfortable seeking aid, he said. The NYPDs work in the cases of Umberger and Ramirez is far from over. It remains unclear whether any suspects have been identified or apprehended in connection with their deaths. Clary is now back in Georgia. Last month, she celebrated the birth of her first grandson, who was born five days before what would have been Umbergers 34th birthday. The moment was bittersweet, she said, adding that her son would have been the best uncle in the world. She hopes, if anything, her sons story will serve as a reminder of the power of perseverance in search of the truth, and a cautionary tale for other gay men. All I wanted to do was, I wanted action and justice for John, and I wasnt getting it, and we wanted people to be safe, Clary said through tears. We dont want anyone to hurt like we have hurt. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com By Rajesh Kumar Singh CINCINNATI (Reuters) - General Electric Co sent 12 machinists from its Rutland, Vermont, facility across the country last fall to help a sub-supplier in Arizona that was so short of workers it could not add a second work shift. GE's action on the day after Thanksgiving was not an isolated case, Chief Executive Larry Culp said. The company has deployed its machinists and hundreds of engineers to suppliers and sub-suppliers in the United States to address the bottlenecks that are hampering production of its jet engines. The measures are working. For example, its engineers last year also helped a supplier reduce inspection time for a critical rotating part used in a jet engine to 30 minutes from 6 hours, company executives said. Yet Culp said it is a "daily battle" to keep up with booming demand at the company's aerospace unit due to persistent shortages of labor, parts and raw material. The unit, which supplies and services engines for Airbus and Boeing Co aircraft, had unfilled customer orders worth $135 billion at the end of 2022, up 8% from a year ago. The problem is more acute with the supply base for LEAP engines, which GE produces in a joint venture with France's Safran. The backlog for LEAP engines, which power the narrowbody aircraft of Airbus and Boeing, has increased to 10,000 units. Adding to complexity, just 10% of the 2,500 parts used in engines for Airbus' 320neo and Boeing's 737 MAX planes are common. "There's no one commodity. There's no one component which is the issue," Culp told reporters on the sidelines of GE's annual investor meeting on Thursday. "There's no one prime problem, but it's widespread." GE is not alone. Other engine makers are grappling with similar challenges, making it tougher for aircraft makers to increase production. A shortage of aircraft has constrained airlines' plans to ramp up capacity and capitalize on booming travel demand. Delays in jet deliveries are pushing some of them to extend their leases, driving up lease rates. Story continues Culp attributed the supply-chain challenges to the pandemic, which led to a plunge in air travel demand, forcing the aviation industry to lay off thousands of workers. At the height of the pandemic, GE itself announced plans to cut the workforce at its aviation unit by up to 25%. The industry's head count has gone up since then. But Culp said having too few workers with "institutional knowledge" remains a problem. GE's senior leadership team now conducts a weekly review of the supply situation - component by component, supplier by supplier. It is carrying excess inventory of parts in short supply, increasing its costs. The company is also helping suppliers cut waste and improve turnaround time to boost productivity. In one instance, GE helped one supplier start producing five low-pressure turbine cases for engines per week, up from that same amount per month. Similar measures at GE's facility in Terre Haute, Indiana, have helped boost production of jet engine turbine frames by 70%. GE managed to increase the output for LEAP engines by 34% in 2022 from a year ago. It is aiming to increase the production by about 50% this year. (Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh in Cincinnati; Editing by Ben Klayman and Matthew Lewis) Gen Z is choosing to read paperback books over e-books, data and interviews indicate. Luis Alvarez/Getty Images The phone-obsessed Gen Z is surprisingly a sucker for paperback books. Three Gen Zers gave their reasons for preferring printed editions over e-books. One Oxford University student said real books strained his eyes less and allowed him to focus more. There's no doubt that Gen Z loves to read. This generation, defined as people born between 1997 and 2015, is often considered phone-obsessed and addicted to technology. But when it comes to reading, Gen Zers say they prefer to pick up a printed book over an e-book. Book sales in the US and the UK have boomed in the past two years, the management consultancy McKinsey found. Sales in the US hit a record of more than 843 million units in 2021, while last year had the second-highest number sales, at almost 789 million. This increasing popularity was partly because of Gen Z and its social-media trends, including the hashtag #BookTok on TikTok, McKinsey said. Perhaps the most surprising trend is not Gen Zers' love of books but the way they consume them. While their pastimes usually involve a screen, data and interviews with Insider suggest this doesn't apply to books. They're choosing to ditch digital formats and opt for the timeless paperback book. For UK book buyers ages 13 to 24, print books were the most popular way to read between November 2021 and November 2022, as they accounted for 80% of purchases, research from Nielsen BookData found. That's compared with e-books making up 14% of sales from this age group in the same period, according to the data. "There is nothing like opening up a real book on a couch or beach," Madalyn Boyd, a 23-year-old from Michigan, told Insider. She said while e-books were affordable and great for traveling, her preference was printed books. "The smell of real books is so personal," Boyd said, adding that she loved visiting libraries and shopping in bookstores. Wang Sum Luk, a 21-year-old student studying English at Oxford University, said he'd used an e-book in the past but found it impractical. While e-books may seem more convenient, Luk prefers a print edition, he said. Story continues "I don't feel as much eye strain reading them, and I find myself focusing more when reading from a printed book with my computer off," Luk, who looks at around half a dozen books a week for his studies, said. He said he also liked using the university library for books. In a survey of Americans by Pew Research between January 2021 and February 2021, almost 70% of respondents between the ages of 18 and 29 said they read print books, while 42% said they read e-books. Overall, more than 80% of them said they read a book in any format the highest percentage out of all age groups surveyed, according to Pew Research. Lili Dewrance, a 23-year-old in London, told Insider that reading an e-book didn't let her take a break from the screen, or "digitally detox." "There's pleasure in treating myself to a new novel, and I enjoy supporting my local bookstore it feels like a treat, and you can't replicate this experience by simply downloading it onto a digital device," Dewrance said. Read the original article on Business Insider Reporters surround embattled Rep. George Santos (R-NY) as he heads to the House Chamber for a vote, at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023 in Washington, DC. Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images George Santos's former roommate alleged that the congressman was in charge of an ATM fraud scheme. The former roommate alleged that Santos taught and provided "all the material" for the scheme. Santos previously told a friend that he was an "informant" for the case, Politico reported. A former roommate of Rep. George Santos is claiming that the New York congressman was 'in charge' of a fraudulent credit card operation that took place out of Florida, according to a sworn declaration that was obtained and first reported on by Politico. The former roommate, Gustavo Ribeiro Trelha, was convicted and deported to Brazil for his involvement in the scheme in 2017. His letter, dated Wednesday, was sent by his attorney and addressed to the FBI, the Eastern District New York court, and the US Secret Service. "Santos taught me how to skim card information and how to clone cards," Trelha said in the sworn statement. "He gave me all the material and taught me how to put skimming devices and cameras on ATM machines." Santos's attorney, Joseph Murray, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. According to the declaration, Trelha met Santos around 2016 when he began renting a room out of Santos's apartment in Florida. At the time, Trelha knew Santos as Anthony Devolder. The congressman's full name is George Anthony Devolder Santos. It's around then when Santos began teaching him about the inner workings of an ATM and credit card scheme, Trelha said. "Santos had a warehouse located on Kirkman Road in Orlando, Florida," Trelha alleged. "He had a lot of material parts, printers, blank ATM and credit cards to be painted and engraved with stolen account and personal information. Santos gave me at his warehouse, some of the parts to illegally skim credit card information." The attorney who helped Trelha file the sworn declaration did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment. When Trelha was arrested in 2017, the former roommate alleged in the statement that Santos visited him in a Seattle jail. Story continues "He told me in jail not to say anything about him," Trelha wrote. "Santos threatened my friends in Florida that I must not say that he was my boss." Trelha's declaration appears to contradict Santos's previous characterization not only of their relationship but also of the congressman's role in the scheme. In an interview with Politico, Santos's lawyer friend, Tiffany Bogosian, said that Santos told her his role in the scheme was as an "informant." Santos also told a Seattle judge during Trelha's hearing that the roommate was actually a "family friend." Trelha spent seven months in jail before he was deported to Brazil in 2018. "Santos did not help me to get out of jail," Trelha alleged. "He also stole the money that I had collected for my bail." Santos's tenure as a freshman congressman has been plagued by allegations of his elaborate lies, a GoFundMe scam, and a theft charge that was dropped in 2020, among other scandals some of which are now a part of ongoing investigations. Politico reported how Santos was charged with theft in 2017 and accused of writing back checks worth thousands of dollars that were meant to be sent to Amish dog breeders in Pennsylvania. The charge was dismissed and expunged from his record after Santos claimed his checkbook was stolen, Politico reported. Read the original article on Business Insider Rep. George Santos said he is innocent in response to questions about his alleged involvement in a 2017 credit card skimming operation, CNN reported on Friday. Santos, who also goes by Anthony Devolder, told reporters on Capitol Hill he never did anything of criminal activity and that he had no mastermind event, CNN reports. Santos comments come after POLITICO exclusively reported that his former roommate, Gustavo Ribeiro Trelha, claimed Santos oversaw the credit card operation. Trelha, who was convicted of the 2017 crime and was deported to Brazil, sent a sworn declaration to federal authorities on Wednesday detailing Santos' alleged role. I am coming forward today to declare that the person in charge of the crime of credit card fraud when I was arrested was George Santos / Anthony Devolder, Trelha wrote in the declaration. Santos, a freshman Republican congressman from New York, has faced backlash for lying about his ancestry, education and previous jobs while campaigning to represent the swing district. He now faces a House panel investigation, as well as state, federal and Brazilian law enforcement probes for a range of possible crimes. He's admitted to embellishing his resume but has denied any wrongdoing. Georgian parliament votes down foreign agents bill after massive rallies Georgia MPs voted 35-1 to repeal the law. The only MP to vote in favor of the bill was David Samkhardze, a leader of Georgias ruling Dream Party. Georgias opposition went to the parliamentary tribune with flags of Georgia and the EU to celebrate the results. Protesters also celebrated the vote near the parliament building in Tbilisi. Rallies in Georgia Rallies began in Georgia on March 7 after the controversial legislation was passed by parliament on its first reading. The law would have obliged any organization receiving 20% or more of its funding from abroad to register as a 'foreign agent' or face fines an almost exact copy of a similar law in Russia used to repress the functioning of civil society and non-governmental organizations. Read also: Amid protests over Russian law in Georgia, will Putin be tempted to intervene? The opposition claimed the law would be used to 'prepare' for Georgias upcoming election to "secure the existing regime." Thousands of Georgians went out to protest the decision. Police used tear gas and water cannons to try to quell the protesters. Later, demonstrators attempted to storm the parliament, but were driven back by security forces. Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili sided with protesters and spoke out against the 'foreign agents' bill. Read also: Georgia sends 25 industrial power generators to Ukraine Police detained and opened cases against 66 people in Tbilisi connected to the mass rally. Georgians, however, were undeterred, and protests resumed on March 8. Thousands of people once more swelled the streets of Tbilisi and other Georgian cities. In addition, Protesters stormed the parliament building on Rustaveli Avenue in the center of the Georgian capital, and set up barricades. Police used tear gas and water cannons to try to suppress the protesters, while dodging stones hurled in their direction as cars burned in the distance. After the initial protests were dispersed, the protesters gathered again. Story continues Rally members demanded the cancellation of the bill and the release of all those detained during the rally. Both demands were satisfied upon two days of protests. The opposition then announced new demands, namely the resignation of the government and new, snap elections. 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 HAMBURG, Germany (AP) A gunman stormed a service at his former Jehovahs Witness hall in Germany, killing six people before taking his own life after police arrived, authorities in the port city of Hamburg said Friday. Police gave no motive for Thursday nights attack. But they acknowledged recently receiving an anonymous tip that claimed the man identified as the shooter showed anger toward Jehovah's Witnesses and might be psychologically unfit to own a gun. Eight people were wounded, including a woman who was 28 weeks pregnant and lost the baby. Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the death toll could rise. Officers apparently arrived at the hall while the attack was ongoing and heard one more shot, according to witnesses and authorities. They did not fire their weapons, but officials said their intervention likely prevented further loss of life at the boxy building next to an auto repair shop a few kilometers (miles) from downtown. Scholz, a former Hamburg mayor, said the city was speechless in view of this violence and mourning those whose lives were taken so brutally. All of the victims were German citizens apart from two wounded women, one with Ugandan citizenship and one with Ukrainian. Officials said the suspected assailant was a 35-year-old German man identified only as Philipp F., in line with the country's privacy rules. Police said he had left the congregation voluntarily, but apparently not on good terms, about a year and a half ago. A website registered in the name of someone who fits the police description says that he grew up in the Bavarian town of Kempten in a strict religious evangelical household. The website, which is filled with business jargon, also links to a self-published book about God, Jesus Christ and Satan. Philipp F. legally owned a semi-automatic Heckler & Koch Pistole P30 handgun, according to police. He fired more than 100 shots during the attack, and the head of the Hamburg prosecutors office, Ralf Peter Anders, said hundreds more rounds were found in a search of the mans apartment. Story continues Germanys gun laws are more restrictive than those in the United States but permissive compared with some European neighbors, and shootings are not unheard of. Last year, an 18-year-old man opened fire in a packed lecture at Heidelberg University, killing one person and wounding three others before killing himself. In 2020, the nation saw two high-profile shootings, one that killed six people and another that took nine lives. In the most recent shooting involving a site of worship, a far-right extremist attempted to force his way into a synagogue in Halle on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur in 2019. After failing to gain entry, he shot two people to death nearby. The German government announced plans last year to crack down on gun ownership by suspected extremists and to tighten background checks. Currently, anyone who wants to acquire a firearm must show that they are fit to do so, including by proving that they require a gun. Reasons can include being part of a sports shooting club or being a hunter. Hamburg Police Chief Ralf Martin Meyer said the man was visited by officers after they received an anonymous tip in January, claiming that he had particular anger toward religious believers, in particular toward Jehovahs Witnesses and his former employer. Officers said the man was cooperative and found no grounds to take away his weapon, according to Meyer. The bottom line is that an anonymous tip in which someone says theyre worried a person might have a psychological illness isnt in itself a basis for (such) measures, he said. Germanys top security official laid a wreath of flowers outside the hall to commemorate the victims and thanked police before taking questions from reporters. Asked whether the attack could have been prevented, Interior Minister Nancy Faser said it was necessary to wait for the investigation to conclude, but she acknowledged that changes were needed in the way background checks are conducted and information is exchanged between authorities. She said a bill now making its way through the legislative process would require gun owners to undergo psychological tests. On Friday morning, forensic investigators in protective white suits could be seen outside the hall. As a light snow fell, officers placed yellow cones on the ground and windowsills to mark evidence. A special operations unit that happened to be near the hall arrived just minutes after receiving the first emergency call at 9:04 p.m., Hamburgs top security official said. The officers were able to separate the gunman from the congregation. We can assume that they saved many peoples lives this way, Hamburg state Interior Minister Andy Grote told reporters. Upon arrival, officers found people with apparent gunshot wounds on the ground floor and then heard a shot from an upper floor, where they found a fatally wounded person believed to be the shooter, according to police spokesman Holger Vehren. Gregor Miebach, who lives within sight of the building, heard shots and filmed a figure entering the building through a window. In his footage, shots can then be heard from inside. The figure later apparently emerges from the hall, is seen in the courtyard and then fires more shots through a first floor window before the lights in the room go out. Miebach told German television news agency NonstopNews that he heard at least 25 shots. After police arrived, one last shot followed, he said. His mother, Dorte Miebach, said she was shocked by the shooting. It's really 50 meters (yards) from our house and many people died, she said. This is still incomprehensible. Jehovahs Witnesses are part of an international church founded in the United States in the 19th century and headquartered in Warwick, New York. The church claims a worldwide membership of about 8.7 million, with about 170,000 in Germany. Members are known for their evangelistic efforts that include knocking on doors and distributing literature in public squares. The denominations practices include a refusal to bear arms, receive blood transfusions, salute a national flag or participate in secular government. David Semonian, a U.S.-based spokesman for Jehovahs Witnesses, said in an emailed statement Friday that members worldwide grieve for the victims of this traumatic event. ___ Moulson and Jordans reported from Berlin. Associated Press journalist David Rising in Bangkok contributed to this report. By Fabian Bimmer HAMBURG (Reuters) - German police were searching for a motive on Friday after a gunman, believed to have been acting alone, killed several people in a Jehovah's Witnesses church in Hamburg. Police declined to say how many people had been killed in Thursday night's attack but said the gunman was believed to be among the dead. The Bild newspaper reported seven people were dead and eight wounded in the shooting in the northern city that is home to Germany's biggest port. Several of the wounded were seriously hurt, the Jehovah's Witnesses said. No details of the suspected killer have been released. Hamburg police were due to brief the media at noon (1100 GMT). "Bad news from Hamburg," Chancellor Olaf Scholz wrote on Twitter early on Friday, calling the attack "a brutal act of violence". He said his thoughts were with the victims, their families and the security forces, who he said "have been through a difficult deployment" since the shooting at around 9 p.m. (2000 GMT). Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said on Twitter that the authorities were working urgently to investigate the crime. "We assume that there is one perpetrator," police said late on Thursday. "Investigations into the motives behind the crime are continuing." Germany has some of the most stringent rules around gun control in Europe and the interior minister said late last year the government planned to tighten gun laws after a suspected plot by a far-right group to violently overthrow the state. 'HORRIFIC ATTACK' The Jehovah's Witnesses said in a statement on their website that the religious community was "deeply affected by the horrific attack on its members of the faith in a Kingdom Hall in Hamburg after a service". The group expressed sympathy for the victims, families "and the traumatized eyewitnesses". Ministers were "doing their best to support them in this difficult hour. We pray for all those affected and wish them the power of the God of all comfort". Story continues Police established an internet portal for people to upload photos and videos "of the crime or relevant events". Soon after the violence began, residents in the Alsterdorf district received warnings on their mobile phones of a "life threatening situation" and the area was sealed off, the DPA news agency reported. Television footage showed dozens of police cars as well as fire engines blocking off streets and some people, wrapped in blankets, being led by emergency service workers into a bus. "We heard shots," one unidentified witness told reporters. "There were 12 continuous shots," he said. "Then we saw how people were taken away in black bags." Police arrived at the scene to find several people seriously wounded and some dead. "Then they heard a shot from above, they went upstairs and found one further person," said a police spokesperson. Germany has been shaken by a number of shootings in the last few years. In February 2020, a gunman with suspected far-right links shot dead nine people, including migrants from Turkey, in the western town of Hanau before killing himself and his mother. In October 2019, a gunman killed two people when he opened fire outside a synagogue in the eastern city of Halle on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur. (Reporting by Madeline Chambers, Sabine Wollrab, Emma-Victoria Farr, Reuters Television; Editing by William Mallard and Robert Birsel) Several people were killed and injured Thursday night after shots were fired inside a building where Jehovahs Witnesses met in the northern German city of Hamburg, officials said. The international Christian denomination founded in the United States has a more than 100-year history in Germany. Today, about 170,000 members call the European country home, according to the denominations website. The denomination itself dates back to the 19th century. It was founded by Charles Taze Russell, a minister from Pittsburgh. Now headquartered in Warwick, New York, it claims a worldwide membership of about 8.7 million. Members are known for their evangelistic efforts including knocking on doors and distributing literature in public squares. Here is a quick look at the international denominations beliefs and their history in Germany: In Germany, there are about 2,020 Jehovahs Witness congregations and 170,491 ministers. One in 498 Germans practice the faith, according to the denominations website. Jehovahs Witnesses do not call their place of worship a church, but Kingdom Hall. This is because they believe the Bible refers to worshippers -- not the building -- as the church. The building or hall where congregants meet to worship Jehovah (the God of the Bible and His Kingdom) is therefore known as Kingdom Hall of Jehovahs Witnesses. Jehovahs Witnesses do not use the cross in worship because they believe the Bible indicates that Jesus did not die on a cross, but on a simple stake, and that the Bible strongly warns Christians to flee from idolatry, which would mean not using the cross in worship, the denomination's website states. Each congregation is supervised by a body of elders. About 20 congregations make up a circuit and are occasionally visited by traveling elders known as circuit overseers. On January 27, 2021, the German State Parliament commemorated the Jehovahs Witnesses courageous stand against Nazi abuse. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the ceremony was hosted online and was viewed by more than 37,000 people from Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland. Story continues About 1,500 Jehovahs Witnesses died during the Holocaust out of about 35,000 who lived in Germany and Nazi-occupied countries at the time. More than 1,000 died in prisons and concentration camps. Members of the faith were persecuted by the Nazi regime because they remained politically neutral. They also refused to sign a document renouncing their beliefs and disobeyed the regimes orders by continuing to meet for worship, doing public ministry and showing kindness to Jewish people. On Jan. 27, 2017, Jehovahs Witnesses received the same legal status that is granted to major religions in Germany, which meant they are viewed as a single religious entity. Prior to gaining this status, their national headquarters in Germany and thousands of congregations in the country were considered independent religious associations. In the U.S., Jehovahs Witnesses suspended door-knocking in the early days of the pandemics onset, just as much of the rest of society went into lockdown too. The organization also ended all public meetings at its 13,000 congregations nationwide and canceled 5,600 annual gatherings worldwide an unprecedented move not taken even during the Spanish Flu pandemic in 1918, which killed 50 million people worldwide. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. (Reuters) - General Motors Co is exploring uses for ChatGPT as part of its broader collaboration with Microsoft Corp, a company executive told Reuters. "ChatGPT is going to be in everything," GM Vice President Scott Miller said in an interview last week. The chatbot could be used to access information on how to use vehicle features normally found in an owners manual, program functions such as a garage door code or integrate schedules from a calendar, Miller said. "This shift is not just about one single capability like the evolution of voice commands, but instead means that customers can expect their future vehicles to be far more capable and fresh overall when it comes to emerging technologies," a GM spokesperson said on Friday. The news was first reported by website Semafor, which said that the American automaker was working on a virtual personal assistant that uses AI models behind ChatGPT. Earlier this year, Microsoft announced a multi-billion dollar investment in ChatGPT-owner OpenAI and said it aims to add the chatbot's technology into all its products. Microsoft, like other big tech companies, has been ramping up its efforts to embed more technology in vehicles, from infotainment systems to automated driving to operating systems that control battery performance and multiple other functions of a vehicle. GM in 2021 partnered with Microsoft to accelerate the commercialization of driverless vehicles. Shares of GM were down about 2% on Friday amid a broader drop. (Reporting by Nathan Gomes in Bengaluru and Joseph White in Detroit; Editing by Maju Samuel) The General Motors headquarters in Michigan. The automaker is reportedly planning to make an AI assistant for its cars. Rebecca Cook/Reuters GM is reportedly working on a virtual assistant based on the AI behind ChatGPT, Semafor reported. The company plans to use its connections to Microsoft, which has helped improve self-driving technology. Microsoft has invested billions in OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, and already incorporated it into Bing. General Motors is reportedly expanding its existing partnership with Microsoft to create a ChatGPT-like virtual assistant for drivers. The Michigan-based manufacturer of Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac wants to utilize Microsoft's investments in OpenAI, the creator of the popular chatbot ChatGPT, to help develop the assistant, according to Semafor. The AI chatbot that has been used for essays, writing emails, and more since its November release was incorporated into a new version of Microsoft Bing last month helping the search engine regain ground on Google and reaching 100 million daily active users this week alone. Microsoft, which has invested billions in OpenAI, also partnered with GM in 2021, as the automaker sought assistance with improving its self-driving technology. Now, GM hopes to use that partnership to incorporate the technology that makes ChatGPT possible into an in-car assistant that can respond to verbal commands, Semafor reported. The examples reported by Semafor include an assistant that's able to pull up a "how to change a flat tire" video or capable of diagnosing the seriousness of a check engine light by indicating whether it needs to be addressed immediately or if it can wait. Scott Miller, GM's vice president of software defined vehicle and operating system, told Reuters that a ChatGPT-based assistant could be capable of reciting information typically found in an owners' manual, or be programmed to use functions like a garage door code. Miller confirmed to Semafor that GM is working on an AI assistant, and said it could be capable of more than simple voice commands that have been used in GM cars in the past. General Motors did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. Read the original article on Business Insider Goldie Hawn has opened up about the time she confronted Harvey Weinstein after he sabotaged their former deal. In the late Eighties, Weinsteins production company Miramax was set to adapt the famous Broadway musical Chicago for the screen. Hawn was set to star as Velma Kelly opposite Madonna as Roxie Hart. Though, while it was in development, Weinstein commissioned an alternative script which featured a younger 23-year-old Velma. Hawn was two decades older at the time. Harvey basically undermined me and Madonna, Hawn told Variety in a new interview. I said, Dont f*** with me. Because I know just what youre doing. We made a deal. The project eventually deteriorated, and Weinstein later overhauled it with Renee Zellweger leading as Roxie and Catherine Zeta-Jones as Velma. The 2002 film went on to win the Oscar for Best Film the following year. However, to Hawns pleasant surprise, the since-disgraced media mogul did end up paying her the amount they had originally shaken on for her work. You stand up to a bully, and sometimes you win, she recalled. I said to him afterwards, You know what the best part of you paying me is? Not the money. You restored my faith in dignity and ethics. Little did I know... Goldie Hawn, Madonna and Harvey Weinstein (Getty Images) Hes finally living his karma, she added. Weinstein is currently serving a decades-long prison sentence for sexual assault crime convictions in Los Angeles and New York. From prison, he shared a statement with the outlet, saying: Acting roles were always chosen based on what was best for the project, artistically and financially. We felt we did the best we could on Chicago and Im proud of it, and I am so elated that Goldies experience was a positive one, and that she has the fortitude to say that in this environment. I would simply say, thank you. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) Tennessee's Republican lieutenant governor has apologized after revelations that he interacted on social media to nearly nude photos of a young gay model as well as other posts by the man and other LGBTQ personalities, even as the lawmaker has led a Senate that has passed bills targeting the LGBTQ community. With Lt. Gov. Randy McNally as its speaker, Tennessee's Senate has advanced and passed bans this year on gender-affirming care for transgender youth and restrictions on where certain drag shows can take place. The 79-year-old told WTVF-TV on Thursday that he's really, really sorry if Ive embarrassed my family, embarrassed my friends, embarrassed any of the members of the legislature with the posts. It was not my intent to (embarrass them), and not my intent to hurt them, said McNally, who added that he befriended the man on Facebook, then on Instagram, but that they have not met in person. The Tennessee Holler, a progressive website, first brought attention to the posts on Wednesday, calling McNally's repeated comments on the various posts hypocritical. For instance, McNally responded to racy social media posts by 20-year-old Franklyn McClur. McClur told WMC-TV that he knew it was a cool opportunity that the lieutenant governor was commenting on his posts. He said that he asked McNally if there were any open positions in his office, and McNally seemed very willing to help me out. McNally voted to send the finalized drag show bill to the governor. He was not on hand when the transgender youth bill passed, and has largely stayed quiet about that bill. The missed vote came days after a heart-related health scare. Shortly after McNally's online interactions were publicized, his spokesperson, Adam Kleinheider, said McNally is a great-grandfather and a prolific social media commenter who frequently posts encouraging messages to many of his followers, even if he may not always use the proper emoji at the proper time. Story continues During a press gaggle Thursday, McNally said he is not anti-gay and said the bills in question try to limit certain things, and I think there are safeguards in those bills. He noted that he spoke out against a 2020 law that assures continued taxpayer funding of faith-based foster care and adoption agencies even if those organizations exclude LGBTQ families and others based on religious beliefs. I try to encourage people on my posts and I try to support people, McNally said. Just because he (McClur) is gay I also have friends that are gay, and I have friends that are relatives that are gay. But I don't feel any animosity toward gay people. I think that's fairly clear. McNally said he "still kind of" feels that marriage should be between a man and a woman, but said he has gay friends who are married and has to abide by the Supreme Court's precedent on gay marriage. Republican Gov. Bill Lee has already signed the ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth under the age of 18, as well as the legislation that keeps certain drag shows off public property or anywhere else a minor could see them, if authorities deem them to fall under obscenity laws. The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee has said drag shows do not inherently fall under the law's narrow definitions, which include extreme sexual or violent content without artistic value. But the ACLU and other advocates for LGBTQ rights fear that officials could use the law subjectively to censor drag artists. In the subsequent TV interview, McNally said he initially was "not very kind" to the LGBTQ community. As I learned some things and met some people in that community, I realized that they are still individuals and they still have value, McNally said. Asked if he is thinking about resigning, McNally said, "I think that's really up the members of the Senate." He said he has heard from some fellow lawmakers who still support him. I think Ill be a lot more careful about using social media, McNally said. McNally, who is from Oak Ridge, became lieutenant governor in 2017. He has been a state lawmaker since the late 1970s. Valley of Enchantment resident Bill Roberts walks away with food and supplies from a volunteer food pantry in the San Bernardino Mountains community. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) During the nearly two weeks he was stranded in his home, Mark Steven Young called about 20 people or agencies to try to get his street plowed and a 6-foot mound of snow cleared from his door. The 70-year-old Cedar Glen resident had been trapped after back-to-back storms dumped more than 100 inches of snow on the San Bernardino Mountains surviving off the food and powdered milk in his house. But he was running low on medicine. "I could try to walk to the village, but I got a bad leg, so that's not too good," he said. Help arrived over the weekend when volunteers with Sandals Church Lake Arrowhead showed up with food and Young's heart, blood pressure and pain medications. When they saw the snow on Young's property, they left and returned with snowshoes so they could make the trek to his door. Those who came to Young's aid exemplify how community members stepped up in the wake of the devastating storms to help provide the services they say officials did not. Throughout the snow-blanketed region, volunteers have distributed bread, established makeshift food banks, cleared snow from neighbors' roofs and roadways, and created an online notification system to find those with the greatest needs. "We rally really well with things like this," said Adam Atchison, a pastor for Sandals Church in Riverside who has helped deliver food and supplies to mountain residents. "When there's a tangible need, we tend to show up in force." Volunteers with Sandals Church gather food for delivery into the community as Crestline residents continue to dig out. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) Some isolated residents have been injured by collapsed roofs and gas explosions in their homes. Others have languished without power and heat, relying on a dwindling supply of food and medicine and growing increasingly angry with San Bernardino County officials, who they say failed to prepare for the storms and address their needs afterward. As of Thursday, at least 13 people have died since the snowstorms hit. More people are believed to be dead in their homes, their neighbors say, having been cut off from access to services and emergency responders. Story continues Authorities say preliminary investigations suggest the deaths were not weather-related, but locals insist the scope of the tragedy could have been lessened had roads been cleared sooner. Kristy Baltezore, a Crestline resident, discovered during a welfare check that her neighbor had died. "I have people calling me crying because they're so exhausted and they're terrified that they're not going to be able to save their neighbors' lives because they've been digging for days and days to get to people," she said. County officials have acknowledged they weren't fully prepared for the onslaught of storms that battered the mountains. The front-end plows used for routine road maintenance had been rendered ineffective by the immense amount of snow. Officials also said there wasn't enough time to ask for extra equipment from other jurisdictions. You have our commitment as an organization that there are a lot of lessons that were going to learn from this, San Bernardino County Chief Executive Leonard Hernandez said during a recent video briefing. The only grocery store in Crestline, Goodwin's Market, closed last week because of a partly collapsed roof, prompting Baltezore to spring into action. The 44-year-old film and TV production designer helped set up an emergency food bank and created a database for residents on the mountain, allowing people to submit their location and what they need. The volunteer effort, dubbed "Operation Mountain Strong," then created a map for residents to check on people nearby who need help. As of Tuesday evening, the group has heard back from 346 households in emergency situations. "I know there are people dead," Baltezore said. "I see what every single person on that map needs. I know who they are. I know how vulnerable they are. This is not good. We still have half our community we haven't made contact with." Sandals Church volunteer Dave Mack shovels a path for Denise Goss in Crestline. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) Executive pastor Dan Zimbardi of Sandals Church Lake Arrowhead said they sent out an online form to about 1,000 parishioners last week, asking if anyone needed help and if anyone was capable of helping. The form has since reached thousands of people. Sandals Church has 14 locations throughout California; volunteers from other church campuses began bringing food and supplies to the San Bernardino church after the storms, Zimbardi said. They then created distribution points in Lake Arrowhead and Crestline and sent teams to meet people on their streets or even at their homes. "The mountain community is extraordinarily resilient but, more importantly, so unified as a broader community," he said. "Theres really thousands of people helping their neighbors up here." Megan Vasquez, who lives in a Crestline neighborhood called Valley of Enchantment, started a food distribution center nearly a week ago because residents there couldn't get to the county's food bank. "It's so shameful," she said. "If I watch our local news, [authorities are] saying that they have a handle on things and they're taking care of everyone and food is being distributed. That is not true. I've been boots on the ground from the very beginning, and we haven't even been able to reach everyone. There are still families snowed in we're not aware of." Vasquez said her street was finally plowed Tuesday by a private citizen. "This is a crazy, unheard of 100-year-storm and the lack of government officials or government agencies coming in and helping has been lackluster to say the least," she said. The food distribution center at Veterans of Foreign Wars in Cedarpines Park on March 7, 2023. (Summer Lin / Los Angeles Times) A few days after the storms, Robin Riolo also created a food distribution point at the Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Cedarpines Park. She heard about people going hungry and decided to cook hot food there for people to pick up. More community members then got involved, bringing pizzas and other supplies. On Monday, Sandals Church members dropped off boxes of food and supplies, including diapers, baby formula and medicine. They also got insulin from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. "We just got together," said Riolo, who has lived on the mountain for a decade. "We just have to do it. I went through all the food in my house, cooking for my neighbors. I shoveled a lot of people out." Riolo said after having helped hundreds of people at the center that things began to slow down Tuesday. "I'm kind of glad it's slow because that means people are taken care of," she said. "They know they can call and one of us will deliver to them. Now we go to figure out where else on this mountain needs this stuff." Teo Solano walked atop several feet of hard snow Tuesday, using a shovel to scoop snow off the roof of a home in Lake Arrowhead. Solano, his father and his friend have been clearing mounds of snow off roofs and clearing out driveways for elderly neighbors. They are also clearing snow from gas meters to prevent explosions. "It's been tough," the Lake Arrowhead resident said. "We haven't got any help from the government. But we got each other's backs." The major highways, arteries in the mountain communities, have been mostly cleared by Caltrans. But many of the smaller roads, which are maintained by San Bernardino County, either are blocked by snow or have been reduced to one lane. "Caltrans has been doing what they can, but there's still a lot of people stuck in their homes," Solano said. "They don't know where to put the snow." Kadyn Wheat, 14, shovels snow as he works to free the family car. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) Liberty Guerrero and her husband, Zachary Pardee, both 33-year-old Crestline residents, rented two snow removers a couple of days into the storms to try to dig people out. They posted on social media and asked residents to call them if they needed help. Guerrero said the calls they received were heartbreaking. There was a 70-year-old man, and you could hear his voice cracking because he couldnt shovel his driveway anymore, she said. He couldnt open his door. Guerrero also heard from two older women in Lake Arrowhead who needed lifesaving medicine and tried to crawl out of their second-story window into the snow. As of Wednesday night, the couple have plowed snow for about 25 to 30 people. Nothing has been the county, she said. Its all been us reaching out our hands and people meeting us halfway and helping each other the way we need help. Alexander Vallejos, a manager at Twin Peaks Farmers Market, arrived at the Crestline library with a pickup truck full of donations from Old Town Baking Co. in San Bernardino. He and Sean Devine, also from the farmers market, were making their rounds Tuesday, dropping off bread. "We are just making sure that people have what they need," Devine said. He's watched as distribution centers have been set up around the mountain communities, where stranded people can walk to for some groceries. "It was a really wonderful thing to see people come together and help each other," Devine said. "It's a good feeling to be a part of it." Staff writer Grace Toohey contributed to this report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. By Virginia Furness and Simon Jessop LONDON (Reuters) - New rules in Europe to crack down on greenwashing are not making it easier to spot genuine environmentally-friendly funds as asset managers continue to apply different standards for what constitutes sustainable investing. More than 30 fund managers, consultants, lawyers and regulators interviewed by Reuters said that despite European Union rules demanding more disclosure, funds remained hard to compare and greenwashing difficult to spot. A surge in demand for green investments has led to a rush by investment managers to label products as sustainable, when often portfolios still include carbon-intensive businesses. The European Commission has tried to provide more clarity with its Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), initially launched in March 2021, which aims to outlaw misleading claims. Last year, the Commission clarified the rules to require fund managers dedicated to pursuing sustainable investments -- known as Article 9 funds under the SFDR -- to have 100% of their portfolio in environmentally-friendly companies. The SFDR defines sustainable investment as contributing to "an environmental or social objective", assessed by indicators such as use of raw materials or production of waste. The regime got tougher in January with more detailed disclosures required to resolve problems identified since the rules were introduced. But the Commission's latest efforts have not cleared up the greenwashing muddle for funds domiciled in the EU and governed by the SFDR, which had a face value of 8.4 trillion euros ($8.88 trillion) at end-December, according to fund management specialist Morningstar. The people Reuters spoke to said discrepancies among fund portfolios reflected a lack of clarity from the Commission over what constitutes a sustainable investment. "One of the objectives was to fight greenwashing and we are really at a stage now where the way the regulation is being implemented doesn't help prevent it," said Mathilde Dufour, head of sustainability research at French asset manager Mirova. Story continues The Commission's changes aim to plug gaps that allowed funds branding themselves as sustainable to invest in everything from oil to tobacco. In response, many funds downgraded the classification of their funds at the end of last year from Article 9 to the less demanding Article 8, which requires sustainability to be only one of the factors informing investment decisions. Alena Kosava, head of investment research at AJ Bell, one of Britain's biggest retail investment platforms, said the current lack of clarity and transparency meant investors were vulnerable to paying higher fees for funds that may not deliver on their advertised green status or fairly reflect the underlying sustainability risks. "Article 9 can often be offered at a premium and could be seen as a cash cow [for managers] but investors cannot often be certain that fund groups are doing what is necessary," she said. Graphic: SFDR fund type breakdown (by assets) https://www.reuters.com/graphics/EU-REGULATION/SUSTAINABLEFINANCE/akpeqonlnpr/chart.png Graphic: Minimum level of sustainable investments https://www.reuters.com/graphics/EU-REGULATION/SUSTAINABLEFINANCE/gkplwljomvb/chart.png INCONSISTENCIES The new regime has not resolved the inconsistencies in the portfolios claiming green credentials. For example, data provided to Reuters by Morningstar shows that as of mid-January more than 100 out of 891 Article 9 funds in Europe were invested in some aspect of thermal coal, a big climate change contributor. In the Nuveen Global Clean Infrastructure Impact Fund, for example, 29% of companies were directly or indirectly exposed to thermal coal, which Morningstar said could be through activities such as mining, coal-power generation or providing services to the sector. Nordea, BlackRock and Macquarie also run funds which had over 8% exposure to the fuel, the Morningstar data showed. A Nuveen spokesperson told Reuters it applied revenue threshold limits to investing in coal-based power generation, but declined to specify what they were. They also said the investments were justified to facilitate "an orderly and effective energy transition". Eric Pedersen, head of responsible investments at Nordea Asset Management, also said the investments were in line with its energy transition planning. A Macquarie spokesperson said its fund's coal exposure was linked to power generation investments where the companies had agreed to phase out its use. A BlackRock spokesperson said its fund's exposure "was linked to legacy power generation investments where the companies are investing heavily into renewable energy, which is helping decarbonise electricity generation for the economies they serve." There is no explicit rule against thermal coal in Article 9 and the market is seeking clarity from the Commission on whether any fossil fuel investments have a place in an Article 9 fund, Hortense Bioy, global director of sustainability research at Morningstar, said. The French financial regulator proposed in February that Article 9 should exclude fossil fuel activities that are not aligned with the EU's taxonomy, a list of environmentally friendly activities. Graphic: Top 10 Article 9 funds by thermal coal involvement https://www.reuters.com/graphics/EU-REGULATION/SUSTAINABLEFINANCE/zjpqjyazbvx/chart.png Graphic: Top 10 thermal coal holdings in Article 8 and 9 funds https://www.reuters.com/graphics/EU-REGULATION/SUSTAINABLEFINANCE/klvygnmrrvg/chart.png TEMPERATURE GAUGE MSCI, the finance industry data provider, has developed a way of checking on investment funds' green credentials with its ESG Implied Temperature Rise tool. This is used by the funds industry, while some fund managers also have their own versions to keep track at the portfolio level. When analysed using MSCI's tool, 16 of the 20 biggest Article 9 funds, as ranked by Morningstar, are not currently aligned with a goal agreed by governments in 2015 to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The MSCI tool assesses the funds' portfolio emissions relative to the maximum amount of carbon that can be emitted globally and still hit the world's climate target. Among them, for example, are BlackRock's Sustainable Energy Fund, Nordea's Global Climate and Environment Fund and Pictet's Global Environmental Opportunities Fund. Pictet Asset Management's head of ESG Eric Borremans and Nordea's Pedersen said implied temperature rise estimates in general are methodologies in their infancy and should not be used on their own to assess the sustainability of a fund's portfolio. BlackRock declined to comment. SUSTAINABLE OR NOT SUSTAINABLE Mirova's Dufour said Article 8 funds now accounted for more than half the European market and deployed a wide range of strategies that were particularly hard to compare. Stuart Ballard, head of product strategy and development at asset manager Federated Hermes, said the SFDR's loose definition can result "in one asset manager considering a particular stock to be a sustainable investment and another asset manager not considering that to be a sustainable investment." The Commission said in December it would answer some of the questions posed by investors "early next year" and would begin a "comprehensive assessment" of SFDR. When asked for comment by Reuters, a Commission spokesperson made reference to the December speech by Commissioner Mairead McGuinness. The Commission did not respond to a further request for comment. LACK OF ENFORCEMENT National regulators in EU member states, responsible for monitoring the SFDR enforcement, have only sanctioned a handful of funds for breaches. Denmark's market watchdog in February ordered eight funds to take remedial action after finding they had violated SFDR because of insufficient disclosures. Henrik Brarup Damgaard, Director, Head of ESG supervision at the Danish market regulator, said: "There are some areas where there has been a need for dialogue with the industry and where the Commission has or will be providing further guidance." A spokesperson for the financial regulator in Ireland, home to a substantial number of funds, told Reuters it was reviewing local fund disclosures, as are regulators in Luxembourg, the EU's largest fund hub. A spokesperson for Luxembourg regulator the CSSF said the development of the regulatory framework had triggered an increase in demand for products with sustainability features, but there was generally no binding definition of greenwashing available in the EU regime. "The characterisation of what constitutes a sustainable investment under the SFDR is also a concept that needs further clarifications at European level." ($1 = 0.9463 euros) (Reporting by Virginia Furness and Simon Jessop in London; Graphics by Pasit Kongkunakornkul; Editing by Greg Roumeliotis and Jane Merriman) By Hannah Lang (Reuters) -Greg Becker, the chief executive officer who presided over the collapsed Silicon Valley Bank, joined the company three decades ago as a loan officer. The executive cut his teeth during the dotcom bubble and later steered the startup-focused lender in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis. He became president and CEO of SVB Financial Group in 2011. The company's operations abruptly came to a halt on Friday as California banking regulators moved quickly to shut it down in what became the largest bank failure since the financial crisis. Just 24 hours earlier, Becker had personally called clients to assure them their money with the bank was safe. The executive sent a video message to employees on Friday acknowledging the "incredibly difficult" 48 hours leading up to the bank's collapse. "It's with an incredibly heavy heart that I'm here to deliver this message," he said in a video seen by Reuters. "I can't imagine what was going through your head and wondering, you know, about your job, your future." Becker, who served on the board of directors at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, departed the board effective Friday, a spokesperson for the regional Fed bank said. In January, Becker said the economic outlook was improving after a downbeat 2022. We're optimistic because our crystal ball is a little clearer," Becker told CNBC. While he expected public markets to stabilize, "we still think in the first half there is going to be more volatility." Becker graduated from Indiana University with a bachelor's degree in business, according to Silicon Valley Bank's website. From there, he worked at a bank that served what he called "traditional companies." When his manager left to work for Silicon Valley Bank, Becker followed, he said in 2021 on a Bloomberg podcast. Representatives for Silicon Valley Bank did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Story continues The banker described his first few years at SVB as "the highest of highs and the lowest of lows" as the lender navigated the tech rout of the late 1990s. "We took losses. It was a challenging time for us... I look back on it fondly. I learned a lot about the institution. I learned a lot about how to lend money," he said. Before becoming president and CEO of SVB Financial Group, Becker co-founded SVB Capital, the company's investment arm. He also served as the chairman of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group from 2014 to 2017 and was a member of the U.S. Commerce Department's Digital Economy Board of Advisors from 2016 to 2017. Becker cycles in his free time and has five grown children. Silicon Valley Bank's website calls Becker a "champion of the innovation economy." In a video for the BBC in December, Becker said his best career advice was for job seekers to build a skill-set around the innovation economy in fields like computer programming and project management. "When you think about your opportunity, if you are under-represented (and have) those skills, it truly is endless," he said. (Reporting by Hannah Lang in Washington; Editing by Lananh Nguyen, Josie Kao and Raju Gopalakrishnan) VIENNA (AP) The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency is set for another four-year term at the helm of the U.N. nuclear watchdog as it grapples with monitoring Iran's nuclear activities and tries to shore up the safety of power plants in Ukraine. The IAEA said that its 35-nation board of governors on Friday reappointed Argentine diplomat Rafael Mariano Grossi by acclamation for a second term as the organization's director-general, beginning in early December. The annual meeting of the IAEA's 176 member countries, the general conference, will have to sign off formally on the reappointment when it meets in September. Grossi said in a statement that he was deeply honored by the board's unanimous decision. "It comes at a time when we face many major challenges and Im fully committed to continue to do everything in my power to implement the IAEAs crucial mission in support of global peace and development, he said. Grossi took charge of the Vienna-based agency in December 2019, months after his predecessor, Yukiya Amano, died in office. His time in office has come amid mounting tensions between Iran and the West as Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers unraveled. The IAEA has sought to keep up its monitoring of Iran's nuclear activities amid mounting difficulties. Over the past year, Grossi has repeatedly expressed alarm about the risks of a nuclear disaster following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which has seen Moscow's forces occupy the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant Europe's biggest. The IAEA has placed teams of experts at all four of Ukraines nuclear power plants, including Zaporizhzhia. Grossi has for months pursued a delicate diplomatic drive to get a nuclear safety and security protection zone set up around the Zaporizhzhia plant, an aim that so far has proven elusive. Labor unions are calling on the state of North Carolina to protect undocumented witnesses of the deadly Dilworth scaffolding collapse. The groups, including the Charlotte-Metrolina Labor Council, said some workers who witnessed the accident havent spoken to state investigators over fears of immigration enforcement. READ MORE: Three men died in the collapse at a construction site back in January. Jose Canaca, Jesus Olivares and Gilberto Fernandez died after falling 70 feet on Jan. 2 at an apartment complex construction site along East Morehead Street. Two other workers were hurt. Now, labor unions are pushing the state to adopt a federal policy that temporarily protects undocumented workers during workplace investigations. The state Occupational Safety and Health Division said it is reviewing this request and will respond to the labor council once the review is complete. Work at the site is suspended indefinitely while the investigation continues. The Occupational Safety and Health Administrations investigation into what happened could take up to six months to complete. (WATCH BELOW: Friends, brothers, fathers: The men who died in the Dilworth scaffolding collapse) Photo Illustration by Kelly Caminero / The Daily Beast / Alamy Wes Craven broke into the world of horror with the mortifying rape-revenge film The Last House on the Left in 1972. For decades, Craven was a titan of the genre, helming classics like A Nightmare on Elm Street and The Hills Have Eyes. His finest work can be found in the slasher franchise Scream. As the director of the first four Scream movies (2011s Scream 4 was Cravens final film before his death in 2015), Craven crafted a world full of humor, terror, and meta-humor that proved to be an undeniably entertaining concoction. Fans thought the franchise was over when Craven died, but in 2022, a new team brought the world of meta-terror back with the legacy sequel Scream. The fifth film in the franchise introduced a new cast of characters, while reintroducing beloved fan favorites. It was every bit as sharp as Cravens films were and proved that the series had plenty of places to go. The Real-Life Serial Killer Who Inspired the Scream Movies Scream 6 is set to continue the revived franchise, bringing it to New York City for the first time. If youve never seen any Scream film, you may be wondering why on Earth theres six of them now. Youre also probably despondent over the idea of having to watch five films just to keep up with whats going. But have no fear! Heres everything you need to know about the world of Screamlets call it the Screamverseto get ready for Scream 6. The (not-so) basics 1996s Scream establishes the fictional town of Woodsboro and our hero Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), a high school student whose mother was murdered one year before. Still justifiably haunted by what happened, Sidney is horrified to discover that dead bodies are piling up once again in Woodsboro. To make matters worse, shes a prime target herself. The suspect, who disguises their voice and is known only as Ghostface for the mask they wear, claims to have killed her mother, and they wont rest until Sidney herself is dead. With some help from police officer Dewey (David Arquette) and reporter Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox), Sidney manages to subdue and uncover the killer. Shes devastated to discover that her very own boyfriend Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich) was behind the Ghostface mask. Thats rightthe man who killed Sidneys mother and tried to kill her was her boyfriend, a discovery she makes moments after losing her virginity to him. Thats a lot! To make things wilder, there were actually two killers splitting Ghostface duties, the other being Sidneys and Billys friend Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard). Story continues Scream (1996). Alamy The two-killer reveal was a massive shock and lay the blueprint for the franchise. Since then, there are always two killers, making it twice as tantalizing to suss out whos behind the mask. The identity of Ghostface is also different every film, making the whodunnit aspect extra exciting every time. What you need to know about Scream 2, 3, and 4 is that they introduce the Stab movies, a (fictional) series of horror movies inspired by the events of the first Scream, which exist within the Screamverse. The first one follows the events of the 96 Scream, but theyve taken on a life of their own ever since. The Stab series also inspires plenty of copycat Ghostface killers along the way. Scream 3 takes place on the set of Stab 3, creating a phantasmagoria of winking madness. By the time we reach 2022s Scream, there have been eight in-universe Stab movies; the controversial nature of the latest Stab film becomes of great importance in the 2022 film. 2022 Was the Year That Horror Movies Became Prom Queen Speaking of 2022s Screamit essentially reboots the franchise. It's so similar to the original that it even has the same name, but it spices things up in some exciting new ways. This fifth entry does ignore a cardinal rule introduced in Scream 4, however: Dont fuck with the original. But its such a satisfying ride that fans (myself included) are eagerly anticipating how the story will continue on in Scream 6. Who you need to know In Scream (2022), were introduced to four characters who survive to see Scream 6, where they are poised to take on an important role. Tara Carpenter (Jenna Ortega) appears in the first scene of Scream, leading us to think she wont make it out alive. (Cardinal rule: If youre in the opening scene, youre going to die.) But despite failing some Stab trivia and enraging him, Tara calls the police before Ghostface kills her; she manages to survive, despite receiving a number of stab wounds. This brings her sister Sam (Melissa Barrera) back to Woodsboro, where she reveals a devastating secret: When she was 13, Sam discovered that she was the daughter of her mothers affair. Her father is actually Billy Loomis, Sidney Prescotts ex and the Ghostface from the original film. Alongside the Carpenter sisters (named after Halloween director John Carpenter, Im sure) are Chad (Mason Gooding) and Mindy (Jasmin Savoy Brown), twins who are friends of Taras from high school. Theyre the nephews of Randy (Jamie Kennedy), a deceased friend of Sidney, who was a horror film obsessive. We didnt get to know much about Chad in the previous film, but Mindy shone through, carrying on her uncle Randys legacy as a horror movie fiend. She even repeats Randys famous Look behind you line from the original film. Mindy is also the series first canonically queer character, which means we must protect her at all costs. Paramount Pictures All four of the friends were brutally attacked by Ghostface in this film, so I imagine in Scream 6, theyll be extremely concerned that yet another Ghostface is back in their livesespecially as theyve moved all the way to New York City to get away from Woodsboro. That said, Scream spends a lot of time focusing on the legacy characters, so the newbies still are a bit undefined. Theres plenty of opportunity for Scream 6 to explore them furtherassuming any of them make it out alive. A surprise for many fans will be the return of Kirby Reed (Hayden Panettiere), whos set to have a major role in Scream 6. She was last seen left for dead in Scream 4, making this a long-awaited and surprising comeback. The biggest returning character is Gale Weathers, the only character whos been in every film. After first appearing a ruthless reporter who will do whatever it takes for a story, Gale has steadily become one of the series heroes, possessing a great blend of charm, survival skills, and a steadfast commitment to her career. She also fell in love with Dewey. The pair got married around the time of Scream 4, though they were divorced by the time the reboot came around. (Courteney Cox and David Arquette, a.k.a. Gale and Dewey, followed a similar trajectory in real life; the divorcees remain friends.) Scream 2. Alamy This brings us to the franchises most important character. No disrespect to Halloweens Laurie Strode, but Sidney Prescott is the ultimate final girl. Shes lost so many people that matter to her that death is practically programmed into her. Yet shes remained incredibly resilient in the face of all these murders, five grueling films, and plenty of Ghostfaces that have tried to take her down. The only thing you can really count on in Scream movies is that Sidney Prescott is going to make it to the end. Except for this time. News that actor Neve Campbell was not returning for Scream 6 took the internet by storm and left Scream fans heartbroken. How could the series continue without her? Why on Earth wouldnt they pay Campbell what she deserves? She is the franchise. Still, if last years Scream is any indication, there will be plenty of references to Sidney, even if she isnt going to grace us with her presence. And at the end of 2022s Scream, she seemed at peace, living far from Woodsboro, happily married with children. Maybe Ghostface has finally decided to stop hunting her. I can live with that, even if it means being without the best character in the Screamverse. How Are You Gonna Lowball Neve Campbell for Scream 6? Whos new to the cast of Scream 6? Joining the cast for this film are Jack Champion, Liana Liberato, Tony Revolori, Samara Weaving, Dermot Mulroney, Henry Czerny, Devyn Nekoda, and Josh Segarra, amongst others. Whether any of them makes it out alive or not remains to be seen; the film has been touted as one of the most kill-filled films in the series. Whos behind the mask in Scream 6? Good question! The quick answer: I have no idea. Youll have to see the movie to find out, and Im sure the reveals will surprise us both. What makes Scream so special? All of this discussion matters because Scream matters. The movies have become one of horrors defining franchises for one reason: the gloriously self-referential, meta quality that defines it. These movies pride themselves on gleefully toying with horror conventions. Alamy Each Scream film is extremely aware of other horror movies and their tropes. In the very first scene of the original Scream, hapless victim Casey (Drew Barrymore) takes a phone call from a killer, who makes her answer horror movie trivia to save her and her boyfriends life. When the mysterious callerGhostface, the series iconic villainsuddenly bangs on the door, Casey pleads, Whos there? only to be told, Never say whos there? Dont you watch scary movies? Its a death wish. One character in Scream breaks down the essential rules of surviving a horror movie, with multiple new rules introduced throughout the franchise. Scream 2 has an entire sequence set in a college film class, with students discussing movie sequels and their merits. In the fifth Scream, which bears the same title as the original, even has someone explicitly explain that theyre all living through a legacy sequel. 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. The Gulf cartel apologized Thursday after two U.S. citizens were killed in an armed abduction last week in Mexico. The cartel condemned the violence in a letter obtained by The Associated Press and said they had turned over members who were involved. A senior law enforcement official told NBC News that U.S. authorities believe the letter is legitimate. "The Gulf Cartel Grupo Escorpiones strongly condemns the events of Friday, March 3 in which unfortunately an innocent working mother died and four American citizens were kidnapped, of which two died," a translation of the letter says. "For this reason, we have decided to hand over those involved and directly responsible for the events who at all times acted under their own determination and indiscipline and against the rules in which the CDG has always operated." A photograph of five bound men facedown on the pavement accompanied a letter claiming to be from a Mexican drug cartel that included an apology after four Americans were abducted, two of whom died. (Obtained by NBC News) Four Americans were shot at and kidnapped after they drove into Matamoros, Mexico, just south of Brownsville, Texas, for a medical procedure. Video showed a gunman dragging people into a white pickup truck, a law enforcement source with knowledge of the matter has said. Tamaulipas state Gov. Americo Villarreal said at a news conference that a woman, identified by her family as LaTavia Washington McGee, and a man, Eric Williams, survived the kidnapping. Both were taken to a clinic for medical treatment and returned to the U.S. by an international bridge between Matamoros and Brownsville. Latavia Washington McGee and Eric Williams. (WMBF; Courtesy Michelle Williams) McGee's mother said she had spoken to her daughter, and Williams' wife said he had been shot in the leg but was back in the U.S. Zalandria Brown of Florence, South Carolina, told The Associated Press that her younger brother, Zindell, was among the four victims. Aliyah McCleod, McGee's cousin, identified another member of the group as Shaeed Woodard. On Thursday, the remains of Woodard and Brown were handed over to U.S. authorities in Brownsville, the AP reported. McCleod said the group is from South Carolina and had been traveling in a rental vehicle with North Carolina license plates when it entered Matamoros. Williams' wife described the group as childhood friends. Story continues A fifth person was along for the trip from South Carolina. The traveler got out just before the group reached the border because the person didnt have the documentation needed to cross into Mexico, a law enforcement official said Wednesday. That fifth person could be seen riding with the group in video taken by Williams. A law enforcement official with knowledge of the matter said a woman in the group had been seeking a cosmetic medical procedure. The official said cartel gunmen targeted the group in a case of mistaken identity. In its letter, the Gulf cartel said it respects the "life, tranquility and integrity of the innocent" and apologized to "the society of Matamoros ... the affected American individuals, and families." "In addition the CDG asks society to remain calm because we are committed to ensure that these errors caused by indiscipline arent repeated. The guilty parties will pay, regardless of who they are," the letter reads. A 24-year-old man from Tamaulipas state, identified only as Jose N, "was found guarding the victims" and was arrested, Villarreal said. It's not clear what charges he faces. The State Department issued a "Do Not Travel" alert for Tamaulipas, noting that organized crimes, including gun battles, murder and kidnapping, are common along the border and in Ciudad Victoria. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com NORWICH Instead of a usual day at the office for Jenn Blais, director of marketing operations and production at Bobs Discount Furniture, Wednesday was full of hammers, heavy lifting, and doing good. It was great to get a group of Bobs Discount Furniture women together, come down to Norwich, and help build houses for folks, she said. A group of 39 people, mostly women, gathered in Greeneville to work on houses for Habitat for Humanity of Eastern Connecticut. This was one of many events sponsored by Habitat branches across the country for Women Build 2023, coinciding with International Womens Day on Wednesday. The event is an opportunity for women to learn how to use construction tools and expand their skills in something not traditionally seen as an option for women. It also helps expand the volunteer base, said Tara Filip, director of mission, advancement and integration for Habitat for Humanity of Eastern Connecticut. Habitat for Humanity's presence in Norwich Habitat is finishing the last six of 10 homes in Greeneville by the fall. Optimally, Habitat builds take six to eight months. With these Greeneville builds, it started in 2019, but the pandemic and supply chain issues threw off the schedule, Filip said. Weve got a lot of work to do, and need all the volunteer effort we can get, she said. Having women come on this special day is important to us to be able to celebrate together. A group of Centreville Bank Employees install a window as a part of Eastern Connecticut Habitat for Humanity's Women Work 2023 event. Volunteers from Bobs Discount Furniture, the Mystic Congregational Church, and the Book Club Builders, sponsored by Birk Manufacturing, joined Centreville Bank on site. Two other groups signed up, but will volunteer at another time. While staff and more experienced volunteers from Habitat oversaw things, the women from these entities did most of the work. The book club also happens to be Filips group of childhood friends. One of them had already participated in a Habitat for Humanity build through Bank of America, so the whole group was easy to convince. Story continues We all went to elementary school together, she said. Our parents were best friends so we played on the beaches of Niantic together in the 70s. More:What are the challenges in providing affordable housing in Norwich One of those friends is Stacy Stevens, who also works for Birk Manufacturing. In the house where she was working, much of the work was done, and the book club members were doing touch-ups. She encouraged others to help with Habitat for Humanity. Women are full-on in our workforce, and theres nothing that a woman cant do, she said. Stacy Stevens, a part of the Book Club Builders, works on a house as a part of Habitat for Humanity of Eastern Connecticut's Women Build 2023 event. Along with the groups, a Habitat homeowner, Flanders resident Amanda Taylor-Jones also helped out Wednesday. Being a homeowner and in the program gives her a place to live, and the ability to grow financially, mentally and physically. She also said involving women in building homes is important. Its not expected too much, so to see so many women come down and get together for something as amazing as building a home for someone else is great, she said. Taylor-Jones got in the program, like all Habitat homeowners, via the application process. The families make 50-60% of the area median income, and must be able to pay an affordable mortgage, be in need of shelter, and partner with Habitat on their project or others, along with other factors, Filip said. Shifting from renting to owning is a big deal, so we do a lot of workshops and training to help transition families into becoming successful homeowners, she said. More:Selling higher and quicker constitutes eastern Connecticut's real estate market Centreville Bank Retail Operations Supervisors Michelle Demarco and Stephanie Kennedy carry a window while at Habitat for Humanity of Eastern Connecticut's Women Build 2023 event in Greeneville. The two work in different branches, but the day was a good teamwork-building opportunity. Theres still more works for Habitat after these houses are done. In Norwich, theyll be partnering with Norwich to rehab foreclosed homes in the citys possession to be Habitat homes. Theres also a home in Gales Ferry almost ready for a family, and 36 units in Ledyard further in the future, Filip said. This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Eastern CT Habitat for Humanity's Women Build comes to Norwich PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) Authorities in Haiti have identified new suspects in the July 2021 killing of President Jovenel Moise, including a pastor and a well-known gang leader. Police spokesman Garry Desrosiers said in an interview Friday with Radio Television Caraibes that warrants also have been issued for eight police officers. None of the new suspects have been arrested, and it wasnt clear what alleged roles they might have played. Desrosiers identified the gang leader as VitelHomme Innocent, leader of the Kraze Barye gang, which roughly translates to breaking barriers. He is also sought by the FBI, which accused him of helping kidnap 17 U.S. missionaries in October 2021. Desrosiers did not provide further details, and he did not immediately return a message for comment. Before the new arrest warrants were announced, more than 40 suspects had been detained in the case, including at least 18 Colombian ex-soldiers accused of raiding Moises private residence in an attack that injured his wife. Another 11 suspects are in U.S. custody, including a former Haitian senator and other key players. On March 9, the Russian Federation fired more than ten rockets at Kharkiv, rescuers eliminated the consequences However, power and water supplies to critical infrastructure facilities in the city have been nearly completely resorted, the governor added, and power companies are re-powering households in stages. Public electric transport, such as trams, remains offline due to insufficient available voltage, Synehubov noted. Read also: Russian strike on Kupyansk in Kharkiv Oblast kills one, says governor Outside Kharkiv, 90 percent of Kharkiv Oblast is powered. Russian troops continued to shell border settlements in Kharkiv Oblast on March 10, the governor added. Read also: More than 5,000 houses destroyed in Kharkiv by Russians, says mayor Shelling attacks on the village of Olkhovatka in the Kupyansk district caused damaged to a childrens psychological rehabilitation facility, as well as a school. In the early hours of March 9, Russia launched a massive missile attack on Ukraine. Explosions were heard in many cities and regions, including Kyiv, Lviv, and Kharkiv. In total, the Russian military fired 81 missiles and eight Shahed UAVs, almost half of which were shot down. During the attack, Russian troops used six Kh-47 Kinzhal air-launched missiles, which cannot yet be intercepted by Ukrainian air defense. The aggressor also fired 11 S-300 missiles at Kharkiv, leading to shortages of water, heating, and electricity supplies. 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 A gunman shot dead seven people at a Jehovahs Witness church centre in Germany yesterday, before turning the weapon on himself, police say. The scene of the shooting was a Kingdom Hall, next to a car repair shop in the Gross Borstel district, a few miles from Hamburg city centre. Police spokesman Holger Vehren said officers were alerted to the shooting at about 9.15pm and on the scene quickly. After officers arrived and found people with apparent gunshot wounds on the ground floor, they heard a shot from an upper floor and found a fatally wounded person upstairs who may have been the gunman, he said. Police believe the gunman acted alone. A motive for the shooting has still not been declared. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, a former Hamburg mayor, described the shooting as a brutal act of violence. My deepest condolences to the families of the victims, Hamburg mayor Peter Tschentscher wrote on Twitter yesterday. David Semonian, a US-based spokesman for Jehovahs Witnesses, said in a statement early on Friday that members worldwide grieve for the victims of this traumatic event. Key Points Eight killed in Jehovah's Witness Church shooting in Hamburg Gunman believed to be dead was sole perpetrator, say police Police yet to ascertain motive behind shooting Witnesses heard 'four periods of shooting' 'Brutal act of violence' says German Chancellor Olaf Scholz Watch: Multiple dead in shooting at Jehovahs Witness church in Hamburg 09:10 , Emily Atkinson Jehovahs Witnesses worldwide grieve for the victims, says US spokesperson 08:39 , Emily Atkinson David Semonian, a US-based spokesman for Jehovahs Witnesses, said in an emailed statement early on Friday that members worldwide grieve for the victims of this traumatic event. The congregation elders in the local area are providing pastoral care for those affected by the event, he wrote. We understand that the authorities are still investigating the details of this crime. We appreciate the courageous help provided by the police and emergency services. Story continues At a glance: Jehovah's Witness beliefs, history in Germany 08:00 , Sravasti Dasgupta Several people were killed and injured Thursday night after shots were fired inside a building where Jehovahs Witnesses met in the northern German city of Hamburg, officials said. The international Christian denomination founded in the United States has a more than 100-year history in Germany. Today, about 170,000 members call the European country home, according to the denominations website. Read more in this report by the Associated Press: At a glance: Jehovah's Witness beliefs, history in Germany Eight including gunman killed, police say 07:46 , Sravasti Dasgupta Eight people have been killed and several others wounded in a shooting at a Jehovahs Witness church centre in Hamburg, Germany. Police gave the figure on their website. A possible motive for the shooting has still not been declared. Police said that the deaths included the gunman who is believed to have acted alone. Germany Shooting ((c) Tnn) ICYMI: Several killed and others injured after shooting at church in Hamburg 07:00 , Sravasti Dasgupta Multiple people have died and several others are injured after a shooting in a church in Hamburg. Lucy Skoulding, Josh Marcus report: Several killed and others injured after shooting at church in Hamburg Who are Jehovah's Witnesses? 06:00 , Sravasti Dasgupta Multiple people were killed at a Jehovahs Witness church in Germany by a gunman who police believe acted alone. There are about 170,000 Jehovahs Witnesses in Germany. They are part of an international church, founded in the United States in the 19th century and headquartered in Warwick, New York. It claims a worldwide membership of about 8.7 million. Members are known for their evangelistic efforts that include knocking on doors and distributing literature in public squares. The denominations distinctive practices include a refusal to bear arms, receive blood transfusions, salute a national flag or participate in secular government. Additional reporting by Associated Press. Jehovahs Witness Glance (1954 AP) Police yet to release official death toll 05:30 , Sravasti Dasgupta After a shooting at a Jehovahs Witness church in Hamburg, Germany, police are yet to release an official death toll. We only know that several people died here; several people are wounded, they were taken to hospitals, police spokesperson Holger Vehren was quoted as saying by Associated Press. He said he had no information on the severity of the injuries suffered by the wounded. Police did not confirm German media reports, which named no sources, of six or seven dead. Police officers in special equipment stand next to a Jehovah's Witness building in Hamburg, Germany, (AP) Witnesses heard 'four periods of shooting' 05:00 , Sravasti Dasgupta There were about four periods of shooting, said student Laura Bauch, who lives near the Jehovahs Witness church in Germany where multiple people were killed. There were always several shots in these periods, roughly at intervals of 20 seconds to a minute, she was quoted as saying by German news agency DPA. She said she looked out her window and saw a person running from the ground floor to the second floor of the Jehovahs Witnesses hall. Gregor Miesbach, who lives within sight of the building, said to German television news agency NonstopNews that he heard at least 25 shots. After police arrived, one last shot followed about five minutes later, he said. Police had no information on the event that was underway in the building when the shooting took place. Germany Shooting ((c) Copyright 2023, dpa (www.dpa.de). Alle Rechte vorbehalten) Gunman believed to be dead was sole perpetrator, say police 04:00 , Sravasti Dasgupta While police in Hamburg have declined to say how many people have been killed at a shooting at a Jehovahs Witness church, they believe that the gunman was among the dead. In a statement on Twitter, police said they are discontinuing operations at the shooting site. According to the current state of affairs, we assume that there is one perpetrator, police said. Police activities in the surrounding area are being successively discontinued. Investigations into the motives behind the crime are continuing. Wir haben in einem Gemeindehaus in #GroBorstel eine leblose Person aufgefunden, bei der wir davon ausgehen, dass es sich um einen Tater handeln konnte. Um die Beteiligung weiterer Tater auszuschlieen, fuhren wir Uberprufungen durch & fahnden umfassend.#schieerei #hh0903 Polizei Hamburg (@PolizeiHamburg) March 10, 2023 Unit of armed police already in area when shooting broke out 03:30 , Josh Marcus German police swarmed a Jehovahs Witness facility in Hamburg after a shooting left multiple people dead on Thursday evening. As it happened, officers from a specialised armed unit were already in the area when violence broke out. Police officers happened to be near the crime scene because they were on their way back to their accommodation at the police headquarters in Alsterdorf, Welt reported. Jehovahs Witnesses faced history of persecution in Germany 03:00 , Josh Marcus Jehovahs Witnesses, like a variety of minorities in Germany, were targeted for persecution by the Nazis, as members of the group refused to join the Nazi party or let their children into the Hitler Youth. By 1939, an estimated 6,000 Witnesses (including some from Austria and Czechoslovakia) were detained in prisons or camps, according to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. Others fled Germany, continued their religious observance in private, or ceased to observe altogether. ICYMI: Mass shooting strikes Hamburg 02:30 , Josh Marcus Multiple people have died and several others are injured after a shooting in a church in Hamburg. The Hamburg city government said the shooting took place at a Jehovahs Witness church in the Gross Borstel district on Thursday evening. My deepest condolences to the families of the victims, Hamburg mayor Peter Tschentscher wrote on Twitter in German on Thursday. The emergency services are working flat out to track down the perpetrator(s) and to clarify the background. Get all the details in our breaking news report. Several killed and others injured after shooting at church in Hamburg Mass shootings are rare in Germany 02:00 , Josh Marcus The shooting on Thursday in a Jehovahs Witness centre in Hamburg marks a relative rarity in Germany. Compared to the United States, which often has more than one mass shooting per day, such killings are uncommon in Germany. That said, in recent years, the country has experienced some shootings. Heres more information on those incidents. Gunman killed and several injured in shooting at German university Six dead after gunman opens fire in Germany How many Jehovahs Witnesses are there in Germany? 01:40 , Josh Marcus Jehovahs Witnesses are a minority in Germany. The country has a population of more than 84 million people, while there are about 175,000 Jehovahs Witnesses across Germany who practice in an estimated 900 Kingdom Halls, according to The New York Times. The front page in Germany: Bloodbath in Church!' 01:25 , Josh Marcus A shooting at a Jehovahs Witness centre in Hamburg, Germany, has claimed upwards of six lives, according to local media. Heres how one publication, Bild, covered the story. The paper described the shooting, in German, as a Bloodbath in Church. A German news headline reading Bloodbath in Church! about a shooting on 9 March in the city of Hamburg (Bild) Were shattered: Shock in local community after church shooting 01:10 , Josh Marcus Hamburg is in shock after at least six people were killed in a shooting at a Jehovahs Witness centre on Thursday evening. God, tonight were shattered, shocked, the Archdiocese of Hamburg wrote on Twitter on Thursday in German. Tonight our thoughts will not rest. Tonight we are with those whose lives have changed in the blink of an eye. Potential body of shooter found on scene: police 00:55 , Josh Marcus Police have discovered the body of an individual who may be responsible for tonights shooting. We found a lifeless person in a community center in #GroBorstel who we believe could be a perpetrator. In order to rule out the involvement of other perpetrators, we carry out checks and search extensively, the Hamburg police department wrote on Twitter in German on Thursday. Witnesses describe hectic' Hamburg shooting 00:41 , Josh Marcus Witnesses are beginning to recount what happened on Thursday evening during a shooting at a church centre in Hamburg. It was about four firing periods. During these periods, several shots were always fired, approximately 20 seconds to one minute apart, said Lara Bauch, 23, according to The Guardian. I then looked further out of the window and saw a person running hectically from the ground floor to the first floor at the Jehovahs Witnesses, she added. Photos show scene outside Hamburg church 00:23 , Josh Marcus Police are in the process of investigating a shooting that claimed multiple lives at a Hamburg church centre. Dramatic photos captured the operation, where local officials say they havent identified a motive behind the violence. (Getty Images) (AP) (REUTERS) Several killed and others injured after shooting at church in Hamburg 00:11 , Josh Marcus Multiple people have died and several others are injured after a shooting in a church in Hamburg. The Hamburg city government said the shooting took place at a Jehovahs Witness church in the Gross Borstel district on Thursday evening. My deepest condolences to the families of the victims, Hamburg mayor Peter Tschentscher wrote on Twitter in German on Thursday. The emergency services are working flat out to track down the perpetrator(s) and to clarify the background. Get all the details in our breaking news story. Several killed and others injured after shooting at church in Hamburg A shocking shooting in Hamburg 00:10 , Josh Marcus Good evening and welcome to our live coverage of the reported shooting at a church centre in Hamburg. Well be following all the latest details live. Police mass outside the site of an alleged church centre shooting in Hamburg, Germany, on 9 March, 2023 (AP) Multiple people were killed and several others were wounded in a shooting at a Jehovahs Witness church centre in Hamburg, Germany. While police in Hamburg have declined to say how many people have been killed they believe that the gunman was among the dead. Police said: According to the current state of affairs, we assume that there is one perpetrator. Newspaper Bild reported that seven people had been killed and eight more injured after the shooting, but the official death toll is yet to be confirmed by police. Other local outlets have reported there being six victims. My deepest condolences to the families of the victims, Hamburg mayor Peter Tschentscher wrote on Twitter in German yesterday. Key Points Several killed and others injured after shooting at church in Hamburg Gunman believed to be dead was sole perpetrator, say police 04:00 , Sravasti Dasgupta While police in Hamburg have declined to say how many people have been killed at a shooting at a Jehovahs Witness church, they believe that the gunman was among the dead. In a statement on Twitter, police said they are discontinuing operations at the shooting site. According to the current state of affairs, we assume that there is one perpetrator, police said. Police activities in the surrounding area are being successively discontinued. Investigations into the motives behind the crime are continuing. Wir haben in einem Gemeindehaus in #GroBorstel eine leblose Person aufgefunden, bei der wir davon ausgehen, dass es sich um einen Tater handeln konnte. Um die Beteiligung weiterer Tater auszuschlieen, fuhren wir Uberprufungen durch & fahnden umfassend.#schieerei #hh0903 Polizei Hamburg (@PolizeiHamburg) March 10, 2023 Unit of armed police already in area when shooting broke out 03:30 , Josh Marcus Story continues German police swarmed a Jehovahs Witness facility in Hamburg after a shooting left multiple people dead on Thursday evening. As it happened, officers from a specialised armed unit were already in the area when violence broke out. Police officers happened to be near the crime scene because they were on their way back to their accommodation at the police headquarters in Alsterdorf, Welt reported. Jehovahs Witnesses faced history of persecution in Germany 03:00 , Josh Marcus Jehovahs Witnesses, like a variety of minorities in Germany, were targeted for persecution by the Nazis, as members of the group refused to join the Nazi party or let their children into the Hitler Youth. By 1939, an estimated 6,000 Witnesses (including some from Austria and Czechoslovakia) were detained in prisons or camps, according to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. Others fled Germany, continued their religious observance in private, or ceased to observe altogether. ICYMI: Mass shooting strikes Hamburg 02:30 , Josh Marcus Multiple people have died and several others are injured after a shooting in a church in Hamburg. The Hamburg city government said the shooting took place at a Jehovahs Witness church in the Gross Borstel district on Thursday evening. My deepest condolences to the families of the victims, Hamburg mayor Peter Tschentscher wrote on Twitter in German on Thursday. The emergency services are working flat out to track down the perpetrator(s) and to clarify the background. Get all the details in our breaking news report. Several killed and others injured after shooting at church in Hamburg Mass shootings are rare in Germany 02:00 , Josh Marcus The shooting on Thursday in a Jehovahs Witness centre in Hamburg marks a relative rarity in Germany. Compared to the United States, which often has more than one mass shooting per day, such killings are uncommon in Germany. That said, in recent years, the country has experienced some shootings. Heres more information on those incidents. Gunman killed and several injured in shooting at German university Six dead after gunman opens fire in Germany How many Jehovahs Witnesses are there in Germany? 01:40 , Josh Marcus Jehovahs Witnesses are a minority in Germany. The country has a population of more than 84 million people, while there are about 175,000 Jehovahs Witnesses across Germany who practice in an estimated 900 Kingdom Halls, according to The New York Times. The front page in Germany: Bloodbath in Church!' 01:25 , Josh Marcus A shooting at a Jehovahs Witness centre in Hamburg, Germany, has claimed upwards of six lives, according to local media. Heres how one publication, Bild, covered the story. The paper described the shooting, in German, as a Bloodbath in Church. A German news headline reading Bloodbath in Church! about a shooting on 9 March in the city of Hamburg (Bild) Were shattered: Shock in local community after church shooting 01:10 , Josh Marcus Hamburg is in shock after at least six people were killed in a shooting at a Jehovahs Witness centre on Thursday evening. God, tonight were shattered, shocked, the Archdiocese of Hamburg wrote on Twitter on Thursday in German. Tonight our thoughts will not rest. Tonight we are with those whose lives have changed in the blink of an eye. Potential body of shooter found on scene: police 00:55 , Josh Marcus Police have discovered the body of an individual who may be responsible for tonights shooting. We found a lifeless person in a community center in #GroBorstel who we believe could be a perpetrator. In order to rule out the involvement of other perpetrators, we carry out checks and search extensively, the Hamburg police department wrote on Twitter in German on Thursday. Witnesses describe hectic' Hamburg shooting 00:41 , Josh Marcus Witnesses are beginning to recount what happened on Thursday evening during a shooting at a church centre in Hamburg. It was about four firing periods. During these periods, several shots were always fired, approximately 20 seconds to one minute apart, said Lara Bauch, 23, according to The Guardian. I then looked further out of the window and saw a person running hectically from the ground floor to the first floor at the Jehovahs Witnesses, she added. Photos show scene outside Hamburg church 00:23 , Josh Marcus Police are in the process of investigating a shooting that claimed multiple lives at a Hamburg church centre. Dramatic photos captured the operation, where local officials say they havent identified a motive behind the violence. (Getty Images) (AP) (REUTERS) Several killed and others injured after shooting at church in Hamburg 00:11 , Josh Marcus Multiple people have died and several others are injured after a shooting in a church in Hamburg. The Hamburg city government said the shooting took place at a Jehovahs Witness church in the Gross Borstel district on Thursday evening. My deepest condolences to the families of the victims, Hamburg mayor Peter Tschentscher wrote on Twitter in German on Thursday. The emergency services are working flat out to track down the perpetrator(s) and to clarify the background. Get all the details in our breaking news story. Several killed and others injured after shooting at church in Hamburg A shocking shooting in Hamburg 00:10 , Josh Marcus Good evening and welcome to our live coverage of the reported shooting at a church centre in Hamburg. Well be following all the latest details live. The warrant for one of two men charged in the Feb. 27 killing of 20-year-old Terrance Frisby in Georgetown reveals details of what led up to the incident but falls short of providing a motive. The document reveals the actions of the two suspects Kevin Stone, 61, of Georgetown and Jason Curtis, 24, of Dagsboro leading up to the shooting. Stone told police that Curtis was looking to buy some crack, according to his arrest warrant. The first time he met him was when he got in his car in the parking lot of Dunbarton Apartments. A few moments later, the two men went to the door of apartment 203, where police believe one of them opened fire. Stone told police he didnt see the shooting and couldnt say if Curtis was the shooter, according to court documents. What witnesses say happened The Georgetown Police Department responded to the shooting at the apartment complex just off Route 113 at around 8:30 p.m. They found Frisby, a visitor to the apartment, with multiple gunshot wounds, according to a state police news release. He was pronounced dead at a hospital. Dunbarton Oaks apartment complex is split up into three sections, each with multiple buildings. The sections are not connected by road but are easy to walk between. Stones warrant says there were three witnesses in the apartment at the time of the homicide, but it includes the statements of only two, one of which said they were unable to see the doorway. The only person in the apartment that was able to give police any substantial information was a woman who had arrived just moments before the shooting, the warrant says. She identified Stone as one of two men who followed her as she walked across the parking lot and approached the 200 building, according to the warrant. She said she didnt know the other man, later identified as Curtis. More:Pallet village for homeless opens in Georgetown. First of its kind shelter in Delaware. With Stone and Curtis nearby, the woman knocked on the door of the apartment, the warrant says she told police. When the door opened, she entered and gunfire erupted behind her and Frisby fled into the apartment, collapsing in the living room, according to Stones warrant. Story continues What surveillance video shows Curtis had spent time in apartment 203 earlier that day before leaving in what appeared to be a fit of anger, according to Stones warrant. Twenty minutes later, he returned and Frisby was killed, the warrant says. Curtis first arrived at the apartment around 3:15 p.m. in a silver Hyundai Elantra, staying for an hour or so before driving to a nearby liquor store, the warrant says. Facial recognition software at the Delaware State Bureau of Identification used images from the liquor stores surveillance video to identify Curtis, according to court documents. More:Bridgeville man arrested in Philadelphia after police say he killed his wife He next showed up on Dunbarton surveillance on foot, coming from the direction of the 700 building, where Stone lives, and reentering apartment 203. Around 7:20, Curtis walked away from the 200 building, with his coat looking disheveled and the hood unzipped or torn, police said in the warrant. He appeared angry and was calmed by other people in the parking lot before leaving the area in the Elantra, the warrant says. The car returned around 8 p.m. and parked, with Stone coming out of the 200 building (not the building he lives in) "moments later" and getting in, according to court documents. The car then left the area and when it returned, 20 minutes or so later, Stone and Curtis got out and approached the door of apartment 203, the warrant says. The 200 building of Dunbarton apartments. Apartment 203 is on the bottom right, with the door under the stairs. After the shooting, Stone ran in the direction of his building, while Curtis took off in the car, court documents say. The arrests After both a witness and Georgetown police officers identified Stone as one of the suspects, he was arrested on a conspiracy charge Feb. 28, still wearing the clothes he was seen in in surveillance video, according to court documents. He confirmed he was one of the men in the video, but said it was the first time he'd met the other man and did not name him, the warrant says. More:These 2 Sussex County employees made over $150K in 2021. Search the latest salary data. The warrant does not clarify whether Stone or Curtis was the shooter. While in custody at Sussex Correctional Institution on the conspiracy charge, Stone was further charged with possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and first-degree murder. He is being held on a $1,060,000 cash bond. Curtis was arrested March 3 at a home in Berlin, Maryland. He remains in the Maryland Department of Corrections custody, pending extradition. Upon arrival in Delaware, he will be charged with first-degree murder, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and second-degree conspiracy, according to police. A trial date has not yet been set. Shannon Marvel McNaught reports on Sussex County and beyond. Reach her at smcnaught@gannett.com or on Twitter @MarvelMcNaught This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Court records in Georgetown killing reveal new details Do you know a teen looking for a job or educational opportunity? If so, the YMCA of Central Florida is hosting its annual Teen Career and College Fair on Monday, March 13. The event will be 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the South Orlando YMCA located at 814 W. Oak Ridge Road. This event is designed to help students ages 14 to 19 connect with career and educational opportunities, build important life and self-management skills and prepare for the workforce. Organizers said attendees will be able to discover and apply for year-round and summer employment opportunities with on-the-spot hiring. Read: Looking for work? Volusia County hiring dozens of lifeguards as beach season ramps up Employers in attendance will include Orange County Parks and Recreation, Panera Bread, Publix, SeaWorld Parks & Recreation, Walt Disney Parks & Resorts, and more. 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. A monument to Harriet Tubman is now filling a space that was formerly home to a Christopher Columbus statue in Newark, N.J. The statue of the legendary abolitionist and womens rights advocate was unveiled in downtown Newark on Thursday at Harriet Tubman Square, with her great-great-great-grand-nieces in attendance for the ceremony, according to local affiliate ABC7. The 25-foot-tall monument, titled Shadow of a Face, is the work of architect Nina Cooke John. It is made of steel extending into a trellis for visitors to walk under. A timeline of Tubmans life and the citys abolitionist history is etched on a circular wall, and an audio narration by Queen Latifah, a Newark native, plays from above. Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka announced the citys plans to replace Columbus with Tubman in 2021 after racial justice protests saw cities around the nation take down Columbus and Confederate statues. It is only fitting that we memorialize Tubmans heroic efforts leading enslaved Africans to freedom via the Underground Railroad at this time of year when we celebrate the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States, Baraka said at the time. Ms. Johns work of public art will be a symbol of hope and optimism for generations to come, not only for our Newark community, but also for the entire country. At Thursdays ceremony, Baraka spoke of Tubmans work with the Underground Railroad, a network of escape routes for slaves to follow as they ran toward freedom in states that had already abolished slavery. Baraka said Tubman helped shepherd folks out of slavery into freedom and was a woman who fought for democracy and freedom, according to NBCNews. Tubman was born into slavery in 1822, but escaped at age 27. She married a free Black man, John Tubman, in 1844, and began helping rescue slaves from enslavement. In a her time helping slaves escape to freedom, she was never captured, and she never lost a passenger. Tubman was the first woman to lead an armed military raid in the Civil War, freeing 750 slaves in South Carolina in 1963. Tubman died exactly 110 years ago, on March 10, 1913. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Reuters/Misan Harriman/The Duke and Duchess of Sussex Royalist is The Daily Beasts newsletter for all things royal and Royal Family. Subscribe here to get it in your inbox every Sunday. Losing control of the narrative is anathema to royalty. The great ship of state is supposed to sail serenely on despite the weather, not get tossed about on the oceans waves. Harry and Meghan know this well. And so, no doubt, they knew exactly how disruptive it would be for the royals when they unilaterally declared Wednesday that their daughter Lilibet was a princess. They causally tucked her new title into a christening announcement delivered to People magazineas opposed to the more traditional easel outside Buckingham Palace. The article also took a dig at the royals absence, with a source saying Charles, Camilla, Kate, and William had all been invited to the affair, which featured a ten-piece choir brought by Tyler Perry, but didnt show up. Harry and Meghan Unilaterally Declare Their Daughter Lilibet a Princess After an hour of two of startled silence, the royal rabbit removed itself from Harry and Meghans headlights, and journalists were briefed that the palace had no issue with the move and had, indeed, been expecting it all along and would shortly be updating their website to reflect the new titles, and that the hold-up had only been a matter of Harry and Meghan getting on and announcing it. (The royal website now shows Prince Archie of Sussex and Princess Lilibet of Sussex as sixth and seventh in line to the throne.) Harry and Meghan said in a statement that the decision to use Lilibets princely title was settled in alignment (note: not approved, the Sussexes point being that their kids were entitled to the titles as a matter of law and nobodys permission was required) with Buckingham Palace. But the timing and manner of the big reveal made it look rather like the Palace, and many courtiers, had, if not been blindsided, certainly been caught off guard. The bulletin to People was about as far from a co-ordinated joint announcement as you can get and has fueled suspicion that Harry and Meghan, tired of Charles refusal to officially declare their kids prince and princess (which he could easily have done at any point from his accession address onwards), decided to put it up to the royals. Story continues The timing was certainly exquisite: the king was hardly going to be anything other than accepting when he is widely thought to be on the point of securing the couples attendance at the coronation. The Daily Mail reported Thursday that officials tasked with planning the event are actively making plans for Harry and Meghan to attend, with one source saying, Harry and Meghan are being factored into all of the planning.... the cars, the seating plans, dining arrangements, everything. Friends and allies of King Charles and Prince William told The Daily Beast that the king would be pleased that Harry and Meghan had decided to use Prince and Princess titles for their children, and that it showed they had never been discriminated against, contrary to Meghans claim in the Oprah interview that Archie was unfairly denied the title Prince at birth, suggesting this was down to racial prejudice. She said she was aghast at the idea that the first member of color in this family not being titled in the same way that other grandchildren would be. As constitutionalists were at pains to point out at the time, the rules (known as letters patent), issued by George V in 1917, made it clear that their children would not be prince or princess until their grandfather was monarch. A friend of Charles told The Daily Beast: Meghan said on her Oprah interview that the royals had blocked Archie from becoming a prince, but it was always just a matter of convention. When the queen was alive they were great-grandchildren of the monarch so they were not entitled to the titles. Now they are grandchildren of the monarch, so they are. The friend tried to put a pro-Charles spin on this weeks turn of events, presenting it as a victory for the values of traditionalists, saying: Charles will of course be pleased that [Harry and Meghan] clearly want the children to inherit their royal titles. A friend of Williams, asked about the developments, also referred back to the Oprah interview, and told The Daily Beast: Meghan made out there was some dastardly plot to favor Williams kids over Harrys. That really hurt William. Now everyone can see that was never the case. Well, maybe. An alternative interpretation of the weeks action and reaction is that despite the readiness of the Palace to accept the titles, and there is no doubt that they acted quickly to update their website and made all the right noises this week, this does not obscure the fact that Charles failed to declare the children prince and princess soon after the death of the queen. Would it have been so hard for his accession address which paid tribute to Harry and Meghan to mention Prince and Princess Archie and Lilibet, for example? In failing to do so, and in leaving the question hanging, some would say Charles left an open goal, and, this week, the Sussexes scored. Meghan Markle and Britain's Prince Harry visit a cafe and social business called Social Bite in Edinburgh, Britain, February 13, 2018. Owen Humphreys via Reuters Christopher Andersen, New York Times bestselling author of a new biography of Charles, The King, told The Daily Beast: Since Queen Elizabeths death, Charles silence on this matter has been deafening. There were many occasions when the king, in an effort to heal the rift between the Sussexes and the rest of the royal family, could have made the grand gesture and bestowed titles on Archie and Lilibet, but Charles clearly chose not to. Harry and Meghan forced the Palaces hand. Rather than continue to wait around to see if King Charles would bend and finally bestow them on the Sussex children, Harry and Meghan took the bull by the horns and did it themselves. You have to admire their audacity. Its really very American of them. While some observers might consider it hypocritical to be garlanding your children in titles bestowed by an institution you claim drove you out of the U.K. in fear of your life, the latest move by the Sussexes definitively answers the question of whether or not Harry and Meghan will ever relinquish their own titles. They wont. Nor will the Palace ever try to strip them. This weeks move by the Sussexes cannot be seen in isolation from the frenzied blur of activity by both sides in recent months. The Netflix films may feel to those following the royal story like they happened a lifetime ago, but in fact the second tranche of them only came out on Dec. 15 less than three months ago. Since then we have had the reverberating bombshell of Harrys book and the drama around the Sussexes eviction from Frogmore Cottage, not to mention the ongoing will-they-wont-they around their coronation invites. But if anyone needed proof of the disastrous collapse in relations between the two sides, it is surely evident in the fact that the news of the princely status of the Sussex children was broadcast not in a joint statement, accompanied by a photocall with grandpa and a dignified reminder that these adorable mites are sixth and seventh in line to the throne, but in a negative story, ripe with anonymous briefings to People magazine. 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. Teacher shortages are at an all-time high across the country, especially for black teachers. >>> STREAM CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS LIVE <<< According to the most recent federal data, only seven percent of all teachers nationwide are Black. Thats compared to 79 percent who are white. READ: House votes to declassify info about origins of COVID-19 Teachers say diversifying the classroom can have a major impact on a childs education. I just really appreciate how he kept it kept his culture, how he was so intentional about being authentic in the classroom, said teacher Kurt Russell. Everyone loved Mr. Thomas because he was true, and he was real and I saw in him myself. That was 8th grade and the first time Kurt Russell had a Black teacher. He said this example set by Mr. Thomas inspired him to pursue a career in education. Now Russell is a history teacher in Ohio, and the 2022 National Teacher of the Year. When you see someone that looks like you that is having fun, thats enjoying a profession, it makes you say to yourself, wow theres something special about being a teacher, said Russell. A Johns Hopkins University study shows Black students who had at least one Black teacher experienced improved outcomes including higher graduation rates. Russell believes this impact also goes beyond grades. Story continues READ: Sexual assault reports increase at US military academies For so long, we have had black children who have been traumatized by school being removed from class, being suspended, expelled, said Russell. So if we could provide a good experience for our children, I think that can to help with this pipeline of educators. Former teacher Lavar Edmonds says another solution is turning Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Its a low-cost initiative - the colleges are they exist. They are producing the teachers, said Edmonds. Its really a question of, are you actively looking to recruit them? Are you actively seeking to get them into your schools and into your classrooms? In his recent study, Edmonds reviewed nearly ten years worth of data from North Carolina elementary school students. Edmonds found Black students performed better in math when they were taught by HBUC graduates. He said both Black and White HBCU-trained teachers are more effective with Black students. If youre on HBCU campus, theres a particular potential for a wealth of knowledge, you can sort of learn and absorb when youre in a community, a climate that is made for and by Black students and Black professors, said Edmonds. The Biden Administration says HBCUs play a role in diversifying classrooms. This year, the U.S. Department of Education announced $18 million in awards for HBCUs and other minority serving institutions. READ: Wells Fargo glitch shows negative balances, missing direct deposits This week on Capitol Hill, several Senate Democrats introduced new legislation that would set minimum pay at $60,000 a year for teachers to incentivize recruitment and retainment. Republicans havent responded directly to this proposal. But many GOP lawmakers are critical of Democratic efforts to cancel federal student loan debt because they argue its too expensive. 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. A man is facing charges after police said they found hundreds of child pornography images and videos in a home not far from a Westmoreland County school. Thomas Hibbard, 60, was arrested in a Westmoreland County neighborhood, but it was a tip from an international internet group that calls themselves the Predator Poachers that led to his arrest. Hibbard has been charged with more than 900 counts of child pornography. We have the preschool right here on sight here at the church and we are right next to the elementary school, said Andrew Wirt, the pastor of the West Hempfield Presbyterian church. Pastor Wirts church sits right across the street from Hibbards home. To hear that something like that was just so close is a good reminder I guess, but definitely something to be concerned about, Writ said. According to court documents, Hibbard was initially charged by troopers in February after he attempted to meet who he thought was a 9-year-old girl on Instagram, but the child was really an international vigilante group called the Predator Poachers. Their tip is what originally led us there, so I appalled them for any types of tips that we get. We are always looking to get tips whether its a drug house, or in this case a predator, said Trooper Stephen Limani, the public information officer for the Westmoreland barracks of Pennsylvania State Police. With enough information police got a warrant to search his home, once inside they found 1,000 still images and more than 100 videos of child porn with children as young as infants. We dont endorse any of these types of activities however we will take any tip that we get, Limani said. Something Pastor Writ said he is grateful for. We have policies here at the church for who works here and whos allowed in our building, but you never know whos next door, Writ said. Hibbard is in custody and was denied bond. TRENDING NOW: Pittsburgh Fish Fry List 2023 Missing Robinson Township woman found dead Family says goodbye to man shot, killed in McKeesport last week VIDEO: Evans City-Seven Fields Regional Police Department losing multiple officers DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts Micah Kubic Sam MacRoberts Across the ideological spectrum, numerous Kansas organizations and impacted citizens have come together on the problem of financially devastating our states minors and working families and together, were calling on our lawmakers to move swiftly to correct it. At 24 years old and now a decade removed from his first juvenile offense, Dante is still saddled with debt for crimes he committed as a teenager. After his recommended release from probation for compliance, Dante moved to another state and landed a great job he considered his childhood mistakes behind him. But Kansas law enforcement flew to Ohio to arrest him, flew him back to Wichita in shackles and then told him hed have to pay for the flight. They said he owed $4,000 and if he didnt pay it, hed have to return to jail. Had Kansas not caused Dante to lose his job, he said, he likely could have paid the fines and fees. In everything I did, I never hurt anyone, said Dante. I never went to jail for anything I did. I went to jail for not being able to pay fines and fees. Believe it: We regularly do this to thousands of children in Kansas. As part of our juvenile legal systems machinery, we lock youth offenders up, bury them in fines and fees, then add the costs of imprisoning them. By the time theyre adults, they could be drowning in debt. This abusive practice is troubling in a way that transcends philosophical differences. The ACLU of Kansas and Kansas Justice Institute believe that Kansas is as strong as its families and its communities and while we may arrive here following different paths, we both agree this issue is critically important. Kansas families impacted by juvenile fines and fees need immediate relief. We hope the Legislature will reconsider the fate of HB 2073, a bill that would have eliminated juvenile fines and fees this very session. Kansas families cannot wait until the next legislative session for a solution. No one supporting HB 2073 argues against consequences for youth offenders. But children dont generally have jobs or the ability to pay these fines and fees. By requiring juveniles to pay fines and fees, we place the burden of harsh, financial punishment on working Kansas families, many of whom already live paycheck to paycheck, trapping them into a cycle of debt. Story continues The juvenile justice system charges youths and guardians fees at every step of the process for electronic ankle monitoring, detention, probation and public defender representation. Its unsurprising that youths of color are overrepresented and overpunished in the juvenile justice system, especially in Kansas. When racial disparities for youths in the criminal legal system dropped nationally, the disparity rate for Black youths arrests in Kansas actually increased in the same time period by a whopping 51%. Meanwhile, juvenile fines and fees dont deter crime in fact, research has found juveniles fines and fees actually lead to increased rates of recidivism. And adolescents and teenagers in juvenile court who are unable to pay their fines and fees are more likely to be incarcerated, undermining any preventative or rehabilitative purpose. For this reason, law enforcement leaders also support eliminating juvenile fines and fees. Nykia was only 10 years old when she was incarcerated on theft charges. Her parents died while she was in jail. In order to cover costs associated with her detention, the state began taking so-called child support payments out of her mothers Social Security death benefits she received. Nykia, now in her 20s, is still paying the balance of those fines and fees from her childhood detention. Tyler served a 6-year sentence for a crime he committed at 13. Similarly, the state charged his family child support to pay for his detention. Shortly after his release, he found himself homeless. Still, court officials repeatedly called his cell phone, warning that if he didnt keep up with payments, hed have to return to jail. The absolute absurdity and harm of our juvenile fines and fees system is why its elimination has bipartisan support, an increasingly rare phenomenon. We proudly support HB 2073 with a coalition of state and national organizations including Kansas Appleseed, Progeny, Kansas Action for Children, Americans for Prosperity, Debt Free Justice and the Gault Center. Unfortunately, the bills progress seems to have stalled in 2023, a casualty in the usual churn of the legislative session that shifts towards other priorities, despite strong support from the committee that passed it to the House floor. By ensuring that the juvenile justice system relies on restorative principles rather than punitive and extreme financial punishment, we can build a justice system that addresses harm without perpetuating it on a systemic scale without binding young Kansans to these economic anchors, and watching them drown into adulthood. Micah Kubic is the executive director of ACLU Kansas, and Sam MacRoberts is the is the litigation director of Kansas Justice Institute. This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas lawmakers shouldn't wait to eliminate juvenile fines and fees. BEIRUT (Reuters) -The head of Lebanon's powerful armed group Hezbollah said on Friday the resumption of ties between its backer Iran and longtime rival Saudi Arabia was a "good development". Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed on Friday to re-establish relations after years of hostility, which had threatened stability in the Gulf and prompted frequent political disputes in Lebanon. "This is a good development," said Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in a televised address. "We have complete confidence that this will not come at our expense." Nasrallah cautioned that the full implications of the step were not yet known but said Hezbollah was "happy". "It's an important development, of course, and if it proceeds in its natural course it could open up horizons in the entire region, including in Lebanon," he added. Hezbollah was established in Lebanon by Iran's Revolutionary Guards in 1982 and is a key part of Tehran's regional alliance. Nasrallah last year accused Saudi Arabia's king of terrorism, in the midst of one of the deepest political crises between Gulf Arab states and Lebanon. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia had called on Lebanon to end "terrorist Hezbollah's" influence over the state. EXPULSIONS Saudi Arabia and a number of other Gulf Arab states withdrew their ambassadors and expelled Lebanese envoys in late 2021 over what the kingdom later said was arch-foe Hezbollah's dominance of the Lebanese state. The ambassadors returned in the spring of 2022, but differences remain. Nasrallah earlier this week backed Christian politician Suleiman Frangieh to be president after a nearly five-month vacuum in the presidency. A Lebanese political source and a European diplomatic source told Reuters that Saudi Arabia has opposed Frangieh's candidacy given his close relationship to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Hezbollah. Nasrallah said on Friday his party was also happy to see increased Arab engagement with Syria's government following the devastating Feb. 6 earthquakes that left thousands dead in neighbouring Syria, which is also backed by Iran. Story continues Syria was suspended by the Arab League following its crackdown against protests more than a decade ago but Assad has seen an outpouring of support from Arab states following the earthquakes. The foreign ministers of Egypt and Jordan both visited Damascus in the weeks following the earthquake and Saudi Arabia said increased engagement with Syria might pave the way for its return to the Arab League. "What is correct is the return of the Arab world to Syria. Syria did not leave the Arab League," Nasrallah said. "We are happy that the Arab world has returned to Syria." There was no immediate comment from Damascus on the resumption of ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran. (Reporting by Laila Bassam; Writing by Maya Gebeily; Editing by Alison Williams and Grant McCool) This story was first published by Grist. Eight years ago, the field of carbon removal amounted to a handful of academic lab projects and a few fledgling companies working on a novel concept: sucking carbon out of the atmosphere. That was when Giana Amador, then an undergrad at the University of California, Berkeley, founded a nonprofit called Carbon180 with another student, Noah Deich. They hoped to convince policymakers and the climate community that reversing carbon emissions in addition to reducing them was essential to limiting the worst impacts of climate change. A lot has changed since then. Scientists have become more outspoken about the need for carbon removal. Last year, a major United Nations report concluded that achieving international climate goals would be nearly impossible without cleaning up some of whats already been emitted. Startups hoping to do that now number in the hundreds. Universities have opened research centers to explore the best methods. Private companies and venture capital firms have committed hundreds of millions to the cause, and Washington, D.C. has followed suit. Theres a new carbon-removal research program within the Department of Energy, $3.5 billion in federal funding available to build machines that extract carbon from the air, and a tax credit of up to $180 for every metric ton of carbon those machines sequester underground. This explosive growth led Amador to see the need for a different type of advocacy. Last week, she launched the Carbon Removal Alliance, a group of startups and investors that will lobby for policies that support high-quality, permanent carbon removal. Im really excited that we have more than 20 companies who have come together around those principles to set the bar for what good carbon removal should look like, Amador, the groups executive director, told Grist. The groups explicit focus on high-quality or good carbon removal underscores a simmering debate within the field about how to best meet the challenge of cleaning up the atmosphere, drawing a stark line between methods that could remove and store carbon for millennia and those that are more temporary. Story continues What is carbon removal, and why is it necessary? There are generally two reasons scientists say carbon removal will be necessary to tackle climate change. First, its a way to balance out emissions that are hard to eliminate, like those from airplanes or agriculture. Second, if the planet warms by more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit), as many models show is likely, taking carbon out of the atmosphere will be the only way to cool it down. Theres no consensus on exactly how much carbon removal will ultimately be needed, but scientists put the number between 450 and 1,100 gigatons by the end of the century. Nearly all of the carbon removed from the atmosphere to date has been accomplished by nature. A recent review of the state of CO 2 removal estimates that conventional land-management techniques such as reforestation cull about 2 gigatons of carbon dioxide per year, or roughly 5 percent of global fossil-fuel emissions in 2021. Trees, soils, wetlands and other natural carbon sinks can be enhanced to absorb even more of it, and many companies are focused on doing so. But these are considered short-duration solutions. Wildfires, droughts, diseases and natural death all threaten the carbon stored in trees, while any perturbation to soils and wetlands can also cause a release. Polluting companies often buy carbon offsets derived from these relatively short-term solutions. But scientists have criticized that practice, noting that fossil fuel emissions stay in the atmosphere for thousands of years, while trees typically store carbon for hundreds of years or less. Defining "high-quality" carbon removal By contrast, the Carbon Removal Alliance comprises companies focused on sucking up carbon and storing it practically forever. Some, such as Climeworks, build direct air capture machines that suck up air, separate the carbon, and then stash it underground. Others, such as Charm Industrial, refine cornstalks into a stable, viscous oil and inject it into the Earths crust. Other companies grind up rocks and spread them on agricultural fields to accelerate a natural weathering process that absorbs carbon. Still others hope to sink carbon into the depths of the ocean. But these approaches are far more expensive and technologically challenging than planting trees. Its not yet clear what a successful business model for permanent carbon removal looks like. So far, entrepreneurs have relied on venture capital and on selling their services as pricey carbon offsets to a few benevolent companies eager to support the field. Many members of the Carbon Removal Alliance aim to distance themselves from traditional carbon offsets not only by advancing methods with longer timescales but also by pushing for more rigorous standards for measuring and verifying the amount of carbon they remove. Researchers have found that many forest- and soil-based projects are rife with accounting issues and dont remove as much carbon as they claim to. But while newer, more highly engineered approaches have come a long way since Amador started, they too have yet to remove meaningful amounts of carbon. Weve made a lot of progress in the field, she said. That being said, weve still only captured about 10,000 tons of permanent carbon removal today. And that is a very, very small fraction of the billions of tons that we need to be capturing 30 years from now. She said the next chapter is about building larger proof-of-concept projects and driving down the cost. Amador and other members of the group make clear that cutting emissions is much more urgent in the near term. But they argue that permanent carbon removal will not be an option later without immediate and sustained investment. Companies need funding and regulatory support to determine what works, what the risks are and how to measure the benefits. And while policymakers have started to create programs to support the field, so far they have focused on a narrow set of solutions. Take the new U.S. $180 per metric ton tax credit, for example. Only direct air capture projects can claim it. Peter Reinhardt, the CEO and co-founder of Charm Industrial, was frustrated that his companys bio-oil solution didnt make the cut for eligibility despite his best efforts to lobby lawmakers. What actually matters is how much carbon we get out of the atmosphere and put underground, he said. And so I made kind of a solo effort to try to push that and learned very quickly that building a broad coalition is the only effective way to get things done. Thats why he joined other founding members in creating the Carbon Removal Alliance. Dueling perspectives on effective carbon removal The group wants to discourage policymakers from supporting specific technologies and instead prioritize certain criteria, such as the duration of carbon storage. Its an approach that another carbon-removal trade association, the Carbon Business Council, disagrees with. We see the benefits of an all-of-the-above strategy and not necessarily choosing one or the other, said Ben Rubin, the organizations executive director. The council launched last year and includes more than 80 members representing a wide array of solutions. While theres some overlap with the Carbon Removal Alliance, the group also has entrepreneurs focused on capturing carbon in soil and trees, as well as on using the material to make products like jet fuel and diamonds. It also has a handful of members focused on building carbon-credit marketplaces to help companies commercialize their services. Rubin said the benefit of relatively temporary forms of carbon removal is that they are bountiful on the market today and very affordable. If the CO 2 is re-released in the future, we still think it has a role in helping to buy society the time we need to decarbonize. As we look at the trends of where renewable energy is heading [and] electric-vehicle adoption is heading, we need more time. Amador agrees with that idea, at least in the short term. She didnt dismiss the possibility that the two groups might work together. But the reason why were focused on long-term is because we know, from a climate perspective, we need to be storing carbon on timescales that match how long carbon actually stays in our atmosphere, she said. China once again urges U.S. to immediately stop political manipulation on COVID origins-tracing: FM spokesperson Xinhua) 08:17, March 10, 2023 BEIJING, March 9 (Xinhua) -- China once again urged the U.S. side to immediately stop political manipulation on COVID origins-tracing, voluntarily share the data of suspected early cases in the United States with the WHO, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Thursday. Mao's remarks came after the U.S. Senate passed the COVID-19 Origin Act of 2023 a few days ago, which says that the COVID-19 pandemic may have originated in China. Director of the U.S. National Intelligence Avril Haines on Wednesday noted that there is not a consensus among the U.S. intelligence community on whether or not the outbreak is a result of a lab leak or natural exposure to an infected animal. Besides, Polish virologist Agnieszka Szuster-Ciesielska recently said in an interview that the COVID "lab leak" theory rehashed by the U.S. Department of Energy and FBI is sensation-seeking and has no factual or scientific basis. For some time now, the United States has been politicizing, weaponizing and instrumentalizing COVID origins-tracing for many months, Mao said, adding it has let a matter of science be dominated by lawmakers and the intelligence community and spread myths such as the "lab leak" theory without any evidence to discredit and attack China. "This has seriously poisoned the atmosphere for science-based global origins-tracing and been perceived by people in the rest of the world," she said. Noting China's position on the origins-tracing is consistent, Mao said China has supported and participated in global science-based origins-tracing since day one. "In the meantime, we have been firmly opposed to all forms of political manipulation on this issue," Mao said, adding the political manipulation by the United States is the main stumbling block to the science-based research on COVID origins. Mao said the United States has been pointing fingers at WHO's origins-tracing process, politically punishing scientists with conscience and attacking countries with lies that make no scientific sense. Pointing out that the United States has done nothing responsible on origins-tracing, Mao said it has never invited WHO expert groups to the United States for joint research or shared any early data on COVID origins and it has turned a deaf ear to the world's concerns about U.S. bio-military bases at Fort Detrick and around the world. Politicizing origins-tracing would only hamper science-based cooperation on the issue, disrupt solidarity against the virus, and undermine global health governance mechanisms, Mao said. "We once again urge the U.S. side to immediately stop political manipulation on this issue, respond to the world's legitimate concerns, voluntarily share the data of suspected early cases in the United States with the WHO, disclose information about its bio-labs at Fort Detrick and around the world, and give the rest of the world the truth it deserves," she added. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan) Hill & Smith (LON:HILS) Full Year 2022 Results Key Financial Results Revenue: UK732.1m (up 3.8% from FY 2021). Net income: UK53.3m (up 56% from FY 2021). Profit margin: 7.3% (up from 4.9% in FY 2021). The increase in margin was driven by higher revenue. EPS: UK0.67 (up from UK0.43 in FY 2021). All figures shown in the chart above are for the trailing 12 month (TTM) period Hill & Smith EPS Misses Expectations Revenue was in line with analyst estimates. Earnings per share (EPS) missed analyst estimates by 6.9%. Looking ahead, revenue is forecast to grow 4.7% p.a. on average during the next 3 years, while revenues in the Metals and Mining industry in the United Kingdom are expected to remain flat. Performance of the British Metals and Mining industry. The company's shares are down 1.3% from a week ago. Risk Analysis Before we wrap up, we've discovered 1 warning sign for Hill & Smith 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 Rivian manufacturing in Normal, Illinois Rivian EV startups could lose customers while they make people wait. Without dealers, startups are learning new lessons in customer service. While startups ramp up production, legacy companies could benefit. Philip Pao placed an order for a Rivian R1T in November 2019. After waiting for three years, he decided it was time to make a backup plan. He placed an order on a gas-powered Toyota pickup truck, and now it's a race to see who will deliver to him in Fairfax, Virginia first. (Rivian is likely to lose. The company says it can't give him a delivery window until April.) "At this point I've pretty much made up my mind," Pao said, "I'm just going to cancel my Rivian order." For Pao and others like him, waiting on an electric vehicle has turned into a betting game of sorts. Customers are hedging their bets with orders for vehicles from multiple companies, from startups like Rivian to legacy companies like Ford and Toyota. While they sit in a virtual queue sometimes for years the new difference-maker for some order holders is the level of customer care they get while they wait. "This is the less glamorous side of the business, but for a new brand it's just as important as the fun part of designing and prototyping," said Jessica Caldwell, an automotive analyst for car-shopping website Edmunds. "The longer the wait goes on, and other products come along, it's easier to switch brands." EV startups learn customer service Electric vehicle startups are learning a tough lesson in customer service, Caldwell said, as they try to keep would-be buyers on the hook for years on end. That's a stark difference from the way cars have been sold historically when a salesperson on a lot is aiming to get you home in a new car that day. Startups like Rivian have taken a page out of Tesla's book, eschewing brick-and-mortar retail locations and dealership networks. This gives companies direct access to their customers and more control over their pricing, but it can also create friction between a brand and its new batch of customers. Story continues As the startups make more deliveries, they're taking emphasis off of lengthy order queues something that used to be a bragging right. Both Rivian and Lucid stopped reporting pre-order numbers to investors at earnings in recent weeks. While it is important for EV startups to take care of customers after delivery, some of these order-holders are just as important to keep on your side, Caldwell said. "These are the early adopters the people in the friend group giving out EV shopping advice," Caldwell said. "Having those people in your fold is so important when you have to compete with the likes of General Motors and Ford, which have much bigger, deeper advertising pockets." Some of Rivan's order-holders are losing hope Insider has spoken or corresponded with nearly three dozen current and former Rivian order holders in recent months. Several said the company offered test drives in their area over the past year, to encourage them to stay patient. But for many (who are often also shareholders that date back to the company's blockbuster IPO), it's the stock price sinking, the wait, and now the company going back on early promises that sting. The final straw for Pao has been Rivian's inability to deliver the Max pack, a 400-mile range battery, with the quad-motor this year. Once that change was made, Pao received a notice that he would get a new delivery window estimate, for a dual-motor vehicle, in late February, but that has been delayed to April. "I want what you've been marketing from the beginning," Pao said. "The only thing that can gain my trust back is if they produce what they intended on producing." "Our goal as we scale our service infrastructure is to provide a high-quality experience for all our customers," Rivian said in an emailed statement. "We will continue striving to do so as we increase production and open more service centers across the US and Canada." When Rivian first started taking orders, it touted the impressive 400-mile battery for its pickup and SUV, all of which made it unique among others who hadn't yet entered those segments and certainly not met that range. Fast-forward several years, and other automakers are offering similarly-enticing products with range that rivals what Rivian currently has to offer at an EPA rating ranging from 314 to 320 miles per charge: Ford's F-150 Lightning pickup touts a 320-mile range on the extended range pack, the Chevrolet Silverado electric truck is estimated to have a 400-mile range, and the Hyundai Ioniq 5 SUV has an advertised range of 303 miles. Wade Higgins, a former Rivian employee who also has an order for an R1S, had a piece of advice for other people waiting in the queue: "One of the things that you really need to be cognizant of is: What configuration do you want? "If you want your vehicle immediately, you need some flexibility in taking what they're manufacturing right now," he said, "and if you are super dead-set on getting exactly what you want, you need to be patient." Are you a current or former Rivian employee, Rivian vehicle owner, or Rivian order holder? Contact these reporters at nnaughton@insider.com and astjohn@insider.com. Read the original article on Business Insider Get Hoppy! Easter is just around the corner and the Easter Bunny is back in Massachusetts. The Easter Bunny is paying a visit to Burlington Mall, South Shore Plaza, Northshore Mall, The Shops at Chestnut Hill, Cape Cod Mall, Square One Mall, and Auburn Mall. These malls are hosting Caring Bunny for a photo experience and providing a private event for children with special needs and their families. Special care is taken to ensure a sensory-friendly environment. Guests are encouraged to bring their furry friends to pose with the Bunny at all participating malls. Burlington Mall: Friday, March 10 Saturday, April 8 Mondays - Fridays 11 a.m. -7 p.m. Saturdays 10 a.m-8 p.m. Sundays 11 a.m-6 p.m. Friday, 3/31, and Friday, 4/7 10 a.m.- 8 p.m. South Shore Plaza: Friday, March 10 Saturday, April 8 Mondays Fridays 11 a.m- 7 =p.m. Saturdays 10 a.m-8 p.m. Sundays 11 a.m -6 p.m. Friday, 3/31, and Friday, 4/7 10 a.m. -8 p.m. Northshore Mall: Friday, March 10 Saturday, April 8 Mondays - Fridays 11 a.m-7 p.m. Saturdays 10 a.m-8 p.m. Sundays 11 a.m-6 p.m. Friday, 3/31 and Friday, 4/7 10 a.m-8 p.m. The Shops at Chestnut Hill: Friday, March 24 Saturday, April 8 Mondays - Thursdays 2-7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays 11 a.m-7 p.m. Sunday, 3/26 12P-6 p.m. and Sunday, 4/2 11 a.m-7 p.m. Friday, 3/31 11 a.m-7 p.m. and Friday, 4/7 10 a.m-8 p.m. Cape Cod Mall: Friday, March 24 Saturday, April 8 Mondays - Thursdays 2-7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays 11 a.m-7 p.m. Sunday, 3/26 12P-6 p.m. and Sunday, 4/2 11 a.m-6 p.m. Friday, 4/7 10 a.m-8 p.m.and Saturday, 4/8 10 a.m-8 p.m. Square One Mall: Friday, March 17 Saturday, April 8 Mondays - Fridays 11 a.m-7 p.m. Saturdays 10 a.m-8 p.m. Sundays 12-6 p.m. Friday, 4/7 10 a.m-8 p.m. Auburn Mall : Friday, March 17 Saturday, April 8 Monday-Fridays 11 a.m-7 p.m. Saturdays 10 a.m -8 p.m. Sundays 12 p.m.-6 p.m. Friday, 4/7 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Reservations are encouraged and can be made at the links above. For more information on Caring Bunny, visit the links of each mall. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Pixabay For one brief moment last week inside a conference room on Capitol Hill, it was November 2020 all over again. The House Republican Election Integrity Caucus had invited Gabriel Sterlingthe Georgia elections official who became famous for his debunkings of Donald Trumps election conspiraciesto talk about his states new election rules. Someone seated next to him at the meeting, however, wanted to talk about something else. Facing him directly, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) dredged up the greatest hits from the Stop The Steal era, falsely alleging that thousands of dead people cast ballots in Georgia in 2020, flatly declaring that Trump won Georgia, and telling a story about her ex-husbands problems at his polling place. On behalf of President Trump and all of his voters in Georgia, heres a . This is what I had to say to Gabe Sterling today. pic.twitter.com/jfReCPVghJ Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) February 28, 2023 The rant became public when Greene posted it to Twitter as a gift on behalf of President Trump and all his voters in Georgia. Its unclear exactly how Sterling countered her. He did not respond to a request for comment from The Daily Beast, but he later tweeted a photo of himself nonchalantly drinking a Coca-Cola while Greene spoke, saying, some still deal in disproven conspiracies. Even if the substance of Greenes speech couldnt have been more tired, it represented something notable: a House Republican actually talking about the 2020 election in a public forum on Capitol Hill since the GOP took the majority in January. Although Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) vowed ahead of the 2022 election that Republicans would prioritize election integrity if they won power, there are so far few signs of movement or broad appetite within the House GOP to take action on the issue. Story continues The marquee Republican election reform bill from the last session of Congress, a mix of some popular policies as well as more partisan proposals, has not yet been reintroduced. The chairman of the House Administration Committee, which has jurisdiction over election bills, did not indicate that passing a broad reform package was a priority in his remarks at the panels first meeting. Our role is limited, said Rep. Bryan Steil (R-WI), and we must uphold our federalist principles. (Steils office didnt respond to a request for comment on his legislative plans.) The right flank of the House GOP, meanwhile, is not exactly clamoring for action itself. A pair of hard-right lawmakers, Reps. Bob Good (R-VA) and Paul Gosar (R-AZ), have introduced separate MAGA-inspired election bills. Gosars, for instance, mandates the use of paper ballots nationwide. It has no cosponsors. When asked by The Daily Beast about the status of election bills, even Greene distanced Republicans from the issue, citing concerns over federalism. Our voters dont want it to go away, she said. So it should never go away. But we arent controlling state elections. What Republicans may end up advancing, lawmakers and observers say, could be a narrower version of last years legislationtargeted at the District of Columbias election rulesand a national voter ID law, which has broad GOP support. Censured Jenna Ellis Whines That She Never Lied About Stolen Election If those plans seem diminished compared to the lofty promises and fiery rhetoric on election integrity that Republicans offered after 2020, they are. Increasingly, what most GOP lawmakers understand, but only some are willing to say out loud, is that pursuing election changes even perceived as being responsive to Trumps conspiracies leads only to political pain. The results of the 2022 midterm election, in which voters delivered stinging rebukes of candidates who campaigned heavily on denying the 2020 election, should serve as a warning sign to Republican lawmakers, said Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE). If you look backwards, were going to lose, he said. If youre focused on the wrong thing, you cant improve. While McCarthy is always delicately balancing the wings of the fractious House GOP, his task could become smoother if rightwingers like Greene decline to make much of the election integrity pushbeyond the stray dunk on a figure like Sterling. (Greene herself reasoned to The Daily Beast, because she had just had a very public fight with Sterling, that was proof that Republicans hadnt let their issues with the 2020 election go by the wayside.) But across the GOP conference, Republicans held up federalism as a reason for cautioneven if many of those same lawmakers were supportive of Trumps effort to invalidate state election policies, and overrule millions of voters, by rejecting certain states electoral votes. Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA), a member of House GOP leadership who assisted Trump in his legal efforts to overturn the 2020 election result, told The Daily Beast that the conservative position is always, we dont want to federalize elections, we resist the federal government intervening too much in trying to control elections. Elections, Johnson said, are a chief concern. But with regard to what we can do specifically with legislation, that requires a lot of careful thought and deliberation, and I think some of that's probably still going on, he said. Of course, anything that passes the House would have to win the approval of the Democratic-controlled Senate and President Joe Biden to become law. That means GOP moves on elections are, for now, mostly politically symbolicwhich may point to a deeper issue behind the partys caution. Nebraska Cops Probe Shady Tactics by Voter ID Campaigns Foot Soldiers If the standard for the GOP base is now simply that the issue hasnt gone away on Capitol Hill, as Greene said, it might not be hard to meet. Pressed by The Daily Beast about whether McCarthy was behind her, Greene said, Im sure he is. Lawmakers and outside experts anticipate Republicans will put some kind of bill forward soon. The American Confidence in Elections Act, written by former Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL), was previously the closest thing Republicans had to a consensus bill on the subject. The legislation proposes national voter ID, banning noncitizens from voting, and prohibiting private organizations from supporting public election administrationa bugaboo for conservatives who believe funds from Mark Zuckerbergs foundation influenced the outcome of the 2020 election. Given Congress purview over the nations capital, the bill would also apply a number of GOP-supported election changes to the District of Columbia, including broad restrictions on the use of ballot drop boxes and curtailing of mail-in voting, with an eye toward encouraging states to adopt similar policies. That legislation has not been reintroduced yet since Republicans came into the majority. Davis, the original author, is no longer in Congress, after losing his primary last year. In an interview, Daviswho remains active in D.C. as a lobbyisttold The Daily Beast he would not speculate on Republicans legislative plans. But he did say he intended his bill to be a roadmap. When we wrote that bill in the last Congress, it was to lay out our vision in case the majority of our caucus, in the majority, decided they wanted to address election-reform issues, Davis said. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), a leading GOP moderate, said he intends to introduce a national voter ID bill and intends to recruit a Democratic co-sponsor. Im not sure beyond that, he said. A national voter ID bill would, in all likelihood, easily surpass the 218 votes needed to pass the House, perhaps with some Democratic votes. One GOP lawmaker said a D.C. focused voting bill would also easily unite the conference. Given that Republicans hold only a nine-seat House advantage over Democrats, math is where their legislative plans meet political reality, particularly on an issue as thorny and potentially divisive as election integrity. Election proposals supported by the hard right would likely have a difficult time passing the House. Gosars legislation to require paper ballots nationally flies in the face of conservatives rhetoric on federalism, even though the party base believes the proposal is urgently needed. Rupert Murdoch Worried Sean and Laura Went Too Far on Election Denial Goods bill, which is co-sponsored by fellow Freedom Caucus members Reps. Scott Perry (R-PA) and Mary Miller (R-IL), blocks jurisdictions from receiving federal grant money unless they implement a number of changes. At this early stage, some Republicans suspect key lawmakers are planning a legislative process that contains disagreement and makes it less likely that internal differences on election integrity spill over into public view. Another risk stems from Republican moves to make it easier for members to propose amendments on a bill, which means any election-related legislation could quickly lead to votes on more fringe proposals. Despite the toxic politics of election denialism, some observers say there is potential upside for Republicans in pursuing the issue. Many public opinion polls, for instance, indicate that majorities of voters approve of voter ID requirements. Kevin Kosar, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, said that Davis bill is a serious piece of legislation and expects Republicans to take up a version of it. This is a way of dealing with actual elections policy and doing it in a way that speaks to those out there who may feel aggrieved without relitigating it, Kosar said. Whether that balance can be struck politicallyor if its possible to truly address that grievance at allis another matter. Asked what he thought of Republicans who want to turn the page on the 2020 election, Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) offered a hint. They have the right to be wrong about that, he said. But Im certainly not forgetting what happened in November 2020. 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. The House voted unanimously Friday to pass a bill requiring Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines to declassify existing intelligence on Covids origins, sending the bill to President Bidens desk. The bill, which was previously approved by the Senate, passed the House 419-0 and would require that Haines declassify any intelligence related to links between the pandemic and the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the bat coronavirus research lab that was operating under unsafe conditions in the very city where the first cases of Covid emerged. The bills sponsor, Senator Josh Hawley (R., Mo.), hailed the vote as a step towards greater transparency. Now the American people will be able to see what their government knows about COVID origins and those who lied about it can be held accountable, Hawley wrote on Twitter. The White House has not yet indicated whether Biden will sign the legislation. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) sent a three-page letter to Hawleys office on Wednesday, blasting the senator for undermining international solidarity through his legislative effort. The statement, obtained by Fox News, went on to express our grave concern regarding the bill, which falsely claimed that the Covid-19 coronavirus originated from Wuhan Institute of Virology, accuses China of blocking international investigations, refusing to share information and lacking transparency. However, the CCP condemnation of Hawley reinforced the Missouri senators conviction that he was on to something. When China is this upset about a proposal you know youre on the right track, Hawley told Fox News Digital. The American people deserve to know the truth about the origins of COVID and China must be held accountable. In late February, the U.S. Department of Energy concluded that the coronavirus pandemic was most likely the result of a virology laboratory leak in Wuhan, China. The announcement came on the heels of the FBI endorsing the lab-leak theory. Story continues The FBI has for quite some time now assessed that the origins of the pandemic are most likely a potential lab incident in Wuhan, agency director Christopher Wray told Fox News in an interview. Here you are talking about a potential leak from a Chinese government-controlled lab. On Friday afternoon, Hawley echoed the importance of the Covid-19 Origin Act in a public letter addressed to Chinese President Xi Jinping. Dear President Xi, Hawley wrote. Time is up. Come clean about your role in spreading COVID to the word. More from National Review The House on Friday passed a bill to require the director of national intelligence to declassify information on the origins of Covid, sending it to President Joe Biden's desk. The bill, which would declassify information about the virus' origins and any information linking it to a Chinese lab, passed the House unanimously, 419-0, with 16 members not voting. The Senate passed the measure by unanimous consent last week. When asked Friday whether he would sign the legislation into law, Biden told reporters, I havent made that decision yet. Passage of the bill, titled the Covid19 Origin Act of 2023, comes after it was revealed that the U.S. Energy Department had concluded with low confidence that the pandemic likely originated from a laboratory leak in the Chinese city of Wuhan. That was according to a classified report delivered to key lawmakers on the House and the Senate Intelligence committees, two sources previously confirmed to NBC News. FBI Director Christopher Wray, meanwhile, said in a recent interview with Fox News that the "FBI has for quite some time now assessed that the origins of the pandemic are most likely a potential lab incident in Wuhan. He also complained that the Chinese government had been doing "its best to try to thwart and obfuscate the work here, the work that were doing, the work that our U.S. government and close foreign partners are doing, and thats unfortunate for everybody. The bill was introduced last month by Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Mike Braun, R-Ind. For nearly three years, anyone asking whether Covid-19 originated as a lab leak outbreak was silenced and branded as a conspiracy theorist," Hawley said in a statement when filing the measure. "Now these prudent skeptics stand vindicated. The American people deserve to know the truth. The Chinese government has denied the claims and maintained it has always been open and transparent about Covid. Based on the poor track record of the U.S. intelligence agencies in forgery and deception, the conclusions they draw have no credibility whatsoever, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said earlier this month. Biden asked the intelligence community to look further into the origins of the pandemic in 2021 to try to reach a definitive conclusion on its source after agencies were conflicted on whether the virus came from human contact with an infected animal or from a laboratory accident. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com WASHINGTON House Republicans have launched in investigation into the alleged mistreatment of Donald Trump supporters who are locked up in the District of Columbia Jail on charges related to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. House Oversight Committee chair James Comer (R-Ky.), along with committee members Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Clay Higgins (R-La.), want the District of Columbia government to provide a catalog of Jan. 6 detainees complaints and an explanation for why their trials havent started. In a letter to D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, the Republicans say theyre concerned that the city is violating detainees constitutional and human rights. The request comes amid a broader effort by Republicans to rewrite the history of the Capitol riot at the same time Fox News host Tucker Carlson is telling his millions of viewers that the riot was more of a sightseeing visit than an insurrection. Carlson said his bogus claim had been bolstered by hours of video footage provided exclusively to him by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). Greene has long lamented the supposed mistreatment of accused Capitol rioters at the D.C. Jail, a facility notorious for problems such as faulty doors, broken air conditioning and inmate deaths. Greene said last year, before she had been named to the Oversight Committee, that she would push for an investigation. In their letter, the Republicans make it clear theyre not investigating the jail just the alleged mistreatment of the Trump supporters locked up there, whom Greene has called political prisoners. The Committee is concerned by reports that January 6 detainees are facing a unique form of mistreatment due to their politics and beliefs, representing potential several human rights abuses, the Republicans wrote. The assault on the Capitol began after Trump held a rally in which he pushed the lie that the 2020 election had been stolen from him and as a joint session of Congress was meeting to certify the Electoral College count. Of the roughly 1,000 people charged with crimes connected to the riot, more than 500 have pleaded guilty and 53 have been found guilty at contested trials. Story continues Federal criminal defendants are usually not kept in jail before trial unless theyre accused of violent or sexual offenses, have a prior criminal record or the government convinces a judge they might run away. Greene told HuffPost this week that some Jan. 6 defendants detained while awaiting trial merely trespassed on Capitol grounds. Theres many of them in there that are not accused of violent crimes, Greene said. Neither she nor her office pointed to a specific example. The U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Columbia the federal prosecutors overseeing Jan. 6 cases told HuffPost this week that there are roughly two dozen Capitol siege defendants being held pretrial. Almost all of these defendants are charged with assaultive conduct and none are charged only with misdemeanor offenses, a spokesperson said. In December, Greene participated in an event where several Capitol rioters accused of violent crimes spoke via phone from behind bars and asked for online donations. A spokesperson for the D.C. Department of Corrections did not respond to a request for comment. Related... (Getty Images) The House of Representatives voted unanimously on a bill that would call on the White House to declassify the origins of Covid-19 on Friday. The House voted 419-0 on Friday before the House left for the weekend. The bill, which was sponsored by Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, already passed the Senate by unanimous consent. This is a great first step in holding China accountable for this crisis, and I urge President Biden to sign it immediately. The American people deserve to know the truth, Mr Hawley said in a statement upon its passage in the House. The legislation would require that the Director of National Intelligence must declassify any information about links between the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the origins of Covid-19, including activities performed on behalf of the Peoples Liberation Army, Chinas military. Ed East saw the huge potential of influencer marketing early in the game. Photo: Billion Dollar Boy Ed East is global CEO and co-founder of Billion Dollar Boy (BDB), the UK's fastest-growing influencer agency. BDB has grown the influencer marketing industry by 62%, helping the business to clinch a spot in the Financial Times's list of the 1000 fastest growing companies in Europe the first and only influencer marketing agency featured. Founded in 2014 with staff of around 150 across the business, BDB forecast $70m revenue for 2023. My career hasn't been long but I was finding it hard to find a job after leaving university in the US. I applied to companies like Google in digital marketing-related jobs and kept getting through to the last rounds of the graduate trainee schemes but not progressing. I met for a drink with a family friend called Oliver Pawle, who had an idea to set up a charitable organisation that would support young entrepreneurs in their journey and give them all the essential elements needed to set up a business. I found it fascinating. Read More: My first boss: Martin Warner, 'UK's Elon Musk' Previously an investment banker, Oliver is now chairman at executive recruiters Korn Ferry. I joined Oliver as an intern, with the hope of perhaps joining his scheme in its inception. In the meantime, there were so many things I learned. Oliver simply had an idea, with a great cause supporting young individuals. Since 2011, the New Entrepreneurs Foundation has now had 350 alumni. It has since merged with the Centre for Entrepreneurs. Further, 170 businesses have been set up, with more than 5,000 jobs created with a combined value of 620m. The first lesson I took away was always take action and drive it into reality, otherwise it will never become something. Three weeks after our drink, he had hired me as a junior and we were up and running, the first programme launching that autumn. The BDB founders: Thomas Walters (Europe CEO), Permele Doyle (USA president) and Ed East, right. Photo: Paul Morse Photography Oliver is always energetic and optimistic which gives off energy to others. He also took time to be interested and listen. I take the same positive energy approach at BDB even when giving potentially bad news, I try to give a positive spin. Story continues Over his career, he also built a valuable network and that's one of the reasons he is now in executive search. It was clear to me that the network was the only way the foundation would succeed. We had to go out to businesses who had never heard anything like this before. "You need to treat people with the utmost respect when youre on the way up, as who knows what will happen on the way back down", he once said. In 2011, I joined the programme and shadowed at a big digital marketing agency as its new entrepreneur. Having seen Oliver and his drive to action, I was inspired. In my spare time I worked on a database connecting blogs an incarnation of influencer marketing today to brands. Having moved to Los Angeles and seen YouTubers and Instagrammers, I realised it was this market which needed to be connected all together to brands. In 2014, Billion Dollar Boy (I am a big fan of Pharrell Williams who had launched his Billionaire Boys Club fashion label) was born. We wrote a long business plan in order to pay us a salary. The genesis of influencer marketing has not changed, but the route has consistently taken us in different directions. Billion Dollar Boy has grown to become one of the fastest-growing full-service influencer led advertising agencies in the world. Photo: Tom Miles As we are a bigger business, its much harder to have an idea and follow that as there are so many people and stakeholders involved. We are much less entrepreneurial while the last few years we have honed in and perfected what we are good at, as opposed to trying lots of new things. There are always new platforms and creators emerging. Influencers have democratised this creation of content, can publish via their owned platform on social media and it has changed the way brands can talk to audiences. While we have done mass scale influencer marketing over the last nine years, creator advertising is now coming to the fore, one where we want to double down over the next few years. We are taking the asset influencers make and using it for many different forms of advertising. For example, we recently had the biggest billboard in Australia in Melbourne, where the content is made by influencers. Read More: Sally Walker, Britain's spy chief on her first boss The creator economy term has now been coined over the last 18 months in building businesses with influencers, leveraging the audiences and the communities theyve built to create new products and services. It takes us out of the agency model and enables us to co-invest and redefine the way businesses are being built. Oliver probably had faith in seeing me start something and it's probably why he pushed and supported me. He may be a bit surprised at where I've got to, but he will undoubtedly be happy about it. Watch: Is it financially worth going to university? As part of his war on woke ideology, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has mounted a hostile takeover of New College, a Sarasota liberal-arts school known for inculcating free thinking and welcoming LGBTQ culture. DeSantis plans to instill conservative values at the school, as a model for other efforts to rout the politically correct liberal policies DeSantis refers to as wokeism from the education system and other public institutions. But all is not going as planned. The new president of New College, a DeSantis ally, earns an outsized salary that's supposed to come largely from a foundation aligned with the school that's supported by donors. But donors are yanking their money, turned off by DeSantis's intervention. New donors more aligned with DeSantis may materialize, but in the meanwhile, a once quiet school is now in a state of turmoil. This might be a small-town spat pitting a tiny, unorthodox college against its prickly overseers, except for two things. One, DeSantis has broadly signaled he plans to run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024. And two, hes already campaigning on his record in the Sunshine State and promising to make America Florida. That battle over New College reveals how DeSantis moves fast and breaks things in service of the conservative cause, tactics he may apply to social programs, tax policy or immigration if he ever becomes president. With about 660 students, New College is one of the smallest schools in Floridas public university system. US News & World Report ranks it 76th best out of 210 liberal arts schools nationwide. Part of the appeal is low tuition: roughly $7,000 per year for Florida residents. The school also has a reputation for launching high achievers, with 89 Fulbright scholars among its graduates. Alumni include William Dudley, former president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, the former Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart and his brother, the Telemundo news anchor Jose Diaz-Balart. Story continues DeSantis mounted a broadside campaign against the Walt Disney Corp. last year when the Orlando theme park operator opposed a DeSantis-backed bill limiting what Florida schools can teach young kids about sex and gender issuesthe so-called "don't say gay" law. DeSantis retaliated by stripping Disney of special municipal autonomy it had enjoyed around Disney World for decades. Traditional Republicans ally with big business, but in his new book, The Courage to be Free, DeSantis brags about taking on Disney and other organizations that tout what he calls liberal priorities. Students from New College of Florida stage a walkout from the public liberal arts college to protest against a proposed wide-reaching legislation that would ban gender studies majors and diversity programs at Florida universities, in Sarasota, Florida, U.S., February 28, 2023. REUTERS/Octavio Jones DeSantis took that fight to New College early this year. In January, he engineered a sweep of the schools board of trustees that put conservative allies in charge. DeSantiss chief of staff said the goal was to convert the quirky school into a Christian academy. At the beginning of March, the trustees eliminated New Colleges diversity program, which one of the new trustees bragged about on Twitter. School supporters worry many more changes are coming. [Drop Rick Newman a note, follow him on Twitter, or sign up for his newsletter.] In February, the reconstituted board fired New Colleges president, Patricia Okker, and replaced her on an interim basis with Richard Corcoran, who served as Floridas education commissioner under DeSantis. Okkers base pay was $305,000. For Corcoran, the board raised that to $699,000. Thats comparable to presidents of other public Florida schools that have 50 times the number of students. Corcoran, for instance, earns about $1,060 per student. That compares with $18 per student for the president of the University of Florida, $13 per student for the president of the University of South Florida and $11 per student for the president of Florida Intl. University. Florida law allows taxpayer money to cover just $200,000 of a university administrators pay. The rest must come from private donations. The New College Foundation, funded by donations from alumni and local philanthropists, was able to raise the extra money for Okker, who was popular among New College's supporters. The new trustees assumed the Foundation would put up the money for Corcorans extra pay, as well. But that additional $400,000, plus a possible 15% bonus and other perks totaling around $200,000, doesnt appear to be there. Most of the foundations $43 million in funding is earmarked for specific causes and cant be used to pay Corcoran. Debra Jenks, the new chair of the schools board of trustees, has suggested the school can tap a $4 million grant the foundation received from a Sarasota couple in 2021. But that may not be kosher, either. The 2021 grant came from the estate of Lee and Bob Peterson and was the largest in New Colleges history. The family stipulated that the money was for supporting students, especially those needing treatment for mental illness. Using that money to cover the possibly inflated salary of a political operator revamping the schools mission would seem to violate the intent of the donors. A person familiar with the Peterson family told Yahoo Finance, The process by which the donation was made is under attorney review. The Peterson family is working on a response with their attorney. Another New College donor told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune she has tallied $10 million in funding for the foundation that donors have withdrawn since the DeSantis team swooped in. That's nearly one-fourth of the nonprofit's funding. In a March 8 email to New College faculty and staff, Corcoran, the interim president, said we have no plans to fire tenured faculty and current students should be confident that they will be able to pursue their goals in the traditional academic system of the college. He attached a Feb. 27 written question-and-answer exchange with the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, in which he explained his vision for the school. Corcoran justified earning more than twice the prior president by outlining several problems he has to fix, such as low student retention rates and a reputation for weirdos. There were no questions in the exchange about the use of foundation money for most of his pay. New College administrators did not respond to a Yahoo Finance request for comment. Nor did DeSantis's office. But one solution to the question of how to cover Corcoran's nearly $1 million compensation package would be to line up new donors more amenable to DeSantis's conservative activism. The Florida legislature has also directed $15 million in new funding to New College. That can't be used to top off Corcoran's salary, but it may help cover activities if foundation money dries up. Is all of the turmoil worth it? DeSantis obviously thinks so, but most voters don't show much interest in "wokeism," either for it or against it. One recent poll even shows that Americans consider woke virtues a net positive. As DeSantis goes national with his crusade to vilify wokeism, voters will have to consider how much breakage they're looking for in public institutions. Rick Newman is a senior columnist for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter at @rickjnewman Click here for politics news related to business and money Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance What can employers do to ensure people are properly supported while on long-term sick leave? Photo: Getty Its no secret that our workplaces are unhealthy. From stress and burnout to COVID-19 and flu, many workers find themselves unable to work from time-to-time and have to take extended time off to recover. The number on long-term sick leave is on the rise. Between June and August 2022, about 2.5 million people reported sickness as the main reason for economic inactivity, up from around 2 million in 2019. And although coronavirus has undoubtedly contributed to this growing figure, the rise in long-term sickness actually started before the pandemic hit the UK. In fact, it has been steadily increasing since 2019. A range of factors are likely to be influencing this increase in sick leave. According to research by Indeed, only 27% of Brits are happy at work and three-quarters said their workplace unhappiness had negatively impacted their health. Stress can affect us both mentally and physically, leading to depression, anxiety, headaches, insomnia and leaving our immune systems less-equipped to fight off viruses. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, conditions such as Strep A, flu and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) have also been on the rise. Long COVID, as well as other chronic or long-term conditions, also leave many unable to work. Without adequate support, those on long-term sick leave which is normally classed as taking more than four weeks off work risk being forced out of work entirely. ONS data shows nearly 400,000 workers have left the job market due to health issues since February 2020. So what can employers do to ensure people are properly supported while on long-term sick leave? Decide when and how to keep in touch Regular communication and support during the absence period can help people feel in the loop and less anxious about being forced out of work. Checking in with someone who is off sick lets them know theyre still a valued member of the company. It also means employers are aware of a workers health status, so they can adjust their expectations of a return accordingly. Story continues However, although communication is important, employees shouldnt feel bombarded or pressured to return to work before they are well enough. It can be helpful for employers and employees to agree on how to stay in touch during absence and how much contact is reasonable. Its also important to decide how to keep in touch, whether it is via email or phone. Dont pressure the employee to return Forcing someone to return to work before they are ready will likely only cause further problems. If someone has been off with stress or any other condition, putting pressure on them to return can worsen their health issues and negate any benefits of their absence. When contacting someone on long-term sick leave, focus on their wellbeing and make it clear that the organisation will support them and their needs. Dont make someone feel guilty for needing time off. It can help to reassure someone that their job will be there for them when they do return. Make adjustments It is unlikely that an employee who has been on long-term sick leave will feel confident enough or able to return to work at full-speed. Employers should consider ways to reintegrate someone back into work, such as a phased return, flexible hours or altered responsibilities. Making adequate adjustments depending on the individual and their needs can help someone get back to their usual role without risking a relapse or further health problems. Remember everyone is different While someone may need a month or two off work to recover, others may need considerably longer. Its essential not to make assumptions about an employees situation and their needs. Recovery times for the same condition can vary greatly among individuals. Create a plan for each employee based on their requirements, which includes check-in points. Only the individual will be able to tell you if they are able to return to work safely so its important to listen to their views and concerns. Watch: UK study points to benefits of 4-day work week Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android. A Binghamton engineering firm based on Court Street has changed hands, but its 50-plus employees arent going anywhere. HUNT Engineers, headquartered in Horseheads, recently acquired Shumaker Consulting Engineering and Land Surveying, which has been located in Binghamton for nearly 65 years. Between them, the companies have designed numerous school projects, roads and bridges, construction projects and water infrastructure programs across the region for decades. Heres what you need to know about the deal. Why did HUNT acquire Shumaker? The Shumaker Consulting Engineering and Land Surveying headquarters at 143 Court Street in Binghamton has been acquired by HUNT Engineering of Horseheads. HUNT was founded in Corning in the wake of the Flood of 1972. The company moved its headquarters to Horseheads in 2000 and over the years has opened offices in Rochester and Towanda, Pennsylvania. The acquisition of Shumaker expands the companys footprint in northern Pennsylvania and New York with a presence in the Broome County area supplemented by Shumakers Albany office. Christopher Bond, HUNTs President and CEO, said adding HUNTs expertise to Shumaker broadens the depth of both companies and will allow Shumaker to expand its services to clients. On a lot of projects they had some level of involvement but maybe werent the prime on them. I think the combined firm has the opportunity to be much more involved as the prime consultant providing all the services for a project, said Bond. Were looking for their strong connection to the Binghamton area, along with some of the additional services we provide, making us a really strong player in that market. Pennsylvania company expands to Waverly:What to know about business creating jobs in NY What is the impact on local employment? Shumaker Consulting President Linda Shumaker, left, stands with Chuck Franzese of HUNT Engineers at an event in 2006. The companies, which have worked together on projects over the years, are now both operating under the HUNT banner. Since 1992 Shumaker has been led by President Linda Shumaker, whose father Vernon Shumaker founded the firm in 1956. The company grew to a staff of more than 50 employees, including transportation engineers, water resource engineers, civil engineers, environmental engineers and scientists, land surveyors and technical design specialists. Story continues That team will remain in place under HUNT management, Bond said, and the Binghamton office may even expand as the operation adds more services to its portfolio. Were looking to really strengthen what we can offer in Binghamton, as well as have stronger opportunities for both of us in the whole upstate New York and Northern Tier region of Pennsylvania, said Bond. While Shumaker is now officially part of the HUNT team, Bond said the Binghamton office will maintain references to Shumaker to recognize the legacy of the company. Linda Shumaker has been part of the firm since 1978. "This acquisition by HUNT will start a new chapter in the careers for all the current loyal Shumaker employees, some of which have been with the firm for over 30 years," said Shumaker. "Shumakers familiarity and close working relationship with HUNT for over two decades will provide a seamless transition for the staff of both firms to continue to provide the exceptional service our clients have come to expect from each firm over the last 50-plus years." The Shumaker acquisition raised HUNTs employee count to around 200. More:Corning company expands to Broome County; here's what's new on the Vestal Parkway Development:What's under construction in Broome County? What services are offered by the firm? HUNT EAS President and CEO Christopher Bond. HUNT is a full-service architectural firm that offers architecture, mechanical, electrical and structural engineering, landscape architecture, site design, IT design and interior design. The company has designed county office buildings, school improvements, bridge and highway projects, water systems and housing developments, among other projects. Shumaker offers similar services. Some of its high-profile projects include the Court Street Gateway in Binghamton, the Vestal Rail Trail, and Binghamton Universitys Pharmacy School and Innovative Technology Center. HUNT and Shumaker have worked together on projects in the past, a familiarity that is expected to ease the transition for the companies. Bond said roughly 85% of HUNTs workload comes from repeat clients. This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: HUNT Engineers of Horseheads acquires Binghamton firm Schumaker Almost 4 million Hyundai Elantra, Sonata and Venue drivers will soon have access to free anti-theft software upgrades, the company says. The upgrade comes in response to "increasing thefts targeting its vehicles without push-button ignitions and immobilizing anti-theft devices," the company said in a news release Tuesday, after videos showing how to start the vehicles without a key circulated on TikTok and social media last year. The upgrade modifies vehicle control modules on Hyundai vehicles that have standard turn-key-to-start ignition systems. Once the systems are upgraded, locking the doors with the key fob will set the factory alarm and activate an ignition kill feature so the vehicles can't be started when thieves try to take off with them. Customers have to use the key fob to unlock their vehicles and deactivate the ignition kill feature, Hyundai said. Insurance: Is my car still insured? What we know about State Farm, Progressive dropping some Hyundai, Kia cars Cars: Car incentives are creeping back as inventory increases. Here's how to find them. Recall: Nearly 60,000 car seats recalled over failing seat anchors: Safety 1st, Maxi-Cosi models impacted Why are companies offering these upgrades? Kia has also promised some customers enhanced security software that should be available over the next few months, the company said in a statement Tuesday. Kia said it will also continue to give impacted customers free steering wheel locks through law enforcement agencies. The software upgrade comes after Progressive and State Farm stopped issuing new policies for some Hyundai and Kia vehicles from coverage due to a rise in thefts. Police also believe the rise in thefts among Hyundais and Kias is partially due to a social media trend where users demonstrate how to start the cars without using keys. Mostly Kia cars newer than 2011 and Hyundai cars newer than 2015 have been impacted. The Highway Loss Data Institute said the vehicles are easier for car thieves to steal because they don't have electronic immobilizers to prevent thieves from taking them. Because of this, people can break in and bypass the ignition. Story continues According to Hyundai, all of the company's vehicles produced since November 2021 have an engine immobilizer. The car manufacturer is also giving impacted customers free steering wheel locks, which they can pick up from law enforcement agencies. "Some 2011-2022 model year vehicles without engine immobilizers cannot accommodate the software upgrade," the company said. "For these customers, Hyundai is finalizing a program to reimburse them for their purchase of steering wheel locks." Impacted Kia vehicles were built between 2011 and 2021; they have a steel key to "insert and turn to start" the ignition, the company said. How do I get the upgrade? Hyundai dealers will take care of the upgrades, which the company says will take less than one hour for installation. Each vehicle that gets the upgrade will have a window decal to ward off would-be car thieves, the company said. Hyundai is committed to ensuring the quality and integrity of our products through continuous improvement and is pleased to provide affected customers with an additional theft deterrent through this software upgrade, said Randy Parker, Hyundai's CEO, in the release. We have prioritized the upgrades availability for owners and lessees of our highest selling vehicles and those most targeted by thieves in order for dealers to service them first. Which cars get the updates? The updates will be available depending on model year and make. February 14: 2017-2020 Elantra 2015-2019 Sonata 2020-2021 Venue June 2023: 2018-2022 Accent 2011-2016 Elantra 2021-2022 Elantra 2018-2020 Elantra GT 2011-2014 Genesis Coupe 2018-2022 Kona 2020-2021 Palisade 2013-2018 Santa Fe Sport 2013-2022 Santa Fe 2019 Santa Fe XL 2011-2014 Sonata 2011-2022 Tucson 2012-2017, 2019-2021 Veloster Hyundai said more information is available online at hyundaiantitheft.com. There, customers can type in their vehicle identification number and find out when their vehicles are eligible for the software upgrade. Kia customers can also call customer care at 1-800-333-4542 or check out owners.kia.com/us/en/kia-owner-portal.html. Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia the 757 and loves all things horror, witches, Christmas, and food. Follow her on Twitter at @Saleen_Martin or email her at sdmartin@usatoday.com. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hyundai releases software update after insurers drop some car models Tempted to ignore your spring allergies? Don't. Here are 5 things that could go wrong if you do. Experts say that spring allergies can lead to a lot more than itchy eyes and a runny nose if they go untreated. Dr. Ryan Steele, an allergist and immunologist at Yale tells Yahoo Life, the longer you ignore symptoms, the more potential there is for needing more intensive medication or medical interventions. I found out the hard way that not treating allergies can lead to complications. When I moved to Washington, D.C., for college, I started having some mild swelling and generally not feeling well. I dragged myself to class and hoped things would get better. Instead, my symptoms got worse. My eyelids turned red and started swelling almost to the point of being completely closed. Then I started feeling itchiness and tightness in my throat. At that point I knew something was seriously wrong so I went to the campus doctor, who diagnosed me with seasonal allergies. She prescribed medication that helped me feel better right away, but suggested that I see an allergist to develop a long-term treatment plan. The author, Jaime Davis-Smith, ignored her seasonal allergy symptoms after moving to Washington D.C. That's something she says she'll never do again. (Photo: Jamie Davis-Smith) Environmental allergies are very common with up to 40% of U.S. adults suffering from this chronic condition, Dr. Shyam Joshi, an allergist and assistant professor of medicine at Oregon Health and Science University, tells Yahoo Life. My allergist urged me to pay close attention to my symptoms and to take an over-the-counter antihistamine. I went to the drug store promptly to stock up and have not experienced any serious allergy symptoms since. I am not alone in having needlessly suffered from untreated seasonal allergies. Ignoring a train coming down the tracks is not wise, Dr. Jacqueline Eghrari-Sabet, an allergist and immunologist at the Kauffman Allergy and Immunology Center in Virginia, tells Yahoo Life.You hear the rumble, you hear the train whistle, you should move away from the tracks. Ignoring early symptoms is not wise. Here are five key takeaways from top allergists about what can happen if you dont treat your spring allergies. Story continues 1. Your allergic reactions could get worse Although some wait to see if their seasonal or environmental allergies will get better or disappear, but often the opposite happens. Allergies typically do not go away on their own and can worsen with age, says Dr. Christina Johns, a pediatrician who is certified in emergency medicine and serves as a medical adviser at PM Pediatric Care, where she treats a large number of allergy patients. Johns warns that its important to be on the lookout for signs of an allergic reaction because allergies are unpredictable. Their effect depends on the severity of a persons allergy, the amount of exposure and other factors, she says. That means that ignoring allergy symptoms and continuing to be exposed to the trigger can make the reaction progressively worse each time a person is exposed. Johns explains that many emergency room and urgent care doctors like herself routinely treat seasonal allergies on a consistent basis because thats where patients wind up when their allergies are not well controlled and they have an unexpected reaction. Symptoms can quickly get worse within hours to days making them harder to treat and requiring stronger medications, allergist Dr. Neeta Ogden tells Yahoo Life. As a result, she recommends taking a second-generation antihistamine right after the first signs of an allergic reaction strike. 2. Your quality of life could decrease Some people live with allergies for years and ignore them despite their symptoms leading to a notable decline in quality of life, says Joshi. He says that patients with untreated allergies frequently suffer from poor sleep, decreased social interaction and increased anxiety and depression. Multiple studies have also shown that patients who suffer from moderate to severe [allergies] have reduced productivity at work and school as well as an increase in absenteeism, Joshi explains. 3. There is a risk of medical complications Experts say about 30% of patients who don't address allergy symptoms could develop asthma. Untreated environmental allergies can also lead to medical complications. According to Dr. Roberto Garcia-Ibanez, a board certified allergist with the Allergi Group, roughly 30% of patients with allergy symptoms will develop asthma due to delayed treatment. Moreover, if environmental allergies are not controlled they can lead to sinus and ear infections, Joshi says. He adds that if allergies are a trigger for asthma, long-term inflammation can lead to permanent changes in the airway." Untreated allergies can also cause increased severity of other diseases. Eghrari-Sabet says that if someone develops a case of hay fever from allergies and ignores it, they are much more likely to develop more significant symptoms of sinus congestion, headache and loss of sense of smell and taste. At that point, an allergy sufferer may need more treatment with antibiotics and decongestants, she says. Worst-case scenario, doctors warn that chronic infections could require surgery. That would not have been necessary if they would have only managed their first problem of [allergies],says Eghrari-Sabet. 4. Your allergies could progress from seasonal to year-long suffering Garcia-Ibanez says he has seen many patients whose allergy symptoms began with a distinct seasonal pattern evolve into an annual pattern if left untreated. This is especially the case in areas with high humidity that lead to a high prevalence of indoor allergens, such as dust mites and cockroaches, Garcia-Ibanez explains. However, Joshi says that seasonal allergies can turn into year-round allergies in any climate. He tells Yahoo Life that those who suffer from seasonal allergies are much more likely to develop allergies that cause nonseasonal symptoms, including allergies to cats, dogs, dust mites, feathers and mold. 5. You could experience anaphylaxis Anaphylaxis is a rare but serious and potentially life-threatening reaction that can occur after exposure to environmental allergens. Eghrari-Sabet explains that anaphylaxis is a continuum in which mild symptoms can progress to severe symptoms, but she says that its difficult to tell when a patient will progress from hives on skin, to throat swelling and an inability to breathe. So how should you treat your spring allergies? Joshi recommends over-the-counter medications with intranasal steroids or antihistamine tablets for itchy eyes and runny notes. He also says it's worth exploring immunotherapy, which he says can reduce the risk of developing additional allergic triggers. Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and the ex-deputy head of the State Security Department will be tried in absentia for inciting desertion and organising illegal crossing of the state border. Source: Press office of the Prosecutor Generals Office of Ukraine Quote: "With the participation of the prosecutors of the General Prosecutor's Office, the Podil District Court of Kyiv decided to conduct a special court proceeding in absentia against the former President of Ukraine and the ex-deputy head of the State Security Department of Ukraine, [who also was] the head of the security service of the President of Ukraine." Details: The name of the former head of the Presidential Security Service is not mentioned, but it is known that it is Major General Kostiantyn Kobzar, who was arrested in absentia by the Pechersk District Court of Kyiv in February 2022. The investigation established that on 23 February 2014, Yanukovych, together with the head of his security service and representatives of the Russian Federation, [enjoying the support of] aircraft and watercraft of the naval forces of the aggressor state, illegally crossed the state border of Ukraine twice and ferried at least 20 people through it to Russia. On the same day, on the territory of the military unit of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation in the Cossack Bay Area of Sevastopol, Yanukovych incited servicemen of the State Guard of Ukraine, who provided his security, to commit desertion. Accordingly, the ex-president was charged with organising the illegal transportation of persons across the state border of Ukraine and inciting desertion. His former bodyguard was charged with organising the illegal transfer of individuals across the state border, too. Background: Investigators of the State Bureau of Investigation informed Yanukovych of the suspicion of inciting the State Security Department servicemen to desertion in February 2022. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! The discovery of vast lithium deposits in the Indian territory of Jammu and Kashmir, hailed as a win for the countrys clean energy transition, comes at a price for communities in the Himalayan region, say villagers and environmental scientists. Often called white gold, the metal is a key component in lithium-ion storage batteries, which are crucial for electric vehicles because they are weight-for-weight far more efficient than the commonly used lead-acid or nickel-metal hydride batteries. Read more The announcement in February of lithium deposits in the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir, estimated at 5.9 million tonnes, was welcome in a country committed to transitioning away from fossil fuels. India previously had to rely on lithium imports from countries such as Australia and Argentina. However, it comes amid reported subsidence of the Himalayan landscape triggered by the heavy machinery used to build dams and highways, raising concerns of further environmental damage. Use of heavy machinery for drilling and earth-cutting in the sensitive Himalayan region has been largely responsible for subsidence in Joshimath town, says SP Sati, who teaches environmental science at the College of Forestry, Ranichauri in the adjacent Himalayan state of Uttarakhand where the subsidence has been devastating in recent months. The residents of Reasi recognise the economic opportunities the lithium reserves can bring, but also the risks, as sinking houses force many to evacuate their homes to safer areas. When we first came to know about the discovery of huge lithium reserves just adjacent to our village, we were happy that it will bring us prosperity. But we now hear that when the extraction takes place, it can prove hazardous for us and our water and land, says Balbir Singh of Salal village which sits on the lithium deposits. Story continues Even if we get some compensation for dislocation from our village, the thought of leaving the homes we have lived in for generations makes us very sad, Singh says. Mohinder Singh Sarpanch, head of the village of Salal, says the village should be compensated for the impacts of mining in their community. So far, we have not been officially asked to vacate our village. If residents from the entire area are required to vacate, then over 500 families will get affected, Sarpanch says. It is not only about dislocation; there will be pollution which we will have to bear if we are relocated to a nearby area. If we are asked to give these sacrifices for the country, the government has to think about us, Sarpanch adds. It is not clear when the Indian government is planning to start lithium extraction, but experts say it could be years before commercial mining operations begin. So far, only the primary resource calculation has been done. There are two more steps before we are sure about the exploitable resources and whether we will go for mining or not it will take several years for the resources to be mined, says Pankaj Srivastava, a professor who specialises in mineral exploration at the department of geology, University of Jammu. India would need to acquire specific technologies for mining and refining lithium, he added. According to Siddharth Goel, a senior policy advisor at the International Institute for Sustainable Development with experience in the fields of environment, energy and sustainable transport, lithium mine development can take 10 years or more. However, its possible that India fast-tracks approvals and permits to reduce the time taken, given the critical importance of lithium in manufacturing electric vehicle batteries, he says. S S Verma, a professor at the department of physics at Sant Longowal Institute of Engineering and Technology, in Longowal, Punjab state, says that India has a long history of working mines and lithium mining is not difficult, but refining is (evidently) difficult. Independent environmental impact assessments should be carried out before mining begins, given the sensitive ecology of the Himalayas, says Goel. Ensuring an environmentally friendly mining process is also essential to attract investment from large international companies given the growing global scrutiny of the battery value chains environmental footprint, he adds. Shakil Romshoo, senior professor in Kashmir Universitys department of earth sciences, says: The discovery of lithium in the country is a big development as India aggressively pursues clean energy production. But considering the significant environmental impacts of lithium extraction, environment-friendly exploration technology will be needed whenever this resource is exploited. Lithium mining has sparked protests around the world in recent years. According to a study published in February in Nature, ecosystems in the vicinity of lithium deposits are extremely fragile and linked in a food chain in which ecosystem services are crucial for livestock and rural populations. This article was first published by scidev.net. More from Quartz Sign up for Quartz's Newsletter. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. Former and current Indigo employees are being contacted about the possibility of having their personal information sold to the dark web, after the companys website was hacked in a cybersecurity attack. The popular bookseller ultimately refused to pay the ransom that was requested. The company admits on their website that its network was illegally accessed by criminals who deployed ransomware software known as LockBit. The breach led to their website and online payment system to go down. Indigo states that theres no reason to believe customer data has been compromised, but they do know some employee data was. Some former workers have come forward to confirm that theyve been contacted by the company about the possibility of their personal data being sold to the dark web. Having my personal information sold on the dark web is exactly how I imagined my journey as a former Indigo Books & Music employee concluding, actually Domenica Martinello (parody) (@domenicahope) March 2, 2023 Employees and former employees of the retailer are being offered two years of identity theft monitoring. Lluc Cerda, a Calgary-based employment lawyer at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP, says from a legal standpoint, not much can be done to compensate employees in regards to this cyberattack. A similar situation happened with credit bureau company Equifax Canada, though it targeted consumers more than it did employees. A class action lawsuit by customers was launched over the fact that their information was compromised during a hack. It went to the Ontario Court of Appeal, but was ultimately shot down, concluding that the customers who had their information compromised couldnt sue for damages. While the difference with the Indigo breach is that it appears employees information was compromised, Cerda doesnt think it would make a difference. Story continues There are some obligations in certain provinces to protect private information, but this is a nefarious hack, he tells Yahoo News Canada. Unless we can show Indigo was somehow involved or complicit in the release of the confidential information, I dont think a lot can be done going after them for the compromise of the information. Cerda says it raises the question about not being able to hold a company liable - what incentive do they have to make sure that kind of information is well protected? That kind of challenge is something that the legislature could think a little bit more about because, I wouldnt say this is without consequence for Indigo but what incentive do they have to protect the sensitive information, or pay the ransom, he says. Cyberattack insurance is becoming increasingly more common for companies to opt into, as it requires certain protections that prevent these kinds of situations. For people starting at a new position, Cerda says it might be worthwhile to ask their company what kind of protections they have from cyberattacks. Some items can ruin the look of your outdoor space. Photographee.eu/Shuttershock Professional interior designers shared the items you should avoid putting in your outdoor space. Old patio furniture and French-bistro sets may look dated sooner than you'd like. Lawn ornaments and holiday lights can look unstylish. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. Home design shouldn't stop at your front door. After all, keeping your yard and patio looking good can elevate your space's aesthetic. So, Insider asked interior designers about the things you should toss from your outdoor space to keep it looking chic. Lawn ornaments almost never look good lawn ornaments Lawn ornaments can detract from the look of your home.Rainbow_dazzle/Shuttershock Interior designer Kristin Patrician, owner of Dwelling Envy Interiors, told Insider that lawn ornaments are the opposite of fashionable. "Lawn ornaments like gnomes, metal birds, or lettered signs are so cliche," Patrician said. "They really take away from the value and look of your home." Patrician recommended adding organic features like flowers, mulch, or stone instead of sticking artificial ornaments into your lawn. Avoid citronella candles Interior designer Marisa Molinaro told Insider that citronella candles, which are used to repel insects, are a waste of money and can ruin your backyard's ambiance. "These candles are usually pretty ineffective against mosquitoes and tend to smell terrible," she said. Instead of lighting up an artificial candle, try planting some citronella grass or decorating your patio with live repellent plants. Toss your old patio furniture patio furniture You can also opt to repair your weathered furniture.MILA Zed/Shuttershock Interior designer Andra DelMonico, home-design writer for Trendey, told Insider that old patio furniture can make your yard look dingy rather than inviting. "Throw out or repair worn-out patio furniture to keep your space looking good," DelMonico said. Old furniture may also be corroded or rotted, making it dangerous to sit on. Unused wood piles can harbor pests Throw on a protective pair of gloves and toss any damp wood piles that have been languishing in your yard. Story continues "Wood piles can rot and turn into attractive homes for pests," DelMonico said. "Plus they're a fire hazard." If you decide to burn the wood, be sure to check your local laws first. Ditch the holiday lights Avoid hanging festive lights in your yard unless it's actually the holiday season. "Christmas lights can look bad if used as lighting rather than decoration," Molinaro told Insider. "Go for something warmer like solar string lights with round bulbs." You can elevate your space with decorative, outdoor string lights by hanging them under your patio umbrellas, across your yard, or around a gazebo. Wind chimes or spinners should go wind chime Wind chimes can be a nuisance to your neighbors.Amvi Jovas/Shuttershock Although often pretty, the gentle music of a wind chime can irritate your neighbors. "The sound of these can be very annoying and bothersome, especially to your neighbors," Patrician said. "I find them rather obnoxious." If you're determined to add a wind ornament to your backyard or patio, Patrician suggested going for a piece that moves rather than chimes. Tiki bars can often look out of place Unless you live on a tropical island or have a specific connection to the piece's culture, a backyard Tiki bar may be a serious style faux pas. "Tiki bars tend to look gaudy and seriously out of place near the average home," Patrician told Insider. "I wouldn't waste money on one of these." The combination of a pergola (a gazebo-like archway) and some patio tiles may make for a more elegant and cost-effective outdoor bar. Outdoor French-bistro sets may soon look dated outdoor french bistro sets French-bistro sets may soon be an outdoor relic of the past.Judith Cool/Shuttershock Patrician told Insider that although outdoor French-bistro sets have been trending for a while, this style may soon look dated. "The French, traditional look definitely took off, but there are now a million of these sets, and the style is starting to appear overdone," she said. If you're not ready to toss your bistro set, consider refinishing or repainting the pieces to give them a new look. Remove any unused play sets Decrepit play or swing sets can make your outdoor space look shabby. "If your kids are grown, and the play set is just rotting away in the yard, it's time to swap it for more adult-friendly decor," DelMonico said. You can replace bulky, used sets with loungers, outdoor dining pieces, or a fire pit. Cheap outdoor torches are often unsafe DelMonico told Insider that cheap outdoor torches can lower the perceived value of your home and be unsafe. "Cheap Tiki torches are a fire hazard and don't give off much light," DelMonico said. "Replace them with sturdier light fixtures." If you want to maintain a tropical theme, consider adding light fixtures with rattan or wicker shades. Read the original article on Insider Generally speaking, investors are inspired to be stock pickers by the potential to find the big winners. Mistakes are inevitable, but a single top stock pick can cover any losses, and so much more. Take, for example, the Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) share price, which skyrocketed 303% over three years. It's also good to see the share price up 17% over the last quarter. The company reported its financial results recently; you can catch up on the latest numbers by reading our company report. Let's take a look at the underlying fundamentals over the longer term, and see if they've been consistent with shareholders returns. View our latest analysis for Penske Automotive Group While the efficient markets hypothesis continues to be taught by some, it has been proven that markets are over-reactive dynamic systems, and investors are not always rational. By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time. During three years of share price growth, Penske Automotive Group achieved compound earnings per share growth of 56% per year. We don't think it is entirely coincidental that the EPS growth is reasonably close to the 59% average annual increase in the share price. This suggests that sentiment and expectations have not changed drastically. Rather, the share price has approximately tracked EPS growth. You can see how EPS has changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values). We're pleased to report that the CEO is remunerated more modestly than most CEOs at similarly capitalized companies. But while CEO remuneration is always worth checking, the really important question is whether the company can grow earnings going forward. This free interactive report on Penske Automotive Group's earnings, revenue and cash flow is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further. What About Dividends? As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). The TSR incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. We note that for Penske Automotive Group the TSR over the last 3 years was 324%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence! Story continues A Different Perspective We're pleased to report that Penske Automotive Group shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 47% over one year. That's including the dividend. That's better than the annualised return of 29% over half a decade, implying that the company is doing better recently. Someone with an optimistic perspective could view the recent improvement in TSR as indicating that the business itself is getting better with time. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 4 warning signs with Penske Automotive Group (at least 1 which is concerning) , and understanding them should be part of your investment process. But note: Penske Automotive Group may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast). Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US exchanges. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. 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 first GOP presidential contest is nearly a year away, but Iowa caucus season is officially underway, as presidential hopefuls and potential candidates travel to the Hawkeye State. And voters there are ready and keeping their options open. On Monday, former President Donald Trump will make his first visit to Iowa since he announced his campaign last year. This week, the only other major Republican in the race, former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley held town halls in Council Bluffs and Nevada before heading to Des Moines for a foreign policy forum with Iowa GOP Sen. Joni Ernst. On Friday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis made an appearance in the state, too, as part of his book tour. In several private conversations with donors and allies, DeSantis has indicated he is leaning toward running and will make a final decision after his legislative session is over, according to two people familiar with his team's private discussions. Over 1,000 attended DeSantis' interview-style event with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds. While Mr. Trump won Iowa in the 2016 and 2020 general elections, he's far from being the sure winner of the 2024 Iowa caucuses. "It's an open field," influential Iowa Republican Bob Vander Plaats told CBS News correspondent Robert Costa. "There's a lot of Republicans who really liked what President Trump did and the Trump administration did, but there's a real pause. Is he the right one to carry the baton in 2024? Has America made up their mind about the former president?" Vander Plaats, CEO of the socially conservative group The Family Leader, acknowledged that Trump has the advantage over other candidates for now. "I think if the election were held today, President Trump would win," Vander Plaats said. "If Trump gets stalled here in Iowa or if he gets defeated here in Iowa, I think it is 'game on' for the nomination." He believes the narrower the field of candidates is, the more competitive a GOP primary will be. Story continues Vander Plaats said he's hearing "from a lot of people" that they "want to turn the page [on] the former president." A new Des Moines Register poll released Friday suggests Mr. Trump's support is eroding in Iowa. If he were to become the nominee, only 47% of Iowa Republicans said they would definitely support him in the general election. That's a double-digit drop from June 2021, when 69% said they would definitely support him. That same poll also finds that while more than four in 10 Iowa Republicans have a very favorable view of Trump, roughly the same number have a very favorable view of DeSantis. Only 17% view former Vice President Mike Pence very favorably, while 16% view Haley, also a former governor of South Carolina, very favorably. Speaking after appearing at the forum with Haley on Friday, Ernst said Republicans have a deep bench to choose from and are excited by it. Her advice to candidates is "get to know the people of Iowa and more importantly, let the people of Iowa get to know you." Ernst said she has not spoken with Trump since he announced his 2024 run. At Haley's town hall Wednesday, multiple attendees said they caucused for Trump in 2016 and 2020 but are looking around at other candidates now. "I'm gonna keep an open mind and listen to everybody that is declaring for the Republican Party," said Zach Rasmussen. He said he's impressed by Haley's experience as former U.N. ambassador. Ruth Bitter said she supported Trump in the last election but may not in 2024. "I'm concerned that if he's elected for president again that it will be the same battle between Democrats and Republicans," Bitter said. "I want to see action and not in the form of fighting." Across the state, in Davenport on Friday, attendees at DeSantis' first visit to the state praised his record as Florida governor, specifically on education and his COVID-19 response. CJ Ormsby, a Mason contractor from Bettendorf, said Trump is "uncontrollable as far as his communication style" and "always in a battle." He said while he hasn't made up his mind, he thinks DeSantis has a better way of communicating and would be more effective in the White House. Trump is holding an event in Davenport on Monday, three days after DeSantis' stop, for an event to outline his education plan. "There were times where I could understand why people would decide not to vote for Trump. But he's a businessman, our country is a business, and I think it needs to be run like a business, and with Biden and his posse, I'm really just heartbroken over it," said Anne Hanson of Eldridge, before doors opened at DeSantis' event. "I'm here to figure that out," she said, when asked who she'd choose between Trump and DeSantis. She added she's also going to Trump's event on Monday and is "anxious" to see what happens. Suzy Barker of North Liberty, donned a University of Florida sweatshirt when she went to see DeSantis speak in Davenport. If she had to cast her caucus vote today, she says she'd pick DeSantis. "But there's a long way to go. And we're just starting to hear about candidates, but I'd like to hear what others have to say," she said. While the Republican nominee has won Iowa in the general election in the past, the state has a lackluster record in picking the Republican presidential nominee. Republican Sen. Ted Cruz squeezed by Trump for a victory in the caucuses in 2016. Former Sen. Rick Santorum had a thin lead over Mitt Romney in 2012. Former Gov. Mike Huckabee won the caucuses in 2008 while the eventual nominee, the late Sen. John McCain, came in fourth. The last non-incumbent Republican to win the Iowa caucuses, GOP nomination and the White House was former President George W. Bush in 2000. Vander Plaats said Iowans are looking for candidates to show the following traits ahead of the caucus: "Can we trust you? Are you ready for the job? And are you right for America at this time?" Story County GOP Chair Brett Baker jokingly put it this way: "We have to shake somebody's hand three times before we can see ourselves voting for them for president." He is staying neutral, but he noted while Trump has the name recognition, based on the events, people are showing up to see what others have to offer. California could see major flooding, forecast shows 2023 Oscar predictions and what to watch for at this year's Academy Awards Health risks associated with daylight saving time In this photo released by Nournews, Secretary of Irans Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, right, shakes hands with Chinas most senior diplomat Wang Yi, as Saudi Arabias National Security Adviser Musaad bin Mohammed al-Aiban looks on during an agreement signing ceremony between Iran and Saudi Arabia to reestablish diplomatic relations and reopen embassies after seven years of tensions between the Mideast rivals, in Beijing, China, Friday, March 10, 2023. | Nournews via Associated Press After seven years of tension, Iran and Saudi Arabia announced that the two countries have agreed to reestablish diplomatic relations and reopen embassies in their respective countries. The two countries agreed on the deal in Beijing, China, during the National Peoples Congress, and China helped broker the agreement, The Associated Press reported. We will continue to play a constructive role in properly handling hotspot issues in todays world in accordance with the wishes of all countries and demonstrate our responsibility as a major country, Chinas top diplomat Wang Yi said at the signing of the deal, per CNN. Starting now, the countries will resume trade, investments and cultural relations, as well as reimplementing a 22-year-old pact where both parties agreed to cooperate on terrorism, drug smuggling and money-laundering, per CNN. The countries will also resume trade, investment and cultural relations with each other. Why was there tension in Iran and Saudi Arabia? Saudi Arabia and Iran have been geopolitical rivals for years. In 2016, Saudi Arabia executed a prominent Shiite cleric, Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr an event which fueled an Iranian protest movement against Saudi Arabia. In response, the Riyadh, Saudi Arabias government, encouraged a harsh response from the West toward Irans nuclear program, The New York Times reported. The devastating war in Yemen has been a key aspect of tensions between the two countries. Since 2014, Iran has backed the Shia Houthi rebels in the country, forcing the Saudi supported government out, according to BBC. Some experts speculate that Saudi Arabia will withdraw from Yemen altogether. What does religion have to do with conflict in Iran, Saudi Arabia? Part of the historical conflict also goes back to differences in religious beliefs. Both are Muslim nations, but Saudi Arabia adheres to Sunni beliefs with a large Sunni population, while Iran views itself as the protector of Islams Shiite minority, per AP News. Story continues The differences between Shiite Muslims and Sunni Muslims dates all the way back to 632 A.D. when the Islamic Prophet Muhammad died. Shiite Muslims believed his successor should be someone in his bloodline while Sunni Muslims felt a pious individual who would follow the Prophets customs was acceptable, NBC News reported in 2016. What impact will the deal have on relations in the Middle East? From a U.S. perspective, Saudi Arabia is a key global partner and Iran is a country the U.S. and its allies consider a security threat and a source of global instability, according to The New York Times. President Joe Biden and his administration have been working to mend relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel. However, with China brokering the deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia, it could complicate those efforts. When Russia invaded Ukraine, and many western countries decided to put an embargo on Russian oil imports, the Riyahd chose to cut oil production to keep crude prices high, The Wall Street Journal reported. For Tehran, the capital city of Iran, the deal could open up more global trade after protests led by young Iranian women erupted throughout the country starting in October. The protests called for less strict morality regulations, expressing anger after a woman was allegedly killed by morality police after she was arrested for allegedly wearing a loose hijab. China has been making moves to become a more powerful global power for years. For Iran its about escaping diplomatic isolation. For China, its about deepening their engagement in the region and showing its not just an energy consumer. And for Saudis its about the Americans, said Ray Takeyh, an Iran expert at the Council on Foreign Relations and former State Department official told the WSJ. Iran and Saudi Arabia have agreed to restore diplomatic relations and reopen their embassies, following four days of previously undisclosed discussions in Beijing. The three countries Iran, Saudi Arabia and China issued a joint statement on Friday that the two Middle Eastern nations had agreed to resume diplomatic relations between them and re-open their embassies and missions within a period not exceeding two months. The three countries expressed their keenness to exert all efforts towards enhancing regional and international peace and security, they added, according to a copy of the statement tweeted out by the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Saudi Arabia and Iran also expressed their appreciation and gratitude to China for hosting the successful talks, as well as to Iraq and Oman for hosting previous efforts. Riyadh severed diplomatic ties with Tehran in 2016, after protesters stormed the Saudi Embassy in Iran in response to Saudi Arabias execution of a prominent Shiite cleric. The two Middle Eastern powers have frequently been at odds with one another, backing opposite sides in the regions conflicts, including the long drawn-out Yemeni and Syrian civil wars. Iran has been a close ally with China and Russia, but with Moscow locked in war with Ukraine, Tehran has been more isolated on the global stage. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's bid to normalize ties with Saudi Arabia will not be hurt by Riyadh's rapprochement with arch-foe Iran, a senior Israeli official was quoted as saying on Friday. There has been no official response from the Israeli government on the Chinese-brokered restoration of ties announced Friday. The senior Israeli official was quoted by Israeli diplomatic journalists travelling with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Rome, as saying that the rapprochement between Riyadh and Tehran began about a year ago and included reciprocal visits. Saudi Arabia had felt that the West's position towards Iran had weakened, the official said. Nonetheless, it would not impact Israel's bid to establish diplomatic ties with Riyadh, the official said. The determining factor for Israel was not the formal nature of Saudi-Iran ties but rather the West's position toward Tehran, the official was quoted by public broadcaster Kan and Reshet 13 News as saying. Netanyahu has said he wants full diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia, expanding on normalisation deals reached with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain on 2020 under U.S. brokership. Israel and Sunni Muslim Gulf monarchies share concern over Shi'ite Iran's nuclear and missile programmes and its proxy network. But while Saudi Arabia blessed the UAE and Bahrain pacts, it has stopped short of formally recognising Israel in the absence of a resolution to Palestinian statehood goals. Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid called the restoration of ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran an "utter and dangerous failure of the Israeli government's foreign policy." After beating centrist Lapid in a Nov. 1 election, Netanyahu returned to power in December at the head of a hard-right government. Lapid had briefly headed a ruling coalition that ousted Netanyahu in a previous election. (Writing by Maayan Lubell; Editing by Daniel Wallis) (Bloomberg) -- Most Read from Bloomberg Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to restore diplomatic ties under a deal facilitated by China, easing a geopolitical rivalry in the Persian Gulf and highlighting Beijings growing influence in the region. The countries have been reaching out to each other for at least the past two years, first secretly and gradually more publicly. Its part of a broader regional realignment thats seen several old foes reestablish or forge new ties as the US steps back from the Middle East, a key security concern for Riyadh. The deal to restore relations, which includes commitments to reopen embassies within two months, was signed in China after days of negotiations between secretary of Irans Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani and his Saudi counterpart, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported. Saudi state-run media confirmed the agreement. Clearing up misunderstandings and looking toward better relations will certainly develop regional security and increase cooperation between Persian Gulf countries, IRNA cited Shamkhani as saying. Iran Quietly Pushes to Reopen Saudi Missions as Talks Inch Ahead Oil prices showed little immediate reaction to the agreement, though analysts said it could soften the geopolitical premium that has periodically hit the market as a result of tensions between the two adversaries, which back opposing sides in the war in Yemen. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby saying Friday that the US believed internal pressures within Iran and Saudi Arabias deterrence measures led to the negotiations - not just an invitation by the Chinese to talk and to negotiate Kirby said the US welcomed any development that could ease tensions. Story continues To the degree that this arrangement can lead to an end to the war in Yemen, to the degree that it can help prevent Saudi Arabia from having to defend itself against attacks, to the degree that could deescalate tensions - all thats to the good side of the ledger, Kirby told reporters. In 2019, an assault claimed by Iran-backed Yemeni fighters on Saudi Arabias Abqaiq facility temporarily knocked out half the production capacity in the worlds biggest oil exporter, triggering a brief price spike. Brent futures were trading near $81 a barrel on Friday. This is a huge game changer and an acknowledgment that the policy of isolation and containment of Iran has not worked in Riyadhs interest, said Sanam Vakil, deputy head of the Middle East and North Africa program at Chatham House. Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Iran in 2016 after its embassy in Tehran was set on fire in response to its execution of a prominent Shiite cleric. Now Riyadh has come around to the idea that direct diplomacy can help the kingdom manage its tensions with Iran, including on Yemen, as well as forestalling future attacks, Vakil said. Work still needs to be done to achieve this, and what was announced today is a roadmap, she added. Chinas role in brokering the agreement is significant, said Torbjorn Soltvedt, chief analyst for the Middle East and North Africa at Verisk Maplecroft, a global risk intelligence group. It further strengthens Beijings influence in the Persian Gulf, he said. The centre of gravity of the regions oil and gas exports has been shifting east for some time. This year, we have seen stronger signs that China is leveraging this to strengthen its commercial and diplomatic presence in the Middle East. Understanding the Conflicts Leading to Saudi Attacks: QuickTake Iran and Saudi Arabia had resumed talks in April 2022 to restore ties, in what Iranian state media said at the time was a positive atmosphere. Talks had stalled in December after Tehran accused Riyadh of using satellite TV channels to support protests that have rocked the Islamic Republic, the AP reported. Saudi Arabia, which has battled Iranian-backed fighters in Yemen since 2015, is pushing for an end to a conflict thats exposed its oil facilities to drone and missile attacks. Establishing formal relations with Iran could help ease that conflict and potentially allow Saudi Arabia to withdraw from the war if a peace deal materializes. Saudi Arabias top priority is to find a way to have a permanent ceasefire in Yemen, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan said Thursday in Moscow. --With assistance from Sam Dagher, Grant Smith and Justin Sink. (Updates throughout with Biden, Kirby, analyst.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed Friday to reestablish diplomatic relations and reopen embassies after seven years of tensions. The major diplomatic breakthrough negotiated with China lowers the chance of armed conflict between the Mideast rivals both directly and in proxy conflicts around the region. The deal, struck in Beijing this week amid its ceremonial National Peoples Congress, represents a major diplomatic victory for the Chinese as Gulf Arab states perceive the United States slowly withdrawing from the wider Middle East. It also comes as diplomats have been trying to end a long war in Yemen, a conflict in which both Iran and Saudi Arabia are deeply entrenched. The two countries released a joint communique on the deal with China, which brokered the agreement as President Xi Jinping was awarded a third five-year term as leader earlier Friday. Xi, whose administration in recent days has relaunched a campaign to challenge the U.S.-led Western liberal order with warnings of conflict and confrontation, was credited in a trilateral statement with facilitating the talks through a noble initiative and having personally agreed to sponsor the negotiations that lasted from Monday through Friday. Videos showed Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Irans Supreme National Security Council, meeting with Saudi national security adviser Musaad bin Mohammed al-Aiban and Wang Yi, China's most senior diplomat. The statement calls for reestablishing ties and reopening embassies to happen within a maximum period of two months. A meeting by their foreign ministers is also planned. In the video, Wang could be heard offering wholehearted congratulations on the two countries' wisdom." Both sides have displayed sincerity, he said. China fully supports this agreement. The United Nations welcomed the Saudi-Iranian rapprochement and thanked China for its role. Good neighborly relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia are essential for the stability of the Gulf region, U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said at U.N. headquarters. Story continues The U.S. also welcomed any efforts to help end the war in Yemen and de-escalate tensions in the Middle East region, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. However, the State Department offered a word of caution about an agreement in which America seems to have played no part: Of course, it remains to be seen whether the Iranian regime will honor their side of the deal. China, which last month hosted Iran's hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi, is a top purchaser of Saudi oil. Xi visited Riyadh in December for meetings with oil-rich Gulf Arab nations crucial to Chinas energy supplies. However, it doesn't provide the same military protections for Gulf Arab states as America, making Beijing's involvement that much more notable. Iran's state-run IRNA news agency quoted Shamkhani as calling the talks "clear, transparent, comprehensive and constructive. Removing misunderstandings and the future-oriented views in relations between Tehran and Riyadh will definitely lead to improving regional stability and security, as well as increasing cooperation among Persian Gulf nations and the world of Islam for managing current challenges, Shamkhani said. Al-Aiban thanked Iraq and Oman for mediating between Iran and the kingdom, according to his remarks carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency. While we value what we have reached, we hope that we will continue to continue the constructive dialogue, the Saudi official said. Tensions long have been high between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The kingdom broke ties with Iran in 2016 after protesters invaded Saudi diplomatic posts there. Saudi Arabia had executed a prominent Shiite cleric with 46 others days earlier, triggering the demonstrations. That came as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, then a deputy, began his rise to power. The son of King Salman, Prince Mohammed previously compared Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to Nazi Germany's Adolf Hitler, and threatened to strike Iran. Since then, the U.S. unilaterally withdrew from Iran's nuclear deal with world powers in 2018. Iran has been blamed for a series of attacks after that, including one targeting the heart of Saudi Arabia's oil industry in 2019, temporarily halving the kingdom's crude production. Though Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi rebels initially claimed the attack, Western nations and experts blamed Tehran. Iran denied it and also denied carrying out other assaults later attributed to the Islamic Republic. Religion also plays a key role in their relations. Saudi Arabia, home to the cube-shaped Kaaba that Muslims pray toward five times a day, has portrayed itself as the worlds leading Sunni nation. Irans theocracy, meanwhile, views itself as the protector of Islams Shiite minority. The two powerhouses have competing interests elsewhere, such as in the turmoil in Lebanon and in the rebuilding of Iraq following the U.S.-led 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. The leader of the Iranian-backed Lebanese militia and political group Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, said the agreement could "open new horizons in Lebanon, Syria and Yemen. Iraq, Oman and the United Arab Emirates also praised the accord. Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, a research fellow at Rice Universitys Baker Institute who long has studied the region, said Saudi Arabia reaching the deal with Iran came after the United Arab Emirates reached a similar understanding with Tehran. This dialing down of tensions and de-escalation has been underway for three years and this was triggered by Saudi acknowledgement in their view that without unconditional U.S. backing they were unable to project power vis-a-vis Iran and the rest of the region, he said. Prince Mohammed, focused on massive construction projects at home, likely wants to pull out of the Yemen war as well, Ulrichsen added. Instability could do a lot of damage to his plans, he said. The Houthis seized Yemens capital, Sanaa, in 2014 and forced the internationally recognized government into exile in Saudi Arabia. A Saudi-led coalition armed with U.S. weaponry and intelligence entered the war on the side of Yemens exiled government in 2015. Years of inconclusive fighting created a humanitarian disaster and pushed the Arab worlds poorest nation to the brink of famine. A six-month cease-fire, the longest of the Yemen conflict, expired in October. Negotiations have been ongoing recently, including in Oman, a longtime interlocutor between Iran and the U.S. Some have hoped for an agreement ahead of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which begins later in March. Iran and Saudi Arabia have held intermittent talks in recent years but it wasn't clear if Yemen was the impetus for this new detente. Yemeni rebel spokesman Mohamed Abdulsalam appeared to welcome the deal in a statement that also slammed the U.S. and Israel. "The region needs the return of normal relations between its countries, through which the Islamic society can regain its lost security as a result of the foreign interventions, led by the Zionists and Americans, he said. For Israel, which has wanted to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia despite the Palestinians remaining without a state of their own, Riyadh easing tensions with Iran could complicate its own regional calculations. The government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered no immediate comment Friday. Netanyahu, under pressure politically at home, has threatened military action against Iran's nuclear program as it enriches closer than ever to weapons-grade levels. Riyadh seeking peace with Tehran takes one potential ally for a strike off the table. It was unclear what this development meant for Washington. Though long viewed as guaranteeing Mideast energy security, regional leaders have grown increasingly wary of U.S. intentions after its chaotic 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan. But the White House bristled at the notion a Saudi-Iran agreement in Beijing suggests a rise of Chinese influence in the Mideast. I would stridently push back on this idea that were stepping back in the Middle East far from it, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said. Mark Dubowitz, head of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, which opposes the Iran nuclear deal, said renewed Iran-Saudi ties via Chinese mediation "is a lose, lose, lose for American interests, noting: Beijing adores a vacuum. But Trita Parsi of the Quincy Institute, which advocates engagement with Iran and supports the nuclear deal, called it good news for the Middle East, since Saudi-Iranian tensions have been a driver of instability. He added that China has emerged as a player that can resolve disputes rather than merely sell weapons to the conflicting parties, noting a more stable Middle East also benefits the U.S. ___ Associated Press writers Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, Jack Jeffery in Cairo, Aamer Mahdani, Darlene Superville and Matthew Lee in Washington, Jennifer Peltz in New York and Bassem Mroue and Abby Sewell in Beirut contributed. By Maayan Lubell JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's air force reinstated a reservist officer who had been dismissed for allegedly trying to orchestrate walkouts from training flights to protest the government's planned judicial change, the military said on Friday. Protests against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-right government's drive to change the judiciary have mounted since January when the changes, that would include curbing Supreme Court powers, were first announced. The row over the plan has since plunged the country into one of its greatest political crises in years. The military provided no further details on the reinstatement. Army Radio said that air force chief Major-General Tomer Bar reversed his Thursday decision to dismiss the officer after the two met and the colonel made clear that he had not been organising walkouts. On Sunday, 37 reservist pilots and navigators from an F-15 squadron said they would skip a training day to protest the plan, jarring Israelis who widely see their conscript military as a melting pot above politics and alarming defence chiefs. Netanyahu, on trial for corruption charges he denies, says the judiciary overhaul will restore balance between branches of government and boost business. But critics at home and abroad see it as an effort to hollow out judicial independence, a move that will isolate Israel and wreak havoc on its economy. Opposition leader Yair Lapid on Friday presented his own judicial reform plan that would include drafting a constitution to safeguard rights and liberties and keep the judiciary independent. President Isaac Herzog has been pushing the sides to reach a compromise on the judicial changes. On Thursday he called for the government's plan to be scrapped and urged the politicians to take responsibility and hammer out agreements. Lapid is demanding the government freeze any legislation to allow for talks but Netanyahu's coalition, while calling for dialogue and broader understandings, is still set to plough ahead with the overhaul at parliament next week. (Reporting by Maayan Lubell; Editing by Josie Kao) Israelis at a protest in Tel Aviv against the government's controversial judicial reform bill, March 9. (Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images) Israels democracy has always been a messy affair, but never has it been more threatened than it is today. And though threats have been a part of Israels reality since its founding in 1948, the danger usually comes from hostile neighbors. Today, Israel has normalized relations with many of its Arab neighbors. Instead, the danger comes from domestic tensions unlike any other that Israel has experienced. For months now, the country has been rocked by protests over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus proposal to curtail the power of the countrys judicial system. Some wonder if a democratic Jewish state can survive the current turmoil; many assessments are increasingly pessimistic. Back in power, while facing legal troubles An image of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looms over a protest in Tel Aviv, Feb. 25. (Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images) In 2019, Benjamin Netanyahu won an unprecedented fifth term as Israels leader, a position to which he had first been elected in 1996. His narrow victory came with the help of a spate of small nationalist and religious parties that reflected the profound shift in Israels politics. Although he is a more mainstream conservative, Netanyahu embraced his new allies on the nationalist fringe West Bank settlers, religious conservatives calling them our natural partners. Two years later, Netanyahu was forced to step down because of corruption charges that had hounded him for years. The End of the Netanyahu Era, read a headline in Foreign Affairs. In fact, there would be at least one more act. Throughout 2022, a fragile anticorruption coalition led by the conservative Naftali Bennett and the liberal Yair Lapid failed to gain traction and collapsed at the end of the year. From the rubble of that coalition rose an unlikely phoenix: Netanyahu. He was still facing the same legal troubles that had hounded him (and his wife, Sara) for years, but he was now emboldened by the most right-wing coalition in Israels history, including small parties that to many Israelis seemed well outside the mainstream. Ofer Cassif, a leftist member of Israels parliament, predicted to Al Jazeera that the new government would turn Israel into a fully-fledged fascist state. Story continues Even though the Biden administration had largely stayed out of Middle East politics it had notably proposed no plan for Palestinian statehood it, too, eyed Netanyahus return warily. With war raging in Ukraine and China emerging as an economic and geopolitical challenge, the last thing Washington needed was another conflict to manage. But that was exactly what Netanyahus return brought. The reforms Netanyahu, right, with Justice Minister Yariv Levin, chairs the weekly Cabinet meeting, March 5. (Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP via Getty Images) As his judicial minister, Netanyahy appointed Yariv Levin, a longtime political ally and fellow member of the center-right Likud Party. Just days into the new year, Levin introduced proposals that would essentially allow a majority in the Knesset, Israels Parliament, to overrule a Supreme Court decision. Unlike the United States, Israel does not have a two-chamber legislature. Whereas the Senate can block House legislation, or vice versa, that kind of tension does not exist in the unicameral Knesset. And with the Knesset moving to the right, the Supreme Court was seen by many as a last bulwark of democratic values and human rights. On some occasions, the Supreme Court has protected Palestinians, though some say that record is exaggerated. We are already in a very fragile situation when we talk about human rights and our constitutional foundations because we have almost no checks and balances, Amir Fuchs, a senior researcher at the Israel Democracy Institute, lamented to Reuters. Outrage against the plan was broad. Supreme Court President Esther Hayut denounced the plan as an unbridled assault on the judicial system itself, as if it were an enemy that must be attacked and subdued. Some religious leaders agreed. It is excruciating to see this government directly undermine the core values of democracy and religious freedom that we value so deeply, the Conservative movements rabbinical group said. But the reforms were supported by far-right groups that have long seen the court as blocking their push to expand settlements into the West Bank, where a future Palestinian state would have to be based. Israeli nationalists remain bitter about the Supreme Courts near unanimous decision to endorse the 2005 pullout from the Gaza Strip, the other component of a proposed Palestinian nation. The decision forced thousands of Jewish settlers to leave. In a region where some disputes are rooted in centuries or even millennia of history, the 2005 decision has remained a point of bitterness and contention. The court has been hostile to the settlers for years, one settler said. Now the settlers are about to gain the upper hand. The protests Protesters in Tel Aviv. (Eyal Warshavsky/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) A country that prides itself on the Jewish tradition of vigorous debate, many Israelis consider the rancor as a natural part of the democratic process. But the protests that began in January are of another order. They have engulfed the nation and show no signs of ending, despite harsh crackdowns police have attacked protesters with stun grenades and water cannons by Netanyahus extremist security chief Itamar Ben-Gvir, the most controversial member of his thoroughly controversial cabinet. Progressives in Tel Aviv have taken to the streets, as have members of the military who have long been frustrated at having to defend settlers living illegally on Palestinian land. And many of the ultra-Orthodox dont serve in the military, an institution whose centrality to Israeli politics and culture is unrivaled in the West. Netanyahu has denounced the protesters as anarchists, but there is a growing sense that with the unrest persisting, he will need to pump the brakes on the planned changes, as U.S. Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides said last month. Israeli President Isaac Herzog a former leader of the liberal Labor Party struck out against Netanyahu in an unsparing address that seemed to bolster the protesters cause. If you choose the path you have followed thus far, the chaos will be on you, Herzog told Netanyahu. History will judge you. Despite reports that revisions to the judicial proposal are in the works, Netanyahu appears determined to push his proposal through. Meanwhile, in the West Bank A Palestinian protester near the West Bank city of Nablus. (Nasser Ishtayeh/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) To virtually all of Netanyahus predecessors, Israels future depended on the ability to make peace with the Palestinians, who now live in refugee camps in the West Bank and Gaza Strip under Israeli military occupation. To Palestinians, the realization of Jewish dreams of statehood in 1948 is known in Arabic as the nakba: the catastrophe. Netanyahus focus has long been on containing Iran, an Islamic republic implacably opposed to Israels existence and intent on producing nuclear weapons. With the help of his ally, then-President Donald Trump, Netanyahu has established relations with neighboring and nearby states like Bahrain and Morocco that had previously been hostile to Israel (or, at best, unwilling to fully embrace Israel in the open). Those agreements, known as the Abraham Accords, have isolated the Palestinians. Though still distant, an emerging accord with Saudi Arabia would significantly strengthen Israels regional standing at the Palestinians expense. Since the start of the sixth Netanyahu term, there have been several high-profile attacks including a shooting in Tel Aviv on Thursday by Palestinian militants, some of them tied to new groups emerging from a restive West Bank. Those attacks have been answered by military incursions and settler violence, including a disturbing rampage in the Palestinian village of Huwara. The violence in Huwara elicited a response from Israeli commentator Nadav Ziv, whose family fled the Nazis. To deal with these racists and autocrats, he wrote of the forces purportedly unleashed by Netanyahu, we must learn from our experience with antisemites and show no compromise, tolerance or legitimization of their policies and actions. We must fight and shame them, for as long as it takes. Some commentators on Arabic affairs have also been skeptical of the protests, wondering why deepening anti-Palestinian repressions did not elicit an outcry. They worry that even if Netanyahus judicial reforms are halted, the extremist elements he has emboldened will retain their influence. Reaching any sort of compromise on domestic affairs, Palestinian political analyst Marwan Bishara recently wrote for Al Jazeera English, is sure to free the governments hand to widen its oppression, deepen its occupation and multiply its illegal settlement. Flag of Italy According to the prosecution, Biot handed over secret documents to an employee of the Russian embassy in Italy, in March 2021. Biot took photos of 19 confidential NATO documents, including those marked Top Secret, in exchange for a promised reward of EUR 5,000 ($5,292). Read also: Italy ready to donate five fighter jets to Ukraine, but doesn't want to be first media While the prosecutors asked for Biot to be imprisoned for life, he was ultimately sentenced to 30 years in prison. Biots lawyer maintains the defendant had no chance to defend himself. Read also: Italy unlikely to send fighter jets to Ukraine, says foreign minister Back in 2023, Biots wife said the officer decided to work for Russia due to personal financial difficulties exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and asserted her husband supplied Moscow with information of little significance. 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 TOKYO, Japan Small-scale renewables and batteries could team up to replace large fossil-fueled plants it just takes a whole lot of little devices to match what big, old power plants can do. For now, truly massive fleets of decentralized clean-energy devices, also known as virtual power plants, remain a rarity. The clean energy industry needs to deliver more proof that decentralized energy can provide reliable, clean energy on a large scale. One company is on its way to achieving this not an electric utility or a Silicon Valley startup, but the decades-old Japanese trading house Itochu. The company manufactures a home-battery product through subsidiary NF, then sells it with the Gridshare software developed by British startup Moixa (which was acquired by Lunar Energy last year see Canary Medias recent deep dive on what makes that software special). Since 2017, Itochu has quietly built up a fleet across Japan of 36,000 home batteries under its control, and thats just the beginning. We want to expand to 100,000 units, said Maiko Mori, team leader at Itochus Energy Storage Business Section, when Canary Media met with her on a recent visit to Tokyo. The current contingent totals 352 megawatt-hours of storage. That aggregated storage capacity rivals some of the largest grid-scale battery plants in existence, suggesting that thousands of tiny batteries really can add up to the scale of big central power plants. At the same time, the home-battery collection runs up against the limits of the decentralized format, at least as it currently exists in Japan. The regulations arent yet in place to enable all those little batteries to participate in the broader workings of the grid. So the virtual power plant is doing what it can, helping each household until the pieces fall into place for the batteries to take on a more robust role in Japans energy system. The challenges Itochu has overcome offer lessons for anyone trying to build up localized clean energy portfolios. In Japan, just like any other region trudging toward a cleaner, more decentralized energy system, the progress thus far only illustrates how much more is possible. Story continues The limits of the virtual power plant today Itochus world-class virtual power plant remains limited in scope because, as Isshu Kikuma, Japan analyst at energy research firm BloombergNEF explained, the government doesn't allow power sources connecting at a low-voltage grid to export power to the grid under the current regulation. That leaves Itochus battery fleet caught at an intermediate stage of evolution. Its a massive fleet of batteries, said Chris Wright, who co-founded Moixa and now serves as SVP of software tech at Lunar Energy. But, he added, Were not dispatching them in aggregate as a virtual power plant right now. [] This is all behind-the-meter optimization. That means that Itochus fleet cant deliver some of the most lucrative and valuable services for the broader power grid, such as maintaining the right frequency for the wires to operate properly or delivering electricity at moments of high demand. Granted, not many places around the world have figured out how to incorporate small, local batteries into macro-level grid operations. But Germany and parts of the U.S., for instance, have shown it can be done effectively. In place of paying customers for their services to the grid, Itochu has made do with saving them money by smartly managing their solar production and arbitraging power by storing it at times when it costs less and dispatching it at times when it costs more. Right now, Gridshare is working for the customers economical benefits, but it could work for the power company as well, Mori said. Lunar Energys Head of Software Product Sam Wevers put a number on those benefits: We add 14 percent additional savings beyond the batterys default mode, he said. Batteries come from the factory with settings to maximize consumption of a households solar production or optimize around time-varying rates, which apply to most battery customers in Japan. But Gridshare internalizes each homes consumption patterns and anticipates 48 hours into the future; the AI calculations figure out strategies that a default setting isnt capable of, Wevers said. Thats enough savings for Itochu to market a competitive edge in the battery-vendor landscape. But more roles for the fleet could be forthcoming. The latest word from the government is that rules for distributed-energy participation in large-scale grid services will go live in 2024, Wright said. Itll come online soon enough, he said; once that happens, Itochus fleet can play a nationally important role in Japans grid-decarbonization efforts. Why does Japan need a virtual power plant? For a virtual power plant to amount to more than confusingly worded grid jargon, it needs to solve a tangible problem for someone. In Japan, like elsewhere, the looming challenge is how to decarbonize the grid without sacrificing reliability, and virtual power plants can help. Japans isolated island grid relies on imported fossil fuels for all the electricity it cant generate with nuclear or renewables. But Japan cut back on nuclear production after the Fukushima disaster. And renewables are more expensive to build there than in many other countries because of limited available land and rugged, mountainous terrain, said Kikuma, the BNEF energy analyst. Rooftop solar has a huge potential due to Japan's land constraint, Kikuma noted. Starting in 2009, households in Japan that installed rooftop solar could get paid for the power the system exported to the grid via a generous feed-in tariff. But that payment scheme only lasts for 10 years from the date of enrollment, so the first wave of adopters began rolling off the program in 2019, after which they started earning much less for sending power to the grid. Annual residential solar installations have declined slightly since the 2019 peak of 1,165 megawatts, but the sector still added 1,000 megawatts or more in both 2021 and 2022, according to BNEF data. Thats a robust market, but every year, more households with rooftop solar find themselves losing the feed-in tariff and needing a new plan to make the most of their power production. Japanese customers had already been interested in batteries as a backup power source in case of outages from the various disasters that periodically strike the country most acutely, earthquakes and typhoons. But the loss of the feed-in tariff makes batteries attractive for economic reasons too, to enable using more rooftop solar generation outside of the sunny hours. Residential battery installations have risen steadily over the last five years, according to BNEF data. In 2022, Japanese households added 313 megawatts and 877 megawatt-hours, making this one of the most active home-battery markets in the world. In fact, BNEFs numbers show that Japan installed far more home-battery capacity annually than all of the U.S. from 2017 through 2020; the U.S. market finally overtook Japan in 2021. Itochu has capitalized on this trend. Its subsidiary NF manufactures models of the Smart Star battery pack with 9.8 kilowatt-hours or 13.1 kilowatt-hours of storage capacity. It comes AC-coupled, which makes it easier to attach to Japans many existing rooftop solar installations. Smart Star has sold 55,000 units in Japan, mostly going to Itochus fleet. A virtual power plant, then, provides economic justification for the small-scale clean energy that Japan desperately needs, given how tricky it is to build large-scale clean energy there. If batteries eventually start taking over roles currently served by fossil-fueled plants, they will further reduce the need for carbon-emitting imported fuels. That looks all the more attractive given the global scramble for fossil gas imports in the aftermath of Russias invasion of Ukraine. The energy-security argument in Japan is very powerful, for various geopolitical reasons, Wevers noted. Lessons from Itochus massive virtual power plant Still, it takes thousands of houses with batteries to add up to the capacity delivered by a typical gas-fired power plant. For virtual power plants to live up to their name and their promise, they need to operate on a massive scale. Few initiatives have come close to that. One of the longest-running American VPPs, controlled by Vermont utility Green Mountain Power, had more than 4,000 home batteries participating as of last summer. The unexpectedly prolific, utility-led Wattsmart program in Utah enlisted 3,000 homes in just a couple of years. A new virtual power plant pilot program in Texas could end up with far more than that across the state, but its still getting started. German home storage company sonnen has gotten further, with 120,000 battery units installed around the world; the bulk of that is in Germany, where the company operates its fleet like a decentralized utility, performing grid services and supplying customers with power at cheaper rates. Virtual power plants, then, are still in a nascent stage globally, and the constitutionally conservative utility industry tends to resist new concepts and technologies until there's no way to ignore them any longer. What Itochu learned early on is that it couldnt wait for other power industry players to sign on; it had to go build the thing on its own. At first, nobody was interested in this, Mori said. But we scaled to 36,000 [units]. We have deployed these batteries [power companies] can use them at their convenience. In other words, now that Itochu has the capability built and ready to use, more traditional providers are taking notice. Itochu is working with electricity retailers, including Tepco, Chubu, Kyushu and Tohoku, to prove that its battery fleet can respond predictably and reliably enough to save those companies money. Its those companies job to source enough power for their customers at all times. But at some times of day, its simply more expensive to buy or produce power. Using batteries to arbitrage between expensive and cheap hours reduces the cost of keeping customers lights on, and thats attracting attention from Japans power providers, especially as electricity costs have risen. These power companies could eventually buy the batteries themselves and lease them to households; this would give customers the benefits they want without the big upfront expense, while giving the companies more direct control of the equipment for their own uses. We want to change the energy business, Mori said. The virtual power plant could make the Japanese energy business more resilient and bring benefits to all the parties. James May experienced the Holi festival during filming. (Amazon Prime Video) James May is heading to India for the third instalment of his Our Man In series. The Top Gear and Grand Tour star already explored Japan and Italy for Amazon's Prime Video travel documentary series. And his next adventure will take him on an epic journey across 3,000 miles of the Indian subcontinent, visiting places like Mumbai, Kolkata and Udaipur, where he experiences the colourful Holi festival. Read more: James May opens up about 'nightmare' double crash on The Grand Tour May is also set to continue his gastronomical adventures in the kitchen as he attempts to make cuisines from around the world in the second series of Oh Cook! James May previously explored Italy for the series. (Prime Video) The programme will continue the TV star's journey from kitchen klutz to capable cook, as he takes on an array of mouth-watering dishes. May, 60, said that he couldnt wait to get stuck in. Ive been to India before, and its mesmerising, he said. Speaking before he headed off for filming, he said: "I cant wait to go back for series three of Our Man In And for Oh Cook! fans, its also the perfect opportunity to perfect my daal. James May tries local activities in the Our Man In... shows. (Prime Video) Dan Grabiner, head of Originals, UK & Northern Europe, Prime Video said viewers had decided India would be perfect for May's travels. We asked Our Man In fans what they would like to see next, and this fabulous journey was the clear favourite," he explained. Read more: James May admits retirement is 'not far off' for him "We cant wait to get James and the team back out there for another adventure. May has now started filming in India and the show will launch in early 2024. The second series of Oh Cook! will be launched on 24 May this year. Watch: James May hospitalised after crashing a car into a wall at 75mph James Norton is starring in a stage production of A Little Life. (REUTERS) James Norton has revealed he has therapists to help as he stars in the play A Little Life. The Happy Valley actor plays a lawyer haunted by a troubled past in the production, which is based on author Hanya Yanagiharas novel. And the star who previously shared that he had therapy after being bullied at school said he feels very "looked after" thanks to safeguards put in place for the cast. Read more: James Norton: Its important to know the war doesnt represent Russia as a whole Speaking on Radio 4s Today show, he said: "We have therapists and they have really gone through amazing safeguards to make sure that were all looked after, because there are no punches pulled in this production. "We do have to go places which are quite disturbing, but I do feel very supported in order to do it. James Norton said he feels very supported. (Invision/AP) The actor has also worked with an intimacy coordinator on scenes of sexual violence. He said: Some people will say, Oh, I dont need them.' "But if that intimacy coordinator prevents that one actor from experiencing life-changing trauma then of course it justifies the other 99 people who dont need it." "I needed it on this, definitely," he added. Earlier this year Norton revealed that he sought help after being "badly bullied" at boarding school. The 37-year-old opened up on the Comfort Eating podcast, explaining that his "school years were complicated" and that he was bullied for several years. "I didn't have the greatest time," he said. "I was quite badly bullied for five years and I was at boarding school so I couldn't leave. James Norton is well known for his Happy Valley role. (BBC) "So it's complicated." Read more: James Norton responds to crazy James Bond speculation A Little Life is at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London from 25 March. Watch: James Norton: 'My school years were complicated' (Bloomberg) -- Japan has not yet made a decision regarding restrictions on exports of chip-making equipment, its trade minister said, underscoring US allies attempts to seek a middle ground between Washington and Beijing. Most Read from Bloomberg This week, the Netherlands, home to ASML Holding NV, said it would curb exports of some so-called immersion DUV lithography products to China. That adds to restrictions that already exist for the most cutting-edge lithography machines, which are critical to producing the worlds most advanced chips. The rules are expected to be published before the summer, according to a letter sent by the governments minister of foreign trade to lawmakers on Wednesday. We will consider appropriate measures in light of developments in the Netherlands, Japanese Trade Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said at a regular news conference Friday. Our understanding is that the Dutch announcement does not target a specific country. Many US allies are struggling to balance Washingtons concerns about Chinas access to leading-edge technology with their reliance on the worlds biggest manufacturer. Japan has agreed to join the US and Dutch curbs in principle, Bloomberg News reported in January, although the final details had not been worked out. Tokyo Electron Ltd. is a key supplier of machines used to make semiconductors, along with US rival Applied Materials Inc. The Biden administration imposed sweeping constraints on Chinas access to chips and chip-making equipment last year, arguing the moves were necessary to safeguard national security. China has said the US efforts are counterproductive and an attempt to limit its national development. Beijing has poured billions of dollars into its technology industry, especially in strategic fields like semiconductors and artificial intelligence. Story continues On Thursday, Nishimuras Dutch counterpart Liesje Schreinemacher highlighted the delicate balance the Netherlands is trying to strike as tensions grow between the worlds two biggest economies. She characterized the relationship between the Netherlands and China as mutual dependence benefiting both countries. Its a country-neutral policy, and so its not a ban on China in any way, or an export ban to China in any way, the official told reporters in Stockholm. The most advanced systems that can be sold to China would require export licenses regardless of the destination, she added. The government will review applications on a case-by-case basis, to see if a product could threaten national security or could be used for military purposes. --With assistance from Yuki Furukawa and Debby Wu. (Updates with Dutch trade minister comments from seventh paragraph) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters The suspected gunman who fatally shot seven people at a Kingdom Hall of Jehovahs Witnesses in Hamburg on Thursday night has been identified by German authorities on Friday. Police say 35-year-old Philipp F was responsible for the massacre, with the gunman also taking his own life during the incident. Eight others were injured, including four seriously. A motive for the attackdescribed by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz as a brutal act of violenceremains unclear. Chaos Erupts as 7 Killed in Mass Shooting at German Church At a news conference on Friday, police confirmed that the shooter was a former member of the Jehovahs Witnesses and had ill-feelings, according to the BBC. All of those killedincluding an unborn babywere German nationals. The victims were men and women aged between 33 and 60, authorities said. Investigators said the shooter was legally in possession of a semi-automatic pistol and that he had only acquired a gun license in December. Hamburg police chief Ralf Martin Meyer said Phillip F had previously been investigated after authorities were tipped off that he might be unsuitable to own weapons due to an undiagnosed mental illness, but it was ultimately decided that he had not violated any rules. Over 100 rounds were fired during the assault. Terrifying footage filmed during the attack appears to show the gunman firing at police from a window at the place of worship. Video shows the moment a gunman in Hamburg began shooting through a window at a Jehovahs Witness centre, where seven people were reportedly killed. : https://t.co/wIUatjlad6 pic.twitter.com/bl5go9YchN Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) March 10, 2023 Its thought that people had possibly gathered in the hall for a Bible study when the shooting started at around 9 p.m. Officers were called to the scene minutes later, where they discovered people who may have been seriously injured by firearms, some of them fatally, police spokesman Holger Vehren said. Story continues The officers also heard a shot from the upper part of the building and went upstairs, where they also found a person. So far we have no indications that any perpetrators fled, he added. Hamburgs state Interior Minister Andy Grote praised the fast actions of the emergency services. We can assume that they saved many peoples lives this way, he said at Fridays news conference, adding that the slaughter was the worst crime that our city has experienced recently. According to Der Spiegel, Phillip F had styled himself as a business consultant on his website charging exorbitant fees on the promise that he could make millions for his clients. The suspect reportedly charged a minimum daily rate of 250,000 euros [$265,000] plus 19 percent VAT for his services which he claimed would generate at least 2.5 million euros [$2.6 million] for clients. The website also reportedly claims that Phillip F grew up in the town of Kempten in the Allgau region of southern Germany in a strictly religious family. He later trained as a bank clerk before moving to Hamburg to work as a business consultant. A separate report from the German news magazine Focus alleges that the suspect wrote a strange e-book purportedly revealing the truth about Jesus Christ, God, and Satan. His website also reportedly discussed a cure for worries and argued there is no reason to worry about the future. In a statement, the Jehovahs Witnesses in Germany said, The religious community is deeply saddened by the horrific attack on its members at the Kingdom Hall in Hamburg after a religious service. 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. The entrance at the headquarters of the Jehovah's Witnesses Germany. Britta Pedersen/picture alliance via Getty Images Six adults were killed March 9, 2023, in Hamburg, Germany, in what police described as a rampage after an evening religious service. Several others were wounded during the attack at a Jehovahs Witness center, called a Kingdom Hall, including a woman who lost her pregnancy. The suspected shooter was reported to be a former member of the religious group. The attack has put a focus on the religious group, which has some 8 million members across 240 countries. In Germany, more than 170,000 Jehovahs Witnesses are associated with 2,020 congregations, according to the organizations records. In many countries, Jehovahs Witnesses are known for their outreach work, going door to door or standing in public areas to try to distribute religious material. But many people are unfamiliar with their beliefs, and when the group makes headlines, it is often for reasons related to persecution abroad. So who are they? A man crosses himself outside the Jehovahs Witnesses building in Hamburg where several people were killed during a shooting March 9, 2023. Georg Wendt/picture alliance via Getty Images Early history The story of Jehovahs Witnesses begins in the late 19th century near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with a group of students studying the Bible. The group was led by Charles Taze Russell, a religious seeker from a Presbyterian background. These students understood Jehovah, a version of the Hebrew Yahweh, to be the name of God the Father himself. Russell and his followers looked forward to Jesus Christ establishing a millennium or a thousand-year period of peace on Earth. This Golden Age would see the Earth transformed to its original purity, with a righteous social system that would not have poverty or inequality. Russell died in 1916, but his group endured and grew. The name Jehovahs Witnesses was formally adopted in the 1930s. Early Jehovahs Witnesses believed 1914 would be the beginning of the end of worldly governments, which would culminate with the Battle of Armageddon. Armageddon specifically refers to Mount Megiddo in Israel, where some Christians believe the final conflict between good and evil will take place. Jehovahs Witnesses, however, expected that the Battle of Armageddon would be worldwide, with Jesus leading a heavenly army to defeat the enemies of God. Story continues They also believed that after Armageddon, Jesus would rule the world from heaven with 144,000 faithful Christians, as specified in the Book of Revelation. Other faithful Christians would be reunited with dead loved ones and live on a renewed Earth. Over the years, Jehovahs Witnesses have reinterpreted elements of this timeline and have abandoned setting specific dates for the return of Jesus Christ. But they still look forward to the Golden Age that Russell and his Bible students expected. Given the groups belief in a literal thousand-year earthly reign of Christ, scholars of religion classify Jehovahs Witnesses as a millennarian movement. What are their beliefs? Jehovahs Witnesses deny the idea of the Trinity. For most Christians, God is a union of three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Instead, Jehovahs Witnesses believe that Jesus is distinct from God not united as one person with him. The Holy Spirit, then, refers to Gods active power. Such doctrines distinguish Jehovahs Witnesses from mainline Christian denominations, which hold that God is triune in nature. Jehovahs Witnesses spend a substantial amount of time on Bible study and evangelizing door to door. Jonathan Haynes, CC BY-SA But like other Christian denominations, Jehovahs Witnesses praise God through worship and song. Their gathering places are called Kingdom Halls, which are ordinary-looking buildings like small conference centers that have the advantage of being easily built. Inside are rows of chairs and a podium for speakers, but little special adornment. Jehovahs Witnesses are best known for devoting a substantial amount of time to Bible study and door-to-door evangelizing. Their biblical interpretations and missionary work certainly have critics. But it is the political neutrality of the group that has attracted the most suspicion. Jehovahs Witnesses accept the legitimate authority of government in many matters. For example, they pay taxes, following Jesus admonition in Mark 12:17 to render unto Caesar what is Caesars. But they do not vote in elections, serve in the military or salute the flag. Such acts, they believe, compromise their primary loyalty to God. A history of persecution Jehovahs Witnesses have no political affiliations, and they renounce violence. However, they make an easy target for governments looking for internal enemies, as they refuse to bow down to government symbols. Many nationalists call them enemies of the state. As a result, they have often suffered persecution throughout history in many parts of the world. Jehovahs Witnesses were jailed as draft evaders in the U.S. during both world wars. In a Supreme Court ruling in 1940, school districts were allowed to expel Jehovahs Witnesses who refused to salute the American flag. Through subsequent legal battles in the 1940s and 1950s, Jehovahs Witnesses helped expand safeguards for religious liberty and freedom of conscience both in the United States and Europe. In Nazi Germany, Jehovahs Witnesses were killed in concentration camps; a purple triangle was used by the Nazis to mark them. In the 1960s and 1970s, dozens of African Jehovahs Witnesses were slaughtered by members of The Youth League of the Malawi Congress Party for refusing to support dictator Hastings Banda. Many Witnesses fled to neighboring Mozambique, where they were held in internment camps. The cult label Police in Germany have said the 2023 shooting was most likely committed by a lone individual who did not leave the organization on good terms, although they have not released information about a possible motive. At times, disputes between members and ex-members have revolved around criticism over practices such as refusing blood transfusions and disfellowshipping members who do not repent for committing what the group considers serious sins. In popular culture, Jehovahs Witnesses are sometimes portrayed as members of a cult, which has made them a convenient target for persecution and multiple forms of violence. As I and other religion scholars have written, however, that word is very difficult to define and tends to lead to stereotypes, rather than nuanced understanding. This is an updated version of an article originally published on May 4, 2017. 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: Mathew Schmalz, College of the Holy Cross. Read more: Mathew Schmalz 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. Jenna Ortega had the perfect cheeky response to those who pointed out a slight imperfection on her Jean Paul Gaultier dress during the March 6 "Scream VI" premiere. In pictures posted from the event, fans noticed that Ortega's stunning black-and-white tuxedo minidress had a blue stain on the dress' lapel. Fans on Twitter complained about the blemish and wondered how it happened. Jenna Ortega at the world premiere of Paramount's The stain is actually a blue verified check mark..., one fan wrote. She rocks it tho, another fan replied. A few days later, the Wednesday star took to Instagram to address the chatter. #sharpiestainwhogivesas--- she captioned a picture of herself at the premiere on Instagram March 9. She apologized to the guest designer of the Gaultier dress, Olivier Rousteing, with #imsosorryolivier. The Evening Standard reported that the actor was signing autographs for fans when a fans sharpie accidentally stained her dress. However, Ortega seemed unbothered and went on to take pictures at the event. Jack Champion, Mason Gooding, Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega and Courteney Cox at Paramount's "Scream VI" is the latest installment of the historic horror franchise. Ortega plays Tara Carpenter, one of four survivors of a recent string of murders who leave their town hoping for a fresh start in New York. But another killer awaits them there. The "You" actor told Elle magazine that achieving stardom at such an early age was a lot of pressure. I am so fearful of disappointing the people in my life, or even people in public, she said. I want to live up to peoples expectations, which is something that I need to get over, but Im also scared that ... maybe someone will get to know me too well and realize that Im not all that. This article was originally published on TODAY.com Jennifer Lawrence goes all-out comedy in the trailer for her new movie, No Hard Feelings. The story follows Maddie (Lawrence) an Uber driver who, after losing her license, answers a Craigslist ad from two parents looking for someone to date their 19-year-old son before he goes to college. He doesnt come out of his room, he doesnt talk to girls, he doesnt drink, the boys father (played by Matthew Broderick) explains. Maddie then confirms that when his parents say date, what they mean is: have sex with. The rest of the trailer then follows Maddie attempting to seduce the apparently unseducible young man named Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman). Mind if I touch your wiener? She asked the teen at the dog adoption centre where he volunteers in one scene. Elsewhere, Lawrence performs a striptease and demands the boy to come skinny dipping with him. In another scene, Percy accidentally punches Maddie in the throat when trying to take out an angry dad. Watch the trailer below. The cast also includes Laura Benanti as Percys mother, plus Natalie Morales, Hasan Minhaj, Kyle Mooney, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Scott MacArthur and more. Lawrence also produces. The film is directed and cowritten by Bad Teacher helmer Gene Stupnitsky. No Hard Feelings is released in theatres in the US on 23 June. A UK release date has not been set. COSHOCTON Developing a community reentry program for citizens leaving prison is a primary goal of Judge Robert Batchelor for the Coshocton County Common Pleas Court this year. Batchelor recently delivered his annual report for 2022 to Coshocton County Commissioners. He said numbers for last year compared to 2021 were about the same and there wasn't much new to report aside from Christie Thornsley coming on as the new magistrate. Judge Robert Batchelor of Coshocton County Common Pleas Court Batchelor said indictments were up some in 2022 from 2021, but he credited that to some more lower level drug felonies and a few higher profile drug busts by the Coshocton County Sheriff's Office earlier in the year. In looking at 2023, Batchelor said returning offenders to productive members of society is something new Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy wants to address. "It's one of the things we were digging at. What's going on with these people when they get out of prison and why do we see so many of them come back," Batchelor said. "We've been talking about it and running into issues the last two years." The Ohio Department of Corrections has reentry coordinators for each county. However, Batchelor isn't sure what that connection is like locally and he wants to build on that for a more active local program. The biggest obstacle they've faced is funding and Batchelor not wanting to create a new position. "On a Zoom call, you don't want somebody from the court talking to somebody in prison on a felony charge when that person doesn't have an attorney present. There's a lot of complications with this," Batchelor said. He's been talking with representatives of Allwell Behavioral Health Services of spearheading efforts. This could include other agencies such as Women of Witness and the Coshocton County Fatherhood Iniatitive. "Hopefully those will be the volunteers that fill the framework," Batchelor said. "I look for that to reduce some of the crime rate if we can get people engaged." Batchelor said Allwell has worked with the community corrections board in the past with the focus being on reentry from the local jail. This includes help with finding jobs, housing and drug treatment. Story continues "We'd like to also, obviously, develop that into the prison system. As the chief justice said, they don't get anything more than a check for $50 or $75 and a pat on the back. Because, we know what that's going to result in. They're probably going to be back in court, back in jail and end up back in prison," Batchelor said. Batchelor said the reentry program will probably be a main topic for the community corrections board at its next meeting at 11 a.m. March 16. Leonard Hayhurst is a community content coordinator and general news reporter for the Coshocton Tribune with close to 15 years of local journalism experience and multiple awards from the Ohio Associated Press. He can be reached at 740-295-3417 or llhayhur@coshoctontribune.com. Follow him on Twitter at @llhayhurst. Coshocton County Common Please Court Statistics 2021 2022 New civil cases 200 183 Civil cases completed 208 221 New indictments or bills of information 105 145 Criminal cases completed 155 138 Prison terms imposed 87 63 Domestic relations case filings 166 159 Domestic relation cases completed 382 388 This article originally appeared on Coshocton Tribune: Judge exploring reentry program for prisoners A woman was sitting in her vehicle at Esquimalt Lagoon when a sight in the distance caught her attention. Brittany Kinnersley took out her phone just after 9 a.m. Thursday when she saw water spraying above the ocean. "At the time, I didn't know what it was. It looked like water in the air, she explains during an interview with Glacier Media. "I was confused." She watched as the water sprayed like a waterfall' and noticed two boats on each side. At first, she questioned if there was a fire on a ship and if the spray was coming from water trying to put it out. "It was very cool to witness, she says. The incident lasted about 10 minutes and many other people stopped to film it as well. After the water stopped, a third boat appeared, says Kinnersley. Confused by what she witnessed, she posted the videos and images to a local Facebook page. Many people chimed in online with their thoughts, some saying it might be the Black Pearl, a fictional ship from the movie the Pirates of the Caribbean. Another commenter suggested it was a ghost ship. Another person questioned if it was a supply ship spotted in the area. Environment Canada meteorologist Armel Castellan says he and fellow meteorologists looked at the video. "We can say that it is not meteorologically driven," says Castellan. "We can close the door on a waterspout or any other phenomenon that we may have considered." Waterspouts, a vortex over water, do occur in the spring and fall, but this does not appear to be the case in this situation. "We do actually have four warnings for waterspout days but today is not one of those days," he says. Glacier Media reached out to numerous agencies trying to figure out what the ocean spray was from, including CFB Esquimalt. It doesnt appear an RCN (Royal Canadian Navy) vessel was involved in this instance, says a CFB Esquimalt spokesperson. The investigation continued, and fortunately, a communications advisor for the Canadian Coast Guard was able to solve the mystery. Michelle Imbeau with Fisheries and Oceans Canada says there was a Canadian warship in the area at the time. But that was not what caused the spray. Turns out, it was a fire drill. You are in luck! Apparently, the Maersk Tender and Maersk Trader left Ogden Point this morning with pilots onboard, says Imbeau. They were doing fire drills using water cannons. Thats what folks were seeing. A federal judge late Thursday put off the scheduled lethal injection of Idaho death row inmate Gerald Pizzuto later this month, once again preventing the states first execution in nearly 11 years. U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill ruled that not enough time was available for him to review at least one of the filings in his court before Pizzutos planned March 23 execution. In a three-page stay of execution, he ordered the halt of all state preparations and court actions related to the execution until he has time to fully consider and adjudicate the case. Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador, who took office in January, obtained Pizzutos latest death warrant last month. The state allowed a prior death warrant for Pizzuto to expire in December when prison officials were unable to obtain lethal injection drugs. At Winmills request, the state acknowledged in a separate legal filing on Tuesday just over two weeks before the execution date that officials still did not have the drugs required under state law to carry it out. Lethal injection drugs have become more difficult to locate, as pharmaceutical companies and pharmacies began refusing to sell the chemicals to prison systems for executions across the U.S. In a statement to the Idaho Statesman, Labradors office noted more than a dozen previous legal denials for Pizzuto at both the state and federal levels, including the U.S. Supreme Court. Thursdays order is a temporary setback concerning Pizzutos claims about infringement of his rights, office spokesperson Emily Kleinworth said. We are confident that this matter will reach an expeditious conclusion soon, the statement read. IDOC working hard to obtain lethal drugs Pizzuto, 66, was convicted of the 1985 murders of Berta Herndon and her nephew Del Herndon at a remote cabin north of McCall, and has been on Idaho death row for nearly 37 years. He also served prison time for a prior rape conviction in Michigan, and was later found guilty of two murders in Seattle following his Idaho conviction. Story continues Idaho death row inmate Gerald Pizzuto, 66, pictured here in 2007 at age 41. Today, Pizzuto is terminally ill with late-stage bladder cancer, among several serious health issues. He has been under hospice care for more than three years. The most recent death warrant represented the third attempt in the past two years to execute Pizzuto and the fifth time overall since his 1986 conviction and death sentence. After the Idaho Department of Correction received Winmills stay of execution, Pizzuto was returned to his regular death row cell at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution outside Kuna, according to a Friday email from Director Josh Tewalt to IDOC staff, which was provided to the Statesman by a department spokesperson. The stay imposed by the court effectively nullifies the active death warrant, Tewalt wrote. That warrant will be allowed to expire, and well work with the attorney generals office to consider next steps. Pizzutos attorneys with the nonprofit Federal Defender Services of Idaho said they were relieved and grateful that Winmill stepped in to stop their clients scheduled execution. Late last month, they filed a separate legal complaint that alleged repeatedly scheduling Pizzutos execution disregards Pizzutos constitutional rights. Going forward, we hope the state will stop pursuing death warrants before Idaho correction officials know whether they can carry out executions, Deborah A. Czuba, supervising attorney of the nonprofits unit that oversees death penalty cases, said in a statement. This practice is outrageous, and it is torturing Mr. Pizzuto in cruel and unusual ways that clearly violate his Eighth Amendment rights. Labrador has said he and his office are simply respecting state law. Idaho law is clear: Those who commit the most egregious crimes deserve the ultimate punishment, Labrador said in a Feb. 24 statement announcing Pizzutos death warrant. Pizzuto was sentenced to death. We followed the law and obtained a new death warrant. Labrador also helped draft a bill this legislative session that aims to add a firing squad as a backup method of execution when lethal injection drugs are unavailable. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Bruce Skaug, R-Nampa, passed the House and awaits a Senate committee hearing Monday afternoon. IDOC is tasked with carrying out state executions. As the Statesman previously reported, the attorney generals office informed IDOC officials about the the firing squad bill just days before it was introduced, and also issued a public announcement about Pizzutos recent death warrant before Tewalt had it in hand. These death warrants are also becoming an extraordinary burden to taxpayers who are covering the costs of unnecessary and repetitive litigation, Czuba said, as well as a source of secondary stress on all the state employees and others involved in the process. The judge in writer E. Jean Carrolls defamation and battery case against Donald Trump denied the former presidents request to omit certain evidence from trial, according to court documents released Friday. Carroll is seeking to present jurors with a notorious 2005 Access Hollywood tape, as well as testimony from two other women alleging misconduct, at Aprils trial in New York City. Carroll has accused Trump of raping her in a dressing room at a high-end Manhattan department store in the 1990s, and she alleges that Trump defamed her by claiming she was lying about the incident. Trumps attorneys previously argued that a hot-mic recording from TVs Access Hollywood, which came to light weeks before his victory in the 2016 presidential election, was irrelevant and highly prejudicial. They also claimed that testimony from the two other accusers will offer no relevant or meaningful insight into the central question of the case. But Carrolls attorneys maintained that their testimony would be vital to illustrating the former presidents modus operandi of forcing himself on nonconsenting women. U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan ruled Friday that the Access Hollywood recording and the testimony could be presented at trial. Testimony from Jessica Leeds and Natasha Stoynoff would aim to show that Mr. Trump has a propensity for such behavior, Kaplan wrote in the court documents. Kaplan added that the former president, who launched a new bid for the White House last year, still has a right to deny the accusations from the women, as he has done previously. In 2016, Leeds accused Trump of grabbing her breasts and other inappropriate touching on an airplane decades prior. Around the same time, Stoynoff alleged that he had kissed her without her consent during an interview in December 2005. Amid filming for an Access Hollywood appearance in 2005, Trump raved about being able to do anything he wanted to women he found attractive. Story continues You know Im automatically attracted to beautiful I just start kissing them. Its like a magnet. Just kiss. I dont even wait. And when youre a star, they let you do it. You can do anything, he said in the recording. Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything, added Trump, who was then best known as a real estate mogul and the host of NBCs The Apprentice. Following her accusations, Trump has said that Carroll is not his type, but hes also mistaken her for an ex-wife. We maintain the utmost confidence that our client will be vindicated at the upcoming trial, attorney Alina Habba, who represents Trump, told HuffPost in a statement Friday. An attorney for Carroll declined to comment. Need help? Visit RAINNs National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Centers website. A federal judge ruled on Friday that E. Jean Carroll can use the infamous Access Hollywood tape and the testimony of two other women who have accused former President Trump of sexual assault as evidence at trial in her defamation case. District Judge Lewis Kaplan rejected a request from Trumps team to disallow the tape and the testimony from the two women, Natasha Stoynoff and Jessica Leeds, who separately accused the former president of assaulting them in late 1970s and early 2000s. The disagreement centered on a rule that allows for evidence that a defendant committed any other sexual assault when a civil case is based on a partys alleged sexual assault. Carroll has accused Trump of raping her in a department store in the mid-1990s and of later defaming her by claiming that she lied about the incident. The alleged defamation includes a 2019 interview with The Hill in which Trump said Carroll was totally lying and not my type. Because Carroll has two pending cases against the former president one solely for defamation and another for battery and defamation Trump argued that the case that pertains only to defamation is not based on an alleged sexual assault and does not fall under the evidence rule. However, Kaplan rejected Trumps reasoning, noting that proof of sexual assault is an essential element of Ms. Carrolls defamation claim given the nature of the alleged defamation. The Access Hollywood tape from 2005, which resurfaced ahead of the 2016 presidential election, captured Trump boasting about his apparently unsolicited advances on women. When youre a star, they let you do it. You can do anything, he said, adding, Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything. Kaplan noted that the tape is relevant in Carrolls case given that a jury reasonably could find, even from the Access Hollywood tape alone, that Mr. Trump admitted in the Access Hollywood tape that he in fact has had contact with womens genitalia in the past without their consent, or that he has attempted to do so. Story continues In the case of the two other accusers, Trump argued that their allegations are vastly different from Carrolls, a claim that Kaplan dismissed as not very persuasive. The alleged acts are far more similar than different in the important aspects, the judge noted. Leeds accused Trump of sexually assaulting her on a flight from Texas to New York in 1979, while Stoynoff claimed that the former president assaulted her at Mar-a-Lago in 2005 during a visit to conduct an interview for People magazine. Trump has denied both allegations. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. NEW YORK The longtime magazine columnist who accused former President Donald Trump of raping her in the 1990s can use the 'Access Hollywood' tape as evidence at trial in her defamation case, a federal judge ruled Friday. The Manhattan judge also rejected Trumps effort to block the columnist, E. Jean Carroll, from using the testimony of two other women who previously accused him of sexual assault. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan wrote that a jury reasonably could find, even from the Access Hollywood tape alone, that Mr. Trump admitted in the Access Hollywood tape that he in fact has had contact with womens genitalia in the past without their consent, or that he has attempted to do so. In the tape, a recording from 2005 that was widely scrutinized during the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump boasts, When youre a star, they let you do it. You can do anything, adding: Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything. Though Carrolls 2019 lawsuit alleges only defamation, not sexual assault itself, Judge Kaplan found that in order to prevail on her libel claim, Ms. Carroll must prove that Mr. Trump sexually assaulted her. Without proving the underlying claim of sexual assault, the judge wrote, she cannot establish that Mr. Trumps charge that her story was a lie and a hoax was false. In November, Carroll also filed a second lawsuit in New York alleging defamation and battery under a new state law. The 2019 lawsuit is set to go to trial in April. A judge hasnt ruled whether the two cases will be combined. Trump has denied defaming or assaulting Carroll. We maintain the utmost confidence that our client will be vindicated at the upcoming trial, a lawyer for Trump, Alina Habba, said in a statement Friday. The judges ruling Friday will also permit Carroll to use the testimony of Jessica Leeds and Natasha Stoynoff, two women who alleged Trump assaulted them in the years before he ran for office. Leeds alleged Trump groped her while they flew on an airplane together. Stoynoff alleged he sexually assaulted her while she was reporting a story for People Magazine. Trump has denied both of their accounts. A federal judge has ordered former Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro to turn over to the government hundreds of emails that he sent or received during his nearly four years as a White House aide. In an opinion on Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly rejected a slew of arguments Navarros attorneys floated in a bid to knock out a civil suit the Justice Department filed in August to recover messages that Navarro handled through a personal ProtonMail account but refused to return to the National Archives after President Donald Trump left office. Kollar-Kotelly said the privately held emails were plainly subject to the Presidential Records Act, particularly a provision Congress passed and President Barack Obama signed in 2014. It requires work-related messages created or sent on a personal messaging account be forwarded to an official account within 20 business days. Dr. Navarro contends that he has no statutory duties under the PRA. This position would defeat the entire purpose of the statute, i.e., to ensure that Presidential records, as defined, are collected, maintained and made available to the public, wrote Kollar-Kotelly, an appointee of President Bill Clinton. The PRA makes plain that Presidential advisors such as Dr. Navarro are part and parcel of the statutory scheme in that they are required to preserve Presidential records during their tenure so that they can be transferred to [the National Archives and Records Administration] at the end of an administration. Navarro argued that the personal-account provision didnt apply to messages he received, only to those he sent, but the judge dismissed that contention. All the emails in Dr. Navarros personal email account, whether created or received, are therefore subject to being assessed as potential Presidential records if they arose out of his employment in the administration, she wrote. An attorney for Navarro did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Story continues The tone of Kollar-Kotellys 22-page opinion was brutal, but the lawsuit is far from Navarros biggest legal worry. He is facing a trial in the coming months ontwo criminal, misdemeanor charges of contempt of Congress for defying subpoenas from the special House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and Trumps role in fomenting doubt about the 2020 presidential election results. Despite his role as a trade adviser, Navarro drew the attention of congressional investigators because in his final weeks in the White House, he shifted his focus toward efforts to help Trump overturn the 2020 election results. He prepared a report based on discredited claims of fraud and worked with longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon and GOP lawmakers to strategize ways to object to the results on Jan. 6, 2021. Navarro argued in the lawsuit that he should not have to turn over the disputed emails because the government might seek to use them against him in the criminal case, but the judge also saw no merit in that position. Producing these pre-existing records in no way implicates a compelled testimonial communication that is incriminating, Kollar-Kotelly wrote. She ordered Navarro to turn over forthwith about 200 to 250 messages his lawyers have already deemed likely presidential records. She gave the two sides 30 days to sort out a protocol to find other official records in Navarros personal account. The Justice Department is set to make a key filing in Navarros criminal case next week, explaining why the department concluded that Navarro is not immune from a congressional subpoena even though he was serving as a top adviser to Trump in the White House in the weeks before and after Jan. 6, 2021. Julia Fox, seen in Paris last week, is reportedly stunned by the arrest of her brother on drug and weapons charges in New York City. (Vianney Le Caer / Invision / Associated Press) Julia Fox is reportedly shocked and heartbroken over her brother Christopher's arrest in New York City's Upper East Side on drug and weapons charges. The actor-model's younger sibling was arrested after a luxury co-op in the Yorkville neighborhood was raided by police on Wednesday, a number of news outlets reported Thursday. Christopher Fox, 30, was taken in by the NYPD and remains in custody pending a Monday court date, according to the New York Department of Corrections database. His bail is set at $450,000. The NYPDs Ghost Gun Team seized several ghost gun parts as well as equipment for pressing narcotics pills, a spokesperson told the New York Post, which also reported on Julia Fox's reaction. Team members also discovered materials typically used as components in explosives, including pressure cookers and various chemicals, which can also be used for manufacturing narcotics. Prosecutors at Christopher Fox's arraignment Thursday night also alleged he possessed silencers, large-capacity magazines made via 3-D printer, and other materials they deemed enough to assemble assault-style rifles, the New York Daily News reported. Additionally, crack and powder cocaine, heroin, oxycodone pills and amphetamines were found in his bedroom, prosecutors said. Fox placed hundreds of orders for items related to drug manufacturing since 2019, they said. A second person was taken into custody Wednesday but not arrested, the New York Times reported. The Post reported the model's father, Thomas Fox, had been arrested, but there was no record of any such arrest in the corrections database. Julia Fox, 33, thinks her brother is brilliant but after a difficult childhood, which she shared, hes struggled to believe in himself enough to put his mind to use," a source told the Post. She was completely shocked by the raid and arrest, sources close to the "Uncut Gems" actor told the outlet. Representatives for Fox did not respond immediately to a request for comment Friday. Story continues The model and actor was photographed over the weekend at Paris Fashion Week, which ran through Tuesday. On social media, she mentioned being at Milan Fashion Week, which happened the week prior. The New York Times said she grew up in the Yorkville neighborhood and once lived at 200 E. 84th St., the address that was raided Wednesday morning. She was still out of town at the time of the raid, the Post reported. She has no known connection to the alleged crimes, according to NYT. The raid was reportedly part of a larger ghost-gun investigation. Fox broke out with her performance in the 2019 film "Uncut Gems," then regained the spotlight in early 2022 when she briefly dated Kanye "Ye" West. Ye has since exchanged vows with Yeezy exec Bianca Censori, just two months after his divorce from Kim Kardashian was finalized. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. FORT WORTH, Texas The defense and prosecution both closed just after 4 p.m. Thursday in the murder trial of James Irven Staley III at the Tim Curry Criminal Justice Center. Staley is accused of killing 2-year-old Jason Wilder McDaniel Oct. 11, 2018, in a Wichita Falls home. "That's all the evidence you're going to hear in this case," Senior District Judge Everett Young told the 12 jurors and two alternates who have sat through almost two weeks of testimony. The jury is to report back to court 9 a.m. Monday, likely for closing arguments and then to consider whether they will find Staley guilty or acquit him. On Friday, the prosecution and defense are to work on the formal charge to give to the jury on Monday. Staley does not have to be present Friday. A charge formally sets out the allegations against someone, a jury's options within the charges against a defendant and the choice to find the defendant guilty or not guilty. The charges against Staley include murder and capital murder of a person younger than 10. It is up to a jury to choose which one if he is convicted. Staley has maintained his innocence of charges related to Wilder's death. If he is found not guilty, the trial will end. If he is found guilty, a punishment phase in the trial may follow. Murder is punishable by up to life in prison. The maximum punishment he will face if convicted of capital murder is life without parole, which the Wichita County District Attorney's Office is seeking. The DA's Office has waived the death penalty, so a capital murder conviction would bring an automatic life sentence without parole. In that case, no punishment phase would take place in the trial. Most of the trial has consisted of the prosecution's case. Prosecutors rested about noon Thursday after presenting a stream of witnesses, including Amber Odom McDaniel, who is Wilder's mother, a child abuse pediatrics expert and a childhood friend of Staley's. Story continues The prosecution's theory is that Staley smothered Wilder to death in his crib at Staley's Country Club area home and them moved the body to the floor to stage the death scene. The defense's theory is that Wilder attempted to get out of the crib by himself and sustained fatal injuries, perhaps a concussion. Defense attorneys put witnesses on the stand Thursday, including an AMR paramedic, a pediatric expert, a retired Fort Worth police officer who is a forensics expert and the private investigator who founded the Illinois Innocence Project. Trish Choate, enterprise watchdog reporter for the Times Record News, covers education, courts, breaking news and more. Contact her with news tips at tchoate@gannett.com. Her Twitter handle is @Trishapedia. This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Jury to return Monday for closing arguments in Staley trial A 24-year-old man awaiting sentencing in a grisly Gladstone murder is now accused of a separate killing where a man was found shot to death in Kansas City with his hands tied behind his back. Noah T. Cole, of Kansas City, pleaded guilty March 1 in Clay County to one count of second-degree murder for the killing of 33-year-old Matthew Stauch, who was found stabbed to death after his Gladstone apartment was set on fire on Nov. 27, 2021. On Thursday, Jackson County prosecutors charged Cole in the killing of Justin Doza-Adams, 27, who was found shot to death two days later in a vacant lot in the North Blue Ridge neighborhood. Cole was allegedly linked to both homicides by physical evidence, including DNA, recovered from at least three crime scenes over a three-day span, according to charging documents filed Thursday. Witnesses also placed him at the scenes of both killings, authorities allege, including one who told detectives Cole killed Doza-Adams over a drug debt. Doza-Adams was found in a vacant lot on Nov. 29, 2021, when Kansas City police officers were dispatched to Independence and Potter avenues on a report of a dead body. Doza-Adams had been shot, and his hands were tied behind his back with a black rope. He was pronounced dead at the scene. On the ground, crime scene investigators saw zip ties, duct tape and more black rope that appeared similar to items found inside a vehicle at the Gladstone apartment complex where Stauch was found dead two days earlier. Detectives in Gladstone, meanwhile, were investigating the homicide of Stauch, whose body was discovered after a neighbor called 911 to report a fire. Stauch was stabbed approximately 40 times with a small blade, the medical examiner found, and charring observed on his body led investigators to conclude the killer lit him on fire. Several items of value were missing from Stauchs apartment, including a guitar signed by the cast of Seinfeld, the detectives learned. Missing from the parking lot was a Toyota Camry registered to Stauch. Story continues On the same day of the fire and subsequent discovery of Stauchs body, there was a shooting in Raytown that left a woman wounded. Cole was a suspect in that also, according to court documents. Forensics specialists with the Kansas City Crime Lab determined shell casings at all three crime scenes Stauchs homicide, Doza-Adams homicide and the Raytown shooting came from one gun. Witnesses led investigators to Coles residence in the 6000 block of St. John Avenue. Belongings of Stauchs were found, including the missing guitar, tax papers and a prescription bottle, after Kansas City after police executed a search warrant there. In December 2021, Cole was arrested and charged in Clay County with Stauchs death. During the arrest, authorities allege they discovered a shell casing in Coles possession that matched the others taken as evidence in the other investigations. After his arrest, DNA samples taken from Cole were also compared with shell casings at the homicide scene, the rope used to bind Doza-Adams and swabs taken from Doza-Adams wrists. The Kansas City Crime Lab also found those comparisons matched to Cole, according to court documents. Under Missouri law, Cole faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted of second-degree murder in Jackson County. As part of his plea agreement in Clay County, prosecutors there will recommend Cole spend 28 years in prison for killing Stauch. Cole is scheduled to be sentenced in that case on May 10. Leavenworth school board member Vanessa Reid and Kansas Republican state Rep. Pat Proctor visited a school library where students had drawn pictures on the theme of who is welcome there. In his most recent newsletter, Proctor shared a photo of a fourth graders drawing of a rainbow flag, part of a display in the David Brewer Elementary School library. It was clear that the school library was doing more indoctrinating than educating, Proctor wrote. I am proud to stand with Conservative School Board Member Vanessa Reid in her fight to protect our kids from the radical woke agenda that threatens Leavenworth Schools. The comment upset some parents and staff members, whose emotions were on full display at Mondays school board meeting, where they, and a fellow school board member, called for Reid to resign. And they are angry at Proctor, saying he used a childs artwork without consent to advance his political agenda. Reids opponents are also criticizing her over her recent comment a joke, she said that the best attribute in a new superintendent would be blue eyes. The immature behavior of a certain board member is unprofessional to say the least and quite frankly, Im embarrassed she represents us. Being a board member is supposed to be a (nonpartisan) position, Courtney Ricard, the schools PTO president and mother of the student who drew the rainbow flag, told the board. She demanded Reids resignation, as it is her job to protect our children. Reid did not attend Mondays board meeting in person, but participated over Zoom. She has not publicly commented on either incident and did not return The Stars requests for comment this week. Reid, elected in 2021 along with several other conservative newcomers across the metro area, has been criticized by opponents who argue she has helped hot-topic national politics seep into the school board. Its really sad. Our board has never been involved in anything like this where we have politics involved. Its not how its supposed to be. And all this now is just a political vote, said longtime board member Mike Carney. Story continues Proctor defended Reid, saying in an email, Vanessa is committed to putting kids and parents ahead of administrators and the Teachers Union. She isnt afraid to ask tough questions and demand answers. He also stood behind his decision to share the students drawing, and said: I find it impossible to believe that all of these kids, spontaneously, drew the same thing. It was clear that they were either instructed or encouraged to do so by the librarian. I dont think this is an appropriate subject to be discussing with eight and nine year-olds. And I know most of my constituents feel the same way I do. I felt I had a duty to share what I had found with them, so that they would know what their kids were being exposed to in our schools. A few other drawings featured rainbows or support for the LGBTQ community, while others included flags from other countries, pictures of families and friends, stick figures and animals, according to photos shared with The Star. I think she betrayed the students of Leavenworth by allowing this to happen, Ricard told The Star. My daughter has the kindest heart. She is the sweetest child and wants everyone to feel loved and included. That was her message. She was trying to spread love. He is spreading hate. Attacking our schools Brandi Bond, library aide at the elementary school, also spoke out on Monday, arguing Reid should step down if she cannot uphold her oath to protect students and staff. This local politician is attacking our schools. Whats even more disappointing is one of our very own board members is joining this attack, someone who took an oath. Theyre trying to tear down what weve worked so hard to create, a safe, inclusive space for all of our students, Bond said. These individuals coming into our buildings pose a risk to our students. As a parent of a high school student, I am nervous that they could target my son next because his work may not align with their agenda. Carney felt Proctor and Reid went to the school to do something. Their goal was to go out and see what was hanging on the walls, take pictures and make a big deal about it. He accuses Reid of bringing partisan politics to the board, as the district has faced several challenges to library materials and debates over curriculum on race. The book banning thing started a few months ago. Vanessa wanted a book banned thats not even in the library, Carney said. If youre in high school, you need to be a critical thinker. Theyre trying to say this goes clear down to the elementary level, that were teaching critical race theory and all that crap. Which were not. That were indoctrinating kids. Which were not. Its just irritating. Also during Mondays meeting, one agenda item was dedicated to correcting misinformation, where board president Judi Price addressed another claim made in Proctors newsletter. Proctor wrote that Reids pressure, asking tough questions and demanding honest answers, finally forced the exit of failing Leavenworth superintendent Mike Roth. Price said Roth announced his plans to retire from the district effective January 2024. However, his announcement was for a long-planned retirement and is not in reaction to anything else. Dr. Roth is well-regarded by a majority of the board and was offered an extended contract. She said Roth will continue to serve through December, to help with the transition of the new superintendent, who will join the district in July. Neither of those actions indicate the board is actively trying to dismiss or force his exit. Quite the contrary. On Monday, the school board voted 5-2 to appoint Kellen Adams, the superintendent in Chanute, Kansas, as the districts next leader. Reid and board member Alisa Murphy voted no. Blue eyes Reid also came under fire by some parents last month, when the school board held a special meeting to discuss hiring a new superintendent. Board members spent roughly two hours debating qualities they would like to see in a leader. Toward the end of the meeting, when asked what quality board members would prioritize in a superintendent, Reid responded, blue eyes. The answer got a laugh, and Reid said, Im just kidding. Trying to break it up a little bit, you know. While Reid clearly stated she was joking, some argued the remark was inappropriate. It may have been a joke. You may have been trying to be funny, but I dont think thats the time or place to be making that joke, said Leavenworth father Harry Schwarz, a Democrat who lost his contest against Proctor for the House seat last year by 144 votes. At first, I took it as what does someones physical characteristics have to do with the job theyre doing? And then I had someone point out to me, why blue eyes? Im not accusing anyone of being racist, but it was inappropriate and it sits uneasy with me. Ricard felt the joke was racist. Toward the end of Mondays meeting, school board member Dannielle Wells joined with others encouraging Reid to step down. Im very disappointed that not all of us were here tonight and not all of us participated in a manner that seemed open to the public, Wells said. I hope that if anybody is not wanting to continue in the public, to have questions asked of them and to address our patrons, that they step down from the board. I understand there are illnesses, but an illness every couple months doesnt seem acceptable. Reid remained silent during the discussion. But Proctor argued that Wells has absolutely no room to be passing judgment on the fitness of other School Board members to serve, alleging she, rubber stamps every politically charged curriculum the administration brings to her to vote on. Parents and elected officials on both sides say they are fed up with partisan politics seeping into their schools, although what that looks like depends on whom you ask. We need to be getting our kids workforce and college ready. This radical gender ideology that is being taught to our kids apparently starting as young as eight or nine years old is politically charged and has no place in our schools, Proctor said. Other Leavenworth school board members either declined or did not return The Stars request for an interview. The tension in Leavenworth mirrors similar debates across the Kansas City metro, as school districts face efforts to ban curriculum on race as well as many library books most of them featuring LGBTQ or diverse characters that conservative parents argue include content that is overly sexual or inappropriate for students. Lawmakers in both Kansas and Missouri are debating a flood of legislation that could curb the rights of the LGBTQ community. The Kansas Senate on Thursday passed a bill that would ban transgender athletes from girls sports, sending the legislation to Democratic Gov. Laura Kellys desk. On Wednesday in Missouri, the GOP-controlled Senate delayed a vote on a bill that would ban gender-affirming care for minors, after Democrats spent more than five hours filibustering. Kenyas Ministry of Health has announced this week a "significant step" in the fight against Malaria as the East African nation expands its use of the worlds first-ever malaria vaccine. The malaria vaccine -- known as Mosquirix or RTS,s/AS01 -- has seen a phased introduction in the country since a 2019 pilot program was launched. Since then, over a million doses of the vaccine have been administered to children across eight of Kenyas counties, 400,000 of which have received at least one dose of the vaccine. Starting March 7, 2023, Kenyas Health Ministry has announced it is scaling up use of the ground-breaking vaccine, extending to an additional 25 sub-counties in lake-endemic regions. The vaccine will be expanded -- free-of-charge -- to an additional 133,000 infants in lake-endemic counties and will be available at all immunizing health facilities. PHOTO: Mothers participate in the launch of the extension of the worlds first malaria vaccine (RTS, S) pilot program for children at risk of malaria illness and death within Kenyas lake-endemic region at Kimogoi Dispensary in Gisambai on March 7, 2023. (Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP via Getty Images) The expansion of Kenyas malaria vaccination program is a significant step in the fight against malaria, Kenyas Ministry of Health said. It complements the existing methods and efforts in malaria prevention and control, and with more children benefitting from the vaccination the country can hope to see a further reduction in malaria-related deaths and illnesses. The expansion follows the recommendation from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Kenya National Immunization Technical Advisory Group (KENITAG) for wider use of the vaccine for children in sub-Saharan Africa and regions with moderate to high malaria transmission. The fight against malaria has always been a two-steps-forward, one-step-back struggle, and this vaccine is definitely a step forward but it is definitely no silver bullet, Dr. Chris Plowe, adjunct professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, tells ABC News. PHOTO: Malaria vaccine containers during the launch of the extension of the worlds first malaria vaccine pilot program for children at risk of malaria illness and death within Kenyas lake-endemic region at Kimogoi Dispensary in Gisambai, March 7, 2023. (Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP via Getty Images) The main reason that after more than 100 years of research to develop a malaria vaccine we still have just one somewhat effective vaccine is that malaria is a big, nasty, complex parasite, said Plowe. It is much, much bigger and more complicated than the virus that causes COVID for example. It transforms itself again and again, first in mosquitoes, then in people. It mutates and changes and it is very good at hiding from the immune system and from vaccines. Story continues The malaria vaccine is currently in use in three African countries thus far -- Kenya, Ghana and Malawi -- and the vaccine has a total of four doses administered to the individual at 6 months, 7 months, 9 months and 24 months. The RTS,S malaria vaccine is the first vaccine that has demonstrated it can significantly reduce malaria, says Kenyas Cabinet Secretary for Health, CS Susan Wafula. According to UNICEF, one child under the age of 5-years-old dies of malaria nearly every minute in Africa and the disease is a leading cause of illness and death among children, particularly within sub-Saharan Africa. In Kenya alone, there an estimated 3.5 million new clinical cases of malaria each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Growing up in western Kenya I and so many of my peers got very serious malaria growing up, Stella Wokabi told ABC News. If youve ever got malaria you know just how terrible this sickness is and so its such a relief to me that my baby girl can now reduce her risk of being seriously affected, like I was, thanks to this vaccine. A child receives a shot during the launch of the extension of the worlds first malaria vaccine (RTS, S) pilot program for children at risk of malaria illness and death within Kenyas lake-endemic region at Kimogoi Dispensary in Gisambai, March 7, 2023. (Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP via Getty Images) The prevalence of malaria is highest among residents in Kenyas lake-endemic counties such as Kisumu, Kakamega, Siaya and Homabay, due to the climate providing the perfect habitat and breeding ground for mosquitoes. But, according to the 2020 Malaria Indicator Survey for Kenya, malaria prevalence in lake-endemic regions has dropped from 27%i n 2015 to 19% in 2020. In the coming years, our objective is to continue to expand malaria vaccination to other parts of the country, as more supplies of the vaccine become available, said Dr. Lucy Mecca, head of the National Vaccines and Immunisation Program (NVIP). Phased introduction in additional counties in Kenya is set to begin at the end of 2023 and the vaccination program aims to expand across Africa with at least 28 countries planning to introduce it starting this year. Kenya's announcement to expand use of landmark malaria vaccine gives hope to millions originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Photo: The Canadian Press Former President Donald Trump speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2023, Saturday, March 4, 2023, at National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Former President Donald Trump has been invited to testify next week before a New York grand jury that has been investigating hush money payments made on his behalf during his 2016 presidential campaign, according to a news report. The New York Times cited four people with knowledge of the matter in reporting that the invitation was made by the Manhattan district attorneys office. Such an invitation often indicates a decision on indictments is near. The district attorney's office declined to comment. A Trump spokesperson issued a statement that disparaged the investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, as politically motivated. Any indictment would mark the first time any former U.S. president has been charged with a crime. It would come as Trump is ramping up a run to regain the White House in 2024 while simultaneously battling legal problems on multiple fronts. The district attorney in Atlanta, Georgia, has said decisions are "imminent" in a two-year investigation into possible illegal meddling in the 2020 election by Trump and his allies. A U.S. Justice Department special counsel is also investigating efforts by Trump and his allies to undo the election as well as the handling of classified documents at his Florida estate. The New York grand jury has been probing Trump's involvement in a $130,000 payment made in 2016 to the porn star Stormy Daniels to keep her from going public about a sexual encounter she said she had with the Republican years earlier. The money was paid out of the personal funds of Trump's now-estranged lawyer, Michael Cohen, who then said he was reimbursed by the Trump Organization and also paid extra bonuses for a total that eventually rose to $420,000. Cohen pleaded guilty to federal charges in 2018 that the payment, and another he helped arrange to the model Karen McDougal through the parent company of the National Enquirer tabloid, amounted to an illegal campaign contribution. Federal prosecutors at the time decided not to bring charges against Trump, who by then was president. The Manhattan district attorney's office then launched its own investigation, which lingered for several years but has been gathering momentum in recent weeks. Several figures close to Trump have been spotted in recent days entering Bragg's office for meetings with prosecutors, including his former political adviser Kellyanne Conway and former spokesperson Hope Hicks. Cohen has also met several times with prosecutors, saying after a recent visit that he thought the investigation was nearing a conclusion. Under New York law, people who appear before a grand jury are given immunity from prosecution for things they say during their testimony, so potential targets of criminal investigations are generally invited to testify only if they waive that immunity. Lawyers generally advise clients not to do so if there is a potential for a criminal case. It isn't clear what charges prosecutors might be exploring. Legal experts have said one potential crime could be the way the payments to Cohen were structured and falsely classified internally as being for a legal retainer. New York has a law against falsifying business records, but it is a misdemeanor unless the records fudging is done in conjunction with a more serious felony crime. Separately, the district attorney's office has also spent years investigating whether Trump and his company inflated the value of some its assets in dealings with lenders and potential business partners. Those allegations are the subject of a civil lawsuit, filed by the state's attorney general. Italy players celebrate after beating Wales in the 2022 Six Nations (Mike Egerton/PA) (PA Archive) Wales face Six Nations opponents Italy in Rome on Saturday with the possibility of a first wooden spoon since 2003 hanging over them. It is more than a year since Wales won a Six Nations game, and they head to the Eternal City following successive losses to Ireland, Scotland and England. Here are some of the key talking points heading into the Stadio Olimpico clash. Wooden spoon on the table The metaphorical prize for which country finishes bottom of the Six Nations has gone to Italy on 17 occasions, Scotland four times, Wales once and France once, but it is 20 years since Wales experienced such ignominy. Warren Gatlands fellow New Zealander Steve Hansen was in charge on that occasion, with Wales whitewash confirmed through a 33-5 defeat against France in Paris. Wales head to the French capital on Saturday week, when they will be rank outsiders Italy tackle Scotland at Murrayfield the same day so this weekend represents their best chance to end a dismal losing run. Seven successive victories in Rome will encourage Wales, but form favours the Azzurri, having displayed considerably more quality than their opponents so far this season. Wales on the back foot The results-driven business that is professional sport can be a cruel place at times, and Wales cannot hide from that. They are arguably the only team in this seasons Six Nations that appear to be moving in the wrong direction. Three successive tournament defeats and just 27 points and three tries scored have followed nine defeats from 12 starts in 2022, when Wales suffered humiliating home losses against Italy and Georgia under Gatlands Wales coaching predecessor Wayne Pivac. They have shown promising glimpses in this seasons Six Nations, but also been ruthlessly punished for dreadful discipline (more than 40 penalties conceded), a chronic lack of creativity and missed opportunities when chances presented themselves. They are not bottom of the table by accident. Story continues Italy must convert promise into victory While much has been made of the pressure Wales are under, Italy know they must deliver. There is no doubt they have made considerable progress under the direction of their head coach Kieran Crowley, underlined by a thrilling Autumn Nations Series victory over Australia, while the Azzurri also caused problems for Six Nations opponents France, England and Ireland, even if all three games ended in defeat. Italys star player Ange Capuozzo is currently sidelined through injury, but they still possess plenty of threats up front and behind the scrum. The Azzurri need a win to confirm their promise, and Wales are unquestionably vulnerable. Can they deliver? Joe Hawkins a shining light He might only be 20, but Wales centre Joe Hawkins has excelled on the international stage during his four Test match appearances. He was handed a Wales debut by Pivac against Australia in November, and he has impressed throughout the Six Nations, displaying a maturity beyond his years. Do not be surprised though, if he ends up at some point succeeding cap centurion Dan Biggar as Wales fly-half. Dan Carter played a lot of his early career at 12 and then moved to 10, and I think Joe might probably be similar in that, Wales assistant coach Neil Jenkins said. He is obviously a fantastic 12, and there is no doubt he can easily be a 10 in time. What next for Wales? Gatland has always relished the build-up to World Cup campaigns. It is a time when he gets extended training blocks with the players, and results have stacked up, with Wales reaching World Cup semi-finals in two of the last three tournaments under his coaching direction. There are prominent players absent from the current Six Nations campaign who could return notably forwards Will Rowlands, Josh Navidi and Dewi Lake and promising young talent like Hawkins, Mason Grady, Dafydd Jenkins, Christ Tshiunza and Jac Morgan will have more miles on the clock by the time Wales arrive for the France-hosted global spectacular later this year, but it remains a tall order for Gatland to turn things around. Conservatives Attend The Annual CPAC Event Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before his speech at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center on March 4, 2023 in National Harbor, Maryland. Credit - Anna MoneymakerGetty Images Donald Trump may be on the verge of becoming the first former President ever to be criminally indicted. The Manhattan District Attorneys office has invited Trump to testify before a grand jury over his 2016 involvement in a hush money scandal with porn star Stormy Daniels, a move that former federal prosecutors and legal experts say is a sign that criminal charges could be coming. The New York Times first reported the development Thursday, and Trumps lawyer has since confirmed the invitation. Its an aggressive step by Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, who last year declined to press charges against Trump for allegedly misleading lenders and insurers about the value of his properties, leading to resignations inside Braggs office. At the heart of the current inquiry is whether Trump was criminally responsible for the payments made to Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, following allegations from Trumps former lawyer that he knowingly approved the deal and falsified payment records. The Daniels case is not Trumps only area of potential legal liability. It comes amid multiple other criminal and civil probes into alleged conduct, including Trumps unauthorized removal of classified material from the White House and attempts to overturn the 2020 election. But the Stormy Daniels case may well result in the first indictment. That would surely throw a wrench into American politics as Trump proceeds with his 2024 presidential campaign, and set in motion a legal spectacle unlike any this country has ever seen. Heres what to know. What is the Stormy Daniels case? The inquiry began nearly five years ago after Trumps former personal attorney and fixer, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty to illegal campaign contributions. Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison for organizing payments leading up to the 2016 election to Clifford and another woman, Karen McDougal. Both of them, in return, agreed not to publicly disclose their personal relationships with Trump. Story continues Clifford has said she and Trump had a sexual relationship in 2006; the former President has denied the affair. Clifford reached out to National Enquirer in 2016, proposing exclusive rights to her story, but rather than buying it, executives at the Enquirer connected Clifford with Cohen to organize a payout. Cohen admitted to paying Clifford $130,000 in the final days of Trumps 2016 presidential campaign. He was later reimbursed in monthly installments, which the Justice Department noted were disguised as payments for legal services that never existed. The former Trump attorney is expected to testify before the grand jury. What are the charges Bragg is pursuing? Bragg has declined to comment on inviting Trump to testify, but according to former prosecutors and legal scholars, the District Attorney could potentially pursue charges for falsifying business records, which would hinge on Trumps allegedly improper payments to Cohen. Cohen himself has claimed that Trump knew about the falsely labeled payments, making that a possible basis for the charge. If the prosecution can prove that Trump intended to conceal another crime via falsified records, the DA could potentially charge Trump with a felony; the other alleged crime would likely relate to campaign finance violations, as prosecutors could argue that the payout to Clifford was an improper campaign donation engineered to help his presidential prospects. Bringing an indictment would be an aggressive move, says Renato Mariotti, a former federal prosecutor. Theyre bringing a case that is out of the ordinary. Its rare for payments of this type to be the subject of criminal charges. There is a risk that not only they will potentially lose at trial, but theres also a risk on appeal, that the New York courts could decide that this is not properly charged. Will Trump testify? Its highly unlikely Trump would accept the prosecutors invitation to appear before the grand jury. Nor does Bragg likely expect him to testify, according to multiple former federal prosecutors. But the invitation may be a sign that Braggs office is preparing for an indictment. It is such a signal, says former U.S. attorney Harry Litman. New York law mandates that prosecutors offer a potential defendant the opportunity to testify in front of a grand jury thats been hearing evidence in any case before theyre indicted. Most choose not to testify. The invitation typically implies that prosecutors will soon follow with an indictment, experts say. What happens if Trump is charged? He will have his day in court. Trump would be expected to plead not guilty, setting off an arduous legal battle. Mariotti predicts that Cohen would be a key factual witness, given his central role in the transaction. But hes also likely to be attacked by Trumps attorneys. Cohen served prison time on multiple charges, including tax evasion, campaign finance violations, and lying to Congress. The defense is going to criticize him and point the finger at him, Mariotti says. What does this mean for the other investigations into Trump? Its not clear this will have a material effect on the other main probes into the former president, such as Fulton County District Attorney Fani Williss investigation into whether Trump criminally disrupted the 2020 election; the Department of Justice probe into his removal of classified documents and alleged obstruction of federal efforts to retrieve them; and special counsel Jack Smiths inquiry into Trumps alleged efforts to prevent the peaceful transfer of power in 2020. Trump will likely use any indictments to gin up grievance among the MAGA faithful over a shared sense of persecution. It is surely a unique political context, Litman says, noting, Trumps essential promise that hes going to turn it around into a big I am your warrior, Im your justice campaign issue. Mariotti says that hiccups in one case could serve as fuel for Trump to discredit any of the others. You dont just have to consider its impact on that one case, he emphasizes. You have to consider the impact and all the cases. So its like playing 3-D chess. More than 26 years after Cal Poly student Kristin Smart disappeared, Paul Flores is scheduled to be sentenced for her murder. A Monterey County jury convicted the San Pedro man of first-degree murder on Oct. 18 while a separate jury acquitted his father, Arroyo Grande resident Ruben Flores, of helping his son conceal the crime. Before the sentencing, a Monterey County Superior Court judge will rule on whether Paul Flores should get a new trial. His attorney, Robert Sanger, filed two motions earlier this month, claiming Flores did not receive a fair trial and asking the judge to overturn the jurys guilty verdict. On Monday, the San Luis Obispo County District Attorneys Office called for the court to deny the defense attorneys request for a second trial. The claims of misconduct are baseless and the claims of judicial error are incorrect, the DAs Office said in its response. It is unclear at this time if Superior Court Judge Jennifer OKeefe will rule on the motions based on the written arguments from the prosecution and defense or if she will also hear oral arguments. Legal proceedings will completely restart if the judge grants the motion for a new trial, and if the judge overturns the verdict and acquits Flores he cannot be tried again for the crime. If both motions are denied, Flores sentencing will take place immediately after. The Smart family will have the opportunity to give victim impact statements and speak to what sentence they believe Flores should receive. Flores faces 25 years to life in prison, or life without parole. The hearing regarding the defenses motions will take place at 9 a.m. Friday. Fox News Chief Executive Suzanne Scott. (Michael Nagle / For The Times) As a mountain of evidence behind the decision-making at Fox News becomes public in Dominion Voting Systems' defamation case against the network, speculation has heated up over who might take the fall. Fox Corp. Executive Chairman and CEO Lachlan Murdoch tried to quell the chatter Thursday by praising Fox News Chief Executive Suzanne Scott a target of much of the theorizing and dismissing the Dominion case as a politically motivated attack on the company. "I think a lot of the noise that you hear about this case is actually not about the law and it's not about journalism," Murdoch said at the 2023 Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference in San Francisco. "And it's really about the politics, and that's unfortunately more reflective of this sort of polarized society that we live in today. Dominion $1.6-billion lawsuit that alleges Fox News deliberately lied about former President Trump's 2020 election fraud claims in order to boost its ratings. Dominion took the brunt of the falsehoods, with allegations that its machines manipulated votes to favor President Biden and that the company was founded in Venezuela to aid Hugo Chavez. Fox News has said Trump's claims, even if false, were newsworthy and that its coverage of them was protected by the 1st Amendment. Legal experts have said Dominion is presenting some of the strongest evidence they have ever seen in a defamation case. Dominion must demonstrate that Fox News acted with malice by recklessly disregarding the truth in reporting on Trumps claims against the Denver-based voting machine maker. The case is scheduled to go to trial in a Delaware court in mid-April. Lachlan Murdoch and Rupert Murdoch attend the U.S. Open at the USTA Tennis Center in 2018. (Adrian Edwards / GC Images) Although Lachlan Murdoch was not directly asked about the status of Scott, he praised her twice at the Morgan Stanley event when talking about the overall performance of Fox News, which is a dominant No. 1 in the ratings among cable news outlets. "It's a credit to Suzanne Scott and all of her team there," Murdoch said. "They've done a tremendous job at running the business and building this business. ... This is a hard business to run. And I think, you know, Suzanne Scott has done a tremendous job. Story continues Murdoch's comments about the case were the first he's made publicly following a tsunami of bad publicity that has engulfed Fox News since the release of deposition testimony and other evidence submitted to the court. Testimony by Lachlan Murdoch and his father, News Corp. Executive Chairman Rupert Murdoch, raised eyebrows as both men downplayed their direct involvement in decision-making at Fox News and stressed that Scott is in charge of the network. The revelations immediately generated speculation from media analysts and journalists that they were distancing themselves from Scott. But Scott has also presented herself as not having hands-on involvement in every decision made at the network. I dont decide whats on Fox News," Scott said in her deposition testimony. "I entrust that to the editorial leadership teams and the individuals who make those decisions on whats in their shows. ... I take a 50,000-foot view of all of the businesses and I dont get granularly involved in the handling of shows on the network." Scott also did not contradict the Murdochs' argument. She said that while she strongly considers any input she receives from them, they do not force her hand on any decisions related to the network. Fox News has a history of circling the wagons when the company is under fire. In 2016, personalities at the network including Maria Bartiromo and Martha MacCallum rallied to publicly support founding Fox News Chief Roger Ailes when sexual harassment allegations first surfaced against him. Ailes was fired once the evidence in an internal investigation became insurmountable. There was also speculation that Scott's status was in doubt in early 2021, as ratings were declining in the months after Trump's election loss. But the Murdochs rewarded her with a new contract and Fox News regained its dominant competitive position in the cable news market in part by adding more conservative commentary to its programming day. Scott has worked at Fox News for 26 years, starting as an executive assistant when the network launched in 1996. She rose to the top job at Fox News in 2018 and is credited with improving the culture at the company in the aftermath of the Ailes harassment scandal. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. A shortage of albuterol, used to treat asthma and other respiratory illnesses, could worsen after a major manufacturer of the drug shut down. Albuterol was placed on the U.S. Food and Drug Administrations drug shortage list in October. The drug is used to prevent and treat difficulty breathing, wheezing, shortness of breath, coughing, and chest tightness caused by lung diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, according to Medline. >> RELATED: What is albuterol: Nationwide shortage of asthma drug could get worse Akorn, a generic drug maker which filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy last month, shut down its facilities in New Jersey, New York and Illinois, CBS News reported. The closures leave only one domestic supplier of liquid albuterol fully operational in the U.S. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said Wednesday the shortage is only for a very specific dosage form of the medication generally used in hospitals. FDA is working to address a shortage of a particular form of albuterol a medication that is used to treat breathing conditions. It is important to note that this shortage does not impact albuterol inhalers for personal use. U.S. FDA (@US_FDA) March 9, 2023 The FDA also says it has been working closely with manufacturers and others in the supply chain for months to understand, mitigate and prevent or reduce any related impacts. Albuterol hasnt been the only drug affected by supply chain disruptions. >> FDA announces ADHD drug shortage The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced in October the shortage of the immediate-release formulation of amphetamine mixed salts, commonly referred to by the brand name Adderall. A photo of a car getting towed by police. The government of Latvia is seizing cars and donating them to Ukraine. Leer en espanol. The government of Latvia is killing two birds with one stone with a new program that sends the cars it seizes from drunk drivers to Ukraine to support its war against Russia. Read more Latvia, a country of roughly 1.9 million people, has the highest drunk driving rate in all of Europe, according to the BBC News. In 2022, it registered 4,300 drivers who surpassed the legal blood alcohol limit of 0.5%. That same year, the Latvian government passed a law that allows it to seize and sell the cars of drunk drivers with a blood alcohol level three times the legal limit. However, the Latvian government seizes so many cars that it cant auction them off fast enough, and they rapidly fill up its public warehouses. In the first two months of 2023, authorities in the country had already seized 200 vehicles. After receiving a proposal from the NGO Twitter Convoy, which delivers donated vehicles to Ukraines front lines or to use as makeshift ambulances, the government decided to send its seized cars to Ukraine bolster the countrys resistance against the Russian invasion. The first delivery of seized Latvian cars made its way to the Ukrainian front lines this week. Latvia plans to donate two dozen confiscated cars to Twitter Convoy per week. No one expected that people are drunk driving so many vehicles, they cant sell them as fast as people are drinking. So thats why I came with the idea send them to Ukraine, Reinis Poznaks, founder of Twitter Convoy, told Reuters. The first eight cars seized under the new law had a combined value of around 18,500, or $19,600. In fact, a former owner stuck a Russian flag on their seized vehicle, which made Poznaks laugh, Reuters reported. Twitter Convoy has delivered more than 1,200 cars to hospitals and soldiers in Ukraine, the outlet stated. The NGO has also managed to raise $2 million to buy vehicles and help Ukraine with infrastructure and logistics during the war. Story continues More from Gizmodo Sign up for Gizmodo's Newsletter. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. A 31-year-old male was allegedly involved in a gun-related homicide on the 900 Block of Lehman Street Thursday afternoon, Lebanon City Police reported. At 4:56 p.m. police were dispatched for a shooting victim, and upon arrival police located Jean Ortiz-Rivera, 30, with gunshot wounds. The victim was transported to a medical facility in Dauphin County where he was pronounced dead, Police Chief Bret Fisher said in a news release Friday afternoon. Police have charged Juan Delgado Rodriguez, 31, Lebanon, with the shooting. Delgado-Rodriguez was taken into custody in Tower City by the Pennsylvania State Police during the early morning Friday without incident. "During the preliminary investigation, which included the help of witnesses and surveillance video, the Lebanon City Police were able to quickly identify a suspect," Fisher said in the release. "Early indications are that the incident was the result of a long and ongoing argument between both parties." A 4:56 p.m. Thursday, Lebanon City Police were dispatched to the 900 block of Lehman St. for a shooting victim. Upon arrival police located Jean Ortiz-Rivera, 30, Lebanon with gunshot wounds. Ortiz-Rivera was transported to a medical facility in Dauphin County where he was pronounced dead. Delgado Rodriguez is currently in custody in Schuylkill County. He is charged with Criminal Homicide, Person not to possess, use firearms and Firearms not be carried without a license. Ortiz-Rivera's autopsy is scheduled for March 11, 2023 in Lehigh County, according to officials. Shots Fired:Lebanon City Police looking for two suspects involved in shots fired incident on Willow St. Cameron Hess:Cleona man accused of assaulting police while forcing his way into U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 Anyone with information about these shootings is asked to contact the Lebanon City Police Department at 717-272-6611 or Crime Stoppers at 717-270-9800. This investigation is ongoing. 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, 31, arrested after a fatal shooting Thursday Photo: The Canadian Press FILE - Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, the former lover and business partner of Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes, arrives at federal court in San Jose, Calif., on Dec. 7, 2022. On Thursday, March 9, 2023, a federal judge rejected Balwanis bid to remain free while he appeals his conviction for crimes he committed during a blood-testing scam that he orchestrated with Elizabeth Holmes. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File) A federal judge has rejected former Theranos executive Ramesh Sunny Balwanis bid to remain free while he appeals his conviction for crimes he committed during a blood-testing scam he orchestrated with his former boss and lover, Elizabeth Holmes. The 17-page ruling issued late Thursday pushes Balwani, 57, a step closer to having to begin a nearly 13-year prison sentence he received after a jury convicted him of 12 counts of fraud and conspiracy last year. Balwani is scheduled to report to prison March 15 unless he can win a reprieve from a federal appeals court in a motion his lawyers say they plan to file. Unless the appeals court rules he can remain free, Balwani has been ordered to report to an Atlanta federal prison, according to court documents. The 121-year-old prison has been plagued by misconduct and other abuses described by whistleblowers during a congressional hearing last year. U.S. District Judge Edward Davila, who sentenced Balwani and denied his request to remain free on appeal, had recommended he serve his time in a Lompoc prison. That facility is located about 250 miles (400 kilometers) from the San Jose, California, courtroom where his trial unfolded last year. The judge's denial of Balwanis request to remain free on appeal may not bode well for Holmes, Theranos' CEO and founder. Her lawyers are also pushing Davila to allow her to stay out of prison during an appeal of her conviction on four felony counts of investor fraud and conspiracy. A March 17 hearing has been scheduled for Holmes' lawyers to try to persuade Davila to allow her to remain free until the appeals case is resolved. Holmes, 39, is scheduled to start a sentence of more than 11 years on April 27. That will separate her from a 1-year-old son she had shortly before her trial began in September 2021 and a recently born child she was carrying at her November sentencing. Although they had separate trials, Holmes and Balwani were accused of essentially the same crimes centered on a ruse touting Theranos blood-testing system as a revolutionary breakthrough in health care. The claims helped the company become a Silicon Valley sensation that raised nearly $1 billion from investors. But its technology never came close to working like Holmes and Balwani boasted, resulting in Theranos scandalous collapse and a criminal case that shined a bright light on Silicon Valley greed and hubris. Davila hasnt yet decided on how much money Holmes and Balwani each should have to pay for their crimes. Federal prosecutors are seeking restitution of nearly $900 million. In a hearing last month on Balwanis bid to remain free, his attorneys alleged federal prosecutors had distorted and misrepresented trail evidence in a manner that makes it likely Balwani will prevail in his appeal of the convictions. The lawyers also pointed to Balwanis non-violent history and past charity work in India as justification for him remaining free, asserting that he poses no danger to the community. Although Davila agreed Balwani is neither a flight risk nor dangerous, he concluded that still wasn't enough to allow him to delay his time in prison. Davila wrote that he didn't find evidence raising substantial question of law or fact during Balwani's four-month trial that would merit overturning the jury's verdict. A letter claiming to be from the Mexican drug cartel blamed for abducting four Americans and killing two of them condemned the violence and said the gang turned over to authorities its own members who were responsible. In a letter obtained by The Associated Press through a Tamaulipas state law enforcement official, the Scorpions faction of the Gulf cartel apologized to the residents of Matamoros where the Americans were kidnapped, the Mexican woman who died in the cartel shootout, and the four Americans and their families. We have decided to turn over those who were directly involved and responsible in the events, who at all times acted under their own decision-making and lack of discipline, the letter reads, adding that those individuals had gone against the cartels rules, which include respecting the life and well-being of the innocent. Drug cartels have been known to issue communique to intimidate rivals and authorities, but also at times like these as public relations work to try to smooth over situations that could affect their business. And last Fridays violence in Matamoros was bad for cartel business. The Americans killings brought National Guard troops and an Army special forces outfit running patrols that heat up the plaza in narco terminology, Mexican security analyst David Saucedo said. It is very difficult right now for them to continue working in terms of street-level drug sales and transferring drugs to the United States; they are the first ones interested in closing this chapter as soon as possible, Saucedo said. A photograph of five bound men face-down on the pavement accompanied the letter, which was shared with The Associated Press by the official on condition that they remain anonymous because they were not authorized to share the document. State officials did not immediately publicly confirm having new suspects in custody. A separate state security official said that five men had been found tied up inside one of the vehicles that authorities had been searching for, along with the letter. That official also spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the case. Story continues The cousin of one of the victims said his family feels great knowing that Eric Williams, who was shot in the left leg, is alive but does not accept any apologies from the cartel blamed for kidnapping the Americans. It aint gonna change nothing about the suffering that we went through, Jerry Wallace told the AP on Thursday. Wallace, 62, called for the American and Mexican governments to better address cartel violence. Last Friday, the four Americans crossed into Matamoros from Texas so that one of them could have cosmetic surgery. Around midday, they were fired on in downtown Matamoros and then loaded into a pickup truck. A Mexican woman, Areli Pablo Servando, 33, was also killed, apparently by a stray bullet. Another friend, who remained in Brownsville, called police after being unable to reach the group that crossed the border Friday morning. Brownsville Police Department spokesman Martin Sandoval said Thursday that officers followed protocol by checking local hospitals and jails after receiving the report of the missing people. A detective was assigned to the case within the hour and then alerted the FBI after realizing the people had crossed into Mexico. Shortly after, the FBI took over the case as social media videos began to show a shootout with the victims matching the description of the missing people. Authorities located them Tuesday morning on the outskirts of the city, guarded by a man who was arrested. Zindell Brown and Shaeed Woodard died in the attack; Williams and Latavia McGee survived. On Thursday, two hearses carrying the bodies of Woodard and Brown crossed the international bridge to Brownsville, where the remains were handed over to U.S. authorities. Woodards cousin, McGee, had surprised him with the fatal road trip as a birthday getaway, according to his father, James Woodard. He said he was speechless upon hearing that the cartel had apologized for the violent abduction that killed his son and was captured in footage that quickly spread online. Just being helpless not to be able to do anything, not to be able to go there and just rescue them its real painful, James Woodard said. Thursdays letter was not an unheard-of cartel tactic. Cartels community relations efforts are well-known within Mexico. In contested territory, one cartel might hang banners around a city blaming a rival for recent violence and distinguishing themselves as a gang that does not mess with civilians. Last November, such banners appeared around Guanajuato state, purportedly written by the Jalisco New Generation cartel, which blamed a rival for a spate of killings in bars and other businesses. In other situations, the message is more blunt: Bodies are left inside a vehicle with a note or hung from a highway overpass on a heavily transited road. The motivation is terror. More subtly, cartels use their power to plant stories in the local press or keep stories from appearing. Their members are active on social media. Their underlying interest is facilitating their business whether that be smuggling drugs and migrants or extortion. Sometimes a cartel will shoot up its rivals territory hoping to trigger a law enforcement response to make business difficult for their opponents. Thats what appeared to happen two years ago in Reynosa, just up the border from Matamoros. Gunmen drove into town shooting and killed 14 innocent bystanders. Handing over alleged cartel suspects to police is also not without precedent. Saucedo cautioned that a cartel leader may have authorized the attack then regretted it and decided to offer sacrificial lambs to police. In 2008, drug traffickers in Michoacan lobbed hand grenades into a crowd celebrating Mexicos independence, killing eight. Days later, authorities arrested three suspects, but it turns out they had been kidnapped by a cartel, beaten into confessions implicating a rival group and turned over to police. Meanwhile, the Tamaulipas state prosecutors office said Thursday it had seized an ambulance and a medical clinic in Matamoros that were allegedly used to provide treatment to the Americans after the shooting. The Americans told investigators they were taken to the clinic in an ambulance to receive first aid, the statement said. By reviewing police surveillance video around the city, authorities were able to identify the ambulance and find the clinic. No arrests were made at the clinic, according to the statement. ___ Stevenson reported from Mexico City and Pollard from Lake City, South Carolina. Associated Press writer Acacia Coronado in Austin, Texas, and Associated Press video journalist Hilary Powell in Lake City, South Carolina, contributed to this report. 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 The sun sets over Huntington Beach pier on Feb. 27. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) To the editor: There's an easy solution to the controversy over religious invocations at the Huntington Beach City Council meetings don't have invocations. ("Scapegoating a kumbaya interfaith group? Stay classy, Huntington Beach," column, March 6) After all, only 47% of Americans are members of a church, synagogue or mosque, according to a 2021 Gallup poll. While invocations at public meetings are constitutionally protected if rotated among religions, the Huntington Beach squabble demonstrates the unnecessary entanglement of religion with secular events such as city council meetings. Bob Ladendorf, Los Angeles .. To the editor: Though a lifelong agnostic, I applaud the Greater Huntington Beach Interfaith Council's participation in its city's regular council meetings over the past 17 years. Reflecting a wide variety of faiths, the interfaith council has shared invocations oriented toward bringing peace, love and mutual understanding to Huntington Beach. Each meeting's invocation has been limited to one minute and has been free of proselytization and political messaging. All well and good. That is, until the council's new conservative majority took offense at last week's seemingly apt invocation to wit, reading of the iconic "First they came ..." poem by a 1940s German Lutheran pastor. The ensuing uproar over 60 seconds of empathetic poetry upended 17 years of idyllic invocations. And it led new city council members to counter with a provocative four-minute invocation by an evangelical pastor who supports stolen-election fallacies and claims that "God put Donald J. Trump in office." All I can say is heaven help Surf City. Roberta Helms, Santa Barbara This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. When I was coming up as a young line cook nearly 20 years ago, I never worked for an executive chef or sous-chef who was a woman. This was not a deliberate decision. I interviewed with one female executive chef in San Francisco, but I didnt get the job (most likely because I was fresh out of culinary school). When I became an executive chef, I was constantly asked by vendors, sales reps and even potential hires where the chef was. I dinged one candidate who was interviewing with me for not even bothering to Google the restaurant to find out the chefs name. As a Korean American woman, I have been asked if Im the pastry chef a million times. Its rarely assumed that I am the chef. Whenever I speak with other women who are executive chefs, it becomes clear that we tend to have similar experiences. Whether its being overlooked as the chef, being judged by our looks, or enduring harassment, most of us have experienced sexism in the workplace that resulted in fewer opportunities and poorer treatment overall. But the miraculous thing about the female chefs Ive met over the years is that despite all this, we have persisted and triumphed in many ways. The pressure to be pretty Many female chefs are solely judged by their appearance, for better or worse. Take Christan Willis, an Atlanta-based private chef and TV personality whos currently on the Netflix hit PressureCooker. Willis was prepared for anything when she showed up on set, and brought a variety of clothing to wear. It seemed as if they wanted to create an image of me to stand out amongst the other chefs, and the stylist only [gave] me tight dress options, which was the complete opposite of the others walking into the show, Willis said. She asked what the other contestants were wearing, and was told that she didnt need to know. Willis advocated for herself and managed to find an outfit she was more comfortable in, but she was mortified to find out that everyone else had a much more casual look with jeans and flannels. Willis immediately knew that the show was painting a picture of me as sexy above all else. Her outfit sent a message that she wasnt someone to be taken seriously, despite her classical French culinary training and 16 years of experience. Story continues Willis also recalls being called a c**t when she was a line cook just trying to learn as much as she could. She eventually chose to leave restaurants and forge her own path, cooking with ingredients and techniques from her rich Southeast Asian and African American backgrounds. Now, her incredible career has included numerous appearances on the Today show, HLN and Hallmarks Home & Family,as well as a list of private VIP clients. She never let the hardships or assumptions define her or derail her aspirations. Notably, Willis continues to be a strong advocate for other women, and asserts that there is room for everyone at the table. Ange Branca holds a bowl of rendang daging (braised beef in a paste of mixed spices and coconut cream slow cooked for six hours) at Sate Kampar in Philadelphia. Ange Branca holds a bowl of rendang daging (braised beef in a paste of mixed spices and coconut cream slow cooked for six hours) at Sate Kampar in Philadelphia. Who wants to work for a woman? Its not only other chefs and vendors who exhibit sexism toward women. Job candidates often do this as well. Philadelphia-based chef and restaurateur Ange Branca worked for more than 25 years as a very successful consultant at the partner level, and burst onto the Philly dining scene as a restaurant owner and chef of Sate Kampar in 2016. Many cooks with amazing resumes arrived to interview with Branca but not a single one ever came back. They just ghosted me, Branca said. She suspects it was because she was a woman with no background in restaurants, and they didnt want to work for me. Branca persevered and hired a crew with zero kitchen experience. Her original kitchen staff was made up of formerly incarcerated people and immigrants, half of whom were women. [I was determined to] figure my way out and train them, she said. Sate Kampar went on to become a semifinalist for a James Beard Award, among many other accolades. Equally impressive was Brancas commitment to making her kitchen and restaurant a welcoming haven for everyone. A line cook (who didnt last long) told her, You need to yell and curse to be a real chef. Philly patrons are eagerly awaiting the opening of her newest restaurant, Kampar. This trans woman has seen it from both sides Some may say that women are overreacting and imagining these slights and insults. Luna Contreras, who is transgender and Latina, is executive chef of the roving pop-up Chelo, the owner of Chelo sauces, and an activist for the trans community in Portland, Oregon, and beyond. Though assigned male at birth, Contreras always knew she was female and had no support from anyone except her grandmother. She pays homage by calling all of her business ventures Chelo, an affectionate nickname for her grandmother. Before transitioning, Contreras had a celebrated career in San Francisco earning Michelin Bib Gourmand distinctions, three-star restaurant reviews from the San Francisco Chronicle and various other awards. Investors eagerly approached her to consult on a new restaurant project in Portland. The projects duration would coincide with her hormone replacement therapy. She asked the investors if this would be an issue, and they said no. As she progressed through her transition, the problems began. After transitioning, Contreras says, she was called confrontational, problematic and difficult to work with, which was meant to be more insulting than true, as she was never eighty-sixed. She wanted to use local produce and work directly with farmers like she had in San Francisco, but suddenly the investors wanted her to order from broadline vendors like Sysco and became much more cost-conscious. More troubling was the frequent use of the wrong pronouns, as she was constantly being misgendered. Contreras felt a palpable difference between how she was treated pre- and post-transition, or more specifically, when she was perceived as a man versus as a woman. While she ultimately exited the toxic environment to do pop-ups with the more inclusive women-led restaurant Dame, she remains proud of the inclusive culture she tried to build with the staff at her former job. She spoke to managers about pronouns, and she was always direct. If nonbinary people came in here, this is not a safe place, she would tell the staff, in an attempt to work with management to make it a safer space. Resilience is the key, but it shouldnt have to be The world is lucky to have amazing women cooking delicious food and advocating for their communities, their homelands and others on a daily basis. At the same time, female chefs will likely have to continue dealing with nonsense like sexist remarks from bystanders, lower salaries than their male counterparts, and getting passed over for promotions by the boys club, not to mention ill-fitting jackets that get caught on everything. All of the chefs interviewed for this story had to endure various trials and tribulations, but they came out stronger, better and happier on the other side. They have chosen to forge unique paths and lead the way for other women in spite of the difficulties. Today, there are more female executive chefs than ever, and the numbers only continue to grow. Want to know my favorite thing to say when people ask Wheres the chef? Its: Youre looking at her. Related... The Louisiana State Police (LSP) released information on the high-speed chase that ended in an officer-involved shooting on Saturday. LSP said that at approximately 5:45 p.m. troopers were requested by Bossier City Police Department, Bossier Parish Sheriff's Office and the Haughton Police Department to investigate an officer-involved shooting. On Saturday around 5 p.m. Haughton Police were taken on a pursuit when officers attempted to pull over Jason Michael Mattingly Jr., 31, who police say had outstanding felony warrants for domestic abuse battery involving child endangerment and strangulation. LSP said, "upon initiating a traffic stop within the city limits of Haughton, the subject fled, and a pursuit ensued through Bossier Parish into Bossier City." Bossier Parish Sheriff's deputies joined the chase and successfully used a tire deflation device on the vehicle. Mattingly continued fleeing and struck several civilian vehicles. Officers and deputies continued the chase until Mattingly flipped his vehicle at the corner of East Texas and Benton Road. Police say, he then armed himself with a firearm and law enforcement officers from all three agencies fired their weapons resulting in Mattingly being shot and pronounced dead at the scene. Through the investigation, LSP determined that Mattingly was armed with an AR-15 style fully automatic rifle. LSP, the lead investigating agency in this incident, said the investigation is ongoing. Bossier Sheriff's Office released the names of the law enforcement personnel involved in this incident: Corporal Bryan Sprankle Bossier Sheriffs Office Officer Richard Pollitt BCPD Officer Gregory Russell BCPD Officer Matthew Boyd BCPD Officer Marcus Green BCPD Officer Patrick Edmonds Haughton PD Makenzie Boucher is a reporter with the Shreveport Times. Contact her at mboucher@gannett.com. This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Louisiana State Police release new information on the Saturday officer-involved shooting The inside of the plane after Lufthansa Flight 469 hit "severe turbulence" en route to Frankfurt, Germany. Dr. Rolanda Schmidt The crew on board a Lufthansa flight that hit "severe turbulence" told passengers to delete photos and videos they had, passengers say. One passenger told Insider that flight attendants instructed them twice to delete all evidence of the cabin. The flight turned into chaos after the plane dropped suddenly, injuring seven people. The crew on the Lufthansa flight that had to make an emergency landing after hitting "severe turbulence" ordered passengers to delete all the photos and videos they had of the incident, two people on board the flight said. Rolanda Schmidt was one of the seven people injured aboard the flight and told Insider the plane took a major drop, sending food and personal items flying throughout the cabin. Lufthansa Flight 469 was headed from Austin, Texas to Frankfurt, Germany on March 1 but ran into what the airline called "severe turbulence" while flying over Tennessee. Schmidt told Insider that she banged her head on the plastic tray table case on the seat in front of her during the first major drop. Once the plane steadied and started to ascend quickly, she said she flew out of her seat and hit her head again on the aircraft's ceiling. "It felt like it hit the eye of a tornado," Schmidt said. "It would not stop. I thought we were going down." She said she was in tears and instead of screaming like other passengers, she prayed, adding that she texted her husband that she was going to die. "It was one of those moments where within five-to-ten minutes of processing, you knew you were going to die and we didn't know if we were going to make it safely anywhere," Schmidt said. "It felt like the insides of your body were being shaken out." Schmidt says she sustained a concussion as well as a badly bruised arm and a potentially fractured hip more severe than the "minor injuries" Lufthansa said a number of passengers faced. But Schmidt alleged that as the plane descended to Dulles International Airport to make an emergency landing, a flight attendant came on the loudspeaker and said "delete all your pictures and videos." Story continues "I think we were all just like, 'What?!'" Schmidt said. About five minutes later, Schmidt said the same flight attendant made a second announcement with the same instructions. This time, though, the flight attendant implied it was to protect other passengers' privacy, Schmidt said. "That's not the way that it came across, saying 'delete all of your pictures' and all of that," Schmidt said. She added that she doesn't think any of the passengers were trying to take pictures of each other, but instead the mess of items strewn all over the cabin. Another passenger on board the flight confirmed to Insider that flight crews asked the passengers to delete all their photos. Lufthansa did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. Schmidt was en route to Greece to see her daughter, who is a professional volleyball player, compete in a game. She said she wanted to turn around right away and go home to her husband in Texas, but because there were tornadoes in her home state, she chose to "have faith" and continue her journey to Europe to avoid any other traumatic flight experiences due to bad weather. Lufthansa has not indicated what may have caused the turbulence. Read the original article on Insider Creator Neil Cross spoke to Insider at the world premiere of "Luther: The Fallen Sun" in London. Cross joked that he has "no idea" how Netflix let him do the biggest scenes in the film. Cross also said that the dark movie is "never exploitative" with its violence. After five seasons on the small screen, Idris Elba has finally been able to give fans the "Luther" movie he's talked about making for years. Netflix's "Luther: The Fallen Sun" follows the titular detective as he clashes with twisted serial killer David Robey (Andy Serkis), who holds the key to a digital underworld of depravity. The movie stays faithful to the street-level drama of the BBC series, but it includes some much bigger action sequences that showcase Luther's unstoppable determination. Idris Elba told Insider at the movie's world premiere last week that his favorite moment during filming was brawling his way through a prison in a riotous extended scene. Creator Neil Cross also spoke to Insider about what it was like making the jump to the big screen, explaining on the red carpet that he found it "liberating" to come up with "audacious" set pieces. He said: "It was just fun. If we want, without spoilers, to stage a big audacious set piece in Piccadilly Circus, well, by God, we're going to. I would say it was liberating and it was fun." Cross joked that he has "no idea" how he convinced Netflix to let him write huge action scenes as well as take Luther to Norway for the film's dramatic climax. "I honestly have no idea. I have to say that Netflix from the get-go were astonishingly trusting in us. They trusted our taste levels and our judgment because we're always keeping it very dark," said the film's writer. Idris Elba arrives at the global premiere of "Luther: The Fallen Sun." Lia Toby/Getty Images The creator added that the movie isn't "exploitative" with its violence, saying that Netflix was understanding of Luther's story, and where it ends up. "It's never exploitative. It's always hopefully entertaining, and I don't want to use the word redemptive, but you know... we don't always end in too dark of a place. And Netflix were very accommodating," Cross said. Story continues Cross also teased that this isn't the end for Luther, suggesting that there are bigger things on the horizon for the detective after the end of "The Fallen Sun." "The intention, again, without spoilers, is so Luther is always developing and he's always stepping into slightly new worlds and slightly new situations," said the writer. "We just wanted to end in such a way as to kind of nudge open the door, and invite you to look behind the door and what might be behind it" "Luther: The Fallen Sun" is now streaming on Netflix. Read the original article on Insider Roberto De Zerbi has turned Brightons form around following his arrival on the south coast (Andrew Matthews/PA) (PA Wire) Roberto De Zerbi said he has a long contract and is happy at Brighton amid speculation he could replace under-fire Tottenham manager Antonio Conte. Brighton are eighth in the Premier League having taken 25 points from 17 matches following De Zerbis arrival as successor to Graham Potter on the south coast. Contes future at Spurs is a hot topic following the north London clubs indifferent domestic form and recent exit from the Champions League. And De Zerbi, 43, has been mentioned as a possible candidate to take over from Conte, 10 years his senior, should the Italians spell at White Hart Lane come to an end. But when quizzed on the potential vacancy at Spurs, De Zerbi, who has a contract with Brighton until the summer of 2026, said: We are happy because the people are speaking about our quality of play. But we have to be focused on the next game. We have a clear focus and a clear target. For the players and for me it is the same. We have a long contract here at Brighton. Im happy to work here and enjoy working with these players. I cannot ask more and, for me, it is a good moment for me and my life. Following their impressive run of form, the Seagulls, who face Leeds at Elland Road on Saturday, could be forgiven for holding ambitions of qualifying for Europe. They are only three points adrift of sixth-placed Newcastle, having played a match less than Eddie Howes side, and seven points behind Spurs, with three games in hand. But De Zerbi added: We know very well that to arrive in a European spot our target is going to be difficult. We have to push, we have to think game by game. Tomorrow is the start of a difficult period for us because we play on Saturday, Wednesday, Sunday but we want to play every game with our quality and style. Im looking forward to playing in the stadium in Leeds and I know it will be [a] hot [atmosphere], but if we want to continue with our dreams we need to win there tomorrow. Full-back Tariq Lamptey, who was substituted in last weekends 4-0 win against West Ham, is a doubt with a knee injury but Levi Colwill, sidelined for almost two months, might be available. (Bloomberg) -- Emmanuel Macron and Rishi Sunak will aim to turn the page on years of acrimonious relations between their countries when the British premier travels to Paris on Friday. Most Read from Bloomberg Sunaks trip, the first such state visit in five years, comes days after he reached a deal to solve the dispute with the European Union over Northern Irelands trading arrangements. The France-UK relationship is set to warm up after the lows reached under Sunaks predecessors Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, who antagonized the French when she said she wasnt sure whether or not Macron was an ally. King Charles III will also make a state visit to France later this month, with British and French officials describing this as a key period for a reset. Sharing a banking background Rothschild & Cie for the French president, 45, and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. for Sunak, 42 the pair will give a press conference at the Elysee palace on Friday afternoon, after an event with businesses including French shipping giant CMA-CGM. Here are the main issues to watch: Brexit The UK and the EU promised to start on a new chapter last week, as they unveiled a deal for Northern Ireland aimed at ending years of tensions since Britains exit from the bloc. The agreement, which still needs formal approval on both sides, has the potential to transform Britains uneasy relationship with its most important trading partner. Sunak hopes the agreement can be used as a springboard for greater cooperation on issues like defense, trade, energy and migration. During the visit to Paris, Sunak will confirm the UK will host next year the fourth meeting of the European political community, a flagship priority of Macrons foreign agenda. Story continues After six years of so of cold mistrust or even disappointment, we are going to turn this page and I think its good news, Michel Barnier, the EUs former chief Brexit negotiator, told Bloomberg Television. I think its good news because we have so many challenges to face together, global challenges that we have to look at ahead, more than looking at the past with nostalgia. Immigration Immigration has been poisoning the Franco-British relationship for years. Friction reached a high when Macrons Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said that the UKs labor policy was too attractive for illegal workers, thus drawing migrants. But both Macron and Sunak have vowed to fight illegal immigration and appear to have moved away from previous blame games. Weeks after Sunak became prime minister, the two countries renewed an agreement whereby the UK agreed to pay for France to beef up controls on French beaches from where migrants are departing. London has announced new legislation it said will prevent migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats, which may however be in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights and trigger a fresh row with the EU. Sunak will discuss further joint work with Macron, who will aim to get the UK to sign a multi year agreement on funding cooperation on migration, according to an official in Macrons office. The pair are unlikely to forge an agreement to return asylum seekers to France, with Macron preferring an EU-wide negotiation on a returns deal. Nuclear Push French utility company Electricite de France SA is central to the UKs plan to deliver eight new nuclear reactors this decade. The Macron official said securing the details of financing EDFs Sizewell C nuclear power plant would be top of the agenda. The UK wants private investors to step in, and coordinating with the UK could help France push nuclear power at the EU level, the official added. Simon Barber, UK managing director for engineering company Assystem, which provides expertise to build reactors in Sizewell and Hinkley Point, told Bloomberg that the two countries can develop a symbiotic relationship to make sure expertise travels from one country to another, rather than competing for engineers. Whether or not private investors can be roped in will be on the leaders agenda Friday. Defense The 2021 AUKUS defense deal between London, Canberra and Washington, which resulted in the cancellation of a submarine deal between France and Australia, prompted Paris to protest it had been stabbed in the back. While French officials have been casting doubt on the time line to actually replace Australias ageing submarines, Sunak will travel to California to provide details on this deal on Monday. Macron and Sunak are expected to agree to further coordinate both the supply of weapons to Ukraine and the training of Ukrainian marines. They will discuss more integration between weapons systems such as the UK-led Tempest fighter and the Franco-German Future Combat Air System, according to officials in Macrons office. Also on the agenda is maritime presence in the Indo-Pacific, a zone considered strategic by both powers amid shared concerns over China and North Korea. Bidens Green Payouts Both the UK and the EU have expressed concerns about the impact of President Joe Bidens massive green subsidy plan. The EU is drawing up measures to combat the packages support for climate and energy-related technologies, while the UK has excluded rolling out its own subsidy package. London has privately urged the EU not to harm British companies, while they both lobby Bidens administration to allow British and EU firms who supply goods to the US to benefit from the same tax credits. --With assistance from Caroline Connan. (Updates with Barnier remark in eighth paragraph) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. (L-R) Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) attend a House Judiciary Committee hearing with testimony from U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland at the U.S. Capitol on October 21, 2021 in Washington, DC. Michael Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images Reps. Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene have both inadvertently slammed the Trump administration in recent weeks. Boebert used a Trump-era document as evidence against federal workers abusing remote work policies. Greene falsely blamed the Biden administration for fentanyl deaths that happened while Trump was in office. With friends like these, former President Donald Trump might do better with better-informed enemies. MAGA-faithful Reps. Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene have both inadvertently slammed the Trump administration in recent weeks while trying to take shots at President Joe Biden. Rep. Matt Gaetz, meanwhile, got schooled for unknowingly basing a critique of Biden's policies on a Communist newspaper. Boebert, of Colorado, was the latest to seemingly undermine the Trump team and feed Democrats' memes during an Oversight Committee hearing Thursday on the Office of Personnel Management. She questioned OPM Director Kiran Ahuja about "more than 25 percent of federal employees not logging into work" while teleworking, but Ahuja said she took issue with the characterization. "It's in this leaked document, right here, that we just submitted into the record," Boebert said, challenging her. Ahuja responded, "You're basing that from 2020, which is in the last administration and I can't speak to that." Boebert was pointing to a reportedly leaked internal Department of Health and Human Services document that showed a portion of HHS employees on average were not using their Office 365 email accounts from March to December 2020. Boebert grew frustrated when Ahuja could not immediately provide more recent data. The Colorado Republican then tried to point to the Trump-era document as evidence that federal workers are currently abusing remote work policies by "claiming they are teleworking and instead they are spending all day at a swim-up bar in Cabo." Story continues Before that, Greene falsely blamed the Biden administration during a hearing for the fentanyl deaths of two brothers, but they died in July 2020 while former President Donald Trump was in office. While speaking at a Democratic conference, Biden couldn't resist making note of her error. He also said the Georgia Republican is helping Democrats recruit GOP support. "Isn't she amazing?" Biden continued, smiling. "Whew!" Meanwhile, Gaetz, the Florida Republican who nominated Trump for House speaker earlier this year recently looked to China for ways to stick it to Biden. In late February, Rep. Matt Gaetz went after Department of Defense under secretary for defense policy Dr. Colin Kahl during a House Armed Services Committee hearing on the military aid the US has provided to Ukraine in recent years. Gaetz tried to corner Kahl with a question about whether CIA operatives are in Ukraine now, something Kahl declined to discuss in "an unclassified setting." So Gaetz switched gears, asking the Biden administration official if the US had provided any weapons to Ukraine's Azov Battalion, a paramilitary force within the Ukrainian National Guard which Russia has accused of committing war crimes. "Not that I'm aware of. But if you have information" Kahl said, somewhat shaking his head. Gaetz jumped right in, asking to enter into the hearing record a "Global Times investigative report" detailing how the US had been back-channeling weapons to Ukraine dating back to 2018. Kahl perked up immediately. "I'm sorry. Is this the Global Times from China?" he inquired. "No, This is" Gaetz said, then trailed off as he leaned over to take a good look at the source material. "Yeah. It might be," Gaetz said a few beats later. "As a general matter, I don't take Beijing's propaganda at face value," Kahl shot back. His retort was based on the Global Times being operated by the Chinese Communist Party. Gaetz tried to recover, pressing Kahl to "just tell me if the allegation is true or false." Kahl didn't budge, repeating the line about shunning CCP-sponsored propaganda. At which point Gaetz chimed in, "Fair enough. I would agree with that assessment." Read the original article on Business Insider Photo: The Canadian Press In this photo released by Nournews, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, right, China's most senior diplomat Wang Yi, center, and Saudi Arabia's National Security Adviser Musaad bin Mohammed al-Aiban looks on during an agreement signing ceremony between Iran and Saudi Arabia to reestablish diplomatic relations and reopen embassies after seven years of tensions between the Mideast rivals, in Beijing, China, Friday, March 10, 2023. (Nournews via AP) DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed Friday to reestablish diplomatic relations and reopen embassies after seven years of tensions. The major diplomatic breakthrough negotiated with China lowers the chance of armed conflict between the Mideast rivals both directly and in proxy conflicts around the region. The deal, struck in Beijing this week amid its ceremonial National Peoples Congress, represents a major diplomatic victory for the Chinese as Gulf Arab states perceive the United States slowly withdrawing from the wider Middle East. It also comes as diplomats have been trying to end a long war in Yemen, a conflict in which both Iran and Saudi Arabia are deeply entrenched. The two countries released a joint communique on the deal with China, which brokered the agreement as President Xi Jinping was awarded a third five-year term as leader earlier Friday. Videos on Iranian state media showed Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Irans Supreme National Security Council, with Saudi national security adviser Musaad bin Mohammed al-Aiban and Wang Yi, China's most senior diplomat. The joint statement calls for reestablishing ties and reopening embassies to happen within a maximum period of two months. A meeting by their foreign ministers is also planned. In the video, Wang could be heard offering wholehearted congratulations on the two countries' wisdom." Both sides have displayed sincerity, he said. China fully supports this agreement. The United Nations welcomed the Saudi-Iranian rapprochement and thanked China for its role. Good neighborly relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia are essential for the stability of the Gulf region, U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said at U.N. headquarters. China, which last month hosted Iran's hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi, is also a top purchaser of Saudi oil. Xi visited Riyadh in December for meetings with oil-rich Gulf Arab nations crucial to Chinas energy supplies. Iran's state-run IRNA news agency quoted Shamkhani as calling the talks "clear, transparent, comprehensive and constructive. Removing misunderstandings and the future-oriented views in relations between Tehran and Riyadh will definitely lead to improving regional stability and security, as well as increasing cooperation among Persian Gulf nations and the world of Islam for managing current challenges, Shamkhani said. Al-Aiban thanked Iraq and Oman for mediating between Iran and the kingdom, according to his remarks carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency. While we value what we have reached, we hope that we will continue to continue the constructive dialogue, the Saudi official said. Tensions long have been high between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The kingdom broke ties with Iran in 2016 after protesters invaded Saudi diplomatic posts there. Saudi Arabia had executed a prominent Shiite cleric with 46 others days earlier, triggering the demonstrations. That came as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, then a deputy, began his rise to power. The son of King Salman, Prince Mohammed previously compared Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to Nazi Germany's Adolf Hitler, and threatened to strike Iran. Since then, the U.S. unilaterally withdrew from Iran's nuclear deal with world powers in 2018. Iran has been blamed for a series of attacks after that, including one targeting the heart of Saudi Arabia's oil industry in 2019, temporarily halving the kingdom's crude production. Though Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi rebels initially claimed the attack, Western nations and experts blamed Tehran. Iran denied it and also denied carrying out other assaults later attributed to the Islamic Republic. Religion also plays a key role in their relations. Saudi Arabia, home to the cube-shaped Kaaba that Muslims pray toward five times a day, has portrayed itself as the worlds leading Sunni nation. Irans theocracy, meanwhile, views itself as the protector of Islams Shiite minority. The two powerhouses have competing interests elsewhere, such as in the turmoil in Lebanon and in the rebuilding of Iraq following the U.S.-led 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. The leader of the Iranian-backed Lebanese militia and political group Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, said the agreement could "open new horizons in Lebanon, Syria and Yemen. Iraq, Oman and the United Arab Emirates also praised the accord. Top Pakistani diplomat Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, chair of the Organization of Islamic Cooperations Council of Foreign Ministers, praised China for "encouraging dispute resolution, rather than on encouraging perpetual disputes. Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, a research fellow at Rice Universitys Baker Institute who long has studied the region, said Saudi Arabia reaching the deal with Iran came after the United Arab Emirates reached a similar understanding with Tehran. This dialing down of tensions and de-escalation has been underway for three years and this was triggered by Saudi acknowledgement in their view that without unconditional U.S. backing they were unable to project power vis-a-vis Iran and the rest of the region, he said. Prince Mohammed, now focused on massive construction projects at home, likely wants to finally pull out of the Yemen war as well, Ulrichsen added. Instability could do a lot of damage to his plans, he said. The Houthis seized Yemens capital, Sanaa, in 2014 and forced the internationally recognized government into exile in Saudi Arabia. A Saudi-led coalition armed with U.S. weaponry and intelligence entered the war on the side of Yemens exiled government in 2015. Years of inconclusive fighting created a humanitarian disaster and pushed the Arab worlds poorest nation to the brink of famine. A six-month cease-fire, the longest of the Yemen conflict, expired in October. Negotiations have been ongoing recently, including in Oman, a longtime interlocutor between Iran and the U.S. Some have hoped for an agreement ahead of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which begins later in March. Iran and Saudi Arabia have held intermittent talks in recent years but it wasn't clear if Yemen was the impetus for this new detente. Yemeni rebel spokesman Mohamed Abdulsalam appeared to welcome the deal in a statement that also slammed the U.S. and Israel. "The region needs the return of normal relations between its countries, through which the Islamic society can regain its lost security as a result of the foreign interventions, led by the Zionists and Americans,? he said. For Israel, which has wanted to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia despite the Palestinians remaining without a state of their own, Riyadh easing tensions with Iran could complicate its own regional calculations. The government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered no immediate comment Friday. Netanyahu, under pressure politically at home, has threatened military action against Iran's nuclear program as it enriches closer than ever to weapons-grade levels. Riyadh seeking peace with Tehran takes one potential ally for a strike off the table. It remains unclear what this deal means for America. Though long viewed as guaranteeing Mideast energy security, regional leaders have grown increasingly wary of Washington's intentions after its chaotic 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan. The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The White House bristled at the notion that a Saudi-Iran agreement in Beijing suggests a rise of Chinese influence in the Mideast. I would stridently push back on this idea that were stepping back in the Middle East far from it, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said. He added: It really does remain to be seen whether the Iranians are going to honor their side of the deal. This is not a regime that typically honors its word. Mark Dubowitz, head of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, which opposes the Iran nuclear deal, said renewed Iran-Saudi ties via Chinese mediation "is a lose, lose, lose for American interests, noting: Beijing adores a vacuum. But Trita Parsi of the Quincy Institute, which advocates engagement with Iran and supports the nuclear deal, called it good news for the Middle East, since Saudi-Iranian tensions have been a driver of instability. He added that China has emerged as a player that can resolve disputes rather than merely sell weapons to the conflicting parties, noting a more stable Middle East also benefits the U.S. Federal authorities arrested a Maine man who planned to wear a full-size latex mask he'd asked undercover FBI agents to provide while committing the murder of a Manhattan businessman. Hyunkook Korsiak was arrested on Wednesday night in a hotel parking lot after undercover FBI agents handed him $25,000 in cash to commit the murder, said a federal criminal complaint. Korsiak, 41, was carrying a loaded Sig Sauer 9MM pistol in a black holster and the $25,0000 in cash upon his arrest, the complaint said. His car, a gray Chevrolet Malibu, which he drove down from Maine for the alleged murder, contained a small arsenal of weapons: AR-15 rifles, 9MM pistols, a bullet-resistant vest; and hundreds of rounds of various caliber ammunition, the complaint said. Also found was a full-size latex mask Korsiak had requested during an earlier meeting and was planning on wearing during the murder to disguise himself, the complaint said. Korsiak had tried on the mask "to ensure" it fit properly, and would be sure to leave the mask behind, the complaint said. A Maine man planned to wear this mask in an alleged murder-for-hire plot, federal authorities said. / Credit: Department of Justice The complaint said that federal agents targeted Korsiak as the man for the job after the Bureau of Prisons intercepted communications in which he allegedly said he wanted to make money for killing someone. Korisak has a lengthy criminal record in Maine. In 2011, he served more than two years in state prison, according to local court records, and in 2018 Korsiak was sentenced to 52 months for stealing guns, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Maine. He was released in November 2021, according to prison records. Undercover agents posing as members of a "transnational criminal organization" approached Korsiak in August 2022 to murder the fictitious businessman in a Manhattan hotel, the complaint said. "This person comes to New York and doesn't leave breathing," an undercover agent said doing one of their conversations, the complaint said, and Korsiak agreed, saying "You just tell me where to go and what to do and you know I can make that happen." Story continues Federal authorities found guns and pistols in the car of a Maine man hired to murder a fictitious Manhattan businessman. / Credit: Department of Justice Earlier this year, Korsiak met undercover agents to coordinate plot details, the complaint said. He was allegedly given $5,000 in expense money, and he would clean the inside of the car with a pressurized bleach spray to remove any forensic evidence, the complaint said. Korsiak wanted to know if the cameras in the hotel were "obvious" or if were any hidden behind "two-way glass," the complaint said. He also asked to be provided with silencers and a police uniform to use during the murder-for-hire, the complaint said. Korsiak is charged with one count of murder-for-hire and one count of possession of a firearm. California could see major flooding, forecast shows 2023 Oscar predictions and what to watch for at this year's Academy Awards Health risks associated with daylight saving time AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) A Maine vegan whose custom license plate contains the word tofu is one of the motorists caught in a state crackdown on vulgar tags. Car owners across the United States can pay an extra fee to customize license plates, sparking creativity and personality but causing headaches for state officials who have to decide whats acceptable. Maine had for several years allowed people to put just about any combination of letters and numbers on their vehicle plates, including words and phrases that other states would ban. But the state decided to change course and this year recalled 274 plates it deemed inappropriate. Some people are fighting back. So far the state has rejected all of the appeals, including one brought by the vegan whose license plate referenced tofu. The state concluded the license plate LUVTOFU couldve been seen as a reference to sex instead of admiration for bean curd. The motorist insisted there was no mistaking his intent because the back of his car had several tofu-related stickers. Its my protest against eating meat and animal products, Peter Starostecki, the disappointed motorist, said after a zoom session with a hearing examiner for the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Heather Libby and her best friend grudgingly gave up their matching license plates that contained a word for a female dog. People are so sensitive nowadays, said Libby, of Jonesport, after a hearing examiner rejected her appeal. I just think its foolish. When the state effectively ended the review process for so-called vanity license plates in 2015, some residents filled their plates with all manner of profanities, including F-bombs, either spelled out or abbreviated. Residents in a state known for being laconic and even-tempered soon were sporting uncensored plates pairing the F-word with snow, haters, and ALS, the incurable neurodegenerative disease. After license plate freedoms spiraled out of control, the Maine Legislature directed the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to reestablish a system for vetting the states roughly 120,000 vanity license plates. Story continues The new rules ban derogatory references to age, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, religion or disability. Also banned is language that incites violence, or is considered obscene. Restored as censors, Maines vehicular officials now walk a similar tightrope as their colleagues in other states. In 2020, a federal judge ruled that Californias ban on plates that are offensive to good taste and decency was overly broad, and violated constitutional rights to free speech. Earlier this year, Texas officials rejected a license plate similar to Starosteckis LVTOFU leading to rebukes from an animal rights group. Maines rules were narrowly crafted to pass legal muster, officials said. Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said motorists have the freedom to express themselves, but she said that they should do it on a bumper sticker, not a state-issued license plate. We have a public interest in keeping phrases and words that are profane or may incite violence off the roadways, she said. She said shes happy that most motorists have relinquished their objectionable license plates without a fight. So far, there have been only 13 appeals, but there could be more. If a motorist loses an appeal to a hearing examiner, then they can sue in Superior Court. So far, no one has taken that step. As for Starostecki, he was offered another license plate that had become available, V3GAN. But he decided he was done with vanity plates. Hes awaiting a new license plate a boring one randomly selected by the state. Libby, who lost her B-word plate, got a custom plate celebrating her dog Zeus, named for the mythical god of thunder. That could be offensive to someone because its a Greek god, she quipped. But I hope not. This article was originally published on TODAY.com A Florida homeowner shot and killed an alligator he found biting his dog, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. He wont face charges, wildlife officials determined. The incident happened around 6:30 p.m. Sunday, March 5, in the backyard of a home in Deltona, the FWC said in a news release. Deltona is about 30 miles north of Orlando. After letting his dog out in the backyard, the homeowner heard a disturbance and observed an alligator grabbing onto his dog, FWC officials said. The homeowner discharged his firearm killing the alligator. The dog, a lab named Winston, suffered only a puncture to his ear, despite having its head held in the jaws of the 7-foot, 8-inch alligator, Fox 35 reports. The dogs owner shot the reptile in the head four times while it still had Winston between its teeth, the station reports. State wildlife officers took the carcass for proper disposal, officials said. After a thorough review of the incident, the homeowner will not be charged, FWC officials said. Florida has a designated hunting season August 15 through November 1 and requires hunters to have permits. Restrictions include hunting in designated areas with limits on the number of alligators that can be killed. Alligators live in all 67 Florida counties, but serious injuries from alligator attacks are considered rare. The state has a nuisance alligator program that contracts with professional trappers to catch and remove alligators that pose a threat. FWC recommends pet owners keep animals on a leash and away from the waters edge, particularly between dusk and dawn when alligators are most active. Pets often resemble alligators natural prey, FWC says. Floridians faced with a threatening alligators can call FWCs toll-free Nuisance Alligator Hotline at 866-FWC-GATOR (866-392-4286), and a trapper will be sent, the state says. Man opens door after hearing noise then alligator chomps his leg, Florida police say Alligator rescued after living 2 months with mouth taped shut, Florida officials say Manatee gets flipper stuck to face after tangling with fishing lure in Florida river A man who spent more than 18 years behind bars was freed Thursday after prosecutors vacated his murder conviction because of incorrect witness identification and shoddy work by authorities, the Brooklyn, New York, district attorney said Thursday. Sheldon Thomas, 35, was one of three alleged gang members charged with killing Anderson Bercy, 14, and wounding another person on Christmas Eve 2004 in East Flatbush in Brooklyn, prosecutors said in a statement. The evidence indicated that two guns were used and that the shooters were inside a white car. A witness initially identified two men she knew, who did not include defendant Thomas, as being in the car," the statement said. Thomas "was arrested based on a witness identification of a different person with the same name a mistake that was first concealed and then explained away during the proceedings. 'It's not just my life that was ripped apart' In court Thursday afternoon, Thomas' lawyers and prosecutors joined in their support for vacating the conviction. Thomas, who wore a dark suit, thanked the judge and "the most high, heavenly father" for guiding him throughout the ordeal. Thomas, who was 17 when he was arrested, said he thought many times in his cell how he would respond if he were ever freed. Sheldon Thomas, right, was arrested for a murder in 2004, after police showed a photo of a different Sheldon Thomas, left, to a witness to identify. (via Brooklyn District Attorney's Office) "I would think of this moment and replay conversations I would have with myself," Thomas said. "Right now, I'm speechless." But, Thomas did, in fact, find words. He spoke about what vacating his conviction would mean to Bercy's relatives. I would also like to extend my condolences to the victims family, Thomas said. I believe that since my incarceration, they have been under the impression that they were given justice for their son and come to find out today, and all this time, they really had the wrong person that was convicted for killing their son. ... And its not just my life that was ripped apart by the miscarriage of justice. It was them, as well. The case won't be retried, prosecutors said. Story continues Investigating the conviction The investigation into Thomas case was handled by the offices Conviction Review Unit, prosecutors said. They indicated there was poor police work because a case detective asked to unseal the defendants previous arrest so he could use his picture in a photo array. The previous case involved the defendants pointing an inoperable gun at officers and resisting arrest, prosecutors said. Before that request was completed, detectives obtained a photo of another Sheldon Thomas from a police database, prosecutors said. They showed an array with that photo to the witness, who identified the wrong Thomas as being in the car with 90 percent certainty. Based on her identification, the detectives went to the defendants address not to the address of the Sheldon Thomas whose photo the witness had identified and arrested him. District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, who was in court Thursday, said in a statement: We must strive to ensure fairness and integrity in every case and have the courage to correct mistakes of the past. Prosecutors said that Thomas denied any involvement in the slaying and that the witness identified two different people as a perpetrator. The incorrect identification wasnt made known until a pretrial hearing in June 2006. 'It was my case, but they screwed it up' Detective Robert Reedy, prosecutors said, initially identified the defendant as the Thomas in the photo array and testified he had never seen him before the arrest. But on cross-examination, Reedy admitted that he falsely testified and that the defendant wasnt in the array. Another detective testified the defendant got on investigators radar based on an anonymous tip and conceded that, when he was questioned a few days after the murder, the defendant told them that it wasnt him in the photo array, prosecutors said. Reedy said Thursday he led the investigation and blamed the mistake that excluded Thomas' photo from a lineup on a subordinate detective. He also said that his department declined to pay him overtime to take part in the photo array and that no report was written to document that Thomas' picture wasn't included in the initial photo lineup. Reedy, who retired in 2007, said that because of the error, he testified believing the witness had selected the correct Thomas. He said Thursday that the two Thomases look alike. "I was the fall guy because I was the active detective," Reedy said. All the homicide cases I had I handled accordingly. I never had a problem till this one, because they thought about saving money. Saving money basically bit us in the ass. Despite Reedy's claims that the two men with the same name looked similar, prosecutors said the defense commissioned a study to examine that. Thirty-two law students of color were shown a photo of the defendant and then the photo array. Of them, 27 concluded the defendant wasnt in the photo array, prosecutors said. Of the five others, only one thought the Thomas in the array was the defendant, prosecutors said. Reedy also blamed prosecutors who initially handled the case for moving forward with it after the initial photo lineup was bungled. Reedy said Thursday he thought Thomas was guilty. "If it wasnt for the photo array, hed still be sitting in jail guaranteed," he said. It was my case, but they screwed it up. Despite the problems, the judge found that there was probable cause to arrest Thomas based on verified information from unknown callers and the fact that he resembled the other Thomas from the photo array, prosecutors said. Reedy was disciplined after an internal affairs investigation, prosecutors said. Other suspects Before the trial, prosecutors dismissed the charges against one of the three suspects, whom the same witness failed to identify in a lineup, because prosecutors thought he had a credible alibi, prosecutors said. Thomas stood trial with a co-defendant, whom the jury acquitted. Thomas was convicted of second-degree murder, attempted murder and related counts, and he was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison, prosecutors said. The prosecutions investigation determined that because of the erroneous photo array, there was no probable cause to make the arrest. The investigation also found fault in how prosecutors handled the case. The prosecutor also improperly elicited testimony that the witness saw the suspect whose case was later dismissed shooting from the car without the jury knowing that the drivers case was dismissed." The investigation also identified detrimental "serious errors" by the defense counsel and determined that judicial decisions were based on misrepresentations, prosecutors said. The Conviction Review Unit has gotten 34 convictions vacated since 2014. It has about 50 open cases, prosecutors said. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com After a week of trial, a Madison County jury found a 33-year-old man guilty of first-degree murder in connection with a fatal shooting outside a Granite City tire shop. Fred W. Williams Jr. of East St. Louis was found guilty of murder in the June 2021 shooting death of Delas M. Carter, 30, of Alorton. The shooting happened outside the business where Carter was employed. Assistant States Attorney Luke Yager, in his closing argument, called it an execution in broad daylight. Williams will be sentenced later. Due to a firearms enhancement, the conviction carries a sentence range of 45 years to life in prison. Granite City Police had also identified a second suspect, Dionta O. Moore, 31, who took his own life following a chase on the day of the shooting. On June 25, 2021, officers were dispatched to the 1500 block of Madison Avenue where they found Carter wounded by gunfire and in critical condition. He was taken to Gateway Regional Medical Center in Granite City where he was pronounced dead, according to police. Officers, meanwhile, spotted a vehicle that matched a description provided by a witness and began a pursuit through Madison and Venice before it was stopped on the McKinley Bridge. During the trial, which began Monday, prosecutors alleged that Williams ran up to Carter outside the tire shop building and began firing at close range, striking Carter multiple times. Williams began to run away, but stopped, returned and fired more shots at Carter from point-blank range as he lay on the ground. Carter had 10 bullet wounds. The shooting was caught on security camera but the shooters face was covered. Williams identity was later confirmed through photo and clothing comparisons, extensive cell-phone analysis, license plate reader data, and a DNA match on clothing found in a getaway car. Williams and Carter were acquainted, though there was no clear motive, according to police and the states attorneys office. Madison County States Attorney Tom Haine commended the work of Yager and Assistant States Attorney Phillip Voss, along with the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis, Granite City Police, Illinois State Police and the Regional Computer Crimes Education and Enforcement Group. This was a chilling and brazen crime that shocked our community, Haine said. We are glad that our prosecutors were able to secure a conviction here so this violent criminal will remain safely behind bars. We also hope that this conviction is a step in the healing process for the family members of Mr. Carter, who were present in court throughout the trial, and who we continue to hold in our prayers during this difficult time. Patrick Mcdowell, 37, pleads guilty on all 10 charges including first degree premeditated murder. According to news release, the state continues to seek death penalty for McDowells crimes. Jury selection for the penalty phase of the trial is scheduled for Sept. 8. More information will be released through the day. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] Read: JSO to hold forfeited items auction beginning Friday Read: Man pleads guilty to killing Nassau Sheriffs Deputy Read: Jacksonville Beach vacation rental turns into suspected gang bust; JBPD say guns and drugs involved [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. Charles Sutherland, 31, was found to possess child pornography after his arrest for spray-painting the word Charles Sutherland, 31, was found to possess child pornography after his arrest for spray-painting the word "Groomer" on two libraries, police say. A former Maryland elementary school librarian arrested for spray-painting the word Groomer on two other libraries also possessed child pornography, police say. Charles Sutherland, 31, was arrested last June and charged with multiple hate crimes for allegedly spray-painting the word Groomer on two public libraries in New Carrollton and Greenbelt, WTOP reported. Libraries have become recent targets among right-wing extremists who accuse librarians of being groomers for featuring pro-LGBTQ books and hosting book readings. Nicholas Brown, a library spokesman for Prince Georges County, said in June that the LGBTQ community is a particular target in the area. The library will not waver in its commitment to maintaining welcoming spaces to LGBTQ+ customers and their allies, Brown said at the time. Sutherland was charged with multiple hate crimes for allegedly spray-painting the word Groomer on two public libraries in New Carrollton and Greenbelt. Sutherland was charged with multiple hate crimes for allegedly spray-painting the word Groomer on two public libraries in New Carrollton and Greenbelt. Police searched Sutherlands home at the time and found numerous diapers, childrens dolls, and a child-sized doll in Sutherlands bed. Charging documents said Sutherland has no children, nieces or nephews. Police took a laptop from Sutherlands home, but forensic processing wasnt completed until this January. Sutherland, who worked as a school librarian at Northview Elementary School in Bowie, allegedly had seven files on his laptop related to child pornography, according to WUSA9. Sutherland now faces child pornography charges along with hate crime charges and will stand trial later this year. Related... [Source] A man who robbed a gas station of 156 yuan (approximately $24) in 2009 has allegedly been living like a hermit in a remote cave for around 14 years to evade the authorities. The man, identified as Liu Moufu of China's Hubei province, robbed a local establishment in the city of Enshi along with his brother-in-law and another accomplice. According to some local reports, they also stole two mobile phones and a miner's lamp. After spending 60 yuan (approximately $8.60) on food and some fireworks, they reportedly split the remaining amount among themselves, with each person getting 32 yuan (approximately $4.60). Immediately after the crew went their separate ways, the authorities located Lius two accomplices and arrested them. Liu, who was in his late 30s at the time, looked for a place to hide after hearing about the arrests. More from NextShark: Michelle Kwan officially confirmed as US ambassador to Belize According to reports, he decided to live in a small remote cave he had found on a cliff opposite his hometown, a village in Enshi. The cave is around 10 kilometers (approximately 6.2 miles) away from the nearest human settlement. As a fugitive, Liu allegedly managed to survive by hunting and scavenging for food. He also reportedly admitted to stealing vegetables and meat from his old village and occasionally meeting up with his family members. To protect himself from wild animals, Liu lived with several stray dogs. While Liu had close calls with the police over the years, he managed to evade getting caught during his self-imposed exile. More from NextShark: Poet Rupi Kaur describes Texas school library ban on Milk and Honey as 'dangerously terrifying' He did, however, miss important family events, including his father's funeral and his son's wedding. On Feb. 12, Liu turned himself in to the police and told investigators that he wishes to return to his family and live a normal life. Now over 50 years old, Liu cooperated with the police and showed them the cave he had lived in. He told investigators that he now regrets hiding for over a decade. Story continues More from NextShark: Woman Has Meltdown on Train After Being Asked to Wear Mask Properly in Taiwan Because his crime in 2009 involved the use of weapons, Liu still faces a minimum of three years and a maximum of 10 years in prison. More from NextShark: Millions of Filipinos visit cemeteries for All Saints Day Police are investigating a double shooting in a DeKalb County neighborhood that left two people dead. DeKalb police officers were called to a home on Pleasant Forest Drive at 6:55 p.m. about a person shot. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] When they arrived, they found a 22-year-old man in the driveway who had been shot. They found a 16-year-old boy in the back of the house who had also been shot. Both were taken to the hospital in critical condition where they later died from their injuries. Police have not identified either victim. TRENDING STORIES: Channel 2s Veronica Griffith was outside the home Friday, which neighbors said is vacant. Joann Freeman has lived in the quiet community for close to 50 years. Its just horrible that this happened in our neighborhood, Freeman said. When we heard those shots yesterday it still didnt dawn on us that it was anything around here. Spencer Williams is one of several neighbors who heard shots ring out. Right outside my garage, in the back, I heard a spray of bullets, Williams said. I got down on the ground and yelled for my daughter, to make sure she was alright. Its unclear if the victims knew each other or if DeKalb police have identified any potential suspects. Police are asking anyone with any new information to call police. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] IN OTHER NEWS: (Bloomberg) -- Senator Joe Manchin rebuked senior White House adviser John Podesta for blessing a role for Chinese companies in the manufacture of US products like electric vehicles. Most Read from Bloomberg Manchin, who played a key role in rewriting electric vehicle tax credits with a goal of taking China out of the supply chain, said he would do everything in my power to prevent this administration from welcoming China to take federal dollars with open arms. Manchins comments mark the latest clash between the conservative West Virginia Democrat and the administration in a week that included him publicly opposing three of President Joe Bidens nominees. Podesta, speaking at a forum on Thursday held by the American Council on Renewable Energy, a Washington-based trade group, said that Chinese companies would have some involvement in US production, like Ford Motor Co.s partnership with Chinese battery giant CATL. Manchins Problems With Biden Grow Ahead of 2024 Decision Podesta said the Chinese are going to be big players generally, but the US cant be beholden to only Chinese supply for these critical materials, when they have indicated that theyre perfectly prepared to use their economic power when it serves their interests in a strategic way. His comments incensed Manchin, who has become increasingly frustrated with the White Houses efforts to bypass restrictions on EV credits in particular. It is beyond irresponsible for someone speaking on behalf of the White House to not only condone but also advocate for sending American tax dollars to Chinese companies, Manchin said. Story continues Podestas remarks, Manchin said, are not consistent with the laws he helped pass. The senator added that there were rumors that the administration was thoughtlessly considering opening up the EV credits eligibility beyond our free trade agreement partners and allow the laundering of Chinese minerals and materials through Trojan horse agreements. A White House official said Podesta had pointed out that China has too much sway in clean energy supply chains, and one of the goals of the Biden administration is to take back control. The electric vehicle battery plant, which will be built in Michigan, has become a target of conservative criticism. Virginia was also considered, but that states governor, Glenn Youngkin, pulled out of the competition in January and denounced the project. I look forward to bringing a great company there. It wont be one that uses kind of a Trojan-horse relationship with the Chinese Communist Party, Youngkin said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. Manchin has not said whether he will run for reelection next year, in a state that Donald Trump won by wide margins in 2016 and 2020. He has already criticized Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and others in the administration for how they are implementing the EV tax credit as well. We have a dire dependence problem and comments like this make it clear that this Administration doesnt care about the energy security of this nation, he said. --With assistance from Justin Sink and Gabrielle Coppola. (Updates with White House reaction, in paragraph.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. Photo: The Canadian Press Minister of Justice David Lametti prepares to appear before the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights in Ottawa, Monday, March 6, 2023. Justice Minister David Lametti is preparing to face off with his provincial counterparts in Ottawa Friday on whether to reform Canada's bail system, as premiers, federal Conservatives and law enforcement leaders demand more restrictions.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang Justice Minister David Lametti says the federal government will move forward quickly on "targeted reforms" to the Criminal Code that would update Canada's bail system. He made the commitment to bring in new legislation on Friday afternoon after what he called a "good and productive" meeting with his provincial and territorial counterparts. "We have a broad consensus on a path forward," he told reporters, saying reforms will address the challenges posed by repeat violent offenders and those facing firearms or other weapons charges. "Bail is a constitutional right, but it is not absolute," Lametti said. "Our laws are clear that bail can be denied where there is just cause, when it is necessary for the safety of the public or to maintain the publics confidence in the administration of justice." Premiers, federal Conservatives and law enforcement leaders have ramped up pressure on Ottawa since the beginning of the year to make bail more restrictive. A January letter from all 13 premiers to the prime minister called for a "reverse onus" system for some offences, which would require a person seeking bail to prove why they should not stay behind bars. Lametti would not comment on whether those specific provisions are coming but said it is something that the government is considering. Ontario Justice Minister Doug Downey told reporters that it was raised during the meeting, but he was coy about whether any promises had been made. "We felt heard. There was a lot of collaboration. I look forward to action sooner than later," he said. Calls for reform heightened in response to the death of Ontario Provincial Police officer Const. Greg Pierzchala in late December. Court documents showed that one of the two people facing a first-degree murder charge in his death, Randall McKenzie, was initially denied bail in a separate case involving assault and weapons charges but was released after a review. The documents show a warrant was issued for McKenzies arrest after he didnt show up for a court date in August. On Friday, Lametti referred to Pierzchala's death as a "catalyst for change." He said justice ministers agreed that any measures they pursue in the name of public safety must not undermine efforts to address the overrepresentation of Indigenous and Black people in the criminal justice system. (Bloomberg) -- Senator Joe Manchin is threatening to hold up more of President Joe Bidens nominees, escalating a clash with the White House over its implementation of energy provisions in Democrats signature climate law. Most Read from Bloomberg The Biden administration must begin to implement the IRA that was passed, not the law they wanted but did not get, Manchin wrote in an opinion piece published in the Houston Chronicle Friday. Let me be clear: If they choose to continue down this path there will be consequences now and in the future. Manchin used the piece and a separate appearance Friday at the CERAWeek by S&P Global energy conference to air grievances with the Biden administration, accusing them of ignoring federal mandates in the Inflation Reduction Act and other laws. Manchin, a conservative Democrat, represents a crucial vote needed to confirm Bidens nominations in the Senate, which Democrats narrowly control by an effective 51-49 majority. The administration, Manchin wrote, has chosen to illogically advance a partisan climate agenda and appease radical activists. In particular, Manchin has criticized Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and other administration officials he says are not abiding by electric vehicle tax credit restrictions he put in place to ensure the incentive doesnt subsidize foreign adversaries. Read More: Manchin Says Talks With Yellen Underway Over EV Tax Credits Manchin said he would use his chairmanship of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to block advancing Bidens nomination of Laura Daniel-Davis to a key Interior Department post charting energy policy on federal lands. Story continues Manchin objected to her apparent acceptance of recommendations to sell oil leases in Alaskas Cook Inlet at higher royalty rates that would suppress industry interest, even though an Interior Department analysis concluded more attractive terms would have lured more investment and energy development. Manchin also has chafed at a record-setting delay in the Interior Department issuance of a new five-year plan for selling offshore oil and gas leases. In a court filing earlier this week, the agency said it did not expect to have a new plan in place until December 2023, which would create an unprecedented 18-month lapse since the previous leasing program expired in June 2022. Going forward Manchin wrote that he would subject all of Bidens nominees to a test: Are they political partisans first or Americans first? Interior spokeswoman Melissa Schwartz said the department was very disappointed by Manchins position, despite his previous support for Daniel-Davis in committee hearings and votes over the past two years. Laura Daniel-Davis has served this administration, as she has two others, with a dedication that we should aspire to see in every public servant, Schwartz said. She will continue to lead this portfolio at Interior and implement President Bidens direction, stated consistently and clearly since day one, with respect to carefully balancing the role that public lands and waters play as we face the climate crisis. (Updates with Interior comment from 10th paragraph) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. The Manhattan District Attorneys Office has indicated to Donald Trumps legal team that he could face criminal charges over hush money paid to an adult film star during the 2016 election, four people familiar with the matter told The New York Times on Thursday. According to the sources, prosecutors have offered Trump the opportunity to testify before a grand jury case next week, which would be an unusual step if they werent planning to proceed with charges. Its also a sign that a decision on an indictment is close, the Times noted. Sources later confirmed the offer to testify with The Washington Post. Trump, whos announced his plans to run for president again in 2024, is unlikely to testify. The Manhattan District Attorneys Office did not return HuffPosts request for comment on the report. The DAs probe is the longest-running of multiple ongoing criminal investigations into Trumps conduct and concerns a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, who claims she had an affair with Trump in 2006. Following a bombshell Wall Street Journal report about the payment in 2018, longtime Trump attorney Michael Cohen admitted to orchestrating the arrangement one month before the 2016 election in exchange for Daniels silence about the alleged affair. Cohen was later found guilty of violating campaign finance laws and sentenced to three years in federal prison, but he only served one year. Trump, meanwhile, has denied that he directed Cohen to pay off Daniels and says the money for the payment did not come from his campaign. A spokesperson for Trump released a statement reacting to the Times report, saying the district attorneys threat to indict President Trump is simply insane and slamming the investigation as a Witch Hunt. Just over a month ago, the Times reported that the Manhattan DAs office was gearing up to present evidence to the grand jury assembled for the case and that it had contacted multiple people whod worked on Trumps 2016 campaign. Story continues The former president remains under investigation by the Justice Department for his alleged role In the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol and for the large volume of classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida last year. A grand jury in Georgia is also investigating his alleged role in attempts to overturn the states 2020 presidential election results. Related... (Bloomberg) -- New York state prosecutors investigating Donald Trump over hush money paid to a porn star are prosecuting the victim, the former presidents lawyer said. Most Read from Bloomberg Trump was victimized by the actor, Stormy Daniels, his lawyer Joe Tacopina said in an interview about the efforts by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, whose office has invited Trump to testify before a grand jury this month. Bragg is probing whether Trump and his company falsified records to conceal payments to Daniels, made ahead of the 2016 election, to keep her from going public about an alleged sexual relationship with Trump. He has denied the affair. What all this shows is that the DA is targeting the former president because of political reasons and personal animus, Tacopina texted in response to questions about the grand jury invitation, which was reported late Thursday. A spokeswoman for Bragg declined to comment. Danielss lawyer didnt immediately respond to an email seeking comment on Tacopinas remarks. The mantra of our current DA is One standard for all, but it should be One standard for all except for President Trump, Tacopina said. Braggs office has been building the case against Trump over the past two months, and the invitation suggests it may be close to indicting him. Prosecutors have interviewed Trumps former personal lawyer Michael Cohen who made the $130,000 hush money payment and is now a severe critic of Trump almost two dozen times. He is meeting with Braggs office again Friday in an extended session, his lawyer Lanny Davis said in an interview. Trump, who is running for the Republican presidential nomination for the 2024 race, has called the probe a political vendetta by Bragg, a Democrat. Story continues I did absolutely nothing wrong, Trump said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social. I never had an affair with Stormy Daniels, nor would I have wanted to have an affair with Stormy Daniels. Tacopina said New Yorks laws arent nearly as clear as federal statutes on the use of campaign funds. Any prosecution around this matter would be completely unprecedented, he wrote. The campaign finance laws are murky and all of the underlying legal theories are untested and have never been utilized in this manner. He predicted that Braggs prosecution would be a bad stain on the DAs offices legacy. Any good prosecutor knows that you cant bring a criminal case where the law is unclear, because you need to show intent to commit a crime, Tacopina said. And you cant show intent when even legal scholars cant agree on what the law is. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. Police are looking to identify and speak to this man in relation to the incident outside West London Islamic Centre - Metropolitan Police/SWNS An 82-year-old worshipper was left with severe burns after being doused in petrol and set alight outside a mosque. Police are continuing to search for the suspect, who launched the attack before simply walking away from the scene as his victim burned. The elderly victim was rushed to hospital with severe burns to the back of his neck, his back, ears, and hand following the attack outside the West London Islamic Centre in Ealing. The suspect talked to his elderly victim, who is said to now be recovering well at home, as they both left the mosque, according to Scotland Yard. It is understood that the pair spoke for around five minutes outside the building before the attacker squirted the victim with fuel and set him alight. 'We're just really stunned' The perpetrator is believed to be an attendee at the mosque, with congregants saying that he is not a regular attendee and has not been seen for a long time. We dont know where he stays, or his motive, said a spokesman for the mosque. Were just really stunned and want him apprehended. The spokesman added that many members of the community are in shock and fear that the attacker could return. Theres worry hell come again, he said. Why did he target an elderly person? CCTV images showed a man kneeling to pray in the mosque in black trousers and a dark puffer jacket, with a white logo over the left side, before leaving the building with a rucksack on his back, wearing brown shoes. 'Great deal of local concern' Det Sgt Steven Constable, of the Metropolitan Police, said: I know this will be an incredibly shocking incident for the community and we are carrying out a full investigation into what happened. Understandably, there is a great deal of local concern in the wake of this incident and local officers have been carrying out reassurance patrols daily at the mosque. We are continuing to work alongside the West London Islamic Centre, who have been very supportive of our investigation and have been assisting us with our inquiries. Story continues A key part of that is identifying the man in the image we have released. If you recognise this man I would urge you to get in touch, either directly with police or, to remain anonymous, contact Crimestoppers. I would also urge anyone who witnessed this incident and has not yet spoken to police to please get in touch. Anyone with any information on the man in the CCTV images should contact police on 101, giving the reference 6422/27FEB, or the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Members of New York high society John S. Milburn, Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt III, Stuyvesant Fish, James Roosevelt Roosevelt, and Cornelius Vanderbilt III. Bettmann/Getty Images In the late 1800s, tycoons amassed huge fortunes in America, and they weren't shy about showing it off. They spent conspicuously, from fancy clothes to European mansions to lavish masked balls. The rich purposefully flaunted their wealth. It was all about one-upmanship. The adage goes that money can't buy happiness, but during the Gilded Age, it certainly bought a lot. From the end of the Civil War until President Theodore Roosevelt began to impose limitations on America's wealthy tycoons, a select few grew enormously rich. Often they were bankers or those who profited off of a number of commercial industries, including railways, oil, and steel. At the same time, the newly rich sought to spend. They wanted to be seen spending more than their rivals, and they wanted to be treated as equals by those with old money. Here's how the tycoons of the Gilded Age spent their money. In the years after the Civil War in 1865, a few Americans, including Andrew Carnegie, John Rockefeller, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and JP Morgan, began to make huge sums of money. They were bankers or tycoons who controlled oil, railroads, steel, and other key industries. JP Morgan shakes his cane at somebody on the street. Corbis/Getty Images Sources: WTTW, Town and Country Their fortunes grew rapidly, and by 1897, America's 4,000 richest families making up less than 1% of the country had as much wealth as 11.6 million other families combined. Andrew Carnegie stands next to his wife Louise and their guests for a photograph. Library of Congress/Corbis/VCG/Getty Images Source: Time But they didn't just make fortunes they spent fortunes, too. It was a period of conspicuous spending, one that Mark Twain dubbed the "Gilded Age." Mark Twain seated at a table with his guests celebrating his 70th birthday at the famous New York restaurant Delmonicos in 1905. Museum of the City of New York/Byron Collection/Getty Images Historian Nell Irvin Painter told Time it wasn't called "the golden age" for a reason gilded meant the glitz and glamour was covering something not as shiny. "It's the shiny exterior and the rot underneath," he said. Source: Time One of the defining features of the period was showing off. The rich flaunted their wealth for everyone to see. As author Esther Crain told The Wall Street Journal, it was all about one-upmanship. A stockbroker surrounded by books, papers, and figurines in his office in 1904. Bettmann/Getty Images Sources: Time, Wall Street Journal, History.com Story continues For those who were self-made, the way into the upper-echelons was through spending up, and to do so, they looked at how European royalty lived for inspiration. The interior of one of the Vanderbilt mansions known as The Breakers on Rhode Island. Bettmann/Getty Images Sources: Time, Wall Street Journal, History.com There was a visible difference between old money families and the newly rich. Across the country, especially in New York City, those with old money sought to keep their world to themselves, while the newly rich were busy building themselves extravagant mansions. Grace Vanderbilt and Alva Vanderbilt and other socialites at a benefit event. Bettmann/Getty Images Source: Vogue Alva and William K. Vanderbilt, who were considered nouveau riche, built a mansion called the "Petit Chateau" in New York City. It was considered garish by other elites. The mansion was made of white limestone whereas brownstone was in fashion at the time and occupied close to a block of Fifth Avenue. The arches of the great hall in the Vanderbilts Petit Chateau in 1925. Bettmann/Getty Images It cost $3 million to build, the equivalent of $83.5 million today, and was demolished in 1926. Sources: Vogue, Vogue, Wall Street Journal Cornelius Vanderbilt II and his wife Alice built an even more ostentatious mansion on 57th street in New York for about $3.375 million, which is the equivalent of $95 million today. An exterior shot of the home of Cornelius Vanderbilt at 57th Street and Fifth Avenue in 1927. Ed Jackson/NY Daily News Archive/Getty Images It was called the "Buckingham Palace of Fifth Avenue" and was made of red brick and limestone. The mansion originally had about 50 rooms, but the couple bought neighboring townhouses, tore them down, and expanded the mansion until it had about 91 rooms. It was later replaced by the Bergdorf Goodman department store. Source: Wall Street Journal Not too far away, on 73rd St, steel tycoon Charles M. Schwab built himself a mansion made of steel, limestone, and granite. It had 75 rooms, a bowling alley, a swimming pool, and three elevators. An exterior shot of Charles Schwabs mansion in 1907. Library of Congress/Corbis/VCG/Getty Images But perhaps most impressively he had an organ concealed by a tapestry which was woven by 100 Flemish women who had come to the US for that sole purpose. Source: Wall Street Journal But the mansions weren't restricted to New York City. In 1878, railroad mogul John Work Garrett bought his son Harrison and his family another famous mansion with 48 rooms in Baltimore. Inside the Garrett familys home theater in Baltimore in 1923. JHU Sheridan Libraries/Gado/Getty Images They displayed items and antiques they acquired on their worldwide travels, including German porcelain, Tiffany glass, and Japanese inro. Sources: Washington Post, Baltimore Heritage Their library was filled with 8,000 volumes, including original books by Audubon and Shakespeare. It had a chandelier and a table with candelabras. Books line the shelves of the Garrett familys library in Baltimore with a candelabra chandelier in 1923. JHU Sheridan Libraries/Gado/Getty Images Sources: Washington Post, Baltimore Heritage But building and buying mansions was only one way the newly wealthy would spend money in the Gilded Age. Every year, socialites would go to Europe to keep up with the latest fashions. The women shopped in Paris, while the men shopped in London. The wives of WK Vanderbilt and Cornelius Vanderbilt strolling in New York City during the early 1890s. Bettmann/Getty Images Source: History.com They also hosted over-the-top parties. One socialite wife married to American railroad tycoon Stuyvesant Fish hosted a dinner party for her dog, where she dressed him up in a $15,000 diamond collar. Miss Lola Robinson and the wife of Stuyvesant Fish take a stroll. Bettmann/Getty Images Source: PBS Another millionaire named CKG Billings loved horses so much that his dinner party was held on horseback inside a fancy New York restaurant called Sherry's. Dozens of guests enjoy a meal sitting on their horses in a New York restaurant in 1903. Bettmann/Getty Images Dinner trays were attached to the saddles, and champagne was enjoyed through straws from bottles housed in saddlebags. Source: New York Times Usually though, dining happened in proper seats, without animals, at fancy restaurants like Delmonico's. A dinner of society people at Delmonicos in 1899. Bettmann/Getty Images Source: New York Post During this era, there was one diner who was famed for how much he could eat. Diamond Jim Brady, who made his millions selling railroad supplies, reportedly started his day with pancakes, steaks, chops, eggs, muffins, grits, bread, fried potatoes, and orange juice. A portrait of American financier James Buchanan Brady, also known as Diamond Jim Brady. PhotoQuest/Getty Images Brady would have morning tea, afternoon tea, six or seven servings of dinner, and dessert, but there were varying accounts about how much he really ate. In 2008, The New York Times found reports stating that doctors had said his stomach had become six times larger than normal. Regardless of the exact amount he ate, it is undisputed that he ate a whole lot. Source: New York Times Socialites hosted impressive parties, too. One of the most well-known socialites was Caroline Astor, who was known for her infamous "List of 400," which consisted of guests from 25 socially acceptable families, designed to keep the "right" people in the upper society and the "wrong" ones out. A portrait of socialite Caroline Aster from 1903. The Print Collector/Heritage Images/Getty Images It was also the exact amount of people she could fit in her ballroom. Vogue society writer Frank Crowninshield described Astor's taste as "always for old families, old ways, old servants, old operas, old lace, and old friends." "She tried always to keep society in bounds, to see that it was decorous, elegant, and select," Crowninshield wrote. Astor's parties were in her ballroom that was topped with a dome made of stained-glass and its walls were hung with about 100 paintings. Sources: Vogue, New York Times, Wall Street Journal And yet, like the era itself, Astor was later revealed to be less wealthy than people thought. After she died, her goods were auctioned and people discovered her dinnerware was gold-plated, not solid gold. An exterior shot of the mansion where Caroline Astor lived in 1912. Library of Congress/Corbis/VCG/Getty Images Source: Town and Country Society gatekeepers like Astor made social mobility difficult for the newly rich, including Alva Vanderbilt, whose father-in-law Cornelius Vanderbilt, a shipping and railroad mogul, was known as a rough and crass man. Some of the Vanderbilt women sit on the steps of a tea house in 1914. Bettmann/Getty Images Sources: Vogue, Wall Street Journal, MCNY But Alva didn't give up. She had one seemingly unlimited resource money and in 1883, she threw a masked ball, which cost about $250,000 (about $6 million today). She spent $65,000 on champagne alone. Alva Belmont, then WK Vanderbilts wife, costumed for a fancy dress ball which she gave in March of 1883. Bettmann/Getty Images She invited 1,200 guests, but purposefully didn't invite Caroline Astor's daughter unless she came with her mother. Caroline came, as she hoped, and Alva had strengthened her place in society. Sources: Vogue, Wall Street Journal, MCNY There were a few iconic outfits worn at Alva's ball, including the dress worn by Cornelius Vanderbilt's wife, which was made of velvet, satin, and silver bullion designed to represent electric light. She wore it in honor of Thomas Edison's work in electricity. She even had a glowing torch connected to hidden batteries. Anne Louise Avery (@AnneLouiseAvery) March 6, 2019 Source: MCNY Kate Fearing Strong, another socialite whose nickname was "Puss," wore a taxidermied cat on her head along with seven tails sewed into her skirt. Anne Louise Avery (@AnneLouiseAvery) March 6, 2019 Another socialite named Miss Edith Fish socialite dressed up as the Duchess of Burgundy. Her dress was adorned with rubies, emeralds and sapphires. The ball was a huge success. Dinner wasn't served until 2am and the dancing continued until dawn. Source: MCNY The newly rich displayed their fortunes by attending the opera, which was gatekept by old money families. In New York, a group with inherited wealth controlled who could get tickets to the Academy of Music, an opera house, and made it impossible for others to see a show. An exterior shot of the Metropolitan Opera House in 1865. Sepia Times/Universal Images Group/Getty Images In the end, a group of newly rich men banded together to open the Metropolitan Opera so they too could see some opera. Sources: New York Times, Architectural Digest Like the Metropolitan opera house, these tycoons did some good with their fortunes for the country during the Gilded Age. Philanthropists funded museums, orchestras, and opera groups. Andrew Carnegie and his wife photographed in a car in the early 20th century. HUM Images/Universal Images Group/Getty Images Industrialist Andrew Carnegie echoed the sentiment, saying if a rich man died rich, he "died disgraced." But ironically, some tycoons also made their money off corruption and at the expense of the working class. Source: USA Today By the 1910s, the Gilded Age was coming to an end. The age of tycoons was weakening as newspapers exposed corruption and President Theodore Roosevelt imposed new limits on corporate power and brought in tax and political reforms. Hulton Archive / Stringer / Getty Images It would take a few more years before the Gilded Age fully ended, but the days of ostentatious eating, spending, and partying were over. Sources: Town and Country, History.com Read the original article on Insider SAN DIEGO (AP) When U.S. officials at the U.S.-Mexico border stamped the Ukrainian passports of Mariia and her daughter last April and gave them permission to stay for a year, she figured she would return home within months. Now with that year almost up and the war that caused them to flee still raging, their permission to stay in the U.S. known as humanitarian parole is set to expire April 23. The word `worry doesnt capture what Im feeling, said Mariia, who spoke through an interpreter and asked that only her first name be used over concerns that speaking publicly would hurt their immigration case. This is something that frightens me, mainly because of my daughter and my daughters future. The 46-year-old woman and her daughter, now 13, are among 20,000 Ukrainians in a similar situation, according to resettlement agencies. Most arrived to the United States at its southern border after fleeing to Mexico, where it was easier and faster to get a visa to enter the country in the first months following Russias invasion of Ukraine. Mariia's parole is tied to her work permit, enabling her to earn a living as a nanny, and makes her eligible for food stamps and other public assistance. Her husband flew to the U.S. to join them in July and received humanitarian parole for two years. The Biden administration has said it is working on a fix but so far has issued no official guidance on what Ukrainians should do, according to advocates helping the Ukrainians. The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to requests for comment. Jewish Federations of North America, which provided support for the agency that helped Mariias family get settled, is among the organizations that have written to the Biden administration to quickly renew humanitarian parole for Ukrainians. Krish OMara Vignarajah, the CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, said people are scrambling to figure out what to do. One option would be to apply for asylum, but a war doesn't necessarily qualify someone for that. Story continues "Even short-term solutions like individual parole extensions are unclear since theres no uniform guidance, which leads to delays and confusion, she said. Some Ukrainians have considered returning to the U.S. border crossings where they entered to ask for an extension, but that leaves the decision up to the port director, OMara Vignarajah said. It can also be expensive to travel and requires time off work, advocates said. Some have been told by officials to write across the top of the government's parole form Re-Parole," since there is no option to check for an extension, according to advocates. It highlights how ad hoc the process is, OMara Vignarajah said. These requests often go unanswered or are transferred to different agencies, and because there is no clear process in how to handle them, sometimes they are simply denied. The government turned to humanitarian parole as a quick fix to deal with the fallout from the many world crises that have occurred as the U.S. refugee system that was dismantled by the previous administration was being built back up. Now numerous groups are facing their permission to remain in the United States expiring in coming months, including tens of thousands of Afghans. Humanitarian parole was never meant to be over relied on at the expense of refugee resettlement or asylum protections," said Meredith Owen of Church World Service. Liliia Lukianchuk, a Ukrainian mother of four, has applied for asylum with the help of Lutheran Social Services, but she and her husband have not gotten an answer. Their parole expires April 16, and it is tied to her husbands mechanic job in Jacksonville, Florida, where they live. She fears that if they're sent back, her 17-year-old son will end up on the front lines as a solider. Of course, Im worried because the worst-case scenario would be to be returned to Ukraine, but I have to be strong for my family, she said through an interpreter. Mariia and her daughter arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border after trying to settle in four different countries. The lines at Poland's border were too long. In Hungary, they could find a hotel room for only one night at a time and were told by locals that the government was not in favor of hosting Ukrainians. They went on to Belgium, where many Ukrainians were arriving, but the local school had no room for her daughter. Then in Spain, they were told it would be difficult to find work and an apartment. That's when Mariia decided to go to the United States and was told Mexico was the best way. Jewish Family Services of Greenwich helped her find a job, enroll her daughter in school and get settled in Greenwich, Connecticut. Mariia said only recently did she and her daughter start feeling hopeful about rebuilding their lives. To be honest, the first five months, my eyes to that were closed. My primary goal was to just make sure my child was OK, to calm her down and reassure her that she was safe, she said. Tania Priatka of Jewish Family Services said Mariia's family is working with a lawyer who has advised them to wait for guidance from the government. If that doesn't happen soon, they plan to go to the nearest airport and ask Customs and Border Protection officials there for help. For now, Mariia tries to stay hopeful, but struggles when her daughter asks what will happen. I feel lost. I feel hopeless." Mariia said, her voice shaking as she grew emotional. "As a mother, I should be able to give my child an answer that she will be well and that she will be safe. The latest, and long-expected, massive Russian missile attack roared into Ukraine in the early hours of March 9, knocking out power in cities across the country, and killing and injuring civilians. Air raid sirens began to wail in the capital Kyiv at 12.51 a.m., and soon air raid alerts were in place across the entire country. Reports of explosions and the operation of Ukraines air defenses started to flood the news channels of the Telegram messenger widely used by Ukrainians to obtain the latest news. The mass missile strike consisted of in comparison with earlier attacks a wide variety of missile types. Poland is ready to hand over all of its MiG-29 aircraft to Ukraine. According to Polish President Andrzej Duda, ...the remaining part of the MiG-29s which we have in Poland, which are operational, and which are now serving in our Air Force we stand ready to provide those planes. Ukrainian oil enterprise Ukrnafta will begin direct purchases of gasoline and diesel fuel from Orlen Polands biggest oil refining company. Ukrnafta General Director Serhiy Koretsky explained that this move would allow Ukrnafta to supply Ukraines domestic market with fuel at most favorable prices and free up space in underground storage facilities for future oil production. The European Unions General Court has annulled personal sanctions against Violetta Prigozhina, mother of Wagner Group mercenary company owner Yevgeny Prigozhin. Prigozhina was initially sanctioned due to the ties to her son, who is responsible for the deployment of Wagner Group mercenaries in Ukraine. After an appeal, however, the EU General Court annulled the decision, stating that family ties were not enough for her to be sanctioned. This is despite Russian oligarchs commonly using family members to avoid tax and sanctions exposure, as documented by numerous investigations. Zaporizhzhya NPP was completely de-energized due to attacks by Russian troops in the early hours of March 9. The occupied nuclear plant has only 10 days worth of fuel for the backup diesel generations, Energoatom warned. If it is impossible to restore external power to the plant during this time, an accident with radiation consequences for the whole world may occur, the Ukrainian nuclear operator stated. Story continues The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) expects its International Monetary Fund (IMF) program will have two stages, during the war, and after it ends, and will last four years. The program will be based on the continuation of Ukraines European integration, especially in bringing national legislation in line with EU standards and regulations. Ukraines obligations will relate to monetary policy, budgeting, tax policy, effective functioning of the domestic debt market, and ensuring price and financial stability. For the second time in two weeks, Kherson civilians waiting for public transport were killed by Russian shelling on March 9. Russia fired 86 times at Kherson Oblast over the last 24 hours, directing more than 430 shells at the region, said local authorities. Residential areas were hit seven times. Russian logistics companies claim that Turkey has started blocking transit of sanctioned goods to Russia. Starting yesterday, we began to receive notifications from agents that previously approved flight bookings are being canceled, one source from a Russian firm told Russian financial news publication Kommersant. They said that (certain) cargo bound for Russia can no longer transit through Turkey. NATO officials are not in full command of facts when they say that Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, could fall to Russian forces in near future. Thats according to Operational Command East spokesman Serhiy Cherevatyi. He believes that such statements should be treated with respect, but with the understanding that they may not necessarily have been made with full grasp of the situation on the ground. The days long read: NABU's new director faces questions of independence amid ties to government The new director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, Semen Kryvonos, has a big job ahead of him continuing to ensure the independence of the Bureau while pursuing anti-corruption investigations at the highest levels. However, some experts warn that his existing ties to the Zelenskyy administration may jeopardize this goal and Ukraines European future. 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 margaret cho and jesus No-nonsense comedian and actor Margaret Cho has some strong words for Christians seeking to ban drag shows. Cho, who has been doing standup for 30 years and recently co-starred in Fire Island, was on The View when she let her opinion about Jesus fashion and Christian homophobes be known. The panel was talking about the rise in anti-drag laws across the country, including Tennessees recent law that severely limits public drag performances and gender-related care for trans minors in the state. "If it's Christians [leading these bills], Christ himself is wearing a long dress and a duster from Chico's," she said. "In the Bible, him and the Apostles all went to Chico's and got the same Bea Arthur sets. It's a Golden Girls special. They're all wearing the duster." Margaret Cho: 'We Have To Protect Trans Kids Lives' | The View www.youtube.com LGBTQ+ celebs have been speaking out constantly about the new bills that have been passed in Tennessee and that are appearing elsewhere. Everyone from famous drag queens, to Elliot Page, Kim Petras, and Hayley Kiyoko have added their voice in support of drag performers and trans youth. Recently RuPaul, the most famous drag queen in the world, also added his voice to the battle. Hey, look over there! A classic distraction technique, distracting us away from the real issues that they were voted into office to focus on: jobs, healthcare, keeping our children safe from harm at their own school. But we know that bullies are incompetent at solving real issues, he said in a video posted to social media. Drag queens are the Marines of the queer movement, the RuPauls Drag Race host continued. Dont get it twisted and dont be distracted: register to vote so we can get these stunt queens out of office and put some smart people with real solutions into government. And by the way, a social media post has never been as powerful as a registered vote. Arizona's hospital staffing shortages are especially acute. Our state needs more nurses. Arizona, like many states across America, is facing a nurse shortage. The pandemic has taken a toll on existing nursing staff due to staffing shortages, employee burnout and retirement. Despite the number of nursing graduates entering the workforce, it is clear that Arizona needs to catch up with current demand levels. National nurse shortages already threaten essential health care services, and in Arizona, we are particularly vulnerable to its effects, given our rapidly growing and aging population. In fact, as of 2022, Arizona ranked in the top five with the largest hospital staffing shortages. Nursing demand is high, supply is low Nationwide, the demand for nurses certainly outweighs the supply. A 2020 nursing workforce survey conducted by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing found that the average age of registered nurses is 52. In addition, millions of registered nurses are expected to leave the profession by 2030, and the United States will need a minimum of 1.2 million new nurses to meet needs. Furthermore, with the demand for nurses, the strain is felt at colleges and universities across Arizona and the country. As a result, many institutions have waitlists for nursing programs because of limited faculty and resources to teach students. Simply put, America needs more nurses. Nurse education program is a needed step We are fortunate that the Arizona Legislature recognizes that higher education is only one solution to the problem. The passage of House Bill 2691 last year launching the Nurse Education Investment Pilot Program is a much-needed step toward addressing the states critical nurse shortage. The funding enables the Maricopa County Community College District to equitably allocate money among the eight nursing programs across our system. Over the next three years, the funding will support the expansion and renovations of classrooms, the hiring of 26 new faculty and support staff, innovative retention and student support, and procurement of supplies and lab equipment. Story continues As possible shutdown looms:Aspen U. nursing students push for degrees We anticipate that by 2026, our system will produce 5,464 nursing graduates at all levels certified nursing assistant (CNA), licensed practical nurse (LPN), registered nurse (RN) and bachelor of science in nursing (BSN). Its clear that the future of our health care system depends on having more skilled professionals enter the job market. Soon, we'll offer bachelor's degrees in nursing As Arizonas top provider of workforce training, Maricopa County Community College District is a pipeline for the nursing profession. Each year, our colleges accept 3,600 students, which includes nursing assistants and LPNs, into our programs. During the 2022 calendar year, 992 nursing students in our system graduated with an associate in applied science (AAS) in nursing. More than half also graduated with a bachelors degree through the Concurrent Enrollment Program. More than 80% of those graduates entered the workforce, and 20% transferred to a university to complete their bachelors in nursing. As one of the first community colleges in Arizona to offer baccalaureate degrees, our system understands the urgency to alleviate the demand for the nursing profession. For this reason, our Bachelors Advisory Committee has selected GateWay Community College to move forward with the authorization and approval processes to offer a bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) in the fall of 2024. Its a milestone for the district thatll provide an attainable and affordable pathway for aspiring health care professionals. The Nurse Education Investment Pilot Program is undoubtedly a step in the right direction; however, more innovative solutions are needed to mitigate the burden on Arizonas strained health care system. It is crucial to the future of Arizonas health care system to have enough skilled nursing professionals for many years to come. Steven R. Gonzales is chancellor of the Maricopa Community College District. Reach him at chancellor@domail.maricopa.edu. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: How Maricopa County Colleges are tackling the nursing shortage Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) condemned a dark joke made by Jane Fonda on Fridays episode of The View. On Fridays show, the Oscar winner and activist was lamenting about lawmakers enacting a slew of extreme abortion restrictions since the fall of Roe v. Wade when co-host Joy Behar asked her what could be done beyond marching and protesting. Well, Ive thought of murder, she said, before pausing for effect. Lily Tomlin, who co-stars with Fonda in Moving On, a dark revenge comedy that opens next Friday, asked for clarity on the comments. What did you say? Tomlin asked. Murder, Fonda repeated. Behar sprung into action, and insisted Fonda was kidding, shes just kidding, before noting that pro-life advocates will pick up on that and just run with it. She wasnt wrong. (Watch the exchange starting at 2:25 below.) A short time later, Greene, a self-proclaimed unapologetic pro-life politician, expressed her outrage at the exchange on Twitter. The controversial member of Congress wrote that she routinely gets death threats because of the nasty women on The View and the things they say about me. (No word about the violence her own rhetoric saying that Democrats want Republicans dead and calling for a national divorce might inspire.) Calling for us to be assassinated makes The View, the hosts, the producers, the network, the advertisers, and everyone involved responsible for death threats, attacks, and potential murders of Pro-Life politicians and activists, she continued. While womens reproductive rights are a very serious issue and extremely important to me, my comment on The View was obviously made in jest, Fonda said in an emailed statement. My body language and tone made it clear to those in the room and to anyone watching that I was using hyperbole to make a point. Women across the country are facing real threats when it comes to our bodies, and people lose faith in our mission to protect women when others choose to focus on tangential issues and passing jokes instead of the actual problem at hand, she added. Story continues A request for comment to The View was not immediately returned. Greene ended her tweet with the sort of diplomatic phrasing that has become a hallmark of her political reputation. By the way@Janefonda your eggs are dried up so you dont have to worry about getting pregnant anytime soon, so you can retire from demanding baby murder now, she wrote. Unapologetic Pro-Life Politician here. I routinely get death threats because of the nasty women on The View and the things they say about me. But calling for us to be assassinated makes The View, the hosts, the producers, the network, the advertisers, and everyone involved https://t.co/Vsa7tik8zg Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) March 10, 2023 Its worth pointing out that in 2021, CNN found that before she was elected to Congress, Greene liked numerous social media posts that suggested executing then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and FBI agents. Her apparent support for executing prominent Democrats as well as her embrace of racist and antisemitic conspiracy theories led to the House voting to strip her of committee assignments during the last Congress. Related... Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Pool via REUTERS Russian citizens are ratting each other out to authorities in droves for anti-war comments made in bars, beauty salons, and grocery stores in roughly a dozen cities across the country, according to a new report from the independent Russian news outlet Vrestka. Legal filings obtained by the outlet from Moscow, Bryansk, Novosibirsk, and other cities indicate that citizens have been turned in for violations as minor as cracking a joke about the war, listening to Ukrainian music, or even just talking about Russian President Vladimir Putins invasion in a public space. Many of those jailed after being reported by other citizens were charged under Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, a new law signed by Putin last year criminalizing public actions aimed at discrediting Russian Armed Forces. One Russian man from Bryansk, Mikhail Kolokolnikov, was reportedly fined and jailed for two days after a stranger called authorities on him for saying the phrase Glory to Ukraine at a bar on Jan. 15. In an interview with Vrestka, Kolokolnikov said that two officers stormed the bar shortly after he said the phrase to another man, demanding to know, Who said Glory to Ukraine here? The other day, a rocket hit a house in Dnipro, Kolokolnikov, who was born in Ukraine, told the outletexplaining why he said the slogan in a public place. And I used to walk past this house every day to the beach, along the Pobeda embankment. In short, I was still a little angry because of this. From Murder Pigeons to Evil Forces: How Putin Sold His War In another case, Chita resident Ivan Sleponogov was jailed after being accused of saying an anti-war slogan during an Easter church service last April, according to a legal complaint. Sleponogov had allegedly claimed that he was actually chanting Glory to the guys who died in Ukraine! in reference to Russian soldiers who were killed in combat, and the case was eventually droppedafter Sleponogov had spent 10 days in jail. Story continues Other cases detailed in the Vrestka investigation include complaints made against Russian citizens for playing a Ukrainian song in the car while driving, drunkenly making pro-Ukrainian statements from a balcony, and criticizing the war in private conversations with friends at a coffee shop. The individuals who made the complaints allegedly include eavesdropping neighbors, coworkers, and janitors. In many of the cases, according to the outlet, little to no evidence was provided by witnesses who reported the alleged violations. In some court filings, however, the anti-war sentiments allegedly expressed by accused citizens are not so subtle. In Serpukhov, a city near Moscow, two Russian army veterans accused Yuri Nemtov of approaching them at a shopping mall last November with some choice words. Well, invaders! Go there to die like meat! he allegedly 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. Author and journalist Matt Taibbi fielded scathing questions by House Democrats on Thursday as he sought to defend his contributions to the so-called Twitter Files during a hearing for the House Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government. The hearing became tense at times, with the top Democrat on the panel, Del. Stacey Plaskett (U.S. Virgin Islands), repeatedly pushing back against the top Republican, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio). Jordan and others in his party allege federal agencies have been unfairly targeting conservatives. In an attempt to prove that point, new Twitter CEO Elon Musk allowed a swath of internal company documents to be leaked late last year to a conservative-leaning group of journalists and commentators. The resulting articles supposedly proved that, under its previous leadership, Twitter had pushed a progressive agenda onto users and worked with federal agencies to silence conservative voices on the site. But critics say it came up short, merely serving to illustrate how difficult it is to moderate content on a large social media platform. Taibbi testified that the Twitter story was by far the most serious thing and the most brave story he had ever worked on, surpassing even the financial crisis of 2008. Matt Taibbi appears at a hearing of the House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government. Matt Taibbi appears at a hearing of the House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government. The weaponization committee had requested testimony from both Taibbi and Michael Shellenberger, another writer who worked on stories about the alleged censorship. Democrats on the House panel used the source of the Twitter Files to question the legitimacy of any conclusions drawn from them. Journalists should avoid accepting spoon-fed, cherry-picked information if its likely to be slanted, incomplete, or designed to reach a foregone, easily disputed or invalid conclusion, said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.), quoting from the Society for Professional Journalists code of ethics. Story continues Would you agree with that? she asked. Taibbi replied, I think it depends. Wasserman Schultz then pointed to Taibbis December 2021 appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, where he said: Once you start getting handed things, then youve lost. They have you at that point and you gotta get out of that habit. You just cant cross that line. You violated your own standard, Wasserman Schultz said, over Taibbis objections. Taibbi also took issue with the lawmakers suggestion that he profited from the Twitter Files, increasing his follower count and newsletter subscribers. Taibbi started by saying he had also reinvested before being cut off. You made money. Yes or no? Wasserman Schultz asked. Taibbi replied, I think its probably a wash, honestly. Wasserman Schultz persisted: No. You have made money that you did not have before, correct? Taibbi replied, But Ive also spent money that I didnt have before. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: Journalists should avoid accepting spoon-fed, cherry-picked information if it's likely to be slanted, would you agree with that? TAIBBI: I think it depends WS: Really? *plays clip of Taibbi basically agreeing with the premise of her question on Rogan's pod* pic.twitter.com/LWAKg4ogG1 Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 9, 2023 At another point, Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) asked whether Taibbi had been provided records of the Trump White House asking Twitter to remove a tweet by model Chrissy Teigen, in which she called then-President Donald Trump a pussy ass bitch. Taibbi began, No, but thats probably because ... Connolly jumped in: Probably because it didnt confirm the bias that this is all about ... the left attempting to control content when in fact the evidence is the Trump White House most certainly attempted to control content on Twitter. The Twitter Files provided evidence that the FBI had reached out to social media companies with a warning about the Hunter Biden laptop story published by The New York Post just before the 2020 presidential election. The agency worried that the story could be part of a Russian disinformation campaign to influence the election, as foreign adversaries did in 2016. Asked whether he believed it was a legitimate objective for the FBI to try to stop foreign interference in our elections, Taibbi said: I think its a legitimate objective to stop actual interference. OK. I dont know what the difference is, but thats fine, Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) responded. Taibbi later pointed to emails between Twitter staffers who questioned the FBIs assessment of foreign interference. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell is eager to leave a hospital where he has been receiving treatment for a concussion since suffering a fall two days ago, a former aide said on Friday. "Been with him the past two days. Anyone and everyone who steps inside his room wearing a name badge gets asked whether he can leave. Eager to get out is an understatement," Josh Holmes, McConnell's former chief of staff, said an email to Reuters. McConnell, who at 81 is one of the most powerful figures in Washington, tripped and fell at a dinner event on Wednesday evening and was expected to remain in the hospital for a few days. Several of his fellow Senate Republicans told reporters on Thursday that McConnell was likely to be hospitalized over the weekend. But they said they were confident that he would be back on the job when the Senate reconvenes next week. His absence comes as President Joe Biden and Republicans, who control the House of Representatives, remain locked in a standoff over the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling. A lack of progress in talks has raised concern about a possible default over the summer. As Senate minority leader, McConnell has taken a back seat to Biden and Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on the debt ceiling issue. But independent experts view the Kentucky Republican as a skilled negotiator who could broker a compromise deal in an emergency. (Reporting by David Morgan, editing by Deepa Babington) Senate Republicans found themselves shaken and disoriented Thursday after finding out their leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (Ky.) was in the hospital after tripping at a private event, raising questions about his health and future leadership of the GOP conference. McConnell, who in January became the longest serving party leader in Senate history, has led the Senate GOP conference since 2005 and has helped guide his colleagues through some of the biggest moments in recent history the 2008 financial collapse, the near default of the U.S. government in 2011, the fiscal cliff of 2012, the two impeachment trials of former President Trump and the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. McConnell fell after attending a private dinner at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington and was taken to the hospital by an ambulance and is being treated for a concussion. The 81-year-old Kentucky senators sudden absence came only a day after he helped Republicans achieve a big political victory by stampeding Democrats into voting to block a District of Columbia crime bill. And it left some GOP senators feeling unsettled and worried about the future. I am a huge fan of Mitch McConnell. I think he has the ability to lead a very diverse group of individuals in a way that is masterful, said one GOP senator who requested anonymity to discuss the impact of McConnells injury on the Senate GOP conference. I think, who would be our next leader and what kind of leader would that person be? the senator added. Yeah, I do worry about that. Hes always thinking ahead in terms of initiatives. Hes thinking about how the players on his team can fit. Hes got a knack for that that I dont think you find in many others, the lawmaker said. Senate Republican Whip John Thune (S.D.), former Senate GOP Whip John Cornyn (Texas) and Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Barrasso (Wyo.) are viewed as McConnells three most likely successors. Story continues But there hasnt been any serious discussion of a future Senate GOP leadership race among Republican senators themselves because McConnell has a secure grip on the job and hasnt dropped any hint about planning to retire. He easily defeated former National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Rick Scott (Fla.) by a lopsided vote of 37 to 10 when Scott tried to capitalize on Republican disappointment over the 2022 midterm election by challenging McConnell for the top job. Scott, who has feuded with McConnell over party strategy since that race, tweeted on Thursday that he and his wife are keeping the leader and his family in our prayers and wished him a speedy recovery. Senators were in the dark The news that broke Wednesday night that McConnell had been rushed to the hospital after tripping and falling at a dinner event left Republican senators scrambling the next morning for more information about the severity of his injuries. Speculation veered in all different directions, and the lack of details from McConnells office had lawmakers wondering about how bad the situation was. McConnells top deputies, Thune and Cornyn, didnt get a chance to talk to their leader before being pressed for details by reporters in the Capitols hallways. Thune, looking somber Thursday morning, only said: Dont know a lot yet. Thune rushed straight to the floor before taking any other questions to be sure he first addressed his Senate colleagues, telling them that his thoughts and prayers are with Leader McConnell as well as with his family and with his team. Cornyn was also in the dark. I understand that hes resting up, but I dont have any details, he said. McConnells office disclosed at lunchtime Thursday that he was being treated for a concussion and would remain in the hospital for a few days of observation and treatment. What exactly happened As the day went on, a few other details leaked out about the accident. McConnell was at the Waldorf earlier in the evening to attend a reception for the Senate Leadership Fund, the super PAC that he is affiliated with and that played a major role in the last election by spending $290 million. The reception was a thank-you event for the super PACs supporters, and several GOP senators attended. I think it was more of a thank you to the people that had helped with the fund in the last election cycle, said Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). It was a pretty good showing of Republican colleagues. I dont know how many showed up, but it seemed like there was a lot of us. McConnell later attended a small, private dinner that a person familiar described as adjacent to the reception. He tripped and fell after that dinner. McConnells significant impact A second Republican senator who requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive topic said McConnells hospitalization raises questions about the future leadership of the Senate GOP conference but emphasized, Its not time to be talking about [it]. My thoughts and prayers are with Elaine and Mitch, and I hope its not too serious, the senator said, referring to McConnells wife, former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao. I havent found anything good about getting old, the senator quipped. McConnell has been such a major political force in Republican politics for so long that his GOP colleagues have come to rely on his ability to pump huge sums of money into Senate battleground states and to insulate them from the turbulence in conservative politics that has roiled the House GOP conference. He leadership is especially valued by mainstream and moderate Republicans such as Sen. Susan Collins (Maine) one of McConnells closest friends in the Senate because he gives them space to work with Democratic colleagues and practice the style of Republican politics they see as best suited to their home states. Colleagues also value McConnells ability to get their party out of tough political situations. One example came in the fall of 2021, when he rounded up his leadership team and other allies to provide the 11 GOP votes needed to pave the way for Democrats to pass legislation to raise the debt limit. McConnell took enormous heat from Trump and other critics for the vote, but it took the danger of a federal default off the table. And McConnell has historically shown a willingness to inject himself in Senate Republican primary politics to pave the way for candidates he views as the most electable in a general election an approach he adopted after Republicans fumbled away their chances to win seats in Delaware, Nevada, Missouri and Indiana in the 2010 and 2012 elections. Even senators who voted to oust him from his leadership job in November admit their respect and admiration for his toughness in battle. Hes a tough old crow. My moneys on him, said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast / Reuters / Pixabay / GlobalSpec A voting machine companys $1.6 billion lawsuit against Fox News has rocked the conservative media giant, exposing rifts between its journalists and the star hosts and executives more concerned with mollifying pro-Trump viewers than accurately reporting that the 2020 election wasnt stolen. But the strangest revelation so far from the Dominion Voting Systems case against the cable channel may be the alleged source of the voter-fraud claims that sparked the lawsuit: a single email from a previously unknown woman who was convinced, among other things, that late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was murdered while being hunted for sport. That unhinged email to Trump campaign lawyer Sidney Powell has now become a centerpiece of Dominions case, raising questions about how Fox could allow obviously fake claims from a total stranger with no credentials to make it on the air. Even Maria Bartiromo, the Fox host whose show first aired the claims, admitted in a deposition that the email was ridiculous. Its kooky, absolutely, Bartiromo said. But the ideas origin is even more kooky than Bartiromo might realize. In an interview with The Daily Beast, the woman behind that emaila Minnesota artist named Marlene Bournesaid that she based her now nationally prominent ideas about election fraud on a wide variety of sources, including hidden messages she detects in films, song lyrics she hears on the radio, and overheard conversations she hears while in line at the supermarket checkout. Fox News Journalists Sound Off on Soul-Crushing Dominion Filings Yeah, Im crazy, Bourne told The Daily Beast. Crazy like a fox. Powell didnt respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for Dominion declined to comment. In a statement provided after this article was published, Fox called the lawsuit an effort to silence the press. FOX News will continue to fiercely protect the free press as a ruling in favor of Dominion would have grave consequences for journalism across this country, the statement read. Story continues Bourne, who makes what she calls cactus art using glitter and Swarovski crystals, might seem like an unlikely person to plunge the most-watched cable network in the country into an embarrassing, expensive lawsuit. Bourne said she has never met Powell, or communicated with her beyond that one email. She doesnt even watch Fox News, because she considers the network and all other major media outlets to be psyopsshort for psychological operations carried out by nefarious forces as part of what she called a mass global unconventional warfare plot to divide Americans. But on the afternoon of Nov. 7, 2020, just hours after Fox and other major media outlets called the election for Joe Biden, Bourne sent Powell, Fox host Lou Dobbs, and conservative activist Tom Fitton an email laying out the case against Dominion as she saw it. In Bournes telling, Dominion machines used software to convert 3 percent of all votes for Donald Trump into votes for Biden. Bourne had seen Powell defending Trump online and thought the lawyer would be the perfect person for her theories. OK, lets send some information that will steer her in the right direction, Bourne told The Daily Beast. I was on a roll, lets put it that way. Jaw-Dropping Filings Reveal Civil War Inside Fox News But Bourne didnt stop there. In a flurry of names and statistics, she laid out a scenario in the email where the world is controlled by a sinister cabal one that fatally hunted Scalia for sport. (In reality, Scalia died in his sleep in 2016). Justice Scalia wasnt accidentally shot during a hunting trip, her email read. He was purposefully killed at the annual Bohemian Grove camp. A club for members of the Mega-Group, during a weeklong human hunting expedition. NEVER accept an invitation to be a guest at that camp. Ever. Bourne peppered the email to Powell with facts about herself, claiming that she had once felt her soul leave her body after being shot in the back and that she had been internally decapitated during a car accident. The Wind tells me Im a ghost, but I dont believe it, Bourne wrote. Asked about the wind that gives her ideas, Bourne responded to The Daily Beast with a question of her own. Well, let me ask you something, Bourne said. Do you believe in telepathy? Bourne admitted in her email to Powell that her ideas were pretty wackadoodle. But less than an hour after receiving the email, Powell had ignored the many red flags the email contained about Bournes credibility and forwarded it to Bartiromo. Three minutes later, Bartiromo forwarded Bournes theories to her producer and replied to Powell, saying the lawyer had provided Fox with very imp[ortant] info. The next day, Fox aired a pre-taped interview with Bartiromo and Powell on Bartiromos show, Sunday Morning Futures. The segment appears to be based in large part on Bournes emailin Bartiromos deposition, she was unable to point to another source for Powells ideas. During the deposition process, a lawyer for Dominion said the discovery process didnt turn up any other documents used by Bartiromos staff before the segment aired that mentioned Dominion. Bartiromos producer said in her own deposition that the show never used the email. But the Nov. 8 segment on Bartiromos show echoed a number of claims made in Bournes email. Powell said Dominion software used an algorithm to calculate the votes they would need to flip, converting Trump votes into Biden votes. Bartiromo referenced false claims that she would have read a day earlier in Bournes email. At times, Bartiromo even used identical phrasing to Bournes email. For example, Bournes email reads: Dont you find it curious that Nadeam Elshami, Nancy Pelosis longtime Chief of Staff is a key executive there, and that Richard Blum, Senator Feinsteins husband, is not only a significant shareholder of that company, but in Avid Technologies as well? Fox News Editor Overseeing Crime Fearmongering Is Felon Himself Bartiromo repeated phrases from the email, like longtime chief of staff, key executive, and significant shareholder: I also see reports that Nancy Pelosis longtime chief of staff is a key executive at that company, Bartiromo said. Richard Blum, Sen. Feinstein's husband, a significant shareholder of that company. The identical phrasing is more visible because Bartiromos claims, taken from Bournes email, are false. Dominion hired Elshamis lobbying firm, but he wasnt a key executive at the voting machine company. And Blum, the husband of Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), has no financial connection to Dominion. Bartiromo and at least one Fox executive have scrambled to distance themselves from the email in the aftermath of Dominions lawsuit. In her deposition, Bartiromo said it was inherently unreliable and agreed that it was nonsense. In an October deposition for the Dominion lawsuit, David Clark, the Fox executive who oversaw Bartiromos show, agreed that the segment should not have run if it was based only on Bournes email. I will concede that this e-mail is crazy, Clark said. Lawyers for Dominion would later seize on Bournes most outlandish claims, noting in a motion filed last month that the full force of the emails lunacy comes across by reading it in its entirety. In a discursive 40-minute interview with The Daily Beast, Bourne threw out a jumble of ideas that centered on ties between telepaths, the Bank of the Vatican, the NXIVM sex cult, and the 1970 film Beneath the Planet of the Apes. And she explained where she got the conspiracy theories like the one that Fox somehow allowed to reach its airwaves, prompting the threat of a $1.6 billion judgment. Essentially, in Bournes telling, she conjures her theories out of nothing. Its just really interesting where Ill have the TV on, and Ill hear a word or a persons name, and for whatever reason, I cant explain it, its going to compel me to look it up online, Ill do a little digging, she said. Instead of saying I rely on my intuition, I say the wind is talking to me. Its just a fun way of living my life, dont you think? Bourne gets her theories from song lyrics and glimpses of magazine covers. Shes working on a book styled after the Ancient Aliens television series that focuses on the discovery of Tutankhamuns tomb. She has an elaborate theory about the deep state and the media: in Bournes telling, the CIA controls the Washington Post, the FBI runs the New York Times, and the State Department runs Politico and CNN. Bourne didnt realize her email had become a key part of the Dominion trial until a reporter from The Daily Beast contacted her, but she didnt seem surprised. My point of view sometimes is so far outside the box its not even on the same playing field, its not even on the same planet, she said. For example, Bourne got the idea that Scalia was murdered in a human hunt because it just made logical sense from what she had seen from watching movies and television. Whats one way to get rid of a Supreme Court justice in order to get the kind of people that you want on it? Bourne said. Hunting. UPDATED to include comment from Fox News. 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. 25-year-old Megan Moroney isn't just a blond-haired small-town ingenue who loves gossiping with her hair colorist about what color Southeastern Conference college football T-shirt her latest beau is wearing. The University of Georgia graduate is, yes, the singer-songwriter whose success of late in Music City is predicated on the viral popularity of singles "Tennessee Orange" and "Hair Salon." However, with "Lucky" -- her just-announced debut album -- out on May 5, a need exists to begin adding substance to her sudden streak to stardom. She's been produced by Sugarland's Kristian Bush, received early co-signs from stars like Chase Rice (who booked her -- only if she could write original songs -- while she was still in college and seeing her open for a Jon Langston gig her sorority booked that she opened playing covers) and is -- like every other aspiring star in Nashville -- making the same songwriting sessions, playing the same 20-minute opening slots, songwriter rounds at Live Oak bar near Music Row, plus Whiskey Jam appearances. Portrait of Megan Moroney at Sony Music Nashville, Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023. The keys to why Moroney -- as compared to every other noteworthy performer on the rise in Music City -- is having a moment are numerous. They also portend a career with the potential for significant depth, reach and scope. That depth and scope are significant. Country music is a century-old genre where hackneyed, liquor-soaked star-making narratives and stereotype-driven biographies create boilerplate-made superstardom. However, in the case of Moroney's work to date, she's -- more than anything -- a pop-culture-influenced Southerner whose pop-aimed tastes are most clearly aligned with denim, rhinestones and buckets of beer. She graduated with a music industry degree from her beloved University of Georgia while growing up surrounded by a musical family. That helps. However, more than that, the secret of "Tennessee Orange"'s success lies not in the 123-year-old rivalry between the schools. Much more simply, it starts with the slight rasp in Moroney's voice as she sings that the person she's met is blue-eyed. Story continues TikTok virality is predicated on the idea that it's as much what a song is saying or how it's played as the tonality in which something is presented. Thus, there's something inherently youthful and as much commonplace as it is connective about Moroney's voice that made "Tennessee Orange" virally successful via the platform. That voice sings songs that Moroney says are "based on memorable, strong personal experiences, like feeling disgusted and thinking my parents would kill me for wearing a University of Tennessee t-shirt, or, in the case of 'I'm Not Pretty,' my ex-boyfriend's new girlfriend convincing herself that she's prettier than I am -- after lurking on my Instagram feed at 2 a.m. in the morning and accidentally liking, then unliking, an old Spring Break picture of me from 2016 in PCB (Panama Beach City, Florida)," she tells The Tennessean while sitting at Sony's downtown Nashville offices. Her calling card past her initial success will also hinge upon just how antagonized, emo and sad 20-something women want to be about the fresh wounds of heartbreak. Megan Moroney's Sony Nashville/Columbia Records debut album Lucky arrives on May 5, 2023 She's 25. The age is unique because it's within a window where high school and college are ripe in her memory. She's not Taylor Swift moving to Nashville at 14, nor Carly Pearce being married and signed to a label by 29. Twenty-five means that you're old enough to recall vividly while being interviewed, traveling to Music City while a college student and trying and failing to enter downtown and Lower Broadway Nashville bars with a fake ID. It also means that you're old enough to remember freaking out when you (illegally) get into a downtown bar and almost step on Miranda Lambert. The age also highlights that you're similarly stunned when you make your Grand Ole Opry debut five years later and play on the same night at Vince Gill. "It's all so crazy right now. I can't believe all of this is happening. It's surreal -- people know my songs sometimes before I start singing them. My fans are invested in my success. Someone pinch me," Moroney says. Portrait of Megan Moroney at Sony Music Nashville, Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023. Moroney's schedule -- as highlighted by the video for "Tennessee Orange" -- still involves a semi-frequent schedule of (legally) hitting the bars and honky-tonks up and down Broadway. She notes that she reminds her team that the excursions where she's "going out, living and doing what everyone is doing" are essential for her songwriting inspiration. Those nights yield songs like "Traitor Joe." Cheating-induced heartbreak becomes something as commonplace as a bottle of "three buck chuck" from the national chain grocery store with a sound-alike name. Regarding relatability, in a manner consistent with Hailey Whitters' slow-rising country radio hit "Everything She Ain't," Moroney's "Why Johnny" pays homage to the tribulations in the relationship between Johnny and June Carter Cash, similar to how Whitters leans into the notoriety of Hank Williams and his first wife, Audrey. Co-written with pop/R&B songwriter Connor Matthews, "Why Johnny" deviates from the expectation of celebrating the "Walk The Line" vocalist and his performer wife. Because Moroney was not entirely well-schooled enough in the Carter and Cash family legacies, she researched the tandem to aid her process. The work yielded a novel, next-generation take on the pair's lives. Portrait of Megan Moroney at Sony Music Nashville, Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023. "[Johnny Cash] was an alcoholic with a pill problem while June had a whole career happening -- they were real people having real problems. Asking the question of why she stayed with him until his life changed course was cool to me because I've had a similar experience to her in my life. I wanted to know why she decided to do something that maybe I didn't do." "I'm still as nervous playing in downtown Nashville or crowds on tour as I was when I was playing in my sorority house in college," Moroney notes. "If you know me and my story, many things (both good and bad) happened to get me here and I just feel very lucky. I couldn't live out this dream without the support of my fans, family, and team." This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Megan Moroney discusses her 'Lucky,' sudden rise to Music City stardom China-Europe freight trains facilitate trade between China, Spain Xinhua) 08:21, March 10, 2023 This photo taken on March 9, 2023 shows a freight train heading for Yiwu of China in Madrid, Spain. (Xinhua/Meng Dingbo) HANGZHOU, March 9 (Xinhua) -- A China-Europe train carrying 100 standard containers of China-made small commodities and ceramic products left Yiwu, a major hub of small commodities in east China's Zhejiang Province, for Madrid, Spain, Thursday. On the same day, a train loaded with 70 standard containers of Spanish goods, including red wine and olive oil, departed from Madrid and headed for Yiwu. The commemoration trips came as Thursday marked the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Spain. The freight train service between Yiwu and Madrid has facilitated trade between the two countries. The train service from Yiwu to Madrid was officially launched in November 2014, spanning eight countries in Eurasia with a total length of more than 13,000 kilometers. Wang Wen, executive dean of the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at the Renmin University of China, said the train service from Yiwu to Madrid has become a carrier of economic and trade cooperation and cultural exchanges between countries along the railway and has built a new bridge for opening and cooperation between countries and peoples along the line. Zhou Xufeng, who is engaged in the import business of Spanish wine and olive oil in the Yiwu International Trade Market, said that over the years, the varieties of imported Spanish products have expanded from wine and olive oil to soft drinks, daily necessities, biscuits, and mineral water, and the prices are more than 30 percent lower. "Some 1.5 million bottles of red wine are shipped from Spain through the China-Europe freight train service every year," Zhou said. Feng Xubin, chairman of the freight train service operator Yiwu Tianmeng Industrial Investment Co., Ltd., said since 2014, the freight train travel time from Yiwu to Madrid has been shortened, and the number of freight trains has been increased from one to two per week. Feng said railway transport is more environmentally friendly and flexible for customized products. It is faster than sea transport and cheaper than air transport. By 2022, China-Europe freight trains had made 1,326 trips between Yiwu and Madrid, carrying more than 100,000 standard containers of goods, according to Yiwu Customs. From 2014 to 2022, Yiwu's trade with Spain increased from 400 million U.S. dollars to 870 million U.S. dollars, local customs data showed. People attend a launching ceremony of a freight train heading for Yiwu of China in Madrid, Spain, March 9, 2023. (Xinhua/Meng Dingbo) A visitor takes photos of the live streaming screens showing a freight train departing from Yiwu West Railway Station of China in Madrid, Spain, March 9, 2023. (Xinhua/Meng Dingbo) A freight train heading for Yiwu of China departs from Madrid, Spain, March 9, 2023. (Xinhua/Meng Dingbo) A freight train departs from Yiwu West Railway Station in Yiwu, east China's Zhejiang Province, March 9, 2023. (Xinhua/Huang Zongzhi) A freight train departs from Yiwu West Railway Station in Yiwu, east China's Zhejiang Province, March 9, 2023. (Xinhua/Huang Zongzhi) A freight train departs from Yiwu West Railway Station in Yiwu, east China's Zhejiang Province, March 9, 2023. (Xinhua/Huang Zongzhi) (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan) Illinois insurance regulators have fined the parent company of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois $605,000 for alleged violations of the states network adequacy and transparency law. The fine, announced Thursday against Health Care Service Corp., cites everything from underestimating the travel time and distance for plan beneficiaries to reach a medical office to not updating provider information on the Blue Cross website. Advertisement Blue Cross, the largest health insurer in Illinois with more than 8 million members, was also cited for no longer offering printed copies of provider directories. The law requires health insurance companies to have a provider network that meets proper time and distance standards for consumers to receive care, as well as up-to-date, accurate directories identifying which providers are in-network, Dana Popish Severinghaus, director of the Illinois Department of Insurance, said in a news release. Advertisement The Illinois Department of Insurance, which oversees the insurance industry in the state, uses periodic market conduct examinations to review company compliance with regulations. The network adequacy examination of Blue Cross ran from November 2020 to March 9, when the findings and the fine were made public. Blue Cross paid the fine and agreed to take corrective action, according to the state, which will conduct follow-up exams to make sure the insurance company remains in compliance. We worked with the IDOI throughout the audit to resolve remaining areas of concern and develop plans to adjust some of our operational systems and processes, Dave Van de Walle, a spokesman for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, said in a statement. Market conduct exams are a normal part of doing business and such exams are just one of the ways we actively work with regulators to ensure we are best serving the needs of our members. In March 2022, Blue Cross was fined $339,000 for failing to provide notice of material change to state insurance regulators for 244 days after terminating its contract with Springfield Clinic, a large, private medical clinic serving about 100,000 patients in central Illinois. Blue Cross paid that fine last March, the company said Friday. rchannick@chicagotribune.com Idaho is one of four states in which a persons mental condition cannot be used as a defense against a criminal charge. This leads to the process of restoring a defendants competency to stand trial after they are declared mentally unfit, something that has happened in several high-profile cases, including the upcoming Lori Daybell murder trial. It also can lead to charges essentially being dropped if there is no possible way to restore a persons competency, something that happened recently in a Canyon County case involving a fatal shooting. Ross Edmunds, an administrator at the Department of Health and Welfare, talked to the Idaho Statesman about the process in a state that does not allow for an insanity defense. Its quite rare that we find somebody not restorable to competency, Edmunds said. But people with an extremely low IQ may never be able to understand who the judge is, what their job is or who their attorney is. But is it that easy to restore someones competence? Edmunds said the key often is proper medication for defendants, but there are other factors, such as therapy, education and daily activities. Edmunds told the Statesman that people charged with a crime obviously have a right to participate in the court process. If a defendants mental status prohibits that, a judge can order a competency evaluation. The Department of Health and Welfare conducts these evaluations, a process in which a psychiatrist or psychologist examines the mental condition of a defendant. Dr. Tanisha Keith, the chief of psychology at State Hospital South in Blackfoot, told the Statesman that people deemed mentally incompetent show a wide range of symptoms and issues. When a defendants symptoms are significantly impacting their mood, thinking, speech, behavior, etc., to the point that they would be unable to demonstrate an ability to consult with their attorney, understand the legal proceedings and/or make rational decisions about their case, those symptoms would generally render the defendant not competent to proceed with their case at that time, Keith said in an email. Story continues Depending on the results of the evaluation, a defendant could be ordered to undergo competency restoration and receive treatment in a hospital setting, something that can take time and delay cases as happened with Lori Daybell, who is accused in the killing of two of her children, among other crimes. Ross Edmunds, administrator for the Division of Behavioral Health with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, explains the process of evaluating mental competency when it comes to trial fitness. Idaho law does not allow for an insanity defense. Darin Oswald/doswald@idahostatesman.com What is Idahos competency restoration process? Idaho lawmakers abolished the insanity defense in 1982 after 25-year-old John Hinckley Jr. attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan in Washington, D.C., in 1981. In one of the most famous cases involving mental health, Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity on June 21, 1982. The states besides Idaho that do not allow a plea based on mental disease or defect are Kansas and neighboring states Montana and Utah. In other neighboring states, such as Washington and Wyoming, a defendant may claim that they suffered from a mental illness or disorder at the time of the crime. If they are successful with an insanity plea, they will wind up in a mental health facility for treatment rather than in prison. Under Idaho code, a person deemed mentally unfit to stand trial must be committed to a treatment facility with Health and Welfare for no more than 90 days at first. The agency has a psychiatric hospital in Orofino in addition to the one in Blackfoot. Keith, who regularly works with patients in Blackfoot, said patients have access to therapy groups on topics such as stress management, coping with loss and relapse prevention. She said patients are offered daily recreational activities as well, including yoga, arts and crafts, and music group. Patients meet with their assigned clinician and medication provider at least once a week, and they must participate in a weekly legal education group, which involves completing a competency restoration workbook and regularly meeting with a forensic psychologist in preparation for their evaluation. Keith said one of the biggest challenges people face is seeing a pause in their legal proceedings. Patients are often frustrated by their inability to work on the case with their attorney while in treatment, as they feel it impedes their ability to resolve the case in a timely manner, she said. If at the end of the first 90 days a defendant is found to still not be competent, a new order may be issued for an additional 180 days in treatment. If by the end of both orders a judge decides that competency has not been restored, a court order can be entered for a civil commitment. Once a person is found competent to stand trial, they are transferred from the psychiatric institution back to the jail in the county where they were arrested. Edmunds said it sometimes happens that a defendant will have competency restored, return to jail and then have to undergo the whole process again. Imagine the difference in the environment, he said. Youre at a hospital with us. Youre around nurses and behavioral health experts, and now all of a sudden youre back into a jail cell. So its not uncommon for someone to decompensate again. Edmunds said there are typically two groups of defendants who undergo the competency restoration process: those with developmental disabilities and those with mental illnesses. Between 2021 and 2022, Edmunds said there were 595 patients in the mental illness category admitted for restoration to competency. Of that group, 516 of them returned to the justice system, while the remaining patients stayed in care at the Department of Health and Welfare or went to outpatient services and residential care. People with a mental illness can almost always be restored to competency when properly medicated, he said. That is not the case for someone with a developmental disorder or a problem such as dementia or Alzheimers disease. That was the case in a fatal Canyon County shooting where the defendants dementia forced charges to be dismissed. Edmunds also said a developmentally disabled defendant, such as someone who is nonverbal, might never be able to contribute to their own defense, which would mean they simply cannot be restored to competency. A Mexican army soldier guards the Tamaulipas State Prosecutor's headquarters in Matamoros, Mexico, on March 8, 2023. AP Photo A faction of Mexico's Gulf Cartel turned over men they said were behind the kidnapping of Americans. Five men were left near a town plaza in Matamoros, Mexico, on Thursday, per The Wall Street Journal. They were found lying face down with their hands tied and shirts pulled over their heads. A splinter group of Mexico's Gulf Cartel left five men tied up on a street with a sign saying they were responsible for the kidnapping of four Americans, two of whom were killed, according to The Wall Street Journal. The five men were left near a town plaza in Matamoros, in northeastern Mexico, said Tamaulipas state's attorney general Irving Barrios on Thursday, per the Journal. They were found lying face down with their hands tied and shirts pulled over their heads, BBC News reported, with photos shared on social media appearing to reflect this. Jorge Ventura Media (@VenturaReport) March 9, 2023 The men, who admitted being involved in the incident but refuted the claim they killed the victims, are now in custody and are being questioned, Barrios said, according to the Journal. Police also found an apology letter alongside the men which was signed by the Scorpions Group faction of the Gulf Cartel, the Journal reported. The Scorpions Group is a splinter group of the Gulf Cartel, one of the world's oldest organized crime groups, which has increasingly become fragmented in recent years, according to the non-profit investigative organization InSight Crime. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the letter written by the Scorpions Group from a law enforcement official. The letter denounced the kidnapping and killings, adding that the cartel's own men would be turned over to authorities, per AP. It also apologized to local residents, a woman who died after being hit by a stray bullet, and the four Americans and their families, AP reported. The letter added that the actions did not align with the cartel's rules, which include "respecting the life and well-being of the innocent." Story continues The four Americans identified by family as a group of friends, Zindell Brown, Latavia McGee, Eric James Williams, and Shaeed Woodard were abducted in Matamoros last Friday. Woodard and Brown were later found dead while the survivors, McGee and Williams, were repatriated to the US for medical treatment. Relatives of the Americans told CNN and ABC News that the Americans had traveled to Mexico for one of them to get tummy-tuck surgery. Read the original article on Insider Mexican soldiers prepare a search mission for four U.S. citizens kidnapped by gunmen at Matamoros, Mexico, Monday, March 6, 2023. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said the four Americans were caught in the crossfire between two armed groups after they had entered Matamoros, across from Brownsville, Texas, on Friday. | Associated Press On March 3, four U.S. citizens were crossing the border from Brownsville, Texas, to Matamoros, Mexico, accompanying a friend for cosmetic surgery. Soon after crossing the border, their rental car was caught in a shootout between cartel members and crashed. Latavia Washington McGee, 35, and her close friends Shaeed Woodard, 33, Zindell Brown and Eric James Williams, 38, were kidnapped. This is a continuing story, where updates will be posted as information develops. Related Mexican cartel handed 5 men over for kidnapping, murder of U.S. travelers Friday, March 10 A signed letter of confession, along with five men, was turned over to law enforcement on Thursday, claiming responsibility for the kidnapping of the four Americans in Mexico and the death of a Mexican woman. The five men were bound and gagged and four were shirtless in front of a pickup truck with the note left on the windshield, as shown in a photo obtained by USA Today. The letter claimed to be from the Scorpion faction of the Gulf drug cartel, reported The Associated Press. It reads that those who had kidnapped and killed were guilty of a lack of discipline and had disobeyed the cartels rules, which include respecting the life and well-being of the innocent. We have decided to turn over those who were directly involved and responsible in the events, who at all times acted under their own decision-making, said the letter. Its hard to confirm whether the letter was sincere and whether it was really from the Scorpion faction, said Cecilia Farfan Mendez, a Mexico security researcher at the University of California, San Diego, per The New York Times. Since the cartel has much money to lose when the city is on lockdown with a big media presence, the letter could be an effort to diffuse the situation. Currently, no official statement has been made by the Mexican government regarding the letter. Story continues Who is Arely Pablo? Arely Pablo, 33, was a Mexican woman who was shot and killed at the initial shootout when the U.S. citizens were kidnapped, reported El Universario, a local news station. While getting off the bus, she was hit by a stray bullet. Pablo worked at a local copy and print shop and was an avid churchgoer, said the station. Her friends remember her as hardworking and a person without equal. Remains of 2 victims identified in Mexico kidnapping to be brought to the U.S. for autopsy Thursday, March 9 On Thursday, it was reported by CNN that Zindell Brown and Shaeed Woodard were the two members of the group who were killed. Their remains are to be brought back to the United States for second autopsies. The other two members of the group, Latavia Washington McGee and Eric James Williams were found alive on Tuesday, in what was described by the New York Post as a small, dirty shack in a rural part of Matamoros. The kidnapping took place a week ago on Friday. Williams was transported to Brownsville, Texas just across the border and underwent surgery on his legs, where hed been shot three times, his wife told CNN. Washington McGee, who was also transported to the hospital, was without any physical injuries, Mexican officials said, per CNN. But her mother, Barbara Burgess, said that the wounds probably lie beneath the surface. She watched them die, Burgess said, as she recounted what Washington McGee told her to CNN. They were driving through and a van came up and hit them, and thats when they started shooting at the car, shooting inside the van. ... She said the others tried to run and they got shot at the same time. She watched them die, Burgess said, as she recounted what Washington McGee told her to CNN. They were driving through and a van came up and hit them, and thats when they started shooting at the car, shooting inside the van. ... She said the others tried to run and they got shot at the same time. The two survivors were transported over the border with heavy protections in place and a military escort, per The Associated Press. There is speculation that the group was misidentified as Haitian drug smugglers, reported CNN. But Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, disputed the claims in a press conference Wednesday. Only one arrest has been made in connection to the kidnapping, per the New York Post. A man named Jose Guadalupe N. was allegedly standing guard outside the shack where the four were held and tortured although it isnt confirmed if he is an active member of the Gulf cartel in the area. Kidnapping victims have been found Wednesday, March 8 Four Americans kidnapped on March 3 after crossing the border into Mexico have been located. Two were found dead and two were found alive, said the governor of the area, Americo Villarreal Anaya, in a call on Tuesday, per CNN. As reported by the Deseret News previously, the group of Americans that traveled to Mexico in a white van included 33-year-old Latavia Washington McGee, Zindell Brown, Eric James Williams and Shaeed Woodard. Derived from the joint search actions, the four American citizens deprived of their liberty last Friday were found, Villarreal tweeted, per CNN. Unfortunately, two dead. Investigation and intelligence work continue to capture those responsible. Details will be given later. It has not been announced which of the victims are alive and which are dead, but one was killed at the initial confrontation, said one Mexican official, per The New York Times. The two who are alive are in a safe location and being attended to by medical personnel, reported The New York Times, but the extent of any injuries is unknown at this time. This story will be updated as new information becomes available. Related A Mexican cartel blamed for the kidnapping of four Americans last week appeared to issue an apology and turned over five of its own members to authorities for their alleged role in the abduction, according to a letter obtained by The Associated Press. We have decided to turn over those who were directly involved and responsible in the events, who at all times acted under their own decision-making and lack of discipline, said the letter, which claimed to be from the Scorpions faction of the Gulf cartel, per the AP. The letter was reportedly accompanied by a photo of five men bound and laying face-down on the pavement. One state official confirmed to the AP that five men had been found tied up inside a car with the letter. The news outlet obtained the letter from a Tamaulipas state law enforcement official. The four Americans were traveling to Mexico for a medical procedure last Friday when they were kidnapped by a group of armed men just after they crossed the border in Matamoros. Two were killed, one was injured and another remained unharmed. A Mexican citizen was also killed by a stray bullet. The letter reflects a familiar tactic used by cartels in an effort to smooth over bad publicity that could impact its business, according to the AP. The apparent letter from the cartel comes after Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said he was prepared to introduce legislation to set the stage for the U.S. to use force in Mexico. I would put Mexico on notice, Graham said in an appearance on Fox News earlier this week. If you continue to give safe haven to drug dealers, then you are an enemy of the United States. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Thursday slammed U.S. lawmakers for suggesting military action against Mexican drug cartels. We are not going to allow any foreign government to intervene, much less a foreign governments armed forces, Lopez Obrador told reporters during a press conference. We are not a protectorate of the United States, nor a colony of the United States, he added. Mexico is a free, independent, sovereign state. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. In a press conference Thursday, Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador rebuked U.S. politicians for proposing direct military intervention against the drug cartels and asserted that fentanyl is not Mexicos problem, but Americas. The move comes after Senator Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) said he would propose legislation to designate cartels as foreign terrorist groups, setting the stage for the U.S. to use military force. Here, we do not produce fentanyl, and we do not have consumption of fentanyl, Lopez Obrador said, as quoted by the Associated Press. Why dont they take care of their problem of social decay? Lopez Obrador listed reasons that he thought Americans might be turning to fentanyl, including the pressures created by single-parent families, parents who kick grown children out of their home, and people who put elderly relatives in old-age homes and visit them once a year. He suggested that the U.S. use family values to fight drug addiction. He made these statements despite overwhelming evidence that fentanyl is produced and processed in Mexico as well as indications that it is consumed at higher rates there than reported. The Mexican president also rejected suggestions from U.S. politicians that Mexico would allow direct military intervention from the U.S. At a press conference on Monday, Graham said, Were going to unleash the fury and might of the United States against these cartels. Were going to destroy their business model and their lifestyle because our national security and the security of the United States as a whole depends on us taking decisive action. Graham, who is working with Senator John Kennedy (R., La.) on the proposal, clarified that drug labs would be the target and that the U.S. would not be invading Mexico. However, Lopez Obrador made clear that he takes the proposals as threats, calling them an insult to Mexico and a lack of respect for our independence and sovereignty. Story continues Mexican foreign secretary Marcelo Ebrard joined Lopez Obrador in rejecting the GrahamKennedy proposal. It is obvious that this is an electoral strategy because, in addition to being impracticable, Mexico would never allow something like this. The consequences would be catastrophic for bilateral anti-drug cooperation, Ebrard tweeted. Lopez Obrador also threatened to launch a campaign against Republicans among Mexicans and other Hispanics who live in the U.S. We are going to issue a call not to vote for that party, because they are inhuman and interventionist, he said. Representative Dan Crenshaw (R., Texas), who also has called for military force against the cartels, responded to the Mexican presidents threat. Bring it, Crenshaw tweeted. Get a grip, he added. You should be campaigning against the cartels who are MURDERING your own people, not the Americans who want to help eradicate them. More from National Review MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Friday denied his government carried out unauthorized monitoring of its citizens, responding to a report that accused the military of hacking the communications of a prominent human rights activist. "We have to do investigations, but not spying, that's different," Lopez Obrador said in response to a question at a news conference, before complaining that several Mexican media outlets that published the allegations were biased against him. "I can guarantee we don't spy on anyone," he said. "There's nothing illegal." Mexican digital rights group R3D, along with other media, published documents this week that it said showed the armed forces had access to messages sent by rights activist Raymundo Ramos, who represents victims of military abuses in the violent northern state of Tamaulipas. Before taking office in 2018, Lopez Obrador vowed his government would not spy on its citizens, saying he had been a victim of this himself. After reports in October that controversial spyware Pegasus was used on the phones of some activists and journalists, including Ramos, Lopez Obrador denied that his government spied on journalists or opponents. It did use some kind of intelligence technology to fight crime, but he did not think it was Pegasus, he said on Friday. Mexico's defense ministry said it did not have any information on the matter. It has previously said it had contracted Pegasus from 2011 to 2013, without using the service for spying. R3D, along with Toronto-based digital watchdog group Citizen Lab, previously documented that Ramos' phone had been targeted by Pegasus in 2020, including dates that coincide with the alleged spying documented in R3D's latest report. When pressed by a reporter from news site Animal Politico, one of the media that broke the story, Lopez Obrador said he had not communicated with the military about the Ramos case but that he trusted the institution, calling Animal Politico's reporting on the matter untrue. Story continues "This is something you all made up, one more attack to supposedly hurt us," he said. The R3D report included a document that was among those exposed following a mass hack of armed forces emails. The report said the document provided evidence of spying activity carried out by the military. The document lists several messages that Ramos sent to journalists in July and August 2020 about the apparent shooting of three civilians by soldiers in the border city of Nuevo Laredo. (Reporting by Daina Beth Solomon; Additional reporting by Lizbeth Diaz; Editing by Dave Graham and Rosalba O'Brien) Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador slammed U.S. lawmakers on Thursday for suggesting military action against Mexican drug cartels, after two Americans were killed in a kidnapping across the border last week. We are not going to allow any foreign government to intervene, much less a foreign governments armed forces, Lopez Obrador told reporters during a press conference. We are not a protectorate of the United States, nor a colony of the United States, he added. Mexico is a free, independent, sovereign state. Four Americans were kidnapped by armed men just across the border in Mexico last week, after traveling to obtain a medical procedure. Two of the Americans died in the kidnapping, while one was injured and another remained unharmed. A Mexican citizen was also killed in the initial shootout. A Mexican cartel, known as the Gulf cartel, has reportedly claimed responsibility for the kidnapping, according to The Associated Press. The group condemned the violence in a recent letter obtained by the AP and said it planned to turn over those involved to the authorities. In the wake of the kidnapping, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said that he was prepared to introduce legislation to designate certain Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and set the stage to use military force if necessary. I would tell the Mexican government if you dont clean up your act, were going to clean it up for you, he told Fox News on Monday. Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas), who introduced a resolution in January to allow for the authorization of force against cartels in Mexico, doubled down on his effort following the kidnapping. Our goal is to help the Mexican people rid themselves of violent cartels and the corrupt politicians who take their money, Crenshaw said in response to a critical tweet from the Mexican senates majority leader. If youre against that, Im against you. However, such military action would require an Authorized Use of Military Force that would have to pass a divided Congress and be signed into law by President Biden, who has previously committed to working with Mexico to stop illegal drug trafficking. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. LAKE CITY, S.C. (AP) Relatives of Americans abducted in Mexico said that a purported apology from the Mexican cartel blamed for the attack has done little to dull the pain of their loved ones being killed or wounded. In a letter obtained by The Associated Press through a Tamaulipas state law enforcement official, the Scorpions faction of the Gulf cartel apologized to the residents of Matamoros where the Americans were kidnapped, the Mexican woman who died in the cartel shootout, and the four Americans and their families. But later in the day, the father of Shaeed Woodard, one of the two Americans who died, said he was speechless upon hearing that the cartel had apologized for the violent abduction captured in video which quickly spread online. Ive just been trying to make sense out of it for a whole week. Just restless, couldnt sleep, couldnt eat. Its just crazy to see your own child taken from you in such a way, in a violent way like that. He didnt deserve it, James Woodard told reporters Thursday, referring to his son's death. People comfort each other after a vigil for a group of Americans recently kidnapped in Mexico, at Word of God Ministries in Scranton, S.C., Wednesday, March 8, 2023. Two of the four Americans, all from South Carolina, were killed after being caught in a deadly shootout while traveling last week to Matamoros for one of them to get cosmetic surgery. (AP Photo/Sean Rayford) The cousin of Eric Williams, who was shot in the left leg during the kidnapping, said his family feels great knowing he's alive but does not accept any apologies from the cartel. It aint gonna change nothing about the suffering that we went through, Jerry Wallace told the AP on Thursday. Wallace, 62, called for the American and Mexican governments to better address cartel violence. The letter attributed to the cartel condemned the violence and said the gang turned over to authorities its own members who were responsible. Drug cartel apology:Mexican cartel apologizes for kidnapping, killing Americans, turns over 5 it says responsible Prayer vigil in South Carolina:Mexico kidnapping: SC friend warned police Americans feared missing We have decided to turn over those who were directly involved and responsible in the events, who at all times acted under their own decision-making and lack of discipline, the letter reads, adding that those individuals had gone against the cartels rules, which include respecting the life and well-being of the innocent. Story continues Drug cartels have been known to issue communiques to intimidate rivals and authorities, but also at times like these as public relations work to try to smooth over situations that could affect their business. And last Fridays violence in Matamoros was bad for cartel business. The Americans' killings brought National Guard troops and an Army special forces outfit running patrols that heat up the plaza in narco terminology, Mexican security analyst David Saucedo said. It is very difficult right now for them to continue working in terms of street-level drug sales and transferring drugs to the United States; they are the first ones interested in closing this chapter as soon as possible, Saucedo said. A photograph of five bound men face-down on the pavement accompanied the letter, which was shared with The Associated Press by the official on condition that they remain anonymous because they were not authorized to share the document. State officials did not immediately publicly confirm having new suspects in custody. A separate state security official said that five men had been found tied up inside one of the vehicles that authorities had been searching for, along with the letter. That official also spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the case. Last Friday, the four Americans crossed into Matamoros from Texas so that one of them could have cosmetic surgery. About midday, they were fired on in downtown Matamoros and then loaded into a pickup truck. A Mexican woman, Areli Pablo Servando, 33, was also killed, apparently by a stray bullet. Another friend, who remained in Brownsville, called police after being unable to reach the group that crossed the border Friday morning. Authorities located them Tuesday morning on the outskirts of the city, guarded by a man who was arrested. Zindell Brown and Shaeed Woodard died in the attack; Williams and Latavia McGee survived. On Thursday, two hearses carrying the bodies of Woodard and Brown crossed the international bridge to Brownsville, where the remains were handed over to U.S. authorities. ___ Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Mark Stevenson in Mexico City and Acacia Coronado in Austin, Texas. This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Mexico kidnapping: SC families don't accept drug cartel apology Oprah Winfrey is joined by Donald Trump and Donald Trump Jr. during a taping for the Oprah Winfrey show on Feb., 18, 2004, in Chicago. (GEORGE BURNS/AP) Donald Trump plans to cash in on celebrity currency once again. Personal correspondence to the former U.S. president will be published in a new book to be released next month, selling at a basic price of $99. Available for pre-order, faithful fans can cop an autographed copy for a whopping $399. Advertisement According to the publisher, Letters to Trump promises incredible, and oftentimes private correspondence, between President Donald J. Trump and some of the biggest names in history throughout the past 40 years! Its the second official book released by Trump, who served a one-term presidency after being elected in 2016. Advertisement The first, Our Journey Together, was released in December 2021 via Winning Team Publishing, which was co-founded by Donald Trump Jr. that same year. The 320-page coffee table book reportedly grossed $20 million in sales. Described as a colorful photo book, the new tome will feature 150 handpicked letters from the likes of former president Richard Nixon, Princess Diana, North Korea dictator Chairman Kim Jong Un, Queen Elizabeth II and even Queen of Media Oprah Winfrey. The letter from the former daytime talk show host dates back to 2000 when Trump was considered a high-powered New York City socialite. The note Winfrey wrote, according to Axios, says: Too bad were not running for office. What a team! Though the media mogul wields much political power and has close ties to Trump foes including the Kennedys, the Clintons and the Obamas, Trump says he still holds Winfrey in high regard, referring to her as amazing in his commentary. Sadly, once I announced for President, she never spoke to me again, Trump added. The written exchange between the two apparently came after Winfrey received an excerpt of his book, The America We Deserve, written with Dave Shiflett and published in 2000 by Renaissance Books. Long before Trump fueled the birther conspiracy targeting Barack Obama, the New York real estate mogul had lofty political aspirations, writing that his first choice for vice president would be Oprah Winfrey if he ran for president back then. Winfrey reportedly replied on Oprah inscribed letterhead: I have to tell you your comments made me a little weepy. Advertisement Its one thing to try and live a life of integrity still another to have people like yourself notice. Winfrey is in good company with letters from other big names extolling virtues on the future MAGA movement leader. Correspondence from King of Pop Michael Jackson, former president Ronald Reagan and megachurch millionaire Joel Osteen are said to also be featured in the book. The nearshoring wave has the manufacturing industry booming across the border in Juarez, those in the industry said in El Paso during a manufacturing trade show and conference focused on Mexico. Thats opened opportunities for suppliers and a host of others serving the manufacturing industry to snag more business. Those prospects brought suppliers and others tied to Mexico's manufacturing industry to the Downtown El Paso convention center Thursday for the annual trade show dubbed this year as Mexico's Supply Chain Nearshoring Summit. About 900 companies and 1,600 people registered for the event, said Sergio Ornelas, editor of Mexico Now, a trade publication for Mexico's manufacturing industry that organizes the annual event with different themes each year. Attendance at the trade show, canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, was about 30% higher than last year, Ornelas said. It's geared for suppliers to manufacturers in Mexico. Mexico's Supply Chain Nearshoring Summit and trade show, held Thursday at the Downtown El Paso convention center, drew about 900 companies and 1,600 attendees, according to an official with Mexico Now, the business publication that stages the annual event. Many companies are moving manufacturing out of China and other overseas locations to Mexico because of supply chain and logistics problems experienced during the pandemic, those in the industry said. That phenomenon has been dubbed nearshoring, or when work or services are done in a neighboring country rather than a companys own country. The global shift is what I prefer to call it. Its like nothing else weve seen in the history of this industry, Alan Russell, co-founder and CEO of The Tecma Group of Companies, said during a panel discussion at the trade show. Tecma is a large El Paso company operating 80 factories, or maquiladoras, in Mexico for a variety of companies. The Juarez manufacturing industry is the busiest its ever been and continues to grow, Russell said after his conference talk. Hes operated Tecma for 36 years. Alan Russell, co-founder and CEO of The Tecma Group of Companies, speaks at Mexico's Supply Chain Nearshoring Summit and trade show Thursday at the Downtown El Paso convention center. Jorge Mena, El Paso-based supply chain director for Eaton Corp.s manufacturing operations in Mexico and the United States, said demand for the electrical products Eaton makes is booming. Story continues Eatons problem is that its suppliers in the United States cant keep up with the demand, Mena said. So, Eaton, a huge, global company, is looking for more suppliers in Mexico and other places close to its factories, which include six plants in Juarez and one in El Paso, he said. "We're looking for reliable sources, for partnerships," to grow Eaton's supply base, he said during a conference panel discussion. The company has an initiative to look for small businesses owned by minorities, women and veterans to become Eaton suppliers, he said. Jorge Mena, supply chain director for Eaton Corp.'s manufacturing operations in Mexico and the United States, speaks at Mexico's Supply Chain Nearshoring Summit and trade show Thursday at the Downtown El Paso convention center. Francisco Navarro, CEO and owner of Precision Technical Molding, or PTM, in Nogales, Mexico, was at the trade show looking for new customers. The small, 5-year-old, plastic-injection molding company specializes in making plastic parts for the medical industry, which also has been booming, he said. But it also can do work for other sectors, he said. Eaton came by the company's booth, he said with a smile. Last years trade show resulted in PMT getting an electrical products company as a new customer, said Navarro, a Juarez native and University of Texas at El Paso graduate. Representatives of W. Silver Recycling, an El Paso metal recycling company, talk to an attendee at Mexico's Supply Chain Nearshoring Summit and trade show held Thursday at the Downtown El Paso convention center. Eduardo Vazquez, operations leader and part owner of Pro Border Suppliers, or PBS, a small, 2-year-old company with operations in Juarez and El Paso, said many small manufacturing suppliers went out of business during the pandemic, which has brought opportunities for other suppliers, including PBS. It provides assembly, packaging, machining and other services to manufacturers. The Juarez native and UTEP graduate started PBS with two partners after he was laid off as mechanical engineer with Honeywell in Juarez during the pandemic, he said. "More companies are sending buyers to trade shows. We have three potential (new) customers from this show," he said halfway through the daylong event. More: Atlanta firm to buy 37-acre East El Paso industrial park under construction Vic Kolenc may be reached at 546-6421; vkolenc@elpasotimes.com; @vickolenc on Twitter. This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Juarez factories see nearshore boom, El Paso trade show attendees say Michael Cohen (left) and Donald Trump. Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty Images; Brandon Bell/Getty Images Cohen took a shot at 'liar' Trump before meeting Friday with Manhattan 'hush-money' prosecutors. Trump's ex-lawyer is the key witness linking Trump to the $130,000 payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Prosecutors will decide 'soon' on seeking a grand jury vote to indict Trump on the 2016 payment, he said. Donald Trump's fixer-turned-nemesis said Friday that the former president is too much of a "liar" to ever agree to testify in his own defense before a state grand jury now hearing evidence in the Manhattan district attorney's hush-money probe. "I have to applaud District Attorney Alvin Bragg for giving Donald the opportunity to come in and to tell his story," Michael Cohen said, responding to a New York Times report that Bragg had invited Trump to testify before the grand jury next week, as a decision on a possible indictment looms. "Now knowing Donald as well as I do, understand that he doesn't tell the truth," Cohen, the hush-money probe's key witness, told reporters. "It's one thing to lie on your 'Untruth Social,'" Cohen added, taking a shot at his former boss's social media company before stepping inside the DA's office for what he called a "long" meeting with prosecutors working the hush-money case. "It's another thing to turn around and lie before a grand jury," Cohen said. "So I don't suspect that he's going to be coming." Cohen has predicted that Trump will be indicted "soon." Trump would face anywhere from probation to four years in New York State prison if convicted of what former Manhattan financial crimes prosecutors have called the most likely charge, first degree falsifying business records, a low-level felony under the state criminal code. The grand jury has since January been hearing evidence that could link Trump to the 2016 payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, according to published reports and independent reporting by Insider. Story continues Cohen was the payment's admitted "bag man," admitting in federal court in 2018 that he arranged for Daniels to get $130,000 just weeks before the 2016 election. Cohen was sentenced to three years prison for what federal prosecutors called an illegal campaign expenditure, for lying to Congress about plans to develop a Trump Tower in Moscow, and for a series of financial crimes. The $130,000 was paid in exchange for Daniels' agreement to not go public with an affair she alleged she'd had with Trump in 2006, and was an illegal campaign expenditure because it was meant to keep voters in the dark about the salacious allegations, Cohen admitted and federal prosecutors alleged at the time. Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels and has contested that the money was a campaign expenditure. Cohen's attorney, Lanny Davis, who was accompanying Cohen on his visit to the DA's office Friday, said the timing of Trump's invitation shows that Bragg's decision on whether to ask the grand jury to vote on an indictment is close. "You don't ask a former president of the United States, after all this time of criminal investigation, to come in to testify, unless you're ready to move forward," with a possible indictment, Davis said. "Donald Trump, as a private citizen, right before the election, directed Michael Cohen to pay hush money that Michael Cohen went to prison for," Davis said. "Now there's no dispute that it was Donald Trump's Justice Department that wrote that in a sentencing memo and in their information filed against Michael Cohen," Davis said. "So if he directed Michael Cohen to do a crime, according to his Justice Department go look it up it's a public document then how is it possible that he's not guilty, if he directed Michael Cohen to pay the hush money." Former Trump advisors Hope Hicks and Kellyanne Conway have also met with prosecutors in recent days. They were major players in the 2016 presidential campaign and could link Trump directly to the Daniels payment. Lawyers for Trump have not responded to Insider's requests for comment on the story. The Manhattan DA's office has not commented on the ongoing probe and grand jury. Read the original article on Business Insider DETROIT (AP) A man charged with threatening the lives of Jewish Michigan public officials on Twitter was indicted on a hate crime charge Thursday, a prosecutor said. Jack Eugene Carpenter III, 41, of Tipton, Michigan, made threats against Jewish government officials in Michigan on the social media platform while he was in Texas last month, U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison said. Hate and bias-related crimes poison our communities and make people afraid simply because of who they are or what they believe, Ison said. We will not tolerate such actions, and we will prosecute those who engage in them to the fullest extent of the law. Carpenters post on Feb. 17 read, in part: Im heading back to Michigan now threatening to carry out the punishment of death to anyone that is jewish in the Michigan govt if they dont leave, or confess, Ison said in a news release. Carpenter is being held in detention pending trial, Ison said. He was arrested in Texas on Feb. 21. A telephone message seeking comment was left Thursday evening for Carpenters lawyer, Jean Pierre Nogues. Carpenter faces up to five years in prison if convicted, Ison said. Carpenter has submitted a document in court challenging the federal government's jurisdiction over him. The FBI hasnt publicly identified the state officials Carpenter threatened, but Attorney General Dana Nessel said Carpenter wanted to kill her. She described him as a mentally disturbed man. A Michigan lawmaker who is Jewish has said she and two others who are Jewish were informed by the FBI about Carpenter's arrest. Youre getting threats constantly. ... It didnt really affect me probably like it should because Ive been dealing with extremism and antisemitism since October, November, said Rep. Samantha Steckloff, a Democrat from suburban Detroit. She said threats took off last year when Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, made antisemitic comments in interviews and on social media. Ye has expressed some regret. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. GERARD JULIEN/AFP via Getty Images Microsoft's Bing has exceeded 100 million daily active users around a month after its AI update. Engagement with the search engine has also improved, according to the company. Bing's new AI chat feature seems to have been popular with users despite some early issues. Microsoft's Bing has crossed 100 million daily active users just over a month after the launch of its AI-powered update. Microsoft announced the news via a blogpost published on Wednesday, calling the number "a surprisingly notable figure." Engagement with the search engine has also improved, with more people conducting daily searches, according to the company. Bing's AI update seems to have proved to be a hit with users. The company said the new version of the search engine had more than one million users and that 45 million chats had been conducted since the preview began. The company also said a third of the people using the AI-powered search are new to Bing. Bing's new chat feature has faced some early issues. Much of the early conversation around the new search was dominated by the chatbot's tendency to give "unhinged" answers to some queries. Users quickly discovered that prodding the chatbot during long conversations resulted in entertaining and sometimes creepy interactions. Microsoft tried to address the issue and enforced a new limit on how long people could speak to the chatbot. The move was unpopular with some users, however. Microsoft has sought to position the AI-powered Bing as a threat to Google's search dominance. In an interview last month, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella called Google "the 800-pound gorilla in search," adding, "I want people to know that we made them dance." Google has announced plans to incorporate its own AI tech into its search engine but it has yet to be released to the public at scale. Representatives for Microsoft did not immediately respond to Insider's request for further comment, made outside normal working hours. Read the original article on Business Insider A 19-year-old Middletown man is accused of firing seven shots into a Falls home last year following a large fight in a school parking lot over a fake social media account that smeared the memory of another teen. Authorities allege that a confidential informant identified Gavin Stanec, who also uses the name Gavin Nicol, as the shooter involved in the Aug 23 incident in Falls. Eight people, including an 11-year-old, were inside the home when the shooting happened, but no injuries were reported, according to a probable cause affidavit. Crime scene tape near a squad car. 4 injured in school yard fight in FallsShots fired at home after four stabbed in fight outside school in Falls Stanec faces multiple felony and misdemeanor charges including aggravated and simple assault, discharging a firearm into an occupied structure, carrying a firearm without a concealed carry license and recklessly endangering another person. He was arraigned Friday before District Judge Jan Vislosky and sent to Bucks County Corrections Facility in lieu of 10% of $950,000 bail. He was also ordered to have no contact with the victims. Falls police initially responded to the area of Levittown Parkway and Willow Way for a report of road rage where a driver alleged a white SUV cut him off and then fired a gun at him before fleeing into the Willow Wood neighborhood. When police started to check the area a homeowner on Willow Drive told an officer that someone shot at her home. A short time later another officer radioed that a white Dodge Durango carrying one of the alleged shooters was last seen on Willow Drive near Mill Creek Road. Police found seven 9-millimeter casings and one 45-caliber casing in the street near the Willow Drive house, the affidavit said. The next day police executed a search warrant and collected seven bullets from areas inside the home including one bullet that went through a bedroom wall and struck a pillow on a bed. The damage to the home was estimated at more than $5,000, police said. Story continues Police learned that three of the eight people inside the home at the time of the shooting were involved in a large fight earlier that night in the parking lot of the Penn Valley Elementary School. The fight between two groups of juveniles and young adults was reportedly sparked by accusations involving a fake Instagram account used to desecrate the memory of a 17-year-old Falls boy who died in a car accident in December 2021, the affidavit said. Police were not called while the fight was happening. Two people reported they were cut with sharp objects and sought treatment at a hospital and were released, police said. About a week after the shooting, police executed a search warrant on a white Dodge Durango suspected to be the vehicle seen leaving the area shortly after the shooting on Willow Drive, the affidavit said. In the vehicle police confiscated a folding knife and four 45-caliber bullets. In mid-October, police spoke with a confidential informant who alleged that Stanec admitted to him he committed the shooting on Willow Drive. Stanec allegedly admitted he got out of his vehicle and fired shots at the home because he knew people inside had allegedly stabbed his friends earlier in the evening. Stanec is under 21 years old and ineligible to obtain a conceal carry permit in Pennsylvania. According to the affidavit, Stanec claimed that he used two guns with different calibers and threw one of the guns away at the scene after it jammed or was empty. Later, Stanec returned to retrieve the gun but it was gone. More Falls Township newsFalls municipal offices to move to make way for renovations to township building More Pennsbury school newsPennsbury to move forward on new track, field, but some stadium improvements delayed. Here's why This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Middletown man accused of shooting at Falls after Instagram fight An 18-year-old man has been arrested after a missing girl was discovered safe 200 miles away from her Indiana home, police say. The 14-year-old girl was believed to be in extreme danger when she went missing from Georgetown, a Louisville-area town in southern Indiana, officials said in a Tuesday, March 8, missing person alert. The girls father told WDRB he went to wake up his daughter for school on Monday, but she was gone. Terry Ross was listed as a person of interest in the girls disappearance, the News and Tribune reported. Authorities later learned the girl was with Ross in Attica, police said. Attica, in western Indiana, is 200 miles away from Georgetown. Ross was discovered walking down an Attica street and was taken into custody without incident, police said. Officers in Attica then found the girl staying in a shed behind a residence, according to a news release. She was reunited with her father. Ross was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The Floyd County Sheriffs Office, which issued the Silver Alert earlier in the week, said more charges could be possible. The girls father said in a Facebook post Friday she is doing good and glad to be home, but noted she is having a rough time. Missing teen was sex trafficked to dozens after meeting Ohio man on dating app, feds say Missing 17-year-old believed to have been groomed is discovered safe, Michigan cops say JACKSON, Miss. (AP) A Mississippi man who burned a cross in his front yard to intimidate his Black neighbors was sentenced Thursday to 42 months in prison. U.S. Southern District of Mississippi Judge Sul Ozerden handed down the sentence after Axel Cox, 24, pleaded guilty to a federal hate crime in December. Cox, of Gulfport, was charged with violating the Fair Housing Act over a December 2020 incident in which he put together a wooden cross in his front yard and propped it up so his Black neighbors could see it. He then doused it with motor oil and lit it on fire. He also addressed the family with racially derogatory language, records say. This cross burning was an abhorrent act that used a traditional symbol of hatred and violence to stoke fear and drive a Black family out of their home, said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Departments Civil Rights Division. Clarke added, While one might think cross-burnings and white supremacist threats and violence are things of the past, the unfortunate reality is that these incidents continue today." The Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacist groups historically practiced cross burnings to intimidate Black and Jewish people. A grand jury indicted Cox in September 2022. His attorney, Jim Davis, filed a notice of intent for him to plead guilty to the cross burning in November. Davis did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday. Davis told the Biloxi Sun Herald that Cox was reacting to his neighbors allegedly shooting and killing his dog. He added that his client acted totally inappropriately. ___ This story has been updated to correct that Cox was sentenced to 42 months in prison, not 42 years as an initial Justice Department news release stated. The departed has corrected the sentence length. With AP Photo. ___ Michael Goldberg is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/mikergoldberg. The exterior of the church. Square One Media. A former church building in St. Louis, Missouri, is on the market for $2.495 million. Built in 1929, the church was converted into an office for an advertising company in 2006. Chris Frank, the owner, says that the place can be turned into a co-working space "with little to no extra work." A former church in St. Louis, Missouri, is on the market for $2.495 million. Constructed in 1929, the building has been used as an office space for the past 17 years. The front of the former church. Square One Media The building used to be the site for the Holy Family Catholic Church until it was closed in 2005. In 2006, the former church was completely renovated and transformed into an office for an advertising company, Ted Wight, the listing agent from Dielmann Sotheby's International Realty, told Insider. "It's hard to find a relatively small free-standing building that's unique and interesting, so these churches have my name all over them," Chris Frank, the CEO of the advertising agency Cfx, told Insider. It took six months to create the architectural drawings for the new office, and another year for the renovation to be completed. The building still retains numerous original features, like terrazzo floors and stained glass windows. Square One Media Church pews have been removed to make space for 28 work desks on one side and a mini-photography studio on the other side, photos show. The photography studio takes up about a third of the floor space, Frank said, and can be removed to make space for more desks if needed. It's not the first time that Cfx has converted an unconventional building into their office, Frank said. Prior to the church, the agency which Frank runs with his wife, Megan had renovated and operated out of a former bank building. "The inspector in that building said, 'This is great. You want to buy an old school, an old church, or an old bank. They're just built better and differently.' So ironically, I've checked two of those off the list," Frank added. The sale includes the former church and an attached rectory building both of which add up to over 16,000 square feet of space, per the listing. Story continues The office desks. Square One Media Although it's an office now, the place still "feels like a church," Wight said. "The exterior has not been changed," Wight said. "The interior still has beautiful terrazzo floors, some stained glass windows, and frescos." The advertising agency moved into the former rectory on the church grounds even before the conversion was completed. "We were on site for the majority of our construction so I got to experience all that, which is fun," Frank said. It was important to Frank that the converted office still preserved the architectural details of the original church. A small meeting table in the common area. Square One Media One of the ways to ensure that the old and new features look cohesive is to keep them separate. "A lot of our partition walls are floating with the press of a button, they go up and down. So does part of the photo studio wall," Frank said. The panels are connected to steel cables that go all the way up to the ceiling, which is about 50-feet high, Frank said. They're stationary in the spot where they're placed, so they can't be rearranged, although they can be moved up and down. "Even the privacy panels for all the desks are an inch away from the pillars of this building. There's a space between everything, so the two worlds live independently," he added. The former altar space has been converted into a board room with a curved, horseshoe-shaped marble table that can seat 30 people. The meeting room. Square One Media All the furniture in the office is custom-made, Frank said. "It was quite the challenge to have the boardroom table made because I fell in love with those trumpet-style table legs, but the manufacturer was concerned that they wouldn't support the weight of the marble," Frank said. In the end, he had to hire an industrial engineer to design a table support system to demonstrate that the legs would be sturdy. "I had to have an entire support system built for the underneath of that table, and get that all signed off on before they would finally sell me the legs," Frank added. On both ends of the sanctuary are massive paintings of biblical figures that have been preserved from the building's time as a church. A massive painting depicting biblical figures hangs over a common area. Square One Media "We were going to donate them to the art museum. But when they came out to see it, they said that the paintings are more valuable installed in this building," Frank said. Even though the building has been desanctified, Frank says that the space still feels sacred. "In the church's mind, it's no longer a holy space because they desanctified it in their last service, but no one can deny a lot of prayers, baptisms, weddings, and funerals have happened here," he added. "It's a holy space and you can feel it. There's just this peace here." An ideal buyer would be another creative firm, or someone who wants to open a co-working space in the city. The church property also comes with a full kitchen. Square One Media "At least in St. Louis, all of the co-working spaces are sold out or have waiting lists," Frank said. "And this space is ready for that it could be a co-working space with little to no extra work, and it'll probably be a pretty big business." Apart from the sanctuary and the board room, there are still plenty of common areas that can be turned into a workspace with the addition of extra desks. Although the former church building is considered a commercial property, future owners can also turn it into a residential space without extra permits, Wight said. One of the bathrooms on the property. Square One Media The entire property comes with five bedrooms and nine bathrooms, together with a full kitchen, per the listing. The former church was first listed for sale in October 2022, per listing history. Houses in the Tower Grove neighborhood of Saint Louis, Missouri, have a median listing home price of $209,000, per data from real-estate platform Realtor.com. There are currently 24 single-family homes for sale in the area, with prices ranging from $62,555 to $2.495 million. The converted church is the most expensive listing in the area. Frank says that he and his wife are selling the church now as they're looking for their next architectural project. A bird's eye view of the church. Square One Media Prior to the church office and before they had two kids, the couple moved every two years. "Sounds corny but our physical spaces have always been like our life-size palettes it's where we get to express ourselves. But for the last 17 years, we stopped and maintained a business and raised a couple of daughters," Frank said. Now that their children are grown up, it's time for them to go back and stoke their creativity with a new project, Frank added. "The perceived distraction from our business Cfx to do another space isn't a distraction at all," he added. "It fuels my overall energy, it fuels my creativity, and everything just gets worked on that much harder." Read the original article on Insider People watch the dyeing of the Chicago River, as seen from the 39th floor penthouse ballroom at the Royal Sonesta hotel, on March 12, 2022, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune) Chicago St. Patricks Day Parade: The festivities are this weekend, centered on one of the largest St. Patricks Day parades in the country. First, the Chicago River dyeing begins at 10 a.m. Saturday on the Chicago River between Orleans and Columbus, thanks to Chicago Plumbers Local 130 and their secret formula. Then the parade steps off at 12:30 p.m. Saturday on Columbus Drive between Balbo Drive and Monroe Drive, with three hours of step dancers, marching bands and bagpipers led by the Shannon Rovers Irish Pipe Band. More information at chicagostpatricksdayparade.org South Side Irish Parade: Down in the Beverly and Morgan Park neighborhoods, the 2023 South Side Irish St. Patricks Parade will be from noon to 3 p.m. Sunday on Western Avenue between 103rd and 115th Streets. The parade is about faith, family, community and Irish heritage, said Marianne Rowan Leslie, the South Side Irish Parade Committee co-chair. More information at southsideirishparade.org Advertisement St. Patricks Day river cruises: To get an even closer look at the Chicago Rivers emerald sheen, take advantage of one of the several river cruises put on by Chicagos First Lady (cruisechicago.com), Wendella (wendellaboats.com), Chicago Fireboat Tours (fireboattours.com) and Shoreline Sightseeing (shorelinesightseeing.com). [ 87 St. Patricks Day specials at Chicagoland bars and restaurants ] [ Tribune guide to Chicago St. Patricks Day 2023 ] Janeane Garofalo: From her days as a cast member on Saturday Night Live to roles in too many movies to list, Garofalo is a hot ticket for the Den Theatre in Wicker Park. Shes also an outspoken activist and, yes, a stand-up comedian. March 10-11 on the Heath Mainstage at Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave.; 773-697-3830 and thedentheatre.com Advertisement "Mozart Immersive" is the new video-surround experience at Lighthouse ArtSpace in Chicago. (Kyle Flubacker) Mozart Immersive: The Soul of a Genius: The next video-surround experience at Lighthouse ArtSpace is now open, dedicated to the composer from Vienna, with music recorded with an orchestra conducted by Constantine Orbelian. The visuals include video created with dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov and the 18th-century destinations of Mozarts world. From March at 10 Lighthouse ArtSpace Chicago at Germania Club, 108 W. Germania Place; mozartimmersive.com Flavors Festival of Youth Dance: This festival from the Joel Hall Dancers & Center gives the citys youth dance companies a chance to perform in a professional production. This years show includes the Hyde Park School of Dance, Ensemble Espanol, Deeply Rooted, Forward Momentum and Black Girls Dance, among other companies. 7 p.m. March 12 at the Logan Center for the Arts, 915 E. 60th St.; tickets are $10-$15 at events.uchicago.edu Logan Square Makers Market & Bar Hop: Check out 45 vendors selling homemade products like jewelry, knit items, home decor, metal works, art, soap and candles. The event takes place at four locations across Logan Square: Revolution Brewing, Navigator Taproom, Pilot Project Brewing and Chicago Distilling Co. 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. March 12, various locations; free, more information at eventbrite.com The Comedy of Errors: Beginning this weekend, the final play directed by Barbara Gaines as artistic director of Chicago Shakespeare, the theater she founded in 1986. As adapted by Gaines, Shakespeares comedy is transported to the Golden Age of film. Through April 16 at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Courtyard Theater on Navy Pier; 312-595-5600 and chicagoshakes.com Everyones favorite neighbor, who once called Central Florida home, is having a week of activities inspired by him and his dedication to kindness. Mister Rogers Week of Kindness, which will include a week-long series of educational and public events inspired by nationally renowned childrens television host and American icon Fred Rogers, begins March 20, on what would have been Rogers 95th birthday. Central Florida was a major part of Rogerss life. In 1948, he transferred from Dartmouth College to Rollins College. There, he met the love of his life and future spouse, Sara Joanne Byrd, on the tarmac of what is now the Orlando Executive Airport. READ: Iconic Disney Parks treat heading to grocery stores His sister Elaine and one his sons, John, attended Rollins. As did his nephew, Dan Crozier, who served on the schools music faculty for many years, according to a news release. Rogers and his wife returned to Winter Park annually. Its there he used his time in Central Florida to write many of the scripts and original music used in Mister Rogers Neighborhood. READ:Fiddler on the Roof star Topol dead at 87 The free public events run from March 23-25: March 23 Friends and colleagues of Fred and Joanne Rogers will share warm stories and favorite memories of the former Winter Park neighbors. Seating is very limited for the event, which begins at 2 p.m. at the Womans Club of Winter Park, 419 S. Interlachen Ave. March 24 Mister Rogers Prayer Breakfast of Thanksgiving and Celebration will take place Friday at First Baptist Orlando, 3000 S. John Young Parkway, from 8 a.m. to 9:30 pm. Cast member and friend David Newell, who played Mr. McFeely in the show, will lead the discussion with Pastor Seth Kane of The Foundry. Breakfast is included courtesy of Panera Bread. READ: 9 things happening in Central Florida this weekend From noon to 1:30 p.m., Newell will lead a lunch discussion at the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce, 151 W. Lyman Ave. Lunch will be courtesy of Chick-Fil-A. Story continues From 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., take a peek behind the scenes of some of the landmark episodes of Mister Rogers Neighborhood, along with a Q&A with show producer Margy Whitmer, Newell and Hedda Sharapan, senior fellow of The Fred Rogers Institute and Child Development Consultant of Fred Rogers Productions. March 25 Meet Mr. McFeely himself, David Newell, during a meet and greet at Taste of Oviedo in the Orlando Mall parking lot from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Click here for more information. READ: Magic Kingdom adds new doll in wheelchair to its a small world 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 Montgomery County Sheriffs Office is requesting aid from the public to find a suspect in connection with a catalytic converter theft. >> TRENDING: Letter claims cartel handed over men who killed Americans On Thursday, February 9, deputies from the Washington Township substation were dispatched to the Holiday Inn Express in the 7700 block of Washington Village Drive on reports of a catalytic converter theft, a spokesperson for the department stated in a Facebook post. Deputies retrieved surveillance footage showing an unknown person driving a white Ford van. The Ford pulled into the parking spot next to the hotels van, the spokesperson said. After some time, the suspect returned to their vehicle and drove off. Anyone with information about the videoed suspect is asked to contact Detective Linda Shutts at (937) 432-2765. Protesters against an Atlanta Police Department training facility being built are continuing their protests for the third day in a row. Dozens of protestors are gathering at The King Center in downtown Atlanta. Channel 2s Michael Seiden learned that a number of groups, including the Black Alliance for Peace, Black Voters Matter and the New Georgia Project, would be joining the Thursday evening protest and taking to the streets to call for an end to citys plan to build a training facility in DeKalb County. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Organizers say they are expecting a peaceful protest like they saw Tuesday and Wednesday. While protestors gathered peacefully outside the DeKalb County Jail on Wednesday evening, chaos erupted inside the jail. DeKalb County Sheriff Melody Maddox says several detainees arrested after Sundays violent protest at the training site shattered windows and tossed burning objects from their cells. It was clear the protestors were focusing on persons in custody, and some of those persons in custody took advantage of the situation to respond by expelling burning objects from a broken cell window, Sheriff Maddox said. RELATED STORIES: Jennifer Hyman, a defense attorney for some of those accused, is fighting to get her clients out of jail. We dont have any proof that our clients have done that, and the state hasnt really come forward with any evidence whatsoever to point the blame at any specific individual whether its my client or anyone elses client, Hyman said. Sheriff Maddox said her deputies are working to identify those who used a projector to broadcast messages on the walls of the jail, which violates a state ordinance. She says they plan on holding those people accountable. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Story at a glance Women and those with family incomes less than $50,000 per year were more likely to report not filling a prescription due to cost. Similar proportions of Democrats and Republicans said the same. Results are based on a poll completed by 1,500 U.S. adults. More than one-third of Americans say cost has prevented them from filling a prescription. Thats according to a poll completed by 1,500 U.S. adults in March 2023. Of these, 37 percent said theyve not filled a prescription due to cost. Another 10 percent preferred not to answer the query. Both women and individuals with an annual family income less than $50,000 were more likely to say theyve skipped filling prescriptions due to cost, at 43 percent and 44 percent, respectively. However, similar shares of Democrats and Republicans said theyve had this experience, poll results show. The United States is notorious for its high prescription drug costs. But for Americans with diabetes, this month brought some good news for insulin affordability. Eli Lilly, one of the countrys largest pharmaceutical companies, announced it would cap the price of insulin at $35 per month, a move that was welcomed by lawmakers and activists alike. America is changing faster than ever! Add Changing America to your Facebook or Twitter feed to stay on top of the news. In the wake of the announcement, democratic lawmakers, led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) introduced legislation that would cap insulin princes at $20 per vial. Over 8 million Americans currently use insulin to manage their diabetes, while the average cost of the drug nearly tripled from 2002 to 2013, according to the American Diabetes Association. More than half of poll respondents said they know someone who uses insulin. The vast majority of respondents said they support government limits on how much companies can charge for insulin, with just 16 percent somewhat or strongly opposing this position. Findings were similar for other drugs. Nearly three-quarters of respondents somewhat or strongly support government limits on the cost of cancer drugs, while 72 percent said the same about blood thinners and 69 percent about anti-depressants. Story continues Regardless of their personal struggles to afford medication, most Americans also support government negotiating prices with insurance companies and Medicare negotiating its drug costs. The margin of error for the Economist/YouGov poll was approximately 3 percent. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Pay transparency illustration "So how much do you make?" Credit - Illustration by Katie Kalupson for TIME So, how much do you make? For decades, this was a deeply personal and uncomfortable question no one wanted to answer. But pay transparency is becoming more mainstream today. Already seven states require employers to disclose salary ranges during the hiring process. And more workers are taking matters into their own hands, too. On social media, people are openly sharing what they do for work and how much money they make. The goal is to empower others to seek higher pay and to address pay inequity, which disproportionately affects women and minorities. One of the leading voices in this movement is Hannah Williams, a 26-year-old content creator from Alexandria, Va. who in April 2022 launched Salary Transparent Street, a viral TikTok series in which she asks strangers across the country how much money they make. Her videos have reached tens of millions of people with short, lively interviews that feature teachers, nurses, data analysts, and government workers, all revealing their pay. Recent videos highlighted an event planner making $80,000 per year; an interpreter making $43,000; a college statistics professor making $70,000; a software engineer making $191,000; a nurse anesthetist making $280,000; and a water vendor outside the White House who reported making $3,000$4,000 per week. READ MORE: Why the Gender Pay Gap Has Persisted for Two Decades But people arent always happy with what theyre learning. Theres a lot of anger about whether or not people deserve to make how much they make and that it should be more well-distributed, Williams tells TIME. I see a lot of comments asking why are we paying teachers $40-$50k but software engineers $600k and CEOs even more. The salary gaps are also noticeable among women and people of coloranother source of frustration among viewers, Williams says. A new Pew Research Center survey, published March 1, found that women earned an average of 82% of what men earned, similar to where the pay gap stood in 2002. Story continues In less than a year since launching Salary Transparent Street, Williams has amassed around 2 million social media followers and is about to hit $1 million in revenue thanks to brand deals and partnerships with companies like Indeed, the job-search platform. The success of her brand has led other social media users to share their own stories about compensation and pay; thousands of people on Reddit have posted what they make in recent months. Some examples from the Reddit threads include: A 23-year-old apprentice at a utility company who made $135,000 including overtime in Washington, D.C. last year; a public school teacher with 18 years of experience making $87,000 in Portland, Ore.; a 35-year-old social media professional making $65,000 in Oklahoma City; a commercial lender at a bank making $255,000 with 10 years of experience in Chicago; and a 47-year-old software development manager making $188,000 in Charlotte, N.C. Now we know whos buying all those multi-million dollar houses, one user posted in response to some of the six-figure salaries. Props to them for finding that kind of work I guess, but that kind of income as normal just strikes me as obscene. No wonder we have such inequality and crazy high [cost of living] in the US. Only the high paying ones want to post, remember that, another user commented. Hannah Williams, a 26-year-old content creator from Alexandria, Va., is the founder of Salary Transparent Street, a viral TikTok series in which she asks strangers across the country how much money they make. Courtesy Hannah Williams How to use pay transparency to get a raise Open discussion of salaries among peersor even strangersis a powerful tool to fight pay inequity, Williams says. Not only does it serve an altruistic purpose, but it puts workers in the same profession in a better position during salary negotiations. It can also help us understand how regular American workers view the state of the economy. We hear a lot of conversations about cost of living, Williams says. I make a point to ask people about the cost of living on their salary. Do you feel fairly compensated? Are you able to make ends meet or do you live paycheck-to-paycheck? Theres a good amount of people who tell us that they do live paycheck-to-paycheck. READ MORE: How to Use New Pay Transparency Laws to Ask Your Boss for That Raise Williams, who quit her day job as a data analyst making $115,000 to become a full-time content creator, says many people share stories about struggling to pay off student loans or being unable to find a job in the field they have a degree in. Ive been seeing a lot of teachers leaving the workforce to go do other things because teaching just doesnt pay the bills, she says. Thats a really sad trend; the people who should be some of the highest compensated in our society, like teachers and social workers, who really impact our societies and guide them in the right direction, are sometimes the worst paid. With demand for workers increasing and the pandemic shifting work culture, workers and some state and local lawmakers have begun to dismantle some of the forces that discourage open salary discussion. Roughly two dozen states, including California, New York and Massachusetts, have banned employers from asking job candidates for a salary history, which tilts some leveraging power back to candidates. And in some industries, unionization has become a powerful tool in fighting for higher wages. But having these conversations is much easier said than done. Still, there are ways to gain confidence in discussing your salary. Williams suggests workers first do market research to see what others in the same job title are making and also consider the cost of living in the area. Then, they shouldnt be afraid to leverage that information to employers. My goal is to bring awareness to people that they can do market research and understand how salaries are determined, Williams says. Once that pressure starts building, corporate America is going to have no choice but to make changes. Once you talk about your salary, you can really see what those discrepancies are and call out the fact that sometimes salaries are just determined based on what a recruiter thinks you should earn instead of what the structure in the market research should be compensating them. The Ukrainian government terminated the agreement with the Russian-controlled Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) on the free use of religious buildings located in the Lower Lavra, a part of Ukraine's most significant Orthodox monastery. The UOC-MP's church members must leave the Lower Lavra's premises by March 29, according to a statement published by Culture Ministry on March 10. Earlier, the Ukrainian state didn't extend the Russian-affiliated church's lease of another part of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra called the Upper Lavra, starting the process of regaining control over the monastery. In 2013, during the presidency of ousted Viktor Yanukovych, the Kremlin-linked patriarchate signed a lease agreement on the use of Lower Lavra's buildings in central Kyiv for an indefinite period. President Volodymyr Zelensky's government started checking the legality of the UOC-MP's lease on the Lower Lavra in early December, finally concluding that the church had violated the contract's terms, the Culture Ministry's statement reads. Apart from the Moscow Patriarchate, the premises of the Lavra are also used by a museum. The UOC-MP has faced backlash in recent months due to its deep and long-standing ties to Russia, as well as the discovery of Russian passports, anti-Ukrainian propaganda, and stolen icons during nationwide raids on its religious sites. Searches have also taken place at the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra. Despite claiming independence from the Russian Orthodox Church in May and condemning the ongoing war in Ukraine, the UOC-MP remains subordinated to Moscow in the hierarchy of the Orthodox world. On Dec. 1, Zelensky announced the start of a procedure to ban activities of the Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine. The Kyiv Pechersk Lavra ("pecherska" means "cave"), founded in 1051, is one of the first monasteries in Kyivan Rus. It belonged to the Ukrainian branch of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople until 1688 when it was annexed by the Russian Orthodox Church. Since 1688, the Lavra has been used for Russian imperial propaganda. The independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine on Jan. 7 held a Christmas service at the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra for the first time. The Great Bell Tower of the Kyiv Cave Monastery, January 6, 23 Read also: Ukrainian Orthodox Church will get contracts to use two Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra churches long-term Several hours later, the message has been scrubbed from the website, but Ukraines Culture Ministry confirmed UOC-MP has to vacate the premises by March 29. "The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra National Reserve (hereafter referred to as the Reserve) and the Holy Dormition Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (hereafter referred to as the Monastery) concluded Agreement No. 2 of July 19, 2013, on the free use of religious buildings and other property that is state property by a religious organization (hereafter referred to as the Agreement)," the statement reads. According to the message, the reserve (state-owned legal entity which holds ownership of the monastery) warned that the agreement would be terminated on March 29, 2023, based on the conclusions of an interdepartmental working group and a March 9 letter from the Culture Ministry. UOC-MP was urged to vacate the state-owned premises it leases on monastery grounds by March 29. Read also: Keeping up ties with Moscow? The processes begun within the UOC-MP The leader of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU, which is unaffiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church), Metropolitan Epiphanius, said that the state is reviewing the perpetual lease agreement for the Lower Lavra by UOC-MP, as its transfer was carried out with multiple violations, in addition to documented legal violations over the past 20 years. UOC-MP, in turn, said the decision to terminate the lease was an ultimatum from Culture Ministry officials and claimed it lacked legal justifications. Read also: Zelenskyy imposes personal sanctions against religious organizations affiliated with UOC MP On Feb. 1, the State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience concluded that the UOC-MP remains a structural unit of the Russian Orthodox Church, despite a statement of the Church Council on "full autonomy and independence." Story continues On Jan. 19, the Ukrainian government introduced a bill to ban activities of religious organizations in Ukraine that are controlled by the aggressor state. On Jan. 1, Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra Reserve terminated its agreements with UOC-MP to lease religious buildings on the territory of the Upper Lavra. On Jan. 7, for the first time in history, the head of the OCU, Metropolitan Epiphanius, performed a Christmas service in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra monastery. Read also: Kyiv Pechersk Lavras Dormition Cathedral, Refectory Church back in state ownership On Dec. 2, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy enacted the National Security and Defense Council's decision to impose personal sanctions on representatives of religious organizations with centers of influence in Russia. The list includes 10 people, including former MP and cleric of the UOC-MP Vadym Novynskyi, the abbot of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra Petro Lebid (Metropolitan Pavlo), and so-called metropolitans and bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church in occupied Crimea. Read also: Ukraines SBU seizes pro-Russian books, cash, Soviet passports amid raid on Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra In 2022, Ukraines SBU security service began inspections of religious buildings of the UOC-MP throughout Ukraine. In many cases, the SBU found anti-Ukrainian literature and symbols. 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 Beaumont Bricka is accused of sending make-up artist Eve Taylor messages from fake accounts - Solent News & Photo Agency The mother of a stable hand tried to take the blame for his elaborate stalking campaign, a court has heard. Beaumont Bricka, 26, allegedly used a network of fake social media accounts to message Eve Taylor, a make-up artist with whom he was obsessed, in a plot to frame her boyfriend as the stalker. As well as sending "appalling" messages to Ms Taylor, he sent threats to himself from the fake profiles to look like a "victim" and even tried to get Ms Taylor's father fired from his job as a doctor, the court was told. Brent Martin, prosecuting, said Mr Bricka's strategy was initially successful as Ms Taylor broke up with her boyfriend, Tim Dobson - who was then arrested on suspicion of waging a "vendetta" against his girlfriend. Police quickly found no evidence against him and turned their attention instead to Mr Bricka, jurors were told. But after arresting Mr Bricka, his 63-year-old mother, Tonia, stepped forward and claimed she was behind the stalking, Mr Martin said. Prosecutors allege she is "lying" to protect her son, Portsmouth Crown Court heard. Tonia Bricka claimed she was behind the stalking - Solent News & Photo Agency Mr Bricka is on trial accused of 10 counts of stalking and perverting the course of justice, while his mother is charged with perverting the course of justice. They deny the charges. Jurors were told Mr Bricka set up multiple fake social media accounts, at least 34 different phone numbers, six email addresses, and used three mobile phones during his year-long campaign. He is accused of stalking a total of 10 victims - terrorising Ms Taylor and nine other people connected to her, including her father Dr Tim Taylor. He waged his campaign against Ms Taylor after they met at the stables where he lives near Chichester, West Sussex, and continued the behaviour when she turned down going on a walk. Mr Bricka was said to have worked across the world as a stable hand, attending international showjumping events to help groom horses. Prosecutors allege his harassment began at the start of 2019 when Ms Taylor received a Facebook message from an account with the name Rosie Hart telling her "can you leave my boyfriend alone you ugly little freak". Story continues In June 2019, Mr Bricka's stalking is alleged to have escalated when he used a fake profile named Olivia Summers telling her Mr Dobson was seeing other women. In the coming weeks, Ms Taylor was bombarded with messages and calls from different numbers and accounts, the court heard. Mr Bricka also sent an email to Dr Taylor's hospital, St Richard's in Chichester, falsely alleging he sent indecent messages to a patient's young daughter, the prosecutor said. The court heard that Mr Bricka would "comfort" Ms Taylor, who was unaware he was allegedly behind it and who she considered a friend. Prosecutor Brent Martin described Mr Bricka's alleged campaign as a "warped and twisted plan", adding: "[It was] all part of the defendant's plan, to not only split Eve and Tim up, but ensure Tim went to prison for something the defendant had done leaving the way clear for him." Mr Bricka, who lives with his family in Aldingbourne, near Chichester, was arrested in April 2020 after police spotted him on CCTV topping up a pay-as-you-go phones used to send messages. Mr Martin said Bricka's mother "made a complicated investigation more complicated" by making a 'false confession' in October 2020. The trial continues. Donaldson gave away 20,000 pairs of shoes to students in South Africa. youtube.com/@beastphilanthropy In his latest charity video, MrBeast gave away 20,000 pairs of shoes to African students in need. Some continue to criticize the YouTuber for profiting off of systemic issues like poverty. But many on Twitter struggled to wrap their heads around why MrBeast continues to be bashed for doing good deeds. MrBeast is defending his latest charity video where he chronicled "giving 20,000 shoes to kids in Africa," as fans are also vehemently supporting the YouTuber amid a wave of backlash in recent weeks. In his latest charity video, which has three million views and counting, MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, said that a lack of shoes prevents children in South Africa from being able to walk to school each day. "They have to walk for miles over harsh terrain, broken glass, and contaminated water," he says at the top of the video. Donaldson teamed with Barefoot No More, a nonprofit based in Johannesburg that makes seamless shoes out of plastic granules, to help carry out his latest large-scale charitable giveaway. He chronicled the event on Beast Philanthropy, a secondary channel where all ad revenues benefit his charity of the same name. As expected, the video was met with criticism on Twitter, including allegations that Donaldson was patching up systemic issues like poverty for his own profit rather than fixing the underlying problems. (The top-ranked YouTuber has received this criticism in the past, most recently for his January viral video in which he said he "cured" a thousand people of blindness.) Donaldson once again addressed these accusations. On Thursday, the creator took to Twitter to respond to a user who tweeted that his videos aren't "really charity." "People praising things like this like 'good guy Mr Beast' ignore the reality that he makes a profit from these types of videos. This isn't really charity," @UpwardBoss wrote. Their tweet has been liked over 5,500 times. Donaldson retorted that he nor his charity Beast Philanthropy profit from their YouTube endeavors. Story continues "No hate, you prob just haven't seen this channel but it actually is a charity and I obviously don't profit from it," Donaldson responded to @UpwardBoss. "100% of all revenue from beast philanthropy goes towards running my food banks and helping ease human suffering, and since inception I've personally put in millions into beast philanthropy." Despite some ongoing criticism, by Friday, many more people rushed to Donaldson's defense. Twitter users and fellow YouTubers say they find these criticisms deeply unfair and that Donaldson has done more good than harm. "Mr Beast helped more people?" tweeted commentary YouTuber MoistCr1TiKaL. "Luckily the intellectual saints on Twitter are here to explain why good things are actually evil and nothing positive is real." Some noted that while it's fair to criticize the mechanisms that Donaldson operates within, the backlash has become way overblown as of late. "He's a part of the machine. He's not gonna fix capitalism, he's going to operate within it and it's fine that he also does good," said the YouTuber Ludwig Ahgren in a recent video about the ordeal. "You don't have to love him because hes doing charity work but to hate him for it seems a little backwards. Is it better if he doesn't do it? I don't think so." Others made light of the discourse, joking that they would hold the YouTuber at gunpoint if he saved their mother dying from cancer, or have an epic tantrum if he ended world hunger. In addition to defending Beast Philanthropy, Donaldson also sought to clarify the origins of his MrBeast Burger ghost kitchen business. Responding to a critical tweet that has since been deleted, Donaldson said the chain has roots in altruism as well. "I started Beast Burger during Covid because restaurants were struggling and I wanted to give them a way to earn extra money," he wrote. "I've also never made a penny off it, we just reinvest the revenue into ads to help restaurants make more money." Insider has reached out to Donaldson and his team for further comment. Read the original article on Insider A few paragraphs on Orson Welles 1962 adaptation of The Trial can suggest only so much of the films special visual effect not effects, plural, but a single, singular two-hour experience, as dynamic and strange as anything Welles made. It operates as if dreamed into concrete existence, though in the world of Josef K., played by Anthony Perkins, nothings concrete, or holds for long. He is a company man (we never hear what company; in Kafka, hes a head cashier at a bank) accused of an unspecified crime. He tries to get answers and to fight the power, haplessly. His purported advocate, billed as The Advocate and played by Welles, is not a man of the people, simply a man out for one person, and that person is not his client. Advertisement Once accused, Josef K.s surroundings are defined by obstacles and humiliations and piles of useless forms and detritus of a civilization without a human pulse. The movie has one, because its alive, barely controlled but often exquisite, every second. Distributed by Rialto Pictures, the tack-sharp new digital 4k restoration of The Trial opens Friday at the Music Box Theatre. Kafka began writing his nightmare in 1914, before the Great War. He never completed it, though its abruptly ended, posthumously published form made perfect, jagged sense while going on to mess with millions of college-age brains worldwide for decades. Its a reductive cliche by now. Maybe you were assigned The Trial in school and one day you find yourself at the Department of Motor Vehicles, waiting, waiting, or getting redirected to another line, and suddenly, under your breath, youre muttering something about the whole thing being Kafkaesque. Advertisement The wonder of Welles freehanded version is that its more Wellesian than Kafkaesque. Josef K. careens from chaste but fraught encounters with one predatory, untrustworthy female after another, in and among office hours and legalistic mazes. (The women are played by Jeanne Moreau, Romy Schneider and Elsa Martinelli, and no one said Kafkas tale wasnt misogynistic.) Welles and company shot much of The Trial in the Paris Gare DOrsay train station, as well as in Zagreb and Prague. Brutalist apartment buildings collide with massive, typewriter-dotted workrooms that appear to have been designed by a totalitarian architect out for revenge. Arrested by the state for an unspecified crime, Josef K (Anthony Perkins) faces his accusers in "The Trial." (Rialto Pictures / HANDOUT) Along with everyone on screen, Perkins and Welles, in their scenes together as victim and advocate, are photographed by Welles and first-time (!) cinematographer Edmond Richard as eternally warring combatants within the frame. Its a hurtling nightmare, even when the narrative refuses to proceed in an orderly fashion. One particularly striking sequence, a three-person, supertight-closeups marvel, keeps the faces of Perkins, Schneider and Akim Tamiroff in proximity so tight it squeaks. In later interviews and discussions, Welles acknowledged that his conception of Josef K., as an ambitious climber and ill-fated conformist, made things hard for Perkins to activate across the breadth of the picture. Among the voluminous Welles analysis in existence, Chicago-based critic Jonathan Rosenbaum has written beautifully about the film he considers to be Welles most troubling. In one essay Rosenbaum quotes the Peter Bogdanovich Welles interview in which Welles, on the topic of his fathers premature, dissolute death, talks about taking the advice of his surrogate parents, Roger and Hortense Hill, in refusing to see Richard Welles until he sobered up. And that was the last I ever saw of him, Welles told Bogdanovich. Ive always thought I killed him (and) I dont want to forgive myself. Thats why I hate psychoanalysis. I think if youre guilty of something you should live with it. If Orson Welles wasnt the director for The Trial, then no one was. The Trial 3.5 stars (out of 4) No MPA rating (rampant justified paranoia) Running time: 1:58 Advertisement How to watch: Premieres March 10 at the Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport Ave.; musicboxtheatre.com. Michael Phillips is a Tribune critic. mjphillips@chicagotribune.com Twitter @phillipstribune Alex Murdaughs lawyers appealed his double-murder conviction on Thursday, a week after the once prominent South Carolina attorney was convicted of the 2021 murders of his wife and son. The initial filing, a notice of appeal in the South Carolina Court of Appeals, does not include any arguments. A jury found Murdaugh guilty of killing his wife Maggie Murdaugh and 22-year-old son Paul Murdaugh last week, after just under three hours of deliberation. He was sentenced to life in prison on Friday. Murdaugh initially called the police on June 7, 2021, to report the deaths of his wife and son, claiming he had found them dead on the familys Colleton County property upon returning from a visit to his mothers house. He was arrested and charged for their deaths a year later. His story appeared to unravel in court, after prosecutors uncovered a video from his son Pauls phone that suggested he was at the dog kennels on the night of the murders, contrary to prior claims. Paul and Maggie Murdaugh were killed near the kennels. Murdaugh ultimately admitted to lying about his whereabouts that night while on the stand at trial, but maintained that he did not kill them. He blamed his dishonesty on paranoia from his drug addiction. Prosecutors made the case that the disgraced lawyer killed his wife and son to distract from his financial woes. Murdaugh, who still faces nearly 100 counts of financial crimes, also admitted to stealing from his clients and law partners while on the stand. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. On a special episode of the 5 Things podcast: The grisly Murdaugh murders hang over the town of Hampton, South Carolina, like the Spanish moss on the live oaks that line its roads. Thrust into the national spotlight, Hampton is trying to turn the page on the tragedies and corruption that made it the specter of the nation. But how does it move on? 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. Taylor Wilson: Midnight trains and tragic accidents are recurring themes in the timeline of the Murdaugh family dynasty, leaving behind tragedy and fortune. In the life of Randolph Murdaugh Sr., trains would bring him both. The tragedy came late one evening when a freight train sped through a crossing where a car was stopped. The man in that car was Randolph Murdaugh Sr., the great grandfather of convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh. The fortune, well that came when Randolph Sr.s son sued the railroad company for his fathers death. He claimed that the train failed to blow a whistle or ring a bell at the crossing. The suit was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount. But the Murdaughs' reputation as shrewd and skillful in the courtroom was sealed. That reputation is now in tatters. A mother and a son dead. A convicted man now serving two life sentences. Hampton is a community torn apart by tragedy. The town has been categorized in all kinds of unflattering ways by the national media called backwards and seedy. The impact of the Murdaugh murders and the media circus that followed will likely be felt for a long time to come in this quiet corner of South Carolinas low country. Im Taylor Wilson and having covered the trial off and on over these past weeks, I wondered how this community recovers from not only the trauma of the murders but being under the microscope of national media for so long. Judge Clifton Neman: Story continues This has been perhaps one of the most troubling cases not just for me as a judge, for the state, for the defense team, but for all of the citizens in this community, all the citizens in this state, as we have seen based on the media coverage throughout the nation. Taylor Wilson: Judge Clifton Newman used stark language at Alex sentencing. Judge Clifton Newman: You have a wife who has been killed, murdered. A son savagely murdered. A lawyer, a person from the respected family who has controlled justice in this community for over a century, a person whose grandfathers portrait hang at the back of the courthouse that I had to have ordered removed in order to ensure that a fair trial was had by both the state and the defense. Taylor Wilson: With roughly 2,500 residents, Hampton is like many dying small towns that dot the south. Known for its farmland and pine timber. Its annual Watermelon festival. And now also, the grisly Murdaugh murders. But it hasnt always been this way. Michael DeWitt: Hampton is the quintessential small town, small southern town. It's one of those small towns that, uh, almost seems like sometimes America forgot. // Taylor Wilson: Michael DeWitt is a Hampton native and the longtime editor of the Hampton County Guardian newspaper. Michael DeWitt: Two train tracks bisect the county, just much like the two largest rivers run through the county. We're known for our natural resources, our natural industry farming, and we're about an hour, hour and a half away from anything. If you want to visit a city like Charleston or Savannah or Beaufort, we're an hour away from everybody and always on the edge, always on the verge of being something, but never quite being more than just a small town. I was born and raised here in Hampton County, and I, I'm one of the people who chose to stay because of what this place has to offer. It's, it's peace and quiet. You're, you know, your neighbors, if you need a helping hand, there are neighbors from one end of the county that'll, that'll, that'll come out and help you. Taylor Wilson: Michael says that unlike Hamptons portrayal in the media, the Murdaughs arent universally despised. Feelings in the community are mixed. And complicated. Michael DeWitt: The murders of Paul and Maggie and this entire Murdaugh crime saga have impacted Hampton County like no other community. If you leave our borders all you hear a lot of this negativity and this, you know, idea that this entire family is corrupt. This entire family dynasty is nothing but but evil and corruption, and that's not true. This dynasty of illegal and political dynasty that have helped a lot of people. There have been some negative things. There have been some controversy over the years. No, nobody holds power without misusing it from time to time. It, it seems like, so over the years it's been kind of a two-sided type of dynasty where the rest of the world may see, you know, this family is in one way. The people here are, I'd say half the county's very close to the Murdoch family. Either you work with them, go to church with them, go to school with them. The world may have made up its mind about Alex Murdaugh, but Hampton County's still very much divided. Taylor Wilson: But not everyone in Hampton is feeling conflicted. Becky Hill: We trusted the Murdaughs, we trusted Alex, we trusted anybody that was involved with him, um, because most everybody involved with him. We didn't have any reason to, to not doubt, and, and I think he took advantage of that and has left a bad, bad name for so many people involved with him. Taylor Wilson: Becky Hill is the County Clerk for Colleton where the trial was held. Becky Hill: I think for the most part, the way that the trial was handled, Judge Newman was just awesome and just the way he handled himselfm it trickled down to us, to law enforcement, to the city, to the county, to so many people working together to show the world actually, just how, how good Colleton County is and we come together and so that one act does not represent who we are. Taylor Wilson: For nearly a century the Murdaugh family was nearly untouchable. Nearly. Michael DeWitt: This story has revealed some a dark side to the legal system, to the law enforcement community. We've got some reforms to make. How was this man able to... and this also involves the banking system of Hampton County. You know the most, one of the most prominent bankers in town and one of the most prominent attorneys in town, the richest and wealthiest among us were able to steal from the poorest among us and get away with it for so long. Taylor Wilson: For the community, some measure of justice has already been delivered. The sons of the family housekeeper Gloria Satterfield, who died from a fall on the estate in 2018, successfully uncovered Alexs plot to steal the insurance money. Murdaugh was disbarred soon after. The lawyers meanwhile have recovered a payout of 7.5 million for Glorias sons, money which they used in part to found Glorias Gift a non-profit that pays for food and gifts for Hamptons struggling families at Christmas. Meanwhile, the family of Mallory Beach, who died a year later in a boating accident with an allegedly drunk Paul Murdaugh at the wheel, eagerly awaits their day in court. Their civil case against the family has been scheduled for August. Still, they say the verdict and sentencing of Alex Murdaugh in the Murdaugh murders has helped start their healing process. Mark Tinsley: in terms of the community moving on, I think that, that when you are under this specter of the good old boy system, the impact of EEC Murdoch's influence on the community, I think the community begins to heal. One step at a time. But this guilty verdict is probably the first step. Taylor Wilson: The Beach familys attorney iMark Tinsley is hopeful that the guilty verdict in the Murdaugh murder case will be the first step of many that will help bring accountability and justice to the Hampton community. Mark Tinsley: We've demonstrated that there can be justice in this community and that we will see through his lies. And there will be a level of accountability if you do something wrong this heinous. But there are other people to be held accountable. I think that's the way to show the world that we don't care who you are. If you do wrong, you're gonna be held accountable. Whether you're Greg Parker and you're almost a billionaire, or you're Alex Murdaugh who has a hundred year legacy of influence in the county. I think that's the way they're gonna begin to heal. Taylor Wilson: We tried speaking with others in the community, the owner of the big restaurant in town for example, the local cafe, the florists . But even now, nobody wanted to talk. For the most part, I think the community will need to turn the page on the Murdaugh story out of the medias glare. And while the rest of the world turns its gaze to the next small town wracked by tragedy. the midnight trains keep whistling by. This has been a special production of 5 Things. This episode was produced by Shannon Rae Green and Laura Beatty. Im Taylor Wilson. Have a great evening! This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Alex Murdaugh's murders and the trial hang over Hampton, South Carolina BuzzFeed News; screenshots via Twitter Prominent members of Mexican drug cartels are using Twitter to recruit new members, send warnings to rival gangs, post gory images and videos, and glorify the narco lifestyle. Some of these accounts were banned by Twitters safety team between 2012 and 2015, but they have been reinstated since Elon Musk bought the company last year. These are the conclusions of a new report released on Thursday by the Alliance to Counter Crime Online, a coalition of organizations that research online crimes including drug trafficking, child sexual abuse, and romance scams. Now, the ACCO is calling on Twitter to block and remove narco content and to once again suspend the accounts that spread it.The groups report comes days after Mexicos Gulf cartel killed two of four American citizens whom they had kidnapped after the Americans crossed the border. On Thursday, the cartel reportedly apologized for its actions. Social media is a tool that provides benefits to and strengthens drug cartels by enhancing organizational and operational capabilities, report author Dr. Nilda Garcia, assistant professor in the political science department at Texas A&M International University, told BuzzFeed News. These communication outlets provide major opportunities for drug cartels not only to engage in public relations strategies, gain legitimacy, incite fear, and recruit, but also facilitate the diversification of criminal activities that involve extortion, drug sales, and human smuggling online. Some of the cartels imagery appears to violate Twitters policies around violent content. One video posted by a member of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, headed by Nemesio Oseguera, one of the worlds most-wanted drug lords, features decapitated heads of rival cartel members being tossed into a bonfire. Another tweet posted by a member of La Chapisa, a faction of the Sinaloa cartel, features a victim being scalped. Under Musks leadership, the report said, Twitters efforts to remove this content and block these accounts has declined. Some of Musks actions like firing over 70% of Twitters employees, including content moderators responsible for keeping the platform safe have made the problem worse, according to the report. Story continues Twitter shouldnt provide a platform for Mexican cartel members to spread their hate and incite violence, Gretchen Peters, executive director of the ACCO, told BuzzFeed News in an interview. We are asking them to study the problem and really examine this issue more closely. Twitter, which reportedly doesnt have a press department anymore, did not respond to a request for comment from BuzzFeed News. Extremists and other bad actors have flourished under Musks leadership, as thousands of previously banned accounts were reinstated, including those of far-right figures like MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell and former Donald Trump ally Steve Bannon. Earlier this year, Twitter sparked outrage after it allowed members of the Taliban to buy blue verification checkmarks for their accounts. (Twitter removed the checkmarks from these accounts shortly thereafter.) Unlike the Taliban, members of the drug cartels havent bought blue checks yet, according to the reports findings. Garcia said that she suspects that this is because gang members dont want to attract more attention and potentially get deplatformed again. Using social media can be a double-edged sword for them, she said. They have learned how not to be as vulnerable, and not attract more attention from authorities. Since the cartels accounts arent officially verified, determining their authenticity was a challenge. To determine if accounts were legitimate, Garcia said, she looked for signs of association with other cartel accounts. She also examined the geographical location of the accounts in question. The author of a book called Mexicos Drug War and Criminal Networks: The Dark Side of Social Media, Garcia is an expert on the Sinaloa Cartel, which she said has a strong presence on Twitter. She estimated that on the platform the cartel reached more than 140 million people from nearly a dozen countries, including the US, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, and Mexico. They have a wide-ranging fan base, she said. screenshot via Twitter Some cartel members are more brazen than others. Rena la Rana Arzate Garcia, a member of the Sinaloa Cartel, for instance, has his Wanted by the FBI poster as his Twitter header image. The Cartel del Noreste has used its Twitter accounts to actively attract new members, posting recruitment notices right in its Twitter bios and inviting anyone interested to join the cartels Discord, the report states. (However, by the time the report was published, the Cartel del Noreste had removed such calls.) Peters told BuzzFeed News that the ACCO planned to report the cartel links to Twitter only after sending its report and evidence to lawmakers and regulators, including the Federal Trade Commission, to prevent the platform from simply deleting them and letting the evidence disappear. I dont even know if Elon Musk is aware of this content on his newly acquired platform, Garcia said. Maybe if he is aware, he would do something about it. More on this PATERSON Efforts to create local civilian boards that would investigate allegations of police misconduct have stalled in the New Jersey Legislature for more than two years. Social justice activists assert the lack of progress on those reforms has sent a disturbing message of non-accountability to law enforcement officers. The inaction, they said, has perpetuated problems that they claim have resulted in such incidents like the recent fatal police shooting of Najee Seabrooks in Paterson. What it boils down to is that both political parties lack the courage to really make any meaningful police reform, said Jason Williams, an associate professor of justice at Montclair State University. Najee Seabrooks A bill that would allow cities to create civilian complaint review boards was drafted in the aftermath of George Floyds murder in 2020. Similar bills were introduced in January and March in 2022, but none of them has come up for a vote by the full state Senate or Assembly Its disgusting that it hasnt gone anywhere, said Newark activist Larry Hamm, particularly in light of all the pronouncements by officials, both elected and non-elected, talking about how terrible the death of George Floyd was. Williams and Hamm said many public officials pander to the public with rhetoric, rather than action. Theres all this smoke for police reform, but no fire in terms of anything that is going to have significant impact, Hamm said. Newark launched a civilian review board in the middle of last decade, but the police unions filed a lawsuit opposing the Brick Citys ordinance on the grounds that it conflicted with existing state Attorney General Guidelines for disciplining law enforcement officers. That case went to the New Jersey Supreme Court, which in August 2020 struck down key portions of Newarks law, including those that gave the civilian board investigative powers, saying the city ordinance overstepped the powers set by the Legislature. Our view:Can Najee Seabrooks' fatal shooting be the moment to change Paterson's police? | Editorial Story continues Subscriber exclusive:Najee Seabrooks death is latest controversy over police role in mental health crises Where the legislation stands Assemblywoman Shavonda Sumter of Paterson said she was among the prime sponsors of a bill designed to provide cities with the powers the Supreme Court said were lacking regarding civil review boards. The mayors of the states three most populous cities Newark, Jersey City and Paterson all testified in favor of the bill during committee hearings, Sumter said. Sumter said her Assembly committee eventually approved the measure. But the legislative leaders never brought the bill up for a full vote and it died during the 2020-21 session. Sumter said some change were made in the version of the bill introduced during the current legislative session, revisions she said that affected nuances of the bill, like whether the review boards should be formed at the county or municipal level. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka announcing that the city will move forward to get subpoena and investigatory powers for their civilian review board. Sumter said New Jerseys police unions have not expressed any outright opposition to the bill during the legislative review. But she said the unions identified the nuances that needed change. State police union leaders could not be reached for comment for this story. Sumter said she has asked the Senate president and Assembly speaker since the beginning of 2022 for the current version of the review board to be posted for a committee vote. As chairperson of a committee, Sumter said she does not have that power. Neither the president nor speaker outright refused to put the bill up for a vote, Sumter said. Instead, they simply have not responded to her requests. Paterson Press reached out to Senate President Nicholas Scutari and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin both Democrats asking why they have not put the civilian review bill forward. Neither responded for this story. Assemblyman Benjie Wimberly of Paterson, another sponsor of the review board bill, expressed frustration about its lack of progress. To me, it just seems like common sense, Wimberly said. This would protect governments; this would protect citizens. Why not? Asked why the bill has languished, Wimberly said, Opposition from law enforcement is probably the biggest thing thats happening. Earlier:Lawyer for Paterson cops who shot Najee Seabrooks says they tried to help him Najee Seabrooks: What the Paterson Healing Collective's director said in his memory Activists seek new review board effort after Seabrooks' death Patersons Black Lives Matter group cited the creation of a civilian complaint review board as one of its demands on the day after Seabrooks, who was employed as a violence intervention specialist, was killed by police. Law enforcement sources have said Seabrooks was brandishing multiple knives and lunged at the cops when they shot him. Seabrooks friends and family said the police overreacted by entering the apartment of a man having a mental health crisis. Members of the organization where Seabrooks worked, the Paterson Healing Collective, have asserted that he would still be alive if they were allowed to talk to him during a standoff that lasted for more than four hours on March 3. Sumter said she hoped the recent tragedy would help create the political will to support the civilian review board plan. She said in the past legislators thought they didnt have enough votes for passage. Im doubling down, Sumter said of her efforts to get the bill voted on. Paterson Press asked Gov. Phil Murphys press staff if he supports the bill and has tried to get the Legislature to move forward on it. Murphy spokesman Tyler Jones cited what he described as police reform initiatives, including making body cameras mandatory and requiring police-involved deaths to be investigated by the Attorney General and reviewed by a grand jury. He has made it clear in the past, Jones said of Murphy, that he supports granting civilian complaint review boards subpoena power, and his stance remains the same. But the Murphy administration did not say whether the governor applied any political pressure to get the Sumter legislation moving in either chamber of the Legislature. What the proposed legislation would do Under the proposed law, members of the review board would be appointed by the mayor and appointees would be required to receive state stipulated training. The boards reviews would be limited to complaints about police excessive force, and other types of abuse, like offensive language or making misleading statements to citizens during an investigation. The board would be allowed to review a police departments Internal Affairs files and be authorized to subpoena witnesses and documents, the proposed law said. The board would issue reports and recommendation to the mayor or police chief. Law enforcement officials would be required to provide a written response to the boards recommendations within 60 days, the bill said. Despite Sumters statement that police unions have not openly opposed her bill, social justice activists attribute the lack of legislative action to the influence of law enforcement supporters and suburban white voters. This shows you how powerful the unions are, said Williams, the Montclair State professor, they dont even have to raise their voice to have impact. Joe Malinconico is editor of Paterson Press. Email: editor@patersonpress.com This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ Civilian Review Board legislation stalled Najee Seabrooks All parking spaces in Naperville commuter rail lots will transition to daily fees in the coming months. The Naperville City Council Tuesday voted to eliminate the parking permit system at the Route 59 and Naperville/Fourth Avenue Metra rail stations and require commuters to pay only for the days they park. City staff said the move will optimize parking in the lots and provide fair access for all commuters. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic changed the frequency people commute to Chicago, city staff was working to address the problem of spaces not be used in permit lots. Effective immediately, no new permits will be issued for any Naperville commuter parking lots. In the coming months, staff will modify the municipal code for council consideration with a goal implementing the daily pay-by-plate fee model in July. Quarterly permits will be valid until the end of 2023, giving permit holders time to adjust to the new program while freeing up unoccupied permit spaces to be used by other commuters who do not hold a quarterly permit. Not all residents are on board with the change. Naperville commuter Michael Hackett told the council it took 10 years for his family to get a parking permit in 2008, and hes not ready for the city to throw out the system. Its a convenience that I enjoy and that I need, Hackett said. He doesnt want to return to the days of juggling schedules and dropping off his car early to ensure he has a parking spot when he catches the train later in the morning. Councilwoman Theresa Sullivan said she and her husband also performed crazy calisthenics when they worked downtown and her kids were in day care. It was insanity, and the problem was we didnt have a parking permit, said Sullivan, whos been working to fix the commuter parking problem since joining the council in 2019. Permit parking is an antiquated system because people shouldnt have to wait 10 years to receive a permit, she said. The daily fee system should be flexible enough to deal with parking when rail ridership increases. Story continues This is the first step in giving us the flexibility to make sure that everybody who needs to go or wants to take the train downtown from Naperville now has a chance, instead of The Hunger Games for parking that weve lived with for years thats been just a real problem, Sullivan said. Jennifer Louden, deputy director of Transportation, Engineering and Development, said the decision was not taken lightly. We do understand that there are many people who still rely on these permits and this is presenting a considerable change, Louden said. By switching to a pay-by-plate model, commuters wont have to remember the space they parked in that day. Theyll use their own license plate as an identifier. Louden said the four machines at Main Station and the five at Route 59 as well as the pay-by-phone app and the call-in system through pay-by-phone will support the change. Right now, the city has more parking than it needs for commuters, she said. When demand does return, the city can look into implementing more technology, such as parking guidance and reservations systems, Louden said. Staff has yet to determine the cost of daily fees. Because revenue from parking fees pay for maintenance of the commuter lots, fees will need to cover those costs. Councilwoman Jennifer Bruzan Taylor said one concern is whether the city will offer discounts to people who commute four or five times a week. Louden said while the city cant discount for individuals, one option may be to discount certain days where ridership is lower, such as a Monday or Friday. Naperville resident Paul Biles, in a letter to the council, called on the city to refund the fees made by those waiting for a parking permit. He has two deposits for the Kroehler and Burlington/Parkview lots near the main Naperville station. Administrative or not, these deposits were made in good faith that permits would be issued when available, he wrote. In its Commuter Connection, the city said the wait list fee was a nonrefundable administration fee, not a deposit, therefore it will not be refunded. Anyone with questions about the transition to daily fee parking can contact the city at 630-420-6100 and choose option 4 or email commuter@naperville.il.us. Elise Crawley, a Naperville resident with a parking permit for the Route 59 lot, said in a letter to the council that she commutes five days a week. Allocating spots on a first-come, first-served basis always advantages the same people whose work schedules start earlier in the day. It is the same as saying were always going to pass out leftover cupcakes in alphabetical order, Crawley said. The plan imposes increased time, money and convenience costs on those who utilize the parking lot the most and provides only a modest benefit and access to closer spots to those who use it less frequently, she said. subaker@tribpub.com A newborn baby was found abandoned in a trash can inside a gas station restroom, California police told local news outlets. A clerk at the Fullerton gas station found the baby crying in the restroom, ABC7 News reported. Officers found the baby in a trash can about 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 9, and performed lifesaving measures, the Fullerton Police Department said in a news release. The baby was taken to a hospital and is in critical but stable condition, police said. Police said after a thorough investigation that included looking at surveillance footage, a 25-year-old woman was arrested early March 10 on charges of attempted murder and child abuse. Under state law, parents can safely surrender a newborn within 72 hours of birth with no questions asked, according to police. The baby can be taken to a public or private hospital, designated fire station or other safe surrender site. Fullerton is about 30 miles southeast of Los Angeles. Awful, chilling moment: Fresno Bee newspaper carrier finds newborn on Madera County road Woman follows screaming after dark and finds abandoned baby in woods, Florida cops say Newborn baby found abandoned in bushes wrapped in a T-shirt, Texas police say This is an excerpt from Incoming, BuzzFeed News morning newsletter dedicated to making sense of this chaotic world we live in. Join the club. BuzzFeed News Before Andrew Tate became a kickboxer turned influencer who boasted that he was absolutely a misogynist, before he infamously opined that rape victims must bear responsibility for their assaults, before he gained millions of followers and became one of the most popular online figures among teenage boys, and before he and his brother, Tristan, were arrested in December for allegedly running a trafficking ring that forced women to create online pornographic content no one suspected he would become one of the most notorious figures in the internet manosphere . Dan Shenk, who knew the Tate family when Andrew and Tristan were children growing up in Goshen, Indiana, said people like me, and many others in Goshen, remember [Andrews parents] Emory and Eileen and the kids very fondly, he said. Ive had quite a few people say, Oh, you knew Emory and Andrew. What happened to Andrew? It just doesnt compute, because there were such positive feelings that people had about the Tate family. Andrew, who has maintained his innocence and stands in pretrial detention, comes from a family of high achievers, particularly the women. The brothers paternal grandmother, Emma Cox Tate, was an entrepreneur who set up a trucking company in the 1970s, attaining success in a male-dominated industry. Andrew and Tristans aunts include lawyers, an Ivy League academic, and a business owner who operates a successful McDonalds franchise. But it is the history of violent, competitive men in the Tate family that explains the development of Andrew and Tristan. Andrews father, Emory Tate Jr., wrote in a 2011 Facebook post that the times I struck a woman (in passion) I never left a mark. No trace. Hyper control.... super-control of the human animal. They love me still. Their grandfather, who enlisted in the military to escape his childhood of poverty and sharecropping, allegedly beat his children with a belt. Story continues Through it all, Andrew and Tristans aunt Elizabeth continues to support her nephews. We love them. And we are not agreeing with everything they say politically, but we know their hearts, she said. Now an attorney based in Arizona, Elizabeth told BuzzFeed News that while she believes her nephews will be exonerated, she hopes the experience changes them. They werent perfect. Theres a lot of arrogance, she said. But this is humbling. And we pray that they will come back and they will put their lives back together. Trump could be the first former US president to be indicted Manhattan district attorneys may soon charge Donald Trump for paying hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, the New York Times reported . Trump has been the subject of numerous criminal investigations, but has never been charged with a crime. SNAPSHOTS A drug used to treat asthma attacks is in short supply and the shortage is likely to get worse. The nations main manufacturer of liquid albuterol officially shut down last month after a long battle with bankruptcy. A man accused of spray-painting "groomer" on libraries has now been charged with possessing child sex abuse materials. In recent years, far-right activists have targeted libraries for including books about the LGBTQ community and hosting drag storytimes. Libraries have faced violent threats, and teachers, librarians, or others who speak about LGBTQ issues have been accused of attempting to groom children for sexual abuse. The family of 16-year-old Susana Morales, who was found dead last month, said police ignored their fears when she first went missing and wrote her off as a runaway. The family has also questioned how the man suspected of killing her could have worked for a local police department after he reportedly stalked another young woman. How an 18-year-old college journalist could bring down Stanford University's president. Theo Baker spearheaded a series looking into allegations that scientific papers coauthored by Stanford President Marc Tessier-Lavigne, a noted neuroscientist, contained manipulated imagery. The Republican lieutenant governor of Tennessee has been commenting fire emojis on one young mans thirst traps for months. Super look, the politician commented on a shirtless photo of the man. IMAGE OF THE DAY A drone view of vehicles after part of the ceiling collapsed in a mall in Osasco, Brazil, on March 9, 2023 Carla Carniel / Reuters The rise, fall, and reinvention of Jennifer Lawrence John J. Custer / BuzzFeed News Whether consciously or not, Jennifer Lawrence was the ultimate Cool Girl of the early 2010s, Ellen Durney writes . She showed up to awards shows and chugged champagne straight from the bottle. She told stories about buttplugs , fangirled over other celebrities, and flipped the finger at photographers. This lack of restraint, quirkiness, and relatability became her brand . Everyone adored her. Jennifer Lawrence could do no wrong until she did. Sometime around 2014, articles began circulating about how Jennifer had pushed her luck and become too much. Thinkpieces described her as the lamest actress ever and posited that shed become as unlikable as Anne Hathaway another celebrity whos been accused of trying too hard. Its no surprise that in that same time frame, the concept of the Cool Girl has evolved into the Pick Me Girl and the moniker is not a compliment. The intense backlash caused Jennifer to take a conscious step back from the public eye. She released just three movies between 2017 and 2019, before quietly marrying New York art gallery director Cooke Maroney. And, then, for the next two years, Jennifer Lawrence went dark. When she reappeared for an interview with Vanity Fair in November 2021, it was clear that Jennifer had spent her time away grappling with her identity. In recent interviews , she seems wary of overexposure. Her answers feel more restrained, as though shes aware that one wrong move, one anecdote too far, and shell be cast out once more. In just the same way as she probably played up parts of her personality for continued attention in 2013, shes arguably tempering herself now for the sake of palatability. Still reading, eh? Seems like you might want to get this in your inbox. No pressure though. Just some food for thought. With the Chicago Symphony Orchestra behind them, featured soloist Andrei Ionita, left, and guest conductor Herbert Blomstedt, center, receive applause from the crowd on March 9, 2023. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune) Over the past month, the musicians of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra have performed with the youngest and oldest conductors working at classical musics highest level. Three weeks ago, it was the effervescent Finn Klaus Makela, 27-years-and-a-couple-weeks-old when he took the podium in a magical Mahler 5. This week, with the CSO settling in after the second leg of a domestic tour, its the magisterial Herbert Blomstedt, 95, in an all-Dvorak program. Advertisement Since breaking his leg last summer, Blomstedt tall, angular, and ramrod-straight as ever now conducts seated on a piano bench. Even so, he still cuts a massive presence on the podium, sagely conducting Thursdays program from memory. Blomstedt is booked to conduct the CSO again this time next year, in a symphonic doubleheader of Beethoven 7 and Schuberts Sixth Symphony. I wouldnt be surprised if by then hes kicked aside the piano bench. But this time, its Antonin Dvoraks Symphony No. 8 holding down the program as its symphonic centerpiece. The sunny, elegant symphony has been part of Blomstedts repertoire for years: Hes recorded it and led it with orchestras all over the globe, including the CSO back in the 1990s. Advertisement The impasto-like layers of that experience are so great as to be mountainous. During the vivacious, soaring performance, Blomstedt cued soloists with the flick of a few fingers (like the jewel-like tones of principal flutist Stefan Ragnar Hoskuldsson) and indicated ensemble-wide shifts in color with barely perceptible swirls of the wrist. Whenever Blomstedt visits the CSO and happily, hes come nearly every season for the past several years the sheer control behind those minute gestures beggars belief. It even has the power to invert long-held tendencies. The CSO brass, more than capable of steamrolling the rest of the ensemble in adrenaline-streaked finales, sounded miraculously luminous and light rounding the final corner of the fourth movement. By contrast, the string swells opening the Adagio were so mighty the sound seemed to land right between ones eyes. Audiences dont exactly flock to Blomstedt for interpretive experimentalism. His performances scarcely need it. Particularly in the final movement theme-and-variations, Blomstedt didnt belabor transitions into new sections, positing that Dvoraks changes in orchestration and spirit were enough. Take Blomstedts decadeslong career as proof: All one needs for a totally heart-racing performance is exactly whats written in the score. Joining Blomstedt and the CSO this week is a soloist whose career is just starting out: 29-year-old Andrei Ionita, who won the ultra-prestigious International Tchaikovsky Competition when he was just 21. Even then, Ionita flexed an imaginative interpretive mind and crackling virtuosity in works like Shostakovichs first cello concerto the Soviet composer is a favorite of his and Haydns C major concerto. Featured soloist Andrei Ionita performs on cello with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on March 9, 2023. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune) Ionita still has both qualities in equal measure, but they were sorely misapplied in his performance of Dvoraks cello concerto. Why one would want to play this grand, sweeping concerto with Shostakovichian intensity is anyones guess, but thats what we got: a raw, all-or-nothing, clenched performance, and not always a particularly in-tune one, either. Other times, Ionita's more intriguing musical and phrasing decisions seemed committed to halfway or to emerge suddenly. (Id love to hear him further develop his ideas in the second movement in particular his understated return of the principal theme was lovely, if unconvincing in context, as was his decision to play its eighth-note figure so it sounded like increasingly stifled cries of pain.) Ionita clearly had a grand vision here, but whatever it was too often nudged Dvoraks essential lyricism to the periphery. The encore Svante Henrysons thrilling, bluegrassy Black Run seemed to coax the cellist to friendlier territory. Ionita recorded the work on his debut album, and its easy to see why hes championed it: A theme repeats with increasingly dizzying elaborations and extended techniques, as joyous as it is technically daunting. (In my favorite variation, the cellist drums the body of his cello with his left hand while his bow hand slaps the strings with an alternating battuto stroke.) As sheer virtuoso catnip, though, it largely reaffirmed the shallow impressions his Dvorak left. Guest conductor Herbert Blomstedt leads the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in an all-Dvorak program on March 9, 2023. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune) Blomstedt wasnt totally faultless in the concerto, either. The orchestra almost completely swallowed Ionita within a few bars of his entrance, a basic balance issue that was never satisfyingly remedied as the piece progressed. One cant blame Orchestra Halls crummy solo string acoustics alone: In the past year, other low string soloists from Gautier Capucon to principal bassist Alex Hanna have MacGyvered it passably, presumably in collaboration with whoever was on the podium. That frustrating oversight aside, Blomstedt and the CSOs accompaniment was just as potent, attentive and soulful as the symphony that followed and Blomstedt was just as gentlemanly on the podium. At the concertos end, Blomstedt gave a whirling final gesture, ending with his hands outstretched toward Ionita. It was a graceful movement, in every sense of the word: part cutoff, part hat-tip to the soloist in his moment of triumph. Advertisement But in this meeting between orchestral musics old and young guards, Blomstedts gesture carried a third meaning. Now, its your turn, it seemed to say. And what will you do with a lifetime of music? The program repeats at 8 p.m. March 11 and 3 p.m. March 12 at Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave.; tickets $35-$225 at cso.org Hannah Edgar is a freelance writer. The Rubin Institute for Music Criticism helps fund our classical music coverage. The Chicago Tribune maintains editorial control over assignments and content. Curtis Arnold has responded to news of his arrest by uploading a video to YouTube complaining about the decision to detain him - Tim Stewart News Limited A barber who runs a TikTok channel has revealed he was the man arrested for allegedly posting footage on social media of Nicola Bulleys body being recovered from the River Wyre. Curtis Arnold, 34, from Kidderminster, was detained by Lancashire police this week on suspicion of malicious communications and perverting the course of justice. It relates to footage being taken from inside a police cordon close to the River Wyre on Sunday, Feb 19, which was subsequently posted online, said the force in a statement. The eight-minute footage went viral on the social media platform as public obsession with the mother of twos mysterious disappearance reached feverish levels last month. It attracted millions of views on TikTok. Now Mr Arnold has responded to news of his arrest by uploading a video to YouTube complaining about the decision to detain him. Curtis Arnold had to negotiate police patrols to collect his footage - Tim Stewart News Limited The video had the title My arrest over Lancashire police prove their point and ban me from Lancashire and from uploading or speaking about her case. He begins by saying: Even though I am talking about my case and my arrest over a video I have got to be very careful that I dont talk about that case. Mr Arnold alleges in his video that officers were heavy-handed when they arrested him at 1.30am at his grandparents house. They then searched the property. He said: I still have marks on my hands now from the handcuffs. Thats how tight they put them on. My nan is now a nervous wreck. She hasnt been sleeping over it. There was no need to arrest me like that. They could have just knocked on the door. They could have even just phoned me and I would have gone in for a voluntary interview, no problem. Ms Bulley, 45, vanished while walking her spaniel near the River Wyre, Lancs, on Jan 27. Her body was eventually recovered on Feb 19, around a mile downstream from where she was last seen. Toxic spectacle But the intervening weeks descended into a toxic spectacle as the case attracted growing interest from the public and theories about her fate began to circulate widely online. Story continues Armchair detectives became fixated on the idea Ms Bulley had been murdered or abducted, and TikTok users then descended on the sleepy village where she disappeared, St Michaels on Wyre, to stage their own investigations for online followers. The influx of self-styled social media sleuths at one stage became so substantial that police issued a 48-hour dispersal order allowing them to remove anyone found trying to make viral content. The video of Ms Bulleys body being recovered was filmed from behind the police cordon and was uploaded to TikTok. In his video this week, Mr Arnold who has repeatedly returned to the village to make videos about the case said that a pair of Lancashire Police detectives interviewed him for two hours. Theres no crime here Mr Arnold continued: Essentially, guys, I didnt post the video to cause harm or stress. I just posted it for my media channel as everybody knows. I think everybody knows that theres no crime [that has] been committed here and I think everybody is aware why the police have done this to me. They have basically made it so that I cant go there and I cant do videos on the case any more. That is what the locals wanted and that is what they have got. They have made an offence fit. My solicitor said it doesnt fit but obviously theyve made it fit and Im on bail for three months and that is just the way it is. A Lancashire Constabulary spokesman said on Wednesday: We wanted to let you know that weve arrested a man on suspicion of malicious communications offences and perverting the course of justice in connection with our investigation to find Nicola Bulley. A 34-year-old man from Kidderminster was arrested this morning, with assistance from our colleagues at West Mercia Police, on suspicion of malicious communications offences and perverting the course of justice. He has since been bailed with conditions. Our priority is, and has always been, to support Nicolas family and the wider community in St Michaels. We hope this arrest provides reassurance that we take concerns seriously and will act on them. A spokesman for TikTok said the video had been removed from its platform because it was in violation of its community guidelines. (Bloomberg) -- Allegations of six-figure bribes, shady middlemen and fabricated evidence featured in the $11 billion UK trial ending this week that could cost Nigeria a third of its foreign reserves. Most Read from Bloomberg Africas biggest economy wants the UK High Court to strike down the massive arbitration award in favor of hedge fund-backed Process & Industrial Development Ltd. as soon as possible. Lawyers for both sides traded allegations of bribery, duplicity and incompetence in the eight-week trial a judgment isnt expected for at least several weeks. An adverse ruling for Nigeria could hit the countrys already-stretched finances, make borrowing costlier and override policy priorities for the new president, who was elected last month. The trial stems from a failed 2010 gas deal between Nigeria and P&ID, a British Virgin Islands-registered firm founded by two little-known Irish businessmen. A resulting arbitration led to a $6.6 billion award for P&ID thats now swelled to over $11 billion with interest. Hedge fund VR Capital Group Ltd., two lawyers in the UK, P&IDs founder, and two missing witnesses are among those who stand to gain billions of dollars if P&ID wins and is paid out in full. Nigeria alleged bribery of epic and industrial scale first for the gas deal and then to buy off lawyers representing the country to win the arbitration award in 2017. Nobody who sat through the factual evidence could have missed the stench of corruption, the countrys current lawyer Mark Howard said in his closing argument. We completely deny that there was any corruption, David Wolfson, P&IDs lawyer, said on Wednesday in his closing argument. Nigeria came up with fabricated evidence to lay a forensic trap for the court to rule against the award, he said. Story continues Nigeria have been liberal in their mudslinging and parsimonious with the truth throughout this trial, a spokesperson for the fund said. Two Lawyers Have $3 Billion and Careers at Stake in a UK Trial In the witness box for a week, P&IDs surviving founder Brendan Cahill described sending $250,000 in cash from Ireland to an official in Nigeria. P&ID said it was a business transaction unrelated to the case, arguing that Nigeria had failed to prove what Howard called unabashed evidence of bribes. Cahill didnt respond to an email seeking comment. Missing Witnesses Two key witnesses absent from the trial were P&IDs late co-founder Michael Quinns son Adam Quinn and another businessman, who stand to make over $2 billion and just short of $1 billion respectively, if P&ID succeeds, according to Howard. Another witness who could have explained the eye-watering sums of cash, Howard said, failed to appear at the last minute. The witness developed mental health problems days before he was to be deposed online from an unspecified location. Witnesses that could help the company were harassed by Nigerias security services, P&ID said. The country didnt call any witnesses of its own because it isnt required to under the courts rules, a spokesperson said. The extensive claims against P&ID are fully documented, the spokesperson said. But Wolfson argued that any witnesses for the country would be exposed as frauds. This has been a peculiarly one-sided trial, Wolfson said. Having elected to make its bed without evidence, the Federal Republic of Nigeria must now lie in it. --With assistance from William Clowes. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. Gas bubbles up from a rupture in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline on September 27. Nearly six months later, the identity of the saboteurs remains unknown. Swedish Coast Guard via Getty Images Days before the explosions, a tanker called the Minerva Julie was drifting nearby in the Baltic Sea. The ship's curious stopover could interest investigators looking for witnesses. The Julie's owners told Insider that the tanker had stopped "while awaiting her next voyage instructions." The question of who blew up the Nord Stream pipelines is likely to remain an unsolved mystery for some time. Even as new details surface from European investigators, one of the most intriguing clues to recently emerge comes not from official probes but via a 29-year-old open-source analyst based in Denmark. Oliver Alexander spent months analyzing data from the maritime Automatic Identification System, or AIS, from vessels that passed near the site of three out of the four pipeline ruptures shortly before the damage. He noticed that the Minerva Julie, a 600-foot Greek-flagged tanker, was headed east from Rotterdam when, on September 6, it came to an abrupt stop in the middle of the Baltic Sea. From September 6 through September 13, the Minerva Julie drifted near the site of the September 26 explosions, AIS data show. MarineTraffic with annotations by Insider. The Minerva Julie stayed there, alternately idling and crossing a roughly 200-square-nautical-mile area above the two natural-gas pipelines, for seven days, from September 6 until September 12. From there, the Julie traveled on to Tallinn, Estonia before anchoring at Saint Petersburg, Russia on September 18. Then, on September 26, the two pipelines burst. The Minerva Julie's proximity to the attack site was first reported by Verkkouutiset, a Finnish media outlet. The coincidence has sparked a wave of speculation online among a committed group of amateur sleuths and maritime experts. At the same time, it's difficult to imagine that the official investigators tasked with getting to the truth of the Nord Stream sabotage wouldn't want to know more about the Minerva Julie since the vessel spent a week circling above what was about to become a massive geopolitical crime scene. The data uncovered by Alexander does not indicate that the vessel was in any way involved with the destruction of the pipelines. It does, however, raise the question of what the crew might have witnessed. Story continues In an emailed statement to Insider, a spokesperson for Minerva Marine confirmed the Julie's location over the 7-day period, and said that the vessel had stopped "while awaiting her next voyage instructions," in accordance with "standard shipping practice." The statement did not say whether Minerva had been contacted by investigators. It said the company "always been and remains at the disposal of all competent public authorities in respect to any inquiry, acting always in a legitimate and transparent manner." Investigators say the Nord Stream breakage was an act of sabotage, caused by what they've estimated to be hundreds of pounds of military-grade explosives attached to the pipelines at around 80 meters in depth, or roughly 260 feet. The undersea pipelines were financed by a consortium of companies from Russia, Germany, France, and the Netherlands. The pipelines bypassed Ukraine to deliver Russian natural gas directly to Germany. Alexander found that the three explosions, marked below by black darts, occurred almost exactly where the Julie had taken its long pause a few days before. To date, there is no indication that either the Minerva Julie's owners or its crew are the subject of the investigations, which reports suggest are focusing on a rented yacht. Insider verified Alexander's findings regarding the Julie's location using MarineTraffic, which compiles global AIS data from the location transponders used by commercial shipping vessels. Not all vessels show up on AIS databases, and the data can be vulnerable to manipulation. European investigators have reportedly linked the pipeline attacks to a rented boat. The yacht, believed to be a 50-foot sailboat equipped with a 75-horsepower engine, is said to have embarked on September 6, the same day the Minerva Julie stopped at the future site of the explosions. Authorities reportedly searched the yacht where they found traces of explosives. On Thursday, Der Spiegel identified that yacht as the Andromeda. Several photos of the Andromeda were posted to Twitter on Thursday by Aric Toler, a researcher at Bellingcat. Among the questions raised by the Minerva Julie's AIS locational data is whether the tanker came into contact with the smaller Andromeda. While floating near the attack site, to northeast of the island of Bornholm, the Julie's pilothouse would likely have had a visibility of roughly 10 to 15 miles. It's unclear whether investigators have obtained the Julie's logbook, navigational charts or radar history, which could have records of activity around the attack sites during that seven-day period. For the Julie to suddenly pause for seven days in the midst of a voyage, immediately above the future attack site, is a striking coincidence, perhaps the most serious case of a vessel being at the wrong place and time since the container ship Ever Given ran aground in the middle of the Suez Canal, blocking traffic for six days in 2021. But an innocuous explanation for the Julie's whereabouts is far from impossible, shipping experts told Insider. "Ships don't always go full speed from point A to point B," said Steve Richter, a marine consultant and veteran docking pilot. "For example, if a ship is bound for a refinery in Philadelphia, they might not have a berth available for them. So they might drift slowly to kill time off the coast of Delaware on their way up the coast. At the same time, it is uncommon for a tank ship to stop enroute and sail in a circle, unless they have a change in orders or perhaps a mechanical issue onboard." A second shipping expert told Insider that the Julie could have been awaiting orders about where to go next. "From where I sit, it's likely that there was only one vessel involved in the attack, and hundreds of others in the area," they said. "In other words, there is a large volume of hay. Is this the needle? Could be, but it isn't likely." The Minerva Julie, a 600-foot oil and chemical tanker, near the port of Rotterdam in 2020. Alf van Beem / Wikimedia Commons The Julie would be an unlikely choice for saboteurs, as the tanker self-reported its position throughout. And to be sure, the Julie has not been named by any details yet public from the ongoing probes. For Alexander, the close proximity of the Julie to the explosion in both space and time warrants further scrutiny. He he told Insider: "To me, it's too much of a coincidence." Various reports have tried to attribute the attacks to Americans, Russians, Ukrainians, and pro-Ukrainian irregulars. All three countries have denied involvement. After a meeting early last year with the German chancellor, President Joe Biden promised to "bring an end" to the Nord Stream 2, should Russia move ahead with what was then an apparent plan to cross the border into Ukraine, which it did in late February 2022. For now, the best evidence of who was behind the attacks is in the hands of authorities from Sweden, Germany, and Denmark, which all have ongoing investigations into the sabotage. Update: This story has been updated to credit Finnish outlet Verkkouutiset for reporting in September about the Minerva Julie's track. Mattathias Schwartz is a senior correspondent at Insider and a contributing writer at the New York Times Magazine. He can be reached at mschwartz@insider.com and schwartz79@protonmail.com. Read the original article on Business Insider Photograph: Rex/Shutterstock Norfolk Southerns decision to call for the burning of five derailed train cars in East Palestine, Ohio, was jaw-dropping and a consequence of poor communication by the railroad, a local emergency management official told a Senate panel on Thursday. Eric Brewer, director and chief of hazardous materials response for the emergency services department in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, just over the state line from East Palestine, described to the chambers environment and public works committee an initially chaotic response to the 3 February derailment. Related: No one is coming to save us: residents of towns near toxic train derailment feel forgotten The boots on the ground crews were great to work with. It seems as bosses or management gets there, thats where the communication failures start, Brewer said. The derailment of the train carrying vinyl chloride used to produce PVC plastic in the small town has left its more than 4,700 residents complaining of health effects like headaches, and fearing long-term pollution of the area. An interim report released last month by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) noted the trains crew received an alert about an overheating wheel bearing and tried to slow the train before it came off the tracks. Brewer, whose agency was among those responding to the accident, described how Norfolk Southern initially raised concerns that one of the derailed tank cars was starting to heat up and could explode, leading to local officials creating an evacuation zone around the site of the accident. The railroad then suggested destroying that tank car in a controlled detonation, he said. We were assured this was the safest way to mitigate the problem, he said. Then, Norfolk Southern asked to burn five cars, rather than just one. This changed the entire plan, as it would now impact a much larger area. I think this confusion was probably a result of the lack of communication from Norfolk Southern and the fact that they they werent present during these planning meetings, Brewer said. Story continues He later added: The decision to go from the one tank car to the five was jaw-dropping, and thats probably why were here today. His critique was echoed by Anne Vogel, director of Ohios Environmental Protection Agency, who said: I do believe there were quite a few gaps in communication and missteps in the very early hours following the derailment things could have been handled better in the beginning hours. However, both Brewer and Vogel agreed that the communication issues had been ironed out since then. I do believe that those gaps in communications have been addressed. I believe that teams are working well together on the ground today. The Democratic-led committees hearing featured the first appearance before Congress by Norfolk Southerns CEO, Alan Shaw, who was pressed by lawmakers on how far his company would go to take care of Ohio and Pennsylvania residents affected by the derailment. Im terribly sorry for the impact this derailment has had on the folks of that community. And yes, its my personal commitment and Norfolk Southerns commitment that were going to be there for as long as it takes to help East Palestine thrive and recover, Shaw said. He also said that though the NTSB report found that the trains crew was operating in a safe manner, it is clear the safety mechanisms in place were not enough. Shaw was more taciturn about whether he would support the Railway Safety Act of 2023, proposed by Democratic and Republican lawmakers from Ohio and Pennsylvania, which would levy financial and regulatory consequences on railroads involved in accidents. We are committed to the legislative intent to make rail safer. Norfolk Southern runs a safe railroad and its my commitment to improve that safety and make our safety culture the best in the industry, Shaw said. Another topic of concern for senators was the extent of pollution in East Palestine and the surrounding communities. Environmental Protection Agency regional administrator Debra Shore said indoor air monitoring had not yet turned up any sign of widespread vinyl chloride contamination. As of March 4 approximately 600 homes have been screened through this program and no detections of vinyl chloride or hydrogen chloride have been identified, Shore said, adding that air monitors havent detected any organic compounds above levels of health concerns since the derailed cars were extinguished. The EPAs assurances were not enough for East Palestine resident Jessica Conard, who traveled to Washington for the hearing. I think that what theyre saying is true. I think that the reports are true, I think that the tests are accurate. But I just think that its a matter of time before our groundwater is contaminated, she told the Guardian. Both of Ohios senators testified before the committee, and said they were determined to make sure the towns long-term needs werent forgotten as public attention recedes. These communities have been abandoned too many times before, said the Democratic senator Sherrod Brown. My job, our job, is to hear their voice and to demand corporate accountability to bring this town back to the vibrant community we know that it can be again. Norway will provide Ukraine with two firing units of the Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-air Missile System (NASAMS) to Ukraine over spring, according to a brief posted on the Norwegian governement website on March 10. The delivery of the joint Norwegian-U.S.-designed system will double the two firing units provided by Washington over the autumn of last year. The announcement came after a visit of Norwegian defense minister Bjrn Arild Gram to Kyiv on March 10, where he held talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky, Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, and other top officials. Norway has been supporting Ukraine since the first day of the full-scale war," Zelensky wrote on Telegram of the meeting, "and has done a lot for our soldiers to become stronger on the battlefield. We appreciate it. Since Russia began conducting mass missile strikes on Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructre in October, Ukraine has begun receiving modern Western-built air defense systems to help protect its airspace. On Nov. 16, U.S. defense minister Lloyd Austin reported that the NASAMS systems already provided to Kyiv have had a "100% success rate" in shooting down Russian missiles. NASAMS AIR DEFENSE SYSTEM The decision was made after a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov. Read also: Ukraine needs security guarantees before joining NATO, Zelenskyy says According to a statement on the ministrys website, Ukraine will receive six launchers and two control centers, effectively doubling the number of NASAMS systems Kyiv has at its disposal. The United States provided the first two batteries in 2022. Ukraine has a strong need for more air defense, and Norway will contribute what we can, Norwegian broadcaster TV2 quotes Gram. Read also: Norway adopts five-year aid package for Ukraine worth over $7 billion Additionally, Ukraine is negotiating with Norway about training Ukrainian pilots, according to Zelenskyy. Were beginning talks with Norway as to the possibility of a mission to train our pilots, the president said during his evening address. Read also: Norway ratifies aid for Ukraine worth $8 billion First NASAMS systems arrived in Ukraine on Nov. 7, 2022. Ukrainian military officials praised their effectiveness, claiming they have a perfect track record in intercepting Russian cruise missiles. 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 Norwegian Healthcare Investigation Board (UKOM) has ruled that national guidelines on the use of puberty blockers and gender-reassignment surgeries need to be revised to reflect the lack of sufficient medical evidence supporting such procedures. Under the new guidelines recommended by UKOM, hormone therapy and gender-reassignment surgery for minors would be restricted to research settings and not made otherwise available. The knowledge base, especially research-based knowledge for gender-affirming treatment (hormonal and surgical), is deficient and the long-term effects are little known, the agencys report argues. This is particularly true for the teenage population where the stability of their gender incongruence is also not known. UKOM is an independent governmental agency charged with investigating the Norwegian health-care industry to identify factors that could have led, or could potentially lead, to harm for patients. The Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine (SEGM), an international group of over 100 clinicians and researchers, wrote that the current Norwegian guidelines defining medical treatments for gender dysphoric kids were based on a gender-affirming care model that does not even require a psychological assessment. The Norwegian Healthcare Investigation Board, (NHIB/UKOM) has deemed puberty blockers, cross-sex-hormones & surgery for children & young people experimental, determining that the current gender-affirmative guidelines are not evidence-based and must be revised. /1 SEGM (@segm_ebm) March 10, 2023 The authors of the UKOM report were particularly concerned by the disproportionate rates of ADHD, autism, and Tourettes Syndrome found amongst gender-dysphoric youth. From 1975 to 1990, roughly four Norwegians a year were recommended for medical interventions such as hormone-replacement therapy or reassignment surgery, according to a local news report. Story continues However, the Nordic country witnessed an explosion in medical consultations for gender dysphoria in recent years. Between 2007 and 2010, the number of individuals referred to a medical professional jumped over tenfold, ranging between 50-70 consultations per year. The record was shattered a decade later. Between 2018 and 2021, Norwegian health officials received anywhere between 400-600 referrals per year. If Norway embraces UKOMs recommendations, it would align the country with Sweden, Finland, and England, all of whom have recently sought to introduce new safeguards protecting minors from blindly embracing gender-affirming care. Norway has followed in the footsteps of its Nordic neighbors Sweden and Finland, as well as England, by calling out the experimental nature of youth gender transitions, a spokesperson for SEGM told Gender Clinic News, a Substack newsletter. We simply do not have the evidence to support the widespread use of these risky and often irreversible interventions in general clinical settings. The United Kingdom shuttered the countrys only dedicated clinic treating gender dysphoric patients, the Tavistock Centre, in August 2022 following internal investigations that revealed the institution failed to keep routine and consistent data, disregarded other health issues, and pursued a singular and unquestioning affirmative approach. The country has experienced a similar spike in gender dysphoria referrals growing from 250 in 2011 to well over 5,000 a decade later. Jesse Singal, the American investigative journalist who has written extensively about the subject, applauded the announcement. Thats four countries, all with top-tier healthcare systems, where scientists have looked into the evidence, said the local equivalent of Holy shit, and determined access to blockers and hormones needs to be more tightly regulated. In the States? Lots of heads in lots of sand, Singal tweeted on Friday morning. That's four countries, all with top-tier healthcare systems, where scientists have looked into the evidence, said the local equivalent of "Holy shit," and determined access to blockers and hormones needs to be more tightly regulated. In the States? Lots of heads in lots of sand. https://t.co/cYHDrdI9iz Jesse Singal (@jessesingal) March 10, 2023 The UKOM reports executive summary include a section on the concerning state of public discourse on the topic of transgenderism. We hear about fear and dread of making mistakes from all quarters, the report notes. There is a need to establish a constructive community for everyone who is engaged in good health care for people with gender incongruity. More from National Review A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these are legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked them out. Here are the facts: ___ Posts misrepresent rioters actions in Jan. 6 Capitol attack CLAIM: Footage from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol shows that Jacob Chansley, who participated in the riot sporting face paint, no shirt and a fur hat with horns, was led through the Capitol by police the entire time he was in the building. THE FACTS: Court documents and video footage from the attack on the Capitol make clear that Chansley, who is widely known as the QAnon Shaman and is one of the most recognizable Jan. 6 rioters, entered the Capitol without permission, was repeatedly asked to leave the building and was not accompanied at all times. After Fox News host Tucker Carlson broadcast previously unseen Jan. 6 security footage on his Monday night primetime show, social media users began sharing segments from his program that misrepresented Chansleys involvement in the riot. BREAKING: Never before seen video of January 6 shows Jacob Chansley, the QAnon Shaman, being led through the Capitol by police the entire time that he was in the building, reads a tweet that includes a clip from Carlsons show. But the footage leaves out important context about Chansleys time in the Capitol that day. A statement prepared by the Department of Justice, which was signed by Chansley and his attorney, provides a timeline of the rioters movement in the Capitol. For example, the statement explains that Chansley entered the Capitol through a broken door as part of a crowd that was not lawfully authorized to enter or remain in the building and that he was one of the first 30 rioters inside. It goes on to note that although officers asked Chansley and others multiple times to leave the Capitol, he did not comply and actively riled up his fellow rioters. The statement describes Chansleys interactions with officers, but also points out that he entered the Gallery of the Senate alone. Chansley pleadedguilty in September 2021 to a felony charge of obstructing an official proceeding. He was sentenced in November 2021 to 41 months in prison. Asked about claims that protesters were led through the building, a Capitol Police spokesperson pointed The Associated Press to an HBO documentary about the riot, Four Hours at the Capitol, in which an officer describes his encounter with Chansley, including how he asked the rioter and others to leave the Senate wing. Footage from the interaction appears in the documentary. Any chance I can get you guys to leave the Senate wing? the officer says as Chansley sits in the presiding officers chair on the Senate Dais. A video of Chansley walking into the Capitol through the broken door is publicly available on the website of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. U.S. Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger lambasted Carlsons segment on the Jan. 6 footage in an internal memo Tuesday. Last night an opinion program aired commentary that was filled with offensive and misleading conclusions about the January 6 attack, Manger wrote. "One false allegation is that our officers helped the rioters and acted as tour guides. This is outrageous and false. Associated Press writer Melissa Goldin in New York contributed this report. ___ No, the military hasnt recorded a 500% increase in HIV cases CLAIM: The U.S. military has recorded a 500% increase in new HIV infections since COVID-19 vaccines were introduced. THE FACTS: The U.S. military has not recorded any such increase, according to figures from the U.S. Department of Defense. Conservative commentators are baselessly claiming that rates of HIV in the military have skyrocketed since COVID-19 vaccines were rolled out to sow suspicion about the shot. The Armed Forces of the United States recorded a five hundred percent (500%) increase in AIDS after administering the COVID-19 Vaccine to US Troops. The COVID-19 Vaccine is implicated, wrote Hal Turner, a right-wing radio host, on his website last week. Turner gave no evidence for his claims. He did not respond to a request for comment. But figures from the Defense Department and the Congressional Research Service show that the 500% figure is massively exaggerated. Further, medical experts have repeatedly emphasized that COVID-19 vaccination has not been linked to developing HIV, or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, which is caused by HIV. Nor does a condition called VAIDS vaccine acquired immunodeficiency syndrome exist. A total of 1,581 service members, including those in the National Guard and Reserves have been diagnosed with HIV infections since 2017, said Cmdr. Nicole Schwegman, a spokesperson for the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Three-hundred and seventeen service members were diagnosed with HIV in 2017; 280 in 2018; 314 in 2019; 237 in 2020; 309 in 2021; and 124 in 2022. These rates are consistent with figures that were cited in a 2019 Congressional Research Service report. That report cited estimates from the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center showing that approximately 350 service members are diagnosed with HIV annually. COVID-19 vaccinations first became available to the public in December 2020. In 2021, 72 more cases of HIV were diagnosed compared to 2020, constituting a 30% increase but nowhere near the 500% claimed. And in 2022, when the vaccine rollout was well underway, 185 fewer new HIV cases were diagnosed, marking a 60% drop from 2021. Though Turner did not give the source of his data, it matches claims spread about other illnesses purportedly linked to COVID-19 vaccination among military members that have been shared in the past. In those cases, the numbers stemmed from what the bloggers and social media users said was leaked data from Defense Medical Epidemiology Database, or DMED, an internal database that documents medical experiences of service members throughout their careers. It is only accessible by military medical providers, epidemiologists, medical researchers and clinical support staff. However, Schwegman told the AP that the claims citing this database were flawed due to an error in the data for the years 2016 to 2020. The Defense Health Agencys Armed Forces Surveillance Division reviewed the data in the system, comparing it to the source data, and found that the total number of medical diagnoses from 2016 to 2020 that were accessible in DMED represented only a small fraction of actual medical diagnoses for those years, said Schwegman. In contrast, the total number of medical diagnoses for the year 2021 were accurate, which temporarily made it appear that there was a disproportionate increase in medical conditions between the 2016 to 2020 figures and those reported in 2021. She said that the Armed Forces Surveillance Division has since corrected the data corruption. Associated Press writer Sophia Tulp in New York contributed this report. ___ Hospital COVID payments tied to patient treatment, not deaths CLAIM: U.S. hospitals are earning a $48,000 government subsidy for every patient that dies from COVID-19 in their care. THE FACTS: Hospital industry officials and public health experts confirm the federal government provides hospitals with enhanced payments for treating COVID-19 patients, but the payments are only currently applicable to those on Medicare and arent contingent on a patients death. Social media users are claiming American hospitals have a financial incentive to let people with coronavirus die under their watch. But hospitals have never been compensated by the federal government based on a patient dying of COVID-19 in one of their facilities, say industry officials and public health experts. During the pandemic, hospitals have received additional money for treating COVID-19 patients as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES, the 2020 law meant to address the economic fallout of the pandemic. But those increased payments dont apply to every COVID-19 patient treated in a hospital, just the ones under Medicare, which is the federal healthcare program serving people 65 and over. Colin Milligan, a spokesperson for the American Hospital Association, confirmed that hospitals are currently eligible to receive a 20% increase in Medicare payments for caring for COVID-19 patients. These patients are often very costly and time and labor-intensive for hospitals to treat, he explained in an email Wednesday. And despite what the social media posts claim, the enhanced COVID-19 payments arent based on whether the patient lives or dies, experts said. In general, Medicare payments are based on the severity of the patients condition and the types of treatments provided, said Juliette Cubanski, deputy director of Medicare policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation. The average cost of a COVID-19 hospitalization for a Medicare patient is about $24,000, she said, citing claims data from Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. But the reimbursement for more severely ill patients such as those placed on a ventilator for multiple days is roughly $40,000, according to KFFs analysis. Social media posts citing a $48,000 subsidy for COVID-19 deaths appear to be taking that $40,000 average cost for treating the sickest COVID-19 patients and factoring in the special 20% reimbursement rate increase. But Cubanski argued thats not a fair assessment of the potential payout to hospitals. My understanding of the estimates from CMS is that they already include the 20% payment increase in the stated amount, she wrote in an email. So the payment for an extreme case would be $40k including the 20% increase, not $40k plus 20%. Spokespersons for CMS and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the agency, didnt respond to emails seeking comment this week. But President Joe Biden has announced the federal governments declaration of a public health emergency for COVID-19 will end on May 11. That means the enhanced Medicare payments along with other measures the federal government enacted to weather the pandemic will soon be a thing of the past. Associated Press writer Philip Marcelo in New York contributed this report. ___ Florida blogger bill falsely tied to DeSantis CLAIM: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wants bloggers to register with the state or face fines. THE FACTS: A bill filed in the Florida Senate that DeSantis says he does not support would require bloggers to register with the state and submit periodic reports if they are paid for posts about elected officials. Social media users have erroneously claimed in recent days that DeSantis is in favor of the bill, which was filed last week and introduced to the Senate on Tuesday. But it was Republican Florida Sen. Jason Brodeur who filed the bill and DeSantis has not publicly supported the legislation since it was filed. DeSantis clarified his position on Tuesday at a press conference following his State of the State address. I see these people filing bills and then theres articles with my face on the article saying that oh, theyre going to have to bloggers are going to have to register for the state, he said. And then its like, attributing it to me. And Im like, ok, thats not anything that Ive ever supported, I dont support. Brodeurs bill would require bloggers to register with the state of Florida if they are paid for posts about its governor, lieutenant governor, cabinet members or legislative officials. They would also have to file periodic reports with the state disclosing information such as who paid them and how much. Failure to file a report would result in fines of $25 a day, up to $2,500. The legislation states that it would not apply to content on the website of a newspaper or other similar publication. Bryan Griffin, the governors press secretary, confirmed to the AP in an email that DeSantis does not support the bill. However, Griffin also explained that the governor will ALWAYS consider every bill on its merits in final form if and when a bill passes the legislature and reaches his desk before making a decision. The AP previously reported that DeSantis office was not aware of the blogger registration legislation until it was filed. First amendment groups have argued that the proposal violates press freedoms. Melissa Goldin ___ Find AP Fact Checks here: https://apnews.com/APFactCheck ___ Follow @APFactCheck on Twitter: https://twitter.com/APFactCheck Just when you thought it was safe to joke about someone making a movie called Cocaine Shark... ...someone actually made a movie called Cocaine Shark! The movie comes from B-movie production company Wide Eye Releasing, and you can watch the trailer below. In Cocaine Shark, a mafia drug lord has unleashed a new, highly addictive stimulant on the streets called HT25, derived from sharks held captive in a secret lab, which causes monstrous side effects. After an explosion and leak at the lab, an army of mutated, bloodthirsty sharks and other creatures are set loose on the world as a small band of people tries to stop the carnage. Cocaine Shark Photo credit: Wild Eye Releasing Wild Eye Releasing 'Cocaine Shark' poster. In February, inspired by the then-upcoming Cocaine Bear, numerous social media users pitched the idea for a movie called Cocaine Shark after New Zealand authorities announced that 3.2 tonnes of cocaine had been intercepted in the Pacific Ocean. When Cocaine Bear director Elizabeth Banks was subsequently asked if she would consider tackling another project featuring a coked-out animal, she replied in the affirmative. "I've seen that. If there's a great story, then sure," Banks told PEOPLE. "Jaws with cocaine? I don't see how that loses." The folks at Wild Eye Releasing clearly agree. Cocaine Shark is written by Bret McCormick (The Abomination, Repligator) and directed by Mark Polonia, who brought us last year's Amityville in Space. The movie stars Ken VanSant (Queen Crab, Jurassic Prey) and Titus Himmelberger (Amityville in Space, Sharkula). The movie will be arriving on digital and DVD July 7. Watch the trailer for Cocaine Shark below. Want more movie news? Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more. Related content: A nurse was fired from a Missouri hospital after she was caught stealing fentanyl meant for patients, then she found a new nursing job and stole more of the drug, according to federal authorities. Now the former nurse from Cape Girardeau has been sentenced to four years of probation after pleading guilty to obtaining a controlled substance by fraud, records show. In early 2020, pharmacy staff at a St. Louis area hospital flagged the nurse for withdrawing two to three times more fentanyl than her peers, according to a March 9 news release from the U.S. Attorneys Office for Eastern District of Missouri. Authorities said she had been taking fentanyl from the hospitals security cabinets used to store and dispense patient medications, according to the governments sentencing memorandum. She was drug tested on February 4, 2020 in connection with her aberrant fentanyl usage, multiple discrepancies in her documentation of her fentanyl usage, and her inability to account for the same, prosecutors said. She tested positive for the synthetic opioid, and she was fired from the hospital. McClatchy News reached out to the defense attorney representing the former nurse and was awaiting a response. The Missouri Board of Nursing opened an investigation after the womans drug test and interviewed the former nurse, authorities said. She said she took medication from the hospital on multiple occasions and acknowledged that her conduct jeopardized patient safety if it had caused her to commit nursing errors, according to the sentencing memorandum. Because the woman said she was receiving addiction treatment and the treatment center confirmed her participation she did not lose her nursing license, authorities said. She got a new job with a hospital intensive care unit in October 2021, but was fired in January 2022 for reasons related to her fentanyl usage at the hospital, authorities said. In one example, authorities said she noted that she gave a patient 27 doses of 25 micrograms of fentanyl in a 15-minute interval though the hospital policy states if a patient does not receive pain relief after three such doses, the patient should be placed on an intravenous drip of the medication. Story continues She was suspended and drug tested, authorities said. This time, she tested negative for fentanyl. The hospital still fired her because the hospitals drug cabinet records indicated that she frequently retained partially used vials of medication in violation of hospital policy, authorities said. She was also accused of trying to disguise records to hide what drugs were stolen. Cape Girardeau is about 115 miles southeast of St. Louis. Nurse caught stealing fentanyl from critical care patients IV bag in hospital, feds say Nurse stole morphine pills from Iowa nursing home resident suffering in pain, feds say Nurse stole liquid fentanyl from patients IV pumps in Iowa, feds say Silicon Valley Bank was closed down on Friday by regulators. Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images The NYPD responded to a Silicon Valley Bank branch in after a complaint about a "disorderly group." The call came as the bank was collapsing and people apparently gathered to try to get their money. An NYPD spokesman told Insider that police responding didn't witness any crimes from those gathered. Silicon Valley Bank's shocking collapse on Friday saw more drama as police arrived at its New York office to field a complaint about a "disorderly group." People had apparently gathered at the bank's New York branch to try to withdraw their money from the collapsing financial institution. When the NYPD responded, officers didn't witness any criminal acts, a spokesman for the New York Police Department told Insider. "Officers showed to the scene, there was no criminality, so there was nothing further for them to do," a spokesman said. SVB's Manhattan office was visited by about a dozen tech founders Friday looking to secure their funds, the reporter Eric Newcomer wrote in a Substack post. A representative for Silicon Valley Bank did not immediately respond to Insider's emailed request for comment on Friday. SVB's crash, which marks the second-largest bank failure in the US after Washington Mutual's collapse during the 2008 financial crisis, came as a shock this week after customers scrambled to withdraw deposits. Read the original article on Business Insider . A growing number of Ohio communities are taking steps to erase their residents' medical debt through government partnerships with RIP Medical Debt, a New-York based nonprofit. RIP was founded in 2014 by two former debt collection executives, Craig Antico and Jerry Ashton. They sort of had this Eureka idea about taking advantage of the for-profit debt ecosystem in this country and kind of flipping it on its head, said Daniel Lempert, vice president of communications for RIP. Here's what you need to know about RIP Medical and which cities are working with the nonprofit to help residents erase medical debt. Medical debt:Some Akron leaders want to erase medical debt for residents. Will politics stall the aid? How does RIP pay off medical debt? RIP takes donations and buys large bundles of medical debt at a steep discount $1 usually can leverage $100 in debt relief. The debt erasure is a gift with no tax consequences to recipients. The organization has relieved more than $8.5 billion in debt so far and helped nearly 5.5 million individuals and families in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., according to its website and Lempert. Up until last fall when Cook County in Illinois became the first governmental body to take $12 million in American Rescue Plan Act dollars to leverage and erase $1 billion in medical debt, RIP was partnering with other nonprofits, such as churches. A Cincinnati church in 2020 erased $46.5 million. Donations can also come from individuals, including some high-profile donors like philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, who has donated $80 million. More:Crossroads Church leverages donations to wipe out $46.5 million in medical debt Why is erasing medical debt important? According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, four in 10 adults in the U.S. say they have some kind of medical debt. Two-thirds of bankruptcies cite medical debt as a leading cause. Uninsured adults, women, Black and Hispanic adults, parents, and those with lower incomes are especially likely to say they have health care-related debt, the Kaiser study said. Story continues RIPs debt erasure work has helped both uninsured and insured who struggle with medical debt from expensive co-pays or costs not covered by insurance, said Lempert. More:Families crippled by medical debt, even after comparison shopping to find cheaper treatment Who qualifies for medical debt relief? RIP negotiates and purchases medical debt in bulk from a hospital, which can include current and past-due bills sold to a debt collector. RIP assists patients with a household income up to 400% of the federal poverty level. That is $54,360 for an individual or $111,000 for a family of four. Additionally, the debt must be 5% or more of annual income. Patients can't apply to be considered for debt relief. RIP works with participating hospitals to determine which patients are eligible for help based on its criteria. Based on the seed money provided by participating municipalities, RIP provides an estimate of how much of residents' medical bills can be erased. The nonprofit also sometimes uses some of its own donated funds to help communities abolish more debt, Lampert said. The nonprofit does not ask for any demographic information about those in debt, but we know that medical debt is more burdensome statistically on individuals of color, said Lampert. Which communities are working with RIP to pay off residents' medical bills? In Cook County, Illinois, letters began going out to consumers whose debts have been erased recently. Toledo became the first Ohio city to partner with RIP with an $800,000 investment in ARPA funds and an equal match from surrounding Lucas County, which could retire $240 million in medical debt. Then Toledo City Councilwoman Michele Grim started researching RIP Medical in May 2022 after hearing about the work in Cook County. Grim, who introduced it to council in late August, said she had some pushback and skepticism, but the resolution passed in November. Grim, now a state representative, is working on legislation to use ARPA funds to take the idea statewide. Cleveland City Council introduced legislation to partner with RIP in January to take $1.9 million to erase $190 million in medical debt. It is currently in administrative review before going back to the City Council for a vote. Two Columbus City Council members are co-sponsoring legislation to take $2 million to abolish $200 million in debt. Pittsburgh City Council in December earmarked $1 million to settle $115 million in medical debt. Some Akron City Council members also are talking with RIP about bringing the program to the community. How long does this take before consumers in a community could see medical debt relief? It depends. In Cook County, it took about seven months after the contract was signed with government officials and after it went through the legislative approval process for consumers to get their debt-erasure letters, said Lampert. Toledo, which passed its resolution in November, is still working out contract details with RIP. "This is really a simple program," Grim said. "It's a one-to-one hundred return on investment and I really can't think of a more economic and equitable and fair away to use Rescue Plan dollars to help aid in the economic recovery of citizens." Betty Lin-Fisher can be reached at 330-996-3724 or blinfisher@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her @blinfisherABJ on Twitter orwww.facebook.com/BettyLinFisherABJ. This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Some Ohio cities are erasing residents' medical debt. How does it work? City of North Canton The Ohio Supreme Court on Friday denied North Canton's request to force the Stark County Board of Elections to put two city levies on the May 2 primary ballot. The Board of Elections last month rejected two replacement and increase levies for storm sewers and roads. Stark County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Deborah Dawson recommended the board reject North Canton's proposed levies, advising that state law typically does not allow for the replacement of property tax levies to appear on the ballot until the year in which the existing levies expire. North Canton's current road and storm sewer levies expire in 2024. The city asked the Ohio Supreme Court to require the Board of Elections place the levies on the ballot following the board's decision not to certify them. But the court denied the request, arguing North Canton council "failed to show a clear right" to have the levies on the ballot. "The (Stark County Board of Elections) did not abuse its discretion or act contrary to law in rejecting the placement of those proposed levies on the ballot, because the proposed levies may not be presented to North Canton voters as 'renewal' levies before the November 2024 election," the Ohio Supreme Court opinion says. North Canton argued that while Ohio law generally does not allow for a replacement levy to appear on the ballot before the existing levy expires, the city's proposed storm sewer and road levies fell under an exception that permits renewal and replacement levies for "public assistance, human or social services, relief, welfare, hospitalization, health, and support of general hospitals" to be placed on the ballot any time. Dawson disagreed with the city and said North Canton did not mention that section of the law in the levy resolutions approved by council in January. North Canton council passed new resolutions citing the law on Feb. 7, but that came after the Feb. 1 filing deadline for the May election. The Ohio Supreme Court ruled North Canton's proposed levies did not fall under the state exemption because the funds would not be for the purpose of supplementing the general fund, a requirement for levies to meet this exemption. Story continues "We need not decide what the terms 'public assistance,' 'relief,' and 'health' mean in R.C. 5705.191, because the councils argument fails regardless of the meanings of those terms. ... In this case, neither of the existing levies was imposed to supplement the general fund for any of the purposes identified in R.C. 5705.25(A)(2)," the opinion says. "We made all our arguments in the brief, and I think the Supreme Court recognized one of those arguments, and that's what they based their decision on," Dawson said. North Canton Law Director Wayne Boyer said the city respects the Ohio Supreme Court's decision, despite being disappointed and disagreeing with it. He said North Canton appreciated the court for acknowledging City Council's authority to sue in the matter. The Board of Elections had argued the court should deny North Canton council's request because council is not capable of suing. The Ohio Supreme Court disagreed, arguing council had statutory authority to bring the suit forward. "We appreciate all of the parties throughout the process," Boyer said. "We appreciate the court. We appreciate the interactions we had with the Board of Elections. It was very professional. And then ultimately while (it's) a disappointing decision, we will move on, and as the city, we will figure out how to deal with the issues that were going to be raised in these levies moving forward when they are eligible to be put on, pursuant to the court's decision." Reach Paige at 330-580-8577, pmbennett@gannett.com or on Twitter @paigembenn. This article originally appeared on The Repository: Ohio Supreme Court denies request to put North Canton levies on ballot Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk (PA) Oleksandr Usyk has told Tyson Fury he will accept his terms for an April 29 undisputed heavyweight title fight at Wembley provided the Briton agrees to one special condition. The much-anticipated showdown appeared to be in jeopardy after Fury, who turned down a previous date in Saudi Arabia, demanded 70 per cent of the total purse for the revised London date. But Usyk posted a brief message on his social media on Friday in which he said he would accept Furys terms provided he makes a 1million donation to those affected by the war in Ukraine. Usyk said: Hey, greedy belly. I accept your offer 70-30 split the fight with you on April 29 at Wembley. But you will promise to donate to Ukraine immediately after the fight, 1million. And for every day of your delay you will pay one per cent from your purse to Ukrainian people. Deal? Earlier, Fury had posted a video of his own laying out his terms for the contest and insisting Usyks percentage would fall by one per cent for every day the Ukrainian delayed. Fury last fought in December when he stopped domestic rival Derek Chisora, while Usyk has not stepped in the ring since he successfully defended his titles with a second straight win over Anthony Joshua in Jeddah in August. (AP/Reuters) "Ma, Ill be okay." That was what 33-year-old Latavia "Tay" Washington McGee told her mother on Wednesday 1 March before setting off on the roughly 1,500 mile journey to Mexico to visit a medical clinic. Two days later, Washington McGee and the three friends accompanying her were ambushed and kidnapped in the border town of Matamoros by gunmen believed to be part of a Mexican criminal cartel. The trip ended in tragedy, with one Mexican bystander and two of the Americans killed while Washington McGee and the other survivor were returned safely to the US. Mexican police have arrested at least one suspect who allegedly surveilled the victims before the attack. It is a stark warning to the early one million Americans who are estimated to visit Mexico for medical care every year, often in border towns where violence between rival cartels is particularly dire. "There has been increased violence in the last several months," Ken Bombace, a former US military intelligence officer who now provides bodyguards for travellers, tells The Independent. "The unstable situation with migration and fentanyl transport at the border has created a very dangerous environment... I would avoid travel to Mexico right now if it can in any way be avoided especially in the north." The kidnappings come after a string of other incidents in which foreign travellers were killed or tangled up in conflict between rival gangs, as well as a far greater number of murders and "disappearances" targeting Mexican civilians. Experts say that specific areas of Mexico remain broadly safe for tourists, with popular travel spots such as Yucatan state, Mexico City, and the city of Monterey posing little danger while states with a heavy cartel presence such as Sinaloa and Jalisco are best avoided. The US State Department currently warns Americans not to travel to Matamoros and its surrounding state of Tamaulipas due to "crime and kidnapping", with all but one other border state classified as "reconsider travel". Story continues But that may not be so easy for travellers visiting a specific medical clinic, especially if their reason for doing so in the first place is because they can't afford healthcare in the US. "It's economics," University of Texas immigration professor Nestor Rodriguez told BBC News. "Medicines and services are cheaper in Mexico, especially dental procedures. You can get your teeth cleaned or an implant for a fraction of the cost of what you get in the US." So how safe is Mexico today for tourists, including so-called medical tourists? A formerly calm border city consumed by cartel civil wars Shortly after crossing the border on Friday 3 March, Washington McGee called her mother Barbara Burgess to say she and her friends were 15 minutes away from her clinic. Burgess, 54, told ABC News that her daughter had travelled from their home in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to get a tummy tuck in Mexico, her second such trip. She was joined by her cousin Shaeed Woodard and friends Zindell Brown and Eric Williams. What happened next is unclear, but a family friend told CNN that the group had got lost and contacted their clinic asking for directions. Not long afterwards, a gunman opened fire on their vehicle, and they were subsequently removed and loaded into a truck by armed men in body armour. US investigators reportedly believe that gangsters mistook Washington McGee and her friends, who are Black, for Haitian drug smugglers. Such incidents are all too common in Tamaulipas, where the US State Department says criminal gangs often stop cars and buses to capture the passengers and demand ransom payments. "Heavily armed members of criminal groups often patrol areas of the state and operate with impunity particularly along the border region from Reynosa to Nuevo Laredo," says the State Department. "In these areas, local law enforcement has limited capacity to respond to incidents of crime." According to Jose Andres Sumano Rodriguez, a Mexican professor specialising in border violence at the College of the Northern Border, these latest attackers are thought to be members of a criminal group known as the Scorpions, linked to the powerful but now splintered Gulf Cartel. Once upon a time, Matamoros was relatively peaceful due to its domination by the Gulf Cartel, which allegedly infiltrated the Tamaulipas state government at a high level. Texan students would often visit the city for spring break blowouts, according to the Associated Press. But the death of drug lord Samuel Flores Borrego in 2011 set off a power struggle between rival factions that continues to this day. More than 6,000 people have disappeared in the state of Tamaulipas, and mass graves have reportedly been found near a local beach called the Playa Bagdad. Hence, the Scorpions regularly clash with two other Gulf splinter gangs, the Northeast Cartel and Los Metros, Andres Sumano says. The main criminal industries are drug trafficking, human trafficking, and extortion. "In Tamaulipas, you have an important fragmentation in organised crime groups... with a new government that seems like it's still a little bit confused and doesn't know exactly how to respond to this type of situation," he tells The Independent. "Usually, more criminal competition with low state capacity will [lead to] higher violence and high crime, and this is what has happened in Tamaulipas." Worse, Andres Sumano says the election of a new state governor last year, which dislodged the existing protection agreements and other relationships between criminal gangs and local officials. The previous governor is in a long-running constitutional dispute with federal authorities over allegations of corruption. Meanwhile, Bombace says that the arrest of Sinaloa Cartel capo Ovidio "The Mouse" Guzman Lopez, the son of notorious drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, has set off violent reprisals throughout the state of Sinaloa, with gunmen even opening fire on a passenger airliner at Culiacan International Airport. A previous attempt at arresting Guzman Lopez failed in 2019 when when government troops were besieged and forced to flee by a massive cartel force. One of the officers involved was reportedly murdered the following month. How safe are other parts of Mexico? Ask Mexico's president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and he would tell you that Mexico is very much open for business. In 2021, responding to a series of attacks on foreign travellers, he formed a new "Tourist Security Battalion" comprising 1,445 officers from the National Guard military police force he created two years earlier. In a televised phone call with Tamaulipas's new governor on Tuesday, Lopez Obrador said this latest tragedy will be seized by the American media to portray Mexico as a dangerous country, in stark contrast with their "silence when Mexicans are killed in the US". During a press conference, he added: "We continue to work every day towards peace, and are very sorry that this has happened in our country." Experts consulted by The Independent say that the danger to tourists differs sharply between Mexico's 32 states and federal jurisdictions. "It's not everywhere. It's in very specific areas," Alejandro Hope, a security analyst and former member of Mexico's National Intelligence Centre, told The Independent last August after a recent week of violence along the US border. "It's really highly unlikely that any tourist will face something like this, but still, the risk is there and will be there for a while." Brad Bonnell, a forensic consultant and former head of global security for the Intercontinental Hotels Group, which owns the Intercontinental and Crown Plaza chains, likewise said last year that "lot of the fear is unreasonable fear, and a lot of the risks can be mitigated through intelligence". Even Dan Howell, a travel agent in Cincinnati, Ohio who was forced to take shelter during a 2021 trip to Cancun when gunfire broke out between rival drug dealers, said he does not plan to stop visiting Mexico and that bookings for the so-called "Mayan Riviera" had not slowed down. Bombace, who provides travel protection services through his company Global Threat Solutions, was more pessimistic, saying last year: "Until recently, my advice has been that I definitely wouldnt cancel my trip to Mexico because of reports of violence. "However, it seems that the violence between cartels has been increasingly spilling into the areas most often visited by tourists... and tourists have even fallen victim to feuding gang members in areas that were often thought to be off limits to the cartels, such as hotels, resorts and restaurants." What about visiting medical clinics in border states? The situation is murkier for those visiting one of the many Mexican medical clinics that specialise in catering to foreigners, which are often located near the US border. The Mexican Council for the Medical Tourism Industry estimates that almost one million Americans visit Mexico for healthcare every year. Prior to the pandemic, the health travel advocacy group Patients Beyond Borders gave a similar estimate of about 800,000 to one million American citizens per year, roughly 75 per cent of whom sought dental or cosmetic care. There are also many undocumented Mexican immigrants who temporarily travel back home for medical procedures, the group added. The reason is simple: cost savings of between 40 to 60 per cent, according to PBB. A knee replacement that costs $31,200 on average in the US can be reduced to an average $12,300 in Mexico, while a facelift drops from $10,350 to $5,300 and a nose job from $6,300 to $3,950. Some Americans have crossed the border in search of insulin an essential drug for people with type 1 diabetes that is sometimes unaffordable in the US even with health insurance. One such traveller told Kaiser Health News in 2019 that they had paid $600 in the border city of Tijuana for a supply that would have been $3,700 in Los Angeles. In Tamaulipas, the roads leading south from the state's two main border crossings are lined with dentistry offices and hotels. For some border towns, foreign healthcare is a major industry. The Matamoros incident was an extreme rarity, one that I expected to see a long time ago, PBBs chief executive Josef Woodman tells The Independent. I am so sorry for the survivors and their families so much for anyone to have to endure. While there's nothing I can think of to prevent a freak [event] like this from happening to a medical traveler, there's plenty that patients can do to help ensure a rewarding outcome on an affordable procedure. The groups most recent guidebook recommends that health travellers check goverment advisers before travelling and trust only established travel service providers, ideally those that shuttle their patients directly to clinics from an airport or hotel. Andres Sumano says criminals in Mexico rarely target tourists deliberately because the risks far outweigh the benefits. "Usually, when [gangsters] see someone that isn't recognisable, or from other areas, or something strange, they stop the car and ask questions, trying to find out who they are and what they're doing there. It's not the natural thing to go and attack," he says. "If by some accident they happen to kidnap an American citizen, the most probable thing is that they will take him to banks, have him take money out of his account, and let him free. They know the implications of doing more than that." Even so, some US travellers now change their vehicle's licence plate to a Mexican one after they enter the country so as to avoid the kind of attention that Washington McGee and her friends inadvertently attracted. "If you cross the border, you know to go directly to your destination," Nestor Rodriguez, the immigration professor, told BBC News. "I stopped going." The State Department says those who do travel in unsafe areas should keep their family or friends back home informed at all times; share their GPS location and photos of any taxi licence plates if they travel alone; use toll roads where possible; avoid driving at night; be cautious in bars, nightclubs, and casinos; and display no signs of wealth such as expensive watches or jewelry. Another option would be to choose a clinic in a major city in one of Mexico's safer states and to fly there rather than drive, if you can afford to do so. Brad Bonnell also advises US citizens to register with the State Department's Smart Traveller Enrollment Programme (STEP), which sends out regular bulletins about safety risks in the area you're visiting and helps US embassies and consulates track and search for citizens who run into trouble. "There is an unbelievable amount of information available to you about the risks, whether it's from disease, crime, threat of civil disturbances," he told The Independent last year. "You can have your own personal intelligence-led security strategy... "It's incumbent upon us take some responsibility not to put ourselves in harm's way. Or if we have to go someplace where know there might be an element of risk, to take reasonable precautions to mitigate those risks." Michele Gribbins, director, University of Illinois Springfields Center for Online Learning, Research and Service Since its conception, the University of Illinois Springfield has excelled at serving community college graduates and adult learners. Supplementing our on-campus program offerings with online courses in the late 1990s was a natural extension of the mission of UIS. With our 52 online undergraduate and graduate programs, we are celebrating 25 years of UIS being a pioneering leader in the field of online learning. Online learning at UIS today looks a bit different than it did 25 years ago or even 10 years ago. The delivery of online course content has evolved from text-based to rich media, such as the weekly videos that assistant professor Livia Woods creates for her English classes that are tailored to students recent writings and online discussions. Course assignments also have evolved over time. Teams of students in assistant professor Serkan Karadas Topics in Finance course, for example, compete in the CFA Institute Research Challenge. Professionals in the financial services industry mentor the teams throughout the investment competition. Time and location flexibility are primary drivers in the growth of online learning. Students of assistant professor of political science Matthew Garas can attend synchronous online class sessions via Zoom or participate in similar asynchronous activities and discussions at a time of their choosing. These benefits also extend to the speakers our faculty bring to their courses. assistant professor Jose Irizarry invites several faculty colleagues from other universities to share their expertise and experiences with his public administration students. More:Chancellor Gooch: UIS expanding ways students can learn beyond classrooms The Center for Online Learning, Research and Service (COLRS) at UIS aims to empower faculty in the delivery of online education and research. Over the past decade, nearly 40 UIS faculty have conducted research studies on teaching online in their disciplines through the COLRS Faculty Fellows Program. The late professor of educational leadership Karen Swan was a leading researcher on learning effectiveness in online environments, having authored over 100 publications and mentored many of the faculty fellows. Story continues Disseminating best practices for effective online teaching is a big part of COLRS outreach efforts. In 2011, COLRS founding director Ray Schroeder launched eduMOOC. It was the largest massive open online course at the time, reaching more than 2,600 educators from 70 countries. Today, we have several initiatives to disseminate best practices. Interim associate provost Layne Morsch coordinates the Central and Southern Illinois Faculty Development Network for college educators to share ideas and learn from each other. UIS Illinois Online Network provides online professional development and certificate opportunities to educators across Illinois and beyond. Vice chancellor for enrollment and retention management, and former COLRS executive director, Vickie Cook is a frequent keynote speaker and serves on the board of the Online Learning Consortium. And my COLRS colleagues Carrie Levin and Emily Boles and I disseminate best practices for teaching online through webinars, conferences and professional development events for other institutions. This semester, UIS has more than 1,600 students from across the United States and 15 other countries enrolled in our online programs. Many students select online learning at UIS to balance their educational pursuits with their personal and professional responsibilities. I recently had the opportunity to talk with Jay Ribeiro, who graduated with a masters degree in management information systems in 2013. While an online student at UIS, Jay served as an active duty captain in the U.S. Army. Today, Jay is the chief information security officer/associate chief information officer for the U.S. Department of Transportation. He credits his education at UIS with giving him the credentials needed to advance his career in the Army, which ultimately led to his work in cybersecurity. Jay is just one example of the more than 6,500 alumni of UIS online programs who have found new opportunities after earning their degrees. Every year at commencement, COLRS invites our newest graduates from online programs to meet the faculty and staff they have worked with as online students. For many, this is their first time stepping foot on the UIS campus. For some, it is their first time coming to Illinois. As we join them in celebrating their accomplishments, we hear stories about how UIS online programs provided them the access and opportunity they sought and needed. On May 13, we will meet our newest set of online graduates. It will be a special day of celebration for them and for all of us at UIS who value online learning. Michele Gribbins is the director of the University of Illinois Springfields Center for Online Learning, Research and Service (COLRS). This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: University of Illinois Springfield marks 25 years of online learning A 59-year-old security guard was shot during a bank robbery in the Loop Thursday afternoon, Chicago police said. An unknown offender left a Fifth Third bank branch, 1 S. Wacker Dr., about 3 p.m. when the guard confronted the armed robber and was shot in the arm, police said. Advertisement The guard, using his service weapon, returned fire and the robber fled east on Madison Street. The FBI released this image of a gunman from the bank robbery on March 9, 2023, in the first block of South Wacker Drive. A 59-year-old security guard was shot during the bank robbery when the guard confronted the robber and was shot in the arm, police said. The FBI said he was wearing a black hooded jacket, a mask, winter gloves and blue jeans. (FBI) The 59-year-old suffered a graze wound and declined to be taken to a hospital, police said. Advertisement The robber, who remained at large on Thursday night, was described as a Black man, about 5-foot-7, with a medium build, wearing a black hooded jacket, a mask, winter gloves and blue jeans, according to FBI spokesperson Natalie Symonds. No other injuries were known and the guard had the proper paperwork for the gun, police said. FBI agents were on the scene, said spokesperson Symonds. Check back on this developing story. After a jury found the ex-Ohio House Speaker and an associate guilty of public corruption, Ohios Attorney General says the state is planning to work toward holding more people accountable in the biggest corruption case in the states history. Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and former Ohio GOP chair and lobbyist Matt Borges were convicted Thursday in federal court in Cincinnati. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said Thursdays guilty verdicts marked only the beginning of accountability regarding House Bill 6. >> Jury convicts Householder in public corruption case HB6, which was passed into law in 2019, had several provisions. The most prominent portion was the bailout of two nuclear plants, which at the time were owned by First Energy Solutions, then a subsidiary of First Energy. Householder and four associates were arrested in 2020 after being accused of taking around $61 million from FirstEnergy Corp. in exchange for orchestrating a scheme to elect Householder as speaker and his allies to House seats, allowing them to then pass the $1.3 billion bailout bill. Other wrongdoers in this scandal especially and including the First Energy executives who funded the corrupt Householder Enterprise cannot be permitted to escape scot-free, Yost said Friday, noting that the states racketeering lawsuit should be able to resume now. The AG has asked a Franklin County Common Pleas judge to lift the stay on discovery in the states case. The lift would all the state to continue collecting documents and depose key witnesses. >> AAA shares spring break travel tips ahead of busy season Our work has already ended the nuclear subsidy and the decoupling rider that enshrined in Ohio law First Energys profitability. While portions of HB6 were eventually repealed, these two corrupt benefits for First Energy ended because of our lawsuit, not because of the legislative branchs belated repeal. The repeal only came after we ended the flow of funds, Yost said. Additionally, Yosts office was successful in freezing former PUCO Chairman Sam Randazzos financial assets. FirstEnergy previously admitted to paying Randazzo $4 million with the expectation that he would act in the companys interests with HB6. We are confident in our position, and fully intend to claw back those ill-gotten gains through our racketeering lawsuit, Yost said. (Bloomberg) -- Li Hongzhong has built a reputation as the Chinese official most eager to heap praise on leader Xi Jinping. Now he has a new distinction: the only nominee to receive a no vote this year for a leadership role in the countrys legislature. Most Read from Bloomberg Li, who also sits on the 24-member Politburo, received one abstention and one vote against his bid to become one of 14 vice chairpersons on the Standing Committee of the National Peoples Congress. The other 13 nominees for the position, as well as one for secretary-general of the legislatures top body, got unanimous support from Chinas 2,952 lawmakers. At the gathering, nobody voted against Xi as he was confirmed for a precedent-busting third term. The NPC also voted unanimously to install former anti-graft chief Zhao Leji as the bodys new leader and Han Zheng as vice president. Minutes after the results were announced, Li then misread his constitutional oath. Instead of saying safeguarding the authority of the constitution, he substituted in the word dignity. Back in 2016, Li was among the first top Communist Party officials to publicly endorse Xi as the core near the end of his first term as president a designation that would pave the way for his consolidation of power. As party chief of the coastal metropolis of Tianjin a year later, Li extolled Xis public statements, saying they showed thoughts, theories, emotion, charm and the highest level of a politician. Li has also been at the forefront of preaching loyalty to the Communist Party. He once famously said that if someone is not absolutely loyal to the party, that means he or she is absolutely not loyal. Story continues Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. Servers at Metas Eagle Mountain Data Center in Eagle Mountain on Friday, Sept. 30, 2022. Is China a legitimate threat to Utah businesses? | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News Amid news of Chinese spy balloons and our state government banning TikTok on state devices, people are realizing that the sleeping tiger across the Pacific is wide awake. But Utah has a bigger, less visible China problem and its time for Congress to address it. David Fitzgibbons, a special agent with the FBI, said in 2021 that the bureau believes the greatest long-term threat to the people of Utah is the Chinese Communist Party, and for good reason. It is stealing Utah businesses intellectual property and, according to Fitzgibbons, has already collected data on almost all the states adults. China wants to artificially take business away from our state by stealing Utah companies trade secrets, and it also seeks our data to enhance its cyberwarfare operations. Unfortunately, the country is succeeding in many ways. According to the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence 2021 Annual Threat Assessment, China presents a prolific and effective cyberespionage threat and can launch cyberattacks that, at a minimum, can cause localized, temporary disruptions to critical infrastructure within the United States. While the FBI is already investigating Chinas counterintelligence targeting of Utah, its time for Congress to begin addressing this threat, too. Utah Rep. Chris Stewart a member of the Counterterrorism and Counterintelligence subcommittee and Congress China Task Force has long been ahead of the curve on this issue. According to The Wall Street Journal, last year, the retired Air Force pilot sought confidential briefings on Capitol Hill to determine whether the Chinese government has any direct or indirect links to SpaceX. Stewart also sought to determine whether any companies with Chinese ties have invested in SpaceX, which isnt publicly traded. Related Story continues Without question, Elon Musk isnt trying to harm Americas national security; however, his proximity to the Chinese Communist Party may very well be affecting it. Although he is a champion for conservatives in many ways, Musk has taken over $1 billion in state loans from Chinese banks and has received accusations from lawmakers of looking the other way at the countrys genocide as he continues to operate a factory in the Xinjiang region, where most of its persecutions are occurring. But Musk isnt alone. While he may be todays highest profile example, his China ties speak to a larger, broader problem of American businesses that continue working directly or indirectly, knowingly or unwittingly with the Chinese Communist Party, and their dangerous entanglements can adversely affect us all. Some merely utilize suppliers with purported Chinese Communist Party connections; others have, according to members of Congress, hid and lied about contracts they have had with the Chinese government. These businesses dont seem to understand that doing business with China is not merely transactional. China is always looking to slip spies into U.S. business operations, backdoors into their technology and eyeballs on their users sensitive information. And as FBI Agent Fitzgibbons has made clear, this affects Utahns tremendously our privacy, ability to engage in commerce, and even our safety. It needs to end. Related The good news is that with Republicans recently taking control of the House of Representatives, Rep. Stewart and his allied colleagues will now have far more control over the trajectory of Congress agenda this year. That means they can call for more hearings to further quantify the extent of this problem and introduce and pass more bills that address the public and private sectors concerning ties to the Chinese Communist Party. Safety is of primary importance to all Utah voters, and the FBI has spoken this issue affects their well-being more than any other. Hopefully, its legislators in Congress have taken note and are ready to act. There has never been a more opportune time to do so than now. But yes, also make sure your kids dont have TikTok on their phones. Jared Whitley is a longtime Utah and D.C. politico, having worked in the Senate, Bush White House and defense industry. He has an MBA from Hult International Business School in Dubai. Tucker Carlson tried to rewrite the history of Jan. 6, 2021, and utterly failed. Speaker Kevin McCarthy gave the Fox News host and his producers exclusive media access to more than 40,000 hours of security footage recorded by the U.S. Capitol Police. Carlson promised viewers that his reveal of this massive tranche of video would dramatically alter our collective understanding of the events. It did not. It shouldnt have been a surprise that his supposed investigation was a dud even if you hadnt spent countless hours poring over details of the Capitol riot like I did. I served as a senior professional staff member on the January 6th Select Committee and helped write its final report. I got a close look at some of the video evidence that Carlson obtained and his manipulation of the audience was immediately obvious to me. Heres why. First, the premise of his investigation, that the USCP footage was being withheld to cover up the full story, was always false. Working with the Select Committees members, the investigative team and staffers reviewed the USCPs recordings, which provided new angles at some key locations. But it did not change our basic understanding of what transpired. How could it? The riot is one of the most widely covered events in history. There is no dearth of footage from that day. In addition to the USCPs surveillance video, the Select Committee reviewed footage recorded by cameras worn by Metropolitan Police Department officers, the work of documentary filmmakers and countless open-source videos, including clips recorded by the rioters themselves. Many Americans have already seen some of this footage with their own eyes. They know the mob was not at the Capitol primarily for sightseeing, as Carlson claimed. On Monday night, the Fox News host showed just several minutes of cherry-picked footage. Cameras inside the Capitol and on its grounds recorded many more scenes that he did not play for viewers. Some of this footage has long been available online. For example, you can watch rioters ramming their way through USCP officers at the Senate Wing door, members of the mob smashing the ornate East Rotunda doors before other rioters open them from the inside, and the melee at the west plaza tunnel (at the two-hour, 14-minute mark). You can also view a timeline of events used by federal prosecutors, who relied on the USCPs camera footage. Carlsons team had access to this footage, and more, but chose not to show any of it to Fox News viewers Monday night. Its easy to see why. The full USCP cache tells a very different story from the one Carlson wants people to see. Story continues There is another fundamental problem with Carlsons presentation that may not be so easy for the casual viewer to spot. He has repeatedly whitewashed the key role played by far-right extremists, namely, the Proud Boys. Their story, including how then-President Donald Trump inspired them, is told in Chapters 6 and 8 of the January 6th Select Committees final report. The Proud Boys and other extremists led the mob, but Carlson refuses to let his viewers know it. Let us compare one of Carlsons conspiracy theories to the well-established facts. For more than two years, Carlson has chased a bogeyman, arguing that provocateurs working for the federal government (or, alternatively, agitators on the left) somehow tricked Trumps patriots into rioting. He still cannot identify any federal agents working for the so-called deep state. Carlson and others have focused on a lone individual who has not been charged, Ray Epps, insinuating that he was a secret FBI plant. This claim is baseless. Theyve produced no evidence connecting Epps, a Trump supporter, to the FBI or any other federal agency. Meanwhile, Carlson has ignored nearly all of the evidence collected against the approximately 1,000 January 6th defendants who have been charged. That evidence reveals the real parties responsible for channeling the mobs anger. In fact, one of the most important January 6th trials is currently ongoing in a Washington, D.C., courtroom. Five members of the Proud Boys, including the groups chair, Enrique Tarrio, have been charged with seditious conspiracy and other serious crimes. The Department of Justice claims the Proud Boys conspired to prevent, hinder and delay the certification of the Electoral College vote, and to oppose by force the authority of the government of the United States. Moreover, on Jan. 6, 2021, the Proud Boys directed, mobilized and led members of the crowd onto the Capitol grounds and into the Capitol, leading to dismantling of metal barricades, destruction of property, breaching of the Capitol building, and assaults on law enforcement. The DOJs allegations are consistent with the Select Committees findings, as well as the investigative work done by real reporters. Law enforcement officials have collected overwhelming evidence, including text messages and videos, showing how the Proud Boys conspired against Americas democracy. They discovered that Tarrio told his men to storm the Capitol in the days leading up to the joint session of Congress. While the attack was underway, Tarrio also claimed responsibility, messaging his men: Make no mistake and We did this. Then, on the night of Jan. 6, Tarrio posted a video on the conservative social media site Parler that he titled, Premonition. The video shows a masked man, dressed as a super villain, standing in front of the Capitol. The figure is presumably Tarrio himself and the clip, recorded prior to Jan. 6, implies that he had foreknowledge of that days events. You can watch Premonition here. Its the type of spooky scene, set to foreboding background music, that makes for good television. Carlson did not show it to his viewers. In fact, he did not mention the Proud Boys at all. The Select Committees review of video footage from multiple sources, including the U.S. Capitol Police, showed that the Proud Boys were conspicuously present on the front lines and at key breach points throughout the attack. Prosecutors are currently relying on the same type of footage, as well as additional sources of video, to make their case to a jury. For example, Proud Boy leaders Joe Biggs and Ethan Nordean riled up the crowd at the Peace Circle Monument just outside of the U.S. Capitol. The Select Committee showed how the Proud Boys marched from the Washington Monument, around the Capitol, and then instigated the first perimeter breach at this key location. By attacking the police officers stationed between the monument and the Capitol, sweeping away security fences in the process, the Proud Boys and their associates opened a clear path onto the Capitols grounds. Thousands of Trumps supporters marched down Pennsylvania Avenue and through the Peace Circle after leaving the presidents rally at the White House Ellipse. Dominic Pezzola, another Proud Boy, was responsible for the first breach of the U.S. Capitol building itself. Pezzola smashed in a Senate Wing window with a stolen riot shield. This allowed the mob to swarm into the Capitol through both the window and a nearby door. Pezzola bragged about his actions in a video he recorded of himself inside the Capitol. While smoking a victory cigar, Pezzola said: I knew we could take this motherfucker over if we just tried hard enough. Proud of your motherfuckin boy. During his presentation Monday night, Carlson focused on Jacob Chansley, a.k.a. the QAnon Shaman, pretending that he is the central figure in the January 6th story. Carlson claimed that we still dont know how he entered the building. Thats not true even the footage shown by Carlson makes it clear that Chansley entered through the Senate Wing door next to the window Pezzola bashed in. There is much more evidence against the Proud Boys. Some members of the group have already pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy and other charges, admitting that their comrades planned to stop the certification of Joe Bidens victory. And the Proud Boys were not the only far right extremists involved. Members of two anti-government groups, the Oath Keepers and Three Percenters, attacked the Capitol as well. Some Oath Keepers have pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy, while juries convicted the groups leader and other members of the same crime. White nationalists were also among the extremists who stormed the Capitol. The Fox News audience did not hear any of this. Nor did they hear how Trump summoned these extremists to Washington, D.C., for Jan. 6 via his tweets and statements. This part of the story is explained at great length in the Select Committees final report. Tucker Carlson wants people to believe that phantom government agents were responsible. No one who relies on facts and logic will be fooled. The Capitol on Day 1 of the 2023 Utah Legislature in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023. At the end of the legislative session, Utah lawmakers were able to pass important legislation on various pressing issues. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News Last week, the Utah 2023 general session of the Utah State Legislature adjourned sine die, more than two hours before the midnight deadline. This rare conclusion exemplifies a unique result of 45 days. We offer our insight. Many veteran observers claim the recent session was historic and unprecedented for the breadth of issues deliberated and for legislation enacted. Is this just hyperbole or did lawmakers accomplish much or too much depending on perspective? Pignanelli: The 2023 session was the most consequential in Utah history. The list of accomplishments is long, impressive, and will impact the state for many years. Chris Bleak, former chief of staff to two House Speakers A reference to that citadel of American culture The Godfather best describes this legislative session wherein lawmakers settled all family business. State officials possessed a personal interest in resolving multiple issues plaguing them for years. This emotional component drove so much legislation that citizens, regardless of partisan affiliation, will find something to like and disdain. The spectrum of public policies reviewed in 45 days was astounding, including major increases to public education while funding scholarships, providing voters an opportunity to remove the constitutional earmark for income tax, massive funding for water conservation, tax cuts, refining abortion restrictions, prohibiting transgender surgeries, infusion of new money for affordable housing and homelessness initiatives, streamlining construction for new homes, establishing a Great Salt Lake Commission, developing domestic violence database and approving a new state flag. The anger towards social media impact on youth fostered two bills, with encouragement from Governor Spencer Cox . Related In the past, lawmakers expressed frustration with left-wing behaviors percolating in the federal government or other arenas with resolutions. But not this legislature. There was a flurry of bills to thwart the use of aggressive environmental, social and governance standards instead of usual business practices in finance, insurance and other activities. Story continues The session catalog seems endless. Legislative leadership was blessed with a budget surplus, and the experience to focus throughout the entire session not just the final week to achieve so much. Therefore, lawmakers were able to settle their family business. Webb: Lawmakers passed a lot of important legislation, but the real history was made with the states record $28 billion budget. It was remarkable and historic because the lawmakers had so much money to spend. To badly bungle a quote by Winston Churchill: Never has so much been given to so many by so few. It is almost unbelievable that lawmakers were able to enact historic tax cuts, spend historic amounts on water conservation and development, historic amounts on education, and exceptional amounts on transportation and infrastructure. Usually, such a spending blowout would mean racking up deep debt, leaving future generations to pay for it. But, no, lawmakers actually reduced state debt significantly and left fat rainy day funds, leaving the state better-positioned than ever for the future. It is a tribute to Utahs amazing economy generating copious state tax revenue, and abundant federal money (generating copious federal debt). As Ive written previously, I would have preferred lawmakers grant less generous tax cuts, instead saving more money for leaner times sure to come in future years. Utah taxes are already comparatively low. But I must admit that lawmakers and the governor did a nice job overall of allocating Utahs bonanza, cornucopia, windfall, goldmine, bounty, jackpot, of tax revenue. Some observers predicted that the new batch of conservative freshmen would tilt the Legislature even more to the political right. Did this happen? Pignanelli: I was amused when several Republican lawmakers commented the new batch was very conservative. They forgot a similar moniker was pinned to them years ago. The 2020 elections fostered these newcomers, as Utah was one of the few states that experienced a red wave in local contests. Despite the right tilt, most of the major legislative items originated from experienced lawmakers. Webb: Utahs Legislature is very conservative, but its mostly a responsible conservatism that doesnt often veer off into right-wing craziness although it sometimes comes close. Thus, while plenty of ultra-conservative bills were introduced, not many made it through the entire legislative gauntlet. And, as Ive said many times, with 104 independent-minded lawmakers all trying to enact their priorities, you cant judge a legislature by bills introduced, speeches made or even what survives a committee hearing. You only judge a legislature by what finally passes both houses and is signed by the governor. By that measure, Utahs legislature was quite responsible. Related Will future legislative sessions be as impactful as the 2023 version? Pignanelli: The upcoming session commences simultaneously with a big election year which brings a host of different dynamics to deliberations and voting. Webb: Perhaps Im just a grumpy old worry wart, having seen a lot of rough times, but Ill be surprised if were able to indulge in such an amazing economic feeding frenzy in future years. As a state, we definitely should not get used to this sort of funding buffet. Plenty of economic storm clouds loom on the horizon. Republican LaVarr Webb is a former journalist and a semi-retired small farmer and political consultant. Email: lwebb@exoro.com. Frank Pignanelli is a Salt Lake attorney, lobbyist and political adviser who served as a Democrat in the Utah state Legislature. Email: frankp@xmission.com. SALEM, Ore. (AP) Oregon was taking a major step Friday in its pioneering of legalized psilocybin therapy with the graduation of the first students trained in accompanying patients tripping on psychedelic mushrooms, although a companys bankruptcy has left another group on the same path adrift. The graduation ceremony for 35 students was being held Friday evening by InnerTrek, a Portland firm, at a woodsy retreat center. About 70 more will graduate on Saturday and Sunday in ceremonies in which they will pledge to do no harm. Facilitator training is at the heart of the nations first statewide psilocybin therapy and wellness program and is core to the success of the Oregon model were pioneering here," said Tom Eckert, program director at InnerTrek and architect of the 2020 ballot measure that legalized Oregons program. The students must pass a final exam to receive InnerTrek certificates. They then take a test administered by the Oregon Health Authority to receive their facilitator licenses. The graduation of the first cohort of students from approved psilocybin facilitator training programs is a significant milestone for Oregon, said Angie Allbee, manager of the state health authoritys psilocybin services section. We congratulate Oregons future facilitators and the training programs they are graduating from on this incredible and historic moment in psilocybin history. The health authority reported Friday that so far it has received 191 license and worker permit applications, including licenses for manufacturers of psilocybin and service centers where the psychedelic substance would be consumed and experienced. Allbee said she expects students will soon submit applications for licenses, which will move us closer to service center doors opening in 2023. Some classes in InnerTrek's six-month, $7,900 course were held online, but others were in-person, held in a building near Portland resembling a mountain lodge. Story continues The students were told that a dosing session at a licensed center should include a couch or mats for clients to sit or lie on, an eye mask, comfort items like a blanket and stuffed animals, a sketch pad, pencils and a bucket for vomiting. A session typically lasts at least six hours, often with music. Trainers emphasized that the facilitators' clients should be given the freedom to explore whatever emotions emerge during their inner journeys. Were not guiding, trainer Gina Gratza told the students in a December training session. Let your participants experiences unfold. Use words sparingly. Let participants come to their own insights and conclusions. Researchers believe psilocybin changes the way the brain organizes itself, permitting users to adopt new attitudes more easily and help overcome depression, PTSD, alcoholism and other issues. Eckert said the graduating students will be prepared to help clients see the benefits of psilocybin. I feel like its a big moment for our culture and country as we collectively begin to reexamine and reevaluate the nature of mental health and wellness, while bringing real healing to those in need, he said. Another facilitator training effort in southern Oregon has left students upset and a lawyer in the Netherlands trying to figure out what happened. Synthesis Institute a company based in the Netherlands that has over 200 students in Oregon, according to an article in Psychedelic Alpha was declared bankrupt Tuesday, Dutch court documents showed. The company's website, which as of Friday had not been taken down, shows tuition being $12,997. The students are trying to get refunds. Synthesis really just has ripped the rug out from under us, for a lot of people, one of the students, Cori Sue Morris, told Psychedelic Alpha. Roos Suurmond, a lawyer in Amsterdam specializing in insolvency law, confirmed she has been appointed as a trustee to deal with the bankruptcy. She said in an interview she could not yet answer questions on the bankruptcy as she had so recently been appointed and still must investigate. By February, the companys liabilities totaled around $850,000, and it could not afford to pay its employees in the U.S. and the Netherlands, Psychedelic Alpha reported. A real estate purchase in southern Oregon did not help matters. An Oregon limited liability company, Oregon Retreat Centers LLC, was formed by Synthesis co-founder Myles Katz, Psychedelic Alpha reported. It purchased a 124-acre rustic retreat near Ashland, Oregon, in Jackson County for $3.6 million and planned to turn the site into a psilocybin service center, but a zoning problem developed. While Oregon voters approved the measure on psilocybin in 2020, it did not make the drug legal until Jan. 1, 2023. The psilocybin sessions are expected to be available to the public in mid- or late-2023. In November, Colorado voters also passed a ballot measure allowing regulated use of magic mushrooms starting in 2024. ___ Corder reported from The Hague, Netherlands. Reuters/Scott Audette The Orlando prosecutor being targeted by Ron DeSantis amid a triple shooting investigation continued to defend herself against the Florida governors attacks, claiming Thursday that hes searching for any reason to oust her from office because shes a Democrat. During a Thursday update on pending charges in the shootingwhich left a 9-year-old girl, a 38-year-old woman, and a local news reporter dead last monthState Attorney Monique Worrell lambasted DeSantis as she accused him of leveraging the tragedy to probe her office and dig up a reason to suspend her. This isnt about whether I follow the law, this isnt about whether or not my policies are a danger to public safety, she said. This is about the governor wanting to control the politics across this state. And quite frankly its dangerous because this is a democracy, not a dictatorship. Monique H. Worrell. State Attorney Ninth Judicial Circuit After grilling Worrell during a press conference on Feb. 27, DeSantis filed a formal request that ordered her office to provide records regarding 19-year-old Keith Moses past arrests and the records of every instance in which a person arrested for a felony or in violation of probation was not charged by her office since 2020, when she was elected. A letter from the governors office said the request was to determine if Mr. Moses was enabled by gaps in our sentencing laws that must be corrected, or, to be frank, your offices failure to properly administer justice. Florida Prosecutor Reveals Real Reasons She Landed in DeSantis Crosshairs Worrell fired back that, despite having nothing to hide, her office wont bow down to DeSantis unrealistic records requestordered to be filed by Tuesdayjust so he can score political points. She said shes already sent all information requested about the February shooting and its suspect specifically. Worrell said Thursday that she hasnt failed at any point, but fulfilling the massive records request by Tuesday would be impossible on such short notice and pricey, with an estimated cost of $800,000 to taxpayers. Story continues Florida Prosecutor Reveals Real Reasons She Landed in DeSantis Crosshairs Worrell told The Daily Beast last week that she was the subject of a ridiculous witch hunt thats seeking any reason to remove her from office. Theres definitely a target across my back and it has nothing to do with anything that Ive done, but just simply with the fact that the governor wants full control over Florida politics and he doesnt respect the will of the electorate, Worrell said. DeSantis, Orange County Sheriff John Mina, and Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) have all suggested Worrell was partially the reason that Moses was still on the streets when he allegedly massacred three people last month despite a 2021 arrest in which he wasnt prosecuted. Worrell clarified Thursday that Moses wasnt locked up because his lone arrest as an adult (his past juvenile arrests, which reportedly included gun charges, battery and grand theft, are sealed under Florida law) was for misdemeanor drug possession that didnt warrant him being charged because of a law DeSantis signed himself in 2019. Worrell said that legislation, which amended the legal definition of cannabis to require a minimum of 0.3 percent of TCH, made it impossible to tell in November 2021 whether the cannabis substance Moses allegedly possessed was hemp or an illegal amount of marijuana. As for a gun that was recovered from Moses car during that arrest, something DeSantis honed in on in his criticism of Worrell, she said it was a moot point in prosecuting the 19-year-old because deputies from the Orange County Sheriffs Office never sent it for DNA testing. Worrell repeatedly insinuated Thursday that DeSantis cares more about removing another political opponent from office than he does getting justice for the shooting victims, calling his actions political fear-mongering. I am an elected Democrat who is not in alignment with the governors politics, she said. This has been an attempt to build a basis for a suspension. The last bulleted item in his inquiry was to get an opportunity to go through every single file in my office so that he could find a basis. Worrell says the governors office has interviewed former colleagues in search of an example of non-prosecutionsomething the governor used last year to oust fellow prosecutor Andrew Warren, a Democrat from Tampa, when he refused to prosecute abortion patients. Families of two of the victims allegedly slain by Moses have spoken against DeSantis and Scott themselves, accusing the Republicans of politicizing their loved ones deaths. They are sickened over what they believe has been the exploitation of their childrens deaths by Governor Ron DeSantis and Senator Rick Scott, said Attorney Mark NeJame, who is representing the families of Lyons and Major, FL Voice News reported. The attorney also pointed out that, even if Moses had been convicted for his 2021 arrest, he wouldve likely been free again by the time last months shooting occurred. Even if the killer had gotten a year in jail from when he was first arrested, NeJame said, ...he would have been out of jail months before his killing spree began. Motive in TV Journo, Childs Shocking Murders Still a Mystery Instead of rushing to fill the governors records request, Worrell says shell continue to work for Orlando, which includes the prosecution of Moses. She announced Thursday that hell be charged by the end of the week with three counts of second-degree murdercharges she believes will likely be upgraded to first-degree murder as cops investigation continues. Facts matter. I know they dont matter to the governor, I know they dont matter to the senator and sometimes they dont matter to the sheriff, Worrell said. This is a statewide challenge faced by prosecutors everywhere; however, the governor and the senator chose to specifically select my office for criticism regarding an issue that was raised because of legislation that the governor himself signed. 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. Break out the tuxedos and glamorous dresses, because the 95th Academy Awards is upon us. The Oscars air LIVE Sunday at 8 p.m. Sunday on WFTV Channel 9, with Red Carpet coverage before. READ: Mister Rogers Week of Kindness to honor Central Floridas favorite neighbor If you want to watch the telecast with an audience, Enzian, the independent theater in Maitland, will host a free watch party on the big screen. Before the envelopes are opened and the little gold men are handed out, here are 9 things to know about this years ceremony and its nominees. Everything Everywhere All At Once leads the pack with 11 nominations, including Best Picture. Michelle Yeoh is the first Asian nominated for Best Actress for her role in Everything Everywhere All At Once. READ: 9 things happening in Central Florida this weekend The Best Actor race is made up entirely of first-time nominees: Austin Butler for Elvis, Colin Farrell for The Banshees of Inisherin, Brendan Fraser for The Whale, Paul Mescal for Aftersun and Bill Nighy for Living. This is the first time thats happened since 1935, the 7th Academy Awards. The film All Quiet on the Western Front, is the first German-language film nominated for Best Picture. It is a remake of the 1930 film of the same name, which also broke ground as the first Best Picture winner based on a novel. READ: Iconic Disney Parks treat heading to grocery stores Legendary composer John Williams is nominated for his work on the Steven Spielberg film The Fabelmans. At 90, he is the oldest Academy Award nominee, and he is the most-nominated living person with 53 nods. This years marks the first time two sequels have been nominated for Best Picture, being Top Gun: Maverick and Avatar: The Way of Water. Jimmy Kimmel returns as the host for the third time. The last time he hosted, 2018, was also the last time the Oscars featured a solo host. Among this years presenters are Halle Berry, Harrison Ford, Kate Hudson, Mindy Kaling, Pedro Pascal and John Travolta. Story continues READ: Globe up: Universal Parks & Resorts rebrands itself New protocols have been put into place following last years infamous slap involving Will Smith and Chris Rock. This year, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences previously shared they will have a crisis team on standby for any issues. Smith has been banned from appearing at the Oscars ceremony for 10 years. Major controversy this year surrounded Best Actress nominee Andrea Riseborough for her role in To Leslie, which led to an investigation by the Board of Governors into campaign procedures. There was no reason found to rescind her nomination. 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. A 28-year-old Chicago man was indicted on charges alleging he had kidnapped three drivers, and he was previously indicted on a charge of sexually abusing one of them, federal prosecutors said Friday. A federal grand jury indicted Andrew Anania on three counts of kidnapping, two counts of carjacking and one firearms charge crimes he allegedly committed while on pretrial release for a prior federal gun offense, according to a statement Friday from the U.S. attorneys office for the Northern District of Illinois. Advertisement Each count of kidnapping is punishable by up to life imprisonment, and each count of carjacking is punishable by up to 25 years in federal prison, prosecutors said. On Feb. 27, March 8 and March 10, 2021, Anania kidnapped the drivers of three vehicles, one on each date, prosecutors said. On two of the dates, he also stole the victims cars with intent to cause death and serious bodily harm. Advertisement In October 2021, Anania was indicted on a kidnapping charge for the March 8 attack, where he is also accused of sexually abusing the driver, prosecutors said. He was arrested on March 13, 2021, and has been in custody since then. Before that attack, Chicago police officers had stopped Anania on Feb. 15, 2019, while he was driving in the Little Village neighborhood, prosecutors said. When officers approached him, Anania ran, and while officers chased him, they saw him throw a gun into a residential yard, prosecutors said. Officers arrested Anania and found the gun shortly after, prosecutors said. Anania was indicted by a federal grand jury for being a felon in possession of a firearm on June 26, 2019, and a court later granted his request for pretrial release. On Oct. 14, 2021, Anania pleaded guilty to the firearms offense, and he was sentenced to 40 months in prison on Feb. 14, 2022, prosecutors said. pfry@chicagotribune.com Twitter @paigexfry ZNPP is under the occupation of Russia EU member states, as well as Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, and Ukraine support the statement. Read also: IAEA reports resumption of blasts outside Ukraines Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhya NPP Every one of the seven indispensable pillars for ensuring nuclear safety and security in an armed conflict has been compromised as a result of Russias aggression against Ukraine. Read also: Diplomatic efforts to remove Russian troops from Zaporizhzhya NPP fail so far, energy minister says Many near-misses have taken place, the statement says. A nuclear accident, with all its radiological consequences has so far been avoided, largely thanks to the resilience and dedication of the Ukrainian operating staff. The European Union and its member states said they will never recognize Russias attempted illegal seizure of the ZNPP. We stress the importance of the IAEAs continued presence at all of Ukraines nuclear facilities, which was achieved in January with the financial support of the European Union and its member states, the EU 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 Belarus has been training its military since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukraine Yet, 7.5% of those polled hold the opposite opinion. Additionally, a grant majority holds a negative attitude toward Belarus (56.3% negative, 24.4% mainly negative). However, 12.4% of those polled have a positive attitude toward Belarus (3.1% positive, 9.3% mainly positive). Read also: Russia dispatches more echelons with troops and equipment from Belarus to Ukraine Meanwhile, over 90% of Ukrainians have a negative attitude toward Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko (76.3% negative, 15.9% mainly negative), with only 3.3% having a positive attitude toward the dictator (0.5% positive, and 2.8% mainly positive). Two-thirds of those polled fully (46.7%) or rather (22.5%) support the complete severing of all relations between Kyiv and Minsk after Ukraines victory. In contrast, 5.4% of Ukrainians are fully against the complete severing of all relations between Ukraine and Belarus, and 11.2% rather do not support it. Read also: Belarusian opposition leader takes credit for damaging Russian plane in Belarus Read also: Russians training in Belarus, no offensive group formed, says State Border Guard Service The survey was conducted through face-to-face interviews from Feb. 22 to March 1, 2023. A total of 2,020 people were polled in all regions of Ukraine, except for in the Russian-occupied territories. Directly prior to Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Lukashenko provided Belarusian territory as a staging ground for the invading forces. The troops gathered in Belarus were primarily used to attack the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv. The Russian army also continues to launch missile strikes at Ukraine from Belarus. Belarusian troops do not directly participate in hostilities. However, experts have warned that it is possible for Belarus or Russia to attempt another attack on Kyiv from the north. 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 Eloisa Lopez ABOARD PHILIPPINES COAST GUARD PLANE, South China Sea (Reuters) - As a Philippine coast guard aircraft flew over the disputed Spratly islands in the South China Sea on Thursday, a message came in over the radio telling it to immediately leave "Chinese territory". Such warnings, from a Chinese coast guard ship, have become an almost daily ritual around one of the world's most contested archipelagos, where China is one of five countries claiming the strategic islands - or at least some of them - as their own. "Calling China coast guard vessel. You are transiting inside Philippine territorial sea," the Philippine pilot radios back. "Request identify yourself and state your intention to prevent misunderstanding," he said. China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea and has for years permanently deployed hundreds of coast guard and fishing vessels in disputed areas like the Spratlys, where it has dredged sand to build islands on reefs, and equipped them with missiles and runways. Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei and Taiwan also have claims in the Spratlys. The Philippines occupies nine features there, and has accused China of aggression and "swarming" by fishing vessels that it says are militia, including near the tiny Thitu island occupied by Manila since the 1970s. A Reuters journalist joined the Philippine flight on Thursday and observed some of those Chinese boats dotted in the waters around Thitu, an island of 400 people. The Philippines last week accused the vessels, including a navy ship, of "slowly loitering". China said on Friday it has sovereignty over the Spratly Islands, known in China as the Nansha Islands, and its adjacent waters. "Therefore, it is reasonable and legal for Chinese ships to carry out normal activities in waters under China's jurisdiction," Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a regular briefing. Story continues The fly-by came amid repeated complaints by the government of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr against China's actions, including its use of a laser that Manila said temporarily blinded crew members of a coast guard vessel last month. The Philippines under Marcos has stepped up its rhetoric to challenge China and is seeking closer ties with former colonial power and defence ally the United States, including plans to hold joint sea patrols. The plane flew over another hot spot for China-Philippines tensions - the Second Thomas Shoal - where the military grade laser was last month used to target a coast guard crew supporting a military resupply mission. The Philippines has long maintained a small contingent of military aboard a rusty former U.S. navy ship that it ran aground on a reef there to preserve Manila's territorial claim. China's coast guard challenged the plane again as it flew over the shoal, located inside the Philippines 200-mile exclusive economic zone. "This is the Philippine Coast Guard," the pilot responded. "We are conducting a routine maritime patrol within our national airspace, and monitoring the safety of our fishermen," it said. (Writing by Karen Lema; Additional reporting by Joe Cash in BEIJING; Editing by Martin Petty, Ed Davies) The owner of the dogs that attacked and mauled a man at an Arlington apartment complex in February has been arrested, officials said. Eric Moten, 31, was taken into custody on Wednesday and charged with one count of attack by dog resulting in serious bodily injury, police said. Motens pit bulls attacked a 49-year-old man on Feb. 12 at an apartment complex in the 700 block of Ridgeglen Drive. Star-Telegram media partner WFAA-TV and a GoFundMe account identified the victim as Terrance Marshall. Marshall told WFAA that he was checking the weather before work when the dogs attacked him. One dog bit him on the ear, another bit him on the arm and two more bit him through his work boots. A fifth dog bit him on the back of the head, resulting in a large gash. By the time the owner and two bystanders were able to pull the dogs off, Marshall was seriously injured. He spent seven and a half hours in the emergency room, where he received 79 stitches, according to WFAA. Arlington Animal Control and the Arlington Police Department investigated the attack and issued an arrest warrant for Moten. The charge, attack by dog resulting in serious bodily injury, is a felony in Texas. Moten is accused of criminal negligence in not securing the dogs, according to the arrest warrant. Animal Control tried to contact him with an order to quarantine the dogs to check for rabies, but Moten did not answer the door of his apartment, the warrant says. One of Motens pit bulls also reportedly bit a woman in the finger in December, according to the warrant. Moten is being held at the Tarrant County Jail on a $10,000 bond, police said. By Kirsty Needham (Reuters) - The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) held talks with Taiwan in February about switching diplomatic ties for $50 million in assistance after frustrations with China, the outgoing president of the Pacific island nation has said in a letter. Tensions between the United States and China for security influence in the Pacific islands are rising, and FSM President David Panuelo was a prominent critic of China's attempt to strike a 10-nation security and trade pact. Panuelo lost his seat in Tuesday's national poll, election officials confirmed. In a letter sent to state governors that was reviewed by Reuters, Panuelo said he met with Taiwan's foreign minister Joseph Wu in February to discuss switching diplomatic recognition. "I was transparent with Foreign Minister Wu; we project we need an injection of approximately $50,000,000 to meet our future needs. We can and will receive this, over a three year period, if and when we establish diplomatic relations with Taiwan," he wrote. "Taiwan assures me that they will simply 'pick up' any and all projects that China is currently undertaking.". The aid would come on top of "greatly added layers of security and protection that come with our country distancing itself from the PRC, which has demonstrated a keen capability to undermine our sovereignty, reject our values, and uses our elected and senior officials for their own purposes," he added. An interim $15 million annual assistance package was also offered, he wrote. A spokesperson from the FSM president's office declined to comment. Taiwan's foreign ministry said it could not comment on its contacts with other countries, but that compared to China's "lip service promises", Taiwan had always adhered to the spirit of "practical diplomacy, mutual benefit and 'Taiwan can help'". "In the future, our country is willing to use the Taiwan model to assist Micronesia's development, benefit their people's well-being, and respect and welcome the expansion of bilateral relations," it said in a statement. Story continues POLITICAL WARFARE Panuelo's letter was dated March 9 and first reported by The Diplomat. In the letter, he accused China of waging "political warfare" in his country, and bribing his government's officials. Panuelo wrote he had blocked the appointment of China's choice of new ambassador because the person had a background in security and overseas police operations. Panuelo said China's previous ambassador had urged an official to sign a memorandum of understanding between China and FSM despite Panuelo rejecting it, telling the official the president did not need to know. In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said she had noted the reports on Panuelo's letter and that "slander and accusations against China are completely inconsistent with the facts". No matter who is in power, China will uphold the principles of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit "on the basis of the one-China principle", she added, referring to China's view that both it and Taiwan belong to "one China". Beijing and Taiwan have a history of competing in the Pacific islands, where four of Taiwan's 14 diplomatic allies are located. Two Pacific island nations, Kiribati and Solomon Islands, cut diplomatic ties with democratically ruled Taiwan in 2019 after offers of aid from China, which views Taiwan as its own territory. FSM's official election results will be announced later on Friday. A new government will take power in May, with the next president to be chosen by Congress from four elected senators. The country - made up of more than 600 islands spread across the Western Pacific - is close to finalising a renewed compact of free association with the United States, under which the U.S. provides defence and economic support. (Reporting by Kirsty Needham in Sydney; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Taipei and Joe Cash in Beijing; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Christian Schmollinger) JERUSALEM (AP) A Palestinian man who entered a settlement in the occupied West Bank armed with knives and explosive devices was shot and killed by an Israeli settler on Friday, the military said. Hours later, a 16-year-old Palestinian died after being critically wounded when Israeli troops opened fire on stone-throwing Palestinians in northern West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said. The violence comes a day after a Palestinian gunman shot and wounded Israelis in downtown Tel Aviv the latest to grip Israel and the West Bank in one of the deadliest periods of unrest among Israelis and Palestinians in years. The Israeli military said the armed Palestinian slipped into a farm near the settlement of Karnei Shomron, and was fatally shot by an Israeli settler overseeing the land. Palestinian authorities identified him as 21-year-old Abed al-Sheikh. His father, Badaie al-Sheikh, said Israeli security forces searched his house, interrogated him and confiscated his son's phone in the nearby Palestinian village of Saniriya. The teen, Amir Ouda, was wounded close to a checkpoint near the town of Qalqilya, the Palestinian health ministry said. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. Hours earlier, Israeli security forces entered the Palestinian village of Naalin and prepared to demolish the family house of the Palestinian suspected of carrying out the Tel Aviv attack Thursday night. The shooter had opened fire near Dizengoff Street in a bustling area of the city's center and wounded three Israelis, including one critically, before being shot and killed. The Hamas militant group claimed the attacker, a 23-year-old former prisoner named Moataz Khawaja, as a member of the organizations armed wing. Hamas said the shooting was in response to an Israeli military arrest raid that day that killed three gunmen in the northern village of Jaba, along with another raid earlier this week that killed seven Palestinians in the flashpoint Jenin refugee camp, including a wanted assailant and a 14-year-old boy. Story continues This is evidence of the equation that says, for every action there is a reaction," Mosher al-Masri, a Hamas official, told The Associated Press from a rally in support of the Tel Aviv shooting held in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahiya. Blood will be returned with blood, the killers will be killed, the bombers will be bombed. Israeli police said Friday they were continuing their investigation into the Tel Aviv attack, and that two men from the Israeli town of Ramle, near Tel Aviv, and the Bedouin town of Kuseife, in the Negev desert, had turned themselves in over their alleged smuggling of the gunman and other Palestinians from the occupied West Bank into Israel. As Israeli forces stormed into Naalin and arrested two family members of the suspected attacker for questioning, they said they were met by a barrage of explosive devices, Molotov cocktails and stones. Israeli troops responded with gunfire, which they said struck at least one Palestinian. The person's condition was unclear. Before being arrested, Khawaja's father, Salah Khawaja, said he felt pride in his son for carrying out the attack. Like many Palestinians living in an environment where attacks on Israelis are celebrated and their perpetrators exalted, he expressed little sympathy for Israeli civilians and said he understood his son's desire for revenge. Praise God, Moataz is beloved by everyone, he told reporters. Any young man who witnesses such massacres will naturally respond. Further north, Israeli forces entered the Palestinian city of Tulkarm, home to an emerging armed group that has increasingly attracted young Palestinians angry at Israeli violence and disillusioned by their leadership. Gunmen opened fire, striking an Israeli military vehicle in the city, the army said. Others hurled explosive devices and shot at Israeli forces from a passing car. The Israeli army said it responded with live fire. There were no immediate reports of casualties on either side. The past few months have been marked by rising violence in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, which Israel captured along with the Gaza strip in the 1967 Mideast war. Palestinians seek those territories for a future independent state. At least 75 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire during military arrest raids and other confrontations so far this year, according to a tally by the AP. Over that same period, a series of attacks by Palestinians against Israelis has left at least 14 Israelis dead so far this year, all but one of them civilians. The upsurge in deaths has raised fears of a possible greater escalation under Israel's most right-wing government in history, which has pledged tough action against the Palestinians. ___ Associated Press writer Wafaa Shurafa in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, contributed to this report. On the third anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic, the virus is still spreading and the death toll is nearing 7 million worldwide. Yet most people have resumed their normal lives, thanks to a wall of immunity built from infections and vaccines. The virus appears here to stay, along with the threat of a more dangerous version sweeping the planet. New variants emerging anywhere threaten us everywhere, said virus researcher Thomas Friedrich of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Maybe that will help people to understand how connected we are. With information sources drying up, it has become harder to keep tabs on the pandemic. Johns Hopkins University on Friday shut down its trusted tracker, which it started soon after the virus emerged in China and spread worldwide. Saturday marks three years since the World Health Organization first called the outbreak a pandemic on March 11, 2020, and the United Nation's health organization says it's not yet ready to say the emergency has ended. A look at where we stand: THE VIRUS ENDURES With the pandemic still killing 900 to 1,000 people a day worldwide, the stealthy virus behind COVID-19 hasn't lost its punch. It spreads easily from person to person, riding respiratory droplets in the air, killing some victims but leaving most to bounce back without much harm. Whatever the virus is doing today, its still working on finding another winning path, said Dr. Eric Topol, head of Scripps Research Translational Institute in California. We've become numb to the daily death toll, Topol says, but we should view it as too high. Consider that in the United States, daily hospitalizations and deaths, while lower than at the worst peaks, have not yet dropped to the low levels reached during summer 2021 before the delta variant wave. At any moment, the virus could change to become more transmissible, more able to sidestep the immune system or more deadly. Topol said were not ready for that. Trust has eroded in public health agencies, furthering an exodus of public health workers. Resistance to stay-at-home orders and vaccine mandates may be the pandemic's legacy. Story continues I wish we united against the enemy the virus instead of against each other," Topol said. FIGHTING BACK There's another way to look at it. Humans unlocked the virus' genetic code and rapidly developed vaccines that work remarkably well. We built mathematical models to get ready for worst-case scenarios. We continue to monitor how the virus is changing by looking for it in wastewater. The pandemic really catalyzed some amazing science, said Friedrich. The achievements add up to a new normal where COVID-19 doesnt need to be at the forefront of peoples minds, said Natalie Dean, an assistant professor of biostatistics at Emory University. That, at least, is a victory. Dr. Stuart Campbell Ray, an infectious disease expert at Johns Hopkins, said the current omicron variants have about 100 genetic differences from the original coronavirus strain. That means about 1% of the virus genome is different from its starting point. Many of those changes have made it more contagious, but the worst is likely over because of population immunity. Matthew Binnicker, an expert in viral infections at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, said the world is in a very different situation today than we were three years ago where there was, in essence, zero existing immunity to the original virus. That extreme vulnerability forced measures aimed at flattening the curve. Businesses and schools closed, weddings and funerals were postponed. Masks and social distancing later gave way to showing proof of vaccination. Now, such precautions are rare. "Were not likely to go back to where we were because theres so much of the virus that our immune systems can recognize, Ray said. Our immunity should protect us from the worst of what we saw before. REAL-TIME DATA LACKING On Friday, Johns Hopkins did its final update to its free coronavirus dashboard and hot-spot map with the death count standing at more than 6.8 million worldwide. Its government sources for real-time tallies had drastically declined. In the U.S., only New York, Arkansas and Puerto Rico still publish case and death counts daily. We rely so heavily on public data and its just not there, said Beth Blauer, data lead for the project. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still collects a variety of information from states, hospitals and testing labs, including cases, hospitalizations, deaths and what strains of the coronavirus are being detected. But for many counts, there's less data available now and it's been less timely. People have expected to receive data from us that we will no longer be able to produce, said the CDCs director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky. Internationally, the WHOs tracking of COVID-19 relies on individual countries reporting. Global health officials have been voicing concern that their numbers severely underestimate whats actually happening and they do not have a true picture of the outbreak. For more than year, CDC has been moving away from case counts and testing results, partly because of the rise in home tests that aren't reported. The agency focuses on hospitalizations, which are still reported daily, although that may change. Death reporting continues, though it has become less reliant on daily reports and more on death certificates which can take days or weeks to come in. U.S. officials say they are adjusting to the circumstances, and trying to move to a tracking system somewhat akin to how CDC monitors the flu. THEN AND NOW I wish we could go back to before COVID, said Kelly Forrester, 52, of Shakopee, Minnesota, who lost her father to the disease in May 2020, survived her own bout in December and blames misinformation for ruining a longtime friendship. I hate it. I actually hate it. The disease feels random to her. You dont know who will survive, who will have long COVID or a mild cold. And then other people, theyll end up in the hospital dying. Forresters father, 80-year-old Virgil Michlitsch, a retired meat packer, deliveryman and elementary school custodian, died in a nursing home with his wife, daughters and granddaughters keeping vigil outside the building in lawn chairs. Not being at his bedside was the hardest thing, Forrester said. Inspired by the pandemic's toll, her 24-year-old daughter is now getting a masters in public health. My dad would have been really proud of her," Forrester said. "Im so glad that she believed in it, that she wanted to do that and make things better for people. ___ Associated Press writers Laura Ungar and Mike Stobbe contributed. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content. On a dark Nassau County road shortly before midnight in September 2021, a young deputy was mercilessly gunned down during a traffic stop. Joshua Moyers, a 29-year-old engaged to be married, would die a couple of days later. Patrick Rene McDowell, a troubled military veteran on drug-offender probation, was not going back to jail. That's what the woman with him in a stolen minivan said he told her at the time. Then blam! And blam again! "Pat pulls a gun out from behind him and shoots the poor innocent man with his whole life ahead of him," the woman, who is not being identified due to the state's privacy laws, told investigators in court documents. "I then see Pat reach out of the window and shot him again like the first time wasn't enough?" Patrick McDowell shows little emotion at the culmination of Friday's hearing to plead guilty to the 2021 first-degree murder of Nassau County Deputy Joshua Moyers and nine other counts. Patrick Rene McDowell:What we know about Patrick McDowell, the suspect in Nassau Deputy Joshua Moyers' death On Friday, the 36-year-old McDowell put a halt to the trial by pleading guilty to first-degree murder, eight counts of aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer and one count of use of a deadly weapon on a police K-9. Judge James Daniel spent several minutes explaining and making sure McDowell understood the ramifications of his guilty pleas, making it clear he still faces a possible death penalty. Although McDowell at one point requested a moment to collect himself because he hadn't taken his morning medications and wasn't feeling well, he apologized for the interruption and politely answered yes sir to the judge's questions. Daniel also thoroughly addressed new legislation being considered that would do away with unanimous jury decisions being needed to recommend the death penalty. Although it is too early to tell if it would have any bearing on this case, he wanted to make sure McDowell was aware of the proposed changes. Judge James Daniel explains to Patrick McDowell the ramifications of his guilty pleas Friday, including for the first-degree murder of Nassau County Deputy Joshua Moyers in 2021. The current law was changed by the Florida Supreme Court in 2017 and calls for a unanimous verdict by jurors to recommend execution. However, Gov. Ron DeSantis has pushed for legislation allowing a majority of eight of the 12 jurors to recommend death. Story continues McDowell said he understood and wanted to move forward with his guilty pleas. The judge said the sentencing phase for first-degree murder would be separate from counts two through 10, and jurors would hear mitigating factors and further testimony to decide on recommending life in prison or execution. He set May 18 for a presentencing hearing and Sept. 8 for jury selection for the penalty phase. McDowells guilty plea is a testament to the exceptional work of law enforcement," State Attorney Melissa Nelson said. "This a positive step toward justice for Deputy Moyers, his family, and Nassau County. Todays plea does not alter our course the state will continue to seek the death penalty for this heinous crime. Moyers' family also was in court but declined to make a statement, according to the State Attorney's Office. Law enforcement members also filled many of the seats in the courtroom, and Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper didn't mince words afterward. This is a death penalty case. Thats exactly what he should get," the sheriff said. "Even though that wont bring Josh back, this evil, cold-blooded cop killer should get nothing less than what he will receive. He stuck his arm out, pulled the trigger and took a life. If he was brave enough to do that. He should be brave enough to stick his arm out and take that needle of death, give up a life. How did Patrick McDowell get caught? After the shooting, McDowell fled briefly in the van before abandoning it and hiding under a shed with the woman. She said she convinced him to let her go, and she called 911 when she was far enough away and cooperated with deputies, according to court documents. During the ensuing manhunt, officers and McDowell exchanged gunfire and he and a K-9 were wounded. But McDowell eluded authorities for several days. He had contacted another friend through social media pleading for her help, but he was being monitored by investigators. McDowell said he was in pretty bad shape and was either going to die out there or by police. "I need u more now than I've ever need another living soul," he messaged Breiana Elizabeth Tole, according to the court documents. Authorities were able to stop Tole before she arrived at his hideout, and a SWAT unit apprehended McDowell hiding in a restroom outside some Callahan ballfields. He was suffering from two bullet wounds from the shootout during the initial search. Tole, 29, also was charged with accessory after the fact and pleaded guilty in August. She is still awaiting sentencing. The woman who was initially with McDowell the night of the shooting was never charged. What happened before Deputy Moyers was shot? The 25-year-old woman who had gone out with McDowell that day told investigators she met him through mutual friends about a year prior. He had picked her up from her Jacksonville home about 8 p.m. Sept. 23 and they met with a couple of people behind a Southside Big Lots store to purchase methamphetamine, according to one of the supplemental reports. They headed for Georgia where McDowell said "they could ride trails and shoot guns." En route they realized they needed gas, so they looked for an open station before finding one on U.S. 1 and headed back out. Then about 11:45 p.m. on Sandy Ford Road, south of Callahan, something caught the deputy's attention about the van and he activated his emergency lights, the Sheriff's Office previously said. Deputy Joshua Moyers: JSO K-9 Huk seen charging in to get suspects before being shot in new police bodycam After McDowell realized they were being pulled over, the woman said he told her, "I'm not stopping, I'm not going to jail," according to one of the investigative reports. She said she told him, "You should probably stop." So he pulled over near some railroad tracks west of U.S. 301. When Moyers asked for registration and IDs, McDowell gave him a bogus name. Once that was learned, the deputy asked McDowell whether he had any weapons and to get out of the vehicle, according to the documents. Moyers was then shot in the face, collapsed to the ground and was shot again. What else is known about Patrick McDowell? McDowell is from Harrisburg, Ill., but was living in Jacksonville since at least 2011, according to his Facebook page and court records. It's unclear if he was employed but he did work at Affordable Fence at least in 2019 and had security jobs, according to court records. McDowell served in Iraq for the U.S. Marine Corps and was trained in munitions, survival, target acquisition, weapon retention, disarming, force on force and medical. His father said he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and suffered from depression and some physical infirmities. "At first, he was motivated to deal with his demons and started a family," his father, Richard McDowell, said. "As time progressed, he slipped into a darker place." He said his son turned to drugs and stopped going to his Veterans Affairs appointments. He began stealing to support a drug habit and was arrested and accepted into Veterans Treatment Court. Patrick McDowell: Documents in Nassau Deputy Joshua Moyers' death explain suspect's past and what happened that night He was doing well until the COVID-19 pandemic struck and court sessions went virtual, with less supervision, his father said. He "slipped back into his old habits" and was arrested in Georgia and jailed for a year. Another friend and former security co-worker said McDowell told him he was living out of the van, according to the investigation. McDowell told him he had a close friend from his time in the Marines who committed suicide a couple of years ago and that hurt him mentally. He also was dating a woman addicted to drugs around the same time and thinks that's when he went on a downhill spiral. Nassau County court records do not show any prior arrests there for McDowell. What is known about Deputy Joshua Moyers? Nassau County Deputy Joshua Moyers Moyers grew up in Nassau County and went to Hilliard Middle-Senior High School, Florida State College at Jacksonville and St. Johns River State College. He was a Sheriff's Office Explorer from early 2011 to May of 2013, then started as a deputy in 2015. On July 14, 2018, Moyers received an Above and the Beyond the Call of Duty award for his work on a narcotics case, the Sheriff's Office said. "A hero even after death," the Sheriff's Office said Moyers' donated organs were designated for five people including an infant. His parents, Brenda and Tim Moyers, their son Jordan and Moyers' fiancee, Ivy Carter, helped Leeper unveil a memorial sign with his name on it on Sandy Ford Road near where he was shot. Leeper said the sign will help everyone "always remember Josh" as they pass. Lawman remembered: Florida community mourns Joshua Moyers as search continues for Nassau County deputy's killer He said Moyers was a great deputy, a fun man to know and really loved serving his home county. "His death affected our agency as you can imagine quite a bit, and it affected our entire community," Leeper said. "It is good to see the community come together as one in law enforcement and work together to make our community a better place. Josh would have wanted that." This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Patrick McDowell pleads guilty to Nassau Deputy Joshua Moyers' death A memorial on March 10, 2023, on the porch at the scene of a fatal house fire in the 2500 block of North Rutherford Avenue in Chicago. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune) The wife of a Chicago Fire Department firefighter died Thursday night, two days after the firefighter responded to a fire in his own home and tried to save her with CPR in front of the familys Montclare house Tuesday night. The Cook County medical examiners office confirmed Friday that Summer Day-Stewart, 36, had died. Her son, 7-year-old Ezra Stewart, died Wednesday night. The couples two other children, a 2-year-old girl and a 7-year-old girl, were last listed in critical condition. Advertisement The firefighter, Walter Stewart, heard his own address as the location of the blaze Tuesday night. A Chicago Fire Department chief drove him from a fire station 5 miles away. First responders found Day-Stewart and the three kids unconscious from smoke inhalation and in grave condition. [ Its hard to put into words: Firefighters rally around colleague after tragic fire kills 1 child and rest of family clings to life ] Outside his burning home, the young firefighter performed CPR on his wife, Fire Department spokesperson Larry Langford said. Advertisement Its gotta be like hell, Langford said. Were doing all we can to support him. 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 > There were no new updates on the condition of Stewarts two other children, Langford said Friday. The investigation into the fire, which officials believe began in the kitchen, was undetermined and suspended Friday, though it remained possible that investigators would do a forensic analysis of artifacts from the fire, Langford said. The veteran fire spokesperson said he had never seen anything like this nightmare scenario during his many years with the department. Firefighters homes have caught on fire, he said. Even fire stations have caught fire, he added. But Langford said he couldnt remember the department facing a tragedy like this. As long as Ive been associated with fires, I cant fathom what hes going through. Its just unbelievable. I cant even think of what it feels like, he said. The department is raising money to help Stewarts family face the unspeakable tragedy through its charity, Ignite the Spirit. jsheridan@chicagotribune.com Story at a glance Police say they found people living in a tunnel beneath a highway flyover in Wheat Ridge, Colorado. Now the state is working to clean out the encampment. Its dangerous and needs to be cleaned out, police said. WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. (KDVR) Police say they found people living in a tunnel beneath a highway flyover in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, and now the state is working to clean out the encampment. The Wheat Ridge Police Department released a video showing cluttered conditions inside the tunnel, located under the Highway 58 flyover at Interstate 70. Police said an officer found the encampment after spotting someone climbing into the tunnel. Delays continue after homeless camp found in Oregon tunnel It turns out people have been trespassing, living there and storing excessive amounts of trash and property throughout the length of the flyover, the department said in a release. In the video released Thursday, officers navigate through piles of boxes and other clutter, alongside hanging clothes, canned goods and other pantry items lined up on a table. A uniformed officer inside a dark tunnel, surrounded by clutter, shines a flashlight The Colorado Department of Transportation has contracted a company to clean out the encampment, police said. CDOT uses the tunnel to inspect the flyover. Large structure under north Austin overpass highlights hidden homeless population Its dangerous and needs to be cleaned out, police said, adding that detectives are standing by during the process in case there any stolen items are uncovered. Meanwhile, police said to expect a continued presence at the location. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. If there was any suggestion that the hype around Ordinalsa way of inscribing media onto the Bitcoin blockchain akin to NFTshad died down, that idea was dashed today. The buzz is only getting bigger and wilder, especially now that someone figured out how to mint a form of "fungible tokens" using the Ordinals protocol. Ordinal inscriptions surged to a new single-day peak of about 31,700 today, as of this writing, per a Dune dashboard that tracks public blockchain data. And it's all because of the launch of "BRC-20," an experimental way to use the tech to let people mint and transfer whatever tokens they please via the Bitcoin blockchain. It's the latest evolution in the Ordinals saga that has irritated some Bitcoin maximalists, yet also excited many creators and collectors about the expanding possibilities around the original blockchain network. Now the tech is being used in an analog to the ERC-20 token standard on Ethereum, but it's still very early and experimental. An experiment into "brc-20's" and fungibility on bitcoin with ordinals 1/x pic.twitter.com/9khKLbEPk6 domo (@domodata) March 9, 2023 A pseudonymous on-chain data enthusiast named Domo launched the BRC-20 implementation on Wednesday. Domo calls BRC-20short for "Bitcoin Request for Comment"an experiment inspired by another pseudonymous user's tweet along with the Sats Names (.sats) standard. I [heard] about the possibility of BRC-20 the past couple of days on Twitter and was curious if I could apply the .sats name format to create it, Domo told Decrypt via Telegram. Basically, what I was trying to do was to see if I could create an off-chain state with the tooling I had at hand (Dune Analytics) and inscriptions. There have been 23,926 BRC-20 ordinal inscriptions in the past 24 hours. It only took 6 weeks for people to figure out how to use ordinals to make fungible meme coins. At this point, nothing surprises me. pic.twitter.com/CnHD3qRTcA Leonidas.og (@LeonidasNFT) March 9, 2023 Domo's Ordi token kicked things off on Wednesday, but meme-inspired tokens like Doge, Pepe, and even Meme itself have been deployed by users via BRC-20 and Ordinals since. Story continues According to Dune, the vast majority of Ordinal inscriptions created since the BRC-20 implementation went live are text-based. Altogether, more than 385,000 total inscriptions have been made via Ordinals to date, with nearly all of them coming over the last six weeks. This fits into a larger trend of text-based inscriptions becoming more popular due to their small file sizes, which can be as low as a few bytes, pseudonymous NFT historian Leonidas told Decrypt on Twitter. Because you pay fees proportionate to the file size being inscribed, it costs significantly less in fees to inscribe JSON [code] or text. Mining pools really need to send @domodata a gift basket for all this fee traffic he is driving. Domo threw a toy out there and people jumped on it, now I'm going to need to sell a kidney to inscribe anything today. Psifour (@Psifour) March 9, 2023 Launched in late January thanks to the Bitcoin networks Segwit and Taproot upgrades, Ordinals took the crypto world by storm as more and more enthusiasts came to the original blockchain network to mint what have colloquially been called Bitcoin NFTs. They don't function exactly like NFTs on Ethereum, for example, but the end result is similar. The Ordinals protocol has been used for a wide array of on-chain media inscriptions thus far, including artwork, profile pictures, playable games, and video-based web apps. Even Bored Ape Yacht Club creator Yuga Labs auctioned its own original art collection via Ordinals, yielding $16.5 million in the process. What Are Ordinals? A Beginner's Guide to Bitcoin NFTs According to a report released last week by Galaxy Research, the rapidly rising Bitcoin NFT market could be worth $4.5 billion by 2025 Despite the social media buzz around BRC-20 tokens and the rising inscription tallies to match, Domo said that by no means should it be considered the "standard for Bitcoin-based tokens. They cautioned against anyone mass-minting such tokens on Twitter, calling them "worthless," and recommends that other builders design and code their own, more robust solutions. But it's a starting point. Even if it was meant as a fun experiment, the BRC-20 launch has already captured a lot of Bitcoin users' imaginations. Domo said that the responses have been better than expected. I have yet to have any very angry reactions, which Im relieved about, they said. However, some of the more technically inclined have pointed out (and rightfully so) that there are much better ways of achieving what Im doing. And some others question why at all (fair enough)." At the end of the day, it was an experiment, and I think the majority understand that," Domo said. "Those people seem to be having fun." Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at a New York City event in February Spencer Platt / Getty Images The Florida Center for Government Accountability is a small group, but one as mighty as its foreboding name suggests. The Tallahassee-based nonpartisan organization helps journalists across the Sunshine State in reporting, while also producing investigative stories of its own. It can be slow, painstaking, and unglamorous work, but it matters. Among its stories are a recent series of hard-hitting pieces that scrutinized a public water and sewerage agency in Broward County, whose manager, the FCGA reported, awarded $16 million in contracts to his own company and another $240,000 in commissions when he appointed himself as the realtor for a plot of public land. The Sun-Sentinel newspaper praised the FCGA for its deeply reported stories, and state officials soon began an investigation . But Barbara Petersen, the FCGAs executive director, worries that if a proposed media law, HB 991 , were to pass in her state, those 40,000 Broward residents might never have learned what was happening to their tax dollars. In this particular case, the man were writing about is very litigious, Petersen said, and if 991 were to become law even though we're conforming with all ethical standards, all accepted media practice we'd still have to stop and think, Can we afford to publish this story? Petersen is not alone in her fears. Across the country, First Amendment experts and journalists are watching with alarm as Florida prepares to radically overhaul its defamation laws. The bill filed by state Rep. Alex Andrade, a Republican representing Panhandle residents and an ally of Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has been open about his desire to roll back press freedoms and who hosted a roundtable on the issue last month that foreshadowed the legislation would make it much easier to sue the media for libel. Andrade told BuzzFeed News that he believes the current defamation law pendulum has swung too far in one direction in favor of news outlets. Defamation law has been terribly abridged and its impossible for anyone who's been harmed when they've been defamed to actually seek justice in a court of law, Andrade said. Story continues But experts say the bill brazenly flouts long-standing Supreme Court precedent that is designed to protect a vigorous public discourse by providing a shield of sorts to the news media as they report on officials and make mistakes. They worry that if the bill becomes law, it would not only lead to a flood of lawsuits against journalists, bloggers, and even ordinary citizens who might post on social media, but also stymie the news medias mission to hold public officials accountable. It looks like an attempt to intimidate the news media, said Leslie Levin, a University of Connecticut professor who studies media law. It will make Florida the capital of defamation lawsuits. It's a clear and present existential threat. We're very worried here, said Bobby Block, executive director of the Florida First Amendment Foundation . This is not an anti-press bill or an anti-media bill. It's a death-to-public-discourse bill. It would chill and freeze speech across the whole political spectrum. "It's a clear and present existential threat. We're very worried here." The bill proposes several major changes to current law, including a lot of different elements that are on the wishlist for anti-media forces, according to Gautam Hans, associate director of Cornell Universitys First Amendment Clinic. Among other things, it would narrow the definition of who is a public figure (as opposed to a private individual) and thus subject to the higher burden of proving that the defendant acted with actual malice in making their false claim. It would also allow fact-finders to infer this actual malice standard has been met when there are obvious reasons to doubt the claim, whether because there is sufficient evidence to the contrary or it is inherently improbable or implausible on its face. But public figures would also not need to prove actual malice by the defendant if the claim doesnt relate to the reason for their public status. The bill would also create a presumption under the law that any statement by an anonymous source in a story is false for defamation purposes. If a reporter refuses to identify their anonymous source, the plaintiff even if they are an elected public official like Andrade or DeSantis need also only then prove they acted negligently, which is a much lower legal standard than actual malice. Youd have to try this hard to be this unconstitutional, Hans said. Thats what I think is so extreme about this. These constitutional protections for the media stem from the landmark 1964 Supreme Court case New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, which established the actual malice concept. Under this standard, for a public official to successfully sue a defendant who makes a false claim about them, they must show the person acted either with knowledge of or reckless disregard for its falsity. Gabe Rottman, the director of the Technology and Press Freedom Project with the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, told BuzzFeed News that the actual malice rule takes into consideration the idea that reporters may occasionally make unintentional mistakes when working against a deadline, but that the objectives behind their work are more important to a functioning democracy. The actual malice rule is really important for protecting accountability journalism, Rottman said. In the rush of the news cycle, unintentional mistakes are unintentional. In order to preserve breathing space for robust public discourse, having the actual malice rule under the First Amendment is essential to ensuring that public discourse is robust. At least two members of the Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch have shown a hunger to revisit Sullivan . Thats led some to suspect that right-wing figures are looking for the right vehicle to get before the court, whether it be last years unsuccessful lawsuit by Sarah Palin against the New York Times or by an inflammatory piece of legislation such as HB 991. Hans at Cornell compared these efforts to those made by conservative states around abortion rights prior to last years eventually successful overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Courts new conservative supermajority. I don't think that there are enough of the justices who are interested in this [Sullivan] question, Hans said, but it only takes four to grant review, and they already have two. So who knows, right? Protesters rally at the entrance to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California on March 5 in opposition to Gov. DeSantis, who was scheduled to speak there. David Mcnew / Getty Images Some viral online criticism of the bill has alleged it will make it illegal to accuse someone of being racist or anti-LGBTQ, but this is incorrect and misunderstands the nature of defamation law. Purely expressing an opinion such as whether you believe a person is racist or anti-LGBTQ is generally protected speech, but falsely asserting a fact that causes harm to a persons reputation could give rise to a claim of defamation against you. HB 991 would, however, make some important changes to such circumstances. First, it stipulates that, An allegation that the plaintiff has discriminated against another person or group because of their race, sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity constitutes defamation per se, meaning that such allegation is so egregious it would automatically constitute defamation and would require no proof that the false statement caused the persons reputation harm. Such plaintiffs would be entitled to damages of at least $35,000. Second, when it comes to allegations of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, a defendant cannot try to prove the truth of their claim by citing the plaintiffs scientific or constitutionally protected religious expression or beliefs. Instead, they would likely need to show evidence of discriminatory actions something almost impossible to untangle from someones motivating beliefs, leading the New York Times editorial board to declare the plaintiffs would be virtually guaranteed of winning. In reference to this section and others, experts and advocates who spoke with BuzzFeed News criticized the bill as vague and poorly drafted, which they said only increased their fears as to how it might be weaponized if enacted. If it passes, it'll make it easier for individuals who discriminate against LGBTQ individuals to use the courts to punish those who seek to hold them accountable, said Kara Gross, legislative director and senior policy counsel of the ACLU of Florida. "If it passes, it'll make it easier for individuals who discriminate against LGBTQ individuals to use the courts to punish those who seek to hold them accountable." Gross said she was also alarmed by a section of the bill that would require defendants who lose in court to pay reasonable costs and attorney fees for plaintiffs, in addition to any other penalties, which would seemingly encourage more people to sue the media. A key related section would undermine laws aimed at preventing retaliatory or frivolous lawsuits designed to silence critics so-called anti-SLAPP (strategic lawsuits against public participation) laws by allowing government figures or other powerful plaintiffs to recover their own attorney fees from defendants should their lawsuit survive such a legal hurdle. It makes it so that public officials and their powerful allies will have greater incentive to bring frivolous defamation claims because they will be able to have their attorneys' fees paid for, Gross said. Andrade insisted he was trying to fight for less powerful people with his bill. He specifically highlighted the case of Nicholas Sandmann , the Covington Catholic high school student embroiled in an encounter with a Native American protester on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, in 2019. Sandmann did settle lawsuits with CNN, the Washington Post, and NBCUniversal for their coverage of the incident, but had a lawsuit against other outlets tossed out in federal court last year. Right now the only people that can bring defamation claims against anyone successfully are the rich and powerful. No one else can afford it, Andrade said. How can a person right now making median income afford $100,000 to pay a lawyer to bring this lawsuit? But critics who spoke with BuzzFeed News said they believed that the bill would ultimately serve to benefit powerful public figures, who, as Petersen at the FCGA noted, are much more likely to be the subject of media reporting. I don't see where in this bill, they get anything anywhere that is protecting the little guy, Petersen said. I don't see it. Block with the FAF noted that Citizen Facebookers would also be impacted because the bill broadly covers any utterance on the internet, such as a social media post or online review, as well as any one presentation to an audience, such as a citizen who might speak at a public meeting. The only ones that I can see who benefit are the rich and powerful, Block said. I know Governor DeSantis has said this is all about the little guy, but I don't see any benefits for the average joe. On the contrary, I think the average joe is going to be deeply hurt by this. The combined effect of the bill, critics told BuzzFeed News, will be to limit media and public scrutiny of powerful figures by imposing hefty financial burdens should they make mistakes. Costs for insurance for media to defend themselves in court would likely skyrocket, putting small groups like the FCGA at risk. Ultimately, many outlets may decide some stories are just not worth the litigation risk, according to Hans, who called the bill an attempt to intimidate the press. Rather than going through a complex analysis about, Well, is this politician serving as a public figure when we talk about this thing or not? And how do we figure that out?, many organizations and reporters quite rationally will say, We're just not going to deal with that. We're not going to report on this, Hans said. And while some may celebrate what they view as a right-wing Florida government going after a left-wing news media, the chill to public discourse would affect people of all political stripes. Fox News, after all, is currently the defendant in two of the most closely watched defamation lawsuits in the country. A lot of conservatives and supporters of Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis will look at this and say, Haha, tough noogies, New York Times and CNN and Washington Post! But I don't think they're realizing how this could impact their local conservative radio station, Block said. HB 991 is just the latest recent attempt by the Florida government to crack down on speech, whether it be in classrooms , universities , or protests at the state capitol , with DeSantis and his allies working to silence everyone from teachers to Disney . Many of these bills have already inspired copycats in other states , and given the governors widely reported presidential ambitions , Petersen said people across the US should be focused on this latest assault. People need to be paying attention to what's happening in Florida, she said, because our governor will run for president in the 2024 election, and hes made that quite clear that what he's trying to do is make Florida a model for the rest of the nation. More on this Derek Abella for BuzzFeed News When I asked Jana, a 21-year-old grad student from Florida, how men react when she tells them she doesnt want to have sex with them after the first date, she said that so far, Gen Z men are mostly down to respect her boundaries. Its the millennials who try to pressure her into casual sex. Most men her age say something like, OK, cool. No problem. But its that 26-and-up crowd that tries to guilt you into having sex anyway; they try to make you feel bad about it, she said. They're like, But I just paid for your dinner, or, I picked you up, or, I gave you gas moneyand you still wont have sex with me. I would expect it to be the other way around. In 2018, the Atlantic declared young Americans to be in the midst of a sex recession . Last month, the New York Times proclaimed , Younger Americans are, infamously, less likely to have sex than their parents generations and when they do have sex, theyre doing it with fewer partners. Online, a loose cultural consensus has emerged : Gen Z is a sex-negative even regressive generation . Social media users have coined the term Puriteens to condemn young people who are trying to cancel porn , censor kink at Pride , decry relationships with age gaps , skip sex scenes , or, most recently, scold parents for having audible sex while their children are home . Its fair to push back on anyone trying to enforce militant moral boundaries around sexual expression. But valid criticism of Twitters most vocal minority slips easily into unchecked condescension. Last month, Vanity Fairs Richard Lawson wrote , it is tempting to declare everyone 30 and younger to be puritanical prudes whose minds have been warped by too many hours spent online. Talking to them, its clear that a decline in young peoples sexual activity isnt always a bad thing. Sometimes it simply means theyre having less bad sex. I'm 23 and skeptical of sweeping dismissals of young people's ideas. I talked to 15 members of Gen Z, aged 18 to 26 and read through 200 responses to a BuzzFeed News form to better understand how my generation thinks about sex. What I found was, unsurprisingly, more nuanced and less dire than people online seem to think. People abstaining from sex in the long term were supportive of everyone elses right to have sex however they chose, provided their partners were consenting adults. People looking for emotional connections in monogamous sexual relationships also appreciated the value of casual engagement; often theyd tried both. People who talked freely and joyfully about their high body counts also reflected rigorously on what they wanted out of sex and why. Story continues Jana isnt opposed to having sex on the first date. Its something shes comfortably done before, and she has no judgment for the people who continue to do so. What makes her uncomfortable is the expectation that she should be ready for sex immediately and transactionally, as a way of reciprocating mens interest. Recently, shes been thinking a lot about her early years of sexual exploration. I feel like high school was probably when I was moving the fastest, she told me. That was the point where my self-esteem was at an all-time low. Part of me was bouncing from person to person, trying to find someone that liked me, because I didn't like myself. Rohit, a 22-year-old college senior from California, who requested not to use his real name for this piece, has also been thinking about the link between his sex life and his self-esteem. For part of the [past] year I struggled to find a job, he said. I was feeling low about myself, and I would self-medicate with Grindr. But since getting a job offer, my sense of ego has come back, and I have found myself less interested in sex. Like Jana, hes also noticed a slight generational divide in which younger gay guys in my age range are interested in monogamy while the older millennials Ive hooked up with are more open. He speculated that Gen Z gay men, who came of age after the legalization of gay marriage in America, are more likely to see long-term partnership as an option for them than their predecessors did. BuzzFeed News; Getty Images Jana and Rohits personal observations align with a broader trend journalists have noticed among members of Gen Z. Many young people are interrogating their relationships to sex positivity , looking beyond the idea that casual sex is inherently liberatory toward a more individual set of questions about what kind of sex theyre having and why. Talking to them, its clear that a decline in young peoples sexual activity isnt always a bad thing. Sometimes it simply means theyre having less bad sex. Theyre less interested in pursuing sex they dont really want to have, or that their partner doesnt really want to have. Of course, it is more than a little futile to make sweeping claims about the sexual values of an entire generation. The idea that peoples perspectives are more highly correlated by age than by class or geography is a marketing tool , rather than a statistical truth. And Gen Z specifically can feel like a shorthand for a subset of young people who spend a lot of time online. (Certainly, the self-selecting group of respondents to this BuzzFeed News form are more likely to be frequently online.) But if other people are going to insist on this framing in which Gen Z is a self-contained entity brewing up dangerously moralizing views about sex on the big, bad internet Id at least like to propose a different story. In the course of my reporting, Ive encountered an array of young people who are curious, compassionate, and intent on having better sex in a better world. They understand that sex is about so much more than the act. They are interested in cultivating their own healthier relationships with intimacy. In the straight world of sex, there is this expectation that it's just penis in vagina, and that's all that sex is. Kate, a 23-year-old teacher from Manitoba, Canada, told me that while she used to think simple answers like yes and no were enough to constitute consent, shes now much more focused on her partners body language. You need to really be in tune with how people are reacting to you, she said; after all, mutual attention is what makes sex fun. Young people like Kate arent interested in operating on what Melissa Febos calls empty consent, a verbal yes that belies internal discomfort or ambivalence. They dont just want legally defensible but mediocre sex. They want good sex. They want the palpable but intangible feelings of shared excitement; they want intimacy. This is hardly indicative of Gen Zs grand return to conservative sexual values. Rather, this critical self-examination reveals a desire for greater freedom and autonomy. When young people believe that the right to refuse sex is as vital as the right to choose it, they prove their desire to complicate and advance progressive ideals, not dismiss them. But for Jana, Rohit, and Kate to learn how to move beyond half-hearted sex, they had to have sex. Part of the collective concern over young peoples sexlessness has to do with them becoming sexually active later. How will they figure out how to cope with the risks and vulnerabilities of intimate interaction if their knowledge of sex remains theoretical into adulthood? But Lilian, an 18-year-old high school student from Massachusetts, who has not yet had sex, has learned a lot from reading about the sexual experiences of other autistic women many of whom, like her, need to manage sensory overstimulation in daily life. If you decide you want to have sex, Lilian told me, its important to be open and communicative about what you like in terms of sensations. [You can say,] Don't kiss me, or, Please be very gentle with my body; I'm very sensitive to sensations on my skin. BuzzFeed News; Getty Images At the vanguard of new ways of thinking about sex are people of marginalized identities for example, autistic women like Lilian, queer people like Kate, or anyone else who knows the standard pop cultural scripts about sex wont work for them. Because people dont talk a lot about gay sex in media, movies, TV, or even sex ed, you have to make your own trail, Kate told me. But she also feels like being forced to fight for [sexual liberation] more actively than my straight friends has opened her mind. Anna, a 23-year-old student from Seattle, agreed. In the straight world of sex, there is this expectation that it's just penis in vagina, and that's all that sex is, she said. Among her queer social circles, people are more willing to experiment with other possibilities for pleasure. Rohit, meanwhile, observed that he has had sex sober much more often than his straight friends, who will get drunk or highat a frat party, see someone, and naturally fall into something. Hes had to be more deliberate about seeking sex, but that conscious exploration has taught him a lot. Here lies the other, almost infuriatingly obvious problem with assuming Gen Z has swung back around to sexual conservatism: Gen Z remains a bastion of progressive values around sex and gender. They increasingly identify as queer , and they outstrip every other generation in their acceptance of gender fluidity. The most interesting arguments about Gen Zs drifts toward so-called prudery take this into account; sometimes regressive ideas proliferate because theyre couched in progressive jargon. As political writer Alex Hochuli told MEL Magazine in 2021, claiming that a college-aged woman cant properly consent to sex with a man in his thirties is a means of smuggling in social conservatism under the guise of protecting the vulnerable. Still, much of Gen Z remains steadfastly interested in subverting tradition, notwithstanding the inevitable mistakes that come with refining ones imperfect politics in public. Take how young people think about porn. Free, accessible porn, especially from huge corporations like Pornhub, is supposed to be the basis of my generations unique sexual education. In 2022, 18- to 24-year-olds made up 27% of Pornhubs self-reported traffic , the most of any age group. But, though everyone I talked to used mainstream porn to some degree, most expressed ambivalence about how estranged it could feel from eroticism. Diego, a 23-year-old journalist from Mexico City, told me he found reading erotic fiction to be more nurturing, spiritually and emotionally, than passively absorbing visual media because fantasizing becomes more personal when you use your imagination. Nico, a 20-year-old student from Michigan, said they like being able to imagine [erotic stories] in whatever attractive voice I want. Other people preferred the characterization and plot of written smut, finding sex in context more erotic than sex in a vacuum or cliches of the mainstream porn world, like a plumber showing up at a womans door and, one jump cut later, fucking her. BuzzFeed News; Getty Images When it came to watching porn, some people favored gentler categories, like lesbian, vintage, or amateur videos. Lilian told me she preferred lesbian porn because a lot of the heterosexual porn always felt graphic. There was always an element of violence to it, and I never truly felt like any of the women or AFAB individuals in it were enjoying it. That was very disturbing to me. On the other hand, D, a 25-year-old social worker from Michigan, who asked not to be identified by her full name, deemed much of mainstream porn sanitized, calling it Barbie sex with not a drop of hair, not a drop of moisture anywhere. Part of the fun of sex is the messiness, she told me, and theres a fine line between disgust and lust. Even those who had a mostly positive assessment of porn were attuned to its drawbacks. Cameron, a 23-year-old student from Minnesota, who said porn can be a positive thing for developing teenagers because it is more encompassing than sex ed, also noted that it could give viewers unrealistic expectations of what sex can be, which could be damaging to the psyche. Hed read stories about other peoples extreme cases of porn addiction that made him worry about how porn could make real-life interaction less satisfying; in his own life, he reflected that when he was using porn more frequently, he maybe had less of a capacity to form relationships or to be content in a relationship sexually. Since then, Cameron has consciously limited his porn consumption. Others I spoke to came to the same decision when they learned about the exploitative conditions under which much mainstream porn is made or distributed . If this sounds familiar, perhaps youve read The Right to Sex , a 2021 collection of essays by feminist philosopher and Oxford professor Amia Srinivasan. In Talking to My Students About Porn, Srinivasan observed that her students, like the anti-porn feminists of the 1970s , traced a straight line from the consumption of porn to the negative treatment of women by men. Her students long for a better alternative, but the essay treats porn as the internets only option for sex education. But many young people are supplementing their sex ed more deliberately. Respondents cited multiple major platforms including Teen Vogue , Cosmopolitan , Planned Parenthood , and sexual health site Beducated as trusted sources for information about sex. Strikingly, though, many preferred their education to feel more personal. They learned about sex from YouTube videos by creators like Laci Green , Anna Akana , or Dr. Lindsey Doe ; Instagram posts from queer influencers like @mattxiv or sex therapists like @yourdiagnonsense ; or podcasts, both those that consistently address sex, like Call Her Daddy or Whorible Decisions , as well as stand-alone episodes featuring sexperts like Dr. Emily Nagoski . Overwhelmingly, young people were drawing from information that bore the distinct fingerprints of the individuals sharing it; they werent only seeking education, but reassurance that they werent alone. When I first had a boyfriend, it was the cool thing to talk about all of the really gross, really niche details about your sex life. But I also feel like maybe I shouldn't have said all of that. It feels nice to not have to share everything. Grace, a 23-year-old writer from Illinois, told me she often checked Reddit when she had a question about her sex life that made her wonder, Is this normal? She liked that the forums gave her insight into the feelings of a broad variety of people; it helped to see other people giving voice to private insecurities shed nursed. Nico, meanwhile, told me they enjoy watching TikToks from twentysomethings who call themselves late bloomers because they have never been kissed. Ill think: We are living the same life, Nico said. It does help me feel a little less alone. But it still doesn't make it any less hard. Lilian raised the same point. Though its isolating to know very few autistic women in real life, she said, I really appreciate when individuals share their firsthand experience. It helps me not feel as alone. Offline, too, young people are prioritizing how their sex lives feel to them over how they seem to other people. Cameron told me hes tired of people who place a premium on their controlled sexual image. Jonathan, a 22-year-old illustrator from New York, told me he gets stressed out about sexual gossip and the pressure to cultivate a good public reputation around ones sex life, which he wishes could be private. As he told me, A lot of people tend to focus on [the question of], How good is he in bed? Anna has become incredibly private about her sex life in recent years, out of respect for her partners boundaries. When I first had a boyfriend, it was the cool thing to talk about all of the really gross, really niche details about your sex life, she told me. All my friends did it. And so I felt the need to do it as well. Though she still thinks its important to normalize sex by talking about it, especially among women working to eradicate shame around their sexuality, shes more discerning about what she shares. Grace offered similar reflections. Looking back on tell-all conversations she once had with friends about her sex life, she told me, Im glad that we had a safe space that we could share that in But I also feel like maybe I shouldn't have said all of that. It feels nice to not have to share everything. BuzzFeed News; Getty Images It seems that the people I talked to have intuitively picked up on a distinction articulated by Mark Greif in his essay Afternoon of the Sex Children : When it comes to sex, what has passed as liberation has often been liberalization. If sexual liberation frees anyone to pursue any kind of sex, liberalization makes sex into a commodity meaning, sex is socially valuable, but only if its the right kind. So people put themselves through hell to adhere to beauty standards: They shave , lift weights , undergo expensive (or dangerous ) surgeries , and diet a hundred different ways until they finally stop eating . They post thirst traps, brag about getting laid, and otherwise labor to prove that they are having sex so they seem like successful members of society. But a test of liberation, as distinct from liberalization, Greif writes, must be whether you have also been freed to be free from sex, too to ignore it, or to be asexual, without consequent social opprobrium or imputation of deficiency. That is clearly not yet true. Bea, a 26-year-old radio producer from Nebraska, had sex for the first time three and a half years ago. She requested not to use her real name for this piece, because she expressed that she has so, so much shame about my lack of a sex life in high school and college. She regularly sees a sex therapist, which she says has been helpful. But she told me that remembering how excluded she felt during college, when she would play along with others conversations about sex but then go home and cry all night, really hurt and still does hurt, frankly. Jonathan, who has not yet had sex, felt similarly isolated. People my age are all about Tinder I don't resonate with it. That's just how I am. And I've felt very left out, like no one else gets me. Hes wondered repeatedly if he needs to stop being so monogamous, romantic, or traditional, asking himself, Should I go ahead and accept this hookup culture that we have? Is that how I should be? Do I want to change? In worrying about the statistical decline of sex among young people, we have elided the question of how to differentiate between good sex and bad sex, wanted or ambivalent, connected or empty. We shouldnt return to a world where private sex is considered morally superior to public sex. But its understandable why young people might be seeking forms of sex including education and conversation about sex that feel increasingly private and intimate to them. They are trying to escape the saturation of rote sexual imagery in mainstream porn, entertainment , social media , and advertising . They are seeking the internal sense of satisfaction of eroticism over the commodity of sex. To be sure, a free society is one that accepts diverse forms of sexual expression without demanding justification for them. And a knee-jerk rejection of perceived puritanism is to be expected in a country just decades removed from Prohibition and the Hays Code. But we shouldnt emphasize quantity over quality. In worrying about the statistical decline of sex among young people, we have elided the question of how to differentiate between good sex and bad sex, wanted or ambivalent, connected or empty. The members of Gen Z I talked to described good sex as present, passionate, communicative, safe, and trusting. They said it could take place with a stranger, a friend, a casual partner, or a romantic one. They took verbal consent as a fundamental given, and they affirmed the importance of body language and nonverbal cues. They told me that freely given enthusiasm and mutualism were essential to making sex feel good. Gen Z is trying sometimes hastily, sometimes ahistorically, but often earnestly to envision a more liberated landscape for sex the way we want to have it. Its made us curious about how to make sex more intimate not by doubling down on monogamy or marriage or other limiting structures, but by forging a new, nameless kind of communication that we have not been taught. And we dont merely crave intimacy because we spend too much time at home, on the internet, refusing to touch grass. We crave it because all people do. More on this (This March 10 story has been corrected to make clear that the suppliers were asked to stop buying from AAL, in the headline) By Jessica DiNapoli, Bernadette Christina and Toby Sterling NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. soda and food maker PepsiCo Inc and Dutch dairy producer FrieslandCampina N.V. have asked their suppliers to cease buying palm oil from plantation owner Astra Agro Lestari, accused by environmental groups of land and human- rights abuses. Corporate supply chains are under scrutiny as regulators and investors increasingly consider environmental and social impacts, and as consumers worry about climate change and biodiversity loss. Environmental groups last year found that Jakarta-based palm oil producer Astra Agro Lestari (AAL) did not obtain consent from local communities before claiming land, improperly disposed of waste and cleared areas leading to flooding in Indonesia. The findings spurred some major consumer products and packaged food manufacturers, which widely use palm oil, to cut ties with the agricultural company. AAL late last year said it would appoint "an independent third party to review the allegations and any other issues that may arise in relation to them," and will publish the findings of the review, following the NGO's report. Doritos maker PepsiCo and FrieslandCampina, which produces Friso infant formula, join companies including Tide manufacturer Procter & Gamble Co and Nescafe owner Nestle SA in suspending business with AAL. A PepsiCo spokesperson told Reuters the company is "engaging with suppliers who continue to source from (AAL) and have asked that they suspend the mills identified as being potentially linked to the grievance and underlying allegations." PepsiCo does not directly source from AAL, the spokesperson said. FrieslandCampina said it started examining its relationship with AAL in the fall after receiving critical questions from an environmental nonprofit. That motivated us to conduct a further investigation. On the basis of the findings, we asked our supplier to no longer source materials from this supplier, a spokesperson said. Story continues Palm oil is used to create soap, provide taste and texture and keep chocolate from melting, among other purposes, according to the World Wildlife Fund. An AAL spokesperson said it had no direct commercial relationship with PepsiCo or FrieslandCampina, and the companies had not contacted them about the issue. (Reporting by Jessica DiNapoli in New York, Toby Sterling in Amsterdam and Bernadette Christina in Jakarta; Editing by Simon Jessop and Matthew Lewis) (Reuters) -A judge in Peru extended ex-President Pedro Castillo's pre-trial detention term to 36 months, up from 18 months, on Thursday, following the former leader's ouster and jailing for illegally attempting to dissolve Congress in December. The three-year detention ruling is related to accusations of organized crime, influence peddling and being an accomplice to collusion committed during Castillo's turbulent 17-month stint in office. The tenure of the outsider leftist president was marked by unprecedented turnover among senior ministers and near-constant infighting with a Congress dominated by conservative lawmakers. "I emphatically, and categorically, deny being the leader or part of a criminal network," Castillo said in a virtual hearing. The court also handed down three years of pre-trial detention to Juan Silva, Castillo's former transportation minister, who has been on the run since last year. Castillo's former housing minister, Geiner Alvarado, who also served as transportation chief after Silva's exit, will remain free for the moment, the court ruled. Prosecutors said they would appeal that ruling. The former president and his two ministers are accused of involvement in a bribery scheme related to the construction of a bridge, as well as in the purchase of fuel for state-owned oil company Petroperu. Castillo also remains under investigation for charges of rebellion and conspiracy in relation to the events leading up to his Dec. 7 ouster. Since then, nationwide protests have broken out, leaving dozens dead and hundreds injured. The demands of protesters include Castillo's release from jail, the resignation of his successor, President Dina Boluarte, as well as snap elections and the drafting of a new constitution. (Reporting by Kylie Madry; Editing by Anthony Esposito, Sandra Maler and Diane Craft) Phoenix police. A Phoenix man entered a plea agreement almost a year and a half after being arrested in the assault of his girlfriend. On Feb. 23, William Fisher, 33, pled guilty to the kidnapping, aggravated assault and sexual assault of his girlfriend that took place in their shared apartment near Indian School Road and 32nd Avenue in October 2021. He was unemployed and had one dependent, according to arrest documents. Fisher was arrested after his girlfriend claimed that he tried to strangle her multiple times. After initially pleading not guilty to the charges against him, Fisher is accepting guilt for three of the 12 offenses he was charged with and faces six years in prison. After release, he will have to register as a sex offender. He is scheduled to be sentenced at the end of the month. As part of the plea deal, prosecutors dropped the rest of his charges stemming from a violent night on Oct. 18, 2021. Just after midnight that night, Fisher and his girlfriend had a verbal argument inside their apartment because he felt disrespected when he saw her talking to another man at their complex, according to court documents. As the argument intensified, his girlfriend grabbed her belongings so she could leave. But Fisher locked her inside. When she started to call 911, Fisher grabbed her phone and threw it into the garbage disposal before she could speak to an operator, court documents state. Fisher then shoved a sock down her throat, wrapped a scarf around her head, and pulled her by the throat, causing her to pass out. He proceeded to choke her eight times, causing her to enter in and out of consciousness. His girlfriend said she remembered waking up to Fisher performing CPR on her on the kitchen floor, according to court documents. She was then hogtied and said that Fisher told her he had to kill her because "the police were coming," according to arrest documents. Subsequently, Fisher tried to break her neck by twisting her head in one direction, court documents state. Story continues After that, Fisher began filling their bathtub with water while both saying he needed to kill her and saying he was sorry for hurting her. Once the tub was filled, Fisher cut her restraints and told her to undress and get in the tub. He repeated that she needed to die, and that he was going to drown her, according to court documents. Fisher joined her in the tub, also undressed. His girlfriend said he never physically tried to drown her, despite saying he was going to. She said he apologized again and asked her not to leave, court documents state. After the two got out of the tub and Fisher let her put her clothes back on, they fell asleep in their bedroom. When his girlfriend woke up, she grabbed the spare key to get out of the apartment. Once outside, she ran downstairs and called 911 from a stranger's phone. At that time, she saw Fisher flee in his white Honda before police arrived, according to court documents. A medical examination found multiple injuries along her neck, head, and shoulders. Fisher was arrested nine days later by Phoenix police. He admitted to police that he had taken methamphetamines the night of the incident, court records show. He took it before he got home and again while he and his girlfriend were first arguing. He told police that he did not remember anything between taking the drugs a second time and waking up in the tub. Fisher initially pled not guilty to all charges in November 2021, a month after the incident. He was never formally charged with attempted murder. Now that he has pleaded guilty, Fisher is scheduled to be sentenced on March 27 before Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Jennifer Ryan Touhill. This reporting follows crimes The Republic began to cover in 2021 and is part of our commitment to tell the story from start to finish. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: William Fisher pleads guilty in girlfriend's sexual assault A Long March-2F carrier rocket, carrying the Shenzhou-15 spacecraft with three astronauts to Chinas Tiangong space station, lifts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on 29 November, 2022 (CNS/AFP via Getty Images) A piece of Chinese rocket broke up over the US after it lost control, according to US Space Command. The remnants of the Long March rocket fell to Earth over Texas at over 17,000mph, after it carried three military spy satellites to orbit. It is just the latest piece of space junk to fall back down to Earth in recent months. Experts have raised alarm that the vast amount of space debris could threaten both satellites above us and the world beneath when they fall down to ground. Once again, the rockets re-entry was uncontrolled and fell down to the Earth in what officials said was a high-risk event. Though no debris has been found from the incident, it could be anywhere in an area hundreds of miles long, officials said. U.S. Space Command can confirm the Peoples Republic of China CZ-2D Rocket Body, SCC# 52910, reentered the Earths atmosphere over the southern region of North America at approximately 8:30 pm [Mountain Time] on March 7, 2023, Space Command told USNI News, which first reported the rockets arrival. This was an uncontrolled reentry, meaning it was not steered but rather its orbit decayed and lowered naturally. This type of behavior reinforces the need for better international norms regarding high-risk uncontrolled reentries. Another Long March rocket was at the centre of worldwide panic after it became clear that it was falling to Earth in 2021. Since much of the Earth is uninhabited and the debris tends to be relatively small, the risk from such events is minimal but they have fallen onto buildings in the past. Another Long March rocket dropped to Earth last summer, leading to warnings from Nasa and concern over future similar events. Piers Morgan has addressed Meghan and Harry accepting royal titles for their children. (WPA Pool/Getty Images) Piers Morgan has accused Prince Harry and Meghan Markle of "rank hypocrisy" for accepting royal titles for their children. The couple's three-year-old son Archie and one-year-old daughter Lilibet are now officially Prince and Princess, after getting that right when Charles became King. However, Morgan has said he just doesn't "get" it after everything that Harry and Meghan have said about the Royal Family in recent months. Read more: Fans tickled as Dan Walker takes aim at Piers Morgan over Meghan Markle Addressing it on his Uncensored show, he said: "Because I was sure that they kept telling the world how ghastly the monarchy is - it's a prison camp, all the royals want to get away from it but they can't because they are trapped in the world of titles and privilege - and now they want to give their kids the titles of Prince and Princess?" Piers Morgan said he didn't understand the royals accepting the titles for their children. (PA Images via Getty Images) "Even though they don't live anywhere near the Royal Family," added the presenter, referring to the fact that Harry and Meghan have left the UK and are now based in California with their children. He said that in his opinion it was "rank hypocrisy yet again from these two". The TV star has been outspoken about Harry and Meghan on many occasions. He has slammed them for criticising the Royal Family in their bombshell Netflix show and in the past he has said that they should be stripped of their own royal titles. Prince Harry and Meghan's children are now officially Prince and Princess. (Reuters) And earlier this month he praised King Charles for "smartly" evicting the couple from Frogmore Cottage. The pair were given the cottage in the grounds of Windsor Castle by the late Queen. Read more: Piers Morgan says Charles 'has had enough' as King evicts Harry and Meghan from UK cottage But it was reported that they had been asked to clear out of the property and that it had been offered to the Duke of York. Watch: Piers Morgan: Prince Harry wants to 'milk' the coronation for his next documentary With the Marina City buildings rising in 1962, the 50,000 strong St. Patrick's Day extravaganza is led by Illinois Atty. Gen. William G. Clark (second from left), Mayor Richard J. Daley, Lord Mayor Robert Briscoe of Dublin and Stephen M. Bailey. (Chicago Tribune archive) A tradition celebrating its 61st year, the Chicago River is dyed green the Saturday before each St. Patricks Day unless the holiday falls on a Saturday. The dyeing process starts at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 11, and stretches from Orleans Street almost three quarters of a mile east to Columbus Drive. How the tradition began Mayor Richard J. Daley is credited not only with reviving Chicagos St. Patricks Day parade, but also proposing the idea of greening part of Lake Michigan to celebrate the holiday. It was his boyhood friend and Chicago Plumbers Union business manager Stephen M. Bailey who suggested dyeing the Chicago River instead. The Chicago River would run green for the first time in 1962 (the same year the photo below was taken), one year after Savannah, Ga., unsuccessfully tried to dye its river green for the Irish holiday. The first year of river-dyeing, the boat crew used an oil-based Air Force dye that kept the river green for nearly a month and caused an outcry from environmentalists. So a vegetable dye was substituted. (Chicago Tribune Archives) City workers use vegetable dye to turn the Chicago River green for St. Patrick's Day in 1976. (Mario Petitti/Chicago Tribune) The first person entrusted with turning the river green was William J. Barry, a Chicago port employee who died in 1985. Mike Butler assumed the role in the early 1970s. Bill was from Bridgeport, Butler told the Tribune in 1995. The mayor trusted him. Billd do anything for the mayor. Even though he was a little afraid of water, he went out there. Thats how much he loved the mayor. Butler led the volunteer crew for more than 40 years. He died in 2016, but the annual dyeing of the Chicago River for St. Patricks Day is still a family reunion for the Butler and Rowan clans, the two families responsible for the tradition of turning the murky water into a bright Ghostbusters Slimer green. Its not the easiest job in the world. Its messy. It can be dangerous at times. You go back and forth in the water, and you could hit something and that could tip over the boat. Mike Butler, crew captain, in 1995 Mike Butler, who was in charge of dying the Chicago River green for St. Patrick's Day for more than 40 years, died July 12, 2016. He was 81. (Chuck Berman / Chicago Tribune) How the Chicago River is dyed green According to Tom Rowan, head of the crew Prep work: Early in the morning, the crew arrives at a city boat slip on the North Branch of the river. Everyone wears clothes and shoes they dont mind getting dirty and a white paper smock over their clothes. The washer machine if youre not careful, the next load of clothes will come out with a green tinge to them. Mike Butler in 1995 On the water: The crew hops aboard two small motorboats donated by volunteers. The larger boat, at approximately 18 feet, has a crew of four. The smaller boat, a 12-footer, has two people. Therere times when theres ice in the river, and thats when you worry. You hit a chunk of ice hell, the bow of that boat, it wasnt made to be an ice-breaker. Mike Butler, crew captain, in 1995 A 10 a.m. start: The larger boat is responsible for dyeing the river, which begins when it arrives under the Michigan Avenue bridge near Wacker Drive. Its a ritual of the parade. A lot of people figure it wouldnt even be right if they didnt see the green river. Mel Loftus, St. Patrick's Day parade grand marshal in 1995 Kitchen secret: Three men use flour sifters to dump about 40 pounds of an environmentally friendly orange powder into the river. The fourth drives the boat. The formula for the powder, which turns the water bright green when it hits, is top-secret. I dont know how you can write about this, but your bodily functions change for a day afterward. (The orange powder) makes everything green. Mike Butler, crew captain, in 1995 Powder spread: The smaller boat chases the larger boat and churns up the water, which helps disperse the powder across the river. Traveling the river between Wabash Avenue and Columbus Drive, the large boat snakes across the waterway dumping powder. We feel very much like we are the chosen. They applaud us. People tip their hats to you. You feel like youre king for a day. Mike Butler, crew captain, in 1995 Green sheen: It takes about 45 minutes for the river to turn completely green. Depending on which direction the wind is blowing, the water can stay green for up to a few days. If you drank it except for the pollution in the river water it wouldnt hurt you. Its just food coloring. Mel Loftus, St. Patrick's Day parade grand marshal in 1995 That one time the river was dyed blue A crew dyed the Chicago River blue in 2016 to celebrate the World Series champion Cubs on the day of the teams victory parade and celebration. Watch a time-lapse video of the Chicago River being dyed blue for the Cubs World Series celebration on Nov. 4, 2016. (WGN-TV) (Chicago Tribune) Sources: As told to the Chicago Tribune by Tom Rowan and Michael Butler, whose families have been involved in dyeing the Chicago River since 1962; illustrations by Rick Tuma; Chicago St. Patricks Day Parade Committee; Choose Chicago; Tribune reporting and archives Google Maps A podcast turned into a horrifying true crime story early Friday, after its host and her husband were murdered in their home in Washington by a crazed fan. The killer, trucker Ramin Khodakaramrezaei, had stalked his victim for many months, before he broke into her house in the Seattle suburb of Redmond through an open window at 1:45 a.m., police said. Khodakaramrezaei gunned down podcaster Zohreh Sadeghi, 33, and her husband, Mohammed Naseri, 35, before turning his weapon on himself. Sadeghis mother managed to escape and called the police from a neighbors house. Naseri, who was shot in the upper torso, tried to flee the scene, before collapsing by the front door of the house, according to Redmond Police Chief Darrell Lowe. Officers attempted CPR on Naseri until paramedics arrived but were not able to resuscitate him. Cops Say Mom Murdered at Vacation Home Knew Her Killer Lowe told The Daily Beast that Khodakaramrezaei first came into contact with Sadeghi after tuning into a podcast that she was affiliated with on the subject of gaining employment in the tech industry. According to Redmond Police Department spokesperson Jill Green, [Khodakaramrezaei] started emailing her and messaging her, just starting conversations about the podcast, and my understanding is that they became friends. Cops could not immediately provide the name of the podcast. But at some point, the pairs relationship took a concerning turn, and Sadeghi became uncomfortable with the content of Khodakaramrezaeis messages and how often he was contacting her, according to authorities. Lowe said he was first made aware of harassing behavior by the suspect in December. Khodakaramrezaei would repeatedly contact Sadeghi by text and over the phone, once calling her over 100 times in a single day, he added. According to Lowe, this harassment eventually escalated to in-person stalking. He said Khodakaramrezaei had visited Sadeghis residence in Redmond before the night of the murder and followed her to a conference in Denver in the latter part of 2022. Story continues The upscale suburb where Sadeghis $1.6 million home is located is most famous for being the site of Microsofts headquarters. Lowe said after his first contact with Sadeghi, she reached out again in mid-January, at which point the case was assigned to an investigator who began to follow up on it, attempting to contact Khodakaramrezaei to gain a statement from him and let him know Sadeghi no longer wanted to be in contact with him. Our detectives had warrants to get information from his phone and were trying to serve the no contact order to the suspect [but] had not done so yet. Being that he is a trucker, hes hard to pin down, Green said. Lowe said it was not until March that a judge issued a temporary protection order, which the King County District Court says can be obtained by people who are in immediate danger. That protection order, which would have forbidden Khodakaramrezaei from contacting Sadeghi but not provided any material protection, had not yet been served at the time of the murder. I think the key piece here is that a protection order is simply a piece of paper that does not prevent a person from causing harm to another person, Lowe said. It just puts them on notice and gives law enforcement the ability to arrest a person should they violate said protective order. Lowe said Sadeghi had no idea that Khodakaramrezaei, who had no criminal record prior to the murders, was planning to pay her a visit, and that if she had the police would have been there to issue the protection order. Jamie Lynn Burns, a resident of neighboring Kirkland who is currently preparing to move into a house across the street from Sadeghi and Naseri, said the couple were super welcoming and called the news of their deaths shocking. They were just so friendly and inviting, Burns said. We were like, Oh my gosh, we couldnt have found better neighbors. But Burns said when she visited the house a week and a half ago, she remembers seeing Sadeghis mother very diligently watching out the window. I wonder ... now if she was maybe, you know, like on a high alert, Burns said. Its a really small, safe community, so it just feels all the more shocking to have something like that happen in Redmond of all places, she 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. Mar. 9AUBURN A Lewiston man charged with murder in the Feb. 21 deaths of a Massachusetts man and a Lewiston teen in Poland was brought to Maine from a New Hampshire jail Thursday by Maine State Police detectives. Aaron Aldrich, 46, was brought from Rockingham County Jail in Brentwood, New Hampshire, to Androscoggin County Jail where he was booked on outstanding warrants, jail and police officials said. Aldrich was arrested in New Hampshire on unrelated property crime charges there. He is due in Androscoggin County Superior Court on Monday for his initial appearance on two charges of murder. He is being held without bail pending that appearance. Few details of the alleged crimes have been released to the public Police said the bodies of Shoeb Mohamed Aden, 21, of Springfield, Massachusetts, and Mohamed Aden, 16, of Lewiston were found at a mobile home at 25 Tripp Road in Poland after police were dispatched to that address for a welfare check. Less than 10 minutes after the first 911 call was made, the suspect in the Feb. 13 attack at Michigan State University had left his second shooting location and was leaving campus, according to the universitys police department. Michigan State University police included the detail in a timeline of events released Friday morning, just days before the one-month remembrance of Michigan's second mass shooting in 15 months. Police also released images of two pages of notes found in the suspect's pocket after the shooting, along with details regarding the 911 calls received that night. Police walk around Berkey Hall early on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023, on the Michigan State campus in East Lansing. Three people Brian Fraser, 20, of Grosse Pointe, Alexandria Verner, 20, of Clawson, and Arielle Anderson, 19, of Harper Woods were killed in the attack, and five others were injured. Police say the shooter was 43-year-old Anthony McRae, who killed himself when confronted by police hours later off-campus. Here's the timeline of events from the preliminary police investigation along with additional details obtained by the Free Press: 8:18 p.m.: 1st call reporting shots fired at Berkey Hall Ingham County 911 received the first call to Berkey Hall, an academic building on the college's East Lansing campus. Marco Diaz-Munoz, an assistant professor who was teaching at Berkey Hall, previously told the Free Press that the gunman came into his classroom, fired multiple shots, and then left. Multiple students in the class were injured, with Verner and Anderson fatally wounded, he said. Diaz-Munoz's wife, Claudia Diaz, who was in a hallway, previously told the Free Press she called 911 while hiding. Berkey Hall was open to the general public and unlocked from 8 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., when academic classes or activities occurred, police previously said. The building is closed for the rest of the semester. Additionally, the building does not have surveillance cameras, Dana Whyte, communications manager for MSU police, confirmed Thursday. More:MSU to add security cameras, locks in response to campus shooting Story continues The timeline released by police did not state which door the gunman used to enter Berkey Hall. However, Diaz-Munoz and his wife previously said the shooter used a classroom door closer to Grand River Avenue and did not enter through the building's front door. More:After Michigan State mass shooting, the coping begins More:Professor who faced Michigan State gunman speaks out 8:20 p.m.: Officers entered Berkey Hall 8:24 p.m.: The suspect entered the Union The suspect entered through a loading dock at the Union, said Whyte. The door was unlocked as it normally had been for delivery drivers during open building hours and no one let him in, she told the Free Press on Thursday. In search of help from the public, Michigan State University police released this image of the alleged shooter a little after 11:15 p.m. on Feb. 13, hours after the man killed three students and injured five more on campus. Law enforcement says it shows Anthony McRae, 43, entering the MSU Student Union, having already shot students in the nearby Berkey Hall. Within 20 minutes of releasing the photo, the public alerted police to McRae's whereabouts. Before the shooting, the Union was open from 7 a.m. to midnight. It's also closed for the rest of the semester. The door was shown in the surveillance images that were released by police during their subsequent search for the shooter, she said. 8:26 p.m.: 1st report of shooting at the Union 8:26 p.m.: The suspect exited the Union and left campus Details of the suspect's movements after this point have not yet been released. McRae would be spotted and confronted nearly three hours later. In the release Friday, police said McRaes route after the shooting was still being reviewed and finalized by law enforcement. 8:27 p.m.: Officers arrived at the Union 8:30 p.m.: 1st emergency alert notification sent The first alert came more than 10 minutes after the first 911 call. Initially, law enforcement attributed this delay to the idea that an off-duty officer had to come to the station to issue the alert since all active officers rushed to the scene of the shooting, according to Bridge Michigan. But MSU police later reversed course, telling Bridge instead that sending the alert fell to a "front-desk employee" who is not an officer and does not typically handle such messages. Given the gravity of the situation, that person waited for approval to send from a supervisor, MSU police told Bridge. There's also a small but potentially important discrepancy in the timing of the first emergency alert issued by MSU the night of the shooting. On the timeline released Friday, MSU police indicate they issued the first alert at 8:30 p.m., and a second alert at 8:31. However, alerts received by a Free Press staffer, an MSU community member, came at 8:31 p.m. and then at 8:32 p.m. Additionally, the MSU police website currently shows only one alert from around that time the night of the shooting, and it was issued at just before 8:32 p.m. An MSU police spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions about the timing of the alerts. 8:31 p.m.: 2nd emergency alert notification sent 11:18 p.m.: Photo of suspect shared by police on social media 11:35 p.m.: 911 call of a person matching the suspect's description walking on Lake Lansing Road near High Street in Lansing 11:49 p.m.: Officers approach McRae and he shoots himself Police ended up stopping McRae nearly 4 miles away from campus, acting on a tip from the public, police have said. Police ordered McRae to raise his hands, but McRae said nothing and shot himself instead, police have said. McRae had two 9mm handguns, multiple magazines, 50 rounds of loose ammunition and the two pages of notes that were in his wallet. More:MSU shooting suspect had 2 handguns, extra ammo on him, police say More:MSU shooting suspect citing Meijer distribution center in note shocks union leader About the 911 calls On the night of the shooting, law enforcement received about 2,100 calls, with about 1,450 coming directly through 911. That's about the typical number of calls the department receives over the course of two to three days; instead, the calls came within a five-hour period, the department stated in the news release. Law enforcement acknowledged the onslaught of emergency calls and reports contributed to the confusion at MSU, ultimately delaying efforts to track down the shooter for several hours. Police are reviewing the 911 calls. In a one-on-one interview with the Free Press, Interim Michigan State University Deputy Police Chief Chris Rozman said a number of calls may have been due to strange noises that night like barricades being made by classmates but police are also looking into any possibility that bad actors were seeking to add to the chaos. More:Face of Michigan State shooting response talks officers who wouldn't leave, misinformation The aftermath The school announced plans to add locks and cameras to the campus in the wake of the mass shooting. Police have previously said the university was upgrading its security camera monitoring system at the time of the shooting. It's unclear where Berkey Hall's lack of surveillance cameras fits into those upgrades. More:MSU to add locks to classroom doors in response to campus shooting An inability to track the shooter live on security cameras, along with other factors, contributed to the delay in finding the suspect, police previously said. The investigation into the attack itself is ongoing. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State University shooting: Police timeline of events MUNCIE, Ind. City police say DNA testing has linked a Muncie man to a 2015 shooting. Michael Duane Vannatter, 32, is accused of shooting another Muncie resident outside the victim's Garnet Avenue home on May 22, 2015. Investigators said the victim found an intruder outside his home, breaking into a car. The men struggled before the intruder pulled a handgun and shot the homeowner "on the left side of his chest," according to an affidavit. The victim said the gunman then ran away, shouting, "I'm sorry!" The man recovered from the gunshot wound. The projectile was removed from his chest about five weeks after the shooting. More:Daleville man found guilty of murder in grandfather's slaying In September 2020, Muncie police detectives were told DNA testing had linked Vannatter to the shooting more than five years earlier. Initial efforts to find the Muncie man were unsuccessful. Last October, after a robbery in which Vannatter was the victim, officers received a DNA search warrant aimed at further connecting him to evidence in the 2015 crime. This week, after earlier efforts to collect his DNA had been unsuccessful, Vannatter came to City Hall and submitted to oral swabs. While being questioned, "a very nervous" Vannatter at first denied having ever been at the Garnet Avenue address, an officer wrote, and insisted he "didn't have any idea why his DNA would have been located in that area." Later, however, Vannatter reportedly confessed, indicating the shooting had been unintentional. Saying he was "messed up" on prescription medication at the time of the incident, Vannatter said he was stealing change from the car when the homeowner jumped on him. During the struggle, the Muncie man recalled, he "accidentally pulled the trigger." Vannatter preliminarily charged with aggravated battery and criminal recklessness was released from the Delaware County jail on Wednesday after posting a $25,000 bond. 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: DNA tests lead to Muncie man's arrest in 2015 shooting The Venice Police Department is investigating an apparent murder-suicide that happened Thursday afternoon. Officers responded to a residence in the 900 block of Villas Drive, where a man and woman were found dead from gunshot wounds. More:From abuse to empowerment: how a Sarasota nonprofit founder helps vulnerable residents In case you missed it:No swim advisory issued for Sarasota's Bird Key Park because of bacteria levels Investigators believe that the woman was shot by 50-year-old Charles D. Payne., who then took his life, the police department reported. The womans identity is being withheld due to crime victim privacy laws. Police said no more information would be released because the investigation is continuing. Our hearts go out to the victim and families who have suffered this loss, a police representative said in a release. We encourage anyone who is in an abusive relationship to seek out help. Those in need of help can contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233 or Safe Place & Rape Crisis Center at 941-492-3752. This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Man and woman dead after Venice murder suicide, police say (EDITOR'S NOTE: This story contains a two-page note police found on the body of the man accused of carrying out the mass shooting at Michigan State University in February. University police on Friday widely disseminated the note in a news release. The blacked-out redactions were made by police. The note contains profanity and several references to allegations of additional violence; law enforcement debunked these additional threats.) Anthony McRae was tired of being "rejected" and described himself as a "loner" and "outsider" in a two-page note he was carrying when he went on a shooting rampage at Michigan State University. Police released the note with portions redacted Friday morning. "I am a person," he wrote. "Why do people hate me?" McRae also claimed he was working with a group of shooters who would also target places in New Jersey and Colorado Springs. Police said they found no evidence of that. He also said there were other places in Lansing he was targeting. The names of those places were redacted in the photo of the note released by police. Police have previously confirmed one of the places was a Delta Township Meijer warehouse as well as a local church. Michigan State University police say they found this two-page note on the body of Anthony McRae, the 43-year-old man accused of carrying out February mass shooting at the East Lansing campus. Law enforcement think the note points to a possible motive for the attack. Portions of the note were redacted by law enforcement "to protect the privacy of outside entities." Other parts mention alleged attacks elsewhere around the state and country; law enforcement said there is not active threat. Police said McRae fatally shot three MSU students two in Berkey Hall, an academic building, and one at the student Union. Killed in the attacks were Brian Fraser, 20, of Grosse Pointe, Alexandria Verner, 20, of Clawson, and Arielle Anderson, 19, of Harper Woods. Five other students were critically wounded. Three have been discharged from the hospital and two remain hospitalized, according to the latest update from Sparrow Hospital. McRae was found by police several miles away from the MSU campus. He had two guns, multiple magazines of ammunition and a two-page note on him. When police started to interact with him, McRae shot himself. A review of body cameras worn by police showed McRae did not speak before shooting himself, police said in the days following the shooting. Story continues At the top of the note, McRae apologizes for his handwriting. It is dated Sunday, Feb. 12, 2023, one day before the shooting, which took place just after 8:15 p.m. Monday, Feb. 13, while night classes were being held on campus. More:Police detail Michigan State mass shooter's campus movements There are four faces drawn on the note each with little dots representing tears coming off the face. One is under the word "why" repeated three times, with an answer, "I've been hurt." Another one is next to the phrase "they hate me" written three times. The third face is next to a list of possible reasons for his actions, while the fourth is at the end of a sentence that says: "They hate me. Why? Why? Why? Why?" On the second page of the note, McRae says that "they made me who I am today a killer" but doesn't specify to whom "they" refers. He claims that people treat him differently "everywhere I go" and nobody noticed him. He also says "I don't want to be an American African" and also uses profanity to describe unnamed people he decries as racist. He also wrote "10 years since I had sex." Michigan State University police say they found this two-page note on the body of Anthony McRae, the 43-year-old man accused of carrying out February mass shooting at the East Lansing campus. Law enforcement think the note points to a possible motive for the attack. Portions of the note were redacted by law enforcement "to protect the privacy of outside entities." Other parts mention alleged attacks elsewhere around the state and country; law enforcement said there is not active threat. In the middle of the note underlined for emphasis McRae absolves his family. "My father (has) nothing to do with this," he wrote. After the shooting, McRae's family said he had had a hard time after his mother's death in 2020. He got a little bitter and was acting differently, said his father, Michael McRae. He said he tried to encourage his son to get a job, hang out with him, get out the room and get some air. He said he had asked his son whether he needed help, but he would say he didnt need any. You do the best you can to raise kids. You do your job as a good dad, good mom. And you do all you can for them and you love them, but when they leave the house and leave out that door, you dont know what theyre thinking about, what theyre going to do," Michael McRae said. "Nobody can get in nobodys brain but Jesus. Questions have lingered regarding McRae's mental health and any relevance it could have had to the shooting at MSU. In hindsight, judging what mental illness somebody has is very difficult without some type of formal diagnosis, interim Michigan State University Deputy Police Chief Chris Rozman said in the days following the shooting: Obviously, in this case, there appears to be indications that that may be the case. Its going to be difficult to confirm that but I think thats a question we have as well. More:Body cam footage shows 2019 arrest of MSU shooting suspect Anthony McRae More:Father of MSU shooting suspect Anthony McRae said he tried to help son The night of the MSU shooting wasn't the first time police had interacted with McRae. Police arrested him in 2019 on a felony charge of carrying a concealed weapon without a permit. The charge carries a possible punishment of up to five years in prison upon conviction. But McRae's lawyer would argue that police had no cause to detain his client, saying the arrest resulted from an unconstitutional stop and frisk. McRae was required to forfeit the Ruger LCP .380 pistol and not own or possess any firearms as conditions of his plea and probation. But the plea did not preclude him from owning guns after he was discharged from probation. Free Press staff writers Gina Kaufman, Christine MacDonald and Violet Ikonomova contributed to this report. Contact David Jesse: 313-222-8851 or djesse@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter: @reporterdavidj This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Police release note MSU gunman Anthony McRae was carrying The Michigan State University Department of Police and Public Safety has released several updates related to last month's shooting on campus that left three students dead and several more injured, including sharing photographs of a note that the gunman had in his pocket. The gunman, identified as 43-year-old Anthony McRae, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Some content in the note was redacted, but visible text shows McRae claiming to be the leader of a group of 20 people planning multiple mass shootings in nearby towns and New Jersey. Officers from Michigan State University, the Michigan State Police and the FBI have determined that McRae acted alone and that no other locations were under threat, though some New Jersey schools did close the day after the shooting out of an abundance of caution. The two-page note also included a list of McRae's apparent motives for the shooting. He also drew multiple sad faces on the paper, which is dated Feb. 12, 2023, a day before the chaos at Michigan State. "They hate me," he wrote multiple times in the note. The department said that they had compiled a detailed timeline for McRae's movements on campus the day of the shooting. 911 dispatchers first received a call of shots fired at Berkey Hall at 8:18 p.m. local time, and officers entered the building two minutes later. At 8:24, McRae entered the Union building, and the first report of a shooting there was made at 8:26 p.m. At the same time, McRae exited the Union and left campus. Emergency alerts were sent at 8:30 and 8:31 p.m. By 11:18, a photo of McRae had been shared on social media. At 11:35 p.m., 911 dispatchers received a call of a person matching McRae's description walking down a road. At 11:49, officers approached McRae. He then shot himself. The department said that in total, "2.5 days worth of calls" were received by 911 dispatchers in the five-hour window from when the shooting happened and when McRae died. Story continues The news release emphasized that the investigation remains ongoing and that further updates may be shared in the future. 11-year-old in wheelchair fulfills dream of playing basketball Tips for dealing with spring allergy symptoms Climate change impacting the U.S. and global wine industries A 64-year-old man died after a crash Thursday morning in Arlington, according to a news release from police. The man was driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee around 9:20 a.m. on Interstate 20 near Little Road when the Jeep left the roadway and crashed into the concrete median, accoridng to police. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died. Police said it appears he had a medical emergency while driving. Nobody else was in the vehicle and no other vehicles were involved, according to police. At this point, authorities arent sure if the crash contributed to his death. The Tarrant County Medical Examiners Office will determine the cause of death and, once next-of-kin has been notified, release the mans name. A campaign consultant for an opponent of Polk County School Board member Lisa Miller has been charged with sending anonymous text messages about her during last years election campaign. The State Attorneys Office for the 10th Judicial Circuit filed charges Friday against James Earl Dunn Jr., a Texas resident who consulted on the campaign of Jill Sessions. Dunn, 52, is charged with seven counts of violation of text message disclosure requirements, a first-degree misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of one year in prison. Polk County School Board member Lisa Miller. Polk County voters received anonymous text messages in June falsely alleging that Miller and her husband, Bob Miller, were under criminal investigation. Miller, a Lakeland resident, was then involved in a three-way campaign for the School Boards District 7 with Sessions and Dell Quary. The text messages did not identify the sender, as required for campaign messages by state election laws. In a court filing, the State Attorneys Office charged that Dunn sent the text messages between June 20 and July 1. From last yearText message campaign falsely claims Polk School Board member is under criminal inquiry Nonpartisan in name only? Major parties endorse candidates in Polk School Board races Campaign finance issuesPolk School Board member Nolte revises campaign filings, reports refunds of cash donations Miller, seeking a second term, finished first in the August election but failed to gain a majority. Sessions finished second, forcing a runoff election that took place in November. Miller prevailed in the runoff, winning by a margin of 11.2 percentage points. A complaint affidavit filed Friday says the State Attorneys Office began an investigation July 1 based upon a complaint from Miller. The report says the text messages came from five phone numbers, three with the area code for Polk County and two from the 786 area code, which includes Miami-Dade County. Miller told investigators she immediately suspected Dunn, as she told reporters last summer. Story continues Details of the investigation The affidavit offers these details: The investigator found a copy of an email from Terry Clark, a candidate for the School Board in a different district, saying that Dunn had sent more than 20,000 text messages all over the county. Campaign records show that both Clark and Sessions made campaign expenditures of $7,500 to Dunn, and Clark referred to Dunn as his campaign manager. The investigator interviewed Clark at his home on July 11. Clark denied involvement in sending the text messages attacking Miller and said he didnt know who had sent them. The investigator also interviewed Sessions, who said Dunn served as a political strategist for her campaign. She said that Dunn told her he planned to use text messaging as part of his strategy to help her campaign. Sessions said Dunn told her he had sent text messages for her campaign but said she did not approve them and did not know of the content. When shown one of the text messages targeting Miller, Sessions said Dunn had told her that he had somebody send it. Sessions said that after seeing the texts, she confronted Dunn and told him she didnt want him to send any messages without her approval. The State Attorneys Office received a response in August to a subpoena from uCampaign, a company that provides applications for the campaigns of Republican candidates. The subpoena involved the three numbers with 863 area codes used to send the text messages. The subpoena found that three payments for the sending of the texts had been made using an email address that contained Dunns name. An investigator determined that the credit card used to pay for the services was issued to Dunn through a Texas credit union. The material also listed Dunns cell phone number. The investigator reviewed a document from uCampaign showing that the text messages matched ones received by Polk County voters describing Miller as an extremist candidate. The phone numbers with the 786 area code corresponded to Kayla Hensley and Grant Kiley, identified as founders of KAG Strategies, a political consultant company based in Houston. Documents obtained by subpoena showed that a credit card linked to Hensley and Kiley was used to pay for the sending of text messages through Project Broadcast. School Board candidate Jill Sessions at a NAACP forum in July 2022. A political consultant who worked on Sessions' campaign faces misdemeanor criminal charges related to a series of text messages that falsely claimed Sessions' opponent, School Board member Lisa Miller, was under investigation. In January, the investigator called Kiley and left a voicemail. He reached Hensley by phone, and she said she would speak to a lawyer. Neither had called the investigator back as of the filing of the affidavit. Circuit Judge Keith Spoto authorized a warrant to search for emails exchanged between Dunns email address and addresses used by Hensley and Kiley. The investigator found an email Dunn sent to Clark outlining his strategy for reaching voters and said that he had 2 folks working on that. In December, the investigator contacted Dunn by phone. Dunn said he wanted to talk to a lawyer and that either he or the lawyer would get back in touch. As of March, the investigator had not heard from either of them. While Hensleys and Kileys names were associated with the Project Broadcast account, the investigator wrote that he had probable cause to believe that James Dunn orchestrated the sending of these illegal messages. 'I have no comment' Reached by phone Friday, Dunn said, I have no comment. Dunn has a felony history in his home state of Texas. He pleaded guilty in 2008 to submitting fraudulent claims against the federal government. Dunn, then owner and operator of Rehab Specialist Inc., received contracts from the Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services to provide vocational rehabilitation training to people with mental and physical disabilities, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice. The Department of Education awarded Dunns company more than $300,000, but the company did not provide the services, the release said. Dunn was sentenced to 33 months in prison. Clark reportedly said in a text message to supporters that Dunn was also helping the campaign of Rick Nolte, who unseated School Board member Sarah Fortney. Nolte did not report any payments to Dunn in campaign reports. The Polk County Republican Party endorsed and promoted Sessions, Clark, Nolte and another candidate, Justin Sharpless, in the nonpartisan School Board races. County Citizens Defending Freedom, a conservative political group based in Mulberry, hosted Dunn for a podcast interview early in the campaigns, during which he bragged about having a 25-0 record in Texas school board races for Judeo-Christian Republicans. It is unfortunate that the CCDF chose to bring a criminal here so my opponent could hire him to use illegal and damaging tactics to try and tarnish my reputation and the reputation of my husband with lies and slander, Miller said in an emailed statement. Polk County voters showed up for a record victory because they recognized campaigns should be about the commitment to servant leadership, not outside interest groups raising dark PAC money. Hopefully, this sends a message that the powers of justice are serious about protecting everyone and protecting the integrity of the democratic process in this county and state." Steve Maxwell, CEO of the group, said that he met Dunn in Texas and introduced him to local candidates but that CCDF was not involved in any School Board campaigns. Maxwell said that Miller called him last year after the text message were sent, and he promptly began looking into the matter. He said he spent $10,000 of his own money on the effort and shared the results with the State Attorneys Office. Maxwell said both he and CCDFs attorney asked Dunn about the text messages, and in both cases he denied any involvement. I can understand. Lisa maybe blaming us because we were the conduit that he got here, Maxwell said. But we had nothing to do with anything that hes done, and Im as upset with him as anybody. Sessions did not immediately reply to a voicemail left early Friday afternoon. Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on Twitter @garywhite13. This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Political consultant charged over texts in 2022 Polk School Board race Western media should respect facts when reporting boarding schools in China: FM Xinhua) 08:31, March 10, 2023 BEIJING, March 9 (Xinhua) -- When reporting on the boarding schools in China, it is important to respect the facts and be objective and rational, rather than quote hearsay or even make up stories and spread false accusations, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Thursday. Spokesperson Mao Ning made the remarks at a regular news briefing when asked to comment on some Western media reports saying there are "residential school" in Tibet that are part of the Chinese government's large-scale assimilation campaign targeting Tibetans. "This is certainly not true and apparently just another allegation meant to mislead the public about China and smear China's image," Mao said, adding that as is commonly seen around the world, there are boarding schools across Chinese provinces and regions to meet the need of the local students. Mao said these schools provide accommodation, catering and other boarding services, and are not closed facilities and still less run in military style. "In the case of China's Tibet, this is a region of high altitude and highly scattered population in many areas. For children from herding families in particular, they have to travel long distances to get to school. If schools were to be built in every place the students live, it would be very difficult to ensure adequate teachers and quality of teaching in each school. That is why boarding schools have been set up as a practical way to ensure all children's equal right to education. It is entirely up to the students and their parents whether to board or not," the spokesperson said. She said that just like schools in other Chinese provinces and regions, the boarding schools in the Tibet Autonomous Region attach great importance to the participation of students' families. "Parents are invited to take part in the management and planning of school life through parent committees and open days. Students can choose to go home on every weekend, holiday and festival, including traditional Tibetan festivals such as the Tibetan New Year and the Shoton Festival, as well as during the winter and summer breaks," Mao said. Parents can visit their children at school any time and take their children home whenever needed, she added. Courses of traditional culture, such as Tibetan language and literature and folk dance, are widely available, traditional food unique to the Tibet Plateau is provided, and students are allowed to wear traditional dresses at these schools, Mao said. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan) Flowers and mementos remain at the scene of a fatal house fire in the 2500 block of North Rutherford Avenue in Chicago's Montclare neighborhood on March 9, 2023. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune) Walter Stewart was on duty Tuesday night at the fire station in Norwood Park when he overheard his address on the fire radio flames were ravaging his home with his wife and children inside. A Chicago Fire Department chief quickly drove Stewart the 5 miles to the scene in the Montclare neighborhood, where the young firefighter performed CPR on his unconscious wife, said Larry Langford, Fire Department spokesman. Advertisement Stewarts 7-year-old son, identified as Ezra Stewart, died Wednesday at 6:25 p.m. at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, according to the Cook County medical examiners office. His mother, 34, and two siblings, a 2-year-old girl, a 7-year-old girl, were listed in critical condition. On Thursday morning, the first-floor windows of the single-family home in the 2500 block of North Rutherford Avenue were boarded up, with shattered glass everywhere and toys scattered around the house. A memorial of teddy bears, a balloon, bouquets and a flower wreath rested on the front porch, alongside personal belongings stuffed in bags, two strollers and a kids car seat. Advertisement A neighbor stopped by to add flowers to the growing memorial on the porch. Hector, who only wanted to give his first name, told the Tribune that the family had been living in the house for two years. They were good people, he said, fighting back tears. It (expletive) sucks. The family, he said, would put out cat food for the stray cats that roamed the neighborhood. Hector said he bought more fire detectors for his own family after the fire. God forbid this happen to my family, he said. Langford said they know the fire began in the kitchen but the cause of the blaze was not known. Chicago police and firefighters responded shortly after 9 p.m. Tuesday. The mother and children were found unconscious having suffered smoke inhalation and were taken to Stroger Hospital and Loyola University Medical Center, officials said. Area 5 detectives are investigating. On a day when Chicago police gathered on the Southwest Side for the funeral of one of their own slain police Officer Andres Mauricio Vasquez Lasso the citys firefighters across Chicago also rallied to show support for their colleague. Ignite the Spirit, a Fire Department charity, started a fundraiser to help the firefighters family face an unspeakable tragedy, according to a Facebook post, and firefighters across the country posted thoughts and prayers across social media. Every member of Local 2 and the department mourns with our brother Walter and the Stewart family. This tragedy weighs heavy on our hearts, and we pledge our ongoing support, said Chicago Firefighters Union Local 2 president Jim Tracy in a statement. The union shared the fundraiser over email, encouraging supporters to donate. Advertisement To be at the firehouse when your address comes over through the alarm terminal? I cant even imagine, said Patrick Quane, director of public relations at the union. I just cant imagine. Its hard to put into words. Visitors stopped by the house all day Thursday to add to the memorial or reflect in moments of silence. Around noon, a firefighter from Chicago Fire Department Engine 7 stopped by to pay his respects even though he said he didnt know the family well. Maria Nunez walked from her nearby house to visit the memorial. She said her daughter went to school with Ezra. She told the Tribune in Spanish how sad she was to see a family with such a responsible and hardworking father suffer this tragedy. They were good neighbors, we would say hi to each other, Nunez said. Ald. Gilbert Villegas, 36th, said he met the firefighters wife during the summer while door-knocking to circulate a petition. He recalled her trying to juggle her 2-year-old while he talked to her about politics. Villegas, who has two kids, 19 and 15, said he has been reflecting on the sadness of such a tragedy affecting such a young child. 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 > Villegas asked the Illinois Firefighters Association for 10-year battery smoke detectors, and said his office was able to distribute 10 all he had access to in the 37-home block. Villegas said his community is holding out hope for the rest of the family. Advertisement By Thursday evening, the wind had scattered the memorial, toppling stuffed bears and the wreath. When a man, woman and their young child came to leave a bouquet of yellow sunflowers at the house, the man lifted the wreath back into place. He stopped as he stepped down the porch and walked away, looking hard at the homes boarded windows before leaving. Chicago Tribunes Jake Sheridan contributed. adperez@chicagotribune.com rrequena@chicagotribune.com VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -The war in Ukraine is driven by the interests of several "empires" and not just of Russia's, Pope Francis said in an interview published on Friday. Francis said the conflict was fuelled by "imperial interests, not just of the Russian empire, but of empires from elsewhere". He expressed a readiness to talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin to call for peace. The pontiff was speaking to Italian Swiss television RSI, in an interview due to be broadcast on Sunday. Extracts were published on Friday by Italian dailies La Repubblica, La Stampa and Corriere della Sera. Francis, who is 86 and marks the 10th anniversary of his election on March 13, also said he would resign if he got too tired and lost the capacity to govern the Roman Catholic Church. Last month, he had said that papal resignations should happen in only exceptional circumstances. His predecessor Benedict XVI, who died on Dec. 31 aged 95, became the first pontiff to resign in about 600 years when he stepped down in 2013. Asked what would lead him to make the same decision to quit, Francis said: "A tiredness that doesn't make you see things clearly. A lack of clarity, of knowing how to evaluate situations". Francis said he was "a bit ashamed" to use a wheelchair due to a knee ailment. "I am old. I have less physical resistance, the knee (problem) was a physical humiliation, even if the recovery is going well now," he said. (Reporting by Alvise Armellini, editing by Federico Maccioni, Robert Birsel) Biden visits U.S. southern border JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images President Biden's time in the White House has been marked by shifting views on immigration. Biden has revoked rules that would hinder immigrants from becoming citizens, and also proposed reforms to crack down on illegal immigration. Reports suggest the president is considering reinstating the controversial practice of detaining migrant families. Where, exactly, does he stand on the issue? What is the Biden administration's immigration policy? The White House is focused on reducing "the number of individuals crossing unlawfully between ports of entry" by increasing border security, according to a fact sheet released by the White House. Biden extended the controversial Title 42, enacted by the Trump administration during COVID-19. This portion of the U.S. Code allows expulsions of immigrants on the basis of public health safety. Despite Biden pledging to end the practice when he took office, in January of 2023 he announced new policies that "would essentially expand" the allowance of expulsions, PBS News notes, and permit restrictive immigration policies to continue even as the COVID-19 emergency declaration is set to expire in May and render Title 42 moot. Biden's replacement plan for Title 42 is the "toughest policy yet to crack down on unlawful entries," The New York Times says. Biden's Venezuela initiative, which was put forth in Oct. 2022, sought to stem the flow of migrants coming to the United States from Venezuela. Migrants looking to enter the U.S. from Venezuela "will have to apply, have a sponsor in the U.S., and undergo screening and vetting, as well as complete vaccinations," CNN reports. The initiative "resulted in a dramatic drop" in illegal immigration from Venezuela, the White House claimed, and the administration is looking to implement the program on a wider international scale. For those looking to enter the country legally, the administration has pledged to allow up to 30,000 immigrants per month to enter the U.S. from Haiti, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba, and will also triple immigration quotas from Caribbean nations. The White House says that this will create an easier path to legal citizenship for those seeking asylum. Story continues Have Biden's views on immigration evolved over time? Both Biden and his vice president, Kamala Harris, "have built their careers in Democratic politics in part by touting their families' immigration stories," writes The Washington Post. On the campaign trail, Biden expressed regret over the Obama administration's immigration policies, which "deported hundreds of thousands of people without criminal records," The Associated Press says. He called the practices a "big mistake" and promised to expand legal immigration and the asylum process, should he be elected. "We stand up and act like [immigration is] a burden," he said. "It is not a burden. It's a gift." When he took office, he appeared "one of the most liberal Democratic presidents on immigration yet," taking aim at Trump immigration policies even while "border apprehensions swelled," the Post says. But then he ran into the "hard reality of border politics." Administration officials pointed their fingers at Republicans, but also Congress, saying it failed to pass legislation overhauling immigration laws, The New York Times reports. They said Biden's new measures would discourage those without legitimate asylum claims from trying to cross the border. What has the reaction been? Biden has faced criticism for his alleged flip-flopping on immigration policies, particularly when it comes to expulsions. Biden's proposal to stop migrants "represents a blatant embrace of hateful and illegal anti-asylum policies, which will lead to unnecessary human suffering," said Marisa Limon Garza, executive director of Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, per The Guardian. Is Biden "stuck in the Trump era?" asks The New Yorker. "Biden to replace Trump migration policy with Trump-esque asylum policy," blares Politico. Still, the number of border-crossing attempts has dropped by 40 percent since December, Politico reported, and the administration is eager to take the credit. Republicans insist Biden doesn't have the border situation in hand. He has "lost control of the U.S.-Mexican border," Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said. The GOP has offered its own immigration proposal that would funnel more resources into border security, protect DREAMers, create more visas for agricultural workers, and offer a 10-year path to " a renewable legal status for undocumented immigrants who have not committed any crimes," The Hill explains. Recent reports suggest Biden, "squeezed at the border," is considering reinstating one of the most controversial immigration policies: detaining migrant families. The practice, The New York Times notes, was used by Trump, as well as former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. "Ending the inhumane practice of family detention has been one of the only positive immigration policy decisions of the Biden administration," deputy litigation director at Children's Rights in New York City, told the Times. "It is heartbreaking to hear" it could return. You may also like U.S. scientists unveil 'reddmatter' superconductor breakthrough that could revolutionize energy, if true U.S. winters are warming faster than summers, study finds 'Offensive' books that have been rewritten Mykhailo Podoliak, advisor to the Head of the President's Office, has said that Ukraine has no motives or intentions to commit a "terrorist attack" in Transnistria, and that the accusations of the occupiers are part of Russia's plan to attack Moldova. Source: Podoliak on Twitter Quote: "Regarding the latest informational provocation by Russia called the terrorist attack in Transnistria: Ukraine has neither reasons nor intentions to commit any actions that can be qualified as a terrorist act. We do not need it because we have enough things to do on the battlefield, and any terrorist attack' on any other territory will not give us extra advantages. Not long ago, Russia stated that Ukraine was allegedly preparing an invasion of Transnistria. It turned out to be a fake. After that, Russia invested an enormous amount of money in order to start street riots in Chisinau. So far, it hasnt succeeded. And here is a new concept: let's talk about terrorist attacks in Transnistria." Details: According to Podoliak, the Russian Federation is trying to attack Moldova. The first stage is pointing out Ukraine's alleged plans for "invasion" of Transnistria. The second is an attempt to organise a coup in Chisinau. Thus, in his opinion, accusing Ukraine of preparing a "terrorist attack" in Transnistria is part of the third stage of the Russian Federation's plan. "Everything is predictable, and everything is a lie," Podoliak added. Background: On March 9, the "ministry of state security" of unrecognised Transnistria claimed to have prevented a terrorist attack against its officials, allegedly on orders from Ukraines Security Service (SSU). The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) has called a statement made by the so-called "ministry of state security" of unrecognised Transnistria about the alleged prevention of a terrorist attack against officials "on orders from the SSU" a Kremlin provocation. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Prince Charles (now King Charles III) and his brother Prince Edward in 2010. Cameron Spencer/Getty Images Prince Edward, Prince Philip's son and King Charles' younger brother, is now the Duke of Edinburgh. Charles inherited the title first, then it reverted to the crown when he ascended to the throne. As monarch, Charles then created a new Dukedom of Edinburgh and bestowed it upon Edward. Prince Edward has officially inherited his father Prince Philip's title of the Duke of Edinburgh, Buckingham Palace announced on Friday. King Charles bestowed the title upon Edward to mark his 59th birthday on March 10, making him and his wife, Sophie Rhys-Jones, the new Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh. The line of succession on the royal family's official website has been updated to reflect his new title. "The new Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh are proud to continue Prince Philip's legacy of promoting opportunities for young people of all backgrounds to reach their full potential," the palace statement read. In accordance with royal protocol, Charles inherited the title first before it reverted back to the crown Philip became Duke of Edinburgh in 1947, when he relinquished his status as a European royal to marry Queen Elizabeth. It was the fourth time in British royal history that the Dukedom had been created for a royal family member, according to Buckingham Palace's statement. Philip had shared his interest in bequeathing the title to his youngest son, yet his oldest son and heir to the throne, Charles, inherited the title after his death in April 2021 although it remained "dormant" since Charles didn't formally use it, royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams previously told Insider's Armani Syed. Prince Philip and Prince Edward in 2005. Anwar Hussein/Getty Images When Charles ascended to the throne after Queen Elizabeth's death in September 2022, the title merged with the crown. As monarch, Charles was then able to create a new Dukedom of Edinburgh for his brother, marking its fifth re-creation in royal history. Edward and his wife were previously known as the Earl and Countess of Wessex, titles they received when they wed in 1999. Edward told The Telegraph in a 2021 interview that Philip first discussed bequeathing him the Dukedom of Edinburgh two days after they announced their engagement that same year. "My father was very keen that the title should continue, but he didn't quite move quickly enough with Andrew, so it was us who he eventually had the conversation with," Edward said. "It was a lovely idea; a lovely thought." Read the original article on Insider (Bloomberg) -- A group of UK lawmakers wants private creditors to be forced to participate in debt-relief programs for poor countries, and has proposed enshrining such a requirement in legislation. Most Read from Bloomberg The plan, put forward by the UK Parliaments International Development Select Committee, follows an investigation by lawmakers appointed by the House of Commons. The government has two months to respond to the proposal, which was presented on Friday. An estimated 90% of bonds owed by countries eligible for the G20s debt-relief program are governed by English law. At the same time, poorer nations now owe more than ever to private lenders, with research showing that commercial banks and bondholders account for more debt repayments than multilateral institutions or other governments. Every dollar spent on servicing debt means a dollar less towards healthcare, the education of women and girls and tackling climate change, said Sarah Champion, chair of the International Development Committee, in a statement. It is time for a reset. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have both expressed support for such legislative steps. And last month, BlackRock Inc. and Standard Chartered Plc took part in closed-door talks co-led by the IMF focused on fixing bottlenecks that prevent quick sovereign debt restructuring. The committee recognizes that asking private lenders nicely simply doesnt work, Heidi Chow, executive director of Debt Justice, a nonprofit, said in a statement. As most bond contracts eligible for the G20 debt relief scheme are governed by UK law, the government needs to introduce legislation that would compel private lenders to cancel debt for countries that need it. Story continues A key plank of the UK lawmaker proposal is the inclusion of rules that would limit banks domiciled in Britain from being able to sue poor nations unable to service their debt. The government must listen to this report and act by putting an end to irresponsible banks continuing to profiteer during a global debt crisis, Dario Kenner, policy lead on debt at the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development, said in a statement. Some of the biggest private creditors to the developing world include BlackRock, HSBC Holdings Plc, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Legal & General Group Plc, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and UBS Group AG, through Eurobond programs with nations including Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Zambia and Senegal, CAFOD said, citing its own research. The rise of private lending to poorer nations has led to an increase in debt-servicing costs and more complex debt restructurings. World Bank data indicate that the poorest countries now spend more on servicing their debt as a proportion of gross national income than at any point in the past three decades. Without sustained and effective intervention by the international community to tackle their debt distress, the development impacts of spiralling debt could have a catastrophic impact on poor countries, the lawmakers said in a statement. (Adds comment from Debt Justice in sixth paragraph.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. Federal prosecutors involved in the criminal investigation of Donald Trumps retention of classified documents argued to a US judge on Thursday that one of the former US presidents lawyers should answer more questions before a grand jury over objections of attorney-client privilege. Related: Trump told of possible criminal charges for paying off Stormy Daniels report US prosecutors have been seeking to invoke the so-called crime-fraud exception that allows them to compel testimony about communications between an attorney and a client when they have evidence to suggest legal advice was used in furtherance of a crime. In the sealed hearing before the chief US district judge for the District of Columbia Beryl Howell, prosecutors argued that they had reason to believe that legal advice to Trump from his lawyer Evan Corcoran was used by Trump to obstruct the classified-marked documents investigation. The development is the latest incident in the ongoing saga around Trumps retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago Florida resort related to his time as president. The papers were discovered after an FBI search of the property amid accusations that Trump was seeking to obstruct an investigation into how and why the documents ended up there. Subsequent investigations have also turned up documents at properties linked to Trumps vice-president, Mike Pence, and the Democratic president Joe Biden, relating to his time as vice-president to Barack Obama. The prosecutors in Trumps case broadly cited to Howell the same evidence it included in the affidavit used to obtain the warrant to search Mar-a-Lago, sources familiar with the matter said, which alleged potential retention of national security material and obstruction of justice. Howell did not rule on Thursday on whether to grant the justice departments motion to compel testimony from Corcoran, the sources said, after Corcoran previously appeared before the grand jury and declined to answer some questions on the basis of attorney-client privilege. Story continues A spokesperson for the justice department and a lawyer for Corcoran did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The obstruction part of the Trump documents investigation is centered on Trumps incomplete compliance with a subpoena in May that demanded the return of any classified-marked documents in his possession, after documents he earlier returned to the National Archives included 200 that were classified. In June, Corcoran searched Mar-a-Lago and produced about 30 documents with classified markings to the justice department and had another Trump lawyer, Christina Bobb, sign a certification that attested to compliance with the subpoena based on the information provided to me. But the justice department, according to court filings, developed evidence that more classified-marked documents remained at the resort, as well as evidence of obstruction. And when the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago, they found 101 such documents in a storage room and in Trumps office. Corcoran is among three Trump lawyers connected to the documents case who have recently appeared before the federal grand jury in Washington, the Guardian previously reported, in addition to Bobb and one of Trumps civil lawyers, Alina Habba, who searched Trumps office in an unrelated case. The deferment by Howell could mean that she ultimately does not rule on the matter. Howell is slated to step down as chief judge on 16 March and will be succeeded by US district court judge James Boasberg, who previously oversaw the secret foreign surveillance court. Manhattan prosecutors have offered former President Trump the chance to testify before a grand jury, a sign the former president could soon face criminal charges for his alleged role in hush money payments made to an adult film star during his 2016 campaign, according to The New York Times. The move by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) suggests he may be nearing an indictment of the former president, given New Yorks requirement that potential defendants be allowed to testify before a grand jury before they are indicted. Offers to testify often come shortly before charging decisions are made, though defendants seldom avail themselves of the option. Braggs office declined to comment. The grand jury investigation centers on a $130,000 hush payment that Trumps personal attorney and longtime fixer Michael Cohen made to adult film star Stormy Daniels days before the 2016 election. The payment was part of a nondisclosure agreement over an affair Daniels says she had with the former president. Trump has denied the affair. A number of law enforcement agencies are probing Trump and his business. The Justice Department has appointed a special counsel to oversee investigations into Trumps role in the effort to remain in power after the 2020 election as well as the mishandling of government documents at Mar-a-Lago. A district attorney in Georgia is also investigating Trumps efforts to influence the election in that state. But a swift move from Bragg could put him ahead of the pack, taking action on a case that has been brewing since Trumps first presidential campaign and one that toppled his longtime lawyer. Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to campaign finance violations, claiming he made the payment to Daniels at Trumps behest and was subsequently reimbursed in installments. Bragg began presenting evidence to the grand jury in late January. Legal experts have suggested that the prosecution could potentially bring charges over falsified business records, if it can show that Trump was personally involved in improperly designating Cohens reimbursements as legal expenses. Story continues In a statement from Trump, the former president denied having an affair with actress Stormy Daniels and claimed the statute of limitations in the case has run out. This is a political Witch-Hunt, trying to take down the leading candidate, by far, in the Republican Party, Trump said. Even the previous Manhattan DA, Cyrus Vance, did not bring charges because I am guilty of nothing except for the fact that I am beating all Republicans and Democrats badly in the Presidential race. Other cases centering on Trump also appear to be advancing. The Justice Department on Thursday urged a judge during a closed session to reject attorney-client privilege claims of Trumps attorney in the Mar-a-Lago probe, The Wall Street Journal reported. Prosecutors have claimed Evan Corcoran may have violated the law when giving legal advice to Trump, possibly triggering the crime-fraud exception to the privilege. In Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis (D) recently asked a judge to shield a report from a grand jury there, saying it could compromise potential future prosecutions and that charging decisions were imminent. Updated at 9:51 a.m. Friday For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Prosus is actively engaging with multiple players to explore the sale of classified business Olx's Autos unit in several markets, including India and Indonesia, according to a source familiar with the matter. In a statement, the technology investor said pursuit of a global growth strategy for Olx's automotive business is no longer the right approach for our shareholders and that it was exploring all options for the Olx Autos business. The firm blamed the ongoing macroeconomic and market challenges for the move. In India, Prosus has held talks with some of unicorn startup Cars24s investors to explore the sale of the Autos local unit, according to the source. Cars24 counts DST Global and SoftBank among its backers. Those investors have passed on the deal as they shift focus on conserving cash, the source said, requesting anonymity discussing private matters. Prosus also approached unicorn startup Spinny, another person familiar with the matter said. Prosus has been scrambling for Olx Autos play for years. In early 2021, the firm shut down Frontier Car Groups Berlin office and shifted focus on Latin America and Asia markets. Olx Autos increased its revenue by 84% to $1 billion in the first half of its 2022 financial year, Prosus said in November. But Autos is not profitable. Olx said earlier this year that it would cut 1,500 jobs internationally. "Beyond Olx Autos, the core classifies business in OLX is profitable, cash flow positive, and fast-growing. The exit of OLX Autos will lead to a significant improvement in the profitability profile of the classifies segment as a whole," Prosus said. Protesters march toward the UIC Forum on March 9, 2023, before a Turning Point USA event featuring far-right speakers Charlie Kirk and Candace Owens. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune) Students from the University of Illinois at Chicago protested a Turning Point USA college event Thursday evening at the UIC Forum featuring far-right speakers Charlie Kirk and Candace Owens. The pair spoke as part of the conservative organizations spring 2023 college tour. Advertisement Andrea Daviera, a graduate student at UIC in the community psychology program, said she was taking part in the protest with about 100 other students because Kirk and Owens are simply known for inciting and saying really bigoted things. UIC Against Hatred, a collective of separate cultural and political student groups that came together after learning about Kirk and Owens appearance, said the rally aims to create a space for students to express their concerns regarding the university granting access to an organization known for targeting minority groups. Advertisement Charlie Kirk and Candace Owens past use of hate speech and discriminatory language against marginalized groups indicates that these figures are in search of furthering divisions and triggering people rather than engaging in meaningful discussion, said a member of UIC Against Hatred who asked to remain anonymous. UIC Against Hatred understands that freedom of speech and civil discussion is an important value to our institution and in this country. However, we believe that discussion and speech should always be approached with a baseline level of humanity and respect for one another, and based on previous TPUSA event livestreams, this has not been the case. The group pursued a nonengagement policy to keep students safe. But TPUSA spokesperson Andrew Kolvet said Thursday that students protesting would be welcome to a debate with Kirk. This is an event that is celebrating free speech and a collision of ideas, Kolvet said. Campuses tend to be wildly progressive places and one of TPUSAs missions is to bring out conservative ideas that students dont often get exposed to but are held by half the country. Daviera said she shouldnt have to debate anyone over basic human rights. Organizers with the UIC Against Hatred coalition said a line could have been drawn, considering UIC is classified as a Minority Serving Institution. I feel like this event is slapping those students in the face, said Asha Edwards, a Black 22-year-old senior at UIC who identifies as gender-fluid. What does UIC stand for if they allow these despicable people on campus? On its website, the Anti-Defamation League Center on Extremism highlighted several instances that point to hate speech from people associated with TPUSA, including co-founder Kirk, who promotes numerous conspiracy theories about election fraud and COVID-19 and has demonized the transgender community, as well as offensive remarks about Muslims and immigrants. On a March 6 episode of The Charlie Kirk Show, which is broadcast on Salem Radio stations across the country, Kirk called transgender people sick. That is just one example of his vitriolic remarks against people of the LGBTQ community, Edwards said. Advertisement Im really concerned because (Kirk and Owens) have very vicious anti-trans rhetoric, which is dehumanizing, Edwards said. In a way, its calling for, in my opinion, their genocide because they dont want trans people to exist, or they want to force kids to de-transition. Shannon Mastey, a junior studying English literature and professional writing, said UIC should not give people like Owens a platform. As a school that sort of touts diversity and equity and supporting the student body, Im here to speak out against the fact that the school is allowing transphobic people who deny racism and hold all these bigoted views to come in and use our campus resources that we are funding, Mastey said. Mastey, who identifies as nonbinary, said Owens transphobic statements are really hurtful. Owens recently encouraged the GOP to speak out on transgenderism, saying there is no middle ground on transgenderism and that if you dont have the courage to say what needs to be said, we truly dont need you. Kolvet said Kirks position on the national debate around biological men is that a biological man with male body parts who identifies as female is still a man and that can be harmful in a setting such as female sports. TPUSAs position is that this is harmful. Does that make that position hateful, or does that make TPUSA your ideological opponent? Kolvet said. To disagree on ideology is not hateful. Advertisement Daviera said disagreements can become hateful when words incite violence. She said, We have a lot of students that dont feel safe with this climate and atmosphere. Kolvet alleged his organization is often misrepresented by progressives. Any allegations or claims from left-wing activists at college campuses or outside groups that Turning Point USA is somehow hateful or is a white supremacist organization or bigoted is 100% categorically untrue and unfair, Kolvet said. To call somebody a white supremacist is a terrible thing to say about anybody and especially to our Black and brown chapter members that go to (UIC) and work in our offices we have people of all backgrounds. Edwards, who keeps a wary eye on the things people like Owens and Kirk promote, said there were several instances where she saw a bigoted stance from Kirk and Owens on certain issues. Edwards cited a 2021 incident when Kirk stood in front of a majority white audience in Minnesota not far from where George Floyd was murdered and called Floyd a scumbag. Owens, former communication director of TPUSA, denied white supremacy is harmful in testimony in front of a U.S. House Oversight Joint Subcommittee hearing in 2019. Advertisement Based on the hierarchy of whats impacting minority Americans, if I had to make a list of 100 things, white nationalism would not make the list. White supremacy and white nationalism is not a problem that is harming Black America, Owens said. According to the Anti-Defamation League, Kirk helped bring hundreds of Donald Trump supporters to a rally in Washington that lead to the insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. 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 > Brian Flood, associate director of Public Affairs at UIC, said the TPUSA event was not sponsored by the university. The university frequently rents available space on campus to individuals or organizations when requested, as was the case for this specific event, Flood said. A UIC rental agreement does not constitute endorsement, sponsorship or support for any particular speaker or organization on campus. Advertisement zsyed@chicagotribune.com sahmad@chicagotribune.com It might be of some concern to shareholders to see the Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) share price down 13% in the last month. But over three years, the returns would have left most investors smiling After all, the share price is up a market-beating 71% in that time. In light of the stock dropping 8.5% in the past week, we want to investigate the longer term story, and see if fundamentals have been the driver of the company's positive three-year return. Check out our latest analysis for Prudential Financial There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time. Over the last three years, Prudential Financial failed to grow earnings per share, which fell 0.7% (annualized). Given the share price resilience, we don't think the (declining) EPS numbers are a good measure of how the business is moving forward, right now. So other metrics may hold the key to understanding what is influencing investors. Interestingly, the dividend has increased over time; so that may have given the share price a boost. Sometimes yield-chasing investors will flock to a company if they think the dividend can grow over time. The company's revenue and earnings (over time) are depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers). Prudential Financial is well known by investors, and plenty of clever analysts have tried to predict the future profit levels. So it makes a lot of sense to check out what analysts think Prudential Financial will earn in the future (free analyst consensus estimates) What About Dividends? It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. Whereas the share price return only reflects the change in the share price, the TSR includes the value of dividends (assuming they were reinvested) and the benefit of any discounted capital raising or spin-off. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. As it happens, Prudential Financial's TSR for the last 3 years was 100%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence! Story continues A Different Perspective We regret to report that Prudential Financial shareholders are down 10% for the year (even including dividends). Unfortunately, that's worse than the broader market decline of 6.6%. Having said that, it's inevitable that some stocks will be oversold in a falling market. The key is to keep your eyes on the fundamental developments. Longer term investors wouldn't be so upset, since they would have made 1.2%, each year, over five years. It could be that the recent sell-off is an opportunity, so it may be worth checking the fundamental data for signs of a long term growth trend. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Prudential Financial better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Prudential Financial you should be aware of. We will like Prudential Financial better if we see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying. Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US exchanges. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. 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 Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that the loose cars were found in the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment. The story has been updated to show that Norfolk Southern was referring to the derailment in Springfield, Ohio. Norfolk Southern the railway company whose train derailed last month in East Palestine, Ohio, contaminating the surrounding area with toxic chemicals announced Thursday night that it had determined that some of its railcars involved in a different derailment had loose wheels. During its cleanup of a derailment site in Springfield, Ohio, Norfolk Southern investigators discovered that a "specific model and series of railcars had loose wheels," the company said in a news release Thursday night. Investigators called the discovery "an urgent safety issue." The wheels came from "a series of recently acquired cars from a specific manufacturer," Norfolk Southern said. Norfolk Southern did not identify the manufacturer, or say if or how many of the railcars specifically involved in the Springfield crash were part of that model and series. The Springfield derailment occurred on Sunday. Twenty cars of a 212-car train derailed, leading about 1,000 residents to shelter in place as a precaution, CBS Pittsburgh reported. About 1,500 people lost power. No toxic chemicals were involved in the derailment. A Norfolk Southern contractor walks away from the tracks as a train approaches on March 9, 2023, in East Palestine, Ohio. / Credit: Michael Swensen / Getty Images The Federal Railroad Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board were "immediately notified and began inspecting other cars from this series on our network," Norfolk Southern said. The company added that the cause of the crash remains under investigation. The announcement came on the same day that Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw appeared before a Senate panel to address the East Palestine crisis and several recent derailments of Norfolk Southern trains, including one that occurred earlier Thursday in Alabama. Shaw vowed the company "will clean the site thoroughly, and with urgency. We are making progress every day." Story continues He added that the company had also slated $20 million for reimbursements and investments for families and first responders effected by the incident. On Feb. 3, a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous materials derailed in a fiery crash in East Palestine. Of the 38 cars that derailed, about 10 contained hazardous materials. Hundreds of residents were evacuated, and crews later conducted a controlled release of toxic chemicals, including vinyl chloride, because of the risk that the derailment could cause an explosion. State and federal officials have faced significant criticism over their response to the East Palestine incident, with local residents concerned that the contamination to the area could pose significant long-term health risks. Melissa Quinn contributed to this report. 11-year-old in wheelchair fulfills dream of playing basketball Tips for dealing with spring allergy symptoms Climate change impacting the U.S. and global wine industries Jeremy Hunt - Kin Cheung/AP The past few weeks have highlighted Rishi Sunaks strengths as a politician: his diligence and attention to detail, and his admirable determination to direct those qualities at difficult issues. Yet next week, at the Budget, he faces an uphill challenge to maintain this good run. First, the fruits of his methodical manner should be applauded. He appears to have made progress on the Northern Ireland Protocol, with both Brexiteers and Remainers believing his negotiations mark an improvement on the present condition. And now we are seeing the same focus on small boat crossings. Today in Paris, he was with President Emmanuel Macron announcing a new era in cross-Channel relations and a joint determination to deepen co-operation on stemming the tide of small boats. We must wait to see if results live up to these positive words, but patience and persistence already look to be delivering progress on a subject of enormous importance. The question is, what happens next? For now Mr Sunak must turn his attention not to solving tricky problems he has inherited, but to outlining a vision of his own. And there is no greater opportunity for doing so than on the matter of Britains post-Brexit economic arrangements. There is much to address. The pandemic has habituated Britons to vast state intervention, to the tentacles of government reaching into every aspect of their private lives. It has normalised overbearing regulation of business and, above all, it has upended Conservative economic policy in favour of high taxes and high spending. The overall tax burden is now heading above 37 per cent of GDP, a post-war high. Even the Labour governments of Harold Wilson in the 1960s and 1970s did not manage that. The results are clear for all to see. Business leaders warn they are being driven from these shores by statist cash grabs, like the NHS drug levy, which pharmaceutical manufacturers complain is vastly in excess of anything anywhere else in the world. Story continues Then there is corporation tax, due to increase next month from 19 per cent to 25 per cent. Faced with what it called such a discouraging tax regime, AstraZeneca last month chose to build a new 320 million factory in Ireland rather than the north of England. Nothing could reveal more starkly that a government which once talked about levelling up is pursuing a fiscal policy that drives away jobs, opportunity and investment for areas that sorely need it. It gets worse. The Bank of England predicts business investment will crumple by more than 5 per cent, both this year and next. Research suggests the corporation tax hike alone may reduce GDP by more than 1 per cent. Together, the corporation tax rise, combined with the scrapping of investment allowances by successive Tory chancellors, will see businesses face a tax take that experts say is the highest it has ever been. To pursue this course is to pursue stagnation and despair. Whatever happens at next weeks Budget, it is essential that Jeremy Hunt, the Chancellor, revives and reinforces this nations reputation as a welcoming environment for business investment. It is through such investment that productivity improves and economic growth is stimulated, so that individuals get richer and sufficient revenues are delivered to fund good public services. The single most important indicator of such an environment is corporation tax. To raise it so significantly would be to kill off Britains image as a good place to do business. Naturally, the Government says reversing such a long-planned hike is impossible. But Mr Sunak said similar about the proposed National Insurance hike last year when he was chancellor, stoutly defending it as both fair and necessary to balance the books. A few months later it was easily abandoned. This shows the downside of the Prime Ministers earnest, diligent approach. Nimbly changing course, painting the big picture of what he wants the country to look like, and signalling that loud and clear to international investors, is not always his way. But he must now shift gear, setting out how he intends to capitalise on the emancipation of Brexit to establish an attractive low-tax, low-regulation regime. He will be able to see the merits of that for himself next week, when he travels to America on Monday for a summit. There, as states compete between themselves, low-tax states like Texas and Florida are thriving. It is a lesson he must pass on to his Chancellor in time for Wednesdays Budget. Ron Baron once told Elon Musk to stop tweeting. Associated Press via Business Wire Tesla investor Ron Baron once emailed Elon Musk and told him to stop tweeting when upset. At the time the email was sent, Musk had called a diver a "pedo." The email was uncovered in a lawsuit against Tesla and Musk over his "funding secured" tweet. Long before Elon Musk became "Chief Twit," Tesla investor Ron Baron once advised the billionaire to stop tweeting when annoyed or angry. "You should not respond to any criticism in the news or on Twitter," Baron told Musk in an email from July 15, 2018 that was uncovered in a lawsuit against Tesla and Musk over his "funding secured" tweet. "The more you react, the more likely they will win," the billionaire investor added. "If something really upsets you, go for a walk around the factory. Get an ice cream cone. Just don't use Twitter." Baron declined to comment on the email. The billionaire founded the investment firm, Baron Capital, and has been an outspoken supporter of Tesla. He has invested large portions of his estate in the electric-car maker. Baron told CNBC that Musk has made him "$5 billion so far, on a $400 million investment." He also poured about $100 million into Twitter during Musk's takeover. At the time Baron sent the email, Musk had called a British cave diver who helped rescue a group of boys that were trapped in a cave a "pedo" on Twitter. Musk apologized for the tweet about three days after Baron's email and the "pedo" comment eventually spawned a defamation lawsuit which Musk won in 2019. In his 2018 email, Baron told Musk to turn the other cheek. "Your job is just to make the cars and sell them and make them better every day," Baron wrote. "That's all. It's a lot. But that is under your control. Media is not. That is the answer. Don't let them distract you from the mission." The Tesla investor also advised Musk to avoid politics and "be unfailingly polite to everyone." Story continues "Be BORING!" Baron wrote to Musk. "Enough excitement about the business. You don't need to add any more personality. Only detracts from mission. Makes you appear unfocused. Makes you vulnerable to criticism." Musk found himself being criticized for his tweets earlier this week, when he alleged that a laid-off Twitter employee with a disability had done "no actual work" and suggesting that he'd used disability "as his excuse," according to one of Musk's tweets from the episode that's still up. After the tweet drove another cycle of chatter online, with another high-profile former Twitter employee subtweeting Musk, an apology followed. Musk tweeted a mea culpa on Tuesday, saying his tweets attacking the disabled employee were "based on things I was told that were untrue or, in some cases, true, but not meaningful." Musk had acknowledged Baron's email when he took the stand in the trial that began mid-January over his tweets in 2018 about taking Tesla private. When an attorney for the plaintiffs showed him the email, Musk offered his own take on Baron's message to him. "He's not saying don't use Twitter, he's saying I shouldn't respond to criticism in the news on Twitter," Musk said on the stand at the time. The trial, which took place in San Francisco federal court over roughly two and half weeks, concluded with a win for Musk, whom a jury found wasn't liable for the tweets. The shareholders are now contesting the verdict in a filing this month, they asked Judge Chen to "set aside" the jury's conclusion in Musk's favor, arguing that the evidence they'd showed had "overwhelmingly established" that Musk's tweets were material in influencing the company's stock. Musk and his attorney Alex Spiro did not respond to Insider's request for comment. Read the full email below. Ron Baron emailed Elon Musk on July 15, 2018. United States District Court, Northern District of California Read the original article on Business Insider Daylight saving time will return at 2 a.m. Sunday when clocks will spring forward one hour and we'll lose that hour of sleep. The good news: The sun will set an hour later for the first time since October. But why do we bother adjusting clocks and circadian rhythms twice a year? With the impending start of spring, here's a brief explainer on what daylight saving time is, how it started, and the effort by some states to make it permanent. In fact, many states including Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont have introduced legislation to abolish the semiannual switch. How did daylight saving time start? The Uniform Time Act established nationwide standards for the observance of daylight saving time when it was signed into law in 1966. Previously, daylight saving time in the United States was not regulated by the federal government, leaving municipalities and states to decide whether to observe the practice and, if so, when it started and ended. In this March 9, 2021, file photo, Electric Time technician Dan LaMoore puts a clock hand onto a 1,000-pound, 12-foot clock constructed in Medfield, Massachusetts, for a resort in Vietnam. It was a haphazard approach. The Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education said it left "transportation industries, including railroads, trucking and airlines with complex and constantly shifting time schedules." And by the mid-20th century, the emerging television industry was finding it difficult to work within patchwork time zones and standards. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, matching clocks with available daylight with more in the evening during the summer and vice versa in the winter saves energy, prevents traffic injuries and reduces crime. Who came up with daylight saving time? The idea, at least according to Encyclopedia Britannica, was first suggested in an essay by Benjamin Franklin in 1784. The first true proponent of daylight saving time, however, was an English builder named William Willett. In 1907, he published a pamphlet called "The Waste of Daylight" that campaigned for advancing clocks in spring and turning them back in fall, according to the National Museum of Scotland. Story continues Moving clocks forward one hour during part of the year would provide more daylight hours after work for the training of the army, increase railway efficiency and reduce lighting expenses, among other benefits, Willett wrote. Willett also encouraged people to get out of bed earlier in the summer to make the most of daylight. Many people probably won't remember Willett fondly because of that, but he didn't seem to care. "Everyone appreciates the long light evenings," Willett wrote in the pamphlet. "Everyone laments their shrinkage as autumn approaches, and nearly everyone has given utterance to a regret that the clear bright light of early morning during spring and summer months, is so seldom seen or used. Nevertheless standard time remains so fixed, that for nearly half the year the sun shines upon the land, for several hours each day while we are asleep." Should the U.S. end daylight saving time? Recent polls have found that only 35% of Americans support resetting their clocks every fall and spring, while 59% want to see daylight saving time made permanent. And that sentiment appears to have translated to legislative action. In the past five years, 19 states have enacted legislation or passed resolutions to provide for year-round daylight saving time, if Congress were to allow such a change and, in some cases, if surrounding states enact the same legislation, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The U.S. Senate passed a bill last March that would have made daylight saving time permanent across the U.S. beginning this year. But the House of Representatives didn't take up the bill, which is called the Sunshine Protection Act. Under the Uniform Time Act, states and territories have the authority to opt out of daylight saving time and switch to standard time, which Arizona, Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands have done. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY NETWORK: Get ready to spring forward: Daylight saving time returns March 12 Georgians, could you be receiving a credit on your power bill for the month of March? Georgia Power officials tell Channel 2 Action News if youre a residential customer your household should expect a one-time bill credit for the month of March. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] According to the power company, their performance in 2022 resulted in excess earnings of $297 million. Because of this overachievement, the power company is set to return $119 million directly to customers by way of credits on their March bill. The other $119 million will be used to help the companys operations which in return is expected to reduce future costs for customers. This comes months after AJC.com reported state regulators at Georgia Public Service Commission approved a plan to allow the power company to raise rates to their customers throughout 2025. TRENDING STORIES: Georgia Power customers using 1,000 kilowatt hours per month will receive a one-time credit of $23 on their bill. Each customers credit will vary based on their 2022 usage. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] IN OTHER NEWS: Archrivals Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed Friday to restore diplomatic relations, a dramatic breakthrough brokered by China after years of soaring tensions between the Middle Eastern powerhouses. The deal, which will see the two leading oil producers reopen embassies in each others capitals, was sealed during a meeting in Beijing a boost to China's efforts to rival the United States as a broker on the global stage. The agreement could put a damper on Israel's ongoing work to normalize relations with its Arab neighbors, and complicate U.S. and other Western powers' bid to contain Iran's nuclear ambitions. The Saudi-Iran talks were held because of a shared desire to resolve the disagreements between them through dialogue and diplomacy, and in light of their brotherly ties, according to a joint communique from Tehran, Riyadh and Beijing that was published by the official Saudi Press Agency. The agreement followed intensive negotiations between Ali Shamkhani, a close adviser to Irans supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khameni, and Saudi Minister of State Musaad bin Mohammed Al-Aiban, according to the statement. It added that the foreign ministers from both countries would meet to implement this, arrange for the return of their ambassadors, and discuss means of enhancing bilateral relations. After the agreement was announced, a White House National Security Council spokesperson told NBC News that the U.S. welcomed any efforts to help end the war in Yemen and de-escalate tensions in the Middle East region. De-escalation and diplomacy together with deterrence are key pillars of the policy President Biden outlined during his visit to the region last year, the spokesperson said. Initial reaction from Israel was not positive. Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett tweeted that it was a dangerous development for his country and a fatal blow to the effort to build a regional coalition against Iran, which has said it intends to wipe the Jewish state off the map. Story continues Simmering tensions Tensions between Sunni Muslim powerhouse Saudi Arabia and Iran, which is majority Shia, have dominated the region for decades. The two countries have been locked in an intensifying struggle, their rivalry exacerbated by proxy conflicts, including the war in Yemen. A Saudi-led coalition armed with U.S. weaponry entered the war on the side of Yemens exiled government and against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in 2015. The conflict has killed more than 150,000 people, created a dire humanitarian crisis and left Riyadh embroiled in a costly war it might be eager to withdraw from to focus on domestic issues. Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam and the site of its two holiest cities, has historically seen itself as the leader of the Muslim world. The Iranian Revolution of 1979 shook Saudi Arabia and other Gulf kingdoms, which saw the new regime in Tehran as a rival. While tensions brewed for years, Saudi Arabia broke off ties in 2016 after protesters stormed its diplomatic posts in Iran and set fire to its embassy in Tehran. Days earlier, Saudi Arabia had executed the prominent Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr. Nimr al-Nimr (Vahid Salemi / AP file) Clearing up the misunderstandings and looking to the future in Tehran-Riyadh relations will definitely lead to the development of regional stability and security, and the increase of cooperation between the countries of the Persian Gulf and the Islamic world to manage the existing challenges, Shamkhani said Friday after signing the deal, according to Press TV. Ties with Washington Saudi Arabia has historically been vital to American interests in the region, but ties between the two countries have been strained by a number of issues, including allegations of Saudi ties to terrorism, in particular to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the U.S. After the CIA concluded that the powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the October 2018 slaying and dismembering of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, Joe Biden vowed during the 2020 election campaign to make the country an international pariah. With global oil supplies affected by Russias war in Ukraine, Biden visited Saudi Arabia last July in a bid to reset ties and encourage efforts to end the war in Yemen. Iranian protesters shout slogans during a demonstration against Saudi Arabia outside its embassy in Tehran (Atta Kenare / AFP via Getty Images file ) The U.S. and Iran, meanwhile, have been increasingly at odds over Tehrans advancing nuclear program, anti-regime protests and its drone deliveries to Russia. Having tried and so far failed to revive the landmark 2015 nuclear deal, the Biden administration has been tightening economic pressure on Iran and has sent a signal that military force remains an option if all other means fail to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons. The 2015 accord, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan for Action or JCPOA, was designed to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons and imposed strict limits on Tehrans nuclear activities in return for an easing of U.S. and international economic sanctions. But then-President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the deal in 2018 and reimposed an array of sanctions. Talks to revive the deal were shelved in recent months amid the Iranian regime's crackdown on the protests. Iran's nuclear ambitions are viewed as a grave threat by Israel, with the two countries involved in an escalating shadow war. Israel has also reportedly been engaged in its own talks with Saudi Arabia about normalizing relations, and it remains to be seen what Friday's deal will mean for its hopes of leveraging mutual rivalry with Iran to improve ties with Arab states. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com Jenna Lee was married throughout college. Jenna Lee I got married at 19 and started college at Ohio State as a married woman. I struggled to connect with students, didn't live in the dorms, and didn't go to parties. Now that I'm divorced, I've realized I missed out on the "normal" college experience and regret it. At 18, I was eager to get out of my living situation. I met a man whom I was interested in, so I rushed the next steps of our relationship. By 19, we tied the knot, and I became a married college student. I, unfortunately, missed out on a lot of the "normal" college experiences because I spent most of the time with my husband and didn't have that much in common with the other students. Now that I'm 35 and divorced, I can't help but feel regret for wasting my college years as a married woman. But I'm now realizing it's never too late to experience youthful adventures. My childhood turned into adulthood before I knew it My childhood was the opposite of normal, and I couldn't wait to leave it behind. My mother used drugs and drank, but I remained a good student. I got good test scores, and wonderful teachers made my college applications shine. Thankfully, I got into Ohio State University. The summer before my freshman year of college, I met my future ex-husband. He was quite a bit older than me, had already graduated college, and was living on his own. We quickly became enamored with each other. I was at his place so often that eventually he said, "You can bring your stuff over if you want." So I did. When his lease was up for renewal, we added my name. When he asked me to marry him, I said yes. Honestly, at that point, I didn't even think to question it. I was 18, we were dating, and it seemed like we were in love, so we did it. I was 19 and he was 25 when we said, "I do." When college started, I felt isolated from my classmates Since I lived with my husband and not in the dorms, I had a very different lifestyle than most students. My whole life was focused on my husband: his friends, his work, and his family. Story continues I scheduled all my classes during the day while he was at work so I could be home to cook his dinner and take care of the house. As a result, I didn't really have friends at school because none of the people I met knew how to interact with a married 19-year-old who didn't go out to party. I went to classes and talked to people, but I never felt like I belonged. My classmates talked about things I wasn't involved in, and it seemed like they were living in a different world. At the time, I thought I was better and that I was more mature than the "kids" around me, but the reality was that I was still a kid. I ended up making it through college in three years, and my husband and I went on to work at the same job together. It wasn't until I was 27 that we divorced. I could've made lifelong college friends and taken trips with them. I could've studied abroad with other students or lived on campus in the dorms. I wish I could've done all those things, but I allowed what turned out to be a messy relationship take control of my life. I wasn't able to explore like you are supposed to in college. I'd already trapped myself in a "forever." Maybe it could have been different if I'd been different if he'd been different. Unfortunately, we can never go back. Now I'm way past college age and looking to make up for the adventures I missed out on I'm engaged again, to a man who is more of a match for who I am and who I want to be. Sometimes, I still think about the things I missed out on in college. I'm slowly coming to terms with it all mostly by doing them all now. After all, there's nothing stopping me from going to parties or the club these days. I can easily travel abroad now. I have responsibilities, of course, but I also have something I didn't have then: money and a newfound perspective. I know who I am now, and I have a partner that is 100% with me and supportive. I'll never get to do college over again, but I can still go on adventures. Read the original article on Insider In this 2009 file photo, an Evergreen Packaging supervisor works in the roll wrap area at Evergreen Packaging in Canton. The mill produces paper for liquid packages and cups, as well as commercial paper. Congressman Chuck Edwards has called for the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate the selling of stock by four of Pactiv Evergreen executives four days before the company announced the closure of its Canton plant, which will result in the projected loss of 1,200 jobs and "be a devastating blow to the town and Haywood County," a release from his office said.Stocks were sold at $11.30 per share. The profits made by the executives are as follows: President and CEO Michael King: $509,776 Chief Legal Officer and Secretary Chandra Mitchell: $63,426 President of Beverage Merchandising Byron Racki: $46,250 Chief Operations Officer Douglas Owensby: $44,849 "Regional crisis":Canton paper mill closing a 'regional crisis,' mayor says; Buncombe also affected Town and union officials protested the sale, Mayor Zeb Smathers calling the sell-off and dividend payoffs also made by the corporation "sickening and cowardly." In a March 9 letter to the chair of the SEC, Edwards, a Republican representing Western North Carolina's 11th District, called the sale "troubling" and potentially illegal. Chuck Edwards Letter to SEC Chairman Gensler by USA TODAY Network on Scribd "Only days before announcing the closure of the plant, several executives at Pactiv Evergreen reportedly sold thousands of shares of the companys stock at $11.30 per share. After the closure of the plant was formally announced, the price of Pactiv Evergreens stocks plunged to $9.73 per share, which allowed these executives to profit by thousands of dollars," he wrote to Chair Gary Gensler. "It would be illegal for anyone to profit from inside information, and it would be reprehensible for them to reap a windfall while workers in my district will soon be struggling even more to provide for their families. I urge you to investigate these actions as insider trading." Visiting Our Past:Champion's heroes supplied Canton with Labor Day worth celebrating After the storm: Families impacted by Tropical Depression Fred reflect on life post-flood Story continues The Citizen Times reached out to Edwards' office the morning of March 10 to ask if Gensler had responded. Pactiv Evergreen officials defended the sell-off, saying it was needed in order to cover taxes. "The sales that were reported in our SEC filings on Monday were sales automatically done by the Company to cover legally required tax withholding and were not discretionary sales made by the executives," spokesperson Beth Kelly said. Kelly did not immediately respond to follow-up questions asking if the sale was the only way possible to cover taxes. Even if legal, the Citizen Times asked if officials now regretted the timing of the sales, done shortly before workers were told they would lose their jobs. Joel Burgess has lived in WNC for more than 20 years, covering politics, government and other news. He's written award-winning stories on topics ranging from gerrymandering to police use of force. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times. This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Chuck Edwards to SEC: Investigate Canton Mill corporate stock sell-off One of 40 Black-owned homes destroyed by rioters in Springfield in 1908. The riot and lynching in Springfield helped lead to the creation of the NAACP. (Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library) U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth have introduced legislation to memorialize the 1908 Springfield Race Riot by making its site a national monument. Its not a minute too soon. In fact, many outside of Illinois are unfamiliar with this tragic piece of American history even after a renewed focus on historic racial violence including widespread commemoration of the century mark of the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921. The terrifying event was incited by the arrest of two Black men after they were accused of crimes against two young white women and the father of one of the women. Before the two could be tried, an angry white mob, enraged by inflammatory press coverage, attempted to lynch them, only to learn the sheriff had secretly transferred them out of the city for their protection. The mob proceeded to burn and terrorize the Black neighborhoods of Springfield, killing residents and destroying businesses. Advertisement Over the past few years, Springfield residents, especially the local NAACP, have done a masterful job telling this story, remembering the victims and garnering bipartisan support for the Durbin-Duckworth legislation. Advocates are also urging the president to take executive action under the Antiquities Act. While I have yet to find anyone who opposes these efforts, Im sure some skeptics may ask, Why insist on bringing up the past? Advertisement For me, and the thousands of Black Americans connected to this tragedy, its not just the past. Its personal. William Donnegan, my great-great-great-granduncle, was murdered during the riot. For the first few decades of my life, I was unaware of my relationship to William or the tragedy in Springfield. I was born in Chicago and placed for adoption as a newborn. At 7 months old, I joined my new family part of the last generation of babies who came out of orphanages. My adoption was sealed, so I had no way to learn the identity of my birth mother. Roughly 10 years ago, the law changed so that if both the parent and child waive confidentiality, both can have access to the original birth certificate. I found my birth mother through an ancestry investigation and Facebook, where I reached out to her with the simple words, I think youre my mom. From this reunion, I unlocked the incredible history of my family. My maternal grandmothers family hailed from Christian County, in western Kentucky. The matriarch, Lee Ann Donnegan, was born in 1794 and had seven children. Spencer, my great-great-great-grandfather was the oldest boy. Though the circumstances are unknown, Lee Ann and her family were emancipated in the 1840s. Records show that she bought the freedom of her husband, and they all moved across the Ohio River to southern Illinois. Two of her sons, Spencer and William, were involved in the Underground Railroad. Spencer was a barber and founding pastor of Springfields first African Methodist Episcopal Church. William was a shoemaker. Press accounts in 1908 note that he made shoes for Abraham Lincoln. On the first day of the riot, the white mob burned homes in predominantly Black neighborhoods and lynched Scott Burton, an older man. William was married to a white woman and thought that would make him a target. He asked for protection from the sheriff or the militia, but none came. On the second day, the rioters came for him. The mob dragged him from his house, cut his throat and hung him in a tree. He died the following day in a hospital a retired 80-year-old man who had built successful businesses and helped people escape slavery and was a pillar of his community. The home of Scott Burton, a Black barber, in 1908. He was beaten unconscious and his home burned. The mob then dragged him to the corner of 12th and Madison streets where he was hanged from a tree in front of a saloon. (Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library) The Illinois National Guard patrols a street in Springfield in 1908. The Guard was called to restore order after two days of racial terror that saw Black men tortured and lynched. (Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library) William was laid to rest in the same cemetery as Lincoln, the Great Emancipator albeit in what was then called the colored section. His murder garnered national attention and helped spur the creation of the NAACP on Feb. 12, 1909. Long before learning my familys story, I felt called to help eliminate racial injustice and seek fairness and accountability through reforms to our broken justice system. From my 17 years as a public defender in California to my work with communities on the South and West sides of Chicago, I have seen what happens when the call for help and justice is not answered. I have designed and implemented evidence-based violence prevention and police accountability strategies. Advertisement We have made great strides in this country on bipartisan criminal justice reforms, violence reduction policies and police reforms that advance racial equity and make our communities safer. And yet, more than a century after the Springfield Race Riot, through Jim Crow, redlining, the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., all the way to the senseless murder of George Floyd and beyond, Black people are still calling to be safe. So why dredge up the past? Because it is reflected in our present. And to change hearts and minds and enact critical reforms, we must continue to lift these stories, constant reminders of how far weve come, and how far we must go. I can think of no better way to honor the memory of the victims of the 1908 Springfield Race Riot, including my great-great-great-granduncle William, than by passing the bill that would create a monument. Doing so can help us work toward the day when the senseless killings of Black men are not the norm, and history stops repeating itself. Walter Katz is vice president of criminal justice at the philanthropic organization Arnold Ventures. Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com. Donald Trump. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images Attorneys for former President Donald Trump have been told that Trump can testify before a Manhattan grand jury next week, four people familiar with the matter told The New York Times. The grand jury has been hearing evidence regarding Trump's role in making hush money payments to Stormy Daniels, a porn star who said she had an affair with him in 2006. This offer to testify is a strong sign an indictment is close, as potential defendants in New York have the right to testify before a grand jury prior to being indicted, and it's rare for a district attorney to notify a potential defendant without going on to seek charges, the Times reports. Most potential defendants choose not to appear before the grand jury. Trump's former attorney and fixer, Michael Cohen, paid Daniels $130,000 shortly before the 2016 presidential election, and was later reimbursed by Trump. Prosecutors in Manhattan began investigating the matter in 2018, and Cohen, who pleaded guilty to federal campaign finance charges for his role in the hush money payments, has spoken with them and is expected to testify before the grand jury. If Trump does become the first former American president to be indicted, "convicting him or sending him to prison will be challenging," the Times says, because the case would be based on "an untested and therefore risky legal theory" of combining the criminal charge falsifying business records with a violation of state election law; prosecutors would argue that the $130,000 payment was an improper donation to Trump's campaign, as Daniels' silence benefited Trump's candidacy. Read more at The New York Times. You may also like Egyptian archeologists discover Sphinx from 1st century A.D. How Republicans are reacting to Tucker Carlson's 'off the rails' Jan. 6 stunt Codeword: March 8, 2023 PROVIDENCE Charlene Liberty died last April after struggling for years with mental illness, but her allegations of inhumane treatment in Rhode Island's state prison prompted an ongoing lawsuit and a renewed effort by lawmakers and former inmates on Thursday to sharply restrict the use of solitary confinement. In an interview in May 2020, Department of Correction spokesman J.R. Ventura was quoted as saying: "There is no such thing as solitary confinement anymore, where inmates are isolated or deprived of human contact." Even in the most extreme of cases, where an inmate is a severe management problem, they are not placed in a solitary environment, Ventura said. People here have regular human interactions and their constitutional rights are respected." But the lawsuit pending in U.S. District Court tells a different story, and at least two former inmates at the Adult Correctional Institutions in Cranston and the sister of a third headed to the State House on Thursday to tell their stories in an effort to persuade state lawmakers to end what they call "torture" in the ACI. More on Charlene Liberty:Death of former inmate, Slater patient raises profile of lawsuit over treatment in prison Exterior of the maximum security unit at the ACI. What's in the Solitary Confinement Reform Act? Their efforts center on the latest version of an oft-seen bill to limit - rather than fully ban - the use of solitary confinement, which this year has been titled: the "Solitary Confinement Reform Act." The aim: to limit what the state calls "restrictive housing" to "circumstances that pose a clear and direct threat" to other inmates and staff "for the shortest time possible," subject to review by a "restrictive housing oversight committee." The minimum requirement: "four hours out-of-cell each day." The sponsors include Senators Jonathon Acosta, Tiara Mack, Joshua Miller, Meghan Kallman, Melissa Murray and Senate Judiciary Chairwoman Dawn Euer. Charlene Liberty's sister says she went from depressed to severely suicidal because of solitary confinement Charlene Liberty was the lead plaintiff in a pending lawsuit in U.S. District Court that lives beyond her death. Story continues At the time of filing, the lawsuit described the then-36-year-old Charlene as a woman with "a long history of mental illness who attempted suicide ... and self-mutilation." "On May 16, 2019, after her return from the psychiatric hospital to [the Rhode Island Department of Corrections] she was immediately placed in the solitary confinement unit as punishment for her suicidal behavior," the lawsuit alleges. "On June 4, 2019, [she] was still in solitary confinement," where she was allegedly driven to even more "serious self-injurious behaviors, including multiple suicide attempts." The state's response: "When appropriate due to her behavior, plaintiff was housed in a suicide resistant cell in the Womens Facility." Charlene Liberty died on April 7, 2022, less than two months after she was discharged from the psychiatric wing of Eleanor Slater Hospital under circumstances that are still being investigated by the nonprofit agency Disability Rights Rhode Island. Her sister, Elisha Liberty, appeared at Thursday's State House news conference to tell Charlene's story. More on Charlene Liberty:'Victim of the system': Protest demands change after death of ex-Slater Hospital patient Breanna Liberty Policastro wears a T-shirt bearing a photo of her mother, Charlene Liberty. "Before her passing, I watched my [sister's] mental health decline due to the conditions and regulations of solitary confinement. She went from depression to severely suicidal." "She was seeing faces on walls and hearing voices that werent there. When she would cry, the correctional officers would shackle her and spray mace into her face to shut her up." "To escape this trauma, she climbed on top of a sink and dove head first into the [floor] in an attempt to break her own neck, resulting in her being in a coma for a couple of days." Speaking out against solitary are those who lived it Brandon Robinson led the news conference with a story of his own time inside. Robinson went to prison for his role in the December 2002 robbery and murder of 19-year-old Joel Jackson in a Cheshire Street apartment in a botched attempt to steal Jackson's gold chain and medallion. Robinson, who was himself shot during the confrontation, pleaded no contest to second-degree murder, first-degree robbery, assault with a dangerous weapon and conspiracy, according to an October 2005 Journal report. He was released in 2019. He is now working toward a masters degree in public administration from URI. He founded the Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Initiative (jdpiri.org), which provides mentoring to at-risk-youth. Now a community organizer with OpenDoors, an organization that works with ex-convicts, Robinson asked lawmakers last year to "imagine you were locked inside your bathroom for 8,395 hours. What would you do? How would you pass the time? No matter how hard you try to open the door, it won't open. No matter how long you cry, it won't open .... How would you feel? How would you cope mentally, emotionally and physically?" "Imagine ... you are allowed [out] only one hour each day ... a total of 360 hours per year." The rest of the time, "You are allowed limited if any access to educational programming, medical treatment, mental health treatment ... books, magazines, food, hygiene and no TV to pass the time." "Our goal with this bill is not to end solitary confinement, but to reform solitary confinement," he said. Robinson said he was in the equivalent of solitary for about eight months over the course of his incarceration, but "I've seen people get 10 days in [segregation] for taking things out of the chow hall 'cause they was hungry ... five days in 'seg' for not tucking in their shirt ... 30 days in segregation for using somebody else's [pin] to call their family just because they didn't have no money on their phone," he said during an appearance last year before legislators. DOC says reforms undermine its ability to 'run a safe, secure, humane system' Speaking to lawmakers last year, then-Department of Corrections head Patricia Coyne-Fague urged legislators to take into account the difficulties in maintaining a "safe" environment in a prison, where "5 to 15% of our population present with serious and persistent mental illness ... and substance-abuse histories (70 to 80% of our population)." She aimed her sharpest warnings at a provision that has resurfaced this year to ban the placement of any prisoner under age 22, over age 60 or "a member of a vulnerable population ... on disciplinary confinement'' unless they "present an immediate and present danger and there is no reasonable alternative." She said that would "undermine" the state's ability to "run a safe, secure and humane system,'' effectively allowing an inmate to "commit any type of offense (i.e., sexual assault, murder, attempted murder, violent assaults, etc.) with complete impunity." But Morna Murray, the head of Disability Rights RI, says a ban needs to be "part of a larger plan to address the behavioral-health needs of inmates, including the very trauma of being in prison." This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Rhode Island may ban solitary confinement. What's in the bill. Rhode Island had 142 reported incidents of white supremacist propaganda last year, marking a 74% increase over 2021 and reflecting an all-time high nationwide, the Anti-Defamation League said in its annual assessment. Nationally, the ADL recorded 6,751 incidents up 38% from 2021. Five states, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire, which comprise the ADL New England region, had an "astounding" 96% increase in recorded propaganda activity from 2021 with each state noting an increase," the ADL said. Patriot Front and Nationalist Social Club (NSC) were the most active groups across the region, with Patriot Front responsible for 909 of the 951 incidents in New England, the ADL said. More on extremism in RI:White extremism is on the rise in New England. Here's what's happening in Rhode Island. White supremacist incidents in Rhode Island last year Incidents in Rhode Island included 15 to 20 people showing a Nazi flag and disrupting a reading of "The Communist Manifesto" at a small Providence reading room in February, as well as the placing of packages with "racially charged" messages on lawns in Warwick in November. In June, two Rhode Island men were accused of posting white nationalist recruiting flyers on utility poles in East Providence. In September, they pleaded no contest to obstructing police and were sentenced to 20 hours of community service. In neighboring Massachusetts, the white nationalist hate group Patriot Front marched through Boston Common in July, according to the ADL. Racist and anti-Semitic banners were displayed at Bostons St. Patricks Day parade and on the Route 1 overpasses in Danvers and Saugus, Massachusetts on Sept. 11. 'People have to know what happened': Holocaust survivor, Guatemalan refugee share stories Propaganda activities in New England states included gatherings by white supremacists with anti-Semitic, racist, anti-immigrant and anti-LGBTQ+ messages at local bookstores, libraries, theaters, shelters and hospitals, the ADL said. Story continues White supremacist propaganda has the dual and devious purpose to intimidate specific groups and lure others to join their hateful activities, said Peggy Shukur, ADL New England interim regional director. "Too many of these groups have set New England as their home base. With deliberation and intention, they target their hate against Jewish, Black, Muslim and LGBTQ+ communities and non-white immigrants through despicable and disruptive stunts on freeway overpasses and public events, including the St. Patricks Day parade." In February 2022, members of the the Nationalist Social Club disrupted a reading of "The Communist Manifesto" at the Red Ink Community Library in Providence. What white supremacist groups are active in Rhode Island? The National Social Club, also called NSC-131, is the group that disrupted a reading of "The Communist Manifesto" at the Red Ink Community Library in Providence Feb. 21, 2022. The ADL describes the National Social Club as "a neo-Nazi group with small, autonomous regional chapters in the United States and abroad," including Rhode Island. The group pounded on windows and shouted during the reading, according to people who attended. A video taken from inside the library showed masked protesters chanting and holding at least one large red, white and black flag displaying symbols of a Nazi SS security squad. Nazis attacked a book reading tonight in providence pic.twitter.com/gWS2pO8wJg Third Intl Players Anthem (@guateguanaco) February 22, 2022 Another group that was active in Rhode Island, the Goyim Defense League, was the main player in a "massive uptick" in anti-Semitic propaganda across the country, according to the ADL. Reported incidents of explicitly anti-Semitic propaganda more than doubled, rising from 352 incidents in 2021 to 852 in 2022. Shukur said people can report incidents at the ADL's website, www.adl.org/reportincident. She also delivered some encouraging news. "In the face of ever increasing propaganda activities in the region," Shukur said, "we have witnessed communities uniting throughout New England to reject this hate." This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Patriot Front, NSC-131 in Rhode Island drive white supremacist incidents Richard Madeley has defended Gary Linekers criticism of the governments new asylum policy, saying that calls to sack the Match of the Day host are preposterous. Lineker, 62, has faced criticism from members of the Tory party, after comparing the language used to launch the controversial policy with that of 1930s Germany. During an appearance on Question Time on Thursday night (9 March), Madeley said: Clearly, if [Lineker] was a political journalist, political presenter or interviewer in any of the areas of the BBC that were talking about, like Newsnight, then clearly he shouldnt have made those comments. Those comments would be a dereliction of duty and deeply compromising to his programme, to himself, future interviews and of course to the BBC, which is publicly funded by us. But hes a sports presenter; he talks about football and games and tactics, and headers and corners and referees and league tables and all the rest of it. And quite how not having the right to have the freedom of speech on not even on any of his programmes but on his Twitter page, to say anything he likes within in the law, escapes me. The Good Morning Britain presenter, 66, described calls to muzz and muffle Lineker as preposterous, adding: Its ridiculous to suggest that he should be sacked. Madeley did, however, criticise Lineker drawing parallels between the UK government and Nazi Germany, saying: Its an insult to the minorities and the Jewish nation who were subject to acts of genocide by the then German dictatorship. Home Secretary Suella Braverman also accused Lineker of diminishing the Holocaust after he made the comments. The controversial policy proposed by Braverman would seek to remove asylum seekers and ban them from re-entry if they arrive in the UK through unauthorised means. Gary Lineker (PA) She said: They will not stop coming here until the world knows that if you enter Britain illegally you will be detained and swiftly removed. Removed back to your country if it is safe, or to a safe third country like Rwanda ... That is how we will stop the boats. Story continues Only children under the age of 18, and those who are unfit to fly or at a real risk of serious and irreversible harm an exceedingly high bar will be able to delay their removal, Braverman said. Any other claims will be heard remotely after removal. Braverman admitted that new laws may break the Human Rights Act by failing to comply the European Convention on Human Rights. She was also accused of inflammatory language for suggesting that 100 million asylum seekers could come to the UK without her planned immigration crackdown. Traffic in Hollywood has been and will continue to be affected by Sunday's 95th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre. (Jay L. Clendenin / For The Times) The stars are out and the streets are closed in anticipation of Sunday's 95th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard. The run-up to the ceremony has already led to several street closures, which will continue through the weekend and beyond. The event itself, hosted by comedian Jimmy Kimmel and broadcast on ABC, is scheduled to begin Sunday at 5 p.m. So fill out your Oscars brackets (hint: always bet on "Everything Everywhere All At Once") and steer clear of the most famed, glitzy stretches on Hollywood Boulevard over the next couple of days if possible. Here's a guide to all the traffic disruptions you can expect to see and hope to avoid in Hollywood: Leading up to Sunday Since March 2, all lanes of Hollywood Boulevard from Highland Avenue to Orange Drive have been closed to vehicles. Orchid Alley, which is one street north of Hollywood Boulevard, has been closed from Orchid Street to Orange Drive since Feb. 19. A portion of Hawthorn Alley, which is directly behind the El Capitan Theatre, has been closed since March 5. Hawthorn Avenue will be closed from Highland Avenue to Orange Drive from Friday until Monday at 6 a.m. Orange Drive from Orchid Alley to Hollywood Boulevard will close from 6 a.m. Saturday until 6 a.m. Monday. Johnny Grant Way will close from Highland Avenue to Orchid Street beginning 10 p.m. Saturday until 6 a.m. Monday. On Sunday The following stretches will be closed to traffic from 4 a.m. Sunday to 4 a.m. Monday: Highland Avenue from Sunset Boulevard to Franklin Avenue Hollywood Boulevard from Cahuenga Boulevard to La Brea Avenue Wilcox Avenue from Sunset Avenue to Cahuenga Boulevard, except for local traffic and emergency vehicles Hawthorn Avenue from La Brea Boulevard to McCadden Place, except for local traffic and emergency vehicles in certain spots Yucca Street from Highland Avenue to Wilcox Avenue, except for local traffic and emergency vehicles McCadden Place from Yucca Street to Hollywood Boulevard, except for local traffic and emergency vehicles Orange Drive from Hollywood Boulevard to Lanewood Avenue (closing Sunday at 12:01 a.m. and reopening Monday at 6 a.m.) Story continues For Metro users (we see you), the Hollywood/Highland station will be bypassed all day Sunday. Oscars road hangovers All lanes on Hollywood Boulevard from Highland Avenue to Orange Drive will remain closed until 6 a.m. March 15. Hawthorn Alley reopens at 6 a.m. March 15. Orchid Alley from Orchid Street to Orange Drive will reopen March 18 at 8 a.m. For a detailed look at all of the closures, here's a map provided by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Al Seib/Reuters Robert Blake, the Hollywood star famous for playing a TV detective on Baretta and infamous as the suspect in his wifes shooting death, has died at the age of 89, the Associated Press reported. The cause of death was heart disease, his family said. Blake was acquitted of murdering his second wife Bonny Lee Bakley outside a restaurant in 2001, but a civil jury later found him liable for her death and ordered him to pay her family $30 million. In a 2019 interview with ABCs 20/20, Blake adopted a defiant tone when talking about his tumultuous life. I'm 85 years old, I'm beat up all to hell and gone but I'm still here, he said. I aint stick a gun in my mouth. Im not juicing. I aint taking dope, he added. I keep waiting for God to jump in, but he doesnt owe me anything, because Ive been paid in full a thousand times over. If you live to be 1,000, youll never be anybody with more miracles in their life than me. Blake was born Mickey Gubitosi in New Jersey and began his career in show business as a child, playing Mickey in the Our Gang comedy series. By his own account, he became a teenage criminal and even did jail time before he enlisted in the military. After his discharge, he returned to acting and scored roles in a series of movies, winning rave reviews for his portrayal of convicted murderer Perry Smith in the film adaptation of Truman Capotes In Cold Blood. He achieved real stardom in the 1970s with the series Baretta, playing an undercover cop with a penchant for disguises and a pet parrot named Fred. He won an Emmy for his work on the show. His career was in the doldrums when he met Bakleya celebrity-chasing scam artist who was involved with Marlon Brandos son, Christian. She got pregnant, and Blake married her in 1999. Two years later, Blake found himself at the center of a real-life drama. Bakley was shot to death in a car outside a Studio City restaurant, supposedly while Blake ran back into the eatery to retrieve a gun he accidentally left there. Story continues Blake with his older daughter Delina and 11-month-old daughter, Rosie, at the grave site for his murdered wife Bonny Lee Bakley in 2001. Reuters Police charged him and his bodyguard with the slaying. We believe the motive is that Blake had contempt for Bonny Bakley, said then-LAPD Chief Bernard Parks said at the time. He felt he was trapped in a marriage that he wanted no part of. After a sensational trial, the jury found Blake not guilty, citing flimsy evidence and unreliable witnesses. Blake broke down weeping in the courtroom upon hearing the verdict. He was not as lucky in civil court, where the burden of proof was lower. The jury voted 10-2 that he was responsible and he was ordered to pay $30 million to Bakleys family, although that sum was lowered in a settlement. Blake, forced into bankruptcy and with no hope of a career comeback, also lost custody of his daughter, Rosie, who was raised by her half-sister and did not see her father between the ages of 5 and 17. She reconnected with him in 2018, she told People. We talked about my childhood, she said. We talked about his life, what hes been doing. Just talked about everything. Blake maintained his innocence until the end. I was worth $40 million, he told 20/20. I would hire somebody to shoot my wife in a car while I was out taking a pee or some bullsh*t thing like that? I've been in Hollywood all my life. 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. Obit Robert Blake (1977 AP) Robert Blake, the star of the 1970s show Baretta has died aged 89, his family announced Thursday (9 March). The Emmy-winning performers career became mired in controversy after he was tried and acquitted in the killing of his wife in the early Noughties. A statement shared on behalf of his niece, Noreen Austin, said Blake died from heart disease, surrounded by family at home in Los Angeles. Blake had once hoped for a comeback, but he never recovered from the long ordeal, which began with the shooting death of his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, outside a Studio City restaurant on May 4, 2001. The story of their strange marriage, the child it produced and its violent end was a Hollywood tragedy played out in court. Once hailed as among the finest actors of his generation, Blake became better known as the defendant in a real-life murder trial, a story more bizarre than any in which he acted. In a 2002 interview with The Associated Press while he was jailed awaiting trial, he bemoaned the change in his status with his fans nationwide: It hurt because America is the only family I had. Robert Blake (AP 2003) He was adamant that he had not killed his wife and a jury ultimately acquitted him. But a civil jury would find him liable for her death and order him to pay Bakley's family $30m (25m), a judgment which sent him into bankruptcy. It was an ignominious finale for a life lived in the spotlight from childhood. As a youngster, he starred in the Our Gang comedies and acted in a movie classic, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. As an adult, he was praised for his portrayal of real-life murderer Perry Smith in the movie of Truman Capote's In Cold Blood. His career peaked with the 1975-78 TV cop series, Baretta. He starred as a detective who carried a pet cockatoo on his shoulder and was fond of disguises. It was typical of his specialty, portraying tough guys with soft hearts, and its signature line: Don't do the crime if you can't do the time, was often quoted. Story continues Blake won a 1975 Emmy for his portrayal of Tony Baretta, although behind the scenes the show was wracked by disputes involving the temperamental star. He gained a reputation as one of Hollywood's finest actors, but one of the most difficult to work with. In 1993, Blake won another Emmy as the title character in, Judgment Day: the John List Story, portraying a soft-spoken, churchgoing man who murdered his wife and three children. His personal saga was as dramatic as any of the characters he portrayed and later he admitted to having his own struggles with alcohol and drug addiction in his early life. He was born Michael James Gubitosi on Sept. 18, 1933, in Nutley, New Jersey. His father, an Italian immigrant and his mother, an Italian American, wanted their three children to succeed in show business. At age 2, Blake was performing with a brother and sister in a family vaudeville act called, The Three Little Hillbillies. When his parents moved the family to Los Angeles, his mother found work for the kids as movie extras and little Mickey Gubitosi was plucked from the crowd by producers who cast him in the Our Gang comedies. He appeared in the series for five years and changed his name to Bobby Blake. He went on to work with Hollywood legends, playing the young John Garfield in Humoresque in 1946 and the little boy who sells Humphrey Bogart a crucial lottery ticket in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. In adulthood, he landed serious movie roles. The biggest breakthrough was in 1967 with In Cold Blood. Later there were films including, Tell Them Willie Boy is Here and Electra Glide in Blue. In 1961, Blake and actress Sondra Kerr married and had two children, Noah and Delinah. They divorced in 1983. His fateful meeting with Bakley came in 1999 at a jazz club where he went to escape loneliness. Here I was, 67 or 68 years old. My life was on hold. My career was stalled out, he said in the AP interview. Id been alone for a long time. He said he had no reason to dislike Bakley: She took me out of the stands and put me back in the arena. I had something to live for. When Bakley gave birth to a baby girl, she named Christian Brando son of Marlon as the father. But DNA tests pointed to Blake. Blake first saw the little girl, named Rosie, when she was two months old and she became the focus of his life. He married Bakley because of the child. Rosie is my blood. Rosie is calling to me, he said. I have no doubt that Rosie and I are going to walk off into the sunset together. Prosecutors would claim that he planned to kill Bakley to get sole custody of the baby and tried to hire hitmen for the job. But the evidence was muddled and a jury rejected that theory. On her last night alive, Blake and his 44-year-old wife dined at a neighbourhood restaurant, Vitellos. He claimed she was shot when he left her in the car and returned to the restaurant to retrieve a handgun he had inadvertently left behind. Police were initially baffled and Blake was not arrested until a year after the crime occurred. Once a wealthy man, he spent millions on his defence and wound up living on social security and a Screen Actors Guild pension. In a 2006 interview with the AP a year after his acquittal, Blake said he hoped to restart his career. Id like to give my best performance, he said. Id like to leave a legacy for Rosie about who I am. Im not ready for a dog and fishing pole yet. Id like to go to bed each night desperate to wake up each morning and create some magic. Additional Reporting from The Associated Press Only days before the ComEd Four trial is set to begin, Gov. J.B. Pritzkers office announced Friday that Illinois Commerce Commission Chair Carrie Zalewski, whose father-in-law is tied to the federal court case, will resign in June from her position overseeing the states utilities. Zalewskis father-in-law, former 23rd Ward Ald. Mike Zalewski, is expected to figure prominently in the trial, which is set to begin next week, over allegations that payments from Commonwealth Edison were funneled his way. He has not been charged with any wrongdoing. Advertisement Carrie Zalewski has abstained on major ComEd issues before the ICC since federal agents raided her father-in-laws house four years ago. The raid was one of the earliest major moves in the federal investigation centered on then-House Speaker Michael Madigan. Cayli Baker, an ICC spokesperson, said Carrie Zalewskis resignation from the $144,000-a-year post before her five-year term is up has nothing to do with the upcoming trial. Baker said Zalewski has not been interviewed by federal authorities and that she has never been a subject in the far-reaching investigation. Advertisement Several factors went into the chairmans decision to wind down just before the end of her term, Baker said. After 17 years in public service, she is ready for a new challenge and made this decision in partnership with her family. Zalewski is married to former state Rep. Mike Zalewski, a Riverside Democrat who was defeated in a reelection bid last year. Pritzker said he will nominate former ICC Chairman Doug Scott to lead the agency. The vice president of a nonprofit clean energy organization, Scott is a former state representative from Rockford who also has run the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. Other Pritzker nominations to the ICC are Stacey Paradis, executive director of the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, and Conrad Reddick, an attorney who once represented the Illinois Industrial Energy Consumers and worked as a lawyer for the city of Chicago on utility matters. With the governors office making two other commissioner appointments, the chairman (Carrie Zalewski) also wanted to give the agency the opportunity to appoint a new leader alongside the new additions, Baker said. Former Ald. Zalewskis house was raided in May 2019 along with those of other figures in the ComEd scandal, including former utility lobbyist Mike McClain, a longtime Madigan confidant. Ald. Michael Zalewski, 23rd, in City Council Chambers on Oct. 10, 2012. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune) McClain goes on trial Tuesday, along with former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, and lobbyists John Hooker and Jay Doherty, on sweeping bribery-related charges tied to the utilitys efforts to get Madigans support for its agenda in Springfield. Madigan and McClain have been charged in a separate case arising from the scandal. They have denied wrongdoing. Advertisement The federal case involves an array of alleged bribery and conspiracy schemes carried out from 2011 to 2019, including a plot to steer ComEd payments for little or no-work jobs to members of Madigans vast political operation. For example, ComEd allegedly agreed in May 2018 to pay $5,000 a month to the retiring Ald. Zalewski as part of payments to a roster of Madigan allies, according to prosecutors. Madigan put Carrie Zalewskis name on a large list of people he recommended for jobs in the Pritzker administration, but the governors office has played down any influence Madigans list had on her appointment, according to WBEZ-FM. Baker said Zalewskis qualifications for the ICC post speak for themselves. To suggest otherwise ignores the wealth of experience and training that qualifies her to lead the commission. Zalewski was named to the ICC post in April 2019. She is trained as an engineer and a lawyer who previously spent nine years on the Illinois Pollution Control Board, worked at the Illinois Department of Transportation and is viewed as a fair and independent regulator. Baker said. rlong@chicagotribune.com Advertisement Twitter @RayLong Robert Blake, the controversial actor who won a Lead Actor Emmy for Baretta and starred in films including In Cold Blood and Lost Highway before a murder trial ended his career, died today of heart disease in Los Angeles. He was 89. His niece, Noreen Austin, confirmed the news. Blakes long career ranged from a childhood stint in Our Gang at age 5 through major films and television before he was acquitted of murder in the 2001 death of his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley. More from Deadline Related Story Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2023: Photo Gallery & Obituaries Related Story Denise Russo Dies: 'The X-Life' Star Was 44 Related Story Tom Jackson Dies: 'Queer Eye' Reboot Season One Makeover Recipient Was 63 Over the course of 60+ years of working in Hollywood, Blake appeared in such classic films as Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) alongside Humphrey Bogart; In Cold Blood (1967) with John Forsythe; as well as a range of studio Westerns using the stage name of Bobby Blake during the 1940s. His final feature film role was in Lost Highway (1997), directed by David Lynch. In television, Blake was best known for his role as streetwise undercover detective Tony Baretta in Baretta, which aired for four seasons on ABC from 1975-78. He was an Emmy Award For Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 1975 and was nominated again for the role in 1977. He also earned two other Emmy noms during his career, for lead actor in the miniseries Blood Feud (1983) and Judgment Day: The John List Story (1993). Baretta was created by prolific TV writer-creator Stephen J. Cannell and featured the memorable theme song Keep Your Eye on the Sparrow, sung by Sammy Davis Jr. It was a spinoff from another ABC crime drama, Toma, that debuted in 1973. But the shows star, Tony Mustane, grew weary of the weekly production grind, so ABC brass decided to recast Blake in the role and retitle the series Toma Starring Robert Blake. But a few format tweaks later, Baretta was born. Story continues The series debuted as a replacement show in January 1975 and finished its first season in the Top 25 among primetime shows. It leapt into the Top 10 for Season 2 fueled by the lead characters catchphrases including And thats the name of that tune and You can take that to the bank but would be canceled in 1978 after 80-plus episodes. Several years later, Blake was cast as the lead of NBC drama Hell Town. He played Father Noah Rivers, aka Hardstep, who pretty much was Baretta in priestly garb, trying to bring hope to the East L.A. parish of St. Dominics. The series lasted only a handful of episodes in 1985. On television, fans also watched Blake on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, where he was a recurring guest who appeared in funny skits with longtime friend Johnny Carson and other featured celebrities. He is also remembered as a pitchman in commercials for STP, Geico and others. But there was also a darker side to the Blake story. Bakley, Blakes second wife, was found shot to death outside of Vitellos restaurant in the San Fernando Valley in 2001, after the couple had dined there. Blake told police that he had gone back into the restaurant to retrieve a handgun hed left on the floor of their booth. Blake was charged with Bakleys murder in 2002, along with solicitation of murder, conspiracy and special circumstances of lying in wait. But a jury found him not guilty of the crimes in 2005 after a widely watched three-month trial saw Blake weep into the shoulder of his lawyer after the jury acquitted him. The seven men and five women found him not guilty of soliciting a former stunt double whom he met on the Baretta set to kill his wife. And though Bakleys children won a wrongful-death suit against Blake shortly thereafter, her killing officially remains unsolved. During the course of the trial, their unhappy marriage details became sensational news fodder. It was revealed that Bakley had at least a dozen aliases and 10 former husbands. The defense contended she had trapped Blake into an unloving marriage by becoming pregnant with his child after first saying the father was Christian Brando, son of Oscar winner Marlon Brando. Thus, the motive for Blake, who referred to his wife as a pig, was established. But the jury didnt believe the stuntmans testimony, thanks to his history of drug abuse. The judge ordered that Blake be given back his passport and $1.5 million bail. In his later years, Blake wrote his memoir, The Life of a Rascal, and lived quietly in the Los Angeles area. A private memorial service will be held to honor his life. In lieu of flowers, his family requests that donations be made to City of Hope. Erik Pedersen contributed to this report. 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. Robert Blake speaking in jail while awaiting trial for murder - Zuma Press/Alamy Robert Blake, who has died aged 89, was an actor who was best known for the film In Cold Blood and the police series Baretta, but his career ended when he stood trial for the murder of his wife; he was acquitted in a criminal court but was later ordered to pay millions of dollars to her children. In 2001 he had had dinner at an Italian restaurant in Los Angeles with his second wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, and by his account he had left her in their car while he went back inside to retrieve a gun he had left behind. When he returned, he claimed, she had been shot in the head. In 2005 the case went to trial he had spent a year in prison on remand after initially being denied bail but he was acquitted, drawing comparisons with OJ Simpson. His bodyguard Earle Caldwell was cleared of conspiracy charges. Robert Blake in In Cold Blood - ullstein bild Dtl. But when Bonny Lee Bakleys three children sued, a judge found Blake liable for her death and ordered him to pay them $30 million, which was halved on appeal because of her criminal record before their marriage; he filed for bankruptcy and never worked again. He was born Michael James Vijencio Gubitosi in Nutley, New Jersey, on September 18 1933; his mother was Elizabeth, nee Cafone, while his factory-worker father was Giacomo, or James. The family moved to Los Angeles, and from the age of five Mickey Gubitosi, as he was initially credited, was dancing in shows alongside his two siblings in an act named the Three Little Hillbillies. But his childhood, he recalled, was brutal: he was sexually and physically abused by both his parents, and said he was locked in cupboards and forced to eat from the floor. He became a child actor, mostly credited as Bobby Blake, appearing in several of the Our Gang movie series, and by the time he had a bit part as a young Mexican selling lottery tickets in John Hustons 1948 Western The Treasure of Sierra Madre he had made nearly 90 film appearances, including many as the Native American lad Little Beaver in the Red Ryder Westerns. Story continues He went on to establish himself as a constant small-screen presence in such series as Laramie and The Naked City, then in 1967 he starred as the real-life killer Perry Smith in Richard Brookss film adaptation of Truman Capotes non-fiction novel In Cold Blood. Blake had been keen to get the part he said, because of a question in his mind: Everybody knows what a murderer is a millionth of a second after he pulls the trigger, he said. But what is he a millionth of a second before he pulls the trigger? Blake in 1975 as Tony Baretta - ABC Photo Archives After some unremarkable films he had the biggest role of his career in four series (1975-77) of Baretta, winning an Emmy and a Golden Globe as Tony Baretta, an unorthodox detective often seen with his pet cockatoo on his shoulder. By then he had already made a name as a reliably entertaining guest on The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson; on one memorable occasion he goaded his fellow-guest Orson Welles for his considerable girth. Welles replied that while he could lose weight, Blake would always be stupid. In the mid-1980s Blake was nominated for another Emmy as a tough-talking Catholic priest in the TV series Hell Town. But while his career had flourished despite his reputation as a difficult perfectionist his private life was in turmoil, beset by drug abuse which he said was a response to his childhood, and he quit Hell Town to take an eight-year break from acting while he sorted himself out. His final film role was as the malevolent Mystery Man in Lost Highway (1997), David Lynchs baffling thriller about a man who may or may not have murdered his wife. Two years later he met Bonny Lee Bakley at a nightclub, and when she gave birth to their daughter he agreed to marry her when a paternity test established that the child was his, and not Christian Brandos (son of Marlon), as she had claimed. Blake leaves court during his murder trial - Ted Soqui/Corbis via Getty Images Blake was her 10th husband, and she had, perhaps predictably, developed a reputation as a gold-digger; she also had a rap sheet that encompassed fraud, passing bad cheques and drug possession. They were soon living in separate houses on the same site, and Blake, witnesses later claimed, had spoken of snuffing her. After his acquittal he lived quietly. I was born lonely, I live lonely, and Ill die lonely, he said. Before Bonny Lee Bakley, Robert Blake had been married to the actress Sondra Kerr, with whom he had a daughter and son; they divorced in 1983. In 2017 he married an old friend, Pamela Hudak, but they divorced the following year. He is survived by his three children. Robert Blake, born September 18 1933, died March 9 2023 New York, NY --News Direct-- Roberts & Ryan Investments, Inc. Mr. Schoger joins Roberts & Ryan as their latest Senior Advisor, focused on equity capital markets and corporate access. He brings more than 20 years of capital markets expertise, including extensive experience in non-deal roadshow origination and execution. John began his career in finance as an institutional broker at Financial Asset Management before co-founding Voyager Institutional Services. He served as President of Voyager until it was acquired by Strategas Securities, LLC in 2013. While at Strategas, John served as Managing Director of Corporate Services. Roberts & Ryan is proud to welcome John Schoger to its Advisory Board. John has over 20 years experience in the Equity business and will share his insights and market knowledge with the Roberts and Ryan team, furthering our efforts to build our brand, commented Roberts and Ryans Head of Equities, Jim McDevitt. John serves as Vice President at AssetWatch, Inc. and is a member of the Board of Trustees for The ARC of Ohio, advocating for the rights of the developmentally disabled community. John earned a BA from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio and holds SIE and FINRA Series 7, 63, and 79 licenses. About Roberts and Ryan Investments, Inc. Roberts & Ryan Investments, Inc. is a Service-Disabled Veteran Owned (SDVO) broker-dealer with execution capabilities in the capital markets, equities, and fixed-income trading. The firm was founded in 1987 by a United States Marine Corps Vietnam combat veteran and Purple Heart recipient. With over one million dollars in committed donations, Roberts & Ryan is active in donating to charitable foundations that make significant positive impacts in the lives of Veterans and their families, primarily focusing on general wellness, mental health, and career transition. Contact Details Joe Pecoraro +1 917-658-8945 jpecoraro@roberts-ryan.com Company Website https://www.roberts-ryan.com View source version on newsdirect.com: https://newsdirect.com/news/roberts-and-ryan-investments-inc-americas-first-service-disabled-veteran-owned-broker-dealer-is-pleased-to-welcome-john-schoger-as-their-newest-senior-advisor-of-equity-capital-markets-883062653 DAVENPORT, Iowa Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis previewed a likely line of attack against both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump on Friday, deriding the federal response to Covid-19 here in the first-in-the-nation presidential caucus state. "We were right, they were wrong," DeSantis boasted during what amounted to a stump speech before roughly 700 people in a spacious ballroom at the Rhythm City Casino Resort. In particular, he took aim at Anthony Fauci, the longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who worked under both presidents as a top adviser on Covid and retired at the end of 2022. "We refused to let our state descend into some sort of Faucian dystopia," DeSantis said. Nearly identical speeches at Friday events in Davenport and Des Moines amounted to the unofficial launch of DeSantis' presidential campaign in the first-in-the-nation caucus state. His remarks his first as a likely candidate in Iowa also included a familiar barrage of attacks on progressives on topics like immigration, education and gender identity, reiterating his view that his state is "where woke goes to die." Those servings of red meat were delivered as the Des Moines Register released a poll showing that Iowa Republicans were both supportive of Trump and open to other GOP candidates in 2024. In three days, Iowans will get their first taste of Trump since he announced his candidacy in November. The former president and 2024 hopeful plans to hold a rally in Davenport and roll out the education plank of his platform, giving voters here a split-screen look at the top two Republican contenders on both sides of the weekend. DeSantis followed up his roughly 30-minute speeches with brief question-and-answer sessions on stage with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, and he took selfies and signed copies of his new book for voters. Reynolds, a fellow Republican who has not endorsed a 2024 presidential candidate, plans to share a stage with Trump on Monday. Story continues DeSantis isnt expected to formally launch a campaign until June at the earliest, but polls show that he has distinguished himself as the strongest early rival to Trump both across the country and in this state. Several voters who spoke with NBC News at the DeSantis events said they like Trump but are open to alternatives, including the Florida governor. Kerri Baumer, a 42-year-old mother of two from Davenport, described herself as a "big Trump supporter" but attended the event because she is open to other candidates. "Part of it is everybody knows that Trump can do it, but Trump needs to learn when to keep his mouth shut," Baumer said. "So people really steer away from that because they're nervous because of what he's going to say versus what he's doing for us." Denise Gross-Ploehn, a 53-year-old hairstylist from Davenport, said she is impressed with DeSantis' work as governor of Florida. "I'm a Trump supporter, too, but I'm open," she said. "I think there's going to be many great Republican candidates running for the presidency." Trump took aim at DeSantis on the Truth Social media platform Friday. "No other President was as PRO FARMER as me," Trump wrote. "Tell that to Ron DeSanctimonious when he shows up to your door, hat in hand. Tell him to go home!" Later, pointing to issues he is pressing as contrasts with DeSantis, Trump wrote: "Very small crowds for Ron DeSanctimonious in Iowa. Hes against Farmers, Social Security, and Medicare, so why would people show up other than Fake stories from the Fake News!" "DeSanctimonious" is one of several nicknames Trump has used for the Florida governor. At times, DeSantis echoed Trump policies. For example, he said a wall should be built on the U.S. border with Mexico a top issue for Trump in the 2016 election and throughout his presidency and offered that he would send Florida construction workers to the border if Biden would allow it. "I'll build the wall myself," he said in Des Moines. DeSantis, who met with Iowa legislators between speeches, focused most of his public remarks on themes outlined in his No. 1 New York Times bestselling book "The Courage to Be Free." Copies of the book part memoir, part political tract were handed out to attendees at the entrances to both events. DeSantis drew frequent applause when he went after Democrats and the media. "We will never, ever surrender to the woke mob," he said in Davenport. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com Russian servicemen from the units of the 150th Motor Rifle Division of the Southern Military District take part in exercises on the training grounds in the Rostov Region, Russia, on January 28, 2022. Russian Defence Ministry / Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Russia can't make new missiles fast enough, leading to less frequent attacks on Ukraine, UK intel says. The intelligence suggests Russia is struggling to "stockpile a critical mass" for larger strikes. US and UK officials have previously said Russia is using munitions faster than it can produce them. Massive Russian strikes on Ukraine are becoming increasingly rare because Russia likely can't produce new missiles quickly enough to keep up its attacks, Western intelligence assesses. Britain's defense ministry shared in a Friday intelligence update that Russia's huge air attack against Ukraine on Thursday was the first major wave of long-range strikes since mid-February and the largest since December. "The interval between waves of strikes is probably growing because Russia now needs to stockpile a critical mass of newly produced missiles directly from industry before it can resource a strike big enough to credibly overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses," the defense ministry wrote. Russian forces fired 81 missiles and eight Iranian-made suicide drones at cities across Ukraine during Thursday's attack, including Kh-101 and Kh-555 air-launched cruise missiles, Kalibr sea-launched cruise missiles, S-300 surface-to-air missiles, Kh-31P and 6 Kh-59 guided missiles, Kh-47 Kinzhal missiles, six Kh-22 missiles. UK intelligence said Russia fired "an unusually large number" of Kh-47 Kinzhal ballistic missiles. These weapons can travel at five times the speed of sound and break through Ukraine's defenses, although Russia has rarely used them since the early weeks of its full-scale invasion. Ukraine's defense ministry said after the attack that its forces managed to shoot down 34 cruise missiles and four drones, but others managed to pass through its defenses. The strikes hit Kyiv, Lviv, and other major cities, leaving multiple civilians dead and injured. US officials have previously said that Russia was exhausting its munition supply and couldn't replace stockpiles fast enough. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said in December that the situation was "really pretty extraordinary," and the intelligence community had a sense that Russia is "not capable of indigenously producing what they are expending at this stage." Story continues But Haines also acknowledged that Russian forces "have a lot of stockpiles," which could keep them stable for future attacks. "How viable those stockpiles are, how much they have, what they can use in different conflicts are obviously all questions that we look at quite carefully with our allies and partners," she said at the time. A top UK envoy, meanwhile, said in late 2022 that Russia was working to obtain ballistic missiles from Iran to bolster its stockpile. Barbara Woodward, the UK's permanent representative to the United Nations, said in December that the Security Council was "concerned that Russia intends to provide Iran with more advanced military components" in return for massive supplies of ballistic missiles. Read the original article on Business Insider By Guy Faulconbridge MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia on Friday cautioned allies across the former Soviet Union of the perils of aligning with the United States after what Moscow said was a Western-backed coup attempt in Georgia similar to the Ukrainian "Maidan" revolution of 2014. Russia, tied down in the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War Two, has seen its authority challenged by a number of neighbours and traditional allies since President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine in February last year. In Tbilisi, thousands of Georgians took to the streets over three consecutive nights to protest against what they said was a Russian-inspired "foreign agents" law that threatened to derail the country's bid for closer ties with Europe. "It is very similar to the Kyiv Maidan," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told state television, referring to the 2014 Maidan revolution which toppled a pro-Russian president in Ukraine. "It seems to me that all the countries located around the Russian Federation should draw their own conclusions about how dangerous it is to take a path towards engagement with the United States' zone of responsibility, its zone of interests." The remarks from Putin's top diplomat indicate the level of nervousness in Moscow over the weakening of its authority everywhere from Armenia and Azerbaijan in the South Caucasus to Kazakhstan and Tajikistan in Central Asia. Putin casts the war in Ukraine as an existential battle with the West over the future of both Russia and its former Soviet and imperial satellites which since 1991 have been courted by the United States, NATO, the EU, and China. Washington, Brussels and NATO say they are legitimately building ties with countries which became independent after the fall of the Soviet Union - and that many fear their much more powerful neighbour Russia. POST-SOVIET BATTLE For centuries, Russia has been the ultimate arbiter of affairs across the vast lands which for nearly three centuries made up the Russian empire and then the Soviet Union. Story continues But the war in Ukraine, which Putin casts as a watershed moment when Moscow finally pushed back against the West's attempts to contain it, has tied down Russia's military. Opponents of Putin say the war could ultimately usher in a new phase of the Soviet collapse that could sow chaos across Russia and allow rivals to turn Moscow's former satellites either towards the West or towards China. Washington and the broader West, Lavrov said, wanted to punish Russia because it was perceived as "too independent a player" which challenged the hegemony of the United States. Lavrov, Putin's foreign minister since 2004, said that events in Georgia were orchestrated from outside and motivated by a Western attempt to claw away Russia's traditional allies. He said Georgia's law on foreign agents, which parliament dropped on Friday, had been used as a pretext "to start what is, essentially, an attempt to force a change of power." He did not present evidence to back his assertions. Opposition politicians and protesters in Georgia deny they are puppets. They say they simply did not agree with the proposed law and want a Western future which Russia, that fought a war against Georgia in 2008, does not offer. (Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Andrew Osborn) In this image released by Ukrainian Defense Ministry Press Service, Ukrainian soldiers use a launcher with US Javelin missiles. Ukrainian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP Russia has been capturing US and NATO-provided Javelins and Stingers on the battlefield in Ukraine. It has been sending the captured weapons to Iran, which could reverse-engineer the weapons, per CNN. Iran has a track record of reverse-engineering Western arms to create its own versions. Russia has been sending Western-supplied weapons captured on the battlefields of Ukraine to its ally Iran, which may be able to reverse-engineer the technology, according to CNN. US, NATO, and other Western officials have observed several instances of Russian forces capturing US-made Javelin anti-tank missiles and Stinger anti-aircraft systems that the Ukrainian army has left behind, CNN reported, citing four sources familiar with the matter. According to the sources, Russia has flown some of these weapons to Iran, likely so that it can take them apart and analyze the technology in order to create its own versions of the weapons. Ukraine has received billions of dollars worth of weapons from the West, with the US supplying FGM-148 Javelins and FIM-92 Stingers from its own military stockpile. Russia also believes that providing the captured weapons to Iran encourages the maintenance of an alliance between the two countries, the sources said. Earlier reports have suggested that Iran is sending ammunition and military drones to Russia, with US and NATO officials telling Foreign Policy this month that Russia and Iran are increasing defense ties. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin noted the closer ties between the two countries during a speech in Israel on Thursday. According to CNN, US officials don't think the issue of weapons being sent to Iran is widespread, but noted that it is difficult to track. The media outlet reported that it's unclear if Iran has successfully reverse-engineered any US weapons seized in Ukraine, but it added that the country has a track record of doing so. "Iran has demonstrated the capability to reverse-engineer US weapons in the past," Jonathan Lord, a senior fellow and director of the Middle East security program at the Center for a New American Security, told CNN. Story continues In the 1970s, Iran successfully reverse-engineered the American BGM-71 TOW missile, creating a replica anti-tank-guided missile called the Toophan. Iran's Sayyad-2 naval SAM is also a reverse-engineered version of a US-made weapon, the SM-1 (RIM-66). Read the original article on Business Insider Maksym Butkevych Butkevych, who was also a co-founder of independent radio station Hromadske Radio, will have to serve his term in a maximum security penal colony. In addition, sentences were imposed on servicemen Viktor Pokhozei and Vladyslav Shel 8.5 and 18.5 years in prison, respectively. Read also: Moscow confirms detention of Ukrainian activist Butkevych The puppet authorities accused the Ukrainians of "cruel treatment of civilians and the use of prohibited methods in an armed conflict." The terrorists accused Butkevych of allegedly "attempting to kill two people" and "intentionally damaging property of another." Read also: Biden approves biggest ever aid package, Shoigu admits Russias pace has slowed, and a look back at six months Butkevych joined the Ukrainian army in early March 2022. He has been held captive since at least June 24, as Russian propagandists published a video of his interrogation on that day. In August, the Russian Defense Ministry admitted that it was holding Butkevych in captivity. 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 Viktor Orban We have never been so close to a local war escalating into a world war, he said. Orban noted that a year ago everyone had hoped that this armed conflict would not escalate into a real war. The war is much more brutal and cruel than the way it started, the PM said. Read also: Hungarys Orban praises Russia and blasts EU during rally Read also: Hungarian PM Orban invited to visit Ukraine, Presidents Office says According to Orban, Hungary and the Vatican are the only ones who are pro-peace. Outside those two, only the Arabs, the Turkic states, and the Chinese really want peace in the war in Ukraine. International public opinion is sharply divided, said Orban. The West is on one side, and the rest on the other. The Turks, Arabs, Chinese, and Africans they are calling for peace talks. In Orbans way of seeing things, Western leaders have war fever. The Germans started with sending helmets, now theyre on to tanks, and the new topic now is whether they should send fighter jets, he stressed. He added that it is possible that soldiers allied with Ukraine end up joining the fight alongside Ukrainian warriors at the front. Read also: Hungarys Orban pushes for US-Russia talks on Ukraine, praises Merkel Read also: Orban takes Ukraine as 'hostage' in fight for EU money Kuleba However, as Ukraine is not a NATO country, unlike Hungary, Russian aggression against it cannot trigger NATO Article 5, prompting armed intervention from other NATO members. Ukraine has also not requested or invited foreign military presence onto its soil. Earlier, Ukrainian President Voldoymyr Zelenskyy laid out a peace plan to end Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine. This plan begins with the complete withdrawal of all Russian forces from Ukrainian territory. Russia has so far been unwilling to commit to peaceful acts that may lead to an end for this conflict. U.S. officials have likewise noted that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is uninterested in peace. 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 city of Chicago has reached a $23.8 million settlement with Juul Labs over claims that the e-cigarette company aimed its vaping products toward an underage market. This agreement comes after a 2020 lawsuit, in which the city accused Juul of violating two municipal codes by marketing JUUL Products to youth and engaging in inadequate age verification, among other complaints. Advertisement E-cigarette businesses cannot be allowed to come in our city and boost their profits at the expense of minors, Chicagos public health commissioner, Dr. Allison Arwady, said in a statement. The settlement also says the agreement is not an admission by Juul Labs of any liability or wrongdoing, or of the truth of any of Chicagos allegations. Advertisement This resolution is another step in our ongoing commitment to resolve issues from the past, a Juul spokesperson said in reference to a company reset that took place in 2019. The company is now focused on adult smokers who want to to transition ... away from combustible cigarettes while combating underage use of our products. Vape companies are often criticized for their flavored products, which data shows often attract the attention of young and even underage smokers. Nationally, more than 8 of every 10 youth, aged 12-17 years who use e-cigarettes said they use flavored e-cigarettes, the Illinois Department of Public Health writes. As a part of its 2019 reboot, Juul stopped selling all flavored products except menthol and tobacco. Cucumber, mango, fruit medley and other flavors were ditched due to their popularity among young smokers. The city of Chicago banned the sale of flavored e-cigarettes in September 2020. Chicago was one of the first cities in the nation to add e-cigarettes to its Clean Indoor Air Ordinance, the first big city to impose a vaping tax, and the first jurisdiction anywhere to include menthol in a flavored tobacco sales ban, which covers stores within 500 feet of high schools, a city news release said at the time. A woman buys refills for her Juul at a smoke shop on Dec. 20, 2018. (Seth Wenig / AP) Juul has faced scores of lawsuits from cities, states and individuals over claimed youth-targeted marketing. In a lawsuit the state of Illinois filed against Juul in late 2019, the state describes ads with young models in flirtatious and playful poses and says Juul used social media to market. As a part of companys reset, Juul suspended all marketing. The citys announcement said the Chicago Department of Public Health will use settlement funds to prevent and reduce youth vaping through education, local policies, parent and teacher supports, cessation supports, improvements in data, and community engagement and outreach initiatives. Chicagos settlement is one of the largest individual settlements to date. In September 2022, Juul settled a similar suit with 33 states for almost $440 million. Several states have received payments agreements for sums usually between $10 million and $20 million. North Carolina settled for $40 million. Advertisement The Chicago agreement also protects Juul going forward. Part of it stipulates that Chicago agrees to not take any new legal action (excluding criminal prosecutions) against Juul in the future, barring certain circumstances. Juul must pay the city $2.8 million in the next 30 days and then the remainder of the settlement later this year. The most recent data show that in the past five years, vaping among Chicagos school-aged children increased by 56%, Joel Africk, president and CEO of Respiratory Health Association, said in a city news release. This settlement will go a long way in the Chicago Department of Public Healths fight against chronic disease. Ukrainian intelligence has reported that Russia launched its massive attack on Ukraine on 9 March using missiles it had been producing for a month, considering the shortage of high-precision weapons. Source: Defence Intelligence of Ukraine press service, citing its spokesperson Andrii Yusov Quote from Yusov: "Ruscists have never stopped their missile terror; however, considering the deficit of high-precision missile weapons they have today, we can say that they have been amassing assets for a month, in particular, they have been working on production." Details: As he states, the occupiers used the missiles that the Russian military industry was able to produce in a month to hit power facilities. Yusov clarified that Russia's stocks of many types of missile weapons are "critically low," and the gap between attacks is due to the fact that the Russians are trying to make up for the consumption of ammunition through production. However, they still cannot produce it in sufficient quantities. "They have 7% of the number of Kalibr [cruise missiles ed.] they had at the beginning of the full-scale aggression. They can't make up for those amounts even through producing [new missiles]," he said. Background: On the night of 8-9 March, Russia fired 81 missiles of various types on Ukraine, with Ukrainian Air Defence Forces shooting down 34 out of the 48 cruise missiles. The UK Ministry of Defence reported that the interval between waves of Russian missile strikes might be growing because Russia needs to stockpile a critical mass of newly produced missiles directly from the factories before it can amass a payload big enough to credibly overwhelm Ukrainian air defences. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Russian forces are preparing to resume offensive operations around Vuhledar, although persistent personnel and ammunition issues will likely continue to constrain Russian forces from advancing, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) believes. Source: ISW Details: The ISW gave a reminder that social media footage published on 8 March reportedly shows personnel of the 136th Motorised Rifle Brigade of the 58th Combined Arms Army of the Southern Military District appealing to the Russian military command for more artillery ammunition before they replace the 155th Naval Infantry Brigade of the Pacific Fleet near Vuhledar and conduct ground attacks in the area. The ISW noted that the 155th Naval Infantry Brigade bore a significant proportion of the catastrophic losses that Russian forces suffered in their culminated three-week February offensive to capture Vuheldar. The ISW is convinced Russian forces may be rotating in the 136th Motorised Rifle Brigade to replace a severely degraded formation in hopes of renewing offensives near Vuhledar. At the same time, ISW experts do not believe that the Russians will be able to increase their offensive potential on this front with the help of rotation. "The 136th Motorised Rifle Brigade is unlikely to achieve tactical advances near Vuhledar that the 155th Naval Infantry Brigade, 40th Naval Infantry Brigade, and other Russian formations failed to make following months of preparation to start offensives on this front. The likely degradation of other units in the area, significant equipment losses, and the reported continued artillery constraints will likely prevent Russian forces from securing significant tactical gains if they decide to resume offensives in the area," the ISWs report said. Internal dynamics within the Russian military may be driving the potential resumption of costly offensives near Vuhledar, the ISW believes. "Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu reportedly ordered Eastern Military District (EMD) commander Colonel General Rustam Muradov to take Vuhledar at any cost to settle widespread criticism within the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) about the lack of progress and significant losses in the Vuhledar area. Story continues Shoigu recently visited Muradov in western Donetsk Oblast likely to assess the viability of the Vuhledar offensive as well as Muradovs continued role as EMD commander," the ISW noted. The ISW previously assessed that Muradov would need new manpower and equipment reserves to follow through on Shoigus reported instructions, and the one-for-one replacement of the 155th Naval Infantry Brigade by the 136th Motorised Rifle Brigade does not represent a notable fraction of the reinforcements likely required. The ISW assesses that Russian forces would need to advance upwards of 24 km from the current frontlines around Vuhledar for this offensive to support operations elsewhere in Donetsk Oblast, a rate of advance that Russian forces have not achieved since the first months of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. "The resumption of costly offensives around Vuhledar would be a misallocation of already degraded forces to an increasingly nonsensical operational effort, but Muradovs personal motivations may cause Russian forces in the area to resume these operations nonetheless," the ISW added. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday that a conversation with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in India last week was "constructive", but he heard nothing new from the U.S. side. Speaking in an interview on Russian state TV, Lavrov said the pair spoke for 10 minutes and discussed nuclear arms issues and the conflict in Ukraine. It was the first meeting between the pair since Russia invaded Ukraine last February. "We spoke constructively, without emotions, we shook hands," Lavrov said. "Everything I heard was a position that has already been expressed and underlined in public many times before. I gave my honest, detailed assessment about the New START treaty, and why we saw it necessary to suspend it," he said. President Vladimir Putin Russia suspended the New START nuclear arms treaty last month, accusing the United States of trying to inflict a "strategic defeat" on Russia in Ukraine. Russia said on Friday it was still in contact with Washington over the treaty, but held out little prospect of returning to it. (Reporting by Reuters) A jury has convicted a man in the killings of two homeless women who were bludgeoned to death, one in Sacramento County and another 22 months later in Yolo County, prosecutors said. Trevaun Roman Turney, 29, was found guilty Wednesday of first-degree murder in the deaths of Maria Aguilera and Colleen Paolinelli, according to a news release from the Sacramento County District Attorneys Office. Investigators found the women in similar states of undress and used security camera video and DNA to identify the murder suspect and link him to the crimes. About 12:30 p.m. on March 9, 2019, a passerby found Aguilera, 39, dead in a wooded area along the American River bike trail near the 1400 block of Northgate Boulevard, the Sacramento Police Department has said. Prosecutors said Aguilera was found bludgeoned to death and naked from the waist down inside a canvas wagon. Homicide detectives pursued leads in the case but did not identify a suspect. About 12:30 p.m. on Jan. 19, 2021, Paolinelli, 59, was found dead at a West Sacramento bus stop on Westacre Road, just south of West Capitol Avenue. The West Sacramento Police Department later announced the woman had suffered a traumatic injury and her death was considered to be a homicide. Prosecutors said police detectives found security camera video that showed a person stopping at the bus stop on multiple occasions between the time when Paolinelli was last seen alive and when she was found murdered. The video also showed that person making four striking motions while he was at the bus stop. West Sacramento police detectives had a description but could not identify the suspect. On Nov. 16, 2021, Sacramento police detectives saw a West Sacramento police bulletin seeking to identify Paolinellis murderer with a suspect description and images from the security camera video. The Sacramento detectives immediately recognized the suspect in the video as Turney. Prosecutors said Turney on Nov. 24, 2021, was arrested on suspicion of murder in Paolinellis death after admitting to West Sacramento detectives that he was the person in the security camera video. Story continues On the same day he was arrested, Sacramento detectives collected a sample of Turneys DNA. Prosecutors said the Sacramento County District Attorneys Crime Lab matched Turneys DNA to traces of DNA found on Aguileras body and on the canvas wagon where her body was discovered. Turney was then arrested on suspicion of murder in Aguileras death. Turneys murder trial was held in Yolo Superior Court. He was prosecuted by both the Sacramento County District Attorneys Office and the Yolo County District Attorneys Office. A Yolo County jury convicted Turney. Prosecutors said Turney faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Turney remains in custody, and he is scheduled to return to court March 29 when Judge Peter Williams will schedule his sentencing hearing. Crushed equipment of the Russian invaders on Mykhailivska Square in Kyiv Economic warfare against Russia includes sanctions, disinvestment, asset seizures, oil price caps, and other measures designed to cripple Putins economy and war machine. These have certainly caused damage, along with the exit of many multinational corporations and trade bans that have disabled Russian auto and technology manufacturing. But in January, the International Monetary Fund projected that Russian GDP growth in 2023 and 2024 will keep pace with nations that have imposed sanctions against it. Worse, countries refusing to impose sanctions, or those that ignore them or cheat, mostly outperform the 49 nations that have acted to impede Putins war. One financial expert commented ironically: Sanctions might not be having the impact the West had hoped. The sanctions announced by Ukraines coalition at the outset of the war were billed as draconian, but a year later the question is whether they are working or not? The answer is both yes and no. When evaluating effectiveness, its important to note that Russia lies about its numbers, so disruption may be worse than admitted. Secondly, however, Russians have found loopholes, and devised workarounds, to avoid sanctions with the help of Western enablers and other nation-states. Thirdly, the initial energy sanctions were counter-productive because they resulted in price spikes that delivered windfall profits for Russia. And lastly, Russia is not a country, but a criminal organization run by oligarchs whose expertise involves smuggling, money laundering, converting ill-gotten gains into cryptocurrencies, and hiding profits, assets, yachts, portfolios, or themselves from law enforcement anywhere in the world. Anti-corruption expert Frank Vogl believes sanctions are a flop because the worlds trade and financial systems are rigged. Author of The Enablers, and founder of Transparency International, Vogl sums up the situation astutely: Sofar, there is neither evidence that Western sanctions have influenced Putins determination to crush Ukraine, nor is there evidence that the impact of economic sanctions has been so severe as to unleash domestic unrest in Russia, or challenges in the Kremlin to Putin himself. Read also: The Ukrainian business holdings of Russias oligarchs Never before have so many nations combined to sanction so many individuals in any country as has been the case in Russia. Members of the Duma parliament, Kremlin officials, and scores of businessmen, including the wealthiest so-called oligarchs, have all been subject to travel restrictions, to threats of Western investigations and prosecutions, he added. Some of the largest mansions and yachts owned by some of the most prominent oligarchs have been blocked meaning that their owners cannot use them and are, no doubt, inconvenienced. But actual confiscations of assets, which would hurt the owners, have been few. Forfeiture actions demand that prosecutors provide strong evidence in court that the property is associated with criminal activity. U.S. law provides for the value of confiscated Russian assets to be transferred to Ukraine to help its war effort. That sounds good, but it is meaningless unless large-scale confiscations can be made and so far, the scale of such forfeitures runs in the millions of dollars, not the billions that could make a real difference. Further, secrecy and enablers, that Vogl, myself, and others have written about for years, have sabotaged sanctions. Just as economic sanctions against numerous countries over many years have failed to ensure greater international security, so sanctions on individuals appear to have failed to reverse a consistent massive flow of illicit finance from countries run by authoritarian regimes into the worlds largest and most open capital markets in the U.S., the U.K., European Union, Switzerland, Singapore and Canada. Read also: Russia's budget deficit. Has it started? Since the invasion, and evidence that Russian techniques have avoided them, the West has tightened sanctions and other forms of economic warfare weaponry. So far, the two most effective prohibitions have been the freezing of Russias foreign exchange assets in Western central banks as well as the removal of Russian banks from the Swift transfer system. This has damaged its financial system, the rouble, credit ratings, and market values. But, as Vogl points out, the next step must be to pass confiscation legislation to seize these frozen foreign exchange assets then deploy them to assist Ukraines war effort and eventually its reconstruction. This next critical move is already being fought and lobbied against vigorously in Western nations by Russia and its army of Western enablers. The only way to win the sanctions war is to knee-cap Russias energy revenues and this is now beginning to work since the institution in December of price caps on its oil and in February caps on its diesel fuel exports. Oil and gas account for more than half of the Kremlins revenue, 50 percent of Russias export earnings, and roughly 20 percent of the countrys GDP annually. Estimates are that Russia spends roughly US$300 million a day fighting its war, but for most of 2022 it earned US$800 million a day from energy exports. Caps have brought inflated prices down dramatically and Europe has nearly weaned itself from Russian natural gas imports. Soon gas sales there will be down to zero and they will remain there because of fuel and source switching as well as the fact that persons unknown blew up Russias two gigantic undersea pipelines to Germany. Russia says the U.S. did this, but Washington denies thats the case. Read also: Russia uses North Africa to circumvent oil sanctions, WSJ reports Oil caps are not only crippling the Kremlin, but are an ingenious way to keep petroleum flowing into global markets (to avoid another price spike). Roughly seven million barrels a day have continued to be exported post-war, but the oil cap on December 5 has already caused Russias revenue to crash to $200 million a day from $600 million daily. On February 5, caps began on diesel exports and further reduce revenues. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said at the G20 meeting in February that weve continued to see emerging markets negotiate deep discounts on Russian oil which keeps oil in the global market, but sharply reduces the Kremlins take. The way I see it, our sanctions have had a significant negative effect on Russia so far. While by some measures, the Russian economy has held up, but Russia is now running a significant budget deficit. The caps we have just set will now serve a critical role in our global coalitions work to degrade Russias ability to prosecute its illegal war. Combined with our historic sanctions, we are forcing Putin to choose between funding his brutal war or propping up his struggling economy. Read also: A seven-point plan to make Putin resign Another blow to Moscow is the exit of multinationals, most importantly some of its major oil players. Yale University Professors Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and Steven Tian have compiled a data base containing the names of more than 1,000 corporations, with $50-million or more annual revenues, that have left. These companies had in-country revenues equivalent to 35 percent of Russias GDP and employed 12 percent of the countrys workforce, wrote Sonnenfeld. Unfortunately, hundreds more G7-based companies continue operating in Russia, and the 49 countries that have imposed sanctions account for only 60 percent of the world economy. The rest are trading with Russia. Even so, Russias deficits are growing quickly and its war industrial base is unable to resupply its armed forces with ammunition, spare parts, and weaponry. Last week, China was publicly warned by Washington against supplying military aid to Putin and denied it was planning to do so. Another positive development was noted by sanctioned Russian oligarch, Oleg Deripaska, who told The Guardian last week that Russia could run out of money next year. If China remains on the sidelines militarily, and Russia goes broke, Putin will be forced to stop his war. Unfortunately, predictions at this point amount to wishful thinking. This story was originally published on Substack. NV is republishing it with permission. 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 Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) has been accused of orchestrating a credit card skimming operation in which he schemed to steal information from ATM and credit cards, according to a sworn statement from a former roommate of his obtained by Politico. The declaration from Gustavo Ribeiro Trelha, who said he met Santos when he rented a room in a Florida apartment from the now-congressman, states he was accused of a federal crime of credit card fraud in 2017 and pleaded guilty. Trelha, who is from Brazil, served seven months in prison and was then deported. His attorney, Mark Demetropoulos, sent the letter to the FBI, U.S. attorneys office for the Eastern District of New York and Secret Service office in New York on Wednesday. Trelha said Santos was known to him as Anthony Devolder, another name that others with ties to Santos have said they knew him by. He added that he learned from Santos how to clone ATM and credit cards after he started renting the room from him. Santos taught me how to skim card information and how to clone cards. He gave me all the material and taught me how to put skimming devices and cameras on ATM machines, Trelha said. He said Santos had a warehouse in Orlando, Fla., that housed materials such as printers and blank ATM and credit cards that could be painted and engraved with stolen account and personal information. Trelha said he went to Seattle and began to steal credit card information from ATM terminals, with the deal being that the profits would be split evenly between the two of them. He decried that Santos threatened his friends after he was arrested to not tell authorities that Santos was the one in charge. Trelha claimed Santos also stole the money that he collected for his bail. He said he has other witnesses who can back up his statements, according to Politicos reporting. The sworn statement is the latest development in potential legal trouble that Santos is facing. He received criticism from members of both parties after reports revealed he made many false statements about his educational, professional and personal background. Story continues Local, state and Brazilian prosecutors have initiated probes into Santos following the disclosures of his false statements. The U.S. attorneys office for the Eastern District of New York has been specifically looking into Santoss finances, including funds used during his campaign. The House Ethics Committee formally launched an investigation into Santos last week. Audio from Trelhas 2017 bail hearing also showed Santos falsely told the judge that he worked for Goldman Sachs, one of the many false statements he made about himself during his campaign. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. WASHINGTON Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., offered Thursday to co-sponsor a Republican-backed bill that's designed to prevent him from profiting from fabrications on his resume or biography if he is convicted of certain crimes. GOP Reps. Anthony D'Esposito, Brandon Williams and Nicholas Lalota of New York announced the legislation this week. The No Fortune for Fraud Act would prevent members of Congress from financially profiting from any actions that violate the Federal Election Act of 1971 or any other offenses for which members may lose their pensions. Santos offered Thursday in a letter to DEsposito, the bill's lead sponsor, to officially sign on as a supporter and asked DEsposito to join him on other similar housekeeping legislation. Santos separately told NBC News that D'Esposito's measure is "a good bill" thats about "good governance." DEsposito was the first House Republican to call for Santos to resign over revelations that he embellished his background and work experience as he was running for Congress. Asked about D'Esposito, Santos said: "Hes acting like judge and jury, and I think thats irresponsible. But on another lighter note, I think its a great bill that keeps government accountable. And I think the American people are sick and tired of seeing politicians coming here to enrich themselves. I ran on that platform." Santos added that he plans to introduce some good housekeeping bills ... that reflect the same kind of public trust for the American people. The bill has five co-sponsors all New York Republicans and Santos won't be joining the list, D'Esposito said. Santos will absolutely not co-sponsor the bill, D'Esposito said in a brief interview Thursday, adding that Santos was the poster child of not good governance. I consider George Santos sponsorship of good government legislation about as seriously as Sam Bankman-Fried teaching a course in business ethics, DEsposito said in a separate statement, referring to a co-founder of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange, who is charged with cheating investors and causing billions of dollars in losses. Story continues The back-and-forth is the latest plot twist as New York Republicans try to distance themselves from their scandal-plagued colleague and Santos persistently refuses to step down or get out of their way. D'Esposito, Williams and Lalota sharply criticized Santos when they introduced the legislation Tuesday. If you are defrauding the American people, if you are making a mockery out of the peoples House or violating campaign finance law, you should not be able to turn it into a payday, DEsposito said at the time. Should fraudsters like George Santos be indicted or convicted of crimes listed in my legislation, our legislation, they wont be able to make money from a book deal, a TV movie, Dancing With the Stars or the next Netflix special. Santos first came under widespread scrutiny after The New York Times published a bombshell investigation in December suggesting that much of his resume appeared to have been manufactured, including claims that he owned numerous properties, was previously employed by Goldman Sachs and Citigroup and had graduated from Baruch College. He has also lied about how his mother was at the World Trade Center during the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He faces several investigations at the state and federal levels, including one recently opened by the House Ethics Committee. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com BEIJING (Reuters) - The successful talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia in Beijing are a victory for dialogue and peace, China's top diplomat Wang Yi said on Friday, following the major diplomatic coup for China in Middle East geopolitics. Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed on Friday to re-establish relations after seven years of hostility which had threatened stability and security in the Gulf and helped fuel conflicts in the Middle East from Yemen to Syria. "This is a victory for dialogue, a victory for peace, offering major good news at a time of much turbulence in the world," the Chinese foreign ministry cited Wang as saying at the close of the dialogue. Previously undisclosed talks between the two were held March 6-10 by top security officials from Saudi Arabia and Iran in the Chinese capital, according to a tripartite joint statement of the countries released by China's foreign ministry. In the statement, the three parties expressed their willingness to make "every effort" to strengthen international and regional peace and security. The landmark deal is a diplomatic win for China in a region where geopolitics has been dominated by the United States. It also comes as China calls for dialogue over Russia's war in Ukraine, amid accusations from the West that Beijing has not done enough on the issue. "As a good-faith and reliable mediator, China has faithfully fulfilled its duties as the host," Wang said. China will continue to play a constructive role in handling hotspot issues in the world and demonstrate its responsibility as a major nation, he said. "The world is not just limited to the Ukraine issue," said Wang. (Reporting by Ethan Wang and Ryan Woo; Editing by Hugh Lawson) WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia kept Washington informed of its talks with Iran to restore diplomatic relations but the United States was not directly involved, White House spokesman John Kirby said on Friday. The road map announced on Friday appeared to be the result of several rounds of talks, including some held in Baghdad and Oman, Kirby said, adding that the United States has supported that process as promoting an end to the war in Yemen and to what he termed Iranian aggression: "The Saudis did keep us informed about these talks that they were having, just as we keep them informed on our engagements, but we weren't directly involved." The White House believes that internal and external pressure, including effective Saudi deterrence against attacks from Iran or its proxies, ultimately brought Iran to the table, Kirby said. "We support any efforts to de-escalate tensions there and in the region. We think it's in our interests, and it's something that we worked on through our own effective combination of deterrence and diplomacy." As for normalization of Saudi ties with Israel, he said, "it's not clear that this arrangement affects that or is designed to deal with that, but we obviously continue to support normalization." (Reporting by Doina Chiacu and Steve Holland; Editing by Kevin Liffey) The former head of Antonov State Enterprise, his deputy, and the head of the aviation security unit are suspected of impeding the Ukrainian military from securing the Hostomel Airport on the eve of Russia's all-out war, according to Ukraine's Security Service (SBU). Their obstruction of the airport's defense led to Russian forces briefly taking control of the airport and neighboring communities on Feb. 24, 2022, and the Antonov 225 Mriya aircraft getting destroyed, the SBU said. SBU investigators determined that from January to February 2022, the suspects intentionally prohibited the Ukrainian military from constructing defensive fortifications and barriers around the airport. Hostomel Airport is located 10 kilometers north of Kyiv and became the sight of Russia's initial Kyiv offensive in February 2022. The airport was retaken by Ukrainian forces soon after the Russian airborne forces attempted to secure the airport. The former head of Antonov State Enterprise and the head of the aviation security unit have been detained, the SBU said. The former head's deputy is currently being sought by authorities. Serhiy Bychkov, head of the Antonov aircraft manufacturing and services company, was dismissed from his post in March 2022 after being publicly alleged of obstructing Ukrainian defenses. If found guilty, all three suspects could face up to 15 years in prison. Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza speaks on behalf of her brother, police Sgt. Joaquin Mendoza, in the photo, during a news conference at Chicago City Hall on Feb. 21, 2022. (Shanna Madison / Chicago Tribune) SPRINGFIELD A measure that would make it easier for Chicagos first responders to acquire full disability benefits if they were sickened by COVID-19 gained traction Thursday when it passed through a state legislative committee. State Rep. Jay Hoffman, the chief House sponsor of the bill, said under the measure it would automatically be assumed that working conditions for Chicago police officers, firefighters and paramedics directly led to them contracting COVID-19 that led to a disability. Advertisement Hoffman, a top-ranking Democrat from downstate Swansea, told the House Personnel and Pensions Committee that for whatever reason this condition was not included in a 2021 law that established regulations for front-line workers to receive compensation after contracting the disease. This is unacceptable. It was an oversight. And were here to correct it, Hoffman said. Advertisement The bill passed 9-0 through the committee and is expected to be debated on the House floor in the next few weeks. If it passes through the full House, it will then move to the Senate. The bill was inspired by the brother of Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza, whose brother, Chicago police Sgt. Joaquin Mendoza, was infected with COVID-19 and fell badly ill, but was denied full disability benefits by the Policemens Annuity & Benefit Fund of Chicago. Mendoza accused the city of setting impossible standards for cops like her brother to receive full benefits and criticized Mayor Lori Lightfoots political appointees on the pension board for their decision. Lightfoot has denied that she had any influence over the boards decision. The state legislation would apply to Chicago police officers, firefighters and paramedics who got sick with the virus from March 9, 2020, through June 30, 2021. If they were previously denied a duty disability benefit they could acquire a retroactive duty disability benefit. Mendoza has said her brother contracted COVID-19 in 2020 before the availability of the vaccine while working 17 straight days on the job. He spent 72 days in the hospital, suffered kidney failure, lost the ability to use his left arm and suffered five strokes. Mendoza told the House committee Thursday that her brother is on ordinary disability, which essentially acknowledges that hes disabled but says that because he could not prove which specific act of duty as a police officer led him to contracting COVID, he could not acquire the full duty benefits. Duty disability provides 75% of the officers salary and free health insurance. On ordinary disability, an officer receives 50% compensation and must pay for health care. Advertisement Under the law, a family of a police officer who died of COVID-19 from March 9, 2020, through June 30, 2021, was entitled to 75% of the officers salary annually. You should not be punished for living, Mendoza said. You should also be able to access your health care and your duty disability if you survive COVID but are unable to go back to work. Mendoza and Lightfoot held dueling news conferences about the issue the week before Lightfoot lost her bid for reelection on Feb. 28. While Mendoza accused Lightfoot of being neglectful of officers like her brother, the mayor defended the pension boards 4-3 decision to deny him the benefits in 2022. The decision, which included four no votes from Lightfoot appointees, was also upheld in court after Joaquin Mendoza challenged it. Mendoza, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2019 against Lightfoot, has insisted that the timing of her decision to go public with her brothers story had nothing to do with the mayoral election. On Thursday before the legislative committee, Mendoza said her brothers condition is tragic and that she couldnt even talk about it before without crying. But I hope that through that tragedy, said Mendoza, pausing for a moment before her voice cracked with emotion, we can fix this for everyone else. jgorner@chicagotribune.com A school bus aide charged with stabbing an employee of the Watson Institute and holding a student hostage will likely never face trial. The day of the crime is hard for the victim to forget. I was just thinking is anyone else going to get hurt, is she going to get in the building is my student hurt is he going to get killed, said Allison Wolbert, a speech pathologist at The Watson Institute. All thoughts running through Wolberts mind after she was stabbed twice outside the school on Nov. 17, 2021 and a student was taken hostage. Police said the woman who committed those crimes was a bus aide nurse, Rochelle Pinkle. The defenses case was she was in the moment mentally unstable, clinically insane, legally insane because of medication issues, Wolbert said. According to Pinkles attorney Mike Santicola, doctors on both the state and defense side have determined Pinkle is not competent to stand trial or legally insane. Generally speaking, if a client is deemed not competent then yes, the case is nolle prosequi or withdrawn it could happen. In my experience it is rare, said Attorney Blaine Jones who isnt associated with the case. Now this case will be closed, and charges dismissed without Wolbert ever getting her day in court. For me to hear this is a mental health need that is in some way some closure but I dont think its enough because obviously in this case the person who needs help the most is not receiving what she needs, Wolbert said. While Santicola said his client is receiving her own mental health treatment, according to online records, Pinkle still holds her nursing license. What happens if you know a family who hires somebody with no legal action against her it might not even show up on a background check, Wolbert said. The courts dont require any follow-up for treatment or medication when a case is dismissed. Unfortunately, if a case just goes away then there arent any checks and balances on this person with mental health issues, Jones said. Story continues Wolbert worries about the accountability, who is to stop this from happening again. She feels its a flaw in the system and wishes there were outpatient check ins moving forward for Pinkle. What if the medication stops working or she decides she doesnt need it and this could happen again. I dont see this as a win lose. Between her and I and I dont know her but we are both losing in this situation, Wolbert said. Santicola told Channel 11 the case will formally be dismissed on Monday. We asked him who will hold Pinkle accountable when it comes to treatment, and he said her family is on it. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW TRENDING NOW: Pittsburgh Fish Fry List 2023 Missing Robinson Township woman found dead Family says goodbye to man shot, killed in McKeesport last week VIDEO: Evans City-Seven Fields Regional Police Department losing multiple officers DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts A gritter working in Newtown, Wales. (PA) A schoolboy is fighting for his life after being hit by a gritter lorry while walking to school in Wales. The boy, 13, is in hospital after suffering "life-threatening injuries" in the incident, which happened as much of the UK received a blanketing of snow. Gwent Police said the boy was injured at around 8.20am on Thursday on the Lansbury Park estate in Caerphilly - one of the areas of Wales worst affected by snowfall. The force said the road was closed as police officers and paramedics attended the scene and the boy was taken to University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff where he was said to be in a critical condition. The male lorry driver, 36, has been arrested on suspicion of causing serious injury by driving without due care and attention and remains in custody. The boy was taken to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff where he is in a critical condition. (Getty) A spokesman for Gwent Police said: "We received a report of a road traffic collision in Lansbury Park Road, Caerphilly, at around 8.20am on Thursday, 9 March. "Our officers and paramedics from the Welsh Ambulance Service and Wales Air Ambulance attended. The collision involved a gritting vehicle and a pedestrian. Read more: UK snow in pictures: Britain blanketed again as millions brave treacherous conditions "The pedestrian, a 13-year-old boy, has been taken to hospital for treatment. His injuries are thought to be considered life-threatening. "The driver of the gritter, a 36-year-old man, has been arrested on suspicion of causing serious injury by driving without due care and attention. He remains in custody." Police asked for anyone who witnessed the collision, or any motorists with dashcam footage who were using Lansbury Park Road between 8am and 8.30am on Thursday, to contact them. A simulation of the debris in Earths orbit. What goes up must come down, and that includes all of the satellites, rocket stages, and junk that humans have launched into space. A group of scientists is sounding the alarm about how that growing cloud of debris orbiting Earth may cause us trouble in the future, and are championing a global approach to governing Earths orbit. In a letter published in Science today, the team of researchers says that there are 9,000 satellites currently in orbit, but that that number is projected to rise to 60,000 by 2030. All of these satellites are sources of orbital debris, whether the spacecraft themselves become junk when they are decommissioned or whether they become involved in an in-orbit crash resulting in a cascade of debris that will circle the planet. Read more Regardless, this group of researchers points to this boom in the space economy as a problem for the future of space safety and are calling for a legally-binding treaty to enforce the sustainability of Earths orbitmuch the way 190 nations just vowed to protect the global oceans. Satellites are vital to the health of our people, economies, security and Earth itself. However, using space to benefit people and planet is at risk, said Melissa Quinn, head of Spaceport Cornwall, in a press release issued by the University of Plymouth. By comparing how we have treated our seas, we can be proactive before we damage the use of space for future generations. Humanity needs to take responsibility for our behaviours in space now, not later. I encourage all leaders to take note, to recognise the significance of this next step and to become jointly accountable. The European Space Agency estimated in December 2022 that there were 32,300 pieces of debris currently orbiting Earth. Of course, this is only the debris that has been identified and is being tracked by the Space Surveillance Network; ESAs statistical models reveal a potential total of 132 million pieces of debris ranging in size from 1 millimeter to 10 centimeters (4 inches). According to NASA, pieces of space debris can reach speeds up to 17,500 miles per hour (28,160 kilometers per hour), spinning around the Earth once every 90 minutes. Story continues As junk continues to accumulate in orbit, we may be facing a nasty case of Kessler Syndrome, which describesas NASA scientist Donald Kessler warned in 1978a growing number of artificial satellites in orbit that will lead to a growing number of collisions and therefore a growing amount of debris. This debris could, in turn, make swaths of Earths orbit uninhabitable, or even wipe out satellites we rely on for communication and GPS. Until a global initiative to reign in the issue of space debris is achieved, some space agencies are taking steps to tackle the problem. Last year, NASA announced it would be funding three projects from various universities to better understand orbital debris and sustainability in space. Likewise, ESA has approved ClearSpaces giant claw that will grab onto junk in orbit and send it into Earths atmosphere to burn up to take care of pre-existing space debris. Meanwhile, The Drag Augmentation Deorbiting System, a 38-square-foot (3.5-square-meter) sail to increase a satellites surface drag, could be a way to retire yet-to-be-launched satellites at the end of their lives. More: Orions Heat Shield Looked Wonky After Artemis 1 Moon Mission, NASA Says More from Gizmodo Sign up for Gizmodo's Newsletter. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. NASA's Eyes on Asteroids site keeps a second-by-second watch on the position of 2023 DW Credit - NASA Chances are, you havent yet made your plans for Valentines day 2046. But just in case youre thinking about it, you may want to make sure you spend the day indoors. That, at least, is the take home message from NASAs Planetary Defense Coordination Office, which earlier this week sounded the alarm via Twitter that in just under 23 years, a newly discovered asteroid named 2023 DWwhich measures 50 m (165 ft.) wide, or about the size of an Olympic swimming poolwill make a close swing by Earth, with a 1 in 560 chance of colliding with us. That doesnt sound like much, but 23 years is a lot of time for the rock to change its course, and since it was only spotted for the first time on Feb. 27, astronomers have a lot of additional observing to do before they can be certain of its future trajectory. Often when new objects are first discovered, it takes several weeks of data to reduce the uncertainties and adequately predict their orbits years into the future, NASAs tweet read in part. Orbit analysts will continue to monitor asteroid 2023 DW and update predictions as more data comes in. Warnings about 2023 DW are flooding news sites todayincluding, well, this one. So how worried should you be? For starters, theres the size of 2023 DW to considerwhich is not that big, but not that small either. Its nowhere near the 12 km (7.5 mi.) wide asteroidmore than half the length of Manhattanthat wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. Thats the good news. The bad news is that a swimming pool sized piece of space rubble can still do a lot of damage. On Feb. 15, 2013, a projectile roughly half the size of 2023 DW exploded in the skies over Chelyabinsk, Russia, injuring 1,500 people and damaging more than 7,000 buildings. NASA calculates the risk a near-Earth object poses of colliding with Earth on something known as the Torino scale, a zero to 10 ranking of the likelihood of impact, with zero representing no danger or, a risk so low as to be effectively zero. Five on the scale indicates A close encounter posing a serious, but still uncertain risk, of regional devastation. Tenwhich the dinosaurs could tell you about if they werent all deadindicates that a collision is certain, capable of causing global climatic catastrophe that may threaten the future of civilization as we know it. Story continues So where does 2023 DW rank? For now, NASA puts it at a one, indicating a routine discovery in which a pass near the Earth is predicted that poses no unusual level of danger. For now, that pass near the Earth will be no closer than 7.5 million km (4.65 million mi.), according to NASAs Eyes on Asteroids website. Thats 18 times farther than the moon is from Earth. But 2023 DWs distance could change, as NASA itself admits, as further observations of the space rock are conducted and its trajectory is more finely calculated. Whats more, Feb. 14, 2046 will not be the only time 2023 DW swings by our way. The asteroid will make nine more potentially close passes from Feb. 15, 2047 to Feb. 14, 2054. None of this is cause for serious alarm. Rather, all of it is cause for celebration of the success of NASAs Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), which last September successfully crashed a small spacecraft into the asteroid moonlet Dimorphos, to see how much it could change the speed of its orbit around its parent asteroid Didymos. The missionwhich was a first test of the kind of asteroid deflection defense that could be used to protect the Earth from an incoming space rockworked spectacularly. To be considered a success, mission planners determined that the orbit of Dimorphos would have to speed up by at least 73 seconds. The actual acceleration? Thirty-two minutes. This mission shows that NASA is trying to be ready for whatever the universe throws at us, said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson when the results were released. NASA has proven we are serious as a defender of the planet. Nobody believes that a DART-type mission will be necessary to protect Earth from 2023 DWat least not yet. But other cosmic ordnance lurksand other defense systems must continue to be in the pipeline. The solar system has always been a shooting galleryand Earth will always be at risk of winding up in the crosshairs. Pheromosa is also known as UB-02 Beauty in the games, so theres that. Heres a pocket monster that you probably wouldnt want to catch. Scientists say theyve confirmed the existence of a previously unknown cockroach species found in Singaporea species they then decided to name after an otherworldly Pokemon that more than bears a passing resemblance to it. The real-life Pokemon is called Nocticola pheromosa. According to local media outlet The Strait Times, the roach was actually first found in the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve near the center of Singapore years earlier, when bug scientists collected several male specimens between 2016 and 2017. These specimens were preserved at the National University of Singapore Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum. DNA testing of the roach didnt match any other species documented online, suggesting that it could have been a new find, but it did resemble other roaches externally. Read more Study author Cristian Lucanas, an entomologist from the UPLB Museum of Natural History in the Philippines, came across pictures of the roach on a reference website of local wildlife, hosted by the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum. He then reached out to Foo Maosheng, a scientific officer at the museum, and offered his help. The pairs subsequent workwhich included Lucanas dissecting the roachappears to have established that it is different from its relatives and deserving of a new species name. Their research was published late last month in the Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology. The namesake Pokemon Pheromosa first appeared in the 7th generation games Pokemon Sun and Moon. Pheromosa is a Bug/Fighting type Pokemon, though its more than just that. Its an Ultra Beastextradimensional Pokemon that are part of those games unique conceit. And its not hard to see why the pair decided to name their discovery after the Pokemon. Story continues There are some similarities between Pheromosa and the delicate cockroach that we found, such as having a long antenna, wings that mimic a hood and long slender legs, Maosheng told The Strait Times. Both my collaborator and I are Pokemon fans, so we thought, why not name it after a Pokemon inspired by a cockroach. N. pheromosa is far from the first real-life animal named for a Pokemon, and bug scientists seem especially drawn to doing so. In 2021, a group named a trio of rarely encountered beetles in Australia after Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltresthree legendary bird Pokemon that debuted in the first games. Bees, wasps, and other non-bug animals have also been named after Pokemon, usually from the earlier games that more people would be familiar with. The roach itself does appear to be a pretty notable discovery. Its the first Nocticola species local to Singapore ever documented, though its full range isnt yet known. Like most roaches, its not a human pest, and the authors actually describe it as a delicate species. Roaches in general, including those living in forested areas, are an important part of the environment, though the reputation of their home-infesting brethren can make that hard to acknowledge, the authors note. Cockroaches do have a role but because of negative connotations and their appearance, they tend to be overlooked even during insect surveys, Maosheng said. More from Gizmodo Sign up for Gizmodo's Newsletter. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. Gavel A Scottsdale man was found guilty by a federal jury last week of money laundering and wire fraud, according to a Thursday press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office District of Arizona. David Allen Harbour, a 49-year-old self-styled investment advisor in Scottsdale who reportedly swindled investors out of more than $20 million, was found guilty on six counts of wire fraud and 11 counts of transactional money laundering. He also pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion on Tuesday, according to the press release. The guilty plea resolved two pending trials in Harbour's case that were scheduled for later this month, according to Yvette Cantu, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's office. Harbour reportedly defrauded numerous victims over the course of his career between 2007 and 2021, an investigation by the IRS and the FBI found. Harbour used the fraudulent money to fund his lavish lifestyle, according to Cantu, like private jet travel, luxury hotels, club memberships in Arizona, Idaho and Mexico "and a private 40th birthday concert by the Eagles," Cantu wrote in the press release. Harbour's companies included Highpointe Capital Group, Nautical Holdings and DCR Hospital Investment, all located at 21020 N. Pima Rd. in Scottsdale. U.S. Attorney Gary Restaino said Harbour could face a lengthy prison sentence after he is tried before U.S. District Judge Douglas L. Rayes on June 5. "For his brazen lies that defrauded numerous victims out of more than $20 million, the defendant now justifiably faces the potential of a lengthy prison term," Restaino said. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Scottsdale investor found guilty of stealing over $20 million The Sea Dragon is lifted by a helicopter off the Santa Monica Pier on Thursday. The ride was transported to Port of Hueneme, where it will be shipped to St. Louis. (Jae C. Hong / Associated Press) For nearly 27 years, the green Sea Dragon ride swung back and forth on the Santa Monica Pier, but on Thursday, the 6,000-pound two-headed metal beast took its last ride 250 feet over the Pacific Ocean. The famed Sea Dragon ship at Pacific Park was retired Thursday as a helicopter lifted it off the pier. Bystanders captured pictures and video as the dragon flew past Santa Monica. "The original Sea Dragon has provided millions of Pacific Park guests with fun memories with family and friends over the last 26 years," Nathan Smithson, director of marketing and business development at Pacific Park, said in a statement. The classic ride, which opened on May 26, 1996, was replaced with a new, $1.5-million Sea Dragon that makes "riders feel as if they are riding the dragon out over the open ocean," the amusement park said. The ride was installed in the same space as the original Sea Dragon and has new features such as shaking seats and a misting system to "replicate the stormy seas," Pacific Park announced in a statement. "The enthusiasm that guests have for the original Sea Dragon and its extreme popularity prompted us to introduce the all-new Sea Dragon and reimagine the ride experience while providing the same classic swing ride that guests know and love so well," Smithson said. The original 26-foot-long bright-green dragon carried more than 12 million guests since it was installed in 1996, according to Pacific Park. For 10 days, the dragon was displayed just outside the amusement park for guests to take pictures and share memories online. But the large dragon isn't headed to the scrap yard. The dragon was lifted by a civilian Blackhawk helicopter and taken to the Port of Hueneme, where it will be shipped to St. Louis. The dragon will live out the rest of its days at City Museum in downtown St. Louis, where it's expected to be placed atop of the museum's roof, next to the Big Eli Ferris Wheel. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. After recent controversy to remove eight declining cherry blossom trees that lead to the entrance of the Pike Place Market, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell has directed the city to replace the trees with even more trees. The 40-year-old trees were scheduled for mass removal on Mar. 7, due to work on Seattles project connecting downtown to the waterfront. A new pedestrian and bike path entrance with hybrid elms was set to replace the cherry trees, until the mayors announcement Friday. Cherry blossom trees are more than a symbol they invoke heartfelt feelings and represent decades of history both the good and the bad as part of our Citys deep connection to Japan. My own understanding of this is rooted in the experiences of my Japanese American family, who were incarcerated at an internment camp at Minidoka, and their reverence for these trees and their magnificent bloom, Harrell said. Harrell announced the waterfront project will plant 24 new cherry blossom trees, along with a memorial plaque to highlight the significant impact of the trees at the Pike Place Market. The announcement comes among Harrells recent Executive Order to preserve and plant thousands of trees citywide. As I announced earlier this week through a new Executive Order and a proposal for a strengthened tree ordinance, we are committed to planting more trees this allows us to act on that priority, Harrell said. In listening to advocates of preserving existing trees, we weighed the trees declining health against a compelling vision of a new and safe corridor for the next 40 years and agreed on the importance of capturing their historical significance. The Pike Pine Streetscape Improvement project is a cornerstone in our efforts to rebuild downtown, and this commitment will ensure cherry blossom trees reach new generations of Seattleites for years to come. The eight original trees will be removed next week. Sixteen additional cherry blossom trees will also be planted, but their location is still to be determined. Police arrested a second man Thursday in the south Macon triple shooting that killed a convenience store owner and injured his wife and daughter in January, officials said. The U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force arrested Shaun Mills, 37, Thursday in Calhoun County, Alabama in connection with the killing of Pinalkumar Patel, 52, and the assault of his wife Rupalben and daughter Bhakti, the Bibb County Sheriffs Office said in a statement. The shooting happened Jan. 20 when Mills and two other men allegedly followed Pinalkumar to his home on Thoroughbred Lane from his job at an east Macon convenience store and confronted his family with guns. Pinalkumar died from multiple gunshot wounds. Rupalben and Bhakti were shot in the legs and injured. Marshals charged Mills with felony murder and held him at the Calhoun County Sheriffs Office in Alabama, the statement said. He awaits extradition to Jones County, where he faces other charges before his crimes in Bibb County. Mills is the second man charged in the case after his brother, 40-year-old Terrell Mills, was charged with the same crimes Jan. 31. Jones County deputies arrested Terrell for another crime before Bibb sheriffs deputies named him as a suspect. After an interview with Mills, the Bibb sheriffs office charged him with felony murder and aggravated assault. Terrell and Shaun were both wanted for armed robbery and home invasion in Jones County, the Jones sheriffs office wrote on Facebook Thursday. It was unclear whether the third masked assailant in the shooting had been identified or arrested. Ukraine would like to have security guarantees from NATO countries while Ukraine is moving towards membership in the Alliance. Source: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, during a press conference in Kyiv with Sanna Marin, Prime Minister of Finland, reports Interfax-Ukraine news agency Quote: "As for the NATO summit in Vilnius: yes, we are invited, but we would like particular steps ahead to be taken apart from the state of our relationship with NATO at the moment." Details: Zelenskyy has thanked all the NATO members that support Ukraine on the battlefield, but emphasised that the country needs security guarantees while it is not a member of the Alliance. Quote: "We need strategic security guarantees. And even if we cannot be a part of NATO during the war, we would like to have appropriate security guarantees along the way, while we are still not in the Alliance. And it is those steps ahead towards Ukraine we are expecting from the NATO members on the summit in Vilnius. We will be working on it." Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson greets his supporters during his election victory celebration at the Marriott Marquis Chicago hotel on April 4, 2023. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune) Mayoral candidates Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas had a roiling dispute over the subject of race Thursday, with Johnson tossing out a series of accusations against Vallas, who dismissed them as rhetoric. The contentious exchanges happened during a 90-minute forum hosted by the My Community Plan Foundation at the DuSable Black History Museum. For the first hour, the session was largely cordial until the two contenders, who just last week made the April 4 runoff election, were asked if they support a third airport in the Chicago area. Both said yes. Advertisement Then Johnson, a Cook County commissioner, raised the issue of Vallas support from dangerous Citadel employees, referring to the hedge fund headed by Republican billionaire Ken Griffin, who recently told Bloomberg News he supports Vallas for mayor. Look, Citadel is gone, but theyre back in this race, Johnson said of the firm moving its headquarters to Miami. Ken Griffin is going to spend (money) against a Black man because I believe in Black people. This is the same person who said that Rahm Emanuel should have closed 125 schools. Advertisement That was a reference to comments Griffin made at the Economic Club of Chicago in 2013, that the former mayor should be closing more than 100 schools rather than the more than 50 proposed at the time. Griffin has not made donations in the mayoral election. [ Paul Vallas Facebook account liked posts that called Chicago 'hell hole' and panned Democratic governor ] Vallas, a former Chicago Public Schools CEO, shrugged off the attack. Let me try to answer the question without scaring you, Vallas said. First of all, I support the third airport. Griffins spokesman later released a statement calling Johnsons accusations of racism pathetic and contemptible and citing his 30-year history of charitable contributions to diverse interests, including feeding Chicago students and providing them internet access. Mr. Johnson is a fool and Chicago voters should consider this fact when choosing what kind of future they want for themselves and their loved ones, the spokesman said. At Thursdays forum, Johnson went on the offensive again in response to a question about uplifting minority- and women-owned businesses, setting off a testy exchange. Im the only person on this stage who has ever been elected, the only person on the stage whos ever won, Johnson said. And as a result of that, I had the ability to actually pass multibillion-dollar budgets. Johnson then nodded to a fall 2020 activist-backed Budget for Black Lives proposal to cut $157 million from the sheriffs office and invest in social services. Advertisement Im the only person on this stage who built an entire budget around Black people, Johnson said. As a result of that, (Cook County) President (Toni) Preckwinkle used it as a guideline for her equity plan: eliminating medical debt, violence prevention, working with those who are formerly incarcerated, making sure that were investing in economic development. The sheriffs office never saw that $157 million reduction in its 2021 budget. Instead, the office took a modest 4% cut amid the COVID-19 fiscal deficit, a cut that has since been more than restored. The county has, however, steadily ramped up its funding for community investments and programs in recent years thanks to federal stimulus dollars. Although Vallas lost a 2019 bid for mayor and two runs for statewide office, he has served as the citys budget director and managed school districts in Philadelphia, New Orleans and Bridgeport, Connecticut, as well as Chicago. Johnson also lambasted Vallas for the makeup of his campaign donors, a significant number of whom are conservative businesspeople and hedge fund employees, arguing the fact of the matter is if were talking about the global economy and making sure we have full participation, you cant have people financing your campaign who do not believe in the existence of Black and brown people. Clearly the rhetoric is flowing, Vallas responded. The bottom line is Ive focused on focusing on the issues, and he focuses on everything else besides the issues. A woman from the audience shouted: Race is an issue! Advertisement First of all, voting for a budget is not managing a budget, Vallas continued, referring to the Cook County budget process in which the board president prepares the spending plan, which then goes to a county board vote. Rhetoric is no substitution for management. Ive managed multibillion dollars in four different cities. I rebuilt an entire school system in New Orleans, where every child was in either a new school or a 100% renovated school. So the bottom line is, Ive been dealing with these crises for years. In response, Johnson dismissed Vallas mixed record across the four cities where hes worked. This dude cant count, Johnson said. Everywhere he has gone, he has mismanaged budgets. The fact of the matter is, voting on a budget is managing a budget. I find it unconscionable for you to say that, because I vote on the budget, that a Black man cant come and manage one. Vallas did not respond to the remark. Chicago is deeply segregated with fractious racial politics. Vallas largely won conservative white wards on the Northwest and Southwest sides, while Johnson won progressive white voters. Lakefront voters downtown and up to Lakeview largely went with Vallas, but Johnson was the leading vote-getter north of there. Both candidates have some Black support, though Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who failed to advance to the runoff, won nearly all the citys Black wards. Since emerging as the runoff candidates, Vallas and Johnson have been working to expand their support, with a particular focus on Black voters. Vallas has launched a commercial featuring popular former Secretary of State Jesse White and touted support from businessman Willie Wilson, while Johnson has rolled out endorsements from Preckwinkle and U.S. Rep. Danny Davis. Advertisement ayin@chicagotribune.com gpratt@chicagotribune.com Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., asks questions during a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing to examine protecting public health and the environment in the wake of the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, Thursday, March 9, 2023, in Washington. | Kevin Wolf, Associated Press A Senate Committee hearing with Norfolk Southern allowed Republican and Democratic lawmakers to ask questions and receive answers from the train company responsible for a train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 3. The train had multiple cars carrying hazardous materials, and officials slowly released and burned the toxic chemicals into the air to prevent an explosion. Residents of East Palestine were evacuated during the release and burn, but after they returned, several complained of headaches, nausea, rashes and other symptoms that werent present before the crash. Here are some of the main takeaways from the Senate committee hearing looking into the environmental risks from the crash and looked for ways to prevent it in the future. Norfolk Southern issues an apology during Senate hearing CEO Alan Shaw started his testimony issuing an apology to those harmed by the accident. He also promised Norfolk Southern would help the town recover financially, CNN reported. I am determined to make this right. Norfolk Southern will clean the site safely, thoroughly and with urgency. You have my personal commitment. Norfolk Southern will get the job done and help East Palestine thrive, Shaw said, per CNN. Sen. J.D. Vance questions Norfolk Southern on following regulations Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, and Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, have cosponsored a bipartisan bill, The Railway Safety Act of 2023, to give the federal government rather than railroads oversight over the heat sensors on railroad tracks, according to The Hill. You cannot claim special government privileges and then resist basic public safety, Vance said, referring to stipends the railway industry received from the government, per The Hill. Shaw declined endorsing the regulation. Sen. Sanders asks if Norfolk Southern will provide sick leave Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., called into question labor practices within the industry, asking if Shaw would commit to providing sick leave for employees. Sanders asked for a yes or no answer, and Shaw said, I am committed to speaking to our employees about quality of life issues that are important to them, per NPR. Story continues EPA leader promises to step in to make East Palestine safe, if necessary Regional administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency promised to step in to ensure East Palestine air and water quality is safe and committed to continuing to test the area. If the company fails to complete any of the E.P.A.-ordered actions, the agency will immediately step in, conduct the necessary work and force Norfolk Southern to pay triple the cost, Shore said. Sen. Brown questions Norfolk Southern safety requirements Brown questioned whether the railway company prioritized profits over safety. If Norfolk Southern had paid a little more attention to safety and a little less attention to profits, had cared a little more about the Ohioans along its tracks and a little less about its executives and shareholders, these accidents would not have been as bad for maybe not happened at all, Brown said, per The Hill. Norfolk Southern is one of Americas biggest rail companies According to The Wall Street Journal, Norfolk Southern is one of the countrys largest railroad companies, transporting freight from coiled steel to corn syrup across nearly 20,000 miles of rail across the eastern U.S. Ohio has some of the operators busiest tracks. The company has committed to donating more than $20 million to families impacted by the crash. Shaw also created a $445,000 college scholarship fund to go to local students from East Palestine from his own private funds, per the WSJ. Seth Rogen is eager to extol the virtues of a child-free life and marriage. In an appearance on The Diary of a CEO podcast this week, the Pineapple Express and Knocked Up star reflected on the trajectory of his career in Hollywood. At one point in the chat, host Steven Bartlett pointed out that the actor and his wife, Lauren Miller, do not have children. That has helped me succeed as well, definitely, said Rogen, noting that his decision has afforded him more time and energy to focus on creative output. Theres a whole huge thing Im not doing, which is raising children. Rogen added that he didnt think having children would make him a happier person. A lot of people have kids before they even think about it, from what Ive seen, honestly, he said. You just are told: You go through life, you get married, you have kids thats what happens. And me and my wife, neither of us were like that. Honestly, the older we get, the more happy and reaffirmed we are with our choice to not have kids. The actor said he and Miller are able to understand ourselves more than we ever have with the freedom of only having to worry about one another. Lauren Miller and Seth Rogen met in 2004. Lauren Miller and Seth Rogen met in 2004. We have the capacity to achieve a level of work and a level of communication and care for one another, and a lifestyle we can live with one another that weve never been able to live before, he explained. And we can just do that, and we dont have to raise a child, which the world does not need right now. Rogen and Miller, a fellow actor and comedian, were married in Sonoma, California, in October 2011. They were introduced at a birthday party in 2004 and began dating shortly thereafter. This was before The 40-Year-Old Virgin, and I had no idea who he was, Miller recalled to Vulture in 2012. And I was really shy around guys, but he was also awkward and weird around girls. Though his parents told Us Weekly in 2019 that they were waiting for grandchildren from the pair, Rogen has previously expressed his lack of interest in parenthood. Story continues I dont know anybody who gets as much happiness out of their kids as we get out of our non-kids, Rogen told Howard Stern in 2021. Were laying in bed on Saturday mornings. smoking weed, watching movies naked. If we had kids, we could not be fucking doing this. As for Miller, he added: I would say she wants kids less than I do. Related... Ruins of the city of Sievierodonetsk According to our estimation, there are around 10,000 people (on Severodonetsk), said Striuk. Read also: Russian troops mining areas around Severodonetsk, Luhansk Oblast In regard to illegal (Russian) occupation authorities claims about people returning to the city, when it comes to about 30,000 of people, it seems to be fake. Although, residents of nearby towns Rubizhne, Kreminna are encouraged to move to the city, into ruined houses. He also noted that about 1,000 school students were in the city as of last September. Read also: Russians increasing military contingent in occupied Severodonetsk The situation is rather tough; the functioning of the city is limited, the governor added. The illegal occupation authorities managed to provide the city with limited power supply, water is supplied sporadically, but theres no heating or sewage processing. The only thing they managed to do is to connect some buildings that survived to several modular boilers they've brought to the city. Read also: Russian forces destroy Azot chemical plant in Severodonetsk Severodonetsk was occupied by Russian troops in June 2022, with most of the city being leveled during the fighting. 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 Shanquella Robinson. (Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: family handout [2]) More than four months after the death of Shanquella Robinson, a 25-year-old Charlotte, N.C., woman who died under mysterious circumstances while on a trip with six friends to Mexico, lawyers for the family have accused the FBI of not doing enough to arrest a suspect in the case, despite a bevy of mounting evidence. The FBI's response in the current case demonstrates that the U.S. authorities and the federal police agencies are not doing all that they could do in Shanquellas case, attorney Sue-Ann Robinson (who has no relation to the family) told Yahoo News. There seems to be no activity on behalf of Shanquella, attorney Ben Crump added. Robinson and Crump, who together represent the family, say the federal agencys response to four Americans kidnapped in Mexico last week and its subsequent fervor to solve the case, including a $50,000 reward offering, are evidence of protocol in place that isnt being followed in the same way for Shanquella Robinson. Obviously they know how to have that high level of intervention with the appropriate Mexican authorities, because they did it immediately [for the recently kidnapped Americans], attorney Robinson said. Our clients are very understanding of the level of complication in a transnational criminal case. But there's a protocol, so why isn't the protocol being used? The FBI has said its investigation is ongoing but did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Yahoo News. Details about Robinsons death On Oct. 28, Robinson traveled to the resort city of San Jose del Cabo, Mexico, with a group of friends to celebrate one of their birthdays. Less than 24 hours later she was found dead. Initially, her friends told her mother that Robinson had died of alcohol poisoning, but the family later received an autopsy report from the Mexican Secretariat of Health and learned she had suffered a broken neck and a cracked spine. No mention of alcohol was included in the report. In a death certificate obtained by Queen City News in Charlotte, Robinson's death was attributed to a severe spinal cord injury and atlas luxation, meaning that her first vertebra was loosened or detached from the base of her skull. Story continues Shanquella Robinson. (Via Instagram) Nearly a month later, a blogger in North Carolina published video footage that he alleged shows a woman attacking Robinson. Robinsons mother recognized the other people in the video as the ones who traveled with her daughter, and she believes it was captured on the trip to Cabo. In the 18 weeks since Robinsons death, the family says so much has happened and yet little movement in the case has taken place. In addition to the video coming to light, Mexican authorities issued an arrest warrant in the case in November for the crime of femicide, a form of gender-based violence. They also sought to extradite an American suspect to the country to face charges. But since then, no one has been held accountable. Attorney Robinson said she has since traveled to Mexico for a better understanding of the disconnect and was informed by the Mexican attorney generals office that this case is a high priority and theyre willing to turn it over to the U.S., but they claim its the FBI that has been stagnant. The FBI can issue the same reward they just did if they're seeking information, she said. They can say, Hey, we're offering a $50,000 reward for anybody who has information on this case. Because six travel-mates are at large. They're not in custody anywhere. They sleep in their beds at night. Its a predicament that has left a family distraught. "No one has been arrested," Robinson's mother, Sallamondra, said at a press conference last Friday. "The people who knew what happened to my daughter are living their lives. They have returned to work, and my family is left to wait and wait to beg for answers." Why a prosecution may take time Donald Corbett, an associate law professor at North Carolina Central University who specializes in constitutional law, understands the growing frustrations but believes a transnational prosecution of the person who killed Robinson is a bit more complex. There isn't a timeline where these things have to happen within 30 days or 60 days or 90 days, but the problem as they're going through whatever their process is, in the meantime, the family's sitting there and they're not getting any answers from the government, Corbett said. Irving Barrios, attorney general of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, and Luis Rodriguez Bucio, undersecretary of public security, speak on Tuesday about the kidnapping of four Americans in Matamoros, Mexico. (Hector Vivas/Getty Images) Its more than just a criminal issue, he said, adding that there are diplomatic and political aspects as well. Just because the extradition request is made doesn't automatically mean that person just gets shipped overseas, Corbett said. They will have a federal court process here in the States in which that person has an opportunity to challenge the extradition. And then the court system here will figure out whether they think it's a valid extradition request. This is all going to take time, and obviously when you're dealing with grief, the time only makes the grief worse in some ways. The family has elevated their demands for justice by calling on President Biden and the State Department to intervene in the matter. Its something Crump says may be the only way to get actual movement on the case, expressing frustration that the opportunities that have been presented thus far have been thwarted. We do have direct access to officials at the White House, and we've engaged one another on the matter, Crump said, adding that he believes the case deserves more haste because he feels a murder was committed. We're calling for high-level diplomatic intervention from the president or the State Department to do what is necessary to bring justice to the family of Shanquella Robinson. Attorney Ben Crump. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images) For some, Robinsons story evokes feelings similar to those felt in the 2005 disappearance of 18-year-old Natalee Holloway. Holloway, who was white, was on a high school graduation trip with classmates in Aruba but never boarded her flight home. She was last seen outside a nightclub with three locals, but no one has ever been officially charged in her death. Holloways disappearance made international news, filling headlines for months. But that case came before the days when social media can drive a story out of relevance just as soon as another story takes its place. Its even more the reason that Corbett says U.S. leaderships involvement could be key in helping move things along. You need someone to put an accelerant on the fire, he said, because at that point, if you have the president or a member of the Cabinet or high-ranking Justice officials say, Hey, what's going on with this? Let's get it moving, I think you would see some movement. Its been more than 130 days since Robinson was found dead, and according to her mother, with each passing day the anguish only grows stronger. "I don't wish that terrible nightmare on anyone, Sallamondra Robinson said last week. Shanquella Robinson, right, with her mom, Sallamondra, at left. (Family handout) As the number of days continues to pile up, Crump says the family and supporters are prepared to make more noise and organize even larger demonstrations at the presidents doorstep. We are going to look for opportunities, if there's nothing done, to have massive demonstrations to bring justice for Shanquella Robinson, he said. We are looking at day 200 and day 250 to organize at the White House to let them know that Shanquella Robinson's life matters and that Shanquella Robinson deserves justice. _____ Cover thumbnail photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: family handout (2) Sherri Shepherd Sherri Shepherd nearly had a wardrobe malfunction in the middle of her live daytime talk show on Thursday. As Decider reports, the near-incident happened at the shows top as Shepherd walked out and greeted the crowd. The post Sherri Shepherd Jokes About Her Near-Wardrobe Malfunction During Live Show appeared first on Blavity. As Decider reports, the near-incident happened at the shows top as Shepherd walked out and greeted the crowd. As she made her cheerful entrance, the pin holding the top of her dress came off. Later, when she settled into her seat, she addressed the issue. We had a little bit of a wardrobe snafu. In daytime [television], you cant have this much boob out, Shepherd said with a chuckle. Willie Sinclair III, her stylist, ran onto the stage to fix Shepherds dress. Before the doors opened, Willie said its too much boob so he pinned it right before the doors were supposed to open up, she explained. And I was standing there praying for yall and as the doors were opening up, the pin popped. I just pulled it and threw it out! And so as I walked out, I could just hear Willie go, [gasp]. She added that Sinclair III was back here fixing it, but he keeps pinning it in the back, but I keep telling him its heavy. Theyre going to keep pulling it forward. But we gotta do what we gotta do. So everyone, give Willie a hand. Sinclair III fixed the dress, and afterward, Sherri producer Jawn Murray let the audience know all was well with the talk show hosts fit. This is the magic of live television, everybody! She said. According to the St. Louis Dispatch, Shepherd will hit the stage with Kym Whitley for a live Two Funny Mamas show at the Grandel in St. Louis on March 10. The event will include B-Phlat, Andre Lavelle, and local comics Larry Greene and Rafe Williams. A Q&A will conclude the show. Its not near the top of its problems, but a California banks plans to renovate an office suite at a South End office tower is in limbo after regulators closed down the bank Friday. Silicon Valley Banks closure by regulators Friday is the largest bank to fail since the 2008 financial crisis, The New York Times reported. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. took over the bank in what is the second biggest bank failure in U.S. history, The Washington Post reported. Late last year, Silicon Valley Bank received a Mecklenburg County building permit for a $7 million renovation of a suite at The Line, a 16-story office tower that opened last May. The bank already had already moved into the building, a bank spokeswoman told The Charlotte Observer at the time. It was planning on opening additional office space in the building this year. Another bank comes to Charlotte this time from the Silicon Valley Those plans likely are not front of mind for Silicon Valley Bank. The bank on Wednesday announced it had sold off $21 billion of its most liquid investments; borrowed $15 billion; and organized an emergency sale of its stock to raise cash, The New York Times reported. The banks stock dropped 60% on Thursday, according to The Times. Heres what else to know about the closure, and the banks presence in Charlotte. The 16-story office tower called The Line in South End. Silicon Valley Bank had already moved into the building as of late last year, but those office plans are in limbo. Silicon Valley Banks in Charlotte Silicon Valley Bank was planning an upfit to Suite 1100 at The Line. The office tower was developed by Atlanta-based Portman Holdings. It has 285,000 square feet of office and nearly 30,000 square feet of retail. It will be home to Sycamore Brewing, which is moving from next door. The building sold last year to CBRE Investment Management for $206 million, according to county property records. It was not clear how much square footage Silicon Valley Bank took up at The Line or how many employees it had here. SVB Securities, the banks investment banking division, had already moved in, the Observer reported in January. Story continues The bank had been hiring for several open positions in Charlotte, including a business risk officer role. Silicon Valley Bank did not return a request for comment on Friday. Real estate firm Foundry Commercial is handling leasing of office space at the tower. The company did not return a request for comment. More about Silicon Valley Bank Silicon Valley Banks move this week to sell off billions in assets was unexpected to some tech investors and founders, The Washington Post reported. The bank is federally insured, meaning if it cant pay its depositors, they will get some money from the federal government, according to The Post. Shares in other banks fell Thursday, including a 6.2% drop from Wells Fargo, The Post reported. The bank, which dates back to 1983, is described as a tech start-up. It is a commercial bank with a focus on startups, technology and healthcare companies, according to its website. It has worked with clients like ZipRecruiter, Wayfair and Pinterest. Silicon Valley Bank collapsed on Friday after a run on deposits drove the Northern California institution into insolvency, marking the largest bank failure since the financial crisis. SVBs stunning downfall, which threatens to upend the U.S. venture capital industry, is sparking fears that other small and regional banks could face similar pressure amid soaring interest rates and shrinking deposits. We are looking at this closure of SVB as a sign of extremely concerning industry conditions, said Michele Alt, a former official at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a national bank regulator, and a partner at the advisory firm Klaros Group. Its reminiscent of past crises. And what we're really focused on are banks with unrealized losses. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and other policymakers are on alert that problems at the institution which had $209 billion in assets and counted more than half of Silicon Valley-backed startups and health-care businesses among its depositors could spread. Yellen told Congress that she was keeping a close eye on the bank's financial crunch shortly before the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation announced it had taken possession of the institution Friday morning. The FDIC seized control of the banks assets, an unusual move suggesting that immediate action was necessary. There are recent developments that concern a few banks that I'm monitoring very carefully, Yellen told lawmakers during a committee hearing. When banks experience financial losses, it is and should be a matter of concern. After the banks collapse, she convened the three federal banking regulators to discuss the fallout. Secretary Yellen expressed full confidence in banking regulators to take appropriate actions in response and noted that the banking system remains resilient and regulators have effective tools to address this type of event, Treasury said in a press release. Story continues The collapse sent the overall stock market tumbling. Shares of other regional banks, including First Republic Bank, PacWest Bancorp, Western Alliance Bancorp and Signature Bank, were frozen late Thursday with growing concerns of broader risks to the sector. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), whose Silicon Valley district includes both the bank and many of the venture capital and startup clients, urged the White House and Treasury to do whatever is legally permissible & appropriate to support the Bank which is central to the startup & tech economy, he said in a tweet on Friday. Silicon Valley Bank has been bleeding deposits as the Federal Reserve has aggressively raised borrowing costs to fight inflation. Higher interest rates bludgeoned many of the tech businesses that had deposited their money with the bank. As venture capitalists retreated from offering companies fresh infusions of capital to sustain their businesses, startups needed to burn through the cash in their accounts to stay afloat. Deposits the bank had on hand have fallen steadily over the last several months, according to S&P Global Ratings. Higher rates also meant more investments offered an attractive yield, leading some clients to pull out their deposits and put them elsewhere. In an effort to bolster its available cash, the firm sold off its securities portfolio and announced a stock offering, moves that contributed to panic about its financial health. Venture capitalists took to Twitter to alert businesses to start exploring alternative financing options, which contributed to the bank run that ultimately led to SVBs demise. SVB did not respond to a request for comment. The bank's swift descent into receivership comes after the implosion of Silvergate Capital another California financial institution that fell apart after its crypto-focused clientele pulled their funds. When banks run into trouble, they can be forced to sell off investment assets, typically U.S. government debt and mortgage-backed securities, that they purchased to earn a return on their customers deposits. As interest rates climb, the price of those older securities fall which means the banks sell those investments at a loss. Despite the SVBs high concentration of startup customers, markets arent gonna view Silicon Valley Bank as contained to Silicon Valley, Keith Noreika, a former acting Comptroller of the Currency and the executive vice president and chair of the banking supervision and regulation group at Patomak Global Partners, told POLITICO. Regulators and bankers are hopeful that the factors leading to SVBs failure are idiosyncratic and dont signal imminent problems at other financial institutions. Its rare for a larger bank to have customers so heavily concentrated in one sector, and more than 90 percent of those deposits were uninsured, according to its regulatory filings. (Deposit insurance is limited to $250,000 per person per bank.) Nevertheless, that might not offer much immediate comfort to cash-strapped businesses that didnt withdraw their funds from SVB during the panic earlier this week. There's some hope that the depositors will eventually get their money back if they're over the limit. But the problem is, they won't immediately get it back. And what kind of stress does that put on the depositors and the industries in the meantime? Noreika said. Jeremy White and Eleanor Mueller contributed to this story. CORRECTION: A previous version of this story misspelled Michele Alts first name. FTX and Silicon Valley Bank have one big thing in common: They failed. But those who deposited money with SVB were able to sleep a lot better Friday night after the bank was ordered to shut down than many FTX customers were. That's because many of SVB customers' deposits were insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), unlike FTX customers who haven't been able to access money in their accounts since the cryptocurrency exchange site declared bankruptcy. SVB's demise came after its customers, most of them technology workers and venture-capital-backed companies, began withdrawing their money as anxiety about the bank's financial stability spread this week. SVB market impact: Silicon Valley Bank's troubles are sending First Republic Bank, other bank stocks lower SVB collapse: Silicon Valley Bank assets seized by FDIC in largest bank failure since 2008 The FDIC announced Friday afternoon that customers who had up to $250,000 per account deposited with SVB, which was the nation's 16th-largest bank, will have access to their funds by Monday morning. Customers with accounts in excess of $250,000 were instructed to call the FDIC at 1-866-799-0959. What's the FDIC? The reason many SVB customers will have access to at least $250,000 of their deposits immediately is the financial institution backed by the FDIC. The FDIC is an independent branch of the government that was created during the Great Depression to restore the public's confidence in banks. During the Great Depression, many banks failed partly because they had lent out too much of the money customers deposited with them. At a basic level, banks make money by charging interest to lend money to people. But the money they lend often comes from customers' deposits. That isn't problematic unless the bank finds itself in a situation when every customer wants to withdraw their deposits at once in what's known as a bank run. Story continues The bank would have to tell many customers it doesn't have their money because it was lent out. That's probably what would have happened to SVB customers if the bank wasn't a member of the FDIC. When banks are members of the FDIC, they have to adhere to the agency's regulations designed to make sure they aren't engaging in dangerous practices that could jeopardize their customers' deposits. In exchange, the FDIC offers their customers insurance for up to $250,000 in deposits if the bank fails. An employee tells announces that Silicon Valley Bank headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif., is closed Friday after it was shut down by California regulators and placed in control of the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. FDIC takeover If an FDIC-insured bank can't pull itself from the brink of collapse, the FDIC will step in and try to help sell its remaining assets to a healthy bank. But when there are no buyers, the FDIC will take over the failing bank and pay its depositors up to the insured limit. That's what the agency did with SVB on Friday. When the FDIC takes over a bank, it gains control of all its assets by creating a new quasi-bank. In this instance, the FDIC created the Deposit Insurance National Bank of Santa Clara to receive all of SVB's assets and sell them as needed so that as many depositors as possible can get their money. FDIC bank failures FDIC-bank failures are rare. SVB is the first bank to fail since 2020. That should be "a wake-up call for people to always make sure their money is at an FDIC-insured bank and within FDIC limits and following the FDIC's rules," Bankrate analyst Matthew Goldberg said in a statement Friday. Since 2000, there have been more than 500 bank failures, according to the FDIC. As of December 2022, there were more than 4,700 FDIC-insured financial institutions. Government bailouts: The government has often intervened when an industry is in crisis Is your money safe in a bank? What a bank does and how are you protected Largest bank failures Washington Mutual was the biggest bank failure in U.S. history. It collapsed in September 2008 during the height of the Great Recession. SVB is the second-biggest failure. FDIC-insured banks You can find out whether the bank you deposit money in is FDIC-insured by using the FDIC's online BankFind tool or by contacting your bank directly. Elisabeth Buchwald is a personal finance and markets correspondent for USA TODAY. You can follow her on Twitter @BuchElisabeth and sign up for our Daily Money newsletter here Contributing: The Associated Press This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Silicon Valley Bank failed. The FDIC took it over: what that means The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency wants to relinquish its oversight of pet pesticide products in the wake of criticism for its handling of a popular flea and tick collar linked to more than 100,000 reports of pet injuries and deaths. Its bid to hand the job to the Food and Drug Administration caps a tumultuous period for the EPA triggered by a March 2021 Investigate Midwest/USA TODAY investigation that showed the collar has been the subject of more incident reports than any other product in EPA history. For years, EPA scientists have questioned the agencys ability to regulate pet products because of how it has handled complaints about Seresto since it came on the market in 2012, according to Investigate Midwest/USA TODAY reporting. The EPA said Seresto is a key part but not all of the reason for the proposal. Transferring regulation to FDA is a potential long-term solution, said Jake Li, EPAs deputy assistant administrator for pesticide programs, in an interview with Investigate Midwest. We can't play this whack-a-mole game where every time a Seresto-like incident comes up, we have to divert our staff to it, Li said. Investigation: Popular flea collar linked to almost 1,700 pet deaths. The EPA has issued no warning. Rhonda Bomwell of Somerset holds a pillow with an image of her 9-year-old Papillon, Pierre, who she says passed away due to the side effects of wearing a popular flea and tick collar for pets. The EPA has been conducting a formal review of Seresto for nearly two years and expects to finalize the updated science assessment in the next few months, Li said, adding that the FDA helped with the assessment, both by lending staff and a framework to evaluate post-market incident data. The work on Seresto illustrated the flaws with EPAs process, Li said. In our ongoing review of Seresto incidents what really became evident to us is that, compared to FDA, we at EPA have far fewer resources, which means staff, expertise, infrastructure and funding, to evaluate animal safety and carry out the ongoing monitoring of products in the marketplace, Li said. Li said the EPAs pesticide office has only two veterinarians on staff, and both were pulled from their regular duties to work on a review of Seresto almost full time, which slowed down their other jobs. Story continues The Seresto review has poached so much time out of people who are not assigned to any of this work that we believe there needs to be a much better solution for the long term, Li said. The agencies said in a joint whitepaper that FDA would need significant new resources to take over the management of the 600 topical products currently regulated by the EPA; however, the agencies said building a comparable program at EPA also would require even more resources and would be redundant with the FDAs system. FDA spokeswoman Veronika Pfaeffle said in an emailed statement that the current set-up doesnt accommodate scientific advancement. A modernized approach that better aligns with each agencys expertise will better protect animal health and safety and improve clarity for pet owners, Pfaeffle said in the email. Documents show the U.S. EPA knew that Seresto flea and tick collars accounted for more incidents of pet harm and death than any similar product. FDA should be the one-stop-shop Under the current setup, the EPA is responsible for regulating pet pesticide products that are not systemic, or arent supposed to enter the bloodstream, while the FDA regulates systemic pet pesticide products, which are generally consumed by pets. However, the agencies said in the recent whitepaper that scientists now understand that many topical flea and tick treatments, including spot-on treatments and collars, actually do enter a pets bloodstream, raising questions about the EPAs product approval process. Both agencies agree that FDA should be the one-stop-shop for animal drugs, for these external parasite treatments and so forth, Li said. The EPA and FDA are holding a joint virtual public meeting, titled Modernizing the Approach to the EPA and FDA Oversight of Certain Products, on March 22 at 1 p.m. EDT to discuss the changes. People can register for the meeting here. The proposal is also open for a 60-day public comment period until April 24. Moving this forward is a good thing, but it will take years to do. This is the beginning of a very, very long process, said Nathan Donley, environmental health science director of the Center for Biological Diversity, which petitioned to ban Seresto. Donley expressed concern the EPA is allowing harm to continue by failing to take action on products like Seresto. It doesn't let the EPA off the hook, Donley said. Theyve got to do things now that are in their authority. Seresto is just one product connected to major concerns about pet and human safety. In October 2022, the EPA announced it would ban flea and tick collars containing the chemical tetrachlorvinphos, which has been linked to neurological damage in children. EPA staff have also raised concerns in internal documents about pet products that contain fipronil, a chemical used in popular spot-on treatment Frontline Plus, which has been the subject of more than 5,000 human health incident reports, according to an Investigate Midwest review of incident data. Review in the works for years EPA staff sounded alarms about the safety of Seresto as early as 2015. But the agency did not launch a formal review until after the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity filed a petition asking the agency to cancel Seresto, following Investigate Midwest's and USA TODAYs reporting. Last summer, a congressional subcommittee called on the EPA to cancel Serestos registration, noting that Canada had rejected the collar based on the EPAs own incident data and the EPA found an even greater link between pet death and the collar than Canadian regulators did. Documents show the U.S. EPA had been aware since at least 2015 of a high number of incidents related to the Seresto flea and tick collar, then produced by Bayer. More: Congressional subcommittee seeks voluntarily recall of Seresto flea and tick collar For years, EPA and officials from Bayer and Elanco, which purchased the animal health division of Bayer including Seresto in 2020, met to discuss the agencys issues with the product. In those meetings, company officials blamed other factors, including the high number of Seresto collars sold. Elanco maintains the collar is safe based on internal studies. A company-funded analysis found that the two chemicals in Seresto imidacloprid and flumethrin have not been responsible for any pet deaths. EPA scientists did multiple comparisons over the years between Seresto and other products that indicated Seresto had a higher number of pet deaths than other products, documents show. Those scientists often emailed that information, until a superior told two scientists to keep their concerns off email. Yet the EPA did not make the public aware of any risks. The EPAs inspector general has launched a review into the agencys handling of incident reports associated with the product. Li said the proposal to transfer pet-pesticide product regulation to the FDA was in the works since before the public outcry over Seresto. Seresto is a key part of that, but it's not the only part, Li said. It predates Seresto by three to four years. It's really driven by the discussion between our career staff and the FDAs career staff. The EPA received reports of 50 to 100 pet deaths per three months linked to the Soresto flea and tick collar In a March 2021 presentation made in response to the Investigate Midwest/USA TODAY story about Seresto, EPA staff pointed out that compared to the FDA, the agencys process is lacking. The presentation noted the EPAs process relies on company-funded studies that use less sensitive pet breeds and small sample sizes. By comparison, the FDA has a much more comprehensive pet product regulation process, which includes pre-market clinical trials and post-market surveillance. The EPA also has no process for evaluating pet incident reports or any trigger for when incident numbers need further review. Documents show that EPA officials briefed Ed Messina, director of the Office of Pesticide Programs, which oversees all pesticides, on the FDA/EPA issues in March 2021, shortly after the Investigate Midwest/USA TODAY story was published. In response, Messina attempted to reach out to the FDA, but FDA staff members declined to give Messina the email for Dr. Steven Solomon, director of the FDAs Center for Veterinary Medicine. FDA counterparts dont seem to want to give us his contact information. We dont know what to do, its a very odd situation, wrote Meredith Laws, an EPA employee. Congressional action necessary to move forward The proposal is taking two separate but parallel tracks one for public input and one briefing Congress, Li said. In the end, Congress is the one who will decide whether and how to move this forward, Li said. We can only describe the challenges and what we're seeking directionally in terms of solutions. Li said the agencies are still briefing congressional committees on the proposal and arent yet finished. Pfaeffle, the FDA spokeswoman, said in her emailed statement that the agencies are working with Congress on potential solutions. We are asking for Congress help to work toward a modernized approach to product oversight that increases transparency and government efficiency, aligns with each agencys expertise and provides regulatory certainty to stakeholders, including animal owners, industry, veterinarians and others, the statement said. Li said the agencies have already met with industry and environmental groups to get feedback. We're in the very early stages of socializing this proposal, Li said. We decided, lets get this out there early and start to get some high-level feedback from folks, then adjust it and see what people say. Investigate Midwest (previously The Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting) is an independent, nonprofit newsroom focused on exposing dangerous and costly practices of influential agricultural corporations and institutions. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: EPA wants FDA to regulate flea collars after pet deaths draw criticism Election judge Marisol Diaz, center, helps a voter feed her ballot into the machine at Lawn Lanes bowling alley in Chicagos 23rd Ward on Feb. 28, 2023. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune) With Chicagos mayoral race winnowed to two candidates Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas and only a dozen or so aldermanic races headed to runoffs, Chicagoans will head to the polls one more time, on April 4, to settle who will take over the fifth floor at City Hall as well as the direction of the City Council for the next four years. Nearly half of Chicago voters didnt choose Johnson or Vallas in the Feb. 28 election, meaning the weeks leading up to the runoff will be an all-out sprint to get the voter support they need to win. Campaign limits have been lifted, meaning Chicagoans could see more ads funded by Super PACs, some of whom have dark money donors. Advertisement While the February elections were largely good news for incumbent aldermen, runoffs are all-but guaranteed in a dozen races the 4th, 5th, 6th, 10th, 11th, 21st, 24th, 30th, 36th, 43rd, 46th, and 48th wards and possible in the 1st, 29th and 45th. Most of the wards featured open races where the incumbent was stepping down or recently retired. See more here. And in the other three, it is too close to call because mail-in ballots that keep coming in have incumbents hovering right at the 50%+1 mark they need to avoid the runoff. Advertisement [ Search to find out what Chicago neighborhood, community area and ward you live in ] Among the results that are firmly decided: Chicago voters elected 62 people on Feb. 28 to serve on the citys first civilian police oversight councils, most of whom were supported by the National Alliance Against Racist & Political Repression. Another eight winners were endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police. What are the key dates to know? March 6: the first day to apply to vote by mail online for the April 4 runoff election. the first day to apply to vote by mail online for the April 4 runoff election. March 17: the earliest date when mail-in ballots are expected to be mailed to voters. the earliest date when mail-in ballots are expected to be mailed to voters. March 30: the last day for the board to review new vote-by-mail applications. the last day for the board to review new vote-by-mail applications. April 4: the runoff election and the deadline for a mail-in ballot to be postmarked in order for it to be counted. the runoff election and the deadline for a mail-in ballot to be postmarked in order for it to be counted. April 18: the last day that a mail-in ballot (postmarked by April 4) may arrive at the election board to be included in the count. Am I eligible to vote? Chicago voters must: be a U.S. citizen born on or before April 4, 2005 live in the same precinct at least 30 days before the election not claim the right to vote elsewhere not be in prison or serving time for a conviction How do I register to vote? Online: The deadline to register using an Illinois drivers license or state identification card is 11:59 p.m. March 19. The deadline to register using an Illinois drivers license or state identification card is 11:59 p.m. March 19. At an early voting site or on April 4: Show two acceptable forms of identification at least one must include a current address. Show two acceptable forms of identification at least one must include a current address. By mail: Download, fill out then mail this form by March 7. I voted by mail for the Feb. 28 election. Do I need to apply again? Yes, unless you signed up for the Permanent Vote By Mail Roster and chose municipal elections. Those on the permanent VBM roster will get an automatic VBM sent to their preferred address. If not, any voter in Chicago can request until March 30 another vote-by-mail ballot for the runoff. The online application is open now: https://www.chicagoelections.gov/en/vote-by-mail-application.html When voters receive their VBM ballot, they may return it through standard U.S. mail and it must be postmarked on or before Election Day in order to be counted. Voters may also return their Ballot Return Envelope to one of the secured drop boxes at any Chicago Early Voting location before or on Election Day. Its important to know that Election Day overlaps with Spring Break for many families. For Chicago Public Schools families, 2023 break begins April 3 and ends April 7. Max Bever, a spokesman with the Chicago Board of Elections, said, individuals can request to have their ballot mailed out of town or out of state, but its smart to request it as soon as possible. VBM ballots will start being mailed as soon as the ballot is finalized, approx. March 17 or March 18, he said. Will my polling place stay the same? All early voting sites from the last round of elections will stay the same. You can vote at any early vote location in all 50 wards and at the Loop Super Site starting March 20. If you preferred voting in-person at your precinct location on Election Day, its very likely but not certain your polling place will remain the same. It looks like all the same precinct polling places for now, though I imagine we will have some cancellations over the next couple of weeks. All polling place changes that happen will be communicated to voters in a letter, Bever said. Advertisement The only change is Ward 20, Precinct 13 its now at the Friend Health Center, 800 E. 55th St. Where do I return my mail-in ballot? These ballots should be delivered to voters soon. Chicago voters can mail their ballot or deposit it at any of the Chicago Board of Elections secured drop boxes. One important note: Each ballot must include the signed and sealed ballot return envelope with the voters name on it. Mail-in ballots can be returned to the drop boxes at: Chicago Board of Elections (Sixth floor, Board offices), 69 W. Washington St., Chicago. You can submit your ballots anytime at this site from March 17 through 7 p.m. Election Day (April 4). Chicago Election Board Annex (Loop Super Site), 191 N. Clark St., Chicago. 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Monday-Friday; 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturday; 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Sunday (March 20-26). 9 a.m.-7 p.m., Monday-Friday (March 27-April 4). 6 a.m.-7 p.m., Election Day (April 4). Any of the early voting sites, which will also be open April 4. 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Monday-Friday; 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturday; 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Sunday (March 20-April 4). 6 a.m.-7 p.m., Election Day (April 4). What if Ive received a mail-in ballot, but want to vote on Election Day instead? Bring that ballot with you when you go to vote in person to have the ballot that was mailed to you canceled. Are we seeing different voting trends? Yes and no, Bever said. Its become clear that we have a very similar number of total voters as we did in 2019 and 2015 Chicago voters just chose to early vote but especially Vote By Mail instead of showing up on Election Day, Bever said. I think you can see that precedent shows that we will likely see a similar number of overall total voters, rather than any explosive increase or decrease in ballots cast. Advertisement Where is my precinct polling place and is it accessible? Each voter is assigned to a polling place within their precinct. Use the map and list below to find yours. Sites are subject to change. Find the current list here. If you are concerned about the accessibility of your assigned polling place, you can vote at one of the citys early voting sites, which are all fully ADA accessible and open on Election Day to all voters, no matter where they live. Voters call the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners at (312) 269-7976 or email cboe@chicagoelections.gov with questions any questions. [ Chicago election: Voters with disabilities still face obstacles at scores of polling places ] Polling place accessibility status Low or no accessibility: One or more features of the voting area is likely to exclude voters with mobility impairments. Medium: An obstacle could prevent some voters from accessing the voting area. High: Voting area is fully compliant with ADA standards. Unknown: Sufficient information is not available to gauge voting area's accessibility. What if I cant make it to the polling place in my precinct? Except for the Chicago Board of Elections office at 69 W. Washington St., 51 early voting sites are also open 6 a.m.-7 p.m. on Election Day. See the current list here. Locations and hours of operation are subject to change, so check with your local jurisdiction for latest information. Type your address into the search box below to find the one closest to you. Advertisement Sources: Chicago Board of Election Commissioners; Tribune reporting (Reuters) - In early February, four members of an anti-junta group in the Myanmar city of Mandalay said they received a secret, one-page, handwritten note spirited out of a prison that details two days of clashes and beatings of female political prisoners. The note, received by the "Anti-Junta Forces Coordination Committee - Mandalay" and since seen by Reuters, provides the first detailed account of a crackdown on defiant female prisoners inside Mandalay's Obo prison that left scores of women injured, according to six activists and lawyers who work with political prisoners. Two family members of prison inmates contacted the anti-junta group after being told by prison authorities that they couldn't send food and packages to relatives, the four anti-junta group members said. The group started looking into the matter and, within days, received the note, the four members said. Two lawyers, two family members of inmates and the human rights minister from Myanmar's exiled parallel civilian government confirmed the information contained in the note. Reuters could not independently verify the authenticity of the note or the details it contains. A spokesman for Myanmar's military government that has ruled since seizing power in 2021 and two prison department officers did not answer repeated calls over two days from Reuters seeking comment. The junta has previously denied holding political prisoners, saying people in jail broke the law and were sentenced after due legal process. Human rights organisations have frequently criticised the hearings as kangaroo courts. Inside the prison, which rights activists say houses some 2,000 political inmates including 330 women, an altercation between an inmate and a prison official on Feb. 3 led to around 150 male prison guards arriving with slingshots, batons and bamboo sticks, the note, written in Burmese, said. "During that incident, more than 100 female political prisoners were seriously injured including a broken arm, eye injuries and facial bruises," the note said. Story continues The following day, some female prisoners and prison guards faced off again, leading to another bout of violent clashes, according to the note and the lawyers, activists and family members who spoke to Reuters. They said they obtained the information from around a dozen people, including prison wardens, medical staff and inmates. SERIOUS INJURIES All four activists declined to reveal exactly how the note was smuggled out, citing risk to individuals involved in the process and fearful that such routes to leak information from inside the prison may be blocked by authorities. The activists and lawyers said the note, and the details of the clashes on Feb. 3-4 they pieced together from conversations with prison staff and others, afforded a rare insight into what they described as harsh conditions faced by thousands of prisoners across Myanmar under military rule, including women, who are often given limited food and medicines. The activists, lawyers and family members interviewed by Reuters asked not to be identified for fear of repercussions as they are working inside Myanmar. In the second week of February, the parallel civilian government said in a social media post that 150 male guards at Obo prison had "violently beaten up" women inmates, supporting the version of events that the activists, lawyers and family members separately provided to Reuters. Of the 100 female inmates injured in the clashes, all aged between 20 and 35, 21 were seriously injured, including six who were hit in the head, according to activists and lawyers. The smuggled note did not specify injuries or provide such detailed figures. Myanmar's jails were inundated by new prisoners in 2021 after the junta seized power from the elected government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, triggering a wave of protests that has morphed into a guerrilla resistance movement. Accused by local and international rights activists of rampant abuses in its response, the junta has said that it has a duty to ensure peace and security, and that it is carrying out a legitimate campaign against terrorists. The junta has imprisoned around 16,000 people, more than 3,000 of them women, as of Feb. 28, according to the non-profit Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. 'THEY USED MEN' TO GUARD WOMEN Aung Myo Min, the human rights minister in Myanmar's exiled parallel civilian government, said Obo prison authorities had violated prison rules by using male guards to handle female inmates. "As these people are women prisoners, they have to be handled by women prison guards. But they used men, he told Reuters, echoing similar allegations made separately by activists and lawyers. Male guards cannot enter dormitories housing female inmates without the presence of women guards and female inmates cannot be physically beaten, according to a copy of a nationwide prison rule book published in 1992 seen by Reuters. Reuters could not independently verify if there were any female guards present during the incidents on Feb. 3-4 or if the rule book remains current. "They used excessive force," Aung Myo Min said, adding that his ministry had investigated the violence at Obo prison. He declined to explain how the investigation was conducted and offered no evidence to support the allegation. The anti-junta group and two Mandalay-based lawyers who work with political prisoners said those involved in the violence were also denied medical care. "They refused to give medicines to the injured prisoners after beating them severely. We had to use under-the-table methods to be able to send medicine," one lawyer said. Reuters could not independently verify that information. After the violence, 72 female political prisoners were isolated from other inmates at Obo and dozens were transferred to other jails without their families being notified, according to three activists, two lawyers and two family members. (Reporting by Reuters staff; writing by Devjyot Ghoshal; editing by Mark Heinrich and Nick Macfie) Winter weather prompted Shasta College to cancel in-person classes and close offices on Thursday, March 9, 2023. North State colleges announced they will cancel some classes and close facilities on Thursday due to snowy hazardous roads, and in some cases, power outages. College representatives made public schools' plans to close some or all facilities on Thursday afternoon after several straight hours of snowfall in parts of Shasta and Siskiyou counties. Roads, including parts of Interstate 5, are closed or require chain controls, blocking some commuting students' access to campuses. "Snow has been falling steadily for several hours and is continuing to fall at this time," Shasta College spokesman Peter Griggs said at 4 p.m. "The snow is providing a light covering of campus grounds and walkways, making walking and transportation hazardous. Here are colleges that announced closures on Thursday. Shasta College Shasta College canceled all in-person classes and closed their offices on Thursday. Closures include Redding's Downtown Health Science, the University Center and Tehama County campuses, according to Griggs. Online classes are still in session. School staff plan to reopen and have operations return to normal on Friday, Griggs said. For more information or emergencies people should call campus safety at 530-242-7910. College of the Siskiyous The College of the Siskiyous announced it closed its Weed and Yreka campuses at 2:45 p.m. on Thursday. The school posted on its website Thursday afternoon the closures were "due to severe weather and power issues at both campuses." Zoom and online classes are still in session. As of 4 p.m., the school has not announced when it plans to re-open for in-person classes. Simpson University Simpson University is closed for all in-person classes in its day and evening programs, according to the school's Campus Safety Department. Online classes are still in session. As of Thursday afternoon, the school plans to go ahead with Friday classes. More:UPDATE: Trucks being stopped on I-5 north of Redding Jessica Skropanic is a features reporter for the Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. She covers science, arts, social issues and news stories. Follow her on Twitter @RS_JSkropanic and on Facebook. Join Jessica in the Get Out! Nor Cal recreation Facebook group. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. Thank you. This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: California winter storm cancels class at Shasta College, 2 more schools A series of warm atmospheric river storms are expected to bring another bout of flooding to California, continuing a season of dramatic and damaging rain and snow. With the abundant rain coming from these atmospheric rivers, we will see flood impacts again, Michael Anderson, the California state climatologist, said in a Thursday news briefing, calling some of the expected precipitation totals astounding. At least 10 rivers are expected to exceed their flood stages, according to the California Nevada River Forecast Center as of Thursday afternoon. Many of the same locations were hammered by floods in January, as storm after storm pummeled central and northern California. By 6 p.m. Thursday, around 1 inch of rain had fallen in parts of the San Francisco Bay Area, including Oakland and Berkeley, according to the National Weather Service. Urban areas in the region were forecast to get up to 3 inches, with up to 6 inches in coastal areas and inland hills, it said. At higher elevations, freezing levels are expected to rise. Rain falling on top of recent snow will likely cause avalanches as the snowpack absorbs several inches of water. In mountain towns, weather experts and local officials have been warning that rain could be absorbed by rooftop snow and cause buildings to collapse. Avalanche warnings were issued for the central Sierra Nevada Thursday, according to the Sierra Avalanche Center. There is a real risk of structural stability issues and roof collapses, said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA and the National Center for Atmospheric Research, during a recent YouTube discussion of the extreme weather. Thats going to be a fairly widespread problem. Its already happening and additional rain on snow will likely make that problem worse. California Gov. Gavin Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency for 21 counties in the state; 13 other counties were in a state of emergency last week. An atmospheric river began moving into California on Thursday, raising the risk of floods, forecasters and other officials said. Story continues What could be dangerous rainfall was moving into the Fresno area, and Carson Pass in the Sierra Nevada was closed due to heavy snow, officials said. On the California coast, scenic Highway 1 was closed for an around 40-mile stretch from Big Sur to Ragged Point because of reports of rockfalls, the California Department of Transportation said Thursday evening. While rain fell Thursday, "that was just the very, very top tip of the iceberg, National Weather Service Meteorologist Brian Garcia said at a briefing for Santa Cruz County. Here is a satellite loop of the current atmospheric river that is now over California. #nvwx pic.twitter.com/8tP6ei1Zoa NWS Elko (@NWSElko) March 9, 2023 Warm rains had local officials on alert for flooding. Its going to melt the snow, and on top of that we have warm water on top of the snow, Fresno County Emergency Services Director Terri Mejorado said at a news conference Wednesday in which she urged residents to be prepared. Downtown Fresno is forecast to get 3 inches of rain from Thursday evening to Saturday morning, but warm rain and warm temperatures will also melt snow at lower mountain elevations, she said, causing streams to rapidly grow. The Fresno County Sheriffs Office on Tuesday issued evacuation warnings for the foothills and mountains, and told people to be ready to leave. Winter storm warnings covered a swath from southern Oregon to near Bakersfield, where residents were told to be on the watch for floods, according to the National Weather Service. Flood watches were in place for Fresno and the Sacramento Valley until Sunday. Sequoia and the adjacent Kings Canyon national parks in the Sierra Nevada are closing their entrances due to the weather. Heavy rain is forecast for elevations that have up to 12 feet of snow on the ground, the National Park Service said. "There is major potential for flooding and serious road and infrastructure damage, in the parks as well as the surrounding communities," it said in a statement. Forecasters in the San Francisco Bay Area warned of a risk of considerable river flooding from the Santa Cruz Mountains and south to Monterey County. Preparations should be completed by the end of the day today, the weather service said Wednesday. Further south and closer to the coast, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties could get 4 inches of rain, according to the weather service in Oxnard. Parts of the San Luis Obispo coast and foothills could get up to 8 inches, it said. In late February, a powerful winter storm brought blizzard conditions and several feet of snow to the Southern California mountains, including around 7 feet to parts of the San Bernardino Mountains, northeast of Los Angeles. The heavy snow isolated some communities and trapped some residents in their homes. Wrightwood, a community of 4,700, got around 50 inches of snow, or a little more than 4 feet, according to the weather service. Mountain highways began to reopen this week after being closed for more than 10 days. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com A Mexican state security official said that five men had been found tied up inside one of the vehicles that authorities had been searching for, along with the letter A Mexican cartel accused of abducting and killing American tourists looking for a tummy tuck has handed over five of its own members along with an apology note, saying they had shown a lack of discipline. In the letter, the Scorpions faction of the Gulf cartel apologised to the residents of Matamoros, a Mexican woman who died in the shootout, the four Americans and their families. We have decided to turn over those who were directly involved and responsible in the events, who at all times acted under their own decision-making and lack of discipline, the letter said. The individuals had gone against the cartels rules, which include respecting the life and well-being of the innocent, it added. The letter was released alongside a photograph showing a group of men tied up and smirking in front of a pickup truck allegedly used in the attack in the border town of Matamoros. The letter apologising for the kidnappings Shaeed Woodard, Zindell Brown, Latavia McGee and Eric James Williams were targeted after arriving in the town last Friday. Mother-of-six McGee was due to undergo tummy tuck cosmetic surgery. The procedure is far cheaper in Mexico, and it is thought that the group became lost while driving around in a white van, trying to find the clinic. Officials believe that the cartel mistook them for a gang of Haitian drug smugglers and they soon came under attack, with all four being dragged into a pickup truck and taken away. Woodard and Brown were found dead on Monday in a wood cabin south-east of the city. McGee and Williams have now returned home to the US. Jerry Wallace, a cousin of Eric Williams said his family feels great knowing that hes ok, but does not accept the cartels apology. It aint gonna change nothing about the suffering that we went through, he told the Associated Press. The two Americans who died were identified as Zindell Brown and Shaeed Woodard (pictured) The incident has caused a diplomatic rupture between the US and Mexico, with Republican lawmakers advocating military action against drug cartels. Dan Crenshaw, a representative from Texas urged the Biden administration to initiate military action against cartels, while Senator Lindsey Graham from South Carolina demanded that US forces destroy drug labs, though he added that the military should not forcibly enter Mexico. Story continues Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the Mexican president, issued a furious response, saying: We are not going to allow any foreign government to intervene and much less foreign armed forces to intervene in our territory. Mexico is not a protectorate or a colony of the United States. The war of words continued on Friday, as Mr Graham responded: What offends me is for him not to take decisive action against a common problem. He has lost control of a large part of Mexico to narco terrorists. People in Mexico are living in fear. My country is being poisoned. I dont care if hes offended or not. I want him to up his game. Business as usual is not going to continue. Unrest within Mexico There is also unrest within Mexico about how Americans taken by the cartel are treated differently to Mexicans who have gone missing. The Americans abductions brought National Guard troops and an Army special forces outfit to the area - with the apparent perpetrators flushed out within a week. But in Mexico, some more than 112,000 people remain missing nationwide - about a tenth of them in Tamaulipas - the state where the Americans were taken. If these people had been Mexicans, they might still be disappeared, said Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera, an associate professor at George Mason University. Delia Quiroa, from the nearby city of Reynosa, has been looking for her brother Roberto for nine years, since he was captured by cartel gunmen. Despite carrying out their own searches and pressuring authorities to investigate, the family knows nothing about his whereabouts. We wish the government would search for our disappeared with the same zeal and diligence, she said. (Reuters) - Richard "Alex" Murdaugh, the South Carolina lawyer convicted last week of murdering his wife and son, appealed his conviction and life sentence on Thursday, according to court records. Murdaugh, 54, a member of a powerful South Carolina family, was found guilty on March 2 on two counts of shooting his wife Maggie, 52, and youngest son, Paul, 22, on their family estate on June 7, 2021. Attorneys for Murdaugh, who prosecutors said carried out the murders as part of an attempt to hide a drug addiction and theft of millions of dollars, filed a notice of appeal before the state's appeals court. Circuit Court Judge Clifton Newman on March 3 sentenced Murdaugh to prison for the remainder of his life, with terms for both murders to run consecutively. It was the sentence requested by prosecutors, who did not seek the death penalty. The scion of an influential legal family in an area west of Charleston, Murdaugh had faced a minimum of 30 years in prison for each of the two counts of murder under South Carolina law, as well as up to 10 years for two related firearms charges. For decades until 2006, Murdaugh family members served as the leading prosecutor in the area, and Murdaugh was a prominent personal injury attorney in the state. Murdaugh has maintained his innocence. During his trial, prosecutors said Murdaugh fatally shot his wife and son to distract from an array of financial misdeeds, including the theft of millions of dollars from his law partners and clients, money used to feed a years-long addiction to opioids and support an expensive lifestyle. Murdaugh's lawyers tried to paint their client as a loving family man who, while facing financial difficulties and a drug addiction, would never harm his wife and child. (Reporting by Brad Brooks in Lubbock, Texas; Editing by David Gregorio) JUBA (Reuters) -South Sudan President Salva Kiir held "frank deliberations" with opposition leader First Vice President Riek Machar on Friday, the minister of presidential affairs said, a week after Kiir breached a peace agreement by sacking two top security ministers. The meeting was held in a collegial spirit, but ended in deadlock, Machar's office said in a statement. Kiir fired defence minister Angelina Teny, who is also Machar's wife, and interior minister Mahmoud Solomon last Friday, moves that threaten to unravel a fragile peace agreement that ended the 2013-18 civil war. The president also handed the defence ministry to his party, a role which, under the agreement, Machar's party is meant to appoint. South Sudan gained independence in 2011, but two years later was plunged into a civil war between forces loyal to Kiir and Machar that killed 400,000 people. Despite the 2018 peace deal, bouts of fighting have continued to kill and displace large numbers of civilians. The implementation of the deal has been slow, and the two men have clashed frequently over how to share power. "The leaders had frank deliberations in a friendly atmosphere that reflected the spirit of reconciliation, prosperity and commitment to the peace agreement," presidential affairs minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin said in a statement. "The two principals agreed in a spirit of dialogue and cooperation to convene another meeting at a later date to find amicable solutions on these issues," Marial said. (Reporting by Waakhe Wudu; writing by Hereward Holland; Editing by Josie Kao and Grant McCool) Pra-chid / Getty Images/iStockphoto Understanding what the average income is in your state can help you get a sense of where your own salary falls. Averages are typically measured in two ways: mean and median. Mean or "average" income takes the total amount of earnings across a sample and divides it by the number of participants. Median income, on the other hand, is the midway point of a sample, with half the people sampled earning above the median and half earning less. Do You Have a Money Question? Ask an Expert Read More: With a Recession Looming, Make These 3 Retirement Moves To Stay On Track The difference can be significant. High earners can skew the average income much higher than the median income. To use a simple example, if two earners make $20,000, one makes $40,000 and two make $120,000, the median income is $40,000. However, the average is $64,000. Thus, depending on how you measure "average" income, the figures can be highly variable. This differential can be seen in terms of the U.S. as a whole, where the average family household income is $97,962 but the median is just $69,717. Regional differences can also play a huge role in average income. States with higher costs typically also have higher average wages. However, some states have higher wages overall regardless of typical expenses. For example, California is regarded as a high-cost state, and average salaries top $111,000. However, Minnesota is not generally considered an expensive place to live, yet average salaries top $96,000 in the state, above the national average income of $91,547. Take Our Poll: Do You Think You Will Be Able To Retire at Age 65? To help get the black-and-white figures for worker income in every U.S. state, GOBankingRates conducted a study using five-year estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2021 American Community Survey. Both mean and median state income figures were tallied. Results are presented in alphabetical order, from Alabama to Wyoming. SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images Alabama Average household income: $76,150 Median household income: $54,94 Story continues gabrielasauciuc / Getty Images Alaska Average household income: $103,258 Median household income: $80,287 dszc / Getty Images/iStockphoto Arizona Average household income: $89,693 Median household income: $65,913 DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images/iStockphoto Arkansas Average household income: $73,346 Median household income: $52,123 Take Our Poll: How Much Salary Would Buy You Happiness? Art Wager / Getty Images California Average household income: 119,149 Median household income: $84,097 milehightraveler / Getty Images/iStockphoto Colorado Average household income: $107,446 Median household income: $80,184 SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images/iStockphoto Connecticut Average household income: $120,670 Median household income: $83,572 DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images/iStockphoto Delaware Average household income: $97,081 Median household income: $72,724 Sean Pavone / Getty Images/iStockphoto Florida Average household income: $88,267 Median household income: $61,777 Sean Pavone / Getty Images/iStockphoto Georgia Average household income: $91,082 Median household income: $65,030 sorincolac / Getty Images/iStockphoto Hawaii Average household income: $113,310 Median household income: $88,005 vkbhat / Getty Images Idaho Average household income: $83,777 Median household income: $63,377 lhongfoto / Getty Images/iStockphoto Illinois Average household income: $100,719 Median household income: $72,563 f11photo / Getty Images/iStockphoto Indiana Average household income: $81,703 Median household income: $61,944 JoeChristensen / Getty Images/iStockphoto Iowa Average household income: $84,948 Median household income: $65,429 Davel5957 / Getty Images/iStockphoto Kansas Average household income: $87,033 Median household income: $64,521 NatChittamai / Getty Images/iStockphoto Kentucky Average household income: $76,511 Median household income: $$55,454 SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images/iStockphoto Louisiana Average household income: $77,025 Median household income: $53,571 SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images/iStockphoto Maine Average household income: $83,914 Median household income: $63,182 HaizhanZheng / Getty Images/iStockphoto Maryland Average household income: $120,234 Median household income: $91,431 DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images/iStockphoto Massachusetts Average household income: $123,174 Median household income: $89,026 Pawel Gaul / Getty Images/iStockphoto Michigan Average household income: $85,727 Median household income: $63,202 AndreyKrav / Getty Images/iStockphoto Minnesota Average household income: $102,691 Median household income: $77,706 SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images/iStockphoto Mississippi Average household income: $68,636 Median household income: $49,111 DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images Missouri Average household income: $83,152 Median household income: $61,043 miroslav_1 / Getty Images Montana Average household income: $82,237 Median household income: $60,560 Davel5957 / Getty Images/iStockphoto Nebraska Average household income: $87,815 Median household income: $66,644 f11photo / Getty Images/iStockphoto Nevada Average household income: $89,562 Median household income: $65,686 DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images/iStockphoto New Hampshire Average household income: $108,061 Median household income: $83,449 SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images/iStockphoto New Jersey Average household income: $124,626 Median household income: $89,703 DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images/iStockphoto New Mexico Average household income: $74,363 Median household income: $54,020 Frederic Prochasson / Getty Images/iStockphoto New York Average household income: $111,583 Median household income: $75,157 digidreamgrafix / Getty Images/iStockphoto North Carolina Average household income: $84,888 Median household income: $60,516 DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images/iStockphoto North Dakota Average household income: $89,443 Median household income: $68,131 DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images/iStockphoto Ohio Average household income: $83,820 Median household income: $61,938 Davel5957 / Getty Images Oklahoma Average household income: $78,040 Median household income: $56,956 Long_Strange_Trip_01 / Getty Images/iStockphoto Oregon Average household income: $94,034 Median household income: $70,084 f11photo / Getty Images/iStockphoto Pennsylvania Average household income: $92,849 Median household income: $67,587 SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images/iStockphoto Rhode Island Average household income: $97,908 Median household income: $74,489 SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images/iStockphoto South Carolina Average household income: $81,142 Median household income: $58,234 EunikaSopotnicka / Getty Images/iStockphoto South Dakota Average household income: $83,175 Median household income: $63,920 Sean Pavone / Getty Images/iStockphoto Tennessee Average household income: $82,012 Median household income: $58,516 Pgiam / Getty Images Texas Average household income: $94,115 Median household income: $67,321 johnnya123 / Getty Images/iStockphoto Utah Average household income: $101,412 Median household income: $79,133 DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images Vermont Average household income: $89,820 Median household income: $67,674 traveler1116 / Getty Images/iStockphoto Virginia Average household income: $111,013 Median household income: $80,615 july7th / Getty Images/iStockphoto Washington Average household income: $111,431 Median household income: $82,400 benedek / Getty Images West Virginia Average household income: $69,436 Median household income: $50,884 FierceAbin / Getty Images/iStockphoto Wisconsin Average household income: $87,733 Median household income: $67,080 WitGorski / Getty Images Wyoming Average household income: $87,786 Median household income: $68,002 More From GOBankingRates Jake Arky, Jordan Rosenfeld and John Csiszar contributed to the reporting for this article. Methodology: In order to determine each state's average income (i.e., mean income), GOBankingRates used the five-year estimates from the 2021 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The same information was used to find each state's median household income. All data were collected and are up to date as of Mar. 7, 2023. This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: How Do You Stack Up To the Average Income in Your State? By Elizabeth Howcroft LONDON (Reuters) - Zodia Custody, a crypto custodian owned by Standard Chartered, said on Friday it has registered its Irish unit with Luxembourg's financial regulator. The registration will allow Zodia to provide digital asset custody services for financial institutions in Luxembourg, the company said. According to the regulator's website, Zodia will be subject to supervision from the watchdog for compliance with rules around anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism. "There is a massive opportunity for financial institutions to offer a range of products and services related to cryptoassets," John Cronin, chief executive of Zodia Custody Ireland, said in a statement on Friday. Cronin said the firm is seeing increasing interest from investors in establishing products such as a "RAIF" - a type of Luxembourg investment fund for alternative assets that can be set up without regulatory approval. The registration was first reported by Bloomberg News on Thursday. (Reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta) MILAN (Reuters) - ACC, a joint venture of Stellantis, Mercedes and TotalEnergies, said on Friday its planned Italian battery making plant was expected to start operations in 2026. The plan will involve an overall investment worth over 2 billion euros ($2.1 billion) in Italy, including public funds, ACC said in a statement after meeting unions in Rome. Carmaker Stellantis has plans to develop three 'gigafactories' in Europe to serve its increased production of battery electric vehicles. They will be built in France, Germany and Italy, through ACC, with a capacity of 40 gigawatt hours (GWh) each by 2030. The Italian project will be set up in the southern city of Termoli, through the conversion of an existing Stellantis engine and gearbox plant, currently employing around 2,000 workers. It should start operations at the beginning of 2026, while it should reach full capacity in 2030 with at least 1,800 employees, ACC said in the statement. ($1 = 0.9377 euros) (Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari; Editing by Keith Weir) CBS A lot of smack was being talked about Donald Trump and his cronies by the higher-ups at Fox News in the months following his failed 2020 re-election bid, but only behind his back. On the air, the network kept things MAGA as usual, but the revelations by Dominions latest court filings has many current Fox News employees worried the document dump could sully the reputation of the networks straight news journalists. Which gave Stephen Colbert a pretty big chuckle: Thats like the people at Taco Bell worrying that the Cool Ranch and Fiery Doritos Locos Tacos is going to further sully the reputation of their ass-blasting salt pockets, Colbert said Thursday. Several Fox News employees spoke with The Daily Beast about the current temperature at the network (its icy), and the Late Show host shared some of the choicest quotes with viewers on Thursday night. When one employee referred to the revelation of hundreds of texts and other once-private communications between network executives as soul-crushing, Colbert thought it was nice to know that someone there still has a soul. Because we know so few of them have a brain. Another Fox employee commented on the low morale, saying: Its just a really bad time to be working here, Colbert explained. Yes, unlike the golden age of their journalism: warning us about woke LEGOs and longing for Mr. Potato Heads lost penis. But really, Colbert had a pretty solid piece of advice for those employees who are clearly pained by the fact that their superiors were repeatedly mocking Trump amongst each otherwith Tucker Carlson even stating that he hated Trump passionatelybut using their airtime to play into yhe Big Lie. You know what you can do if its a really bad time to be working at Fox News? You can quit, Colbert shared. Its legal. Youre not handcuffed to a radiator in the basement. Unless you are. 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. After marking his ballot, Chicago mayoral candidate Paul Vallas heads to the ballot box to cast his vote at Healy School in the 11th Ward on Election Day, April 4, 2023. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune) Paul Vallas Facebook account liked a series of comments that attacked Democrats, referred to Chicago as a hell hole and S---cago and labeled Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker the king of full term abortion, a Tribune review of his social media found. The Facebook likes raise new questions about the Chicago mayoral candidates social media presence after the Tribune first reported his Twitter account liked a series of tweets that used racist language or insulted Mayor Lori Lightfoot in personal terms. The latest revelations also clash with Vallas assertion that he is a lifelong Democrat and attempts to position himself as a centrist. Advertisement In a statement, the Vallas campaign said the offensive comments should not have been liked. As mentioned before, Paul does not personally manage the campaigns social media accounts and this kind of abhorrent rhetoric does not represent his views. He had nothing to do with these actions, but the campaign takes responsibility and has restricted access to the account. These were offensive statements and should not have been liked by anyone. Advertisement Although the Vallas campaign said he had nothing to do with the likes, the pages also commented in his name. The statement about his Facebook account activity followed the campaigns response to questions about his Twitter likes, which he initially attributed to unidentified people with access to his account before claiming he was hacked. Vallas has been a prolific social media presence in recent years, frequently posting about issues like crime and schools and criticizing Lightfoot. She was his main political rival this election cycle until she was eliminated in the first round of voting last week, with Vallas and Brandon Johnson advancing to the April 4 runoff instead. But the Tribune review also found the accounts engaging with offensive or controversial content. Last June, for instance, the Vallas Facebook account liked a post about crime that said, Please Stop the Madness in this once great city S---cago! A month later, the Vallas account liked a post that declared, I hope you win Paul. Chicago has become a total hell hole! As Vallas makes his second bid for Chicago mayor, the former Chicago Public Schools CEO has had to defend his Democratic bona fides while also trying to promote a law-and-order platform and other themes that have drawn support from conservatives in the city and state. Much of his political war chest has been raised from Republican donors, which he attributes to his support from the business community. But he has drawn attacks for his associations with figures such as the firebrand Chicago Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara and right-wing former state Rep. Jeanne Ives, who unsuccessfully ran for the GOP gubernatorial nomination in 2018. And comments disparaging Illinois Democratic governor were among those the Vallas Facebook account liked, including one that read: The king of full term abortion pritzker doesnt care about your childs education. Vallas account also criticized a state law that establishes health and sex education standards starting from kindergarten and is condemned by some conservative and anti-LGBTQ groups including Awake Illinois, a suburban group that has taken extreme positions and called Pritzker a groomer. Advertisement A couple of months before the governor signed that measure into law, a June 2021 post on Vallas Facebook account opened with THE BEGINNINGS OF A PARENT LED REVOLUTION? and praised his fellow critics of teachers unions in the fight over in-person schooling during the pandemic. Despite those successes, SB 818, which clearly transforms sex education into sexuality education beginning at a very young age, sits on the Governors desk awaiting his signature, the post read. Parents should tell the Governor to veto that legislation. Vallas profile also employed the word thug in a June 2021 post that said, The breakdown of the lawlessness can (be) seen in the videos of young thugs climbing on police cars while they are patrolling and the police cannot do anything about it. His account liked a comment under that post that read: So many things to see in this beautiful city but you cant anymore. As long as the liberal politicians are at the helm, letting these thugs run wild, its over with. No thanks, Ill spend my money where its thug free and I feel safe. One year later in June 2022, weeks after Vallas jumped into the mayors race, his account liked another comment that refers to thugs under a post of his lamenting an apparent smash and grab crime spree that encompassed Edison Park and suburban Lincolnwood. Then as usual these thugs make their way to the collar counties, however in DuPage they are chased, apprehended, and then held and charged, the comment said. The thugs are almost always surprised by that! The term thug has been criticized as racially insensitive and used to disparage Black people. Advertisement While many of the contentious posts involved crime and violence, the Vallas account also liked an August 2021 post criticizing the Chicago Teachers Union, which is now backing Johnson. Shame on the ctu they dont care about the kids lets get rid of all teachers and start from scratch, the commenter wrote. Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 88 Gov. J.B. Pritzker, left, greets Chicago Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson at the governor's downtown Chicago office on April 7, 2023. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune) Later that year, the Vallas account also liked a post that said, School Choice is the answer. Charter schools and private schools. Let parents choose. Defund CPS. In addition to liking posts, the Vallas account also interacted with some commenters. On one of Vallas anti-crime posts, a commenter wrote: Yet you wont blame democrats in Chicago for all the shootings n murders? The Vallas account responded: I have over and over again. Please read all my prior posts. Vallas Facebook account also liked a comment that said, Dems are trying to kill businesses, make everyone dependent on government handouts, which they completely control..... more power. Since emerging as the front-runner during the first phase of the mayoral campaign, Vallas has been continuously dogged by questions about his true political stripes, stemming in part from a 2009 statement that he identified as more of a Republican than a Democrat and considered running for Cook County Board as a Republican. He has since said it was about finding a foothold to take on then-Board President Todd Stroger, who came from a powerful Democratic family and whose father, John Stroger, headed the Cook County Board for 12 years. Advertisement Ultimately, Vallas did not run as a Republican. He ran as the Democratic lieutenant governor candidate in 2014. Vallas also faced other questions about his affiliations. He came under fire last summer for attending an Awake Illinois event. Vallas later said his attendance was a mistake, but the organization recently published a clip from a March 2021 rally of him saying that its president, Shannon Adcock, should maybe run for governor. Multiple tweets liked by the @paulvallas Twitter account praised the stop-and-frisk policing tactic that allows forced searches based on reasonable suspicion. The practice has grown widely unpopular amid charges of racial profiling complaints that Chicago police have also fielded from the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois and in lawsuits. Vallas disavowed those likes, but his Facebook account also liked a 2021 post saying stop n frisk worked. Im sorry it affected so many minorities, but if youre a criminal, it doesnt matter what color you are, you must pay the consequences. Aside from social media, Vallas has also appeared on conservative-hosted podcasts and radio shows, where he has made sarcastic comments about Democrats including former President Barack Obama and Pritzker, while also contending that Illinois U.S. senators, Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, were rubber stamp votes for Democratic initiatives. On several occasions, Vallas filled in as a co-host for absent right-wing talk show host and Republican political operative Dan Proft on the conservative radio outlet WIND-AM 560. Proft has funneled millions of dollars from ultraconservative billionaire megadonor Richard Uihlein into support for far-right candidates, most recently using TV ads and fake newspapers to back failed GOP governor candidate Darren Bailey. Advertisement On the planned groundbreaking of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago in September 2021, beneath a recording of Michelle and Barack Obama touting what the city means to them, Vallas laughed and whispered, Thats why they live in Marthas Vineyard. As audio played of Obama speaking about how important it is to have the presidential center in the community that we love, Vallas added, Not to live in. Vallas also has been harshly critical of Pritzkers COVID-19 mitigation mandates and accused the governor of putting politics ahead of science. On Profts show, speaking of governors like Pritzker who issued COVID closure orders, Vallas said such action gives them the ability to act like dictators and creates the perception that somehow theyre being decisive leaders. On another occasion, speaking to a conservative commentator about votes in Washington, Vallas laughed as he said Durbin and Duckworth are always yes votes for Democratic initiatives. "Stranger Things" star Grace Van Dien said a movie producer asked her for sexual favors. (Evan Agostini / Invision / Associated Press) Grace Van Dien has shifted her focus away from acting after an encounter with a movie producer left her "so upset." "I have seen that some people are upset with me for turning down acting projects and deciding to stream more, but the fact of the matter is the last few projects I've worked on, I didn't have the best experiences with some of the people I had to work for," she said in a Twitch stream earlier this week. Van Dien, who joined "Stranger Things" in Season 4 as cheerleader Chrissy Cunningham, added that she's looking for more agency after a producer on "one of the last movies I did" allegedly asked for sexual favors. The actor, 26, said the producer, whom she did not name, allegedly "hired a girl that he was sleeping with and then had her ask me to have a threesome with them." She continued: "I didn't and I cried and I was so upset." After news of her allegations spread, Van Dien tweeted Thursday that "as i get older, my work priorities are changing. as i get older, my work priorities are changing. i'm waiting for the right project/the right people to work with. it's nice to feel calm. Grace Van Dien (@GraceVanDien) March 9, 2023 "I'm waiting for the right project/the right people to work with," she wrote. "It's nice to feel calm." Van Dien, who also acted in the television series "The Village" and "Greenhouse Academy," took the time Thursday to promote the 2020 short film "Monsters and Muses." She "produced, directed and acted in" the project. "More of this," she tweeted. "Starship Troopers" star Casper Van Dien voiced support for his daughter early Friday, tweeting, "I am so proud of my Daughter @GraceVanDien The sky is the limit for you!" This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. VERO BEACH A student at Vero Beach High School suspected Friday of having a weapon in a backpack was found with a small-caliber weapon, according to Indian River County Sheriffs Sgt. Kevin Jaworski and school officials. People involved: An 18-year-old female student was questioned by a school resource deputy after officials received a tip regarding a gun in a backpack. During questioning, a gun was found on the student, the School District of Indian River County stated Friday on its Facebook page. What happened: After a loaded gun was found in the student's front pocket, she was immediately detained by Indian River County sheriffs officials and was taken into custody and will not return as a student at Vero Beach High School, district officials stated. The student made no verbal threats to other students or staff, Jaworski confirmed, and there was no disruption to the campus's normal operation. The student, who Jaworski described as "a documented gang member and juvenile delinquent," is being held at the Indian River County Jail and faces a charge of being in possession of a weapon on school property. Highest honor:Jensen Beach veteran, 98, receives French Legion of Honor for service in World War II Housing trust fund:Legislators steered money from affordable housing as a crisis grew. Now theyre making amends. Zero tolerance: School officials stressed the district has zero tolerance for weapons on campuses and praised the unidentified person who provided information a student was in possession of a firearm. No threat: The school day was dismissed normally on Friday. Out of an abundance of caution, extra law enforcement was present on campus today, school officials noted. 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 at melissa.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 female student at Vero Beach High School had gun on campus Kyle Mazza / NurPhoto With President Joe Bidens federal student loan forgiveness plan in danger of being struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court, the administration could put its focus on extending the loan repayment pause that first went into effect in March 2020. There has even been speculation that the pause could go on indefinitely, though that would be an extremely uphill battle. Student Loan Forgiveness 2023: More Financial Changes Coming This Year Find: 9 Steps To Take If You Cant Keep Up With Your Student Loan Payments The idea of a permanent pause was floated as far back as a year ago, when the White House was considering another extension of the payment pause. To put it simply, if payments dont resume on May 1 [2022], I dont think the Biden administration will ever resume payments unless they are forced to by a court, Robert Kelchen, higher education professor at the University of Tennessee, told Fortune in March 2022. Republicans are likely to respond by seriously trying to end the federal student loan program the next time theyre in charge. A lot has changed since then. For one thing, President Joe Bidens sweeping loan forgiveness plan was announced in August 2022. For another, that plan has faced a series of legal challenges that have gone all the way to the Supreme Court, which is currently weighing whether to allow the plan or kill it. In the meantime, the Republican party has taken control of the U.S. House, and has shown no inclination to support loan forgiveness or further payment pause extensions. For now, the latest extension of the pause the eighth so far is set to expire 60 days after either June 30, 2023, or whenever the Supreme Court decides on the loan forgiveness plan. Could the White House make the pause permanent? Thats unlikely, experts say. As previously reported by GOBankingRates. Bidens loan forgiveness plan uses the Heroes Act of 2003 enacted in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks as the authority granting student loan relief. The act grants certain powers in the event of war or national emergency. In this case, the national emergency was the COVID-19 pandemic. Story continues The problem is that the national COVID emergency is due to end on May 11, 2023. When that happens, the authority to cancel student loan debt under the Heroes Act also ends, according to student loan expert Mark Kantrowitz. This authority is intended to be temporary and is in effect only for as long as the national emergency is in effect, Kantrowitz wrote in a January blog on The College Investor site. As soon as the President rescinds the national emergency declaration, the authority for a payment pause and interest waiver will end. The administration is also facing legal challenges questioning its ability to keep extending the payment pause. SoFi Bank filed a federal lawsuit to end the payment pause last week, asserting that the eighth extension is not in accordance with the law, is without observance of procedure required by law, is arbitrary and capricious and is invalid, according to court filings. Now that SoFi has made the first move, other lenders could follow suit, which would put a further payment pause in serious jeopardy. However, there could be one workaround that would free many borrowers from having to make federal student loan payments and operate in much the same way as a payment pause. This would come in the form of revisions to income-driven repayment (IDR) plans that could result $0 monthly payments for certain borrowers. Regulations recently proposed by the U.S. Department of Education would amend the Revised Pay As You Earn Repayment (REPAYE) plan and phase out the three other existing IDR plans available to lower-income debtors Pay As You Earn Repayment (PAYE), Income-Based Repayment (IBR) and Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) plans. Take Our Poll: Do You Think Bankruptcy Is an Acceptable Way To Escape Student Loan Debt? Borrowers participating in existing IBR, ICR and PAYE plans will follow the new plan should it pass into law, but they would need to enroll through their student loan provider or through the Federal Student Aid site. The new proposed regulations do not include changes to accommodate those holding Parent PLUS loans, which are not repayable on an IDR plan. To qualify for $0 monthly payments, borrowers must make less than around $30,600 a year, while individuals in families of four much make less than roughly $62,400, according to an Education Department press release. More From GOBankingRates This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: With Student Loan Forgiveness At Risk, Is a Forever Payment Pause Possible? A student punched an 84-year-old bus driver in the face during an attack in North Carolina, officials told news outlets. Now, the Concord Police Department says the student faces a criminal charge, which will be handled through juvenile services, WJZY first reported March 7. The case dates to Feb. 27, when officials said the bus driver was outside West Cabarrus High School, roughly 20 miles northeast of Charlotte. The driver was waiting for students when he was punched, according to WJZY. In response to a request for comment, Cabarrus County Schools in an email said an incident was reported on a bus parked at the high school campus. Student and staff safety is a top priority for Cabarrus County Schools, the district wrote in its statement. We are taking appropriate internal actions to provide for a safe environment on our buses. These actions include utilizing adult bus monitors as necessary, buses equipped with cameras, and bus driver professional development. Concord police in an incident report didnt share the extent of the drivers injuries or a motive for the alleged attack. A spokesperson told McClatchy News via email that the city couldnt share additional details because a minor was involved. Kirstin Rowland, a parent who loves her kids bus driver, told WSOC it was difficult to learn about the reported assault. My heart actually did break because there are so many good people wanting to be a part of childrens lives, Rowland told WSOC. This is an on-going matter, and we are cooperating with local law enforcement to provide any information that we have, the district wrote, adding that it couldnt provide further comment about student discipline or personnel matters. School bus lands upside down after crash with 23 kids on board, NC photo shows School bus decimated after crashing with 5 kids on board, dramatic NC photos show Monkeys in modern-day Thai forests create stone artifacts uncannily similar to those crafted by early humans challenging the established narrative of human cultural evolution. A new study published on Friday in Science Advances suggests the possibility that a critical hallmark of human tool use happened by accident potentially blurring the line between tool use by early humans and our primate relatives. The Thai monkeys produced stone artifacts indistinguishable from what we see at the beginning of the [human] archeological record what we see as the onset of being human, said Lydia Luncz of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, a co-author on the study. The monkeys long-tailed macaques seem to have made their artifacts by accident, not by design. But in many ways, that only makes the finding more disruptive. Tool use in nonhuman primates is nothing new. Long-tailed macaques the small, mischievous and social primates often seen in Southeast Asian cities and temple complexes use stones to break through shells and get at the meat inside. This use can be surprisingly sophisticated. Macaques foraging on beaches choose out long, narrow and heavy stones what anthropologists call an axe hammer to pop open oyster shells. Such narrow stones are perfect for breaking open the brittle shells, while wider rocks risk smashing them into sharp fragments endangering the incautious monkey who tries to stick its face into the jagged hole. A long-tailed macaque eats a biscuit on the World Wildlife Day at a forest nearby Lhoknga beach in Indonesias Aceh province on March 3, 2023. (CHAIDEER MAHYUDDIN/AFP via Getty Images) The Planck group found the first evidence of macaques adapting this seafood-foraging use of stone tools to another food: nuts. In particular, the monkeys targeted the hard, oil-rich nuts of African oil palms introduced as a cash crop across the region. Story continues In an abandoned oil palm plantation on a national park site, the monkeys would create nut-cracking stations beneath the feral trees. There they break open the palm fruits oil-rich pit between hand-wielded hammer rocks and a thick, flat stone that functions as an anvil. Camera traps showed that when the nut-cracking monkeys miss a strike, the two stones bang together. That collision sometimes strikes a flake off of one of the rocks something very similar to the toolmaking process archeologists call knapping. Ancient humans used knapping to break apart rocks to create an incredibly flexible set of tools the earliest forms of which cannot be distinguished from the ones macaques made by accident. That points to a possibility that could throw a wrench into the established narrative, Luncz said: that all the conoidal flakes we find in the archaeological record deemed to be intentionally made could be unintentional byproducts. In many ways, the Science paper lays the groundwork for a more intuitive story of human evolution than the idea that stone flakes and the human cultural flowering they enabled sprung forth by deliberate invention. That narrative requires a lot of additional steps, Luncz said. It presupposes axe-swinging early humans with brains big enough to plan their extraction of the perfect flakes from rocks and hand-object movement sophisticated enough to deliver it. By contrast, the Planck teams findings suggest another possibility that the evolution of human tool use could have been more fitful and staggered. In one possible scenario, ancient humans like modern macaques could have first produced stone flakes as a byproduct as they bashed apart bones, nuts or shellfish with rocks. Then, far later perhaps alongside some kill where they had used rocks to hammer open bones to get at the marrow within early humans may have turned to these razor-sharp flakes, which would once have been discarded as trash, to begin cutting up meat. Or, as Luncz put it: An accidental stone breakage could have led us down the evolutionary trajectory of making stone tools. That idea remains controversial in the field, however. You will not believe the fights we had to fight, Luncz said. Even calling the macaque-produced stone flakes artifacts was controversial because some scientists felt it implied an overlap between tool use by Homo sapiens and other primates that wasnt justified. A long-tailed macaque eats a biscuit on the World Wildlife Day at a forest nearby Lhoknga beach in Indonesias Aceh province on March 3, 2023. (CHAIDEER MAHYUDDIN/AFP via Getty Images) Artifacts, after all, shares its root with art and artifice words that suggest intention, planning and humanity. People were not happy with monkeys being able to create those artifacts, she added. And somewhere in the records of macaque and early hominid tools, there must be a difference. But right now, the diagnostic criteria were using cant find one. The Planck study was controversial in part because it brushed against broader, entrenched debates over nothing less than what it means to be human. In particular, there is a long-standing debate over whether animal social learning can be described using a word as loaded, venerable and human-inflected as culture. Luncz was careful about using that word. But she noted that nut cracking in primates is socially transmitted a monkey in isolation doesnt learn it. Its our material culture that we use to recreate our history. The questions that studies like this explore are central to human identity, Luncz said. Why are we the way we are? How did we evolve to become this crazy successful monkey that occupies the whole planet? Tool use plays an enormous role in this. Were so successful at it that were destroying our planet and that all started with a stone tool. In a bitter irony, macaques very social ingenuity and flexibility a hallmark of primates endangers attempts to preserve and learn from them. As their habitats have been cleared in Asias rapid urban and agricultural expansion with forests cleared for suburbs and cash crops like the ubiquitous oil palm macaque populations have plummeted. Last year, the species was listed as endangered on the canonical IUCN Red List after a population collapse on a scale weve never seen in the primate world, Luncz said. That collapse is mainly invisible: as their habitats have vanished, many macaques have taken refuge in cities and public parks, where they are a familiar and often confrontational presence. People arent aware that they are an endangered species, Luncz said. Urban macaques are always in their face, always there and in the way. They break into houses, steal tourists sunglasses and bite children. In many Asian cities, a push to conserve these primate relatives is greeted with responses similar to an American or European proposing to conserve pigeons. But as the species wild, forest-dwelling populations break down and their social memory with it our ability to learn about our own deep origins is also slipping away. The chance we have now to compare our history and living primates is a very fast-closing window, Luncz said. She added that without far more aggressive conservation, we will only have the mute record of ancient archeology to rely on. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. A Sumter County couple has been charged with child abuse in connection with injuries to a 6-week-old child. Jeffery Mason Browder, 19, and Tristen Cheyenne Gladden, 22, were arrested Monday and charged with child abuse/to inflict great bodily harm, according to a Sumter County Sheriffs Office press release. In the release, the sheriffs office said that on or about Feb. 3 the couple placed a child at unreasonable risk of harm that affected the childs life and safety. The sheriffs office said medical records showed six fractures on the childs body while in Browders and Gladdens care. At the time, the couple had legal custody over the child, who has since been removed from their care, the sheriffs office said. The states Department of Social Service is providing oversight to ensure the child receives the comfort and care it needs, a press release said. Browder and Gladden were transported to the Sumter County Sheriffs Office Detention Center and released on a $10,000 personal recognizance bond. The U.K. and France agreed to train Ukrainian marines, "helping to give Ukraine a decisive advantage on the battlefield and for Ukraine to win this war," U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on March 10, as quoted by Sky News. Speaking at a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, Sunak also said that the two countries were working together so that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin could "never again" use the West's energy as a weapon. According to Macron, cited by Sky News, London and Paris are "doing everything" to prevent Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine from spreading to other parts of the world. In a joint statement of 9 European nations known as the Tallinn Pledge, the U.K. promised to train 20,000 Ukrainian servicemen in 2023. France also provides training for the Ukrainian military, but on a smaller scale, and supports the European Union Military Assistance Mission to Ukraine (EUMAM Ukraine). The EU training mission was launched on Oct. 17, aiming to train up to 30,000 Ukrainian servicemen on EU soil with 24 member states participating. A suspected serial killer has pleaded not guilty for the 1987 disappearance and alleged murder of a Bellingham woman. Darren Dee ONeall, 63, pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder Friday, March 10, in Whatcom County Superior Court. ONeall was charged Oct. 11, 2022, for the 1987 disappearance and death of 29-year-old Wendy L. Aughe. At ONealls arraignment Friday morning, his public defense attorney, Starck Follis, raised issues related to the 35.5-years-long gap between when Aughe was allegedly murdered and when ONeall was formally charged. Follis also said he had objections related to why ONeall wasnt charged with murdering Aughe back in 1987, when he was charged in Whatcom County with stealing Aughes car. ONeall was later convicted by a jury in 1989 of second-degree theft in the case, according to court records. Follis said hed likely be filing formal motions related to his objections at a later date. ONeall is currently being held in the Whatcom County Jail in lieu of $10 million bail. He was extradited March 1 to Whatcom County from the Two Rivers Correctional Institute in Umatilla, Oregon, where he was incarcerated, according to previous reporting in The Bellingham Herald. Aughe was last seen on April 25, 1987, after she went on a date with a man later identified as ONeall whom she had met earlier that day. Aughe is presumed dead and her body has never been found. DNA profiles were created by the Washington State Patrol Crime Laboratory for both Aughe and ONeall from evidence taken from Aughes home and items found in the trunk of Aughes stolen car. In July 2021, cheek swabs were taken from ONeall. A month later, the crime lab determined the swabs matched the DNA profiles created for ONeall from the evidence taken from Aughes home and car, court records state. ONeall, who is a suspected serial killer and spent time as one of the FBIs most wanted, has been wanted for questioning in Aughes disappearance since at least 1988. Story continues Darren Dee ONeall is escorted to his first appearance hearing Jan. 11, 1989, in Whatcom County Superior Court where he is accused of stealing the car of 29-year-old Wendy L. Aughe of Bellingham. ONeall was charged Thursday, March 2, with one count of second-degree murder for Aughes death and he pleaded not guilty Friday, March 10, in Whatcom County Superior Court. ONeall was charged with robbery and sexual assault in Colorado in 1985 and 1986, respectively, and was later arrested in Florida in December 1987 on a stolen car warrant out of Louisiana. He was then brought to Washington state to face murder charges for the 1987 death of 21-year-old Robin P. Smith of Pierce County. ONeall was convicted of first-degree murder and possession of stolen property in the Pierce County case in February 1989 under circumstances similar to Aughes case, The Herald previously reported. ONeall was also convicted in August 1990 for kidnapping and repeatedly sexually assaulting a 14-year-old Portland girl in 1987. Hes also a suspect in other violent crimes and murders across the United States, and was the subject of an FBI task force at one time, according to earlier Herald reporting. ONeall was sentenced to 135 years in prison for the Portland case, but was expected to be eligible for parole May 2033, according to court records. ONealls next court appearance in Whatcom County is scheduled for April 5. (Bloomberg) -- Unease is spreading across the financial world as concerns about the stability of Silicon Valley Bank prompt prominent venture capitalists including Peter Thiels Founders Fund to advise startups to withdraw their money. Most Read from Bloomberg The turmoil followed a surprise announcement from Santa Clara, California-based SVB that it was issuing $2.25 billion of shares to bolster its capital position after a significant loss on its investment portfolio. The stock plunged 63% in premarket trading in New York on Friday before trading in the banks parent was halted with news pending. They declined 60% the day before. Its bonds posted record declines, igniting a broad selloff in bank shares around the world. In the US, Thursday was the worst day for the KBW Bank Index since June 2020, as its members shed more than $90 billion of value. The biggest banks in Europe lost more than $40 billion from their market capitalizations on Friday. Read More: SVB Share Rout Deepens as Worries Grow Over Lenders Finances Founders Fund asked its portfolio companies to move their money out of SVB, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing private information. Coatue Management, Union Square Ventures and Founder Collective also advised startups to pull cash, people with knowledge of the matter said. Canaan, another major VC firm, told firms it invested in to remove funds on an as-needed basis, according to another person. SVB Financial Group Chief Executive Officer Greg Becker held a conference call on Thursday advising clients of SVB-owned Silicon Valley Bank to stay calm amid concern about the banks financial position, according to a person familiar with the matter. Story continues Becker held the roughly 10-minute call with investors at about 11:30 a.m. San Francisco time. He asked the banks clients, including venture capital investors, to support the bank the way it has supported its customers over the past 40 years, the person said. Representatives for Founders Fund, Coatue and Union Square Ventures declined to comment. Representatives for Silicon Valley Bank, Canaan and Founder Collective didnt immediately respond to requests for comment. In its note to companies, Founder Collective said: Over the long term, we dont believe that deposits are likely at risk, but the shorter term is hard to predict. Read more: One Bank Folds, Another Wobbles and Wall Street Ponders a Crisis Garry Tan, the president and CEO of Y Combinator, warned its network of startups that solvency risk is real and implied they should consider limiting their exposure to the lender. Anytime you hear problems of solvency in any bank, and it can be deemed credible, you should take it seriously and prioritize the interests of your startup by not exposing yourself , Tan wrote in a post viewed by Bloomberg News. A representative for Y Combinator declined to comment. Another firm, Activant Capital, sent emails and texts to its portfolio company CEOs encouraging them to transfer their SVB balances to other lenders, and is helping some move capital to First Republic Bank, CEO Steve Sarracino said. In an email Thursday morning signed by Mark Lau, head of Silicon Valley Banks venture practice, SVB said it had heard from many of its clients over the past 24 hours regarding questions about the companys 8-K filing on Wednesday, according to the contents of the email about the conference call reviewed by Bloomberg. Beckers call was reported earlier by the Information. This is a classic bank run, and when the bank run starts you dont want to be the last guy there, Ava Labs President John Wu said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. Wu said that his company had already diversified away from its reliance on Silicon Valley Bank. Read More: SVB Drops Most on Record as Startup Clients Face Cash Crunch A startup CEO who asked not to be identified said that his firm tried unsuccessfully throughout Thursday to withdraw millions of dollars from Silicon Valley Bank. Several other clients of the bank told Bloomberg that they were able to take out cash on Thursday without significant issues, though at one point during the day one of them couldnt access the SVB website. Some VCs said they were standing by the bank. It is truly unfortunate that several GPs and companies are making a tough situation for SVB worse by pressing the panic button, said G Squared founder Larry Aschebrook. SVB has supported entrepreneurs and GPs at all stages of their businesses and that partnership should run both ways. One prominent investor, Mark Suster, warned companies against overreacting to news about the bank. I believe their CEO when he says they are solvent, Suster wrote. Eileen Burbidge, founding partner at London-based Passion Capital, said she had been fielding calls from panicked founders and that it was a reminder for startups to implement a good treasury policy, with accounts at multiple banks. Shifting money out of SVB is, she said, a very low-cost way to diversify against that risk. An email thread of more than 1,000 founders from Andreessen Horowitz was abuzz with the news Thursday, with many encouraging each other to pull cash from the bank. At one point on the thread, General Partner David George weighed in. Hi all, he wrote in a post reviewed by Bloomberg. We know you have questions about how to handle the SVB situation. We encourage you to pick up the phone and call your GP. Dan Scheinman, an investor who has backed companies including Zoom Video Communications Inc., said he fielded calls Thursday from two early-stage companies in his portfolio about SVB. What do we know about banks you would switch to? Are they in better or worse shape? he said he advised. It is a pain to switch, but it is more of a pain if the bank fails. --With assistance from Lizette Chapman, Sarah McBride, Ed Ludlow and Jenny Surane. (Updates with trading halted in second paragraph.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis gestures as he gives his State of the State address during a joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives Tuesday at the Capitol in Tallahassee. (AP Photo/Phil Sears/AP) Whats Speak Out? Speak Out allows readers to comment on the issues of the day. Email Speak Out at speakout@southtownstar.com or call 312-222-2427. Please limit comments to 30 seconds or about 100 words and give your first name and your hometown. Ron DeSantis is attempting to dismantle public education as we know it. Next, he will use that same Orwellian approach to attack the press. Thats not culture war, its fascism. He would love to overturn previously settled law on restrictions to sue the media for criticizing government officials. Even more worrisome, Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch seem to be open to the idea. Ive got a suggestion for a DeSantis campaign slogan: make Russia great again! Advertisement Wes, Orland Park I was reading about a 14-year-old boy arrested in a shooting that killed a grad student from India. Well, I guess its going over to Kim Foxx and I guess more than likely shes going to release him into the care of his parents. Theyre going to turn around, oh, hes such a nice boy. Prosecute these little son of a guns. All theyre doing is going out and killing people and you dont even throw them in jail. That kid should not be out on the streets at all. Open up the old Joliet prison over there throw all them gang bangers in there, who cares, they all should be taken care of. Advertisement Ken, Burbank Regarding Orland Parks April 4 referendum, the village has successfully operated for 40 years with a professionally trained village manager who is responsible for hiring and firing and day-to-day operational decisions that implement the elected officials policies. They can remove the village manager at any time. The proposed change would make the mayor responsible for day-to-day decisions, regardless of training or abilities. This mayor could not be removed by the elected officials and would have a four-year term. Bob, Orland Park I was just reading in the paper that the widow of a police officer killed in the line of duty in Chicago has to pay the funeral bill. What kind of pin headed politicians do we got running that city? How dare them. The citizens of Chicagos should be outraged. When an aldermen dies, Im sure the city somehow finagle their way to pay for his funeral. Kevin, Oak Lawn The Department of Defense recently announced that almost 80% of our people between age 17 to 24 years are not physically fit for military service. Now that our leftist government has legalized marijuana, it is available for that age group to experiment with it at the corner cannabis shop. Fentanyl has become the major cause of death of those in this age group. We are under attack through our open borders from China and Mexico. The globalists are winning without firing a shot. Bill, Plainfield With where were barely standing now, its a long shot that Biden can defeat any Republican in 2024, even if its Donald Trump. And if by chance he pulls it off, look for his even less popular vice president to succeed him within a year, when he steps down and she slides into place. Its not by coincidence shes been in front of the cameras more frequently. Advertisement Mary, Tinley Park Bill, Plainfield, you may not be aware of the fact that the Democratic Party does not own the newspaper that Dilbert ran in. Also the comic strip wasnt dropped because of the subject matter of the comic strip but rather the toxic comments and ideals of the comic strip author. Oh, and the Democrats can take a joke, they put up with a real life Dilbert in Donald Trump for four years. Carl, Orland Park I hope Carl from Calumet Park did more than just write to Speak Out concerning Insure on the Spots commercial depicting dangerous driving called drifting. People having objections need to contact the company. Remember the ice cream commercial showing people looting an ice cream truck? There was quite an outrage and several phone calls made to headquarters. The commercial was dropped very quickly. Companies do respond. Dolly, Homer Carl from Orland Park, when you were strangely silent when former cowardly and gutless Speaker Nancy Pelosi did not get control and rein in her mentally challenged and incompetent Democrat minion representatives, perhaps you should remain silent, instead of being a hypocrite, when it comes to Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Advertisement David, Tinley Park Actor Jussie Smollett just wont go away nearly a year after being sentenced to five months in jail only to be released on bond days after, he fought his long-awaited appeal. In February 2019, Smollett was charged with disorderly conduct and charges dropped by the states attorneys office. You would think Smollett would have been grateful and packed his bags. Smollett claims his indictment was invalid due to double jeopardy concern and the judge is biased. What was violated was Kim Foxx and the role she played involving herself and later recusing herself. 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 > BJ, Hazel Crest The Cubs need another lefty in their bullpen. We got one on the White Sox they can have cheap, Bummer. Free tickets to the Hawks games. Mr. G., Chicago Adam Kinzinger the traitor, now we have video proof. He was so sure the Jan. 6 was an insurrection, but now we got other video showing Capitol police actually moving gates and opening locked doors for the people who truly should not have been in the building, but they truly did not try to stop. Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney are despicable. Advertisement Tom, Burbank To JK from Tinley, lets face the music. Every politician is a crook, Democrats and Republicans. They all steal from us one way or another. Fortunately the Republicans have some shame and still uphold normal values of law and order. The Democrats just like to give everything away for free to the lazy and hold no one accountable for nothing. Tom, Garfield Ridge Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) slammed Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) at a Judiciary subcommittee hearing on Thursday about compliance with committee oversight, pointing out that the chairman of the Judiciary Committee previously failed to comply with a congressional subpoena. I think its quite rich that we are talking about subpoena compliance under a chairman of a full committee who was absolutely out of subpoena compliance in the last Congress, Swalwell said. So, were going to haul witnesses in here today and claim that they did not comply with subpoenas or requests, he continued. And that request is so rich because its coming from a chairman who himself did not comply with the Jan. 6 committees requests. Jordan was subpoenaed by the former House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol after the panel learned that the Ohio Republican spoke with former President Trump on the morning of the attack. However, Jordan rebuffed the committees requests, claiming that they did not serve any legitimate legislative purpose. The Jan. 6 panel ultimately filed ethics complaints in December against Jordan and other lawmakers who refused to comply with its subpoenas. Swalwells comments came as the Judiciary Subcommittee on Responsiveness and Accountability to Oversight questioned officials from the Department of Justice and Department of Education over their subpoena compliance on Thursday. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. LONDON After days of mass protests in Tbilisi, Georgias Parliament on Friday voted against a controversial bill that opponents said would lead to silencing free media and human rights defenders. Politicians voted 35 to 1, without discussion, against the foreign agents legislation, which the ruling Georgian Dream party said would ensure at least minimum transparency and accountability of nonprofit organizations. Georgian Dream said Thursday that it was withdrawing the Russian-inspired bill. What are the demonstrations about? Demonstrators in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Thursday. (David Mdzinarishvili/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) Since Tuesday, when Parliament passed the first reading of the draft law, tens of thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets of Tbilisi in protest of the proposed bill. Protesters said the legislation could enable the government to label critics as foreign agents. Resisting Russian law at this stage is important, because we know how the dictatorship was formed in Russia and then in Belarus. With such laws, freedom completely disappeared, student and human rights defender Nikusha Parulava told Yahoo News. Parulava joined the protests the day they began and witnessed the countrys police turn against demonstrators. Water cannons and tear gas were deployed, and it is estimated that over 100 people were arrested. During the illegal arrests, the police and special forces beat the demonstrators, Parulava said. What is the draft bill about? Police use tear gas to disperse protesters during a rally against a draft law on foreign agents on Thursday. (Irakli Gedenidze/Reuters) The Georgian Dream party earlier this week passed a draft bill that would include two laws on the transparency of foreign influence and the registration of foreign agents. If passed, the laws would require nongovernmental organizations, such as media outlets and charities, that receive more than 20% of their funding from foreign sources to register as agents of foreign influence. Failure to comply would result in fines and at worst, prison time. Today is a dark day for Georgias democracy, the U.S. Embassy in Georgia said in a statement reacting to the initial passing of the bill. Parliaments advancing of these Kremlin-inspired laws is incompatible with the people of Georgias clear desire for European integration and its democratic development. Story continues It added: Pursuing these laws will damage Georgias relations with its strategic partners and undermine the important work of so many Georgian organizations working to help their fellow citizens. A woman holding flags, including that of the U.S., and a We are Europe sign at a protest against the proposed bill. (David Mdzinarishvili/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) After an initial uproar, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili defended the legislation, stating: The future of our country does not belong and will no longer belong to foreign agents or servants of foreign countries. The future of our country and our people belongs to patriots. A similar bill that was passed in Russia in 2012 first began designating NGOs that receive funding from outside the country as foreign agents. In 2019 the bill was amended to target independent journalists and bloggers, and one year later it was expanded to include any single individual, in what Human Rights Watch called a move to suffocate civil society. For me as a journalist, its very dangerous, local reporter Nastasia Arabuli told Yahoo News. This law is a direct threat to me, since I represent an independent media that is fully funded by the West. We [would] probably be one of the first to be declared foreign spies under this law. Could it still be made law? The bill could not be made into law right now, considering that the governing party dropped it on Friday. However, there is nothing preventing the government from reintroducing it in the future. In a bid to stop this from happening, protesters are continuing to hold demonstrations outside Georgias Parliament to ensure that the bill is not received again by lawmakers, and to demand the release of all those who were arrested during the protests. A man walks past a burning police car not far from the Parliament building in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Thursday. (Zurab Tsertsvadze/AP) According to the Georgian Interior Ministry, by Friday morning it had freed 133 of those detained on Tuesday and Wednesday. We are angry, Arabuli said when asked about the draft bill. People are totally angry and offended. Nobody wants a Russian law or a repressive regime in Georgia again. Seven school districts in California and Washington state said they do not plan to send more students to a Utah facility for troubled teens where a girl recently died. Taylor Goodridge, 17, who was from Washington, died in December while attending Diamond Ranch Academy in Hurricane, Utah. The boarding school, which Utah officials say is now in danger of losing its license over allegations of delayed medical care, draws students from across the country. This includes some children whose public school districts pay the $12,000 monthly tuition because there are no local programs that meet their needs. Eighteen school districts spent a combined $2.6 million in the past three years to send children with emotional and behavioral issues to Diamond Ranch Academy, according to data from GovSpend, which tracks local government spending through open records requests. Nearly all of the districts were in California and Washington. The Utah Department of Health and Human Services placed Diamond Ranch Academys license on probation immediately after Taylors death. In February, the department concluded in an inspection that the facility had failed to provide and seek necessary medical care for an ill client who died several weeks after initial onset of symptoms. Former staff members previously told NBC News that Taylor had been sick in the weeks before her death, but Diamond Ranch Academy did not take her off-campus for medical treatment until she collapsed on Dec. 20; she died later that day. The Department of Health and Human Services labeled the citation extreme and said it is conducting additional inspections of the facility. In the meantime, Diamond Ranch Academy remains open but is not allowed to accept new students, according to the department. Bill Frazier, an attorney for the academy, said it has appealed that violation in an administrative procedure, but declined to comment further. The facility previously declined to comment on allegations by former staff members and students, citing privacy laws. Story continues Diamond Ranch has fully and transparently cooperated with all agency requests whilst engaging in those administrative and judicial processes, Frazier said. We will continue to do so. Image: Pallbearers carry Taylor Goodridge's casket at her funeral. (Courtesy the Goodridge family) Diamond Ranch Academy, a for-profit program, is one of a number of out-of-state facilities certified by the California and Washington education departments for placing special needs children. After Taylors death, Washingtons Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction suspended new placements at Diamond Ranch Academy, pending further investigation by Utah authorities. The California Department of Education declined to comment on the academy, but said it conducts onsite visits of the facilities on its list in at least two out of every three years. In Alameda County, California, the Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District spent $352,117 to send two students to Diamond Ranch Academy for services that the district could not provide, after doing online research about the facility in 2019. While in attendance, and upon their return, evaluations of the students experiences did not result in cause for concern or additional follow-up, Michelle Dawson, a spokeswoman for Livermore Valley Joint Unified, said in a statement that cited a previous NBC News article about Diamond Ranch Academy. The death of a student is tragic and your article describes some serious historical allegations of negligence. In light of this new information, we would certainly be hesitant to enroll a student at this school in the future. NBC News previously reported that Diamond Ranch Academy has been accused in multiple lawsuits over the past decade of mistreating children and restricting their ability to communicate with their families. The facility has denied wrongdoing, disputed some of these allegations and reached out-of-court agreements in multiple cases, while two other suits are ongoing. In addition to Livermore Valley, other districts that have spent thousands of dollars to place students at Diamond Ranch Academy also expressed reservations. The Dublin Unified School District, also in Alameda County, said it will consider the allegations of child mistreatment at the academy if it is proposed for placement in the future. The Laguna Beach Unified, Irvine Unified and Newport-Mesa Unified school districts in Orange County, California, and the Camas and Bellevue school districts in Washington all said they do not have plans to place a student at the Utah facility. Several California districts that spent more than $100,000 from 2020 through 2022 to place children at Diamond Ranch Academy including Calaveras County Office of Education and the William S. Hart Union High School District in Los Angeles County declined to say how they evaluated the facility or whether they would send students in the future. Allan Fleck, the special services director for the school district in Camas, a small city outside Portland, Oregon, said he did not encounter problems when placing children at Diamond Ranch Academy while working for another district. He said its sometimes necessary to send children with special needs to facilities hundreds of miles away because there are no local alternatives. Records collected by GovSpend showed many of the students sent to Diamond Ranch Academy had individualized education plans. That means they likely had already tried different types of classroom placements in their home district but needed more specialized treatment, said Jill Rowland, an attorney at the nonprofit Alliance for Childrens Rights, a nonprofit based in Los Angeles that provides free legal services. The point of going somewhere intensive like this is to learn the skills to be able to function in a more positive way in a lower level of care in a community setting, Rowland said. She added, The out-of-state nature of it, though, is scary because its not eyes on. Both California and Washington took steps in 2020 to stop sending youth from the foster and juvenile justice systems to out-of-state facilities, but the changes did not extend to children with disabilities who are sent out of state by school districts. In our ideal world, we would have the funding from the state and the federal government to provide services to students here in our district, said Shannon McMinimee, general counsel for the Bellevue School District in Washington. Unfortunately, we are in a state where mental health and behavioral supports for children is drastically underfunded. Washingtons Office of Superintendent Public Instruction said it supports a bill that passed the state Senate this week, which would expand its oversight powers on facilities like Diamond Ranch Academy that accept Washington students with individualized education plans. The office added that there are no Washington state students receiving special education services currently placed at Diamond Ranch Academy, and it will determine next steps after the Utah Department of Health and Human Services completes its review. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com A teenage girl was found strangled to death in the woods of Maryland in 1970. Now, over 50 years later, police have identified a suspect in her killing. Pamela Lynn Conyers was 16 years old when she left home to go shopping on Oct. 16, 1970, and never returned, according to a March 10 statement from the Anne Arundel County Police Department. When she didnt come home, she was reported missing to police, and several days later, her body was found near her car in a wooded area off the road. The chief medical examiner for the state determined she had been strangled. However, the person responsible for Conyers death eluded police for decades, and her case became a source of mystery, according to the Capital Gazette. At one time, investigators wondered whether Conyers death was tied to the 1969 murder of Catholic high school teacher Sister Cathy Cesnik, which was featured in the Netflix docuseries The Keepers, the outlet reported. Now, thanks to advancements in technology, in addition to the assistance of federal and state agencies, a suspect has finally been identified. Police named Forrest Clyde Williams III, a former resident of Virginia, as the suspect. His mugshots were taken several months after Conyers death after he had been arrested on unrelated charges, police said. Virginia resident Forrest Clyde Williams III, now deceased, has been identified as a suspect in Conyers death. These mugshots were taken months after her death in October 1970. Williams, born in 1948, is now dead, but he would have been charged with murder if he were still alive, police said. Williams died in 2018, according to an online obituary. The investigation remains ongoing, police said. Investigators did not say what evidence tied Williams to Conyers death. I still mourn her death, a former high school classmate of Conyers, told CBS Baltimore. I got to be old; she didnt. Shes forever 16. Anne Arundel County is located south of Baltimore and encompasses Annapolis. Newborn baby found abandoned in restroom trash can at California gas station, cops say College student stole $547K from her jewelry store job and bought a Tesla, cops say Car plows through airport terminal as driver flees officers on tarmac, NC police say A podcaster in Atlanta is getting credit for helping rescue children in Texas from an alleged abusive home. One of the children called into her podcast in January asking for help. Podcaster Twaiyah Paynes said she wasnt going to stop until she got those kids to safety. She thanks God she found the teen who called her. I believe that God works in ways. Boy, God works in ways, she said. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Thanks to her intervention, several brothers in Houston, Texas, who told law officials their stepfather sexually abused them are now out of the home. Their stepfather, 38-year-old Hayim Cohen, was arrested. I just thank God that we were able to get these kids out the house, Paynes told Channel 2s Tom Jones. It started in January when Paynes was doing her Blindskinnedbeauty podcast on addiction. That is when a teen typed in the chat he had a disturbing topic. He said, What do you do if your life is in danger? she said. The teen then called in and said his stepfather had been sexually abusing him and his younger brothers. But the teen wouldnt give his name or tell Paynes where exactly he lived. Payne did manage to get the teen to say he was in Texas. TRENDING STORIES: On the call, you can hear the teen refusing to give his location out of fear. You then hear an exasperated Paynes respond. So how do you expect us to give you help, babe? I dont know what to do right now, she said. The child mentioned he was in a police program called DRT and that he was one of nine kids adopted by his stepfather. So Paynes started calling all around the state trying to find out who had that program. The one that had that DRT program is Houston, she said. She got the stepfathers name after Googling stepfather adopts nine kids. Story continues Paynes immediately called Childrens Protective Services. I was like thank you, Jesus. I was like, in my house, just praising God. Because at that point, my job was over, Paynes said. Cohen was charged with continuous sex abuse of a child and sexual assault of a child under 17. Paynes said her job is over, but it is not. She told Channel 2 Action News some of the children are coming here to live with her. She said the children will need therapy and other help to thrive and survive here. If you would like to help, click here. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] IN OTHER NEWS: Tennessee Lt. Gov. Randy McNally (R) apologized to his family, friends and colleagues Thursday following allegations of hypocrisy for his comments on a gay mans suggestive Instagram posts. McNally had been leaving heart and fire emoji, along with occasional remarks like Super look Finn, beneath photographs of Franklyn Finn McClur, an aspiring performer often seen dressed only in tight underwear, as first reported by progressive news site The Tennessee Holler. The politicians social media activity drew criticism due to his history of backing anti-LGBTQ legislation. In a new interview with WTVF, a local news station, McNally said he had recently gotten to know members of the LGBTQ community some being a part of his family and was trying to be more supportive. Asked for evidence of his support, McNally pointed to a 2020 bill seeking to let religious adoption agencies discriminate against gay couples. The lieutenant governor, who also serves as speaker for the state Senate, voted present and not voting on the legislation, which ultimately passed. This year, he voted for a ban on gender-affirming care for Tennessee minors, which also passed. Twenty-year-old McClur, who grew up in Knoxville, told The Tennessee Holler that he and McNally had initially become Facebook friends a few years ago, and that the lieutenant governor had since started using his verified government account on Instagram to leave the comments. At first, a spokesperson for McNally dismissed questions about his behavior, saying that he frequently used social media to connect with constituents. Trying to imply something sinister or inappropriate about a great-grandfathers use of social media says more about the mind of the left-wing operative making the implication than it does about Randy McNally, the spokesperson said. But in the WTVF interview, McNally changed his tune. Im really, really sorry if Ive embarrassed my family, embarrassed my friends, embarrassed any of the members of the legislature with the posts, he said. Story continues Asked to explain why he wrote, Finn, you can turn a rainy day into rainbows and sunshine, beneath a close-up photo of McClurs butt in just underwear, McNally said, Its that, you know, I, you know, try to encourage people with posts and try to, you know, help them if I can. McNally added that he was basically trying to encourage him. He told WTVF that he had never met McClur in person, which McClur also told The Tennessee Holler. I just thought he was older and out of touch, McClur told the outlet. Ive always taken it as a compliment. I dont dislike him or think hes a bad person, hes one of the only people who has consistently uplifted me and made me feel good. Experts: Reform to help boost sci-tech self-reliance 08:33, March 10, 2023 By ZHANG ZHIHAO ( Chinadaily.com.cn Technicians work in the workshop of optical chips at a chip company in Quanzhou, Fujian province on Feb 23, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua] Reform: Optimized management of sci-tech undertakings expected China's revamp of its Ministry of Science and Technology would allow the country's sci-tech administration to be more efficient in supporting basic sciences and using innovation to promote socioeconomic growth, and achieve quality self-reliance in science and technology at a faster rate, experts said. According to a proposed government restructuring plan released on Tuesday by the State Council, China's Cabinet, the science ministry would undergo a massive revamp that would delegate many of its existing functions to other government bodies. The country would also establish a central commission on science and technology, whose responsibilities would be borne by the restructured science ministry. The function of organizing and formulating plans for promoting scientific and technological development in agriculture and rural areas would be transferred from the science ministry to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. The agricultural ministry would also operate the China Rural Technology Development Center. The science ministry's responsibilities for crafting plans and policies to promote social progress using science and technology would be allocated to other ministry-level bodies, such as the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and the National Health Commission. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology would take on the role of formulating policies for the growth and industrialization of high-tech industries. It would also guide the construction of science and technology parks, such as the national high-tech industrial development zones, as well as the development of technology service industries and technology markets. The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security would adopt the duty of managing foreign experts. The science ministry's China National Center for Biotechnology Development would operate under the National Health Commission, while the Administrative Center for China's Agenda 21 and the High-tech Research and Development Center would be under the National Natural Science Foundation of China. After the restructuring, the Ministry of Science and Technology will retain many critical duties such as administering the nation's basic research, State laboratories and major scientific projects; building systems for technology transfer, commercialization of scientific findings, and supervision and evaluation of science and technology; and promoting academic integrity, international cooperation and the quality of China's science workforce. Through these reforms, the restructuring plan aims to strengthen the macro-management functions of the science ministry, including strategic planning, institutional reform, resource allocation, comprehensive coordination, policy and regulation formulation, and supervision and inspection of the sci-tech sector. Sui Jigang, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institutes of Science and Development, said the revamp would optimize the management of scientific and technological undertakings across the board, facilitate the commercialization of scientific findings, and help create a new system for mobilizing resources nationwide. For instance, the Administrative Center for China's Agenda 21 and the High-tech Research and Development Center are crucial for managing research projects in frontier sciences and core technologies. Therefore, their roles are closely related to the National Natural Science Foundation of China, one of China's main funders of basic research. "This kind of restructuring makes sense, and it is in line with China's greater emphasis on basic research in recent years," Sui said. He also said one of the key goals for China's science and technology administration reforms is to promote close integration of science and technology with the economy. The administration of high-tech development zones, which are the pillars of China's high-tech industries, by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will be conducive to the commercialization of scientific achievements and the implementation of China's innovation-driven development strategy, he said. More streamlined ministry Xue Lan, dean of Tsinghua University's Schwarzman College, said that after the restructuring, the new Ministry of Science and Technology will be more streamlined and can play a more prominent and effective role in macro-managing the country's science and technology sector. Xue noted that the National Natural Science Foundation of China would still operate under the new science ministry, signaling that facilitating basic sciences would remain a fundamental mission for the ministry. "The future priority of the Ministry of Science and Technology should be pooling resources nationwide and focusing on tackling key bottleneck issues in technology," Sui said. Shen Renfang, the director of the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Soil Science and a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress, said that the revamp would allow scientists to focus more on basic research. "Without breakthroughs in basic sciences, there won't be applications," he said. "With the revamp, our country will surely attach greater importance to basic research, and scientists working in basic sciences will have a more favorable and less distracting environment." Jin Shuanggen, vice-president of Henan Polytechnic University, said the reform of the science ministry will strengthen top-level design while clarifying the leadership and managerial roles of science and technology administrations. "This allows them to coordinate scientific and technological resources more efficiently to solve major technological challenges," he said. "It will also allow the country to enhance basic research, pursue original innovation and accelerate quality self-reliance in science and technology with greater confidence." Cui Jia contributed to this story. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Wu Chaolan) In-person classes were canceled for Friday for the students of Elmwood Park School High School after officials said there was potential threat they wanted to exercise caution. We received a report of a potential threat during the EPHS student organized walk out that was planned for 10am this morning. Out of an abundance of caution we will move to an e-learning day today at EPHS, Superintendent Leah Gauthier wrote in a message distributed to district families just before 7 a.m. Friday. Advertisement Elmwood Park High School is part of Elmwood Park Community Unit School District 401. This e-learning day will be for EPHS students and staff. We work in collaboration with the police department to investigate any serious matters to keep our students and staff safe. Please continue to report any concerns. Advertisement In an email to Pioneer Press later Friday morning, Gauthier said, law enforcement completed their investigation and the threat was unfounded. Elmwood Park Community Unit School District 401 Superintendent Leah Gauthier speaks at the Class of 2021 commencement 2021. (Kevin Tanaka / Pioneer Press) SD401 is made up of four schools, with nearly 2,800 students enrolled in grades pre-K to 12. The high school, at 8201 W. Fullerton, in Elmwood Park, has about 980 students. Elmwood Park police officials referred calls about the alleged threat incident to the River Grove Police Department. Officials at River Grove Police Department did not respond to Pioneer Press requests for more information about the threat incident. However, River Grove police Chief Michael Konwinski told Pioneer Press in an email that an EPHS student was arrested Monday morning and charged with having a loaded gun. The arrest came after reports were received that the 17 year old subject left school property with the handgun in a bag, Konwinski stated in the email. I am not commenting on school policy or procedure, and this is all of the information, related to the arrest, that I am releasing at this time. While it remained unclear late Friday afternoon if the threat incident was related to the one involving the gun incident, the walk-out students had planned was reportedly over safety concerns. There were no media reports of a school lock down related to the alleged gun incident. And, Gauthier did not respond to a Pioneer Press inquiry about it.. Advertisement However, a post on the EPHS website later Friday afternoon seemed to refer to the serious incident. District 401 Administrators, Elmwood Park Police Department and River Grove Police Department had a debriefing of the serious incident that occurred on Monday, March 6, 2023. All in attendance concluded that the actions taken on Monday mitigated the threat within the school. Moving forward we will continue to review protocols and training in partnership to enhance safety within the school, the statement read. Check back for updates. Photo: AP Photo/Allen G. Breed (AP) A Galveston, Texas, man is suing three women who allegedly helped his now ex-wife obtain abortion pills to end her pregnancy. The Texas Tribune first reported news of the lawsuit on Friday, which it says is the first of its kind since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The lawsuit is even more chilling than it initially sounds because of the legal arguments it makes. Yes, Texas has a total abortion ban, as well as an aiding and abetting law enforced by private lawsuits, but the man is suing under the states wrongful death statute. The lawsuit claims that assisting with a self-managed abortion qualifies as murder under state law, which allows the man to file a wrongful death claim. (Texas law exempts pregnant people from prosecution and his ex-wife is not named as a defendant.) Read more Marcus Silva claims in the civil lawsuit that his then-wife learned she was pregnant with his child in July 2022 after the states total ban took effect and discussed with two friends how to get abortion pills. The friends allegedly discussed Aid Access, a site that ships medication abortion drugs from overseas, but they were able to get the pills in Houston where two of the women live. The suit claims a third woman delivered the pills to Silvas wife, and screenshots of text messages suggest that she self-managed the abortion at home. The women have not been criminally charged. The couple has two daughters. Per court records, she filed for divorce in May 2022 and the divorce was finalized in February 2023, which certainly makes the timing of this lawsuit suspect. I know either way he will use it against me, the pregnant woman said, according to photos of a group text attached to the suit. If I told him before, which Im not, he would use it as [a way to] try to stay with me. And after the fact, I know he will try to act like he has some right to the decision. Story continues Since this is a civil suit, not a criminal case where search warrants have been executed, its not clear how Silva accessed the text messages, and many photos of the texts in the complaint appear to be photos of a phone, not screenshots. A thumb is visible in at least seven of the photos. Silvas lawyer is Jonathan Mitchell, the architect of SB 8, the bounty hunter law that allows anyone to sue someone who aids or abets an abortion. Its notable that Mitchell isnt suing under his own law but instead is taking a more aggressive stance to claim the women participated in a murder. Silva has asked a state court judge in Galveston for damages of more than $1 million, and he also wants an injunction to stop the three women from distributing further abortion pills. Texas lawmakers recently introduced a bill that would censor abortion pill websites, including Aid Access. This latest action shows that anti-abortion activists will not be satisfied until people are too scared to even help their friends. Just last week, South Carolina police arrested a woman who had allegedly self-managed an abortion in October 2021. This is a breaking news story and will be updated. More from Jezebel Sign up for Jezebel's Newsletter. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. A federal judge has rejected former Theranos executive Ramesh Sunny Balwanis bid to remain free while he appeals his conviction for crimes he committed during a blood-testing scam he orchestrated with his former boss and lover, Elizabeth Holmes. The 17-page ruling issued late Thursday pushes Balwani, 57, a step closer to having to begin a nearly 13-year prison sentence he received after a jury convicted him of 12 counts of fraud and conspiracy last year. Balwani is scheduled to report to prison March 16 unless he can win a reprieve from a federal appeals court in a motion his lawyers say they plan to file. He had been scheduled to report March 15, but was granted an additional day of freedom in another order issued late Thursday by U.S. District Judge Edward Davila. Unless the appeals court rules he can remain free, Balwani has been ordered to report to an Atlanta federal prison, according to court documents. The 121-year-old prison has been plagued by misconduct and other abuses described by whistleblowers during a congressional hearing last year. Davila, who sentenced Balwani and denied his request to remain free on appeal, had recommended he serve his time in a Lompoc prison. That facility is located about 250 miles (400 kilometers) from the San Jose, California, courtroom where his trial unfolded last year. The judge's denial of Balwanis request to remain free on appeal may not bode well for Holmes, Theranos' CEO and founder. Her lawyers are also pushing Davila to allow her to stay out of prison during an appeal of her conviction on four felony counts of investor fraud and conspiracy. A March 17 hearing has been scheduled for Holmes' lawyers to try to persuade Davila to allow her to remain free until the appeals case is resolved. Holmes, 39, is scheduled to start a sentence of more than 11 years on April 27. That will separate her from a 1-year-old son she had shortly before her trial began in September 2021 and a recently born child she was carrying at her November sentencing. Story continues Although they had separate trials, Holmes and Balwani were accused of essentially the same crimes centered on a ruse touting Theranos blood-testing system as a revolutionary breakthrough in health care. The claims helped the company become a Silicon Valley sensation that raised nearly $1 billion from investors. But its technology never came close to working like Holmes and Balwani boasted, resulting in Theranos scandalous collapse and a criminal case that shined a bright light on Silicon Valley greed and hubris. Davila hasnt yet decided on how much money Holmes and Balwani each should have to pay for their crimes. Federal prosecutors are seeking restitution of nearly $900 million. In a hearing last month on Balwanis bid to remain free, his attorneys alleged federal prosecutors had distorted and misrepresented trail evidence in a manner that makes it likely Balwani will prevail in his appeal of the convictions. The lawyers also pointed to Balwanis non-violent history and past charity work in India as justification for him remaining free, asserting that he poses no danger to the community. Although Davila agreed Balwani is neither a flight risk nor dangerous, he concluded that still wasn't enough to allow him to delay his time in prison. Davila wrote that he didn't find evidence raising substantial question of law or fact during Balwani's four-month trial that would merit overturning the jury's verdict. An aerial view shows oil slick from the sunken tanker MT Princess Empress along a shoreline on March 08, 2023 in Pola, Oriental Mindoro, Philippines. Ezra Acayan/Getty Images Thousands of fishermen in the Philippines are out of work because of a massive oil spill. The 800,000-liter oil spill has coated a section of the country's shoreline in a thick black sludge. Fishermen can't fish in the polluted waters and may have to wait months before going out to sea again. A massive oil spill off the coast of the Philippines has forced thousands of fishermen out of work. The MT Princess Empress, an industrial tanker, sank off the Philippine coast near the island of Mindoro on February 28, per Reuters. The tanker was carrying 800,000 liters of fuel oil when it went down, per Reuters. Pictures taken after the oil spill show pools of black oil floating in the otherwise clear blue waters, and the plants and sand along Mindoro's coast coated with thick black sludge. The local authorities have barred fishermen from fishing in the polluted waters, the BBC reported. More than 18,000 fishermen from 60 villages will be out of work until the spill is cleaned up, per the BBC. Coast guard personnel clean up an oil slick that has washed ashore from the sunken tanker MT Princess Empress. Ezra Acayan/Getty Images "Here in our area the oil is really thick and the smell is strong," said Maribel Famadico, 34, who lives in Oriental Mindoro. She told Reuters that she and other volunteers cleaning the shore were nauseated by sheer volume of oil coating the coast. Dozens of residents in the province of Oriental Mindoro have reported health issues like vomiting, headaches, and nausea since the oil spill, a provincial health officer told the local media outlet Phil Star. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said at a press conference on Wednesday that he hopes the oil spill will be cleaned up in under four months, CNN Philippines reported. Around 10% of the Philippines' gross domestic product comes from agriculture, forestry, and fishing, per a 2021 Statista report. Representatives of the Oriental Mindoro provincial government did not immediately respond to Insider's queries about how long these fishermen will be out of work. Read the original article on Insider Three people from Moss Point have been identified, detained and charged following a March 1 home invasion on Oak Street in Gautier, the Gautier Police Department announced Friday. Charged with home invasion and armed robbery are: Echo Shnae Hayes, 30, who U.S. Marshals apprehended on March 8 Donquial Terrell Cummings, 22, who Moss Point police apprehended March 8 Joseph Solomon Williams, 45, who Moss Point police found while executing a search warrant at a residence in Moss Point Police responded to the report of home invasion at 1:34 a.m. March 1 and found a man with minor injuries from an assault during the incident. Gautier police had identified Shantel Toro, 28, as a person wanted in connection with the home invasion. She was found dead in Moss Point after being shot several times. Gautier Police Chief David Bever thanked the US Marshals Service and Moss Point police for their assistance during the investigation and said, This is why inter-department relationships are important. Anyone with information about the home invasion is asked to contact Gautier Criminal Investigations Division at 228-497-2486 or Mississippi Coast Crime Stoppers at 1-877-787-5898. The widely popular social media app TikTok has hired its own consulting firm, SKDK, as it comes under new scrutiny from lawmakers worried it is a security threat, according to a report in Politico. SKDK was hired to provide its support to TikTok as lawmakers push bipartisan legislation that could ban or restrict the app. The firms ties to the Biden administration are notable. Anita Dunn, one of the firms founders, is a senior adviser to President Biden. Several other officials in the administration have ties to SKDK. TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company. Lawmakers and other officials around the country have expressed concern that the Chinese government could use TikTok to garner information about American citizens. FBI Director Christopher Wray testified to the Senate Intelligence Committee this week that he considers TikTok to be a security threat. Asked by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) if the U.S. should refrain from banning the app because it is popular among users under the age of 35 despite the concerns raised by lawmakers, Wray said, Not from my perspective. TikToks hiring of the firm came in the last few months, Politico reported. The legislation in the Senate would give the federal government the ability to restrict access to any technology from China and other nations. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. A TikToker said she had plane tickets for the wrong location in a video that received 4.3 million views. TikTok: @sophealice, Sophie Alice A TikToker said she accidentally bought flights to Bucharest instead of Budapest in a viral video. Hundreds of viewers gave the TikToker recommendations on where to visit in the Romanian capital. She told viewers she and her friend decided to go to Bucharest after all, and "it was great." A TikToker went viral after she said she and her friend accidentally booked flights to the wrong city, confusing Bucharest in Romania with Budapest in Hungary. On March 4, a TikToker who goes by SophAlice shared a video that showed a crowd of people appearing to queue in an airport, before showing a screen that said "Bucharest" on the display. The on-screen caption of the upload read, "When you thought you had booked flights to Budapest," alongside a video caption that read, "They sound similar right," and pinned Stansted Airport in London as the location. The video used a popular TikTok sound that repeats the word "shit" as the creator lip syncs, often used to denote finding themselves in an unfortunate situation. The upload received 4.3 million views and attracted over 870 comments, many of which informed the TikToker they were still heading to a great location. "Honestly, Bucharest is nicer than Budapest," one viewer wrote which received 4,800 likes. "Romania is the most underrated place, of all the cities I've been to - there is so much to do there! It happened for a reason," another comment read which received 292 likes. Others provided the TikToker with specific recommendations of places to visit when they landed, ranging from a thermal spa to Bran Castle which may have been the inspiration for Bram Stoker's "Dracula" castle, about three hours north of the city. In a follow-up video posted on March 5, the creator said she'd received many comments asking whether she and her friend still went on the trip. "Yes we went, of course we went and it was great," she said in response. Story continues In a series of further videos, the creator shared some of the locations they had spent time in during their trip to Bucharest which included a visit to Bran Castle. SopheAlice has 674 followers on TikTok where she shares travel uploads, which include a former visit to Budapest, and thrifting videos. For more stories like this, check out coverage from Insider's Digital Culture team here. Read the original article on Insider TikTokers are alarmed at how realistic the viral beauty filter is. @anamariazamzam/TikTok Bold Glamour is the latest viral TikTok beauty filter, and users are alarmed at how creepily realistic it is. Experts warn that unregulated use of the filter can distort self-perception and worsen self-esteem issues. A spokesperson from TikTok explained that all videos using the filters are "clearly marked by default." TikTok Filters are one of the platform's key features. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that a few have gone viral over the years, after getting picked up by creators with huge followings. But this time, a viral beauty filter is gaining immense attention for how alarmingly realistic it looks. Bold Glamour is unlike any beauty filter that has been released on TikTok before. As of March 8, the filter had over 2.8 million videos on TikTok, and videos tagged #boldglamour had gathered more than 390 million views. Previously, users were typically able to identify if a TikTok beauty filter was being used in a video. With Bold Glamour, however, many are finding it almost impossible to discern if the filter was on. One video, depicting TikToker @notsophiesilva rubbing her face to show how the filter did not budge, had a caption noting: "This filter has to be illegal." The TikTok has over 37.1 million views and 2 million likes TikTok did not make known the technology used to develop the filter. The Verge, a website "about technology and how it makes us feel," noted that the company had ignored emails requesting confirmation on whether AI is being used. Some experts are saying that Bold Glamour uses machine learning, a branch of AI technology, according to technology corporation IBM. Different than the traditional beauty filter that overlays a face mesh on a 2D screen with a facial-tracking mechanism, this new filter processes the camera image itself by comparing it with a dataset of other images and then regenerates the pixels, according to Luke Hurd, a mixed reality consultant with experiences making TikTok filters as an Effect House creator. Story continues This technology allows the filter to not be affected by any obstruction to the camera which would have messed with the 3D-overlay in a traditional filter birthing the hyperrealistic look, Hurd explains in his series of TikToks. However, Bold Glamour was met with mixed reactions on the app. Some TikTokers are simply impressed by how realistic and flawless the filter is, while others express how it's affecting their self-esteem by making them feel ugly when the filter is off. "I don't think my brain knows how to deal looking like this one minute," TikToker @joannajkenny said, "and then this the next," she adds as she turns the filter off to reveal her real face in her TikTok. The video has 7.6 million views and over 400,000 likes. Many are also saying that this filter is dangerous, as it reinforces unrealistic beauty standards through a means that can be highly deceptive. "This filter should come with a warning," a caption in the same video by TikToker @joannajkenny read. Insider reached out to some experts who warn that the filter has potential to negatively impact a person's self-esteem, as it distorts how people perceive themselves, and creates an insatiable gap between what's shown on the screen and exists in reality. "The Bold Glamour filter can definitely harm a person's self-perception," New York-based licensed clinical psychologist Jaci Lopez Witmer told Insider, "in extreme cases the filter can lead to Body Dysmorphic Disorder," she adds. Body Dysmorphic Disorder is characterized by "persistent and intrusive preoccupations with an imagined or slight defect in one's appearance," according to Psychology Today. Witmer also told Insider that users may experience cognitive dissonance due to the filter being "inconsistent with their own self-image." Cognitive dissonance is described as the feeling of discomfort when two or more states of thought contradict one another, according to Psychology Today. True enough, users on TikTok can be seen grimacing when they turn the filter off. "Do this filter if you wanna cry," a caption of such a video with more than 50,000 likes read. But it seems like Bold Glamour is just the beginning of a series of hyperrealistic facial-modification filters. TikTok released a new set of generative AI effects for Effect House creators on February 22. The new tools Eyebrow Eraser, Smile, and Pucker can be used to modify a user's facial features in real-time. Soon, most filters will likely start to mimic the terrifyingly realistic effect that Bold Glamour has, and Witmer suggests that this may have a lasting impact on society. "I could see some people taking the filter to an extreme and becoming obsessed with how they look with the filter on, perhaps trying to replicate this in real life," the psychologist told Insider. True to her prediction, TikTokers on the platform have already begun to attempt recreating their filtered looks. TikToker @raazsbeauty shared in a video that she tried to do her makeup to imitate the filter as closely as she could, but was still disappointed when she turned off the filter. "Umm I guess makeup isnt going to cut it," read the caption of the TikTok, which has garnered almost 30,000 likes as of March 8. The self-identity confusion that can arise as a result of using hyperrealistic filters like Bold Glamour even have potential to harm interpersonal relationships, according to Witmer. "When users feel unsatisfied with their natural appearance and judge themselves harshly against the filtered version of themselves as well as others who use the filter, it can lead to disconnection from themselves and others," she told Insider. Users may also internalize unrealistic beauty standards that can result in interpersonal conflict as they may tend to judge, criticize, or lay expectations upon others based on their appearance, according to Singapore-based licensed clinical psychologist Annabelle Chow who told Insider in an interview. Chow also told Insider that adolescents are most susceptible to the effects of such filters. "They might not have developed realistic beauty standards, or appropriate habits relating to screen time and social media use," she said to Insider. The adolescent brain is highly impressionable as they have more synaptic connections, according to neurologist Frances Elizabeth Jensen in an interview with The Guardian. This makes them the most vulnerable to the negative influences that filters like Bold Glamour can have. "I'm so happy my teenage self only had dog ears on Snapchat," a caption reads on a TikTok video by creator @notsophiesilva. "I don't even have bad self-esteem like that but it's even making me dislike my own face," she said in the video, which has over a million views and 70,000 likes as of March 8. "I'm worried about the younger generation. I don't know if I would have been able to differentiate my beauty from a filtered photo at 11 or 13, especially with how much they are expected to show up online these days," Brenda Varela, a New York-based licensed esthetician and owner of The Bar, who also holds a master's degree in clinical mental health, told Insider. As someone who was able to view the effects of filter-imposed beauty standards from two professional angles, Varela told Insider that one of the first things she noticed during her career path transition was how people were aspiring to look like others on social media, without knowing that they were setting unattainable "skin goals." Varela added that, "Those idealistic figures don't even look like that in real life." Overall, many critics and users of TikTok agree that filters like Bold Glamour should come with a disclaimer. It has the potential to cause negative effects on the user, as well as the people around them by reinforcing impossible beauty standards. Insider reached out to TikTok for comment on the general criticism the filter has received. "Being true to yourself is celebrated and encouraged on TikTok. Creative Effects are a part of what makes it fun to create content, empowering self-expression and creativity," a TikTok spokesperson responded. The spokesperson from TikTok went on to explain that, "Transparency is built into the effect experience, as all videos using them are clearly marked by default. We continue to work with expert partners and our community, to help keep TikTok a positive, supportive space for everyone." Bold Glamour, and all other filter labels, disappear after a TikTok video is downloaded off the platform. It's when a TikTok has been reposted on other platforms that it can become unclear to viewers that a filter is being used. "If this becomes an issue, we will be left with a highly anxious, overly critical, exponentially depressed, and just overall unhappy society in 10 to 20 years," said Varela to Insider. Read the original article on Insider NEW YORK Timberland has turned up the volume on its most important messaging with the opening of its new global flagship in SoHo. The soft opening Friday of the 3,254-square-foot store at 550 Broadway between Prince and Spring Streets marked the reveal of a design concept intended to showcase the brands dual mission of outfitting people for both work and the outdoors. More from WWD This is the best representation of our DNA, said Susie Mulder, Timberlands global brand president. The concept also puts more of a focus on womenswear, a key growth category for the company, by presenting female-skewed footwear and apparel right inside the entrance. The store also features The Shed, a customization space where customers who sign up for Timberlands newly launched membership program can have their shoes or clothing personalized. Timberland has a larger version in its New Hampshire headquarters that also serves as a prototyping lab. The Shed allows customers to personalize a variety of products. Timberland may be a New England brand, but we consider New York City to be our second home, said Tracy Smith, vice president and general manager of Timberland, Americas. Stepping inside the 550 store, consumers will be fully immersed in all aspects of Timberlands outdoor and work heritage. Driving a strong phy-gital retail presence in key cities is a key business priority for Timberland. And New York City is arguably the most important city in the world for us. We wouldnt be the iconic brand we are today if it werent for New Yorkers. That sentiment was echoed by Mulder, who was in town to christen the new location. The company had long operated a store in SoHo a shop at 474 Broadway opened in 2009 and continues to be attracted by the high traffic the neighborhood draws from both tourists and locals. But this new space better represented what we do, she said. Story continues The materials used in the stores design speak to the companys ethos. The palette is centered around the brands signature wheat and safety orange colors. Movable metal fixtures are inspired by New York City scaffolding while white oak and Oriented Strand Board wood panels help soften the look of the interior. During the renovation of the space, crews uncovered the original brick walls from 1850, when it was a Tiffany store, and Timberland left the walls uncovered and intact. As a nod to the brands commitment to sustainability, there are 10 3D-printed mannequins from Hans Boodt created from Poly Lactic Acid, a bio-based material made from cornstarch; the OSB wood panels are made of 100 percent recycled material; the white oak is from 90 percent recycled wood; the metal fixtures from recycled materials, and LED lighting was used throughout the space. The Timberland Pro workwear collection is highly visible in the store. In the rear is a Timberloop drop box where customers can bring product that has reached the end of its life to be refurbished or reused. Customers are then given a 20 percent discount that can be used in the store or online. The space sells a full range of footwear, apparel and accessories for men, women and children from the companys outdoor, Timberland Pro and lifestyle categories. The location will also carry exclusive, limited-edition and collaboration products. There are separate footwear walls for each gender showcasing the breadth of the assortment, which ranges from the trademark boots to boat shoes and sandals. One of the companys newest additions, the Motion 6 hiking boot collection, is being sold in the store. And the Original Timberland Boot, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, is a key part of the mix. The Edison Chen design of the Original boot is expected to launch at the store on March 30. Apparel, much of it featuring the brands tree logo, is displayed throughout the store by category. Displays next to key pieces in the store such as waterproof jackets, graphic Ts, quick-dry shorts and others have QR codes that consumers can scan to get more information on the product. Mulder said the store offers the largest selection of womenswear and Pro offerings in the companys fleet of stores. Womens is a huge focus for us now, she said. In fact, its one of the single biggest priorities for the brand. She said Timberland draws a lot of female customers, but it is still seen primarily as a mens brand. So internally the company is reorganizing to have separate womens and mens teams in order to capitalize on what she termed as a missed opportunity. Womenswear represents less than 20 percent of the brands business and the goal is to see it grow. Id love to get it to 50-50, but Id be happy to see it north of 30 to 40 percent, she said. The enhanced focus on womens is already paying off in stores where the assortments are broader and the merchandising is appropriate, she said. Apparel is also seen as an opportunity, Mulder added. That category, too, only represents 20 percent of sales globally with higher numbers in Europe and Asia-Pacific and lower numbers in the U.S. Were continuing to enhance our apparel offering as we seek to provide a head-to-toe offering, Mulder said. She said although Timberland is seen as a distinctly American brand, 50 percent of its business is outside the U.S. The brand is distributed in more than 100 countries and there are 173 company-owned stores worldwide. The count is even higher when adding partner and franchised stores, with more than 600 units in Europe and the Middle East and more than 500 in Asia. The SoHo store is only the brands ninth full-price unit in America, joining 46 outlets. While there are plans to open additional stores, no details or time frame have been revealed. Even so, elements of the design of the New York unit will be used in the other stores, Mulder said, including the heightened assortment of womens and Pro products. The store had formerly operated a store down the street. She similarly has high hopes for the membership program, which had been used in Europe but was unavailable in the U.S. and Canada until now. The free program is intended to build a true community of Timberland fans by offering members benefits such as early access to products and sales, in-store boot cleaning, free standard shipping, birthday discounts and more perks. At the SoHo store, the program is being amplified by offering workshops with local community business owners and authenticators, styling sessions, city hiking excursions and other events. Members are able to take advantage of the laser etching, heat pressing and embroidery on any purchase for free. Mulder, who joined Timberland two years ago after working for Nic+Zoe as well as McKinsey, believes that by cultivating a community, it will help Timberland continue to grow its market share. She acknowledged that like most other brands, the company had faced challenges due to supply chain disruptions, but the situation has turned around in recent months. Were excited about our trajectory, she said. I can say confidently that Timberland is back in a big way. Timberland, which has been owned by VF Corp. since 2011, had revenue of $1.8 billion in fiscal 2022. In the third quarter, it reported a sales increase of 6 percent to $596 million. The brand was founded in 1952 as the Abington Shoe Company and its work boot, The Timberland, was introduced in 1973. The Pro workwear brand made its appearance in 1999. The new store was designed in partnership with The Rosie Lee Group. Best of WWD Click here to read the full article. Putin I note that a consensus seems to be emerging that the war in Ukraine will be a long haul. A dominant view seems to be that neither side can deliver the knock out blow, and that a long drawn out war of attrition will result, similar in many respects to the Iran Iraq war of the 1980s. Many of those pushing this line seem to suggest that this is indeed now President Putins own default setting. That somehow he thinks that Russia, and Russians powers of endurance, as seen during WW2, can simply outlast Ukraine and its Western backers. Eventually delivering victory, however, bloody and painful. Read also: Russias war against Ukraine could end in six months, or it could last another three years Pentagon If true this would indeed offer up a grim outlook for hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of casualties, hundreds of billions of dollars in defence spending and destroyed infrastructure, as Russian and Ukrainian economies are ground down. Mass suffering, impoverishment of the masses and mass migration out of Russia and Ukraine. But also significant global impact through continued disruptions to global supply chains, and further pressure on the global cost of living crisis. I for one struggle though with the outlook as above. First, it seems to ignore the bravery, remarkable innovation and ingenuity of Ukraine and its people. Herein, I would just remind readers that military observers gave the Ukrainians only a few weeks to survive without suffering total defeat after the initial invasion on February 24, 2022. Back then they were faced with overwhelming inferiority in terms of firepower they were seen as a third or fourth rate military power, using only second generation, threadbare Western military kit. They faced a superpower which saw itself as a peer competitor militarily with the US and China, with access to state of the art, fifth generation military kit. And yet this third or fourth rate military power showed its ability to defeat the supposed superpower in key battles for Kyiv, Kharkhiv and Kherson. And it has taken back half of the territory that Russia first occupied. It has shown, through counteroffensives in Kharkhiv and Kherson, that with the right planning and equipment it can inflict devastating defeats on the Russian military. It is still a huge country, with 40 million people, plentiful manpower, and the motivation of fighting to defend its own territory and for the survival of its people and state. Story continues By contrast, Russia, the supposed superpower, has proven incredibly inept in fighting conventional warfare. Estimates suggest perhaps half its conventional military kit has been destroyed and Russia suffered hundreds of thousands dead and injured. It sought to regain the initiative by launching a huge mobilisation early last winter, but even this seems to have run into the ground in the mud of Bakhmut. The core of its problems are that its troops lack motivation as they are fighting in someone elses country, poor equipment and training. And Russias inability to wage this war effectively seems much to reflect corruption and ineptitude a consequence I think of the inherent weaknesses of autocratic or rather kleptocratic regimes such as Putins. Corruption is rife. Decisions are centralised, particularly around Putin himself, and the regime is hampered by Putins own paranoia, which leaves him detached from ordinary people and importantly military commanders. Autocracy means that generals appear unwilling to tell truth to power, and Putin is unable to make optimal decisions in terms of military planning and battlefield tactics. We see ever changing tactics, often incoherent offensives, and generally the lack of joined up thinking. This can change, Russia can begin to learn from its battlefield mistakes, but it seems as though the power vertical in Russia makes this likely to be slow moving and inefficient. Things will be very slow to improve for Russia. Read also: An extremely alarming call for Putin. The ghost of 1917 appeared in Russia Therefore, Russia seems incapable of a speedy victory and one has to ask oneself, even if it did, for example if it succeeded in taking the whole of Ukraine, could it ever hope to properly control, rule or subjugate Ukraine, without an enormous expense of resources? I just dont think so. Ukraine has a path to victory still I can see better Western armaments giving it scope to launch counteroffensives to recapture sizeable chunks of occupied Ukraine, even to the point that devastating defeat and the collapse of Russian forces in Ukraine is possible, even likely, but certainly more likely than that of Russian victory. Second, if Russias game plan is to wear Ukraine and the West down, I dont see that as likely to happen any time soon. There is no indication from the current Biden administration that it will drop support for Ukraine, and Ukraine still seems to have strong bipartisan support in Congress. That means US support is assured at least until the next US administration takes office in February 2025, two years or so from now. We can debate whether that will be a pro-Russian Trump regime, but Trump might still not win the GOP primaries, might not beat the Democrat candidate, and even then as we saw with the first Trump administration, his room to cow tow to Putin will likely still be limited by the still strong bipartisan support for Ukraine, and from the D.C. establishment. Similarly, I dont yet see support for Ukraine in Europe weakening at all, aside from the usual suspects such as Orban in Hungary who are pretty isolated these days. Europe finally seems to have woken up to the real threat to our very system of government from the Putin regime and understands that Ukraine offers our best hope of defence. This is now a battle for survival of two systems: Western Liberal Market Democracy versus autocratic kleptocracy. The West finally gets it. So I think for the next two years at least Ukraine can rely on continued Western support. But lets imagine a crack appears in Western support and Westen military and financial support slows or stops, what then? Will Russian tanks then easily roll through Ukraine, capturing Kyiv and driving to the border with Poland and perhaps beyond? Read also: Invasion anniversary: Does Putin still have a pathway to victory in Ukraine? I doubt it. I would argue that Ukrainians will likely continue to fight, even if Western support slows. They will continue to fight as simply they have nowhere else to go. They are fighting for their land and people. Putin has made clear he does not respect Ukraines territorial integrity, its right to exist or that of the Ukrainian people to exist. So Ukrainians have no choice but to resist, and Putin would face a nightmarish scenario of trying to take and hold Ukraine, against bitter partisan opposition likely for years to come. Russia would be bogged down in bitter fighting for years, if not decades to come. This is Ukraines State of Israel moment, and like with Israelis, Ukrainians feel they simply have nowhere else to go. Third, yes, I can construct a scenario where Ukraine fails in its counteroffensives and then 2-3 years down the line Western support is pulled back and Russia then takes the advantage over Ukraine. But it would be a long haul for Russian troops, and its hard to see the long war narrative being appealing to Moscow. The long haul means years of conflict for Russia, as noted above millions of casualties, no hope of sanctions moderation, economic decline, guns versus butter economic choices, collapsing living standard, out migration, a skills short-age, productivity decline if not collapse. It means rising social problems, rising crime, and likely rising divisions within society and across the Federation risks of centrifugal forces with new independence movements emerging in the South. Sure this can be met with yet more repression, but that likely just means more outmigration, further economic decline. Rinse, repeat. The long war scenario means that Russia falls further behind the West, and China, in terms of economic development. It means more Russian conventional military kit will be destroyed in Ukraine and sure going on to all out war economy settings could see military manufacturing step thru the gears. But NATO and the West will just go thru the gears as well, and in the end the math is just not on Russias side. Russia has a $1.8 trillion economy, which is shrinking, the West has a $40 trillion economy which is still growing. Russia just cannot win an arms race with the West. The West is already spending close to $1 trillion on defence and that is only going to rise. Russia simply cannot get anywhere near that. Fourth, neither China or the US would say this, but if Russia opts for the long war, they are likely to be the winners, not Russia, from such an eventuality. Russia will be relegated to the poor man in the strategic alliance with China. Russia will become much more dependent on China, but much more economically and militarily weaker. And China will be able to exploit Russia, milking it ever more for discounted commodities, a result of continued Western sanctions. Its eastern regions will become vulnerable to assimilation by China. Russia will also lose leverage over its backyard also likely to China, in central Asian and Transcaucasia also likely to Turkey. Russia will become weakened at home, and across the near abroad. Read also: Lessons of the Russian-Ukrainian war for Ukraine and the world on the threshold of 2023 And for the US, the longer the war goes on, the longer Russian economic and military might will be eroded to the point that it will be clear as to its relegation from superpower status to more of a regional power, albeit nuclear armed more like Pakistan. An elongated war will reduce Russias military threat to the US, simply thru the erosion of its military capability. Sure the regime could become more rash and unpredictable, but I would argue that this will be couched by its reliance and dependency on China China will then increasingly keep Russia on a tight leash. A long war would suit US and Chinese interests, but not Russian. Putin would be a fool to extend this conflict beyond this year, and I would still argue that his preference will be to try and conclude a peace deal this year he would love a ceasefire to freeze current territorial settings, but Ukraine will never do that. Ukraine wants a lasting peace, with Russian forces ousted from Ukraine and sufficient security guarantees extended to provide a deterrence against a future Russian attack. Ukraine will resist a ceasefire and frozen conflict for more substantive peace talks, but I dont see the long war threat from Putin being at all realistic. It surely brings more threats to Putins power, than actually trying to cobble together some peace deal now. Read also: The war will end with Ukrainian victory, US State Department says Putin has to balance off the risks from cutting a peace deal now, despite the significant losses already suffered, for little gains, against the risk of continuing the war in the hope that his hand is somehow improved in the future by changing politics in the West. But a long war would risk immense casualties and suffering for Russia over the long term, a then much weakened Russian state, and a greater chance of its eventual collapse. If he cuts a peace deal now, even accepting no territorial gains, some concessions on NATO enlargement but with security guarantees given to Ukraine, I think he could still sell that as a win at home. He still dominates the media/propaganda narrative at home and can sell almost anything as a win now. But a long war just multiplies the negatives and raises real risks to Russian unity and the very survival of the Russian state. It would be so weakened economically, akin in many respects to the late 1980s or 1990s, that the long war would make it very difficult for Moscow to keep the Federation whole. A peace deal now sure risks the same outcome, but a long war makes the eventual collapse of the Russian Federation almost inevitable. I guess logic as above would suggest that Russia is a loser from a long conflict, but as ever with this war, the question is does Putin have the same info set as we all have is the inevitably of defeat as I see it, also evident to Putin? And does he read the same info that I see in the same way, thru the same prism. Likely not on the latter. This material was first published on Mr. Ashs Substack. We are republishing it here with permission. 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 Flowing through a ravine, the Waukegan River is one of five elements of the Lake Michigan Watershed in northern Cook and Lake counties. (Steve Sadin / Lake County News-Sun) Most of the properties along the ravines from Winnetka through Winthrop Harbor, including the one through which the Waukegan River flows into Lake Michigan, are in private hands posing a challenge when needed remediation becomes necessary. Michael E. Prusila, the planning supervisor for the Lake County Stormwater Commission, said when stream banks in the ravines erode, it causes problems for the ecosystem. Since most of the property consists of private homes, restoration cannot easily be government-mandated. Advertisement Ravines are a pretty distinctive feature in communities around here, Prusila said. Some of them have severely eroded stream banks. This causes concerns for the stormwater running through them. Remediating ravine erosion is one of the goals of the newly released Lake Michigan Watershed-Based Plan, along with restoring wetlands, curbing flooding, stabilizing stream banks, removing contaminants, developing the best stormwater practices and more. Advertisement Michael E. Prusila, the planning supervisor for the Lake County Stormwater Commission, talks about the Lake Michigan Watershed-Based Plan. (Steve Sadin / Lake County News-Sun) Commission representatives introduced the latest watershed plan at an informational meeting Thursday at the Waukegan Public Library, initiating the process leading to its adoption by the commission, the Lake County Board and local governing bodies. Its a road map for voluntary remediation of water quality, flood damage and other water resource-related issues along Lake Michigan in Lake County, Prusila said after the meeting. The Lake Michigan Watershed consists of all land along the lake in Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana from which water flows into it, Prusila said. The plan itself is for the areas east of Green Bay Road, from Winnetka to the south through an area just north of the state line. Though Green Bay Road goes from Evanston through Highwood, and then starts again at Old Elm Road between Highland Park and Lake Forest continuing into Wisconsin, Prusila said the ridge which causes stormwater to flow east into the lake continues. Along with the bluffs and ravines which carry stormwater into the lake, Prusila said it also flows there through Kellogg Creek, the Dead River, the Waukegan River and Pettibone Creek. The entire Lake Michigan Basin consists of 67,900 square miles around the entire body of water, including 81 miles of rivers and streams, as well as 3,600 acres of wetlands. With the plan now introduced, Prusila said there will be a public hearing at 9 a.m. Wednesday at the Lake County Courthouse & Administration Building. Prusila said it will be in the form of an open house where people can talk to officials and make comments. The public comment period ends April 6. First the commission, and then the Lake County Board will vote on it. The Waukegan River is part of the Lake Michigan Watershed in northern Cook and Lake counties. (Steve Sadin / Lake County News-Sun) Kurt Woolford, the commissions executive director, said during the meeting the plan is a holistic approach to dealing with the issues surrounding the Lake Michigan Watershed. There will be financial grant opportunities through a variety of agencies to help fund the work. One woman who lives near the lake in far northern Illinois expressed concern about grant funding since the applications must be filed by an organization rather than an individual. She said she is unable to form a homeowners association. Advertisement I dont have any neighbors, she said. Do I need to hire a lawyer and form an organization? The plan is intended primarily for municipalities, other taxing bodies like park districts and individuals. Prusila said areas like coastal plain stretching east from the bluff, along Sheridan Road between Waukegan and the state line, are handled differently. Waukegan Harbor and the areas which once housed factories along the citys lakefront have long been under remediation controlled by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, including several Superfund sites. Its about a mile wide, Prusila said. Its unique and internationally recognized. One goal of the plan is restoring wetlands wherever possible. Prusila said such restoration includes areas which were once wetlands, but are no longer. They can be brought back with remedial treatment. New with the introduction of the plan is an interactive online component. Jacob Jozefowski, a water resource professional with the commission, said it enables a person to enter a specific address to learn about the area and what remediation can be done. HAMBURG, Germany (AP) A timeline of the shooting at a Jehovah's Witnesses hall in the German city of Hamburg on Thursday evening, according to information provided by authorities on Friday. About 9 p.m. The perpetrator opens fire in the parking lot of the Kingdom Hall in the Gross Borstel district of Hamburg, firing 10 shots at a car. The woman who is driving it manages to get away with light injuries. He then shoots through a window at people taking part in a service on the ground floor of the building before climbing in through the window while continuing to shoot. There are 36 people present in the hall, with another 25 participating online. 9:04 p.m. Police and firefighters receive the first of 47 emergency calls, some of them from people inside the building, alerting them to the shooting. 9:08 p.m. The first police officers arrive at the scene. 9:09 p.m. A Hamburg police unit specially trained to deal with rampages and terror attacks, known by its acronym USE, arrives at the scene. Police say it is a lucky coincidence that the unit is still on duty and is nearby. 9:11 p.m. The unit enters the building, using firearms to break a pane of glass and open the door. They hear continuous shots as they force their way in. They find a large number of people in a room, some of them lying on the floor. The suspected perpetrator flees to the second floor. Police reaching the second floor find a man lying on the floor with a fatal gunshot wound and a firearm next to him. Around 20 people are rescued unhurt from the building. Authorities find nine empty magazines that can carry up to 15 bullets at the scene, as well as 20 loaded magazines in a backpack and another two on the body of the suspected gunman. Six people are confirmed killed, while a pregnant woman loses her unborn baby. 12:30 a.m. Friday Authorities remain uncertain whether there are any other perpetrators after witnesses report that there may have been two shooters. Prosecutors order a search of the deceased suspect's apartment. Investigators find 15 magazines, each loaded with 15 bullets; another four boxes of ammunition with a total of 200 bullets; and laptops and smartphones. Investigators establish that what appears to be a possible second shooter in a video of the scene is in fact the shadow of the single gunman. Tom Girardi (Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press) Disbarred Los Angeles lawyer Tom Girardi funneled more than $1 million in gifts and payments to an investigator at the State Bar of California and the investigators wife, a USC accounting professor, according to a report released Friday. The long-anticipated report, the result of a year-and-a-half investigation by a law firm working for the State Bars governing board, detailed how Girardi cultivated and sustained an "extensive network of connections at all levels" of the agency tasked with regulating California's legal profession and described corruption beyond what is publicly known. The investigator, Tom Layton, and his wife, Rose, received more than $600,000 in payments from Girardi, and Layton enjoyed the use of a credit card paid for by Girardi's law firm, among other perks, according to the report. The law firm's investigation also documented how numerous State Bar officials with close ties to Girardi killed complaints that came into the agency or improperly closed cases about the lawyers alleged misconduct. At least eight complaints were quashed by State Bar employees whose ties to the wealthy attorney tainted their decision to close the cases without any public discipline, according to the report by the law firm Halpern May Ybarra Gelberg LLP. In addition, two agency prosecutors who advocated taking action against Girardis law license were fired under questionable circumstances by top executives close to the lawyer, according to the report. The magnitude and duration of the transgressions reveal persistent institutional failure and a shocking past culture of unethical and unacceptable behavior, said Ruben Duran, chair of the State Bars board of trustees, in a statement. Once one of the states most powerful lawyers, Girardi is suspected of stealing tens of millions of dollars from clients and colleagues. Now 83, he is bankrupt, facing federal wire fraud charges in two jurisdictions and has been diagnosed with Alzheimers disease. Story continues Despite more than a hundred lawsuits against the lawyer and 155 complaints over the decades, the State Bar did not take action against him until March 2021. By then, his law firm had collapsed, and a federal judge had already referred him for criminal investigation related to his misappropriation of millions of dollars from clients. None of the officials alleged to have inappropriate relationships with Girardi still work for the State Bar, according to the agency. Layton was fired in 2015 but later sued the agency for wrongful termination and received a $400,000 settlement. He did not respond to messages seeking comment. Bob Baker, an attorney who has represented Layton and at least one other former State Bar employee during the investigation, said Friday that he had not seen the law firm's report. Asked for comment about the report's findings, Baker said, "I don't give a damn," before ending the call. The Times previously detailed how Layton functioned as Girardis social secretary, emissary to law enforcement and chauffeur while collecting a State Bar paycheck. Girardi provided free legal representation when the Laytons sued their general contractor, and employed two of their children at the Girardi Keese firm, The Times found. Layton even selected Girardi to be godfather to one of his children, according to the report. Financial records cited by investigators showed payments to the Laytons from Girardi's law firm dating to 2002. Some payments went to Layton or his wife directly, but more than $460,000 went to "Layton & Layton" between 2006 to 2014. Layton told investigators that the entity provided consulting services to Girardi Keese, mainly by his wife. Rose Layton told investigators that the payments were "for unspecified services 'related to the financial aspects of a case,'" according to the report. The investigators said that Rose Layton had no documentation supporting the services she claimed to provide. From 2013 to 2020, Layton charged an average of $45,000 per year on the American Express card he had, which was paid for by Girardi's law firm, the report said. Girardi also guaranteed a $150,000 bank loan to Layton in 2006 while he worked at the State Bar and the law firm made payments on the loan for several years. In addition, Girardi's law firm leased two BMWs and a Cadillac Escalade to Layton while he worked at the State Bar and afterward. Of the cash and valuables Girardi directed to the Laytons, the report said that these payments and gifts were never properly disclosed. Ellin Davtyan, the State Bar's general counsel, said she could not comment on whether any of the report's findings had been referred to federal or local law enforcement for criminal investigation. "Be assured that we have and will continue to take appropriate actions in response to the evidence presented," Davtyan said. Other State Bar employees and members of the agencys governing board also secretly took gifts and other perks from Girardi, the investigators found. The report revealed a previously not well known relationship between Girardi and a State Bar prosecutor, Murray Greenberg, who worked at the agency for more than 30 years. Girardi gifted the prosecutor with meals at Mortons, invitations to Girardis Super Bowl, Christmas and Thanksgiving parties, and tickets to concert performances by Adele and Santana, investigators found. He did not list the presents on disclosure forms as required by the State Bar. A Girardi Keese employee recalled Greenberg visiting the law firms Wilshire Boulevard frequently for closed-door meetings with the powerful attorney. Greenberg, who oversaw the intake department for complaints for years, was involved in closing at least six complaints against Girardi. In one case, Greenberg instructed a colleague to make it go away, according to the report. When investigators attempted to question Greenberg in January, he invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, the only witness to do so. Greenberg retired in 2019 and moved to Arizona. He could not be reached for comment. Another ally Girardi cultivated at the bar was its former president, Luis Rodriguez, a longtime attorney in the L.A. County public defenders office. Rodriguez initially dodged investigators attempts to question him but agreed after they said they would get a subpoena, according to the report. He appeared on Girardis radio show and traveled with Girardi on his private plane on two occasions while on the State Bar's governing board, but according to the report, he told investigators that he was then unaware of any disciplinary cases against Girardi. Another witness reported seeing Rodriguez at Girardis table at Mortons, during which time Rodriguez and Girardi discussed Rodriguez possibly serving as the Public Defender, according to the report. Bank records at Girardis firm showed payments totaling $3,000 issued to a person named Luis Rodriguez between 2012 and 2013. When investigators sought to meet with Rodriguez a second time to ask about bank records, he declined through his lawyers. An attorney for Rodriguez, Sylvia Torres-Guillen, denied that he had received the funds and criticized the authors of the report for raising "these false documents for the first time in a public document." She said that while investigators asked for a follow-up interview, "they refused to provide any information or documentation despite our request for due process." Even when complaints against Girardi were referred outside the agency because of acknowledged conflicts of interest, top bar officials and staffers continued to meddle in their handling, the report said. In one cited example, Bob Hawley, a longtime bar employee who rose to the post of interim executive director, ghostwrote decisions in matters assigned to outside counsel without disclosing the fact, including a decision to recommend closure of a complaint against Girardi," the report said. Under questioning, Hawley "admitted to" ghostwriting the materials and claimed that the bar's trustees were aware of his involvement, but investigators said they found no evidence of this. The investigators also questioned the outside lawyer whose name was on the decision closing the Girardi complaint. The lawyer, who is not identified in the report, initially "stated unequivocally" that no one else had drafted the memo but backtracked after being shown evidence of Hawley's involvement. The lawyer acknowledged accepting "what Hawley sent" and that "the decision to close the case was not an independent one." Hawley did not respond to messages seeking comment. The findings of the 16-month investigation were drawn from a review of more than 950,000 documents and interviews with 74 witnesses, some of whom, including Layton, had to be compelled by a state judge to sit for questioning. The report's findings prompted state Sen. Tom Umberg (D-Orange) to announce that he would "withhold making any decision on what amount, if any" the State Bar could collect from California's 260,000 attorneys next year to fund its budget. In an interview, Umberg expressed confidence in the bar's current leadership but said he needed to "focus the bar's attention" by threatening its budget. "If you are suggesting that the Legislature go, 'Heres your dough and please, please fix your problems' thats not going to happen," Umberg said. "I fully expect the bar will demonstrate that it has and will take corrective action," adding, "This should create additional incentive to do so." Duran said in a statement that the "current Board and State Bar leadership is resolute in our commitment to effectuate profound change." He highlighted several reforms, including the hiring of forensic accounting experts and new rules for the bank accounts where lawyers store client money, which the agency instituted in recent years in an attempt to identify and prevent unethical behavior. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. The Marine Corps' top enlisted Marine is anticipating more money for facilities ahead of the rollout of the service's budget next week. Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Troy Black told a group of reporters Thursday that "we received more funding this year for facilities -- that's a fact." The facilities budget is broad, but Black was specifically referring to additional money the service will request to improve the barracks that house many Marines. Black was answering a question about changes planned for Marines by service leaders as part of the branch's human resources push dubbed "Talent Management 2030." Read Next: Biggest Military Pay Raise in Decades Proposed by White House An update to that plan, released Monday, said that the Corps "must renew our focus on meeting Marines' needs like: high-quality barracks, family housing, and chow halls." Black said that "those aren't hollow promises" and that "maintenance priority has to happen," but he did caution that the situation is complicated and won't be solved in a single year. "Does that funding meet the total requirement?" Black asked rhetorically. "Different discussion." The service's budget request is due to be released Monday, although it will have to be reviewed and approved by a Congress that is already bracing for a fight over defense funding. The Marine Corps, like all the other branches, has struggled with reports from junior enlisted members that describe rundown and sometimes moldy or dirty living conditions in the housing they are assigned on base. For example, a person familiar with conditions in the barracks at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, wrote Military.com in September 2020 saying junior Marines were living in older facilities contaminated with mold. More details about how much more money the Marines anticipate getting to improve living conditions will come in the following weeks, Black explained, noting that Lt. Gen. Edward Banta, the head of infrastructure, "is going to testify here next week or two and he will provide refined numbers." Story continues The most senior enlisted Marine also explained that, while the Corps recognizes a need to improve quality of life for its Marines, including barracks, a combination of an emphasis on readiness during the height of the War on Terror as well as shrinking and inconsistent budgets has made the task challenging. As a result, the older buildings on Marine bases "have not been invested in enough over time for many, many reasons," Black explained. "The priorities compete in a fixed budget." Black, along with the top enlisted leaders from all the military services, argued for more quality-of-life improvements like better pay, medical care and housing before several congressional committees this week. However, while the injection of new funding would help close the gap, Black said that some buildings have been neglected for years and need serious work and major funding. He mentioned that he recently toured a barracks building at Camp Pendleton, California, one that he was responsible for as a company gunnery sergeant in 2004, and encountered the same issues he was familiar with 18 years ago. "Twelve years in a row, the maintenance on that building has been deferred," Black said. Aside from more funding, Black also noted that the Marine Corps "constructed a good number of new barracks ... in early 2000s," adding that those buildings, built on 25-year contracts, are coming up on being refreshed. -- Konstantin Toropin can be reached at konstantin.toropin@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @ktoropin. Related: The Marines Claim Wins on Revamp of Personnel Policies New legislation would require airplanes to be equipped with sensors to detect air contamination from heated engine oil or other mechanical failures. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times) The airline industry would be forced to adopt new measures to protect passengers and crew members from toxic fumes on airplanes under a bill introduced in Congress this month. The legislation aims to address a basic fact of flying: The air you breathe on planes comes directly from the jet engines. Under normal conditions the air is safe, but if theres a mechanical issue, heated jet engine oil and other aviation fluids can leak into the air supply, potentially releasing toxic gases into the plane. While homes and offices across the country are required to have carbon monoxide detectors, airplanes have no such requirement. "We all are breathing contaminated air," said Rep. John Garamendi (D-Walnut Grove), the bills sponsor in the House. Like many Congress members, Garamendi is a frequent flier, and he has long worried about his own cumulative exposure to toxic gases, he said. Often, "there's a strong odor that you're breathing something you shouldn't," Garamendi said. "Anyone whos been on an airplane when they start the engine knows exactly what I'm talking about it." The legislation would create new mandates for crew training and for reporting and investigating fume events. Planes would be required to be equipped with sensors to detect air contamination. Lawmakers cited a Los Angeles Times investigation that found that dangerous vapors contaminate the air supply on planes with alarming frequency, sometimes sickening passengers and crew and incapacitating pilots during flights. Over a two-year period, nearly 400 pilots, flight attendants and passengers reported receiving medical attention after these fume events, and four dozen pilots were described as impaired to the point of being unable to perform their duties, The Times found. "Our legislation takes action where the FAA and airline industry havent requiring air detector and monitoring equipment, incident reporting, and investigations of these events to ensure a safer travel experience for all Americans," Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), the bills sponsor in the Senate, said in a statement. Story continues The bill is also co-sponsored by Sens. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.). Major unions across the industry representing pilots, flight attendants and mechanics are backing the legislation. "It is unacceptable that airline passengers and crewmembers may be exposed to toxins while flying toxins that may lead to respiratory and neurological conditions, including breathing difficulties, headaches, and fatigue," Transport Workers Union of America International President John Samuelsen said in a statement. Scientists have long warned of potential dangers from breathing heated jet engine oil, which contains tricresyl phosphate, or TCP, a highly toxic chemical that can damage the nervous system. TCP can have immediate effects such as headaches and dizziness, as well as longer-term effects such as tremors and memory problems, experts say. Some pilots and flight attendants have experienced serious health problems, including brain damage, after fume events, The Times found. The bill would require a major overhaul of current practices. No government agency tracks fume events or how often people become sick or impaired. Without sensors to measure air quality, planes rely on a low-tech method: the smell test. Internal documents from airlines and aircraft manufacturers provide detailed instructions for identifying oil and hydraulic fluid contamination in the air supply by smells such as dirty socks, musty and acrid, The Times found. The legislation would require airplanes to have sensors that would alert the pilot and flight attendants to poor air quality that is dangerous to human health, and it would mandate that airlines and manufacturers develop procedures on how to respond to alarms. The proposed Cabin Air Safety Act is not the first time lawmakers have tackled the issue. Congress has twice held hearings on airplane air quality in 1994 and 2003. Similar pieces of legislation have repeatedly languished in committee. Backers of the new bill hope that it can be included in the FAA Reauthorization Act a potentially easier vehicle than passing a one-off piece of legislation. It's unclear what opposition, if any, the bill may face. Aircraft manufacturers Boeing and Airbus did not respond to questions about their positions on the legislation. "Mandated regulations and monitoring requirements are premature in the absence of scientific studies that validate a health concern, reliable and accurate sensor technologies, and detection standards," Marli Collier, a spokesperson for Airlines for America, the air carriers lobbying arm, wrote in a statement. Studies on airplane air quality have looked only at normal flights in which no fume events were reported. No major research has ever measured the chemicals in fume events as they occur. In 2003, Congress ordered the FAA to measure the toxic chemical levels in such events, but the airlines refused to let flight attendants carry air samplers aboard, according to an FAA-funded research report. The FAA declined to comment on pending legislation. Studies have shown cabin air is as good as or better than the air found in offices and homes, the agency previously told The Times. The cabin air inside Boeing airplanes is safe, a spokesperson for Boeing previously wrote in a statement to The Times. Due to the high air exchange rate and HEPA recirculation filtration system, air quality on Boeing aircraft compares favorably to other indoor air environments like schools, office buildings, and homes, as numerous impartial, third-party studies have found. But HEPA filters can screen particles only above a certain size. They are not effective against gases. Boeing previously told The Times that scientific studies have not proved a link between fume events and health problems. The company previously said it has not equipped its planes with air sensors because suppliers have not demonstrated the existence of devices that could reliably detect contaminated bleed air. But the Times investigation found that Boeing managers had legal concerns that went beyond technological shortcomings. Senior Boeing engineers worried that data from sensors could prove damaging if used as evidence in lawsuits brought by sick passengers and crew members, according to internal emails and sworn depositions. An internal Boeing memo described it as a risk to give air sensors to even one airline, according to a deposition of a Boeing executive. Flight attendant, pilot unions, and congressional supporters could use this effort as evidence that sensors are needed and ... to drive their agenda forward to have bleed air sensors required on all aircraft, said the 2015 memo, which Boeing turned over in litigation. Garamendi, the bill's sponsor in the House, noted that air monitoring equipment is "readily available." "For the airlines, ignorance is money. If the toxic exposure were known, then youd be looking at long-term health effects that may lead to workers' compensation" claims, lawsuits and requirements that manufacturers change "the design of the airplanes," Garamendi said. "So heads up, Boeing." This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Some investors rely on dividends for growing their wealth, and if you're one of those dividend sleuths, you might be intrigued to know that TPG Telecom Limited (ASX:TPG) is about to go ex-dividend in just 4 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. This means that investors who purchase TPG Telecom's shares on or after the 15th of March will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 13th of April. The company's upcoming dividend is AU$0.09 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of AU$0.18 per share to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, TPG Telecom stock has a trailing yield of around 3.4% on the current share price of A$5.25. 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 TPG Telecom has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut. Check out our latest analysis for TPG Telecom 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. TPG Telecom is paying out an acceptable 65% of its profit, a common payout level among most companies. Yet cash flows are even more important than profits for assessing a dividend, so we need to see if the company generated enough cash to pay its distribution. TPG Telecom paid out more free cash flow than it generated - 125%, to be precise - last year, which we think is concerningly high. We're curious about why the company paid out more cash than it generated last year, since this can be one of the early signs that a dividend may be unsustainable. TPG Telecom paid out less in dividends than it reported in profits, but unfortunately it didn't generate enough cash to cover the dividend. Cash is king, as they say, and were TPG Telecom to repeatedly pay dividends that aren't well covered by cashflow, we would consider this a warning sign. 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. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. It's encouraging to see TPG Telecom has grown its earnings rapidly, up 35% a year for the past five years. Earnings have been growing quickly, but we're concerned dividend payments consumed most of the company's cash flow over the past year. The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. Since the start of our data, two years ago, TPG Telecom has lifted its dividend by approximately 55% a year on average. Both per-share earnings and dividends have both been growing rapidly in recent times, which is great to see. The Bottom Line Is TPG Telecom worth buying for its dividend? Earnings per share growth is a positive, and the company's payout ratio looks normal. However, we note TPG Telecom paid out a much higher percentage of its free cash flow, which makes us uncomfortable. Overall, it's not a bad combination, but we feel that there are likely more attractive dividend prospects out there. So if you want to do more digging on TPG Telecom, you'll find it worthwhile knowing the risks that this stock faces. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for TPG Telecom (of which 1 is concerning!) 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 A Buffalo statue on the campus of the University at Buffalo in Buffalo, N.Y., is graffitied with pro-trans messages on March 9, 2023. Students turned out in the hundreds to protest Michael Knowles, the far-right pundit who called for A Buffalo statue on the campus of the University at Buffalo in Buffalo, N.Y., is graffitied with pro-trans messages on March 9, 2023. Students turned out in the hundreds to protest Michael Knowles, the far-right pundit who called for "transgenderism" to be "eradicated." BUFFALO, N.Y. Less than a year ago, a white man from out of town drove into Buffalo before posting a white supremacist screed online that denounced, among other things, transgenderism. He then opened fire at a local grocery store, killing 10 Black Buffalonians. On Thursday evening, another white man from out of town, who recently stated that transgenderism should be eradicated from public life entirely, stepped up to a lectern at the University at Buffalo. He was grinning. Oh, what a great warm welcome in Buffalo, Michael Knowles told a crowd of a couple of hundred people, mostly fans, inside the Slee Hall auditorium. Thank you for having me. He was immediately interrupted. Trans lives matter! yelled two protesters near the front of the audience. Trans lives matter! As the chants continued, an indignant middle-aged woman in the front row stood up and demanded school security remove the protesters. Security eventually obliged, even dragging one protester from their seat as they chanted, Fuck fascists! Thats not a word fit for a lady, Knowles said to laughs. Thats not the way ladies should speak. And were going to be talking about how ladies should speak here tonight. The title of his speech was How Radical Feminism Destroys Women and Everything Else. Eventually, after calling the two protesters screaming banshee maniacs, Knowles launched into his speech repeating his call for transgenderism to be eradicated. The Daily Wire's Michael Knowles to protesters at his event at the University of Buffalo tonight: "That's not a word fit for a lady. That's not the way ladies should speak. And we're going to be talking about how ladies should speak here tonight" pic.twitter.com/zhELp6HfoS Ari Drennen (@AriDrennen) March 10, 2023 Knowles, a prominent right-wing commentator for The Daily Wire, had been invited by the schools chapter of the Young Americas Foundation, a right-wing student group. He arrived on campus less than a week after making national headlines for the eradication tirade he delivered at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), which was interpreted by many as proto-genocidal or eliminationist. Story continues Transgenderism isnt really a coherent concept thats used by anyone other than anti-trans people, Alejandra Caraballo, a clinical law instructor at Harvard and an LGTBQ rights advocate, explained to HuffPost this week. They can get away with saying the most disturbing things about trans people by just chalking it up to either gender ideology or transgenderism and just saying, Oh, were not talking about trans people, were talking about the ideology, Knowles viral comments were the latest and most alarming rhetorical escalation of an American conservative movement hellbent on stripping trans people of their right to be trans. The problem with transgenderism is not that its inappropriate for children under the age of 9, the problem with transgenderism is that it isnt true, Knowles said at CPAC. There can be no middle-way in dealing with transgenderism its all or nothing Transgenderism must be eradicated from public life entirely, the whole preposterous ideology at every level. Yet on Thursday, ahead of his arrival, trans students walked around the campus of the University at Buffalo, existing. Their existence as trans people, they said, is not an -ism or an ideology. Its who they are. Trans people have always existed, they said. And theres no way in hell they will let Knowles, the GOP, or their fellow students in the YAF eradicate them. Abigail Reinbold, a 21-year-old trans student, was among some 50 students who gathered inside Clemens Hall on Thursday to make protest signs. RESPECT OUR EXISTENCE, OR EXPECT OUR RESISTANCE, Reinbolds sign declared. Reinbold watched Knowles CPAC speech with horror and then watched Knowles claim afterward that his comments were in no way genocidal. He tried to make a distinction between the elimination of transgender people and transgenderism as an ideology, Reinbold told HuffPost. And yet when he actually talks about the effects of the sorts of policy that he wants in place, it has to do with the removal of transgender people from public life, which is essentially the forcing us out of the public spheres, forcing us out of our community, from places where we can find employment, find housing, find support. That is the elimination of the people. Reinbold added: Its very scary for me as a transgender person to hear people talk about me that way to talk about people like me that way. Trans scholars and other political observers agree with Reinbold, arguing Knowles was making a dubious distinction using a rhetorical sleight of hand. You often saw with the Nazis in the 1920s, and in the early 30s, thered be overt antisemitism, but oftentimes they would couch it in anti-Bolshevism or anti-Marxism and just say Judeo-Bolshevism as a term, and say its a broader ideology, not necessarily the people themselves. And then that just further escalates, Caraballo said. Students at the University at Buffalo protest a speech by Michael Knowles, the far-right commentator who called for Students at the University at Buffalo protest a speech by Michael Knowles, the far-right commentator who called for "transgenderism" to be "eradicated," on March 9, 2023 in Buffalo, N.Y. Carrie Bramen, the head of the Gender Institute at the University at Buffalo, also noted that had Knowles called for the eradication of another -ism, like Judaism, people would understand that it also means the eradication of Jewish people. Bramen, an English professor at the university, also told HuffPost that when you break down Knowless speeches look at his uses of dependent clauses its clear hes talking about eradicating trans people. In his rhetoric, hell use transgenderism in that speech in the position of the subject, the main agent of a sentence, she explained. But if you look at his dependent clauses hell refer to transgender people. When its a dependent clause tucked into a sentence, he absolutely says people. But when its the subject of the sentence, hes very careful to switch to -ism. So thats the grammar lesson for today. Earlier this week, Bramen sent the schools president a letter imploring her to cancel Knowles speech. We believe that this inflammatory language is effectively a call for genocidal violence against members of the transgender community and will, at the very least, encourage acts of violence against members of that community, Bramen wrote. But the schools president, citing the First Amendment, let Knowles speaking engagement go on as planned. So on Thursday, members of multiple LGBTQ+ groups set up tables inside the student union, passing out pamphlets and Pride flags, their straight and cis friends stopping by to show support. Jack Kavanaugh, a University at Buffalo graduate executive director of GLYS, an organization that helps queer youth, sat at a table talking to undergraduate students. Knowles wants to use terms like eradication, he told HuffPost. As a Jewish person myself, Im used to hearing those terms in history books, less so about people about my loved ones. Hundreds of students gathered outside Slee Hall to protest a short time later. They carried signs declaring Eradicate bigotry and Fascism is not a family value. They also brought a loudspeaker to play music, dancing as Beyonce sang, You wont break my soul. Didnt have service earlier but this was the scene before Knowles spoke - a lot of joy & dancing pic.twitter.com/KCjg1JQjE2 Christopher Mathias (@letsgomathias) March 10, 2023 And they chanted at the right-wing students in the Young Americas Foundation, who were waiting in line to get into Knowles speech. Were here, were queer, were fabulous, dont fuck with us! they screamed at the almost uniformly young white men. Michael Knowles, go away! Racist, sexist, anti-gay, the protesters sang. Michel Knowles, go away! Trans rights are here to stay! Police watched on warily as the two groups of students traded barbs. HuffPost saw police arrest one pro-trans protester, though the circumstances of the arrest werent immediately clear. J.B. Pena-Batista, a 19-year-old trans student from nearby Niagara University, snuck into line for the event carrying a sign. To say that you would like to eradicate transgenderism is to say that you would like to eradicate full bodies of people, full bodies of human beings that breathe and bleed just like the rest of us do, he said. Were not -isms to be discarded, he added. A little after 7 p.m., the doors of Slee Hall opened. No bags allowed. No weapons. Security guards waved metal detector wands over student after student. People took their seats and waited for Knowles to arrive. A couple of young conservatives discussed what speakers they could invite next to piss off the liberals on campus. Jordan Peterson, maybe. Or Charlie Kirk. Perhaps even white nationalist Nick Fuentes. Eventually, Knowles took the stage to big cheers. Though hed been invited to the university to give a speech about the illogic of feminism, he addressed all the uproar over his comments about trans people. Knowles recited his speech at CPAC word for word and then explained how he wasnt calling for genocide. When one calls for eradicating cancer, one is not calling for murdering the cancer patient, he said. At various points during his speech and during a Q&A, Knowles seemed to suggest that so-called conversion therapy could be a solution for making trans people no longer be trans an argument hes also also seemed to make on Twitter. I think when you feel some kind of conflict between your biological sex and your perception of gender identity, then it is your obligation to bring your gender identity more into line with reality, he said. I think we dont have the right to the fiction, to the delusion that a man can be a woman and a woman can become a man. I think if youre a man, to quote Don Corleone, you gotta act like a man, and when youre a woman, you gotta act like a woman. In 2019 NBC reported on a new study that found trans people who received so-called conversion therapy a widely discredited practice were more than twice as likely to have attempted suicide. Michelle Williams, 24, a queer second-year Ph.D. student at University at Buffalo, said this is part of why Knowles call for eradicating transgenderism is so inherently violent. The logical end of what hes saying is were eradicating access to gender-affirming care, were eradicating peoples ability to medically transition or socially transition, Williams said. When he says that hes talking about the ideology, and not the people like maybe hes not calling for direct physical violence toward trans people directly, like out loudbut the material effect of what he is saying is, trans people arent going to be able to get care. And that is going to cause them physical harm. Knowles received a standing ovation at the end of his speech. As his fans left Slee Hall, they were greeted by a walk of shame, protesters on either side of police barricades shouting, jeering and flashing middle fingers. Some of Knowles trollish young fans delighted in the attention, smiling and filming themselves. Protesters have formed a walk of shame for people leaving the Michael Knowles speech pic.twitter.com/w9m4QAXsXh Christopher Mathias (@letsgomathias) March 10, 2023 Back at the student union, disco lights danced across the floor as queer students and their straight/cis friends cleaned up from a party they had thrown during a Knowles speech a way of providing trans students who didnt feel safe demonstrating a space to have some joy. Clayton Shanahan, a medical student, was among the volunteers picking up popped balloons and wrapping up wires from the loudspeakers. The party had been great, they said, a celebration of transness and queerness. Knowles eradication comments, Shanahan said, are ultimately absurd. Trans people have always existed and always will. You cant eradicate transgender people, they told HuffPost. You cant get rid of us. We are resilient, and were here to stay. Related... (Bloomberg) -- A federal judge rejected former President Donald Trumps effort to block the so-called Access Hollywood tape from being played at the upcoming trial in a defamation case brought by E. Jean Carroll, a New York author who claims he raped her in the 1990s. Most Read from Bloomberg The ruling Friday by US District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan also denied Trumps effort to block Carroll from calling as witnesses two other women who accused him of assaulting them in the years before he got into politics. Trump had argued that the 2005 hot-mic recording of him making unguarded remarks to Access Hollywood host Billy Bush wasnt relevant to the trial. On the tape, Trump made crude comments about famous men being allowed to grope women at will. Kaplan said Friday that Trumps alleged conduct with women is central to Carrolls claim, even in a defamation suit. She must prove that Mr. Trump sexually assaulted her to prevail in the case, the judge said. Trumps lawyer Joseph Tacopina declined to comment on the ruling. The former president, who has announced hes running again in 2024, defended his Access Hollywood remarks during his deposition by Carrolls lawyer. Trump said its historically true that stars can do anything. And you consider yourself to be a star? Carrolls lawyer asked him, according to an excerpt of the testimony that was filed in the case last month. I think you can say that, yeah, Trump said. Carroll went public in 2019 with her claim that Trump raped her in a department store dressing room more than two decades ago, and sued him for defamation after he called her a liar from the White House. Trump has denied attacking or defaming her, saying his comments accusing her fabricating the attack to sell a book and falsely saying she made similar allegations against other men were a fair response to her allegation. Story continues Read More: Trump to Face Three Assault Accusers If He Loses Legal Skirmish Kaplan also said hell allow the testimony of two women who went public with sexual assault claims against him before the 2016 presidential election: Jessica Leeds, who claims Trump groped her when they sat next to each other on a flight three decades ago, and Natasha Stoynoff, who alleges he attacked her at his Mar-a-Lago resort when she was interviewing him for People magazine in 2005. The judge said Trumps attempt to minimize the similarity between his alleged actions with Carroll and his alleged actions with the other women is not very persuasive. The alleged acts are far more similar than different in the important aspects, Kaplan said. In each case, the alleged victim claims that Mr. Trump suddenly attacked her sexually. The case is Carroll v. Trump, 20-cv-07311, US District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan). (Updates with detail from the ruling.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Friday rejected Donald Trump's effort to exclude an "Access Hollywood" tape of him making vulgar comments about women from a defamation lawsuit by the writer E. Jean Carroll, who says the former president raped her in the mid-1990s. Carroll sought to introduce an excerpt from the tape, which was recorded in 2005 and where Trump boasted about forcing himself on women, as evidence that Trump had a propensity for sexual assaults comparable to hers. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan said that while propensity evidence is ordinarily not admissible, a reasonable jury could find that Trump admitted in the tape "that he in fact has had contact with women's genitalia in the past without their consent, or that he has attempted to do so." Trump has denied raping Carroll. His lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Carroll's lawyers, through a spokesman, declined to comment. The 23-page decision came in the first of Carroll's two defamation lawsuits over her alleged encounter with Trump in a Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room in Manhattan. Carroll sued Trump in 2019 after he told a reporter at the White House that he did not know Carroll, that she was not his type, and that she made up the rape claim to sell her memoir. She sued again in 2022 after Trump repeated his denials online. In the "Access Hollywood" excerpt, Trump graphically described his unsuccessful attempt to have a sexual encounter with a married woman, and described himself as being attracted to beautiful women. "I just start kissing them. It's like a magnet. Just kiss. I don't even wait. And when you're a star they let you do it," Trump said. "Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything." The tape was released in October 2016 and threatened to upend Trump's White House run. He defeated Hillary Clinton the following month to become president. Story continues Kaplan also rejected Trump's bid to exclude testimony from two other women who claimed he sexually assaulted them. One, Jessica Leeds, said Trump groped her while seated beside her on a 1979 flight to New York from Texas. The other, Natasha Stoynoff, said Trump attacked her in 2005 at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, where she had traveled to interview him and his wife Melania for People magazine. Trump has denied that both incidents occurred. Carroll's second lawsuit also includes a battery claim under New York's Adult Survivors Act, which lets sexual abuse victims sue their attackers even if statutes of limitations have run out. An April 25 trial is scheduled. The cases are Carroll v. Trump, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, Nos. 20-00731 and 22-10016. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Bill Berkrot and Daniel Wallis) NEW YORK Former President Donald Trump has been invited to testify before a New York grand jury that has been investigating hush money payments made on his behalf during his 2016 presidential campaign, according to one of his lawyers. Trump attorney Joseph Tacopina confirmed Thursday that the Manhattan district attorneys office has invited the former president to testify next week as prosecutors near a decision on whether to proceed with what could be the first criminal case ever brought against a former U.S. president. To me, its much ado about nothing, Tacopina told the Associated Press, adding he didn't think prosecutors had committed one way or another on a decision on whether to charge Trump. He said there was no legal basis for a case. Its just another example of them weaponizing the justice system against him. And its sort of unfair, he said. The office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, declined to comment. Such an invitation to testify before a grand jury often indicates a decision on indictments is near. The invitation to testify was first reported by The New York Times. Any indictment would come as Trump is ramping up a run to regain the White House in 2024 while simultaneously battling legal problems on multiple fronts. Trump, in a lengthy statement posted on his social media network, blasted the investigation as a political Witch-Hunt trying to take down the leading candidate, by far, in the Republican Party and what he called a corrupt, depraved, and weaponized justice system. I did absolutely nothing wrong, he said. Meanwhile, the district attorney in Atlanta, Ga., has said decisions are imminent in a two-year investigation into possible illegal meddling in the 2020 election by Trump and his allies. A U.S. Justice Department special counsel is also investigating efforts by Trump and his allies to undo the election as well as the handling of classified documents at his Florida estate. Story continues The New York grand jury has been probing Trumps involvement in a $130,000 payment made in 2016 to the porn star Stormy Daniels to keep her from going public about a sexual encounter she said she had with the Republican years earlier. The money was paid out of the personal funds of Trumps now-estranged lawyer, Michael Cohen, who then said he was reimbursed by the Trump Organization and also paid extra bonuses for a total that eventually rose to $420,000. Cohen pleaded guilty to federal charges in 2018 that the payment, and another he helped arrange to the model Karen McDougal through the parent company of the National Enquirer tabloid, amounted to an illegal campaign contribution. Federal prosecutors at the time decided not to bring charges against Trump, who by then was president. The Manhattan district attorneys office then launched its own investigation, which lingered for several years but has been gathering momentum in recent weeks. Several figures close to Trump have been spotted in recent days entering Braggs office for meetings with prosecutors, including his former political adviser Kellyanne Conway and former spokesperson Hope Hicks. Cohen has also met several times with prosecutors, saying after a recent visit that he thought the investigation was nearing a conclusion. Under New York law, people who appear before a grand jury are given immunity from prosecution for things they say during their testimony, so potential targets of criminal investigations are generally invited to testify only if they waive that immunity. Lawyers generally advise clients not to do so if there is a potential for a criminal case. It isnt clear what charges prosecutors might be exploring. Legal experts have said one potential crime could be the way the payments to Cohen were structured and falsely classified internally as being for a legal retainer. New York has a law against falsifying business records, but it is a misdemeanor unless the records fudging is done in conjunction with a more serious felony crime. Tacopina said there was no crime. Theres no precedent for this. Theres no established case law on this campaign finance stuff. Its ridiculous. And theres no underlying crime, he said. Separately, the district attorneys office has also spent years investigating whether Trump and his company inflated the value of some its assets in dealings with lenders and potential business partners. Those allegations are the subject of a civil lawsuit, filed by the state's attorney general. Former President Donald Trump Joe Raedle/Getty Images The Manhattan DA's office has been probing Trump's role in an illegal, 2016 hush-money payment to Stormy Daniels. Prosecutors offered Trump a chance to testify before a grand jury next week, per The New York Times. Such invitations are rarely accepted, but signal a grand jury may be close to voting on an indictment. Manhattan prosecutors recently offered former President Donald Trump a chance to testify before a New York grand jury that is probing his role in money paid to silence an adult film actress on the eve of the 2016 election, The New York Times reported. Attorneys for Trump did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. In a statement to ABC News's John Santucci, a Trump spokesperson said: "The Manhattan District Attorney's threat to indict President Trump is simply insane. For the Past five years, the DA's office has been on a Witch Hunt, investigating every aspect of President Trump's life, and they've come up empty at every turn and now this. The fact that after their intensive investigation the DA is even considering a new political attack is a clear exoneration of President Trump in all areas. President Trump was the victim of extortion then, just as he is now. It's an embarrassment to the Democrat prosecutors, and it's an embarrassment to New York City." Four people with knowledge of the case told the Times that Trump was invited to testify next week, a sign that a decision by District Attorney Alvin Bragg may be imminent on whether to ask the grand jury to vote on an indictment. Insider has independently confirmed that Trump is the target of the grand jury, which is hearing evidence of possible low-level felony charges of falsifying business records in connection with the payment. The grand jury has been hearing evidence since January on Trump's involvement in the $130,000 payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, who was threatening to go public with details of an alleged affair with Trump in 2006. Trump has denied having a relationship with Daniels. Story continues The investigation's pace has intensified this week. On Monday, Hope Hicks, Trump's 2016 campaign press secretary and later his White House communications director, met with prosecutors. On Tuesday, Michael Cohen, who brokered the hush-money scheme as Trump's former lawyer, met with prosecutors. Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison for several crimes, including tax offenses and his role as "bag man" for the payment, which federal prosecutors saw as an illegal campaign contribution. On Wednesday, Kellyanne Conway, who managed Trump's 2016 campaign and became a trusted White House advisor, met with prosecutors. Both Conway and Hicks have first-hand knowledge of Trump's involvement in the payment, which federal prosecutors have said includes the then-president signing checks directly compensating Cohen for fronting the money to Daniels' lawyer. It's standard to offer the target of a grand jury the opportunity to voluntarily testify. These invitations are rarely accepted because anything the witness says can be used to impeach them should they take the stand at trial. It's even less likely that Trump would come in involuntarily. That would mean issuing him a subpoena, which comes with immunity. Read the original article on Business Insider The annual Earth Day Fair, featuring childrens activities, eco-friendly vendors, free LED light bulbs, native seeds and tree saplings, will be held April 23 at the Fort Hill Activity Center in Naperville. (Naperville Park District / HANDOUT) Volunteer projects, tree sale, fair planned for Earth Week The Naperville Park District, city of Naperville and other local organizations are celebrating Earth Week Naperville, featuring Invest in Our Planet events from March through May. Residents can take part in a variety of special events, volunteer projects or other initiatives to celebrate the 53rd annual Earth Day, which is April 22. Advertisement Volunteer opportunities include picking up litter, mulching, planting or removing invasive plants. The Conservation Foundation is hosting the annual DuPage River Sweep from 9 a.m. to noon May 20 to pick up debris in and along the waterway. The Conservation Foundation is also selling rain barrels and composters and will have a native plant sale in May. Advertisement The forest preserve districts of DuPage and Will counties will offer several volunteer opportunities. The city of Naperville will host its annual Arbor Day Tree Sale from March 20 through April 14. Residents can order trees online at www.naperville.il.us/arbordaytreesale and pick them up April 22 at the Naperville Public Works Service Center, 180 Fort Hill Drive. A shredding event hosted by the park district and police department will take place from 8 to 11 a.m. Saturday, April 15, at Centennial Beach, 500 Jackson Ave. The Earth Day Fair is planned from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, April 23, at the Fort Hill Activity Center, 20 Fort Hill Drive. The fair features childrens activities, eco-friendly vendors, free LED light bulbs, native seeds and tree saplings. A list of activities can be found at www.napervilleparks.org/earthweeknaperville. Linden Oaks hosting Music and the Mind fundraiser Linden Oaks Behavioral Health in Naperville will host a fundraiser gala May 19 to fund programs, services and capital needs to prevent, diagnose and treat mental illness and substance abuse. Music and the Mind will take place at 5 p.m. Friday, May 19, at the Marriott Naperville, 1801 N. Naper Blvd. It will feature cocktails, dinner and a musical performance by Richard Kogan, master pianist and psychiatrist. Kogan will present a lecture and recital devoted to Leonard Bernstein. Tickets are $150 through April 7 and $175 starting April 8. Advertisement The event is designed to bring attention and resources to mental health awareness. Linden Oaks provides services for mood, personality, eating, anxiety and addictive disorders. For more information, go to www.eehealth.org/loh or www.lindenoaks.org. By Luc Cohen NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York City prosecutor is taking steps toward a possible indictment of former President Donald Trump, reviving an investigation into an alleged hush money payment to a porn star made during his 2016 campaign for the White House. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has come under political pressure for not bringing charges against Trump earlier, but has now invited Trump to testify before a grand jury, according to Susan Necheles, a lawyer for Trump. Legal experts say that is a sign charges are likely. The probe into whether Trump, a Republican, directed his former lawyer Michael Cohen to make a $130,000 payment to buy Stormy Daniels' silence about an affair she said she had with Trump offers Bragg another chance to bring the first ever indictment of a former president. The probe comes at a critical time, as Trump is running for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024. Bragg, a Democrat, took office in January 2022, after his predecessor indicted the former president's family company and its top financial executive over a 15-year-tax fraud scheme. A prosecutor leading that probe, Mark Pomerantz, resigned in February 2022 after Bragg declined to charge Trump himself for financial crimes. Pomerantz has publicly criticized Bragg's decision not to bring charges and published a book about the investigation. Pomerantz has said concerns about potentially losing the case should be weighed against the possibility of "promoting disrespect for the law" by not bringing charges when warranted. Bragg has defended his decision. "I bring hard cases when they are ready," Bragg said in a Feb. 7 press conference. "Mark Pomerantz's case simply was not ready. So I said to my team, let's keep working." A spokeswoman for Bragg, who could still decline to charge Trump, referred to Bragg's earlier statement. Trump has called the probe a "witch hunt." Story continues A grand jury began hearing evidence in the case earlier this year. Cohen previously testified that Trump directed him to arrange the payment, made in the run-up to the 2016 election, and pleaded guilty in December 2018 to campaign finance violations and other charges. "For the DA's office to charge former President Trump, a victim of extortion, with a crime because his then lawyer, Michael Cohen, a convicted liar, paid the extortionist would be unprecedented and outrageous selective prosecution," Necheles said in a statement on Friday. Proving Trump intended to commit a crime may be one of Bragg's biggest challenges, said Jennifer Beidel, a partner at law firm Saul Ewing and former federal prosecutor. "One would think that the former president would try to argue that people independent of him were making their own choices about what to do, maybe out of motivation to please him, but maybe not with his direction," Beidel said. Bragg, the first Black District Attorney in Manhattan, previously served as a federal prosecutor and as a senior official in the New York State Attorney General's office, where he oversaw a lawsuit that forced the former president's namesake charitable foundation to dissolve. Shortly after taking office, he came under criticism for a plan to refrain from prosecuting some minor offenses, reduce pretrial detention and limit sentence length. Bragg argued that "over-incarceration" has not improved public safety. In the biggest trial victory so far in his tenure, his office last December won the conviction of the Trump Organization on tax fraud charges. That came after Allen Weisselberg, its former chief financial officer, pleaded guilty and testified against the company at trial. Several observers have defended Bragg against Pomerantz's criticism. "Bragg's decision not to pull the trigger in February 2022 ... actually may have been courageous, not cowardly," Andrew Weissman, a former federal prosecutor, wrote in a review of Pomerantz's book in the Washington Post. "He hardly had anything to gain and a lot to lose politically by the decision." (Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Additional reporting by Karen Freifeld; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Diane Craft) Donald Trump. Brandon Bell/Getty Images Donald Trump is releasing a new book titled "Letters to Trump." It will contain 150 letters sent to Trump from people like Kim Jong Un and Princess Diana. This is his second book under Winning Team Publishing, a company run by Donald Trump Jr., his oldest son. Former President Donald Trump is publishing a new book, compiling some of the private letters he's received from famous people. The book is called "Letters to Trump" and according to its listing page on the publisher's site, it will contain correspondences from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, former President Richard Nixon, the late Princess Diana, and Trump's political rival, former First Lady Hillary Clinton. The book's collection of 150 letters will also include some from former Presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, per Axios. According to Axios, a letter from Oprah Winfrey that dates back to 2000 will be included in the collection, as well as one from TV host Regis Philbin, where he calls Trump: "My Dear Trumpster." Trump has bragged about receiving several letters from Kim, even calling the exchanges "love letters." Trump took several boxes of White House memorabilia with him to Mar-a-Lago, The Washington Post reported in February 2022. These boxes included correspondence from Kim and a letter that former President Barack Obama left for Trump in 2017, per The Post. "Letters to Trump" is up for preorder and will be released for general sales on April 25, per Winning Team Publishing. Each copy goes for $99. People who want hand-signed versions of the book will need to fork out $399. "Every letter has been handpicked by President Donald J. Trump, and is accompanied by his original commentary," reads the book's listing on Winning Team Publishing, a company run by Donald Trump Jr., Trump's oldest son. "Long before entering politics, Donald Trump lived an extraordinary life. No book highlights his iconic relationships like 'Letters to Trump,'" Sergio Gor, the cofounder of Winning Team publishing, told Axios. Story continues This is Trump's second book published with Winning Team Publishing. In February 2022, the company published his photo book, "Our Journey Together." This was a book that Trump in June 2021 said he was "writing like crazy" for. Two versions of "Our Journey Together" are still available one for $74.99 and a signed copy for $230. Gor and a spokesman for Trump did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment. Read the original article on Business Insider Trump and DeSantis at a rally in Pensacola, FL on November 3, 2018. Mark Wallheiser/Getty Images Trump slammed Ron DeSantis for previously moving to kill a federal mandate prized by ethanol producers. Ethanol is a major industry in the politically important state. As Insider reported, DeSantis supported legislation in 2017 to kill the Renewable Fuel Standard Former President Donald Trump on Friday slammed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over a past move to end a prized ethanol mandate, foreshadowing a likely primary clash to come in Iowa, the state that will kick off the entire process. "Why on earth (farmer's love earth!) would the wonderful people of the GREAT State of Iowa vote for Ron DeSanctimonious when he voted and fought to KILL Ethanol (and will definitely do so if given the chance) ..." Trump wrote in part in an early morning post on his social media platform, Truth. DeSantis, Trump concluded, would "beg for mercy" in Iowa. The former president also touted his own policies, including his overhaul of the North American Free Trade Agreement known as the USMCA. Trump's screed came just before DeSantis made his post-midterm Iowa debut during a Friday afternoon event in Davenport, Iowa, an appearance to ostensibly promote his new bestselling book. In reality, the event and DeSantis' entire book tour provide him an ample opportunity to test out a campaign message before his widely expected announcement later this year. Gov. Kim Reynolds, who is not expected to endorse before the Iowa caucuses, introduced DeSantis. The former president was taking aim at a policy that then-Congressman DeSantis supported. As Insider previously reported, DeSantis, who was a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus, supported legislation in 2017 that would have immediately ended the Renewable Fuel Standard or RFS. The standard requires specific percentages of renewable fuel to be blended into the nation's fuel supply. The ethanol industry closely protects the mandate since it effectively subsidizes the industry. Iowa is by far the largest producer of corn-based ethanol, which means that crossing the industry comes with immense political peril since the state is also home to the first-in-the-nation Republican caucuses. DeSantis did not discuss ethanol policy during his Iowa event, rather he received immense applause for recounting his actions during the pandemic. The governor also recounted his tussle with Disney over a parental rights in education law related to when it's appropriate to teach students about gender identity or sexual orientation. Read the original article on Business Insider A top Republican elected official who tried to ban drag performances in Tennessee has sought to explain his actions after facing accusations of hypocrisy for leaving heart and flame emojis under explicit pictures of a gay model and posting supportive comments for a transgender adult performer. Tennessee Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally ushered through the states widely condemned legislation banning public drag performances and has overseen a GOP-dominated state Senate that helped outlaw gender-affirming care for the states transgender youth. During the same time period, he interacted frequently with racy images on Instagram from LGBT+ models on his official Instagram. Mr McNally apologised in an interview with Nashvilles NewChannel 5 following national outcry after the posts were first uncovered by progressive website Tennessee Holler. Im really, really sorry if Ive embarrassed my family, embarrassed my friends, embarrassed any of the members of the legislature with the posts, he said in an interview that aired on 9 March. It was not my intent to hurt them. In one post with a close-up photo of a young mans underwear, Mr McNally commented you can turn a rainy day into rainbows and sunshine. He also called a trans adult performer super beautiful under an Instagram post with photos from what appeared to be a cabaret performance. Asked what people should take away from his comments, Mr McNally told NewsChannel 5: I dont know that they should take away a whole lot. Its that, you know, I, you know, try to encourage people with posts and try to, you know, help them if I can, he added. VIDEO: More of my interview with @ltgovmcnally on his positions on LGBTQ legislation. pic.twitter.com/dXJXrzBnM6 Phil Williams (@NC5PhilWilliams) March 10, 2023 In other Instagram posts featuring a semi-nude model, Mr McNally wrote you need to be on dancing with the stars and love it alongside a heart emoji. Story continues The man in the photos, 20-year-old Franklyn McClur, told Tennessee Holler that he connected with the lieutenant governor on social media through mutual friends. Mr McNally was just basically trying to encourage him, he said. He also was confronted about a post in which the young man described himself as not a whore but a hoe. One is a SLUT and the other is a PROSTITUTE, he wrote. Im the one that gets free weed for giving head. I dont know that, a lot of times on some peoples posts you see the name and you see what theyve written, and you just press the button that says like, Mr McNally told NewsChannel 5. I dont recall reading the part about the weed, I know that. He said he might have read the part in the post about being a prostitute. The lieutenant governor insisted to NewsChannel 5 that he has never met Mr McClur in person or had any personal relationship with him. Earlier this week, a spokesperson for Mr McNally told The Independent that the lieutenant governor is a prolific social media commentator. Trying to imply something sinister or inappropriate about a great-grandfathers use of social media says more about the mind of the left-wing operative making the implication than it does about Randy McNally, Adam Kleinheider said. He takes great pains to view every post he can and frequently posts encouraging things to many of his followers, he added. Does he always use the proper emoji at the proper time? Maybe not. But he enjoys interacting with constituents and Tennesseans of all religions, backgrounds and orientations on social media. He has no intention of stopping. Tennessee Lt Governor Randy McNally commented on photo posted to Instagram by aspiring gay performer Franklyn McClur (Instagram / Franklyn McClur) Mr McNally, who had previously voiced concerns about state lawmakers adopting measures that could negatively impact LGBT+ people, voted against a bill allowing adoption agencies to discriminate against gay couples in 2020. Last month, he voted for the states drag performance ban. He was not present for the recent vote to outlaw gender-affirming care for trans minors. Asked why he has not vocally supported LGBT+ people despite his social media interactions, Mr McNally told NewsChannel 5 that it depends upon the issue. Tennessee is the first state to effectively outlaw public drag performance by prohibiting adult cabaret performance featuring male or female impersonators on public property or in the presence of children. It bans drag performances within 1,000 feet of schools, public parks, or places of worship, which LGBT+ advocates fear could effectively criminalise trans people existing in public and threaten Pride parades. State lawmakers across the US this year have introduced more than 400 bills identified by the Human Rights Campaign as harmful to LGBT+ Americans. At least 175 measures would specifically restrict the rights of transgender people, the highest number of bills targeting transgender people in a single year to date, according to the Human Rights Campaign. Dozens of bills are aimed at prohibiting trans youth from accessing medically supported gender-affirming healthcare, and state lawmakers have introduced more so-called bathroom bills this year than in any other year. At least 30 bills would restrict or prohibit drag performances. Tucker Carlson continued to double-down on his defence of the Capitol rioters in the latest instalment of his Fox News show on Thursday, interviewing the mother and attorney of Q Shaman Jacob Chansley to argue he had been wrongly jailed over his part in the attack. He also lashed out at transgender people by accusing them of taking over International Womens Day, called Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky a despot over his request for US F-16 fighter jets and allowed former Democrat Tulsi Gabbard to push a Russian propaganda line blaming Nato for the destruction of the Nord Stream gas pipeline during an interview. Mr Carlson has been branded shameful by the White House after airing selectively-edited footage of the 6 January 2021 assault on the US Capitol on Monday night chosen from 41,000 hours of security film handed to his programme by House speaker Kevin McCarthy in order to argue that the insurrection was peaceful and that its participants were only sightseers. The feature provoked an uproar on both sides of the aisle, with the Capitol police chief and both the Senate majority and minority leaders, Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell, coming together to condemn Mr Carlsons spin on the insurrection, in which five people died and over which more than 1,000 people have now been charged. The controversy has coincided with the publication of the latest filings from Dominion Voting Systems $1.6bn defamation lawsuit against Fox, which revealed, among many other things, that Mr Carlson told a colleague that he passionately hated Donald Trump in a bombshell text message. We are very very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights. I truly cant wait, he wrote. I hate him passionately. Key Points Story continues Freshly-censured Trump lawyer called out for mocking Mitch McConnell fall 10:45 , Joe Sommerlad Donald Trumps newly-censured lawyer Jenna Ellis has been called out for mocking Mitch McConnell with a tumbling tortoise video. The Senate minority leader was hospitalised on Wednesday night after falling and injuring himself at a private dinner at a DC hotel. Graeme Massie reports. Censured Trump lawyer called out for mocking McConnell fall with tortoise video Tucker Carlson defends Q Shaman and attacks trans people and Nato in latest episode 09:45 , Joe Sommerlad Tucker Carlson continued to double-down on his defence of the Capitol rioters in the latest instalment of his Fox News show on Thursday, interviewing the mother and attorney of Q Shaman Jacob Chansley to insist he had been wrongly jailed over his part in the attack. He also lashed out at transgender people by accusing them of taking over International Womens Day, called Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky a despot over his request for US F-16 fighter jets and allowed former Democrat Tulsi Gabbard to push a Russian propaganda line blaming Nato for the destruction of the Nord Stream gas pipeline during an interview. Lastly, he interviewed Simon Ateba, a Today News Africa journalist who claims he is being silenced by White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and banished from its annual Correspondents Dinner for asking too many inconvenient questions. Sure Simon. All that, and sheep escaping from a New Jersey slaughterhouse! Here are some highlights. On Monday we showed you unreleased video from January 6th. It proved that three of the most important claims our leaders have made about that day were untrue. They were lies. But what was surprising is how they responded when they were caught lying. They exploded in rage. pic.twitter.com/P67iLcnMvc Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) March 9, 2023 Jacob Chansley's Mother Martha Chansley And His Attorney William Shipley Joined Tucker Carlson Tonight To React To New Footage Showing Chansley Being Led Around The Capitol By Police Tucker: "How does it feel to know that the U.S. Government, the Biden Administration hid this https://t.co/RtC2AUwTWW pic.twitter.com/AY9OT4AJoC The Columbia Bugle (@ColumbiaBugle) March 10, 2023 Tucker Carlson calls for Liz Cheney to be fired from her professorship at UVA for not sharing exculpatory evidence with the American Shaman, Jacob Chansely. pic.twitter.com/wAiCGhdwFC Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) March 10, 2023 Tulsi Gabbard and Tucker Carlson discuss Biden sending F-16s to Zelensky and the "pro-Ukrainian group" that sabotaged the Nord Stream pipeline: "It is so obvious at this point that the United States and NATO are responsible for this act of sabotage and act of war attacking and https://t.co/Zo9eAVGf6R pic.twitter.com/XTXO2JMqLi kanekoa.substack.com (@KanekoaTheGreat) March 10, 2023 .@simonateba tells Tucker Carlson how he was kicked out of the White House Correspondents' Association: "[They're] trying to punish me for trying to be a real journalist, for asking the questions that the American people really care about." pic.twitter.com/g8a54mqQmU The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) March 10, 2023 Voices: Tucker Carlsons rewriting of history exposes the looming civil war in the GOP 08:15 , Oliver O'Connell Ahmed Baba writes: There is no better indication of the deep divides within the Republican Party than their reaction to Tucker Carlsons depiction of January 6 on Fox News. After Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) handed the Fox host over 40,000 hours of Capitol footage, Carlson aired some of the footage seeking to depict the insurrection as peaceful. This caused a firestorm not only from pro-democracy liberals but from within the GOP itself. Ultimately, this is resulting in an internal debate of whether or not the party will continue to embrace the Big Lie and Donald Trump. Read on: Tucker Carlsons rewriting of history exposes the looming civil war in the GOP Tucker Carlson would have been wetting his pants if he was in Capitol riot mob, says Anderson Cooper 06:15 , Oliver O'Connell CNNs Anderson Cooper laid into Fox News Tucker Carlson during a recent segment, suggesting the TV personality would have been wetting his pants if he had been at the Capitol riot. Cooper spoke with former DC Metropolitan Police officer Michael Fannone, who was assaulted during the riot. The pair discussed Carlsons recent insistence that the rioters who attacked the Capitol and its police on 6 January 2021 in attempt to keep Donald Trump in power were simply sightseers. Graig Graziosi reports on Coopers takedown of Carlson. Anderson Cooper says Tucker Carlson would have wet him in Capitol riot Tucker Carlson accuses Merrick Garland of lying about Jan 6 officer deaths, calls critics sociopaths 04:15 , Oliver O'Connell Tucker Carlson blasted his bipartisan critics in Congress as sociopaths during a broadcast on Wednesday and accused attorney general Merrick Garland of lying about the number of police officers killed during the Jan 6 attack on the Capitol. Its the latest headline-grabbing moment after the Fox News host caused controversy throughout the week by airing selectively chosen clips to claim falsely that the riots at the Capitol in 2021 werent violent. Josh Marcus filed this report on Wednesday night. Tucker Carlson calls critics sociopaths and says DoJ lies about Jan 6 police deaths BLM protest was Antifa plot to force Trump from office, claims Tucker Carlson 03:15 , Oliver O'Connell Tucker Carlson has now said the Black Lives Matter protests against police brutality in 2020 were an Antifa plot. On his show late on Wednesday, the Fox News host said that Antifa had descended on Washington, DC to force the sitting president out of office, referring to the 2020 protests. But it was Trump, so thats cool, he said. Carlson has made problematic comments on the BLM movement in the past as well. Maroosha Muzaffar reports. Tucker Carlson claims BLM protest was Antifa plot to force Trump from office Schumer calls McCarthy Jan 6 denier after Tucker Carlson Capitol riot videos 02:15 , Oliver O'Connell Senator Chuck Schumer has called out House Speaker Kevin McCarthys reaction to Tucker Carlsons depiction of the Capitol riot as peaceful on Fox News, calling him a January 6th denier. Those of us who were here on January 6th know the attack was a violent insurrectionincluding Speaker McCarthy, Mr Schumer tweeted. Every leader on Capitol Hill has done the right thing calling out Fox Newss liesexcept for Speaker McCarthy. He added: The Speaker is outing himself as a January 6th denier. Those of us who were here on January 6th know the attack was a violent insurrectionincluding Speaker McCarthy. Every leader on Capitol Hill has done the right thing calling out Fox Newss liesexcept for Speaker McCarthy. The Speaker is outing himself as a January 6th denier. Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) March 9, 2023 White House condemns false Fox News coverage of violent Jan 6 attack 00:15 , Oliver O'Connell The White House has condemned Fox News recent coverage of the January 6, 2021 insurrection, and in a rare named rebuke said that host Tucker Carlson is not credible. We agree with the chief of the Capitol Police and the wide range of bipartisan lawmakers who have condemned this false depiction of the unprecedented, violent attack on our Constitution and the rule of law which cost police officers their lives, a White House spokesperson said in a statement obtained by The Independent. Gustaf Kilander reports. Tucker Carlson claims BLM protest was Antifa plot to force Trump from office Former Fox News star furiously calls out old network over Jan 6 'lies Thursday 9 March 2023 23:15 , Oliver O'Connell Former Fox host Gretchen Carlson is joining the pile-on against her old network after its star opinion host Tucker Carlson predictably used exclusive access to security footage from January 6 to falsely depict the attack on Congress as a peaceful protest. Ms Carlson, who bears no relation to her former colleague, furiously denounced the network and criticised the channels journalists for covering Mr Carlsons remarks and the resulting backlash as if they are somehow unattached from the situation. John Bowden filed this report. Former Fox News star furiously calls out network over Tucker Carlsons Jan 6 lies Completely unethical: AOC reacts to Kevin McCarthy giving Jan 6 footage to Tucker Carlson Thursday 9 March 2023 22:45 , Oliver O'Connell Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez blasted House SpeakerKevin McCarthys decision to turn over January 6 footage to Fox News host Tucker Carlson. Carlson broadcasted selectively edited security footage of the January 6 riot on his highly-watched show on Monday evening in an attempt to portray the majority of those who broke into the Capitol as mostly peaceful and said These were not insurrectionists. They were sightseers. Ms Ocasio-Cortez, who has said she feared for her life on the day of the insurrection, told The Independent that Mr McCarthys actions made the Capitol less safe. Eric Garcia reports from Capitol Hill. AOC blasts Kevin McCarthy for giving Jan 6 footage to Tucker Carlson Tucker Carlson said he passionately hated Donald Trump Thursday 9 March 2023 22:15 , Oliver O'Connell Tucker Carlson said he passionately hated Donald Trump and fantasised in 2021 about the day he would no longer have to cover his fellow conservative, according to new messages released as part of a defamation lawsuit against Fox News. We are very, very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights, Carlson told an unknown Fox News employee just two days before the January 6 Capitol riot, according to the court documents. I truly cant wait. I hate him passionately, he added. Josh Marcus reports. Tucker Carlson said he passionately hated Trump, new Fox News lawsuit filings show Capitol Police chief accuses Tucker Carlson of using cherry-picked footage Thursday 9 March 2023 21:45 , Oliver O'Connell Fox News host Tucker Carlson is facing widespread condemnation after his latest attempt to change the truth to better suit Donald Trumps needs. The primetime host even found himself criticised by Capitol Police, the very organisation whose officers suffered the most at the hands of Carlsons ideological allies on the day that they stormed the US Capitol and attempted to stop the certification of the 2020 election. It all began with an episode of Carlsons show airing Monday evening, the first of several set to feature footage from the January 6 attack provided exclusively to his producers by Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, who now faces ridicule by the left and some of his own Republicans for the overt effort to throw a bone to the far-right and allow Carlson first dibs at the footage. John Bowden reports. Capitol Police chief says Carlson using cherry-picked Jan 6 footage Dominion lawsuit: Fox News staffers reveal frustrations Thursday 9 March 2023 21:15 , Oliver O'Connell Reporters at Fox News are frustrated by recent court documents highlighting the hypocrisy and bias of their colleagues in the networks prime-time opinion programming, according to a recent report. Dominion Voting Systems defamation suit against Fox News has provided an unfiltered look into the private communications and decisions of the conservative news networks top names in the wake of the 2020 election. Those exchanges have left current journalists at the network reportedly feeling embarrassed over their association. Several current reporters at Fox News spoke to The Daily Beast on the condition of anonymity to share their frustrations. Graig Graziosi reports. Fox News staffers reveal frustration over Dominion lawsuit revelations Tucker Carlson calls critics sociopaths Thursday 9 March 2023 20:45 , Oliver O'Connell Tucker Carlson blasted his bipartisan critics in Congress as sociopaths during a broadcast on Wednesday and accused attorney general Merrick Garland of lying about the number of police officers killed during the Jan 6 attack on the Capitol. Josh Marcus reports. Tucker Carlson calls critics sociopaths and says DoJ lies about Jan 6 police deaths Don Jr asks McConnell if hes insane for siding with Capitol Police over Fox News Thursday 9 March 2023 20:30 , Oliver O'Connell Speaking of a looming civil war in the GOP... Donald Trump Jr. attacks Mitch McConnell for siding with the U.S. Capitol Police over Tucker Carlson pic.twitter.com/M08s6FJ2uD Republican Accountability (@AccountableGOP) March 9, 2023 Voices: Tucker Carlsons rewriting of history exposes the looming civil war in the GOP Thursday 9 March 2023 20:15 , Oliver O'Connell Ahmed Baba writes: There is no better indication of the deep divides within the Republican Party than their reaction to Tucker Carlsons depiction of January 6 on Fox News. After Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) handed the Fox host over 40,000 hours of Capitol footage, Carlson aired some of the footage seeking to depict the insurrection as peaceful. This caused a firestorm not only from pro-democracy liberals but from within the GOP itself. Ultimately, this is resulting in an internal debate of whether or not the party will continue to embrace the Big Lie and Donald Trump. Read on: Tucker Carlsons rewriting of history exposes the looming civil war in the GOP Trump uses shameful' Tucker Carlson tapes to call for Jan 6 prisoners to go free Thursday 9 March 2023 19:45 , Oliver O'Connell Donald Trump has used the January 6 insurrection surveillance footage released to Fox News host Tucker Carlson to call for Capitol riot prisoners to go free. The decision by Speaker Kevin McCarthy to release around 40,000 hours of security footage from the attack on the Capitol has been blasted by critics. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, said on Tuesday that Monday nights broadcast by Mr Carlson was one of the most shameful hours of television. Gustaf Kilander reports. Trump uses Tucker Carlson tapes to call for Jan 6 prisoners to go free Schumer calls McCarthy Jan 6 denier after Tucker Carlson Capitol riot videos Thursday 9 March 2023 19:15 , Oliver O'Connell Senator Chuck Schumer has called out House Speaker Kevin McCarthys reaction to Tucker Carlsons depiction of the Capitol riot as peaceful on Fox News, calling him a January 6th denier. Those of us who were here on January 6th know the attack was a violent insurrectionincluding Speaker McCarthy, Mr Schumer tweeted. Every leader on Capitol Hill has done the right thing calling out Fox Newss liesexcept for Speaker McCarthy. He added: The Speaker is outing himself as a January 6th denier. Those of us who were here on January 6th know the attack was a violent insurrectionincluding Speaker McCarthy. Every leader on Capitol Hill has done the right thing calling out Fox Newss liesexcept for Speaker McCarthy. The Speaker is outing himself as a January 6th denier. Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) March 9, 2023 McCarthy defended giving Jan 6 footage to Carlson claiming other press was jealous Thursday 9 March 2023 18:45 , Oliver O'Connell US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has defended giving about 40,000 hours of surveillance footage from the insurrection on January 6 2021 to Fox News host Tucker Carlson. The California Republican told reporters that the footage is set to be released more widely and that the speakers office is taking steps to address worries about security risks. It almost seems like the press is jealous, the speaker told The Washington Post. And thats interesting because every person in the press works off exclusives on certain things. People like exclusives, and Tucker is someone thats been asking for it. Gustaf Kilander has the story. Kevin McCarthy defends giving trove of Jan 6 footage to Tucker Carlson Fox News refuses to air advert saying network stars lied to audience Thursday 9 March 2023 18:15 , Oliver O'Connell Fox News reportedly rejected a television advert from a progressive advocacy group and political action committee that highlighted recently uncovered reactions from the networks top stars and executives to Donald Trumps bogus election fraud claims and conspiracy theories surrounding a voting machine company that is suing the network for defamation. The ad from MoveOn addresses viewers directly while quoting from text messages and emails uncovered in the lawsuit, which revealed how network personalities and Rupert Murdoch shared their behind-the-scenes irritation with false claims while the network continued to amplify them. Read on: Fox News refuses to air ad with bombshell Trump election fraud texts How Fox News stars rejected Trumps election conspiracies while network pushed them Thursday 9 March 2023 17:45 , Oliver O'Connell Top personalities, executives and producers at Fox News privately condemned reckless claims from election fraud conspiracy theorists they dismissed as crazy and insane. But they were repeatedly invited on air on some of the most-watched cable news programmes in the country, where they amplified bogus statements about the 2020 presidential election and a voting machine company that has accused the network of defamation in a $1.6bn lawsuit. A 192-page, partially redacted filing in Dominion Voting Systemss lawsuit against Fox News reveals behind-the-scenes irritation with false claims made by Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, based on text messages, emails and depositions from programme hosts, producers and executives, including owner Rupert Murdoch. Alex Woodward explains all. How Fox News stars rejected Trumps election conspiracies while network pushed them Tucker Carlson would have been wetting his pants if he was at Capitol riot, Anderson Cooper says Thursday 9 March 2023 17:11 , Oliver O'Connell CNNs Anderson Cooper laid into Fox News Tucker Carlson during a recent segment, suggesting the TV personality would have been wetting his pants if he had been at the Capitol riot. Cooper spoke with former DC Metropolitan Police officer Michael Fannone, who was assaulted during the riot. The pair discussed Carlsons recent insistence that the rioters who attacked the Capitol and its police on 6 January 2021 in attempt to keep Donald Trump in power were simply sightseers. Graig Graziosi reports on Coopers takedown of Carlson. Anderson Cooper says Tucker Carlson would have wet him in Capitol riot Lawsuit against Fox shows the news behind the Trump news Thursday 9 March 2023 16:00 , AP Fresh revelations flowing from a major defamation lawsuit are shedding light on what was happening inside Fox News following the 2020 presidential election. Here are some things to know about the case. THE CASE Dominion Voting Systems is suing Fox for $1.6 billion, claiming the news outlet repeatedly aired allegations that the company engaged in fraud that doomed President Donald Trumps re-election campaign while knowing they were untrue. Fox contends that it was reporting newsworthy charges made by supporters of the president and is supported legally by libel standards. The case is scheduled for trial next month. ELECTION DISCONNECT Dominion has produced evidence that prominent people at Fox knew the fraud allegations were untrue, even as they and the presidents allies were given airtime to repeat them. Foxs Sean Hannity said in a deposition that he did not believe the fraud claims for one second, but he wanted to give accusers the chance to produce evidence. Fox founder Rupert Murdoch, questioned under oath, agreed the 2020 presidential election was free and fair: The election was not stolen, he said. Murdoch also said he was aware some Fox commentators Lou Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo, Jeanine Pirro and Hannity at times endorsed false claims, but he did nothing to stop them. Read more: Lawsuit against Fox shows the news behind the Trump news Court records show political pressure behind Fox programming Thursday 9 March 2023 15:30 , AP In May 2018, the nations top Republicans needed help. So they called on the founder of Fox News, Rupert Murdoch. President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell were trying to stop West Virginia Republicans from nominating Don Blankenship, who had been convicted of violating mine safety standards during a lethal accident in one of his coal mines, to challenge the states incumbent senator, Democrat Joe Manchin. Both Trump and McConnell are appealing for help to beat unelectable former mine owner who served time, Murdoch wrote to executives at Fox News, according to court records released this week. Anything during day helpful, but Sean (Hannity) and Laura (Ingraham) dumping on him hard might save the day. Murdochs prodding, revealed in court documents that are part of a defamation lawsuit by a voting systems company, is one example showing how Fox became actively involved in politics instead of simply reporting or offering opinions about it. The revelations pose a challenge to the credibility of the most watched cable news network in the U.S. at the outset of a new election season in which Trump is again a leading player, having declared his third run for the White House. Read more: Court records show political pressure behind Fox programming Tucker Carlson claims BLM protest was Antifa plot to force Trump from office Thursday 9 March 2023 15:00 , Maroosha Muzaffar Tucker Carlson has now said the Black Lives Matter protests against police brutality in 2020 were an Antifa plot. On his show late on Wednesday, the Fox News host said that Antifa had descended on Washington, DC to force the sitting president out of office, referring to the 2020 protests. But it was Trump, so thats cool, he said. Carlson has made problematic comments on the BLM movement in the past as well. This may be a lot of things, this moment were living through, but it is definitely not about black lives. Remember that when they come for you, and at this rate, they will, he had said in June 2020. The remarks by Carlson come as he was given exclusive access to more than 40,000 hours of surveillance video from the Capitol riots by a top congressional Republican and his broadcasting select footage to call rioters peaceful has been severely criticised. Read more: Tucker Carlson claims BLM protest was Antifa plot to force Trump from office Tucker Carlson calls critics sociopaths and accuses Merrick Garland of lying about Jan 6 officer deaths Thursday 9 March 2023 14:30 , Josh Marcus Tucker Carlson blasted his bipartisan critics in Congress as sociopaths during a broadcast on Wednesday and accused attorney general Merrick Garland of lying about the number of police officers killed during the Jan 6 attack on the Capitol. Its the latest headline-grabbing moment after the Fox News host caused a controversy throughout the week by airing selectively chosen clips to claim falsely that the riots at the Capitol in 2021 werent violent. The sociopaths turned out to be both Democrats and Republicans, Carlson said, hammering GOP leaders like senators Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham as weak men for their criticisms of the Jan 6 video segments. Legislators from both parties have accused Carlson of distorting the facts about Jan 6 in recent episodes. Senator Mitt Romney of Utah, the 2012 GOP presidential nominee and former Massachusetts governor, said this week that the American people saw what happened on January 6. Read more: Tucker Carlson calls critics sociopaths and says DoJ lies about Jan 6 police deaths VOICES: Tucker Carlson passionately hates Donald Trump. But thats not all Thursday 9 March 2023 14:00 , Rachel Sharp Tucker Carlson has long portrayed himself as a Trump true-believer. Based on new documents, though, his enthusiasm for Trump appears to have been a lie or, at the very least, greatly exaggerated. In new January 2021 texts released as part of a defamation lawsuit against Fox News by Dominion Voting Systems, Carlson declared that he passionately hated Donald Trump. He fantasized about the day when Trump, defeated by Joe Biden, would become irrelevant. We are very, very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights, Carlson said in text messages, according to legal filings. I truly cant wait. These texts, and other materials, show that Carlson and other Fox News hosts were leery of Trumps claims about voter fraud, and did not believe the election rigged. But they feared that if they told the truth they would lose viewers to other right-wing networks like Newsmax. So they lied, and reassured their viewers that Trump was the rightful victor in 2020 in hopes of retaining their market share. Noah Berlatsky writes for The Independent: Tucker Carlson passionately hates Donald Trump. But thats not all Video resurfaces of Tucker Carlson warning about conspiracy theories Thursday 9 March 2023 13:30 , Rachel Sharp A video has resurfaced showing Tucker Carlson warning about the dangers of conspiracy theories as he continues to use his platform on Fox News to push his own. The footage, from a speech in 2006, was posted on Twitter this week as he comes under fire for misrepresenting the January 6 Capitol riot to his viewers. In a democracy, it is vital that people have, that citizens have, a common frame of reference for reality, Carlson said. There has to be a place where all citizens can go, and look at facts about what happened yesterday, and say, you know what, I agree that thats probably roughly what happened. Tucker Carlson 14 years ago: "In the absence of any universally recognized standard or source of news, what happens?....All sorts of crazy conspiracy theories bloom and take the place of facts." pic.twitter.com/3BWLbs5Clz Republican Accountability (@AccountableGOP) March 8, 2023 Tucker Carlson would have been wetting his pants if he was at Capitol riot, Anderson Cooper says Thursday 9 March 2023 13:00 , Rachel Sharp CNNs Anderson Cooper laid into Fox News Tucker Carlson during a recent segment, suggesting the TV personality would have been wetting his pants if he had been at the Capitol riot. Cooper spoke with former DC Metropolitan Police officer Michael Fannone, who was assaulted during the riot. The pair discussed Carlsons recent insistence that the rioters who attacked the Capitol and its police on 6 January 2021 in attempt to keep Donald Trump in power were simply sightseers. Graig Graziosi reports on Coopers takedown of Carlson. Anderson Cooper says Tucker Carlson would have wet him in Capitol riot Gretchen Carlson (no relation) calls out Fox News over Jan 6 lies' Thursday 9 March 2023 12:30 , Oliver O'Connell Former Fox host Gretchen Carlson is joining the pile-on against her old network after its star opinion host Tucker Carlson predictably used exclusive access to security footage from January 6 to falsely depict the attack on Congress as a peaceful protest. Ms Carlson, who bears no relation to her former colleague, furiously denounced the network and criticised the channels journalists for covering Mr Carlsons remarks and the resulting backlash as if they are somehow unattached from the situation. Notably, her criticism comes just days after Media Buzz host Howard Kurtz revealed on air that Fox bosses have banned him and others from speaking about the $1.6bn defamation lawsuit the network faces for its platforming of the lies that led to the attack. John Bowden has the story from Washington, DC. Former Fox News star furiously calls out network over Tucker Carlsons Jan 6 lies Tucker Carlson is not credible Thursday 9 March 2023 12:00 , Oliver O'Connell The White House has condemned Fox News recent coverage of the January 6, 2021 insurrection, saying that host Tucker Carlson is not credible. We agree with the chief of the Capitol Police and the wide range of bipartisan lawmakers who have condemned this false depiction of the unprecedented, violent attack on our Constitution and the rule of law which cost police officers their lives, a White House spokesperson said in a statement obtained by The Independent. Gustaf Kilander reports on a rare rebuke from the White House. White House condemns false Tucker Carlson coverage of violent Jan 6 attack Mitch McConnell hospitalised after fall in hotel Thursday 9 March 2023 11:30 , Rachel Sharp Mitch McConnell has been hospitalised after a fall in a hotel in Washington DC. The Senate Republican leader was attending a private dinnner at a hotel on Wednesday evening when he tripped and fell, his spokesperson said. The 81-year-old was taken to hospital where he is receiving treatment. No further details have been revealed about his condition. The accident comes days after the Kentucky lawmaker became one of the most vocal members of the GOP to condemn Tucker Carlson for his attempt to misrepresent the January 6 Capitol riot on his Fox News show. Two Tucson real estate companies accused of consumer fraud agreed to pay $375,000 in restitution and fees, according to the Arizona Attorney General's Office. Of the accused in the 2021 case were companies Deed and Note Traders and 881Home as well as their manager, David Kinas, for hiding or misrepresenting underlying mortgages for homes they were selling, ultimately trapping consumers into mortgages they never bargained, according to a Thursday news release. David Kinas and his real estate companies sold the promise of homeownership with rent-to-own property sales to Arizona consumers, but the home-buyers instead received homes weighed down with the sellers own undisclosed mortgage debts," Attorney General Kris Mayes said in the statement. Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, seen here during her ceremonial inauguration Jan. 5, 2023, said David Kinas and his companies decieved Arizona consumers, selling them properties with undisclosed mortgage debts. According to the lawsuit, Kinas had also failed to pay some of the underlying mortgages, even having his companies foreclose on homes after they had already been sold to consumers. In a breakdown of Kinas' handlings, the attorney general's office said that consumers were sold homes through a rent-to-own arrangement with owner-provided financing or seller carry-back financing. Kinas' companies would act as both the seller and the lender, rather than as a bank or other mortgage lender. Furthermore, consumers weren't given clear title to the homes and instead the defendants used "wrap-around financing that transferred the title encumbered by its own undisclosed mortgages for loans already owed on the properties". According to the attorney general's office, although wrap-around financing is legal, other mortgages on a property must be fully disclosed by a seller. Suing sellers:Bought an Arizona home and want to sue the seller? This needs to happen first The consent judgement reached requires Kinas' companies to pay $350,000 in restitution to consumers and $25,000 in civil penalties. Additionally, Kinas and his real estate companies are permanently prohibited from selling properties with seller carryback financing. They must also use a licensed real estate agent as well as an independent escrow agent and provide title insurance as part of the sale if, and when, they sell any properties, according to the statement. Story continues Consumers interested in purchasing real estate, notably through rent-to-own or other installment-sale arrangements, are advised to be aware of undisclosed seller carryback or wrap-around financing. Source-of-income discrimination:Attorney general OKs housing ordinance, a win for Tucson and Phoenix The attorney general's office suggests consumers follow these recommendations: Research the company or individual offering the home for sale. Look for news reports, consumer reviews, and any government enforcement or disciplinary action. Consider hiring a licensed real estate professional to represent you in purchasing a home, even in rent-to-own scenarios. Obtain title reports and property title insurance to ensure that the seller is selling a property with a clear title. Read all documents and be sure you understand them before signing. If you need help understanding a contract, ask a licensed real estate professional to assist you. Do not rely on any oral statements or assurances made by the seller. Those who decide to purchase a home with wraparound financing must be sure that the underlying mortgage lender is involved. Use an account servicer to ensure that your payments are paying the underlying mortgage lender directly, and make sure such protections are in the purchase agreement to buy the property. Anyone who believes they may have been the victim of fraud is able to file a consumer complaint via the attorney general's website. Complaint forms can also be sent directly to you by contacting the office in Phoenix at 602-542-5763 and in Tucson at 520-628-6648. Those outside the Phoenix and Tucson metro areas can call 800-352-8431. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Tucson real estate companies agree to pay $375K in consumer fraud case TUNIS (Reuters) - Three prominent opponents of Tunisian President Kais Saied who were arrested last month and accused of conspiring against state security have gone on hunger strike, their lawyer and the son of one of them said on Friday. Former finance minister Khayam Turki, Attayar party co-founder Ghazi Chaouachi and protest leader Jawher Ben Mbarek were all detained as part of a crackdown on leading critics of Saied that has drawn a rebuke from rights organisations. Islam Hamza, a lawyer for the three men, said they had all begun a hunger strike. Chaouachi's son Youssef told Reuters authorities had told him they were moving him to a different section of the prison and threatened to use violence to do so. The police, interior ministry and justice ministry have declined to comment on the arrests. The prison system spokesperson did not respond to calls for comment on conditions in prison. Lawyers for those detained detailed the charges laid out against them when they were remanded in custody. Samir Dilou, the lawyer for Chaima Issa, the only woman among the detainees, said on Wednesday that prison authorities had not allowed him to meet her even though he had a permit from the judge. Dalia Ben Mbarek, a rights lawyer and the sister of Jawher Ben Mbarek, said the detainees had been transferred to cells with broken windows and a smell of sewage. Most major political parties accuse Saied of a coup for shutting down the parliament in 2021 and moving to rule by decree before rewriting the constitution which he passed in a referendum last year with low turnout. Saied says his actions were legal and necessary to save Tunisia from years of crisis at the hands of a corrupt, self-serving elite. He has said those detained are criminals, traitors and terrorists and that any judge who frees them should be considered their accomplice. (Reporting by Angus McDowall, Editing by William Maclean) A Naperville gun shop owner filed an injunction motion this week seeking to temporarily halt Napervilles ordinance and Illinois law banning the sale of assault rifles until lawsuits seeking to overturn both are settled in court. (Seth Perlman / AP) A Naperville gun shop owner is asking that sales bans on assault weapons in the city and state be placed on hold while he and the National Association for Gun Rights appeal a federal judges ruling in U.S. Appellate Court. Robert Bevis, owner of Law Weapons & Supply, and the gun association this week filed an injunction seeking to prevent Napervilles ordinance and Illinois law from going into effect until lawsuits seeking to overturn both are settled in court. Advertisement Court documents say the move is necessary to ensure he can remain in business by continuing the sell the weapons. The gun shop owner and the gun rights group filed a federal lawsuit in September saying Napervilles August ban on the sale of assault rifles was unconstitutional and should be overturned. Advertisement In January, the state approved a similar, more overarching law. Bevis initially filed a preliminary injunction in federal court Nov. 18 trying to block Naperville sales prohibition from taking effect and made a similar motion Jan. 24 to halt the states new law. Last month, U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall denied Bevis requests, allowing the bans to take effect. In response, the gun shop owner appealed Kendalls decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit while pursuing another injunction while the appeal is pending. The court documents filed Tuesday said blocking the sales ban will halt the harm being done to Bevis business as a result of the legislation. About 85% of the firearms sold at Law Weapons & Supply are prohibited under the Naperville ordinance and state law, documents said. As a result of the bans, the business cash reserves have been depleted and the gun shop owner has laid off employees and asked his family to work without pay, according to the motion. Additionally, the court documents said Bevis has extended his personal credit, been unable to pay personal bills like home and car payments, maxed his credit limits and taken out loans to pay monthly bills. If the bans remain in effect any longer, Law Weapons & Supply will not be able meet the terms of its 15-year commercial lease, the motion said. Advertisement subaker@tribpub.com Flags of Sweden, Finland and NATO This was the third round of talks that sought to resolve Ankaras concerns about what it perceives as Sweden and Finland supporting Turkeys Kurdish opposition. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that both Finland and Sweden have taken unprecedented steps to accommodate Turkeys demands, adding that he hopes both countries could become full members of the alliance in the coming months. Read also: Turkey will not ratify Sweden's entry into NATO before 2023 Some of the results of the meeting include removing restriction on arms trade between the three countries, and Swedens pledge to enact new laws related to countering terrorism. Read also: Finland will transfer tanks to Ukraine only after it joins NATO The parties agreed that the decision to invite Finland and Sweden to become NATO members was historic, the press release reads. They further agreed that rapid ratifications for both Finland and Sweden would be in everyones interest, and that their membership will strengthen the alliance. Read also: Hungary further delays Finland and Sweden joining NATO On Feb. 17, Stoltenberg said the time has come for Turkey and Hungary to finally ratify Sweden and Finlands accession to NATO. 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 Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Sony The new film 65 is set millions of years in the prehistoric pastand its ideas are only slightly younger. A mishmash of Predator, Aliens, and Jurassic Park that strands Adam Driver in the middle of a generic forest populated by third-rate CGI dinosaurs that are less authentic-looking than Spielbergs 1993 T-Rexes and velociraptors, Scott Beck and Bryan Woods thriller is chintzy, lamebrained, and absurd. Which isnt to say that its devoid of pulpy pleasures. 65 is precisely the type of B-movie that should have been released during the summer, when it might have served as a refreshingly cheesy respite from the heat. The film, which hits theaters Mar. 10, concerns Mills (Driver), a pilot from the planet Somaris, which introductory text informs usagainst a backdrop of computer-generated milky wayswas one of many intergalactic civilizations that existed long before man took his maiden steps out of the primordial soup. On this world, Mills and his wife Alya (Nika King) sit arm-in-arm on the beach watching their daughter Nevine (Chloe Coleman) stand at the edge of the water, trying to cup her hands together properly in order to whistlea trick that her dad (whos good at everything) can accomplish with ease. This brief expository scene reveals that Mills is reluctantly accepting a two-year gig manning an exploratory flight so that he might earn enough to care for terminally ill Nevine, who understands why her dad is leaving but is still mad about it. Driver treats even this early going seriously, investing Mills with a measure of recognizable humanity that makes him worth rooting for once he embarks on his journey. That jaunt is rudely interrupted by an unexpected asteroid field that damages his ship, killing its many cryosleeping passengers and sending it hurtling to the nearest planetwhich, unbeknownst to Mills, is Earth circa the Cretaceous Period. Seemingly all by himself, and with no radio that can successfully transmit an SOS, Mills quickly decides that suicide is his only reasonable option. Story continues Sony Its no spoiler to inform you that Mills does not, ten minutes into the film, off himself, nor thatonce he restores power to his severed-in-two crafthe deduces that theres another survivor: a nine-year-old girl named Koa (Ariana Greenblatt), who speaks a foreign language. Struggling to bridge this communication gap, Mills convinces Koa to join him on a perilous trek to a mountaintop in order to reach the ships other half (and its escape pods) by promising to reunite her with her parents. This is a lie that will eventually lead to heartache, although if you think that Mills and Koa will fill the holes in their respective hearts by becoming a surrogate father-daughter pair, well, youve seen one of this sci-fi sagas predecessors too. As written and directed by Beck and Woods, the duo who co-wrote A Quiet Place, 65 races through its set-up for good reasonnamely, its derivative, paper-thin, and doesnt make much sense. Somaris people look, sound and behave an awful lot like you and me. Consequently, its never clear why the filmmakerswho were already pilfering past genre classicsdidnt just make Mills a futuristic human astronaut who accidentally traveled through time a la Charles Heston in Planet of the Apes. As it stands, the entire conceit is perplexing, and demands that one simply go with italong with the suggested, equally half-baked notions that Driver is Prometheus (falling in fire from the heavens) and Jesus (courtesy of a wound in his side). Koa bristles at her new protector, making goofy faces behind his back and threatening to disobey his orders to not eat poisonous berries. Nonetheless, as they traverse geyser-y hot springs, swampy marshes and scraggly ridges, she warms to him, even learning a few English (err, Somarian) words like water, move and, of course, family. 65 synthesizes various photocopied elements to create something distinctly unoriginal. Still, Beck and Woods competently play the hits, and their direction is thankfully free of unnecessary showiness. At least one of their jump scares lands, and Drivers intensity is so great that it almost seems like Mills and Koa are really in do-or-die circumstances rather than riding the rails of a familiar Hollywood rollercoaster. Scream 6 Is the Desperate Wail of a Franchise That Needs to Die At a hasty 92 minutes, 65 never crawls, and its set pieces are suitably loud and frantic. Their economy and cacophony, however, are not matched by their creativity. Mills scuffle with a dinosaur in a dark cave, Koas use of a hollow tree trunk to evade a pursuing beast, and a final showdown with multiple T-Rexes are all painfully rote. Worse, the ferocious creatures appear to have been based not on scientific models but on fantasy fiction. Its inexplicable that a film with this premise would imagine dinosaurs in unrealistic ways, and yet here we are, with Mills and Koa battling giant salamander-like quadrupeds and dodging flocks of squawking avian monsters that would be far more at home in Avatar. Despite these shortcomings, 65 knows its not charting unknown territory, and it delivers a series of encounters that keep the actions engine humming. The daffiness of the entire enterprise winds up being its core strength, protecting it against critiques about its illogicality. Techno-devices magically purify water, laser guns never run out of energy, and separated shoulders are only fleeting injuries that can be shaken off as soon as immediate threats are neutralized. In almost every way, the proceedings resemble an impromptu game of make-believe concocted by a kid playing with his or her toysa situation that renders it both inane and lighthearted. Sony When Koa spies a bright light shining in close proximity to the moon, 65 introduces a genuinely amusing the-sky-is-falling twist, and the way it subsequently uses it for race-against-the-clock suspense is nearly as hilarious. Without completely giving things away, Mills and Koas luck turns out to be even worse than they initially realized. The fact that Driver and Greenblatt maintain straight faces through to the end is not just impressive but admirable, and helps the film avoid falling into the wannabe-so-bad-its-good trap thats sabotaged more than a few prior cinematic beasts, including the recent Cocaine Bear. Liked this review? Sign up to get our weekly See Skip newsletter every Tuesday and find out what new shows and movies are worth watching, and which arent. 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. In recent years, the US has been working to reset relations with the ISS A day earlier, the New York Times reported that the Pentagon is blocking the U.S. from sharing evidence on Russias war crimes with the ICC, citing fears of setting a precedent that could be used to prosecute American soldiers in the future. Read also: Kyiv wants to try Putin, regime allies in international tribunal, not Ukrainian court Price noted that the U.S. has made a serious effort over the past two years to reset its relationship with the ICC. Previously, the administration of Donald Trump had imposed sanctions on member of the court looking at American war crimes in Afghanistan. "What we dont discuss is the specific forms of support that we may or may not be providing to the ICC, Price said. We dont want to do anything that could jeopardize the sanctity of an investigation, that could set back the pursuit of justice. Read also: Russian attempt to plant spy in International Court of Justice had two goals, says Kuleba Journalists asked whether the U.S. believes the ICC has jurisdiction over Russia, as Russia is not a signatory to the Rome Statute. "We support the investigation that the prosecutor has announced, answered Price.Ukraine is a state party to the ICC. Yes. Neither the U.S., Russia, nor Ukraine are members of the Rome Statute, a 1998 treaty that created the jurisdiction for a permanent court to prosecute war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity. 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 A WB-57 aircraft. Chelsea Thompson / NOAA U.S. scientists have deployed a modified Korean War-era bomber to measure trace gases in the stratosphere that reflect sunlight. The goal of the project: to better understand how humans might use such gases to cool an overheated planet. Processes in the stratosphere can change climate at the Earths surface, Karen Rosenlof, a NOAA climate scientist, said in a statement. Satellites give us important information, but not everything we need to know. In 2020, Congress directed NOAA to research ways to cool the Earth. The new undertaking, dubbed the SABRE program, is part of that effort. The WB-57 aircraft, a converted B-57 bomber, is now operating out of Fairbanks, Alaska, carrying 17 sampling instruments supplied by NOAA, NASA, Harvard, and the University of Vienna. The plane will measure trace gases in the Arctic stratosphere before undertaking missions in the tropics in 2024 and the Southern Hemisphere in 2025. Aerosols, which can come from volcanic eruptions, wildfires, and industrial pollution, reflect sunlight and cool the planet. Throughout history, large volcanic eruptions have produced a measurable, but temporary drop in global temperatures. Some scientists have suggested spraying aerosols into the stratosphere to offset human-caused warming, but the idea is deeply contentious. A coalition of hundreds of researchers recently called for no deployment of solar geoengineering and no public support for research, arguing that dangerous planetary-scale interventions cannot be governed in a globally inclusive, fair and effective manner and must be banned. In an apparent response, a group of more than 100 scientists have signed an open letter affirming the importance of proceeding with responsible research into solar engineering. The letter does not endorse the use of the technology, but encourages the study of its effects. Inger Andersen, executive director of the UN Environment Programme has said that, as yet, the evidence needed to make informed decisions about solar geoengineering is simply not there. ALSO ON YALE E360 Geoengineer the Planet? More Scientists Now Say It Must Be an Option US-POLITICS-CONGRESS-CLOCKS This illustration photo shows a clock in the background of a smartphone showing the time after daylight saving time was implemented in Los Angeles, California, on March 15, 2022. Credit - CHRIS DELMASAFP/Getty Images Earlier this month, Sen. Marco Rubio reintroduced legislation that would make Daylight Saving Time permanent, proposing an end to the bi-annual clock change that disrupts the lives of millions of Americans. The Sunshine Protection Act passed unanimously in the Senate last year, but the bill stalled in the House. Sen. Rubio reintroduced the bill in the Senate on March 2 to try to end what he called an antiquated practice. This ritual of changing time twice a year is stupid. Locking the clock has overwhelming bipartisan and popular support. This Congress, I hope that we can finally get this done, Rubio said in a press release on March 2. As Daylight Saving approaches again on Sunday, March, 12 at 2 a.m., it will bring an additional hour of daylight in the afternoon, but people will lose an hour of sleep when the clocks spring forward. Experts say ending the practice has potential benefits, including decreased risk for cardiac problems and stroke. Heres what to know about the future of Daylight Saving Time. What is Daylight Saving Time? Daylight Saving Time, when clocks move one hour ahead every spring, adds one hour of sunlight to the end of the day. Historians trace the origins of this custom to World War I, as countries used the change to save power and fuel. Consumerism played an additional role, as Americans were more likely to shop if there was still light out when they left work. The practice was abolished after the war, but later became standard practice by 1966 after the passage of the Uniform Time Act. Only two states do not observe Daylight Saving TimeHawaii and Arizona. This year it begins on Sunday, March 12, and is set to last until Nov. 5. During the remaining third of a year, the United States uses Standard Time. Story continues Is the U.S. stopping Daylight Saving Time? The future of Daylight Saving Time remains in limbo. Sen. Rubio introduced the Sunshine Protection Act in the Senate (while Rep. Buchanan did so in the House), but there is no certainty whether it will pass or once again be hindered in Congress. The only other way the U.S. could make Daylight Saving Time permanent on the national level is if a state or local government were to formally request the U.S. Secretary of Transportation with detailed information as to why the change would serve the convenience of commerce. The U.S. previously observed year-round Daylight Saving Time from ten months in the 1970s, according to the Washingtonian, to reduce the effect of a national energy crisis. The nation was set to observe permanent Daylight Saving Time for two years, but the trial was cut short because parents were worried about early morning traffic accidents when their kids were commuting to school in the winter, per the New York Times. There are enormous health and economic benefits to making daylight saving time permanent, said House Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) in a press release on March 3. Florida lawmakers have already voted to make daylight saving time permanent in my home state and Congress should pass the Sunshine Protection Act to move Florida and the rest of the country to year-round daylight saving time. Why not make Daylight Saving Time permanent? Last year, there were at least 450 bills considered across state legislatures that would make Daylight Saving Time year-round if a federal law passes. But as there seems to be a bipartisan push to make this change permanent, some experts say that could harm Americans. Research by the Society for Research on Biological Rhythms found that there are greater advantages to making standard time permanent, as opposed to Daylight Saving Time. Implementing a permanent switch to Daylight Saving Time would harm our bodies because it would increase the difference between the social clock and the body clock. Doing so, they say, is associated with decreased life expectancy, shorten[ed] sleep, cause mental and cognitive problems, and contribute to the many sleep disturbances in our societies that are estimated to cost approximately 2% of the gross domestic product. By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States will hold an informal meeting of United Nations Security Council members next week on human rights abuses in North Korea, a move likely to anger Pyongyang and spur opposition from China and Russia. "The DPRK's human rights violations and abuses threaten international peace and security and are directly linked to the country's unlawful weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and ballistic missile programs," the United States and Albania said in a note - seen by Reuters - promoting next Friday's meeting. Albania is currently an elected member of the Security Council and is co-hosting the meeting with the United States. The 15-member Security Council has regularly discussed human rights in North Korea, formally known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, since 2014. But China and Russia object to the issue being raised in the council. Pyongyang rejects accusations of human rights abuses and blames sanctions for a dire humanitarian situation in North Korea. The country has been under U.N. sanctions over its ballistic missile and nuclear programs since 2006. North Korea's U.N. mission in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment on next week's meeting. The aim of the informal meeting is to spotlight rights abuses and "identify opportunities for the international community to promote accountability," according to the U.S. and Albanian note. They said that during the COVID-19 pandemic North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's government responded with "further isolation and repression, including shoot-to-kill orders." "The DPRK government has increased efforts to suppress fundamental freedoms and the free flow of information, with reports of thousands of new arrests and harsh imprisonments. Today, a total of 80,000 to 120,000 political prisoners are reported to be in prison in the DPRK ," according to the note. Story continues The meeting comes amid heightened international tensions. Kim Yo Jong, Kim's powerful sister, has threatened to turn the Pacific Ocean into a "firing range" and warned that any move to shoot down North Korea's test missiles would be a declaration of war. Pyongyang has launched dozens of ballistic missiles in the past year, including intercontinental ballistic missiles. But China and Russia oppose any further action by the Security Council, arguing that putting further pressure on North Korea would not be constructive. The pair vetoed a U.S.-led push to impose more U.N. sanctions on North Korea in May last year. (Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Sandra Maler) Swiss bank UBS withdraws lawsuit against Privat Read also: London court green-lights worldwide seizure of earlier undisclosed assets of PrivatBanks ex-owners The international investment bank UBS AG, without waiting for a solution to the issue of leaving its lawsuit without consideration, at the banks request, has independently withdrawn its lawsuit against the state-owned PrivatBank, the report says. The decision was announced on March 8 during a hearing of Shakoor Capital Limited vs. PrivatBank case in Kyivs Commercial Court. Earlier, at PrivatBanks request, the court had already dismissed the lawsuits of two other international companies in the case, JP Morgan and Pala Assets. Another court hearing is set for next week regarding the recovery of legal costs from JP Morgan and Pala Assets in favor of PrivatBank, while the next preparatory meeting in the case will happen in three weeks. Read also: PrivatBank resumes preparations for privatization NV Business earlier reported that Russian billionaire Vladimir Iorikh, acting through Pala Assets Holdings Ltd company, was trying to declare PrivatBanks nationalization illegal. Read also: PrivatBank to keep reduced acquirer fee till end of year In September 2021, the London Court of International Arbitration issued final rulings on the arbitration proceedings initiated by UK SPV Credit Finance Plc and Madison Pacific Trust (bond trustee) against PrivatBank, which provided for the dismissal of all claims against the bank, as well as confirmation that the bank does not have any obligations to pay the principal amount and interest to the plaintiffs under the Credit Agreements dated Sept. 17, 2010 (worth $200 million on bonds issued in 2010) and Feb. 25, 2013 (worth $175 million on bonds issued in 2013). PrivatBank was therefore released from any obligation to pay the principal amount or any additional interest on any of four loans that were subject to the bail-in procedure. Read also: Ukrainians withdraw 43% more cash through PrivatBank in November Story continues On Dec. 18, 2016, the Ukrainian government nationalized PrivatBank, on the recommendation of the National Bank of Ukraine and former shareholders Ihor Kolomoisky and Gennadiy Bogolyubov. After losing their shares, the banks former owners consider the nationalization illegal, while PrivatBank and the Ukrainian government have demanded compensation from Kolomoisky and Bogolyubov. Read also: Cabinet of Ministers replaces majority of Privatbank supervisory board Those cases are gradually making their way through both Ukrainian and foreign courts. 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 PARIS (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he will raise China's approach to Russia and the war in Ukraine when he meets French President Emmanuel Macron later on Friday. Asked whether he was concerned that China may step up cooperation with Russia, Sunak told reporters: "Yeah, that's definitely something that I'm planning to spend some time talking to Emmanuel about later." "We'd urge all countries not to be providing support to Russia, or trying to circumvent sanctions," he said. The United States has said China is considering supplying arms to Russia and warned Beijing against such a move. Western powers have provided Ukraine with billions of dollars in weapons. China has denied the U.S. claims and said that "sending weapons will not bring peace" in Ukraine. (Reporting by Alistair Smout, writing by William James, editing by William Schomberg) By Alistair Smout PARIS (Reuters) - Britain hopes to start talks with the European Union on a deal that would eventually allow it to return migrants arriving via small boats, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Friday, hoping to benefit from recent improvements in UK-EU relations. Speaking to reporters on his way to Paris for a summit with French President Emmanuel Macron, Sunak said his immediate priority was working with France to strengthen cooperation to stop the small migrant boats crossing the Channel into Britain. But, he said part of the longer-term solution would have to be a conversation with the EU about an arrangement to allow Britain to return migrants to EU countries - a little-used right it previously had, but gave up when it left the bloc. "Over time, having those conversations with the EU is definitely a part of it," Sunak said when asked what it would take to secure a so-called returns agreement. "That will take a bit longer time to have those conversations, relative to the things we need to do now." Shorter term, Sunak indicated he was open to providing more funding to France to help stop boats from leaving French shores, but stressed that any investment must deliver value for money and could only ever be one part of a bigger plan. He said he hoped to raise the prospect of an EU returns deal with Macron when they met later in the day, seeking to capitalise on improved relations following his recent agreement with the EU to resolve trade issues around Northern Ireland. "I think now post the Windsor Framework being agreed my hope is that that opens up other areas of constructive engagement and dialogue and cooperation with the EU," Sunak said. (Reporting by Alistair Smout, writing by William James; Editing by Kate Holton) (Bloomberg) -- Turkey abruptly stopped the transit of sanctioned goods to Russia this month as the European Union and the US pressure allies to support measures imposed over Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine. Most Read from Bloomberg Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin called for blocked Russian assets to be used to help the reconstruction of Ukraine as she became the latest international leader to visit Kyiv. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy earlier called for sanctions on Russias nuclear industry after accusing the Kremlin of targeting Ukraines Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Thursdays missile barrage. (See RSAN on the Bloomberg Terminal for the Russian Sanctions Dashboard.) Key Developments Turkey Links Swedish Anti-Terror Law to NATO Membership Approval Putin Decree Puts Popular Route Out of Russia Assets on Hold Kremlin Clears Putins Diary for G-20 Summit as Isolation Eases NATOs Call for Weapons Offers Hope to Town That Armed the Enemy (All times CET) Pentagon Puts Priority on Replacing Munitions (2:50 a.m.) The Pentagons $170 billion procurement request for the new fiscal year focuses on replacing munitions supplied to Ukraine as well as well as weapons like long-range missiles, which would be necessary in a conflict with China, according to an internal budget document. The Defense Department will ask for $76.8 billion for the Navy and Marines, with $32.8 billion in new ship construction; $61 billion for the Air Force, which includes the US Space Force: and $24.4 billion for the Army, according to the official P-1 summary document obtained by Bloomberg News. Norway to Provide Air Defense Units to Ukraine (5:12 p.m.) Story continues Norway will provide two NASAMS air defense units to Ukraine, in cooperation with the US, the Nordic nations defense minister said in a statement. Adding two more firing units in addition to two provided by the US last year will significantly improve Ukraines ability to protect its cities and critical infrastructure from Russian missile attacks, said Bjorn Arild Gram, who met Zelenskiy in the Ukrainian capital on Friday. Belarusian Leader to Visit Iran March 12-13 (4:27 p.m.) Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is expected to discuss economic ties and the regional situation with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi during a March 12-13 visit to Tehran, according to the Belarusian leaders press service. Lukashenko, seen as one of Putins closest allies, is set to make the trip about two weeks after meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. The Kremlin said earlier this week that Putin and Raisi had held a telephone call to discuss cooperation, including the implementation of joint infrastructure projects. White House Sees Russian Attempt to Weaken Moldova Government (4:25 p.m.) US intelligence doesnt see an imminent military threat to Moldova, but does believe Russia is seeking to weaken the Moldovan government by fomenting demonstrations and even a manufactured insurrection, the White House said Friday. We are confident in Moldovas democratic and economic institutions and their abilities to respond to these threats, and of course we will continue to provide robust support, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said, without detailing the basis for the US intelligence. The US has shared intelligence with the Moldovan government and has pledged to sanction those associated with a Russian destabilization campaign, Kirby said. The White House is also seeking a $300 million energy assistance package for Moldova with Congress. Broad EU Support for Ukraine Trade Benefits: Dombrovskis (4:17 p.m.) European Union trade ministers back a proposal to extend trade benefits to Ukraine for another year, Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said in Stockholm, Sweden. Todays discussion showed that there is broad support for this measure, Dombrovskis said after a meeting with EU trade ministers. While acknowledging that some concerns had been raised about the impact on domestic egg and poultry production, he said the European Commission would propose safeguards against any market distortion. Ukrainian Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko had said before the meeting that that ministers needed to persuade Ukrainian business that the EU market would be open for them, not only during the war but also after. Finland Urges Use of Russian Assets for Reconstruction (3:20 p.m.) It is about making Russia pay for the aggression, destruction and losses it caused to Ukraine, Prime Minister Marin told a joint press-conference with President Zelenskiy in Kyiv. Finland fully supports efforts to set up an international tribunal for Russian war crimes and will continue to provide military support for Ukraine, she said. Turkey Blocks Transit of Goods Sanctioned to Russia (1:29 p.m.) The Turkish government ordered a halt to the transit of sanctioned goods via Turkey from March 1 in compliance with sanctions, according to a senior official speaking on condition of anonymity. The country has emerged as one of the havens for Russian wealth and a center for sourcing goods over the past year. Turkeys exports to Russia rose to $9.3 billion in 2022 from $5.8 billion a year earlier. Kremlin Clears Putins Diary for G-20 Summit in India (1:20 p.m.) For the moment, the Kremlin plans for Putin to participate in Septembers G-20 summit after he skipped the last two, but no final decision has been made, according to people familiar with the planning. India has formally invited Putin to the summit and the Kremlin has accepted. Last year, amid pressure from the US and its allies over the war, Putin dropped plans to attend a gathering in Indonesia and sent Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in his place. Read More: Kremlin Clears Putins Diary for G-20 Summit as Isolation Eases Finlands Marin Visits Kyiv (12:45 p.m.) Finlands Sanna Marin and Zelenskiy laid flowers at a memorial to fallen troops and attended the funeral ceremony of a soldier killed in Bakhmut. Latvia Ships Cars Seized From Drunk Drivers (12:40 p.m.) Cars seized by Latvian authorities as part of drunk-driving violations are being shipped to Ukraine in the latest act of solidarity by one of the staunchest EU backers of the government in Kyiv. Authorities in the Baltic nation, which began confiscating cars from motorists driving under the influence of alcohol in November, transported eight vehicles this week, the state revenue service said. Theyll be used for the Ukrainian military and hospitals. As many as 200 more are awaiting transportation, it said. US Envoy Tells Orban to Pivot From Russia (12:30 p.m.) The US ambassador to Hungary said Prime Minister Viktor Orban has reached a crossroads and that the time is now for him to pivot away from Russia and shore up the countrys relations with its western allies. Hungary has reached an important moment in determining its future path, Ambassador David Pressman said in a statement. The unusually direct remark for a sitting US ambassador about a NATO partners international policy adds to mounting pressure on Orban to end his more than decade-long effort to strengthen ties with Russia. On Thursday, Orban said Hungary may need to think hard about its cozy relationship with Moscow following Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. Naperville Mayor Steve Chirico presented his final State of the City address Thursday night to the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce. (Mike Mantucca/Naperville Sun) In his final State of the City address as Naperville mayor, Steve Chirico described the city hes lived in for more than six decades as a bright light in Illinois. In Naperville, being a bright light means being a place where people have big dreams and encouraging everyone to lend a helping hand. Its remembering past sacrifices and celebrating future potential, Chirico said. Advertisement The mayor gave his annual speech to the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce Thursday night at a gathering in Wentz Hall on the North Central College campus. Chirico said the citys light isnt just one bright blaze but a series of tiny, day-to-day sparks that add up over time, and an idea that has defined his role as mayor the past eight years. Advertisement When he was first elected in 2015, Chirico said he asked city administrators to recommit to a customer-first model that could help businesses open or expand more quickly. That path to yes meant recommitting to simple acts and implementing new ones, like giving staff the ability to sign off on some variances that previously needed Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council approval and ensuring businesses have one city contact rather than having to navigate different departments on their own, he said. In addition, the city will launch new technology that will provide customers with the ability to get permits online. Ive heard from plenty of developers at ribbon cuttings that our community is the easiest one to work with, Chirico said. Thats because everyone, from the permit counter to the dais, has you, our customers, in mind. The mayor said the council and staff implemented three financial principles: passing a structurally balanced budget, improving services in a cost-effective way and increasing cash reserves while reducing debt. I advocated rebuilding our cash reserves after the Great Recession, and I am so proud to stand up here eight years and one major economic event later to say we exceeded our goals, Chirico said. Not only did the city reduce debt by almost 36%, he said, cash balances are back up to almost 37% of the 2022 general fund expenses. We also lowered the citys property tax rate during my time in office. Our rate is at a historic 50-year low, which means the city tax on an average home valued at $425,000 is $17 less this year, Chirico said. Advertisement This financial strength is a major reason Naperville continues to attract shoppers, diners and visitors, he said. Its how we can afford to reinvest in our vital economic corridors to make us stand out and shine, and its that investment that pays off, even during challenging times, Chirico said. By investing in infrastructure projects like the downtown streetscape more people want to come and spend their money here, he said. Another of his proudest accomplishments, he said, has been increasing the diversity on city boards and commissions since 2015. Today, almost a quarter of our board and commission members represent one of several ethnicities. Thirty-seven percent of appointees are women. Almost a quarter are in their mid-20s to mid-40s, bringing a younger perspective to the table, Chirico said. These efforts mean our council now hears from boards that better reflect the communitys different viewpoints and experiences, he said. Advertisement No matter who the next mayor is, Naperville will keep its focus on serving customers, he said. To accomplish that, the city is conducting a citizen survey to evaluate what were doing well and what we can improve on. Thats essential to have as we update our citys priorities and goals next year, he said. To remain financially sound, the city must look at how its policies attract new businesses and reinvest in the community that supports them by creating new principles to guide long-term investment. This includes ensuring Napervilles utility infrastructure delivers reliable service, like the 50-year-old Springbrook wastewater treatment plant. We are now at the point where significant upgrades and expansions need to be made. This means the city is about to start the largest capital improvement project in our history. Long-term principles will support this and other work so that we do not rely too heavily on one funding source, Chirico said. Other work slated over the next few years, he said, includes the Washington Street bridge reconstruction, completion of the downtown streetscape and the North Aurora Road underpass construction. Advertisement In 2022, the city achieved 21 sustainability goals, and the staff is now part of seven local and regional groups focusing on this topic, he said. Working groups are studying biking and walking in Naperville and will launch a survey later this month to get public input. The city also will launch an electric lawn equipment rebate program after a successful pilot last year, he said. In the push to make Naperville an attractive community, the city is starting a pilot program to add native plantings to some city properties and is planning new entrance signs along major roads, Chirico said. Another project slated for this year is reconstruction of a portion of the Riverwalk west of Eagle Street to make it more accessible. A grant of nearly $1 million was secured by U.S. Rep. Bill Foster, D-Naperville, to help with costs. subaker@tribpub.com A Ukrainian lawyer, who founded the war-torn countrys leading campaign against Russian fossil fuels, has been refused entry to the worlds most prominent energy summit. Svitlana Romanko travelled from her home in Ivano-Frankivsk, western Ukraine, in late February to Houston, Texas to attend CERAWeek, an annual summit which attracts the heads of major oil and gas companies and industry bodies along with senior government officials. CERAWeek speakers this year included both John Kerry, the special presidential envoy for climate, ExxonMobil chief executive Darren Woods, and the Cop28 climate summit president, Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, who is also CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. In a phone interview with The Independent on Thursday, Ms Romanko said that she felt emotional about being so far from home following the news that Russia had launched a volley of missile attacks on Ukranian cities early this morning. Its really frustrating but at the same time it makes me more determined to move forward, to increase the pressure on the policymakers and power-holders, she said. Ms Romanko, who holds a doctorate in environmental and climate law, and climate policy, launched the RazomWeStand (Stand With Ukraine) campaign to ban all imports of fossil fuels from Russia, end the war, and hasten a clean energy transition across the globe. The campaign is supported by nearly 900 organisations from 60 countries. She had received a registration confirmation email for CERAWeek and a few invite reminders for the event, she said, ahead of it opening on Monday. Svitlana Romanko at the entrance to CERAWeek in Houston (Svitlana Romanko at the entrance to CERA Week in Houston. The environmental lawyer was allowed inside to collect banners she had delivered to the venue and then escorted out, she said) On Sunday morning, I received a welcome email with logistics, she said. Then at 11am, there was a two-sentence email which said my registration was not accepted and was cancelled. It did not have a signature. Ms Romanko responded via email to ask why her registration had been cancelled but received only an automatic response which told her to come to the registration desk for a conference pass. Story continues On Monday, when she arrived at the CERAWeek registration desk, she was told by the head of security that she was rejected for being an activist. I did not have plan B because I could not even think that I would not be allowed, she said. The Independent has contacted the communications department for S&P Global, which organizes CERAWeek, for comment. Ms Romanko said that she regularly attends high-level events to discuss the clean energy transition, an issue which all major oil and gas companies claimt to support. She was at the Cop27 climate summit in Egypt last November and has been working with EU leadership in Brussels to speed up Europes transition to renewable energy, as climate campaigner Bill McKibben noted this week. BREAKING: Just found out I've been banned from #CERAWeek, the world's most influential energy conference . Are they afraid of a strong advocate for ending #War and #FossilFuels? I will not be quiet; we need #ClimateJustice now, and together the energy majors won't stop us! pic.twitter.com/97iHBlUsGN Svitlana Romanko (@SvitlanaRomanko) March 6, 2023 The theme of CERAWeek 2023 was extremely fitting to her expertise, Ms Romanko noted. The conference, which ends on Friday, explores how the world can reduce emissions and meet growing energy demand amid shifting geopolitics, economic uncertainty and the upheaval of war. We can all agree that the deepest energy crisis in history has been caused by the Russian war, she said. While Ms Romanko has spent the week outside of CERAWeek, Stand With Ukraines message was delivered in a letter to White House adviser John Podesta via an acquaintance. Ms Romankos hope is that its delivered to President Joe Biden. And though she hasnt been told by the energy summits organisers why she was barred, she believes that the fossil fuel industry is actually scared by having someone from Ukraine attend. She pointed out that the Stand With Ukraine campaign was not only calling for an end to the global fossil fuel addiction that feeds Putins war machine but also for countries to stop expansion of coal, oil and gas, and start phasing out. As she wrote in the letter to President Biden, Ms Romanko is opening calling for investments to rebuild Ukraines infrastructure, 40 per cent of which has been destroyed by Russian attacks. This is the moment for transformative energy change and the idea that drives us is that Ukraine can become a shining global model of clean energy, a real net-zero energy system, she said. Of course, we are in stark opposition to the oil and gas lobby, and the push to expand fossil-fuel infrastructure is the opposite of energy security. We will be safe only when public money and state subsidies fully withdraw from the oil and gas industry and get to spend at-scale on renewables and energy efficiency. She added: This is the truth and the industry sitting in the CERAWeek hotel wants us silenced. But we will keep speaking this truth to power, because thats how can we achieve change. Flags of Ukraine and NATO "We need strategic security guarantees," Zelenskyy said at a joint press briefing with Finnish PM Sanna Marin. Read also: President Zelenskyy, Foreign Minister Kuleba react to Russia's latest massive missile attack on Ukraine And even if we cannot be in NATO during the war, we would like to have appropriate security guarantees on the way, while we are not yet in NATO. He noted that these are the steps he expects from NATO member states at the summit in Vilnius, to which Ukraine has also been invited. Read also: Turkey resumes Finland and Sweden NATO accession talks "Regarding the NATO summit in Vilnius: yes, we were invited, but we would like to see some appropriate forward steps, in addition to the status that we have in our relations with NATO today," added Zelenskyy. Read also: How Ukraines soldiers are mastering NATO weapons in UK And it is precisely the appropriate reciprocal steps by NATO member states towards Ukraine and guarantees of its security that we expect at this Vilnius summit. We will work on this. Earlier, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the alliance is ready to see Ukraine in its ranks, but first it must win the war started by Russia. Read also: Support for Ukraine must continue for as long as it takes, NATO chief says In February, Zelenskyy predicted that Ukraine would join NATO after the war with Russia ends. 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 President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Read also: Reznikov denies Ukraines involvement in Nord Stream explosions As for the Nord Stream (explosions), we have nothing to do with this, he said at a briefing with Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin in Kyiv. The New York Times suggested on March 7 that a pro-Ukrainian group might have been behind the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines, citing US officials who have seen new US intelligence and who spoke on condition of anonymity. I think its very dangerous that some independent media, which I have always had great respect for, are taking such steps, Zelenskyy said. I think this is wrong and plays only into Russias hands. Or there are some business groups interested in not introducing powerful sanctions, because their business is suffering, and these groups can be not only on the territory of Russia, unfortunately. Read also: Pro-Ukrainian group may be behind Nord Stream pipeline explosions, NYT reports He noted that Ukraine is fighting the enemy Russia, as well as those who see nothing but money and whose business suffers from decreased trade with the terrorist country. According to Zelenskyy, there are third countries that earn tens of billions of dollars from helping Russia bypass sanctions, while at the same time purportedly helping Ukraine. Read also: Russia to mothball Nord Stream pipelines, Reuters reports The Ukrainian president called such media reports disinformation and noted that he would analyze who needs it. The Ukrainians definitely didnt do this, he said. And this is the most important thing. Read also: Russian gas pipeline explosion kills three Were interested in the supply of weapons, the introduction of sanctions, and our victory," Zelenskyy added. Earlier Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the head of the Presidents Office, said that Ukraine had nothing to do with the incidents. Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov also denied claims that Ukraine was involved in the Nord Stream gas pipeline explosions. Story continues A sharp drop of pressure was recorded in Russias gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 on Sept. 26, and the next day there were reports of the same problem with Nord Stream 1. Both pipelines travel along the bottom of the Baltic Sea near the shores of Sweden and Denmark. Neither were operational at the time, but both were filled with technical gas. Poland and Ukraine blamed Russia for the explosions. The Kremlin, in turn, denied involvement and in turn blamed the Anglo-Saxons a common Kremlin euphemism for English-speaking Western nations. Read also: Second line of Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline probably destroyed by explosions, Germany says In November 2022, Swedens security service confirmed that it had found remnants of explosives near the pipelines. 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 Dan Peleschuk KYIV (Reuters) - Anti-corruption authorities in Ukraine are seeking the pre-trial detention of the former head of a state oil and gas giant in a case at the forefront of Kyiv's battle against corruption which has also attracted public criticism. Prosecutors on Friday asked the High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine to place Andriy Kobolyev, who is suspected of embezzlement while leading Naftogaz, in custody unless he posts around $10 million in bail. Investigators from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) believe he may have broken the law by effectively awarding himself a $10 million bonus in 2018 after winning an arbitration case in Stockholm against Russia's state gas monopoly. Kobolyev was dismissed from Naftogaz abruptly in 2021, a move which drew scrutiny from the United States and prompted the resignation of its supervisory board. He has denied wrongdoing and the case has sparked divisions among Ukrainians closely following Kyiv's battle to root out graft, which its Western partners have prioritised as the country pushes to join the European Union. Kobolyev, who had a successful private-sector career before joining Naftogaz, was seen by some as a reformer who sought to break up bureaucracy. His supporters claim the case is shaky and could taint Ukraine's prized anti-graft institutions at a crucial moment. "This is a person who has not only turned the biggest losing company in Ukraine into the biggest donor to the budget, but also scored a huge reputational victory in the international arena for Ukraine," said Mark Savchuk, head of a civic oversight board that monitors NABU. In a recent analysis of the case, the Anti-Corruption Action Centre (AntAC), which monitors graft and helps craft reforms, said the suspicion against Kobolyev - which is not a formal charge - holds merit but that detaining him would be excessive. There has also been criticism of a case involving Andriy Pivovarsky, a former infrastructure minister suspected of abusing office and causing $30 million in damages to the state. The anti-corruption court will consider his case further on March 15. NABU will be under increasing scrutiny after the government confirmed its new director on March 6, amid concerns by watchdogs over his political independence. (Reporting by Dan Peleschuk; Editing by Mike Collett-White and Hugh Lawson) By Olena Harmash KYIV (Reuters) - Ukraine has decided to fight on in the ruined city of Bakhmut because the battle is pinning down Russia's best units and degrading them ahead of a planned Ukrainian spring counter-offensive, an aide to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said. The comments by Mykhailo Podolyak were the latest signal of a shift by Kyiv this week to continue the defence of the small eastern city, site of the war's bloodiest battle, as Moscow tries to secure its first major victory in more than half a year. "Russia has changed tactics," Podolyak said in an interview published by Italy's La Stampa newspaper. "It has converged on Bakhmut with a large part of its trained military personnel, the remnants of its professional army, as well as the private companies." "We, therefore, have two objectives: to reduce their capable personnel as much as possible, and to fix them in a few key wearisome battles, to disrupt their offensive and concentrate our resources elsewhere, for the spring counter-offensive. So, today Bakhmut is completely effective, even exceeding its key tasks." Russia has made Bakhmut the main target of a winter push involving hundreds of thousands of reservists and mercenaries. It has captured the eastern part of the city and outskirts to the north and south, but has so far failed to close a ring around Ukrainian defenders. Kyiv, which had seemed at the start of March to be planning to withdraw westward, announced this week that its generals had decided to reinforce Bakhmut and fight on. Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said that, as Russia pressed its offensive, "our soldiers are doing everything possible to prevent the enemy implementing their plans". Russia's advances have appeared to slow amid highly public complaints from Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner private militia leading Russia's assault, that the military command was failing to provide his men with enough ammunition. Story continues Prigozhin on Friday thanked the government publicly for a "heroic" increase in output - but in the same audio message said he was "worried about ammunition and shell shortages not only for Wagner ... but for all units of the Russian army". Moscow says capturing Bakhmut would punch a hole in Ukrainian defences and be a step towards seizing all of Ukraine's Donbas industrial region, a major target. Trench warfare, described by both sides as a meat grinder, has claimed a huge toll. But Kyiv's decision to stay and fight suggests it believes Russia's losses far exceed its own. MOSCOW SHORT OF MISSILES? After making gains throughout the second half of 2022, Ukrainian forces have been mostly on the defensive since mid-November, while Russia has gone on the attack with troops called up in its first mobilisation since World War Two. But apart from around Bakhmut, the Russian winter offensive has largely failed. Meanwhile, Kyiv is awaiting a surge in Western military aid expected in coming months for an offensive once muddy ground dries in late spring. Kyiv and the West also saw signs of exhaustion in Russia's latest mass salvo of missile strikes on Ukrainian targets. Russia fired hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of missiles across Ukraine on Thursday, including an unprecedented six of its hypersonic Kinzhal ('Dagger') missiles, touted as a superweapon to which NATO has no answer. It is believed to possess only a few dozen Kinzhals. The barrage killed civilians, including a family buried under rubble while they slept in their homes near Lviv, 700 km from the battlefield. But otherwise it appeared to have achieved little, with damaged power systems mostly quickly restored. The worst damage appears to have been in the eastern city of Kharkiv, where the regional governor said around 450,000 people were still without power on Friday evening. It had been three weeks since the last similar Russian attack, the longest lull since such strikes began in October. Previously, Moscow had been unleashing such attacks roughly every week, challenging Ukraine's ability to repair infrastructure before the next onslaught. Britain's Ministry of Defence said on Friday the reason for the longer lull was probably that Moscow was running out of missiles. "The interval between waves of strikes is probably growing because Russia now needs to stockpile a critical mass of newly produced missiles directly from industry before it can resource a strike big enough to credibly overwhelm Ukrainian air defences," it said. Ukrainian resistance may also be having a wider effect on Russia's economy. Gas traders said tankers loaded with Russian liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) were unable to get out into the Black Sea because it was not considered safe for them to pass under the Crimean Bridge, a road link across the mouth of the Azov Sea badly damaged in October by a blast that Russia blamed on Ukraine. GRAPHIC : The battle for Bakhmut - https://www.reuters.com/graphics/UKRAINE-CRISIS/gkplwlywwvb/chart.png (Reporting by Reuters bureaux; Writing by Peter Graff and Kevin Liffey; Editing by Angus MacSwan and Raissa Kasolowsky) An award-winning Ukrainian climate activist was barred from a major energy conference the day before it began after flying to Houston to attend. Svitlana Romanko, an environmental lawyer, said she had planned to lobby delegates at CERAWeek, a world-leading energy conference with deep roots in the fossil fuel oil and gas industry hosted by financial analytics firm S&P Global against further investment in either Russian or U.S. expansions to their gas industries. On the false premise of energy security, these companies are trying to lock us into serious climate change, she said. But there is no energy security in stranded assets and overcapacity. In late February, she bought tickets to the event which is taking place this week after S&P Global had confirmed her registration. Then, the night before the conference, she received an email telling her that S&P had canceled her attendance and refunded her money. As organizers of this private event, we carefully assess security concerns and may deny entry to individuals or entities who have disrupted prior events, a spokesperson from S&P Global wrote the Hill. The Stand With Ukraine movement that Romanko helped launch succeeded in getting Western governments to agree to a Russian oil embargo, for which she won the Center for Biological Diversitys Rose Braz award. The activists failed, however, to secure a full ban on Russian gas a source on which Europe still depends for about 10 percent of its gas and that U.S. officials and executives hope to supplant with greener natural gas. In November, Romanko was also suspended from the U.N. climate conference in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, after calling the Russian government and oil executives at a Moscow-sponsored event promoting the countrys petroleum industry representatives of a terrorist state. But her eviction from that conference came alongside rising tensions between activists and oil industry lobbyists, who have been an increasing presence in climate circles, Reuters reported. U.N. security also ejected BBCs climate editor from the same event after he asked if Russia would pay for the environmental damage you have caused in Ukraine? Story continues Despite this history, barring Romanko represented cowardice on S&Ps behalf, Simon Taylor, co-founder of the venerable human rights reporting group Global Witness, told The Hill. They should have let her in, Taylor said. They should have given her a hearing. Taylor who wrote to S&P Global Vice Chairman Daniel Yergin, a Pultizer-Prize winning journalist covering oil, after Romanko was barred from the event argued that her presence at the conference would have pushed fossil fuel executives to get to grips with two of its most important issues. First was support for the Russian oil industry into which U.S. financial institutions still have more than $23 billion invested, according to The Guardian. That funding along with the continued sale of refined products made from Russian oil by countries like Turkey continues to bankroll Putins war of mass murder and destruction, Taylor wrote. He also pointed to the elephant in the room, namely the climate crisis a situation the fossil fuel industry has played such a profound role in creating, he wrote. These two issues weave together, however, as the Guardian reported that the $23 billion investment into Russian fossil fuels goes specifically to projects that would each release at least 1 billion metric tons of planet-warming carbon dioxide three times the national emission rate from the United Kingdom. Inside CERAWeek, U.S. presidential climate envoy John Kerry acknowledged that these emissions represented a problem. We cant do it without the oil and gas industry, he said, referring to U.S. climate goals. He pointed in particular to the industrys emissions of virulent climate-pollutant methane, comprising 15 percent of the earths emissions. If they were a nation, theyd be the third-biggest emitter in the world. For Romanko, as for many scientists and activists, that huge footprint coupled with the long lifespan of each new natural gas plant or LNG liquefaction terminal in an era when emissions should be declining is a reason to avoid further investment in the sector. Romanko pointed to President Volodymyr Zelenskys September speech in which he said, Ukraine can and, I am sure, will become a green energy hub for Europe. In that speech, Zelensky painted a vision of Ukraine as a major exporter of renewable electricity to Europe a goal that the U.S. has been working on non-stop, according to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm. As Granholm noted last summer, Ukraine had taken a big step down that path when it began sending electricity to the European power grid even as its forces fought the invading Russian army in the east. In last Septembers speech, Zelensky linked clean electricity and military campaigns. It is a very important factor that [the beginning of electricity exports] happened during the war, he said. We export, but the scale of cooperation can be hundreds of times larger imagine the profit for each participant in the energy business. The Ukrainian president doubled down on these remarks in January when he told E.U. vice president Frans Timmermans that his administration would focus on green projects in reconstructing the nations electric grid and cities. Romanko fears a flood of U.S. natural gas could supplant clean energy progress. Despite harsh criticism from Republicans of Bidens war on oil and gas, the administration is backing plans to build 16 new LNG export terminals on the Gulf and Atlantic coasts. She also charged that the demand there for this fuel is exaggerated. A leaked internal analysis from the German government suggests that the countrys embrace of new LNG terminals following Russias invasion of Ukraine significantly overestimated the countrys need for the fuel which is anticipated to fall by a third by decades end, Brussels-based news site Euractiv reported last month. Thats a significant change from 2022, when oil and gas companies finalized 45 deals last year to sell LNG in Europe three times as many as the previous year, according to a report published in February by Bailoutwatch and Public Citizen. While Europe needs alternate sources of gas, the continents buyers were slow to agree to the long-term purchasing agreements that would make an LNG project worthwhile, Chevron CEO Mike Wirth said at CERAWeek. To better promote gas in climate-conscious European markets, the Biden administration wants to certify as green gas companies that use lower-emission methods or purchase carbon offsets as lower carbon easing sales to Europe, as Reuters reported last week. And with gas demand declining in the U.S., Gov. John Bel Edwards (D-La.) visited Japan this week to promote LNG shipments to that country. Like many European climate activists, Romanko argues that green gas is an oxymoron, and the increase in supply itself is unnecessary, because it will commit the world to decades of additional planetary heating. That message increasingly resonates with local organizations fighting gas expansion on the Gulf Coast. In Louisiana, for example, the states embrace of petrochemicals, export gas terminals and heavy industry has left home values plunging and stores closing next to some of the biggest, richest companies in the world, the Louisiana Bucket Brigade wrote after Gov. Edwards visited Japan. In Calcasieu Parish, on the Louisiana coast, the Brigade charged that illegal releases of toxic chemicals were harming citizens and killing off fisheries, The Hill reported. What kind of economic development plan prioritizes polluters over families who have lived here for generations? the group asked. Representatives of a Texas anti-gas organization took Romanko to visit neighborhoods around the sprawling LNG plant in Freeport, Texas a town whose population has fallen by 17 percent since 2002. The plant partially reopened in February after a methane-fueled leak caused a 450-foot fireball in June, The Texas Observer reported. The abandoned homes around the Freeport LNG plant, Romanko said, reminded her of the Ukrainian city of Mariinka a town of 10,000 leveled almost entirely in the fighting. Only here, it is the own government, against its citizens, she said. Its completely apocalyptic. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. In the Bakhmut area, most of Wagner's PMC was destroyed Wagner owner Yevgeny Prigozhin continues to quarrel with Russian command and Russias Chief of the General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, according to communications intercepted by Ukraine. Read also: Ukraine disputes Western predictions of Bakhmuts fall Read also: Wagner PMC presents security risks beyond Ukraine, CIA director says "He has a desire to preserve his military and political identity, but he was prevented by the skill of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which almost destroyed Wagner's grouping, and they suffered significant losses," Cherevatyi stated. Most of them fell near Bakhmut. Their inglorious history is over in the medium term. Earlier, Cherevatyi said that the Russian invasion forces have lost tens of thousands of their soldiers in the battle for 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 Russia has lost 156,990 soldiers, 3,448 tanks, 6,742 armoured combat vehicles, 2,107 UAVs and 304 fixed-wing aircraft in its full-scale war against Ukraine. Source: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook Details: Total combat losses of the Russian forces between 24 February 2022 and 10 March 2023 are estimated to be as follows [figures in parentheses represent the latest losses ed.]: approximately 156,990 (+870) military personnel, 3,448 (+7) tanks, 6,742 (+6) armoured combat vehicles, 2,475 (+10) artillery systems, 491 (+3) multiple-launch rocket systems, 256 (+2) air defence systems, 304 (+1) fixed-wing aircraft, 289 (+0) helicopters, 2,107 (+9) operational-tactical UAVs, 907 (+34) cruise missiles, 18 (+0) ships/boats, 5,337 (+6) vehicles and tankers, 240 (+3) special vehicles and other equipment. The data is being confirmed. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! An Ukrainian soldier holds an anti-tank launcher at a frontline, northeast of Kyiv on March 3, 2022. ARIS MESSINIS/AFP via Getty Images Ukrainian soldiers in a bloody fight with Russian troops are not seeking care for their mental health. And those that do get care are often right back into combat, The Washington Post reports. Over a year in, Russia's war in Ukraine is getting bloodier as conflict continues in eastern regions. Ukrainian troops are not leaving the front lines, where casualties are high and Russian reinforcements just keep coming, to seek care for a range of mental health issues, and those that do quickly find themselves back in the fight. Soldiers on the lines report suffering from nightmares, trauma, stress, insomnia, and guilt. According to The Washington Post, Ukrainian forces have largely remained in combat despite experiencing severe mental health issues. While some are able to seek treatment or see their families, they are almost immediately sent back into combat. Others are reluctant to leave the line to get care in the first place. Some Ukrainian troops said there's a comparative lack of reinforcements available to replace them, especially as Russia continues to throw troops and Wagner Group members into battle, exhausting Ukrainian manpower. Mental health discussions are still considered taboo in Ukraine, especially for soldiers, The Post reported. This leaves soldiers on the front lines, even as they suffer post-traumatic stress and trauma, unwilling to talk about their mental health. "It's a pain and a suffering you bestow upon someone else," a soldier told The Post. For some soldiers, nightmares about the horrors of war leave them coping with panic attacks and poor sleep. Others are ridden with survivor's guilt as they mourn fallen comrades. One Ukrainian service member, The Post reported, has nightmares of his tank commander who was burned alive, while another has terrifying dreams of stepping on another land mine and losing his other leg. In February, Ukraine's government said more than 60% of its soldiers are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorders, according to Euronews, and the World Health Organization estimates that one of every four Ukrainians, or around 10 million people, may suffer mental health issues because of the war. Story continues Those staggering statistics are partially due to strained medical services and hospitals where physical injuries take priority, The Post reported. One year into the war, the conflict has stalled in the eastern Donbas region. It's the site of some of the worst fighting yet. In late February, Insider reported that the average life expectancy of soldiers along those eastern front lines, dubbed "the meat grinder," was about four hours. Read the original article on Business Insider A baby sign language program for 8- to 23-month-olds and their caregivers will be held March 17 at the 95th Street Library in Naperville. (Skarzynski/Getty) SUNDAY West Suburban Symphony concert: The West Suburban Symphony will present its Dvorak. Elgar. Still. concert at 3:30 p.m. Sunday, March 12, at Wentz Concert hall, 171 E. Chicago Ave. Tickets are $25 for adults, $23 for seniors, $5 for teenagers, free for ages 12 and younger. For more information, go to www.westsubsymphony.org. MONDAY Everyone Loves Elmo: Children can create a craft, sing, dance and listen to stories about Elmo during a storytime at 4 p.m. Monday, March 13, at the Naper Boulevard Library, 2035 S. Naper Blvd. For more information, go to www.naperville-lib.org. Advertisement Bark for Books: Elementary school-aged children can read aloud to a certified therapy dog at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 13, at the Naper Boulevard Library, 2035 S. Naper Blvd. No registration is required, but the program is limited to the first 12 children. Tickets will be available starting at 5 p.m. For more information, go to www.naperville-lib.org. TUESDAY Joe Napers Discovery Play: Preschool-aged children can learn about shapes during Joe Napers Discovery Play at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, March 14, at Naper Settlement, 523 S. Webster St. Register at www.napersettlement.org. Advertisement Memory Cafe: The Naperville Senior Task Force and Dementia Friendly Naperville will host Memory Cafe from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 14, at the 95th Street Library, 3015 Cedar Glade Drive, for those living with dementia and their caregivers. Register at www.naperville-lib.org. Nic Stone book event: Nic Stone will talk about and sign copies of her book, Chaos Theory, at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 14, at Andersons Bookshop, 123 W. Jefferson Ave. Register at www.andersonsbookshop.com. WEDNESDAY Senior Tech Club: Seniors can learn about new technology and get support for their phones, tablets and computers during Senior Tech Club at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, March 15, at the 95th Street Library, 3015 Cedar Glade Drive. For more information, go to www.naperville-lib.org. What Do You See? Children in 3rd to 5th grades can learn about how the eye and brain works and make an optical toy called a thaumatrope at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 15, at the 95th Street Library, 3015 Cedar Glade Drive. For more information, go to www.naperville-lib.org. Modern American Muslim: Sr. Fatima Khan from the Islamic Center of Naperville will talk about what it is like to be a Muslim in America at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 15, at the 95th Street Library, 3015 Cedar Glade Drive. For more information, go to www.naperville-lib.org. John Schu book event: John Schu, of Naperville, and illustrator Lauren Castillo will talk about and sign copies of their book, This is a Story, at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 15, at Andersons Bookshop, 123 W. Jefferson Ave. Register at www.andersonsbookshop.com. Irish Sessions: Musicians will be play traditional Irish music at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 15, at Quigleys Irish Pub, 43 E. Jefferson Ave., in an event sponsored by West Suburban Irish. For more information, go to www.downtownnaperville.com. THURSDAY Behind the Teddy Bear: Historian Anette Isaacs will talk about Margarete Steiff, a seamstress who created the teddy bear, in a lecture at 1 p.m. Thursday, March 16, at the 95th Street Library, 3015 Cedar Glade Drive. To view virtually, register for a Zoom link at www.naperville-lib.org. Advertisement Neighborhood Historian: Naper Settlement staff and guest historians will present a lecture on the impact of women philanthropists at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 16, at the settlement, 523 S. Webster St. Register at www.napersettlement.org. FRIDAY Sing, Sign and Play: Caregivers and their 8- to 23-month-old children can learn about baby sign language at 11:30 a.m. Friday, March 17, at the 95th Street Library, 3015 Cedar Glade Drive. Register at www.naperville-lib.org. SATURDAY Wild Wonders: Nature-inspired sensory activities, art and more will be explored during Wild Wonders from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, March 18, at the DuPage Childrens Museum, 301 N. Washington St. Childrens musician Laura Doherty will perform at 11 and 11:45 a.m. as part of the Tiny Great Performances series. For more information, go to www.dupagechildrens.org. Slither Out of Winter: A naturalist will talk about snakes during the free Slither Out of Winter program at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 18, at Hidden Oaks Nature Center, 419 Trout Farm Road, Bolingbrook. Register by March 17 at www.reconnectwithnature.org. Chicago Sinfonietta concert: Chicago Sinfonietta will present its Unapologetic concert at 8 p.m. Saturday, March 18, at Wentz Concert Hall, 171 E. Chicago Ave. Tickets are $17 to $67. For more information, go to finearts.northcentralcollege.edu. SUNDAY DuPage Symphony Orchestra concert: DuPage Symphony Orchestra will present its Our Talented Youth concert, featuring a collaboration with the Youth Symphony of DuPage Concert Orchestra and Young Artists Auditions Winner Tristan Zhu, at 2 and 4 p.m. Sunday, March 19, at Wentz Concert Hall, 171 E. Chicago Ave. Tickets are $6 to $21. For more information, go to www.dupagesymphony.org. Advertisement Municipal Band concert: Naperville Municipal Band will present its winter concert, featuring the Neuqua Valley Wind Ensemble, at 3 p.m. Sunday, March 19, at Neuqua Valley High School, 2630 95th St. Admission is free. For more information, go to www.napervilleband.org or www.neuquamusic.org. She was provided with medical care and doctors said there was no threat to her life, he said. Read also: Five dead and five injured in mass shooting in Georgia Ukraine's Consulate General in Hamburg interacts with German police as part of the investigation into the incident. It also contacted the victim's family. The Ukrainian consul will visit the hospital soon to provide the Ukrainian woman with consular assistance. Read also: Russia should return to Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, says German FM Seven people, including an unborn baby whose mother survived, were killed in the shooting. All the dead were German nationals. Another eight people were injured, four seriously. A Ukrainian and a Ugandan were among them. The 35-year-old shooter killed himself afterwards. 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 interval between waves of Russian missile strikes might be growing because Russia now needs to stockpile a critical mass of newly produced missiles directly from industry before it can resource a strike big enough to credibly overwhelm Ukrainian air defences. Source: UK Ministry of Defence on Twitter; European Pravda Details: UK Defence Intelligence notes that on 9 March, Russia conducted a wave of at least 80 long-range strikes against Ukrainian critical infrastructure. Russia deployed cruise missiles, air defence missiles in a surface-to-surface role, Iranian one-way attack uncrewed aerial vehicles, and an unusually large number of hypersonic air-launched ballistic missiles during the attack. This was the first major wave of long-range strikes since 16 February 2023, and likely one of the largest since December 2022. Ukrainian officials reported at least 11 civilians killed. "The interval between waves of strikes is probably growing because Russia now needs to stockpile a critical mass of newly produced missiles directly from industry before it can resource a strike big enough to credibly overwhelm Ukrainian air defences," UK Defence Intelligence writes. Background: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen condemned Russias missile attacks on Ukraine on 9 March during a phone call. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Schoolgirl Mariya from Uman Read also: Ukrainian rock star Vakarchuk raises $4 million in aid for Ukraine at London concert 10-year-old Mariya had been saving for several years, but her dreams and values have evolved since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The child instead decided to donate her entire savings to Ukrainian defenders, the service wrote. "Her parents, who constantly help the Ukrainian army, inspired her to such an act," read the message. Read also: Elton John admires courage of Ukrainians and donates $125,000 for Ukraine Border guards reported the money donated by Mariya was used to purchase an off-road vehicle. dpsu.gov.ua The vehicle has been already sent to border guards who perform combat tasks for the Ukrainian army. The new vehicle will help in the liberation of Ukrainian lands from Russian occupiers. dpsu.gov.ua "Thanks to Mariya, her parents, and all concerned for their support. Together, we will win," the state service wrote. 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 Opponents and supporters of the abortion law demonstrated outside the Texas Capitol, in Austin, Texas. Eric Gay/AP Amanda Zurawaski is one of five women suing Texas over the state's abortion ban. She said she was denied treatment for an unviable pregnancy and nearly died, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit said she lost one fallopian tube and will now have a hard time getting pregnant. A 35-year-old Texas woman said she had long dreamed of having children with her husband and was thrilled after a year and a half of trying to conceive through fertility treatments to learn she was pregnant. But five weeks into her second trimester, Amanda Zurawaski was told her pregnancy was not viable. Doctors in Texas could not provide any treatment under the state's abortion law, and Zurawaski nearly died as a result, according to a lawsuit she and four other women filed against the state. The women are asking a state court to clarify Texas' near-total abortion ban to say that doctors should make the final determination about whether women need medically necessary abortion care. Zurawaski said she was denied care because doctors at her hospital were worried about breaking the law. Zurawaski's water broke on a Tuesday night but she was forced to wait until her body naturally delivered the baby, who had died, on that Friday, according to the lawsuit. By then her body went into septic shock, the lawsuit said. She now has permanent scar tissue as a result of infections she developed and will have trouble getting pregnant again, according to the lawsuit filed in District Court in Travis County, Texas. "Amanda spent three days in the ICU while her infection was treated. Amanda's family flew to Austin from across the country because they worried it would be the last time they would see her," the complaint says. "Amanda was eventually discharged and returned home, but her suffering was far from over." Texas was the first state to implement a near-total abortion ban in September 2021. The law includes limited exceptions for medical emergencies but provides little clarity about what constitutes an emergency, according to the suit. Story continues The lawsuit was brought against Texas by The Center for Reproductive Rights on behalf of Zurawaski, four other women who underwent similar trauma and illness while pregnant, and two doctors. Attorney General Ken Paxton and Texas Medical Board executive director Stephen Brint Carlton were also named as defendants in the case. In a statement to Insider, Paxton's office said he is "committed to doing everything in his power to protect mothers, families, and unborn children, and he will continue to defend and enforce the laws duly enacted by the Texas Legislature." The office also sent Insider a "guidance letter" on the Texas law, which says the law prohibits the performing, inducing, or attempting of an abortion unless the mother has "a life-threatening physical condition aggravated by, caused by, or arising from a pregnancy that places [her] at risk of death or poses a serious risk of substantial impairment of a major bodily function unless the abortion is performed or induced." The letter goes on to say that the term "abortion" doesn't apply when these acts are done to "(A) save the life or preserve the health of an unborn child; (B) remove a dead, unborn child whose death was caused by spontaneous abortion; or (C) remove an ectopic pregnancy." It does not address cases where a nonviable pregnancy where the fetus still has cardiac activity is threatening the life of the mother. The Texas Medical Board did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A general view of an exam room inside an abortion clinic. ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images The hospital was scared to violate the abortion ban, the lawsuit says Zurawaski underwent exploratory procedures, used multiple medications, received one misdiagnosis, and was treated with intrauterine insemination before she finally got pregnant for the first time, according to the lawsuit. The pregnancy was normal until she was diagnosed with an "incompetent cervix" at 17 weeks and 6 days, according to the lawsuit. That's when medical providers told her the pregnancy was not viable. Having tried so hard to get pregnant in the first place, she and her husband asked if there was anything they could do to save it even if it meant undergoing a procedure to stitch her cervix closed to prevent preterm birth. The doctor said even that wouldn't work. When she went home that day, her water broke. Amanda returned to the emergency room that night and was diagnosed with preterm pre-labor rupture of membranes and was kept overnight in hopes that she would go into labor on her own. In the morning, she still hadn't gone into labor and the fetus still had cardiac activity, so she was sent home. "Amanda was told that under Texas's abortion ban, there was no other medical care the hospital could provide," the suit says. "At this point, absent Texas's abortion bans, a patient in Amanda's situation would have been offered an abortion or transferred to a facility that could offer the procedure." Amanda wasn't offered either "because the hospital was concerned that providing an abortion without signs of acute infection" would be in violation of the abortion ban, the lawsuit says. The closest clinic where she could get the necessary treatment an abortion was 11 hours away in New Mexico, and she needed to stay within 15 minutes of the hospital in case her health declined, the suit says. For the next two days Zurawaski stayed home, "grieving her inevitable loss and worrying about her own health," the lawsuit says. On Friday, after a check-up showed her vitals were stable, her health deteriorated. She developed chills and started shivering, her fever began to spike, and she did not respond to her husband's questions, according to the lawsuit. At the emergency room, she was admitted to the labor and delivery unit. With her temperature now at 103.2 degrees and confirmed to be in sepsis, her medical team agreed she was sick enough that they could induce her labor without violating the abortion ban. The baby, whom she named Willow, died, according to the lawsuit. Zurawaski then developed a second infection and went into septic shock, resulting in a three-day ICU stay. After being released she underwent a procedure to remove severe scar tissue from her uterus and one fallopian tube while the other remains permanently closed, the suit says. Her medical team told her that in order to get pregnant again, she should undergo IVF treatments, which she had already started by the time the lawsuit was filed on February 6. "Amanda and her husband have been trying to have children for years, and she not only lost her first pregnancy, but because of Texas's abortion bans, she nearly lost her own life and spent days in the ICU for septic infections whose lasting impacts threaten her fertility and, at a minimum, make it more difficult, if not impossible, to get pregnant again in the future," the suit says. Read the original article on Insider Old Fort Douglas buildings are surrounded by newer construction at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, March 7, 2023. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News The Utah Legislature has appropriated $100 million to the University of Utah to facilitate relocation of the Stephen A. Douglas Armed Forces Reserve Center from the historic Fort Douglas. The center, located along Mario Capecchi Drive on the southeast entrance of the campus, will be relocated to land held by the State Armory Board at Camp Williams, including the design and construction of new facilities at the camp in Bluffdale, according to legislative intent language. The appropriation of one-time funding was approved by the Executive Appropriations Committee on March 2. The appropriation was included in SB3, commonly referred to as the bill of bills, which passed both legislative houses on the final day of the legislative session. According to a U.S. Army Reserve website, the 76th Operational Response Command on historic Fort Douglas is the Army Reserves Center for Defense Support of Civilian Authorities, providing support to state and local officials, first responders and other federal agencies during emergencies or natural disasters. Aundrea Peterson, the Utah Senates deputy chief of staff, said a year ago that the Utah Legislature appropriated funding to purchase land around Camp Williams to begin to relocate Army functions from Fort Douglas. This sessions funding was the second step in the process, she said. Jason Perry, the University of Utahs vice president for government relations, said the appropriation is foundational for us to help make that move happen. What happens next is a process of a lot of planning, making sure we take care of the historic pieces of Fort Douglas which we intend to do, and to make sure that these commands have a place like Camp Williams, for them to operate. Scott G Winterton, Deseret News Fort Douglas dates back to the Civil War and its history is interwoven with that of the University of Utah, established in 1850 as the University of Deseret. According to a brief history compiled by the university, there is a long tradition of granting and selling excess land and property to others in the area. Story continues At one time, the Post contained 10,525 acres, the publication states. In 1874, Congress set aside 50 acres of the southwest corner of the Post as a public cemetery, which became Mt. Olivet Cemetery. In 1909, an additional 60 acres of the Post were added to the cemetery. Congress also granted 60 acres to the University of Utah in 1894, an additional 32 acres in 1906, and another 61.5 acres in 1932, according to the publication, published in 2003. More recently, Fort Douglas and then-new student housing served the Athletes Village for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games and later that year as the Paralympic Village. Some 50.9 acres remain, Perry said. The sizable appropriation comes as the university has embarked on ambitious plans to build 5,000 additional student housing units over the next several years, which would double its on-campus housing. Plans call for transforming a historically commuter campus into a campus community. University of Utah President Randall Taylor, addressing the Legislatures Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee, said one of the universitys goals is to grow to 40,000 students who graduate in a timely manner and then get them incredible jobs. Perry said the Fort Douglas property has not been master planned and a timeline of relocating the Armed Forces Reserve Center has yet to be established. We will be working in earnest with the United States Army Reserve for the facilities that they will need by Camp Williams. I dont know how long thats going to take but were going to do it right, Perry said. Perry said there are several considerations for the university and other parties to work through, such as historic buildings and ensuring we keep these commands in the state of Utah and we have a suitable location for them to go. He continued, Weve been working closely with the Utah National Guard and the United States Army Reserves on this process, and the reality is, is the facilities there are old and there is a way for us to upgrade their facilities and keep these commands in Utah. So this ends up being one of those true moments where its beneficial for the state, for the military and for the University of Utah. Scott G Winterton, Deseret News Scott G Winterton, Deseret News Scott G Winterton, Deseret News Scott G Winterton, Deseret News Scott G Winterton, Deseret News Scott G Winterton, Deseret News Scott G Winterton, Deseret News Scott G Winterton, Deseret News Scott G Winterton, Deseret News Scott G Winterton, Deseret News Scott G Winterton, Deseret News Scott G Winterton, Deseret News Scott G Winterton, Deseret News Scott G Winterton, Deseret News REPO have successfully blocked or frozen more than $58 billion worth of sanctioned Russians assets Members of the Russian Elites, Proxies, and Oligarchs (REPO) Task Force have successfully blocked or frozen more than $58 billion worth of sanctioned Russians assets, tracked sanctioned Russian assets across the globe, and heavily restricted sanctioned Russians from the international financial system, the REPO Task Force said in a joint statement. Read also: EU launches ad hoc group on use of Russias frozen assets The group also ensured that Russian Central Bank and Russian National Wealth Fund assets under U.S. jurisdictions remain immobilized to prevent their use in Russias war effort. REPO members have frozen billions of dollars worth of luxury real estate and other luxury assets owned, held, or controlled by sanctioned Russians, as well as yachts, aircraft, and other property held around the globe. Read also: Swiss bank Credit Suisse freezes $19 billion worth of Russian assets As Russias war of aggression continues, REPO members remain determined in their commitment to impose steep costs on Russia, the statement says. REPO will continue to identify, locate, and freeze the assets of sanctioned Russians, with the aim of depriving the Kremlin of the funds it needs to fight its illegal war. REPO plans to redouble its efforts to hold Russia accountable for its unjust war by countering Russian efforts to undermine, circumvent, or evade REPOs collective sanctions. Read also: Germany open to seize Russian assets to help rebuild Ukraine media reports The REPO Task Force was established in March 2022 by the ministers of finance, justice, internal affairs of a number of countries, as well as the relevant EU commissioners, to identify, limit, freeze, arrest, and confiscate assets of individuals and legal entities sanctioned for Russias aggression against 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 Animal experiments on ferrets are being conducted by the US government in an effort to understand the Havana Syndrome, which has afflicted hundreds of officials. The experiments are being funded by the Department of Defense and seek to determine if radio frequency waves may be the cause of the perplexing illness, Politico initially reported. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence found last week that theres no credible evidence that a foreign power is using any kind of weapon to cause the syndrome, but the Defense Department is still looking at that possibility. Wayne State University in Michigan was handed a $750,000 grant in September by the Army to look at the effects of radiofrequency waves on ferrets, whose brains are similar to those of humans, information shared on USASpending.gov reveals. The study is attempting to understand if the experiment will cause symptoms similar to those experienced by US government personnel in Havana, Cuba, and China. The reported symptoms include serious headaches, temporary hearing loss, vertigo, and other afflictions similar to a traumatic brain injury. The Defense Department has also used pulsed frequencies in experiments on primates to find if those effects may be connected to what the government refers to as anomalous health incidents, a current and a former official told Politico, which noted that it remains unclear if these internal experiments are still taking place. A spokesperson for the Defense Department, Lieutenant Commander Tim Gorman, confirmed to The Independent that Wayne State University had been given the grant and that they, alongside researchers from the University of Michigan, will develop and test a novel laboratory animal model to mimic mild concussive head injury. Behavioral, imaging, and histological studies will determine if the model is comparable to the abnormalities seen in humans following concussive head injury, he said. The model may subsequently be used to test potential treatments to alleviate the deficits associated with traumatic brain injury, he added. Story continues He chose not to comment on if the department had recently performed experiments on primates. Lt Cmdr Gorman noted that in accordance with congressional directives, DoD continues to address the challenges posed by [Anamoulous Health Incidents], including the causation, attribution, mitigation, identification and treatment for such incidents. Our foremost concern remains providing care to affected individuals since the health and wellbeing of our personnel are our top priority, he said. The study has been funded from 30 September 2022 until 29 September 2023. The annual threat assessment put to Congress by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said this week that US intelligence is looking into a subset of priority cases for which it has not ruled out any cause, including the possibility that one or more foreign actors were involved. The Director of National Intelligence, Avril Haines, told Congress on Wednesday that the government is carrying on with its research on the [science and technology] side to determine causation. PETA Vice President Shalin Gala criticised the Defense Department for its animal testing. We are disturbed by a reported military plan [exposing] monkeys to pulsed microwave radiation in a misguided attempt to determine human brain effects associated with Havana Syndrome, she said, according to Politico. This has been debunked as has the purported justification for the Armys current $750,000 taxpayer-funded brain injury experiment that bombards 48 ferrets with radio waves. A former intelligence official told the outlet that this research being conducted means the Defence Department has extremely solid science. You dont get approval for animal testing unless the science is there. Youve already proven out that the science is correct and exists, and now you are looking at the biological impacts that cant be modelled and you need a specimen to determine what it does biologically, the ex-official said, adding that the department is processing other contracts to do further animal experiments. Former CIA officer Marc Polymeropoulos experienced debilitating symptoms during a 2017 visit to Moscow from what was a suspected directed-energy attack. He told Politico that this type of testing will be integral to us finally finding out what happened to the AHI victims as we will be able to compare the imaging that was done on our brains to what will be seen from animals who are subject to radio frequency waves. The Wayne State University experiment was set to expose 48 ferrets to two hours of frequencies a day for 60 days, which was expected to lead to an exposure profile that is likely comparable to that which our embassy personnel received. Another 24 ferrets would be exposed to sham exposure. A study description from the Defense Technical Information Centers public database states that United States government officials working in our Embassies in Havana, Cuba, and China have been diagnosed with acquired neurosensory syndrome, commonly referred to as the Havana Syndrome. The summary added that victims experienced symptoms and clinical findings resembling someone who has had a concussive head injury. The description adds that theres a strong rationale that the Havana Syndrome has been caused by occult exposure to radio frequency (RF) waves, as it states that the Russians have utilised radio waves to listen in on US staff since the Cold War. It was then called the Moscow Signal. The Independent has reached out to the Department of Defense for comment. By Steve Holland and Doina Chiacu WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States accused Russia on Friday of seeking to destabilize Moldova and said it would help the Eastern European country fight off such attempts by sharing information and providing other assistance, the White House said. The United States agrees with Moldovan President Maia Sandu's view that there is no imminent military threat from Russia but shares her concern that Moscow is trying to destabilize her country to install a more pro-Russian government, John Kirby, the White House's national security spokesperson, said in a briefing. "As Moldova continues to integrate with Europe, we believe Russia is pursuing options to weaken the Moldovan government probably with the eventual goal of seeing a more Russian friendly administration in the capital," Kirby said. "More specifically, Russian actors, some with current ties to Russian intelligence, are seeking to stage and use protests in Moldova as a basis to foment and manufacture insurrection against the Moldovan government." Other Russian actors, he said, will work to provide training and help manufacture demonstrations in Moldova, a former Soviet republic. The United States will take a range of steps in response to Russian attempts to destabilize Moldova, including building on the information Moldovan government has and working with the U.S. Congress to provide Moldova an additional $300 million in energy assistance to address urgent needs because of the war in Ukraine. Russian officials are falsely alleging that Ukraine is planning to target separatists from Transdniestria, Kirby said, referring to a Moscow-backed breakaway region of Moldova. "Let me be clear, these allegations are unfounded they're false, and they can create baseless alarm," he said. Sandu, whose country borders Ukraine, has repeatedly expressed concern about Moscow's intentions towards her country and about the presence of Russian troops in Transdniestria. Story continues U.S. President Joe Biden met with Sandu in February during a trip to Warsaw and reaffirmed strong U.S. support for Moldova's sovereignty and territorial integrity, the White House said. The United States would continue to "shine a light" on the activities of these Russian actors, including with additional sanctions, Kirby added. "We have shared the information I have outlined as well as additional details with our Moldova and counterparts so that they can further investigate and disrupt Russian plans," he said. (Reporting by Steve Holland and Doina Chiacu; Writing by Susan Heavey; Editing by Tim Ahmann and Paul Simao) Humanity of Northwest Indiana held a dedication ceremony for their newest home on Riverwalk Street in Lake Station, Indiana Wednesday March, 8, 2023 . The home is the 147th project for Habitat for Humanity of NWI. (Andy Lavalley for the Post-Tribune) (Andy Lavalley / Post-Tribune) Of the many things that make working with Habitat for Humanity of Northwest Indiana rewarding, theres one phrase that always brings it home for the team. Chris (Johnson, Habitat Board of Directors Vice President) says the best part of the job is when the kids come in and yell Wheres my room? said the organizations Board President Kristin Marlow during a home dedication in Lake Station Wednesday evening just after one of the new owners children yelled exactly that. I have to agree. Advertisement Humanity of Northwest Indiana Board of Directors vice president Chris Johnson talks with new homeowner Michelene Flores following a dedication ceremony for her new home Wednesday March, 8, 2023 in Lake Station, Indiana. (Andy Lavalley for the Post-Tribune) (Andy Lavalley / Post-Tribune) One of four builds Habitat completed for its 2022-2023 fiscal year, the country-blue house with two baths, three bedrooms, a galley kitchen and a lovely view of Deep River will play home to a single mom and her two children, who ran to-and-fro as the adults toured the new digs. They still have to get an occupancy permit, so move-in day may still take a couple weeks. Still, seeing it done but for a few finishing touches was everything the homeowner couldve asked. Advertisement Having our own space for the kids is exciting, said Michaelene Flores. This is good for them. The process has been wild, but it was worth the wait. With the supply chain still readjusting itself from pandemic shortages and delays, finishing the house took about nine months starting last fall, said Keith Bruxvoort, of Highland, a board member and volunteer who travels the country on builds. Subcontractors lay the foundation on it and several houses in the neighborhood in order the get a jump on building season this year, he said. New homeowner Michelene Flores, right, speaks with Wende Burbridge, development director for Habitat for Humanity of Northwest Indiana, following a dedication ceremony Wednesday March, 8, 2023 in Lake Station, Indiana. The home is the 147th project for Habitat for Humanity of Northwest Indiana. (Andy Lavalley for the Post-Tribune) (Andy Lavalley / Post-Tribune) Then between May and October, volunteers convene and build other components, such as wall frames, so they can quickly get installed when the weather breaks. One event, the Womens build, had more than 30 groups coming out before the pandemic, he said. I got involved in 2005, and then when I retired from Strack and VanTils accounting department in 2015, I spend my time doing this, Bruxvoort said. I enjoy outside work. A sign marks the completion of the 147th project for Humanity of Northwest Indiana Wednesday March, 8, 2023 in Lake Station, Indiana. (Andy Lavalley for the Post-Tribune) (Andy Lavalley / Post-Tribune) This particular house was a bit an anomaly for Habitat, he said, because the lot size was wide instead of deep. But all that meant was the builders got to come up with a new blueprint, which was fun. Marlow, whos been with Habitat for 15 years, said shes never been as proud of being part of the organization as she is now. As a single mom, I got very lucky because I wasnt a single mom during an economic downturn, and that blessing for me caused me to reflect on having a safe home, Marlow said to the group. Advertisement The land for the new Lake Station Habitat homes came from an abandoned development, Bruxvoort said. By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives voted unanimously on Friday to require Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines to declassify information on the origins of COVID-19, increasing pressure on President Joe Biden's administration to allow its release. The vote was 419 to 0 in favor. Since the Senate on March 1 passed the bill - by unanimous consent - it now goes to the White House for Biden to sign into law or veto. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on his intentions. Washington has been conducting a highly politicized debate about the origins of the coronavirus pandemic almost since the first human cases were reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019, amid calls from both Democrats and Republicans to push back harder against a rising China. The debate was refueled last month, when the Wall Street Journal first reported that the U.S. Energy Department had concluded the pandemic likely arose from a Chinese laboratory leak, an assessment Beijing denies. The department made its judgment with "low confidence" in a classified intelligence report, the Journal said. Four other U.S. agencies still judge that COVID-19 was likely the result of natural transmission, while two are undecided. Biden administration officials have said the pandemic's origins may never be known. China said claims that a laboratory leak likely caused the pandemic have no credibility. "The American people need to know all the aspects, including how this virus was created and specifically was the natural occurrence the result of a lab-related event?" Representative Mike Turner, the Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said as he urged support for the measure. Representative Jim Himes, the panel's top Democrat, called the bill an important first step. "I hope it will clear up some of the speculation, some of the rumors that are out there," he said. (Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Bill Berkrot) In this Oct. 3, 2017, file photo, tourists ride classic convertible cars on the Malecon beside the United States Embassy in Havana, Cuba. AP Photo/Desmond Boylan, File The US military has been carrying out and funding testing on various animals. The testing is aimed at seeing if radio frequency waves cause the mysterious sickness known as "Havana Syndrome." US intelligence determined last week that the ailment is likely not caused by a foreign adversary or weapon. The US military has been carrying out experiments on animals in an effort to replicate the symptoms caused by the mysterious "Havana Syndrome," according to a new report. The Pentagon has been exposing primates to pulsed radio frequency waves to see if that could be the cause of the unexplained ailment that has sickened scores of US government personnel over the past few years, Politico reported on Thursday. The new report comes days after the outlet reported that the Department of Defense was continuing to test weapon systems in an attempt to recreate Havana Syndrome symptoms after an intelligence community dismissed the theory that a foreign adversary or energy weapon was to blame. Radio frequency waves have also been tested on ferrets because they have similar brains as people, the report said. These experiments have been taking place at Michigan's Wayne State University, which was awarded a $750,000 grant in September for a program with the description: "Traumatic brain injury and psychological health research." A defense official told Insider that the Department of Defense, in accordance with congressional requirements, "continues to address the challenges posed by" anomalous health incidents, "including the causation, attribution, mitigation, identification, and treatment for such incidents. Our foremost concern remains providing care to affected individuals since the health and wellbeing of our personnel are our top priority." The official did not comment on the reported testing on primates but said that the testing at Wayne State University is aimed at alleviating "the deficits associated with traumatic brain injury." Story continues "Weapon-wounding tests on dogs, cats, monkeys, and marine animals are a bloody stain on the uniform worn by those who bravely serve," Shalin Gala, vice president of the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), said in a statement shared with Insider. "They do nothing to advance human health, and the US Army should rescind its order allowing such abhorrent tests immediately." Details of the experiments comes a little over a week after the Office of the Director of National Intelligence determined that the anomalous health incidents also known as "Havana Syndrome" were likely not caused by a foreign adversary or an energy weapon, driving a wedge through a disputed theory that US officials were being targeted. Hundreds of US government personnel, from diplomats to spies, operating around the world have reported experiencing a mysterious sickness with symptoms that include vertigo, memory loss, nausea, and headaches in recent years. The CIA had determined in January 2022 that the incidents which impacted individuals in countries like Cuba, China, and Russia were unlikely a deliberate attack from foreign agents. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said in a March 1 statement that the intelligence community agencies "assess that symptoms reported by US personnel were probably the result of factors that did not involve a foreign adversary, such as preexisting conditions, conventional illnesses, and environmental factors." "Needless to say, these findings do not call into question the very real experiences and symptoms that our colleagues and their family members have reported," she added. Read the original article on Business Insider By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A group representing major U.S. railroads on Thursday warned carriers to stop using rail cars with loose wheels until those wheel sets can be replaced. The Association of American Railroads (AAR) said Norfolk Southern had identified loose wheels on a series of cars that present an increased risk of an out of gage derailment. Norfolk Southern has been under fire after a number of derailments of its trains, particularly one it operated on Feb. 3 in East Palestine, Ohio that caused cars carrying toxic vinyl chloride and other hazardous chemicals to spill and catch fire. AAR said it was "an uncommon defect" to see in a wheelset that demanded urgent action. "This is a voluntary, proactive step aimed at ensuring equipment health and integrity," the association added. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said it was looking at the role of the loose wheels in recent derailments and praised the industry action. "This is a safety win where the industry is taking action without regulation," NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said in an interview with Reuters. NTSB earlier this week said it was opening a special investigation into Norfolk Southern given the number and significance of recent incidents, and urged the company to take immediate action to review and assess its safety practices. Homendy said she has had good conversations with Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw who testified before a Senate committee on Thursday vowing to improve safety. "We have had no pushback," Homendy said. "We have gotten all the information from them." Homendy said the NTSB was investigating a new derailment of a Norfolk Southern train in Alabama on Thursday because it may have had two of those cars with potentially loose wheels. Norfolk Southern had 517 railcars in use with the wheels at issue, she added. "They put a message out to stop if those are on your train, inspect them, get the wheelsets replaced...immediately," Homendy said, noting that was a costly task. Norfolk Southern did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chris Reese and Jamie Freed) WASHINGTON (AP) U.S. intelligence officials have determined that people with ties to Russian intelligence are planning to stage protests in hopes of toppling the Moldovan government, according to the White House. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the intelligence shows that actors, some connected with Russian intelligence, are seeking to stage and use protests in Moldova as a basis to foment an insurrection against Moldova's new pro-Western government. Kirby said the intelligence shows that another set of Russian actors would provide training and help manufacture demonstrations in Moldova, which was granted European Union candidate status in June, on the same day as Ukraine, its war-torn neighbor. The publicizing of the alleged malign operation by Moscow in Moldova is just the latest example of the Biden administration loosening restrictions on and making public intelligence findings over the course of the grinding war in Ukraine. The administration has said it wants to highlight plans for Russian misinformation and other activity so allies remain clear-eyed about Moscows intent and Russia thinks twice before carrying out an operation. As Moldova continues to integrate with Europe, we believe Russia is pursuing options to weaken the Moldovan government probably with the eventual goal of seeing a more Russian- friendly administration in the capital, Kirby said. Kirby also pointed to recent efforts by Russia he said are intended to sow disinformation about Moldovas overall stability. He pointed specifically to the Russian Ministry of Defenses claim last month that Ukraine has been planning to invade Transnistria, Moldovas Moscow-backed separatist region. He called that action unfounded, false," and said such claims "create baseless alarm. The White House released the intelligence shortly before Biden was set to meet with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. In recent weeks, several anti-government protests have been held in the capital, Chisinau, organized by a group calling itself Movement for the People and supported by members of Moldovas Russia-friendly Shor Party, which holds six seats in the countrys 101-seat legislature. A protest is also planned by the group Sunday. Story continues The Shor Partys leader, Ilan Shor, is a Moldovan oligarch currently in exile in Israel. Shor is named on a U.S. State Department sanctions list as working for Russian interests. Britain also added Shor to a sanctions list in December. On Thursday, Moldovas national anti-corruption agency said officers carried out car searches of couriers for the Shor Party, and seized more than 150,000 euros ($160,000) in a case of alleged illegal party financing by an organized criminal group. The money, which was stuffed into envelopes and bags in at least two different currencies, was earmarked to pay for the transport and remunerate people who come to the protests organized by the party, the agency said. Three people were detained. The Shor Party also organized a series of anti-government protests last fall, which rocked Moldova as it struggled to manage a severe energy crisis after Moscow slashed natural gas supplies. Around the same time, Moldovas government asked the countrys Constitutional Court to declare the Shor Party illegal, while anti-corruption prosecutors alleged that the protests were partly financed with Russian money. Meanwhile, Transnistria, which has close ties to Moscow and hosts Russian troops, claimed Thursday it had thwarted an assassination attempt on its president allegedly organized by Ukraines national security service. Officials alleged that Ukraines SBU security service ordered the assassination attempt, but did not provide evidence. The SBU rejected the allegation, saying it should be considered exclusively as a provocation orchestrated by the Kremlin. Sandwiched between Ukraine and Romania, Moldova has often been at the center of a struggle between Moscow and the West. Once part of the Soviet Union, Moldova declared its independence in 1991. One of Europes poorest countries with a population of about 2.6 million people, it has historic ties to Russia but wants to join the 27-nation EU. The push-and-pull has only intensified since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year. Sandu met with President Joe Biden last month while the U.S. president was visiting Poland for the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The U.S. has provided $265 million in emergency support to Moldova since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine to help it deal with economic, energy and humanitarian crises caused by the war. The administration has asked Congress to approve an additional $300 million for Moldova. U.S. intelligence officials see no immediate military threat to Moldova, but the White House is publicizing the finding in hopes of deterring Russia before it moves forward with its plans, Kirby said. ___ McGrath reported from Sighisoara, Romania. (Reuters) - The Biden administration is working to further tighten restrictions on exporting semiconductor manufacturing gear to China, Bloomberg News reported on Friday citing people familiar with the situation. The government has briefed U.S. companies about the plan and told them it expects to announce the restrictions as early as next month, the report said. The Biden administration plans to coordinate with the Netherlands and Japan, according to the report. This week, Dutch government said it plans new restrictions on semiconductor technology exports to China to protect national security. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Thursday that China was firmly opposed to the restrictions as a means "to intervene and limit normal economic and trade exchanges between Chinese and Dutch companies." The U.S. had imposed a slew of export restrictions late last year including a measure to cut China off from certain semiconductor chips made anywhere in the world with U.S. equipment. FILE PHOTO: Illustration picture of Chinese and U.S. flags with semiconductor chip (Reporting by Yana Gaur in Bengaluru; Editing by Josie Kao) Monkey King toys are displayed at an event in 2020. [Yuan Kejia/for China Daily] Matt William Knowles, an actor from the United States who has played in many Chinese movies and TV series, is increasingly busy, thanks to China's revitalized film industry. Opening with a record-breaking Spring Festival box-office bonanza in January, the domestic movie market is seeing a strong recovery after a slowdown that resulted from the COVID-19 outbreak. As of March 1, the country's total box-office receipts had reached 14 billion yuan ($2 billion), almost half last year's 29.9 billion yuan, according to Beacon, a film information aggregator. The month following the Spring Festival holiday is traditionally considered a slow time because of the lack of major movie releases. However, the period from Jan 28 to Feb 26 grossed 5.96 billion yuan, the highest for the month since the pandemic started, Beacon said. That means Knowles is receiving more job offers. Currently juggling two projects, the veteran actor has been traveling between Shanghai and Baishan, a small city in the northeastern province of Jilin, spending a few days at each location while shooting the two different tales. One is director Yao Xiaofeng's spy series Chang Feng Po Lang (Braving the Wind and Waves), in which Knowles portrays a German military consultant. The other is Winter and Lion, a drama set during the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea (1950-53), in which he plays an American officer. "The acting opportunities are definitely increasing since the market has awoken," he said, adding that he received many calls about new roles a few months ago while he was filming for director Xu Zhanxiong's Xing Chen Da Hai (The Ocean of Stars), a movie about a group of patriotic students at Shanghai University. "China's film industry is back in full force. It is not opening slowly at all it is booming again," Knowles said. For most industry insiders, the Year of the Rabbit has hopped off to a promising start. Statistics from the China Film Administration, the top industry regulator, show that the domestic market raked in 10 billion yuan in the first month of the year, making it the highest-grossing January of all time. With China optimizing its pandemic policies toward the end of last year, the late-January Spring Festival holiday became the first opportunity for a raft of big movies to vie for the attention of ready-to-return film enthusiasts. Almost 68 percent of the January takings came during the weeklong Spring Festival holiday, which saw the release of several movies, most featuring big budgets and stellar casts. Propelled by the popularity gained during the holiday, iconic director Zhang Yimou's historical suspense Full River Red has earned 4.47 billion yuan so far, putting it at the top of this year's box-office charts. Director Guo Fan's sci-fi The Wandering Earth II, a prequel to the original movie, has taken second spot, followed by the animated feature Boonie Bears: Guardian Code in third, while spy thriller Hidden Blade is fourth. The two other festival movies are Deep Sea, an experimental animated feature that explores the inner world of a girl with depression, and Five Hundred Miles, a comedy about a young man who accidentally exchanges his soul with a notorious lawyer. Matt Taibbi, left, with Michael Shellenberger, testifies during a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing on what Republicans say is the politicization of the FBI and Justice Department and attacks on American civil liberties, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, March 9, 2023. | Manuel Balce Ceneta, Associated Press In a congressional hearing Thursday, Utah Republican Rep. Chris Stewart said the FBI violated Americans First Amendment rights by asking Twitter to censor speech. The House Judiciary Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government held a hearing featuring testimony from independent investigative journalists Matt Taibbi and Michael Shellenberger who were involved in the Twitter Files, a series of articles on how government agencies and lawmakers interacted with the social media company over content moderation. Stewart said the FBIs actions were analogous to the federal government contracting with a private company to assassinate a foreign leader, which is illegal. He said when the FBI asked Twitter to censor Americans, the agency violated their First Amendment rights. They said, well, we cant do this ourselves. Well contract it out. Well launder this effort through another company, Stewart said, before asking Shellenberger if he thought his analogy was accurate in depicting the seriousness of the allegations. I think thats absolutely correct, Shellenberger said. What weve seen here is the federal government putting extraordinary amounts of pressure on both Twitter and Facebook. Shellenburger further testified that his team found evidence of government contractors demanding social media companies take down accurate information to advance a narrative. What are the Twitter Files? Soon after billionaire Elon Musk finalized his purchase of Twitter last year, Taibbi, Shellenberger and other independent journalists began publishing Twitter threads and articles that contained internal emails and other communications between government figures and Twitter executives. The Twitter Files tell an incredible story from inside one of the worlds largest and most influential social media platforms. It is a Frankensteinian tale of a human-built mechanism grown out the control of its designer, Taibbi tweeted in his first of many reports. Story continues His first report chronicled Twitters controversial 2020 decision to suppress the New York Posts reporting on Hunter Bidens laptop weeks before the presidential election. But last month former Twitter executives said they had not blocked the Posts story at the direction of any federal government agency. In later reports, Taibbi and others alleged the FBI used its relationship with Twitter to enforce censorship of Americans by proxy by identifying accounts that may have violated the social media companies terms of service. The #TwitterFiles are revealing more every day about how the government collects, analyzes, and flags your social media content. Twitters contact with the FBI was constant and pervasive, as if it were a subsidiary, he tweeted last December. 2. The #TwitterFiles are revealing more every day about how the government collects, analyzes, and flags your social media content. Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) December 16, 2022 Request to reveal sources causes hearing to erupt During the hearing, Democratic Rep. Sylvia Garcia of Texas appeared to attempt to get Taibbi to divulge his sources. I cant give it to you, unfortunately, because this is a question of sourcing, and Im a journalist. I dont reveal my sources, Taibbi said. Garcia and Taibbi went back and forth about what the definition of sourcing is before she asked, So youre not going to tell us when Musk first approached you? Taibbi didnt budge saying, Again, congresswoman, youre asking a journalist to reveal a source. Multiple committee members attempted to talk over each other after Garcia said Musk must be the source. Committee chairman Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, interjected by speaking over Del. Stacey Plaskett, D-V.I., the ranking member, saying, Hes not going to reveal his source and the fact that Democrats are pressuring him to do that is such a violation of the First Amendment. Plaskett said Democrats were not trying to get Taibbi and Shellenberger to reveal their sources, but were simply asking the witnesses who gave them access to internal Twitter communications. Related What is the censorship-industrial complex? Stewart concluded his questioning by restating part of Taibbis testimony, where he said conservative thought was censored by a factor of 10 to 1 after social media companies fulfilled government requests. The federal government cannot contract out suppression of free expression, the Utah Republican said. In his testimony, Taibbi said Twitter, Facebook, Google and others developed a formal system for taking in moderation requests from every corner of government: the FBI, DHS, HHS, DOD, the Global Engagement Center at State, even the CIA. He said a number of quasi-private entities, some funded partially with taxpayer funds, were part of a censorship network that made lists of people whose opinions, beliefs, associations, or sympathies are deemed to be misinformation, disinformation or malinformation, he said. The latter term Taibbi claimed is a euphemism the network used for true information but inconvenient. Shellenberger called this network the censorship-industrial complex. Taibbi said after reviewing the networks relationships he believes that the bright line that should exist between government agencies and private companies was illusory. [Source] The Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) system has responded to Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares demands for it to cease its illegal discrimination against Asian and white students. An FCPS email sent to Cooper Middle School parents, as well as other FCPS parents, earlier this month appeared to exclude Asian and white students by only inviting Black or African American students and Hispanic students, of one or more races to apply to its College Partnership Program, as first shared publicly by the Fairfax County Times on Monday. Some of the services offered through the program include academic counseling, college experiences and college and scholarship application assistance. The Fairfax County Times report further noted that "American Indian, Alaskan Native, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander" students were excluded in the email. More from NextShark: Woman Faces Possible Hate Crimes After Using Racial Slurs, Spitting on Asians in Mountain View Responding to the report, FCPS spokesperson Kathleen Miller told the Fairfax County Times on Wednesday that it was wholly inaccurate to conclude that Asian and white students were intentionally excluded. No group of students has been banned. This program is open to everyone/anyone, as has always been indicated on our website, Miller added. On Thursday, Miyares office sent a letter addressed to Cooper Middle Schools principal Lisa Barrow. More from NextShark: Burglars wanted for targeting Asian business owners, workers in New Jersey The letter was signed by Senior Assistant Attorney General Christine Lambrou Johnson. Johnson, who is also the head of Virginias Office of Civil Rights, noted that the program invitation violates the Va. Code 2.2-3900 er seg., Va. Code $ 2.2-520 et seq. and the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Virginias Code 2.2-3900, also known as the Virginia Human Rights Act, was implemented to safeguard individuals from being discriminated against based on their race, color, religion, national origin and gender identity, among others, in places of public accommodation, including educational institutions and in real estate transactions. Under Virginias Code $ 2.2-520, all individuals must be given equal opportunities regardless of race, color, religion and gender identity, among others. The code also prohibits discriminatory practices with respect to employment, places of public accommodation, including educational institutions, and real estate transactions by any person or group of persons. It appears that Cooper Middle School is soliciting and selecting applicants to the College Partnership Program based on race, color, and national origin, Johnson wrote. Please cease and desist the illegal conduct of soliciting and selecting applicants to the College Partnership Program based on race, color, and national origin. In the letter, Johnson demanded Cooper Middle School to provide evidence that it had already retracted the email sent on March 1 and that the school is processing its application for the College Partnership Program in a non-discriminatory and legal manner. Johnson gave the school six business days to cooperate. If the institution fails to do so by March 17, the Senior Assistant Attorney General noted the office "intends to open an investigation" under Va. Code 2.2-520(C): 2.2-3907. In a statement released by the Virginia Attorney Generals Office on Thursday, Miyares commented on the presence of discrimination in the countys public school system. It's shocking that we continue to find such blatant examples of racial and ethnic discrimination in the Fairfax County Public School System. Every student should be able to apply for the College Partnership Program and have the same opportunities as their peers, regardless of race. I demand that Cooper Middle School, its administrators, and anyone involved in this program stop this illegal discrimination immediately. Several parents celebrated the latest development in the case, including Glenn Miller, a father who shared the email to the Fairfax County Times on Monday. I'm glad that Attorney General Miyares is investigating this program, Miller told the Fairfax County Times. There needs to be accountability. The school board needs to be held accountable for these egregious violations of the law. FCPS responded to the attorney generals claim in a statement released hours after Miyares office sent out the letter, reiterating that the Fairfax County Times report was wholly inaccurate. FCPS explained in its statement to ABC13 that out of the 2,018 students enrolled in the program during the 2022-2023 school year, 352 of them (17.4%) were Asian students and 176 (8.7%) were white students. We are disappointed that no one from the Office of the Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Virginia contacted Fairfax County Public Schools to check on the authenticity of these reports. Instead, false and damaging public accusations against Cooper Middle School have been made. Publishing false narratives like this undermine public school efforts to boost U.S. educational achievement. The recent scandal came as U.S. officials found that at least 16 schools in northern Virginia had delayed giving merit awards to their students in time for college scholarship and admissions deadlines. Most of the students who encountered the delay were reportedly Asian American. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin called for an investigation after the news sparked outrage among the Asian American community. A viral TikTok has prompted a debate among Lowe's workers about the company's safety training. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images A Lowe's employee resigned in February after a viral TikTok showed him being crushed by an object. Lowe's said the actions in the video "are contrary to the training" it provides. Some current and former workers praise the company's practices, while others say they find the training insufficient. A viral TikTok video showing a now-former Lowe's employee screaming for help while struggling to retrieve a heavy box from a high shelf has sparked a debate among Lowe's employees: Does the home-improvement chain prioritize safety and provide adequate training? "They preach safety, but in the end of it all, safety comes second to anything else," a former Lowe's employee who worked at a store in Orlando, Florida, for 14 years told Insider. The person asked to remain anonymous due to privacy concerns but their identity is known to Insider. But not everyone shares the same sentiment. In fact, some employees told Insider that Lowe's safety trainings are among the best they've seen in the retail industry. "Without a doubt they put safety at the very forefront of everything they do," a former Lowe's department manager at a store in Tacoma, Washington, said. "I've been in management for over 20 years now and can hands down say that Lowe's has the best core safety values and procedures in place." Insider spoke with more than a dozen current and former Lowe's employees about their experiences at Lowe's. While some passionately defended the company's safety protocols, others said the incident depicted in the since-deleted TikTok is par for the course. Many of these workers asked to be anonymous. Insider knows their identities. Lowe's did not respond to requests for comment. In response to a previous story, Lowe's spokesman Larry Costello told Insider the actions taken by the employee in the TikTok "are contrary to the training that Lowe's provides." What does Lowe's safety training entail? Per employees, Lowe's trains workers to operate equipment like forklifts and rolling ladders through a combination of online courses and hands-on experiences. Story continues In the TikTok, the worker struggles as he attempts to bring the box down while riding a store lift. "Every employee who uses the machine in the TikTok, a Ballymore Drivable Power Stocker Lift, is required to complete an operation and safety course before being permitted to get in one," a current Lowe's employee in Tennessee told Insider. "After the course is completed they then must work with a supervisor who is permitted to be a trainer, and then the employee must demonstrate that they have the knowledge to use the machine correctly and in the proper use scenarios." He added that this type of training is required for any power equipment, and that every employee has daily and weekly training. The employee asked that his name be withheld because he's not authorized to share "privileged information." But according to some, hands-on training is where Lowe's falls flat. "Powered equipment training is a joke compared to any other retail environment," a former Michigan Lowe's employee said. "You watch a training video and they send you on your way." Another former Lowe's employee from a Louisiana store told Insider that the safety precautions are good on paper, "but a lot of it begins to get lost in translation once it makes its way down to us floor workers." "There are many situations we are put into that we are not trained for," he said. "We are trained only on a baseline example of when you have everything you need to do your job, but when it came to real work, that was never the case and it caused a lot of issues." Employees who feel pressured because of staffing shortages or impatient customers can end up improperly using equipment, the former Louisiana Lowe's employee said: "We would be forced to figure it out." Is Lowe's a safe place to work? In a previous comment to Insider, Costello, the Lowe's spokesman, said "the safety of our associates and customers is embedded in our culture at Lowe's." It's a message the retailer often repeats in statements to investors and the public. The company introduced in 2020 the Lowe's Safety Review, a daily safety inspection store managers use to identify hazards and track corrections, according to its 2021 corporate responsibility report. Lowe's partially credits that for a decline in significant injuries for three straight years. In 2021, for every 100 employees, there were 5.15 significant injuries, per OSHA data down from 5.36 in 2020 and 6.37 in 2019. For comparison, at Lowe's biggest competitor, Home Depot, the significant injury rates were 4.25, 4.03, and 4.89 in 2021, 2020, and 2019, respectively. Despite improvements in recent years, some Lowe's employees said they feel the company isn't a safe place to work. "I once had a shower surround fall on my head and leave me with a black eye one time all using the same machine, the ballymore, as in the TikTok, with little to no training," a former Ohio Lowe's employee told Insider. "While doing inventory I dislocated my wrist moving one of them across an aisle." "It's very dangerous." Are you a current or former Lowe's employee who wants to share your thoughts and experiences about safety at the company? Contact Ben Tobin on email at btobin@insider.com or by encrypted messaging app Signal at +1 703-498-9171. Read the original article on Business Insider The Weber River runs through Morgan County on Thursday, March 9, 2023. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News The Great Salt Lake dominated attention during the 2023 legislative session, but lawmakers also spent money on vital water projects in Utah, including dollars to help fix aging aqueducts, water reuse, cloud seeding and more. The expenditures are all part of a way to keep the system running, much like periodic maintenance checks on a vehicle that correct a problem before it balloons into a disaster. Four aging aqueduct systems that serve over 2 million people on the Wasatch Front will receive $50 million for upgrades or replacements to incorporate earthquake resilience. We met with a whole bunch of stakeholders about earthquake resilience, said Ari Bruening, president and chief executive officer of Envision Utah. There are a lot of things that we could do everything from transportation to natural gas and power and upgrading buildings. But what rose to the top was water because it is such a critical need. And what rose to the top of that was these aqueducts, because without these aqueducts, most of the water that serves the Wasatch Front would not be available for many, many, many months. The findings were part of a report this year by the Utah Seismic Safety Commission for funding to help fill in the gaps for what is an overall cost of $554 million, Bruening said. The districts think they can come up with most of that through federal grants and their own water rates. ... The gap was $175 million so were almost a third of the way there, Bruening said, adding that the hope is additional money will be allocated for these systems in the future. Laura Seitz, Deseret News Why the money matters The commission report notes that the Federal Emergency Management Agency declared the Wasatch Front as one of the most catastrophic natural threat scenarios in the United States, with significant risk of a major earthquake happening in the coming decades. As of 2017, the Wasatch Front region has a 43% chance of experiencing a magnitude 6.75 or greater earthquake in the next 50 years. In other words, the Wasatch Fronts odds of experiencing the Big One are essentially equivalent to a coin toss. Should such an event happen, Utahs economy and way of life could be impacted for many, many years, it said. Story continues Related The aqueducts, while an engineering marvel at the time, are past their prime and lack seismic preparedness. Related The Wasatch Fronts most important aqueducts are located across and along major hazardous faults, landslide areas, high ground shaking areas, and liquefaction areas, putting them at high risk for significant damage, the report said. Those aqueducts at risk along the Wasatch Front are: The Alpine aqueduct in Utah County. The Salt Lake aqueduct and the Jordan aqueduct. The Davis/Weber aqueduct. The report noted that each of the aqueducts can be addressed at a cost that is equivalent to one freeway interchange. Related Laura Seitz, Deseret News Bruening said the money will be allocated by the Board of Water Resources. Lawmakers also invested a significant amount of additional funding for cloud seeding, giving it a one-time boost of $12 million and another $5 million for subsequent years. It had been funded at just $350,000 annually. Mike Sanchez, a spokesman with the Utah Division of Water Resources, said lawmakers were focused on addressing water infrastructure needs, including spending $50 million, and another $25 million for dam safety. The southern Utah area will get $50 million in loans for water reuse projects. They were really focusing on our infrastructure, he said. We have to take care of it. Another $5 million in one-time money was directed for water wise landscaping projects and $3 million will be dedicated on an annual basis. Additional money was directed to water rights, groundwater studies and mapping the Great Salt Lake and Bear Lake using the latest technology. Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin says he's been completely cut off from the Kremlin. Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner Group, said the Kremlin has completely stopped talking to him. Prigozhin claims he was cut off after revealing that his troops in Ukraine are running out of ammunition. The Wagner boss said he's been desperately trying to get more supplies but has been ignored. The head of Russia's infamous Wagner Group mercenary organization claims that the Kremlin has cut off contact with him. Yevgeny Prigozhin, known for years to be a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said in a Thursday message on his Telegram channel that all of his direct lines to the Kremlin have stopped responding. This was after he complained on Sunday that the Russian government isn't giving his fighters in Ukraine enough ammunition. "To get me to stop asking for ammunition, all the hotlines to office, to departments, etc., have been cut off from me," Prigozhin said, per a translation from CNN. "But the real humdinger is that they've also blocked agencies from making decisions," Prigozhin added, per CNN. Prigozhin has over the last week pleaded for the Kremlin to give his troops more ammunition, complaining about a "shell hunger." "I'm knocking on all doors and sounding the alarm about ammunition and reinforcements, as well as the need to cover our flanks," he said in a statement on Monday, per Reuters. "If everyone is coordinated, without ambition, screw-ups and tantrums, and carries out this work, then we will block the armed forces of Ukraine. If not, then everyone will be screwed," he added, according to Reuters. The Russian press service Concord on Sunday also published a letter from Prigozhin, where he claimed that the ammunition promised to his troops never arrived. He blamed this logistical failure, without naming anyone, on "bureaucracy or betrayal." Prigozhin's Wagner Group known for sending Russian convicts to the frontlines in exchange for a chance to be exonerated, and has been heavily involved in Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Story continues The paramilitary organization has been engaged in a drawn-out assault to take the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. This has been one of the deadliest battles in the Ukraine war. The press office for Russia's Ministry of Defense did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. Read the original article on Business Insider Wake County school board members hope to select a new superintendent by the end of the school year but say that could change depending on how the search goes. The Wake school board approved a search timeline on Friday that calls for announcing and introducing the new superintendent by June 30 to coincide with the retirement of Superintendent Catty Moore. Board members said that they consider the dates on the timeline to be targets that could change based on circumstances. Its going to depend on the number of applications we get, the quality of the candidates, said school board chair Lindsay Mahaffey. I think weve just learned that we need to be flexible. Our employment and our announcement are all TBD, so this is not set in stone. The school board is responding to Moore announcing last month that she will retire as of July 1, ending five years of service as superintendent of North Carolinas largest district. If Wake hires and external candidate, the new superintendent likely wont start July 1 because of the need to give their current employer 60 to 90 days notice. In that situation, the school board would appoint an interim superintendent. The North Carolina School Boards Association will begin advertising the vacancy on Monday. Applications will be due April 24. The school board hired NCSBA to be its search firm for $21,000, plus expenses. NCSBA will collect the applications, conduct internet and social media searches of the candidates, and do reference, criminal, credit and background checks of the finalists. Feedback sought Board members said they want to get public and school employee feedback to help determine who they hire as superintendent. School employees and the public will have a chance to speak out at public meetings and fill out an anonymous online survey ranking what they want in a new superintendent. For instance, survey questions ask how important respondents think it should be for the superintendent to have been a teacher or to have had leadership experience outside of education. Aside from the brief tenure of retired Army Gen. Tony Tata, Wake historically has hired educators to be superintendents. Story continues The school board will hold a public hearing on March 28. Another hearing will be scheduled in April at the Southeast Raleigh YMCA. Board members said they want to make sure that the search process is done right. I would rather take this process slow so were not back in this vote two years, two months or at least in my term hiring another superintendent because we have rushed this process, said board member Tyler Swanson. Understanding equity The vacancy announcement lists several things that candidates must demonstrate success and ability in, including understanding equity factors and the influence of equity on educational outcomes. In November, the school board passed an equity policy that calls for addressing disparities, reflecting on biases and recognizing the voices of marginalized groups. The policy says Wake will take steps like implementing diverse instructional materials, recruiting a more diverse workforce and questioning practices that lead to inequity. Critics of the equity policy have accused Wake of focusing more on political correctness than on educating students. Other qualities sought in a new superintendent include having visionary education leadership and success in maintaining a safe and orderly school environment. There are certain things we need to center and eliminate people who dont necessarily want to be in a progressive district that values diversity, said board member Tara Waters. 2A7FNEP The WANdisco logo is seen on an LED screen in the background while a silhouetted person uses a smartphone (Editorial use only) - M4OS Photos/Alamy Stock Photo Welcome to the Wandisco inferno asbestos trousers obligatory. If a week is a long time in politics, then its a lifetime in the topsy-turvy world of Britains technology scene. After all, it was only on Monday that Wandisco, a software provider touted as a future homegrown technology star, made a big song and dance about listing its shares in America. With the shares surging to a decade-high of more than 14 on the back of the announcement, the decision appeared to be immediately vindicated. Fast forward a mere three days, and its probably fair to say Wandisco's dreams, as well as its credibility, have gone up in smoke torched by the discovery of possible fraud, and what could be a fairly sizable one. Annual turnover for 2022 is now expected to be as low as $9m compared with $24m previously a whopping 63pc less. It also has no confidence in bookings that were taken in the final quarter of the year. To top it all off, the company says there are significant going concern issues, raising questions about its survival, or at the very least the need for an emergency cash injection. Whatever the fallout, it is likely to stretch way beyond the four walls of Wandiscos Sheffield headquarters, damaging not just the start-ups now-unclear prospects but dealing a further blow to the reputation of the wider UK technology industry. There may be a temptation to dismiss the companys problems as an isolated incident from which there is little else to deduce. After all, in its mea culpa to the stock exchange, management suggested the accounting irregularities are the work of a single senior sales employee. However, to seasoned observers of British technology, the saga will feel sadly all-too-familiar. Wandiscos troubles are merely the latest in a long line of accounting scandals, wildly overblown valuations and costly, unfulfilled promises that have blighted this countrys efforts to build a technology industry of international standing never mind one that has any chance at all of challenging American hegemony. Story continues Indeed, when the Chancellor proclaims to an audience of senior tech figures, as he did in January, that his vision is to turn the UK into the next Silicon Valley, one seriously wonders if hes been paying attention or is simply hoping they havent been. It goes without saying that backing the next big thing necessarily involves a huge amount of risk, not to mention courage. But theres a world of difference between taking a bit of a punt and pouring money down the drain, and the sectors track record is such that UK tech investing is in danger of feeling not too dissimilar from the latter. It certainly cant afford many more scandals before investors give up and take their capital elsewhere, leaving an entire generation of promising start-ups to wither on the vine. Jeremy Hunt, U.K. foreign secretary, speaks at the final Conservative Party leadership hustings held at the ExCel Centre in London, U.K., on Wednesday, July 17, 2019. Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt are battling to replace Theresa May as leader of the Conservative Party and British prime minister. Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg - Simon Dawson/Bloomberg Of those that have found their way onto the London Stock Exchange in recent years, its hard to think of one that hasnt been a flop in some form. Theres Cambridge darling Darktrace, whose float in 2021 was seen as a major coup for a City seeking to lure more high-growth tech startups after Brexit but is now fighting accusations, which it has denied, from a short-seller of flawed accounting and activities that artificially inflate a companys reported sales. There are concerns too about its business model and culture. Payments giant Wise arrived with similar hope but quickly went from fintech trailblazer to tax rebel after founder Kristo Kaarmann was named and shamed by HM Revenue and Customs for defaulting on a 720,495 tax bill. The revelations triggered an FCA investigation, and are one of the main reasons why its shares remain nearly 30pc below the listing price. Deliveroo deserves a special mention a food delivery app masquerading as a sophisticated technology champion that with overwhelming predictability has spectacularly failed to live up to expectations. But then, few floats have been quite as ludicrously over-hyped. Away from the public markets there was Powa, the payments app that went bust; Karhoo, a would-be Uber rival that went under having spent so heavily that it was unable to pay its bills and staff at the end; social media app Fling, which burned through $21m in less than three years before filing for administration; and Ve Interactive, a digital advertising start-up that collapsed in 2017 with 50m of debts just months after one investment bank tipped it for a $10bn valuation. Poppy - New Office - 1.jpg Darktrace CEO Poppy Gustafsson - Alamy Stock Photo Industry scholars will also recall the fate of Blinkx, Monetise and Blur Group. Still, none can hold a flame to Autonomy, one of the few British companies that deserved to be called a tech champion, at least until its implosion a decade ago after it was bought by Hewlett Packard. Founder Mike Lynch is facing extradition to the US to face criminal charges, which he denies, over claims that he inflated the value of Autonomy before its sale. There are no direct links between any of these names, really. But the catalogue of disasters is so great that the harshest of critics might begin to view a UK listing not as an investment kitemark but a red flag when it comes to tech companies. The real growth businesses in software and hardware have either chosen to go private or have headed to America, as chip giant Arm announced it was planning to do earlier this week. Those that choose the City will increasingly stand out like a sore thumb. An 8-year-old girl from Washington state, who was last seen in October 2018, was recently found in Mexico and returned to the U.S. last month, the FBI said. Aranza Maria Ochoa Lopez's biological mother kidnapped her on Oct. 25, 2018, from a shopping mall in Vancouver, Washington, the FBI said. At the time, a missing person poster was released and a $10,000 reward was announced in an effort to find her. In February 2023, Aranza Maria Ochoa Lopez, an eight-year-old girl who had been missing since October 2018, was safely returned to the United States after being recovered in Michoacan, Mexico. (FBI Seattle) Nearly five years after she was reported missing, Aranza was found in Michoacan, Mexico, the FBIs Seattle office said in a news release Wednesday. She was returned to the U.S. in February. "FBI special agents escorted her back to the U.S. Aranzas safety and privacy is of utmost importance," the FBI said. Her location in the U.S. is not being disclosed, and no further details were released. For more than four years, the FBI and our partners did not give up on Aranza, Richard A. Collodi, special agent in charge of the FBIs Seattle field office, said. Our concern now will be supporting Aranza as she begins her reintegration into the U.S. After Aranza was taken, investigators said they determined she was taken to Mexico. Aranza's biological mother was taken into custody in September 2019 in Puebla, Mexico, the FBI said. The child was not found at that time, but was believed to still be in Mexico. At the time of the kidnapping, Aranza was in foster care, following complaints that her mother Esmeralda Lopez-Lopez physically abused her, local newspaper The Columbian reported. Lopez-Lopez pleaded guilty in January 2021 to kidnapping, robbery and custodial interference in Clark County Superior Court and was sentenced to 20 months in prison, court records show. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com Sign up for the Happiness is a Warm TV newsletter here. Heres whats on TV tonight. Dateline: Finding Rita (9 p.m., NBC) Keith Morrison goes to Longmont, Colorado, to tell the story of a mother, Rita Gutierrez-Garcia, who vanished without a trace in 2018. The detective investigating her disappearance discovered a connection to a previous assault and found her killer. The survivor of that attack recounts her terrifying ordeal for the first time on television. Morrison interviews Rita Gutierrez-Garcias mother Dianne Romero, detectives Cody Clark and Sandie Jones and others. 20/20 (9 p.m., ABC) 20/20 reports on the murder of Andrea Cincotta, a 52-year-old woman found strangled on the floor of her bedroom closet on Aug. 22, 1998 in Arlington, Virginia. Police accused her fiance, James Christopher Johnson, who proclaimed his innocence. The story became more complicated when a second suspect entered the picture, part of an alleged murder-for-hire scheme. ABC correspondent Ryan Smith interviews Johnson in tonights episode. Sin Eater: The Crimes of Anthony Pellicano (Hulu) This new two-part FX/New York Times documentary series tells the story of Hollywoods dirtiest private investigator (who) didnt operate within the law to hide the sins of the rich and powerful. The description from Hulu says that Pellicano harassed and intimidated clients, and eventually went to prison for wiretapping and racketeering. But hes out now, and he talked to filmmakers. Hulu: The Times obtained nearly the entire FBI case file, including audio recordings of Hollywood stars and powerbrokers that have never aired publicly. Luther: The Fallen Sun (Netflix) This new movie advances the Luther TV series with a story about a gruesome serial killer terrorizing London while the man who can catch him, disgraced detective John Luther (Idris Elba), sits in jail. UnPrisoned (Hulu) This new series stars Kerry Washington as a perfectionist single mom whose father (Delroy Lindo) moves in with her and her teenage son when hes released from prison. This is a series and all of it lands Friday. Some programming descriptions are provided by networks. The 2023 mens Six Nations is heading for a thrilling conclusion, with the second and final rest week following the completed third round of fixtures and setting up all six countries for a fortnight-long sprint to the line. Ireland travel to Edinburgh with Grand Slam aspirations still in tact thanks to bonus-points wins over Wales, France and Italy. England and France clash for the 110th time in Saturdays showdown at Twickenham as both sides aim to stay in contention for the title heading into the final round. And Wales face opponents Italy in Rome with the possibility of a first wooden spoon since 2003 hanging over them. It is more than a year since Wales won a Six Nations game, and they head to the Eternal City following successive losses to Ireland, Scotland and England. Here are the Six Nations 2023 fixtures and UK TV channels: Round 1 Saturday 4 February Wales 10-34 Ireland England 23-29 Scotland Sunday 5 February Italy 24-29 France Round 2 Saturday 11 February Ireland 32-19 France Scotland 35-7 Wales Sunday 12 February England 31-14 Italy Round 3 Saturday 25 February Italy 20-34 Ireland Wales 10-20 England Sunday 26 February France 32-21 Scotland Round 4 Saturday 11 March Italy vs Wales, 2.15pm, Stadio Olimpico, Rome (ITV) England vs France, 4.45pm, Twickenham, London (ITV & BBC) Sunday 12 March Scotland vs Ireland, 3pm, Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh (BBC & S4C) Round 5 Saturday 18 March Scotland vs Italy, 12.30pm, Murrayfield, Edinburgh (BBC & S4C) France vs Wales, 2.45pm, Stade de France, Paris (ITV) Ireland vs England, 5pm, Aviva Stadium, Dublin (ITV) A visitor takes photos of a painting at an art gallery in Aswan, Egypt, on March 8, 2023. An art gallery on "Women and Life" opened on Wednesday evening in Upper Egypt's glamorous city of Aswan with the participation of more than 20 artists from several countries to mark the International Women's Day. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) An art gallery on "Women and Life" opened on Wednesday evening in Upper Egypt's glamorous city of Aswan with the participation of more than 20 artists from several countries to mark the International Women's Day that falls on March 8 every year. Most of the paintings and artworks displayed in the gallery hall depict female faces with different perspectives and symbolisms. One of the paintings portrays a face of a woman colored in pink with real tangible handmade earrings hanging from her ears. "I was keen to draw a woman's face as a clear element in the painting, and I attached earrings I bought from Aswan last year to give the painting a touch of Aswan," Kuwaiti artist Sharefa Dashti told Xinhua, noting the pink color symbolizes women's emotions. "Each of the artists expressed their support for women's role and power in society through their paintings in the gallery," the artist said. Among the displayed works were paintings of an Arab woman behind bars, a woman playing the violin, a woman's face merged with tree roots and leaves, a woman with long hair with her upper body wrapped in actual bandages, and others. Huda Al-Kazwine, an Iraqi artist who has been living in Denmark for over 25 years, brought a textile collage using objects including black thread symbolizing a woman's body in a black dress, a copper star shape expressing a woman's golden hair, and other leather and wooden objects. She explained that the painting is based on a novel by Algerian writer Ahlam Mosteghanemi entitled "Black Suits You so Well," telling a love story when a man falls in love with a woman in a black dress. The gallery is the output of a painting workshop entitled "Symposium of Women and Life" as part of the ongoing Aswan International Women Film Festival (AIWFF) running from March 5 to 10 to shed light on women's causes and rights. "There is no dividing line between cinema and fine art, for cinema is actually a large painting," said Nermine Amer, an organizer of the AIWFF as well as the symposium and the art gallery. Amer pointed out that the event gathered works of artists from different countries including Kuwait, Qatar, Denmark, Iraq, Pakistan and Sweden. Although the gallery is aiming to highlight women's role and shed light on their status, the participating artists are not restricted to women. Qatari artist Abdulrahman Almutawah used poster colors on canvas to compose his two paintings representing Qatari women in traditional costumes and expressing "the greatness and pride of Qatari women." "I see that the relation between man and woman is so strong, for they are both the basis of the society," he told Xinhua. Dozens of visitors admired the unique artworks, including foreign visitors, Egyptian actresses participating in the film festival, as well as young people from Aswan and other provinces in Egypt. "The paintings featured in the gallery, on this world day for women, touch every woman. They depict nice features of every one of us," Amira Khalifa, a young woman from Aswan, told Xinhua. Editors note: This story was updated Friday to include a new estimate from Wells Fargo of when the issue would be fixed. Wells Fargo promised to fix by Saturday a nationwide computer glitch that left irate customers with incorrect and sometimes negative balances and missing transactions, according to a spokesman. It will also refund fees customers incurred because of the issue. Some customers started their Friday morning routines hoping to see their latest paychecks directly deposited in their accounts. Instead, they had negative balances, a number of customers reported on social media, and a message from the bank: If you see incorrect balances or missing transactions, this may be due to a technical issue and we apologize. Your accounts continue to be secure and were working quickly on a resolution.. Funds remained available, even though some customers direct deposit transactions were not showing on their accounts, bank spokesman Josh Dunn said. Dunn did not say how many customers were impacted by the problem. I do not like to feel massive panic The issue is one more reason people should keep cash on hand, one Twitter user wrote. Another tweeted, i do not like to feel massive panic immediately upon waking but wells fargo decided to give me that gift this morning. i do not like to feel massive panic immediately upon waking but wells fargo decided to give me that gift this morning Katy Barber (@katy__kakes) March 10, 2023 Wells Fargo is further proof to keep cash on hand for use. In the blink of an eye, a computer glitch or whatever, your funds are inaccessible. SD (@SDWilliby) March 10, 2023 Others anticipated Chase Bank and Bank of America would see an influx of unhappy Wells Fargo customers. JPMorgan Chase is the nations largest bank by assets, at $3.2 trillion, and Charlotte-based Bank of America is its second largest with $2.4 trillion in assets. Story continues Another Wells Fargo customer tweeted about definitely closing their account, using a SpongeBob meme to show how they felt like they were begging for money. Wells Fargo has me like this at 9am on payday. I will definitely be closing my accounts. #WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/qFGVpaWyFY trav :revolving_hearts: (@kingtravvv) March 10, 2023 About Wells Fargo Wells Fargo is based in San Francisco but has its largest employment hub in Charlotte. With about 27,000 workers, it is one of the regions largest employers. Whats next for Wells Fargo as it continues to retreat from the mortgage industry? It also is the nations fourth largest bank by assets, at $1.7 trillion. That number is capped by the Federal Reserve, which restricted the banks ability to grow in the aftermath of the 2016 fake accounts scandal. This is a developing story. Check back for updates. Photo taken in 2012 shows a Wells Fargo sign displayed on one of the bank's branches in New York City. Some Wells Fargo customers were met with missing transactions on their accounts Friday, according to the bank. A statement on the companys website warned that some users might find incorrect balances on their account, which "may be due to a technical issue." "Your accounts continue to be secure and we're working quickly on a resolution," Wells Fargo said in the statement. In a statement, the company said the issue will be resolved by Saturday, and the bank will refund fees incurred by the issue. Wells Fargo was trending on Twitter on Friday, with affected customers taking to the social media app to voice their concerns. The website Downdetector shows user reports of issues with Wells Fargo's website began early Friday morning. SVB collapse: Silicon Valley Bank failed but thanks to the FDIC many customers will get their money back SVB failure: Silicon Valley Bank assets seized by FDIC in largest bank failure since 2008 What is a bank: Is my money safe at a bank? You can follow USA TODAY reporter Bailey Schulz on Twitter @bailey_schulz and subscribe to our free Daily Money newsletter here for personal finance tips and business news every Monday through Friday. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Wells Fargo direct deposit issues today caused by technical glitch By Henriette Chacar HUWARA, West Bank (Reuters) - Palestinians in the occupied West Bank town of Huwara say a rise in settler attacks has made them fear walking to school, going to work and shopping at the local supermarket. A settler rampage through the town last month, amid rising tensions in the West Bank, drew worldwide condemnation, with Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin saying on a visit to Israel on Thursday that the United States was "especially disturbed" by settler violence. Huwara, near a checkpoint on a highway between the West Bank cities of Ramallah and Nablus that links four nearby Israeli settlements, has become a fault line of violence over the years. Residents of the town and its neighbouring villages told Reuters they felt defenceless in the face of the increased attacks, with no protection from either the Israeli army or Palestinian Authority security forces. "I've lived in Huwara my entire life," said Ghazi Shehadeh, a 58-year-old glazier, as he fitted a glass window into a frame from one of dozens of houses that were recently vandalised. "These attacks are not new, but they have become more intense," he said. "I want to walk without fear. I want to enjoy a trip out of town. I can't anymore. They (the settlers) will hurl rocks or shoot at us. We don't dare leave anymore because the settlers are in the streets." The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) recorded 849 settler attacks last year that resulted in casualties or property damage across the West Bank - the highest since it began monitoring cases in 2005. But the issue has attracted global attention since hundreds of settlers went on a rampage in Huwara on Feb. 26 after a Hamas gunman shot dead two Israeli brothers from the nearby settlement of Har Bracha as they sat in their car. During the riot, a Palestinian man was killed and dozens of Palestinian houses and cars were torched. Fifteen settlers were arrested, most of whom were released for lack of evidence, but two were in administrative detention and investigations were continuing, a police source said. Story continues Some parties in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government criticised the violence and called for people not to take the law into their own hands. One senior army commander described it as a "pogrom", a word normally associated with massacres of Jews in Russia during the 19th and early 20th century. But days after the rampage, far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has responsibility for aspects of Israel's West Bank administration, said Huwara should be "erased", before he partially retracted the remark. For their part, the settlers see Huwara as a "terror village". Nati Rom, a lawyer representing suspects arrested following the attack, said settlers faced constant violence from Palestinians who threw stones at their cars and incited to violence on social media and through calls at the mosque. Hours after the shooting of the brothers, some Palestinians expressed support for the incident on Facebook and in one post mockingly offered the car the brothers were in for sale. "Our children have to ride in bulletproof buses, our cars are rock proof, and the other sides never needs to worry because they don't have that," Rom said. PALESTINIAN STATE More than half a million Israeli settlers live in the West Bank. Settlers living around Nablus are among the most ideological and many see themselves as exercising a biblical birthright to the West Bank, which Palestinians want as the core of a future state. Huwara is surrounded by settlements that cut off Palestinian communities from each other and from their land. It veers between periods of relative calm, when Israelis visit Palestinian businesses in the town to buy goods or get their tyres changed cheaply, and outbursts of violence. The main road, dotted with signs in Arabic and Hebrew, was now scarred by scorched walls and piles of shattered glass. Soldiers behind barricades aimed their weapons at passing cars, carrying Israeli and Palestinian licence plates. "We're living on edge," said Kayed Awad, a member of the Huwara municipality and the owner of a bathroom appliances store, as he took quick glances at the screen mounted above his desk showing CCTV footage. Awad said he survived a settler attack last year, when young men shattered the shop's glass door, broke sinks and beat him with sticks and pipes. Palestinians say such experiences are part of their everyday lives, made worse because they say soldiers either stand by and allow attacks to take place or actively participate themselves. The Israeli military, which has overall authority in the West Bank, said soldiers were instructed and authorised to stop violence against Palestinians. But it acknowledged that the Huwara rampage should have been prevented and said "lessons had been learned" on sending reinforcements more quickly and improving coordination with police. However, international concerns over how effectively settler attacks are policed long predate the current escalation. An OCHA report from January said "some settler attacks occur in the presence of or through active support by Israeli forces". Israeli rights group Yesh Din found that 93% of investigations into settler violence in the West Bank from 2005 to 2022 were closed without indictment. "There is nothing to do when you are facing armed settlers who are backed by the military," said Usama Abuzayn, 25, who was working in a supermarket on Monday when a gang of blackclad youths attacked a Palestinian family in a car outside. "We are left to defend ourselves." (Reporting by Henriette Chacar; Additional reporting by Emily Rose; Editing by James Mackenzie and William Maclean) West Virginia state senators on the Judiciary Committee rejected a bill on Wednesday to ban child marriage under all circumstances. The bill, which was narrowly voted down 9-8 by the committee, sought to establish 18 as the age of consent for marriage and remove the ability for minors to even seek consent from a parent, guardian or court to marry. In West Virginia, children as young as 16 can currently marry with parental consent, while those under 16 must request a waiver from a judge, according to ABC News. A Pew Research Center analysis based on 2014 data found that the state had one of the highest rates of child marriage in the country. I just wanted to remind everyone in the room that this is International Womens Day, state Senate Minority Leader Mike Woelfel (D) said after the committee rejected the bill, according to MetroNews. Thank you. Democratic state Delegate Sen. Kayla Young, the lead sponsor on the bill, slammed the committee vote on Wednesday. The bill was overwhelmingly passed by the West Virginia House of Delegates last week. They first moved to table the bill without discussion, which failed, so they killed the bill instead, Young said in a tweet. For now, there will be no floor for the age of marriage in WV, endangering our kids. The bill was successfully discharged from the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday but it remains to be seen if it can pass the full state Senate. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Ottawa has approved WestJet Airlines' acquisition of Sunwing Airlines and Sunwing Vacations, saying the deal is "in the interest of Canadians." The federal government has approved WestJet Airlines' acquisition of Sunwing Airlines and Sunwing Vacations, it announced on Friday, saying the deal is "in the interest of Canadians." Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said in a statement that the decision "was not taken lightly, specially in light of everything that happened over the holidays for those who flew with Sunwing." "After considering the pros and cons, we have made the decision that will allow Sunwing to continue to provide affordable vacation packages to Canadians, create more good jobs, and protect current jobs as well as Canadians who have already purchased tickets," Alghabra said. "The agreement will also be accompanied by strict terms and conditions to ensure the public interest, including with regard to competition, connectivity and baggage handling." The conditions for the deal include extending Sunwing vacation package offerings to five new Canadian cities, maintaining capacity on routes most affected by the merger, increasing regional connectivity and maintaining a vacations business office in Toronto and a regional office in Montreal for a minimum of five years. WestJet announced in March 2022 that it had reached a definitive agreement to acquire Sunwing Airlines and Sunwing Vacations, saying the deal would "deliver new travel options and greater value for travellers in the rapidly expanding leisure and work-from-anywhere travel markets." Transport Canada had been assessing whether the acquisition was in the public interest, consulting with Canadians and stakeholder groups. The government said that in the absence of WestJet's acquisition, "Canada's air transport sector could have faced greater instability, including job losses, a significant reduction of affordable vacation offerings, negative impacts on passengers, and the Government not being repaid sizeable loans." 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. (AFP via Getty Images) WhatsApp could be banned in the UK, its head has warned. The UKs upcoming Online Safety Bill could force the app to weaken the end-to-end encryption that currently secures messages on the service, said Will Cathcart, the head of WhatsApp at parent company Meta. If the government forced the company to do weaken that security, WhatsApp would refuse, leaving open the possibility that the app would be banned entirely within the country, he confirmed. End-to-end encryption secures messages by ensuring that only those sending and receiving them can read them, and even the services themselves do not have access. Technology companies and security experts say it is necessary to protect messages from hacking and other threats but officials including those in the UK have argued that it should be weakened so that messages can be scanned for illegal content. Mr Cathcart expressed shock that the company would be forced into such a policy in the UK. But he said that the upcoming legislation does not give proper confidence that the app would not be forced into weakening its own privacy. Its a remarkable thing to think about, he said. The experience weve faced all around the world is thats only happened in governments that were trying to crack down on their citizens ability to communicate freely. If the UKs government were to push for such changes, it would shape what other countries all around the world ask for on different topics, on different issues, he said. When a liberal democracy says, Is it OK to scan everyones private communication for illegal content?, that emboldens countries around the world that have very different definitions of illegal content to propose the same thing. The Online Safety Bill was first introduced by Boris Johnson, and is currently on its way through parliament. It allows the government or regulator Ofcom to demand that apps scan messages for terrorist or child sexual abuse material, which would not be possible without weakening the encryption that currently protects all messages. Story continues Authorities already have the ability to demand that apps remove encryption, under the Investigatory Powers Bill, which companies including Apple explicitly argued against. But that encryption is still in place, and Mr Cathcart confirmed that WhatsApp had not received a demand to remove it from the UK government. But the upcoming Online Safety Bill includes other legal grey areas that could make it easier for regulators or government to demand apps weaken encryption, Mr Cathcart said. That has brought criticism from not only WhatsApp but rival secure messaging app Signal, which has said that it would absolutely, 100% walk from the UK if it received such a request. WhatsApp stressed that it offers the same app globally, and that there is no way for it to comply with weakening encryption in the UK without doing the same elsewhere. It would not do that even if asked by the UK government, Mr Cathcart said. He declined to speculate on specifically how he expected any possible ban would actually happen. But he pointed to countries such as Iran where the government has blocked the app though users are still able to access it, through virtual private networks and other technology that allows people to circumvent restrictions. Even if that happened in the UK, it would still pose a problem, Mr Cathcart said. I dont know that people want to live in a world where to communicate privately to someone it has to be illegal, he said. I think a lot of people will. But I still think thats a bad thing. To avoid such a situation, Mr Cathcart urged the UK government to add wording to the bill so that it would make clear private messaging is different from other social networks, and that encryption should be protected. He said that the government has made public statements about the importance of such security, but that it should be explicitly written within that legislation. The White House on Friday condemned what it called shameful, hateful and dangerous attacks on the LGBTQ community, and transgender people in particular, pointing to comments from a speaker at a major conservative conference last week and a barrage of bills introduced in GOP-led state legislatures. Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre spoke at Fridays briefing about the rhetoric and legislation targeting transgender people, pointing to a speech given at the Conservative Political Action Conference by Michael Knowles in which he said transgenderism must be eradicated from public life. It started with a speaker at a conservative conference calling for the eradication of transgender people, language that not a single national Republican leader has condemned, Jean-Pierre said. She highlighted that Republicans in Iowa and Tennessee have called for legislation attacking gay marriage, while in Florida GOP lawmakers have introduced a slew of bills to roll back the rights of LGBTQ communities. Those bills are part of a larger trend, with Jean-Pierre noting more than 450 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced at the state level in the first 70 days of the year. The same leaders that tout freedom apparently dont extend their love for freedom if they disagree with who you are, who you love, or how you parent, Jean-Pierre said. Its government overreach at its worst, taking away rights from the vulnerable all to distract from a deeply unpopular agenda that caters to the ultra-rich. Jean-Pierre vowed the Biden administration would continue to support members of the LGBTQ community. President Biden last year signed a sweeping executive order aimed at protecting LGBTQ youth from a raft of conservative state laws and addressing barriers they face to health care and housing. In his State of the Union address last month, Biden called on Congress to pass the Equality Act to ensure LGBTQ Americans, especially transgender young people, can live with safety and dignity. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Governments and businesses have spent two decades rushing to the cloud trusting some of their most sensitive data to tech giants that promised near-limitless storage, powerful software and the knowhow to keep it safe. Now the White House worries that the cloud is becoming a huge security vulnerability. So its embarking on the nations first comprehensive plan to regulate the security practices of cloud providers like Amazon, Microsoft, Google and Oracle, whose servers provide data storage and computing power for customers ranging from mom-and-pop businesses to the Pentagon and CIA. The cloud has become essential to our daily lives, Kemba Walden, the acting national cyber director, said in an interview. If it's disrupted, it could create large potentially catastrophic disruptions to our economy and to our government. In essence, she said, the cloud is now too big to fail. The fear: For all their security expertise, the cloud giants offer concentrated targets that hackers could use to compromise or disable a wide range of victims all at once. The collapse of a major cloud provider could cut hospitals off from accessing medical records; paralyze ports and railroads; corrupt the software that help financial markets hum; and wipe out databases across small businesses, public utilities and government agencies. A single cloud provider going down could take down the internet like a stack of dominos, said Marc Rogers, chief security officer at hardware security firm Q-Net Security and former head of information security at the content delivery provider Cloudflare. And cloud servers havent proved to be as secure as government officials had hoped. Hackers from nations such as Russia have used cloud servers from companies like Amazon and Microsoft as a springboard to launch attacks on other targets. Cybercriminal groups also regularly rent infrastructure from U.S. cloud providers to steal data or extort companies. Among other steps, the Biden administration recently said it will require cloud providers to verify the identity of their users to prevent foreign hackers from renting space on U.S. cloud servers (implementing an idea first introduced in a Trump administration executive order). And last week the administration warned in its national cybersecurity strategy that more cloud regulations are coming saying it plans to identify and close regulatory gaps over the industry. Story continues In a series of interviews about this new, tougher approach, administration officials stressed that they arent giving up on the cloud. Instead, theyre trying to ensure that rapid growth doesnt translate to new security risks. Cloud services can take a lot of the security burden off of end users by relieving them of difficult and time-consuming security practices, like applying patches and software updates, said Walden. Many small businesses and other customers simply lack the expertise and resources to protect their own data from increasingly adept hackers. The problems come when those cloud providers arent providing the level of security they could. So far, cloud providers have havent done enough to prevent criminal and nation-state hackers from abusing their services to stage attacks within the U.S., officials argued, pointing in particular to the 2020 SolarWinds espionage campaign, in which Russian spooks avoided detection in part by renting servers from Amazon and GoDaddy. For months, they used those to slip unnoticed into at least nine federal agencies and 100 companies. That risk is only growing, said Rob Knake, the deputy national cyber director for strategy and budget. Foreign hackers have become more adept at spinning up and rapidly spinning down new servers, he said in effect, moving so quickly from one rented service to the next that new leads dry up for U.S. law enforcement faster than it can trace them down. On top of that, U.S. officials express significant frustration that cloud providers often up-charge customers to add security protections both taking advantage of the need for such measures and leaving a security hole when companies decide not to spend the extra money. That practice complicated the federal investigations into the SolarWinds attack, because the agencies that fell victim to the Russian hacking campaign had not paid extra for Microsofts enhanced data-logging features. The reality is that today cloud security is often separate from cloud, Anne Neuberger, the deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technology, said last week during a roll-out event for the new cyber strategy. We need to get to a place where cloud providers have security baked in with that. So the White House is planning to use whatever powers it can pull on to make that happen limited as they are. In the United States, we don't have a national regulator for cloud. We don't have a Ministry of Communication. We don't have anybody who would step up and say, It's our job to regulate cloud providers, said Knake, of the strategy and budget office. The cloud, he said, needs to have a regulatory structure around it. Knakes office is racing to find new ways to police the industry using a hodgepodge of existing tools, such as security requirements for specific sectors like banking and a program called FedRAMP that establishes baseline controls cloud providers must meet to sell to the federal government. Part of what makes that difficult is that neither the government nor companies using cloud providers fully know what security protections cloud providers have in place. In a study last month on the U.S. financial sectors use of cloud services, the Treasury Department found that cloud companies provided insufficient transparency to support due diligence and monitoring and U.S. banks could not fully understand the risks associated with cloud services. But government officials say they see signs that the cloud providers attitude is changing, especially given that the companies increasingly see the public sector as a source for new revenue. Ten years ago, they would have been like, No way, said Knake. But the major cloud providers have now realized that if they want the growth that they want to have, if they want to be within critical sectors, they actually not only need to not stand in the way, but they need to provide tools and mechanisms to make it easy to prove compliance regulations, he said. The push for more regulations isnt getting immediate objections from the cloud industry. I think that that's highly appropriate, said Phil Venables, Googles chief information security officer. But at the same time, Venables argued that cloud providers are subject to plenty of regulation already, pointing to FedRAMP and the requirements cloud providers must satisfy in order to work with regulated entities such as banks, defense industrial base companies and federal agencies the very tools Knake described as hodgepodge. The White House outlined a more aggressive regulatory regime in its new cyber strategy. It proposed holding software makers liable for insecure code and imposing stronger security mandates on critical infrastructure companies, like the cloud providers. The market has not provided for all the measures necessary to ensure that its not being inappropriately used, that its resilient, and that its being good caretakers of the small and medium-sized business under its umbrella, said John Costello, the recently departed chief of staff in the Office of the National Cyber Director. Cloud computing companies are eager to work with the White House on a harmonized approach to security requirements across sectors, said Ross Nodurft, executive director of the Alliance for Digital Innovation, a tech trade group whose members include cloud giants Palo Alto Networks, VMWare, Google Cloud and AWS the cloud computing arm of Amazon. He also said that companies already comply with existing extensive security requirements for specific industries. A spokesperson for Microsoft, which is not a member of ADI, referred POLITICO to a Thursday blog post from a Microsoft executive making similar assertions that the company looks forward to working with agencies on crafting appropriate regulations. AWS said in a statement that it prioritizes security but did not address the question of whether it supports additional regulation. Oracle did not respond to a request for comment. If the government fails to find a way to ensure the resilience of the cloud, it fears the fallout could be devastating. Cloud providers have effectively become three or four single points of failure for the U.S. economy, Knake said. According to a 2017 study from the insurance giant Lloyds, an outage at one of the top three cloud providers lasting between three and six days could cause $15 billion in damages. Such a collapse could be triggered by a cyberattack on a major cloud provider, a natural or human-caused disaster that disrupts or cuts power to a major data center, or simply a failure in the design and maintenance of a core cloud service. If the White House cant get the results it wants through using existing regulations and cajoling companies into improving practices voluntarily, it will have to hit up Congress. And that could be its biggest hurdle. Some Republicans have already criticized the White Houses national cybersecurity strategy for its heavy emphasis on regulation. We must clarify federal cybersecurity roles and responsibilities, not create additional burdens, to minimize confusion and redundancies across the government, Rep. Mark Green (R.-Tenn.), the chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, and Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.), head of its cyber and infrastructure protection subcommittee, said in a statement last week. As gatekeepers of the House Homeland Security Committee, Garbarino and Green wield de facto veto power over any major cybersecurity legislation that the White House might send Congress. In the short term, that eliminates the possibility of the more ambitious cloud policy proposals outlined or hinted at in White Houses new strategy That could mean that the administration will have to increase pressure on the companies to do more on their own. Trey Herr, a former senior security strategist who worked in cloud computing at Microsoft, said cybersecurity agencies could, for example, require the heads of the major cloud providers to appear before top government cyber brass on a semi-regular basis and prove that theyre taking adequate steps to manage the risk within their systems. The major cloud providers have plenty of ways to talk about the security of one product, but few to manage the risk of all those products tied together, said Herr, who is now the director of the Atlantic Councils cyber statecraft initiative. Its one thing to do a good job building a helipad on the top of your house, he said. But no one is asking if the house is built to handle that helipad in the first place. The White House on Friday will highlight impacts of the American Rescue Plan, the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package, as it prepares to mark two years since President Biden signed it into law. The White House will release state-by-state data for all 50 states about the impact of the package, pointing to jobs and small businesses created and the number of people who saved money on health insurance coverage, a White House official told The Hill. The data will also include the number of child care programs that were able to stay open and the number of college students who received direct aid to help them stay in school. The administration will also push out data comparing before the American Rescue Plan versus two years after it was signed on the state of the economy, housing, health care, and poverty rates, the official said. The White House will target critical states for Democrats in 2024 Arizona, Florida, Georgia, and Michigan by partnering with members of Congress to tout the American Rescue Plans impacts at home, according to the official. That includes partnerships with Democrats like Arizona Rep. Greg Stanton, Florida Reps. Darren Soto and Maxwell Frost, Georgia Rep. Lucy McBath and Michigan Reps. Debbie Dingell and Haley Stevens, as well as mayors and other local leaders. The local push aligns with an effort from American Bridge 21st Century, a major Democratic group, which is launching a six-figure advertisement campaign. The liberal super PAC will run ads in media markets for Greensboro, N.C.; Flint, Mich.; Erie, Pa.; and Green Bay, Wis., about the benefits of the American Rescue Plan. Also on Friday, Vice President Harris will release a video about the bill, arguing it helped working families get ahead and touting its Child Tax Credit. Biden on Thursday unveiled his budget and it included restoring the full tax credit, which Democrats have called for since the expanded credit expired at the end of 2021. Story continues The American Rescue Plan was signed on March 11, 2021, less than two months into Bidens presidency. To mark the first anniversary of the law, Biden visited a Philadelphia elementary school last year to tout how the funding kept schools open amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill was a major achievement for Biden and Democrats and was used by lawmakers on the trail during the 2022 midterm campaigns, though centrist Democrats and Republicans have mentioned the package when voicing concerns over government spending. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. If you're not sure where to start when looking for the next multi-bagger, there are a few key trends you should keep an eye out for. Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing base of capital employed. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. With that in mind, the ROCE of Australian Clinical Labs (ASX:ACL) looks great, so lets see what the trend can tell us. Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE) Just to clarify if you're unsure, ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Australian Clinical Labs: Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) (Total Assets - Current Liabilities) 0.29 = AU$116m (AU$596m - AU$192m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2022). Therefore, Australian Clinical Labs has an ROCE of 29%. That's a fantastic return and not only that, it outpaces the average of 5.5% earned by companies in a similar industry. View our latest analysis for Australian Clinical Labs roce In the above chart we have measured Australian Clinical Labs' prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering Australian Clinical Labs here for free. What Does the ROCE Trend For Australian Clinical Labs Tell Us? We're delighted to see that Australian Clinical Labs is reaping rewards from its investments and is now generating some pre-tax profits. About five years ago the company was generating losses but things have turned around because it's now earning 29% on its capital. And unsurprisingly, like most companies trying to break into the black, Australian Clinical Labs is utilizing 529% more capital than it was five years ago. This can indicate that there's plenty of opportunities to invest capital internally and at ever higher rates, both common traits of a multi-bagger. Story continues In another part of our analysis, we noticed that the company's ratio of current liabilities to total assets decreased to 32%, which broadly means the business is relying less on its suppliers or short-term creditors to fund its operations. So shareholders would be pleased that the growth in returns has mostly come from underlying business performance. The Key Takeaway Overall, Australian Clinical Labs gets a big tick from us thanks in most part to the fact that it is now profitable and is reinvesting in its business. Astute investors may have an opportunity here because the stock has declined 15% in the last year. With that in mind, we believe the promising trends warrant this stock for further investigation. If you'd like to know more about Australian Clinical Labs, we've spotted 3 warning signs, and 1 of them is a bit unpleasant. Australian Clinical Labs is not the only stock earning high returns. If you'd like to see more, check out our free list of companies earning high returns on equity with solid fundamentals. 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 A staff member checks the operation of a production line at the production base of Zhongfu Shenying Carbon Fiber Co., Ltd. in Xining, northwest China's Qinghai Province, Feb. 22, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua] China's stress on high-end manufacturing will help create a modern industrial system, safeguard industrial and supply chains, and foster new competitive strengths, said national legislators and political advisers. They called for concerted efforts to make breakthroughs in core technologies, given that upgrading the manufacturing sector has been high on China's development agenda as a requirement for bolstering the real economy. Their comments came after President Xi Jinping said manufacturing is an indispensable sector to China at all times. He made the remark during a deliberation with a delegation of fellow deputies from Jiangsu province on Sunday during the first session of the 14th National People's Congress. Currently, China's manufacturing sector boasts a complete range of categories, Xi said, adding the country will strive to develop high-end manufacturing to realize all-round improvement, and provide full support for its development. Miao Wei, deputy director of the Committee on Economic Affairs of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the nation's top political advisory body, highlighted the importance of achieving breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields and resolving bottlenecks, so as to improve the resilience and safety of industrial and supply chains. Miao, the former minister of industry and information technology, said efforts should be made to give full play to the role of leading enterprises, step up support for small and medium-sized enterprises and foster more "little giant" companies that specialize in niche industries with cutting-edge technologies and great growth potential. Manufacturing is the foundation of a country, and the high-quality development of China's manufacturing sector has entered the fast lane buoyed by digital technologies like cloud computing, big data, internet of things and blockchain, said Zhou Yunjie, a deputy to the 14th NPC, and chairman and CEO of Chinese home appliance giant Haier Group. "As the country is making efforts to build itself into a manufacturing powerhouse, more push is needed to promote innovative application of industrial internet and fully unleash the value of massive data resources, which is also key to advancing new industrialization," Zhou said. Zhou suggested establishing a quality standard system in the context of new industrialization, and cultivating a batch of industrial big data service providers, who will participate in the formulation of standards and rules related to industrial data ownership confirmation, circulation and transactions. Data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology showed that China accounted for nearly 30 percent of global manufacturing output in 2021, up from 22.5 percent in 2012, and maintained its title as the world's largest manufacturing country. Noting technological innovation is the prerequisite to improving the resilience of industrial chains, Jia Shaoqian, a deputy to the 14th NPC and chairman of Chinese home appliance manufacturer Hisense Group, said leading enterprises should play a significant role in achieving breakthroughs in some core technologies in key fields. He suggested the country should increase support in R&D of the frontier laser display technology, basic materials and basic techniques to boost the core competitiveness in new-generation display technologies. "The high-tech manufacturing sector has become an important driving force for China's high-quality economic development," said Li Dongsheng, a deputy to the 14th NPC, and founder and chairman of consumer electronics maker TCL Technology Group Corp. China's manufacturers should transition from exporting products to exporting industrial capacities, ramp up localized operations abroad and avoid trade barriers to enhance their global competitiveness, he said. Dong Mingzhu, chairwoman of Chinese home appliance maker Gree Electric Appliances, said Chinese enterprises should stick to independent innovation, and master core technologies so as to promote the upgrade and transformation of the country's manufacturing sector. Dong, also a deputy to the 14th NPC, said it is important to push the manufacturing sector toward higher-end, smarter and greener production, adding talent is key to promoting the high-quality development of manufacturing. President Biden has yet to visit East Palestine, Ohio, the site of a train derailment more than one month ago that has resulted in severe health and environmental concerns for the area. Biden has come under heavy pressure from Republicans and voices in conservative media to visit the area but has not committed to going. The president said a week ago that he would go at some point, while the White House has mostly brushed aside questions about a trip. White House allies say some Republicans are trying to lure them into a political fight over the visit and they arent going to walk into that trap. They also suggest Biden will go to East Palestine when the time is right for him. Are we going to be suckered into this because Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene are pissed off? Or are we going to go when we feel the time is right? one Biden ally said, referring to the Florida and Georgia House Republicans. The White House has been on top of the situation from the start. Their priority was making sure they were on top of the response, and they have been, the ally said. All the same, a number of Democrats want Biden to go to East Palestine. Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) told The Hill this week that he would certainly encourage Biden to visit the site of the train derailment. My understanding is that he hopes and plans to in the not-too-distant future. As you know, hes got more on his plate than I could ever imagine dealing with, the senator said. Some dont entirely understand why he has yet to visit. I am very frustrated by this and wonder who actually advised him to stay away, said one Democrat who asked to speak on background to speak candidly about the issue. Trump showed up Trumps visit to East Palestine fit into the GOP narrative about liberal elites in politics and media ignoring the challenges of people in the middle of the country. (Getty Images) Days after Biden made a surprise trip to Ukraine, former President Trump showed up in East Palestine to criticize the president. Trump accused the Biden administration of indifference and betrayal over their response to the train derailment. Story continues The mayor of East Palestine had also said at the time that Bidens visit to Ukraine was the biggest slap in the face as his town was dealing with the chemical fallout from the train derailment. The person who advised Biden to stay away should be fired, the Democrat said. He let Trump steal a march on him, even with the cheesy water stunt, the source said. Politically, its no way to prove to already-reticent rust belt voters that he gives a damn about them. GOP arguments about East Palestine have fit into a larger Republican narrative about coastal elites in politics, media and corporate America forgetting and not caring about people in the middle of the country even as money and focus goes overseas. No time to visit East Palestine but plenty of time for this, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) wrote on Twitter following Bidens visit to Ukraine last month. Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) also piled on at the time, saying, If you want to understand why so many Americans are frustrated right now: Biden is in Ukraine before Ohio. Pomp and circumstance President Biden President Biden returns to the White House following an event in Philadelphia, Pa., to discuss his newly released fiscal 2024 budget. (Greg Nash) Sources familiar with the White House decisionmaking point to a few reasons why Biden has yet to go to East Palestine. One involves the pomp and circumstance around a presidential visit to a small town. The president going certainly has a much larger footprint than the secretary of Transportation and the EPA administrator, said this source, referring to trips to East Palestine by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan. The Democratic source said that with the cooperation and coordination it takes with state and federal agencies on the ground to get Biden there, the president thinks its better to monitor the situation from afar. Rather than distract all these critical personnel by a POTUS visit, Mr. Biden believes their time is better spent dealing with the derailment and its aftermath, the Democrat said. Others say the trips by Buttigieg and Regan are meaningful. He sent Regan and Pete down on his behalf. Hes confident with them, said one source. Biden has defended his approach. The idea that were not engaged is just simply not there. And, initially, there was not a request for me to go out, even before I was heading over to Kyiv, Biden said on Feb. 24. So, Im keeping very close tabs on it. Were doing all we can. The president has gone on other trips recently. Since returning from his Ukraine and Poland trip, Biden has traveled to Virginia Beach, Va., Baltimore, and Selma, Ala. He traveled to Pennsylvania on Thursday to unveil his budget and he will go to California next week for talks with the British and Australian prime ministers. No real advantage The cleanup of portions of a Norfolk Southern freight train that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File) White House allies argue theres no real advantage to making a trip to East Palestine at least right now. At this point, the timing seems off, so why give Republicans the upper hand on this? one Biden ally said. Another ally also worried if going to East Palestine would cause a spectacle because its staunch MAGA land. I dont think theyd be rolling out the red carpet for him, the ally said. Even some Republicans say there is little to gain from Biden being on the ground, weeks after the derailment. Theres not a lot at this point that he can do, said Republican strategist Susan Del Percio. They dont want to look like they were forced to go. If he goes in now, frankly its just talk. At this point if he visits, hes got to deliver something. Hes got to say Heres what weve done. The president is in touch with senior state officials in both Ohio and Pennsylvania and is kept informed regularly, said a source familiar. He has kept his eye on the ball when it comes to crises that have popped up during his presidency and I think hes been very hands on with those and sometimes hands on means empower other folks to have their hands on the issue, said Democratic strategist Antjuan Seawright. Zach Budryk contributed to this report. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. According to the Prison and Policy Initiative as of 2021, Kentuckys incarceration rate stands above the national rate (664 per 100,000) at 930 per 100,000. Each year, around 16,000 inmates are released back into the population. During the community re-entry process, prisoners experience an extensive range of stressors. This stress derives from trying to find a house, a job and build connections after their time spent away from the outside world. Ashleigh LaCourse, a doctoral student at the School of Criminal Justice at Michigan State University, argues that this reintegration stress is what primarily creates repeat offenders. Provide jobs for prisoners and boost our workforce participation On Nov. 7, 2022, Andy Beshear, advocated for a prison-to-work initiative that could potentially lessen the stress prisoners feel during their transition. Beshears administration has aligned with the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce to ensure the initiative comes to fruition. Considering how our labor force participation rate currently stands at 58%, this initiative will not only provide jobs for prisoners but also boost our workforce participation. The initiative will match low-employment occupations with prisoners in need. Interviews will be conducted virtually, allowing prisoners to potentially have a job immediately after being released. This initiative increases economic activity while also giving prisoners a stable starting point. Joan Petersilia, the president of the American Society of Criminology, highlights social barriers ex-prisoners experience in the community. A recent survey in five major U.S. cities revealed that 65% of all employers said they would not knowingly hire an ex-offender (regardless of the offense), Petersilia writes. More:Beshear makes more Kentucky juvenile detention center changes, including worker raises Rynn Young reacts as Gov. Andy Beshear give him the pen he used to sign an executive order to restore the voting rights of around 140,000 non-violent felons, including Young. Young of Louisville was convicted of drug possession when he was 18 and never has voted in his life. "I believe in the law," Gov. Andy Beshear said. "I also believe in second chances." Dec. 12, 2019 Economic instability often leads to recidivism. Jobs help. People fear the reintegration of felons into the community due to further violence that may accompany their introduction. However, prisons strip prisoners of their individuality and savings, leaving them economically unstable upon their release. This economic instability is what often leads to recidivism, as many must turn to illegal means in order to survive without a job. Story continues Furthermore, although the prisoner has been released from prison and fulfilled their sentence, the community still views them as a convict and a threat. They are labeled as a social deviant. This sequestration along with the financial implications are what increase recidivism rates. According to Nihal Deo and Mehar Kaur, students of Gujarat National Law University, labeling usually has two aftermaths, the first being that an individuals self-image is altered along with his social stigma. The perception of being a deviant in society takes over the individuals true self, they write. More:Louisville's jail has a new system for phone calls with family. Here's how to navigate it. As labor force participation decreases across our state, this initiative can assist in filling the gap. According to Kentuckiana Works, this gap is mostly concentrated on people who stay at home and take care of their families. A fear that may arise with the programs is that the new influx of prisoners in the workforce will overstimulate the economy, and therefore take jobs from law-abiding citizens. However, at times when workforce activity is low, ex-prisoners can become valuable assets to our economy, as they will take unenviable jobs that the average American doesnt want to work. Programs like prison-to-work should be more widely implemented, as they aid prisoners in their reintegration into the community as well as increase the economic yield of communities. Dia Cohen Dia Cohen is a student journalist at duPont Manual High School. This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Why programs like 'prison-to-work' should be more widely implemented The latest Russian missile barrage against Ukraine's civilian infrastructure has marked one of the largest such attacks in months. On Thursday, Russia fired over 80 missiles in a massive effort to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses and cripple the countrys energy system. Russia has been regularly launching similar strikes since October in a bid to demoralize the population and force the Ukrainian government to bow to the Kremlins demands. Thursday's strikes differed from earlier attacks, though, by including a larger number of sophisticated hypersonic missiles that are the most advanced weapons in the Russian arsenal. But just like previous such barrages it has failed to cause lasting damage to the country's energy network, with repair crews quickly restoring power supplies to most regions. Here is a look at the latest Russian missile attack and the weapons involved. WHAT DID UKRAINIAN AND RUSSIAN OFFICIALS SAY? Ukraine's military chief, Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi, said that Russia launched 81 missiles and eight exploding Iranian-made Shahed drones in a barrage early Thursday, and Ukraine's air defenses downed 34 missiles and four drones. According to Zaluzhnyi, those missiles included six hypersonic Kinzhal missiles, the most advanced weapons in the Russian arsenal. Ukrainian air force spokesman Yurii Ihnat emphasized that Ukraine lacks assets to intercept the Kinzhal and the older Kh-22 missiles that were also used in Thursdays strikes. Russias Defense Ministry described the barrage as a strike of retribution in retaliation for what Moscow described as a cross-border raid by Ukrainian saboteurs who attacked two villages in the Bryansk region in western Russia last week. A group of self-exiled Russians fighting alongside Ukrainian forces claimed responsibility for the attack, while Ukraine denied involvement. Moscow didn't say how many missiles were fired, but claimed they hit the designated targets. HOW DID THE LATEST BARRAGE DIFFER FROM EARLIER RUSSIAN ATTACKS? Story continues Military analysts noted that the number of Kinzhal missiles used in Thursdays barrage was significantly higher compared to previous strikes, which have typically involved no more than a couple of such weapons. The Kinzhal is one of the latest and most advanced Russian weapons. The Russian military says the air-launched ballistic missile has a range of up to 2,000 kilometers (about 1,250 miles) and flies at 10 times the speed of sound, making it hard to intercept. A combination of hypersonic speed and a heavy warhead allows the Kinzhal to destroy heavily fortified targets, like underground bunkers or mountain tunnels. Russia has used the Kinzhal to strike targets in Ukraine starting from the early days of the invasion, but it has used the expensive weapon sparingly and against priority targets, apparently reflecting the small number of Kinzhals available. The precise targets for Russian strikes and the resulting damage remain unclear as Ukrainian authorities have maintained a tight lid of secrecy on such information to avoid giving Russia a clue for planning future attacks. Its also unclear what missiles Russia has used to hit which targeted facilities, although Western officials and military analysts have argued that Russia has faced an increasing shortage of state-of-the-art weapons, with new production far too slow to compensate for the amount already spent. The British Defense Ministry noted Friday that the intervals between Russian missile strikes have grown bigger, probably because Russia now needs to stockpile a critical mass of newly produced missiles directly from industry before it can resource a strike big enough to credibly overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses. The Kinzhal is carried by MiG-31 fighter jets, some of which are based in Belarus. Russia has used the territory of its ally as a staging ground for the invasion and maintained its troops and weapons there. WHAT OTHER WEAPONS DID RUSSIA USE? The Ukrainian military said that Thursdays barrage also included six older Kh-22 missiles, which are launched by Tu-22M heavy bombers and fly at more than three times the speed of sound. The massive weapon, which has a range of 600 kilometers (370 miles) and dates back to the 1970s, was designed by the Soviet Union to strike U.S. aircraft carriers and other warships. It packs a big punch thanks to its supersonic speed and a heavy load of 630 kilograms (nearly 1,400 pounds) of explosives, but its outdated guidance system could make it highly inaccurate against ground targets, raising the probability of collateral damage. Like in previous strikes, Russia also fired the modern Kh-101 cruise missiles carried by strategic bombers and the Kalibr cruise missiles that are launched by warships. The long-range, high-precision missiles are subsonic and the Ukrainian military has said it has successfully engaged them. Another fixture in the Russian strikes were S-300 air defense missiles that Russia uses against ground targets at a comparatively smaller distance from the front line. While its relatively small warhead lacks the punch of bigger weapons designed to hit ground targets, Russia appears to have a big stock of such missiles and Ukraine can't intercept them. Russia has also used some shorter-range air-launched missiles carried by fighter jets and the Iranian exploding drones. Ukrainian officials have said that the military has become increasingly successful in tackling them, downing the bulk of drones launched in each strike. Ukrainian officials and experts say that by using numerous types of of missiles as well as drones in one massive attack Russia tries to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses. Its much more difficult for the Ukrainian air defenses to deal with an attack when they launch a motley collection of ballistic and ordinary missiles along with drones, Zhdanov said. Russia has been searching for weak spots in Ukrainian air defenses and it has partially succeeded." William Shatner at Comic-Con in 2022 in San Diego. (Richard Shotwell / Invision / Associated Press) William Shatner is thinking a lot about death these days. The "Star Trek" icon shared thoughts on his mortality and legacy ahead of the release of the biographical documentary "You Can Call Me Bill," which focuses on his life and will premiere Thursday at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas. After former co-star Nichelle Nichols' death at age 89 in 2022, Shatner is one of only three surviving members of the original show's cast, the others being George Takei, 85, and Walter Koenig, 86. "Ive turned down a lot of offers to do documentaries before," Shatner, 91, said during an interview with Variety published Thursday. "But I dont have long to live." He said he also considered his grandchildren in his decision to participate in the film, calling it "a way of reaching out after I die." Shatner is grandfather of five children, all from his children with the first of his four wives, Canadian actress Gloria Rand. He previously said being a grandparent is "the greatest joy for me." "I have the time now to grab a grandchild and talk, and hug and kiss them and make sure that I'm taking time to be with them and to give them some aspect of the things I've learned," he told the Guardian in 2014. He said his family life is "totally encompassing" and he sees his three daughters every weekend, according to the Guardian. They take trips during holidays to ski and snorkel. His youngest daughter, Melanie Shatner, recalled Shatner in a 2015 interview as "a wonderful, committed father" while growing up, recalling his hours-long drives to see them on weekends or taking them on set with him amid a busy filming schedule. "So with the time I have left, I like to look at all my grandchildren and try to extract what I can out of my impressions," Shatner said in the Variety interview. When asked about his legacy, Shatner shared an anecdote about his controversial decision in 2015 to attend a Red Cross fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago instead of the funeral of "Star Trek" co-star Leonard Nimoy. Story continues "I said to the audience, 'People ask about a legacy. Theres no legacy. Statues are torn down. Graveyards are ransacked. Headstones are knocked over. No one remembers anyone. Who remembers Danny Kaye or Cary Grant? They were great stars. But theyre gone and no one cares,'" Shatner recalled. "What does live on are good deeds. If you do a good deed, it reverberates to the end of time. ... Thats why I have done this film." For the documentary, Shatner said he challenged himself to go beyond recollecting career accolades and worked to find a new way of looking at his life. One of his fresh takes: He can take nothing with him to the grave. "The sad thing is that the older a person gets the wiser they become and then they die with all that knowledge, and its gone," he said. "Today, theres a person going through some of my clothes in order to donate or sell them, because what am I going to do with all these suits that Ive got? What am I going to do with all these thoughts? What am I going to do with 90 years of observations? The moths of extinction will eat my brain as they will my clothing and it will all disappear." Even when asked about why he was overcome with emotion after returning from his trip to space on Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, he said he was "grieving about this world." "I saw the Earth and its beauty and its destruction," he said. "Its going extinct. ... We stupid f animals are destroying this gorgeous thing called the Earth. Doesnt that make you angry? Dont you want to do something about it?" In recent months, Shatner and Takei have made headlines for their public feud. In November, Takei said Shatner was a prima donna whom none of the "Star Trek" cast got along with. Takei seemed to be responding to Shatners interview with the Times U.K. in which he called his sci-fi co-stars bitter and said they continually criticize him for publicity. I began to understand that they were doing it for publicity, Shatner said. Sixty years after some incident, they are still on that track. Dont you think thats a little weird? Its like a sickness. George has never stopped blackening my name. These people are bitter and embittered. I have run out of patience with them. Why give credence to people consumed by envy and hate? This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. A woman secretly added herself to her neighbors life insurance policy, then faked the Iowa neighbors death so she could steal death benefits, authorities said. Kimberly Nicole Hollingshed, of Muscatine, fraudulently received about $100,139 from the life insurance company in April 2022, according to a March 9 news release from the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of Iowa. She used that money to buy a 2014 Buick Encore, a 2008 Jeep Liberty and a 2008 Hummer H3, according to Hollingsheds plea agreement that she signed in November. Now the 37-year-old woman has been sentenced to 24 months in prison on a count of wire fraud, court records show. The defense attorney representing Hollingshed did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News on March 10. Federal authorities said Hollingshed accessed the neighbors life insurance policy in February 2022, then she added an online profile without her neighbors permission. With online account access, Hollingshed made changes to the victims policy and added herself as a policy beneficiary, officials said. Once Hollingshed was listed as a beneficiary, in April, authorities said she told the life insurance company that her neighbor died and started the process to claim her death benefits. The insurance company required a copy of the womans death certificate before processing the claim, according to the plea agreement. As her neighbor hadnt actually died, the woman provided a forged Iowa certificate of death, prosecutors said. She started with a real death certificate belonging to a 96-year-old Iowa woman who died in 2017, but changed the name, cause of death, location of death and other details, according to court records. The insurance company processed the claim, and the money was deposited into Hollingsheds bank account that had a balance of $2.06, authorities said. Hollingshed is ordered to pay restitution, and shell be required to serve three years of supervised release once out of prison, according to the release. Story continues Missing moms boyfriend stole her disabled sons benefits after she vanished, feds say Dead grandmothers ID used by grandson to steal thousands in benefits, CT officials say Her dad died in 2006, but she kept collecting his benefits in Pennsylvania, feds say A woman has filed a complaint against the Park City School District alleging her daughter experienced antisemitic bullying. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News Season Cain said she tried working directly with school officials for four months before finally filing an Office for Civil Rights complaint in December. The Park City mother said her family is Jewish and her daughter was experiencing antisemitic bullying at Ecker Middle School, with students saying they hate Jewish people or saying "KKK" in her daughter's face, over and over. Cain said her daughter has also witnessed other students experience similar discrimination. Her daughter is still attending Ecker Middle School but has been afraid to go because she doesn't believe the administration will protect her or her friends. However, she is "very vocal," Cain said. "My daughter is a civil rights activist, just like I am." Cain said the Park City School District was served notice of the complaint on Feb. 16. District spokeswoman Lorie Pearce said in a statement that the Park City School District will provide whatever assistance it can as the Office for Civil Rights works to complete its review. "The Park City School District has been and remains committed to providing a working and learning environment free from harassment, prohibited discrimination and retaliation," Pearce said in the statement. Civil rights attorney Jason Langberg, who is investigating the allegations for the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education, did not return a request for comment. All federal agencies have an Office for Civil Rights and, in this case, it will work to "ensure equal access to education and to promote educational excellence through vigorous enforcement of civil rights in our nation's schools," according to the education department website. It shows a total of 16 cases resolved in Utah since 2014. It's unknown how long investigations can take, though Cain said she's been told it may take a year to complete. She said when her daughter first experienced antisemitic bullying, at the start of the school year, she met with Ecker Middle School Principal Amy Jenkins and an assistant principal. They devised an "appropriate" response plan that they all agreed on, Cain said but in the months that followed, school administration "gave me the runaround." Story continues Ultimately, she said school administrators told her they wouldn't follow through with the plan; and when asked why, Cain said they would only give her "vague" answers about adhering to policies. When she asked to see those policies, Cain said she was directed to another administrator, who still hasn't given her the policies in question. During those four months of back-and-forth, Cain said her daughter witnessed four more discrimination incidents at school. "This is spreading like wildfire," Cain said she told administrators, and also asked them, again, to follow through with the previously agreed-upon action plan. When administrators refused, Cain said she decided to file the Office for Civil Rights complaint. Only then did Jenkins send a letter to students and parents about the incidents, Cain said, and visited classrooms to discuss the bullying. "It's just sad that it took (a complaint being filed) for her to do anything," Cain said. She said she hopes the investigation results in students receiving "very age-appropriate" curriculum from the Anti-Defamation League. She also hopes for the creation of peer support groups. Her daughter has been trying to create such a group for months, Cain said, but school administrators haven't gotten back to her about it. She also wants Equity Task Forces that aren't invitation-only, and meetings open to parents and students. Cain, who works as a mental health professional serving middle school-aged kids, said she's no longer open to mediation with the school district, because previous efforts got her nowhere. She said 95% of her clientele are suicidal because of bullying. "I don't want any of these kids that are bullying to be punished. ... They need education; let's provide education and awareness," Cain said. "And (school administrators have) refused to do so for four months, and the bullying increased, the waitlist for my clientele of suicidal kids increased. I'm trying to prevent suicides here, trying to be part of the solution, and they would not do anything until the federal civil rights office got involved." Have you ever found out that a new person at your job was getting paid more than you to do basically the same work? If so, you're not alone. According to one study, companies pay new hires 7% more on average than their existing employees, but taboos about sharing salary info have historically kept these discrepancies hidden. Jackf / Getty Images/iStockphoto Well, recently, a salary transparency law enacted in New York has companies actually putting a pay range in their job postings (FINALLY!). But it's also exposing companies' unequal pay policies like what happened when 25-year-old Kimberly Nguyen happened upon a posting for her own job at a much, much higher salary. Nguyen tweeted, "My company just listed on LinkedIn a job posting for what Im currently doing (so were hiring another UX writer) and now thanks to salary transparency laws, I see that they intend to pay this person $32k-$90k more than they currently pay me, so I applied." My company just listed on LinkedIn a job posting for what Im currently doing (so were hiring another UX writer) and now thanks to salary transparency laws, I see that they intend to pay this person $32k-$90k more than they currently pay me, so I applied. 09:22 PM - 07 Mar 2023 First of all, let's talk about that salary range. It spans almost $60,000, and I gotta say, that seems deliberately vague and not actually helpful for setting real pay expectations. In fact, many companies are trying to skirt salary transparency laws by posting jobs with salary ranges that are so wide that they're basically meaningless. Gregory from Abbott Elementary rolling his eyes ABC / Via giphy.com Meanwhile, job seekers are just trying to figure out if it's even worth the time it takes to retype their resume into a dumb online form to apply for this job. The listed pay range is also significantly higher than Nguyen's current salary, which makes it that much more insulting for current employees to see. @yannitweetshere If the difference where like $10-15k I feel like Id be less upset. But Ive been asking for a raise for months and theyre out here flaunting theyre willing to pay a new person at least $32k more than me??? For the same job?? 02:50 AM - 08 Mar 2023 Nguyen goes on to share her dissatisfaction with her company's performative "inclusion" efforts and reveals that she has had multiple conversations with her managers about the fact that she is underpaid, with no real resolution. I have also been arguing for months about the pay inequity. I have told my managers multiple times that I know Im being underpaid. I have gotten the runaround, and they know they can do this right now in a tough labor market. 09:45 PM - 07 Mar 2023 Later, she added an update saying that her company told her the job she applied for was meant to be an internal posting. "[B]ut that doesn't solve the fact that someone internally is now still going to make $32k+ more???" Nguyen wrote. They're saying it was an internal posting and wasn't meant for anyone to apply to externally because public companies legally have to post jobs even if it's an internal conversion...but that doesn't solve the fact that someone internally is now still going to make $32k+ more??? 03:17 PM - 08 Mar 2023 And sadly, the conversation around pay equity and salary transparency quickly turned to talk of possible layoffs, "because what better way to get people to take what they're given and shut up than to threaten them with job loss?" Nguyen summed it up. Now we're talking about possible layoffs because what better way to get people to take what they're given and shut up than to threaten them with job loss? 03:36 PM - 08 Mar 2023 In the comments, people were simply stunned by Nguyen's employer's shady actions. @knguyenpoetry The fucking audacity of them doing this! 01:14 AM - 08 Mar 2023 And some people shared their tips for squeezing a raise out of them: @knguyenpoetry As a corporate manager I can tell you best way to get a raise is to show them you have another offer. Majority of corpos will underpay you and sometimes your manager can try to go through hell to get you on more equitable pay zone and it will not work. 03:51 PM - 08 Mar 2023 Screenshots from the thread have also been shared on Reddit in r/antiwork, where users described the company's actions as "a slap in the face" and a reminder that loyalty isn't really a thing in the modern corporate workplace. One redditor wrote , "Your current employer probably won't pay you that but another one will." Another commenter shared , "A year ago I found out my company was offering new hires one rank lower than me $10K more than I was making after eight years there. Today I'm working for one of their customers making $45k more. Fuck em, keep up with market rate or be ready to lose people." I reached out to Nguyen via email, and she told me exactly what went through her mind when she saw the job posting: "I felt disrespected because I don't make anywhere close to what the listing advertised. But I also felt that since they posted it, I might have more leverage because I didn't make up the number, they did." Atit Phetmuangtong / Getty Images/EyeEm I also asked if the company had responded directly to her application yet. She replied, "LOL, no. I'm actually pretty sure they're going to fire me for this whole debacle." I can understood why the company might do this, but I hope that they don't. While it might put a stop to the current conversation, if they don't find a way to pay current employees on par or closer to what they'd offer new workers, this problem will only continue to drive employees away. Suriyapong Thongsawang / Getty Images Nguyen also shared that she's been really surprised by the response to her tweets. "I was just venting, and I didn't expect there to be such a reaction to my venting. People complain on the internet all the time and it doesn't go viral. I'm honestly really overwhelmed by all the attention." South Korean K2 tanks during the live-fire drill in Gyeonggi-do on February 11, 2015. Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images South Korea's defense industry has seen meteoric growth in recent years. Countries are spending more on defense, and Seoul's affordable, high-quality hardware is in demand. South Korea's president has said that he wants to make it the world's fourth-largest arms exporter. A growing sense of instability in the year since Russia attacked Ukraine has prompted multiple countries to increase their defense spending, and the global defense industry is now set to break records in sales and growth. No country is better positioned to benefit from this than South Korea. Its defense sector has seen meteoric grown in recent years, setting records for foreign sales in both 2021 and 2022. 2023 is also shaping up to be a good year for South Korea's defense industry. Twenty-nine South Korean companies participated in this year's International Defence Exhibition in Abu Dhabi in February. Among developments there was a $920 million deal with Malaysia for 18 FA-50s, a light combat aircraft that has attracted interest around the world. The sales are the result of a half-century of rapid development that has vaulted South Korea from having no defense industry at all to being one of the world's largest arms exporters. Meteoric growth Polish soldiers with the first K2 tanks and K9 howitzers delivered to Poland in Gdynia on December 6. MATEUSZ SLODKOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images South Korea's quest for a domestic defense industry began in 1968, after several particularly aggressive actions by North Korea and a shift in US defense policy convinced then-President Park Chung-hee that the country needed its own suppliers. South Korea's defense industry was originally tailored to meet the country's own needs, and Seoul assisted its growth with subsidies and other incentives. It also required foreign companies that wanted to sell defense products to South Korea to either build them at least partially in the country or incorporate South Korean-made components. South Korea's industry slowly began exporting to foreign countries in 1977, and by 2016, it was the 13th-largest defense exporter in the world, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Story continues As South Korea's defense products increased in quality, so too did its exports. In 2020, SIPRI designated South Korea the largest of the world's four major emerging arms suppliers, accounting for 1.5% of all global arms transfers between 2010 and 2019. As of 2021, the most recent year for which data is available, South Korea is the world's eighth-largest defense exporter, accounting for 2.8% of all arms exports between 2017 and 2021. The volume of South Korea's exports increased a staggering 177% over the 2012-2016 period a bigger increase than those seen by any of the other top 10 largest arms exporters during that period, according to SIPRI. South Korea's defense exports amounted to roughly $3 billion in 2020. Those sales increased to $7.2 billion in 2021 and more than doubled to an estimated $17 billion in 2022. A quality alternative Engineers assemble an FA-50 at a Korea Aerospace Industries plant in Sacheon in August 2013. REUTERS/Lee Jae-Won South Korea's rise in the defense-export rankings reflects a desire to shift the defense industry's focus from the domestic market to international buyers. One reason the shift has been so successful is that South Korea can sell quality products at lower prices than the world's biggest arms suppliers. South Korean arms also give foreign buyers another option for high-quality material, often with fewer strings attached. For example, in January 2022, South Korea signed a contract to sell the UAE its Cheongung II KM-SAM surface-to-air missiles. The UAE likely agreed to the $3.5 billion deal, then a record for Seoul, at least in part to mitigate the impact of a potential US decision to pause arms sales again in the future. South Korea topped that record in August, when Poland signed a $5.8 billion contract for 180 K2 main battle tanks and 212 K9 howitzers. That hardware, to be delivered over the next several years, is part of a larger multibillion-dollar agreement in which Poland will acquire 980 K2s, 648 K9s, and 48 FA-50s. In October, Poland made another order for 288 K239 Chunmoo self-propelled rocket-artillery systems after it became clear that the US could not fulfill Warsaw's request for 500 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems amid the war in Ukraine. South Korean firms have burnished their appeal with a record of rapid deliveries. The UAE received its first KM-SAMs within a year of buying them, and Poland received its first 24 K9s and 10 K2s in December. (Poland is still waiting on delivery of the 366 Abrams tanks it has ordered from the US over the past year.) Exports and products The KF-21 at its rollout ceremony in Sacheon in April 2021. Yonhap via REUTERS Naval vessels are a major part of South Korea's defense exports, making up 47% of the total volume in 2019, according to SIPRI. South Korea itself has sought to build a world-class navy for years. South Korean firms have designed and built frigates, diesel-electric submarines, patrol vessels, and replenishment ships for foreign customers. Seoul regularly trades the title of world's largest shipbuilder with China. (South Korean shipbuilders have also designed vessels for foreign buyers to build on their own.) The South Korean defense industry's most anticipated product might be the KF-21 Boramae, a multi-role combat jet optimized for air-superiority missions. The KF-21 is South Korea's first domestically developed supersonic aircraft, and while it doesn't have the advanced stealth features of fifth- or sixth-generation aircraft, such as radar-absorbent coating, the KF-21's angular airframe gives it a low radar cross-section and thus stealthy characteristics. The KF-21 is both a technological and diplomatic milestone for Seoul. It is a joint development project with Indonesia, which is providing 20% of the funding in exchange for technology transfers and 50 aircraft. Similar joint efforts produced the F-35 and are being used to develop even more advanced jets. Four of six planned KF-21 prototypes have been produced, including a two-seat variant. The first test flight was in July, followed by the first supersonic flight test in January. South Korea hopes to begin mass production in 2026 and field 120 aircraft by 2032. South Korea wants to export the fighter, and analysts say it could compete with China's fourth- and fifth-generation jets for sales. Poland has already expressed interest in joining the program. Future South Korean navy guided-missile destroyer ROKS Sejong the Great near Hawaii in July 2010. US Navy/MCS1 Brandon Raile South Korean leaders have made it a priority to increase their country's share of the world's defense market. At a meeting with defense CEOs in November, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol called their industry "the country's future growth driver and the backbone of other industries of advanced technologies." South Korea "should secure its technological competitiveness to develop weapon systems that can be a game-changer in future warfare," Yoon said, adding that the research-and-development environment should be improved "to establish an ecosystem that the country's defense industry can transform into an export-oriented business." Yoon has said that he wants to make South Korea the world's fourth-largest arms exporter, which would put it behind only France, Russia, and the US, based on SIPRI data through 2021. Achieving that will require South Korea to overcome several issues, including a worker shortage and a heavy reliance on foreign components, like jet engines and naval propulsion systems, that could hinder efforts to sell hardware to third parties. With tensions rising on the Korean Peninsula, Seoul will also have to think harder about how it divides resources between its military exports and its own pressing military needs. Read the original article on Business Insider China releases guideline for intelligent-vehicle basic maps Xinhua) 08:40, March 10, 2023 An autonomous driving taxi using the mobile application PonyPilot+ waits for passengers in Nansha District of Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, June 15, 2022. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei) BEIJING, March 9 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of Natural Resources has recently released a guideline for the standard system construction for intelligent-vehicle basic maps. The document guides the standardization of these maps from the aspects of general application, production update, application service, quality detection, and safety management. It stresses promoting the coordinated development of these maps and geographic information with automobile, information and communication, electronics, transportation, information security, password, and other industries, and gradually forming a standard system of intelligent-vehicle basic maps that meets the needs of the country's technological and industrial development. The guideline proposes that more than 10 standards for intelligent-vehicle basic maps should be developed in advance, covering technical requirements and specifications such as basic general application and data acquisition to meet the urgent needs of deep application of intelligent-vehicle basic maps. According to the guideline, China will initially build a standard system for intelligent-vehicle basic maps to support autonomous vehicle driving by 2025. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan) A China-Europe freight train loaded with 1,300 tonnes of flour from Kazakhstan arrives at Xi'an International Port in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Jan. 13, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua] To achieve the economic growth target set for this year, China needs to maintain its reform and opening-up policies while investing more in rural areas and small cities, according to David Blair, vice-president and senior economist at the Center for China and Globalization (CCG), in an interview with China.org.cn. China aims to achieve GDP growth of around 5% in 2023, one of the key objectives in the Government Work Report delivered at the first session of the 14th National People's Congress on March 5. "China is now a much richer economy, and it's hard [for it] to grow as fast as 9% or 10%. So, I think 5% is probably a reasonable growth rate," said Blair, adding that China will see catch-up growth this year from missed opportunities caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Blair emphasized that "the key to achieving the 5% of growth is continuing with the reform and opening-up process," which aligns with the Government Work Report's emphasis on deepening reform and opening-up in all respects and expanding market access to provide greater business opportunities for foreign companies in China. Blair also stressed investing more in rural areas and small cities, especially their business environments, highlighting their potential to generate a huge amount of new wealth. In recent years, China has noticeably increased average incomes in rural areas and improved working and living conditions, thereby eliminating poverty, upgrading infrastructure, and boosting education resources. Blair said that China has the strength to achieve this year's GDP target, partly thanks to its huge consumption demand. "As Chinese consumers have gotten richer and are able to purchase a lot more, they're creating demand not only for Chinese producers but also for worldwide producers." Before the pandemic, consumption had become the primary driver of China's economic growth. This year, priority will be given to the recovery and expansion of consumption, and efforts will be made to stabilize spending on big-ticket items and promote recovery of consumption in consumer services, according to the report. Another key strength is China's improved infrastructure system, not just in populated coastal areas but throughout the country, which enables the establishment of various businesses, noted Blair. In 2022, China's investments in infrastructure rose by 9.4%. While giving weight to economic growth, the Chinese government also pursues a greener and more efficient economy. High-quality development was once again highlighted in the report. Blair pointed out that China needs to move up the value chain and produce higher value-added products to increase productivity and unlock the economy's potential. Blair emphasized China's significant role as a major demand source, both domestically and internationally, with trading volumes between China and other countries, especially the Belt and Road partner countries, growing at an impressive rate. He added that smooth business exchanges with China are of critical significance. SHANGHAI (Reuters) -The world's largest battery maker CATL and its rivals in China were put on notice this week with a message from the top. When Chinese President Xi Jinping said he was both pleased and concerned about CATLs electric vehicle (EV) battery dominance, industry executives and regulators heard a caution to be ready to throttle back expansion to keep the current boom from collapsing in a bust of overcapacity. Xis remarks, made in response to a presentation by CATL's chairman Robin Zeng on the sidelines of China's annual parliament on Monday, showed CATL has drawn the attention of top Chinese officials. Since last year, CATL's customers have complained about its market position and the company itself has warned about the risks of the industry expanding too quickly. Three battery industry executives - including two at CATL - and two people close to regulators working with the industry told Reuters they understood Xis remarks as a warning to both the company and the wider battery industry. One of the five, a senior manager at CATL, who like others asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter, said Xi's remarks were concerning for the whole industry. "Pressure is being imposed on all parties," he said, adding that "even if the government steps on the brake, CATL's position within the industry won't be shaken". Xi was quoted by Xinhua as saying regulation had a place to ensure that emerging industries like battery production developed in a steady and prudent manner to avoid a boom and a headlong rush that would dissipate in the end". CATL did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Government scrutiny of CATL and its smaller rivals, which represent 60% of global battery supply, would mark a speedbump for an industry that has been more accustomed to benefitting from subsidies. Ningde, Fujian-based CATL, which is expanding in Germany and the United States, controls 37% of the global battery market alone, more than the next three suppliers combined. Its cell-to-pack technology has provided automakers like Tesla with less-expensive iron phosphate lithium-ion batteries. Story continues Consultant Rystad Energy estimates that battery production capacity in China will reach 1,338 gigawatt hours (GWh) by year end, up 23%. CATL alone has 542 GWh of capacity online or under construction, enough to power the equivalent of more than 7 million Model Ys. But EV sales in China have started to slow, prompting CATL to offer discounts to smaller EV makers in China in February in exchange for locking in future orders. EXCESS CAPACITY RISK Zeng told investors in May that the recent wave of investment worth billions of dollars in battery production could leave excess capacity as technology evolves. The company, citing supply deals with BMW, Daimler, VW, Ford and Hyundai, told analysts and investors this week that it had been cautious. "We will adjust capacity construction according to timely evaluations of the market demand," the company's executives told analysts after it released its annual earnings on Thursday. Xi has in recent months voiced support for private businesses to drive growth, but executives in a range of sectors have been watching how and whether those comments will translate into action after a two-year crackdown on industries from education to technology. While there has been no indication CATL is being targeted by regulators, it has faced pushback from Chinese automakers who have complained about its pricing power in the world's largest EV market. In July, at a session attended by hundreds, including industry and local government officials and CATLs Zeng, the chairman of state-owned Guangzhou Automobile Group Zeng Qinghong shocked the crowd by taking a shot at CATL's pricing. "With batteries now taking up 60% of the cost of each vehicle, how am I not actually working for CATL?" he asked. Others, such as Xpeng and Nio, are finding alternatives to CATL. Privately, some auto executives, who ask not to be named because of ongoing ties to CATL, have echoed the criticism made by GAC's Zeng. CATLs deal to license its battery technology for production at a plant run by Ford Motor Co also faces potential scrutiny and pushback in the United States and China as EV industry competition between the two nations intensifies. Republican Senator Marco Rubio has called for the Biden administration to review the deal. CATL told investors that the partnership, which it said was based on "commercial considerations" has been moving ahead. (Reporting by Zhang Yan, Brenda Goh in Shanghai, Additional reporting by Siyi Liu in Beijing; Editing by Kirsten Donovan) China's President Xi Jinping swears under oath after being re-elected (AFP via Getty Images) That China's rubber-stamp parliament handed Xi Jinping an unprecedented third term should come little surprise, but it does illustrate the extent of his power grab. The post of president is constitutionally ceremonial, but Xi's true power stems from the fact he is leader of the Chinese Communist Party (having already been granted a historic third term as party chief) and commander-in-chief of the military. Indeed, the members of the National People's Congress who voted for Mr Xi are appointed by the ruling party. Xi, 69, had already been named to a third five-year term as party general secretary in October, breaking with a tradition under which Chinese leaders handed over power once a decade. A two-term limit on the figurehead presidency was deleted from the Chinese Constitution even earlier, prompting suggestions he might stay in power for life. Xi's push for power began when he was handed the reins to the Communist Party by his predecessor Hu Jintao. This latest move is the culmination of a steady, and sometimes ruthless, journey to place himself at the centre of his party. His rolling anti-corruption campaigns have allowed Xi to force out enemies, while also garnering the support of his people. Xi has also essentially dispensed with the factional system that had marked China's politics for decades; he is now surrounded by loyalists. The parliament also elected Zhao Leji, 66, as parliament chair and Han Zheng, 68, as vice president. Both men are key Xi allies. There are no challengers to his rule and he has also crushed any expectation of nurturing a successor. Another Xi ally, Li Qiang, is poised to be confirmed as premier on Saturday, China's second-highest post. It is a role that puts the former Shanghai party chief and Xi ally in charge of the economy. Other Xi-approved officials are due to be elected or appointed to government posts over this weekend, including vice premiers, a central bank governor and numerous other ministeries. The annual parliamentary session will end on Monday, with a speech from Xi. Story continues The previous premier, Li Keqiang, was seen to be aligned to former leader Hu, who was taken off stage at last year's Party Congress on Xi's orders. Whether that was down to ill health or because Hu was causing a disturbance is still unclear, but it certainly offered a clear indication of Xis standing. During his years in power, Xi has tightened his party's grip over civil society in China, cracked down on free expression and sought to suppress the democracy movement in Hong Kong. China has also waged a campaign of forced assimilation in the Xinjiang. region. In 2021, UK MPs approved a non-binding Commons motion which declared Uyghur Muslims and other minorities in Xinjiang were "suffering crimes against humanity and genocide". China has denied such allegations. China's president is now widely considered to be the country's most powerful figure since founding leader, Mao Zedong. Xi has made no secret of his admiration for Mao and has crafting his own cult of personality a process that has accelerated in recent years. Near the end of 2022, Xi visited Yanan in the north-western province of Shaanxi, revered in the Communist Party as the cradle of revolution. In 2018, China's top body enshrined Xi's political ideology "Xi Jinping Thought" into the country's constitution. No other leader besides Mao, have had their ideology described as "thought," and only Mao and Deng Xiaoping have had their names attached to their ideologies. In 2021 it was announced that "Xi Jinping Thought" would be introduced into the national curriculum. There are plenty of challenges ahead for Xi, including a sluggish economy post-Covid and difficult diplomatic relations with the US. Then there is Beijing's increasingly close relations with Russia, against the backdrop of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, with Kyiv having been given staunch support by Western allies. Russias President Vladimir Putin congratulated his dear friend on his new presidential term. While Xi's push to mould the Communist Party in his image means he is in total control, he risks being in an echo chamber of 'yes men' and he will wholly responsible for any future failures. Chinese President Xi Jinping takes his oath after he is unanimously elected as president during a session of Chinas National Peoples Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Friday, March 10, 2023. Xi was awarded a third five-year term as president on Friday, putting him on track to stay in power for life. | Mark Schiefelbein, Associated Press Xi Jinping will continue as Chinas head of state, with a third term as president announced Friday. With the announcement, he will be the longest serving head of state since the Communist Party took over in 1949, per CNN. The legislature, dominated by the Communist Party, held a unanimous vote to allow Xi to continue holding the three main crowns of power in China party, military and state with no rivals or potential successors vying for attention, The New York Times reported. He took power in the National Peoples Congress in 2012 and quickly filled the top ranks of the ruling Communist Party with his supporters, according to NBC News. There was a two-term limit on presidential terms, but the rule was removed from the Chinese Constitution in 2018, allowing Xi to possibly remain in power for life, per NBC News. Xi returns for the term to rising tensions with the U.S. and other Western countries over Chinas relationship with Russia and its conduct with Taiwan. China instituted a zero-COVID policy during the COVID-19 pandemic, imposing strict rules on citizens requiring strict quarantines. Chinese residents took to the streets to protest the regulations during fall 2022, and government loosened up most of the restrictions. During the pandemic, Chinas economy took a significant dive, which Xi blames on Western powers. Western countries led by the United States have contained and suppressed us in an all-round way, which has brought unprecedented severe challenges to our development, Xi said during a meeting with government advisers and business leaders, per CNN. Chinese leader Xi Jinping. NOEL CELIS/AFP via Getty Images Chinese leader Xi Jinping wants China's army to work more closely with local tech giants. Xi ordered the military to focus on collaborations with tech companies to boost China's defenses. Chinese tech firms are already facing intense scrutiny in the US over their ties to the CCP. Chinese leader Xi Jinping wants China's military to collaborate more closely with local tech giants to boost the country's defenses. "It is necessary to deepen the collaborative innovation of science and technology, and build, manage, and use national laboratories well," Xi said on Wednesday. He was speaking at a meeting with delegates from the People's Liberation Army and the country's armed police, per state-linked media outlet Renmin Daily. Xi's statements come as China's two major legislative bodies meet this week to discuss government restructuring and Beijing's plans for the next five years. In his speech to the army's top brass and police leaders, Xi repeatedly called for an "integrated national strategic system." "To consolidate and improve the integrated national strategic system and capabilities, the key is to work hard on integration to maximize national strategic capabilities," he said. Xi's administration has since 2017 been developing its capacity for "military-civil fusion." This is a drive to make China's armed forces the most advanced in the world, by giving it the freedom to work with civilian research and commercial entities. In a 2020 memo about "military-civil fusion," the US State Department said that one of the Chinese government's chief aims is to develop artificial intelligence for military use. Other key technologies being researched in China include quantum computing, aerospace, big data, 5G, and advanced nuclear technology, the memo said. The State Department's memo also called the program an "aggressive" national strategy and warned that it "exploited" joint research institutions and private firms to build China's military. Story continues "In a clandestine and non-transparent manner, the CCP is acquiring the intellectual property, key research, and technological advancements of the world's citizens, researchers, scholars, and private industry in order to advance military aims," reads the memo. Chinese tech companies are already under intense scrutiny in the US Xi's emphasis on forging closer ties between the Chinese military and civilian tech companies comes amid intense scrutiny from the US government on how Chinese tech giants are using the data they harvest. Huawei, Hikvision, and Dahua are among the Chinese tech firms blacklisted by the US. Members of Congress are also pushing to ban TikTok, a popular social media platform owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, over security concerns. Xi's comments on Wednesday come at a particularly tense moment in US-China relations. In February, the Pentagon shot down what it said was a Chinese spy balloon and two other unidentified objects over the US. China called the response an overreaction and said it would take unspecified "countermeasures" against the US. Secretary of State Antony Blinken later said the US believes China is considering supplying lethal aid to Russia in its invasion of Ukraine. China has refuted Blinken's statements. Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on Wednesday issued an aggressive warning to the US, speaking of "conflict and confrontation" if the US "does not hit the brake, but continues to speed down the wrong path." "Such competition is a reckless gamble, with the stakes being the fundamental interests of the two peoples and even the future of humanity," he said. Xi on Monday also accused the US of trying to suppress China's growth. "Western countries led by the United States have implemented all-round containment, encirclement, and suppression of China, which has brought unprecedented grave challenges to our nation's development," he said, per state media outlet Xinhua. The Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. Read the original article on Business Insider (Bloomberg) -- China is expected to hand Xi Jinping a third term as president when the roughly 3,000 members of its rubber-stamp legislature vote Friday, completing his ascension as supreme leader of the worlds No. 2 economy. Most Read from Bloomberg Xi is likely to easily win National Peoples Congress backing to serve five more years, demonstrating his unrivaled grip over the ruling Communist Party. He took all 2,970 ballots cast in 2018, the same year China abolished constitutional provisions that wouldve prevented him from getting a third term. The annual legislative gathering is expected to also reappoint Xi as chairman of the Central Military Commission, a post that makes him chief of the worlds the biggest armed forces in terms of active personnel. The NPC will install its own leader, likely former anti-graft chief Zhao Leji, whos already the partys No. 3 official. A vice president will be voted into office, too, filling the role previously occupied by Wang Qishan. The balloting is largely procedural, since Xi secured his status atop the party that dominates politics in China at a major congress in the fall. He used that event to pack top party positions with his allies, while pushing out potential rivals for power. The maneuvering effectively discarded the collective leadership approach that China used since its reform and opening experiment started in the late 1970s, raising concern among investors and others that Xi would not face any checks on his power, or questions about policy. A former top contender to someday lead China, Hu Chunhua, was even left off the partys 24-member Politburo altogether. Story continues Read: China Revamps Bureaucracy to Boost Self-Reliance With Eye on US Xi used the annual NPC gathering this year to revamp the government to, he hopes, better compete in the increasingly testy rivalry with the US. On Tuesday, China unveiled plans to strengthen oversight of its $60 trillion financial system, create a new agency to manage data, and restructure the Ministry of Science and Technology. The objective was to better allocate resources to overcome challenges in key and core technologies, and move faster toward greater self-reliance in science and technology, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said there are "a few" banks the department is closely watching as a crisis at Silicon Valley Bank roils the financial world. During a hearing before the House Ways & Means Committee Friday morning, Yellen said she is closely watching Silicon Valley Bank, which is scrambling to raise fresh capital sparking fears that other banks could be forced to take losses and raise cash. "There are recent developments that concern a few banks that I'm monitoring very carefully and when banks experience financial loss it is and should be a matter of concern," Yellen told lawmakers. Shares of Silicon Valley Bank's parent company, SVB Financial (SIVB), were halted for trade early Friday after falling 60% on Thursday and another 68% in pre-market trading. The latest reports from CNBC's David Faber indicated the firm was seeking a buyer after its efforts to raise new capital had failed. On Wednesday, SVB said it would book a $1.8 billion after-tax loss on sales of investments and seek to raise $2.25 billion by selling stock. Shares were also halted in Signature Bank (SBNY), a New York institution that serves some cryptocurrency clients, after its shares dropped more than 16%. First Republic Bank (FRC), which serves some companies in the venture world and also targets high-net worth clients from the tech industry, saw shares fall as much as 40% early Friday. Its shares were also halted, along with those of other regional banks Western Alliance Bancorp (WAL) and PacWest Bancorp (PACW). Concerns about risks to other banks spread on Thursday as stocks of giant financial institutions tumbled. A major bank index fell by the most Thursday in nearly three years. Shares of JPMorgan (JPM) fell 5.41% Thursday and shares were roughly flat during Friday's open. Shares of Bank of America (BAC) fell 6.20% Thursday and opened Friday down as much as 2%. Yellen's appearance on Capitol Hill also comes after Friday's key February jobs report, which showed the economy added 311,000 new jobs last month as labor market strength persists amid stubbornly high inflation and aggressive rate hikes from the Fed. Speaking about the jobs report on Friday, Yellen said the data showed, "a continued strong labor market putting Americans back to work." Story continues U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen testifies before a U.S. House Ways and Means Committee hearing on President Joe Biden's fiscal year 2024 Budget Request on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., March 10, 2023. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein Comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell earlier this week the central bank would need to raise rates higher than preciously expected pushed markets to price in a 0.50% rate hike later this month. The turmoil at SVB and the broader banking sector, however, appears to have tempered market expectations with data from the CME Group now reflecting a roughly 60% chance the Fed matches its February rate hike of 0.25% on March 22. 'Economic and financial catastrophe' Yellen's testimony originally scheduled to address on President Bidens 2024 proposed budget also warned lawmakers to raise the debt ceiling to avoid an economic calamity. "I urge all members of Congress to come together to address the debt limit without conditions and without waiting until the last minute. Since 1789, the United States has always paid its bills on time. It must continue to do so," Yellen said. "In my assessment and that of economists across the board a default on our debt would trigger an economic and financial catastrophe." Asked about prioritizing certain debt payments once Treasury's extraordinary measures run out, Yellen said that's not the solution to raising the debt ceiling. "Prioritization is simply not paying all of the government's bills when they come due. That really is just default by another name," said Yellen. "What's critical is that we maintain our commitment to pay all the government's bills when they come due and if we don't do that, and think that there's some shortcut around it that will avoid economic chaos, we're kidding ourselves because not paying the government's bills will produce economic and financial collapse." Yellen also noted that Fitch Ratings has already said failure to pay all of the government bills would potentially prompt a downgrade of the U.S. government's debt. 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 Prosecutors with the Manhattan District Attorneys office have warned Donald Trump that could soon be indicted for his role in paying hush money to an adult film star during the closing days of the 2016 presidential election, making him the first former president in US history to face criminal charges. According to The New York Times, Mr Trump was recently offered the chance to appear before the New York City grand jury that has been hearing evidence against him. It would be out of the ordinary for prosecutors to offer a potential defendant an opportunity to testify before a grand jury if they were not preparing to seek an indictment. Under New York law, a person who could be indicted have a right to appear before a grand jury before a prosecutor asks the grand jury to vote on charges against that person. It is extremely unlikely that Mr Trump would avail himself of that right, however. The New York-based investigation into Mr Trump has been ongoing since 2018, when Mr Trumps former attorney Michael Cohen faced federal charges related to the same scheme, under which he paid $130,000 to adult film star Stormy Daniels to prevent her from revealing an affair with the then-presidential candidate before voters went to polls in November 2016. Mr Cohen has repeatedly met with the New York County District Attorneys office, which is led by District Attorney Alvin Bragg, and is expected to testify before the grand jury. Other former aides to Mr Trump have given evidence in the probe, including ex-2016 campaign aides Kellyanne Conway and Hope Hicks. Mr Braggs investigation represents the most imminent legal peril faced by Mr Trump, who routinely describes legitimate criminal inquiries into his conduct as politically-motivated witch hunts. He is also under investigation by prosecutors in Fulton County, Georgia, and a special grand jury there recently completed a probe into his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden in that state. Additionally, a federal probe looking into his attempts to overturn the election and his role in the January 6 attack on the Capitol is being supervised by a Department of Justice special counsel, Jack Smith. Mr Smith is also supervising a probe into the twice-impeached ex-presidents unlawful retention of classified documents at his Palm Beach, Florida residence and his alleged obstruction of the governments efforts to recover those documents. Lei Jun, founder and CEO of Chinese tech giant Xiaomi [Photo/VCG] Lei Jun, founder and CEO of Chinese tech giant Xiaomi and also a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), has proposed measures to enhance the nation's strength in robot manufacturing and the auto industry during the ongoing "two sessions." The tech entrepreneur's suggestions include offering support for achieving breakthroughs in core technologies concerning humanoid robots, establishing and improving the management system for vehicle data security, and strengthening the soft power of the nation's auto industry. The humanoid robot system is complex and dynamic, and is closely related to emerging technological fields such as autonomous driving, and their development is set to become an important focus in socioeconomic growth and global strategic sci-tech competition, Lei wrote in his suggestions. According to him, the key to developing humanoid robots lies in improving the function and performance of core components and promoting in-depth integration between robotics and other emerging technologies. Given that China currently lacks systemic industrial development plans in the sector, Lei suggests the nation offers support to sci-tech companies along the industrial chain, improves supporting policies and measures, and guides the industry in formulating regulations on data security management, in a bid to effectively allocate resources and comprehensively advance the high-quality development of the humanoid robot industry. To improve the nation's weak links in the key generic technologies in core components and bridge the gap between technology and application, Lei believes that the nation should support enterprises in taking the lead to establish a national innovation consortium, fostering a long-term innovation mechanism, and strengthening joint research efforts on core technologies. He also recommends establishing an open source innovation platform for all-purpose humanoid robots to reduce technological costs, and developing application scenarios involving smart manufacturing and elderly-care services. According to the latest report on the work of the government, China's spending on research and development increased from 2.1% to over 2.5% of GDP last year, and the contribution of sci-tech progress to economic growth exceeded 60%. Lei believes that the figure speaks volumes about the nation's increasingly strong sci-tech innovation capacity and solid development foundation. A new energy vehicle is seen charging at a service area on the Guangzhou-Shenzhen Expressway in Guangdong province, Oct. 27, 2022. [Photo/Xinhua] In addition, Lei's suggestions touch on the risks brought about by the popularization of intelligent connected cars. While constituting an important factor for the growth of digital economy, information concerning vehicle routes and geographical locations have posed challenges to personal privacy and public interests. Currently, China has released several recommended national standards for data security related to automobiles, and brought better order to online ride-hailing services and auto manufacturers in terms of data collection. To further expand the scope of regulation, Lei advocates introducing rating and classification measures for vehicle data. He also suggests establishing a certification, rating and disclosure system for the data security of intelligent connected vehicles, in order to improve transparency and reliability in the sector. China's auto industry has demonstrated strong growth momentum due to the leapfrog development of the new energy sector. According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, in 2022, new energy vehicle (NEV) sales came in at about 6.89 million units in China, skyrocketing 93.4% year on year. NEV production soared 96.9% from a year earlier to about 7.06 million units. The country's auto exports also saw a 54.4% year-on-year increase to 3.11 million units. To further help transform China into an auto manufacturer of quality, Lei has proposed a series of measures to boost the sector's soft power, such as developing more vehicle-related tourism programs and boosting the circulation of secondhand cars. Getty Images A Black woman who reportedly traveled to Mexico to receive a tummy tuck was abducted with three other people in an attack that experts say highlights the risks of going abroad for more affordable medical care. The U.S. Embassy in Mexico said in a statement that unknown assailants kidnapped the four Americans at gunpoint in an incident in which an innocent Mexican citizen was tragically killed. Two of the four Americans were also killed in the March 3 attack and one was injured, the Justice Department said. The two survivors returned to the U.S., where they received medical treatment. The group had traveled to Matamoros, which is located in Tamaulipas, the Mexican state that the U.S State Department advises Americans to avoid due to crime. I know women who have gone to Matamoros to have their plastic surgery done. Then they go to the beach to recover, and then they wake up dead the next day, Dr. Filiberto Rodriguez, a plastic surgeon in Edinburgh, Texas, just miles from the border with Mexico, told Yahoo News. This is not a vacation place. The drug war is real. There's violence in the streets routinely. National Guard and military vehicles take part in an operation to transfer two of the four U.Ss citizens kidnapped in Mexico's crime-ridden northeast back to Brownsville, Texas, after the other two were found dead, in Matamoros, Mexico, on March 7. (STR/AFP via Getty Images) The number of Americans participating in medical tourism has risen in recent years. In 2007, the American Journal of Medicine found that 750,000 Americans did so. By 2017, that number had hit 1.4 million. Mexico is among the top destinations for medical tourists, according to Patients Without Borders, a consulting company that provides information on the medical tourism industry. Its not uncommon for people to travel abroad for medical procedures, but the practice can be risky. According to the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention, there are several factors and potential complications that patients should consider, including continuity and quality of care, air travel, antibiotic resistance, infectious disease and communication challenges. You have people from San Francisco going all the way down to Tijuana. People all the way from Colorado going into northern Mexico. People from the East Coast flying to the Dominican Republic. And they take a lot of risks, Rodriguez said. Story continues In 2013, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons found that 8% of all plastic surgery was done on Black patients, which equaled more than 1.2 million cosmetic procedures. For Black patients, cosmetic surgery procedures increased from 768,512 in 2015 to 1.7 million in 2020, according to the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. Getty Images While data is scarce on the mortality rates of Americans traveling overseas for cosmetic procedures, there have been a number of news reports in recent years of Black patients, particularly women, dying as a result of complications from the surgeries. We are not having enough conversations about the impact plastic surgery is having on Black women, Dr. Faith Crittenden, a resident physician at Yale-New Haven Childrens Hospital, said on Twitter. Though BBLs arent favorable operations in the US. Thats not stopping our patients from traveling for them, she said, referring to the Brazilian butt-lift procedure. What happened in Mexico is only the tip of the iceberg of this problem with plastic surgery culture and its impact on Black women, Crittenden added. Its time to talk about it. Its time to care. We in medicine are doing a disservice by ignoring this growing problem, by not providing the proper education to our patients and letting them know the dangers and harms. In May 2022, Shacare Terry of Indiana lost her life after traveling to Mexico and the Dominican Republic for weight-loss surgeries. That following December, Sucretta Tolliver, a mother in Chicago, died after a cosmetic surgery in the Dominican Republic. From left: Shacare Terry, Sucretta Tolliver, Keuana Weaver, Markita McIntyre and Alicia Williams. (Facebook) In January 2021, Keuana Weaver, a 38-year-old California woman, died duriing plastic surgery in Tijuana. And in May of that year, 34-year-old Markita McIntyre, a mother of three from Biloxi, Miss., died while getting gastrectomy surgery in Tijuana. Alicia Williams, an Alabama teacher, died in 2019 from complications after cosmetic surgery in the Dominican Republic. Every week we have [a] death [in] the ER from botched surgeries done in Mexico, Rodriguez said. Once you've gone out of the country, you really don't have any recourse whatsoever. And then if you die, you die. In 2021, Renee Donaldson, a Black social media influencer, apologized for promoting Clinichub, a company that arranged cosmetic surgeries with a Turkish company, after British women who received surgeries there experienced serious complications. Getty Images Experts found that the price difference is one of the main reasons Americans participate in medical tourism. If you're looking at cash prices, the apples-to-apples comparison, you're looking at about a 40% to 60% decrease in going internationally for the same procedure, David Vequist, founder of the Center for Medical Tourism research, told Yahoo News. But some doctors question if the price is worth the risk. It's real surgery, cutting into people, dissecting, cutting off skin, sucking up fat; it's surgery, Rodriguez said. As the medical tourism industry continues to grow, Vequist estimates that more than $264 million will be spent on it in Mexico this year alone. I think people need to take cosmetic surgical procedures seriously and realize that their body is not an experiment, Rodriguez said. You only get one body. Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin took a stance against ChatGPT in schools during a CNN townhall on Thursday evening. ChatGPT, the new AI technology that caused panic among educators over concerns about cheating and learning for students, has been banned in numerous districts across the country, including in Virginia. CNNs Jake Tapper asked Youngkin if he believed more schools in Virginia should ban the technology during the event titled The War Over Education. Yeah, I think they should. And I think we should just be clear about what our goal as a nation is which is to make sure that our kids can think and, therefore, if a machine is thinking for them, then were not accomplishing our goal, the Republican governor answered. And yeah, I do think that its something to be very careful of and I do think more districts, more school districts should ban it. The controversy over ChatGPT has grown as some educators have already had to change how their lesson plans work due to the technology, after concerns were raised that students may try to use it to cheat. Others have argued that the technology must be embraced and worked with as AI is the future for students. Youngkin spent more than an hour fielding questions from Tapper, parents, educators and students about education, an issue the governor has carved out as one of his top priorities. He took a variety of questions ranging from critical race theory, his stances on transgender students, school safety and others. Tapper also asked Youngkin about his recent order for the states Department of Education to review the AP African American course that has made headlines after Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) banned the class from Florida. Youngkin says he doesnt have any specific concerns about the course but wanted to ensure the class met the guidelines under his executive order banning inherently divisive concepts from classrooms. The College Board ended up making changes to the AP African American course, removing some of the issues that were raised by DeSantis though the company says the changes were in the works long before the governors public complaints. Story continues I have no reason to believe, given the changes that I know had been made to that course, that it wont be a fine course for Virginia, but I have to let our Department of Education do their job as we asked them to do and I look forward to getting the report back, Youngkin said. Both DeSantis and Youngkin have been rumored to be potential 2024 Republican candidates, but neither has given a clear answer on if they will run or not. Youngkin continued dodging the 2024 question at the town hall, talking about how thankful he was to get the role of governor in Virginia, a state limits governors to one consecutive term at a time. You certainly havent rolled it out? Tapper pressed Youngkin after he dodged saying if he would run for president. Well, I have to say, Im not writing a book, right, the governor responded. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. KYIV (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy led tributes on Friday to Dmytro Kotsiubailo, a renowned commander known as "Da Vinci" who won public affection for committing his entire adult life to fighting Russia and its proxies. The 27-year-old, whose unit is called Da Vinci's Wolves, was killed this week in Bakhmut, the eastern Ukrainian city that has since August experienced the deadliest fighting of the war and remains fiercely contested. Zelenskiy appeared with the visiting Finnish prime minister, Sanna Marin, at the ornate, golden-domed St. Michael's Cathedral in central Kyiv to lay flowers on Kotsiubailo's coffin. "It hurts to lose our heroes. Brave, courageous, strong. Loyal to themselves and to the state," Zelenskiy said on the Telegram app. "I handed over to Oksana Kotsiubailo, Da Vinci's mother, the Cross of Military Merit, which her son was posthumously awarded. We will never forget. And we will always be grateful." Later, hundreds of people gathered in the nearby Independence Square, a symbol of Ukraine's attempts to prise itself from Russia's sphere of influence and move closer to the European Union. Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov and General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, head of Ukraine's armed forces, were among the dignitaries to pay their respects on the square. Kotsiubailo was made a "Hero of Ukraine" by Zelenskiy in 2022, before Russia's full-scale invasion, for his role in fighting pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine since the start of the armed conflict in 2014. Linked with the right-wing movement Right Sector, he is one of several figures from nationalist groups, some of which took part in a 2014 uprising that toppled Ukraine's pro-Russian president, whose reputations have grown in the past year. Critics say the groups' radicalism and history of violence have helped Russian media to portray them as "neo-Nazis" who threaten Russian-speakers living in Ukraine. Story continues President Vladimir Putin has justified his invasion by saying it is the only way to rid Ukraine of "neo-Nazis" backed by Western allies bent on destroying Russia. Kyiv and Western leaders dismiss such claims, and describe Europe's worst conflict since World War Two as a land grab that is destined to fail. In Russia, pro-Kremlin commentators and Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner mercenary group whose fighters have been leading the charge in Bakhmut, celebrated Kotsiubailo's death. (Reporting by Mike Collett-White; Editing by Kevin Liffey) Ukraine is not involved in the explosions on Russian Nord Stream gas pipelines, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on March 10, cited by Suspilne news outlet. "It's funny, to be honest," Zelensky told reporters about recent media reports suggesting Ukraine was linked to the pipelines' sabotage. "We are interested in weapons being supplied, sanctions being introduced, and our victory." According to Ukraine's president, information about Kyiv's alleged connection with Nord Stream attacks is being spread to slow down Western aid to Ukraine. "I think it is very dangerous that some independent media, which I always treated with great respect, take such steps. I think it is wrong, it only plays into the hands of Russia," Zelensky said at a press conference, as quoted by Suspilne. The New York Times reported on March 7, citing unidentified U.S. officials who reviewed new intelligence, that a "pro-Ukrainian group" likely consisting of Russian or/and Ukrainian nationals might have carried out the attack on the Nord Stream gas pipelines. The intelligence suggests that the group included opponents of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, but there is no evidence of any government's involvement in the sabotage. According to a joint report by the German publications ARD, Kontraste, SWR, and Die Zeit published on the same day, German investigators identified a boat allegedly used to sabotage Russian Nord Stream gas pipelines, suggesting it had been rented from a company owned by Ukrainians. The citizenship of the alleged saboteurs is unclear as they likely used forged documents, reads the report. German investigators have not yet managed to find out who had ordered the attack, Die Zeit wrote. The Times reported that Western intelligence had known for months the name of a Ukrainian private sponsor of the explosions, but his name was withheld to protect Ukraine. According to the publication, the suspect is not related to the Ukrainian government. Story continues Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, and Mykhailo Podoliak, an advisor to the presidential administration, also denied Kyiv's involvement in the explosions. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and EU top diplomat Josep Borrell urged to wait for the official results of the investigations being conducted separately by Denmark, Sweden, and Germany. On Sept. 26-28, four leaks were discovered in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines in the Baltic sea that were built to supply natural gas from Russia to Europe. Following the leaks, several Western officials, including U.S. President Joe Biden, called them a "deliberate act of sabotage." Russian submarines were seen on Sept. 24-25 near the areas where the leaks were discovered, CNN reported, citing an unnamed Western intelligence official. Russia denied its responsibility for the explosions. Gas delivery from Russia to Europe via Nord Stream 1, which peaked at 59.2 billion cubic meters in 2021, was cut by Russian state gas company Gazprom on Aug. 31, 2022, on the grounds of required maintenance work. Nord Stream 2, set to be opened this year, was halted when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February. In the evening of 10 March, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy convened the Supreme Commander-in-Chief Staff, where the military leadership discussed, in particular, the strengthening of the Defence Forces in Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, as well as the protection of other oblasts. Source: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his evening video address Quote: "The meeting of the Staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief has just ended. The commander-in-chief, commanders of the task forces reported on the situation on the front line, generally in the defense of the state. East and south, border. Bakhmut and our opportunities to strengthen there. Our responses to terrorist attacks. Protection of Kherson and communities of Dnipropetrovsk region. Chernihiv region, Sumy region. Our ammunition and supply needs." Details: Zelenskyy said that he also talked about strengthening the defence with international partners. The President commended the fighters who defend Ukraine in Donetsk Oblast. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy presented state awards to soldiers from the 24th Assault Battalion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and thanked all Ukrainian forces defending Ukraine on the Bakhmut and Zaporizhzhia fronts. Source: President Zelenskyy in a video address Quote from Zelenskyy: "Today, I would like to pay particular attention to our soldiers who are defending Ukraine in Donetsk region. Every day they give good reasons for gratitude, give good results for Ukraine. Marines of the 35th and 36th separate marine brigades, the 55th separate artillery brigade, paratroopers of the 79th brigade... Thank you, soldiers! And separately, I would like to thank today the soldiers of the Defense Intelligence Shaman unit for Bakhmut, for their strong participation in the defense of the city. Thank you to the soldiers of the 44th separate artillery brigade, who are fighting near Zaporizhzhia. Skillfully destroy enemy positions and equipment. Thank you guys for this!" Details: President Zelenskyy also said that he signed another decree honouring Ukrainian soldiers in particular, the 24th Assault Battalion with state awards. He added that he had the honour of presenting the Cross of Military Merit to the mother of Dmytro "Da Vinci" Kotsiubailo, who was buried earlier today. Quote from Zelenskyy: "And I thank everyone who came to the farewell ceremony for Da Vinci. To everyone who would like to come, but is currently at the front, in the army, in the hospital. It is very important. It is important that Ukraine honors its heroes and demonstrates to the world what kind of people give their lives for the freedom of our people and the whole of Europe. I'm grateful to everyone. Remember Dmytro today, please remember all those who were taken from us by this war since February 24, since 2014. Eternal memory to the heroes!" Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! A man was sentenced Monday in Lynchburg Circuit Court to 30 years in prison on a probation violation, city prosecutors announced Thursday. Colbie Robertson, 29, was sentenced based on an April 19, 2013 conviction in which he was sentenced to four years and one month in prison with another 40 years and 11 months suspended on a charge of felony rape of a child, according to a news release from the office of Lynchburg Commonwealths Attorney Bethany Harrison. A suspended sentence means the defendant doesnt spend that time behind bars, but that can change if the defendant commits other crimes or violates probation. After his 2013 conviction, Robertson was placed on probation and prohibited from having contact with minors. On Oct. 3, 2022, Robertson was found guilty of probation violation on allegations that included failure to comply with sex offender treatment, failure to complete a polygraph examination, acquiring a new felony charge of embezzlement, accessing the internet, communicating with minors over social media, and being a suspect in a kidnapping investigation from West Virginia involving a 13 year-old female, according to the news release. The news release said Robertson admitted he communicated with the girl online, drove to West Virginia to meet her while claiming he was 18, and tried to find a motel room in West Virginia before driving back to Virginia to spend the night alone with her. The girl made numerous sexual assault complaints against Robertson; he claimed he only touched her as part of putting his arms around her to settle in to sleep, the news release states. He has related charges pending in West Virginia. The case was prosecuted by Assistant Commonwealths Attorney Nathan Freier and Robertsons attorney was Joseph Sanzone. The Virginia Department of Corrections Probation and Parole, the Virginia State Police, and the West Virginia State Police investigated, according to the news release. In honor of Womens History Month, the Council Bluffs Public Library is hosting CultureALL Ambassador Anastasia Addington on March 16, where she will share about the culture and traditions of Ukraine. Addington is originally from Kiev, Ukraine, and when she was 2-years-old, her family migrated to Russia. Both cultures are very dear to her heart, a press release from the library said. She is passionate about learning languages and cultures, and has enjoyed immersing herself in Iowas multicultural communities, the release said. CultureALL is a nonprofit based in Iowa that helps those in the state learn about world cultures through innovative programs that allow people to participate in cultural traditions. (The nonprofit) believes that sharing the cultural richness of our community with others will elevate our community and the quality of life for all, the release said. Addington will speak at 6:30 p.m. at the Council Bluffs Library, 400 Willow Ave., in meeting room B. The presentation is free and open to the public. For more information visit bit.ly/3HF2Aq5 or call 712-323-7553 ext. 5427. Lighthouse Bible Church Lighthouse Bible Church, 2136 Fifth Ave., invites the community to participate in our live worship service at 10:30 a.m. on Sundays. The Sunday sermon is prerecorded and can be viewed on our website, lighthousemc.com. Dress is casual, and coffee and refreshments are provided. Upcoming events: Prayer and Study, 7 p.m. Wednesdays. Springfest 23 will be on Saturday, March 18 from noon to 2 p.m. The event will include food, games, a Gospel Magic Show and fun! The community is invited. Mt. Hope United Methodist Mt. Hope United Methodist Church, 290th and Highway 6, McClelland, would like to invite all to join us on Sunday mornings for our worship service at 9:30 a.m. Children are welcome for the regular worship service and childrens sermon during the worship service. You do not have to be a member to participate in our church activities. Everyone is welcome. Gethsemane Presbyterian Church Gethsemane Presbyterian Church, 224 Wallace Ave., invites you to worship with us. The service runs from 9 to 10 a.m. on Sundays. The Rev. Nancy Ross-Hullinger will deliver the message, Worship. Children are invited to participate in Sunday school. Please join us for refreshments following the service. Adult Bible study meets on Mondays and Thursdays from 9 to 10 a.m. Hot Diggity Dog Bingo will be held on March 23, with dinner at 6 p.m. and bingo starting at 6:30. For $10 per person, you get a hot dog, chips and dessert plus 20 games of bingo. Our church is collecting Iowa 5 cent-refund cans/bottles for one of our mission projects. Your donations help! Bags can be dropped off anytime at our front door. We are also collecting diapers and wipes for children. These can also be left in bags by the front door. Our Food Pantry is open on Mondays and Thursdays until 10:30 a.m. Donations are welcome. For more information, contact the church office at 712-366-2513 or visit us on Facebook at gethsemanepresbyterianchurch.org. Timothy Lutheran Church Timothy Lutheran Church, 3112 W. Broadway, offers services at 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. on Sundays. The church alternates between traditional services and praise services each week. Bible study and Sunday school at 9:15 a.m. If a month has a fifth Sunday, the church hosts a combined service at 9 a.m. Food and fellowship after service on fifth Sundays and there is no Bible study or Sunday school on those days. The church is handicap accessible. For more information, visit the church website at timothylutheran.net. St. Pauls Evangelical Country Church St. Pauls Evangelical Country Church rings the church bell each Sunday at 10:30 a.m. to welcome people to worship at 11055 Dumfries Ave. There are directional signs from Wabash Avenue and Pioneer Trail leading to the church. We are a growing, caring and friendly Bible-teaching church led by Pastor Jason Kinney. This Sundays message is titled I Swear, with the Bible reference James 5:12. We have childrens church during our regular service. Greeters are Kathy Oltmans and Julie Stueve. Each week we enjoy donuts and coffee in the Fellowship Hall after worship. Sunday school for all ages including adults starts at 9:15. The ladies Bible study meets Wednesdays at 1 p.m. Youth group meets at 7 p.m. on Wednesdays. The Young Adult Discipleship Group meets Thursday at 7 p.m. Movie Night will be held each Sunday at 6 p.m. for the next four weeks. We will be watching the Jesus of Nazareth movie. Plans are being made for the annual chili supper Saturday, March 25 from 4 to 7 p.m. This is a free-will offering event. Visit our website at stpaulsecc.org for more information. We are handicapped accessible. Underwood Lutheran Church On Sunday, Underwood Lutheran Church, 10 Third Ave., will hold Sunday activities. Education begins at 9 a.m. In-person worship begins at 10:15 a.m. The online video will be available later in the day. Compass Christian Church Compass Christian Church welcomes you to worship with us Sundays at 10:30 a.m. We are located at 2007 S. Seventh St., just west of the South Expressway. The church is handicap accessible. During worship, a cry room is available, along with childcare for children ages 1-4. Compass Kids grades K-5 meet downstairs for special Bible lessons during the sermon. You may also worship with us at compasscb.online.church or on YouTube. Monday morning Bible study meets at 10 a.m. weekly. Separate mens and womens Bible study groups meet on Mondays at 7 p.m. The Bridge Young Adults (ages 18-30) meet on the first and third Tuesday of each month. The next meeting is March 21. On Wednesdays, children in grades K-5 and students in grades 6-12 meet at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting is held at 6:30 p.m. On Sunday, March 26 during the worship service, students from Central Christian College of the Bible will lead worship and present about their mission trips to Mexico and El Salvador. For questions or more information, visit our Facebook page, Compass Christian Church CB, our website compasscb.org or call the church office at 712-366-9112. Fifth Avenue United Methodist Church Fifth Avenue United Methodist Church, 1800 Fifth Ave., invites the public to participate in our live worship service at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday mornings. The Sunday worship service will be recorded live and can be viewed on our Facebook page: Fifth Avenue UMC, Council Bluffs. Face masks are optional. The church office can be reached at 712-323-7374 or through our email at fifthaveumchurch@gmail.com. Broadway United Methodist Church Broadway United Methodist, First Street and Broadway, is seeking, growing and serving with unconditional love and acceptance. On Sundays, we hold a traditional service at 8:30 a.m. and a contemporary service at 10:30. Coffee and donuts will be served in the DeLong Lounge between services. Our services are held in person and livestreamed to our Facebook page or broadwayunitedmethodist.com/live. Masks are optional. Student Life Breakthrough will be held Sunday at 6 p.m. On Mondays, Philips Cupboard, a nonfood pantry, is open noon to 2 p.m. Bibles at Barleys is at 7:30 p.m. on Monday. The womens book study meets at 5 p.m. on Wednesdays. The praise band practices at 5:30. A community meal is held at 6 p.m. A Foundations Adults Group meets Wednesday at 6:30 in the DeLong Lounge while BUMC Kids and Student Life meet. The bell choir practices at 6:30, followed by the choir at 7:30. The Mens Brown Bag Bible Study will be held Thursday at noon. On Friday, the church office is closed but Philips Cupboard is open noon to 2 p.m. Upcoming events: Volunteers are needed to help pack meals for area families for Kids Against Hunger March 15 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Game Night 2.0 will be Friday, March 31 from 7-9 in the Fellowship Hall. For more information, visit our website at broadwayunitedmethodist.com or call the office at 712-322-7741 (closed Fridays). Bethany Presbyterian Church Bethany Presbyterian Church, 1900 S. Seventh St., will have worship at 11 a.m. Lenten Bible Study will be Monday, March 13 at 11 a.m. We are a handicap accessible facility. Community of Christ Church Community of Christ Church, 140 W. Kanesville Blvd., invites people to attend Sunday worship at 10:15 a.m. Our theme this week is Embody Christs Peace. Scripture readings will be Romans 5:1-11; Exodus 17:1-7; Psalm 95; and John 4:5-42. Sunday school starts at 9:15 a.m. We also have prayer service Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. Please call our office at 712-323-4498 for any questions. There are virtual ministries out on our World Church Website under Ongoing Ministries at https://www.cofchrist.org. Epworth United Methodist Church Are you searching to know more about God and his divine plan for you? Come to Epworth United Methodist Church, 2447 Ave. B. Join us for worship Sundays at 9:30 a.m. There is room for the little ones in the family to learn about God according to their ages. The people are friendly, worship is meaningful and the building is handicap accessible. We are hosting Lenten Luncheons every Wednesday through March 29 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and everyone is welcome. We also invite you to our Bible study on Thursdays at 10 a.m. We are currently going through the book of Proverbs. Holy Week is almost here, and wed love to have you join us for Palm Sunday on April 2 at 9:30 a.m., Good Friday on April 7 at 6 p.m. and Resurrection Sunday on April 9 at 9:30 a.m. Join us in seeking Gods presence and answers. We are in prayer for the healing of our community and a nation under God. If you want us to pray for you personally, let us know. Office hours are 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Phone: 712-323-3124. You can find us on Facebook at Friends of Epworth UMC/Facebook. Faith Lutheran Church Faith Lutheran Church (LCMS), 2100 S. 11th St., invites you to join us for traditional worship with Holy Communion at our 9 a.m. Sunday service. The Operation Barnabas donation box will be out to accept donations toward helping military service people and their families. On Tuesday, there is a 9:30 a.m. adult Bible study in the downstairs fellowship hall that is open to everyone. Please use the rear door. The Elders will meet Tuesday at 2:30. Wednesday there is Praise team practice at 5:30 p.m., confirmation at 5:45 p.m., and Lenten worship service at 7. Worship services are available on Faiths Facebook page and on YouTube by searching for Ron Rosenkaimer. For more information, contact the church office at 323-6445. New Horizon Presbyterian Church New Horizon Presbyterian will hold worship services at 8, 9 and 11 a.m. Youth and adult Sunday school will be at 10. There will be an American Red Cross blood drive on March 13 from 12-5 p.m. On Wednesdays, the Praise Band meets from 5:45 to 6:30 p.m., the Chancel Bell Choir from 6:30 to 7:30 and the Chancel Choir from 7:30 to 8:30. Building and Grounds will meet March 8 at 4:30 p.m., Administration at 5:30. Stephens will be March 9 at 10:15 a.m., Grief Group at 1 p.m. and Worship Committee at 6:30. The session meeting has been rescheduled for March 23. If you are ill, please worship from home by watching our Facebook page, facebook.com/NewHorizonPC. Westminster Presbyterian Church Westminster Presbyterian Church, 517 S. 32nd St., invites you to worship with us on Sunday, March 12 at 10:30 a.m. as we celebrate the third Sunday in Lent. The Rev. Portia Iverson will base her sermon, Close Encounters, on Psalm 95:1-11 A Call to Worship and Obedience and John 4:5-42 Jesus and the Woman of Samaria. After worship, coffee time will be held in the fellowship hall downstairs. Donations for Church World Service One Great Hour of Sharing will be received during March. We are handicapped accessible through the northeast door of the church. Corpus Christi Catholic Parish The month of March is dedicated to St. Joseph. Our Weekend Mass in English is celebrated on Saturday at 4 p.m. and on Sunday at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. at Corpus Christi Queen of Apostles, 3304 Fourth Ave., Council Bluffs; and at 9:30 a.m. at Corpus Christi Our Lady of Carter Lake, 3501 North Ninth St., Carter Lake. Our Sunday Spanish Mass is at noon (Council Bluffs). Daily Mass is celebrated as follows: In English on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 8 a.m. (Council Bluffs) and in Spanish on Monday and Thursday at 6 p.m. (Council Bluffs). Eucharistic Adoration is held every Monday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. at Corpus Christi Queen of Apostles. Our Friday Lenten Fish Dinners will be served on March 10, 17, 24 and 31 from 4:30 to 7 p.m. in the Great Hall at Corpus Christi Queen of Apostles. Fried pollock, fish tacos, cheese pizza, french fries, baked beans, macaroni and cheese, coleslaw, bread and butter, dessert, water and lemonade will be offered. Adults, $14, and $7 for children age 10 and younger. Beer, wine and soda are available for purchase. Carry-out dinners are available by calling 712-323-0014. Join us for the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for the Third Sunday of Lent on March 11-12. The Liturgy of the Word: Exodus 17:3-7; Psalms 95:1-2, 6-9; Romans 5:1-2, 5-8; and John 4:5-42. Stations of the Cross will be prayed during Lent as follows: Mondays at 6 p.m. at Corpus Christi Our Lady of Carter Lake, followed by a soup supper (March 13, 20 and 27; and April 3); Thursdays at 7 p.m. at Corpus Christi Church (March 16, 23 and 30); and Fridays at 7 p.m. (in Spanish) at Corpus Christi Church (March 10, 17, 24 and 31). Another opportunity for the Sacrament of Reconciliation is Thursday, March 30 from 9 a.m. to noon and from 3 to 8 p.m. at Corpus Christi Church and Sunday, March 26 at Corpus Christi-Our Lady of Carter Lake. For more information, call the parish office at 712-323-2916 or 712-323-4716 (Spanish) or visit our parish website at www.corpuschristiparishiowa.org. Emanuel Lutheran Church Emanuel Lutheran Church, 2444 N. Broadway, welcomes everyone to come as you are and be who you are! You are invited to join us each Sunday for worship and Sunday school at 9:30 a.m., followed by coffee hour. Other events this week include Tai Chi Monday at 10 a.m. in the youth center, a free Lenten dinner Wednesday at 6 p.m. followed by worship using Holden Evening Prayer at 7. Bible study Thursday at 9:30 a.m. in the conference room, and Tai Chi Thursday at 10 a.m. in the youth center. Follow us on YouTube, Facebook or Twitter to stay up to date on events and view livestreamed services. Visit us online at emanuelcb.org. Saint John Lutheran Church Saint John Lutheran Church, 633 Willow Ave., holds worship at 5:30 p.m. on Saturdays and 8:30 and 11 a.m. on Sundays. Worship is also available to watch on YouTube. Our website is www.SaintJohnELCA.org, and our Facebook page is Saint John Lutheran Church Council Bluffs IA. Wednesday morning Bible study meets at 9 a.m., and Wednesday evening Bible study meets at 6:30 p.m. The bell choir practices at 6:30 p.m. Wednesdays, and the Chancel Choir starts practice at 7:30 p.m. Confirmation students and high school youth also meet Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. Please call the church office with any questions, 712-323-7173. Broadway Christian Church The congregation invites you to join us for Sunday worship at 9 a.m. at Broadway Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), 2658 Ave. A. Masks are optional. A hearing loop is installed for those who need it. This Sunday, the Rev. Thomas Williamson will provide the message. We celebrate communion weekly, and it is open to all. Guests are invited to join us in the fellowship hall after worship for coffee and donuts. Pieceful Hearts Quilters meet the second Tuesday of the month at 9:30 a.m. Bible Study meets each Wednesday at 10 a.m. Newcomers are always welcome at both. Alcoholics Anonymous meets Mondays and Fridays at 7:30 p.m. The church is ADA-accessible. To submit prayer requests or for more information, call the church office at 712-323-7741 or email us at office@bcccb.org. Visit us online at www.bcccb.org or on Facebook. First Congregational UCC Church Come and join us for worship at 10:30 a.m. Sunday at First Congregational Church (United Church of Christ), located at 611 First Ave. near Bayliss Park. Coffee and light snacks are provided. Our service is also available via Zoom. Please email the church for information on how to join the Zoom meeting: cbfirstcong@gmail.com. First Congregational hosts a weekly NAR-ANON meeting Mondays at 7 p.m. (ring the doorbell by the entrance on the Bayliss Park side). We also host a free Community Dinner the last Friday of each month from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Everyone is always welcome at First Congregational to enjoy worship, a meal and fellowship. See you soon! Our Saviors Lutheran Church Our Saviors Lutheran Church, 600 Bluff St., can be reached at 712-322-6655. Everyone is welcome. The church is handicapped accessible. Worship services are Saturday evening at 5:30 p.m. and Sunday morning at 10:30 a.m. Sunday services are livestreamed on Facebook. Adult Sunday school is at 9:15 a.m. and Youth Sunday school is at 9:30 a.m. For more information, see our Facebook page under Our Saviors Lutheran Church of Council Bluffs or the website at oursaviorscb.org. Other activities this week include Al-Anon meetings Monday and Wednesday at 6 p.m. in the Education Building. A Lenten meal will be held Wednesday at 6:15 p.m., followed by a Lenten service at 7. Thursday morning Bible Study will meet from 9:30 to 11 a.m., and Prayer Team will meet at 11:15 a.m. On Thursday evenings, the bell choir practices at 6:30 p.m. and choir at 7:30. There will also be a Bible Study at 7:30 p.m. Food Pantry and Pet Food Pantry are open by appointment Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. To schedule an appointment, please call the Food Pantry directly at 712-522-3522 on the day it is open. St. Johns United Church of Christ St. Johns United Church of Christ, 400 Cloverdale Drive, welcomes everyone to attend Sunday service at 10:15 a.m. We invite you to hear our new minister, Pastor Don Morgan, deliver the Lenten message, GPS for the Journey. Each Wednesday from March 22 through April 5, we will host a Lenten soup supper and Bible study from 6 to 7 p.m. entitled, Seven Words of the Cross. For information on how to join us by Zoom, email the church at stjohnsucccb@gmail.com. You can also follow us on Facebook at stjohnsucc-council bluffs or call 712-322-2174 for additional information. St. Pauls Episcopal Church St. Pauls Episcopal Church is located at 22 Dillman Drive in Council Buffs. Our services are held each Sunday morning beginning at 11 a.m., and we invite visitors to attend and share with us these very enjoyable and enlightening services. For additional information, please contact the church at 712-323-7188. The resumption of direct flights across the Taiwan Strait will benefit cross-Strait personnel exchanges and communication, a Chinese mainland spokesperson said Thursday. Ma Xiaoguang, a spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, made the remarks in response to a press inquiry on an announcement by related authorities in Taiwan, including the mainland affairs authority, on Thursday of a plan to resume direct flights to part of the mainland destinations from Friday. The announcement suits the demand for fully restoring direct cross-Strait passenger flights, Ma said, adding that the needs for peace, development, communication, and cooperation are common aspirations of the compatriots on both sides of the Strait. He called on the Taiwan side to facilitate the normalization of direct cross-Strait flights and ferry routes, and the travel and other direct exchanges between Fujian's coastal areas and Kinmen and Matsu. 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. The European Union has launched an initial mobilization of 50m in Democratic Republic of Congos (DRC) critical minerals sector and infrastructure projects on the sidelines of the first-ever Kinshasa Economic Forum. The funding was announced at the inaugural Kinshasa Economic Forum, which brought together representatives from the EU, the DRC and France French President Emmanuel Macron attended the forum alongside the European Commissioners for internal market and international partnerships Thierry Breton and Jutta Urpilainen, and more than 50 French company CEOs. The investment in the DRCs geological mapping, urban infrastructure, and digital education projects is part of the massive $300bn EUs Global Gateway initiative, which aims to counterbalance Chinas Belt and Road Initiative. Despite having an estimated 23 trillion worth of raw materials reserves, including almost 50% of the worlds largest cobalt reserves, the DRC principally exports raw minerals. China has been the largest beneficiary, having imported 84% of the DRCs cobalt exports in 2019. EUs partnerships with DRC must be about more than just mining, EU Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutti Urpilainen, stressed, calling for a win-win partnership that builds the entire value chain, promoting processing, refining, and manufacturing in this large central African country. But with the DRC scarred by a bloody conflict in its eastern regions and involved in a protracted diplomatic crisis with neighboring country Rwanda, Urpilainen also stressed that peace and stability are preconditions for sustainable development. DRCs economy is nonetheless on an upward trajectory, with 6.1% GDP growth in 2022, and is projected to achieve 6.7% this year, according to IMFs latest figures. The British Foreign ministry announced Thursday the second edition of the UK-Africa investment summit will be held in London in April 2024 as the European country seeks to increase trade with the African continent. The UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will host the major UK-Africa conference on 23-24 April 2024, as London tries to flesh out its post-Brexit relationship with allies beyond Europe. The ministry said in a statement that 24 African countries are expected at the summit to gather Heads of State and government and companies CEOs. UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly says: Affirming the UKs position as a leading investor in Africa, this second African Investment Summit in London will build on our successes since 2020, which have combined the strengths, innovations and expertise of the UK and our partners across Africa to support reliable, sustainable and long-term investment. The UK-Africa Investment Summit is part of a busy calendar of continental-focused meetings. The US, China, Russia, Turkey, Germany, Japan, and France have all either held Africa conferences in the last year or are planning one in 2023. The UK-Africa summit announcement comes as the UK attempts to construct its post-Brexit economic diplomacy. The Developing Countries Trading Scheme that will cut tariffs on 99% of African goods that enter the UK comes into force this year. UK policymakers hope this scheme will help fight shortages in things like fresh agricultural produce and that it will also leverage financial expertise to bring new custom to the City of London. Europe is still a really important trading partner, Nigel Huddleston, UK Minister of State at the Department for Business and Trade tells The Africa Report. But there is literally a whole world out there, [to] which we have not necessarily given the time and attention that we should have over the previous decades. He insists that the conference is for two-way trade, rather than just a beauty pageant of African investment opportunities for UK companies. As Africa becomes the powerhouse that it inevitably will [be], and becomes wealthier, there will be more African investors looking for opportunities to invest around the world, says Huddleston. The summit will bring together heads of state and government from 24 African countries and British and African business leaders. It will strengthen partnerships between the UK and Africa to create jobs and growth, supporting British and African talent in sectors such as finance and technology, and encouraging women entrepreneurs, the statement said. This summit will allow us to harness the potential of our relationship with Africa and develop our economies together, making them stronger, more resilient and more innovative, UK Premier Rishi Sunak was quoted in the statement as saying. The 24 countries to attend the April 2024 meeting are: Algeria; Angola; Cameroon; Cote dIvoire; Democratic Republic of Congo; Egypt; Ethiopia; Ghana; Kenya; Malawi; Mauritania; Mauritius; Morocco; Mozambique; Namibia; Nigeria; Rwanda; Senegal; Sierra Leone; South Africa; Tanzania; Tunisia; Uganda; and Zambia Tunisian President Kais Saied announced the dissolution of municipal councils, months before the municipal elections, further dismantling the systems of government developed after the 2011 revolution that brought democracy. We will discuss a decree to dissolve municipalities and replace them by special councils, he said in a video of a cabinet meeting that was posted online. The municipal councils will be replaced by special councils to be made up of civil servants and placed under the supervision of the governor of each region. The new councils will also be elected, but under new rules that he will draft, he said. He has previously called the existing councils states within a state and said they were not neutral. The new councils will be elected by July under new voting rules. The mandates of the 350 mayors and municipal councilors currently in place are due to expire at the end of April, and elections were theoretically scheduled to follow. In the 2018 local elections, a third of municipal councils came under the control of Ennahda, an Islamist party that has been the most vocal critic of Saied. Elected municipal councils were introduced after the 2014 constitution called for decentralization a constitution that Saied has replaced with one he wrote himself and passed last year in a referendum with low turnout. The President also called for the first session of the new legislature to be held on March 13 following December 17, 2022 parliament elections. The new house is made of 154 lawmakers following an unpopular revision of the Constitution. The country held on December 17 snap legislatives after President Saied froze and dissolved the parliament as he seized all major powers on July 25, 2021. The elections were boycotted by the opposition and recorded the lowest turnout in the history of the North African country. The independent electoral body put the turnout at 11 per cent. The election of the Speaker of the Parliament and the two vice-presidents will be done by a secret vote. The candidate for the presidency of the Parliament must obtain the absolute majority of votes, according to Article 7 of the presidential decree. Tunisia has been embroiled in what critics of Saied call dictatorship. Several high-profile critics of the President, have been arrested. They include journalists, politicians, and members of the countrys largest political party, Ennahdha. Morocco has denounced South Africas complicity with Algeria and the polisario, its unconditional appropriation of Algerias geopolitical agenda, and its blind ideological support to the armed separatist group. This came in two letters addressed by Moroccos permanent representative to the United Nations, Omar Hilale, to the UN Secretary General and to members of the Security Council, in response to a letter circulated by South Africas Permanent Mission to the UN on the Moroccan Sahara. Morocco deeply regrets that South Africa lends itself, once again, to the role of the postman of an armed separatist group, whose connections with terrorism in the Sahel are proven, said Hilale in the two letters, recalling that the infamous terrorist adnan abu walid sahrawi, was member of the polisario before becoming head of the terrorist group Islamic State in the Greater Sahara. This individual used to take refuge in the Tindouf camps before he was eliminated, on September 15, 2021. Hilale added that the associate of abu walid sahrawi, the notorious terrorist lakhal sidi salama, aka abdelhakim sahraoui, was also a member of the polisario and was eliminated on May 23, 2021. In the same context, the diplomat said that the German newspaper Die Welt published on January 27, 2023, the results of an investigation based on convergent reports of several European intelligence services, confirming, with supporting evidence, that the polisario has made of the Tindouf camps a hub for financing terrorism in the Sahel, through the hawala which allows illicit and anonymous transfer of funds between Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, including to terrorist groups and actors involved in regional destabilization. Hilale also pointed out that Morocco still regrets that the Permanent Mission of South Africa serves as a messenger of a fictitious entity not recognized by the UN, and the alleged results of a farce called 16th congress of the polisario, pointing out that Algeria has paid huge sums to bring in private jets, to this so-called congress, mercenaries of speech from Europe and elsewhere, while women and children in the camps of Tindouf suffer from malnutrition, anaemia, diphtheria and lack of school materials. To speak of decisions of this so-called congress is an insult to the intelligence of the UN Secretary General and members of the Security Council, because they are decisions, prepared in advance by the host country, Algeria, and then imposed on participants in this masquerade, as was the parody election of the so-called Brahim Ghali, the letters pointed out. The Moroccan diplomat stressed that the Kingdom greatly regrets that South Africa, which participates in the same capacity as Morocco in several peacekeeping operations, particularly in Africa, missed the opportunity to avoid becoming an accomplice by transmitting an anti-UN slur, denigrating its actions and attacking the very efforts of the Security Council on the Moroccan Sahara. South Africa should have asked itself why Algeria, the main party to this regional dispute, avoids each time to transmit the letters of its polisario, and entrusts the vile task to another country, in this case South Africa, he said, adding that Algeria, which created this armed separatist group, shelters it on its territory, arms it, finances it and makes it the priority agenda of its diplomacy, should have the political courage to fully assume its acts, and this by circulating, through its own Permanent Mission, the propagandist manifestos of its creation. The outsourcing by Algeria of its diplomatic transmission service is morally unscrupulous and politically disrespectful of the United Nations. Morocco also regrets that the Permanent Mission of South Africa agrees to circulate to the members of the Security Council a letter signed by the so-called leader of the separatist group, Brahim Ghali, who is prosecuted in Europe for rape and torture, the ambassador said, adding that the transmission of this so-called letter, on the eve of the 67th session of the Commission on the Status of Women and the International Womens Day, is an affront to the victims of the so-called Brahim Ghali, who are still suffering the physical, psychological and societal after-effects of his crimes. The Kingdom of Morocco strongly regrets that South Africa distributes a letter full of lies about the human rights situation in the Moroccan Sahara, while the Security Council welcomes, in its successive resolutions, the role of the two regional commissions of the National Human Rights Council in Laayoune and Dakhla, as well as Moroccos cooperation with the UN human rights mechanisms, Hilale stated further. He also pointed out that the allegations peddled by this letter are both fallacious and contradictory: the participation in this so-called congress of some separatist elements from the Saharan provinces of Morocco are clear proof of the lies of the polisario, and the irrefutable confirmation of the full enjoyment by these individuals of their freedom of movement and expression, thanks to the democracy and rule of law that prevail in the Moroccan Sahara. This is unfortunately not the case of the populations detained in the open-air prison of the Tindouf camps. Kingdom also regrets that South Africa, which aspires to assume an important role in the maintenance of international peace and security, transmits to the members of the Security Council a letter that promotes war, calls for armed violence and terrorist acts, falsely justifies the denunciation of the ceasefire, and violates the Security Council resolutions, the Moroccan diplomat said, noting that by playing the role of the postman, South Africa participates in the maintenance of the polisario and its mentor, Algeria, in their Tindoufian mirage of the Settlement Plan and the referendum, theories that have definitively disappeared from the lexicon of the resolutions of the Security Council, the General Assembly and the Secretary General of the UN, for over two decades. Morocco would like to remind South Africa that its unconditional appropriation of Algerias geopolitical agenda and its blind ideological support for the armed separatist polisario will not help in any way to resolve this regional dispute, nor will it put an end to the decennial suffering of the detained populations of the Tindouf camps, Hilale pointed out. He also stressed that the Security Council has, for over two decades, made the final choice of the political solution, based on pragmatism, realism, compromise and mutual acceptance. It is this choice that a large number of countries have followed by recognizing the Moroccanness of the Sahara for some, and expressing strong and frank support for the Moroccan autonomy initiative for many others, and the opening of Consulates in the Moroccan cities of Laayoune and Dakhla for several. South Africa would benefit from inviting Algeria and its polisario to comply with international legality by implementing Security Council Resolution 2654 and this, by participating in good faith in the roundtable process to end this regional dispute, he said. Hilale stressed further that South Africa can make history by joining the momentum for peace, led by the Security Council, and by a hundred countries around the world, stating that this large majority of countries support the exclusive efforts of the UN Secretary-General, his Personal Envoy and the Security Council, and back the autonomy Initiative as the one and only solution to this regional dispute. One could spend substantial time at Fort Robinson State Park and barely appreciate the depth of its importance in Nebraska history, an Omaha lawmaker told a legislative committee Thursday. State Sen. Justin Wayne included the 149-year-old former U.S. Army post near Crawford among three sites or historical topics on which he wants the state to spend a combined $35 million to help preserve or develop more fully. He presented Legislative Bill 474 to the Legislatures Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee, whose chairman, Gordon Sen. Tom Brewer, is one of Waynes two co-sponsors. LB 474, which Wayne admitted needs refinement before it can be passed, also calls for the state to buy and repair the flood-damaged Mayhew Cabin and museum at Nebraska City and help develop a Standing Bear and Ponca Cultural Center on historical Ponca Tribe of Nebraska land near Niobrara. Mayhew Cabin, also known somewhat incorrectly as John Browns Cave, is Nebraskas lone surviving outpost on the westernmost leg of the pre-Civil War Underground Railroad that ferried escaped Black slaves to freedom. Standing Bear, a 19th-century Ponca leader, won the right to return to Nebraska from Oklahoma in a famous 1879 federal trial at which U.S. District Judge Elmer Dundy ruled Native Americans are persons within the meaning of the law. Wayne, one of the Legislatures two Black members, said the three sites in different corners of Nebraska are vital to understanding the history of Nebraska and two of its historic minority groups. LB 474 focuses on some really great intersections between rural history, Nebraska history, African American history and Native community history and overall our countrys history, he told the committee. Observers of Thursdays hearing could readily see the partnership behind LB 474 between Wayne and Brewer, a registered Oglala Sioux Tribe member. Gering Sen. Brian Hardin is the bills other co-sponsor. Wayne said he first visited Fort Robinson after joining Brewer for a western Nebraska turkey hunt. Thats when he first began to perceive the broad historical vistas that unfolded there after its 1874 founding. It was initially small, a third-rate outpost, but grew into one of the busiest, bustling fortresses in America, he said. An active Army post until 1947, Fort Robinson was laid out near the Oglala Lakotas Red Cloud Agency, later moved to the Pine Ridge Reservation. It witnessed the 1877 shooting death of Lakota legend Crazy Horse and the 1879 Cheyenne Outbreak of Dull Knifes Northern Cheyenne band trying to return from forced exile in Oklahoma to ancestral lands in Montana. African Americans were prominent in the forts late 1800s history as members of the all-Black 9th U.S. Cavalry, one of two such Buffalo Soldier regiments. In the 20th century, Wayne said, Fort Robinson developed into one of the worlds premier equine centers as a U.S. cavalry remount depot. It hosted a K-9 dog-training school and was a close neighbor to a German POW camp during World War II. Its postwar passage into the hands of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and then the state has preserved much of the forts history. But its tourist-related amenities are aging and its historical messages scattered, Wayne said. The structures need to be preserved, (and) the facilities are inadequate, he said. Fort Robinson needs new lodging, an updated RV park and just modern amenities. In the quarter-century-long transition from Army property to state ownership, Wayne said, History Nebraska, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and the University of Nebraska all ended up owning portions of the park. History Nebraska manages many of Fort Robinsons historical features, while Game and Parks provides lodging and park activities. NU operates the Trailside Museum, which focuses on the northern Panhandles natural history and prehistoric archaeological significance. LB 474 would provide help to Fort Robinson and the Standing Bear project as matching funds to private money raised for improving the fort or establishing the Niobrara cultural center. Jill Dolberg, History Nebraskas interim director, officially testified in a neutral capacity but said the formerly named Nebraska State Historical Society is eager to discuss ideas for improving Fort Robinsons amenities and coordinating its historical stories. We dont often see bills that are so enthusiastic about history, she said. History Nebraska owns and manages about a dozen Fort Robinson buildings, she said. But its interpretative displays are old and tired, admittedly, and it doesnt tell the full story of the site. Dolberg was the only speaker on Fort Robinson at Thursdays hearing, which drew testimony from seven supporters of saving the Mayhew Cabin or developing what would be Nebraskas first museum devoted to Standing Bear. Slaves escaping from violence-torn Bleeding Kansas in the mid-1850s would hide in tunnels below the cabin, built by Allen and Barbara Mayhew in 1854. They were guided toward Iowa by Barbaras brother John Henri Kagi, an associate of famed abolitionist John Brown who died during the latters 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry in present-day West Virginia. A later owner moved the cabin slightly north due to road construction in 1937, crafting new tunnels below. The cabin was listed on the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom in 2003 and the National Register of Historic Places in 2010. But floods in 2013 and 2019 ruined the tunnel exit and damaged a neighboring museum, triggering still-festering legal disputes between Nebraska City and the nonprofit Mayhew Cabin Foundation over responsibility for the damage. The foundation wasnt represented at Thursdays hearing, but Mayor Bryan Bequette and former City Attorney Drew Graham said theyd welcome the states assistance in enabling repairs to the cabin and museum. Several Ponca Tribe of Nebraska leaders urged Brewers committee to help advance a Standing Bear museum, as did Judi gaiashkibos, a member of the tribe and executive director of the Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs. Nebraska donated a Standing Bear sculpture for U.S. Capitol display in 2019, and replicas stand on Lincolns Centennial Mall and in Niobrara. But the only Standing Bear museum in existence is located in Ponca City, Oklahoma. From the Yutu-2 lunar rover roaming on the "dark side" of the moon to the Fendouzhe submersible exploring the 10,000-meter deep ocean, and from salt-tolerant rice growing in tidal flats near the sea to Chinese unmanned equipment guided by the Beidou Navigation Satellite System to help African farmers boost crop yields ... the saga of China's sci-tech innovation continues to unfold. During the ongoing "two sessions," Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasized the imperative to accelerate the implementation of the innovation-driven development strategy, saying that speeding up efforts to achieve greater self-reliance and strength in science and technology is the path China must take to advance high-quality development. Over 10 years into the nation's innovation-driven development strategy, China saw its ranking in the Global Innovation Index jump from 34th in 2012 to 11th last year, with the economy expanding at an average annual rate of 6.6 percent between 2013 and 2021, contributing over 30 percent to world economic growth. When reinforcing its strength in science and technology, the country has also been committed to sharing its technology with worldwide partners and cooperating to improve global science and technology governance. INNOVATION-DRIVEN DEVELOPMENT "The close attention paid by the government and the country to innovation as an engine of growth is paying off," said Daren Tang, director general of the World Intellectual Property Organization. Indeed, China's historic progress in building an innovative country attests to the judgment: science and technology are the primary productive force, talent the primary resource and innovation the primary driver of growth. The innovation-driven development strategy put forward at the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) has led China to join the ranks of the world's innovators, with success on various fronts over the past decade. The country has expanded its research and development (R&D) expenditure from 1 trillion yuan (about 145 billion U.S. dollars) to 3.09 trillion yuan (about 445 billion dollars) in the past decade, the second highest in the world, with its R&D intensity rising from 1.91 percent to 2.55 percent, according to Ministry of Science and Technology. Furthermore, China has coordinated its innovation blueprint with its strategy for invigorating China through science and education, which underscores development based on progress in science and technology and the workforce development strategy focusing on fostering high-quality talent. Now the country has become home to the largest cohort of R&D personnel around the globe. Apart from calling for moving faster toward self-reliance in science and technology, Xi in late January pledged more efforts to ensure better allocation of innovation-related resources to make the country a global pacesetter in major sci-tech areas and a pioneer in advanced interdisciplinary fields, and ensure that China will become a major world hub for science and innovation as soon as possible. GLOBAL PUBLIC GOODS The implications of China's innovation-driven development extend beyond its borders. Boasting the world's longest and most extensively used high-speed rail network, China has been helping multiple countries construct and upgrade their rail transit with its advanced railway technology. World Bank Vice President for South Asia Martin Raiser said China's rail technology would bring urban development, tourism and regional economic growth. Take the China-Laos Railway, a landmark Belt and Road project. Since operations began in December 2021, landlocked Laos has become a land-linked hub in Southeast Asia. The railway's Lao section has created more than 110,000 local jobs. Through multilateral mechanisms such as the Belt and Road Initiative and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, China's sci-tech achievements have delivered new options in 5G communications, biomedicine and numerous realms, while also providing growth momentum. Gu Qingyang, a scholar at the National University of Singapore, said the extensive application of China's sci-tech accomplishments not only leads to its domestic industrial upgrading, but also lends impetus to the neighboring areas. Similarly, at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2023 earlier this year, Saadia Zahidi, the forum's managing director, said, "when it comes to technology and innovation, much of what is being developed in China will change the world." Given the size of its economy, China will help boost worldwide growth and inject optimism in the medium and long term, Zahidi told Xinhua. GLOBAL SCI-TECH GOVERNANCE China would never innovate behind closed doors. That's why the country has been dedicated to advancing global governance in science and technology. In late February, Xi restated his call for promoting the openness, trust and cooperation of the international science and technology community and making new and more significant contributions to the progress of human civilization. Over recent years, China has adopted various policy tools to promote global sci-tech cooperation, opened up large-scale scientific infrastructure, jointly established R&D platforms and expanded the scope, field and scale of open innovation. In a typical example, China has advocated expanding international cooperation in the space sector. Romanian astronaut Dumitru Prunariu said China "actually invited all countries to perform scientific experiments" on its Tiangong space station. In addition, the country also welcomes broader collaboration in deep space exploration. China has engaged in sci-tech cooperation with more than 160 countries and regions, participating in global science projects such as the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor program -- one of the most ambitious energy projects in the world and the Square Kilometre Array -- an intergovernmental radio telescope project. Meanwhile, the country's accelerated transition from "Made in China" to "Created in China" shows the developing world how to uncover a development path suited to their own conditions. China's experience in education, scientific research and technology is "inspiring" to Arab countries, Mohamed Abdel-Fattah Moustafa, head of the Arab Union for Education and Scientific Research, told Xinhua. Its cooperation with other developing countries in education, scientific research and technology localization will help "create a new international community based on cooperation, exchange of benefits and mutual win," he said. news Courtney Ragsdell receives BSN Leadership Award Courtney Myers Ragsdell, a senior nursing major at Ouachita Baptist University, received the 2022 Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) Young Leadership Award as a part of the 40 Nurse Leaders Under 40 leadership program from the Arkansas Center for Nursing, Inc. Courtney Ragsdell (left) with Dr. Clinta Che Reed, ACN president The ACN presents this award to the top five BSN students in the state, recognizing recipients for their commitment to service, dedication and leadership for the advancement of nursing in Arkansas. Ragsdell, from Kansas City, Mo., received her award in the fall during a ceremony held at the Benton Event Center. When I heard that I received the award, I just felt so honored to have been one of five BSN students chosen in the state of Arkansas, Ragsdell said. I was really excited and couldnt believe it. Ragsdell was nominated for the award by Dr. Becky Parnell, associate professor of nursing at Ouachita, who also attended the awards ceremony. Dr. Brenda Trigg, associate professor and director of nursing; Dr. Carol McKeever Carter, assistant professor of nursing; and Parnell have fostered in me a love for nursing, a love for learning and a love for leadership, Ragsdell said. I could not have received this award without their impact on my life. Outside the classroom, Ragsdell is gaining experience in her job as a patient care technician in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). After graduation from Ouachita, she will work in routine nursing at a hospital with the goal of moving to labor & delivery while cross-training in a NICU. There is nothing more sacred than new life, and guiding someone through that experience is such an honor, said Ragsdell. It is beyond rewarding to see those babies in the unit who are able to make so much progress and eventually go home to their families. To learn more about the Arkansas Center for Nursing and its 40 Nurse Leaders Under 40 program, visit https://arcenterfornursing.org/leadership/. For information about Ouachitas Department of Nursing, contact Dr. Brenda Trigg at (870) 245-5384 or triggb@obu.edu. Lead photo: Courtney Ragsdell (right), a senior nursing major from Kansas City, Mo., was recognized as one of the top five nursing students in Arkansas when she received the 2022 Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) Young Leadership Award from the Arkansas Center for Nursing, Inc. She is pictured with her mentor, Traci Altman, R.N., women & children's nurse manager at Baptist Health Medical Center in Conway. Photos by Christie Heidelberg At this point Rolling Stone is just trolling us. Reply Thread Link Right?!?! If she didnt have a new album, would she even make the list? Reply Parent Thread Link I'm not as mad as I should be but it's kinda early, no,? I would have said St. Vincent. Reply Thread Link God I just went to go read the tweets and there are so many people saying Taylor Swift okay at least here we'll have a good discussion. Reply Parent Thread Link Actually I lied, prolly Joanna Newsom. Reply Parent Thread Link Joanna Newsom can Kingfisher my heart to Peach, Plum, Pear Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Taylor been taking cues from Lana, it's not surprising she got her on the last album. Reply Parent Thread Link Yes because Lana was so honored that Taylor wanted to work with her. Same thing with Phoebe. They had been waiting for that call. Reply Parent Thread Link honestly tho what exactly does she mean by "get it off your chest, get it off my desk"? Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Can't wait to see all the stan wars that result from this article Reply Thread Link "my pussy tastes like pepsi cola" shakespeare of our time Reply Thread Link tbf he's probably just happy people are still making all this ado about nothing* (*slang) Reply Parent Thread Link Every time I see that line I think to myself: She should talk to her gynecologist about that asap bc that sounds like a warning sign that something vaginally sinister is happening. Reply Parent Thread Link vaginal carbonation Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I need to use "vaginally sinister" in a sentence irl. Reply Parent Thread Link Reminds me of when I eat too much Gold Crisp and my pee smells. Reply Parent Thread Link I still chuckle at the official Pepsi account @-ing Lana saying "please seek medical attention" Reply Parent Thread Link Lol I know youre joking around but I love that song, it has a ton of ridiculous lines and is clearly meant to be satirical. Reply Parent Thread Link the poet laureate Reply Parent Thread Link Thank the gods there are still 80 years left so we can come up with someone better Reply Thread Link 80 years doesn't feel right, I'm having the hardest time figuring out centuries right now, too high for this post. Reply Parent Thread Link That I know things. And when I say we're alone, we're alone. Life is only on earth, and not for long. Reply Parent Thread Link Rolling Stone is officially a troll. Reply Thread Link She's def the most influential on the younger female artists that have been coming out. Reply Thread Link Editor: We need some new clickbait. Writer: Got you covered, boss. Reply Thread Link Uh, can't say I agree, but I will say I think her original Born to Die demos still sound amazing and are still the best thing she's ever done Reply Thread Link lol Reply Thread Link oh wow that's crazy. did everyone else who has ever written a song die? Reply Thread Link I am dead. Love this. Reply Parent Thread Link Why do you think I can read? Reply Parent Thread Expand Link She looks like Caitlin Jenner in that picture Reply Thread Link Lol I remember watching that year. Reply Thread Link I don't like Michael Moore but that acceptance speech was everything lol, he did not lie. Reply Thread Link MM is touch and go with me. But that speech was amazing. He called it for what it was. Reply Parent Thread Link My favorite part of the night was Queen Latifah & Catherine Zeta Jones singing together. Renee Zellwegger said she was to nervous to do it so Queen stepped in. Reply Thread Link so weird to see John Travolta introducing people and saying the right names Reply Parent Thread Link WOW they both look and sound so good, but I will say Queen's first verses gave me goosebumps. Love her presence. Reply Parent Thread Link czj is stunning here Reply Parent Thread Link They sound do great together. Renee is so overated imo. CZJ and QL were everything in this show. Me also forgetting CZJ was like 8mo preggars for this too. Reply Parent Thread Link TIL Zeta-Jones sings. Reply Parent Thread Link CZJ was reportedly furious about Zellweger backing out. When Zellweger stood up to congratulate CZJ on her win, she grabbed Zs hands to block the hug lmao. The pettiness lives on Reply Parent Thread Link Richard's been alluding to how awful these Oscars were for a while and I both can't wait and am afraid to dig in and totally cringe. I know I watched this, but I can't remember much. Reply Thread Link I appreciate that lady sitting behind Rob Marshall, with her arms crossed, refusing to clap for Polanski. Reply Thread Link If you worked with polanski after we all knew I don't need to see you in films again. You can go ahead and retire. I'm tired of the excuses. Reply Thread Link I remember watching this at the time and even as a child was uncomfortable with the jokes and in-your-face nationalism they had littered throughout it The only good part of that Oscars I remember was Michael Moore's speech where they were actively trying to play him off and getting into verbal fights at school the next day bc I was one of the few in my school who were politically passionate at that age and defended him against all the dumbass Dubya fanboys lol Reply Thread Link I had a very similar experience at school. It was a weird, jingoistic time; it feels so strange to remember that there was a large contingent at the Oscars vocally supporting a Republican president's warmongering. Reply Parent Thread Link As much as I complain about current pop culture, my God we can never go back to that shit. Reply Thread Link Ahhh, yes, post 9/11 America was truly somethin Reply Thread Link This ceremony was wack as fuck I love going back every oscars season to watch the michael moore acceptance speech because i thought it was cool and correct lmfao its also kind of funny. like simply who is the male who screams, 'NO! NO!!!' ? the camera cutting from scorsese just as he's starting to applaud, the music cutting him off. Great moment Reply Thread Link Cant believe I forgot that the 2005 Oscars opening montage ended with Charlie Chaplin playing hacky sack with Shrek as Lose Yourself plays pic.twitter.com/HQJqJ8vIZv Marie Bardi (@mariebardi) March 7, 2023 Reply Thread Link We should remake this for Sunday, but Shrek starts breakdancing during the chorus. Reply Parent Thread Link We live in a time when we have fictitious election results that elects a fictitious president. We live in a time where we have a man sending us to war for fictitious reasons. And he was correct about all of it. Super curious if this info was all KNOWN and people were in denial because AVENGEAMERICAPEWPEWPEW, or if it was still very much in the 'conspiracy theory that could be true' category back then. Reply Thread Link I was in high school at the time and politically active and really against it, and that's because I was paying attention to it. I think a lot of people were aware that there were no weapons of mass destruction because that was evident at the time. I think mostly Americans didn't care or split hairs about that fact because they were whipped into a nationalistic frenzy after 9/11 and wanted revenge on brown people. Edited at 2023-03-11 12:10 am (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link If you were the slightest bit politically informed, you knew that the Iraq invasion was bullshit American intervention on nonexistent, trumped up evidence... but that sadly was not the case for most of the US (especially white Americans). Jingoism was at an all-time high post 9/11. But yeah, my brown teenage self was basically Edited at 2023-03-11 12:52 am (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link The Daily Show, Green Day, and Michael Moore, tbh. A weird time! It was absolutely known, but it was a minority position in the U.S. around the time of the invasion. The international community was more unified in their opposition (see the Feb. 15, 2003 protests ). But the most mainstream opposition in the U.S. felt like it was coming from, Green Day, and Michael Moore, tbh. A weird time! Reply Parent Thread Link even eminem which was wild to me. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link it was known and I remember all the BS campaign tactics Bush used to 'win' that election - like leafleting poor black areas in florida with the wrong election date and handing out cigarette packets with the same incorrect date saying 'go vote' I have no warm and fuzzies for the early 2000s, if you were paying attention they were chaotic times and the culture was toxic af Reply Parent Thread Link It was somewhat known, but Michael Moore was controversial at the time and seen as very progressive and out there for his statements. Obviously things havent improved, but I dont think saying the Iraq war is BS, healthcare should be universal, gun reform is good, etc. are considered outlandish positions to have these days, or at least not unusual positions. Clearly its not the reality and still contentious today but he really helped make those views and the conversation more mainstream IMO. Reply Parent Thread Link The fuckng style view thing on the screen omitting or misnaming people lmao Reply Thread Link I forgot Nicole and Catherine called each other before the show to make sure they matched! Memories. Reply Thread Link Celebrities they're just like us! Just kidding, they're not and can get books published with ease. Here are some celebrities that might surprise you to learn that they've written children's books, and my reviews. I have a six year old! I'm an expert! Natalie Portman - "Natalie Portman's Fables" Description: From realizing that there is no right way to live to respecting our planet and learning what really makes someone a winner, the messages at the heart of Natalie Portmans Fables are modern takes on timeless life lessons. Amazon Rating: 4.7/5 My Rating: 2/5 (Have I read this? No. Do I think it is necessary for celebrities to rewrite fables? Also no.) Kristin Bell - "The World Needs More Purple People" Description: Actress, producer, and parent Kristen Bell (The Good Place, Veronica Mars, Frozen) and creative director and parent Benjamin Hart have a new challenge for you and your kids: become a purple person by embracing what makes YOU special while finding common ground with those around you. Amazon Rating: 4.8/5 My Rating: 1/5 (Very "I don't see color.") Gabrielle Union - "Welcome to the Party" Description: Inspired by the eagerly awaited birth of her daughter, Kaavia James Union Wade, New York Times bestselling author and award-winning actress Gabrielle Union pens a festive and universal love letter from parents to little ones, perfect for welcoming a baby to the party of life! Amazon Rating: 4.8/5 My Rating: 4.5/5 (Very cute, although a very simple story. Good for kids who are welcoming new siblings.) Jerry Seinfeld - "Halloween" Description: In his first picture book, comedian and bestselling author Jerry Seinfeld captures on the page his hilarious views on Halloween, from Superman costumes that look like pajamas to the agony of getting bad trick-or-treat candy. Seinfeld's tale resonates with vivid experiences of a night every kid loves. Amazon Rating: 4.4/5 My Rating: 0/5 (I haven't read this one either but jfc the art is going to haunt my nightmares for life.) Colin Meloy - "Everyone's Awake" Description: Giggle your way to sweet and silly dreams! A simple goodnight routine turns marvelously madcap in this cleverly rhymed picture book. Instead of settling down to sleep, Dad bakes bread, Mom fixes the roof, and Grandma plays cards with a ghost. And between the dog, the cat, Sister, and Brother, there's at least three different wars being waged! A modern classic perfect for read-aloud fun and bedtime alike. Amazon Rating: 4.3/5 My Rating: 5/5 (The inspiration for this post, my son LOVES this book. One oft-quoted page in our family is "The cat was giving poke tattoos and prank calling the cops." A++, no notes.) Richard Ayoade - "The Book That No One Wanted to Read" Description: From actor-author-broadcaster-comedian-filmma ker Richard Ayoade comes a book narrated by . . . a book. Quirky, smart, and genre-busting, this is the saga of a book that nobody wants to readuntil the day it meets YOU. Amazon's Rating: 4.5/5 My Rating: 5/5 (You can imagine this in Ayoade's voice, and it's very clever and fun.) Source 1 Source 2 Source 3 Source 4 Source 5 Source 6 Source 7: My Library Card! Illinois relies on nuclear energy for over half of its electricity production. The plants producing that power are mostly old and scheduled to be mothballed by 2050. But Illinois nevertheless maintains a decades-long, total moratorium on new nuclear power plant construction. Illinois shortsightedness is exceeded by its hubris. Federal government safety standards for construction and operation of nuclear plants is extraordinarily strict. How do Illinois politicians get off thinking they know better and should override those standards with their own, total moratorium? The latest warning about Illinois electrical power capacity problems came last month, this time for Northern Illinois. As Crains reported, the power grid operator serving Northern Illinois and areas to the east warned of potential electricity shortages over the coming seven years, thanks partly state policies like Illinois clean-energy law that is forcing power plants to close. PJM Interconnection, the grid operator, explicitly cites Illinois Climate & Equitable Jobs Act, or CEJA, enacted in 2021, as a contributor to the issue, wrote Crains. That report came on top of a warning last year from the grid operator for Southern and Central Illinois, MISO, which said those areas already are at high risk for brownouts due to capacity shortfalls. Electricity costs have already spiked 50% to 200% in much of that area. Meanwhile, much of the world is turning towards nuclear as a clean, reliable source of energy, recognizing that new plants are far safer than in years past. The days of Chernobyl and Three Mile Island are gone. Even Japan, which suffered the most recent nuclear accident twelve years ago, is returning to nuclear power. Other nations include Germany, France, the United Kingdom, India and, of course, China. Poland is a particularly interesting example, openly welcoming nuclear energy innovation, as reported by RealClear last week. It just signed a nuclear plant construction contract with Westinghouse, a leader worldwide in nuclear plant construction. Thats an American company. Its plants are apparently good enough for the rest of the world but not Illinois. Even within the U.S. Illinois is falling behind. Tennessee last week started up the first new nuke in America since 2016 and is striving to become the nations leader on nuclear innovation. Indiana is poised to expand its size limitation on new nuclear plant construction. One particularly interesting possibility for Illinois might be retrofitting old fossil fuel plants, which is discussed here. Illinois has a number of coal-fired plants closing down or scheduled to close down, though I have never seen discussion of whether a nuclear retrofit is feasible for Illinois plants. Nuclear energy has its skeptics, particularly on cost issues, as expressed here, for example. But ending Illinois moratorium would not be a judgement on those or any other issues. The point of lifting the ban would be only to allow the competition and debate to begin for the safest, cleanest and most reliable energy source available. On its current path, Illinois is betting almost entirely on wind and solar. CEJA, Illinois greenest-in-the-nation green energy bill, passed in 2021, dealt with nuclear deceptively. On its surface, the bill accepts nuclear power in its goal of zero emissions by 2050. But the moratorium is in separate, older legislation left in place by CEJA. And since the existing nukes will be out of operation by then, nuclear energy is slated to end. At least some members of both parties have seen the wisdom of ending the moratorium. In the House, Rep. Mark Walker (D-Arlington Heights) last year sponsored a bill to loosen the ban, though it has yet to be acted on. In the Senate, Sen. Sue Rezin (R- Morris) has sponsored legislation for several years trying to end the ban, but she has been ignored. She recently wrote in Crains about the need to renew that effort. Lets hope their voices are heard. ADVERTISEMENT And props to Crains for their regular coverage of growing concerns about CEJA and Illinois electricity issues, which has been frank not presented through green tinted glasses. By Zerohedge.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Norway isnt worried about The EUs plan to join together to purchase natural gas from global markets, the countrys oil and energy minister said on Friday. The natural concern would be, of course, that a group of countries rallying together to collectively purchase natural gas would effectively act as an oil-buying cartel that could exert extended influence in the global markets. Norways oil and energy minister Terje Aasland told reporters on Friday that the arrangement could actually benefit Norways energy companies through negotiations on a commercial basis. Twenty-two of the 27 EU member states have shown an interest in collaborating with other member states for gas demand. Norway is now Europes largest natural gas supplier after replacing much of the supplies that were previously coming from Russia. The EUs buyers group is prepared to offer its first tender for gas supplies next month on the international market following months of discussions on how to secure gas supplies without unwittingly jacking up the price by competing with each other. The EU and the four neighboring countries will need 24 billion cubic meters of natural gas over the next three yearsa significant amount of gas to purchase on the spot market without causing a spike in prices. I believe were creating a new system that will increase competition and bring in new suppliers and push energy prices down. Since we started this exercise, theres enormous interest from international suppliers, European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic said earlier this month. Norway was criticized last year for profiting from Europes desperate need for gas as it tried to move away from Russian supplies, as Norways income from natural gas was expected to balloon to $109 billion in 2022an $82 billion increase from the year prior. Norway rejected the profiteering accusation, saying that its profits were merely a result of market scarcity. By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com ADVERTISEMENT More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Even as global funding levels drop, agri-tech start-ups remain a key driver of investment in emerging markets as they work to make farming greener, more productive and more climate resilient. Global investment in agri-tech start-ups totalled $10.6bn in 2022, down 13% from 2021 a record funding year for global start-ups but ahead of the 2020 figure of $7bn. This matched a general downward trend in venture capital activity, as investors became more cautious amid global headwinds and deepening fears of recession. However, a focus on food security in the face of a growing global population and climate change-driven natural disasters is likely to sustain expansion in the agri-tech space. Significantly, venture capital investment levels in agri-tech and food technology have grown approximately 20-fold in the last ten years. Similarly, the number of agri-tech deals in emerging markets has increased in recent years. For example, the proportion of such deals in the Middle East rose from 1% in 2021 to 4% as of mid-2022, while Africa saw a rise from less than 1% to around 6% over the same period. In one standout example, Abu Dhabi-based agri-tech firm Pure Harvest Smart Farms became the second-most-funded start-up in the Middle East and North Africa in 2022, with a total of $272m in funding at the close of the year. Pure Harvest operates three greenhouses in the UAE, with additional projects in development in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia as the company eyes further expansion. In 2022, 23 African agri-tech firms attracted $133m in investment, a figure up 39.7% from 2021. By comparison, the segment saw $50,000 in funding as recently as 2015. Two companies accounted for over 80% of these funds: Kenyas Apollo Agriculture and Nigerias ThriveAgric. With the scale of climate change-driven natural disasters increasing and the population of many emerging markets set to expand significantly, agri-tech start-ups are working to provide food security for the future by revitalising supply chains, tapping into artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, and providing resources to farmers to help them respond effectively to disasters such as drought or flooding. Boosting connectivity Improving the productivity and resilience of agriculture in emerging markets often means engaging with smallholder farmers. Agriculture accounts for nearly a quarter of sub-Saharan Africas GDP, while smallholder farmers account for more than 60% of the population. Similarly, more than half of the population in some rural areas of Latin America and the Caribbean engage in agricultural production, and South-east Asia is home to some 100m smallholder farmers. Start-ups have deployed digital networks and data-driven mobile applications to connect with small-scale agricultural producers around the world. On a global scale, the majority of agri-tech start-ups that received funding in 2022 specialise in AI, digitalisation and internet of things. A number of agri-tech firms are using these digital advances to improve supply chains, connecting farmers to both essential supplies and end consumers. Brazils Seedz operates a digital platform where agri-businesses can purchase raw materials, with rebate and loyalty programmes to improve their financial reach. After acquiring a farm management and planning software company in 2022, the firm secured $16.5m in a Series A round led by Brazilian investment company Alexia Ventures. Agriculture management company Eratani offers end-to-end support to farmers in Indonesia where 29% of the workforce is employed in agriculture providing both supplies and financing, and helping produce reach end users through a three-part platform. Aiming to work with over 50,000 farmers by 2024, in December 2022 the company secured $3.8m in an oversubscribed seed round. Optimising resources Emerging technologies especially AI have proven essential to farmers looking to optimise the use of precious resources such as water, fertiliser and seeds. Founded in 2017, Kenyas Apollo Agriculture is behind the Agrix app, which uses soil and weather data to provide personalised seed and fertiliser recommendations to more than 170,000 farmers nearly half of whom are women. In February the company received a $9.5m loan from the US International Development Finance Corporation to continue its expansion on the continent. Organised by the Netherlands-based environmental consultancy firm FutureWater, the ThirdEye project has helped farmers in Kenya and Mozambique deploy drones to monitor their fields. Beyond helping to detect signs of climate stress early on, the flying sensors allow farmers to make informed decisions that optimise resources such as water or fertiliser. In the last quarter of 2022 a number of Latin American firms leveraging data to improve irrigation practices saw increased early-stage funding. Argentinas irrigation management firm Kilimo combines satellite, field and meteorological data in a platform that famers can use to boost crop yields while increasing water efficiency by up to 70%. In a funding round at the end of last year the company received an undisclosed amount from regional investment fund Kamay Ventures. The firm estimates that its platform saved users up to 50bn litres of water last year. Meanwhile, in December Chile-based irrigation georeferencing firm WiseConn closed a Series B round led by US private equity and venture capital firm Morningside Group, with plans to use the funds to expand into Australia, Brazil and Europe in 2023. The company uses cloud-based technologies to help farmers manage water use in Mexico, Peru, Colombia, Central America and the US. ADVERTISEMENT Building resilience Emerging markets are set to be disproportionally affected by climate change-fuelled disasters such as droughts and flooding. While predictive machine learning technologies are being employed to help farmers address risk as well as mitigate the damage incurred by disasters financial support can help farmers recover from disasters without having to sacrifice productivity. In Africa, digital platforms targeting farmers have benefited from the expansion of mobile payments and other technologies that are boosting financial inclusion. Malis OKO sells micro-insurance to smallholder farmers, serving some 18,500 in the start-ups home country, Uganda and Cote dIvoire. Its business model is backed by data from satellites and sensors tracking weather patterns, allowing the company to deploy financial assistance automatically to farmers affected by flooding or drought. Another African start-up, Nigerias ThriveAgric, provides data-driven solutions and credit to its network of 500,000 smallholder farmers, and is responsible for approximately 5% of the grain grown in the country. Last month the company was named the West Africa winner of the annual Agriculture Youth Technology Challenge, securing an additional $1m in funding. By Oxford Business Group More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: In late February 2023, the State Agency of Azerbaijan Automobile Roads announced that 73 percent of the Horadiz-Jabrayil-Zangilan-Agbend highway has been completed (News.az, February 28). This highway, which runs to Agbend, the westernmost town of mainland Azerbaijan, is planned to link up with the Zangezur Corridor. The construction of the new highway was inaugurated with a groundbreaking ceremony on October 26, 2021, where both Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan participated (see EDM, January 28, 2022). A railway line along the same route is also under construction and, per the latest updates by the Azerbaijani authorities in December 2022, 40 percent of the work on this project has been completed (Caspiannews, December 16, 2022; see EDM, April 21, 2021). According to Aliyev, Azerbaijan plans to complete both projects next year (Caspiannews, December 16, 2022). Nevertheless, while Azerbaijan is developing its part of the Zangezur Corridor, the work on the Armenian section of the route, from Agbend to Nakhchivan via Armenias southern territory, has yet to start. This, coupled with geopolitical complexities and ongoing disputes between Baku and Yerevan, creates an uncertainty that continues to loom over the project. The Zangezur Corridor is a historical necessity, Aliyev argued in an interview with local television channels in January 2023, adding that the project will happen whether Armenia wants it or not (President.az, January 10). In line with the Russian-brokered trilateral statement of November 10, 2020, Armenia has not opposed opening the route but nevertheless rejects the corridor logic inherent in the project. Specifically, the government of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan wants both the highway and railway connections to be under Armenian control and subject to Armenian legislation and regulation (Arka.am, September 14, 2022). This would mean the establishment of checkpoints along the Zangezur Corridor where it enters and exits Armenian territory. Ever since talks over the re-opening of transportation routes in the region began, the issue of checkpoints has been a sticky consideration in negotiations. In advance of his first European Unionmediated meeting with Pashinyan in Brussels on December 14, 2021, Aliyev stated that Azerbaijan could only agree to Armenias terms if an equally restrictive standard were applied to the Lachin Corridor as well (see EDM, January 28, 2022). The Lachin road physically connects Armenia with the Karabakh region and is currently under the control of the Russian peacekeeping force there (see EDM, January 19, 2023). Such restrictive regulations could be applied to the trans-Zangezur highway only if they are applied to the Lachin Corridor as well, declared Aliyev (see EDM, January 28, 2022). Even so, for over a year, little progress has been made in these negotiations. In an interview on February 18, which followed a meeting with the Armenian premier (and was moderated by the United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken), Aliyev reiterated his position: Checkpoints should be established at both ends of the Zangezur Corridor and on the border between the Lachin district [of Azerbaijan] and Armenia (President.az, February 18). Several days later, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan told reporters that Yerevan would not accept a re-negotiation of regulations regarding the Lachin Corridor (1lurer.am, February 22). Criticizing Armenias negative reaction to Aliyevs proposition, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov indicated that the proposal had received positive assessments from unspecified international partners (Apa.az, February 24). It is, however, clear that Russia is against the idea of checkpoints along the Lachin road. In the course of his latest visit to Bakuwhich took place after Aliyevs statementRussian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters that it is not envisioned to create any border checkpoints along the Lachin road, insisting that the regime and function of the road must be fully consistent with the very first trilateral statementthe statement dated November 910, 2020 (Apa.az, February 28). Lavrov proposed the installation of technical means to inspect shipments passing through the corridor in hopes of assuaging Azerbaijani concerns regarding Armenias use of the Lachin Corridor for military and other non-humanitarian purposes. In truth, Russia has clear reasons to oppose the creation of checkpoints in the Lachin Corridor. The establishment of checkpoints and Azerbaijani control in this area would reduce Russias relative influence in the South Caucasus and constitute a major step toward re-integrating Karabakh with Azerbaijan. It is not unreasonable to assume then that Bayramov was referring to the EU and US in particular when he cited the support of international partners for Bakus proposal. For its part, Irans hostility toward the development of rail and road lines in the Zangezur Corridor further complicates the projects prospects. Tehran has opposed the project since the end of Second Karabakh War in 2020, claiming that it would disrupt Iranian-Armenian communication (see EDM, September 23, 2022). Although Iran has limited influence in the South Caucasus to veto Zangezurs development, Tehrans support for Yerevan and the two countries deepening defense and security ties discourage Armenia from cooperating with Azerbaijan (Moderndiplomacy.eu, December 11, 2022). At a conference in early February 2023 about relations between the two countries, Tehrans ambassador to Yerevan declared that Iran and Armenia would not allow the creation of any such corridor (Sputnik Armenia, February 9). And in October 2022, at a ceremony for opening a consulate in the southern Armenian town of Kapan, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian made clear that Tehran opposes any geopolitical changes in the region (Hetq.am, October 21, 2022). Ultimately, negotiations over the unblocking of regional transportation links have been complicated by a number of factorsnamely, the disagreements between Baku and Yerevan over the legal regime of the Zangezur and Lachin corridors. Additionally, Russian and Iranian support for Armenias position against the creation of checkpoints along the Lachin road as well as the debate over Zangezur further complicates the picture. Thus, under these circumstances, Bakus and Yerevans efforts to establish lasting stability in the region may miss the window of opportunity that emerged after the Second Karabakh War. By the Jamestown Foundation More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Russian crude oil imports into China have reduced the countrys intake of Iranian crude, Hellenic Shipping News reported, citing data from shipbroker Xclusiv. According to the data, increased Chinese appetite for discount Russian crude has led to a sharp increase in Russian imports but these have increased at the expense of Iranian oil cargos. Xclusive noted that this month demand for all crude from Chinese refineries might decline due to some of them entering scheduled maintenance. Reuters meanwhile reported earlier that Chinese refiners are now competing with Indian peers for Russian ESPO crudea blend thats more expensive than the flagship Urals. The report cited unnamed sources as saying India and China were eager to buy as much ESPO for next month as possible, pushing its price higher. India refiners Reliance Industries and Nayara Energy had already managed to book at least five cargos of a total of 33 offered for delivery in April, attracted by the low price. This is a break from normal when Chinese refiners have been the only buyers of ESPO, which Russia ships from its Pacific coast. Reuters goes on to note that most Russian crude is being traded below the price cap set by G7 and the European Union, yet the price chart for ESPO shows that the crude has not traded at $60 or below for at least a year. Its latest price, as of Wednesday, was $71.61 per barrel. In an earlier report this month, Reuters cited cargo-tracking data as suggesting Chinese imports of Russian crude could hit a record this month before potentially declining as Russian tightens production. ADVERTISEMENT Data from tanker trackers Vortexa and Kpler, Reuters reported, suggests that Chinese refiners are set to import some 43 million barrels of Russian crude this month, of which 20 million barrels of ESPO. By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: The European Parliament and the Council presidency on Friday reached a provisional political agreement to reduce final energy consumption at EU level by 11.7% in 2030 compared to the forecast consumption. EU member states will benefit from flexibility in reaching the target, the EU Council said in a statement. Per the provisional agreement, the EU must collectively see its final energy consumption drop by at least 11.7% in 2030, compared with the energy consumption forecasts for 2030 made in 2020. This means that the EUs final energy consumption would have an upper limit of 763 million tons of oil equivalent and primary consumption of 993 million tons of oil equivalent. The consumption limit for final consumption will be binding for member states collectively, whereas the primary energy consumption target will be indicative, the Council said. All EU member states will contribute to the efforts to reduce energy consumption by indicative national targets, which are expected to be updated and unveiled this year and next. The agreement reached on Friday needs to be approved by committees at the European Parliament and Council and to be formally adopted to come into effect. As part of its ambition to become a net-zero bloc by 2050, the EU aims to reduce its energy consumption and accelerate the rollout of renewable energy in order to cut dependence on fossil fuels. Limiting reliance on fossil fuel imports became especially important for the EU after the Russian invasion of Ukraine prompted Europe to ban seaborne imports of Russian oil and work to ditch imports of Russian gas. The EU managed to beat its target for cutting gas demand this winter, Eurostat data showed last month. According to the data, the EUs winter demand had so far dropped by 19.3% compared to the five-year average, beating the 15% goal it set for itself to help it survive the winter. Natural gas consumption in OECD Europe fell by an estimated 13% in 2022, its steepest decline in absolute terms in history, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its quarterly gas report last week. ADVERTISEMENT By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Xi Jinping, newly elected president of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and chairman of the Central Military Commission of the PRC, makes a public pledge of allegiance to the Constitution at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, March 10, 2023. [Xinhua/Xie Huanchi] Xi Jinping was unanimously elected Chinese president on Friday at the ongoing session of China's national legislature, leading the country of 1.4 billion people onto a new journey toward modernization. He was also elected chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) of the People's Republic of China (PRC) by a unanimous vote. A total of 2,952 deputies were present at the third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) on Friday morning, to exercise their constitutional right to elect China's state leadership. Xi Jinping, Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Han Zheng, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang and Li Xi attended the meeting. The elections began at 9:27 a.m., after lawmakers adopted a method on election and appointment for the first session of the 14th NPC. The voting was anonymous. Thunderous applause broke out across the Great Hall of the People when the results of the elections were pronounced. Xi, donning a dark suit with a burgundy tie, rose from his seat and bowed to the lawmakers. Born in 1953, Xi joined the Communist Party of China (CPC) in January 1974, and became the Party branch secretary of the Liangjiahe Brigade in rural Shaanxi Province, later the same year. He then embarked on a journey across China that saw him work in different provinces and municipalities and rise from the grassroots level to the helm of the Party and the state. Xi was first elected general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and named chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission in November 2012. He was elected Chinese president and CMC chairman of the PRC in March 2013. "Over the past 10 years, we have overcome one obstacle after another, and created miracle upon miracle. Most importantly, the people are happier, feel safer than ever, and have a stronger sense of fulfillment under his leadership," said NPC deputy Chen Zhen, head of the Sanjiang Dong Autonomous County in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The CPC has established Xi Jinping's core position on the CPC Central Committee and in the Party as a whole and established the guiding role of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. The decision was made at the sixth plenary session of the 19th CPC Central Committee in 2021. Experts believe the decision has been further consolidated by the elections of Xi to be Chinese president and chairman of the PRC CMC. The solemnity of Friday's assembly was underscored by a ceremony of Xi and other newly elected state leaders pledging allegiance to China's Constitution. After a chorus of the national anthem was sung by all present, Xi placed his left hand on a copy of the Constitution and held up his right fist. "I pledge my allegiance to the Constitution of the PRC to safeguard the Constitution's authority, and fulfill my legal obligations, be loyal to the country and the people, be committed and honest in my duty, accept the people's supervision, and work for a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious, and beautiful," Xi said. Under Xi's leadership, the world's second-largest economy is marching on a model of modernization that has not been seen before. In the past decade, China's GDP has grown to 121 trillion yuan (about 17.37 trillion U.S. dollars) from 53.9 trillion yuan in 2012. The Chinese economy has come to account for over 18 percent of the world economy over the past 10 years, and its contribution to the world's economic growth has averaged over 30 percent. The country has eradicated absolute poverty and built the largest education, social security, and healthcare systems in the world. The average life expectancy of the Chinese has increased from 74.8 to 78.2 years over the past decade, and there have been historic, transformative, and comprehensive changes in ecological and environmental protection. China has also joined the ranks of the world's innovators, and achieved an overwhelming victory and fully consolidated the gains in the fight against corruption. The country's military has been through an all-around revolutionary restructuring, becoming a much more modern and capable fighting force. China has also created a miracle in human history, in which a highly populous nation has successfully pulled through a pandemic while maintaining social stability and steady economic development. Observers believe Friday's elections will inject greater certainty into China's modernization drive. "The elections will ensure that there is a steady hand at the helm, which will serve China well, particularly in this new era of new challenges," said Josef Gregory Mahoney, a professor of politics at East China Normal University. "President Xi has already led us out of poverty," said Peng Xiaying, a villager in Shenshan Village of Jiangxi Province. "Now we put our faith in him to bring an even better life for all." Also on Friday, lawmakers elected Zhao Leji as chairman of the 14th NPC Standing Committee and Han Zheng as vice president of China. A total of 14 vice chairpersons and a secretary-general were also elected for the 14th NPC Standing Committee. They all pledged allegiance to the Constitution. Before the elections, lawmakers also approved a plan on reforming State Council institutions. Russia is accelerating its exports of diesel to Saudi Arabia by both direct shipments and ship-to-ship transfers, Reuters reported on Friday, quoting trade sources and shipping data from Refinitiv. Using STS loadings, Russia is shortening the routes for tankers headed to Africa and Asia after Moscow is now banned from exporting fuels to the EU. Two cargoes of diesel loaded in the Primorsk port on the Baltic Sea in Russia have been transferred on another tanker heading to Saudi Arabias port of Ras Tanura, per shipping data from Refinitiv cited by Reuters. The data also showed that another cargo loaded from the Black Sea port of Tuapse used ship-to-ship loading to another tanker that had already discharged the fuel at the Jizan port in Saudi Arabia. Both STS loadings took place near the Greek port of Kalamata, according to Refinitivs data. Russia started exporting diesel to Saudi Arabiaits ally in the OPEC+ groupin February, after Moscows key fuel export outlet, the EU, enacted an embargo on seaborne imports of Russian oil products on February 5, Reuters reported earlier this week, quoting traders and ship-tracking data. According to traders who spoke to Reuters, the Saudis could export part of the Russian diesel to other countries after some refining. Ahead of the EU ban on Russian petroleum products, Russia began to divert its oil product cargoes to North Africa and Asia, while Europe ramps up imports of diesel from the Middle East and Asia to offset the loss of Russian barrels, of which it imported around 600,000 barrels per day (bpd) before the February 5 embargo took effect. According to JP Morgan, Russian fuel exports could slip by 300,000 bpd as a result of the EU embargo, but the bank added that Russia could maintain its production of crude oil at pre-war levels. But it would be harder for Russia to return to pre-pandemic levels of crude production, JP Morgan added. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com ADVERTISEMENT More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran have agreed to resume diplomatic relations and re-open embassies and missions, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and China said in a joint statement on Friday, following a week of Saudi-Iranian talks in Beijing. The three countries announce that an agreement has been reached between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran, that includes an agreement to resume diplomatic relations between them and re-open their embassies and missions within a period not exceeding two months, and the agreement includes their affirmation of the respect for the sovereignty of states and the non-interference in internal affairs of states, the Saudi Press Agency reported. The statement carried by the Saudi agency also reads that The three countries expressed their keenness to exert all efforts towards enhancing regional and international peace and security. The two regional powers in the Middle East, whose strained relations have exacerbated conflicts in Yemen and Syria, also agreed after the Beijing talks that the Saudi and Iranian foreign ministers will meet to implement the agreements, arrange for the return of the ambassadors, and discuss ways to enhance bilateral relations, the statement said. After several days of intensive negotiations between Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of Irans Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), and Saudi Arabias national security adviser Musaid Al Aiban in Beijing, an agreement was reached on Friday aimed at resuming relations between the two countries, Iranian news agency IRNA reported. The rift between Saudi Arabia and Iran has shaped regional politics in the Middle East in recent years and decades. Both countries are members of OPEC and are some of its major oil producers, although Irans output has declined since 2018 when then-U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from the so-called Iranian nuclear deal and re-imposed sanctions on the Iranian oil industry and exports. Saudi Arabia, OPECs largest producer, also leads the OPEC+ agreement with Russia on oil production quotas. Iran is exempted from quotas because of the sanctions against it. By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com ADVERTISEMENT More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Saudi Arabias oil giant Aramco will supply next month the full contracted volumes of crude to at least four refiners in North Asia, sources familiar with the plans told Reuters on Friday. Earlier this week, Saudi Arabia raised the official selling prices (OSPs) for most of its crude going to Asia in April, which was the second consecutive hike in oil prices to Saudi Arabias most prized export market. The supply of full volumes to at least four refiners in North Asia signals expectations from the worlds largest crude oil exporter that demand in Asia will rebound in the coming months. This weekend, Saudi Aramco raised the official selling price for the crude oil it exports to Asia and Europe for yet another month, with the flagship Arab Light to sell in April for $0.50 a barrel more than in March. The price hike for Arab Heavy was even more pronounced, at $2.50 per barrel, moving the crude blend from a discount to the Oman/Dubai average to a premium. This weeks increase in prices was the second consecutive month with higher prices for Saudi crude loading for Asia. Last months hike for the March prices came as a surprise as it was the first time in six months that Aramco had hiked prices for its crude. The March price hike also came amid falling crude oil prices on international markets, which was what made the move surprising, along with the fact that a month earlier Aramco had reduced prices. Despite continued concern about the state of the global economy, China is beginning to return to normal operations, eyeing economic growth of 5% this year. The growth target was at the low end of analyst expectations, but signs have started to emerge that China could soon increase crude oil imports after a sluggish start to 2023. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com ADVERTISEMENT More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: The Omaha Fire Department is working to determine the cause of a three-alarm fire that destroyed a warehouse in South Omaha on Wednesday evening. Fire crews were first called to a building at 4508 S. 28th St., near the intersection of U.S. Highway 75 and L Street, around 7 p.m. A second alarm was called around 7:30 p.m., and a third alarm around 8:20 p.m. As of Thursday afternoon, crews were still working to extinguish hot spots, according to Fire Department spokesman Joseph Caniglia. Third alarm now requested. pic.twitter.com/2FtSbQiLiy Omaha Fire Department (@OmahaFireDept) March 9, 2023 No one was in the building at the time of the fire and no injuries were reported, according to a preliminary report from the Fire Department. The cause of the fire remains under investigation, Caniglia said. According to property records, the 21,641-square-foot structure was constructed in 1930, with renovations completed in 1960. The property was purchased in 2018 by Acme Investments LLC of Omaha for $550,000. The structure, with an estimated value of $813,600, is considered a total loss, according to the Fire Department. Because the buildings roof collapsed, investigators havent yet been able to determine the extent of damage to the buildings contents. Employees on scene Wednesday night said the only known chemicals inside the building were everyday chemicals like gasoline and propane, according to the Fire Department. The Wednesday night fire occurred nearly 10 months after a three-alarm fire at the Nox-Crete warehouse. The fire at that warehouse, located near 20th Street and Woolworth Avenue, generated increased concern because of hazardous chemicals housed inside the building, The World-Herald previously reported. An investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency after the Nox-Crete fire found high levels of some contaminants in runoff, but none above a level of concern in soil and surfaces. A Colorado man once arrested on suspicion of trying to break into pop star Taylor Swifts home with rubber gloves, a knife and rope now is wanted in Nebraska for allegedly trying to kidnap a 17-year-old boy at a gas station in Grand Island. The Hall County Attorneys Office charged Julius Sandrock, 43, of Broomfield, Colorado, on Wednesday with attempted kidnapping and misdemeanor assault for an incident on the morning of Oct. 24. In the affidavit for an arrest warrant for Sandrock, Grand Island Police Investigator Bryce Collamore said they were called to a Pump & Pantry on Locust Street shortly before 10 a.m. that day on the teens report. He said a man had tried to abduct him while he was pumping gas. Video from the store showed a man wearing rubber gloves and a black trench coat lunge toward the 17-year-old as he walked to his car after prepaying but get back into his Buick Encore when another car pulled up. As the boy pumped gas, the man could be seen repositioning his car, then getting out and crouching behind the pump, Collamore said. The male suspect is then observed lunging with his left hand, and it appears he tried to grab the teenager, described as 5-foot-4 and 105 pounds, and strike him in the face in the process. Collamore said the teen was able to run away, which caused the man to run back to his Buick and drive away. Collamore said that about an hour later, the Shelton Police Department was called to a store in the town southwest of Grand Island about a man in a trench coat, rubber gloves and surgical booties on his shoes who had come in and bought rubbing alcohol and latex gloves. He said the man used a credit card that tracked back to Sandrock, who was driving an SUV with Colorado plates. With that information, Collamore said, they were able to pull up Sandrocks vehicle records, which showed he owned a 2018 Buick Encore, consistent with the one on the video at Pump & Pantry, and his Illinois drivers license, which was consistent with the description of the man described by the victim and seen on camera. A little more than a week later, Sandrock was cited in connection with an assault in San Francisco. Collamore said investigators learned Sandrock has been contacted for similar, suspicious activity in California when he was found outside Swifts home with rubber gloves, a knife and rope in 2018. Swift later was granted a five-year restraining order against him. A former Omaha police officer pleaded guilty to production of child pornography in federal court Wednesday. Christopher Groth, 39, also faces charges of possession and transportation of child pornography, according to court documents. Groth, who was an Omaha police officer for 15 years, was terminated following his indictment in February 2022. According to the indictment, Groth coerced a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction between September and December 2020. It also alleges that Groth transported the depiction on or about Feb. 2, 2021, and that he knowingly possessed child pornography on or about June 3, 2021. Groth had entered a petition to plead guilty in October 2022, but after firing his public defender and hiring a new attorney in December, no longer wanted to enter a guilty plea, court records show. Groths sentencing is set for June 5 in Lincoln, according to court records, and a trial for the charges of possession and transportation of child pornography is scheduled for March 21. GRAND ISLAND, Neb. A 62-year-old Lincoln man was found dead inside a Fonner Park horse barn Thursday morning, the victim of a shooting. The body of Todd Scherer, a longtime assistant trainer and groom on the horse racing circuit, was found in one of the tack rooms in Barn R with what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the torso, the Grand Island Independent reported. A person of interest was quickly identified with the help from other law enforcement partners and witnesses in the horse community coming forward, the Grand Island Police Department said in a press release. Authorities said 20-year-old Logan Hunts Horse of Wounded Knee, South Dakota, was identified by witnesses as a person of interest in the shooting, according to the press release. He was found asleep in another tack room in Barn R, one of the barns housing horses during the ongoing live racing meet. He was arrested and taken to the Hall County Jail. The investigation into Scherers death is ongoing. Additional witnesses are asked to contact the Grand Island Police Department. Scherer, a Lincoln native, was a longtime stable foreman who worked with Thoroughbreds at tracks in Nebraska and beyond for more than 45 years. Working for longtime trainer Steve Asmussen, Scherer escorted Storm Treasure to the paddock at Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby in 2006, making his first trip to the storied horse race after more than 25 years working in the industry. Ive never been connected to anything like this, he told the Lincoln Journal Star in 2006. This race represents history to me, after watching it so many times as a kid growing up. Scherer also worked as a custodian at the Lincoln Public Schools from 1999 to 2005 in a reprieve from his winding career working on the backside on horse tracks. Todd Scherer was the son of Leo Scherer, who served as a Lincoln City Council member and Lancaster County commissioner in the 1980s, owned and operated Arnolds Tavern in Havelock for several years, and worked as a reporter for the Lincoln Journal in the 1950s. Journal Star reporter Andrew Wegley contributed to this report. Correction: This article has been updated to include the correct spelling of Logan Hunts Horse. A Nebraska employer is facing more than half a million dollars in fines after the Occupational Safety and Health Administration found serious and willful safety violations following the 2022 death of an employee in a grain silo. OSHA began investigating CHS Inc., a Fortune 500 agriculture company that operates the Agri-Service Center in Roseland, Nebraska, after an employee became trapped in a corn silo and died last September. The investigation revealed more than a dozen serious safety violations and resulted in a total of $531,268 in fines. On Sept. 13, 2022, emergency services were called to the Agri-Service Center for reports of a man trapped in a corn silo. Travis Thelander, a 34-year-old man from Hastings, was pronounced dead at the scene. Thelander was cleaning out the silo in preparation for fall harvest when corn engulfed and asphyxiated him. The OSHA investigation found that the employer disregarded federal regulations designed to prevent entrapment and did not supply Thelander with proper training or protective equipment. In total, CHS Inc. was issued citations for 16 violations, with two considered willful and 14 classified as serious. Willful violations are one of the most severe penalties imposed by OSHA, indicating that the employer either knowingly failed to comply with a legal requirement or acted with plain indifference to employee safety. Violations uncovered in the OSHA investigation include: When employees enter grain storage structures, the employer is required to provide a body harness with a lifeline to prevent the employee from sinking further than waist-deep in the grain. The OSHA report found that CHS Inc. willfully failed to protect employees by allowing them to enter grain bins to remove residual grain without adequate lifelines to prevent entrapment. This resulted in a $156,259 fine. Bin entry is considered a special task that requires specific training on how to perform it safely. The bin entry team was insufficiently trained on how to recognize engulfment hazards, leading to multiple failures in performing necessary duties. This also was considered a willful violation and resulted in a $156,259 fine. Employees were selected to work in the grain bin based on availability regardless of training, which led to inadequately trained employees being responsible for dangerous and specialized tasks. An employee serving as the bin entry attendant during the time of Thelanders death did not know which pieces of equipment were necessary to perform a side bin entry or how to use that equipment to retrieve the entrant. A CHS Inc. spokesperson could not be immediately reached for comment Friday. CHS Inc. will have until the last week of March to pay the fines and make the required fixes, unless the company decides to contest any or all of the citations through an independent commission. The company also has been placed on OSHAs Severe Violator Enforcement Program, which mandates more frequent follow-up inspections and increased training. 10 states with the most federal COVID-19 worker safety violations 10 states with the most federal COVID-19 worker safety violations #9. Missouri #8. Connecticut #7. Texas #5. Pennsylvania #4. Illinois #3. Ohio #2. New York #1. New Jersey GRAND ISLAND, Neb. Authorities have arrested two people in connection with a homicide at Fonner Park in Grand Island. The Grand Island Police Department said Friday that a 16-year-old from Grand Island was arrested and booked at the Hall County Jail on Thursday evening. His arrest stemmed from an alleged robbery that authorities say preceded the shooting. Todd Scherer, 62, of Lincoln was found dead inside a Fonner Park barn Thursday morning, the victim of a shooting. Scherers body was found in one of the tack rooms at Barn R with what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the torso. Police arrested Logan Hunts Horse, 20, of Wounded Knee, South Dakota, on Thursday. Investigators said the suspects allegedly robbed, assaulted and shot Scherer, who they knew. Scherer, a Lincoln native, was a longtime stable foreman who worked with thoroughbreds at tracks in Nebraska and beyond for more than 45 years. Law enforcement recovered some of the items taken from Scherer. The department said an investigation into the shooting continues, with additional witness interviews and evidence being collected. Luohu held a business and investment promotion fair in Beijing on March 2. Nearly 60 leading enterprises in the fields of new information technology, digital economy, and biotechnology, as well as representatives of quasi-unicorn companies and scientific and technological innovation enterprises, attended the event. Luohu aims to promote its cooperation of scientific and technological innovation industries with Beijing by building exchange and cooperation platforms in key industrial fields and forming cross-regional complementary industrial chains. Sending warm invitations to entrepreneurs from Beijing, Luohu deputy mayor Feng Jian said that asthe core hub of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the gateway to Shenzhen and Hong Kong, Luohu has unique geographical advantages, such as its connection with two high-speed railways, a high-density rail network, and the largest land port cluster in Shenzhen. She noted that Luohu has always prioritized industry and enterprise and supported the development of enterprises with the greatest sincerity, the best development conditions, and the best business environment so as to help enterprises in Luohu to develop well and entrepreneurs to live happily in the district. In response to questions about industrial policies and business cooperation by the enterprises, Feng said that Luohu is gathering all forces, and integrating high-quality resources to support the high-quality development of the enterprises. Meanwhile, she also hoped that more enterprises could achieve substantial development in the district in the future. Over the past five years, the number of innovative enterprises in Luohu increased by 200% over that of the previous five years, and their total revenue increased by 366%. Among the industrial clusters deployed by Shenzhen, Luohu has launched seven strategic emerging industrial clusters and one future industrial cluster. The last wreckage of Offutt Air Force Bases terrible flood is gone. Now the rebuilding can begin. Some of Offutts top leadership gathered Thursday to celebrate the groundbreaking of the 55th Security Forces Squadrons new $68.4 million campus, which will include a new headquarters building, firing range and military working dog kennels. The old ones were destroyed in the flood of March 2019. After four years of cleanup, assessment, planning and demolition, the groundbreaking marks the start of one of the largest pieces of the bases reconstruction, which is expected to cost about $1 billion and continue until 2028. This is a huge milestone, said Maj. Eric Armstrong, who heads the 55th Wings construction project management office. He said more construction will begin quickly, with contracts expected to be awarded by May for the Nuclear Command Control and Communications (NC3) Alert campus and the SATCOM/MILSTAR campus. The NC3 campus includes a new headquarters building for the unit that operates the E-4B Nightwatch fleet, and ready rooms for E-4B and E-6B Mercury alert crews. The SATCOM/MILSTAR campus will include critical communications links for the Offutt-based U.S. Strategic Command. The 55th Security Forces Squadrons members are the heirs to the revered SAC Elite Guard, which boasted of providing airtight security on Strategic Air Command bases during the Cold War. They provide Offutts police force, staffing the entrance gates and protecting the aircraft of the 55th Wing and the 595th Command and Control Group. This is an organization that protects assets that cannot meet harm, Col. Jasin Cooley, commander of Offutts 55th Mission Support Group, told a crowd of about 200 airmen and civilians who gathered for the groundbreaking. The units headquarters near the south end of Offutts runway filled with water 9 feet deep after the Missouri and Platte Rivers overwhelmed levees that had protected the base for decades. We filled sandbags. None of it did any good, recalled Tech. Sgt. Shane Crone, a 4-year veteran of the squadron, and one of just a few who were with the unit at the time of the flood. When the deluge receded, it left behind a muddy, stinking mess. The 55th Security Forces lost everything in the flood, Cooley said. Six-hundred and fourteen people had to find a new place to operate. Consider for a moment what its like to lose everything, your history, your heritage. At first, Crone said, morale dropped when airmen saw the devastation. The squadrons members scattered to several sites across the base, including the basement of the World War II-era Martin Bomber Plant, an airplane hangar, and a reconditioned airmans dormitory. More challenges followed. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 sent many members home to work. And the relocation of Offutts flight operations to the Lincoln Airport for 18 months in 2021 and 2022 meant some airmen had to relocate there for four days at a time. In the face of all that adversity, Crone said, a funny thing happened. It brought the squadron together again, he said, reminding him of the tight-knit Minuteman missile squadrons hed served in before his Offutt assignment. Thursdays groundbreaking was accompanied by freshly fallen snow, but construction will start as soon as the weather clears and continue to November 2024. The campus will be ready for occupation a few months later. The new buildings are being built atop pads resembling giant anthills that are 10 feet higher than the flood plain that surrounds them. Offutts levees have also been raised by 2-3 feet. Engineers believe these measures will raise the buildings above any future floods. Close Debris indicates the high-water mark left by March flooding in the 55th Wing on artwork inside the 55th Wing headquarters building at Offutt Air Force Base. Building D, the historic World War II-era Martin Bomber Plant at Offutt Air Force Base. Hundreds of base workers displaced when their buildings flooded in March are now working here. The building that once housed the 55th Intelligence Support Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base. Tennant Hall, the former headquarters of the 97th Intelligence Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base, is one of the flood-damaged buildings that is being repaired. Repair work has already started on Tennant Hall, which will cost $11 million. Invading animals have eaten the candy left in the 55th Wing chaplain's office. A set of flood-damaged slides sits on the floor of an office inside the 55th Wing headquarters building, which was destroyed by flooding in March. The Wing will spend about $9.5 million to turn the old StratCom building into its new headquarters. Lt. Col. Chris Conover puts on a mask to protect himself from mold during a tour of the 55th Wing headquarters building at Offutt Air Force Base. Conovers office was in that building. The black mold just took over, he said. Its hard. Devastating. Shattered glass and other debris litters the entryway of the 55th Security Forces Squadron headquarters building. The building was destroyed by the March flood. A broken portrait of chief of staff of the Air Force, Gen. David L. Goldfein, lies on the floor of the 55th Security Forces Squadron building, which was ruined in floods that swamped Offutt Air Force Base in March. Flags and unit guidons are piled on a desk in the 55th Wing headquarters building at Offutt Air Force Base. Lt. Col. Chris Conover looks through the flood-damaged office of the 55th Wing historian at Offutt Air Force Base. Conover is leading the flood recovery efforts at Offutt. Toppled furniture is scattered around a room in the 55th Security Forces Squadron building at Offutt Air Force Base. The March floodwaters invaded buildings, lifted furniture off the ground, then receded, causing the furniture to fall to the ground in a mess. A safe that once held classified information sits in a hallway in the 55th Wing headquarters building, which was destroyed by the March flood. A stopped clock hangs on a mold-covered wall inside the 55th Wing headquarters at Offutt Air Force Base. The building has been abandoned and will be demolished after floods last March filled it with water 5 feet deep. A fallen insignia on the floor of the entryway of the 55th Security Forces Squadron headquarters building. Videmus means "I Observe." Photos: Flood damage at Offutt Air Force Base six months later Debris indicates the high-water mark left by March flooding in the 55th Wing on artwork inside the 55th Wing headquarters building at Offutt Air Force Base. Building D, the historic World War II-era Martin Bomber Plant at Offutt Air Force Base. Hundreds of base workers displaced when their buildings flooded in March are now working here. The building that once housed the 55th Intelligence Support Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base. Tennant Hall, the former headquarters of the 97th Intelligence Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base, is one of the flood-damaged buildings that is being repaired. Repair work has already started on Tennant Hall, which will cost $11 million. Invading animals have eaten the candy left in the 55th Wing chaplain's office. A set of flood-damaged slides sits on the floor of an office inside the 55th Wing headquarters building, which was destroyed by flooding in March. The Wing will spend about $9.5 million to turn the old StratCom building into its new headquarters. Lt. Col. Chris Conover puts on a mask to protect himself from mold during a tour of the 55th Wing headquarters building at Offutt Air Force Base. Conovers office was in that building. The black mold just took over, he said. Its hard. Devastating. Shattered glass and other debris litters the entryway of the 55th Security Forces Squadron headquarters building. The building was destroyed by the March flood. A broken portrait of chief of staff of the Air Force, Gen. David L. Goldfein, lies on the floor of the 55th Security Forces Squadron building, which was ruined in floods that swamped Offutt Air Force Base in March. Flags and unit guidons are piled on a desk in the 55th Wing headquarters building at Offutt Air Force Base. Lt. Col. Chris Conover looks through the flood-damaged office of the 55th Wing historian at Offutt Air Force Base. Conover is leading the flood recovery efforts at Offutt. Toppled furniture is scattered around a room in the 55th Security Forces Squadron building at Offutt Air Force Base. The March floodwaters invaded buildings, lifted furniture off the ground, then receded, causing the furniture to fall to the ground in a mess. A safe that once held classified information sits in a hallway in the 55th Wing headquarters building, which was destroyed by the March flood. A stopped clock hangs on a mold-covered wall inside the 55th Wing headquarters at Offutt Air Force Base. The building has been abandoned and will be demolished after floods last March filled it with water 5 feet deep. A fallen insignia on the floor of the entryway of the 55th Security Forces Squadron headquarters building. Videmus means "I Observe." LINCOLN When a person experiences a mental health crisis, responding law enforcement officers are often forced to decide if the person needs to be taken into custody. A bill in the Nebraska Legislature would empower mental health experts to play a more prominent role in responding to those situations. Legislative Bill 668, introduced by State Sen. Raymond Aguilar of Grand Island, would give mental health professionals the ability to take dangerously mentally ill patients into emergency protective custody. The bill was the subject of a public hearing before the Legislatures Judiciary Committee on Thursday. Currently, state statute allows a law enforcement officer to take someone into emergency protective custody usually at a medical facility, jail or other corrections facility if they are mentally ill or a sex offender and the officer believes they pose a danger to themselves or others before the states mental health board has time to put them into custody. Under LB 668, that ability would extend to certified mental health practitioners. Police presence is often necessary in these situations, according to legislative staffer Lance Braun. However, it isnt always necessary and, in some cases, can traumatize individuals who are already experiencing a traumatic situation. Ultimately, these individuals are ill, theyre not criminals, Braun told lawmakers. Practitioners would have to be certified through the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services and trained on the relevant aspects of the process. Last session, Sen. Mike McDonnell of Omaha introduced a similar bill, Braun said. It advanced out of committee, but lawmakers ran out of time to approve it. Braun argued that LB 668 would help victims of mental illness, while alleviating some of the burden placed on law enforcement. Our law enforcement officers are to be commended, but they should not be the first line of defense in many of these instances, Braun said. Lindsay Kroll, mental health coordinator for the Omaha Police Department, said LB 668 could help decrease the need for emergency protective custody in the first place. Omaha police already collaborate with mental health professionals on crisis calls, she said, and in roughly 89% of cases, having a professional on the call avoids the need for protective custody. We can get care quicker before things get worse, Kroll said. Tony Green, interim director for the division of behavioral health at the State Department of Health and Human Services, raised concerns with what he described as broad language in LB 668. Braun later told The World-Herald that Aguilars office was open to amending the bill. The current language would allow a wide range of medical practitioners to apply for certification through the department, said Green, who also criticized the lack of guidance for how to actually take a person into emergency protective custody. Braun said the intent of LB 668 is to continue allowing law enforcement and mental health professionals to collaborate on crisis calls, but give the professionals more authority to make decisions. Anne Buettner, legislative chair of the Nebraska Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, said mental health professionals already can advise police on when emergency protective custody is needed, but state law limits them to just that opinion. LB 668 would allow them to make the call. Buettner and other mental health professionals said in most cases, law enforcement would still be in charge of transporting the individual to the facility due to safety concerns. In practice, I believe this will apply to a narrow subset of instances, Braun said. If we can improve the process in just a few cases, then this effort is worth pursuing. Photos: 2023 Nebraska legislative session LINCOLN No one spoke for or against returning Nebraska to a two-house, partisan Legislature the last time a state senator proposed the idea. Sixteen years later, 15 people showed up to testify Thursday at a public hearing on Legislative Resolution 2CA. Almost all spoke against the proposal. State Sen. Steve Erdman of Bayard, who introduced the measure, counted that as a win. He said he hadnt expected much interest in his proposed constitutional amendment. Perhaps Im on the right track, he told the Legislatures Executive Board. Erdman said he introduced LR 2CA to take a new look at Nebraskas unique legislative system and draw attention to the dwindling representation for rural Nebraska. He noted that just five senators represent Nebraskans living in the western half of the state. I think its an opportunity to have a discussion and look and see does this really fit our needs today, he said. I would contend the way we have it today, (former U.S. Sen.) George Norris wouldnt be happy. Norris championed the move to a one-house, nonpartisan Legislature and led the petition drive to put the issue on the ballot. He argued that a second house was outdated, inefficient and unnecessary, and that being nonpartisan would allow lawmakers to focus on constituents, rather than on pleasing party leaders. Voters approved the change in 1934. Under Erdmans proposal, Nebraska would return to having two legislative bodies, like the 49 other states. The House of Representatives would have up to 63 members, elected by voters and representing districts of equal population. The Senate would have 31 members, each one of whom would represent three contiguous counties. Under an amendment Erdman offered Thursday, senators would be chosen by county commissioners from the three counties. LR 2CA also would do away with nonpartisanship in the Legislature. However, Erdman said that change was a mistake. He said he did not intend to make the Legislature partisan. Erdman also acknowledged that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that state lawmakers must be elected from districts based on population, which appears to make his proposal unconstitutional. But he argued that a measure cannot be definitively ruled unconstitutional until it is challenged in court. Jeanne Greisen testified for the proposal, saying the current system no longer works for the people. She cited the Legislatures failure to change its rules to require public votes for leadership positions a move long favored by Republicans and the number of bills introduced this year as examples of problems. Jeff Stallworth was among the opponents. He said that a two-house Legislature would increase partisanship, which, in turn, would destroy lawmakers ability to work together and get things done. He said Nebraska has proven that nonpartisanship can curb some of the ill will evident around the country. Another opponent, Wes Dodge, called Nebraskas Legislature unique, practical and independent. He said the current system promotes transparency and accountability. Adding a second house would increase costs and potentially lead to twice as many filibusters, Dodge said. Tyler Sondag and Carina McCormick objected that Erdmans proposal would give rural lawmakers disproportionate power, while discounting the voices of urban Nebraskans. Sondag pointed out that Douglas County alone has more than 25% of the states residents. They, along with residents of two neighboring counties, would be represented by one senator. The Nebraska GOP included a plank in its 2022 platform calling for a return to a bicameral legislature whereby the upper house has fewer members but larger territorial areas to include a more diverse set of interests in the legislative process. Photos: 2023 Nebraska legislative session The state employee tasked with restoring, preserving and protecting Nebraska's State Capitol is the subject of a criminal investigation following an altercation with a contracted employee prior to the annual Statehood Day Dinner on Saturday, according to authorities. Bob Ripley, who has worked as the Capitol administrator for more than 40 years, was involved in an altercation with a member of the contracted staff setting up at the Capitol ahead of Saturday's dinner, said Cody Thomas, the Nebraska State Patrol's spokesman. Capitol security a part of the State Patrol took the report, which was first reported by the Nebraska Examiner. The State Patrol is still investigating the incident. Ripley hasn't been cited or charged for his alleged role in the altercation, Thomas said. Ripley did not respond to an email seeking comment Thursday afternoon. Laura Strimple, Gov. Jim Pillen's communications director, confirmed that he had been suspended with pay pending the outcome of the investigation. Ripley, who sits on the Nebraska State Capitol Commission, is overseeing a $131 million project to totally renovate the building's HVAC system. The Capitol was constructed over a 10-year period from 1922 to 1932 at a cost of less than $10 million. The building hosts 100,000 visitors a year, including 25,000 to 30,000 school children, and it dominates a skyline that is restricted to assure and protect the structure's ongoing prominence. Photos: The Nebraska State Capitol through the years WASHINGTON Active-service members and veterans provided firsthand testimony Wednesday about the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, describing in harrowing detail the carnage and death they witnessed on the ground while imploring Congress to help the allies left behind. Former Marine Sgt. Tyler Vargas-Andrews testified to Congress about the stench of human flesh under a large plume of smoke as the screams of children, women and men filled the space around Kabuls airport after two suicide bombers attacked. I see the faces of all of those we could not save, those we left behind, said Vargas-Andrews, who wore a prosthetic arm and scars of his own grave wounds from the bombing. The withdrawal was a catastrophe in my opinion. And there was an inexcusable lack of accountability. The first of what is expected to be a series of Republican-led hearings examining the Biden administrations handling of the withdrawal displayed the open wounds from the end of Americas longest war in August 2021, with witnesses recalling how they saw mothers carrying dead babies and the Taliban shooting and beating people. Taliban forces seized the Afghan capital, Kabul, far more rapidly than U.S. intelligence had foreseen. Kabuls fall turned the withdrawal into a rout, with Kabuls airport the center of a desperate air evacuation guarded by U.S. forces deployed for the task. The majority of witnesses argued to Congress that the fall of Kabul was an American failure with blame touching every presidential administration from George W. Bush to Joe Biden. Testimony focused not on the decision to withdraw, but on what witnesses depicted as a desperate attempt to rescue American citizens and Afghan allies with little U.S. planning and inadequate U.S. support. America is building a nasty reputation for multigenerational systemic abandonment of our allies where we leave a smoldering human refuse from the Montagnards of Vietnam to the Kurds in Syria, retired Lt. Col. Scott Mann testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee. He added, Our veterans know something else that this committee might do well to consider: We might be done with Afghanistan, but its not done with us. Vargas-Andrews sobbed as he told lawmakers of being thwarted in an attempt to stop the single deadliest moment in the U.S. evacuation: the suicide bombing that killed 170 Afghans and 13 U.S. servicemen and women. He said Marines and others aiding in the evacuation operation were given descriptions of men believed to be plotting an attack before it occurred. He said he and others spotted two men matching the descriptions and behaving suspiciously, and had them in their rifle scopes but never received a response about whether to take action. No one was held accountable, Vargas-Andrews told Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Texas, chairman of the committee. No one was, and no one is, to this day. U.S. Central Commands investigation concluded in October 2021 that given the worsening security situation at Abbey Gate as Afghans became increasingly desperate to flee, the attack was not preventable at the tactical level without degrading the mission to maximize the number of evacuees. However, that investigation did not look into whether the bomber could have been stopped or whether Marines on the ground had the appropriate authority to engage. Defense Department spokesman Lt. Col. Rob Lodewick said Wednesday that the Pentagons earlier review of the suicide attack had turned up neither any advance identification of a possible attacker nor any requests for an escalation to existing rules of engagement governing use of force by U.S. troops. McCaul is deeply critical of the Biden administrations handling of the withdrawal. What happened in Afghanistan was a systemic breakdown of the federal government at every level, and a stunning failure of leadership by the Biden administration, he said. Last month, U.S. Inspector-General for Afghanistan John Sopko concluded again that actions taken by both the Trump and Biden administrations were key to the sudden collapse of the Afghan government and military, even before U.S. forces completed their withdrawal in August 2021. That includes President Donald Trumps withdrawal deal with the Taliban, and the abruptness of Bidens withdrawal U.S. contractors and troops. The report blamed each U.S. administration since American forces invaded in 2001 for inconsistent policies and a failure to build a capable, sustainable Afghan military. The witnesses testifying Wednesday urged action to help the hundreds of thousands of Afghan allies who worked alongside U.S. soldiers and who are now in limbo in the U.S. and back in Afghanistan. If I leave this committee with only one thought its this: Its not too late, said Peter Lucier, a Marine veteran who now works at Team America Relief, which has assisted thousands of Afghans in relocating. Were going to talk a lot today about all the mistakes that were made, leading up to that day, but urgent action right now will save so many lives. One of those solutions discussed Wednesday would be creating a pathway to citizenship for the nearly 76,000 Afghans who worked with American soldiers since 2001 as translators, interpreters and partners. The government admitted the refugees on a temporary parole status as part of Operation Allies Welcome with the promise of a path to a life in the U.S. But that effort stalled in the Senate late last year due to opposition from Republicans. Heartland Theatre to host 'An Inside Look' NORMAL Heartland Theatre Company will host a free event "An Inside Look" from 7 to 8 p.m. on Monday, March 13. The public is invited to a behind-the-scenes sneak peek of the theater's upcoming show "Tiny Beautiful Things" by Nia Vardalos, based on the book by Cheryl Strayed. Guests will meet the director, Don LaCasse, and the design staff for the show, who will share their process and insights. Normal Public Library staff and the Heartland board president will moderate the discussion and share relevant material and resources. The audience will also see some of the floorplan and concept for the scenic design, costumes, props and hear about the vision from the director. Attendees will be able to ask the director, designers and library staff questions as well. "An Inside Look" is a collaboration between the Normal Public Library and Heartland Theatre Company, with a two-fold mission: to diversify their patronage by drawing theater-goers to the library and sending library visitors to the theater. The library provides limited copies of scripts and related materials to borrow, as well. Visit heartlandtheatre.org for more information. Lincoln Library to offer special services for deaf community SPRINGFIELD The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum will offer special services for the deaf community on Thursday, March 9. From 4 to 6 p.m., sign-language interpreters will be on hand to assist visitors who are deaf or hard of hearing. Theatrical presentations will include interpreters as well. Labels throughout the museum will describe sound effects that enrich the visitor experience, and closed-captioning will be available in some spots. Admission will be free to all visitors during the two-hour special event, which is part of the museum's "Abe for All" initiative. Illinois State Museum to host Gen-X prom for new exhibit SPRINGFIELD The Illinois State Museum will celebrate the opening of the Growing Up X exhibition with a Gen-X prom on Friday, March 10. The event will take place at the museum from 7 to 11 p.m. Guests are invited to break out their hairspray and best 80s or 90s attire for a reinvented version of this high school rite of passage, including music, food, keepsake photos, and prizes for best attire. Tickets are $40 for museum members and $50 for non-members. Tickets include Gen X-inspired food, non-alcoholic drinks and music by local DJs. Alcoholic-beverage packages and individual beverage tickets are available for pre-purchase online or at the door. The prom is a fundraiser for the museum to help it continue to put on programs, exhibitions and research projects. Vist bit.ly/ISMGenXProm or call 217-782-7388. Artifact Identification Day slated March 19 at Dickson Mounds LEWISTOWN The Illinois State Museum announced the return of its annual Artifact Identification Day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, March 19. The event will be held at the Dickson Mounds branch in Lewistown, just off Illinois Route 78/97. The event has gone on for over 40 years and has drawn a variety of mundane and unique objects. Museum archeologists and other experts will identify Native American artifacts and objects such as fossils, animal bones and rock specimens. Visitors are encouraged to to bring their curiosity or questions, but no appraisals will be given. This will be the first time the event has been held post-pandemic. The last event took place in March 2020. Admission is free and food will be available for purchase from The Lunchwagon. The museum is open 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., seven days a week. Visit illinoisstatemuseum.org for more information. Peoria Park District sets Park-A-Palooza PEORIA The Peoria Park District announced a new concert and festival, Park-A-Palooza, coming to the Peoria Riverfront June 8-10. Park-A-Palooza will feature the Guinness Book of Records' World's Largest Bounce House and The Giant Obstacle course, a Drone Light Show and a concert with Grammy award-winning artist, Ashley McBryde featuring Chase Wright on Friday, June 9. Illinois State Representative Jehan Gordon-Booth and the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity are supporting the event. Tickets went on sale March 3 and are available at $10 per ticket pre-sale rate through April 1. Visit PeoriaParks.org/PAP for more information BLOOMINGTON A Cook County man faces charges of selling drugs in McLean County. Vincent J. McEnaney, 20, of Niles, was charged Wednesday with the following: 1 count of unlawful possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver between 15 and 100 grams of a substance containing cocaine, a Class X felony 2 counts of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance between 1 and 15 grams of a substance containing cocaine, Class 1 felonies 1 count of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance containing less than 1 gram of cocaine, a Class 2 felony 1 count of criminal damage to state supported property, a Class 3 felony 1 count of unlawful delivery of cannabis between 10 and 30 grams, a Class 4 felony Prosecutors said there were two transactions, Feb. 21 and March 6, in which McEnaney sold cocaine to a confidential source with Illinois State Police Task Force 6. On March 7, a search warrant was executed at an address in Normal where McEnaney resided, according to court documents. Prosecutors allege that officers found McEnaney in possession of over 43 grams of cocaine, marked bills from the transactions, and over $2,000 in cash. Prosecutors said McEnaney admitted to purchasing the cocaine in Cook County for $45 per gram and then selling it in McLean County. While in custody at the Illinois State University Police Department, prosecutors said McEnaney ripped a table from a wall and destroyed some of the drywall, causing more than $500 in damage. In requesting the bond amount, prosecutors noted that, in recorded jail calls, McEnaney said he would "kick someone's teeth in their throat." McEnaney's bond was set at $100,000 with 10% to apply, meaning he would have to post $10,000 plus court fees to be released from the McLean County Jail. His next court date in this matter is 9 a.m. March 24. 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 BLOOMINGTON Subjects of diversity and finances ran across questions during the NAACPs school board candidates' forum. Candidates for the Bloomington District 87 and McLean County Unit 5 school boards met for an event Thursday at Mount Pisgah Baptist Church hosted by the Bloomington-Normal branch of the NAACP and the Omicron Delta Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. In Unit 5, there are nine candidates for four seats, while District 87 has four candidates running for three seats. Present from Unit 5 were newcomers Alex Williams, Dennis Frank and Mark Adams and incumbents Amy Roser and Kelly Pyle. Candidates Steve Mackowiak, Brad Wurth, Mollie Emery and Amee Jada did not attend the forum. For District 87, incumbents Veleda Harvey and Mark Wylie were joined by challengers Courtney Turnbull and Cathy Lust. Our community is depending on you to get it right, local NAACP President Linda Foster told the candidates ahead of the forum, which also included candidates for the Bloomington-Normal city councils and the Heartland Community College and Normal Public Library boards. Black Lives Matter was not a controversial statement for the school board candidates who attended. In the final question Do Black lives matter? all of the candidates present said "Yes." Unit 5 Unit 5 faces a large structural budget deficit in its education fund, which a referendum also on the April 4 ballot would be used to address if passed. Roser and Pyle both said they were running again because they had more they wanted to accomplish. There is still more work to be done, Pyle said. Among the questions, Unit 5 candidates were asked what they would do if the district were fully funded. Pyle answered that she would start by restoring cuts that had been made to expenses like extracurricular activities. Frank, who does not support the referendum, said if the district had extra funding, he would want to look at improving school facilities and technology, including computers and software being used by students and teachers. Both Williams and Roser included pay as something they would address with increased funding. Staffing levels also were addressed in a question to Unit 5 candidates about how they would encourage the hiring of more Black teachers. We need to examine what is our pipeline to attract a diverse teacher population, and we have to be intentional about seeking those candidates out, Williams said. Williams, who is Black, had earlier talked about the positive impact having a Black teacher in seventh grade had on his daughter. On the topic, Frank also said it was important to have diverse teaching staff that better reflect the schools they work at. Adams said pay was an important factor and could be helped by passing the referendum. Roser noted that retention of diverse teachers is vital and can be helped with supports and mentoring. While the boards main hiring role is restricted to choosing superintendents, the board can set staff diversity as a priority for administration, Pyle said. The Unit 5 candidates were also directly asked about how to approach diversity, equity and inclusion work in the district. Roser and Pyle both noted actions by Unit 5 in recent years, including a survey to guide the district in addressing concerns and regular updates on progress given to the board. There is still work to do, though, they said. I think weve made some progress, but theres a lot of work left to do and we cannot do it fast enough, Roser said. Adams said he wants the district to continue looking for ways to improve. Theres always ways to improve and analyze our own bias, he said. Frank said he has heard a lot about the issue while talking with the public and that he sees it as important to try to understand other cultures, but he had some reservations about those efforts. It can be used in a good way and it can be used in a way thats not positive, he said. District 87 District 87 candidates were asked about resolving fights and other behavior problems in schools and the academic impacts those disruptions cause. Wylie said it was something that required collaboration between students, teachers, administrators, the board and parents, and expelling students because of fights was one of the hardest things he has had to do on the board. Harvey made a similar point about needing a holistic approach to the issue. I believe part of the problem or part of the solution is at home or with groups like this (NAACP), Harvey said. Lust, who is a retired school psychologist, said students often act out when they do not have the emotional skills they need to deal with a difficult situation, so working on social-emotional learning is essential to addressing behavior. Turnbull said she wanted to see a return to a greater focus on student accountability for their actions and more discretion given to administrators in making those decisions. When the District 87 candidates were asked about banning books, all four said they were against the practice and encouraged students having access to diverse and representative reading options. In her remarks at the beginning of the forum, Foster encouraged everyone who could to vote in the election. Voting is your right, voting is the right thing to do, and guess what, voting matters, she said. Early voting is open, with Election Day on April 4. BLOOMINGTON Increasing access to college-level courses in high schools and expanding African American enrollment were some of the topics addressed Thursday by Heartland Community College board candidates. The Bloomington-Normal NAACP and the Omicron Delta Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. hosted the forum for education and municipal candidates on Thursday night at Mount Pisgah Baptist Church, Bloomington. Incumbents Mary Campbell and Cecelia Long were the only Heartland candidates present during the forum. Challenger David Selzer was not present. "We know these candidates have plenty to say and we are just excited for them to be here and for you to be able to hear what they would like to share," local NAACP President Linda Foster said ahead of the forum. The forum opened with a question about racism for all candidates across the ballot. When asked if they would stand up to it, all of the candidates said yes, and each offered ideas for promoting diversity in the community. As for the future of Heartland's role in providing college-level courses to high school students, Campbell said there is a strong effort on the board to expand opportunities with area high schools and to offer a pathway from receiving college credits to enrolling at Heartland. "To bring them in, it's a win-win," Campbell said. "Students get college credit and parents save money because they don't have to pay for it. It runs through the school district." Long said they staff who does outreach in high schools, and Heartland has provided 1,908 students with dual-credit courses as of last year, for a total of 11,670 dual-credit hours. "We also have done a lot to increase our minority student population on campus," Long said. "That's been something I've really been passionate about, is extending outreach to areas that don't get enough outreach." Long added that the college has focused a lot of its outreach on the west side of Bloomington and has increased its minority student population to 30%. As of 2021, the college had 17% of minority students complete schooling and receive their certificates. "Part of our conversation at the board is recruitment of minority faculty and recruitment of students of all sorts, and there's a lot of outreach," Campbell said. "When you think about what schools you want to go to and what programs you want to target and where you want to bring them in from, you have to put your emphasis where the students are." Campbell also said the college's Workforce Equity Initiative requires 60% of the students who participate in the program be people of color. "It's a really big win for our community and for those students," Campbell said. In her remarks at the beginning of the forum, Foster encouraged everyone who can vote to do so in the upcoming election. Voting is your right, voting is the right thing to do, and guess what, voting matters, Foster said. Early voting is open, with Election Day on April 4. Watch now: Photos from the HCC Funnyraiser Willie Thomspon, Crowd Favorite comedian Jolene Aldus HCC Executive Director of Development Chris Downing, HCC President Keith Cornille Patrick and Tracy Mainieri Kevin and Jamie Kilpatrick, Maggie and Josh St. Peters Paul and Christie Vellella Adam Weber, Allegra Thigpen Patrick Mainieri, Suzi Nafziger, Andrea Arduini DeeDee and Trevor Gearhart Gary, Frank and Angie Hoffman Sarah Fleming, Gavin Lee John Nafziger, Amber Gruenloh, Brad Glenn Larry Blumenstock, Dan and Angela Yandel Shelleigh and Kevin Birlingmair, Chris Downing Taylor Seal, Kadi Juris, Heather Goergen Adam Pemberton, Nicole Batkiewicz Annie and Scott Swanson Amanda Jones, Catherine Porter, Shelleigh Birlingmair Christina and Justin Boyd Ann and Ben Jeffreys Steve and Julie Kubsch Brian and Alexis Plath, Dr. Noelle and Brock Selkow Annie Swanson, Jennifer Bras Myra and George Gordon It was a sold out night Keith Baker, Meta Mickens-Baker, Tony Jones Annie Swanson, Sara Larsen, Scott Swanson, Jennifer Bras, Kim Schoenbein Jon and Laura Pritts Reena Rhoda, Brian Morfey Simon and Nicole Hoffman Justin and Amber Wilfley Cathy and Dennis Wentworth, Roger and Diane Finney BLOOMINGTON Area women and law officials gathered Friday for a luncheon with keynote speaker and newly appointed Illinois Supreme Court Justice Lisa Holder White. The event was organized by the Women in Leadership group of Rotary District 6490 as part of their 2023 Speaker Series at Rob Dob's Restaurant in Bloomington. Julie Dobski, former Rotary District 6490 governor, said the series is all about women in leadership sharing their lives and challenges while offering advice to others for inspiration and guidance. "That's what women want to know, that there are people that they can call and people they can talk to if they have other questions," Dobski said. "Rotary is about helping each other and mentoring each other, that's really what it's about." Holder White, a Republican who lives in Sangamon County, shared stories of her childhood, being born and raised in Decatur with her two sisters and spending time in her mother's beauty parlor, Shade of Color Beauty Salon. After graduating from the University of Illinois College of Law in 1993, Holder White said she served as an assistant states attorney for Macon County before going into private practice. In 2001, she became the first Black judge in the Sixth Judicial Circuit. "After my first sentencing hearing where I sentenced someone to prison, that was the topic of conversation in my mom's Sunday school class," Holder White said. "It's been a very interesting and beneficial journey for me." In 2013, she was appointed to the Fourth District Appellate Court, becoming its first Black justice. That same year, she was named Woman of the Year in a ceremony hosted by the Decatur YMCA and the United Way of Decatur and Mid-Illinois. She also has received the Joe Slaw Civil Rights Award from the Decatur branch of the NAACP. "I wanted to be a lawyer, and my mom always gave the advice to us girls to bloom where you're planted," Holder White said. "Every position that I held, every opportunity that I had, I worked hard to bloom." As for becoming a Supreme Court Justice, Holder White said she never planned on it, especially with the redistricting of Illinois, and Decatur being moved from the Fourth Judicial District to the Fifth in 2022. Then one day, her office received a call from retired Justice Rita B. Garman to have lunch, and the two talked about Holder White taking the seat on the state's highest court. "As far as I'm concerned, my entire career has been more about a calling versus a career," Holder White said. "It's something that I feel compelled to do." Holder White then explained the state's judicial system in a presentation highlighting the three courts and giving insight into how cases reach the Supreme Court, including the SAFE-T Act which will have a hearing Tuesday and the recent gun ban legislation. As for Rotary's speaker series, the Women in Leadership group will host another event April 14, with more details to come. Past speaking series can be found online at www.womenrotary.com/speaker-series. Watch now: Illinois Supreme Court Justice Lisa Holder White in Bloomington Julie Dobski, Honorable Carla Barnes, Illinois Supreme Court Justice Lisa Holder White, Lyn Landon Meyer Capel attorneys Nate Hinch, Tristan Bullington, Samantha Walley, John Pratt Bev Stevens, Mike Martin Greg Meyer, Rick Wills Former District 6490 Governer Julie Dobski Donna Carlson Webb, Carrie Clodi Cheryl Magnuson, Kathleen Lorenz Karen Hanson, Honorable Beth Robb, Coroner Kathy Yoder Shandra Summerville, Uma Balakrishnan, District 6490 Governor Connie Walsh Jane Schurten, Julie Payne Karen DeAngelis, Kim Schoenbein Dayna Brown, Tracy Patkunas Feli Sebastian, Deanna Frautschi, Peggy Hundley Sue Seibring, Sonya Mau Erika Reynolds, SaMond Davis, Honorable Don Knapp, Coroner Kathy Yoder Julie Dobski, Pat Grosso Honorable Beth Robb, Josephine Shane, Aimee Beam Photos: Illinois Supreme Court Justice Lisa Holder White Liu Qingfeng, a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress and chairman of iFLYTEK. [Photo provided to China.org.cn] At China's ongoing "two sessions," Liu Qingfeng, a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress, has proposed encouraging the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technology to provide security, home care, and other services for the elderly. Emphasizing the importance of leveraging intelligent methods to enhance safety for older people, Liu stressed the need to foster the development of home care robots and companion robots. China has seen a steady rise in its aging population, prompting the government to propose taking proactive steps to address the issue and promote the development of elderly care programs and services in its latest work report. The report says the country will encourage "the development of community and at-home elderly care services by offering policy support." In recent years, China has seen the emergence of innovative elderly care products and services that leverage mobile internet and AI technologies. These solutions have played a crucial role in ensuring the health and safety of the elderly, as well as improving their quality of life. Notable examples include age-friendly mobile apps and intelligent hearing aids, among others. Liu Qingfeng, the chairman of China's leading AI and speech technology company, iFLYTEK, proposed that technology integration to enhance the quality of life for the elderly should be included in the national development strategy. He also recommended the establishment of a special fund to support this initiative. To assist senior citizens who live alone, Liu proposed supporting integrated research into software and hardware to develop elderly-friendly products, and promoting the development and application of intelligent care and home terminal hardware products. For example, an AI phone robot could make scheduled calls and provide greetings, care, and health monitoring for the elderly. In abnormal situations, the robot could alert family members and community staff, whose timely assistance could help prevent accidents. Liu advocated for robust support for home care and companion robots and recommended the introduction of robots into households as a means of ensuring a happy and healthy aging process. Last year, iFlytek released its Robot Super Brain Platform, an integrated software and hardware robot development platform that incorporates core capabilities such as multimodal interaction, deep understanding, and motion control. The company eyes to build a robot ecosystem with developers and upstream and downstream companies. As part of its 14th FiveYear Plan, China aims to become a global center of excellence for robotics technology innovation, advanced manufacturing, and integrated applications by 2025. How Time Flies is a daily feature looking back at Pantagraph archives to revisit what was happening in our community and region. 100 years ago March 10, 1923: C.A. and G.H. Daly of the Daly Brothers' firm of this city have assembled a radio receiving set without aerial or ground. In this apparatus they have eliminated vari-couplers, variometers and tuning coils. The set is simple in operation using only one variable condenser for tuning. It has been in operation for a week. 75 years ago March 10, 1948: The McLean County Service Co., farm bureau cooperative, will have its 22nd annual meeting in the Bloomington Consistory, members to vote on a proposal to issue $100,000 additional stock to help the Illinois Farm Supply company finance the recent purchase of an oil refinery at Pana. 50 years ago March 10, 1973: State Farm Mutual had record sales of $2 billion last year, but net income was down $25.5 million to $186.9 million. The decrease in profit from 1971 was attributed to an $80 million increase in policyholder dividends. 25 years ago March 10, 1998: A late winter storm swept through the Midwest, knocking out electricity, snarling traffic and causing eight deaths. Roughly 11 inches of snow fell in parts of the state. O'Hare International Airport was nearly shut down, thousands in Central Illinois lost power, and a planned visit from former Vice President Dan Quayle to Bloomington had to be rescheduled because of the weather. 101 years ago: See vintage Pantagraph ads from 1922 Gerthart's Union Gas and Electric Co. Hoover Dr. J.A. Moore Dentists Moberly & Klenner W.P. Garretson W.H. Roland Pease's Candy Thor 32 Electric Washing Machine The Kaiser's Story of the War Ike Livingston & Sons Gossard Corsets Cat'n Fiddle 'Stolen Moments' Case Model X The Johnson Transfer & Fuel Co. The Pantagraph want ads Franklin Motor Car Co. 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' Calumet Baking Powder Mayer Livingston & Co. Newsmarket 'The Emperor Jones' 'California Fig Syrup' WASHINGTON A Central Illinois congressman accused the FBI of wrongly searching for his name in foreign surveillance data, underscoring the challenges ahead for U.S. officials trying to persuade Congress to renew their authorities to collect huge swaths of communications. Republican U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood, a Peoria native who represents the 16th Congressional District, did not say why the FBI may have searched his name in information collected under a provision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act known as Section 702, and a spokesman for the lawmaker did not respond to a request for further clarification. At a hearing of the House Intelligence Committee on Thursday, LaHood pressed FBI Director Chris Wray to acknowledge that his agency and others had at times violated the rules on the use of data collected through electronic snooping. The FBIs inappropriate querying of a duly elected Member of Congress is an egregious violation that undermines trust in our system and FISA. I joined @DanaPerino on @AmericaNewsroom to discuss our work on @HouseIntel to reform FISA & Section 702 to restore faith in this process. pic.twitter.com/u5rlmv7Pcr Darin LaHood (@RepLaHood) March 10, 2023 "We clearly have work to do, and we're eager to do it with this committee, to show that we can be worthy stewards of these important authorities," Wray said. In a statement, the FBI said that though it could not comment on specific queries, it has made "extensive changes over the past few years" to address compliance issues. It has also offered LaHood a classified briefing to discuss the circumstances of the query, according to a person familiar with the situation who insisted on anonymity to discuss confidential conversations. The White House and U.S. intelligence officials are pressing Congress to renew Section 702, which expires at this year's end. They face sharp criticism both from Republicans who accuse the FBI of having abused surveillance powers against allies of former President Donald Trump and Democrats who believe there are insufficient protections of civil liberties. Section 702 allows the U.S. to collect foreign communications without a warrant and query the data for a variety of reasons, from countering China to stopping terrorism and cyberattacks. The intelligence agencies end up incidentally collecting large amounts of emails and communications from U.S. citizens. They can access U.S. citizen data under strict rules for law enforcement and intelligence purposes, but the agencies have acknowledged violating those rules in some circumstances. LaHood will lead an effort by House Republicans on the intelligence committee to recommend changes to Section 702. While he and other Republicans on the committee say they support the law, LaHood criticized those violations as making a renewal more difficult. "There are far too many members of Congress on both sides of the aisle that question whether the executive branch can be trusted with this powerful tool," he said. "And that's because in the past and currently, there's been abuses and misuses of 702 by the FBI." LaHood cited a 2021 report from the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence on compliance that notes an instance of searches for data on an unnamed congressman. Officials evaluating the incident determined the searches were for a foreign intelligence purpose but were "overly broad" and therefore not compliant with agency rules. Wray did not directly address LaHood's claim, but in its statement, the FBI said its changes included a new internal audit office focused on FISA compliance and new requirements governing particularly sensitive queries. Searches involving elected officials now require the approval of the deputy director, the FBI said. Wray also said he was mindful of surveillance errors made during the FBI investigation into Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and Russia, which include bungled applications to monitor the communications of former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. A Justice Department inspector general report on that investigation "describes conduct that I considered totally unacceptable and unrepresentative of the FBI," Wray told lawmakers Thursday, though he added that substantial reforms have been made since then. Though those mistakes occurred under a different section of the law than the one that's up for renewal, the blowback from the errors have complicated FBI efforts to make the broader case for the reauthorization of Section 702. The bureau made several compliance changes and also reformed how it searches Section 702 data, Wray said, adding that the numbers of U.S. citizen searches had fallen sharply over the last two years. The White House launched an effort earlier this year to convince Congress that Section 702 powers are critical to U.S. intelligence. Top officials have given broad examples of successes under the program, saying that they used its data in the operation to kill al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri last year. A key Democrat this week pushed the Biden administration to make a stronger case for the law. Sen. Mark Warner, the Virginia Democrat who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, told intelligence officials Wednesday that he and his colleagues are "going to push you to declassify more information so that we can again convince the American public." No one wants to throw cold water on peoples spirits, especially when the weather is as unpredictable as it is in March. But this reminds us of the critical warning that goes with observances that center on socializing. Dont drink and drive. Illinois does not rank among the countrys top 10 for either the most money spent on St. Patricks Day or the number of drinks consumed. But Illinois is regarded as the second-most social state based on the percentage of residents who reported going out with friends or coworkers on that day. We only trail Florida. This years day being a Friday practically doubles the opportunity to enjoy and the chance to make a life-altering mistake. St. Patricks Day is the countrys peak point for driving under the influence arrests. The police are on extra patrol. Even if they dont send out a reminder when they are. The idea is not to escape the polices notice for inebriated driving. The idea is the reminder of the possibilities if a person gets behind the wheel and puts the police in a position where they have to make an arrest. Make a plan, and make another plan. Even with the best intentions and the best-laid plans, a person can still end up driving while intoxicated. Have several different backup plans. Not only designate a driver but have a backup sober driver. Pre-program taxi or Uber drivers into your phone. St. Patrick was born in Britain to a Romanized family. At age 16, he was taken prisoner by Irish raiders and carried into slavery in Ireland. After six years in servitude, he had a vision (which he credited to God) of his escape and returned to his home. Another vision led him to a 15-year journey to becoming a minister. Patrick was never actually canonized by the Catholic Church because he lived prior to a formal canonization process. Patrick was likely proclaimed a saint by popular acclaim. Patrick's Day started to honor Saint Patrick on the anniversary of his death. Christians held a great feast for which Lenten food and alcohol restrictions were temporarily removed, which is why drinking has become synonymous with the holiday. Even though it became more about culture and turned into a universal party, it doesn't really represent true Irish culture anymore, let alone celebrate a religious man. The government has made all the necessary payments to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) for the supply of childhood immunization vaccines that are short in the country, the Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, has told Parliament. He said the ministry placed the order for the vaccines a week ago with the UNICEF, adding that the ministry was currently working with UNICEF to fast-track the process to address the vaccine shortage. Mr Agyeman-Manu, who was updating Parliament on the shortage of some routine childhood vaccines in the country yesterday, said We are making all necessary efforts to ensure that we secure adequate stocks of childhood vaccines that are short in the country within the next two to three weeks, all things being equal. It is expected that the vaccines will be supplied in the next two to three weeks, all things being equal, he said. Vaccines The minister said there were 10 different vaccines for the countrys immunisation programmes that protected children against 13 different diseases. He said four of those vaccines were 100 per cent funded by the government, while the remaining six were supplied by the Global Vaccine Alliance (GAVI) in a cost-sharing agreement with the government. The shortages the country was experiencing, he said, now affected three of the four traditional vaccines fully funded by the government and supplied through UNICEF. He mentioned the vaccines in short supply nationwide as BCG, Measles-Rubella (MR) and Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV). The recent shortages in some childhood vaccines regrettably coincided with the performance of the economy towards the second half of last year and this affected our normal procurement processes, which resulted in delays for vaccines we would have needed in 2023, he said. Despite the delay in our procurement processes, we had stocks which carried us through 2022, resulting in our end-of-year national coverage of 95 per cent for measles, 90 per cent for OPV and 96 per cent for BCG, Mr Agyeman-Manu added. Outbreak He told the House that five districts in the Northern Region had been in an outbreak situation, naming them as the Tamale Metro, Kumbungu, Savelugu, Karaga and Nanumba North. Mr Agyeman-Manu indicated that the vaccination coverage for 2022 for the five districts was moderately high, with Savelugu having 80.5 per cent, Tamale Metro with 107.8 per cent, Karaga with 101.9 per cent, Kumbungu with 96.3 per cent and Nanumba North with 74.2 per cent coverage. We believe this is enough to prevent an outbreak, he said. He added that one major contributor to measles outbreak was the accumulation of unvaccinated persons over a period of time. Those children, he said, constituted a cohort of vulnerable groups who become the focus of infection. This is why the country has been conducting mass catch-up and follow-up measles (and rubella) vaccination campaigns every three to five years, with support from GAVI, the WHO, UNICEF and other partners, the Minister of Health said. Correcting wrong impression He informed the House that there had been no deaths from the recent recorded spike in measles, and that there had been no deaths since 2003, in spite of cases being recorded annually. Mr Speaker, mercifully, no child has died in this outbreak, he said, highlighting how surveillance had been enhanced through daily records reviews and ward rounds in the affected areas. Mr Agyeman-Manu pointed out that the Ministry of Health, working with the WHO and other partners, had initiated an application to the International Coordination Group (ICG) for the supply of Measles-Rubella vaccines for an outbreak response vaccination campaign. Mr Speaker, on this basis, we appeal to caregivers, opinion leaders, school authorities and the public to make children available for routine vaccination and vaccination campaigns, so that no child is left behind, he said. Source: graphic.com.gh Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Breast Care International, (BCI) and Kempinski Hotel, Gold Coast City in Accra, have signed a partnership agreement to generate revenue through voluntary patron contribution to support treatment and awareness creation modules designed to fight the surge in breast cancer statistics. The humanitarian initiative appeals to patrons of Kempinski to donate fifteen cedis per each nights stay to make a difference in supporting Breast Care International through the hotels Be Heath Initiatve, program. Founder and President of BCI, Dr. Beatrice Wiafe Addai, at the signing ceremony in Accra observed that stigma remains a bane in the campaign and we are firmly rooted in our conviction that this initiative would help in getting more patients to step out for treatment. The Charity, She said, is keen on reducing the burden of financing the treatment cycle of indigent breast cancer patients, on a few, and commended Kempinski hotel for charting and supporting a noble cause that would rescue several women from ravages of breast cancer. The BCI President noted that the initiative would re-kindle the primary objective of saving cancer patients. We have to put the public on constant notice that breast cancer is still on the rise, and we cant afford to lose our loved ones and friends to a disease that could be cured if detected early she stressed. The initiative would enable BCI focus on women who come with early stage conditions to be readily treated, she emphasised. Dr. Wiafe said no patient, should be left out, insisting we value every life and pesewa from the donor community towards breast cancer awareness creation programs. We must all rally around the new model and avoid acts which can cause needless and preventable breast cancer deaths among our wives, daughters, sisters, and mothers she added. Dr. Beatrice Wiafe Addai, noted, the joy in reaching out to the indigent, deprived woman stuck in the remotest village stems from our shared love and value for humanity. We are each others keeper. We are so closely and directly affected by each others acts such that we ought reasonably to have everyone in contemplation, especially the perishing and dying breast cancer patient, in our everyday engagements she said. Managing Director of Be Health, Anne-Marie Bettex-Baars, together with manager of Kempinski, Rozlaine Hakki expressed their delight in the partnership with Breast Care to save lives. We are proud to have launched our health initiative and support BCI fight against breast cancer. We believe that by working together, we can make a significant impact and help save lives. The Be Health initiative is an ongoing effort, and guests are invited to continue supporting the campaign by making donations during their stay, to enable the hotel make a difference in the fight against breast cancer she added. Source: Myjoyonline.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 Former President John Dramani Mahama wants the government to intervene to resolve the impasse between the military and residents of Ashaiman before the situation escalates. Military personnel besieged Ashaiman on Tuesday dawn following the killing of a member of the Ghana Armed Forces Band, Sherif Imoro, 22. He was in Accra for a military course and in the last three weeks, had been visiting his parents in their home at Ashaiman every Friday, multiple media sources said. It was during one of his visits that he was reportedly confronted by a gang that killed him. Reacting to the development on Facebook on Wednesday (8th March), John Mahama condemned the killing of the soldier, adding that the government must compensate all affected persons. I am deeply saddened by the death of one of our soldiers, at such a young age, in Ashaiman. Lordina and I extend our deepest condolences to his bereaved and grieving family, and the officers and men of the Ghana Armed Forces. As your former Commander in Chief, I do appreciate how such unexpected deaths affect the Force. However, I encourage you to exercise restraint and allow due process to investigate, apprehend, prosecute and punish the perpetrator(s) of the dastardly act, Mahama wrote on Facebook. Adding that, "I pray we find peace and harmony in our dear country, as the government and state institutions immediately step in to address this potentially inflammatory development between Ashaiman and the Ghana Armed Forces; including providing commensurate compensation for all persons affected. 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 The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament (MP) for the Buem constituency, Kofi Adams says the military erred in besieging Ashaiman to seek justice for the death of their colleague. According to him, the police with expertise in investigating trickier crimes must have led the operations in the town. Military personnel besieged the area on Tuesday dawn following the killing of a member of the Ghana Armed Forces Band, Sherif Imoro, 22. The deceased who was been laid to rest, Thursday (March 9) was in Accra for a military course and in the last three weeks, had been visiting his parents in their home at Ashaiman every Friday, multiple media sources said. It was during one of his visits that he was reportedly confronted by a gang that killed him. Speaking on NEAT FMs morning show, 'Ghana Montie', Kofi Adams, however, pleaded with the military to hand over all evidence in their possession after their swoop to the police to continue with the investigation of the murder. He believes the offenders will be arrested shortly. The police have the track record of arresting criminals after their investigation, he said. Adding that, I dont think the military should continue to get involved in what they have already done. Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/peacefmonline.com/ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The soldier who was brutally murdered at Ashaiman in the Greater Accra Region has been laid to rest today Thursday, March 9, 2023. He was buried at the Burma Camp military cemetery in Accra after his remains were kep at the 37 Military Hospital mortuary. The solemn occasion saw several soldiers at the cemetery to witness the burial of their 21-year-old late colleague. Earlier, Janaza prayers were offered at the 37 Military Mosque led by the National Chief Imam, Shaikh Osman Nuhu Sharubuth. The burial was as a result of the gruesome murder of the young soldier who resided at Zongo-Laka, a suburb of Ashaiman on Saturday, March 4 dawn. He was found in a pool of blood and after he was stabbed to death by unknown assailants after he allegedly visited his Longtime girlfriend in the area. The killing saw the Military High Command on Tuesday sanctioned an intelligence-led operation to fish out the perpetrators of the crime. In the course of the operation, several civilians reported of brutalities meted out to them. However, some 184 persons were picked up and handed over to the Ghana Police Service through the Military Police but some of them have been released. Speaking on the death of his son, Imoro Awudu, the father of the slain soldier Sherrif Awudu, has he handed everything into the Almighty God to take vengeance. He revealed that it had always been his wish for his children to bury him when he dies and not the other way round. I had also said that I should die first for my children to bury me but now this has happened. I leave everything in the hands of God, God will cater for us, Imoro Awudu told TV3 during the burial of his late son. Also, the mother Afia Kyeraa, also stated her life become empty following the death of her son. it is not easy for me, I cant help, he was all that I got, he was supposed to take care of his siblings but he is gone I dont do any work apart from selling tomatoes so he was my hope. He promised to take care of his siblings. Source: dailyguidenetwork.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 Minister of Defence, Dominic Nitiwul, has stated that officers take great pride in their uniforms and that members of the community they serve should respect that uniform. His remarks come in the wake of military excesses in Ashaiman early Tuesday, following the alleged killing of a young soldier, Imoru Sheriff, by a mob at Ashaiman Taifa last Saturday. Some soldiers are accused of using helicopters to fly over the Ashaiman neighbourhood and unleashing mayhem on some of the locals. The Defence Minister stated during a joint press conference with Parliaments Defence and Interior Committee members that incidents like this one occur as the nation shapes up. We are shaping up a country and we are going to have some of these regrettable incidents. I will still appeal to the people of Ghana to be very respectful of people in uniform. It will help all of us, he intimated. Kennedy Agyapong, Chairman of the Committee, had previously stated that committee members, the Defence Ministry, and the Military High Command had agreed to visit Ashaiman to ascertain the true facts of the incident. The minister said, I will not say anything until the committee has gone on Thursday to visit the place and ascertain for ourselves the facts. Mr. Nitiwul explained that one of the reasons they were not going there right away was because the investigation was still ongoing, and they did not want to jeopardise it. That is why we have asked our colleagues to tone down on statements so that we can all work together to ensure that this tricky situation is brought under control, he added. On behalf of his members, the committees chairman expressed condolences to the bereaved family and those who were innocently affected by the militarys beatings. Some of the people were caught up in the frenzy, according to Mr. Agyapong, who stated, I heard some of them were in their various homes and were brought out to be caned. We all have to admit as human beings that there were excesses and therefore we sympathise with the people of Ashaiman and the Ghana Armed Forces for our young men taking the law into their hands to kill the young soldier. A situation like this, all we can say is that we need peace. We as members of the committee cannot inflame passion by going there to make comments that will annoy a faction, Mr. Agyapong, who is also the NPP MP for Assin Central, posited. He continued, Our mission is to make sure there is peace in this country. The unfortunate incident that happened, we have all condemned it and the Minister has apologised on behalf of the military. They admit that there were excesses. We are not going to make a statement on the floor of the House until we visit the scene and visit the affected victims, and listen to their side of the story, he concluded. Source: dailyguidenetwork.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 Although China has made significant progress in trademark and brand development, there is still room for improvement. In line with this, the Central Committee of the China Association for Promoting Democracy submitted a proposal to the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), highlighting the importance of strengthening these two areas to promote high-quality economic growth. He Zhimin, member of the 14th CPPCC National Committee and deputy director of the National Intellectual Property Administration. [Photo provided to China.org.cn] The proposal highlights that comprehensive support from intellectual property, such as trademarks, patents and geographical indications, is essential for brand development. The trademark system serves as the foundation for improving legal protection of brands, achieving brand market value and unleashing brand social benefits. However, despite the CPC Central Committee and the State Council's significant efforts in developing trademarks and brands in recent years, there are still issues that require further research and action. The first problem, the proposal pointed out, is the insufficient attention given to trademark and brand development by entities. He Zhimin, CPPCC member, vice chairman of the Central Committee of the China Association for Promoting Democracy, and deputy director of the National Intellectual Property Administration, who is attending the annual CPPCC meeting in Beijing, took part in the research and creation of the proposal. "Some companies have inadequate awareness of trademarks and brands, low levels of intellectual property management, and limited investment in brand building and intellectual property protection," he told China.org.cn. "This not only affects brand recognition and value but also leads to significant economic losses and high litigation costs due to trademark disputes, which can impede normal business operations and planning." The national political advisor highlighted a range of challenges facing enterprises in terms of trademark protection: Time-honored enterprises frequently face trademark infringement and counterfeiting, while specialized and innovative enterprises may encounter obstacles going public due to trademark disputes; large state-owned enterprises often encounter trademark squatting when expanding their domestic and foreign businesses; and traditional manufacturing enterprises struggle to establish new brands during transformation and upgrading. These challenges are compounded by overseas registration and licensing, as outlined in the CPPCC proposal he helped to create. Furthermore, the proposal underscores the urgent need to protect trademarks for regional brands. Unfortunately, many regions do not recognize the importance of registering regional brand trademarks and fail to utilize their trademarks effectively. Therefore, it is critical to establish collective trademarks and certification marks to enhance regional brands and foster industrial transformation and upgrading. "In recent years, the National Intellectual Property Administration has taken a strong stance against malicious trademark squatting. However, the frequent occurrence of this behavior reflects weak awareness of trademarks and branding among many enterprises," he stressed. "Improper operation and management of enterprise trademarks can result in their degeneration into generic names or being revoked due to non-use for three consecutive years." "Furthermore, the lack of a trademark risk prevention and control mechanism can lead to increasing losses due to unreasonable handling of trademark disputes. Therefore, all enterprises should prioritize brand awareness and incorporate trademark management into their entire process of brand cultivation, utilization, protection and promotion to avoid any negative impact on their normal operation and development." To optimize the legal environment for the development of trademarks and brands, the proposal recommends revising the Trademark Law and the regulations regarding its implementation. This should be done from the perspectives of various responsible entities such as the state, business entities and local governments. Clauses should be established to encourage and promote the construction of trademarks and brands, and brand building should be incorporated into the rule of law, He Zhimin said. In addition, he suggests overcoming obstacles in the management system and mechanism of trademarks and brands: "The relevant management systems, such as local intellectual property, brand building, market supervision and industrial development, are still fragmented, making it difficult to form effective synergy." He suggested strengthening the top-level design of brand building, with local governments coordinating with relevant departments to establish a mechanism that promotes the coordinated development of brand, innovation, market and industry. Additionally, trademark and brand innovation and entrepreneurship bases, as well as market-oriented trademark and brand development funds, should be established according to local conditions. Furthermore, to meet the needs of business entities, it is essential to develop high-quality teams of trademark and brand service providers. This can be achieved by expanding the coverage and improving the quality of services provided by trademark and brand guidance stations, increasing the supervision of trademark agencies, and nurturing comprehensive brand operation agencies. The senior intellectual property official also expressed concern about the value and international reputation of Chinese brands. The proposal he contributed to noted the lack of a transparent and scientifically sound evaluation system and standards for assessing Chinese trademark and brand value. According to the World Intellectual Property Organization's Global Innovation Index, China's brand value ranked only 18th in the world in 2022, which is disproportionate to its status as the world's second-largest economy. Additionally, foreign countries monopolize the pricing and discourse of brand value. Most internationally recognized trademark and brand value ranking lists are published by commercial institutions in English-speaking countries, leaving China without a credible and globally influential brand value ranking system. A file photo shows a sign for a China Brand Day expo event in Shanghai in 2021. [Photo/VCG] He suggested creating a brand value enhancement campaign, outlining the following steps: "First, we need to strengthen the management of enterprise trademark brands by upgrading and optimizing the management mechanism of intellectual property and brand combination. This will guide enterprises to leverage the combined effects of various types of intellectual property such as trademarks and patents, thereby promoting product and service upgrades and enhancing the core competitiveness of enterprise brands." "Second, we must cultivate regional brands with distinctive advantages. To achieve this, we should support regional brand industry organizations, such as industry associations, to carry out collective trademark and certification mark registration, management, application and protection work. Additionally, we must strengthen the quality assurance of regional brands, explore their cultural connotations, and use them to participate in domestic and international market competition. This approach will help us reconstruct the industrial chain and upgrade the value chain." Third, he proposed strengthening trademark brand guidance services. Fourth, he suggested exploring the development of a trademark brand value evaluation system with unique Chinese characteristics. This would involve benchmarking international standards for brand value evaluation and encouraging local governments and social organizations to conduct research into trademark brand value. The use of technologies like artificial intelligence and big data would enable the development of objective and scientific trademark brand evaluation tools. Additionally, the creation of an independent and authoritative brand value ranking list in China would boost China's international influence and pricing power in the field. "Finally, we must bolster Chinese brands," he concluded. "We should support enterprises in expanding their trademark presence overseas, establish national-level brand promotion platforms, and guide them in developing international strategies. Large-scale events such as the China International Import Expo and China Brand Day can be used to showcase Chinese brands to the international market and promote the internationalization of Chinese products and services." An oil tanker loaded with Russian crude has been idling off the coast of Ghana for more than two weeks after arriving, Bloomberg reports. The tanker christened Theseus arrived in Ghanas territorial waters on February 24, 2023, and was supposed to be discharged into storage tanks at the Tema oil refinery (TOR). Russias pool of buyers shrank dramatically in December after the European Union banned imports from the country, forcing traders to find new markets of Russian barrels. This is the first Russian shipment to the West African country in at least four years, according to Bloomberg data. The tanker loaded about 600,000 barrels of crude from Russias Black Sea port of Novorossiysk in late January, according to tanker tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. The cargo on board originated from Russia, according to data from Vortexa and a port agent report seen by Bloomberg. Separately, a product tanker SCF Yenisei with Russian diesel also arrived at Tema a week ago after loading about 40,000 tons from Russias Baltic port of Primorsk in early February, according to a port agent report and ship tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. It has yet to discharge. Source: graphic.com.gh Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Some residents in Sekondi-Takoradi have expressed their unhappiness about the current usage of the Takoradi Jubilee Park as a market centre. It would be recalled that the Jubilee Parks were monumental projects undertaken by the John Agyekum Kuffour-led administration in some parts of the country when Ghana turned 50 years in 2007 for the hosting of national and ceremonial events. However, the Takoradi Jubilee Park was converted into a temporary trade centre during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic to create more space for traders to do business. The move was also part of efforts to help prevent the spread of the disease among the market women and other traders. So, now that cases of the epidemic had gone down drastically or none are being recorded, some residents have expressed the view that it is about time the traders went back to where they were brought from. Some of the residents asserted that many of them could not participate in the Regional celebration of the countrys 66th independence anniversary celebration because they did not know where the event took place. We did not even know the region celebrated the Independence Day anniversary on March 6 this year because on that day, the market women were still at Jubilee Park. It was later we realized that the ceremony took place in Sekondi, some of them lamented. Nana Egya Kwamina XI, a Divisional Chief of the Ahanta Traditional Council called on city authorities to clear the traders from the Jubilee Park to allow it to be used for its purpose of hosting national and ceremonial events. He was of the view that since there are still more spaces at the Apremdo Market, popularly called Abenbebom in his traditional area, the trades could be moved there to trade rather than allowing them to take over the Jubilee Park. I am appealing to the political heads within the Western Region to immediately return the park to its original use. He said, There are more spaces at the Apremdo market which can contain the traders and so I do not see the reason to still allow the trades to continue to do business at the Takoradi Jubilee Park. According to the chief, taxpayers monies were used for both projects to serve different purposes But here is the case, the Apremdo market is abandoned, and the Jubilee Park is rather serving as a market. Meanwhile, the Effia-Kwesimintsim Municipal Assembly has indicated that plans are afoot to relocate the market women from the Jubilee Park. Source: dailyguidenetwork.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 Charles Owusu has slammed those calling on President Nana Akufo-Addo to condemn the military assault that took place at Ashaiman following the death of a young military officer in the community. The deceased, Imoro Sherrif, 22, was allegedly killed by some people believed to be residents in Ashaiman over reports that he was in a relationship with a lady who was double-dating. Troops stormed the community, in a sanctioned operation, beating the residents with many of them sustaining various degrees of injuries. The young soldier has since been buried according to Islamic rite. After the military brutalities, former President John Dramani Mahama, and some organizations have reprimanded them and the government. The former President has appealed to the government to intervene to resolve the impasse between the military and residents of Ashaiman before the situation escalates. I am deeply saddened by the death of one of our soldiers, at such a young age, in Ashaiman... pray we find peace and harmony in our dear country, as the government and state institutions immediately step in to address this potentially inflammatory development between Ashaiman and the Ghana Armed Forces; including providing commensurate compensation for all persons affected, he wrote on his Facebook post. There have also been several press releases condemning the military action. But to Charles Owusu, there is no cause without effect, therefore the Military wouldn't have besieged the Ashaiman community if they hadn't murdered one of their own. Speaking during "Kokrokoo" panel discussion programme on Peace FM, Charles Owusu asked the critics of the Military's invasion at Ashaiman what they expected to happen after the murder of the soldier in the community. "I want to ask the residents in Ashaiman. So, you know where Police station is; you know there are Police officers in this country and you killed the young soldier?", he questioned. "Sometimes, if things like this don't happen, people won't learn their lessons. In as much as I don't support killing someone, the same way I don't support assault on any person," he added. To him, though unfortunate that some innocent residents were beaten mercilessly by the soldiers, they however should have known that killing a soldier would have consequences. "Under no circumstances do you have the authority to claim the life of a person. It doesn't matter; nothing can justify you killing someone," he stressed. 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 Host of Peace FMs morning show 'Kokrokoo', Kwami Sefa Kayi has sent a strong message to crusaders of coup d'etat to let the military assault on residents at Ashaiman give them an inkling of what a coup in Ghana will look like. Kwami Sefa Kayi, affectionately called Chairman General, warned against having a coup d'etat in the nation, stressing a coup is no joke. Some military officers invaded the Ashaiman community following the death of a young military officer who was allegedly murdered by some unidentified assailants. The officers clad in their military uniform and conveying their armored vehicles to the community pulled the residents from their homes and lashed them mercilessly. Every resident caught in the area received a slice of the military beatings during the sanctioned operation. Commenting on the issue on Thursdays edition of Kokrokoo, Mr. Sefa Kayi admonished the persons who having been advocating that a coup should happen in Ghana to take a cue from the Ashaiman-military incident and desist from making such seditious statements. Those who feel that a coup is a joke, this should give them a fair idea. Those who wake up and say we need a coup , I hope this will give them an indication that a coup is nothing good. It is not good!, he cautioned. 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 Dr. Benjamin Otchere-Ankrah, a Governance Lecturer at the Central University, has condemned the murder of a young Military soldier at Ashaiman in the Greater Accra Region. A military officer in his early twenties was allegedly beaten and stabbed to death by some unidentified assailants on his way home. The deceased is said to have sought permission from the military camp to visit his family and, on his way, met his untimely death. As a result, troops were deployed to the community who unleashed their anger on the residents in the community, beating them mercilessly. Videos emerged showing the soldiers pulling the residents from the homes as they received heavy lashes. Reacting to the incident, Dr. Benjamin Otchere-Ankrah commiserated with the innocent people, who due to the death of the military officer, were subjected to severe beatings, but wondered why any person would attempt to assault and kill a soldier. He kicked against mob justice stressing it is inappropriate and unlawful for any person to take the life of another and insisted that people shouldn't take the laws into their hands but rather report matters to the appropriate authorities and the Ghana Police Service. "Stop the attacks," he exclaimed and expressed disgust over the assault of the young soldier resulting in his death. "What at all could provoke them to stab this gentleman to death? Does this young guy not have a family? His mother is weeping. He has a family," Dr. Otchere-Ankrah decried. He hoped the perpetrators will be found and dealt with. "Are we in a jungle?", he fumed. 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 Leadership of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has asked its members on the Minority Caucus in Parliament not to support the passage of all pending financial bills that are crucial to governments bid to secure the International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout to bring the economy back on track. Government is currentky negotiating for three billion dollar Extended Credit Facility from the IMF by the end of the month of March. Additionally, the main opposition political party has further directed its parliamentarians to vote against the approval of all ministers of state designate who were vetted by Parliaments Appointment Committee. President Nana Akufo-Addo has nominated the MP for Adansi Asokwa, Kobina Tahiru (KT) Hammond, as the new Minister of Trade to replace Alan Kyerematen, who resigned from the cabinet on 6 January 2023 to pursue his presidential ambitions. He also nominated Stephen Amoah, the former chief executive officer of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), to serve as the deputy trade minister. For the Ministry of Agriculture, the MP for Abetifi, Bryan Acheampong, was named as replacement for Owusu Afriyie Akoto, who also resigned last month to pursue his presidential ambition as well. Osei Bonsu Amoah was also nominated as the Minister of State designate at the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralization and Rural Development and Stephen Asamoah Boateng, the former director general of the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA), named as the new Minister of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs. Mohammed Amin Adam, the current deputy minister of energy, was named as the Minister of State designate at the Ministry of Finance and Herbert Krapa, was moved from the role of deputy trade minister to deputy minister of energy. All the nominees have been vetted by Parliaments appointment committee but the committee failed to approve the ministers and deputy ministers designate by consensus and the House will therefore be required to vote on their approval hopefully in the coming weeks. On Wednesday 8 March 2023, President Akufo-Addo, in his state of the nation address to Parliament made a passionate appeal to the House to give consideration to all pending financial bills to pave way for the country to secure the IMF deal and to put the economy back on a sound footing. He also called on the House to approve his new nominees for the vacant positions in his government to ensure the smooth running of the country. Mr. Speaker, I thank the House for its support throughout this process, including the passage of key revenue laws. However, a few more of these measures, namely Income Tax (Amendment) Bill, Excise Duty & Excise Tax Stamp (Amendment) Bills, as well as the Growth and Sustainability Levy Bill, are outstanding, which need the urgent attention of the House and passage to complete the prior actions. This will put us in readiness for our presentation to the Fund Board, and, more importantly, bolster our domestic revenue mobilization efforts President Akufo-Addo said. But the NDC in a letter signed by the general secretary of the party, Fiifi Kwetey, dated Tuesday 7 March 2023, and addressed to all constituency chairpersons of the party, indicated that the party has declared the period from 7 to 31 March 2023, as Operation Save Our Democracy. At its meeting held on Tuesday, March 7 2023, the Functional Executive Committee (FEC) of the National Democratic Congress in solidarity with the Minority Caucus in Parliament resolved that the period from the evening of 7 March, 2023 up to until the 31 March, 2023 has been declared as Operation Save Our Democracy. Accordingly, FEC issues the following directives; firstly, all campaign activities in all constituencies with sitting NDC MPs are hereby suspended and secondly, all sitting NDC MPs, shall be required to attend all Parliamentary sittings Fifi Kwetey letter read. Third, no NDC MP shall undertake any travel that will affect his or her attendance in Parliament. Fourth, any MP who has travelled is hereby recalled immediately. The fifth and sixth directives in the NDC letter states that all regional and constituency executives and aspirants are directed to ensure strict compliance with the directives herein and all parliamentary aspirants, are hereby directed in their own interest, to strictly adhere to these directives as breach of same shall attract severe sanctions. Source: Vincent Kubi/Daily Guide 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 Reggae musician Ras Kuuku is advocating for more slots for Reggae music in the media space and award schemes. According to him, the genre is not given much attention in Ghana and he feels Reggae music speaks about positive things. We only have Fa ew slots in our award schemes and I want to plead with awards organisers to give us more. The media can also help project Reggae music by giving us good airtime on both TV and radio he told Graphic Showbiz in an interview. Ras Kuuku, real name, Jonas Kojo Kurankye said Reggae is a genre that has been accepted worldwide and if we give it a chance here by allocating it more slots, we can cash in on it. The likes of Stonebwoy, Samini, Shatta Wale have gotten the recognition outside the country but we can project more artistes if we give the genre more attention here he said. Ras Kuuku is known for songs like Nwansina, 33&1, Ghetto Youth, Wo, Me Mpeabo, Kwame Nkrumah, I Love You, Mr Government among others The 2020 Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMA) Reggae Artiste of the Year said Bass Awards, the only scheme which used to honour Reggae artistes in Ghana is no more thus he entreats other outfits to come up with an event to replace it. I would want another organisation to come up with an award scheme to honour Reggae musicians. Bass Awards did its best but it was short-lived. I will be happy if another entity come up with a similar event to honour us, he said. Source: graphic.com.gh Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video " " Sometimes, kids are just bad. Just as parents should try to reign in their spawn, the rest of us should try to have a little empathy. BananaStock/Thinkstock These days, there's an ongoing debate about where and when one should be expected to put up with other people's kids. It's easy to see why: Very young humans are as annoying as they are charming. In an environment like a supermarket, where you're trying to get as much done as quickly as possible, children introduce an unwelcome element of chaos. You have to dodge your cart around them as they run hither and thither grabbing stuff off the shelves, smashing ketchup bottles on the floor, emptying detergent everywhere and poking holes in all the peaches. Why, you wonder through gritted teeth, don't their parents keep them in those child seats that are such an integral element of shopping cart design? Advertisement They may have tried. Some kids are docile, some are not. And as often as not, it has little or nothing to do with the parents' parenting skills or lack thereof. The wild child will crawl out and down to scamper the aisles. If you strap them in, they scream bloody murder nonstop for the entire duration of the shopping trip. Where you see crazed children shutting themselves inside ice-cream freezers or toppling soup can displays, you're sure to find a parent with a broken spirit shuffling behind. So why bring the demon child to the store in the first place? The answer to that strays deep into the political arena where questions about affordable childcare lurk. We'll let that sleeping dog lie. The point is, yes, parents should do their best to civilize their kids, but the rest of us should try to substitute empathy for eye-rolling when we see them fail. " " There have been more than 11,000 attempts to alter the U.S. Constitution. Most of those, obviously, have fallen flat. Visions of America/Contributor/Universal Images Group/Getty Images Every time you turn on cable news, there's a good chance someone is yelling about the need for an amendment to the United States Constitution. You're probably familiar with some of the more recent attempts, including proposals to require a balanced federal budget, define marriage as a union between a man and a woman, guarantee equal rights for women, ban flag desecration and reform the Electoral College. What you might not know is there have actually been more than 11,000 proposed constitutional amendments introduced in or recommended to Congress since the country's founding document was enacted in 1789 [source: Bernstein and Agel]. Like those listed above, many of them were politically controversial. Others, however, were just plain weird. If it's been a while since your last civics class, here's a quick refresher on the constitutional amendment process. A two-thirds majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, or a constitutional convention called by two-thirds of the state legislatures, is required to formally propose an amendment. Then the amendment must be ratified by three-fourths (38) of the 50 states [source: National Archives]. The founding fathers designed the process to be difficult but not impossible, which is why, of the thousands of proposed amendments, only 27 became enshrined in the Constitution. Considering our list of some of the weird things politicians and activists proposed over the years, that's probably a good thing. " " Yoga Image Gallery The Beatles give an audience to the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in September 1967. From left to right: Paul McCartney, Jane Asher, Pattie Boyd, Ringo Starr, his wife Maureen, John Lennon, George Harrison and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. See more yoga pictures. Keystone Features/Hulton Archive/ Getty Images Yoga is an integral part of many peoples' exercise regimens. Students attend yoga classes at their local studio or gym, watch instructional DVDs at home and purchase books to broaden their knowledge. People around the world enjoy the health, mental and spiritual benefits of yoga. But while yoga has been practiced by some Eastern cultures for millennia, it was only introduced to the West in the 20th century. How much did the Beatles have to do with the West's sudden interest in this ancient art? Yoga actually made its first appearance in the West in the early 19th century. It was studied as an Eastern philosophy in the early 20th century and gained popularity as a part of the health and vegetarian movement of the 1930s. But it wasn't until the 1960s that yoga really began to take off. Prominent Indian yogis began moving to Western countries to extend their teachings. Advertisement It was around this time that the Beatles were first exposed to yoga. While the group was filming "Help!" in the Bahamas in 1965, they met Swami Vishnu-Devananda, the founder of Sivandana Yoga. He presented them with signed copies of his work, "The Illustrated Book of Yoga." George Harrison was fascinated by the book and began studying yoga and Eastern religion. His wife, Pattie Boyd, encouraged him to study Eastern mysticism, Indian philosophy and become a vegetarian. By 1966, Harrison journeyed to India to study sitar, a type of stringed instrument, under the master Ravi Shankar. While Harrison studied in Bombay, Boyd heard of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the founder of Transcendental Meditation (TM). The Maharishi, born Mahesh Prasad Varma, wanted to make meditation easy to understand and practical. In 1955, he wrote his first book, "The Science of Being and the Art of Living," and began teaching TM in 1958. Harrison and Boyd were struck by the Maharishi's teachings and bought tickets for the Beatles to see him in London. The group followed the Maharishi to Bangor, Wales to learn more about meditation. They eventually traveled to his ashram, or religious retreat, in Rishikesh in the Himalayas where they were joined by other celebrities like Mia Farrow, Donovan and Mike Love of the Beach Boys. The Beatles studied as a group until certain members of the band began to lose interest in TM. But after John Lennon accused the Maharishi of molesting Mia Farrow, the Beatles fell out with their former master. The allegations were unproven and no charges were ever filed, but the damage was done. Proponents of the Maharishi suggested the split was not the fault of the yogi, but was instead caused by the Beatles' use of LSD and other drugs in the ashram. George Harrison was the only member of the Beatles to later make amends with the Maharishi. However, the Beatles had been profoundly influenced by their time with the Maharishi. Much of the music on the White Album was inspired by the yogi's words and their experience with TM. The Maharishi also profited from the connection. By the 1970s, more than five million people practiced TM [source: Times Online]. Because the Beatles had helped popularize the yogi's teachings, they were partly responsible for popularizing yoga in the West. But of course the Beatles aren't solely responsible for the Westernization of yoga. In the next section, we'll learn about other influential teachers and practitioners. " " Some hospitals have official policies against entertaining bigoted staffing requests, but many don't, which can leave individual health care providers flying blind. Geribody/Minerva Studio/Leungchopan/Jupiter Images/Thinkstock Walk into a restaurant and demand a white server, and you might get kicked out. Walk into a hospital and demand a white doctor, and you might get a white doctor. It's one of health care's open secrets, according to Kimani Paul-Emile. She's an associate professor of law at Fordham Law School and co-directs the school's Stein Center for Law & Ethics. In a 2012 paper in the UCLA Law Review, Paul-Emile writes, "Such requests by patients are not only quite common but also are often accommodated quietly." Advertisement In the Feb. 25, 2016, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, Paul-Emile revisits the subject with colleagues from the UCSF Medical Center. In "Dealing With Racist Patients," the authors suggest a systematic response to patient refusals of doctors based on bigotry, which they say can raise "thorny ethical, legal, and clinical issues and can be painful, confusing, and scarring for the physicians involved." "There is little guidance for hospitals and physicians regarding ways of effectively balancing patients' interests, medical personnel's employment rights, and the duty to treat," they write. It happens to nurses, too, vividly exemplified in a 2012 incident in a Michigan hospital. A new father, who had a swastika tattoo on his arm, demanded that no black nurses touch his newborn. Supervisors acceded, assigning all black nurses to other cases and putting a note in the baby's file indicating no black nurses should touch her. Several nurses successfully sued the hospital for civil rights violations. But it's different with doctors. They typically manage their own assignments (and reassignments) amongst themselves, so when patients reject providers based on criteria like race, ethnicity, gender, religion or sexual orientation, the assigned providers are usually the ones deciding what to do about it. And Paul-Emile says they're flying blind: Hospital policy seldom offers guidelines for handling these demands, she writes in the UCLA Law Review, and the law doesn't seem to address discrimination in this specific context. Not a Rare Occurrence It's hard to know just how often providers face these decisions. Experts use words like "routinely" and "all the time." Research is scarce, but a 2015 survey of physicians throughout the U.S. found that nearly 10 percent of Muslim doctors have faced patient rejection based on their religion. Dr. Nabile M. Safdar, a hospital-based radiologist and executive committee member of the Islamic Medical Association of North America, finds bigoted requests to be "uncommon, but not rare." "He didn't want me as a doctor; why should I have tried to gain his acceptance? Patients have the right to fire a physician. Doctors have the right not to be abused." Dr. Jane Orient, Internist and Executive Director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons Safdar hasn't been on the receiving end, but he's seen it. Staff in his department have been rejected based on race, and he's "heard of many encounters when docs were asked their religion and then the patient asked for another provider," he writes in an e-mail. It's pervasive enough that many in health care see it as a serious problem. In 2015, Dr. Keerat Singh and colleagues wrote in The American Journal of Orthopedics that these incidents "can cause significant distress to providers, damage the therapeutic physician-patient relationship, and threaten the collegial and structural framework of an institution." "The silent acquiescence to patients' racist demands in recent times has become a legal, ethical, and medical dilemma," they say. Mixed Signals Safdar says his department has an official policy against entertaining bigoted staffing requests. Dr. Barron Lerner, internist at New York University Langone Medical Center and professor of medicine in the university's division of medical ethics, writes in an email that he and his colleagues "do not reflexively accede to these [demands] by any means." Both note, however, that they do not consider women's requests for female providers either to perform gynecological procedures or due to religious beliefs to be discriminatory. Canada's Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists disagrees, but many physicians feel this way. Lerner says his department usually tries to accommodate women's requests for same-sex providers in these circumstances, which are common, but thinks "the vast majority of MDs would be appalled at a patient who wants a white, male or straight provider." Yet Lerner notes that paying patients with insurance, who typically see private-practice doctors, "choose their doctors based on these characteristics all the time." For a paying patient with insurance, selecting a doctor of choice according to gender or race or some other obvious physical characteristic only takes a provider-directory search and a scan of a provider website. As such, bigoted staffing requests are rare in private practice. So are the serious conflicts that would limit a doctor's options should they arise. "In my private office, patients who don't like me for any reason are bid a pleasant good-by; we do whatever we can to ease the transition," says Dr. Jane Orient, internist and executive director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons. (If they don't "ease the transition" to a different source of care, they violate the code against patient abandonment.) Most hospital doctors do seem appalled by bigoted staffing requests, but according to law professor Paul-Emile and colleagues, physicians in this setting face a "difficult conflict involving their professional obligation to provide nondiscriminatory care, their sense of social justice and personal integrity, and their ethical obligations to respect patients' autonomy and medical best interests." A Professional Quagmire In an excellent opinion piece in The Guardian, Australian oncologist Dr. Ranjana Srivastava writes: "For doctors, reacting to racism is anathema. We would rather suffer the indignity of the occasion than draw attention to ourselves. We are steeped in the learning that the patient always comes first and that the power imbalance between doctor and patient is so great that to object to a patient's conduct is ungallant." A physician's code of ethics revolves around a patient-centered approach to medicine. Doctors are obligated to put their patients' needs above their own, actively enable patient participation in their own health care and respect patients' decisions regarding treatment. Further complicating matters is the doctrine of informed consent. Patients who are mentally sound and in stable condition have the right to refuse medical treatment, including treatment by a specific provider. Doctors can refuse to provide the patient with a new provider, but since they're ethically bound to do no harm, they must consider whether doing so would negatively affect the patient's health. The specifics of the patient's medical condition and options for accessing care elsewhere which hospital patients often lack must factor into the doctor's decision. They must also allow for the possibility of an altered mental state, which not only negates a patient's responsibility for her demands but can also dramatically impede attempts to change her mind. And in an emergency situation, when time is of the essence, doctors are faced with a choice between treating the patient against his will, which violates the duty to respect patients' decisions regarding their care; rejecting the patient's request, which could cause the patient harm; and grabbing the nearest physician of the patient's preferred makeup, if one is available. So, Paul-Emile and colleagues write, "Many healthcare providers accommodate these requests in circumstances in which the patient has no option for care other than a hospital outpatient department and in situations in which a patient is in need of emergency services." There are other reasons, too. In an Aljazeera America article, Elijah Wolfson notes an increasing body of research suggesting that race-, cultural- and/or gender-concordance between patient and physician actually improves the outcomes of medical care. Accommodating bigots' requests could make them healthier. The Human Factor None of this changes the fact that bigotry is destructive. As professionals, doctors may want to set their feelings aside, but as people they may want to avoid the conflict. While covering for a colleague in the ER, a male patient rejected Orient because she's a woman, and she says she just went and found him a male provider. "He didn't want me as a doctor; why should I have tried to gain his acceptance?" she asks. "Patients have the right to fire a physician. Doctors have the right not to be abused." Paul-Emile and colleagues fear such conflicts will only multiply "as the U.S. physician population becomes more racially and ethnically diverse." And while they say hospitals should never accede to bigoted demands from stable patients, they offer more nuanced advice to doctors. Five factors, they say, should drive a physician's decision: the urgency of the patient's medical condition, the patient's mental state, the motivations behind the request, the viable options for responding and the effects of those options on the physician. Paul-Emile and her co-authors offer the below framework to hospitals trying to figure out how to handle these demands in emergency situations. However, every patient, and doctor, is different, and ultimately, "the decision to accommodate may be sound when the accommodating physician is comfortable with the decision, employment rights are protected, and the decision does not compromise good medical care," Paul-Emile and colleagues write. Lerner seems to agree. "We like to go case-by-case, for good and bad," he says. "But," he adds, "I am surely in favor of general policy statements that strongly discourage such behaviors." Now That's Ironic Some believe that regularly accommodating race-concordance requests could help narrow the racial gap in quality of health care. Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Tage Rai is a psychologist and assistant professor of management at UC San Diego's Rady School of Management who studies ethics and violence. He co-authored the book "Virtuous Violence," outlining research that finds that most acts of violence are driven by moral motives on the part of perpetrators. That is, perpetrators believe they are doing the right thing when they hurt and kill their victims. In this Q&A, Rai, who teaches negotiation at the Rady School, addresses dual crises impacting Americapolice brutality and gun violenceand what can be done to prevent them. A lot of your work is focused on understanding why people hurt other people, so we can better understand motives to treat and prevent violence. In the case of police brutality, it has garnered more attention in recent years because it is increasingly caught on tape and yet instances continue to persist; why is that? I think that if you want to prevent violence, then the first key is understanding the motives that underlie it. We need to confront the possibility that actually a lot of violence isn't driven by an absence of morality in the minds of perpetrators. It's actually driven by a presence of moralistic and ideological motivation. In the case of police brutality, ethnographic and historical evidence suggests that police officers involved may view themselves as authorities who demand respect and obedience from civilians. I outlined this in chapter four of "Virtuous Violence" [as] "...the right and obligation of parents, police, kings and gods to violently enforce their authority." In this context, officers believe that they are entitled to hurt civilians and that bystanders should trust their judgment absolutelyanything less than absolute trust is perceived as betrayal and disloyalty. The worst offenses are disrespect, disobedience or any effort to harm the officer. Such offenses are worse even than the crimes that police are tasked with preventing. Spitting in the face of an officer or cursing them out might be more likely to result in police brutality than robbing a store or harming another civilian. How much is race a factor in police brutality? This authority relationship also takes on racial connotations, with some officers seeing themselves as warriors policing "the enemy," largely composed of Black citizens who are seen as less worthy of full citizenship and who pose a threat to the social hierarchy that the police defend. Officers of all races use force against Black civilians more than white, but those effects are at least somewhat reduced when officers are Black too. However, race of the officers alone won't solve the problem of police brutality. What do think are some of the possible solutions to curb police brutality? First, I think it's important to focus on what is called "subtraction neglect," which refers to the phenomenon wherein people are trying to improve something. In many cases, they have a bias toward coming up with solutions that add to the design rather than subtract from it. In the context of policing, this means that when faced with police brutality, our immediate intuition is to think that the answer is more training, more personnel, more resources, more funding. This is instead of a more obvious solutionthat we should give police fewer responsibilities to reduce police-civilian interactions as well as less funding for weaponizing and militarization of the police. Such calls to "defund the police" are always met with opposition because we have a bias toward thinking that reducing funding means that we care less about public safety, but that's just a cognitive bias. What could be more effective is allocating those same resources toward social services, mental health responders, community infrastructure, jobs programs and even universal basic income. Beyond these efforts, I see reform taking place in three different categories: Motivationalwe have to change the culture of policing. The Scorpion unit in Memphis was explicitly tasked with "restoring peace" through the use of force. The very acronym (which stands for Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods) casts them as deadly warriors fighting in hostile territory against enemy combatants instead of as civil servants who work for the citizens in those communities. Police departments routinely hold seminars where speakers come in to tell them that their lives are in danger every day, they need to kill or be killed, that they cannot trust the people in the communities that they police, that they are only accountable to each other and at the same time should never question each other about whether their actions were right. StructuralAs I mentioned, diversifying police around the country should be a priority, as there is solid research to suggest that diversifying the police force, which is currently about 80% white, does help to mitigate use of force. Moreover, there must be greater accountability. There are cities across America where it is unclear whether the police station or the mayor's office is in charge. There are sheriffs who are drawing on obscure legal clauses to claim that they have authority over the President. Government at all levels has to crack down on this and the longer it goes on, the more dangerous it becomes. One of the primary characteristics of a functioning state is that it has to have a monopoly on the legitimate use of force. If the police are n't accountable, then we either have a failed state, or they are terrorizing minority communities with implicit permission from the state. CognitiveThere is exciting new work on violence reduction that focuses on cognitive behavioral style strategies. In the context of policing, this means getting officers out of "thinking traps" wherein they only assume the worst-case scenarios and instead focusing them on considering alternative hypotheses for why someone might be behaving the way they are. Critically, this doesn't mean necessarily reducing vigilance or slowing down your response time in ways that could be dangerous, it just means that with the time officers have to assess a situation, they should try to consider more alternative strategies. More broadly, having officers avoid unnecessary chases or pursuits that can trigger more reactive thinking rather than more reflective thinking. Your work also addresses an increase in mass shootings that are plaguing the nation. We know these numbers increase every year, with over 50 in January 2023 alone. Are these shootings inspiring each other? Mass shootings are defined based on the number of people who are harmed, not the motives of the shooter. I'd be hesitant to assume that people involved in mass shootings that are motivated by gang disputes, workplace grievances, white supremacy, misogyny or bullying are necessarily drawing inspiration from each other. I think it's more likely that when we see, for example a spate of shootings in California, that's just a coincidence that becomes more likely as the number of mass shootings increases overall. It should be noted that while the number of mass shootings continues to climb, data shows mass shootings account for less than 2% of all annual homicide deaths in the United States, yet they garner the most attention. We are probably not paying enough attention or giving enough resources to the other kinds of gun violence that go on. We're not paying enough attention to violence in the home, we're not paying enough attention to suicide deaths by gun, we're not paying enough attention to a lot of other kinds of gun violence that we see. Is increased mental illness a factor in the rise of gun violence? Mental illness contributes to less than 5% of all gun violence. The vast majority of mass shootings are going to be committed by people who have no diagnosable mental health illness prior to the incident. The vast majority who have been diagnosed with a mental health illness are never going to engage in a shooting. Even if mental illness is involved in gun violence, it's a mistake to think that we can use mental health diagnoses to identify the small subset of shooters. Instead, such efforts will just stigmatize those who benefit from mental health services. There's a broader question in how we think about violence. I think people have a kind of implicit beliefand I think a lot of academics do, toothat a sane, rational, mentally healthy person would not hurt another human being. If they're harming someone, killing someone, it must be because something has gone wrong in their psychology. A lot of my research argues that this belief is just not true. Most of the time when people hurt other people it's because they feel that they're doing it for the right reasons. They think that a person deserves itthat they have a moral obligation to hurt those people. What's really driving this is not mental illnessat least not in the diagnosable sense. Are there any other factors driving mass shootings? Many shooters, especially in the American context, are often misogynistic, White supremacists. They are often young men searching for meaning through violence. With those factors coming together, these shooters justify violence because they feel that they're "defending something greater than themselves" when they attack people. What can we do prevent more gun related deaths? One of the proposed solutions to better address the problem of gun violence is treating mental illness, so we can identify a perpetrator before a violent act is committed. And we can't. Trying to identify mentally ill shooters through health screening is like looking for a needle in a haystack. And there are always going to be needles that get through. The only way it's going to work is preventing those "needles" from getting AR-15s. What we find when we look at violence across the world, not just mass shootings, but all sorts of violence, is that most of the time when people hurt others, they think it's the right thing to do. They think that their social communities are going to praise them for it. And, in some cases their particular communities will. So, in the case of, for example, the Highland Park shooter, the community we need to be thinking about is the kind of online right-wing extremist communities that the shooter was floating in. If perpetrators think that their communities won't approve of their violent actions then they're not going to want to do it as much anymore. And so, really trying to communicate to people that violence is not acceptable is going to be key, and that means actually making it not acceptable within those communities. When we've seen successful community interventions, oftentimes it's been the case where people who are prone to violence are confronted by people in their community who are expressing to them that they don't approve of violence. And that really does have an effect. Did your research find any potential tools to counteract these ideological ties that you say can lead to someone committing violence? There are no easy answers here. If we wish to stop violence caused by misogyny and racism, then we have to destroy the culture of misogyny and racism that excuses, validates and valorizes violence. In some cases that may mean restricting communication channels so that these ideas don't have a place to fester. In other cases, it means having people that potential perpetrators respect talk to them about how these cultural values are wrong and will not be tolerated in the community. If we wish to end violence, then we have to actually make it morally unacceptable in our culture. 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 new study mapped fluids in Earths crust near the Uturuncu volcano in the Bolivian Andes. Credit: Ceky/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Earth's crust contains pockets of water, metal-rich brines, gas and molten rock, especially near volcanoes and other sites of geothermal activity. Knowing where these fluids are and their precise composition can help scientists assess volcanic hazards, harness geothermal energy and find useful metals, but mapping them is not an easy task. In a new study published in Geophysical Research Letters, T. S. Hudson and colleagues map geothermal fluids beneath a volcano using earthquake wave data collected by seismometers. The researchers used data from 1,356 earthquakes captured between April 2010 and October 2012 by 33 seismometers distributed near the Uturuncu volcano in the Bolivian Andes. Uturuncu, which rises about 1 centimeter per year, lies above the world's largest known magma body. From the earthquake data, the researchers identified fluids based on how the crust absorbed energy from earthquake waves. They measured seismic anisotropy, which describes how the speed of earthquake waves differs depending on direction. In addition, they used pressure, temperature, and electrical conductivity to narrow down the likely composition of the fluids. They identified water and metal-rich brines located along faults and fractures, and some of the fluids contained carbon dioxidesimilar to sparkling water. Most of the region's crust was only partially saturated with fluids, although the team did find a few fully saturated pockets. The researchers hypothesize that one of these pockets, located southeast of Uturuncu, represents the shallow, cooled remnants of a hydrothermal system that formed during a prior period of active volcanism. The team also identified a deeper pocket directly beneath Uturuncu, which appears to contain water or metal-rich brines in supercritical fluid form. Here the temperature and pressure are so high that the fluids can no longer be classified as liquid or gas. The technique, now shown to be effective, can be used to peer into the fluid world beneath volcanoes in similar regions around the world. More information: T. S. Hudson et al, Hydrothermal Fluids and Where to Find Them: Using Seismic Attenuation and Anisotropy to Map Fluids Beneath Uturuncu Volcano, Bolivia, Geophysical Research Letters (2023). DOI: 10.1029/2022GL100974 Journal information: Geophysical Research Letters Provided by Eos This story is republished courtesy of Eos, hosted by the American Geophysical Union. Read the original story here. 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: Cyclone Freddy, monitored last month by forecasters in the French Indian Ocean island of La Reunion. Tropical storm Freddy is on track to break the record as the longest-lasting cyclone of its kind, the United Nations said Friday, as the killer storm was set to hit Mozambique once again. "Freddy is continuing its incredible and dangerous journey," Clare Nullis, spokeswoman for the UN's World Meteorological Organization, told reporters in Geneva. Freddy has been a named tropical cyclone for 33 days since developing off the north Australian coast and becoming a named storm on February 6. The current record is held by Hurricane/Typhoon John, which lasted 31 days in 1994, the WMO said. Freddy has periodically weakened below tropical storm status, such as when it was lingering over Mozambique and Zimbabwe the first time around. Once it has dissipated, a WMO climate extremes expert committee will assess all the data to determine whether a new record has been indeed set, a process that could take months. "We will obviously need to address if that is a concern in our evaluation," said Randall Cerveny, the WMO's Weather and Climate Extremes rapporteur. Freddy crossed the entire southern Indian Ocean and made landfall in Madagascar on February 21, crossing the island before reaching Mozambique on February 24 and claiming lives in both countries. It tracked over Mozambique and Zimbabwe, bringing heavy rains and flooding. It then looped back towards the coast, picking up moisture and strength from the warm waters, and hit Madagascar again before now heading towards Mozambique once again. Madagascar was hit by Freddy on February 23. Dangerous surge expected Freddy is expected to make landfall in Mozambique's northern province of Zambezia late Friday or possibly Saturday morning. The cyclone is moving slowly, meaning it is hovering close to the coast and picking up more moisture, and the warmer waters could prompt an increased in the storm's intensity. "There will be very destructive winds, a very dangerous storm surge on landfall and extreme rainfall over large areasnot just in Mozambique but also northeast Zimbabwe, southeast Zambia, and Malawi," Nullis said. The expected rainfall totals are 200 to 300 millimetres (7.9 to 11 inches), but locally it could be more than 400-500 mm over the landing area. "This is more than twice the usual monthly rainfall, and it's coming on top of the existing rainfall that Freddy caused the first time around," Nullis said. Malawi is also going to see "very heavy, very dangerous rainfall and flooding", she said. The last cyclones to cross the entire southern Indian Ocean were Tropical Cyclones Leon-Eline and Hudah in 2000. The UN's World Food Programme said it had pre-positioned logistics, staff and technical support ahead of Freddy's new landfall. "We are now bracing for the return of Freddy in Mozambique," Romina Woldemariam, the programme's regional emergency coordinator, said via videolink from Johannesburg. "We will respond to the most urgent needs." She said Freddy had impacted an estimated 226,000 people in Madagascar, then 170,000 people in Mozambique before affecting a further 40,000 people on its return to Madagascar. "The already-worrying nutritional situation is expected to get worse in southeastern Madagascar, post-cyclone," she said, with the WFP seeking to help 90,000 people with food assistance and a further 65,000 with cash transfers. 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: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain On the vast Texas Panhandle, raked by wind and relentless sun, women might drive for hours to reach Haven Health, a clinic in Amarillo. One of more than 3,200 federal family-planning clinics nationwide, Haven serves both English and Spanish speakers, providing contraception, testing for pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, and cervical cancer screening, all at low cost or without charge to patients who are anxious, impoverished, or both. Those patients include teenage girlsunder 18seeking birth control pills or long-acting contraception. But under a startling court decision issued in December, a federal judge ruled that such clinics violate Texas state law and federal constitutional rights, effectively cutting off a vital source of health care for young women across Texas. Women's health advocates and health care providers alike have decried the decision by a conservative judge appointed by President Donald Trump who is at the center of other reproductive rights cases. They say it is overly broad and unprecedented. (The ruling applies to the national regulations, but for now is followed only in Texas.) "We can't even provide contraception for a gynecological issue," said Carolena Cogdill, CEO of Haven Health, adding that the ruling by U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk has had a chilling effect on care. "We had a young lady come in who had abnormal bleeding, and we wanted to prescribe contraception to help control that bleeding. And we couldn't do it because she was 16." The patient had said her mother would not understand, believing that her daughter was "going to go out and have sex and she just didn't want to go there," Cogdill said. Texas law has long required that teenage girls have a parent's permission to get prescription contraception. But under the federal program Title X, certain clinics could provide contraception without parental consent. Established in 1970, Title X evolved out of the "War on Poverty" era and passed with broad bipartisan support. The legislation was signed by then-President Richard Nixon, a Republican, to provide family-planning services to low-income people, including minors, with the goal of reducing teen pregnancy. But in July 2022, weeks after the Supreme Court rescinded constitutional protection for abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, Alexander R. Deanda, a father of three adolescent daughters who lives in Amarillo, sued the Department of Health and Human Services. He argued that the government had violated his constitutional right to direct the upbringing of his children. In his suit, Deanda, a Christian, said he was "raising each of [his] daughters in accordance with Christian teaching on matters of sexuality" and that he could have no "assurance that his children will be unable to access prescription contraception" that "facilitate sexual promiscuity and premarital sex." In his opinion, Kacsmaryk agreed, writing that "the use of contraception (just like abortion) violates traditional tenets of many faiths, including the Christian faith plaintiff practices." Moreover, Kacsmaryk, who is a Christian, said the existence of federal clinics operating in Texas, where state law otherwise requires parental permission for teenage girls to receive contraception, posed an "immediate, present-day injury." "Title X clinics are open most days and, therefore, they post an ongoing, continuous, and imminent risk," the judge wrote. The decision, which referenced Catholic catechisms and fourth-century religious text, stunned legal experts like Elizabeth Sepper, a law professor at the University of Texas at Austin, who said it was part of the rising influence of conservative Christian theology in the courts. "We've seen religious arguments that increasingly come into the courts dressed up as legal arguments," Sepper said. "I think we're seeing a movement that began with a religious exemption, saying 'Let me structure my health care to suit my morals,' and we're moving toward an agenda that says, 'Let me structure all of health care according to my morals.'" Neither Deanda nor his attorney, Jonathan Mitchell, the architect of Texas' pre-Dobbs abortion ban, responded to requests for comment. The effects of teenage pregnancy on the arc of a woman's life can be profound. Half of teenage mothers receive a high school diploma by age 22, compared with 90% of young women who do not give birth as teens. Teen births can lead to poor outcomes for the next generation: Children of teenage mothers are more likely to drop out of high school and end up in jail or prison during adolescence. Dr. Stephen Griffin, an assistant professor at Texas Tech University in Lubbock and a practicing OB-GYN, described access to birth control for young women as a "safety issue," adding that many parents underestimate their teenagers' sexual activity. "We know that people who identify as regular church attendees are more likely to underestimate their child's risk-taking behavior in terms of sex," Griffin said. "We know that parents who feel they have open lines of communication with their children" also underestimate the risk. Texas has one of the highest rates of teen pregnancy in the nation and the highest rate of repeat teen pregnancymore than 1 in 6 teenagers who gave birth in Texas in 2020 already had a child. Health experts say the court decision banning access to contraception is likely to increase those numbers, following on the heels of other restrictions on reproductive health care in the state. "Abortion is illegal in Texas. Kids aren't getting comprehensive sexual education in schools. A vast [number] of folks in Texas are living without health insurance," said Stephanie LeBleu, acting director of Every Body Texas, which administers the state's more than 150 Title X clinics. "So it does make it very difficult to get sexual health services." The Biden administration appealed the Texas decision in February. In the meantime, LeBleu said, there is no safety net left here for teens. "It robs them of their humanity," she said. "It robs them of their future, potentially. And it robs them of their bodily autonomy, and I think young people are more than capable of making decisions about their own health care." Decades of research shows that teens are more likely to seek sexual health care if they can do so confidentially. But for Texans like Christi Covington, the belief is that the law shouldn't make exceptions even in the hardest cases. Covington lives in Round Rock, an Austin suburb. She was raised in a large evangelical family and is passing those teachings on to her three children. Leaving aside religious objections to birth control, she said, the family unit should be respected. "God designed the world for there to be parents and then we have our offspring and that the parents care for those children, and that is design," she said. "And we do see that reflected in nature." As for birth control, she said, "It feels like a band-aid." "Let's give them birth control, and then we don't actually have to deal with what's happening in our society where these teens are getting pregnant so quickly and so easily," Covington said. She added she already is required to give permission for her children's health care, including inoculations. "Honestly, I have to give consent all over the place for my children's other medical care," she said. "Why would we decide that this one area is exempt?" But Rebecca Gudeman, senior director of health at the National Center for Youth Law, said 60% of teens involve their parents in such decisions. "They do that not because the law requires them to do that, but because that's what they want to do," Gudeman said. Some young people, she said, simply can't involve their parents or guardians, including couples like Victoria and Richard Robledo, who began datingand having sexwhen they were both minors. During those early days, Victoria said, she decided to get birth control but couldn't turn to her mother, a devout Catholic, for advice. "We were a typical Hispanic household," Victoria recalled. "And so usually in households like mine, they don't want to talk about boyfriends or sex or anything like that." But Victoria found a clinic less than a mile from her high school and was able to obtain birth control free. The couple, now married and living in town, just across the New Mexico border, has two children. Victoria said being able to protect herself from pregnancy as a teenager changed the course of life, allowing her to go to college and her husband to join the military. "We weren't worried about the fact that we may have a kid," she said. "We both were able to go out and live our own lives." 2023 Kaiser Health News. 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: Metabolite classes that were detected in (a) soil, (b) roots, (c) leaf litter, and (d) leaves and culms. The numbers in the pie slices are metabolite frequencies in each chemotaxonomic class. Slice sizes are proportional to the percent of the total number of metabolites detected in each sample type. Metabolites with unique chemical structures that could not be definitively assigned to a chemotaxonomic class were binned into an additional group called unclassified.. Credit: Ecosphere (2023). DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.4438 An invasive grass causing havoc in Texas and contributing to wildfires packs a one-two wallop against native plants. Guinea grass uses a combination of crowding that blocks out light from growing seedlings and what amounts to a chemical warfare in soil that is toxic to native plants, according to a new study by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin. The findings are published in the journal Ecosphere. Guinea grass is one of the most ecologically damaging invasive species in the world, arriving in South Texas from Africa more than 100 years ago, to help feed cattle. In the past 20 years, it has spread aggressively across the region and can now be found along roadsides as far north as Austin, bringing with it the risk of more frequent, high-intensity wildfires. The researchers said knowing about how an invasive species takes over an area is an important step in figuring out how to control and reduce it in the environment. "The shading and the chemical toxins are each effective at pushing out native plants on their own, but combined, the negative effects increased dramatically," said Colin Morrison, a graduate student in the Department of Integrative Biology who is the lead author on the paper. Initial studies led by co-author, and UT Austin post-doctoral researcher, Liz Bowman showed that guinea grass inhibits growth of other grasses, and invasion alters soil microbial communities compared to pre-invasion communities. The new paper, led by Morrison, indicates that these changes could be due to chemical weapons that guinea grass produces and releases into the soil. At UT Austin's Brackenridge Field Laboratory (BFL), the researchers used a combination of field testing, greenhouse experiments and chemistry analyses to observe species interactions and extract and analyze the unique cocktail of toxins in Guinea grass, which includes 2-hydroxyphenylacetic acid, a toxin used by other plants to suppress their competitors. "Guinea grass escaped its natural enemies and stressors in Africa. In the invaded range, its self-seeding, has duplicated genomes and may have novel relationships with certain microbes in the soil. And it has chemical weapons," said Robert Plowes, a research scientist and author on the paper. "Its seeds are also very good at sticking to trucks, ranch equipment and roadside mowers, so it spreads easily." Plowes is from Zimbabwe, and he is working with other researchers in Kenya and South Africa to investigate natural control methods to fight Guinea grass. For example, previous research led by Aaron Rhodes, a BFL research associate, discovered a potential role for specialized insects in its native range that help keep Guinea grass from getting out of control. BFL researchers also work with Texas ranchers to help them understand how Guinea grass spreads, how soil disturbance can allow it to move in and how proactive range management and restoration can potentially keep it out. More information: Colin R. Morrison et al, Adding insult to injury: Light competition and allelochemical weapons interact to facilitate grass invasion, Ecosphere (2023). DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.4438 Journal information: Ecosphere 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: Trends of 35-item composite ICAR scores stratified by education. Note. Data collection for the category "currently in graduate or professional school" did not start until August 2010. The dashed lines in the top graph connect the average standardized score and its associated standard error for each year and level of education. The solid lines in the top graph represent the associated slope of the average standardized score for each level of education. The lines in the bottom graph are the associated slope of the average standardized score for each level of education split between male (left) and female (right) participants. ICAR = International Cognitive Ability Resource, Grad/prof grad = Graduate or professional degree, In grad/prof = Currently in graduate or professional school, College grad = College graduate, Some college = Some college, did not graduate, In college = Currently attending college, HS = High school graduate, <12 years = <12 years of education. Credit: Intelligence (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2023.101734 A group of psychologists, two from Northwestern University and the third from the University of Oregon, has found via online testing that IQ scores in the U.S. may be dropping for the first time in nearly a century. In their paper published in the journal Intelligence, Elizabeth Dworak, William Revelle and David Condon describe analyzing the results of online IQ tests taken by volunteers over the years 2006 to 2018. The Flynn effect, named after James R. Flynn, is a term first coined by Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray in 1994, in their book "The Bell Curve." In short, the effect suggests that the human race grows smarter with each successive generationthe average intelligence quotient (IQ) increases. Prior research has bolstered this theory, finding that people from successive generations have scored ever higher on IQ testsincreasing by 3 to 5 points over the years 1932 to 2000. But more recently, it appears things have changed. Over the past several years, multiple studies have shown that IQ scores are dropping in many European countries. And now, that appears to be the case with the U.S. as well. In this new effort, the researchers studied the results of online IQ tests taken by adults participating in the Synthetic Aperture Personality Assessment Project over a 12-year period. They found that IQ scores have dropped for all age groups, regardless of gender. They also found that the steepest declines were among young people. They also noted that while a few skills, such as spatial reasoning, were better than previous generations, other skills, such as problem solving, numerical series assessments and verbal reasoning, had all grown worse. The researchers did not conduct any research to try to explain the drop, but suggest it might be linked to changes in the education system. They also did not address the controversial issue of the accuracy of IQ test scores in general as a means of measuring a person's intelligence. More information: Elizabeth M. Dworak et al, Looking for Flynn effects in a recent online U.S. adult sample: Examining shifts within the SAPA Project, Intelligence (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2023.101734 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: Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain New research reveals how members of Generation Z perceive online "personal brands" as a crucial tool to gain more advantage in job markets. The study, led by the University of East Anglia in collaboration with the University of Greenwich, demonstrates the importance of authentically building online personal branding strategies and tactics to bridge the gap between Gen Z's desired and perceived images on social media when job seeking. The study results are published in Information Technology & People. Members of Gen Zthe generation of people born between the late 1990s and early 2010sare also in favor of a more dynamic, interactive, work-in-progress style of authentic personal brands, which may not necessarily show them as "perfect," but instead willing to share imperfections and weaknesses. The findings, published in the journal Information Technology & People, suggest that those of Gen Z are using this combination as a strategy to establish more significant levels of trust and engagement with employers. Lead researcher, former UEA Masters student and Gen Z student job seeker Nguyen Trang, said, "As Gen Z start graduating from university and entering the competitive job market, understanding how they enter the workforce is important. Less is known about the Gen Z student perspective, and their brand-building strategies, brand goals and motivation, and how they manage risks associated with their images when promoting on social media." Study co-author Dr. Brad McKenna, Associate Professor in Information Systems at UEA, said, "The differentiating factor between Millennials and Gen Z is the use of technology from an early age and how this has impacted their online behavior. Gen Z are always connected to digital environments through interactions with their networks, gaming, consuming videos, and creating their own content to share on social media. "Social media has emerged as a tool for shaping the personal brands of job seekers, and how Gen Z attempt to represent themselves authentically online has implications for their job seeking activities and affects hiring decisions. As a result, personal branding has emerged as a means of achieving career success." Co-author Dr. Wenjie Cai, from the University of Greenwich, added, "Image consistency is becoming a critical concern for Gen Z to highlight their skillsets to potential employers. We found that authenticity was perceived to play a central role in personal branding, as well as being the most crucial characteristic of Gen Z online personal brands that employers expected to find. "Personal branding has shifted from celebrities and top-tier managers to employees and job seekers, making the ways in which people market themselves more of a conscious effort. Job seekers today need to effectively communicate their talents to prospective employers." The study involved Gen Z students in their final year at a UK university who were interviewed about personal branding, as well as recruiters and career advisors to gain insights into the recruitment process and expectations of online personal brands. Before interviewing, the Gen Z students' profiles on professional social media platform LinkedIn were examined, and then fed into the interview process. All Gen Z participants perceived digital personal brands as an essential tool to portray themselves and project strong impressions to employers. The effort in building and managing personal brands creates win-win results for Gen Z students and employers in the recruitment process. Strategies such as effective self-reflection, authentic communication, self-promotion processes, awareness of risks, and constantly controlling digital footprints were suggested to build stronger and more coherent personal brands. "Previous research has argued that professionals tend to maintain a perfect image online, but we find that for Gen Z job seekers, an imperfect online image works better," said study co-author Prof. Alastair Morrison at the University of Greenwich. The more Gen Z students focus on portraying their brands on platforms such as LinkedIn, the higher the probability that employers will find their profiles and be better able to evaluate candidate talents, skills, traits, and the fit with company culture. Employers highly recommend LinkedIn to Gen Z students and expect them to build LinkedIn profiles. The researchers recommend that universities seek personal brand information from Gen Z students to understand them better and to mentor them in the varied ways needed to achieve personal goals and objectives based on skills, knowledge, and opportunities for training and growth. Companies should utilize all possible opportunities to engage with student job seekers, share their organizational cultures, and be open about what they are expecting for specific positions. It is also suggested that creating authentic personal brands brings considerable benefits for organizations. For example, the recruiter can immediately see unique points and examine whether candidates fit with organizational cultures, and this saves time, money and resources while allowing acquisition of the most suitable employees. More information: 'I Do Not Want To Be Perfect: Investigating Generation Z Students' Personal Brands on Social Media For Job Seeking', Information Technology and People (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: Credit: Agami/Marc Guyt, Author provided Macquarie Island, around 1,500km southeast of Tasmania, is more than just a remote rocky outcrop. In fact, it's the only piece of land on the planet formed completely from ocean floor, which rises above the waves to form peaks that teem with penguins and other bird species, some of them found nowhere else on Earth. These are just some of the reasons why this unique island, and the seas that surround it, have globally significant conservation values. Our new independent assessment of these values forms the scientific evidence base of Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek's announcement last month of plans to significantly increase protections for the waters surrounding Macquarie Island. By comprehensively assessing the available data on the marine ecosystems and the many species that live on and around Macquarie Island, our report reveals a subantarctic environment that is crucial for breeding and feeding for millions of seabirds and thousands of marine mammals. Macquarie Island and its surrounding seas (to a distance of 5.5km) are already protected as a Tasmanian reserve, and the area (this time including seas to a distance of 22km) is also a World Heritage Area. A Commonwealth marine park also covers most of the southeast quadrant of the island's "economic exclusion zone," including a sanctuary zone and two seafloor management zones. The federal government's proposed expansion of the marine park would cover the island's entire economic exclusion zone, increasing the area of Australia's marine sanctuaries by more than 388,000 square kilometers, an increase larger than the area of Germany. An outstanding spectacle Macquarie Island is the exposed crest of the 1,600km-long undersea Macquarie Ridge, which makes Macquarie Island the only piece of land in the world formed entirely of oceanic crust. The existing marine park (green), and the proposed expansion (yellow). Credit: Australian government Macquarie Ridge is one of only three such ridges that impede the eastward flow of a current called the Antarctic Circumpolar Circulation, resulting in distinct differences between the west and east sides of the ridge, which are used in different ways by different species. The oceanography is further divided north to south by two major ocean fronts, the Sub-Antarctic Front and the Polar Front, creating three distinct bodies of water. They are closer here than anywhere else in the Southern Ocean, and as they interact with the Macquarie Ridge create at least six different large-scale oceanographic habitats. This creates an outstanding spectacle of wild, natural beauty and a diverse set of habitats supporting vast congregations of wildlife, including penguins and seals. Fifty-seven seabird species, including four species of penguins and four species of albatross, have been recorded on Macquarie Island, and 25 of these species have been observed breeding there. The royal penguin and the Macquarie Island imperial shag live nowhere else on Earth. The ridge includes a series of undersea mountains that act as "stepping stones" linking subantarctic and polar animals on the sea floor, such as brittlestars. Needing more protection Our report shows the area around Macquarie Island is not well represented by the current marine park. In particular, the entire area to the west, and most of the northern and southern parts of the Macquarie Ridge, are not protected by the current marine park, but will be included in the proposed expansion. Our report also considers several options for protecting the area's unique ecosystems and concludes that the most sensible approach, given the available data, would be to declare the whole area around the Macquarie Ridge as a marine park, increasing the protection outside the current sanctuary zone, while allowing the current fishery to continue in a habitat protection zone. A haven for penguins and other seabirds. Credit: Agami/Marc Guyt, Author provided This provides the simplest, most expeditious reserve design that is relatively easy to implement, achieves environmental protection and sustainable fishing, recognizes the importance of the entire Macquarie Island region, and provides the most resilience to climate change. Direct human impacts in the area are predominantly due to fishing and marine debris, although climate change is an ever-present threat too. The fishery targets the deepwater Patagonian toothfish using bottom longlines, mostly in the central zone of the Macquarie Ridge. This fishery is generally well regarded for its best-practice fishing methods and commitment to positive environmental outcomes, and this fishing activity would continue under the new plans. But if new fisheries were allowed to develop targeting midwater species, or new industries such as seabed mining were permitted, these could directly impact the seabirds, marine mammals and other species that live in these areas. The proposal put forward by Minister Plibersek protects all of the Commonwealth waters in two different zones of a marine park, effectively tripling the size of the current marine park. It protects the marine domain and allows the current fishery to continue without significant changes to current practices or catches. Restrictions on any potential future fisheries would be determined by the distribution of "sanctuary zones" which would preclude fishing, and "habitat/species zones," which could accommodate sustainable fishing. Mining would be precluded under either category of protection. What next? The government's proposal signals a clear priority for protection over development in this area. A period of public consultation on the proposal will commence in March. Any future development of the marine park would need to be orderly and careful, including prior consideration of environmental impacts. Any changes to the current fishery management arrangements should ensure that the changes maintain or enhance conditions for a long-term sustainable fishery. More broadly, our report also demonstrates the potential for, and importance of, compiling the most up-to-date available data for any region prior to any formal review process to update Australia's marine park network. 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: PhD student Monika Monika at the set-up where the experiments were conducted. Credit: Ira Winkler/University Jena In work published in Science, the team led by Prof. Dr. Ulf Peschel reports on measurements on a sequence of pulses that travel thousands of kilometers through glass fibers that are only a few microns thin. The researchers were surprised by the results. "We have found that the light pulses organize themselves after about a hundred kilometers and then behave more like molecules of a conventional gas, such as air, for example," reports Prof. Ulf Peschel, the head of the group in Jena. In a gas the particles move back and forth at different speeds, but still they have a mean velocity defined by their temperature. Although light pulses propagate through the glass fiber at an average speed of about 200,000 kilometers per second , they are not all equally fast. "The statistical distribution of their velocities equals exactly that of a conventional gas with a fixed temperature," says Peschel. As the researchers have now demonstrated for the first time in their recent publication, this photon gas can be cooled, for example, by a process known as adiabatic expansion. As in a real gas, the velocity differences of the particles decrease during cooling and the order in the signal sequence automatically increases. When the absolute temperature zero of 0 Kelvin is reached, all pulses propagate at exactly the same velocity. The reverse process is also possible. "When the optical gas is heated, velocity differences increase," explains Peschel. If all pulse velocities occur equally often, the disorder is at a maximum and the temperature is infinitea state which cannot be reached in a real gas as it would require an infinite amount of energy. "In contrast, a periodic modulation of the refractive index can limit the range of allowed pulse velocities in the glass fiber. In this way, all available velocity states can be equally excited, creating a photon gas of infinite temperature. If even more energy is added, states of extreme velocities are preferentially populatedthe photon gas becomes hotter than infinitely hot." "For this state, which has so far only been described theoretically for light, a temperature below absolute zero is mathematically assumed," says Peschel. He and his colleagues have now been able to create such a photon gas with negative temperature and show for the first time that it obeys conventional laws of thermodynamics. "Our results will contribute to a better understanding of the collective behavior of large ensembles of optical signals. If we take the laws of thermodynamics into account, we can make optical data transmission more robust and reliable, for example by structuring pulse distributions to better match thermal distributions." More information: A. L. Marques Muniz et al, Observation of photon-photon thermodynamic processes under negative optical temperature conditions, Science (2023). DOI: 10.1126/science.ade6523. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ade6523 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: Eleanor best-fit apertures (top) overlaid on the TESS target pixel files (TPFs) extracted per each sector. The TPFs are all scaled from 030,000 e1 s1. We use these apertures to extract the flux within eleanor, which are then corrected via the default eleanor corrected flux routine (bottom). Apertures and light curves are colored by TESS sector. Credit: The Astrophysical Journal (2023). DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/acb8ac Researchers led by Wu Tao from the Yunnan Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Jiang Chen from the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research reanalyzed properties of extremely eccentric planetary system HD 76920b through detailed asteroseismic analysis of its host star HD 76920. The study was published in The Astrophysical Journal on March 2. HD 76920b has an orbital eccentricity of 0.856 (comparable to the eccentric solar system bodies Comet 2P/Encke and asteroid 3200 Phaethon), making it one of the most eccentric planets known to orbit evolved stars. Solar-like oscillations in HD 76920 were detected for the first time, using five sectors of the TESS light curve that cover around 140 days of data. By utilizing asteroseismic modeling performed by five individual international teams, the researchers determined the improved measurements of the stellar mass, radius and age, and updated the semimajor axis and mass of the planet. With these updated properties of the planetary system, they confirmed that the planet is currently sufficiently far from the star to experience negligible tidal decay until being engulfed in the stellar envelope. And they predicted this event will occur within about 100 Myr, depending on the stellar model used. Asteroseismology is most known for its ability to characterize stellar fundamental parameters (e.g., mass, radius, density) to a high level of precision which is a crucial factor in constraining the properties of planets. This work of asteroseismic analysis emphasizes the potential of stellar oscillations for characterizing exoplanet systems through the synergy between exoplanet research and asteroseismology. More information: Chen Jiang et al, TESS Asteroseismic Analysis of HD 76920: The Giant Star Hosting an Extremely Eccentric Exoplanet, The Astrophysical Journal (2023). DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/acb8ac Journal information: Astrophysical 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: A computer rendering of the Nickelback peptide shows the backbone nitrogen atoms (blue) that bond two critical nickel atoms (orange). Scientists who have identified this part of a protein believe it may provide clues to detecting planets on the verge of producing life. Credit: The Nanda Laboratory A team of Rutgers scientists dedicated to pinpointing the primordial origins of metabolisma set of core chemical reactions that first powered life on Earthhas identified part of a protein that could provide scientists clues to detecting planets on the verge of producing life. The research, published in Science Advances, has important implications in the search for extraterrestrial life because it gives researchers a new clue to look for, said Vikas Nanda, a researcher at the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine (CABM) at Rutgers. Based on laboratory studies, Rutgers scientists say one of the most likely chemical candidates that kickstarted life was a simple peptide with two nickel atoms they are calling "Nickelback" not because it has anything to do with the Canadian rock band, but because its backbone nitrogen atoms bond two critical nickel atoms. A peptide is a constituent of a protein made up of a few elemental building blocks known as amino acids. "Scientists believe that sometime between 3.5 and 3.8 billion years ago there was a tipping point, something that kickstarted the change from prebiotic chemistrymolecules before lifeto living, biological systems," Nanda said. "We believe the change was sparked by a few small precursor proteins that performed key steps in an ancient metabolic reaction. And we think we've found one of these 'pioneer peptides.'" The scientists conducting the study are part of a Rutgers-led team called Evolution of Nanomachines in Geospheres and Microbial Ancestors (ENIGMA), which is part of the Astrobiology program at NASA. The researchers are seeking to understand how proteins evolved to become the predominant catalyst of life on Earth. Model structure of NB and comparison to natural enzymes. [Ni-Fe] hydrogenase (left) (PDB ID: 5XLE) and ACS (right) (PDB ID: 1RU3) are large, complex proteins with active di-metal sites coordinated by a few ligands. The model structure of NB (middle) combines elements of both active sites in a 13-residue polypeptide. Credit: Science Advances (2023). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abq1990 When scouring the universe with telescopes and probes for signs of past, present or emerging life, NASA scientists look for specific "biosignatures" known to be harbingers of life. Peptides like nickelback could become the latest biosignature employed by NASA to detect planets on the verge of producing life, Nanda said. An original instigating chemical, the researchers reasoned, would need to be simple enough to be able to assemble spontaneously in a prebiotic soup. But it would have to be sufficiently chemically active to possess the potential to take energy from the environment to drive a biochemical process. To do so, the researchers adopted a "reductionist" approach: They started by examining existing contemporary proteins known to be associated with metabolic processes. Knowing the proteins were too complex to have emerged early on, they pared them down to their basic structure. After sequences of experiments, researchers concluded the best candidate was Nickelback. The peptide is made of 13 amino acids and binds two nickel ions. Nickel, they reasoned, was an abundant metal in early oceans. When bound to the peptide, the nickel atoms become potent catalysts, attracting additional protons and electrons and producing hydrogen gas. Hydrogen, the researchers reasoned, was also more abundant on early Earth and would have been a critical source of energy to power metabolism. "This is important because, while there are many theories about the origins of life, there are very few actual laboratory tests of these ideas," Nanda said. "This work shows that, not only are simple protein metabolic enzymes possible, but that they are very stable and very activemaking them a plausible starting point for life." More information: Jennifer Timm et al, Design of a Minimal di-Nickel Hydrogenase Peptide, Science Advances (2023). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abq1990. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abq1990 Journal information: Science Advances 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: Illustration of the angular momentum lattice with the spherical harmonics of the molecule and the hopping between different lattice sites due to the periodic laser pulses. Credit: Physical Review Letters (2023). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.130.103202 The peculiar topological properties of some forms of matter have been researched for decades. Now, researchers at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) have discovered topological properties of simple diatomic molecules driven to rotation by laser pulses. The scientists apply similar mathematics to describe them as for solid matter systems, thus bridging two different fields of physics. Their findings promise possible applications in chemistry. Sometimes, unforeseen connections between disparate research fields in physics can emerge. This is the case for the topological properties of quantum states in rotating molecules. In a new study, Ph.D. student Volker Karle, Postdoc Areg Ghazaryan, and Professor Mikhail Lemeshko from the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), have now revealed that a simple rotating molecule made from just two atoms can feature quantum states with topological properties, similar to what happens in graphene and other solid-state topological materials. "The interesting thing is that these two systemsa single rotating molecule and a solid sheet of graphene made from millions of carbon atomsare very different and yet, some of their properties can be described by similar mathematics," Karle explains. "We are building a bridge between the fields of physical chemistry and solid-state physics." The three researchers published their new findings in the journal Physical Review Letters. A doughnut stays a doughnut "Topology is the study of the geometrical properties of an object which are unaffected by the continuous change of its shape and size. Realizing that one can classify quantum states not only by their energy and symmetry but also by their topology led to a real breakthrough in our understanding of solid-state physics in the last decades," Lemeshko explains. "A simple example of a topological property would be a doughnut. From a mathematical perspective, a doughnut is just a ring with one hole," Karle adds. "No matter how you stretch or squeeze it, it remains a doughnut as long as you do not do anything as drastic as adding or removing a hole. The property of being a doughnut is therefore topologically protected from 'small' disturbances like changing its shape or size." In systems like topological insulators, these topological effects emerge from the effects of millions of atoms interacting with one another. However, Karle, Ghazaryan, and Lemeshko have shown that this kind of phenomenon can also be found in much simpler systems like a single molecule. Pushing a molecule with laser light "The system we are studying is a single molecule formed by two atoms bonded together," Karle says. The researchers created a model that describes what happens in such a molecule being pushed by short laser pulses to make it rotate around the midpoint between the two atoms. "At just the right wavelength and timing of the laser pulses, we can create topologically nontrivial quantum states in the molecule that behave like to ones found in solid-state systems." For decades now, scientists have studied the topological properties of many different materials and systemseven leading to a Nobel Prize in 2016. However, finding them in a system like a simple molecule allows for new kinds of experiments and applications. "We are envisioning an experiment where a stream of such molecules is being shot out of a source and then hit with laser pulses," Karle says. "They then fly into a detector where we can study their quantum states in much greater detail than what's possible with solid-state systems." The researchers hope to gain many more insights from future experiments perhaps laying the foundations for new applications in chemistry. Controlling reactivity Non-trivial topological properties, like the ones described in this new publication, could lead to topologically protected quantum states. These are especially interesting for any application that needs to be resilient against outside disturbances like heat, magnetic fields, or material impurities. A well-known example that has garnered lots of research interest during the last few years are quantum computers based on topological quantum bits. However, the molecules that Karle and his colleagues are studying would find different applications. "We hope that this research will allow us to better understand many chemical reactions and may one-day lead to new ways of controlling them," Lemeshko says. "We could use lasers to create topologically protected quantum states in molecules that increase or decrease their reactivity with other chemicals just as we need it. The topological protection would stabilize the quantum state of the molecule which would otherwise quickly vanish." More information: Volker Karle et al, Topological Charges of Periodically Kicked Molecules, Physical Review Letters (2023). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.130.103202 Journal information: Physical Review Letters 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 fruit fly larva brain without mutations linked to muscular dystrophies. Sensory axons, shown in fluorescent green, create a ladder-like pattern. Other brain matter, in green, and cells lining the brain, in blue, are shown. Credit: Pedro Monagas-Valentin A research study has shed new light on how congenital muscular dystrophies such as Walker-Warburg syndrome progress, bringing hope for better understanding, early diagnosis and treatments of these fatal disorders. Published in March in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, the research was led by scientists in the lab of Vlad Panin, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics in the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. The study is titled "Protein tyrosine phosphatase 69D is a substrate of protein O-mannosyltransferases 1-2 that is required for the wiring of sensory axons in Drosophila." The primary author is Pedro Monagas-Valentin, one of Panin's doctoral students. The study uncovers new ways of how genetic mutations seen in patients with muscular dystrophies may lead to disease and create neurological problems. Namely, the mutations disrupt a newly discovered gene function and prevent neurons from forming connections properly. The research used fruit flies as a model system and has implications for humans. Walker-Warburg syndrome and other muscular dystrophies Walker-Warburg and muscle-eye-brain syndromes are rare, severe muscular dystrophies. Typically diagnosed in very young children, these conditions progress rapidly. They affect skeletal, heart and lung muscles as well as the brain, eyes and other organs. No cure exists for these diseases, and patients usually do not survive into adulthood. "Certain genes affected in these disorders are known," Panin said. "But much remains unknown about how these genetic defects affect molecular and cellular processes to cause neurological and other problems." This gap in understanding of pathological mechanisms impedes the development of treatments and efficient diagnostics, he said. A problem tied to sugar biology Many of the genetic mutations that occur with muscular dystrophies affect something difficult to study, Panin said, and that is the way our bodies build and use complex sugars. The sugars, called glycans, are made by all living things. In addition to energy storage and regulation, glycans have countless functions that regulate other molecules in animal cells. "There are four 'languages' of life, if you think about it in general," Panin said. "Two are proteins and nucleic acids like DNA and RNA. And there are two more languages: lipids and glycans. The fourth one is arguably the most complex 'language,' and this is what we study as glycobiologists." Glycans can be complex and branching. Unlike DNA or proteins, they are not created from a genetic template. The mutations in muscular dystrophy patients disturb a complex chain of events needed to build and attach glycans to the right molecules inside our bodies. To understand that chain of events, scientists must study the structures and locations of glycans, and the technology to do that is still being developed. This fruit fly brain shows the mutation the new study links to muscular dystrophies. The fly has wiring defects in sensory axons, pictured in fluorescent green. Credit: Pedro Monagas-Valentin) What the team did To track the role of several genetic mutations in muscular dystrophies, the team genetically modified fruit flies, then studied how the mutations affected the flies' nervous system structure and glycobiology. "My work involved a lot of crossing different lines of fruit flies to either raise or lower the activity of genes we wanted to learn more about," Monagas-Valentin said. "Then I did a lot of fly brain dissections under the microscope, of multiple genetic combinations, with a lot of practice and a lot of messing up." Monagas-Valentin used fluorescence microscopy and other methods to compare how different mutations in flies affected fly bodies and brains. He also sent samples for analysis using methods specifically designed for glycobiology. For that analysis, Monagas-Valentin and Panin collaborated with researchers at the Complex Carbohydrate Research Center at the University of Georgia in Athens. "Our collaborators have expertise in glycan sample preparation, data analysis, protocol developmentevery step is important," Panin said. Putting all the data together, the team found that a protein called PTP69D enables the proper wiring of sensory axons in flies. The researchers also revealed that the genes mutated in muscular dystrophy patients are important for PTP69D to function properly. What's more, PTP69D belongs to a large family of proteins that have very similar structure and function in flies and humans. "This story opens up new directions to understand neurological problems," Panin said. Although PTP69D and its protein family members are similar in flies and in humans, there are limitations to what the present study says about human biology, Panin said. "The fly nervous system is much simpler, and in humans there may be additional protein and glycan interactions in play," Panin said. "We can see the basic mechanisms, but nuances and additional layers cannot be studied in flies." He said much is still unknown about the proteins and glycans involved in neuron development. The team will now study these molecules and interactions more deeply to see how mutations in muscular dystrophy genes affect individual neurons. More information: Pedro Monagas-Valentin et al, Protein tyrosine phosphatase 69D is a substrate of protein O-mannosyltransferases 1-2 that is required for the wiring of sensory axons in Drosophila, Journal of Biological Chemistry (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2023.102890 Journal information: Journal of Biological Chemistry LAKE GEORGE An official in Vermonts biggest city is hoping to find success turning a former inn into studio apartments, an effort to bring some much-needed housing options to the resort community. John Vickery, the Burlington, Vermont, city assessor, purchased the Westbrook Inn on Gage Road in the town of Lake George at the end of January for $650,000. He has since submitted plans to the Lake George Planning and Zoning boards expressing his intent to turn the 15-room motel into 16 apartments. The property, built in 1985, is described on a real estate listing as a completely remodeled 15 unit motel in the heart of Lake George. Each room currently consists of furniture and a kitchenette with microwave and refrigerator. The property also includes a two-bedroom managers suite, which would serve as the 16th apartment. On March 1, Vickery went before the Zoning Board of Appeals with a hand-drawn sketch of his plans for the motel for a public hearing on the application. Dan Barusch, the towns director of planning and zoning, said the board was generally supportive. The board had a bunch of questions because Mr. Vickerys hand drawings didnt tell the full story and they were lacking in detail, but they didnt seem against the idea, Barusch said Thursday. Housing is needed here and I think everyone gets that. They just had to do their due diligence in regards to making sure everything they needed to see was there, in order to consider the variance. The zoning variance Vickery seeks would give him permission to go over a limit for apartment units. The property is zoned Residential/Commercial High Density, which only allows for 11 apartments per density in the zone. At the meeting on March 1, he was also told the county codes department would need to review the change of use and he would also need to provide adequate kitchen/cooking facilities in the units. Vickery was originally proposing hot plates, which is not allowed in most New York communities as the only method of cooking. On Tuesday, he will go before the Lake George Planning Board for a site plan review, which is required for all commercial use changes and for new multi-family dwellings. Though Barusch agrees housing is needed, he is unsure if the market is there for studio-sized spaces. While the studio apartments are going to be harder for him to rent here than they would be in his current location of Burlington, where he likely did his market research, theyre something at least, Barusch said. Amtrak is restoring service on the Adirondack Line that runs through Fort Edward, Whitehall and Ticonderoga on the way to Montreal, a service that has been suspended since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Elected officials on Friday announced the news that the line would be reactivated by April 3. U.S. Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said in a joint news release that they had been advocating for the resumption of service for months. Schumer said he is glad that Amtrak is heading the calls and restarting this vital economic engine for the North Country and Capital Region. From Plattsburgh to Poughkeepsie and into Penn Station, the Adirondack Line runs through some of the most beautiful parts of Upstate New York and resumption of this service will help pump vital tourism dollars into Main Streets across Upstate NY. All aboard for the Capital Region and North Country economies, he said in a news release. Gillibrand also said it was welcome news that the line would be restored ahead of the busy summer tourism season. The Adirondack Lines years-long closure has been economically harmful to many of the communities along its route, she said in the news release. In fiscal 2019, which was the last year before the pandemic, the Adirondack Line had 117,490 riders, a 5.1% increase compared with the previous year, according to the news release. The rail line helped bring tourists from the Capital Region, New York City and Montreal to the North Country. Tourism accounted for nearly 45% of employment in Hamilton County, 37% in Essex County and over 16% in the Adirondack region as a whole, according to the news release. In a separate news release, U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, also praised the announcement of the resumption of the line, which runs from Albany to Montreal, including stops in Plattsburgh, Whitehall, Ticonderoga, Rensselaer, Port Henry and Rouses Point. Families throughout Upstate New York and the North Country rely on the Adirondack Line for transportation, and it serves a significant economic driver, connecting tourists and our Canadian neighbors, to our region, she said in her news release. When Amtrak initially left the North Country out of their reopening plans, I brought New Yorks 21st Districts concerns to the highest levels to reopen the Adirondack Line. I continued my push to secure a date and deliver this result, so our families can have certainty about their access to transportation. Garry Douglas, president of the North Country Chamber of Commerce, said the line is one of just three vital train links between the U.S. and Canada. The service, which had been growing before the COVID shut down in 2020, has been recognized as one of the worlds most scenic train rides, used by Montrealers and New Yorkers as a travel option to reach either end or to access the Adirondacks. For Plattsburgh, it has been popular with area college students who live in the New York metro region, he said in the news release from Stefanik. State Sen. Dan Stec, R-Queensbury, called the news a major victory. Given the importance of the Adirondack Line on our communities, reopening service was a major priority, he said in a news release. Im glad to see the efforts made by me and other officials to lobby for service to resume has paid off. A popular area in the Adirondack Park could soon benefit from a state contract aimed at improving the visitor experience while protecting the environment. On Wednesday, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation announced the Adirondack High Peaks area will be one of two areas in the state to benefit from the awarding of a Visitor Use Management planning contract. The Kaaterskill Clove area in the Catskill Park was the other area chosen. According to the DECs press release, the contractor chosen by the state will assist with developing strategies to ensure these popular destinations provide positive visitor experiences while also continuing to protect the environment. The award comes after the High Peaks Strategic Planning Advisory Group completed a study in 2019 and 2020, with a final report recommending a visitor use management framework to find solutions to the compounding effects of parking shortages, unsafe conditions along state highways, and busy trails, summits and other points of interest. Otak Inc., a research, planning, and design firm based in Portland, Oregon, was chosen to develop the plans. The Adirondack High Peaks and Kaaterskill Clove area in the Catskills are two of New Yorks most popular outdoor destinations because of their outstanding beauty, DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said in a press release. DEC is excited to partner with the experienced team at Otak Inc. to explore strategic, innovative, and data-driven ideas and solutions for balancing conservation and public access in these beloved areas of Forest Preserve. DEC releases committee's recommendation for fixing High Peaks hiker crunch The state Department of Environmental Conservation has released a committees recommendations for how to address ever-increasing hiker traffic in the High Peaks. According to the DEC, the company was awarded the VUM planning contract following a competitive request for proposals process, funded by the States Environmental Protection Fund. Led by a project management team based in the Northeast, Otak has more than two decades of experience conducting visitor use planning and research on wilderness and other recreation lands managed by the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service and other agencies. Their team includes experts in recreation planning, meeting facilitation, stakeholder engagement and data analysis. Over the last 35 years, we have built a highly collaborative team with award-winning multidisciplinary expertise: urban design, architecture, planning, engineering, and construction management, the company website reads. Otak Project Manager Steve Lawson shared his excitement about the project in the DEC news release. The Adirondack High Peaks and the Kaaterskill Clove area in the Catskills are significant landscapes in American conservation history and world class destinations for wildlands recreation, Lawson said. We are excited for the opportunity to support the DEC in this project to develop data-driven strategies for the long-term enjoyment, appreciation, and conservation of these areas. The contract is effective immediately and extends through the end of 2024. Otak plans to engage with state officials, stakeholders and the public to outline the desired conditions and management goals for the project areas. High Peaks committee seeks input on overuse A freshly created committee tasked with advising the state on how to mitigate the impact of increasing hiker traffic in the High Peaks wants to hear questions and concerns from the public. During the second half of 2023, the process will focus on measuring and analyzing visitor use patterns to determine how closely current conditions in the two project areas compare to the desired conditions. In the second year of the contract, Otak will focus on developing management strategies aimed at helping DEC achieve and maintain desired conditions. Final project reports will be provided to DEC that include recommendations for monitoring and maintaining the effectiveness of the proposed strategies over time. The DEC said Otak is planning public meetings to receive input from the residents in the community. Public and stakeholder input will play a key role in helping DEC and Otak develop appropriate management strategies for the High Peaks and Kaaterskill Clove regions. During the initial phase of the project, a public meeting will be held in each project area to highlight the project goals and timeline and solicit feedback on management objectives. A second round of public meetings will be held in 2024 to present draft management recommendations, the release reads. The Forest Preserve comprises state land within the Adirondack and Catskill parks protected by the New York State constitution as forever wild, which is managed by DEC and its partners in a manner that maximizes public appreciation of its wild setting while ensuring it remains welcoming and accessible to people of all backgrounds and abilities. Otaks extensive track record of successfully employing the Interagency VUM (Visitor Use Management) Framework in some of Americas most iconic National Parks will be instrumental in helping DEC develop responsible solutions for two of New Yorks own natural wonders, the DEC release concludes. WARRENSBURG Volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers can apply for a town property tax exemption of 10% of its assessed value, under a new law unanimously passed by the Warrensburg Town Board at its Wednesday meeting. A recently-approved state law allows the town to grant the exemption. Town officials noted that the state already offers a $200 income tax credit to qualifying volunteer firefighters and emergency medical workers, and applicants must choose either the credit or the exemption. The law will take effect upon filing with the secretary of state. Town Supervisor Kevin Geraghty recused himself from the vote due to a conflict of interest. MAYS LANDING An Atlantic City man on Friday was found guilty of murdering a former girlfriend during an argument in 2020. Maximo Santiago, 72, was convicted of murder, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and certain persons not to possess weapons, the Atlantic County Prosecutors Office said Friday. Santiagos trial lasted for one week, the Prosecutors Office said in a news release. He is scheduled to be sentenced April 20, facing life in prison with a mandatory 30 years of parole ineligibility. Using a rifle, Santiago shot Marketa Thorpe, 32, in her torso Sept. 12, 2020, in the 1500 block of Belfield Avenue in Atlantic City. Santiago and Thorpe had previously been in a relationship and had been affiliated with one another for many years, the Prosecutors Office said. Police were called to the scene at 11:24 a.m., finding Thorpe suffering from her wound. She was taken to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, City Campus, where she later died. Santiago was arrested shortly after police were called. He was indicted on the charges in July 2021. 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. Feature: Digital technology equips elderly service infrastructure in Shanghai Xinhua) 08:43, March 10, 2023 This photo taken on Feb. 27, 2023 shows a public phone and a smart screen inside a digital pavilion which was converted from a conventional telephone booth in east China's Shanghai. (Xinhua/Chen Aiping) SHANGHAI, March 9 (Xinhua) -- On a busy road in downtown Shanghai, a red digital pavilion attracts continuous attention from passers-by. The digital pavilion contains a public phone, a smart screen and intelligent cameras, while a row of seats stand in front of it. The spacious pavilion, located on Middle Huaihai Road, was once a conventional telephone booth. It was converted and decorated by the local government and telecommunications enterprises, and can now do more than just make calls. By touching "car hailing" on the screen, users can request a ride after entering their phone number. The screen provides information such as the taxi license plate number, distance and waiting time. Another service provided by the smart screen is designed for senior citizens who have no mobile phones. They have access to quick contact with their families by scanning their faces to inform pre-set emergency contacts. The people who are notified can obtain the location of the elderly person and call the pavilion where they are. The elderly can also use the screen to look up the locations of nearby hospitals and community canteens within a 15-minute walk. Through this integration with digital technology, the telephone booths, which had fallen into disfavor due to the popularity of mobile phones in recent years, have become popular again. Dozens of them dot busy roads in the municipality, and the number is expected to reach 500 by the end of 2023 and 1,000 by 2025. These digital pavilions serve as a way for the municipality to better support the emergency needs of senior citizens. Digital technology devices have also found their way into the homes of elderly people in the city's suburban areas. In Xinqiao Village of Fengxian District, the local village committee cooperates with the China Telecom Shanghai branch, a state-owned telecommunications company, to provide smart terminal devices for villagers aged 80 and older. The terminal device is similar in size to a small clock. Besides telling time and playing music, it has additional functions specially designed for the elderly, who have access to three main buttons on the device. The seniors can ask the village committee for help in case of emergency by pressing a specific button on their smart devices, and listen to notifications from the village committee by pressing another button. They can also press a button which allows them to immediately dial and answer pre-set phone numbers belonging to their families. About 100 sets of this terminal device are currently in use in the village and have been warmly welcomed by the local seniors. Its monthly usage fee of around 10 yuan (about 1.44 U.S. dollars) is paid by the village committee. This elderly service using smart terminal devices is being provided in some pilot streets and towns in Shanghai, and together with the digital pavilions, they will be part of the city's new digital infrastructure to help it build an age-friendly society, said Gong Bo, general manager of the China Telecom Shanghai branch. For the elderly who are not good at using mobile apps, a municipal helpline formerly used for phone number enquiries was upgraded to meet their needs by dialing 114. The voice hotline serves senior citizens in Shanghai by offering age-friendly help such as ride-hailing and non-emergency patient transport. As of Thursday, the hotline has provided ride-hailing services more than 155,000 times, and its elderly service has answered 183,000 calls. The city is making efforts through projects integrating digital technology, to solve the problems encountered by vulnerable groups in internet and intelligent applications and to foster digital inclusion, said Zhang Ying, deputy head of the municipal economy and information technology commission. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan) Contractors with Norfolk Southern remove wreckage from the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, U.S., on Feb. 16, 2023. [Photo/cfp.cn] East Palestine, Ohio, is a picturesque town of 4,761 people in the Eastern United States. The people are straight-talking folk. The main street has a Dollar General store with clothing for sale on a rack on the sidewalk. A mural with an American flag and the words "Land of the free, Home of the brave" is painted on a wall to commemorate those soldiers who died fighting for the country. On Feb. 6, a plume of toxic chemicals rose over the town as 1.1 million pounds (500 metric tons) of vinyl chloride was burned. It was the result of a terrible train crash on the evening of Feb. 3 that caused 51 cars to end up on the side of the tracks, including nine tanker cars containing 2.1-level and 3-level flammable liquids and gases. The chemicals that leaked into the stream contributed to the observed deaths of 45,000 fish and aquatic animals. The cause of the crash has been attributed to a malfunctioning component of a rail car, according to an initial report by the National Transportation Safety Board. We don't yet know who was to blame for the failing axle and wheel bearing system, but already there is scattershot speculation and political mudslinging. Republican Senator Marco Rubio blamed Democratic Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and demanded he resigns. Buttigieg pointed to a letter Rubio signed in 2021 that called for replacing human inspection of railroad tracks with automated inspections. American freight trains have gotten longer and heavier in recent years as the number of employees operating trains and conducting maintenance has been cut. These changes are part of a new business strategy called precision scheduled railroading (PSR). Nowadays, one single train hauling a hundred or more cars with a variety of contents can replace a couple of unit trains that each carry a single good. In the old model with hub-and-spoke networks and trains dispatched when demand was met, one train might carry 50 or 100 cars of general merchandise to markets. Another train might carry a load of intermodal freight from a port to a central distribution yard. A third train would carry a couple of dozen tanks of chemicals. Now all of the contents of those three trains are combined into one mega-train, but the same number of engineers still operate the train. For the rail companies that have made huge profits, that is good for business. For the engineers and the people living near train tracks, it's dangerous. There were only two full-time crew members and one trainee overseeing the 1.7-kilometer-long, 151-car train that rumbled through central and eastern Ohio that early February evening. The final investigation has yet to conclude and won't for months. In past derailments, there has sometimes been a problem with the track, a problem with the rolling stock, an error by the crew, or some combination of those factors. Suppose the track was unsafe? With staffing levels reduced at rail companies in the name of efficiency, fewer employees have to inspect longer distances of tracks. The overworked employees are not able to catch every defect before it causes a problem. What about the defective wheel bearing? If there were more maintenance employees, could it have been noticed and fixed sooner? Allan Rutter, former Federal Railway Administrator of the U.S. under President George W. Bush, has speculated that the car in question might not have been owned by Norfolk Southern, the railway that was operating the train. That raises the question: Are these railway operators just accepting any decrepit containers provided by shippers without doing their own safety checks before dragging them along their tracks? Negligence and incompetence by crew have been the cause of some rail accidents. Again, we have no idea yet if this was one. But common sense says it should be easier for the crew to monitor a 50-car train than a 150-car train. Moreover, if a train carrying that many cars does encounter trouble, it will take a much longer time to slow down. Rail companies like Norfolk Southern, CSX, and Union Pacific have laid off tens of thousands of workers from 2018 to 2022. CSX refused to grant workers paid sick leave in recent negotiations with a major rail union. Jim Blaze, a contributing editor for Railway Age, wrote in October 2020 that the PSR marketing model is all about "genuflecting to Wall Street." Jeremy Ferguson, president of the SMART Transportation Division, a rail workers union, said that "the severe reduction of rail employees has greatly impacted safe operations." Moreover, the rail industry has lobbied against rules requiring new and more effective electronic braking systems. They influenced agencies and legislators to overturn rules regulating the safety of trains carrying hazardous chemicals. The smoke has dispersed over East Palestine and surrounding areas. The bulldozers and power shovels are digging up dirt that pollutants had seeped into. The specter of the next disaster looms for the thousands of communities through which trains deliver vinyl chloride, propane, and liquified natural gas every day. Mitchell Blatt is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit: http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/MitchellBlatt.htm 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. PLEASANTVILLE Atlantic County is celebrating what many consider an ideal new use for the former Press of Atlantic City office building. Ideal Institute of Technology hosted a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday for its headquarters at 1000 W. Washington Ave. Founder Ren Parikh said he was dedicated to unlocking students potential and connecting them with professional opportunities in technology, manufacturing and entrepreneurship. He said existing Ideal programs will graduate over 150 students this year. A lot of people know Ideal as a champion of out-of-school youth, at-risk youth, lower-opportunity youth, but I tell everybody theyre my kids, Parikh said. They are not just a line item or a number, they are actual success stories. A pre-groundbreaking ceremony was held in a tent outside the building, with renderings of the center posted up front and live music playing in back. About 100 people attended, overflowing the tent. Pleasantville approves redevelopment agreement for former Press office PLEASANTVILLE The City Council issued a resolution last week to execute a redevelopment ag Mayor Judy Ward said Ideal could generate growth for the city and would highlight opportunities the city already provides aspirant businesses and ambitious students. This has been a long time coming, and it is a momentous occasion, Ward said. He knows that we wanted to change the narrative of Pleasantville, because Pleasantville really is a great city. Atlantic County Commissioner Caren Fitzpatrick presented Parikh a county proclamation honoring the opening of the new building. The Atlantic County Board of Commissioners is behind economic development, workforce development 110%, said John Risley, chair of the commissioners. Parikh purchased the building from former Press owner BH Media Group on Jan. 31, 2022. He said Ideal intended to start a new chapter at the property. I tell somebody, where we are is usually known as The Press building, Parikh said. Were changing that buildings name today to Ideal building. Pleasantville submits 2023 Neighborhood Preservation Plan to state PLEASANTVILLE The city is pursuing state grants to help revitalize its downtown and enhanc The site will include a 30,000-square-foot Career Training Center and a consortium of trade/skills colleges on site. Ideal offers programs focusing on construction and vocational classes; filmmaking and music production; advanced manufacturing; and information technology fields such as cybersecurity, web development and computer coding. Space in the complex could also be rented out to interested work-training programs that are not otherwise available in South Jersey. To help students leverage their acquired skills, Ideal offers an entrepreneurial program, teaching students how to launch their own businesses in the fields they study. He said Ideal students had contributed to designing the school and also pitched the tent for the ceremony. Ideal culinary alumni brought their food truck to cater the event. Ideal, which opened in 2016, is a 501(3) nonprofit. Parikh said tuition varies for each course. He said Ideal generates much of its operating revenue from the companies its students run in the community, while students earn their own money for their work. Ideal has nine other locations, including one in the Hamilton Mall in Hamilton Township and one in Tanger Outlets The Walk in Atlantic City. Our concept is very unique, Parikh said after the groundbreaking ceremony. Were the first school in America that pays students to come to school. There are also plans to expand. Parikh said Ideal would build an addition to the property at a cost of $4 million. The addition would include an advance-manufacturing facility, as well as a center for aquaponics, a specialized agricultural technique. Nursing homes plead for financial help as closures, staffing shortages endanger care The AHCA reported that 327 nursing homes closed during the pandemic, with almost half rated four or five stars by the government. Another 400 were projected to close in 2022. Parikh said he intended for the company to galvanize economic activity in both Atlantic County and the broader South Jersey community, and he anticipated that the school would eventually admit international students. He said he hoped the school would be operational in July and said the building would have a capacity of 1,000 students. Parikh said anybody 16 or older is eligible to apply for admissions, noting that Ideal has previously graduated a woman who was 73. He stressed that factors such as not having graduated high school or not speaking English would not be a barrier to admission, saying Ideal would connect students to needed preparatory classes. There are also a host of state workforce grants and federal student aid for those interested in applying. Eligibility is their willingness to learn and work. We can help with everything else, Parikh said. Area school officials at the ceremony said they were excited for the opportunities Ideal is bringing its students. Egg Harbor Township Superintendent Kim Gruccio said her districts students already work with Ideal through several programs, including computer coding. The entry of the institute was decorated with woodwork from Egg Harbor Township students. Atlantic City High School Principal Constance Days-Chapman said the program has allowed for students who have struggled in a traditional, public school setting to earn credits and stay on track. We look forward to a continued partnership with them, and we look forward to all that is in store, Days-Chapman said after the ceremony. The project at the old Press building is not the only one Ideal is pursuing. City Council adopted a resolution in August designating Ideal as the conditional redeveloper for a portion of center city that runs along Main Street just off from its intersection at Washington Avenue. Parikh said Ideal intends to launch a hotel management institute in the area, including projects such as a microbrewery, a cloud kitchen, a banquet hall and a hotel with a rooftop restaurant. The project, he said, will be carried out by Ideal students. After the ceremony, Parikh said that project would cost about $6 million. So, were making the statement today that Pleasantville is going to be a hub for technology and entrepreneurship, Parikh said. Ideal Institute of Technology breaks ground at new building Vineland Municipal Utilities officials are warning people about a false, door-to-door gimmick seeking to get residents to sign up for free solar panel installation. Residents of the East Vineland section of Buena Vista Township have reported to VMU that theyve been approached by a representative of Invincible City Developments offering them solar-energy systems at no cost, VMU officials said Friday in a news release. The company representative has falsely claimed VMU is adding a monthly surcharge to billing, intending to use the money to bolster solar energy infrastructure in the city, VMU said. We have no connection with this company, and their surcharge claims are completely false, VMU Director John Lillie said in a statement. VMU is the only municipally owned electricity generation utility in New Jersey, according to its website. The Invincible City Developments representative told residents workers would be in the area to register customers for solar panel installation that would most likely be free, citing the surcharge to cover the cost, VMU officials said. They are not a registered door-to-door vendor with the city, which requires fingerprinting and a background check, Lillie said. The company is based in Cherry Hill and has offices listed on Haddonfield Road. Attempts to reach a company representative for comment were unsuccessful Friday. Lillie said police have been made aware of the trend and have repeatedly called the company, leaving several messages urging it to stop the unwarranted solicitations. Con artists are always coming up with new ways to try and scam the public, Lillie said. VMU said they do not come to customers homes without an appointment and dont use third-party entities to do work. Customers are also contacted by VMU through the mail, Lillie said. Vineland ending water restriction after dry conditions improve VINELAND The city is ending a temporary water-use restriction put in place when the city's Officials urged residents to call police at 856-691-4111 or notify VMU if they find themselves in a similar situation. Officials also asked that callers note as much information as possible about their solicitors, including a vehicle description. The more information you can provide, the better chance we have of apprehending and punishing the individuals responsible, officials said. Actor-director Satish Kaushik was last seen at Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmis Holi party in Mumbai, where he was being his usual smiling self, his very presence a source of joy for others Veteran Bollywood actor-writer-director Satish Kaushik -remembered as 'Calendar' in the film "Mr. India" - passed away at 67 late on Wednesday. His friend and another legendary actor Anupam Kher shared the news in a tweet early Thursday. Born in Haryana, Kaushik was an alumnus of the NSD and the FTII, and started his film career in the early 1980s. He penned the dialogues for the 1983 classic "Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron", which acquired a cult following over the years. Bade Miyan Chote Miyan He is known for his comic roles as 'Calendar' in "Mr India", 'Pappu Pager' in "Deewana Mastana" among many others. Kaushik also gave sterling performances in other films like "Ram Lakhan" and "Saajan Chale Sasural". He directed Sridevi's film, "Roop Ki Rani, Choron Ka Raja" and later "Prem", both disasters, but he got his big hit with "Hum Aapke Dil Me Rehte Hain" and also "Tere Sang", among many others. Mr India Bollywood mourns Many Bollywood personalities have paid tributes to the multifaceted artiste after learning about the news of his demise: ANUPAM KHER: "I know 'death is the ultimate truth of this world!' But I never thought in my dreams that I would write this thing about my best friend #SatishKaushik while alive. Such a sudden full stop on a friendship of 45 years!! Life will NEVER be the same without you SATISH! Om Shanti!" ALI FAZAL: Just Daybefore i met you, we played holi.. we broke bread. Now you are gone. Just like that. Too soon . This wasnt your time sir. I dont want to say Rest, your spirit was way too evolved and infectious. It will stay with us forever. I am just sorry and gutted for the people you leave behind who have loved you so dearly. Your friends and most of all your family. ABHISHEK BACHCHAN: "Shocked to hear of the passing of our beloved Satish Kaushik ji. A most gentle, kind and loving person. Always happy and smiling. A huge loss to our industry. Rest in peace dearest Satish uncle. We will all miss you." Deewana Mastana AKSHAY KUMAR: Chanda Mama is gone. Deeply saddened to hear about Satish Kaushik jis demise. Will remember him for the spontaneous laughter he brought to the sets of Mr & Mrs Khiladi. Am sure hes already making everyone smile in heaven. Om Shanti RITESH DESHMUKH: Cant believe you are gone. Your hearty laugh still rings in my ears. Thank you for being a kind and generous co actor, thank you for being a silent teacher. You will be missed, your legacy will live on in our hearts. #SatishKaushik ji #RestInPeace SUNNY DEOL: Heart breaking news of #SatishKaushik ji passing away. Cant believe it. He was such a happy person. May God grant strength to the family and our industry to overcome this loss. Om Shanti! SANJAY DUTT: Rest in peace #SatishKaushik. You will be deeply missed by so many. Sending love and prayers to your family and loved ones during this difficult time. MADHURI DIXIT NENE: Your humour, art and talent have left an impact on millions but it's your heart and kindness that I will miss most...Rest easy #SatishKaushik ji. KANGANA RANAUT: "Woke up to this horrible news. He was my biggest cheerleader, a very successful actor and director #SatishKaushik ji personally was also a very kind and genuine man. I loved directing him in 'Emergency'. He will be missed. Om Shanti!" Double Dhamaal SONU SOOD: "When I came to Mumbai, Satish ji was the first director I met. He was so warm and humble. Gave a few lessons of life that will always stay with me. RIP SIR. Will miss u always." MADHUR BHANDARKAR: "I am so shocked to hear the demise of actordirector Satish Kaushik ji, who was always vibrant, energetic and full of life. He will be missed immensely by the film fraternity & millions of admirers. My deepest condolences to his family members." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Satish Kaushik had shared a series of pictures on Instagram His last social media post On Tuesday, Satish Kaushik had shared a series of pictures on Instagram as he celebrated the occasion with his friends from the Hindi film industry. In the pictures, the actor is posed with Ali Fazal, Richa Chadha and Javed Akhtar. He was seen posing for the pictures in an orange coloured T-shirt and white pants. He captioned the image: Colourful Happy Fun Holi party at Janki Kutir Juhu by @jaduakhtar @ babaazmi @azmishabana18 @tanviazmiofficial.. met the newly wed beautiful couple @alifazal9 @ therichachadha @ mahimachaudhry1 wishing Happy Holi to everyone #friendship #festival #colours #swipe left. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pained by the untimely demise: PM Prime Minister Narendra Modi mourned the death of veteran actor and director Satish Kaushik. In a tweet, PM Modi said, Pained by the untimely demise of noted film personality Shri Satish Kaushik Ji. He was a creative genius who won hearts thanks to his wonderful acting and direction. His works will continue to entertain audiences. Condolences to his family and admirers. Om Shanti. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Memorable dialogues Pappu Pager kya hai pehle thokta hai, phir bajata hai ... phir thok bajake confirm karta hai Aye ujhdi hui riyasat ke rajkumar Aye hit film ke flop hero log Aye jhantule jhatak, zyada na matak ... aur meri baat gale mein satak Meri apni khud ki ek personal biwi hai Aankh ke andhe ko toh phir bhi thikana mil jaata hai ... akal ke andhe ko koi thikana nahi milta Aye Bhojpuri picture ke Om Puri ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Iconic roles Mr. India (1987) as Calendar Ram Lakhan (1989) as Kashiram Saajan Chale Sasural (1996) as Mutthu Swamy Andaz (1994) as Panipuri Sharma Deewana Mastana (1997) as Pappu Pager Mr. & Mrs. Khiladi (1997) as Chanda Mama Haseena Maan Jaayegi (1999) as Kunj Bihari Hadh Kar Di Aapne (2000) as Prakash Kaushik Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahin (2002) as Pappu Pager Double Dhamaal (2011) as Baba Batanand Swami Veerey Ki Wedding (2018) as Gopi Bhalla Scam 1992 - The Harshad Mehta Story (2020) as Manu Mundra aka Black Cobra It's a black day for the Bollywood industry as Ace director-actor Satish Kaushik bids farewell to the world, leaving many of them in tears. The Bollywood industry is deeply saddened by this news, and one such personality who just couldn't believe his eyes is none other than actor Vaarun Bhagat. Vaarun Bhagat has always amazed the audience with his performance and looks heartbroken by the news. The actor says, "I woke up to this news, and I was shocked, for a second, I couldn't believe it. Satish sir's contribution to Indian cinema has been unbelievable. He has given all of us fond memories through his performances in movies, playing various characters from Calender in Mr. India to his character in Scam 1992. He has played so many diverse characters in his career, and I feel most of them are flawless and wonderful. I will always remember and cherish his outstanding performances in David Dhawan's movies like Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, Deewana Mastana, or with Naseeruddin Shah Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro to Calendar in Mr. India, and so on." "It's sad to see him pass away so soon. Bollywood will always miss his smiling face, and I just hope God gives the family the strength and blessings to deal with this loss." He further said, "My heart goes out to his loved ones. He was a great actor, and he has entertained us with various characters, different characters, funny characters, aggressive characters and he has directed great films like Tere Naam and many more. He is the big part of this industry, Indian cinema. I feel 'Calendar Khaana Do' will never be the same again. He will be surely miss. National Commission seeks a detailed action taken report from the police The National Commission for Women (NCW) has asked DGP Rajasthan to personally look into the allegations of mistreatment and assault levelled by Pulwama martyrs widows and conduct an inquiry into it. In a letter, the commission has also sought a detailed asked action taken report (ATR) from the police. NCW India has taken cognizance. Chairperson @sharmarekha has written to DGP Rajasthan to personally look into the matter and conduct an inquiry into allegations of mistreatment and assault levelled by the women against police officials. Detailed ATR must be apprised to NCW, the commission said in a tweet. The family members of the jawans killed in the 2019 Pulwama terror attack have been sitting on a dharna for the past few days over the alleged assault by police personnel when they tried to march towards the chief ministers residence to put forth their grievances. Manju, the wife of Pulwama martyr Rohitash Lamba, alleged that the police threw her as if she was a gunny bag when she was going to meet the Chief minister. IANS Fake videos about violence circulated after my call for oppn unity Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin on Thursday alleged that rumours of migrant workers from Bihar being attacked in the state had emanated a day after his call for opposition unity against the BJP. Responding to questions during the ungalil oruvan or one among you programme, Stalin attributed the rumours to the BJP leaders of northern India. Some BJP leaders in North India have shared these rumours with ulterior motives. For so many years workers from the northern states have been living here happily. Of late, their numbers have increased further because they have no problem here. But someone has created fake videos to mislead that the migrant workers were attacked, the chief minister said. Stalin said that a detailed inquiry into the issue had found that migrant workers were not facing any problems in Tamil Nadu. He said that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has been apprised of the facts. Stalin on Tuesday interacted with migrant workers at a private latex factory in Tirunelveli. During the interaction, the workers told Stalin that they were being treated well by the local people. Some of the migrant workers were staying in Tamil Nadu for the past five years and were feeling like it was home too, they said. IANS An East Moline man who was released from the U.S. Bureau of Prisons in February after serving a sentence for escape is facing new charges in Davenport related to crack cocaine and handgun possession. Sylvester George Taylor Staples, 30, is charged with one count of possession with the intent to deliver no more than 40 grams of cocaine base, also known as crack. The charge is a Class C felony under Iowa law that carries a prison sentence of 10 years. Staples also is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and violating Iowas drug tax stamp law. Both charges are Class D felonies that carry a prison sentence of five years. According to the arrest affidavit filed by Davenport Police Officer Brandon Askew, at 5:02 p.m. Wednesday, Davenport Police detectives conducted an investigation at a home in the 1400 block of Harrison Street. Police made contact with Staples while he was in a vehicle at the house. Detectives saw a black semi-automatic Smith & Wesson pistol lying on the drivers floorboard. The gun was loaded and had one round in the chamber and seven rounds in the magazine. During a search of Staples, officers seized 10.55 grams of crack cocaine that was in the front pocket of his jeans. Detectives interviewed an involved person who was standing at the front passenger window. That person told detectives that Staples had offered to sell him crack cocaine. During a first appearance Thursday in Scott County District Court, Magistrate Richard Wells scheduled a preliminary hearing in the case for March 17. Staples was being held Friday in the Scott Count Jail on a cash-only bond of $75,000. He currently is serving three years on federal supervised release. Authorities could move to prove he violated the conditions of his release and have him sent back to federal prison. According to electronic records of the U.S. District Court, Rock Island, on March 30, 2022, Chief U.S. District Court Judge Sara Darrow sentenced Staples to 24 months, or two years, in federal prison on a charge of escape, to be followed by three years on supervised release. According to the criminal complaint on the escape charge filed by U.S. Deputy Marshal Ryan Jackson, on Nov. 4, 2020, Staples was transferred from the U.S. Bureau of Prisons to a residential reentry center in Davenport. Staples had been arrested Feb. 18, 2016, on charges of possessing with the intent to distribute crack cocaine and marijuana. On Jan. 18, 2017, he was sentenced to 72 months, or six years, in federal prison to be followed by three years on supervised release. On March 11, 2021, Staples signed a home confinement agreement form with the Bureau of Prisons to reside at an East Moline residence. The agreement called for him to stay in regular touch with the residential reentry center and be subject to electronic monitoring. On April 16, 2021, Staples removed his electronic monitoring device and fled. U.S. Marshals arrested Staples on May 25, 2021, in Davenport. At the time of his sentencing on the drug charges in 2017, Staples sent a letter to U.S. District Judge James Shadid stating that he had made many mistakes in this life, some from peer pressure and most being I didnt have anything to lose growing up. My mother did nothing but dehumanize me my whole youth, so I was just a angry kid who wanted to be loved and respected, he wrote. Ive been told all my life I would either be like my father and amount to nothing or be dead. Staples said he never had been self-driven enough to push for better, until his 5-year-old son asked him, Daddy, why you keep going to jail? Staples wrote that never in my life have I felt so worthless. He explained that his son wasnt yet born the last time I went to prison. Federal authorities could take over the case filed Wednesday in Scott County under Project Safe Neighborhoods. Instituted in 2001, Project Safe Neighborhoods is a Justice Department initiative that brings together law enforcement at all levels to reduce gun violence. At the federal level, a conviction of being a felon in possession of a firearm carries a maximum prison sentence of 15 years. A Muscatine woman who attempted to defraud Madison, Wisconsin-based CUNA Mutual Group with a false life insurance claim has been sentenced to two years in federal prison. Kimberly Nicole Hollingshed, 37, had been charged with three counts of wire fraud. She pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud on Nov. 14, 2022, during a change of plea hearing in U.S. District Court, Davenport. The two other counts were dropped in a plea agreement. During a sentencing hearing held Wednesday in U.S. District Court, U.S. Magistrate Stephen Jackson Jr. sentenced Hollingshed to 24 months in federal prison to be followed by three years on supervised release. Hollingshed will get credit for the time she has spent in custody awaiting trial and sentencing. There is no parole in the federal system. According to U.S. District Court electronic records, on Feb. 22, 2022, Hollingshed created a profile for the term-life insurance account of one of her neighbors. On March 8, 2022, she accessed the online account of the neighbor and falsely claimed that she was the daughter of the insured. She then named herself as the designated beneficiary on the life insurance policy. To conceal the changes that she made, Hollingshed used her personal address as the primary mailing address of the account. On April 12, 2022, Hollingshed contacted CUNA Mutual Group by phone and falsely reported that the insured had died. Two days later she sent an email to CUNA Mutual Group with a forged and altered Iowa death certificate attached. CUNA Mutual Group sent Hollingshed a benefit check in the amount of $100,138.37. Hollingshed then used the money to purchase personal property and at least three vehicles, including a 2008 Hummer H3, a 2014 Buick Encore, and a 2008 Jeep Liberty. Hollingshed was arrested July 12, 2022, according to U.S. District Court, Davenport, electronic records. She was released on bond the next day. However, she was arrested on Sept. 8, 2022, after she twice used methamphetamine, once on July 16, and again on Aug. 15. Her bond was revoked and she remained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. In her sentencing memorandum, Hollingsheds attorney, Assistant Federal Defender Diane Helphrey, said that Hollingshed was primarily raised by her mother, except for periods of time she was placed out of the home by the Department of Human Services. Helphrey added that Hollingsheds mother suffered from severe addiction and mental health problems and that her mother was involved in numerous mutually abusive relationships. As a result, Hollingshed both witnessed and suffered physical abuse. Hollingshed and her siblings also were exposed to methamphetamine by their mother at an early age, according to the sentencing memorandum. Hollingshed has been diagnosed with depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), borderline personality disorder, schizophrenia and manic episode, Helphrey said. Hollingshed also has criminal cases pending in Muscatine. She is scheduled to be sentenced April 7 in Muscatine County District Court in connection with a burglary and forgery case, and a witness tampering case. According to District Court records, on Jan. 20 Hollingshed pleaded guilty to two counts of third-degree burglary and one count of forgery. Each is a Class D felony under Iowa law that carries a prison sentence of five years. She also pleaded guilty to two counts of fourth-degree theft, serious misdemeanors that carry up to a year in the county jail. On Jan. 30, Hollingshed pleaded guilty to a charge of tampering with a witness, an aggravated misdemeanor that carries a prison sentence of two years. Hundreds of people waited in line at a casino in Davenport Friday morning to hear what Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a possible contender for the GOP's presidential nomination, had to say. It was his first trip to Iowa, which is the first state in the presidential-nominating calendar for Republicans. Although DeSantis hasn't yet announced a run for the nomination, early polling shows him as the only potential candidate polling with double digit support behind former President Donald Trump. In his speech at the Rhythm City Casino in Davenport, DeSantis ticked off a list of Republican accomplishments in Florida: prohibiting mask and vaccine mandates; banning the teaching of gender identity and sexual orientation in elementary schools; restricting diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts at public universities; restricting public investments in companies that focus on environmental, social, and governance-investment strategies, and others. "Our state is where woke goes to die," DeSantis said to a standing ovation. He was introduced by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, drawing parallels between the two states' politics. Both governors won their first full terms in 2018, and resisted pandemic-era mandates and closures in 2020. Both won with double-digit margins in their 2022 reelection campaigns. "With absolutely no playbook, we both focused on protecting the lives and livelihoods and the freedom of our citizens," Reynolds said. DeSantis greeted the audience by complimenting Reynolds. "It's so great to be here with America's governor, Kim Reynolds," he said. He said he speaks with people who move to Florida from other states, and many express displeasure about how their home Democratic-controlled states are run. "But when I meet Iowans in Florida, they're happy. They love their state, because it's well run," DeSantis said. "It's one of the best-run states in the country." He and Reynolds acknowledged Republican governors can be competitive. Iowa Republicans have passed bills in recent weeks that would ban gender-affirming care and prohibit instruction of gender identity and sexual orientation in K-6. At the start of the session, Iowa lawmakers passed a bill that would allow parents to use taxpayer per-pupil funds to send their children to private schools. Florida lawmakers are considering a bill that would open its private school program to all families, regardless of income. DeSantis' speech to Iowa Republicans comes as the Florida legislature began its 60-day session this week. "I always tell my legislators, 'You watch Iowa. Do not let them get ahead of us on any of this stuff,' " DeSantis said. "So, we've got our legislature in session now. So buckle up. The next 60 days should be fun in Florida." When he won a narrow election in 2018, DeSantis said he was advised "not to rock the boat." But he said he went on the offensive instead, and it paid off. "The advice I was getting at the time, was OK, it's a divided state; very close election. Trim your sails, don't rock the boat, you know, just get in there and kind of be a little passive. And I rejected that advice," he said. "My view was, I may have received 50% of the vote, but I earned 100% of the executive power, and I intend to use that to be able to advance the best interest of the people in Florida and fulfill my campaign promises." Attendees were given free copies of DeSantis's book, "The Courage to Be Free: Florida's Blueprint for America's Revival." He'll make a second stop in Des Moines later on Friday. His visit comes just as a Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll released Friday shows DeSantis comparable with Donald Trump in favorability ratings. About 42% of Iowa Republicans view DeSantis as very favorable and about 44% of Iowa Republicans view Trump on the same measure. More Republicans, however, viewed Trump, who has his own visit to Davenport scheduled for Monday, as unfavorable. Eighteen percent of Iowa Republicans viewed Trump as mostly or very unfavorable. Just 6% of Iowa Republicans said the same for DeSantis, though 20% said they weren't sure about DeSantis. Jerry Waite, of Davenport, said he liked what DeSantis has done for Florida and that he is more polished than Trump. Though he likes Trump, he thinks his crassness helped contribute to the former president's loss in 2020. Waite added that he likes that DeSantis is younger. Waite is 76 the same age as Trump. "He's not that much younger than (Joe) Biden," Waite said of Trump. Gayla Schaefer, of Moline, and Kate VanDaele, of Erie, won't be able to pledge their support in Iowa's caucuses, because they live in Illinois, but they plan to see many Republicans who visit the Hawkeye State ahead of the 2024 caucuses. Schaefer said she liked "everything" about DeSantis in particular what she viewed as his strength and conviction in standing up for the conservative point of view. Schaefer and VanDaele said they appreciated Florida's push in schools to take out instruction on gender and sexuality. Both said, however, they couldn't yet say whether they'll support DeSantis or Trump. "I'd love to see a Trump-DeSantis ticket, but I don't think that'll happen," Schaefer said. Todd Hoffman, 60, of Davenport said he liked DeSantis' stance on immigration. During his speech, DeSantis said he favored building a wall at the U.S. border with Mexico and he touted sponsoring flights for about 50 Venezuelan immigrants who'd crossed the border illegally in Texas to Martha's Vineyard. As DeSantis made his visit to Iowa, the Democratic National Committee said it is launching a "mobile billboard" campaign to advertise DeSantis' positions on social security and medicare. During his 2012 campaign for Congress, DeSantis expressed support for restructuring the two programs, which aid millions of seniors in the U.S., to make them more financially sustainable. Since then, he's said the GOP wouldn't "mess with" social security. Flash U.S. President Joe Biden gives remarks following the 2022 midterm elections in the White House, in Washington, D.C., the United States, Nov. 9, 2022. [Photo/Xinhua] U.S. President Joe Biden announced his budget proposal for the next fiscal year on Thursday. The 182-page proposal projected the federal government's spending of 6.9 trillion U.S. dollars throughout fiscal year 2024, starting on Oct. 1, 2023, and ending on Sept. 30, 2024. Biden said his budget plan aims at reducing the deficit by nearly 3 trillion dollars over the next decade "by making the wealthy and big corporations pay their fair share." "We propose a billionaire minimum tax, requiring the wealthiest Americans to pay at least 25 percent on all of their income, including appreciated assets," he said in a written message to Congress. Kevin McCarthy, speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives controlled by Republicans, responded on Thursday that he thinks Biden's budget request "is completely unserious." "He proposes trillions in new taxes that you and your family will pay directly or through higher costs," McCarthy tweeted. "Mr. President: Washington has a spending problem, NOT a revenue problem." Under Biden's budget proposal, the Pentagon's spending would surge to 842 billion dollars in fiscal 2024, a 26-billion-dollar or 3.2-percent increase from the 2023 enacted level. The United States has been heavily criticized for hefty spending on military activities. The National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2023 allocated nearly 817 billion dollars to the Pentagon. Andrew Lautz, director of federal policy for the National Taxpayers Union and National Taxpayers Union Foundation (NTUF), wrote on Thursday that the NTUF is skeptical of the 2024 Biden defense budget request, and believes that "all taxpayers should be too." Hundreds of Americans attended a rally in Washington, D.C. last month to protest against massive money funneling into Ukraine, as well as the role of the United States in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. "The United States is playing way too much on the military," Scholz-Karabakakis, a protester from Vermont, said, while he accused Washington of "expanding outwards to the borders" of other countries and "creating anxiety, fear around the world." Supporters of advocates for the LGBTQ+ community are organizing a rally Saturday in Davenport, protesting bills moving through the Iowa Legislature. The event follows several others across Iowa, including at the state Capitol in Des Moines and a multi-school student walkout earlier this month that included Bettendorf High School. Called PROUD to Stand for Equality, the protest will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Vander Veer Park in Davenport. We are standing against all the anti-drag bills, for the healthcare for our transgender humans, and the security of gay marriage! the Facebook event indicates. Iowa lawmakers are rapidly moving LGBTQ-related bills through the Legislature. Two such measures passed the Iowa Senate this week on strict party-line votes. On Tuesday, the Iowa Senate passed a ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors. Senate File 538 would ban doctors from prescribing puberty blockers, hormone therapy, or gender-affirming surgeries to a transgender person under the age of 18. A day later, the Iowa House approved the same bill with all but a handful of Republicans voting for it. Also on Tuesday, Iowa senators passed a bill that specifies which bathrooms transgender students may use. The bill, Senate File 482, prohibits people from entering a school restroom that does not align with their biological sex. Students would need parental approval to request an accommodation, such as using a single-occupancy or staff bathroom. A few LGBTQ proposals did not make it past a funnel deadline last week, which requires bills to pass out of a full House or Senate committee. Senate File 348, which wouldve banned minors from attending drag shows, did not advance. A bill that would put a constitutional amendment to voters that would define marriage as between a man and a woman, effectively an attempt to ban same-sex marriage, also did not advance. Davenports Luana Stoltenberg and Muscatines Mark Cisneros were among eight Republicans that introduced that bill. A Democrat-backed bill that wouldve codified a 2009 Iowa Supreme Court decision that legalized gay marriage in Iowa also failed the funnel. In other political events Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is flirting with a 2024 run for the Republican presidential nomination, will be at Rhythm City Casino in Davenport Friday morning in a Q&A-style event with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds. The event, titled The Freedom Blueprint, is to begin at 9 a.m. with doors opening at 8 a.m. Free tickets are available online at eventbrite. Although he hasnt yet announced a run, early polling shows DeSantis as the only Republican challenger to former President Donald Trump polling in the double digits. He rose to prominence in Republican politics as a governor opposing pandemic-related lockdowns and mandates and has pushed for several LGBTQ bills in the Florida Legislature, including one that puts restrictions on instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in grade school. Trump is expected to visit Davenport on Monday evening in an event at Adler Theater. The Quad Cities Chamber is hosting three Iowa representatives for a legislative breakfast Friday morning. Breakfast begins at 7:15 a.m. with the program beginning at 7:45 a.m. Rep. Gary Mohr, R-Bettendorf, Rep. Monica Kurth, D-Davenport, and Rep. Ken Croken, D-Davenport will be in attendance. The state of Iowas estimated revenue for the current budget year improved slightly from December, but is still expected to be below last year as 2022 tax cuts take effect. And in the 2024 fiscal year, which begins on July 1, revenues are expected to be about 1% below 2023. The figures were set out Friday by the Revenue Estimating Conference, a panel that meets every quarter to project state revenues. Iowa lawmakers will soon begin the process of crafting the budget for the next fiscal year, using projections from the panel. The panel estimated Iowas net revenue for fiscal 2023 will be around $9.75 billion, a 0.5% drop from $9.8 billion in 2022. But its an increase from the $9.62 billion the group estimated in December. The year-over-year reduction was expected as tax cuts passed by Republicans in 2022, especially the elimination of retirement income tax, take effect. But Kraig Paulsen, director of the Iowa Department of Revenue and Department of Management, said other taxes, particularly sales tax, have come in strong, boosting the predictions for the year. The state of Iowa continues to be on strong financial footing, and I see no reason to expect that to change into the foreseeable future, Paulsen said. In fiscal year 2024, the panel expected the states revenues to drop to $9.65 billion, also due largely to tax cuts. Thats an increase from the December meeting, which estimated fiscal 2024 revenues at $9.63 billion. Lawmakers are required by law to use the lower of the two estimates between December and March when crafting the state budget, meaning they will be working with the $9.63 billion figure from December. Last years tax reductions, signed into law by Gov. Kim Reynold, will lower the highest tax bracket over the next three years, until all Iowa taxpayers pay a flat 3.9% rate on their income. Taxes on retirement income were eliminated, and the corporate income tax will continue to fall if corporate tax revenues hit certain benchmarks, resulting in an expected reduction of $1.9 billion from the state budget. The impacts of last year's tax cuts are starting to show up, in particular in withholding revenues, but even still, the state is in a very strong revenue position, Paulsen said. The Revenue Estimating Conference is a three-member panel, made up of Paulsen, Jennifer Acton from the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency, and David Underwood, an economist from Mason City. In a statement on Friday, Republican Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver of Grimes said the projections confirm that Republicans are keeping the states economy strong while cutting taxes. With a projection of nearly $2.7 billion in the Taxpayer Relief Fund and an ending balance of more than $1.7 billion in FY 2023, Iowa is undoubtably in the strongest financial position the state has ever been, Whitver said. Despite sky-is-falling claims from Democrats, the future in Iowa has never been brighter. As of December, the Legislative Services Agency had estimated Iowas 2023 ending surplus would be $1.6 billion, and Fridays estimates would bring that number higher. But Democrats said the numbers show lackluster growth and said the tax cuts are only benefiting the wealthy and corporations. The Legislature needs to focus on issues like lowering costs and raising wages. Instead, GOP lawmakers have been too focused on politics this session, said Rep. Timi Brown-Powers, D-Waterloo, the ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee. As they continue working on bills that will drive more Iowans out of state and make Iowa look unwelcoming, its time to get this session back on track and focus on doing whats best for Iowans again. PHOTOS: Iowa LGBTQ Rights Rally at Capitol Iowa LGBTQ Rights Rally Iowa LGBTQ Rights Rally Iowa LGBTQ Rights Rally Iowa LGBTQ Rights Rally Iowa LGBTQ Rights Rally Iowa LGBTQ Rights Rally Iowa LGBTQ Rights Rally Iowa LGBTQ Rights Rally Iowa LGBTQ Rights Rally Iowa LGBTQ Rights Rally Iowa LGBTQ Rights Rally Iowa LGBTQ Rights Rally Iowa LGBTQ Rights Rally The Spearfish Chamber and Spearfish High School will host the 11th annual Career and Job Fair from 1:453:15 p.m. March 22 at Spearfish High School. This event is for students in sophomore, junior, and senior grade levels. A career fair connects students with many different professions, encouraging them to explore a variety of fields. These connections give community members a chance to interact with and share their expertise with students. The event also serves as a job fair. This is an opportunity for local businesses to meet students face-to-face, explain their open positions, and potentially schedule interviews. This event is an opportunity for students to directly ask those who work in various career fields questions such as the type of degrees or training needed, what skills are most helpful to have, and what a typical day on the job is like. Limited spots are available for businesses that would like to host a table; registration is required. To register or for more information, contact the Spearfish Chamber at 605-642-2626 or director@SpearfishChamber.org. Bitterroot Health broke ground in Darby on Wednesday to build a $6 million facility to continue providing quality care close to home. CEO John Bishop said the organization has been planning the Bitterroot Health Darby-Scripps Clinic for several years. Its great to be here with great weather, Bishop said. Our commitment to the Bitterroot Valley is quality, accessible, personalized health care and it takes on more meaning today. The valley as a whole is to be our mission, not just Hamilton. He said strong communities are built on schools, grocery stores and access to good health care. He applauded Charles Scripps for his donation. He lives in Darby most of the time and made a generous donation that helps make this possible, Bishop said. The Scripps family is closely related to health care. We are really lucky to have him and his family. Scripps Health is a nonprofit healthcare system headquartered in California that treats a half-million patients annually through 2,600 affiliated physicians. It takes a combination of vision, ideas and courageous people to make a project like this work, Scripps said. I give a lot of credit to Bitterroot Health's Board and Foundation Board, John Bishop, the architects, and Bitterroot Health Darby physician Maria Hipp, to come up with a workable plan to meet the needs of our community. I'm just grateful to be a part of it. The town of Darby will benefit greatly from having this vision become a reality. The Bitterroot Health Darby-Scripps Clinic will be completed late this year with just over 6,000 square feet and space for primary care with three providers, walk-in services, urgent care services, an x-ray suite, lab services and physical therapy. A big part of this is well have a place to house our ambulance services, Bishop said. Weve served the Darby community for many years, and were excited to have a permanent location to have that ambulance for the crew to sleep and be ready to go 24 hours a day. The Bitterroot Health Darby-Scripps Clinic will also save space for pharmacy services. Well save space for a future pharmacy solution, Bishop said. It will be a big deal for the Darby community today. Its challenging for you to get your medication; youve got to leave the community to get that done. Well work to find a partnership to do that in the next couple of years. It will not be ready on day one, but the space will be constructed for that. Neenan Architecture of Fort Collins, Colorado is building the Bitterroot Health facilities in Darby and Stevensville. The two facilities are very similar in look, feel, design and layout, Bishop said. Were excited to have them come down; they have done great work. We know they are going to bring a great asset to this community as well. Bishop thanked the city of Darby, the mayor, city council, fire, police, the bank and Peoples Market. They have been great to work with and bent over backward to help us to get the infrastructure, Bishop said. We also thank Doreen who sold us the parcel. I also thank the Bitterroot Health project team, they have been working on this for two years. They worked hard to make sure this meets the needs of the community. He said the Darby clinic will include a physician, physician assistant and licensed practical nurse. Were also extremely lucky to have Maria Hipp and to have her come back to her hometown, Bishop said. It was a stroke of great luck and brilliance to have her in the community. Hipp, a certified physician assistant currently working at the present Darby clinic, said the new facility will have a huge impact on the lives of community members. She said her family is a third-generation Darby family. When I grew up, I thought of health care as Ravalli County Public Health for when I needed vaccines and Marcus Daly Emergency Room for when I needed stitches and had a broken arm, Hipp said. Healthcare was not accessible and often not affordable to my family either. It is amazing to see this project come together and I know what it will mean to families similar to mine to be able to access healthcare in your hometown. She is thrilled to offer a local perspective to local patients. I know what the socio-economic status of Darby patients are and those financial burdens, Hipp said. Without this clinic and without this build we would not be able to offer all these services in Darby. She said the Bitterroot Health Darby-Scripps Clinic will also have an integrated behavioral health specialist. Mental health services in the state of Montana are lacking and we need help, Hipp said. We have a goal to offer hometown healthcare. Darby is special, we are growing, but your healthcare experience will continue to be personable. We plan to keep expanding and keep people local. The Bitterroot National Forest signed the Decision Notice for the 48,486-acre Mud Creek Project in January. The decision authorized the forest to move forward with planning and implementing fuels reduction, vegetation management, and transportation system activities southwest of Darby. As part of the implementation planning process, West Fork District Ranger Dan Pliley has scheduled a public workshop on March 16 from 5-7 p.m. at the West Fork Fire Hall, 5860 West Fork Road. During the workshop, district staff will be on hand with maps displaying the proposed units and treatment activities to solicit public feedback and answer questions. The Mud Creek Project is utilizing a different approach that allows for public involvement and input, not only in the planning stages, but also throughout the implementation process. The Mud Creek Project area has been divided into four separate implementation areas (Nez/Mud, Buck/Ditch, Blue Joint, Castle/Cone) for which unique implementation treatment plans will be developed. The West Fork Ranger District has recently completed the draft plan for the Nez/Mud area and is seeking public feedback on the proposal. The Forest Service developed the proposed units and activities as a starting point based on existing conditions, field surveys and the parameters of the decision. There are still opportunities to change or adapt unit locations and activities based on the publics feedback. The goal is to gather input from the public, collaborators and partners to develop a plan that will meet the purpose and need for the project and move the area towards the desired conditions. For more information about the project including a draft Nez/Mud implementation map visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=55744. The map and draft unit tables are to be used in combination with the project design features (Appendix A-Design Features), to provide detail about the potential activities proposed for each unit. These documents are posted in the Implementation folder on the project website. Hard copies of the draft plan are also available by calling the West Fork Ranger District at 406-821-3269. The Bitterroot Community Wildfire Protection Plan has identified the project area as a "high priority" for fuels reduction. In addition, the Montana Forest Action Plan identifies the area as having high wildfire risk to communities and infrastructure. Of particular concern is increased fire risk because 43% of the project area is located within the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI). The project proposes a suite of road and trail system changes, vegetation treatments, improved recreation opportunities, and prescribed fire. It will also provide opportunities for cross-boundary fuels reduction with state and private partners to enhance forest health on both public and private lands. Project planning was completed with participation and input from local collaborative organizations and partners including the Ravalli County Collaborative, Bitterroot Forest Collaborative and Ravalli County Off Road Users Association. If you are unable to attend the workshop, you can still provide input or feedback. Electronic comments can be submitted via email to Daniel.pliley@usda.gov. If you wish to comment in writing, mail your comments to: West Fork Ranger District, Attn: Dan Pliley, 6735 West Fork Road, Darby, MT 59829. Please submit comments by April 7. Implementation of the final plan for the Nez/Mud area is anticipated to begin later this spring. For additional information contact Dan Pliley, West Fork district ranger at 406-821-1212 or Matt Shaefer, project manager, at 406-363-7120. Blackfeet Indian Reservation residents could get a share of a $9 million class action lawsuit, if the preliminary settlement is approved. 3 Rivers Communications, a nonprofit telecommunications company in Fairfield, sold its Browning Exchange for $7.5 million in 2020 to Siyeh Communications, a tribally-owned company. The exchange was the equipment and lines that connected reservation homes and businesses to telephone and internet service. As a rural cooperative telecommunications utility, 3 Rivers was financially supported by its customers. The co-op had already upgraded 22 of its 25 rural telephone exchanges in Montana to fiber-optic service. But the exchange serving the reservation had been left behind, and was still dependent on copper wires and 1980s-grade transfer switches. According to the 3 Rivers website, at the end of each fiscal year, the cooperative allocates a percentage of the margins to each patron. The allocations are known as capital credits. But plaintiffs Harry Barnes, former tribal chairman, John Murray, tribal historic preservation officer, Robert DesRosier, Kenneth Hoyt and Judy White alleged in a class action suit that 3 Rivers did not allocate capital credits to members of the Browning Exchange after it was sold to Siyeh. Court documents revealed that 3 Rivers held a balance of $8.3 million in capital credits for former members of the Browning Exchange. And 1,863 people were members of the Browning Exchange, most of whom are Native American. The complaint also alleges that denying capital credits to Browning members is only one component of the Policy and Practice of 3 Rivers that has resulted in unjust and unreasonable treatment of the Browning Exchange members. 3 Rivers disputes the allegations. The case Barnes, et al. v. 3 Rivers Telephone Cooperative, Inc. was heard in District Court, and the court preliminarily approved a settlement in January. Under the conditional settlement, 3 Rivers agreed to pay $9 million in exchange for a release from liability for claims advanced by plaintiffs and on behalf of the class. What does this mean for former Browning Exchange members? Former members of the 3 Rivers Browning Exchange when the company sold the exchange to Siyeh Corporation in December, 2020, are eligible to be covered by the proposed settlement. The plaintiffs' lawyers have requested $2.2 million for attorney fees, up to $10,000 for litigation and $70,000 to pay the class representatives. Those funds will be deducted from the $9 million settlement. Payments to individuals will depend on the amount of capital each has in their 3 Rivers balance and the amount of funding available for class members after deductions have been made. Its estimated that settlement payments will total about 75-80% of ones capital credit balance, though payments may vary. What should I do? People covered by the class action have several options. If an eligible person chooses to do nothing, a check will be mailed to them when the settlement is final. The settlement stipulates that class members give up their rights to sue 3 Rivers if they accept the deal. Class members can also opt-out to retain their right to sue 3 Rivers on their own. To opt out, one must mail a letter to REDW LLC 7425 Jefferson St. NE, Albuquerque NM 87109 stating the desire to be excluded from the Barnes et al. v. 3 Rivers settlement. This request must include the persons signature, full name, address and the following statement I/we request to be excluded from the settlement in the Barnes et al. v. 3 Rivers action. The letter must be postmarked by April 5. If a person is not excluded, they may object to any part of the settlement. To object, mail a letter to the Clerk of Court United States District Court for the District of Montana Great Falls Division, 125 Central Ave. West, Great Falls, MT 59404. The letter must be mailed by April 5, and it must reference the case number (CV-21-118-GF-BMM) and case name, Barnes et al. v. 3 Rivers, as well as detailed reasons for the objection. The statement must include ones name, address, phone number, and information establishing them as a class member. The court will hold a hearing at 1:30 p.m. on April 26 in District Court at 125 Central Ave. West, Great Falls. At the hearing, the court will determine whether the settlement is fair and decide how much to pay class counsel. For further information, contact class counsel, Terryl Matt at 406-873-4833 or Jeffrey Winter at 406-727-4020 Richmond police have identified the man shot and killed in Manchester last Monday on the 1600 block of Bainbridge Street, according to a police statement. Richmond police detectives have identified the man shot and killed in the Hillside Court neighborhood on Sunday. In a statement Thursday, police said the victim was Tyshawn Wyatt, 25, of Richmond. Wyatt was found as officers responded to a shooting in the 1400 block of Harwood Street at 5:59 p.m. At the scene, officers found Wyatt with an apparent gunshot wound. Police said he was transported to a hospital, where he died. Police have not released any information regarding a suspect in this homicide. Anyone with information about this case is encouraged to call Richmond police at (804) 646-3929 or Crime Stoppers at (804) 780-1000. States with the highest rate of gun-related fatalities States with the highest rate of gun-related fatalities #50. Massachusetts #49. Hawaii #48. Rhode Island #47. New York #46. New Jersey #45. Connecticut #44. California #43. Minnesota #42. Nebraska #41. Iowa #40. New Hampshire #39. Washington #38. Wisconsin #37. Vermont #36. Maine #35. Delaware #34. Illinois #33. Virginia #32. Maryland #31. Utah #30. South Dakota #29. Pennsylvania #28. Michigan #27. North Dakota #26. Texas #25. Oregon #24. Florida #23. Ohio #22. North Carolina #21. Colorado #20. Kansas #19. Indiana #18. Idaho #17. Arizona #16. Georgia #15. Nevada #14. Kentucky #13. West Virginia #12. Oklahoma #11. South Carolina #10. Tennessee #9. Arkansas #8. Montana #7. Missouri #6. New Mexico #5. Alabama #4. Wyoming #3. Louisiana #2. Alaska #1. Mississippi Police said in a statement Thursday that the victim was Tyrek Brandon, 21, of Richmond. Officers responded to the shooting just after 8:30 p.m. after gunfire was reported. At the scene, officers were alerted by a citizen that there was a man on ground near the 00 block of East 16th Street. The victim, Brandon, was suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. He was later pronounced dead at the scene. Anyone with information about this homicide is asked to call Richmond police at (804) 467-4433 or Crime Stoppers at (804) 780-1000. States with the highest rate of gun-related fatalities States with the highest rate of gun-related fatalities #50. Massachusetts #49. Hawaii #48. Rhode Island #47. New York #46. New Jersey #45. Connecticut #44. California #43. Minnesota #42. Nebraska #41. Iowa #40. New Hampshire #39. Washington #38. Wisconsin #37. Vermont #36. Maine #35. Delaware #34. Illinois #33. Virginia #32. Maryland #31. Utah #30. South Dakota #29. Pennsylvania #28. Michigan #27. North Dakota #26. Texas #25. Oregon #24. Florida #23. Ohio #22. North Carolina #21. Colorado #20. Kansas #19. Indiana #18. Idaho #17. Arizona #16. Georgia #15. Nevada #14. Kentucky #13. West Virginia #12. Oklahoma #11. South Carolina #10. Tennessee #9. Arkansas #8. Montana #7. Missouri #6. New Mexico #5. Alabama #4. Wyoming #3. Louisiana #2. Alaska #1. Mississippi Correction: An earlier version of this story had the incorrect name of the second-place winner. This version has been corrected. Three hours and 150 words later, the Richmond Times-Dispatch crowned its regional spelling bee winner. Central Middle School seventh-grader Joy-Den Wilson, 13, took home the title of regional champion Thursday night after correctly spelling barometer, narrowly defeating runner-up Abby Murphy, a seventh-grader at St. Bridget Catholic School. This is really nice, Joy-Den said, holding her two trophies. I was extremely nervous at first, but I got used to it and just tried to have fun. The event was held at The Times-Dispatch production plant in Hanover County. The night began with 23 spellers representing 21 area schools and one representative for Catholic and private schools. After the first round, there were 20 students left standing. By the 10th round, only two were still in the ring. The pair went back and forth, with multiple opportunities to take home the trophy and narrowly avoiding defeat. But neither could clinch it on such words as pinon and omodynia. In the 29th round, Abby misspelled folate. Joy-Den secured her spot after correctly spelling gravitational. Tensions were high in the final round as Joy-Den made her way to the microphone. If she correctly spelled barometer, then she would be moving forward at a chance at nationals. The room was deafeningly quiet as the audience sat holding a collective breath. After mulling it over, Joy-Den began spelling it out gaining in confidence with each letter. While Joy-Den is taking home the prize, it was a win that almost didnt happen. In the fourth round, Joy-Den was challenged with the word caboodle, which she spelled with a k instead resulting in an elimination. However, her parents contested the ruling. After careful deliberation, the ruling was overturned as the Merriam-Webster dictionary allows for both spellings. She wasnt going to go home without that trophy, said Joy-Dens father, Andreo Wilson. She wanted it, and she knew she wasnt going without it. Joy-Den said the day leading up to the competition was spent studying, practicing and reading through her dictionary. When faced with a challenging word, Joy-Den said theres no particular method for her, rather it just comes off the dome. As regional champion, Joy-Den will receive a $1,500 college scholarship and will go on an all-expenses-paid trip to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, scheduled for June 1 in the Washington, D.C., area. This year marks the 49th year The Times-Dispatch has hosted the bee. The event is central Virginias spelling competition for elementary and middle school students in grades four through eight from each of the regions public school systems, the Catholic Diocese of Richmond, local private schools and home schools. The national bee is the nations largest and longest-running educational program, dating to 1925. The Times-Dispatch spelling bee Flash Train wreckage from the Feb. 3 derailment is seen piled up beside the railway on the outskirts of the village of East Palestine, Ohio, the United States, on Feb. 14, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua] The chief executive of U.S. transportation company Norfolk Southern said on Thursday that he's "deeply sorry" for the impact of the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, in early February. Local residents, meanwhile, are demanding more action. At a Senate hearing on Capitol Hill, Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw said the railroad "will clean the site safely, thoroughly, and with urgency," noting that the company has committed to reimbursements and investments of more than 20 million U.S. dollars in order to address the impact of the derailment. U.S. Senator Thomas Carper said the hearing "is an opportunity to put ourselves in the shoes of those impacted by this disaster, examine the immediate response and ensure long-term accountability for the clean-up efforts." A Norfolk Southern freight train carrying hazardous materials derailed in East Palestine on Feb. 3, which resulted in a significant fire and hazardous materials release in the area. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said last week that it will require Norfolk Southern to test directly for dioxins in East Palestine. "If dioxins are found at a level that poses any unacceptable risk to human health and the environment, EPA will direct the immediate cleanup of the area as needed," the agency said. Jami Cozza, an East Palestine resident, wrote in an opinion published by MSNBC on Thursday that her family's lives "were turned upside down" and that "a toxicologist found that my house was unsafe for me and my family." "The information we've gotten from the company and different government agencies has been confusing and contradictory," Cozza said. "Politicians from both parties promise action, but we're still waiting." "When the national media loses interest and the celebrities finally go home, our community will still be left dealing with this disaster," Cozza warned. "My story is just like so many others," she added. "The only path forward for us is to come together and demand action from both Norfolk Southern and federal and state officials." The incident involved 11 tank cars carrying hazardous materials that subsequently ignited, fueling fires that damaged an additional 12 non-derailed railcars. First responders implemented an evacuation zone surrounding the derailment site that affected up to 2,000 residents. There were no reported fatalities or injuries, according to a report issued by the National Transportation Security Board (NTSB). Responders mitigated the fire on Feb. 5, the NTSB report said. But five derailed "specification tank cars carrying 115,580 gallons of vinyl chloride" continued to concern authorities because the temperature inside one tank car was still rising. The NTSB said responders later scheduled a "controlled venting" of the five vinyl chloride tank cars to release and burn the vinyl chloride and dug ditches to contain released vinyl chloride liquid while it vaporized and burned. The controlled venting began on Feb. 6, which discharged toxic and potentially deadly fumes into the air. While residents were allowed to return to their homes in East Palestine two days later, they remain concerned about the handling of the incident as well as the health impact of exposure to those chemicals. Headache, anxiety, coughing, fatigue and irritation, pain, and burning of the skin continue to be the most common symptoms reported by residents in the East Palestine area, according to a health assessment survey. WASHINGTON Norfolk Southern's CEO apologized Thursday before Congress for last month's fiery train derailment that released toxic materials into the air and water on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border and pledged millions of dollars to help the local town recover. However, he stopped short of fully endorsing tougher safety regulations or specific commitments to pay for long-term health and economic harm. In a packed Senate hearing, CEO Alan Shaw claimed his railroad firmly supports the goal of improving rail safety but he also defended his company's record. He was questioned closely by Democrats and Republicans about commitments to pay for long-term health and economic harm and about the decision-making that led to the release and burn of toxic vinyl chloride from five tanker cars as well as the company's commitment to safety and helping the people of East Palestine, Ohio. "I'm terribly sorry for the impact this derailment has had on the folks of that community," Shaw told the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. "We're going to be there for as long as it takes to help East Palestine thrive and recover." The condolences and commitment of $20 million in aid so far hardly satisfied lawmakers or several East Palestine residents who attended the hearing. "How do we trust that man with our health and the health of our children, when he won't even answer the questions that we need answered," said Jami Cozza, adding that her family continues to suffer from illnesses over a month after the derailment. The company announced voluntary safety upgrades. Senators, however, are looking to act themselves as they investigate the derailment, the Biden administration's response and the company's safety practices after the toppling of 38 railcars, including 11 carrying hazardous materials. Norfolk Southern is also under pressure from federal regulators. The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Railroad Administration announced investigations this week of the derailment and other accidents, including the death of a train conductor Tuesday. Just Thursday, a Norfolk Southern train derailed in Calhoun County, Alabama, involving about 37 train cars, though none was carrying hazardous materials, company spokesman Connor Spielmaker said. In the East Palestine crash, no one was injured but half of the roughly 5,000 local residents were evacuated. It turned national attention to railroad safety and the ways dangerous materials are transported. The committee on Thursday also heard from Ohio and Pennsylvania senators Republican JD Vance and Democrats Sherrod Brown and Bob Casey who are proposing new safety regulations under a bipartisan Railway Safety Act of 2023. There were more than 1,000 derailments last year, according to Federal Railroad Administration data. Hazardous materials shipments account for 7% to 8% of the roughly 30 million shipments railroads deliver across the U.S. each year. But railroads often mix shipments and might have one or two cars of hazardous materials on almost any train. The Association of American Railroads trade group says 99.9% of hazardous materials shipments reach their destinations safely. The Senate Commerce Committee also will hear from Shaw, as well as NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy, in a hearing later this month. Shaw is backing proposals to tighten standards for tank cars that the railroads don't own, expand hazardous materials training for first responders and establish standards for the trackside detectors railroads use to spot problems. The company also said it is adding "approximately 200 hot bearing detectors" to its network. The NTSB said a detector warned the crew operating the train Feb. 3 outside East Palestine, but they couldn't stop the derailment. The Railway Safety Act of 2023, which has gained support from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., would require more hot bearing detectors to be installed, set limits on train length and make sure railroads notify states about the hazardous materials they are transporting. Some Republicans have resisted efforts to impose new regulations. Vance, of Ohio, slammed those in his party who dismissed his bill, saying they are ignoring a shift in the GOP to appeal to blue-collar voters. Thursday's hearing also featured environmental protection officials from the federal, state and local levels. They acknowledged communication problems in the days immediately after the derailment, including around the decision to release and burn the vinyl chloride. The Senate bill also touches on a disagreement between railroad worker unions and operators by requiring train crews to continue to have two people. Unions argue that railroads are riskier because of job cuts in the industry over the past six years. Nearly one-third of all rail jobs were eliminated and train crews, they say, deal with fatigue because they are on call night and day. Shaw said Norfolk Southern went on a "hiring spree" in the past year. However, he didn't back a two-person crew requirement on freight railroads. He pointed to over $1 billion Norfolk Southern spent on safety last year but acknowledged the company also spent more than $3 billion buying back its own stock and recorded a $3.3 billion profit in 2022. The Pentagon is reportedly concerned Chinese-made cranes operating at U.S. ports may be a Trojan horse, collecting intelligence on the movements of defense supplies. According to the Wall Street Journal, ship-to-shore cranes manufactured by Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co. or ZPMC contain sophisticated sensors with the capability of tracking the origin and destination of cargo containers. The cranes in question are widely used by the Portsmouth-based Port of Virginia, with four having been installed at Virginia International Gateway in 2019 after sailing to Hampton Roads from China. The cranes, standing 170 feet tall and weighing roughly 14.6 million pounds each, are among the largest on the East Coast. Sachin Shetty, associate professor for Old Dominion Universitys Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center and a cybersecurity expert, said it is not likely the cranes could spy on area ports given all the security measures in place. Richmond city attorney charged with DUI City Attorney Haskell C. Brown III was arrested Wednesday evening and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, according to a statement released Thursday by the Richmond City Council. Anytime you talk about threats, it is not about possibilities. It is about probabilities. Is it possible? Yes. But is it probable? No, said Shetty, who has worked with the Port of Virginia in recent years to identify and mitigate potential security threats. Joe Harris, spokesperson for Port of Virginia, said the Chinese-manufactured cranes purchased by the authority are not brought into port and immediately put into service. Before any new cranes are put into service, they are subject to a detailed forensic cyber analysis that is performed by one of the nations federal law enforcement agencies, Harris said. It can take around eight weeks to get the cranes in place, power them up and conduct safety inspections. Those awaiting analysis are isolated with dedicated firewalls to ensure there is no contact with port networks or the internet, Harris said. According to Shetty, the extensive cyber-scrub is necessary, particularly for Hampton Roads ports. There is a reason why we need to have these processes in place. It is so we never have devices that are capable of gathering intel on our military operations, Shetty said. The report that the Pentagon is concerned about Chinese-manufactured cranes was released one month after the U.S. shot down a high-altitude Chinese surveillance balloon. Officials believe the balloon was deployed by China to collect signals intelligence and other information about U.S. military operations and capabilities. But Shetty said that even if the cranes were capable of gathering useful intelligence, the probability of them doing so is very different from that of the surveillance balloon. The balloon was just floating in the air. There was nobody there and no physical place where we could monitor it. It is different with the cranes. There is monitoring that would take place, and there is not enough wiggle room for it to freelance, Shetty said. Using technology to gather surveillance, Shetty said, is much like eavesdropping, and it is one of the hardest threats to detect because it is very passive. It is like burglars casing a joint. They know when you come in, when you dont come in. Do you use the front door or do you use the garage? And that is information we never want to reveal, Shetty said. Because this type of surveillance is so hard to catch, the goal of cybersecurity measures such as what the Port of Virginia has implemented is to reduce the probability of the threat as much as possible. It is not to say it will never happen, Shetty said. But you need to make sure that if something happens, if something slips through the cracks, the level of information they gather is so trivial, so benign, that it is just meaningless information. Michael Paul Williams Follow Michael Paul 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 When then-Del. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond, became pregnant during the 2010 session of the Virginia General Assembly, some colleagues viewed it as the end of her political career. A lot of people came up to me and said, Oh, are you going to retire? I was like, No, why would I? McClellan recalled Thursday, two days after she was sworn in as the first Black woman elected to Congress from Virginia. The wife of her then-House of Delegates colleague Chris Peace would subsequently become pregnant. I was like, Did you ask Chris if hes going to retire? And it never occurred to them. They just assumed because I was pregnant, I couldnt remain a legislator. On Tuesday, her son Jackson and daughter Samantha watched their mom make history during Marchs Womens History Month, along with her husband, David Mills. She understands Im the first. But at the end of the day, Im just mommy to her, McClellan said of her daughter. And thats fine with her. I want her to understand that the big reason why I do this is for her, McClellan said, adding: Sometimes Im fighting the same fights that my parents, grandparents and great-grandparents fought. And I stay in this world so that she and Jack dont have to. On Monday, at the Commission on the Status of Women, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said womens rights are being abused, threatened and violated around the world and that gender equality wont be achieved for 300 years on the current track, according to The Associated Press. In the U.S., a womans right to an abortion is tenuous if not curtailed a reality made more problematic for Black women like McClellan, who are three times more likely than their white counterparts to die of pregnancy-related causes. McClellan and her daughter nearly died during her pregnancy. Meanwhile, the gender pay gap remains stubborn, a reality driven home symbolically by the stalled effort to place Harriet Tubman the abolitionist, Union spy and womens suffragist who died 110 years ago Friday on the $20 bill. McClellans milestone in succeeding the late Rep. A. Donald McEachin in the 4th Congressional District places her at a turbulent intersection: a woman and a Black American, walking halls of power once off limits to both. Even today, antiracism and gender equity are buffeted by forces that would turn back the clock on both. Which is why we cannot take any firsts for granted. McClellan is making history, but fighting familiar fights. She did not have to look far for a strong woman as a role model. Her mother, Lois Dedeaux McClellan, witnessed her swearing in. Lois McClellan, 90, grew up in an area of Mississippis Gulf Coast where the only school for Black kids ended at eighth grade. She spent a year working as a domestic worker, the only job available, saving enough money to live with her sister in Jackson, where she attended high school. She would earn a masters degree in child care and run a trio of federal programs at Virginia State University, where her husband, the late James F. McClellan Jr., was a professor. She overcame a lot of adversity. She succeeded in a world that was not set up for her to succeed. I grew up with a working mom who showed me that I could balance a career and a family, Jennifer McClellan said. The new congressperson says shes fighting many of the same battles as a 50-year-old Black woman that her ancestors fought. One of her grandmothers never made it to 50; the other died shortly after. But she finds solace in the reality that she has it much easier than her mother did at her age. I have to focus on that in order to just keep pushing forward and not throw up my hands and say, I quit, said McClellan, who until her election to Congress was a lawyer for Verizon. Her father, who was a pastor as well as an educator, died in January 2014. McClellan was thinking about him on the night before the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol when she discovered a 1948 poll tax receipt in his Bible. Her son Jackson held her fathers Bible as she took the oath of office Tuesday. And here, in recalling her father, McClellan begins to choke up a bit. To think of all he saw in his life. He and my mom, they made that moment possible. And to be the first Black woman from the birthplace of American democracy and the birthplace of American slavery, I felt that moment in a way that a lot of other people dont feel when they take that oath of office. And to know that our democracy is fragile and I swore an oath to protect it, in the country that, when that Constitution was written didnt include me, thats a heavy moment. But its an honor. On Thursday, shed attended her first committee meeting and received her first classified briefing. I became a public servant because my parents stories and my study of history taught me that at its best, government is a force for helping people and solving problems, and at its worst, government is a force for oppressing some for the benefit of others. She wanted to make government a force for good. Her dream job was as a staffer for a congressional committee. Now, she sits on committees, as a Black woman, able to use her platform to improve lives and communities. For us, this is history being made. For McClellan, its the epitome of becoming my ancestors wildest dreams. From the archives: In 1960, The Richmond 34 were arrested during a sit-in at the Thalhimers lunch counter AMLO says Garcia Luna assets in excess of 140 billion peso belongs to the people of Mexico Mexico City, Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador says there is a civil complaint filed in the U.S. regarding the Genaro Garcia Luna case. On Thursday, Lopez Obrador said the complaint is for property and money to be returned to Mexico. Returning the assets to the public treasury of our country is what matters most. It is the money of the people of Mexico, he said referring to the 140 billion peso lost. We are not talking about small operations heremore than $700 million U.S. dollars, which is 140 billion pesos. It is a horrifying amount, he said Thursday. The head of the Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF), Pablo Gomez Alvarez, revealed a network of financial operations from 2006 to 2012 involving two federal government entities who signed 10 contracts. The companies involved were related to Garcia Luna. Those 10 contracts were worth more than $316 million USD. Between 2012-2018, another 19 contracts were signed worth more than $410 million USD. None of these contracts was submitted to any tender and all were, almost all, were contracted with foreign companies, although those foreign companies were part of a corruption scheme led by Garcia Luna, he said explaining that the contractual framework was made up of family members and people from Lunas close circle. A transfer of $10 million dollars made by the Nunvav company to Garcia Luna, who was in Florida seeking residence and subsequent naturalization, was proof enough for the federation to take legal action against this network of corruption, he said. Ebrard calls U.S. Republicans proposal to deploy army and declare war on Mexican cartels unacceptable Mexico City, Mexico Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said it is unacceptable and against the law regarding a U.S. Republican proposal to deploy the U.S. Army in Mexico to declare war on the Mexican cartels. The intention of Lindsey Graham (Republican Senator for South Carolina) and John Kennedy (Republican Senator for Louisiana) to promote the use of U.S. military forces on national territory is unacceptable and contrary to law, wrote the head of the Secretary of Foreign Relations (SRE) on Twitter. He also supported President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador who said the statement was irresponsible and an offense to the people of Mexico. Ebrard added that it is an electoral strategy and maintained that it is impracticable. Mexico would never allow something like this. The consequences would be catastrophic for binational anti-drug cooperation, Ebard said. They know that the fentanyl pandemic does not originate in Mexico but in the U.S. They know that fentanyl is being worked on like never before. They will not prosper, he added. On Wednesday, two bills were presented in the United States that advocate considering Mexican cartels as terrorist groups and authorizing the use of the Army to combat them. The controversy has grown by the kidnapping of four Americans March 3 in the state of Tamaulipas. However, the White House decreased tensions between the two countries saying that the United States has all the legal power to fight drug trafficking without the need to declare the Mexican cartels terrorist groups. Declaring these cartels foreign terrorist organizations would not give us any additional jurisdiction that we dont already have at this time, Karine Jean-Pierre, spokeswoman for President Joe Biden said in a press briefing. Lopez Obrador also said that Mexico is respected. We are not a protectorate or colony of the United States () we do not receive orders from anyone. The people of Mexico rule here. It is not the Government of President Biden, it is the Republicans. () It is an arrogant, treacherous, foolish attitude, of course, interventionist, he said adding that the expressions of congressmen and senators of the Republican Party do not come from the United States Government, headed by President Joseph Biden, so cooperation will continue with the purpose of resolving security issues. MARTINSVILLE While the offer is appreciated, The Harvest Foundation says it is not seeking funds from the former New College Foundation. Although Harvest President Kate Keller declined a March 3 request for comment, after publication of an article reporting the Martinsville Henry County Academic Foundation (MHCAF) is proposing to give its $12.2 million in assets to Harvest should it fold, she did respond by email. MHCAF is the new name the New College Foundation (NCF) gave itself last month. The Articles of Reinstatement signed by Kevin DeKoninck, the executive director of NCF/MHCAF, and filed with the Virginia State Corporation Commission, state that the dissolution of the Foundation and the winding up of its affairs, the net assets of the Foundation shall be distributed exclusively to the Harvest Foundation of the Piedmont. But a letter from Senior Assistant Attorney General Ramona Taylor to MHCAF and DeKoninck dated Feb. 15 advises the involved parties that NCF was created to provide financial and other support to NCI and that any reorganization that would cause money to be redistributed outside of NCI requires discussion. The Bulletin on Friday, March 3, contacted the NCF/MHCAF and the Harvest Foundation with questions and NCF/MHCAF Executive Director Kevin DeKonick replied that he would email a response most likely by the middle of the next week. Keller and Senior Program Officer DeWitt House declined to comment, but Harvests Director of Communications Latala Hodges did, saying that Harvest is not privy to any procedural or funding decisions made by NCF/MHC Academic Foundation leadership. A response arrived from DeKoninck by email, the day after the article about the matter was published online. The letter from the Office of the Attorney General presents an opportunity for our foundation to engage in meaningful discussions with NCI. As weve presented publicly, the foundation intends to continue working with NCI to increase access to education in this region, DeKoninck stated by email. DeKoninck said by email that the foundation did respond to this letter. We look forward to discussions with NCI on these issues. NCF/MHCAF is currently leveraging the assistance of professionals to meet its goals in advancing education, DeKoninck said in response to a question of whether or not they would be represented by legal counsel. On Saturday, NCI Board Member Richard Hall said that NCI had received a letter on the matter from Gentry Locke, a Roanoke law firm representing NCF/MHCAF. Harvest President Kate Keller stated: Harvest shared in the dream that building a four-year public college in Martinsville-Henry County would be life-changing for our community. Our long-term investment in NCI through NCF is representative of that, however, we have not financially supported NCI or NCF since 2017. While we are appreciative of NCF considering Harvest as its beneficiary if it were to dissolve, we did not request nor desire to receive those assets unless it is determined by the Attorney General that it is the desire of the Commonwealth of Virginia, Kellers email stated 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. Dennis Beaver Practices law in Bakersfield and welcomes comments and questions from readers, which may be faxed to (661) 323-7993, or e-mailed to Lagombeaver1@Gmail.com. Also, visit dennisbeaver.com. FLORENCE Lucky Dog Animal Rescue celebrated the grand opening of its one-of-a-kind Rescue Campus in Florence Thursday. This lifesaving campus includes The Lazin Animal Foundation Infectious Disease Infections Care Unit, the JR Peterson Ringworm Center, the Verstanding Family Foundation Community Vet Clinic, and Stopover Station, a kennel building to house animals preparing for transport north. In addition to the amazing $700,000 gift from the Lazin Animal Foundation, we also wish to thank the Verstandig Family Foundation whose $1.5 million commitment to the project is Lucky Dogs largest lifesaving gift to date and which helped make this lifesaving milestone possible, the organization said in an announcement on Thursdays event. Lucky Dog is still working hard to raise the funds to complete Phase 1 and begin Phase 2 of this Rescue Campus. A generous donor will match all donations received the week of the grand opening (up to $20,000) in honor of his beloved dog, Dudley. Lucky Dog is lucky for dogs, pets, and their human companions! said Ervin. They are a great addition to Florence. We are so excited that this day has finally come, said Mirah Horowitz, Founder and Executive Director of Lucky Dog Animal Rescue. Pet overpopulation in Florence is a real challenge. This facility will not only prepare animals for transport to areas where adoptions are possible, it will also help community members care for their pets, preventing unwanted litters and avoiding the need to surrender in the first place. The Lazin Animal Foundation is proud to have funded the Infectious Disease ICU at Lucky Dog Animal Rescues South Carolina Campus, said Susana M. Della Maddalena, Lazin Animal Foundation Board Chair. Terry Lazin was particularly interested in helping save at-risk dogs and we know that the lifesaving services provided by the ICU will have a huge impact in saving dogs that would otherwise have not had a chance. The Verstandig Family Foundation is honored to support Lucky Dog Animal Rescue in their endless fight to provide lifesaving resources to animals in dire need, Catherine Phillips and Grant Verstandig, Founders of the Verstandig Family Foundation. Since its inception in 2009, Lucky Dog has helped save more than 23,500 animals, ensuring they go on to live healthy, happy lives. The John R. Peterson Foundation is excited for the grand opening of the Florence campus of Lucky Dog Animal Rescue, said Catherine Chow, Board Member and Chief Executive Office of the John R. Peterson Foundation. We feel privileged to have been part of the effort to bring this vision to reality. FLORENCE, S.C. The number of jobs in the Pee Dee region is growing faster than the national average, a new state analyst says, but not as fast as the state as a whole. Since 2017, the number of jobs in the region has increased by about 3%, which is 0.7 percentage points higher than the national average but two percentage points lower than the state average, said Ashlyn Chastain. She is the Pee Dee regions regional labor force analyst, a role created in February by the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce to provide workforce data and analysis to local governments, employers and others who may need it. Chastain said the labor market currently favors both employees and employers. An increase in the number of jobs is good for employees because they have more options and good for employers because they can produce more or provide more services, she said. Also, with that high demand for having more employees, its kind of forcing employers to reflect on maybe some incentivizing programs or competitive wages of sorts, and that in turn benefits the employees, she said. The biggest challenge facing the regions labor market, Chastain said, is the countys participation rate, or the percent of work-eligible people who are working or actively looking for a job. The Pee Dee has a 51.4% participation rate, lower than South Carolinas already low 56.3%, Chastain said. According to Bryan Grady, the departments assistant executive director for labor market information, South Carolina has the third-lowest participation rate in the country. A different story is the unemployment rate, which is the percent of people in the labor force who are actively searching for a job. South Carolina had a low unemployment rate of 3.3% in December, Grady said. The Pee Dee was close to the state average with a 3.8% unemployment rate, Chastain said. Another challenge for the region is regrowing the leisure industry after the COVID-19 pandemic, which Grady said has been the slowest to recover. That has been a huge deal, particularly in the Myrtle Beach area, he said. Many hotels and restaurants had to lay off workers during the pandemic, and many of those workers have found higher-paying jobs since then, he said. Now, as those businesses are rehiring, they are finding it hard to pay what workers have come to expect, Grady said. In 2022, the average yearly wage in the Pee Dee was $54,100, which is lower than both the statewide average of $62,300 and the national average of $79,800, Chastain said. Chastain is available to provide workforce data and research assistance to employers, jobseekers, academic professionals, technical colleges, training providers, local workforce development boards, public officials, the press and similar organizations in the Pee Dee region. In her case, the Pee Dee region is defined by the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act as covering 13 counties: Chesterfield, Clarendon, Darlington, Dillon, Florence, Georgetown, Horry, Kershaw, Lee, Marion, Marlboro, Sumter and Williamsburg. Flash NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg convened representatives from the governments of Turkiye, Finland and Sweden on Thursday. This was the third such meeting of the Permanent Joint Mechanism since its creation last year. The three countries agreed on the long-term value of the Mechanism in fighting terrorism, and agreed to continue cooperation in this format and meet again before the Vilnius Summit, according to a NATO statement. The parties agreed that rapid ratifications for both Finland and Sweden would be in everyone's interest, and that their membership will strengthen the Alliance, the statement said. Felicia Frazar is the managing editor of the Seguin Gazette. Ylu can reach her at felicia.frazar@seguingazette.com . With Prez Biden's blessing, majority of Senate Dems vote to reject DC criminal code reforms | Main | "The Poor Reform Prosecutor: So Far From the State Capital, So Close to the Suburbs" March 9, 2023 Texas completes its second execution of the week As reported in this AP article, "Texas has executed an inmate convicted of the drug-related killings of four people more than 30 years ago, including a woman who was 9-months pregnant." Here is more: Arthur Brown Jr., 52, received a lethal injection Thursday evening at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. He was condemned for the June 1992 slayings, which took place in a Houston home during a drug robbery. Authorities said Brown was part of a ring that shuttled drugs from Texas to Alabama and had bought drugs from Jose Tovar and his wife Rachel Tovar. Killed during the drug robbery were 32-year-old Jose Tovar; his wifes 17-year-old son, Frank Farias; 19-year-old Jessica Quinones, the pregnant girlfriend of another son of Rachel Tovar; and 21-year-old neighbor Audrey Brown. All four had been tied up and shot in the head. Rachel Tovar and another person were also shot but survived. I dont see how anybody could have just killed a pregnant woman and then made her suffer so much. Its just beyond words, Quinones older sister, Maricella Quinones, said before the execution. Brown was the fifth inmate put to death in Texas this year and the ninth in the U.S. His execution was the second of two in Texas this week. Another inmate, Gary Green, was executed Tuesday for killing his estranged wife and her young daughter. Brown was defiant in his final statement before the lethal injection was administered. What is happening here tonight isnt justice," he said. "Its the murder of another innocent man. The U.S. Supreme Court earlier Thursday declined an appeal from Browns attorneys to halt the execution. They had argued that Brown was exempt from execution because he was intellectually disabled, a claim disputed by prosecutors. The high court has prohibited the death penalty for the intellectually disabled.... One of Browns accomplices in the shootings, Marion Dudley, was executed in 2006. A third partner was sentenced to life in prison. Brown, who was from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, had long maintained another person committed the killings. Browns attorneys had previously filed other appeals that had been rejected by lower courts. They argued he was innocent and that a witness actually implicated another suspect. They also claimed Browns conviction was tainted by racial bias, alleging one of the jurors decided he was guilty because he was Black. A judge in Houston on Tuesday denied a request by Browns attorneys for DNA testing of evidence that they said could have exonerated their client. Josh Reiss, chief of the Post-Conviction Writs Division with the Harris County District Attorneys Office in Houston, called Browns last-minute appeals a delay tactic.... Brown was one of six Texas death row inmates participating in a lawsuit seeking to stop the states prison system from using what they allege are expired and unsafe execution drugs. Despite a civil court judge in Austin preliminarily agreeing with the claims, five of the inmates have been executed this year. March 9, 2023 at 08:24 PM | Permalink Comments Maybe we can hear more about Madame De Farge while the numerous Leftists here continue to snicker at the multiple victims of this thug -- a thug who should have been executed years ago. Posted by: Bill Otis | Mar 9, 2023 9:12:47 PM Bill, I had tickets to see the execution, but the airline wouldnt let me carry my knitting needles on. Disappointed. Posted by: TarlsQtr | Mar 9, 2023 10:52:42 PM TarlsQtr -- Hey, no problem for next time. I hear the executions get carried on Zoom. Just tune into your favorite website, bloodthirstyracistwahoo.com. Posted by: Bill Otis | Mar 10, 2023 12:34:40 AM Judges have an obligation to get these cases done quicker. Justice delayed is justice denied. Posted by: federalist | Mar 10, 2023 10:16:09 AM I am still waiting for the Supreme Court to take up a case, any case, on the opt-in provision for expedited federal habeas review. They have done a decent job (obviously not good enough for some) of enforcing the "regular" habeas provisions, but they have so been silent on the chapter establishing expedited review in capital cases. Posted by: tmm | Mar 10, 2023 10:47:11 AM tmm -- My guess is that you support the idea that there are cases in which the jury should be given the option to impose capital punishment. Am I right about that? Posted by: Bill Otis | Mar 10, 2023 3:38:24 PM Bill, since I have worked as a prosecutor or assistant AG on eight cases (at different stages of the process) in which the death penalty was imposed, you can take that as a given. I also approve of my state's law permitting the judge to make the decision if the jury hangs at the weighing stage. Of the eight cases that I worked on, all definitely merited receiving the death penalty. The only one that I had questions about was more the strategic question of whether it was worth the resources given that it was a cold case homicide that was over thirty years old, and I did not see much chance that the defendant would live long enough to be executed. Like most prosecutors who have handled these types of cases, I am quite happy that it is somebody else's turn to handle these cases as the decision to seek the death penalty is a hard decision to make, and the cases in which I was involved had very disturbing facts. The last two that I worked on are likely to come to an end later this year with one having a date set for June and the other probably looking at an October or November date as boht have now concluded the normal federal habeas review (although as we all know, there will be a last spurt of new claims on the eve of the execution). Posted by: tmm | Mar 11, 2023 9:54:53 AM tmm -- Thank you for that answer. Your participation on this blog is one of the big things that continues to make it worth reading. Posted by: Bill Otis | Mar 11, 2023 1:29:52 PM Post a comment Texas completes its second execution of the week | Main | Spotlighting DOJ support for proposed guideline amendment suggesting downward departure for criminal history involving marijuana possession The title of this post is the title of this new article authored by John Pfaff now available via SSRN. Here is its abstract: Given the undeniable role that prosecutorial discretion has played in driving mass incarceration, it makes sense to turn to them to scale it back as well. This has certainly been a central motivation of the progressive/reform prosecutor movement that started in the late 2000s. And while this movement has had some notable successes, recent years have shed some important light on the limits it faces as well. In this essay, I want to focus on how the county-ness of prosecutors hems in their power from two different directions. On the one hand, as county officials, prosecutors at least in most major urban areas have a large number of constituents who live in the suburbs and regularly oppose reforms of policies that by and large do not affect them. Its telling that many, if not most, reform prosecutors have been elected in counties that either have no suburbs at all within their borders (Philadelphia, Baltimore, St. Louis) or where the suburbs are a small fraction of the overall population (Boston, Portland). Its clear across a wide range of cities that the core support for reform DAs comes from Black communities with high levels of violence, i.e., the communities that bear the brunt of DA decisionmaking. The more suburban voters in a county, however, the more diluted those voices become. On the other hand, as county officials, prosecutors operate at the mercy of state officials, who have a wide range of powers for clipping their wings: legislatures can give state AGs concurrent jurisdiction, for example, and in many places governors can remove elected DAs or take their cases away from them. While states are shielded from (some) federal interventions by the 10th Amendment, county officials have no such protection, as reform DAs in GOP-controlled states are increasingly beginning to discover. My argument here is not one for nihilism. Even with these limits, the so-called progressive prosecutor movement can (and has!) accomplish quite a lot. But these constraints are very much real constraints, and ones that defy any sort of easy (or perhaps just any) policy fix. It is essential to map out what these limits look like, the constraints they impose, and what they mean for reform efforts going forward. Highlighting the continuing challenges of calculating FIRST STEP Act earned time credits | Main | Texas completes its second execution of the week The state of federal politics on crime and punishment came to the fore this week as the US Senate voted last night on whether to reject a proposed new District of Columbia criminal code. This New York Times piece, headlined "Senate Clears Bill to Block D.C. Crime Law, Sending It to Biden After Reversal." Here are excerpts: The Senate on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly to block a new District of Columbia criminal code that reduces mandatory minimum sentences for some violent offenses, with Democrats bowing to Republican pressure to take a hard line on crime in a move that underscored the rising political potency of the issue ahead of the 2024 elections. The 81-to-14 vote, with one senator voting present, cleared the Republican-written measure to undo the Districts law, sending it to President Biden, who after initially opposing it abruptly changed course last week and said he would sign it. It was a sudden turn of events for the Districts council and its overhaul of local sentencing laws. Just a few weeks ago, Mr. Biden weighed in against congressional action to block the measure, accusing Republicans of meddling in local affairs. But the high-profile incidence of carjackings and homicides in the capital and growing nationwide evidence that voters were casting their ballots based on candidates response to violent crime spurred a rapid retreat. Dozens of House Democrats joined Republicans in opposing the Districts criminal code, and a growing number of Senate Democrats signaled they were inclined to follow suit, prompting Mr. Bidens turnabout. On Wednesday, 31 Democrats and two independents joined Republicans in supporting a resolution of disapproval of the criminal code, sending it to the president for his signature. Senator Raphael Warnock, Democrat of Georgia, voted present. Republicans, using the authority of Congress to review all District laws, forced the showdown in an effort to paint Democrats as weak on law enforcement. They said the outcome demonstrated that any trend toward leniency was at an end. We need to make certain that we send a strong message that the American public have had it with crime in America, said Senator Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, the chief Republican author of the resolution. The crime spree that is happening in our major cities must come to an end. But if Democrats were hoping that their opposition to the new criminal code would stop Republican attacks on their partys image on crime in next years elections, they were likely to be disappointed based on comments made by Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the minority leader. Nobody will confuse Washington Democrats last-minute reversal on this one resolution for a road-to-Damascus moment on the crime issue, Mr. McConnell said. The American people are a lot smarter than that.... Local officials lamented the interference and even tried to pull back the criminal code before it was rejected by the Senate. But the process to block it had already been set in motion, and Congress ignored the attempt to short-circuit the outcome. The rewrite of the criminal code, which was years in the making, had split local officials as well. The law was vetoed by Mayor Muriel E. Bowser, who was overridden by the District council. Her opposition, however, opened the door to Democrats abandoning their usual support of the District and voting in favor of overturning the law. The White Houses handling of the issue angered House Democrats, who felt they were hung out to dry by the president after he said early last month that he would oppose the resolution of disapproval. As a result, when the matter came before the House in early February, most Democrats backed the District council and voted against the effort to rescind the sentencing package, believing they were siding with the president, who would veto it. Instead, Mr. Biden arrived on Capitol Hill last week and told Senate Democrats in a private luncheon that he would sign the measure if it reached his desk, undercutting House Democrats and District officials. He said the crime legislation had gone too far even though he supported autonomy for the District of Columbia. White House officials noted that the president had never explicitly pledged to veto the measure, only that the administration opposed it. Some Senate Democrats stood by the District and argued that its democratically elected officials should be free to write their own laws without being subjugated to Congress. Senator Cory Booker, a New Jersey Democrat who has been active on criminal justice issues, mounted a defense of the Districts law in a party luncheon on Tuesday, according to senators who attended.... But the presidents reversal, the mayors veto and rising public unease with violent crime drove most Democrats to rally behind blocking the law, including Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the majority leader, as well as both senators from neighboring Virginia, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine. Mr. Kaine is among the senators up for re-election next year. Both Democrats from Maryland, the other adjoining state, Senators Benjamin L. Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, voted no. In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Nebraska Medical Center was at the forefront of an international clinical trial of the drug remdesivir, which was sponsored by the National Institutes of Health. The hope was the drug would be effective against the virus. By April 2020, the early trial showed that remdesivir shortened the time it took for all patients hospitalized for COVID-19 to recover by five days overall, compared with those who received a placebo. Patients who got the drug also were less likely to require oxygen or mechanical ventilation and less likely to die. But use of remdesivir was not officially recommended by major health organizations for most hospitalized patients at that time two initially recommended it only for those on supplemental oxygen. A study published last week in the British medical journal The Lancet Respiratory Medicine confirmed findings of the initial NIH trial. Dr. Andre Kalil, who led the Omaha-based arm of the trial, said its always important to see studies replicated by other researchers. But Kalil, in an invited commentary on the Lancet study, noted that a number of public health and medical bodies delayed acting on the early beneficial results and recommending the drug in guidelines for clinicians. The National Institutes of Health and the Infectious Diseases Society of America guidelines for nearly two years recommended remdesivir only for hospitalized patients who received supplemental oxygen. Only after that time did the groups recommend it for patients who were hospitalized but did not need supplemental oxygen. The World Health Organization didnt recommend remdesivir for patients hospitalized with COVID-19 until late 2022. Regrettably, the delays in recommendation of remdesivir for patients even after the initial remdesivir shortage was resolved adversely shaped antimicrobial policy in hospitals around the world, preventing patients from receiving timely remdesivir, wrote Kalil, a University of Nebraska Medical Center professor and an infectious diseases physician with Nebraska Medicine, the health system that includes the Nebraska Medical Center. In an interview, Kalil said he believes more lives could have been saved if the guideline panels had been more timely in making their recommendations. All three now recommend remdesivir for hospitalized patients. He said his intent in writing the commentary was to discuss the results of the new study and comment on the lessons learned from the last three years. He said he realizes the panel members are invested in doing the right thing. But its important to recognize mistakes in order to avoid repeating them and to better patient care and public health. You have to recognize your mistakes to improve, Kalil said. If you dont recognize what was done right or not ... you cant make progress. Thats really among the main intents of this piece. He also said he believes researchers need to learn to prioritize the results of high-quality, randomized trials like the one that launched in Omaha. The early trial run by the NIH eventually tested remdesivir versus placebo in 1,063 hospitalized coronavirus patients around the world and found significant clinical benefits faster recovery, shorter hospital stay, less need for mechanical ventilation and better survival in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. Nebraska Medicine continued to use the drug in hospitalized patients based on the results of the trial. The Food and Drug Administration authorized the drug for emergency use in May 2020 and followed with full approval for hospitalized patients 12 and older in October 2020. In the new Lancet study, Swiss researchers pooled patient data from eight randomized, controlled studies covering nearly 10,500 patients hospitalized with COVID-19, including the study that launched in Omaha. The researchers found that patients who got remdesivir were significantly more likely to survive than those who did not. They also were less likely to need mechanical ventilation. The drug provided the greatest benefit for patients who didnt need oxygen or who got supplemental oxygen. The study did not detect a definite benefit of the drug for patients who were on mechanical ventilators, however. Not enough ventilated patients were included to reach a conclusion in that group. In a crisis like the pandemic, Kalil said, researchers keep learning at breakneck speed. Science itself, by its nature, continuously evolves. But thats what really makes us successful as human beings, is learning and moving forward, he said. Charts that track COVID-19 variants, vaccination rates and hospitalizations in Nebraska SIOUX CITY A Sioux City woman convicted for her role in a bank robbery is headed back to federal prison for leaving town while on supervised release from prison. U.S. District Judge Leonard Strand on Wednesday sentenced Karen Merrick, 39, to 15 months in prison on one count of escape from custody and added the sentence onto the 15 months remaining on her original sentence. Merrick was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Sioux City in January 2020 to 30 months in prison on one count of accessory after the fact for driving the getaway vehicle in a December 2018 robbery of Iowa State Bank in Le Mars, Iowa. She had been released from prison in January 2021 and was serving a two-year term of supervised release. On Aug. 2, Merrick signed out of Dismas Charities Residential Re-Entry Center in Sioux City to go to work and did not return. She was arrested a month later in Minneapolis. Merrick drove Phillip White from the scene of the bank robbery in a U-Haul van and led law enforcement officers on a 20-mile chase into rural Plymouth County before officers were able to flatten the van's tires and bring it to a stop. White was sentenced to 12 years in prison. PHOENIX State senators gave preliminary approval Thursday to a measure directing the Education Department to come up with a list of books to ban in public schools. And it wouldnt just include lewd or sexual materials. SB1700 would require the department, now headed by elected Republican Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne, to also include on that list materials that promote gender fluidity or gender pronouns. The measure includes similar language on what local school boards and school libraries would be required to remove from shelves. Parents want to make sure that their children who are innocent, who are impressionable, get to have and hold onto that innocence that they have, said Sen. Justine Wadsack, R-Tucson, sponsor of the measure. They dont need to be reading about their best friends erection and what it felt like in their hand, she said. Im tired of the normalizing of this perversion. Wadsacks measure would apply to all K-12 grades in public and charter schools. Children should not be thinking of these things when theyre in K through 12, she told colleagues. Theres plenty of time for this when they get to college and when theyre outside the purview of their parents. There was some debate on exactly where the line should be. Sen. Christine Marsh, D-Phoenix, who is a teacher, said there is content too graphic for the classroom. But theres also no room in the classroom or in libraries for banning books simply because it upsets one group of people at the expense of so many others, she said. Marsh said what is likely to be banned are the books that reflect experiences of those not in the mainstream, including gay children and victims of sexual abuse. She said its important that these books be available not only to ensure these children see themselves in literature but also so that others develop empathy for them. Of particular concern to some was the language on excising materials about gender fluidity and pronouns. Erica Keppler, an activist in the LGBTQ community, told lawmakers that the language in the bill about promoting either makes no sense. Gender fluidity is a naturally occurring phenomenon that some people experience, no different than being left handed or having curly hair, and something that cannot be promoted, Keppler said. She objected to it being lumped in with other subjects that would get books on the banned list. Its ridiculous and demeaning to include gender fluidity in the same sentence as pedophilia, she said. Elijah Watson, a citizen who testified at a hearing, said he feared the parameters for the Education Department to decide whats not allowed in schools is so broad that it would lead to banning To Kill a Mockingbird, The Great Gatsby, Of Mice and Men and The Color Purple. But Lisa Fink of the Protect Arizona Children Coalition said her group is more concerned about books she said have shown up in the libraries of the Kyrene and Deer Valley school districts, like Its Perfectly Normal. Designed for children age 10 and up, that book addresses sexual health and contains sections on puberty, pregnancy and sexual orientation and includes pictures of naked people. Anastasia Tsatsakis, who lost her bid in November to be on the Vail Unified School District Governing Board, complained about The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, a book about a child from the Spokane Indian Reservations decision to go to a nearly all-white public high school away from the reservation. That objection caught the attention of Sen. Sally Ann Gonzales, D-Tucson. I read this book with my grandchildren, Gonzales said. Its a wonderful book. Tsatsakis said she has nothing against Native Americans but objected to references to masturbation and rape. She said excerpts were read during a school board meeting. I was hoping in the room no one had a small child present because what is in that book is so foul, Tsatsakis said. I appreciate that was your choice to read it with them, she told Gonzales. It should be a parental choice in a personal environment, not in a school district. Existing law already bars public schools from referring students to, or using, any sexually explicit materials, said Chris Kotterman, lobbyist for the Arizona School Boards Association. That law does have exceptions if materials have serious educational value for minors or possess serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value. Even then, however, schools must get prior written consent from parents for each such book or article. Students who dont get consent have to be provided with an alternative assignment. Under Wadsacks bill, the state Education Department would review and unilaterally decide for all schools which books are acceptable and which are not. This is an unprecedented state control of curriculum, the likes of which we havent seen before in Arizona, Kotterman said. He noted the role politics play. Just this past year, the agency was headed by a Democrat, he reminded lawmakers, referring to Kathy Hoffman, who lost her November bid for reelection as superintendent of schools to Horne. It will undoubtedly change hands again, Kotterman said. That list will be subject to curation by people who work for that individual. Marsh had her own take on what will happen once the Education Department posts a list on its website of what is considered inappropriate. Thats what kids are going to read, she said. Wadsack said her measure is not an attack on the LGBTQ community. I have a gay son, she told colleagues. But Wadsack said she has not approved any books that would be wrong for him. The measure still needs a final roll-call vote in the Senate before going to the House. CIUDAD VICTORIA, Mexico The anonymous tip that led Mexican authorities to a remote shack where four abducted Americans were held described armed men, people wearing blindfolds and plenty of activity around a ranch. Authorities headed for the rural area east of Matamoros on Tuesday morning, leaving the highway and driving remote dirt roads looking for the described location, according to Mexican investigative documents viewed Friday by The Associated Press. Finally, they saw the wooden shack far from any homes or businesses, surrounded by brush, and a white pickup parked outside that matched the one the Americans had been loaded into last Friday. Then they began to hear someone shouting, "Help!" Inside the shack, the documents said, Latavia "Tay" McGee and Eric Williams were blindfolded. Beside them were the bodies of Shaeed Woodard and Zindell Brown, wrapped in blankets and plastic bags. When authorities arrived, McGee and Williams shouted desperately to them in English. A guard who tried to escape out a back door was quickly apprehended, the documents said. He was wearing a tactical vest but there is no mention of him being armed. The four Americans crossed into Matamoros from Texas on March 3 so that McGee could have cosmetic surgery. About midday, they were fired on in downtown Matamoros and then loaded into the pickup truck. Another friend, who remained in Brownsville, called police after being unable to reach the group that crossed the border. A Mexican woman, Areli Pablo Servando, 33, also was killed, apparently by a stray bullet. In the letter obtained by The Associated Press through a Tamaulipas state law enforcement official Thursday, the Scorpions faction of the Gulf cartel apologized to the residents of Matamoros where the Americans were kidnapped, Servando, and the four Americans and their families. But relatives of the abducted Americans said the purported apology has done little to dull the pain of their loved ones being killed or wounded. Woodard's father said he was speechless upon hearing that the cartel apologized for the violent abduction captured in video that spread quickly online. "I've just been trying to make sense out of it for a whole week. Just restless, couldn't sleep, couldn't eat. It's just crazy to see your own child taken from you in such a way, in a violent way like that. He didn't deserve it," James Woodard told reporters Thursday, referring to his son's death. The cousin of Williams, who was shot in the left leg during the kidnapping, said his family feels "great" knowing he's alive but does not accept any apologies from the cartel. "It ain't gonna change nothing about the suffering that we went through," Jerry Wallace told the AP on Thursday. Wallace, 62, called for the American and Mexican governments to better address cartel violence. U.S. Ambassador Ken Salazar told reporters Friday that U.S. officials contacted President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador directly over the weekend to ask for help in locating the missing Americans in Matamoros. He said the cartel there "must be dismantled." The letter attributed to the cartel condemned the violence and said the gang turned over to authorities its own members who were responsible. "We have decided to turn over those who were directly involved and responsible in the events, who at all times acted under their own decision-making and lack of discipline," the letter reads, adding that those individuals had gone against the cartel's rules, which include "respecting the life and well-being of the innocent." A photograph of five bound men face-down on the pavement accompanied the letter, which an official shared with The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. A separate state security official said five men were found tied up inside one of the vehicles that authorities had been searching for, along with the letter. That official, who was not authorized to speak about the case, also spoke on condition of anonymity. On Friday, Tamaulipas state prosecutor Irving Barrios said via Twitter that five people connected to the violence were arrested on charges of aggravated kidnapping and homicide. He said only one other person was arrested in recent days. Flash White flags honoring the lives lost to COVID-19 are seen on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the United States, on Oct. 2, 2021. [Photo/Xinhua] China once again urged the U.S. side to immediately stop political manipulation on COVID origins-tracing, voluntarily share the data of suspected early cases in the United States with the WHO, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Thursday. Mao's remarks came after the U.S. Senate passed the COVID-19 Origin Act of 2023 a few days ago, which says that the COVID-19 pandemic may have originated in China. Director of the U.S. National Intelligence Avril Haines on Wednesday noted that there is not a consensus among the U.S. intelligence community on whether or not the outbreak is a result of a lab leak or natural exposure to an infected animal. Besides, Polish virologist Agnieszka Szuster-Ciesielska recently said in an interview that the COVID "lab leak" theory rehashed by the U.S. Department of Energy and FBI is sensation-seeking and has no factual or scientific basis. For some time now, the United States has been politicizing, weaponizing and instrumentalizing COVID origins-tracing for many months, Mao said, adding it has let a matter of science be dominated by lawmakers and the intelligence community and spread myths such as the "lab leak" theory without any evidence to discredit and attack China. "This has seriously poisoned the atmosphere for science-based global origins-tracing and been perceived by people in the rest of the world," she said. Noting China's position on the origins-tracing is consistent, Mao said China has supported and participated in global science-based origins-tracing since day one. "In the meantime, we have been firmly opposed to all forms of political manipulation on this issue," Mao said, adding the political manipulation by the United States is the main stumbling block to the science-based research on COVID origins. Mao said the United States has been pointing fingers at WHO's origins-tracing process, politically punishing scientists with conscience and attacking countries with lies that make no scientific sense. Pointing out that the United States has done nothing responsible on origins-tracing, Mao said it has never invited WHO expert groups to the United States for joint research or shared any early data on COVID origins and it has turned a deaf ear to the world's concerns about U.S. bio-military bases at Fort Detrick and around the world. Politicizing origins-tracing would only hamper science-based cooperation on the issue, disrupt solidarity against the virus, and undermine global health governance mechanisms, Mao said. "We once again urge the U.S. side to immediately stop political manipulation on this issue, respond to the world's legitimate concerns, voluntarily share the data of suspected early cases in the United States with the WHO, disclose information about its bio-labs at Fort Detrick and around the world, and give the rest of the world the truth it deserves," she added. Officials in California issued evacuation warnings in portions of several counties amid powerful storms likely to deliver severe rainfall and cause widespread flooding across the central and northern parts of the state Friday. The most dangerous amount of rain could impact nearly 70,000 people along the central California coast, stretching from Salinas southward to San Luis Obispo and including parts of Ventura and Monterey counties, according to the Weather Prediction Center, which issued a level 4 of 4 warning of excessive rainfall in the area. "Multiple rounds of rainfall in addition to melting snow will result in the potential for significant rises along streams and rivers, with widespread flooding impacts possible through early next week," the National Water Center said Thursday. Creeks and streams in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains remain the most vulnerable areas for flooding from rain and snowmelt, the Weather Prediction Center said. Roughly 17 million people are under flood watches in California and parts of Nevada as of late Thursday. Heavy rain had already begun Thursday, with the worst rainfall and most significant impacts expected to persist through the day Friday. Hourly rainfall rates will steadily increase in intensity across California from Thursday overnight through Friday morning, potentially reaching 1 inch per hour. The threat has pushed local officials to issue evacuation warnings and orders for some areas in the storm's most precarious path as well as remind residents to prepare for yet another bout of severe weather -- all while much of California remains in recovery mode from prior heavy snowfalls and deadly flooding in January. Additionally, California transportation officials have partially closed Interstate 5 and Highway 1, two major roads in the state. In the community of Felton in Santa Cruz County, resident Tom Fredericks lamented the fatigue from the unrelenting series of severe storms since the start of the year. "We've been working every week, every week when we can since then," Fredericks told CNN affiliate KGO. "It's just starting right now to feel like it was before the storms. So this is kind of discouraging to be facing it all over again." In nearby Monterey County, nearly 40,000 homes and businesses -- roughly 20% of customers tracked -- were without power as of Thursday night, according to PowerOutage.us. In San Luis Obispo County, officials issued an evacuation order beginning Thursday night for residents south of the Arroyo Grande Creek Levee, urging them to seek higher ground for safety. A pet-friendly American Red Cross Shelter in the county is available to residents. Meanwhile, an evacuation warning remains in place north of the Arroyo Grande Creek Levee and near the Oceano Lagoon. Here's where evacuation warnings are in effect: Santa Cruz County : About 1,200 homes are affected by the evacuation warning in low-lying areas across Felton Grove, Paradise Park, Soquel Village and Rio Del Mar Flats as well as areas along Corralitos Creek, including the College-Lake-Holohan area, according to county officials. : About 1,200 homes are affected by the evacuation warning in low-lying areas across Felton Grove, Paradise Park, Soquel Village and Rio Del Mar Flats as well as areas along Corralitos Creek, including the College-Lake-Holohan area, according to county officials. Tulare County : Areas along the Kings River from the Fresno County line to the Kings County line should plan to evacuate, according to a statement from the county's sheriff's office. "Residents should prepare now, especially in areas at risk of being isolated by snow or road/bridge closures," the sheriff's office said. "Stock up on several days worth of food, water, medications and other necessary supplies." : Areas along the Kings River from the Fresno County line to the Kings County line should plan to evacuate, according to a statement from the county's sheriff's office. "Residents should prepare now, especially in areas at risk of being isolated by snow or road/bridge closures," the sheriff's office said. "Stock up on several days worth of food, water, medications and other necessary supplies." Mariposa County : Greeley Hill, El Portal, Bear Creek Cabins, Oak Fire burn scar, Creekside Apartments, Hornitos and La Grange are under evacuation warning, the county' sheriff's office said. "There is a potential threat to life and/or property. Rescue or lifesaving assistance may take longer than normal, and you may need to shelter in place for an extended duration," officials said. : Greeley Hill, El Portal, Bear Creek Cabins, Oak Fire burn scar, Creekside Apartments, Hornitos and La Grange are under evacuation warning, the county' sheriff's office said. "There is a potential threat to life and/or property. Rescue or lifesaving assistance may take longer than normal, and you may need to shelter in place for an extended duration," officials said. Merced County : Planada and Le Grand residents should prepare for possible evacuations and gather important documents, medication, devices and pets, the sheriff's office said on Facebook. Shelters are available in Merced and Atwater, the post said. : Planada and Le Grand residents should prepare for possible evacuations and gather important documents, medication, devices and pets, the sheriff's office said on Facebook. Shelters are available in Merced and Atwater, the post said. Fresno County: Residents in eastern portions of the county should begin gathering belongings and be prepared for possible evacuation orders, the sheriff's office said in a Facebook post. "The first of a series of severe storms has now moved into our region. It is expected to deliver several inches of rain throughout the weekend. This rain, coupled with snow melt, will put a strain on lakes, rivers and streams," the post noted. More than half of California's counties are under a state of emergency As of late Thursday, 34 of California's 58 counties are under a state of emergency issued by the governor's office due to previous storms and this week's severe weather threat. The state also activated its flood operations center Thursday morning. Gov. Gavin Newsom's office on Thursday also asked the White House to approve a Presidential Emergency Declaration to support state and local responses to the severe weather the state has been enduring since last month. "These storms have already caused significant damage in California from the substantial rain, snowfall, and river and urban flooding. It is expected the incoming atmospheric river system will bring heavier precipitation, creating greater impacts and compounding the complexities of response and recovery the affected counties that are still responding to effects of the December 2022-January 2023 winter storm event," the governor's request says. If approved, the emergency declaration would allow impacted counties to immediately access federal assistance to help protect public safety and property, the governor's office said. The request for funds would apply to generators, road clearance equipment and potential sheltering and mass care assistance. Friday's impacts come as millions in the storm's path have not had time to bounce back from multiple rounds of recent steep snow that buried some neighborhoods and roads while leaving many stranded as they ran low on important supplies. From late December into January, many areas across the state were inundated with torrential rain from atmospheric rivers that lasted for consecutive days. The rainfall caused deadly flooding, mudslides and damaged critical infrastructure that has not been yet repaired in some places, which elevates the potential danger associated with this week's storm. This week's atmospheric rivers -- which are long, narrow bands of moisture in the atmosphere that carry warm air and water vapor from the tropics -- could possibly be even more threatening due to their warmth, forecasters have said. "The abnormally warm and wet conditions moving in are expected to cause rapid snowmelt. Combine this snowmelt with as much as 10 inches of rain in the 24 hours (from Thursday evening to Friday evening), and the potential for widespread flooding is considerable, especially in the High Risk areas," the Weather Prediction Center said. Rainfall totals through Sunday morning could range from 1.5 to 3 inches for most urban areas with between 3 and 6 inches in the coast ranges and inland hills. Up 8 inches over the Santa Cruz Mountains and locally up to 12 inches over favored peaks and higher terrain of the Santa Lucia Mountains." The looming forecast led some ski resorts to announce closings. Kirkwood Mountain Resort said it would not open Friday, as did the Northstar California Resort and the Heavenly Resort in South Lake Tahoe, on Nevada's border with central California. Meanwhile, the Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center issued a backcountry avalanche warning for sections of Mono County, according to the National Weather Service in Reno, Nevada. Elsewhere in the West, snowfall was occurring early Friday across parts of Nevada, Oregon and Idaho, where 6 to 12 inches of now are possible over lower elevations and 1 to 2 feet of snow are possible at higher elevations. This snowfall is expected to move into Utah, western Colorado and Montana by Friday morning, when up to 2 feet of snowfall are also possible. The-CNN-Wire & 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved. A month before the sad 50th anniversary of losing the 1918 Union Pacific Depot, North Platte will mark a happier 75th anniversary of the founding of what grew into Bailey Yard. It was on Sept. 27, 1948, that top U.P. officials conducted their official inspection of their newly finished 42-track retarder yard at its longtime western Nebraska division point. Its completion not only made North Platte one of the railroads key centers but also marked the culmination of William M. Jeffers influence on U.P.s course in his hometown. Jeffers, who rose from a call boy at North Platte in 1890 to serve as U.P.s president from 1937 to 1946, remained part of the board of directors that chose North Platte for its second retarder yard after a 28-track yard at Pocatello, Idaho. Built for $3.5 million as part of a post-World War II modernization drive, North Plattes retarder yard sorted both westbound and eastbound cars until todays 64-track Bailey East hump yard opened in 1968. The last piece of todays Bailey Yard named for 1960s U.P. President Edd Bailey, who worked at North Platte during the war and directed the 1968 expansion was completed in 1980 when the 50-track Bailey West yard replaced the 1948 retarder yard. Then and now, retarder yard and hump yard describe the same organizing principle: the use of gravity to help sort rail cars as new trains are assembled for their various destinations. The Telegraph-Bulletin described the original retarder yards expected sorting operation this way in a full-page feature on March 3, 1948: Freight cars arriving in North Platte will first be moved into the 10-track receiving yard, capable of handling 1,200 cars. Cars then will be classified according to destination by rolling down the tracks on an incline, which will face toward the east, onto any one of 40 classification tracks capable of handling 1,400 cars. A total of 39 switches used in this process will be electrically operated from four control towers. Speed of the rolling cars will be regulated by a type of braking device on the tracks, also operated from the control towers. These braking devices are the retarders, hence the name retarder yard. The incline down which the cars will roll is called a hump, hence the term hump yard. Both refer to the same general process. From the classification tracks, strings of cars will be moved by switch engines to the 16-track departure yard, capable of handling 1,600 cars. Though modern computers have replaced analog switches, the same principle applies to the operation of todays Bailey Yard. People can observe the process and hear it described by taking U.P.s annual public yard tour during North Platte Rail Days in August. The original hump yard covered 213 acres, stretched 5 miles long and had a sorting capacity of 4,200 cars per day all fractions of todays yard of 2,850 acres, 8-mile-plus width and daily capacity of up to 14,000 cars. Talk of Union Pacifics postwar plans for North Platte surfaced as early as Oct. 24, 1947, in an Omaha World-Herald story on a U.P. board vote to spend $67 million on top of $100 million already planned for system-wide improvements. The railroad plans to build a retarder yard, probably at North Platte, the newspaper said, quoting an Associated Press account. It added that President George F. Ashby, who had succeeded Jeffers upon the latters mandatory retirement at age 70, had told the World-Herald the new yard would be larger than the one then nearly finished at Pocatello. U.P. Board Chairman Roland Harriman said the railroads improvement plan is the greatest since 1910, when the road operated under the direction of E.H. Harriman, his father and the founder of the modern Union Pacific after its 1890s receivership and reorganization. The Telegraph-Bulletin reported Nov. 4 that U.P. representatives had met with Lincoln County commissioners to explain the retarder yard. Ashby announced the railroads formal choice of North Platte on Jan. 28, 1948. North Platte has always been greatly benefited by the Union Pacific Railroad, the paper said in a Jan. 30 editorial. But in spite of this extended friendliness between the Union Pacific and North Platte in past years, it looks like 1948 will go down as a real banner year in which the railroad aided in the development of Bill Jeffers hometown. Construction proceeded rapidly, with the retarder yard put into partial use June 28. About 250,000 cubic yards of dirt was being moved, with 31,000 feet of new mainline and 51 miles of additional track being installed, the Telegraph-Bulletin wrote. By comparison, U.P. needed nearly 2 years to complete the $12.5 million east hump from the time it was announced in the newspaper on June 9, 1966, until its dedication on Oct. 26, 1968. The North Platte Chamber of Commerce threw a banquet for Ashby and 18 other top U.P. officials after their inspection of the retarder yard capped a whirlwind eight months of construction. Ashby thanked the chamber and the townspeople of North Platte for their splendid cooperation during the construction of the retarder yard and expressed his confidence in the future of the city and its relations with the Union Pacific, the Telegraph-Bulletin wrote in its Sept. 28, 1948, edition. William Jeffers, then in retirement in Los Angeles, wasnt part of the inspection tour. But he would die in 1953 knowing that the town where he was born and started his Union Pacific career would be a linchpin of its entire system for decades to come. OMAHA -- A former Nebraska corrections employee accused of having an inmate's baby appeared in court for the first time Wednesday. Samantha Cedillo, 31, was charged last week with sexual abuse of an inmate after she allegedly had a sexual relationship with an inmate while working at the Omaha Correctional Center and gave birth to his child late last year. At the hearing, Cedillo's attorney asked for bail to be set at $10,000, citing her minimal criminal record and the fact that she has a 10-week-old baby at home. Prosecutors advocated for higher bail at $200,000. Douglas County Court Judge Stephanie Hansen went above both requests and ordered Cedillo held on $250,000 bail, meaning she will have to post 10%, or $25,000, to be released from jail. If convicted, Cedillo faces a maximum of 20 years in jail with no mandatory minimum. She also would have to register as a sex offender. According to affidavits filed by a Nebraska State Patrol investigator, Cedillo worked at the Omaha Correctional Center as a non-clinical program manager beginning in June 2021. By November 2021, prison staff were notified that Cedillo was suspected of having an inappropriate relationship with her library clerk, a 47-year-old man serving a life sentence for first-degree murder. Over the next four months, staff members observed and documented at least 10 questionable interactions between the two or prison code of conduct violations by Cedillo. Cedillo was repeatedly issued verbal warnings, according to prison staff, and the inmate was removed from his position as a library clerk. But the two allegedly continued to talk to each other in the library and spend time together in Cedillo's office with the door closed. In March 2022, Cedillo was seen on surveillance video taking off her radio belt while the inmate was in her office. The two moved behind the door and out of the camera's view. When another officer entered the library, they reported that Cedillo hurried back to her chair with an untucked shirt and messy hair. When asked to write a report justifying the interaction, Cedillo resigned. Investigators later found a baby registry created by Cedillo, with a due date in mid-December nine months after that March interaction. After Cedillo left her job at the correctional center, she and the inmate continued to message each other either via an illegal phone that he had possession of in his cell and later destroyed when authorities searched for it, or via legitimate prison communications. Many of the messages discussed their love for one another and the birth of their child. Shortly after the baby boy was born in December, a search warrant was issued to obtain DNA from the baby and from the inmate. DNA testing confirmed that the inmate is likely the baby's father. Nebraska law prohibits any employee or contractor within a state prison or city or county jail from subjecting an inmate or parolee to sexual penetration or sexual contact. Consent is not a valid defense, according to state law. Top Journal Star photos for March 2023 An Omaha man has pleaded guilty to his part in a multimillion dollar embezzlement scheme that he and his partner used to fund their lavish lifestyle. Jeffrey Stenstrom, 42, pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday to conspiracy to commit money laundering, according to a news release from the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Nebraska. Stenstrom and his partner Brett A. Cook embezzled upwards of $5.1 million from Omaha property management company Darland Properties LLC, which Cook was vice president of, according to Stenstrom's plea deal. Stenstrom and Cook obtained the money by overbilling for contracting work, billing for work that was not performed and obtaining insurance proceeds from the fraudulent invoices. Cook was found dead in May after federal agents searched his home, and his death was ruled a suicide. Under the plea agreement, Stenstrom faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $500,000, twice the amount of the laundered funds or both. Stenstrom has also agreed to pay restitution of no less than $5.1 million to Darland Properties, according to the release. Stenstrom will also forfeit multiple properties in Nebraska, a residence in Arizona, multiple vehicles including a 2020 McLaren 600 LT Spider, jewelry and multiple life insurances policies worth over $2 million, the release said. Stenstrom's sentencing is scheduled for June 2 and a federal judge has ordered a pre-sentence investigation be conducted, the release said. Stenstrom also has a pending sentencing for income tax evasion in which he faces up to five years in prison and/or a $250,000 fine and will pay just under $2 million in restitution to the IRS, according to the release. Jeremy Slevin was sitting across from me, and he looked a little uncomfortable. He leaned forward with his hands clasped together. Its a really strange, out-of-body feeling to be sitting here as a Jew and be constantly fielding questions, attacks, and accusations of antisemitism, he told me. Slevin, you see, is a senior adviser to Rep. Ilhan Omar. He oversees her communications. The Minnesota Democrat has faced persistent scrutiny for her comments on Israel, 9/11, and more, which Republicans have sought to keep in the news and used to expel her from the Houses Foreign Affairs Committee last month. But Slevin himself has recently become a target. To some, hes a self-hating Jew. Hes like a Jewish guard at a concentration camp. Hes a Judas. He warned me before we got started that hes turned down pretty much every request to talk to journalists. But this time, he agreed to meet me. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We sat for lunch in Omars Washington office one quiet afternoon while she was home in Minneapolis during a congressional recess. There wasnt a deskit felt more like a living room, with couches, coffee tables, and art on the walls. We set our meals on a low table. Want a photo with me holding the Quran? he joked. Slevin has been with Omar since she got to Congress. For a brief moment, as excitement over the Squad and new progressive members took hold, things were different. But not for long. I remember saying, that first weekbecause we were getting really positive coverage and everyone was friendlyI was like, This is the honeymoon period. It will last about three weeks, he recalled. Just knowing all of the identities she carries, Trump being in the White House, the gigantic propaganda machine of the rightit was muted in those first couple weeks, but you knew they were waiting to fire at full blast. And I also know, from my time working with Keith, that its too often the mainstream press will take the bait. Advertisement He was referring to the only other major job hes had in Congressworking for the first Muslim congressman in U.S. history, Keith Ellison. He joined Ellison in 2011 after interning and doing fellowships elsewhere in the Washington orbit. Ellison faced longtime scrutiny over his connections to antisemitic figures, even before he made headlines when Nancy Pelosi swore him in over a Quran. In other words, Slevin had a pretty good idea of what was coming. But even he has been taken aback at times. A turning point came last month, when Republicans staged the vote to oust Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee. Individuals who hold such hateful views should rightly be barred from that type of committee, Republican Rep. Mike Lawler said at the time. Advertisement Advertisement JINO, a user wrote. Jewdas. At least kapos were forced. Youre doing this voluntarily. The move incensed Slevin. As it unfolded, he took to Twitter. No matter how many lies, smears and hate come her way this Jew is proud to be a part of Team Omar today and every day, he wrote. He got some support. Jew here, and Im with you, one user wrote. Then came the jeering. JINO, a user wrote. Jewdas. At least kapos were forced. Youre doing this voluntarily. An opinion editor for Newsweek tweeted: Jeremy would have been a proud foot soldier for the Hellenizers in the civil war agains the Maccabees. Its certainly not what you sign up for as a staffer, Slevin said. Obviously, working for the most vilified politician in America, whos constantly getting death threats and hate and vilification because of her faithyou see how strong other people can be in the face of much, much worse. So, this is nothing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Except, for Slevin, I suspect it all has been not quite nothing. Our lunches sat untouched on the table as he told me about his typical Jewish upbringing, going to Jewish preschool and growing up just outside D.C., in Maryland, with Jewish friends and neighbors. Its just so weird that, because of my job, that who I am can be denied or negated. Its like, no, Im super Jewish, he said. Theres all these people just denying that Im a real Jew or whatever. And its like, this was my identity long before I worked for Ilhan Omar and will be long after. Working for Ellison, even in a pre-Trump political era, and now Omar, Slevin said he got a stark education. I think the big learning curves for meespecially coming from a Jewish backgroundworking for Keith Ellison, and now Ilhan Omar, is just seeing how formalized anti-Muslim tropes are in our politics. We are still reeling from two decades of the war on terror and open Islamophobic sentiment in our politics. And its rampant, he said. Ironically, many of the tropes used against Muslimsthat theyre not loyal to this country, et ceteraare tropes that have been used against Jews for centuries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Even without the controversies over her comments, as soon as she became a candidate for Congress, Omar was already the prime target of a concentrated online smear campaign that sought to spread political propaganda and hate speech, according to a detailed study by the Social Science Research Council. The insinuations and conspiracies about her past became even more mainstream in some circles after President Trump beamed them to his massive online following. One of Slevins responsibilities has been to help Omar decide whether to acknowledge the campaigns at all. You try not to lift up or amplify smears, is rule one. If someone is blatantly smearing you and lying about you and creating conspiracy theories about you, why give that a platform? he said. Unless its being amplified by the president of the United States, or the mainstream news media, and is to the point that you have to call attention to it, and/or the safety situation is so hostile and ridiculous that you have to call it out. So, there are exceptions. Sadly, especially in that first year, there were a lot of exceptions. Advertisement Slevin also manages the offices social media. It is brutal. I live in it all day. Its not even about me personally, and it can be just taxing emotionally, he said. Its designed to pull you away from doing your job as a member of Congress, and putting forth ideas, and representing your constituents. So, you try not to get distracted, but sometimes the distraction works. Its an unwinnable fight. Advertisement Advertisement I asked Slevin what the worst day so far has been. He sighed and sat quietly for a few seconds. Eventually, he conceded that the some people did something moment was particularly exhausting. (Omar said the line in a speech about Muslim civil liberties after 9/11 in the United States; the full context is here.) Advertisement Advertisement The New York Post put her face next to a plane going into the Twin Towers, he said. Death threats spiked immediately. Trump tweeted it out. And this was weeks and weeks after the speech. It was from some right-winger clipping five seconds. By the way, five sentences later, she calls them terrorists. It was the most ridiculous thing. And it still has traction. I asked about Omars comments about Israel, which have stuck even more. She was criticized by both Democrats and Republicans when she said Israel hypnotized the world and tweeted, Its all about the Benjamins baby in response to a tweet about Republican support for Israel, which many argued played to antisemitic stereotypes. On those cases, Slevin was more circumspect. There is good-faith engagement, and there is the possibility of learning from mistakes, he said. Obviously, she has apologized for certain things and wouldnt do that unless she meant it. Some reports had suggested that Slevin had intervened in those cases, but he denied that. He said the apology was Omars idea. Anything that were putting out, whether its her speeches or statements, she is the principal. Its her voice, he told me. The apology was from her, and it was genuine. Advertisement Advertisement When we finished talking, Slevin introduced me to some of Omars other staffers. They seemed slightly spooked by an unannounced journalist in their midst. (We had originally planned to meet at a cafe.) I asked them if burnout in the office is common. Oh, theres burnout, Slevin said, laughing. Weve had the same core team. It was a really tightknit group from the beginning. And I also think weve had to deal with almost any kind of thing you have to deal with in politics. Weve had to deal with major criticism from all sides. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Slevin stood with his hands in his pockets as I looked around. I instantly recognized the Quranic verse written in Arabic calligraphy on one of the end tables, behind Omars Quran. That verse tells Muslims to stand for justice, even if it means standing against yourself. Omar talked about it in the same video in which she uttered the infamous some people did something line. The part didnt get much coverage. After we were finished, I wondered if I was just part of the same cycle of distractions, as Slevin called them. I asked him if he was annoyed that I was asking him to rehash them. Obviously, the reason youre talking to me is because Im a Jewish staffer working for Congresswoman Omar. Thats not lost on me. Im not an idiot, he said. She is able to get more attention overall than many members of Congress, but it often feels like its just as a token. The press is just around for her being attacked for her identity. She always says, I want to be known for my ideas, not my identity. And so, when were introducing a bill to stop arming human-rights abusers, or working on getting meals for 30 million kids, it can be a much tougher slog. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its almost become, like, a journalistic trope now. It has to be included in every story about her. It will forever be in the lead or in almost every major story written about her. And that wouldnt be the case if she werent a Black Muslim woman, he said. Still, he said, what he mostly feels these days is optimism. As much as I vent my frustrations, every single Democrat backed her in the vote, he said, referring to the Foreign Affairs Committee ouster. Barring something unforeseen, when the Democrats take the majority, I fully expect her to chair the African subcommittee on foreign affairs. For her constituents, and for the people who really know her, they know what she stands for. So the office and the work has never been diminished. Having tried and failed to interfere in Georgias 2020 presidential election, Donald Trumps allies are now attempting to interfere with the ongoing grand jury investigation into that earlier misconduct. The Republican majority of the Georgia House approved a bill this week that would create a commission with the power to investigate, discipline, and even remove locally elected district attorneys for conducting investigations that are deemed politically motivated. The Georgia Senate passed a nearly identical bill last week. If enacted into law, the Georgia legislation would empower the commission to interfere with active investigations like the one Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is conducting into Trump. Not surprisingly, the likes of Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, a leader of the Trump false elector effort in the 2020 election being investigated by Willis, enthusiastically supports the bill. Gov. Brian Kemp should refuse to sign itbut if the bill becomes law, the courts will still have ample reason to throw it out. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Georgia House bill provides that prosecutors can be removed from office by the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission for willful misconduct or conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice which brings the office into disrepute. (Whatever that means.) This vague languagethat could encompass any controversial high-profile caseis just one problem with the bill. The commission can receive complaints from anyone (including complainants outside of a judicial circuit), creating a possible revolving door of complaints. The commission could even investigate district attorneys merely for making charging decisions where a complainant alleges it is likely the district attorney made a decision because of factors unrelated to the duties of prosecution. (Again, whatever that means.) The commission can also sanction a district attorney for a policy that categorically refuses to prosecute any offense of which he or she is required by law to prosecute; that is making ordinary decisions to prioritize some prosecutions over others. The Senate version of the bill requires only a plausible allegation of the supposed transgressions. Advertisement Thus, under the new legislation, a plausible allegation made by allies of the former president that Willis is making a charging decision in the Trump case influenced by her political beliefs could be sufficient to initiate an all-encompassing investigation and disciplinary proceeding that could derail a prosecution of the former president, or in the most extreme case, even remove Willis from her post. Advertisement Similarly, a plausible allegation by Trumps allies that the DA has, for example, unstated policies not to prosecute crimes relating to drug possession or abortion could be abused as a means to initiate a sweeping investigation into the DA in an effort to remove her from office and undermine, among other things, her election interference investigation. The bills seemingly intentional failure to articulate clear standards for disciplining or removing a prosecutor creates significant room for mischief and troubling due-process concerns. Courts must reject this unlawful system if this version of the bill is passed. Advertisement Advertisement Apart from the impacts in the Trump case, the Georgia Legislatures attempt to create a commission that can second-guess and remove local prosecutors on political grounds would be a groundbreaking encroachment on fundamental principles of separation of powers that have long sustained and protected democracy in this country. Under the Georgia Constitution, district attorneys are elected to four-year terms from the electorate in local judicial circuits, and they have immunity from private suits for actions arising from their performance of their duties. Powers of review and oversight of attorneys for allegations of misconduct is, in Georgia, like throughout the country, exclusively reserved for judges. This separation of powers works the same way in many other state constitutional frameworks. For example, when a state Legislature created a similar oversight commission for local DAs in New York, a court held that the commission was unconstitutional because it interfered with New York courts role for attorney discipline. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The legislation in Georgia, if passed and signed by the governor, should similarly be struck down by the Georgia courts, which have long recognized a power to oversee attorney discipline as part of the courts inherent power flowing from the constitutional doctrine of separation of powers. The Supreme Court of Georgia has explained that the courts hold an exclusive power to oversee this and other aspects of the administration of justiceand the Legislature does not. In other words, because oversight of legal practice (including discipline) is an inherent power of the judiciary, the Georgia Legislature cannot encroach on this judicial power by creating specially designated laws to interfere with the actions of disfavored district attorneys. The Georgia bills go even further than the overturned New York law in interfering with district attorney responsibilities. The New York commission did not have the power to remove DAs or to interfere with ongoing prosecutions and investigations, unlike the one proposed in Georgia. Indeed, the New York statute included a provision stating that the commission may not interfere with an agencys active investigation or prosecution. As then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo noted at the time of the laws passage, otherwise, the commission risked abuse by anyone intent on disrupting a criminal case. The legislation in Georgia, on the other hand, has no similar limiting language, only further highlighting the dangers of these new bills. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The new Georgia bills also encroach on well-accepted bedrocks of federal and state constitutional law providing prosecutors wide discretion to investigate and prosecute. As both the U.S. Supreme Court and Georgia courts have recognized, Whether to prosecute and what charge to bring before a grand jury are decisions that generally rest in the prosecutors discretion. This discretion is vital for prosecutors to be able to pursue investigations and cases where the facts lead themwithout fear of political retribution. There are, of course, constitutional constraints on what a prosecutor can or cannot dofor example, a DA cannot violate a defendants due-process rights or discriminate in violation of the Equal Protection Clausebut the Georgia bills are not directed to preserving these constitutional protections. Rather, the Georgia bills seek to do something that is altogether different: the proposed commission would make DAs potentially answerable to complainants and investigators who may disagree with the politics of charging decisions. Advertisement Kemp has signaled an inclination to support legislation in this area. Despite his history of voter suppression, he stood up to Trump and allies pressure to overturn the 2020 election. He should similarly stand up to any effort that could impede Willis investigation of that interference. Particularly given the legal flaws in the legislation as it is developing, he should refuse to sign it. Advertisement Advertisement That is not to say prosecutorial reform in general is a bad idea, so long as reforms are targeted at genuine problems and misconduct. Judges, journalists, and scholars alike have documented prosecutorial misconduct and proposed changes to how prosecutors offices operate. But that is not what is happening in Georgia. Instead, the state Legislature is pushing through highly politicized changes which could have serious consequences for Willis efforts to achieve accountability for the attempts to overturn the 2020 election by Trump and others acting on his behalf. This latest effort to prevent justice and accountability should be blocked by the governor or, if it comes to it, the courts. Its Friday afternoon and this weekends viral internet character is undoubtedly Tennessee Lt. Gov. Randy McNally. The Republican first entered the national consciousness two days ago when the progressive Tennessee Holler site broke the news that he had been, for some time, writing enthusiastic comments underneath Instagram posts by a 20-year-old native of the state named Franklyn McClur. McClurs social media photography oeuvre can best be described as extremely groin- and butt-oriented; heres an indicative post/comment pairing: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thats the lieutenant governors official account, at right, congratulating McClur on being able to turn a rainy day into rainbows and sunshine. The screenshot above was just taken Friday afternoon, by the way, because none of McNallys comments, likes, and various heart and flame emojis have been deleted from McClurs posts. In fact, the lieutenant governor has issued a statement and done a local news interview in which he attests that his engagement with this particular young mans crotch photography is regular voter outreach. Heres the comment McNallys office released: Advertisement We received the following response from @LtGovMcNallys communications director who says there is nothing inappropriate about the likes or comments because Lt. Gov McNally enjoys interacting with his constituents of all backgrounds. #TNPolitics pic.twitter.com/RDKIRukcRW Walter Murphy (@WMurphyNews) March 9, 2023 Heres the interview he did with Nashvilles NewsChannel 5, in which you can listen to a local newsperson matter-of-factly describe a post in which McClur (proudly) calls himself a hoe who gets free weed for giving head. (Responds McNally: I dont recall reading the part about the weed. Actually a very funny answer!) Advertisement Advertisement According to NewsChannel 5, McNally told the interviewer that these and other interactions online have helped him be more affirming about LGBTQ identities. He nonetheless presided over the recent session of the state Legislature in which it passed a bill, subsequently signed by Gov. Bill Lee, which prohibits adult-oriented performances (including those by male and female impersonators, i.e., drag queens) from being held on public property or in view of minors. (Lees relationship to the bill has also been in the news; just before it was signed, a Reddit user posted a photo from the governors 1977 high school yearbook in which hes shown wearing a dress and a necklace.) McClur, who is often wearing makeup and otherwise engaging in gender fluidity in his Instagram photos, told the Holler that he and McNally became friends on Facebook through mutual friends a few years back. He told the site that he wasnt aware of McNallys connection to the drag bill and doesnt support hate of any kind, but is not otherwise bothered by his postsnor does he believe, for the record, that the lieutenant governor is hitting on him. If hes hitting on me its real out of touch hitting on me, McClur said. Welcome to State of Mind, a section from Slate and Arizona State University dedicated to exploring mental health. Follow us on Twitter. Between February 2020 and May 2022, more than 300,000 educators resigned in the U.S., citing concerns over safety, burnout, and low pay, among other reasons. As a result, gaps in critical youth support have widened, negatively affecting the mental health of adolescents and young adults. While the reasons behind the so-called Great Resignation are complex and understandable, the timing couldnt be worse, as Americas children and adolescents are experiencing a significant increase in mental health challenges, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics and other leading medical groups. Advertisement Schools provide an important holding environment for our youth, where they spend more than 13 percent of their lives shaping their academic futures, personal identities, self-confidence, and relationships. Today, approximately 15 million teens attend our nations high schools. While it is estimated that 1 out of every 5 U.S. youths experiences a mental health disorder each year, fewer than half receive care. Among those who are connected to services, most initially receive them in school. Students of color, those from lower-income families, and those with public health insurance are particularly likely to receive mental health services exclusively in school settings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Researchers consistently find that schools are critical for promoting student well-being. They do this in part by creating safe, connected spaces for students and staff. Nurturing cultures of care are particularly important for youth who face significant challenges such as a lack of adequate sleep, food, or safety. A 2019 report published by the National Center for School Mental Health notes, The past decade has documented the beneficial impact of mental health and evidence-based prevention programming on both long-term psychological outcomes and academic performance. It is no surprise, therefore, that the surgeon general recommends that we create positive, safe, and affirming educational environments, expanding programming that promotes healthy development (such as social and emotional learning), and providing a continuum of supports to meet the social, emotional, behavioral, and mental health needs of children and youth. Advertisement But making all of those things happen requires teachers, administrators, and other support staff, and the growing number of vacancies at every level leave many in survival mode with no excess capacity for strategic planning activities. In fact, schools and lawmakers are taking dramatic and potentially problematic actions just to ensure schools are staffed and classes can be taught. For example, Arizona has eliminated the degree requirement to teach and has hired current college students as teachers. Florida is recruiting retired military veterans to fill teaching roles, and New Mexico asked National Guard personnel to consider substitute teaching. Advertisement While some of these solutions offer short-term stopgaps for critical shortages, teachers with no formal training are more likely to struggle in the position and thus are more likely to leave the profession than fully qualified educators are, creating a greater sense of instability for students and other staff. Advertisement Any long-term solution will require honest and robust consideration of why qualified teachers are leaving at such high rates. A recent Gallup poll found that the top two professions in the U.S. with the greatest burnout were K12 instructors and college and university educators. Further research documented that 1 in 5 educators reports that their students well-being affects their own mental health. Advertisement It is no surprise that educators feel emotionally and mentally drained, as they frequently double as counselors for their students. Educators are often the first to notice a student struggling or to be the person a student turns to in a time of need. While the relationship between a student and a teacher is powerful and can foster feelings of connectedness, improved academic success, and increased emotional well-being, teachers are not trained to support students with persistent or severe mental health concerns. Yet they often find themselves forced to be proxy therapists, which is not good for their or their students overall mental health and well-being. For this reason, it is important for schools to educate teachers on how to recognize the early signs of struggle, know what to say to the student, and know when, where, and how to refer them to professional help if needed. The truth is that the current situation might worsen before it improves, since addressing the underlying challenges and needs driving the great resignation will take time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fortunately, there are an increasing number of governmental and community-level resources and supports that schools can leverage. Several resources are available, such as this Guide for Mental Health Federal Funding Opportunities for High Schools from the Jed Foundation (where I am CEO) and this Funding and Sustainability Guide from the National Center for School Mental Health. The Department of Education also issues public notices about funding opportunities. While funding for mental health services within school systems is a federal priority and is increasingly easy to access, a significant number of schools do not have the capacity to capitalize upon these opportunities. Lack of bandwidth, staff, and/or knowledge pose significant impediments to securing and using available funding. School administrators also worry about what will happen to new systems once funds are exhausted. Even when schools do commit to hiring mental health professionals, they often cant find people to fill the roles. The Kaiser Family Foundation found that 19 percent of public schools reported vacancies of mental health professionals for the 20222023 school year. Advertisement Advertisement While schools, communities, and local and federal governments do everything they can to productively address current challenges, schools would benefit from adopting a public health strategy for optimizing mental health promotion and suicide prevention in their current and evolving environments. Identifying and developing formal approaches does require front-end investment of time and focus, but once established would assure early identification of and remediation for struggling students (and staff). Advertisement Schools lacking internal capacity can consider partnering with local and/or national organizations, like the Jed Foundation or the National Center for School Mental Health, to assist in developing and implementing customized actionable and evidence-based mental health promotion and suicide prevention plans. Such partnerships can also be helpful in identifying and leveraging additional funding and other resources. In short, schools cannot and should not be expected to navigate the challenges of this time alone. Advertisement High schools, colleges, and universities can start by assessing their current policies, programs and systems that support mental health to identify where they are doing well and where there are areas for improvement, using an equitable lens to ensure that potentially marginalized or underserved students are considered and well served. It will then be important to develop a strategic plan to fortify and expand areas of strength and invest in resources to address identified gaps. Second, building communities of care outside of classrooms to fill in missing supports and address student needs is important and powerful. Establishing schoolcommunity partnerships takes advantage of local resources and strengths and can include hospitals, behavioral health care providers, or designated mental health planners for each district. While school staffing shortages make allocation of additional staff challenging, having an individual dedicated to overseeing the needs, climate, and opportunities for improvement within each school district can streamline progress and save resources in the long run. In addition, schools can work with community partners to figure out how to meet short, immediate, and longer term needs in light of staff and other resource shortages. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Great Resignation is just one example of the impact that stress and mental health challenges can have on our functioning and the systems we operate in. In order to address these challenges in our educational systems, we need a multipronged approach in which the financial, emotional, and professional needs of educators are understood and addressed, and where partnerships are established to help schools implement comprehensive, evidence-based approaches to supporting the mental health of the school community. Crucially, funding alone is not the answer, nor is simply hiring more school counselors. While both are important, they will fall short if not paired with concrete strategies and resources to effect sustainable change. Lets seize the opportunity to think and plan deliberately and comprehensively to enhance and promote the well-being of all in our schools. 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. We want to provide travel management for more national firms, the firm's managing director Marek Resovsky notes. Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled While the activities of the Deutsche Telekom Services Europe Slovakia (DTSE Slovakia) shared service centres in Bratislava and Kosice can be somewhat difficult to understand for ordinary people, it is thanks to these units that all the invoices of clients belonging to Slovak Telekom, T-Mobile CZ and other companies are processed smoothly. But the processing of invoices is just one of the services and activities DTSE Slovakia carries out. Apart from other financial services, it identifies opportunities for the digitalisation and automation of processes and actively participates in these. The Slovak Spectator spoke with Marek Resovsky, managing director at Deutsche Telekom Services Europe SK & CZ, about the beginning of DTSE Slovakia, the milestones of its development, as well as the challenges the shared service centre is now facing. When was Deutsche Telekom Services Europe Slovakia launched and what was the reason behind it? DTSE Slovakia was launched as a small shared service centre (SSC) for the parent company, Deutsche Telekom, in 2009. At that time Bratislava was a popular destination for the establishment of shared service centres, thanks to an available and cheap qualified labour force as well as geographical and cultural proximity. Its first employees provided support services and basic services in accounting and finances to the parent company. Over the following years, during which this region demonstrated its potential and the SSC market grew, it gradually gained new competences, including more senior ones. The scope of clients expanded as well, beginning to provide services to the national telecom companies of DT in Europe, for example T-Mobile CZ, Slovak Telekom, T-Mobile Polska and Magyar Telekom. Related article Related article Chatbots can take routine jobs, allowing BSC employees to do more sophisticated work Read more Could you specify any projects on which DTSE Slovakia worked on at that time? Our team in Bratislava played a significant role in a big consolidation project of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems used by the groups national companies. It started in 2013 and was actually completed in 2022. Simply stated, ERP systems are accounting programmes used by national companies to register all their transactions. These programmes differed significantly as they reflected, for example, different legislative backgrounds in individual countries. Deutsche Telekom resolved to replace these with one accounting programme, One. ERP, to make the recording and reporting of transactions more effective and transparent. Working on this project and on its implementation helped us to obtain new competences, expertise and skills, as well as support further standardisation in the group. When did you expand to Kosice? It was in 2017 when Deutsche Telekom Services Europe started its first activities here. Today we have approximately 600 employees in Bratislava and about 300 in Kosice. This was also the year when you launched the transformation of DTSE Slovakia. What did this process involve? One of the basic supports on which we based the transformation was that in spite of extensive digitalisation and automation, the business of shared service centres is a people business. We started investing in people and leadership in an intensive and structured way, because we were aware of the connection between these factors and the company culture. In my view, it is the corporate culture that is one of the most important elements in the transformation of a company. Leadership should be the ambassador of that culture, and that was also the case for us. Although the activities our employees perform are digital activities carried out on technologies, its still human work. And it will remain so in the future, of course with a greater degree of digitalisation and automation. Before we transformed, the growth of our company was rather organic and not so coordinated. This resulted in situations that were neither of benefit to the business nor its clients. Thus, we further restructured the company and its processes, launched extensive digitalisation and improved internal processes. We invested in physical infrastructure and moved into new premises. What was the result of the transformation? One tangible result was a low, singledigit attrition rate, when this rate is usually a bit higher in shared service and business service centres, and in other companies. This helped us to maintain expertise and knowledge within the company. Another one was high scores and turnout in employee satisfaction surveys. The attrition rate has increased a bit after the pandemic, as there is a much bigger demand for jobs due to a huge wave of digitalisation. But this is a standard market situation and a matter of demand and supply. We are succeeding in hiring new colleagues. Last year alone we rose by 10 percent. Do you also hire foreign workers? The share of workers of other than Slovak nationality is stable at around 15 percent. The reason why its like this is that in Bratislava there live a large number of foreigners, and also because we are a supranational company operating in an international environment. As we work for individual national companies across Europe, we need employees with certain language skills. We have Croatians, Greeks and Czechs, just to mention a few, with the main business language being English. What kind of services do you provide today? We provide back-end services, especially financial ones, to our clients. Our biggest department is the Procure to Pay department, which carries out the services of operative purchasing, accounting transactions and services for our clients. The second big department is Customer Finance, where we process, manage and supervise the inflow of payments from customers. Then we have the Enterprise Data Management department, the Account to Report department, and the internal Control System for the internal processes of individual national companies. For clients in Germany, we do travel management and our ambition is to provide this service for more national companies. Our portfolio is diverse, with services in finances dominating. Which of your services or activities can ordinary people encounter? Since we serve more as support to national companies, customers dont really come into direct contact with us. This can happen when some irregularities occur during the settlement of invoices, for example when some exact payments are supposed to be found and paired with reminders. What impact did the Covid pandemic have on DTSE Slovakia? In general, the pandemic resulted in a very dynamic and strong push forward on many topics. It actually unlocked huge potential for improvement, suddenly allowing things that were unthinkable before or about which there was a lot of controversy. This was the case of home office or remote work, for example, but not just this. Covid triggered a huge digitalisation wave where suddenly everything was possible. In terms of our company, given the high extent of digitalisation and usage of modern technologies, the switch to remote work was very smooth. Of course, we had to calibrate the way we operated and other matters; but this was a new situation resulting in a large share of new energy and willingness to search for solutions, not to obstruct things. Has this atmosphere persisted to this day? After the pandemic years during which we were working remotely, the links established between our employees and departments in the past began to loosen, and the ability to interact diminished. Even though we use the latest technologies for virtual work, they cannot fully replace the human aspect, body language and spontaneous communication that helps to prevent misunderstandings in physical functioning. This is a challenge we have to address now. Do the shared service centres that Deutsche Telekom operates in Europe differ from the one in Slovakia? Apart from Slovakia, Deutsche Telekom has shared services centres in Germany, the Czech Republic and Romania. The Bratislava centre is one of the oldest and most experienced, and it keeps benefiting from the expertise and skills built here. In comparison, the shared service centre in Brno in the Czech Republic is newer, with which we have shared management since August 2022. Its employees are younger and mostly digitalisation experts, data analysts, experts at artificial intelligence and so on. Their skills are different, making them perhaps better equipped to respond to the dynamics the pandemic has ushered in, i.e. new technologies and digitalisation. Does the ratio of accountants and IT experts change over time? Certainly, yes. In the past, accountants in our Bratislava centre absolutely dominated. Now in Brno the share might be somewhere around 50:50. Simple transaction operations are disappearing and the impact is on more senior positions. Actually, we are trying to bring teams from Brno and Bratislava closer, as a digital expert does not understand accounting and an accountant does not understand new technologies. This is one of the challenges we face: to bring accounting and IT experts closer to identify new opportunities for further improvement and further digitalisation. Do you develop digitalisation and automation on your own or do you take these from parent or national companies? As DTSE we operate as one international group across four countries, but also in Slovakia we do have competence centres where we participate with our employees and our competencies. DTSE SK also benefits from working as an international team together on improvements where we have a strong footprint. What impact does automation and digitalisation have on the need for labour in shared service centres? As in other shared service centres, we have launched a number of robots and digitalisation is not a question of time any more. Its a question of to what an extent we will digitalise so that it still makes sense. But for me this business remains a people business. Robots and technologies just free up their hands and capacities for other, more meaningful activities with more added value. We are not even halfway there. This, of course, changes the qualities we look for in new employees. In 2009, when we started as an organisational accounting unit, we looked exclusively for hard skills and knowledge in accounting. Today, we are largely looking for people with different backgrounds: data analysts, process managers, digital experts, data mining experts and so on. We are looking for profiles oriented towards the work of the future. Of course, accounting remains our core business, but we are looking for a different blend of skills and expertise. Would an accountant with an IT education be an ideal candidate for you? I myself studied accounting, but I hated it in the form it existed at that time. But today you dont need to hand over a paper receipt from a petrol station after refuelling a company car to an accountant anymore for them to stick it into accounting books. All the data are somewhere in a cloud storage; what you need to do is interconnect the cloud storages. The infrastructure is already built for this. What is necessary to resolve are the various geopolitical matters, data privacy and so on. Actually, I would like to hire a kind of accounting hacker for each department, i.e., an accountant that hates accounting and looks for completely new ways to do it differently. This is actually what we are doing, but in a more systematic way. Is accounting an easy field for digitalisation and automation? Accounting is strongly defined by a legal framework and this is maybe the reason why its more difficult to push through new technologies in accounting than somewhere else. Everything has to be done very consistently, as this may have an impact on reporting, the market and so on. In 2021, compared to 2020, both sales and profit of DTSE Slovakia decreased. What were the reasons behind this decline? The year 2020 was successful for our company in several aspects. One of them was the successful completion of the ONE. ERP roll out project. This had a positive impact on our sales and profit that year. However, some of the works were not carried out in the next period after the successful completion of the project. This resulted in lower sales in the area of project activity and profitability in 2021. How did DTSE Slovakia fare in this regard in 2022? In 2022, we gained several new opportunities within the group. Most of the new activities started in the second half of the year, and we will reach their full potential in the fall of 2023. During that year, the company grew by more than 10 percent in the number of employees, and we crossed the threshold of 900 employees. What are the plans of DTSE Slovakia for the future? We want to continue to take over new competences where the ambition is to perform not only fragments of processes, but to perform them end-to-end. As we have the know-how and expertise, we can take over entire departments. Under this we want to increase our labour force, in Bratislava and Kosice, up to 1,000 this year. The strategic direction is basically to further standardise and digitalise. Looking for something budget-conscious to do in Bratislava? Explore the early beginnings of video games in Slovakia, or set out on a hike in the Small Carpathians. Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled Nature A hiker walks to Konske Hlavy. (Source: Renata Petrikova) A hike to Konske Hlavy Meet Saturday, March 11 at 9:45 a.m. at Nivy Bus Station in Bratislava. On Saturday, a group of foreigners will set out on a hiking adventure to Tri Krize (Three Crosses), a little-known pilgrimage site, and Konske Hlavy (Horse Heads), a hill (649 m) above the village of Pernek, which is just across the Small Carpathians from the wine-making town of Pezinok. Hikers should meet at the main bus station (Nivy) in Bratislava. The bus for Pernek leaves at 10:00 a.m. from Platform 19, and the hike proper will start at 10:55 a.m. Tri Krize will be the first stop, which is just a few minutes' walk from Pernek. The hike will then continue to Konske Hlavy, and finish in Pezinok. The route is around 16 kilometres long and should take about 5 hours to complete. If you would like to go on the hike later, here's a route map. From Pezinok, you can return to Bratislava by bus or by train. ART (Source: Slovak Centre of Design) How Slovaks discovered video games Until April 30 at Satellite Art Gallery, Kollarovo Namestie 10 in Bratislava; opening hours: 2:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. from Monday to Sunday. The '8-Bit' exhibition maps the period of the 1980s and 1990s in Slovakia, during which a community of fans of the first personal computers gradually formed in the country. The display provides an insight into the beginnings of the video game scene in Slovakia, samples of the first games, magazines, manuals, and computers. MUSIC Kafe Scherz. (Source: Citylife.sk) Jam session Sunday, March 12 at Kafe Scherz on Palisady Street in Bratislava; starts at 20:00. If you like music, then live-music venue Kafe Scherz is the place to go to on Sunday. Whether you sing or play a musical instrument or just like listening or watching others make music come and enjoy the last day of the weekend in the company of some talented artists. Before you go out and enjoy Bratislava and the surrounding areas, see where you can find all the places and venues in this week's overview. A legendary school in Kremnica, central Slovakia, is close to collapse. Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled Teachers at two schools in Kremnica operated by Swedish Education Group have not received their paychecks since last year. Along with other school personnel, they are threatening to resign. Swedish Education Group runs the Private School of Art Industry and the Private Gymnasium in the municipality of Kremnica, Banska Bystrica Region. Its founder's bank accounts are currently blocked as a result of a legal dispute with the regional government. Staff at the two schools are now essentially working for free for the third month in a row, the TASR newswire writes. We waited to enforce the [legal order against the group] so as not to endanger the students at the schools. The [Banska Bystrica] region only proceeded with the enforcement after the founder himself threatened the teaching process by his irresponsible approach and by non-payment of his obligations, which resulted, for example, in the disconnection of the building from the energy supply and making face-to-face teaching impossible," said Banska Bystrica Self-Governing Region spokesperson Lenka Stepanekova. The founder, Swedish entrepreneur Kemel Benali, said that the region did not recognise the payment of rent as a form of investment in the leased property, as its contract stipulates. There are only about 20 students attending the two schools, who are all learning online. Both schools occupy a building that lacks proper heating because it was disconnected from the power grid after the founder failed to pay the electricity bills. The Pravda daily published an interview with one of the teachers affected, who said that some instructors had resigned at the end of February, while others are waiting till the end of March. Those of us who are supposed to be with the students at the written Maturita [school-leaving] exams will do so on March 16. Were ending our employment contract immediately, without a two-month notice period, by reason of non-payment of wages, teacher Juraj Cinkanic told Pravda. Kremnica is known as the "golden centre" of Europe, for its its long history in the production of gold - and also because the town is located close to one of Europes supposed geographical centres. The towns niche is minting coins; the town has had a working mint since the 14th century. The Private School of Art Industry is focused on sustaining the tradition of working with precious metals. The crafts practised by artistic engravers, blacksmiths, goldsmiths, and designers are rooted in the towns history and the school was intended to keep these traditions going. So as to not endanger students, the regional government has prepared curriculums and research at a similarly orientated school to sustain their studies. The Kremnica school was founded in 1966. Several well-known people studied here, including car designer Jozef Kaban. The school had been run by the Banska Bystrica Region until 2011 when it was handed over to the private owner. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230309/mexican-drug-cartel-reportedly-apologizes-for-killing-kidnapped-americans-1108236435.html Mexican Drug Cartel Reportedly Apologizes for Killing Kidnapped Americans Mexican Drug Cartel Reportedly Apologizes for Killing Kidnapped Americans According to a letter obtained by the AP on condition of anonymity, the Scorpions faction of the Gulf cartel apologized to the residents of Matamoros, the Mexican woman who died in the shooting and the four Americans and their families, media reports. 2023-03-09T23:29+0000 2023-03-09T23:29+0000 2023-03-10T00:23+0000 americas mexico us citizens tamaulipas gulf cartel kidnapping murder apologies matamoros /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/03/09/1108235764_0:76:1453:893_1920x0_80_0_0_63a2ea4951f7db58a414098758e3861f.jpg Mexico's Gulf Cartel reportedly issued an apology for the recent fallout after four Americans were kidnapped last week, adding that the criminal syndicate would be turning over its members responsible for the armed abduction.Attached to the letter was a photograph of five bound men lying face down on the ground. This photo was also shared on condition of anonymity because the source was not authorized to share it.State officials of Tamaulipas, which is a Gulf Cartel base, did not report any new detainees. However, security officials with a separate division did come upon the detention of five wanted individuals. The quintet was found in one of the vehicles police had been searching - in fact, in the same place the letter was found.Local media outlets have noted that drug cartels do use such correspondence methods to explain certain situations, as well as voicing threats to competitors and state authorities.The armed kidnapping unfolded last week when four Americans Eric Williams, Latavia McGee, Zindell Brown and Shaeed Woodard arrived in Mexico's Matamoros to accompany McGee so that she could undergo a gluteal augmentation. Fellow friend Cheryl Orange, who stayed behind in Texas, would later report the group missing after they did not meet at the agreed location on time. Orange herself stayed in the group's Brownsville hotel room in Texas because she had lost her ID and could not cross the border. Four days later, authorities found the missing individuals on the outskirts of the city under the supervision of one man who had been marked for arrest. Of the four Americans, two were killed, one was wounded, and one was unharmed. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230307/gunmen-kidnap-four-us-citizens-in-mexico-by-mistake-1108135374.html americas mexico tamaulipas matamoros Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Egor Shapovalov Egor Shapovalov 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 Egor Shapovalov mexico, kidnapped americans, gulf cartel, matamoros cartel apologized for killing americans, those who kidnapped americans in matamoros were caught https://sputnikglobe.com/20230309/yerevan-accuses-baku-of-shelling-armenias-border-positions-1108236892.html Yerevan Accuses Baku of Shelling Armenia's Border Positions Yerevan Accuses Baku of Shelling Armenia's Border Positions The Armenian Defense Ministry has accused the Azerbaijani armed forces of shelling Armenia's combat positions located on the border between the two countries. 2023-03-09T23:31+0000 2023-03-09T23:31+0000 2023-03-09T23:31+0000 world armenia azerbaijan shelling /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/09/0d/1100709042_0:204:3042:1915_1920x0_80_0_0_6671c1e538541c93bc9f2121c29eefd9.jpg As a result of the shelling, Armenia suffered no losses, the department said, adding that the situation on the front line was relatively stable.The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry denied Yerevan's accusations of shelling Armenia's border positions.Earlier on Thursday, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry accused the Armenian armed forces of shelling Azerbaijani military positions on the border and in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. The Armenian military denied the allegations and called it another disinformation.The South Caucasus is considered one of the world's most conflict-ridden regions, primarily due to the long-standing conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region (also known as the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh). In September 2022, the world saw a new outbreak of hostilities between Yerevan and Baku in an area unrelated to Nagorno-Karabakh, the most serious escalation since the 2020 events. In 2022, Yerevan and Baku, mediated by Russia, US, and EU, began discussing a future peace treaty. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230208/russians-foreign-ministry-idea-to-send-un-peacekeepers-to-karabakh-hardly-realistic-1107060268.html armenia azerbaijan 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 armenia, azerbaijan, south caucasus conflict 2023, baku shelling yerevan borders, verin shorzha gegharkunik province escalation 2023, azerbaijani armed forces, azerbaijani defense ministry, armenian defense ministry https://sputnikglobe.com/20230310/africa-boosts-russian-wheat-purchases--1108246066.html Africa Boosts Russian Wheat Purchases Africa Boosts Russian Wheat Purchases African nations, alongside with other countries, are stepping up their wheat purchases from Russia, says Elena Tyurina, director of the analytics department of the Russian Grain Union (RGU). 2023-03-10T13:48+0000 2023-03-10T13:48+0000 2023-03-10T13:48+0000 africa russia egypt algeria kenya north africa east africa /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/06/08/1096114765_0:100:960:640_1920x0_80_0_0_bb0c8940a1c0744075f5c1fdc045e01a.jpg African nations, in addition to other countries, are stepping up their wheat purchases from Russia, says Elena Tyurina, director of the analytics department of the Russian Grain Union (RGU).Elena Tyurina stated that exports have grown significantly year-on -year.Among the reasons for the upsurge in grain deliveries, the RGU official named calculations in Russian rubles, adding that the competitiveness of Russian products is also one of the "support factors".The analytics department director also highlighted Algeria's active February purchases, namely of about 60,000 tons. By comparison, during this same period last year, wheat from the Russian Federation was not shipped to the North African country, reports note.According to the RGU, 3.7 million tons of grain crops were exported from Russia in February 2023, which turned out to be 35.4% more than in February 2022, and this includes a 37.6-percent hike in wheat shipments reaching 3.05 million tons. Its shipments were quite active at the beginning of the next month. For example, from March 1 to March 5, they soared 86% to 730,000 tons, and were bound for Egypt, Pakistan, Algeria, Kenya, as well as Turkey.On July 22, 2022, Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations signed an agreement, which consists of two documents, on the provision of a humanitarian sea corridor for ships exporting food and fertilizers from Ukrainian Black Sea ports to alleviate the global food crisis, which has hit the poorest countries especially hard.The second part of the deal is a memorandum between Russia and the UN for three years on the export of Russian agricultural products and fertilizers. The goal of the deal is to ensure unhindered supplies against the background of sanctions.Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stated that Russian products are not entering world markets, as promised by the agreement. What's more, he emphasized that most of the ships delivering Ukrainian grain did not reach the poorest countries of the globe and ended up in Europe.Recently political scientist and Associate Professor at the HSE Department of International Relations Andrey Suzdaltsev told Sputnik that only 3% of Ukrainian wheat under the grain deal went to countries facing food shortages, while the rest of the grain was exported to European countries. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230306/malawi-praises-first-fertilizer-shipment-from-russia-as-essential-for-tackling-food-crisis-1108083762.html africa russia egypt algeria kenya north africa east africa Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Gleb Chugunov Gleb Chugunov 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 Gleb Chugunov african nations , russian grain , russian deliveries , russian wheat , russia-africa cooperation , russian-african cooperation , grain export , grain import , wheat export , wheat import , east afrcia , north africa , https://sputnikglobe.com/20230310/can-france--uk-reboot-rocky-post-brexit-ties-over-pledge-to-further-arm-ukraine-1108244635.html Can France & UK Reboot Rocky Post-Brexit Ties Over Pledge to Further Arm Ukraine? Can France & UK Reboot Rocky Post-Brexit Ties Over Pledge to Further Arm Ukraine? Can France and the UK reboot their rocky post-Brexit relationship over a mutual pledge to further weaponize Ukraine? 2023-03-10T10:05+0000 2023-03-10T10:05+0000 2023-03-10T10:05+0000 world uk france rishi sunak emmanuel macron brexit ukraine crisis northern ireland protocol european union (eu) /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/03/0a/1108243391_0:163:3065:1887_1920x0_80_0_0_9dbc68aa081f7752e99990f3978b5bc4.jpg Emmanuel Macron is hosting Rishi Sunak on Friday in what will be the first bilateral summit between a UK prime minister and a French president in five years, with the visit billed by both Paris and London as an opportunity to reboot ties.The relationship between the two countries has been a fraught one post-Brexit, since Britain voted in a referendum to leave the European Union in 2016. As divorces often are, this split was also messy, leaving the UK and France at loggerheads over a swathe of issues. Fishing rights, the surge of cross-Channel illegal migration, the contentious Northern Ireland border issue, and the submarine spat have all soured relations, with officials, analysts, and the media now speculating whether the rankling disputes can be set aside, allowing the two countries to recalibrate ties.Arming UkraineThe shared pledge to continue arming the Kiev regime and thus feeding the fire of conflagration in Ukraine is one of the aspects that have been touted as able to turn this Franco-British summit into a bridge-building one for the two sides.On the eve of the summit, PM Rishi Sunak underscored in a statement that both countries have a "privileged role as defenders of European and global security."Despite repeated warnings from Russia to all Western countries about the dangers of continuing to pump Kiev with military support and thus threatening to turn the Ukraine conflict into a long and brutal conflagration, Sunak and Macron will agree to further coordinate both the supply of weapons to Ukraine... both now and in the long-term," a Downing Street 10 statement said on the eve of the face-off. The actions of Russia, which has been conducting a special military operation in Ukraine since February 2022, were declared to be "the biggest threat to European, and global, security" in the UK government's statement.Macron and Sunak are also expected to agree to further coordinate the training of Ukrainian Marines, with the UK having already trained 11,000 troops since last summer, with the British side recently expanding that training to include Ukrainian pilots. Channel MigrationAt the Franco-British summit in Paris, the two sides are expected to focus on boosting cooperation to tackle the so-called "small boats" problem, with Sunak's government eying a bilateral "returns agreement" with Paris.So far this year, around 3,000 people have arrived on small boats via the Channel, while over 45,000 people entered the UK along that dangerous route in 2022, up from an estimated 300 in 2018. The migrant issue has been a bone of contention between London and Paris. In November, the sides penned a deal worth 72.2 million euros ($74.5 million) to enhance efforts to stop illegal migrants. Just recently, the UK unveiled its latest crackdown on such asylum seekers with its new Illegal Migration Bill, unveiled Tuesday. The legislation seeks to slash the number of people attempting the perilous journey from France by making it easier to detain and deport them. Those caught making illegal crossings would be deported to a third country and forbidden from returning to the UK or applying for citizenship.So far, French officials have been cited as playing down any expectations of major breakthroughs regarding a returns agreement with Paris, which has been insisting that it be negotiated at the EU level. Furthermore, Elysee officials reportedly want Britain to commit to longer-term funding of migrant-tackling operations.On the eve of the summit, Rishi Sunak's official spokesman was cited as saying:Asia-Pacific SecurityThe leaders of Western Europes two nuclear powers are also expected to discuss ensuring a "permanent presence of likeminded European partners" in the Asia-Pacific, "whose security is indivisible from that of Europe," the Downing Street statement issued ahead of the Paris summit said. This presupposes coordinating deployment of Frances Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier with the UK Royal Navys new carriers, such as the HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales.According to No 10, heightened allied efforts in the Indo-Pacific to set up the UK and France as the "backbone" of a permanent European maritime presence in the region were prompted by a need to respond to "the challenge posed by China. Also discussed will purportedly be strengthening the Combined Joint Expeditionary Force (CJEF), which is a British-French military force comprising 10,000 personnel.The defense talks between the sides come after a simmering row about the trilateral AUKUS pact, which resulted in the UK and US agreeing to assist Australia in building nuclear-powered submarines. The deal triggered friction and angered Paris, as Australia opted to renege on a deal previously agreed between the two states on supplying Canberra with diesel-powered submarines.The Future Cruise and Anti-Ship Weapon (FC/ASW) missile program will also purportedly come up for discussion between Sunak and Macron. The latter is a new generation cruise missile program being developed jointly by the two states that Paris brought to a halt in September 2021 post-AUKUS.Other main agenda points at the Paris summit will reportedly be nuclear energy, as British integrated energy company EDF Energy, owned by French EDF (Electricite de France), revealed on March 9 that it will extend the lifetimes of its Hartlepool and Heysham 1 nuclear plants in Britain by two years, until March 2026. Funding for EDF's Sizewell C nuclear project in Britain is also said to be under discussion.The current Franco-British summit also comes in the wake of the Windsor Framework - a new agreement with the EU seeking to mend fences with the bloc over Northern Ireland's post-Brexit trading arrangements. Rishi Sunak hailed a "new chapter" in ties with Brussels after London struck a deal on the Northern Ireland Protocol with the bloc in late February.Nevertheless, a great deal of work is yet to be done to achieve headway on issues that have frayed relations between the UK and France. As the issue of arming Ukraine increasingly becomes a divisive one for Western countries, all eyes will be on the Elysee Palace summit, to see if a line can be drawn under years of post-Brexit rancor. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230223/uk-defense-chief-ready-to-send-more-tanks-to-ukraine-to-replace-losses-as-army-runs-critically-low-1107749817.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20230308/uk-home-secretary-defies-un-and-bbcs-gary-lineker-on-illegal-immigrant-law-1108172192.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20230206/how-aid-to-ukraine-has-left-britains-military-in-a-sorry-state-1107021034.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20230228/who-is-poised-to-win-and-lose-from-northern-ireland-protocol-replacement-1107870413.html france 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 france and uk, reboot ties, rocky post-brexit relationship, mutual pledge to weaponize ukraine, first bilateral summit in five years, franco-british summit, fishing rights, surge of cross-channel illegal migration, contentious northern ireland protocol, aukus submarine spat, further coordinate supply of weapons to ukraine, enhance uk-france military interoperability, industrial cooperation, co-development of next-generation deep precision strike weaponry, long-range capability, nato, russia's special military operation in ukraine, small boats problem, illegal migration across channel, asia-pacific, coordinating deployment, frances charles de gaulle aircraft carrier, uk royal navys new carriers, hms queen elizabeth, hms prince of wales, future cruise and anti-ship weapon (fc/asw) missile program https://sputnikglobe.com/20230310/congress-passes-bill-requiring-dni-to-declassify-covid-19-origins-probe-materials-1108272480.html Congress Passes Bill Requiring DNI to Declassify COVID-19 Origins Probe Materials Congress Passes Bill Requiring DNI to Declassify COVID-19 Origins Probe Materials House lawmakers voted unanimously on Friday to require the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to declassify materials related to the origins of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, which the White House asked the Intelligence Community to probe in 2021. 2023-03-10T18:44+0000 2023-03-10T18:44+0000 2023-03-10T18:44+0000 americas us office of the director of national intellidence (odni) covid-19 bill declassification us /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e4/0b/10/1081182518_0:168:1280:888_1920x0_80_0_0_f898f838537e88643b4b6b3fb5e8be8f.jpg The vote on the COVID-19 Origin Act of 2023 was remarkable in its unity, with 419 in favor and zero opposing. The US Senate passed it last month with a large majority as well, meaning the bill now advances to US President Joe Bidens desk.The American public deserves answers to every aspect of the COVID-19 pandemic, said Rep. Michael Turner (R-OH), the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, adding that it includes how this virus was created and, specifically, whether it was a natural occurrence or was the result of a lab-related event.Biden assigned the Intelligence Community to investigate the origins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in a May 2021 directive; the results published several months later showed no evidence the virus was man-made or had entered the human population through unnatural means, such as a leak from a biolab that possessed it for testing.That document, which was redacted before publication, said the virus probably emerged and infected humans through an initial small-scale exposure that occurred no later than November 2019 with the first known cluster of COVID-19 cases arising in Wuhan, China, in December 2019."After the virus spread from Wuhan to other cities and countries in early 2020, it quickly reached pandemic levels, and hundreds of thousands of deaths quickly followed. By April of that year, claims circulating in anti-China media - as well as by then-US President Donald Trump - attempted to point the finger at China, saying the virus escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The DNI issued a statement at that time clarifying that all its intelligence said SARS-CoV-2 was "not manmade or genetically modified."However, after having seemingly been buried for good, the issue re-emerged a few weeks ago, with several intelligence officials, including FBI director Christopher Wray, who said that the bureau had for quite some time now assessed that the origins of the pandemic are most likely a potential lab incident in Wuhan. The Department of Energy also published a report that reached the same conclusion with low confidence.Beijing has strongly rejected the claims, stressing that the World Health Organizations probe determined it extremely unlikely the Wuhan lab was the source of the outbreak. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning also urged against any form of political manipulation under the pretext of finding the source of COVID-19.The World Health Organization (WHO) also sent a mission to Wuhan in early 2021 to exchange information on the pandemics origins with Chinese scientists, and their assessment was that Chinese officials were not hiding anything unreasonable to hide, and they found it extremely unlikely the virus entering the human population had anything to do with the Wuhan biolab. The 12-nation team assessed the most likely source of the virus was a bat or pangolin that infected a human in the bush. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230310/new-york-city-teeming-with-rats-infected-with-different-covid-19-strains-study-warns-1108248278.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20230303/us-did-not-provide-access-to-reports-accusing-china-of-causing-covid-19-who-1107991316.html americas 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 bill requiring dni to declassify covid-19 origins probe materials, to declassify covid-19 origins probe materials https://sputnikglobe.com/20230310/elon-musk-planning-to-develop-town-in-texas-for-companies-workers-reports-say-1108242521.html Elon Musk Planning to Develop Town in Texas for Companies Workers, Reports Say Elon Musk Planning to Develop Town in Texas for Companies Workers, Reports Say Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk is planning to develop a town in the state of Texas where the employees of his companies could live and work below market rates 2023-03-10T04:26+0000 2023-03-10T04:26+0000 2023-03-10T04:26+0000 americas elon musk us texas /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/0b/16/1104530605_0:160:3073:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_6a91b6752e7b8405a6afac3c9f9e8038.jpg Musk has laid out a vision for a town along the Colorado River where employees could live and work on thousands of acres of land outside the city of Austin, the report said on Thursday. Executives from Musks Boring Company have discussed the possibility of incorporating a town approximately 35 miles away from Austin, where the entrepreneur could determine some municipal regulations to hasten work, the report said. Musk wants employees of the Boring Co., Tesla and SpaceX to be able to live in homes with rent prices below the market rate, the report said. The town would be developed adjacent to Boring Co. and SpaceX facilities already under construction, the report said. Some Boring Co. executives, such as president Steve Davis, have even envisioned creating an entire city, the report added. Texas requires aspirant towns to have at least 201 residents and approval from a county judge to incorporate. Bastrop County has yet to receive any such application from Musk or related entities, a spokeswoman said. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230128/elon-musk-reportedly-being-investigated-by-us-regulators-over-tesla-self-driving-car-claims-1106779688.html americas texas 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 elon musk, town in the state of texas, develop town in texas https://sputnikglobe.com/20230310/ex-pentagon-officer-us-still-playing-catchup-with-hypersonics-after-underestimating-china-russia-1108276015.html Ex-Pentagon Officer: US Still Playing Catchup With Hypersonics After Underestimating China, Russia Ex-Pentagon Officer: US Still Playing Catchup With Hypersonics After Underestimating China, Russia Hypersonic weapons travel more than 5 times the speed of sound and are feared because their speed and maneuverability are unequaled and nigh-impossible to... 10.03.2023, Sputnik International 2023-03-10T22:28+0000 2023-03-10T22:28+0000 2023-03-10T22:27+0000 analysis hypersonic weapons iran anti-ballistic missile (abm) treaty /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e4/0a/0e/1080770774_0:0:1600:900_1920x0_80_0_0_b030c728462858a6ff626c753fcded15.jpg Iran revealed earlier this week it had developed a precision strike missile able to hit moving targets at a range of more than 1,000 miles and at a speed of 8 times the speed of sound - making it a hypersonic missile. This follows an announcement in November that the Islamic Republic had developed a hypersonic weapon, and another last month about an ultra-long-range cruise missile that might have been the same announced on Tuesday.Deploying such missiles requires a great deal of technical know-how and capability regarding cruise and ballistic missiles, such that only a handful of nations have the advanced weapons. While China and Russia have both deployed hypersonic weapons with their armed forces and the latter has even used them in combat, the US and North Korea have claimed at least one successful test of a hypersonic weapon. South Korea has revealed a prototype weapon, but it has never been fired.While during the 1990s, Russia and the US dismantled large numbers of nuclear warheads, by 2002, the US had unilaterally pulled out of the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty with little explanation as to why. The treaty had banned most ballistic missile interceptors, aside from two clusters around the capital city and around a nuclear missile farm launch base, because it was feared that if a nation built so many interceptors it believed it could evade an enemys nuclear attack, it would become more likely to try and launch its own.Russia responded to this threat by reviving its 1980s-era research into hypersonic flight to develop a new generation of missiles that could evade any US missile shield.Both of these factors caused the US not to prioritize hypersonic weapon development following some early failures at the end of the Cold War. The US has also had a surprising number of failures in its development of hypersonic weapons, so we are still playing catch up with Russia and China right now. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230310/us-has-no-intention-of-developing-hypersonic-nuclear-weapons-top-military-officials-say-1108267612.html iran 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 us, china, russia, pentagon, us department of defense, hypersonics https://sputnikglobe.com/20230310/france-wants-to-tear-russia-china-away-from-africa-political-activist-says-1108256327.html France Wants to Tear Russia, China Away From Africa, Political Activist Says France Wants to Tear Russia, China Away From Africa, Political Activist Says France wants to prevent Russia and China from closer ties with African countries, pan-African activist, Gabonese leader of the pan-Africanist movement "The New Power", Privat Ngomo tells Sputnik. 2023-03-10T15:05+0000 2023-03-10T15:05+0000 2023-03-10T15:05+0000 africa emmanuel macron visit withdrawal troops withdrawal military withdrawal france gabon resources military presence /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/03/0a/1108256545_0:0:3072:1728_1920x0_80_0_0_520f998a9a7b1718da78d213ba382b3f.jpg France wants to prevent Russia and China from forging closer ties with African countries, pan-African activist and Gabonese leader of the pan-Africanist movement "The New Power", Privat Ngomo tells Sputnik.Macron wrapped up his eventful tour to Africa on March 4, but the promises he made during the trip to end the age of Francafrique and French interference on the continent do not seem to have convinced observers.Paris is not ready to give up its interests and its influence on the continent, says Ngomo. To maintain its ambitions, France supports regimes that are favorable to it and tries to distance potentially new partners such as China and Russia from African countries.Macron showed Paris' hypocrisy even by attending an environmental summit in Gabon, as French giants like Total or Areva continue to overexploit the country's raw materials, explains Privat Ngomo.It is no coincidence that the French head of state picked Gabon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, and the Republic of Congo for his African visit, stresses Privat Ngomo. The four countries are rich in hydrocarbons, while France is looking for new fuel sources amid reduced supplies from Russia.Privat Ngomo, a candidate for the next presidential election in Gabon, nevertheless trusts that the new generation of his country can chase away the ghosts of Francafrique.Macron's Africa tour has sparked many controversies. For instance, the French president lost patience during a conference with his Congolese counterpart Felix Tshisekedi. He was also seen holding a beer along the streets of Kinshasa, which became the reason for opponents to accuse him of damaging his image amid the ongoing pension reform uproar in France.Beyond that, while the French leader was visiting Africa, the continent's countries such as Gabon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Central African Republic met him with protests.In Gabon, citizens flooded the streets banging pots and pans to demonstrate aganist Macron's visit to the country. The campaign was designed to oppose France's legacy in Gabon. The protesters demanded the closure of a French military base, the sixth Marine Infantry Battalion located in the capital Libreville and established in 1975, and the abolition of the CFA franc.The people of the Central African Republic gathered in the capital, Bangui, with Russian flags and banners which read "the Central African people favor its sovereignty in line with the UN Charter," "the CAR supports Russia," and "No to the West's blackmail and harassment." The public protested against attempts by Western countries to intervene in the country's internal affairs and their demands to stop cooperating with Russia.Along with these two countries, the DR Congo saw dozens of demonstrators waving portraits of Vladimir Putin and Russian flags in front of the French Embassy in the capital, Kinshasa. One of the protest organizers Bruno Mimbenga said the Russian flags meant that the DRC no longer needed "France, but wanted to work with reliable partners such as Russia or China."Before that, two West African countries, Mali and Burkina Faso, terminated cooperation with Paris in the military sphere.That said, French troops completely pulled out of Mali on August 15, 2022, as requested by the Malian government earlier that year. Bamako terminated Malian-French defense agreements in 2022, blaming the former colonial power for supporting terrorism inside the country.Two days after the withdrawal, Malian authorities provided the UN with evidence of Paris' support for terrorists, whom the European country declared it came to fight against.In January-February this year, the French special forces also had to leave Burkina Faso as a result of Ouagadougou's decision to end a bilateral military accord that allowed Paris to maintain its military presence on the West African state's soil. In January, Burkina Faso gave France one month to totally withdraw its troops from the country. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230302/macrons-africa-tour-sign-of-emergency-as-france-loses-influence-in-continent-expert-says-1107928448.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20230220/france-ends-military-operations-in-burkina-faso-1107605714.html africa france gabon Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Roman Sanin Roman Sanin 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 Roman Sanin emmanuel macron africa tour, privat ngomo, anti-macron protests in africa, anti-french protests https://sputnikglobe.com/20230310/german-company-conjuncta-and-mauritania-sign-34-bln-green-energy-deal-1108214870.html German Company Conjuncta and Mauritania Sign $34 Bln Green Energy Deal German Company Conjuncta and Mauritania Sign $34 Bln Green Energy Deal German firm Conjuncta has signed a memorandum of understanding for a $34 billion green energy project in Mauritania, reports say. The UAE's Infinity Power and Egypt's Infinity companies are also involved. 2023-03-10T06:14+0000 2023-03-10T06:14+0000 2023-04-12T17:05+0000 africa west africa mauritania germany european union (eu) /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/03/09/1108217433_0:176:3073:1904_1920x0_80_0_0_809d0c755b7eaa535eaa37605201dae1.jpg The German firm Conjuncta has signed a memorandum of understanding for a $34 billion green energy project in Mauritania, reports say. The UAE's Infinity Power and Egypt's Infinity companies are also involved.The project is aimed at the construction of a plant expected to produce up to eight million tons of green hydrogen and other hydrogen-based products per year northeast of Nouakchott, Mauritania's capital.According to Infinity Power, the project is planned to be developed in four stages, with the first 400 megawatt (MW) phase should be completed by 2028, while green energy is to be exported in the form of hydrogen or hydrogen derivatives, such as ammonia or methanol.Stefan Liebling, Conjuncta's CEO, outlined that the facility will be linked to Germany in terms of both technologies and green energy exports, adding that it is the biggest bilateral investment project for the company.Mauritania's Energy Minister Abdessalam Mohamed Saleh emphasized the country's eagerness to play the role of a leading green hydrogen economy and outlined the significance of the project to Mauritania.According to reports, last year BP, a major oil developer in the region, signed memorandum of understanding with the Mauritanian government to investigate the country's green H2 potential.Germany may benefit from the project thanks to its flagship H2 Global scheme, which was launched last year, reports say. The German government program offers subsidies to international H2 producers who sell hydrogen and its derivatives to the European market through a double auction scheme.The EU member state is involved in a number of renewable energy projects in Africa, as it intends to diversify its energy sources and to replace fuel imports from Russia after the bloc imposed sanctions against Moscow.Recently, European Union climate chief Frans Timmermans outlined Europe's need for African green hydrogen, stating that the EU "will need more green hydrogen than we can produce ourselves, so we're looking for countries where green hydrogen can be produced."The need is due to the EU having imposed sanctions on Russia following the beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine, thus impeding the green energy transition within the framework of the so-called European Green Deal. As a result, the bloc started looking for new energy sources, including in Africa.Some European officials have criticized Europe's policy towards Africa as neo-colonialist. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230207/africa-likely-to-become-europes-most-important-renewable-energy-partner-eu-says-1107042522.html africa west africa mauritania germany Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Gleb Chugunov Gleb Chugunov 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 Gleb Chugunov green energy, renewable energy, green hydrogen, energy sources, wind and solar power, memorandum of understanding, european union, fuel imports, fuel exports, gas export, gas import, oil import, gas import https://sputnikglobe.com/20230310/german-police-detain-unidentified-man-who-took-hostages-in-pharmacy-no-casualties-1108275623.html German Police Detain Unidentified Man Who Took Hostages in Pharmacy, No Casualties German Police Detain Unidentified Man Who Took Hostages in Pharmacy, No Casualties The police of Germany's Karlsruhe said on Twitter they had detained an unidentified criminal who had taken hostages in a pharmacy. 2023-03-10T21:50+0000 2023-03-10T21:50+0000 2023-03-10T21:49+0000 world germany hostage situation arrest detainee /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/105974/58/1059745868_113:0:1807:953_1920x0_80_0_0_32ce2c56ad35a2463f462c00838e90ce.jpg Earlier, the police cordoned off the area around the pharmacy, where hostages were allegedly taken on Friday evening. The media reported that an unknown person demanded millions of euros in exchange for their release. "At 21:10 [20:10 GMT], special forces entered the pharmacy. A suspected man was detained. The building is currently being searched. According to preliminary information, there were no victims," the police said on Twitter.Citing eyewitnesses, local media reported that loud bangs had been heard when tactical forces stormed the building. It remains unclear as to whether there were any injured parties in the immediate aftermath.Officials had been working to ensure the release of the hostages since about 4:30 p.m. local time.The Friday incident came just hours after a gunman killed "several" individuals in Germany's Hamburg at a Jehovah's Witnesses* center. A tally earlier detailed by media indicated at least seven people had been killed in the shooting incident.*banned in Russia as an extremist organization 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 hostage situation, germany, karlsruhe, pharmacy https://sputnikglobe.com/20230310/lavrov-says-discussed-new-start-ukraine-with-blinken-at-g20-in-india-1108262378.html Lavrov Says Discussed New START, Ukraine With Blinken at G20 in India Lavrov Says Discussed New START, Ukraine With Blinken at G20 in India Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday he and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed Ukraine and strategic stability, with a focus on the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), during the G20 meeting in India. 2023-03-10T14:12+0000 2023-03-10T14:12+0000 2023-03-10T14:12+0000 world russia us sergey lavrov antony blinken g20 g20 ministerial meeting india /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e5/0c/02/1091197419_0:0:3310:1862_1920x0_80_0_0_779f2e19a87ab45f135eeb4b5b198fb7.jpg The Russian minister described the 10-minute discussion as "constructive, emotionless" and "absolutely civilized." He said Blinken's position on the matters discussed fully reflected the United States' official political course, while Lavrov himself thoroughly explained Russia's position, especially with regard to the New START, and that Russia was forced to suspend its participation in the only remaining arms control treaty between the two nuclear powers. New Delhi hosted a meeting of G20 foreign ministers from March 1-2. The top diplomats of Russia and the United States met on its sidelines for the first face-to-face since the start of hostilities in Ukraine in February 2022. On February 22, the lower chamber of the Russian parliament passed a bill suspending Russia's participation in the New START, which was signed by Russia and the US in 2010 and envisaged mutual inspections of the strategic nuclear facilities of the two countries. Russian President Vladimir Putin said in his annual address to the Russian parliament that the US demands that Russia unconditionally fulfill its obligations under the treaty while itself being arbitrary about its own obligations. He added that Russia suspended its participation and not withdrew from the treaty. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230302/blinken-wanted-to-talk-to-lavrov-on-sidelines-of-g20-moscow-says-1107948413.html russia 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 new start, g20 in india Orban Believes West 'Very Close' to Seriously Discussing Prospect of Sending Forces to Ukraine BUDAPEST (Sputnik) - Western countries are very close to seriously discussing the prospect of sending allied troops to Ukraine, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said. According to Orban, the leaders of the Western world are suffering from "war fever" and "sending more and more dangerous weapons to Ukraine," as the sending of fighter jets to Kiev, which used to be "considered taboo," is already on the agenda. "I think we are very close to suggesting, in all seriousness, that the soldiers of Ukraine's allied countries cross the border and enter the territory of Ukraine," Orban said on Kossuth radio. "The world has never been so close to so that from a local war after all, it was about Lugansk and Donetsk a world war would turn out. The likelihood of this is growing from day to day." Orban said earlier that European countries were "like sleepwalkers on a roof" constantly teetering on the brink of war with Russia. In fact, an indirect war, he said, is already underway, as the West is supplying ever more lethal weapons to Kiev and may even go as far as sending "peacekeeping troops." According to the speaker of the Hungarian Parliament, Laszlo Kover, a number of EU and NATO countries sent Ukraine $60 billion worth of lethal weapons, which made them parties to the conflict. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230310/moscow-us-can-no-longer-turn-a-blind-eye-to-kievs-persecution-against-ukrainian-orthodox-church-1108271813.html Moscow: US Can No Longer Turn a Blind Eye to Kiev's Persecution Against Ukrainian Orthodox Church Moscow: US Can No Longer Turn a Blind Eye to Kiev's Persecution Against Ukrainian Orthodox Church Washington will not be able to ignore the persecution against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, commenting on Kiev's demand for the UOC monks to leave the premises of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. 2023-03-10T17:48+0000 2023-03-10T17:48+0000 2023-03-10T17:48+0000 world europe ukraine us ukrainian orthodox church (uoc) ukrainian orthodox church of the moscow patriarchate (uoc-mp) /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/106471/83/1064718373_0:0:4830:2717_1920x0_80_0_0_c010d4e93408a881067becaf2c690df0.jpg Earlier in the day, the authorities of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra obligated the monks of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) to leave the premises of the reserve by March 29. The Kiev Pechersk Lavra is a monastery founded in the 11th century, one of the main centers of Russian Orthodox Christianity and education. The remains of revered saints, as well as famous historical figures, are buried on its territory. The monastery was closed in Soviet times, but back in Soviet times it was returned to the use of the Russian Orthodox Church. In 1988, the work of the monastery and the Theological Seminary was resumed: the authorities transferred ground structures and distant caves to the Church, and in 1990, the nearby caves. In 1990, UNESCO added the Kiev Pechersk Lavra to the List of World Heritage Sites. From 1994 to this day, the abbot of the Lavra is Metropolitan Pavel (Lebed). Pressure on the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the largest in the country, to which millions of believers identify themselves, began in the 1990s from nationalists and schismatics. By 2018, this turned into a large-scale state campaign, the authorities created a "rival" to the UOC, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), from schismatic organizations. At the same time, an media campaign began against the UOC, with mass raids of its churches, their "voluntary re-registration" to the OCU with the approval of the authorities, attacks by nationalists and schismatics on the clergy and believers with impunity. In 2022, the Ukrainian authorities organized the largest wave of persecution of the UOC in the recent history of the country. Referring to its connection with Russia, local authorities in different regions of Ukraine decided to ban the activities of the UOC, and a bill on its actual ban in Ukraine was submitted to the country's parliament. State sanctions have been imposed on some representatives of UOC clergy. The Security Service of Ukraine began to open criminal cases against UOC bishops priests and conduct searches in churches and monasteries to find "evidence of anti-Ukrainian activities." https://sputnikglobe.com/20230201/kievs-persecution-of-orthodox-church-may-cause-major-sectarian-conflict-in-europe--moscow-1106870966.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20230120/kiev-seeks-to-ban-ukrainian-orthodox-church-as-part-of-religious-crackdown-1106526197.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 ukrainian orthodox church, kiev's persecution against ukrainian orthodox church, us can no longer turn a blind eye to kiev's persecution against ukrainian orthodox church https://sputnikglobe.com/20230310/perus-court-sentences-ex-president-castillo-to-3-years-in-pre-trial-detention-1108237896.html Peru's Court Sentences Ex-President Castillo to 3 Years in Pre-Trial Detention Peru's Court Sentences Ex-President Castillo to 3 Years in Pre-Trial Detention The Supreme Court of Justice of Peru on Thursday approved the prosecutor's request to detain former President Pedro Castillo for three years in an organized crime case. 2023-03-10T00:25+0000 2023-03-10T00:25+0000 2023-03-10T00:25+0000 americas pedro castillo dina boluarte peru trial coup /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/01/0e/1106321584_0:0:3027:1702_1920x0_80_0_0_004aa36716dd438ab03f20abf7bb71cc.jpg On December 7, Peru's parliament impeached Castillo. Then-Prime Minister Dina Boluarte took an oath as the country's new president within two hours of the impeachment vote. Castillo, who had tried to dissolve the parliament before the vote, was arrested after the impeachment procedure, and the Peruvian prosecutor's office launched a criminal case against him on charges of a coup attempt and crimes against the state. In mid-December, Castillo was sentenced to 18 months in pre-trial detention. Castillo could face up to 32 years in prison in organized crime and influence peddling cases. These events have sparked a wave of protests across the country. Demonstrators denounce the post-impeachment government and call for an immediate presidential election and the dissolution of the country's parliament. Over 20 people have died in the protests, according to local media. americas peru 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 peru, trial of pedro castillo, coup, protests, dina boluarte https://sputnikglobe.com/20230310/tulsi-gabbard-explains-why-us-threw-ukraine-under-the-bus-by-blaming-kiev-for-nord-stream-blasts-1108272715.html Tulsi Gabbard Explains Why US Threw Ukraine Under the Bus by Blaming Kiev for Nord Stream Blasts Tulsi Gabbard Explains Why US Threw Ukraine Under the Bus by Blaming Kiev for Nord Stream Blasts US and German media reported this week that a mysterious pro-Ukrainian group without any established links to any state was responsible for last falls sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipeline network. Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev dismissed the reporting as a cheap but epic Hollywood drama. 2023-03-10T19:07+0000 2023-03-10T19:07+0000 2023-03-10T19:17+0000 nord stream sabotage nord stream tulsi gabbard sabotage implications responsibility cover-up /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/104769/58/1047695800_0:0:3250:1828_1920x0_80_0_0_e5da384c82ba73fbd2e09d7f4caac1df.jpg Former Hawaii congresswoman and presidential hopeful Tulsi Gabbard has offered an explanation for the Biden administrations attempt to use the media to shift the blame for the Nord Stream attacks on a third party, saying the international implications of suspected US responsibility for the crime are just too serious to admit.It is so obvious at this point that the United States and NATO are responsible for this act of sabotage and act of war, attacking and destroying this Nord Stream pipeline. Theyve been lying to us all along about it, now theyve been busted and so theyre trying to sell us this absurd cover-up story, Gabbard said in a segment on Tucker Carlsons show, referencing Tuesdays New York Times reporting citing US intelligence officials fingering a pro-Ukrainian group for the sabotage.This pipeline fed Germany, which is the economic engine of Europe, Carlson interjected. Germany is the key player of NATOWe just wrecked the economy of our key NATO ally. If Germany blew up the Hoover Dam would they still be our tight NATO ally? Doesnt NATO have to disintegrate after we get caught doing this? he asked.Part of a PatternTuesdays reporting blaming Ukraine was not the first time during the Ukrainian crisis that the White House has used its access to the legacy press to push its narrative and throw Kiev under the bus.In October, before any Ukrainian officials claimed responsibility for the attack on the Crimean Bridge, the New York Times reported that Kiev was responsible, citing a pair of anonymous Ukrainian intelligence officials. Separately last fall, anonymous officials told the newspaper that US intelligence assessed that Ukraine was responsible for last summers car bombing murder of Russian journalist Darya Dugina.Senior Russian officials have mostly avoided addressing the new reporting about the pro-Ukrainian group's and the Nord Stream attacks, instead repeating calls for a comprehensive and transparent probe into the act of terrorism.However, former Russian president and Security Council deputy chairman Dmitry Medvedev could not help but react to the story, characterizing it as ignorant US propaganda that sounds like a Hollywood blockbuster about a group of inglorious bastards-style lone rangers fighting against the damned Muscovites.Unfortunately, he said, the end result was just so-so, featuring mediocre actors, a director thats no Quentin Tarantino, very poor casting and camera work, and a script thats boring as s***.Last month, bombshell reporting by veteran investigative journalist Seymour Hersh revealed that the pipelines were rigged to blow by a team of US Navy divers operating under the cover of a NATO exercise last summer, and remotely triggered by a Norwegian aircraft flying overhead months later. The Biden administration dismissed Hershs story, while most legacy media has either refused to report on it, or tried to smear Hersh, who has an unimpeachable reputation for accuracy and more than 60 years of journalistic experience, as a discredited journalist. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230307/blame-game-us-intel-tells-nyt-pro-ukrainian-group-behind-nord-stream-bombing-1108155572.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20230310/wests-nord-stream-media-psy-op-to-fall-apart-at-seams-if-hershs-source-decides-to-speak-out-1108253093.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20230310/russian-deputy-fm-responsibility-for-nord-stream-blasts-lies-with-us-media-leaks-a-distraction-1108250486.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20230309/scott-bennett-us-may-peddle-lies-about-nord-stream-blast-but-cant-escape-accountability-1108221433.html 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 nord stream, sabotage, implications, cover-up, story, report https://sputnikglobe.com/20230310/twitter-users-troll-money-beggar-zelensky-after-oscars-snub-1108257544.html Twitter Users Troll 'Money Beggar' Zelensky After Oscars Snub Twitter Users Troll 'Money Beggar' Zelensky After Oscars Snub Americans on social media trolled Volodymyr Zelensky after the Ukrainian President was not invited to speak at the Oscars. 2023-03-10T13:36+0000 2023-03-10T13:36+0000 2023-03-10T13:36+0000 viral oscars academy awards volodymyr zelensky ukraine /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/03/0a/1108255044_0:160:3073:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_3307d376994afabd13bc50dea36c0466.jpg The Twitter community showed little sympathy for "money beggar" Volodymyr Zelensky after the Ukrainian president reportedly got the cold shoulder from the Oscars, and was not granted an invite to speak at the 95th Academy Awards, in Hollywood, California, on March 9, 2023. Twitter users commented that the world appeared to be "really getting sick and tired of this guy crying all the time."Adding insult to injury, Zelensky was described by a US media report as unable to secure airtime via satellite on the coveted telecast for the second year in succession. In 2022, Oscars producer Will Packer was said to have ditched Zelensky's appearance amid concerns that Hollywood was devoting excessive attention to the Ukraine conflict because those affected are white. This time around, the leader of the Kiev regime was again ostensibly left without a guest spot.This comes as Zelensky, who built his career in show business, and his team were denied a remote appearance at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). A TIFF spokesperson said at the time that the festival does not comment on discussions with dignitaries, government officials or international embassies. https://sputnikglobe.com/20220327/as-2022-oscars-approach-actors-demand-awards-show-be-politicized-in-favor-of-ukraine-1094229363.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20230125/the-way-of-oscars-2023-nominee-list-disclosed--1106678035.html ukraine 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 social media trolled volodymyr zelensky, ukrainian president, not invited to speak at the oscars, whining for more weapons, cold shoulder from the oscars, unable to secure airtime, via satellite, second tim ein succession, left without a guest spot https://sputnikglobe.com/20230310/uno-reverse-house-panel-launches-investigation-into-defunct-january-6-committee-1108258950.html Uno Reverse? House Panel Launches Investigation Into Defunct January 6 Committee Uno Reverse? House Panel Launches Investigation Into Defunct January 6 Committee Probees have become the probed as a House Panel has launched an investigation Into the defunct January 6 Committee 2023-03-10T14:41+0000 2023-03-10T14:41+0000 2023-03-10T14:41+0000 americas us jan. 6 probe us capitol donald trump subpoena us election 2020 election fraud /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/03/0a/1108259454_0:160:3073:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_93edfafe7eac701b64f674516c6a0455.jpg The now defunct Democratic-led January 6 House Committee, which hounded ex-President Donald Trump and his supporters over the unrest at the US Capitol in 2021, has now found itself in the crosshairs of an investigation, US media reported.Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), chairman of the House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight, is leading the probe that is said to be still in the early stages.Weve got to get through the documents. We need to do some interviews with people. But at some point, we will have some hearings, Loudermilk was quoted as saying, adding:When asked if there would be a flurry of subpoenas, as was the case with the Jan. 6 panel, Loudermilk did not offer any clarity, only saying:It was also added that the investigation was hoping to receive tips from individuals with knowledge of the events of January 6th and the Select Committee, offering insights into the security of the Capitol, actions of the National Guard, etc. For this purpose, the House Administration Committee has set up a Capitol Security Info portal on its website.Georgia native Loudermilk has an axe to grind with the dissolved Jan. 6 Select Committee, which summoned him for an interview over a tour he gave to constituents in a House office building on Jan. 5, 2021. Loudermilk was a no-show to the questioning. According to footage shared by the Jan. 6 panel, one of the men from that tour supposedly marched toward the Capitol on Jan. 6, saying: Theres no escape Pelosi, Schumer, Nadler. Were coming for you. However, Loudermilks office denied any such claims, and referenced a letter from the Capitol Police chief dated 2022, which said that a review of footage did not determine that "any of the activities observed" were "suspicious.Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) earlier appeared on Fox News host Tucker Carlsons show when the US journalist revealed 41,000 hours of never-before-seen Capitol surveillance footage from the January 6, 2021 protests. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy granted Carlson access to the footage, which triggered a hue and cry in the mainstream press and in the ranks of Democratic lawmakers. The journalist was slammed as purposefully selecting video evidence to "falsely" portray the riots as largely "peaceful."Former US President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that members of the Dem-led January 6 House Committee "should be tried for fraud and treason," after excerpts of surveillance footage from the Capitol protests of 2021 were released."The Unselect Committee of political hacks and thugs has been totally discredited. They knowingly refused to show the videos that mattered. They should be tried for fraud and treason, and those imprisoned and being persecuted should be exonerated and released, now!" Trump wrote.At a rally outside the White House on January 6, 2021, Trump told a crowd of his followers that they had to fight like hell to Stop the Steal, in a reference to the certification of election results then underway by Congress. Trump insisted his election loss in November 2020 was the result of widespread election fraud orchestrated by the Democrats. As thousands of the Republican's supporters forced their way into the US Capitol that day, Trump appealed to them to go home in peace.Nevertheless, five people died in the unrest, including a Capitol Police officer and a female rioter who was shot by police outside the House chamber. Then-US President Donald Trump was impeached on charges of inciting the attack. However, in a Senate trial after he had already left office, Trump was acquitted.Nevertheless, House Dems formed a Select Committee on the January 6 Attack in July 2021 to investigate the Capitol breach. Trump decried the "sham" probe from the outset, slamming it as a "witch hunt." On December 22, 2022, the House January 6 Committee Investigating the Attack on the Capitol released its final report, charging Donald Trump with a multi-part conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election and block the transfer of power. Trump dismissed the probes conclusions and the criminal referral against him, referring to the charges as "fake." https://sputnikglobe.com/20230308/trump-calls-for-jan-6-panel-to-be-tried-for-treason-carlson-vows-to-show-more-capitol-breach-clips-1108190546.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20230223/dems-up-in-arms-about-mccarthy-allegedly-giving-41000-hour-jan-6-footage-to-conservative-pundit-1107740870.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20230106/january-6-two-years-on-what-dems-would-risk-by-trying-to-prosecute-trump-after-nothingburger-probe-1106068275.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20230310/trump-may-soon-face-indictment-after-reportedly-being-asked-to-testify-before-manhattan-court-1108241196.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 defunct january 6 committee, house select committee to investigate the january 6th attack on the united states capitol, donald trump, rep. barry loudermilk (r-ga.), chairman of the house administration subcommittee on oversight, leading probe, tips from individuals with knowledge of the events of january 6th and the select committe, https://sputnikglobe.com/20230310/west-scared-by-close-russia-africa-relations-russian-mps-say-1108266210.html West 'Scared' by Close Russia-Africa Relations, Russian MPs Say West 'Scared' by Close Russia-Africa Relations, Russian MPs Say Africa has disappointed the Western world with its pragmatic approach to Russia, there are attempts to drive a wedge into relations, but they are clearly not triumphant, and Russia is benefiting from that 2023-03-10T17:33+0000 2023-03-10T17:33+0000 2023-03-10T17:33+0000 africa summit second russia-africa summit russia china us sergey lavrov relations sanctions summit /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e5/05/0f/1082904411_0:137:3155:1912_1920x0_80_0_0_6d840fe95bccb4aeca6b7bf001427a4f.jpg Africa has disappointed the Western world with its pragmatic approach to Russia, and while there are attempts to drive a wedge into relations, they are clearly not successful, and Russia has only benefitted from that so far, members of parliament interviewed by Sputnik say.Recently, contacts between Russia and African countries have intensified. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov this year made a tour of African countries. Moreover, this year will see further major events involving Russia and Africa. On March 19-20, Moscow will host the second Russia-Africa international parliamentary conference, the main topic of which is the multipolar world. The conference is a preoperational event ahead of the second Russia-Africa Summit, which will take place in Saint Petersburg in July.On the eve of the inter-parliamentary conference, Sputnik asked lawmakers what closer contacts between Russia and Africa mean in the modern world.The reasons for the West's concern are simple these are either its political or economic goals. Speaking of the former, as Kosachev recalled, up to half of the countries in Africa have opposed, abstained from, or refused to vote on anti-Russian resolutions since March 2022. And the "selfish motive" that Western countries suddenly "remembered" their former colonies was seen and realized in Africa.The presence of Russia on the continent is also worrying for another reason the expansion of markets for Moscow, resulting in losses for the West.The pragmatic approach of African countries, as well as the unwillingness to support anti-Russian sentiments, has disappointed the West, and against the backdrop of unsuccessful visits by American and European politicians to the continent, the Russia-Africa Summit planned in Russian Saint Petersburg also causes concern among foreign partners, the members of parliament add.At the same time, as Vladimir Dzhabarov, the first deputy head of the International Committee of the Federation Council, points out, the West is not "finished" with Africa, and they know it. However, visits by Western officials to Africa have not yet made a difference.For instance, December last year saw the US-Africa Leaders Summit hosted by the US, which took place without the participation of Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Sudan, and Zimbabwe. The first four countries did not receive an invitation from the US, and Zimbabwe was still under Western sanctions, which includes a travel ban.In contrast to the US, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said, Moscow is inviting all African countries to the upcoming Russia-Africa Summit.The US-led event was also criticized by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova for Washington's "inability to engage in equal dialogue and fair competition."Along with events such as the US-Africa Summit, widely viewed as part of US attempts to impede the growing influence of Russia and China in Africa, the West also does not rule out attempts to directly interfere in relations between Moscow and Africa. As Belik admitted, new sanctions could become an instrument of such interference.As for the attempts to "drive a wedge" between Russia and Africa, in May 2022, the US House of Representatives adopted the "Countering Malign Russian Activities in Africa Act," which allows the US to punish African nations if they expand their ties with Russia in certain areas, supporting the decision by stating that Moscow's activities in Africa could "undermine United States objectives and interests".The bill has repeatedly been criticized by both Russia and African nations.Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called it "an American provocation" that harms primarily Africans themselves and reflects the West's colonial approach to the countries of the continent.Along with him, South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa, during his meeting with US President Joe Biden on the margins of last year's US-Africa Summit, said the bill would harm Africa and "marginalize" the continent.Speaker of the National Assembly of Zimbabwe Jacob Mudenda also expressed displeasure with the bill, stating that African countries reacted with disgust to it, as it infringes on African nations' sovereignty and territorial integrity.At the same time, Popov notes that the West is annoyed by any activity of Russia on the continent "whether it be trade or recent exercises together with South Africa."Recently, South Africa hosted its second trilateral naval military exercises with Russia and China, which have been repeatedly criticized by the West.For instance, even before the beginning of the drills, David Feldmann, spokesperson for the US Embassy in South Africa, and White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre expressed concern over South Africa's preparations for the exercises.The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry also slammed South Africa for participating in the drills and accused it of "adopting the experience of the Russian military machine."Speaking about interactions between Russia and Africa, Yevgeny Popov said that in the West "they are seen, and absolutely unreasonably, as a threat. But, nevertheless, Africa is in the near future 1/4 of the planet's population."Besides the West's attempts to hinder the development of relations between Russia and African nations, the members of parliament also point out positive outcomes of the long-running friendship between Africa and Russia.Relations between Moscow and African countries are natural, and as Kosachev noted, despite the fact that Africa is not pro-Russian and anti-Western, there is a clear unity in the main matter: the countries of the "continent of the future" no longer want to be participants and hostages of new cold wars between great powers.It is important to build mutually beneficial relations with Africa, now Russia is building up this interaction, the members of parliament emphasize. According to Popov, several dozen lawmakers are engaged in establishing inter-parliamentary relations.This year's Russia-Africa Summit is a follow-up on the first meeting between Russia and African nations in October 2019 in Sochi, which was attended by 54 African delegations and resulted in 92 agreements and memoranda being concluded. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230304/africa-is-becoming-new-market-for-russian-oil-products-amid-eu-embargo-report-says-1108021214.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20230310/african-members-voices-must-be-heard-on-reforming-unsc-penholderships-russian-envoy-says-1108247893.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20230222/washington-does-not-want-to-force-africa-to-choose-sides-in-military-cooperation-us-army-general-1107700327.html africa russia china Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Roman Sanin Roman Sanin 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 Roman Sanin russian mps, russia-africa summit, russian-african relations https://sputnikglobe.com/20230310/wests-nord-stream-media-psy-op-to-fall-apart-at-seams-if-hershs-source-decides-to-speak-out-1108253093.html West's Nord Stream Media Psy-Op to Fall Apart at Seams if Hersh's Source Decides to Speak Out West's Nord Stream Media Psy-Op to Fall Apart at Seams if Hersh's Source Decides to Speak Out The Biden administration is trying to push back against Seymour Hersh's Nord Stream bombshell through its subservient mainstream media, but a ridiculous tale... 10.03.2023, Sputnik International 2023-03-10T11:41+0000 2023-03-10T11:41+0000 2023-03-10T11:41+0000 analysis us europe opinion germany russia nord stream cia joe biden sabotage /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/09/1c/1101300397_0:94:1800:1107_1920x0_80_0_0_c57b09b7699abd78e61ecd94a183ef53.jpg "The new narrative that a handful of civilians blew up the Nord Stream pipelines on their own is on its face ridiculous," Hans Mahncke, a US investigative journalist and lawyer, told Sputnik. "I assume The New York Times realized how preposterous this tale is, which is why they left out all the details." On March 7, The New York Times and Die Zeit released two separate articles claiming that international investigators had managed to trace the September 26, 2022 sabotage attack to a "pro-Ukrainian" group unaffiliated with either Kiev or Moscow. In early September 2022, the purported gang of six, which included one woman and five men, sailed a yacht to the area over Gazprom's pipelines and attached explosives to them. The media outlets said that there are still many unknowns pertaining to the story, adding that the authorities are not disclosing the nature of the new intelligence or its specifics.Furuseth does not rule out that the release of the two articles was intentionally scheduled for a day ahead of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh's weekly Substack publications related to the Nord Stream sabotage. "It could very well be, but I think it would have appeared anyway," the Norwegian intelligence veteran said."The timing of The New York Times and Zeit stories could be connected to a number of ongoing issues," echoed Mahncke. "It could be a deflection from Biden's domestic problems, such as the new revelations about the January 6 protests. It could be that Biden is preparing the ground for uncoupling himself from [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky, by ultimately blaming him for the sabotage. In my view, the most likely explanation is that Biden is trying to push back against Hersh and this ridiculous tale about the two divers is all they could come up with."Indeed, it took a staggering four weeks for the US mainstream media to come up with some sort of an alternative to Hersh's story following months-long silence of the European authorities, which have been conducting their own Nord Stream inquiries since at least October 2022. And still the two mainstream reports appear to be great cry and little wool, according to Charles Ortel, a Wall Street analyst and investigative journalist.Is Washington Ready to Throw Zelensky & Ukraine Under the Bus?Remarkably, before tracing the blasts to Ukrainians on Tuesday, the NYT singled Kiev out as having a clear motive to destroy the Nord Stream pipelines on December 26, 2022. Having said that the pipelines "had no shortage of adversaries," the newspaper at the time quoted a 13-page letter to Poland written by Ukrainian regulators as part of a coordinated effort to stop Nord Stream 2 from coming online. The letter, obtained by the newspaper, claimed that Nord Stream 2 "will negatively impact on Ukraines national security."The newspaper noted that Ukraine received an average of $1 billion a year in transit fees for Russia's pipelines heading to Europe through the country. Attacking the pipeline may have made financial sense for Ukraine, the newspaper claimed last December, adding that Kiev's capability to carry it out is "unclear."On March 7, 2023 the NYT doubled down on chastising Ukraine. Despite mentioning that there is no evidence that Zelensky or his lieutenants ordered the attack, the media lamented the fact that Kiev is "not always transparent with their American counterparts about their military operations," which "have frustrated US officials."Among the Ukrainian ops "unnerving" the White House, the newspaper cited a strike in early August on Russias Saki Air Base on the western coast of Crimea, a bombing attack on the Crimean Bridge, December drone strikes against Russian military bases in Ryazan and Engels, and an August car bomb that killed Daria Dugina, the daughter of Russian philosopher Alexander Dugin. The newspaper particularly underlined that the explosions that destroyed the Nord Stream pipelines took place five weeks after Duginas killing. Does this unusual ramble mean Washington is about to throw the Ukrainian leadership under the bus?"I would say it may rather be a preparation for it. It could also be a subtle warning to the hard-liners in- and outside of the US," said Furuseth.For his part, Ortel drew attention to the fact that "the US has no significant national interest in Ukraine of all possible places," so it may easily sacrifice it.Germans Need to Wake-UpThe release of the two reports, which were followed by Wall Street Journal and Der Spiegel pieces on March 8, came on the heels of European peace protests, which brought together over 50,000 in Berlin alone. German right-wing and left-wing politicians are calling on the government to kick off an investigation into Hersh's story, which alleges that Berlin's two NATO allies, the US and Norway, nixed the Nord Stream gas infrastructure. However, Mahncke is not optimistic about the Germans' willingness to fight against the globalist establishment:"The German public has been completely brainwashed about the situation in Ukraine," the US lawyer noted. "The nascent peace movement faces an uphill battle, far more so than in the US, where skepticism of the war is far more widespread, at least among the general public. For instance, the US public is beginning to understand that the ridiculous notion that Russia will attack a NATO country next is a fake narrative put forward to convince people to send weapons and money to Ukraine. Even Elon Musk, whose provision of Starlink services to Ukraine has been immensely important, has tweeted about no one is pushing this war more than Victoria Nuland."At the same time, a looming recession, the unfolding energy crisis and skyrocketing prices could force the Europeans to take a tougher stance towards the military adventurism of their respective governments, according to Ortel."In Germany in particular, losing inexpensive energy sources and also being forced into much higher military spending will create uniquely difficult choices for a nation with a dangerous history from which my own family left in 1853, hoping for opportunity which quickly materialized in a free America," the Wall Street analyst said. "If I were German today, I would demand to learn the whole truth on the Nord Stream attacks before committing one more euro in support of the Ukraine project and I would be prepared to dramatically adjust my relationships with foreign governments that may have attacked an important part of my energy infrastructure."Western Governments Know Pretty Well Who Blew up the PipesMeanwhile, the Western establishment's apparent hope that it could overshadow Hersh's narrative is likely to prove futile, according to Furuseth.Furthermore, the US has a long record of false flags, subversive ops, and disinformation operations something once summarized by ex-CIA Director Mike Pompeo in his famous line: "We lied, we cheated, we stole." Against this backdrop, Hersh's story appears to be one deserving close attention, according to Ortel."Hersh's claims that actors in the US and Norway governments, possibly in league with UK and other government actors opened a path hurtling towards military conflict with Russia certainly seems plausible to me, having learned of the Tonkin incident Hersh covered in a later piece and considering how Libya was bombed and Gaddafi was killed. In the latter case, we must remember that Biden was vice president then, that Hillary Clinton has still not explained the wider context of what happened September 11, 2012 [during the Benghazi embassy attack Sputnik], and that many Obama alumni are centrally pulling strings for Biden against Russia."On top of this, one needs to bear in mind, that there is no interest among US or EU leaders to investigate anything, Mahncke pointed out: "They know the truth already and are merely trying to maintain the appearance of an impasse, making it look as if we'll never find out who did it," he said. "Western narratives about the Nord Stream bombing are simply part of the propaganda war."Hersh's Latest Piece: One Would Go to Prison to Stop WarThe day after the US and German newspapers broke their story, Hersh released his op-ed "My Fifty Years With Dan Ellsberg" on Substack. The story had no direct relation to Nord Stream, but described a story of former United States military analyst Daniel Ellsberg who in 1971 leaked portions of a classified 7,000-page report that detailed the history of US intervention in Indochina from World War II until 1968.The Pentagon Papers leak appeared to axe the publicly stated justification for the US involvement in the Vietnam War. Ellsberg was unmasked and brought to the US attorneys office in Boston, where a journalist asked him what he thought about going to prison. Hersh quoted the military analyst as answering: "Wouldnt you go to prison to help end this war?"Ortel does not rule out that this story sends a sort of a veiled message to the NYT, Zeit, and their government backers that Hersh's source may start talking publicly if the ongoing US proxy war on Russia gets tougher. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230211/why-hershs-nord-stream-bombshell-may-become-legal-nightmare-for-team-biden--its-nordic-allies-1107344300.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20230309/scott-bennett-us-may-peddle-lies-about-nord-stream-blast-but-cant-escape-accountability-1108221433.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20221228/western-media-admit-ukraine-had-a-motive-to-axe-nord-stream-1105846286.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20230308/ex-pentagon-officer-nato-divide-growing-us--eu-may-drastically-reduce-ukraine-aid-by-summer-1108188312.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20230303/not-only-gop-but-also-left--independents-feel-team-biden-has-lost-its-way-in-ukraine-1107989511.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20230224/how-us-false-flags-record-prompts-public-to-trust-hershs-nord-stream-bombshell-even-more-1107748821.html germany russia ukraine 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 nord stream sabotage attack, damage control operation, pro-ukraine group, new us intelligence, russia's gas pipeline, attack traced to ukraine, seymour hersh's bombshell, possible false flag operation, hersh's anonymous source, peace protests in europe, eu energy crunch https://sputnikglobe.com/20230310/why-bloated-us-military-spending-cant-ensure-its-dominance-over-russia-china-1108266963.html Why Bloated US Military Spending Can't Ensure Its Dominance Over Russia, China Why Bloated US Military Spending Can't Ensure Its Dominance Over Russia, China The White House has requested a whopping $842 billion for the Pentagon for fiscal year 2024, which is $69 billion more than the Department of Defense received for FY2023. What's behind the hike and does it truly correspond with the US' national security interests? 2023-03-10T16:43+0000 2023-03-10T16:43+0000 2023-04-13T12:45+0000 analysis us opinion military & intelligence joe biden f-35 military spending us defense spending spending house gop /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/107796/92/1077969241_0:0:3641:2048_1920x0_80_0_0_f60094448f8b87b6d530e409433f8b6d.jpg "The new US defense budget of $840 billion for the coming year, an increase of 3.2% over the last, includes two major figures," retired Major General Harsha Kakar, strategic analyst and founding member of the think tank STRIVE, told Sputnik. "One is $9.1 billion for basically the Indo-Pacific region. The other - for updating its nuclear arsenal, for which it has earmarked $37 billion or $38 billion. And, of course, $6 billion [is allocated] for assistance to Ukraine."On March 9, the Biden administration unveiled its budgetary roadmap, with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin lauding the White House's move as enabling the Department of Defense "to continue building a Joint Force that is the most lethal, resilient, survivable, agile, and responsive in the world and is guided by our three priorities of defending the nation, taking care of our people, and succeeding through teamwork."However, US observers immediately drew attention to the gargantuan size of the Pentagon's new budget. While the DoD's request amounts to $842 billion, the White House is requesting $886.4 billion in funding for national security. But that is not all, DC think tanks warn: if one adds emergency military aid packages for Ukraine this year and potential tens of billions of dollars in Congressional "add-ons" the total defense spending is about to reach a staggering $950 billion or more for FY2024. The Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, a US think tank, has called the forthcoming Pentagon budget the "biggest since World War II," and far bigger than at the peaks of the Korean, Vietnam, or Cold Wars.The DoD's expenditures have been steadily growing over the past few years, adding $25 billion in 2022, $45 billion in 2023, and potentially $69 billion in 2024.The vast geography of Washington's defense plans could be explained by its belief that apart from protecting itself and its allies it should also ensure its military dominance in the respective regions, the Indian expert noted. Since the US sees a number of countries as its competitors, it seeks to suppress them militarily, according to Kakar. "So therefore, it is going to continue expanding far more than what is required," he noted.Big Spending Doesn't Always Mean Good QualityStill, the Pentagon's bloated spending does not always mean that the US military gets the highest quality for their money, according to Sputnik's interlocutors."At the same time, these are military developments that have been carried out as scientific research programs, the delivery of new types of weapons, and they often lag behind all the scientific and technological progress that has been developed, for example, in Russia, in China, and even in Iran and North Korea. Getting carried away with some innovative programs, the US, or rather the military budget, does not take into account the current cost of keeping the American Army 100% combat ready," he continued.According to some estimates, more than half of the new DoD budget will go to major defense contractors, including Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon, General Dynamics, and Northrop Grumman, on buying, researching, and developing weapons. However, the observers refer to an embarrassing record of overspending and alleged mismanagement of funds when it comes to the US military-industrial complex.One glaring example is the F-35 fighter that has already become the costliest weapon system in American history. The F-35's estimated sustainment costs over its 66-year anticipated life cycle have steadily increased since 2012, from $1.11 trillion to $1.27 trillion, despite purported efforts to reduce costs. Although the project was launched over 20 years ago and 800 airplanes have already been delivered, the stealth fighter jet's production has been "marred by excessive defects and rework" that have reduced US military readiness, as per the US press.Military Lobbyists and Apparent CorruptionLeonkov noted that the US lobby culture plays a big role in the distribution of military funds, while Joe Biden and his administration are accepting this state of affairs and even playing into the lobbyists' hands."Lobbyist structures create such a paradox that despite the fact that the US military budget is the largest in the world and unprecedented for the United States itself, its effectiveness is much lower than the military budgets of Russia and China, the DPRK and Iran," Leonkov said.For instance, the US military industrial complex has yet to come up with competitive domestically-made hypersonic weapons, lagging behind both Russia and China.And still, the US has yet to achieve the speeds that Russia's hypersonic complexes have already achieved, Leonkov remarked. Meanwhile, Russia and China are not sitting on their thumbs and have already been working on the next generation of hypersonic weapons. Even heavily embargoed North Korea is claiming that it, too, has received this complex of weapons."So despite all the power of the US military-industrial complex, despite the enormous money they spend on its upkeep and development, they cannot make the technological breakthrough that Russia, China, and North Korea have been following and have achieved their results," said the Russian analyst.Afghanistan and Mideast Campaigns: Where Did the Money Go?Likewise, it's hardly surprising that the US military has complained about the depletion of their ammunition stockpiles as Washington is flooding Ukraine with weapons and shells. Leonkov cites American experts as saying that it would take 15 years to replenish the amount of ammunition that has been delivered to Ukraine from US military warehouses."This indicates that the production of the military-industrial complex itself is not yet expanding," the military expert stressed.Washington's earlier campaigns have also been marred with scandals surrounding an apparent misappropriation of funds and excessive spending.Indeed, the Taliban* ended up winning in Afghanistan, while the Americans had to flee the country, leaving behind, among other things, huge stockpiles of military equipment and their puppet government, Rozhin noted. As for Iraq, in the wake of the US invasion, Iran has dramatically increased its position in the Middle Eastern country, something that runs contrary to Washington's interests.To cap it off, while the Pentagon's total spending in the Middle East and Afghanistan is estimated at about $7.5 trillion, it was possible to find confirmation of the spending of about $5 trillion, while $2.5 trillion vanished into thin air, Leonkov remarked.Why Biden Will Have Hard Time Getting New Pentagon Budget Through CongressThe Pentagon's gargantuan military request has already been met with criticism from Joe Biden's own party. Representatives Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) and Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) have brought forward the People Over Pentagon Act, which proposes a $100 billion annual cut in the Pentagon budget.Year after year, this country pours billions into our already-astronomical defense budget without stopping to question whether the additional funding is actually making us safer. We know that a large portion of these taxpayer dollars are used to pad the pockets of the military industrial complex, fund outdated technology, or are simply mismanaged, Barbara Lee said in a statement on February 22.The Democrats' concerns are by no means surprising, given that increased defense spending "would be one area that Biden would seem to run counter to general Democratic preferences," according to Timothy Hagle, a political science professor at the University of Iowa.At the same time, however, Hagle pointed out that Biden's overall budget, which envisions trillions of dollars in new spending, is likely to trigger criticism from US lawmakers, especially given that its promise to reduce deficits by raising taxes on businesses and the wealthy does not look realistic."The national debt continues to grow and the tax increases he proposes are not likely to even cover his desired new spending," the political science professor underscored. "Part of the problem is that tax increases along the lines proposed by Biden generally do not work out. Corporations can pass the taxes on to their consumers and the rich (however you define them) can usually move their assets around to limit their tax liability. Thus, it ends up that the middle class have to pick up the tab for the increase in spending, either directly by having their own taxes increased, or indirectly by higher prices on goods and services or lower returns on their investments."Given all of the above, Hagle expects that Biden "will have a hard time getting such a proposal through the US Congress, especially the House, which is controlled by Republicans."Even though the increase in defense spending might be a way to entice some House Republicans to go for it, Hagle is not sure that it will work.*The Taliban is under UN sanctions over terrorist activities. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230309/obama-era-pentagon-chief-who-helped-destroy-libya-wants-fighter-jets-for-ukraine-1108209958.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20230222/us-navy-blames-rookie-pilot-for-disastrous-f-35-crash-that-saw-jet-plummet-into-south-china-sea-1107684556.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20230305/large-amount-of-purported-us-military-hardware-spotted-at-polish-port-video-1108070068.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20221121/us-seeks-to-catch-up-to-russia-china-in-hypersonic-weapons-development-1104514390.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20230120/russian-presidents-envoy-for-afghanistan-says-there-is-evidence-us-secretly-sponsoring-daesh-1106520915.html afghanistan iraq ukraine 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 military spending, pentagon budget, biden's defense budget for fy2024, biggest us military budget, f-35 program's controversies, ineffective military spending, military lobbyists, joe biden's 2024 budget, house republicans, https://sputnikglobe.com/20230310/xis-third-term-ushers-in-an-era-of-closer-relations-with-russia-smart-competition-with-us-1108271332.html Xi's Third Term Ushers in an Era of Closer Relations With Russia, Smart Competition With US Xi's Third Term Ushers in an Era of Closer Relations With Russia, Smart Competition With US Xi Jinping has secured a third term as China's president and chairman of the Central Military Commission. What does the future have in store for the People's... 10.03.2023, Sputnik International 2023-03-10T18:22+0000 2023-03-10T18:22+0000 2023-03-10T18:22+0000 analysis us opinion russia china asia-pacific region indo-asia-pacific region joe biden taiwan xinjiang /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/01/11/1106433996_0:161:3071:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_cc0a256fa28cbea2de05de055da7c4fd.jpg "I would not say that this is an epoch-making event, even though this event is important, of course," Andrey Vinogradov, head of the Center for Political Studies and Forecasts, the Institute of Far Eastern Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told Sputnik. "The fact is that the term limit for the post of chairman of the PRC and other senior state officials was enshrined for the first time in the [Chinese] constitution of 1982, and this is not the entire period [of existence] of the People's Republic of China (PRC)."Vinogradov underscored that five years ago, it was clear that the world had entered into a period of dramatic changes, adding that this became the trigger for the PRC's decision to remove restrictions on the third term in 2018. The 2018 constitutional amendment "was precisely aimed at ensuring the stability of China's development in this difficult period," according to him.Chinese President Xi Jinping was unanimously reelected for a historic third presidential term on March 10 due to the Chinese legislature's move abolishing presidential term limits in 2018. Xi was first elected to the top job in March 2013, and reelected for a second five-year term in 2018. Since he took the reins of power in 2013, the PRC has made great strides, doubling GDP from $8.53 trillion to $17.73 trillion. However, as China has grown stronger, the US has increasingly been seeing it as a rival and a challenge a view that has manifested itself in the US' latest military doctrine.Despite still being economically intertwined, the US and China have found themselves at odds over numerous issues, with Washington openly provoking Beijing by stepping up military aid to Taiwan and meddling in other domestic affairs of the PRC, including Hong Kong, Xinxiang, and the South China Sea. The Biden administration has also stepped up pressure on China's hi-tech industry by seeking to sever the Chinese from cutting-edge semiconductor technologies.Does China See the US as an Imminent Military Threat?Biden's latest defense budget envisages scaled-up spending in the Asia-Pacific region. Still, some experts do not believe that the US is about to exert military pressure on the PRC."So, most of the containment against China will be economically, diplomatically and politically. But at the same time, this could be a much worse year for relations between both countries, because it seems as if both sides are right now at a standstill and not really showing any sense of compromise or willingness to show any concessions," Pauken continued.According to the Beijing-based expert, the Chinese aren't nervous about Biden's military prowess, even though they obviously oppose Washington's military expansion in the Asia Pacific. Still, judging from the US handling of the Ukraine crisis, Washington is not ready for a large-scale conventional conflict:Given this, it's unlikely that Beijing will resort to a military response to Washington's provocations anytime soon, according to the expert. As of yet, the Biden administration's military adventurism is backfiring on them, he remarked, referring to the controversy surrounding the US president's multi-billion aid to Kiev."Just look at the proxy war in Ukraine and how they sent over 100 billion US dollars to Ukraine," the Beijing-based commentator continued. "And they won't even audit the funds that went in there because they're afraid people will find out where the money went to. At the same time, a lot of these weapons are being sent to Ukraine. So what I'm getting at is that the US and the West are being so aggressive, but they're not being smart aggressive. That being said, the Chinese don't really have to do anything in return. There is an old saying I've heard from a Chinese person, it says 'when your enemy is acting foolish, say nothing to stop him.'"US-China Tech Competition: Biden Shot Himself in FootWhen it comes to the US-China technological competition, Pauken believes that it is almost impossible to nip the PRC's development in the bud. "Obviously, they have to keep innovating regardless of whether the West tries to stop them or not," he pointed out.In his December 2022 interview with Sputnik, Pauken drew attention to the fact that the Chinese and US industries have long been intertwined, with Beijing exercising huge leverage over technology supply chains given its rare earth reserves. Indeed, the PRC not only boasts one of the largest mineral reserves, but it also produces around 85% of the world's rare earths.Meanwhile, Beijing is bracing itself for a further deterioration of Sino-American relations, according to the expert. Having reelected Xi Jinping, the Chinese are fixing to respond to these developments, he noted."It seems that there is - reforms - but in the sense of a more centralized system of power. So, it seems as if China is preparing for much worse relations with the US and probably with many other Western nations," Pauken remarked.At the same time, Beijing is strengthening ties with Russia, its BRICS peers, and the Global South. In February 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed "new frontiers" in ties with Beijing during the visit of China's top diplomat Wang Yi to Moscow and signaled that he expects Xi Jinping to come to Russia soon. The Russian president's statement prompted the US State Department's irritation over what it called a greater alignment between China and Russia. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230310/chinas-xi-jinping-unanimously-reelected-for-third-presidential-term-1108241072.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20230310/why-bloated-us-military-spending-cant-ensure-its-dominance-over-russia-china-1108266963.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20230222/how-russo-chinese-strategic-cooperation-may-bring-us-forever-wars-to-end-1107713826.html russia china indo-asia-pacific region xinjiang south china sea 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 xi jinping's third term, xi jinping's reelection, china-us relations, soaring tensions between us and china, us-china spat over taiwan, us military expansion in indo-pacific, biden's chip act, russia-china strategic cooperation https://sputnikglobe.com/20230310/you-dont-deserve-the-truth-1108237442.html You Don't Deserve the Truth! You Don't Deserve the Truth! On todays episode of The Backstory, host Lee Stranahan discussed current events including a Mexican cartel apologizing for deaths of two Americans, and Biden... 10.03.2023, Sputnik International 2023-03-10T09:57+0000 2023-03-10T09:57+0000 2023-03-10T09:57+0000 the backstory radio twitter big tech mexico virgin islands hamilton 68 george soros /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/03/09/1108237296_0:0:1920:1080_1920x0_80_0_0_c6fdc7a73f92d9fba73aa98e66a4379e.png You Don't Deserve the Truth ! On todays episode of The Backstory, host Lee Stranahan discussed current events including a Mexican cartel apologizing for deaths of two Americans, and Biden unveils a $6.8 trillion budget. Addy Adds - Former Teacher, Reporter, and Commentator | Americans Kidnapped in Mexico, The True Crime Audience, and Virgin Island PoliticiansJason Goodman - Founder of Crowdsource the Truth | Whislteblower Andrii Telizhenko Smeared at Twitter Files Hearings, Democrats Attack Journalism, and Tucker Carlson Muzzled by FoxIn the first hour, Lee spoke with Addy Adds about the Americans kidnapped in Mexico, the rise in true crime intrigue, and NGOs. Addy spoke about the four Americans kidnapped in Mexico and how the original narrative of the story has changed. Addy talked about NGOs being used for censorship and big tech censorship hurting independent journalism.In the second hour, Lee spoke with Jason Goodman about his attendance at the Twitter files hearing, Democrats attempting to have journalists reveal sources, and January 6th. Jason talked about his takeaway from the Twitter files hearing and Democrats disrespecting credible journalism. Jason discussed how big tech has been colluding with the federal government and the need for the January 6th riot to be reinvestigated.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. mexico virgin islands Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Lee Stranahan https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e5/02/13/1082125222_0:0:293:292_100x100_80_0_0_a8bc846f559660e5bf7574f8a9608a1d.png Lee Stranahan https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e5/02/13/1082125222_0:0:293:292_100x100_80_0_0_a8bc846f559660e5bf7574f8a9608a1d.png 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 Lee Stranahan https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e5/02/13/1082125222_0:0:293:292_100x100_80_0_0_a8bc846f559660e5bf7574f8a9608a1d.png radio, twitter, big tech, mexico, virgin islands, , hamilton 68, george soros Marie-Claude Auger and Anita Ouellette claimed victory in the pair of races for all female drivers as part of the International Womens Day celebration at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Thursday night (March 9). Auger launched off a pocket trip in the first division to score with Richard Moreau trainee Always N The Money in 1:56. Four For Orr (driven by Natasha Day) dashed to the lead from the pylon post with Always N The Money securing the pocket while a four-wide charge stacked around the first turn. Chocolate Crackers (Kayla Chappell) abandoned a leave attempt through a :27.1 first quarter while R Bazingga (Pam Forgie) pressed forward three-wide into the backside. Despite the action in the backfield, Four For Orr paced unfazed through a :57.1 half and three-quarters in 1:27.1. But in the lane, Four For Orr grew leg weary while Always N The Money sprung from second and dug into the pacesetter through the final eighth. Always N The Money surged to the lead in the final strides and extended to a three-quarter lengths win in 1:56. Matts Tuition (Julie Walker) rallied from last for third and Larry Is Debs Rock (Jessica Turenne) took fourth. I was good in the [pocket], but he did the job, said Auger, who made her first start back in the sulky on Thursday night after recovering from an injury a few months ago. Auger guided Always N The Money, a 13-year-old gelding by Always A Virgin, to his 50th career milestone win from 346 starts while he added to his bankroll now worth $441,947. Mark Jakubik owns the gelding, who paid $13.70 to win. Anita Ouellette orchestrated a miracle comeback for Lifeguard in the second division, recouping double-digit lengths after a sloppy start to bag an 11-1 upset in 1:56.2. Coolsunshine (Debi OBrien Moran) shot to an uncontested lead after probable pace factor Always Been Crazy (Maggie Jones) broke at the start and also pushed Lifeguard and Rye N Clyne (Marielle Enberg) off balance. All of them recovered to the first turn and entered chase mode as Coolsunshine continued on a speed mission through a :56 half and 1:25.4 three-quarters. Opening an open-length lead off the turn, Coolsunshine started shortening in stride in the lane as Diamond Rock (Natasha Day) gave futile chase inside of a levelled-off Bluemoon Bayama (Jessica Turenne). All the while Ouellette swung Lifeguard off the pylons to the centre of the track and devoured ground in the final eighth to sweep by Coolsunshine and snag a three-quarter length win. Bluemoon Bayama held third while Rye N Clyne closed for fourth. It was a little anxious in the beginning. I had to navigate around that; set me back a little bit, Ouellette said after the race. I caught up by the quarter pole and I just let him feel good. Once I got around the pack, I thought, Oooh, I could be second. That would be great. I hollered at the horse real good and I guess the horse responded. Anita Ouellette, the wife of renowned Canadian horseman Luc Ouellette, had only driven in four pari-mutuel races previously since 2019. Thursdays victory was her first in the sulky. When I looked at the race, I did ask Luc cause I want to know what he says, said Anita. He said these are just decent horses, not top-notch horses. He said, Look, youre only going to have one move. He was very instrumental in telling me how he looks at the race. Thats kind of what I had in mind, but you never know behind the gate how things pan out. But I did plan on racing him from behind even without that interference in the beginning. Lifeguard returned $24.80 to win and bagged his fourth victory in 39 tries while pushing his account to $25,993. Jonathan Panos trains the four-year-old Sunshine Beach gelding for owner Martin Kuepfer. The two International Womens Day races featured 11 women driving in $12,000 races with many of Canadas leading ladies representing. To view Thursdays harness racing results, click the following link: Thursday Results Woodbine Mohawk Park. An anonymous donation is helping to keep the hungry fed in Culpeper. Culpeper Presbyterian Churchs Manna Ministry on March 2 accepted $9,000 from a community member, funds that will be used to purchase two new gas stoves, according to a release from Northern Piedmont Community Foundation. This is what our community needs and I am pleased to be able to help. These volunteers should be applauded for all they do, said the anonymous donor. Manna Ministry started in 2004, providing those in need with a weekly, warm, sit-down meal, fellowship and prayer offering. By the end of 2019, the ministry had served over 10,000 meals, three days a week. During the pandemic, Manna Ministry responded to a 60% increase in need, addressing a significant rise in food insecurity in the community, according to the release. This growth posed a challenge to serve more people while food and supply costs rise and donations wane. Then a need arose for an essential, behind the scenes element of the programstoves to prepare the meals. Northern Piedmont Community Foundation used donor-advised funds to fill the crucial need. Manna Ministry guests not only receive a meal, but with the support of local grocers and donors, meat and bread products as well. Manna, in addition, established the Fresh to Home program in 2021 to provide fresh fruit and vegetables. Our mission is to serve warm meals to the underserved, said Presbyterian Church Business Manager Barb Jenkins. Our current daily average is around 120 meals, though we have served as many as 152 in a day. Replacing our two 10-year-old stoves with new ones will be an enormous help with that. See npcf.org for information on scholarships, donor advised funds, community grants and more. The Northern Piedmont Community Foundation began in December 2000 when nine concerned citizens from Virginias Piedmont region were searching for solutions to the charitable needs in Culpeper, Fauquier, Madison and Rappahannock counties. NPCF is an established nonprofit whose sole purpose is transforming the resources of local citizens into real growth and strength for the community, according to the release. Since starting, its funds have grown to over $38 million in support of local charities, scholarships and the community. In 2022 the voters of Nebraska passed ballot initiative 432 to amend the Nebraska State Constitution to require voters to show photographic identification when voting. That ballot measure passed by a vote of 432,028 in favor to 228,031 against. So, the measure passed by a two-thirds margin of the voters. That ballot initiative also directed the State Legislature to pass laws for the implementation of voting with a photographic identification. So, this year I introduced LB 228 and LB 230 while Sen. Jen Day of Omaha introduced LB 675. Last Wednesday a public hearing was held on these three bills, so today I would like to report on how that hearing went and give you an update on what needs to be done. More than two-thirds of those who testified online and in person supported my two bills. 250 people supported LB228 out of a total of 366 testifiers, while 243 people supported LB 230 out of a total of 352 testifiers. Sen. Days bill, LB 675, received much less support. One important aspect of LB 228 is that it would bring ballot counting back down to the precinct level. Counting ballots at the precinct level is how we used to do it, and I believe we need to go back to that method. LB 228 does not specifically call for a hand count of paper ballots at the precinct level; instead, it gives counties the option to count ballots by hand or by machine at the precinct level. Because machines can be expensive, especially for each precinct, counties should not be burdened with having to pay for a machine they may not want. My other bill, LB 230, is a more comprehensive bill on voting with photographic identification. The bill defines a qualified voter as well as what constitutes a qualifying photographic ID for voting purposes. The bill would require those voting with a provisional ballot to present their photographic identification at the county election office by the following Thursday in order for their vote to be counted. The bill allows for early voting by mail for military personnel, including those in the National Guard. Military personnel and members of the National Guard would sign an oath on their application swearing that they are a member of a branch of the military or are enlisted in the National Guard. Along with the application, a voter in the military would submit a color copy of his or her photographic identification. LB 230 also allows for early voting by mail for those who have been diagnosed by a physician to be physically incapacitated. Current State Laws, especially 32-944, already allow for nursing home workers and hospital workers to act on behalf of the county clerk in administering ballots to their residents. My legislation would add those living in assisted living facilities to the list of those who could vote early by mail. LB 230 further specifies that an agent delivering a ballot to a registered voter would have to pick up the ballot at least one hour prior to the closing of the polls and return the ballot with a color copy of the registered voters photographic identification by the time the polls close on election day. This is an important part of the bill, because it shows how those who might otherwise be confined to their home or who are unable to get to the polls could still cast their vote on election day. My two bills may not prove to be the final solution to solving the photographic identification voting challenge which has been given to the Legislature this year, but they at least provide our State Senators with a good head start to solving the problem. Please understand that the Legislature will continue to work on this problem until we find the right solutions that will work best for the voters of our State and which honor the parameters set by the voters in 2022 when they passed Initiative 432. The trial of a Scottsbluff man accused in the Nov. 25, 2020, stabbing death of a 23-year-old man is set for later this month. Gregory Moore, 57, of Scottsbluff, is scheduled for trial in Scotts Bluff County District Court beginning March 20. Jury selection is set to take place that morning, with trial to begin immediately afterward. Currently, five days have been set aside for trial, according to court documents. Moore is accused in the death of 23-year-old Fernando Camacho-McBride. Moore has been charged with second-degree murder, a Class IB felony; and use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony, a Class II felony. Police arrested Moore after being dispatched to an apartment in the 100 block of E. 15th Street after being called to a do a welfare check on the man. A disturbance had been reported to have been ongoing since the early morning hours, according to an arrest affidavit filed in the case. Once officers arrived, they contacted Moore who opened the door slightly to talk to an officer. The officer reported seeing a large amount of blood on the mans clothing. As he directed Moore to open the door farther, he observed the body of a man, later identified as Camacho-McBride. As police investigated, they also found furniture and other items indicated a struggle had occurred. An autopsy determined Camacho-McBride had been stabbed several times, leading to his death. According to court filings, Moore is expected to contend at trial that he acted in self-defense, without an intent to kill. The state has indicated that it intends to enter evidence from a previous case Moore had been convicted in which he had attacked a landlord with a pocket knife in March 2020. The state intends to present that prior bad act, as it is called, to show Moores intent, motive, knowledge and absence of mistake or accident to counter the claim of self-defense. Defense attorneys had filed motions to suppress statements that Moore made to police prior to arrest and past convictions. In the motions to suppress, the defense argued to keep out statements that Moore had made to police while at the residence. The state had previously indicated it would not use statements that Moore made to police while at the department, but intended to introduce statements Moore made to police after making contact with Moore, the court determined. In a March 2 ruling, Judge Andrea Miller ruled on motions in the case, determining all statements made by Moore were voluntary and admissible at trial and could be used at trial, as well as evidence of prior convictions. Trial in the case had been postponed as Moore had appealed a decision. Moore had underwent a competency evaluation in another case and Moores attorney argued that the homicide case had not been brought to trial within the time required by statute, thus violating Moores right to a speedy trial. The defense sought dismissal of the case, and Miller denied that motion. Moores attorney appealed that decision to the Nebraska Supreme Court. The Nebraska Supreme Court considered the appeal, issuing a ruling in September 2022, affirming Millers decision. Moore is being represented by Kelly Breen, with the Nebraska Commission on Public Advocacy. Doug Warner, an assistant attorney general with the Nebraska Attorney Generals Office, is prosecuting the case. Students in Scottsbluff Public Schools ReConnect program are working to better their community as junior ambassadors at Riverside Discovery Center. The students are no strangers to volunteering in their community, having worked on beautification projects like the East Overland mural, given their time to Meals on Wheels, and spent their weekends participating in events like the Panhandle Polar Plunge. Their work at the zoo is one of their newest projects and has become one of their favorites. Overall, the experience has been pretty fun, said ReConnect student Sean Cress, who was on his second trip to the zoo as an ambassador. Being able to help out a bit and see animals is really fun. I enjoy it, and I hope other people do, too. Bradjay Benavides said that he had performed some of the same duties in a previous round of volunteering at the zoo. Really we just cut up some food for the animals and go take a look around the zoo for kids that havent been there before, which is what were going to do today, he said. The ReConnect students have also done other general work for the zoo, including cleaning facilities. The partnership is set to expand and involve additional duties during the zoos busier season over the summer. The students agreed that pitching in at the zoo felt especially meaningful since many of them have fond childhood memories of the place and the singularly magical feeling that it gave them back then. I grew up in Scottsbluff, and this zoo is a big part of me and my familys life, said Benavides. We came here on a lot of family trips. Its great to be able to help out the people that helped us out and cheered us up when we were little. Cress agreed that helping out at the zoo felt like a good way to pay forward the good memories he has of the zoo to a new generation. I remember coming here a lot as a kid with my family, he said. Life was pretty good. It was bright and full of colors, kind of like a rainbow. Its really exciting for me to be able to help out so that other kids can have the same experiences that I did as a kid. The ReConnect staff said that volunteering is a big focus for the program, both for the benefit of the students themselves and to prove to the community what the students are capable of. We try to get our students as involved within the community as possible, said alternative learning supervisor Drake Gilliland. These are kids that kind of need a second chance, and they want to prove that theyre worth other peoples time. And its not something that we have to force on them; they really love doing it. Several of the students voiced their intention to keep lending a hand at the zoo, potentially even after they graduate from ReConnect. Im willing to give, said Cress. I am planning on graduating soon, but even then, if they still need help, Im willing to pitch in and come by. One could spend substantial time at Fort Robinson State Park and barely appreciate the depth of its importance in Nebraska history, an Omaha lawmaker told a legislative committee Thursday. State Sen. Justin Wayne included the 149-year-old former U.S. Army post near Crawford among three sites or historical topics on which he wants the state to spend a combined $35 million to help preserve or develop more fully. He presented Legislative Bill 474 to the Legislatures Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee, whose chairman, Gordon Sen. Tom Brewer, is one of Waynes two co-sponsors. LB474, which Wayne admitted needs refinement before it can be passed, also calls for the state to buy and repair the flood-damaged Mayhew Cabin and museum at Nebraska City and help develop a Standing Bear and Ponca Cultural Center on historical Ponca Tribe of Nebraska land near Niobrara. Mayhew Cabin, also known somewhat incorrectly as John Browns Cave, is Nebraskas lone surviving outpost on the westernmost leg of the pre-Civil War Underground Railroad that ferried escaped Black slaves to freedom. Standing Bear, a 19th-century Ponca leader, won the right to return to Nebraska from Oklahoma in a famous 1879 federal trial at which U.S. District Judge Elmer Dundy ruled Native Americans are persons within the meaning of the law. Wayne, one of the Legislatures two Black members, said the three sites in different corners of Nebraska are vital to understanding the history of Nebraska and two of its historic minority groups. LB474 focuses on some really great intersections between rural history, Nebraska history, African American history and Native community history and overall our countrys history, he told the committee. Observers of Thursdays hearing could readily see the partnership behind LB474 between Wayne and Brewer, a registered Oglala Sioux Tribe member. Gering Sen. Brian Hardin is the bills other co-sponsor. Wayne said he first visited Fort Robinson after joining Brewer for a western Nebraska turkey hunt. Thats when he first began to perceive the broad historical vistas that unfolded there after its 1874 founding. It was initially small, a third-rate outpost, but grew into one of the busiest, bustling fortresses in America, he said. An active Army post until 1947, Fort Robinson was laid out near the Oglala Lakotas Red Cloud Agency, later moved to the Pine Ridge Reservation. It witnessed the 1877 shooting death of Lakota legend Crazy Horse and the 1879 Cheyenne Outbreak of Dull Knifes Northern Cheyenne band trying to return from forced exile in Oklahoma to ancestral lands in Montana. African Americans were prominent in the forts late 1800s history as members of the all-Black 9th U.S. Cavalry, one of two such Buffalo Soldier regiments. In the 20th century, Wayne said, Fort Robinson developed into one of the worlds premier equine centers as a U.S. cavalry remount depot. It hosted a K-9 dog-training school and was a close neighbor to a German POW camp during World War II. Its postwar passage into the hands of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and then the state has preserved much of the forts history. But its tourist-related amenities are aging and its historical messages scattered, Wayne said. The structures need to be preserved, (and) the facilities are inadequate, he said. Fort Robinson needs new lodging, an updated RV park and just modern amenities. In the quarter-century-long transition from Army property to state ownership, Wayne said, History Nebraska, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and the University of Nebraska all ended up owning portions of the park. History Nebraska manages many of Fort Robinsons historical features, while Game and Parks provides lodging and park activities. NU operates the Trailside Museum, which focuses on the northern Panhandles natural history and prehistoric archaeological significance. LB 474 would provide help to Fort Robinson and the Standing Bear project as matching funds to private money raised for improving the fort or establishing the Niobrara cultural center. Jill Dolberg, History Nebraskas interim director, officially testified in a neutral capacity but said the formerly named Nebraska State Historical Society is eager to discuss ideas for improving Fort Robinsons amenities and coordinating its historical stories. We dont often see bills that are so enthusiastic about history, she said. History Nebraska owns and manages about a dozen Fort Robinson buildings, she said. But its interpretative displays are old and tired, admittedly, and it doesnt tell the full story of the site. Dolberg was the only speaker on Fort Robinson at Thursdays hearing, which drew testimony from seven supporters of saving the Mayhew Cabin or developing what would be Nebraskas first museum devoted to Standing Bear. Slaves escaping from violence-torn Bleeding Kansas in the mid-1850s would hide in tunnels below the cabin, built by Allen and Barbara Mayhew in 1854. They were guided toward Iowa by Barbaras brother John Henri Kagi, an associate of famed abolitionist John Brown who died during the latters 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry in present-day West Virginia. A later owner moved the cabin slightly north due to road construction in 1937, crafting new tunnels below. The cabin was listed on the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom in 2003 and the National Register of Historic Places in 2010. But floods in 2013 and 2019 ruined the tunnel exit and damaged a neighboring museum, triggering still-festering legal disputes between Nebraska City and the nonprofit Mayhew Cabin Foundation over responsibility for the damage. The foundation wasnt represented at Thursdays hearing, but Mayor Bryan Bequette and former City Attorney Drew Graham said theyd welcome the states assistance in enabling repairs to the cabin and museum. Several Ponca Tribe of Nebraska leaders urged Brewers committee to help advance a Standing Bear museum, as did Judi gaiashkibos, a member of the tribe and executive director of the Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs. Nebraska donated a Standing Bear sculpture for U.S. Capitol display in 2019, and replicas stand on Lincolns Centennial Mall and in Niobrara. But the only Standing Bear museum in existence is located in Ponca City, Oklahoma. Historic landmarks across Nebraska Slab of Sandstone Salt Basin Monument Fort McPherson Weber Mill Fort Kearny Willa Cather's Childhood Home Fort Atkinson Woodcliff Burial Site Fort Robinson Cattle Trail Jalapa, Nebraska Massacre Canyon Arbor Lodge State Park Ashfall Fossil Beds Scotts Bluff Chimney Rock Pony Express A Charlotte man is facing numerous charges after ecstasy and methamphetamine were found during a traffic stop, said Iredell Sheriff Darren Campbell. Xzavior TyRic Green, 34, of Charlotte, was charged with felony possession with intent to sell or deliver Schedule I (ecstasy), felony possession of methamphetamine, felony possession of marijuana and misdemeanor counts of possession of Schedule II (oxycodone) and possession of drug paraphernalia (two counts) and was served with an order for arrest for habitual felon. A magistrate set bond at $100,000. Campbell, in a news release, said Sgt. W.E. Line with the Aggressive Criminal Enforcement (ACE) team stopped a Dodge Durango on Plaza Drive near Interstate 77 in Mooresville on Sunday. Campbell said the Durango had an equipment violation and a fictitious tag was displayed. Line spoke with the driver and told him of the reason for the stop. When Line asked the driver, identified as Green, for his drivers license, he said he didnt have one, Campbell said. Line continued speaking to Green about his license and saw a partially smoked marijuana cigarette in the ashtray, he said. Line checked Greens license information and asked for a criminal record check and learned that there was an outstanding order for arrest from Cabarrus County, Campbell said. Green was arrested on the outstanding warrant and a subsequent search of the vehicle was performed. A total of 70 dosage units of ecstasy, 2.46 grams of methamphetamine, 32.07 grams of marijuana, three dosage units of oxycodone, drug paraphernalia and $877 were found, Campbell said. Greens history includes felony possession of a stolen motor vehicle, felony possession with intent to sell or deliver cocaine, felony sell cocaine, felony attempted common law robbery, felony larceny after breaking or entering, felony conspire to commit breaking or entering and felony breaking or entering and misdemeanor counts of resisting a public officer and possession of marijuana. Doosan Bobcat wants to keep it simple, which is why it announced several of its brands will consolidate under one name. The company announced in a news release that as part of its global branding strategy to create business and growth opportunities for the Doosan Bobcat product portfolio, Doosan Portable Power (DPP), Doosan Industrial Air (DIA), and Doosan Industrial Vehicle (DIV) will rebrand under the Bobcat trade dress in North America and applicable markets worldwide. Our recent expansion enables us to help Bobcat continue to grow as a global brand, while our community sees the continued investment the company is making for its employees and those who live in the area, Lance Mathern said. He is the vice president of Doosan Bobcat Industrial Products. We are joining an iconic brand that has changed the world, and we are excited to build the products to further grow the business and a strong future in Statesville. The company has expanded in recent years and offered more machines, stating it launched more machines over the last five years than previously in its entire history. Those expanded equipment lines include grounds maintenance solutions, which includes compact tractors, small articulated loaders and zero-turn mowers some of which are currently manufactured in Statesville. Moving these brands into the Bobcat portfolio shows consumers our global growth trajectory and the breadth of products our organization offers, Laura Ness Owens said. She is the Doosan Bobcat vice president of global brand and North American marketing. We are pleased that we can manufacture these products in a state-of-the-art facility like Statesville, where our employees are committed to helping customers get the toughest jobs done. The DPP and DIA are both Statesville, North Carolina-based companies. DIV is based in Buford, Ga. In October 2022, the Doosan Bobcat Statesville facility completed its $70 million, 600,000-square-foot expansion that added more than 1 million square feet in the building on its 15-acre campus at 1293 Glenway Drive. The investment has created significant employment and economic opportunities in Iredell County and is anticipated to continue having a positive impact as the company increases its global manufacturing footprint. With this refreshed identity, the DPP, DIA, and DIV product suites will undergo design and aesthetic changes in alignment with the current Bobcat branding. DPP, DIA, and DIV will continue to be based in their respective locations as part of this rebranding initiative. Bobcat and these rebranded product lines will proudly remain part of the broader Doosan Group portfolio. In addition to its operations in Statesville, Bobcat has an extensive presence throughout the U.S. The company employs more than 5,000 people at 13 facilities in seven states. Among its other facilities, Bobcat has offices, engineering, research and development centers in North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Georgia and Arizona; a training facility in Colorado; and manufacturing facilities in North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Carolina. The company said recently with the expansion, it hopes to employ 600 people locally. Accused in the 2020 slaying of his mothers boyfriend, a Bland County man was expected to enter pleas on Tuesday to charges related to the death. At the last minute, though, the case was postponed again this time until April. Transported from the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail facility in Abingdon, where hes been held while awaiting trial, 27-year-old Justin Michael Hackler of Bastian was supposed to enter pleas related to the June 2020 slaying of 45-year-old David Allen Hayes of Gratton, whose family members came to Tuesdays hearing. Hacklers attorney, Jim Shortt, told a Bland County Circuit Court judge that he thought an agreement had been worked out on Friday with the commonwealth, but Hackler made a counter offer on Tuesday morning. He said he and special prosecutor Jessica Gunter had a new agreement, but he wasnt ready to proceed on Tuesday. A new hearing date was set for April 18. Police have accused Hackler of shooting Hayes and then hiding his body underneath Hacklers trailer. Hacklers mother, Leslie Raquel Hackler, has already been convicted of concealing his body. Hayes went missing in late June 2020 and his body was found on July 10. Police said Justin Hackler had told two people hed shot a black bear that was getting into his trash and buried it below his residence. He was charged with second-degree murder, using a firearm in commission of a felony, conspiring to conceal a body and concealing a body. A jury trial was scheduled last year, but the case was continued. Police officers pursued a robbery suspect in the Northlake neighborhood of Longview, culminating in a crash outside the Dutch Bros Coffee shop on 15th Avenue and Delaware Street on Thursday afternoon. The suspect, 27-year-old Kelso resident Lucas Bunn, is accused of using a knife in an armed robbery, according to Longview police Capt. Branden McNew, before leading police in a pursuit through some of busiest parts of town. A resident reportedly discovered Bunn in the middle of an alleged home burglary, McNew said by email. During his attempt to flee, he presented a knife and tried to stab the homeowner. Police shut down the intersection to conduct an investigation, the department posted to its Facebook page. McNew told The Daily News the initial robbery occurred in the 2700 block of Ocean Beach Highway, and Bunn allegedly fled in an SUV. Officers started their pursuit near the area of Washington Way and Nichols Boulevard. The incident ended after a police car performed a successful PIT maneuver to pin the suspects vehicle outside the Dutch Bros Coffee shop and near the PeaceHealth St. Johns Medical Centers parking structure. McNew said no one, not even the suspect, sustained an injury due to the collision. According to the Cowlitz County Jail roster, Bunn faces five charges: burglary, robbery, attempt to elude, and contempt of court. His court date is unknown at this time. SILVER LAKE Jeffery W. Hellem of Silver Lake said a neighbor shot his Bengal cat, but officials say no crime has occurred. Darren Ullmann, executive director of Humane Society of Cowlitz County, confirmed the cat was trespassing on a neighboring property when the unnamed man, thinking a wild raccoon was attempting to enter his chicken coup, fired upon the domesticated feline. The neighbor has not been cited or arrested. The neighbor could not be reached for comment. Ullmann, who once served as undersheriff for the Cowlitz County Sheriffs Office, said the neighbor was well within his right to protect his property. According to Ullmann, a Washington State law dealing with dogs who are chasing, biting, injuring or killing farm animals or domestic animals also applies to cats. Ullmann also points toward another state law that grants authority to kill a wildlife animal that is destroying or injuring property. Hellem said at about 9 p.m., Feb. 25 he heard his purebred Bengal cat moan in agony as the feline sustained a gunshot wound near its neck. Veterinary bills have cost Hellem more than $17,000, which covered a blood transfusion, X-rays and surgery. Even as Cheeto recovers, the cat is still in danger of losing a leg, he said. Cheeto Hellem calls him his Christmas kitty had a large enough gunshot wound that he said he could fit his pinkie inside. The surgery that followed was complicated: The cat to be wired and screwed to stay alive as the bullet shattered bones and ripped tissue, Hellem said, adding that the veterinarian said he never did a surgery (like) this before. According to Hellem, the expensive cat had significant blood loss, and Cheeto had to be monitored constantly to prevent amputation. Hellem is currently building a fence for Cheeto. He said he is disappointed with Animal Control and the Cowlitz County Sheriffs Office for, as he put it, doing nothing to help at all. Ullmann said Hellem is angry with Animal Control because were not doing what he wants us to do. Hellem said he and his wife, Misty, have set up a GoFundMe page to fund raise for an attorney and fence for the cats protection. Former Washington legislator and Vancouver city councilor Jim Moeller died Wednesday following a years-long battle with Parkinsons disease. He was 67. State Rep. Sharon Wylie announced Moellers passing from the House floor Wednesday afternoon. He was fearless, Wylie said in an interview later in the day. Wylie said Moeller had most recently been working to get an assault weapons ban passed, adding the House passed a bill banning the weapons only hours after his death. He would defend other people to the death. He was a fierce advocate, Wylie added. And he had an incredible sense of humor. Wylie said Moeller used that humor to rein in lawmakers from the dais whenever discussions got too raucous. He would make some very understated, well-timed comment and everybody would just laugh. He would break the tension, she said. James Carl Moeller was born in Vancouver on July 2, 1955. After receiving a bachelors degree in psychology from Washington State University, he did his graduate work in social work at Portland State University. He was elected to the Vancouver City Council in 1995 and served there until he was elected as the 49th District state representative in 2002. Moeller served in the legislature from 2003 to 2017. He was named speaker pro tempore of the Washington House of Representatives in 2011. In addition to his time in office, Moeller worked as an addiction councilor at Kaiser Permanente for 27 years. Perhaps best known by some for his love of colorful bow ties, Moeller was one of the states first openly gay lawmakers and was a trailblazer for the gay community in Vancouver and the state. Former Vancouver city council candidate Mike Pond shared his thoughts on Moellers passing on Facebook. Legislator, Ally, Boss, Mentor, Confidant, Friend. An elder statesman, a real class act. I always say Jim paved the road, I now get to skip down! Im forever in your fan club. Thank you, for all you did for so many, Pond wrote. During his time in the Legislature, Moeller served on numerous committees including the joint Senate and House taskforces on child support and public health financing. He was the co-chair of the Joint Committee on Veterans and Military Affairs and member of the governors work group on licensing of mental health and abuse counselors. Moeller was also actively involved in numerous community organizations. He was a founding member of Clark County Pride and Hands Off Washington. Moeller served on the YWCA Diversity Task Force, Clark Countys methamphetamine task fork, Washington End of Life coalition and was chair of the Southwest Washington Health District Board of Directors among many others. As word of Moellers passing spread, lawmakers and others who knew Moeller turned to social media to express their sympathies, including state Sen. Ann Rivers, R-La Center. While Jim and I have equal and opposite political DNA, he always treated me with respect and dignity. I, in return, treated him the same, Rivers said in a Facebook post. More importantly, the way he treated my son Derick while he was a page in Olympia and my husband Fred trying to navigate his way in Olympia was always with Love!!! A lovely human being and a dear friend. On Twitter, lobbyist Zach Carstensen said, Rest in peace @Jimmoeller. You were one of a kind. In a post on its Facebook page, the Clark County Democrats said, Jim was a fine example of service to ones community. His kind heart and dedication will be a lesson that those who seek elected office would be wise to follow. Moeller and other former lawmakers who passed away during the past year will be honored by the Legislature during a special memorial session on March 15. A rise in traffic fatalities in Washington has alarmed officials, who say incidents have reached a crisis level following the states deadliest year in three decades. The 745 deaths recorded in 2022, according to preliminary data from the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, were the most in the state since 825 in 1990. The spike, up 11% over the year prior, has cast a renewed spotlight on bad road behavior, faulty transportation infrastructure and the importance of driver education. I think our roads are more dangerous than at any other time in the history of our state, state Sen. John Lovick, D-Mill Creek, told The News Tribune. Traffic fatalities more than doubled in all of Pierce County between 2012 and 2021, according to data maintained by the Traffic Safety Commission, which wont release local or more in-depth state numbers for last year until May. This is violence playing out on our roadways, Pierce County Council Chair Ryan Mello said. State and local officials suggested that a cultural change is necessary to reverse troubling occurrences of risky behind-the-wheel exploits, such as impaired driving and speeding, while vowing to wisely use traffic-safety funds to re-design problematic public infrastructure and boost educational messaging. In nearly one-third of all fatal crashes statewide between 2012 and 2021, a driver tested positive for alcohol, according to Traffic Safety Commission data. More than 83% of alcohol-positive drivers tested over the current legal blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) limit, a News Tribune analysis found. Lovick, a former Washington state trooper, proposed a bill this Legislative session to lower the BAC limit for drivers from .08 to .05. The shift would be the strictest in the country alongside Utah. Lovick said the intention of the bill, which did not pass out of the Senate by a Wednesday evening deadline but could be revived later in a budget proviso, is not punitive but to make drivers think twice about choosing to drive after drinking at all. His bill, opposed by the hospitality industry, was one of at least several driving-related pieces of legislation brought forward by lawmakers this year. Among them: Proposals to curtail illegal street racing, toughen penalties for specific negligent driving, expand felony convictions for repeat DUI offenders and mandate drivers education for young people. Pierce County and Tacoma councils have adopted Vision Zero initiatives in recent years, seeking to eliminate all traffic fatalities and serious injuries by 2035 through a data-driven and eventual action-oriented approach. Gov. Jay Inslees 2023 budget, citing a 17% increase in statewide traffic fatalities from 2020 to 2021, calls for infrastructure improvements, including finally completing bicycle and pedestrian projects that were approved in 2015. The sharp uptick in traffic deaths year-over-year in Washington is reminiscent of the 1970s, the last time the state saw increases at a similar rate, according to a presentation in January to the Traffic Safety Commission by its research director, Staci Hoff. It terrifies me, to be honest with you, Debbie Driver, a senior transportation policy advisor for Inslee, said in an interview. I think were at a level where I can understand why someone would say its a crisis. Sounding the alarm In typical years, the Traffic Safety Commission, which serves as the official census for traffic fatalities in Washington, wouldnt release figures for the previous year until May. When officials announced the 32-year high in January, they felt a duty to show the alarming trend sooner than usual, according to agency director Shelly Baldwin. The figure of 745 people killed on Washington roads and highways in 2022 could rise as agency researchers review crash incidents and medical examiners and coroners records from last year, Baldwin told The News Tribune. But her takeaway would not be different. My heart goes out to all those families that have lost loved ones unnecessarily on our roadways, she said. I think thats the crisis and the big tragedy of that number. Baldwin said whats happening behind the wheel is a reflection of societal issues, including alcohol- and substance-use disorders, violent crime and mental health. The number of drivers under the influence of multiple drugs, or poly-drug use, has shocked agency officials, she said. Between 2012 and 2021, roughly 36% of statewide fatal crashes involved a driver who tested positive for at least one drug, according to Traffic Safety Commission data. Drug-positive drivers were more than twice as likely to test positive for multiple drugs than for just one, regardless of whether they were also using alcohol, the data shows. Baldwin said it was time for another cultural shift in traffic safety. While historical changes brought vehicle-design improvements, seat belt laws and the formation of advocacy groups, including Mothers Against Drunk Driving, a renewed sense of personal responsibility is imperative, she said. We could change this right now, Baldwin said. We just need to have that attitude. Buckling up? While its still unclear how many traffic deaths in Pierce County the Traffic Safety Commission will report for 2022, another state agencys figures suggest that countywide deaths could have receded from 2021. The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), which tracks incidents reported by law enforcement, recorded 87 fatalities in Pierce County last year, which would be 11 fewer than the prior year. WSDOTs figures indicate that the number of fatalities in Tacoma increased to 27, however, which would be one more than in 2021. WSDOT does not break down statistics for the unincorporated county. Through slightly more than two full months this year, WSDOT has recorded 10 traffic fatalities in all Pierce County, well below pace to reach the recent high from 2021, although Traffic Safety Commission data shows that deadly crashes overwhelmingly occur in dry weather. At the end of the day, one life lost is one too many, Washington State Patrol spokesperson Sgt. Chelsea Hodgson said after being asked to give her reaction to the preliminary number of statewide traffic fatalities in 2022. The fact that the number is that high is obviously concerning, extremely disheartening to us. Hodgson said the agency has been relying on more data-driven methods to guide high-visibility patrols and pooling resources with other law enforcement jurisdictions to address staff shortages. Educating drivers is a main goal, including on buckling up. More than 20 percent of people killed on roads and highways between 2012 and 2021 were not wearing a seat belt, according to Traffic Safety Commission data. Thats compared to roughly 32 percent who were wearing a belt. Restraint use in other instances was unknown or not applicable. Pierce Countys seat belt rate was the fourth-worst among 26 of Washingtons 39 counties surveyed last year by the Traffic Safety Commission, which released survey results in February. In the survey, an estimated 89.4% of Pierce County drivers were observed wearing a seat belt at select sites. The statewide rate was 93.9%, a range where it has hovered for the past decade. The number of unrestrained fatalities and serious injuries statewide havent been as high as they are now since before 2010, according to the survey. The seat belt use rate in Pierce County has been statistically significantly lower than the state rate three of the last five years, more often than any other county included in the survey, the survey report summary said. Scared to go out because of traffic Speeding remains a concern. On March 1, the Tacoma Police Department warned that it had already responded this year to six traffic fatalities and three crashes resulting in serious injuries. Traffic officers continue to find speed as a contributing factor in these deadly collisions, the department said in a news release. Between 2012 and 2021, nearly 32% of all fatal crashes in Washington involved a speeding driver, Traffic Safety Commission data shows. The physical toll on the streets that is startling officials also has had an emotional impact on the public, according to Dr. Anthony Chen, the director of health for the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department. He was a panelist during a recent traffic safety forum in Tacoma hosted by Downtown On the Go. Just as people are scared to go out because of crime, Chen said during the forum, there are people scared to go out because of traffic. Lovick, the state senator who introduced the alcohol limit-reducing bill for drivers, said that if any industry produced as many deaths as those recorded on Washingtons roads and highways, there would be more action taken. How much are we going to tolerate in our communities? he said. 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: Five quantum modules linked together by newly developed, low-loss quantum interconnects. Credit: Yan Qiu Quantum processors are computing systems that process information and perform computations by exploiting quantum mechanical phenomena. These systems could significantly outperform conventional processors on certain tasks, both in terms of speed and computational capabilities. While engineers have developed several promising quantum computing systems over the past decade or so, scaling these systems and ensuring that they can be deployed on a large-scale remains an ongoing challenge. One proposed strategy to increase the scalability of quantum processors entails the creation of modular systems containing multiple smaller quantum modules, which can be individually calibrated and then arranged into a bigger architecture. This, however, would require suitable and effective interconnects (i.e., devices for connecting these smaller modules). Researchers at the Southern University of Science and Technology, the International Quantum Academy and other institutes in China have recently developed low-loss interconnects for linking the individual modules in modular superconducting quantum processors. These interconnects, introduced in Nature Electronics, are based on pure aluminum cables and on-chip impendence transformers. "Our recent paper was based on core ideas from my postdoc research at the University of Chicago, which was published in Nature two years ago," Youpeng Zhong, one of the researchers who carried out the study, told Tech Xplore. "In that study, I used a niobium-titanium (NbTi) superconducting coaxial cable to connect two quantum processors." In one of his previous works, Zhong tried to connect two distinct quantum processors using NbTi superconducting cables, which are commonly used to engineer cryogenic/quantum systems. To reduce the connection loss (i.e., the loss of energy that inherently occurred while energy traveled from one processor to the other through the cables), he tried to wire-bond the quantum chips directly to the connecting NbTi cable. "I found that this was quite difficult, so I came up with the idea of trying new cables made of different superconducting metals, such as aluminum, the same material as our quantum circuits," Zhong explained. "Coaxial cables made with pure aluminum are not readily available on the shelf, because aluminum is more lossy and difficult to solder than copper, making it unsuitable for normal cabling applications. Moreover, its superconducting transition temperature is below the liquid Helium temperature. Other than quantum interconnection applications, it's rare to find scenarios where a pure aluminum coaxial cable is needed." To create his new low-loss interconnects, Zhong custom ordered pure aluminum coaxial cables and integrated them with on-chip impedance transformers. The resulting interconnects exhibited significantly less loss (i.e., one order of magnitude lower) than routinely used interconnects based on NbTi cables, and were also easy to wire-bond to quantum chips. "Pure aluminum cables turned out to be the perfect choice for quantum interconnects," Zhong said. "Our interconnects include the custom developed aluminum coaxial cable, wire-bond connection between the cable and the quantum chip and a quarter-wavelength transmission line on the quantum chip, which serves as an impedance transformer. The impedance transformer in the team's interconnect converts the wire-bond connection point to a current node of a standing wave mode that is used to transfer quantum states. This significantly minimizes the resistive loss at the point of connection between different quantum processors. "Our findings remind us of how much potential improvement we could attain if we think outside the box," Zhong said. "For example, the work of Charles Kao laid the foundation to optical fibers as we all know today: with record loss of 0.2 dB/km they have become the backbone of the modern global communication networkindispensable to short and long-haul communications. The transformative impact of this highly technical and almost neglected material science research was awarded a half of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics. Another example is the use of stainless steel for Elon Musk's Starship Mars Rocket." The recent work by this team of researchers highlights the huge potential of aluminum cables for developing effective interconnects to link processing modules in modular quantum systems. The low-loss interconnect created by Zong and his colleagues could soon be integrated in other modular systems, contributing to ongoing efforts at developing more scalable quantum processors. "Among my future research plans, one is to explore quantum entangling gates across different quantum processors," Zhong added. "Another is trying to scale up the size of quantum processors by connecting multiple modules together." 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: The icon for the video sharing TikTok app is seen on a smartphone, on Feb. 28, 2023. Belgium is banning TikTok from government phones over worries about cybersecurity, privacy and misinformation, the country's prime minister said Friday, March 10, 2023, mirroring recent action by other authorities in Europe and the U.S. Credit: AP Photo/Matt Slocum Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo on Friday banned federal officials from using TikTok on their work phones, making his the latest country to take steps against the Chinese app. A number of national governments in Europe have already restricted TikTok for government employees, over fears the authorities in Beijing could use the video-sharing network to access sensitive user data. The European Union's governing institutions have also told staff in recent weeks to purge the app from smartphones and laptops used for work purposes. "We shouldn't be naive: TikTok is a Chinese business that is currently obliged to cooperate with the Chinese intelligence services," De Croo said. "That is the reality." A spokesperson for TikTok said Friday: "We are disappointed at this suspension, which is based on basic misinformation about our company. "TikTok is not a Chinese company. Our parent company is also incorporated outside of China and is majority-owned by global institutional investors." Its user data was not stored in China, the spokesperson added. "The Chinese Government cannot compel another sovereign nation to provide data stored in that nation's territory. "We are readily available to meet with officials to address any concerns and set the record straight on misconceptions." The Belgian movein place for a preliminary six monthsfollows a risk assessment into potential espionage by the country's cybersecurity and intelligence agencies. It does not cover the use of the video-sharing app on the personal phones of civil servants, ministers, or lawmakers. Western powers, including the European Union and the United States, have been taking an increasingly tough approach to the app, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance. TikTok launched a new push to assuage European worries over security on Wednesday, saying it was working with a third-party European security company to oversee and check how it handles data. TikTok says its European user data will be stored at two centres in Dublin and one in Norway from 2023 onwards. 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: This photo taken during a visit by Associated Press journalists shows some of about 1,000 huge tanks holding treated but still radioactive wastewater at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO), in Okuma town, northeastern Japan, on Feb. 22, 2023. Treated radioactive wastewater is set to be released into sea sometime from spring 2023 to summer after required testing and dilution with large amounts of seawater. Credit: AP Photo/Mari Yamaguchi Twelve years after the triple reactor meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, Japan is preparing to release a massive amount of treated radioactive wastewater into the sea. Japanese officials say the release is unavoidable and should start soon. Dealing with the wastewater is less of a challenge than the daunting task of decommissioning the plant. That process has barely progressed, and the removal of melted nuclear fuel hasn't even started. The Associated Press recently visited the plant. Here's an update on what's happening. How are water discharge preparations proceeding? During their visit, AP journalists saw 30 giant tanks for sampling and analyzing the water for safety checks. A concrete facility for diluting the water after it is treated and tested is in the final stages of construction. From there, the water will be released via an undersea tunnel. The plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, aims to have the facilities ready by spring. TEPCO needs a safety approval from the Nuclear Regulation Authority. The International Atomic Energy Agency, collaborating with Japan to ensure the project meets international standards, will send a mission to Japan and issue a report before the discharge begins. University of Tokyo radiologist Katsumi Shozugawa holds water containing tritium during an interview with The Associated Press, at the university in Tokyo on Feb. 16, 2023. Shozugawa said his analysis of groundwater in multiple locations in no-go zones near the plant has shown that tritium and other radioactive elements have been leaking into groundwater. Credit: AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama What is treated water? A magnitude 9.0 quake on March 11, 2011, triggered a massive tsunami that destroyed the plant's power supply and cooling systems, causing reactors No. 1, 2 and 3 to melt and spew large amounts of radiation. Water used to cool the reactors' cores leaked into the basements of the reactor buildings and mixed with rainwater and groundwater. The 130 tons of contaminated water created daily is collected, treated and then stored in tanks, which now number about 1,000 and cover much of the plant's grounds. About 70% of the "ALPS-treated water," named after the machines used to filter it, still contains Cesium and other radionuclides that exceed releasable limits. TEPCO says the radioactivity can be reduced to safe levels and it will ensure that insufficiently filtered water is treated until it meets the legal limit. Tritium cannot be removed from the water but is unharmful in small amounts and is routinely released by any nuclear plant, officials say. It will be also diluted, along with other radioactive isotopes, they say. The water release will be gradual and tritium concentrations will not exceed the plant's pre-accident levels, TEPCO says. Noboru Ishizawa, a Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO) official, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, northeastern Japan, on Feb. 22, 2023. TEPCO officials oversee the fish experiment compared with other flounders raised in a different tank with regular seawater. Credit: AP Photo/Mari Yamaguchi Why release the water? Fukushima Daiichi has struggled to handle the contaminated water since the 2011 disaster. The government and TEPCO say the tanks must make way for facilities to decommission the plant, such as storage space for melted fuel debris and other highly contaminated waste. The tanks are 96% full and expected to reach their capacity of 1.37 million tons in the fall. They also want to release the water in a controlled, treated way to avoid the risk that contaminated water would leak in case of another major quake or tsunami. It will be sent through a pipe from the sampling tanks to a coastal pool to be diluted with seawater and released through an undersea tunnel to a point 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) offshore. What are the safety concerns? Local fishing communities say their businesses and livelihoods will suffer still more damage. Neighboring countries such as China and South Korea and Pacific Island nations have raised safety concerns. Flounders are raised in a fish tank filled with diluted treated radioactive wastewater at a laboratory at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO), in Okuma town, northeastern Japan, on Feb. 22, 2023. TEPCO officials oversee the fish experiment compared with other flounders raised in a different tank with regular seawater. Credit: AP Photo/Mari Yamaguchi "It would be best if the water isn't released, but it seems unavoidable," said Katsumasa Okawa, owner of a seafood store in Iwaki, south of the plant, whose business is still recovering. Okawa said he hopes any further setbacks will be short-lived and that the releases might reassure people about eating fish from Fukushima. "I find those massive tanks more disturbing," Okawa said. "The next time the water leaks out by accident, Fukushima's fishing will be finished." The government has earmarked 80 billion yen ($580 million) to support Fukushima fisheries and to address "reputation damage" from the release. TEPCO has sought to reassure people by keeping hundreds of flounder and abalone in two groupsone in regular seawater and another in the diluted treated water. The experiment is "for people to visually confirm the treated water we deem safe to release won't adversely affect creatures in reality," said Tomohiko Mayuzumi, TEPCO's risk communicator. Soil and crops that University of Tokyo radiologist Katsumi Shozugawa collected in Fukushima prefecture are seen in a box at his laboratory in Tokyo on Feb. 16, 2023. Shozugawa said his analysis of groundwater in multiple locations in no-go zones near the plant has shown that tritium and other radioactive elements have been leaking into groundwater. Credit: AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama Radioactivity levels in the flounder and abalone rose while they were in the treated water but fell to normal levels within days after they were returned to regular seawater. That supports data showing a minimal effect on marine life from tritium, said Noboru Ishizawa, a TEPCO official overseeing the experiment. Officials say the impact of the water on humans, the environment and marine life will be minimal and will be monitored before, during and after the releases which will continue through the 30-40 year decommissioning process. Simulations show no increase in radioactivity beyond 3 kilometers (1.8 mile) from the coast. Scientists say health impacts from consuming tritium and other radioisotopes through the food chain may be worse than from drinking it in water and further studies are needed. Cross-checks are another concern: TEPCO says water samples are shared with IAEA and the government-funded Japan Atomic Energy Agency, but experts would like to see independent cross-checks. Katsumasa Okawa, a seafood store owner from Fukushima prefecture's Iwaki, bakes shellfish during the Sakana & Japan Festival at a park in Tokyo on Feb. 22, 2023. Okawa said he expects a setback to his still recovering business but hopes it will be temporary and a safe progress would reassure people about Fukushima fish. Credit: AP Photo/Mari Yamaguchi University of Tokyo radiologist Katsumi Shozugawa said his analysis of groundwater in multiple locations in no-go zones near the plant has shown that tritium and other radioactive elements have been leaking into groundwater. If highly radioactive water escapes and is dispersed into the sea it becomes impossible to trace, a concern not only for Japan but also for countries in the Pacific, he said. "There should be a continuous, science-based effort to show other countries that it's thoroughly handled, which I think is lacking the most." Environmental groups including Friends of the Earth oppose the release. They have proposed long-term storage of the water by solidification, as used at the Savannah River waste repository in the U.S. Any progress with the melted reactors? Massive amounts of fatally radioactive melted nuclear fuel remain inside the reactors. Robotic probes have provided some information but the status of the melted debris is largely unknown. University of Tokyo radiologist Katsumi Shozugawa explains a machine to analyze contamination level in his laboratory at the university in Tokyo on Feb. 16, 2023. Shozugawa said his analysis of groundwater in multiple locations in no-go zones near the plant has shown that tritium and other radioactive elements have been leaking into groundwater. Credit: AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama Akira Ono, who heads the cleanup as president of TEPCO's decommissioning unit, says the work is "unconceivably difficult." Earlier this year, a remote-controlled underwater vehicle successfully collected a tiny sample from inside Unit 1's reactoronly a spoonful of about 880 tons of melted fuel debris in the three reactors. That's 10 times the amount of damaged fuel removed at the Three Mile Island cleanup following its 1979 partial core melt. Trial removal of melted debris will begin in Unit 2 later this year after a nearly two-year delay. Spent fuel removal from Unit 1 reactor's cooling pool is to start in 2027 after a 10-year delay. Once all the spent fuel is removed the focus will turn in 2031 to taking melted debris out of the reactors. Is a 2051 completion target realistic? Ono says the goal is a good "guidepost" but too little is known. The government has stuck to its initial 30-40 year target for completing the decommissioning, without defining what that means. University of Tokyo radiologist Katsumi Shozugawa shows a container which holds contaminated water, at his university laboratory in Tokyo on Feb. 16, 2023. Shozugawa said his analysis of groundwater in multiple locations in no-go zones near the plant has shown that tritium and other radioactive elements have been leaking into groundwater. Credit: AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama University of Tokyo radiologist Katsumi Shozugawa speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the university in Tokyo on Feb. 16, 2023. Shozugawa said his analysis of groundwater in multiple locations in no-go zones near the plant has shown that tritium and other radioactive elements have been leaking into groundwater. Credit: AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama University of Tokyo radiologist Katsumi Shozugawa speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the university in Tokyo on Feb. 16, 2023. Shozugawa said his analysis of groundwater in multiple locations in no-go zones near the plant has shown that tritium and other radioactive elements have been leaking into groundwater. Credit: AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama An overly ambitious schedule could result in unnecessary radiation exposures for plant workers and excess environmental damage, said Ryo Omatsu, an expert on legal aspects of nuclear plant decommissioning. Some experts say it would be impossible to remove all the melted fuel debris by 2051. 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. U.S. railroad says "deeply sorry" for impact of Ohio train derailment, as residents demand more action Xinhua) 08:47, March 10, 2023 Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw (Front) prepares to testify at a hearing before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on protecting public health and the environment in the wake of the Norfolk Southern train derailment and chemical release in East Palestine, Ohio in Washington, D.C., the United States, March 9, 2023. The chief executive of U.S. transportation company Norfolk Southern said on Thursday that he's "deeply sorry" for the impact of the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, in early February. Local residents, meanwhile, are demanding more action. (Photo by Aaron Schwartz/Xinhua) WASHINGTON, March 9 (Xinhua) -- The chief executive of U.S. transportation company Norfolk Southern said on Thursday that he's "deeply sorry" for the impact of the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, in early February. Local residents, meanwhile, are demanding more action. At a Senate hearing on Capitol Hill, Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw said the railroad "will clean the site safely, thoroughly, and with urgency," noting that the company has committed to reimbursements and investments of more than 20 million U.S. dollars in order to address the impact of the derailment. U.S. Senator Thomas Carper said the hearing "is an opportunity to put ourselves in the shoes of those impacted by this disaster, examine the immediate response and ensure long-term accountability for the clean-up efforts." A Norfolk Southern freight train carrying hazardous materials derailed in East Palestine on Feb. 3, which resulted in a significant fire and hazardous materials release in the area. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said last week that it will require Norfolk Southern to test directly for dioxins in East Palestine. "If dioxins are found at a level that poses any unacceptable risk to human health and the environment, EPA will direct the immediate cleanup of the area as needed," the agency said. Jami Cozza, an East Palestine resident, wrote in an opinion published by MSNBC on Thursday that her family's lives "were turned upside down" and that "a toxicologist found that my house was unsafe for me and my family." "The information we've gotten from the company and different government agencies has been confusing and contradictory," Cozza said. "Politicians from both parties promise action, but we're still waiting." "When the national media loses interest and the celebrities finally go home, our community will still be left dealing with this disaster," Cozza warned. "My story is just like so many others," she added. "The only path forward for us is to come together and demand action from both Norfolk Southern and federal and state officials." The incident involved 11 tank cars carrying hazardous materials that subsequently ignited, fueling fires that damaged an additional 12 non-derailed railcars. First responders implemented an evacuation zone surrounding the derailment site that affected up to 2,000 residents. There were no reported fatalities or injuries, according to a report issued by the National Transportation Security Board (NTSB). Responders mitigated the fire on Feb. 5, the NTSB report said. But five derailed "specification tank cars carrying 115,580 gallons of vinyl chloride" continued to concern authorities because the temperature inside one tank car was still rising. The NTSB said responders later scheduled a "controlled venting" of the five vinyl chloride tank cars to release and burn the vinyl chloride and dug ditches to contain released vinyl chloride liquid while it vaporized and burned. The controlled venting began on Feb. 6, which discharged toxic and potentially deadly fumes into the air. While residents were allowed to return to their homes in East Palestine two days later, they remain concerned about the handling of the incident as well as the health impact of exposure to those chemicals. Headache, anxiety, coughing, fatigue and irritation, pain, and burning of the skin continue to be the most common symptoms reported by residents in the East Palestine area, according to a health assessment survey. Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw testifies at a hearing before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on protecting public health and the environment in the wake of the Norfolk Southern train derailment and chemical release in East Palestine, Ohio in Washington, D.C., the United States, March 9, 2023. The chief executive of U.S. transportation company Norfolk Southern said on Thursday that he's "deeply sorry" for the impact of the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, in early February. Local residents, meanwhile, are demanding more action. (Photo by Aaron Schwartz/Xinhua) Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw (Front) testifies at a hearing before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on protecting public health and the environment in the wake of the Norfolk Southern train derailment and chemical release in East Palestine, Ohio in Washington, D.C., the United States, March 9, 2023. The chief executive of U.S. transportation company Norfolk Southern said on Thursday that he's "deeply sorry" for the impact of the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, in early February. Local residents, meanwhile, are demanding more action. (Photo by Aaron Schwartz/Xinhua) Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw testifies at a hearing before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on protecting public health and the environment in the wake of the Norfolk Southern train derailment and chemical release in East Palestine, Ohio in Washington, D.C., the United States, March 9, 2023. The chief executive of U.S. transportation company Norfolk Southern said on Thursday that he's "deeply sorry" for the impact of the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, in early February. Local residents, meanwhile, are demanding more action. (Photo by Aaron Schwartz/Xinhua) (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan) 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: Three inextricably linked aspects of social intelligencesocial perception, Theory of Mind and social interactionare the cognitive tools that will help computational science to advance artificial intelligence beyond contemporary models. Credit: CAAI Artificial Intelligence Research, Tsinghua University Press Siri and Google Assistant may be able to schedule meetings on request, but they don't have the social understanding to independently prioritize the appointmentsyet. According to researchers based in China, artificial intelligence (AI) may be smart, but it is stunted by a lack of social skills. They published their review of the current state and call for future directions in CAAI Artificial Intelligence Research. "Artificial intelligence has changed our society and our daily life," said first author Lifeng Fan, National Key Laboratory of General Artificial Intelligence, Beijing Institute for General Artificial Intelligence (BIGAI). "What is the next important challenge for AI in the future? We argue that Artificial Social Intelligence (ASI) is the next big frontier." ASI, the researchers said, comprises multiple siloed subfields, including social perception, Theory of Mindthe understanding that others think from their own point of viewand social interaction. By using cognitive science and computational modeling to identify the gap between AI systems and human social intelligence, as well as current issues and future directions, Fan said the field will be better equipped to advance. "ASI is distinct and challenging compared to our physical understanding of the work; it is highly context-dependent," Fan said. "Here, context could be as large as culture and common sense or as little as two friends' shared experience. This unique challenge prohibits standard algorithms from tackling ASI problems in real-world environments, which are frequently complex, ambiguous, dynamic, stochastic, partially observable and multi-agent." As such, Fan said, ASI requires a comprehensive approach, since improving specific components of an ASI system may not always result in improved performanceunlike contemporary AI systems. Rather, ASI requires the ability to interpret latent social cues, such as eye-rolling or yawning, to understand other agents' mental states, such as belief and intent, and to cooperate in a shared task. "Multidisciplinary research informs and inspires the study of ASI: Studying human social intelligence provides insight into the foundation, curriculum, points of comparison and benchmarks required to develop ASI with human-like characteristics," Fan said. "We concentrate on the three most important and inextricably linked aspects of social intelligence: social perception, Theory of Mind and social interaction, because they are grounded in well-established cognitive science theories and are readily available tools for developing computational models in these areas." According to Fan, the best approach is a more holistic one, mimicking how humans interface with one another and the world around them. This requires an open-ended and interactive environment, as well as consideration for how to introduce better human-like biases into ASI models. "To accelerate the future progress of ASI, we recommend taking a more holistic approach just as humans do, to utilize different learning methods such as lifelong learning, multi-task learning, one-/few-shot learning, meta-learning, etc.," Fan said. "We need to define new problems, create new environments and datasets, set up new evaluation protocols, and build new computational models. The ultimate goal is to equip AI with high-level ASI and lift human well-being with the help of Artificial Social Intelligence." More information: Lifeng Fan et al, Artificial Social Intelligence: A Comparative and Holistic View, CAAI Artificial Intelligence Research (2023). DOI: 10.26599/AIR.2022.9150010 Provided by Tsinghua University Press Is it a forklift? Or maybe a firefighter? What about a material handler or a piece of military equipment? Tracks North Americas Multi-Purpose Expeditionary Platform (MPEP) can function as all of those and much more. The MPEP is an off-road platform on which various attachments can be mounted. Tracks North America, a Bryan-College Station area company, sold its first unit in 2021 and has since delivered 25 to various customers. Because MPEP has hydraulic capabilities, a wide range of accessories can be hooked up to the platform such as a snowplow, a lawnmower and a bucket. There are 25 platforms that have been sold into the marketplace 12 are in the military and the others are in the private sector weve sold to smart city companies, field transport companies, and oil drilling companies, Tracks North America CEO Caleb Holt said Thursday during testing of the autonomous capability of the MPEP at the Bush Combat Development Complex at Texas A&Ms RELLIS campus in Bryan. We have built kits for the marines, firefighting units for the [Department of Energy], airfield damage repair kits for the Army, and now we are building kits for loading aircraft. The MPEP platform comes in two sizes, with the larger of the two weighing around 4,500 pounds, which is noticeably lighter than a traditional forklift or skid steer. Those can weigh between 10,000 and 12,500 pounds, according to Holt. Another feature of the MPEP is that it can be collapsed down to a height of 28 inches and is only 56 inches wide, which conforms to the required size to fit fly-on military aircraft models during transportation. Holt said the cost of a platform for a prospective client is between $85,000 and $90,000, and thats without the autonomous capabilities of the model that the company is currently testing. The addition of that feature will move the price per unit to between $125,000 and $140,000. Our end goal for Tracks North America is to produce autonomy as a service, Holt said. We will be able to provide hardware to customers and they will be able to make their existing equipment and systems autonomous. Srikanth Saripalli, a mechanical engineering professor and director of Texas A&Ms Center for Autonomous Vehicles and Sensor Systems, has partnered with Tracks North America to assist with the development of the semi-autonomous features. I think this [platform] is one of a kind, Saripalli said. There are machines like this but they are way too expensive a half a million dollars or more or they are too big theres no other machine like this. When testing the semi-autonomous features on the MPEP, Saripalli praised the location and facilities of the Bush Combat Development Complex. Having such a facility, I dont know of any other place or university that has such a cool facility, he said. So being able to test it here and see how well it works or how it doesnt work, from a logistical perspective it is very nice to have everything in Bryan-College Station. We want to test it in the worst environments and this is a unique track and facility to test in. The Bush Combat Development Complex is a new facility that is part of the Texas A&M RELLIS campus and represents the Texas A&M University System and the state of Texas commitment to the nation, according to Patrick Seiber, the Public Relations Director at the Bush Combat Development Complex. In 2019, the Texas Legislature put $50 million toward the proving ground, where all the testing is done, Seiber said. Another $80 million from the Texas A&M Board of Regents was added, which went toward research, hiring and other facilities here, combine that with the $65 million from Army Futures Command strategic partnership we have and it is a powerful combination. Seiber added, We hope the work done here can help provide deterrence to make [the country] so dominant so that no one wants to pick a fight with us [the nation]. 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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 An assault and battery charge filed by Rocky Mount property owner Phillip Bane against Assistant Town Manager Mark Moore was dismissed in Franklin County General District Court on Wednesday. Bane alleged that Moore assaulted him in the parking lot of the town office on May 9. Video has shown that Bane was confronting Town Manager Robert Wood as he was attempting to leave in his car. Bane, who represented himself, claimed in his opening statement that he was shoved out of the way by Moore during the altercation. The alleged incident took place when Moore stepped between Bane and Wood in the parking lot. As you will see in the videos, Mark Moore had no legal excuse or justification to carry out this assault, Bane said shortly before showing the video to Judge A.J. Dudley. Jim Daniel, the attorney representing Moore, stated that Moores intention was to diffuse the situation between Bane and Wood by getting in between them. He said the incident stemmed from the a ruling from the towns Board of Zoning Appeals concerning property in downtown. Bane is the registered agent for the company that owns 325 Franklin Street. Work has been ongoing to convert the building into a hotel. In that time Bane has had multiple zoning disputes with the town concerning the property. Bane, spurred by the situation, ran unsuccessfully for the town council last November. At Wednesdays hearing, Daniel said during the incident on May 9, Moore stepped between Bane and Wood to get Mr. Bane to calm down, to leave the area, so there would not be some kind of fist fight or assault by Mr. Bane on Mr. Wood. He said there was no injury to Bane from the interaction. A few minutes before the incident, Bane entered the town building through a door for employees before being asked to leave, Daniel said. Bane later said he was unable to see the employees only sign on the front of the door due to someone leaving through the door at the time. At several points during Wednesdays hearing, Dudley took time to explain certain aspects of courtroom decorum to Bane. Dudley also had to request that members of the audience refrain from improper communication after Daniel alleged that Rocky Mount business owner Bryan Hochstein had held up a clipboard with information to Bane during the hearing. An officer in the court gave another warning after noticing communication between Bane and another person in the audience. During his closing arguments after resting his case, Bane said assault and battery doesnt require injury. He said it only requires unwanted touching without consent. Mr. Moore did not have my consent, Bane said. Where is my evidence of that? Dudley asked. You didnt testify to that. When Bane asked if he could take the stand to give his testimony, Daniel objected stating he had already rested his case and could no longer call any witnesses. Dudley agreed. Bane failed to make the necessary connections during the hearing such as identifying Moore or even that the alleged offense took place in Franklin County, Dudley said. He then ruled to dismiss the case. Moore did not take the stand Wednesday. The Franklin County Sheriffs Office celebrated national accreditation during a ceremony held at Ferrum College on Tuesday. It is an achievement few other law enforcement agencies in the state have reached. Sheriff Bill Overton thanked the community as well as officers for their help in reaching national accreditation. He said the designation held the department and its officers to an even higher level of operation. It is the gold standard of how we conduct ourselves and what we rely on as far as policy and procedures we utilize each and every day, Overton said. Several county officials were in attendance at Tuesdays ceremony along with nearly the entire sheriffs office. Franklin County Board of Supervisors Chairman Tim Tatum, who retired as a deputy with the sheriffs office, congratulated the department for their achievement. We on the board support you and we salute you, Tatum said. The new designation comes just nine years after the sheriffs office was awarded state accreditation by the Virginia Law Enforcement Professional Standards Commission. Overton said it was a goal he set when running for the position of sheriff in 2012. It was an arduous task, Overton said. But we put or hearts and our minds and our souls to it and we persevered and pressed on and in a two-year period we were state accredited. Overton said state accreditation had served the sheriffs office well during those nine years. It wasnt until winning reelection in 2019 that Overton said he tasked his team with seeking national accreditation. Overton said the process was a difficult one over the past few years. It was made even more difficult with the COVID-19 pandemic and a growing movement nationally to defund police departments, he said. We knew that we need to be the best that we could be and the best we could be was nationally accredited, Overton said. The sheriffs office worked with the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies Inc. to reach the level of national accreditation. Jeffrey Smythe, a CALEA commissioner, presented the department with the national accreditation certification on Wednesday. Smythe said only five law enforcement agencies in Virginia have reached the level of national accreditation. Nationwide, he said it was less than 1,000. During a brief speech, Smythe said that national accreditation was much more than a certificate. It was something that the sheriffs office would have to continue striving to retain. It represents the agencies efforts in demonstrating its willingness to change, Smythe said. To effectively address contemporary public safety concerns. MARTINSVILLE The abrupt departure of Patrick Countys administrator came at the same time it was discovered that her signature was on the approval of a solar project that may not have passed through the proper channels. Geri Hazelwood resigned suddenly March 6, but giving an effective date of resignation as March 1. Hazelwood could not be reached for comment, and a previous phone number for her had been disconnected. Smith River District Supervisor Clyde DeLoach told the Bulletin that Hazelwood had said she wanted to reevaluate her career and other opportunities. But a document with Hazelwoods signature approving a solar project in Patrick County has raised questions. Patrick County Planning Commission Vice Chair Kurt Bozenmayer said, I have not spoken to anyone from the supervisors on down willing to confirm or deny it, but the timing alone is enough to make you suspect that theres some connection. Bozenmayer said copies of a document signed by Hazelwood were distributed to members of the Commission at a meeting on March 1. I have in front of me from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, small renewable energy projects (solar) titled Local Governing Body Circulation Form. It says Fairy Stone Solar and it gives the parcel IDs, and at the bottom the block that is checked says The proposed facility complies with all applicable land uses and ordinances, Bozenmayer said. That was signed on October 22, 2021, by Geri Hazelwood, county administrator. Typically matters involving land use would be handled through the building officials office, with the Planning Commissions knowledge and ultimately the Board of Supervisors approval. I dont have any specific regulation outlining the chain of command there, but I would expect that at the very least, when this certification form was presented to the County, it would have gone through the building official. Bozenmayer said Patrick County Building Official Jason Brown has given no indication that he was aware of an approved solar project in Patrick County. The Planning Commission met with Mr. Brown on at least one occasion during 2022, and he gave no indication that he was aware of anything [regarding a solar project] that had been presented to the County, said Bozenmayer. We were caught totally unaware of this. In January, three months after Hazelwood had already signed approval for the solar project, the Planning Commission first considered developing an ordinance regarding solar projects for the Board of Supervisors to consider and ultimately approve. Bozenmayer said the language had to be revised because land in Patrick County is not zoned, as it is in many other localities, so revisions were made by Brown in August and on Sept. 12 the county attorney signed off on the ordinance and on Sept. 26 it was approved by the Board of Supervisors. The concern here is that at no time was anyone in this group of people notified that an application had been presented to the County and signed off by a county official, Bozenmeyer said. All of these meetings that we went to for an entire year supervisors meetings, planning commission meetings the county administrator was at most, if not all, of the supervisors meetings, and at no time did the county administrator announce to the supervisors or to the planning commission that there was an active application for a solar facility presented to the County. The Planning Commission has scheduled a public hearing at 6 p.m. March 21 at the Patrick & Henry Community College in Patrick County to discuss amending the solar farm ordinance to account for the language pertaining to zoning laws. Jamie Clark is a resident near the proposed solar facility and said he and his neighbors plan to attend. Myself, along with other residents along South Mayo Drive, are furious that an out-of-state landowner is considering leasing their land for a solar farm. This land was sold recently to a company claiming to be a cidery company, so we expected the tree covered land to be converted to an apple orchard or similar use to support a cidery company, said Clark. Because Patrick County does not have a zoning ordinance we are now faced with an out-of-state company coming in and turning our pristine landscape into a solar farm. Clark said it is strange why Hazelwood would suddenly resign after it comes to light that she signed legal paperwork confirming a proposed solar company had met all the requirements of the Countys land use ordinance. This signed document was only recently made public even though the Board of Supervisors has been discussing this issue for months and were told that there were no active solar proposals for Patrick County at this time, Clark said. The Board of Supervisors need to get to the bottom of this issue and determine if they were misled or lied to by the former county administrator. Bozenmayer said the county attorney came back to the Board of Supervisors six months after a solar ordinance was approved saying it was unenforceable and needed to be amended so at the last meeting, the ordinance was repealed by the Board. The Planning Commission now has a legal memorandum from the county attorney that includes his formal legal opinion. This is going to be discussed as part of the public hearing, and we have asked [County Attorney] Mr. [Mark] Popovich to be present at this public hearing. Hes the one that provided us with the initial language and six months later we find that it was incorrect, said Bozenmayer. My concern with this is that the two things that he [Popovich] cited from Virginia Code before and now are different from what appears on the Local Governing Body Certification Form that was filed with the County and signed by Ms. Hazelwood. A General Notice from the Department of Environmental Quality of Virginia, posted in January, speaks about Fairy Stone Solar LLC, the proposed solar facility in Patrick County. We have two documents here provided by Fairy Stone Solar that cite different regulations than what the county attorney is telling us, Bozenmayer said. Theres a lot of uncertainty here. Bozenmayer even contends the name of the solar company might be an intentional attempt to mislead the County. Said Bozenmayer: The Fairy Stone area of Patrick County is located about 15 miles away from Stuart in the northeast corner of the County and I believe they selected that name just to make it warm and fuzzy for the people in the County. Fairy Stone Solar LLC is an Arlington-based company and is a subsidiary of Energix US. On its website, the company lists solar projects in Wythville and Leatherwood. There is a very important place in the Bible. It is referred to as the potters house in the book of Jeremiah, the 18th chapter. Jeremiah had to find it. We wouldnt know how to get to most places unless it has an address. Unless, you lived in McDowell County, West Virginia. In McDowell County, streets have long been unnamed. Roads have remained unmapped. Residents didnt see the need because everybody knew how to get everywhere. If you asked for directions in this area, you might be told to turn at the stone church, or go past the old sewing factory and look for the dumpster painted like a cow. The 224 residents of Bartley, West Virginia, still consider the old grade school to be a landmark even though it burned down years ago. Addresses are unnecessary in an area where most people know each other and remember exactly where the old grade school used to be. Times are changing, however, and addresses are finally appearing in rural West Virginia. Now street names like Get-R-Done are now on the map, along with Beer Can Alley and Dog Bone Drive. All this leads us to wonder how the ancient prophet Jeremiah knew how to get to a specific address to which the Lord sent him. All Jeremiah knew was he had to get to the potters house. Jeremiah didnt know why he had to get there. Why didnt the Lord just tell him what he needed to know? When Jeremiah got to the potters house, he saw the potter working at his wheel. The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potters hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him. (Jeremiah 18:4) Jeremiah realized that the work of the potter was an illustration of how God was shaping the people of Israel. The clay in the potters hand was exactly like Israel in Gods hand. (Jeremiah18:6) We too need to be at the potters house. This is the address where God shapes us, makes us and molds us. On the way to this place we may look around and feel our vessel is very imperfect. We dont want to go to God with chipped edges and broken handles. Here is some advice before we go to visit the potter. First, when you get there, allow the potter to work with your clay as he chooses. Allow yourself to be shaped and reshaped. Second, dont worry about the shape you are in now, the potter can reshape you. Third, dont fixate on the flaws of the past; the potter can purify you. And fourth, dont stress about wrong turns youve made in the past; the potter can help you move in a new direction. Such transformation can be painful, because we like our old ways. We prefer our own ways. Waiting for God and yielding to God can run counter to our daily routines. But unless we find the potters address, we never can be shaped into the people God wants us to be. Well end up being less loving, graceful, hopeful and content than we could be. Prayer: Our Lord, may we be willing, waiting, yielding and still, so your great hands can shape us into a person who is right with you. Amen YORK York area students recently won awards in the York Elks Lodge #1024 Americanism essay contest, with the prompt, What is Your American Dream? This contest is vitally important to the Elks as it promotes Americanism in local communities. It encourages 1013-year-old students to thoughtfully consider American values and appreciate the blessings and responsibilities of citizenship. In the eighth grade division, Jack Chavanu finished first and will be awarded a $50 prize and a certificate. Aaron Morner finished second and will be given a certificate and a $30 prize. In third place was Makeisha Jiminez-Reyes with a certificate and a $20 award. In the seventh grade division, Gage Stahr finished first and will be awarded a $50 prize and a certificate. Emily Leon-Gutierrez finished second and will be given a certificate and a $30 prize. In third place was Nathan Bohaty with a certificate and a $20 award. Danna Jiminez-Reyes was presented first place in the sixth grade division and will be awarded $50 and a certificate. There were 21 entries and they were judged anonymously. All winners are middle school students at York St Joseph School. Organizers gave special thanks to the educators who helped score the essays. All seven essays were forwarded to the district and state competitions with state winners advancing to the national competition. Winners will be announced later this spring. ANNA The National Kidney Foundation of Illinois joined with Shawnee Community College and Mid-America Transplant Services to host a community health fair on World Kidney Day at the Shawnee College Extension Center Thursday. World Kidney Day is a day to celebrate kidney health and promote awareness of kidney disease across the globe. Here are a few kidney disease facts: In the U.S., 37 million adults are estimated to have chronic kidney disease, but the National Kidney Foundation of Illinois believes hundreds of thousands of people are not aware of their condition. Kidney disease is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S. In Illinois, it is the ninth. The current wait time in Illinois for a deceased donor kidney is between five and eight years. Angelique Marseille, program manager for the National Kidney Foundation of Illinois, said the group was hosting two World Kidney Day events. Besides the one at the Shawnee College Extension Center in Anna, they had another event in Melrose Park. While screening for kidney disease was not available at the health fair, they were checking blood pressure, BMI, hearing and vision. Diabetes and hypertension are the leading causes of kidney disease, Marseille said. She added that the Kidney Mobile will come to Anna to do screenings from noon to 4 p.m. on March 22 in room 134 at Shawnee Community Colleges Anna Extension Center. Screenings will include blood pressure, blood sugar, body mass index, waist circumference, urinalysis and a blood draw (if necessary). To register, visit mobilescreening.nkfi.org/preregistration. More information is available from the National Kidney Foundation of Illinois at 312-321-1500 or www.nkfi.org. Many community organizations offered giveaways and educational material for those attending the health fair. Attendees first saw Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois outside the front doors of the Anna Extension Center. Gary Farnam, unit manager for Blue Cross in Marion, said they partnered with the National Kidney Foundation of Illinois to help the community. "We are handing out fresh produce; avocadoes, cucumbers, lettuce, kale, oranges and lemons, along with chicken quarters and a recipe card," Farnam said, adding that it especially helped those who had recently lost the government's pandemic addition to food stamps. Inside, Illinois Migrant Council, an organization that focuses on serving Hispanic people in our region, gave away 20 desktop computers at the health fair. Miguel Sarmiento, director of migrant services, said this was the organizations fifth computer giveaway. They started with laptops for students during the pandemic. People have been very happy, Sarmiento said. The group also had information on diseases and preventing diseases. Mandy Palmer of Shawnee Community College said the health fair was a good event to offer the community. This is a good way for people to get services they might not get otherwise and educate them as well, Palmer said Other organizations included Cairo NAACP, Rural Health Inc., Carbondale NAACP, Shawnee Mass Transit District, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, Arrowleaf, Shawnee Health, Egyptian Area Agency on Aging, Epsilon Lamda Omega Sorrority, Lions Club of Cobden and Mid-America Transplant Services. Were primarily asking if people have had COVID vaccines, Faith Miller of the Carbondale NAACP said. Yaya Heller of Shawnee Health said the organizations provides health care, but it also works to eliminate barriers to health care. Language is one of the major barriers to health care, Heller, who is bilingual, said. Interpreter services are limited in Southern Illinois. Shawnee also has SHIP counselors who are licensed by the state. They can assist seniors with choosing health care. In addition to health information, the organizations gave away hand sanitizer, face masks, Narcan kits, first aid kits, stress balls, exercise bands, oral health items, dish washing liquid and other items. CARBONDALE The public library isn't just for those who read books, it's also for those who write them. The Creative Writing Star Group, a writers support group which meets together at the Carbondale Public Library, was first started by the SIH program, Second Act, which helps enrich the lives of local seniors through community involvement groups from knitting to writing. "Our writers group does not have a stated policy regarding age, and we have had younger people attend. We are looking to diversify our group in general. Our meeting time, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., does make it far easier for retirees to attend," said group member and coordinator, David McKay, one of about twenty local writers who come to the library every month for the friendship and critical feedback of their writing. The group has several published writers who have received awards for their work, one of whom is Candace Armstrong, a poet, essayist and novelist who recently published her first book, "Evidence of Grace" (2021), a novel dealing with relationships, sociological pressures, and the willingness to endure hardships for love. Carole Bolinski, another group member, is published in several genres, from mystery to poetry, and has several poems published in anthologies from contests, journals, and has even co-authored a book with her brother, "Pearls Beneath The Rind." The group comes together at the library for a "safe, convenient, comfortable" environment to conduct their reading and peer-review writing sessions. Though there are published writers in the group, there is not a "publish or perish" policy. "Our main goal is just to become better writers. Some do want to publish, some see writing as a mentally and spiritually fulfilling craft, and some, like me, write as therapy," McKay said, "Because writing can be such a personal and intimate art, sharing our work has led to deep friendships in our group." The Creative Writing Star Group brings in speakers several times a year who share their thoughts on the writing craft and share strategies on how to get published. 2nd Act Writers has been around for over half a decade and meets twice a month, shaped and organized into its present form by the contributions and knowledge of Carole Bolinski. "I do not see the group ending. Almost everyone in our group has leadership skills, so I dont see any reason why the group would not continue for years," McKay said. The Illinois State Poetry Society (ISPS) also meets at the public library in Carbondale every month which, though not free like the Creative Writing group, has some writer's perks peculiar to itself. For a membership fee of 20 dollars, poets can be members of the ISPS, the National Federation of State Poetry Societies, and any other ISPS chapter in addition to the southern chapter in Carbondale. The ISPS website will periodically publish poems from its members, and include them in its annual anthologies, in addition to other benefits of membership. The ISPS Southern Chapter which meets at the library in Carbondale has about a dozen active members and has been around since 2010. The meetings usually involve group readings of member's poems with critiques following. "ISPS offers good opportunities for both new and seasoned poets to publish poems, so almost all of our chapter members do," said Kathy Cotton, Facilitator ISPS Southern Chapter, who noted that in the past year alone, seven members of the group published poetry books, and one of those, "Genica" by Neth Hass of Anna, won the 2022 ISPS Book of the Year award. Annas Annabelle Market is more than just a place for vendors to sell their antiques, products and gifts. Its the center of a movement, promoting small business and highlighting all that Union County has to offer. On the surface, the market, which has been owned by sisters Crystal Housman and Sherri Agers since 2022, looks to be a shopping mall of sorts, offering everything from boutique items, foodstuffs and antiques. Dig deeper, though, and Housman says visitors will find a Southern Illinois treasure. The market features more than 9,000 square feet of retail space comprised of nearly three dozen vendors. We have a nice mix of older and new, she said. We have antiques and then we have boutiques, we have clothing and childrens items and we sell a lot of locally-made products and are really proud of that. Local items include products from Fired Up Jams and Jellies, 17th Street Bar and Grill and the Chocolate Factory in Golconda as well as gifts from the Bald Knob Cross of Peace and items from Shawnee Hills Lavender. Theres local honey as well, she said. Beyond serving as a retail location for other area enterprises, the market is a hub for business activity in the community, organizing events to draw customers to Anna everything from princess days to special late-night shopping opportunities. Im very proud to say that if somebody wants to start an event, we often jump right on board, Housman said, talking about a spirit of enthusiasm and pride she sees in local residents and businesses. It is the perfect time to be in Anna right now because everybody is so excited about all of the new shops and the new businesses and the events we have. I can tell you that all of the businesses are participating in things and going above and beyond, she said. Additionally, she added, many of the boutique owners meet monthly to plan new activities and incentives to bring shoppers to their stores. Weve not had any pushback from anyone and everyone has really just jumped right on board and it Is our customers and visitors who really benefit from all of it, she explained. The sisters purchased the market from Rhonda Bittle who started the business 18 years ago, first operating as the This N That Resale, then renaming the business to honor the community and its namesake Annabelle hydrangeas. Houseman and Agers have expanded the business and its offerings. They say the business has something for everyone. Rhonda gave us a true gift when she sold us the Annabelle Market, Housman said. She worked hard for a lot of years to build it and we hope to continue. As far as continuing, Housman said she and Agers have more plans. We have so many ideas and just not enough time to get them all accomplished, she admits. But we are going to continue to bring in more local products and we will consider all ideas. If we can make it work, we will. We going to continue growing and building relationships. The Annabelle Market is open from 10 a.m - 4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday and from noon - 4 p.m. on Sunday. The business is located at 300 S. Main St. in Anna. Learn more at www.facebook.com/AnnabelleMarket. John A. Logan College will host its annual job fair with representatives from more than 80 companies from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. on Wednesday, March 22, in the Donald L. Brewer Gymnasium and Convocation Center. The representatives will be on hand to meet with students, alumni, and community members. Individuals planning to attend should bring multiple copies of an updated resume and be prepared to interview. Organizer Beth Stephens said the job fair is one of the premier job fairs in the region. This event benefits local, regional and national employers interested in attracting a qualified workforce. The job fair has proven to be the finest among colleges in Southern Illinois because it attracts such a cross-section of people searching for specific career opportunities, she said. Although a primary objective is to assist John A. Logan graduates in their quest for permanent employment, the event is open to Southern Illinois University Carbondale students and the public, especially citizens within the John A. Logan College District. Stephens added that the event has proven extremely beneficial to students and businesses. For the various business and industry exhibitors, this job fair provides a much greater opportunity of finding quality employees than most other job fairs, said Stephens. For our students, we provide an atmosphere that is not overwhelming with an opportunity to talk to many different companies. It is a win-win for everybody. Stephens added that students that need help preparing for the Job Fair should act now by stopping by Career Services in C215. All facets of the Career Services office are offered year-round at no charge to our students, said Stephens. If a student needs help with their resume or just has questions about how to prepare for the Job Fair, they should stop by our office and see us now rather than wait until the week of the Job Fair. For more information, contact John A. Logan College Career Services at 618-985-282, ext. 8424. Tips to pay off your mortgage faster, and more videos to improve your life Check out these tips to help pay off your mortgage faster, here are 12 ways to help reduce your risk of dementia, and more videos to improve your life. CARBONDALE An open house, facility tours, networking and a workshop are all happening at Southern Illinois University Carbondales Dunn-Richmond Economic Development Center on March 15 in recognition of SBDC (Small Business Development Center) Day. The public is welcome to attend. SBDC Day is an important occasion to recognize and celebrate the vital role that small businesses play in the economy and the support that the SBDC provides these small businesses, said Melissa Ray Roach, SBDC director. Small businesses are a critical driver of economic growth. They help create jobs, stimulate economic development and build stronger communities. SBDCs play an important role in supporting their success. This day is also an opportunity to highlight some of the success stories of the small businesses we have helped and showcase the benefits that our center provides to the broader community. Its exciting to build on the foundation that began when the center launched in 1985 and continues to serve as a valuable resource for small businesses throughout the Southern Illinois region while working with our team to expand our outreach efforts, connect with new businesses and make a meaningful impact on the regions economy. Whats happening The festivities begin with an open house from 2 to 4 p.m. March 15 at the Illinois SBDC at SIU, located at the Dunn-Richmond Economic Development Center, 1740 Innovation Drive. Carolin Harvey, Carbondale mayor pro tempore, and Steve Mitchell, Carbondale economic development director, will present a proclamation in honor of the day and then visitors can tour the facility and the business incubators. Participants can also network and visit informational tables with staff and representatives of Carbondale Main Street, the Carbondale Chamber of Commerce, the Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) and the SBDC during that time. Turning Your Side Hustle into a Legitimate Business, a free workshop, will be offered at 5:30 p.m. Aimee Wigfall, a professional photographer and SBDC small business adviser, will provide valuable information about turning your hobbies, interests and side-business ideas into a professional enterprise. Pre-registration is required for the no-cost workshop; sign up at sbdc.siu.edu. Each year, SBDC Day celebrates the SBDC programs that partner federal, state and local governments with universities and other organizations to provide no-cost or low-cost assistance of various kinds to new and existing businesses. The Illinois SBDC at SIU is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (IDCEO) and SIU. SIUs SBDC program offers a wide range of services to help entrepreneurs and small business owners start, manage and grow their businesses. For more information about the Illinois Small Business Development Center, the SBDC events or the many services the center provides, visit sbdc.siu.edu, call 618-536-2424 or email sbdc@siu.edu. CHICAGO You wont find this factoid in any marketing brochures, but Chicago led the nation in at least one category in 2022: fastest growing city for auto theft in the U.S. Auto thefts rose 55% in Chicago last year, topping every other city as part of an ongoing pandemic-fueled nationwide increase in reported stolen vehicles, according to data released Wednesday by the National Insurance Crime Bureau. Nationwide, thefts were up 7%, surpassing 1 million stolen vehicles for the first time since 2008. Chicago is absolutely trending in the wrong direction, said David Glawe, president and CEO of the National Insurance Crime Bureau, a Des Plaines-based industry organization focused on insurance fraud and vehicle theft. While California and Texas led the nation in thefts, Illinois had the largest percentage increase among larger states at 35%, according to the groups annual study. Breaking it down further, Chicago, and to some extent surrounding suburbs, are behind the states skyrocketing auto theft statistics, Glawe said. Chicago had 21,516 reported auto thefts in 2022, up from 13,856 the previous year. Glawe said those totals, received from the National Crime Information Center, include the full spectrum of auto theft, from driving off in unattended vehicles to carjacking. The Chicago Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Auto theft has been increasing during the pandemic, driven by supply chain issues, and the rising value of used cars and parts, Glawe said. In November, used car prices fell for the first time in more than 2 years, but remained above pre-pandemic levels, according to a study by iSeeCars, an online auto search site. The average price of a used car is over $35,000 in Illinois, the study found. There is a high demand for used cars and a low supply, Glawe said. The car parts in these vehicles are also sought after. Soaring catalytic converter theft, for example, is up 1,200% over the last three years, Glawe said. The catalytic converter contains valuable precious metals including rhodium, palladium and platinum, which can fetch hundreds of dollars in resale on the black market. Organized crime rings steal vehicles and chop them up for parts, he said. A social media trend may also be fueling a rise in thefts of Kia and Hyundai vehicles. Many Kia and Hyundai vehicles do not have electronic immobilizers, making them more vulnerable to being hot-wired. Videos posted online went viral last year, providing instructions on starting the vehicles without a key. While Hondas, Toyotas, and Ford and Chevy pickups are often the top targets for thieves in Chicago, Kia and Hyundai thefts surged last year on the back of the social media trend, Glawe said. In 2021, Hyundai and Kia accounted for 8% of the stolen vehicles in Chicago. Last year, that number jumped to 29%. Both automakers are rolling out fixes for the vulnerability. For Chicago-area car owners, Glawe recommends good security hygiene, such as parking in a well-lit space as a deterrent to thieves. The biggest tip, however, is perhaps the most obvious. This is going to seem simple, but a lot of people leave their keys in their car, Glawe said. We have a lot of surveillance of criminals going through neighborhoods and just shaking doors to see if the keys are in the car. Then they pop in the car and take off. CHICAGO Religious and environmental ideals are at odds for some in the ongoing debate around what to do with human remains. A proposal at the Illinois Statehouse would legalize and regulate natural organic reduction, a process in which human remains are rapidly decomposed into compost. The process is also known as human composting or terramation. That process turns human remains into dirt over the course of several weeks. Companies that offer this service place a persons remains in a vessel with wood chips, straw and other organic material and heat it to accelerate the growth of microbes that break down the body. This is distinct from natural burial, in which a body is buried with no casket or in a biodegradable container. The measure, House Bill 3158, passed in the House Energy and Environment Committee on Tuesday on a 16-10 vote. It now goes to the House for consideration, although its sponsor, Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, said an amendment to the bill is likely. If lawmakers approve the proposal, Illinois would become the seventh state to legalize this process. Washington, Colorado, Oregon, Vermont, California and New York have already made the process legal, according to the human composting company Recompose. Recompose pushed for the legalization of human composting in Washington. Its website notes that a body will stay in the vessel for four to seven weeks before the resulting soil is allowed to cure for two to six weeks. A persons loved ones are then left with approximately one cubic yard of soil. Natural organic reduction is, in fact, the most environmentally friendly death care option, Haley Morris, a representative of the human composting company Earth Funerals, said during the committee hearing. Its less resource intensive than any other option and it reduces carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 90% relative to traditional options, Moris added Representatives of several environmental groups around the state have also voiced their support of the bill in witness slips filed with the committee. These include the Illinois Environmental Council, the Illinois Chapter of the Sierra Club and Go Green Winnetka. Cassidy filed an amendment on Wednesday altering some of the fee structures for licensing the practice and indicated in an interview that another forthcoming amendment will modify some of the regulations around testing the compost. This is about creating choices and options and in particular choices that are less harmful for the planet, Cassidy said. Cassidy also said she updated her own will last year to include that she would like her body to undergo the natural organic reduction process. Notable among the bills opponents is the Catholic Church. Daniel Welter, the recently retired chancellor of the Archdiocese of Chicago, spoke to lawmakers at the request of the Catholic Conference of Illinois on Tuesday. Turning the mortal remains of a human person into compost for the purpose of fertilization, as one would with vegetable trimmings or eggshells, degrades the human person and dishonors the life that was lived by that person, he said during the committee hearing. Welter added that he and the church oppose any tendency to minimize the dignity of a human being, even after death. Representatives of the death care industry also oppose legalizing this process. LeNette Van Haverbeke, a representative of Illinois Cemetery and Funeral Home Association, told lawmakers that many in the field oppose human composting as lacking the traditional dignity afforded to the dead. Others in the field are not as critical. After a similar bill was met with opposition last year from the Illinois Funeral Directors Association, Cassidy met with representatives of the industry to craft new language regulating the vessels used in the process, professional licensing and soil testing among other elements of the bill. Im not saying were a proponent of it, but the sponsor did listen to us, said Margaret Vaughn of the Illinois Funeral Directors Association. CHICAGO Legislation aimed at discouraging public libraries from banning books has been introduced in the Democratic-controlled Illinois General Assembly amid largely partisan battles around the country over what books and school curricula are suitable for children. The bill was initiated by Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, who joined a nationwide Democratic chorus criticizing officials, mostly in red states, for trying to get libraries to remove books, often because of LGBTQ content. Giannoulias, whose office also serves as the state librarian, downplayed the role partisanship plays in his proposal, saying that many librarians Im sure are Republicans. I have no idea, nor do I care, said Giannoulias, who once sat on the board of the Chicago Public Library. We view this as protecting our libraries. Theyre under assault the likes of which they have never seen. They are being thrown into the mix of a political battle, and were trying to give them cover by helping them, by codifying this into legislation. The legislation, which has the backing of Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker, would allow the secretary of states office to deny state grants to public libraries, including those in schools, that dont adhere to the American Library Associations Library Bill of Rights, which holds, among other things, that materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval. As an alternative, libraries could develop a written policy to prohibit the practice of banning specific books or resources, the bill states. Some states controlled by Republicans have taken just the opposite approach. The Indiana Senate last week passed a measure that would make it easier for law enforcement to prosecute teachers if material deemed obscene ends up in possession of a minor. A similar measure was recently enacted in Missouri, leading educators to pull titles from school library shelves, according to published reports. One opponent of the Illinois measure is State Rep. Dan Caulkins, a Decatur Republican who said the legislation takes away local control. Parents know best, school boards know best, library boards know best what their communities want and need, said Caulkins, part of a far-right group of House Republicans informally known as the Eastern Bloc. And for the state of Illinois again, here we go, the radical Democrats are pushing an agenda trying to force their woke ideology on more conservative parts of the state. The secretary of states office said libraries could only lose the grant funding if they pull books from their shelves due to partisanship or discrimination. Guidelines for what that means are still being developed. But the office would not interfere with a librarys selection process for books to include in its collection. If books are selected on a local level, we need to trust those librarians, respect the decisions they make and adhere to the guidelines that they already have in place, Deputy Secretary of State Scott Burnham said in an email. The measure is sponsored in the House by state Rep. Anne Stava-Murray, a Democrat of Naperville, who said book bans have been particularly discriminatory against groups of people who are already marginalized in American society. Whether theyre part of the LGBTQ community or their race or ethnicity, those are the books that are being targeted by right-wingers to be banned, she said. We absolutely want to be doing everything possible to stand up for the librarians and stand up for the students and children and all library patrons to be able to access the materials that they should be able to access in a public library. Cynthia Robinson, executive director of the Illinois Library Association, said while most libraries likely already have a process in place to hear complaints about books on their shelves, the bill will ensure that libraries will be prepared to handle such challenges. That is something that we think will be positive out of this legislation. It will get libraries to be prepared beforehand, said Robinson. If you dont have a policy, you dont have a process. And if you have that in place, then everybody who is involved will know what to expect, what the steps are, as opposed to just making it up as you go or treating things differently. During fiscal year 2022, the secretary of states office under Jesse White awarded over $62 million for 1,631 grants to Illinois libraries, an office spokesman said. In the previous fiscal year, nearly $68 million in grants was awarded, up from just over $36 million in fiscal year 2020. By June 30, the end of fiscal year 2023, the secretary of states office estimates that it will have awarded more than 1,400 grants totaling close to $56 million. If the measure becomes law, enforcement could be an issue. Giannoulias said his office performs regular audits of how its grant funding is used, although there are limited resources to monitor libraries. Well establish a more formal audit process if we need to, Giannoulias said. But for now, we do feel pretty confident about the audit process and the administrative rules. In 2021, nationally, there were 681 attempts at book bans involving more than 1,600 books, the most since the Chicago-based American Library Association began tracking the statistic about two decades ago, according to the secretary of states office, citing the associations figure. While research has shown that most book banning in recent years has occurred in states that lean Republican, like Florida, Texas and Tennessee, there were 67 attempts to ban books in Illinois in 2022, up from 41 the year before, according to the associations data cited by Giannoulias office. According to a report from PEN America, a New York-based literary advocacy group, Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe was the most frequently banned book nationwide, prohibited at 41 U.S. schools districts from July 2021 through June 2022, for its illustrations of sex acts in a nonfiction story about the author dealing with gender identity and relationships with family and friends. In June of last year, the high school board in Downers Grove, which falls within Stava-Murrays district, unanimously voted to keep Gender Queer in its libraries even after a group of parents and some members of the far-right Proud Boys group raised concerns over the book. In west suburban Riverside, some people earlier this year unsuccessfully tried to get the book banned from the local library. But there was strong support for keeping the book available. I dont believe theres any reason to ban a book said Courtney Greve Hack, a trustee for the Riverside Public Library. I dont believe in censorship, period. And I think that most people who are involved in libraries, whether theyre a staff member or an elected trustee, feel the same way. All told, the PEN report stated, local officials around the country banned more than 2,500 books by more than 1,200 authors, 290 illustrators and 18 translators from July 2021 through June 2022. These bans happened in 138 school districts in 32 states, according to the report. While Illinois wasnt close to being among the states with the most book bans, according to the report, Giannoulias said hes heard from librarians who have never felt so threatened and under attack. As the states librarian, my job is to ensure that Illinois residents have access to reading and learning material at their local libraries, he said. 10 gorgeous college libraries 10 gorgeous college libraries Riggs Memorial Library Butler Library Charles Library Hoose Library of Philosophy George Peabody Library Joe and Rika Mansueto Library Geisel Library The Law Library Armstrong Browning Library Sterling Memorial Library This St. Patrick's Day will you wear green, chase leprechauns, search for a pot of gold or chug green beer? You may be surprised that many of our St. Patty's Day traditions have little to do with the holiday celebrated on March 17 by people all over the world. St. Patrick's Day, also known as the Feast of St. Patrick, is actually a religious celebration in honor of the foremost patron saint of Ireland. St. Patrick was thought to be born in Roman Britain in the fifth century. It is believed at the age of 16 he was kidnapped by pirates and sold as a slave in Ireland. At 22, he broke free from his captors and returned to England to study theology and become a priest. He later returned to Ireland as a missionary and is credited with bringing Christianity to the country. It is widely believed that St. Patrick used shamrocks as a tool to explain the Holy Trinity to Irish pagans, with the three clovers representing the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Today in Ireland, many practicing Catholics attend church on St. Patrick's Day wearing bunches of shamrocks pinned to their holiday finery and then head home for a family meal. Meanwhile, some folks celebrate the occasion a wee bit differently. Let's start with that green St. Patty's Day beer. Research shows it was all-American idea created by a New York City doctor for a party in 1914. He's said to have used blue laundry power to dye the beer green. Today, there is always a demand for blue food coloring around St. Patrick's Day. In fact, until the 1960s, the sales of alcohol was prohibited in Ireland on St. Patrick's Day in honor of the holy day. Some pubs in Dublin and other larger cities now serve green beer on St. Patrick's Day, but mostly to please tourists who are visiting Ireland. St. Patrick's Day parades and festivals, didn't originate in Ireland either. The first St. Patrick's Day parade was actually held in New York City in 1766. It wasn't until 1995 that Ireland held its own St. Patrick's Day parade to boost tourism. The five-day festival is now held in Dublin. Chicago is the host of the world's largest St. Patrick's Day parade where the Chicago River is dyed green for the annual event. Historically, green has been associated with Irish nationalism, and it remains one of three colors of its flag. Ireland is also known for its lush, green scenery and is nicknamed the Emerald Isle. Wearing green is a way to celebrate one's Irish heritage or at least avoid getting pinched. As Irish folklore goes, the color green makes us invisible to leprechauns. Without protection of the color green, the mischievous little creatures will jump out and pinch us! Leprechaun lore has its roots in the Celtic tradition. These lucky leprechauns are said to hide pots of gold at the end of the rainbow where it is impossible for mere mortals to reach. The Irish and pots of gold may have at least some factual significance. According to the author of 1001 Things Everyone Should Know About Irish American History, the phrase "luck of the Irish" may refer to the gold and silver rush in the United States during the late 1800s when many successful miners were Irish. Over time, the association of the Irish and mining fortunes might have led to the expression. On St. Patrick's Day, at a bar or parade somewhere, someone will be wearing a T-shirt that reads, "Kiss Me, I'm Irish!" The phrase originates from the legend of the Blarney Stone, an iconic stone set in a wall of Blarney Castle constructed in Ireland in 1446. There are many legends about the stone, but kissing it is said to give a person the gift of eloquence and good luck. Maybe it's just a bunch of blarney, but about 400,000 people reportedly turn upside down to kiss the stone every year. It's said everyone is a little bit Irish on St. Patrick's Day. Although I am not of Irish descent, some of my favorite people are. Many years ago one of them taught me to sing this beautiful Irish blessing, "May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind always be at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face and rains fall soft upon your fields. And until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand." The old proverb says Its an ill bird that fouls its nest. If that is true, the human race is sick. Sick beyond belief. We traveled to St. Louis last week and the littering we witnessed across urban Missouri and rural Southern Illinois nearly defied belief. As we drove north on Missouri 141 it was impossible not to notice the litter that had gathered along the fence bordering the east side of the roadway. Large pieces of clear plastic adorned the fence like sheet rock. Fast food bags, plastic bottles and aluminum cans gathered around the base of the fence. The barrier literally created a river of litter. The scene would have been disgusting if it were an isolated incident, but unfortunately, it was the rule, not the exception. Granted, litter is more visible this time of year. The high winds that have whipped the region in recent days help gather the litter. Weve also had heavy rains, washing cans and styrofoam cups up out of ditches and depositing them along the roadway. These natural forces dont create an excuse for the poor aesthetics, they merely point out the extent to which humans as a species have fouled our nest. As awful as the scene along Route 141 was, it wasnt the worst example of our trashy nature. The I-57 ramp at Ina, located south of Mount Vernon, was littered to almost an indescribable extent. Fast food wrappers rolled across the ramp like tiny tumbleweeds as we headed south. Aluminum cans and discarded soda bottles rolled around aimlessly in the wind until they became lodged in tufts of grass. Again, large pieces of clear plastic inhabited the landscape, creating almost a carpet-like effect across the entire ramp. I have seen some horrific examples of littering in my day, but this scene defied belief. Ive seen city dumps with less refuse. The scene was, and it is, beyond sad. There are a couple convenience stores located at the Ina exit. There are ample trash cans to dispose of waste. There is nothing difficult about disposing of waste properly. If you purchase gas, there are garbage receptacles between each pump. If you buy a candy bar or a soft drink, garbage cans are located adjacent to the door. And, there is certainly nothing difficult about carrying refuse home and disposing of it properly. Its not that complicated. Instead, we are content to create this nightmarish landscape of aesthetic apathy. The truly sad part is that it is so avoidable. It takes just a moment of personal responsibility, a moment of caring about someone other than yourself, to dispose of waste properly. The fact that these scenes exist is a sad commentary on us all. However, there is hope. Through groups like Clean SoIL, many of us are tackling the scourge that is litter. On Earth Day, April 22, friends groups of many area state parks and the Cypress Creek and Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuges will be cleaning up their favorite parks. Hopefully, that bit of TLC shown to Mother Earth will be contagious. Picking up after ourselves is the very least we can do. It makes us all look better. In a recent decision the local solicitor said shocked his conscience, an Orangeburg County magistrate without a law degree granted the pretrial release of a mother accused of trafficking her 7-year-old daughter to a 61-year-old man. The woman was not required to post bond or prohibited from contacting the alleged victim. She was rearrested five days later after allegedly attempting to dissuade the girl from cooperating with police, and immediately bonded out on the new charges. Around the same time, in a case that raises conflict-of-interest questions, a different Orangeburg County magistrate dismissed felony charges against a man accused of sending a sexually explicit video of himself to an underage girl. The mans lawyer, who had a personal and professional relationship with the judge, claimed he hadnt been provided evidence collected by the sheriffs office. A sheriffs sergeant denied her office had received the discovery request, but the judge did not give her the opportunity to testify. These cases represent only a recent sampling of questionable judicial conduct in a single county, but they illustrate the outsized impact magistrates exert daily on consequential matters of public safety. For years, Gov. Henry McMaster and some state lawmakers have voiced support for increasing qualifications and enhancing screening requirements for the states more than 300 magistrate judges, most of whom lack law degrees or any significant legal training. But little has been done to meaningfully address concerns. Several bills introduced this year would tweak the system on the margins, but none address issues raised by the recent Orangeburg cases, such as magistrate qualifications or legal training requirements. While one proposal would prohibit state senators, who appoint magistrates, from appearing as attorneys in their local magistrate courts, it does not deal with other potential conflicts of interest. Potentially more impactful are a number of bond reform bills that would require judges to consider multiple factors when setting bond, including whether a defendant was out on bond for another offense when charged. Magistrates, who set bonds for criminal defendants on all but a small subset of cases and conduct probable cause hearings for defendants facing serious criminal charges, are frequently criticized for their lenient treatment of violent and repeat offenders. Granting bonds to such defendants, law enforcement officials argue, jeopardizes public safety and deters witnesses from cooperating with police. I love our magistrates. I teach them every year, said Jim Huff, founding member of the South Carolina Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. But I have many examples where they have been weak on bond hearings for people who are already out on bond. State Rep. Robby Robbins, a Dorchester Republican, was even more explicit in his critique of magistrates also known as summary court judges during a recent House Judiciary Committee panel on bond reform legislation. Summary court judges are not doing their job, said Robbins, a former prosecutor and practicing criminal defense attorney. They are not protecting the public by letting these people out on bond two and three and four and five times. Thats why were here. Shockingly low bond set for accused child sex trafficker The bonds set recently for two Orangeburg County residents charged with sex trafficking a 7-year-old are the latest frustration for 1st Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe, whose jurisdiction covers Orangeburg, Calhoun and Dorchester counties. Pascoe said hes increasingly come to believe that circuit court judges, who must be licensed attorneys, should set bond in more serious cases. Currently, they do so only when a defendants charges carry a possible life sentence or when a defendant is charged with a violent crime while out on bond for a separate violent crime. In the recent Orangeburg case, Magistrate Judge James Rickenbacker set the bonds on the defendants trafficking charges, which carry a 30-year maximum sentence. He gave John Richard Ricky Williams a $5,000 surety bond which Pascoe described as shockingly low and let Alana Ann Westbury out without requiring her to put any money down or stipulating that she have no contact with the alleged victim. Williams and Westbury, who both are married to other people, were arrested Jan. 7 following an investigation by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. Prosecutors allege Westbury forced her 7-year-old daughter to engage in sexual activity with Williams on multiple occasions, beginning last summer. I believe the price was between $200 and $500, SLED Special Agent Melissa Allen testified at Williams initial bond hearing. Williams, the owner of a local auto repair shop, is charged with human trafficking and criminal sexual conduct with a minor under the age of 11, which carries a mandatory 25-year sentence with the possibility of life imprisonment. Westbury, a stay-at-home mom, was initially charged with human trafficking and three counts of unlawfully placing a child at risk. The latter charges stem from the accusation that Westbury herself had sex with Williams for money while her two young children the 7-year-old female victim and a 5-year-old boy were in the home. At the pairs initial bond hearing, Rickenbacker, a non-lawyer with less than a year of experience on the bench, asked SLED agents for their bond recommendation, but did not heed it. According to an audio recording of the proceedings, a SLED victims advocate asked Rickenbacker to give Westbury a surety bond and prohibit her from contacting her children until additional safety measures could be established. He denied her request. Im not going to take the rights away, said Rickenbacker, who did not respond to The State newspapers multiple requests for comment on his decision. Five days after Westburys release from jail, she was rearrested for allegedly attempting to intimidate her young daughter during a Department of Social Services-supervised visit. According to an arrest warrant, Westbury spoke with the minor victim and asked if the minor victim wanted to send the defendant, or the co-defendant, to jail in an attempt to obstruct or impede the administration of justice in her pending matter. A different Orangeburg magistrate gave Westbury a $75,000 surety bond on the witness-intimidation charges. She posted it the next day and was released, according to court records. Williams, on the other hand, has remained in custody since his arrest due to the prohibition on magistrates setting bond on charges that carry a possible life sentence. Circuit Court Judge Diane Goodstein last month denied Williams bond on his criminal sexual conduct charges and revoked Westburys bond at the request of prosecutors. As a result, both are likely to remain behind bars until their cases are resolved. Both Mr. Williams and Ms. Westbury are presumed innocent, Pascoe said in a statement after the hearing. However, given the severity of the alleged charges and the facts presented to the court today, we support Judge Goodsteins decision to deny them bonds at this time. Bogus dismissal of child sex crime charges Another recent case involves an Orangeburg magistrates dismissal of charges against a St. Matthews man accused of sending an underage girl a video of himself masturbating. Quentin Parker, 36, was charged last year with disseminating, procuring or promoting obscenity and criminal solicitation of a minor, felonies that carry maximum five- and 10-year prison sentences, respectively. Orangeburg County Magistrate Judge Gary Doremus dismissed Parkers charges at his Nov. 10 preliminary hearing after Parkers attorney, Gerald Davis, claimed the sheriffs office had not fulfilled his discovery request, a recording of the proceedings obtained by The State newspaper shows. Orangeburg County Sheriffs Sgt. Lakesha Gillard, who was on the stand preparing to testify at the time, told Doremus her office had not received the request and raised the possibility of delaying the hearing. Doremus, a former associate at Davis law firm whose mother was once married to Davis, disregarded the prospect of continuing the case and simply dismissed the charges citing lack of probable cause. His decision to toss the case due to an alleged discovery violation an action generally reserved for a circuit court judge struck legal experts as improper. Former Circuit Court Judge Gary Clary, speaking generally, said it would be irresponsible for a magistrate to dismiss a felony case at preliminary hearing over an alleged discovery problem. The issue of discovery and so forth is something that should be reserved for a circuit judge, said Clary, a former Republican state representative who spent 10 years on the bench prior to serving in the State House. A magistrates role at a preliminary hearing, also called a probable cause hearing, is simply to determine whether sufficient evidence of a crime exists to warrant the defendants detention and trial. The judge takes testimony from a witness often the arresting police officer and decides whether a reasonable person could be persuaded that the accused committed the crime. The defendant is not even allowed to offer evidence on his behalf, since the hearing is solely to determine whether the prosecution can show probable cause. Its uncommon for charges to be dismissed at this stage and discovery-related motions like Davis, known as Rule 5 motions, are virtually unheard of. John Crangle, a Greenville defense attorney and son of the well-known Columbia open government advocate of the same name, said in his 10 years practicing law hed never heard of a discovery violation being handled at a preliminary hearing. If you cant introduce any evidence, how do you prove you served the sheriff? Crangle said. In addition to ruling on something widely regarded as beyond his purview, Doremus also failed to publicly disclose his relationship with Davis, according to an audio recording of the hearing. No explicit rule governs when judges should recuse themselves from cases due to conflicts of interest, but the Code of Judicial Conduct advises judges to avoid all impropriety and appearance of impropriety. The Judicial Advisory Committee, which judges may contact for advice when faced with an ethical quandary, opined last year that judges should disqualify themselves from proceedings in which uncles or cousins a person with the third degree of relationship to the judge serve as lawyers. While the committee has found that judges need not recuse themselves from matters involving their former law firm, as long as the case doesnt predate their departure from the firm and they no longer receive fees for legal services performed on the case, Clary said he always disclosed such relationships to all parties at the outset of a case. I would immediately reveal if (former law colleagues) were involved in a case with the opposing side. Id say listen, if you want me to recuse myself I will, he said. I just think that to maintain the integrity of our system, that was something I was always mindful of and never wanted to create any appearance of impropriety. Doremus, whom court records show has set bond in other cases involving Davis, did not respond to multiple requests for comment on his decision to dismiss Parkers charges. It is unknown if the two mens previous relationship was disclosed during those cases. As a result of the dismissal, prosecutors were forced to present the case to a grand jury, which on Jan. 11 indicted Parker, trumping the magistrates actions. Circuit Court Judge Maite Murphy set Parkers new bond at $150,000, and as of Wednesday, he had not posted it, court records show. Parker is prohibited from having contact with the alleged victim, her family or any minor children, per Murphys order. When a magistrate dismisses a case on bogus procedural grounds, were always going to take a good look at it to see if it can be remedied in circuit court, Pascoe said. Failure to provide discovery is not grounds for a dismissal at a preliminary hearing, especially in a case that was only weeks old at the time. To this day, the Orangeburg County Sheriffs Office has not received the evidence request Davis claimed he sent. Prosecutors and other legal experts said the request shouldnt even have been sent to the sheriffs office. According to the rules of criminal procedure, discovery requests should be filed with the prosecution. While discovery for minor offenses, such as speeding tickets, may be sought from local police agencies, discovery requests in felony cases should always be sent to the solicitor, legal experts said. No criminal defense attorney in the state that I know of doesnt serve it on the solicitors office, Crangle said. You have to. Theyre the prosecution. Records show Davis, who declined comment on the case, didnt request evidence from the solicitors office until nearly two months after Doremus dismissed the charges against his client. Pascoe, who has advised the Orangeburg County Sheriffs Office to document its myriad issues with local magistrates, said his office is now looking into other judicial decisions officers have flagged as improper. The Orangeburg Sheriffs Office brought (the Parker case) to us within minutes of it happening after the prelim, and theyve been coming to us often ever since, he said. Orangeburg County Sheriff Leroy Ravenell confirmed hed been working with the solicitors office out of concern for public safety, but declined to comment on any specific case or magistrate ruling. If these criminals continue to be released on little or no bond, were going to continue our efforts to make certain that justice is done, he said in a statement. Were not in the business of catch and release so criminals can terrorize someone again. These low or no bonds are not helping the community. Need for reform With the defendants in both recent Orangeburg County cases now behind bars, the potential for further harm to the public or the alleged victims is largely allayed. Thats not always the outcome when magistrates make questionable rulings. Many law enforcement officials can effortlessly rattle off examples in which criminal defendants released on nominal bonds reoffend, sometimes with disastrous consequences. An oft-cited cautionary tale relayed at multiple recent legislative hearings involves a 42-year-old Clarks Hill man with 16 prior criminal convictions who in December 2021, while free on bond, allegedly initiated a wild shootout in downtown North Augusta that injured a police officer. A bystander video of the incident shows the man exit his truck in the middle of a busy street, crouch behind the vehicle and fire off dozens of rounds at officers in broad daylight. The man, who was facing numerous drug and weapons charges at the time, eventually surrendered and was taken into custody. That is a story thats emblematic to whats happening across the state, said Jarrod Bruder, executive director of the South Carolina Sheriffs Association. Were seeing more and more violent individuals getting out on bond that are reoffending. Part of the solution, as Dorchester Rep. Robbins sees it, involves requiring circuit court judges to set bond for defendants accused of violent crimes. If were going to be trying to put these violent people in prison, I want them to go before circuit court judges, he said at a recent legislative hearing. We cannot have them continuing to go before magistrates or municipal judges on these offenses. Pascoe said that while hes supportive of circuit court judges setting bonds in more cases, he thinks the root of the problem is the states judicial selection process. South Carolina is one of two states in the country where the General Assembly roughly a third of whom are practicing lawyers picks judges. Critics of the process say it breeds cronyism and makes judges beholden to state lawmakers, some of whom will inevitably appear before them in the courtroom. Unlike many judges, who are screened by the Judicial Merit Selection Commission and voted on by the General Assembly, magistrates are hand-picked by local senators without the same level of vetting. We need to change the way we select all of our judges in this state, and that goes for magistrates as well, Pascoe said. Senate Minority Leader Brad Hutto, the Orangeburg Democrat who appointed both Doremus and Rickenbacker, said he doesnt have a problem with the current system but is open to ceding the responsibility of magistrate appointment, as long as judges are not popularly elected. It doesnt matter to me, in a way, said Hutto, a lawyer for more than 40 years whose firm represents criminal defendants in Orangeburg County Magistrate Court. Somebodys got to make the appointments. Hutto said he takes his magistrate appointment powers seriously. Before selecting a new judge, he reviews the resumes of all prospective magistrates, speaks with people who know them and interviews each candidate to assess for temperament and intellect. He said he does not expect preferential treatment from the magistrates he appoints and thus does not consider it a conflict that he may one day appear before them. One of the questions I always ask judges before I appoint them is: If you hear the evidence and Im the lawyer and Im not winning, youll rule against me, right? Hutto said. Most magistrates do an exemplary job, he said, and theyre generally of higher quality today than they were when he first took office nearly three decades ago. Ideally, all magistrates would have law degrees a 2019 Charleston Post and Courier investigation found nearly three-quarters dont have formal legal training but its simply not feasible, Hutto said. In more rural counties, its virtually impossible to find attorneys, he said. In fact, its oftentimes hard to find anybody because the salary is just not there to attract people that we really need. Magistrate salaries vary widely by county, ranging from $10,000 in rural Lee County to $115,000 in Spartanburg County, according to a 2022 Wage and Salary Report commissioned by the South Carolina Association of Counties. Orangeburg County magistrates make between $80,000 and $90,000, according to the report. Unless we increase the salary, its really hard to find enough lawyers to be magistrates, Hutto said. The Orangeburg senator declined to weigh in on the recent decisions made by his local magistrates, saying it was not his place to get involved in individual cases. He said if a magistrate consistently makes bad decisions and becomes the subject of numerous complaints hed eventually hear about it, and, if need be, find a replacement. I dont think senators should retain any review process, Hutto said. Once we appoint them, theyre on their own. A 62-year-old Orangeburg man was shot twice while waiting to order outside a fast food restaurant, according to an Orangeburg Department of Public Safety incident report. The man survived the shooting, which took place at 10:48 p.m. Tuesday at the Cookout at 725 John C. Calhoun Drive. The injured man told officers that he rode his moped to Cookout to place his order. While he stood at the area of the walkup window, he heard two gunshots. He wondered where the shots came from and then realized he felt a sharp pain in his body. He looked down and saw blood coming from the right side of his leg. He then asked Cookout employees to help him and they did. The manager called 911 and had the man sit on a bench until officers arrived. Officers found the man sitting on the bench. He was covered in what appeared to be blood on the right thigh area and upper torso area, the report states. The man was alert, talking, asking for help when officers got there. Orangeburg County EMS transported the man to MUSC-Orangeburg for treatment. Investigators are trying to determine who shot the man. He told officers that he doesnt have any disagreements with anyone and didnt see who shot him. If anyone has information about this shooting, they are asked to call Crimestoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC or use the Tips411 app. People providing tips dont have to give their names. April 17 is the deadline for property owners seeking tax relief for their historic agricultural structures. All New Hampshire towns and cities are authorized by state law (RSA 79-D) to grant property tax relief to owners of historic barns and farm buildings who can demonstrate the public benefit of preserving these structures. Owners also must agree to maintain them throughout a minimum 10-year preservation easement. Almost 100 communities have more than 610 historic structures in the program, according to current data from the N.H. Department of Revenue Administration. New Hampton is a new participant in the program, and towns with very active programs include Candia, Deerfield, Freedom, Hopkinton, Kensington, Kingston, Moultonborough, North Hampton, Sandwich, Stratham, and Weare. Beverly Thomas, the New Hampshire Preservation Alliances Deputy Director, provides barn tax incentive information to anyone who asks. Were happy to help applicants whether their municipalities are already participating in the program or whether its all brand-new to them, she said. People across the state and their municipal leaders understand the significance of these historic structures, the opportunities to continue to use them in creative ways, and the value these barns and other agricultural structures that are important to the character of our communities, she added. The deadline is typically the 15th, which falls on a Saturday this year. Thomas also notes that renewals are due for property owners who entered the program in 2013. Visit www.nhpreservation.org for full information packet including application form. (TBTCO) - Nhieu san pham bao hiem nhan tho hien nay la bao hiem lien ket au tu. ieu nay co nghia la khach hang mua bao hiem a chuyen sang san choi au tu kinh doanh cua cac hang bao hiem. Ve nguyen tac, au tu co loi nhuan va cung co rui ro, theo luat choi ma cac hang bao hiem a soan thao rat chi tiet, trong o co nhieu che tai. Do vay, can tranh hien tuong mua bao hiem nhan tho ket hop voi au tu, khi chua hieu ro cac che tai ap dung, cung nhu nhung rui ro cua dang san pham nay. ay la khuyen nghi cua Luat su Tran Minh Hai Giam oc ieu hanh Cong ty Luat Basico, khi trao oi voi phong vien TBTCVN. 12:30 AFC Bournemouth v Liverpool This weekend's televised action is restricted to just 4 of the 10 games on the slate for Matchweek 27, with 4 other games in the 3 pm blackout on Saturday, and 2 more on Sunday not being broadcast live by UK television. Wyomings Sens. John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis introduced a bill alongside two other Republicans and three Democrats this week that would bar Russia from exporting its uranium to the U.S. The Reduce Russian Uranium Imports Act would apply to low-enriched uranium produced in the Russian Federation or by a Russian entity. It comes just under a year after Barrasso led a separate bill also backed by Lummis with the same aim. Every dollar we give to Russia supports Putins brutal war on Ukraine, Barrasso said in a statement. Americas nuclear industry is ready to transition away from Russian uranium. President Joe Biden banned the import of Russian coal, oil and gas on March 8, 2022. The U.S. uranium industry has withered in recent decades as the stagnating nuclear industry turned to cheaper suppliers in other countries. Wyomings handful of active mines continue to lead the U.S. in production, but the country imported 95% of the uranium it purchased in 2021, according to federal data. Wyoming has the resources we need to boost production at home, Barrasso said. By banning Russian uranium imports, he added, we can further defund Russias war machine, help revive American uranium production, and increase our national security. Owners of multiple idle or permitted-but-not-yet-built uranium mines in Wyoming, optimistic that prices will climb high enough this year for them to compete, have already taken steps to resume or begin operations in the coming months. And three companies with operations in Wyoming announced in December that theyd inked contracts with the Department of Energy to help fill its $75 million strategic uranium reserve. Barrasso and two other senators introduced a separate bill on Feb. 15 intended to strengthen the U.S. nuclear fuel supply chain. Casper-Natrona County Health Department is struggling with significant staff turnover at a time when the local agency is also noticing growing issues around public health and health care. Anna Kinder, the executive director of the department, attended the Feb. 28 Casper City Council work session to update the panel on the agency. She explained that over the last year the department has had 25 employees leave. Staff have been having to pick up extra duties to fulfill obligations and weve not pursued some grant opportunities which would allow us to expand community programs, she said. Less than a quarter of the health departments staff have stayed with the organization for three years or more, Kinder said. And some nursing and clerical positions have even changed hands three times in the last year. The agency currently has 37 employees across nine departments. To adapt to its staffing challenges, the health department has had to modify its operations, including limiting some services and altering job responsibilities. Amid a state and national nursing shortage, the agency has been using a medical assistant in the place of a nurse for the first time, Kinder said. She noted that the impacts of the staffing shortages are tangible in other significant ways, particularly in the case of grants. Were leaving a lot of money on the table, she said. Kinder pointed to funding as a key force behind the agencys staffing troubles. She said that Banner Wyoming Medical Center and other employers have been attracting staff away from her agency. Some of them are going across the street to the state health building because theyre able to pay a higher rate than we are, she said. The health departments staffing issues complicate its response to a number of concerning public health and health care trends. Dr. Mark Dowell, the Natrona County health officer and an infectious disease expert, has reported more patients with diabetes complications, Kinder said. Pediatricians are also becoming scarcer, leaving fewer medical providers who will accept Medicaid. At the same time, people are increasingly turning to the health department and EMS for routine medical care, something neither is designed to accommodate. The health department is public health agency with a focus on community-wide health and prevention rather than medical care. Were fielding more and more calls of people who cant find primary care or dont know where to turn with health care, Kinder said. The department would like to employ a health navigator who could field calls and help residents of Natrona County navigate the areas health care system, taking pressure off other areas of the department, but money is once again a constraint, she said. With staffing shortages already handcuffing the health departments ability to counter those trends, growing costs only add to the problem. The prices of standard vaccines, such as shingles, chickenpox, tuberculosis and rabies have increased, Kinder said, as has lab testing. This year the health department expects to spend an additional $8,000 on birth control, she said. In all, the agency projects that price hikes will increase its spending on medical supplies by nearly 70% to $64,000 this year. Amid all of the challenges, Kinder told the council that she was concerned about staff turnover and the agencys future. But she said the department is preparing for the hurdles it faces and continues to adapt while its staff remain dedicated to serving the community. Im proud of my staff for their resilience and hard work, she said. PHOTOS: Kids get vaccinated in Casper Vaccination Clinic Vaccination Clinic Vaccination Clinic Vaccination Clinic Vaccination Clinic Vaccination Clinic Vaccination Clinic Vaccination Clinic Vaccination Clinic Vaccination Clinic Vaccination Clinic Vaccination Clinic Vaccination Clinic Vaccination Clinic Vaccination Clinic An elderly man survived on croissants, candy and biscotti for nearly a week alone in his car, stuck in a snowbank on a desolate California highway. Jerry Jouret, 81, set out from his mountain house in Big Pine, California, on Feb. 24 to return to his family home in Gardnerville, Nevada just over three hours away in good driving conditions. According to his grandson Christian, Jouret thought he could beat the impending snow storm. He was wrong. During the drive, Jouret accidentally veered onto a smaller road and his SUV became stuck near Gilbert Pass, he told CNN. Temperatures in the area dropped from the mid 30s into the teens overnight. The mathematician and former NASA employee was ill-prepared for the weather, wearing only a light windbreaker, his grandson said. "He's pretty small," Christian added. "He doesn't have a whole lot of meat on his bones." A light quilt and a hotel bath towel were the only things Jouret had to keep himself warm, he said. Described by his grandson as "a very smart man," Jouret stayed with his car and conserved his vehicle's gas and battery, only turning the SUV on periodically to warm up. Roughly 3 feet of snow fell during the series of storms that pummeled the state over the course of the week. Many areas in California saw significant amounts of snow an unusual occurrence for a state that's unaccustomed to harsh winters. The dayslong brutal conditions knocked out power to thousands of homes, buried roads in snow and left many stranded, like Jouret. Jouret survived by eating the few snacks he had in his car. He rolled down his window occasionally to eat snow. Midway through the third day, Jouret's car battery died while he was rolling the electric window back up, his grandson said. It remained open a few inches for the duration of his unfortunate adventure. Keep scrolling for a photo gallery from the California snowstorm On Feb. 28, the Inyo County Sheriff's Office received "a callout for a missing person," the office said in a Facebook post. Inyo County Search and Rescue teams planned search missions the next day, but were forced to delay due to safety concerns posed by the winter storm, according to a post from the sheriff's office. Then, on March 2, a cell phone ping identified by a California Highway Patrol team helped narrow the search area and once weather allowed, helicopter crews were deployed. As one team headed to refuel the aircraft, the pilot spotted something he initially thought was a large rock. A closer look revealed a vehicle and the pilot spotted an arm waving out of the small opening in the car window. "Within a short period of time, they identified a vehicle partially buried in snow," the sheriff's office said. "The CHP crew loaded the person onboard and transported him directly to Bishop Airport for transport to medical care ... The subject was discharged from the hospital later that evening." Jouret was only in the hospital for a few hours and showed no signs of hypothermia, his grandson said. "The nurses were in shock at how well his vitals were," said the younger Jouret. After leaving the hospital, Jouret was returned to his house in Big Pine. He then had to take a bus home to his wife Gardnerville as the couple's SUV remains stuck in the snow. Jouret told CNN he is recovering well, but says he remains traumatized by the ordeal. Christian Jouret hopes his grandfather's miraculous rescue serves as a warning to others about just how dangerous winter travel can be, especially when it's not something you are used to. Above all: "If someone gets trapped, don't give up hope," said Christian. "Some of us thought he was a goner. Never give up hoping. The human body is amazing for what it can endure." The Inyo County Search and Rescue reminded drivers to be prepared in winter weather conditions. "If it is snowing, make sure you are prepared, don't pass road closures and bring extra supplies with you. Or don't travel at all and wait until roads and weather clear up," the organization said in a Facebook post. The Bureau of Reclamation suspended extra drought response releases from Flaming Gorge Reservoir Tuesday at the request of Wyoming and the other three Upper Colorado River Basin states. The reservoir, which straddles the Wyoming-Utah border, was tapped for an extra 500,000 acre-feet of water starting in May 2022 to help ensure that water levels downstream at Lake Powell dont drop low enough to threaten hydroelectric power generation at Glen Canyon Dam this year. An estimated 463,000 acre-feet of extra water was delivered before officials suspended the plan this month two months ahead of schedule. The drought response action met its purpose, according to officials. Plus, Mother Nature has mitigated worries of Lake Powell dipping to critical levels for now. Above-average snowpack and rainfall across much of the West this winter has improved the 2023 outlook for Lake Powell and provides an opportunity to begin to replenish Flaming Gorge, which may be tapped again if conditions demand it, according to the Upper Colorado River Commission, which represents Wyoming, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico. Actual hydrologic conditions indicate that continuing releases from Flaming Gorge per the 2022 plan are no longer needed to protect the critical elevations at Lake Powell, the UCRC stated in a Feb. 27 letter to the BOR. Taking this action now will provide greater flexibility in consideration of future [Drought Response Operations Agreement] operations if dry conditions persist or worsen. Flaming Gorge is the third-largest reservoir in the Colorado River Basin system. Its primary purpose is to serve as a backup to help balance water storage, particularly for the upper basin region. Lake Powell is also a storage reservoir in the upper basin. The BOR previously tapped Flaming Gorge for extra flows in 2021 to the tune of 125,000 acre-feet of water. And before winter brought substantial snow and rain this season, locals worried that calls for supplemental water from the reservoir might continue indefinitely, transforming the popular recreation area. Im happy that theyre suspending the releases, Green River resident and Flaming Gorge angler Chris Taylor said. I understand why [the extra releases] are necessary. But its a sad thing to watch the place where I grew up, you know, get to a level that Ive never seen before in my lifetime. The unusually wet winter doesnt mean the Colorado River crisis is over, however. The West is still in the grips of a 23-year drought, and experts warn that climate change and growing demand will continue to sap the Colorado River. In California, for example, where heavy snowpack in the Sierras and a series of atmospheric rivers promise to refill reservoirs, three to four more similar seasons would be necessary to end the drought, water expert Newsha Ajami of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory told Salon. Some climate experts are skeptical that the moist winters will continue, instead describing whats happening in the West as a transition to a period of aridification, and projecting that Lake Powell and Lake Mead might never refill. Coming to terms with that dire outlook, Colorado River stakeholders continue to negotiate how they will live with less water. In fact, observers say the upper basin states, in their call to suspend Flaming Gorge releases, are staking their position for future negotiations with lower basin states. As the BOR tapped Flaming Gorge to help support Lake Powell it also plans to hold 480,000 acre-feet in Lake Powell so that it can be released later this summer to help supplement Lake Mead in the lower basin. Although permissible under the Drought Response Operations Agreement, Wyoming and the upper basin states worry that such actions essentially allow the lower basin states to become reliant on upper basin water storage via emergency drought measures, which Wyoming officials say could jeopardize future water rights. These are issues that have been known since the 2022 DROA was initiated in May of last year and we all understood would need to be worked out, Wyoming State Engineer Brandon Gebhart told WyoFile. The DROA is currently being revised, and we need to work towards a resolution quickly with the other parties, he added. The upper basin states dont use their full allotment of Colorado River volumes while water use in the lower basin outstrips what Mother Nature provides. Even while agreeing to conserve more water and find water use efficiencies, the upper basin states still want to retain their Colorado River rights for future growth, Dorsey & Whitney water law attorney Gage Zobell said. Wyoming and the other upper basin states are trying to put themselves in a position that, when those [DROA] negotiations happen, theyre not going to be left having to feed this addiction to water in the southern states, Zobell said. Essentially, the lower basin states can draw enough water out of Lake Mead to force extra releases out of Lake Powell in the upper basin and avoid having to take water conservation measures. By doing that, they kept triggering us to have to release out of Flaming Gorge, and up in the other upper basin reservoirs, Zobell said. Meantime, a strong spring snowmelt promises to raise water elevations at Lake Powell while Lake Mead is projected to continue to shrink, according to the BORs most recent outlook. It highlights the continuing tensions between the upper basins biggest reservoir and the lower basins biggest reservoir, Great Basin Water Network Executive Director Kyle Roerink said. What this really comes down to is the upper basin believes that these balancing releases are a de facto means for mining Lake Powell water. Former State Superintendent Brian Schroeder and the Wyoming Department of Education are being sued for failing to hand over records that plaintiffs say should have been public. The requested records concern Schroeders hosting of a private event in October about the sexualization of children in schools. Schroeder declined to comment on the lawsuit, referring questions to state Attorney General Bridget Hill. Hill, as well as Wyoming Department of Education spokesperson Linda Finnerty, another defendant on the lawsuit, also declined to comment on the pending litigation. Plaintiffs on the suit are Rodger McDaniel, a former lawmaker, and George Powers, a Cheyenne attorney. The complaint, which they filed on Feb. 28, centers around Schroeders Stop the Sexualization of our Children event that he hosted in October at Little America in Cheyenne. Gov. Mark Gordon appointed Schroeder, previously head of the private Christian school Veritas Academy in Cody, to the interim state superintendent post in January 2022 after former superintendent Jillian Balow left to take a similar job in Virginia. Schroeder ran for election to the position but lost in August to current state superintendent Megan Degenfelder. Schroeders Oct. 25 event, which was attended by roughly 150 people, focused on the issue of parental authority and standing up against the inappropriate sexualization of kids in Wyoming, a topic which had been a focus of Schroeders campaign. Parents, lawmakers and representatives of No Left Turn in Education a parental rights organization that has cracked down on school libraries across the country spoke at the event. Schroeder initially intended to organize the event through the department of education in his official capacity as state superintendent of public instruction. But on Oct. 19, the Wyoming Department of Education issued a statement saying that Schroeder had decided to separate the press conference from the Wyoming Department of Education, and that no state funds would be used to pay for the event. After consulting with department administrators, including former deputy superintendent Chad Auer, Finnerty suggested in an Oct. 11 email to Schroeder that the press conference should follow a slightly different process than a Wyoming Department of Education event, because it would feature speakers from No Left Turn in Education, including the organizations president Elena Fishbein. No Left Turns leadership are not spokespersons for the agency, therefore the event should be led by them, Finnerty wrote in the email. This recommendation is based on the understanding that the WDE is a compliance agency, charged with helping districts comply with federal and state regulations, Finnerty continued. This event does not fall into something the agency would be doing tied to that or any requests from the legislature. Though the press conference was supposed to be separated from the Wyoming Department of Education, Schroeder said in his opening remarks at the event that concern about the sexualization of kids in schools clearly falls under the general supervision of the superintendent of public schools here in Wyoming. Schroeder told reporters at the press conference that he had paid for the event with his own funds, as well as with donations from unnamed persons. He said the event had cost roughly $3,000, and that he had received help from Wyoming Moms for Liberty groups to organize the press conference. The complaint, however, alleges that the departments Oct. 19 statement contained material misrepresentation of fact, and that state funds had already been committed to pay for expenses related to Schroeders event. According to receipts included in the complaint, the department had approved the use of state funds to pay for plane tickets and motel reservations for No Left Turn in Education representatives. Both McDaniel and Powers sent the department of education and Schroeder multiple requests for records regarding the event. According to the complaint, on Oct. 25 Schroeder responded by email to a request from Powers asking for the identities of people who made donations to cover the events expenses. In a follow-up email four days later, however, Schroeder said he had learned that he wasnt required to share the identities of donors, the complaint says. Given this was a private event, I will respect the requested anonymity of donors who are contributing to defray the costs of this event, Schroeder wrote. The Wyoming Department of Education also responded to McDaniels records requests, though McDaniel later sent a letter to Finnerty and the department explaining that the response to his request was inadequate, incomplete and non-compliant with the Wyoming Public Records Act. Records that were lacking from the departments response to McDaniels request, according to the complaint, included communications from Schroeders private email and text messages and exchanges with Moms for Liberty, No Left Turn in Education or any of the parents who spoke at the event. McDaniel and Powers assert that the department of education, Schroeder and Finnerty knowingly and intentionally failed to provide the requested records and demand that the department fully and properly produce all public records related to the event, as well as an award of penalties and damages caused by the defendants failure to properly produce these records and reimbursement of plaintiffs costs in pursuing the litigation. The 2023 legislative session has been difficult to categorize. Some of the legislation passed appears farsighted and will almost certainly benefit our state for a long time. At the same time, some of the conduct we have seen in the session does not reflect well on those we have elected. As the roughly two months of activity in Cheyenne draw to a close, it is time to assess where our legislative body triumphed and where it fell short. The most encouraging piece of legislation from the 2023 session was the supplemental budget. The legislature had approximately $2 billion of surplus funds to work with in the legislative session. When presented with significantly more resources than originally intended, the legislature did what we so often wish it would: it exercised restraint. Rather than spend all the additional funds, the legislature put some toward needed expenditures and put the rest aside. Of the nearly two billion dollars, the legislature only spent about four hundred million, and tended to do so wisely. The remaining $1.4 billion was split between permanent funds which are permanently set aside to generate future income for the state and reserve accounts that the legislature can access in the future if necessary. The reason this budget was such an encouraging development was that it was a step toward addressing some of our states systematic budget issues. With mineral revenues generally declining, our state is faced with questions about how we will fund our government in the future. Many of the options are undesirable, such as increasing sales or property taxes or implementing some sort of income tax. If, however, the legislature can save enough in the permanent funds, we may have an opportunity to increase our state investment income to the point where it can fill the gap caused by declining mineral revenues. This may be an optimistic outlook, but if nothing else, increased funding from state permanent funds could at least reduce future tax increases. The legislature deserves credit for voting to set money aside in a way that is likely to benefit Wyoming in the long term. Another positive from this legislative session is that most of the really bad bills either died or were amended to such an extent that their worst parts were no longer included. With nearly five hundred bills filed this year, there are too many to individually point out each bill that was deserving of rejection. Instead, we should remember that some of the legislatures most important work is in preventing bad policy from being enacted. Just like physicians, legislators should endeavor to first, do no harm. This year, it appears that they tended to abide by this maxim. Not everything the legislature did is deserving of praise, however. The 2023 legislative session saw a continuation of the division and tribalism that has been on the rise in recent years. Even though the decorum of the legislature improved over last year, that does not mean that the body was entirely focused on problem solving. Rather, this year saw open development of competing camps and block voting. Rather than debate and consideration, much of this legislative session featured entrenched camps unwilling to listen to the points of those they disagree with. If our legislators are unwilling to consider input and opposing viewpoints, they are unlikely to be responsive to the public or the issues facing the state. This is a foreboding development that worries me for the future. Ironically, despite the reluctance to listen to opposing viewpoints, one problem with this legislative session was a lack of appreciation of the process required for good lawmaking. This often resulted in too much debate rather than too little. Nearly a third of the legislature had not held legislative office before they took their oaths in January. As a result, the legislative process was unfamiliar to many and the nuance of when to talk and when the point has already been made was not readily apparent. The House in particular struggled with too many legislators feeling compelled to comment on every bill, which resulted in an inefficient process and slow work. Had there been a better understanding of legislative process and norms, there likely would have been more time to consider the truly meaningful bills. As with every legislative session, this one was a bit of a mixed bag. Some very thoughtful and meaningful legislation passed. A few duds did as well. I come out of it with hope, and some trepidation, about the future. If those that focus on Wyomings long-term well-being maintain their position, I have faith that things will continue to turn out well for Wyoming. Whether or not that happens is up to us. Two bills have recently landed on Gov. Gordons desk awaiting his signature. One, known as the Life is a Human Right Act (HB 152), would ban abortions in Wyoming completely (only at the last minute were exceptions for rape and incest added). It would go into effect immediately. The other, Prohibiting Chemical Abortions (SF 109), would make medication abortions illegal. These are now the most common form of abortion nationwide and the only type in Wyoming. In short, these two bills are dangerous for women and families in Wyoming. Together, HB 152 and SF 109, will not prevent women in Wyoming from obtaining a desired abortion. They will, however, significantly worsen health outcomes for women and have a profound and chilling impact on physician recruitment in our state. They represent the will of an extreme legislature rather than that of most Wyoming residents and will inevitably land in court, wasting taxpayer money on a fight most of us dont want. The governor must veto them. After evaluating global abortions rates, scientists at the World Health Organization and the Guttmacher Institute found that they were basically the same in countries that broadly outlawed or permitted abortion. So, the idea that banning an essential medical procedure will reduce the number of abortions is just not supported by the evidence. When women need abortions, they will find a way to get them, legally or not; whether that puts their health at risk or not. Women will travel to Colorado or self-manage their own abortions outside the medical system. On the other hand, legal abortions, and medication abortions in particular, are remarkably safe. The drugs used for this procedure, mifepristone and misoprostol, are more than 99% effective, come with just a 0.4% risk of major complications and have an associated mortality rate of less than 0.001%. All the science makes clear that pregnancy itself carries far more risk than either of these drugs do. We also know that without having abortion care as an option for treatment of pregnancy-related complications, more women will suffer and die. The United States already has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world. Among wealthy nations it is the highest and it has been getting worse over time. For Black women, the mortality rate is especially dire double the average rate and almost three times the rate for white women. Banning abortions will almost certainly make these numbers increase. In fact, recent research from the University of Colorado found that complete bans could see pregnancy-related deaths grow up to 21% and up to 33% for Black women, specifically. Not only will more women will die, the pregnancy care they receive will deteriorate, too. Instead of making decisions about care based on what is best for their patients, doctors like ourselves will have to worry about whether any treatment will land them in jail or cause them to lose their license, or both. Such considerations have no place in an exam room and will inevitably delay and worsen the care women receive. Given such circumstances why would any doctor choose to practice in Wyoming? Yet, we need them desperately. We are a rural state already experiencing numerous closures of maternity wards and a severe shortage of OB-GYNs. Here, there are just 11 OB-GYNs per 100,000 residents, compared to the national figure of 27 providers per 100,000. These bills will do nothing but make it more difficult to attract physicians to the state, which only further endangers women who will find it harder and harder to readily access pregnancy-related care. On top of all that, these harmful bills are simply way out of step with what most Wyoming residents want and believe. Instead, they are the result of an extreme group of legislators pushing their own personal agendas and religious beliefs on others. A recent survey by the University of Wyoming found that more than 90% of residents favor some access to abortion care in the state findings that have changed little in 20 years. We do not want an abortion ban. And we have never wanted politicians weighing in on our private medical decisions. Wyoming residents are fiercely protective of individual liberties, which, of course, these bills completely ignore. Given the many concerns about whether or not HB 152 in particular is even constitutional concerns even shared by legislators who supported the bill its clear it and SF 109 will end up contested in court. The state will be forced to spend significant taxpayer funds fighting to defend laws we didnt want in the first place. What a waste. Instead, Governor Gordon could support women and families across the state, and help keep them healthy and safe, by vetoing these bills. Doing so respects the core Wyoming belief of individual freedom, is fiscally responsible and will save countless womens lives. Little else should matter. Dr. Noyes is board certified in family medicine and Dr. Hinkle is board certified in ob-gyn The regional symposium on crime to be held tomorrow and Tuesday is an important step toward addressing the problem facing Caricom countries. So said Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Dr Amery Browne yesterday. Trinidad and Tobago will host the two-day symposium at the Hyatt Regency (Trinidad) hotel in Port of Spain. Once again I must extend congratulations to Dr Keith Rowley for recognising and rewarding excellence in performance. Just recently Richie Sookhai was chosen as a senator, and Friday he was made a minister in the Ministry of Works. Everyone knows this is a very prestigious promotion, and working in this ministry is both demanding and taxing. The man who shot and killed three people, including a Pima County constable, before turning the gun on himself told his father that he planned to shoot police and as many people as possible when he was to be evicted, a new police report says. On Aug. 25, Gavin Lee Stansell, 24, gunned down Deborah Martinez-Garibay, a constable, and Angela Fox-Heath, 28, the manager at the apartment complex where he lived when Martinez-Garibay tried to serve him with an eviction notice. He went on to kill Elijah Miranda, 25, a bystander, before turning the gun on himself. Stansells mother had requested a wellness check on her son the day before the shooting, according to the Tucson Police Department report. She did so after receiving a disturbing text from an unknown phone number that she believed came from her son. After the shooting, the mother told police she didnt know about his plans for a shootout until she spoke to Stansells father on the day of the attack. The father reportedly told her about Stansells plan to ambush police and others during his eviction, the report said. When interviewed by police, Stansells father said his son told him the day before the shooting that he had a short-barreled rifle and planned for a suicide by police, the report said. In the report, Stansell told investigators that he thought his son was bluffing and making a cry for help. He said he did not believe his son would follow through with the threat, the report says. The dad advised Stansell, who moved to Tucson because he was on the run from police in Hawaii due to probation violations, to get rid of the gun. Stansell then told his father hed have a friend pick up the weapon. Stansells mother and father planned to come to Tucson the next day, dispose of the gun and get him to come back to Hawaii and deal with the probation issue, the report said. Gunman: I love you dad im sorry On the morning of the shooting, Stansells mother, who thought he was being evicted on Aug. 28, spoke to Fox-Heath and told her they would pay the rent he owed. Fox-Heath told his mother that his eviction was not due to rent money, but because of issues with neighbors and safety concerns, the report said. Fox-Heath was not made aware of Stansells plan during the phone call, the report said. The mother also told police Stansells attorney in Hawaii advised her to call authorities and warn them after she told him about his plan. According to the report, the timeline of when she knew about the plan was unclear and there was no evidence that she had called police after the initial report of the text. Shortly before 11 a.m. on Aug. 25, Fox-Heath and Martinez-Garibay met at the apartment complex and headed toward Stansells unit. Martinez-Garibay knocked on Stansells door, telling him that she is from the constables office and to open up, according to officers who reviewed video footage of the incident. Martinez-Garibay continued to ask Stansell to open the door and told him that she would have to call police if he refused to comply. She might have made entry into the apartment using a key and potentially had a verbal exchange with Stansell, the report says. Shortly after that, Stansell opened fire. Martinez-Garibay was not armed at the time. He gun was found later in her car. Three minutes before the first shots were fired, Stansell texted his father, I love you dad im sorry, the report said. Fox-Heath is then seen running down the stairs as Stansell shot at her. Gunfire also is heard from inside the apartment, which officers believe were aimed at Martinez-Garibay, the report said. Pounding noises were heard as Stansell burrowed into the apartment next door. Miranda, who was taking a nap at his friends apartment at the time, was then fatally shot, the report said. One last shot is heard as Stansell shoots himself, the report said. Inside Stansells apartment, police found him wearing a ballistic vest with a patch on it that said menace. He also wore ear muffs and a bala clava, a face covering. A short barreled rifle was on the ground next to Stansells body. Stansells body armor was equipped with side plates, which are common in law enforcement and military applications but rare for most civilians to have, the report said. Both Martinez-Garibay and Fox-Heath were shot multiple times, including gunshot wounds to their heads, the report said. Miranda was shot in his lower torso. PHOENIX An Arizona law outlawing abortions in cases of fetal genetic defects will not go undefended in court. U.S. District Court Judge Douglas Rayes has agreed to let House Speaker Ben Toma of Peoria and Senate President Warren Petersen of Gilbert argue to him that there's nothing unconstitutional about the 2021 statute. And they, in turn, will be represented in court by the anti-abortion Alliance Defending Freedom. The ruling comes over the objections of groups trying to convince Rayes that the law is flawed, interfering with doctor-patient relationships. In fact, they had convinced him of that once. But all that changed when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year, a ruling allowing each state to enact and enforce its own abortion restrictions. Based on that, Rayes allowed the state to start enforcing the ban while he considers any remaining legal issues. What makes his latest decision so important is that Republican Mark Brnovich, the state's former attorney general and defender of the law, left office at the end of last year after losing his bid for U.S. Senate. Arizonans elected Democrat Kris Mayes, who has argued that a woman's right to abortion is protected by the Arizona Constitution, regardless of what the U.S. Supreme Court says. Mayes told Rayes she won't defend the law. So Toma and Petersen asked for and have now received permission to have the Alliance Defending Freedom argue that the law is valid. At issue is a 2021 law that makes it illegal for anyone to terminate a pregnancy "knowing that the abortion is sought solely because of a genetic abnormality of that child." That includes chromosomal disorders. Nancy Barto, then a senator and sponsor of the measure, said the legislation is justified to prevent discrimination based on disability even in the womb. In his initial ruling in 2021, Rayes said the law imposed an undue burden on women, which prior U.S. Supreme Court rulings going back to Roe v. Wade found unconstitutional. The only thing is, the basis for that went away after last year's Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe. So Rayes gave the go-ahead for the state to start enforcing the law. But he agreed to hear arguments by challengers, represented by the Center for Reproductive Rights, that the wording of the law is so complex as to be unworkable and so confusing that it leaves physicians unable to know what abortions are, and are not, legal. And that puts them at risk of going to prison for making the wrong decision. That all comes down to the reason a woman is seeking an abortion. It starts with what did the doctor "know" about the reason. Attorney Jessica Sklarsky said that each patient's decision about whether to terminate a pregnancy is not only personal and complex but is "motivated by a variety of considerations, some of which are inextricably intertwined with the detection of a fetal genetic abnormality." She said that "knowing" requirement what can trigger criminal charges for doctors puts them in the position of figuring out exactly what role a diagnosis of a fetal genetic condition played in the woman's desire to have an abortion and whether the diagnosis was the "sole" reason. Even Rayes, in his initial ruling, said there are a "variety of considerations, some of which are inextricably intertwined with the detection of a fetal genetic abnormality." "For example, patients sometimes report they are terminating a pregnancy because they lack the financial, emotional, family or community support to raise a child with special and sometimes challenging needs," he wrote in 2021. "If a doctor accepts money to finance such an abortion ... can that doctor face felony prosecution or a civil lawsuit?" And what, Sklarsky asked, of patients who don't specifically state their motives? The other half of the problem, she said, goes to the fact the law does permit abortions in cases where the abnormality is considered "lethal," one diagnosed before birth and that will, with reasonable certainty, result in the death of the child within three months after birth. "There are inherent uncertainties in fetal testing and diagnosis," Sklarsky told the judge. And she said some patients, because of the small risk of pregnancy loss, do not pursue diagnostic testing. "Yet even when a diagnosis is made in utero, that cannot tell the patient and her physicians specifically how a condition will manifest over a child's lifetime or exactly how long a particular child might live," she said. Rayes agreed to hear the arguments. But that still left the question of who if anyone will defend the latest challenge now that Mayes has told Rayes she will not. The statute itself authorizes the Legislature to appoint one or more of its members to defend against constitutional challenge. But Sklarsky pointed out that first requires approval of a resolution of both the House and Senate, something that has not occurred. Rayes agreed. But he decided that the GOP lawmakers have a "significantly protectable interest in the validity and enforcement" of the law and that Mayes' decision not to defend the statute means there is no one adequately representing that interest. The legal situation is even more complicated. Even as Rayes is preparing to hear arguments, Sklarsky is asking the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to allow doctors to continue to perform such abortions in the interim. No date has been set for the appellate judges to consider that bid. The name Scordato in Tucson is synonymous with Italian food, but Daniel Scordato is hoping his latest culinary venture might add an asterisk: Burgers. On the eve of the 30th anniversary of his upscale Italian restaurant Vivace, Scordato opened Uptown Burger, a counter-service, fast-food restaurant that serves a half-dozen eclectic burgers, salads, fries and gelato. Ive always loved burgers, said Scordato, who has spent 50 years pursuing Italian fare in a career that started in his fathers iconic Scordatos Restaurant in the 1970s before he ventured out on his own with Daniels in 1984. I wanted to do a hamburger restaurant before it got real popular. Uptown Burger, a joint venture with Scordatos chef nephew Justin Fitzsimmons, comes a dozen years after the burger wave hit Tucson, but Scordato thinks he might have something that sets him apart from the others. The beef. His burgers start with 100% Piedmontese beef, a breed that originated in Italy and is known for being lean yet flavorful. It really has a very good meat flavor, Scordato said. Burgers come one of two ways medium pink or well done and are served on a toasted brioche bun. The only exception is the French dip burger, whose patty oozing with melty Brie cheese, sauteed mushrooms and caramelized onions is served on a toasted ciabatta roll that can hold up to the side of beef aux jus. The menu includes Southwest accents on the Sonoran burger avocado, poblano chiles, Oaxaca cheese and a fresh corn and Cholula relish and a hint of California in the BLT avocado burger. Scordato didnt put Italian entirely on the backburner at Uptown Burger: the Tuscan tops the beef patty with roasted eggplant Scordato credits Fitzsimmons with that stroke of culinary genius marinated mozzarella and diced tomatoes with pesto. Theres also a Nashville hot chicken sandwich and grilled ahi tuna steak sandwich on the menu, alongside a half dozen salads. Uptown Burger is Scordatos second venture into fast food. In late 2019, he opened the healthy Italian-leaning fast-food restaurant Posto Sano Foods in the Uptown Burger space at 6370 N. Campbell Ave. That restaurant, which offered vegan and vegetarian versions of everything on the menu, was open about a year before it became a casualty of the pandemic. Scordato said he has a five-year lease on the space and had contemplated subleasing it to another restaurant operator before deciding to open Uptown Burger. The reception has been really good, he said earlier this week, sitting in the dining room as late lunch diners including retired Maj. Gen. Hoyt Sandy Vandenberg picked up takeout or placed orders at the countertop kiosks. The kiosks send the orders straight to the kitchen, cutting 10 to 15 minutes off a dining experience since customers dont have to wait for a server to take their order. Uptown Burger also serves a half dozen craft beers and wine by the glass. The restaurant is open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily except Sundays. For more information, visit uptownburgertucson.com. MEXICO CITY When four Americans were kidnapped in the border city of Matamoros, authorities rescued the survivors within days, but thousands of Mexicans remain missing in the state long associated with cartel violence some in cases dating back more than a decade. Mexican authorities quickly blamed the local Gulf cartel for shooting up the Americans' minivan after they crossed the border for cosmetic surgery Friday. They found the Americans two dead, one injured and one apparently unharmed early Tuesday after a massive search involving squads of Mexican soldiers and National Guard troops. By contrast, more than 112,000 Mexicans remain missing nationwide, in many cases years or decades after they disappeared. Though a convoy of armored Mexican military trucks extracted the Americans, the only ones searching for most of the missing Mexicans are their desperate relatives. "If these people had been Mexicans, they might still be disappeared," said Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera, an associate professor at George Mason University. The rescue of the Americans provoked a special kind of fury in Tamaulipas, a border state long dominated by the warring Gulf and Northeast cartels, where the Network of Disappeared activist group estimates that 12,537 people remain missing. Delia Quiroa, from the nearby city of Reynosa, has been looking for her brother Roberto for nine years, ever since he was kidnapped by gunmen probably belonging to the Gulf cartel, the same group blamed for abducting the Americans in March 2014. Despite carrying out their own searches and pressuring authorities to investigate, the family knows nothing about his whereabouts. Quiroa said that the families of the missing "celebrate and give thanks to God that they found these four U.S. citizens," but said "we wish the government would search for our disappeared with the same zeal and diligence." "We feel complete indignation, desperation, anguish, impotence and grief," Quiroa said, because of "authorities' failure to act when Mexican families suffer the disappearance of a relative." Volunteer search teams like Quiroa's often are forced to walk the deserts of northern Mexico with iron rods and shovels, looking for clandestine graves where the bodies of the relatives may have been dumped. Authorities lack both the manpower, equipment and training and many say the will to investigate the abductions, much less arrest or punish those responsible. Things are so bad that authorities aren't even able to identify tens of thousands of bodies that have been found. The fact that Americans were involved in the most recent abduction may guarantee that Mexican authorities go after the killers. About two dozen suspects, most from the Juarez cartel, were arrested in connection with the 2019 killings of nine U.S. citizens women and children in the western border state of Sonora. It is unclear exactly what faction of the Gulf cartel may have abducted the Americans in Matamoros last week. The gangs go by nicknames like "The Scorpions," "The Cyclones" and "The Troops of Hell." In Matamoros, Correa-Cabrera said, they are essentially all offshoots of the Cardenas clan, whose head, Osiel Cardenas Guillen, was arrested in 2003. The gangs care little about innocent bystanders. In 2021, gunmen from factions of the Gulf cartel drove through the streets of Reynosa randomly killing 15 passersby just to intimidate their rivals. The Mexican government claims that its "hugs not bullets" strategy anti-poverty programs intended to reduce the number of recruits for drug gangs has been working. The number of officially recognized homicides fell from 719 in 2020, to 707 in 2021 and 492 in 2022. That, of course, doesn't count all of the disappeared people. But things are clearly not as bad as the dark days of 2010 and 2011 in Tamaulipas, when drug cartels massacred 72 migrants or dragged passengers off passing buses and killed hundreds who refused to fight each other to the death with sledge hammers. Correa-Cabrera said the decline in killings and crimes in Matamoros in recent years may have been because the Cardenas clan re-asserted control. "It was clear that the Cardenas family had control of the territory and there was a peace, a sort of mafia peace" in Matamoros, Correa-Cabrera said, until early this year when it appeared to break down. "At the start of this year, there began to be reports of a lot more extortion by the same group that controls the city," said the professor, who previously taught at the then University of Texas-Brownsville just across the Rio Grande from Matamoros. BEIJING, March 10 (Xinhua) -- For a long time in history, the world was shrouded in the myth that modernization equals Westernization. The emergence of Chinese modernization dispels it, making modernization no longer a single-choice question, but a multiple-choice one. For the world, China's task to modernize a country of 1.4 billion people, or nearly one-fifth of the global population, is unprecedented. The Herculean pursuit not only captures global attention, but also has global ramifications. Among a series of concepts and initiatives that China promotes in both state governance and global interactions, the Chinese path to modernization is the most popular keyword that people would like to know more about, according to an overseas survey conducted by Xinhua News Agency recently. WHAT ARE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CHINESE AND WESTERN MODERNIZATION? China's path to modernization is one of peace and development, win-win cooperation, and harmony between humanity and nature, rather than external expansion and plundering. "China's path to modernization reflects Chinese wisdom, Chinese civilization and history," said Keith Bennett, a long-term China specialist and vice chair of Britain's 48 Group Club. "The modernization of a small number of Western countries was based on the exploitation, oppression and colonization of almost the entire world. China is not developing by exploiting any other country; China is developing itself and modernizing itself, and at the same time helping other countries to develop and modernize," he said. China does not seek to exploit or control other nations, and it plays no role in inciting conflicts, said Mokhtar Gobashy, deputy chairman of the Cairo-based Arab Center for Political and Strategic Studies, adding that's why China has gained respect and popularity in the Arab world. Meanwhile, Chinese modernization emphasizes both material and cultural-ethical advancement, which distinguishes it from Western modernization, said Chen Gang, assistant director of the East Asian Institute of the National University of Singapore. The coordination of material and cultural-ethical advancement leads the way to realize all-around material abundance as well as people's well-rounded development, Chen said. WHAT CHINESE MODERNIZATION CAN OFFER FOR THE WORLD? China stands in the world as the second-largest economy and a responsible major country. It always keeps the world's development and peace in mind in its modernization process. That is because Beijing fully understands that it will do well only if the world does well, and vice versa. Firstly, China is committed to making the world less poor and more equitable. By the end of 2020, China had lifted out of poverty all rural residents living below the current poverty line and met the poverty eradication target set out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 10 years ahead of schedule. Commenting on China's poverty reduction drive, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said those achievements are "the biggest contribution for dramatical reduction of poverty." More than eradicating absolute poverty, Chinese modernization promotes common prosperity, thereby shrinking the enormous wealth gap and inequality that have risen in tandem with Western modernization. British scholar and political commentator Martin Jacques highlighted China's pursuit of common prosperity, lamenting how Western countries have never taken it seriously. "For China to embrace common prosperity, to establish a society of greater fairness, greater equity, that is a very important message not only to China, Chinese people but to the world as well," he said. China, on its way toward modernization, has also been sharing its development dividends with the rest of the world. Take the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). According to a World Bank forecast, if all Belt and Road transport infrastructure projects are carried out, the initiative would generate 1.6 trillion U.S. dollars of global revenues annually to 2030. Up to 90 percent of the revenues would go to partner countries. "The most important thing about the BRI is that developing nations could benefit from the great experience in the development of China. BRI gives them the opportunity to create an industrial society and join the modern age. This is something that in the long run would bode well for the future of humanity," said Khairy Tourk, professor of economics with the Stuart School of Business at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. Secondly, China is committed to making the world greener and more biodiverse. China ranks first globally in the area of planted forests and forest coverage growth, contributing a quarter of the world's new forest area in the past decade. From 2012 to 2021, China's carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP declined by 34.4 percent, and energy consumption per unit of GDP decreased by 26.4 percent, equivalent to saving of 1.4 billion tons of standard coal. So far, China has also emerged as a major proponent of renewable energy, and it is working hard to capitalize on the potential of a green BRI. UNFCCC (the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) Executive Secretary Simon Stiell spoke highly of China's firm and consistent stance on actively addressing climate change, as well as its efforts to translate climate commitments into concrete actions. At a time when the world is facing an energy crisis, China continues to make solid progress in dealing with climate change and plays an important role in advancing the global response to climate change, Stiell said. Meanwhile, under China's presidency, the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity has adopted the global biodiversity framework ahead of schedule. China has shown leadership in global biodiversity protection, Inger Andersen, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme, has said. Thirdly, China is committed to making the world more peaceful. For more than 70 years, China has never started a war, never occupied a single square mile of foreign territory, never engaged in proxy wars, and never been a member of or organized any military bloc. It is the only country that has incorporated peaceful development in its Constitution, and the only country among the five nuclear-weapon states to pledge no first use of nuclear weapons. China's track record on peace can stand the scrutiny of history, and its peaceful rise is an unprecedented miracle in human history. Since China's restoration of its lawful seat at the United Nations in 1971, China has actively participated in the political settlement of major regional hot issues, including the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, the Iran nuclear issue, Afghanistan, Myanmar, and the Palestine-Israel issue. In response to mounting conflicts and security challenges in today's world, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the Global Security Initiative (GSI) at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2022. And in the GSI Concept Paper released last month, China further expounded the core ideas and principles of the initiative, identified the priorities, platforms and mechanisms of cooperation and demonstrated China's sense of responsibility for safeguarding world peace and firm resolve to defend global security. "China's idea of being a builder of world peace, contributor to global development, defender of the international order and provider of public goods are consistent with the ideals of the UN Charter," former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said. AN ALTERNATIVE APPROACH? Chinese modernization is a new model for human advancement, and it dispels the myth that "modernization is equal to Westernization," presents another picture of modernization, expands the channels for developing countries to achieve modernization, and provides a Chinese solution to aid the exploration of a better social system for humanity, Xi once said. China's rise as a global economic power shattered the long-held notion that modernization means Westernization, said David Monyae, director of the Center for Africa-China Studies at the University of Johannesburg. The Chinese path to modernization serves as an "example" for developing countries, especially African countries, when they have been confronted with multiple crises that hinder their development in recent years, General Secretary of the Congolese Labor Party Pierre Moussa has said. "They could find in this model elements for the construction of a development path that can enable them to handle present and future challenges," he said. "Modernization has never been simply Westernization," Chen said, adding that "Chinese modernization is a new development model, which can be used as a reference for other countries with similar national conditions or at a similar stage of development." MORGANTOWN, W.Va. The tiny clinic where physicians prescribe hormones and other medications to transgender teenagers shares the same campus where West Virginia kids travel to receive treatments for rare cancer, heart surgery and other health care difficult to get anywhere else. In a rural state purported to have the highest number of transgender youths per capita and some of the nation's worst health outcomes, West Virginia University Medicine doctors say transgender health care is just as essential as the other lifesaving services they provide. But it could soon be banned. Ignoring doctors' pleas, lawmakers are preparing to vote this week on a bill that would outlaw certain health care for transgender minors, including hormone therapy and fully reversible medication that suspends the physical changes of puberty, buying patients and parents time to make future decisions about hormones. "There's a lot of anxiety and fear in our exam rooms right now," said Dr. Kacie Kidd, medical director of WVU Medicine Children's Adolescent Gender and Sexual Development Clinic. State lawmakers and West Virginia's largest health care provider are at odds over how and when to treat adolescents with gender dysphoria the severe psychological distress experienced by those whose gender identity differs from their sex assigned at birth. WVU's classification among the highest level of American research universities is often lauded by the same state leaders who have been unwilling to listen to experts when it comes to gender-affirming care. During a meeting last week at which Kidd testified before lawmakers, Senate Finance chair Eric Tarr described the treatments as "child abuse." "I was caught off guard to see that WVU Medicine has a clinic to change the sex of children in West Virginia," the Republican said, leading a charge to reject amendments that would have allowed some care to continue. Two physicians on the committee both Republicans expressed concern, saying "medically uneducated" people shouldn't be making such decisions. Lawmakers in West Virginia and other states advancing similar legislation often characterize gender-affirming treatments as medically unproven, potentially dangerous in the long term and a symptom of "woke" culture. Yet every major medical organization, including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychiatric Association, supports gender-affirming care for youths. The legislation in West Virginia also includes a ban on gender-affirming surgery for minors, something medical professionals emphasize does not happen in the state. Lia Farrell, a WVU medical student from New York, said it was clear to her that lawmakers have "no idea what providing this care actually entails." "It's really cutting off your nose to spite your face," she said. "This isn't going to accomplish anything except harming people and preventing us from doing our jobs." Opened in 2021, WVU Medicine Children's Adolescent Gender and Sexual Development Clinic looks like any other health care setting animal-shaped stickers cover the walls, examination rooms, machines to check blood pressure and heart rates. But providers wear lanyards with colorful buttons displaying pronouns and jackets decorated with a rainbow heart and stethoscope something Kidd calls "visible reminders" of support. Some families travel for hours on mountain roads to meet with providers, including therapists. While they talk, young people draw to calm their nerves. Kidd has several patients' creations displayed in her workspace, including one favorite, a unicorn. A West Virginia native, Kidd was training to be a pediatrician at WVU when she began meeting transgender kids hospitalized after suicide attempts. Patients have described gender dysphoria to her as a profound, deeply rooted frustration even sometimes anger that the person in the mirror "isn't who they are." "I've had young people tell me that they can't imagine a future where they can be happy," she said. "That's one of the most heartbreaking things I ever hear." Dakota Kai, 17, spent childhood in and out of psychiatric care because of depression and anxiety related to gender dysphoria. Kai said the testosterone gel they apply to their shoulders, which has caused their voice to deepen and facial hair to sprout, has saved their life. "It's literally going to kill people if they can't access this care," Kai said. "It's difficult to try to exist in a place where it's threatening just being yourself." Kai is now planning to start college this year and eventually become a cardiovascular surgeon. Kai's mother, Sherry, said she was apprehensive at first about hormone therapy. But after conversations with providers, she and her child confidently decided to pursue it and have no regrets. Transgender minors can't begin medical interventions without parental consent. "The amount of ignorance about the subject is honestly astounding," she said. "Watching our society respond with such emotional fervor about something that they obviously logically don't understand is terrifying." She said nothing about the care is pushed on patients, "lightly talked about or treated as if it's no big deal." "They are not trying to play God," Sherry said. "They're out there trying to perform a service of helping people, and because of science and because of time and because of studying the concept of being trans are able to say, 'This is not fictitious or just a whim. This is a scientific, medical fact.'" As the ban advances through the Legislature, Kidd's staff works late in the clinic, leaving long after dark to fit in appointments with frantic families. "It is heartbreaking," Kidd said, "to have to tell young people and families that we can't provide the care that they need." WASHINGTON President Joe Biden asked Congress for more than $2.8 billion in his federal budget proposal Thursday to help advance his cancer-fighting goals. More than half of the money, $1.7 billion, would go to the Department of Health and Human Services to support the Democratic president's cancer initiatives across an array of departments and agencies, according to White House officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The funding request would support a "cancer moonshot" initiative Biden announced last year with the goal of cutting cancer death rates in half over the next 25 years. Biden aims to help close gaps in cancer screenings, better understand and address environmental and toxic exposures associated with certain cancers, and reduce the effects of preventable cancers, such as those linked to tobacco and poor nutrition. The initiative also spends money on cutting-edge research and resources to support patients and their caregivers. The "moonshot" program was launched in 2016 by President Barack Obama and led by his vice president, Biden. As president, Biden resurrected the initiative last year. Cancer is personal for Biden and his wife, Jill, as the disease is for millions of people in the United States who have been diagnosed with cancer or have lost loved ones to various forms of the disease. In 2015, the Bidens' eldest son, Beau, died of an aggressive brain cancer at age 46. Both the president and the first lady this year had lesions removed from their skin that were determined to be basal cell carcinoma, a common and easily treated form of cancer. While Biden's budget is unlikely to clear Congress untouched, fighting cancer is an issue that Biden hopes can find bipartisan support. Cancer is among four issues that Biden made part of a "unity agenda" he announced in his 2022 State of the Union address. Veterans, drug abuse and mental health are the other issues. Congress last year passed pieces of legislation to address aspects of the agenda. In recognition of March as National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, the White House on Friday is scheduled to host a discussion with government officials and others on improving outcomes for this particular form of cancer. Excluding some skin cancers, colorectal cancer is the fourth most-common cancer and the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Featured speakers will include Simone Ledward Boseman, the widow of "Black Panther" star Chadwick Boseman, who died in 2020 at age 43 after a four-year battle with colon cancer, and NBC News anchor Craig Melvin, who lost an older brother to the same disease, also at age 43. Separately on Friday, Jill Biden is scheduled to visit the Louisiana Cancer Research Center in New Orleans with U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and his wife, Laura, to talk about the president's cancer budget request and highlight the importance of colorectal cancer screenings. The Cassidys are medical doctors. LOS ANGELES Graffiti. A broken window or compromised fence. Vaping in the bathroom. A sextortion threat. A student who talked about bringing a weapon to class. Confronted with increasing demands to make Los Angeles Unified campuses safer, the district is promoting a new app for students, parents, staff and community members to anonymously report these and other types of concerns that fall short of emergency police response. A second app which functions strictly to report an emergency is available to school employees and identifies the location of the sender. Reports from both apps will be sent to school police. Officials insist the apps will provide responsiveness and simplicity, rather than adding redundancy or technological confusion. The apps were showcased during a Board of Education meeting that drew demonstrators outside district headquarters who called for the elimination of school police a sign of the ongoing tension within the school system on how best to deal with safety. The app available to anyone is called Los Angeles Schools Anonymous Reporting or LASAR and is designed to increase community focused public safety in and around our schools. Upon receiving a report, the school police watch commander will triage the reported incident and determine the necessary resource to dispatch, according to the staff report. The ability for the community, for students and the workforce for example, to automatically real-time relay, in an anonymous way or not, potential threats to a student, to a school, is critically important, said L.A. schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho. There is no specific limitation on what could be reported, but this is not, for example, the forum to discuss grades or academics. The safety apps are among four applications being rolled out, including one that allows parents to access student records from their phones. The other allows families and employees to look up general information and make requests. Board member Nick Melvoin expressed concern about going from too few mobile options to a confusing too many. He was assured that, even with four apps, the functionality was simpler than what families and employees face today in attempting to communicate in the right way to the appropriate person. And that the effort would evolve. Board president Jackie Goldberg said she wanted to make sure a human was available to help people and received some reassurance. In an interview, district teachers union Secondary Vice President Julie Van Winkle said she had concerns about turning first to police, especially for nonemergency issues. If a student is having a nonemergency problem, they dont need the police to be called in, Van Winkle said. Even in many emergencies, I would say that there are different ways that we can handle it rather than right away calling the police because sometimes that will escalate a violent situation. She also questioned the priority of developing such apps when, she said, many classrooms lack working phones that would allow teachers to communicate directly with the office. We need to prioritize an investment in our facilities and investment in staff that can support our schools and keep them safe, and then we dont need to be calling in police, said Van Winkle. Van Winkle took part recently in a rally organized by groups calling for the elimination of school police. The demonstration included about 50 participants, who also called for enlarging the Black Student Achievement Plan, expanding mental health resources for all students and developing nonpolice-based safety alternatives. In support of their agenda, the groups presented results based on a survey conducted by student activists at their schools. According to the survey, 87% of Black students feel like they are benefiting from the achievement plan, but 49% feel their schools lack sufficient mental health resources. The survey was conducted by student activists at 100 schools and collected more than 2,300 responses, including about 400 from Black students, according to protest organizers. District officials said they do not know the extent to which other K-12 school systems use an anonymous reporting app they are not aware of other examples. They added that USC and some other colleges have a similar application. A unique component is making the application available to community members, they said. The app allows for taking photos or videos and includes geolocation, enabling police to know about where the incident was reported from. The user can note if the reported incident took place elsewhere. The second app is for a situation where an active assailant situation is in progress. The application is designed to work only within school district boundaries. Like the other app, it automatically detects the location of the user. To activate an alert, an individual presses a button for three seconds. This app is, in essence, an internal, alternative 911 system, available only to staff. Students reporting an emergency on their phones will still be dialing 911. One feature allows users to text information about their emergency situation, something not possible on a 911 call. An emergency alert goes straight to the top of the watch commanders queue along with an audio alert. The other allows families and employees to look up general information. Officials said other K-12 districts are already using such an emergency app. Some colleges provide a wearable panic button. The apps were developed by Kokomo24/7. The nonemergency app was developed with a $123,000 federal grant and will cost about $93,000 a year to maintain, said Senior Operations Director Alfonso Webb. No figures were immediately available for the emergency app. BEIJING Chinese President Xi Jinping accused Washington this week of trying to isolate his country and hold back its development. That reflects the ruling Communist Partys growing frustration that its pursuit of prosperity and global influence is threatened by U.S. restrictions on access to technology, its support for Taiwan and other moves seen by Beijing as hostile. Xi, Chinas most powerful leader in decades, tries to appear to be above problems and usually makes blandly positive public comments. That made his complaint Monday all the more striking. Xi said a U.S.-led campaign of containment and suppression of China has brought unprecedented, severe challenges. He called on the public to dare to fight. On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Qin Gang sharpened the warning, saying Washington faces possible conflict and confrontation if it fails to change course. The foreign minister is speaking on behalf of a widely held view that the United States is coming after China and they have to defend themselves, said John Delury, an international relations specialist at Yonsei University in Seoul. China is hardly the only government to fume at Washingtons dominance of global strategic and economic affairs, but Chinese leaders see the United States as making extra effort to thwart Beijing as a challenger for regional and possibly global leadership. The ruling party wants to restore Chinas historic role as a political and cultural leader, raise incomes by transforming the country into an inventor of technology, and unite what it considers the Chinese motherland by taking control of Taiwan, the self-ruled island democracy that Beijing claims as part of its territory. Beijing sees those as positive goals, but American officials see them as threats. They say Chinese development plans are based at least in part on stealing or pressuring foreign companies to hand over technology. Washington has set back Beijings plans by putting Chinese companies including its first global tech brand, Huawei, on a blacklist that limits access to processor chips and other technology. That crippled Huaweis smartphone brand, once one of the worlds biggest. American officials are lobbying European and other allies to avoid Huawei equipment when they upgrade phone networks. Washington cites security fears, but Beijing says that is an excuse to hurt its fledgling competitors. The two governments have the worlds biggest trading relationship and common interests in combating climate change and other problems. But relations are strained over Taiwan, Beijings treatment of Hong Kong and mostly Muslim ethnic minorities, and its refusal to criticize or isolate Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. The official Chinese view soured following an uptick when Xi met U.S. President Joe Biden in November in Indonesia, said Shi Yinhong, an international relations specialist at Renmin University in Beijing. He noted that in the five months since then, Washington approved more weapons sales to Taiwan, criticized Beijings stance on Ukraine and put more Chinese companies on export watchlists, all of which China saw as hostile. Xi and Qin spoke in a dramatic way this week, but the essence of what they said is Chinas long-term stance, Shi said. The leadership believes the United States has implemented almost all around, drastic and desperate containment of China in all respects, especially in strategic and military fields. The risk of military conflict between China and the United States is getting bigger, Shi said. A State Department spokesperson, Ned Price, said Washington wants to coexist responsibly within the global trade and political system and denied the U.S. government wants to suppress China. This is not about containing China. This is not about suppressing China. This is not about holding China back, Price said in Washington. We want to have that constructive competition that is fair and doesnt veer into that conflict. The United States formed a strategic group, the Quad, with Japan, Australia and India in response to concern about China and its claim to vast tracts of sea that are busy shipping lanes. They insist the group doesnt focus on any one country, but its official statements are about territorial claims and other issues on which they have disputes with Beijing. The latest change in tone follows acrimonious exchanges over a Chinese balloon that was shot down after passing over North America. The FBI is examining its electronics and other equipment. Xis government is especially irritated by displays of support by American and other Western legislators for Taiwan, which split with China in 1949 after a civil war. Taiwan never has been part of the Peoples Republic of China, but the Communist Party says the island of 22 million people must unite with the mainland, by force if necessary. Washington is obligated by federal law to see that Taiwan has the weapons to defend itself and has sold it fighter jets and missiles. Chinese leaders complain that encourages Taiwanese politicians who might want to resist unification and possibly declare formal independence, a step Beijing says would lead to war. LIMA, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Cyclone Yaku is causing heavy rains in several coastal regions of northern Peru, a specialist with the country's National Meteorology and Hydrology Service (Senamhi) said Thursday. "The cyclone is adding to the extreme rainfall conditions ... on the northern coast," generating floods especially in the departments of Tumbes, Piura and Lambayeque, Benito Valderrama told radio and TV broadcasting company Radio Programas del Peru. "These rains are going to continue. Senamhi is regularly issuing weather warnings. We have a weather warning in effect until March 11," he said. The cyclone "is not going to become a hurricane," but could rather dissipate as it will move toward the southwest where water temperatures are colder, he said. On Tuesday, Senamhi reported an unusual "cyclone with tropical characteristics" present off the northern and central coast of Peru. The cyclone is also expected to intensify rains in the departments of La Libertad, Lima and Ancash, especially in the middle basins of the Pacific Slope, in the coming days. This advertorial is sponsored content provided by the advertiser and printed as is. Any claims, recommendations or errors are the advertisers own and the reader is responsible for evaluating all information contained herein. The reader is responsible for complying with any applicable Terms of Use for Instagram and any other sites. How many Instagram followers do you have? Do you want more? There are many ways to increase your engagement on Instagram. 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When you purchase premium followers you also get lifetime refills for any accounts that get taken down or un-follow you later on. The cheapest option per high-quality follower is their 5,000 follower package which is less than 0.8 per follower. The smallest package (100 followers) goes for a little under 3 per follower. The cheapest option per premium follower is a little more than 1 per follower for a total of 25,000 followers. Their 100 follower package results in a little less than 4 per follower. Guarantees/Features This site features many of the common features found in other legitimate follower-buying websites including guaranteed instant or gradual delivery and 24/7 live support. They dont require a password to fulfill the order. Followers is a reputable platform that starts delivering results within minutes. Price per Follower Followers.io presents different packages for buying Instagram followers. They all result in a different price per follower. 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This results in active users encouraging organic engagement beyond your purchased package. In simple terms: you do not get fake Instagram followers, instead, you get high-quality followers. This website has 24/7 support if there is some problem with your purchase. Follower, like, and view delivery can be gradual or instant according to your preferences. Social-Viral offers a wide range of affordable packages designed to help you grow your popularity on different social media sites with quality followers. Price per Follower Packages on Social Viral range from $2.89 for 100 followers to $84.99 for 5000 followers. Like with other platforms, buying Instagram followers is cheaper per follower when you buy larger amounts. The smallest package charges nearly 3 per follower. The largest charges a little over 1.6 for their cheap Instagram followers. Options Social Viral also provides the option of purchasing likes, views, and auto-likes on Instagram. The likes, views, and followers are delivered instantly but the auto-likes are intended to engage with your posts as they are posted. This creates the illusion of organic engagement which is helpful for your algorithm. Social Viral, unlike other websites, also provides the ability to buy engagement on other platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Spotify, and TikTok. None of these require your password which makes the process significantly safer. Guarantees/Features Social Viral, like the rest of the websites mentioned on this list, does not use bot followers. Although this means that it's not guaranteed that the followers will last forever, they do provide free follower refills the week following the purchase. 5. ExploreinLife Price per Follower This platform provides two options for followers: high-quality and super-quality. High-quality follower packages range from 100 to 5,000 followers. The smallest package sells each follower for less than 3. This is the most expensive price per follower. The largest package sells each follower for a little less than 0.8. Super-quality follower packages have the same range but different prices. The smallest package sells each follower for a little under 5. The largest package sells each follower for around 1.7. This means the super-quality followers are almost twice as expensive but the price difference is justified. Options Although both types of followers include follower refills they have some key differences in their profiles. High-quality followers have profile pictures but no posts. Super-quality followers occasionally have posts but in general, they are significantly more legitimate-looking profiles. This makes it more likely for your followers to be reported as bot followers and have your profile banned than with super-quality followers. Guarantees/Features Exploreinlife provides a rate of 500 followers per hour with lost follower refills daily. Their follower packages include 24/7 live chat support and guaranteed instant delivery. The platform does not require a password to complete your order. 6. FollowersCart Price per Follower Followers Cart provides seven package options ranging from 100 to 10,000 Instagram followers. The smallest package prices each follower at 1.75. The largest prices each follower at a little over 1. The price difference between packages isnt as great as on other platforms but there isnt as much of a follower quality guarantee. Their female follower packages are more limited. They range from 250 to 10,000 Instagram followers. The prices for female followers are more expensive. Their smallest package sells each follower for around 2.6. Their largest one charges 1.6 per follower. Options This platform, unlike some others, does not have different options for the quality of followers. However, they do sell English followers and female followers. They also sell pretty much anything else you might need to boost your platform. They provide options for Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. Instagram alone, they provide the option to buy Instagram comments, views, likes, story views, and IGTV views. This is significantly more expansive than the options provided on other platforms. Guarantees/Features This platform does not have as many guarantees about follower quality or customer service. The main feature that makes them stand out is the ability to pick between female and male followers to better cater to your target audience. 7. BoostLikes Price per Follower Boost Likes provides the option for buying global Instagram followers and buying UK-specific followers. Both options are sold for the same price. Their followers are sold in pounds rather than US dollars so consider all the following prices in pounds. Their smallest package sells 250 followers for 1.2 per follower. Their largest package sells 10,000 followers for a little less than 0.7. In USD, that would be around 1.6 and 0.9 respectively. Options The ability to choose between global and UK followers allows you to be more specific to your audience. The site also allows you to boost your engagement on YouTube, SoundCloud, SiteJabber and TrustPilot. Guarantees/Features The delivery time, unlike on other sites, ranges from 5 to 6 days. It also doesnt require a password and gives users access to 24/7 customer support. This site also offers a unique money-back guarantee. If within 30 days you are no longer interested in the purchase, you can get a full refund. FAQ Why should I buy Instagram followers? Simple: to boost your online presence. Having more Instagram followers makes your engagement naturally rise. This exposes you to more customers. Thanks to Instagrams data gathering features you can learn more about who your customers are which allows you to better target your marketing. Plus, it is no longer easy to determine real Instagram followers versus fake followers. Depending on where you buy Instagram followers these IG followers may be active. When you buy active Instagram followers it often results in social media platform growth. Could I get banned from Instagram? Accounts that continue to use non-Instagram apps to get more followers may notice that certain parts of their Instagram account are limited. If you use one of these apps to gain likes or followers, your account can be disabled or terminated. Most of the websites listed above use real, active accounts which means that the engagement is not flagged as suspicious. When you use websites that dont guarantee organic traffic and real Instagram followers, you are at risk of getting banned. Does my account need to be public? No. For most sites, its not necessary to have a public account. If you have a private account, however, the engagement is less likely to be catered to your niche. Also, a public account will benefit the most from buying Instagram followers, likes, or views because itll cause organic engagement. What is a red flag to look out for when buying Instagram followers? Although websites may require different things, none should request your password. It is not necessary for any type of engagement. The only situation in which a password would be necessary is when hiring a social media manager. Even then, you should ask for references, a portfolio, and a meeting in person or on Zoom. Websites should not ask for your password. Can I buy Instagram views? Short answer: Yes you can. Not all the options listed above sell Instagram views but most do. The only two options listed that dont sell Instagram views are FollowersCart and BoostLikes.co. The rest present different options for buying Instagram views. Instagram views will help with engagement overall and will be beneficial for the algorithm. Can I buy Instagram likes? Yes. Buying Instagram likes is easier than buying Instagram views since most websites that sell followers also offer this option. Buying views tends to be a little rarer. When you buy Instagram likes you can occasionally choose to have the likes happen all at once or happen gradually. All websites listed above guarantee quality likes. This content was produced by Brand Ave. Studios. The news and editorial departments had no role in its creation or display. Brand Ave. Studios connects advertisers with a targeted audience through compelling content programs, from concept to production and distribution. For more information contact sales@brandavestudios.com The musical adaptation of The Outsiders officially opened March 4 at the La Jolla Playhouse in California, and early reviews praise this new incarnation of the story first told in Tulsan S.E. Hintons iconic novel. More than four years in the making, the musical, directed by Dayna Taymor, was written by award winning-playwright Adam Rapp, who drew inspiration from both Hintons novel as well as the script for Francis Ford Coppolas 1983 film version. The score was a collaboration between the band Jamestown Revival (Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance) and Broadway composer-arranger Justin Levine. The reviewer for the San Diego Union-Tribune, Pam Kragen, stated that the musical is perhaps the best incarnation of this story about a group of teenagers navigating a rough-and-tumble life in 1960s Tulsa. Kragen writes that the musical successfully blends the best of the book and the movie in a richly detailed story for teen and adult audiences. It reveals its characters thoughts through song lyrics that feel authentic to the book, while still delivering a cinematic-style visual punch, with muscular choreography and, yes, a dazzling rumble in the rain. She writes that the 18-song score has a propulsive, Southwestern vibe, singling out for special praise the songs Runs in the Family, Hopeless War, Throwing in the Towel and Stay Gold. With a few tweaks, Kragen writes, this musical could be Broadway-ready, and with its unique look and sound, it could carve its own path, both with fans of the book and newcomers to the story. Charles McNulty, writing for the Los Angeles Times, acknowledged the enduring power of Hintons novel, and praised how the creative team had the music... guide the storytelling. The score has a folk-rock sound that seems completely natural to the story without locking it into a specific period, he writes, adding, The songs work best when they give expression to the inner lives of the central characters. McNulty described Brody Grants performance as Ponyboy Curtis, the shows central character, as star-making, adding that he fills the role of Ponyboy with moody rock-star charisma. Vocally, he soars when communicating his characters longings in song. He also praises how The musical manages the trick of maintaining one foot in 1967 Tulsa and one foot in a neutral contemporary reality, adding that even at this somewhat wobbly preliminary stage, (The Outsiders) holds onto the gold of Hintons novel, transmuting it imperfectly yet courageously into hypnotic theater. The New York Times critic Alexis Soloski was less impressed with the musical in its current incarnation, writing, this La Jolla version (and Im sentimental enough to hope that there will soon be other versions) is a musical with growing pains, currently serving too many characters, too many themes, too many styles. But when it reaches its full height, it might really be something to see. If The Outsiders means to steer its muscle cars toward Broadway, which it should, further development will almost certainly smooth these variances in focus and approach, Soloski writes. This is a story about conflict, internal and external, but it also allows, in songs such as Great Expectations and Stay Gold, for luxuriant and surprising concordance. For the hopeless, for the loveless, for the misunderstood, which is all of us, Greaser and Soc, young and old, The Outsiders offers the promise of harmony. But perhaps the most important critic of an Outsiders adaptation, author S.E. Hinton, was the most effusive and succinct in praise. Just back from seeing my Musical, Hinton posted on her Twitter account. Got news for you guys: It is fantastic! The songs, the music, the set, the actors, everything top-notch & more. Saw it twice. Will be glad to see it again. Hit! The Outsiders will run through April 2 at La Jolla Playhouse. For more information: lajollaplayhouse.org. It seems as if almost a lifetime has passed since the musical Hamilton last came to Tulsa. The truth is, Lin-Manuel Mirandas groundbreaking depiction of the life and times of one of this countrys most industrious Founding Fathers first graced a Tulsa stage in August 2019 just a little less than four years ago. The reason is that, during those four years, this country has gone through a host of upheavals and crises that only serve to remind us of one of the fundamental points of Hamilton: that our democracy is a precious and fragile construct, one that relies upon everyone working together for the common good for its survival. Of course, the same thing could be said about a musical, especially one as complex and energetic as Hamilton, which opened a two-week run Tuesday at the Tulsa PAC, presented by Celebrity Attractions. (This review is of the Wednesday, March 8, performance, which was the first one open to the media.) The show remains as explosively entertaining as ever an almost nonstop melange of words, music, movement and stagecraft that creates a multi-sensory experience that also happens to recount a swath of early American history with freshness and urgency, albeit with some liberties. Based on the biography by Ron Chernow, Hamilton creates the portrait of an ambitious young man from the Caribbean (played here by Edred Utomi) who lands on the North American continent just in time to get caught up in the revolutionary fervor of the 1770s. One of the first people Hamilton meets is Aaron Burr (Josh Tower), another rising figure on the political scene, although one more inclined to achieve his goals through guile rather than gung-ho effort. The paths of Hamilton and Burr cross and recross through the course of the story, with Burr growing increasingly bitter as Hamiltons impulsive, combative nature and his talent for writing make him a force with whom to reckon, first as an aide to Gen. George Washington (Carvens Lissaint) during the war, then as Secretary of the Treasury during Washingtons presidency. It all culminates on a patch of ground in Weehawken, New Jersey, where on a July morning in 1804, the two men met in a duel in which Hamilton was fatally shot and Burr, who was at the time the sitting Vice President of the United States, effectively slew his political career. The character of Hamilton requires an actor who can convey the coiled, febrile energy that drives Hamilton in pursuit of his shot at making a mark on the world, and while Utomi says the words and sings the songs capably, he doesnt project that sort of energy and charm. Utomi also struggled at times with the speed at which hes to deliver numbers such as Alexander Hamilton and My Shot, to the point that his phrasing wasnt in sync with pulse of the music. Hes at his best in the characters quieter, more melodic moments, such as contemplating a new generation in Dear Theodosia, or mourning the senselessness of his sons death in Its Quiet Uptown. Everyone around him, on the other hand, is firing on all cylinders, beginning with Tower as Aaron Burr, who fairly bristles envious rage and oily duplicity, and delivers the iconic The Room Where It Happens and Wait For It with ringing authority. Alysha Deslorieux as Eliza Schuyler, and Stephanie Umoh as Angelica Schuyler, the sisters who each in her own way were the loves of Hamiltons life, deliver heartfelt, lived-in performances that are absolutely captivating. Lissaint brings a powerful sense of gravitas to the role of George Washington, making his solo number, One Last Time, a near-showstopper. And Peter Matthew Smith nearly steals the show with his deliciously, delicately deranged performance as King George III. The ensemble tore into director Thomas Kails staging and Andy Blankenbuehlers choreography with exuberance and precision, making such episodes as Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down) into dazzling visual spectacles. Hamilton continues with performances through March 19 at the Tulsa PAC, 101 E. Third St. For tickets: 918-596-7111, tulsapac.com. NOTE: Those attending must go through security checkpoints before entering the facility. Films from around the world will explore common themes of Jewish identity and culture in a variety of genres at the ninth Oklahoma Jewish Film Festival, scheduled Sunday, March 26 through Thursday, March 30 at Circle Cinema. The festival is a partnership between the Jewish Federation of Tulsa and the Circle Cinema with founding sponsor the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies. Tickets ($12 per film; $60 all-festival pass) can be purchased at CircleCinema.org/OKJFF. The 2023 festival includes feature films, shorts and special post-film discussions. The lineup: 3 p.m. Sunday, March 26 America (drama Hebrew and English with English subtitles; 127 minutes) Visually stunning and full of emotional storytelling, America is an award-winning film from director Ofir Raul Graizer (The Cakemaker). An Israeli man returns home after 10 years in America. An encounter with his childhood friend and fiance will change everyones lives. Grazier expertly weaves important pieces of backstory in a gradual manner and the stunning cinematography brings forth the emotion, color and fragrance that touches on friendship, love and moral responsibility. The film produced a winner in the best actress category at the Jerusalem Film Festival. 7 p.m. Monday, March 27 Farewell, Mr Haffmann (drama French with English subtitles; 115 minutes) In this acclaimed drama set in Paris during the Nazi occupation, French actor Daniel Auteuil (Jean de Florette) stars as Joseph Haffmann, a Jewish jeweler who sends his family away to safety with the intention of joining them later. Haffmann hands off the business to his trusted employee Francois Mercier and wife, Blanche, who recently married and are struggling to conceive a child. Haffmanns plans go awry when he is unable to escape the city under the watch of German authorities. After Haffmann returns home, the couple agrees to let him stay in their basement, but they strike a deal that will change the course of their lives. Based on a play by Jean-Philippe Daguerre, Farewell, Mr. Haffmann is a twisting, turning and satisfying tale that reveals the complex and contradictory sides of humanity pushed to its darkest limits. 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 28 One More Story (romantic comedy Hebrew with English subtitles; 92 minutes) This charming and uniquely Israeli rom-com marks the directorial debut of Israels beloved comedian and TV personality, Guri Alfi. Encouraged by an unscrupulous boss (played by Alfi) who is also her secret lover, newspaper journalist Yarden Gat convinces her best friend, Adam, a hopelessly romantic, geeky, single man to star in her new reality TV-inspired article. The article is based on a speed dating project for Adam to find his soul mate and get married within one month. Meanwhile, Yarden confesses to her blind date the bargain she struck with her sleazy editor and lover in exchange for completing the dating article with her best friend as a pawn. What possibly could go wrong? Noon Wednesday, March 29 Our Almost Completely True Story (comedy English; 92 minutes) Real-life couple Mariette Hartley and Jerry Sroka wrote and co-star in this romantic comedy. Based almost completely on their own story, Hartley plays a tall, famous, aging screen legend who meets a short, out-of-work Jewish voice actor (Sroka) as they navigate the senior dating scene in Hollywood. A delightful and fun crowd-pleaser, the film features a whos who ensemble cast that includes Bernie Kopell, Tess Harper, Morgan Fairchild, John Rubinstein, Peter MacNicol, Sam McMurray and others. 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 29 Cinema Sabaya (drama Hebrew/Arabic with English subtitles; 92 minutes). The film will be followed by a conversation with Chloe Kirk, director of community relations of the Jewish Federation of Tulsa. Cinema Sabaya tells the story of eight women, Arab and Jewish, varying widely in age, income, marital status and outlook as they attend a workshop to learn how to document their lives on video. As each woman shares raw footage with the others, they are forced to challenge their preconceived views and beliefs, coming together as mothers, wives and women to form an empowering and lasting bond. Cinema Sabaya presents a clever and heartfelt portrait of arts capacity to unite disparate communities.A winner of five Israeli Academy Awards, including best film, the story is full of life, love, humor and authenticity. 7 p.m. Thursday, March 30 Double Feature: Jewish Journeys in Space The films will be followed by a conversation with Rabbi Shaul Osadchecy. Mission of Hope (documentary English, 54 minutes Commemorating 20 years since the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, Mission of Hope is the untold story of Israels first astronaut Ilan Ramon and his mission within the mission. Ramon carried with him a small Torah scroll spirited out of the Nazi concentration camp of Bergen-Belsen by its owner, a young boy who went on to become one of Israels top physicists. The film follows the scrolls path from the concentration camp to the flight deck of Columbia. From the depths of hell to the heights of space, this Torah would serve to honor the hope of a nation and to fulfill a promise made to generations past and future. Space Torah: A Film by Verissima Productions (documentary English, 25 minutes) Dr. Jeffrey Hoffman was the first Jewish American male astronaut to fly into space. Over five space missions, he chose to bring with him numerous Jewish objects, such as mezuzot that he posted in his sleep compartment and dreidels that he spun during Hanukkah. The highlight was a small and light Torah scroll that he took with him on his fifth and last mission in February, 1996. Rabbi Shaul Osadchey, Hoffmans spiritual leader, was instrumental in making it possible to take a Torah scroll into space. Hoffman saw the act of bringing religious objects into space as a way of not only carrying his own traditions with him, but bringing the Torah into space had the added symbolic meaning and significance of bringing the holiness of human life into space. This short documentary tells how family, educators, scientific and religious communities can achieve great things and bring our identity to new realms. We were warned 11 minutes into the first episode of Reservation Dogs. Tribal officer Big (Zahn McClarnon) said this: I am most concerned about the other thing that I have been noticing. Supernatural stuff. You know Old Man Fixico down at the end of the village? He claims he saw the Deer Lady walking around. Deer Lady aint been seen in these parts in a long time. There will be a Deer Lady sighting in Oklahoma this weekend. Kaniehtiio Horn, who plays Deer Lady in the shot-in-Oklahoma series, will be among guests at Indigenous POPX, scheduled Friday, March 10 through Sunday, March 12 at First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City. The event was formerly known as Indigenous Comic Con. For tickets and information, go to indigipopx.com. Horn debuted as Deer Lady in the fifth episode of the award-winning and groundbreaking series, which features an all-Indigenous cast/creative team and captures modern Native life in rural Oklahoma in a way never accomplished previously. Deer Lady returned in season two last year and good news for Deer Lady fans Horn said the character is coming back in season three. She is one of my favorite characters ever, Horn said in a pre-con phone interview. I absolutely love the role, and I love how much people love the role. She is emotionally layered. Shes funny and sexy. Shes just a lot of fun to play. If you havent seen Reservation Dogs and youre not quite sure what a Deer Lady is, you should correct that ASAP by streaming the series (available on FX on Hulu). Until then, be aware that Horns Deer Lady was inspired by a character from Native lore. In a 2021 interview, Tulsa-based filmmaker Sterlin Harjo indicated he and Reservation Dogs co-creator Taika Waititi brought Deer Lady into the show because of supernatural stories they heard while growing up, albeit in different places Harjo in Oklahoma and Waititi in New Zealand. I mean, every Native community hears stories about the Deer Lady most of them, anyway, Harjo said. And its usually that a woman was hitchhiking and like an uncle or somebody picked them up and looked down and they had deer hooves. You always knew that if you werent good, the Deer Lady would take you out. That was the situation in the Showtime anthology series Masters of Horror. A 2005 episode directed by John Landis was titled Deer Woman. Bad boys who encountered her met a grisly end. Horn was raised in Canada, where she heard Hoof Lady stories instead of Deer Lady stories. Its the basically the same kind of thing, she said. She deters men from going out and cheating on their wives, basically. ... Its just sort of like an entity that you believe exists and is out there. You better act right. In the 2021 interview, Harjo said Horn is a buddy from years ago and a great actor, so it was easy to cast her as Deer Lady. She auditioned and got a call-back in landing the part. I think I wanted to bring depth, Horn said. I wanted to make sure that shes not just every bad guy or quote-unquote bad guy or scary person, theres a reason why they are that, so I wanted to make sure you could see that in the character. In Deer Ladys debut episode (Come and Get Your Love), viewers learn Big was scared straight by Deer Lady when he was a child, and thats how he wound up wearing a badge. Best thing to happen to Horn as a result of being Deer Lady? Im not sure about one single great thing that happened to me, she said. I feel like people really love my portrayal of this supernatural being that is revered and respected and feared. You know what I mean? I feel like Im now cemented in peoples minds as this person, as this being, especially in Indian country. I think thats a really wonderful thing. Ill forever be known as this character, as this being, and Im OK with that because shes a badass and I love her. Horn, who has a history of playing supernatural-based characters, said she will be making her third or fourth appearance at a comic con. She said it has been an absolute pleasure at cons to see how much you and the characters you play mean to people. Its really nice to see that, and especially with this being an Indigenous one, she said. There is something extra special about that. My boyfriend is coming along, and my son is coming along, and my boyfriend will be selling. He carves war clubs, so he is going to have a booth there selling those. It has kind of become a family affair. Horn loves Reservation Dogs because she is friends with many of the shows creatives, and those friends are getting to flex their skills while using Rez Dogs as a launch pad to perhaps write, direct or produce other projects. Horn said it was at a past Indigenous Comic Con appearance where she met all the members of the 1491s, an Native comedy troupe, for the first time. The members of the 1491s are now on the Reservation Dogs team. I had met them as individuals here and there, but that was the first time we all hung out together and we did a couple of panels together, she said. Before that, I had reached out and had an online kind of friendship with them since like 2012 or something. Because the con was where they were all in the same place at the same time, she said it has a special place in her heart. Im really excited to be there, and Im excited to be able to bring my family, she said. It feels like a very Indigenous way of doing things. Bring the whole gang, right? Nearly 300 items from HBOs set-in-Tulsa Watchmen series are on the auction block and some of the proceeds will go to Greenwood Rising in Tulsa. Heritage Screenbid, in conjunction with HBO, is auctioning the items from the award-winning series, which elevated awareness about to the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre and the destruction of Black Wall Street. Said a news release issued Friday: Heritage Screenbid and HBO are proud to announce that a portion of the proceeds from the auction will go to Greenwood Rising, the museum and memorial meant to ensure that the Tulsa Race Massacre is never again kept out of the history texts. It is our mission to educate the world about the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, Dr. Raymond Doswell, executive director of Greenwood Rising, said in the news release. In its own way, Watchman supported our mission by generating conversations and questions. We are thankful not only for the proceeds of this auction, which will go toward programming, but for the continued elevation of this important history. Damon Lindelofs nine-episode series was rewarded with 26 Primetime Emmy Awards nominations and 11 wins, including one for outstanding limited series. Watchmen built upon mythology from an acclaimed 1985 graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. Items available in the auction are costumes, screen-used props and pieces of sets, including a detailed center console, steering wheel and bucket seats from the reconstructed Owlship that took flight in the first episode. With its working toggles and buttons, the center console looks like it was yanked from a working spaceship. The yellow timepiece in its center is the Watchmens signature doomsday clock. When HBO told us they were ready to release assets, I jumped on the first flight to their storage facility, Jax Strobel, Heritage Screenbids managing director, said. I cant begin to describe the schoolboy excitement I experienced digging through boxes and pallets of costumes, props and set dressing. In most series, there are only a handful of memorable costumes and meaningful props worth owning, relishing and coveting, according to the news release, which said everything in the Watchmen auction means something the newspapers with headlines about phony alien invasions or John Grisham retiring from the Supreme Court, the flier dropped by Germans during World War I, the framed print of Tulsa from 1918 and the 51-star American flags. The release said nearly every stitch of clothing worn in the series is available often in multiple iterations, including five versions of Regina Kings black-hooded Sister Night costume, which evolved over the series run. King (Angela/Sister Night) starred as a Tulsa cop who is bound to the citys horrific past. The release said her entire story is contained in the auction, from her Department of Justice personnel file to the Greenwood Center for Cultural Heritage acorns containing her family tree. Sister Nights 1987 Buick Grand National (Angelas Batmobile, as it were) is on the auction block, too. The auction is open and will end April 5. Heritage Auctions is the largest fine art and collectibles auction house founded in the United States and has offices in New York, Dallas, Beverly Hills, Chicago, Palm Beach, London, Paris, Geneva, Amsterdam, Brussels and Hong Kong. A Tulsa man admitted Friday in federal court to his involvement in a deadly 2016 attempted carjacking. Emmitt Graywolf Sam, 24, pleaded guilty to carjacking resulting in the death of Jonathan Stephens. Sam admitted to being present when Stephens was shot and killed June 25, 2016, while the victim was standing next to his vehicle outside his residence in the 8500 block of East 26th Street. Sam, who was 17 at the time, was initially charged in state court with committing a string of carjackings with then-16-year-old Nathan Simmons before Stephens was fatally shot. Sam was sentenced to life plus 17 additional years in state prison in 2017 after a Tulsa County jury found him guilty of murder in connection with Stephens death. But the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals overturned Sams conviction and sentence in 2021 after finding following the U.S. Supreme Courts 2020 McGirt ruling that the state did not have jurisdiction to prosecute him. The ruling acknowledged that the Muscogee Nation reservation had never been disestablished, leaving state officials no jurisdiction in cases on reservation land when the suspect is a tribal member. Sam will be sentenced at a later date. Simmons is serving a 63-year prison term in state prison after a jury found him guilty of accessory to murder after the fact. The jury acquitted Simmons of first-degree murder. The Creek County Sheriffs Office and state authorities are investigating a homicide in the Kellyville area. Dispatchers received the call in the early-morning hours of Friday, according to a news release from Creek County officials. Deputies were able to take a suspect into custody, the release states. Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation is assisting at the crime scene, according to the Creek County Sheriffs Office. RAMALLAH, March 10 (Xinhua) -- A Palestinian was killed by an Israeli settler who reportedly opened fire in defense on Friday near the northern West Bank city of Qalqilya, Palestinian health ministry and Israeli media said. The Palestinian Ministry of Health said in a short statement that it was informed by the Palestinian liaison (the security coordination office) with Israel that Abdulkarim Al-Sheikh, 21, was killed by an Israeli settler north of the city, without elaborating. Local Israeli media reported that a Palestinian trespassed into the Ma'ale Shomron settlement east of Qalqilya, threw two hand grenades, then launched a knife-wielding assault at a settler and was shot and killed by the latter. Meanwhile, Palestinian security sources told Xinhua that following the attack, an Israeli army force raided the village of Sniria close to Qalqilya and stormed several Palestinian homes, including the attacker's. The tension between Israel and the Palestinians has flared up in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since the start of this year. Official Palestinian and Israeli figures showed that more than 70 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces so far, while 14 Israelis have been killed in attacks carried out by Palestinians. Leaders of some Ottawa County-based tribes are frustrated after the Oklahoma Attorney Generals Office became involved in some criminal cases that had been referred to tribal court for prosecution. A press release issued Monday by leaders of the tribes asked outsiders to get out of the way if they cannot get on board with their criminal justice efforts. Miami Tribe of Oklahoma Chief Doug Lankford said in an interview that the media release was issued in response to actions taken last week regarding criminal cases referred to tribal court in Ottawa County. Our district attorney was referring tribal people who broke the law on tribal land, he was referring those cases to our tribal court, Lankford said. He has been told (by Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond) to not do that anymore. The dispute is one of several jurisdictional issues to have cropped up following the U.S. Supreme Courts McGirt decision. The 2020 ruling determined that the Muscogee Nation reservation still existed for criminal prosecution purposes because Congress had never disestablished the reservation. The ruling was later extended to five other Oklahoma tribes, including two whose reservation boundaries include portions of Ottawa County. But Lankford and other tribal leaders claim that all of Ottawa County is Indian Country, the term used by federal officials to describe lands considered to be in tribal jurisdiction. As such, tribal members who commit crimes in any part of Ottawa County should be prosecuted in either federal or tribal court, Lankford says. The trouble is, according to the Attorney Generals Office, the reservations of only two tribes in Ottawa County have been recognized by appellate courts to be still intact. Cases involving other tribes in Ottawa County are before the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals, but decisions regarding the status of their reservations are still pending, according to Drummond. Drummond spoke to District Attorney Doug Pewitt on March 2 about the need to prosecute cases occurring in other parts of the county until an appellate court rules on the status of reservations in those areas. He reiterated his stance in a letter sent Friday to Pewitt. The letter was provided to the Tulsa World following an Open Records Act request. The State must exercise its presumptive jurisdiction to protect the citizens of Oklahoma, native and non-native alike, unless and until a final decision from the OCCA, the United States Court of Appeals or the United States Supreme Court tells us otherwise, Drummond wrote in his letter to Pewitt, whose District 13 includes both Ottawa and Delaware counties. Pewitt told the World on Wednesday that, since taking office in January, he has evaluated several cases involving tribal members on jurisdictional grounds and dismissed some cases for transfer to tribal courts for prosecution. He said he also dismissed a few cases because they didnt have any prosecutorial merit due to witness or evidence issues. I understand the policy, which is established by the state of Oklahoma, Pewitt said. And they are not going to recognize those historical tribal boundaries without an appellate court jurisdiction. If the AG tells me that thats the way it is, then thats the way it is until I have a judicial decision or an appellate decision. Pewitt said he would also begin opposing any judicial dismissals attributed to a lack of state jurisdiction. Now going forward, the attorney general has directed me to oppose those and has provided arguments to present, which I will, Pewitt said. Lankfords Miami Tribe of Oklahoma is one of six based in Ottawa County that have formed a consortium to tackle criminal justice issues after the U.S. Supreme Court issued its McGirt decision in 2020. Other consortium tribes in Ottawa County are the Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma, the Wyandotte Nation, the Seneca Cayuga Nation, the Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma and the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma. Two tribes not in the consortium, the Quapaw and Cherokee tribes, have already been deemed by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals to have intact reservations that include portions of Ottawa County. Lankford said there is no need to wait for a court to rule on the matter for the other tribes. We know all our reservations are intact, Lankford said. Until there is a ruling saying our reservation doesnt exist, we are going to treat it just like it should be, as it is. Pewitt, meanwhile, said the McGirt ruling had put a special burden on his two-county district. The reason is this district has 10 federally recognized tribes, which exercise territorial jurisdiction, he said. While subsequent court rulings did provide some relief in the number of cases awaiting adjudication, Pewitt said, the Ottawa County jail has been full with McGirt-based cases due to a logjam in the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals, where decisions affecting the other tribes in the county are pending. We had a bunch of cases that have been in stasis for over two years awaiting a Court of Criminal Appeals decision, Pewitt said. Its just frustrating. Asked about the status of the other reservations in Ottawa County, Pewitt said the law is clear. It was my legal conclusion after having reviewed the treaties and the laws concerning the various tribes here that those reservations exist, he said. With all the various tribal, city, county and federal jurisdictions that crisscross the county, Pewitt said it was important that he work with as many of those entities as he could for law enforcement to be successful. One of things that I was trying to do when I came in (to office) was instead of being confrontational, to try and move some of these cases over to the tribal courts so they could take care of those cases and get some relief for everybody involved, Pewitt said. I would say that that was a well-received gesture and probably headed off other litigation against the state of Oklahoma, just by trying to proceed down that road, Pewitt said. I dont know where that is going to leave us going forward. I suspect, again, this will be resolved in court. Drummond said he plans to meet with leaders in Ottawa County to discuss the matter. The Attorney Generals Office is committed to being collaborative with the Native American tribes of Ottawa County in their efforts to make sure criminal perpetrators are prosecuted to the full extent of the law and that we need to go through protocol and procedures set out by the U.S. Supreme Court in that we have to have adjudication at the Court of Criminal Appeals or the 10th Circuit for the Department of Justice to have jurisdiction through which then the tribes have jurisdiction. Otherwise, it remains in the states control, Drummond told the World. Lankford said the tribe has not ruled out going to court to try to settle the matter. Its a matter of sovereignty for the tribes, Lankford said. June 2022 oral arguments: Oklahoma fights McGirt before U.S. Supreme Court Superintendent Ryan Walters responded after Oklahoma faith leaders sent him a letter in response to remarks he recently made about forming a committee to explore the role of prayer in public education. Setting aside the irony of a Reverend sending a political letter to express her political opinion, I do have respect for her and her position," Walters said of the Rev. Shannon Fleck, director of the Oklahoma Faith Network. "In November of last year, Oklahomans had an election and they elected me to bring back traditional values into the classroom. I have a responsibility to see it done. OKLAHOMA CITY The Oklahoma Veterans Commission fired the embattled head of the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs on Friday amid a dispute that has had the two parties at odds for months. The commission, made up entirely of Gov. Kevin Stitts appointees, fired Executive Director Joel Kintsel in a 5-1 vote that could raise legal questions because the legitimacy of some commissioners is in question. Kintsel, who declined to comment, was not present at the meeting. He has intentionally skipped several recent meetings because he alleges that the commission is meeting illegally because some of the governors appointments to the board are not valid. Commission Chairman Robert Allen said Kintsel shut the commission out of the agency in every way possible. The commission met at the Oklahoma Department of Transportation building on Friday because Kintsel wouldnt allow the board into the Department of Veterans Affairs building. Allen blamed Kintsel for increased costs to complete a new veterans home in Sallisaw, cybersecurity issues at the agency and a growing number of employee complaints. Kintsel has shunned agency oversight, forcing the commission into an impossible situation, Allen said. He has publicly exhibited absolute insubordination, Allen said. In his unhinged efforts to prove that everyone is out to get him, Mr. Kintsel has forced us to do what any reasonable commission should do, and that is to consider terminating his employment, thus perpetuating this false narrative that this was always a foregone conclusion. Kintsel, who has served as the agencys director since 2019, previously warned that any votes taken by the commission could create potential liability for the state and taxpayers. Attorney General Gentner Drummond last month said Stitt did not follow state law in appointing several of the commissioners. The governor has since shifted one of those commissioners on the board, leaving the status of two commissioners in doubt. One of those commissioners was absent Friday. The other sided with the majority of the commission in voting to terminate Kintsels employment, although Stitt said he told the two commissioners in doubt to abstain from any votes. Kintsel has alleged that Stitt intentionally replaced members of the Veterans Commission in an effort to fire him for challenging the governor in last years Republican gubernatorial primary. But some of the commissioners have said Kintsels oversight of the agency was lacking. In a 5-0 vote with one abstention, the commission voted to hire former U.S. Navy Under Secretary Greg Slavonic as interim director of the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs. Heather McEver was the lone commissioner to oppose firing Kintsel. The vote occurred after a 40-minute executive session that was closed to the public. The commission also fired Deputy Director Sarah Lane. Commissioners also asked for a comprehensive review of the Sallisaw veterans home project. The commission approved the creation of several committees to review the Department of Veterans Affairs finances, survey the workplace environment, and follow up on the recommendations of a 2018 report from the state auditor and inspector. Stitt previously said he would have fired Kintsel by now if he had the authority to do so. But the governor said he did not direct his appointees to fire Kintsel. Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, previously called on Kintsel to resign, saying his dispute with the commission had become a hindrance to serving Oklahomas veterans. The dispute between Kintsel and the commission stalled some business at the state agency. House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, on Thursday did not weigh in on whether Kintsel should remain employed at the Department of Veterans Affairs. The most important thing is that the ODVA be a functional agency, McCall said. Ascension St. John, in partnership with Encompass Health Corp., celebrated the grand opening of its $26 million rehabilitation hospital in Owasso on Wednesday. The 40-bed facility will provide physical, occupational and speech therapy to patients recovering from major illnesses and injuries, including stroke, brain injury, spinal cord injury, amputation and complex orthopedic conditions. Were so excited to be up here in Owasso, Ascension President and CEO Jeff Nowlin said during the blessing and ribbon-cutting ceremony. Much of our work extends from the clinic to the hospital, but the post-acute rehab is so important to our patients and to some of the core services that we do at St. John. Encompass President and CEO added: Encompass Health has had the privilege last year of treating over 200,000 patients across the nation. We look forward to having that same opportunity here in Owasso in terms of expanding the presence and the accessibility for patients needing our services. Patients at the new health care center, located off 86th Street North and 129th East Avenue, will receive intensive treatment with accommodations of a therapy gym, daily living suite, cafeteria, dining room, pharmacy and courtyard. The facility will offer 24-hour nursing care by an interdisciplinary team of highly specialized nurses, therapists and physicians who aim to restore functional ability and quality of life to local patients. Harlo McCall was appointed the CEO of Owassos new hospital at the beginning of February and will oversee its patient care and day-to-day operations. I want to thank our local leadership team as well as our staff and all the hard work thats come into bringing this building to fruition, McCall said at Wednesdays ceremony. We look forward, my team and I, to taking our first patient in 13 short days. The facility is located nearly 2 miles south of Ascensions existing Owasso hospital, built in 2006. It will also serve as the second joint venture between Ascension and Encompass in addition to the organizations 60-bed rehabilitation center in Broken Arrow. Completion of the property comes two months after Ascension opened its $8 million, 18-bed ICU/progressive care unit on the third floor of its St. John Owasso hospital contributing to the citys becoming a major hub for health care, Owasso Chamber President Chelsea Levo Feary said. Health care is the top target industry in Owasso, Feary said previously. We want to nurture and continue to help those industries grow in Owasso today and into the future. Wednesdays events included a tour for guests, a walk-through blessing with Bishop David Konderla of the Catholic Diocese of Tulsa and a ribbon cutting with the Owasso Chamber of Commerce. <&rule> OKLAHOMA CITY State laws surrounding absentee ballots and implementing uniform election procedures across all 77 counties have kept Oklahomas elections secure, according to a report from a state fiscal watchdog office. Oklahoma is one of just three states that mandates that absentee ballots be notarized, but that requirement has helped ensure election security, according to a Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency report issued Thursday. Similarly, efforts to ensure that state election laws, procedures and voting equipment are the same across the state have helped Oklahomas elections system excel, the report states. The report comes as Republican lawmakers are pushing bills in the wake of the 2020 presidential election to change Oklahomas election laws and add more requirements for public notaries who notarize absentee ballots. Democrats have filed bills in recent years to expand absentee voting, but most havent been heard in the GOP-led Oklahoma Legislature. The House on Wednesday passed a bill from Rep. Max Wolfley, R-Oklahoma City, that says notary publics who are authorized to notarize more than 20 absentee ballots per election could face a misdemeanor charge if they dont submit to their county election board a log of the ballots they notarized. But lawmakers have also rejected bills that would further restrict absentee voting. The Senate did not give a hearing to a bill from Sen. Shane Jett, R-Shawnee, that would have eliminated no-excuse absentee voting. Oklahoma is one of 27 states that does not require a voter to provide an excuse to vote absentee. House lawmakers also recently approved bills that would decouple Oklahoma elections from federal elections and require people registering to vote to submit a utility bill, bank statement, paycheck or government check if they dont have a valid drivers license or Social Security number. After hearing details of the report, Rep. Kevin Wallace, who co-chairs the LOFT Oversight Committee, said hes thankful to have the data and resources to back up claims that Oklahoma has a secure voting system. Oklahomas election security has been a subject of some debate in the past, Wallace said. Election Board Secretary Paul Ziriax has repeatedly assured voters that they should have no concerns about election integrity. About 6% of Oklahomans mail in their ballots, compared to the national average of 25%, according to the report. In a legislative hearing, Sen. Julia Kirt, D-Oklahoma City, questioned whether more residents would vote absentee if they werent required to get their ballots notarized. Oklahoma voters seem to prefer voting in person, although the state did see an increase in absentee voters during the COVID-19 pandemic, Ziriax said. The Oklahoma Supreme Court in 2020 struck down the states notary requirement for absentee ballots as a result of a lawsuit the League of Women Voters filed shortly after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Legislature quickly passed legislation to reverse the court ruling and reinstate the notary requirement with an exception that allows voters to submit a photocopy of their drivers license in lieu of a notarized affidavit if a state of emergency has been declared. The report was largely complimentary of Oklahomas election systems, although it did note a couple of minor recommendations to improve procedures at county election boards. In one instance, it noted that two county election boards took different approaches to addressing the fact that two absentee ballots arrived in the same envelope. While the report confirmed what many people already knew about Oklahomas elections, its a reminder that the state still has a way to go toward increasing voter participation, Kirt said. This report is great because it just gave us such a clear picture of how strong our (election) systems are and how consistent theyve been for a long time big gold stars for implementation and policy, she said. Featured video: OKLAHOMA CITY Some female senators on Thursday took issue with comments their male colleagues made about a bill that would provide six weeks of paid maternity leave to state employees. Senate Bill 193, by Sen. Jessica Garvin, R-Duncan, passed by a vote of 33-14 and now heads to the House for consideration. The measure would apply to state employees who had been employed for at least two years. The paid leave could be used for the birth or adoption of a child. Employees would not be required to use their accrued leave, such as vacation and sick leave, for the initial six-week period but could request to use such leave for any additional time off they might need up to 12 weeks as required by the Family and Medical Leave Act. Sen. Shane Jett, R-Shawnee, said the six weeks of paid vacation would be funded by the families back home. Jett said he was representing moms and dads, not state agencies, who dont have six weeks utopia provided by everyone else in the state. Garvin said she wanted to address the comment that six weeks of maternity leave is paid vacation. I can assure you, having given birth to a child out of my body, that the recovery the rips and stitches and the blood and all of the things you have after having a child is not a paid vacation, Garvin said. Learning to breast feed. Not sleeping. Suffering postpartum depression. These are real problems for women and men there taking care of them, if that be the case. It is hard to have a baby. It is not a fun experience. I assure you, it is nothing like a paid vacation. Later on the floor, Jett said he regretted and apologized for the use of the term vacation. He said it was not his intent to disparage what those who give birth go through. Garvin said the Republican Senate Caucus talks a lot about being pro-life, but there is a huge difference between being pro-life and pro birth. Job turnover is decreased when women have access to paid leave, Garvin said, and retaining employees would have a positive financial impact on the state. Sen. Rob Standridge, R-Norman, said it was great to give maternity benefits, but he said those benefits should be given to everyone, and some small businesses cant afford to provide the leave. Employees at private companies would move to the public sector to get better benefits if this bill were passed, Standridge said. He said adding paid maternity leave would create a utopia for public employees. Sen. Carri Hicks, D-Oklahoma City, took issue with the utopia terminology. The six weeks time is to heal and bond with a child, she said, not just to take time off. Sen. Mary Boren, D-Norman, said she wanted the Senate to view the time as a benefit for the baby. <&rule> Featured video Gov. Kevin Stitt: We want Oklahoma to be the most pro-life state OKLAHOMA CITY Oklahomans are tired of seeing a medical marijuana dispensary on every corner, Gov. Kevin Stitt said Friday. Stitts comments were in response to a reporter inquiring whether Tuesdays resounding defeat of a state question seeking to legalize recreational marijuana was an indication more regulation of medical marijuana was needed. I dont think anybody expected it to be defeated that bad, but as I was traveling the state, I knew Oklahomans didnt want it, Stitt said. They were so tired of a dispensary on every single corner. Nearly 62% of those casting ballots Tuesday during a special election on State Question 820 were against it. In 2018, Oklahoma voters legalized medical marijuana through the approval of State Question 788. Stitt said he thinks there is an appetite to tighten up the medical marijuana industry. Oklahomans have a big heart, as we all do, that if it is going to help somebody medically then we want that to happen, Stitt said. But we dont believe that anybody with a hangnail should be able to get a medical card. The state has seen drug bust after drug bust, Stitt said. Stitt said last year he signed 12 different bills concerning the issue. We passed a bill that required grow operations to submit electric and water usage because that is a way we can see what is happening, he said. Are they growing more than they are reporting, right. The state also placed a moratorium on new licenses, he said. Stitt said he has been told there is enough cannabis grown in Oklahoma to supply the entire country. That is not what this is supposed to be, Stitt said. This was supposed to be medical use in the state of Oklahoma, and it has gotten way out of control. So we have to get rid of the bad actors. We have got to get control over that industry. 10 things that are still illegal under Oklahoma's medical marijuana laws Cant get a prescription for marijuana Cant use marijuana in the workplace or be impaired on the job Cant transport marijuana across state lines Can't get a doctor's recommendation inside a dispensary Can't try the product while shopping Cant smoke marijuana where tobacco also prohibited Can't give marijuana away Cant drive while impaired on marijuana Cant possess an excessive amount of marijuana Can't smoke where you're told not to Check out our latest digital-only offer and subscribe now India's rice export prices extended their decline this week as demand from key importing countries faltered, while supplies in Vietnam boomed due to peaking winter-spring harvest in the Mekong Delta. India's 5% broken parboiled variety was quoted at $385-$390 per tonne this week from last week's $390-$395. Prices have been sliding from around $400 reached in the week of Feb. 23, their highest since March 2021. The recent upside in export prices and an increase in freight rates for break bulk vessels were affecting demand, said Himanshu Agarwal, executive director at Satyam Balajee, India's leading rice exporter. India does not plan to lift a ban on broken rice exports and cut a 20% tax on overseas shipments of white rice, as the world's biggest exporter of the grain tries to keep a lid on domestic prices, two government sources said last month. In Vietnam, the 5% broken rice was offered at $440-$445 per tonne, unchanged from a week ago. Traders said the winter-spring harvest is peaking in the Mekong Delta provinces, giving a boost to domestic supplies, which hasn't impacted prices as demand is expected to be strong. The country exported 534,607 tonnes of rice in February, according to government customs data released on Thursday. Meanwhile, Thailand's 5% broken rice prices was quoted at $460 per tonne, little changed from $450 to $460 seen last week. "Prices are still standing at this level because (changes to) supply and demand have been quiet," said a Bangkok-based trader. "We have to wait for the new harvest." Meanwhile, domestic rice prices in Bangladesh stayed elevated, despite efforts to cool rates of the staple grain. The government has allowed private traders to import rice while it's also buying from the key exporting countries such as Vietnam, India and Myanmar. India's rice export prices extended their decline this week as demand from key importing countries faltered, while supplies in Vietnam boomed due to peaking winter-spring harvest in the Mekong Delta. India's 5% broken parboiled variety was quoted at $385-$390 per tonne this week from last week's $390-$395. Prices have been sliding from around $400 reached in the week of Feb. 23, their highest since March 2021. The recent upside in export prices and an increase in freight rates for break bulk vessels were affecting demand, said Himanshu Agarwal, executive director at Satyam Balajee, India's leading rice exporter. India does not plan to lift a ban on broken rice exports and cut a 20% tax on overseas shipments of white rice, as the world's biggest exporter of the grain tries to keep a lid on domestic prices, two government sources said last month. In Vietnam, the 5% broken rice was offered at $440-$445 per tonne, unchanged from a week ago. Traders said the winter-spring harvest is peaking in the Mekong Delta provinces, giving a boost to domestic supplies, which hasn't impacted prices as demand is expected to be strong. The country exported 534,607 tonnes of rice in February, according to government customs data released on Thursday. Meanwhile, Thailand's 5% broken rice prices was quoted at $460 per tonne, little changed from $450 to $460 seen last week. "Prices are still standing at this level because (changes to) supply and demand have been quiet," said a Bangkok-based trader. "We have to wait for the new harvest." Meanwhile, domestic rice prices in Bangladesh stayed elevated, despite efforts to cool rates of the staple grain. The government has allowed private traders to import rice while it's also buying from the key exporting countries such as Vietnam, India and Myanmar. Vietnamese dairy giant Vinamilk and Japans Sojitz Corporation on Wednesday broke ground on a beef cattle farming and processing complex in Vinh Phuc Province, northern Vietnam. The project, with an estimated investment of VND3 trillion (US$127 million), will be developed in Tam Dao District, Vinh Phuc via a joint venture between Vinamilk subsidiary Vietnam Livestock Corporation JSC and Sojitz Corporation. The groundbreaking ceremony also served as a celebration of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Japan. This is the first project under a $500 million investment and cooperation agreement inked between Vinamilk and Sojitz in hi-tech agriculture, cattle farming, and beef processing. The Vinabeef Tam Dao complex will be developed on 75.6 hectares of land with two main areas: a beef cattle farm which can accommodate 10,000 cows and a chilled meat processing plant with an annual capacity of 10,000 metric tons. The project is expected to be put into operation in 2024 with its chilled beef being processed using Japanese technology. Vinamilk CEO Mai Kieu Lien shared that the project will feature a four-in-one process: farming, production, processing, and distribution. In particular, beef cattle will be raised on farms which meet Global Good Agricultural Practice standards. Vinabeef chilled beef will be processed on a modern, closed, and highly automated line to ensure freshness and quality. The distribution of products will be put under strict surveillance so that their origin can be traced. Delegates kick off the Vinabeef Tam Dao beef cattle farming and processing complex project in Vinh Phuc Province, northern Vietnam. Photo: C.Tue / Tuoi Tre Masayoshi Fujimoto, president and CEO of Sojitz Corporation, said this project will play an important role in Sojitzs operations in Vietnam over the next five to 10 years. There is still a lot of room for the development of the Vietnamese beef market because the demand for high-quality meat products is huge," Fujimoto said. We believe that the project will create a breakthrough in the market upon completion." Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien stressed that this is the first time a project in Vietnam has been designed to employ high-technology for livestock and food processing. The Vinabeef Tam Dao complex marks a collaboration between leading firms from [Vietnam and Japan] and demonstrates the strategic vision of investors, as well as Vinamilks dynamism, creativity, and stride in deeply joining global supply chains," Dien said. It will also help develop Vietnams hi-tech livestock sector in a sustainable, green, circular, and eco-friendly manner." The minister also asked that investors of the project help prepare resourcess and take the initiative in cooperating with local authorities to ensure its progress and the compliance with regulations on investment, construction, land, and environment during the execution. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Vietnamese dairy giant Vinamilk and Japans Sojitz Corporation on Wednesday broke ground on a beef cattle farming and processing complex in Vinh Phuc Province, northern Vietnam. The project, with an estimated investment of VND3 trillion (US$127 million), will be developed in Tam Dao District, Vinh Phuc via a joint venture between Vinamilk subsidiary Vietnam Livestock Corporation JSC and Sojitz Corporation. The groundbreaking ceremony also served as a celebration of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Japan. This is the first project under a $500 million investment and cooperation agreement inked between Vinamilk and Sojitz in hi-tech agriculture, cattle farming, and beef processing. The Vinabeef Tam Dao complex will be developed on 75.6 hectares of land with two main areas: a beef cattle farm which can accommodate 10,000 cows and a chilled meat processing plant with an annual capacity of 10,000 metric tons. The project is expected to be put into operation in 2024 with its chilled beef being processed using Japanese technology. Vinamilk CEO Mai Kieu Lien shared that the project will feature a four-in-one process: farming, production, processing, and distribution. In particular, beef cattle will be raised on farms which meet Global Good Agricultural Practice standards. Vinabeef chilled beef will be processed on a modern, closed, and highly automated line to ensure freshness and quality. The distribution of products will be put under strict surveillance so that their origin can be traced. Delegates kick off the Vinabeef Tam Dao beef cattle farming and processing complex project in Vinh Phuc Province, northern Vietnam. Photo: C.Tue / Tuoi Tre Masayoshi Fujimoto, president and CEO of Sojitz Corporation, said this project will play an important role in Sojitzs operations in Vietnam over the next five to 10 years. There is still a lot of room for the development of the Vietnamese beef market because the demand for high-quality meat products is huge," Fujimoto said. We believe that the project will create a breakthrough in the market upon completion." Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien stressed that this is the first time a project in Vietnam has been designed to employ high-technology for livestock and food processing. The Vinabeef Tam Dao complex marks a collaboration between leading firms from [Vietnam and Japan] and demonstrates the strategic vision of investors, as well as Vinamilks dynamism, creativity, and stride in deeply joining global supply chains," Dien said. It will also help develop Vietnams hi-tech livestock sector in a sustainable, green, circular, and eco-friendly manner." The minister also asked that investors of the project help prepare resourcess and take the initiative in cooperating with local authorities to ensure its progress and the compliance with regulations on investment, construction, land, and environment during the execution. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Several people were killed in a shooting at a Jehovah's Witness church in the northern German city of Hamburg on Thursday, with the motive for the attack unclear, police said. A perpetrator may be among the dead, police said. Several people were seriously injured, police said, declining to say how many died. The Bild newspaper reported that seven people were dead and eight others injured in the shooting at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witness in a northern district of Hamburg. Police received a call soon after 9 p.m. (2000 GMT), a spokesperson said. Officers quickly arrived at the scene to find several people seriously injured and some dead. "Then they heard a shot from above, they went upstairs and found one further person," said the police spokesperson. Hamburg police tweeted that they believed a dead person they had found could be a perpetrator. "In order to rule out the involvement of further perpetrators, we are conducting comprehensive checks and searches," they said. Germany's DPA news agency, citing a reporter on the scene, said that local residents in the northern Alsterdorf district of Hamburg had received warnings on their mobile phones of a "life threatening situation" and that streets had been sealed off. Emergency workers and police gather at the scene following a deadly shooting in Hamburg, Germany, March 9, 2023 in this still image taken from video. Photo: NONSTOP NEWS via Reuters TV/Handout via REUTERS Television footage showed dozens of police cars as well as fire engines blocking off streets and some people, wrapped in blankets, being led by emergency service workers into a bus. "We heard shots," one unnamed witness told reporters. "There were 12 continuous shots," he said. "Then we saw how people were taken away in black bags." Germany has been shaken by a number of shootings in the last few years. In February 2020, a gunman with suspected far-right links shot dead nine people, including migrants from Turkey, in the western town of Hanau before killing himself and his mother. In October 2019, a gunman killed two people after opening fire outside a German synagogue in the eastern city of Halle on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur. The mayor of Hamburg, home to Germany's biggest port, expressed shock. "I extend my deepest sympathy to the families of the victims. The forces are working at full speed to pursue the perpetrators and clarify the background," tweeted Peter Tschentscher. Several people were killed in a shooting at a Jehovah's Witness church in the northern German city of Hamburg on Thursday, with the motive for the attack unclear, police said. A perpetrator may be among the dead, police said. Several people were seriously injured, police said, declining to say how many died. The Bild newspaper reported that seven people were dead and eight others injured in the shooting at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witness in a northern district of Hamburg. Police received a call soon after 9 p.m. (2000 GMT), a spokesperson said. Officers quickly arrived at the scene to find several people seriously injured and some dead. "Then they heard a shot from above, they went upstairs and found one further person," said the police spokesperson. Hamburg police tweeted that they believed a dead person they had found could be a perpetrator. "In order to rule out the involvement of further perpetrators, we are conducting comprehensive checks and searches," they said. Germany's DPA news agency, citing a reporter on the scene, said that local residents in the northern Alsterdorf district of Hamburg had received warnings on their mobile phones of a "life threatening situation" and that streets had been sealed off. Emergency workers and police gather at the scene following a deadly shooting in Hamburg, Germany, March 9, 2023 in this still image taken from video. Photo: NONSTOP NEWS via Reuters TV/Handout via REUTERS Television footage showed dozens of police cars as well as fire engines blocking off streets and some people, wrapped in blankets, being led by emergency service workers into a bus. "We heard shots," one unnamed witness told reporters. "There were 12 continuous shots," he said. "Then we saw how people were taken away in black bags." Germany has been shaken by a number of shootings in the last few years. In February 2020, a gunman with suspected far-right links shot dead nine people, including migrants from Turkey, in the western town of Hanau before killing himself and his mother. In October 2019, a gunman killed two people after opening fire outside a German synagogue in the eastern city of Halle on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur. The mayor of Hamburg, home to Germany's biggest port, expressed shock. "I extend my deepest sympathy to the families of the victims. The forces are working at full speed to pursue the perpetrators and clarify the background," tweeted Peter Tschentscher. This photo taken on March 8, 2023 shows a fish market in Soma City, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. Struck by a magnitude-9.0 earthquake and ensuing tsunami that hit Japan's northeast on March 11, 2011, the power plant suffered core meltdowns, resulting in a level-7 nuclear accident, the highest on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale. Twelve years after the 2011 accident traumatized Fukushima's fishing industry, local fishermen are still struggling for recovery. As Japan pushes ahead with dumping tons of contaminated nuclear wastewater from the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean in spring or summer, local residents, especially those in the fishing industry, believe their livelihoods would again be devastated. (Xinhua/Zhang Xiaoyu) SOMA, Japan, March 10 (Xinhua) -- As Japan pushes ahead with dumping tons of contaminated nuclear wastewater from the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean in spring or summer, local residents, especially those in the fishing industry, believe their livelihoods would again be devastated. The plant's operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has repeatedly claimed that the treated water is diluted to national safety standards, and there is no other choice but to release it into the sea as the storage space is reaching capacity. "We are dead against the release," said Toshimitsu Konno, head of Fukushima prefecture's Soma Futaba Fisheries Cooperative Association. "They say any nuclear power plant will dump treated water into the sea, but the type of water is different. It is contaminated water this time, but water from normal plants is not." The group, with 846 members, is the largest in the northeastern prefecture. "I don't trust TEPCO at all, as there has been too much information concealed so far," said Konno, adding that there were precedents of nuclear-contaminated water leakage. Struck by a magnitude-9.0 earthquake and ensuing tsunami that hit Japan's northeast on March 11, 2011, the power plant suffered core meltdowns, resulting in a level-7 nuclear accident, the highest on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale. The plant has been generating a massive amount of water tainted with radioactive substances from cooling down the nuclear fuel in the reactor buildings, which are now stored in about 1,000 storage tanks at the plant. Highly radioactive water will continue to be produced, as TEPCO has still not found solutions to remove the melted-down cores. Twelve years after the 2011 accident traumatized Fukushima's fishing industry, local fishermen are still struggling for recovery. "Look, it's a working day but all fishermen are taking the day off," a local fishing tackle shop owner unwilling to give his name told Xinhua, pointing to dozens of boats moored in the harbor at Soma city's Matsukawaura, one of the largest fishing ports in northeast Japan. The man, who has run the shop near the fishing port for 25 years, said the sales are now less than half of the pre-accident volume. "Now they only go out fishing four days a week, as more catches won't find them a market anyway. During the pre-accident fishing season, they took up to one day off a week," he said. "Who wouldn't oppose the discharge?" the shop owner said, citing the local fishing industry's slow recovery from the severe impact of the nuclear accident on local people, not to mention that many people were forced to stop their work and seek refuge elsewhere. "TEPCO tells a pack of lies," the shop owner said with much anger. "If it's safe, why don't they use the water to irrigate the fields, grow vegetables, or just sell it in bottles?" "Once the contaminated water starts to be discharged, everything will go back at least five years," he said, adding that the damage would be irreversible once the ocean is contaminated with radioactive materials. "Locals are working very hard to revive the Fukushima fishery. All such efforts would come to naught if even one of the millions of fish caught exceeded the radioactive limit," said Kenichi Oshima, a professor at Ryukoku University. According to Konno, catches in the area are now equivalent to only 20 percent of the volume prior to the 2011 earthquake, although fish prices have recovered 70 to 80 percent of the pre-earthquake level. Dumping the contaminated water would further harm the reputation of local fishing products, despite tests for radioactive substances by much stricter standards to prove their safety. "Once the contaminated water is discharged, our decade-long efforts have to start all over again," he said. In the eyes of the 64-year-old man, the Japanese government and TEPCO are simply breaking their previous promises to local residents with such aggressive moves. "The most important agreement they made with us was not to proceed with any disposal without the understanding of us people involved," he told Xinhua. At a press briefing earlier this month, when asked whether the discharge plan will be postponed if it fails to gain the full understanding of relevant parties, TEPCO corporate officer Junichi Matsumoto dodged the question by replying that "continued efforts" will be made to "alleviate concerns" and "ask for understanding." "The understanding should be granted by whom, in what form, and by what criteria? No one has yet been able to answer that up till now," said Konno. Fishing boats are pictured approaching the shore in Soma City, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, March 8, 2023. Struck by a magnitude-9.0 earthquake and ensuing tsunami that hit Japan's northeast on March 11, 2011, the power plant suffered core meltdowns, resulting in a level-7 nuclear accident, the highest on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale. Twelve years after the 2011 accident traumatized Fukushima's fishing industry, local fishermen are still struggling for recovery. As Japan pushes ahead with dumping tons of contaminated nuclear wastewater from the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean in spring or summer, local residents, especially those in the fishing industry, believe their livelihoods would again be devastated. (Xinhua/Zhang Xiaoyu) This photo taken on March 6, 2023 shows abandoned houses in Futabacho, Futabagun of Fukushima Prefecture in Japan. Struck by a magnitude-9.0 earthquake and ensuing tsunami that hit Japan's northeast on March 11, 2011, the power plant suffered core meltdowns, resulting in a level-7 nuclear accident, the highest on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale. Twelve years after the 2011 accident traumatized Fukushima's fishing industry, local fishermen are still struggling for recovery. As Japan pushes ahead with dumping tons of contaminated nuclear wastewater from the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean in spring or summer, local residents, especially those in the fishing industry, believe their livelihoods would again be devastated. (Xinhua/Zhang Xiaoyu) Fishermen wait for fishing boats on a bank in Soma City, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, March 8, 2023. Struck by a magnitude-9.0 earthquake and ensuing tsunami that hit Japan's northeast on March 11, 2011, the power plant suffered core meltdowns, resulting in a level-7 nuclear accident, the highest on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale. Twelve years after the 2011 accident traumatized Fukushima's fishing industry, local fishermen are still struggling for recovery. As Japan pushes ahead with dumping tons of contaminated nuclear wastewater from the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean in spring or summer, local residents, especially those in the fishing industry, believe their livelihoods would again be devastated. (Xinhua/Zhang Xiaoyu) This photo taken on March 8, 2023 shows freshly caught fish at a fish market in Soma City, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. Struck by a magnitude-9.0 earthquake and ensuing tsunami that hit Japan's northeast on March 11, 2011, the power plant suffered core meltdowns, resulting in a level-7 nuclear accident, the highest on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale. Twelve years after the 2011 accident traumatized Fukushima's fishing industry, local fishermen are still struggling for recovery. As Japan pushes ahead with dumping tons of contaminated nuclear wastewater from the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean in spring or summer, local residents, especially those in the fishing industry, believe their livelihoods would again be devastated. (Xinhua/Zhang Xiaoyu) This photo taken on March 8, 2023 shows a fish market in Soma City, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. Struck by a magnitude-9.0 earthquake and ensuing tsunami that hit Japan's northeast on March 11, 2011, the power plant suffered core meltdowns, resulting in a level-7 nuclear accident, the highest on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale. Twelve years after the 2011 accident traumatized Fukushima's fishing industry, local fishermen are still struggling for recovery. As Japan pushes ahead with dumping tons of contaminated nuclear wastewater from the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean in spring or summer, local residents, especially those in the fishing industry, believe their livelihoods would again be devastated. (Xinhua/Zhang Xiaoyu) Toshimitsu Konno, head of Fukushima prefecture's Soma Futaba Fisheries Cooperative Association, gives an interview in Soma City, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, March 8, 2023. Struck by a magnitude-9.0 earthquake and ensuing tsunami that hit Japan's northeast on March 11, 2011, the power plant suffered core meltdowns, resulting in a level-7 nuclear accident, the highest on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale. Twelve years after the 2011 accident traumatized Fukushima's fishing industry, local fishermen are still struggling for recovery. As Japan pushes ahead with dumping tons of contaminated nuclear wastewater from the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean in spring or summer, local residents, especially those in the fishing industry, believe their livelihoods would again be devastated. (Xinhua/Zhang Xiaoyu) This photo taken on March 6, 2023 shows the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Futabacho, Futabagun of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. Struck by a magnitude-9.0 earthquake and ensuing tsunami that hit Japan's northeast on March 11, 2011, the power plant suffered core meltdowns, resulting in a level-7 nuclear accident, the highest on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale. Twelve years after the 2011 accident traumatized Fukushima's fishing industry, local fishermen are still struggling for recovery. As Japan pushes ahead with dumping tons of contaminated nuclear wastewater from the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean in spring or summer, local residents, especially those in the fishing industry, believe their livelihoods would again be devastated. (Xinhua/Zhang Xiaoyu) Vietnams Ministry of Labor, War Invalids, and Social Affairs has announced that the labor export program with South Korea will be temporarily stopped for eight districts, towns, and cities in four provinces due to Vietnamese workers overdue and illegal stay in the host country. The districts are Nghi Xuan and Cam Xuyen Districts of north-central Ha Tinh Province, Chi Linh City of northern Hai Duong Province, Cua Lo Town, Nghi Loc District, and Hung Nguyen District of north-central Nghe An Province, and Dong Son and Hoang Hoa Districts of north-central Thanh Hoa Province. The decision is made based on the memorandum of understanding on the Employment Permit System (EPS) with South Korea, and its road map to reduce illegal workers in the 2021-22 period. The eight mentioned districts, towns, and cities have more than 70 illegal guest workers dwelling in South Korea and over 27 percent of workers failing to return to Vietnam on time upon the expiration of their work contracts. The temporary suspension, whose duration has not been announced, does not apply to workers in the fishery industry, those who have come to South Korea under the EPS program and return on time, and illegal laborers who voluntarily come back home during the penalty exemption period. South Korea has been a popular destination for many Vietnamese migrant workers. Over 110,000 Vietnamese guest workers have come to work in South Korea under the EPS program since its launch in 2004, according to the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids, and Social Affairs. There are currently 28,000 Vietnamese workers under the program in the East Asian country. In the 2016-17 period, about 40-50 districts in 20 provinces in Vietnam were temporarily suspended from sending workers abroad. By the beginning of 2023, the number had dropped to eight. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Vietnams Ministry of Labor, War Invalids, and Social Affairs has announced that the labor export program with South Korea will be temporarily stopped for eight districts, towns, and cities in four provinces due to Vietnamese workers overdue and illegal stay in the host country. The districts are Nghi Xuan and Cam Xuyen Districts of north-central Ha Tinh Province, Chi Linh City of northern Hai Duong Province, Cua Lo Town, Nghi Loc District, and Hung Nguyen District of north-central Nghe An Province, and Dong Son and Hoang Hoa Districts of north-central Thanh Hoa Province. The decision is made based on the memorandum of understanding on the Employment Permit System (EPS) with South Korea, and its road map to reduce illegal workers in the 2021-22 period. The eight mentioned districts, towns, and cities have more than 70 illegal guest workers dwelling in South Korea and over 27 percent of workers failing to return to Vietnam on time upon the expiration of their work contracts. The temporary suspension, whose duration has not been announced, does not apply to workers in the fishery industry, those who have come to South Korea under the EPS program and return on time, and illegal laborers who voluntarily come back home during the penalty exemption period. South Korea has been a popular destination for many Vietnamese migrant workers. Over 110,000 Vietnamese guest workers have come to work in South Korea under the EPS program since its launch in 2004, according to the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids, and Social Affairs. There are currently 28,000 Vietnamese workers under the program in the East Asian country. In the 2016-17 period, about 40-50 districts in 20 provinces in Vietnam were temporarily suspended from sending workers abroad. By the beginning of 2023, the number had dropped to eight. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Thursday asked all Vietnamese embassies abroad to issue e-visas for foreigners wishing to enter Vietnam and keep the authorities of their host countries updated on the policy during a teleconference. The teleconference on economic diplomacy was attended by leaders of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 94 Vietnamese ambassadors, and heads of Vietnamese agencies overseas and some associations. At the teleconference, PM Chinh assigned the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to inspect these embassies e-visa issuance and handle those failing to fulfill the requirement in line with the law. The requirement was aimed at boosting Vietnams international tourism development and labor export. He said that the early amendment of the Ordinance on Entry, Exit and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam and learning from other countries experience in post-COVID-19 reopening have been repeatedly required. The prime minister asked why Vietnam reopened its doors to international tourists early but it is slower than other countries in tourism recovery. It is essential to identify the cause of the issue, he said. Does it lie in visa, tourism promotion policies or air routes? he asked. PM Chinh required taking advantage of the trend of reopening of other countries and the labor demand in some markets. He also required the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism as well as the Immigration Department under the Ministry of Public Security to strengthen their cooperation. In addition to visa policies, the prime minister wanted an international financial hub to be developed in Ho Chi Minh City soon. PM Chinh urged the completion of dossiers for UNESCO's recognition of the Yen Tu-Vinh Nghiem-Con Son, Kiep Bac relic and landscape complex in Quang Ninh, Hai Duong and Bac Giang Provinces, northern Vietnam as world heritage sites. He added that markets and supply chains have been scaled down, while the competition has been fiercer. Therefore, Vietnam must diversify its products and supply chains. It is also important to simplify administrative procedures. The government leader required the acceleration of the signing of free trade agreements with Israel and India, and the formation of long-term and stable economic-trade cooperation frameworks with potential partners. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Thursday asked all Vietnamese embassies abroad to issue e-visas for foreigners wishing to enter Vietnam and keep the authorities of their host countries updated on the policy during a teleconference. The teleconference on economic diplomacy was attended by leaders of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 94 Vietnamese ambassadors, and heads of Vietnamese agencies overseas and some associations. At the teleconference, PM Chinh assigned the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to inspect these embassies e-visa issuance and handle those failing to fulfill the requirement in line with the law. The requirement was aimed at boosting Vietnams international tourism development and labor export. He said that the early amendment of the Ordinance on Entry, Exit and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam and learning from other countries experience in post-COVID-19 reopening have been repeatedly required. The prime minister asked why Vietnam reopened its doors to international tourists early but it is slower than other countries in tourism recovery. It is essential to identify the cause of the issue, he said. Does it lie in visa, tourism promotion policies or air routes? he asked. PM Chinh required taking advantage of the trend of reopening of other countries and the labor demand in some markets. He also required the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism as well as the Immigration Department under the Ministry of Public Security to strengthen their cooperation. In addition to visa policies, the prime minister wanted an international financial hub to be developed in Ho Chi Minh City soon. PM Chinh urged the completion of dossiers for UNESCO's recognition of the Yen Tu-Vinh Nghiem-Con Son, Kiep Bac relic and landscape complex in Quang Ninh, Hai Duong and Bac Giang Provinces, northern Vietnam as world heritage sites. He added that markets and supply chains have been scaled down, while the competition has been fiercer. Therefore, Vietnam must diversify its products and supply chains. It is also important to simplify administrative procedures. The government leader required the acceleration of the signing of free trade agreements with Israel and India, and the formation of long-term and stable economic-trade cooperation frameworks with potential partners. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! The Leaf Market a fair where guests and visitors used tree leaves in lieu of cash took place in Dong Nai Province, southern Vietnam on Wednesday, attracting over 1,000 visitors. This years leaf market was hosted by the Peoples Committee, the Womens Union, and the Youth Union in Phu Binh Ward, Long Khanh City, Dong Nai Province and featured 23 booths selling 33 kinds of food, drinks, and goods. Visitors to the marketplace were given three leaves each which they could exchange for products. By the end of the day, most booths had sold out of their products, leaving only happy vendors with handfuls of leaves. Local authorities sample products at the Leaf Market in Dong Nai Province, southern Vietnam for food safety testing. Photo: A.Loc / Tuoi Tre The market was interesting and special because it was so unique. Dishes were free but clean and tasty," said local resident Tran Thi Thong Nhat. "I hope similar markets will be held in the future." The vendors who participated in the market did so simply because they enjoyed sharing their food and drinks with others. I brought 600 servings of banh troi nuoc [sweet rice ball soup] and banh it [sticky rice dumplings] even though I knew Id be paid in leaves instead of cash, said Giang, a vendor. If the event is held again next year, I will definitely participate and prepare more food. Local residents happily buy necessities and use leaves as payment at the Leaf Market in Dong Nai Province, southern Vietnam. Photo: A.Loc / Tuoi Tre According to Nguyen Thi Le Huyen, chairwoman of the Phu Binh Womens Union, the ward held the event on the occasion of International Women's Day (March 8) to create a playground for all residents, particularly women. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! The Leaf Market a fair where guests and visitors used tree leaves in lieu of cash took place in Dong Nai Province, southern Vietnam on Wednesday, attracting over 1,000 visitors. This years leaf market was hosted by the Peoples Committee, the Womens Union, and the Youth Union in Phu Binh Ward, Long Khanh City, Dong Nai Province and featured 23 booths selling 33 kinds of food, drinks, and goods. Visitors to the marketplace were given three leaves each which they could exchange for products. By the end of the day, most booths had sold out of their products, leaving only happy vendors with handfuls of leaves. Local authorities sample products at the Leaf Market in Dong Nai Province, southern Vietnam for food safety testing. Photo: A.Loc / Tuoi Tre The market was interesting and special because it was so unique. Dishes were free but clean and tasty," said local resident Tran Thi Thong Nhat. "I hope similar markets will be held in the future." The vendors who participated in the market did so simply because they enjoyed sharing their food and drinks with others. I brought 600 servings of banh troi nuoc [sweet rice ball soup] and banh it [sticky rice dumplings] even though I knew Id be paid in leaves instead of cash, said Giang, a vendor. If the event is held again next year, I will definitely participate and prepare more food. Local residents happily buy necessities and use leaves as payment at the Leaf Market in Dong Nai Province, southern Vietnam. Photo: A.Loc / Tuoi Tre According to Nguyen Thi Le Huyen, chairwoman of the Phu Binh Womens Union, the ward held the event on the occasion of International Women's Day (March 8) to create a playground for all residents, particularly women. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Next on 60 Minutes Nick McKenzie confronts a crime boss accused of exploiting women from South Korea in the sex workers industry. Presumed Evil Ben Smith was a typically honest, hardworking and ambitious young Australian. Originally from country NSW, he moved to Sydney in the 1990s to play footy, and went on to become a highly respected cop. Life was good. Then, six years ago, out of the blue, he was accused of horrific, historical sex crimes. Smith knew he was innocent but that wasnt enough to convince investigators. He was presumed to be evil. There was one person who believed him though, and thank goodness she did. As Tara Brown reports, Bens wife Amy saved her husband from prison by gathering crucial evidence and proving beyond doubt what police and prosecutors ignored her man was not a monster. Reporter: Tara Brown Producer: Naomi Shivaraman Trafficked Shes diminutive, quietly spoken, almost invisible. For Mae Ja Kim its the perfect disguise to hide a dangerous truth: she is a criminal mastermind and part of Australias most ruthless human trafficking syndicate. Police believe she has made millions of dollars by exploiting hundreds of women lured from Asia to be enslaved in the sex industry here. A decade ago Mae Ja Kim was sentenced to prison for five years, but as Nick McKenzie reveals in a joint investigation by 60 Minutes, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and Stan, that setback may be no more than a minor blip in the career of this major crook. Reporter: Nick McKenzie Producer: Amelia Ballinger 8:40pm Sunday on Nine. ABC has signed an historic agreement with Radio e Televisoa de Timor-Leste (RTTL). The agreement between the two public broadcasters allows for increased content sharing and media development programs. While ABC Radio Australia has been available to Timorese audiences many years, ABC International Services will work with RTTL to help it establish a news service for its new English-speaking channel, sharing content from the ABC newsrooms and working with RTTL staff to enhance their journalism and content making skills. RTTL President Jose Antonio Belo said: This is an important moment for RTTL and ABC to cement the historic relationship and express our shared values. RTTL is happy to build on the spirit of friendship and collaboration and, in particular, to learn from ABC as we establish our English news service and channel. ABC Managing Director David Anderson said: The ABC is committed to working with RTTL, and the people of Timor-Leste, and to learning from each other as both organisations seek to better serve our audiences. Other activities include establishing a network of Pacific journalists, with a local correspondent based in Dili, the syndication of ABC content to local media providers and Timor-Leste media and journalists associations building media craft skills. Actor Robert Blake, best known for detective series Baretta, has died, aged 89. He died from heart disease peacefully with family and friends his family said in a statement. Blake played Tony Baretta from 1975 1978, an unorthodox plainclothes detective living in a rundown hotel with his pet cockatoo. He began as a child actor in the Our Gang shorts, as Mickey Gubitosi then as Little Beaver, in the Red Ryder western franchise. He also had roles in one of Laurel and Hardys later films The Big Noise plus Humoresque, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Naples Bus Boy and Black Hand. Blake served as an adult in the US Army but then found himself without any job prospects and fell into a deep depression and addictions to heroin and cocaine. Returning to screen his many credits included Apache War Smoke, Screaming Eagles, The Tijuana Story, In Cold Blood, On Pork Chop Hil, Town Without Pit, PT109, Ensign Pulver The Greatest Story Ever Told, Money Train, Lost Highway. TV credits included Fireside Theatre, The Roy Rogers Show, Cisco Kid, Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok, Whirlybirds, Laramie, Ben Casey, Rawhide, Naked City, Wagon Train, The FBI, Bat Masterson. But his long career was also overshadowed by accusations that he murdered his wife in 2001. The actor had told police he had left her alone to return to the restaurant where they had just dined to retrieve a gun he had left behind, and found her dead. Four years after her death, including a year awaiting trial in jail, a jury in LA found him not guilty of her murder. In 2005, he was found liable in a California civil court for her wrongful death. Blake had always maintained his innocence. Source: BBC, Wikipedia Back in 2017 Australian Survivor held a Sydney-based finale with a studio audience, bringing together all 24 contestants and host Jonathan LaPaglia. Following the US model, the final contestants got to see votes at the same time as the audience, surrounded by family. But by 2021 the show returned to pre-recorded finales on location due to the pandemic. This year the show has also filmed its finale in Samoa, and while its not confirmed if there were multiple endings filmed whispers suggest as much From next week the show also moves to two episodes a week with Dog House added to Tuesday nights. A finale is tipped for March 27 but yet to be confirmed. South Africa: Hawks boss to ensure country complies with FATF after greylisting National Hawks head, Lieutenant General Advocate Godfrey Lebeya, says the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) will begin to focus its attention on ensuring that the country deals with compliance obligations raised by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) when it greylisted South Africa last month. To achieve this, Lebeya said the Hawks will collaborate with other agencies both at the national and international levels. The Lieutenant General made the commitment on Friday while delivering a public update on the Directorates operations in the third quarter of the 2022/2023 financial year. This comes after South Africa was put on a greylist in February by the FATF for falling short of certain international standards for the combating of money laundering and other serious financial crimes. The FATF is a global body that aims to tackle global money laundering and terrorist financing. South Africa has been a member of the FATF for the last 20 years due to its commitment to fighting these criminal activities both at home and across the world. During this period, the Directorates various divisions made over 800 arrests. Addressing media, Lebeya said: The DPCI arrested at least 803 suspects that were successfully secured before the various courts across the country in the third quarter of this financial year." During this period, 229 accused persons were convicted and sentenced, with some getting life terms. These arrests maintain the number of accused persons on the court rolls at... 11 673. One thousand, nine hundred and thirty-six (1 936) cases that are under investigation have reached a decision stage and the teams from the DPCI and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) are assessing them, Lebeya said. Police killings Outlining some of the milestones, the Directorate says it is also cracking down on police killings. Lebeya said the killing of police officers poses a threat to citizens, noting with disdain the killing of members. These police officers are on the frontline of the fight against criminality, he stressed. Lebeya said the directorate will continue to ensure that those who commit these atrocious deeds are brought to book. He said while 26 police officials were killed in the third quarter, 22 suspects were on the other hand arrested and six were convicted and sentenced. Of these criminals, four were sentenced to life imprisonment. Cash-in-transit robbery Lebeya also noted 57 incidents of cash-in-transit in the third quarter of 2022/2023, of which 21 arrests were effected, with three of those being killed in police and/or security company actions. In addition, nine convictions were secured, with a combined sentence of six life sentences and five 581 years imprisonment. Corruption On corruption, Lebeya said it continues to surface as one of the biggest threats posed by criminals. It facilitates illicit financial flows, which enables money laundering to take place. Although the number of arrests is the lowest from the Serious Corruption Investigation component, it is in line with the number of cases reported. A number of other corruption cases are also appearing in the figures of Serious Commercial Crime Investigation. However, Lebeya said they made some strides in these cases that required a high level of meticulous investigation. Truth and Reconciliation The Directorate is also looking into the conclusion of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission investigations. The team, he said, received 146 cases for investigation, which are receiving attention. Of these, four are in criminal court; eight cases are before the inquest court, 18 cases are pending decision, and eight cases have been finalised. Illegal mining On illegal mining, Lebeya touched on Case number 8, where he highlighted that they have arrested six members of an organised criminal group involved in illegal mining activities. He said the arrest was a result of a project called "Gillette" registered by the DPCI in 2018, for the purpose of conducting an unconventional investigation. Evidential material to the value of R500 000 was seized. The suspects are alleged to be buying gold-bearing materials from the Zama Zamas, processing and selling them to the next level in the hierarchy." The multi-disciplinary team consisted of the Hawks' Serious Organised Crime Investigation; the Gauteng division, working together with Head Office's Forensic Services, Crime Intelligence, Explosives Unit, Gaubullet and the Department of Home Affairs. The team also recovered an unlicensed homemade firearm. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2023-03-10. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. National legislature to elect Chinese president, other state leaders Xinhua) 09:06, March 10, 2023 The third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua) BEIJING, March 10 (Xinhua) -- The 14th National People's Congress, China's national legislature, held a plenary meeting of its first session Friday morning to elect state leaders and vote on a plan on reforming State Council institutions. Staff members distribute ballots at the third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Xin) Staff members prepare to distribute ballots at the third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli) Staff members prepare to distribute ballots at the third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi) The third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli) The third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhai Jianlan) The third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Yue Yuewei) The third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Yue Yuewei) The third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Yan Yan) The third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Ding Lin) Deputies to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) walk towards the Great Hall of the People for the third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th NPC in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhang Cheng) (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan) BEIJING, March 10 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson on Friday criticized Japan's nuclear-contaminated water discharge plan, urging Japan not to start ocean dumping before fully consulting with the stakeholders and relevant international organizations. Mao Ning, the spokesperson, made the remarks at a regular press briefing when asked to comment on the accusation of Suh Kune-yull, a professor emeritus of Nuclear Energy System Engineering at Seoul National University, on Japan insisting on discharging the water into the ocean, which he said is tantamount to launching a terrorist attack against the Pacific Ocean. "We have noted that many experts and scholars have made strong criticisms over Japan's plan to discharge nuclear-contaminated water from Fukushima into the ocean," Mao said. She said that Japan has obligations under the international law to prevent the pollution of the environment and ensure minimization of the hazard. The technical task force of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has yet to complete its assessment of Japan's discharge plan, still less reach a final conclusion. The Japanese side, without full consultation with stakeholders, went ahead with approving the discharge plan and accelerated the construction of discharge facilities, Mao said, calling the move extremely irresponsible. Stressing that the disposal of the Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water bears on the global marine environment and public health, Mao said it is not Japan's domestic affair. China urges Japan to take seriously the legitimate concerns of all parties, earnestly live up to its obligations, place itself under the strict monitoring of the international community, dispose of the nuclear-contaminated water in a science-based, open, transparent and safe manner, including assessing the alternatives to ocean discharge, Mao said. "Japan must not start discharging the nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean before reaching consensus through full consultation with neighboring countries and other stakeholders as well as relevant international agencies," the spokesperson said. The Hub Powered by PNC marks its second anniversary in March with growing membership, record student engagement and plans to expand to a third floor early this summer. The Hub has had the impact we hoped and planned for providing unparalleled learning opportunities and experiences for our students, bringing together resources for entrepreneurs and giving purpose to the once-abandoned space at the historic Dayton Arcade, said Vince Lewis, the University of Daytons associate vice president for entrepreneurial initiatives and president of the Hub. A joint venture of the University and the Entrepreneurs' Center, it is one of the largest university-anchored innovation hubs in the country at over 100,000 square feet. More than 450 University of Dayton students visit the site weekly for classes in art and design, engineering, business and more. Nearly 130 local companies are members, with coworking or office space. The renovated third floor will include 14,000 additional square feet with an event and classroom space as well as 46 private offices. Its gratifying to see our shared vision become a shared reality, said Scott Koorndyk, president of the Entrepreneurs Center and executive vice president of the Hub. We believed in the synergies between students and entrepreneurial small businesses, and those interactions have exceeded our expectations. There is something special about this space, about the engagements that are going on here, and the impact we are having on the future of this community. Through The Hub, undergraduates with Flyer Enterprises, one of the largest student-run corporations in the country, run the Startup Grounds bistro, which is open to the public; students can participate in the Flyer Pitch new venture competition, one of the largest at the collegiate level; they can help solve business challenges for entrepreneurs through formal programs such as the Stitt Scholars; and connect their work to the Dayton community in deeper ways. Students get to see the heart of downtown Dayton, said Misty Thomas-Trout, graphic design associate professor whose class exhibited their Typography Two posters, including on Paul Laurence Dunbar, in The Hub and around Dayton. They have the opportunity to watch their class work become larger than the walls of that room and more than an idea in their sketchbook. Yes, we get that too at our spaces on campus. The key difference is being directly within the city of Dayton, and being able to network with those in The Hub. The Hub also brings together resources for entrepreneurs, including from Launch Dayton, the Ohio Department of Small Business Development Center, the Entrepreneurs Center, Greater West Dayton Incubator satellite office, the Universitys Crotty Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, among others. Having an office at the Hub has been great for business visibility, networking and staying connected to all the exciting opportunities in Daytons entrepreneurial ecosystem, said Haya Healing Founder Taylor Johnson, a fellow at the Hub through the Greater West Dayton Incubator. Johnson said she has connected with students as a speaker at Startup Week and through the entrepreneurship capstone course. Undergraduates also connect with businesses as interns, at events, through informal opportunities and more. Junior entrepreneurship major Colton Levey said he has made marketing plans, social media content and helped integrate student life downtown. There are so many benefits to being able to connect with people who are living your future dream, and working together to help make this space an integral part of the University of Dayton, Levey said. PNC Bank Regional President David Melin said the banks sponsorship serves as an impactful way to bring both the campus and city together, under the same roof. This collaboration between students, faculty and staff, regional entrepreneurs, local business leaders and global experts brings innovative ideas and groundbreaking solutions to the Dayton region, Melin said. As a national main street bank, PNC is committed to supporting foundational initiatives like The Hub that help advance our regions business community and lead to an even stronger, brighter future. By Luc Cohen NEW YORK (Reuters) -Former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Thursday, after he was convicted of helping loot billions of dollars from Malaysia's 1MDB sovereign wealth fund. A jury in federal court in the New York City borough of Brooklyn last April found Ng, Goldman's former head of investment banking in Malaysia, guilty of helping his former boss Tim Leissner embezzle money from the fund, launder the proceeds and bribe government officials to win business. The charges stem from some $6.5 billion in bonds that Goldman helped 1MDB, which was founded to finance development projects in Malaysia, sell in 2012 and 2013. U.S. prosecutors said $4.5 billion of that sum was embezzled by officials, bankers and their associates, in one of the biggest scandals in Wall Street history. Funds were used to buy high-end real estate, jewelry and artwork, and finance the Hollywood film, "The Wolf of Wall Street," according to the Department of Justice. U.S. District Judge Margo Brodie, who imposed the sentence, said Ng and his co-defendants "effectively stole money" meant for infrastructure and economic development projects to aid the Malaysian people. "There is a critical need to deter crimes of pure greed like this one," Brodie said. Ng plans to appeal the sentence, his lawyer Marc Agnifilo told reporters after the hearing. Ng had pleaded not guilty and argued $35 million in kickback payments he was accused of receiving were actually a return on an investment his wife had made. The 1MDB scandal has rocked Malaysian politics. Former Prime Minister Najib Razak is serving a 12-year prison sentence after being convicted by a Malaysian court of receiving $10 million from a former 1MDB unit. Najib has consistently denied wrongdoing. Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn had urged Brodie to sentence Ng to 15 years in prison. In a statement following the sentence, Breon Peace, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said the punishment would show "there is a significant price to pay for corporate corruption." Story continues Ng requested no prison time and that he be allowed to return to Malaysia, where he spent six months in prison in conditions Agnifilo said nearly killed him and harmed his mental health. In court on Thursday, Ng told Brodie he wanted to go back to Malaysia to care for his aging mother, and to be with his daughter. "The last I held her in my arms was five years ago," he said. "She was six then. She turns 11 this June." Brodie said she takes the impact of sentencing on children seriously, but that Ng's separation from his daughter was "not a unique circumstance." Leissner had been Goldman's Southeast Asia chief. He pleaded guilty and testified against Ng as part of a cooperation agreement. He has not yet been sentenced. Jho Low, a Malaysian financier and suspected mastermind of the scheme, was indicted alongside Ng in 2018 but remains at large. In October 2020, Goldman agreed to pay $2.9 billion and its Malaysian unit pleaded guilty to a corruption charge. (Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Richard Chang) By Francois Murphy VIENNA (Reuters) -The U.N. nuclear watchdog's 35-nation board of governors on Friday backed the reappointment of Argentina's Rafael Grossi to a second four-year term as director general, diplomats at the closed-door meeting said. The decision was a formality since there was no challenger. The International Atomic Energy Agency's board approved his reappointment by acclamation, meaning that no vote was held and no country expressed opposition, diplomats said. The decision is subject to approval by the IAEA's General Conference, an annual meeting of all member states held in the autumn. The General Conference is expected to approve it. Grossi's current term ends in December. "I think it's a sign of trust. We have lots to do, with Iran, with Ukraine, with nuclear energy," he told Reuters outside the meeting room after the decision. "One thing that was very heart-warming, I would say, is that there were great expressions of support from the entire ... arc of representation and political vision and that is of course for the head of an international organisation the best sign of trust. I need trust to be effective." Grossi has overseen a turbulent period in relations with Iran, since the Islamic Republic started breaching restrictions imposed on its nuclear activities by the 2015 Iran nuclear deal with major powers the year he took office. Iran's steps, which have now gone well beyond those curbs, followed the United States' withdrawal from the deal in 2018 under then-President Donald Trump, which re-imposed U.S. sanctions against Iran. The IAEA is policing that deal although it is not a party to it, and it is also locked in a years-long standoff with Iran over the separate issue of uranium particles found at three undeclared sites, which Iran has yet to explain credibly. After Grossi visited Iran this weekend, both sides issued a joint statement saying Iran was prepared to hand over more information on the traces and allow more monitoring related to the 2015 nuclear deal, but the statement went into few details and is subject to further talks. Story continues Grossi, a more vocal IAEA chief than his Japanese predecessor Yukiya Amano, who died in office, has also been trying to broker a protection zone around the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, Shelling near Zaporizhzhia, which Russia and Ukraine have blamed on each other, has repeatedly cut external power lines needed to cool reactor fuel and avoid a potentially catastrophic meltdown at Europe's biggest nuclear power plant. (Reporting by Francois Murphy; Editing by Alex Richardson and Nick Macfie) Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (L) and US President Joe Biden (R). Pool via REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque; REUTERS/Andrej Isakovic Iran and Saudi Arabia have agreed to restore diplomatic relations in a deal brokered by China. A former US diplomat says the move is a "middle finger to Biden." China and Iran are top US adversaries. The deal signals Beijing's rising influence in the region. Saudi Arabia and Iran have restored ties with the help of China, agreeing to reopen embassies in their respective capitals, in a move that appears to signal the US's waning influence in the region. Tehran and Riyadh are historic rivals, and both have fueled a devastating eight-year war in Yemen as they've vied for greater influence in the Middle East. The Saudi and Iranian governments reestablishing diplomatic ties lowers the temperature in the region and raises hopes that their proxy war in Yemen will come to an end. At the same time, the deal amounts to a slap in the face to the Biden administration. It's a sign that the Saudi government, under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is willing to increase ties with US adversaries, and could have major implications for the future of the region. "Stunning at a time when US-Chinese ties are at an all time low and US-Iranian tensions rising that MBS does a deal that boosts Beijing and legitimizes Tehran. It's a middle finger to Biden and a practical calculation of Saudi interests," Aaron David Miller, a former US diplomat who advised multiple secretaries of state on the Middle East, said in a tweet. The move is also indicative of China's growing influence in the Middle East after decades of US dominance in the region largely catalyzed by the war on terror. "The fact that China brokered the deal is significant," Annelle Sheline, a research fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, said on Twitter. "It shows the role that China could play in fostering a Middle East defined more by cooperation and trade and less by conflict and weapons sales, as has been the norm under US dominance." Story continues The US and Saudi Arabia have a close relationship and have been security partners for years. But relations between the two countries have soured since the brutal 2018 murder of Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, which led many in Washington to call for a reassessment of US-Saudi relations. President Joe Biden on the campaign trail pledged to make Saudi Arabia a "pariah" over Khashoggi's killing, and in 2021 his administration released a declassified intelligence report that explicitly implicated the crown prince often referred to as MBS in the murder. But Biden faced criticism last year when he visited Saudi Arabia and met with MBS at a time when his administration was pushing Riyadh to increase oil production amid shortages linked to the war in Ukraine that drove gas prices higher for American consumers. Saudi Arabia ultimately moved to cut oil production instead, which was viewed as a diplomatic embarrassment for the Biden administration and sparked outrage in Congress. US President Joe Biden and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Bandar Algaloud/Reuters The deal also comes as the US contends with historic tensions with both Iran and China. Biden entered office vowing to restore the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, but the landmark pact is effectively defunct and Tehran's nuclear ambitions continue to raise concerns in Washington and beyond. Meanwhile, relations between China and the US have hit their lowest point in decades, with Beijing and Washington butting heads on a wide array of major issues with Taiwan at the top of the list. The agreement also has the potential to throw a wrench in efforts to normalize relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, given the latter and Iran are longtime enemies. Israel has appeared to suggest it could take military action against Iran over its accelerating nuclear program, particularly after UN experts recently said Tehran has enriched uranium to 84% close to weapons-grade levels of 90%. Iran last month blamed Israel for a drone attack on one of its military facilities, and warned that it could respond "wherever and whenever deemed necessary." Read the original article on Business Insider James Cleverly is apparently preparing to write to ambassadors around the world to highlight fears about the SNP spreading its independence message (Image: PA) BRITISH diplomats will be ordered to keep an eye on SNP ministers when they take trips overseas to stop them talking about Scottish independence, reports have claimed. According to the Scottish Daily Mail, Westminster is becoming increasingly concerned about Scottish ministers meddling in reserved matters, including the constitution. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly is now allegedly preparing to write to ambassadors around the world to highlight these fears and will ask them to make sure SNP ministers are always accompanied by UK diplomats on overseas trips. It comes after a series of meetings between the Scottish Government and foreign governments where independence and Brexit have been talked about, such as when Constitution Secretary Angus Robertson discussed self-determination with Icelands Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir in October. READ MORE: Duke of Edinburgh title officially passed down to Prince Edward Stephen Gethins, former SNP international affairs and Europe spokesperson, said the move suggests the UK feels threatened by the Scottish Government successfully spreading its message about independence in the EU. His tweet, which was reshared by Nicola Sturgeon, said: The Scottish Governments message of returning to the international mainstream with independence in the EU must really be resonating with partners overseas if the UK Government feels this threatened by normal engagement that all devolved administrations undertake. The Scottish Governments message of returning to the international mainstream with Independence in the EU must really be resonating with partners overseas if the UK Government feels this threatened by normal engagement that all devolved administrations undertake. https://t.co/Xwa5sC9GYi Stephen Gethins (@StephenGethins) March 10, 2023 Other SNP supporters online said the ploy by the UK Government suggested the party was doing something right while others pointed out how it proved the Union is not a voluntary one. Story continues Some described the plan as coercive, desperate and sinister. Scotland Office minister and Tory peer Malcolm Offord told the Daily Mail: "The Scotland Act is clear that foreign affairs is outside the competence of the Scottish Government and therefore they cannot and should not encroach into matters such as separatism or the constitution. "We have been aware they have been doing that in recent times... and that will be very closely monitored in future." The Tory party donor was introduced into the House of Lords in October 2021 after he failed to win a regional seat during the Holyrood elections of that year. Offord has also revealed Cleverly has held talks with Scottish Secretary Alister Jack where they reportedly shared concerns about overseas trips by representatives of the Scottish Government. In the House of Lords yesterday, Labour peer Lord Foulkes of Cumnock said "there is outrage in Scotland at the Scottish Government spending an increasing amount of money on reserved areas". Lord Offord of Garvel then said: "I can confirm that the Secretary of State for Scotland has met with the Foreign Secretary to discuss the matter of the Scottish Governments activities internationally. READ MORE: Kate Forbes: Unionists 'fear me' becoming the next first minister "Both are very clear that any overseas engagements by the Scottish Government should not encroach on reserved matters and this will be kept under close review." SNP leadership candidate Humza Yousaf pledged this week to appoint a senior figure to head up the Scottish Government strategy for re-joining the EU if he wins the race. He is also planning to stage a European summit in Scotland if he is elected SNP leader and first minister. It follows several attempts by the UK Government to seize control over Holyrood, after Jack decided to block the Gender Recognition Reform Bill from getting royal assent despite being voted for by an overwhelming majority of cross-party MSPs. The UK Government has also been accused of a power-grab with its EU Retained Law Bill, which aims to repeal all bloc regulations in the UK. The Scottish Government says it poses risks to environmental protections, food standards, animal welfare, and workers rights. Robertson has called on the UK ministers to withdraw the bill after the Scottish Parliament voted to withhold its consent. Robertson said in response: The Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and I had a constructive meeting in November last year during which he acknowledged Scottish Ministers need to conduct international business. READ MORE: Scottish teaching union accepts pay deal and halts strike action "I made it clear that I would continue to represent Scottish Government positions internationally, including on the constitution. When asked, he could not provide examples of Scottish Government Ministers acting inappropriately or seeking to represent UK Government positions internationally. There will clearly be issues where the UK Government and Scottish Government disagree, but there are important areas of shared interest, such as Scotlands energy sector, where the UK Government must do more to support the Scottish Government in our international work. The Foreign Office has been contacted for comment. NAIROBI, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Eleven countries in eastern and southern Africa are currently experiencing an exponential rise in cholera cases amid a surge in deaths, said the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Friday. UNICEF said the 11 countries are experiencing an extremely worrying cholera outbreak with 67,822 cases and 1,788 estimated deaths, noting that actual figures are likely higher as limitations in surveillance systems, underreporting, and stigma hamper monitoring. UNICEF Deputy Regional Director Lieke van de Wiel said poor water and sanitation, extreme weather events, ongoing conflicts, and weak health systems are compounding and endangering the lives of children across southern Africa. "We thought this region won't see a cholera outbreak this widespread and this deadly in this day and age," she said in a statement issued in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. UNICEF is appealing for 150 million U.S. dollars for all 11 cholera outbreak countries in the region, including 34.9 million dollars for Malawi and 21.6 million dollars for Mozambique, to provide lifesaving services to a total of 5.4 million people affected by the outbreak. It said the public health situation is rapidly deteriorating, particularly in the hardest-hit countries. According to UNICEF, two of the countries with the heaviest burden -- Malawi and Mozambique -- have a combined total of more than 5.4 million people in need of support, including more than 2.8 million children. Last month, the World Health Organization warned that 22 countries around the world are currently fighting cholera outbreaks -- a number that has since increased following additional outbreaks. After years of declining cases of cholera globally, cases went up in 2022 and were expected to continue to do so this year. Van de Wiel said this is a serious cholera crisis, and all signs point to this getting much worse before it gets better. "We need urgent and sustained investment to respond to the immediate outbreaks and strengthen systems and communities to be better prepared for what is likely to be more severe occurrences in the future," she said. UNICEF said its integrated response at the country level focuses on the provision of safe water and sanitation, water treatment, soap for handwashing, oral rehydration salts solution, and social, behavior change, and communication engagement messages. UNICEF will provide lifesaving nutrition interventions, including nutrition screenings in all cholera treatment units, train healthcare workers to provide quality case management and infection prevention and control, and establish community-based oral rehydration points to prevent progression to severe cholera for non-severe cholera cases. HA NOI China's reopening as COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted has strongly lifted Vietnamese agricultural and fishery exports to the country, according to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam. Nam made the remarks at a trade promotion forum held on March 8. The deputy minister opined that China's dismantling of its COVID-19 lockdowns had given a big push to bilateral trade, with Vietnamese exports to China in February rising by 33 per cent month-on-month. The Mong Cai-Dongxing Border Gate was immediately reopened after the good news came in, leading to scores of traders flocking to the gate to look for Chinese partners. The gate plays a prominent role in bilateral trade because it commercially connects Quang Ninh Province with China's Guangxi Province. The latter is the third-largest importer of Vietnamese seafood, importing 75 per cent of its annual fishery consumption. Regarding processed agricultural products, he said Vietnamese exporters who want to enter the Chinese market must hand in two dossiers, one to a Vietnamese agency and the other to a Chinese agency. However, some exporters have skipped steps by submitting their dossier to the Chinese agency only, leading to the situation that the Vietnamese side is unable to verify the submitted dossier at the request of its Chinese counterpart. The deputy minister called on exporters to strictly follow the procedure to save themselves from redoing the process. He also suggested the formation of a team tasked with keeping agricultural producers well-informed about the Chinese market. A representative of the Department of Quality Management, Processing, and Market Development under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development described Quang Ninh as a commercial gateway to Asian markets for Chinese traders. Guangxi is one of the major importers of Vietnamese agricultural and fishery products. The province alone accounts for 47.5 per cent of China's total imports from Viet Nam. The representative urged Vietnamese producers to focus more on trade promotion to fully unlock the trade potential between the two countries. To Van Quang, deputy chairman of the Vietnam-China Business Association in Guangxi, mentioned his ong ang Industrial Investment Company, which was pushing hard for a Vietnamese seafood trading centre in Fangchenggang City. He said its efforts have paid off as 600,000 tonnes of cold storeage warehouse are being built by the municipal authorities. Once finished, the warehouse would allow Vietnamese seafood to enter China in larger quantities and with lower lead times. He also revealed that the company plans to import 35,000 tonnes of durians, 120,000 tonnes of purple sweet potatoes, and certain quantities of seafood to China this year. Tran Thi Bich Ngoc, head of the Management Board, Mong Cai International Border Gate, estimated that Vietnamese agricultural and fishery exports to China via the gate grew by around 60 per cent year by year. From her perspective, Vietnamese producers should reshape their mindset to bring more changes to bilateral trade. She said they need to be more commercially cooperative to not lose out on trade opportunities. She also underlined the importance of digital technologies, including e-commerce, in trade promotion. She said e-commerce would allow producers to market their products beyond borders. Lastly, the head urged the producers to embrace novel production techniques and well-organised management to keep their products up to standard. Under Order No.248, Vietnamese food producers are required to register with the CIFER system to be eligible for exports to China. Some participants at the forum complained that China had changed the registration procedures in the system, resulting in longer times to have their codes approved. However, Ngo Xuan Nam, deputy director of the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Notification Authority and Enquiry Point (SPS Office), claimed that China had not made any such changes to the system since the enactment of Order No.248. Even if China had wanted to revise the procedures for business registration and food safety, the process would never be a mean feat as the country has to consult other WTO members to get the job done. The deputy director said his office had held talks with Chinese authorities, requesting them to speed up the process of approving Vietnamese producers. Deputy Minister Nam suggested Quang Ninh's authorities and their Chinese counterparts hold a live trade promotion forum in Dongxing City as soon as possible to enable bilateral discussion on business matching activities and supply chain development. VNS HA NOI The value of imported chicken meat reached US$237 million with about 178,000 tonnes last year. The market research company Ipsos published a report assessing the meat consumption and livestock market in Viet Nam on Wednesday. The report showed that chicken has been consumed more in recent years. The amount of chicken consumed was 17.8kg per person in 2021, growing to 18.3kg last year. Chicken consumption is forecasted to grow rapidly, but it isn't easy to increase suddenly. Specifically, since Viet Nam signed free trade agreements, imported meat has been eliminated from tariffs, leading to fierce competition as imported chicken prices have always remained low. The value of imported chicken meat reached $237 million and about 178,000 tonnes, despite an excess in domestic supply last year. In contrast, Viet Nam only exported 1,000 tonnes, with a total value of $2.2 million. While chicken farmers are looking for solutions to lower costs to compete with cheap imports, bran prices increased six times within half a year. According to calculations and analysis by Ipsos, it is not until the second quarter or the third quarter of this year that bran prices in Viet Nam have begun stabilising and decreasing following the general global trend. Another important factor is the decline in the land fund for livestock in the country. The Law on Livestock 2018 regulated that livestock production would no longer be allowed in the inner city, which has affected the livestock land fund. In addition, due to the recent increase in housing prices, many households choose to sell their land or stop raising livestock to make a profit. A representative of the ong Nai Animal Husbandry Association said that the total chicken population of Viet Nam, including white-feathered chickens, coloured chickens and egg-laying hens, was 498 million in 2020. This number is forecasted to rise to about 555 million this year. For pig production, Ipsos Viet Nam forecasts that consumer demand has not recovered compared to the period before the 2018 African swine fever outbreak. Pork is losing its position as the number one choice in the animal protein category. VNS A NANG A call for investment has been made to businesses in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to develop several key sectors at a dialogue in Dubai attended by the Chairman of a Nang's People's Committee, Le Trung Chinh. The ambitious plan proposed at the 'Invest in a Nang' dialogue includes establishing a free-duty zone, an international finance centre, a seaport, and the growth of logistics, tourism, hi-tech industries and information technology. The launch of a direct air route between Dubai and a Nang is also being proposed in the near future. This move represents a significant step towards strengthening economic ties between the two nations and is expected to create a range of opportunities for investors and residents alike. Chinh said the city has been in discussions with Emirates Airlines on opening a route connecting a Nang and Dubai to boost tourism, trade and business. He also called investors from Dubai to review the development of the key Lien Chieu seaport that began construction last December with an investment of US$137 million. He said the port would play as one of the key gateways to the East Sea, ASEAN, and northeast Asia and a rendezvous of the national multi-traffic system, including road, railway and airway. The city said the zone would be a magnet for global trade, service providers, and developers. He added that the city expects exports to the Middle East and African markets via Dubai to grow. At the dialogue, representatives of Lulu supermarket chains said it would plan a survey in building logistics centres in central Viet Nam and a Nang. Desert Harbour, a tourism company, suggested a Nang open a representative office in the UAE for trade and tourism promotions in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), as well as exchanging culture, tourism and friendships with cities in the Middle East. According to Viet Nam-Dubai Tradehub (Vietgate) company, Vietnamese farm produce, seafood, footwear and garments, electronics, confectionary, fruits and vegetables and foodstuffs were favoured by customers in Dubai, though not many made-in-Viet Nam brands or business links were built in the market. Series investment and tourism promotions were held in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, India, South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore between 2021-23. Malaysia Airlines, Hong Kong Express Airways, Cambodia Angkor Air, Bangkok Airways, and Vietnam Airlines have rescheduled their services from Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Hong Kong (China), Siem Reap (Cambodia), Narita (Japan) and Bangkok (Thailand) to a Nang between 2022-23. Six IZs and a high-tech park have attracted 503 projects, including 130 FDI worth $1.8 billion and VN27.56 trillion ($1.2 billion) from domestic investors. VNS HCM CITY Masan Group Corporation on March 10 announced the completion of the roadshow for a US$650 million syndicated loan underwritten by BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse, HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank, and United Overseas Bank (lead arrangers and bookrunners). This transaction, coupled with the over-subscribed $600 million 2022 syndicated loan, will potentially amount to $1.25 billion in financing raised over the past six months. This is a vote of confidence in Masans strong business fundamentals and a validation of its credit profile. Management will continue to optimise the balance sheet, reduce interest expenses and deleverage via strategic corporate actions. The mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners have committed $375 million and the 2023 syndicated loan roadshow attracted significant interest from nearly 200 attendees from interested lenders in Singapore and Taiwan, which enabled Masan to upsize the transaction to $650 million. The loan is priced at 3.5 per cent over the US dollar secured overnight financing rate (SOFR), or approximately 8 per cent per annum. With a five-year tenor, the 2023 syndicated loan will extend Masans debt maturity profile and strengthen its liquidity ratios. In addition, Masan redeemed VN3 trillion ($126.3 million) worth of bonds issued in 2020 that matured on March 9, 2023. Prior to the drawdown of the 2023 US dollar syndicated loan transaction, Masan had nearly VN17.2 trillion in cash and cash equivalents (including investments), enabling it to settle all upcoming debt obligations and, more importantly, invest for future growth. Masans 2023 financial forecast is for a base case consolidated net revenue of VN90-100 trillion ($3.8-4.2 billion), representing 18-31 per cent growth from 2022. Core net profit after tax pre-minority interest (excluding one-off) is expected to be VN4-5 trillion ($169.4-212.1 million), representing growth of 4-30 per cent. If macro conditions are tougher than expected and negative consumer sentiments persist, the management projects the top line to grow by 10-15 per cent. VNS Representatives from China and Ethiopia attend the inauguration ceremony of the China visa application center in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, March 10, 2023. The Chinese Embassy in Ethiopia on Friday inaugurated the China visa application center in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. According to a statement from the Chinese Embassy, the newly inaugurated visa application center is responsible for handling some consular document applications and consular authentication, as well as collecting governmental fees for the above-mentioned certificates. (Xinhua/Wang Ping) ADDIS ABABA, March 10 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Embassy in Ethiopia on Friday inaugurated the China visa application center in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. According to a statement from the Chinese Embassy, the newly inaugurated visa application center is responsible for handling some consular document applications and consular authentication, as well as collecting governmental fees for the above-mentioned certificates. Applicants can pick up the passports or certificates and seek consultation from the visa application center, the statement said. Chinese Ambassador to Ethiopia Zhao Zhiyuan said at the occasion that the official opening came as China downgraded the management of COVID-19 and optimized its response to the pandemic, which will help increase the economic, trade, cultural, and people-to-people cooperation and exchanges between the two countries. "The flow of people between our two countries is rising. More and more Ethiopian friends want to go to China. As a result, Chinese visa applications have surged," Zhao said, noting that amid the growing Chinese visa applications, the embassy can no longer cater to the needs of so many Ethiopian friends. Zhao said the center was established in Addis Ababa in collaboration with China CYTS Tours Company and with assistance from the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ethiopian Immigration and Citizenship Service, the Ethiopian Investment Commission, and the Ethiopian Ministry of Trade and Regional integration. Following the opening of the China visa application center, Ethiopian Chinese visa applicants are said to enjoy more quality service within a relatively shorter period of time. Samuel Fitsumbirhan, director of the Asia Pacific Division at the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the center will play an important role in further strengthening the expanding Ethiopia-China ties. "The inauguration of the center in Addis Ababa is a strong manifestation of the excellent government-to-government, business-to-business, and people-to-people relations between Ethiopia and China, which amounts to a Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership that is a model to China-Africa cooperation," he said. Ethiopia's State Minister of Tourism Sileshi Girma underscored the huge role the center will play in line with the two countries' openness and commitment to further deepening their cooperation and partnership across all socioeconomic and governance sectors. Girma said the center will, in particular, play a crucial role in strengthening tourism sector cooperation between the two countries by easing visa issuance procedures for travelers. President of CYTS Wang Silian said the establishment of the visa center will be an important step in the overseas market layout of CYTS, pledging that his company will utilize its experience and talent toward the success of the center. HA NOI The Vietnamese Party and State always prioritise the work of protecting, caring for, and educating children, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha told Representative of the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) in Viet Nam Rana Flowers during a reception in Ha Noi on Thursday. Ha said the Resolution on several social policy issues for the 2012-2020 period, which was adopted by the fifth plenum of the 11th Party Central Committee, is being revised and supplemented. According to him, Viet Nam now has three national target programmes with a comprehensive focus on education, healthcare, and social issues, particularly caring for vulnerable groups, including children and women. Viet Nam attaches special importance to education for children, he said, adding that policies on upgrading schools to standards are underway nationwide, particularly in remote and mountainous areas, along with efforts to develop private education systems, with the highest goal of universal education for all people. UNICEF could help Viet Nam develop a set of child well-being indicators up to international standards, he suggested. Regarding the lack of physical education and arts facilities in schools, especially in big cities, the official stated that Viet Nam is adding criteria for land and investment resources to achieve the goal of comprehensive development for students. About trans-boundary water resource management, an important area that could see intense conflicts between countries in the context of climate change, Ha called for reaching a consensus, staying united in line with international law, and forging an inter-Governmental cooperation in managing trans-boundary rivers. Sixty per cent of Viet Nams surface waters are from transboundary sources, so the management is an urgent issue that Viet Nam is looking to address from an international angle as well as from a locality-to-locality angle. The host wished that UNICEF will help Viet Nam amend and supplement the Law on Water Resources that ensures the harmonious interests among countries, localities and people. Flowers, for her part, highlighted two priorities in UNICEF's activities in Viet Nam, including protecting children, preventing and combating violence against women and children, and child nutrition issues. She vowed to work closely with Viet Nam to care for children and ensure their rights in the near future. She proposed Viet Nam should have a mechanism for regular discussions on cross-border water resources, especially in the Mekong Delta and the Red River Delta. According to her, UNICEF is partnering with non-governmental organisations to survey the access to necessary social welfare policies for families and children in disadvantaged areas in Viet Nam. VNS HA NOI A British couple among the nation's first COVID-19 patients have returned to Viet Nam to thank the medical staff who treated them and present them with a book about their time under their care. Three years ago, Shan Coralie Barker, a British tourist, and her husband, Dixon John Garth, were transferred to the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases on their first visit to Viet Nam shortly after they landed at Ha Nois airport. The British couple came to visit their son in Viet Nam from the UK at the beginning of March 2020. Unfortunately, they tested positive for COVID-19 before they could meet him. The couple was immediately quarantined and hospitalised for COVID-19 treatment. Barker recovered from the disease, but her husband suffered respiratory failure, requiring mechanical ventilation. The 74-year-old patient had a 10-year history of blood cancer and had to fight for his life. He finally won the battle after more than a month in hospital. Barker said: "I talked to the doctor so I could see him. I'm so grateful for the efforts of the doctors and nurses here. On the night of April 13, 2020, the British patient was discharged from the hospital. They boarded a flight back home at dawn on April 14, 2020. On their second visit to Viet Nam early this month, the British couple decided to return to the hospital to thank doctors for treating them three years ago. At the intensive care unit, Barker, who was COVID-19 patient No. 24, and Garth, COVID-19 patient No. 28, were delighted to see the doctors and nurses who took care of them. Barker said: "Im very happy to meet the people who treated me because, at that time, we didn't know who they were or what they looked like, as they were all covered by protective clothing and face masks." After two hours of talking, Barker gave the doctors and nurses a book of more than 100 pages telling their own journey when she caught COVID-19 while on a flight from London to Ha Noi and how they got treated. Her book, 'A Diverse Nurse Thanks Vietnam', was written in the summer of 2020, a few months after she and her husband were hospitalised with COVID-19 and put on ventilators at the National Hospital of Tropical Diseases. Barker said that the hospital was their first stopover during their second trip to Viet Nam. They wanted to come back to the country to thank doctors and nurses and visit the scenic spots they missed in 2020. VNS The British couple give a book about their treatment for COVID-19 in Vietnam to doctors and nurses at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi A British couple among the nation's first COVID-19 patients have returned to Vietnam to thank the medical staff who treated them and present the hosts with a book about their time under care. Three years ago, Shan Coralie Barker, a British tourist, and her husband, Dixon John Garth, were transferred to the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases on their first visit to Vietnam shortly after they landed at Hanois airport. The British couple came to visit their son in Vietnam from the UK at the beginning of March 2020. Unfortunately, they tested positive for COVID-19 before they could meet him. The couple was immediately quarantined and hospitalised for COVID-19 treatment. Barker recovered from the disease, but her husband suffered respiratory failure, requiring mechanical ventilation. The 74-year-old patient had a 10-year history of blood cancer and had to fight for his life. He finally won the battle after more than a month in hospital. Barker said: "I talked to the doctor so I could see him. I'm so grateful for the efforts of the doctors and nurses here. On the night of April 13, 2020, the British patient was discharged from the hospital. They boarded a flight back home at dawn on April 14, 2020. On their second visit to Vietnam early this month, the British couple decided to return to the hospital to thank doctors for treating them three years ago. At the intensive care unit, Barker, who was COVID-19 patient No. 24, and Garth, No. 28, were delighted to see the doctors and nurses who took care of them. Barker said: "Im very happy to meet the people who treated me because, at that time, we didn't know who they were or what they looked like, as they were all covered by protective clothing and face masks." After two hours of talking, Barker gave the doctors and nurses a book of more than 100 pages telling their own journey when she caught COVID-19 while on a flight from London to Hanoi and how they got treated. Her book, 'A Diverse Nurse Thanks Vietnam', was written in the summer of 2020, a few months after she and her husband were hospitalised with COVID-19 and put on ventilators at the National Hospital of Tropical Diseases. Barker said that the hospital was their first stopover during their second trip to Vietnam. They wanted to come back to the country to thank doctors and nurses and visit the scenic spots they missed in 2020. Deputy PM Tran Hong Ha (R) receives Yoshiaki Yokota, Managing Executive Officer and Chief Executive Officer for Energy & Infrastructure Solution Group at Marubeni Corporation, on March 10. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha pledged maximum support for Marubeni Corporation to shift its projects using new and modern technology to Vietnam, while receiving a leader of the Japanese firm in Hanoi on March 10. Talking to Yoshiaki Yokota, Managing Executive Officer and Chief Executive Officer for Energy & Infrastructure Solution Group at Marubeni, Deputy PM Ha highly valued the corporations production projects and business results, especially in the field of energy, in Vietnam. At the Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC) Ministerial Meeting held in Tokyo in early March, participating countries, including Vietnam, agreed on a cooperation framework for sharing technology in efforts to achieve net zero emissions. He stressed that the roadmap towards net zero emission is irreversible, adding Vietnam is shifting from fossil fuels to renewable energy. Briefing his guest on his meetings with Japanese leaders during his participation in the AZEC Ministerial Meeting, Ha expressed his delight at the flourishing extensive strategic partnership between the two countries and affirmed that Japanese enterprises now have sufficient opportunities and favourable conditions to invest in Vietnam. Vietnam has signed new-generation free trade agreements with major economies in the world. With the roadmaps towards net zero emissions and climate change response, foreign markets will set higher environmental standards for imports. Given this, the Vietnamese Government will issue policies strongly supporting the businesses that follow this trend via projects using new and modern technology, according to the Deputy PM. As Marubeni is planning to shift its projects using new and modern technology to Vietnam, the Government, ministries, and sectors will give maximum support in line with legal regulations for the firm, he said, calling on it to continue making long-term investment, use new technology, and set up research and development centres in the country. For his part, Yoshiaki Yokota said Marubeni has engaged in many energy, food, and beverage projects and exported a number of products to Vietnam. Energy is the core business of Marubeni, he went on, noting that the corporation is implementing some gas-fired power and liquefied gas projects in Vietnam and wishes to contribute to the countrys roadmap on greenhouse gas emission reduction. At the meeting, Marubeni Corporation, which has experience in operating the first offshore wind power project in Japan and many large solar power projects in the Middle East, also showed its interest in solar power and offshore wind projects in Vietnam. Japanese textile enterprises consider shrinking production in Vietnam Facing labour cost increases and a low localisation rate, some Japanese textile companies are thinking about cutting production in Vietnam. Vietnamese and Japanese startups eye cooperation Vietnamese and Japanese startups gathered on February 15 at the Vietnam-Japan Economic Forum to discuss the possibilities of further cooperation. Japanese investors favour non-manufacturing sectors While concerning cost risks increase for businesses, more Japanese companies are looking to expand in Vietnam in non-manufacturing sectors like education, healthcare, retail, property, and finance to tap into growing demands there. An overview of the conference (Photo: VNA) HCM City The Ho Chi Minh City Committee for Overseas Vietnamese (OV) Affairs will continue to renovate itself to further enhance its operational efficiency, thus optimising OVs contributions to the construction and development of the city in the new period, heard a conference held in the city on March 9 to launch the committees tasks in 2023. This year, the committee will reform its communications activities in promoting the image of Vietnam and HCM City to the world, thus calling for the engagement of foreign investors and OVs in the development and construction of the city and the country. Along with strengthening the popularisation of the Party and States directions and policies as well as the domestic political and socio-economic situation to the Vietnamese community abroad, the committee will provide information on the policies in investment attraction and technology transfer in all spearhead economic sectors. At the same time, it will coordinate with relevant agencies to conduct annual events for OVs, including Xuan Que huong (Homeland Spring) programme, visits to Truong Sa (Spratly), and summer camps for OV youths. The committee will strive to enhance performance in connecting OVs and their fellows at home, while calling for their ideas for the growth of the city and country, and giving them favourable conditions to comment on draft policies and laws related to OV affairs. Speaking at the conference, Vice Chairman of the HCM City Peoples Committee Vo Van Hoan asked the committee to pay greater attention to the popularisation of the Party and States policies and laws, especially those related to OV affairs. He underlined the need to strengthen the application of information technology to timely update and effectively exploit data on OVs and HCM City citizens living and working abroad. According to Nguyen Duc Hien, Vice Chairman of the committee, last year, despite COVID-19 impacts, the committee managed to complete all tasks, creating positive changes in OV affairs in all aspects. Various conferences, seminars and forums were held to strengthen connectivity between OV community and their fellows at home and removing difficulties facing the Vietnamese community abroad, thus attracting the participation and great contributions to the socio-economic recovery and development of the city, he said. Young overseas Vietnamese prove crucial to homelands innovation Overseas Vietnamese (OVs) are viewed an important resource for national development and safeguarding, and young expatriates have proved to be an important part of innovation promotion in the homeland. Action programme aims to promote overseas Vietnamese-related affairs Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh has signed a resolution on the issuance of a government action programme to continue accelerating the implementation of the Politburo's directions regarding overseas Vietnamese (OV) affairs in the 2021-2026 period. What have been the highlights in the implementation of sustainable development goals in the health sector and what is up ahead? Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Lien Huong In 2022, the sector achieved and exceeded many targets and tasks set out for the year: reducing the rate of children under 5 suffering from malnutrition to 19 per cent (the target was 20.4 per cent); the percentage of health stations in communes, wards, and townships with doctors working is 94 per cent; the number of hospital beds per 10,000 people is about 30.5 beds (the target was 29.5), and more besides. The healthcare sector has also implemented synchronous solutions to reduce maternal and infant mortality, especially in remote and isolated areas. The quality of medical examination and treatment continues to be maintained, while promoting the application of IT in hospitals and at grassroots health facilities, building communal health management software, and forming a platform for managing, connecting and sharing medical data. A telemedicine network has been formed. This network has connected central hospitals to provincial ones and to district health centres. AI and robotics applications have also been deployed in healthcare. The UNs Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have now become a cross-cutting goal in national, sectoral, and sectoral strategies and policies. Vietnam has made many achievements in sustainable poverty reduction through coverage of essential health services. It has also gained success in healthcare, and successfully implemented some Millennium Development Goals such as the fastest reduction in maternal and child mortality rates in the world; a strong decrease in child malnutrition rate; and an increase in average life expectancy. However, Vietnam is also facing an increase in non-communicable diseases, which account for over 75 per cent of deaths in our country. Therefore, the Ministry of Health will implement policies to support primary healthcare through the plan to build and develop the grassroots health network and national health/population target programmes to better protect and improve peoples health. For sustainable development, the health sector will continue to implement SDGs related to health and focus on key issues with development partners such as population ageing, financial mechanism innovation, basic health service packages, medical service price adjustments, investing in development of preventive health, and more. Moreover, the health sector will also implement technology policies and solutions to promote the model of a green hospital, reduce energy and water consumption, and reduce emissions of CO2 and other harmful gases in the exam and treatment process to the environment, while treating wastewater generated during such services before being discharged into the environment. A number of ministries and agencies have been working on action plans to implement Vietnams net-zero commitments. How does the healthcare sector do this? Climate change is a serious global challenge, and Vietnam is one of the developing countries most heavily affected by the impact. According to the World Health Organization, activities in health facilities contribute about 3-8 per cent of the countrys greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, mainly from energy use activities, waste treatment, fabric handling, food processing, and pharmaceuticals at medical facilities. In 2019, the Ministry of Health issued an action plan to respond to climate change in the health sector for 2019-2030, with a vision to 2050. At the same time, the health department of provinces and cities have also issued plans to respond to climate change, including activities to promote the application of green and environmentally friendly technologies in waste treatment and energy supply in medical facilities, aiming to completely reduce emissions from these activities. At the same time, the health sector is also strengthening hospital air environment monitoring. It is expected to provide programmes to raise the awareness of managers and health workers about the importance of this issue, as well as develop a specific roadmap to reduce carbon emissions. What are the challenges facing the health sector in implementing Vietnams commitments? It is believed that around 73 per cent of carbon emissions in Vietnam comes from the energy sector, so the speed of energy transition to clean sources will play an important role in Vietnams carbon emission reduction. The energy transition needs to continue to be deeply implemented not only in the energy sector but also in other sectors including healthcare, transportation, industry, construction, and agriculture. Globally, the healthcare sector contributes 4.6 per cent of GHG emissions. This means that energy demand will have a strong shift from petrol, oil, coal to electricity, solar, gas, and new forms of energy. Vietnams health sector is facing many difficulties. The sector still does not have a lot of experience and skills to apply green technologies, as well as a lack of resources to develop and implement projects to improve energy efficiency and use of renewable and environmentally friendly resources and to scale these initiatives across the country. Lessons learned from other countries show that improving the management of medical waste is essential. For example, using advanced technology solutions to replace traditional medical waste incinerators to improve energy efficiency. There needs to have a mechanism and policies to encourage the use of more renewables. In addition, green procurement is also an important solution and must be applied more widely. The path to net-zero should be led by science and technology, strengthening international cooperation, and public-private partnerships. Development partners with financial capabilities, technology, and expertise can support Vietnams health sector in this transition. President Joko Jokowi Widodo inspects the progress on a toll road that will lead to the new capital city of Nusantara in East Kalimantan on February 22.(Photo source: Presidential Secretariat's Press Bureau) Jakarta Indonesias President Joko Widodo has approved a new regulation that offers incentives to businesses investing in its new capital Nusantara, including tax holidays of up to 30 years and 95-year land use permits. The new capital, named Nusantara, is located in an area covering 256,142 hectares of land on Kalimantan, Indonesia's second-largest island. According to the regulation, local and foreign companies are entitled to a 100% exemption from corporate income tax if they are registered as taxpayers in Indonesia and invest in several priority areas in Nusantara. Companies can enjoy tax holidays of 10-30 years, depending on which sectors they invest in and when they start. Incentives will also be given to developing a financial centre in the new capital. Specifically, eligible banks, insurers and Islamic finance companies will enjoy a 100% tax exemption for up to 25 years if they invest between 2023 and 2035, and 20 years for 2036-2045 period. Other financial services companies, including the capital market, pension funds, venture capital firms and fintech companies, can apply for an 85% tax deduction. Global companies that move their regional offices to Nusantara are eligible for a full tax exemption for 10 years, followed by a 50% cut for the next 10 years, under some conditions. Indonesia is seeking 80% of the estimated 466 trillion Rp (30 billion USD) needed for the Nusantara development from public-private partnerships and the private sector, with the state budget covering the remaining 20%. Agung Wicaksono, deputy for financing and investment at the Nusantara Authority, said it has so far received about 100 letters of intent for investments in the new capital, half from local investors and the rest from foreign entities, led by Malaysia. Of these, 20 entities have entered non-disclosure agreements with the authority, he added. UK supports Indonesia to improve investment ecosystem Indonesias Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs has set a target of attracting 1,250 -1,400 trillion rupiah (82-92 billion USD) in investment in 2023 through passing policies to promote business licensing reform. Indonesia offers tax incentives to attract investors to new capital Indonesia has unveiled a host of tax breaks to attract companies and people to move to its new capital Nusantara in the heart of Borneo. Do Gia Long - Deputy director, Hanel Mirolin JSC A cluster-based approach is a way to build production networks and value chains, develop a support industry and improve the capacity and the competitiveness of Vietnamese enterprises, especially in the context of the countrys deep global integration and the strategic shift to attracting quality foreign-invested capital. In Vietnam, Decree No.68/2017/ND-CP from 2017 on the management and development of industrial clusters (ICs) combines separate adjustment regulations for the model. Promulgating Decree 68 was necessary to attract and relocate small- and medium-sized enterprises as well as cooperatives to production areas with modern technical infrastructure, which could ensure the standards of health and safety and sustainable development. While the current regulations encourage the establishment of ICs, in reality, investors face many barriers during the implementation of their projects. The first blockade is the inconsistency between legal documents relating to the scale of the ICs. Decree 68 regulated that an IC has an area not exceeding 75 hectares and not less than 10ha. An IC in a mountainous district or a craft village has an area can be as small as 5ha in size. Based on Decree 68, Hanoi Peoples Committee proposed the citys IC planning to the Ministry of Industry and Trade for approval. In 2017, the ministry regulated that by 2030, Hanoi will have almost 160 ICs with a total area of 3,200ha. Many of these ICs have an area of 5ha upward. However, in October 2022, the same Peoples Committee enabled Decision No.33/2022/QD-UBND on policy to manage ICs in Hanoi, which regulates that the minimum area is now 30ha for normal clusters and 15ha for those in mountainous areas or craft villages. This inconsistency now means that some clusters exist, or are being planned, that are too small in area to line up with the latest regulations. In addition, industrial real estate developers are confused with the inconsistency in regulations relating to the right to choose the method of land rental payment. Notably, the Law on Land 2013 regulates that economic organisations, self-financed public non-business organisations, households, individuals, overseas Vietnamese, and foreign-invested enterprises may choose between the form of annual rental payment or full one-off rental payment for the entire lease period. During the process to implement Dai Thang IC, located in Phu Xuyen district of Hanoi, we have been struggling to resolve this problem. In November 2021, Hanoi Peoples Committee allowed Hanel Mirolin to hire 73.73ha to develop Dai Thang IC, and simultaneously allowed the company to pay a full one-off rental fee for the entire lease period. However, in July last year, the Peoples Committee changed the agreement and now requires Hanel to pay the land rental fee annually, a decision which surprised the companys board of directors. In some cases, the lack of flexibility in allowing investors to select the form of land rental payment causes inconvenience for enterprises. At Dai Thang IC, Hanel Mirolin paid a deposit of VND56.89 billion ($2.4 million) for the land clearance and compensation, and the deposit will be abated in the land rental fee. The problem is that based on the land renting price enabled by the Hanoi Tax Department together with Hanel Mirolins calculation, the deposit is currently much higher than the land rental fees that Mirolin will have to pay for 50 years. Thus, requiring the company to pay the annual rental fee is unfeasible. We have sent many documents to the authorities to ask for the right to pay the full one-off rental fee for the entire lease period. In January 2023, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment sent a document to Hanoi Peoples Committee to report on Hanel Mirolins proposal, but the company has yet to receive an answer. Another barrier is the inconsistency in determining the investors to fund technical infrastructure for ICs. For example at Hanel Mirolin, in 2017, the company was licensed to develop Dai Thang IC according to Decree 68. However, according to the Law on Investment 2020, it is necessary to bid to select the investors. Due to this inconsistency, the investors had to make a lot of exertion to overcome the appraisal round to get the licence for renting land and land clearance, because the company had to explain and clarify many requirements from authorities. The existing clusters lack sustainability, with limited interconnections both inside and outside them. In addition, support for related activities, industrial accumulation, value chains, and production networks has not received adequate attention and support from the authorities and industry associations. They also lack long-term and sustainable programmes that bring benefits to enterprises. These barriers will impact the investors business and plans to recoup capital. We know of many cases of ICs with the infrastructure to welcome enterprises, but they still cannot operate properly because they cannot complete the procedure for renting land and land use right certificates. Extending the time for appraisal of the dossiers and approving the administrative procedures will impact the implementation process of projects, which forces the investors to implement procedures to adjust the planning. For example, in our case, the authorities took 207 days to appraise dossiers and hand over land to the investor, a delay of 149 days compared to the rules. Besides that, most of the investors depend on loans from banks and credit funds to develop their projects. Thus, it is necessary to implement projects on time because it is a basis to ensure the ability to pay loans. Delaying in projects will make investors difficult to recoup the investment capital, and simultaneously the investors will have to make a lot of exertion to scratch money from other business segments to pay loans when they are due. Localities keen to implement advanced industrial parks Localities nationwide are eager to accelerate the construction of industrial parks to welcome new foreign investment capital inflows in 2023. Vietnamese real estate remain attractive to foreign investors The Vietnamese real estate market has remained attractive to foreign investors and investment funds despite difficulties countering domestic firms, according to insiders. MPI Deputy Minister Tran Duy Dong On the morning of March 9 in Hanoi, and with the assistance of Global Affairs Canada, the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), together with Alinea International Ltd. (Canada), held an international seminar on promoting diversified and sustainable cooperative economic development in Vietnam. Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Duy Dong said that after 20 years, a new resolution on the collective economic sector was issued, and after 10 years, the Law on Cooperatives was amended. However, there are some issues that have been raised during the development and operation of cooperatives. "This is a good time for us to determine the right direction, remove barriers, create strong motivation, build appropriate policies, and attract participation in the collective economic sector," said Dong. Regarding internal transactions, although there are regulations on the rate of transactions with members and non-members in the Law on Cooperatives 2012, it is not clear which transactions are internal and which are not, how accounting should work, and how to build feasible incentives and support policies. "Therefore, at present, we do not have effective incentive policies for economic cooperation organisations, especially those providing products and services to other members," said the MPI deputy minister. Cooperative federations are popular and play a significant role in supporting and developing cooperative economic organisations around the world. "However, there is no such model here due to the lack of a legal framework. But in fact, federations must be established, especially for major industries, to increase the scale and create a production chain, thereby increasing competitiveness and allowing firms to reach out to more export markets," said Dong. "Therefore, the National Assembly and the government should issue resolutions and pilot regulations to create a legal corridor for the establishment and operation of this federation model," he added. Promoting a diversified and sustainable cooperative economy in Vietnam through internal transactions Sharing experience on internal trading around the world, Hoang Vu Quang, an expert from Alinea International Co., Ltd. (Canada), said that in other countries, the term internal transaction is replaced by transaction with members. Some countries do not distinguish preferences between transactions with members and transactions with non-members, such as Belgium, Finland, and Sweden. But other nations offer corporate income tax incentives for profits from transactions with members. For example, in France, agricultural cooperatives are exempted from corporate income tax for transactions with members in the fields of production, processing, and the sale of agricultural products. In the Philippines, there is no corporate income tax on profits from transactions with members. Cooperatives only deal with members who are exempt from taxes and fees. To Van Hau, director of the Ninh Binh Agricultural Product Processing Trade Cooperative, said that to promote a cooperative economy, it is necessary to build specific mechanisms and policies for internal transactions, even completely exempting them from internal transaction tax to encourage the participation and contribution of members. Besides this, clarifying the role of internal transactions in the Law on Cooperatives (amended) is necessary. Vu Manh Nam from Hanoi's Cooperative Federation said that internal transactions are one of the most important economic foundations for authorities to evaluate cooperatives and apply supporting policies. "In fact, a lot of cooperatives in Hanoi have already carried out internal transactions. However, the law does not have specific guidelines for their implementation and there are no policies to encourage the practice," said Nam. "So the solidification of internal transactions in the Law on Cooperatives (amended) will be a motivation for members to become more active in the development of cooperatives." The MPI will carefully consider these issues while completing the draft of law, aiming to develop the cooperative ecosystem effectively. Resilient and strategic breakthroughs Based on experiences and lessons learned last years to fight against the pandemic and struggling with the uncertainties of the worlds economy, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung told VIRs Nguyen Huong about Vietnams strengths, and plans to reach the goals set forth on socioeconomic development, and enhance the efficiency of investment mobilisation. The Ministry of Construction is reducing the number of social housing units from 1.4 million to over 1 million, even though the market currently has a limited supply. What is your perspective on the matter? Troy Griffiths - Deputy managing director Savills Vietnam I believe it is tough to respond swiftly since there are so many variables to consider, such as who is qualified, how to deliver, and whether to resell. Thats very challenging. Unless it is resolved and a one-stop delivery shop is established, it will be difficult to increase those numbers rapidly. In addition, private sector involvement has not been sufficiently lucrative. That is a crucial point. Concerning the private sector, worker and migrant housing near industrial parks is often discussed on social media. I do not believe that is social housing. I believe this is affordable housing that can be constructed profitably by private sector developers. They have just been generating money elsewhere and have not considered or visited this location. Countries such as India, China, and everywhere else have worker housing, a highly robust and active private sector market. Thus, I do not believe that to be social housing. How would you rate the social housing market by supply, demand, and cost now compared to a year ago? While there has been a great deal of discussion, there has been very little action. We often work on feasibility studies for developers, and very little has been added. Several legal, bureaucratic, and administrative agencies are attempting to get this information out; therefore it is not really anyones issue or responsibility. Part of the problem is that there is a great deal of difficulties with these types of laws all over the globe, which is a very timely topic given the significance of social housing. While there has been plenty of rhetoric and minor legislative adjustments, they have not been sufficient to attract private sector developers in the past. Until around six months ago, private sector developers were the primary concern. Developers in the private sector made a lot more money in other sectors, and so social housing was not financially viable to them. Thus, this is part of the issue. The existing social housing formula makes it very difficult for the vast majority of developers to generate a profit. Do you mean that the existing supply is insufficient to fulfill the achievement? Definitely. But, I would argue that many of the estimates that are often used in the media and in policy, such as 800 million, or 1.4-1.6 million, are not accurate. All of them are not required to be delivered simultaneously, nor are they all required by government policy. There are several social and cheap housing options. The private sector can provide affordable homes. When it comes to social housing, the government must collaborate with the private sector. Why arent global investors enthusiastic about these projects? What we see in many other growing nations, like India and China, is that the private sector can really take care of a significant portion of the inexpensive housing, such as worker housing near industrial parks and the like, and this is possible. I believe that is now occurring in Vietnam, and foreign money is now seeking these types of properties. With social housing, however, there is a great deal of machinery that is challenging for international companies. There are no regulations regarding eligibility. If you are a foreign player, you need a lengthy pipeline of tens of thousands of social housing units. And to date, it has been in bits and pieces. If this were to be expanded to include a more top-down strategy in which the government assumed certain guarantees and coordinated these initiatives into tens of thousands of social housing units, I am confident that international investors would be quite interested because then they can establish their size and economies of returns. But if its just fragments here and there, I believe it will be extremely difficult. In addition, they have always had a very narrow margin, which has not been sufficient in the past. They may get these margins and larger returns through alternate investments. This is why it has not been very appealing. You may earn 9.5 per cent at any first-year bank. Now that is decreasing a little. You are only provided a 10 per cent buffer against creating social housing, despite the inherent dangers involved. Therefore, you can see that it is not very appealing. How, given the present market environment, do you recommend adjusting supply and demand? I believe government policy is headed in that direction. Recent policy statements have included a reassessment of the margin offered to developers in an effort to entice developers, as well as the guaranteeing of pipelines for specific companies. This is an excellent endeavour, and the more policy improvements that occur, the better. Yet, I do not believe there will be a rapid resolution to this issue. HANOI, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam's seafood exports have shown promising signs of making a recovery following China's optimization of its COVID-19 response, Vietnam News Agency reported on Friday. Vietnam's seafood exports to China in February climbed 33 percent to 122 million U.S. dollars from a year ago, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP). China became Vietnam's second-largest market of seafood exports last year, growing 63 percent year-on-year, which outpaced the 23-percent annual growth of the whole industry, said VASEP deputy general secretary Nguyen Hoai Nam. The rapid change of China's COVID strategy is brightening the outlook for Vietnamese seafood exporters, who are betting on the huge demand of the world's second-largest economy, he added. The pandemic has disrupted several supply chains, leading to disconnection between Vietnamese businesses and their Chinese partners, said Tran Thanh Nam, deputy minister of agricultural and rural development, adding that measures to reconnect supply chains and facilitate bilateral trade are underway. Vietnam's agricultural and fishery exports to China via Mong Cai International Border Gate have grown around 60 percent year over year, said Tran Thi Bich Ngoc, head of the border gate's management board, urging local businesses to embrace novel production technologies and well-organized management to keep their products up to standard. Vietnam's seafood exports amounted to 1.1 billion dollars in the first two months, down 26 percent from the same period last year, as the demand from major markets including the United States and Europe has not shown recovery signs, VASEP said. The government is looking to long-term health of its citizens, but beverage firms say they need more time, photo Le Toan Alcohol, tobacco, and sugary drinks could be subject to an increased excise tax aiming to improve community health and tackle the national budget deficit as part of a comprehensive tax reform strategy for 2030. However, the size of the proposed increase has not yet been decided, and the Ministry of Finance (MoF) is consulting ministries, localities, and firms on the matter. The MoFs proposal aims to improve community health and tackle the national budget deficit as part of a comprehensive tax reform strategy for 2030. According to the Vietnam Beer-Alcohol-Beverage Association (VBA), it is too early to fully assess the impact of tax rises or the addition of sugary drinks to the list of special taxable goods because the changes are only tentative. However, growing taxes will raise the financial burden on businesses, which need to have time to prepare and plan their production. In Vietnam, alcoholic beverages are currently subject to an excise tax rate of 65 per cent, up from 50 per cent in 2018. Enterprises are very concerned and worried about this proposal being implemented early because businesses are still in the post-pandemic recovery stage, said VBA chairman Nguyen Van Viet. The adjustment to increase excise tax will put pressure on businesses and tax rises will directly affect peoples lives. The VBA has called on government bodies to consider a more appropriate roadmap to amend the excise tax law after 2025. The association explained Vietnams difficulties, from external and internal influences, and said it was too early to judge whether growth will be more sustainable and developed in 2023 and beyond. Therefore, we believe the MoF and the government will need more time to evaluate the conditions to decide which time is most suitable, added Viet. Katsuhiko Usui, general director of Sapporo Vietnam, said, Currently, the details of a draft law have not been disclosed, so we cannot comment in detail, but if the tax is raised, it will definitely have a negative impact on the industry. He explained that the industry had faced a difficult situation in the past few years, though it was expected that it would gradually recover in the near future. There are many unstable factors, such as soaring prices of raw materials worldwide, and it is expected that it will take a little more time to reach pre-pandemic levels. For this reason, we think it is necessary to consider delaying the timing of the tax increase and easing the extent of the increase, said Usui. The purpose of the tax increase should also be clarified, he added. If the goal is to increase tax revenue, there is a possibility that this purpose will not be achieved due to a decline in the aggregate demand. SSI Securities said that input costs are expanding, and the beverage industry mainly imported materials that are affected by global economic issues, such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict. With supply chains broken, there is no sign of prices cooling. According to the MoF, the consumption of alcohol in Vietnam is high and rising, and the excise tax increases between 2016-2018 were not strong enough to affect consumption. Meanwhile, the ministry also pointed to a World Health Organization report that showed that high consumption of soft drinks leads to obesity. The prevalence of overweight Vietnamese adults increased by 68 per cent between 2002 and 2016, it said. The MoH added that there was recent evidence linking sugary beverage consumption with non-communicable diseases, increased health costs, and higher mortality. Tax for development: Does Vietnam need tax reform? To remain on its successful path of inclusive development, Vietnam will need large public investments for years to come. Vietnam Tax Summit 2022 covers up-to-date tax legislation Vietnam Tax Summit 2022, the largest annual tax summit in the country that took place last week, featured thought-provoking guest speakers, industry experts, and tax specialists. The Cong Troi (Heaven Gate) tourist site has won a Vietnamese record for the ecotourism area with the most natural waterfalls. (Photo: VNA) Quang Nam A spring festival kicked off at the Cong Troi (Heaven Gate) tourist site in the mountainous district of Dong Giang, central Quang Nam province, on March 10. The festival opens up a series of activities promoting tourism in mountainous areas and forms part of the provinces high-quality tourism products. It offers an opportunity to visitors to learn about local culture through folk games and traditional dances, with the participation of tens of artisans, while exploring the site which has won a Vietnamese record for the ecotourism area with the most natural waterfalls. As from April 2022, the site has welcomed more than 42,000 holidaymakers. The event alone is expected to attract more than 5,000. According to Vo Ngoc Anh, General Director of FVG Travel that represents the management and operation unit of the site, there will be more festivals and events associated with local culture in the time ahead. Quang Nam province, home to UNESCO-recognised Hoi An ancient city and My Son sanctuary, served nearly 4.8 million visitors in 2022 when it hosted the National Tourism Year, 13 times higher than the previous year. The locality earned 3.8 trillion VND (160.43 million USD) from the sector, representing an eight-fold rise year-on-year. Quang Nam goes green for National Year of Tourism With the country officially re-opening tourism both domestic and international on March 15, green tourism has been made the theme of the Visit Vietnam Year 2022, to be hosted by the central coastal province of Quang Nam. How could the ongoing efforts in Vietnam on traceability and due diligence along the timber value chain benefit the sector? Anja Barth, chief technical advisor of a forest biodiversity initiative run by the German Development Agency and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development We can observe a global shift towards more comprehensively addressing deforestation linked to the production of agricultural commodities. In 2021, many nations signed up to the Declaration on Forests and Land Use, including Vietnam. And surely the recent legislative developments in large consumer countries, most notably the EU Deforestation Regulation, underline this shift. With this, the EU is expanding its efforts to address deforestation linked to the production of agricultural commodities. This is to minimise the EUs contribution to deforestation and increase demand for legal and deforestation-free trade. In the future, EU operators will have to conduct due diligence to ensure the legality and deforestation-free production of agricultural and timber products being imported to the EU. This includes the collection of information about supply chains, a thorough risk assessment, and risk mitigation. The experience and efforts over past years in Vietnam implementing the Voluntary Partnership Agreement on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance, and Trade (VPA/FLEGT) have been very valuable in preparing its private sector operators and the regulatory framework to be ready to provide the required information and assurance. While there is room for improvement, the traceability of timber along the value chain described in various decrees and by-laws is a good starting point for providing the necessary information for risk assessment and mitigation. There are surely many lessons learned and good practices from the timber value chain that could help prepare other agricultural commodities for export to the EU. What is the progress in Vietnam implementing VPA-FLEGT, which the government signed with the EU? Recognising the global challenges with trade in illegal timber and the growing role of Vietnams timber industry, Vietnam and the EU signed the agreement in 2018. It is a legally binding agreement aimed at improving forest governance and promoting the trade of legal timber and timber products exported from Vietnam to the EU and, of course, other markets. Vietnam has followed up on implementing the VPA/FLEGT commitments in recent years through the Vietnam Timber Legality Assurance System (VNTLAS). There, the key principles for timber import control and FLEGT licencing are outlined. The implementation of the VPA/FLEGT is regularly reviewed by the joint committees between Vietnam and the EU. Both sides appreciate and recognise the achievements, efforts, and challenges in fulfilling and fully implementing the requirements. Which aspects of the fulfilment of the agreement should be prioritised? The strength of the process is the active involvement and commitment of a multitude of stakeholders at all levels. It requires action and accountability from government agencies, timber enterprises, and non-state actors alike. The private sector is already working to improve due diligence in supply chains. They are an essential component of the agreement and the monitoring and evaluation process, along with other non-state actors. Topics that need to be prioritised in the coming time include enhancing the VNTLAS to fully comply with the VPA/FLEGT. Digitalisation is the key to an effective and efficient VNTLAS and should play a central role. Therefore, enhancing digital capacity for all aspects of the timber value chain, including a database system supporting the VNTLAS, is crucial. Considering the complexity of international supply chains, priority should be given to enhancing the collaboration with countries of timber harvest to get a better understanding of the specific legality requirements and ensure verification and the implementation of due diligence accordingly in Vietnam. Finally, it is of the utmost importance for Vietnam to complete the next steps of the implementation of the VPA/FLEGT as quickly as possible. The upcoming new EU legislation on deforestation-free supply chains will have additional aspects and commodities covered. Other markets might follow soon and outline similar, stricter import regulations. All stakeholders continued commitment and practical actions will ensure the sustainable growth of Vietnams timber industry while promoting good forest governance. Competition tightens up for Vietnamese timber sector After related US delegations held talks with Vietnams Ministry of Industry and Trade on trade issues last week, it has become apparent that Vietnams wood and timber industry will need to up its game to hold and eventually increase its market share in the United States. Vietnam must confirm legit timber supply sources Linking and creating material areas is meant to stabilise the timber supply chain, but it remains difficult to handle shortcomings related to forestry institutions. Dr. To Xuan Phuc, managing director of Forest Trends, talked with VIRs Hai Van about the sectors options to develop sustainably. The event at Eastin Grand Hotel Saigon in Ho Chi Minh Citys Phu Nhuan district attracted many EPC contractors, construction companies, design consultants, and sizable rooftop solar project investment funds. Workshop on sharing new technology and perfect products for C&I segment At the seminar, representatives from global energy group Sungrow and Canadian Solar introduced their new-generation products catered to the large-scale C&I segment. The latest Sungrow grid-tied inverter SG125CX-P2 for C&I is compatible with panels with a capacity surpassing 500Wp. Sungrow representative in Vietnam introducing new product SG125CX-P2 Not only an upgraded version in terms of capacity, the SG125CX-P2 also embraces many new technologies, helping to increase output by about 2 per cent compared to the old version whilst bolstering operational efficiency. SG125CX-P2 improves the maximum input current to 15A per string, which helps enhance the DC generating capacity, thereby bringing a higher yield. In addition, it also applies advanced Power Max of 12 MPPTs with 98.5 per cent efficiency, which tracks points of the highest power accuracy to ensure the PV system constantly works at the optimal power generation state. As a result of this technology, the overall yield increases. Moreover, considering this series is mostly installed on C&I buildings rooftops, Sungrow also equips it with updated AFCI 2.0 and Type I+II SPD. The AFCI 2.0 system can detect arcs with 99.9 per cent accuracy; such excellent detection capability exceeds the requirements of the UL1699B standard. Canadian Solar representative in Vietnam presenting the new technology of HiKu7 panels As for solar panels, a representative from CSI in Vietnam presented the HiKu7 product line with a capacity reaching 675Wp, which helps reduce the levelized cost of electricity by 8.9 per cent and drives down the system cost by up to 5.7 per cent. The HiKu7 applies the latest TOPCon technology, allowing the panel to absorb more radiation whilst bolstering efficiency by up to 22.5 per cent. With the eminent advantages of the new products, EPC contractors, design consultants and construction partners will now have the perfect choice for large-scale C&I solar energy projects, as they meet the burgeoning demands for self-consumption electricity for business activities throughout Vietnam. DAT Solar and its partners are expected to jointly replicate the solar power model throughout the country, accompanying the governments journey to realise its Net-zero target by 2050. Addressing the seminar, Tieu Van Dat, general director of DAT Group JSC noted, The seminar provided a valued opportunity for DAT Solar and its partners to share experiences and jointly develop solar energy for businesses, greening factory rooftops with global products from our top strategic partners Sungrow and Canadian Solar. Currently, DAT Solar is the authorised partner of Canadian Solar and Sungrow in Vietnam, providing customers with genuine products, competitive prices, a warranty policy and 24/7 technical support, along with many smart, efficient and cost-optimized solar energy solutions. Also at the seminar, DAT Solar introduced the configuration of a 1MWp project using the SG125CX-P2 inverter, helping the participants to intuitively grasp the systems practical performance more clearly and to illustrate when there is a need for project deployment. Participants asked questions related to actual project implementation and experienced displays of Sungrows inverter products, Sokoyo solar lights, and more. Through the workshop, with the right development direction, strong cohesion, and spirit for mutual development, DAT Solar and its partners are expected to jointly replicate the solar power model throughout the country, accompanying the governments journey to realise its Net-zero target by 2050. The workshop was a great success, increasing the efficiency of C&I projects A similar seminar will also be held in Hanoi on March 17, continuing the mission to spread practical value and boost investment efficiency for EPC contractors in the northern region. To date, DAT Solar has deployed more than 10,000 solar power systems with a total capacity surpassing 800MWp. The company is also a major supplier of large-scale power storage and solar power equipment and is a comprehensive and sustainable companion for businesses. To enquire about rooftop solar development with DAT Solar, please visit datsolar.com or contact the free hotline on 1800 6567 for 24/7 advice and support. Rooftop solar energy lacks legal foundation Businesses that intend to deploy rooftop solar energy for their own use must await a seamless link to the national energy grid. Overseas investors boosting rooftop solar presence at IZs Many foreign investors are funding rooftop solar panels in Vietnam to meet the increasing demands of industrial zone developers and transition towards sustainable energy sources. At the meeting, Vuong Thi Minh Hieu, deputy director of the Ministry of Planning and Investment's (MPI) Department for Economic Zones Management, reported the achievements during the implementation of the project last year. Accordingly, the project steering committee made efforts to accelerate all activities relating to support for building institutional policies for the development of these parks. Furthermore, the steering committee was eager to conduct technical assistance for converting traditional industrial zones (IZs) into the ecological model. The regulations about eco-industrial parks were incorporated in Decree No.35/2022/ND-CP on prescribing the management of IZs, Hieu said. The Eco-Industrial Parks Intervention in Vietnam Programme is funded by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), in cooperation with the MPI. This project supports the development and implementation of the eco-industrial park model in the country. UNIDO will help Vietnam devise new standards for eco-industrial parks, access green financial resources, and ensure sustainability in terms of institutions and resources for management agencies. The committee implemented technical support for management authorities and manufacturers in IZs, and showed support for connecting these zones to urban areas. In addition, the project steering committee conducted training courses to improve the legal and technical capacity of localities, industrial real estate developers, and tenants. It is good news that many international organisations have expressed interest in supporting Vietnam as it promotes the eco-industrial model. Regarding the planned activities for this year, Alessandro Flammi, project coordinator at UNIDO, reported that they will continue to support relevant authorities to complete the implementation of Decree No.35. The steering committee will finalise its report on identifying urban-industrial symbiosis opportunities and will continue to implement and monitor these opportunities. Moreover, we will develop feasibility studies as needed, and facilitate access to finance for selected business cases, Flammi said. The budget is tight, so the scheme will have to prioritise activities. However, we think that the project will be extended until April 2024 if necessary to avoid losing momentum, and allow a smooth transition between the current phase and the next, which is expected to start in January 2024, he added. Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc said that the ministry is willing to cooperate with SECO and UNIDO to build model eco-industrial parks and then spread the model across the country. It is good news that many international organisations have expressed interest in supporting Vietnam as it promotes the eco-industrial model. We also expect that power sources will be added to accelerate the transition from traditional IPs to eco-industrial parks, Ngoc said. The project was approved by the MPI in 2020 with thanks to financial aid from SECO and UNIDO of about $1.82 million. THACO to invest $1 billion in an industrial park in Binh Duong The automaker Truong Hai Auto Corporation (THACO) is mulling plans to invest in a mechanical supporting industrial park with the total investment capital of $1 billion in the southern province of Binh Duong. Nam Cau Kien Industrial Park honoured at international innovation exhibition Nam Cau Kien Industrial Park recently received a host of awards at the International Exhibition of Science and Technology Innovation held in Seoul, South Korea on November 15. Brook Taylor, COO of VinaCapital, said, As one of the fastest growing economies in the world, Vietnam continues to present enormous investment opportunities across a wide range of sectors, from real estate and renewable energy to logistics and IT. I am honoured that Ryobi has once again selected VinaCapital to be its partner." Toshiyuki Matsuda, president of Ryobi Group, stated that Ryobi and VinaCapital first worked together about 10 years ago on a successful equity investment. At that time, VinaCapitals CEO Don Lam presented us with several other investments that, in retrospect, we would have done very well had we invested in them all. But I am delighted that we have maintained a trusted relationship between our two companies and now have exciting new opportunities to work together across a variety of sectors in Vietnam, said Matsuda. According to Toshiyuki Tamura, director of Casco Investments Limited, Ryobi Group has engaged in many real estate projects in Japan, but does not have a lot of experience in overseas projects. "Because of this, we decided to proceed with this investment thanks to generous support from Vina Capital Group, one of the most reliable companies in Vietnam," said Tamura. One potential project for collaboration is the development of low-rise residential projects in satellite cities surrounding Ho Chi Minh City being undertaken by VinaLiving, the real estate investment arm of VinaCapital. As one of the fastest growing economies in the world, Vietnam continues to present enormous investment opportunities across a wide range of sectors, from real estate and renewable energy, to logistics and IT. I am honoured that Ryobi has once again selected VinaCapital to be its partner." - Brook Taylor, COO of VinaCapital. The southern metropolis continues to be one of the primary drivers of Vietnams robust economic growth. The construction and enhancement of infrastructure such as roads and highways are increasing accessibility and development to a wider area beyond the city limits. This in turn is creating the need for more homes and commercial space in the satellite cities that are expected to grow rapidly as more businesses move to these up-and-coming areas. VinaLiving is a pioneer in developing luxurious residential projects targeting Vietnams rising middle class. Ryobi was founded as a railway company over 100 years ago in Okayama, Japan. Today, the group has over 40 subsidiaries operating in a wide range of sectors, including transportation and tourism, ICT, urban development, logistics, and healthcare. In 2015, Ryobi established Ryobi Distribution Service Vietnam, which has been operating the regions largest multifunctional warehouse in Saigon High-tech Park. Furthermore, Ryobi supports local business by making strategic investments in Vietnamese companies, particularly those in the logistics sector. Ryobi are proud of their mission to contribute to urban development projects suitable for Vietnams local communities. VinaCapital led consortium to invest in $13 billion wind power project The consortium of VinaCapital Group and EDF Renewables proposed surveying four locations to implement an offshore wind power project in Ba Ria - Vung Tau province with a total project investment of about $13 billion and a capacity of 3,000MW. Companies profit growth may cool down but market sees potential The profit growth of listed companies is forecast to cool down in 2023 but experts said there are still many positive factors to support the market in the near future. The MoU signing between WTC BDNC and COEX, witnessed by the chairman of Becamex IDC, the Binh Duong Department of Foreign Affairs, and representatives of COEX in South Korea Along with this, the Vietnamese partner (WTC BDNC) and its Korean counterpart (COEX) entered into a strategic partnership to host the smart factory and logistics automation exhibition and to execute manufacturing industry innovation programmes in Vietnam. The MoU aims to promote collaboration to develop and expand relevant industry networking programmes between Vietnam and South Korea. Both parties signed an MoU for this partnership at the Smart Factory + Automation World 2023 event Asia's representative smart factory and industrial automation fair which is being held at COEX with a record 500 exhibitors and 2000 booths. The MoU aims to promote collaboration to develop and expand relevant industry networking programmes between Vietnam and South Korea, featuring conferences, trade promotion events, and seminars. Furthermore, the two parties agreed to cooperate to open Automation World Vietnam at the WTC Binh Duong New City Expo in September next year. Nguyen Van Hung, chairman of Becamex IDC, giving congratulatory remarks at the signing ceremony The event marks an important milestone in the development of Vietnams manufacturing industry, contributing to strengthening its technological capabilities whist enhancing its competitiveness in the global market. WTC BDNC reaffirms its commitment to working with international partners to drive innovation and foster growth in the nation. The strategic cooperation agreement between WTC BDNC and COEX to organise Automation World Vietnam 2023 Binh Duong province, where WTC BDNC is located, is part of Vietnams Southern Key Economic Zone. The province has been one of Vietnams foreign investment hotspots, attracting more than 4,000 foreign-invested projects worth nearly $40 billion to date. It also boasts the highest per-capita monthly income in Vietnam, making it an attractive location for businesses. With 30 large-scale industrial complexes already in operation, the province has an ideal industrial ecosystem to support the implementation of the MoU. Huynh Dinh Thai Linh, CEO of WTC BDNC said, "We are delighted to support the development of the Vietnamese manufacturing industry through this collaboration. This is an important step towards realising our vision of turning Binh Duong into an innovation and technology hub for Vietnams manufacturing industry." Rheem expands Binh Duong presence Multinational water heating solution provider Rheem has announced further development of its manufacturing capacity in Binh Duong as part of its plan to expand its global market share and establish a domestic presence. Binh Duong commits to resolve land problem for Lego Binh Duong Peoples Committee has committed to resolving the problems relating to planning and land handover for the $1-billion factory project that the Danish group Lego has invested in. Solid waste pickup The Waco solid waste department will collect bulky and brush waste from the curbside starting at 7 a.m. Saturday for residential customers in city council District 1, which includes areas in East Waco and North Waco. Items that will not be picked up include scrap tires, items containing Freon, liquids such as paint, construction materials, roofing materials, tree stumps, pool chemicals, hazardous materials and medical waste. To be placed on an official pick-up list, email solidwasteinfo@wacotx.gov with your name and address. For more information, call 254-299-2612. A council district map is available at waco-texas.com/My-Area. Ranger roundup The Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum, 100 Texas Ranger Trail, will have its annual Spring Break Roundup from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. Texas Ranger reenactors and an actual Texas Ranger will be on hand. Activities are included with regular museum admission. Texas Ranger Talks are at 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. Reenactors will be on site from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Lightyear screening The South Waco Library, 2737 S. 18th St., will offer a free screening of Lightyear from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday. Participants should bring chairs and blankets to sit on under the stars, and bring their own drinks. Popcorn will be provided. Waco Calligraphy Guild Member Cindy Boney will present a program on developing your own decorative lettering exemplar during a Waco Calligraphy Guild meeting from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, 800 N. New Road. Genealogical Society meeting Debi Haynes of the Central Texas Genealogical Society will share lessons she learned from her 2022 family history research trip to Germany, during a lunch meeting at noon Monday in the West Waco Library meeting room, 5301 Bosque Blvd. Haynes will share about the people and repositories she visited as she traveled from Munich to Frankfurt and points in between. She will discuss what advanced prep work paid off and what she would do differently before going again. Participants should bring their own lunch. Drinks will be provided. Childrens theater signups Waco Childrens Theatre will hold signups for its summer theater program from 1 to 4 p.m. March 19 at the Lee Lockwood Library and Museum, 2801 W. Waco Drive. To ask questions, call Linda Haskett at 254-776-0707. PHNOM PENH, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Credit Bureau (Cambodia) Co., Ltd. (CBC) has joined forces with Credit Bureau (Singapore) Pte Ltd (CBS) to launch the first cross-border initiative, said a joint statement on Thursday. The official launch ceremony was held on Wednesday in Singapore with participation from central banks and credit bureaus from both countries as well as leaders in the banking and financial industry. With increased mobility in the global workforce, cross-border sharing of credit reports has become a more pressing issue in recent years, the statement said, adding that this initiative makes it possible for members of the CBS and the CBC to request for the individual's credit reports. Chea Serey, director-general of the National Bank of Cambodia, and chairwoman of Credit Bureau Cambodia, said it is commendable that the National Bank of Cambodia and the Monetary Authority of Singapore thought out of the box with an open mindset to empower the consumers to take control over their credit file across the borders. "The two credit bureaus have made incredible efforts to be able to launch this collaboration that can bring significant benefits to a large number of businesses and individuals from both Cambodia and Singapore, unlocking opportunities for them," she said. "This is a beginning and we hope that we can expand our collaboration with credit bureaus in other ASEAN countries in better realizing a seamless ASEAN," Serey added. William Lim, CBS executive director, said that the CBS plays an integral role in supporting prudent access to credit in Singapore for the past two decades. "We believe that this new initiative will help build a more robust credit management system for both bureaus," he said. MORSE BLUFF Firefighter Pam Pabian remembers the call to the intersection of Nebraska Highway 79 and Bottom Road. As a member of the Morse Bluff Volunteer Fire Department, Pabian had answered many calls. But this was for an accident involving a semi at that intersection the same place her teen son, Jesse, and his friend, Eric Chvatal, would have been on a snowy day many years ago. I knew the minute I got that call I had the feeling that it was them, Pabian said. For almost 30 years, Pabian has served her community through the fire department during accidents, fires and even after a tornado. The 5-foot-tall firefighter was the first woman to join it. And at 62, she continues to serve the department, which soon will have 17 firefighters four of whom are women. Pabian is the departments fire prevention coordinator. As part of the Nebraska Fire Prevention Co-op, consisting of 12 rural fire departments, Pabian coordinates a daylong event that attracts hundreds of people who come for fun, but also learn how to prevent fires and other accidents. The event is important to Pabian, who was a child when her familys home caught fire years ago. Growing up in Fernley, Nevada, Pabian recalls when her dad and grandpa, Dale and Kenneth Reed, served on the volunteer fire department there. If she and her three siblings were with the men, they went with them to fires. Pabian was in elementary school when she went to a house fire. Smoke from the fire caused bats to fly out of the bell tower in a church down the street. A child died in the house fire. Pabian and her siblings werent allowed to be close enough to the blaze to see that. But I remember how vividly upset my grandfather was, Pabian said. Grandpa was happy go lucky and I think that was devastating for him, because it was a child. As an adult, Pabian said her biggest fear is having to pull a child, who didnt survive, out of a house fire. Thats why Im so big with the fire prevention, she said. If you can prevent the fire, the child wont be a victim. Pabian was little when she and her family suffered their own loss from a fire. Theyd gone out to a restaurant to eat one night. When they returned home, they saw flames and smoke coming out of the trailer house where they lived. Their home burned to the ground. They lost everything except a television, which was melted and charred, but still worked, and her and her sisters Easter gloves and purses. We were told that while we were gone, the clock that was on the wall above the refrigerator had fallen behind it and started an electrical fire, she said. From that point, I think I always wanted to do something to help people. A few years after the fire, Pabians family moved to Reno, Nevada, where she went to high school. Every time I would hear a siren, I would tune into the sound, she said. It always caught my attention. Pabian met her husband, Duane, in Reno. Originally from North Bend, hed been in the U.S. Army and got a job in Nevada. They met at work. They married and moved to North Bend, where they lived for a year before moving to Morse Bluff in 1981. Theyd become the parents of four children, Jesse, Heather, Keri and Michael. Duane began volunteering with the Morse Bluff Fire Department in the late 1980s. Due to his work schedule, he left the fire department, which Pam joined in 1994. Pabian assumed, at first, shed face conflict from guys who didnt think a woman belonged in the fire department. I didnt run into any of that, she said. They were awesome. They were wonderful people. She trained alongside the men. I never kidded myself that I had the strength of them, she said. If I needed help, I was backed up 100%. I did what I could do. Pabian remembers when one call hit close to home. It was snowing like crazy, Pabian said. That time, Chvatal came in his pickup truck to get Jesse so they could go to North Bend and decorate for prom. On the way, the pickup slid through the intersection of Highway 79 and whats called Morse Bluff Bottom Road, which is at the foot of a hill. Chvatal looked up and saw a semi-trailer truck coming down the hill. He knew he was going to get hit, Pabian said. He gunned it. Chvatal hit the pickups accelerator pedal and the truck driver who saw them moved his rig over a little bit. If the drivers hadnt taken those actions, the semi would have struck the pickup broadside, she said. Instead, the semi hit the back of the vehicle. The pickup spun around several times on the highway. They both made it out of there, she said. They were fine. I was totally relieved. Today, Chvatal is the fire chief of Morse Bluff. Pabian remembers another close call, when a tornado hit North Bend and Morse Bluff in 1999 missing both schools by a block. At the time, she was working at the former Homefront Buyers Guide in Fremont. Shed been watching the storm on radar. I think I need to go, Pabian told her boss. Its headed right for Morse (Bluff). She recalls the drive from Fremont to North Bend and then to Morse Bluff. She thought about the schools, where children were during the storm. It was the worst 15 miles of my life driving from Fremont to North Bend, she said. She remembers learning that the tornado had missed her childrens school. That was exhilarating like a breath of fresh air, Pabian said, adding that then she knew she could concentrate 100% on whatever she needed to do. Driving into Morse Bluff, Pabian saw debris everywhere. Firefighters went door to door making sure people were all right. Pabian went to check on an older woman, who lived alone. The woman had often made kolaches and other treats for Pabians family. I knocked on her door and she had been taking a nap and never even knew anything happened, Pabian said. I loved that woman. During the flood of 2019, Pabian was involved in traffic control on Highway 79. Other firefighters warned people of the flooding and evacuated folks from their homes. Pabian said Morse Bluff firefighters help other area fire departments. Morse Bluff doesnt have a rescue squad and relies on other departments for those services. Shes participated in fundraisers like the departments upcoming pancake feed. The department hosts a Halloween costume contest, too. Pabian is pleased to be part of the Nebraska Fire Prevention Co-ops Fun Day on the Saturday of Fathers Day weekend. The idea behind the event is to help people learn how to keep themselves safe. Pabian smiles when telling how Rhonda Cerny of the Linwood Volunteer Fire Department invited her to a co-op meeting. Im sitting there and an hour later, Im fire prevention coordinator, Pabian said. But everyone helps. Its such a good group, she said. Last year, kids could go through a smoke trailer where they learned to get down low and crawl to find the nearest exit. The Union Pacific Railroad taught about crossing safety. Omaha Public Power District talked about electrical lines. Smokey the Bear made an appearance, too. Pabian and her husband now have nine grandchildren with one on the way. She plans to stay on the fire department and still goes out on calls. The department has had three chiefs, all of whom she describes as wonderful. I really lucked out with this fire department, she said. Weve always had a good member count and I have never not once felt unsafe out on a call with other firefighters. She notes the continual learning process. I learn so much from them, she said. Its just amazing. I learn something all the time. Theres so much to it. WATERLOO -- The Cedar Valley Woodworkers will meet Tuesday at the Waterloo Center for the Arts. The business meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. At 7 p.m., Ryan Bonjour will speak on his method of woodturning. Club members will display items at the show and tell. Guests, woodworkers of all levels and members of the public are welcome to attend. For more information, call President Rod Lair at (319) 266-1163. Funky Junk-a-Loo Funky Junk-A-Loo 11 Funky Junk-A-Loo 4 Funky Junk-A-Loo 8 Funky Junk-A-Loo 2 Funky Junk-A-Loo 9 Funky Junk-A-Loo 6 Funky Junk-A-Loo 7 Funky Junk-A-Loo 5 Funky Junk-A-Loo 1 Funky Junk-A-Loo 3 Funky Junk-A-Loo 10 Funky Junk-a-Loo logo .jpg 032319kw-funky-junk-02 032319kw-funky-junk-03 032319kw-funky-junk-04 032319kw-funky-junk-05 032319kw-funky-junk-01 032418mp-Funky-Junk-a-Loo-4 032418mp-Funky-Junk-a-Loo-4 FILE 032418mp-Funky-Junk-a-Loo-3 032418mp-Funky-Junk-a-Loo-1 032418mp-Funky-Junk-a-Loo-2 031916tsr-funky-junk-aLoo-01 031916tsr-funky-junk-aLoo-03 CEDAR FALLS Public Safety Director Craig Berte has officially named Capt. John Zolondek acting fire chief, the city announced Friday. The 16-year veteran of the Cedar Falls Public Safety Department has been fulfilling the responsibilities of the top position since October. Former fire chief John Bostwick and former water reclamation manager Mike Nyman were placed on leave at the time due to an internal investigation that involved work hour discrepancies in the paid-on-call program that Bostwick later acknowledged existed. Zolondek has been given the title now that the city deems there to be a position vacancy. After a few weeks of finalizing an agreement between the city and Bostwick, which the City Council approved in a 4-3 vote Feb. 6, it is apparently enacted now. That allows the former chief to serve as a fully paid consultant until his retirement Oct. 15. The city has begun the hiring process and posted the fire chief job Thursday with a salary ranging between $91,203 and $148,218. The fire chief is also one of two assistant public safety directors to Berte. The other is Police Chief Mark Howard. The process is expected to wrap up in early June. According to a news release, Zolondek previously served as a full-time firefighter for the Winona, Minnesota, fire department. He is a nationally registered emergency medical technician and holds state of Iowa fire certifications of Firefighter 1 and 2, Fire Officer 1 and 2, Fire Instructor 1, Fire Inspector 1, HAZMAT Awareness and Operations, and Pumper/Operator. He is a certified peace officer and holds several police certifications including Drug Recognition Expert. Zolondek previously served as military policeman in the United States Marine Corps. He is a combat veteran who served in al-Ramadi and al-Fallujah, Iraq, during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003-2004. He was awarded a Navy Achievement Medal with Valor for his actions in Iraq. Zolondek has a masters degree from Saint Ambrose University in Davenport and a bachelors degree from Saint Marys University in Minnesota. He is a two-time recipient of MercyOnes Heroes Among Us Award. Both awards were for lifesaving efforts; one as a police officer in 2018 and a second as a firefighter in 2019. An Emmy-winning actor whose career triumphs were later overshadowed by a trial in which he was acquitted of murdering his wife, Robert Blake has died at age 89. With commanding majorities in Iowas Legislature, Republicans have been able to advance an expressly conservative agenda in this years legislative session passing one of the most expansive school choice bills in the country and limiting LGBTQ topics in public schools. The party in control isnt anything new: Republicans have set the agenda at the state level since 2017, when the party gained control of both chambers of the Legislature and the governors office, and theyve increased their majorities since then. But Democrats have argued theyve seen a ramping up of hyper-partisan legislation this year, and the agenda being proposed is out of a national playbook rather than responding to the needs of the state. Sen. Tony Bisignano, a Democrat from Des Moines who was in the House from 1987 to 1999 and has been in the Senate since 2017, said this year hes seen a more coordinated push to advance legislation that is being passed in other Republican-led states. In the weeks before Iowa lawmakers passed a bill that would ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors this week, Mississippi, South Dakota, and Tennessee all enacted similar bans. Gov. Kim Reynolds has yet to sign Iowas bill into law. Ive never seen anything so orchestrated, he said. None of this that were dealing with is originated in Iowa. These are national, far-right groups that are pushing these in each state that they can. But Republicans have argued the agenda theyve set has been in the works for years and is responding to requests theyve received from constituents. Republican House Speaker Pat Grassley of New Hartford pointed to two bills the caucus advanced this week changing the Board of Education Examiners and restricting books with sexual content from school libraries and said those bills have been under consideration for multiple years. Those two for example, arent issues that necessarily the national mood has really put in front of us, Grassley said. Those are things that weve been working on now, this is at least the second legislative session. For some even before that. Another change Bisignano and Democratic leaders said theyve seen is more direct involvement from Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds in setting a policy agenda. Its controlled from the top-down, this is all the governors accumulation of power, Bisignano said. Reynolds weighed in on primary elections last year, ousting several Republicans who opposed her proposal to provide taxpayer-funded private school financial assistance to 10,000 students. The results were a caucus more supportive of that plan, and the first bill Reynolds signed into law was a more expansive version, allowing every student in the state to take advantage of education savings accounts to attend private school once it is fully implemented. Democratic House leader Jennifer Konfrst said this week she had heard from Republicans who do not want to support certain bills but they felt they had to. Bisignano echoed that sentiment. Even the ones that dont necessarily agree 100% with the bills still vote for them, Bisignano said. Theres just not much break in the direction theyre following, which is the far right. Republican Sen. Jason Schultz of Schleswig disputed the idea that Reynolds is directing Republican lawmakers, but he said her popularity having won the most recent election by a significant margin has given her the confidence to be more vocal about her priorities. But, Schultz said, the legislation being passed has been negotiated between Republicans in the statehouse and the Reynolds for years. I think what were seeing is the governor being bold and showing true leadership, and the Legislature, as our majorities grow, is coming to a point where we can move the conservative issues that we have been working on for years, he said. Schultz came into the legislature in 2009, when Democrats had full control of the Legislature and governors office, and served through a split government until Republicans gained full control in 2017. While the legislation being moved by Republicans has gotten more conservative as their numbers have grown, Schultz said he does not think the partisanship in the statehouse has gotten worse compared to when Democrats had full control of the Legislature and the governors office at the beginning of his time in the Legislature. At that time, he said, Democrats were spending every dime that was legally available, while Republicans wanted more conservative spending. He pointed to a bill the Senate passed this week, proposed by Reynolds, to reorganize the state government, shrinking the number of state agencies and creating more agency leaders who are appointed by the governor and subject to Iowa Senate confirmation, rather than being elected by state boards or commissions. Democrats brought up dozens of concerns with the 1,600 page bill, and said it consolidated too much power under Reynolds. Schultz said he spoke with the Democratic leader on that committee, and listened to his concerns, but with a significant majority Republicans were able to get their goals through on that bill. I made clear that I researched the concerns brought to us by the minority and that was acknowledged But at the end, when you have to pass a bill, we do have a conservative agenda, and when the research was done, we moved it, Schultz said. PHOTOS: Iowa LGBTQ Rights Rally at Capitol Iowa LGBTQ Rights Rally Iowa LGBTQ Rights Rally Iowa LGBTQ Rights Rally Iowa LGBTQ Rights Rally Iowa LGBTQ Rights Rally Iowa LGBTQ Rights Rally Iowa LGBTQ Rights Rally Iowa LGBTQ Rights Rally Iowa LGBTQ Rights Rally Iowa LGBTQ Rights Rally Iowa LGBTQ Rights Rally Iowa LGBTQ Rights Rally Iowa LGBTQ Rights Rally Weather Alert .Warming temperatures this weekend are bringing 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 today. ...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. && ...WINTER MAKES A BRIEF RETURN THIS WEEK... Another cold storm moves into the region Monday into Tuesday bringing gusty winds, significantly cooler temperatures, and chances for rain and snow showers. * WIND: Gusty southwest winds this afternoon and evening will be even stronger on Monday and Monday night. Please see the Wind Advisories for additional details. Gusty west winds to continue Tuesday and Wednesday as well. * SNOW: The word most of us don't want to hear at this point. Yes, snow will move into the region Monday night into Tuesday morning, mainly in the Sierra from Tioga Pass north, northeast California, and far northern Nevada near the Oregon border. Totals along the northern Sierra crest may reach 5 to 10 inches, with 1 to 4 inches possible in northeast CA west of US-395 and the Tahoe Basin. The question remains how much will stick to roadways given the recent warmth and mid-April sun angle. Expect slowdowns in the Sierra Monday night during the period of heaviest snowfall. Spotty light rain and snow showers are possible into western Nevada. * COLD: Temperatures will drop about 20 degrees by Tuesday, with the winds making it feel that much colder. There is a 50-80% chance of sub-freezing overnight lows Tuesday night and Wednesday night even in lower valley locations. You may want to turn off irrigation and protect exposed pipes, along with any new sensitive vegetation. ...WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM MONDAY TO 8 AM PDT TUESDAY... * WHAT...Southwest winds 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 50 mph expected. Wind prone locations may see gusts to 65 mph. * WHERE...Greater Reno-Carson City-Minden Area and Lassen- Eastern Plumas-Eastern Sierra Counties. * WHEN...From 1 PM Monday to 8 AM PDT Tuesday. * IMPACTS...Gusty winds could blow around unsecured objects. Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...High profile vehicles may have difficulty along I-80, I-580, and US-395. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Now is the time to secure loose outdoor items such as patio furniture and trash cans before winds increase which could blow these items away. The best thing to do is prepare ahead of time by making sure you have extra food and water on hand, flashlights with spare batteries and/or candles in the event of a power outage. && ISLAMABAD, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Five terrorists were killed during an intelligence-based military operation in Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the military said in a statement on Friday. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistan army, said that security forces conducted the operation in North Waziristan and South Waziristan districts of the province. "During conduct of the operations, five terrorists were killed after an intense exchange of fire," the ISPR said. Weapons, ammunition and a large quantity of equipment were also recovered from the killed terrorists, it added. The Pakistani army is determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism from every inch of the country's territory with an unflinching resolve, said the military. As Planned Parenthood Opens New Abortion Center in Ontario, Oregon, Stanton Healthcare Parks 37-foot Women's Mobile Medical Clinic Next Door NEWS PROVIDED BY Stanton Healthcare March 10, 2023 BOISE, Idaho, March 10, 2023 /Christian Newswire/ -- Yesterday, Planned Parenthood opened an abortion center in Ontario, Oregon, in response to Idaho banning virtually all abortions after Roe v. Wade was overturned. Ontario is located on the border of Oregon and Idaho and is just a 45-minute drive from Stanton's flagship, life-affirming medical clinic in Meridian, Idaho, where they share a parking lot with the largest Planned Parenthood facility in Idaho. Stanton Healthcare is a women's healthcare clinic which specializes in serving women with unexpected pregnancies by providing professional medical care, practical and emotional support, women's wellness care, and a special outreach to refugee and marginalized communities. Stanton is based in Idaho with affiliates across the country and internationally. Stanton Healthcare is deeply troubled that the Ontario Planned Parenthood is engaged in "abortion trafficking" as it attempts to move illegal abortions across state lines. Linda Thomas, Director of Community Outreach for Stanton Healthcare, states: "Planned Parenthood is aggressively continuing their profit-driven agenda of abortion as the solution for women facing unexpected pregnancies. They are actively sending Idaho women across state lines into the border town of Ontario, Oregon. But no woman wakes up in the morning and wants to have an abortion. "Of the women we see at Stanton Healthcare who are considering an abortion, a full 90% report feeling pressured to do so by someone they trust. Abortion is not the option women choose when they have the support they want and deserve. That's why we're in Ontario with our mobile medical clinic." Brandi Swindell, CEO and Founder of Stanton Healthcare, comments: "It is deeply troubling that Planned Parenthood is engaged in 'trafficking' abortion across state lines as well as supporting the violence of abortion against the women and children of Oregon. "Stanton Healthcare could not remain silent or indifferent as we brought our 37-foot, state-of-the-art, mobile medical clinic right next door to Planned Parenthood to serve the women of Oregon and Idaho. "Working with the pro-life and human rights communities in both states, Stanton Healthcare is committed to providing women with professional medical care, practical and emotional support, and wellness care. "While Planned Parenthood treats women as a commodity for profit, Stanton Healthcare is dedicated to providing women with unexpected pregnancies hope and tangible support at no charge." For more information or interviews contact: Linda Thomas at 208.803.1646. SOURCE Stanton Healthcare CONTACT: Linda Thomas, 208-803-1646 Share Tweet SANTA FE The state House passed legislation Thursday that would revise New Mexicos public records law to exempt from release certain cybersecurity records and law enforcement video of death notifications, nudity or certain other images. The proposal, House Bill 232, also would require people requesting law enforcement video to include either a police report number, computer dispatch number or a date range. A request using a date range would need to include the officer name, time or location of what the requester is seeking. Rep. Debbie Sarinana, an Albuquerque Democrat who sponsored the bill, said it would be the first substantial update to the states Inspection of Public Records Act in 30 years a change necessary, she said, to address the proliferation of electronic records and information technology. The New Mexico Foundation for Open Government has been involved in discussions about the bill and isnt formally opposing the measure. It won approval 46-19 with all dissenting votes from Republicans. Rep. Cathrynn Brown, a Carlsbad Republican who opposed the bill, suggested the cybersecurity provisions might curtail scrutiny of voting machines and election technology. Im concerned this bill might prevent citizens from questioning or challenging the use of certain election systems, software, connections to the internet, things like that, she said. Sarinana said the proposal would have no impact on the election code. Rather, she said, the changes are intended to prevent records requests that might reveal security protocols, such as the length of suggested passwords. Were looking at protecting IT systems, Sarinana said. The state Inspection of Public Records Act allows the public and media outlets to obtain police reports, official correspondence involving elected officials and other government records. The law already has exemptions for trade secrets, documents outlining medical treatments and law enforcement records that reveal confidential sources, among other exceptions. Footage from body cameras which New Mexico law enforcement officers are required to wear under a 2020 state statute is available under the open records law. The bill would shield from disclosure certain tourism marketing records, information technology vulnerabilities and law enforcement records. In some cases, people who want to view law enforcement video covered by an exemption such as a death notification or nudity could do so but wouldnt be permitted to make a copy. The measure now heads to the Senate in the final nine days of the legislative session. Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto, D-Albuquerque, is jointly sponsoring the bill with Sarinana. SANTA FE Legislation intended to create a permanent funding stream for environmental conservation and outdoor recreation is headed to the full House after advancing through its final legislative committee. The proposal, Senate Bill 9, would establish two new permanent funds and call for spending $50 million over the next four years to support conservation and other efforts. The bipartisan bill sponsored jointly by Republican Sen. Steven Neville of Aztec and Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe drew support from a broad coalition of environmental, agricultural and outdoor recreation groups. But the cattle and woolgrowers associations opposed the bill, raising questions about whether some of the money might be used to buy large tracts of land and drive up prices. Neville said the legislation doesnt expand authority for land acquisition and is intended to pay for existing programs. It would create an endowment-like system, he said, that would make state cash available to secure federal matching funds. Were leaving millions of dollars on the table, he said. Wirth said New Mexico is the only western state without a similar fund for land and water conservation. What were trying to do here is for all New Mexicans, he said. A budget proposal pending in the Legislature would provide about $100 million to support the effort half of which would be doled out over the next four years. The funding would go toward forest conservation, watershed restoration, healthy soils, outdoor recreation and the propagation of game and fish, among other programs. The House Appropriations and Finance Committee passed the bill Thursday, sending it to the House floor. It passed the Senate 33-7 last month. There has been increasing media coverage of the growing crisis of medical care in New Mexico. In New Mexico, 32 of the 33 counties are federally designated Health Care Professional Shortage Areas. In primary care and many specialties, there are plenty of stories of patients who do not have timely access to a doctor. Recent stories highlighted the 700 doctors who left the state from 2017-21. Given this background and with the second-highest percentage of physicians close to retirement, we cannot afford to lose any more doctors. As a native New Mexican, I practice here to be in my home, and surrounded by family and friends, many of whom I treat as patients. However, New Mexico is a challenging place to practice medicine for many reasons, including the significantly higher Medicaid populations and lower Medicaid reimbursement than in surrounding states, and the higher medical malpractice insurance premiums. The 2021 Medical Malpractice Act, House Bill 75, was well-intentioned, but caused medical malpractice insurance premiums to soar. Additionally, the act classified some outpatient facilities in the same group as hospitals, which will make malpractice coverage impossible to obtain and force more medical practices to close, and even more doctors to leave the state. There are several solutions to the insurance problems brought on by HB 75. Opposition to these new changes to medical malpractice focus on select patient stories of loss rather than the well-being of the overall medical system, or even the Patient Compensation Fund. Few people in or out of medicine would disagree that patients should have their malpractice cases subjected to review and, if warranted, receive just compensation. That is why the Patient Compensation Fund was created, by providing coverage for lifetime medical care. Instead, it is being targeted by trial attorneys who have driven many of these changes. With no cap on the fees they charge, this has become a piggy bank to target. Insurance companies are now unable to offer coverage to doctors and many outpatient facilities with these much higher rates, as they are classified with hospitals. Curiously, none of the supporters of these increased caps has proposed capping attorneys fees or subjecting them to judicial review at trial. Physicians are tasked with responding to new challenges in health care. We are currently providing more care in the outpatient setting, where, for many patients, it is more convenient, comfortable and safe, and, for insurance payors, results in less cost than a hospital setting. These positive changes should be reflected in the malpractice legislation, including Senate Bill 296. As physicians, we seek to help patients and potentially heal them. We want our state to be a vibrant place to live for all New Mexicans. We want to be able to retain and attract the best and brightest doctors instead of ranking last in so many categories. One important component is ensuring the Patient Compensation Fund is financially sound without passing an unreasonable burden on to physicians. Multiple medical groups may have to close by Jan. 1 if changes are not made. Remember, these doctors are the ones you trust to give you and your family the care you deserve. Not having them will continue to topple the dominos until there are too few left standing to make a meaningful difference. SANTA FE A New Mexico aid-in-dying law thats been targeted by a federal lawsuit would be updated to clarify that doctors with conscientious objections can refuse to help patients seeking to use the law, under a bill approved Thursday by the state Senate. The Senate voted 38-0 in favor of the legislation, Senate Bill 471, that would add the conscience language into the End-of-Life Options Act that allows terminally ill New Mexicans to seek a doctors help to end their life by prescribing lethal medication. This is simply an acknowledgement of conscience and the right to exercise that conscience when it comes to participating in the law, said Sen. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, during Thursdays debate. He also said he believed the proposed language addition would address the concerns raised in the lawsuit, though he said he had not spoken directly to attorneys in the case. A local physician and the Christian Medical and Dental Associations, a Tennessee-based nonprofit group, filed a lawsuit in federal court in December, alleging the states aid-in-dying law violates the First Amendment rights of doctors. No rulings have been issued since the lawsuit was filed, according to court records. The End-of-Life Options Act was passed by the Legislature in 2021 and named after Elizabeth Whitefield, a retired judge who advocated for the legislation but died of cancer in 2018 three years before it was approved. More than 130 people in New Mexico took life-ending medication in 2022, the first full year it was in place, according to state records. As originally drafted, the law stipulates that health care providers who object as a matter of conscience cannot be required to participate in prescribing life-ending medication to a patient. It also prohibits disciplining a provider for a refusal to participate. But the lawsuit filed contends those protections arent strong enough, while specifically citing a provision that says a provider who isnt willing to carry out a patients end-of-life request must refer them to someone else who can help. Sen. Gregg Schmedes, R-Tijeras, a doctor who voted against the 2021 bill, said the proposed revision to the existing law shows lawmakers should be more cautious about conscience exemptions for medical professionals, for both religious and non-religious reasons. He and other Republican legislators pushed unsuccessfully for such language to be left intact when lawmakers repealed a long-dormant state abortion ban two years ago. We need to be very sensitive to those issues, Schmedes said during Thursdays debate. The measure now advances to the House with just over one week left in this years 60-day legislative session. SANTA FE The Santa Fe City Council has decided to delay a decision on a controversial plan to rebuild a Civil War obelisk. The Santa Fe New Mexican reported that dozens of community members opposed to having the Soldiers Monument reconstructed voiced their concerns for hours at a public meeting Wednesday. The council had been set to discuss and potentially adopt the contentious plan opposed by the Santa Fe Indigenous Center and Southwestern Association for Indian Arts and other groups. The Santa Fe Plaza centerpiece dates back about 155 years, but was destroyed by protesters during an Indigenous Peoples Day rally in 2020. All that remains standing is the base of the monument that is currently covered by a wooden box, according to the New Mexican. Initially built as a tribute to Civil War Union Soldiers, an engraving dedicated the monument to the heroes who died in battle with savage Indians. Some residents gathered outside City Hall carrying banners and signs, including one that said: Santa Fe City Council perpetuates violence against Indigenous peoples. Were all for making it easier to vote. The more citizens are engaged in the democratic process, the stronger we are as a state and a nation. Voting prior to Election Day, for example, has become popular in New Mexico since the pandemic. Of the 714,754 ballots cast in Novembers general election, 49.4% of voters cast their ballots at early voting sites and 13.7% voted absentee. Only 36.8% went to the polls on Election Day. But a Voting Rights Protections bill clearing the Roundhouse has virtually nothing to do with actually protecting voting rights and everything to do with threatening voting integrity. House Bill 4 was passed by the Senate on Wednesday by a 27-14 party-line vote and is going back to the House for agreement on some Senate amendments. The 47-page bill Democrat-sponsored bill would direct the Secretary of States Office to automatically mail ballots not absentee applications, but actual ballots every primary and general election to voters who have signed up for a permanent absentee voting list. Presently, voters must request absentee ballots before they are mailed out. Blindly automatically mailing ballots to a hundred thousand or more addresses on a permanent list of voters is a recipe for election fraud. The bill would also automatically register voters at Motor Vehicle Division offices during transactions whether they consent to be registered or not (although customers could later unregister through a postcard mailed to them); automatically restore the voting rights of felons upon their release from custody before theyve completed probation or parole; and make Election Day a school holiday, even though nearly two-thirds of voters are casting ballots prior to Election Day. The bill does have some good provisions it requires each county to have at least two drop boxes for absentee ballots so voters can easily get their ballots in on time and allows for waivers if the boxes arent practical for security or geographic reasons; and it establishes a Native American Voting Rights Act intended to better coordinate access to the polls on tribal land. But overall its about blindly getting as many people to cast ballots as possible valid and informed or not not necessary and important updates to our Election Code, as sponsor Katy Duhigg, D-Albuquerque, claims. Voting is a sacred right. Major laws altering the Election Code shouldnt be about gaming the system. The governor should veto HB 4 if it clears the Legislature. This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 10) The Chinese Embassy in Manila on Friday countered the remarks made by a United States official and warned the Philippines against opening up additional sites under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA). US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland earlier said putting up the new sites would create economic opportunities for the Philippines. She also talked about the promises made by Beijing and asked if most of these promises benefited Filipinos. This did not sit well with China. "Economy and trade cannot flourish without a peaceful and stable regional environment," the Chinese embassy said in a statement. "However, some Americans claim that the four additional military sites in the Philippines to which US forces would have access under the EDCA would bring economic 'opportunities, jobs' to their host communities, and discredit China-Philippines economic cooperation at the same time," it added. China said such remarks showed "total ignorance" of the Philippines' pursuit of peace and cooperation with the East Asian giant. The embassy added that the additional EDCA sites would only cause instability in the region. "Creating economic opportunities and jobs through military cooperation is tantamount to quenching thirst with poison and gouging flesh to heal wounds," the embassy said. "Such cooperation will seriously endanger regional peace and stability and drag the Philippines into the abyss of geopolitical strife and damage its economic development at the end of the day." US responds The US embassy reiterated that it remains committed to its defense ties with the Philippines. "The United States and the Philippines stand together as friends, partners, and allies," it said in a statement. "Now and always, the US commitment to the defense of the Philippines is ironclad, and we are committed to strengthening our economic and investment relationship." PH-China ties over the years Meanwhile, the Chinese embassy noted the cooperation between Manila and Beijing, which has been ongoing in many fronts, including infrastructure, economy, and tourism. "Around 40 government-to-government cooperation projects have been completed or are in progress, including Binondo-Intramuros Bridge, Davao-Samal Bridge and Chico River Pump Irrigation Project," the embassy said. China is also the Philippines' largest trading partner, import source, and third foreign direct investment source. The embassy also cited the benefits of the recent visit of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to Beijing and his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. "Since the state visit many Chinese business delegations are coming to the Philippines, reaching extensive agreements on expanding trade and investment cooperation between the two countries, demonstrating the huge potential and broad prospects of China-Philippines practical cooperation," the embassy noted. A suspect has been charged in the fatal shooting of a 24-year-old woman earlier this year at an apartment complex in Southeast Albuquerque. Elena Ornelas, 26, is charged with an open count of murder in the Jan. 21 death of Sadie Hill. An online obituary said Hill lived most her life in Springfield, New Hampshire, but spent the last few years in Albuquerque. A warrant has been issued for Ornelas arrest. At the time of the shooting Ornelas was on pretrial release in two cases allegedly shooting a woman in the shoulder in December and being found in a stolen vehicle with multiple guns months earlier. Prosecutors filed a motion to detain Ornelas in the December shooting case until trial but a judge denied the motion, saying the charging document fails to provide any supportive facts tying Ornelas to the shooting. The initial complaint filed in Metropolitan Court does not lay out any evidence tying Ornelas to the shooting, aside from her being at a nearby bus stop. An amended complaint filed a day later had more details, alleging Ornelas wore similar clothing to the shooter and told police she was attacked but did not shoot a gun. It appears the judge was provided only the initial complaint and ruled it wholly insufficient to support the shooting charge, releasing Ornelas on pretrial conditions on Jan. 5. By Jan. 20, according to court records, a warrant was issued for Ornelas when she didnt report to pretrial services and her whereabouts are unknown. A day later police responded to a shooting in the 7900 block of Bell SE and found Hill shot to death outside an apartment, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court. Multiple witnesses told police they either heard Ornelas was responsible or were there when she shot Hill. Police said those who frequented the complex told them Ornelas used fentanyl, had shot several other women and was not right in the head. A witness told police of being in the apartment with Hill and Ornelas, who was very twitchy and said she hadnt slept in a week. The witness said the women got into an argument before Hill pointed a pipe at Ornelas and said she was going to shoot her, according to the complaint. The witness told police Ornelas shot Hill and then asked what she should do. At least one other witness corroborated the persons account of the shooting and the pair both identified Ornelas as the shooter from a booking photo. In a news conference days after the homicide, police highlighted Ornelas as one of several people wanted as part of a crackdown on those with felony warrants. She was not yet considered a suspect in Hills death. Detectives are actively searching for Ornelas, Albuquerque police spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said in a release Thursday. Albuquerques lions have arrived at their new home: the Abilene Zoo. Kenya and Dixie, 9-year-old African lion siblings, recently left the ABQ BioPark for the zoo in Texas. BioPark officials said their lion habitat in Albuquerque was built in 1984 and the move will provide the two lions with a better environment. The BioPark plans to make renovations and create a state-of-art habitat that could allow for lions to return in the future, but no timeline has been announced. Their new enclosure in the Lone Star State has shade, platforms, a small creek, a dam, places to scratch themselves and several lion dens. From their new habitat, Kenya and Dixie can see rhino, hogs, birds, ostrich, zebra, warthog, lemur and fossa, said Clay Carabajal, the Abilene Zoos supervisor of conservation. The pair arrived Tuesday night and zoo officials opened them up to their new home Wednesday morning. Carabajal said Kenya immediately took to his new space and started rubbing on everything to mark his territory. He said Dixie was a little bit hesitant after the move, but by Thursday afternoon she was lying next to her brother from a platform, where visiting school groups sparked Kenyas attention, Carabajal said. Kenya has been getting to the highest points of his habitat. And he just sits there and he just watches everything walk, Carabajal said, adding that Kenya seems particularly curious about a nearby rhino, and watching ostriches run. BioPark officials said while its sad to see the apex predators move, the transfer worked out for the best. The move was coordinated through Association of Zoos and Aquariums African Lion Species Survival Plan. This is a moment of real progress, said Shelle Sanchez, the city of Albuquerque arts and culture director. Because the welfare of the animals, Kenya and Dixie, is the priority. Kenya and Dixie were born at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park and moved to Albuquerque in 2016. Dixie weighs 271 pounds; Kenya 434. African lions are native to savannahs and grasslands. The median life expectancy for the species in human care is 17 years. Stephanie Stowell, the BioPark director, said the zoo intends to someday be a home for lions. Our intention is to maintain that commitment to having lions as a part of the BioPark, she said. Just not right now. Two New Mexico teachers are celebrating after getting a grant to help their Indigenous students pursue a career in STEAM science, technology, engineering, arts and math. KOAT-TV will spotlight the story in its news broadcast Friday as part of The Good News File. Sergio Torres, a science instructor at the Native American Community Academy, or NACA, is known for making science fun with hands-on learning. He says this type of learning is a way society can propose solutions and call for action. The other teacher is Nate Raynor, who is at Mescalero Apache School. Raynor also was awarded the grant and will use it for school projects. He says the students are working on an interesting project about air quality. The Good News Files is a collaboration among KOAT-TV, News Radio KKOB and the Albuquerque Journal, with each entity taking turns featuring stories that make you smile. More Bright Spots CIUDAD VICTORIA, Mexico (AP) The anonymous tip that led Mexican authorities to a remote shack where four abducted Americans were held described armed men, people wearing blindfolds and plenty of activity around a ranch. Authorities headed for the rural area east of Matamoros on Tuesday morning, leaving the highway and driving remote dirt roads looking for the described location, according to Mexican investigative documents viewed Friday by The Associated Press. Finally, they saw the wooden shack far from any homes or businesses, surrounded by brush, and a white pickup parked outside that matched the one the Americans had been loaded into last Friday. Then they began to hear someone shouting, Help! Inside the shack, the documents said, Latavia Tay McGee and Eric Williams were blindfolded. Beside them were the bodies of Shaeed Woodard and Zindell Brown, wrapped in blankets and plastic bags. When authorities arrived, McGee and Williams shouted desperately to them in English. A guard who tried to escape out a back door was quickly apprehended, the documents said. He was wearing a tactical vest, but there is no mention of him being armed. The four Americans had crossed into Matamoros from Texas so that McGee could have cosmetic surgery. About midday, they were fired on in downtown Matamoros and then loaded into the pickup truck. Another friend, who remained in Brownsville, called police after being unable to reach the group that crossed the border. A Mexican woman, Areli Pablo Servando, 33, was also killed, apparently by a stray bullet. In the letter obtained by The Associated Press through a Tamaulipas state law enforcement official Thursday, the Scorpions faction of the Gulf cartel apologized to the residents of Matamoros where the Americans were kidnapped, Servando, and the four Americans and their families. But relatives of the abducted Americans said that the purported apology has done little to dull the pain of their loved ones being killed or wounded. Woodards father said he was speechless upon hearing that the cartel had apologized for the violent abduction captured in video that spread quickly online. Ive just been trying to make sense out of it for a whole week. Just restless, couldnt sleep, couldnt eat. Its just crazy to see your own child taken from you in such a way, in a violent way like that. He didnt deserve it, James Woodard told reporters Thursday, referring to his sons death. The cousin of Williams, who was shot in the left leg during the kidnapping, said his family feels great knowing hes alive but does not accept any apologies from the cartel. It aint gonna change nothing about the suffering that we went through, Jerry Wallace told the AP on Thursday. Wallace, 62, called for the American and Mexican governments to better address cartel violence. U.S. Ambassador Ken Salazar told reporters Friday that U.S. officials had contacted President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador directly over the weekend to ask for help in locating the missing Americans in Matamoros. He said the cartel there must be dismantled. The letter attributed to the cartel condemned last weeks violence and said the gang turned over to authorities its own members who were responsible. We have decided to turn over those who were directly involved and responsible in the events, who at all times acted under their own decision-making and lack of discipline, the letter reads, adding that those individuals had gone against the cartels rules, which include respecting the life and well-being of the innocent. A photograph of five bound men face-down on the pavement accompanied the letter, which was shared with The Associated Press by the official on condition that they remain anonymous because they were not authorized to share the document. A separate state security official said that five men had been found tied up inside one of the vehicles that authorities had been searching for, along with the letter. That official also spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the case. On Friday, Tamaulipas state prosecutor Irving Barrios said via Twitter that five people related to the violence had been arrested on charges of aggravated kidnapping and homicide. He said only one other person had been arrested in recent days. ___ Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Mark Stevenson in Mexico City and Acacia Coronado in Austin, Texas. Beautiful and meaningful art can mesmerize a person into appreciation, but it can also offer a relation or influence different paths to pursue. The new mural inside the WESST Enterprise Center is there to help everyones talents bloom. On Thursday, the two-story, 408-square-foot mural was unveiled to the public. The Beyond the Living Wall mural by New Mexico artist Jodie Herrera stretches from ground to clearing in the buildings atrium, featuring portraits of three resilient businesswomen in the state Carmen Bolivar, Ndidiamaka Okpareke and Alyssa Begay all whom were present at the event. Yini Wang, development officer at WESST, explained the project came to be by bittersweet chance. The infrastructure behind the living wall in the buildings atrium broke and the plants were replaced by a white wall. We support pretty much everything. Maybe we can just do a mural thats inspiring because we support local artists, Wang said about how the team wanted to approach the blank canvas. The amount of responses to the companys request for proposal were sentimental. Wang said, All the people who have a good heart, do the good things for the community we help them and they come back we believe. WESST is a nonprofit that supports budding entrepreneurs in New Mexico. Since 1989, it has offered a system that includes a variety of consulting and training services to help women, people of color, and low-wealth and underserved individuals create and sustain a multitude of businesses. Wang explained, Sometimes people come in with different ideas and they just want to be an entrepreneur and have 10 different ideas we help them with those ideas. Cassandra Sambrano, director of marketing communications at WESST, added, We have to make sure that people have the building blocks to remove the barriers that are presented to them in general in order to make viable businesses. All three women in the mural were WESST clients. Bolivar ran a bridal and event company until the pandemic unfortunately led to the closure of her business. She did not let that deter her entrepreneurial spirit, however, as she recovered and opened a food truck. Okpareke is the president and owner of Olive Tree Pharmacy, an independent compounding pharmacy designed to branch away from larger corporations in the industry and offer a better and more customized form of care. Begay, who is based in Farmington and a member of the Navajo Nation, fulfilled her dream to open a realty company, and is now a consultant for WESST. Small businesses are the way our economy grows and overall supports community, so thats kind of where our overarching theme is, Sambrano said. Herrera, who was also a WESST client shared that her time with the nonprofit was a great experience. She said, I thought it was just such a beautiful full circle working with them in the past to be able to help along with my art career, and then being able to contribute to their headquarters, make something beautiful and just commemorate what they do. Herrera was able to pursue and create her dream project Women Across Borders with the help of WESSTs guidance, and her portfolio keeps expanding as her talents gain exposure on national and global levels. I love the fact that they decided to add to the art economy, Herrera said, creating something that really showcased the diversity that they work with there and making sure it was a platform for minority women. Herrera said she worked in peace during the quiet hours of the night and the mural took about a month to complete. She added her signature graphics to the piece, but the three faces of the women are vibrantly highlighted. Their joyous and powerful expressions stagger upward, emerging from open pedals at the base. The flower eventually reaches full bloom, signifying growth and showcasing a connection of individuality. Though Herrera didnt know the other entrepreneurs personally before creating the piece, she said featuring Bolivar, Okpareke and Begay was really intentional. Its representing people that have been really amazing success stories, and thats what I wanted, she said. Instagram TV They believe that the audio and video tapes will prove that the 'RHOBH' alum didn't sexually harass co-star Caroline Manzo during 'The Real Housewives of Ultimate Girls Trip' filming. Mar 9, 2023 AceShowbiz - Brandi Glanville's attorneys have a way to prove their client's innocence. According to a new report, they have reportedly sent a letter to Warner Bros. demanding that the studio release audio and video tapes that they believe will prove that Brandi didn't sexually harass co-star Caroline Manzo during "The Real Housewives of Ultimate Girls Trip" filming. The lawyers claimed that Shed Media, a Warner-owned production company that makes the show for NBCUniversal streamer Peacock, should have released the audio from the stars' microphones immediately. They claimed that the audio would debunk Caroline's claims that Brandi touched her in the breast and genital area without her consent. "It is absolutely unacceptable that your company would knowingly and willingly allow such a story to take hold in the media, without any regard for the truth or the impact on Ms. Glanville's reputation," wrote lawyer Duncan P. Levin, Esq. in a letter addressed to Warner Bros. attorney Demian West, Esq., Warner Bros. investigator Samantha Mirabello and Lisa Shannon, Shed's SVP of programming and development. He added that the studio's decision not to release the tape while the accusations were being reported in the press was a "cynical ploy for ratings." Brandi's legal team accused the idea of trying to get potential viewers' interest with press reports about Brandi's alleged sexual assault. "In that bathroom, as the audio will confirm, nothing inappropriate or illegal whatsoever occurred. As you know both from your [investigation] and the audio and video that you possess, the four women washed their hands before returning to the party where they enjoyed some food and chatted," he wrote, adding, "Throughout, Ms. Manzo appeared to be having a great time and didn't telegraph any signs whatsoever that she wanted Ms. Glanville to leave her side. Overall, the entire incident was comprised of some flirtatious conduct and kissing between Ms. Manzo and Ms. Glanville, and all of it was absolutely mutual and consensual." He additionally wrote in the letter that the studio "aware that three eyewitnesses corroborate her actions; yet, Shed Media and Warners Brothers has [sic] chosen to sit idly by and let this false narrative continue." The letter also noted that "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" star did nothing to discourage Brandi from touching her, was "outspoken about her liberal views on sex" and even offered to allow castmates to touch her breasts to confirm they weren't implants. "Not only did the eyewitnesses ask Ms. Manzo if she was OK, to which she responded with a smile and thumbs up, but, after the alleged bathroom incident, when the group returned to the dinner table," Levin wrote, "Ms. Manzo made a lighthearted comment to the eyewitnesses about having been kissed by a girl before but never having 'kissed back' until now." Levin penned, "The night in question was one that was egged on by your own producers, who, earlier in the same day, encouraged Ms. Glanville to bring some 'excitement' to the party. When Ms. Manzo arrived at the main house, the two women spent time together, enjoying some shots, laughter, and dancing with the other women. It is beyond contention that you provided non-stop alcohol and an environment where the participants were drinking and smoking marijuana all day and night." Levin also said that Shed "instructed Brandi not to seek legal representation or to attempt to correct the public record." He said those instructions were "unacceptable" and "disturbing." You can share this post! Cover Images/Roger Wong Movie The actress, best known for her role on Netflix's series 'Wednesday', is reportedly eying the role of the daughter of Lydia Deetz, who was portrayed by Winona Ryder in the original film. Mar 10, 2023 AceShowbiz - Riding high on her rising popularity, Jenna Ortega is about to score another high-profile project. The actress is reportedly in talks to star in Tim Burton's "Beetlejuice 2", which is currently in development at Warner Bros. According to reports, the 20-year-old star is eying the role of the daughter of Lydia Deetz, who is the daughter of Charles Deetz (Jeffrey Jones). Winona Ryder played Lydia, who is often referred to as a "goth girl," in the original film. Warner Bros. has not responded to the reports. Should she sign up for the movie, it will be the second time Ortega works with Burton, who was an executive producer on "Wednesday" and directed four of its eight episodes. Michael Keaton is reportedly set to return for the sequel and reprise his role as the title character. Production is eying a late May or early June shoot in London, but budget has not been set, resulting in a back and forth. Brad Pitt's production company Plan B officially boarded the project in February of last year. The original film also starred Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis and Catherine O'Hara. Released in 1988, the dark comedy grossed $80 million on a $15 million budget and scored a best makeup Oscar at the 1989 Academy Awards. In 2014, Burton admitted that he missed the character of Beetlejuice. "There's only one Beetlejuice, and that's Michael. There is a script, and I would love to work with him again. I think there is now a better chance than ever... I miss that character. There's something that's cathartic and amazing about it. I think it's closer than ever," the director said. As for Ortega, she is best known for her role as Wednesday Addams on Netflix's recent series reboot "Wednesday", for which she received nominations at the Golden Globe Awards and Screen Actors Guild Awards. She also stars in the fifth "Scream" film and returns in the sequel "Scream VI", which opens in U.S. theaters on March 10. You can share this post! Instagram Celebrity The 'Rap Sh!t' star declares she's never going to Mexico again after her scary encounter with a cartel following reports of the kidnapping of four Americans by the Gulf Cartel. Mar 10, 2023 AceShowbiz - KaMillion had a bad experience during her latest trip to Mexico. The rapper has opened up about her scary encounter with a Mexican cartel in the wake of the kidnapping of four Americans by the Gulf Cartel. On Wednesday, March 8, KaMillion took to her Instagram page to share footage of her and her crew being pulled over by the cartel. She claimed that they took $1,500 from her stylist but they kept asking for more from her. "That's all, $1,500?" one person, who extorted KaMillion and her crew, was heard saying in the video. The raptress responded, "That's all." She also stressed that she didn't have any drugs with her. "[This] is footage of me and my crew in Mexico," the Jacksonville native wrote in the caption. "The cartel pulled us over saw money in our bags and tried to collect money or they said they were taking us away. They took 1500 from the stylist and asked where's the rest. I hid mine but they kept asking for more. Scary stuff." She continued reflecting on the experience that could've turned worse, "Seeing the tragedies unfold in the media when I came back of people being killed I feel so blessed. I'm never goin to Mexico again. Literally my worst trip ever. Police Cartel is different shi crazy. I was told They are associated with the cartel and kidnap tourist and extort money." In the comments section, people expressed their relief that KaMillion made it out alive. "I'm trembling watching this video, and I'm so thankful you made it out," Houston emcee Just Brittany said. Influencer Jessie Woo noted she "got hustled at the airport when I went to Tulum." R&B songstress Lil Mo added, "I'm glad you are OK. Thanks for sharing this. It's REAL out here. And when you're in cartel land, they are ALL in on it. It's WILD." On Thursday, KaMillion further addressed the incident on her Instagram Story. "People are asking me about Mexico. The best advice that I could give you is don't stay in an Airbnb. Stay somewhere that's in a developed community because our a** was in an Airbnb," she said in a video. "The streets weren't even paved where we was staying at." The "Love & Hip Hop: Miami" alum went on claiming that the tires on her vehicle were also slashed. She later stressed that she's never going back to Mexico again. KaMillion didn't specifically mention when the incident took place, but she shared her story in the wake of the recent kidnapping of four Americans in Matamoros, in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas, on Friday, March 3. Sadly, two of the travelers and an innocent Mexican bystander were killed by the Gulf Cartel. The two American tourists, Zindell Brown and Shaeed Woodard, are believed to have been targeted by mistake and were not the intended victims. Investigators believe a Mexican cartel likely mistook them for Haitian drug smugglers. On Thursday, police discovered five men with a note claiming to be from a Gulf cartel faction saying it wanted to turn over those behind the abductions. The alleged kidnappers were found with zip ties in a truck near the intersection where the four Americans were kidnapped last week. The cartel wrote in the letter, "The Gulf Cartel Grupo Escorpiones strongly condemns the events of Friday, March 3 in which unfortunately an innocent working mother died and four American citizens were kidnapped, of which two died." You can share this post! Instagram Celebrity The British monarch has officially conferred the royal title, previously given to late Prince Philip, upon his youngest sibling to mark his brother's 59th birthday. Mar 10, 2023 AceShowbiz - King Charles has given Prince Edward the title of Duke of Edinburgh on his brother's 59th birthday. Honouring the wishes of his late parents, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, the 74-year-old monarch has passed his late father's title on to his youngest sibling, Buckingham Palace announced on Friday, March 10. Besides to mark Edward's birthday, the announcement was also timed to coincide with the prince's visit to the Scottish city. Buckingham Palace said in a statement, "His Majesty The King has been pleased to confer the Dukedom of Edinburgh upon the Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Forfar, on the occasion of His Royal Highness's 59th birthday. The title will be held by Prince Edward for His Royal Highness's lifetime." "The Dukedom was last created for Prince Philip in 1947, upon his marriage to Princess Elizabeth, who held the title of Duchess of Edinburgh before acceding to the throne in 1952. The new Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh are proud to continue Prince Philip's legacy of promoting opportunities for young people of all backgrounds to reach their full potential." As Edward is now Duke of Edinburgh, his wife Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, becomes the Duchess of Edinburgh, while their 15-year-old son James, Viscount Severn, will take on the Earl of Wessex title. In the event of Edward's death, James becomes Earl of Wessex and Forfar, but the Duke of Edinburgh title will be returned to the Crown as it doesn't automatically pass down. The couple's 19-year-old daughter Lady Louise Windsor's title does not change. In 2021, Sophie and Edward recalled Philip - who died in April that year aged 99 - asking his son if he would be willing to become the next Duke of Edinburgh in a conversation that took place just two days after they got engaged in 1999. Sophie said, "We sat there slightly stunned. He literally came straight in and said, 'Right. I'd like it very much if you would consider that.' " Edward admitted it was a "bittersweet role to take on because the only way the title can come to me is after both my parents have actually passed away." And he acknowledged that "theoretically," the title should have gone to his older brother, Prince Andrew, who is also the Duke of York. He added, "My father was very keen that the title should continue, but he didn't quite move quickly enough with Andrew, so it was us who he eventually had the conversation with. It was a lovely idea; a lovely thought." The title has only been created three times since 1726, first for Prince Frederick, the eldest son of King George I. It was then inherited by Frederick's son Prince George, but when he was named King George III in 1760, it merged into the Crown and ceased to exist. But Queen Victoria recreated the title in 1866 for her second son Prince Alfred, instead of the traditional Duke of York honour given to a monarch's second son, but it became extinct again when he died in 1900, a year after his only son, also Alfred, took his own life. In 1947, King George VI created the title again and bestowed it on Philip Mountbatten when he married the then-Princess Elizabeth. You can share this post! Instagram Celebrity The 'You' actor doesn't entirely dismiss the online chatters suggesting he's romancing the male hairstylist whose clients include Kim Kardashian and Jennifer Lopez. Mar 11, 2023 AceShowbiz - Lukas Gage is unbothered by rumors that he's dating Chris Appleton. The "You" actor has sparked chatters that he's romancing the celebrity hairstylist after they recently enjoyed a vacation to Mexico and walked the red carpet together at the Vanity Fair and TikTok's Vanities, A Night for Young Hollywood event in Los Angeles earlier this week. While he declined to confirm the gossip because he's struggling with the "weird line" about being in the public eye and keeping some things to himself, he didn't entirely dismiss the story. "If they want to think that, they can," he told the New York Times newspaper when asked about the romance rumours. "I'm a pretty open book about most things in my life, but I have a problem with the culture of everyone needing to know everybody's business and nothing can be sacred. It's a weird line that I'm still trying to figure out." Last year, the 27-year-old star hit back at a Twitter user who accused him of taking queer roles away from the LGBTQIA+ community, and defiantly declared "You don't know my alphabet" and Lukas has now admitted he often feels pressure to label himself. He said, "All the time. An agent that dropped me was like, 'Stop dyeing your hair, stop wearing weird clothes and pick a lane, gay, bi or straight. It's too confusing.' I understand representation and voices that need to be heard, but I don't want to do anything on anyone's accord but my own. Let me do it when I'm ready. And it's acting. I feel like everyone should get the opportunity to play whatever they want." Following the publication of the interview, the 39-year-old hairdresser - who has worked with the likes of Kim Kardashian and Jennifer Lopez - shared a photo from the newspaper on his Instagram Story and wrote, "Hot & talented @lukasgage (sic)." You can share this post! Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 10) The number of Chinese vessels spotted this week in the vicinity of Pag-asa Island and Sabina Shoal in the West Philippine Sea has declined, but radio challenges continue, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) reported Friday. The PCG said of seven radio challenges issued by Chinese vessels on Thursday, four came from Pag-asa Island while three were recorded in Ayungin Shoal. The PCG conducted a maritime domain awareness flight in the West Philippine Sea on Thursday, where it has observed a significant number of foreign flagged vessels, including Chinese maritime militia (CMM) and People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy and Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) vessels. From 42 vessels last week, the PCG reported that the number of suspected CMM vessels observed around Pag-asa Island decreased to 15. READ: Chinese Coast Guard, militia vessels spotted anew near Pag-asa Island But the PLA Navy's Jiangdao Class warship and CCG vessel 5203 continue to loiter within Pag-asa's 12 nautical mile territorial sea, it added. There was also a decrease in the number of CMM vessels over Sabina Shoal to 17 from 26 vessels observed two weeks ago. Meanwhile, the PCG said a Chinese Coast Guard vessel maintained its presence in Ayungin Shoal at roughly six nautical miles from Philippine Navy vessel BRP Sierra Madre. READ: Chinese vessel blocks, aims laser at Philippine Coast Guard near Ayungin Shoal The PCG said a complete report on the flight will be endorsed to the National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea for review and analysis. PCG Commandant Admiral Artemio Abu also assured the public that the agency will remain "steadfast in advancing the national interest." Now in its seventh year, #MyFreedomDay, CNNs one-day, student-driven social media event to raise awareness of modern-day slavery, returns on March 16. The driving force behind this years event is a call on students and communities worldwide to Know the Signs of modern-day slavery, as a key tool to identify and stamp out human trafficking in their communities. Thousands of students from more than 100 countries around the world have accepted this years call to action, with students organizing online discussions, book clubs, art exhibitions, video campaigns, live music performances, among many other activities being planned. #MyFreedomDay coverage will kick off at 12am ET on CNN International, with correspondents contributing throughout the day from Atlanta, Hong Kong, and London among others. CNN correspondents will also highlight remarkable stories of survivors of human trafficking from such diverse places as Bolivia, Cambodia and San Diego, California. On Saturday, March 18, CNN International will broadcast Fighting for Mercy: A CNN Freedom Project Documentary. This film follows Mercy Esther, a survivor who at just 8-years-old was taken from her village in rural Tanzania and forced into domestic servitude in a faraway city. At 16, she made a daring escape to find her family and reclaim her life. Working with the Kulczyk Foundation, the CNN Freedom Project investigates this common reality in Tanzania and highlights one brave Tanzanian woman, a survivor of domestic servitude herself, who has devoted her life to saving girls like Mercy Esther and changing the mindset of people who have allowed this abuse to become a part of the culture. CNNs #MyFreedomDay microsite, CNN.com/MyFreedomDay will offer interactive content to Know the Signs of modern-day slavery in all its different forms and serve as education tools for students and broader audiences worldwide. CNN is encouraging students to share their responses to the question What does freedom mean to you? using the #MyFreedomDay hashtag, which will be showcased on the microsite. Leif Coorlim, executive editor of the CNN Freedom Project, said: Year after year, we are amazed by the response of students from around the world, who, inspired by the remarkable stories of survivors of human trafficking, turn their alarm into action. This year, we are honored to offer them practical tools to know the signs of modern-day slavery so that they may amplify this message and help put an end to it wherever it occurs. GumGum, a contextual-first, global digital advertising platform, has unveiled the results of a new study that found significant brand safety violations in advertising on kids CTV content. The research found that 20 percent of all ad breaks targeted to children contained at least one inappropriate ad, including ads for alcohol, casinos, gambling, adult hygiene, pharmaceuticals, and foods with high sugar/fat content. GumGum conducted a human review of over 100 childrens shows that aired on a representative sample of leading video streaming apps, including both free and paid streaming services. The study was conducted to test what audiences see in multiple states over the span of 4 months. The types of ads flagged as inappropriate for children were compiled according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)s rules, regulations, & recommendations. We are living in a video-first world where basing insight on just a simple keyword or generic metadata description isnt going to work not only to avoid specific content, like childrens shows, but for targeting and placing relevant ads as well, said GumGum, CEO, Phil Schraeder. There is a huge gap in the CTV ecosystem that most advertisers and publishers arent aware of and there is something we can do about it. Most advertisers today still rely on basic ad verification and brand safety technologies that only analyze the generic metadata descriptions for videos. When content information is shared, it is self-declared and not consistent across supply sources leaving advertisers to make decisions based on limited metadata, such as genre or channel name. This results in ads intended for adults routinely appearing alongside childrens content, violating strict regulations in the United States. Advances in artificial intelligence mean advertisers now dont need to rely on patchy video description data and can analyze video content at scale on a much deeper and forensic level. GumGums accredited contextual intelligence platform, Verity, for example, can evaluate videos on a content level or a frame-by-frame basis, without relying on the presence of metadata and video descriptions, giving a more precise reading of what the video content is about. GumGum is developing a machine learning model for Verity specifically trained to identify made-for-kids content, which will result in a specialized classifier to predict whether a web page or video is made-for-kids. There is a major gap in the CTV supply chain and its something we cant ignore, said Schraeder. We are working with people like IRIS.TV, who have developed the IRIS_ID, a content identifier that publishers can use to securely share their content's video-level data. We are also encouraging advertisers to evaluate the tech they are using to support their growing video strategy. Having technology that can understand all the elements of a video, is critical now but also a key component to navigating video and future interactive environments like In-Game and the Metaverse. GumGum recently announced that following a rigorous testing process, it is the first ad tech provider to earn an accreditation from the Media Rating Council (MRC) accreditation for content-level analysis for brand safety, suitability, and contextual analysis for CTV inventory. This accreditation further proves GumGums commitment to transparency and ensuring advertisers can trust the technology they are using to place digital ads across all digital environments. Into its 4th year now, WOMEN DISRUPTORS has become an industry standard for women leaders who are bringing about a positive and definitive change not just in their organisations, but the industry and society as well. Over the years, women leaders have proved more than their mettle on their capabilities, crisis handling expertise, leading forward businesses as well as turning obstacles into growth opportunities. Women Disruptors 2023 endeavours to celebrate and turn the spotlight on women leaders at the forefront of steering India Inc through turbulent times as well as influencing and encouraging a future generation of leaders. The 4th edition of Women Disruptors 2023, held on March 6, 2023 in Mumbai, turned the spotlight on how women are heading the business innovations, in a panel discussion on Women leaders spearheading the next level of business innovations. The session was moderated by Nisha Singhania, CEO & Managing Partner of Infectious Advertising and the esteemed panelists included: Anita Kotwani, CEO, Carat India Deepali Naair, Director, Bengaluru Sales Centre & Digital Sales Centre Growth (JAPAC) IBM Elizabeth Venkatraman, Joint President & Head of Marketing and Partnership, Kotak Mahindra Bank Pooja Pathak, Managing Director, Media Mantra The session commenced with the speakers discussing the significance of women in helping create innovation. Deepali Naair acknowledged, Its just not innovation, but the way you are running businesses. I think what got documented in the last three to four years during Covid was that very different leadership skills are required to manage the workforce to ensure not just innovation, but business processes running inside an organisation. When you look at the factors that were important, you will find that women leaders are better in all the factors required to keep the businesses running, and moreover, they are more empathetic. So thats getting recognised everywhere. What was documented very well in the past was that women multitask much better. But the new model of leadership that is required now is an empathetic one. She further added, They bring diverse points of views into businesses, they have a different point of view in the way they lead, the way they think the businesses ought to be run, which leads eventually to great innovations. Coming from an IT company, I can say that wherever a woman is at the top, as far as STEM is considered, those companies tend to do better. I think you all might have come across a post on LinkedIn, the top tech person in the company that has made ChatGPT, was a woman. On the other hand, Elizabeth Venkatraman believed, It has been said for a very long time and data has also proven that a diverse leadership has actually shown profits. When there is a different kind of leadership, perspective, opinion, insights and the way you run things, that makes a place different. Different is a very qualitative statement, but it means profitable, successful and sustainable. Citing the example of SODEXO, she said, An example of SODEXO is where the diversity ratio is approximately above 50%, which you dont see very often. That is said to be one of the most successful formats of diversity, which has proven to benefit a business enterprise. The discussion then shifted to the importance of collaboration and womens role in it. Anita Kotwani emphasised in depth on how imperative a skill collaboration is. She noted, I think it is a very imperative skill if we talk about collaboration. It works much better, lets say when you have a leadership which is more command & control vis-a-vis a relationship leadership, which is where you marshal your resources together and work closely with them. Collaboration is giving everybody an equal voice. Collaboration is about listening to other peoples perspectives and points of view. Collaboration would come in when you give people the opportunity to speak up, take a relevant idea from an intern or junior and convert it into a larger organisational goal. So, the larger part of collaboration is partnership within the larger ecosystem. Look at how our ecosystem is changing. I as an individual or one company cant have the expertise of everybody. So, when I collaborate or partner with stakeholders, it adds to the offering. I think its integral in the way forward that businesses will be built. Pooja Pathak added here, When there is collaboration, what really happens is that women are the ones who are ready to empower themselves, ready to recognise each other and are ready to recommend each other. So, when these three things are aligned, then collaboration is something which definitely happens and this is a very positive reinforcement which we need for our women gang. And when it comes directly from there, it only brings out happy hormones for everyone. That is what we can bring across at every responsibility that we hold as women whether professional or at a personal level. We know that we have to multitask, but we definitely need that empowerment to keep that multitask force alive. These are edited excerpts from the panel discussion. For the complete conversation, watch below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmcGxJ_AtSo Majority of countries in Asia are committed to gender equality, however, half believe that the move to equality has come at the expense of men, a new global study conducted in 32 countries by Ipsos in collaboration with the Global Institute for Womens Leadership at Kings College London for International Womens Day has revealed. Among the key findings: Globally, seven in 10 people (68%) agree that there is inequality between men and women in terms of social, political, and/or economic rights in their country, down slightly from 2017. Most Asian markets echo similar views, including India (81% agree), Malaysia (76%), Thailand (75%), and Australia (71%). One in two (54%) people globally say that when it comes to giving women equal rights to men, things have gone far enough in their country which has beengradually increasing since 2019. The Asian markets of Indonesia (80%), China (79%), Thailand (79%) and India (74%) have the highest proportion of people agreeing with this view. There are concerns about the impact of equality on men, with half globally (54%) agreeing men are expected to do too much to support equality, which is also an increase on 2019). The Asian markets of India (76%), China (69%) and Malaysia (65%) have the strongest agreement in the region. Almost (48%) of people globally agree that things have gone so far in promoting womens equality that men are being discriminated against.Indians (74%) felt most strongly about the discrimination among Asian countries, while citizens of Malaysia (52%), Australia (51%) and Singapore (48%) displayed polarised views. Three in five (62%) globally agree that there are actions they can take to help promote equality. Throughout Asia, Chinaranked higher than the global average on this issue (78%), followed by India (76%), Thailand (75%), Malaysia (73%), Indonesia (71%), Singapore (65%) and Australia (59%). More than half of people globally (56%) report that they have taken at least one action in the past yearand most Asian countries displayed similar opinions, particularly in India, China, Malaysia, and Indonesia. More than one third of people globally (37%) are scared to speak out for women's rights because of repercussions up from 2017.Asian countries most scared to speak on womens rights were India (65%), Malaysia (58%), Thailand (52%), Singapore (44%), South Korea (37%), China (36%), Indonesia (35%), Australia (31%) and Japan (25%). Hamish Munro, Ipsos APAC CEO, said, Every year on International Womens Day all countries take stock of how they are performing in promoting gender equality. Our survey findings show there is still a lot to be done to foster a conducive environment for gender equality.This years theme of #EmbraceEquity, lays emphasis on equity, but this should apply for both the genders as men are perceived to be getting a short shrift with no focus on them. Inclusion for both genders is important. Ena Rivera, Ipsos APAC HR Director, said, Ipsos celebrates women and men. We celebrate our differences and make all employees comfortable in who they are. As the best place to work in the industry, we have imbedded diversity and inclusion in the business where all of us belong at Ipsos and have equal access to opportunities. Last year, we introduced work from anywhere arrangement to enable our colleagues to integrate work with life and achieve balance. Amit Adarkar, CEO, Ipsos India, said, The survey shows that there is inequality between men and women despite all the work done to bridge the gap in providing gender parity. Interestingly, Indians like other global and Asian citizens claim to be taking different actions for promoting gender equality. At Ipsos India we provide an equitable, gender-neutral environment to enable personal growth for all. We provide a hybrid working and now even Work From Anywhere to enable employees to balance their work and life. Balaji Pandiaraj, IWD Initiative Lead, Ipsos India, said, Our new global IWD Survey 2023 data reveals positive outlook towards #genderequality in India. Breaking social barriers, Indians are seen becoming more open, in promoting equality however there is a sense of biasness where men feel there is too much is being expected out of them in promoting Equality. Findings in detail global and Asia Most agree that there is inequality between men and women but differ on whether men benefit from gender equality A global average of 68% agree there is currently inequality between men and women in terms of social, political, and/or economic rights in their country. In Asia, inequality between men and women in terms of social, political, and economic rights is claimed across most countries, led by India (81%), and followed by Malaysia (76%), Thailand (75%), Australia (71%), South Korea (71%), Indonesia (70%), Singapore (63%), China (63%) and Japan (61%). There is a similar level of agreement that women wont achieve equality in their country unless men take action to support womens rights (64% global average). Asian countries, too, have similar views higher than the global average, led by Indonesia (82%), India (73%), Malaysia (71%), Australia (84%), Singapore (62%), China (61%), Thailand (61%), South Korea (55%) and Japan (50%). The majority globally (62%) say there are actions people can personally take to help promote equality between men and women. MostAsian countries endorsethis view including China (78%), India (78%), Thailand (75%), Malaysia (73%), Indonesia (71%), Singapore (65%) and Australia (59%). More than half globally (55%) believe equality between men and women will be achieved in their lifetime the Asian markets most optimistic were Thailand (80%), China (76%), India (74%), Malaysia (68%), Singapore (61%), Indonesia (56%), and Australia (50%) - across the 25 countries that took part. People around the world believe young people will have a better life than their parents generation although a larger proportion feel optimistic about the future of young women (51% global country average) than for young men (42%). Asian markets predominantly believing young people will have a better life than their parents were China (69%), India (63%), Singapore (62%), Indonesia (59%), Australia (57%), Thailand (56%), South Korea (59%) and Malaysia (49%). When asked whether gender equality mainly benefits women, mainly benefits men, or is good for both men and women, half globally (53%) say it is good for both genders, with a further 18% saying it mainly benefits women. Men are more likely than women to agree that gender equality mainly benefits women (22% of men compared to 13% of women). Only 8% say that gender equality mainly benefits men. Asians believe gender equality benefits both men and women especially among citizens of Indonesia (71%), China (68%), Thailand (65%), Singapore (62%), Australia (56%), Malaysia (56%) and India (50%). A majority (54% globally) agree that when it comes to giving women equal rights to men, things have gone far enough in their country a view a shared by Indonesia (80%), China (79%), Thailand (79%), India (74%), Singapore (62%), Malaysia (59%), South Korea (46%), Australia (43%) and Japan (21%). Almost half (48%) of global citizens agree that we have gone so far in promoting womens equality that were discriminating against men. India (74%) has a stronger view on this than other Asian markets such as Malaysia (52%), Australia (51%), Singapore (48%), South Korea (46%), China (45%), Indonesia (37%) and Japan (30%). On average across 25 countries, the proportion of people who think men are being expected to do too much to support equality has risen by 9 points from 43% to 52% between 2019 and 2023. Day-to-day incidents of sexism persist, but most say theyre able to take action despite an increasing belief that theres risk in doing so Four in 10 globally (43%) report witnessing at least one of type of gender discrimination in the past year, with the most common being hearing a friend or family member make a sexist comment (27%). This is echoed by India (33%), Indonesia (32%), Malaysia (29%), Australia (26%), Thailand (25%) and Singapore (23%). Three in 5 (59%) globally say they have taken at least one action to promote gender equality in the past year. The most common actions taken include talking about gender equality with family or friends (32%), speaking up when a friend or family member made a sexist comment (21%), and talking about gender equality at work (21%). However, more than a third globally (37%) said they have taken no action in the past year. More than a third of people globally (37%) say they are scared to speak out and advocate the equal rights of women because of what might happen to them. Between 2017 and 2023, the average proportion of people across 22 countries feeling scared to speak out has risen from 24% to 33%. Finally, younger generations are more optimistic about the future than older age groups, but they are also more cautious about the risk of speaking out and more concerned that gender equality negatively impacts men. Technical Details These are the results of a 32-country survey conducted by Ipsos on its Global Advisor online platform. Ipsos interviewed a total of 22,508 adults aged 18-74 in the United States, Canada, Malaysia, South Africa, and Turkey, 20-74 in Thailand, 21-74 in Indonesia and Singapore and 16-74 in 24 other markets between Friday, December 22, 2022 and Friday, January 6, 2023. The sample consists of approximately 2,000 individuals in Japan, 1,000 individuals in each of Australia, Brazil, Canada, mainland China, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Spain, and the U.S., and 500 individuals in each of Argentina, Belgium, Chile, Colombia, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates. The samples in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, and the U.S. can be taken as representative of their general adult population under the age of 75. The samples in Brazil, Chile, mainland China, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, and the UAE are more urban, more educated, and/or more affluent than the general population. The survey results for these countries should be viewed as reflecting the views of the more connected segment of their population. redRail - the rail ticketing platform by redBus, has launched a content property for its social media platforms, that takes audiences through the inspirational journeys of unique travellers in an interview series, known as Window Seat. redRail by redBus has interviewed Surekha Yadav, who is Asias first loco pilot, in the launch episode of the series and has released a 10- minute interview with Surekha, that captures her journey from her childhood to her education, the challenges faced and her role at present. The conversations are intended at inspiring hundreds of thousands of people who seek motivation and advice from those who have made a difference. redRail by redBus roped in Juhi Sharma, a filmmaker working in documentaries, fiction films, music videos and branded content, to interview Surekha. Below are excerpts from their informal conversation. On being asked about how Surekha came by her profession and why she chose trains- She never thought or dreamed about becoming a motor woman or a loco pilot, though she was fascinated by trains since childhood, but after completing her education, she applied for the job and the criteria was to have a diploma in any stream and be over 18 years of age. She cleared the 3 steps- the written test, the viva and the psycho test. And from there, her journey began. Before the selection she didnt believe she had the calibre for it, but once selected, she was determined to be a train pilot. A bit about her family background and childhood- Surekhas father was a farmer and they lived in Satara. She received good encouragement on the education front since childhood as her parents and relatives were supportive of her yearning to learn. That gave her the confidence and the foundation to make it to her position. What people say and about being judged for making her way into a male bastion- Surekha states that people judge and comment, no matter who you are and what you do, thats how society is, but what we need is a mindset that allows us to focus on what we do. Then people are compelled to change their mindset about you. She believes there is no job or area that is male dominated, it is just that women have not entered that field yet and once they do, there is no question of dominance. At the beginning of her career, there was certainly a mindset that women could not manage or drive trains, but all it took was a bit of determination and confidence, especially since the criteria for the job did not require the candidate to be a man or woman in particular. Surekha did not look at her job or role through the lens of gender, but only through competence or the aptitude for it. There is enough and more encouragement that comes once the person is successful in his or her endeavour. She thanks Indian Railways for giving her the opportunity of a lifetime to pursue her dream job. Turning points in her career as a loco pilot- The first train that she operated was a goods train and as an assistant driver. She worked under the observation of the driver and after about 5-6 years, she herself became the driver. In 1999, she was appointed to operate one of the Mumbai local trains, which is the lifeline of the city. She has been extra careful not to let her seniors and peers down as she is the centre of attention and more so because she is responsible for the safety and punctuality of so many people. Surekhas favourite route to operate trains - She loves all the routes she drives on, especially the ghat sections and Kasara to Igatpuri is her favourite, for its greenery. She takes trains on those routes even now, where they couple a banker engine from behind to take the help of two engines to climb the gradient, once they reach the peak the banker engine is uncoupled, while the train keeps moving. She remembers piloting the Deccan Queen train and when she set up the engine on the 8th of March in 2011 at Pune, there was a grand ceremony organized, which included taking her arthi, and welcoming her with a dhol and a massive crowd had gathered. Surekha was overwhelmed and there were tears in her eyes. She also has fond memories of piloting the Ladies Special Express from CST to Kalyan in Mumbai The interaction culminates with Juhi asking Surekha if she uses online booking on her phone to book train tickets and Surekha asserting that online booking has made things extremely easy for people as it saves time, with bookings now possible in seconds and on the go. Integral Ad Science (IAS) is a global leader in digital media quality. IAS makes every impression count, ensuring that ads are viewable by real people, in safe and suitable environments, activating contextual targeting, and driving supply path optimization. Its mission is to be the global benchmark for trust and transparency in digital media quality for the world's leading brands, publishers, and platforms. The company does this through data-driven technologies with actionable real-time signals and insight. Founded in 2009, IAS works with thousands of top advertisers and premium publishers worldwide. In conversation with Adgully, Saurabh Khattar , Country Manager of Integral Ad Science, talks about the industry-leading innovations at IAS that continue to enhance the digital advertising space, the real-world challenges and opportunities for Indian advertisers, media quality aspects in ad fraud, brand safety, suitability, viewability, attention, supply path optimization, and more. Excerpts: About IAS India Operations Whats IAS doing in India. What are the expansion plans? IAS is a media quality company; we make sure that wherever any advertiser is spending money, it's in a safe and suitable environment. There are three basic parameters of media quality: brand safety and suitability, ad fraud, and viewability and attention matrix; we generally call it BAV. We provide media quality to our advertisers so that they can optimize their campaigns toward the better-quality of investments. We have integrations with a lot of social networking sites like Meta, Youtube, LinkedIn, and Spotify. We are also connected with renowned advertisers who are advertising in India like Samsung, Nestle, GSK, Coca-cola, etc. We are also trying to explore and expand in new areas such as CTV, Audio Players, Pandora Globally, and Gaming Players. What were your biggest growth drivers in 2022? The growth is coming from various areas. For media quality, a lot of education is required for the Indian market. A lot of advertisers are new to verification; they need to understand the importance of verification. And there are a lot of companies who have started to utilise the tools and insights in order to enhance their campaigns and better cost efficiencies. First and the foremost thing that plays a major role in growth is verification. All these advertisers apply the layer of verification on their social campaigns. We see a lot of advertisers who are spending on social but the campaigns arent very effective. We have seen a lot of spending happening in the programmatic also. What are some of the biggest social media platforms IAS works with in India? There are many social media channels that we work with in India, but to name a few: Meta, Youtube, Spotify, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. We also work in Microsoft Advertising Networks, and Yahoo Advertising Networks. We have recently partnered with Twitter for brand safety. What are some challenges the Indian AdTech industry faces in 2023? Everyone wants to make sure that the money they spend is spent in a more cost-effective and efficient manner. There are budget cut challenges happening; there are a lot of clients who are increasing their budgets also. The situation that is there in the market has a trickle-down effect on India also. To summarise, all the agencies want to ensure that their budget is spent correctly and that they are adopting a lot of data and insights to get a better ROI. The focus of advertisers has been shifted to spending smartly in advertising. There are also a few challenges in terms of ad fraud. The ad fraud percentage globally has increased over the years. There are different types of ad fraud that keep on happening. In 2023, as per the reports, 68-billion-dollar worth money will be wasted. Brands that have mitigation strategies always talk about brand safety whereas brands that dont are always afraid of their brand being seen around in such unsafe environment and they might ask about it. According to our research, 46% of users will not use your brand if it isnt relevant according to the trend and if its around unsafe content. About IAS What are the industry trends and challenges in digital advertising in India? One of the biggest trends is because of financial hindrances, industries, and agencies are becoming smarter in terms of how they have to spend their money. Moving from measuring basic metrics such as likes, shares, and saves, etc. towards a qualitative matrix that is time, attention and visibility, etc. A lot of new media channels for advertising are emerging like gaming, audio podcasts, etc. Brands are also counting their advertising budgets on these channels. How will you define the current state of digital media quality in India? As per our media quality report, ad fraud percentage has increased globally. Viewability has also increased from 54% because of awareness regarding the same; all these brands are optimising their campaigns according to the viewability and they are using their data, tools, and strategies for viewability. There is 500% of negative news and brand-unsafe news, but awareness is also there. How do you see the rollout of 5G impacting digital advertising? How will this influence the revenue and demand of AdTech platforms like IAS? The number of users using mobile phones and the internet is increasing in India. 5G will accelerate that growth, because of 5G, a lot of new technologies have also come and all these techs require faster internet. These new technologies are definitely going to attract new users and brands are going to spend the money where they see the audience. We see that we have more integrations with new platforms. If the number of users has been increasing in India, brands are willing to spend more on their media budgets. Why is IAS important for brands and agencies? All these brands have a set budget for the year, and they have multiple media channels and plans over there. They have to spend smartly and they want to understand how and why they are spending there and it becomes very difficult for a marketer to understand where and when to spend. Then there is the importance of a neutral and transparent player who can ensure wherever they spend their money is in a safe environment. When they spend, the quality of data and insights is so important that they can optimize their future campaigns accordingly. About Programmatic Advertising How effective is contextual advertising and why is it increasingly important? Contextual has been there since print times. It has improved in this cookieless world. People are finding new ways to target the audience and contextual tech has grown in terms of technology. IAS has its own tech where we understand the sentiments and emotions of that page. It analyses the grammar and sentiment of a particular page and contextualizes it accordingly. We use contextual capabilities to see if any of the news or trends fit in for a particular brand or not. Programmatic advertising has always faced challenges around trust and transparency. What steps is IAS taking to tackle these challenges? We have two sides of technologies: Pre-bid and Post-bid. Pre-bid is before bidding on the programmatic environment; well apply our IAS technology and they can choose the filters accordingly. Post-bid is while spending money on programmatic; youll get all the data and insights as to where your money is spent, and you can take the data to make decisions. About Ad Fraud, Brand Safety, and Brand Suitability What are some of the brand safety challenges faced by brands and agencies in India? How does IAS help here? There are many brand safety concerns. There are also some customized concerns like basic hygiene concerns such as staying away from articles that promote violence, alcohol use, etc. There is also a suitability goal. If I am an alcohol brand, Ill be talking about alcohol very subtly. Ill be making sure that basic hygiene factors are followed and the content filtered accordingly. With the phase-out of third-party data, contextual targeting will take prominence. Make sure advertisers are in the right place and in a positive environment. With this tech, we can create custom segments for each and every brand. About IAS Innovations/ Emerging Mediums How is IAS innovating digital media quality solutions for emerging mediums like social media (TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, etc.), audio (Spotify, Pandora), and gaming (Anzu, Gadsme)? We always keep on innovating or envy the team. We keep on having new integration everywhere. With the increasing time spent by the user on audio, we have done the latest partnership with Spotify and Pandora as well regarding brand safety. Post- covid, people have started investing a lot of time in gaming as well. Anzu and Gadsme are one of the biggest players in the gaming industry. We have integrated with them for IBT which is ad fraud and viewability. How can marketers break their cookie addiction and figure out the alternate third-party cookie before the Chrome 2023 deadline? The addiction is anyways going to break because of privacy laws Apple has already adopted and Google is adopting (that is phasing out in 2023). Markets and agencies are trying ways to reach the audience. We have tested and tried a lot of new things in terms of contextual advertising and it has been proving a great way for reaching out to the target audience on the basis of their sentiment analytics. Moving from quantitative to qualitative aspects is very important for brands to understand that the quantity of likes and shares is not the actual number that can give you the quality. All these marketers are now understanding these prospects. As the audience is getting smarter, brands are also being careful. Tejas Apte who heads media for Unilever in South Asia will now be the lead for the ISA media forum while Ankit Desai who is Head of Media & Digital Marketing India & Global Centre of Excellence, Marico will continue to be the co-chair. Commenting on the development Tejas Apte said, The Indian media landscape is dynamic and exciting. This creates new opportunities for advertisers to engage with their consumers. I am excited to take the lead of ISAs media forum and work towards greater engagement and creating new learning opportunities for all the constituents of ISA. With over 16 years of experience working with both the agency and brand sides, in his previous stint Tejas was working as the Global Media Director for Unilever, based out of Singapore, creating and executing media strategy for a host of global brands, leading the Branded Content Center of Excellence and Programmatic & Data Center of excellence. Ankit Desai said, In a rapidly changing media landscape, the ISA has a key role to play in helping members adapt to the latest trends and technologies. I believe that collaboration, knowledge sharing, and innovation are keys to success for our industry and I am committed to working with Tejas and the other members to achieve these goals. Ankit is an Industry veteran with 18 yrs. of rich experience working across brands, agencies, and Publishers like Marico, Hotstar, GroupM, and NDTV. Confirming the development, Sunil Kataria, Chairman of ISA and Raymonds CEO said, I congratulate Tejas and Ankit on their appointment as ISA Media forum Head and co-chair. With the inexorable growth in technology and the media landscape evolving quickly, there is a need to help the members keep abreast of the latest happenings in the advertising and marketing world with Ankit and Tejas in place, I am confident we have the leadership needed to drive positive change. With the support of ISAs eminent Executive Committee and through global network of World Federation of Advertisers, the ISA Media Forum is uniquely positioned to make a difference. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 10) The leader of the House of Representatives urged Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo Teves to return to the Philippines amid allegations he was behind the assassination of Governor Roel Degamo. READ: Authorities raid properties owned by family of Rep. Teves, alleged mastermind of Degamo slay "I advise Rep. Arnie Teves to come back to the country as soon as possible," House Speaker Martin Romualdez said on Friday. In a Facebook post dated March 6, Teves claimed that he was in the United States for medical treatment. Teves earlier maintained he and his family had nothing to do with the March 4 killing of Degamo and eight others. READ: Negros Oriental solon denies involvement in Degamo murder "His authority to travel to the United States is covered only by the period February 28 to March 9, 2023. Clearly, the TA [Travel Authority] of Rep. Teves has expired effective today. His travel outside the country beyond the period mentioned is no longer authorized by the House of Representatives," Romualdez said. "Makabubuti rin na umuwi si Cong. Arnie para harapin ang pagkakadawit ng pangalan ng kanilang pamilya sa pagkamatay ni Gov. Roel Degamo," he added. [Translation: It would be good for Teves to come home in order to deal with the reported involvement of his family in the killing of Degamo.] Meanwhile, House Secretary General Reginald Velasco said in an interview that Teves had tried to request for a TA extension as it had expired on March 9, but that his request was invalid and could not be acted upon. Velasco clarified that the House of Representatives has no authority to compel Teves to come home, and has no requirement to be notified by the lawmaker if there is a case against him In time, we'll learn how our country's political foibles play out. Will the United States retain even a semblance of the greatness it once possessed, or not? Measured from our peak to where we are now, there's a Grand Canyons breadth of difference. There was a time when we led the world into the greatest prosperity ever achieved. American productivity and genius had the world marveling and trying to imitate everything from our arts and sciences to our culture. Whether I was working in Venezuela, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Senegal, Israel, Europe, or wherever else, all you had to do to see and feel America's influence was to read the local t-shirts or listen to the local music. Walk down any foreign street, and there would be a Coca-Cola sign or a Kentucky Fried Chicken eatery. America's influence was everywhere. People wanted what we had, and they wanted to be American. (Many still do, because they implicitly understand what native-born Americans either no longer believe or never learned from their pampered daily lives.) American generosity is legendary. We ship millions of tons of food and grain annually. I remember proudly seeing warehouses full of 200-pound sacks of wheat emblazoned with the "A gift from the American People" logo. On occasion, in the 1990s, I sometimes saw those bags relabeled, thanking some dictator or warlord for his beneficence. The grain would often be sold by the despots, or withheld to starve populations into submission. American officials knew, yet allowed such abuse. No nation on earth has been as generous, but damned simultaneously for that generosity. Why do so many believe America to be permanently tarnished? How can this possibly be? Let's first unpack how public opinions are formed. (Remember, agendas to politically influence the average citizen using a false narrative falls under the broad topic of propaganda.) To start, they come for the children as Lenin purportedly said, Give us the child for 8 years and it will be a Bolshevik forever. My fight against lies and misinformation began at a young age. I remember being in the first grade and being asked at Christmas to collect money for a United Nations agency called UNICEF ostensibly, the organization existed to supply food for children in underdeveloped nations. My dad then showed me an article reporting that Cuba was trading our donated grains to a third-party to buy military vehicles a manufactured food shortage and I immediately understood that I was initially sold a lie. I began distrusting the government and the UN, although I did not yet understand the imperative role that propaganda played in order to elicit loyalty to a central government as its agents starved their own people. I did not understand how some could behave so inhumanely. Sadly, I learned to distrust much of what my friends and their parents believed which was how I came to understand groupthink. I turned in my donation box to my teacher and told her why. I can't exactly remember how she took it; but not well. My dad however was pleased, and bought me a subscription to Human Events, a well-known weekly conservative newspaper. Secondly, they wage a cultural war against everything that made America great. Our country has been filled with America-haters for generations. The world's emigrating intelligentsia, escaping places that either no longer wanted them or were actively trying to kill them, found a home in the melting pot of America. Think asylum-seekers (well-versed in Marxism) from Franco's Spain, or communists of all stripes and persuasions coming to our welcoming shores with ideologies that would undermine the country that provided for their safety. Our idle rich sponsored those who wished to turn our country into some revolutionary dictatorship like the Soviet Union or the Peoples Republic of China. The most productive and upward-moving country in the world, built by freedom and capitalism, coveted worldwide, was lost on those revolutionaries who came here. The American middle class was born in April 1939 at the World's Fair in New York, where Westinghouse began selling the concept of a middle-class lifestyle. Although we didn't create the idea of middle-class life, we became the world's most outstanding example of what capitalism and economic freedom could achieve. All this was without the oppressive hand of government tinkering with Adam Smith's masterworkthe Invisible Hand. Today, the middle class is under attack, in America and around the world: outright government interference, and less-obviously, Woke policies that are intentionally designed to dismantle what Marx and Engels call the bourgeoisie. I pound my drum, warning everyone who will listen about the enemy within, excited at how much they've changed thus far. American-style free enterprise depends on a couple of things to work correctly: the first is the possibility for self-enrichment. Without that, there is no impetus to work harder. The second: a government that doesn't believe prosperity comes through heavy-handed legislation, but rather relies on capitalism to enlarge the pie for all. Obama's government said, "You didn't build that! but every free-thinking person should understand that the government creates nothing, it only consumes. Obama's handlers tried to clean up this utterance by saying he was inartful but Obama was never inartful. As someone who never worked in the private sector, he believes government has all the answers, while conservatives believe in individual effort. There can be no reconciliation between these two philosophies. Today, all levels of the American government employ about 25% of the workforce. (This hyperlink shows the massive increase in government workers in the last ten years. (Accurate numbers are difficult to find because unknown additional millions of contracted workers who work exclusively for the government should be included in the count, but arent.) These individuals won't bite the hand that feeds them perhaps without realizing it, government workers of all stripes belong to the elite class. Return to our "A Grand Canyon of Difference" title. Much as the Titanic story revealed, there are not enough lifeboats. When the Ship of State fails, it will save its own a bit longer, but in the end, all will be together in the icy water. This is the greatest lesson we must take to heart, and protect ourselves accordingly. There is almost no individual safety net that does not have an end date. Collective safety can only be found through understanding who and what is trying to kill us and then summoning the guts and determination our enemies don't believe you can muster. Ultimately, we must return to our roots, as imperfect and unfair as you might have been told they are. Only in an empowered and energized America, organized around principles of self and family, can we once again become that unique beacon of hope and prosperity we used to be. Otherwise, think of us as little more than a dying carcass left to the scavengers. What then? God Bless America! Allan J. FeiferPatriot, Author, Businessman, and Thinker. Read more about Allan, his background, and his ideas to create a better tomorrow at www.1plus1equals2.com. Image: Free image, Pixabay license, no attribution required. Deputies stress strength in manufacturing By FAN FEIFEI (China Daily) 09:15, March 10, 2023 Technicians check washing machines at a manufacturer in Chongqing. WANG QUANCHAO/XINHUA Industry leaders underline high-end sectors, innovation, homegrown tech China's stress on high-end manufacturing will help create a modern industrial system, safeguard industrial and supply chains, and foster new competitive strengths, said national legislators and political advisers. They called for concerted efforts to make breakthroughs in core technologies, given that upgrading the manufacturing sector has been high on China's development agenda as a requirement for bolstering the real economy. Their comments came after President Xi Jinping said manufacturing is an indispensable sector to China at all times. He made the remark during a deliberation with a delegation of fellow deputies from Jiangsu province on Sunday during the first session of the 14th National People's Congress. Currently, China's manufacturing sector boasts a complete range of categories, Xi said, adding the country will strive to develop high-end manufacturing to realize all-round improvement, and provide full support for its development. Miao Wei, deputy director of the Committee on Economic Affairs of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the nation's top political advisory body, highlighted the importance of achieving breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields and resolving bottlenecks, so as to improve the resilience and safety of industrial and supply chains. Miao, the former minister of industry and information technology, said efforts should be made to give full play to the role of leading enterprises, step up support for small and medium-sized enterprises and foster more "little giant" companies that specialize in niche industries with cutting-edge technologies and great growth potential. Manufacturing is the foundation of a country, and the high-quality development of China's manufacturing sector has entered the fast lane buoyed by digital technologies like cloud computing, big data, internet of things and blockchain, said Zhou Yunjie, a deputy to the 14th NPC, and chairman and CEO of Chinese home appliance giant Haier Group. "As the country is making efforts to build itself into a manufacturing powerhouse, more push is needed to promote innovative application of industrial internet and fully unleash the value of massive data resources, which is also key to advancing new industrialization," Zhou said. Zhou suggested establishing a quality standard system in the context of new industrialization, and cultivating a batch of industrial big data service providers, who will participate in the formulation of standards and rules related to industrial data ownership confirmation, circulation and transactions. Data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology showed that China accounted for nearly 30 percent of global manufacturing output in 2021, up from 22.5 percent in 2012, and maintained its title as the world's largest manufacturing country. Noting technological innovation is the prerequisite to improving the resilience of industrial chains, Jia Shaoqian, a deputy to the 14th NPC and chairman of Chinese home appliance manufacturer Hisense Group, said leading enterprises should play a significant role in achieving breakthroughs in some core technologies in key fields. He suggested the country should increase support in R&D of the frontier laser display technology, basic materials and basic techniques to boost the core competitiveness in new-generation display technologies. "The high-tech manufacturing sector has become an important driving force for China's high-quality economic development," said Li Dongsheng, a deputy to the 14th NPC, and founder and chairman of consumer electronics maker TCL Technology Group Corp. China's manufacturers should transition from exporting products to exporting industrial capacities, ramp up localized operations abroad and avoid trade barriers to enhance their global competitiveness, he said. Dong Mingzhu, chairwoman of Chinese home appliance maker Gree Electric Appliances, said Chinese enterprises should stick to independent innovation, and master core technologies so as to promote the upgrade and transformation of the country's manufacturing sector. Dong, also a deputy to the 14th NPC, said it is important to push the manufacturing sector toward higher-end, smarter and greener production, adding talent is key to promoting the high-quality development of manufacturing. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Wu Chaolan) Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 10) Eight personnel from Japan will help the Philippines address the oil spill incident in Oriental Mindoro and nearby areas, the Japanese Embassy in Manila said. The Japan Disaster Relief (JDR) Expert Team is composed of two personnel from the embassy, five from the Japan Coast Guard and one from the Japan International Cooperation Agency. Three of the Japan Coast Guard representatives also belong to the National Strike Team, an expert unit in oil removal. The team will be led by Nihei Daisuke, minister of the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines. It will coordinate with the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in investigating the extent of damage as well as provide guidance on the ongoing oil removal and control efforts. Equipment such as oil blotters, oil snares and oil-proof working gloves will also arrive in the country today, together with the JDR Team. On Monday, MT Princess Empress, a tanker carrying 800,000 liters of industrial oil, was found 7.5 nautical miles from Balingawan Point, facing Pola Municipality in Oriental Mindoro. The tanker caused an oil spill, which affected the coastal waters of Oriental Mindoro and nearby areas. The PCG said Friday the oil spill has also affected Barangay Casian in Taytay, Palawan. The barangay is located 159 nautical miles or 295 kilometers southwest of Oriental Mindoro. RELATED: Oriental Mindoro oil spill reaches tourist spots DOT Oil spill spreads to more areas in Oriental Mindoro https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2023/3/2/oil-spill-spreads-to-other-areas-oriental-mindoro.html We are at a crisis point in history the likes of which has not been seen for over century. The leadership of the West has been so incompetent that we may have passed the point of no return, In 1908, the already by-then decrepit and corrupt Austro-Hungarian Empire officially annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina. Serbia was furious. There were a lot of Serbs living in the contested area, and the Serbians considered the area to be a natural part of Greater Serbia. Russia was upset. She viewed herself as the protector of Slavs everywhere. In reaction, the Serbian government supported a group called the Black Hand. And in 1914, the Black Hand succeeded in assassinating Austrias Archduke Ferdinand and his wife. So, Austria declared war on Serbia. The Russians decided to defend Serbia against Austria and mobilized. So, the Germans decided to defend Austria against Russia. And the French had an alliance with Russia against Germany. The Germans attacked France through Belgium. The British decided to defend Belgium against Germany. World War I was on, almost automatically. Europe had been primed to go, and it blew up. Today, Russia has invaded Ukraine, and is taking major unexpected losses. One may not like Ukraines Zelensky, but Putin is the aggressor. And Russia became isolated from the US and its allies, though India, China and other nations continue to buy oil and trade with Russia. So also being somewhat isolated not as much as it should be Iran decided to come to Russias aid by selling drones to Russia thus making much needed money, while equipping Russias faltering war effort. Going a step further, Iran has even agreed to move some of its drone production to Russia. Russia needs those drones, and the military technology and production that Iran can provide. So, moving production to Russia seems to be a win-win for the both of them. However, Israel wants to cripple Iranian military output, because Iran has promised to destroy Israel. In the past, Israel has attacked Iranian military manufacturing facilities both in Iran and Syria. Iran has blamed Israel for a drone attack on a military site in the central city of Isfahan on Saturday. -- BBC Israeli Strike Targeted Iranian Drone Assembly Site Near Damascus, Syrian Rights Monitor Says Haaretz Now, with the move of Iranian production to Russia, Iran has insulated its manufacturing facilities from direct Israeli attacks though there is always the option of Stuxnet variety malware attacks. Russia has also agreed to return enriched uranium to Iran. Iran reached a secret agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin in July to bypass a future renegotiated nuclear deal over its reported illicit atomic weapons program, enabling Moscow to return Tehrans enriched uranium, according to a media report Jerusalem Post Russia is overtly assisting an intended destroyer of the Jewish state. To that end the destruction of Israel the Iranians have also armed Hezballah to the teeth in Lebanon. Hezbollah has an estimated 100,000 short-range rockets capable of striking northern Israel, several thousand missiles that can reach Tel Aviv and central Israel and hundreds more that can strike the entire country. -- Times of Israel Iran is on the verge of building atomic weapons, and according to some reports, is only days away. 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. - AP NEWS Top US Defense official says Iran could produce one bombs worth of fissile material in about 12 days - CNN Given that Iran subscribes to a martyrist view of Jihad, a major loss of life would not deter Iran from a war in order to achieve its aim of destroying Israel. The Jews however want to live, and given Israels diminutive size where 1 nuclear weapon could wipe out a large part of the country Israel has no options but to preemptively attack Iran. This is not avoidable by negotiation. President Biden would not be able to stop the war, and Israel would go ahead with or without American approval. Israel has no choice. When that attack comes, it may require Israel to use nuclear bunker busters to demolish Irans well sunken and fortified manufacturing sites. The genie would be out of the bottle. Russia may then decide to use nuclear weapons on Ukraine, citing Israels use on Iran as a precedent. All hell would break loose. Hezballah would let loose with all its missiles on Israel, which could destroy Israel in a day or two, if Israel does not incapacitate the missiles immediately. Hence, the IDF would begin an immediate heavy saturation bombing of Southern Lebanon. Only the fear of fallout landing on Israel might prevent a nuclear attack on Lebanon. Still EMT, thermobaric, and bunker busters may prove just as deadly. 'Thousands of shells per day' would hit Lebanon if IDF, Hezbollah go to war in the future Jerusalem Post Arabs in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza would erupt. Israel woukd be in no mood to play nice. Expect a thermobaric destruction of Jenin. The equation will boil down to this: Either a million Lebanese and Arab civilians die in a few days, or a million Jews. There would be no quarter from either side. The situation would not permit such luxuries. Syria which is now an Iranian puppet would join in the fracas. And if so, Russia would feel obliged to protect its Mideast ally. Russia and Israel would then be in a shooting war whether limited or total who knows? Israel would hit the Russian naval base at Tartas. And where it goes from there is anybodys guess. Russia would be dragged into this, probably kicking and screaming, but Iran would so maneuver events as to force Russias hand against Israel. Kennedy and Khrushchev could negotiate over Cuba in 1962. The Mullahs would not negotiate, and Israel would not lie down to oblige them. And not only Islam is driving this. The Iranian regime is unstable thanks to the revolt of its females. And one way for a tottering government to save itself is to unify its people over war. This war now seems inevitable. This did not have to be: The Biden administration on Thursday rescinded former President Donald Trump's restoration of U.N. sanctions on Iran, an announcement that could help Washington move toward rejoining the 2015 nuclear agreement aimed at reining in the Islamic Republic's nuclear program. - VOA (February 2021) The Trump administration had Iran on the verge of economic collapse. Within a month of assuming office, Biden rescued the regime by loosening the restrictions, and resuscitated the tyranny. So today, Iran is only weeks away from a nuclear device. Israel will not lie down. It will attack, probably using nuclear bunker busters. Russia will use the war as an excuse to go after the Ukraine with nukes. Syria and Lebanon will be destroyed, possibly also the Russian naval base at Tartus. World War III may be only days away. Only a spark is needed. None of this would have happened, if the re-election of Trump had not been stolen. Photo credit: Public Domain Pictures For long stretches, Bernie Sanders's new book, It's OK to Be Angry About Capitalism, reads like Marx's and Engels's 1848 Communist Manifesto. The only difference is that in their manifesto, Marx and Engels also clearly underline the positive role that capitalism played throughout history. Bernie Sanders, on the other hand, doesn't have a single good word to say about capitalism, and here he resembles Marx and Engels he calls for a working-class revolution to raze the capitalist system to the ground. Sanders's book "calls for a political revolution in which working people come together." The rich are portrayed in an exclusively negative light. He fills page after page with descriptions of the luxurious lives of the rich that are meant to create envy, but he has nothing to say about the great entrepreneurial achievements that made these people rich in the first place. And what Sanders does not say is that the top 20 percent of households in the U.S. pay 83 percent of all federal taxes. What's more, the top 0.001 percent of Americans those whom Sanders so unremittingly targets in his book pay 39.8 percent in taxes. Readers won't find these facts in Sanders's new book, as he is far more concerned with constantly asserting that the rich do not pay enough taxes. "The corporate elite are not nice guys[.] ... They are ruthless, and day after day they sacrifice human life and well-being in order to protect their privilege." According to Sanders, America is a terrible land: "The majority of Americans live lives of quiet desperation." Over and over again, he repeats the thesis that over the past 50 years, the standard of living of average Americans has not improved an oft-parroted assertion that is simply not true. He explicitly equates super-rich Americans with the oligarchs in Russia. This is, to say the least, quite an affront: America's super-rich, people like Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, have become rich by developing and marketing products that benefit billions of people around the world. Russia's super-rich have often become rich through corruption and are mostly renters living off profits from oil and gas. What is Sanders's alternative to this dreadful America? First of all, he calls for the total abolition of billionaires. He devotes an entire chapter to it. A country without billionaires? You would have to look to North Korea, Cuba, or the poorest African countries for that. Does Sanders want the USA to be that kind of country? Apparently, because even in Sweden, which Sanders has often praised as a model, the share of billionaires in the total population is 60 percent higher than in the United States! In the America that Sanders envisions, little would remain of today's Constitution. He describes the Supreme Court as a gathering of "right-wing judicial activists." It is, he writes, "unacceptable and anti-democratic that a handful of unelected lifetime appointees exert the kind of political power they do." He does not openly call for the abolition of the Supreme Court or the Senate, but he does say that these institutions should be "rethought." In general, he does not think much of the American Constitution because, he says, it dates back to 1787 and is no longer suited to addressing modern concerns. In the Constitution as Sanders envisages it, employment would have to be "guaranteed." This is not a new idea; it is in most socialist constitutions. The result has been frighteningly high "hidden unemployment" in socialist countries. The other things Sanders suggests, like rent control, are also common in socialist countries. In communist East Germany, for example, there was a rent freeze that resulted in most of the housing stock being either severely dilapidated or crumbling to pieces. As a German, I was surprised at Sanders's praise for Germany: "Germany maintains carefully plotted industrial policies that allow them to prepare for the future." He is obviously referring to Germany's energy policy. This is absurd: Germany started by shutting down its nuclear power plants, then its coal-fired power plants, and then it banned fracking. Germany now has the gravest energy problems. The price of electricity was already the highest in the world before the war in Ukraine and almost three times as high as in the United States. Today, Germany is forced to import liquid natural gas from the U.S., while fracking is banned in its own country. A model for the U.S.? As far as the health system is concerned, he praises Britain's National Health Service a system that has become a nightmare for many Britons. The fact is that around 8 million Brits have private medical insurance, and around 53 percent say they would like to invest in some sort of private scheme. All in all, with his book, Sanders has given the lie to everyone who has ever claimed that he is nothing more than a "moderate social democrat." No, he is a class warrior who wants to turn the United States into a socialist country. Rainer Zitelmann is a historian and sociologist and author of the new book In Defense of Capitalism. Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0. Joe Biden's "catch and release" open-borders have let five million illegals into the country, dumping their care into the hands of states and cities at a cost of billions. On Wednesday, though, a federal judge in Florida threw the rationale for it out, vacating Biden's executive order to not detain illegal border crossers en masse as a matter of policy, noting that the border had become "a line in the sand" for the U.S., and a "speedbump" for illegal aliens. The case was brought by none other than Florida, home of Gov. Ron DeSantis, and 19 other states, all of which objected to the imposed cost from the Biden failure to enforce the law. Breitbart News called it "a big win" for DeSantis. According to The Hill: The evidence establishes that Defendants have effectively turned the Southwest Border into a meaningless line in the sand and little more than a speedbump for aliens flooding into the country by prioritizing alternatives to detention over actual detention and by releasing more than a million aliens into the country on parole or pursuant to the exercise of prosecutorial discretion under a wholly inapplicable statute without even initiating removal proceedings, Wetherell ruled, according to court documents. In 2021, when the Biden administration implemented the policy which released many migrants into the country as they awaited immigration proceedings officials cited a need to relieve overcrowding in detention facilities amid the coronavirus pandemic. Federal law gives the government discretion to temporarily parole migrants, but Wetherell said the policy violated statutory requirements to consider those decisions only on a case-by-case basis. The administrations policy also ran afoul of the laws requirements for the parole to be for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit and for migrants to be returned to custody once the purposes of parole have been served, the judge ruled. The legal decision is an impressive one, suggesting a very fine legal mind at work, with one slam-dunk refutation after another of the Biden argument that it's somehow entitled to release every illegal border crosser bearing the word "asylum" into the interior of country on "parole" instead of detain them, as the law requires, and let the states and cities pick up the tab. Florida Judge T. Kent Wetherell II ruled that the policy violated Congress's right to set immigration quotas as well as the specific details of the Immigration and Nationality Act, in addition to ignoring the tools Congress gave to the White House to use if it didn't have enough detention space available. What it didn't give an inch on was the White House's claimed right to make up the law as it went along. Much of the ruling can be read at Legal Insurrection here, and the full ruling can be read here. The evidence establishes that Defendants have effectively turned the Southwest Border into a meaningless line in the sand and little more than a speedbump for aliens flooding into the country by prioritizing alternatives to detention over actual detention and by releasing more than a million aliens into the country on parole or pursuant to the exercise of prosecutorial discretion under a wholly inapplicable statute without even initiating removal proceedings, Wetherell ruled, according to court documents. Breitbart News reported that the Bidenites had anticipated that the ruling would not go their way. The judge gave the White House seven days to appeal the ruling before it went into effect and thus far, they haven't said if they will. If the ruling is heeded by the Bidenites, which is a big 'if,' the border surge should end. The intellect projected in this ruling suggests that this judge is Scalia-grade Supreme Court material. He will likely draw a lot of rage from the left, particularly since he was appointed to the post by President Trump, but there is no reason to think he is a partisan -- his dad, after all, was a prominent Florida Democrat. He was just a very fine legal mind. The plaintiffs, led by DeSantis's Florida, should not be discounted, either. A well-framed argument was what it took to shut down the border surge, proving to the judge that the states had standing in this border surge and that it was not happening in a vaccuum. This apparently is what it took, and the fact that DeSantis was behind it is bound to infuriate the Bidenites. For two years it had been an intractible problem, but Ron DeSantis broke through it. Once again, good news comes Ron DeSantis, he always brings us good news. Let's remember that about him when 2024 comes round. Image: Gage Skidmore, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped) // CC BY-SA 2.0 How long have Jan. 6 detainees been held in jail without trial? They are slated to be visited by the indefatigable Marjorie Taylor Greene and other members of the House (including, it must be demanded, House speaker Kevin McCarthy and House Judiciary chairman Jim Jordan). Here is the text of the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution: In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense. [Emphasis certainly added.] A Business Insider article warned that long detentions without trial for Jan. 6 defendants will only encourage "extremism": "Free the Patriots" is already "terrifying" in its power to radicalize, according to extremism expert Alex Friedfeld, a researcher with the Anti-Defamation League. But year-long jail stays and slow-moving prosecutions a consequence of the Department of Justice's ongoing and massive 775-defendant investigation of the Capitol breach are fanning the flames of hate, Friedfeld and other extremism watchdogs say. "It's a very powerful thing they're doing," Friedfeld told Insider of the far right's outrage campaign on behalf of just under 70 "patriots" now held without bail while awaiting trial on the attempted coup's most serious charges. This article appeared in March 2022! Note the reference to "year-long jail stays and slow-moving prosecutions." Will the congressional delegation led by Rep. Taylor Greene find that some Jan. 6 detainees political prisoners, actually, in view of the clear trashing by this administration of the Sixth Amendment's mandate for a "speedy" trial have been held as long as two years? And when (if) they are finally put on trial, convicted, and sentenced to less than two years in prison, do they get damages for false confinement? Where, indeed, is the outrage at the administration's blatant denial of due process for the Jan. 6 detainees? Where are the demands from the media that administration officials be held accountable for transgressing the Constitution and the Founders by their "slow-moving prosecution"? Jim Jordan, the Sixth Amendment doesn't call for "slow-moving prosecutions." Matt Vespa at Townhall, March 9, disclosed that Rep. Bennie Thompson, chairman of the Jan. 6 Pelosi partisan panel, now admits that members of his congressional kangaroo committee did not view the surveillance videos, effectively making accusations without evidence. Vespa included this Thompson comment in his article: "I'm actually not aware of any member of the committee who had access [to the footage]. We had a team of employees who kind of went through the video," he said. But as Tucker Carlson has reported with his Jan. 6 video revelations, Thompson's "team of employees" doctored the tapes to put Republicans like Sen. Josh Hawley in the most unfavorable, indeed embarrassing, light. The Democrat lies about Jan. 6 are beginning to emerge as, previously, did their lies about Trump's ties to Putin and the gamut of their calumnies concerning the N.Y. Post's reporting on Hunter Biden, the COVID-19 machinations of Dr. Fauci and so forth. Behold the Democrat party, the party of political liars, served by a fake news media establishment. The responsibilities of the House of Representatives are clear enough: following the meeting of Republicans and Jan. 6 detainees, held in confinement that is abhorrent to the Constitution, the House must adopt a resolution that rescinds the work of Pelosi's foul Jan. 6 Select Committee, nullifies the subpoenas that issued from the Pelosi panel, and draw up articles of impeachment against Mr. Biden and his Constitution-trashing attorney general. Failing such a course, the GOP will become the owners of the anti-liberty mindset that currently has a stranglehold on the country. Graphic credit: Pixy.org, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. It is fair to say that Donald J Trump was never really given a fair opportunity to govern as president. From the moment he was inaugurated, the Democrats mounted the Trump-Russia collusion disinformation campaign. The Democrats didn't say how Russia meddled with the 2016 elections to help Trump. They couldn't offer proof of votes being altered. They couldn't cite the laws that were broken. But they ordered everyone to unconditionally believe their claims. Dissenters were branded Putin's agents. Their disinformation campaign caused the appointment of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, whose probe existed to create the perception of Trump's guilt. The Mueller team, comprising Democrats who had a personal hatred for Trump, selectively leaked to the media that the "walls were closing in" on Trump. The process became the punishment. The probe managed to slow down the implementation of Trump's agenda, which the D.C. establishment was staunchly against, and it hung like a sword over his presidency for almost two years. The probe and the propaganda surrounding it probably convinced some citizens to vote against the GOP in 2018 and against Trump in 2020. This victory in the 2018 midterms enabled the Democrats to take control of the House. When the Mueller probe failed to get Trump, the Democrats impeached Trump, claiming that he was soliciting foreign interference in 2020 U.S. elections during a call with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. Trump was right to ask Zelensky to investigate Biden. Ukraine has a record of corruption, and the Bidens have records of shady deals in Ukraine. As president, Trump had a right to know if a possible future president was compromised by a foreign power. When the Democrats were not running disinformation campaigns, they engaged in other baseless claims. On some days, they claimed that Trump was a bigoted sinister dictator; on other occasions, he was branded a bigoted criminal genius; at times, he was branded imbecilic, senile, and bigoted. Then COVID-19 struck. The pandemic was used to shut down America with the goal of destroying the remarkable economic progress under Trump. They also knew that lockdowns would spread rage and misery among the population. They know that enraged voters usually vote against the incumbent. The 2020 elections were compromised on various fronts. Big media, Big Tech, and government agencies colluded to suppress the most consequential story of that cycle: the news of Hunter Biden's laptop. The laptop had details of how the Biden family profited due to thenvice president Joe Biden's abuse of power. The laptop also contained videos and photos of Hunter using racist language, consuming drugs, and in flagrante delicto with a sex worker. A poll showed that nearly four of five Americans believe that "truthful" coverage would have changed the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. In addition to that, Mark Zuckerberg spent $419 million to enable far-left activists to infiltrate sacrosanct electoral infrastructure and push for mail-in voting. In the end, 69% of voters nationwide cast their ballot non-traditionally i.e., by mail and/or before Election Day. After the 2020 election, Democrats mounted another disinformation campaign, claiming that Trump had led a deadly armed insurrection at the Capitol to overturn the 2020 elections. Trump was never really allowed to implement the MAGA agenda. It is nothing short of miraculous that despite all these impediments and manufactured scandals, Trump managed to build a strong economy, implement border security, rebuild the U.S. armed forces, make America energy independent, and keep America out of gratuitous wars. The fact that President Trump managed to secure 74 million is proof that citizens appreciate what he did for them. Trump deserves another chance; he deserves to be the GOP nominee for 2024 and must win the elections. Former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake (R-Ariz.) opined about the 2024 presidential elections recently on Newsmax TV. YouTube screengrab. It's "President Trump's turn," said Lake. She urged Ron DeSantis to finish his term in Florida and wait to run until after Trump is no longer in the picture. She lavished blandishments on DeSantis. "I think Ron DeSantis is an effective governor; there's no doubt about that. The people of Florida just re-elected him. I'm assuming when they re-elected him, they were hoping he'd stay around for a while." Lake implied that DeSantis's turn will come later. "I guess he's in his 40s. He's about ten years younger than me." "He's got a long political future ahead of him, and I think he should respect that the people just voted him in as governor and serve out that term for the people of Florida." Lake questioned DeSantis's credentials and wondered if he was the kind who would push for war. During last week's CPAC Republican primary straw poll, Trump won the top spot with 62 percent support compared to just 20 percent support for DeSantis. DeSantis strangely decided to skip CPAC. Following the GOP's underwhelming performance during the midterms, some conservatives attempted to make it a failed referendum on President Trump. They said it is DeSantis's turn to shine and that Trump should step aside in 2024. Some top Republicans, including former Trump officials, are throwing fundraisers for DeSantis in the 2024 U.S. presidential race. Jeb Bush and others have endorsed DeSantis. Fox News appears to be pro-DeSantis. So whose turn is it, really, and who should step aside? That decision is not up to Kari Lake or Jeb Bush or top GOP officials or wealthy donors or the author of this piece. The only individuals who have "their turns" are monarchs. When Queen Elizabeth II passed away, it was Prince Charles's turn to be king. When King Charles departs, it will be Prince William's turn. The public opinion or the merit of the individual doesn't matter here. But the U.S. is, despite what the Democrats are trying to do, a democracy where the citizen is supreme. Citizens who think they have ideas to make America great again must run. Let there be a fierce contest, let them debate, let them fling mud at each other, and let them be uncivil. The failure to have a proper primary could create resentment in the mind of some voters who may think their candidate didn't get a fair chance to contest. These disgruntled supporters of the failed candidate may choose not to vote for the GOP in 2024. That would be a huge loss. It is absolutely essential that the party unites after a fair primary contest. The citizens will ultimately decide whose turn it is and who will represent the GOP in the 2024 presidential elections. It is said that when an individual responds to an allegation with a personal attack, the allegations are probably true, and the accused is most likely guilty. This week, we saw proof of the guilt of the Democrats during two separate instances. We look at Exhibit 1. Tucker Carlson aired episodes based on the security camera footage from the Capitol Building on January 6, 2021. The footage was the most closely guarded secret in the D.C., although newly elected speaker Kevin McCarthy had pledged to release it to the public and did so. Carlson debunked the Democrat narrative of a mass armed and dangerous insurrection with visual proof. The insurrection narrative was mounted by the Democrats and their P.R. agencies that masquerade as news media outlets by slyly editing the footage to convey chaos and violence. Footage of crowds being unruly, lighting up a fire outside the Capitol Building, and windows being broken were played in a loop to push the insurrection narrative. The January 6 Committee hearings were based on unverified claims based on third-party accounts. While they claimed that democracy in the U.S. was under threat, they denied Trump's lawyers the fundamental right that exists in every democracy to question witnesses because they knew that claims made would fall apart after elementary scrutiny. The narrative was used during the 2022 midterms and will be used for the 2024 elections to scare citizens into voting for Democrats. But Carlson burst the balloon of propaganda with the pin of truth. Carlson proved that it was a protest that was mostly peaceful. The protesters were queuing as they toured the building. They took selfies while law enforcement officers accompanied them as they ambled through the Capitol Building. Virtually no one in Washington, Republican or Democrat, wanted to see this tape released tonight. pic.twitter.com/YfpvaIZTbn Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) March 7, 2023 If facts were on their side, the Democrats would not have restricted access to footage in the first place. If facts were on their side, the Democrats would have released footage of every claim they made, and every Democrat mouthpiece would have played it in a loop. The incriminating footage would have been used during the January 6 "trial." But since they didn't have facts, the Democrats are attempting to silence and discredit Carlson. Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer commanded Rupert Murdoch and Fox News to prevent Carlson from airing further episodes on the January 6 footage. Establishment Republicans such as McConnell, Tillis, and Romney, like always, sided with the Democrats. Tucker Carlson on Chuck Schumer joining Mitch McConnell in calling for this show to be pulled off the air: "That's not an argument based on logic, it's based on hysteria and the shame you feel as a weak and terrified person when your lies are exposed." pic.twitter.com/nPqNp5WY1k The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) March 9, 2023 The mainstream media charged Carlson with what they are guilty of: spreading hateful and unsubstantiated claims. YouTube restricted videos of Carlson debunking the Democrat narrative. A series of private text messages allegedly from Carlson that were released by Dominion Voting Systems as part of their $1.6-billion lawsuit against Fox News were assiduously covered by the media to falsely portray Carlson as a conman who doesn't actually believe the claims he is making. In the coming weeks, expect attacks on Carlson to escalate. The aim is to disgrace Carlson to such an extent that he becomes unemployed and unemployable. Now for Exhibit 2. Journalists Matt Taibbi and Michael Shellenberger, who are among the authors of the Twitter Files, were in D.C. to testify regarding Twitter's inner workings before the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government. Twitter had suppressed the expose of Hunter Biden's Laptop which was the most important story of the 2020 election cycle. A NewsBusters poll revealed that 16% of Biden voters would have voted differently had they known of Hunter's laptop. Another survey showed that 79 percent of Americans think Trump would have won re-election if voters had known facts about Hunter's laptop. The Twitter Files series that began last December revealed how the social media giant was colluding with government agencies and Democrat politicians to manipulate the narrative in favor of the Democrats. For every claim they made, they provided evidence of documents or screenshots of correspondence. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) chaired the hearings and made it clear that selective state-sponsored targeting "disinformation" is an attack on the First Amendment. The Democrats reacted by attacking the messenger once again. Rep. Del. Stacey Plaskett (D-U.S. Virgin Islands) branded Taibbi and Shellenberger as "so-called journalists" during her opening statement. Plaskett even attempted the pressure Taibbi to reveal information about his sources, which he rightfully refused to do. WATCH @StaceyPlaskett just falsely claimed she did not ask @mtaibbi to reveal his sources for the #TwitterFiles She did. ROLL THE TAPE. pic.twitter.com/JUVSuD0n61 House Republicans (@HouseGOP) March 9, 2023 Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Texas, asked the journalist duo if they were being paid to testify and also wanted to know of Taibbi's sources. An unhinged Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz attacked the principle of journalism itself and the idea of receiving monetary compensation for their work. Debbie Wasserman Schultz Brings Out Joe Rogan Posters to Make a Point & It Backfires Miserably @mtaibbi @joerogan pic.twitter.com/Qfu28FgJlx Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) March 9, 2023 Rep. Daniel S. Goldman (D-N.Y.), a proponent of the "Russia collusion" hoax, claimed that the government had never actually told Twitter to remove any "lawful" speech from the platform. Jordan demonstrated how to counter falsehoods: you offer proof. This is how he debunked Goldman's big lie. Rep. Daniel Goldman (who bought a congressional seat) says "you cannot find actual evidence of any direct government censorship of lawful speech." Rep. @Jim_Jordan then pulls out an email from the White House to Twitter asking them to censor a tweet from @RobertKennedyJr. pic.twitter.com/HEsr3rQC5E Greg Price (@greg_price11) March 9, 2023 Other Democrats also accused the duo of peddling conspiracy theories for pecuniary gains. The Democrats did not offer an iota of evidence to debunk the claims made in Twitter Files, nor did they offer proof for claims that the journalist duo was doing it for monetary gains only. It has to be remembered that when elected representatives mount vicious attacks against journalists or regular citizens, there is always a subtext of threat. When it is the Democrats, the threat is amplified considerably because the Democrats control the bureaucracies of weaponized government agencies. The raids or arrests or phone confiscation inflicted on Trump allies and the draconian punishments inflicted on Trump-supporters for protesting on January 6 are proof that the Democrats don't just bark, but bite. Beyond reprisals from government agencies, the Democrats are implicitly signaling to their rowdy "protester" wing that dissenting journalists are a target. Taibbi responded sharply to counter Plaskett's vile smear. "I've been a reporter for 30 years, I'm a staunch advocate of the First Amendment." "Ranking Member Plaskett, I'm not a 'so-called journalist.'" "I've won the National Magazine Award, the I.F. Stone Award for Independent Journalism, and I've written ten books including four NYT bestsellers." Reporter @mtaibbi calls out Ranking Member Plaskett for referring to him as a so-called journalist: Ive won the National Magazine Award, the I.F. Stone Award for Independent Journalism, and Ive written 10 books, including four New York Times bestsellers. pic.twitter.com/6LNOr9HmlP Townhall.com (@townhallcom) March 9, 2023 Taibbi and Shellenberger describe the Twitter Files that exposed Democrat overreach as one of the most significant news stories they have covered. The irony is that by mounting these attacks, the Democrats are providing evidence of the very government overreach to control the media that the committee was investigating with this hearing in the first place. Carlson, Taibbi, Shellenberger, and various others are doing what the fourth estate in a democracy must do by holding the powerful accountable. The hearings held by the House GOP are the first step that hopefully begins a journey to punish the guilty, but the hearings must not be conflated with action. Photo credit: Twiter video screen grab. The University of North Carolina imposes Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity (DIE, sometimes DEI) throughout its medical system. Last year, the vice dean for DIE at the medical school, E. Nathan Thomas, declared, "We're infusing DEI into the fabric of the School of Medicine and the institution." In 2021, UNC Health hired its first chief diversity, inclusion, and equity officer at $126,000/year. Neither employee holds a medical doctorate; both serve the UNC School of Medicine Health Executives Committee. The executive dean of the School of Medicine, Cristy Page, co-authored a paper about systemic racism in the health care workforce, which read like a word search puzzle of woke jargon. The paper concluded that merit would no longer be required for leadership positions, and all UNC employees would need unconscious bias training. UNC Health compelled medical department heads to attend Critical Race Theorybased racial equity training. According to a detailed report by the organization Do No Harm, the UNC medical school paid nearly $100,000 for students to attend anti-racist workshops, where they learned, "UNC was built on and profited from the seizure of indigenous land." Individual departments like Pediatrics or Radiology developed their own DIE action plans, with timelines to hold leaders accountable to DIE ideology. The Department of Surgery plan includes "[i]mplementation of Social Justice Curriculum during Surgery Clerkship" and "[h]olistic review of application for surgery residencies." I envision surgery resident candidates writing application essays entitled "Abolition and Appendicitis: How Abdominal Pain Diagnosis Affects Systemic Change" or "I'm Marginalized; Hand Me the Scalpel." Fostering DIE disciples in graduate programs is a dangerous game. This week, a UNC law student was arrested and charged with domestic terrorism for participating in the Antifa attack on an Atlanta police training facility. According to the Carolina Journal, the student (who is male but identifies as she/they) described himself as "a white trans femme organizer in Charlotte who is fiercely committed to supporting Black trans femmes, prison abolition, and destabilizing all forms of oppression." The suspect's father, Michael Marsicano, former CEO of a large progressive philanthropic organization, financially backed a Racial Equity Initiative in Charlotte, N.C. and is a member of the Governing Board of Duke University Health System. Is UNC (or Duke) preparing the next batch of medical students for similar violent activities in the name of anti-racism and equity? UNC medicine and its ideologically driven administration coerced physicians into writing DIE statements on resumes. The Department of Pediatrics sponsors workshops for experienced medical professors on DIE virtue-signaling for promotion requirements. These lectures advocate that DIE statements be "a one-half to full-page summary documenting faculty members efforts' to support and further the [School of Medicine] DEI mission." Obviously, the health care system at UNC has been proud of forcing its DIE ideology into medicine until recently. Coinciding with the decision by the UNC Board of Governors (BOG) to end compelled DIE statements on resumes, the Department of Medicine and Department of Pediatrics password-protected their DIE resources. Publicly funded medical departments are excluding the public from viewing "inclusive" materials without explanation. Why would UNC physicians hide recently available DIE doctrine behind a passcode? Could it be that those who use DIE over merit to advance in the medical hierarchy are afraid of people are recognizing their manipulative tactics? Are woke administrations scared that the public understands how DIE "kills the intellect"? Was the UNC BOG decision a signal for DIE-deluded doctors to hide their insidious ideology? The answer is all of the above. Exposing the ideologically driven far-left activism behind DIE and pushing back work. The ideologues are scared, shielding their ideas of "inclusivity" from the very public that funds them. They know that what they are doing is wrong. Last year, the Department of Pediatrics removed two DIE resources (the gender-fluid Genderbread Man and supporting documents for the 1619 Project) following open criticism. After the BOG decision, UNC medical departments reluctant to give up DIE entirely now hide the materials from view, knowing that their inclusive documents are not so inclusive or diverse after all. The UNC Department of Pediatrics enjoys song-and-dance routines. Following up their choreographed routine to celebrate "culturally sensitive care," the UNC pediatricians have released a third dance video this time featuring the Pediatric DIE Committee vice chair singing in the shower. Unfortunately, unlike their DIE resources, this song-and-dance routine isn't hidden from the viewing public. Image: UNC School of Medicine. Common terms, like conservative and liberal, with traditional meanings may not mean the same things today. Still, there are definitions of conservative even the liberals have to accept, because those definitions are unchanging. Just as some want to abandon the term "conservative," many Christians wanted to stop using the term "born again," popularized by President Jimmy Carter. It was evident, however, that it was wrong to abandon a term that has clear Biblical meaning (John 3:3, 5). Why would we let the world rob us of our most valuable terms? So what exactly is a conservative? Few Democrats are considered conservative. Most conservatives are Republicans who strongly support America. Although there has been little difference between Democrat and Republican administrations, their platforms are vastly different. The Platform of the Idaho Republican Party is just one example of the difference. Most conservatives are Christians who support the Bible, the U.S. Constitution, and our wonderful American history. The Constitution has kept us free for over two hundred years. John Adams, however, made it clear that it was made only for a moral people. Conservatives believe that every life must be protected from conception. An egg from a woman can be harvested, fertilized, and frozen for years outside the body. It is actually viable from the moment of conception. Most conservatives do not accept any abortion except to save the life of the mother. However, one doctor said he had delivered over 4,000 babies and never saw a case where the fetus threatened the life of the mother. Conservatives believe that God created man and woman for the survival of the human race. Conservatives believe that gay activity is counterproductive and harmful. Conservatives believe that transgender teaching only confuses young children. Conservatives generally support our free-market system, which has made America great. Our freedom was won in the War for Independence, and that freedom allowed us to become the greatest nation in the world in less than a hundred years. Conservatives support the promotion of all energy sources, especially the use of fossil fuels. The use of fossil fuels not only saved the whales, but helped make us the most advanced nation on the Earth. Many conservatives reject the promotion of wind, solar, and electric vehicles. Sales of electric vehicles declined last year for many models. These represent a very small portion of our energy use. There is no way to support them without serious subsidies. Conservatives understand that carbon dioxide is the substance plants need for growth, with the more the better. Carbon dioxide is made out to be a demon that is going to destroy the Earth. In actual fact, the tiny portion of 410 parts per million is where all plants get the carbon for growth. Conservatives realize that the percentage of carbon dioxide added to the atmosphere by man is very small. Man affects our environment more by the things he builds than by the amount of carbon dioxide he produces. Most conservatives believe in a foreign policy that protects America and generally lets other nations handle their own affairs. Thomas Jefferson called for "peace, commerce, honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none." This is still good policy. Conservatives do not support open borders. Conservatives believe that the border fence must be finished and immigration controlled. We presently have an insane border policy which has permitted millions to invade our country. Conservatives do not support government spending financed by inflating the currency, which hurts the poor most of all. When the government prints more money and gives some to everyone, prices naturally rise. Now we are paying with grossly higher prices for everything. Inflating the currency only promotes tyranny and a larger government which hurts everyone. Conservatives know that the Democrat party and especially the present administration are determined to make America a socialist nation, which history has shown to be not productive. Conservatives support freedom of assembly as long as it does not injure or damage the property of others. Just a couple of years ago, anarchist mobs destroyed cars and burned down buildings, and nothing was done about it. This is harmful for all Americans. Conservatives know that America is the melting pot of people of the world and support the freedom of all philosophies and all faiths. However, religious freedom does not give anyone the right to destroy others. Israel is just one country where various faiths live in harmony. Donald J. Trump kept his promises, and America became great again. Trump was the clear choice for president in the straw poll of the 2023 conservative CPAC conference. Conservatives believe that freedom of speech is paramount in protecting all other constitutional rights. Without freedom of speech, other rights have little meaning. Conservatives strongly support the Second Amendment. The Second Amendment is not just for hunting, but was designed to protect the people from government tyranny. Conservatives do not support defunding the police and believe that a local police force of character is our greatest first line of defense. The movement to defund the police has demoralized the police, so that many fine local policemen have abandoned their profession. Now we see national police (FBI, CIA, others) taking men and women into custody simply for exercising their constitutional rights. Being a conservative American is the greatest title anyone can have. Jim Hollingsworth is a graduate of Pensacola Christian College with a Master's in biblical studies. He has written four books: Climate Change: A Convenient Truth, Cortez: A Biography, The Ancient Culture of the Aztec Empire, and Abortion Compassion. A fifth book, A Commentary on the Book of Romans, is with the publisher and should be available in about a month. Jim Hollingsworth receives mail at jimhollingsworth@frontier.com. Image: Magog the Ogre. Where do hairs for fashion wigs and hair extensions come from? The answer is: everywhere, but the majority of them come from China and India, where human hair is a lucrative business. In India, China, and eastern Europe, small agents tour villages coaxing poverty-stricken women to part with their hair for a small payment. Sometimes, husbands would force wives into selling their hair and slum children would be tricked into having their heads shaved in exchange for toys. There was one incident in India where a group of men held down a women, cut off her locks and took off with it. A woman gets her head shaved at the Thiruthani Murugan Temple in Tamil Nadu. Photo credit: Allison Joyce But whats more disturbing is that many temples in South India are reaping millions of dollars in profit from religious sacrifice made by pilgrims without their knowledge. The hair donors, many of which are poor, never receive a penny in return. Many of these women are not even aware that the hair they donated praying for good health of their husbands or good school grades for their children are being sold to high fashion houses and turned into expensive wigs. At the center of the controversy is Venkateswara Temple situated in the hill town of Tirumala in Andhra Pradesh, India. It is the richest temple in the world in terms of donations received, and one of the most visited place of pilgrimage. On average, the temple receives between 50,000 to 100,000 devotees everyday. Tens of thousands of them undergo ritual shaving or tonsuring. Legend has it that Lord Vishnu, an avatar of God, once got hit on his head and a small portion of his scalp became bald. A heavenly princess noticed the bald spot and immediately cut of a portion of her own hair, and by using her magical powers implanted it on Lord Vishnus scalp. The Lord was so impressed at her sacrifice that he dictated that all devotees who come to his abode should offer their hair to him, which the Lord would pass it on to her. A different version of the legend holds that Lord Vishnu once took out a large loan for his wedding, but was unable to replay. To this date devout Hindus have been helping Vishnu pay off his debt by offering him their hair. In earlier times, the hair was thrown away into the river. But today they are sold to vendors in western countries through online auctions that fetches the temple between $3 to $6 million every year. Photo credit: tirumalatirupatiyatra.in Everyday between 500 to 600 barbers working in rotation shave over 20,000 heads. Baskets filled with hair are collected every six hours and stored in a vast warehouse where it is piled knee deep. The hair is then untangled and sorted based on length, grades and colors. Then it is washed, treated, and dried under the sun. Indian hair is most sought after because the hair is naturally silkier, and most rural women who donate their hair have never used artificial dyes or colors. Some hair have never been cut before. The longest strandsanything above 18 inchesare the priciest pick, at roughly $300-$450 per kilogram. The best quality hair sometimes sell for as much as $800 per kilo. The shorter hair is used to stuff mattresses, create oil filters or extracted for amino acids. The largest share of Indian hair is bought by Great Lengths International, a real hair extension corporation based out of Italy. Great Lengths supplies hair extensions to 60 different countries and over 40,000 salons. In an upmarket central London salon, a full head of Great Lengths extensions costs around 900, or over $1,100, and lasts up to six months. Hollywood celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez, Tyra Banks, Paris Hilton, and Beyonce are among Great Lengths regular customers. The most striking fact is the disconnect between the high-fashion buyers and the impoverished suppliers of this commodity. Many worshippers are unaware that their hair is being used to create hair extensions 7,000 miles away. Most dont even know what hair extensions are. While the entire operation may seem highly unethical, temple officials have defended their decision to sell donated hair arguing that money collected is funneled directly back into the local community to fund medical aid, educational systems and other crucial infrastructure projects. Venkateswara Temple is just one of many South Indian temples engaging in this business. Altogether, Indian temples bring in a total of over $100 million yearly from hair sales. Photo credit: tirumalatirupatiyatra.in Venkateswara Temple, Tirumala. Photo credit: Chandrashekhar Basumatary/Flickr Sources: The Guardian / BBC / WSJ / The Yale Globalist / NY Times The penal colonies that the British established in Australia during the 18th and the 19th centuries were nearly impossible to escape from. Surrounded by oceans and a vast, unforgiving desert in the interior, most escape attempts usually ended with the convicts either drowning or dying of starvation in the bush. Although hundreds of attempts were made, very few prisoners actually succeeded to achieve freedom. Among them was William Bryant, his wife Mary Bryant, his two children and seven other convicts. This motley group of prisoners pulled off one of the most incredible sea voyages on an open boat. William Bryants escape from Australia in 1791. Source: The Worlds News 9 Sep 1931 William Bryant was among the first batch of prisoners to arrive in Australia, landing in Port Jackson in New South Wales in 1788. His crime: impersonating two Royal Navy seamen in order to obtain their wages. William served three years at the prison ship Dunkirk at Plymouth, before he was shipped off to Australia to serve the reminder of his seven-year sentence. William Bryants future wife Mary Broad was convicted of highway robbery, and she too was sentenced to seven years' transportation. Mary Broad arrived in Australia aboard a ship named Charlotte. On the journey from Portsmouth to Port Jackson, Mary gave birth to a daughter, who she named Charlotte after the ship. Within a few days of arriving in Port Jackson, William and Mary were married. Two years later, they had a son named Emmanuel. William was a fisherman, and this valuable skill afforded him his own huta rare privilege for a convict. Williams sentence was due to expire in March 1791 but he couldnt just leave yet, because his wife had two more years of her sentence to run. Also the governor of the colony ruled that no convict, even if their sentence had expired, would be allowed to leave the colony if they left behind a wife and children who could not support themselves. Fearing starvation if they spent another two years in the colony, William and his wife decided to escape. In December 1790, a Dutch ship named Waaksamheyd arrived with provisions from Batavia (present day Jakarta). William and his wife befriended the captain and managed to acquire from him a large number of items they would need to effect their escapea compass, quadrant, chart, rice, salt pork, flour, a barrel for water, two muskets and ammunition. After the Waaksamheyd left Port Jackson, William, along with his family and seven other convicts, stole the governor's boat, and under the cover of darkness left the harbor and headed towards the open sea. The escapees then sailed north on a 5,100-km odyssey following the east coast of Australia, passing between the Great Barrier Reef and the mainland, through the Torres Strait and across the Arafura Sea to Timor Island. Map showing the approximate route of the escapees from Sydney to Timor. Photo: Tales from the Quarterdeck Bryant and his crew kept close to the coastline so that they could make landings whenever required to collect food and fresh water. Often they met with hostilities from Aborigines, who gave them chase in canoes. Their boat had two sails, but were also equipped with oars which the men used when the wind dropped. Finally, after 69 days at sea, the escapees landed on the Dutch settlement of Kupang on the island of Timor, some 500 km north of Australia. They explained to the villagers that they were shipwreck survivors, and the villagers, believing their story, allowed them to stay. But hardly four months passed when suspicion arose and the escaped convicts were imprisoned. Shortly afterwards, Captain Edward Edwards of HMS Pandora arrived in the settlement. He and most of his crew had survived the loss of their ship on the Great Barrier Reef and were returning to England. The governor of Kupang handed Bryant and the others to Captain Edward to take them back to England. Willian Bryant took ill during the voyage and died in a hospital in Batavia. His son Emmanuel also didnt survive. Mary Bryant and those who survived returned back to England and was put on trial. The punishment for escaping from transportation was generally death, but Mary Bryant was pardoned and released. Mary returned to her family in Cornwall, where she died two years later. William and Mary Bryants voyage from Port Jackson to Timor in a small open boat has been hailed as an amazing feat in the annals of human endeavor. The story of William and Mary Bryant's escape has been the subject of numerous books, drama and films. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 10) President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. issued a verbal order to create a joint task force (JTF) to run after those behind Governor Roel Degamo's assassination and to ensure peace on Negros Island, the Department of National Defense (DND) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) disclosed on Friday. "President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. gave his instruction to me last night to suppress the criminal activities and impunity in the entire island of Negros and to give justice to the families and loved ones of those who were slain in the assassination of Gov. Roel Degamo and restore normalcy and confidence of our people," DND officer-in-charge Carlito Galvez Jr. said in a press briefing According to Galvez, the task force will be composed of two brigades and six battalions to support the joint operations of the AFP and police in the province following Degamo's killing. This joint task force will be composed of AFP units based in the area and augmented by troops outside the province... It will be headed by the commander of 3rd Infantry Division Brigadier General Marion Sison, AFP Chief of Staff Andres Centino said. Negros Oriental Gov. Degamo was killed in his home on March 4, with the attack leaving eight others dead. Reporters asked what the present situation in Negros Oriental was like, and if this warranted a JTF. Maayos na yung sitwasyon doon [The situation there is okay], Galvez said. However, he added that the government still felt the need to establish a JTF amid emerging cases. He explained that these emerging cases were linked to the provinces history with guns for hire something local government units and residents of Negros Oriental had been suffering from for years. Galvez said reports of these cases of violence surfaced only recently, when Marcos and several Cabinet members visited the province after Degamo's assassination. He said the elimination of the violence was part of the JTFs directive. READ: Marcos visits wake of slain Negros Oriental governor, vows assistance The president has no plans to declare a state of emergency in the province, Galvez added. He explained that Marcos directive was a verbal order which called on the AFP to lend a hand in the case of Degamo and in security operations in Negros Oriental. Meanwhile, authorities announced that permits to carry firearms outside residence are suspended in the province until further notice. The provincial police office said only law enforcers performing official duties in agency-prescribed uniforms will be allowed to carry firearms. According to Reuters, the Biden administration will endorse the Senate bill that empowers the White House to ban TikTok. The bill allows the Commerce Department to ban any foreign app that endangers US national security. Since Trumps presidency, TikTok has been a common target for US lawmakers and politicians. The Chinese-based video-sharing app is repeatedly accused of spying on US citizens and collaborating with the Chinese government. Despite efforts to debunk the cybersecurity concerns around the app and storing data within the US-based data centers, TikTok failed to convince US lawmakers. Now, its waiting for its trial. The latest bipartisan bill by the Senate can tighten the grip on TikTok and bring it one step closer to a complete fallout in the United States. According to Senator Mark Warner, the Commerce Department will be able to restrict or ban any foreign app that threatens US national security. The bill also includes foreign technologies from China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, Venezuela, and Cuba. Its going to be incumbent on the government to show its cards in terms of how this is a threat, Warner said. Advertisement Biden administration can now directly ban TikTok in the United States Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo should identify and address the threats to the information and US communications technology products and services. In a statement, Raimondo said shes looking to advance this legislation through Congress. Of course, TikTok also responded to the bill, saying, US ban on TikTok is a ban on the export of American culture and values to the billion-plus people who use our service worldwide. The app currently has over 100 million users in the US, and its trendy among teenagers and GenZ. The US governments Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and ByteDance have been in talks over data security in the past two years. TikTok Chief Executive Shou Zi Chew will testify before the US Energy and Commerce Committee on March 23. This is the first time TikToks CEO is testifying before a congressional committee over security concerns. Google is known for updating the official ARCore support list once in a while, making compatible new devices wait several months before being added to the list. The Pixel 6a, which launched in May last year, recently made it to the list, along with the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro. A bunch of Samsung smartphones has finally gained official support too. The Android maker has added the Galaxy S23 series, the latest Galaxy foldables, and a few mid-range models to the ARCore support list. Google confirms ARCore support for multiple Samsung Galaxy devices ARCore is a certification that confirms that a device can deliver augmented reality (AR) experiences. Most Android smartphones and high-end tablets do that right out of the box. In fact, many people dont even realize that their device supports AR. They use features like Live View in Google Maps and other standalone AR apps without knowing that ARCore is powering the whole experience behind the scenes. Despite the out-of-the-box support, Google likely has its own way of verifying ARCore compatibility for devices. While this verification process shouldnt take long, the company seemingly doesnt rush to do it. Since users can already enjoy AR experiences on their supported device regardless of whether it has made it to the official ARCore list, Googles delay doesnt affect anyone. The reason behind this delay remains a mystery, though. But Google is a true follower of the saying better late than never. Despite the lengthy delay, the Android maker doesnt forget to add compatible new devices to the list. The latest round of additions includes the Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23+, Galaxy S23 Ultra, Galaxy Z Fold 4, Galaxy Z Flip 4, Galaxy A14 5G, Galaxy A23 5G, and Galaxy Tab Active 4 Pro 5G. These phones launched between August 2022 and February 2023. As said earlier, these additions come around the same time as the aforementioned Pixel trio. Advertisement More devices will gain official ARCore support in the coming months Google has also recently confirmed ARCore support for multiple phones and tablets from brands like Fujitsu, Infinix, Lenovo, Motorola, Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi, Sony, Zebra, ZTE, and others. You can expect more new additions in the future as OEMs continue to launch devices left, right, and center. Of course, Googles habit of updating the list once in a while means newer devices may not make find their way into it anytime soon. Meanwhile, if youre wondering whether your Android device has official ARCore support, you can look for it in this list. Google News for desktop is getting a remarkable design improvement that adds more elements to a part of its interface. This includes new homepage topics that users can interact with when surfing the news. The new look comes with some customization features that users of the desktop site will find very useful. With the new redesign comes a new way to organize the news content that you want to view. Each customization or change a user makes entirely changes how news items are displayed. If you use Google News for desktops, you can head over to the site and experience these design changes. But, these changes mainly affect a particular area of the websites interface. It introduces a whole new way to customize the news you receive on the platform. In this article, you will find all the necessary details regarding the new customization features. Details on the Google News for desktop new customization features and homepage topics The new redesign changes how users customize certain content displayed on the website. Previously, these customization features were simple yet restrictive in terms of how they allowed users to select the news they need. But now the new customization features give users room to select news from a wide array of topics and sub-topics. Advertisement If you are already familiar with Google News for desktop, youd know its various sections. The website is divided into three major sections being, Your briefing, Your Topics, and lastly the For You section. Each section displays news content from your list of desired topics. Among all three sections, the one with more news updates is the Your Topics section. It also holds a customization button, with which users get to choose the topics from which they want news updates. This customization feature is now getting more functional tools to help users while selecting topics that interest them the most. Previously, users could only pick and organize the topics they want news on with the customization features. For example, a user could pick Technology, Sport, and Science and then proceed to organize these topics according to their relevance. With the new redesign of Google News for desktops, users can do more. Now, users can select their desired news topics and the relevant sub-topics before organizing their choices. For example, a user who picks Technology can proceed to pick various sub-topics like mobile, energy, gadgets, virtual reality, and so much more. After all topics and the following sub-topics are selected, the user can then proceed to organize their choices. Advertisement This gives users more control over the type of news content they see whenever they open the Google News desktop site. The customization features that come with this redesign will come in handy for most users. Now, head over to the Google News website on your desktop and customize your news feeds. More than two years after launching its first smart object tracker, Samsung is reportedly preparing to launch a succeeding model. The Korean firm plans to launch a second-gen version of its Galaxy SmartTag in the second half of this year. The reported timeline suggests it will arrive alongside the new foldables and wearables. Samsung launched the original Galaxy SmartTag and Galaxy SmartTag+ alongside the Galaxy S21 series in January 2021. The former is a Bluetooth-powered tracker while the latter adds ultra-wideband (UWB) support. These tiny tech pieces work in conjunction with the companys SmartThings IoT (internet of things) platform to help you find lost objects through a crowdsourced network. You can locate your object using SmartThings Find. Galaxy SmartTags will exchange encrypted signals with the SmartThings IoT network to let you know about its location. The two smart trackers also feature a physical button that lets you remotely ring your smartphone or tablet should you misplace them. The same button can be programmed to serve as a remote controller for your IoT and smart home devices. Despite all of these capabilities, Samsungs first foray into smart trackers doesnt seem to have gone as planned. Two years have passed with no sign of new models. Perhaps this market never took off as the company has anticipated. Apart from Apple, not many have succeeded here. But Samsung isnt giving up just yet. It is now gearing up to launch a new version of the Galaxy SmartTag, sources have told SamMobile. Unfortunately, no other information is available at the moment. Its unclear if the Korean firm will launch two models once again. We also dont know what improvements it will bring to the table. The publication speculates that Samsung may offer a better wireless range, louder beeper volume, and enhanced security measures that prevent misuse or unauthorized tracking. Advertisement Samsung is developing a second-gen Galaxy SmartTag We should hear more about the second-gen Galaxy SmartTag in the coming months as Samsung progresses with its development. As said earlier, the company plans to launch it in the second half of 2023. More precisely, somewhere between July and September. Thats when it is expected to unveil the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 foldables too. The launch event should also see the unveiling of the Galaxy Watch 6 series and a new pair of TWS earbuds. The Galaxy S23 FE may be part of the lineup as well. We will keep you posted. Qualcomm has announced a new Snapdragon launch event for next week. The March 17 event in Beijing, China is expected to bring the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 1, its latest premium mid-range chipset. There are also hints of it being the Snapdragon 7 Gen 2, but we dont have any confirmation yet. Either way, while a new processor is a win for most Android OEMs, it isnt for Samsung, albeit for a different reason. The Korean firm once again lost out against TSMC in the race to manufacture a Qualcomm chipset. The Snapdragon 7+ Gen 1 is a 4nm chipset. There havent been many leaks or rumors about this Qualcomm processor, but we have a few details. A Geekbench listing recently revealed that the chipset (identified by the part number SM7475) has one Cortex-X2 prime CPU core clocked at 2.92GHz, three Cortex-A710 mi-cores operating at a maximum frequency of 2.5GHz, and four Cortex-A510 efficiency cores clocked at 1.8GHz. The Adreno 725 GPU handles graphics with a maximum clock speed of 580Hz. This would be the first Snapdragon 7 series Qualcomm processor to feature ARMs Cortex-X series CPU. Industry insiders are calling the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 1 an underclocked Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, which is a flagship chipset launched last year. The upcoming processor scored 1,232 points in the single-core CPU test and 4,095 points in the multi-core CPU test during the aforementioned Geekbench run. These numbers are pretty impressive for a mid-range chipset. Thankfully, it wont be a long wait before the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 1 is official. Stay tuned for the launch event next week. TSMC will manufacture the next Qualcomm Snapdragon processor Qualcomms Snapdragon 7+ Gen 1 is a big loss of business for Samsung Foundry. The Korean firm manufactured last years Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 and was likely hoping to get the contract for its successor as well. But it was not to be. Its Taiwanese rival has snatched the contract for the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 1. Qualcomm opted for the latters solution because of power efficiency and yield issues with that of Samsung. Advertisement This is precisely the reason why the American chip giant switched to TSMC for manufacturing its Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor. It is rumored to stick with the Taiwanese firm for its future chips as well. As for Samsung, it is losing trust in the industry. Tesla and others have also switched to TSMC from it in recent months. Even its mobile division doesnt want to use Samsung Foundry chips in flagship products. It remains to be seen if the Korean firm bounces back anytime soon. Recent activities involving Elon Musks Twitter control are attracting attention from certain governmental bodies. The billionaire has constantly been in the spotlight since his Twitter purchase. He took over control of the social media company in October last year, assuming the CEO role at the firm. Ever since this takeover, Elon Musk has made certain controversial decisions regarding Twitter affairs. One major decision was the lay-off of a lot of workers at the social media company in a bid to cut costs. This shook the internet and drew the attention of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC works to prevent unfair business practices, and they launched an investigation into Twitters affairs. These investigations are a result of how Elon Musk wields his control of Twitter, affecting the platforms users and workers. In recent times, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigations seem to be intensifying. Details on the FTC investigation into Elon Musks Twitter control The intensified investigations by the FTC into Elon Musks Twitter control bring to light certain issues. Over the past few months, these issues have made headlines across the internet. As mentioned earlier, one of these issues is the massive lay-off of Twitter staff by Elon Musk after his takeover. Advertisement Other issues include the revamping of the Twitter Blue subscription service and the Twitter Files case. Twitter Blue service got a troubling makeover after Elon Musk took over control of the social media company. This makeover brought a new Blue subscription plan, a checkmark, and the removal of certain account security features for those who dont subscribe. In recent times, there has been a lot of fuss about a set of internal Twitter documents that became available to the public. This document, also known as Twitter Files, brought to light certain major decisions the social media come has made in recent times. But, there has been some division concerning the Twitter Files, as some parties claim that the documents are incomplete. These issues, along with the failure to meet up certain privacy and information security agreements, are prompting the FTC to intensify its investigations. Under Elon Musks control, Twitter seems to be a prime target for the FTCs attention. Musk, along with other individuals within the government, has kicked against this investigation. But the FTC seems to have taken a strong stand on these issues and is working hard to get to its bottom. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 10) An oil slick from Oriental Mindoro has reached the shores of Taytay, Palawan, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) reported Friday. Barangay Casian, Taytay, Palawan is 159 nautical miles or roughly 300 kilometers from Naujan, Oriental Mindoro, where the tanker carrying 800,000 liters of industrial oil sank last Feb. 28. READ: Tanker behind Oriental Mindoro oil spill located The local government of Oriental Mindoro previously said the slick had affected the livelihood of over 10,000 fisherfolk in the towns of Pinamalayan, Gloria, Bansud, Bongabong, Roxas, and Mansalay. According to Joji Laurente, Taytays Environment and Natural Resources Officer, up to 20% of the towns population depend on seaweed farming. The PCG said its personnel went to the town of Taytay on Friday to confirm if the oil spill had reached the area. After confirming, the agency said it started its assessment and cleaning operations. 'Yong panawagan po namin sa national, we need updated information as to the location of the upcoming oil spill Of course, ang DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development) tutulong din kung may ma-affected na mga nagtatanim ng tambalang (local term for seaweed), kawawa naman ang tao, 'yong lang talaga ang source nila, Laurente told CNN Philippines on Sunday. [Translation: Our call to the national government is we need updated information as to the location of the upcoming oil spill. Of course, the DSWD is expected to help if seaweed farmers would be impacted, it would be really devastating as it is their only source of income.] Massive cleanup A massive cleanup drive in Oriental Mindoro began on Friday, a week since the slick spread throughout the province. But due to the lack of equipment, residents are forced to improvise their own cleaning materials using rice sacks to scoop the slick. Each batch of volunteers were only given two hours to clean up per day to avoid overexposure to toxic chemicals brought by the oil spill. Meanwhile, PCG spokesperson Armando Balilo said the agency has coordinated with the US Coast Guard to help contain the slick. We have coordinated with the US Coast Guard. We are still waiting for their feedback, but they are also very willing to help, Balilo said. The Japanese Embassy in Manila also said on Friday that eight personnel from Japan will help the Philippines address the oil spill incident in Oriental Mindoro and nearby areas. READ: Japan sends 8 disaster response team personnel to aid oil spill incident in Mindoro 'Whole-of-government approach' In a statement Friday, Senate President Pro-Tempore Loren Legarda said she will file a Senate resolution to probe the effects of the oil spill, as she called for a "whole-of-government" approach. "I call on all our government agencies to implement speedy actions on the harms caused by the recent oil spill to reduce damage to our ecosystems and fishing grounds, to ease off its effects to coastal towns, which are reliant on fishing and tourism for income, and most importantly, to secure our kababayans' health and safety," Legarda said. Protect VIP, a coalition seeking to protect the Verde Island Passage (VIP), also urged lawmakers to look into creating laws to protect the marine corridor. The VIP, considered the "Center of the Center Marine Shore Fish Biodiversity," is situated between the provinces of Batangas, Marinduque, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, and Romblon where many ferries cross. "In the short term, we need to identify who would compensate the affected residents and pay for the environmental damage to VIP. In the long run, our policymakers should not just look at oil spills from sunken ships, but also how to minimize the traffic of ships carrying poisonous cargo through this vulnerable area," said Fr. Edwin Gariguez, Protect VIP convenor. The coalition also asked the owner of RDC Reield Marine Services, the company of the sunken oil tanker, to face the public as more than 10,000 families were affected by the oil spill, with the livelihood of 18,000 fisherfolk being impacted. When asked if municipal mayors will file a case against the company, Oriental Mindoro Gov. Humerlito "Bonz" Dolor said: "That is yet to be decided later on. Kailangan lang namin ngayon makuha yong extent ng damages sa bawat bayan at the same time 'yong position na personal ng punong bayan bago namin ipinal yong gagawin namin yong aksyon." RELATED: Pola, Oriental Mindoro may take legal action vs. owner of MT Princess Empress Experts from the University of the Philippines' Marine Science Institute projected the oil spill could reach the northern Palawan mainland. They said over 36,000 hectares of marine habitats are at risk due to the oil slick. CNN Philippines' Currie Cator, Raheema Velasco, Jelo Mantaring, and Kaithreen Cruz contributed to this report. Lawyers for Alec Baldwin said the Hollywood actor wants his day in court as a preliminary investigation hearing in his involuntary manslaughter case was set for early May. At a virtual hearing on Thursday, which Baldwin did not attend, a New Mexico court heard that the firearm that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins had since been destroyed by the state. Baldwin previously pleaded not guilty to two counts of involuntary manslaughter over the fatal shooting of Ms Hutchins on the Rust movie set in October 2021. On Thursday his attorney Alex Spiro said the alleged destruction of the firearm was obviously an issue as the defence team needed to examine it, or whats left of it. A US court heard on Thursday that the firearm that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins had been destroyed by the state (Santa Fe County Sheriffs office/PA) Mr Baldwin wants his day in court, he said. A spokesperson for the Santa De District Attorneys office later refuted the claim that the weapon had been destroyed, saying it was in evidence and is available for the defense to review. The defenses unexpected statement in the status hearing today that the gun had been destroyed by the state may be a reference to a statement in the FBIs July 2022 firearms testing report that said damage was done to internal components of the gun during the FBIs functionality testing, the spokesperson said. However, the gun still exists and can be used as evidence. At Thursdays hearing Mr Spiro also noted that prosecutors currently had a 46-strong list of witnesses, and requested the list be provided to the defence as soon as possible. Judge Mary Marlow Sommer set a deadline of April 17 for the state to supply Baldwins counsel with the list. She also set a preliminary investigation hearing, scheduled to last two weeks, for May 3. During this time it will be decided whether or not there is enough evidence for the case to proceed to trial. Prior to this, another hearing will be held on March 27 to review a motion, filed by Baldwins lawyers last month, about the disqualification of special prosecutor Andrea Reeb. The actors representatives previously argued that Ms Reebs involvement in the case was unconstitutional, due to her elected position in the New Mexico House of Representatives. Big names in British broadcasting came together on Thursday for a night of current affairs trivia to raise money for the UKs leading childrens charity, Action For Children. Famous faces attending the event included Louis Theroux, Vanessa Feltz and Dermot OLeary, as well as several political figures. Louis Theroux arrives for the Ultimate News Quiz in aid of Action for Children, at the Grand Connaught Rooms in London (Jonathan Brady/PA) Held at the Grand Connaught Rooms in London, the event raised over 240,000 for Action for Children, which supports vulnerable children and young people across the UK. The 16th annual Ultimate News Quiz was hosted by Channel 5 news presenter Dan Walker and his former sofa partner at BBC Breakfast, Sally Nugent. Vanessa Feltz (Jonathan Brady/PA) The pair were pictured together on the red carpet alongside fellow journalists Jeremy Vine and Martha Kearney. It was Walkers second bout of hosting duties since his recent bike crash in Leeds, having previously hosted the Royal Television Society Awards. Dermot OLeary (Jonathan Brady/PA) Last week he said he was feeling a lot better following the incident and announced his return to Channel 5. The Channel 5 News team later clinched the title of Ultimate News Quiz champions 2023, after beating off competition from runners up Times Radio and Sky News. Claudia-Liza Vanderpuije (Jonathan Brady/PA) As well as a host of TV stars, the broadcaster also battled it out with corporate giants including Google and Sony. Other quiz attendees included Dr Amir Khan, Channel 5 presenter Claudia-Liza Vanderpuije, Ed Balls, Rachel Johnson, Yvette Cooper and LBCs Nick Ferrari. Cabinet Secretary Simon Case warned Boris Johnson about the terrible effects of lockdown on mental health, education and the economy, according to leaked correspondence. The nations most senior civil servant told the then-prime minister that the Government must be brutally honest with the public about those consequences, the Daily Telegraph reported. Mr Case raised the concerns with Mr Johnson two days before the latter announced the second national shutdown in October 2020. A trove of former health secretary Matt Hancocks messages were leaked (Jordan Pettitt/PA) A number of messages the top mandarin sent during the UK Governments handling of the coronavirus pandemic were among the tens of thousands of WhatsApps from former health secretary Matt Hancocks phone that were provided to the publication by Isabel Oakeshott. The journalist, who obtained the records when she co-authored Mr Hancocks memoir, has described lockdowns as an unmitigated disaster. In his message, Mr Case wrote: I think we have to be brutally honest with people. Full lockdowns optimise our society/economy for tackling the Covid R rate but they are terrible for other outcomes (non-Covid health, jobs, education, social cohesion, mental health etc). The leaked exchanges also showed ministers expressing concern about minor ailments going unchecked. Then-health minister Lord Bethell questioned the potential cancellation of a public health campaign urging people to check minor symptoms in September 2020, according to the Telegraph. He asked Mr Hancock: It will lead to long term capacity pressures as minor ailments turn into acute and more expensive problems. Mr Case was reportedly considering his position after becoming embroiled in the controversy surrounding the leaked correspondence. In previous reported conversations, he described Mr Johnson as a distrusted figure, and suggested it was hilarious that travellers were being locked up in so-called quarantine hotels. Oscar nominee and Bafta winner Barry Keoghan has been hailed as inspirational by young people who have been through the care system. The star of The Banshees of Inisherin, who has spoken about his experience in foster care as a child, has been praised for helping to break a stigma by sharing his story and rising to the top of his profession. Care leavers can face multiple barriers in life, including disrupted education and prejudice, said Katharine Sacks-Jones from the Become charity. She said these can often lead to mental health issues, homelessness after leaving care and people not being in education, employment or training. Four young people who have all gone on to higher education have told the PA news agency of their experiences. Keoghans success is huge for care leavers to see, said Kim Emenike, who went into care aged 10. The 25-year-old Londoner said it is imperative for people to share their stories to combat the negative perception of those in care. She said: When its someone thats care-experienced thats nominated for it (an Oscar), that is very huge in our community because it just shows, Look, you can kill it in whatever industry youre in. If its the creative arts, if its dance, if its academics, whatever you can get to the top of your career. Civil servant Kim Emenike said stories like Keoghans are motivating (Kim Emenike/PA) Now working as a civil servant, running her own bakery and an advocate for young people, Ms Emenike has found herself facing adversity head-on. She studied for her A-levels while living in a hostel and was homeless during summers at university without a family to support her. She said: Its really hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. But when you hear stories like that it is a light and it motivates you because youre like, OK, if he can do it, I can do it. I can be the best version of me. And it definitely pushes you and drives you. Jessie Stringer-Fewtrill said it has only been in recent years that she has felt comfortable to be open about her background in care, but she now channels that experience into her work. The 30-year-old from Manchester also went into care aged 10 and is now a self-employed seamstress, as well as a school art technician. She also runs art projects with disadvantaged young people. Jessie Stringer-Fewtrill said she has channeled her experience growing up in care into her art (Jessie Stringer-Fewtrill/PA) She said: I think that it is really inspiring and encouraging to hear that somebody of care experience has been nominated for an Oscar. I mean, we start life with the odds stacked against us so its really re-affirming to hear these success stories. I feel like it can help channel our pain and turn it into power and help us to motivate us to follow our dreams. The graduate in fashion design with marketing said a story like Keoghans is encouraging and that it is good to have these conversations to create the awareness and reduce any stigmas that people growing up in care might face. Trainee barrister Joseph Brennan hailed Keoghans resilience and noted how he has achieved success despite facing instability in moving between foster homes. Trainee barrister Joseph Brennan is a care leaver and praised Keoghans resilience (Jenny Power/PA) The actor who was later raised by his grandmother after his mothers death has recalled the difficulties of such moves in his younger years but said it has made him stronger and more solid in life. Mr Brennan, 29 and from County Armagh but living in Dublin, said he benefited from a long-term stable foster care placement. He said: It really shows the individual resilience that Barry was able to show by pursuing a career such as acting where nothing is guaranteed. He is definitely an inspiration to all young people, especially for a former child in care. I would highly doubt that the average person in care with the same level of disruption would have the same resilience and confidence as Barry has demonstrated. His experience in care, having been moved to various placements, for me represents a failure of the care system which is sadly far too prevalent. Kevin McKenna, 23, from Newry but living in London, said people who have been in care should not have to wear that as their identity when they are so much more. Student Kevin McKenna said being in foster care can become someones identity when young people in care are so much more (Kevin McKenna/PA) The final year student, studying politics and international relations at the University of Greenwich, has met politicians, visited Downing Street and worked at a summer camp in the US with children in care. He said: Being in foster care becomes your identity, when young people in care are so much more, as shown in my 11 years of volunteering in the youth sector. On successes for people who have been in care, he added: It is good to hear the positive end of things and hear the positive stories of where people have got to and I think its even more important to hear the likes of me and Josephs stories, where youre integrated into a family and you have those kind of meaningful connections and youre not moving about all the time. Ms Sacks-Jones said: The care-experienced community is incredibly inspiring and we know can achieve amazing things in life, especially with the right support. Thats why we want to see all children in care receive the love, stability and security that we all need to thrive. Huge congratulations to Barry Keoghan for his Bafta win and we wish him every success at the Oscars. The 95th Academy Awards will kick off with a glittering red carpet and some of Hollywoods most fashionable people are nominated. Cate Blanchett, Michelle Yeoh and Paul Mescal have shown off their style on the awards show circuit so far this season. Here is a look back at their outfits from the Baftas, Screen Actors Guild (SAG) awards and more. Cate Blanchett Nominated for her role in Todd Fields film Tar, Blanchetts fashion during awards season has had a meaningful message behind it. Working with celebrity stylist Elizabeth Stewart, who also dresses Julia Roberts and Viola Davis, Blanchetts outfits have put sustainability at the forefront. Cate Blanchett at the London Critics Circle Film Awards (Ian West/PA) At the Critics Circle Film Awards in London on February 5, Blanchett wore a tailored black suit with sculptural electric blue arms by Alexander McQueen. The actress has recently made a habit of rewearing outfits for environmental reasons she first wore the custom-made suit to a premiere in 2019. Cate Blanchett at the Baftas (Ian West/PA) For the EE Bafta Film Awards on February 19 where Blanchett took home the award for best actress she wore a reworked version of a black Maison Margiela gown she wore to the 2015 Oscars. John Galliano designed the original dress, and was also responsible for the new iteration adding padding to the shoulders for a more dramatic silhouette. Blanchett continued this ethos throughout her awards show outfits including the Giorgio Armani dress worn to the Sag Awards, which was made with repurposed lace left over from another dress. Michelle Yeoh If Yeoh takes home the best actress gong on Sunday, she will be the first South Asian actor to win in that category. While Yeohs style can be described as classic and glamorous, she is not afraid to take risks on the red carpet. Michelle Yeoh at the London Critics Circle Film Awards (Ian West/PA) Highlights from this awards season include a gauzy, see-through black trench coat-style gown by Alexander McQueen, worn to the Critics Circle Film Awards, and an experimental black gown with gold detailing by Schiaparelli to the Sag Awards. Michelle Yeoh at the Baftas (Ian West/PA) Yeoh went down the non-traditional route for the Baftas. Instead of a typical gown, she wore a blush-coloured Dior suit with caped sleeves. Paul Mescal Nominated in the best actor category for his role in Aftersun, Mescal has been making waves on the red carpet. Paul Mescal at the Baftas (Ian West/PA) While he is no stranger to a classic black tuxedo as seen in a double-breasted black Gucci suit at the Baftas, paired with a 1930s Cartier brooch he also has a more experimental side to his style. He wore a cutting-edge slouchy Vivienne Westwood suit with a nautical-inspired striped Acne shirt to the Newport Beach Film Festival UK Honours event. While he donned a long black Simone Rocha jacket to the Sag awards, complete with pearl and jewel detailing. Paul Mescal at the Newport Beach Film Festival UK Honours event (Suzan Moore/PA) Austin Butler Nominated for best actor for his role in Elvis, Butler channels old Hollywood heartthrobs like James Dean on the red carpet. Austin Butler at the Bafta Nominees Party (Ian West/PA) His suits are often slightly oversized, yet still perfectly tailored like the pinstriped Tom Ford ensemble he wore to the Bafta Nominees Party. Kerry Condon Condons red carpet aesthetic is all about understated elegance. Nominated for best supporting actress in The Banshees Of Inisherin, Condons Baftas outfit is a prime example of this. Kerry Condon at the Baftas (Ian West/PA) She wore a shimmering Giorgio Armani Prive gown with a bejewelled strapless bodice, accessorised with Lorraine Schwartz jewels on the red carpet. She told Harpers Bazaar: I really love it when simplicity is a little elevated The way that the dress is cut really reminds me of Nineties fashion especially at the back, which is so beautiful so theres a nostalgic aspect to it. Its very ladylike and reminds me of something youd see at the Oscars back in the day, which I would have seen when growing up. Angela Bassett Nominated for supporting actress for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Bassetts aesthetic embodies exuberant opulence. Angela Bassett at the Baftas (Ian West/PA) To the Baftas she wore a bright lilac gown by Pamella Roland, with statement balloon sleeves. Other standout outfits include the black, tiered Christian Siriano gown at the Critics Choice Awards, and the sunny yellow Giambattista Valli fishtail dress she wore to the Sag awards. Barry Keoghan Up for the best supporting actor Oscar for his role in The Banshees Of Inisherin, Keoghan made a bold choice at the Baftas. Barry Keoghan at the Baftas (Ian West/PA) He wore a crimson Alexander McQueen double-breasted suit with a white shirt and red trim. It was not the first time Keoghan chose an unusual coloured suit for the red carpet he wore all-white for the Sag awards, and rocked powder blue for the Golden Globes. The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry will focus on Edinburgh Academy when it resumes public hearings on boarding schools in late summer. The inquiry has been investigating residential care provisions at boarding schools for a number of years and has looked at schools including Fettes College in Edinburgh. Edinburgh Academy will be its focus from August. BBC presenter Nicky Campbell has said he was abused while at the school and the inquiry team has urged others to get in touch. Inquiry chairwoman Lady Smith said: Since the beginning of public hearings examining boarding schools in March 2021, there has been an increase in applicants coming forward, including those who boarded at Edinburgh Academy and other witnesses. Their evidence includes information about Edinburgh Academy and allegations of abuse by a number of its former staff. It is normal for applicants to come forward during and after evidential hearings. Those hearings and the publicity surrounding them encourage them to get in touch. Nicky Campbell has spoken of abuse at Edinburgh Academy (Ian West/PA) In these particular circumstances, I have decided further evidence about the care of children who boarded at the Edinburgh Academy should be heard in public hearings, as part of the boarding schools case study. Evidence relating to Edinburgh Academy has been gathered for some time. Many people have already come forward. We would encourage anyone with relevant information to get in touch with the inquirys witness support team as soon as possible. An Edinburgh Academy spokeswoman said: We fully support the decision which allows former pupils who have bravely come forward to have their voices heard and provide evidence as part of the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI). As we have done from the outset of the SCAI being established in 2015, we will continue to support the inquiry and work closely with the relevant authorities. We would also like to reiterate that we deeply regret what has happened in the past. As any like-minded person, we are appalled by such behaviour and we would encourage anyone who has been the victim of abuse to contact Police Scotland. The inquirys boarding schools case study has examined the background, administration and regulation of boarding schools in Scotland, and the experiences of boarders at some specific schools. The inquiry, which aims to raise public awareness of the abuse of children in care, is considering evidence up to December 17 2014, and which is within the living memory of any person who suffered abuse. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 10) The national government will donate $200,000 of more than 11 million in financial assistance to Syria that was equally devastated by the magnitude 7.8 earthquake in February. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the amount is beyond the in-kind relief aid that will also be given to the west Asia nation. "The Philippines, as a member of the international community of nations, steadfastly supports the united global effort to assist the victims of the February 06 earthquake in Turkiye and Syria," the agency said in a statement released by Malacanang. "In these times of deepest need, the Philippines expresses solidarity with the people of the Syrian Arab Republic, and is honored to announce that it is extending a financial donation in the amount of $200,000, along with the provision of life-saving humanitarian aid." According to reports, the earthquake that hit Turkey (now called Turkiye) and Syria left over 50,000 dead and more than 125,000 injured. The government also previously sent an 82-man contingent to Turkiye to help in search-and-rescue operations. Britains gun laws need root and branch reform to protect the public, the Government has been warned, in the wake of the Plymouth mass shootings in which five people were shot dead. Ian Arrow, the senior coroner for Plymouth, said the 50-year-old Firearms Act was at odds with public safety and the fundamental principle that owning a gun is a privilege and not a right. In just eight minutes, Jake Davison, 22, killed his mother Maxine, 51, and then shot dead three-year-old Sophie Martyn, her father Lee, 43, Stephen Washington, 59, and Kate Shepherd, 66. Jake Davison killed five people and then himself during a shooting spree in August 2021 in Plymouth (PA) He then turned the weapon on himself as he was confronted by an unarmed police officer on August 12 2021 in Keyham, Plymouth. Last month jurors at a long-running inquest in Exeter ruled each victim was unlawfully killed. They were critical of the failings within the firearms licensing unit, which handed the apprentice crane operator back his shotgun five weeks before the killings. The jury also found there was a serious failure at a national level by the Government, Home Office and National College of Policing to implement the recommendation from Lord Cullens Report in 1996 following the Dunblane killings. In a series of reports sent to Home Secretary Suella Braverman, Home Office minister Chris Philp, the National Police Chiefs Council, all chief constables in England and Wales, the College of Policing and Lord Burnett, the Lord Chief Justice, Mr Arrow raised a series of concerns around the Firearms Act, Home Office guidance provided to police forces applying the Firearms Act legislation, the training offered to police staff assessing licence applications and training given to judges hearing licence appeals. Mr Arrow called for the legislative distinction between Section 1 firearms such as rifles and shotguns to be ended. I am concerned the public would be better protected if the legislation provided that a certificate shall not be granted unless the applicant has satisfied the relevant chief officer of police that they are safe to hold a gun of any type, he wrote. I am concerned that whilst the criteria for issuing shotgun licences remain less stringent than those for holding Section 1 firearms, a misleading impression of potential fatality of each type of weapon will continue to affect the perception of and attitude to risk amongst police firearms and explosive licensing units and public safety will be compromised. Mr Arrow said that numerous recommendations arising from previous tragedies and reviews had highlighted a lack of nationally recognised training for police staff involved in firearms licensing decisions and there was an urgent need for it. Stephen Washington was shot dead as he walked his two dogs near his home in Keyham (Devon and Cornwall Police/PA) If any lessons had been learned in the aftermath of earlier tragedies, they have been forgotten and that learning had been lost, he wrote. Over the past 27 years, there has been an abject failure to ensure that nationally accredited training of firearms licensing staff has been developed and its currency maintained. I am concerned to ensure that the momentum to effect change after the horrific tragedy in Keyham should not be lost, as it has been in respect of lessons and recommendations over the past 27 years. Mr Arrow also suggested all chief constables consider reviewing all certificates seized, refused, revoked or surrendered and subsequently approved over the past five years. Davison legally held a shotgun certificate and weapon having been obsessed with firearms from a young age due to a trait in autism of developing a special interest. He applied for a shotgun certificate in July 2017 aged 18, saying he wanted to go clay pigeon shooting with his uncle. As part of the application process, Davison had declared his autism and Aspergers but when police sought relevant information from his GP, the doctor declined to provide any as it was not mandatory. The police granted the application in January 2018 to last five years. Later that year, he bought a black Weatherby pump-action shotgun which he kept at home in Biddick Drive. Police were already aware Davison had a history of violence and knew that aged 12 he had assaulted two teachers and aged 13 had punched a pupil at the special school he attended. Aged 17 he was involved in a domestic verbal argument with his father Mark and was also suspected of an assault outside a Tesco store in 2016. In September 2020, Davison was captured on CCTV punching a 16-year-old boy up to nine times in a skate park and slapping his 15-year-old female friend after another boy called him a fat c***. Jake Davison used his legally held Weatherby pump action shotgun (top) to carry out the killings (Devon and Cornwall Police/PA) Detectives did not know he was a firearms holder and put him on the deferred charge Pathfinder scheme instead of prosecution. It was only two months later that a concerned Pathfinder worker alerted police and the shotgun and certificate were seized. But just five weeks before the killings, they were handed back to Davison. Devon and Cornwall Police have invested 4 million in the firearms licensing unit since the tragedy, with 100 staff handling the highest number of gun licence applications of any force in England and Wales. Luke Pollard, Labour MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, welcomed the coroners report. It shows that Plymouth was failed, tragically, by gun laws and licencing systems that were not fit for purpose, he said. I will be meeting with the policing minister, alongside families affected by the tragedy, to discuss the report and to call for urgent and comprehensive change. We need a top to bottom review of gun laws and gun licencing to prevent a tragedy like Keyham and Fords from ever happening again. As ever, my thoughts are with all those in our city who are still hurting. Help is still available so please dont struggle in silence. A Home Office spokeswoman said: Our thoughts are with the loved ones of Maxine Davison, Lee and Sophie Martyn, Kate Shepherd and Stephen Washington. Since the tragedy, the Government has already taken steps to tighten firearms licencing including social media checks and a requirement for police to review information provided by GPs. We thank the coroner for his report. We will carefully consider the findings and respond in due course. In a statement, the families of Sophie and Lee Martyn, Stephen Washington and Kate Shepherd said they wanted to work with the Government and police to bring change to firearms laws. We stand shoulder to shoulder with the victims, families and communities in Dunblane, Durham, Surrey and Skye, they said. We note that since 1987, more than 300 national recommendations have been made regarding firearms licensing. The time for tragedy, followed by inquests, reviews and reports, and then conclusions and suggestions is now over. We look forward to helping the Government and the police in enacting change. Root and branch reform is needed for an existing Act of Parliament from 1968 which, in 2023, is completely outdated, impractical and unsafe. We mirror the views of the coroner that the position taken in Northern Ireland under the 2004 order is illuminating and should be taken here in England and Wales to protect the public. Heavy snow is causing chaos on roads in parts of northern England and Wales with many routes blocked. Some vehicles heading east across the Pennines from Greater Manchester on the M62 overnight were stranded for several hours due to the severe conditions. Derbyshire Constabulary urged drivers not to travel in the Peak District on Friday morning unless absolutely necessary as most roads in the High Peak and Derbyshire Dales areas were impassable. The force said it is working with mountain rescue teams to respond to reports of stranded vehicles. Parts of the A66 in Durham and the A628 Woodhead Pass in South Yorkshire were closed overnight due to heavy snow. Road Impassible #A55 westbound between J36A #Broughton & J35 #Dobshill currently blocked due to snow Avoid the area & take extra care. #TrafficWalesAlert pic.twitter.com/4AhLj5Zskw Traffic Wales North & Mid (@TrafficWalesN) March 10, 2023 The A616 was also shut between the Woodhead Pass and the A6102 (Stocksbridge) after a tree fell into the road. Several major roads in north and mid Wales were closed due to snow. They include: The A55 westbound between Broughton and Dobshill; The A458 between Buttington and Middletown; The A470 between Llanidloes and Llangurig; The A44 between Llandegley and New Radnor. Snow-covered vehicles in Liverpool (Peter Byrne/PA) North Wales Police said driving conditions remain poor across its area due to significant snowfall overnight. It added: We are advising motorists to only travel if necessary. National Highways, the Government-owned organisation responsible for Englands motorways and major A roads, told motorists: We are currently experiencing very high call volumes to our call centre, so you may encounter a delay if trying to get through to us. The organisations executive director of operations, Duncan Smith, said: We are well prepared and our gritters have been out in full force since Friday March 3 and will continue to treat the roads. What's your plans for friday? After a snowy and icy start for some, it will be getting drier and brighter throughout the day, although feeling quite chilly. pic.twitter.com/SZugYG1H2n Met Office (@metoffice) March 9, 2023 We are asking drivers to plan ahead, check the forecast and allow more time for their journeys. Salt spread by gritters does not stop snow from settling on road surfaces, but it does make it easier to remove with snowploughs. Duke of Edinburgh tells Ukrainians Britain can be home for as long they need The new Duke of Edinburgh told Ukrainian refugees he hoped they could make Scotland their home for as long as they felt they needed as he attended a reception marking one year since the Scottish capital welcomed the first Ukrainians to the city. In his first official engagement in the role after the King appointed him, Edward addressed refugees at a reception in Edinburghs City Chambers on the Royal Mile on Friday. He said: I hope you can all try to make Scotland and Britain your home for as long you feel that you need to stay here and we will try to make it as welcoming and as safe as possible for you. I wish you all the very best in the future and were thinking of you. The duke, who had the title conferred upon him on Friday by the King, marking his 59th birthday, said he and his wife Sophie were slightly overwhelmed by the appointment. He said: Thank you for welcoming us to Edinburgh today on, indeed, a very special and very overwhelming day for now my wife and duchess, he joked, while looking at his wife. He added: I also want to express my thanks to everybody who has worked so hard to make our Ukrainian friends so welcome. Before making their way into the City Chambers, Edward and Sophie stopped to greet the hundreds of well-wishers gathered on the Royal Mile on the cold, but sunny afternoon. Many of them were tourists on holiday in Edinburgh from as far away as Washington DC. The new Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh meet members of the public as they attend a ceremony at the City Chambers in Edinburgh (Jane Barlow/PA) The Duke and Duchess were greeted by a traditional Scottish piper playing Ukrainian music as members of the public greeted them both, congratulating Edward on his appointment as Duke of Edinburgh, the role his father held until his death in 2021. Lord Provost of Edinburgh Robert Aldridge congratulated Edward and welcomed him to Edinburghs City Chambers before they climbed the buildings famous staircase. They met council officials including council leader Cammy Day. Running slightly late, the duke shared a joke with one official about the roadworks in Edinburgh and said he had come to drop some hints about it. He then met Ukrainian refugees who have settled in Edinburgh, telling one: I cant believe we are a year on and asking if she was able to have contact with her family back in Ukraine and if they were being well looked after in the city. Edward was then presented with a birthday gift before moving through the crowd and addressing those who had gathered. A Ukrainian choir then sang a Ukrainian song and the traditional Ukrainian Happy Birthday song. The reception finished with an emotional rendition by the piper of the Ukrainian national anthem before Edward and Sophie were presented with a bouquet of sunflowers by 10-year-old Marianna Melnyk, dressed in the Ukrainian national dress. We need to fix the consequences of Brexit, says Macron President Emmanuel Macron has said he wants France to have the best possible relations with the UK but that they need to fix the consequences of Brexit. Following talks in Paris with Rishi Sunak, the French leader hailed a new beginning in the Anglo-French relationship following the turbulence of recent years. While he welcomed Mr Sunaks Windsor Framework agreement with Brussels on trading arrangements with Northern Ireland, he also made clear there was still unfinished business from the UKs departure from the EU. Rishi Sunak and Emmanuel Macron holding a joint press conference at the Elysee Palace (Kin Cheung/PA) On the short front we have to fix the consequences of the Brexit. Probably some of those consequences were underestimated but we have to fix them, he told a joint news conference with the Prime Minister at the Elysee Palace. What we want to do now is build new partnerships on defence and security, on facing the war (in Ukraine), regarding climate change, in order to co-ordinate our international activity. And for our businesses and our people we want to build new links, new relations. My wish, definitely, because it makes sense with our history, our geography, our DNA, I would say, is to have the best possible relations and the closest alliance. But it will depend on our commitment, our willingness, but I am sure we will do it. The meeting marked the first Anglo-French summit in five years, after relations between the two countries soured under Boris Johnson, with the French leader making clear he did not trust the former prime minister. Mr Macron seemed particularly pleased at a commitment to facilitate school visits between the two countries. President Emmanuel Macron welcomes Rishi Sunak to the Elysee Palace (Kin Cheung/PA) Mr Sunak, in turn, appeared to be delighted by the warmth of his reception with the president greeting him on the steps of the Elysee with a prolonged handshake followed by a vigorous pat on the back which the Prime Minster reciprocated. Speaking afterwards at the press conference, Mr Sunak said: I always say, we left the EU but we didnt leave Europe. Emmanuel said previously Brexit didnt change geography. We want to have a close, co-operative, collaborative relationship with our European partners and allies. And of course, that starts with our nearest neighbour, France, and today is the first step on that journey. Were writing a new chapter in this relationship, and Im really looking forward to everything that we can build on in the coming months and years ahead. Heavy snow has brought treacherous conditions with drivers left stranded for hours and people urged to only travel if absolutely necessary. The Met Office has yellow warnings for ice covering large swathes of the UK after Storm Larisa battered parts of the UK with gales and blizzards. A warning for snow remains in place for much of Scotland, with another snow and ice warning issued for northern England on Saturday. (PA Graphics) A low of minus 13.6C was recorded at Altnaharra in Sutherland in the Scottish Highlands overnight, while the greatest depth of snow recorded was 27cm at Capel Curig in North Wales. Heavy snowfall left drivers stranded for more than seven hours on the M62 in Greater Manchester and Yorkshire. National Highways North West estimated that at one point congestion on the eastbound carriageway between Rochdale and Saddleworth stretched to around eight miles. Emergency services have also rescued eight people who were trapped in heavy snowfall for more than 12 hours in Staffordshire. Staffordshire Police said artic conditions since Thursday night caused a number of vehicles to get stuck particularly on the A53 and the A523 near the town of Leek. It said some people have been stranded inside their vehicles in sub-zero temperatures for more than 12 hours. On Friday afternoon, it said a total of eight people in five vehicles had been rescued, with no serious injuries reported. Andrew Page-Dove, of National Highways, said weather conditions will deteriorate on Friday night. He said: Weve got some very cold weather overnight. Weve got the risk of potentially freezing rain and then more snow tomorrow. So the conditions are actually going to get worse rather than better. But we will be continuously out there treating the roads and our intention is to keep the M62 open. Adverse weather conditions, including snow showers, persist in some parts of the country. Road users are advised to check route status before travel. Operations Manager, Dave Wilson here with an update from Yorkshire and the North East region. Update: The A66 is now open. pic.twitter.com/d2AVRI5OMq National Highways (@NationalHways) March 10, 2023 We have well-rehearsed plans which we execute every time we have these types of events. It is purely the combination of volume of traffic and (drivers) maybe not being as well prepared for the conditions. Public transport has also been affected, with Network Rail saying multiple fallen trees had blocked lines between Manchester and Sheffield, meaning no trains could run. (PA Graphics) Train operators TransPennine Express and Northern were affected, with many services cancelled, and Merseyrail, which runs services in Merseyside and surrounding areas, delayed the start of its operations on Friday. Air travel was also affected, with the majority of flights departing Liverpool John Lennon Airport delayed on Friday morning. East Midlands Airport was closed for around three hours and flights were suspended at Birmingham Airport for around an hour to clear snow from the runway, and there were also delays to flights at Bristol Airport. Elsewhere, firefighters were called to a partial roof collapse at a flat in Longford Walk, Tulse Hill, south London. The scene in Tulse Hill (London Fire Brigade/PA) London Fire Brigade said the aluminium roof of a three-storey block of flats had peeled off in high winds and was in a precarious position. There were no reports of any injuries. People in the south of England were likely to experience the worst of any rain. The weather is expected to clear by the end of Friday before being replaced by another low pressure system. Patients at Royal Hallamshire Hospital were delighted to see a giant get well soon message carved out in the snow on top of the car park opposite on Thursday. The heavy snow in South Yorkshire may have caused travel chaos for some, but for those at Royal Hallamshire the inclement weather led to a message of hope. Proper good job, thanks to those who did it, tweeted Paul Harris, 44, from Kidsgrove in Staffordshire. You beat me to it @JoeDawson84 I had an outpatient appointment @SheffieldHosp on the floor above @pvdusth @PHA_UK proper good job, thanks to those who did it pic.twitter.com/6DCO9Wfh08 Paul Harris (@Peaks4PHA) March 9, 2023 Mr Harris, who has pulmonary arterial hypertension and raises money for Pulmonary Hypertension Association UK, told the PA news agency he attends the Sheffield hospital roughly every six months for check ups, and was on the 13th floor when he spotted the message in the snow on Thursday. It was decent! he said. I dont know how many rooms have that view but its the main profile of the hospital so there must have been probably 100 windows at least it could be seen from, easily. The amount of people who would have seen it is immense. So yeah, it was good! Sheffield is one of a number of locations in the UK which has been affected by the cold weather and snow. The Met Office has issued three amber warnings for northern England, the Midlands, North Wales and Northern Ireland, where significant disruption to transport and power supplies is expected. Four yellow warnings for snow also cover much of the rest of the nation, with the exception of South East England and western Scotland. A car covered in snow in Grenoside, Sheffield (Jim Davies/PA) Twitter user Joe Dawson was another who spotted the message from opposite the hospital, tweeting To the lads that have done this on the car park at the Hallamshire, youve really cheered everyone on @NCCU_K1 up! Legends! The message, meanwhile, caught the attention of a number of social media users, such as Leila Johnston, who wrote: Oh god Im way too sleep deprived for this. Literally welling up. The criminal justice system can seem impenetrable and even inexplicable to crime victims, a Government minister has admitted. Victims and sentencing minister Edward Argar was speaking at a summit in central London that was also addressed by Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley. As the system has evolved over many years, to many the criminal justice system can appear impenetrable, Mr Argar said. There may be good reasons for how that legal system came about, but things like the fact that it is the Crown that prosecutes a case and not the victim, who is in legal terms not a party to the case there are good reasons for that and the way our legal system has developed, but it may appear impenetrable and inexplicable to those who are the victims of crime, leaving them feeling excluded or often peripheral to a process that is about their lives and their experiences. Sir Mark Rowley (Aaron Chown/PA) He added: Victims must be treated fairly, properly and with dignity. Behind every statistic there are human beings, families living with the consequences and picking up the pieces. This is not just about law, it is about changing attitudes, behaviours and culture. Sir Mark told the event at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in Westminster: I have probably been the most vocal commissioner in the Mets history when it comes to speaking about the need for reform. Most of our officers are good people, its about giving them the support they need to succeed and do the great jobs that they want to do. The demand on us is immense. Over 20% of our frontline demand is related to mental health, and it is pressures like this that make it hard for us to provide victim support. We can measure success by the number of people we catch and prosecute, but also by the feedback that victims give us. We want people to feel confident in speaking to us and we are committed to putting them first and centre. Director of public prosecutions Max Hill said: I know that the Crown Prosecution Service has not always got things right. Victims, through no fault of their own, often do not understand the role of the CPS and how decisions are made. We want every victim to feel respected. Satisfaction is not always linked to outcomes its possible for courts not to deliver a guilty verdict but for victims still to feel that they have been supported. He promised that adult victims of rape and other serious sexual offences would be prioritised for new, enhanced support systems the CPS is developing. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said there is a moral responsibility to do better by victims. The summit marked the unveiling of a new dedicated helpline for victims of crime. The line is funded by a 3 million annual investment from City Hall, which hopes it will make it easier for victims to access key information about their cases. The King has handed his late fathers title the Duke of Edinburgh to his brother Prince Edward, honouring the late Queen and Philips wishes. Charles conferred the title on the former Earl of Wessex in celebration of Edwards 59th birthday on Friday. Sophie, the former Countess of Wessex, is now the Duchess of Edinburgh and their 15-year-old son James, Viscount Severn is the new Earl of Wessex. The new Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh (David Parry/PA) It comes after another title change this week when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex began officially using the titles Prince and Princess for their children Archie and Lilibet. The new duke and duchess will be in Edinburgh their first outing with their new titles in the city which inspired their name later on Friday at a reception to mark the first year of conflict in Ukraine Buckingham Palace said in a statement: His Majesty The King has been pleased to confer the Dukedom of Edinburgh upon the Prince Edward, on the occasion of HRHs 59th birthday today. The title will be held for HRHs lifetime. The dukedom was last created for Prince Philip in 1947, upon his marriage to Princess Elizabeth, who held the title of Duchess of Edinburgh before acceding to the throne in 1952. The new Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh are proud to continue Prince Philips legacy of promoting opportunities for young people of all backgrounds to reach their full potential. The dukedom which in the past has been hereditary will not, however, pass down to the Edinburghs son James when Edward dies. Viscount Severn will become the Earl of Wessex and Forfar when the title of The Duke of Edinburgh reverts to the Crown, the Palace said. Edward will also remain for his lifetime the Earl of Forfar, another of his titles, but will use the Duke of Edinburgh because it is the more senior Scottish title. The Duke of Edinburgh (left) and his son Edward (PA) Philip had always wanted his youngest son Edward to inherit his title, but the decision ultimately was down to Charles as King. When Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones married in 1999, they were given the titles the Earl and Countess of Wessex. But Buckingham Palace also announced Edward would eventually one day succeed his father as the Duke of Edinburgh but not until after the death of both Philip and the Queen. The palace said at the time: The Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and Prince of Wales have also agreed that the Prince Edward should be given the dukedom of Edinburgh in due course when the present title now held by Prince Philip eventually reverts to the Crown. In keeping with the Letters Patent issued when King George VI gave Philip the title in 1947, Charles inherited the Edinburgh dukedom when Philip died but he did not use it. On the death of the Queen six months ago, Charles acceded to the throne and the title merged with the crown and could be granted to someone to someone else. But despite agreeing to his fathers wishes in 1999, Charles was reported to be reluctant to hand the dukedom over to Edward when he became king. He is known to be in favour of a slimmed-down monarchy. Edward appeared to be aware of the uncertainty, hinting in a TV interview in the aftermath of Philips death: It was sort of a pipe dream of my fathers and of course it will depend on whether or not the Prince of Wales, when he becomes king, whether hell do that. To grant it to Edward, Charles will need to issue a new Letters Patent a document from a sovereign issued under the Great Seal of the Realm. Minutes silence held to mark third anniversary of Covid pandemic being declared A minutes silence has been held to mark the third anniversary of the Covid pandemic being declared and to remember NHS staff who died. Opening the memorial service at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire on Friday, the Rev Paul Nash said staff were the beating heart of the NHS and the public wont ever forget what you have done for us. Saturday marks three years since the World Health Organisation declared the coronavirus outbreak as a pandemic, during which hundreds of NHS staff died, with one paramedic saying it was the first time our jobs felt dangerous. This years service also coincides with the 75th anniversary of the founding of the NHS. Max Oosman, a 70-year-old community mental health nurse practitioner for Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust, attended the service in his 51st year as a nurse. He has worked for the NHS since coming to the UK from Mauritius aged 19, but said the pandemic was like a war zone. Wed never experienced anything like this before and the pandemic just hit us, he said. Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Choir perform during a memorial event at the National Memorial Arboretum to mark the third anniversary of the WHO declaring a global Covid-19 pandemic (Fabio De Paola/PA) It felt like we were in a war zone and it was very traumatic for us, but we were all in it together and that was the overriding feeling. We had to do it. We didnt know what the future held, and it was a very dark place, it was the unknown. Ive dealt with death and a lot of trauma, but not to that extent. This was unprecedented, we didnt know how to react, we just had to be there. The service, attended by members of NHS England and NHS Wales, NHS trusts, ambulance services and other care bodies, featured testimonies from NHS staff, readings and performances. Many guests shed tears during the laying of 12 wreaths to remember those who died. Niall Westhead, left, volunteer at Kent and Canterbury Hospital, is comforted by his father Tony as he lays a wreath during a memorial event hosted by NHS Charities Together at the National Memorial Arboretum (Fabio De Paola/PA) Dame Ruth May, chief nursing officer for England, said: Its an opportunity to acknowledge the impact the pandemic has had on our lives and communities. My thoughts are with every person who lost someone in the pandemic and all those for whom life has changed profoundly. I know the pandemic has had a lasting impact on our profession and others. It remains a challenging time. I have never been prouder to be a nurse and to be part of the incredible work that we do. The remembrance service was organised by NHS Charities Together, a national group supporting more than 230 charities in providing support for health workers across the country. Heidi Thomas, screenwriter and creator of Call The Midwife and forthcoming film Allelujah, speaks during the memorial event (Fabio De Paola/PA) The group has to date provided 146 million of funding to NHS services. Ellie Orton, chief executive of the body, said public donations are vital to provide equipment and peer support for a variety of health staff, and added that the pandemic continues to have wide-ranging impacts. She said: This is the most challenging time that our health and care workforce have worked in, and so being able to stop, to thank and to honour and remember the service and sacrifice of our incredible workforce is really important. The pandemic continues to have an incredible impact on the health service, not just in the backlog of patients but also on the mental health of staff. Our recent surveys have shown that half of the workforce is suffering from anxiety, half from physical exhaustion because they are just working so hard, and a quarter from depression, so its really important to do the event today, but also (commemorate) the incredible generosity of our amazing public. An extra 356,000 mortgage borrowers could face payment difficulties by the end of June 2024, in addition to those who are already behind, according to the City regulator. This has been reduced from a previous estimate made last September that an additional 570,000 mortgage borrowers could become financially stretched by the end of June 2024, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said. The FCA defined mortgage borrowers as being financially stretched if more than 30% of their gross household income was going towards mortgage payments and they were not currently in a payment shortfall. The estimate has been revised downwards due to changes in market expectations of the Bank of England base rate. The previous analysis was based on market expectations in September 2022, which saw the bank rate peaking at around 5.5%, as opposed to a peak of around 4.5% in the February expectations, used to calculate the most recent estimate. Among this group, those rolling off a fixed-rate deal could end up paying an additional 340 a month on average, according to the regulator. Around 200,000 mortgage borrowers were in payment shortfall as of June 2022. The FCA released the latest estimate as it confirmed finalised guidance, setting out the ways that mortgage lenders can help customers worried about or already struggling with their mortgage payments because of the rising cost of living. The regulator expects firms to support people in financial difficulty. The guidance covers options such as extending the term of their mortgage or making reduced monthly payments for a temporary period. Making changes, even temporary ones, may result in higher monthly payments in future or paying back more overall. Mortgage borrowers should consider carefully any steps they take and customers who can keep up with their payments should continue to do so, the FCA said. Sheldon Mills, executive director of consumers and competition at the FCA, said: Our research shows most people are keeping up with mortgage repayments, but some may face difficulties. If youre struggling to pay your mortgage, or are worried you might, you dont need to manage alone. Your lender has a range of tools available to help. Get in touch as soon as you have concerns, dont wait until youre about to miss a payment before doing so. Just talking to them about your options wont affect your credit rating. If you're struggling with your #mortgage due to the rising #CostOfLiving and interest rates, find out what your options are and where you can get support https://t.co/UF94EYeFRy pic.twitter.com/d4xBf5AfFH Financial Conduct Authority (@TheFCA) December 7, 2022 The FCAs research indicated that borrowers aged 18 to 34 are more likely to be financially stretched than the rest of the working age population. Those living in London and the South East, where house prices are often higher than the UK average, are also particularly likely to be stretched. Being stretched does not necessarily mean borrowers will miss payments as some will be able to use savings, reduce spending or increase incomes to help meet their mortgage commitments. As well as contacting their lender for support, worried borrowers can also visit MoneyHelper for money tips, budgeting tools and to find free debt help. The FCA, major lenders and consumer representatives attended a mortgage summit in December. Since then, the FCA said it has continued to work with lenders to help borrowers get the support they need, including timely communication. Lenders have proactively contacted customers a combined total of 16.5 million times, across a range of channels, to offer support in the past year, the regulator said. They expect this to increase this to 20.5 million contacts over the next year. Lenders supported more than two million customers to manage their finances in the past year, including through budgeting tools, access to debt advice, and tailored mortgage forbearance. The FCA said it will continue to monitor the mortgage market and how firms are supporting their customers. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 10) The Executive will reach out to Congress on what can be done to address the issue of so-called "comfort women" or the sexual slavery victims during World War II, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said on Friday. "Hindi natapos 'yung trabaho [The job was unfinished] before so we have to continue doing the job Kasi [Because] that's part of the international obligations that we have," Remulla told reporters, adding that he will talk to both leaders of Congress about the necessary legislation. On Wednesday, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (UN CEDAW) found that the country violated the rights of the comfort women at the hands of the Imperial Japanese Imperial Army by "failing to provide reparation, social support, and recognition" to the harm suffered. The decision was released during International Women's Day, after studying the complaint filed by 24 Filipino women from the non-profit group Malaya Lolas. They said they had "repeatedly raised their demands, asking their government to support their claims against Japan for reparations for their suffering." "That's history and something that is common, most known to us. And ang sense naman diyan siyempre, you never want justice to be too late kasi ilan na lang ang nabubuhay sa kanila," Remulla said. "Kaya sana mahabol pa natin," he added. [Translation: The sense is you never want justice to be too late because only a few of them remain. That's why we hope we can still give it to them.] The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) also urged the government to seriously consider the recommendations and act on the matter in the next few months. "As CHR, [part of our job] is to monitor government's compliance with this treaty obligation and that means that we monitor if and how the government responds to the recommendations in this particular case," said Twyla Rubin, officer-in-charge of the Center for Gender Equality and Women's Human Rights. Specifically, the commission will ask the government about its plans, and coordinate with agencies on steps that will be taken to issue an apology to the victims, give reparation, and pass legislation to support these. Romel Bagares, the legal counsel of Malaya Lolas, said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. can issue an executive order to launch the study of a national framework for reparations, or ask Congress to pass a law similar to the reparation for martial law victims. Virginia Suarez, chairperson of KAISA KA the support group for the Malaya Lolas, also pushed for stronger efforts to remember the suffering of sexual abuse victims during World War II, and make sure it doesn't happen again. "It is really important that the youth know the history of their barangay, know the history of their community, of their municipality. In this case, let Mapaniqui, all the students in Mapaniqui, know the history of the Malaya Lolas," Suarez said. When asked if he already talked with Marcos regarding the UN decision, Remulla said he will get instructions "very soon" and that he will meet the president on Monday. The justice secretary also said he would look into the previous position of the government that reparations have been made already when Japan "settled" war claims under a 1956 agreement signed by Manila and Tokyo. In a statement Friday, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said the Philippine government recognizes the suffering of the victims, but noted that "some reparations have been made and the Supreme Court has adjudicated on the matter." The PCO added the government will study the "views" of the UN committee, and submit a response within six months. Marcos went to Japan for a five-day state visit in February and he also did not bring up the issue of Filipino comfort women. CNN Philippines' Anjo Alimario, Kaithreen Cruz, and Jelo Mantaring contributed to this report. A senior Nigerian politician accused of plotting to arrange an illegal kidney transplant for his sick daughter in the UK claimed he is a victim, a court has heard. Senator Ike Ekweremadu, 60, his wife Beatrice, 56, daughter Sonia, 25, and medical middleman Dr Obinna Obeta, 50, are on trial at the Old Bailey over an alleged plot to bring a young man to Britain for his body part. It is alleged the 21-year-old street trader from Lagos was to be paid up to 7,000 with the promise of opportunities in the UK in exchange for donating a kidney to Sonia Ekweremadu. He was falsely presented as Sonias cousin in a failed bid to persuade medics at the Royal Free Hospital in London to carry out the 80,000 private procedure, the Old Bailey has heard. When he was rejected as unsuitable, it is alleged the Ekweremadus transferred their interest to Turkey and set about finding another donor. Cross-examining the senator, prosecutor Hugh Davies KC said: According to you, you are the victim in all of this. You have seen it, the defendant responded. Ike Ekweremadu claimed he was scammed by medics involved. He admitted facilitating the travel of the 21-year-old to the UK and within the UK, but insisted he did this without the intention of exploiting and without giving any reward in exchange for a kidney. The politician added that he did not pay the 21-year-old, did not arrange for him to remain in England after the operation and only facilitated his travel to the UK to have medical assessments done. Jurors heard about other potential donors being lined up after the 21-year-old was rejected as unsuitable. Text exchanges between the Ekweremadus were read out in court in which these new potential donors were referred to as the dark one and the light one. Mr Davies said: This is the language of commodity isnt it, not altruism? The senator replied: They are Nigerians. They are responsible Nigerians. They are my brothers. He added: Nigeria is a very compassionate society. He told jurors that he was never concerned about any possible exploitation of these donors because they are Nigerians who wanted to help. Asked why the familys interests turned to Turkey, Ike Ekweremadu said they discovered it was significantly cheaper to do a transplant in Turkey than in the UK. Mr Davies told him: Senator, you cannot plead poverty. You had the money. The prosecutor argued that the family turned to Turkey because they could not go back to the Royal Free Hospital in London with another donor with any credibility. Ike Ekweremadu has finished giving evidence. The Ekweremadus, who have an address in Willesden Green, north-west London, and Dr Obeta, from Southwark, south London, deny the charge against them and the Old Bailey trial continues. Weather agencies have updated ice warnings for people on the island of Ireland following a covering of snow in some regions on Friday morning. A Met Eireann status yellow ice warning for the entire Republic of Ireland was scheduled to expire at midday but a separate warning for 15 counties in the northern half of the country was due to come into effect at 7pm until 10am on Saturday. The new warning applies to Sligo, Mayo, Roscommon, Leitrim, Galway, Cavan, Donegal, Monaghan, Kildare, Laois, Longford, Louth, Meath, Westmeath and Offaly. Status Yellow Ice warning for Cavan, Donegal, Monaghan, Connacht, Kildare, Laois, Longford, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath Freezing temps, widespread frost & icy surfaces, leading to hazardous travelling conditions Valid: 19:00 Friday 10/03/2023 10:00 Saturday 11/03/2023 pic.twitter.com/sdzJg0JxPi Met Eireann (@MetEireann) March 10, 2023 The UK Met Office also updated its advisory to apply a yellow ice warning for Northern Ireland until 10am on Saturday. Weather warnings had been in place for the entire island overnight, with Met Eireann urging caution over widespread frost and icy surfaces in places. The Irish meteorological service said it would generally be a dry day after all the snowfall has cleared into the Irish Sea. Thousands of people across the Republic and Northern Ireland were affected by power outages overnight and into Friday morning. A JK Rowling-backed petition calling for the Government to clarify equality legislation will be considered in Parliament after it received more than 100,000 signatures. The Harry Potter author was among those to support the proposal which seeks to make it clear that sex and gender reassignment are separate protected characteristics. Campaigners want to update the Equality Act 2010 to specify that sex, male, female, man and woman mean biological sex rather than sex as modified by a gender recognition certificate. If youre concerned about the erosion of womens rights in the UK the right to single sex spaces like domestic violence refuges, rape crisis centres and prisons sign the Sex Matters petition to make the Equality Act clear.#InternationalWomensDay2023 https://t.co/elvo1IMiRL J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) March 8, 2023 The group Sex Matters, in a briefing note, said: Women (and men) face discrimination because of their sex. People often need different facilities and services based on sex. Organisations that provide single-sex services need clarity about the law. Single-sex associations, sports, charities and schools are also legitimate. All of this is allowed for by the Equality Act. Transgender people are protected from being discriminated against because they are transgender (through the protected characteristic of gender reassignment). This does not give them the right to override other peoples consent when it comes to their privacy, dignity and autonomy about sharing spaces with the opposite sex. After detailing what the amendment would do, it added: Making this clear would resolve the uncertainty for women, transgender people, employers, schools and service providers. It would make it much easier to provide clear guidance and written policies that everyone understands. Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Ludford, speaking during the International Womens Day debate in the House of Lords, said on Friday: I believe we do need a change in the law. I support the petition organised by the organisation Sex Matters, which has been signed by 100,000 people and will therefore be debated in the other place (House of Commons), calling for reform of the Equality Act so that the protected characteristic of sex is clarified as meaning biological sex. It can apparently be done via the Gender Recognition Act, and it is not transphobic or bigoted to call for this legal clarification. Gender and sex have become conflated in popular parlance, probably because we were a bit coy about the term sex. The Gender Recognition Act uses gender and legal sex in the same section, but legally this has become very problematic, especially following a Scottish legal judgment which said that legal sex and biological sex are the same. This needs sorting out, and I hope the minister can assure us that the Government is attentive to this issue. Education minister Baroness Barran said: The Government is clear: biological sex is a fact, it exists and it clearly matters. On Wednesday, Rowling wrote on Twitter: If youre concerned about the erosion of womens rights in the UK the right to single sex spaces like domestic violence refuges, rape crisis centres and prisons sign the Sex Matters petition to make the Equality Act clear. Petitions which receive more than 100,000 signatures tend to be debated in the House of Commons second debating chamber, Westminster Hall. Elsewhere in the Lords debate, Conservative peer Lord Shinkwin paid tribute to Rowling and other women for standing up for equality. He said: I refer to those who, while respecting trans people, nevertheless push back against the polarising poison of trans fanaticism, which tragically toxifies the vital debate on the essence of what it is to be human, especially in relation to our immutable biology. Pupils should be asked to complete their coursework and essays under exam conditions in schools following the emergence of artificial intelligence systems, Ofquals chief regulator has suggested. Jo Saxton, chief regulator of Ofqual, said the AI chatbot ChatGPT has made traditional examined conditions more important than ever so school and college leaders know whose work is being submitted. When asked about ChatGPT at the annual conference of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), Dr Saxton said: Were not seeing the end of desks and pens and paper anytime soon. ChatGPT is a form of generative AI which has come to prominence in recent months after a version of it was released to the public last year. It can respond to questions in a human-like manner and understand the context of follow-up queries much like in human conversations, as well as being able to compose essays if asked sparking fears it could be used by students to complete assignments. Speaking to school and college leaders on Friday, Dr Saxton said: If I was running a centre now, I wouldnt be asking for the pieces of coursework or the essays that contribute to the grade to be done at home or in school holidays, Id be doing them in invigilated conditions in my centre. So I think oddly that innovation means that the examined approach is more important than ever because youve got that integrity of whose work it is. Her comments come after the International Baccalaureate (IB) qualification body said it would not ban children from using ChatGPT in essays as long as they credit it and do not try to pass it off as their own. Speaking at the unions annual conference in Birmingham, Dr Saxton said: First of all, we have got a formal programme of work, we have got a whole team working on technology in assessment. But I must caveat it with were not seeing the end of desks and pens and paper anytime soon. Students are for the foreseeable future still going to need to be able to evidence through writing what they know, understand and can do. And funnily enough I think its some of these innovations, like ChatGPT, which reinforce the importance of the examined arrangements that have stood the test of time so well not just in this country, but in many others, because you know whose work it is. And thats the thing that gives qualification currency beyond the exam board and beyond the school and college. Relationships and sex education must be grounded in facts to prevent controversy, Ofsteds chief inspector has said. Amanda Spielman, chief inspector of Ofsted, told school and college leaders that clearer and more specific guidelines on relationships and sex education (RSE) could help everybody get it right. Her comments come after Rishi Sunak said the Government would accelerate a review of how relationships and sex education is being taught in schools. The pledge came after Conservative MP Miriam Cates said pupils were being subjected to relationships and sex education lessons that are age inappropriate, extreme, sexualising and inaccurate. Speaking at the annual conference of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) in Birmingham, Ms Spielman said: I think good relationships and sex education is an important and valuable thing in schools. I think the last thing that most people want is to return to some of those dreadful battles of the past that made it possible to do what schools can do today. Addressing more than 1,000 school and college leaders on Friday, Ms Spielman added: But I think that makes it doubly important that the RSE in schools really is well grounded in facts, in evidence, just like other areas of education, because otherwise controversy could so engulf it that it could make schools more risk averse and jeopardise the good RSE which I think all of us really want to see. I do think good guidelines clearer and more specific guidelines really could help everybody get it right. During Prime Ministers Questions on Wednesday, Mr Sunak said the Government would bring forward a review of how RSE is being taught in schools, adding that he had asked the Department for Education (DfE) to ensure that schools are not teaching inappropriate or contested content. Speaking to the media at the unions conference on sex education guidance, Geoff Barton, general secretary of ASCL, said: So if what were saying is lets have a look at that framework to see whether the framework is fit for purpose now post-pandemic when lots of young people were perhaps online far more than they would have been, that seems to me quite reasonable. I think the bit that will leave 1,200 people here unnerved is where are all of these examples coming from? Because theyre not in the framework. He added: I think there will be a sense of irritation, not because we are complacent about all of this stuff, but because the people who really ought to be knowing about it first shouldnt be hearing about it in Prime Ministers questions. They should be hearing it because its been brought to them through due process. When asked about some of the concerns raised by MPs on RSE lessons, Mr Barton added: Frankly, as an organisation that talks about ethical leadership, we probably dont need to put in black and white teaching primary children about masturbation is probably a bad thing. Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said on Twitter on Wednesday evening: I am deeply concerned by reports of inappropriate sex education lessons in schools. We are reviewing sex education guidance to make sure schools are not teaching content that is inappropriate, and schools should ensure theyre making content available to parents if requested. During the unions conference, ASCL leaders called on the Government to publish safeguarding guidance to schools in relation to transgender issues. Evelyn Forde, president of ASCL and headteacher of Copthall School in north London, told the media: I think guidance really will help those non-specialist teachers who may be delivering those topics. Guidance often comes out quite late from the DfE. So I think what we would welcome would be that early guidance. Wed welcome it as soon as, she added. Rishi Sunak will use talks with President Emmanuel Macron to push for France to go further on joint efforts to prevent migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats, No 10 said. The Prime Minister is set to meet his French counterpart in Paris on Friday as part of the first UK-France summit in five years. High on the priority list for their discussions will be the problem of migrants crossing from the large stretch of coastline in northern France to southern England, often making the perilous sea journey in flimsy dinghies. The UK Government is known to want a bilateral returns agreement with Paris, a deal that would allow London to immediately return those arriving on British shores unlawfully from France. The meeting is unlikely to lead to a breakthrough on such an accord, with British ministers and diplomats instead privately aiming to cajole Mr Macrons administration into being a driving force behind an EU-wide returns agreement with the UK. Labour said Mr Sunak will have failed if he comes back to the UK without a returns agreement. Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said: We need a new agreement with France. Rishi Sunak will have failed if he comes back from the summit without a new returns agreement and new joint arrangements to prevent dangerous boat crossings. The talks between the leaders come days after Mr Sunak and Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who will also meet with her counterpart in the French capital on Friday, unveiled the Illegal Migration Bill. The legislation announced on Tuesday would see migrants who arrive through unauthorised means deported and hit with a lifetime ban from returning. It is thought Mr Macron is likely to want to hear from the Prime Minister about how the Bill will make Britain a less attractive destination for migrants. Downing Street stressed that the gathering at the Elysee Palace isnt a summit on a single issue, with energy security, the conflict in Ukraine and the challenge posed by China likely to be touched upon. But the Prime Ministers official spokesman confirmed Mr Sunak will look to raise his ambitions of working more closely on the issue of Channel crossings. The spokesman told reporters: Certainly we are going in there with an ambition to go further on stopping the boats making these dangerous crossings. Rishi Sunak and Emmanuel Macron are expected to discuss the UK Governments Illegal Migration Bill (Gareth Fuller/PA) The No 10 official pointed to the multimillion-pound agreement already in place with France, designed to help prevent crossings and target human trafficking gangs, as a pact to be built upon. A revised deal announced in November was worth around 63 million, representing a hike of about 8 million from a similar pledge signed in 2021. Under the commitment, the number of French officers patrolling beaches on the countrys northern coastline rose from 200 to 300, while British officers for the first time were also permitted to be stationed in French control rooms and on the approaches to beaches to observe operations. Nearly 3,000 people have arrived via small boats in the UK already this year but the PA news agency understands that France has successfully prevented around the same number from embarking on the journey. It was reported by the Daily Express that Mr Sunak is ready to green light a deal that would secure a multi-year migration agreement with Paris, which would include Britain paying millions of pounds to France every year to increase the number of patrol officers on French beaches. The Prime Minister told a select group of reporters during a visit to Dover on Tuesday: We want to work together with the French so we can build on the joint approach we agreed last year and keep stepping up patrols and enforcement activity to clamp down on the gangs and stop more boats. This Fridays summit will be an opportunity to do just that. The Prime Ministers official spokesman, in a briefing on Wednesday ahead of the talks, said there was clearly more to do to prevent crossings. He said: I think these are important discussions that should deepen our work with our French counterparts on stopping the boats. It will build on the expansion we already saw the Prime Minister announce in his first few weeks (of office). (PA Graphics) We want a EU-UK returns agreement and will push that forward. But it is equally important that there is work on the ground right now to stop the crossings we are seeing even in these winter months. Increased co-operation, backed by increased funding, is helping to up the interception rates but clearly there is more to do. Elysee Palace sources have reportedly briefed that a deal could be signed off on strengthening co-operation between the UK and France on managing the border through multi-year financing. The summit a once regular event in the political calendar that has been revived by Mr Sunak is being viewed as a thawing in cross-Channel relations. Tensions festered between London and Paris during Boris Johnsons premiership, with Brexit causing frictions and sparking disputes over fishing grounds and trade. During Liz Trusss brief time as prime minister, she said the jury is out on whether Mr Macron was Britains friend. But Mr Macron has been seen to be on more cordial terms with Mr Sunak than the Prime Ministers predecessors, with Paris sources reportedly briefing that the summit should be seen as the beginning of a beautiful renewed friendship. Mr Sunaks spokesman said: This years UK-France summit will be an opportunity to build on the strong foundations of our historic partnership, transforming the extensive work we do together as neighbours and allies to ensure we are taking on the challenges of the future together. The Prime Minister is set to be joined in France by members of his Cabinet, with Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace also travelling, along with Mrs Braverman. Rishi Sunak said he would not hand honours to family members in a thinly-veiled swipe at Boris Johnsons reported plans to knight his father. Mr Johnson, who was forced out of Downing Street last September following a series of scandals, is said to have included Stanley Johnson as one of as many as 100 names put forward for honours. Asked if prime ministers should honour relatives, Mr Sunak told reporters travelling with him on the Eurostar to Paris on Friday: For me a big success is remembering to get my dad a card on Fathers day, so that is probably about my limit of it. Rishi Sunak talks to travelling media on the way to Paris (Kin Cheung/PA) Pressed if that should be taken as a no, he said: Yes. As I said, if I am doing a card Im doing well. Love my dad as I do. Challenged again on the principle, Mr Sunak said: My dads going to get a card on Fathers Day and that is about that. He added that he would not comment on speculation about his predecessor-but-ones honours list. Immigration minister Robert Jenrick told BBC Question Time on Thursday that prime ministers should absolutely not give honours to family members. My personal view is it isnt sensible for a former prime minister to nominate members of their own family for honours, the Tory MP said. Earlier in the week, reports that Stanley Johnson had been included by his son in his honours list had been met with fury by the opposition. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer called it absolutely outrageous and ridiculous. Mr Johnson faced accusations of cronyism in 2020, after he nominated his brother Jo Johnson for a peerage. In 2021, senior Tory MP Caroline Nokes and a journalist publicly accused Stanley Johnson, a former MEP, of touching them at Conservative party conferences. Ms Nokes, chairwoman of the Commons Women and Equalities Committee, accused Stanley Johnson of forcefully smacking her on the backside and making a vulgar comment at the Conservative Party conference in 2003. Stanley Johnson said after that he had no recollection of either incident. Rishi Sunak has said new support measures for Ukraine agreed between the UK and France are designed to put Kyiv in the strongest possible position to negotiate a ceasefire. The Prime Minister and French President Emmanuel Macron used the UK-France summit to sign off on jointly training Ukrainian marines and supplying weapons to the country in its fight against Russias invading forces. During a press conference in Paris, the leaders said the immediate priority was to bolster Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskys forces and allow them to mount a successful counter-offensive. Mr Sunak announced in February, during Mr Zelenskys visit to Britain, that the UK would start to train Kyivs marines as well as pilots. Rishi Sunak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in February (Peter Nicholls/PA) Fridays declaration from the summit at the Elysee Palace will see France join Britain in preparing marines for the drive to purge Ukraine of Russian troops. Mr Sunak said the agreement would help to give Ukraine a decisive advantage on the battlefield and for Ukraine to win this war. He argued that a successful counter-punch would allow the Ukrainians to enter any potential future negotiations with Moscow from a position of strength. In regards to the future, that is a decision for Ukraine, not a decision for us to make for them, he said. Our job is to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position, and that is what our conversations today have been about. The announcements youve seen from us today around training marines, helping with the provision of ammunition, are very tangible examples of our commitment to deliver Ukraine that advantage. And thats where our focus is going to be over the coming weeks and months. Mr Sunak was asked during his trip on the Eurostar to the French capital whether he agreed with Mr Macrons statement that Ukraine should start peace negotiations in the summer. Speaking to reporters, the Prime Minister said the French leader had recognised at the Munich security conference last month that now is not the time for negotiations, with the Wests focus on strengthening Ukraines battlefield operations and defending its critical national infrastructure. He continued: Of course, this will end as all conflicts do, at the negotiating table, but that is a decision for Ukraine to make. And what we need to do is put them in the best possible place to have those talks at an appropriate moment that makes sense for them. But at the moment, the priority has got to be giving them the resources, the training and the support they need to push forward and create advantage on the battlefield. Rishi Sunak and Emmanuel Macron held the first Anglo-French summit since 2018 (Kin Cheung/PA) As well as the accord on re-arming Ukrainian forces and training marines, London and Paris also agreed to collaborate to develop precision strike weapons to combat Russian aggression in Europe. Downing Street said no timeframe had been set for when the Ministry of Defence (MoD) hoped the weapons could be operational. The first Anglo-French summit since 2018 also saw a plan unveiled for increased allied activity in the Indo-Pacific. No 10 said it will include establishing France and the UK as the backbone to a permanent European maritime presence there. The approach will include co-ordinating regular deployment of Frances Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier and the UKs HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales carriers. Discussions between Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and his French counterpart also involved further integration of the UK and French armed forces, intelligence sharing and future interoperability of weapons, according to the MoD. We have agreed to strengthen our defence and security partnership, committing to look at areas of cooperation to increase the interoperability of our joint defence capabilities and to advance key projects to develop complex weapons systems, Mr Wallace said. It comes ahead of an update to the integrated review on foreign and security policy, which Mr Sunak will announce on Monday during a visit to the US. The update is expected to deliver new wording on Britains approach to China after calls from senior Conservatives for a more hawkish view of Beijing. Two days of strike action by teachers in Wales next week have been called off after the Welsh Government proposed a revised pay offer. Members of the National Education Union (NEU) were due to take industrial action in Wales on March 15-16 in an ongoing dispute over pay. But the NEU, the largest education union in the UK, has announced that the strikes in Wales will be suspended while members consider the pay offer. In England, the two strike days will remain in place. The NEU will consult its teacher members in Wales on the revised pay offer, which includes an additional 3% pay award for 2022/23 1.5% consolidated and 1.5% non-consolidated. It also includes a recommendation that the 2023/24 pay award would be increased to 5% with effect from September 1, and it would be fully funded. In a letter on Friday setting out the revised pay offer, Welsh Government education minister Jeremy Miles said: I can confirm that should conversations in England result in an offer for teachers and leaders which is higher than any pay settlement in Wales, we would match the pay award. Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney, joint general secretaries of the NEU, said: We thank the Welsh Government for the constructive manner in which they have pursued a solution to the current dispute over pay. It is vital that we do all we can, together, to combat the recruitment and retention crisis and ensure that more people join the profession and stay in the profession. The Welsh Government recognises this and has also understood the importance of the pay offer being fully funded. In addition, they have committed to working with us on tackling workload. The NEU general secretaries added: This is in stark contrast to the behaviour of Gillian Keegan, who is preventing talks in England. This week she refused even to talks at Acas. The NEU has said time and again we will enter negotiations. The talks can go ahead at any time it is Government who are declining and setting the preconditions, not the NEU. If it is true that the Education Secretary has the blessing of Government to negotiate on pay for this year and next, then there is nothing preventing talks other than her own intransigence. We have demonstrated in Wales that we are more than willing to enter serious negotiations and suspend strike action while we consult our members on an offer. Talks will continue with the Welsh Government on a range of other issues important to NEU members, such as school funding and workload. A Welsh Government spokesperson said: We welcome the decision to pause strikes. This is good news for pupils, parents and the teaching profession. Taken alongside the progress we have made in bringing together a package of measures to reduce workload, we believe this is a good pay offer that we hope members can support. Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said: Over two weeks have now passed since I made a serious offer to the National Education Union to start intensive talks on all areas of their dispute, including pay on the single and reasonable condition that they pause their planned strikes which are damaging to children and disruptive to parents. This is the same offer that was accepted by unions representing nurses, ambulance workers and physiotherapists who all agreed to call off their strikes and are now representing their members in talks with the Government. My offer still stands, to enter negotiations where we can discuss pay and end the disruption for children, their families and teachers. Rishi Sunak and Emmanuel Macron are expected to sign off on the UK and France collaborating to develop precision strike weapons to combat Russian aggression. As well as the deal on weapons, the two leaders are also set to agree on working more closely on training Ukrainian marines and supplying weapons to Kyiv during a UK-France summit in Paris on Friday. The Prime Minister said the West faced unprecedented threats and that he and his French counterpart wanted to fortify Nato so the defensive alliance is ready to take on the challenges of the future. During their talks at the Elysee Palace, which will include discussing a new deal on tackling unlawful migration, Downing Street said the Prime Minister and the French president would recognise Russia as posing the biggest threat to both European and global security. Speaking ahead of the summit in the French capital, the Prime Minister said: Our deep history, our proximity and our shared global outlook mean that a firm partnership between the UK and France is not just valuable, it is essential. From tackling the scourge of illegal migration to driving investment in one anothers economies, the work we do together improves the lives of each and every person in our countries. Beyond that, the UK and France also have a privileged role as defenders of European and global security. As we face new and unprecedented threats, it is vital that we fortify the structures of our alliance so we are ready to take on the challenges of the future. That is what we will do at the UK-France summit today. As part of their discussions, the Prime Minister and the president are expected to give the go-ahead to enhanced UK-France military co-ordination, including agreeing to scope the co-development of next-generation deep precision strike weaponry, No 10 said. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and President Emmanuel Macron are expected to discuss defence matters in Paris (Stefan Rousseau/PA) Officials said the allies hope the project produces the kind of long-range capability that Nato needs to protect against the growing threat from Russia. The pair will also take steps to bolster Ukraine in its fight back against Russian president Vladimir Putins troops, with agreements on supplying weapons to Kyiv and working jointly to train Ukrainian marines. Mr Sunak announced in February, during Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskys visit to Britain, that the UK would start to train Kyivs marines and pilots. No 10 said an accord on further joint UK and French training could see thousands more Ukrainians brought to battlefield readiness. They will also discuss what Nato members can do to provide Ukraine with long-term defence capabilities. Their attention will turn to the Indo-Pacific, a region the UK has already agreed to tilt its foreign and defence policy towards. Officials said the UK and France, the European nations with the largest presence in the region, view security in the Indo-Pacific as indivisible from that of Europe. Part of a deal on increasing allied activity in the Indo-Pacific will include establishing France and UK as the backbone to a permanent European maritime presence there. The approach will include co-ordinating regular deployment of Frances Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier and the UKs HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales carriers across the region. Rishi Sunak announced Ukrainian marines and pilots would be trained in Britain to mark President Volodymyr Zelenskys UK visit (Andrew Matthews/PA) The Prime Ministers official spokesman said the agreement on collaborating in the Indo-Pacific was about responding to the challenge posed by China. Mr Sunak is due to announce an update to 2021s integrated foreign and security review on Monday during a visit to the US, with new wording reportedly expected on Britains approach to Beijing. In a sign that Mr Sunak is looking for closer collaboration with Europe on security, he has also agreed for Britain to host the fourth meeting of the European Political Community next year. Proposed by Mr Macron and set up in the wake of the Kremlins assault on Ukraine, its first meeting in Prague last year was attended by the UK, European Union, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, the Western Balkan and other nations including Turkey. Mr Sunaks predecessor, Liz Truss, had been sceptical about the need for a multilateral forum, but the UKs decision to host a session in 2024 will be read as a change in attitude by Downing Streets current incumbent. Cabinet ministers including Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and Home Secretary Suella Braverman will also attend the UK-France summit to meet with their counterparts. It is the first time the summit has been held since Theresa May was prime minister in 2018, with cross-Channel relations turning frosty during Boris Johnsons premiership. The talks on defence also come after a row about the trilateral Aukus pact, which saw the UK and US agree to assist Australia in building nuclear-powered submarines. The deal angered Paris due to Australia choosing to renege on a deal agreed previously between the two nations on supplying Canberra with diesel-powered submarine vessels. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 10) Suspects behind the killing of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo said they were made to believe that another person was the target, authorities said on Friday. That was part of the revelation of one of the suspects na (that) they were somewhat like misled of the target. Thats part of his extrajudicial confession, Special Investigation Task Force Degamo spokesperson PLtCol Ace Pelare told CNN Philippines The Source. According to earlier reports, two suspects, who mentioned a certain Congressman Teves as mastermind, said they agreed to the assault believing that the target was a drug lord. Pelare said they forwarded the case to the Department of Justice as they shift to the final stretch of investigation. He said a portion of the probe looks at Negros Oriental Representative Arnolfo Teves Jr. as orchestrator of the killing, but he added there may be more than one mastermind. Teves has denied involvement in the assassination. On Thursday, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said three people may be behind Degamo's killing. The governor was gunned down in broad daylight at his home on March 4. Eight others were killed. Meanwhile, the motive was narrowed to political grudge and intense political rivalry, Pelare said. Authorities are gathering evidence to support the murder and frustrated murder, as well as for illegal possession of firearms and explosive charges filed against the four arrested suspects and 12 others who remain at-large, he added. Pelare said they believe other suspects are still in Negros Oriental. Besides the four arrested, one suspect was killed during a gunfight with authorities. Schools are facing more challenging behaviour from pupils who see school routines as oppressive following months at home during the pandemic, a headteachers union has said. Pupils who became used to wearing no uniforms and going to the toilet when they wanted are now flexing their muscles, Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said. It comes after the union received a number of reports about student protests which are said to have been inspired by videos shared on TikTok taking place at schools across the country. In a speech to more than 1,000 school and college leaders at the ASCLs annual conference in Birmingham, Mr Barton said protests over toilets and school uniforms had spread like wildfire in schools after videos were posted on TikTok. He added that social media had given rise to a poisonous culture. Speaking to the media ahead of the speech, Mr Barton said: I do think there is a sense that young people having had a period where they were working at home, where they didnt have to wear school uniform, where they could go to the toilet when they wanted to go to the toilet, that a lot of the old rhythms and routines which are essential to running a school suddenly feel more oppressive now and that some youngsters are flexing their muscles a bit around that. He added that school leaders are experiencing changes of patterns in parents behaviour, as well as students. Parents (are) very quick to complain about things, Mr Barton said. Speaking at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham on Friday, Evelyn Forde, president of ASCL and headteacher of Copthall School in north London, told the media: I think some young people have found it hard to regulate post-pandemic because theyve been in and out doing what they want to do. In schools, it has to be ordered. Youre teaching a lesson and so you need everybody in the classroom and theyve got to follow those rules. But some young people are finding it hard to regulate and will just want to kind of remove themselves from a classroom. That can be challenging. Sometimes they end up in the toilets. Ms Forde added that school leaders were experiencing challenging behaviour from pupils, adding that there was a big issue with vaping. She said: I dont think there is a behaviour crisis, I think there are challenges. It used to be the back of the bike sheds where young people would go and smoke. Now some children are going into the toilets to vape. In a speech to heads and principals at the unions conference, Mr Barton said: If I was secretary of state I would be pledging much more support for schools and colleges over the problems which proliferate over social media. Weve seen this lately with a spate of highly disruptive copycat protests in schools over toilets and school uniforms which have spread like wildfire after being posted on TikTok. Some of these posts are pretty nasty, targeting individual members of staff with highly offensive and unfounded allegations. He added: Social media in general for all its merits in helping people to keep in touch and share thoughts and ideas has given rise to an increasingly poisonous culture. Children must be allowed an age of innocence amid the misery brought by the new world of woke, according to a Conservative peer. Baroness Seccombe said she fears for the future of her two great-grandchildren if we do not come to our senses. The 92-year-old criticised teachers for thinking they can indulge children about their gender identity and offered her support to Harry Potter author JK Rowling. Rowling has been criticised for her staunch views on gender identity, explaining she was partly motivated to speak out because of her experience of domestic abuse and sexual assault, but has strongly denied accusations of transphobia. Lady Seccombe went on to voice concerns over the future of womens sport, insisting trans women should not be allowed in the same competitions as women born biologically female. Speaking in the International Womens Day debate, Lady Seccombe concluded by telling the House of Lords: We as women are different, our life experiences are different, our contributions are different, very often adding a different perspective, and long may that be the case. But for goodness sake, may we allow our little children to have an age of innocence before they have to cope with the harshness and brutality of what some would call this brave new world. Other peers speaking in the debate criticised the witch hunt and demonisation of trans women. Liberal Democrat Baroness Barker said: In the UK, we know there is a daily campaign against trans women. We see it day after day in our media. Its a campaign that seeks to pit women against women. It portrays trans women as a significant and systemic threat to other women. Lady Barker said the campaign has yet to provide evidence of that over six years but warned that some politicians have been taken in by the claims. The Green Partys Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle commended Lady Barker, adding: She rightly highlighted the witch hunt and demonisation of trans women, which has scarred our public discourse. Lady Seccombe, opening her contribution to the debate, said she has been involved in the fight for equality for women. She said: I want to talk about the new world of woke and the misery it is bringing to the world. It seems to have invaded every sphere of society and indeed even some of the Church of England appear to be embracing the ideology. Lady Seccombe spoke of her great-grandchildren and told peers: I fear for their future if we do not come to our senses. I believe children thrive best when they live at home with two parents. I do understand that is not always possible for many reasons, including me. Lady Seccombe said her father died in the winter of 1942, adding: Today we have a system where teachers think they have the right to ignore parents and indulge children about their gender identity. JK Rowling (Yui Mok/PA) Surely this is exactly when loving parents should be involved in what is a very personal matter and the needs of children require sensitive and caring management, but they are often not informed by the schools. Turning to the challenges faced by some children during puberty and acknowledging support is needed, the peer said: When I was growing up it wasnt controversial to accept that we were all born male or female. Babies are not assessed at birth, they are observed and recorded. I still strongly believe this and I have been horrified by the treatment of JK Rowling and other brave people by activists, including those she helped to make rich and reach their famous status. I have yet to hear or see anything that JK Rowling has said or written which is transphobic. Like her I believe it is not transphobic to support womens rights. I also believe that adults, after much thought, should be free to choose and live their lives in an alternative way and I support their decision if they wish to do so. I fear for the future of womens sport. Im always in awe of the success of British women in so many disciplines and admire the parents who for years travel the country in support of their child and the training needed to succeed. It is ridiculous and unfair to allow trans women to enter the same race as a woman who is biologically female. I believe that a womans physical strength can never equal that of a male person at birth despite the reduction of testosterone in their bodies. Conservative peer Baroness Meyer later raised concerns over teaching in schools, saying: Propagating ideologies that are not based on facts and indoctrinating children reminds me of the Soviet Union. This gender ideology is also playing straight into the hands of Mr (Vladimir) Putin, who accuses the West of moving towards Stalinism and teaching sexual deviation to children. Education minister Baroness Barran said keeping the confidence and trust between schools and parents is absolutely critical. She said: Our priority should always be the safety and wellbeing of children and that schools should make the curriculum content and materials available to parents. We will be bringing forward a review of the statutory guidance of relationships, sex and health education curriculum and starting the consultation on that as soon as possible. Not the same as it was? Lala Kent is weighing in on speculation that upcoming episodes of Vanderpump Rules have been revisited by editors amid Raquel Leviss affair with Tom Sandoval. Read article I may get in trouble for saying this, the Bravo personality, 32, began in an Instagram Story video on Thursday, March 9, while laying down with daughter Ocean, 23 months. But Im gonna say it anyway. I heard people are talking about how editors of VPR probably went back through and, like, tweaked things to kind of, like, align with what happened. Not true. According to Lala, the rest of season 10 hasnt been touched in the wake of the cheating scandal. What you guys are gonna see this season before we obviously know what we know now was very much going to be the story line of you know who. With or without what just happened in the last week. Gregory Pace/Shutterstock (2) The Utah native added: Nothing was reedited. This was the story. Youre just gonna view it very differently now. The Pump Rules universe faced its biggest shakeup yet earlier this month. Us Weekly confirmed on March 3 that Tom, 39, and Ariana Madix split after nine years of dating due to his lengthy affair with Raquel, 28. News of the scandal broke as viewers watched the former beauty pageant queen attempt to make a move on Tom Schwartz following his divorce from Katie Maloney. Read article Bravo fans have rallied around Ariana, 37, after the bombshell breakup as have her costars. Lala was one of the first Pump Rules cast members to address the controversy via social media, telling her followers that Ariana gave her consent to unleash the blowtorch, gasoline, grenade launcher on Raquel and the Missouri native. Courtesy of Lala Kent/Instagram Production picked back up on the reality series after news broke of the duos affair and some already-aired scenes and interviews have hit different amid the scandal. Lala called out Raquel for referring to Ariana as one of her only true friends before her relationship with the TomTom cofounder was uncovered. For so long, Ive been saying that she aint got a lot upstairs, and everyones like, Shes so sweet. And she sits there and is like, Im not dumb, Lala. I went to college,' the Give Them Lala author said via Instagram on Sunday, March 5. But now that all hell has broken loose and shes lit herself on fire, she wants to lean in on, Im dumb, everyone else filled my head, Im the victim. Its not gonna work. Read article Both Raquel and the musician have publicly apologized to Ariana, with the California native asserting that there is no excuse for her behavior. I am not a victim and I must own my actions and I deeply regret hurting Ariana, she wrote via Instagram on Wednesday, March 8, noting that she is speaking to a counselor about how to make healthier choices. MediaPunch/Shutterstock Lala, meanwhile, claimed on her podcast that she started to get suspicious of Raquel throughout filming for season 10. Theres plenty of dudes to make out with. You gotta get out of the group, she said on Thursday. For it to be your best friends dude its just yucky. For her to make a comeback, the groups never gonna forget. Thats some low-down, dirty stuff. This is a character flaw. Us has reached out for comment about the editing of remaining episodes. Sign up for Us Weekly's free, daily newsletter and never miss breaking news or exclusive stories about your favorite celebrities, TV shows and more! Vanderpump Rules airs on Bravo Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET. Tipping their hats to a legend. Shrinkings Paul (Harrison Ford) can be counted on for a lot being Jimmys mentor, uttering woof under his breath, carrying a water bottle and talking about potatoes. Oh, and lets not forget about wearing a fedora. Harrison Ford Through the Years He brought that fedora in. Harrison did. Its his! costume designer Allyson Fanger exclusively tells Us Weekly. He brought it in, and he was just like, I wanna wear this. So they had to write it in. Harrison, 80, stars opposite co-creator and executive producer Jason Segel on the freshman Apple TV+ series, which follows a grieving therapist (Segel) trying to heal following the death of his wife. As he leans on Paul and fellow therapist Gaby (Jessica Williams) and rebuilds his relationship with daughter Alice (Lukita Maxwell), he takes an unethical approach to guiding his patients. Apple TV+ Paul also grows attached to Alice, who he has sessions with at the park and she pays him in candy. In episode 5, Woof, his eye-catching hat is introduced for the first time. He was gonna wear it in the office. And I was like, I dont know that hed wear it in the office. I like it. I like it for him. And there were all those great scenes with him and Alice on the bench outside. And I was like, Lets do that outside,' Fanger recalled to Us. And he was like, OK, wear it outside. And now its such a thing. Hes wearing it in all the outside things, which makes sense too. Cause we shot in Pasadena, [California], in the summer and it was super-hot. And it was great that he had that hat, but now its a thing. Such a thing that multiple jokes were written into the 10-episode series to tease Ford about the attire. In Woof, Alice says, That hat is ridiculous, in which he replied later in the episode: What, all of a sudden you are an expert on hats? Freaks and Geeks Cast: Where Are They Now? In Imposter Syndrome, Jimmys nosy neighbor Liz (Christa Miller) gives Paul some CBD gummies and notes: Look, best case scenario, it helps. Worst case scenario, you get a little high and you buy another one of those hats. Apple TV+ The cast and crew stocked up on fedoras to celebrate Harrisons 80th celebration on set. On his birthday, everybody was wearing the hats and it was a whole funny thing, Fanger told Us. One of the producers was like, Can you get us, like, 50 fedoras and well put them on the whole crew and then surprise him when he walks in. Which we did. Its become a great moment for the whole crew. She added: We matched them as best we could. We went to Warner Brothers Costume and pulled out as many similar fedoras as we could. The 1923 actor would also wear his own belts and stick to a very specific cut of Levis when the camera rolled. Jeans are so specific and personal. I almost always ask an actor in the first couple fittings to bring in their own jeans that they love. Jeans are as specific as our shoes. But people have jeans that they love and a guy like Paul, you know, hes got his jeans. Hes been wearing those same jeans forever. So thats what he wore, Fanger explained, noting that she even toured his collection at his home. He showed me his closet. We looked at what he had, and we had brought a couple details like his belts. He wanted to wear his own belts and I loved his belts because those are unique and those are hard to find those perfect belt buckles. Theyre older and theyre just that little perfect amount of detail and texture to a character. They personalize a character for the audience, she continued. The fact that the [actors] care so much makes me so happy. I love it. Harrison became more of a challenge than Fanger expected at the start of production but not in a bad way. Apple TV+ He had a lot of ideas about his character. Hes one of the most detail-oriented actors Ive ever worked with. And I appreciate that so much because I am very detail-oriented, and I love that he also appreciates and notices and knows how important all those little moments are. All the tiny details. And he also is an actor who doesnt really wanna decide what he is wearing until last-minute, she told Us, laughing. Every scene Id be in his trailer, were like, OK, so were gonna do Id give him, like, three options of looks that I thought could work for a certain scene. And then hed be like, Ill wear this. He thinks about every detail, every shirt and how the pocket is sewn on. Harrison Ford and Calista Flockharts Relationship Timeline It was initially a learning curve for the designer, but the two had a great relationship together on set. Hes just the most amazing guy because he really wanted to feel in the moment what he was gonna wear. Which Im like that too. Im not a planner ahead of my outfits because I have to feel it in the moment. I gotta feel how my mood is for the day. And thats how he was. So I relate to it, she said. He has specific brands that work for him that we stuck to. And he has a specific palette. He likes things to have texture, but not too much texture. Fords wardrobe consisted mainly of east coast pieces to highlight Pauls Connecticut background. Hes now on the west coast, but he still maintains his sort of east coast look. I got a lot of his clothes from the east coast. I was calling stores for a lot of that. You cant even find it in L.A. I used Atlanta and New York to get a lot of his clothes, she told Us. And I wanted the same thing for Meg, his daughter. Lily Rabe plays Fords daughter in the dramatic comedy. Nicknamed Connecticut Meg by Jimmy, she dons a Francis Valentine sweater when she visits their practice for the first time. Apple TV+ I wanted to make sure that she felt very east coast. I didnt buy anything for her in L.A. Everything came from the east coast. And I think that also communicates when you meet her and you see her, you can see the relationship between them, Franger told Us. I really love Francis Valentine. They make pieces that I dont see anywhere else. They have those great details. On the cuff it had the colored yarn pieces. It almost looked hand done. Shrinking was officially renewed for season 2 on Thursday, March 9, and Fanger who has previously worked on Grace and Frankie and 80 for Brady is already mapping out whats next for each character. All of them I wanna take a little further honestly, because I feel like now we know who they are, she said. Its my job to tell that story of their personality through the way they dress. And I think thats now well-defined and so now we can take even more risks. Sign up for Us Weekly's free, daily newsletter and never miss breaking news or exclusive stories about your favorite celebrities, TV shows and more! Shrinking also stars Michael Urie, Luke Tennie, Ted McGinley, Devin Kawaoka and Heidi Gardner. A new episode drops weekly on Apple TV+ with episode 8, Boop, debuting on Friday, March 10, and the season finale on March 24. A federal district court judge in California has denied the request of Ramesh Sunny Balwani, former president and chief operating officer of the defunct blood testing company, Theranos, to suspend his incarceration while an appeal of his convictions plays out in a higher court. Balwani indicated in court documents in December that he would appeal any decision denying his request. At sentencing, Balwani was ordered to report to federal custody at 2:00 p.m. on March 15. In a related order, Balwani was directed to self-surrender to federal prison on March 16, 2023, no later than 2:00 p.m. Former Theranos President and COO Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani leaves after a hearing at a federal court in San Jose, California, U.S., July 17, 2019. (REUTERS/Stephen Lam) In July, a jury convicted Balwani on 12 counts of fraud for his role in aiding Theranos founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes in fraudulently promoting the Silicon Valley company to investors and patients. U.S. District Court Judge Edward Davila, who presided over separate trials for Balwani and Holmes, sentenced Balwani to 155 months behind bars. Holmes was convicted months earlier in January 2022 by a jury who returned guilty verdicts on four of 11 nearly identical counts of criminal fraud. "They misled investors, they misled patients," U.S. District Court Judge Edward Davila said during Balwani's sentencing hearing in San Jose, California, according to NBC News. In making his determination Judge Davila said he found that Balwani provided clear and convincing evidence that he is neither a flight risk nor a danger to the community. However, he ruled that Balwani had not raised sufficient enough questions concerning the handling of his trial that if resolved in his favor would likely lead to a reversal of the jury's verdict or a new trial. In his request to remain free while his appeal is pending, Balwani argued that the district court improperly permitted differences between the government's allegations in its indictment and the evidence presented at trial. He also argued that the court improperly permitted expert-type testimony from former Theranos employees Erika Cheung, Mark Pandori, and Adam Rosendorff, despite that they testified as lay witnesses, and that it wrongly excluded testimony concerning Theranos' former laboratory director Dr. Adam Rosendorffs post-Theranos employment, which would have revealed bias. Balwani also argued that the jury would have acquitted him on all counts had the court granted his motion to suppress evidence of customer complaints, testing results, and regulatory reports and evidence of misrepresentations in materials Theranos provided to the military. "Mr. Balwanis convictions for investor fraud involved many different misrepresentations made to investors, regarding Theranoss testing capabilities, validation by pharmaceutical companies, Theranoss relationship with Walgreens and the Department of Defense, and the companys financial projections," Davila wrote in his decision. "The representations regarding the Department of Defense, therefore, constitute only one facet of the larger body of misrepresentations made to investors." Davila based Balwani's sentence on a calculation that he defrauded 12 Theranos investors out of a collective $120 million, Law360 reported. Balwani's lawyers argued that his sentence should be more lenient than Holmes' because his role at Theranos was subordinate to the chief executive. Davila, however, challenged that contention, saying that Balwani was, at times, also a leader in the company. Government prosecutors asked Davila to impose a 15-year sentence, while Balwani's probation officer recommended a sentence of nine years. Balwani, who started dating Holmes soon after she dropped out of Stanford University at the age of 19, made millions as an executive during the dot-com boom. He lost millions of dollars in his own investments in Theranos. During sentencing, his lawyers argued that Balwani's sentence should not be enhanced for investor losses because he left the company before investors officially lost their money. 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 Pra-chid / Getty Images/iStockphoto Understanding what the average income is in your state can help you get a sense of where your own salary falls. Averages are typically measured in two ways: mean and median. Mean or "average" income takes the total amount of earnings across a sample and divides it by the number of participants. Median income, on the other hand, is the midway point of a sample, with half the people sampled earning above the median and half earning less. Do You Have a Money Question? Ask an Expert Read More: With a Recession Looming, Make These 3 Retirement Moves To Stay On Track The difference can be significant. High earners can skew the average income much higher than the median income. To use a simple example, if two earners make $20,000, one makes $40,000 and two make $120,000, the median income is $40,000. However, the average is $64,000. Thus, depending on how you measure "average" income, the figures can be highly variable. This differential can be seen in terms of the U.S. as a whole, where the average family household income is $97,962 but the median is just $69,717. Regional differences can also play a huge role in average income. States with higher costs typically also have higher average wages. However, some states have higher wages overall regardless of typical expenses. For example, California is regarded as a high-cost state, and average salaries top $111,000. However, Minnesota is not generally considered an expensive place to live, yet average salaries top $96,000 in the state, above the national average income of $91,547. Take Our Poll: Do You Think You Will Be Able To Retire at Age 65? To help get the black-and-white figures for worker income in every U.S. state, GOBankingRates conducted a study using five-year estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2021 American Community Survey. Both mean and median state income figures were tallied. Results are presented in alphabetical order, from Alabama to Wyoming. SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images Alabama Average household income: $76,150 Median household income: $54,94 gabrielasauciuc / Getty Images Alaska Average household income: $103,258 Median household income: $80,287 dszc / Getty Images/iStockphoto Arizona Average household income: $89,693 Median household income: $65,913 DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images/iStockphoto Arkansas Average household income: $73,346 Median household income: $52,123 Take Our Poll: How Much Salary Would Buy You Happiness? Art Wager / Getty Images California Average household income: 119,149 Median household income: $84,097 milehightraveler / Getty Images/iStockphoto Colorado Average household income: $107,446 Median household income: $80,184 SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images/iStockphoto Connecticut Average household income: $120,670 Median household income: $83,572 DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images/iStockphoto Delaware Average household income: $97,081 Median household income: $72,724 Sean Pavone / Getty Images/iStockphoto Florida Average household income: $88,267 Median household income: $61,777 Sean Pavone / Getty Images/iStockphoto Georgia Average household income: $91,082 Median household income: $65,030 sorincolac / Getty Images/iStockphoto Hawaii Average household income: $113,310 Median household income: $88,005 vkbhat / Getty Images Idaho Average household income: $83,777 Median household income: $63,377 lhongfoto / Getty Images/iStockphoto Illinois Average household income: $100,719 Median household income: $72,563 f11photo / Getty Images/iStockphoto Indiana Average household income: $81,703 Median household income: $61,944 JoeChristensen / Getty Images/iStockphoto Iowa Average household income: $84,948 Median household income: $65,429 Davel5957 / Getty Images/iStockphoto Kansas Average household income: $87,033 Median household income: $64,521 NatChittamai / Getty Images/iStockphoto Kentucky Average household income: $76,511 Median household income: $$55,454 SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images/iStockphoto Louisiana Average household income: $77,025 Median household income: $53,571 SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images/iStockphoto Maine Average household income: $83,914 Median household income: $63,182 HaizhanZheng / Getty Images/iStockphoto Maryland Average household income: $120,234 Median household income: $91,431 DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images/iStockphoto Massachusetts Average household income: $123,174 Median household income: $89,026 Pawel Gaul / Getty Images/iStockphoto Michigan Average household income: $85,727 Median household income: $63,202 AndreyKrav / Getty Images/iStockphoto Minnesota Average household income: $102,691 Median household income: $77,706 SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images/iStockphoto Mississippi Average household income: $68,636 Median household income: $49,111 DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images Missouri Average household income: $83,152 Median household income: $61,043 miroslav_1 / Getty Images Montana Average household income: $82,237 Median household income: $60,560 Davel5957 / Getty Images/iStockphoto Nebraska Average household income: $87,815 Median household income: $66,644 f11photo / Getty Images/iStockphoto Nevada Average household income: $89,562 Median household income: $65,686 DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images/iStockphoto New Hampshire Average household income: $108,061 Median household income: $83,449 SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images/iStockphoto New Jersey Average household income: $124,626 Median household income: $89,703 DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images/iStockphoto New Mexico Average household income: $74,363 Median household income: $54,020 Frederic Prochasson / Getty Images/iStockphoto New York Average household income: $111,583 Median household income: $75,157 digidreamgrafix / Getty Images/iStockphoto North Carolina Average household income: $84,888 Median household income: $60,516 DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images/iStockphoto North Dakota Average household income: $89,443 Median household income: $68,131 DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images/iStockphoto Ohio Average household income: $83,820 Median household income: $61,938 Davel5957 / Getty Images Oklahoma Average household income: $78,040 Median household income: $56,956 Long_Strange_Trip_01 / Getty Images/iStockphoto Oregon Average household income: $94,034 Median household income: $70,084 f11photo / Getty Images/iStockphoto Pennsylvania Average household income: $92,849 Median household income: $67,587 SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images/iStockphoto Rhode Island Average household income: $97,908 Median household income: $74,489 SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images/iStockphoto South Carolina Average household income: $81,142 Median household income: $58,234 EunikaSopotnicka / Getty Images/iStockphoto South Dakota Average household income: $83,175 Median household income: $63,920 Sean Pavone / Getty Images/iStockphoto Tennessee Average household income: $82,012 Median household income: $58,516 Pgiam / Getty Images Texas Average household income: $94,115 Median household income: $67,321 johnnya123 / Getty Images/iStockphoto Utah Average household income: $101,412 Median household income: $79,133 DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images Vermont Average household income: $89,820 Median household income: $67,674 traveler1116 / Getty Images/iStockphoto Virginia Average household income: $111,013 Median household income: $80,615 july7th / Getty Images/iStockphoto Washington Average household income: $111,431 Median household income: $82,400 benedek / Getty Images West Virginia Average household income: $69,436 Median household income: $50,884 FierceAbin / Getty Images/iStockphoto Wisconsin Average household income: $87,733 Median household income: $67,080 WitGorski / Getty Images Wyoming Average household income: $87,786 Median household income: $68,002 More From GOBankingRates Jake Arky, Jordan Rosenfeld and John Csiszar contributed to the reporting for this article. Methodology: In order to determine each state's average income (i.e., mean income), GOBankingRates used the five-year estimates from the 2021 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The same information was used to find each state's median household income. All data were collected and are up to date as of Mar. 7, 2023. This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: How Do You Stack Up To the Average Income in Your State? California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta speaks during a press conference in 2022. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times) Eighteen people were arrested in an undercover operation after they allegedly attempted to contact minors online for sex and other related crimes in Sacramento County, law enforcement officials announced Friday. During the investigation called Operation Secret Admirer, the suspects were in contact with undercover officers who posed as children as young as 13, according to authorities. The operation was conducted between mid-February and March 1. "These are very bad people we got off the streets," Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper said during a press conference posted on Facebook. "There's a whole lot more out there." The operation was conducted by the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and investigators from the California Department of Justice, along with the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office, FBI, Homeland Security Investigations and multiple law enforcement agencies in Sacramento, Placer, El Dorado and San Joaquin counties. "Today's announcement makes it clear that child sexual abuse will not be tolerated," California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta said in a statement. "I have a simple message for all those who target children for sex online: If you go after children in California, we'll go after you." The suspects arrested during the operation sent undercover agents explicit photos and messages with explicit language. Many of the arrests included individuals who allegedly attempted to meet the undercover agents, thinking they were underage children, authorities said. Sacramento County Sheriff's Sgt. Brandon Gayman, commander of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, said the suspects during the investigation were repeatedly told they were speaking to a minor. "That's even continuously referenced in other things like them being in school or doing homework," Gayman said. The investigation was initially planned for three days, but it expanded as law enforcement sought suspects who contacted undercover officers. Some of the suspects were also in contact with multiple undercover officers during the weeks-long operation, Gayman said. "That tells us right there that these folks are out there looking for children," he said. "We do anticipate that these suspects have contacted other minors out in the community." Online grooming and enticement of underage victims can be found in multiple online platforms, including social media, messaging apps and games, according to the state attorney general's office. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in four girls and one in 13 boys in the United States experience sexual abuse. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Shanquella Robinson. (Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: family handout [2]) More than four months after the death of Shanquella Robinson, a 25-year-old Charlotte, N.C., woman who died under mysterious circumstances while on a trip with six friends to Mexico, lawyers for the family have accused the FBI of not doing enough to arrest a suspect in the case, despite a bevy of mounting evidence. The FBI's response in the current case demonstrates that the U.S. authorities and the federal police agencies are not doing all that they could do in Shanquellas case, attorney Sue-Ann Robinson (who has no relation to the family) told Yahoo News. There seems to be no activity on behalf of Shanquella, attorney Ben Crump added. Robinson and Crump, who together represent the family, say the federal agencys response to four Americans kidnapped in Mexico last week and its subsequent fervor to solve the case, including a $50,000 reward offering, are evidence of protocol in place that isnt being followed in the same way for Shanquella Robinson. Obviously they know how to have that high level of intervention with the appropriate Mexican authorities, because they did it immediately [for the recently kidnapped Americans], attorney Robinson said. Our clients are very understanding of the level of complication in a transnational criminal case. But there's a protocol, so why isn't the protocol being used? The FBI has said its investigation is ongoing but did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Yahoo News. Details about Robinsons death On Oct. 28, Robinson traveled to the resort city of San Jose del Cabo, Mexico, with a group of friends to celebrate one of their birthdays. Less than 24 hours later she was found dead. Initially, her friends told her mother that Robinson had died of alcohol poisoning, but the family later received an autopsy report from the Mexican Secretariat of Health and learned she had suffered a broken neck and a cracked spine. No mention of alcohol was included in the report. In a death certificate obtained by Queen City News in Charlotte, Robinson's death was attributed to a severe spinal cord injury and atlas luxation, meaning that her first vertebra was loosened or detached from the base of her skull. Shanquella Robinson. (Via Instagram) Nearly a month later, a blogger in North Carolina published video footage that he alleged shows a woman attacking Robinson. Robinsons mother recognized the other people in the video as the ones who traveled with her daughter, and she believes it was captured on the trip to Cabo. In the 18 weeks since Robinsons death, the family says so much has happened and yet little movement in the case has taken place. In addition to the video coming to light, Mexican authorities issued an arrest warrant in the case in November for the crime of femicide, a form of gender-based violence. They also sought to extradite an American suspect to the country to face charges. But since then, no one has been held accountable. Attorney Robinson said she has since traveled to Mexico for a better understanding of the disconnect and was informed by the Mexican attorney generals office that this case is a high priority and theyre willing to turn it over to the U.S., but they claim its the FBI that has been stagnant. The FBI can issue the same reward they just did if they're seeking information, she said. They can say, Hey, we're offering a $50,000 reward for anybody who has information on this case. Because six travel-mates are at large. They're not in custody anywhere. They sleep in their beds at night. Its a predicament that has left a family distraught. "No one has been arrested," Robinson's mother, Sallamondra, said at a press conference last Friday. "The people who knew what happened to my daughter are living their lives. They have returned to work, and my family is left to wait and wait to beg for answers." Why a prosecution may take time Donald Corbett, an associate law professor at North Carolina Central University who specializes in constitutional law, understands the growing frustrations but believes a transnational prosecution of the person who killed Robinson is a bit more complex. There isn't a timeline where these things have to happen within 30 days or 60 days or 90 days, but the problem as they're going through whatever their process is, in the meantime, the family's sitting there and they're not getting any answers from the government, Corbett said. Irving Barrios, attorney general of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, and Luis Rodriguez Bucio, undersecretary of public security, speak on Tuesday about the kidnapping of four Americans in Matamoros, Mexico. (Hector Vivas/Getty Images) Its more than just a criminal issue, he said, adding that there are diplomatic and political aspects as well. Just because the extradition request is made doesn't automatically mean that person just gets shipped overseas, Corbett said. They will have a federal court process here in the States in which that person has an opportunity to challenge the extradition. And then the court system here will figure out whether they think it's a valid extradition request. This is all going to take time, and obviously when you're dealing with grief, the time only makes the grief worse in some ways. The family has elevated their demands for justice by calling on President Biden and the State Department to intervene in the matter. Its something Crump says may be the only way to get actual movement on the case, expressing frustration that the opportunities that have been presented thus far have been thwarted. We do have direct access to officials at the White House, and we've engaged one another on the matter, Crump said, adding that he believes the case deserves more haste because he feels a murder was committed. We're calling for high-level diplomatic intervention from the president or the State Department to do what is necessary to bring justice to the family of Shanquella Robinson. Attorney Ben Crump. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images) For some, Robinsons story evokes feelings similar to those felt in the 2005 disappearance of 18-year-old Natalee Holloway. Holloway, who was white, was on a high school graduation trip with classmates in Aruba but never boarded her flight home. She was last seen outside a nightclub with three locals, but no one has ever been officially charged in her death. Holloways disappearance made international news, filling headlines for months. But that case came before the days when social media can drive a story out of relevance just as soon as another story takes its place. Its even more the reason that Corbett says U.S. leaderships involvement could be key in helping move things along. You need someone to put an accelerant on the fire, he said, because at that point, if you have the president or a member of the Cabinet or high-ranking Justice officials say, Hey, what's going on with this? Let's get it moving, I think you would see some movement. Its been more than 130 days since Robinson was found dead, and according to her mother, with each passing day the anguish only grows stronger. "I don't wish that terrible nightmare on anyone, Sallamondra Robinson said last week. Shanquella Robinson, right, with her mom, Sallamondra, at left. (Family handout) As the number of days continues to pile up, Crump says the family and supporters are prepared to make more noise and organize even larger demonstrations at the presidents doorstep. We are going to look for opportunities, if there's nothing done, to have massive demonstrations to bring justice for Shanquella Robinson, he said. We are looking at day 200 and day 250 to organize at the White House to let them know that Shanquella Robinson's life matters and that Shanquella Robinson deserves justice. _____ Cover thumbnail photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: family handout (2) Biden to host Australia and Britain to reveal details of submarine pact to counter China U.S. President Biden visits Philadelphia to deliver remarks about his budget for fiscal year 2024 By David Brunnstrom WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden will meet leaders of Australia and Britain in San Diego on Monday to announce a way forward for Australia to receive nuclear-powered submarines in Canberra's biggest-ever defense project. The three countries announced the so-called AUKUS plan in 2021 as part of efforts to counter China in the Indo-Pacific region. However, questions remain over strict U.S. curbs on the extensive technology sharing needed for the project and about the length of time it will take to deliver the submarines. Australia is expected to buy up to five U.S. Virginia class nuclear-powered submarines in the 2030s as part of the landmark agreement to be revealed in detail by Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, four U.S. officials told Reuters this week. The agreement would have multiple stages with at least one U.S. submarine visiting Australian ports in the coming years and end in the late 2030s with a new class of submarines built with British designs and American technology, one of the officials said. Two of the officials said that after the annual port visits, the United States would forward deploy some submarines in Western Australia by around 2027. In the early 2030s, Australia would buy three Virginia class submarines and have the option to buy two more. China has condemned the effort by the Western allies, who are seeking to counter its military buildup, pressure on Taiwan and increasingly muscular deployments in the contested South China Sea. SHARING SENSITIVE TECHNOLOGY The officials did not elaborate on the planned new class of submarines, including where they would be built, but Australia's ambassador to Washington said last week there would be a "genuine trilateral solution" and the plan offers the prospect of jobs in all three countries. Under the initial AUKUS deal announced in 2021, the United States and Britain agreed to provide Australia with the technology and capability to deploy nuclear-powered submarines. It will be the first time the United States has shared nuclear-propulsion technology since it did so with Britain in the 1950s. Currently no party to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty other than the five countries the NPT recognizes as weapons states - the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France - has nuclear submarines. In a second stage of the AUKUS project, the three countries will share advanced technology such as artificial intelligence and hypersonic weapons. British and Australian officials said last week there was still work needed to break down bureaucratic barriers to such technology sharing. Bill Greenwalt, a former senior Pentagon official for industrial policy, said that since it will be years before the Australia has new submarines, the partners urgently need to move forward with this second stage, which covers capabilities that could be deployed within the next few years and are needed quickly given the growing threat posed by China. "Undersea drones, swarming drones, ubiquitous surveillance, advanced AI and data analytics are all in this potential wheelhouse but ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) prevents the types of cooperation that is needed," said Greenwalt, referring to U.S. export rules. A State Department spokesperson said the United States was working to streamline the defense trade process, adding: "We do not anticipate any challenges in implementing AUKUS due to U.S. export-control regulations." AUSTRALIAN WORKERS TO THE U.S The U.S. Congress has been briefed in recent weeks on the AUKUS deal to garner support for the legal changes needed to smooth out technology transfer issues for the highly secret nuclear propulsion and sonar systems that will be aboard Australias new submarines, a congressional source said on condition of anonymity. Over the next five years, Australian workers will come to U.S. submarine shipyards to observe and train, the source said, adding that this could help ease a shortfall of U.S. shipyard workers. It is unclear how AUKUS might affect the U.S. Navy's own submarine acquisitions. General Dynamics Corp, which makes Virginia class submarines, has 17 of them in its current backlog delivering through 2032. Australia's Defence Minister Richard Marles said on Thursday the submarines would ensure peace and stability across the Indo-Pacific, Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean. "It is difficult to overstate the step that as a nation we are about to take," said Marles. "We have never operated a military capability at this level before." Justin Burke, a visiting fellow at Australia's Lowy Institute think tank, said the aim was for a straightforward and cost-effective plan to supply submarines and starting with an existing design like the Virginia Class was "a very plausible way forward." "There are always considerable challenges in designing submarines from scratch, especially if you are combining technology from different nations and potentially manufacturing across multiple locations. Acquiring several submarines up front would mitigate those risks considerably," he said. (This story has been corrected to rectify the spelling of Sunak's first name in paragraph 4) (Reporting by David Brunnstrom, Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali, Mike Stone, Jonathan Landay, Joel Schectman, Steve Holland and Kirsty Needham; Editing by Don Durfee and Lincoln Feast) As California Republicans meet in Sacramento for a convention this weekend, Rep. Kevin McCarthy's ascension to speaker of the House is expected to be a top cause of celebration. The Bakersfield Republican is scheduled to address delegates at a Saturday luncheon. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) Californias 2024 primary election is less than a year away, yet no prominent Republican has announced plans to seek Californias open U.S. Senate seat another sign of the decline of a onetime GOP powerhouse that produced two presidents and four governors in the span of just over a half-century. As one of California's most highly prized political posts, the Senate seat is being vacated by retiring Sen. Dianne Feinstein, first elected to the office in 1992. Even before Feinstein announced she would not seek another term, some of the state's most well-known Democrats were lining up to vie for the seat. The same cannot be said of GOP hopefuls a sign that the Republican Party barely exists at the state level, said Jack Pitney, a political science professor at Claremont McKenna College who was a decades-long Republican until Donald Trump was elected president in 2016. As more than 1,000members of the party faithful and their guests prepare to gather in Sacramento this weekend, Pitney noted that a GOP candidate has not won a statewide election since 2006, and California hasnt elected a Republican to the U.S. Senate since Pete Wilson in 1988. So, if youre a Republican trying to get people to donate to a Senate campaign, youre asking them to make a bad investment. If youre a rich person seeking to self-fund a campaign, youre likely to lose a lot of your own money, Pitney added. Obviously, one never says never. Its possible we could have political and demographic changes in years to come, but at least for the next couple election cycles, its very difficult to see how a Republican can win a Senate race in California. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, pictured on an escalator, announced earlier this year that she would not seek reelection. Still, as the party gathers for a three-day convention starting Friday near the state Capitol in downtown Sacramento, there are bright spots most notably Bakersfields Kevin McCarthy winning the gavel as speaker of the House. He will headline the Saturday convention luncheon. To have a Californian a Republican from California, someone who has been so committed and so dedicated to the California Republican Party this is a big deal for all of us and we are happy to celebrate, said state GOP Chair Jessica Millan Patterson. The party also helped successfully defend GOP Reps. Mike Garcia of Santa Clarita, David Valadao of Hanford and Michelle Steel of Seal Beach in competitive congressional races, aided farmer John Duartes win in a new Democratic-tilting district in the Central Valley and nearly ousted Rep. Katie Porter in Orange County, despite the Democrats enormous financial edge. Steel and Duarte are scheduled to speak on a dinner panel Saturday evening. Millan Patterson said the party picking up five California congressional seats since 2020 was instrumental to McCarthy becoming speaker. California Republicans are taking a victory lap for sure, she said. Holding these seats as well as Rep. Ken Calvert's Riverside County district next year during a presidential election, Democratic voters are more likely to turnout are essential to ensuring the GOP holds the House. The state's presidential primary, which is scheduled on Super Tuesday in early March next year, also has the potential to be pivotal in the GOP nominating contest because California has the most delegates of any state in the nation. Millan Patterson said that some Republicans were testing the waters for a potential Senate run and could emerge during this weekends convention. But she added that she expected the states early presidential primary and targeted congressional and legislative races to be the state party's primary focus of the 2024 election. California has the most Republican voters in the nation because of its size, but they are vastly outnumbered by Democrats and roughly on par with voters who decline to express a party preference. This has prompted a strategic shift by the party to use its limited resources to focus on the races where it can be most successful, a strategy first championed by former legislative leader Jim Brulte when he became state party chairman in 2013. When youre the majority party, people suck up. Donors suck up. Volunteers suck up. So you have more money than you could possibly spend efficiently, Brulte said, pointing at the enormous sums of money Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom raised for non-competitive races. The states Democrats have a significant financial edge. In 2022, the California Democratic Party reported raising $29.7 million and ending the year with $17.2 million in the bank, according to the secretary of states office. The state GOP raised $13.5 million in the same period, with $652,000 remaining in its coffers at the end of 2022. When youre the minority party, not just in California, when youre the minority party in any state, you have to much more jealously guard your resources because you dont have that many, Brulte said. I think at the end of day, helping maintain the congressional majority is priority No. 1. Picking up a couple legislative seats would be a good thing as well. Brulte expects a GOP Senate candidate to emerge but is skeptical that he or she would receive significant national or state party support. Lanhee Chen, a well-regarded academic and policy advisor to Republican presidential candidates, ran for state controller last year and performed the best of any GOP statewide candidate in recent memory (and won the most votes of any Republican candidate in the country). He lost by 10.6 percentage points. The Stanford University lecturer said he has been urged to run for the Senate seat but has misgivings for several reasons: Running statewide in California is enormously expensive and GOP donors are tired of investing in statewide races here because of the lack of success in nearly two decades. Making inroads among the heavily Democratic voting blocs in Los Angeles County and the Bay Area is a daunting challenge. There is great uncertainty over who will be the Republican presidential nominee and appear at the top of the ticket. And a federal race places a pointed focus on issues such as abortion, gun control and immigration that are particularly divisive in blue states such as California. I just dont see a pathway to winning there, Chen said. It hasnt stopped people from talking to me about it. Other Republicans who have recently run in statewide races radio host Larry Elder, former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, state Sen. Brian Dahle of Bieber, attorney Mark Meuser have not publicly expressed any interest in running for Senate. So far, 14 people have filed paperwork to run for the seat with the Federal Election Commission eight Democrats, five Republicans and one candidate affiliated with a minor party. Reps. Porter, Adam B. Schiff and Barbara Lee all Democrats are the most visible candidates in the race. The remainder are unknowns. Under California's jungle-primary system, the two candidates who receive the most votes move on to the general election regardless of party. If the Democratic vote splinters among multiple candidates, a Republican could advance if GOP voters consolidate behind one candidate. Given the states electoral tilt, the chances of a GOP candidate being successful in a statewide contest here appear to be extremely slim, barring an unprecedented shift among the state's voters or Watergate-like event. But political observers argue that a strong voice raising issues such as taxes, water policy, high-speed rail and other matters important to California voters would elevate political discourse in the state and benefit all voters. Its amazing to me that no one is coming in to say, I want to push candidates to respond to these very real concerns in a basically one-party rule state, said Jessica Levinson, an election law professor at Loyola Marymount University. Theres a bunch of things that arent hot-button national topics where you would think we would benefit from a diversity of viewpoints. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 10) Authorities raided four properties owned by the family of Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr. on Friday morning after he was alleged to be one of the masterminds behind the assassination of Governor Roel Degamo. In Negros Oriental, authorities raided three homes in Bayawan City and one resort in Basay Town. Police found several firearms of varying calibers within the properties and are currently taking inventory of the seized items. The search warrant which also included Axel and Kurt Teves, the congressmans sons, was issued by Judge Allan Francisco Garciano of the 7th Judicial Region in Mandaue City. The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group requested the search warrant as it believed that grenades and high-caliber firearms that are against the law for civilians to possess were kept in the four properties. Teves family refused to comment on the raid. Suspect names Congressman Teves as mastermind Part of our investigation points to that direction, however, no one is exempted, Special Investigation Task Force Degamo spokesperson PLtCol Ace Pelare told CNN Philippines The Source on Friday when specifically asked about claims that Rep. Arnolfo Teves was the mastermind. On Thursday, one of the suspects said he was told a "Congressman Teves" orchestrated the plan, although he said he never personally met the latter. Negros Oriental Gov. Degamo was killed in his home in on March 4, with the attack leaving eight others dead. Si Congressman Teves yung pagkaalam ko, the suspect told reporters while being escorted by authorities. Nagtanong kasi ako kung sinong may-ari nung safe house namin at saka lupain doon. Teves daw, he added. [Translation: To my knowledge, its Congressman Teves. I asked who owns our safe house and the land there, and they told me its him.] The Police Regional Office 7 said in a statement that the suspects declaration against Congressman Teves is something they got even before it was made publicly. "While we had these significant developments at hand at the early stage of the conduct of massive hot pursuit operations, we maintained that these be revealed in due time not to compromise the conduct of investigations," it said. Meanwhile, the alleged perpetrator also claimed he was recruited by a certain Marvin, who pointed to Teves as the brains behind the assassination. Asked to confirm if he was referring to incumbent Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo Teves, Jr., the suspect said he was not given a specific name. The lawmaker's brother, Pryde Henry Teves, also previously served as congressman until 2016. In the gubernatorial elections last May, Pryde Henry ran against Degamo and was initially proclaimed winner until the Commission on Elections nullified his victory in September. READ: Comelec invalidates Teves win in Negros Oriental; Degamo to return as governor Rep. Teves earlier maintained he and his family had nothing to do with the murder, saying they would not benefit from it. His camp also called on those concerned to "observe sobriety" in their statements regarding allegations against him. Pelare said the police are already in the final stretch of their investigation, collecting some pieces of evidence that could bolster the cases filed against the suspects. They have also established what transpired before, during, and after the assassination, he added without giving details. The motive was also further narrowed down to personal grudge, and intense political rivalry, he said. Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla also said on Thursday that they are looking into the possibility that there were multiple orchestrators of the killing. Earlier this week, the Justice Department said cases for murder and frustrated murder, as well as for illegal possession of firearms and explosives, were filed against four arrested suspects and 12 John Does. One other suspect was killed in an armed encounter with police hours after the shooting of Degamo. A Mexican police investigator inspects the minivan where four Americans where shot and taken from the previous week, at the Tamaulipas State Prosecutor headquarters in Matamoros, Mexico, Wednesday, March 8, 2023. Their minivan crashed and was fired on shortly after they crossed into the border city of Matamoros on Friday as drug cartel factions tore through the streets, the region's governor said. A stray bullet also killed a Mexican woman about a block and a half away. (AP Photo) CIUDAD VICTORIA, Mexico (AP) The anonymous tip that led Mexican authorities to a remote shack where four abducted Americans were held described armed men, people wearing blindfolds and plenty of activity around a ranch. Authorities headed for the rural area east of Matamoros on Tuesday morning, leaving the highway and driving remote dirt roads looking for the described location, according to Mexican investigative documents viewed Friday by The Associated Press. Finally, they saw the wooden shack far from any homes or businesses, surrounded by brush, and a white pickup parked outside that matched the one the Americans had been loaded into last Friday. Then they began to hear someone shouting, Help! Inside the shack, the documents said, Latavia Tay McGee and Eric Williams were blindfolded. Beside them were the bodies of Shaeed Woodard and Zindell Brown, wrapped in blankets and plastic bags. When authorities arrived, McGee and Williams shouted desperately to them in English. A guard who tried to escape out a back door was quickly apprehended, the documents said. He was wearing a tactical vest, but there is no mention of him being armed. The four Americans had crossed into Matamoros from Texas so that McGee could have cosmetic surgery. About midday, they were fired on in downtown Matamoros and then loaded into the pickup truck. Another friend, who remained in Brownsville, called police after being unable to reach the group that crossed the border. A Mexican woman, Areli Pablo Servando, 33, was also killed, apparently by a stray bullet. In the letter obtained by The Associated Press through a Tamaulipas state law enforcement official Thursday, the Scorpions faction of the Gulf cartel apologized to the residents of Matamoros where the Americans were kidnapped, Servando, and the four Americans and their families. But relatives of the abducted Americans said that the purported apology has done little to dull the pain of their loved ones being killed or wounded. Woodard's father said he was speechless upon hearing that the cartel had apologized for the violent abduction captured in video that spread quickly online. Ive just been trying to make sense out of it for a whole week. Just restless, couldnt sleep, couldnt eat. Its just crazy to see your own child taken from you in such a way, in a violent way like that. He didnt deserve it, James Woodard told reporters Thursday, referring to his son's death. The cousin of Williams, who was shot in the left leg during the kidnapping, said his family feels great knowing he's alive but does not accept any apologies from the cartel. It aint gonna change nothing about the suffering that we went through, Jerry Wallace told the AP on Thursday. Wallace, 62, called for the American and Mexican governments to better address cartel violence. U.S. Ambassador Ken Salazar told reporters Friday that U.S. officials had contacted President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador directly over the weekend to ask for help in locating the missing Americans in Matamoros. He said the cartel there must be dismantled. The letter attributed to the cartel condemned last week's violence and said the gang turned over to authorities its own members who were responsible. We have decided to turn over those who were directly involved and responsible in the events, who at all times acted under their own decision-making and lack of discipline, the letter reads, adding that those individuals had gone against the cartels rules, which include respecting the life and well-being of the innocent. A photograph of five bound men face-down on the pavement accompanied the letter, which was shared with The Associated Press by the official on condition that they remain anonymous because they were not authorized to share the document. A separate state security official said that five men had been found tied up inside one of the vehicles that authorities had been searching for, along with the letter. That official also spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the case. On Friday, Tamaulipas state prosecutor Irving Barrios said via Twitter that five people related to the violence had been arrested on charges of aggravated kidnapping and homicide. He said only one other person had been arrested in recent days. ___ Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Mark Stevenson in Mexico City and Acacia Coronado in Austin, Texas. Left to right, FBI Director Christopher Wray, National Security Agency Director Paul Nakasone, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns and Defense Intelligence Agency Director Scott Berrier testify before a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on worldwide threats, March 8. (Mary F. Calvert/Reuters) WASHINGTON Having stood as the worlds lone superpower since the end of the Cold War, the United States now faces unprecedented challenges to its global influence, the intelligence community concluded in the annual threat assessment made public this week. Those threats include, above all, an ascendant China, but also a belligerent Russia whose invasion of Ukraine could be part of a broader regional plan. Then there are the worldwide consequences of climate change and technological advancements in artificial intelligence, which will require cooperation on an unprecedented scale. As the war in eastern Ukraine continues into its second year and Xi Jinping solidifies power in his third term as Chinas leader, the United States will confront a complex and pivotal international security environment, the assessment concludes. China Xi Jinping, president of China and also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee. (Li Gang/Xinhua via Getty Images) The Chinese Communist Party represents both the leading and most consequential threat to U.S. national security and leadership globally, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told lawmakers this week. The 2023 threat assessment which her office produced concludes that while China does not seek an outright military confrontation with the United States, deepening competition is inevitable. Beijing sees increasingly competitive U.S.China relations as part of an epochal geopolitical shift and views Washingtons diplomatic, economic, military, and technological measures against Beijing as part of a broader U.S. effort to prevent Chinas rise and undermine CCP rule, the threat assessment says. Both the White House and Congress have focused on China in recent months. Committees are investigating the origins of the coronavirus pandemic and legislators seeking to ban TikTok, a social media platform whose parent company Bytedance is believed to be improperly harvesting users data. The recent shoot down of a Chinese surveillance balloon only deepened suspicions between Washington and Beijing, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken abruptly canceling a visit to the Chinese capital. But no issues looms as large as that of Taiwan, the island whose contested status could become a military flashpoint. Theyre understating the threat and the very real possibility of war, China expert Isaac Stone Fish told Yahoo News of the 2023 threat assessment. There's a real lack of discussion of what happens if China invades Taiwan. Is that World War III? According to the so-called Davidson Window, an analysis developed by retired Navy Adm. Philip Davidson, China is likely to invade Taiwan by 2027. Biden has twice pledged to defend Taiwan militarily in what some deemed an irresponsible provocation to Beijing, which like Moscow tends to bristle at Western meddling in what it considers its own sphere of influence. In testimony before the House on Thursday, Haines said that Xi had been sobered by the breadth and consistency of the Western alliance defending Ukraine. But Stone Fish believes the comparison does not hold. Theyre radically different situations, he said. Russia is a declining power; China is not. Russia Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. (Pavel Bednyakov/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images) The Russia section has few surprises, given how much about Russia-Ukraine has been put out publicly already, former Central Intelligence Agency officer and visiting George Mason University scholar David Priess wrote on Twitter, though he highlighted a passage predicting that Russia would become even more reliant on nuclear, cyber, and space capabilities as it deals with the extensive damage to Russias ground forces. Russian President Vladimir Putin has made nuclear threats several times since launching the invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, but most analysts do not believe those threats suggest a genuine intention to instigate a nuclear strike. Still, as the assessment noted, Russian motives and tactics can be difficult to predict. And anti-Western grievances run deep. Russia probably does not want a direct military conflict with U.S. and NATO forces, but there is potential for that to occur, the report says. Russian leaders thus far have avoided taking actions that would broaden the Ukraine conflict beyond Ukraines borders, but the risk for escalation remains significant. Extremists at home Far-right extremist Proud Boys march in support of President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., Dec. 12, 2020. (Evelyn Hockstein/Washington Post via Getty Images) In recent years, intelligence experts have concluded that homegrown extremists fueled in particular by far-right white supremacist ideology pose a greater threat to the American mainland than foreign terrorist groups. The 2023 threat assessment confirms those findings, describing a decentralized movement of adherents to an ideology that espouses the use of violence to advance white supremacy, neo-Nazism, and other exclusionary cultural-nationalist beliefs. These actors increasingly seek to sow social divisions, support fascist-style governments, and attack government institutions. The findings elicited a show of incredulity from Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark. Are you serious? he asked of Haines during a Wednesday hearing, seemingly unaware that an identical assessment of the homegrown threat had been made during the Trump administration. A warming, increasingly digitized planet The Oak Fire near Midpines in Northern California, on July 23, 2022. (David McNew/AFP via Getty Images) While the assessment calls China and Russia the biggest geopolitical threats the United States will have to manage in 2023, they are far from the only ones. Climate change is putting an ever-growing number of people under threat from extreme weather, food insecurity, and humanitarian disasters, fueling migration flows and increasing the risks of future pandemics as pathogens exploit the changing environment, according to the assessment. And while the coronavirus pandemic may be receding, conditions are only becoming more ripe for another outbreak: Countries globally remain vulnerable to the emergence or introduction of a novel pathogen that could cause a devastating new pandemic. There are technological perils too. The assessment says that advances in artificial intelligence could leave the United States exposed, with foreign intelligence services ... adopting cutting-edge technologies from advanced cyber tools to unmanned systems to enhanced technical surveillance equipment that improve their capabilities and challenge U.S. defenses. Cafe Boulud The iconic and prolific French chef behind two-Michelin-starred Daniel in New York just announced a forthcoming Beverly Hills restaurant his first West Coast location in his 50-year-plus culinary career. In late 2023 or early 24, Boulud is expected to open his lauded Cafe Boulud at the base of the Mandarin Oriental Residences, where he will also oversee a members-only dining program for the luxury condominium complex, including a poolside lounge. L.A. is a big food town, Boulud said. Nobody is deprived of anything good, but I think L.A. always embraces something new, and we hope to be embraced by L.A. I told Wolfgang [Puck] that if he opened in New York, I'll open in L.A., and of course Wolfgang opened in New York [in 2016]; I said, Well, maybe I'm keeping my promises to Wolfgang. Cafe Boulud with locations in New York, the Bahamas, Toronto, Palm Beach, Fla., and Lenox, Mass. takes its name from the chef's great-grandparents former cafe located outside Lyon, France. L.A.s menu will take the format of New Yorks, which famously involves four chapters from which to order a la carte: La Tradition, for classic French dishes such as lamb Provencal or foie gras torchon; La Saison, for seasonal items such as duck with peaches and grits or beef Wellington with root vegetables; Le Potager, with produce-forward creations, including roasted carrot salad or Swiss chard ravioli; and Le Voyage, which reinterprets global cuisines through a French lens for items like Vietnamese-inspired crab bisque. At breakfast or lunch, which the chef intends to launch at a subsequent date, Boulud sees the menu as being a bit more flexible and casual, with light, nutritious and less elaborate dishes than one would find on the four-chapter dinner menu. It's going to be different in a sense that the cuisine can be a little bit more summery, Boulud said. It starts with very good ingredients, of course, and I have no doubt that in L.A. they have the finest ingredients when it comes to freshness and opportunity to embrace what the farmers market produced. I think it's going to be very interesting. I mean, in New York we depend a lot on California. The wine program, given its proximity to Californias Central Coast and the Napa region, will heavily feature West Coast wines in addition to French. The 60-seat restaurant, roughly 2,000 square feet, will feature a slightly tropical, garden-like design with retro-inspired accents such as large brass palm fronds. The residents-only food program, called Boulud Prive, will be designed for convenience, the chef says, with items such as avocado tartine or lobster rolls. 9200 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, cafeboulud.com Uoichiba, the new hand roll bar from the dry-aged-fish specialist behind the Joint, sells sets of hand rolls such as lean tuna, left, and fatty tuna. (Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times) Uoichiba A new hand-roll bar from one of the countrys dry-aged-fish specialists is now open at Culver Citys Citizen Public Market food hall. Liwei Liao sells retail and wholesale seafood through his Sherman Oaks fish market and seafood counter the Joint and at his new temaki and chirashi bar, his years-long specialty dry-aged fish is on full display. Tapping chef Hiroo Nagahara (of Silver Paper and formerly Bao Hiroo) to help construct the menu and hand-roll program, Liaos Uoichiba serves temaki in three- to six-roll tasting sets with bites such as fatty tuna; steelhead with dehydrated shiso; ginger-marinated prawns; and daily specials such as lump crab with shiso and crunchy rice crackers, all with a keen eye toward both texture and temperature. Rice is cooked continuously in small batches throughout the day, and a small, heated box keeps sheets of nori warm but still crisp. House-made soups, such as fish stock or a miso fish fumet, also are available, as are to-go sashimi bento sets. Look for a market-price chirashi bowl when Liao, also known as dry-aged fish guy, is behind the counter. Uoichiba is open Wednesday and Thursday from 5 to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday from noon to 9 p.m.; and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. 9355 Culver Blvd., Culver City, instagram.com/uoichiba.la Din Tai Fung Santa Monica Din Tai Fung, home of handmade xiao long bao and other Chinese and Taiwanese specialties, is headed to the Westside. The Taiwan-founded chain with nearly 200 locations globally is set to open a sprawling, 10,615-square-foot restaurant on the third floor of outdoor shopping center Santa Monica Place; currently there is no estimated opening date. The new outpost will offer indoor and outdoor seating, plus ocean views. Across town, the Glendale Din Tai Fung, currently housed at the Americana at Brand, is scheduled to relocate to the adjacent Glendale Galleria later this year , while another location is slated for Anaheims Downtown Disney . 395 Santa Monica Place, Santa Monica, dintaifungusa.com/us Din Tai Fung's famous xiao long bao, noodles, handmade chocolate mochi dumplings (pictured) and other specialties are slated for Santa Monica. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times) Love Hour Bar The team behind one of L.A.s most popular smashburgers now operates a bar in Koreatown. Love Hour began as a pop-up but now serves burgers, seasoned fries, chicken nuggets and one of the citys best fried fish sandwiches from a walk-up window. The adjacent space that was once home to Beer Belly (from Love Hour co-owner Jimmy Han) is open as Love Hour Bar with beer and wine. According to co-owner Michael Pak (Koreatown Run Club), the bar has been in the works for about 18 months. The team behind burger window and pop-up Love Hour now operates a bar in Koreatown serving beer, wine, burgers and more. (Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times) To be honest, we just wanted a simple window situation to serve burgers and get everyone out quick, but to build community, we were like, 'How do we do something inside four walls?' said Pak. We figured a bar is a great place where everyone can come in and hang out and end the week. The tight menu of natural wines will rotate every month or so and focus on natural wines primarily from California. The craft beer menu also prioritizes local makers, with options such as Torrances Smog City Brewing Co. and Inglewoods Three Weavers Brewing Co. Guests can order Love Hour food from the walk-up window and bring their meals into the bar, though in coming months Love Hour Bar will launch its own unique bar-food menu inspired by the owners childhood favorite dishes. The space offers booth seating, 10 barstools and a patio, plus a photo booth, and will host guest bartenders, weekend DJ sets and other programming. Love Hour Bar is open Wednesday to Saturday from 5 p.m. to midnight, with burgers available until 10 p.m. 532 S. Western Ave., Los Angeles, love-hour.com Burritos La Palma Highland Park The lauded local chain from Albert Banuelos which serves some of Jonathan Golds favorite burritos in Los Angeles has expanded to Highland Park, taking over a food stall at La Tropicana Market. The newest outpost of Burritos La Palma serves an identical menu to the original El Monte location, including signature burritos of house-made flour tortillas filled with long-simmered birria; refried beans with cheese; chicken tinga with potatoes; or shredded beef with green chiles and potatoes. Plates and quesadillas are available, as are packs of fresh flour tortillas. A fan-favorite torta featuring pork, Canadian bacon and cheese will be available soon, with only 30 of the sandwiches made each day. Burritos La Palma is open in Highland Park Wednesday to Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. 5200 Monte Vista St., Los Angeles, (323) 740-5624, burritoslapalma.com Burritos La Palma now serves its El Monte menu from a counter at Highland Park's La Tropicana Market. (Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times) This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Armed police officers near the scene of a shooting in Hamburg, Germany on Thursday March 9, 2023 after one or more people opened fire in a church. The Hamburg city government says the shooting took place in the Gross Borstel district on Thursday evening. (Jonas Walzberg/dpa via AP) HAMBURG, Germany (AP) A shooting at a Jehovah's Witnesses hall in the German city of Hamburg killed eight people, apparently including the perpetrator, police said Friday. An unspecified number of other people were wounded, some of them seriously. Police gave the figure on their website. There was still no word on a possible motive for the shooting on Thursday evening that stunned Germany's second-biggest city. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, a former Hamburg mayor, described the shooting as a brutal act of violence. Police said during the night that they believe that there was only one shooter, and that that this could be a person who was found dead in the building. Investigators worked through the night to secure evidence. On Friday morning, forensic investigators in protective white suits could still be seen outside the building as a light snow fell. Officers placed yellow cones on the ground and windowsills to mark evidence. Hamburg officials said there would be a news conference Friday afternoon to discuss details. David Semonian, a U.S.-based spokesman for Jehovahs Witnesses, said in an emailed statement early Friday that members worldwide grieve for the victims of this traumatic event. The congregation elders in the local area are providing pastoral care for those affected by the event, he wrote. We understand that the authorities are still investigating the details of this crime. We appreciate the courageous help provided by the police and emergency services. The scene of the shooting was the Jehovahs Witnesses Kingdom Hall, a boxy three-story building next to an auto repair shop in the Gross Borstel district, a few kilometers (miles) from downtown Hamburg. Police spokesman Holger Vehren said police were alerted to the shooting about 9:15 p.m. and were on the scene quickly. He said that after officers arrived and found people with apparent gunshot wounds on the ground floor, they heard a shot from an upper floor and found a fatally wounded person upstairs who may have been a shooter. He said police did not have to use their firearms. Student Laura Bauch, who lives nearby, said there were around four periods of shooting, German news agency dpa reported. There were always several shots in these periods, roughly at intervals of 20 seconds to a minute, she said. She said she looked out her window and saw a person running from the ground floor to the second floor of the Jehovahs Witnesses hall. Gregor Miesbach, who lives within sight of the building, was alerted by the sound of shots and filmed a figure entering the building through a window. Shots can then be heard from inside. The figure later apparently emerges from the hall, is seen in the courtyard and then fires more shots inside. Miesbach told German television news agency NonstopNews that he heard at least 25 shots. After police arrived, one last shot followed about five minutes later, he said. His video showed a person firing multiple shots into the building through a first floor window before the lights inside the room went out. Jehovahs Witnesses are part of an international church, founded in the United States in the 19th century and headquartered in Warwick, New York. It claims a worldwide membership of about 8.7 million, with about 170,000 in Germany. Members are known for their evangelistic efforts that include knocking on doors and distributing literature in public squares. The denominations distinctive practices include a refusal to bear arms, receive blood transfusions, salute a national flag or participate in secular government. ___ Moulson reported from Berlin. Associated Press journalist David Rising contributed to this story from Bangkok. Peter Starostecki and his kids Sadie, center, and Jo Jo, pose behind their car with the vanity license plate that the state of Maine has deemed in appropriate, Wednesday, March 8, 2023, in Poland, Maine. The vegan family's car will soon have a randomly selected plate. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) A Maine vegan whose custom license plate contains the word tofu is one of the motorists caught in a state crackdown on vulgar tags. Car owners across the United States can pay an extra fee to customize license plates, sparking creativity and personality but causing headaches for state officials who have to decide whats acceptable. Maine had for several years allowed people to put just about any combination of letters and numbers on their vehicle plates, including words and phrases that other states would ban. But the state decided to change course and this year recalled 274 plates it deemed inappropriate. Some people are fighting back. So far the state has rejected all of the appeals, including one brought by the vegan whose license plate referenced tofu. The state concluded the license plate LUVTOFU couldve been seen as a reference to sex instead of admiration for bean curd. The motorist insisted there was no mistaking his intent because the back of his car had several tofu-related stickers. Its my protest against eating meat and animal products, Peter Starostecki, the disappointed motorist, said after a zoom session with a hearing examiner for the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Heather Libby and her best friend grudgingly gave up their matching license plates that contained a word for a female dog. People are so sensitive nowadays, said Libby, of Jonesport, after a hearing examiner rejected her appeal. I just think its foolish. When the state effectively ended the review process for so-called vanity license plates in 2015, some residents filled their plates with all manner of profanities, including F-bombs, either spelled out or abbreviated. Residents in a state known for being laconic and even-tempered soon were sporting uncensored plates pairing the F-word with snow, haters, and ALS, the incurable neurodegenerative disease. After license plate freedoms spiraled out of control, the Maine Legislature directed the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to reestablish a system for vetting the states roughly 120,000 vanity license plates. The new rules ban derogatory references to age, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, religion or disability. Also banned is language that incites violence, or is considered obscene. Restored as censors, Maines vehicular officials now walk a similar tightrope as their colleagues in other states. In 2020, a federal judge ruled that Californias ban on plates that are offensive to good taste and decency was overly broad, and violated constitutional rights to free speech. Earlier this year, Texas officials rejected a license plate similar to Starosteckis LVTOFU leading to rebukes from an animal rights group. Maines rules were narrowly crafted to pass legal muster, officials said. Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said motorists have the freedom to express themselves, but she said that they should do it on a bumper sticker, not a state-issued license plate. We have a public interest in keeping phrases and words that are profane or may incite violence off the roadways, she said. She said shes happy that most motorists have relinquished their objectionable license plates without a fight. So far, there have been only 13 appeals, but there could be more. If a motorist loses an appeal to a hearing examiner, then they can sue in Superior Court. So far, no one has taken that step. As for Starostecki, he was offered another license plate that had become available, V3GAN. But he decided he was done with vanity plates. Hes awaiting a new license plate a boring one randomly selected by the state. Libby, who lost her B-word plate, got a custom plate celebrating her dog Zeus, named for the mythical god of thunder. That could be offensive to someone because its a Greek god, she quipped. But I hope not. ___ Follow David Sharp on Twitter @David_Sharp_AP (CNN) The cartel believed responsible for the armed kidnapping last week that killed two American tourists and a Mexican woman in Matamoros, Mexico, issued an apology letter and handed over five of their members to local authorities, according to images circulating online and a version of the letter obtained by CNN from an official familiar with the ongoing investigation. The source told CNN that investigators believe the letter to be authentic. "The [Gulf Cartel] apologizes to the society of Matamoros, the relatives of Ms. Areli, and the affected American people and families," reads the handwritten letter, referring to a Mexican woman who was also killed in the shootout. The bodies of the two Americans killed in the kidnapping were delivered Thursday to US diplomatic authorities, according to a Mexican official. Two other American tourists survived the kidnapping. In one of the photos posted online, five men can be seen lying face down and restrained on the pavement with their shirts pulled over their faces. Uniformed authorities are seen standing over them. "The Gulf Cartel, Scorpion Group, strongly condemns the events of last Friday," the letter continues, referring to a division of the cartel. "For this reason, we decided to hand over those directly involved and responsible for the acts, who at all times acted under their own determination and indiscipline and against the rules in which the [Gulf Cartel] always operates." CNN cannot confirm the authenticity of the photos and has asked Mexican and US authorities for comment. It is common for Mexican cartels, especially in the northeast of the country, to release messages to the authorities or rival groups in the aftermath of high-profile incidents, according to Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera, a professor at George Mason University who studies the cartels. The official who confirmed the apparent legitimacy of the letter said Mexican and US law enforcement officials investigating the kidnapping strongly doubt the sincerity of the group's apology. But they suspect the apology was issued after the attack brought considerable public attention and scrutiny onto the actions of the cartel. The development comes after a local leader of the Gulf Cartel, wanted for past kidnappings, was arrested by Mexican authorities in Reynosa, according to a US official briefed on the apprehension. Any connection to last week's armed kidnapping of four Americans was unclear. But, as CNN has reported, the official believes members of the Gulf Cartel attacked the Americans in Matamoros in a case of mistaken identity. The local cartel leader, Ernesto Sanchez-Rivera, is also known to have ties to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, the source added. CNN has reached out to the local prosecutor for more information on the apprehension but has not yet received a response. The bodies of Shaeed Woodard and Zindell Brown, the two Americans killed in the kidnapping, have been delivered to US diplomatic authorities after two survivors of the attack returned to the US for treatment at a hospital, Tamaulipas Attorney General Irving Barrios Mojica said in a tweet Thursday Mexico's forensic studies on the two American victims have also concluded, Barrios added. The remains of Woodard and Brown likely will be transported to a funeral home in Brownsville, Texas, a US official familiar with the investigation said. The repatriation would come two days after the bodies were discovered alongside their two surviving friends in a house around the Mexican city of Matamoros. Autopsies were completed Wednesday morning in Mexico, an official from the Tamaulipas Prosecutor's Office told CNN, though Mexican authorities have not released causes of death. Second autopsies will be performed in the US, the US official said. CNN has reached out to the US State Department about the repatriation of remains. The deceased were part of a group of four friends from South Carolina who had driven Friday into Matamoros so one of them, Latavia Washington McGee, could undergo a medical procedure, two family members told CNN. But their trip was violently interrupted when unidentified gunmen fired on their van, then loaded the Americans into a vehicle and drove them away, the FBI said. An innocent Mexican bystander was also killed by a stray bullet almost a block and a half from where the Americans were kidnapped, according to Tamaulipas Gov. Americo Villarreal. James Woodard, Shaeed Woodard's father, said it was difficult to see the video of his son's abduction on television. "That was so hard for me to see those videos and see him dragged and thrown on the back of the vehicle," the elder Woodard said on Thursday, which would have been his son's 34th birthday. "He was a baby and for him to be taken from me like that was very hurtful. My family is hurt real bad because he was so lovable. He had the biggest heart." Survivor Eric Williams was shot three times in the legs, his wife Michele Williams told CNN. When he and McGee were discovered alive Tuesday, Williams was taken to a hospital in Texas for surgery, she said. Washington McGee was also taken to the hospital, her mother, Barbara Burgess, told CNN, though Mexican authorities said she was uninjured. "She watched them die," Burgess said, recounting what Washington McGee told her about the kidnapping. "They were driving through and a van came up and hit them, and that's when they started shooting at the car, shooting inside the van. ... She said the others tried to run and they got shot at the same time." Washington McGee and Brown are cousins who were raised together as closely as siblings, Burgess said. "He was a good person, and I miss him," Burgess said of Brown. "I loved him. (There's) nothing I wouldn't do for him." How Mexico has responded Investigators believe the group was targeted by a Mexican cartel who mistook them for Haitian drug smugglers, a US official familiar with the investigation told CNN on Monday, and the kidnapping has renewed attention to efforts by US and Mexican officials to combat organized crime in Mexico. However, during a Wednesday news briefing held by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a government-sponsored fact-checking agency claimed reports of the Americans being mistaken for Haitian drug traffickers are false. The president said "adversaries" in Mexico and the US are attempting to make a "scandal" of the case. CNN has reached out to investigators in the US and Mexico, as well as the fact-checking agency. The Tamaulipas prosecutor's office, meanwhile, has located an ambulance and a clinic in Matamoros connected to the kidnapping. The ambulance was used to transport the kidnap victims to a clinic, where they were treated, before officials later discovered them in a "wooden house." In a statement on Thursday, the prosecutor's office said an investigation revealed that the clinic was used to provide first aid care to the US citizens: "For this purpose, they were taken aboard the ambulance, which was seized as evidence and to continue the investigation. "The ambulance was located, which, according to the testimony of the victims, was used to take them to the clinic," the statement said. No one was detained after officials located the clinic and ambulance, the statement said. The fatal kidnapping -- and the possibility it was carried out by a cartel -- has brought increased attention to ongoing efforts by US and Mexican officials to curb cartel activity that is a primary driver of the fentanyl trade between the countries. Mexico is the "dominant source" of fentanyl in the US, according to a government report released last year. A US delegation traveled to Mexico this week to "discuss our governments' ongoing cooperation in combating illicit fentanyl," a national security council spokesman told CNN on Wednesday. The delegation plans to address the kidnapping and discuss a "fundamental strategy to attack the cartels," Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Wednesday. Timeline of the kidnapping The kidnapping of the four friends on Friday spurred a days-long investigation by local and federal Mexican officials, who say they were in almost-constant contact with US authorities until the two survivors and the victims' bodies were finally discovered. The four friends had booked a hotel in Brownsville, Texas, and were planning to drive to a doctor's office in Matamoros on Friday for Washington McGee to undergo a medical procedure, a close friend who did not want to be identified told CNN. At about 9:18 a.m. Friday, the group crossed into Matamoros, Tamaulipas Governor Americo Villarreal said. But on their way to the clinic, the group became lost and were struggling to contact the doctor's office for directions due to a poor phone signal, the close friend said. Suddenly, another vehicle collided into the group's van and gunmen began shooting at the group, sending some of the friends running, according to Burgess, who recounted her daughter's experience. "They all got shot at the same time," she said. A video obtained by CNN shows Washington McGee being shoved onto the bed of a white pickup truck by a group of armed men, who then begin dragging at least two other limp bodies into the truck. Burgess, when asked about the video, said her daughter was treated "like trash." The Americans were then taken from the scene in the vehicle, according to an FBI account of the kidnapping. Over the next few days, the groups was moved to several different locations to "create confusion and avoid rescue efforts," Villarreal said. Mexican investigators, meanwhile, were searching for the missing group, sifting through surveillance footage and processing the vehicles and ballistics found at the scene, officials said. After noticing the Americans' van had North Carolina license plates, Mexican authorities reached out to US officials, who were able to run the plates, according to Barrios Mojica, the Tamaulipas attorney general. They were also able to identify the gunmen's truck, he said. "Several searches" were then initiated across multiple agencies, and the group was ultimately found in the wooden house in or near Matamoros on Tuesday morning, Villarreal said. Though US law enforcement were not involved in the search on the ground, federal and local agencies in Mexico were cooperating in the effort and a joint task force was created to communicate with US officials, Barrios Mojica said. This story was first published on CNN.com. "Cartel suspected of American kidnappings issues alleged apology letter" Michigan State University students embrace at The Rock on campus, Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023, in East Lansing, Mich. Police say the gunman who killed himself hours after fatally shooting three students at Michigan State University was 43-year-old Anthony McRae. Police also say five people who are in critical condition Tuesday are also students. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio) A man who fatally shot three students and wounded five others on the Michigan State University campus left a note describing himself as being hated, a loner and an outcast." Anthony McRae, 43, also wrote Im tired of being rejected, in the note, which was dated the day before the Feb. 13 shooting and released Friday by police. They made me who Im am today a killer, the note read. Im a person, and They hate me why? why? why? why? McRae, who lived in nearby Lansing, had no apparent connection to the East Lansing school. The rampage began about 8 p.m. on Feb. 13 when shots were fired inside a classroom at Berkey Hall on the north end of campus. Police believe McRae then walked into the nearby student union building firing more shots. Students were ordered to shelter in place for four hours and run, hide, fight if necessary as the campus was placed on an hourslong lockdown. Police put a photo of McRae on social media at 11:18 p.m. A 911 call was received 17 minutes from someone who saw a person matching McRae's description in Lansing. McRae shot himself in an industrial area about 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) from campus at 11:49 p.m. when approached by officers. Detectives also found two handguns and ammunition. The note was found in his pocket. There's a group of us, 20 of us and I'm the leader, also was written on it. I will be shooting up MSU and some of the other groups will be going to Colorado Springs to shoot up (redacted). Another team of ... group will be going to New Jersey and they will shoot up (redacted) High school and (redacted) Middle school. They hurted me McRae's claim to be acting with others is unfounded," authorities said Friday. Comprehensive reviews and detailed follow-up shows that McRae acted alone and was not working with other people, authorities said. Police initially said it appeared from the note that McRae felt he had been slighted in some way by people or businesses, adding that he had no connection to the victims or the school and had worked at a grocery chain warehouse. Police said Friday that their investigation continues. McRae's route once he left the campus still is being reviewed. About 1,450 911 calls were made to the county's dispatch center from the start of the shooting to 1 a.m. Feb. 15, police said. It wasn't clear how many of the calls were related to the shooting. Killed were Arielle Anderson, 19; Brian Fraser, 20; and Alexandria Verner, 20, all of suburban Detroit. Michigan State has said that starting Monday access to most buildings on campus will be restricted at night. Students, faculty and staff will need to use campus ID cards to get electronic access at buildings, between 6 p.m. and 7:30 a.m. on weekdays. The school said it wants to make it possible to lock 1,300 classrooms from the inside by the fall semester. The campus is about about 90 miles (145 kilometers) northwest of Detroit. The shooting happened the day before the fifth anniversary of the Parkland, Florida, school shooting that killed 17. In 2019, McRae was accused of illegally possessing a concealed weapon, according to the state Corrections Department, but pleaded guilty to having a loaded gun in a vehicle, a misdemeanor. He completed 18 months of probation. FILE - This image provided by the Mississippi Department of Corrections shows Axel Cox, 24, of Gulfport, Miss. Cox, who burned a cross in his front yard to intimidate his Black neighbors in December 2020, was sentenced Thursday, March 9, 2023, to 42 years in prison. (Mississippi Department of Corrections via AP, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) JACKSON, Miss. (AP) A Mississippi man who burned a cross in his front yard to intimidate his Black neighbors was sentenced Thursday to 42 months in prison. U.S. Southern District of Mississippi Judge Sul Ozerden handed down the sentence after Axel Cox, 24, pleaded guilty to a federal hate crime in December. Cox, of Gulfport, was charged with violating the Fair Housing Act over a December 2020 incident in which he put together a wooden cross in his front yard and propped it up so his Black neighbors could see it. He then doused it with motor oil and lit it on fire. He also addressed the family with racially derogatory language, records say. This cross burning was an abhorrent act that used a traditional symbol of hatred and violence to stoke fear and drive a Black family out of their home, said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Departments Civil Rights Division. Clarke added, While one might think cross-burnings and white supremacist threats and violence are things of the past, the unfortunate reality is that these incidents continue today." The Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacist groups historically practiced cross burnings to intimidate Black and Jewish people. A grand jury indicted Cox in September 2022. His attorney, Jim Davis, filed a notice of intent for him to plead guilty to the cross burning in November. Davis did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday. Davis told the Biloxi Sun Herald that Cox was reacting to his neighbors allegedly shooting and killing his dog. He added that his client acted totally inappropriately. ___ This story has been updated to correct that Cox was sentenced to 42 months in prison, not 42 years as an initial Justice Department news release stated. The departed has corrected the sentence length. With AP Photo. ___ Michael Goldberg is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/mikergoldberg. Archrivals Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed Friday to restore diplomatic relations, a dramatic breakthrough brokered by China after years of soaring tensions between the Middle Eastern powerhouses. The deal, which will see the two leading oil producers reopen embassies in each others capitals, was sealed during a meeting in Beijing a boost to China's efforts to rival the United States as a broker on the global stage. The agreement could put a damper on Israel's ongoing work to normalize relations with its Arab neighbors, and complicate U.S. and other Western powers' bid to contain Iran's nuclear ambitions. The Saudi-Iran talks were held because of a shared desire to resolve the disagreements between them through dialogue and diplomacy, and in light of their brotherly ties, according to a joint communique from Tehran, Riyadh and Beijing that was published by the official Saudi Press Agency. The agreement followed intensive negotiations between Ali Shamkhani, a close adviser to Irans supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khameni, and Saudi Minister of State Musaad bin Mohammed Al-Aiban, according to the statement. It added that the foreign ministers from both countries would meet to implement this, arrange for the return of their ambassadors, and discuss means of enhancing bilateral relations. After the agreement was announced, a White House National Security Council spokesperson told NBC News that the U.S. welcomed any efforts to help end the war in Yemen and de-escalate tensions in the Middle East region. De-escalation and diplomacy together with deterrence are key pillars of the policy President Biden outlined during his visit to the region last year, the spokesperson said. Initial reaction from Israel was not positive. Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett tweeted that it was a dangerous development for his country and a fatal blow to the effort to build a regional coalition against Iran, which has said it intends to wipe the Jewish state off the map. Simmering tensions Tensions between Sunni Muslim powerhouse Saudi Arabia and Iran, which is majority Shia, have dominated the region for decades. The two countries have been locked in an intensifying struggle, their rivalry exacerbated by proxy conflicts, including the war in Yemen. A Saudi-led coalition armed with U.S. weaponry entered the war on the side of Yemens exiled government and against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in 2015. The conflict has killed more than 150,000 people, created a dire humanitarian crisis and left Riyadh embroiled in a costly war it might be eager to withdraw from to focus on domestic issues. Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam and the site of its two holiest cities, has historically seen itself as the leader of the Muslim world. The Iranian Revolution of 1979 shook Saudi Arabia and other Gulf kingdoms, which saw the new regime in Tehran as a rival. While tensions brewed for years, Saudi Arabia broke off ties in 2016 after protesters stormed its diplomatic posts in Iran and set fire to its embassy in Tehran. Days earlier, Saudi Arabia had executed the prominent Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr. Nimr al-Nimr (Vahid Salemi / AP file) Clearing up the misunderstandings and looking to the future in Tehran-Riyadh relations will definitely lead to the development of regional stability and security, and the increase of cooperation between the countries of the Persian Gulf and the Islamic world to manage the existing challenges, Shamkhani said Friday after signing the deal, according to Press TV. Ties with Washington Saudi Arabia has historically been vital to American interests in the region, but ties between the two countries have been strained by a number of issues, including allegations of Saudi ties to terrorism, in particular to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the U.S. After the CIA concluded that the powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the October 2018 slaying and dismembering of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, Joe Biden vowed during the 2020 election campaign to make the country an international pariah. With global oil supplies affected by Russias war in Ukraine, Biden visited Saudi Arabia last July in a bid to reset ties and encourage efforts to end the war in Yemen. Iranian protesters shout slogans during a demonstration against Saudi Arabia outside its embassy in Tehran (Atta Kenare / AFP via Getty Images file ) The U.S. and Iran, meanwhile, have been increasingly at odds over Tehrans advancing nuclear program, anti-regime protests and its drone deliveries to Russia. Having tried and so far failed to revive the landmark 2015 nuclear deal, the Biden administration has been tightening economic pressure on Iran and has sent a signal that military force remains an option if all other means fail to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons. The 2015 accord, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan for Action or JCPOA, was designed to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons and imposed strict limits on Tehrans nuclear activities in return for an easing of U.S. and international economic sanctions. But then-President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the deal in 2018 and reimposed an array of sanctions. Talks to revive the deal were shelved in recent months amid the Iranian regime's crackdown on the protests. Iran's nuclear ambitions are viewed as a grave threat by Israel, with the two countries involved in an escalating shadow war. Israel has also reportedly been engaged in its own talks with Saudi Arabia about normalizing relations, and it remains to be seen what Friday's deal will mean for its hopes of leveraging mutual rivalry with Iran to improve ties with Arab states. Former President Donald Trump speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2023, Saturday, March 4, 2023, at National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) NEW YORK (AP) Former President Donald Trump has been invited to testify next week before a New York grand jury that has been investigating hush money payments made on his behalf during his 2016 presidential campaign, according to a news report. The New York Times cited four people with knowledge of the matter in reporting that the invitation was made by the Manhattan district attorneys office. Such an invitation often indicates a decision on indictments is near. The district attorney's office declined to comment. A Trump spokesperson issued a statement that disparaged the investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, as politically motivated. Any indictment would mark the first time any former U.S. president has been charged with a crime. It would come as Trump is ramping up a run to regain the White House in 2024 while simultaneously battling legal problems on multiple fronts. The district attorney in Atlanta, Georgia, has said decisions are "imminent" in a two-year investigation into possible illegal meddling in the 2020 election by Trump and his allies. A U.S. Justice Department special counsel is also investigating efforts by Trump and his allies to undo the election as well as the handling of classified documents at his Florida estate. The New York grand jury has been probing Trump's involvement in a $130,000 payment made in 2016 to the porn star Stormy Daniels to keep her from going public about a sexual encounter she said she had with the Republican years earlier. The money was paid out of the personal funds of Trump's now-estranged lawyer, Michael Cohen, who then said he was reimbursed by the Trump Organization and also paid extra bonuses for a total that eventually rose to $420,000. Cohen pleaded guilty to federal charges in 2018 that the payment, and another he helped arrange to the model Karen McDougal through the parent company of the National Enquirer tabloid, amounted to an illegal campaign contribution. Federal prosecutors at the time decided not to bring charges against Trump, who by then was president. The Manhattan district attorney's office then launched its own investigation, which lingered for several years but has been gathering momentum in recent weeks. Several figures close to Trump have been spotted in recent days entering Bragg's office for meetings with prosecutors, including his former political adviser Kellyanne Conway and former spokesperson Hope Hicks. Cohen has also met several times with prosecutors, saying after a recent visit that he thought the investigation was nearing a conclusion. Under New York law, people who appear before a grand jury are given immunity from prosecution for things they say during their testimony, so potential targets of criminal investigations are generally invited to testify only if they waive that immunity. Lawyers generally advise clients not to do so if there is a potential for a criminal case. It isn't clear what charges prosecutors might be exploring. Legal experts have said one potential crime could be the way the payments to Cohen were structured and falsely classified internally as being for a legal retainer. New York has a law against falsifying business records, but it is a misdemeanor unless the records fudging is done in conjunction with a more serious felony crime. Separately, the district attorney's office has also spent years investigating whether Trump and his company inflated the value of some its assets in dealings with lenders and potential business partners. Those allegations are the subject of a civil lawsuit, filed by the state's attorney general. 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. Express your opinion! Fill out this form to submit a Letter to the Editor. Submit (CNN) Russia showered Kyiv, Lviv and other major cities across Ukraine with what officials said was an unprecedented array of missiles on Thursday morning, stepping up its assault on the entire country as a sluggish ground war drags on in the east. A total of 81 missiles were used in a "massive attack" on Ukrainian infrastructure, including six Kinzhal ballistic missiles that have the ability to elude Kyiv's air defenses, the Ukrainian military said. "The attack is really large-scale and for the first time using such different types of missiles. We see that this time as many as six Kinzhal were used. This is an attack like I don't remember seeing before," Yurii Ihnat, spokesman for the Air Force Command of Ukraine, said on Ukrainian television Thursday. "So far, we have no capabilities to counter these weapons," he added, referring to the Kinzhals, plus six X-22 air-launched cruise missiles that were also launched by Russian forces. "It's been a difficult night," President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday in a Facebook message. "The enemy fired 81 missiles in an attempt to intimidate Ukrainians again, returning to their miserable tactics. The occupiers can only terrorize civilians. That's all they can do. But it won't help them. They won't avoid responsibility for everything they have done," Zelensky said. He listed 10 regions across Ukraine where aerial attacks took place, including Dnipro, Odesa, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia, and said the attacks hit "critical infrastructure and residential buildings." "Unfortunately, there are injured and dead. My condolences to the families," he added. Russia used the nuclear-capable Kinzhal missile, which it has described as a hypersonic weapon, on a few occasions in the first weeks of its invasion last year. But the powerful weapon, which Ukraine doesn't have the capability to shoot down, has rarely been seen over the country's skies. At least 11 people were killed and more than 20 injured during the overnight attacks, according to preliminary information from regional authorities. In Kyiv, an air raid alert lasted for almost 7 hours overnight into Thursday and power outages were implemented as a preventative measure, regional authorities said. In the Zolochiv community near Lviv, a fire broke out when the fragments of a Russian missile were shot down, regional authorities said. The fire destroyed three residential buildings, and three cars. The rubble was being cleared and rescuers were searching for additional victims on Thursday morning. Several infrastructure facilities and other buildings were hit elsewhere in Ukraine. The Russian Ministry of Defense said Thursday the barrage of missile strikes it launched was retaliation for what the ministry called "terrorist actions" organized by Kyiv in Russia's Bryansk region last week. "In response to the terrorist actions in the Bryansk region organized by the Kyiv regime on March 2 this year, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation delivered a massive retaliation strike," it said in a statement. "High-precision long-range air, sea and land-based weapons, including the Kinzhal hypersonic missile system, hit key elements of Ukraine's military infrastructure, military-industrial complex enterprises, as well as energy facilities that serve them," the ministry said. Russian security officials claimed a small Ukrainian armed group last week crossed the Russian border into the southern Bryansk region. Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said the agency was carrying out operations following "armed Ukrainian nationalists who violated the state border." Russian President Vladimir Putin described the incident as a "terrorist attack." A local official said two civilians were killed. CNN cannot independently verify the Russian claims, and local media did not carry any images of the supposed incidents, any type of confrontation or an alleged raid reported by Russian authorities. Russia's pretext for Thursday's attacks was dismissed by Kyiv's Defense Ministry, which likened the Kremlin's claims of "retaliation" to propaganda tactics used by the Nazi regime in justifying the use of V-1 flying bombs over London during World War II. "Brothers in spirit," the ministry said, referring to the Kremlin and the Third Reich. Rare use of Kinzhal missile The use of such a wide and unpredictable array of weaponry seemingly marks a shift in the Kremlin's strategy. The Kinzhal, an air-launched variant of the Iskander short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) which has also, more frequently, been used in Ukraine, was unveiled by Putin in 2018 as a cornerstone of a modernized Russian arsenal. Like virtually all ballistic missiles it is hypersonic, which means they travel at least five times the speed of sound, but it is also particularly difficult to detect because it can be launched from MiG-31 fighter jets, giving it a longer range and the ability to attack from multiple directions. "Russia likely developed the unique missile to more easily target critical European infrastructure ... (its) speed, in combination with the missile's erratic flight trajectory and high maneuverability, could complicate interception," according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Russia's use of the missile on Ukrainian targets last March was its first known use in combat, according to CSIS, and it was subsequently used again in May. Eight Iranian-made Shahed drones were also used in Thursday's attacks, authorities said. A senior US defense official said Thursday that Ukraine is becoming a "battle lab" for testing Iranian weapons outside of the Middle East. The official spoke ahead of US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin's visit to Israel where Iranian-Russian military cooperation will be on the agenda. "Everyone should be preparing for what the threat scenarios look like when Iran takes the tactics, techniques and procedures it learned in Ukraine and starts to use those coercive tactics here," the official said in reference to the Middle East. The barrage came as most focus in Ukraine was fixed to Bakhmut, the eastern city that Russia's ground forces have been assaulting for weeks and appear to be on the cusp of capturing. Ukraine's troops have sustained a determined defense of the city even as some military experts advocate for a tactical withdrawal. Zelensky said in an interview with CNN on Tuesday that Kyiv's ongoing resistance in the city is "tactical," warning that Russians could advance towards other key cities to the west if they capture Bakhmut. "We understand that after Bakhmut they could go further. They could go to Kramatorsk, they could go to Sloviansk, it would be open road for the Russians after Bakhmut to other towns in Ukraine, in the Donetsk direction," he told CNN's Wolf Blitzer in an exclusive interview from Kyiv. "That's why our guys are standing there." Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that the known death toll in Ukraine on Thursday from overnight attacks was 11, not 16. This story was also updated to clarify that virtually all ballistic missiles -- not missiles in general -- are hypersonic. This story was first published on CNN.com. "Russia pummels Ukraine with array of high-tech weaponry in nationwide assault" YEREVAN, MARCH 10, ARMENPRESS. A school bus with students and teachers onboard crashed into a canyon Friday afternoon on the Kapan-Norashenik road in the Syunik Province, killing a teacher and leaving 23 persons injured. The 53-year-old teacher died in the hospital, authorities said. 23 persons, including 8 school employees and 15 students, are hospitalized, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Update shows information on the fatality and number of victims. YEREVAN, MARCH 10, ARMENPRESS. The European Parliament and the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia held the second meeting of the EU-Armenia Parliamentary Partnership Committee (PPC) on 24 February 2022 in Yerevan, marking a strong commitment to the deepening of relations between the EU and Armenia, ARMENPRESS was informed from the official website of the EU. This was the first meeting since the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) entered into force in March last year and an occasion for us to review the state of its implementation. We welcome the progress made and encourage the Armenian authorities to continue on the reform path. We also note the substantial EU support provided, such as in the crucial area of justice reform. We applaud the fact that the EUs Economic and Investment Plan will provide a sizable stimulus to investments in key areas, including strategically important connectivity projects and support to the most vulnerable regions, and appreciate the EUs efforts to help Armenia deal with the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. The recent signing of the Common Aviation Area Agreement in November marks a significant step with tangible benefits for the citizens and businesses of both the EU and Armenia. Enhanced connectivity helps boost people-to-people contacts as well as economic growth. Among other concrete steps to achieve tangible results, we also welcomed the recent agreement on Armenias association status to the Horizon Europe research and innovation programme and the agreement on strategic cooperation with Europol. We appreciated that despite the difficult context created by the Second NagornoKarabakh War and the COVID-19 pandemic, the early parliamentary elections of June 2021 were competitive and generally well-managed, living up to democratic standards. They also delivered a clear mandate for the Government of Armenia to further reform the country, improve governance, tackle corruption and modernise the economy. We stressed the need to decrease polarisation in politics and called on all political forces to show restraint. We also highlighted the importance of ensuring that all reforms respect the principles of separation of powers and the rule of law and recommended seeking and following advice of the Venice Commission on all constitutional matters. We reiterated our unwavering support to a comprehensive and peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and to the process within the mandate of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship, based on the principles of non-use of force, territorial integrity and the equal rights and self-determination of peoples. We appreciate the engagement of the President of the European Council in order to help create an atmosphere of trust and build confidence, including through the creation of a direct communication link between the Ministers of Defence of Armenia and Azerbaijan and the EUs mediation to repatriate detained Armenian servicemen. We encourage stepping up the EUs involvement to help address urgent outstanding issues, such as the return of all remaining Armenian prisoners of war and other detainees, the protection of cultural heritage in the conflict area, and the unblocking of humanitarian access to Nagorno-Karabakh. We find it unacceptable that on 12 May 2021, troops from Azerbaijan temporarily entered the territory of Armenia, which amounts to a violation of the territorial integrity of Armenia and of international law. Further progress on border delimitation and demarcation between Armenia and Azerbaijan is of utmost importance; in the meantime, we call for the withdrawal of all military forces from the border areas, returning to positions before 12 May 2021, to prevent escalation and guarantee the rights of the local population. The unblocking of regional communications, in line with the trilateral statements of 9 November 2020 and 11 January 2021, will present a significant opportunity for Armenia and the entire South Caucasus region. We support the Armenian government in pursuing this ambitious objective and encourage further progress. Likewise, the recently started efforts to normalise relations with Turkey without preconditions have our strong support, as their success would be a boon to the regional economic development and stability. We look forward to further developing our interparliamentary relations and holding the 3rd meeting of the Committee in 2023 in Brussels or Strasbourg, reads the statement of the meeting. YEREVAN, MARCH 10, ARMENPRESS. Ambassador at-large Edmon Marukya, referred to the violation of the cease-fire regime by the armed forces of Azerbaijan on the contact line of Artsakh on March 10 on his "Twitter" page. "Azerbaijan violated the ceasefire regime in Nagorno-Karabakh. On the one hand, Aliyev continues to declare that they are ready to talk with the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh, with those born there, on the other hand, they attack the people who were born and live peacefully in Nagorno Karabakh. Now the world knows what Aliyev means," ARMENPRESS reports, Marukyan wrote. Earlier, the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Artsakh informed that the units of the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan violated the ceasefire in the northern direction of the contact line between 19:10 and 19:40 on March 10 by using firearms. The ceasefire violation was reported to the command of the Russian peacekeeping troops. In his words: "I am just a professional writer, which means I don't do blogs and try and get money for whatever I write." Government-enforced confounding of science and myth has caused seven professors of New Zealands universities to write in protest The NZ government has decreed that science classes have to be taught that Maori Ways of Knowing (Matauranga Maori) have equal standing with Western sciences. (Photo: ANI) The path to the waters is tough You stumble on sand-pit and stone No hardship is ever enough God has left us humans alone Determined to get to the source Of that which refreshes the soul We follow the sweet Gangas course The quest makes the shattered one whole! From Japan to Jaipur: Teriyaki to Terimaaki, by Bachchoo In my time in the early 1960s, Poona University required all science undergraduates to adopt one Arts subject and, if memory serves, for the Arts-wallahs to take on a science subject. These universally went for logic as their science, Physics, Chemistry, Biology or Maths being inhibitive. All my science undergraduate class chose Civics as their Arts subject. I was the only dissenter who chose to do a course called Ancient Indian Culture, or AIC. It wasnt just that I wanted to stand out amongst the crowd, or that I thought Id find learning about the Indian Constitution and local government excruciatingly boring, it was that I was genuinely interested in finding out what these ancient texts said. I went onto the course not knowing the difference between a Veda and a Vada okay, maybe thats an exaggeration! While there were two classes of over a hundred pupils on the Civics course, there were in all nine students in the AIC lectures, eight of them genuine Arts students and myself singularly from the science side. Our professor was called Arjunvadkar, and he openly and suspiciously enquired as to my presence in his lectures. My fellow students were possibly Brahminical boys and girls pursuing some necessity to master this field of knowledge. So, what the flip was a Parsi adolescent, majoring in Physics, doing in his class? I said he should put it down to curiosity. He was an enlightened one. From his attitude towards me, as he instructed the class week after week, it became clear to me that he regarded his subject as operating in a totally different dimension from the Physics, Chemistry and other sciences being lectured about in the separate grey-stone building of the college. He was absolutely aware that myth and religion were nothing to do with and shouldnt be equated to the mundane understanding of how fast light travelled or what happens when acids are mixed with alkalis. Of course, he taught us that the zero was invented by Aryabhata and that there were Sutras -- treatises -- on drama, political strategy, sex and other classificatory topics. I learnt, if only in a cursory and shallow way, about the Upanishads, about Buddhist philosophy, about the Gomateswara at Sravanavelagola and much else, and knew that this learning was strictly distinct from Newtons laws of motion or the third law of thermodynamics. Myth and science, equally intriguing, but not the same. Now I read that Richard Dawkins, the apostle, if not the pope, of atheism, has visited New Zealand to promote his latest book. While there, he says he walked into a raging controversy. The NZ government has decreed that science classes have to be taught that Maori Ways of Knowing (Matauranga Maori) have equal standing with Western sciences. So, students in NZ will be taught that living organisms consist of DNA while being equally certain that life throbs with a vital force conferred by the Earth Mother and the Sky Father. This government-enforced confounding of science and myth has caused seven professors of New Zealands universities to write in protest against the travesty and consequently to be forced to resign their posts. Obviously these professors, the most prominent among them being the medical scientist Garth Cooper, of Maori descent himself, has no objection to mythology being taught and absorbed by all NZ students --Maoris, Christians, Muslims whoever. But can one with any intellectual honesty say that the Old Testaments pronouncements on creation should be afforded the same validity as Darwins theory and its developments by other scientists? Professor Arjunvadkar could have told his AIC classes, though he didnt, that, for instance, the Sutras were based on the distillate of experience and perhaps even experiments. So, the Kama Sutra would have been composed through the trial of different sexual activities and then classified -- certainly the way science verifies and classifies experience. Even so, one recognises that while Pythagoras, Archimedes, the grammarian Panini and Aryabhata ought to be acknowledged as the pioneers of enquiry, modern science was one of the products of Protestantism breaking away from strict Catholic doctrine, under which Copernicus and Galileos scientific pronouncements were denigrated and prosecuted. Myth put science on trial in that age. Does the government of New Zealand want to bring such trials back? Dont they know eppur si muove? The perpetrator of this idiotic attempt at claiming to be super-virtuously-inclusive, this nonsensical demand to corrupt education was Chris Hipkin, then minister for education and now the Prime Minister. One hopes that the opinion of scientists in the native country of Ernest Rutherford, father of atomic science, will cause him to relent and reverse the diktat, for the sake of the education of NZs present and future generations. Yes, Professor Arjunvadkar taught me a great deal and long may the tradition of keeping the ancient culture of every civilisation be kept alive as a study; but confounding mythical theories with those of modern science which has proven itself in every human endeavour -- positive and destructive -- will inevitably end in confusion, if not tears. by Giorgio Bernardelli Hong Kongs bishop accepted the invitation from the Archdiocese of Beijing. The last visit by a Hong Kong bishop, Mgr John Tong, was in 2008 for the Olympics, but on that occasion the latter was not allowed to meet Archbishop Li Shan of Beijing, who now heads the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association. The visiting delegation will include Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Ha, who in 2019 was very close to young Hong Kong protesters crushed by the Chinas national security law. Milan (AsiaNews) Bishop Stephen Chow of Hong Kong will travel to Beijing on April 17 for a five-day visit. The diocese made the announcement yesterday in an official statement indicating that Bishop Chow accepted an official invitation from Archbishop Joseph Li Shan of Beijing. Hong Kongs Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Ha and the Vicar General Fr Peter Choy will accompany him. For the Church in China, this is a very important moment. As AsiaNews reported a few months ago, Card John Baptist Wu Cheng-chung paved the way for these visits back in the 1980s. But in recent years, the political climate has made them a much trickier affair; the last visit to Beijing by a Hong Kong prelate took place in fact in 2008 the then Coadjutor Bishop John Tong. On that occasion, the prelate was not allowed to meet Bishop Li Shan, who had been appointed a year earlier with the assent of Benedict XVI. A few months later, Tong succeeded Card Joseph Zen Ze-kiun at the helm of the diocese. I was at least able to greet him by telephone, Bishop Tong told AsiaNews at the time, although out of fear that the line was being monitored our conversation was a bit generic. I told him that we support him and pray for his diocese. The visit this time will be very different, considering that last summer, Bishop Li Shan was appointed president of the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, the official Catholic body set up by the Communist Party. Inspired by an image he included in his episcopal coat of arms, Bishop Chow reiterated at the time of this announcement that the mission of the Diocese of Hong Kong is to be a bridge promoting exchanges and interactions with mainland China. In yesterdays statement, the diocese explains that in addition to the meeting with Archbishop Li Shan in Beijing, Bishop Chow and the delegation will meet other bishops, members of the clergy and local laity. They will also visit the major seminary in Beijing, the national seminary of the Catholic Church in China and other relevant entities that touch religious affairs. Upon his arrival in the Chinese capital on 17 April, Bishop Chow will take part in Vespers and celebrate a thanksgiving Mass in the cathedral. The visit will also include praying at the tomb of Fr Matteo Ricci, the great Jesuit missionary of the 17th century declared venerable a few months ago. The official statement goes on to say that visits to organisations that promote cultural exchanges and gatherings with Hong Kong friends working in Beijing will also be scheduled. It also calls on brothers, sisters and friends in Christ to pray for the success of the visit. One aspect of the trip that is worth mentioning is the fact that Bishop Chow will be accompanied by Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Ha and Vicar General Fr Peter Choy. During the protests that shook Hong Kong in 2019 and led to the harsh crackdown by Beijing, Bishop Ha repeatedly expressed his support for the young people who had taken to the streets.. In 2020 he delivered the last homily at the annual Mass held as part of the vigil for the victims of Tiananmen Square. Afterwards, it became impossible to hold such events under the infamous national security law imposed by Beijing, which has led to the arrest and incarceration of pro-democracy leaders (the latest is Catholic trade union leader Elizabeth Tang who was detained yesterday). The presence of Bishop Ha alongside Bishop Chow in Beijing is a sign that in seeking to be a bridge, the Church of Hong Kong has not renegued its recent history. At such a difficult moment for Hong Kong, what he wrote a year ago about the increasingly narrow room for freedom probably applies to the invitation: Accepting the changing context as reality does not mean endorsing it. But learning to discern new possibilities with a creative mindset amid tensions from the changing context is the way forward. by Stefano Vecchia Three officers involved in the killing of Negros Oriental province governor Roel Dergamo. The leaders of the armed forces under indictment promise to strengthen measures against the use of military techniques and forces for criminal purposes. But collusion with private militias in the pay of local potentates is a well-known scourge in Manila. Manila (AsiaNews) - The assassination of the governor of Negros Oriental province, Roel Degamo, has reopened the debate on the role of the security forces in the Philippines. On the morning of 4 March, while Degamo was busy arranging assistance initiatives with village leaders in his home in the city of Pamplona, a dozen men in military uniform opened fire, killing - in addition to the governor - eight people and wounding several others. So far, four suspects have been arrested for murder and attempted murder, including three army officers, two of them from elite units, who had gone off duty without authorisation. A fourth soldier was killed during the manhunt after the attack. An organised action, carried out coldly, which showed the military preparedness of the attackers. It is no coincidence that, in an interview with the Dzbb radio network, the Armed Forces spokesman, Colonel Medel Aguilar, announced that the chief of staff had ordered that the intelligence service assigned to such cases be strengthened and that 'precautionary measures be put in place so that capabilities acquired within the military organisation cannot be used for criminal actions'. In the face of criticism that has also come from politics, the top brass of the army, air force and navy have reiterated their commitment to tighten up the recruitment process to ensure that training and the ability to carry weapons do not go to individuals predisposed to violence. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. stated that he considered the killing of Degamo, referred to as a politician attentive to the needs of the population, to be politically motivated, and ordered the relevant authorities to identify the places where such attacks could occur, dismantling private militias in the pay of local political or economic potentates, in many cases known to Manila, who also use elements from the armed forces. Marcos, who so far has not wanted to expressly point the finger at the military commanders or the police even though they are accused of violence and abuses that are largely covered up or unpunished, pointed out that the authorities have a wealth of information at their disposal and that they have clear indications on how to bring those responsible to justice. Just last month, the governor of Lanao del Sur province, Mamintal Alonto Adiong Jr, had been injured in an attack on the convoy of cars he was travelling in and four of his bodyguards had been killed. And on 19 February, this time in the northern province of Nueva Vizcaya, the mayor of Aparri had been killed with five others travelling with him by killers on motorbikes wearing police uniforms. More powers are given to the agency charged with citizens petitions. The countrys leaders fear new protests after those by anti-lockdown advocates and pensioners. While the National People's Congress is underway, the authorities have blocked and placed under surveillance defrauded savers in Henan. The police place lawyers and humanitarian activists under virtual house arrest. For Freedom House, China remains a police state. Beijing (AsiaNews) Xi Jinping is giving more powers to the government agency responsible for petitions and public complaints, seemingly reaching out to growing grassroot protest movements after three years of his draconian zero-Covid policy. Yet, following an established pattern, police is preventing petitioners including lawyers and humanitarian activists who wish to present demands on sensitive topics from reaching the capital during the annual meeting of Chinas parliament, the National People's Congress (NPC). Despite claims to greater responsiveness to citizens demands, as is their wont, Chinese police are showing their efficiency towards those deemed troublemakers. Meanwhile, the NPC today unanimously re-elected Xi Jinping to a third, unprecedented term in office as president, general secretary of the Communist Party of China, and as head of the Central Military Commission. Under new rules, the National Public Complaints and Proposals Administration will not simply receive petitions and assign them to the appropriate agencies, but will be able to take action independently to solve the problems raised. This reflects Xis increasing concern over the mood of the country. After popular protests in late November led to the sudden easing of anti-COVID-19 restrictions he imposed, thousands of pensioners demonstrated last month in Wuhan (Hubei) and Dalian (Liaoning) over cuts made by provincial authorities to their health benefits. Experts note that the reform of the petition system is aimed at appeasing popular anger at local administrations, often accused of mismanagement and corruption. However, as Reuters reports, the authorities have recently stopped savers defrauded by local banks in Henan province. Many of them have still not been able to access their savings after US$ 1.5 billion were frozen in connection with the scandal. Police stopped people from boarding trains leaving for Beijing. Others have been placed under round-the-clock surveillance or have discovered tracking devices in their cars. Some have even found themselves under virtual house arrest, like the well-known human rights lawyer, Wang Quanzhang, and his wife Li Wenzu, who is also involved in humanitarian work. The couple told Radio Free Asia that on Tuesday, International Women's Day, Beijing police surrounded their residence and prevented them from leaving. In its 2023 report, Freedom House again ranked China at the bottom in terms of freedoms, describing the country as "not free" for the fifth consecutive decade. According to the US-based advocacy group, Beijing's ability and sophistication in deploying technologies in the service of state security remain unparallel, stressing that, Those who criticized the Party received severe penalties. PHEV SUV Currently, the carmaker has but a handful of models in Europe including the so-called all-new 2023 Mitsubishi ASX plug-in hybrid, which aims for new electrified beginnings in old, stolen clothes from the Renault Captur. Moving across the pond, there are just six options to choose from and, if we are frank, there are just four model series.They start with the puny 2023 Mirage and Mirage G4, level up with the Outlander Sport (which still looks like an ASX, not a Captur) and Eclipse Cross, and end with a quick Outlander and Outlanderbang. The only good news is the MSRP spread is a small one, from a little over $16k to below the magical $40k threshold. Still, there is one major omission from the roster.No, it is not the next generation Lancer Evolution that ship sailed away and sank into the horizon long ago, stop daydreaming about it! Instead, what Mitsubishi really needs to join the other Japanese automakers in the quest for sales glory is a good pickup truck, ladies and gents! No worries, if the real (OEM) world is keeping mum about the new Mitsubishi pickup truck prototypes that were spied in the United States last fall and their possible new-gen L200/Triton appurtenance, then we can always resort to a different solution to satisfy desires.That would be to call on the imaginative realm of digital car content creators to the rescue, of course. In this particular hypothetical and highly unofficial case, our fix arrives courtesy of Dimas Ramadhan, the virtual automotive artist behind the Digimods DESIGN channel on YouTube, who has taken up the task of revealing a new Mitsubishi Raider - in CGI. But what is this thing, one might ask?As a reminder, the nameplate was initially used for a Dodge Raiderthat was marketed in the United States during the late 1980s as a rebadged Mitsubishi Montero/Pajero. The Mitsubishi Raider, meanwhile, was presented in 2005 as a mid-size pickup truck for the U.S. market based on the Dodge Ram Dakota. It did not survive long enough to weave a long tale (2006-2009 model years, solely), but it also seems that it has not been entirely forgotten.Now, the pixel master has taken the old and slightly boxy design into the 21st century, and what to some might look like a veritable hodgepodge of disparate elements (has anyone noticed the Land Rover headlights?!), to others might feel like the perfect recipe of harshness needed to make Mitsubishi great again, at least in America. It would also serve as a cool attempt to dethrone the Toyota Tacoma supremacy, or at least duke it well with the rest of the followers like the next Ford Ranger and others, right? ICE Whatever it is youre doing right now, stop and take a long look at yourself. Keep going and gaze deeper think atomic level-deeper. Now start counting the atoms; youll find plenty of hydrogen. Im only kidding dont count, but know this. Hydrogen is the most abundant element in our bodies.And in the whole Universe. It is also a significant energy source stars are made of it (including our Sun), fossil fuels, and hydrogen bombs. The latter is a mere example of hydrogens omnipresence and explosive potential.Toyota is no stranger to this vast resource and has been developing a hydrogen-burningfor over a year. Last month, they took it to the racetrack for testing marking a motorsport premiere the first liquid hydrogen-powered manufacturer race car.On February 23, a GR Corolla powered by liquid hydrogen had a go around the Fuji Speedway in Oyama, Shizuoka. In the past years, the cars (same make and model) competing in Super Taikyu events relied on gaseous hydrogen.The test mule ran three sessions during February 23 race simulations. The team hopes to compete in the 2023 Super Taikyu season (which debuts this month). Still a long way to mass-produced, general-use liquid-hydrogen ICE automobiles. Nonetheless, significant progress since October of last year, when the prototype saw its first partial test.The main differences are storage and efficiency, as liquid hydrogen packs about 1.7 times more energy per volume unit. Roughly put, cars fueled with liquified H2 drive for longer distances between fill-ups. Also, its relatively more maneuverable than in its gaseous stage.Hydrogen is the lightest element known to science, and its also a gas, which means it can be compressed and stored in tanks. The downside is the pressure needed for this around 10,000 psi (690 bar / 680 atmospheres).These extreme numbers require incredibly robust and heavy cylindrical containers to withstand the enormous forces. While technically feasible, it is impractical for at least two reasons. The sheer bulk of the tubes would be one, and their placement in the car is another.Liquefying hydrogen, on the other hand, solves both those problems at least partially but raises new challenges. Hydrogen must stay at surreally low temperatures to condense into its liquid phase: negative 253 C (minus 423 F).Thats not saying much, but consider the following as a yardstick: the coldest temperature recorded on Earth is a lowly 89.2 C (- 128.6 F). Think of it like this: there is no place (that we know of) in our Solar system where hydrogen would stay liquid. Our Moons North Pole crater bed is -249 C (-416 F).Hydrogen can be kept at standard pressure at this point, so the stubby high-pressure tubes are no longer required. This means, in plain English, that the fuel tanks can in theory have any shape, saving interior space.But the liquid hydrogen bird in hand points to two in the bush: keeping the hydrogen liquid-cold would be the first. Minus 423 F (-253 C) is 20 degrees on the Kelvin scale, just 20 degrees above absolute zero. This is the next big obstacle for Toyota insulating the fuel tank, so the combustible doesnt evaporate. Until now, the technology was deemed unfeasible for passenger cars.Liquid hydrogen fuel would be the (almost) carbon-free solution for ICEs. Technically, while the combustion itself only produces dihydrogen oxide (commonly referred to as water by non-academics), its not mathematically CO2-free.A fraction of the cylinder lubricant would still be exposed to high temperatures and transform into carbon dioxide. The amount would be so tiny that it could be considered harmless, making the hydrogen ICE highly environmentally friendly.To put it into perspective: one kilogram of liquid hydrogen has roughly the same energy density as one gallon of gasoline. In other words, a car running on pure H2 would have a comparable range to a traditional, ICE cap-hating automobile.Apart from the science behind a large-scale deployment of this technology, theres one elephant in the room, and its a monster a kilogram of hydrogen costs around $15. You tell us if regular drivers would be alright with a $15/gallon gas price. And we haven't even opened the fuel stations availability topic.Still, this technology is in its embryonic phase remember where BEVs and hybrids were just two decades ago. Improvements can be made, but it takes more than science to break this circle. Play the video below for a quick but thorough lesson in liquid hydrogen automobility. Named after the Formula 1 racing car that celebrated nine decades since Enzo Ferrari founded Scuderia Ferrari in 1929, the SF90 is the most powerful series-production model to wear the Prancing Horse badge. A plug-in hybrid with three electric motors and reverseless dual-clutch transmission, the Scuderia Ferrari 90 has been recalled to the tune of 13 units built for the U.S. market. 19 photos Photo: Ferrari / edited The carbon-fiber shift paddles and carbon-fiber steering wheel are the only proper clues weve been offered in preparation for the March 16th reveal of the Italian automakers newest model. Described as something special by the Prancing Horse of Maranello, the car in question features a steering wheel shared by quite a few current models. The list begins with the Roma gran turismo, followed by the Purosangue utility vehicle, 296 series, SF90 series, and limited-run Daytona SP3. What could it be ? Its a hard one to guess, and every possible outcome is pretty darn fine if youre in the market for a brand-new car from the best name in the biz. The carparazzi have recently spied the Roma-bodied successor of the 812 series, the SF90 Versione Speciale high-performance variant, a prototype of an upcoming hypercar, and the open-top variant of the Roma.The V12-powered replacement for the 812 still hasnt been spied with production-ready body panels, the SF90 Versione Speciale is getting there, and the development of the next-gen hypercar is nowhere near finished. As a result, the SF90 Versione Special with its trick aero and the Roma Spider are the most likely candidates.Expected with a retractable soft top as opposed to the retractable hard top of the Portofino M, the Roma Spider will be slightly heavier than its fixed-head brother due to additional chassis strengthening and the roofs mechanism. Under the hood, dont expect anything else than the very same twin-turbo V8 of the coupe.Codenamed F154 BH, this lump is shared with the Portofino M. The 3.9-liter engine makes 620 ps (612 horsepower) at 5,750 rpm and 760 Nm (561 pound-feet) of torque at 3,000 rpm. Ferrari says the Roma hits 100 kilometers per hour (62 miles per hour) in 3.4 seconds, with more than 320 clicks (199 miles per hour).Codenamed F173VS as opposed to F173 for the coupe and F173A for the spider, the SF90 Versione Speciale is no doubt about it the sportiest Ferrari that will be launched this year. Expected with more power and torque from its plug-in hybrid twin-turbo V8 setup, the hi-po variant also rocks a lot of new aero trickery.Inspired by Formula 1, the S-Duct hood is the biggest novelty because it produces downforce with a minimal penalty in terms of drag. The Versione Special has been recently spied driving on Maranellos public roads flaunting a rear wing for even more downforce. Lamborghini prepares to roll out its Aventador-replacing supercar this month, which has been confirmed to pack in excess of 1,000 metric ponies. The SF90 Stradale and SF90 Spider have 1,000 ps on the nose, which is why the Versione Speciale needs to level up in this regard. Photo: Melk Im not entirely sure if the Breakout model is the most widespread base for custom conversions, but it most definitely is at the top of that list.The Milwaukee company gave birth to this member of the Softail family back in 2012, and as usual with HD models, its had a bumpy ride. Pulled off the American market a couple of years ago, it got revived this January , as one of the means for Harley to celebrate its 120th anniversary.Despite the on-and-off relationship the bike maker had with the Breakout, the model has constantly been a presence on custom garages workbenches. Some handle it occasionally, while others, like the French from Melk , have made it a central piece of their business, with most of the 36 bikes in their portfolio belonging to this breed.The one youre looking at here is bike number 19, and it started life as a 2016 Breakout. In the usual Melk fashion, it was turned into a canvas on which Melk to practice its talent at using less than a handful of colors and a longer list of custom parts to create amazing builds.In the case of the Breakout we have here, there are two shades displayed on the machine: theres the black on the engine, chassis, and main mechanical components, and metal flake silver on the fenders and fuel tank, both neatly treated to either gloss or satin.This simplistic approach in paints is always effective on custom motorcycles, but it becomes even more so if paired with the proper custom hardware. And the Metal Flake, as we nicknamed the build for obvious reasons, has some of those too.Starting up front, we get a headlight hidden inside an aftermarket Harley cap and backed by Thunderbike-sourced LED indicators, but also a fork tube cover from Cult Werk. The handlebar ends in Performance Machine grips and is fitted with low sitting mirrors on both sides.Further back, Germanys Thunderbike supplied the engine guard, above which the stock tank, wearing a Harley aftermarket cap, is located. A custom exhaust system, handled by Melk, comes as the only other modification made to the Breakouts stock engine, not counting the fitting of a Performance Machine air filter.At the back, perhaps the biggest modification in terms of parts can be found, because thats where the 260mm-wide tire wraps around the wheel, shielded by a custom fender.And now, cost. A brand new Breakout of the 2023 variety with the 117 engine in its frame is priced at $20,999. The older, but modified one you see here sells for 28,000 euros, which is 29,800 in U.S. currency, and probably a lot better looking than the new one, at least in the eyes of some. China keeps development as top priority in 2023 (Global Times) 09:20, March 10, 2023 By continuing to give top priority to development in 2023, China will ramp up efforts to expand domestic demand, improve the business environment for private companies and prevent financial risks, among others, the Financial and Economic Affairs Committee of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) suggested on Thursday. The committee released a review report on the implementation of the national economic and social development plan in 2022 and a draft plan for the development in 2023 submitted by the State Council, China's cabinet. It offered seven suggestions that Chinese economists noted will form effective support for the year's growth target at around 5 percent in spite of multiple headwinds. This year marks the first year for China to fully implement the guiding principles of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), and it is of great significance for the country to do a good job in economic and social development, the committee said. For starters, it is crucial to maintain steady and healthy economic performance. In addition to improving social psychological expectations and boosting confidence in development, it is also important to implement a proactive fiscal policy and a prudent monetary policy based on the basic tone of seeking progress while maintaining stability, it noted. In 2023, national revenue is projected to reach 21.73 trillion yuan ($3.92 trillion), an increase of 6.7 percent from 2022, while expenditure is expected to reach 27.513 trillion yuan, an increase of 5.6 percent year-on-year, according to a draft budget submitted by the State Council on Monday. The scale of local government special-purpose bonds will be appropriately expanded as well, with a ceiling of 3.8 trillion yuan to be set on new local government special-purpose debts, an increase of 150 billion yuan over last year, according to the draft budget. This will be strong support for local development, especially after the three years of the fight against COVID-19, Cong Yi, a professor at the Tianjin University of Finance and Economics, told the Global Times on Thursday. The committee also stressed the expansion of domestic demand, noting the need to increase urban and rural incomes through a variety of channels, while giving full play to active nongovernmental investment. For the past three years, household consumption was largely restrained due to the pandemic, and releasing pent-up consumption will be the leading driver for the economic recovery this year, said Tian Yun, a veteran macroeconomic observer. Based on the current recovery momentum, the increase in household consumption is expected to contribute more than 4 trillion yuan to the GDP this year, Tian told the Global Times. Governments and businesses have stepped up efforts to boost consumption by issuing coupons or providing subsidies for businesses, holding shopping festivals and other moves. For instance, Zhengzhou in Central China's Henan Province issued 50 million yuan worth of auto purchase consumption coupons from January 1 to February 6, which directly boosted 2 billion yuan of auto sales, according to media reports. It is also key to stimulate market dynamism through reform and opening-up, as well as to improve the business environment for private companies, the committee pointed out. It's necessary to remove deep-seated institutional obstacles and give full play to the decisive role of the market in allocating resources. The nation will also encourage and support the development and expansion of private enterprises, and enhance management services for micro-sized, small and medium-sized enterprises, the committee said. Additionally, more efforts should be rolled out to strengthen support for talent in education and science, effectively forestall and defuse major economic and financial risks, and stabilize employment and ensure people's wellbeing, it noted. All these efforts will effectively pave the way for the around 5 percent GDP growth target this year, Cong said. There is no denying that multiple challenges need to be addressed along the way, including sluggish external demand, geopolitical conflicts and others, experts said. Yet, the 5 percent GDP target, which is below market expectations, is believed to have taken headwinds comprehensively into account, Cong said, noting that the nation has accumulated rich resources in talent and technology advancement, not to mention its colossal market. China's population of 1.4 billion and a middle class of more than 400 million people are solid foundation and confidence for the growth of the world's largest developing country, Cong concluded. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Wu Chaolan) kWh Photo: Toyota EV ICE Photo: Toyota Every oil company is now pretty aware that their businesses are doomed as they are. Oil reserves will not last forever, and the world now wants them to remain exactly where they are: under the ground. Selling oil is like selling cigarettes: most people do not like your business. It has a nasty reputation. This is why these enterprises are now rebranding themselves as energy providers, regardless of the form this energy adopts. Most are investing in wind and solar to present themselves in a better light or just to prepare for a future in which oil is dead.Check what Aramco recently did as a good example. It announced on March 6 that it would help Geely and Renault develop a low-emission powertrain technology. When you get into the details, you can see that it is not focusing on making more efficient combustion engines to keep burning Saudi Arabias main asset. Aramco is officially involved with developing synthetic fuels and plug-in hybrid solutions.The reasoning behind the idea is simple: even Aramco knows batteries are necessary for the future of personal transportation. The deal is defining how big these battery packs will be and how we are going to make them. If we are to engage in mining, we may be swapping six for half a dozen. In other words, trading one environmental concern for another one maybe even worse.Gill Pratt gave a compelling example of what that means at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Toyotas chief scientist made a simple comparison using 100in lithium-ion cells and a fleet of one hundred cars. He also considered carbon emissions for combustion-engined vehicles in that fleet to be 250 g/km, hybrids to emit 200 g/km, and EVs to present zero emissions.If you decide to make a battery pack with 100 kWh, you end up with oneand 99cars, which results in an average carbon emission of 247.5 g/km. If you make smaller battery packs of 1.1 kWh, that is enough to have 90 hybrid vehicles and only 10 cars powered solely by fuel. The emission of such a fleet would be 205 g/km.In other words, what Pratt said was that the finite battery resources we have would be better employed to make all cars emit less. The alternative is to have fewer units that do not emit anything other than particulates. If the purpose is to cut carbon emissions, it is clear which option really makes a difference: the hybrid fleet reduces emissions by 18%. That one with a single EV reduces them by 1%. How many people took that sensible alert seriously?Increasing the number of batteries available will take time. Opening new mines is something that demands years, if not decades, to happen. A ternary battery does not count only on lithium: it also needs cobalt, nickel, and manganese. If all cars suddenly have to be electric, the limited offer of raw materials will get even worse, and prices will skyrocket. Those concerned with EV prices nowadays have seen nothing compared to what can happen if people have no other options to purchase. And this is what will happen if governments manage to ban the sales of combustion engines. Sadly, the reason for such a ban has a deep root in a lot of ignorance.Most people fail to understand that the greenhouse effect is not a danger: it is the very phenomenon that made life possible on this planet. It is thanks to the greenhouse effect that Earth can sustain warm temperatures. It is because of it that things do not burn where the sunlight strikes, and everything that is on the other side does not freeze. The problem is increasing the amount of gases that create that phenomenon. Methane and carbon dioxide are among them.When you burn fossil fuels, you put back in the atmosphere carbon that was stored under the ground for millions of years, increasing the volume of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (GHG) . Synthetic and renewable fuels extract the carbon they need from the air, meaning they keep the carbon balance and are carbon neutral. This is so elementary that any story that ignores this will come to the wrong conclusions. Yet, I keep reading things that say synthetic and renewable fuels are not carbon neutral.That would only be forgivable if these reports considered the fossil fuels used to transport the crops that will become fuel or power the machines that will make synthetic fuel. Ironically, BEV advocates prefer not to think about the fossil fuels that are employed to produce and transport batteries as well. Currently, most heavy transport means depend on fossil fuels. How will we solve that? With batteries? Good luck finding enough raw materials for all that.Things get worse when you realize cars are not among the main carbon emitters. I have already written this, and I fear I will have to do so many more times: according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ), transportation is responsible for only 14% of man-made GHG (greenhouse gases).As you may imagine, passenger cars account for only a fraction of the transportation segment, which means they also emit much less than 14% of GHG. Anyone claiming to save the world by promoting EVs is either ill-informed or has second intentions by knowingly signaling false virtues.So there you have it: cars emit way less carbon than people say they do, batteries are way more complex to adopt than regulators make them seem, oil companies now want to sell anything but oil, and combustion engines may still play a role in passenger vehicles. This last topic is something Ill write about in my following ICE ban series text. EV PHEV BEV SUV As the junior carmaker in a global alliance with France's Renault and Japan's Nissan, Mitsubishi finds itself uniquely positioned to benefit from the other two companies expertise in electric vehicles. Nissan industry'spioneer, with Leaf being one of the first successful EVs sold in the U.S. Renault has done the same with ZOE in Europe, while Mitsubishi launched i-MiEV in the U.S. in 2011. But it wasn't successful, and its North American career ended in 2017.The Japanese carmaker has had more success with its hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles, and the Outlander PHEV is an excellent example. This probably explains why it still sees its future as not much different from the present and the past. Other Japanese carmakers, Toyota included, feel the same, as if the country has remained stuck in its glorious past. Even when planning for the future, Japanese companies don't want to stray far from the beaten path.Mitsubishi has demonstrated that in its mid-term plan, "Challenge 2025," revealed on Friday. While its name suggests that the automaker understands the urgency, there's no plan to go 100% electric in the near or long term. Instead, Mitsubishi's press release speaks about EVs as a blend of plug-in hybrids (), hybrids (HEV), and pure electrics (). The plan covers the next three years and only discusses "accelerating efforts toward a sustainable carbon-neutral future." This is incredibly light in detail, considering the immediate scope.As for the longer-term plans leveraged by this acceleration, nothing has changed. Mitsubishi still intends to electrify 50% of global sales by 2030 and then 100% of the fleet by 2035. According to Reuters, the company had already announced a goal to have 50% of its fleet electrified by 2030, and this remains unchanged. To achieve it, Mitsubishi will invest in R&D and production for electrified vehicles, including $1.5 billion in battery sourcing. In the U.S. , Mitsubishi plans to boost its electrified lineup while working closely with Alliance partner Nissan. Mitsubishi shows confidence after two straight years of retail sales growth and being named the number one mass-market brand in JD Power's 2023 Customer Satisfaction Index study.At a global level, Mitsubishi plans to stick with its "mostly ICE" strategy for the next five years, although it plans to launch 9 electrified models. Based on a presentation slide shared by Mitsubishi, four models would be battery-electric vehicles, including an electric pickup truck and a two-rowdeveloped in-house by Mitsubishi. Two other battery-electric vehicles will be Alliance models, jointly developed by the bigger brothers Renault and Nissan. Photo: NASA The first mission of the program, Artemis I , successfully went up there and then back down here just a few short months ago. It was a crucial mission, meant to show the world the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion capsule perched on top of it work just as they should. It was an uncrewed flight that more or less went without a hitch, and effectively opened the doors for Artemis II.This one is scheduled to depart in about a year, and it will carry with it three Americans and one Canadian (their names will be revealed by NASA on April 3). These four people will travel to the Moon and far beyond it, but will not land there.Sometime in 2025 (or later, depending on a variety of factors), Artemis III will actually land humans on the Moon. At the time of writing, two of the main elements needed to support it, the rocket and spaceship, are operational. The other two, the SpaceX lander and the spacesuits astronauts will wear while on the surface, are still being cooked up.Its the spacesuit thats of concern to us today. Weve known for a while the suits will be made by Axiom Space , and we also have a general idea of what theyll be all about, thanks to a few details already made public, but so far were yet to see them with our own eyes.NASA began its search for new spacesuits four years ago, when the Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU) project was announced. Keep in mind that at that time (and even now) we didn't have a Moon-rated spacesuit, and the ones used for International Space Station (ISS) spacewalks are a design that goes back all the way to the 1980s.The xEMU needs to be able to support temperatures between minus 250 degrees F and up to 250 degrees (minus 156 to 121 degrees C), but also be able to resist the dusty surface of the Moon.Astronauts will climb into the suits from the back, and theyll be wrapped in a pressure garment meant to protect them from all the things that can kill them up there: extreme temperatures, radiation, micrometeorites, you name it. In the helmets, the snoopy cap headsets used in current designs to communicate will be replaced by voice-activated microphones.But all of the above are just words on a screen, and they do little in the way of giving us a mental picture of the suit. Luckily, well get just that on March 15, when NASA and Axiom Space will be showing a prototype of the Artemis III spacesuits for the first time.Well of course be all over it, so stay tuned to see how the future of space exploration looks like. Photo: Made by Bare Photo: Made by Bare Photo: Made by Bare Photo: Made by Bare Architecture is supposed to take into account all of the important natural factors that have an impact on dwellings, especially the climate. In areas where the climate can be particularly challenging, the mobility of a house on wheels becomes a supreme advantage. Whenever theres a natural threat, such a house can literally move away from the face of danger, in search of safety.The Ningaloo was designed with this possibility in mind. The Australian climate is well-known for its demanding conditions and bushfire risk. Built on a durable, galvanized steel trailer chassis, this tiny home is fully transportable so that it can be easily moved in case of a bushfire threat in the area.Even under normal circumstances, Ningaloo is adapted for living in harmony with nature . First of all, it ensures the optimal interior temperature throughout the year.Its fitted with Earthwool insulation, a highly-efficient type of insulation thats made mostly from recycled glass, and built with generous, double-glazed windows, strategically integrated for cross-ventilation. This ensures that those living inside can stay warm when temperatures drop, and stay protected from the heat during the Australian summers.Secondly, like all of the Made by Bare models, Ningaloo is built with as many recycled or naturally-sourced materials as possible. This is one of the main sustainability pillars for this builder, together with the use of pre-fabrication processes (in order to minimize waste) and ensuring that each home is long-lasting and highly repairable.Despite their size, these micro homes are made to be tough and resilient. And if they can handle whatever the Australian climate brings, you can bet that theyre some of the most durable tiny homes out there.But nature should also be enjoyed, so the Ningaloo takes care of that too. It immediately stands out to the full-length windows, in addition to the double glass doors. Theyre so large that they can almost be mistaken for glass walls. This helps flood the homes living area with natural light, while the beautiful, 270-degree views create a much-needed connection to the outdoors, at all times.The living area itself is not a common one. This Aussie brand has turned the sunken lounge concept almost into a trademark. Sitting under the loft bedroom, its main advantage is the extra height above. Bedroom lofts where theres not enough space to change your clothes or even make the bed can become a hassle in the long run. Although very modest in width, this loft is at least taller, thanks to the dropped floor underneath.What you get is an unusual, but still welcoming and cozy living room, plus a bedroom that can include a queen-size bed and feel comfortable for most people. The lounge area is cleverly designed, in all aspects.Thanks to the large windows, it feels like an outdoor lounge, while still keeping everyone protected from the elements. The ingenious U-shaped seating can be moved around, is large enough for a bigger crowd, and also provides plenty of storage room.Ningaloo makes a seamless transition from the living area to the kitchen, placed in the center of the home. The standard version comes with a sink and a two-burner gas hob, and the exposed copper taps and fittings are all handmade.To that, customers can choose to add an extensive range of appliances (including a larger cooktop, fridge, and dishwasher) plus a beautiful countertop made from locally-sourced hardwood.Speaking of customizations, the ladder that leads to the loft bedroom (which is made from recycled hardwood) can be replaced with a birch ply staircase that incorporates storage drawers. Not everyone is a fan of those ladders that are often seen in bedroom-loft tiny houses. But they do have the advantage of taking up less space and being easier to integrate within the overall design.At the other end of the house, theres a compact bathroom. As you can imagine, its only big enough to fit in the basics, including a full-size shower area with a glass screen, and hardwood open vanity. The conventional toilet can be swapped for a composting one, if the future owners decide to make their home off-grid as well (the builder can add a solar system with six panels and two battery packs).The Ningaloo is only 7.2 meters long (23.6 feet) and 2.5 meters wide (8.2 feet) but it packs a punch. For AUD $149,000 ($98,000), which is the cost for the fully-fitted Ningaloo, future owners can enjoy a rugged, sustainable, and fully-transportable house thats inviting and stylish at the same time. Photo: Classic Car Studio Photo: Classic Car Studio Set up almost two decades ago in Yukon, Oklahoma, the garage quickly rose to international fame thanks to the work it performs on variation incarnations of the Ford Mustang . There are however the occasional Chevrolet Camaros or Shelby Cobras that slip through the cracks and, in very rare instances, something as exotic as the Ford Galaxie we have here.That would be a Blue Oval model few of us truly remember today, let alone get to experience. It was born into this world in 1958, at a time when the world was just beginning to get a taste of space exploration, hence the name it was slapped with.Thats the upside of being cooked up back in that decade. The downside is the Galaxie also came at about the same time the real automotive stars of the 1960s would appear, the muscle cars I mentioned in the paragraph above. That turned its initial success into something marginal, and it will eventually prompt the American carmaker to stop it rolling off assembly lines in 1974 (in the United States, at least, as in Brazil for instance production continued until 1983).Despite coming from a time that practically feeds todays American custom industry, and from the carmaker responsible for the Mustang, the Galaxie is a much rarer presence at specialized sales and auctions. So rare, in fact, that as soon as a remade one surfaces, its bound to catch our eye. It catches even more than that, actually, if were talking about a Galaxie handled by Classic Recreations The red-over-black example we have here is exactly that, a machine born in the hands of the same custom house that rolls out all the muscle cars we so often drool over. And its a relatively new build, too, having been completed in 2020, and not driven much since: just 377 miles (607 km) are shown on its odometer.Well start with the obvious, and thats the cars exterior. This particular Galaxie , produced initially in 1967, is a convertible, and as such, it is in the unique position of looking particularly classy when the top is down. But on this build, classy is an understatement: the thing is simply jaw-dropping thanks to the way colors and design changes were used.The very long panels that make up the body of the car, but also the modified bumpers, are painted in deep red, made to look even deeper by the grey American Racing Wheels and the pair of black stripes that stretch from the front to the back over the hood and trunk.The wheels, sized at an equal diameter of 18 inches on all corners, are wearing high-performance tires. And theyre more than needed, as the Galaxie is powered by a monster of an engine: Ford Performances 427ci unit.Off the Ford shelf, this engine is rated at 535 hp, and thats more than enough for most applications. Classic Recreations must have thought so too, so the power output of the unit was not changed in any way. Specialized hardware was however tied to it, including in the form of a Shelby oval air cleaner or the 4-speed automatic transmission that sends all those horses to a 9-inch rear. A Borla exhaust is in charge of pushing harmful gasses away from the car.The undersides of the Galaxie have been beefed up as well. A Ridetech-supplied air ride system is responsible for keeping the car high and proud or, alternatively, low and mean. Oversized sway bars front and rear back that up, while stopping power comes courtesy of Shelby and Wilwood hardware.And were left with the interior. You know how in some cases the only possible color choice for a cars interior is black, because all others would ruin the build? Thats the case with this Ford Galaxie, whose interior looks absolutely perfect in the dark hue, disturbed only here and there by carefully placed chrome elements.The firm seats displayed inside are of Shelby make in high back style. Ahead of the front ones, theres a dashboard equipped with Dakota Digital gauges, but also modern amenities like a Kenwood stereo system. This thing is backed by a set of Kicker speakers, amplifiers, and a subwoofer.As you see it, the 1967 Ford Galaxie is presently on the open market, selling off the lot of a Missouri-based dealer called Classic Car Studio. The asking price is not for the weak of heart, but fitting for a vehicle with such a pedigree and tasteful modifications: $149,900. kW You know how they say that less is often more? Well, it certainly applies to the color of the pictured Mercedes-Benz S-Class . A satin black shade decorates the entire exterior of the car. We cannot tell you whether it is a full-on paint job, or a wrap, though we lean toward the latter.Since the Japanese tuner that tends to name most of its projects the Black Bison is behind it, it obviously comes with a body kit too. Mind you, the upgrades are discreet, as they include only several add-ons at the front, sides, and rear. The diffuser was signed by them, and it has a four-fin design, and an extra brake light incorporated in the middle for a motorsport flair. The exhaust tips are now wider, and there are two spoilers on deck too, one on the trunk lid, and the other above the rear windscreen.In order to complete the sinister look, this S-Class has received black badges all around. However, its not exactly a murdered-out design, because the wheels do provide a lot of contrast to the dark body. Sporting a Y-spoke pattern, and a much bigger diameter than the stock ones, they came from Forgiato, featuring their center caps, and they were wrapped in thin rubber, a necessary approach that made fitting them under the arches possible. Privacy windows conceal the cockpit until opening the door, as thats when it reveals its white and black look, with most parts wrapped in high-end leather.The S 580 and 4Matic logos decorating the trunk lid straight from the factory tell us that this is, well the S 580 4Matic variant of the S-Class. This means that it has the grunt to match the new serious looks, as it rocks a V8 engine under the hood, with a 4.0-liter displacement, and twin turbocharging. Married to a nine-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive, it develops 496 hp (503 ps/370). The torque stands at 516 lb-ft (700 Nm), and this is enough to enable the 0-62 mph (0-97 kph) in 4.4 seconds. Flat-out, it will do 155 mph (250 kph), which is its electronically limited top speed.Buying a 2023 Mercedes-Benz S 580 4Matic in the United States means spending at least $124,000 on one. The lesser S 500 4Matic has an MSRP of $114,500 attached to it. As for the true range-topping member of the series, the Maybach S-Class, it kicks off at $184,900. The Cord 812 was automotive history in the making Photo: Hagerty Drivers Foundation Earhart's Cord gets to continue her legacy Photo: Hagerty Drivers Foundation Photo: Hagerty Drivers Foundation To fully appreciate this piece of automotive history Earhart left behind, you must first know what exactly makes the Cord 812 so special. The model was sold as a luxury vehicle by the defunct Auburn Automobile company, coming with features that were far ahead of its time. Its signature front fascia utilized a head-turning grille design known as coffin nose, courtesy of renowned designer Gordon Buehrig.Although its aesthetics alone are enough to make it stand out, it also had enough ponies under the hood to make a good run for it up to 120 mph (193 kph), to be exact. Its naturally-aspirated V8 engine generated 125 hp, while its supercharged variant placed 170 ponies under its elongated hood. What made the Cord 812 a particularly fitting car for a pilot like Earhart was the aircraft-inspired motif it carried. From its Lycoming engine to the instrument cluster reminiscent of an airplane cockpit, a pilot like Earhart would certainly have felt right at home in a Cord 812.Just like the first woman to ever fly across the Atlantic Ocean, the Cord 812 was no stranger to making history, even introducing a number of industry firsts all by itself. This included being the first-ever American car to come in front-wheel drive configuration; one that's sporting independent suspension, no less. It also introduced pop-up headlights decades before they became a trend, as well as a steering wheel-mounted horn which eventually became a standard in future automobiles. The Cord 812's unique semi-automatic hand shifter was also unheard of at the time, adding even more unprecedented qualities that seem to foreshadow Earhart's crowning achievement.When it comes to value, it's safe to say the exclusivity of Cord's norm-defying automobile aged pretty well, as even running examples are just as pricey today as they were back then. These cars were originally priced at around $3,000, which is over $65,000 in today's money. Considering the fact that the Cord 812 was sold during the recession makes these cars reserved for the exceptionally wealthy. Attempting to purchase one at an auction in modern times could easily cost over $100,000, making the Cord 812 quite a valuable tub of metal. Given the historical significance of Earhart's particular example, this iconic car is considered relatively priceless.Sadly, production of the '37 Cord ended shortly after it started being produced, as the company later went bankrupt and its owner, Errett Lobban Cord, selling his company and retiring in Los Angeles. Thus, Cord automobiles have become a product of a bygone age. Still, it's one automotive historians would likely not forget, especially with Cord 812 replicas hoping to make a comeback.While this marked the end of quite an innovative nameplate in automotive history, the same can't be said with the celebrated pilot's Cord 812 Phaeton. Earhart's Cord was the last car she was photographed with prior to her disappearance. Despite the car also undergoing a series of vanishing acts, it was far from being lost just yet.After being sold by her husband, George Putnam, the car switched hands on multiple occasions. At one point, various parts of Earhart's last car were even scattered throughout America until a collector by the name of Ray Foster was able to piece it back together in 2004. Fortunately, there's a good ending for Earhart's beloved luxury motor, as it became a part of the Hagerty Drivers Foundation's National Historic Vehicle Register exactly as we were celebrating the 2023 International Women's Day.Visitors will be able to see the '37 Cord 812 Phaeton in all its fully-restored glory at the National Mall in Washington, DC, in September. Earhart's final car joins 32 other historical automobiles currently inducted into the register, including the 1927 Ford Model T, 1981 DeLorean DMC-12 , and 1952 Hudson Hornet, among others. It will be followed by a soon-to-be-announced 34th car to be added later in the year.This comes as a second chance for a car that was once lost to continue spreading inspiration just as its owner's story was able to captivate the hearts of many.Through this shining example of American automotive innovation, Earhart is able to leave behind a car that speaks volumes about her legacy. Earhart might have only enjoyed her Cord 812 Phaeton ownership for just under a year, but the car itself, along with its owner's story, can still continue to inspire future generations who hope to accomplish what many seem impossible.For a car that shares various characteristics with its owner, Earhart's brightly-colored Cord 812 certainly sounds like a vehicle that's quite as admirable as the courageous pilot herself. Those who missed the Miami International Boat Show last month can head over to Palm Beach this month, for another great boating show. Among all of the exciting new arrivals, a cheeky watercraft from across the pond is gearing up for its American debut at the Palm Beach International Show.If Arksen doesnt ring a bell, perhaps youve heard about Project Pelagos or Project Ocean. These were the names of the first two Arksen 85 units. This is the London-based builders flagship, an impressive explorer yacht. Launched in 2022, the 88-foot (27 meters) Project Pelagos was designed to reflect the trendy concept of green luxury.Equipped with a hybrid propulsion system, solar panels, and premium waste management systems, Project Pelagos cruises with a minimal carbon footprint. At the same time, its remarkably sustainable for a luxury yacht, starting from the hull that was made with 40% recycled content, to the upholstery thats also made from recycled materials, and the natural timber that can be recycled as well.The Arksen 30, which is the model that will be debuting in the U.S. this month, is obviously smaller than Project Pelagos, but boasts a similar combination of contemporary luxury and ruggedness. Its part of the brands Adventure series , which applies the same design philosophy of the Explorer series, to smaller boats.The Arksen 30 sits in the middle, between the smaller Arksen 28 (also coming at Palm Beach) and the larger Arksen 45. It was designed to accommodate up to four people, but an optional canvas sleep pod can be used for two more passengers.Water lovers who chase the thrills of high speed will be happy to know that this sleek boat can easily hit up to 45 knots (51 mph/83 kph), although it feels most comfortable at around 25 (28.7 mph/76 kph).Designed to become a home away from home not just for an afternoon, but throughout the weekend, this British beast promises a range of more than 230 nautical miles (425 km) at an economical speed, and is also configured to be as comfortable as possible.In addition to a multifunctional seating area, hiding plenty of storage space, the weekender also features a pantry unit that doubles as a compact kitchen. The rear cockpit area, seamlessly transitioning to the bathing platform, is the perfect spot for enjoying the sun and accessing the water.After its official debut at boot Dusseldorf in January, the Arksen 30 will be revealed to the American market for the first time. If you would like to admire it in person, make sure to visit the Palm Beach Boat Show, starting March 23. The latest batch of scoops shows several prototypes of the upcoming BMW X3 and Mercedes-Benz GLC fighter from the four-ring brand driving in the snow, in an Audi motorcade. Nothing to write home about yet, until you start noticing some of the design updates.Equipped with the final production headlamps by the looks of it, these testers reveal that the all-new Q5 will have a much smaller grille compared to the outgoing iteration. The central intake in the front bumper has grown in size, and the side vents are much smaller. The roofline is a bit arched towards the rear, but not that much, because there is also a Sportback variant coming to take on the GLC Coupe and X4.New taillights are partially visible from beneath the vinyl stickers, and they have thinner proportions. The tailgate is also new, and the license plate holder was moved further up. The bumper is a bit cleaner, and we can see exhaust tips coming out of the new diffuser, in different shapes and sizes. Audi will also revamp the wheels and colors of the upcoming Q5 to further differentiate it from its predecessor. Also, as we already told you, we caught a glimpse of the interior that doesnt look that high-end, with its two tablet-like screens, multi-layer dashboard panel, new steering wheel, and push-button gear selector.Overall, the design updates kind of make it look like a cheap crossover signed by a Chinese company that not many people heard of, when it comes to the exterior anyway. But who knows, maybe it will be pretty once the fake skin comes off, and it could be a while until it does that, because it is rumored to apply for a U.S. visa as a 2025 model. That means it might be introduced either towards the end of the year or in early 2024.And the biggest news is that it will obviously retain the internal combustion firepower. It is believed to launch with an assortment of mild- and plug-in hybrid assemblies and maybe one or two diesels overseas. A battery-electric derivative doesnt seem to be in the pipeline, but the hot SQ5 is, as we already spotted it in the wild. The sporty model will probably feature a V6 with 48-volt assistance and up to 370 hp produced, a 20 or so boost over the current one, which does the 0-60 mph (0-97 kph) in 4.7 seconds. EV Photo: Toyota SUV kWh Photo: Toyota As you know, Tesla is ravaging the electric car market. Not because of itsmarket share of about two-thirds globally, nor due to selling more than 4 million units until now. The headache for all other carmakers out there is Teslas massive discounts. Some named it a price war.At the beginning of 2023, Tesla slashed prices globally by up to 20% for Model 3 and Model Y. More recently, Model S was cut by 5% and Model X by 10%. Orders went frenzy, while the other car companies are preparing similar discounts to keep up the pace.So, the cheapest Tesla Model 3 in the U.S. is now $35,500 (33,600) when factoring in the $7,500 (7,100) IRA subsidy. Thats almost $12,000 (11,300) less than the average price for new cars in the United States!But, as you already know, Tesla Model 3 is also manufactured in China, where the prices were slashed by up to 14%. Some owners, who bought their cars just before discounts came in, were protesting in some places and requesting compensation. Not the best publicity for a carmaker.So, in China, the most affordable Tesla Model 3 is now 229,900 yuan, which is about $33,500 (31,700). This value is $2,000 (1,900) lower than the American-built sibling, or 5.6% less. Thats really an affordable price for a premium vehicle, and the Chinese love this.Now its time for the empire, I mean Toyota to strike back. After years and years of defying the EV trend, the worlds biggest carmaker is now all in the EV game. In China, Toyota partnered with local car manufacturer FAW.The first EV they made for the local market was the all-electric variant of the popular hybrid compact crossover C-HR. Then it was time for the bZ4Xto be manufactured in China, but this second EV had bad luck following bad publicity after global recall for the hilarious the wheels could fall! issue.Because its sales didnt meet expectations, it was discounted by 15%. So, the bZ4X is now priced at just 169,800 yuan, which is less than $25,000 (23,700). Compare this to the $42,000 (39,800) price sticker in the U.S. or better, to the 225,800-yuan price of the all-electric C-HR, which is almost $32,500 (30,800), more expensive than the more practical bZ4X.But wait, the third Toyota EV is now ready to rock in China. The bZ3 sedan is using the same e-TNGA architecture as the bZ4X SUV and, on March 6, it went on sale starting from 189,800 yuan, which is $27,400 (26,000).Its more expensive than the bZ4X SUV by 20,000 yuan (more than $2,800 or 2,600), which might seem odd. But keep in mind that the bZ3s motor, electric control system, and battery pack are from BYD. More important, BYDs blade battery promises a better range than the lithium-ion similar-capacity pack in the bZ4X SUV.For instance, the range for the 49.9pack in the bZ3 is 320 miles (517 km), while the entry-level 50.3 kWh pack in the 2WD variant of bZ4X offers just 249 miles (400 km). Of course, one could argue that the bZ3 is more aerodynamic than the SUV. But the difference is much higher than between Model 3 and Model X, for instance.The bigger 65.2 kWh pack is promising a 382 miles (616 km) range for the bZ3, while the 66.7 kWh battery of the AWD variant of bZ4X is credited with a maximum of 348 miles (560 km) range. But you have to keep in mind that these are very optimistic estimates under the China light-duty vehicle test cycle.Were not done yet, because the bZ3 has some aces up its sleeve. The first 5,000 customers who booked it online for 2,000 yuan ($290 or 275) qualified for a discount of 5,000 yuan ($725 or 687). This means the first 5,000 customers must pay a base price of 184,900 yuan, which is $26,600 (25,200).Then, the customers who already have a car from FAW-Toyota are eligible for 6,000 yuan ($870 or 825) purchase subsidy. If they trade in their old car, the subsidy is raised to 8,000 yuan ($1,160 or 1,100). So, the Toyota bZ3s lowest price is 176,800 yuan ($25,400 or 24,100).Add to this the convenience package of free maintenance for ten years or 124,000 miles (200,000 km) and 24-hour free road assistance. Oh, and a free-charging program, which mirrors the one Tesla offered in the first years to its early-adopters customers.So, how does this new Toyota compare to Model 3? The most affordable Tesla Model 3 built in China has a 55 kWh LFP battery pack with a CLTC range of 345 miles (556 km). This is only 7% more range than the base variant of the Toyota bZ3, but the Model 3 is up to 23% more expensive.Of course, Tesla is a premium brand, but bZ3 is far from what you would expect from a Corolla. It promises a level of luxury and high-tech features close to Model 3. On performance size, the base Model 3 is a clear winner, but the bZ3 is catching up with a roomier interior.Toyota already started production of the bZ3 in the FAW-Toyota New Energy Plant, which has an annual capacity of 200,000 cars. And you can bet Toyota will do whatever it takes to manufacture as many bZ3 as it can because its in a hurry.In the summer of 2023, China will implement the most stringent emission standard to date in the world. Like the Euro 7 in Europe, it basically forces car manufacturers to shift to zero-emissions vehicles. Toyota lags because its bet on hybrids and fuel-cell cars is not enough, so it must produce and sell a lot of electric vehicles in a short time in China.For now, the bZ3 seems like a good deal compared to Tesla Model 3, but its also going to face a lot of competition from other Chinese EV manufacturers. For now, there are no plans to build and sell this new model outside China. It must first prove itself for Toyota and BYD to decide to ramp up production.But, if it will succeed, it will mark another slash in prices from the competition, especially Tesla. Toyotas officials know too well they are very late to the EV party, so its a matter of pride to try to close the gap as soon as possible.Dont be surprised if, in a couple of years, Toyota bZ3 will be manufactured on American soil. The IRA is the strongest point for a company like Toyota to force itself into adapting to strong trends. But for now, lets see if the bZ3 will avoid the technical issues of its SUV brother. The Japanese must have learned a harsh lesson by now. Photo: Westinghouse Electric Photo: Westinghouse Electric Photo: Westinghouse Electric ICE That's the kind of technology far more likely to benefit all of our lives years or even decades before commercial nuclear fusion is even remotely possible. With this in mind, say hello to Westinghouse's eVinci Microreactor. The small but furious nuclear reactor concept that can be mounted on the back of a truck.But first thing's first, the eVinci? That name sounds like it was passed over on being the moniker for some plug-in electric hybrid mom-mobile. Questionable naming schemes aside, the eVinci Microreactor takes its inspiration from a plethora of different methods of fission power and scales it down to a size that isn't unwieldy or cumbersome.From large-scale commercial reactors and even design studies for nuclear reactors in space , Westinghouse's nuclear energy division, based near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is one of the most experienced teams in America in its field. There's no doubt plenty of coal-fired and oil-burning power stations across the U.S. and the globe that could benefit from replacing their current infrastructure with a completely carbon-free source of electricity.Though fission reactors come in all shapes and sizes, nearly all of them work on similar working principles. Nuclear fuel rods arranged together in a fissile core are surrounded by a neutron-moderating material, usually graphite. Meanwhile the thermal energy from critical fissile reactions is captured via a cooling fluid and used to generate usable electricity.Whether through steam-driven drive shafts or through heat-radiating pipes as with eVinci, all that power winds up in the same place. Using radically different design languages from larger reactors, Westinghouse's heat-pipe reactor theoretically outputs respectable power compared to larger reactors using light water, heavy water, or both, to cool the fission core. To scale this tech down to a form factor that fits on the back of an 18-wheeler trailer is a feat within itself.At its core, the eVInci heat pipe microreactor almost resembles a large gas canister more so than it does a mobile power generating station. Inside this large metal cylinder, nuclear fuel rods of particularly high quality are arranged into a compact but powerful fissile core with large metal heat transfer pipes running through the core's center. The fuel in question is known as Tri-structural isotropic particle fuel, or TRISCO for short. It consists of a proprietary blend of Uranium isotopes mixed with carbon and oxygen to form a fuel kernel the size of a poppy seed.These highly enriched and energy-potent fissile fuel pellets can theoretically remain critical without the need for refueling for up to eight years. At this point, the whole device can be packed into a shipping container and sent back to Westinghouse's facility in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania, for proper disposal of spent nuclear fuel rods. On top of that, Westinghouse reckons it's possible to install an eVinci power station in as little as 30 days.The eVinci system, with a bare minimum of moving parts to contend with and the latest in computer-controlled autonomous operation software, can theoretically operate unattended for days or even weeks. All the while, the reactor can be remotely monitored via top-notch sensor arrays that give real-time updates to the reactor's condition at the click of a mouse.Add it all up, and you have a pint-sized fission reactor capable of delivering up to five megawatts of electrical power and up to 13 megawatts of thermal energy out of a system that could fit comfortably inside an average-sized warehouse. Its diminutive size allows for the number of applications the eVinci system can accommodate to far exceed that of far larger and more complicated fission reactors.From the private civilian sector to the military-industrial complex, there's no shortage of places that could make use of a reactor that small. Power stations operating with highly noxious and toxic petrochemicals, account for more deaths than nearly any other form of pollution attributed to modern climate change. Though nuclear energy is by no means guaranteed to be totally safe, you'll be happy to know there hasn't been a nuclear accident attributed solely to human error or incompetence since Chornobyl. Because eVinci can theoretically operate with a fraction of the fissile fuel as the average RBMK reactor, chances are good the conditions that caused the Chornobyl disaster are essentially slim to none with this novel variety of nuclear reactors.At the moment, Westinghouse anticipates the first full-scale commercial eVinci system should be ready for deployment sometime in 2025. Under this plan, eVInci has the potential to be installed one at a time in various locations or in pairs of multiple reactors running in parallel. A $9 million investment from the U.S. Department of Energy should be a big help in bringing this remarkable concept to reality.The prospects of a whole fleet of eVinci Mircroreactors replacing great swaths of dirty, cancer-causing petrochemical power stations sounds like music to our ears. With further assistance from doctoral students at Texas A&M University as well as the famous Los Alamos Laboratory of Manhattan Project fame, there's some serious industry horsepower behind what's looking like one of the most promising reactor designs yet.If nothing else, a stronger, more robust nuclear power grid in America could leave just a little bit more hydrocarbons forcars to eat through before they go the way of the dodo. For that reason, we should probably root for Westinghouse to succeed. We invite you to check out a super awesome video detailing eVinci's remarkable construction. It's some properly interesting stuff. AWD The SEA (Sustainable Experience Architecture) construction, a modular electric vehicle platform developed by Geely, is highly versatile, and one of its numerous variations was also used on the Polestar 3 and 5, and on the Lotus Eletre Base versions of the Zeekr X will pack single-motor drivetrains, but dual-motor variants with all-wheel drive will be available too, albeit on the upper specs. Base models are understood to launch with 268 hp, whereas thederivatives will add a 154 hp motor powering the front wheels. The performance numbers are obviously unknown at this point, though there are certain outlets stating that the range-topper(s) will be able to complete the 0-60 mph (0-97 kph) sprint in roughly three seconds.Leaving the specs aside, our spy photographers have nabbed a prototype of the Zeekr X testing in Europe. To no ones surprise, it was wrapped in heavy camouflage meant to keep some of its styling a secret until the grand unveiling. However, what the automaker forgot is that Chinas Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has already spilled the beans on its styling last month by releasing images of a naked copy. Thus, we dont have to mentally peel off the fake skin to try and decipher the looks of this battery-electric compact crossover that will take on the likes of the Volkswagen ID.4, as we already know what it will look like.The intriguing design mixes sharp and soft lines with darked-out lighting units up front, thin taillights, vertical reflectors in the rear bumper, and no sloping roofline, which is good news for those sitting at the back, as they will have plenty of headroom. Speaking of the interior, the Chinese media reports that it will be offered in two different configurations, with seating for four and five. It should feature modern technology gear, including an infotainment screen with a smooth operating system behind it, and a digital instrument cluster revealing the critical information to the driver. These will be joined by an assortment of safety gizmos meant to make the daily commute more pleasant.Contradicting reports speak about the unveiling date as having been set for April's Shanghai Auto Show, in China, whereas others believe that it is still a few months away from sitting under the spotlight in an official environment. One thing seems certain at this point, however, with emphasis on the word seems, and that is that it will probably start arriving at dealers in the Peoples Republic in the second half of the year. 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. Kvien posted on Twitter photographs of her and Syunik province Governor Robert Ghukasian standing at an Armenian border checkpoint leading to the corridor that has been blocked by Azerbaijani government-backed protesters for the last three months. Syunik governor Ghukasian reported the effects of the ongoing blockage, including the impact on hundreds of separated families, she wrote. The Lachin corridor should be opened immediately. The United States has repeatedly called on Baku to lift the road blockade that has caused serious shortages of food, medicine and other essential items in Karabakh. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken insisted on the restoration of free and open commercial and private transit through the Lachin corridor when he hosted talks between Armenias and Azerbaijans leaders in Munich on February 18. The Azerbaijani side has dismissed such calls, also made by the European Union and Russia, claiming that the lifeline road is not blocked and that the protesters are right to demand an end to illegal mining in Karabakh. We will continue to press this matter, Louis Bono, the U.S. special envoy for South Caucasus peace talks, told RFE/RLs Armenian Service on Tuesday. But he made clear that the U.S. is not considering imposing sanctions on Azerbaijan. Sanctions would be counterproductive, he said at the end of a visit to Yerevan. Bono met with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Baku earlier this week. The U.S. State Department spokesman, Ned Price, reiterated on Thursday that Washington will do everything we can to support a peaceful settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. Were going to continue to do that by working bilaterally with these countries, trilaterally with Armenia and Azerbaijan, supporting their own efforts at dialogue and diplomacy, but also through all appropriate mechanisms to help these countries themselves conduct the diplomacy and reach the agreements that we hope that they will be able to make, he said. An Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesman declined to give any reason for the rebuff on Friday. The development comes two months after Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian called off a CSTO military exercise that was scheduled to take place in Armenia this year. He again accused the alliance of refusing to defend Armenia against Azerbaijani military attacks in breach of its statutes. Late last year, Armenia also turned down other CSTO member states offer to deploy monitors along its volatile border with Azerbaijan, citing their reluctance to acknowledge and condemn the Azerbaijani aggression. Yerevan appealed to the CSTO for support during the September 2022 border clashes which left at least 224 Armenian soldiers dead. Armenian leaders afterwards accused the alliance of ignoring the appeal in breach of its statutes. Pashinian went as far as to question on January 11 the need for close military ties between Armenia and Russia. He said that they may be putting his countrys security and territorial integrity at greater risk. The Russian Foreign Ministry dismissed the claim as absurd. These tensions have fuelled speculation about a pro-Western shift in Armenias geopolitical orientation. Armenias leading opposition groups are seriously concerned about such a prospect. Tigran Abrahamian, an opposition parliamentarian, criticized Yerevans refusal to fill one of the three posts of CSTO deputy secretary-general. He said Pashinian is thus downgrading Armenias membership in the alliance uniting six ex-Soviet states. I have the impression that with this step Armenia is starting a process of dissociating itself from the CSTO or giving new impetus to a course that started earlier, Abrahamian wrote on Facebook. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. The boss of BP earned more than 170 times more than his average employee last year as his pay doubled to around 10 million after the company benefited from the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine. New figures from the oil giant showed that Bernard Looneys total pay packet increased from around 4.5 million in 2021. The companys profit doubled between 2021 and 2022, but the increase was largely thanks to a long-term incentive that was paid to Mr Looney. This means that Mr Looneys remuneration was around 172 times higher than the average employee at the oil and gas giant. Compared to the 25th percentile that is to say an employee whose pay was less then three in four of their colleagues Mr Looneys pay was 421 times higher. Those in the 25th percentile also saw their pay increase, going from 21,450 in 2021 to 23,810 a year later. The average salary for workers across all employers in the UK is around 33,000. BP fared well last year thanks in no small part to the day that Vladimir Putin decided to send tanks across the border in an attempt to annex the entirety of Ukraine. As cruise missiles started falling on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities the price of oil and gas ticked upwards last year, peaking in August and June respectively. The cost of gas in particular spiked for European customers. Oil is largely transported by ship around the world so it was easier for other countries to supply oil to Europe. But there are many fewer gas ships in the world, so as supply from Russian pipelines dried up the price of gas peaked at somewhere around 15 times its historical average. BP and its rivals around the world helped avoid a massive energy crunch in Europe by supplying oil and gas to the continent. But it came at a price as the energy they sold was much more valuable to their customers. By January this year the average household energy bill was nearly 4,300 per year four times where it had been before the crisis. The Government has racked up a massive bill to help households so they did not have to shoulder the full amount themselves. But BP had its best ever year as a result. Profit doubled to around 28 billion dollars (23.4 billion). Jonathan Noronha-Gant, senior fossil fuels campaigner at Global Witness, said: People everywhere struggling to feed their families or warm their homes in the harsh winter months, have every right to be angry that the CEO of a huge energy firm is netting millions of pounds in pay. This enormous pay package is a kick in the teeth to all hard-working people being faced with a cost-of-living crisis. Nothing could be a starker example of the gross inequality that sits at the very heart of our broken energy system. For a rich few to be seeing their already extraordinary wealth bolstered, precisely because bills have been so unaffordable for the majority, is a twisted irony. At the very least the governments should be implementing a proper windfall tax on both profits and CEO pay. The full line-up of Northern Ireland chefs set to raise the heat in the kitchen of the BBC show Great British Menu has been unveiled. West Belfast-based chef Kerry Roper from city centre restaurant Stix and Stones and chef patron at A Peculiar Tea Gemma Austin, are among four cooks competing for a seat at the BBC Two shows 2023 banquet. Freelance culinary master John Hollywood and SHU head maestro Matt Jordan will also battle it out for the chance to represent Northern Ireland in the new series finale of the popular show. Theyll go go head-to-head next week in the 18th series to earn a place in the shows prestigious final. Im delighted to have been asked to compete in this prestigious competition, Kerry said. This years theme of British animation is very exciting. It has given me the perfect platform to showcase my culinary creations. It would be a tremendous achievement to make the banquet, but I have my work cut out for me. "Going up against the extremely talented Gemma Austin, John Hollywood, and Matt Jordan is no easy task, and we will all be at our very best as we try to impress the judging panel to earn that coveted spot in the finale. Gemma Austin previously worked at the Fitzwilliam Hotel where she rose to head pastry chef, before moving to luxury hotel The Old Inn, Crawfordsburn, where she worked all sections, eventually becoming sous chef. She later opened A Peculiar Tea, serving themed dinners and afternoon teas in Belfast. John Hollywood has worked in some of the finest restaurants in Northern Ireland. He was part of the original brigade at The Muddlers Club, which attained a Michelin star, before he branched out into Asian cuisine and techniques in Yugo, and helped open up its sister restaurant - Yugo East - during the pandemic. John later became head chef at Bangors The Boat House. Finally, Matt Jordan worked in London restaurant Ledbury for just under two years and more recently has been working at Lisburn Roads SHU on and off for eight years and is now heading up the kitchen. All four of NIs most renowned culinary geniuses will be showcasing their expertise with an array of original, creative, and unique dishes aimed at capturing the imagination of the shows judging panel of Michelin-starred chef, Tom Kerridge; restaurateur, Nisha Katona; comedian and food podcast broadcaster, Ed Gamble, and a weekly guest judge. The contestants will take inspiration from the best of British animation and illustration when creating their dishes, from cartoons to video games, as the show celebrates Paddington Bear's 65th birthday. The Northern Ireland competition begins on BBC Two on Tuesday at 8pm as the four chefs compete with canapes, starters and fish dishes but one chef must go home. On Wednesday night, the remaining competitors create their dishes inspired by British animation and illustration, before judging on Thursday. Great British Menu will also be available on BBC iPlayer. Heartstopper actor Kit Connor has been cast to play the lead role in mystery-horror One Of Us, which is due to begin filming in Northern Ireland later this month. The allegorical feature film will depict members of a family as they start dying one by one at a funeral, while the Emmy winners character searches for the stranger in their midst. Callum Woodhouse (The Durrells), Charlotte Hope (The Spanish Princess), Siobhan Fallon-Hogan (Rushed) and Ian Beattie (Game Of Thrones) will be among the stars filming in Belfast, according to Deadline. Kit plays Nick Nelson in the Netflix LGBTQ+ coming of age drama Heartstopper which has received rave reviews since its release in April 2022. The streaming giant renewed it for two seasons a month later and the series went on to pick up five awards at the first Childrens and Family Emmys, including Outstanding Young Teen Series. The show follows teens Charlie Spring (Joe Locke) and Nick who discover their unlikely friendship might be something more as they navigate school and young love. Kit came to prominence following his performance as a young Elton John in the biopic Rocketman as the character known as 'Older Reggie'. The British actor landed his first film role at the age of eight when he was cast in the lead role of "Tom" in Warner Bros. Pictures' Get Santa in 2014 He is well-known for voicing "Pantalaimon" in fantasy TV series His Dark Materials in addition to starring in a catalogue of films. His latest project has been written by director Stefan van de Graaff and produced by Raquel Baldwin. Bianca Cline who worked on the Oscar nominated animated feature Marcel The Shell With Shoes On will be director of photography. Alec Baldwin wants his day in court as investigation hearing set for May (Ian West/PA) Ian West Lawyers for Alec Baldwin said the Hollywood actor wants his day in court as a preliminary investigation hearing in his involuntary manslaughter case was set for early May. At a virtual hearing on Thursday, which Baldwin did not attend, a New Mexico court heard that the firearm that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins had since been destroyed by the state. Baldwin previously pleaded not guilty to two counts of involuntary manslaughter over the fatal shooting of Ms Hutchins on the Rust movie set in October 2021. On Thursday his attorney Alex Spiro said the alleged destruction of the firearm was obviously an issue as the defence team needed to examine it, or whats left of it. A US court heard on Thursday that the firearm that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins had been destroyed by the state (Santa Fe County Sheriffs office/PA) Santa Fe County Sheriff Mr Baldwin wants his day in court, he said. A spokesperson for the Santa De District Attorneys office later refuted the claim that the weapon had been destroyed, saying it was in evidence and is available for the defense to review. The defenses unexpected statement in the status hearing today that the gun had been destroyed by the state may be a reference to a statement in the FBIs July 2022 firearms testing report that said damage was done to internal components of the gun during the FBIs functionality testing, the spokesperson said. However, the gun still exists and can be used as evidence. At Thursdays hearing Mr Spiro also noted that prosecutors currently had a 46-strong list of witnesses, and requested the list be provided to the defence as soon as possible. Judge Mary Marlow Sommer set a deadline of April 17 for the state to supply Baldwins counsel with the list. She also set a preliminary investigation hearing, scheduled to last two weeks, for May 3. During this time it will be decided whether or not there is enough evidence for the case to proceed to trial. Prior to this, another hearing will be held on March 27 to review a motion, filed by Baldwins lawyers last month, about the disqualification of special prosecutor Andrea Reeb. The actors representatives previously argued that Ms Reebs involvement in the case was unconstitutional, due to her elected position in the New Mexico House of Representatives. NI writer and director Terry George won an Oscar for short film The Shore in 2012 An Academy Award-winning film director from Northern Ireland is cautiously optimistic that An Irish Goodbye will pull off success at the Oscars this weekend. Belfast actor James Martin and local filmmaker Ross White are already in Tinseltown patiently waiting for the biggest bash in Hollywood to get underway on Sunday. Terry George, who won an Oscar in 2012 for The Shore, his captivating story of the bond between two best friends whose lives went in different directions during the height of the Troubles, hailed the island-wide success in securing so many nominations. We have a history of, and a capacity for, telling good stories and hopefully we will be able to keep doing that, he said. We love to tell a yarn and make people laugh. We are into stimulating those emotions and it pays off. Thats what An Irish Goodbye has done. Thats the bedrock and we need to continue to build on that foundation. The short film, which was shot on location in Londonderry, Templepatrick and Saintfield and also stars Seamus OHara, Paddy Jenkins and Michelle Fairley, has already won Best British Short Film at the Baftas. 'An Irish Goodbye' team speak about Oscar nominated short film in LA Terry believes the success of the black comedy in Londons Royal Festival Hall last month is a strong indicator it will prevail at the 95th Academy Awards which will be presented by Jimmy Kimmel. The Baftas was great for everyone involved in the project and Im very hopeful for all of them, he said. But theyve got big opposition. Its hard for a small film to compete in terms of advertising and pressing of flesh needed to generate those precious votes. Im also really excited for The Banshees of Inisherin. The film by Martin McDonagh has received a record-breaking eight nominations in categories including Best Picture and Best Director. Irish stars Kerry Condon and Barry Keoghan are hoping to repeat their Bafta success by scooping the gongs for Best Supporting Actress and Best Supporting Actor. Colin Farrell also has a chance of getting his first Oscar for Best Actor while Brendan Gleeson has been nominated for Best Supporting Actor. Paul Mescal, known best for his starring role in Normal People, is also nominated for Best Actor for his role in Aftersun, The Quiet Girl is in there too I think its really exciting as the first Irish language film in the international category, Terry said. But again All Quiet on the Western Front will pose a challenge because it has really been building momentum. As far as Im concerned, Martin McDonagh deserves all the accolades he can get because hes one of the islands greatest playwrights and directors. The last time Kerry Condon was at the glitzy red carpet event was alongside Terry when he was handed a coveted statuette by the cast of Bridesmaids. The pair have also worked together on the set of TV series Luck starring Dustin Hoffman. The acclaimed writer and director said he has adored the artist since he first saw her on stage in McDonaghs comical masterpiece The Cripple of Inishmaan. Shes a fabulous actor who always delivers and shes a great friend, Terry said. I seriously hope she wins. Its a hard competition, but then when is it not at the Oscars. The filmmaker recalled the 66th Academy Awards ceremony in 1994 when In The Name of the Father was up for awards in seven categories including Best Film. He co-wrote the screenplay for the feature which told the story of the Guildford Four a group of young men wrongly convicted for the IRA pub bombing in 1974. We were up against films like Schindler's List, The Fugitive, The Piano and Philadelphia, he said. All of those should have won in any given year its never easy. I dont have any tips for those going this year other than and I know its a cliche, but its true the nomination is just as important as the win. Its great to get the statue but its a dust collector after you walk off that stage. Terry did however urge the cast and crew of An Irish Goodbye to enjoy their moment in the spotlight if they get called on stage at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Its a fun and pretty unique experience, he said. The night itself is very intimidating, but its wonderful. The Hotel Rwanda director said Northern Irelands ability to produce compelling short films is no surprise and provides great training for those seeking to advance in the industry and move away from traditional themes. Its a format that suits a story telling nation, Terry said. The Troubles is a political and social situation that hasnt been resolved and so its a huge emotional and dramatic factor, but its not the only one. Clearly with An Irish Goodbye they have touched on that and have a really good story with strong acting its emotional and funny. Those are the ingredients I was looking for in The Shore. The BBC has defended Question Times Fiona Bruce against accusations that she trivialised domestic abuse during a discussion about Stanley Johnson. The presenter has faced a social media backlash after intervening when father of former prime minister Boris Johnson was described as a wife-beater in Thursdays episode of the show. Journalist and panel member Yasmin Alibhai-Brown had said the 82-year-olds alleged history of violence was on the record. Stanley Johnson arriving for the annual Shooting Star Ball (Suzan Moore/PA) Suzan Moore Ms Bruce interrupted, telling Ms Alibhai-Brown and the audience: Im not disputing what youre saying, but just so everyone knows what this is referring to, Stanley Johnsons wife spoke to a journalist, Tom Bower, and she said that Stanley Johnson had broken her nose and that shed ended up in hospital as a result. Stanley Johnson has not commented publicly on that. Friends of his have said it did happen but it was a one-off. Following the show, public figures including Labour MP Kate Osborne and chief executive of Womens Aid Farah Nazeer accused her of downplaying the gravity of domestic violence. But in a statement on Friday, the BBC said: Domestic abuse is abhorrent, and we would never wish to suggest otherwise. When serious allegations are made on air against people or organisations, it is the job of BBC presenters to ensure that the context of those allegations and any right of reply from the person or organisation is given to the audience, and this is what Fiona Bruce was doing last night. She was not expressing any personal opinion about the situation. 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 International Womens Day this week and Fiona Bruce trivialises violence against women: Stanley Johnsons friends say it was a one off that he broke his wifes nose Disgraceful, Ms Osborne said in a post on Twitter. And charity boss Ms Nazeer said: At Womens Aid we were shocked last night to see the Question Time presenter Fiona Bruce state, in response to a comment that Stanley Johnson was a wife-beater, that friends of his said it did happen, it was a one off. This comment was unnecessary and irresponsible. We know at Womens Aid that domestic abuse is rarely, if ever, a one-off, with the vast majority of abuse being a pattern of behaviour that includes different forms of abuse Even if abuse is an isolated event, it would have still been domestic abuse, and this should never be minimised. 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 It comes after reports that Mr Johnson plans to nominate his father a knighthood. Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick, who also appeared on Thursdays Question Time, said former prime ministers should absolutely not include family members in their resignation honours list. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has called the prospect ridiculous, telling LBC Radio: The idea of an ex-prime minister bestowing honours on his dad for services to what? He added: The idea that Boris Johnson is nominating his dad for a knighthood you only need to say it to realise just how ridiculous it is. Its classic of a man like Johnson. I mean, I think the public will just think this is absolutely outrageous. The fallout is the latest controversy to hit the BBC in recent days, coming amid a row over the decision to take Match Of The Day presenter Gary Lineker off air following comments he made on Twitter about the Governments immigration policy. The corporation has also hit back at claims that it pulled an episode of a new Sir David Attenborough series out of fears of a political backlash. The Guardian reported on Friday that insiders had claimed the broadcaster was bowing to pressure from lobbying groups by making the Save Our Wild Isles programme available only on iPlayer. The show was originally intended as a sixth episode of the Wild Isles series but had been separated to avoid criticism from Tory MPs and right-wing newspapers, according to the report. A spokesperson from the BBC said the claims were totally inaccurate and that Wild Isles is and always was a five-part series and does not shy away from environmental content. And later on Friday, the corporation was forced to issue an apology over a failure to properly scrutinise unproven claims made by Nadine Dorries about Sue Gray on its World At One programme. The BBC said there should have been more challenge when the Boris Johnson loyalist suggested the former civil servants report into lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street was discredited following her decision to become Labour leader Sir Keir Starmers chief of staff. The parents of a four-year-old boy believed to have eaten cannabis-laced chocolate are being prosecuted for alleged child cruelty. Charges were brought against the couple after their son required treatment at a hospital in Belfast. The boys uncle is also accused of exposing him to the risk of serious physical harm, along with a further count of possessing Class B drugs. None of the defendants can be named to protect the alleged victims identity. Proceedings relate to an incident in June 2021 at the west Belfast home of another member of their family. The boy was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital due to suspicions that he had eaten part of a chocolate bar containing a cannabinoid. His mother and father, aged 22 and 27, were subsequently charged along with the childs 31-year-old uncle. All three defendants were due to appear at Belfast Magistrates Court for a preliminary enquiry to determine if they are to stand trial. But the hearing had to be put on hold because one of the accused was unable to leave home due to the weather. Adjourning the case to next week, District Judge Steven Keown warned: The defendants must attend or there will be an arrest warrant. A Lurgan-based woman was handed a four-year sentence today after she admitted causing a sleeping man to engage in sex with her. Tanya Lords male victim has been left mentally scarred by the sexual assault, Craigavon Crown Court heard. Ordering 41-year-old Lord to serve two years in jail and two under supervised licence conditions, Judge Patrick Lynch KC said neither he nor counsel could find any similar case anywhere in the UK. The judge said: (There) seems to be no distinction to be drawn between this and the rape of a female, it seems to me. Outlining how the victim, who watched proceedings at court by videolink, has been left mentally scarred and suspicious of people by his ordeal, the judge said theres a repeated myth that males are less susceptible to the consequences of sex attacks. He revealed that the victim has had to undergo counselling, is still prescribed medication for his mental health, has been left untrusting of people and feels alone unless hes with his kids. I would not wish this on anyone, the victim said in his impact statement, adding however that he would encourage anyone who has been abused to come forward. Judge Lynch said if the myth about male victims needs to be disabused, it can be disabused now by the contents of the victim impact statement I have just read out and warned that theres no distinction between male and female rape the fact that a male is the victim doesnt make it any less serious than the rape of a female victim. On the day her trial was due to start last December, Lord, from Derry Lodge Manor in Lurgan, admitted that on June 23, 2020, she caused a man to engage in sexual activity when he did not consent. The charge sheet indicated the sex was penetrative intercourse and that Lord did not reasonably believe that he so consented. Tanya Lord Prosecuting lawyer Joseph Murphy outlined how the victim had been drinking all day and met up Lord after she finished work. They went back to her house, had a few more drinks and some food and then went to bed with each party wearing shorts. The court heard however that as Lord is a lesbian and he knew her sexual propensity he reasonably assumed there would be no sexual activity. Mr Murphy said however that in the early hours of the morning, the victim woke up and felt a pain across his chest. When he fully regained his senses, he realised his boxer shorts were removed and she was straddling him. He pushed her off and she pretended to be asleep, said the lawyer adding that the victim got up and went downstairs to process what had happened. He pretended to be asleep in the sofa when Lord brought his clothes down but when she left the room, the victim got dressed and left the property, contacting the police after he spoke to his mother and partner. Like any victim of a sex attack, he was taken to The Rowan, the regional Sexual Assault Referral Centre, where he had to endure an intimate examination, have swabs taken from his private parts and be interviewed on video by specialist detectives. It was those swabs, the court heard, that helped form an overwhelming case against Lord because while she claimed there had been no sexual contact whatsoever, her full DNA profile was found on the victims penis. Arrested and questioned, Lord could provide no explanation why her DNA had been found on intimate swabs. More than two years after the incident, with repeated delays and adjournments and an aborted trial, she finally confessed her guilt at the 11th hour. Addressing specific aspects of the unusual case, Mr Murphy argued the fact that the victim was asleep and vulnerable when he was attacked was an aggravating feature while in mitigation, Lord had admitted her guilt. Highlighting that he could find no similar cases, he submitted the court should take guidance from sentencing in rape cases. Factually this case involved a woman having sex with a man without his consent and there should be parity between male victims of sexual crime and female victims, Mr Murphy argued. He said that to do otherwise would affirm the myth that men are less affected by sexual assault than women. Defence counsel Michael Ward said Lord, who suffers from a personality disorder and has poor mental health, has expressed remorse for her offending and some victim awareness. She understands the position she had put herself in and she expresses, through me today, her remorse and her apologies to the victim for the unfortunate and regrettable incident, said the barrister. In addition to the four-year sentence, Judge Lynch also imposed a seven year Sexual Offences Prevention Order, warning Lord that if she breached any of the three conditions that will be a criminal offence that could carry a jail sentence. He also ordered her to sign the police sex offenders register for the rest of her life. Two men appeared in court today (Friday) where they denied the April 2019 murder of journalist Lyra McKee. The 29-year-old died after being struck by a bullet fired at police during a riot in the Creggan area of Londonderry on April 18, 2019. A total of three men appeared remotely at Belfast Crown Court today two of whom were charged with her murder. All three accused attended the hearing via videolinks with their solicitors offices in Derry and denied a string of charges linked to the riot which claimed Ms McKees life. Derry duo Peter Cavanagh (34) from Elmwood Terrace and 22-year-old Jordan Gareth Devine of Bishop Street were both charged with murdering Ms McKee on April 18, 2019. When the charge was put to each of the accused, they both replied not guilty. The pair were also charged with, and denied, possessing a handgun and ammunition with intent, as well as damaging by fire a Ford Transit tipper truck, on the same date. Cavanagh denied an additional charge of robbing a male of the tipper truck. Cavanagh, Devine and co-accused Joseph Anthony Farren (also known as Campbell), who is 22 and from Gosheden Cottages in Derry, were all charged with offences linked to the riot. All three men denied possessing a petrol bomb in suspicious circumstances, rioting and throwing a petrol bomb on April 18, 2019. Devine entered a not guilty plea to making a petrol bomb on April 16, 2019, while both Devine and Farren denied charges of possessing a petrol bomb in suspicious circumstances and throwing a petrol bomb on the same date. After all three men were arraigned, Mr Justice OHara was told several other co-accused were launching legal applications. The judge said he would hear the applications at the end of May and expressed the hope that following his ruling on these, a date for a trial to be held in the autumn could be set. Pupils at St Mary's Primary Fivemiletown Braedyn Cuffe, Carter Cuffe, Ryan Woods, Mary-Kate Kelly and Myla Woods have been collecting signatures to try to save their school A surge in applications for places at a Co Tyrone primary school should force the Education Authority (EA) to remove the threat of closure, according to parents who are battling to keep it open. Figures from the Department of Education have shown that enrolment in primary schools across the country is falling, while St Marys Primary in Fivemiletown recorded a rise in 31% of new pupils through its doors, despite the threat of impending closure. That figure represented the biggest increase of any Catholic maintained primary and parents say its more than enough proof that the school is sustainable in the future, and the threat of closure should be removed. Rural primary schools have been looking over their shoulders since the EA designated 105 pupils as the minimum sustainability threshold outside the main cities of Belfast and Londonderry, leaving almost 250 primaries under the sustainable figure. At St Marys, which is not in financial deficit, pupil numbers have risen from 32 in 2021/22 to 42 in 2022/23, and a further surge in applications means they will reach 48 this September. Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS) has said that is not sustainable and through the EA formally proposed closure from this August. Any decision on the proposal will be made by the education minister/permanent secretary following the completion of the consultation process, it added, but has encouraged all interested parties to engage with the statutory consultation process currently under way. Parent and member of the Board of Governors, Mairaid Kelly, said the enrolment figures illustrate the absurdity of the proposal to close our school. At a time when primary school enrolments have fallen by 1,100, during the past 12 months we have seen the number of pupils in our school surge, she said. While overall primary school enrolment has fallen for three consecutive years, ours continues to go from strength to strength, reflecting the increasing demand in our local area. The most telling figure from the enrolment data is that no Catholic primary school in has seen growth as large as St Marys. We cannot understand why CCMS continues to push the myth that our school is unsustainable. If CCMS can close down a school which has seen enrolment increase by 31% in one year and deem us to be unsustainable then how many other schools are now at the risk of closure? The facts here are indisputable, Mrs Kelly added. Mairaid Kelly and daughter Mary-Kate, fighting to keep St Mary's Primary School in Fivemiletown open There is a growing demand for primary education in the Clogher Valley area, at a time when CCMS is seeking to remove the fastest growing school, in an area with the highest projected population and housing growth. The one thing that is becoming increasingly unsustainable is CCMS evidence base for this proposal. CCMS must accept this changing reality and withdraw their proposal now in the interests of all of our children. If they fail to do so, it will be incumbent on the Department of Education, in recognition of their own statistics, to prevent our school from closure. Church figures have also supported the campaign to keep the school open. Parish Priest Fr Brendan Gallagher said: St Marys is at the heart of our parish community, and is central to the survival of our parish church into the future. It is a vibrant school in which Ive seen countless children flourish, he said. The longstanding shared education partnership with Fivemiletown PS is evidence of a commitment to improving community relations. The proposal to close a well-loved school would be a great blow to our community. CCMS have failed to engage in any meaningful way with me, in my role as a local Trustee, at any stage in this process, and have failed to respond to my attempts to contact them. And school principal Brian McCloskey said there is a tremendous opportunity to expand the school he would like to see explored. We want to be discussing our proposal to develop a Special Educational Needs Unit, which is so badly needed in the Clogher Valley area, with families having to travel to Enniskillen, Omagh or Dungannon to access additional support for their children, he said. We know that would be hugely beneficial for children, but the powers that be simply refuse to consider it. Mairaid Kelly said that if the closure decision goes through children would be bussed to various different schools considerable distances away. None of the local schools can take all of our children. Theyll just be splintered in lots of different directions, she said. A top police officer has said the PSNI is prepared for all eventualities amid concerns that dissident republicans will strike again soon. Assistant Chief Constable Bobby Singleton was asked if he believes terrorists will follow up on their attempt to kill Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell very soon. We have to be very alert, Mr Singleton told BBC Radio Ulsters The Nolan Show. The threat level is substantial which means an attack is likely. Im prepared, and we as an organisation are prepared, for all eventualities. Mr Singleton said that he reacted to the murder bid on his colleague in Omagh last month as a husband and a father not just a police officer. "It was a chilling and sobering moment and a reminder to us all that the threat we have lived with as police officers for years is still very real, he added. "The threat is real and the threat is immediate and our posture on and off duty needs to reflect that. The senior officer, who joined the police 20 years ago, warned that progress has been arrested in Northern Ireland and expressed concerns about a potential re-escalation of violence. Mr Singleton warned that dissident republican groups maintain access to firearms and explosives and the attack on Mr Caldwell demonstrates they have the capacity to use them. DCI John Caldwell who was shot in Omagh Earlier this week police released footage of a blue Ford Fiesta leaving the scene on Killyclogher Road immediately after Mr Caldwell was shot multiple times in front of his young son and other children. He remains in critical but stable condition in hospital. Detectives have blamed the attack on the New IRA. Earlier this week dissident group Arm na Poblachta (ANP) issued a threat claiming that families of police officers are legitimate targets. Mr Singleton said all attacks and threats are designed to create fear and produce a pile of resignation letters on his desk, but conceded that officers are justifiably concerned. "They [ANP] have demonstrated they are able to produce devices over the past number of months it has to be treated as a credible threat, he said. "That even if it is limited by the size of the organisation. Read more Pals of jailed ex-British soldier set up DCI John Caldwell shooting Mr Singleton described the issue of paramilitary gangs in NI as complex as a result of Northern Irelands status as a post conflict society and insisted police cannot arrest our way out of this problem. However, he stressed that the PSNI is trying to create the conditions within communities for transition away from paramilitarism by taking enforcement action, which he described as the stick to the carrot. Mr Singleton reacted to a suggestion from the chairman of Northern Ireland Affairs Committee Simon Hoare that paramilitaries who refuse to embrace peace should face "annihilation". "Im not sure annihilation is the right word for it but if we are talking about a zero tolerance approach when it comes to paramilitary groups I would say that is absolutely the position of the PSNI and our partners and has been for the past seven years, Mr Singleton said as he insisted police work closely with the National Crime Agency and HMRC. Read more MPs express concern about economic intimidation of vulnerable people in NI by paramilitary gangs The senior officer also said the UVF and UDA which make hundreds of thousands of pounds primarily through drug dealing and extortion should retire their brand as he insisted the reason paramilitary gangs exist is solely for the purposes of criminality. Mr Singleton also reacted to the chair of the Loyalist Communities Council (LCC) David Campbells claim that there is a credible threat if unionism and loyalism is continually undermined. "There are definitely loyalist paramilitaries who have access to material whether thats weapons or ammunition, he said. But Mr Singleton warned against the word loyalist becoming shorthand for criminals as he claimed some of the strongest support for the PSNI comes from within that community. Pick-ups badly needed as ambulances after 999 fleet decimated in the invasion Anthony Hughes (right) drove to war-zone in vehicle he was donating to be used as an ambulance Anthony Hughes loaded the back of the 4x4 with essential supplies A Co Down man who delivered aid to war-torn Ukraine plans to return to donate more essentials for the front line. Anthony Hughes (32) from Warrenpoint visited Ukraine in February to donate a 4x4 pick-up truck and aid supplies to those living close to the fighting. Mr Hughes said Russias invasion of its neighbour had affected him deeply. I felt like I kind of needed to help, he explained. Like a lot of people, I was donating to different organisations, and I kept thinking there has to be more I can do. I was speaking to some people in Ukraine and they said that what they really needed was pick-up trucks and 4x4s. Unfortunately, very early on due to missile strikes, the normal ambulances and hospitals were wiped out. So they are essentially using pick-up trucks as ambulances on the front line. Anthony Hughes (right) drove to war-zone in vehicle he was donating to be used as an ambulance He has always had an interest in mechanics so he felt that providing a vehicle would be the best way to assist. I thought Id get them a good pick-up truck and do it up, service it, paint it, put good tyres on it, and hopefully help them out, he added. Mr Hughes made his first journey to Ukraine last month, and plans to visit again next month. He travelled to Kyiv with a Polish man who lives over the border in the Republic. I was going to go by myself, but it was very good that he came with me because he was fluent in Polish. That was useful when we were at the Polish border, he said. Mr Hughes experienced multiple air raid alerts in Kyiv. It took us 40 hours driving, so we stopped at a hotel in Kyiv to get a few hours sleep. While we were in the hotel there were some air raid alerts and the staff in the hotel showed us where the shelter was, he added. Then when we moved closer to the front line, we were there for six or seven hours and there were four air raid alerts when we had to go down to the metro. Mr Hughes really admires the resolve of the Ukrainians. There were people I spoke to and they were telling me that they just needed to continue on, they needed to get their economy going, go to their jobs, feed their families, they just need to keep going. Mr Hughes has set up a gofundme page to raise money. He said: The dream would be to bring over as many 4x4s as possible, so if theres anyone or businesses that would like to help with that, we could bring over more. To aid Mr Hughes you can donate on gofundme.com. Search for Help deliver 4x4s to Ukraine. Police at the scene of an incident at Elmwood Park in Bushmills where a gang of armed men entered a house at 11.30pm on Thursday night. .Picture: Steven McAuley/McAuley Multimedia A man in Co Antrim was forced to lie on his bed by masked men who held a gun to his legs and tried to shoot him. Up to five men forced their way inside a property in the Elmwood Park area of Bushmills shortly after 11.30pm on Thursday armed with a number of weapons. The male occupant was ordered to lie down before the intruders held a handgun to his legs and made several unsuccessful attempts to discharge the weapon. The victim, who is aged in his 60s, was then attacked with iron bars and a sledgehammer before being taken to hospital with a head injury. A woman in her 80s was also inside the property and sustained an injury to her arm. PSNI Detective Inspector Finlay said the male victims injuries are not believed to be life threatening at this time. The suspects, who were said to have been dressed in dark coloured clothing, then reportedly fled the scene on foot, he added. This was a terrifying experience for the occupants of the property and our investigation is now underway to establish what happened, who was involved, and a motive. We are appealing to anyone who was in the area at the time, and may have seen anything suspicious, or anyone who may have any information which could help us with our enquiries, to call us on 101, quoting reference number 2151 of 09/03/23. Its very easy to forget just how far the country has come in the last 25 years Dessert bar owner says he felt sick after staff member was caught on CCTV taking money from donation point The owner of a Co Down ice cream shop says his trust was betrayed after an employee was caught stealing from a charity collection box. Sarah Lindsey Dudley was pictured on CCTV footage lifting a collection tin placed at the till area of Oggies Dessert Bar in Banbridge, and pocketing the cash. The footage shows Dudley (43), from Cordrain Road in Tandragee, attempting to remove the lid of the charity box several times. She is then seen grabbing a wad of cash donated by the public in aid of a childrens cancer charity. She then shakes the tin to ensure any remaining coins are removed. The incident took place in June last year. Dudley, who has since been sacked, appeared in Banbridge Magistrates Court yesterday after entering a last-minute guilty plea after previously maintaining she was innocent and took the money for safe keeping." The worker was subsequently fined 200 for a single charge of theft with the judge giving her a stern warning about re-offending. CCTV footage of Dudley stealing from a charity box in aid of children's cancer Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph, Darren Ogle, the owner of the dessert cafe on Rathfriland Street, said Dudleys crime was very upsetting." The collection was for a charity that is very close to the community here, he said. He did not identify the specific charity, saying he didnt wish for them to be associated with Dudleys behaviour. The family involved with this charity have done really great things ever since they set it up, so I don't want to drag them into this, because they're amazing, he added. Im not going to lie, it's all really upset me. It's broken my heart, you dont steal from any charity let alone a childrens cancer charity. Its despicable and incredibly low. Extended CCTV footage seen by the Belfast Telegraph shows Dudley turning to face the camera after she has emptied the collection tin, before placing her hand towards the lens and then moving it out of view of the till area towards the back of the cafe. CCTV footage of Dudley stealing from a charity box in aid of children's cancer Darren said Dudley only worked at Oggies for a few months prior to the theft and claims she made various attempts to hide her crime. He is also worried other items may have been taken from the store. Its a breach of trust, and disgusting. Shes someone I thought I could have trusted to be in the shop, and its really heartbreaking. You think you can trust staff like that, he added. If there was money taken from the till, I would have been cross of course, but its really hurt me the fact it was for this charity to help children. The business owner said he is glad she was convicted in court. She denied everything at first when the police spoke to her at the time and then just pleaded guilty, he added. Im happy there was a conviction, so future employers know going forward. Its all I wanted out of this. DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson will travel to Washington DC next week for a series of meetings on Capitol Hill, where he said he will tell politicians of areas of concern that remain for unionists surrounding the Windsor Framework. I look forward to meeting with law makers and opinion formers in the United States next week, said the Lagan Valley MP. "My message to them will be that it is vital Northern Ireland is able to move forward building on solid foundations but that can only be done by respecting the views of unionists. The Windsor Framework represents progress but there remain areas of concern where further work and engagement are required if we are to secure arrangements that are good for the long-term interests of Northern Ireland and which can be supported by unionists as well as nationalists. Mr Donaldson reiterated his partys recent sentiments about organisations and individuals which the DUP have deemed as rigorous implementers of the Protocol. Despite many in Dublin and Brussels telling us that the NI Protocol could not be re-negotiated progress has been made, but there is more to do, he continued. "Whilst Sinn Fein, the SDLP and Alliance Party would have rigorously implemented the Protocol, we have held our nerve and will keep working to get it right. Just as some said there would be no re-negotiation, our determination has proved what can be achieved. We will continue our efforts to ensure that we get an outcome that works and which can be considered against our seven tests. On Friday morning, an eight-member panel announced by Mr Donaldson met to begin deliberations on the new deal on post-Brexit trading arrangements for Northern Ireland. Former DUP leader and first minister Peter Robinson has been elected as the consultation panels chair. As we continue to engage in discussions with the Government I would encourage a broad section of unionism and loyalism, businesses and all those who want to see Northern Ireland prosper within the Union to take part in the consultation process, said Mr Donaldson. "The group has elected Peter Robinson to act as its chair and over the next number of weeks the consultation group is very eager to receive written responses in the first instance and thereafter where possible to meet with a cross-section of consultees. We are determined to see a return to the delicate political balance within Northern Ireland where the views of unionists are valued and respected. Washington, Dublin, London and Brussels must remember that progress has only ever been made in Northern Ireland by both unionists and nationalists working together. Sir Jeffrey has made clear that the DUP will take its time to consider the Windsor Framework before deciding whether to back it and lift its current blockade of devolution at Stormont. He previously said the panel would report to him by the end of March. Meanwhile, White House officials have visited Belfast in advance of a potential trip by President Joe Biden next month. It is understood officials and members of the Secret Service arrived in Northern Ireland last weekend to scope possible venues for a presidential visit. DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson (left), Ben Habib (second left), Baroness Kate Hoey (centre), and former first minister Dame Arlene Foster (right), outside the UK Supreme Court in London, where judges ruled the Northern Ireland Protocol is lawful. Credit: Aaron Chown/PA Wire The government will not seek to recoup almost 200,000 of public money spent on legal fees in unionist court challenges over the protocol, the Belfast Telegraph understands. It comes after it emerged the government forked out 196,567 for the bids taken by loyalist pastor Clifford Peeples, and another by a group of unionists including former first minister Arlene Foster. The two cases were dealt with together, with the claimants arguing that the protocol is unlawful as it conflicts with the Good Friday Agreement and the Acts of Union. They were initially rejected by the High Court in June 2021, and later in the Court of Appeal and finally in the Supreme Court in February of this year. In response to a written Commons question from DUP MP Carla Lockhart, NIO Minister Steve Baker confirmed the government spent almost 200,000 in legal fees relating to the challenges. The Belfast Telegraph understands the government will not be seeking to recoup these costs. Read more Government spent 200k on defending NI protocol challenges in court Alliance deputy leader Stephen Farry said: While on the surface this case may seem to be of considerable significance, it was comprehensively dismissed at all three judicial levels. Rather than being humbled by successive defeats, many of the parties now seem intent on using the legal process and the outcome as a political prop. Februarys Supreme Court challenge was unanimously dismissed on three counts. The ruling did confirm that the protocol suspended Article six of the Acts of Union. In the wake of the ruling, DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson conceded that the protocol issues were never going to resolved via the court. The ruling has brought great clarity to the reality that the protocol has altered NIs position in the United Kingdom by virtue of subjugating article six of the Act of Union, which gives us the right to trade freely within the UK, he added. Donaldsons dilemma as poll shows softening of unionist opposition to return of Stormont PM Rishi Sunak and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen announced the deal at the Guildhall in Windsor. Dan Kitwood / PA Wire Two-thirds of people in Northern Ireland back the protocol deal, but three-quarters of DUP supporters would vote against it in a referendum. A LucidTalk poll for the Belfast Telegraph shows while the overwhelming majority of nationalists and Alliance/Green voters support the Windsor Framework, just over a third of unionists do. The results highlight the fine line Sir Jeffrey Donaldson must walk as his party embarks on a consultation period over the UK-EU agreement. Some 73% of DUP voters say they would vote against it if a referendum was held now, 16% say they would support it, with 11% dont knows. No voters are more likely to be older, male and working-class. However, our poll also indicates some softening within the unionist community on returning to Stormont. In a LucidTalk survey six weeks ago, 66% of unionists said the DUP should not restore the Assembly and Executive until the protocol was significantly altered or scrapped. But that figure has fallen, with just over half (54%) now saying Mr Donaldsons party should keep boycotting the institutions until changes are made to the Windsor Framework or the protocol is binned. The framework will reduce the volume of Brexit red tape on the movement of GB goods bound for Northern Ireland that was created by the Irish Sea border. It also introduces a mechanism the so-called Stormont brake that enables a minority of MLAs to formally flag concerns about the imposition of new EU laws in a move that could ultimately lead to Westminster vetoing them. Across Northern Ireland, there is strong support for the agreement reached between the government and the EU, which Parliament is expected to vote on later this month. Some 67% of people back the deal, with 27% opposing it and 6% dont knows. The Windsor Framework is most popular with Alliance/Green voters (98%), followed closely by nationalists (97%), and is least popular with unionists (38%). Exactly 50% of unionists say they would vote against it in a referendum, with 12% dont knows. TUV voters are the most strongly opposed: 88% say they would vote no, 8% dont know, and 4% back it. UUP voters are most likely to support the London-Brussels agreement: 56% would vote for it in a referendum, 24% against it, with 20% dont knows. A total of 3,409 people took part in the online poll conducted from March 3 to 5. The sample was scientifically weighted to reflect the local population. Across Northern Ireland, the deal is most popular with the younger generation, women and the middle-class. More than three-quarters of 18 to 34-year-olds (77%) back it compared to 65% of 35 to 54-year-olds and 61% of those over 55. Among ABC1s the middle-class the deal has 73% support with 24% opposing it. Among C2DEs the working-class 58% back it with 33% against. Some 72% of women say they would vote yes if a referendum was held on the Windsor Framework compared to 61% of men. The overwhelming majority of people here (69%) believe the DUP should return to Stormont immediately either regardless of what happens with the protocol, or because they believe there has been significant progress made by the London-Brussels deal. Some 29% believe the DUP should not restore the Assembly and Executive either until there are further changes to the Windsor Framework which weaken the protocol, or until the protocol is scrapped. While 99% of Alliance/Green voters and 98% of nationalists want the DUP to go back to work now, a minority of unionists (43%) agree. Two-thirds (67%) of Ulster Unionist supporters believe Mr Donaldsons party should restore the institutions immediately, but just 17% of DUP and 5% of TUV voters agree. Some 54% of unionists believe the DUP should not go back to Stormont until there are either changes to the Windsor Framework (19%), or the protocol is scrapped (35%). TUV voters are the most hardline. Just 12% support restoring the institutions if the current deal is improved for unionists, but 79% do not think Mr Donaldson should budge until the protocol is binned. Some 29% of DUP voters would be happy with returning to Stormont if changes are made to the framework, but 52% want the protocol gone entirely. The figures for UUP voters are 21% and 8% respectively. The DUP, which collapsed power-sharing in protest against the protocol, has yet to decide whether to back the framework and return to devolution. Young people are the keenest on the party returning to government quickly. Some 79% of 18 to 34-year-olds want this to happen compared to 68% of 35 to 54-year-olds and 63% of those over 55. While just a fifth of 18 to 34-year-olds say what is on offer is not enough for the DUP to return to Stormont, a third of 35 to 54-year-olds and of the over-55s believe the same. Almost three-quarters of middle-class people want Mr Donaldson to restore devolution now compared to 62% of working-class voters. There is a similar gender divide: 74% of women want a swift return to Stormont by the DUP compared to 63% of men. Methodology Polling was carried out online from 1pm on March 3 to 8pm on March 5 using the established LucidTalk online NI opinion panel (14,422 members), which is balanced to be demographically representative. Some 3,409 full responses were received. This dataset was authenticated, audited and weighted to produce a robust NI-representative sample analysed for the final results. All results are accurate in terms of being NI representative to within an error of +/- 2.3% at 95% confidence. LucidTalk is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its regulations. LucidTalk is the only NI (and Ireland) based polling and market research company that is a member of the British Polling Council. The new Duchess of Edinburgh meets Marianna Melnyk, aged 10, from the Ukrainian community at the City Chambers in Edinburgh to mark one year since the citys formal response to the invasion of Ukraine (Jane Barlow/PA) Jane Barlow The new Duke of Edinburgh told Ukrainian refugees he hoped they could make Scotland their home for as long as they felt they needed as he attended a reception marking one year since the Scottish capital welcomed the first Ukrainians to the city. In his first official engagement in the role after the King appointed him, Edward addressed refugees at a reception in Edinburghs City Chambers on the Royal Mile on Friday. He said: I hope you can all try to make Scotland and Britain your home for as long you feel that you need to stay here and we will try to make it as welcoming and as safe as possible for you. I wish you all the very best in the future and were thinking of you. The duke, who had the title conferred upon him on Friday by the King, marking his 59th birthday, said he and his wife Sophie were slightly overwhelmed by the appointment. He said: Thank you for welcoming us to Edinburgh today on, indeed, a very special and very overwhelming day for now my wife and duchess, he joked, while looking at his wife. He added: I also want to express my thanks to everybody who has worked so hard to make our Ukrainian friends so welcome. Before making their way into the City Chambers, Edward and Sophie stopped to greet the hundreds of well-wishers gathered on the Royal Mile on the cold, but sunny afternoon. Many of them were tourists on holiday in Edinburgh from as far away as Washington DC. The new Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh meet members of the public as they attend a ceremony at the City Chambers in Edinburgh (Jane Barlow/PA) Jane Barlow The Duke and Duchess were greeted by a traditional Scottish piper playing Ukrainian music as members of the public greeted them both, congratulating Edward on his appointment as Duke of Edinburgh, the role his father held until his death in 2021. Lord Provost of Edinburgh Robert Aldridge congratulated Edward and welcomed him to Edinburghs City Chambers before they climbed the buildings famous staircase. They met council officials including council leader Cammy Day. Running slightly late, the duke shared a joke with one official about the roadworks in Edinburgh and said he had come to drop some hints about it. He then met Ukrainian refugees who have settled in Edinburgh, telling one: I cant believe we are a year on and asking if she was able to have contact with her family back in Ukraine and if they were being well looked after in the city. Edward was then presented with a birthday gift before moving through the crowd and addressing those who had gathered. A Ukrainian choir then sang a Ukrainian song and the traditional Ukrainian Happy Birthday song. The reception finished with an emotional rendition by the piper of the Ukrainian national anthem before Edward and Sophie were presented with a bouquet of sunflowers by 10-year-old Marianna Melnyk, dressed in the Ukrainian national dress. Cost-saving measures mean the construction of the Birmingham to Crewe leg of HS2 will be delayed by two years (Jacob King/PA) Jacob King HS2 is at risk of being dismembered and never resurrected after further delays were announced by the Government, peers have heard. Cost-saving measures mean the construction of the Birmingham to Crewe leg of HS2 will be delayed by two years and services of the high speed rail line may not enter central London until the 2040s. The Government was criticised in the House of Lords for the decision and warned the project could struggle to recover. Conservative whip Lord Davies of Gower, speaking on behalf of the Government, accepted the move was disappointing and would cause difficulties in the supply chain for contractors. He said: In the current economic climate the Government is taking an honest and very pragmatic view and we have to realise the circumstances we find ourselves in. But Conservative peer Lord Moylan, a former deputy chairman of Transport for London, said: Will (Lord Davies) accept that the claim that phasing the work over a longer period is going to save money will be met with some incredulity by those with experience of the management of large projects? And teams are dispersed, engineering expertise is sent elsewhere, isnt it really the case that the project is being dismembered and may never now be resurrected or at least it will be a wholly new project if it ever is? Lord Davies replied: No, I dont accept the premise that its being dismembered. Its a question of pragmatism and a question of the economic situation that we find ourselves in at the moment. The Government is taking a reasoned view to deal with it. The high-speed line was due for extension between Birmingham and Crewe between 2030 and 2034 to help boost transport in the north of England. But the Government says it is now prioritising the initial services between Old Oak Common in west Londons suburbs and Birmingham Curzon Street by 2033. It means services will not stop in Euston in central London for years to come, with passengers expected instead travel for half an hour on the Elizabeth Line. Labours Lord Snape questioned why people would undertake this route, adding: This announcement makes us the laughing stock of the railway world. Viscount Stansgate, another Labour peer, sought reassurances that HS2 will reach Euston in the form in which it was originally intended to do so and not stop at Old Oak Common. Lord Davies replied: I can. The Government is committed to delivering to Euston and it is currently evaluating how best to deliver it. Labours Lord Kennedy of Southwark said: Has he seen comments from the National Infrastructure Commission, headed by Sir John Armitt, from John Smith from GB Railfreight, and Henri Murison from the Northern Powerhouse, who described the decision as half-baked, disappointing and a false economy? Lord Davies responded: I accept that it is disappointing and we have had difficulties with the supply chain, there are difficulties now going forward for contractors, I fully accept that, but no I havent seen those comments but Im not surprised that they have been made. Labours Lord Liddle said the north of England is being deprived, adding: This is the end of the Conservatives ambitions to hold on to the red wall. Lord Davies, in his reply, said: No, I dont accept that. A budget of 55.7 billion for the whole of HS2 was set in 2015. But the target cost excluding the eastern leg of Phase 2b from the West Midlands to the East Midlands has ballooned to between 53 billion and 71 billion (in 2019 prices). The SNP leadership candidates vying to be Scotlands next first minister are not of the same calibre as Nicola Sturgeon, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has said. Following Ms Sturgeons resignation last month, Ash Regan, Kate Forbes and Humza Yousaf are in the race to take over the top job. But Mr Sarwar said the leadership contest has shown none of the candidates is equipped with the skills to improve Scotlands NHS crisis or the economy. Ms Forbes criticised rival candidate Humza Yousafs record in Government in a TV debate earlier this week, with the topic dominating First Ministers Questions (FMQs) on Thursday. SNP leadership contenders Ash Regan, Kate Forbes and Humza Yousaf are all hoping to become Scotlands next first minister (Lesley Martin/Jane Barlow/PA) And Mr Yousaf accused Ms Forbes of giving ammunition to the opposition parties, with Kate Forbes insisting she is the candidate her rivals are most worried about becoming first minister. But the Scottish Labour leader told journalists on Friday that all three of the candidates brought him no concern. Speaking on a visit to Glasgow alongside Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves, he said: I think its fair to say we dont fear any of the candidates. I will take any of them. I think the other important point to make is, I have profound disagreements with Nicola Sturgeon. I dont agree with her politics. Ive been battling on the frontline of politics with her for over a decade, but I think even the most ardent SNP supporter would accept that none of these candidates are of the calibre of Nicola Sturgeon. If Nicola Sturgeon couldnt fix our NHS, how is Humza Yousaf going to fix our NHS? If Nicola Sturgeon couldnt fix our economy, how is Kate Forbes going to fix that economy? And if Nicola Sturgeon couldnt pull our country together, how is Ash Regan going to pull our country together? Theres an alternative though, and we cant just wait for the wheels to fall off the SNP bus. We have to, with humility, reach out, win peoples trust and demonstrate to them we have a credible plan for the economy. Members of Scotlands largest teaching union have voted to accept a pay deal, ending its long-running campaign of school strikes. Teachers with the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) backed the sixth deal put to them, which will see a 7% pay rise backdated to April 2022, a further 5% next month, and another 2% in January. Some 90% of EIS members who took part in the vote backed the pay offer, with 10% rejecting it. There was a turnout of 82%, the union said on Friday. Andrea Bradley, EIS general secretary, said the high turnout shows members had taken a pragmatic decision in voting to accept the current pay offer. 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 added: While it does not meet our aspirations in respect of a restorative pay settlement for Scotlands teachers, it is the best deal that can realistically be achieved in the current political and financial climate without further prolonged industrial action. It compares favourably with recent pay settlements across the public sector, and does provide pay certainty for Scotlands teachers for the next 16 months until the next pay settlement is scheduled to be delivered in August 2024. Under the deal, most teachers will see their pay increase by 14.6% by January 2024, Ms Bradley said. It comes after the Scottish Secondary Teachers Association (SSTA) union announced its members had backed the offer on Thursday. Scottish Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville welcomed the announcements. She said: It is the most generous offer to teachers in more than 20 years and one that is fair, affordable and sustainable for everyone involved. Teachers in Scotland are already the best paid in the UK and this deal will mean a salary rise of 5,200 in April for most teachers, and a cumulative rise of 33% since January 2018. Teachers across Scotland have staged a series of strikes since last November (PA) Andrew Milligan A resolution to this dispute and an end to the threat of further strike disruption in our schools will be a huge relief for children, young people, parents, carers, and teachers too. EIS and SSTA leaders had recommended members accepted the deal. NASUWT members are also involved in the dispute and its general secretary, Patrick Roach, had condemned the latest offer from Ms Somerville as only a paltry improvement on the previous proposal. That union is also balloting its members on the deal. The EIS members approval of the deal came after a breakthrough in negotiations last week, which saw the union pause strikes set to be staged in the constituencies of senior politicians, including First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. 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 It had also planned a 20-day campaign of rolling strikes in every part of Scotland. The pay dispute between the councils and the teaching unions had become bitterly contested, with the first walkout taking place last November. Ms Bradley said it was deeply regrettable that it took a sustained industrial dispute and the first programme of national strike action on pay by teachers in 40 years for a deal to have been reached. Scottish Conservative education spokesman Stephen Kerr said: Pupils, parents and teachers will be breathing a sigh of relief this deeply damaging dispute finally looks like it is over. But it would never have lasted this long and caused so much disruption to our childrens education had Shirley-Anne Somerville been on top of her brief and shown the required urgency to resolve it. Scottish Green education spokesman Ross Greer said he was delighted that teachers will now receive their biggest pay uplift in two decades. He added: This is a fantastic result for them and for students who no longer face potential disruption to their upcoming exams. Willie Rennie, education spokesman for the Scottish Liberal Democrats, said the prolonged and bitter dispute has caused unquantifiable harm to the relationship between the government and the teaching profession. The Government now needs to support teachers rather than undermine them as young people deserve a good education after years of turmoil, he said. Sir Keir Starmer will say that Wales would take back control of its economy under a Labour government. The Labour leader will promise to devolve economic power and control out of Westminster if he wins the next general election when he addresses Welsh Labours conference on Saturday. Voters will have a choice between more decline and division with the Tories and hope, possibility and ambition under Labour, Sir Keir is expected to tell delegates in Llandudno, North Wales. Sir Keir recently unveiled five missions to improve the nation, including securing high sustained growth and building an NHS fit for the future. These goals will rekindle the shared hope in every corner of the UK, he will say. They will raise our sights and free us from Tory poverty of ambition. He will pledge that under his premiership, there will be a total overhaul of the Westminster system that hoards potential and a politics which hoards power. As part of this, he would oversee a change in funding streams to devolve economic power to Wales. He will say: Today, I can announce that the next Labour government will return power over its economic destiny to Wales. The decision-making role for the Welsh government on structural funds, will be restored. Its time for Wales to take back control. 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 Looking ahead to the general election, due by January 2025, the Labour leader will say: There will be a clear choice between more decline and division with the Tories, or credible change with Labour. Change for Britain that brings with it change for Wales and your community. But to the British people, everywhere, we must show how this spirit combines with the solidarity we offer across the United Kingdom. How, together, we can deliver something even more precious. A Britain once again on the front-foot, with a sense of hope, possibility and ambition. Sir Keirs keynote speech is due at 10.15am, with Wales First Minister Mark Drakeford addressing the conference hall later in the morning. The sudden crackdown, which comes a few months into the governments term, has raised alarm among religious minorities and rights activists. Some see the measures as an attempt by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to head off potential political challenges from religious conservatives and to distract from economic woes, such as rising prices and wild currency fluctuations. The ban on the import, sale and production of alcohol was adopted in 2016 but was only published in the official gazette last month, making it enforceable. On Saturday, Iraqs customs authority ordered all border crossings to impose the prohibition. Men deliver beer to a booze shop in Baghdad (Hadi Mizban/AP) Hadi Mizban Although many booze shops across Iraq continued their business as usual presumably using up their stocks border crossings went dry overnight with the exception of the northern, semi-autonomous Kurdish region which has not enforced the ban. The price of alcohol, meanwhile, spiked due to tightened supply. Ghazwan Isso makes arak, a popular anise-flavoured spirit, at his factory in Mosul, Iraqs second-largest city. He sells it, along with imported, foreign-made alcohol, at 15 shops in Baghdad. There are imported goods at the borders that are not allowed to enter, with a value of tens of millions of dollars, he said. Mr Isso said he is also stuck with three million US dollars (2.51 million) of goods in warehouses booze produced in his factory. The Iraqi government has started enforcing a 2016 ban on alcoholic beverages (Hadi Mizban/AP) Hadi Mizban It is not clear yet if and when the ban on the sale of alcohol will be enforced as well, but Mr Isso said he will not send his trucks from his Mosul factory to Baghdad for fear they will get stopped. For Mr Isso, the ban is a blow to Iraqs multi-confessional social fabric. He believes it will prompt more non-Muslims to emigrate. Alcohol is generally prohibited in Islam the religion of the vast majority of Iraqis but permitted and used in religious rituals by Christians, who make up 1% of Iraqs population of about 40 million. The law is a narrowing of freedoms, Mr Isso said, saying the ban will encourage bribes and blackmail because alcohol will be sold the same way like illegal drugs. Joseph Sliwa, a Christian former politician, blamed the decision to start enforcing the law on extremists within Iraqs Sunni and Shiite Muslim communities. He said alcohol shop owners and producers will become vulnerable, with those in power or armed groups likely trying to squeeze them for bribes. Like Mr Isso, Mr Sliwa also fears the alcohol ban could increase the use of illegal drugs. A judge and former politician, Mahmoud al-Hassan, defended the ban as constitutional and said it is in line with the beliefs of most Iraqis and therefore will not impact personal freedoms. Quite the opposite, the majority of the people of Iraq are Muslim and their freedoms should be respected, he said. They make up 97% of the country. He downplayed fears that outlawing alcohol would increase trafficking of other drugs. Drugs already exist, with or without this law, he said. Alcohol also causes addiction and social problems. The alcohol ban comes on the heels of the contentious campaign to police social media content. A man buys alcohol in Baghdad (Hadi Mizban/AP) Hadi Mizban In January, the interior ministry formed a committee to investigate reports of what it called indecent posts and set up a website for public complaints. The site received tens of thousands of reports. A month later, judicial authorities announced the courts had charged 14 people for posting content labeled indecent or immoral. Six were jailed. Among those targeted were people who posted videos of music, comedy skits and sarcastic social commentary. Some showed dance moves deemed provocative, used obscene language or raised sensitive social issues such as gender relations in Iraqs predominantly conservative society. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, as well as local and regional rights groups, said the crackdown on expression violates fundamental rights. Iraqis should be free to express themselves whether it is to make jokes or engage in satire, criticise or hold authorities accountable, discuss politics or religious topics, share joyful dancing or have public conversations on sensitive or controversial issues, the groups said in a joint statement. Amer Hassan, a Baghdad court judge dealing with publishing and media issues, defended the arrests in an interview with the state Iraqi News Agency. There is a confusion between freedom of expression, which is protected by the constitution and what he called offensive content. Hamzeh Hadad, an adjunct fellow at the Centre for a New American Security, a Washington-based think tank, said the measures could be part of an attempt to distract from Iraqs unstable currency and to pander to the base of the conservative Shiite cleric and political leader Muqtada al-Sadr, a rival of Mr al-Sudanis bloc. Mr Hadad said the alcohol ban could disproportionately affect Christians and other non-Muslim religious minorities a dwindling population in Iraq, particularly in the years since the formation of the extremist so-called Islamic State group (Isis), which at one point controlled wide swaths of the country. However, Mr Hadad said are also powerful actors with financial interests in alcohol who might legally challenge or simply flout the ban. Religious minorities are not the only ones pushing back against the measures. I personally am a Muslim and am not with the law, said Mohammed Jassim, a 27-year-old from Baghdad who says he drinks alcohol regularly. Now he and others like him will be forced to purchase alcohol under the table from those who dare sell it illegally, he said. Many Christians see the ban as an attempt to marginalise their community. In the northern Christian town of Qaraqosh, a booze shop owner who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear his business could be targeted, said the governments move stings, particularly in the wake of years of deadly attacks on Christians by Isis militants. They are telling us to get out, we dont want you in this country anymore, he said. A Palestinian man has been shot and killed by an Israeli settler after entering a settlement in the occupied West Bank armed with knives and explosive devices, the Israeli military said. Hours later, a 16-year-old Palestinian died after being critically wounded when Israeli troops opened fire on stone-throwing Palestinians in northern West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said. The violence comes a day after a Palestinian gunman shot and wounded Israelis in Tel Aviv the latest to grip Israel and the West Bank in one of the deadliest periods of unrest among Israelis and Palestinians in years. The Israeli military said the armed Palestinian slipped into a farm near the settlement of Karnei Shomron, in the northern West Bank, and was fatally shot by an Israeli settler overseeing the land. Palestinian authorities identified the man as 21-year-old Abed al-Sheikh and said Israeli security forces had raided his house and several others in the nearby Palestinian village of Saniriya. The teen, Amir Ouda, was wounded close to a checkpoint near the town of Qalqilya, the Palestinian health ministry said. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. Hours earlier, Israeli security forces entered the Palestinian village of Naalin and prepared to demolish the family house of the Palestinian suspected of carrying out the shooting in Tel Aviv on Thursday night. The shooter had opened fire near Dizengoff Street in a bustling area of Tel Avivs city centre and wounded three Israelis, including one critically. The Hamas militant group claimed the attacker, a 23-year-old former prisoner named Muataz Khawaja, as a member of the organisations armed wing. Hamas said the shooting came in response to an Israeli military arrest raid that day which killed three gunmen in the northern village of Jaba, along with another raid earlier this week which killed seven Palestinians in the flashpoint Jenin refugee camp, including a wanted assailant and a 14-year-old boy. We promise more painful strikes throughout our occupied land as long as (Israels) aggression continues and its crimes escalate, the Palestinian militant group said. As Israeli forces stormed into Naalin and arrested two family members of the suspected gunman for questioning, they said they were met by a barrage of explosive devices, Molotov cocktails and stones. Israeli troops responded with gunfire, which they said hit at least one Palestinian. The persons condition was unclear. Further north, Israeli forces entered the Palestinian city of Tulkarm, home to an emerging armed group which has increasingly attracted young Palestinians angry at Israeli violence and disillusioned by their leadership. Israeli police block a shooting attack site in Tel Aviv (Oded Balilty/AP) Oded Balilty Gunmen opened fire, hitting an Israeli military vehicle in the city, the army said. Others hurled explosive devices and shot at Israeli forces from a passing car. The Israeli army said it shot back. There were no immediate reports of casualties on either side. The past few months have been marked by rising violence in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, which Israel captured along with the Gaza strip in the 1967 Middle East war. Palestinians seek those territories for a future independent state. At least 75 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire during military arrest raids and other confrontations so far this year, according to a tally by the Associated Press. Over that same period, a series of attacks by Palestinians against Israelis has left at least 14 Israelis dead so far this year, all but one of them civilians. The upsurge in deaths has raised fears of a possible greater escalation under Israels most right-wing government in history, which has pledged tough action against the Palestinians. A villager passes by debris of private houses ruined in Russias night rocket attack in a village, in Zolochevsky district in the Lviv region (Mykola Tys/AP) Mykola Tys A barrage of more than 80 Russian missiles and a smaller number of exploding drones hit residential buildings and critical infrastructure across Ukraine on Thursday, killing six people and leaving hundreds of thousands without heat or electricity. The largest such attack in three weeks also put Europes largest nuclear plant at risk by knocking it off the power grid for nearly half of the day before it was reconnected. Because nuclear reactors need constant power to run cooling systems to avoid a meltdown, the latest power loss at the Zaporizhzhia plant again raised the spectre of a nuclear catastrophe. Air raid sirens wailed through the night as the attacks targeted a wide swath of the country, including western Ukraine, which is far from the front lines. President Volodymyr Zelensky said the assault that came while many people slept was an attempt by Moscow to intimidate Ukrainians again. The Russian Defence Ministry said the strikes were in retaliation for a recent incursion into the Bryansk region of western Russia by what Moscow claimed were Ukrainian saboteurs. Ukraine denied the claim and warned that Moscow could use the allegations to justify stepping up its own assaults. Three rockets launched against Ukraine from Russias Belgorod region are seen at dawn in Kharkiv (Vadim Belikov/AP) Vadim Belikov The Kremlins forces started targeting Ukraines power supply last October in an apparent attempt to demoralise the civilian population and compel Kyiv to negotiate peace on Moscows terms. The attacks later became less frequent, and analysts speculated that Russia may have been running low on ammunition. The last major bombardment was on February 16. The head of the UN nuclear watchdog agency said the Russia-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant lost all external power for 11 hours after its last remaining power line was disconnected following reports of the missile strikes. Rafael Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency emphasised that the incident again demonstrated how fragile and dangerous the situation is for the plant. Overall, Russia launched 81 missiles and eight exploding Iranian-made Shahed drones on Thursday, according to Ukraines chief commander of the armed forces, Valerii Zaluzhnyi. Thirty-four missiles were intercepted, as were four drones, he said. The mixture of munitions makes it harder for air defences to cope with the onslaught, military analysts say. Villagers clear rubble in a village in Zolochevsky district in the Lviv region, Ukraine (Mykola Tys/AP) Mykola Tys Among the weapons were six hypersonic Kinzhal cruise missiles, which are among the most sophisticated weapons in the Russian arsenal, Ukrainian air force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said. Ukraine says its air defences cannot intercept them. The Russian Defence Ministry said the barrage hit military and industrial targets in Ukraine as well as the energy facilities that supply them. The missile strikes took no toll on the armys combat capability, but they played on the nerves of the civilian population of Ukraine, Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov told The Associated Press. Nearly half of households in Kyiv were without heat, as were many in Kharkiv, Ukraines second-largest city, where the water was also cut on a day when outdoor temperatures were expected to fall to around freezing, local officials said. Around 150,000 households were left without power in Ukraines northwestern Zhytomyr region. In the southern port of Odesa, emergency blackouts occurred due to damaged power lines. Viktor Bukhta, a 57-year-old resident of Kyivs Sviatoshynski district, where officials said three people were wounded, said a missile landed nearby in the early morning. We went into the yard. People were injured, he said. Then the cars caught fire. We tried to extinguish them with car fire extinguishers. And I got a little burned. 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 Mr Grossi said he was astonished by the complacency of members of the organisation he leads in relation to the dangers at the Zaporizhzhia plant. What are we doing to prevent this happening? Mr Grossi asked the agencys board of directors in a meeting on Thursday, according to a statement from the organisation. Each time we are rolling a dice, he said. And if we allow this to continue time after time, then one day our luck will run out. Mr Grossi and others have called for the plant to be demilitarised, including the withdrawal of Russian troops. The Kremlin, which says its troops are needed to protect the plant, has rejected the idea. 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 Speaking at the IAEA meeting in Vienna, Russian envoy Mikhail Ulyanov said Moscow supports measures to prevent attacks against the plant. He challenged Kyiv to make a pledge not to shell the facility. Russia and Ukraine have long traded accusations about their forces shelling the Zaporizhzhia plant. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted that the attack had no military objective, just Russian barbarism. Smoke could be seen rising from a facility in Kyivs Holosiivskyi district, and police cordoned off all roads leading to it. Three men and two women were killed in the western region of Lviv after a missile struck a residential area, Governor Maksym Kozytskyi said. Three buildings were destroyed by fire, and rescue workers combed through rubble looking for more possible victims, he said. A sixth person was killed and two others wounded in multiple strikes in the Dnipropetrovsk region that targeted its energy infrastructure and industrial facilities, Governor Serhii Lysak said. Aside from the hail of missiles, Russian shelling killed six other civilians from Wednesday to Thursday, Ukrainian officials said, including three people at a bus stop in Kherson. Pexels.com Twelve men answered the call to be Jesus disciples. They were uneducated commoners, Jews, and men of faith who sacrificed everything to be followers of Christ. Jesus spent three years training these disciples to be leaders. He planned to eventually have the disciples take over and carry on the work He started. Jesus chose unrefined and ordinary men to be His disciples, who were the commonest of the common. They were farmers and fishermen from rural areas. Jesus purposefully passed over the aristocratic, influential and elite men of society and chose men from the dregs of society. Thats how its been in Gods economy. He praises the humble and lays low the proud. Who were the 12 disciples? Matthew 10:2-4 lists the original disciples as Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew, his brother, James, son of Zebedee and his brother John. Then, theres Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, the tax collector, James, son of Alphaeus, Thaddeus, Simon, and Judas Iscariot, who eventually betrayed Jesus. Matthias would replace Judas after his betrayal. The apostles werent the kind of group you would expect Jesus to send forth on His mission to reach the world. There wasnt anything spectacular or incredibly unique about them. They were ordinary working men. However, Jesus took these ordinary men to form the backbone of the church, giving them the most extraordinary job: calling the world, including the most powerful empire known to man, to repent and have faith in Christ. You can bet that any first-century, educated Roman citizen would laugh off any prediction that the Christian faith would be the empires official faith within three centuries. The dispersal of the disciples. Book Three of the Church History of Eusebius says that Jesus disciples were dispersed worldwide. Thomas went to Parthia to spread the word, Andrew went to Scythia, and John went to Asia, where he lived for some time and died in Ephesus. Peter preached in places like Galatia, Bithynia, Pontus, Cappadocia, and Asia to the Jews of the dispersal. Eventually, he came to Rome. Many people question how the 12 disciples died, but the New Testament only shares the fate of two of the disciples. Judas, who betrayed Jesus, hung himself, while James, the son of Zebedee, was executed by Herod in 44 AD, according to Acts 12:2. How did the disciples die? Though legends and reports abound, theyre not always reliable, but its safe to say that the disciples went far and wide to spread the message of Jesus Christ. One early legend says they cast lots to divide the world to figure out who would go where so everyone could hear Jesus message. They suffered greatly for their faith and often met violent deaths due to their bold faith and witness in Jesus Christ. Paul and Peter. During the persecution under Emperor Nero, Peter and Paul were martyred in Rome around 66 AD. Paul was beheaded, but Peter was crucified upside down at his request. He didnt feel worthy to die in the same way Jesus did. Andrew. Its believed that Andrew went to the land of the man-eaters in present-day Russia. Christians there believe he was the first to bring the gospel to their land. However, Andrew also preached in modern-day Turkey, Asia Minor, and Greece, where its believed he was crucified. Thomas. Thomas was likely the most active in the area east of Syria. Tradition says that he preached as far as India, where the ancient Marthoma Christians see him as their founder. They say he died when the spears of four soldiers pierced through him. Philip. Philip likely had a powerful ministry in Asia Minor and Carthage in North Africa, where he converted a Roman proconsuls wife. As retaliation, the proconsul had Philip arrested and put to death. Matthew. Matthew was a tax collector and writer of a gospel who ministered in Ethiopia and Persia. Some of the oldest reports say he wasnt martyred, but others believe he was stabbed to death in Ethiopia. Bartholomew. Bartholomew had extensive missionary travels attributed to him by tradition: to Ethiopia, India with Thomas and back to Armenia and Southern Arabia. However, various accounts say he met his death as a martyr for the gospel. James. James was the son of Alpheus and one of the last three James mentioned in the New Testament. Theres some uncertainty about which is which, but this James is believed to have ministered in Syria. The Jewish historian Josephus reported that he was clubbed and stoned to death. Simon the Zealot. Simon ministered in Persia but was killed after refusing to sacrifice to the sun god. Judas. Judas hung himself after he betrayed Jesus. Matthias. Matthias was the disciple chosen to replace Judas. Tradition says he was sent to Syria with Andrew to die by burning. John. John is one of the only disciples whos commonly thought to have died a natural death from old age. He was a church leader in Ephesus and is believed to have cared for Mary, Jesus mother, in his home. During Domitians persecution, John was exiled to the island of Patmos, where its believed he wrote the last book of the New Testament, Revelation. One early Latin tradition says he escaped unharmed after being cast in boiling oil in Rome. The influence of the disciples. The name of Jesus disciples have become the most common name for men in the Western world. How many men are named Andy, John, Pete, Phil, or Jim? Four of the apostles were fishermen. Could this be part of the reason why one of the earliest Christian symbols was the fish? Icthus, the Greek word for fish, formed a puzzle: lesous Christos Theou Uios Soter, which means Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior. After the apostles death, we dont find significant missionary figures of the prominence of Paul. However, the faith continued to spread, even when Christianity was deemed illegal until Emperor Constantines rule in the fourth century. Though the disciples were ordinary men, Jesus called them to do something extraordinary, and they completed their tasks. Pexels.com Mary is a woman revered for bravery and admired for her devotion to God. She traversed a challenging path, but she knew the cost of her submission. The virgin birth of Jesus disregarded scientific logic, and believers recognized her as the mother of Jesus. However, we dont know much about the details of Marys life. God chose Mary for what is possibly the most critical job in history: bringing Jesus Christ into the world to rescue us from our sins. She was the most unlikely choice, which makes her story even more fascinating. Luke 1:35 tells us the story of how the angel Gabriel visited Mary to share the news of Gods plan. She would have a baby, even though she wasnt married yet. When Gabriel saw Mary, Joseph had already asked her to be his wife. However, the two would soon start a life-changing journey. Theres more to Marys story than we may have realized, but theres so much we can learn from her story. Mary knew the prophecy of the coming Messiah. Mary displayed unparalleled bravery when she accepted Gabriels message, saying, May it be to me as you have said in Luke 1:38. However, did she truly know what she was signing up for? In her song of praise, its evident that Mary knew about the Old Testaments teachings. She learned about biblical prophecy her entire life as a Jew. Her song closely resembles Hannahs famous prayer in 1 Samuel 2:1-10. Now, she was part of Gods ultimate plan. Mary understood the significance of her decision when she said yes when God chose her. She showed her understanding of Gods promise to send a Messiah for His people through her worship. Did Mary have children after Jesus? Some believe that Mary didnt have any other children and stayed a virgin throughout her life due to the hallowed nature of the virgin birth. However, Matthew 1:24-25 seems to negate that teaching, implying that Mary had other children. It says that Joseph followed the angels command and married Mary. However, they didnt consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. In this verse, until is the keyword that implies Mary had children after Jesus. Until means up to the time of, implying that an action didnt happen after a suggested pause. Matthew didnt even the verse by saying that Joseph didnt consummate the marriage. It tells us the marriage wasnt consummated until. This wording implies that Mary and Joseph did consummate their marriage after Jesus was born. It also makes a point by telling readers that Joseph took Mary as his wife. Readers would naturally assume that Mary became Josephs wife in every way possible. Also, no scriptural evidence supports that Mary stayed a virgin or didnt have more children. The Bible says the opposite. Mark 6:3 describes how people were upset with Jesus when He taught in Bethlehem, rejecting Him as a prophet. They asked, Isnt He the carpenter? Isnt that Marys son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon? Arent His sisters here with us? This passage implies that Mary had close to seven children, including Jesus. There were almost 30 years between Jesus birth and this meeting, allowing Mary plenty of time to have other children. John 2:12 also hints as we ponder whether Mary had other children. It says Jesus went to Capernaum with His mother, brothers, and disciples. The fact that both disciples and brothers are used means that John wasnt discussing spiritual brothers but familial brothers. The disciples and brothers were two different groups. Matthew 12:46 also discusses when Jesus mother and brothers came to talk to Him. The phrases mother and brothers imply familial relationships. The Bible doesnt give us any reason to think these werent Marys biological children. Efforts to prove that Mary stayed a virgin arent based on the Bible but on the misguided loyalty to a woman who was as imperfect as any other human. God may have chosen May for her holy task, but she was, in her own words, a humble servant. She obeyed God with faithfulness, like other humble servants, including Hannah, Gideon, Elijah, and Moses. Marys marital relations with her husband, Joseph, wouldnt have defiled her. Those relations wouldve likely produced other children who wouldve grown up with Jesus as their elder brother. Mary isnt given a special place in the Bible, so any effort to exalt her to a godlike position is manufactured rumors. So, yes, Mary did have other children. However, how many children she had is unknown, but she likely had seven, including Jesus. Mary was there for Jesus birth and earthly death. Joseph stayed by Mary through uncertain times. They both observed Jesus first breath. Soon after, the shepherds joined them to see what the angels discussed. On the other hand, Mary was also there when Jesus took His last breath on earth, detailed explicitly in John 19:25. Mary comforted Jesus as He entered the world and as He left to return to heaven. She committed herself to be there for her child through birth, death, and anything else. Mary shines as a demonstration of Gods desire to use the ordinary and obscure. We should be encouraged by this simple girl who now exists as one of the most adored women ever. She never traveled farther than from Palestine to Egypt by donkey. However, her story traveled to the farthest corners of the earth. By Gods grace, Mary recognized that she needed the Savior. The Bible doesnt say that Mary was anyone but an ordinary girl who God chose to use extraordinarily. She was a righteous woman favored by God. However, at the same time, Mary was a human who needed Jesus, just like everyone else. When she learned she would birth the Messiah, she stepped up to the plate and accepted her responsibility. We should all learn to step out with boldness and live humbly. Like Mary, we can all be in Gods extraordinary story. Members of the Bangladesh Chhatra League, the student wing of the ruling Awami League, rally near Dhaka University, Feb. 26, 2023. The Bangladesh ruling partys student wing has come under increased scrutiny amid reports of its members involvement in escalating incidents of sometimes grisly violence on university campuses. This month the High Court stepped in to order a university to expel five students from the ruling Awami Leagues Bangladesh Chhatra League who were accused of assaulting a fellow student. Awami League leaders insist they punish offending members of its student wing, but some academics and other students said that more often than not there is a culture of impunity. Reports about the allegedly violent behavior by Chhatra League members arent new, but they havent been as frequent as in the last few years or as gruesome. Bangladeshis did not expect student bodies would become such a violent cesspool, Abul Kashem Fazlul Haque, a senior professor at Dhaka University, told BenarNews. Even in our worst nightmares, we did not anticipate that we would experience the kind of student politics that we are seeing today, Haque said. When we got independence, we dreamed that our student organizations would help forge democracy, he said. President Abdul Hamid recently brought up concerns about crimes on campus, but he did not name the Chhatra League. People do not view student politics with respect any longer, Hamid said at the graduation ceremony at Jahangirnagar University late last month. Whenever one glances at a newspaper, they would notice the reports about extortion and other corruption. Recent reported incidents involving Chhatra League members include the assault of a Chattogram student said to be from an opposing group, thrashing of students in several Dhaka colleges, and the extortion and abduction of Rajshahi and Dhaka businessmen. Bangladesh has had a love-hate relationship with student politics. In pre-independence Bangladesh, student activists associated with the Chhatra League, along with left-leaning organizations, inspired protests against military rule and contributed to the freedom struggle. After independence, the Chhatra League and left groups continued to dominate campuses until the formation of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) in 1978 and its student wing, the Chhatra Dal, a year later. After the end of military rule in the 1990s, student party politics began to mirror national party politics, like it did in many South Asian nations, especially where the voting age was 18. Students were a vital source of votes. Political tussles between the Awami League and the BNP would play out violently between the Chhatra League and the Chhatra Dal. Barring a brief moment of unity to unseat a military ruler, President Hussain Muhammad Ershad, clashes involving the Chhatra League and the Chhatra Dal continued, with casualties on both sides. Since 2014, however, the Chhatra Dal, much like its parent party, has been in retreat. That is the year the Awami Leagues Sheikh Hasina was reelected prime minister when the opposition boycotted the polls. Hasina won a third straight term in 2018, cementing her position and critics say turning authoritarian. Chhatra League untrammeled The Awami Leagues dominance has meant its student wings supremacy. With barely any opposition, critics said the Chhatra League targets anyone who speaks out against the government, and the ruling party looks away when its student wing targets opposition members or any anti-government groups. The ruling partys A.F.M. Bahauddin Nasim denies this. At every instance, necessary disciplinary actions have been taken against Chhatra League activists involved in wrongdoing. No one is spared, Nasim, an Awami League leader tasked with overseeing its student branch, told BenarNews. He said that given its colossal membership, the Chhatra League disproportionately garners negative attention. Chhatra League President Saddam Hussain echoed Nasim. Whoever commits any crime in the name of the Chhatra League is not spared, he told BenarNews. In every case of crime, disciplinary actions have been taken. In necessary instances, we cooperated with the authorities to initiate legal actions, he said. Awami League members note that in September 2019, Hasina, who heads the party, dismissed top Chhatra League leaders for their involvement in extortion and bribery in an infrastructure project at Jahangirnagar University. Also in 2019, Chhatra League activists at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) engaged in the torture of a fellow student, Abrar Fahad, leading to his death. The incident shocked the nation and sparked intense student protests at BUET, forcing the university to ban partisan student politics on its campus. A court in Dhaka imposed the death penalty for 20 and life sentences for five other Chhatra League members. But there are instances when court intervention failed to bring accountability. In 2012, the alleged hacking of an opposition member, Biswajit Das, by Chhatra League members was captured on live television. Amid widespread outrage, the court found 21 Chhatra League members guilty, but 13 of them remain at large. In another incident in 2018, critics said neither the ruling party nor the police took action. Back then, they allege that Chhatra League members violently dispersed school children who brought the capital Dhaka to a standstill as they protested for better road safety. Some media organizations identified the people involved in the violence, yet no action was taken, critics say. There should be justice for the crimes committed by student organizations, Mohammad Kaykobad, a professor at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, told BenarNews. Otherwise, their misdeeds will not stop. An Indonesian Air Force F-16 fighter jet flies over an Indonesian Navy warship in Natuna, near the South China Sea, Indonesia, Jan. 10, 2020. Indonesia and other ASEAN members want a code of conduct for the disputed South China Sea to be effective, substantive and actionable, the countrys foreign ministry said Friday after talks this week with China and other Southeast Asian nations over the disputed waterway. Remarks by Sidharto Suryodipuro, a director at the Indonesian Foreign Ministry, came after a senior U.S. diplomat called for a binding code of conduct for the South China Sea that follows international law. We do not want it to just be a document where we agree for the sake of agreeing, Sidharto, the ministrys director for ASEAN cooperation, told reporters after a three-day meeting between senior Chinese officials and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The COC [code of conduct] has to be effective, substantive and actionable, he said. Under negotiation since 2002, the code is meant to prevent conflicts and maintain stability in the South China Sea, where four ASEAN members Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam have competing territorial claims with China. While Indonesia does not regard itself as party to the dispute, Beijing claims historic rights to parts of the sea overlapping Indonesias exclusive economic zone. In recent years, tensions have risen as China has asserted its sovereignty over most parts of the sea by building artificial islands housing military facilities, deploying coast guard ships and enforcing fishing bans, prompting protests from other claimants as well as from Washington. This years ASEAN chair, Indonesia, hopes to use its influence as the largest nation in the region to expedite a successful outcome. The talks that ended Wednesday were the first round of negotiations this year following a meeting in Cambodia in October 2022. Also on Wednesday, Daniel Kritenbrink, U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said Washington stood for freedom of navigation, freedom of flight, unimpeded lawful commerce and peaceful resolutions of disputes across the South China Sea, The Jakarta Post reported. In light of that, we have continued to call for the effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of the parties, Kritenbrink told a small group of reporters at the U.S. embassy in Jakarta, where he was on a three-day visit. And weve long supported the conclusion of a binding Code of Conduct that recognizes the rights of all involved and that is fully consistent with international law, he was quoted as saying. On Friday, Sidharto skirted the issue when asked if the code would be binding. We try to avoid using the word binding because international legal experts do not all agree with the word binding. It is a concept that may be populist, but its practical value will depend on the content of that document, he said. The South China Sea is one of the worlds busiest waterways and has an abundance of natural resources. It is home to several flashpoints involving maritime disputes over oil and gas exploration projects and fishing rights. Minimal outside meddling Gilang Kembara, an analyst at Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said it was crucial to differentiate between the COC and the DOC (Declaration of Conduct). The latter was signed in 2002 and laid out general principles for peaceful coexistence, but lacked enforcement mechanisms. A COC that is not legally binding is no different from the DOC. Therefore, there is a demand for the COC to be made binding, so that it can be obeyed by all parties, including China, Gilang said. Jakartas stance that ASEAN should not be used as a pawn or coerced into choosing sides by either Beijing or Washington could pave the way for productive talks on the code of conduct, according to Muhammad Arif, who teaches international relations at the University of Indonesia. China seems to respect this principle and wants minimal outside meddling in dealing with ASEAN, Arif told BenarNews. But this approach could also strain ties with some ASEAN members such as the Philippines, which relies heavily on U.S. support for its security interests, he added. China has never accepted the 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, in a case brought by the Philippines, which said that Beijings expansive historical claims in the South China Sea have no legal basis. The Philippines has been assertive in challenging Chinas claims over most of the South China Sea since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. assumed office on June 30 and made resolving territorial disputes his priority. Since then, Manila has filed at least 77 diplomatic protests against Beijings actions in the South China Sea. Just last month, Manila granted U.S. troops access to four new military bases, with the U.S. defense chief saying Americas commitment to the defense of the Philippines is iron-clad. Analysts have cast doubt on whether ASEAN and China could reach such an agreement anytime soon. They say there are still many obstacles to overcome, such as Chinas reluctance to accept any limits on its activities or interests in the area; ASEANs lack of unity and leverage over Beijing; and divergent views among claimants on how to manage their disputes. The U.S. has been challenging Chinas expansive claims in the South China Sea through freedom of navigation operations and diplomatic support for its allies and partners in Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, Kritenbrink said Washington would not ask countries to choose between the U.S. and China and that the U.S. recognized ASEAN member states based on their inherent value. [W]e are going to speak out candidly about the broad range of areas where Chinese behavior is concerning to us, actions that we believe undermine peace and stability and challenge the rules-based international order, he said. What we want to do is ensure that you have choices and the ability to make your own choices, free from coercion. Malaysian Sen. Ras Adiba Radzi speaks to BenarNews at the U.S. State Department a day after receiving the International Women of Courage Award at the While House in Washington, March 9, 2023. A Malaysian disability-rights advocate named a Woman of Courage by the U.S. State Department is urging parents to get early intervention for children with disabilities, and society in general to respect, understand and embrace members of this community. Born able-bodied, Ras Adiba Radzi became permanently paralyzed from the waist down after a car accident, an assault and a fall from a ladder. She subsequently committed her life to fighting for the rights of people with disabilities, she said. I witnessed discrimination and stigma [towards] persons with disabilities and then on my team, and I fought and fought and fought, Ras Adiba, 54, told a ceremony held Wednesday at the White House. I have been working tirelessly to create awareness on the importance of accessibility in infrastructure, disability inclusion, job opportunities, inclusive education, housing, and upholding our rights, among others. A well-known news anchor, she continued to read the news from a wheelchair, became a Paralympics sharpshooter, and was eventually appointed a senator representing people with disabilities. From November 2020 to January 2023, she served as the first woman to chair the national news agency, Bernama. Ras Adiba even set a national record for wheeling 420 km (260 miles) in 13 days in her wheelchair from Johor Bahru to Putrajaya, according to a biography released by the State Department. We must also make sure to create awareness so people know about us and support us, she told BenarNews in Washington. So, we need to move positively. We need to respect, understand and embrace people with disabilities in the community. The World Health Organization estimates that 1.3 billion people are living with significant disabilities, representing 16% of the world population, or 1 in every 6 people. Children with disabilities must be given full support as early as possible, she said. We must always make sure that we give that child the education that they so need. We must not deprive a child from being someone who is able to one day become a Paralympic athlete, someday be a businessman whos a multimillionaire, or a billionaire. At the ceremony on Wednesday, first lady Jill Biden addressed the next generation. [T]oday, were here to tell girls everywhere the truth that they need to hear: Yes, you matter. Yes, you can make a difference, Biden said. Thats why we wanted to bring the leaders were honoring today, and the stories that they share, to the biggest stage we could: The White House. Girls everywhere need to know that there are women fighting for them and winning. Opening doors, transforming schools and communities and governments, building a better world for all of us. Speaking to BenarNews the following day, Ras Adiba addressed the lack of women in politics in Malaysia, where the 222-member parliament has 30 women and the 70-member senate has nine. Asked how this could be changed, she said that one way is simply to insist to women themselves that they are capable of it. We think we cant do that and we cant do this, but women in Malaysia are among the most extraordinary women in the world, in my opinion, she said. Malaysian Sen. Ras Adiba Radzi gestures during her interview with BenarNews at the U.S. State Department in Washington, March 9, 2023. [Gemunu Amarasinghe/RFA] Ras Adiba described how she felt upon learning she had been selected for the honor. When I heard the news that I was selected as one of 11 Women of Courage in the world, I was stunned and broke down to tears. This is not for me actually, it is a recognition for Malaysia, especially women and girls at home, she told BenarNews. I will get home and share about my experience here, then I will work with women and girls in Malaysia to determine how we can help each other, she said. We can rise together and do extraordinary things that we once thought that we couldnt achieve. Former Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin arrives at the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex for his arraignment on graft-related charges, a day after his arrest by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, March 10, 2023. Former Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin pleaded not guilty Friday as a local court charged him with multiple counts of abuse of power and money laundering linked to a COVID-19 relief program that his government implemented during the pandemic. The Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court charged the 75-year-old opposition leader and head of the Bersatu party with four counts of abuse of power to solicit bribes worth 232.5 million ringgit (U.S. $51.3 million) and two counts of involvement in laundering 195 million ringgit (43 million) in money, according to a charge sheet. To loud cheers from a crowd of his supporters, Muhyiddin appeared at the courthouse the morning after Malaysias anti-graft agency arrested him for alleged corruption and later released him on bail. Muhyiddin and his supporters accuse the government of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim of malice in going after him and officials in his party over allegations of corruption, months after the bloc headed by Muhyiddin lost out to Anwars coalition in a bitterly contested general election. I was accused of abusing the power of the Prime Minister to appoint Bumiputera contractors for the Jana Wibawa Project. I deny this accusation, Muhyiddin told reporters at the courthouse after he was charged. I do not have any authority to approve these projects. All of these projects have been approved by the Ministry of Finance in accordance with valid procurement rules and procedures. I was also accused of abusing [my] authority to approve the Tax Exemption Cancellation Appeal by the Al-Bukhary Foundation sponsored by Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary. I deny this allegation, he said. The approval of this tax exemption appeal is made by the Finance Ministry and I do not have any authority to approve it. The indictment of Muhyiddin marks the second time in five years that a former Malaysian prime minister has been charged for corruption-related offenses. Last August, former leader Najib Razak was sent to prison for 12 years over the 1MDB financial scandal, which brought down his government four years earlier. Muhyiddin could face up to 20 years and five years in prison on each count, respectively, if prosecuted and convicted of abuse of power and money laundering. Wearing a light blue-and-white striped shirt open at the collar with a dark suit, Muhyiddin appeared calm and waved at hundreds of his supporters who were waiting for him outside the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex when he arrived at 8:30 a.m. He was accompanied by his wife, Norainee Abdul Rahman, Bersatu Secretary General Hamzah Zainuddin, and party youth chief Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal, among others. At Fridays hearing, Sessions Court Judge Azura Alwi set Muhyiddins bail at 2 million ringgit (U.S. $442,086) and ordered the ex-PM to surrender his passport until the conclusion of the case. Muhyiddin was placed under arrest on Thursday afternoon at the headquarters of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission after being summoned there to answer questions about its investigation into funds cleared by his government under the so-called Empowerment of Bumiputera Contractor Program (Jana Wibawa). Supporters of Malaysian opposition leader Muhyiddin Yassin stand outside the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex where the former prime minister was charged with multiple counts of alleged corruption, March 10, 2023. [S. Mahfuz/BenarNews] Muhyiddin served as prime minister from March 2020 until he resigned in August 2021, a period that covered the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Southeast Asian country. The Jana Wibawa program was introduced by Muhyiddins administration to expedite the implementation of projects to help members of Malaysias ethnic Malay majority and boost the countrys economy during and after the outbreak. The program also aimed to enhance the capacity of Bumiputera/Malay contractors in the construction industry to be more competitive and resilient. Last year, Prime Minister Anwar ordered a review of the billion-ringgit government projects approved by Muhyiddin, including COVID-19 aid programs, accusing him of not following proper procedures. Well, this is about me, not about the contractors, Muhyiddin told reporters on Friday. For Jana Wibawa, as you know, is a project that was approved by the cabinet, to help Bumiputeras contractors who were heavily impacted by COVID-19, and that was approved by the cabinet and has been implemented. I dont agree with the accusations and that is the situation, he said. Supporters of former Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin hold up placards outside the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex where the former prime minister was charged with multiple counts of alleged corruption, March 10, 2023. [S. Mahfuz/BenarNews] On Thursday, Prime Minister Anwar refuted allegations from the Bersatu camp that the investigation into his political nemesis Muhyiddin was politically motivated. I would like to stress here that all who want the country to be clear of corruption must look at cases one by one and see if it is true that these were politically motivated charges, as they have been saying, or are based on fact, Anwar told reporters in Kuala Lumpur. A Philippine police Special Action Force member stands guard in front of the municipal hall in Pamplona town in Negros Oriental a day after provincial Gov. Roel Degamo and eight others were killed in a mass shooting, March 5, 2023. Responding to an order from the president, the Philippine military has deployed a counterterrorism unit to combat criminality on the island of Negros following the killing of a provincial governor last week, officials said Friday. Fifty troops from the Light Reaction Company, the Philippine Armys premier counterterrorism unit, were deployed to hunt suspects in the shooting of Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo. The same unit was deployed in 2017 to aid in the defeat of Islamic State-linked rebels who occupied the city of Marawi in the southern Philippines. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. gave his instruction to me last night to suppress criminal activities and impunity in the entire island of Negros and give justice to the families and loved ones of those who were slain and restore normalcy and confidence of the people in the area, Defense Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. told reporters during a Friday briefing. Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said the department was looking into at least 10 reports of killings in Negros Oriental, adding there was an apparent pattern of immunity. I think that a lot of people are coming out with information about past cases, but we have to process them properly. We have to look at the evidence. We have to look at the statements. But well look at them one by one, Remulla told reporters during a separate interview on Friday. At least three suspects in custody for Degamos killing were dishonorably discharged from the army, Remulla said, adding that law enforcers are seeking more than a dozen additional suspects. The attack killed a total of nine people and injured 17 others. Gun-for-hire Degamo was meeting with local people at his official residence on March 4 when a group of about 10 armed men clad in battle gear arrived, demanding to speak with him and then opening fire on people inside the compound. Degamo was rushed to a hospital but died hours later. Galvez said the elite unit was needed because of this and other emerging cases. He said many local government officials and residents had spoken up about other crimes in the province when Marcos attended Degamos wake on Wednesday. The president wants to completely eliminate the threat from the gun-for-hire [scheme] that we saw has existed in Negros Oriental for a long time, Galvez said. Following the killing, Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr., a political rival of Degamo, claimed his followers had no involvement in the attack. In a Facebook video posted on March 6, Teves said he expected that he and his brother would be blamed. Degamo assumed the governorship after a recount unseated his rival, Pryde Henry Teves, who had been declared the victor following a contentious election in June 2022, according to AFP. In all crimes, the investigator or police first look for who is most likely, has a motive or has something to gain from the incident, Teves said in the post. What would be the motive if I carried it out now? Neither I nor my brother would be the beneficiaries because its the vice governor who will take over, Teves said. Meanwhile, House Speaker Martin Romualdez called on Teves, who is vacationing in the United States, to return to the Philippines as soon as possible, adding that government authorization for his travel outside the country expired on Thursday. Teves faces a murder complaint in relation to at least three killings in the province in 2019. On Friday, the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group raided Teves properties in a search for firearms. Thai authorities have urged children and pregnant women to stay indoors and people to wear masks outside, as toxic smog covers vast areas of the country, leading more than 1 million people to seek medical attention, officials said. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha begged farmers to stop burning crop stubble and called for the eradication of exhaust-spewing vehicles. Thailands Pollution Control Department issued a public health notice Friday asking citizens to reduce their time doing outdoor activities and use personal protective equipment if necessary. Vulnerable groups, including the elderly, children, and pregnant women were told to stay indoors. Since the beginning of the year, more than 1.3 million people in Thailand have fallen ill from air pollution, a senior public health official said Thursday, adding that more than 200,000 people were hospitalized this week alone. A view of Bangkok amid air pollution at sunrise, March 7, 2023. [Subel Rai Bhandari/RFA] The PM2.5 level has been over 51 micrograms per cubic meter of air for more than three consecutive days in 15 provinces, which has begun to affect the peoples health, Opart Karnkawinpong, Thailands public health secretary, told reporters in Bangkok. PM2.5 are hazardous airborne particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, which is about 30 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair. They can cause severe health problems, including respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. The PM2.5 levels are higher this year compared to last two years partly because there was less travel due to the pandemic, resulting in less pollution, Opart added. Alliya Moun-Ob, an air pollution campaigner for Greenpeace Thailand, said the number of people who are sick due to air pollution is scary and perhaps the worst we have seen so far. We could see mountains in Chiang Mai but cant see them anymore. In Bangkok, tall buildings are lost in the smog, she told Radio Free Asia, a news service affiliated with BenarNews, on Friday. Its the post-COVID back-to-normal situation. That is why it is particularly bad this year for Thailand. Also, there is less rain this year compared to last. One of the worst in Southeast Asia Thailand ranks second in exposure to air pollution among Southeast Asian countries, according to the World Health Organizations State of Global Air report. Alliya said Thailand competes with Indonesia each year to take the top spot for air pollution. Typically, Thailands air quality deteriorates during the dry season, between December and April, due to forest fires and farmers burning their fields to remove the waste. Thai government officials and environmentalists say that open burning combined with vehicle exhaust and industrial emissions make perfect conditions for toxic smog. Somporn Chantara, the head of the Environmental Science Research Center at Chiang Mai University, said this years very poor air quality in the north is caused by the extensive burning in the region in the agricultural areas and the forest of Thailand and in neighboring countries. This years air pollution season saw a record amount of burning across the region, she said, referring to Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia. On Thursday, Prayuth asked farmers to stop burning agricultural waste altogether after imposing a three-month ban on burning last month. Please, I dont want to use the laws. If its used, you all will be breaking it. I dont want anyone to be in trouble, but you must think about the quality of life of others and their health too, he said. In 2019, Prayuths government declared tackling PM2.5 a top national priority and issued a detailed five-year smog management masterplan. I just looked at it today. Just about 20 out of more than 60 action plans have been implemented in four years, Alliya said. Nothing has been done to tackle industrial pollution, including corn cultivation that amounts to about one-third of toxic air emissions in the hot spot areas. Back to wearing masks again Thailand lifted the COVID-19 masking mandate in June, but many Thais have taken to wearing masks again due to air pollution. I was beginning to enjoy the fresh air without masks, but the last few weeks have been horrible with pollution, Ploy Bunnag, a university student in Bangkok, told RFA on Friday. This week was one of the worst I can remember. I could even feel the toxic air in my throat. A morning view of air pollution in the Sathorn neighborhood of Bangkok, March 10, 2023. [Subel Rai Bhandari/RFA] Chiang Mai, a popular tourist city in the north, was shrouded in unhealthy air on Friday afternoon, with its air quality ranked the second worst in the world, according to IQAir, a Swiss company that monitors the worlds 100 major cities air quality in real-time. Beijings air was the worst. Yangon was third and Bangkok was fourth. Thailand Air Quality and Noise Management Bureaus situation report showed a 246 AQI (Air Quality Index) reading, a very unhealthy level, at a station in Chiang Mai at 2 p.m. on Friday. The central province of Sukhothai had the worst reading in the country with 251 AQI, primarily due to agricultural burning, while most of Bangkok showed unhealthy levels above 101. Assanee Buranupakorn, Chiang Mais mayor, said the haze issue negatively impacts peoples health and significantly influences local tourism and the economy. One strategy in Chiang Mai is to keep an eye out for open burning, which resulted in numerous hotspots this year, Assanee told RFA. He said they have also asked owners of the citys 17 high-rise buildings to help spray water from the rooftops to help trap smoke and dust and add moisture to the air. The World Health Organization has recommended that average annual readings of PM2.5 should be no more than 5 micrograms per cubic meter. IQ Air said Thailands reading was 20.2 micrograms per cubic meter in 2021. According to the WHOs State of Global Air report, air pollution was among the top 10 reasons for death in Thailand in 2019, accounting for nearly 8% of all deaths (more than 41,000 cases), with PM2.5 ranked as the top risk for such deaths. Kunnawut Boonreak of BenarNews, in Chiang Mai, Thailand, contributed to this report. A U.S. AH-64 Apache attack helicopter swoops in during a live-fire drill at the conclusion of the Cobra Gold exercise in Lop Buri province, Thailand, March 10, 2023. To the sounds of exploding bombs and crackle of gunfire, more than 600 U.S., Thai, Indonesian, Malaysian and Singaporean troops took part Friday in a live-ammunition drill as the Cobra Gold 2023 joint exercises wrapped up in Thailand. The drill in Lop Buri province capped off the two-week program of joint exercises that brought together nearly 10,000 military personnel and representatives from 28 countries, including rival superpowers China and the U.S. Gen. Chalermphon Srisawasdi, the Thai Armed Forces chief, and Maj.-Gen. Stephen G. Smith, commander of the U.S. Armys 7th Infantry Division, presided over the Cobra Gold 2023 closing ceremony at the Artillery Center, Phatthana Nikhom district, Lopburi province and observed the Combined Arms Live Fire Exercise (CALFEX), according to a joint statement. About 6,000 troops from the U.S. the largest contingent in a decade participated in the 42nd iteration of Cobra Gold, the Indo-Pacific regions largest combined military exercise, amid growing rivalry between Beijing and Washington. China sent 21 troops but they did not take part in combat drills. The Chinese personnel joined troops from India and Australia in performing humanitarian projects such as constructing multi-purpose buildings for schools and disaster relief training, officials said. Thai soldiers stand by to greet their superiors as the Cobra Gold 2023 exercise comes to a close in Lop Buri, Thailand, March 10, 2023. [Nontarat Phaicharoen/BenarNews] The exercises had been scaled down over the previous three years because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, the U.S. sent less than 1,300 troops to the exercises, which drew a total of less than 3,500 participants. During the final drill on Friday morning, Thai and U.S. armored fighting vehicles fired at simulated targets in a training ground. In addition, the live-fire exercise featured fly-by maneuvers by F-16 fighter-jets, Apache helicopters, as well as the firing of howitzer field guns. The drill also included high-altitude high-opening (HAHO) parachute drops, officials said. This years edition of Cobra Gold began on Feb. 28 with various drills staged in Lop Buri, Chanthaburi, Sa Kaeo and Rayong provinces. The exercise allows for the exchange of military know-how, doctrine, and technology, and has broadened the experience of Thai and allied forces in joint and multilateral operations, according to the joint statement issued on Friday. This reflects our commitment to elevating cooperation and our relationships with participating nations to safeguard the stability and mutual interests of the region. However at the start of the exercise, an American Army officer, Major Andrew Cotter, died of what appeared to be natural causes. Cotter, an operations officer for 17th Field Artillery Thunderbolt Brigade, I Corps, stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state, was found unresponsive on a bathroom floor in Thailand on Feb. 28 while on temporary duty for the Cobra Gold exercise, U.S. military officials said. Emotions are a way of cueing people into what is going on in their spirit. God gave people emotions, in part because humans are made in His image, and He has emotions. God displayed emotions many times in the Bible including but not limited to: I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you (Jeremiah 31:3b). Thus shall my anger spend itself, and I will vent my fury upon them and satisfy myself. And they shall know that I am the Lord that I have spoken in my jealousy when I spend my fury upon them (Ezekiel 5:13). Seeing the people, [Jesus] felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:36). Emotions are so important that God even gave animals emotions. They love, mourn, and even care about one another. While emotions do come from God, the influence of sin in the world means that people have sinful emotions, misplaced ones, or their emotions are appropriately placed but the way they act on them is ungodly. In people, an emotion begins as an instinctive response to a situation. As people mature, they can cultivate their emotions, focus more on some than others, and understand the nuances between different kinds of feelings. For example, God expresses anger in the Bible. Instinctively, people read anger as a bad emotion. Over time, by understanding context and through maturity, the Holy Spirit can help people see that God has righteous anger, something people also experience. Anger is a powerful emotion that can help people identify when a wrong has occurred. Righteous anger, or righteous indignation, is when anger is kindled against injustice, unfairness, or evil. Just like feeling anger in certain contexts can be appropriate, happiness or joy can be misplaced. If someone is jealous, and then takes pleasure in the downfall of the person they were jealous of, that is a sinful positive emotion. The prophet Jeremiah recorded, The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds (Jeremiah 17:9-10). While the heart of God is always good, aligned with righteousness, and is the source of all right emotions, the heart of man without the influence of God is always bent toward evil. Photo credit: Unsplash/Jamie Brown The Bible is the supreme source of our history, yet it does not include every fact about certain events and rulers who played a role in Gods redemptive history, which is the core of the Bible. We can research history and find theres always a link to what God was doing in that era. Tied alongside the biblical chronicles are reputable extra-biblical sources which give facts about people mentioned in the Bible. For example, Josephus (37/38 BC-AD 100) served such a capacity to add to the richness of Gods New Testament narrative. He wrote Antiquities of the Jews, and biblical scholars use his accounts for knowledge about the New Testament age. What is added to biblical records about the Old Testament period can be found in the records and inscriptions of different dynasties and by ancient historians acting with a rulers court. We have implicit and explicit information about Xerxes from the book of Esther, but the extra-biblical archives aid our understanding about this man and how God used him. Herodotus (490-425 BC) was one such historian who included Xerxes in his writings. Who Was King Xerxes? Xerxes served as a king of Persia during the Achaemenid dynasty. Born about 519 BC, Xerxes reigned in Persia from 486-465 BC He died in Persepolis in 465. Xerxes succeeded his father, Darius I, as king. As Britannica says, for a time he ruled the mightiest power in the ancient world. King Xerxes was around thirty-five years old when he began his reign and had ruled the satrap of Babylonia for over ten years. Xerxes notoriety as a leader stems from his vast offensive against Greece (480 BC). His defeat hastened the deterioration of the Achaemenian Empire. After that defeat, Xerxes retired to Susa and Persepolis. Xerxes depleted his amassed resources with a huge building program that contained an enormous audience hall, a palace, a treasury, and monuments. His projects initiated the growth of gigantic and ostentatious building endeavors. As a man, Xerxes was known to be one of the most disreputable Persian kings. He carried a reputation for cruel punishments, womanizing, and, as we saw, emptying the assets of the empire for his lavish lifestyle and building projects. As an example of Xerxes cruelty, Edd Hodsdon, of the Canterbury Archaeological Trust writes, To build his army for the Greek invasion, King Xerxes enforced conscription throughout his empire. Among those conscripted were the five sons of Pythias, a Lydian governor. Pythias requested that his eldest son be allowed to remain as his heir. Xerxes took offense, believing that Pythias doubted the success of the invasion. He reportedly had Pythias son cut in half, displayed the corpse on either side of the road, and marched the army between the grisly markers. In a play, The Persians by the Greek playwright Aeschylus, Xerxes is characterized as an extremely prideful man. Are Xerxes and Ahasuerus the Same Person? The name Ahasuerus is derived from ancient Hebrew (hasweros) and seems to represent the old Persian language which rendered it as Xsayarsa. The Greeks, under Darius I, translated Ahasuerus as Xerxes (Herodotus 7.2-3). Most translations use Ahasuerus, the name closest to the ancient Hebrew (ESV, KJV, NKJV, CSB, NASB, etc.) The NIV and NLT use the Greek translation, Xerxes. Note that the NIV and NLT are dynamic equivalence translations (thought-for-thought), as opposed to the more literal (word-for-word) ESV, NASB, etc. Where Do We See Xerxes in the Bible? The first mention of Xerxes is in Ezra 4:6, noted as king of Persia when accusations flew from enemies of Judah and Benjamin against the Jews regarding the rebuilding of the Temple. Other than a major role in the book of Esther, Xerxes is mentioned in Daniel 9:1 as the father of Darius of Babylon. The text says he was a Mede by descent. In the book of Esther, whose probable authors include Mordecai, Ezra, or Nehemiah, Xerxes plays a prominent role. At the time of Esther, Xerxes ruled from Susa, and thats where we meet him. In his third year as king, he hosted a huge six-month long banquet for his military leaders, princes, and other nobles. Xerxes displayed the vast wealth of his kingdom and the splendor and glory of his majesty (Esther 1:4). After that party ended, a seven-day banquet commenced for all the people from the least to the greatest who were in the citadel of Susa (Esther 1:5). To say Xerxes boasted an opulent display is an understatement (Esther 1:6-8), and the beverages flowed liberally, as much as each person desired. Enter Queen Vashti, who gave a comparable banquet for the women in the royal palace (Esther 1:9). On the seventh day of the second banquet, Xerxes commanded Queen Vashti be brought to him, wearing her royal crown, in order to display her beauty to the people and nobles, for she was lovely to look at (Esther 1:11). The general consensus among biblical scholars is King Xerxes wanted her to be brought in naked before his guests. Whatever the case, Queen Vashti refused and the king became furious and burned with anger (Esther 1:12). Xerxes followed cultural tradition and consulted his experts in law and justice about what must happen to Queen Vashti for her impertinence (remember, they were dealing with a megalomaniac). His advisors told him she must be removed from her position because other women may mimic her behavior. Xerxes issued an irrevocable edict stating Vashti could never again appear before him. Later, the king thought of Vashti and her disloyal act. His personal attendants suggested a kingdom-wide search be made for beautiful young virgins for the king, and had them brought to Susa to be prepared for a review of worthiness by the kings eunuch (Esther 2:1-4). One of the young women chosen was Hadassah (also known as Esther), the cousin of Mordecai, a Benjamite and relative of the first king of Israel, Saul (1 Samuel 9:1). Mordecai was one of the exiles taken to Babylon, and he raised Esther after her parents died. Esther, forbidden by Mordecai to reveal her nationality and family background, was taken to Susa along with other women and was placed under the care of the kings eunuch, Hegai. Hegai found her most pleasing and assigned Esther to the best place in the harem. Mordecai kept a close watch on her from the courtyard of the harem. Only after twelve months of beauty treatments could a member of the harem be presented to the king. If he was pleased with a woman, she received an invitation back. Esther won the favor of the king because he was attracted to her more than the other women and Xerxes made her his queen. Once again, Xerxes held a banquet, this time in Esthers honor, and he proclaimed a holiday and generously distributed gifts. Meanwhile, Mordecai, while sitting at the kings gate, overheard a conspiracy to assassinate King Xerxes. He told Esther, who told the king and gave credit to Mordecai (Esther 2:22). Xerxes responded by investigating and then having the two conspirators impaled on poles. Xerxes, for some unknown reason, decided to honor Haman the Agagite with a seat of honor higher than that of all the other nobles (Esther 3:1), and all were to bow to him. But Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor (Esther 3:2). He refused to honor Haman and, when questioned, told the royal officials he was a Jew. Mordecais behavior enraged Haman, and instead of just targeting him, Haman sought a way to eradicate all Mordecais people (Esther 3:6). Haman proved to be a sly man and spun a tale to King Xerxes that piqued the kings pride. He told Xerxes it was best for him to not tolerate the Jews, for they do not obey the kings laws (Esther 3:8). Haman offered money to the king, but Xerxes sloughed it off and said, Keep the money and do with the people as you please (Esther 3:11). The king bowed to Hamans wishes and issued an edict to destroy, kill, or annihilate all the Jews young and old, women and children on a single day (Esther 3:13). When Mordecai learned of it, he enlisted Esthers help. In Xerxes court, a woman (even the queen) could only go before the king if he summoned her. But Esther asked the Jews to fast for her for three days, and only after that did she approach the king. Esther donned her royal robes and stood outside the kings hall. King Xerxes, because he was pleased with her, bid her come to him by extending his gold scepter (Esther 5:2). He was so taken with her he told her hed give her anything, up to half the kingdom (Esther 5:3). Knowing by now how King Xerxes liked to be made much of, Esther hosted a few banquets for the king, pleasing him and setting Haman up. After two banquets and a fully pleased king, the subdued sycophant, Haman, went to his home and consulted with his family and friends about how to eliminate Mordecai. They suggested he set up a pole upon which to impale Mordecai and it would be ready when Haman asked the king to kill him. That night, however, Xerxes had insomnia and had the record of his reign brought to him and he discovered the account of Mordecai unveiling the plot to murder him. He inquired if Mordecai had been honored and once he found he had not (Esther 6:1-11), he ordered Haman the next morning to bestow upon Mordecai all the honors Haman thought he himself was to receive (Esther 6:1-11). Xerxes, it appears, lavished all sorts of honor and gifts on those who honored him. Haman was grieved and in the midst of complaining to his wife and friends, was whisked off to the banquet prepared by Esther. Esther had presented the king with the promise of a request once the banquets were complete. On the second day, she revealed her national identity and told the king, I and my people have been sold to be destroyed, killed, and annihilated (Esther 7:4). Because the king so highly favored Esther, he became livid and asked who the perpetrator was. Esther pointed to Haman and said, An adversary and enemy! This vile Haman! The king left the room in a rage and when he returned, found Haman pleading with Esther and falling on her couch. Xerxes protected his property, and when he witnessed Haman in this position, he said, Will he even molest the queen while she is with me in the house? (Esther 7:8). Hamans crafty move took a deathly turn toward his own demise and King Xerxes had Haman impaled on the very pole he erected for Mordecai. The king went even further and had Hamans ten sons impaled on poles. King Xerxes was moved by Esthers peoples plight, which infers he had compassion, yet he could not revoke his edict against the Jews. He did, however, issue another which stated the Jews could defend themselves and do exactly to their attackers what the first edict said would happen to the Jews. It was a time of celebration and it became the feast of Purim, a Jewish national holiday still observed to this day. Mordecai became a man of importance in King Xerxes court and his account was included in the annals of the kings of Media and Persia (Esther 10). What Happened to Xerxes? Xerxes was assassinated in 465 B.C. (along with his oldest son) by members of his court, and his minister, Artabanus was one of the assassins. One of his other sons retained power as Artaxerxes I. God is not mentioned in the book of Esther, but He is truly all in it because this is an account of His people and their preservation by God working through the actions of a gentile king. This is Gods Word, and it is true. Photo credit: Getty Images/tomertu Lisa Loraine Baker is the multiple award-winning author of Someplace to be Somebody. She writes fiction and nonfiction. In addition to writing for the Salem Web Network, Lisa serves as a Word Weavers mentor and is part of a critique group. She also is a member of BRRC. Lisa and her husband, Stephen, a pastor, live in a small Ohio village with their crazy cat, Lewis. 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 Frank Tanser, a leading scientist in HIV research based at Stellenbosch University, has been awarded a R40m grant over five years from the US National Institutes of Health to design future HIV-prevention strategies for severely affected rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa. Source: Facebook. Frank Tanser, a leading South African scientist in the field of HIV, has joined the Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation (CERI) as director of population health innovation. He receives this award in the capacity as director of population health innovation at the universitys centre for epidemic response and innovation in the School for Data Science and Computational Thinking. The research, entitled The changing face of HIV in the era of Covid-19: Maximising HIV incidence reduction through dynamic targeting of current and future distributions of acquisition risk, will be used to inform the future implementation of HIV prevention programmes. Led by Stellenbosch University, the proposed research will involve scientists from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, the Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI), the University of Lincoln, the University of Heidelberg, the University of Washington, New York University, and the University of Cincinnati. We are extremely excited and honoured to have been awarded this grant from the NIH. Our HIV surveillance site in rural South Africa is one of the only settings in the world where we can measure dynamic changes in the burden of new HIV infections with a high degree of accuracy, says Tanser. SA a leader in managing this epidemic Kanshu Rajaratnam, head of the School for Data Science and Computational Thinking, adds: I would like to congratulate the team for securing this prestigious NIH grant. The findings of this work will be vital for designing future HIV prevention efforts, and South Africa can play a leading role in showing the world how this epidemic can be driven to low levels. Although Tansers recent research has shown that there has been a substantial reduction of 43% in new HIV infections in rural areas, events such as Covid-19 which disrupted HIV care could create shifts in the burden of unsuppressed viral load and new HIV infections. On the other hand, the shift to Dolutegravir-based regimens (a new antiretroviral medication to control HIV infection) in 2020 will likely further decrease rates of HIV incidence, and the team expects the median age of acquisition of HIV infection will shift to increasingly older age-groups. The HIV epidemic is rapidly changing and existing intervention strategies will therefore need to evolve to keep up with the changing dynamics of the epidemic. We have a fantastic team in place and Im confident that the findings from this work will allow us to take HIV-prevention strategies to the next level and ultimately to make a massive difference to local populations who are still at high risk of infection from this terrible disease, Tanser concludes. INMA Global Media Awards finalists have been revealed, with themes around health, reaching younger audiences, sports, climate change, the Ukrainian war, and the use of data focused on user engagement at the heart of the shortlist. The 2023 competition by the International News Media Association (INMA) garnered 775 entries from 239 news brands in 40 countries, with finalists hailing from Africa, Asia/Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and North America. Media24 made the list with Adspace 24: Swipe Cards and Catalogue and City press & Absa Money Make Over entries. Companies that dominated the INMA shortlist include Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. (BCCL), Jagran Prakashan, News Corp, Russmedia, and Schibsted. Leading the finalist list were entries from India (32), United States (22), Sweden (19), Norway (18), Austria and Australia (14 each), and Germany (12). In its 86th year of rewarding excellence in the news media industry, the 2023 INMA Global Media Awards include 20 categories across two segments national/international and regional. The categories focus on excellence in news brands, media features, product, subscriptions, advertising, newsrooms, and data and insights. One first place, second place, and third place will be awarded for each of the 20 categories within each segment. In some cases, judges may omit awards or advise additional awards. First-place winners, regional winners, and the global Best In Show will be unveiled on 26 May at the Harvard Club in New York, as the culmination of the INMA World Congress of News Media being held on 22-26 May. The Global Media Awards continue to shine a light on the best our industry has to offer, said Earl J. Wilkinson, INMA CEO and executive director. As past years have shown, these entries act as springboards for innovation across the globe. We are proud of the 2023 class of finalists. We cant wait to present awards in-person in New York for the first time in four years. Some 54 media experts from 20 countries judged the entries in February, evaluating on breakthrough results, unique concepts, strong creativity, innovative thinking, and winning synergies across platforms. The 775 entries in this years Global Media Awards competition are live on INMA.org in the associations Best Practices archive. Finalists may be viewed publicly, while all other entries are reserved exclusively for INMA members. INMA has 8,000+ best practices from the past decade of Global Media Awards competitions, sortable to finalists and winners, category, year, and country. Read the full list here. The Competition Tribunal has conditionally approved Heineken's proposed R40.1bn acquisition of South Africa's largest liquor firm Distell. In November 2021, Dutch brewing giant Heineken announced its intention to acquire control of Distell and Namibia Breweries Limited, which were to be combined with Heineken South Africa into a new Heineken majority-owned business called Newco. The deal will give Heineken a 65% shareholding in the new company, which will be headquartered in South Africa. The go-ahead from South Africa's Competition Tribunal marks the final regulatory approval, following those received from the Namibia Competition Commission, the Common Market of Eastern & Southern Africa and all other relevant jurisdictions. Shareholder elections are expected in two weeks and the transaction is expected to be implemented from April, Heineken said. Distell is Africa's largest producer and marketer of ciders, flavoured alcoholic beverages, wines and spirits, owning prominent brands including Savannah, Nederburg, Klipdrift, Amarula and Hunters Dry, while Namibia Breweries Limited is the beer market leader in Namibia with brands including Windhoek and Tafel. Through the creation of the enlarged regional entity Newco, it's expected that Heineken will be able to better compete with larger rival AB InBev, which owns SAB. "It paves the way for the creation of a regional African beverage champion," Heineken said in a statement. Heinekens CEO and chairman of the executive board Dolf van den Brink said: We are delighted the Competition Tribunal has approved the deal. We are very excited to bring together three strong businesses to create a regional beverage champion, with a unique multi-category offer to better serve consumers, customers and create shared societal value across southern Africa. "We are committed to being a strong partner for growth and making a positive impact in the communities in which we operate, and the proactive and comprehensive public interest package weve put forward is testament to that. Heineken said the approval gives the green light to an "ambitious package of public interest commitments", including ongoing business investment, broad-based Black economic empowerment, job creation, localisation and supplier development, talent development and contribution to the economic development of the region. Summary of conditions The Tribunal has imposed conditions to remedy the competition concerns related to the cider market in South Africa. According to the Tribunal, the merger would have resulted in a consolidation of the Strongbow brand with the Savanna brand and Hunters brand, and Heineken will therefore be required to divest of its local Strongbow business and brand to a licensee. "This licensee must have a majority shareholding by historically disadvantaged persons, the Tribunal said. Public interest-related conditions imposed by the Tribunal involve, among others, the establishment of an employee share ownership plan that introduces shareholding, voting rights and board representation for employees. The merged group is also expected to make employment commitments to reduce the number of potential retrenchments in South Africa. Furthermore, the Tribunal has imposed enterprise, supplier development and other conditions aimed at promoting Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment. The Tribunal also laid out conditions to address "allegations relating to human rights abuses such as the abuse of workers and sexual harassment" raised by witnesses during the Tribunal hearing. Heineken is expected to provide for "an investigation into the allegations, an audit of working conditions on farms and commitments to human rights standards for workers including, for example, the provision of adequate sanitation facilities in the vineyards for workers", the Tribunal said. A full list of approval conditions can be found on the Competition Tribunal's website. Corporate and government affairs lead for sub-Saharan Africa at Mondelez International Navisha Bechan-Sewkuran celebrates 10 years in the company and 22 years as a communications specialist. Navisha Bechan-Sewkuran. Source: Supplied. Bechan-Sewkuran is responsible for internal and external communications, public and government affairs, as well as corporate social investment across the business. She is a member of the SSA business unit leadership team, and the AMEA corporate and government affairs leadership team. Increasing responsibilities During her decade, she has filled a variety of roles in the business, taking on increasing responsibilities and getting involved in many regional and global projects. I have had the most incredible experience over the past 10 years. My roles have been very dynamic, and I have been fortunate to be able to work with extraordinary colleagues in South Africa, Africa and globally, says Bechan-Sewkuran. She adds that she has loved working for a company that has many legacy brands she enjoyed as a child such as Chappies. She comments: I work for a business with the most wonderful product categories and legacy brands. Many of us can talk about how we grew up reading the Did You Know? on the Chappies wrapper or sharing a Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate with family and friends." "For me, my fondest memories of the business are the legendary television commercials I grew up with from Cadbury LunchBars Makatini, to the baby and daddy Cadbury Chomp hippos, and who can forget Cadbury Dairy Milks Glass and a Half? These memories make working for Mondelez International all the more special. Through her work she has had the opportunity to work on community projects that she takes pride in. My highlight over the past 10 years has been the ability to see the impact we are making on our communities, both in South Africa through our community program called Health in Action, and through our global programs such as Cocoa Life. Through our Health in Action Programme, we have managed to positively impact the health of over 500,000 children in at-risk communities by focusing on educating them in nutrition, giving them access to fresh foods, and ensuring that they lead active lifestyles, says Bechan-Sewkuran. But she has also faced challenges during her tenure including the Covid-19 pandemic. She adds: As a business, one of our values relates to 'agility over perfection'. This value allows me to navigate the multiple external challenges we face on a regular basis. From changing regulations in markets across sub-Saharan Africa; to a global health crisis, being able to adapt and change course allows for solutions to be found to the many external challenges we face. Change and adaption With more than 22 years of experience in the PR and communications space, Bechan-Sewkuran has witnessed a lot of change. In the corporate space, theres been cyclic shifts between organisations going from needing specialists to generalists within corporate affairs. Early in my career, jobs were segmented, and I saw roles focused on internal communication and external communication. Then I saw the requirement for a generalist one person who was able to cover all aspects of corporate communications, she says. She adds that communication specialists now gain an edge when they are well-versed in government affairs. As regulatory environments evolve, so too, does the need for communication professionals to be able to interact and influence in that space. Similarly, as professionals, we are also needing to ensure that we are well versed in ESG (environmental, social and governance) and be able to not only report and share our business stories within this space, but also to be able to advise and direct business decisions in this regard too, says Bechan-Sewkuran. She says young people who want to follow her footsteps need to know that teamwork is important. No task that you need to do is too big or too small for you we all work in relatively small teams and we need to support each other in order to win as a collective. Remain humble in all that you do, whomever you interact with; and above all, use your skills for the greater good, concludes Bechan-Sewkuran. Inverroche, the distiller of a unique range of luxury craft gins infused with fynbos from the Cape floral kingdom, has handed over a cheque for R50,000 to Stilbaai Animal Protection, a charity based in Stilbaai, Western Cape. The donation follows a linked promotion for Inverroche's limited-edition Pioneers Collection, which was available from December 2022. The piquant, dry and spicy gin is presented exclusively at the Inverroche brand home in Stilbaai to celebrate the appointment of the brand's new distillery master, Andrea Francis. Andrea Francis, Inverroche master distiller Francis, who is one of the few female distillers of colour in South Africa, created this unique flavour experience by infusing fynbos botanicals with a classically styled gin and mellowing it in American oak casks that had previously been used to mature Inverroches ten-year-old rum. A new edition to the Pioneers Collection, it embodies the spirit of the brands female leaders. There were only 1,500 bottles available, each individually wrapped and accompanied by a handwritten letter from Andrea. Francis is one of Inverroches success stories. She started off as a part-time employee and became so interested in the range and its brand positioning that she was soon promoted to brand consultant. Her journey did not end there, of course. Showing a keen interest in the gin-making process, she later became an assistant distiller and today holds the position of master distiller. A new edition to the Pioneers Collection, it embodies the spirit of the brands female leaders. When we launched Pioneers Collection, we made a commitment to donate a portion of the proceeds to an animal shelter in Stilbaai, says Lorna Scott, the founder and CEO. We did this in keeping with our brand ethos of sharing our successes with the community in which we live and operate. We also wanted to celebrate Andreas extraordinary achievement. The donation to Stillbaai Animal Protection was handed over at a special media event, held at Inverroches brand home on Tuesday, 7 March 2023. Guests were treated to a tasting of the Pioneers Collection, which was accompanied by a selection of delicious canapes. Both Scott and Francis were on hand to answer questions about the collection, the Inverroche range and the brands corporate social investment programme. L-R: Elaine Hardy from Stilbaai Animal Protection, Andrea Francis, Inverroche master distiller, and Lorna Scott, founder of Inverroche Gin Stillbaai Animal Protection is run by passionate and devoted animal lovers who stand together to assist and improve the lives of animals in need. Elaine Hardy Stilbaai Animal Protection field worker, the organisations spokesperson, conveyed that: It was both a privilege and an honour to have been invited to attend the ceremony at the Inverroche Distillery where Lorna shared the ongoing story of the companys success and progress over the years. At the same time, we were completely overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity that accompanies a donation of this magnitude from the Inverroche team. The financial assistance given today affords us the opportunity to consider taking on a project that would be outside of our financial reach, so it is both exciting and challenging to have the opportunity to look outside of the box to see how we can invest this generous offer to the best advantage of the fur babies of Stilbaai, and its surrounds. Andrea Francis says this donation goes right to the heart of the Inverroche brand to support a cause like this. We host 15,000 guests at our brand home every year, she says. We want to offer them exclusive products that are an expression of who we are and the environment we call home. We also want to contribute in a meaningful way to our community. Its an essential aspect of our ethos. Follow @Inverroche on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter for regular updates. Thousands of migrant children seeking refuge in South Africa face hatred, harassment, and violence. As a wake up call to South Africa, and the world, advertising agency MullenLowe South Africa has created a commercial for NPO Save the Children that shows the horrifying realities of xenophobic behaviour. Indololwane, the word for elbow in isiZulu, is South Africas new pencil test for migrant children. The story created by MullenLowe South Africa sheds a glaring light upon one very loaded word: Indololwane, which in isiZulu means elbow. It is a word that was used in the early 1990s in South Africa, during the bloody conflicts between ANC members and IFP members in Gauteng and elsewhere. During those dark days, if you were not Zulu and were going to visit Natal, you were advised to remember this word because it would save your life, if ever you encountered IFP militants. The indololwane test made news again in 2008 when the Mail & Guardian ran an article headlined The 21st century pencil test Following violent xenophobic attacks in Alexandra (Gauteng) where migrants were blamed for crime and stealing jobs, the attacks spread across the country. According to the article, Ramaphosa settlement on Gautengs East Rand became one of the areas that witnessed inhumanity on an unthinkable level. The xenophobic attacks left 62 people dead, 1,700 injured and 100,000 displaced. On 24 May 2008, following more brutal attacks, an incident was reported where a Zimbabwean woman was attacked by the marauding mobs. They took her money, her passport and asked her what elbow is in Zulu. She did not know. Seven years later, on 11 April 2015, xenophobic violence erupted again. Extending from KwaZulu-Natal to Gauteng it resulted in seven deaths the victims were both foreigners and South Africans. In October of the same year, similar attacks were reported in Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape, where more than 500 people were displaced. In 2019, another story broke out in the news: indololwane was being used to discriminate against African migrants and their children. They were being denied access to healthcare, education, and other essential public services in South Africa. With the re-emergence of xenophobic sentiment in South Africa in recent years, a Daily Maverick article, published on 5 September 2022, noted: Attacks or incidents of xenophobia are becoming more frequent and immigrant children are hyperaware that, at any given moment, their family could be next. Lwandile Fikeni, creative director, MullenLowe South Africa, explains the impetus behind the commercials: Taking from the emergence of indololwane and its current use, our story portrays the parents of migrant children teaching them how to pronounce the loaded word, for it might save their lives. The fear that these parents must live with each day is shown in the agony, stress, and frustration as their children get the word wrong every single time. NPO Save the Children is asking for help: help us protect migrant children facing discrimination. Banele Senatla, Save the Children South Africa campaigns manager, says: We want to make it clear that this story is not aimed at pointing a finger at a specific group or identity. Our intention is to bring awareness around what is being done in our name, in our languages, and in our culture. It is the instrumentalisation of our painful history to achieve sinister ends that the work seeks to expose and to rebuke. Senatla explains that putting the commercials in the public domain was a decision that was heavily considered. It is an uncomfortable truth, one which is not preferable to a comfortable lie that may have devastating consequences for us all, including our children. Migrant children across South Africa face discrimination every day. Help us protect them by supporting our work. Save the children, #togetherwecan https://www.savethechildren.org.za/ The overall Creative Circle Best of 2022 agencies are first, Ogilvy SA, followed by Joe Public United and then Grey/WPP Liquid. The winning agencies in the annual overall ranking for performance in award shows endorsed by the Creative Circle are Joe Public United, then Ogilvy SA, and third Grey/WPP Liquid. Source: Web Tickets Web Tickets The Creative Circle Best of 2022 have been announced To get to the overall agency and group rankings of the year, all the awards that each agency has won across the One Show, D&AD, Cannes, Loeries and the CC Best of 2022 award shows are added up. The Creative Circle Best of 2022 awards were announced and celebrated at an event at Katys Palace in Johannesburg earlier this evening. The Creative Circle Best of 2022 is about celebrating the work that has come out of the past year and inspiring the industry to keep raising the creative bar in the year to come. The judges look at all the Creative Circle Monthly Award winners throughout the year and award the best work from each category, says says Roanna Williams, chairperson of the Creative Circle. Work across humour, purpose and craft This year was filled with work that swept across humour, purpose and craft. In film, there was a lot of tasty fried chicken. First place was served to KFCs Anything for the taste. A hugely entertaining and beautifully directed film that showcased the product and the KFC stores across the country, in full glory. Proof that product can be the hero. Chicken Licken came second sharing some very insightful nuggets of wisdom with South Africa. Radio turned up the volume, as it often does with some exceptional and very fresh work from Nandos StuuStuuStuu campaign who took the spotliggggggggggght. "This work really embraced the medium effectively both from a script and audio perspective. It was also written in one of South Africas Mzansi languages and as a result, it scooped up the win in Creative Circles new category: Mzataal, says Williams. The Mzataal category StuuStuuStuu is a campaign that delivers an earworm in the best possible way. The Mzataal has been introduced as a new Creative Circle Best of Year category with the aim of inspiring more vernacular work across any medium. Because one of the Creative Circles key ambitions is to inspire transformation of the work, we felt that the introduction of a category that celebrates Mzansi languages should be introduced, explains Williams. This year the jury panel only awarded a first place, as the category is very new. But next year we look forward to seeing a very big and diverse array of more Mzataal contenders. This category is one to win! says Williams. Print addresses some real problems Print surprised with some pieces that addressed real problems in South Africa. No longer is print just being used as a static visual medium but is being used to impact change. Hats off to Afrisam & Blackstudios Plan(a) that scooped up first place with its idea that builds a nation, by helping a nation build. Second place was Standard Banks Priceless print that opened the art world to the nation. Digital: making an impression, but no innovation Digital made an impression, with the judges searching for pieces that used the medium innovatively. Gugu for Savanna, took the lead, with the panel laughing out loud. This was an idea that really spun technology local. No awards and some confusion Live did not quite live up to expectations. No awards were awarded in this category. PR & Media incited some debate as there seems to be some confusion between what makes a great PR campaign and an integrated campaign that has scale. Some key learnings from the jury are that your idea needs to be both creative and newsworthy and present something worth listening to. It needs to capture an audience based on a compelling message and storytelling rather than just advertising with reach. Checkers Sixty60s Tinder Swindler scored the highest in this category for successfully managing to tap into culture, and deliver talkability and scalability, all for the benefit of the customer. Congratulations to all the winning work and to each and every hard-working and passionate individual that makes them happen. A special thank you to our sponsors SAB for their continued support, as well as the brave clients that believe in the power of creative, impactful and effective campaigns, says Roanna Williams, chairperson of the Creative Circle. Creative Circle best campaigns 2022 Economists have very recently predicted that South Africa has a 45% risk of entering into a recession. Such a recession would come at the worst time for the country's economic recovery. The many businesses that are in survival mode and the employees who have been under the constant threat of job losses occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic and the adverse effects of load shedding will be the primary casualties. Image source: Andriy Popov 123RF.com Should a recession of this magnitude indeed be experienced, sadly, employers will most probably need to embark on huge retrenchment exercises in order to protect the job security of the majority of their workforce and the fiscal sustainability of their business operations. Below, we outline some basic historic lessons from the courts on the laws surrounding retrenchments. Operational requirements It must be noted that a retrenchment can only be embarked upon for genuine operational requirements. This means for economic, technological, structural or similar reasons. It is important to note that, in any restructuring exercise, there is only a duty to consult which does not extend to a duty to negotiate this is an important distinction to be drawn and impacts significantly on employers and employees rights. The most common mistake employers make is to confront unions or their employees with a fait accompli this means that the notice of retrenchment generally incorrectly refers to the employers decision to retrench and an invitation to consult about the impact of the retrenchment only. It is necessary for unions and employees to also be afforded an opportunity to make proposals with regard to the employers decision to embark on a retrenchment exercise prior to any final decision made on retrenchment. Employers cannot utilise the retrenchment process to address or resolve issues relating to, for instance, poor performers or misconduct. Financial disclosure In addition, employers must consider the real rationale for a retrenchment, insofar as such a rationale will determine the likelihood of disclosure of financial information. Should any proposed retrenchment be based on economic reasons, there is a likelihood that disclosure of financial information will be required albeit in a confidentially protected environment, to the extent possible. Where employers are required to disclose financial information, they should implement the necessary measures to protect the confidentiality of this information. Any proposed retrenchments based on other grounds, such as the need to restructure, will ordinarily not require the disclosure of financial information, but may require the disclosure of other information relating to an employers operations. The next risk employers often face regards the selection criteria used to determine which employees are identified for retrenchment. Employers, in the absence of sound legal advice, often use a subjective selection criterion that can create further litigation and unnecessary workplace conflict. It is important that the selection criteria is not limited to only LIFO (last in, first out), and that it is agreed and/or applied objectively. An objective criterion may be used to retain the most suitably qualified employees, especially at a more senior level. Severance pay The payment of severance pay remains a contentious issue and employers are obliged to pay the minimum severance pay ie. one weeks remuneration for every completed year of service, or the minimum set out in a particular collective agreement. The practice is to pay more when the business is not financially distressed, but this is not a requirement. In this regard, it is important to note that the calculation of the severance pay is based on an employees remuneration which is the cost to company package of an employee. Employers are also encouraged, but not mandated, to consider offering retrenched employees training at designated or registered training institutions. This will assist retrenched employees to acquire further skills after their retrenchment. Needless to say, employers should generally make these contributions directly to a registered and accredited institution where retrenchees can access this opportunity. Employers should not embark on a retrenchment exercise as a mechanical checklist and should enter into a bona fide consultation process with the union, where relevant, or employees. This, inter alia, means that employers should carefully consider any proposals made by the unions or employees and, should they not accept these , provide reasons for the rejection. Lastly, where employers embark on a large-scale retrenchment, the process can be better managed and regulated when a facilitator has been appointed to oversee the consultation process. "Victoria Falls is more than a destination. It's an experience." An awe-inspiring experience to be exact. Standing at the edge of this - the largest waterfall in the world - would be to witness the incredible scene of 500 million litres of water cascading down the 1708m wide and 108m high drop every minute. Its not difficult to see and feel why the Falls are considered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to be one of the Seven Wonders Of The World, says Shaun Wheeler, general manager at Radisson Blu Mosi-Oa-Tunya, Livingstone Resort, which is based just a stones throw from these thundering falls. Aside from the sheer volume and power of the water exploding down the Victoria Falls Gorge, the pure natural beauty of the sprays, mists, and rainbows give a mystical quality to the Falls that is enhanced by the lush rainforests winding around it, and the abundant wildlife that call its surrounding areas home. They are astounding, and an experience that everyone should have the privilege of enjoying. So what makes Victoria Falls so unique and special? Soaked in ancient history The Falls are soaked in history, says Wheeler. Zambians call it Mosi-Oa-Tunya, which means smoke that thunders, for obvious reasons. Archaeological evidence suggests that people occupied the area around Victoria Falls dating back three million years, with stone artefacts and items discovered from the Middle and Late Stone Ages. This ancient history makes Victoria Falls a fascinating place to explore - never mind the more recent history of the first European to see the falls in 1855 - David Livingstone - who was so awestruck by their beauty that he proclaimed: No one can imagine the beauty of the view from anything witnessed in England. It had never been seen before by European eyes, but scenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight! This is largely where Radisson Blu Mosi-Oa-Tunya, Livingstone Resort takes its inspiration from. We wanted to create a space where guests from all over the world could come to, that would honour the incomparable look, feel and history of the Falls - and be just minutes away from its namesake, so visitors could get a taste of their beauty through the carefully crafted and structured details of the hotel, then experience the full glory of the Victoria Falls itself, shares Wheeler. And while most of the world calls it Victoria Falls - named by Livingstone after the British Monarch at the time, Queen Victoria - we chose to honour the age-old name by which it has been known for millions of years, in our hotels own name: Mosi-Oa-Tunya. Where rainforests flourish and moonbows hide Another reason why the Victoria Falls are so unique lies on the Zimbabwean side of the Falls - the only place on earth where it rains every single day of the year. The Victoria Falls Rainforest feels like a world of its own, says Wheeler, And there are the most incredible hidden gems for a visitor to explore. On the Zimbabwean side there are 16 viewing points, looking out across Devils Cataract to the Mail Falls, then extending to the Horseshoe Falls, Rainbow Falls, and finally crossing into Zambia with the Eastern Cataract. And the rainbows created by the sprays and mists in the daylight have an exquisite secret at night. On nights when the full moon is clear and bright, a lunar rainbow - called a moonbow - appears where the moonlight hits the Falls, explains Wheeler. This only happens in two places in the world - Cumberland Falls near Corbin, Kentucky, and our own Victoria Falls. Spectacular wildlife As you can imagine, Victoria Falls is a paradise for wildlife. Chacma baboons, vervet monkeys, banded mongooses, and warthog thrive in the lush vegetation fed by the Zambezi River and its powerful waterfall. Of course, being surrounded by multiple national parks - including Chobe National Park, Hwange National Park, Zambezi National Park, and of course the Mosi-Oa-Tunya National Park - the area is rich in wildlife sightings. We might not have the traditional big five, but guests will still be able to delight in seeing a wide variety of incredible animals such as lion, elephant, buffalo and rhino with tigers and cheetahs. We also have a smaller Big Five. The leopard tortoise, elephant shrew, rhino beetle, buffalo weaver and antlion are lords of the ground and are as integral a part of this magical eco-system as their larger counterparts, Wheeler notes. We are lucky to find ourselves in such a stunning natural setting, and we have taken every precaution to ensure that our hotel respects the environment in which we find ourselves. As part of our core values, we are committed to caring for our guests, our community and our planet alike.The Victoria Falls and the national parks that surround us are not only part of our sales pitch to potential guests, but its also part of who we are. And we love sharing this with all who come to visit, Wheeler concludes. Despite major global and local challenges, the South African poultry industry has been able to improve its slaughtering capacity by 15% from 19,5 million broilers per month to 22,5 million broilers per month over the past three years. Over the same period, the industry was able to grow from R56bn per annum to R59bn per annum. "This is fantastic because the sectors growth remained stagnant for a decade before the signing of the Poultry Sector Masterplan in 2019," Izaak Breitenbach, general manager of the broiler division of the South African Poultry Association (Sapa), told journalists during a virtual meeting. The significant growth rate was mainly due to investments in the industry. "The master plan had called for an investment of R1,5 billion to be concluded by 2022. However, South Africas poultry industry has already invested R1,8bn, with an additional R600m earmarked to be invested by the end of 2024." While Saoa was confident that the long-term outlook for the poultry sector was very good, the short-to-medium-term forecast was rather bleak, Breitenbach added. On the international front feed, prices skyrocketed due to reasons such as Russias invasion of Ukraine and drought in crucial grain-producing countries. Furthermore, avian influenza has crippled production across the globe. SAs global competitiveness In 2021 the South African broiler industry was able to improve its efficiencies in strides according to a competitiveness study that Dr Tracy Davids, manager of the commodity markets division of the Bureau of Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP), conducted over December 2022. BFAP compared the South African industry to other leading countries, including the Netherlands, Poland, Germany, the United States (US), and Brazil. Furthermore, the BFAP report tracked the evolution of the broiler industry from 2015 to 2021. While it must be acknowledged that Russias invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and the subsequent ongoing war in the Black Sea region has exacerbated many of the challenges faced by poultry producers globally, BFAPs assessment is based on information from 2021 and therefore does not include the influence of the war, Davids says. The team found that South Africa was able to improve its feed conversion ratio by 5,8% from 2017 to 2021, making it the most efficient producer, because it was able to achieve the lowest feed conversion ratio of all the countries in the sample. South African producers remain competitive and were shown to produce a kilogram of chicken meat at a lower cost relative to the European producers included in the sample, but also at a higher cost than leading exporters such as the US and Brazil. This difference in relation to Brazil and the US declined in 2021 relative to 2017, Davids says. Avian flu: A global challenge Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has decimated poultry flocks across the globe. Since February 2022, the US has culled 58 million birds due to outbreaks among chicken flocks, Breitenbach said, adding that this number was still rising as outbreaks are ongoing. In the EU, 37 countries had to cull a combined 50 million birds over the past year and outbreaks are also still being reported daily. The local industry also had to cull over three million birds last year. We need to keep in mind that these birds arent broilers, but breeding stock," Breitenbach said. Breeding stock are used as layers for the poultry industry and therefore the loss of parent stock has a greater implication with regards to replacement. Most recently, Argentina had to suspend exports recently after that country confirmed its first HPAI outbreak. "HPAI has a devastating effect on any countrys export and therefore the local poultry industry is waiting with bated breath to see what the impact of Argentinas suspended exports to South Africa will be," said Breitenbach. Globally there is agreement that a fundamental policy shift from culling towards vaccination was needed. "The problem with this policy shift isnt due to technical constraints, but rather international trade issues, Breitenbach said, due to countries' different stances about residues and other factors. "Locally all members of Sapa, as well as the South African Veterinarian Association (Sava) are in support of the idea that all flocks should be vaccinated, except those earmarked for exports. Sapa hopes to meet with the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) soon to discuss this shift in policy. The impact of load shedding Seventy KFC fast food restaurants were left without stock over December due to the national electricity providers decision to implement load shedding at stage 5 and higher. In general, load shedding has also directly increased the average input price for farmers to grow their birds by approximately 75c/kg. "Weve already seen many smaller producers go out of business," Breitenbach said. To address the issue, industry met with minister Thoko Didiza six weeks ago to discuss what industry, government and Eskom could do to address load shedding within the food sector due to a serious concern for food security and cost. A task team was called to life and after investigating the issue, they made two proposals. One entails relief in terms of taxes on diesel for electricity generation. The second relates to subsidies for the implementation of solar systems for solar houses. "While we are grateful for the rebates introduced by the finance minister during his budget speech, this is not within the reach of small farmers, who dont have access to financing for this level of debt," Breitenbach said. The Africa Tech4Democracy Venture Day, a competition for startups developing technologies that reinforce democratic principles and values, was held on 7 March at the HPI d-school building at the University of Cape Town's middle campus. Tech4Democracy is an IE University initiative in partnership with the US Department of State and with the strategic support of Microsoft. Trustur, from FloodGates Limited (Ghana), received the award for the best democracy-affirming startup in the continent. Trustur provides users with a verifiable and secure digital identity and promotes inclusion by simplifying access to government and other services. The other four finalists that pitched their innovations were Deaftouch (South Africa), Legal Standpoint (South Africa), Ongea na Demokrasia (Tanzania) and Uamuzi Foundation (Kenya). All finalists will receive up to $150,000 in Microsoft cloud credits, free productivity software and GitHub Enterprise access and mentoring from business and technical experts. Trustur secured a spot in the Tech4Democracy Global Final that will take place in Washington, DC during President Bidens Summit for Democracy at the end of March, where all the winners of the five continental Venture Days (Europe, South America, North America, Asia-Pacific and Africa) will compete for a monetary prize. Design-led thinking and human-centred design ... offers the world a tried and tested framework to work on the complex challenges and problems that we face. The jury was composed of a diverse group of experts from the entrepreneurship, academic and corporate sectors in Africa, namely: Andrew Bailey, senior manager: Innovation, University of Cape Town; Buntu Majaja, CEO, SA Innovation Summit; Zanyiwe Nthatisi-Asare, CEO, Digitally Legal; Richard Perez, founding director, Hasso Plattner School of Design Thinking Afrika, University of Cape Town; Vanessa Ramanjam, programme manager, Solutions Space, Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town; and Dikatso Sephoti, entrepreneurship consultant. During the event, Irene Blazquez, director of the Center for the Governance of Change at IE University, stressed: It is crucial to illustrate a democratic and liberal vision of technological development that upholds the values that explain us as a society. Richard Perez, founding director of the Hasso Plattner School of Design Thinking Afrika at the University of Cape Town, stated: It was a great honour to have played a role in this important initiative and to acknowledge our continents innovations. Design-led thinking and human-centred design, with its emphasis on empathy and collaboration alongside creativity and rigour, offers the world a tried and tested framework to work on the complex challenges and problems that we face. US Consul General Todd Haskell shared: The United States has made significant commitments to ensure technologies work for, not against, democracies. That is why the United States is working to expand access to technology that fills gaps and helps citizens, activists, lawyers and judges to work together to continue to build their democracies and hold their institutions accountable. The event also counted with the participation of Microsofts Digital Advisor Khaliq Dollie and a keynote address on how technology can reinforce democratic values by technology entrepreneur Melvyn Lubega, founder of the first South African unicorn. Staff busy on assembly line to catch overseas orders of new energy buses in Yutong, C China Xinhua) 09:26, March 10, 2023 A staff member assembles natural gas pipeline for a vehicle at a work shop of the new energy factory of Zhengzhou Yutong Bus Co., Ltd. in Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province, March 8, 2023. To catch orders, staff of the new energy factory of Yutong are busy on the assembly line. Since the beginning of this year, Yutong. who exported its bus to more than 30 countries and regions, has won many overseas orders. (Xinhua/Li An) A staff member assembles the door of a bus at a work shop of the new energy factory of Zhengzhou Yutong Bus Co., Ltd. in Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province, March 8, 2023. To catch orders, staff of the new energy factory of Yutong are busy on the assembly line. Since the beginning of this year, Yutong. who exported its bus to more than 30 countries and regions, has won many overseas orders. (Xinhua/Li An) A new energy bus is tested at the test site of Zhengzhou Yutong Bus Co., Ltd. in Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province, March 8, 2023. To catch orders, staff of the new energy factory of Yutong are busy on the assembly line. Since the beginning of this year, Yutong. who exported its bus to more than 30 countries and regions, has won many overseas orders. (Xinhua/Li Jianan) A staff member works at a work shop of the new energy factory of Zhengzhou Yutong Bus Co., Ltd. in Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province, March 8, 2023. To catch orders, staff of the new energy factory of Yutong are busy on the assembly line. Since the beginning of this year, Yutong. who exported its bus to more than 30 countries and regions, has won many overseas orders. (Xinhua/Li An) Staff members work at a work shop of the new energy factory of Zhengzhou Yutong Bus Co., Ltd. in Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province, March 8, 2023. To catch orders, staff of the new energy factory of Yutong are busy on the assembly line. Since the beginning of this year, Yutong. who exported its bus to more than 30 countries and regions, has won many overseas orders. (Xinhua/Li Jianan) Staff members work at a work shop of the new energy factory of Zhengzhou Yutong Bus Co., Ltd. in Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province, March 8, 2023. To catch orders, staff of the new energy factory of Yutong are busy on the assembly line. Since the beginning of this year, Yutong. who exported its bus to more than 30 countries and regions, has won many overseas orders. (Xinhua/Li Jianan) This aerial photo taken on March 8, 2023 shows a new energy bus being tested at the test site of Zhengzhou Yutong Bus Co., Ltd. in Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province. To catch orders, staff of the new energy factory of Yutong are busy on the assembly line. Since the beginning of this year, Yutong. who exported its bus to more than 30 countries and regions, has won many overseas orders. (Xinhua/Li Jianan) Staff members fix the door of a luggage compartment of a bus at a work shop of the new energy factory of Zhengzhou Yutong Bus Co., Ltd. in Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province, March 8, 2023. To catch orders, staff of the new energy factory of Yutong are busy on the assembly line. Since the beginning of this year, Yutong. who exported its bus to more than 30 countries and regions, has won many overseas orders. (Xinhua/Li An) A staff member works at a work shop of the new energy factory of Zhengzhou Yutong Bus Co., Ltd. in Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province, March 8, 2023. To catch orders, staff of the new energy factory of Yutong are busy on the assembly line. Since the beginning of this year, Yutong. who exported its bus to more than 30 countries and regions, has won many overseas orders. (Xinhua/Li An) Staff members work at a work shop of the new energy factory of Zhengzhou Yutong Bus Co., Ltd. in Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province, March 8, 2023. To catch orders, staff of the new energy factory of Yutong are busy on the assembly line. Since the beginning of this year, Yutong. who exported its bus to more than 30 countries and regions, has won many overseas orders. (Xinhua/Li Jianan) A staff member tests the engine of a bus at a work shop of the new energy factory of Zhengzhou Yutong Bus Co., Ltd. in Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province, March 8, 2023. To catch orders, staff of the new energy factory of Yutong are busy on the assembly line. Since the beginning of this year, Yutong. who exported its bus to more than 30 countries and regions, has won many overseas orders. (Xinhua/Li An) A staff member assembles interior trim for a vehicle at a work shop of the new energy factory of Zhengzhou Yutong Bus Co., Ltd. in Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province, March 8, 2023. To catch orders, staff of the new energy factory of Yutong are busy on the assembly line. Since the beginning of this year, Yutong. who exported its bus to more than 30 countries and regions, has won many overseas orders. (Xinhua/Li An) A staff member assembles interior trim for a vehicle at a work shop of the new energy factory of Zhengzhou Yutong Bus Co., Ltd. in Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province, March 8, 2023. To catch orders, staff of the new energy factory of Yutong are busy on the assembly line. Since the beginning of this year, Yutong. who exported its bus to more than 30 countries and regions, has won many overseas orders. (Xinhua/Li An) A staff member works at a work shop of the new energy factory of Zhengzhou Yutong Bus Co., Ltd. in Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province, March 8, 2023. To catch orders, staff of the new energy factory of Yutong are busy on the assembly line. Since the beginning of this year, Yutong. who exported its bus to more than 30 countries and regions, has won many overseas orders. (Xinhua/Li An) Staff members work at a work shop of the new energy factory of Zhengzhou Yutong Bus Co., Ltd. in Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province, March 8, 2023. To catch orders, staff of the new energy factory of Yutong are busy on the assembly line. Since the beginning of this year, Yutong. who exported its bus to more than 30 countries and regions, has won many overseas orders. (Xinhua/Li Jianan) (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan) Childrens Health Defense is funding a lawsuit by a D.C. mother alleging a doctor vaccinated two of her children for COVID-19 without her consent after falsely telling the teens the shots were required for school. The mother of two children who were given COVID-19 vaccines without the mothers consent is suing the doctor who administered the vaccines. An attorney representing NaTonya McNeil last week filed a lawsuit in Superior Court for the District of Columbia against Janine A. Rethy, M.D., M.P.H. According to the complaint, on Sept. 2, 2022, McNeil took her two older children, ages 15 and 17, to the KIDS Mobile Medical Clinic/Ronald McDonald Care Mobile clinic, operated by Georgetown Hospital, to complete their required annual physical exam for the 2022-2023 school year. The lawsuit alleges Rethy, director of the mobile clinic, held the children in the examination room longer than necessary for a regular check-up and vaccinated them against COVID-19 over their objections and without consulting their mother In order to attempt to obtain the childrens consent which they are not legally able to provide without a parent or guardian the doctor falsely informed the children the COVID-19 vaccine was mandatory for school attendance and told them they could not lawfully decline it if they wanted to attend school. The suit, filed by D.C. attorney Matthew Hardin, seeks damages for false imprisonment, battery and fraud. Childrens Health Defense (CHD) is financing the lawsuit because, according to CHD President and General Counsel Mary Holland, CHD couldnt just sit still and not allow this wrong to go unpunished and not bring this to the publics attention. In an exclusive conversation with The Defender, McNeil explained why she is suing the the doctor: I just feel like people shouldnt be able to do whatever they want to do to other people and especially not to children. As a mother, I feel like, You all just took all my rights away from me to do what you wanted to do to my kids. I do want justice to be done in this case. I feel like something needs to be done. This cant just continue to happen. I feel violated According to the complaint, Rethys stated goal is to vaccinate all children against COVID-19. The complaint quotes her statement to the press: Our goal is to increase vaccination rates in children here in D.C. For more than 30 years our role has been to be in the community to help address the problem of health disparities, bringing families care where they are. For this particular effort, we are glad to be partnering with DC Health to provide both regular childhood vaccines and COVID-19 vaccines to all children. In addition to her role as director of the mobile clinic, Rethy is chief of MedStar Georgetown University Hospitals Division of Community Pediatrics and assistant professor of pediatrics at Georgetown University School of Medicine. McNeil said that when she took her older children to the clinic, she stayed outside the examination room to care for her infant. As soon as the children entered the doctors office, she called her daughters cellphone to let Rethy know she was just outside the door if the doctor needed to consult her for anything. According to McNeil, the doctor did not ask or inform her about any vaccinations, and did not ask her to sign anything. At the end of the physical, Rethy came out to talk to her. McNeil said the doctor explained her sons asthma treatment plan, but thats all they discussed. As they were heading home, McNeil said she was shocked when her daughter complained that her arm hurt pretty bad. When McNeil asked her why it hurt, her daughter said she was given the COVID-19 shot, even though she told the doctor she didnt want it. When McNeil asked her why she allowed the doctor to administer the shot, her daughter said: When she had the needle in her hand and she was coming towards me, I backed up and I asked her what is that needle, and she said it was the COVID shot and I told her I didnt want it and she said, Well it is mandatory, you have to get it in order to go to school. Rethy allegedly administered the shot to her daughter, and then to her son. McNeil said: Hes 14 and he said they didnt even ask him if he wanted it or not, but when they gave it to him, he said he thought he had to get it because his sister got it. According to the complaint, both children received the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, authorized for emergency use, and the meningococcal vaccine. Her son was also injected with TDaP. Both children were upset and angry they had been coerced into vaccination, the complaint says. No school mandate, despite what clinic and doctor alleged When she got home, McNeil said she called the doctors office, and asked them why they vaccinated her children without her consent. I would have never consented to you all vaccinating my children, she said. Im not vaccinated and Im not getting vaccinated and my kids were never supposed to be vaccinated for COVID period, under no circumstances. She said the person on the phone said they were supposed to get them for school. After hanging up, McNeil said she was so irritated I even started crying because she couldnt believe they put this poison into her childrens bodies. In July 2022, D.C. public schools imposed a vaccine mandate for schoolchildren ages 12 and up for the 2022-2023 school year. But on Aug. 26, just weeks after imposing the mandate, officials walked it back, postponing it until 2023. That means when McNeils children saw the doctor, there was no school vaccine mandate in place, despite what the Rethy allegedly told the children. The age of consent The District of Columbia in March 2021 enacted the D.C. Minor Consent for Vaccination Amendment Act of 2020 (D.C. Minor Consent Act), allowing children 11 and older to consent to the administration of any vaccine including COVID-19 shots recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) without parental knowledge or consent if the medical provider believed the minor is capable of meeting the informed consent standard. The law also required healthcare personnel to provide accurate immunization records to the Department of Health and to the students school, but not to parents with religious exemptions. CHD and Parental Rights Foundation filed a lawsuit seeking a court order to declare the D.C. Act unconstitutional. A judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on March 18, 2022, granted a preliminary injunction prohibiting the D.C. mayor, Department of Health and public schools from enforcing the law. That means at the time McNeils children visited the clinic, they could not legally provide consent to be vaccinated without their mothers consent. McNeil said: To do that to my little children, my innocent children. They took her rights. When she backed away from you [the doctor] and said she didnt want it, that should have been the end of it. Or you [the doctor] should have called me on the phone to find out what I feel about the situation. But you [the doctor] basically told my child a lie so you [she] could do what you [she] wanted to do to my kid. Friends Over the last three months, a small group of independent journalists, including Leighton and I, have, thanks to the Twitter Files, exposed the ways in which social media platforms have, under pressure from U.S. government agencies, censored ordinary Americans and spread disinformation. Today, at 10 am ET, journalist Matt Taibbi and I will testify before Congress and reveal the existence of a secret censorship-industrial complex in the United States. Our findings are shocking. A highly-organized network of U.S. government agencies and government contractors has been creating blacklists and pressuring social media companies to censor Americans, often without them knowing it. We and others have already reported on some of the actions of this complex, including its disinformation campaigns. But the extent of its censorship was unknown to us until very recently. And, as importantly, we now understand the ways in which this complex simultaneously spreads disinformation and demands censorship. What my 68-page testimony to Congress shows is an effort by U.S. government intelligence and security agencies to wage information warfare against the American people. I do not doubt that some people will try to justify the behaviors we have documented. They will say such censorship is necessary for fighting disinformation. But there is no moral or legal justification for the acts of state-sponsored censorship we document, much less for the fundamentally unAmerican censorship-industrial complex. I believe that any reasonable person reading our report, no matter their politics, will be horrified by what is taking place and demand an end to it. With our testimony, we are calling on Congress to defund and dismantle the censorship-industrial complex immediately. Democracy depends on freedom of speech. Both are under attack. Michael PS: A written transcript of my verbal testimony, which summarizes our findings, is below. I hope you will consider reading the full 68-page document, which can be downloaded by clicking the download button. The Censorship-Industrial Complex My verbal testimony to Congress by Michael Shellenberger In his 1961 farewell address, President Dwight Eisenhower warned of the acquisition of unwarranted influence by the military-industrial complex. Eisenhower feared that the size and power of the complex, or cluster, of government contractors and the Department of Defense would endanger our liberties or democratic processes. How? Through domination of the nation's scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money. He feared public policy would become the captive of a scientific-technological elite. Eisenhowers fears were well-founded. Today, American taxpayers are unwittingly financing the growth and power of a censorship-industrial complex run by Americas scientific and technological elite, which endangers our liberties and democracy. I am grateful for the opportunity to offer this testimony and sound the alarm over the shocking and disturbing emergence of state-sponsored censorship in the United States of America. The Twitter Files, state attorneys general lawsuits, and investigative reporters have revealed a large and growing network of government agencies, academic institutions, and nongovernmental organizations that are actively censoring American citizens, often without their knowledge, on a range of issues, including on the origins of COVID, COVID vaccines, emails relating to Hunter Bidens business dealings, climate change, renewable energy, fossil fuels, and many other issues. I offer some cautions. I do not know how much of the censorship is coordinated beyond what we have been able to document, and I will not speculate. I recognize that the law allows Facebook, Twitter, and other private companies to moderate content on their platforms. And I support the right of governments to communicate with the public, including to dispute inaccurate and misleading information. But government officials have been caught repeatedly pushing social media platforms to censor disfavored users and content. Often, these acts of censorship threaten the legal protection social media companies need to exist, Section 230. Share If government officials are directing or facilitating such censorship, notes George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley, it raises serious First Amendment questions. It is axiomatic that the government cannot do indirectly what it is prohibited from doing directly. Moreover, we know that the U.S. government has funded organizations that pressure advertisers to boycott news media organizations and social media platforms that a) refuse to censor and/or b) spread disinformation, including alleged conspiracy theories. The Stanford Internet Observatory, the University of Washington, the Atlantic Councils Digital Forensic Research Lab, and Graphika all have inadequately-disclosed ties to the Department of Defense, the C.I.A., and other intelligence agencies. They work with multiple U.S. government agencies to institutionalize censorship research and advocacy within dozens of other universities and think tanks. It is important to understand how these groups function. They are not publicly engaging with their opponents in an open exchange of ideas. They arent asking for a national debate over the limits of the First Amendment. Rather, they are creating blacklists of disfavored people and then pressuring, cajoling, and demanding that social media platforms censor, deamplify, and even ban the people on these blacklists. Who are the censors? They are a familiar type. Overly confident in their ability to discern truth from falsity, good intention from bad intention, the instinct of these hall monitor-types is to complain to the teacher and, if the teacher doesnt comply, to go above them, to the principal. Such an approach might work in middle school and many elite universities, but it is anathema to freedom and is an abuse of power. These organizations and others are also running their own influence operations, often under the guise of fact-checking. The intellectual leaders of the censorship complex have convinced journalists and social media executives that accurate information is disinformation, that valid hypotheses are conspiracy theories, and that greater self-censorship results in more accurate reporting. In many instances, censorship, such as labeling social media posts, is part of the influence operation aimed at discrediting factual information. The censorship industrial complex combines established methods of psychological manipulation, some developed by the U.S. military during the Global War on Terror, with highly sophisticated tools from computer science, including artificial intelligence. The complexs leaders are driven by the fear that the Internet and social media platforms empower populist, alternative, and fringe personalities and views, which they regard as destabilizing. Federal government officials, agencies, and contractors have gone from fighting ISIS recruiters and Russian bots to censoring and deplatforming ordinary Americans and disfavored public figures. Importantly, the bar for bringing in military-grade government monitoring and speech-countering techniques has moved from countering terrorism to countering extremism to countering simple misinformation. The government no longer needs a predicate of calling you a terrorist or extremist to deploy government resources to counter your political activity. The only predicate it needs is simply the assertion that the opinion you expressed on social media is wrong. These efforts extend to influencing and even directing conventional news media organizations. Since 1971, when the Washington Post and New York Times elected to publish classified Pentagon papers about the war in Vietnam, journalists understood that we have a professional obligation to report on leaked documents whose contents are in the public interest, even when they had been stolen. And yet, in 2020, the Aspen Institute and Stanfords Cyber Policy Center urged journalists to Break the Pentagon Papers principle and not cover leaked information to prevent the spread of disinformation. Government-funded censors frequently invoke the prevention of real-world harm to justify their demands for censorship, but the censors define harm far more expansively than the Supreme Court does. The censors have defined harm so broadly, in fact, that they have justified Facebook censoring accurate information about COVID vaccines, for example, to prevent vaccine hesitancy. Their goal, clearly, is not protecting the truth but rather persuading the public. That is the purpose of open debate and the free exchange of ideas. And, increasingly, the censors say their goal is to restrict information that delegitimizes governmental, industrial, and news media organizations. That mandate is so sweeping that it could easily censor criticism of any part of the status quo, from elected officials to institutions to laws. This extreme, reactionary attitude is, bluntly, un-American. Congress should immediately cut off funding to the censors and investigate their activities. Second, it should mandate instant reporting of all conversations between social media executives, government employees, and contractors concerning content moderation. Third, Congress should limit the broad permission given to social media platforms to censor, deplatform, and spread propaganda. Whatever Congress does, it is incumbent upon the American people to wake up to the threat of government censorship. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry, Eisenhower noted, can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals so that security and liberty may prosper together. Retford Park, near Bowral, in the New South Wales southern highlands, features many fine buildings, from a Victorian mansion built by the Hordern family and later occupied by publisher James Fairfax, to a jewel-like glass pavilion designed by architect Guilford Bell to complement the swimming pool. Bequeathed to the National Trust, the propertys landscaped grounds and period buildings are a major drawcard for tourists visiting the area. Australian artist Ben Quilty inside the Ngununggula gallery. Credit: James Brickwood One of the lesser-known buildings that was falling into decay was an original brick dairy and adjacent veterinary hospital. That was until well-known Australian artist Ben Quilty approached the NSW Government with architect Brian Zulaikha, then a director of Tonkin Zulaikha Greer (TZG) and who now heads Studio Zawa, with a plan to convert them into regional gallery to exhibit the works of contemporary artists. Now called Ngununggula, meaning belonging in the traditional language of the Gundungurra people, the buildings have been transformed into a gallery, cafe and pavilion comprised of an entrance, reception area, amenities and staff offices. The latter is located in the buildings pitched steel roof. He also agreed that it would be unusual to find hairs on the hands of a person who had jumped to their death. But Morgan agreed that, in his view, the most probable cause of Russells death was an accidental fall due to intoxication. Personally, I do still feel it was misadventure. But I understand its very subjective, and I understand if others see it differently, Morgan said. A mothers pleas Kay Warren penned a plea to NSW Police in July 1998. Her son Ross, a TV newsreader, had been reported missing in July 1989, aged 25. His friends found his car in Bondi near Marks Park, and his keys were located nearby on rocks near the waters edge. Letter from Kay Warren to NSW Police dated May 26, 1999. A police officer coordinating the investigation into Warrens disappearance said within days that police were of the opinion that the missing person has fallen into the ocean in some manner. Warrens suspected death was not reported to the coroner. As it is now 9 years since Ross disappeared, we feel it is time for a Coroners inquest to close the case, Kay Warren wrote. She was seeking a death certificate rather than an inquest, the inquiry heard. She received no reply. In April 2000 she wrote her sixth letter, this time to the NSW police commissioner. It is eleven years this July since my son disappeared, it began. A fresh investigation It was not until Stephen Page, then a detective sergeant, happened upon Warrens letters that the investigative wheels started turning once again. He sent a report, I think first of all to Paddington [police], to try and get it investigated, Morgan told the inquiry. In June 2001, Page would be appointed commander of Operation Taradale, an investigation into the death of Russell, the disappearance and suspected death of Warren, and later the disappearance and suspected death of a third man, French national Gilles Mattaini, in the same area. Mattaini who, like Russell and Warren, was gay was last seen on the Bondi to Tamarama coastal walk around Marks Park in September 1985. He was 27. Detective Steve Page, photographed in 2013, led an investigation into the suspected murders at Bondi, Operation Taradale, that would consume years of his life. He has since left the force. Credit: James Brickwood Two murder findings The work of Taradale and Page, who left the force in 2004, would be praised by then deputy state coroner Jacqueline Milledge in 2005 as thorough and impeccable. Milledge found Russell and Warren died after meeting with foul play. Mattaini had died, she found, and while his manner and cause of death was undetermined, there was a strong possibility he died in similar circumstances to Russell and Warren. Milledge said threats to throw victims off the cliff face was a modus operandi of some gay hate assailants around Marks Park at the time of the mens disappearances and death, and this strongly supports the probability all three men died in this way. A reinvestigation Despite Milledges findings, NSW Police set up the secretive Strike Force Neiwand in 2015 to reinvestigate the three Bondi cases, the inquiry heard. In 2017, Neiwand effectively reversed the coroners findings without speaking to dozens of persons of interest. Former police officer Stephen Page outside the LGBTIQ hate crimes inquiry on February 28. Credit: Rhett Wyman Loading Neiwand had alleged in internal police documents that Taradale was infected by tunnel vision and had relied on investigation confirmation bias which was a major factor that ultimately limited the validity of the coroners findings. Morgan, the investigation supervisor of Neiwand from 2016, agreed at the inquiry that those allegations were unjustified. He said investigators started with an open mind but agreed the strike force ultimately put more effort into finding evidence that might indicate suicide or misadventure than homicide. Page, who now works in the private sector, told the inquiry: I think my reputation was absolutely professionally destroyed in those reports. The case with zero solvability Loading In 2012, a NSW police officer in the unsolved homicide team conducted a review of another cold case, the 1988 death of US national Scott Johnson. She concluded the solvability of the case was zero. The naked body of Johnson, 27, was found at the base of a cliff near Manlys North Head on December 10, 1988. A first inquest in 1989 found he died by suicide while a second inquest in 2012 returned an open finding. Page, who was by this time a former police officer, attended Manly Police Station in March 2006 with Johnsons brother Steve to seek a reinvestigation of Scotts 1988 death because of potential parallels with the Bondi cases. In 2017, then-coroner Michael Barnes concluded after a third inquest that Scott died as a result of a gay hate attack. The inquiry heard NSW Police submitted to this inquest that suicide was the most likely cause of death. Scott Phillip White being interviewed by police in May 2020. Sydney man Scott Phillip White was charged in May 2020 with murder over Scotts death. White pleaded guilty to manslaughter last month and will be sentenced later this year. A police review The inquiry has heard evidence that as at 2014 senior NSW police officers believed claims relating to the number of gay hate-related murders and bashings in the 1980s and 90s were exaggerated and unfounded. Against that backdrop, NSW Police set up Strike Force Parrabell in 2015 to review 88 deaths between 1976 and 2000 that had been reported in the media and elsewhere as potentially involving motivations of gay-hate bias. Loading Parrabells 2018 report found evidence of a bias crime in just eight cases. A further 19 cases were suspected bias crimes. There was insufficient information in 25 cases and no evidence of bias crime was found in 34 cases. Two cases were excluded from the review. A team at Flinders University was contracted to review the work of the police, and academics had been told in tender documents that they would need to take a collaborative approach. The academic team said in the final report that they were reluctant to endorse the bias crime indicators used by police. A NSW school teacher will again face court accused of shoving a student even though a magistrate threw out the charge as a classic case of the insanity gripping the world that drives all teachers out of the job and threatens to collapse society at large. The teacher, Emma Tiller, was charged by police with common assault and assault occasioning actual bodily harm after allegedly shoving the arms of a year 2 student. This is a classic case of the insanity that has overtaken society in the 21st century, magistrate Roger Clisdell said. Tiller lost her job as a result, the court heard. The Local Court heard Tiller saw the seven-year-old holding his hands near his waist and thought he had taken out his penis near the face of another child or was simulating his penis using blocks. More than 60 per cent of NSW public high school students missed at least four weeks of class in 2022, the worst attendance level on record. While sick days due to COVID and flu cases were behind the falling attendance levels, some in the education sector say the latest figures are part of a bigger trend of student disengagement and schools are now offering late starting times for students who spend much of the night gaming as a short-term measure to re-engage them. Home-school liaison officer Alexandra Southgate who works for the NSW Department of Education. Credit: Peter Rae. Home-school liaison officer Alexandra Southgate, who works for the NSW Education Department across a number of public schools in Sydneys west, said children with diagnosed digital addictions or sleep disorders were allowed to start their school day late if they needed to sleep in until mid-morning. Particularly for diagnosed sleep disorders, she said, as a short-term strategy, that is something which can be adopted and is adopted. The second of three men wanted in connection with 300 kilograms of cocaine found on a capsized boat off the coast of Albany has been tracked down to a property in Henley Brook in Perths north-east and arrested. Karl Whitburn, has been on the run from police since he was rescued with two other men - Mate Stipinovich, and Aristides Avlonitis after the trio were found clinging to an esky 17 kilometres south of Albany on February 1. Clockwise from top left: Mate Stipinovich, Aristides Avlonitis and Karl Whitburn. Six days later, cocaine was found in a package washed up on shore near Denmark. Police later found an abandoned boat, allegedly belonging to the men, with eight similar plastic-wrapped packages, each containing about 40kg of cocaine. Its total street value is estimated to be $137 million. Avlonitis was arrested two weeks later at a property in Darwin. The city itself will be a self-propelled city, hopefully ... a vibrant city, not just a government city, said Bambang Susantono, chief of the Nusantara authority, charged with turning the presidents vision into reality. Its going to be a city for 2045, so we have to think whats beyond what is happening today, trying to tackle all that perhaps are still futuristic things at this moment. Nusantara authority head Bambang Susantono speaks to reporters. Credit: Bloomberg To be set on an overall site of more than 250,000 hectares, the city will feature a nursery capable of growing 15 to 20 million trees every year in a bid to replenish the region, which is rich in biodiversity but has been razed in recent decades for palm oil, timber and mining. Susantono said the goal was for Nusantara to be a carbon-neutral city by 2030. As you see around here, most areas are production forests ... and these production forests will be transformed into tropical forests in the future, he said. They will be acting as the carbon sink not only for Nusantara but for the whole of Borneo as well as for Indonesia. The city is being built in stages and wont be completed until 2045. Credit: Bloomberg While Widodos grand plan is for the new city to showcase the countrys transition to developed economy status, it has not been conceived without controversy, criticism and conjecture about whether it will actually materialise. At the heart of the site in the region of Penajam Paser Utara there is resistance from members of the indigenous Balik tribe, who have rejected attempts to relocate them from their home in the village of Sepaku. This is the land of our ancestors. We must preserve it from generation to generation, said tribe leader Sibukdin, who like many people in Indonesia goes by one name. He grows lanzones, coffee, mangoes and other plants on his land. If we are relocated, our identity as an indigenous people will be gone because we move to another location while our ancestral land is taken over by the government. In the beginning, when we learnt that the capital city would move to Sepaku we were happy because this area would be lively. But it does not mean that we have to be removed from the centre of the capital city. We welcome the new capital city, but we want to remain living in our area. The construction of a reservoir has already affected the villagers ability to access clean water, with the Sepaku river blocked to facilitate building of the dam. There has been talk of compensation for the approximately 70 families living in the innermost ring of the city site, but it is unclear where they would be moved to. The customary communities have not talked about [the amount of compensation], said Saiduani, the head of AMAN, an alliance of indigenous groups across the country. But if we see the ongoing projects, it looks like there is no other scheme but [eviction]. Maybe one day there will be another way out. But today, there is no solution for the people, there is no other choice given. Nusantara is being constructed on the eastern side of the island of Borneo. Credit: Bloomberg Beyond the impact on the areas existing inhabitants, there are concerns from environmentalists about the consequences of such a development in a province where huge swathes of tropical rainforest have already been destroyed. The existence of dozens of coal mining and forestry concessions within what will be the citys outer limits has also led to questions about just how green it will be. [We are] of the opinion that the moving of the capital is not a right decision given the current conditions in East Kalimantan itself. It suffers [from] ecological crisis, said Puspa Dewy, campaign manager for prominent environmental activism group Wahli. Many extractive industries are located there, from mining to big-scale plantations and forestry-related projects. The new capital also faces significant economic and political hurdles. Widodo, who has staked a great deal of his legacy on his flagship project and even camped out at the site, has hopes of private investment covering 80 per cent of the costs, with the remaining 20 per cent paid by the state. There has been hesitation, however, from foreign investors and the one that was on board Japanese technology giant SoftBank Group pulled out last year. Balik tribe leader Sibukdin stands outside his house in Penajam Paser Utara near where construction has begun on Indonesias new capital city. Credit: AP While the establishment of Nusantara has effectively been written into law with a bill passed through the House of Representatives in February 2022, the question of how committed Widodos successor might be to the switch from Jakarta has created uncertainty. Indonesians are due to elect a new president next February and Widodo, whose constitutionally limited two five-year terms will be up, is scheduled to pass the baton to the victor eight months later. Political risk is indeed still the main factor, said Bhima Yudhistira Adhinegara, director of the Centre of Economic and Law Studies in Jakarta. The next president may issue another perppu to cancel it, he said, referring to a regulation akin to an executive order. As it stands, none of the three likely contenders have indicated they would do that. Two of them, Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto and Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo, have expressed support for the relocation and the third, former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan, has vowed to see it through if elected. The extent to which the next leader shares Widodos zeal for the concept may end up determining its future. Heavy afternoon traffic in Jakarta, which will remain Indonesias main commercial centre. Credit: International Herald Tribune In my opinion, since the policy is in the form of a law, it means the project should be carried out, said Noory Okthariza, a political researcher at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Jakarta. So, I think, whoever becomes president, he or she must do it. The level of seriousness in carrying it out may be varied. If the president is someone who is endorsed by Jokowi, he or she will work all out. But if he is not, the progress will be slow. On the investor front, there was some good news for Widodo as new Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim brought letters of intent from 10 Malaysian firms when he paid him a visit in January. Loading Indonesia this week intensified efforts to lure more backers, unveiling generous tax incentives for companies that do throw their weight behind the capital. It is uncertain if any Australian companies will invest, but there is some involvement already. British company Arups Australian arm is working on the citys design and the Nusantara authority is in talks with the CSIRO as it explores the establishment of a life science centre. It hopes Australian links will extend further. We are in the middle of discussing with the Australian government about Canberra and Nusantara becoming sister cities, Susantono said. Loading With that well open up some possibilities for more cooperation not only on the government side but also on the investment side and on the knowledge side. I believe there will be a lot of foreign investors who will come. We have received more than 100 letters of interest. Some of them are serious for the next couple of years, some of them are still wait and see. But its safe to say the appetite is there. As for the Balik tribe, Susantono said the authority was engaging with its leaders. Latest News New product could end 'defective' reverse mortgage market Pre-retirement property owners among the beneficiaries, says company CBA lifts variable rates again, cuts select three-year fixed rates It's the second time in two weeks that the bank has hiked its variable rates for new customers ASIC has announced six of Australia's largest banking and financial services institutions have paid or offered to pay a total of $4.7 billion in compensation to customers who suffered loss or detriment because of fees for no service misconduct or non-compliant advice. AMP, ANZ, CBA, Macquarie, NAB and Westpac all undertook the review and remediation programs to compensate affected customer as a result of two major ASIC reviews. ASIC commenced the reviews to look into the extent of failure by the institutions to deliver ongoing advice services to financial advice customers who were paying fees to receive those services and how effectively the institutions supervised their financial advisers to identify and deal with non-compliant advice. In an ASIC media statement on its website, the latter refers to personal advice provided to a retail client by an adviser who did not comply with the relevant conduct obligations in the Corporations Act, such as the obligations to give appropriate advice or to act in the best interests of the clients, at the time the advice was given. While this final update on remediation figures draws a line under this program of work following eight years of addressing financial institutions' and advisers' failure to provide ongoing services to fee paying customers we will continue to monitor institutions processes to complete ongoing work in this area, said ASIC Commissioner Danielle Press. ASIC compensation for financial advice related misconduct project has shone a light on the advice fees that customers are paying and the services they should be receiving in return, Press said. The subsequent programs have resulted in very significant remediation payments to affected consumers. The total figure is for funds paid or offered up to 31 December 2022. ASIC said it anticipated this would be the final update on compensation because most of these programs were substantially complete. ASIC said it would continue to monitor the implementation and finalisation of remaining programs. Two-wheeler sales in India continued to grow at a moderate pace of about 8 per cent in February to 1.12 million units amid lukewarm demand. Domestic passenger vehicle (PV) sales grew by 11 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in February to 291,928 units amid positive consumer sentiment and high production, according to data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) on Friday. Maruti Suzuki, Indias largest car maker, saw its domestic PV wholesales increase by 10.1 per cent to 147,467 units in February. Hyundais domestic wholesales increased by 6.7 per cent to 47,001 units and Mahindra & Mahindras figure saw a jump of 9.73 per cent in February. Among PV makers, Toyota Kirloskars domestic wholesales jumped by 75.18 per cent in February to 15,323 units, according to SIAM data. Kias domestic wholesales increased by 35.8 per cent to 24,600 units in February 2023. PV exports from India decreased by 9.24 per cent YoY to 46,486 units in February this year. Vinod Aggarwal, president of SIAM, said, Overall positive sentiment in the market continues. This is also driven by encouraging announcements in the Union Budget. Also Read Toyota Kirloskar Motor Vice Chairman Vikram Kirloskar passes away at 64 A family at war: Kirloskar siblings await SC judgement on arbitration Toyota marks turnaround in India, reports highest profit in four years Maruti Suzuki Q3 preview: Profit may decline up to 8% QoQ on lower volumes New twist to rivalry as Kirloskar siblings trade charges over legal fees Focus to reduce delivery waiting period, says Mercedes-Benz India Nissan to develop new powertrains, may cut cost of hybrid cars by 30% How electric scooters caught fancy of Tier 2, Tier 3 cities, shows data Maruti, Hyundai market share dips in Feb; Tata, Mahindra gain: FADA EVs to increase India's dependence on China for raw materials: GTRI report Hyundai, which is number two in terms of PV exports, saw its foreign sales jump by 19.1 per cent to 10,850 units in February. Maruti Suzuki, Indias largest exporter of PVs, saw its foreign sales decrease by 28.7 per cent to 16,956 units. Hondas car exports dropped from 2,337 units in February 2022 to 969 units in February 2023. Last month, Kias exports from India jumped 34.6 per cent to 7,406 units. The auto industry is fully geared up for the transition to Phase 2 of BS-6 emission norms for all categories of vehicles from next month, Aggarwal said. Meanwhile, Mahindras car exports jumped 26.1 per cent to 1,408 units during the last month, according to SIAM. The Phase 2 of BS-6 emission norms, under which real-world emissions and ideal test emissions have to match, will be implemented from April 1. Rajesh Menon, director-general of SIAM, said, Passenger vehicles posted their highest-ever sales in February, and the three-wheeler segment posted appreciable growth this month, compared to the last two years. A hike in repo rates in February, which would result in higher cost of borrowings, remains a concern, and we hope that the rates would get moderated suitably, Aggarwal noted. The two-wheeler segment posted moderate growth of 8 per cent in February 2023, compared to February 2022. During April 2022-February 2023, two and three-wheelers are yet to reach pre-Covid levels, though it is the highest ever for passenger vehicles, he added. Jawa will be CEO designate and whole-time director from April 1 and will take over as president, Unilever South Asia. He will join the Unilever Leadership Executive (ULE) on April 1. Rohit Jawa will take charge as managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO), Hindustan Unilever (HUL), on June 27, when Sanjiv Mehta retires after being at the helm of the company for 10 years. As EVP for North Asia & chairman for Unilever China, he led a significant transformation of Unilever China into a competitive, profitable, and consistent business, now Unilevers third-biggest globally, the companys statement added. Rohit (56) is currently the Chief of Transformation for Unilever in London, where since January 2022 he has successfully orchestrated the once-in-a-decade, end-to-end transformation of Unilever. He started his career with HUL as a management trainee in 1988 and has a proven track record of sustained business results across India, Southeast Asia, and North Asia, HUL said in its statement. Rohits ability to integrate the strength of traditional markets with digital technologies and future-fit business models positions him well to take HUL into its next growth phase, the company said. As chairman of Unilever Philippines, he led the business to become one of the top 10 markets for Unilever globally. Also Read Positive triggers factored into Hindustan Unilever's stock price HUL's market capitalisation hits 67% of its parent company Unilever Hindustan Unilever's royalty hike move hits investor mood, stock dips 4% Two internal candidates in race for Hindustan Unilever CEO position OZiva buyout to improve HUL's health and wellbeing in long-run: Analysts HUL board names Rohit Jawa next MD & CEO, to succeed Sanjiv Mehta Boeing, GMR Aero Technic to set up freighter conversion line in India Marksans Pharma gets USFDA nod for generic version of Famotidine tablets AirAsia integrates pilot flight duty logbook with DGCA's eGCA platform Deloitte hires nearly 50,000 professionals in 3 years, doubles workforce His proposition was to create long-term value anchored in growth, high performance, and distinctive capabilities. Mehta (62) took over in October 2013 and during his decade at the helm, the turnover of the company crossed Rs 50,000 crore and market capitalisation increased more than four times from $17 billion to $75 billion. He was also behind several strategic mergers and acquisitions like the amalgamation of GSK Consumer Healthcare into HUL -- one of the biggest mergers in FMCG history in the country. He introduced several transformative business programmes such as Dial Up the Big Q and Winning in Many Indias to make the business more consumer-centric, agile, and resilient, the company said in its statement. On Jawa, Paranjpe said: I am delighted to welcome Rohit back to India. He has a deep understanding of the business landscape, particularly in Asia, and has led the transformation of Unilever businesses in China and in the Philippines. I am certain that with his astute business acumen and growth mindset Rohit will take HUL to the next level of performance. Nitin Paranjpe, non-executive chairman, HUL, said: Sanjiv with his foresight has led HUL to become a high-performing and future-fit business. He has been an integral part of the Unilever Leadership Executive and has driven the South Asia growth agenda as the president of the market cluster. As president of Ficci (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) last year, Sanjiv made a significant contribution towards industry in India. Through his passion, commitment, and endless energy, he leaves behind a business that is now poised to achieve even greater heights. Last year, Unilever had said the US, India and China were three of its key growth markets, underlining plans to grow in India amid rising use of the internet in the country and the economys expansion, according to Reuters. HUL announced the appointment of Ranjay Gulati as independent director on its board, effective April 1. He is professor at Harvard Business School. HUL recently hiked royalties and central services fees it pays its majority owner, Unilever, to 3.45 per cent of its turnover over three years from 2.65 per cent earlier. He termed, Winning in Many Indias (WiMi) strategy as a breakthrough step that gave us a significant competitive edge, which he said, was hard to replicate. In his final sign off from the company that he helmed for over a decade, Sanjiv Mehta, managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO), Hindustan Unilever (HUL), said that more than the numbers, he values the capabilities that the company has built to reinvent itself. WiMi strategy of HUL recognises the heterogeneity of India and has given the company a significant competitive edge. We have taken the science and art of market development (or market making) to a new level altogether. Today, these new segments constitute over 20 per cent of our turnover, he said in his LinkedIn post. He also said, I will go with a comfort that our business today is much stronger than ever before and our impact on the country & society much larger. The company has announced the appointment of Rohit Jawa, who will take over as MD & CEO from June 27. He welcomed Jawa and said, I would like to welcome my successor, Rohit Jawa. I am sure under him new records will be set and the business will go further and higher. Mehta began his post saying, I started the day today with gratitude in my heart and prayers on my lips. Today, we announced my inning at Unilever will come to an end at the conclusion of HULs AGM on June 26. Also Read Positive triggers factored into Hindustan Unilever's stock price Hindustan Unilever's royalty hike move hits investor mood, stock dips 4% Two internal candidates in race for Hindustan Unilever CEO position OZiva buyout to improve HUL's health and wellbeing in long-run: Analysts HUL's market capitalisation hits 67% of its parent company Unilever Ashok Leyland unveils all-women production line at Tamil Nadu plant Adani group seeks to sell stake in Ambuja Cements for $450 million Viraj Profiles with Avaada Energy to set up 100 MW solar plant in Maha Max Estates to invest Rs 3,400 cr to develop 4 projects in Noida, Gurugram Explained: Why Taiwanese giant Foxconn is clearly bullish about India Describing his role while in South Asia which includes HUL CEO/executive chairman/president for the last 10 years he said it was an honour of a lifetime. It has been one of the longest tenures in the illustrious history of Hindustan Unilever, he said, and added that he was the first incumbent CEO of HUL to be on the executive board of Unilever. Mehta added that his 31-year career has seen an exhilarating rise. And for 21 years, he had the privilege of serving Unilevers businesses in 25 countries in various parts of the world as CEO. Mehta thanked the teams he worked with across geographies and acknowledged the challenges he faced along the way. He described Unilever as an institution where values and purpose are centre stage and is a beacon of diversity and inclusion. It is a company where creating a positive impact on the environment and society is as integral as building a brand. It is a company with perhaps the largest footprint in the world whose brands are available in more countries than the members of the United Nations, Mehta said. While at the helm in The Philippines, he touched upon taking over the leadership of the biggest category in the region. As chairman of Unilever, North Africa and Middle East, he navigated the financial crisis and Arab Spring and delivered market beating double-digit growth over the five years he was there. During his stint as the chairman and MD of Unilever Bangladesh, he said, We turned around a business which was reeling and in deep trouble into one of the finest companies in the country while delivering mid-teens growth. Just the market cap increase in the last 10 years would have made HUL the 10th-most valuable company in the country, he said. In the 10 years that Mehta was at the helm at HUL, the market capitalisation increased by 5 times to over $70 billion. This he said is more than the market cap of many global FMCG companies like Kraft Heinz, Reckitt Benckiser, General Mills and Colgate, among others. During his tenure in India, he talked about the Re-imagine HUL agenda and said it is a great example of a legacy company re-inventing itself with data and technology. It is the first among FMCG firms and is the first factory across industries in the country to be recognised as lighthouse for sustainability. He also said that its Jarvis model allows the company to optimise different variables using Bayesian modelling. From a linear value chain, HUL is becoming a web of ecosystems. HUL's Shikhar app has been adopted by 1.1 million retailers and its Dapada factory has been recognised as a lighthouse factory by World Economic Forum (WEF) for Industry 4.0. Realty major DLF is in advanced stage of completing its second commercial project 'DLF Downtown' being set up at an outlay of Rs 3,200 crore in the city in a move that would strengthen its presence here, a top official said on Friday. The project aimed at serving clients engaged in the information technology (IT) and information technology enabled services (ITeS), banking, financial services and insurance sectors (BFSI) was expected to be completed by the end of the year, DLF Rental business managing director Sriram Khattar said here. DLF Cybercity Chennai, the first project undertaken by the realty developer in Chennai, on Friday marked the completion of 15 years of operation at Manapakkam in the city. A recreational and social venue 'The Hub' spread across five lakh sq ft land inside the campus of DLF Cybercity Chennai was also unveiled on the occasion. "DLF Downtown is coming up at Taramani at an outlay of Rs 3,200 crore. It is expected to commence operations before the end of the year... Phase I may commence operation by end of next year," Khattar told select reporters. Apart from this commercial project, DLF was also looking at a residential project which is expected to come up adjacent to Madras Race Course in Guindy on a six acre land. "We are also planning to do another residential project in Old Mahabalipuram Road," he said. Talking about the layoffs undertaken by IT companies in the recent past and the occupancy levels at DLF special economic zones with work from home option being provided by companies, Khattar responded saying employee layoffs were just a 'temporary phase' as majority of the IT companies were reporting 'good' growth in their financial performance. Also Read DLF to launch new properties worth Rs 3,500 crore in second half of FY23 DLF sales booking up 45% to Rs 6,599 cr in Apr-Dec; to meet Rs 8k cr target DLF Q2 net profit up 26% to Rs 477 crore, total income fall to Rs 1,360 cr DLF sells housing units worth Rs 4,092 cr in Apr-Sep, up 62% Y-o-Y DLF targets Rs 1,800 cr sales revenue from new luxury project in Gurugram Moody's lowers Vedanta Resources' rating, flags rising refinancing risks SVB Financial Group tells employees to work from home until further notice Nostalgia, bottled and brought back: Reliance rolls out the Campa crates GMR Aero wins order for converting Boeing 737 passenger plans to freighters Miles to go before I sleep, says Sanjeev Mehta after 31 years at Unilever "On occupancy levels, we are at 85-90 per cent at DLF Cybercity Chennai, whereas in Gurgaon, it is at 65 per cent. Chennai has the highest return to work ratio across India...," he said. Asked whether the company would focus on foraying into Tier-II and Tier-III cities, he replied in the negative saying, "Our board has decided to focus on Tier-I cities." With the DLF Downtown portfolio in Taramani, Khattar said the total workspace offered by the company would be more than 14 million sq ft, to become second largest after DLF in Delhi and National Capital Region. "With DLF Downtown in Taramani, we are thrilled to offer another futuristic project that aligns with our vision of building pioneer, sustainable and best of the class workplaces," Khattar said. On fund raising plans, he said nearly 60-70 per cent of the project would be met with 'internal accruals' and the debt has remained about Rs 1,200 crore during the last four years. DLF Retail business executive director Pushpa Bector said customer specific localisation levels were introduced at the special economic zones so as to bring back the employees to work. "For example, we have a food court which offers four different kinds of biryanis...this is just one of the localisations we offer to employees of the companies. We sit with the companies and discuss and do based on their requirements," she said. A wellness centre comprising gymnasium among others which was not planned earlier was also introduced later at its commercial projects to meet the clients' demand, she said. "SVB is undergoing a series of conversations that have not been concluded yet to determine next steps for the company," the bank said in a memo seen by Reuters. SVB Financial Group told its employees in a memo on Friday that they should work from home until further notice. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority's budget for fiscal 2023-24 was presented by Metropolitan Commissioner SVR Srinivas on Friday, with 94 per cent of expenditure earmarked for road and bridge projects, public transport and other infrastructure development works. As per an MMRDA release, the total estimated receipt is Rs.23,689.77 crores, including a loan from the Maharashtra government, while the total estimated expenditure is Rs. 28,704.98 crore, leaving a deficit of Rs 5,014.41 crore. It was presented in the MMRDA's 15th meeting in the presence of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis. Srinivas also presented a revised budget of MMRDA for 2022-23 with estimated total revenue of Rs.14,535.39 crore and total expenditure estimated at Rs.15,452.98 crores. Both the budgets were approved in the meeting, the release informed. "Out of total estimated expenditure for 2023-24, 94 per cent, or Rs.27,079.69 crore, will be spent on Road and Bridge Projects, Public Transport and other Infrastructure Development works," it said. The state government has granted permission for raising loans up to Rs.60,000 crore as and when required to complete the ambitious projects of MMRDA, which also proposes to monetize its assets through Infrastructure Investment Trusts, toll operate transfer (TOT) and alternate investment fund (AIF) etc for efficient resource mobilization, the release said. 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 Budget 2023 to increase capex for infra projects for growth: Experts Crypto industry wants 0.1% TDS, Sebi-like regulator in Budget 2023 Nirav Modi claims he has no funds to pay UK court fines, borrowing money Three Centre of Excellence to be set up for fruits, vegetables: Agri Min Claims worth Rs 174 cr processed during ESIC Special Services Fortnight PM to visit Karnataka to lay foundation of projects worth Rs 16,000 cr NITI Aayog panel pitches for capital aid for gaushalas, markets cow dung According to the release, the revised estimate of the 42 km sea bridge project between Versova-Virar as well as construction of 3.8 km long tunnel road between Eastern Freeway and Marine Drive in the southern part of the metropolis for vehicular movement were approved. The MMRDA seeks to be the project implementation agency and to study technical feasibility of the 'Mumbai Eye' project at Bandra Reclamation by appointment of a developer for its construction, the release said. The 'giant observation wheel' will give a huge boost to the tourism sector in the city, Srinivas said. "The Authority approved MMRDA's proposal to be submitted to the state government for collection of toll from December 2027 from vehicles entering Mumbai so as to recover the cost of infrastructure and metro rail network being laid by it in the region," the release said. The authority also approved the estimate for construction of twin tunnel between Thane and Borivali, disposing of two plots through e-tendering in G-Block of Bandra-Kurla Complex, appointment of consultant to prepare detailed project report extension of Metro Line-5 from Kalyan to Ulhasnagar and extension of Chheda Nagar flyover from Ghatkopar to Thane, it said. Union Home Minister Amit Shah will review the 54th Raising Day Parade of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to be held in Hyderabad on March 12. For the first time, the CISF is holding its annual Raising Day celebrations out of Delhi national capital region (NCR) at the CISF National Industrial Security Academy (NISA) in Hakimpet here, senior officials said on Friday. "This is the first time in the history of CISF that this Raising Day Parade is being held outside the NCR. This was government's directive. A decision was taken that we should go to locations outside NCR. NISA, a training academy, is a centre of excellence of CISF. It was decided that this Raising Day Parade will be held in NISA on March 12," CISF ADG (North) Piyush Anand told reporters here. Shah will be the chief guest for the Raising Day Parade, he said. CISF ADG (South) Jagbir Singh said the central force has grown manifold in its capacity and capabilities after starting its journey in 1969 with a strength of 3,000. Today, with a strength of more than 1,70,000 personnel, CISF provides security cover to 354 vital installations of the country including 66 airports, seaports, nuclear and space installations, Delhi Metro, steel and power plants, etc., he said. Also Read 23 tableux roll down Kartavya Path in national capital on Republic Day Congestion at airports: CISF adds 100 more personnel at security counters CISF to organise 7th All India Police Judo Cluster-2022 from September 19 Delhi Police release traffic advisory on Republic Day rehearsal parade Republic Day: Why does India organise a parade to mark the occasion? Suspected 'spy pigeon' to be sent to CFSL for forensic examination Railway Min, Tata Steel ink deal for seating, panelling in Vande Bharat Assembly speaker nominates Somnath Bharti as Delhi Jal Board vice-chairman Be alert, closely monitor influenza situation: Health minister to states Central Railway achieves 100% electrification of entire Broad Gauge Network The Special Security Group (SSG) of CISF provides security to 147 various categories of persons under protection. CISF is also providing fire service cover to 111 units, he added. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway was an important connectivity project that will contribute to Karnataka's growth trajectory. The expressway is set for inauguration soon. Modi tagged a tweet by Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari who said the construction of the Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway, which encompasses a portion of NH-275, entails the development of four rail overbridges, nine significant bridges, 40 minor bridges, and 89 underpasses and overpasses. An important connectivity project which will contribute to Karnataka's growth trajectory," Modi said of the project. Several BJP leaders, including South Delhi MP Ramesh Bidhuri, and party workers on Friday held a protest here against the Kejriwal government's now-scrapped liquor policy. They were raising slogans against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and demanding his resignation. There was heavy police deployment in the central part of the city. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg, where the Aam Aadmi Party office is located, was barricaded to restrict the movement of vehicles. Former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia was arrested by the CBI on February 26 in connection with alleged corruption in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi liquor or excise policy for 2021-22. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has taken over the probe of alleged financial irregularities in the Rajiv Gandhi National Creche Scheme in which the Indian Council for Child Welfare (ICCW) was one of the implementing agencies. Now FIR has been lodged against ICCW, for alleged embezzlement of funds under the National Creche Scheme. An FIR in this respect was earlier filed with the Delhi Police's Parliament Street Police Station under section 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 420 (cheating). Now, the CBI will probe the matter. The Delhi Police had registered an FIR after they received a complaint from an official of the Ministry of Women and Child Development. According to the complaint, the Centre was implementing the Rajiv Gandhi National Creche Scheme till 2016 and ICCW was one of the implementing agencies of the scheme that had claimed that 5,029 creches were functional in 2015-2016. The complaint stated that despite knowing that the creches or other programmes "were not running properly, projection of funds were still made as if all aspects were fully functional". Also Read CBI takes over probe in financial irregularities in national creche scheme UP govt suggests CBI probe into admission irregularities to AYUSH colleges Irregularities found in 13 educational institutes under CBI radar: Sources HC sends notice to Delhi govt on financial irregularities in tree plantings PIL in Calcutta HC seeks CBI probe into irregularities in MGNREGA scheme The case of spy pigeons as Odisha Police seizes one off Paradip coast IIT Kanpur to launch new eMasters program on sustainable construction PM Modi condoles death of veteran actor and director Satish Kaushik Tamil Nadu Governor returns bill on prohibition of online gambling Maharashtra: Fire guts Dombivali godowns with perfumery items, clothes "It was always 25 children per creche. ICCW demanded funds from the WCD Ministry for component that was not being implemented like supplementary Nutrition in HP. This clearly shows misrepresentation of facts," the complaint stated, adding that "demands were raised for creches that did not exist". Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu Friday said the Central government is capable enough to tackle the border issue between India and China, and accordingly giving more thrust to infrastructure development. The process of building adequate infrastructure, particularly border connectivity, is being speeded up in the northeastern state. Work on the 2000-km-long Arunachal Frontier Highway has already started in certain sections and work is going on in full swing for construction of the Sela tunnel, located at a height of 13,700 feet. Responding to a question of Congress MLA Ninong Ering, the chief minister said that the Centre has increased the presence of army and para-military personnel on the border with China after the recent standoff between both neighbours. Referring to the recent face-off between Indian and Chinese soldiers at Yangtse in Tawang district of the state, Khandu said, India is not as before and the situation has changed after the BJP-led NDA came to power at the Centre. Yangtse is located within Mukto constituency, represented by Khandu in the assembly. Earlier there was no infrastructure in the border areas. Now the scenario has changed with more impetus on strengthening border infrastructure in the state. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is capable enough to tackle such a situation, Khandu asserted. Also Read President Murmu focuses on govt's development thrust in maiden address Giving a thrust: Exports to account for 48% of nine PLI schemes BSF shoots down Pakistani drone along Pulmoran border post in Punjab Siemens scaling new heights on strong performance, govt's infra thrust States have equal responsibility with BSF to check cross-border crime: Shah Growth momentum in sale of passenger vehicles continues: Siam data India's handling of Covid example before world: VP Jagdeep Dhankhar Global house prices set to decline, risk of more with higher rates Mandatory CCTV cameras in public spaces bill introduced in Assam Assembly PM Modi raises with Australian PM issue of attacks on temples in Australia Indian and Chinese troops clashed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Tawang sector of the state on December 9 last year, and the face-off resulted in minor injuries to a few personnel from both sides, the Indian Army had said. The clash near Yangtse took place amid the over 30-month border standoff between the two sides in eastern Ladakh. The chief minister said that because of PM Modi, the voice of the people on the border issue can now be heard, which was not the case earlier. Previously after a minister visited the northeastern state, the next day China used to protest. Now such protests are not seen even after the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Droupadi Murmu to the state in recent times, the chief minister added. A city court on Friday sent former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, arrested in a money laundering case related to the excise policy, to the Enforcement Directorate's custody till March 17. Special judge M K Nagpal allowed the anti-money laundering probe agency to interrogate the senior AAP leader in custody. The ED had sought Sisodia's custody for 10 days. Earlier the court heard arguments of the ED and Sisodia's lawyers on the AAP leader's custody. There was heavy security presence within and outside the Rouse Avenue Courts. The lawyer for the federal anti-money laundering probe agency alleged Sisodia made false statements about the 'scam' and that it wanted to unearth the modus operandi of the perpetrators and confront him with the other accused. ED's counsel Zoheb Hossain also claimed before a special court that Sisodia destroyed his phone, an important piece of evidence in the investigation. Also Read Delhi court sends ex-Dy CM Sisodia to judicial custody till March 20 Manish Sisodia to be produced in court today: All you need to know CBI to seeks further custody of Manish Sisodia in Delhi excise policy scam Excise scam: Court extends judicial custody of four accused till Jan 7 Sisodia, other accused destroyed excise-scam evidence, alleges BJP Delhi HC stays trial court proceedings against DCW chief Swati Maliwal Companies across APAC working to keep whistleblower policies up to date Lung cancer patient who died recently in Haryana, had tested H3N2 in Jan PM Modi to dedicate to nation Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway on March 12 Need to sensitise Delhi govt to issue guidelines on eviction orders: HC The lawyer for the federal anti-money laundering probe agency alleged Sisodia made false statements about the 'scam' and that it wanted to unearth the modus operandi of the perpetrators and confront him with the other accused. The claims of the ED counsel were contested by a battery of lawyers who represented Sisodia. Senior advocates Dayan Krishnan, Mohit Mathur and Siddharth Aggarwal said the excise policy was accepted by the Lieutenant Governor who must have examined it. Sisodia's lawyers while opposing the ED's plea for his custody, said it is the executive's job to make policy which goes through several layers of scrutiny. "How can ED look into policy making in money-laundering case," the AAP leader's counsel asked the court. "ED has not found a single penny from my client...the case is entirely based on hearsay," the lawyer said. The ED arrested Sisodia on Thursday evening in the Tihar jail, where he was lodged in connection with a case being probed by the CBI pertaining to alleged corruption in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy for 2021-22. Justice Yashwant Varma said parties in the case (DMRC, DAMEPL, the Centre and the Delhi government) may file their written submissions by Monday. The Delhi High Court on Friday reserved its order on an execution petition filed by Reliance Infra arm-Delhi Airport Metro Express Private Limited (DAMEPL) against Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) over the payment of 2017 arbitral award dues. The Delhi governments counsel, in Fridays hearing, said that a shareholder cannot be held liable for a companys liabilities except in case of fraud etc. In this case, there is no element of fraud for which the Government of Delhi can be held liable in the execution proceedings, he submitted. DMRC and DAMEPL have been at odds ever since the latter pulled out of the Delhi Metro Airport Line operations due to safety issues arising from structural defects. An arbitral court ruled in favour of the RInfra firm in 2017, asking DMRC to pay the arbitral award. The order was later upheld by the Supreme Court. Replying to this submission, Justice Varma asked the counsel whether he should record this submission, to which the ASG said that it may not be recorded. On the other hand, Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma, appearing for the Centre, said that there may be certain cases like force majeure (unforeseeable circumstances that prevent someone from fulfilling a contract) when a decree may become un-executable either in law or on facts of the case. Also Read After SC rap, DMRC launches Rs 7,100 crore rights issue for RInfra dues Delhi HC fixes Feb 13 for next hearing in DMRC-DAMEPL case, may pass order Widening scope, aim to be a key player in urban infra space: DMRC MD Reliance Infra moves SC against DMRC for payment of Rs 4,500 crore Budget 2023 to increase capex for infra projects for growth: Experts Uttar Pradesh cabinet approves New Sports Policy 2023 encourage athletes India, US to examine CEO forum recommendations to boost economic ties Defence Ministry inks contract with HAL to procure 6 Dornier aircraft West Bengal accounts for 38% of adenovirus cases in country: Survey Facebook parent Meta building a Twitter-like social media application In the last hearing, the DAMEPL counsel pointed out that about Rs 628 crore held by DMRC should be kept aside, of which Rs 514 crore is for payment of salaries, etc, and Rs 114 crore is the security deposit on smart cards. After the Centres arguments, the DMRC counsel reiterated his earlier submissions that in this case, the shareholders (namely the Union and Delhi government) are not ordinary shareholders as both have a say in the decisions of DMRC. Both the shareholders approve, direct and finance the projects of DMRC, the DMRC counsel added. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that to increase contact and friendship among young soldiers Indian and Australia have established the General Rawat Officers Exchange Programme, which has started this month. "To increase contact and friendship among our young soldiers, we have established the General Rawat Officers Exchange Program which started this month," PM Modi said at the India-Australia: Exchange of Agreements and Press Statements on Friday. Prime Minister Modi addressing a joint press conference alongside Australian PM Anthony Albanese said: "I heartily welcome Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on his first state visit to India. Last year, both countries decided to hold an annual summit on Prime Minister's level," PM Modi said that he and Albanese earlier today discussed in detail various aspects of mutual cooperation. "Security is an important part of our comprehensive Strategic Partnership. These agreements have been made in the last few years, in which logistic support for each other's armies is also included," the PM said. PM Modi said, "Renewable energy is the area of priority and focus for both countries. The trade agreement implemented last year has opened up better opportunities for trade and investment between the two countries. People-to-people relations are a major basis of India-Australia friendship." Australian PM Albanese arrived in Ahmedabad on Wednesday on a four-day state visit to India. Also Read Statue honouring Sikh soldiers unveiled in UK's Leicester city: Report 16 Indian sailors detained by Guinea Navy: Families appeal for safe return Pakistan, China hail 'all-weather' friendship; IMF aid may create tensions Trekker missing after avalanche near Friendship Peak in Himachal Pradesh CPI(M)-Cong friendship opportunistic; BJP have an edge: Tripura CM on polls H3N2 influenza: Symptoms, spread, prevention, what do experts say? H3N2 cases likely to decline by March-end; two deaths reported so far: Govt Delhi Court reserves order on ED's plea for 10-day custody of Sisodia Centre giving more thrust to infrastructure push along border: Arunachal CM Indian exporters need to adapt strategy given low rupee premiums: Analysts Earlier today, Albanese paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat. He was accorded a ceremonial reception at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan. Prime Minister Modi welcomed his Australian counterpart at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The Australian PM also inspected a Guard of Honour. Addressing a press conference afterwads, the Australian PM thanked PM Modi for a very warm welcome in India and said that the two countries are partners and building that partnership even stronger each and every day. "I thank PM Modi, for a very extraordinarily, generously and warm welcome here. Australia and India are great friends. We are partners and we are building that partnership even stronger each and every day," said Australian PM Albanese. "I led a delegation here of significant business leaders as well. We want to cooperate with India and build a relationship in culture, economic relations as well as in the area of security," he said. The government has amended rules under the anti-money law, making it mandatory for banks and financial institutions to record financial transactions of politically exposed persons (PEP). Also, financial institutions or reporting agencies will be required to collect information about the financial transactions of non-profit organisations or NGOs under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Under the modified PML Rules, the Finance Ministry defined PEPs as "individuals who have been entrusted with prominent public functions by a foreign country, including the heads of States or Governments, senior politicians, senior government or judicial or military officers, senior executives of state-owned corporations and important political party officials". The financial institutions will also have to register details of their NGO clients on the Darpan portal of the Niti Aayog and maintain the record for five years after the business relationship between a client and a reporting entity has ended or the account has been closed, whichever is later, the amendment said. Following this amendment, banks and financial institutions will now have to not only maintain records of financial transactions of PEPs and NGOs but also share them with the Enforcement Directorate, as and when sought. The amendments to PMLA rules also include tightening of the definition of beneficial owners under the anti-money laundering law and mandating reporting entities like banks and crypto platforms to collect information from their clients. Also Read Politically exposed persons, NPOs face tighter PMLA regulations Crypto under PMLA: Industry gives thumbs up, expects higher investor faith Story in numbers: PMLA registrations up four-fold, higher than a decade ago Cryptocurrency under PMLA: What changes for those investing in VDAs now? Sebi amends rules governing mode of payment by market intermediaries Suspected 'spy pigeon' to be sent to CFSL for forensic examination Railway Min, Tata Steel ink deal for seating, panelling in Vande Bharat Assembly speaker nominates Somnath Bharti as Delhi Jal Board vice-chairman Amit Shah to review CISF Raising Day Parade in Hyderabad on March 12 CAG report on allegations of discrepancies in accreditation not final yet As per the amendments, any individual or group holding 10 per cent ownership in the client of a 'reporting entity' will now be considered a beneficial owner against the ownership threshold of 25 per cent applicable earlier. Under the anti-money laundering law, 'reporting entities' are banks and financial institutions, firms engaged in real estate and jewellery sectors. They also include intermediaries in casinos and crypto or virtual digital assets. So far, these entities were required to maintain KYC details or records of documents evidencing the identity of their clients as well as account files and business correspondence relating to clients. They are required to maintain a record of all transactions, including the record of all cash transactions of more than Rs 10 lakh. They will now have to also collect the details of the registered office address and principal place of business of their clients. India and the US on Friday inked an initial pact on increasing private sector cooperation in the area of semiconductors under which the two countries would facilitate business opportunities and develop an ecosystem with a view to reduce their dependency on China and Taiwan. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on establishing semiconductor supply chain and innovation partnership under the framework of IndiaUS Commercial Dialogue was signed by US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal during the Commercial Dialogue here. According to a joint statement, both sides have agreed to set up a semiconductor sub-committee, led by the Department of Commerce for the US side and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and Ministry of Commerce and Industry for the Indian side. The committee will convene its first engagement in mid-year to review recommendations from the joint industry-led task force launched in connection with the iCET (Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies). Raimondo, who was on a four-day visit to India, was accompanied by the chief executive officers of 10 US companies. She met several ministers besides holding meetings with Goyal. The MoU seeks to establish a collaborative mechanism between the two governments on semiconductor supply chain resiliency and diversification in view of US's CHIPS and Science Act and India's Semiconductor Mission. Also Read The Hollywood sign is going to look jolly good on its 100th anniversary HCL Tech to double semiconductor biz in 4 yrs, needs 2 yrs to build fab K'taka hold talks with World Bank to make state climate, disaster-resilient China's chip output shrinks as India, US ramp up local manufacturing India, US ink MoU on semiconductor supply chain, innovation partnership Govt releases Rs 1.4 trn monthly instalment tax devolution to states DCGI asks drug manufacturers not to use propylene glycol by Delhi firm Need to reach out to farmers with tech amid climate change challenge: Tomar Rs 31,462.62 cr collected in taxes till Feb of this fiscal: Delhi FM Gahlot Goyal to chair meeting of national startup advisory council on Saturday The CHIPS and Science Act was signed by President Joe Biden in 2022 to boost funding for the American semiconductor industry. The MoU aims to leverage complementary strengths of both countries and facilitate commercial opportunities and development of semiconductor innovation ecosystems through discussions on various aspects of semiconductor value chain. It also envisages mutually beneficial R&D, talent and skill development. Addressing a joint media briefing, Goyal said the MoU would help in expanding mutual cooperation and enhancing resilient supply chains. Raimondo said that India's desire to expand its advance manufacturing is totally aligned with the US desire and goal to make their supply chain more resilient. With the MoU, she said the US would like to see India achieve its aspirations to play a larger role in the electronic supply chain. "We have already begun action as against that MoU (by) tasking both Indian and the American semiconductor industries to prepare an assessment of... gaps and lack of resiliency in the supply chain and that will guide our work," she said. Raimondo said that besides semiconductors, there are opportunities to increase cooperation in areas like all kinds of hardware in the electronics supply chain. "We also want to be clear that the US does not seek to decouple from China nor it seeks the technological decoupling from China. "What we seek to do is ensure that certain technologies where the US is ahead and where Chinese explicit strategy is to have these technologies and deploy them in Chinese military apparatus, those are the technologies that we have used export controls to ban the sale to China," she told reporters here. She also said that majority of the trade with China is in benign products and that will and should continue. "So this is not about decoupling, what it is about is keeping eyes wide open to the fact that China is explicitly trying to get access to American technology for use in its military and we need to protect ourselves and our allies and partners from that happening," she said. According to reports, China has sanctioned USD 140 billion to boost domestic chip manufacturing to overcome the US export restrictions. Indian government has also approved a Rs 76,000 crore-scheme to boost semiconductor and display manufacturing in the country in a bid to position India as a global hub for hi-tech production and attract large chip makers. Incentives have been lined up for companies engaged in silicon semiconductor fabs, display fabs, compound semiconductors, silicon photonics, sensor fabs, semiconductor packaging and semiconductor design. Another key outcome of the commercial dialogue was the launch of a new working group on talent, innovation and inclusive growth. Goyal said that both countries have recognised that small businesses and entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of the US and Indian economies. There is a need to facilitate collaboration between the SMEs and to foster innovation ecosystems that facilitate their post-pandemic economic recovery and growth, he added. They also launched standards and conformance cooperation program (Phase III) to be carried out in partnership between ANSI (American National Standard Institute) and BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards). Besides, the two leaders re-launched the travel and tourism working group to continue the progress from before the pandemic and to also address the many new challenges and opportunities to create a stronger travel and tourism sector. The US side would send a senior government official-led clean energy and environmental technology business development mission to India in 2024. The trade mission would be an opportunity to further foster US-Indian business partnerships in grid modernisation and smart grid solutions, renewable energy, energy storage, hydrogen, liquified natural gas, and environmental technology solutions. Further, both sides pledged to work together in the Global Biofuels Alliance and in the development and deployment of hydrogen technologies. "Both sides expressed interest in working together in developing next generation standards in telecommunications, including 6G," it said. After the pandemic, several sectors, including automobile and telecom, were severely impacted on account of shortage of semiconductor chips as India mainly imports them from China and Taiwan. Semiconductors are silicon chips that are used in various products, including automobiles, computers and cellphones. India and the US will examine the recommendations of the CEO forum for appropriate action to enhance economic ties between the two countries. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo on Friday chaired the India-US CEO Forum meet. According to a joint statement issued after the India-US commercial dialogue on Friday, both governments would "examine the CEO recommendations for appropriate action to enhance the economic landscape and ties between India and the US". Raimondo was here on a four-day visit to attend the meeting and India-US commercial dialogue. She was accompanied by 10 CEOs of US companies. The last meeting of the forum was held virtually in November 2022. It is a platform for dialogue across key sectoral themes and to identify areas for closer collaboration for mutual benefit of both economies. The forum, comprising CEOs from leading Indian and US-based companies, is co-chaired by N Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Sons and James Taiclet, President and Chief Executive Officer of Lockheed Martin. Also Read SC agrees to examine same-sex couple plea against Kerala HC order Persuade visitors to adopt Covid-19 appropriate behavior: Himachal CM China to increase military budget by 'appropriate and reasonable' level EAM Jaishankar to inaugurate India Global Forum 2022 in UAE today India-US Trade Policy Forum to boost bilateral trade and investment Defence Ministry inks contract with HAL to procure 6 Dornier aircraft West Bengal accounts for 38% of adenovirus cases in country: Survey Facebook parent Meta building a Twitter-like social media application PM Modi to hold roadshow, inaugurate IIT in Karnataka on March 12 India-US goods & services trade doubled since 2014, surpasses $191 bn The CEOs, under seven working groups, present priority areas to create stronger partnerships and boost growth across various critical areas. The areas include entrepreneurship and promoting small businesses; healthcare and pharmaceuticals, aerospace and defence; ICT and digital infrastructure; energy, water and environment; infrastructure and manufacturing; financial services, trade and investments. A Delhi court is to hear on Friday the bail application of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and former deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in connection with the now-scrapped excise policy case. ...Read More But this rise could be short-lived, and maximum temperatures are likely to fall by 2-3 degrees thereafter, especially in the wheat growing regions of Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh in Northwest India. After a relatively moderate increase in temperatures so far in March, peppered with unseasonal rains that flattened the standing crop in several states, maximum temperatures over Northwest, West and Central India might rise by 2-3 degrees over the next three days, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Friday. It had a similar forecast for Central India. In Northwest India, the gradual rise in maximum temperatures by 2-3C is very likely over the next three days, followed by a 2-3C fall thereafter, the IMD said in its daily report. This fall could be on account of another round of hailstorms and thunderstorms that is expected on March 14-15 and is likely to continue till March 19-20 in parts of North, Central and western India. The met predicted a gradual rise in temperatures by 2-3C over the next two days with no change thereafter in Gujarat. For Maharashtra, the IMD predicted a fall in temperature by 2-3C after two days. Also Read Will India become a net importer of wheat? Wheat acreage surges 25% from last year; but weather remains a concern Wheat price rise normal; have enough stocks to meet demand: Govt Centre says no decision on wheat sale in open markets to cool down prices Wheat flour prices jump over 17% in one yr, now closer to sugar, rice: Rpt NGT seeks facts on petition claiming illegal groundwater usage in Haryana Climate change, glacier topography, morphology control glacial retreat Rudraprayag, Tehri in Uttarakhand record highest landslide density in India Policy changes must in education system to erase drug menace: HP minister As their population explodes, Colombia plans to fly hippos to India, Mexico According to the weather patterns so far, March will pass through with heightened early pre-monsoon activity in several parts of the country. This should keep a check on any unusual or sharp rise in temperatures, Mahesh Palawat, vice president-meteorology and climate change in private weather forecasting agency Skymet, told Business Standard. Back-to-back cloudy weather, unseasonal rains and thunderstorms also mean that temperatures in the early part of March may not impact the standing wheat crop in north and central India, as was being feared in earlier. So far, the rise in temperatures have not been sharp enough to warrant any scare and whatever damage might have happened due to the spike in february temperature is difficult to quantify. But temperatures from here on will hold the key as grain filling has started in late sown wheat crop in North India, said K K Singh, ex-head of IMDs agromet division. Already, several government officials and experts have said the temperature increase thus far hasn't been severe enough to significantly damage the standing wheat crop, but temperatures in March are critical. The committee assessed that as on date the wheat crop condition is normal in all major wheat growing states, an official statement had said. Earlier this month, the Centre stated that the high powered panel constituted by it to monitor the wheat crop has found that as on date (March 2) the condition of the crop in all the major growing states is normal. Also, in the north-western plains--the major wheat growing regions--around 50 per cent of the area is under terminal heat stress-resistant varieties, the statement said, quoting the panels initial findings. The panel, which has senior officials from the department of agriculture, Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR), India Meteorological Department (IMD) and State Agriculture Universities, found that about 75 per cent of the area under wheat in Haryana and Punjab was sown early, so the crop wont be impacted by the spike in temperatures. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday raised with his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese the issue of recent attacks on temples in Australia. The matter came up for discussion during their wide-ranging dialogue that was aimed at expanding overall ties. In his media statement, Modi said it is a matter of regret that reports of attacks on temples have been coming regularly from Australia over the past few weeks and that it is natural that such news worries everyone in India. "I conveyed these feelings and concerns to Prime Minister Albanese and he has assured me that the safety of the Indian community is of special priority for him," Modi said in presence of the Australian prime minister. "Our teams will be in regular contact on this matter, and will cooperate as much as possible," he said. Modi said he discussed maritime security in the Indo-Pacific and ways to enhance mutual security with his Australian counterpart. Also Read EAM calls on Australian PM Albanese to discuss bilateral strategic ties Modi, Albanese arrive ahead of India-Australia Test match in Ahmedabad Australian PM Anthony Albanese to embark on India visit from March 8-11 Australian PM Anthony Albanese to visit India next March to lock trade deal Aussie PM Albanese calls India top-tier security partner for Australia Lies on migrant workers a fallout of call for oppn unity against BJP: TN CM BJP holds protest against Delhi govt's now scrapped liquor policy Bombay HC relief for GST assessees amid non-existence of tribunal Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Jayanti: History, celebration in Maharashtra Amid rising cases in the country, two individuals succumb to H3N2 virus "We discussed mutual cooperation to develop reliable and strong global supply chains," Modi said. Prime Minister Modi also said that both sides are working on a comprehensive economic agreement. "In the field of defence, we have made remarkable agreements in the last few years, including logistics support for each other's militaries," Modi said. In his comments, Albanese said Modi and he agreed on the conclusion of India-Australia Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement as soon as possible. "I am hopeful that we will be able to finalise it this year," he said. The Australian prime minister arrived in Delhi on Thursday evening after concluding his engagements in Ahmedabad and Mumbai. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the poll-bound Karnataka on March 12 where he will dedicate and lay the foundation stones for projects worth around Rs 16,000 crore. The Prime Minister will dedicate to the nation Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway. The project involves six-laning of the Bengaluru-Nidaghatta-Mysuru section of NH-275. The 118 km long project has been developed at a total cost of around Rs 8,480 crore, a government statement said. The infrastructure project will reduce the travel time between Bengaluru and Mysuru from around 3 hours to about 75 minutes. The Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone for Mysuru-Khushalnagar four-lane highway. Spread over 92 km, the project will be developed at a cost of around Rs 4,130 crore. It will play a key role in boosting connectivity of Kushalnagar with Bengaluru and will help halve the travel time from about 5 to only 2.5 hours. Modi will then fly to Hubballi where he will will dedicate IIT Dharwad to the nation. The foundation stone for the institute was laid by the Prime Minister in February 2019. Also Read Adani Enterprises secures funds to build Ganga Expressway at Rs 23,000 cr President Droupadi Murmu to open Mysuru Dasara on Sep 26, says CM Bommai Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway crucial project, will contribute to growth: PM Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway to be inaugurated next month: Nitin Gadkari President Draupadi Murmu to open Mysuru Dasara this year: CM Bommai Lung cancer patient who died recently in Haryana, had tested H3N2 in Jan H3N2 influenza: Symptoms, spread, prevention, what do experts say? Exchange programme established to increase contact among soldiers: PM Modi Budget session of Himachal Pradesh Assembly to commence on March 14 Two H3N2 deaths reported so far, cases likely to decline by March-end: Govt Developed at a cost of over Rs 850 crore, the institute currently offers four-year B Tech programmes, inter-disciplinary five-year BS-MS programme, M Tech and PhD programmes. The Prime Minister will dedicate to the nation the longest railway platform in the world at Sri Siddharoodha Swamiji Hubballi Station. It has been recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records recently. The 1,507 m long platform has been built at a cost of about Rs 20 crore. Modi will also dedicate the electrification of Hosapete Hubballi Tinaighat section and the upgradation of Hosapete station, for boosting connectivity in the region. Developed at a cost of over Rs 530 crore, the electrification project establishes seamless train operation on electric traction. The redeveloped Hosapete station will provide convenient and modern facilities to travellers. It has been designed to resemble the Hampi monuments. The Prime Minister will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for various projects of Hubballi-Dharwad smart city. The total estimated cost of these projects is about Rs 520 crore. He will also lay the foundation stone for the Jayadeva Hospital and Research Centre in Dharwad. The hospital will be developed at a cost of about Rs 250 crore and will provide tertiary cardiac care to the people of the region. This is Modi's sixth visit to Karnataka this year, where the assembly elections are due in April-May. Punjab Cabinet Friday approved an excise policy for the financial year 2023-24 with a target to collect Rs 9,754 crore in revenue, a jump Rs 1,004 crore collected in the last fiscal year. In another decision, the Cabinet also approved 'Punjab State Minor Mineral Policy-2023' to provide sand and gravel at affordable rates to the people of the state. Decisions to this effect was taken by the Cabinet under the Chairmanship of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann here, said an official release. In order to maintain stability of liquor trade and to continue reforms initiated last year, the retail sale licenses are being offered for renewal to the existing retail licensees, said the release. "The policy aims to collect Rs 9,754 crore during the year 2023-24, giving an increase of Rs 1,004 crore," it said. As per the policy, the value added tax charged on liquor sold by beer bars, hard bars, clubs and microbreweries has been reduced to 13 per cent, in addition to 10 per cent surcharge. 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 Over 5,500 litres of smuggled illicit liquor destroyed: Delhi excise dept Delhi govt earns Rs 768 crore revenue in one month under old excise policy India, US sign MoU to build resilient supply chain in semiconductor sector Govt releases Rs 1.4 trn monthly instalment tax devolution to states DCGI asks drug manufacturers not to use propylene glycol by Delhi firm Need to reach out to farmers with tech amid climate change challenge: Tomar Rs 31,462.62 cr collected in taxes till Feb of this fiscal: Delhi FM Gahlot On its mineral policy, the government said that it was brought to bring transparency to mining and sale/purchase of minerals such as sand. "The objective of this policy is to ensure that mining of sand and gravel is undertaken across the state in a transparent and legal manner so that sufficient quantities of sand and gravel is available on demand," said the release. Under the new policy, the mining sites have been divided into two categories commercial mining sites (CMS) and public mining sites (PMS). The commercial sites shall be grouped into distinct clusters and will be auctioned through e-tender process, whereas, the PMS shall be operated by the department manually in the interest of the general public, it said. Both, sand and gravel, will be sold at pit head price of Rs 5.50 per cubic feet, it said. No royalty will be imposed on excavation of ordinary clay and ordinary earth which is to be used by farmers for activities other than commercial infrastructure projects, said the release. Only manual excavation of ordinary earth will only be permitted for non-commercial projects in the area up to two acres or depth up to three feet, it said, adding that the policy will bring down the price of sand and gravel to a much relief of end consumers. The Cabinet also gave nod to the proposal of restructuring of the state water resources and transport department. During a review of the state water resources department, it was found that there is a need to increase some important posts and abolish those which had become redundant with the passage of time. Based on the review, 1,278 new posts have been created, 708 different cadre posts have been declared 'dying cadre', and 957 posts of 'beldars' have also been created. The restructuring plan will not only make optimum use of manpower, but will also save Rs 74.74 crore per annum, the government said. The Cabinet also gave its approval for restructuring of the posts of State Transport Commissioner, or STC, a wing under the transport department. With the restructuring of the STC, the number of posts will increase, enabling people to get their work done at district headquarters for transport vehicles, it said. The Cabinet also greenlit to be sent to the Governor for consideration pleas by life convicts seeking premature release. After the nod of Cabinet under Article 163 of the Constitution, these special remission/premature release cases will be submitted to the Punjab Governor, it said. The Delhi government collected Rs 31,462.62 crore in taxes till February of this financial year, including Rs 26,096.79 crore from GST, according to an official statement. Ahead of presenting the Budget for Delhi, Finance Minister Kailash Gahlot on Friday convened a meeting with senior officials of the Department of Trade and Taxes. He reviewed the budget preparations and discussed measures to promote trade in Delhi and analysed the efforts being made to augment revenue from tax collection in the city. In a statement, he said, "The Trade and Taxes department plays an important role in the government. The revenue collections in GST and VAT combined was more than Rs 27,000 crores in 2021-22. This year, we expect remarkable growth in the collection." Gahlot rued that in addition to tax detault, evasion is a big problem for any state. "Under Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the government wants to have a transparent system and is continuously working on identifying defaulters. Regular meetings with the market and trade associations are happening through outreach camps to reduce such problems," he said. Till February 2023, a total of Rs 31,462.62 crores in taxes were collected, including Rs 26,096.79 crore from GST and Rs 5,365.83 crore from VAT. Tax collected from petroleum products in 2022-2023 was Rs 4,169.18 crore whereas in 2021-2022, it was Rs 3739.41 crores. Also Read New bus routes going to be big relief to city commuters: Kailash Gahlot Sisodia's portfolios given to Gahlot, Anand till new ministers' appointment Delhi Assembly session from Mar 17, Gahlot to present budget on Mar 21 Siemens posts 85% rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 462 crore Tourist inflow information to be collected through drones in Himachal Need to reach out to farmers with tech amid climate change challenge: Tomar Goyal to chair meeting of national startup advisory council on Saturday Nirav Modi claims he has no funds to pay UK court fines, borrowing money Three Centre of Excellence to be set up for fruits, vegetables: Agri Min Claims worth Rs 174 cr processed during ESIC Special Services Fortnight In order to augment revenue from taxes, the Delhi government identifies and takes regular action against tax defaulters, according to an official statement. The government also does mandatory field verification of suspicious taxpayers and initiates necessary action as per the DGST Act, 2017, it said. "Meetings with market and trade associations through outreach camps are organized regularly to sensitise them about the latest notifications, circulars, amended provisions of DGST, the benefits of tax-paying and the repercussions of tax evasion. Their grievances are also addressed during these outreach camps," the statement said. Delhi is the third state in the country to implement the Document Identification Number (DIN) in the indirect tax administration. The department informed the minister that they are collating all data of pending recovery cases since 2005. They are also sending SMSes to the taxpayers as a reminder to deposit the tax. At the zonal level, the department is regularly monitoring the disposal of recovery cases. It is also in the process of developing Key Performance Indicators (KPI) for effective action on defaulters. Once implemented, it will prevent revenue leakages and hence augment revenue collection. It will also increase return-filing compliance and ensure action on the tax defaulters. The primary objective of KPI is to provide various data on one platform to enhance tax-collection efficiency. With 33 per cent of Indias oil import consistently coming from Russia, Iraq has reached out to refiners here with offers to open discussions on what level of discounts would be needed to lure them back, several people in the know said. Read more US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo discussed key areas of shared interests including the Indo-Pacific region in her meetings with the top Indian leadership including Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. Raimondo in her meeting with Doval, according to the Department of Commerce, discussed the US-India commercial relationship and "opportunities to deepen linkages between our economies". "They concurred on the importance of the inaugural meeting of the US-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology," the Commerce Department said, adding that they also discussed the upcoming US-India CEO Forum and US-India Commercial Dialogue meetings, which will help facilitate increased cooperation between the two governments and business communities across a variety of sectors. Raimondo discussed with all the Indian leaders the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) and the opportunities it presents to deepen regional economic integration and enhance individual and collective economic competitiveness. In her meeting with Jaishankar, Raimondo discussed US-India relations and opportunities for further economic cooperation. The Secretary underscored the importance of the US-India bilateral relationship to the Biden administration and the department, including ongoing collaboration and potential for closer commercial ties through the US-India CEO Forum (CEO Forum) and the US-India Commercial Dialogue. The two agreed to launch the US-India Strategic Trade dialogue to address export controls, explore ways of enhancing high technology commerce, and facilitate technology transfer between countries. She thanked him for India's continued support on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) and raised the importance of the Framework to enhance the economic competitiveness of the United States, India, and the other IPEF partners, a media release said. Also Read Jaishankar consults Ethiopian FM to reinforce ties in education, trade India is an invaluable partner: US State Department on Jaishankar-Blinken India matters more in current polarised world, says EAM Jaishankar American businesses struck by India's rapid digitalisation: S Jaishankar Relations with Indian diaspora bolstered due to Sushma Swaraj: Jaishankar Yogi govt launches crackdown against Mafia, criminals; starts double attack Aussie PM Albanese calls India top-tier security partner for Australia Patnaik condemns Centre's policies of LPG price rise, rice quota cut TMS Ep386: Crypto under PMLA, SEBI on PCVs, power stocks, sovereign default Proper upbringing of boys can curb violence against women: Goa CM Sawant In her meeting with Sitharaman, the discussions included Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), semiconductors, and supply chain resilience, the Department of Commerce said. Raimondo thanked her for India's early engagement and continued support of IPEF, and for working closely with the minister to deliver concrete outcomes through IPEF. In her meeting with Minister of Education and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan, Raimondo discussed the IPEF, including the IPEF Upskilling Initiative, and India's initiatives on skill development. "The two discussed how the IPEF Upskilling Initiative is a concrete example of the types of economic benefits to IPEF Partners that will be available through the Framework and the potential for future cooperation," a media release said. Raimondo in her meeting with Minister of Electronics & Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw discussed issues of importance to the US-India commercial relationship, including cooperation on semiconductors, the digital economy and data flows, Open RAN and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), a media release said. "The two discussed the importance of the United States and the 13 other IPEF partners working to develop the policies that will create more resilient and secure supply chains, accelerate progress . After Holi, the Yogi government has started a double attack against the mafia and criminals across Uttar Pradesh, an official statement said. According to an official statement, after the state investigative agencies, now the Central Investigation Agency CBI has also opened its front against the mafia. "The CBI team reached Kaushambi on Thursday to collect the account of the crime-acquired property of Abdul Qavi, the shooter of Atiq Ahmed". "In the inputs received by the investigating agencies, it has also come to the fore that the mafia Atiq Ahmed, who is lodged in the jail of Gujarat, takes the help of his old trusted shooters in many incidents. One such old shooter of Atiq is Abdul Qavi who is out of police custody for the last 14 years," the statement said. "There are indications of his involvement in the Umesh Pal murder case too, after which bulldozers razed Kavi's illegal house worth three crores in Jamalpur Bhakhanda of Kaushambi district. A two-member CBI investigation team reached Manjhanpur tehsil of Kaushambi district to collect accounts of property worth crores acquired illegally by Abdul Kavi's close friends," the statement informed. It said that the wires of the Umesh Pal murder case are also connected in one way or the other with the former BSP MLA Raju Pal murder case in Prayagraj 18 years ago. "To investigate these relations, the investigation team CBI reached the Manjhanpur tehsil of Kaushambi. Two officers from Delhi talked to Tehsildar Bhupal Singh for about two and a half hours," it added. Also Read 23,000 acres of land freed from mafia in Madhya Pradesh in 2022: Govt CBI searches 105 locations under operation targeting cyber criminals Go after big fish, nab global mafia in drug trafficking cases: Sitharaman Sand mafia in Jharkhand's Gulma tries to mow down SDPO, team by dumper Police in Haryana's Hansi develop mobile app to track criminals Aussie PM Albanese calls India top-tier security partner for Australia Patnaik condemns Centre's policies of LPG price rise, rice quota cut TMS Ep386: Crypto under PMLA, SEBI on PCVs, power stocks, sovereign default Proper upbringing of boys can curb violence against women: Goa CM Sawant Panel on OBC quota for municipal polls submits report to UP CM Adityanath According to the information, many questions were asked about Abdul Qavi, who was the shooter of Mafia Atiq. "The CBI has also gathered information about the revenue record of the movable and immovable property of shooter Abdul Qavi's family. Apart from this, CBI also went to Tehsil archives where it obtained blueprints of land records of Jamalpur Bhakhanda and Raksarai villages from SDM Manjhanpur. It contains papers of shooter Abdul Qavi's father Abdul Aziz, father Abdul Ghani, wife Kaneez Fatima, brother Abdul Wali, his wife Faizia Bano, brother Abdul Qadir, his wife Bushra, brother Abdul Mughani and his wife Shaheen Bano," the statement added. It said that the wheels of the bulldozer, which stopped during the Holi festival, are now desperate to run over Atiq and his gang members. According to Arvind Chauhan, Vice President of Prayagraj Development Authority, the process of action against the list of more than three dozen people related to the Atiq Ahmed gang prepared by the PDA is going to start again. Once the declaration is put on record, there would be no recovery, the court ordered. Taxpayers will get relief from recovery if they file a declaration of their intent to appeal against the order of lower authorities, even as the GST Appellate Tribunal is yet to be constituted, ruled the Bombay High Court. The court interpreted the content of a circular issued by the state authorities in this regard. In case the assessee fails to file such a declaration within the stipulated time, officers wishing to initiate recovery proceedings must first give him 15 days to do so, the court said. Similar guidelines may be deemed to have been issued pan-India by the government to reduce confusion in the interim period, he said. Abhishek Jain, Partner-indirect tax at KPMG India, said, "This order will help streamline the process flow and help avoid disputes between taxpayers and the department, till the time the GST Tribunal is set up." Also Read Reconsider Satyam order: Securities Appellate Tribunal to Sebi GST Council meeting: Panel for raising threshold for offences to Rs 2 cr SAT relief for Bombay Dyeing and Wadias in Sebi market ban case Jalan-Kalrock consortium looks to move SC over Jet Airways staffers' dues DY Chandrachud to head panel for appointment of electricity tribunal Ice cream sold over counter but not prepared in outlet to attract 18% GST PM asks India Inc to step up investment, take advantage of opportunities Clear starts GST e-invoicing generating services for large taxpayers Fitment panel to examine compensation cess structure for pan masala Feb GST collection up 12% YoY to Rs 1.49 trn, dips month-on-month West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has urged the Centre to allow poppy cultivation in the state, insisting that delicacies prepared with its seeds are integral to the Bengali cuisine. Banerjee said 'posto' or poppy seeds are costly as it is cultivated only in a few states. "Bengalis love posto'. Why should it be cultivated in only four states? Why not in West Bengal, despite it being on our menu every day?" she said. "Why will we have to purchase posto' from other states at high prices? Why will West Bengal not get permission for its cultivation? I will ask members of the opposition to write to the Centre on it," the CM said on Thursday. The state has been trying to get permission for cultivation of the highly-regulated crop. "We have said that the state will cultivate it in agriculture farms. If we can grow poppy here, we will get them at Rs 100 (per kg), instead of Rs 1,000. At times, we have to take decisions unanimously. Not all poppies are drugs," she claimed. Also Read Mamata to chalk out party strategy for winter session of Parliament CJI Lalit restored public confidence in judicial system: CM Mamata Some people conspiring against Bengal, trying to defame us: Mamata Banerjee Mamata Banerjee to attend PM-convened meeting in New Delhi on Dec 5 Mamata Banerjee voices anguish over violence on Meghalaya-Assam border India's inflation seen easing slightly in Feb, still above RBI target: Poll How Apple and Foxconn's efforts led to landmark reforms in labour laws India's February fuel demand hit at least 24-year high, shows data Competition Commission of India squeezed by staff vacancies, workload Politically exposed persons, NPOs face tighter PMLA regulations Banerjee was speaking on budget discussions relating to the Food and Supplies Department. The chief minister also said that as the Centre gave tax relief to basmati' rice, it should extend similar benefits to gobindobhog' and tulaipanji' varieties of rice produced in West Bengal. The 130-km-long Indo-Bangla Friendship Pipeline (IBFPL) pipeline is part of several bilateral measures to allow Bangladesh to tap into larger volumes of energy to meet its growing domestic demands. It would carry high speed diesel from Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) in Assam. India's first-ever cross-border oil pipeline with Bangladesh is set to be launched on March 18 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina by video conferencing, Bangladesh's Foreign Minister A K Momen said on Friday. The ground-breaking ceremony for the IBFPL was held in September 2018 and the project has been closely monitored by the Prime Minister's Offices of both nations since. The pipeline would carry fuel from NRL's marketing terminal in Siliguri, West Bengal to the state-run Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation's (BPC) oil depot in Parbatipur city in Dinajpur District of the neighbouring country. The custody transfer point would be at the Banglabandha International border point in the suburbs of Siliguri. BPC would have sole marketing rights within Bangladesh. One million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA) can potentially be transported through the pipeline. Constructed at a cost of Rs 377.08 crore, the bilateral project has been financed by a grant in aid of Rs 285.24 crore by India and Rs 91.84 crore by NRL. Only five km of the pipeline would run within Indian territory, the rest would run through Bangladesh. Also Read Metal stocks: Will export duty rollback help? Fitch affirms Bangladesh's issuer default rating at 'BB-'; outlook stable IND vs BAN T20 World Cup: India Predicted XI vs Bangladesh at Adelaide Zee stock gets a boost post CCI clearing mega merger deal with Sony The Ukraine war's shockwaves are hurting Bangladesh's apparel industry Govt's efforts to avoid power crisis set to boost LNG imports in summers Irrigation facilities weakening link between rains and crop production R K Singh launches portal to ensure availability of power amid peak season India, US ink MoU on semiconductor supply chain, innovation partnership Foreign investment in India slowing but shift from China spells opportunity As of 2020, Bangladesh was the world's 42nd largest importer of refined petroleum, importing $2.64 billion of the product, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC), an international data visualisation site for international trade data created by the Macro Connections group at the MIT Media Lab. Like all other countries in the subcontinent, refined petroleum accounts for the largest chunk of Bangladesh's import bill. Other projects soon The same year, Singapore, China, India, Malaysia, and Thailand were its largest sources. NRL and BPC had, in April 2017, inked a long-term agreement for selling High Speed Diesel (HSD) from India to Bangladesh through the IBFPL. Later, in October that year, the state-run NRL signed another 15-year agreement with the BPC for export of gas oil (diesel) to the neighboring nation. The successful launch of the project is likely to give a fillip to similar bilateral endeavours. India has also been providing grant assistance to Bangladesh for various infrastructure projects, including construction of Akhaura-Agartala rail link, dredging of inland waterways in Bangladesh. The distance for transporting different types of fuel from IOC's Betkuchi depot in Guwahati to Dharmanagar depot in Tripura via Bangladesh will be 376 km, including 137 km inside the neighbouring country, against 579 km through the Meghalaya-Barak Valley route. On the other hand, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) is in talks with the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) of Bangladesh to facilitate the shipment of petroleum, oil, and lubricants from Assam and Meghalaya to Tripura via Bangladesh. Talks picked up pace last year after floods and landslides devastated the communication links in the Northeastern region. In this section First Published: Mar 10 2023 | 9:34 AM IST India needs a new healthcare model to effectively manage hypertension Union Budget 2023: Middle-class thrust that largely sidelines the poor Union Budget 2023: Growth-oriented with tax stability and rationalisation MPC's optimistic growth outlook augurs well for credit demand Investment facilitation for development or trouble? OnePlus debuts Nord Watch at Rs 4,999: Specifications, features, and more OnePlus details Nord Watch features ahead of India launch: Details here Gurugram-Jaipur stretch of Delhi-Mumbai expressway to be completed by Nov OnePlus Nord Watch review: Not perfect, yet makes a good budget smartwatch The car is not racing yet, says the speedometer. The pulse is, says the smartwatch. It is a regular weekday morning, and we are headed to Jaipur. This, however, is a journey that is as important, perhaps more, than the destination. We will stretch our SUV's legs on the spanking new expressway that has just opened. We are talking about the Sohna-Dausa segment of the National Expressway 4 (NE4) better known as the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway. It is expected to reduce the travel time from Delhi to Jaipur drastically. Roads and highways minister Nitin Gadkari says it will come down to two hours, but it is early days. 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 While the Mumbai-based lender has a huge customer base to tap into, it needs expertise for growing credit card business which strategic investors can bring to the table. At present, BoB holds 100 per cent in the entity. Public sector lender Bank of Baroda (BoB) is planning to rope in a strategic investor for its credit card subsidiary, BOB Financial Solutions (BFSL), by divesting 49 per cent stake. Capital market firm ICICI Securities is advisor for the deal. Bank officials said the card in force are about 1.85 million and the outstanding credit portfolio is expected to be Rs 3,500 crore by the end of March. The bank is looking at timeline of 12 months to bring in a partner for technology, distribution and sourcing knowledge, bank executives said. Going by the current pace of growth, the cards in force could double to cross three million mark and credit outstanding to be above Rs 5,500 crore by March 2024, they added. As the credit card business is one of the key product offerings to its customers, BoB has stated that BFSL remains strategically important for it. This is also reflected in the track record of providing branding, management and funding support to BFSL and its stated intent of continuing to do so in future. Also Read Bank of Baroda Q3: What to expect from the lender's Dec quarter result? Bank of Baroda reports highest-ever quarterly profit of Rs 3,853 cr in Q3 What is credit score? Why is it important? Bank of Baroda Q2 results preview: Here's what key brokerages expect Bank of Baroda's Q2 net jumps 58.7% aided by rise in NII, dip in provisions SBV with Massachusetts branches seized by FDIC as depositors pull cash ICICI Bank given time till Sept 2024 to pare stake in ICICI Lombard Bank credit grows 15.5% YoY in Feb 24 fortnight to Rs 134.5 trillion REC board okays Rs 1.2 trillion market borrowing programme for 2023-24 Citi appoints Bhanu Vohra as head for commercial banking in India According to rating agency ICRA BFSL has seen a rapid growth in its credit card base over the last two years with the same expected to continue over the next few years. However, the overall asset quality levels have remained relatively weak given the profile of the customers with significant exposure to the self-employed segment. BoB has continued to support BFSLs growth with capital infusions, including Rs 300 crore in 9M FY2023 (Rs 100 crore in FY2022). In addition to the credit card business, BFSL manages BOBs merchant acquiring business. Efforts to scale up as well as to gradually increase the contribution of the salaried segment could support an improvement in the asset quality levels over time. The operating profitability in the card segment has also improved, supported by the higher card and receivables base along with cost containment measures, it added. In a stock exchange notification, the bank said, we would like to inform that ICICI Bank Ltd (Bank) is in receipt of a letter dated March 10, 2023 from the Reserve Bank of India conveying its approval to the Banks request for extension of time till September 9, 2024 for divesting the Banks shareholding in ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Limited (Company) to less than 30 per cent of the Companys paid up capital subject to the conditions of Government of Indias notification. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved private sector lender ICICI Banks request seeking extension of time till September 9, 2024 for divesting its shareholding in its general insurance subsidiary, ICICI Lombard General Insurance, below 30 per cent. From the fintech sector perspective, self-regulation can be a useful tool for setting and enforcing rules. he said at the International Research Conference on FinTech: Innovation, Inclusion, and Regulation at IIM Ahmedabad. The role of an SRO can include setting the standards for conduct as well as acting as a bridge between the sector and the regulators. Regulation is merely a guard rail to keep the sector on the right path, Jain said. The country's fintech sector should attempt to organise itself under a self-regulatory organisation (SRO) that monitors the conduct of member fintech entities. This approach can help protect consumer interest and improve governance standards in fintech entities, said M K Jain, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India, on Friday. India has the world's third largest fintech ecosystem. So far, RBI has taken a balanced approach on regulating the fintech sector. It has endeavoured to find a middle ground trying to balance between the innovation brought by fintechs while addressing the unique risk they introduce. The RBI had, in its digital lending guidelines, mooted the idea of setting up an SRO covering regulated entities and digital lending applications (DLAs)/loan service providers (LSPs) in framing a code of conduct for recovery and a model standardised LSP agreement for balance sheet lenders, among other things. Currently, there are two bodies Digital Lenders Association of India (DLAI) and Fintech Association for Consumer Empowerment (FACE) that are eyeing the SRO tag in this segment. According to Jain, at one end of the spectrum, there is the hands-off approach that advocates allowing the sector to develop freely and develop without any regulatory intervention. While this harnesses innovation, it risks the possibility of failing to protect the financial system and customers from adverse outcomes. Any approach to regulate the fintech sector will invariably be based on five fundamental objectives financial stability, consumer protection, financial system integrity, competition, and orderly development, Jain said. Also Read RBI hikes repo rate by 35 bps to 6.25%, cuts FY23 GDP forecast to 6.8% RBI MPC: Here is what experts have to say about the policy announcement Why are government and regulators uneasy about fintech's rise? BS BFSI Insight Summit 2022: RBI Deputy Guv T Rabi Sankar to speak Banks need to scale up investments in technology, says RBI's MK Jain Dollar holds near three-month highs on rates outlook by Jerome Powell India must prepare to curb volatility risks of int'l rupee: RBI deputy gov Worrisome to see no transparency in forex fees for small players: RBI's Rao RBI possibly buying dollars in spot, paying forwards via PSBs: Traders Credit card outstanding rises 29.6% to reach record high level in Jan Jain said, from a regulatory perspective for fintechs, there are risks associated with financial stability, market integrity, and customer protection. For example, fintechs operating on the lending side have spurred the availability of unsecured loans globally. Such loans are often driven by machine learning models. However, effectiveness of these models for delinquencies has not been fully established, especially during an economic downturn. Any significant failure of these models will not only be limited to new entrants but will also impact regulated entities with exposure to them, he said. At the other end of the spectrum, there is a status quo approach that aims to maintain the existing framework, without any relaxations to cater for new developments. Under this approach, fintech products and services are regulated in the same way as traditional financial products or services. From the perspective of controlling risks, it may appear to be the best approach as it applies tried and tested regulation. However, the benefits of innovation may be lost. Jain said that fintechs need to be conscious with customer protection and that is where RBI is finding gaps in the Indian operating space. Mis-selling, frauds, or misconduct by fintechs may harm the very consumers they wish to serve. The careful management of this risk is crucial for the sustainable development of the fintech sector. According to Jain, use of models also brings the question of fair treatment in the extension of credit. It is necessary that highly aggravated fintech business models for decision making take care of the requirement of fairness through additional procedures, controls, and safeguards both in the development and deployment of models and also in the final decision making. While regulators are always worried about customer protection, fintechs should even be more aware, vigilant, and proactive in ensuring that the bedrock of their business remains protected, he said. Conducted in the month of February, the 2023 immigration trends survey covered Human Resource professionals especially engaged in immigration processes in their companies. The survey claims to cover a wide variety of industries and company sizes. Nearly 89 per cent of the companies covered under the Envoy Global survey were found to have hired one or more foreign nationals who were laid off in the US, the economic times reported. Several hundred of these H1B visa holders were impacted by these layoffs. But the survey highlights that as many as 71 per cent of companies were found to have recruited more foreign nationals in the first quarter of 2023, than during the same period last year. After mass layoffs across US companies, the job market appears grim with a hiring freeze in many of these companies. This has gravely impacted those holding H1B visas as they get only around 60 days to find another sponsor. The finding of the survey indicates that many companies benefited by recruiting foreign talent that faced layoffs. 78 per cent of the companies had to freeze hiring in 2022 due to macroeconomic trends, while nearly 51 per cent laid off foreign workers, the report said. Also Read Indian economy to grow 6.5% in FY24; CAD may widen further: Economic Survey Even foreign nationals have right to personal liberty: Huawei chief to HC Monster.com makeover: Renamed foundit.in, it's now a talent management firm TMS Ep314: Adani expansion, job creation, Indian equities, climate Rajasthan the top beneficiary of EPFO-linked central job scheme Overaged for Canadian PR? New law ups your chances of immigration US job growth beats expectations in February; wages rise moderately Biden proposes to double economic support fund to cash-strapped Pakistan Rising costs by inflation force UK govt to delay major rail project Biden unveils $6.9 trn budget, raises tax on rich, boosts spending on infra The survey predicts this momentum to sustain itself. It expects slightly more H-1B registrations than recorded in 2022. The Department of Labour recorded an all-time high in H-1B sponsorships, the report said. An H-1B visa applicant is sponsored by the American company that hires them. If the H-1B worker quits her job or is laid off, they have to find a new job and complete new paperwork within 60 days. They may also apply for a change of status from an H-1B worker. If in case they cannot do the above two, they have to return to their country or get deported. H-1B visa is a work permit that allows foreign nationals to work in the United States for American companies. The rules mandate that foreign nationals must work in a field that requires specialised knowledge that the employer cannot find among US citizens. Indians make up more than 60 per cent of the new H-1B cap allotments. Across the Atlantic, another former employer is proving more reserved. Barclays Plc, which stood by Staley as its regulators probed whether he had mischaracterized his relationship with the sex offender, hasnt updated its public position on its former chief executive officer since he stepped down in November 2021, when it noted his real commitment and skill at running the bank. JPMorgan Chase & Co. didnt pull any punches this week when it abruptly moved to distance itself from Jes Staley. Accusing him of repeated acts of disloyalty and intentional and outrageous conduct over his ties with deceased pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, the banks lawsuit seeks to clawback $80 million of past pay. The contrasting postures of the firms, emphasize the difficult position Barclays also finds itself in even though Staleys alleged misdeeds took place during his tenure at JPMorgan and it is the US bank facing suits from Epstein accusers and the US Virgin Island. The British banks latest annual report notes how Staley received about 2.3 million ($2.7 million) during 2022 as his 12-month notice period ran its course. The 70% of his deferred pay that hadnt vested at the time of his departure some 5 million has been suspended, and the lender has said this will remain the case until there are further developments in the UK regulatory proceedings. If I was a Barclays shareholder Id be worried about the collateral damage if things worsen, said John Mann, a lawmaker who was previously a member of the UKs Treasury Select Committee. Theres a real possibility of reputational damage. With Staley contesting the findings of the UK regulatory probe, the British lender is maintaining a steady silence even as questions mount about its decision making over his departure. Also Read JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank sued by Epstein accusers in New York: Report Virgin Islands takes JPMorgan to court for facilitating Epstein abuse Jhunjhunwala's firm Rare in talks with Barclays to prepay Rs 500 crore loan Morgan Stanley-led banks face $500 million loss on Twitter debt to Musk India's weakening exports prompt slow trade deficit moderation: Barclays Vietnam chief of Apple supplier exits after flagging shift from China Nissan to develop new powertrains, may cut cost of hybrid cars by 30% Instagram down for users for a few hours worldwide, cause unclear DBS CEO Piyush Gupta's total pay for 2022 rises by 13% to $11.4 million Silvergate plans to wind down bank ops, liquidate after crypto metldown UK regulators began an investigation into Staleys ties to Epstein in late 2019, focused on whether the American banker had been transparent in his characterization of the relationship. After the bank revealed the existence of the probe in February 2020, Staley went on Bloomberg Television to defend himself saying that the Barclays board had conducted its own review and had concluded that I had been transparent and open with the bank. A spokesperson for Barclays declined to comment. The Barclays board said in its filing at the time that it was disappointed at the outcome and noted the investigation makes no findings that Mr Staley saw, or was aware of, any of Mr Epsteins alleged crimes, which was the central question underpinning Barclays support for Mr Staley following the arrest of Mr Epstein in the summer of 2019. A year and a half later, Staley stepped down as CEO after the UK authorities shared the preliminary results of its probe that deemed Staley had underplayed his relationship with Epstein, findings that the American executive is challenging. Staley exited as a so-called good leaver, meaning Barclays paid him all the money he was contractually entitled to. That included benefits like covering his relocation costs to move back to the US, which came to 107,000 last year. Good Leaver A spokesperson for the FCA declined to comment. A lawyer for Staley didnt respond to requests for comment. His unvested stock worth about 5 million based on a Bloomberg analysis of regulatory filings remains suspended, according to the firms 2022 annual report. A decision on that is pending further developments in respect of the regulatory and legal proceedings related to the ongoing FCA and PRA investigation regarding Mr Staley. Meanwhile, the boards review of Staleys ties to Epstein is under scrutiny. Board Review Even before the most lurid accusations from the US lawsuits emerged, Barclays investors have expressed their unease at how the lender has handled the matter. Shortly after Staleys exit, several of the lenders top shareholders raised concerns about the terms of Jes Staleys departure. At the end of 2019, Barclays Chairman Nigel Higgins was provided access to more than 1,000 emails between Staley and Epstein, whose contents are behind many of the allegations in the US lawsuits against JPMorgan. But a board review didnt see them as proving a closer friendship. JPMorgans third-party claims against Staley raise the likelihood of settlement if the lawsuits survive motions to dismiss, which we think is probable. If the bank cant win early dismissal, it faces the prospect of undesirable revelations in discovery and prolonged headline risk, likely pushing the bank to settle. We could envision a settlement where both the bank and Staley contribute. What Bloomberg Intelligence Says Barclays silence was an increasingly rare stance even before JPMorgans about-turn. Last month, one of Staleys staunchest backers disowned him as the accusations from the lawsuits emerged. BI analyst Elliott Stein Given what we now understand about the depth of his relationship with Epstein, I was clearly wrong, said Bowdoin President Clayton Rose. The president of his alma mater, Bowdoin College, apologized for saying in 2019 that Staley represented all that is great about Bowdoin and the culture and values here. Pointing to a USVI subpoena that required JPMorgan to hand over Staleys communications with Epstein, the activist shareholder a longtime critic of Staley warned the request could further damage Barclayss reputation. Even more awkwardly for the Barclays board, the firms then-largest shareholder Edward Bramson offered some prescient advice in an August 2020 letter to investors. The kindest thing the board could do for him would be to let him go, Bramson wrote in the letter. The board could then focus strictly on damage control and on the future course of the company. China's Parliament on Friday unanimously endorsed an unprecedented third five-year term for President Xi Jinping. Xi, 69, was re-elected by the once-in-a-five-year Congress of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) as its leader in October last year, becoming the first Chinese leader after the party founder Mao Zedong to continue in power beyond the two five-year terms. China's legislature, the National People's Congress (NPC) often described as the rubber stamp Parliament, for its mechanical and routine endorsement of the decisions of the CPC on Friday voted on the expected lines ratifying Xi's third term. Xi is widely expected to continue in power for life. He has already been elected as the General Secretary of the CPC during its last October Congress, which also elected a new leadership for all its top policy bodies. This year's annual session of the NPC is regarded significant as it heralds a once-in-a-ten-year change of leadership of the Chinese government, including the Premier who presides over the State Council, the central Cabinet. Also Read Xi Jinping makes first public appearance since returning from overseas Chinese President Xi creates history, wins record third term in power Xi ensures 'complete control' over Chinese military in third term: Report China's Communist Party Congress to endorse Xi Jinping for record 3rd time Chinese firm shares slump in US as President Xi Jinping starts third term Indo-American Vedant Patel to serve as US State Dept's interim spokesperson Biden ultimate socialist president, a disaster for America: Nikki Haley Kim Jong Un supervises N Korean artillery drill planning attack on S Korea From Kailasa to Kalakuta Republic: Micronations that amused the world Pak HC quashes govt ban on Imran Khan's speeches from TV channels The term of the present Premier Li Keqiang will end with this year's NPC session. His successor, widely expected to be Li Qiang, who is a close associate of Xi, is likely to be elected by the NPC on Saturday. All the names of the new leadership have been approved by the Plenum of the CPC headed by Xi a few weeks ago. The NPC approval is a routine formality. The new Premier will address the annual press conference on Mar 13, the last day of this year's annual NPC session. Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that he would continue to block any western sanctions against Russia that could potentially harm his country's economic interests. In the foreseeable future, Hungary would remain dependent on fossil fuel imports from Russia, and he was optimistic that Russia would prove a reliable supplier, Xinhua news agency quoted Orban as saying. The Prime Minister outlined the government's plan to increase the share of solar and wind power in Hungary's energy mix. He also highlighted the need to invest in new gas-fired power plants to ensure energy security. Hungary's growing economy needs 500,000 new workers, he said, adding that the expansion of the labour force should be accompanied by large-scale investments in the energy sector to serve the industrial developments happening in eastern Hungary. Orban said he was counting on workers from Serbia and Ukraine to fill the gap in the labour market. Also Read Hungarian PM slams European Parliament for 'attacks' amid energy crisis Hungary calls for peace in Russia-Ukraine conflict, warns of escalation UK announces new tranche of sanctions against Russia over Ukraine war European Union leaders avoid deep rift on gas price cap at energy summit US to continue sanctions on Russian, Iranian arms trade: White House China's Parliament endorses Xi's leadership for rare 3rd five-year term Indo-American Vedant Patel to serve as US State Dept's interim spokesperson Biden ultimate socialist president, a disaster for America: Nikki Haley Kim Jong Un supervises N Korean artillery drill planning attack on S Korea From Kailasa to Kalakuta Republic: Micronations that amused the world However, the first option should always be to fill the new positions with Hungarians, he said. India and Australia on Friday signed an audio-visual co-production agreement that seeks to offer filmmakers financial incentives amounting to up to 30 per cent of the expenditure incurred in the respective countries. The agreement was signed by Information and Broadcasting Secretary Apurva Chandra and Australian High Commissioner Barry O'Farrell during the ongoing visit of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to India. Australia is the 16th country with which India has a co-production agreement that would benefit mainly small filmmakers keen on shooting movies, web series, advertisements or carrying out post-production work or visual effects in that country. "For all qualifying projects, the international film production company can claim a payable cash incentive of up to 30 per cent on qualifying expenditure in India, subject to a maximum of Rs 2 crore," Chandra told reporters here. Australia will also offer reciprocal benefits to Indian filmmakers shooting or engaged in post-production activities in that country. Chandra said in case of shooting of foreign films, a 5 per cent bonus, up to a maximum of Rs 50 lakh, as additional reimbursement would be granted for employing 15 per cent or more manpower in India. Also Read What is visual search? Audio-Technica ATH-M20xBT review: Great headphones minus extravagant frills Audio-Technica launches ATH-M50xBT2 wireless over-ear headphones: Know more Sony India launches headphones WH-1000XM5 with active noise cancellation Apple, Mercedes-Benz partner to bring Spatial Audio to different models Erdogan sets Turkey parliamentary, presidential elections for May 14 Tendency of categorisation of terrorism based on motive is dangerous: India Hungarian PM vows to block sanctions against Russia to safeguard interests China's Parliament endorses Xi's leadership for rare 3rd five-year term Indo-American Vedant Patel to serve as US State Dept's interim spokesperson In addition to the incentives from the Centre, a number of state governments also offer concessions to foreign filmmakers. India announced incentive schemes for shooting foreign films and audio-visual co-production projects at the Cannes Film Festival last year. The incentive schemes came into effect from April 1 last year and at least 25 applications were received in the last six months, Chandra said. The government established a Film Facilitation Office (FFO) to ease the process of film shooting in India. The FFO acts as a single-window platform for coordination with various states as well as bodies such as the Indian Railways and the Archaeological Survey of India among others. Chandra said the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has also engaged Invest India to run the FFO. "Invest India is expected to leverage its vast network across the country and abroad and help the FFO bring more projects to India," Chandra said. Christopher Nolan's "Tenet", British biographical drama film "Victoria and Abdul", Spanish film "The Valley of Shadows" and Chinese action film "Vanguard" are some of the films shot in India. India has audio-visual co-production agreements with Italy, the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, Germany, Brazil, France, New Zealand, Poland, Spain, Canada, China, South Korea, Bangladesh, Israel, Russia and Portugal. It is also negotiating co-production agreements with Mexico, Hungary, South Africa, Argentina, Singapore, Tajikistan, Belgium, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Turkiye, Ecuador, Peru, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco and Mauritius. Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed on Friday to reestablish diplomatic relations and reopen embassies after seven years of tensions between the Mideast rivals. The major diplomatic breakthrough negotiated with China lowers the chance of armed conflict between the nations both directly and in proxy conflicts around the region. The deal, struck in Beijing this week amid its ceremonial National People's Congress, represents a major diplomatic victory for the Chinese as Gulf Arab states perceive the United States slowly withdrawing from the wider Middle East. It also comes as diplomats have been trying to end a years long war in Yemen, a conflict in which both Iran and Saudi Arabia are deeply entrenched. The two countries released a joint communique on the deal with China, which brokered the agreement. Chinese state media did not immediately report the agreement. Iranian state media posted images and video it described as being taken in China of the meeting. Also Read Baghdad mediated talks with Iran reported stalled over protests in Iran Saudi Arabia announces 5 renewable energy projects to produce electricity Saudi Arabia, Australia ask citizens in Pakistan to limit movement Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman appointed as prime minister Iranian drones used by Russia in Ukraine shows how war has helped Iran New dialogues can unlock new era in India-US business ties: USIBC Prez Biden proposes $27.2 bn for NASA to boost Moon, Mars programmes 3.25 mn tickets sold in first sales phase for 2024 Paris Olympic Games President Xi Jinping, a princeling turned Mao 2.0 in China's 'new era' Asia witnesses limited contagion risk from Silicon Valley Bank's woes It showed Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, with Saudi national security adviser Musaad bin Mohammed al-Aiban and Wang Yi, China's most senior diplomat. After implementing of the decision, the foreign ministers of the both nations will meet to prepare for exchange of ambassadors, Iranian state television said. It added that the talks had been held over four days. The joint statement calls for the reestablishing of ties and the reopening of embassies to happen within a maximum period of two months. In the footage aired by Iranian media, Wang could be heard offering whole-hearted congratulations on the two countries' wisdom." Both sides have displayed sincerity, he said. China fully supports this agreement. China, which last month hosted Iran's hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi, is also a top purchaser of Saudi oil. President Xi Jinping, just awarded a third five-year term as president earlier on Friday, visited Riyadh in December to attend meetings with oil-rich Gulf Arab nations crucial to China's energy supplies. Iran's state-run IRNA news agency quoted Shamkhani as calling the talks "clear, transparent, comprehensive and constructive. Removing misunderstandings and the future-oriented views in relations between Tehran and Riyadh will definitely lead to improving regional stability and security, as well as increasing cooperation among Persian Gulf nations and the world of Islam for managing current challenges, Shamkhani was quoted as saying. Shortly after the Iranian announcement, Saudi state media began publishing the same statement. Tensions have been high between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The kingdom broke off ties with Iran in 2016 after protesters invaded Saudi diplomatic posts there. Saudi Arabia had executed a prominent Shiite cleric days earlier, triggering the demonstrations. The execution came as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, then a deputy, began his rise to power. The son of King Salman, Prince Mohammed at one point compared Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to Nazi Germany's Adolf Hitler, and also threatened to strike Iran. In the years since, tensions have risen dramatically across the Middle East since the US unilaterally withdrew from Iran's nuclear deal with world powers in 2018. Iran has been blamed for a series of attacks in the time since, including one that targeted the heart of Saudi Arabia's oil industry in 2019, temporarily halving the kingdom's crude production. Though Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi rebels initially claimed the attack, Western nations and experts have blamed the attack on Tehran. Iran long has denied launching the attack. It has also denied carrying out other assaults later attributed to the Islamic Republic. Beyond the regional politics, religion also plays a key role. Saudi Arabia, home to the cube-shaped Kaaba that Muslims pray toward five times a day, has long portrayed itself as the world's leading Sunni nation. Iran's theocracy meanwhile views itself as the protector of the Islam's Shiite minority. The two powerhouses also have competing interests elsewhere, such as in the turmoil now tearing at Lebanon and in the rebuilding of Iraq after decades of war following the US-led 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. Kristian Ulrichsen, a research fellow at Rice University's Baker Institute who long has studied the region, said Saudi Arabia reaching the deal with Iran came after the United Arab Emirates reached a similar understanding with Tehran. This dialling down of tensions and de-escalation has been underway for three years and this was triggered by Saudi acknowledgement in their view that without unconditional US backing they were unable to project power vis-a-vis Iran and the rest of the region, he said. Prince Mohammed, now focused on massive construction projects in his own country, likely wants to finally pull out of the Yemen war as well, Ulrichsen added. Instability could do a lot of damage to his plans, he said. The Houthis seized Yemen's capital, Sanaa, in September 2014 and forced the internationally recognised government into exile in Saudi Arabia. A Saudi-led coalition armed with US weaponry and intelligence entered the war on the side of Yemen's exiled government in March 2015. Years of inconclusive fighting has created a humanitarian disaster and pushed the Arab world's poorest nation to the brink of famine. A six-month cease-fire in Yemen's war, the longest of the conflict, expired in October despite diplomatic efforts to renew it. That led to fears the war could again escalate. More than 150,000 people have been killed in Yemen during the fighting, including over 14,500 civilians. In recent months, negotiations have been ongoing, including in Oman, a longtime interlocutor between Iran and the US Some have hoped for an agreement ahead of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which will begin later in March. Iran and Saudi Arabia have held off-and-on talks in recent years, but it wasn't immediately clear if Yemen was the impetus for this new detente. Previous rounds of talks between Saudi and Iranian officials had been brokered by Baghdad and held in Iraq, but stalled last year. Iraq's new government is perceived as closely linked to Iran, although Iraq has attempted to maintain relations with both sides. In a statement following Friday's announcement, the Iraqi foreign ministry welcomed the deal and said previous mediation by Iraq had established a solid base for the later talks and agreement in China, which gave a qualitative impetus to cooperation for the countries of the region." The US Navy and its allies have seized a number of weapons shipments recently they describe as coming from Iran heading to Yemen. Iran denies arming the Houthis, despite weapons seized mirroring others seen on the battlefield in the rebels' hands. A United Nations arms embargo bars nations from sending weapons to the Houthis. A high-ranking Houthi official, Mohamed Abdulsalam, appeared to welcome Friday's deal in a statement that slammed the US and Israel. "The region needs the return of normal relations between its countries, through which the Islamic society can regain its lost security as a result of the foreign interventions, led by the Zionists and Americans, he wrote online. It remains unclear, however, what this means for America. Though long viewed as guaranteeing Mideast energy security, regional leaders have grown increasingly wary of Washington's intentions after its chaotic 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan. The US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment over the announced deal. Prime Minister of Japan Kishida Fumio will pay an official visit to India on March 20-21. During the visit, he will hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Both sides will discuss bilateral and regional issues of mutual interest. They will also discuss their priorities for their respective Presidencies of the G7 and G20. India is currently the chair of the Group of 20 economies for 2023. Japanese foreign minister Yoshimasa Hayashi could not attend the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting due to an ongoing session of the Japanese Parliament. The Japanese foreign minister participated in the 8th Raisina Dialogue in the morning of March 3. Also Read Japan to okay $490 billion in stimulus to cushion impact of inflation Japan's economy minister resigns over ties to Unification Church Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida sacks 3rd minister in a month Japan PM Kishida in Paris to discuss Ukraine, climate, food security Japan's PM Kishida heads to Australia to step up military, energy ties India, Australia sign audio-visual co-production pact for filmmakers Erdogan sets Turkey parliamentary, presidential elections for May 14 Tendency of categorisation of terrorism based on motive is dangerous: India Hungarian PM vows to block sanctions against Russia to safeguard interests China's Parliament endorses Xi's leadership for rare 3rd five-year term He participated in the panel discussion, "The QUAD Squad: Power and Purpose of the Polygon ", and stated that the Quad is not an effort to counter nor to pursue military cooperation, but to promote practical cooperation. Minister Hayashi also stated that, as four countries which share fundamental values, the Quad intends to lead efforts to maintain and enhance a free and open international order based on the rule of law. During the panel, Minister Hayashi engaged in a lively discussion on concrete cooperation among the Quad and the relations with regional countries, with Antony Blinken, Secretary of State of the United States of America, Senator the Hon Penny Wong, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Commonwealth of Australia, and Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs of India. He drew an analogy between the Asian Quad with the iconic English rock band 'The Beatles' and said the grouping of Japan, Australia, the United States, and India is more like a "soft Beatles" where the members can release their "solo albums". In tandem with other G7 members, Japan has been bolstering economic sanctions on Russia. But India has abstained from implementing punitive measures against Russia. India has also emerged as a key nation of the "Global South," a term that collectively refers to developing countries in areas such as Asia, Africa and Latin America. Nikkei Asia reported last week that Kishida is keen to deepen ties with such countries to pave the way for the success of the G7 in-person summit scheduled for May in Japan's western city of Hiroshima. During the envisioned meeting, Kishida is expected to invite Modi to participate in the G7 summit. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised a frontline artillery drill simulating an attack on an unspecified South Korean airfield as he called for his troops to sharpen their combat readiness in the face of his rivals' "frantic war preparation moves," state media said Friday. The North Korean report came a day after South Korea's military detected the North firing at least one short-range ballistic missile toward the sea from a site near the western coastal city of Nampo and raised the possibility that more missiles may have been launched from the area simultaneously. The launch came as South Korea and the United States prepare to kick off their biggest combined military training exercise in years to counter the growing threat of Kim's nuclear arsenal, which he has aggressively expanded in recent years despite the North's deepening economic isolation and pandemic-related difficulties. Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency said that Kim urged his troops during Thursday's exercise to be prepared at any time to overwhelmingly respond to and contain the military action of the North's enemies, which he said were proceeding with "all sorts of more frantic war preparation moves." He said frontline assault units should steadily intensify various simulated drills to prepare for a broad range of real-war situations and sharpen their capabilities to carry out their two main "strategic missions, that is first to deter war and second to take the initiative in war." Kim's comments were in line with an escalatory nuclear doctrine the North set into law last year, which authorizes pre-emptive nuclear strikes in various situations where it may perceive its leadership as under threat, including conventional clashes. The North Korean report did not specify what types of artillery were involved in Thursday's exercise or how many rockets were fired. Some of the North's newer short-range weapons targeting South Korea includes large-sized multiple rocket launchers that experts say blur the boundaries between artillery and ballistic missile systems. North Korea describes some of its more advanced short-range systems as tactical weapons, which experts say communicates a threat to proactively use them during conventional warfare to blunt the stronger conventional forces of South Korea and the United States. Also Read Kim Jong Un's daughter called 'most beloved' child in 2nd appearance North Korea's Kim Jong Un lays out key goals to boost military power Kim Jong Un claims North Korean successes, says it faces challenges North Korea to boost nuclear warhead production 'exponentially': Kim Jong North Korea's Kim calls for key party meeting to review state affairs From Kailasa to Kalakuta Republic: Micronations that amused the world Pak HC quashes govt ban on Imran Khan's speeches from TV channels China making efforts to be 'pre-eminent power' in East Asia: US intel Several G20 countries to participate in flower festival at Delhi's CP Trade, critical minerals, defence to be focus of Modi-Albanese talks Coming off a record year in missile testing, North Korea has conducted more weapons demonstrations in 2023, including test launches of an intercontinental ballistic missile, short-range missiles and a purported long-range cruise missile system in recent weeks. Experts say North Korea with its heightened testing activity and threats is trying to claim an ability to conduct nuclear strikes against South Korea and the U.S. mainland. Kim, who sees his nuclear arsenal as his strongest guarantee of survival, is trying to force the United States into accepting the North as a nuclear power and wants to negotiate badly needed economic concessions from a position of strength, analysts say. Diplomacy between the US and North Korea has stalled since 2019 because of disagreements over an easing of crippling US-led sanctions against the North in exchange for steps by the North to wind down its nuclear weapons and missile programs. Last week, the South Korean and US militaries announced they will conduct computer-simulated command post training March 13 to March 23 and will resume their largest springtime field exercises, which were last held in 2018. The United States has also recently sent advanced warplanes, including the B-1B and B-52 long-range bombers, to train with South Korean aircraft in a show of strength, triggering protests from North Korea, which describes the allies' joint drills as invasion rehearsals. The allies had canceled or scaled back some of their regular drills since 2018, first to support the former Trump administration's diplomacy with North Korea and later because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But they have been renewing their exercises after North Korea test-fired dozens of missiles last year and issued provocative threats of nuclear conflicts with rivals. On Tuesday, Kim Yo Jong, the North Korean leader's powerful sister and one of Pyongyang's top foreign policy officials, warned that her country is ready if necessary to take quick, overwhelming action" in the face of the allies' expanded drills. In previous statements, she threatened to turn the Pacific into North Korea's firing range and repeatedly implied that the North might test-fire an ICBM toward those waters on a ballistic trajectory, which would be seen as one of its most provocative weapons demonstrations yet. All of North Korea's ICBM tests since 2017 have been conducted on a high angle to avoid the territories of neighbours. Officials in Poland and Slovakia are urging their allies to provide fighter jets to Ukraine, saying they are ready to send their their Soviet-made MiG-29 jet fighters to Kyiv as part of an international coalition. However, it still remains unclear if any other Western supporters of Ukraine are ready to take that step. "I think it's time to make a decision. People in Ukraine are dying. We can really help them," Slovak Defence Minister Jaroslav Nad said Thursday on Facebook. "This is inhumane and irresponsible." Slovak and Polish officials have made the calls before but have renewed their appeals in recent days. Both countries are NATO members. Polish President Andrzej Duda said Wednesday on CNN that Poland was ready to provide Ukraine with the MiG-29 fighters in coalition with other countries. Nad also said it was a matter of discussion between himself and his Polish counterpart at a meeting in Sweden on Wednesday and that they agree on the matter. Poland's Defense Ministry said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press that Poland "is ready to hand over our MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine as a part of an international coalition." Ukraine has been asking the West for fighter jets to beef up its defences as the war drags on into its second year. While Kyiv has obtained promises of tanks, some of which are already arriving, there are still no signs that larger nations like the United States and Britain will agree to send their warplanes. US President Joe Biden has proposed a $27.2 billion budget for NASA in 2024, which is about $1.8 billion more than the agency received this year. The new budget will allow NASA to continue exploring the secrets of the universe for the benefit of all through Artemis, the Mars Sample Return mission, and other efforts, the US space agency said. "The budget details a blueprint to grow the economy from the bottom up and middle out," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson in a statement. The budget allows NASA to monitor and protect the planet, advance sustainable aviation, better support orbital debris management, develop innovative new technologies, and inspire the Artemis Generation. "President Biden's budget will help us explore new cosmic shores, continue to make strides in travelling to and working in space and on the Moon, increase the speed and safety of air travel with cutting-edge technologies, and help protect our planet and improve lives here on Earth," said Nelson. The proposal asks $8.1 billion for the Artemis programme, which aims to send astronauts to Mars, through NASA's Moon to Mars exploration approach. Also Read NASA Artemis I: Fuel seals repaired, likely to launch moon rocket on Sep 23 NASA prepares to bid goodbye to Mars InSight lander in next few weeks NASA's Curiosity rover spots first-ever 'Sun rays' on Mars on Feb 2 Why did NASA ram DART into an asteroid? Nasa again gears up for Artemis I Moon mission launch attempt on Nov 14 3.25 mn tickets sold in first sales phase for 2024 Paris Olympic Games President Xi Jinping, a princeling turned Mao 2.0 in China's 'new era' Asia witnesses limited contagion risk from Silicon Valley Bank's woes Long Covid much less likely after Omicron infection, reveals study World off-track to cut 30% sodium intake to achieve global target: WHO The Biden administration also aims to earmark $949 million for a mission to return Mars rock and soil samples, and allocated almost $2.5 billion for Earth Science. The budget also invests $39 million to better understand the orbital debris environment and explore approaches to ensure safe access to space. It invests more than $500 million in a suite of technologies to meet the US' goal of net-zero carbon emissions from the aviation sector by 2050, and $1.39 billion to support the research and development of new technologies to advance space exploration capabilities. With another $158 million marked for NASA's Office of STEM Engagement, it would allow NASA to engage more students through enhanced partnerships and platforms. --IANS rvt/uk/ London-listed Vodafone and Three UKs owner, CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd., are working through the last details of the structure of the deal, and ways to address potential antitrust issues surrounding it, the people said. Vodafone Group Plc and Three UK are putting the final touches on a deal to create Britains largest mobile operator and may announce details of the tie-up as soon as this month, people with knowledge of the matter said. Analysts have estimated a deal could create a wireless giant worth about 16.5 billion ($17.5 billion). Spokespeople for Three UK and Vodafone declined to comment, while a representative for CK Hutchison couldnt be reached for comment outside regular business hours in Hong Kong. The companies are also discussing how CK Hutchison may exit its investment in the joint venture in the longer term, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information. Talks are ongoing and no final decisions on the structure of the merger or timing of any announcement have been made, they said. A potential deal between Vodafone and Three UK has been talked about for years, and Vodafone previously teamed up with CK Hutchison in other markets such as Australia. Combining operations in the UK will give the companies the necessary scale to accelerate the roll out of 5G and better compete against the likes of BT Group Plc and Virgin Media O2both of which struck mergers in recent years. Vodafone and CK Hutchison confirmed in October that they were in discussions about merging their UK businesses. Under proposed terms disclosed at the time, Vodafone would own 51% of the new venture, with the rest held by CK Hutchison. Discussions have been held up by a raft of regulatory and political hurdles, as well as the departure of Nick Read as Vodafones chief executive officer at the end of 2022. For the first time, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has created a crisis team to respond to any mishaps. It is our hope that we will be prepared for anything, Academy Chief Executive Bill Kramer told Time magazine in a recent interview. Because of last year, weve opened our minds to the many things that can happen at the Oscars. The film Academy was heavily criticized for allowing Smith to remain in the audience, and accept the best actor trophy, after attacking Rock on stage over a joke about Smiths wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Organisers of Sundays 95th Academy Awards are preparing for the unexpected after Will Smiths infamous slap of Chris Rock convulsed Hollywoods biggest awards ceremony last year. At a February luncheon for nominees, Academy President Janet Yang said the group learned that it must act swiftly, compassionately and decisively in times of crisis, and you should and can expect no less from us going forward. The organization has not disclosed details about the membership of the crisis team or how it may react to anything out of the ordinary. Smith will not be in attendance. He was banned from attending the event for 10 years. Security is tight at the Dolby Theatre where the ceremony is held. Law enforcement closes off several blocks around the theater and the red carpet. Show producers Glenn Weiss and Ricky Kirshner said they hope to keep the spotlight this time on the years nominated movies and the people who brought them to life. Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao inspecting progress of works at Secretariat. (Photo: Twitter) HYDERABAD: Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao on Friday announced that the new Secretariat would be inaugurated on April 30, the Telangana Martyrs Memorial on June 1 and 125-ft tall statue of Dr B.R. Ambedkar on his birth anniversary on April 14. He made the announcement at the BRS Legislative Party meeting. He also inspected the progress of works of the Integrated Telangana Secretariat Complex, Telangana Martyrs Memorial and 125-ft tall statue of Dr B.R. Ambedkar. Accompanied by ministers Vemula Prashanth Reddy and Koppula Eshwar, Chief Secretary A. Santhi Kumari and senior officials, he inspected the premises for nearly four hours. The Chief Ministers inspection saw him closely examine the works, including the elevation, fountains, green lawns and masonry works, which are in the final stages, the main entrance and the wood carving done in Bihar, and the CMs chamber, CMO and their furniture in the sixth floor. He expressed satisfaction at the execution of the works and appreciated the gold bordering on the white walls and marble flooring, which is in sync with the wall colours. He examined the wide corridors and complimented the officials for the ventilation in the building. He also visited the Chief Secretary's chambers, conference hall, waiting halls for visitors and facilities; collectors conference hall, GAD protocol officials chambers and waiting lounges for elected public representatives and VIPs before winding up with an inspection of the parking area from the southern end, road works within and outside the complex. His last inspection was on January 25. Chandrashekar Rao later went to inspect the Ambedkar statue coming up adjacent to the Secretariat. After inspecting the works on the first floor, he checked the auditorium, fountain and landscaping works. He later visited the Telangana Martyrs Memorial, adjacent to Lumbini Park where he inspected the auditorium, laser show facility, ramps and parking facilities. Nearly 3,000 members of Chinas rubber-stamp parliament, the National Peoples Congress (NPC), voted unanimously in the Great Hall of the People for the 69-year-old Xi in an election in which there was no other candidate. Xi Jinping secured a precedent-breaking third term as president of China on Friday during a parliamentary session in which he tightened his control of the worlds second-largest economy as it emerges from a Covid slump and diplomatic challenges mount. Domestically, China faces a challenging recovery from three years of Xis zero-Covid policy, fragile confidence among consumers and businesses and weak demand for Chinas exports. Xi has taken China on a more authoritarian path since assuming control a decade ago, and he extends his tenure for another five-year term amid increasingly adversarial relations with the US and its allies over Taiwan, Beijings backing of Russia, trade and human rights. In his third term, Xi will need to focus on economic revival, said Willy Lam, senior fellow at the Jamestown Foundation, a US think tank. The economy grew just 3 per cent last year, among its worst performances in decades. During the parliament session the government set a modest growth target for this year of just around 5 per cent. Also Read Chinese President Xi creates history, wins record third term in power China's Communist Party Congress to endorse Xi Jinping for record 3rd time Xi Jinping makes first public appearance since returning from overseas President Xi Jinping, a princeling turned Mao 2.0 in China's 'new era' Full control over Hong Kong achieved, says Xi Jinping at Congress meet When India invests in Aus, it will secure own supply chain: Madeleine King Japanese PM to visit India on 20-21 March to discuss bilateral ties India, Australia sign audio-visual co-production pact for filmmakers Erdogan sets Turkey parliamentary, presidential elections for May 14 Tendency of categorisation of terrorism based on motive is dangerous: India Russian President Vladimir Putin was among the first foreign leaders to congratulate Xi on his third term. The two sealed a no limits partnership between China and Russia in February last year, days before Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine. But if he continues with what he has been doing - tighter party and state control over the private sector and confrontation with the West, his prospects for success won't be encouraging. The presidency is largely ceremonial, and Xis main position of power was extended last October when he was reconfirmed for five more years as general secretary of the central committee of the Communist Party. Xi set the stage for another term when he did away with presidential term limits in 2018, and has become Chinas most powerful leader since Mao Zedong, who founded the Peoples Republic. New leadership slate During Fridays voting, Xi chatted with premier-in-waiting Li Qiang, who is poised to be confirmed in Saturday to Chinas second-highest post, a role that puts the former Shanghai party chief and Xi ally in charge of the economy. Other Xi-approved officials are due to be elected or appointed to government posts during this weekend, including vice premiers, a central bank governor and numerous other ministers and department heads. The annual parliamentary session, the first since China dropped three years of Covid restrictions, will end on Monday, when Xi will give a speech that will be followed by a media question-and-answer session by Li. China ended its zero-COVID policy in December after highly unusual nationwide protests against the curbs that stifled daily life and the economy. During Friday's session, Xi and dozens of other top leaders on the stage did not wear masks but everyone else in the auditorium did. Rise To The Top The parliament on Friday also elected Zhao Leji, 66, as parliament chair and Han Zheng, 68, as vice president. Both men were from Xi's previous team of party leaders at the Politburo Standing Committee. The virus, which emerged in China in late 2019, then spread rapidly to infect most of its 1.4 billion people but authorities have not released a full tally of related deaths. 1982: Gave up his post as a secretary for Geng Biao- the then-vice premier and minister of national defence in the Chinese government and started working as the CCP's secretary in the Herbei province 1974: Marked the beginning of his career in politics by joining Chinese Communist Party (CCP) serving as branch secretary 2008: Xi Jinping was elected as the vice president of China 2007: After years of being elevated to senior posts in the party such as governor of numerous provinces and then the CCP chief in Shanghai, in 2007, he was elected as one of the nine members of the standing committee of the political bureau- the highest ruling body in the party 2013: Xi was officially elected as the countrys president 2012: Elected as the general secretary of the CCP and chairman of the Central Military Commission by the 18th Central Committee of the party, which informally made him Chinas leader 2018: Chinas Parliament elected him for a second term and unanimously voted in favour of an amendment to the Constitution that removed presidential term limits CLOSING BELL Stock market highlights: Equity markets roiled in global sell-off as contagion effect of overnight selling in the US markets, especially bank stocks, dented sentiment. The S&P BSE Sensex crashed 671 points, or 1.12 per cent, to close at 59,135. The Nifty50, meanwhile, gave up the 17,450-mark to end at 17,413, falling 177 points or 1 per cent. These indices hit intra-day lows of 58,885, and 17,324, respectively. Financial stocks were the worst hit today, amid near broad-based selling, with HDFC Bank (down 2.6 per cent), HDFC, SBI, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Bank, and Bajaj Finance featuring among the top 15 laggards on the Sensex. Index-wise, the Nifty PSU Bank index declined 2.2 per cent, while the Nifty Bank and Private Bank indices fell 1.8 per cent each. Other large-cap laggards were RIL, L&T, M&M, and Asian Paints, down up to 1.5 per cent. ALSO READ: 5 smallcaps to bet on amid current market volatility In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices dropped less than 1 per cent each. This possible IPO along with the receipt of consideration of EV deal with TPG will support FCF generation from the India business to attain near debt zero in the India business (around Rs 12,000 crore net debt as of Dec-22), analyst at Motilal Oswal Financial Services (MOFSL) said. The brokerage firm has Buy rating on Tata Motors with a target price of Rs 540 per share. A strong recovery in JLR, sustained resurgence of the India business, and a possible monetization of its stake in Tata Technologies (possible value of Rs 25-47/share for Tata Motors) are the key catalysts for the stock over next 12 months, the brokerage firm said. Technical View This possible IPO along with the receipt of consideration of EV deal with TPG will support FCF generation from the India business to attain near debt zero in the India business (around Rs 12,000 crore net debt as of Dec-22), analyst at Motilal Oswal Financial Services (MOFSL) said. The brokerage firm has Buy rating on Tata Motors with a target price of Rs 540 per share.A strong recovery in JLR, sustained resurgence of the India business, and a possible monetization of its stake in Tata Technologies (possible value of Rs 25-47/share for Tata Motors) are the key catalysts for the stock over next 12 months, the brokerage firm said. Bias: Range-bound Indicative Range: Rs 410 - Rs 460 Tata Motors has been trading on a volatile note since the last one year, with the stock swinging broadly in the range of Rs 380 - Rs 530. However, in the last few weeks the stock has been attempting to consolidate above the 50-WMA (Weekly Moving Average), currently placed at Rs 428. Support: Rs 428; Rs 420 Also Read Tata Motors dips 3% as Jaguar Land Rover CEO Thierry Bollore resigns Jaguar Land Rover reports 5.9% jump in retail sales in Q3, wholesale up 15% CLSA upgrades Tata Motors to 'Buy' after JLR wholesales jump 15% YoY in Q3 Tata Motors dips 5% on lower-than-expected JLR wholesale volumes in Q2 Tata Motors gains 4% on heavy volumes; stock surges 12% in one month Equitas SFB slips 13% as new shares list post merger with Equitas Holdings Motilal Oswal sees 17% upside potential for top-100 stocks by market-cap Sensex drops 671pts, Nifty nears 17,400 in broad sell-off; bank stocks tank Stocks to Watch: Wipro, Reliance, Ajanta Pharma, Infosys, IRB Infra, REC Getting the jitters: Indices slip nearly 1% on renewed rate hike fears Meanwhile, in case, the stock fails to hold the Rs 420 level, it has multiple supports in the form of 20-WMA and 100-WMA at Rs 420 and Rs 410, respectively. The short-term trend hints that as long as the stock is able to hold Rs 420, it will attempt to conquer the trend line resistance on the upside at Rs 460. Fresh strength can be expected only after the stock conquers Rs 460 level. (With inputs from Rex Cano) Shares of Tata Motors were up 1 per cent at Rs 437.85 on the BSE in Fridays intra-day trade in an otherwise weak market after Tata Technologies filed papers with the market regulator for its initial public offering (IPO).Tata Technologies is a subsidiary of Tata Motors. The company provides services in engineering and design, product lifecycle management, manufacturing, product development, and IT service management to automotive and aerospace original equipment manufacturers and their suppliers.Tata Technologies has informed the company that it has filed a draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) dated March 9, 2023 with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for an initial public offering by way of an offer for sale of up to 95.7 million equity shares for cash, representing approximately 23.60 per cent of its paid-up share capital (IPO), Tata Motors said in an exchange filing.The IPO comprises of an offer for sale of up to 81.13 million equity shares (20 per cent of total capital of Tata Technologies) by Tata Motors, up to 9.72 million equity shares (2.4 per cent) by Alpha TC Holdings Pte. Ltd. and up to 4.8 million equity shares (1.2 per cent) by Tata Capital Growth Fund I, the company said.At 10:05 AM; Tata Motors was up 0.79 per cent at Rs 435.60, as compared to 1.3 per cent decline in the S&P BSE Sensex. In past three months, the stock has outperformed the market, by gaining 6 per cent, as against 5 per cent decline in the benchmark index.Tata Technologies, a 74.4 per cent subsidiary of Tata Motors, is a global leader in the ER&D segment with focus on the automotive industry. In FY22, it had consolidated revenues of Rs 3,530 crore and a PAT of Rs 440 crore. Of this, it derived Rs 1,200 crore (or 34 per cent of revenues) from the Tata Motors group. Happiest Minds Technologies said that Care Ratings has assigned "CARE AA-" rating to the non-convertible debentures and long-term bank facilities of the company. The rating agency has maintained "stable' outlook on the same. Care Ratings said that the long-term rating assigned to the proposed debenture issue and bank facilities of Happiest Minds Technologies (HMTL) takes into account the increasing scale of operations over the past three years with healthy profitability margins. Experience of the management in scaling up the business provides strong support to the rating, which is aided by consistent high-value customer addition, services offered in the futuristic domain like internet of things (IOT), digital services and information security along with strong liquidity position. Uncertain global environment in key markets like USA and Europe, rising human capital cost and higher attrition continues to strain the performance of information technology (IT) industry in India. The rating strengths are further constrained by the presence of being in a highly competitive industry and the impact of the forex movement on the revenues and profitability of the company, being majorly present into the exports markets. Also Read Happiest Minds Technologies partners with Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research Happiest Minds Technologies expands its Noida facility Happiest Minds Technologies wins Gold award at LACP 2022 Happiest Minds Technologies receives LT credit ratings from CARE Happiest Minds partners CredQuant to drive ESG transformation in BFSI Financials stocks slide Capital Goods shares edge lower Piramal Pharma hits 52-week low; slips 9% in six days Equitas Small Finance Bank tumbles on listing of fresh equity shares NTPC Ltd up for five straight sessions HMTL's plans to raise funds for inorganic growth, and the ability to consolidate the same with its existing operations will be a key rating monitorable going forward. The agency further stated that increased scale of operations with consistent total operating income (TOI) of Rs 2,000 crore or above, supported by stable PBILDT margins of more than 20%; and sustained improvement in the overall gearing below 0.15x. could be positive for HMTL's ratings. However, the company's ratings would be adversely impacted by deterioration in the capital structure of the company owing to acquisition leading to overall gearing above 0.50x; uncertain macro-economic environment leading to declined operating income to less than Rs 1,000 crore; and any large-sized acquisition (more than 30% of the net worth size), leading to depletion of cash and/or lesser than envisaged cash flow generation from the acquired assets. Happiest Minds Technologies is involved in providing services across digital business, infrastructure management & security and product engineering domains. In addition, the company is an authorised partner with global information technology players to deploy their services to the end customers and create custom solutions as per the business requirements. The company's net profit decreased 3.8% to Rs 57.58 crore despite of 3.2% in revenues to Rs 366.88 crore in Q3 FY23 over Q2 FY23. The scrip shed 0.56% to Rs 843.55 on the BSE. Powered by Capital Market - Live News Elgi Equipments announced that Elgi Compressors USA Inc., USA, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company has entered into an operating agreement for acquisition of 33.33% in the share capital of CS Industrial Services LLC, USA, a North Carolina limited liability company on 09 March 2023. CS Industrial Services LLC will act as an exclusive dealer / distributor for Elgi Compressors USA Inc, for sale of ELGi branded compressors in Western New York region. Powered by Capital Market - Live News The drug maker announced the launch of additional strengths for the generic version of Revlimid (lenalidomide capsules), in 2.5 mg, and 20 mg strengths, in the United States.Natco Pharma has launched the product through its marketing partner Teva Pharmaceuticals, a U.S. affiliate of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries. With this launch the companies made available all the strengths of lenalidomide in the US market. Lenalidomide capsules are a prescription medicine used in adults for the treatment of multiple myeloma. Revlimid is a registered trademark of Celgene Corporation, a Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. Natco Pharma is engaged in the business of pharmaceuticals which comprises research and development, manufacturing and selling of bulk drugs and finished dosage formulations. The company has manufacturing facilities in India which caters to both domestic and international markets including regulated markets like United States of America and Europe. The company's consolidated net profit tumbled 22.5% to Rs 62.30 crore on 12.1% decline in net sales to Rs 492.50 crore in Q3 FY23 over Q3 FY22. Also Read Dr Reddys Lab climbs after US court dismisses claims against generic Revlimid Aurobindo Pharma receives USFDA approval for Lenalidomide Capsules Aurobindo Pharma arm gets USFDA nod for cancer drug Zydus Lifesciences receives final approval for Lenalidomide Capsules Natco Pharma named a defendant in an antitrust lawsuit in US H.G. Infra hits 52-week high; jumps 9% in four days Ugro Capital gains after board approves issue of CPs Data Patterns jumps on launching QIP issue Home First Finance Company India Ltd leads losers in 'A' group Winsome Textile Industries Ltd leads losers in 'B' group Shares of Natco Pharma fell 1.36% to Rs 560.25 on Thursday, 09 March 2023. Powered by Capital Market - Live News Tata Power Company said that its subsidiary, Tata Power Renewable Energy (TPREL) has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Tata Power Delhi Distribution (Tata Power-DDL), for 510 megawatt (MW) hybrid project. The company said that the project will save on an average of 1,540 MUs of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions annually for Tata Power-DDL, a joint venture between Tata Power and Government of Delhi that supplies electricity to a populace of over 7 million in North Delhi. The PPA has the capacity bifurcation of 170 MW solar and 340 MW wind power. Located in Karnataka, it is one of the largest hybrid projects in the country and will be commissioned within 24 months from the PPA execution date, the company stated in the press release. Ashish Khanna, CEO, Tata Power Renewable Energy, said, "Tata Power Renewable has signed one of the largest PPAs in the country for a 510 MW hybrid project, via competitive bidding. This partnership is significant in our quest to continue our journey as one of the torchbearers of the green and clean energy transition." TPREL won this project through a competitive bidding process, followed by the release of LOA by Tata Power-DDL. This win is an extension of the earlier LOA of 255 MW received in December 2022. Ganesh Srinivasan, CEO, Tata Power Delhi Distribution, said, Aligned with the nation's renewable energy mission, we are pleased to join hands with Tata Power Renewable Energy for our biggest hybrid energy tie-up. We are confident that this association will strengthen our commitment towards significantly enhancing the portion of sustainable energy in the overall supply mix." Also Read Marine Electricals arm inks pact to set up EV charging stations L&T hits record high after arm inks pact to acquire US-based OPRO.AI Marico gains after arm inks pact to acquire Beauty X HUL inks pact to sell salt and atta biz for Rs 60 cr Tata Motors arm inks pact with BMTC to supply 921 electric buses GRM Overseas Ltd leads losers in 'A' group Alps Industries Ltd leads losers in 'B' group Volumes spurt at Mangalore Refinery And Petrochemicals Ltd counter Financials stocks slide Capital Goods shares edge lower With this win, the total renewables capacity of TPREL reaches 6,303 MW with an installed capacity of 3,909 MW (Solar - 2,981 MW & Wind - 928 MW) and 2,394 MW under various stages of implementation. Tata Power Company is one of India's largest integrated power companies and together with its subsidiaries and jointly controlled entities, has an installed / managed capacity of 14,002 MW The company has a presence across the entire power value chain - generation of renewable as well as conventional power including hydro and thermal energy, transmission & distribution, coal & freight, logistics, and trading. The company's consolidated net profit soared 121.9% to Rs 945.02 crore in Q3 FY23 as against Rs 425.81 crore in Q3 FY22. Net sales jumped 29.5% year on year to Rs 14,129.12 crore in the quarter ended 31 December 2022. Shares of Tata Power Company declined 0.69% to Rs 208.20 on the BSE. Powered by Capital Market - Live News Wipro announced that it has been selected by Menzies Aviation, the world's largest aviation services company, to transform its air cargo management services. The partnership will help fortify Menzies' position as the leading cargo handler in the market, enabling the company to grow its services and use of new technologies. It will also accelerate competitiveness while keeping customers, partners, employees, and the environment at the center of this transformation. Wipro's revolutionary cargo handling product was architected using cloud-native technologies and will address all of Menzies' needs, as well as those of the broader air cargo industry. It was developed to improve business efficiencies, enhance employee experience and customer service through increased automation, and provide critical business insights with best-in-class security. Wipro's revolutionary cargo handling product was architected using cloud-native technologies and will address all of Menzies' needs, as well as those of the broader air cargo industry. It was developed to improve business efficiencies, enhance employee experience and customer service through increased automation, and provide critical business insights with best-in-class security. Powered by Capital Market - Live News Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Friday launched a scathing attack on foreign media outlets, including the New York Times, accusing them of "spreading propaganda against India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi." In a series of tweets, the minister castigated the foreign media for defaming the country and the prime minister. "New York Times had long back dropped all pretensions of neutrality while publishing anything about India. NYT's so called opinion piece on freedom of press in Kashmir is mischievous & fictitious published w/ a sole motive to spread a propaganda about India and its democratic institutions and values," he said. "This is in continuation with what NYT and a few other link-minded foreign media have been spreading lies about India and our democratically elected Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modiji. Such lies can't last long," . In another tweet, he said, "Some foreign media nourishing a grudge against India and our Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi have long been systematically trying to peddle lies about our democracy and pleuritic society. "Freedom of Press in India is as sacrosanct as other fundamental rights." Also Read PM Modi to inaugurate 75 digital banking units including 2 in J-K on Sunday Sabka Vikas, Sabka Kalyan, says Amit Shah to J-K people during 3-day visit Article 370 a temporary provision that was put to rest, says Jaishankar Security situation improved in north east, J-K areas in last 8 yrs: Shah Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury seeks discussion in parliament on Jammu-Kashmir RS Chairman cannot be cheerleader of ruling dispensation, says Congress PM Modi holds separate meetings with Gujarat BJP leaders, state officials Shinde govt's 1st budget offers relief in professional tax, aid for farmers Farm laws were brought to benefit one corporate, says Jairam Ramesh TMC to raise risk exposure of LIC and SBI, price rise, in Parl: O'Brien "Democracy in India and We the people are very matured and we don't need to learn grammar of democracy from such agenda driven media. Blatant lies spread by NYT abt press freedom in Kashmir is condemnable," read another tweet of his. "Indians will not allow such mindsets to run their decisive agenda on India soil." He also accused the Congress for defaming India at foreign soil. Speaking to the media, he said, "Congress should clarify its motive. Going abroad and defaming one's own country is the culture of Congress & Rahul Gandhi. Rahul Gandhi must stop spreading hate". Hailing the Budget 2023-24 presented by Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Cheema as 'Aam Lokaan Da Budget', Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday described it as the roadmap for a "new, progressive and prosperous Punjab". In a statement, the Chief Minister said it is a matter of pride and satisfaction that this tax-free budget has been presented exactly a year after his government assumed charge of office. He said this maiden full budget of his government is aimed at giving major fillip to the development of the state. Mann envisioned that the budget would transform the destiny of the common man (Aam Lok) by ensuring peace, progress and prosperity in the state. The Chief Minister said, as per the commitment of his government, the budget is the blueprint for restoring the pristine glory of the state. He said the Budget will give further impetus to the growth in every sector and ensure that the state witnesses comprehensive growth. 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 Only a healthy society can build a prosperous country: Health Minister Crypto industry wants 0.1% TDS, Sebi-like regulator in Budget 2023 Akhilesh Yadav is Bhrashtachar Bhushan: UP Deputy CM Brajesh Pathak Akhilesh hits out at BJP, says what secret is govt hiding with encounter Inflation not bothering BJP as big industrialists belong to them: Akhilesh Adityanath hits out at SP for 'apathy' towards sugarcane farmers State scan: Punjab may be seeing a resurgence in extremist Sikh politics Mann said the day is not far when this Budget coupled with pragmatic policies of the government will help in the progress of the state. The Chief Minister said the government has so far given 26,797 jobs to youth, adding that the budget stipulates to regularly recruit and create an ecosystem for private jobs for Punjabis to check brain drain. He said the total Budget expenditure of Rs 1,96,462 crore for 2023-24 reflects 26 per cent growth compared to 2022-23, which reflects the commitment of the government to ensure uninterrupted development in Punjab. Mann said the allocation for agriculture and allied sectors has been enhanced by 20 per cent to take adequate steps for making farming a profitable venture. The Chief Minister said the provision to introduce a new agricultural policy with the objective of conserving natural resources and enhancing farmers' income will go a long way in bailing out the farmers from the current agrarian crisis. He said an allocation of Rs 1,000 crore for a special scheme on diversification during the upcoming financial year will also act as a catalyst for the well being of farmers. Mann said the proposal to provide crop insurance for farmers to save them from the vagaries of the weather and other uncertainties is also a historic decision to safeguard the interests of the farmers. The Chief Minister said the proposal to set up the five new horticulture estates in Ludhiana, Gurdaspur, Patiala, Bathinda and Faridkot and the proposal of keeping Rs 100 crore in the next financial year to nudge Milkfed to reach new heights will also go a long way in well being of the farmers. Mann said it is a matter of great pride and satisfaction that an outlay of Rs 17,072 crore for school and higher education has been kept, which is 12 per cent higher than the previous year. He said a budget of Rs 200 crore has been kept for upgradation of schools into Schools of Eminence, adding an allocation of Rs 18 crore for Other Backward Class students and Rs 60 crore for Scheduled Caste students has been kept. The Chief Minister said Rs 4,781 crore has been kept for the Health and Family Welfare Department, which is 11 per cent higher than the previous year. Similarly, he said budgetary outlay of Rs 231 crore has been kept for employment generation and skill development, which is 36 per cent higher than the previous year. --IANS vg/pgh Soon after their dinner, some students started vomiting and suffered loose motions.(Representational Photo: AFP) WARANGAL: Fifteen students of Kasturba Gandhi Girls High School fell ill due to food poisoning after having dinner at their hostel in Mahbubabad district. The condition of all the students is said to be stable. The incident occurred on Wednesday. Soon after their dinner, some students started vomiting and suffered loose motions. The school and hostel staff shifted the children to the government area hospital in the town. The doctors confirmed that the food poisoning was because of the tomato curry that was served for dinner. Meanwhile, tribal welfare minister Satyavathi Rathode issued orders to officials to go to the hospital and conduct an immediate inquiry. She directed the hostel staff of residential schools and welfare hostels to be careful while they were preparing meals as there have been quite a few food poisoning instances of late. As of Thursday evening, no action had been taken against any official for the 15 girls falling sick. After the first India-Australia summit talks, Albanese said both sides are looking at firming up the CECA by 2023 and that progress has been made on a migration and mobility pact that will benefit students and professionals. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday conveyed to his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese Indias concerns over the recent incidents of attacks on temples in Australia and pro-Khalistani activities in that country even as the two leaders vowed to conclude a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) besides ramping up defence ties. Modi said the ECTA had opened up better opportunities for trade and investment between the two countries and our teams are also working on the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement". I am hopeful that we will be able to finalise it this year, the Australian prime minister said. Last year, India and Australia finalised the ECTA and it came into force in December last. The two sides are now working on the CECA. In his media statement, Modi, in presence of Albanese, referred to the contribution of the Indian community in Australia and described as a "matter of regret" the reports of attacks on temples in Australia over the past few weeks. It is natural that such news worries everyone in India, disturbs our mind," Modi said. Modi said the bilateral security cooperation is an important pillar of India-Australia comprehensive strategic partnership. Also Read India vs Australia 3rd Test Day 2 Stumps: Lyon's 8-64 demolishes IND to 163 What can India gain from the trade pact with Australia? We'll strengthen security cooperation: Australian PM ahead of India visit Indian-origin science teacher wins Prime Minister's prize in Australia India W vs Australia W, Women's T20 World Cup: How to live stream in India Gujarat Assembly passes resolution against BBC for 2002 riots documentary MCD to adopt Kejriwal model of education, transform schools: Shelly Oberoi Anurag Thakur slams NYT, other foreign media for 'defaming' India, PM RS Chairman cannot be cheerleader of ruling dispensation, says Congress PM Modi holds separate meetings with Gujarat BJP leaders, state officials Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said the talks covered a range of regional and global issues of importance and the two leaders discussed the strategic convergence and common interests between the two countries including in the Indo-Pacific region. I conveyed these feelings and concerns to Prime Minister Albanese and he has assured me that the safety of the Indian community is of special priority for him. Our teams will be in regular contact on this matter, and will cooperate as much as possible," he said. Global technology brand Lenovo on Friday announced the launch of its trio of next-generation desktop workstations -- ThinkStation PX, P7 and P5, featuring the latest processor technology from Intel ranging up to 120 cores and support for high-end NVIDIA RTX professional GPUs in India. The three new workstations will be available starting May 2023, the company said. "We partnered closely with Intel, NVIDIA and Aston Martin to ensure these new systems offer the best of form and functionality by combining a premium chassis with ultra high-end graphics, memory and processing power," Rob Herman, vice president of Lenovo's Workstation and Client AI Business Unit, said in a statement. The "ThinkStation PX", offers the flexibility needed for both desktop and data centre environments, enabling a seamless transition between the two. This versatile new workstation comes powered by the latest 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors, which offer up to 120 CPU cores and boasts a 53 per cent average performance gain over the prior generation. Moreover, the "ThinkStation P7" features a new compute architecture with the latest Intel Xeon W processors, supporting up to 56 cores in a single socket, for reimagined power needed to tackle compute-intensive, multithreaded tasks head-on. Also Read CES 2023: Asus unveils Republic of Gamers' gaming laptops with new CPUs MediaTek may soon integrate Nvidia's AI GPUs in flagship mobile chips AMD introduces advanced gaming graphics cards based on RDNA 3: Details here Google's chipset Tensor G2 to improve GPU performance over its predecessor Meta makes virtual reality headset Quest 2's GPU more powerful by 7% Telegram Messenger launches Power Saving Mode, Auto-Send Invite links, more Google announces to start its Chrome 111 update, will end Cleanup Tool ChatGPT now available in Microsoft's Azure OpenAI service for preview Apple Music Classical available for pre-order ahead of March 28 release Discord to update 'Clyde' bot with OpenAI tech, to be launched next week "These processors are built to ensure professional innovators, including creators, engineers and data scientists, have the power and stability needed to create the industry's latest innovations," Roger Chandler, vice president of CCG and general manager, Creator and Workstation Solution team at Intel, said in a statement. With support for up to three dual-slot NVIDIA RTX 6000 Ada Generation GPUs, the ThinkStation P7 is said to be ideal for content creators, architects, designers, engineers and data scientists who require unprecedented graphics, visualisation, real-time rendering, CAE and AI performance. The "ThinkStation P5" comes engineered for a wide number of industry verticals and has been redesigned to satisfy users' demand for higher levels of performance, IT expandability and ease of management in the enterprise. The next-generation workstation features a newly designed chassis, the latest Intel Xeon W processors, which offer up to 24 cores, and support for up to two NVIDIA RTX A6000 professional graphics cards. Bharat Rubber Works (BRW), one of Indias leading producers of primary packaging components, has recently received the European Union Medical Device Regulation (EU MDR CE) certification in compliance with the latest international regulations. The CE mark also provides the benefit of free movement of a product throughout the 30 member countries in the European Free Trade Area (EFTA) along with the assurance of high-quality products.Being one of Asias first countries to receive ISO 13485:2016 (the latest version of the international standard for medical devices) & EU MDR 2017/745 (MDR CE), BRWs certification stands as a testimonial to the quality products and systems the company has built over the last 40 years. The ISO 13485:2016 mark specifies controls for virtually everything involved in the lifecycle of a measuring device: from design through development and production to final use and servicing.said, It is a proud moment for all of us at Bharat Rubber Works to be one of the first companies in Asia to receive certification under new stringent regulations. It is the testimony of the quality products & systems we have built our organization over the last four decades. We are committed to continue building & delivering innovative and quality packaging solutions across the healthcare industry.The new regulations are significant updates on the directive and underlying requirements to support and follow stringent safety & quality protocols by competent national authorities & notified bodies. The certification also mandates basic UDI DI for all devices to enhance traceability across the supply chain, giving buyers complete transparency across their purchases.Bharat Rubber Works measuring devices feature Plastic Dropper Assembly, oral dosing syringes, glass dropper Assembly, measuring/dosing spoons, and measuring/dosing caps. To become ISO 13485:2016 compliant, BRW underwent an evaluation process that included quality management system development, a management system documentation review & an audit to accomplish a new benchmark of the quality.The EU MDR certificate is a true testament to Bharat Rubber Works' strict code of conduct that boasts exemplary performance when it comes to managing stringent compliance policies, advanced quality check systems, robust complaint handling, regular product, customer feedback procedures, and trend reporting requirements with periodic safety updated reports. Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE: DCI), a leading worldwide manufacturer of innovative filtration solutions has released Alpha-Web filtration media. This new hydraulic filtration technology significantly improves hydraulic fluid cleanliness which can extend hydraulic component life, decrease downtime and lower the cost of equipment ownership. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230309005532/en/ Filters must stand up to the challenge of maintaining fluid cleanliness and system protection against frequently changing flow rates prevalent in real-world operating conditions. Alpha-Web filtration technology features a first-of-its-kind fine-fiber layer to trap and lock particles during frequent flow-rate changes, delivering transformational improvement in hydraulic equipment protection. Advanced contaminant retention results in cleaner oil and helps ensure that equipment will continue to perform better, and longer, with a lower risk of wear, damage and unplanned downtime. Hydraulic filtration is evolving. We know hydraulic flow rate changes can significantly impact filter performance. That was the reason behind the development of the industrys latest and most stringent test standard, ISO 23369. Our new Alpha-Web media was designed to meet this new cyclic test standard," said Uldis Kreslins, hydraulics product manager for Donaldson. Alpha-Web media provides much higher filtration efficiency than legacy synthetic medias and can be used in everything from low to medium to high pressure applications. According to the Equipment Life Extension Table by Noria Corporation, the industry-accepted authority on fluid cleanliness, an improvement in fluid cleanliness by two ISO codes can extend critical component life by 60 percent. Lab testing shows Alpha-Web improves hydraulic fluid cleanliness by two ISO codes over standard synthetic media, resulting in hydraulic fluid that is up to four times cleaner. For more information, visit https://www.donaldson.com/en-us/engine/oem-systems/products/hydraulic/media-technology/alpha-web/ or contact Uldis Kreslins, Donaldson hydraulics product manager at [email protected]. About Donaldson Company, Inc. Founded in 1915, Donaldson (NYSE: DCI) is a global leader in technology-led filtration products and solutions, serving a broad range of industries and advanced markets. Our diverse, skilled employees at over 140 locations on six continents partner with customersfrom small business owners to the worlds biggest OEM brandsto solve complex filtration challenges. Discover how Donaldson is Advancing Filtration for a Cleaner World at www.Donaldson.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230309005532/en/ We Are China China launches Tianhui-6 A/B satellites Ecns.cn) 09:44, March 10, 2023 A Long March-4C rocket, carrying Tianhui-6 A and B satellites, blasts off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China's Shanxi Province, March 10, 2023. (Photo: China News Service/Zheng Bin) The satellites will be used for geographic mapping, land resource survey, scientific experiments and other missions. It was the 465th mission for the Long March series of carrier rockets. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) Union Bank MD and CEO A Manimekhalai offers a bouquet Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy at the bankers meeting at the camp office on Friday, SLBC Convenor Navaneet Kumar (left) and others also seen. (Photo by arrangement) VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has urged the banking sector in Andhra Pradesh to play a proactive role and adopt a more positive approach towards the housing and education sectors. "AP has achieved good results vis-a-vis its annual credit plan in the nine months of the financial year 2022-23. We registered a 124.69 per cent success in this respect. Let us take this forward in a more resolute manner," the CM said while addressing the 222nd state-level bankers committee (SLBC) meeting at the CMs Camp Office in Tadepalli on Friday. The CM expressed displeasure over the banks extending loans only up to 42.91 per cent and 33.58 per cent of the target fixed for the educational and housing sectors respectively, the present fiscal. Mentioning about the success of the global investors summit in Visakhapatnam, he noted that it recorded investment proposals worth Rs 13,05,663 crore through 352 MoUs. This would have the potential to provide employment to 6,03,223 persons, the CM said. Jagan Mohan Reddy appealed to the bankers to extend loans to potential entrepreneurs and ancillary MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) to enable them, as also the state, achieve solid economic growth. He said the government has so far distributed 30.75 lakh house sites free of cost to women in Andhra Pradesh. "Necessary sand is supplied free for the construction of these houses while steel and cement are being supplied at subsidy rates," he said. The CM reminded the bankers that they had agreed in the last SLBC meeting to provide a loan of Rs 35,000 for each of the beneficiaries, additionally, at 3 per cent interest -- which would be reimbursed by the government. Several of the beneficiaries of the government housing scheme however failed to get this, he said. Jagan Mohan Reddy asked the bankers to make sure they provided the loans for those who were left out. The CM said the government would begin construction of an additional three lakh houses from next month. A total of 30.75 lakh houses will be built for the poor. Bankers must extend loans to all the beneficiaries, he said, adding that the worth of each of these houses would go up to Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh once they were ready for occupation. Speaking about the short-term crop loans extended to farmers, the CM said the related targets were reached only up to 83. 36 per cent so far. "Bankers should make sure the targets are fully achieved. Only Rs 1,126 crore was provided as loans to tenant farmers in the first nine months of the present fiscal as against a target of Rs 4,000 crore in loans to 1,63, 811 tenant farmers," he said. Jagan Mohan Reddy said, "While banks are paying only four per cent interest on the savings of womens self help groups, banks are collecting more interest on the loans given to the SHGs. Bankers must reconsider this and pay more interest to SHGs on the womens savings." Lauding the bankers for liberally extending loans to petty traders, the chief minister asked them to display the same enthusiasm in future also by supporting the Jagananna Thodu. "At a time when the government is trying to change the rural landscape through RBKs, digital libraries, English medium schools, village and ward secretariats, skill development centres in all assembly constituencies and a skill development university for improving the skills of the youth, it is a must for banks to play a more proactive role and encourage the positive changes in the states economic scenario," he said. The rush to build up capacity as vehicle sales surged over the last few years has led to an overhang that resulted in production and job cuts, as well as falling prices Apr 14, 2023 06:46 PM Instead of taking a democratic route and answering the concerns, the ruling party has chosen to cast aspersions on the Opposition and throw muck on them. (Photo: PTI) The BJP which put forward a slogan for the elimination of the main Opposition party in the country has now turned its ire on others which petitioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi against the misuse of the Union governments investigative agencies against them. The ruling party has chosen to take on the Opposition leaders who signed the letter personally, and allege that they are all facing reports of corruption. Citing the misuse of Central agencies and constitutional offices such as that of the governor to settle scores outside of the electoral battlefield, the Opposition leaders had, in their letter, raised a fundamental and mortally fearful doubt whether India has transitioned from being a democracy to an autocracy. Added to their doubt is the practice the BJP is accused of: Undermining popular opinion using levers of power and destabilising elected governments under the fancy name of Operation Lotus. The Opposition leaders, by writing to the highest elected office in our country, the Prime Minister, have reposed their faith in the constitutional scheme of our republic. They must hence be answered and assured in a manner that behoves that of the office of the Prime Minister that the agencies are doing a professional job, that they are going by the law and that there is no targeting of Opposition politicians. The PMs office has remained silent and let the party speak. Instead of taking a democratic route and answering the concerns, the ruling party has chosen to cast aspersions on the Opposition and throw muck on them. This is unacceptable. Electoral democracy as practised in our country allows the first-past-the-post to be the winner, but that does not eliminate the Opposition; they represent a sizeable share of the population. Issues they raise cannot be reduced to personal level and answered with counter-allegations; they must be answered on their merit, and by the PM himself. Taking recourse to personal attacks will not settle doubts; instead it will make the position of the ruling party all the more untenable. This blog covers software patent news and issues with a particular focus on wireless, mobile devices (smartphones, tablet computers, connected cars) as well as select antitrust matters surrounding those devices. n EU court removed sanctions imposed on the Wagner chief's mother because the proof against her was insufficient. The mother of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner PMC and Putin ally, is another target of punitive actions by the west. EU Court Removes Sanctions on Wagner Chief's Mother This reversal was unexpected as the bloc is pushing to penalize anyone linked to the Russian action in the Donbas with 1,700 people and entities bundled up. It would lock billions of dollars in the bank for many of them. Violetta Prigozhin was blacklisted for her alleged business links with her son that were called complicit involvement by western officials, reported Al Arabiya. The bloc's next largest court stated that these restrictions regarding her alleged involvement are not legal. One error by the authors of these restrictions is that she is the mother of someone involved in the conflict. A monumental blunder on the European Union's part to sanction left and right, noted Hindustan Times. A court spokesman said the decision takes effect and should be appealed in two months and ten days before it loses efficacy if the court's decision holds in the appeal. In an attempt to justify these actions against individuals by a bloc official. Called the ruling not correct, that many in the block were against it but did not reveal who they were, and added that they must examine it further. Prigozhin did not comment regarding his mother for her reaction to the ruling. Even the lawyer for Violetta was asked to respond to the decision but was not reachable, per Reuters. Read Also: Russian 'Top Secret Army,' Shadow Group Revealed in a Tablet Violetta had been on the bloc's blocklist even before the special operation in the Donbas began on February 24. Even before the actual invasion that happened, which kept her from traveling with assets held over murky application of laws. This irregularity done by Brussels was based on alleged business links to the Wagner boos. He set up the mercenaries in Ukraine with a contract signed by the Russian government. The group was involved in Crimea and helping eastern Ukrainian rebels. Wagner Chief's Mother Contested the Bloc's Actions Prigozhina contested the restrictions due to the lack of legal justifications for why she was randomly blacklisted by the bloc. She added they weren't forthright enough to admit that it was to press on her son said the general court, mentioned Swiss Info. Based on the information that described the challenge that the general court posted. The accusations against her were inconclusive, and the bloc was grasping for straws. None in Brussels are okay with letting her off, and the bloc is desperate to appear less than impotent. Despite what happened, that turned into a decision of Brussels which is nothing compared to the drive of the bloc to issue sanctions left and right. The west is on a sanction spree against anyone involved, according to them. Yevgeny Prigozhin mocked Washington for acting fiercely by sanctioning Wagner PMC, which amounts to nothing. Last Wednesday, he declared his group had given the AFU a blackeye by allegedly controlling Bakhmut. Other family members got sanctioned by Brussel as well. An EU court reversed the sanction against the Wagner chief's mother, which left Brussels bruised but will still appeal. Related Article: Wagner Chief Claims Ammunition Supply Insufficient To Hold Bakhmut Position @ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The world observes Pi Day on March 14 each year to recognise the mathematical constant Pi. Pi is defined as the reciprocal of the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter, and its value is 3.14. In 1988, American physicist Larry Shaw recognised the day by planning a major party at the San Francisco Exploratorium. The 40th General Assembly of Unesco resolved to recognise Pi Day as the International Day of Mathematics in 2019. March 14 is the value of Pi for those who use the month/date format. The third month of the year, which is also the value's starting point, is March. The date of March 14 was chosen since the next number is 14. To commemorate this day, maths lovers organise enjoyable events all over the world. Because pie and pi are homophones in English and have circular shapes, they also eat pie as part of the festivities. History Of Pi Day The San Francisco Exploratorium hosted the first formal, widespread festivities on March 14, 1988. A physicist named Larry Shaw organised this event. At this celebration, a number of attendees marched in a circle while munching on fruit pies. After years of increasing popularity, The U.S. House of Representatives formally recognised 14 March as Pi Day on 12 March 2009 by passing HRES 224. Mathematician Archimedes utilised polygons with multiple sides to simulate circles and found that Pi was roughly 22/7. William Jones used the Greek letter for the first time in 1706. A "p" was used to represent the "perimeter" of circles. Leonard Euler, a Swiss mathematician, introduced this convention in 1737. Timeline Of Pi Day March 14, 1988 -The Inception-Larry Shaw celebrates Pi Day for the first time. March 12, 2009-It's Official-The U.S Congress declared March 14 National Pi Day. March 14, 2015-Super Pi Day-The first ten digits of pi were achieved on 9:26:53 a.m. (3/14/15/92653) August 19, 2017-Legacy That Lives-Larry Shaw passes away as Pi Day leaves its mark on pop culture. Celebrations on Pi Day On this day, numerous events take place around the world, with activities such as people reciting Pi and seeing who can get the furthest. Maths enthusiasts, educational activities, music, Pi memorization contests, and pies are just a few ways that museums and science institutions celebrate this day. Sometimes, tasty foods like pizza pie, fruit pie, etc. go along with mathematical pleasure. Pi is employed in mathematical and scientific calculations, as is well known. Here are a few interesting Pi facts 1) The number pi is irrational. The number value can go forever if calculated. 2) Just as it is impossible to compute Pi exactly, we can never know the precise circumference of a circle. 3) Albert Einstein's birthday anniversary falls on the same day as Pi Day. On this date in 2018, the eminent theoretical scientist Stephen Hawking passed away. 4) Issac Newton, a mathematician and the inventor of calculus, determined the value of Pi to at least 16 decimal places. 5) Pi is the basis of an entire language. A book called "Not a Wake" in the Pi language was published in 2010 by software engineer Michael Keith. Following two nights of fierce rallies in Tbilisi, the governing party of Georgia withdrew a contentious "foreign influence" bill, but the opponents warned of additional demonstrations on Thursday. Hours after tens of thousands of people rallied in the Georgia protests outside the Georgian parliament for a second night, some fighting with police, the country's official broadcaster announced that the measure would be canceled, CNN reported. However, Giga Lemonjala, executive secretary of the oppositional Droa party, said that his group "did not believe" that the legislation would be withdrawn by the dominant Georgian Dream party because the "Georgian Dream has lied to the Georgian public several times." Tens of thousands of people gathered outside the country's parliament during the Georgia protests, which Lemonjala fears would sever Georgia from Europe. Lemonjala is asking that parliament officially revoke the foreign agents bill and quickly free all those jailed during the protests. Opposition parties sought clarification on the proposal's withdrawal process and the release of demonstrators, who had been imprisoned this week. Read Also: Free Legal Assistance in the Netherlands Bill Proponents Defend The Measure Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili had previously denounced the "stir" over the law. His party said that the legislation was modeled by US laws from the 1930s, a claim that the Kremlin made in 2012 when it approved a bill with a similar effect, per BBC. The foreign agents bill does resemble one that was passed in Russia in 2012 and used to shut down or smear opposition groups there. Sponsors of the controversial foreign agents bill argued it was essential for the transparency of companies supported by foreign powers, but opponents viewed it as a possible obstacle to Georgia's declared goal of entering NATO and the European Union. Maria Kaljurand and Sven Mikser, two prominent actors in Georgia relations and members of the European Parliament, claimed the foreign agents bill contradicts the Georgian authorities' professed goal to acquire "candidate status for EU membership," per a report on US News. Georgia President Salome Zurabishvili has already said she would reject the legislation. Shalva Papuashvili, the speaker of the parliament, requested on Wednesday that the Venice Commission on Constitutional Law of the Council of Europe, the continent's top human rights organization, evaluate the controversial foreign agents bill. Related Article: Russia Missile Strikes Killed Civilians in Ukraine @ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Well, it took Geely Philippines long enough. About two years after we said they needed a sub-compact crossover to penetrate the local market... NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg unveiled a new plan on Thursday where he seeks to swiftly have Finland and Sweden join and become members of the military alliance despite opposition from some parties. The secretary-general aims to have the two nations become a part of NATO when United States President Joe Biden and his global counterparts meet in July for their next summit. Finland's and Sweden's NATO Applications Both Finland and Sweden decided to abandon their traditional positions of military neutrality and seek protection under NATO's security umbrella due to fears that they could become the next target of Russia following Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. All 30 allies have signed Finland's and Sweden's accession protocols, and almost all have since ratified those texts. However, Turkey and, more recently, Hungary have demanded guarantees and assurances from the new nations before they finalize their support for their membership. As per ABC News, this has caused a stalemate in the proceedings because all NATO members must agree unanimously for Finland and Sweden to become members. On Thursday, representatives from Finland and Sweden met with their Turkish counterparts at NATO headquarters in Brussels. Stoltenberg was the one who organized the talks after he convinced Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to come back to the table last month. When he opened the meeting, the NATO chief said that the two Nordic neighbors had already taken unprecedented steps to address legitimate security concerns of the Turkish government. He added that it was not time for all NATO allies to conclude the ratification process and have Finland and Sweden join as members. The three parties agreed that "rapid ratifications" for the two Nordic neighbors would align with everyone's interests and that the two countries becoming members of NATO would only strengthen the alliance. Read Also: Russia-Ukraine War Update Turkey's and Hungary's Opposition In a statement, Stoltenberg said that the situation was a process and did not expect it to be concluded with only one round of negotiations. However, he noted that he was confident that Finland and Sweden would soon become NATO allies as it is their top priority, according to Yahoo News. The situation was in a stalemate after Turkey accused the Swedish government of being too lenient on groups it believed were terror organizations or existential threats, including the Kurdish groups. On the other hand, Sweden has been acting seemingly tough on the matter, and Thursday, presented a new draft law to parliament that sought to make it illegal to support or participate in terrorist organizations. No date was scheduled for the vote for the proposed bill that was announced. Separately, Finland's 200-member Parliament had 184 voting in favor of NATO membership, seven were against, and one abstained. The country's leaders also took up the vote before elections scheduled in April for a new Parliament to avoid any potential delay. Finland was the one that pushed Sweden to apply to join the military alliance following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Despite Turkey's opposition to Sweden's application and demands of legislative change, it has few if any problems with Finland joining NATO said the New York Times. Related Article: Georgia Drops 'Foreign Agents' Bill Following Protests @ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Photo: The Canadian Press Transportation Safety Board Chair Kathy Fox is seen during a news conference in Ottawa. UPDATE 11:05 a.m. The deaths of two men after their tugboat sank off British Columbia's coast have prompted recommendations from the Transportation Safety Board for all such small vessels in Canada. The tug Ingenika was towing a loaded barge in a narrow channel along the northern coast when poor weather affected its ability to tow and maintain speed, and the safety board's report says the tug started taking on water. The three men aboard were able to abandon ship, but only one person made it to the life raft and the bodies of the pilot and deck hand were recovered hours later by search and rescue crews. Transportation Safety Board chair Kathy Fox says it has investigated six occurrences of similar-sized tugs since 2015 and their systemic safety issues have been on its safety watchlist for 13 years. The board makes four recommendations, including that tugs under 15 gross tonnes undergo regular inspections, that owners and operators assess risks adequately and that the Pacific Pilotage Authority ensure that only qualified crew members are allowed to pilot a vessel. Fox says the Ingenika investigation highlights ongoing concerns and Transport Canada needs to increase surveillance of the vessel class and require owners and operators to assess risks adequately. Troy Pearson, the 58-year-old pilot, and 25-year-old crew member Charley Cragg died in the water after the vessel sank in February 2021. Charges under the Workers Compensation Act were laid last month against the tug company, Wainwright Marine Services, and one of its senior officials, alleging violations of occupational health and safety regulations. ORIGINAL 5:25 a.m. A report into a deadly tug boat sinking off British Columbia's north coast will be released today. Transportation Safety Board chair Kathy Fox and Clifford Harvey, the director of marine investigations, will hold a news conference to reveal the findings on the sinking of the tug Ingenika in February 2021. The tug was towing a barge and had a captain and two crew members aboard when it took on water and sank in Gardner Canal. A search and rescue operation found one survivor on land, while the bodies of 58-year-old captain Troy Pearson and 25-year-old crew member Charley Cragg were recovered. The barge was found not far from the site of the sinking, although the tug, which had 3,500 litres of diesel fuel in its tanks, has never been recovered. Charges under the Workers Compensation Act were laid last month against the tug company, Wainwright Marine Services, and one of its senior officials, alleging violations of occupational health and safety regulations. PSX listed cement companies release financial results for 1HFY23 10 March 2023 Cement companies listed in the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) continue to report mixed financial results for the 1HFY22-23 (July-December 2022) of the current financial year FY22-23 (July 2022-June 2023). Although companies have reported an increase in sales, their cost of sales and bank borrowing has increased, resulting in a tightening of profit margins. According to JS Global Capital Ltd, demand improvement has given the industry room to pass some of the impact of cost growth due to the federal government's recent hikes in Federal Excise Duty and sales tax. Attock Cement Pakistan Ltd reported a decrease in profit after tax of PKR560m (US$2.02m) in the 1HFY22-23 compared to PKR852m earned in the past year's corresponding period. This represents a fall in profit of 34 per cent YoY. The net sales jumped six per cent YoY to PKR10.37bn in the 1HFY22-23 from PKR9.8bn during the year-ago period. The administrative expenses fell to PKR543m from PKR568m. The company incurred a lesser distribution cost of PKR459m against PKR496m. The finance cost heftily rose by 101 per cent to PKR214m during this period. Gharibwal Cement earned a lesser net profit of PKR1.12bn in the 1HFY22-23, down from PKR1.24bn in the 1HFY21-22, resulting in a YoY decline in yield of 9.6 per cent. Its sales increased by 26.3 per cent YoY to PKR9.4bn. The company incurred higher administrative expenses of PKR359m against PKR250m in the same period last year and also reported higher distribution expenses of PKR42m against PKR31m in the same period. Thatta Cement Co declared a loss after tax of PKR6.2m in the 1HFY22-23 compared to a loss of PKR59m in 1HFY21-22, despite an increase in sales. Sales rose to PKR2.4bn compared to PKR1.6bn in the 6MFY21-22. The company incurred a rising distribution cost of PKR40.7m in the 1HFY22-23 against PKR22.9m in the 6MFY21-22. Administrative expenses surged to PKR71.8m from PKR59m in the years corresponding period. The bank borrowing increased to PKR26.5m from PKR9.1m a factor for losses. Power Cements profit after tax increased to PKR420m from PKR280m in the 1HFY21-22, up by 49.7 per cent. Its net sales jumped to PKR12.64bn from PKR9.27bn during this period. Distribution expenses slightly increased to PKR605m against PKR604m and administrative expenses to PKR173m from PKR142m, respectively, during this period. Dewan Cement reported a loss after tax of PKR730m in the 1HFY22-23 against a loss of PKR156m in 1HFY21-22. The company's net sales jumped to PKR9.17bn from PKR7.17bn, but administrative expenses fell to PKR407m from PKR524m. During this accounting period, the selling and distribution costs increased to PKR68m from PKR56m. Published under Cockburn Cement fined for odour breaches 10 March 2023 Cockburn Cement Ltd (CCL) has been fined AUD290,000 (US$191,000) for odour breaches from its Munster cement plant, according to the Government of Western Australia. The company was charged with six counts of causing unreasonable odour between January and April 2019, contravening the Environmental Protection Act 1986. The company pleaded not guilty to the charges. According to the witnesses involved in the case, there was evidence that the odour could be detected up to 8km from the plant, causing serious to significant interferences with the comfort, convenience and amenity of 11 residents over a four-month period, ruled Magistrate Heidi Watson. Kelly Faulkner, executive director of compliance and enforcement at the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER), said the department had received multiple complaints in 2019 to its Pollution Watch Hotline.DWER carried out in excess of 30 odour patrols between January and April 2019 and identified odours during those patrols, she said. DWER continues to investigate on-going reports of odour in the local community and where appropriate will take further action to address any on-going unreasonable odour impacts. In January 2022 DWER initiated further prosecution action against CCL for six charges of unreasonable odour emissions between January and April 2020. DWER is working with CCL to identify opportunities to further mitigate odourous emissions from their operations including granting approval for CCL to trial an engineering solution to reduce odours, added Ms Faulkner. Published under Former United States President Donald Trump is likely facing criminal charges over the hush money controversy involving an adult film star, New York Prosecutors suggest. Prosecutors with the Manhattan District Attorney's office have reportedly taken action that suggests the Republican businessman could be indicted soon over his role in the controversy. The hush money payments allegedly happened during the closing days of the 2016 presidential election. Potential Criminal Charges Against Trump If the prosecutors push through with the indictments, it will make Trump the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges. Recent reports noted that the Republican businessman was offered the chance to appear before the New York City grand jury hearing evidence against him. It would be seen as uncharacteristic for prosecutors to offer a potential defendant a chance to testify before a grand jury if they were not seeking an indictment against the individual. According to New York law, an individual who could be indicted has the right to appear before a grand jury before a prosecutor requests a grand jury to vote based on the charges against that person, as per the Independent. The investigation in New York on the former president has been ongoing since 2018, when his former attorney, Michael Cohen, faced federal charges related to the same scheme. Prosecutors allege that they paid adult film star Stormy Daniels $130,000 as hush money to prevent her from revealing an affair with Trump, a presidential candidate. Cohen repeatedly met with the New York County District Attorney's office, which District Attorney Alvin Bragg heads. He is also expected to testify before the grand jury about the case. There have also been other former aides to Trump that provided evidence in the investigation, including Kellyanne Conway and Hope Hicks, who are ex-2016 campaign aides. The former president's team responded in response to the latest development, calling the situation "insane." Read Also: Mitch McConnell Hospitalized After Tripping in Hotel Hush Money to Adult Film Star The potential criminal charges come amid an array of criminal investigations that Trump faces over various controversies and issues. While Bragg could be the first to indict the former president, he may not be the last to do so, according to the New York Times. The situation comes as Bragg's prosecutors have not yet finished the grand jury presentation, which means that the district attorney could still decide against seeking an indictment against Trump. The former president previously argued that the prosecutors are engaged in what he called a "witch hunt" against him that started before he became president. Two of Trump's defense attorneys confirmed that their client was told through his lawyers about being allowed to appear before the grand jury. Trump's attorneys added that such an offer was standard and that no subpoena was issued compelling him to appear before the panel. The former president, now seeking a 2024 presidential re-election, has continued denying that he had sex with the adult film star. However, he reimbursed Cohen for the payment that the latter made to Daniels, said CNBC. Related Article: Joe Biden Unveils Massive $6.8 Trillion Budget Proposal @ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. UN watchdog chief's visit raises hopes of reviving Iran nuclear deal Xinhua) 09:47, March 10, 2023 TEHRAN, March 9 (Xinhua) -- The visit to Iran last week by the UN nuclear watchdog chief following weeks of high tension between the two sides seemed to have witnessed the calm after the storm, reflecting a bilateral willingness to resolve issues and raising hopes of reviving a 2015 nuclear deal, Iranian analysts said. Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi visited Tehran, the capital of Iran, during March 3-4 and discussed issues of contention with senior Iranian officials. The outcome of the trip was a joint statement by the two sides, the main features of which were their pledge to continue interactions "in a spirit of collaboration" and Iran's greater openness to the agency's inspections. "NEW CHAPTER OPENED" "A new chapter was opened in the cooperation between Iran and the agency," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said on Monday, two days after Grossi finished his visit. Describing Grossi's visit as part of the efforts to pave the way for all parties' return to the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Kanaani expressed hope that the "good agreements" reached during Grossi's trip would prepare the ground for the resolution of technical differences. The visit came amid the differences between Iran and the IAEA that had peaked in previous weeks, mainly over claims that Iran "enriched uranium to a level close to 84 percent" and its "noncooperation" with the agency with regard to the "three undeclared sites" where "traces of uranium" had allegedly been found. Iran rejected the first claim as "inaccurate" and the second as "baseless." It is worth noting that Grossi's visit came after months of criticisms by the agency of "Iran's lack of cooperation" and a few days ahead of a meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors, where in November last year, a resolution proposed by the United States, Britain, France and Germany had been passed calling on Iran to collaborate with the agency's investigators regarding "uranium traces," all said to be among the outstanding issues causing a standstill in the nuclear negotiations that started in Vienna in April 2021. Despite some skepticism voiced domestically of the trip and the intentions behind it, the visit drew upbeat responses from Iranian officials, media, analysts and especially the country's forex market where the national currency, the rial, started gaining against the U.S. dollar after days of unprecedented depreciation. RESOLVING DIFFERENCES In remarks to the official news agency IRNA, Jalil Rahimi Jahanabadi, a member of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said Grossi's visit was mainly a "political" one aimed at alleviating the agency's concerns about Iran's nuclear activities and reassure the West that Iran is not developing a nuclear weapon. He expressed optimism that the visit would prepare the ground for the closure of the case about Iran's nuclear activities for good. Remarks by Grossi on the sidelines of the IAEA Board of Governors meeting on Monday seemed to support the optimism, as he said no "production" or "accumulation" of highly enriched uranium has been found by the agency's inspectors in Iran. When the meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors came to an end on Wednesday, no anti-Iran resolution was issued despite the hue and cry by the E3 group of France, Britain and Germany as well as Israel over the past weeks. During his meeting with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Tehran on Saturday, Grossi described as "very constructive and positive" his meetings with Iranian officials during the visit, saying they will prepare the ground favorably for future interaction and expanded cooperation between the two sides. At a joint press conference earlier in the day with President of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Mohammad Eslami, Grossi stressed that the cooperation between the agency and Iran and the "good agreement" the two sides were expected to reach would be of contribution to the JCPOA's revival. RESUMING NEGOTIATIONS? Reza Nasri, an international affairs analyst, told the semi-official ILNA news agency that the differences between Iran and IAEA were cited as the main obstacle to the continuation of the negotiations. At present, Iran has proved that it is not the side to blame for the failure to resume the nuclear talks, he said, noting Tehran can use the "technical agreements" with the agency as important political leverage in the process of reviving the JCPOA, waiting for the other parties to keep their side of the bargain. On the possibility of Grossi's visit resulting in the JCPOA's revival, Javid Qorban-Oghli, former Iranian ambassador to South Africa, told Iranian Ham-Mihan newspaper that unless Iran and the IAEA resolve their differences, it will not be possible to restore the nuclear agreement. "I do not seek to say (the visit) will lead to the JCPOA's revival, but when Grossi points to such a possibility, it is a positive sign," the former diplomat said. An analysis by the official Iranian newspaper Jomhouri-e Eslami (Islamic Republic) was another upbeat voice heard following Grossi's visit, as it said what took place during the IAEA chief's trip has increased the likelihood of the JCPOA's revival. "It appears that the recent agreements reached between AEOI and IAEA would be enough to help resolve the disputes between the two sides for the time being, ... thus smoothing the path for the resumption of the nuclear talks," the newspaper said. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan) Russia and the United Nations are set to renew talks over the Ukraine grain deal on Monday despite Moscow's doubts that the agreement would not be fruitful. The UN said that the fate of millions of people lay in the extension of the grain export agreement. When Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February last year, it blocked Ukraine's Black Sea ports with warships until a deal signed in July last year allowed for the safe passage of exports carrying critical grain supplies. Renewal of Ukraine Grain Deal Talks Under the UN and Turkey-brokered Black Sea Grain Initiative (BSGI), more than 23.7 million tons of grain were exported. The deal has helped reduce the effects of the global food crisis caused by Russia's war on Ukraine. It is set to automatically renew on Mar. 18 unless Moscow or Kyiv moves to object to the agreement. However, on Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the grain export deal extension was becoming "complicated." He argued that other global powers should have respected a parallel agreement on Russian exports, as per The Moscow Times. The BSGI is related to the export of Ukrainian grain, while the second deal, which was made between Moscow and the UN, seeks to facilitate the export of Russian food and fertilizers. These are exempt from Western sanctions imposed on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. During a press conference held in Moscow, Lavrov said that if the package was half fulfilled, then the issue of an extension would become complicated. The Russian official added that their Western colleagues, specifically the United States and the European Union, declared that there were no sanctions that apply to food and fertilizers, where he called it dishonest. Lavrov argued that the Western sanctions prevent Russian ships from carrying grain and fertilizers from entering ports. He added that the sanctions also prohibit foreign ships from entering Russian ports to pick up essential cargo. Read Also: Georgia Drops 'Foreign Agents' Bill Following Massive Protests Global Food Crisis The Russian foreign minister's remarks came a day after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres traveled to Kyiv to shore up support for the grain deal. After meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday, Guterres thanked him for the welcome despite the "difficult circumstances," according to CBS News. Turkish and UN representatives have been meeting in an attempt to keep the flow of grain exports continuing. The agreement was initially set up in July 2022 as part of officials' attempt to free up roughly 20 million tons of grain stored inside silos, ships, and other storage facilities in Ukraine that could not be shipped out. Global food prices soared, which placed humanitarian aid efforts worldwide at risk due to the blockage of Ukraine's ports and sanctions preventing Russia from exporting grains and fertilizer. While the West has not specifically targeted Russia's agricultural exports, Moscow argued that sanctions on its payments, logistics, and insurance industries had hindered its ability to export its supplies of grains and fertilizers, said Reuters. Related Article: NATO Chief's Plan To Accept Finland, Sweden Applications @ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. An employee of Builtwell Bank at 6825 Shallowford Road told police a man came into the bank and was upset about fees added to his account. She said the man said that because the bank is robbing him, he was going to rob the bank. The employee said the man told her he was going to get his friends and come back. Police told the employee and other staff if the man returned to call the police to have him trespassed. * * * An officer responded to a wellness check at an apartment on Central Drive. A man called police to check on his ex-girlfriend because she called him saying she would harm herself. Police spoke with the woman who said she was upset because her father passed recently, and the man just ended their relationship. The woman told the officer several times that she wouldn't harm herself and didn't need any assistance. * * * Police were called to N. Hawthorne Street where a woman said at 9 a.m. a man walked onto her porch and started asking her personal questions. She had never seen the man before and he was asking her for money. She described him as a tall, skinny, dark-skinned, black hair male who was wearing a white T-shirt, black jeans, black shoes, and a black hat. She also stated that he had orange sunglasses in his shirt pocket. The woman asked to have her house added to the watch list. * * * An Xfinity line worker called police because he witnessed a black male go onto a porch and take a leaf blower on Perry Street. The homeowner arrived while police were on scene and she said she had video of the event. The officer reviewed the video and it showed a black male wearing a white face mask take the leaf blower and leave. Police left and, before finishing the report, the homeowner called back and said she believes she found the suspect at nearby apartments. She confronted the man who she believed had stolen her leaf blower. She said he was an older man with white hair and the homeowner said she believed his name was Bernard but wasnt sure. Police drove through the apartments in question and didnt find anyone matching the description. * * * An employee of Nine Brothers at 101 W. 38th St. told police she was tired of a man riding around on his motorized wheelchair asking customers for money. She wanted the man to leave the property. Police spoke to the man who complied and left. * * * The manager of Baymont at 7017 Shallowford Road wanted a man trespassed from the property. Police spoke with the man and told him he was trespassed. He left without incident. * * * An anonymous caller told police there were suspicious people walking around the abandoned Humane Society property at 212 N. Highland Park Ave. the past few nights and wanted police to check the area. Police saw the fence on the rear of the building had been cut where someone could crawl through onto the property. The exterior doors that the officer was able to get to were secure. It is unknown at this time who owns the property. The officer was unable to secure the hole in the fence. * * * An employee of 7/11 at 3725 Jenkins Road wanted police to trespass a man because of his erratic behavior and for disturbing his patrons. Police told the man he was no longer welcome at that location and he would be arrested if he returned. He was then given a ride to BP at 7701 Lee Hwy. without incident. * * * An officer responded to a suspicious person at Workman Road and English Avenue. The woman told police she was trying to get a ride somewhere. The officer gave her a ride to the Community Kitchen at 727 E. 11th St. * * * Police were called to Carters at Hamilton Place where security footage showed a large, black female walked into the store while on her phone. She walked around the store for a while before stuffing singular items of clothing up into her shirt. The woman did several loops through the store while continuing to hide clothes under her shirt and then walked out the door. A few minutes later, she returned to the store, but didnt stay for long and left without taking any more items. The total estimated value of stolen clothes was approximately $500. One person from the crash of a Life Force 6 helicopter in North Carolina has been released from the hospital, officials said. Jim Coleman, Erlanger president & CEO, said, Yesterday evening around 7 p.m., Life Force 6 crashed in Macon County, N.C., while transporting a patient. Thankfully, all four individuals on board, including the patient, are alive. One crew member was evaluated and released from a local hospital. "The others on board were admitted to Mission Health, a North Carolina HCA hospital, and are in stable condition. I appreciate the compassion shown by these two hospitals as they cared for our crew and patient while keeping our team informed. Robbie Tester, Erlanger VP of Patient Logistics, said, We are grateful to our partners in the healthcare community for providing great care to our Life Force family both on scene and in the hospital and to the Macon County Sheriffs Office and other local first responders for their assistance during this difficult time. "Im also grateful for all the calls, texts and concern shown by our staff, public safety agencies, and our air ambulance community from across the country. "We do not have information regarding the circumstances or cause of the crash, but understand that the FAA and NTSB will be investigating, as is routine. Safety is of the upmost concern to our program, and as such we have suspend all Life Force operations until our crews feel ready to return to service. An Erlanger Life Force helicopter with four aboard crashed on Thursday at Macon County, N.C. The helicopter was heavily damaged, but no one was killed, officials said. There was one patient as well as three crew members on the helicopter. The injuries were said to be minor to moderate. Macon County 911 Communications officials said they were advised around 7 p.m. that the helicopter was in distress, then it went down. It was traveling from a medical facility in Murphy, N.C., where Erlanger has a hospital, to Mission Hospital in Asheville. The helicopter landed on a narrow road - Middle Burningtown Road. 4/16/2023 A woman at a residence on Celia Drive told police that a red truck with a landscaping trailer had stolen some of her things that were out by the curb around 1:30 p.m., and had just left from ... more Here is the weekly road construction report for District 29: BRADLEY COUNTY SR-2 (N. LEE HWY.) Utility Work northbound at LM 13.88: Shoulder and single lane closures from Sequoia Road NW and Cromwell Circle. Motorists should reduce speed and use caution while traveling through the work zone and be aware of construction personnel. Trucks, signage, drums/cones, and flaggers will be present, 03/02/23 through 03/16/23 from 9 am 2 pm. [2022-622] BRADLEY COUNTY SR-40 (WATERLEVEL HWY.) Utility Work westbound from LM 2.04 to LM 8.62: Shoulder and single lane closures from Hancock Road NE to Durkee Road NE. Motorists should reduce speed and be prepared to stop. Trucks, signage, drums/cones, and flaggers will be present, 02/23/23 through 03/27/23 from 9 am 2 pm. [2022-263] BRADLEY COUNTY SR-60 widening from the 4-lane north of I-75 (LM 17.2) to SR-306 (LM19.9): During this reporting period the contractor will have short term intermittent lane closures throughout the project for utility relocation and moving equipment as work continues on new roadway alignments and a new bridge over Candies Creek. The speed limit in the work zone has been reduced to 35 mph. Motorists are advised to use caution in the work zone and watch for flaggers assisting with traffic control. [Summers-Taylor, Inc./Wagner/CNV130] HAMILTON COUNTY I-24 interchange improvement at SR-2 (US-11, US-41, US-72, Broad Street) and SR-58 (Market Street): Williams Street is closed to all traffic at the I-24 underpass to support the installation of new storm drainage structures for the new frontage road. Traffic will still be able to access the ramps to I-24 and US-27, but no through traffic will be allowed on Williams Street between West 21st Street and West 25th Street. Traffic will detour around the closure via West 21st Street and Broad Street. Signs will be posted. The contractor will be working on new bridge construction, storm drainage structures, and utility relocation. The US-27 N on-ramp at William St. has been closed and it will remain closed until the new alignment for this ramp is completed. There will be marked detour signs to use the Broad St. US-27 on-ramp. The contractor has opened up the new Broad St exit off I-24 and closed the existing exit to the Broad St that is off the US27 S exit. Traffic from US27 S that needs to access Broad St. will use the Williams St. exit. Detour signs are in place. The motoring public needs to be aware of the changes. The US 27 South ramp onto I-24 East will be reduced to 2 lanes with the Williams St. exit still open. This ramp will be this way for several months and traffic is advised to drive with caution in this area. On Thursday and Friday of this reporting period, from 9 AM -3:30 PM, there will be a temporary lane shift on the Williams St. off ramp during this time period. [Wright Brothers Construction Company, Inc./Curtis/CNU011] HAMILTON COUNTY I-75 at I-24 Interchange Reconstruction Phase 2: Weather permitting, the contractor will implement single lane closures between the hours of 9 PM until 6 AM Sunday through Thursday, at following locations: I-24 WB MM 185 to MM 183 and North Terrace, I-75 NB MM 2 to MM 4, I-75 SB MM 4 to MM 2. [Wright Brothers Construction Company, Inc./Maj Prj - Blevins/DB2101] HAMILTON COUNTY I-75 Utility Work westbound from MM 0 to MM 1.0: Shoulder and single lane closure on the I-75 on ramp from SR-8 (Ringgold Road) towards the Tennessee Welcome Center. Motorists should reduce speed and use caution while traveling through the work zone and be aware of construction personnel. Trucks, signage, drums/cones, and flaggers will be present, 03/07/23 through 03/15/23 from 9 am 4 pm. [2019-578] HAMILTON COUNTY SR-2 (LEE HWY.) Utility Work both directions at LM 20.01: Shoulder and single lane closures from Bonny Oaks Drive to Tyner Road. Motorists should reduce speed and use caution while traveling through the work zone and be aware of construction personnel. Trucks, signage, drums/cones, and flaggers will be present, 02/27/23 through 03/10/23 from 9 am 2 pm. [2023-095] HAMILTON COUNTY SR-29 (US-27) TDOT Bridge Inspection both directions from LM 0.0 to LM 0.6: On Monday, 03/13/23 through Wednesday, 03/15/23 intermittent closures of the right (#4) lane will be in place to perform the biennial inspection of the Olgiati Bridge. Work will take place from 8 AM to 5 PM. HAMILTON COUNTY SR-29 (US-27) TDOT Maintenance northbound from LM .08 to LM 1.6: TDOT Maintenance will perform bridge end work Monday 03/13/23 through Wednesday 03/15/23 from 8 PM to 6 AM, lanes 3-5 will be closed along with the Red Bank exit. HAMILTON COUNTY SR-317 (Apison Pike) improvement project from SR-321 (Ooltewah-Ringgold Road) to east of Layton Lane: Lane closures and flagging operations will be required on SR-317, Apison Pike, for utility work. The flagging operations will be performed on 03/09/23, 03/10/23, 03/13/23, 03/14/23 and 03/15/23 from 7 AM to 1 PM and 3 PM to 7 PM. Closures will last about 2 hours per location. The contractor will have intermittent flagging operations during daytime non-peak hours for utility work, delivery of materials and equipment. [Wright Brothers Construction Company, Inc./Osbonlighter/CNT336] HAMILTON COUNTY SR-8 (E. MAIN ST.) Utility Work both directions at LM 7.58: Interior lane closure between Jefferson Street and Madison Street. Motorists should reduce speed and use caution while traveling through the work zone and be aware of construction personnel. Trucks, signage, barrels/cones, and flaggers will be present, 03/13/23 through 03/17/23 from 9 am 2 pm. [2023-062] HAMILTON COUNTY SR-8 (E. MAIN ST.) Utility Work eastbound from LM 5.94 to LM 6.38: Shoulder and single lane closures from S. Orchard Knob Ave and S. Watkins Street. Motorists should reduce speed and be prepared to stop. Trucks, signage, and barrels will be present, 12/01/22 through 03/31/23 from 9 am - 2 pm. [2022-754] HAMILTON COUNTY SR-8 (US-127) construction near Palisades Road (LM 15.2) to near Sunset Drive (LM 15.4): The contractor has closed the right lane going up the Signal Mountain Road from LM 15 (about 1/2 Mi from Palisades Road) to past Sunset Drive. This closure will be in effect for several months during the duration of this project. There will be intermittent lane closures on Signal Mountain Road as the contractor will have flaggers out as they work. Due to the possibility of flaggers stopping traffic, traffic should be aware of possible delays in this area. [Wright Brothers Construction Company, Inc./Curtis/CNW001] MCMINN COUNTY SR-163 bridge repair over Chestuee Creek (LM 11.7): During this reporting period, the contractor will continue bridge repairs on the bridge over Chestuee Creek. Traffic on the bridge over Chestuee Creek on SR-163 at LM 11.74 will be reduced to a single lane controlled by a traffic signal. Maximum horizontal clearance will be limited to 11. Wide load detour routes will be posted. Motorists are advised to reduce speed in the work zone. RESTRICTIONS: Horizontal clearance maximum 11. [Jamison Construction, LLC/Wagner/CNW282] MCMINN COUNTY SR-2 (CONGRESS PKWY.) Utility Work westbound from LM 12.93 to LM 12.1: Mobile shoulder closure along SR-2 between the intersection of Congress Pkwy and Dennis Street and the intersection of Congress Pkwy and Rocky Mount Road. Motorists should reduce speed and be prepared to stop. Trucks, signage, cones, and flaggers will be present, 08/15/22 through 04/12/23 from 7:30 am 5:00 pm. [2022-019] MEIGS COUNTY SR-58 (STATE HWY. 58) Utility Work southbound from LM 14.22 to LM 9.35: Mobile shoulder and single lane closures from Goodfield Road to Cottonport Road. Motorists should reduce speed and be prepared to stop. Trucks, signage, cones, and flaggers will be present, 01/26/23 through 03/17/23 from 9 am 2 pm. [2022-366] Tyler Boyd will help the Chattanooga Area Historical Association celebrate Women's History Month with a story of Nellie Kenyon, newspaper reporter who covered Tennessee and national politics. The meeting will be held on Monday at 6 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church. First Presbyterian Church is at 554 Mccallie Ave., at the corner of Mccallie Avenue and Douglas Street with parking in the rear. For those who are not familiar with the area, the sanctuary is on the corner; next to the church is a tall building and between it and the larger building which is now owned by UTC is a small driveway. Enter the church from the parking lot; the group meets in the chapel. (No steps involved). Call 595-4468 for more information. All meetings are free of charge and open to the public. There have been nine seasons of 90 Day Fiance with countless couples. The series follows couples who have applied for or received a K-1 visa and have 90 days to marry. Many of the women hail from Brazil. The show has gained an enormous following and has spawned spin-offs such as 90 Day Fiance: Happily Ever After?, 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days, 90 Day Fiance: Pillow Talk, 90 DayFiance: The Other Way, The Family Chantel, and Darcey & Stacey, just to name a few. The couples have stemmed from all over the world, including Russia, India, Columbia, Ukraine, Egypt, The Philippines, and many others. Brazil has one of the highest 90 Day pairings to date, some with happy endings and others with disastrous results. Kirlyam Cox Are #90DayFiance stars Kirlyam Cox and Alan Cox still together? ? Get a 2022 update on the season 1 couple. https://t.co/1uqpCvNwQl In Touch Weekly (@intouchweekly) November 28, 2022 You would have to return to the first season of 90 Day Fiance to find Kirlyam Cox and her now-husband Alan, although they have also appeared in various spinoffs. The two connected when Alan went to her hometown of Goiania, Brazil, on a Mormon mission. Their journey was a joy to watch. Kirlyam and Alan are not only still together, they also have two children, Liam and Enzo, according to InTouchWeekly. The happy family lives in Charlotte, NC. Cassia Tavares Cassia Tavares, who came from Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, appeared with Jason Hitch in season 2. The couple met on Facebook, but she had been dating one of Jasons friends at the time, according to Tampa Bay. The couple, who had a 15-year age difference, married at the end of their season. They separated after three years. Unfortunately, Jason died in 2021 due to COVID-19 (coronavirus). Cassia graduated from the University of South Florida in 2020. She remarried and moved to Italy with her new husband. Larissa dos Santos Lima Larissa dos Santos Lima and Colt Johnson may be one of the most notorious couples in 90 Day history. The Minas Gerais, Brazil native met her future husband on a dating site, and they soon met up in Mexico for the first time, where Colt proposed 11 days after they met. It didnt take long for this marriage to blow up. Larissa clashed with her new mother-in-law and had a bad temper. She was arrested three times for domestic violence, according to Heavy. Larissa moved on to another up-and-down relationship with Eric Nichols. She also had a nose job, breast and butt implants, and other plastic surgeries, according to Us Weekly. She lives in Las Vegas and has a popular Only Fans account. Jess Caroline Jess Caroline | Gabe Ginsberg/Getty Images After Larissa, Colt was romantically involved with another Brazilian woman, Jess Caroline, who he also met online. Again, after a short period of time, Colt was ready to propose and flew to Brazil to ask her fathers permission. It turned out that Colt was cheating on her with Vanessa Guerra, and the couple broke up. She moved on with another American, Brian Hanvey. The two are now married and living in Las Vegas. Jess launched her own lipstick line, Last Kiss by Jess Caroline. Juliana Custodio Juliana Custodio hails from Goiania, Brazil, and met her now ex-husband Michael Jessen, who was 20 years her senior, at a Croatian yacht party. She came to live in his Connecticut home on a K-1 visa, and the two were soon married. It was no surprise to fans when the marriage didnt last very long. The couple announced they were divorcing, but it appeared she had already moved on. One month later, Julianna announced her pregnancy with her new boyfriend, Ben Obscura. The now-engaged couple lives in Germany and are parents to a baby boy. Thais Ramone Season 9 of 90 Day Fiance introduced us to Thais Ramone from Montes Claros, Brazil. She met Patrick Mendes on a dating app while he was on a trip visiting his father. After a few more trips, Patrick proposed, and Thais moved to Texas to be with him. The couple has clashed over finances and issues with Patricks brother. They welcomed daughter Aleesi to the world in November 2022, and they are now living in Nevada. The new mom also launched her bikini brand, By Thais Ramoninee, in October 2022. Russia employed formidable weaponry, including rare hypersonic missiles, in a fresh series of attacks across Ukraine, which resulted in the deaths of at least nine individuals. According to reports, Russia has not used Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, which can bypass air defenses, since the conflict's earliest months. The current bombardment was the most intense to strike Ukraine in recent weeks. Russia's Hypersonic Missiles Afterward, electricity was restored to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power facility, the largest in Europe. That was the largest day of Russian attacks on Ukraine since January's end. As per BBC, the Ukrainian military claimed to have destroyed 34 cruise missiles and four Shahed drones manufactured by Iran. It also stated that it could not intercept the six Kinzhal ballistic missiles, as well as older weaponry such as Kh-22 anti-ship missiles and S-300 anti-aircraft missiles. The nuclear energy operator Energoatom stated that the attack at the Zaporizhzhia plant severed the facility's connection to the Ukrainian power grid. The plant ran on diesel generators for the sixth time since Russia seized it a year ago until the connectivity was restored Thursday evening. Electricity is required for the cooling of radioactive materials at the facility. After a series of attacks since the beginning of the invasion, he demanded an international commitment to secure the facility on Thursday. In the Ukrainian capital, emergency services responded to explosions in the western and southern regions. According to the city's governor, Maksym Marchenko, a missile also struck an energy complex in the port city of Odesa, resulting in power outages. Residential areas were also affected. However, there were no recorded injuries. The Ukrainian military claims to have repelled Russian advances on the besieged eastern city of Bakhmut, despite Russian claims that they had gained control of its eastern half. Russia has attempted to seize Bakhmut for months, while both sides suffered huge losses in a stalemate. Western sources estimate that between 20,000 and 30,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or injured since the war for the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut began last summer. The numbers cannot be independently confirmed. Hypersonic missiles are long-range, highly maneuverable weaponry capable of exceeding Mach 5 - five times the speed of sound, or more than one mile per second. Its velocity renders conventional air defense systems mostly ineffective since by the time ground-based radars identify them, they are already close to their intended target. The United States and China are racing to develop and deploy hypersonic weapons. Several nations, including Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, India, Iran, Israel, Japan, North Korea, and South Korea, are also developing this technology. The hypersonic vehicle transports its warhead to the lower space barrier atop a conventional long-range missile. Following separation, the spacecraft uses gravity to accelerate its journey back to Earth. Per NY Times, the vehicle may be a glider or a cruise missile that uses gravity acceleration to activate a "scramjet" engine that propels it hundreds of miles further. The Kinzhal is unique. It is a modified variant of the Iskander short-range ballistic missile used by the Russian Army, which is meant to be launched from truck-mounted launchers on the ground. If the missile is launched from a warplane at a high altitude rather than from the ground, it can require more fuel to achieve faster speeds. According to Russia, the Kinzhal is capable of Mach 10 and above speeds, allowing it to penetrate US anti-missile defense systems. According to the Pentagon, it is launched by MiG-31 aircraft. Russia initially claimed to have used the Kinzhal in Ukraine in a strike on an underground weapons depot about a year ago and has occasionally claimed its usage after that. Another hypersonic missile that Russia claims to possess is the cruise missile Zircon, which can be launched from ships. Nevertheless, Russia did not acknowledge testing the Zircon during the January drills President Vladimir V. Putin announced. It is still being determined whether it has ever been employed in battle. Ihnat said that the Ukrainian military intelligence service believed that Moscow had fewer than 50 Kinzhals before the Thursday barrage. It is unknown why Russia launched six of them, perhaps more than a tenth of its overall arsenal. Yet, Russia may be able to replenish the Kinzhals. As the Kinzhal is only a modified version of an existing missile, it may be simpler to create than Zircons, which must be constructed from scratch. Read Also: US Intelligence Chiefs Discuss National Security Threat Vladimir Putin Becomes Desperate According to The Sun, the most recent major missile attack by Russia clearly indicates President Vladimir Putin's growing desperation. Having failed to prevail on the battlefield, Russia attempts to destroy Ukraine's fighting spirit. Since October, missiles and drones launched from submarines, ships, ground launchers, and aircraft have battered the nation's energy infrastructure. Kremlin desires to engulf Ukraine in chilly gloom. If the electricity goes out, there will be no light. There is no heating at the pumping stations. Despite the terrible strikes, the infrastructure continues to function. In some respects, it is even becoming better. The northern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv re-lit its streets for the first time since Russia's invasion on Wednesday evening, hours before the latest bombing. Since February 23 of last year, a big flagpole with a Ukrainian flag has not been illuminated at night in the city center. Moreover, electric trains and trolley buses have resumed service. As retaliation for destroying the Kerch Bridge, which connects Russia to seized Crimea, Russian attacks on the energy infrastructure began in October. Now, six months later, it is another Russian policy that failed. Kramatorsk, located barely 20 miles from the so-called "meat grinder" attack in Bakhmut, has enjoyed 24-hour power and running water for the past two weeks. It is the same narrative throughout the majority of Ukraine. Fortunately, the winter has been mild in Kyiv. Related Article: Russia Launches Massive Missile Strikes Across Ukraine @YouTube @ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. After a traumatizing event in ABCs Alaska Daily Episode 7, Eileen Fitzgerald, played by Hilary Swank, was more than ready to move on in episode 8. So she threw herself back into Gloria Nanmacs case, and with the help of Roz Friendly, they tracked down one suspect. Read on for our recap of Tell a Reporter Not to Do Something and Suddenly Its a Party. [Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers from Alaska Daily Episode 8, Tell a Reporter Not to Do Something and Suddenly Its a Party.] Hilary Swank as Eileen Fitzgerald and Ami Park as Yuna Park | ABC/Darko Sikman Eileen returns to work in Alaska Daily Episode 8 Following the hostage situation in Alaska Daily Episode 7, Stanley Cornik forces Eileen to start attending therapy before returning to work in episode 8. But, knowing Eileen, she just wants to get back into the newsroom. Unfortunately for her, the therapist believes she might have PTSD, so Eileen opens up about her panic attacks. The journalist then comes clean about why she chose this profession she cares about the truth because her parents lied to her. Unfortunately, Eileen doesnt elaborate (but well likely learn more about her past soon). Back at the Daily Alaskan, Yuna Park, Austin Teague, and Claire Muncy are recovering from their trauma. Eileen returns (much to Stanleys dismay), and they all welcome her back with open arms (figuratively and literally in Yunas case). Meanwhile, Gabriel Tovar is taking time to process being held hostage by the Concerned Citizen. Eileen wastes no time and jumps back into Gloria Nanmacs case with Roz Friendly. Roz has made a lot of progress and informs her partner that their most recent person of interest pastor Reed Gallahorn runs a church called New Zion. The police arrested Gallahorn six years ago for a felony assault. But the charges were dropped, and they didnt take his DNA. But thats not all. A reporter named Max Hansen investigated the death of Randy Martin, a teenager found behind Gallahorns previous church in Nebraska. Max tells Eileen and Roz that the medical examiner ruled Randys death accidental. However, Max believes Gallahorn is to blame since he had a motive the reporter was investigating Reed for extreme practices (aka physical abuse), and Randy was his source. Since Stanley doesnt want Eileen to go to Meade, she and Roz split up in Alaska Daily Episode 8. Roz will travel to Meade, while Eileen will stay in Anchorage and report on Alaskas broken DNA system. They want to pressure the state to test Glorias and Gallahorns DNA. Is Conrad selling the Daily Alaskan? Eileen goes to the medical examiners office in Alaska Daily Episode 8 and learns that the state only tests DNA when a death is ruled a possible homicide. But only the Public Safety Commissioners office can change the status of a case. So, Eileen visits Commissioner Haynes. Eileen tries to convince Haynes to test Glorias and Gallahorns DNA, but the commissioner claims the case is too old. And Haynes then drops a bomb on the reporter Conrad Pritchard is selling the Daily Alaskan, so Eileens thinly veiled threat to write a story on the state not testing DNA doesnt scare her. Meanwhile, at the Daily Alaskan, Aaron Pritchard and Stanley brainstorm budget cuts. Eileen calls Aaron and confronts him, but he has no knowledge of his fathers recent business ventures. Later, Stanley has Claire do some digging, and she discovers that Conrads office requested financial reports and sent them to Horizon Capital in New York. Apparently, Horizon has been buying up newspapers around the country and gutting them. So Stanley calls Aaron and gives him helpful information to use against his father when fighting for the paper. In Meade, Rozs half-brother Derek picks her up from the airport (theyre working on their relationship). He drives her to Sylvie Nanmacs house, and Sylvie denies that Gloria attended Gallahorns church. She raised her in the Presbyterian church, but Sylvie admits that Gloria started to pull away. So Roz goes to New Zion to ask Alice, Glorias friend, herself. She doesnt get much out of Alice, especially since when Gallahorn appears, he escorts Alice out of the room. Roz starts asking the pastor questions and learns he saw Gloria the night she disappeared. Gallahorn claims that Gloria fought with her mother and wanted to run away from home. So he tried to help her with the spiritual tools to protect herself, but she couldnt escape the darkness. Thats not ominous at all. Roz returns to Sylvie, who admits she fought with Gloria about going out the night she went missing. Elsewhere, Eileen meets with the executive director of the Justice Council for Alaskan Natives in Alaska Daily Episode 8. She informs the reporter that the nonprofit lobbied for a $2 million grant for DNA testing a year ago. But the state claims the budget is still in process, so Eileen gets her hands on the Department of Public Safetys budget. And she discovers that they used the $2 million for something other than DNA testing. Roz and Eileen dig further for the truth. Don't miss a new #AlaskaDaily episode TONIGHT to find out what happens next! pic.twitter.com/X7kHer5GNt Alaska Daily (@AlaskaDailyABC) March 9, 2023 DNA leads to a surprising suspect in Alaska Daily Episode 8 Roz discovers that Gallahorn has a son, Chris, in Alaska Daily Episode 8. But he disappeared from the churchs website six years ago (around the same time the police arrested the pastor for assault). So Roz sends Eileen Chriss address in Anchorage so that she can investigate further. There, Eileen learns that Chris was the victim of the assault charges, but he signed an NDA. So Eileen compromises and says shell pin whatever he tells her on a former member of New Zion. Chris reveals that Gallahorn broke his jaw because he told his father he was an atheist. Chris also corroborates the physical violence rumors and claims that Gallahorn is a sadist. The pastor makes his congregation fast and quickly escalates to whipping and hitting them with paddles. Chris even shows Eileen his own scars. Alice finds Roz and Sylvie in Meade and opens up about Glorias experience with New Zion. Alice says that Gloria told Gallahorn she would expose his physical abuse on Facebook, and Alice has messages between her and Gloria to prove it. So Roz and Sylvie confront Gallahorn, and he shockingly agrees to submit his DNA. Eileen laters writes an article titled How Alaskas Broken DNA Collection System Betrayed Gloria Nanmac. As a result, Haynes reclassifies Glorias death as a homicide and tests the DNA. Conrad admits to selling the paper when Aaron presses him, so his son brings up Conrads recent land purchases. As a result of direct threats to make these purchases public, Conrad sells the Daily Alaskan to Aaron. It looks like Aaron has a backbone, after all. Unfortunately, Sylvies health declines, and Eileen and Roz learn that the DNA testing matches Toby Crenshaw, not Gallahorn. The police are issuing an arrest warrant for Toby. And to end things on another sad note, Gabriel informs his colleagues that hes not returning to the Daily Alaskan. There is much to unpack from Alaska Daily Episode 8, but we can only focus on the fact that we might lose Gabriel. We have never shied away from expressing our love for Gabriel, and we wont start now. He is a breath of fresh air in Alaska Daily, and we hope Gabriel changes his mind before season 1 ends. Alaska Daily Episode 9, Rush to Judgement, airs Thursday, March 16, at 10 p.m. ET on ABC. For more on the entertainment world and exclusive interviews, subscribe to Showbiz Cheat Sheets YouTube channel. Historys reality TV series American Pickers Season 24 recently ended. And fans are still curious about what Frank Fritz is up to next. Fritz is no longer on the series with Mike Wolfe, and he reportedly hasnt returned to his antique store in Illinois since his life-threatening stroke. Heres whats going on. How is Frank Fritz doing after his stroke? Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz from American Pickers | Charles Eshelman/FilmMagic Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz were best friends on American Pickers, but the friends had a falling out. Additionally, Fritz had a stroke in July 2022 that put him in the hospital. Not only did his stroke jeopardize his future on reality TV, but it also threatened his life. According to The Sun, Fritzs father said his son was in stable condition following the stroke. But the American Pickers star needs much assistance as of March 2023. Court papers revealed that Fritzs friend was appointed his guardian and a bank was appointed to oversee his finances. Fritzs conservator took on the responsibility of paying for Fritzs health insurance and property taxes. The bank ensured Fritz kept up with state and federal taxes. Because of his stroke, Mr. Fritzs decision-making capacity is so impaired that he is unable to care for his own safety, or to provide for necessities such as food, shelter, clothing, or medical care without which physical injury or illness may occur, court papers explained. Mr. Fritzs decisionmaking capacity is so impaired that he is unable to make, communicate, or carry out important decisions concerning his own financial affairs. He reportedly hasnt been back to his store in years While Frank Fritz no longer appears on American Pickers, he still maintained his store in Savanna, Illinois. Frank Fritz Finds was once the home to many antiques and collectibles that Fritz would find and sell without the assistance of the History channel. But it seems theres not much left in the store as of March 2023. According to The Sun, Fritz hasnt restocked the store since his stroke. There hasnt been a single new item in the store, an insider told the publication. An employee told me new antiques come in literally never. The insider also noted Fritz hadnt been in the store in years. With this in mind, it seems Fritz mightve stopped visiting his store even before his stroke, seeing as his stroke happened less than a year ago. Its unclear how restocking worked if he did not visit the facility. However, legal documents regarding Fritzs conservatorship noted new plans to restock the store in Fritzs absence. The conservator has not yet inventoried those items but plans to leave them largely as they are now, with the exception of stocking Mr. Fritzs antique store in Savannah, IL, as needed, the papers claimed. Conservator is hopeful [Frank] will be able to participate in selection and pricing of items as he did previously. Will Frank Fritz return to American Pickers? Given the news of Frank Fritzs life after his stroke, he likely wont return to American Pickers. Fans would love to see Fritz return, but Mike Wolfe will continue to carry the torch for the show. American Pickers reportedly has plans to start filming in new locations in March 2023. According to Times West Virginia, the Pickers are headed to West Virginia for rare and unique antiques. Nevertheless, we are excited to continue reaching the many collectors in the area to discuss their years of picking and are eager to hear their memorable stories, the press release states. For more on the entertainment world and exclusive interviews, subscribe to Showbiz Cheat Sheets YouTube channel. Its no secret that Michael B. Jordan and Tessa Thompson did a lot of work in preparation for Creed III. The duo, who first worked together on Creed in 2015, wanted to make sure that their characters felt as real and nuanced as possible. The actors did a deep exploration of who their characters were in this iteration of the trilogy, as individuals, as parents, and as a couple. They even did something together that Thompson considered very weird, but ultimately was a great way to explore their characters. Creed III stars Michael B. Jordan and Tessa Thompson | ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images Creed III stars Michael B. Jordan and Tessa Thompson used an unorthodox strategy for character preparation Anyone who has seen Creed III knows that Thompsons character, Bianca, encourages therapy throughout the movie. Interestingly enough, the importance of therapy wasnt restricted to the film. As part of their character work, both Jordan and Thompson actually attended therapy together. Mike and I actually went to therapy together, Thompson revealed to Refinery29. We did couples therapy. But the actors didnt go talk to a therapist as themselves. Instead, they went as Adonis and Bianca. It ended up being important to their process of building the history between their characters. Interestingly enough, there were times when their true selves really bled through, and both Jordan and Thompson seemed to slip in and out of character. Ill say it was an early experience in couples therapy for us both [personally], but it was as these characters, which is very weird, the Passing alum explained. But I think it reminded us of our own personal lives that going to therapy, even when a relationship is good, can be a good thing if youre trying to just sharpen communication and figure out how someone works. Its useful in so many relationships. How the therapy session sometimes got deeply personal for the Creed III actors Continuing on, Thompson explained that therapy sometimes got intimate for her and Jordan. We were in therapy, yes, as Bianca and Adonis, but we were also reflecting on our own relationships, the Creed III star explained. Since weve been making these movies for eight, nine years, weve seen each other through various stages in our own romantic things. So we know stuff about each others lives. We shared and talked about it. So therapy ended up starting at work and getting more personal. Jordan touted the benefits of therapy while hosting SNL It seems that doing therapy for Creed III may have inspired Jordan to go to therapy as himself. While hosting Saturday Night Live! The Wire alum revealed that he was in therapy in his comedic monologue. And while its unclear who went to therapy first (Adonis or Jordan), its great that he spoke so openly about the importance of mental health. There are plenty of lessons that fans can take away from Creed III, but the benefits of therapy seem to be a big theme. Perfect Match star Francesca Farago revealed that she was arrested for stealing a car before she made her reality TV debut. Heres what the Netflix star admitted about her encounter with the police and why she stole a vehicle. Francesca Farago | Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images Francesca Farago stole hearts on Netflixs Perfect Match Farago may have stolen a car, but she is best known for stealing hearts on reality TV. She has appeared on multiple Netflix reality shows, including Too Hot to Handle season 1, Love Is Blind: After the Altar season 1, and Perfect Match season 1. Perfect Match combined reality singles from different shows, and they competed to couple up before getting eliminated at the end of the night. During the finale, one couple was voted the perfect match. Farago dated fellow contestants Dom Gabriel, Damian Powers, and Abbey Humphreys before deciding her ideal partner was nowhere to be found in the luxurious Panama mansion. She chose to leave the show single before reconnecting with her current boyfriend, TikTok star Jesse Sullivan. Perfect Match star Francesca Farago admits she was arrested for stealing a car In February, Farago participated in a joint Marie Claire interview with Chloe Veitch, her co-star on Too Hot to Handle and Perfect Match. The reality stars asked each other questions to determine how well they knew one another. One of the questions Farago asked Veitch was, Have I ever been arrested and why? The possible answers were: urinating in public when she was 16, shoplifting when she was 12, or stealing a car when she was 13. Veitch guessed that Farago was weeing in an alleyway or that she had stolen a vegan burger or something, but she was incorrect. You stole a car?! Veitch said in disbelief. Who even are you, and why has Netflix put you on all these shows? Im shocked as well, said Farago. We had a party, and then we wanted to get home, so this guy hotwired it. I decided to be the driver, and it didnt end well for anyone at all. Farago added, But here we are, thriving, one would say. The Netflix star studied law in college Perhaps Faragos encounter with law enforcement as a teenager inspired her to pursue a legal career. In the Marie Claire interview, the Perfect Match star revealed she studied law in college, a process she described as brutal. According to The Tab, Farago graduated in 2015 from Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The Vancouver native posted an Instagram photo from her graduation ceremony showing her in her gown and holding a diploma. She captioned the image, Officially a university grad [graduation cap emoji, halo emoji] side note: never trust your dad with taking Instagram worthy pics. Sister Wives viewers remain an astute lot who are as dedicated to as they are critical of the Brown family. Throughout 17 seasons of the TLC series, the Browns have spent lots of time trying to cover up some of the not-so-nice parts of their polygamist marriages. However, some viewers maintain that theyve seen through Kody Browns marriage charade from the beginning. Here are three ways his ruse was clear as day. Christine, Janelle, Meri, Kody, and Robyn Brown of TLCs Sister Wives | Discovery Press/TLC Kody Browns claim that love should be multiplied, not divided fell flat in season 1 TLCs Sister Wives set up the premise of their series in its first season. In a voiceover where the cast is introduced, and each takes a moment to speak, Kody Brown claimed he could manage to keep four wives happy. He told viewers, love should be multiplied, not divided. Each wife provided a voiceover for their introduction. Meri shared, I believe in living this lifestyle. It just makes each of us better. Janelle followed with, I think we have something awesome. I wouldnt want anything else. Christine spoke third. She said, I like sister wives. I wanted the family; I didnt just want the man. The intro concluded with Robyn, who said, It seems like destiny. Like we should have all been together from day one. However, there were cracks in the veneer of the Brown family from the very beginning when Kody gave the woman he was courting, Robyn Brown, equal time as his three other wives before they even spiritually said, I do. One fan said of the first season on Reddit, The moment where I was like f*** this guy was watching him court Robyn while Christine was heavily pregnant with Truely. It didnt feel like we were watching him fulfill some sacred religious duty. It felt like watching a charade of a man in a midlife crisis have an affair and destroy his family. Moving from Las Vegas to Flagstaff was reportedly for a better life, but fans later found out it was for Robyn Brown Dayton, Ariella, Robyn, Kody, Solomon, Breanna, and Aurora Brown, Sister Wives | TLC In 2018, Kody Brown decided moving his entire family from Las Vegas to Flagstaff, Arizona, would be best. The Brown family lived in Las Vegas for over seven years before relocating in 2018. They sold their houses in 2019 and purchased a plot of land called Coyote Pass for $820,000. They have yet to break ground more than five years later because they still owe money on several parcels. According to tax records obtained by In Touch, Kody and Robyn Brown owe $6,711.77 in taxes on the property. Currently, none of the Brown family lives on Coyote Pass. Paedon Brown revealed details of the move in a 3-hour interview for John Yatess YouTube channel. He claims the family moved to Flagstaff, Arizona, because Robyn wanted to follow her oldest son, Dayton, to college. Kody Browns son explained the family had no relatives or anyone they knew in Flagstaff. He alluded that Arizona wasnt even discussed until Dayton was accepted to college in the area. Sister Wives Kody Brown acted disengaged toward three wives and their children Before spiritually marrying Robyn Brown, Kody Brown appeared disengaged from his three existing wives and their combined 13 children. From episode one, Kody never gave enough time to his wives or children. Instead, he spent hours outside of the home working and, at night, focused on one wife at a time. Throughout the day, Christine tended to all the kids while Meri and Janelle worked to provide for their supersized family. In the early morning hours, Janelle relied on Logan to help with chores around the house and tend to his siblings. However, in the shows earliest seasons, the Browns lived in a multi-family home. Therefore, all Kody needed to do was walk down the hall, wake up his children, and get them ready for their day. Instead, this task was left up to his oldest son. A second Reddit user says the series stank of midlife crises, deceit, adultery, and neglect from the first episode. The oldest children were forced to act as parents to the younger siblings, whether they wanted to or not because their mothers were stretched too thin by the demands of a polygamous household. They continued, Forget the father. No child got any consistent, individualized attention or nurturing from their parents, no matter how much their parents may have tried, because there werent enough family resources (time and money) to provide that for them. Gwendyln Brown weighed in on that assessment in a YouTube video. She revealed she never got one-on-one time with her father when she was younger. Gwendlyn claimed only her mother, Christine, was always present for her. Sister Wives is currently on hiatus. The series will reportedly return for season 18 in Sept. 2023. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close 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 As American cultural rhetoric narrows and intensifies, followers of Jesus must ask, How can my participation in a pluralistic society reflect the fruits of the Spirit? Whether were weighing in on politics, gender issues, or the latest hit film, we all must learn to image Christ in the spaces we inhabit. In this weeks episode of The Bulletin, journalists David French and Sonny Bunch join host Mike Cosper to talk about the topics that are dividing us these days, namely the Conservative Political Action Conference, transgenderism, and the Oscars. David French discusses the threat to true liberty and constitutional rights that accompanies the lust for power. Cosper and French wonder together whether pluralism in America can thrive when we refuse to live in peace with those who disagree with us. Sonny Bunch joins the end of the episode with an assessment of this years films. Setting politics aside, could we finally agree that Top Gun: Maverick should win Best Picture? Joining us this week: David French joined The New York Times as an Opinion columnist in January 2023. Before that, he was a senior editor at The Dispatch, which he helped start, and a contributing writer at The Atlantic. He spent most of his career as a practicing lawyer, working in both commercial and constitutional litigation. In his late 30s, he joined the United States Army Reserve as a judge advocate general. David deployed to Iraq in 2007 and served in Diyala province, where he was awarded a Bronze Star. During his legal career, he litigated in federal courts from coast to coast and served as a lecturer at Cornell Law School. He is a former president of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. Davids most recent book is Divided We Fall: Americas Secession Threat and How to Restore Our Nation. Sonny Bunch, a Washington Post contributing columnist, is the culture editor for The Bulwark, where he hosts the Bulwark Goes to Hollywood newsletter and podcast and Across the Movie Aisle. He is a member of the Washington Area Film Critics Association. Resources Referenced: Is CPAC Our Future? by Joe Walsh Nashville Statement The Bulletin is a production of Christianity Today Executive Producer: Erik Petrik Hosts: Mike Cosper and Russell Moore Producer: Matt Stevens Associate Producer: Azurae Phelps Editing and Mix: TJ Hester Music: Dan Phelps Graphic Design: Bryan Todd Social Media: Kate Lucky Arizona Christian University sues school district for banning student teachers over religious beliefs Arizona Christian University filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against the Washington Elementary School District in Arizona alleging religious discrimination after the district's five-member governing board, which includes three members of the LGBT community, voted to ban its student teachers from public school classrooms for practicing biblical Christianity. "This civil rights action seeks to protect a Christian university and its students' fundamental rights to religious exercise and speech and to be free from unlawful governmental discrimination simply because of their religious status and beliefs," a 37-page complaint filed on behalf of the university by Alliance Defending Freedom states. "The U.S. Supreme Court has 'made clear that the government, if it is to respect the Constitution's guarantee of free exercise, cannot impose regulations that are hostile to the religious beliefs of affected citizens and cannot act in a manner that passes judgment upon or presupposes the illegitimacy of religious beliefs and practices.'" The lawsuit comes just days after ACU President Len Munsil pledged to fight back following the school board's Feb. 23 decision to nix an agreement that had existed for 11 years between the university and the school district that allows student teachers and practicums to gain valuable experience in the classroom. The board argued that having student teachers with biblical values in one of the state's largest elementary school districts would pose too much of a threat to LGBT students. "For years Arizona Christian University has partnered with the Washington Elementary School District. More than 100 ACU students have served the district, including 25 student teachers, many of whom were hired full time after graduation," Munsil said. "Administrators have time and again asked us to send more ACU students because of the quality of our students' work and their love and servant's hearts for all." The filing states that during the Feb. 23 board meeting, board member Tamillia Valenzuela stated that she went to the university's website and found that part of "their values" are "influence, engage and transform the culture with Truth by promoting the biblically informed values that are foundational to Western civilization, including the centrality of family, traditional sexual morality, and lifelong marriage between one man and one woman." The filing stresses that "Arizona Christian's religious statements and expression were a substantial or motivating factor for the adverse action" and the school district "did not have any legitimate administrative interests that would justify the retaliation." While the university requires all students to sign its statement of faith which highlights beliefs about biblical marriage and sexuality, the lawsuit states that "Arizona Christian students understand that they must adhere to the School District's policies when student-teaching." Attorneys for ADF argued in that not only is the school district violating the First Amendment and state laws with their actions, but they are also doing a disservice to students of the district. "By discriminating against Arizona Christian University and denying it an opportunity to participate in the student-teacher program because of its religious status and beliefs, the school district is in blatant violation of the U.S. Constitution, not to mention state law that protects ACU's religious freedom," ADF Senior Counsel David Cortman, who serves as vice president of U.S. litigation said in a statement. "Washington Elementary School District officials are causing irreparable harm to ACU every day they force it to choose between its religious beliefs and partnering with the area's public schools." Ryan Tucker, director of the ADF Center for Christian Ministries, acknowledged that the board's actions against the university come at a time when the district can least afford it. "At a time when there is a critical shortage of qualified, caring teachers, Washington Elementary School District officials are choosing their own political ideologies over the needs of elementary children," Tucker said. "Not only are school officials doing a tremendous disservice to Phoenix and Glendale families by depriving their kids of much-needed teaching assistance, they are also violating the First Amendment and state law, by depriving ACU students, because of their faith, the opportunity to partner with the school district." In the northern German city of Hamburg, several people have been killed in a shooting at a Jehovah's Witness meeting hall. According to police, the gunman acted alone and is presumed dead. It is unknown whether the attacker is one of the six or seven fatalities reported by German media. As of yet, "there is no reliable evidence on the motive," according to the authorities. Germany Church Shooting Thursday evening's gunfire on Deelboge street, in the Gross Borstel area, also resulted in several injuries. According to the police, they discovered a deceased individual at the crime site who they suspect may have been the offender; investigations are ongoing. On Thursday at around 21:15 local time (20:15 GMT), authorities were notified that bullets had been fired in the building, according to police spokesperson Holger Vehren. Police who entered discovered victims who "may have been severely hurt by weapons, some fatally," he added. The Jehovah's Witness community in Germany stated it was "deeply pained by the brutal attack on its members during a religious service at the Kingdom Hall in Hamburg." Peter Tschentscher, the mayor of Hamburg, has expressed his sorrow and condolences to the victims' families. During the night, BBC reported that forensic professionals had been working at the crime site. They still wear white suits in the conference room's well-lit environment. It is believed that individuals had gathered, possibly for a Bible study, at 21:00 local time when the shooting occurred. Several armed police officers were shown on camera inside and around the Kingdom Hall as a helicopter buzzed overhead. At one time, a bomb disposal crew was sent. The streets surrounding the place of worship have been blocked off, and police had already issued a warning of "high risk" in the area, according to the spokesperson. Residents in the area have been advised to remain indoors. There is "no definite information on the crime's motive," police stated on Twitter, urging the public not to post unconfirmed speculation, as per CNN. On Twitter, the mayor of Hamburg, Peter Tschentscher, extended his "deepest condolences" to the victims' families, calling the accounts of the tragedy "terrible." Letters of sympathy were received from religious communities in Hamburg. Shootings are not unheard of in Germany but less often than in the United States. A guy opened fire on students in a lecture classroom at Heidelberg University in southern Germany in January 2022, killing at least one. In 2020, a mass shooting at two shisha establishments in Hanau resulted in the deaths of numerous individuals. Local media said that police from a specialized armed team were coincidentally nearby when the shooting occurred. When they heard gunfire, they were returning to their headquarters in Alsterdorf. Heiko Sander, a reporter for NDR, informed Tagesschau that the neighboring police responded after hearing many gunshots. Sander said they entered the premises and began evacuating individuals, including a pregnant lady. Read Also: Russians Use Hypersonic Missile in Big Attack Hamburg Church Shooting Witness Speaks Out As cops arrived at the site, they discovered several severely injured and deceased victims. A police spokeswoman stated, "Then they heard a gunshot from above, and upon ascending the stairs, they discovered a second victim." Lara Bauch, a 23-year-old witness, reported hearing "approximately four fire episodes." Several bullets were consistently fired 20 to 60 seconds apart at these intervals. She peeked out the window and saw a Jehovah's Witnesses member sprinting frantically from the ground level to the first story. She stated that the center's services had "always been highly attended" and that the gathering consisted of "families, senior individuals, and younger individuals." Germany has around 175,000 Jehovah's Witnesses, including 3,800 in Hamburg. The late 19th-century American Christian organization preached nonviolence and was notable for door-to-door evangelization. Related Article: Germany Cautious Over Report That Ukraine is Behind the Nord Stream Pipeline Attack @YouTube @ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Democrat resigns after comments about disabled children's impact on school budget draws backlash A Massachusetts Democratic official has resigned from his position as chair of a local Democratic committee after he suggested during public comments at a recent city council meeting that abortion is necessary to offset the cost of providing special education classes and services for children with disabilities. Michael Hugo, who served as chair of the Framingham Democratic Committee (FDC), issued an apology last Thursday while announcing his resignation. Hugo said he decided to resign after talking with his wife, members of the FDC, and Democrat state Senate President Karen Spilka. At the Feb. 7 Framingham City Council meeting where Hugo's public comments caused offense, the 11-member council unanimously passed a proclamation to ensure access to abortion for "persons capable of being pregnant" and announced that the city's website would provide a link for residents to file consumer complaints with the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office against pro-life pregnancy centers because they do not provide abortions. Speaking in favor of the proclamation, Hugo said, Our fear is that if an unqualified sonographer misdiagnoses a heart defect, an organ defect, spina bifida, that becomes a very local issue because our school budget will have to absorb the cost of a child in special education, supplying lots and lots of special services to children, who were born with the defect. Hugo added that he was speaking on behalf of the FDC. The FDC, whose stated mission is to work for the common good by promoting racial, ethnic, social, and economic equality for the people of Framingham, announced on March 2 that it had received notice of Hugos resignation and announced that Rosamond Hooper-Hamersley and Cesar Stewart-Morales would fill the vacancy. At an earlier FDC meeting on Feb. 26, members voted on two motions pertaining to Hugo's comments at the city council meeting. While a motion to "endorse the statement from the FDC Executive Committee repudiating the chairs remarks" was passed, a second motion to debate his removal as chair failed. I thank the committee members for their recent show of support in defeating a motion to even discuss my removal, thus this is of my own volition, Hugo wrote. However, I feel it is what is best for the committee, my loved ones, my emotional and physical health, and our cause and those I serve in my work. While I am stepping down as chair after over a decade of service as an officer, I plan to continue to do the work of the party. He added: Even though I issued separate apologies to the city council, The Framingham Democratic Committee, and the entire city within hours of the statement, I wish to reiterate that I am sorry for distracting from a major victory for freedom of choice, and for harm to the other-abled community at large. Hugo and the FDC did not respond to The Christian Posts request for comment. As the Framingham Source reported last month, Pat Dunne, a former Framingham School Committee member and member of the FDC, who spoke after Hugo, denounced his remarks. "Im a lifetime member of the Democratic Committee, and the person who wanted to represent us went off the rails on a different direction that was never brought before the Democratic Committee," Dunne said. "Were not talking about eliminating special education students and the like. Were talking about getting out good information to the people in Framingham. And hes casting a bit too wide for me and thats why I did want to say something." On Feb. 17, the FDC released a statement addressing Hugo's remarks, condemning them as harmful, misleading and wrong. In a public apology letter written last month, Hugo acknowledged that his comments were offensive and hurtful. He added that committee members had not reviewed the entirety of his remarks, which were sent before the city council meeting. Hillsong leaders accused of money laundering, tax evasion, shopping that would embarrass a Kardashian Church spokesperson says claims are 'out of context' Armed with reams of financial records and genuine Hillsong Church board documents he received from a whistleblower, Andrew Wilkie, an independent member of the Australian Parliament, accused Hillsong Church founder Brian Houston and other leaders, including the newly appointed Global Senior Pastor Phil Dooley, of money laundering, tax evasion and shopping sprees that would "embarrass a Kardashian." Records from the cash cow Evangelical megachurch network also showed popular American televangelists like Joyce Meyer and T.D. Jakes being paid tens of thousands of dollars in honorariums for engagements with the church. Meanwhile, others like Chris Hodges, founder and leader of Church of the Highlands, received "curious payments." "Last year a whistleblower provided me with financial records and board papers that show that Hillsong is breaking numerous laws in Australia and around the world relating to fraud, money laundering and tax evasion," Wilkie alleged during his presentation in Parliament Thursday. He then pointed to a document showing that in 2021, as the world grappled with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, four members of the Houston family jetted off with friends to Cancun, Mexico, for a luxury retreat lasting three days and billed the church $150,000 for it. "These other documents show former leader Brian Houston treating private jets like Ubers again, all with church money. For example, in one three-month period, Brian Houston's trips cost $55,000, $52,000, $30,000, $22,000 and $20,000," Wilkie said. Wilkie alleged that Dooley, who was just anointed as Hillsong's new global senior pastor last month with high praise from the church, allegedly splurged right along with the church's embattled founder. "The new head of Hillsong, Phil Dooley, has told church followers he only flies economy, but these documents show him clocking up $58,000 in business-class flights for him and his daughter to Guatemala, $42,000 in business-class flights to Mexico and $32,000 in business-class flights from Cape Town to Sydney via the US," Wilkie said. "Hillsong followers believe that the money they put in the poor box goes to the poor, but these documents show how that money is actually used to do the kind of shopping that would embarrass a Kardashian." Among the lavish spending detailed by Wilkie are a $6,500 Cartier watch for Brian Houston's wife, Bobbie, $2,500 in Louis Vuitton luggage, a $2,500 watch for Phil Dooley, two watches worth $15,000 for Joel and Julia A'Bell, shopping sprees for designer clothes at Saks Fifth Avenue and $16,000 for custom skateboards. Those close to the church's inner circle also benefited from cash gifts, Wilkie contends. "For instance, $15,000 for Darren Kitto's 50th birthday, $36,000 for Gary Clarke's 30th anniversary and $4,300 for his 60th birthday, plus up to $30,000 to board members, some of whom allegedly helped cover up the sexual abuse carried out by Frank Houston, Brian Houston's father," Wilkie said. Wilkie also pointed to "curious payments" made to Chris Hodges, founder and leader of Church of the Highlands, one of the largest churches in America, and Paul de Jong, founding pastor of Life, a multicampus church spread across New Zealand and Australia. Both Christian leaders were part of a team that investigated a 2019 sexual misconduct claim against Houston, which eventually triggered his ouster from the church a year ago. "There are also the curious payments of $10,000 each to Paul de Jong and Chris Hodges, the external pastors who investigated allegations of Brian Houston's 2019 sexual misconduct in a Sydney hotel room involving a female parishioner," Wilkie said. The Australian politician pointed to more than $1 million per year going to Hillsong musicians like Brian Houston's son, Joel Houston, for royalties. "The documents show a $15.7 million loan from Hillsong very unlikely ever to be repaid which funded the purchase of Festival Hall in Melbourne. At face value, this appears unremarkable, except that this is a commercial venture run by Hillsong's Community Venues company and is ineligible to benefit from tax-deductible church donations. All of this is in the context of the documents also revealing that Hillsong earns $80 million more in Australian annual income than it reports publicly," Wilkie said. Jakes and Meyer were named in Wilkie's presentation as he accused Hillsong Church of using honorariums to hide income. "The criminality isn't limited to Australia, as evidenced by these further documents, which show how honorariums are used to disguise income and avoid tax. For example, U.S. pastor Joyce Meyer enjoyed honorariums of $160,000, $133,000, $100,000 and $32,000, and U.S. pastor T.D. Jakes received $71,000 and $120,000, with a staggering $77,000 worth of airfares to and from Australia thrown in," Wilkie said. "In return, Mr. Houston goes to America and receives you guessed it his own eye-watering honorariums. Moreover, sending millions of dollars of Australian charitable donations overseas is illegal in some circumstances," he argued. Wilkie further alleged that the documents he has in his possession also show that disgraced former Hillsong NYC Pastor Carl Lentz was earning some $220,000 annually, which was mostly tax-free, in addition to "tens of thousands of dollars" to operate his "celebrity green room to cover catering and the cost of gifts for visiting celebrities." In response to Wilkie's claims, a spokesperson for Hillsong said in a statement shared with media that the church network has been "open and transparent with our congregation about past governance failures, and over the past twelve months we have engaged independent, professional assistance to overhaul our governance and accountability procedures." "The claims made in federal parliament by Mr Andrew Wilkie are out of context and relate to untested allegations made by an employee in an ongoing legal case," the statement reads. "These allegations, made under parliamentary privilege, are in many respects wrong, and it is disappointing he made no effort to contact us first. If he did so we would have answered his questions and provided him with financial records to address his concerns." "Hillsong has sought independent legal and accounting advice on these matters since the employee involved in the legal case made these claims, and we believe that we have complied with all legal and compliance requirements," the Hillsong statement continues. "We have filed our defence and will provide evidence at the appropriate time. We cannot do so at this stage due to the ongoing legal case. ... We are fully cooperating with regulatory authorities as part of their enquiries." Wilkie argued that the whistleblower presented the documents to several watchdog agencies, including the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission, and no action was taken against the church. "I've verified that these documents are genuine. I'm shocked that, when offered to the ATO, ASIC and ACNC last year under whistleblower legislation, not one of those agencies acted," Wilkie said. "That is a failure of regulatory oversight every bit as alarming as Hillsong's criminality. To remedy this, I now seek leave to table the evidence provided to me by the whistleblower." Historic Presbyterian seminary elects first female president A seminary in Virginia affiliated with the largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States has elected the first female president in its 200-plus year history. The Board of Trustees of Union Presbyterian Seminary of Richmond, a Presbyterian Church (USA) seminary that traces its origins back to 1812, voted last month to elect Princeton Theological Seminary Professor Jacqueline Lapsley as its new president. She will take office on July 1. In an interview with The Christian Post, Lapsley said that while it "feels wonderful to be called" as the first female president of Union, she does not "spend a lot of time pondering those 'firsts.'" "I look forward to working with the Union community to fulfill its mission for the church in the world, which I will endeavor to do with God's help," said Lapsley. Lapsley explained that after current Union President Brian Blount announced his retirement last year, she joined the pool of candidates last autumn "after prayer and reflection." Lapsley told CP that she has "long admired" the work of Blount, a former colleague of hers at Princeton Theological Seminary in New Jersey. She noted, "Union is already beginning a strategic planning process that I look forward to joining." "The community is now hard at work on the ways it can maximize its potential for being one school with two campuses and make the wonderful education it offers to degree students even more accessible to others who are interested and would benefit from it," she said. A professor and scholar of the Old Testament, Lapsley's academic credentials include a master of arts from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a master of divinity from Princeton Seminary, and a doctorate from Emory University. In addition to being the first female president of Union, Lapsley also holds the distinction of being the first woman to serve as dean and vice president of Academic Affairs at Princeton Theological Seminary. Lapsley is a "cradle Presbyterian," with her family on her father's side having been in the Presbyterian tradition for generations, many of whom were clergy. Her father was also an alumnus of Union Presbyterian Seminary. "I am deeply shaped by the Reformed tradition with, for example, its emphasis on total reliance upon God's grace, and the life of the mind in service to God. The Reformed tradition is a gift for the church and the world that Union has and should continue to steward," she told CP. "The Reformed faith is also inherently ecumenical in its orientation: it acknowledges how much we have to learn from those outside the tradition, and how much we are enriched by other expressions of faith. Being rooted in one's tradition gives one the humble confidence to be open to others." Largest UMC church in Arkansas to amicably split into 3 congregations A church that is reportedly the largest United Methodist Church congregation in Arkansas has voted to split three ways due to disagreements over the denominations longstanding debate over homosexuality. Central United Methodist Church of Fayetteville held a charge conference on Sunday aimed at ending their process of discernment for possibly leaving the UMC. The charge conference voted to adopt an amicable reconciliation and separation document in which Central UMC will remain part of the mainline Protestant denomination. In return, though, Central UMC will finance and support the creation of a theologically conservative church in the Fayetteville area, with the congregations entire pastor team leaving to launch the new congregation. Outgoing Central UMC Senior Pastor Carness Vaughn explained in a video posted on the churchs website that the amicable agreement was made in order to avoid the win-lose of a congregational vote, adding, theres no real winner in this process. If we voted to disaffiliate, but we didnt receive the two-thirds necessary, the group that voted to stay might feel like they won, but the reality is wed have hundreds of our traditional members who would likely leave, with broken relationships, Vaughn said. And that would be the same if the opposite occurred. If we were able to reach that two-thirds threshold, wed have members who would likely leave in the same way from the other side. Vaughn also expressed concern over the ratification process at the conference level, as it was not guaranteed that the Arkansas Annual Conference would approve their disaffiliation vote, thus possibly leading to extensive and prolonged litigation. While believing that the amicable separation plan was not perfect and not going to make every single person in this church happy, Vaughn nevertheless believed that it was the best solution for the most amount of people. Another measure approved was to vote to make a satellite campus created in 2014, known as the Genesis campus, into an independent congregation no longer affiliated with the UMC. To make them independent, Central also voted to sell Genesis their campus property for $1, with the Rev. Jody Farrell remaining lead pastor of the former satellite. Beginning last year, more than 1,800 congregations voted to leave the UMC, largely driven by the ongoing debate within the denomination over whether to allow the blessing of same-sex unions and the ordination of noncelibate homosexuals. Although the UMC Book of Discipline prohibits both, many progressives within the denomination have resisted the rules, while some leaders have refused to enforce them. For example, the UMC Western Jurisdiction voted last year to make the Rev. Cedrick D. Bridgeforth of the California-Pacific Conference a bishop, even though he is in a same-sex marriage. Many of those opting to leave the UMC have joined the Global Methodist Church, a theologically conservative denomination that was launched on May 1, 2022. Pastor of First Baptist Fort Lauderdale abruptly quits to pursue other interests Four years into his reign at the historic First Baptist Fort Lauderdale church in Florida, which was marred by public disputes over his leadership style and financial management, Lead Pastor James Welch abruptly quit this week to pursue other interests. The announcement made by the trustee board and deacon body of the church came in an email sent to parishioners of the 115-year-old Southern Baptist congregation Thursday. Were writing today to let you know that James Welch resigned as lead pastor this week to pursue other interests. We wish James, Amy, and his family only the best as they continue to faithfully live out Gods plan for their lives, church leaders said in a copy of the email reviewed by The Christian Post. This Sunday, well share more and announce our plan of action to search for a new lead pastor, along with some of the guest speakers who will be filling the pulpit in the weeks to come including some that are near and dear to the FBFTL family. Shortly after he joined the church in the spring of 2019, Welch quickly lost favor among a significant number of members who branded him a toxic bully. In 2020, the dissenting church members voted to fire Welch, their nine-member board of trustees and half the churchs deacons. Many of the dissenters, an estimated 150 members, were expelled from the church for challenging their leader. Pastor James R. Welch has not created a stable environment, but instead has created a toxic environment and polarized atmosphere for both congregants and staff, the group of disgruntled members, who call themselves the First Baptist Church FTL Advocacy Group, wrote in a summary of concerns about Welch. Without the recognition [of] mistakes or the willingness to listen to congregants, Deacon Body or Trustee Board there is no hope for improvement and thus no way forward. Just months after his arrival, Welsh moved in January 2020 to permanently cancel the churchs 36-year-old annual Christmas Pageant, which is an award-winning, Broadway-style show that told the Christmas story. He said the money spent on the show, which some leaders said had become a financial burden to the church, would be better served on other community-serving initiatives, including a year-round arts ministry. We firmly believe that God is leading us into a new day that will take us on a path to become a more outward-focused church, placing more emphasis on a variety of evangelistic and discipleship initiatives outside the physical walls of our church, Welch said at the time. The churchs money woes continued into last year when they were forced to sell a prime piece of real estate they owned in downtown Fort Lauderdale worth more than $1.2 million for an undisclosed sum. Church leaders explained that the sale of the land was necessary to help them generate income to maintain their sprawling campus. Ultimately it comes down to stewardship. Our campus spans nearly two complete city blocks in the most strategic location in Fort Lauderdale. It requires not only scheduled maintenance, but also rejuvenation, and these require money. Selling the unused property which is not even contiguous to our main campus allows us to take care of our campus and use it even more effectively to draw people to what we call the Jesus first life, church leaders said. The money will be used for emergency repairs and replacement of capital items at our downtown Fort Lauderdale campus. First Baptist Fort Lauderdale, which had been facing declining numbers over the last two decades, showed some signs of growth in recent years. Since Welch's arrival, the dissidents said that attendance in 2020 fell from between 1,000-1,200 to almost 750. Last Sunday, the church attracted 160 people to a sanctuary that seats 2,500, The Capstone Report said. Rick Warren shares 3 Bible passages that changed his mind on women pastors Former Saddleback Church pastor and founder Rick Warren recently laid out three passages from the Bible that led him to conclude that it is acceptable for women to serve in the office of pastor. Saddleback Church, the California-based megachurch founded by Warren in 1980, was recently expelled from the Southern Baptist Convention for having a woman fill the office of teaching pastor. The church plans to appeal the decision later this year. Since Warren's retirement last year, the church has been led by Andy and Stacie Wood. In a podcast interview with former SBC Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission President Russell Moore posted Wednesday, Warren said he believes that "we have to approach Scripture humbly" and that "the Church at its best was the Church at its birth." "This is not a battle between liberals and conservatives. All the liberals left a long time ago. Everybody in the SBC believes in the inerrancy of Scripture," said Warren. "Now we are talking about difference of interpretation." The best-selling author of The Purpose Driven Life laid out three Scripture passages that led him to conclude three years ago that it was acceptable for women to become pastors. Warren first cited Matthew 28:19-20. Known as the Great Commission, the passage involves Jesus telling His disciples to "go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." "We claim that we believe that the Great Commission is for everybody, both men and women are to fulfill the Great Commission," Warren argued. "There are four verbs in the Great Commission: 'go,' 'make disciples,' 'baptize' and 'teach.' Women are to go. Women are to make disciples. Women are to baptize and women are to teach, not just men." The second passage he cited was the day of Pentecost, as explained in Acts 2, in which the Holy Spirit came down upon the early church, with those present speaking in foreign tongues. "We know women were in the room. We know women were filled with the Holy Spirit," said Warren. "We know that women were preaching in languages that other people couldn't hear to a mixed audience. We know women; it wasn't just men; women were preaching on the day of Pentecost." Warren noted that, in the passage, when the Apostle Peter told the crowd what was happening, he quoted the Old Testament verse of Joel 2:28, which states, "on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy." His third verse of evidence was John 20:17 when Jesus told Mary Magdalene to tell the disciples about his resurrection, noting that Jesus "chose her to be the first preacher of the Gospel." Warren added that while he supported women becoming pastors, he stressed that "it doesn't bother me if you disagree with me," noting, "I have to say, I could be wrong." "For 2,000 years, the Church has debated the role of women in culture, but to make it a litmus test for 'are you a Baptist or not?' is nonsense," he continued. Warren was asked if Saddleback will appeal the expulsion at the SBC Annual Meeting in June. He replied that while he just wants to "walk away from it," he also felt that he had to do so. "I need to stand up for the pastors who are scared to death by this inquisition, and I think I need to stand up for the millions of godly Southern Baptist women whose gifts and leadership skills are being stymied," said Warren. Warren told Moore that while he believed that churches should be expelled from the SBC for "sin, racism, sexual abuse, other sexual sins, things like that," having a woman serving as a pastor should not be one of them. "We should kick out churches for sin. We should kick out churches that harm the testimony of the convention. This isn't harming the testimony of anybody," he added. Supporters of the SBC prohibition on women pastors include Owen Strachan, a theology professor at Grace Bible Theological Seminary and a critic of Saddleback's direction on the issue. In a Facebook comment responding to Saddleback's 2021 announcement that it ordained three women as pastors, Strachan cited 1 Timothy 2:9-15, which includes the verse in which Apostle Paul writes: "I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet." "Churches that affirm women pastors are opposing the Word of God, and opposing the Word of God means opposing God himself," said Strachan. "Now is the time to leave and find a sound congregation. Do not delay. There is no spirit of competition in what I write here; what Saddleback is doing grieves me, and I have no doubt grieves many in the congregation." Warren retired as senior pastor of Saddleback last September, succeeded by Pastors Andy Wood and Stacie Wood, who Saddleback identifies as its teaching pastor. Last month, the SBC Executive Committee approved a recommendation from the SBC Credentials Committee to label Saddleback and four other churches as "not in friendly cooperation with the Southern Baptist Convention" over their decision to allow women to hold the office of pastor. SBC's Executive Committee Chairman Jared Wellman said in a statement to Baptist Press that the disaffiliations came because of "the churches continuing to have a female functioning in the office of pastor." "As stated in the Baptist Faith and Message Article VI, the SBC holds to the belief that the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture," stated Wellman in February. "These churches have been valued, cooperating churches for many years, and this decision was not made lightly. However, we remain committed to upholding the theological convictions of the SBC and maintaining unity among its cooperating churches." In the SBC, local churches ordain pastors, not the denomination as a whole. Last August, prominent SBC theologians Richard Land, Albert Mohler and Chuck Kelley published a statement clarifying the meaning of the word "pastor" to mean "one who fulfills the pastoral office and carries out the pastor's functions." The three men were tasked with writing a study guide for the Baptist Faith & Message when it was revised in 2000. "[I]t is important to understand that the word pastor was chosen precisely because of its clarity among Southern Baptists. The statement carefully affirms that both men and women are gifted for service in the church, but the role of pastor is biblically defined and is to be held only by men as qualified by Scripture," they stated. The 2000 Baptist Faith & Message establishes that "pastor" was not to be used to describe every ministerial position within a church. Thousands demand town apologize to police officer who resigned after sharing Christian beliefs Tens of thousands of people have backed a petition asking the leaders of a Georgia town to apologize after a police officer resigned for expressing his Christian beliefs about marriage on social media. Pastors and political leaders will deliver the petition on Friday. The national Christian conservative advocacy group Family Research Council announced plans to deliver petitions signed by over 20,000 people to the mayor and city council of Port Wentworth on Friday, calling for an apology to former police officer Jacob Kersey. Kersey resigned in January after being told by his supervisors he could be terminated for sharing his religious views about marriage on social media. Despite having a "spotless record," Kersey was pulled off duty and threatened with termination after he expressed his biblical view on marriage through his private Facebook account. Georgia pastors will be joined in delivering the petitions by former Congressman Jody Hice, Bishop Garland Hunt of The Father's House and former Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran, who was fired in 2015 for sharing a book he wrote that included a small section highlighting his views on marriage. Cochran settled a lawsuit against the city for over $1.2 million in 2018. "God designed marriage. Marriage refers to Christ and the church. That's why there is no such thing as homosexual marriage," Kersey wrote in a Jan. 2 Facebook post, paraphrasing the Apostle Paul's letter to the church at Ephesus. The petition calls on the town to acknowledge that it violated Kersey's First Amendment freedoms. "Kersey was bullied into resigning from the Port Wentworth Police Department," the FRC statement argues. The department placed Kersey on paid administrative leave on Jan. 4 after he refused to take down his Facebook post from two days earlier. Kersey told CP that after the initial meeting, he was led to believe he had been terminated but was offered a "second chance." "I was given a second chance, 'Be silent about your Christian beliefs, don't post things like this because it leads us to believe that you might target members of the LGBT community,'" he said. Kersey said former Police Chief Matt Libby, who since retired, compared his post to a racial slur. Ultimately, Kersey said he couldn't be terminated because he didn't violate any policies and was told not to make a post like that again. He believed the department was going to create a new policy that could result in his termination. "Kersey resigned rather than surrender his constitutional rights and in order to maintain his faithfulness to God's truth, and his integrity as a Christ-follower," the FRC statement explains. The legal nonprofit First Liberty Institute, which represents Kersey, wrote a letter to the City of Port Wentworth and its police department last month. On Jan. 13, Kersey received a "Letter of Notification" from Port Wentworth Assistant Police Chief Major Bradwick Lee Sherrod "explaining that there was not sufficient evidence to terminate him, but that the notice was not to be construed as an exhaustive finding," the First Liberty Institute's Stephanie N. Taub and Courtney Jones wrote in the letter. "The letter warned Mr. Kersey that he could be terminated for any post on any of his private social media accounts or any other statement or action that could be perceived as offensive while noting that his posts and podcasts are 'likely offensive' to certain communities. Maj. Sherrod ended the letter saying that he hoped that Mr. Kersey would 'take this situation as a learning lesson.'" First Liberty Institute argues that the department's requirement for Kersey to "censor his private, off-duty religious speech to remain employed" was "an unconstitutional violation of Mr. Kersey's rights under the Free Exercise and Free Speech Clauses of the First Amendment." "The City of Port Wentworth and the Port Wentworth Police Department should issue a public statement committing to respect the First Amendment rights of its police officers and announce an official change of policy," the letter adds. Kersey previously told CP that while he made similar statements in the past on social media and in his podcast, he was inspired after reading John Piper's book This Momentary Marriage. "He does a really great job of talking about the imagery that Scripture uses for marriage," said Kersey. "In that post, what I did is somewhat paraphrase Ephesians 5, where Paul describes marriage as a mirror image of Christ and His love for His people, His Bride, the Church." "I've looked back, and I've made very similar posts before in times past. I've shared things that the Heritage Foundation, the Family Research Council, Focus on the Family, and others have said about how marriage is only to be between a man and a woman, according to God's design for it." The petition in support of Kersey had surpassed 30,000 signatures, Kersey told Fox News Digital. Teachers needed. Biblical Christians need not apply Parents will be held responsible by God for their childrens education, says the Bible. This was a view shared by the majority of Americas founders. But today there is great defiance against this on the part of many in our educational establishment. Many leaders in the educational system seem to think they know better than the parents as to what should and should not be taught. FoxNews.com reports: A Colorado elementary schools private emails show secret plans to defy parents wishes on transitioning their child's gender. Recently, a Fairfax (Virginia) County parent, Neeley McCallister noted: As parents, it is our primary duty to protect our children and preserve their innocence. Unfortunately, there is a toxic movement infiltrating our schools that is more interested in pushing a political agenda rather than teaching our children the subjects we were taught in school: math, reading, science, history. McCallister made these remarks during hearings to promote a bill in the new U.S. House of Representatives, under the leadership of Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The new bill seeks to assert parental rights when it comes to what is taught in schools. This is right and good. Centuries ago America made great strides in becoming a city on a hill in part because of the great education so many citizens received. Initially, it was based on the Bible and resulted in astounding levels of literacy. As James Madison, a key architect of the Constitution, observed, A well-instructed people alone can be permanently a free people. The first Congress under the Constitution that gave us the First Amendment also passed a law that ensured that each state to be added to the new nation should be committed to education. If the American experiment were to work, it could only do so if the people could read and write for themselves. So, on August 4, 1789, Congress passed the Northwest Ordinance. This important document said in Article III: Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged. This was in a day when Religion meant Christianity of one stripe or another. Even Thomas Jefferson, who departed from Christian orthodoxy later in life, allowed the Bible and Isaac Watts hymnals to be used to teach reading at two schools for which he served as president of the board of trustees. Isaac Watts was a great writer of classic Christian songs, including Joy to the World, When I Survey the Wondrous Cross, and Jesus Shall Reign. However, in the last few decades, there has arisen an anti-God tenor in the schools. Last week, The Christian Post reported on a story out of the Phoenix area, where a school board rejected hiring teachers from a Christian college because these teachers were deemed not safe." Fox News also reported: An Arizona school board member wearing cat ears during a meeting said she would oppose having a contract with a Christian university over the religious and biblical beliefs they espouse. Another board member concurred with her, as he decried the university for teaching with a biblical lens. The board agreed with the anti-Christian ban. The school board says in effect, Teachers needed. Biblical Christians need not apply. This sort of discrimination is clearly unconstitutional. But is it what parents want? We all have a lens, a worldview. It was a biblical worldview, a biblical lens, that made us the most free and prosperous nation. But if the Left had their way, only those with godless values should be teaching our children with little or no significant input from the parents. Americanwirenews.com noted a similar example of anti-Christian bias at work in the schools. A public school teacher in Washington state said we need to keep the schoolchildren safe from their Christo-fascist parents. Some parents teach their children to follow the Bible the way Washington, Lincoln, and Reagan learned their values. Horrors, say many in the education establishment today, trying to separate parents from their childrens education. Thankfully, the new Congress is fighting back, as noted. Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich writes, Speaker Kevin McCarthy and House Republicans have given the American people an opportunity to dramatically strengthen the role of parents in the education of their children. The preamble to The Parents Bill of Rights Act declares: Parents have a God-given right to make decisions for their children. Unfortunately, many school districts have been ignoring the wishes of parents while special interest groups try to criminalize free speech. The preamble adds, This list of rights will make clear to parents what their rights are and clear to schools what their duties to parents are. Perhaps Rep. Elise Stefanik says it all: Parents are the primary stakeholders in their childs education, and they have a right to know what is going on inside their childs classroom. Hear, hear. Vengeance is mine, says the Lord Former President Trumps I am your retribution comments at CPAC have created the expected firestorm. For his loyal supporters, this was vintage Trump, as once again, he stood up boldly to fight for us against them. To paraphrase, They may have hurt you, but I will make them pay! For Trump critics, this was Trump at his arrogant and dangerous worst, pledging a holy war against those who stood in his way. To quote Trump in full, In 2016, I declared I am your voice. Today, I add I am your warrior, I am your justice. And for those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution. I am your retribution. Not going to let this happen. Not going to let it happen. I will totally obliterate the deep state. To repeat those central words: I am your retribution. What are we to make of this? What immediately came to my mind when I heard these words was a passage from Romans 12. There Paul wrote, Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. To the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:1921, quoting from Deuteronomy 32:35 and Proverbs 25:21-22.) To be sure, as followers of Jesus, we are to pursue justice, which is one of the highest values in Gods sight. Thats why the prophets constantly exhorted the people of Israel to plead for the cause of the widow and orphan and to stand up for the poor and the oppressed. As stated in the Law itself, Follow justice and justice alone, so that you may live and possess the land the LORD your God is giving you (Deuteronomy 16:20). Or, in the oft-quoted words from the book of Amos, after the Lord stated plainly that he had no interest in Israels hypocritical religious celebrations, He said, let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream! (Amos 5:24). Justice and righteousness were the things God desired, not some empty, hypocritical religious display. In fact, justice is so important that the Scriptures actually state that, Righteousness and justice are the foundation of [Gods] throne (Psalm 89:14; 97:2). That is saying something! By all means, then, as Gods children, let us pursue justice on every level. But justice is very different than retribution. Retribution is about vengeance, about settling a personal score, about hurting the ones who hurt you. Paul says plainly that we are to leave that to God. He Himself will repay, and when He does, it will be dreadful. Again, this does not mean that it is wrong to pursue a righteous settlement in court if your business partner betrayed you or if your ex-husband stops paying alimony. And when we see inequities in society or when we encounter acts of cruelty, we should openly oppose them and work against them. But it is another thing entirely to have it in for someone, to determine to strike them back (or even take them out), to seek to impose pain on them. To say it again, that is Gods business and Gods prerogative. He knows how to make people pay for the wrong they have done. And what if He decides to show mercy? What if He decides to give someone time to repent? What if His timetable (or approach) is different than ours? Our responsibility is simple. We are to overcome evil with good. We are to repay cursing with blessing. We are to pray for our persecutors, not asking the Lord to destroy them but to save them. After all, didnt He have great mercy on us when we were living in sin and rebellion? As for the treatment of our personal enemies, this is a command, not a suggestion: if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head. To this Proverbs adds, and the LORD will reward you (Proverbs 25:22). And what does it mean to heap burning coals on your enemys head? Commentators suggest that The action is interpreted as producing punishment, or a burning shame, or remorse and conversion. Of these, the best understanding is that a change of heart on the part of the enemy is produced. Moreover, there is the assurance that the Lord will reward the person who acts with such magnanimity toward an enemy (Rowland E. Murphy). So, rather than try to destroy our enemies or bring retribution to them, our goal should be their conversion and transformation. That is the radical Jesus way. Of course, some of us will immediately try to rationalize our way out of this command, saying that such efforts are a sign of compromise. Or well create ridiculous scenarios, asking, So, if a killer breaks into my house, am I supposed to cook him a nice meal? That is obviously not what the Word is saying. But God is calling us to crucify our flesh, to put down our carnal desires for retribution, and to make it our goal to overcome evil with good, thereby following in the footsteps of the Lord. As for vengeance and retribution, we do best to leave that to God. Over half of Christians say they sometimes experience doubts about their religious beliefs: survey Over half of Christians say they sometimes experience doubts about their religious beliefs, according to a new study from the prominent Evangelical research organization the Barna Group. Titled "Doubt & Faith: Top Reasons People Question Christianity," the study is based on a survey of 2,005 U.S. adults and teenagers ages 13-17 conducted online from Dec. 1322, 2022, with a margin of error of +/- 2.0 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. The study also utilized a survey of 511 U.S. Protestant senior pastors conducted online from Dec. 13, 2021 Jan. 3, 2023. "Over half of teens and adults (so, the U.S. general population ages 13+) report that they've experienced doubts about their religious beliefs at least sometimes (12% frequently, 16% occasionally, 24% sometimes) in the past few years," an overview of the study states. "Similarly, exactly half of those who are Christian or who have some Christian background or experience (50%) say they have gone through a 'prolonged' period of doubt at some point in their life." According to the study, 27% of respondents said their doubt came from "past experiences with a religious institution." In contrast, respondents who were not practicing Christians cited the "hypocrisy of religious people" as "the top driver of doubt." Nonpracticing Christians were more likely than practicing Christians to have doubts about their faith. Eleven percent of nonpracticing Christians said they "frequently" experience doubts about their religious beliefs, while 18% said "occasionally," 30% said "sometimes," 24% said "rarely" and 23% said "never." As for practicing Christians, 8% said they "frequently" experience doubts about Christian beliefs, 12% said "occasionally," 20% said "sometimes," 37% said "rarely" and 23% said "never." The Barna data suggests that "three out of four U.S. adults (74%) say they want to grow spiritually. Additionally, the same proportion (77%) say they believe in a higher power." The study concludes that "most in the general population, and Christians in particular, see doubt as a phase to move through, and arriving at certainty is the preferable end goal." "Interestingly, teens and adults of other faiths and especially those of no faith have more comfort with doubt, less often seeing it as something to be overcome and even seeing it as something to be praised," the study states. "Elsewhere in this study, and throughout many years of Barna's research, our data shows that those who are reluctant to affiliate with a church say Christians seem closed and judgmental, or that they often value being right in their beliefs over and above helping others make their own faith discoveries." When asked to identify reasons why they doubt Christian beliefs, 42% of respondents with "no faith" said "hypocrisy of religious people," 31% said "science," 30% said "human suffering," 29% said "one religion can't have all the answers" and 24% said "conflict in the world." Practicing Christians (51%) were most likely to select "none of the above," compared to 40% for all Christians and 34% for nonpracticing Christians. Over a quarter of nonpracticing Christians listed "the hypocrisy of religious people" (26%) and "human suffering" (26%) as reasons they have doubts about their faith. About 22% of nonpracticing Christians said "conflict in the world" is a reason they have doubts about Christian beliefs. Among practicing Christians, "human suffering" (19%) was the top reason listed for why they have doubts about Christian beliefs, while 15% said "hypocrisy of religious people" and 15% selected "'woke' Christianity." The Barna study found that pastors appear to be "attuned" to the realities of why people experience doubts about Christian beliefs. "By an overwhelming majority, pastors assume that past experiences with a religious institution (83%) or the hypocrisy of religious people (80%) cause people to doubt Christian beliefs," the overview reads. "These are indeed among the top responses among people of no faith, along with science and human suffering. Those in the pews, meanwhile, seem less aware of or less willing to admit potential barriers to belief." In 2017, Barna released a study that found that about 65% of U.S. Christians admitted to having doubts about their beliefs, with 40% saying they had doubt but "worked through it," while 26% said that they still experience it. The 2017 study also found that 53% of self-identified Christian respondents said that their faith became stronger due to their experience with doubt, while 12% of respondents said they lost their faith after their period of questioning. The 6-year-old who shot and injured his first-grade teacher at a Virginia elementary school in January will not be charged. However, a prosecutor stated that he was still determining whether or not other individuals would face criminal charges. The child shot the 25-year-old teacher with a pistol in a classroom at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News on January 6 at around 2:00 p.m., leaving her with "life-threatening" injuries and renewing demands for regulations to keep weapons out of the hands of youth. Boy, 6, Took Gun Out of Backpack, Shot Teacher The counsel for the Commonwealth, Howard E. Gwynn, told NBC News on Wednesday that such a small child would not comprehend the court system. The possibility that a 6-year-old may stand trial is worrisome, according to him. Gwynn stated in a statement posted by the Newport News Police Department on Thursday that he had received the investigation's findings, including three binders and hours of police body camera footage, many weeks earlier. The incident in Newport News, a city of more than 180,000 people located approximately 70 miles southeast of Richmond, Virginia, surprised officials and the community, garnering substantial attention due to the child's age, the school's response, and the boy's access to the gun. Abigail Zwerner was in the middle of a typical lesson in her first-grade classroom when, according to the authorities, the student pulled out a revolver, pointed it at the instructor, and shot. A single bullet entered her palm before striking her chest. Diane Toscano, a lawyer for Zwerner, stated in January, in the aftermath of the killing, that there had been a sequence of escalating indications that the youngster had a pistol, raising doubts about the school's response. Thursday's call to Ms. Toscano's office was transferred to the public relations department, which did not answer. Moreover, the teacher's counsel asserts that school administrators were often informed of the gun's availability on the day of the incident. Toscano asserted that despite "knowing of imminent danger," the government "failed to act." An attorney for former elementary school administrator Briana Foster Newton stated that her client was unaware that a pupil brought a pistol to school that day. Newton was transferred following the shooting, according to CBS News. In February, Newton's attorney Pamela Branch stated, "Those who were aware that the student may have had a firearm on campus that day did not mention this to Newton at all." Branch did not specify who may have known the student was carrying a firearm that day. Michelle Price, a Newport News public school district spokesperson, acknowledged days after the shooting that a staff member had inspected the child's backpack before the incident "after it was suspected that the youngster may have a weapon." No weapon was discovered. On January 25, the school board decided to terminate George Parker III's contract as district superintendent. Read Also: Child Tax Credit 2023: How to Claim Up to $2,000 Payments Per Child Virginia Law Steve Drew, the head of the Newport News Police Department, stated that the gunshot was purposeful and that any potential charges would depend on "what the facts and the law support" in the first official police statement of the incident. The agency said the youngster had obtained the firearm from his house, placed it in his bag, and brought it to school. The weapon was a 9mm Taurus pistol his mother had lawfully purchased. Per NY Times, the law of Virginia bans leaving a loaded firearm accessible to minors under 14 years old. The offense has a minor penalty. The K-12 School Shooting Database, which began collecting data on school shootings after the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, has identified at least 16 cases involving shooters under 10, three of which involved 6-year-olds and one a 5-year-old. Related Article: Breonna Taylor Case Update @YouTube @ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Newsom cuts ties with Walgreens for not dispensing abortion pill in states where it's illegal California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that the state is withdrawing from a $54 million contract with Walgreens after the corporation revealed that it would not dispense the abortion pill in certain states where it is not legal to do so. Under the Democratic governor's directive, the California Department of General Services gave Walgreens a formal notice Wednesday that it's withdrawing from a contractual agreement with the company set for renewal in May. The contract enabled the state to procure "specialty pharmacy prescription drugs," which are typically used by the state's prison health care system. Walgreens had received $54 million from the state of California under the contract. "California will not stand by as corporations cave to extremists and cut off critical access to reproductive care and freedom," Newsom declared in a Wednesday statement. "California is on track to be the fourth largest economy in the world and we will leverage our market power to defend the right to choose." Newsom stated on Twitter Monday that California would no longer do business with Walgreens or "any company that cowers to the extremists and puts women's lives at risk." California won't be doing business with @walgreens -- or any company that cowers to the extremists and puts women's lives at risk. We're done.https://t.co/OB10cYfm8H Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) March 6, 2023 A Walgreens spokesperson told The Christian Post in a Thursday statement that the corporation was "deeply disappointed" by the state of California's decision not to renew a "longstanding contract due to false and misleading information." "Walgreens is facing the same circumstances as all retail pharmacies, and no other retail pharmacies have said that they would approach this situation differently, so it's unclear where this contract would now be moved," Fraser Engerman, senior director of external relations for Walgreens, stated. Engerman told CP that the corporation has always maintained that it would dispense the abortion pill in any jurisdiction where distributing the drug is "legally permissible," including California, once Walgreens obtains certification from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. "We will dispense this medication consistent with federal and state laws," he vowed. "Providing legally approved medications to patients is what pharmacies do, and is rooted in our commitment to the communities in which we operate." Gov. Gavin Newsom's office did not immediately respond to The Christian Post's request for comment. As CP previously reported, Walgreens responded to a letter from 20 Republican state attorneys general promising to take legal action if the company began dispensing the abortion pill in their state by indicating that it would not do so. The letter, led by Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, was signed by the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and West Virginia. Walgreens, alongside other major retail pharmacy chains, including CVS and Rite Aid, announced that it had taken steps to begin distributing the abortion pill, marked as Mifepristone in the U.S., after the FDA modified restrictions on it in January. "We are not distributing Mifepristone at this time. We intend to be a certified pharmacy and will dispense Mifepristone only in those jurisdictions where it is legal and operationally feasible," Engerman told CP in a statement last week. Pro-life advocates have warned that allowing major pharmacy retail chains to dispense the abortion pill threatens the lives of women and their unborn children. Multiple pro-life groups protested at major pharmacy retail stores through the #StopAbortionRx campaign, calling on corporations to "cut ties with the abortion industry." Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America Director of State Affairs and Midwest Regional Director Sue Liebel told CP in a previous interview that data collection on abortion in the U.S. is "abysmal," criticizing the FDA for deregulating the drug when there is a lack of proper reporting on complications. She also highlighted how reduced medical supervision surrounding the pill could increase a woman's risk of experiencing health complications. "There's a lot of opportunity here for misuse, including a woman not correctly anticipating the gestational age of her baby," Liebel said, in addition to other complications, such as ectopic pregnancies and RH compatibility. Following the overturn of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion nationwide last summer, Newsom moved to expand abortion access through a $200 million taxpayer-funded budget package. In September, California launched a $1 million website to direct residents and non-residents to abortion facilities or places where they can obtain the abortion pill. Judge overturns conviction of street preacher arrested for 'misgendering' man in a dress A British court has overturned the conviction of street preacher Dave McConnell who was reported to counter-terrorism for alleged misgendering by refusing to say a man is a woman. Leeds Crown Court overturned McConnells conviction, ruling that the Crown (prosecution) had not proved its case and that it is not an offense to insult someone, said the U.K.-based group Christian Concern, whose arm Christian Legal Centre supported the Christian preachers case, in a statement to The Christian Post on Thursday. McConnell, 42, from Wakefield, was appealing a conviction under the Public Order Act 1986 for insulting a member of the public in Leeds City Centre in June 2021 by misgendering a biological male who identified as a trans woman. He was convicted in August 2022. Appealing the conviction, McConnells lawyer argued that the police response was unlawful, disproportionate and interfered with his Article 9 and 10 rights under the European Convention on Human Rights. Recorder Anthony Hawks (who determines claims and delivers judgments at a trial) said that while McConnell misgendering the complainant did cause them distress, they needed to prove he intended to cause distress. It is not an offense to insult someone. Anthony added, McConnell said he had no such intent, he says he goes out preaching the Word of God and the last thing he wants to do is upset. He said he was not intending distress, just repeating what he genuinely believed to be the Bibles teaching. He concluded, We live in a time of free speech. McConnell, the first street preacher to be convicted for such an offense and reported as a potential terrorist, had been assaulted, abused, and had his belongings stolen while preaching, the group noted. Despite there being no legal obligation to use a trans persons chosen pronouns in the U.K., McConnell was convicted and ordered to pay $734 (620) and do 80 hours of community service, it said, adding he was also reported to the governments counter-terrorism watchdog, Prevent, by the Probation Service. After the ruling, McConnell said he was delighted and relieved that he could clear his name but was appalled by how he had been treated. CLCs CEO Andrea Williams called the case a disturbing trend in society and accused the police of failing to provide Christian preachers with impartial protection. While preaching in Briggate, Leeds, a pedestrianized area of the city, McConnell was asked by a man who self-identified as a trans woman whether God accepted the LGBT community. The preacher said, No, God hates sin. So, this gentleman asked a question ... Members of the crowd interrupted him, shouting, Shes a woman! McConnell replied, No, this is a man, prompting a female member of the crowd to shout back, Shes just as much a woman as me! Despite the interruption, McConnell continued to calmly preach about what the Bible says regarding sexual sin and homosexuality, referring to the individual as this gentleman and a man in womens clothes. In June 2021, a Liverpool County Court awarded $4,500 plus legal costs to McConnell, who was earlier arrested by West Yorkshire Police in December 2019 for a hate-related public order offense and for preaching on gay rights and abortion. He was preaching the Gospel when some passersby began to heckle him, asking him questions about sexuality and abortion while he had not mentioned either subject. Why is Satan helping to fulfill biblical prophecy? Bible experts answer A pair of Bible prophecy experts answered why Satan works to fulfill biblical prophecy rather than do things differently to usurp God's plans since he has some knowledge of how things will end for him. Jeff Kinley and Todd Hampson, hosts of the popular "Prophecy Pros Podcast," were joined by ministry partner Kari Duffy of Harvest House Publishers who shared theological questions submitted by listeners. One question Duffy shared was: Satan does not know when the rapture will happen, but once it does happen, he knows his time is short. He knows the Bible. He's heard all that has been taught on the subject. Why does Satan help fulfill prophecy? Why doesn't he do things differently than what is written? Or is he so hardened that he honestly thinks he can change what has been foretold by God Himself?" In response to the multipart question, Hampson said Satan seems to be riddled with a lack of humility which has hardened him to think that he can change the outcome. His pride is what gets him every single time. He literally thinks he can be God. He still thinks he can be God," added Hampson, an author, illustrator and animation producer who co-wrote a book with Jeff Kinley, titled The Illustrated Guide to Tough Questions About the End Times. "When he (Satan) had Christ on the cross, he thought he won. He thought it was game-set-match. He didn't see the resurrection coming. So he does know prophecy, but he doesn't know everything." He's not omniscient. And he doesn't realize that everything he's doing to usurp God actually plays into the hands of God's overall sovereign plan, which we can't fully understand ourselves. Hampson said it is important to recognize that Satan does, in fact, "try to keep prophecy from being fulfilled, specifically in the tribulation period. He tried to keep it from being fulfilled when he had Herod kill all the young babies," Hampson said. "He was trying to keep the Genesis 3:15 seed of the woman from coming on the scene. But once that happened (Jesus' birth), he tried to kill Him on the cross. [Satan] thought he had [Jesus] cornered. The devil is self-deluded and his pride gets the best of him at every turn and he falls right into his own trap by fulfilling prophecy by trying to un-fulfill prophecy, Hampson added. Listen to the Prophecy Pros Podcast on the Edifi Podcast Network We find at the end of the tribulation period [Satan] knows from prophecy that what ushers in Christs physical return at the end of the tribulation is the Jewish people calling on the name of the Lord, realizing He's the Messiah, Hampson said. That's why at the midpoint of the Tribulation we read that the gloves come off and he tries to kill all the Jewish people. If there are no Jewish people in his mind, if there are no Jewish people to call on the Messiah, then the Messiah can't come. And then, even when that fails, and Jesus does come, he quickly garners the armies of the world to try to fight God. Two other questions presented to Hampson and Kinley during the episode were why did Jesus pick the Jews to come into the world through? and Is Jesus of Marys egg or was it an immaculate conception totally of the Holy Spirit? Kinley said the answer to the questions can be found in Deuteronomy 7:7, which reads, "The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples." "Essentially, God just says, I wanted to. And this is where we land on the sovereignty of God, added Kinley, a bestselling author and speaker. He's God. He could have chosen the Hittites. He could have chosen the Egyptians. He didn't. He chose the Jewish people because it simply pleased Him to do so. So that's really kind of where we landed on that one. Kinley added that he believes Jesus was created from Marys egg, which means Jesus had the same DNA makeup as Mary. However, Jesus was made from only Marys egg and not from the sperm of any man. I believe Jesus had physical characteristics. He would have looked like Mary, as far physical characteristics, in His eyes, Kinley noted. "He would have had her DNA that way." But we know that sin is imputed or imparted rather through the man and we know that because of Adam. Adam is the one that was responsible for the human race. Sin came through Adam, not Eve, he added. The seed of the woman. It's always talked about the seed of the man except for in the case of Christ, where it specifically mentions the seed of the woman. So her DNA, but without sin, because the man has to contribute the sin part of it. Revival During Spring Break, Arkansas Passes Universal School Choice, Florida Law Defunds Planned Parenthood link to download the audio instead. link to download the audio instead. 09:08 09:08 Exposing the Gender Lie Top headlines for Friday, March 10, 2023 While many students are on vacation during spring break in Virginia, students at Regent University have been engaging in impromptu worship services that include the sharing of testimonies and exhortations from Scripture. Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed a sweeping education bill into law Wednesday, becoming the fifth state to enact a universal school choice program and banning certain topics from being taught in public classrooms. A federal court has reinstated a 2016 Florida law that allows the state to remove public funding of Planned Parenthood, citing the overturning of Roe v. Wade as justification. Jewish groups have come to the defense of an Evangelical Christian postal worker who claims he was forced out of his job for refusing to work Sundays, the day of the sabbath. Who were the Vorticists? As the largest collection of works by Vorticist artists ever offered at auction comes to Christies, Alastair Smart traces the brief history of what was arguably Britains most avant-garde art movement The year 1914 is best remembered for the outbreak of the First World War. However, it also saw the launch of Vorticism, Britains first and arguably most radical avant-garde art movement. Founded in London by the artist Wyndham Lewis, it consisted, broadly speaking, of a repudiation of Victorian values (which were deemed old-fashioned) and an acclamation of the machine age, in the form of a bold new visual style. Lewis claimed that all revolutionary painting today has in common the rigid reflections of steel. He also provided the movement with its own base, opening the aptly named Rebel Art Centre at 38 Great Ormond Street. This gave him and his fellow Vorticists a meeting place in which to share ideas, hold lectures, hang works, and even produce their own magazine. Open a larger version of this image Wyndham Lewis at the Rebel Art Centre, the Vorticists headquarters on Great Ormond Street, London. Photo: TopFoto. Artwork: Wyndham Lewis Memorial Trust. All rights reserved 2023 / Bridgeman Images For reasons that are explained below, relatively few Vorticist works were made, even fewer survive, and their appearance on the market is rare. The set from a private collection being offered in the Modern British and Irish Art Evening and Day sales at Christies on 21 and 22 March 2023 is the most extensive ever to appear at auction. The term Vorticism was coined by Lewiss friend, the American poet Ezra Pound, who had moved to London in 1908. It referred to a vortex, in its sense as a whirlpool. As Lewis pointed out, At the heart of the whirlpool is a great silent place where all the energy is concentrated. And there, at that point of concentration, is the Vorticist. The movement was characterised by what might be called a vigorous, mechanical vocabulary: one of hard edges, vertiginous perspectives, sharp diagonals and overlapping planes. It is occasionally compared with the contemporaneous Italian movement, Futurism, but a key difference is that Vorticism steered closer to abstraction. The groups initial works date from the latter part of 1913. They were followed by the Vorticists manifesto, which was published in the first issue of their magazine, Blast, on 1 July 1914. With its bright pink cover and sans-serif type, Blast was every bit as startling as its contents. Open a larger version of this image The front cover of the first issue of Blast: Review of the Great English Vortex, the short-lived magazine edited by Wyndham Lewis. It is dated 20 June 1914, but publication was delayed until July. Photo: 2023, The Museum of Modern Art, New York / Scala, Florence The manifesto was written by Lewis, who was also one of its 11 signatories. Others included William Roberts, Helen Saunders, Edward Wadsworth and Jessica Dismorr (all alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art), as well as Pound and the French sculptor Henri Gaudier-Brzeska. Though not formal members, the artists David Bomberg and Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson were also associated with the movement. Lewis stated in his manifesto, with typical bombast, that the Modern World is due almost entirely to Anglo-Saxon genius Machinery, trains, steam-ships all that distinguishes externally our time came far more from [Britain] than anywhere else. Lewis thought, however, that the nation had hitherto lacked an art movement worthy of its stature. On 4 August 1914, this stature was suddenly challenged with the declaration of the First World War. Initially, the Vorticists with one notable exception carried on with their careers regardless. Their debut exhibition was held at the Dore Gallery in Mayfair in June 1915. Among the works on show was Gaudier-Brzeskas alluring sculpture Charm, carved from green Irish marble. The artist is known to have worn it on a string around his neck before giving it to his friend, Pound. Charm consists of an enigmatic figure, its upper part an oval face gazing back at us, with two large cavities below suggesting arms thrust out left and right. A third cavity lower down represents a space between the figures legs, which taper towards what appears to be a set of bunched toes at the bottom. Open a larger version of this image Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson, A.R.A. (1889-1946), On the Road to Ypres, 1916. Ink on paper. 4 x 8 in (11 x 21 cm). Offered in the Modern British and Irish Art Evening Sale on 21 March 2023 at Christies in London Gaudier-Brzeska volunteered to join the French Army as soon as war broke out, and a letter he sent from the front back to London appeared in the second and final edition of Blast in July 1915. He shared his belief that this war is a great remedy. In the individual it kills arrogance, self-esteem and pride. Tragically, it also killed Gaudier-Brzeska, aged 23. He was struck down by German machine-gun fire on 5 June 1915, near Arras, less than a week before the opening of the first Vorticist exhibition. One of the most promising art careers was cut short before it had even really begun. (His letter was published in Blast posthumously.) Pound went on to organise the second and final Vorticist exhibition with the help of the leading American collector John Quinn at the Penguin Club in New York in 1917. Open a larger version of this image Wyndham Lewis (1882-1957), Protraction, 1913. Pencil, watercolour, gouache and crayon on paper. 5 x 12 in (14.9 x 31.2 cm). Sold for 63,000 on 21 March 2023 at Christies in London Smaller than the first show, it included Lewiss 1913 painting Protraction. This work may appear abstract at first glance a jagged assortment of geometric forms but it actually contains two angry creatures leaping towards the pictures right. The larger one has an open mouth, as if hungrily waiting for the chance to devour an enemy; the smaller one seems built of elements that suggest a rocket hurtling through space. Open a larger version of this image David Bomberg (1890-1957), Figure Study (Racehorse), circa 1913. Oil on panel. 16 x 12 in (40.6 x 31.7 cm). Sold for 378,000 on 21 March 2023 at Christies in London Also being offered at Christies is Bombergs painting Figure Study (Racehorse), a stunningly energetic rendering of a rider on a galloping horse; and Robertss semi-abstract drawing St George and the Dragon. The latter served as an illustration on the front page of the Evening News, a London newspaper, on St Georges Day 1915. His adversary, the dragon, isnt easy to spot, but Englands patron saint takes the form of a mechanistic modern fighter, thrusting downwards with bold diagonal force towards the pictures bottom right. As the First World War dragged on, more and more of the Vorticists joined the fray. Bomberg enlisted in the Royal Engineers in 1915. Roberts and Lewis enlisted in the Royal Artillery in 1916. Wadsworth joined the Naval Intelligence Division in the summer of that year, around the same time that Dismorr left for France to volunteer as a nurse. Another important figure in Vorticisms story, the philosopher and critic T.E. Hulme, one of the movements great champions, was killed in action in Flanders in September 1917. A limited amount of Vorticist art survives today partly because the movement was so short-lived (most of the group traded London for the Western Front); and partly because, when the artists finally returned home, much of their work had been lost or destroyed. One painting that disappeared was Wadsworths Cape of Good Hope a reproduction of which appeared in the first issue of Blast, and an impressive study for which is coming to auction. It offers an aerial view of a harbour in what purports to be the eponymous African cape. The ships there may be moored, but their jostling shapes suggest that they might sail off at any moment. Once the Armistice was signed in November 1918, signalling an end to the First World War, there was no way back for Vorticism. Over the course of four bloody years, the artists had seen at first hand that the machine age was nothing like the utopia they had imagined. Artistically, they all moved on. As a chastened Lewis put it years later: A bigger blast than mine had rather taken the wind out of my sails. Sign up today Christies Online Magazine delivers our best features, videos, and auction news to your inbox every week Subscribe Londons Saatchi Yates gallery: We like the idea of showing breakthrough art something that pushes the boundaries Meet St Jamess newest and youngest gallery owners, Arthur Yates and Phoebe Saatchi Yates, a couple with a penchant for rule-breaking that promises to shake up the capitals art scene Bury Street runs roughly north to south through the heart of the St Jamess district of London. Towards the top is Colnaghi, the oldest commercial art gallery in the world. The building at the bottom, where it meets King Street, has been home to Christies for two centuries. Stretching along its length, and accentuating the impression that you are stepping back in time, are dealers in medieval ceramics, antique maps and Chinese export pictures. Next week, however, this historic street is playing host to something altogether different: an exhibition of new paintings by an American artist who is barely known outside of TikTok. His name is Michael Todd Horne, usually referred to by his social media handle Bijijoo. The couple behind this audacious move are husband-and-wife duo Arthur Yates and Phoebe Saatchi Yates, owners of a new 10,000-square-foot gallery at number 14. From the start, our idea has been to work with artists at the beginning of their careers, Phoebe explains. We like the idea of showing breakthrough art, adds Arthur. Something that pushes the boundaries. We want to bring a new voice and perspective to Londons art scene. Open a larger version of this image Bijijoo (b. 1975), Fish For Dinner, 2022. Oil and acrylic on canvas. 100 x 100 cm. His solo exhibition runs from 16 March to 28 May 2023 Bijijoo is a biophysics PhD who paints pictures of monsters imagined by his daughter. Someone showed us Bijijoos work and we just couldnt get it out of our heads, says Arthur. We thought: there is something here and then we learnt how popular he is online. Phoebe explains that the artists TikTok videos resonate in particular with the ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response) community who claim they feel a pleasant physical reaction in response to watching Bijijoo splodge, spray and sand the richly textured surfaces of his canvases. One of Bijijoos recent social media posts has been watched more than two million times. Social media has played an integral part in helping Phoebe, 28, and Arthur, 32, to discover new artists. The couple opened their first gallery on Cork Street in Mayfair in 2020, just as the pandemic struck. We signed the lease, but then all of a sudden it became very clear it wasnt going to be only two weeks until we opened, explains Phoebe. But that really gave us time to find the right artists. A lot of the people that were doing shows with now are people we spoke to in that period. Thats the power of the internet: it makes us just as close to an artist in London as to another in Seoul. Open a larger version of this image Sujin Lee (b. 1990), Afterimage, 2021. Acrylic on canvas. 200 x 140 cm. Sujin Lee is a South Korean artist the pair discovered on Instagram. At that point Lee had never shown any of her paintings of wide-eyed girls in a gallery. She hadnt even sold one. But by the time she arrived in London for her inaugural solo show at Saatchi Yates, Phoebe and Arthur had found a buyer for every single picture. She got here and everyone was like, Youre a genius! but she didnt speak much English, says Arthur with a laugh. I suppose its the equivalent, for a British person, of discovering one day that youre famous in South Korea. Open a larger version of this image Two paintings by British artist Danny Fox (b. 1986), from St Ives in Cornwall, who had his first solo exhibition at Saatchi Yates in 2021 Open a larger version of this image Above, Treat Him Good, 2022. Acrylic on canvas. 182.9 x 152.4 cm. Left, Born Toulouse, 2022. Acrylic on canvas. 182.9 x 152.4 cm Another success story has been Danny Fox, an English artist from St Ives who paints freaky, folklore-inspired figurative works. We heard that hed just moved back from Los Angeles, so we gave him a call, says Arthur. We got in the car and drove down to Cornwall to see him. The show went really well. Danny has such true fans its like a cult following. People are obsessed with him. At the opening, someone asked him to sign their arm. We like having one foot in the past and one in the future, and it feels like here we have that mix Arthur Yates So what was the reason behind their decision to move to St Jamess, after just two years in Mayfair? Were traditionalists at heart, says Phoebe, and there have been dealers here for hundreds of years. We like having one foot in the past and one in the future, Arthur adds, and it feels like here we have that mix. The couple also acknowledge the fact that theyre not the first contemporary gallery to have moved to the area. In 2006, White Cube opened a branch on the site of an electricity sub-station in nearby Masons Yard. The dealer Thomas Dane has been on the parallel Duke Street since 2004. Sadie Coles, meanwhile, has had an outpost down the road since 2021. Open a larger version of this image Omar El Lahib (b. 1986), Honeymoon, 2020-22. Oil on canvas. 150 x 250 cm The key difference between those galleries and Saatchi Yates, however, is that they dont tend to give huge solo shows to artists at the beginning of their careers perhaps because the profits from such exhibitions dont tend to cover the sky-high local rents. Phoebe and Arthur fill this gap with a sideline in brokering deals on secondary-market, blue-chip masterpieces by artists such as Andy Warhol, Yayoi Kusama, Willem de Kooning and Pablo Picasso. They also economise by not attending the ever-growing rotation of art fairs. Until now, weve found that we can do the same job as an art fair in slightly more meaningful ways, says Phoebe. In Miami, for instance, rather than taking a booth, we staged an exhibition of work by Tesfaye Urgessa in conjunction with his opening at the Rubell Museum. We had a space for two months and we experienced what it would be like to have a gallery there to exist in the city, rather than a convention centre which I think was better for everyone involved. Open a larger version of this image Tesfaye Urgessa (b. 1983), Love Doesnt Grow On Trees 1. Oil on canvas. 230 x 200 cm Behind the scenes, the pairs savvy decision-making has been guided by Phoebes father, the advertising mogul Charles Saatchi, who did so much to establish the careers of Young British Artists such as Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin during the 1990s. Advisor isnt an official title, but he likes to be involved, says Phoebe with a smile. In some ways there are clear similarities between what Charles Saatchi did three decades ago and what the couple are doing now chiefly supporting emerging talent, and often venturing where others fear to tread. Open a larger version of this image The opening exhibition of works by Omar El Lahib at Saatchi Yatess new Bury Street gallery in early 2023 Even the couples new gallery a cavernous blank room with polished concrete floors and ceilings of exposed cables and pipes sprayed white is reminiscent of the spaces around Hoxton Square that were used to promote the YBAs twenty-odd years ago. Was that intentional? We try to do our own thing, says Arthur. Whether people like it or not, at least its another way. Or a new way. This summer, says Phoebe, they intend to unveil a show that mixes secondary-market Old Masters and modern works of art together with new paintings commissioned from six of the artists they represent. Itll be the first time weve done anything like that, and were really excited about it, she says. Sign up today Christies Online Magazine delivers our best features, videos, and auction news to your inbox every week Subscribe We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form The German Chancellor condemned Thursday's horrific shooting at a Hamburg Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall, which killed seven people. The suspected attacker is one of eight fatalities, according to the most recent statement from Hamburg police. Several others were hurt in the event, some gravely/ In a statement, the Jehovah's Witnesses in Germany remarked: "The religious community is deeply saddened by the horrific attack on its members at the Kingdom Hall in Hamburg after a religious service," per Al Jazeera. When the Hamburg Shooting in the northern German city began at 9 p.m. local time (3 p.m. ET), authorities were originally unaware of the potential number of gunmen. Later, the Hamburg police reported that there was only one attacker, who may have been killed at the scene after armed cops searched the site for evidence and suspects, CNN reported. Read Also: Russia Launched Hypersonic Missiles in Recent Ukraine Attack German Chancellor Olaf Scholz brought to Twitter his sympathy for the Hamburg shooting victims. He said that some members of the Jehovah's Witness congregation "fell victim to a brutal act of violence last night," per DW. "My thoughts are with them and their loved ones," Olaf Scholz tweeted. Schlimme Nachrichten aus #Hamburg. Mehrere Mitglieder einer Jehova-Gemeinde sind gestern Abend einer brutalen Gewalttat zum Opfer gefallen. Meine Gedanken sind bei ihnen und ihren Angehorigen. Und bei den Sicherheitskraften, die einen schweren Einsatz hinter sich haben. Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz (@Bundeskanzler) March 10, 2023 Area No Longer Dangerous The German television station n-tv received a report from two witnesses that they heard 12 gunshots during the Hamburg shooting. There were four intervals of firing, according to a teenager who lives nearby. The student said there were often many gaps throughout the Hamburg Shooting, spaced around 20 to 60 seconds apart. The operation first urged residents not to leave their houses, but they were eventually assured there was no danger. The area was secured, according to Andy Grote, the interior senator for the city-state. Related Article: Virginia Boy Shoots Teacher @ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Microsoft has had a busy 2023 with all its updates and launches recently. Now, they plan to roll out an accessibility assistant for Microsoft 365, which helps creators with preventing software issues as well as correcting them. Microsoft Toward Accessibility When it comes to assistance and prevention regarding accessibility issues, the new assistant will offer better defaults and real-time remediation, as well as clear guidance. In addition to that, the company will also release 3D attachments for the Surface Pen through Shapeways. The attachments are already available for the Business Pen and the Classroom Pen 2, and it will make it easier for people with limited mobility so they can use the peripherals on their Surface devices, as mentioned in Engadget. Microsoft has also added 13 new African languages for its translator, which includes Yoruba, Hausa, and Igbo. In total, the software giant now supports 125 languages for text-to-speech and allows users to have multi-language conversations in real time. This can assist users for those with impaired hearing by translating language they can encounter with what they encounter every day like menus, street signs, websites, documents, and more as they navigate their environment. There are also added features in the Azure platform with the same intention of assisting with accessibility. Microsoft's Seeing AI app will be AI-driven and will use the power of Azure to be of service to those who are blind or has low vision. Collaborating with Haleon, the company added 1,500 new products to the Seeing AI code library, which will help someone who is visually impaired maneuver through spaces with the help of spatial audio cues. Windows 11 has also seen some improvements with its built-in screen reader called Narrator. It will now support more Braille displays. Users can now interact with Narrator as it enables speech navigation to access Microsoft apps in Windows 11. Read Also: Microsoft Offers Windows 11 Updates To Unsupported PC Users Accidentally Microsoft's Vision Microsoft stated that AI has the potential to enhance human cognitive abilities in thinking, reasoning, learning, and communication. But, progress with AI also comes with responsibilities, and so the company is using it to help with human needs, barriers, and capabilities. To develop a better and more trustworthy AI, the company is using the Responsible AI Standard as a framework to guide them in building AI systems. Microsoft launched the framework to acquire feedback and contribute to discussions regarding practices and norms with AI. Microsoft shared the Responsible AI Standard's pyramid of core components. It has Principles at the very top, Goals at the second tier, Requirements at the third tier, and then Tools and Practices at the very bottom. Guided by core principles of development to work toward accessibility and disability inclusion, Microsoft's Speech Accessibility project aims to create the diverse speech data needed to make voice recognition technology more inclusive. The company believes that accessible technology is a fundamental building block that will open the doors to more opportunities in every part of society. This will help with empowering people "people across the spectrum of disability." Related: Microsoft is Introducing Copilot, an AI-Powered Assistant for Dynamics 365 Large IT projects are hard to execute, particularly when in-house staff are often pulled into their day jobs and distracted by other priorities. This can be costly for organizations. In fact, McKinsey suggests that early cost and schedule overruns can cause projects to cost twice as much as anticipated. One common resolution to this challenge is for companies to seek outside support to ensure success. There are four critical ways that outside support can make a difference. 1. Rapid talent aggregation One of the most challenging aspects of software engineering in todays environment is assembling quality talent. CIO magazine identifies the top 10 most in-demand tech jobs and says that 86% of technology managers say its challenging to find skilled professionals. If your current team does not have the capacity or skills to tackle the required project, consider an outsourced partner. The right partner can bring a team of highly skilled engineers together in a matter of days or weeks, allowing you to accelerate development and deliver your key projects in a timely fashion. Key talent can be added and removed from projects as needed. Selected properly, your outsourced provider will have a group of tried and tested experts with deep knowledge of the chosen tech stack and therefore can iterate and compose much faster. 2. Developer velocity Time to market is critical for the success of any project, particularly when it impacts revenue. Therefore, IT projects must be scoped, ramped, and run expeditiously in order to take advantage of market dynamics. In an in-depth study of 440 large enterprises, McKinsey identified the most critical factors that enabled organizations to achieve high developer velocity. Four key areas have the greatest impact on software development performance: tools, culture, product management and talent management. The study revealed those with higher developer velocity outperform competitors by up to five times. When selecting an outsourcer, validate what tools and project management structure they will bring to the table; validate past project success in terms of both budget and on-time delivery. Inspect project plans to ensure it includes full and rigorous testing, especially around security, full quality assurance, and performance optimization. A project outsourced to an established applications platform provider with dedicated experts, like Edgio, will include rigorous testing and rollout plans, full quality assurance, and performance optimizationensuring that your investment ultimately delivers peak efficiency for your customers and your business. 3. Knowledge sharing Great professional services teams accumulate best practices over time and will bring complementary skill sets into the business theyre partnering with. Shared knowledge helps grow the skillset of your internal team, and enables them to contribute more meaningfully to the success of your business. Your employee satisfaction can even increase from personal and professional progress felt when learning new technology, frameworks, or languages throughout major IT projects developed in partnership with external experts. This aspect cannot be overlooked, given that 91% of employees report being frustrated with inadequate workplace technology and 71% consider looking for a new employer as a consequence. Expert teams have the depth of knowledge on a breadth of tools that help save tremendous time and many headaches by creating efficient, automated workflows. Ensure that your team gets the opportunity to work directly with your outsourced development team to facilitate knowledge sharing. 4. Faster deployment cadence Companies integrating software development with IT operations are seeing increased productivity and 83% faster releases. Weve personally seen deployment cadences double through the use of Edgios integrated workflow for web application deployment. Leveraging experts who start on day one with automated deployment and testing, standardized processes, and improved development and operations communication can bring releases to market faster. Enable your team to innovate more and wait for code less. To outsource or not to outsource? Large projects can take a significant toll on an organization if they are not managed properly. To be effective and efficient, project teams need a common vision, shared team processes, and a high-performance culture. If youre asking yourself the following questions, consider hiring a team of experts: What architecture do we need to support a next-generation operating model? How can we rapidly build, scale and sustain a cutting edge customer-centric tech stack? What technologies, frameworks, or API integrations provide a high-quality experience? How do we create the most secure workflow for fast releases and updates? At first glance, outsourcing can seem an expensive option. However, I advise businesses considering software development outsourcing to think long-term. The right team will minimize costs and bring more value by delivering a better product quicker with a more robust and flexible IT architecture, and will ultimately generate significant ROI. Edgio accelerates your web development and application performance. Learn more about Edgio and our expert services. Wilkes-Barre, PA (18701) Today Rain showers early will evolve into a more steady rain overnight. Low 54F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%.. Tonight Rain showers early will evolve into a more steady rain overnight. Low 54F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. As satellites in low earth orbit multiply, the chance of satellite collision grows. The International Space Station is no exception to this risk, and it just avoided impact from another satellite by firing the thrusters on Progress 83. The ISS Moves Out of the Way At around 7:42 AM or 12:42 GMT, the ISS was boosted out of the way to avoid collision with an Earth-imaging satellite. The thrusters on the Progress 83 resupply spacecraft, which is currently docked in the ISS, were fired for more than six minutes in order to evade the potential impact. NASA's Johnson Space Center's Sandra Jones noted that the spacecraft avoided by the ISS was an Argentinian Earth-observation satellite launched in 2020. Astronomer and astrophysicist Dr. Jonathan McDowell said it could be the Nusat-17. According to Space, Nusat-17 is among the ten satellites launched by Satellogic, a geospatial data company. McDowell also mentioned that the Nusat constellation is one of many whose orbits are approaching the ISS's orbit. The astronauts in the ISS had plenty of time to perform the maneuver since NASA received the alerts for the potential collision around 30 hours ahead of time. A pre-determined avoidance maneuver (PDAM) was calculated for the avoidance. 20 minutes before the PDAM was conducted, a "green update" was received on the conjunction, which meant that the satellite will not make an impact. Still, the ground teams performed the maneuver since the thrusters were already enabled. The Space Station has already done so many times before. Back in 2022, the ISS avoided two potential collisions. Its highest is in 2014 when astronauts maneuvered the gigantic spacecraft out of the impact trajectory five times. The 2022 corrections were both to avoid debris from the Cosmos 1408 satellite. The satellite was subjected to Russia's anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons test back in November 2021, which the international community disapproved of, reports say. Read Also: NASA International Space Station: Retirement Plan Involves Crashing It Into Pacific Ocean's 'Spacecraft Cemetery' Satellite Pollution Ever since the first Sputnik satellite was launched, many others followed and launched their own devices and spacecraft into space. As this continues, the low-earth orbit is becoming more and more polluted, posing a risk to active satellites. A lot of technology for communication, navigation, weather forecasting, and more, relies on connections brought by satellites. Several agencies continue to launch satellites until now, and will likely do so for years to come. Around 23,000 man-made fragments bigger than four inches are still orbiting the planet, along with approximately 500,000 pieces between 0.4 inches and 4 inches, according to National Geographic. Despite its small size, the speed at which it travels could still prove to be a threat. Debris can go as fast as 22,300 mph. By comparison, a bullet travels 1,800 mph when fired. To further explain just how dangerous it can be, a small piece of space debris hit the ISS back in 2006, which chipped a heavily reinforced window. In 2009, the inactive Russian satellite Cosmos 2251 and the active US-based communication satellite Iridium 33, collided at approximately 22,300 mph, which resulted in the two exploding into thousands of pieces of debris. Related: Astronauts Prepare To Grow Space Tomatoes In The ISS Reminder: Anunt pentru selectarea participantilor in cadrul unui program de instruire in ceea ce priveste gandirea critica, alfabetizarea media, analiza, rezistenta la dezinformare si reflectarea informatiilor de interes public intr-un mod impartial 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 The chair of the Charity Commission has called on the charity sector to model a better kind of public discourse on migrants and refugees. Writing in a blog , Orlando Fraser said that charities that engage in political campaigning must do so in a responsible and measured fashion that does not incite inflammatory rhetoric and undermine public trust. He warned that charities which use combative terms to respond to government proposals and language, risk hardening attitudes against the causes they hold dear. Fraser also reiterated his commitment to stand up for the right of charities to lawfully campaign, even while some critics seek to question charities campaigning role in the refugee crisis. His comments come after Conservative MP Craig Mackinlay accused some charities that receive statutory funding of attacking the government with their political campaigning , saying that this was particularly true of organisations that work with refugees. Ill stand up for the right of charities to lawfully campaign Fraser said that one of the hallmarks of our free and democratic society is the space it grants individuals and organisations to speak out on behalf of those in need, a role that often falls to charities. Our charities have a long and proud history of changing hearts and minds, often leading the charge on progress and speaking uncomfortable truths to power. Over the centuries, this work by charities has made our society kinder, more cohesive, and more resilient, he wrote. So long as I am chair of the Charity Commission, I will stand up for the right of charities to lawfully campaign and indeed I have made a point of stressing this fact since taking on the role nearly a year ago. And I am still doing it now, even while some critics seek to question charities campaigning role in the refugee crisis. Charities have a responsibility to model a better kind of public discourse Fraser said that charities have a responsibility to model a better kind of public discourse as they respond to the worldwide migrant crisis. Charity leaders must remember their responsibilities and avoid inflammatory rhetoric that may undermine public trust in the sector, he wrote. Its on us as a sector to work to reduce the heated frenzy of aggressive debates on public policy. Just as it is on decision-makers to do the same. He said: So, just as the Commission is seeking to balance the need to support charities political campaigning, with the need to enforce the rules around political campaigning, so I call on campaigning charities to balance their desires to campaign strongly on an issue, with the need to do so in a responsible and measured fashion. sign up to receive the Civil Society News daily bulletin here . For more news, interviews, opinion and analysis about charities and the voluntary sector, Tucker Carlson has had a week. First came (another) drip of disclosures in the defamation lawsuit that Dominion Voting Systems, an election-tech company, has filed against Carlsons employer, Fox News; this time, there was news that Carlson had acknowledged, via text message, that he couldnt stand Donald Trump. I hate him passionately, he wrote to a colleague. Then came the sham of the security-camera video from the January 6 attack on the Capitol. Carlson, who had been handed footage for air by Kevin McCarthy, the House Speaker, attempted to buttress a conspiracy theory that the seditious assault was not an assault at all. Even top Republicans, including Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader, thought Carlson went too far in the segment. It was a mistake, McConnell said. When Senator Thom Tillis was asked about it, he replied, Bullshit. Theres a chance well eventually learn about Carlsons January 6 claims what we now know to be true about his views on Trump: That they were all a pose. That Carlsons performative outrage is based less on any conviction than about keeping the viewers, and the money, rolling into Fox. In essence, the Dominion disclosures paint the same picture: the most-watched cable news network in America was, in fact, a troll factory, churning out sludge that many people at Fox didnt believe and kept regurgitating anyway. That, arguably, is a defensible strategy if youre McDonalds, but not if you claim to be a journalistic enterprise. Its a particularly pointed quandary for Fox right now, as they seek to wrap themselves in the high ideals of the First Amendment in their fight against Dominion while evidence continues to surface that truth was never high in the value chain at the Murdoch shop. As the standard-bearer and chief moneymaker of the Fox brand, Carlson has spewed falsehoods with impunity, even as he positions himself, often with a giggle, as the only reporter brave enough to tell it like it is. Since 2016, in particular, that hypocrisy has driven some of us crazy: How can someone be so reckless in his falsehoods, while still clinging, self-righteously, to his place in the journalistic church? In a profile for CJR in 2018, Lyz Lenz referenced Carlsons past in some of the loftier precincts of DC journalism: If we can figure out how an intelligent writer and conservative can go from writing National Magazine Awardnominated articles to shouting about immigrants on Fox News perhaps we can understand what is happening to this country, or at least to journalism. In her profile, Lenz described the hall-of-mirrors, reality-distorting nature of right-wing media just as it was picking up steam. Little has changed since that piece was published, even after the deadly attack of January 6. Neither Fox, as a company, nor Murdoch, as a business owner, has shown any public sign of reckoning with the Dominion disclosures or the serious distortions of Carlsons insurrection coverage. (In a statement reported by Axios, Fox accused Dominion of running a PR campaign to smear Fox News and trample on free speech and freedom of the press.) In theory, Dominions lawsuit has the potential to seriously hurt Fox, and not only because it is claiming 1.6 billion dollars in damages. Each new disclosure about Foxfrom the cynical manipulation of its audience to the leaking of an unaired Biden campaign ad to Trumps familycould build pressure for some kind of crackdown on, or containment of, disinformation. Yet there are no obvious remedies. There is no political consensus on how to regulate a wildly mendacious, wildly popular media organization that presents itself as journalistic. Beyond the court case, the likeliest consequences, if Fox faces any, will come from advertisers who deem the brand too untrustworthy to be associated with and from the viewers who decide to finally leave. Sign up for CJR 's daily email But Carlson seems destined to go on portraying himself as a flinty truth-teller in a spineless age, even as his private texts reveal that the spinelessness is his. As Lenz wrote: This wily incongruity of Carlsonhis refusal to be pinned down, his legendary contrarianismis why his audience loves him. Hes an independent thinker, just like them. Hes not loyal to a party, just like them. He tells them to think for themselves. To trust no one. The mainstream media is lying to you, he says. Everyone, except him of course. Its like the scene in the movie The Life of Brian, where Brian tells a crowd of people, You are all individuals. We are all individuals! they yell in unison. Well not me, one man pipes up from the back. You can read Lenzs piece here. Other notable stories: ICYMI: Glitches, trolls, and declining revenue take center stage in the Twitter soap opera Kyle Pope is the editor in chief and publisher of the Columbia Journalism Review. In order to test their applications against the changes coming in this year's major mobile OS update, app developers may now download the second developer preview of Android 14 from Google. According to The Verge, Android 14 will have passkey support, media privacy permissions, and better battery life. The Preview Features Operational Improvements To Android Devices The majority of the enhancements in this most recent release were already discussed in the initial developer beta of Android 14 back in February. This involves enhancing Android devices' functionality, altering app security and privacy restrictions, and introducing a new API that permits passkey-based passwordless sign-in. The Credential Management platform API, which offers other sign-in methods in addition to the standard username-password combinations, is also tested as part of the Android 14 preview. This API has been around for a while, since the initial Android 14 preview includes support for it, but Google has since made improvements based on its initial feedback. In fact, in anticipation of the arrival of Android 14 later this year, certain services, such as password manager Dashlane, have already hinted at passkey inclusion. Additionally, by allowing consumers more discretion over how their information is shared, Android 14 will also boost privacy. Instead of enabling apps to access their entire media library, Google has revised the photo picker first introduced in Android 13 to allow Android 14 users to decide which photographs and videos on the device apps are permitted to access. The new Android photo picker will now ask users if they want to give an app access to only certain photos instead of always having to grant access to every photo and video on a given device. This is perhaps the most significant new privacy feature worth mentioning here and one that will be user-facing, Tech Crunch notes. To make sure that their apps can manage this new permission and selection procedure, Google is requesting that developers test this new behavior with their apps. Read More: Google Reveals New Android Features During MWC Barcelona 2023 - What Are They? What Else Is Optimized With The Second Android 14 Preview According to The Verge, system health and battery life have also been improved in the second Android 14 preview. With this update, Google is also bringing new memory management system enhancements to Android, which will more rapidly prevent background processes from apps that have entered a cached state. Android's memory management mechanism has been improved, which will prevent background apps from consuming excessive resources. Google will now make it simpler for users to more finely customize various Android settings, including temperature units, the start of the week, and numbering systems. In order to prepare for the introduction of Android 14 later this year, developers should now begin their compatibility testing, as noted by Google, Tech Crunch reports. The Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel 7, Pixel 6a, Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel 6, Pixel 5a 5G, Pixel 5, and Pixel 4a (5G) all have system pictures available, in addition to images for the Android Emulator. Only users of the Android 14 developer preview have access to this early preview, which means that new preview users must manually download it, while existing preview users can automatically receive an update over the air. Related Article: How To Transfer Data From an iPhone to an Android Phone NASA is taking another step towards returning to the moon. The space agency recently announced it would soon reveal the next four astronauts it would send into space for its Artemis 2 mission. NASA has been preparing what it needs following the successful conclusion of its uncrewed Artemis 1 mission in mid-December 2022. NASA Artemis 2 Mission Astronauts Reveal Details NASA Administrator Bill Nelson revealed in his "State of NASA" Address that the space agency will announce the four astronauts that will go on its Artemis 2 mission. Though Nelson didn't give the identities of the astronauts outright during his address, he mentioned that three of the astronauts would come from the US, and one would come from Canada. These four will test NASA's space launch system rocket (SLS) and Orion spacecraft's many capabilities for the Artemis Mission's first crewed mission. You may remember that the Artemis 1 mission was uncrewed to help NASA determine if its SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft could survive the rigors of the launch sequence and be in space for prolonged periods. Additionally, Nelson stated that NASA would reveal the next-generation space suits Axiom Space developed for the Artemis 3 mission on Mar. 15. These spacesuits will be the ones NASA's astronauts will wear when they set foot on the Moon's surface again for the first time since 1972, during Apollo 17, the last mission that put humanity on the moon, per Encyclopedia Britannica. Read More: Yeti Recalls Nearly 2 Million Products for Magnet Ingestion Hazard For those unaware, Artemis 3 is the follow-up mission to Artemis 2 that will put humanity back on the surface of the moon. NASA means to bring the first woman and first person of color to the moon during this mission. According to Space.com, NASA is currently targeting to launch its Artemis 2 mission, which it expects to last ten days, in Nov. 2024. NASA Artemis 2 Preparation Details Though the space agency has yet to give further details on Artemis 2, it did previously mention that its facilities are ready for it. NASA had already gathered, assessed, and eventually released after the launch of its Artemis 1 mission, showing that its SLS rocket performed exceptionally and it is ready to support its next mission. John Blevins, SLS chief engineer, mentioned that the data NASA got back from the Artemis 1 mission is critical in building confidence in the rocket to send humanity back to the moon. He added that the data NASA gathered would help improve the rocket's future flights, with them using it to streamline future missions. Should Artemis 2 be a success, NASA will proceed with Artemis 3, which NSA plans to launch in 2025 if everything goes well. However, the Artemis program doesn't stop there. Aside from bringing humanity back to the moon, NASA's Artemis program also aims to bring humanity farther than the moon and deeper into space, with Mars being one of the targets of the Artemis mission. Related Article: The ISS Avoids Collision with Satellite via Thrusters Boost Democratic lawmakers moved closer toward making Colorado a sanctuary state for abortion access on Thursday, announcing the introduction of three bills that seek to bolster abortion-right laws. If passed, the bills would shield abortion patients and providers from interstate investigations, expand insurance coverage for abortion care, and prohibit what supporters claim to be deceptive advertising from crisis pregnancy centers. Critics of the latter have labeled them anti-abortion clinics. These bills come after Colorado lawmakers enshrined abortion as a fundamental right with the Reproductive Health Equity Act last year, shortly before the Supreme Court decision overturning abortion rights was released. Among the most permissive abortion laws in the country, it prohibits state and local public entities from restricting a person's right to continue a pregnancy, have an abortion or use or refuse contraception, and declares that fertilized eggs, embryos and fetuses do not have independent rights. Sen. Julie Gonzales, who led RHEA and is one of the driving forces behind the new package of abortion bills, said the Supreme Court's decision in June and subsequent abortion bans in nearly half of U.S. states inspired her and other Democrats to take action. I spent a little bit of time being mad, then we stopped being mad and got to work, Gonzales, D-Denver, said. I dont care what other states are doing in their race to the bottom ... in Colorado, weve got your back. Gonzales sponsored the bill that seeks to protect abortion patients and providers from interstate investigations, along with Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis, Rep. Meg Froelich and Rep. Brianna Titone. The bill builds off an executive order signed by Gov. Jared Polis in July, directing state agencies to withhold records from states that may impose criminal or civil penalties on those who receive or provide abortions in Colorado. The bill would enshrine this executive order into state law, as well as prohibit the state from recognizing criminal prosecutions or civil lawsuits regarding legally-protected abortion care. In addition to abortion, the bill would also extend these protections to "gender-affirming care" received by transgender individuals. Other states have moved to ban or limit gender-affirming care, with more than 20 states considering such legislation in 2023. Gender-affirming care includes social, psychological or medical interventions, such as hormone therapy and surgical procedures. Across the country, and even right here in Colorado, our fundamental freedoms are constantly under attack from harmful transphobic rhetoric, anti-gay bills and egregious attempts to limit who we are, Titone said. In Colorado, we say, No more. The second bill targets crisis pregnancy centers, which counsel pregnant women against having an abortion and to instead choose to carry the pregnancy to term, with parenting or adoption as an alternative. The American Medical Society Journal of Ethics called the centers unethical, claiming they spread misinformation and give the impression that they offer medical services and advice, yet they are exempt from regulatory, licensure, and credentialing oversight that apply to health care facilities." A 2012 study from the National Library of Medicine claimed that 86% of the centers provide misinformation on abortion. Supporters of crisis pregnancy centers argue that they legitimately provide services, including health education, ultrasound and counseling. They also argue that to call them "fake" clinics is a smear campaign perpetuated by abortion providers, and the centers legitimately provide services, including health education, ultrasound and counseling. In Colorado, there are 51 of these crisis pregnancy centers, compared to 20 abortion clinics. Bill sponsors Sen. Faith Winter, Sen. Janice Marchman, Rep. Karen McCormick and Rep. Elisabeth Epps said the centers pretend to offer abortion care but dont, using "disinformation, intimidation and delay tactics" to prevent people from accessing abortion care. These are fake clinics that lure in vulnerable people seeking care, Marchman, D-Loveland, said. They peddle biased and inaccurate information about abortion care and contraceptives, and they take advantage of people during some of their most vulnerable moments. Simply put, they lie. And thats unacceptable. The bill would prohibit crisis pregnancy centers from using what supporters describe as deceptive advertising and would classify providing "abortion reversal treatments, which have been widely discredited by the medical community, as unprofessional conduct. Carolyn Reeves of the Alliance Defending Freedom, which litigates religious questions before the U.S. Supreme Court, wrote last year that to accuse pregnancy centers of "not offering legitimate care to women is false and self-serving, and worst of all, it misinforms women." She added: "It intentionally tells women that only one choice abortion is viable. Women deserve more than that." Finally, the third bill applies Medicaids non-emergent medical transportation service to abortion services and close gaps in insurance coverage for health care treatment regarding abortion, sterilization, sexually transmitted infections and other reproductive health issues. The bill creates a state fund that providers can bill directly for their patients reproductive health care services to protect patient privacy on shared insurance coverage. The bill is sponsored by Sen. Dominick Moreno, Sen. Lisa Cutter, Rep. Dafna Michaelson Jenet and Rep. Lorena Garcia. Republican lawmakers criticized the bill package on Thursday, with the House GOP group releasing the following statement: Colorado has the most extreme abortion laws in the country. Yet thats not enough for Democrats political agenda. Democrats are focused on more abortion legislation to make sure you have to pay for it and you don't have a choice. But with the expanded Democratic majority in both the House and Senate after the November election, Republicans are all but powerless to stop the bill package from passing. All three of the bills will be introduced in the Senate by the end of the day Thursday, sponsors said. If passed, the bills will then advance to the House. Gonzales said the bill sponsors worked very closely with Polis while developing the legislation over the past several months. We look forward to seeing this package, all of the bills in this package, being signed into law, Gonzales said. Kwon Jin-kyu, a pioneer of modern sculpture in Korea, left, and his "Self Portrait" (1968) / Courtesy of Kwon Jin Kyu Commemoration Foundation, SeMA By Park Han-sol A documentary film examining the life and works of the pioneering realist sculptor Kwon Jin-kyu (1922-73) will go into production, according to film studio Myung Films. The production house signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) this week with the Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA) and the Kwon Jin Kyu Commemoration Foundation on the filming of the movie tentatively titled, "The Story of Kwon Jin-kyu." Myung Films and the foundation are set to take charge of the production, and SeMA will cooperate by providing relevant archival materials and facilitating the shoot taking place inside the museum. In 2021, SeMA became the recipient of the late artist's sculptures, paintings and drawings totaling 141 all donated by the Kwon Jin Kyu Commemoration Foundation. The museum subsequently mounted "Kwon Jin Kyu Centennial: Angel of Atelier" last year, the largest retrospective of the artist to date, in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of his birth. More than 240 works of terracotta and lacquer sculptures, reliefs, drawings and oil paintings spanning between the 1950s and 1970s were put on view. And in the first half of this year, SeMA will establish a permanent exhibition hall dedicated to Kwon at the Nam-Seoul Museum of Art in Gwanak District. From left, Lee Eun, chief executive of the production house Myung Films, Beck?Jee-sook, director of the Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA), and Huh Kyung-hoe, chairman of the Kwon Jin Kyu Commemoration Foundation pose together after signing a memorandum of understanding on the production of a documentary movie on the late sculptor Kwon Jin-kyu at the SeMA in central Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of Myung Films 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 It confounds me why this took so long, but Microsoft is at last making it easier to paste plain text with a keyboard shortcut; support for this is now available to Microsoft 365 Insiders in the Beta Channel. Small change, big difference While in no way at the scale of Microsofts recent decision to officially permit Windows 11 on Apple Silicon Macs, the move is still significant. Sometimes the smallest improvements have huge impacts and if youve ever had to paste unformatted text in Word on a Mac or in Windows, youll be cheering this one. Any student, researcher, or knowledge worker will already have encountered the tedium when text copied from one document to the one you are working on brings all its formatting with it font, text preferences, everything. When it happens, you can hit the A/eraser button to lose that formatting in the document if you know thats what it does. However, if you don't know about that tool and decide to get your copy in shape manually, youll find you need to change font, size, text color, line spacing and everything else or youll encounter all kinds of inconsistencies in the final document. Another way to avoid this hassle is to use Control-Click as you paste and then choose Paste Special and Unformatted Text in the contextual menu once it appears. It's not especially fluid For most users, the need to take these steps just doesnt feel at all smooth or fluid; in fact, it kind of gets in the way. You just want to paste text format-free without much additional thought. Soon all youll need to remember when copying and pasting text into a document will be to use Command-Shift-V (Mac), or Control-Shift-V (Windows) to do so without formatting. You can already use the same sequence to paste format free in Teams or Word on the web. If Clippy invented copy & paste Once upon a time Microsoft infested Word with a not especially helpful assistant called Clippy. That little mascot soon developed a reputation for getting in the way of productivity. Clippy isnt there anymore, but it has taken Microsoft several more years to see the light when it comes to copy and paste. Why did it take so long? In a blog, Microsoft explained: Word has been a product since 1983 (Word turns 40 this year!). This long-standing legacy creates a precedent for established user expectations. While the engineering team continues to work on new features for improved user experiences with refreshed and more advanced technology, we dont always have the opportunity to revise pre-existing behavior. The explanation continues to stress that in the case of keyboard shortcuts, the industry standard has diverged from Words initial implementation of these features. Some might say this seems to be another way of saying that despite Words huge marketshare, Microsoft was unable to make the world work in its image, though that kind of argument has big (and these days unnecessary) shades of 1988 to it. In any case, Microsoft has at last taken steps to solve this problem. I assume it will generate small flickers of applause (or at least a couple of satisfied sighs) at computers across the planet once people learn of this change. Im mildly pleased myself. Its almost as good as Undo Send in Outlook on Macs, or the recent move to make Outlook for Mac free. There are other changes coming There are other shortcut changes coming. Paste Text Only Windows: Ctrl-Shift-V Mac: Cmd-Shift-V Copy Format Painter Windows: Ctrl-Alt-C Mac: Cmd-Option-C Paste Format Painter Windows: Ctrl-Alt-V Mac: Cmd-Option-V Paste Special Windows: Alt-H-V-S Mac: None (?!) Copyright Symbol Windows: ( -C- ) or Insert>Symbol- Mac: ( + C + ) or Insert > Symbol > Microsoft says you can restore these shortcuts to their original settings. These changes are only available to Insiders running Word for Mac version 16.67.1113.0 or later. On Windows, you need to be running version 16.0.15831.20174 or later. I expect it to be tested for a while before it becomes a universal setting. But, for me at least, the removal of this tiny point of friction is another illustration that frustrating user interfaces for frequently done tasks can have a big negative consequence on productivity. As Ive said before, theres no excuse for poor software design; this improvement should have appeared decades ago. Please follow me on Mastodon, or join me in the AppleHolics bar & grill and Apple Discussions groups on MeWe. 11th China Acrobatic Exhibition to open in Shandong Xinhua) 09:48, March 10, 2023 BEIJING, March 9 (Xinhua) -- The 11th China Acrobatic Exhibition will be held from March 16 to 29 in east China's Shandong Province, according to a press conference held on Thursday by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. This year's event will feature a series of acrobatic and magic shows, with aerial acrobatics, balancing skills and flexibility stunts on display, as well as acrobatic dramas with themes such as industrial construction, revolutionary sagas and neo-classical stories. During the event, approximately 30 performances will open in six theatres in Shandong, according to the press conference. Showcasing the intricate, thrilling and entertaining elements of acrobatics, this year's entries will build on past legacies and cater to the aesthetic tastes of contemporary audiences, the conference said. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan) This March 10 photo, released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency, shows the Korean People's Army's Hwasong artillery unit conducting a "fire assault drill" in the North's western port city of Nampho the previous day. Yonhap North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspected a "fire assault drill" of an artillery unit as he urged the military to bolster simulated drills for an "actual war," Pyongyang's state media said Friday, with South Korea and the United States set to kick off their springtime joint military exercise next week. Photos released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) also showed Kim's daughter Ju-ae attending the "field guidance." Kim "gave field guidance to" the "Hwasong artillery unit charged with important operational task of the Korean People's Army on the western front on March 9 and watched a fire assault drill," the KCNA said in an English-language report. "He stressed the need to always stay alert for all sorts of more frantic war preparation moves being committed by the enemy recently and maintain and steadily train the powerful capability to overwhelmingly respond to and contain them all the time so as to thoroughly deter the danger of a military clash on the Korean Peninsula," it added. Kim emphasized that the fire assault subunits should be "strictly prepared for the greatest perfection" in carrying out two strategic missions: deterring war and taking the initiative in war "by steadily intensifying various simulated drills for real war in a diverse way in different situations." This Feb. 15 photo shows North Korean residents gathering at a cultural hall in the North Korean town of Kaepung on the western front-line border with South Korea. Yonhap In an annual Freedom House report titled "Freedom in the World 2023," the North received a combined freedom score of 3 out of 100 zero points for political rights and 3 points for civil liberties. It ranked only above Turkmenistan at 2 points, and South Sudan and Syria with just 1 point each among 210 countries assessed by the organization. South Korea scored 83 points in the index the same as the United States and was categorized as a "free" country. The North has consistently been ranked in the group of the worst nations for freedom since Freedom House published its first annual report in 1972. (Yonhap) President Biden released his FY 2024 budget proposal that seeks a bigger budget for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and greater cyber investigative capabilities for the FBI. The budget also calls for increasing the federal government's IT modernization efforts, exploring cybersecurity efforts surrounding gender-based cybercrimes, expanding efforts to counter China's problematic behaviors, and helping Ukraine better defend itself on the digital front. "The Budget continues to invest in cybersecurity programs recognizing that cybersecurity is essential to the basic functioning of our economy, the operation of our critical infrastructure, the strength of our democracy and democratic institutions, the privacy of our data and communications, and our national security," a White House factsheet accompanying the budget states. "The recently signed National Cybersecurity Strategy details a comprehensive approach to better secure cyberspace and ensure the United States is in the strongest possible position to seize all the benefits and potential of our digital future." Passing the budget in its current form, with a Republican-controlled House already declaring it dead on arrival, appears highly unlikely. However, cybersecurity provisions in spending legislation usually receive bipartisan support and stand a better chance of surviving the battle ahead than the debt ceiling and social issues that rankle the House leadership. Key cybersecurity budget provisions The following are the major cybersecurity-related provisions outlined in the budget: CISA funding to top $3 billion for the first time: The White House says it is sticking to its commitment to making cyberspace more resilient and flexible by boosting the budget of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) by $145 million to reach $3.1 billion for the year. This level of funding represents the first time the nascent agency, created in November 2018, has topped the $3 billion mark. CISA's proposed budget includes $98 million to implement the Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act of 2021 and $425 million to improve CISA's internal cybersecurity and analytical capabilities as part of its new Cyber Analytics Data System. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says this system "is a robust and scalable analytic environment capable of providing advanced analytic capabilities to CISA's cyber operators." Energy department gains $245 million for enhanced clean energy security and energy supply chain security: Biden's budget provides $245 million to enhance the security of clean energy technologies and the energy supply chain. The budget also includes increased assistance to states, local governments, tribes, and territories for emergency planning and preparation, including for events caused by the impacts of climate change. Treasury gains $115 million for enterprise security: Under the proposed budget, the Treasury Department is allocated $215 million to protect and defend sensitive agency systems and information, including those designated as high-value assets. This level represents an increase of $115 million, or 51% above the 2023 enacted level. In addition, the budget increases centralized funding to strengthen Treasury's overall cybersecurity efforts and continue the implementation of a zero-trust architecture to protect Treasury systems from future attacks. DOJ gets an additional $63 million to pursue cyber threats: The budget seeks to expand investments in the Justice Department's investigative capabilities to pursue cyber threats, including $63 million for more agents, enhanced response capabilities, and strengthened intelligence collection and analysis capabilities. The administration states in the budget that "these investments are in line with the National Cybersecurity Strategy that emphasizes a whole-of-nation approach to addressing the ongoing cyber threat." Technology Modernization Fund gains $200 million: To support IT modernization efforts, the budget includes an additional $200 million for the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF), authorized by the Modernizing Government Technology Act of 2017. The budget says that "TMF is particularly well-positioned to make a large impact in the Federal Government's ability to deliver excellent, equitable, and secure services and customer experience by identifying opportunities to leverage technology across agencies and investing in IT modernization, cybersecurity, and user-facing services." Nearly $400 million to strengthen global cyber and digital development: The budget requests more than $395 million to advance global cyber and digital development initiatives, including the State Department's Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy, USAID's Digital Strategy, The Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) digital connectivity efforts, and regional initiatives such as Digital Transformation with Africa. The budget also says that the administration plans to increase DOD's security cooperation funding for the Indo-Pacific region, focused on building capacity across various areas to include domain awareness, logistics, cybersecurity, and command and control. Funds to address gender-based cybercrimes: As part of its $1 billion proposal to end gender-based violence, the budget provides $14 million to address technological abuse through funding new Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA) programs to address cybercrimes against individuals. New funds to counter China and help Ukraine: The budget includes $400 million in discretionary funding to counter specific problematic PRC behaviors globally through the Countering PRC Influence Fund to assert US leadership in competition with China. In addition, the budget requests $753 million for Ukraine to continue countering malign Russian influence and to meet emerging needs related to security, energy, cybersecurity, disinformation, macroeconomic stabilization, and civil society resilience. What's next for US cybersecurity funding? Once Biden delivers his official budget to Congress, agencies will submit funding justifications to the relevant appropriations committees and subcommittees. These submissions will kick off a round of congressional oversight actions related to the budget process. It is also up to the House of Representatives to counter with their funding proposals. This year promises to be brutal due to the elevated sense of partisan rancor. In announcing the budget during a speech in Pennsylvania, Biden summed up the next step. Referring to a conversation with the Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy (R-PA), Biden said he told McCarthy, "I'm going to introduce my budget on the 9th of March. You introduce yours. And we'll sit down, and we'll go line by line. And we'll go through it. We'll see what we can agree on and what we disagree on, and then fight it out in the Congress." Korean Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun speaks to reporters after arriving at Dulles International Airport on the outskirts of Washington, D.C., March 8. Yonhap Korea and the United States will continue to consult closely over Seoul's concerns regarding the U.S. Chips and Science Act, Seoul's trade minister said Thursday. The U.S. has also agreed to closely work with South Korean chipmakers in implementing the chips act, according to Ahn Duk-geun. "The U.S. emphasized that Korea is one of the most important partners when it comes to cooperation on semiconductors, and said it will closely consult with the government and businesses of South Korea in the process of implementing subsidies under the chips act," the trade minister told reporters. Ahn arrived here Wednesday for talks on what he called Korea's "concerns" over the act that offers up to $52.7 billion in subsidies to chipmakers, but in exchange for what many consider business secrets. The U.S. announced details of subsidies under the chips act last week in what is known as the Notice of Funding Opportunity or NOFO. The Korean minister earlier noted the U.S. demand for "too much information" from Korean chipmakers has created "concerns." "We actively asked the U.S. side that the NOFO be implemented in a way that will not lead to increased uncertainties for businesses, intervention in business management or increased cost of investment in the U.S.," Ahn told reporters. "In addition, our government emphasized that increased uncertainty due to the NOFO is not desirable for our companies' investment in the U.S. or cooperation between South Korea, Japan and the U.S. on semiconductor supply chain," he added. Seoul has also asked the U.S. to make sure the chips act will not undermine business operations of Korean chipmakers in China, Ahn said. The chips act bars chipmakers that receive U.S. subsidies from making new investments in China for a decade. Alan Estevez, under secretary of commerce for industry and security, has also said Korean firms entitled to U.S. subsidies Samsung Electronics and SK hynix will likely have limits on the level of advanced semiconductors they can produce in China. (Yonhap) This photo provided by the National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo's office shows Kim Jin-pyo, center, speaking during the eighth MIKTA Speakers' Consultation in Turkey, March 9 local time. Yonhap National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo discussed issues ranging from North Korea's missile threats to climate change in a meeting in Turkey of the assembly speakers from five middle-power nations. The parliamentary leaders from the MIKTA grouping Korea, Mexico, Indonesia, Turkey and Australia agreed that the war in Ukraine and Pyongyang's missile and nuclear provocations pose threats to global security and stressed the need to strengthen the multilateral system to counter these issues. The meeting in Istanbul marked the eighth consultation session of MIKTA parliamentary leaders. Kim, who is on a three-nation trip that will also take him to Italy and Israel, also held talks with his Turkish counterpart, Mustafa Sentop, on the sidelines of the meeting, and discussed ways to support restoration efforts in the quake-hit country. Kim suggested building a container factory in Turkey to supply temporary homes for earthquake survivors. Sentop welcomed the idea and thanked Seoul for its help and solidarity in the aftermath of the disaster. (Yonhap) First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong speaks during a press conference at the Seoul Foreign Correspondents' Club inside the Press Center in central Seoul, Friday. Yonhap By Jung Min-ho A summit between President Yoon Suk Yeol and his Japanese counterpart, Fumio Kishida, in Tokyo next week will open a new chapter in the two countries' bilateral relationship, First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong said, Friday. Speaking to foreign media journalists in Seoul, Cho called Japan a partner country that shares universal values, saying South Korea's partnership with "the closest neighbor" in the region is more important today than ever before amid geopolitical uncertainties such as North Korea's military threats. His remarks come four days after the Yoon administration announced its solution to the wartime forced labor of Japan's colonial era issue by compensating victims through a fund raised by South Korea's public foundation, rather than seeking payment from Japan. The proposal is widely considered a major concession by Seoul, which gave up its previous stance demanding direct compensation from Japanese companies and an apology following the South Korean Supreme Court's ruling on the case in 2018. "Next week (March 16), there will be a historic exchange between South Korea and Japan," Cho said. "Yoon and his wife's visit to Japan will be meaningful as it is expected to open the window of opportunity for the two countries to take steps into the future after overcoming conflict and hostility We will step up our efforts to continue to build this momentum of improving relations in order to expand it to the economy, security, culture and other areas." The proposal has been welcomed by Tokyo and Washington among other governments. U.S. President Joe Biden said it is a "critical step to forge a future for the Korean and Japanese people that is safer, more secure and more prosperous." Yet victims of wartime slave labor and their families have refused to accept it, with liberal politicians calling it a "humiliating" concession. Apparently aware of the divided voices, Cho said the government would continue to listen to the victims and critics as the officials implement each step of the process. "We have been trying to explain it to the victims and each member of their families since we announced the plan," he said. "Given that the Japanese government said it had no objection to Japanese companies' voluntary contribution, we look forward to seeing the participation of business people in both countries." How dispiriting that Boris Johnson saw fit to recommend his father Stanley for a knighthood. It just makes a mockery of everything: politics, the honours system, all of us. This comes two years after Boris, then Prime Minister, nominated his brother Jo for a peerage as part of the 2019 Dissolution Honours Jo is now Baron Johnson of Marylebone. This week Rachel Johnson as yet un-ennobled, but watch this space says her dad has 'done more than anyone to deserve an honour'. What cobblers. I can tell you right now that my father has done more than her father to deserve an honour, and I suspect that your father probably did, too. What a terrible shower the Johnsons are, constantly grooming and petting and ennobling each other in public like a flurry of yellow-pelted yetis, richly convinced of their own superiority. Pictured left to right; Stanley Johnson, Rachel Johnson, Boris Johnson and Jo Johnson: This comes two years after Boris, then Prime Minister, nominated his brother Jo for a peerage as part of the 2019 Dissolution Honours If they had any decency they would skip the titles and concentrate on selfless service instead, but they don't and they can't, so they won't. Jamie rocks her jimjams Jamie Lee Curtis wants rock acts such as Coldplay and Bruce Springsteen to consider matinee concerts instead of trying to prove it all night, prove it all night, prove it all night for your love. 'I want to be home and in bed by 7.30pm,' says Jamie, who has 64 years on the clock and is clearly feeling every single one of them. But I am with her! Matinee rock shows? What bliss. Yes Bruce, we're still Racing In The Street but only to get home and put our jimjams on. Staggering how the actor Hugh Jackman bulks up to play the mutant Wolverine. Hugh's daily 8,000 calorie food plan involves a dish of black bass (2,000 calories), a salmon dish (2,100 calories), two chicken burgers (around 1,000 calories each) and two grass-fed sirloin steaks (1,100 calories each.) Many women find hairy old Wolverine oddly attractive, but dinner with him sounds a drag. You'd be stuck there for hours. Sweet pud, sour taste Can the River Cafe survive the revelation that its Chocolate Nemesis is Prince Andrew's favourite dessert? The Duchess of York let slip the secret during an interview to promote her latest book, A Most Intriguing Lady. The chocolate mousse cake is a popular choice at the famous restaurant, but can fans ever look one in the eye again? Can a single slice survive the distasteful association? Not sure if I can ever regard it with quite the same fondness as before. The Duchess of York let slip the secret that Prince Andrew's favourite dessert is the Chocolate Nemesis from the River Cafe Meanwhile, when asked what was the best piece of advice Queen Elizabeth ever gave, Fergie put down her own slice of nemesis and replied: 'Be yourself, Sarah. All anyone wants is for you to just be yourself.' Got to love the Queen! It's exactly what you'd say to a corgi with ideas above its station. Elsewhere the Duchess rambles on about how close she was to the Queen, which is all rather tasteless and self-serving. Just like Prince Harry reminding the American public of his deep connection to, er, his own mother. And constantly invoking Diana's memory and golden legacy to boost his appeal and market value in the U.S. Using dead royals to flog dead horses? It is most unedifying for all involved and leaves a sour taste. Congrats to Mae Muller, who will be representing the UK in this year's Eurovision Song Contest. London-born Mae looks like a pop star, she sounds like a pop star and she even wrote her own entry, conveniently titled I Wrote A Song. It's exactly the kind of Europop banger that usually finds favour with Eurovision judges, so can we possibly be in with a chance this year? Congrats to Mae Muller, who will be representing the UK in this year's Eurovision Song Contest If Mae wins, it will be the first UK victory since Katrina And The Waves triumphed in 1997 the year she was born. Mae is a little bit Amy, a little bit Dua Lipa and a lot like Lily Allen. She's 25 years old and barely out of the celebrity traps, but has already been talking about her 'battles' with anxiety and imposter syndrome. Sometimes one despairs of today's young women, so determined to be seen as victims rather then victors of their own lives. But still, fingers crossed. Stop burbling on about your bubbly, Cara Cara Delevingne was born lucky: she had beauty, money and family connections, including Dame Joan Collins for a godmother. Yet it all counted for nothing when she was photographed staggering barefoot around an airport last year, clearly out of her tree on unknown substances and/or alcohol. Cara Delevingne was born lucky: she had beauty, money and family connections, including Dame Joan Collins for a godmother Mere months later, here she is, as chirpy as any penitent, talking of being cured and telling cute stories to glossy magazines about having her first hangover when she was a seven-year-old bridesmaid. It's too much, too soon. And if Cara is really serious about sobriety, she should stop advertising the family brand of Prosecco 22 a bottle and full of fizz, just like her. 'Laughter and memories were so often made over cold glasses of Prosecco,' burbles the online ad, picturing Cara along with siblings Poppy and Chloe. Not any more, sister. Could King Charles use his Coronation to ease prison overcrowding? Royal clemency was traditionally exercised by incoming monarchs, reducing jail sentences by between seven and 90 days. George V was the last to exercise this in 1911. Before the 1953 Coronation there was a move to reintroduce it, but home secretary David Maxwell Fyfe told the Cabinet: 'It would be inappropriate to choose the time of the Coronation to release prematurely a number of thieves and other criminals', saying it 'led to few expressions of gratitude from those who benefited from it, and grumbling from those who did not'. Beleaguered with prison overcrowding, might Home Secretary Suella Braverman recommend its reinstatement? Could King Charles (pictured) use his Coronation to ease prison overcrowding? Royal clemency was traditionally exercised by incoming monarchs, reducing jail sentences by between seven and 90 days. George V was the last to exercise this in 1911 Harry and Meghan could go one step further and prefix Princess Lilibet with the title HRH. Although they are asked not to use the title themselves, there is no reason why their children shouldn't. Prince Andrew is forbidden from styling himself HRH, but his daughters retain the honour. The only York formally reduced from HRH rank is Sarah Ferguson. In 1996 the Queen issued letters patent removing the title from women who divorce their princes. The men retain their titles. Matt Hancock, fearful that his CCTV grope with lover Gina Coladangelo contravened government social distancing rules, considered claiming an exemption under an obscure provision. This prompts Charles Moore to wonder if Private Eye's euphemism for illicit sexual activity 'discussing Ugandan affairs' might be replaced with 'providing voluntary and charitable services'. Matt Hancock (right), fearful that his CCTV grope with lover Gina Coladangelo (left) contravened government social distancing rules, considered claiming an exemption under an obscure provision Yes Minister co-creator Jonathan Lynn admits that he and co-writer Antony Jay had run out of ideas for fictitious Cabinet minister Jim Hacker (played by Paul Eddington), subsequently promoting Jim to PM to write about defence and foreign policy, adding: 'The late Bernard Ingham was right not to mention his role in the evolution of Yes Minister to Yes, Prime Minister, because he had none.' Complaining that extended copyright laws allow lucrative artists' work to reach undeserving hands, Graham Chainey cites the case of Bolero composer Maurice Ravel, who remains in US copyright until 2032. He writes in the TLS: 'He certainly did not intend to make his brother's wife's masseuse's husband's second wife's daughter a multimillionaire.' Try repeating after a visit to the attitude adjustment centre! When George Osborne first met Matt Hancock he was looking for a 'hard-working exuberant aide who could help him as shadow chancellor'. 'You could be the next Ed Balls,' he told him. 'When I tell the story now to Matt and Ed, they're both offended by the comparison,' he says, adding: 'I guess these reality TV stars are difficult to handle.' A spectre haunts the White House these days and it's not the prospect of President Putin eventually winning in Ukraine. While the outlines of Ukrainian victory are as yet unclear, in Washington DC nobody takes seriously the possibility of its defeat. A far bigger nightmare has emerged on the other side of the world: the increasing likelihood that China will invade Taiwan, perhaps sooner rather than later. This is by far the single biggest geopolitical threat now on America's foreign policy agenda and the Biden administration is consumed with creating strategies to combat it. And Britain will have a key supporting role in that endeavour, of which more later. The big question is not so much 'if' China will invade as 'when'. China's dictator-for-life President Xi has tasked his People's Liberation Army with developing the capacity to invade Taiwan by 2027. China's President Xi Jinping applauds during the opening session of the National People's Congress as he is reconfirmed as leader of the CCP Boris Johnson claimed to me in London last week that the Aukus deal could not have happened if the UK had still been enmeshed in the EU's common foreign and defence policy ambit U.S. military intelligence and the CIA have also pencilled in that year for a likely attack. But some think it could be sooner. 'My gut tells me we will fight in 2025,' says General Mike Minihan, head of America's air mobility command. Some in the White House concur. There's even a fear among senior Biden folk that China could move as early as January 2025, just when the U.S. could be in the messy throes of changing administrations after the November 2024 presidential election. If that change meant the return of Donald Trump (unlikely, but not impossible) the scope for Chinese mischief amid political chaos in Washington would be massive and perhaps irresistible to Xi. Belatedly, and now somewhat frantically, America is rallying its allies, mainly in the Pacific but also including Britain, to create a united front against Chinese aggression. China's dictator-for-life President Xi has tasked his People's Liberation Army with developing the capacity to invade Taiwan by 2027 A Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft flies over a 68-nautical-mile scenic spot, one of mainland China's closest points to the island of Taiwan The fear is that Beijing will move while this alliance-building is still in its infancy. That would leave America pretty much on its own to come to Taiwan's aid. Xi knows that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan cannot fail or he'll be finished. So he has mandated the creation of a massive military operation involving up to one million men and the biggest amphibious invasion force since the Allied D-Day landings on Nazi-occupied Normandy in the summer of 1944, in an enterprise the Americans once derided as the 'million-man swim'. Taiwan, in contrast, is a small island of only 23 million people and its admittedly well-equipped armed forces are only 163,000 strong (though it can also mobilise 2.3 million reservists). Taiwan would fight. It would not be a pushover. Though it has no formal military pact with the U.S. and hosts no American bases, it has every reason to expect Washington to come to its assistance. If it didn't, the U.S.'s power and influence in the East Pacific would be a busted flush and Chinese hegemony in the region would be established. Exactly how America would respond remains uncertain, even to some senior people in the Pentagon. But it would be war on a terrifying scale involving the latest 21st-century technology. ANDREW NEIL: The relationship between America and Australia has never been better and Britain (so close to both countries) has been a vital catalyst in making it so A Chinese amphibious invasion force would have to cross the 100-mile Taiwan Strait which separates Taiwan from the Chinese mainland, and the U.S. has already developed plans to drop thousands of autonomous mines onto the seabed of the Strait, controlled by artificial intelligence and programmed to activate as any invasion fleet approached and sink it. U.S. naval firepower would also pummel Chinese ships from a distance. All that would delay and hinder, but not necessarily thwart a Chinese invasion. And there's another even bigger concern. U.S. intelligence believes that, so vital is a quick victory to Xi that, should Chinese forces still be struggling a couple of weeks into any conflict, he could resort to nuclear weapons. The consequences of that would be incalculable, but one thing is clear: it would destroy China's global standing forever, whatever the outcome of any invasion. Beijing claims Taiwan has always been part of China, which is why it needs to return to the motherland. Nuking it to achieve that would be a bizarre way to re-establish Chinese sovereignty. The whole world not just America and its allies has an overwhelming interest in Beijing not invading Taiwan. It would hurl the global economy not into a recession, but a prolonged depression with mass unemployment and social unrest in many major economies. Taiwanese manufacturers make 90 per cent of the world's sophisticated microchips, for example. The global economy simply cannot function without them. But Taiwan would rather destroy that industry than let it fall into China's hands. The U.S. is currently trying to deter China from invading by quietly emphasising its commitment to Taiwan and its willingness to fight while continuing with its long-term alliance building. Wang Huning, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, attends a deliberation with deputies from the Taiwan delegation A key stage in that process will be a meeting on Monday in San Diego, southern California, between President Biden, our very own Rishi Sunak and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. This will flesh out the Aukus (short for Australia, UK and U.S.) agreement to equip Australia with the latest nuclear-powered submarines as part of its defence build-up to counter Chinese expansionism. The relationship between America and Australia has never been better and Britain (so close to both countries) has been a vital catalyst in making it so. This is a role that is bringing Britain huge advantages. It had been thought that Australia would take only America's Virginia-class nuclear subs. But, as will be confirmed in San Diego, that will only be for starters, to equip the Australian navy with new capabilities as quickly as possible. But coming on stream in the next decade will be a new class of nuclear-powered submarine jointly developed by the UK and Australia which will replace Britain's existing highly-sophisticated Astute-class submarines. All new American, British and Australian subs will use a common combat system and crews from all three nations will train and serve on each other's subs an unprecedented example of tripartite technology, logistics and intelligence-sharing and a remarkable indicator of the trust between the three nations. It's also Christmas-come-early for Barrow-in-Furness, home of Britain's world-class sub-building capabilities, since Aukus involves tens of billions of new investment. Levelling up in action at last. On a broader horizon, it also leaves Britain the only European power to be a significant player in the Pacific region, with assets and alliances that matter. This has been welcomed not just by America and Australia but also by Japan. Anglo-Japanese relations have never been warmer, the desire for military and diplomatic cooperation never greater. Japanese pacifism, written into its constitution over 75 years ago, after the horrors of World War II, is effectively dead. Alarmed by Chinese militarism, it is now rapidly building up its own armed forces. Defence spending will be up 26 per cent this year on last with much more to come. Like the Australian Air Force, Japan is upgrading its military with the purchase of F-35s, the world's most sophisticated fighter developed by America but with significant British input. Our two new aircraft carriers are designed to carry F-35s. Senior Japanese officials have said to me they hope their F-35s will soon be flying off our carriers in concert with our F-35s. A new world indeed. And it represents an important breakthrough for post-Brexit Britain. I've written before on these pages about how hard it's been to discern much upside from Brexit. Boris Johnson claimed to me in London last week that the Aukus deal could not have happened if the UK had still been enmeshed in the EU's common foreign and defence policy ambit. I was sceptical. But here in America, U.S. intelligence and foreign policy officials confirmed his claim. Indeed, they went further. They said that U.S.-UK intelligence and security cooperation, always close, had become even closer since Brexit. They liked the way they could deal with a Britain that didn't have to look over its shoulder for an EU response or permission to proceed. They were lavish in their praise for the way Britain had unilaterally extended its world-class cyber warfare capabilities (both defensive and offensive) to all of Eastern and Central Europe from the moment Russia invaded Ukraine (something not widely known). They admired how London, again unilaterally, had extended Britain's nuclear umbrella to Sweden and Finland until both can enjoy full Article 5 NATO protection to deter Russia from bullying them in the interim. 'The Washington foreign policy and security establishment was pretty solidly against Brexit,' one U.S. intelligence source said to me, 'but we rather like this more free-wheeling, independent Britain when it comes to intelligence and security matters. You're embedded in much of what we do like never before and like nobody else. No other ally comes close.' Perhaps, I thought to myself, this Global Britain business is more than just an empty slogan after all. The leaking of more than 100,000 texts amounting to some 2.3 million words has been an historic event which illuminates the way we are governed, and which challenges conventional wisdom about our rulers. For many people maintain that it is civil servants, not politicians, who really run this country. They say Whitehall makes most of the key decisions, which ministers effectively rubber stamp. According to this view of things, panjandrums of whichever party is in power are little more than PR representatives, selling policies which have been prepared for them by officials who understand the issues so much better. No doubt in smaller matters civil servants do often make the running. But at times of national crisis it is politicians who make the difference. Many people, me included, have tended to regard him as a lightweight. We remember him as a participant in last Novembers Im A Celebrity . . . Get Me Out Of Here He dominated policy making, and was prepared to ignore official advice and push his own agenda even when it conflicted with Cabinet colleagues Look at Margaret Thatcher, almost alone at one point in her unflinching determination to win back the Falklands after the Argentinian invasion in 1982. So it was during the pandemic. There were, of course, plenty of civil servants who came up with ideas and offered advice. We all remember chief medical officer Sir Chris Whitty and chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance aka Gloomster and Doomster, or was it the other way around? These and other officials emerge from the multitude of WhatsApp messages leaked to The Daily Telegraph as happily acquiescing in the Governments authoritarian approach, even when they doubt whether particular draconian policies are necessary. But they dont generally call the shots. There was one politician who did. He dominated policy making, and was prepared to ignore official advice and push his own agenda even when it conflicted with Cabinet colleagues. Someone who made life or death decisions, often off his own bat. You may think Im referring to the then Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, who fronted innumerable Covid press conferences in an authoritative way, and spoke to the nation in sombre tones on television. Granted, he played an important role. But the person who championed and largely orchestrated lockdown wanting schools to be closed when others didnt, and sometimes disregarding the advice of officials is someone else entirely. I mean Matt Hancock. Many people, me included, have tended to regard him as a lightweight. We remember him as a participant in last Novembers Im A Celebrity . . . Get Me Out Of Here, when he comparatively cheerily ate a cows anus. Some thought him a twit. Others admired his chutzpah. Either way, it was impossible to credit that this joker had been the Governments most dominant figure throughout much of the pandemic. We may also think of Matt Hancock as a rather absurd hypocrite. In June 2021, he was forced to resign as Health Secretary having been exposed by The Sun newspaper in a clinch with his ministerial aide, Gina Coladangelo thereby breaking the social distancing rules he had shoved down our throats. Even during the pandemic, when he was behind the scenes wielding power and making decisions that affected the lives of millions, Matt Hancock often came across as a curiously insubstantial as well as a slightly irritating figure. Yet the man illuminated by these WhatsApp messages is very far indeed from being trivial or insignificant. He is serious, focused, autocratic and determined. He is also very good at hating his enemies, who are usually in his own party or the Cabinet. Many of the exchanges between the Health Secretary and his advisers are shocking. I am amazed they havent led to more coverage on the BBC and in pro-lockdown newspapers such as the Guardian. Is it because these media outlets are ashamed to have embraced the policies of a politician who now appears so flawed? Perhaps the most disturbing of many mind-boggling revelations among the WhatsApp messages concerns Mr Hancocks decision in April 2020 to reject Sir Chris Whittys advice that there should be testing for all going into care homes. The Health Secretary believed that Sir Chriss counsel muddied the waters and decided to introduce mandatory testing only for those arriving in care homes directly from hospitals. Between April 17 and August 13, 2020, a total of 17,678 people died of Covid in care homes. How many of these would have lived if testing had been done on everyone entering them? He was forced to resign as Health Secretary having been exposed by The Sun newspaper in a clinch with his ministerial aide, Gina Coladangelo In one WhatsApp message Mr Hancock seemingly feared that expanding testing in care homes might get in the way of his self-imposed target of 100,000 Covid tests per day In one WhatsApp message Mr Hancock seemingly feared that expanding testing in care homes might get in the way of his self-imposed target of 100,000 Covid tests per day by the end of April 2020. So eager was he to meet this target that, just before midnight on April 30, a truck loaded with more than 26,000 testing kits left its depot, enabling the devious Health Secretary to include them in his tally. He was also aware that 80 per cent of the at-home tests which he had counted to meet his target were not being returned. Mr Hancock has maintained, via a spokesman, that he was told in separate meetings that testing everybody going into care homes was not practicable. The allegation that he unilaterally made a decision is flat wrong, it is claimed, and based on doctored messages spun to fit an anti-lockdown agenda. Fair-minded people will decide for themselves. It is undoubtedly true that WhatsApp messages are selective inasmuch as they dont supply a comprehensive account of other meetings and discussions. They also favour instant rather than considered judgments. But there is absolutely nothing to suggest that The Daily Telegraph has doctored the evidence. Nor should we forget the febrile nature of those times, when hard-pressed ministers were grappling with unprecedented problems thrown up by a new virus about which little was known. The care homes episode, though injurious to Mr Hancock, does not depict him in his characteristically authoritarian guise. In December 2020 he fought a rear-guard action to close down schools, although Education Secretary Sir Gavin Williamson wanted to keep them open. They were shut for two months in January 2021. Masks had been introduced in schools in August 2020, with the support of Mr Hancock, even though Sir Chris Whitty had declared that there were no very strong reasons for doing so. But ministers didnt want to be out of step with Nicola Sturgeon, who had imposed masks in schools north of the border. Not that Sir Chris appears to have complained about this or other policies he believed unnecessary. He emerges as less doctrinaire than one had suspected, and also more compliant. No wonder Mr Hancock writes at one stage: I love Chris Whitty. Its scandalous that schools were closed against the advice of the Education Secretary, and masks adopted in them for no compelling reason. Thinking of the psychological damage needlessly done to tens of thousands of children, one could weep. In despotic mood on another occasion in December 2020, Matt Hancock wrote that he wanted to deploy the new omicron variant to frighten the pants off the public. The country went into lockdown the following month. These disgraceful scare tactics were shared with the strikingly partisan Simon Case Downing Street Permanent Secretary, and subsequently head of the civil service with whom Mr Hancock found common cause in advocating tougher measures. In that same month Mr Case wrote that the fear/guilt factor was vital in ramping up the messaging. The two men had conspired in August 2020 to get heavy with the police (Mr Hancocks words) so that plod would crack down on the general public for Covid infringements. Under our constitutional arrangement the police are supposed to be operationally independent. Reading these dismaying passages and others like them, one has to pinch oneself in disbelief. If you had told me five years ago that a senior minister of the Crown and a Tory to boot would push through such thoroughly illiberal recommendations, I doubt I would have believed you. There were others, of course, on the fringes of these WhatsApp exchanges (exposed by Isabel Oakeshott, pictured) who were equally hard-line Examining these WhatsApp exchanges, I often yearned for Margaret Thatcher. She would have decided what she believed, and then stuck to her guns We think we live in a democracy in which there are checks and balances, a free Press, and an independent opposition. We pride ourselves that Britain is a land of liberty, and a balanced, fair-minded sort of country. Yet, in the midst of a crisis, liberty can evidently be undermined by one determined minister able to harness the power of the State, while in charge of the vast apparatus of the NHS. A people which believes itself to be free is suddenly suborned, manipulated, made frightened, and lied to. What is particularly shaming is the manner in which much of the media I am thinking above all of the all-powerful BBC uncritically amplified the Governments Project Fear, of which Matt Hancock was the leading exponent. There were others, of course, on the fringes of these WhatsApp exchanges who were equally hard-line. For example, Michael Gove (one of several objects of Matt Hancocks venom) forgot his libertarian principles in supporting draconian measures, while Dominic Cummings, who flouted Covid rules, was an ardent proponent of them. And Boris Johnson? He comes across in the WhatsApp messages as being torn between his natural libertarian principles and the repressive measures being proposed by the likes of Mr Hancock. When in libertarian mode, Boris wondered aloud on November 1, 2020 whether he had blinked too soon in announcing a second national lockdown, which he had done only the previous day. A few months earlier, in August 2020, an article he read in the Financial Times made him question the decision to force elderly people to self-isolate: If I were an 80-year-old and I was told that the choice was between destroying the economy and risking my exposure to a disease that I had a 94 per cent chance of surviving, I know what I would prefer. The same month an agonised Boris Johnson wrote on WhatsApp: How can we possibly justify the continuing paralysis to control a disease that has a death rate of one in 2000? Yet on other occasions he veered in the opposite direction, and sounded almost as zealous as Mr Hancock. In July 2020 the PM had fretted about complacency so far as social distancing was concerned, and wrote about the need for tightening Covid restrictions. If only Mr Johnson had been faithful to his inner convictions, this country might have avoided some of the trauma of lockdown, which has left such a poisonous legacy. Unfortunately, he frequently had the coercive Mr Hancock by his side. The Health Secretary, in contrast to the PM, was constant and unwavering in his beliefs. Examining these WhatsApp exchanges, I often yearned for Margaret Thatcher. She would have decided what she believed, and then stuck to her guns. I dont suggest she would have been an extreme libertarian, but I think she would have championed measures that were proportionate, rational and fair. We cant blame all our ills on Matt Hancock of course not. As I say, there were other lockdown enthusiasts in the Cabinet and willing collaborators in the civil service such as Simon Case, who, incidentally, was shamefully disloyal to Mr Johnson. In October 2020 he described his boss to Mr Hancock as a nationally distrusted figure. Nor do I suggest that everything the former Health Secretary did was bad. He played a significant part in the triumphant vaccine roll-out, though as an irrepressibly ambitious and calculating politician he has almost certainly exaggerated his contribution. I also accept that these WhatsApp messages, putting as they do Mr Hancock at the centre of events, may give a somewhat overblown impression of his importance. If we were to stumble on a cache of Michael Goves texts, we might possibly conclude that he had played a crucial part in hardening opinion. Nonetheless, Mr Hancocks role in shaping a policy that has done so much lasting damage to this countrys economy and well-being cant be gainsaid. He may appear lightweight, but in practice he was determined, formidable and lethal. How was he allowed to get away with it? From his point of view, he was lucky to serve a Prime Minister who didnt really know his own mind. He also benefited from a largely docile media, a Labour opposition that dependably endorsed every new restriction (Sir Keir Starmer was sympathetic to the idea of a fourth lockdown as late as December 2021), and a mostly quiescent Tory Party. The sceptics against repeated lockdowns were limited to parts of the media, not least this and its sister paper, a few dozen backbench Tory MPs, and a handful of epidemiologists brave enough to swim against the tide. These forces werent sufficient to counter Mr Hancock until he contrived to ruin himself with that clinch. The question is whether it could happen again. I fear it might. The official inquiry hasnt even begun to call witnesses. Given that the Chilcot inquiry into the Iraq War dragged on for seven years, I dont suppose this one will be much quicker. By the time it eventually reports, I daresay most of us will have forgotten that Matt Hancock ever existed. In the meantime, this country owes a debt to Isabel Oakeshott, the journalist who leaked the messages that throw such a disquieting light on the politics of the pandemic. I dont care how Right-wing she and her partner are. Whatever we may think of her betrayal of Mr Hancock in publishing his WhatsApp messages, she has done the public an enormous service. The moral of this story is that, at a time of national crisis, one resolute and resourceful politician can accomplish a great deal. The tragedy is that this uncommon person should have been Matt Hancock, who succeeded in doing so much harm. 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.com will earn an affiliate commission. Click here for more information. If you look at your favorite beauty influencers' feed, at some point over the past month you may have spotted the ghd Duet styling tool. 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The internal airflow in the ghd Duet is surrounded by four ceramic plates, which conduct a lower temperature than your classic straighteners to eliminate the risk of damage But does it actually work? Here's what some of our favorite TikTokkers are saying about it: The ghd Duet styler is available in white or black and heats the hair at the same time as straightening it After using the ghd Duet styler, @Georgia.mayx said: 'After three passes my hair was dry and straight. I think it looks really, really great.' TikTok users Cassidy Michelle and Roxana Rosuu both filmed honest, non-sponsored reviews experimenting with the ghd Duet. Cassidy Michelle loved ghd's newest release, writing: 'My hair feels really good. It worked real quick.' Meanwhile Roxana Rosuu said: 'I feel like I've just come out of the salon and I've just had a cut and blow out. It is insane!' TikTok creators with long hair and hair extensions were able to use the ghd Duet styler to dry and style hair faster than ever before The ghd Duet had high praise from Becky Simmons who said at the end: 'Look at how smooth that looks and it was really, really quick.' Another long-haired blonde, Izzy, added: 'I am actually obsessed by it. Let me know what you guys think.' Head to Amazon now if you want sleeker hair in less time. Chinese tourists prepare to board a fast boat for their trip from Serangan Island to Lombok Island in Denpasar, on Indonesia resort island of Bali, on Jan. 25. AFP-Yonhap China on Friday shunned South Korea in its second batch of countries allowed for Chinese group tourists, a move widely seen as a form of political complaint. The Chinese culture ministry added 40 foreign countries, including France, Italy, Denmark, Portugal and Iran, but not South Korea, to its list of officially permitted destinations for group tour packages for Chinese people, starting Wednesday. China gave South Korea the cold shoulder in its initial batch of 20 such countries released on Jan. 20. The United Arab Emirates, Thailand, Russia and Indonesia were among the list. Friday's move is widely viewed as an expression of Beijing's unresolved feud against Seoul's previous anti-COVID-19 measures on entrants from China, Hong Kong and Macao during the virus' surge in winter. In early January, Seoul requested PCR tests within the first day of entry for these entrants, which Beijing called "discriminative" and suspended issuing short-term visas to South Korean nationals. The two countries mutually eased the virus curbs and normalized the visa issuance, but the communist state maintained its stance on the group tour agenda. Some critics view the exclusion as a projection of China's dismay at South Korea's recent move to strengthen diplomatic and defense ties with the United States and Japan. The latter two, like Seoul, vetoed China's destabilizing activities in the Taiwan Strait and were excluded from the Chinese group tour announcement. (Yonhap) A mother has sparked a debate about whether women need formal titles such as Miss, Mrs and Ms. Taking to the British parenting platform Mumsnet, the woman explained she was asked what title she goes by while buying a lamp in a store, and thought it was ridiculous because 'it's not information the shop needs.' She questioned whether it was outdated to identify women by their marital status and said she wondered if the whole thing could just be 'scrapped.' Many people agreed with the anonymous poster, with some claiming it is just 'patriarchal nonsense'. However some claimed we should keep the titles for situations where you need to formally address people. A British mother has sparked a debate about whether women need personal titles such as Miss, Mrs and Ms (stock image) The woman explained: 'I was ordering something in a shop the other day and the assistant, in her 20s, was putting my details into their system. 'She said, I hate asking this, I find it so embarrassing but are you Miss, Ms or Mrs? I replied, "I'm Miss". 'I was there with my daughter so in that one exchange I'd divulged I was a single, unmarried parent. 'It's not information the shop needs for me to order a lamp. And if I was a man, they'd be Mr and none the wiser as to marital status. I know I could say Ms but does any married woman really use Ms? 'So Ms just ends up sounding like a Miss with issues. It got me thinking why do we need personal titles, how often are they really used anyway? 'Can they not just be scrapped from form filling? With the increasing desire by the younger generation to not even be defined by gender, identifying women by their marital status feels so outdated. 'It's International Women's Day tomorrow and in the spirit of embracing equity, isn't it time we abolished women being defined by marital status?' Some people agreed with the poster and thought the titles were outdated and should be scrapped. Taking to the parenting platform, the woman explained she was asked what title she goes by while buying a lamp in a store and thought it was ridiculous as 'it's not information the shop needs' One person wrote: 'I didn't take my ex-husband's name when we got married and remained a Miss. So Miss doesn't always mean single or unmarried. 'I think we should do away with it too though along with the expectation a woman takes her husband's name on marriage. Patriarchal nonsense.' Another wrote: 'Agree, it's utterly pointless. I did not start using Mrs when I got married. I don't think a woman's marital status should have anything to do with her title. 'If someone desperately wants others to know they are married I'm sure there's plenty of other ways they could do it.' While someone else said: 'Why does someone selling you a lamp need to even know whether you are male or female? 'I always try to leave it blank. If pressed, I use Dr, not because I am showing off but because it is no one else's business whether I am male or female, married or unmarried.' Some people agreed with the poster and thought the titles were outdated and should be scrapped Others disagreed saying we should keep the titles as they are a formal way to address each other. One person wrote: 'But some people like Mrs? We need to keep them because we need to be able to address people formally in some circumstances. But Ms for women could be the default until someone is corrected.' Another wrote: 'Not abolish them altogether, but there are many circumstances where they are not needed such as that the OP describes and in those cases just name and surname should be asked for.' While another said: 'I'll admit I haven't read the full thread so not sure if it's been raised - but from a retailers point of view, I have to phone multiple customers everyday to let them know that their ordered items have arrived in store. 'Most people don't fill in the Mr/Mrs etc section of the order form and only put a first initial for first name. It's actually quite awkward phoning an S.Smith, M.Henry, A.Jones etc and knowing how to address them. Meanwhile some users disagreed, saying we should keep the titles as they are a formal way to address other people However some people claimed it's not a good idea to get rid of the titles all together - and said maybe all women should go by Ms 'Natural to me would be to say 'Hello, Mr/Mrs Jones?' but you can't with nothing to go on lol.' However some people claimed it's not a good idea to get rid of the titles all together and maybe all women should go by Ms. One person wrote: 'It annoys me too but I don't think the answer is to get rid of titles. 'The answer is for 'Ms' to become the only option for women, like 'Mr' for men. For this to happen, more women like you need to adopt it and decide to use it. 'I'm married and I use it unapologetically. I don't think it makes people think I have 'issues'.' Another wrote: 'I use Ms and I'm married. What are the issues? It's a straightforward - marital status isn't relevant.' While another said: 'I've been a Ms since my 20s, through marriage, divorce etc. Really don't see the problem here.' A fourth wrote: 'I'm married and have always used Ms. I think of it as the female equivalent of Mr- it doesn't indicate whether I'm married or not.' 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. Did someone say Cicaplast B5 Serum? Beauty fans are saying hello to hydrated and better-protected skin with La Roche-Posay's new lightweight and fast-absorbing serum - and it's already going viral. French-born beauty brand La Roche-Posay - which has won multiple awards for producing the best sun protective lotions in the world - has launched a new serum clinically proven to hydrate and repair the skin barrier in just one hour. La Roche-Posay Cicaplast B5 Serum, 30ml Harnessing the power of 10 per cent vitamin B5, on top of moisturising, the La Roche-Posay Cicaplast B5 Serum strengthens the skin barrier forming an invisible shield on the skin to protect it from pollution and other external aggressors while encouraging better skin barrier recovery. Light enough for daily use, it's effective and non-irritating and works wonders on dry skin, keeping it hydrated, smooth, soft and, most importantly, comfortable. Shop French-born beauty brand La Roche-Posay has launched the Cicaplast Baume B5 (39), which is clinically proven to hydrate and repair the skin barrier in just one hour You'll know all about the Cicaplast Baume B5 if you've long been a skincare obsessive. The brand's ultra-repairing soothing balm went viral on TikTok thanks to its ability to soothe, hydrate and repair the skin's barrier, with the hashtag #cicaplastbaumeb5 reaching over 373 million views to date. While not a glamorous product, the sell-out balm has since been dubbed an essential skincare must-have to keep skin hydrated and nourished throughout the colder months. Other users have claimed that it clears breakouts 'overnight'. La Roche Posay's newest launch, the Cicaplast B5 Serum, launched earlier this week exclusively online at Cult Beauty, and it's already building a reputation to rival its predecessor, racking up thousands of views on the social media platform. On top of moisturising, it strengthens the skin barrier forming an invisible shield on the skin to protect it from pollution and other external aggressors while encouraging better skin barrier recovery. Light enough for daily use, it's effective and non-irritating and works wonders on dry skin, keeping it hydrated, smooth, soft and, most importantly, comfortable. The latest launch comes after the success of the brand's ultra-repairing soothing balm that went viral on TikTok with the hashtag #cicaplastbaumeb5 reaching over 373 million views to date 'The unique aspect of this product is its focus on the skin barrier. The formula is enriched with vitamin B5 and will lock hydration into the skin to immediately start to soothe and help repair the barrier,' explained Dr Justine Hextall, Consultant Dermatologist for La Roche-Posay. 'The unique aspect for me is the fact it is a light, non-comedogenic serum. I know that have a product that will work with all skin types/concerns , and can be used daily to maintain a healthy barrier- a perfect solution for a dermatologist.' Simply put, a happy and healthy skin barrier helps retain moisture while protecting it from external aggressors. When the barrier is damaged, your skin might be dry, flakey, sensitive, irritated and itchy. Clinically proven, 96 per cent agreed their skin feels hydrated and 82 per cent agreed their skin feels soothed after use The good news is a broken skin barrier can be repaired and protected. The formula of Cicaplast B5 Serum harnesses the power of 10 per cent vitamin B5, a humectant that attracts and holds moisture in the skin, soothing irritation from dryness. And it's clinically proven, with 96 per cent agreeing their skin feels hydrated and 82 per cent agreeing their skin feels soothed after use. Plus, since it's fragrance-free and gentle, it can be on all skin types, including those who suffer from eczema and rosacea. Shop the skin saviour online exclusively at cultbeauty.co.uk - we anticipate you'll use every single drop. Disgruntled customers love to complain online, but sometimes a bad review is definitely not warranted. Bored Panda has called out the reviews left by entitled customers from around the world that will leave you feeling very sorry for the staff who had to deal with them. They include a punter who bizarrely gave their local pub a one-star rating because their card declined when they tried to pay for a pint. Even the house of God does not escape criticism, with a parishioner in the US complaining that the free Thanksgiving turkey they received from their church was too small. People from around the world have shared the most entitled reviews they have seen online and Bored Panda collated them into a hilarious gallery including one customer who gave their church a one star review for giving them a small free turkey for Thanksgiving Then there was the job seeker who admitted they were rating a store based on getting a job with them. 'If they hire me I will say nice things about them,' they wrote. 'If they don't let me join I will say bad things.' Another coffee shop customer complained that they had to buy another cookie after dropping the one they had bought on their way out the door. And an extremely ungrateful customer moaned that their favourite fast food joint, which stayed open late to serve them, had run out of fries. While another person gave their local pub a one star review because their card declined when they tried to pay for a pint While someone else went around getting a job a the wrong way by giving the business a one star review This customer left a coffee shop a one star review after he dropped his cookie on the floor when he left This person wanted to negotiate the price of martial arts classes at a small business and got annoyed when they refused While another person left a one star review after they tried to negotiate the price of their rent This person, believed to be from the UK, complained about portion sizes after they only ordered enough food for half the group A Jimmy Johns, in Illinois, received a one star review from a customer who was $3 short for a sandwich Another entitled customer left a review after they didn't want to pay their local bike shop for a service they provided One customer, from the US, left a bad review after they expected an online pet supplies retailer to offer free products A grocery store in the US had a one star review because a customer wanted to park for free so they could go and eat elsewhere An eight-year-old girl battling Stage 4 cancer is set to capture the hearts of dog lovers when she and her best friend Echo compete at Crufts. Freya Harris, from Horncastle in Lincolnshire, was diagnosed with Wilms' tumour, a form of kidney cancer that affects around 80 children in the UK each year. Her mother Gemma said that Australian Shepherd Echo never leaves her daughter's side, giving her a reason to keep going during treatment. 'I know that people use the term soulmate or the heart dog or whatever, but Echo has just clicked with Freya. She knows that's her mum,' Gemma said. When asked what it's like having Echo around, Freya revealed: 'Literally amazing. So it depends on my mood, so if I am having a bad day, she will have a bad day with me, she will snuggle up on the sofa with me. 'If I go and play out, she will go play with me. It depends on my mood, that is her mood.' Eight-year-old Freya and her Australian Shepherd Echo are heading to Birmingham to compete at Crufts Freya's family received the devastating news she had cancer in December 2021 after first becoming ill in October 2021. Gemma, explained: 'We didn't know the extent of it yet or how bad it was it was and then it was confirmed stage four, she had her kidney removed, had lung surgery on both lungs, chemo treatment for an entire year so far and radiotherapy, you name it.' Gemma continued: 'She's had a very rare side effect from the chemo as well, which caused internal organ failure, which luckily, she managed to pull through.' What has got Freya through her traumatic ordeal, where she came face-to-face with death, is her Australian Shepherd dog, Echo. Freyas love of dogs started at an early age, when she would help her mum who used to work as a dog walker, and the two would always sit down to watch Crufts together. Gemma and Freya's father decided to buy puppy Echo to encourage their daughter to go for walks after having to spend weeks at a time in hospital. Eight-year-old Freya and her Australian Shepherd Echo are heading to Birmingham to compete at Crufts Freya's parents bought Echo to encourage the youngster to get outside and go for walks after spending weeks in hospital Freya, who has stage four cancer, loved Crufts from a young age and has wanted to compete at the prestigious dog competition Echo has become Freya's best friend and when she is down, Freya will come and give her cuddles all day long Freya's mum Gemma (pictured) explained how the day the pair qualified for Crufts was a difficult one The day before the qualifiers Freya had a grueling six hour transfusion but was determined that she and Echo would make it Freya wanted a dog that she could show at Crufts after she started watching the prestigious dog show on television from a very young age, and decided that one day she would try and compete herself. The eight-year-old said that she wanted an Australian Shepherd because 'they are cute, they are a good show dog, they are everything you need.' She continued: 'One of the breeders we bought from once, they were selling Australian Shepherds and Echo was the last one in the litter, so we just chose her.' Since Echo has come home to live with the Harris' she has become part of the family and Freya has come on leaps and bounds. Gemma added: 'It has helped [Freya] get out nearly every day walking, it has given [her] a goal to focus on, and doing things [she] has never done before.' Her other said it was incredible to watch her daughter thrive, doing things 'she has only ever seen on TV' with Echo. 'All of a sudden you are up and doing it a few days after chemo every week,' she said. Gemma has revealed how Echo has given her daughter a focus and encouragement to do something she's never done before Gemma revealed how her daughter has been through a challenging time after chemo therapy shut down her organs Since getting Echo, Freya has been working towards showing her at Crufts and incredibly in their first competition together the best-friends qualified for Crufts. However, the pair nearly didn't make it through qualifiers after Freya had a around of intensive treatment the night before. Gemma explained: 'She had to have a massive transfusion that lasted for about six hours. 'We didn't get back home until the early hours of the morning, which was the same day as the [Crufts qualifier] show, but she was adamant, "We're not staying at home, we're going." 'It was an absolute whirlwind of a day, she was just absolutely buzzing to get in the ring, and it wasn't until after the show finished that we told her that she had qualified for Crufts. 'Thats when she was screaming and jumping around with joy and nearly crying with how excited she was.' Both Echo and Freya have loved honing their craft together and training for the huge dog show at Birmingham's NEC Gemma said that Echo is un-phased by Freya's condition and doesn't pay any attention to her tubes When starting on their showing journey,the Harris family came across a ring craft class for Freya that catered specifically for those with additional needs Freya is excited to be taking part in Crufts and to be surrounded by thousands of dogs and dog lovers The inseparable duo have been blazing a showing trail and hope to continue inspiring the community when they walk onto the worlds most famous dog stage at the NEC Birmingham on Crufts' second day. Gemma said: 'Bad days, she's there. Good days, she's there. She's never fussed with her tubes or anything. What is a Wilms tumour? The disease is a form of kidney cancer that affects around 70 children in the UK each year. It most often develops in youngsters below the age of five. Wilms' tumours, also known as nephroblastomas, begins to develop when a baby is still growing inside their mother. However, it may not cause any symptoms until a few years after the child is born. They are most common in children under five but can appear in older children and adults on rare occasions. Wilms' tumours usually only affect one kidney (unilateral) but in about seven out of every 100 children it can affect both (bilateral). Most Wilms' tumours are quite large when they are found - very often much bigger than the kidney itself. Fortunately, most of them have not spread to other parts of the body. The most common symptom is a swelling in the abdomen, which is usually painless. Occasionally, the tumour may bleed slightly and this can cause irritation in the area of the kidney, which may be painful. Children with the condition may have blood in their urine, or their blood pressure may be raised. The child may also have a fever, upset stomach, weight loss or a lack of appetite. Advertisement 'She understands what's out of bounds with the NG tube or wigglies as we call them that come out of her belly, she's brilliant and she has never looked at them.' It's not only emotional support that Echo provides for Freya but physical. As Gemma continued: 'Echo has definitely encouraged her to get out. Freya had issues with her muscles when she was hospitalised for so long, her muscles shortened. 'And then the chemo can cause things like drop foot and so Freya has suffered with that. 'She has to wear splints to try and help her to walk, which was hard for her but Echo is the reason she would get every day and do it. 'She's got the responsibility of feeding, watering, brushing, everything, so it's a reason to get out of bed and get home from treatment and look forward to the future.' When starting on their showing journey, the Harris family came across a ring craft class for Freya that catered specifically for those with additional needs. 'People were very welcoming, they accommodated what her requirements were, they just accommodated whatever she needed to be done,' Gemma added. 'We are really grateful for that because it has let her follow her dream. She's following it and they guided her in the right direction as to what she needs to do, so they've taken us under their wing.' Both Echo and Freya have loved honing their craft and training for the huge dog show. Gemma added: 'Echo really enjoys whatever she's doing with Freya. So it doesn't matter if she was curling up on the sofa or showing off, she loves it. 'She loves the attention that she gets from it. She's a working breed anyway so she needs that extra stimulation as it goes to keep her happy, so she loves it.' Freya is excited to be taking part in Crufts and to be surrounded by thousands of dogs and dog lovers. When it comes to the competition the youngster has a positive outlook. Freya said: 'Its all about the participation. It doesnt matter if you win it is just about trying.' A woman whose once 'loving' hippie father became a serial killer has opened up about his 'unraveling' after he met her abusive stepmother, saying she used to fear she inherited his 'monster genes.' Jenn Carson, 48, was eight years old when she learned that her father, Michael Bear Carson, brutally murdered at least three people in California with his second wife, Suzan Barnes. The husband-and-wife murderers were branded the 'San Francisco Witch Killers' because they claimed their victims were 'witches.' In a new interview with People, Jenn reflected on her relatively happy childhood with her dad, whose real name was James Clifford Carson, saying he used to read to her and braid her hair. Jenn Carson, 48, opened up about her early memories of her serial killer father, Michael Bear Carson, who murdered at least three people with his second wife, Suzan Barnes Michael and Suzan were branded the 'San Francisco Witch Killers' because they claimed their victims were 'witches' 'My perception then was he was loving,' she said of her father. 'He was fun.' Jenn spent her early years in Phoenix, Arizona, where her mother, Lynne Carson, was a teacher and her dad was a stay-at-home marijuana dealer. Her parents divorced in 1978, and he met Suzan, a posh divorcee and mother of two, at a party. He married her the following year, and they became increasingly erratic. 'Around that time, I have a lot of memories of him unraveling,' she said, noting that her stepmother was 'very dominant in the relationship.' Jenn, who was in preschool at the time, thought of Suzan as 'the wicked witch.' Her father stopped being attentive to her and changed his name to Michael Bear, transforming into a man she didn't recognize. She recalled the first time she slept over Suzan's house, which was filled with potted trees and not much else. She had to sleep in a sleeping bag on the floor. Jenn said that the creepy, bare-bones decor reminded her of 'the haunted forest from the Wizard of Oz.' When she spent the weekends at Suzan's, she was starved and beaten. In a new interview with People, Jenn reflected on her relatively happy childhood with her dad, whose real name was James Clifford Carson, saying she perceived him to be 'loving' Jenn (pictured with her father and mother, Lynne) said her dad changed after he married Suzan in 1979. She was starved and beaten when she spent weekends with them In 1981, Michael and Suzan killed Karen Barnes, 23, (pictured) by bashing her head in with a frying pan and stabbing her 13 times in her San Francisco apartment 'I've had glimpses of memories my whole life of her pushing me under bath water like holding me under and I couldn't breathe,' she told People. 'I'm in this house of horrors. She's not feeding me. She's telling me that I'm the devil. I'm going to go to hell. I deserve to die.' Jenn finally confided in her mother about her the abuse after Suzan scratched her back 'and left open wounds' 'five jagged nail marks.' Victims of the 'San Francisco Witch Killers' Michael Bear Carson and Suzan Barnes and confessed to three murders: Karen Barnes' head was bashed in with a frying pan and stabbed 13 times in her San Francisco apartment in 1981 Clark Stephens was shot to death, and his body was burned in Humboldt County John Hillyar was stabbed by Suzan before Michael shot him point-blank in the back, killing him Police were called during Hillyar's murder, and they were arrested The murderous couple would become suspects in nine other killings as well Advertisement When Lynne learned that Michael and Suzan were planning on leaving the country, she became convinced they were going to kill her and abduct her daughter. Jenn's mother took her on the run, and they were in hiding in Southern California when the Secret Service showed up at their door in 1982. Michael and Suzan had spiraled into dangerous delusions and believed they were meant to kill 'witches' around the world. In 1981, they killed Karen Barnes, 23, by bashing her head in with a frying pan and stabbing her 13 times in her San Francisco apartment. The following year, Michael shot Clark Stephens, 26, to death and burned his body in Humboldt County. After Stephens was killed, detectives found their manifesto, which included a plot to assassinate then-President Ronald Reagan. Jenn recalled how the Secret Service agents grilled her mother about Michael's political beliefs and whether he ever talked about killing the president. In 1983, John Hellyar, 30, picked up the couple while they were hitchhiking. A fight broke out in the car, and Suzan stabbed Hellyar. Michael then shot him point-blank in the back, killing him. Police were called during Hillyar's murder, and they were arrested. The couple confessed to killing Barnes, Stephens, and Hellyar, but they are also suspects in nine other killings. Michael and Suzan were found guilty of three counts of murder and are still in prison serving their 75-year sentences. Michael and Suzan confessed to killing Barnes, Clark Stephens, and John Hellyar. They were found guilty of three counts of murder and are still in prison serving their 75-year sentences As child, Jenn feared she would inherit her father's 'monster genes' and 'grow up and kill people.' She credits her mother and stepfather with helping her overcome the trauma Jenn (pictured with her mother in 2015) got her doctoral degree in social work and became a trauma expert, as well as an advocate for children of prisoners When Jenn learned of her father's crimes, she started having nightmares about his victims. She worried that she had inherited his 'monster genes' and struggled with suicidal ideation and severe depression. 'By 9, I viewed every adult as a potential killer,' she told People. 'The whole world terrified me. I also feared that I would grow up and kill people.' Jenna credits her mother and stepfather, Michael Gonzales, with helping her to overcome the trauma. Gonzales, who met Lynne in 1984, put her on a regular schedule, got her counseling, and signed her up for extracurricular activities, including Girl Scouts and the church choir. With her mother and stepfather's support, she got her doctoral degree in social work and became a trauma expert, as well as an advocate for children of prisoners. 'I want people to understand that this type of shame is so corrosive,' Jenn said. 'And that's why I tell my story.' Toddlers by mimicking their parents - and one handy four-year-old is now helping out with the cleaning chores at home. Little Dashiell Hsu has already learnt an array of handy home skills - from vacuuming to cleaning the toilet, washing the dishes and loading the washing machine. Mum Agnes, 47, from California, posted a video on social media of her son assisting with the tedious chores and he even enjoys baking. While the clip quickly caught the attention of thousands, opinions were divided. 'That's amazing! Wow Dash,' one person wrote, another said: 'Can they just be 4 y/o? They will have a lifetime of chores and responsibilities when they get older.' Little Dashiell Hsu has already learnt an array of handy home skills - from vacuuming to cleaning the toilet, washing the dishes and loading the washing machine On Instagram mum Agnes disclaimed her son 'does not do chores everyday nor is required to' but instead he 'likes to join' and 'thinks it's fun' 'What can a four-year-old do? Clean toilets, wash dishes, mop, do the laundry, vacuum, wipe counters, put away toys and bake a cake!' Agnes said in the video as her son completed each task himself. Poll Should toddlers do chores? Yes No Should toddlers do chores? Yes 37 votes No 2 votes Now share your opinion She's also described Dashiell as a 'highly organised and clean' child. On Instagram she also disclaimed her son 'does not do chores everyday nor is required to' but instead he 'likes to join' and 'thinks it's fun'. 'Chores are great for teaching kids practical life skills and responsibility', she wrote, adding: 'He does NOT handle any chemicals.' 'This isn't about getting a super clean home it's about letting kids be involved at home (if they choose) He actually told me "I love dishes".' Agnes told Newsweek: 'Dashiell is responsible for cleaning up his toys and keeping his meal area tidy. 'He was taught to clean aged two but doesn't have a set schedule day to day. Initially, it was simple tasks like dusting and vacuuming but now he is a little older and helps me do a lot of sorting jobs like pairing socks and organising his toys.' On TikTok hundreds criticised Agnes for being a 'bad parent' as it's 'wrong' to make a child so young do chores. 'um..how about you just let him oh I don't know be a kid!?' one person wrote. 'If you're helping him he's not doing it,' another said. But other parents supported the decision and wished their own children would do the same, or at least show interest in helping out. 'I love sooo much!!! Life skills are sooo important. All mine do 'chores' but it's very much they step in and help out where it's needed rather than a strict rota,' one mum wrote. Another said: 'Yes they love to be our little helpers. My son loves using the big vacuum and wiping up messes, hates cleaning up his toys though.' A third joked: 'Why do they forget to do these things when they become a husband lol.' 'Most husbands don't even do that,' another said. Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, has now been elevated to Duchess of Edinburgh, after it was announced that her husband Prince Edward has been given his late father's Duke of Edinburgh title. The King has conferred the title of Duke of Edinburgh on his youngest brother to mark his 59th birthday today. This raise in royal status for Sophie, 58, is a touching tribute to the late Queen's daughter-in-law who lovingly called her 'mama'. Married to Prince Edward for 24 years, she is well known for her down-to-earth nature and was viewed by the late Queen as The Firm's safest pair of hands. Queen Elizabeth II's title of Duchess of Edinburgh passing to Sophie gives her a front-and-centre role as one of a reduced number of working royals, as King Charles begins to slim down the monarchy. This afternoon, Sophie appeared overjoyed at her first engagement as the Duchess of Edinburgh as she was greeted by cheering fans in the Scottish city. Sophie, 58, appeared overjoyed at her first engagement as the Duchess of Edinburgh as she was greeted by cheering fans in the Scottish city She has now been elevated to become Duchess of Edinburgh - as it's been announced her husband Prince Edward has taken his late father's title as Duke of Edinburgh This raise in royal status for Sophie, 58, is a touching tribute to the late Queen's daughter-in-law who lovingly called her 'mama' The King has conferred the title of Duke of Edinburgh on his youngest brother to mark his 59th birthday today - making Sophie the Duchess Sophie's previous rank as Countess of Wessex, meant she was of an equal rank with her husband Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex. However their new titles of Duke and Duchess are of a higher rank, elevating them in status to just below the monarch. Duchesses are also referred to as Her Royal Highness. Meanwhile the title of the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh is one of the most senior in the Royal Family. The move is a touching and lasting connection between the late Queen and her much-loved daughter-in-law, Sophie. She was noted as the late monarch's 'favourite' family member and closest confidante. Experts previously noted the Countess being in the spotlight is what Prince Philip 'would have wanted' and helped to 'keep his memory alive.' At a service for her mother-in-law near Balmoral the Countess of Wessex was seen teary-eyed while kneeling to admire tributes - showing the depth of their relationship which had progressed to the point where the she was said to be treated as a 'second daughter' by the Queen. The Queen cared for Sophie in 2005 after her mother, Mary Rhys-Jones, 77, died from stomach cancer in 2005. As Prince Edward's and Sophie's house, Bagshot Park, is only a short trip from Windsor it meant the Queen's youngest son and his family to regularly visit. Sophie, pictured yesterday visited the Countryside Education Trust, has long been viewed as a safe pair of hands in the royal family The move is a touching and lasting connection between the late Queen and her much-loved daughter-in-law, Sophie Experts previously noted the Countess being in the spotlight is what Prince Philip 'would have wanted' and helped to 'keep his memory alive' Sophie is viewed by some as The Firm's safest pair of hands, while she was also hailed as the royal family's 'secret weapon' during Megxit in 2020 Walking their dogs together was a favourite past-time of the pair. They also shared a love of military history, spending hours poring over ancient documents in the Royal Archives at Windsor, where Sophie and her mother-in-law indulged in their shared hobby, researching military history. How the different titles are ranked Monarch Prince/Princesses Duke/Duchess Marquees/Marchioness Earl/Countess Viscount/Viscountess Baron/Baroness Baronets Knight/Dame Esquire Gentlemen/Lady Advertisement Even if she was unable to see the Queen in person - Sophie would always make sure to call 'mama' every day - and she was the first royal to speak about Prince Philip's death. And in 2021, a tearful Countess described the queen as amazing as she and her husband Prince Edward comforted Her Majesty at Windsor Castle following the death of her husband Prince Philip. Along with Kate, the Princess of Wales, and Princess Anne, Sophie is just one of few female senior royals who will be guiding the Crown into its next era. The PR guru from Oxford has won plaudits for her choice of work on preventable blindness and the issue of sexual violence in war, the Daily Mail reported on Monday. Sophie, who was brought up in Kent by a tyre company executive father and a secretary mother, is now patron to over 70 different organisations. She has also become a source of advice for the new Princess of Wales, who sees that Sophie admires the way she balances her royal duties with motherhood. Writing for Town & Country in 2020, royal journalist and author Victoria Murphy told how Sophie had become a stalwart member of the royal family thanks to her down to earth nature and quietly assured approach to her royal duties. 'Her work does not regularly receive the kind of media attention that the younger royals command, but Sophie has become a stalwart member of the "firm",' Murphy wrote, adding: 'The spotlight on Sophie has intensified in the vacuum left as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle step back.' Along with Kate, the Princess of Wales, and Princess Anne, Sophie is just one of few female senior royals who will be guiding the Crown into its next era One former aide described the Queens relationship with Sophie who lost her own mother, Mary, in 2005 as like mother and daughter (pictured together in February 2015 at a reception at Buckingham Palace) The mother-of-two has long been hailed the 'secret weapon' of the royal family, and is 'down to earth' (pictured, with Lady Louise and James, Viscount Severn) The couple were the first to visit the grieving Monarch after the Duke of Edinburgh's death, and as they left the castle Sophie was visibly upset Meanwhile people who had worked with the royal on a professional level told Murphy that they admired her ability to say what she thinks while still remaining polite. Amanda Pullinger, CEO of 100 Women in Finance, insisted Sophie 'really is down to earth'. She said: 'She actually presents herself as an ordinary person and I think that is increasingly what the royal family needs to do. 'It's interestingshe's not nicey nicey. Of course she's polite, but she'll tell you what she thinks. If she disagrees she'll say, and she's done it to me a number of times.' However her current royal reputation is a far cry from the turmoil that followed the countess early on in her marriage, when she was still running her own public relations consultancy. A 'royals for hire' storm was sparked after she posed beside a Rover 75 at the Frankfurt Motor Show, having secured a 250,000 contract to publicise it. But Sophie's determination saw her take on full-time royal duties, and embrace rural pursuits beloved by the royals, such as riding, fishing, shooting game and carriage driving. Unusually the title of Duke of Edinburgh, which was previously held by Edward's father, Prince Philip, will only remain with him for his lifetime and on his death revert to the Crown. Their son James, Viscount Severn, 15, will from today be known as Earl of Wessex his father's previous title. Under the ancient rules of primogeniture, none of the changes will affect the couple's student daughter Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor, however. Sophie was often been noted as the monarch's 'favourite' family member and closest confidante, after she married Prince Edward (pictured together at the Royal Windsor Horse Show in May 2022) Sophie and Edward have particularly stepped up since Harry and Meghan's acrimonious departure in 2019 The ancient and prestigious title of Duke of Edinburgh was given to Prince Philip by King George VI in 1947 when he married Queen Elizabeth. Edward was exceptionally close to his father and his later years took on much of his work with the Duke of Edinburgh Awards scheme. When he and Sophie married in 1999 it was announced that the dukedom would pass to Edward after Philip's death. That was two years ago, however, and there has been much to-ing and fro-ing behind the scenes on the issue ever since. The issue for Buckingham Palace was that Edward is now 13th in line to the throne and will only slide further down the order of succession over the years when the Prince and Princess of Wales' children grow up and go on to have families of their own. There was concern that the most senior titles associated with a nation of the United Kingdom would be passed on to an ever more junior branch of the family line. So when Philip died in April 2021, Buckingham Palace announced that the title had reverted to the monarch and that continued to be the case when Queen Elizabeth died last September. The Buckingham Palace website has been updated this morning to list Prince Edward as 'The Duke of Edinburgh' in the order of succession. He is 13th in line to the throne King Charles, then Prince Charles, with Prince Edward at Ascot Racecourse on June 15, 2021 At one point courtiers discussed the King keeping the title permanently but many felt that it would be wrong not to honour Prince Philip's wishes and thank Edward for the ceaseless work he has done on behalf of the monarchy in recent years. History of the Dukedom The Dukedom has previously been created four times for members of the Royal Family as follows: 1726 - Pri nce Frederick , eldest son of King George II , eldest son of King George II 1764 Pr ince William , brother of King George III, as part of the joint title, The Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh , brother of King George III, as part of the joint title, The Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh 1866 Pri nce Alfred , second son of Queen Victoria , second son of Queen Victoria 1947 Prince Philip , husband of Queen Elizabeth II Advertisement He and his wife have particularly stepped up since Harry and Meghan's acrimonious departure in 2019. There were reports that the King was also considering granting the title of Duchess of Edinburgh to his sister Princess Anne, or his granddaughter, Princess Charlotte. The Mail understands that after Edward's eventual death that the Duke of Edinburgh title will most likely be given to one of William and Kate's children, most likely Prince Louis, when they are older. Sources stressed that the timing of the announcement had nothing to do with developments this week regarding the titles of Harry and Meghan's children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, as such announcements are normally made on a member of the Royal Family's birthday. This is indeed true, although it is likely that the issue of the Sussex children had to be sorted first so as not to offend the notoriously prickly duke and duchess. A Buckingham Palace spokesman said today: 'His Majesty The King has been pleased to confer the Dukedom of Edinburgh upon The Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Forfar, on the occasion of His Royal Highnesss 59th birthday. 'The title will be held by Prince Edward for His Royal Highnesss lifetime. 'The Dukedom was last created for Prince Philip in 1947, upon his marriage to Princess Elizabeth, who held the title of Duchess of Edinburgh before acceding to the throne in 1952. 'The new Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh are proud to continue Prince Philips legacy of promoting opportunities for young people of all backgrounds to reach their full potential.' Like other members of the Royal Family, Edward had a number of titles conferred on him when he married. His other Scottish title is the Earl of Forfar. He will remain Earl of Forfar, although will use his more senior title of Edinburgh. His son James will become The Earl of Wessex and Forfar when Edward dies and the now non hereditary title of Edinburgh reverts to the Crown again. A Buckingham Palace spokesman said today: 'His Majesty The King has been pleased to confer the Dukedom of Edinburgh upon The Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Forfar, on the occasion of His Royal Highnesss 59th birthday. 'The title will be held by Prince Edward for His Royal Highnesss lifetime. 'The Dukedom was last created for Prince Philip in 1947, upon his marriage to Princess Elizabeth, who held the title of Duchess of Edinburgh before acceding to the throne in 1952. 'The new Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh are proud to continue Prince Philips legacy of promoting opportunities for young people of all backgrounds to reach their full potential.' The King has decided to grant his youngest son's children use of their Prince and Princess titles - but the move comes in sharp contrast to another European monarch's decisions in recent months. It is understood Charles told Prince Harry that Archie and Lili would be allowed to be called Prince and Princess in a 'private conversation' after the Queen's funeral in September last year. Around the same time, Queen Margrethe of Denmark announced she was stripping her youngest son Prince Joachim's children Athena, 11, Felix, 20, Henrik, 13, Nikolai, 23, of their Prince and Princess titles - leading to a huge public row. Now The Daily Mail's Richard Eden, of Palace Confidential, has questioned whether Charles' late mother would have followed her cousin Margrethe's example, saying: 'I do wonder, if Queen Elizabeth was still alive, whether she would have been more likely to do as her Danish counterpart did and issue Letters Patent stripping Prince Harrys children of their titles. It seems that King Charles has allowed Prince Harry and Meghan to bump him into allowing them to use their childrens titles. Once, they started calling Lilibet a princess publicly, it put the King in a difficult position. The King may have opted to grant his youngest son's children use of their titles - but the move comes in sharp contrast to another European monarch's decisions in recent months (pictured, Prince Harry with Meghan Markle, Archie and Lilibet) The monarch's decision comes in sharp contrast to the choices made by his distant cousin, Queen Margrethe of Denmark, last year, who stripped her grandchildren of their titles as Prince and Princess (pictured, Margrethe removed Prince and Princess titles from her youngest son Prince Joachim's children Athena, 11, Felix, 20, Henrik, 13, Nikolai, 23) The Daily Mail's Diary Editor Richard Eden said that Charles could have chosen to follow the precedent of Quen Margrethe of Denmark He also tweeted to contrast the two decisions, writing: 'Time will tell whether #KingCharles would have been better off following the example of Queen Margrethe of Denmark.' Following the death of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, Margrethe - who was a distant cousin of the Queen - became the only living female monarch in the world. And in September, the Danish monarch announced that her grandchildren would no longer have 'His/Her Highness' titles from January 2023. At the time, the monarch insisted the move will be 'good for them in their future' and allow the children - who have maintained their positions in the line of succession - to 'shape their own lives without being limited by the special considerations and duties' that a formal affiliation with the Danish Royal Family involves. The decision sparked an enormous public row in Denmark between members of the royal family. Prince Joachim publicly spoke out against his mother's decision in the days that followed - claiming that his children had been 'harmed' in the process. Following the Queen's announcement, Joachim spoke to Danish publication Ekstra Bladet outside the Danish Embassy in Paris, where he lives with his French-born wife Princess Marie and his two youngest children. 'I was given five days' notice to tell them. In May, I was presented with a plan which, by and large, was that when the children each turned 25, it would happen. Now I had only five days to tell them. Athena turns 11 in January,' he clarified. Meanwhile, his ex-wife Alexandra said that her sons, Nikolai and Felix, had been left feeling 'ostracised' from the institution and the decision had come like a 'bolt out of the blue'. The Royal Household released a further statement, saying: 'As the Queen stated yesterday, the decision has been a long time coming. It is understood Charles told Prince Harry that his children would be allowed to be called Prince and Princess in a 'private conversation' after the Queen's funeral last year Queen Margrethe II of Denmark pictured attending the annual New Year's dinner earlier this year 'We understand that there are many emotions at stake at the moment, but we hope that the Queen's wish to future-proof the Royal Household will be respected.' Two months later, the sixth-in-line to the throne admitted that 'communication was missing' within the Royal Family in the lead-up to the shock announcement. He told local news outlet B.T.: 'There is a lot to work on. Communication was what was missing. Now we have met and we are on the right track.' In February, Queen Margrethe revealed she thought that it was better for her to take action than then leave the burden to Crown Prince Frederik as the future King. In an interview with Danish publication Ekstra Bladet she said: 'It's been important to me that this should never be Frederik's lot to make that kind of decision. 'It's better that I did. Because then it's the old lady that made the decision. I am not keen to get into it to be honest. 'I could mention some things, but you shouldn't have to tell everything. But it is still a little bit too private to talk about.' In January, the Danish Royal Family updated their website to show the new status of Prince Joachim's children. Speaking in a televised New Year's address, Margrethe admitted: 'That the relationship with Prince Joachim and (his wife) Princess Marie has run into difficulties hurts me. 'Difficulties and disagreements can arise in any family, including mine. The whole country has witnessed this.' She added that she was 'sure that the family can enter the new year together with confidence, understanding and new courage'. It's possible King Charles was keeping an eye on the debate as his mother, the Queen, died amidst the very public fall-out. And it appears he was keen to avoid such public debate - instead, it has emerged he quietly spoke to Harry about the titles in the period after the Queen's death. Harry and Meghan's 21-month-old daughter Lilibet saw her royal title of 'Princess' used formally for the first time yesterday, giving the first indication that the Sussexes will use the titles for their children. In January, Denmark's Royal Family updated their website to show the new status belonging to four of Queen Margrethe's grandchildren after they were stripped of their HRH titles. Pictured, Count Nikolai, left, and right, Count Felix The 82-year-old monarch announced in September 2022 that the four children of her youngest son, 53-year-old Prince Joachim, would no longer be able to use the title of prince and princess after January 1. Pictured, Countess Athena, left, and right, Count Henrik Like King Charles, Queen Margrethe wants a slimed-down Danish monarchy. But stripping some grand-children of their titles caused a furore and she apologised for the way it was done The move is seen as an olive branch after reports the couple has been 'obsessed' with the idea that the King might bar the children from being prince or princess. Royal sources said Charles would never have 'punished' his grandchildren like that. It is understood that despite the Sussexes' repeated attacks on the institution of the monarchy and members of the Royal Family, there has been correspondence on the issue between the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and royal aides. Harry and Meghan's children became a prince and princess when the King acceded to the throne, but have remained a plain 'master' and 'miss' on the Buckingham Palace website for the past six months. Early today, that remained the case. Lili was described as 'Princess Lilibet Diana' in a statement from a spokesman for the couple this week that confirmed she was christened last in a private ceremony at the Sussexes' home in Montecito, California, on March 3. A source told the Mirror: 'The appropriate conversations took place ahead of Lilibet's christening.' Instead of following in his cousin Queen Margarethe's footsteps, Charles has opted to grant Prince Harry's children use of their titles (pictured, Prince Harry with King Charles and Prince Archie at his christening) Lili was described as 'Princess Lilibet Diana' in a statement from a spokesman for the couple this week that confirmed she was christened last in a private ceremony at the Sussexes' home in Montecito, California, on March 3 While it is understood the title will be used in formal settings, it will not be in everyday conversational use by the couple. So she will likely still be known as 'Lilibet' in most scenarios. Lilibet, known as 'Lili' for short, was named as 'Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor' on her birth certificate in California. Harry and Meghan are understood to be keen to not deny their children their birthright but will allow them the chance to decide for themselves when they are older whether they want to drop or keep using the titles. It will be up to Lilibet whether she wants to describe herself as a princess. Harry and Meghan's children Archie and Lilibet became prince and princess respectively when King Charles acceded to the throne last September. However it is only now that the couple have chosen to use the title. Rules set out by King George V in 1917 mean Archie and Lili, as the children of a son of a sovereign, are automatically a prince and a princess. She's known for her sporty nature and competitive streak, so perhaps it's no wonder The Crown has decided to portray Kate Middleton meeting Prince William for the first time at university while out for a jog. Actors Ed McVey and Meg Bellamy have been pictured filming on the set of the sixth and last series of the popular Netflix drama with the Prince's character taking a lingering glance at the woman who would become his future wife. It is thought the scenes are portraying the Prince and Princess of Wales' first glimpse of one another while students at the University of St Andrews, in Scotland, where they met and fell in love. They became friends in their first year before romance blossomed after William saw 'hot' Kate strut down a charity fashion show catwalk in a sheer dress. They graduated in 2005 and William proposed five years later. Fans are eagerly awaiting the release of The Crown's final series later this year, with the show already courting controversy as it plans to depict the tragic death of Princess Diana. The Crown's Ed McVey and Meg Bellamy have been pictured filming on the set of the sixth and last series of the popular Netflix drama University sweethearts: Prince William and Kate Middleton on the day of their graduation ceremony in 2005 Imelda Staunton will reprise her role as Queen Elizabeth II, with Jonathan Pryce playing her husband Prince Philip. Elizabeth Debicki will once again appear as Princess Diana in the build-up to her death, while Dominic West plays Prince Charles. Theatrically trained Ed, 22, will play Prince William throughout his late teens and early twenties - when he relocated to the prestigious university in Fife after completing his studies at Eton College in 2001. He was dressed in a navy hoodie, black joggers and stylish white trainers for the jogging scenes today, before filming alongside Dominic in a smart navy jumper and denim jeans. Ed will star alongside Meg Bellamy, who has been cast as future Princess Of Wales Kate Middleton. While Meg has no official acting credits to her name, Ed has significantly more experience; he graduated from Drama Centre London in 2021 and was an understudy in the play Camp Siegfried, which was shown at London's Old Vic. Meg, 19, has never acted before and applied for the role after earning an A* for drama in her A-levels at St Crispins School in Wokingham, Berkshire. She had previously only taken part in school productions and had a part-time job at Legoland in nearby Windsor. Pictures show the actors, playing Prince William and Kate Middleton, respectively, seeing one another during a run The Crown stars are seen running past each other, pictured left, before the Prince William actor turns to look at his co-star, pictured right It is thought the scenes (pictured being filmed) are portraying the Prince and Princess of Wales' first glimpse of one another while at the University of St Andrews, where they met and fell in love It was revealed in September that The Crown have cast actress Meg Bellamy (pictured) in the role of Kate Middleton for series six of the drama Wrapped up: Meg combated the cold March weather with a navy coat over the top of her light blue jogging attire Dominic West, who plays Prince Charles in the Netflix drama, was also photographed in the picturesque coastal town in Scotland Theatrically trained Ed (pictured), 22, will play Prince William throughout his late teens and early twenties William relocated to the prestigious University of St. Andrews in Fife after completing his studies at Eton College in 2001. Pictured, Ed as William during filming for The Crown Series five of The Crown was subject to plenty of criticism due to the touchy topic of Charles and his marriage to Diana, following its release on Netflix in November. Many argued that filming scenes leading up to Princess Diana's death in Paris were insensitive - as well as the series going ahead with its launch not long after the Queen's death in September last year. Focusing heavily on the fallout between Princess Diana, played by Debicki and King Charles (then Prince of Wales) as portrayed by West, the new series showcased a number of low points for the royals. Among them were Charles and Diana's marriage breakdown, the late royal's controversial Panorama interview and the notorious 'tampongate' phone call between the King and Queen Consort, then Camilla. Acting royalty Dame Judi Dench, who is close to King Charles and Camilla, has accused the programme of being 'crude and hurtful'. Dame Judi, 87, who has played Elizabeth I and Queen Victoria, told The Times the series risked damaging the monarchy. The Oscar-winning actress blamed it for 'crude sensationalism' and blurring fact and fiction. Thirsty work! Actor Ed McVey was seen taking a breather to have some refreshments between takes Ed McVey wrapped up warm in a puffer coat and enjoyed a snack while filming his jogging scenes Ed (pictured filming with Meg), who will take on the Prince in the early 2000s with scenes showing how he fell for Art History student Kate, graduated from Drama Centre London in 2021 Meg (pictured on set with Ed) won the role of Kate after she responded to an open call for people to apply for the coveted part Dominic as Prince Charles, dressed in a brown suit jacket and white trousers during filming for the final series of The Crown Meg (pictured with Ed), 19, has never acted before and applied for the role after earning an A* for drama in her A-levels at St Crispins School in Wokingham, Berkshire. She had previously only taken part in school productions and had a part-time job at Legoland in nearby Windsor Ed (pictured filming today) was an understudy in the play Camp Siegfried, which was shown at London's Old Vic Fans are eagerly awaiting the release of The Crown's final series later this year. Pictured, Meg and Ed filming today Former Prime Minister Sir John Major criticised a scene in a previous season which shows him having a conversation with then Prince Charles about the possibility of the Queen abdicating as 'malicious nonsense'. However, The Crown star Gillian Anderson, who played Margaret Thatcher in series four, hit back at the comments - and argues that the series could have been far more damaging. Speaking to The Daily Mail's Richard Eden, Gillian said: 'There's a lot of researchers involved, and a lot of people checking and double-checking and triple-checking. 'There's a lot that has not been written about that could be written about. And if you knew the difference in those, you'd see there is a great deal of kindness and restraint.' She added: 'At the end of the day, there are incredibly compassionate and well-rounded takes on human beings. 'And what you're left with is properly, maturely drawn, complex characters. And there's a lot that's in there that one has to say, 'If you didn't do it, we wouldn't be writing about it'.' Imelda Staunton will reprise her role as Queen Elizabeth II, with Jonathan Pryce playing her husband Prince Philip in the final series. Pictured, Meg and Ed filming today The Netflix show initially put out a casting call in April 2022 to find a 'stunning actress' to portray the role of a young Kate, before deciding on Meg (pictured filming alongside Ed) Meg, who was head girl at St Crispins School where she studied drama, will star alongside Ed (pictured), who has been cast as her onscreen husband Prince William Both Meg and Ed (pictured together) wrapped up in coats to keep warm in between filming The actor playing Prince William in the popular Netflix hit could be seen pictured alongside another person while on his jog For the jogging scenes, the Prince William actor sported a navy hoodie and black jogging bottoms, teamed with stylish white trainers All smiles: Ed appeared to be larking around in between filming scenes for The Crown When playing Prince William today, Ed sported a navy jumper on top of a light blue shirt and denim jeans while filming alongside Dominic Queen Maxima of the Netherlands rocked the smart casual look to perfection today as she took part in the national Dutch volunteering day. Maxima, 51, refused to let the rain stop her from partaking in the fun, as she got stuck in with the other volunteers in Zoetermeer. She varnished rather tired-looking wooden benches and tables which were in need of a lick of paint for NLdoet - the national Dutch volunteering day. Maxima truly was the queen of casual, wrapped up for the occasion in a khaki double-layered coat with a padded, hooded layer on the inside. She looked on trend in double denim, opting for a dark buttoned up jacket and bootleg jeans in a lighter wash. Maxima, 51, refused to let the rain stop her from partaking in the fun, as she was pictured getting her hands dirty with the other volunteers in Zoetermeer Underneath the layers she wore an emerald green turtleneck to keep warm as she flashed a smile to photographers. Maxima came ready to get stuck in, donning some practical yet sporty black trainers, which were just about visible underneath her fashionable flared jeans. The NLdoet scheme sees people across the Netherlands roll up their sleeves and take part in work for the charity Oranje Fonds. The charity was set up in 2002 as the country's wedding gift to Queen Maxima and King Willem-Alexander, meaning they are patron and patroness. All wrapped up! Maxima truly was the queen of casual, as she wrapped up for the occasion, as she wore a khaki double-layered coat which had padded, hooded layer on the inside The Queen got stuck in, as she varnished a tired-looking wooden chair in dire need of a revamp The King walked alongside Maxima in a black puffer coat, some casual light-wash denim jeans and a white coat with the name of the charity on underneath his coat Queen Maxima grabbed a paint roller and got going as she painted this table white among other volunteers Maxima popped on a white apron and gloves as she grabbed a paintbrush and got to work, setting a fine example to her country The King walked alongside Maxima in a black puffer coat, some casual light-wash denim jeans and a white coat with the name of the charity on underneath his coat. Maxima popped on a white apron and gloves as she grabbed a paintbrush and got to work, setting a fine example to her country. She opted for natural makeup and a loose ponytail, letting her golden blonde tresses of hair dangle down as she concentrated on bringing the furniture back to life. The royal couple smiled as Maxima popped her hood up to avoid the heavy rain, whereas the King smiled and embraced it. She stunned in double denim as she opted for a dark buttoned up jacket and bootleg jeans, which were a lighter wash The NLdoet scheme sees people across the Netherlands roll up their sleeves and take part in work for the charity Oranje Fonds She opted for natural makeup and a loose ponytail, letting her golden blonde tresses of hair dangle down as she concentrated on bringing the furniture back to life The charity was set up in 2002 as the country's wedding gift to Queen Maxima and King Willem-Alexander, meaning they are patron and patroness Yesterday, Maxima visited an aid centre for Ukrainian refugees who have fled to Slovakia. The mother-of-three spent a long time with one little girl, holding her in her arms and hugging her. But she also met countless other children, who seemed to light up around the monarch and clambered into her lap. This file photo shows Ryu Sam-young, a senior police superintendent on whom the police struck a three-month suspension for organizing a controversial meeting of over 50 senior police officers in July, 2022. Yonhap The Seoul Administrative Court on Friday halted the suspension slapped on a police superintendent for organizing a police meeting against the interior ministry's plan to establish a police oversight bureau last year. Ryu Sam-young was suspended from his job for three months from Dec. 13 for leading a meeting of about 50 senior police officers nationwide in July in a show of protest against the planned establishment of the police bureau within the interior ministry. The bureau, which oversees overall police organization, set sail the following month, despite fierce opposition from the police. He then filed for a lawsuit seeking the revocation of disciplinary action by the National Police Agency and a separate petition to temporarily halt the efficacy of the measure until a court decision is made, claiming he has no reason to be disciplined. On Friday, the court said there was an urgent need to prevent him from sustaining financially uncompensable damage from the disciplinary measure, whose illegality is still in dispute, as it made him unable to carry out his duty as a police superintendent. But the decision is widely viewed as meaningless, since it came only three days before the three-month suspension expires Monday. Ryu said he appreciates the decision even though it may not bring any practical gains. (Yonhap) It's a big day for Prince Edward and his family but, as the King's brother is named Duke of Edinburgh, there is one person who has missed out on a new title. Edward's elder child, Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor, 19, has taken on an increasingly public role as the Wessexes moved up the royal chain, following the disgrace of Prince Andrew and the departure of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. She was front and centre at the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, joined her parents at the Commonwealth Games, and made her successful TV debut in a documentary about her beloved grandfather the Duke of Edinburgh. However, she will not inherit the title of Countess of Wessex from her father due to the ancient rules of primogeniture. Instead the title will skip Lady Louise and be given to Prince Edward and Sophie's son, James Viscount Severn, 15, who will become the Earl of Wessex. Primogeniture refers to a legal or traditional practice in the inheritance of a title or propery that favours the eldest son and his male children. Edward's eldest child, Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor, 19, may have taken on an increasingly public role in recent years - but she has missed out on the title of Countess of Wessex due to primogeniture The 19-year-old may be the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh's eldest child - but due to the rules of primogeniture, she will not inherit a title In exceptional cases, primogeniture may give this preferential inheritance to the children of the eldest daughter if there is no male heir. The motivation for such a practice was to keep the estate of the deceased, or some part of it, whole and intact, and it was relevant when only men were deemed capable of taking over and running a large estate or farm. The Royal Family brought to an end the system of primogeniture that had dictated the line of succession since 1701 in 2013. Under the Succession to the Crown Act 2013, princes no longer take precedence over their sisters. It means Princess Charlotte is ahead of her brother Prince Louis in the line of succession. However, the rule does not stand for Lady Louise and James Viscount because they were born before the change. It means that, like Princess Anne with her younger brothers Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, Lady Louise is below her brother James in the line of succession. It also means that the new title change for her parents doesn't impact Lady Louise - who has missed out on the chance of getting the royal title in favour of her brother. This comes despite Lady Louise's own rise to becoming a polished young royal who has been hailed the Firm's 'secret weapon'. Instead the title will skip Lady Louise and be given to Prince Edward and Sophie's son, James Viscount Severn, 15, who will become the Earl of Wessex The unassuming teenager, often seen in country casuals or prim dresses, spent her childhood largely out of the spotlight, growing up in the leafy surrounds of the family's 30million home of Bagshot Park, just a few miles from Windsor Castle. Now it is a very different story. How the different titles are ranked Monarch Prince/Princesses Duke/Duchess Marquees/Marchioness Earl/Countess Viscount/Viscountess Baron/Baroness Baronets Knight/Dame Esquire Gentlemen/Lady Advertisement Phil Dampier, who has covered the Royals for nearly 40 years, previously told the Daily Telegraph: 'She seems to be very mature for her age and she's shaping up to be precisely the kind of person the Queen can rely on in the future. 'Could there be a role for her in a slimmed-down monarchy? The Queen and Philip had 1,500 patronages between them. 'You have to ask yourself who is going to continue their legacy with Harry and Meghan and Prince Andrew off the scene? There's a huge workload there.' And while Lady Louise is technically a Princess, like her cousins Princess Beatrice and Eugenie, she hasn't styled herself as one. Her mother Sophie has previously suggested Lady Louise wouldn't style herself as an HRH. In 2020, she revealed her and Prince Edward's two children will not take up official royal roles and are being raised with the understanding that they'll probably have to work for a living. The then-Countess told The Sunday Times Magazine it was 'highly unlikely' Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn will use their HRH titles when they turned 18. 'We try to bring them up with the understanding that they are very likely to have to work for a living,' she said. 'Hence we made the decision not to use HRH titles. They have them and can decide to use them from 18, but I think it's highly unlikely.' Despite this, many royal fans expressed their dismay for Lady Louise had missed out on the title of Countess of Wessex. Out of the spotlight: Lady Louise enjoyed a largely 'normal' childhood. She made one of her first high profile appearances as a bridesmaid at the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's wedding in 2011. Pictured, travelling in a carriage with her cousin Prince Harry at the event In the public eye: Lady Louise with her parents and younger brother at Trooping the Colour in 2013. The Wessexes were much further down the royal food chain when she was growing up One wrote: 'James gets a promotion, so to speak. And Lady Louise is still just Lady Louise. Chivalric nonsense.' Another wrote: 'I was really hoping to hear that plans for the Duke of Edinburgh title would go to Lady Louise (upon the passing of Edward) and make her a Duchess of Edinburgh in her own right.' One added: 'Damn! They did Lady Louise dirty.' But Lady Louise is far from the only socialite who has been skipped over for her younger brother. Lady Katie Percy, 38, a Gunsmith and mechanic, is the daughter of Ralph Percy, 12th Duke of Northumberland. However instead of Lady Katie becoming a Countess, her younger brother George Percy, 36, is an Earl. Meanwhile Lady Kitty Spencer, niece of Princess Diana, is the eldest child of Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer. Upon his death, she would be in line to become the next Countess of Spencer, if not for primogeniture, which means her younger brother Louis is set to inherit their father's title. In 2015, he said he would be sticking with tradition, saying: 'If I chose Kitty it would be against all the tradition that goes with Althorp. Its just the way it is. I get the problems with it as a concept.' Lady Kitty has spoken out on the topic in the past, calling things 'tricky'. 'As times are changing, attitudes are as well. We've grown up understanding that it's Louis to inherit, and Louis will do an incredible job,' she told Town & Country magazine. Lady Louise joined her parents to become the first to visit the grieving Queen after Prince Philip's death Lady Louise has received praise in recent years for her 'very mature' attitude (pictured, with her parents and brother) Bright and beautiful: Lady Louise has been making more confident fashion choices, as seen in the Royal Family outing to the Easter church service at Windsor Castle last year Lady Kinvara Balfour, 45, has been a vocal critic of the system and campaigned for change to the practice of male primogeniture. Her own mother Tessa is the eldest daughter of the Duke of Norfolk. When her father Miles died in 2002, the dukedom was passed to Tessa's younger brother, Edward, who was the fourth child but the only son. She has previously called for the practice of male primogeniture to be outlawed, calling it 'unfair' and 'unjust'. What is male primogeniture? Primogeniture is preference in inheritance that is given by law, custom, or usage to the eldest son and his issue. In exceptional cases, primogeniture may prescribe such preferential inheritance to the line of the eldest daughter. The motivation for such a practice has usually been to keep the estate of the deceased, or some part of it, whole and intact. The Royal Family brought to an end the system of primogeniture that had dictated the line of succession since 1701. Under the Succession to the Crown Act 2013, princes no longer take precedence over their sisters. It means Princess Charlotte, five, is ahead of her brother Prince Louis, two, in the line of succession. Advertisement She has argued the rules violate a woman's 'right to fair treatment' and mean daughters are 'disregarded entirely'. 'The current rules don't just malign a bunch of girls who want a jolly nice house and a title,' Lady Kinvara wrote in the Daily Telegraph. 'With these titles comes the chance to be elected to one of the 92 seats still reserved for hereditary peers in the House of Lords which have been held almost exclusively by men.' Lady Louise's parents' new title, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, is one of the most senior in the Royal Family. The couple are due to make their first appearance in the city later today as they attend a reception to mark the first year of the conflict in Ukraine. Unusually the title of Duke of Edinburgh, which was previously held by Edward's father, Prince Philip, will only remain with him for his lifetime and on his death revert to the Crown. The ancient and prestigious title of Duke of Edinburgh was given to Prince Philip by King George VI in 1947 when he married Queen Elizabeth. Edward was exceptionally close to his father and his later years took on much of his work with the Duke of Edinburgh Awards scheme. When he and Sophie married in 1999 it was announced that the dukedom would pass to Edward after Philip's death. That was two years ago, however, and there has been much to-ing and fro-ing behind the scenes on the issue ever since. The issue for Buckingham Palace was that Edward is now 13th in line to the throne and will only slide further down the order of succession over the years when the Prince and Princess of Wales' children grow up and go on to have families of their own. But Lady Louise isn't the only female socialite whom the rule impacts - with Lady Kitty set to miss out on her father's title of Earl of Spencer in place of her younger brother, and Lady Katie Percy losing the chance for her father's title of Duke of Northumberland to her younger brother George, Earl Percy Lady Kinvara Balfour, 45, has been a vocal critic of the system and campaigned for change to the practice of male primogeniture. Her own mother was first born child of a Duke - but missed the chance of a title because she had a younger brother There was concern that the most senior titles associated with a nation of the United Kingdom would be passed on to an ever more junior branch of the family line. So when Philip died in April 2021, Buckingham Palace announced that the title had reverted to the monarch and that continued to be the case when Queen Elizabeth died last September. At one point courtiers discussed the King keeping the title permanently but many felt that it would be wrong not to honour Prince Philip's wishes and thank Edward for the ceaseless work he has done on behalf of the monarchy in recent years. He and his wife have particularly stepped up since Harry and Meghan's acrimonious departure in 2019. Many royal fans were in uproar over the news, with some feeling the rules around primogeniture were 'chivalric nonsense' There were reports that the King was also considering granting the title of Duchess of Edinburgh to his sister Princess Anne, or his granddaughter, Princess Charlotte. The Mail understands that after Edward's eventual death that the Duke of Edinburgh title will most likely be given to one of William and Kate's children, most likely Prince Louis, when they are older. Sources stressed that the timing of the announcement had nothing to do with developments this week regarding the titles of Harry and Meghan's children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, as such announcements are normally made on a member of the Royal Family's birthday. This is indeed true, although it is likely that the issue of the Sussex children had to be sorted first so as not to offend the notoriously prickly duke and duchess. A Buckingham Palace spokesman said today: 'His Majesty The King has been pleased to confer the Dukedom of Edinburgh upon The Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Forfar, on the occasion of His Royal Highness's 59th birthday. 'The title will be held by Prince Edward for His Royal Highness's lifetime. 'The Dukedom was last created for Prince Philip in 1947, upon his marriage to Princess Elizabeth, who held the title of Duchess of Edinburgh before acceding to the throne in 1952. 'The new Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh are proud to continue Prince Philip's legacy of promoting opportunities for young people of all backgrounds to reach their full potential.' Like other members of the Royal Family, Edward had a number of titles conferred on him when he married. His other Scottish title is the Earl of Forfar. He will remain Earl of Forfar, although will use his more senior title of Edinburgh. His son James will become The Earl of Wessex and Forfar when Edward dies and the now non hereditary title of Edinburgh reverts to the Crown again. A Buckingham Palace spokesman said today: 'His Majesty The King has been pleased to confer the Dukedom of Edinburgh upon The Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Forfar, on the occasion of His Royal Highness's 59th birthday. 'The title will be held by Prince Edward for His Royal Highness's lifetime. 'The Dukedom was last created for Prince Philip in 1947, upon his marriage to Princess Elizabeth, who held the title of Duchess of Edinburgh before acceding to the throne in 1952. 'The new Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh are proud to continue Prince Philip's legacy of promoting opportunities for young people of all backgrounds to reach their full potential.' The anchor spent several days in the ICU as her daughter battled a 'health issue' Today show stars Jenna Bush Hager and Savannah Guthrie have revealed how they came together to 'support' their friend and co-anchor Hoda Kotb during her unexpected absence from the morning program. Hoda, 58, returned to the NBC show on Monday and revealed that her three-year-old daughter, Hope Catherine, spent several days in the ICU battling a 'health issue,' which led to the star taking two weeks off from her job. Reflecting on her co-host's lengthy absence, Jenna revealed the surprising impact of not having her close friend by her side for that period of time. Speaking to DailyMail.com at a party on Thursday to celebrate four years of her Today book club, Read With Jenna, the 41-year-old explained: 'I know how much I adore her, I already knew it every day. But when someone is not at work unexpectedly for a period of time, you realize how important they are to you. Today show stars Jenna Bush Hager and Savannah Guthrie have opened up about coming together to 'support' their friend and co-anchor Hoda Kotb Hoda (pictured with her daughters Hope and Haley) was absent from work after her youngest child spent over a week in the ICU battling a 'health issue' 'And I have three little babes just like her, so my heart completely empathizes with her. Hoda taking that time off shows how lucky we are that we work in a place where we can take that time off work. Also, I'm so happy she heard how beloved she is.' She continued: 'People missed her because she is loved, I witnessed the amazing amount of well wishes she received from viewers who love our show. If I made it clear that while I missed her, so did everybody else who watches.' Hoda's return to the morning show came more than two weeks after her last appearance in the studio - an absence that sparked serious concern among viewers until her co-host, Craig Melvin, revealed that she had been dealing with a 'family health matter.' Hoda, who is also mother to six-year-old daughter Haley Joy, first revealed that she had adopted Hope back in April 2019. Besides getting support from her coworkers, Hoda also received an outpouring of well-wishes from fans. Taking to Instagram on Tuesday, she wrote: 'Thank you for all of your beautiful words and prayers. I have read them all. You have no idea how much it means to me and my family. I am so profoundly touched.' Meanwhile fellow broadcaster Savannah, 51, shared similar sentiments as Jenna about how they came together to support their friend as she stated: 'As a team, we all lift each other up and that's the way it should be. 'We are working these crazy hours that can be high stress and also high fun. We have a special bond and it shows in times like this. She continued: 'I love our show and NBC because there is never a question about being off work for family. It's always been, "How can we support you? Just take all the time you need."' Indeed, Savannah's presence at the celebration of Read With Jenna further highlighted the way in which the Today co-anchors show support for each other in all aspects of life. Hoda's absence that sparked serious concern among viewers, while Jenna admitted that the surprise absence made her 'realize how important' having Hoda around was to her Fellow broadcaster Savannah, 51, shared similar sentiments as Jenna as she stated: 'As a team, we all lift each other up and that's the way it should be. Besides getting support from her coworkers, Hoda also received an outpouring of well-wishes from fans, whom she thanked on social media Jenna revealed her appreciation for the support from Savannah and fellow NBC stars Sheinelle Jones and Dylan Dreyer at the event as she continued: 'The most important thing to me is that I get to work at a place that I love, and that I am blessed to do it with women who all support each other. 'The ladies came here tonight for me, at a time when they could be putting their kids to bed.' Elsewhere her twin sister, Barbara Bush, was also in attendance on the night and told DailyMail.com: 'I'm very proud of my sister'. In fact, Barbara was moved to tears as she watched her sister give a heartfelt speech in which she thanked her twin for sharing her love of books throughout their lives. Thursday saw Jenna throw a party to celebrate four years of her Today book club, Read With Jenna Looking back at the growth of her book club, Jenna told DailyMail.com: 'The success of this club is beyond my wildest dreams. I have loved reading since I was a little girl and the fact that I get to be surrounded by authors that admire means everything. 'Our mission is to debut diverse authors, the fact that so many of these books have hit the NYT bestseller list means they have changed minds and opened minds.' She continued: 'The fact people are falling in love with stories from all different perspectives and from all walks of life (which we can see from the sales) proves that people want this. They want to pull up chairs to the table and be seated together. I hope for our future because of this.' At present, 37 of Hager's selections have become New York Times bestsellers. The star has now taken things to a new level after signing her first production deal with Universal Studio Group where she will be developing and producing projects for television and movies. So far, 28 RWJ stories have been optioned for TV and film, and the anchor revealed her hope that this would 'help to double the audiences that theses stories are reaching.' Prince Edward and his wife Sophie have visited their Dukedom for the first time after King Charles younger brother gained a prestigious new title. The King has conferred the title of Duke of Edinburgh on his youngest brother to mark his 59th birthday today, and the couple received a warm welcome as hundreds of fans lined the Royal Mile to greet the couple. Sophie and her husband are in the city to attend a ceremony at the City Chambers to mark one year since the city's formal response to the invasion of Ukraine. The royal couple were introduced to Marianna Melnyk, aged 10, from the Ukrainian who wore traditional dress and presented Sophie with a bunch of yellow and blue flowers - the colours of her nation's flag. The new Duchess of Edinburgh, who has been elevated from the Countess of Wessex, looked elegant in a cream coat and matching scarf for the outing, with an elegant blue dress just visible beneath the hem. The new Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh meet Marianna Melnyk, aged 10, from the Ukrainian community at the City Chambers in Edinburgh The new Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh meet members of the public as they attend a ceremony at the City Chambers in Edinburgh to mark one year since the city's formal response to the invasion of Ukraine Sophie looked chic as she wrapped up in a cream coat, with a blue dress just visible beneath the hem Marianna Melnyk, aged 10, from the Ukrainian who wore traditional dress and presented Sophie with a bunch of yellow and blue flowers - the colours of her nation's flag Sophie's previous rank as Countess of Wessex, meant she was of an equal rank with her husband Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex. This raise in royal status for Sophie, 58, is a touching tribute to the late Queen's daughter-in-law who lovingly called her 'mama'. Married to Prince Edward for 24 years, she is well known for her down-to-earth nature and was viewed by the late Queen as The Firm's safest pair of hands. Queen Elizabeth II's title of Duchess of Edinburgh passing to Sophie gives her a front-and-centre role as one of a reduced number of working royals, as King Charles begins to slim down the monarchy. However their new titles of Duke and Duchess are of a higher rank, elevating them in status to just below the monarch. Duchesses are also referred to as Her Royal Highness. Meanwhile the title of the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh is one of the most senior in the Royal Family. Plenty to smile about! Edward looked thrilled to be meeting royal fans on the day of his birthday Sophie looked elegant in a cream coat and matching scarf as she greeted well-wishers on the Royal Mile The new Duke of Edinburgh seemed delighted by the warm reception he received in Scotland today, his first visit to his Dukedom since his new title was revealed Celebrations! Sophie looked delighted to meet royal fans ahead of a ceremony at the City Chambers in Edinburgh Prince Edwards new Duke title elevates him in status to just below the monarch, and is seen as a vote of confidence from his brother King Charles Snap happy! Royal fans managed to get close enough to the new Duke of Edinburgh to take photos as a memento of the big day The new Duke and Duchess paused to chat to royal fans before entering the City Chambers The move is a touching and lasting connection between the late Queen and her much-loved daughter-in-law, Sophie. She was noted as the late monarch's 'favourite' family member and closest confidante. Experts previously noted the Countess being in the spotlight is what Prince Philip 'would have wanted' and helped to 'keep his memory alive.' At a service for her mother-in-law near Balmoral the Countess of Wessex was seen teary-eyed while kneeling to admire tributes - showing the depth of their relationship which had progressed to the point where the she was said to be treated as a 'second daughter' by the Queen. The Queen cared for Sophie in 2005 after her mother, Mary Rhys-Jones, 77, died from stomach cancer in 2005. As Prince Edward's and Sophie's house, Bagshot Park, is only a short trip from Windsor it meant the Queen's youngest son and his family to regularly visit. Walking their dogs together was a favourite past-time of the pair. They also shared a love of military history, spending hours poring over ancient documents in the Royal Archives at Windsor, where Sophie and her mother-in-law indulged in their shared hobby, researching military history. How the different titles are ranked Monarch Prince/Princesses Duke/Duchess Marquees/Marchioness Earl/Countess Viscount/Viscountess Baron/Baroness Baronets Knight/Dame Esquire Gentlemen/Lady Advertisement Even if she was unable to see the Queen in person - Sophie would always make sure to call 'mama' every day - and she was the first royal to speak about Prince Philip's death. And in 2021, a tearful Countess described the queen as amazing as she and her husband Prince Edward comforted Her Majesty at Windsor Castle following the death of her husband Prince Philip. Along with Kate, the Princess of Wales, and Princess Anne, Sophie is just one of few female senior royals who will be guiding the Crown into its next era. The PR guru from Oxford has won plaudits for her choice of work on preventable blindness and the issue of sexual violence in war, the Daily Mail reported on Monday. Sophie, who was brought up in Kent by a tyre company executive father and a secretary mother, is now patron to over 70 different organisations. She has also become a source of advice for the new Princess of Wales, who sees that Sophie admires the way she balances her royal duties with motherhood. Writing for Town & Country in 2020, royal journalist and author Victoria Murphy told how Sophie had become a stalwart member of the royal family thanks to her down to earth nature and quietly assured approach to her royal duties. 'Her work does not regularly receive the kind of media attention that the younger royals command, but Sophie has become a stalwart member of the "firm",' Murphy wrote, adding: 'The spotlight on Sophie has intensified in the vacuum left as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle step back.' The couple were the first to visit the grieving Monarch after the Duke of Edinburgh's death, and as they left the castle Sophie was visibly upset Meanwhile people who had worked with the royal on a professional level told Murphy that they admired her ability to say what she thinks while still remaining polite. Amanda Pullinger, CEO of 100 Women in Finance, insisted Sophie 'really is down to earth'. She said: 'She actually presents herself as an ordinary person and I think that is increasingly what the royal family needs to do. 'It's interestingshe's not nicey nicey. Of course she's polite, but she'll tell you what she thinks. If she disagrees she'll say, and she's done it to me a number of times.' However her current royal reputation is a far cry from the turmoil that followed the countess early on in her marriage, when she was still running her own public relations consultancy. A 'royals for hire' storm was sparked after she posed beside a Rover 75 at the Frankfurt Motor Show, having secured a 250,000 contract to publicise it. But Sophie's determination saw her take on full-time royal duties, and embrace rural pursuits beloved by the royals, such as riding, fishing, shooting game and carriage driving. Now, in her first appearance as the Duchess of Edinburgh, she will join her husband Prince Edward in the city later today as they attend a reception to mark the first year of the conflict in Ukraine. Unusually the title of Duke of Edinburgh, which was previously held by Edward's father, Prince Philip, will only remain with him for his lifetime and on his death revert to the Crown. Their son James, Viscount Severn, 15, will from today be known as Earl of Wessex his father's previous title. Under the ancient rules of primogeniture, none of the changes will affect the couple's student daughter Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor, however. The ancient and prestigious title of Duke of Edinburgh was given to Prince Philip by King George VI in 1947 when he married Queen Elizabeth. Edward was exceptionally close to his father and his later years took on much of his work with the Duke of Edinburgh Awards scheme. When he and Sophie married in 1999 it was announced that the dukedom would pass to Edward after Philip's death. That was two years ago, however, and there has been much to-ing and fro-ing behind the scenes on the issue ever since. The issue for Buckingham Palace was that Edward is now 13th in line to the throne and will only slide further down the order of succession over the years when the Prince and Princess of Wales' children grow up and go on to have families of their own. There was concern that the most senior titles associated with a nation of the United Kingdom would be passed on to an ever more junior branch of the family line. So when Philip died in April 2021, Buckingham Palace announced that the title had reverted to the monarch and that continued to be the case when Queen Elizabeth died last September. At one point courtiers discussed the King keeping the title permanently but many felt that it would be wrong not to honour Prince Philip's wishes and thank Edward for the ceaseless work he has done on behalf of the monarchy in recent years. History of the Dukedom The Dukedom has previously been created four times for members of the Royal Family as follows: 1726 - Pri nce Frederick , eldest son of King George II , eldest son of King George II 1764 Pr ince William , brother of King George III, as part of the joint title, The Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh , brother of King George III, as part of the joint title, The Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh 1866 Pri nce Alfred , second son of Queen Victoria , second son of Queen Victoria 1947 Prince Philip , husband of Queen Elizabeth II Advertisement He and his wife have particularly stepped up since Harry and Meghan's acrimonious departure in 2019. There were reports that the King was also considering granting the title of Duchess of Edinburgh to his sister Princess Anne, or his granddaughter, Princess Charlotte. The Mail understands that after Edward's eventual death that the Duke of Edinburgh title will most likely be given to one of William and Kate's children, most likely Prince Louis, when they are older. Sources stressed that the timing of the announcement had nothing to do with developments this week regarding the titles of Harry and Meghan's children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, as such announcements are normally made on a member of the Royal Family's birthday. This is indeed true, although it is likely that the issue of the Sussex children had to be sorted first so as not to offend the notoriously prickly duke and duchess. A Buckingham Palace spokesman said today: 'His Majesty The King has been pleased to confer the Dukedom of Edinburgh upon The Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Forfar, on the occasion of His Royal Highnesss 59th birthday. 'The title will be held by Prince Edward for His Royal Highnesss lifetime. 'The Dukedom was last created for Prince Philip in 1947, upon his marriage to Princess Elizabeth, who held the title of Duchess of Edinburgh before acceding to the throne in 1952. 'The new Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh are proud to continue Prince Philips legacy of promoting opportunities for young people of all backgrounds to reach their full potential.' Like other members of the Royal Family, Edward had a number of titles conferred on him when he married. His other Scottish title is the Earl of Forfar. He will remain Earl of Forfar, although will use his more senior title of Edinburgh. His son James will become The Earl of Wessex and Forfar when Edward dies and the now non hereditary title of Edinburgh reverts to the Crown again. A Buckingham Palace spokesman said today: 'His Majesty The King has been pleased to confer the Dukedom of Edinburgh upon The Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Forfar, on the occasion of His Royal Highnesss 59th birthday. 'The title will be held by Prince Edward for His Royal Highnesss lifetime. 'The Dukedom was last created for Prince Philip in 1947, upon his marriage to Princess Elizabeth, who held the title of Duchess of Edinburgh before acceding to the throne in 1952. 'The new Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh are proud to continue Prince Philips legacy of promoting opportunities for young people of all backgrounds to reach their full potential.' Dear Bel I was widowed very suddenly two-and-a-half years ago, while living in France and moved back to the UK soon afterwards. My daughter died 20 years ago this week of meningitis when she was 23 and my brother died in April last year. My only family is my niece and I moved to live in the same county to be close to her. But as a paediatrics consultant in an NHS hospital, she is so busy and I dont see her often. I didnt know anyone when I moved here and made an effort to make friends by joining the WI, U3A and a knitting group, and I got to know other dog walkers (I have a springer spaniel). But all the friends I have made have partners/ husbands/children/grandchildren and I still feel incredibly lonely, especially at weekends. While I try to be cheerful and interested in their lives when we meet, I dont think any of them realise how desperately sad I feel when faced with days when I spend all my time alone with my dog. Ive tried to make contact via Facebook and other local internet sites with other people, who, like me, have no family around, but thats been unsuccessful. Im not looking for another life partner after 43 years of marriage, but wonder if I should look on dating apps for the older person! Most weekends I end up in tears, weeping for what I have lost and just longing for someone to put an arm round me and reassure me that things will be all right. I read your column every week and it has taken me months to pluck up the courage and write. JOANNA This week Bel Mooney advises a woman who asks if she can ever move on from her lonely grieving Your brave, sad email arrived a week before another longer one, with a similar sorrow at its heart. Another widow, JB, reflected on the cumulative pain of previous bereavements, leading to the loss of her husband four months ago. Here she is: Thought of the day Some matters remained obstinately unresolved because that was what life was like. Not all the uncertainties we faced were capable of being resolved there were many strings left untied. Extracted from The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon, by Alexander McCall Smith Advertisement This is the first time I have lived alone. From a big family, I met my husband when we were 16, married at 20 and had three children. When they left home we still had each other, soulmates, together for 58 years. I hope you can give me some reason for continuing to make an effort. A lot of people have said how strong I am, but I dont feel it. Im just carrying on. I get up, do my make-up and dress well. The house is clean and tidy and my little dog is a comfort. But now I ask: will I get over this? Over the years I have received so many letters like these two, from men and women alike, wondering how to continue with life after the death of a beloved partner or spouse. Whats more, in my personal life I have shared conversations with many friends who tell me that after such a bereavement its hard to know whether you can summon enough strength to get out of bed in the morning and whether its worth it. Some of them might be blessed with loving families and good friends and neighbours, yet still that silent spectre called Loss follows them wherever they go and climbs the lonely stairs with them at night. You, Joanna, desperately want company and have tried with admirable fortitude and energy to make new friends. JB wants to know if it is possible to get over the loss of a soulmate, and wonders if it is humanly possible to get used to living alone. My heart goes out to you both and (as so often, writing this column I love so much) I feel utterly helpless in the face of your grief. Yet JB asks me specifically for a reason for continuing to make an effort and so I must try. Because lets be honest, even if such honesty can seem bleak finding a reason to live is at the very heart of the human condition. And its not always easy. At midnight, two weeks from today, we will all move our clocks forward one hour and summer time will begin. Yes, it may still be cold. Yes, there may be frost in April and May. Yes, we might find the lighter evenings make us melancholy, as we reflect on time passing so quickly and watch people in the street. Yes, the blossom on the trees might become so blasted by heavy rain we miss the chance fully to enjoy the pink and white beauty. All those things can happen, as you know, just as some of us will receive bad news from the doctor, while others hear something to lift them to a peak of joy and all this is about being human, coming to terms with life and facing the veiled future. The daffodil spikes can seem cruel as they tear through the earth or look utterly glorious, filling hearts like Wordsworths with pleasure. And so we stumble onwards, making the best of it while we can and, on other days, feeling like giving up. But the reason to go on lies within the not-knowing. The promise of what might happen, the hope that sings through the bedraggled bird on the bough, the flash of a smile in the street. These things (and so many more) are why we get out of bed. Why the dogs tail wagging urges us to look after other living things as well as ourselves. To look outwards always. Believe me, I hear the grief and loneliness in both the letters, from you Joanna and from JB, which moved me so much. Countless readers will hold out hands to both of you, because they understand what you are going through. And there is nothing to do except what you are both doing carry on going out as much as possible, appearing to be strong, and just trying. I offer the small consolation that the act of seeming strong can and will become a habit which, in time, does diminish pain. And that the hope of making new friends is real, and so is a gradual adjustment to life on your own. What do our beloved dead want for us? That we continue and be happy if we can. As the late poet Brendan Kennelly wrote: Though we live in a world that dreams of ending That always seems about to give in Something that will not acknowledge conclusion Insists that we forever begin. I am half-mad with forbidden lust Dear Bel I am in my late 50s, married for 27 years. My wife is a great lady but I dont think Ive ever been in love. Why did I marry? It seemed right at the time. We havent had sex for about five years, although I think shed be willing if I was. Two years ago, I became involved with a woman at work whod found out her husband was having an affair. Our closeness meant snogs and cuddles (and a little more), but I said I couldnt leave my wife, so she took her husband back. I was devastated. Because of my moods, my wife suspected something was wrong. So I admitted I fancied this other woman. My wife asked me if she hadnt returned to her husband, would I have left for her? I couldnt answer truthfully so stayed noncommittal. But the question looms, even though my wife is trying to make our marriage work. I still see the other woman at work and occasionally out in my car. We havent had intercourse, but are aroused in each others company. What do I do? I love my wife, but am not in love with her and cannot bring myself to make love with her. The other woman is waiting for me to leave my wife so she can leave her husband and we can be together. But I am frightened in case it doesnt work and Im left alone. When we are apart I am unhappy, I feel guilty and cannot sleep, thinking this cant go on. But then I just want to have more of her. I would appreciate your thoughts? ROBERT My first response is that being so sexually obsessed is exactly what the doomed opera diva Violetta sings of, in Verdis La traviata: A cross and a delight. Or (if you like), an agony and an ecstasy. You think about making love with the forbidden person 98 per cent of the time, brood painfully in the wee small hours of the morning, fantasise about a love nest with him/her in which you can have hot sex most of the time, and turn your back on the poor person who is your spouse. You lie, feel guilty, and then lie some more. People reading this who have never experienced that madness can count themselves lucky. It is an ancient lunacy, and always will be. All I can tell you is that I know exactly what its like and that in time, if you stay married, the madness dies down and you get on with the life you have. And yes, as the days turn into months, then years, the life you imagined in the heat of passion becomes hazier and hazier until it fades completely. But make no mistake, right now youre cruelly punishing your blameless wife. If you love the other woman, the honest thing is to take the gamble and move in with her. OK, so you are frightened, but to cling to that fear and allow it to dominate your actions is feeble. You enjoy your teenage-like fumbles in the car, but cant face up to your lover or your wife with the honesty of a mature man. Youre being monstrously unfair on both women, so I suggest you make a decision. And finally... I feel utterly powerless and furious It came as no surprise that so many people applauded my article last Saturday in which, drawing on a new book, Hags, by the journalist Victoria Smith, I tore into those foolish younger women who have made themselves handmaidens to the cause of men, willing to sacrifice hard-won womens rights for the sake of utterly meaningless slogans like Trans women are women. Contact Bel Bel answers readers' questions on emotional and relationship problems each week. Write to Bel Mooney, Daily Mail, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT, or email bel.mooney@dailymail.co.uk. Names are changed to protect identities. Bel reads all letters but regrets she cannot enter into personal correspondence. Advertisement It is fine to be tolerant and proclaim Trans women are trans women, but not to fly in the face of all logic and insult those who disagree. Thats not an issue for this column today although the subject has cropped up in past letters. But what is an issue is the sense of utter helplessness I feel all around. Those who wrote about that article called me brave for speaking up and giving us a voice and went on to ask why the world seems to be so mad and/or deluded. I had a similar response when I wrote recently about the woke rewriting of the author Roald Dahl. The issue is different, yet when I read some of the leaked WhatsApp exchanges during the pandemic, between Matt Hancock, former health secretary, and other ministers and civil servants, I was conscious of deep disillusionment, too. Many times in this paper I have written tough pieces challenging rules which seemed to me to be arbitrary and cruel, but what matters is that I, and so many of you, feel powerless. We know in our hearts that we are poorly governed and that both Keir Starmer cosying up to Sue Gray and Boris Johnson putting his dad up for a knighthood are insulting to us. Likewise we know that a tulip cannot become your actual daffodil and the word black is not racist. And that young children should not be taught about sex fetishes in school. Realising you can do nothing, you feel alienated in your own beloved country. And it makes me, for one, absolutely furious. Consumer experts have named the best hot cross bun in Australia for 2023 as a 67 cent option from Woolworths, after it beat out stiff competition from 20 other brands. The taste team from Choice tried 21 different hot cross buns from the likes of Woolworths, Coles, Aldi, IGA and Bakers' Delight - but it was the Woolworths' Traditional Fruit Hot Cross Buns ($4 for six) that was named the best this year. The Woolworths' buns received high praise from the experts for their softness, crusts and texture, earning extra points for being vegan-friendly, good for toasting and preservative-free. The buns scored an overall rating of 75 per cent from the experts, and cost just 67 cents per bun. Consumer experts have named the best hot cross bun in Australia for 2023 as a 67 cent option from Woolworths, after it beat out stiff competition from 20 other brands (hot cross bun options pictured) The Woolworths' buns received high praise from the experts for their softness, crusts and texture, earning extra points for being vegan-friendly, good for toasting and preservative-free (Woolworths' bun pictured) Coming in a close second place was Coles' Traditional Hot Cross Buns, which also retail at $4 for six or 67 cents per bun. Coming in a close second place was Coles' Traditional Hot Cross Buns, which also retail at $4 for six or 67 cents per bun (pictured) The Choice team said these buns were 'moist and soft, but better toasted'. They were given additional marks for being 27 per cent fruit and also vegan-friendly. The top three was rounded out by Woolworths' Luxurious Richly Fruited Hot Cross Buns ($5 for four; $1.25 per bun) - which last year took the top spot. The judges gave these buns 61 per cent and said they had a 'good colour, even cross, soft texture and toast well'. They also highlighted a 'pleasant fruitiness' that comes from the fact that there are no artificial colours or fragrances. In fourth place was Woolworths' Bakery Traditional Fruit Hot Cross Buns ($4 for six; 67 cents each) and fifth was Aldi's Bakers Life Fruit Hot Cross Buns ($3.49 for six; 58 cents per bun). Aldi scored an impressive 58 per cent considering the cheap price. Woolworths' luxury option (left) and their hot cross buns from the bakery (right) came in third and fourth place in the test The best hot cross buns for 2023 1. Woolworths' Traditional Fruit Hot Cross Buns ($4 for six). 2. Coles Bakery Traditional Fruit Hot Cross Buns ($4 for six). 3. Woolworths' Luxurious Richly Fruited Hot Cross Buns ($5 for four). 4. Woolworths' Bakery Traditional Fruited Hot Cross Buns ($5 for four). 5. Aldi's Bakers Life Fruit Hot Cross Buns ($3.49 for six). Advertisement The best hot cross buns for 2023 continued 6. Aldi's Bakers Life Chocolate Hot Cross Buns ($3.49 for six). 7. Community Co Traditional Easter Buns ($4 for six). 8. Balfours Premium Hot Cross Buns ($4.50 for six). 9. Community Co Chocolate Easter Buns ($4 for six). 10. Coles' Chocolate Hot Cross Buns ($4 for six). Advertisement Budget supermarket Aldi took out fifth and sixth place (pictured) with both their fruit bun and their chocolate offering When news about the hot cross buns was shared on Facebook, shoppers were quick to offer their own opinions (Coles buns pictured) Elsewhere, the Choice team also looked at chocolate hot cross buns, where they voted the Aldi Bakers Life Chocolate Hot Cross Bun the best at 57 per cent ($3.49 for six; 58 cents per bun) or sixth overall. 'There is little chocolate, but a good appearance and it's much better toasted,' the Choice team said. Another chocolate hot cross bun that was praised was the Community Co Chocolate Hot Cross Buns ($4 for six; 67 cents per bun). When news about the hot cross buns was shared on Facebook, shoppers were quick to offer their own opinions - and not everyone agreed with the experts. 'Coles but only from in house bakery, if you are lucky get them early in the day just as they are bagging them up. So good fresh, then they freeze really well,' one person wrote. 'Coles are my pick,' another seconded. A third wrote: 'Coleslove them because they're not stingy with the fruit like the others are'. A South Australian wine has just been named best in the country at a prestigious international award ceremony - and it's under $30. Taylors Wines' $26 2022 Jaraman Adelaide Hills and Clare Valley Chardonnay won the Best of Show Australian White and a gold medal at the 2023 MUNDUS VINI Grand International Wine Awards. The MUNDUS VINI awards is Europe's biggest wine competition determined by a panel of 240 expert judges from all over the world over six intensive days. Schubert Estate Wines in the Barossa Valley claimed the title for the Best of Show Australian Red and a gold medal for its 2018 Schubert Estate Goose-Yard Block Shiraz which will set you back $95. Of all the 43 Aussie wines that were awarded gold medals at the ceremony all of them were from South Australian wineries. Taylors Wines' $26 2022 Jaraman Adelaide Hills and Clare Valley Chardonnay (pictured) won the Best of Show Australian White and a gold medal at the MUNDUS VINI Grand International Wine Awards Seven more of Taylors Wines' drops were awarded gold medals at the ceremony while two earned silvers deeming it the Best Producer in Australia in the show's results. The 2022 chardonnay is described by Taylors as a intensely flavoured that is complex yet elegant. The 2022 chardonnay is described by Taylors as a intensely flavoured that is complex yet elegant It has distinct citrus, white peach and nectarine characters with a subtle flinty note. Taylors Wines has taken home the trophy for the top white wine at MUNDUS VINI for seven of the past nine years. Taylors Wines third-generation Winemaker and Managing Director Mitchell Taylor said he was honoured to fly the flag for South Australia on an international platform. 'MUNDUS VINI is an intense competition, judged by more than 240 wine experts from across 46 nations, so the calibre of judging is incredibly high,' he said. 'Our Jaraman Chardonnay is an exceptional value wine, showcasing the best of the Adelaide Hills and Clare Valley wine regions in the finished blend.' Other budget wines that won't break the bank and landed gold medals at the esteemed awards included the 2021 Kirrihill Regional Series Clare Valley Shiraz for $15.99 and the 2022 Taylors Taylor Made Pinot Noir Rose for $25. The gift bags worth $126,000 will go to 30 of the top nominees An Aussie skincare brand will be included in Hollywood Gift Bags at the Oscars An award-winning Australian natural skincare brand has been hand-picked to be featured in the prestigious Hollywood Gift Bags at the 95th Academy Awards. Rinascentia, which has won awards for its 'clean and conscious' formulas, will be included in the 'It's Great To Be a Nominee' bags gifted to 30 of the top nominees on Hollywood's biggest night of the year. Those who will receive them include Cate Blanchett, Michelle Williams and Austin Butler. Founder Rina Timpano, from Sydney, heard about the opportunity from another Aussie brand that was included in the past and said she paid an undisclosed fee to be included; the rumoured amount is $4,000. Rinascentia was one of nine brands accepted this year, with Ms Timpano having a helping hand from her business manager who 'pitched her in' to the agency behind the bags. From there, Ms Timpano applied to be included and with a stroke of luck she heard back from the agency a few weeks later alerting her she was successful. The fee to secure the spot was then paid. Rinascentia, which has won 30 awards for its 'clean and conscious' formulas, has will be included in the bags gifted to 30 of the top nominees on Hollywood's biggest night of the year The likes of Cate Blanchett, Ana de Armas, Michelle Williams, Michelle Yeah, Austin Butlet, Colin Farrell, Brendan Fraser and more will likely receive a gift bag each According to The Guardian, each bag is valued at around $126,000 and this year will be filled with 60 goodies - including silk pillowcases, a three-night stay in rural Ottawa, and wellness products. The gifts are extravagant as recipients will receive plot of land in Australia (size and location unknown), plastic surgery, jewellery and coconut water. Los Angeles marketing company Distinctive Assets has been organising the gift bags for top nominees since 2002. Rinascentia started in 1999 out of concern for the chemicals that Rina was using on hers and her children's sensitive skin. The inspiration for the products came from her traditional family values and using the Italian method of 'less is more'. What's in the Hollywood Gift Bags? Rinascentia - Divine Oleum Kit with All In One Cleanser, Face and Body Oil with Coenzyme Q10, gua sha stone and washcloth in a deluxe re-usable cosmetic bag Vintage Grocers Branded merchandise market tote, luxurious beach towel, trucker hat and gift card to your classic hometown grocery store Kailo - Australian Elevated Wellness collagen and protein supplements to optimise skin, body and mind NU Med Spa - Gift Certificate for a Hydra-facial experience, a non-invasive facial treatment combining cleansing, exfoliation, extraction, hydration and antioxidant protection that removes dead skin cells and impurities, while simultaneously delivering moisturising serums into the skin Terrakai - Deep moisture hyaluronic acid + kangaroo paw night cream Vacation Getaway Fragrance - Reminiscent of sunscreen, salty air, coconuts and the sun -like a vacation in a bottle Issada - Hollywood Awards Night Kit including cleansing gel, calming probiotic moisturiser, cleansing pad, headband, anti-aging serum and Sheer Defense SPF 50 in a deluxe re-usable cosmetic bag Tahiti Pearl Source - Exotic Tahitian Black Pearl jewellery hand made with love Brown Books Publishing Group - Miracle Baby: A Fertility Doctor's Fight For Motherhood by Dorette Noorhasan, MD Advertisement Founder Rina Timpano (pictured) heard about the opportunity from another Aussie brand that was included in the past 'Being able to share our products with some of Hollywood's elites is a dream' Ms Timpano said. 'I really believe in this brand. 30 awards say that others believe in it too and this is a huge opportunity for us to break into the US market. 'Our brand has always promoted self-expression and ageless beauty which is far from the typical standards of industry beauty, but our products get results and we are excited to share them with a wider audience.' Before and after images posted on Instagram show how two best-selling products worked wonders to reduce a woman's breakouts in just four weeks. Natalie used the Skin Reset Bundle and Vitamin C Serum to achieve the amazing results. 'Ever since using Rinascentia I have noticed a difference in my skin and confidence. I don't get near as many breakouts as I used to and my pigmentation has cleared way faster than usual,' Natalie said. 'I have also received so many compliments about my skin from family and friends. My only regret is not giving Rinascentia a go sooner!' The images show Natalie's skin was ridden with pimples, but after using the products the redness was barely visible. Before and after images posted on Instagram (pictured) show how two best-selling products worked wonders to reduce a woman's breakouts in just four weeks. Natalie used the Skin Reset Bundle and Vitamin C Serum to achieve the amazing results Rinascentia is both a Green Beauty and Blue Beauty brand. The products contain no fillers and they harness exotic natural ingredients you've probably never heard of. Best selling products include Plane Jane Hydrating Serum, Divine Oleum Face Oil and Cleanser and Illuminating Face Mud Mask. The 2023 Oscars will be broadcasted live at 11am AEDT on Monday March 13. Expat shares what a man's watch says about him A young woman has revealed what she thinks the type of watch a man owns says about him - and you won't believe her favourite. Ioana, from the Gold Coast, said to be wary of a man who owns a Rolex as he could be the 'Tinder Swindler' and Omega wearers aren't as cool as they think they are. The Canadian expat, who has been living in Australia for seven years, did not rate Daniel Wellington or Fossil watches as she said men who wear them are 'stuck in 2016'. She steers clear of guys who wear a Breitling but did like blokes who have an Apple and even Casio calculator watches. Ioana shared her thoughts in a TikTok clip that sparked a lively debate between followers. Scroll down for video Canadian expat Ioana (pictured) has revealed what she think of Aussie men based on the watch they wear Ioana, who's been living in Australia for seven years, said men who wear Omegas have watched too much James Bond and aren't as cool as they think they are What does his watch say about him? Omega - He's watched way too many Bond movies, and thinks he's cooler than he actually is Daniel Wellington - Get this man a time machine, he's stuck in 2016 Fossil - That's not a real watch, also stuck in 2016 Apple - He's an efficient reliable man, he's probably very minimalistic and wants to optimise his exercise or sleep Breitling - He probably wants or already owns a boat either way lock this man down Casio calculator - If it's not a Casio calculator watch I don't want it. These are the best men Advertisement Despite confessing she doesn't 'know anything about watches', Ioana said a man who has an Omega has watched 'too many James Bond movies' and 'thinks he's cooler than he actually is'. 'If he wears a Daniel Wellington get that man a time machine because he's still living in 2016. Same if he wears like a Fossil watch, just get a real watch,' she joked. She said those who have and can afford a Rolex have 'expensive taste'. 'But if he wears a Rolex to flash non-existent cash, he is the Tinder Swindler - keep him away from all your credit cards,' she said. Ioana thinks an Apple Watch is a sign of a 'reliable and efficient man'. She said those who can afford a Rolex have 'expensive taste'. 'But if he wears a Rolex to flash non-existent cash, he is the Tinder Swindler - keep him away from your credit cards,' she said 'If he wears a Daniel Wellington get that man a time machine because he's still living in 2016. Same if he wears like a Fossil water, just get a real watch,' Ioana joked 'He's probably very minimalistic and wants to optimise his exercise or sleep. His favourite book is probably Atomic Habits or something,' she said referring to a popular book about building good habits and breaking bad ones. 'If he wears a Breitling then he probably wants or already owns a boat either way lock this man down.' Finally, she admitted: 'If it's not a Casio calculator watch I don't want it'. Ioana's clip has been seen more than 447,300 times and racked up hundreds of comments from divided viewers. Some were offended with Ioana's hot takes with one saying: 'OMEGA SLANDER WILL NOT BE TOLERATED' 'Cries in Omega owner who has in fact watched too many James Bond movies,' a second replied. Ioana said blokes who wear a Breitling should be 'locked down' while she rated Apple Watches saying they're a sign of a 'reliable and efficient man' 'Omega being bad?? But Apple watch good. Holy hell, that's just blasphemy,' a third commented. However many thought the expat's opinions were hilarious and agreed with many of her 'accurate' judgements. 'You really must know watches. Omega is all about James Bond. If you have one you are definitely a fan,' one man said. 'Obviously doesn't know anything about watches...except maybe the Fossil watch, that was fair,' another wrote. Finally, she admitted: 'If it's not a Casio calculator watch I don't want it'. Many in the clip's comments agreed with Ioana's take and said they were 'proud' wearers of a Casio watch 'The Casio is so cool, just a classic,' a third said while someone agreed: 'Never been so proud wearing a Casio'. This isn't the first time Ioana has shared what she thinks of a man based on what he owns. Previously she revealed what she thinks the type of car a man drives says about him - and she didn't hold back. She said Tesla drivers act like they're part of a pyramid scheme and Lexus drivers 'have low self esteem' in a TikTok video. She also joked men who drive a Nissan Cube 'belong in jail' and thought Haval owners were boring. She said men who own Teslas 'won't shut up about it' and make their car the focus of every dinner party conversation Ioana has posted an entire series of hilarious clips sharing her thoughts on the cars men drive and her latest instalment had viewers in stitches. She said dating a man who drive a Tesla is like dating someone who is part of a pyramid scheme or a cult. 'They won't shut up about it, they keep trying to convince you to get one and they try to make it the focus of every single dinner party that you go,' she said. 'Beware that if you date a Tesla driver, he will spend the better part of a dinner party you're invited to trying to convince everyone to go for a spin in his Tesla. Expat: This is what his car says about him Tesla: It's like dating someone in a cult or pyramid scheme. They never shut up about it Lexus: He has low self esteem from trying to convince everyone buying a Lexus was actually a good idea Nissan Cube: He belongs in jail Haval: His favourite drink is probably water and his favourite colour is probably beige Mazda 6: You'll be alright, he's definitely not a serial killer Volkswagen Passat: Any type of man who goes to a car dealership and buys the most boring car Volkswagen have ever made is probably unproblematic Toyota (except Hilux or Hiace): Green flag - they can stay Advertisement Secondly Ioana said Lexus drivers have 'low self esteem' from 'having to convince everyone that buying a Lexus was actually a good idea'. 'I went on several dates with a man who calls his Lexus the 'Sexy Lexie' and I am now traumatised for life,' she said. Ioana said a man 'belongs in jail' if he drives a Nissan Cube. 'If you want to trust a man whose car looks like a character from Pixar's Cars, you do you,' she joked. Finally, Ioana said Haval cars make her think of generic Black and Gold brand products. 'This one is very Australia-specific but if he drives a Haval...his favourite drink is probably water and his favourite colour is probably beige,' she said. Ioana said a man who drives a Lexus has 'low self esteem' from convincing everyone buying one 'was actually a good idea' and Nissan cube owners 'belong in jail' 'It could be a Honda, it could be a Hyundai, pick an actual real car brand not a fake one, thank you.' Viewers thought Ioana's takes were hilarious and many agreed with her opinions on Tesla drivers. 'Tesla is the new Tupperware,' one joked and another said: 'Tesla driver here and you got me'. 'You absolutely nailed these,' replied a third. 'This one is very Australia specific but if he drives a Haval...his favourite drink is probably water and his favourite colour is probably beige,' Ioana said 'I thought this was going to be bad but you are soooo right. Spot on every one,' wrote a fourth. In a previous clip, Ioana revealed the cars she thought were 'green flags' including any type of Toyota except a Hilux or a Hiace. 'When I ask you to picture type of car you picture a serial killer would drive do you pick a Mazda 6? Nope,' she added. 'If he pulls up in any type of Mazda you're probably alright - green flag.' Of the Volkswagen Passat, Ioana said: 'Any type of man who goes to a car dealership and buys the most boring car Volkswagen have ever made he's probably unproblematic.' Ioana said if he drives any type of Honda it's a green flag unless it's a Civic but refused to 'elaborate'. Up to one in three vapes sold on the high street could be illegal, Trading Standards has warned. Rogue e-cigarettes have flooded the UK market, with 1.4tonnes seized in the last six months of 2022 in the North East of England alone. Current regulations specify vape tanks have to have a capacity of no more than 2ml and a nicotine strength of no more than 20mg/ml. Any vapes with contents exceeding these amounts are illegal and should not be sold to the public, regulators say. E-cigs which campaigners say are purposely being targeted at children must also follow regulations surrounding labels, displaying the manufacturer details such as a list of ingredients and relevant health warnings. Up to one in three vape products sold on the high street are potentially illegal 1.4tonnes were seized in the last six months of 2022 in the North East of England alone A shop of Edgware Road sells many types of e-cigarettes in pastel and bright colours It is also illegal to sell any vaping products which don't meet labelling requirements, even if the contents are within the legal limits. Test purchasing, which allows Trading Standards to ensure retailers are complying with the law, suggested around one in three vape products may be 'non-compliant' or illegal. This may be because the products includes having the wrong health warning, the wrong tank size, too much nicotine or incorrect labelling. Some stores sell devices that are more than five times the legal size, giving young users up to 3,500 puffs instead of the legal limit of between 600 and 800. Better Retailing, a news provider for independent convenience retail, states around 138million disposable vapes are sold in the UK every year. This suggests more than 45million non-compliant products are sold every year, the Trading Standards said. Trading Standards is now calling for clearer direction from Government and for manufacturers to publish batch numbers of non-compliant products so retailers know what they should not be selling. Despite warning signs on the products, the bright colours from far away could suggest they are sweets Regulations specify vape tanks to have a capacity of no more than 2ml and a nicotine strength of no more than 20mg/ml Unlike tobacco the gadgets don't need to be hidden behind shutters Some stores sell devices that are more than five times the legal size, giving users up to 3,500 puffs of e-liquid instead of the legal limit of between 600 and 800 Some even have cartoon characters n the vape products, such as this one called Cush Man Almost every high street now has a designated vape shop, with e-cigarettes sold for as little as 5 They are also calling for tougher sanctions for producers, suppliers and retailers who do not comply with the law. Duncan Stephenson, of the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, said: 'Trading Standards teams across the country are concerned and overwhelmed by the volume of non-compliant products that are in the marketplace right now. 'This includes products that are not meeting the regulations because they aren't correctly labelled, may have a higher level of nicotine or could be overfilled vapes. 'While the vast majority of non-compliance isn't a threat to public health and safety, they aren't meeting the standards for the products set out in law. 'It is Trading Standards job to enforce the law and also to help advise businesses to withdraw non-compliant products from sale. 'However the sheer scale of the non-compliant products out there is such that we would urge the Government to look again at what can be done to deter unscrupulous retailers and suppliers from pushing these products on the market place. 'It is time to consider greater penalties for those businesses that break the law, as well as whether the sale of these products should be restricted to registered retailers.' Trading Standards is also becoming increasingly concerned about the number of these vape products being sold to people under 18. Despite it being illegal to sell e-cigarettes to under-18s, one in 10 secondary school pupils are now regular users. Almost every high street now has a designated vape shop, with e-cigarettes sold for as little as 5. Trading Standards are also becoming increasingly concerned about the number of these vape products being sold to people under 18 (file photo) 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 Unlike tobacco, however, the gadgets don't need to be hidden behind shutters. Gadgets are often sold in snazzy colours and with child-friendly names and flavours, like bubble-gum and strawberry milkshake. Marketing of the devices has been likened to that of alcopops. But, despite health chiefs insisting it is safer than smoking, it is not risk-free. E-cigarettes still contain harmful toxins, according to a study by researchers at the Medical University of Silesia in Poland. Despite health chiefs insisting it is safer than smoking, it is not risk-free as e-cigarettes still contain harmful toxins, according to a study by the Medical University of Silesia Their long-term effect on health remains a mystery and doctors fear a wave of lung disease and even cancer in the coming decades. Experts also fear the high nicotine content might increase blood pressure and cause other heart problems. Campaigners have called for vapes to be slapped with graphic cigarette-style warnings which have been a mainstay of tobacco products in the UK since 2008 to dissuade young people from picking up the habit. At least 500 seriously ill people died last year after waiting longer than they should have for an ambulance, a damning investigation revealed today. Heart attack and stroke patients and patients involved in road traffic accidents were among the victims. In every one of the 511 cases logged in England, 999 crews failed to arrive on scene within the NHS's target response times. The figure, which lays bare the devastating knock-on effects of the NHS emergency care crisis, is more than double the 220 known comparable deaths logged in 2021. Ambulance delays reached record levels last year, as the crippled health service ran out of beds, forcing paramedics to spend up to their entire shift queuing outside of hospitals with their patient rather than responding to incoming emergency calls. Health bosses and unisons have said the 'entirely preventable' deaths are placing an 'unbearable strain' on staff and victims' families. The NHS did not comment directly on the figures but pointed to 'incredible pressure' due to record demand, the twindemic of Covid and flu, strikes and bed blockers. Aaron Morris (pictured with wife Samantha), 31, was killed in a motorcycle crash while riding his bike near his home in Esh Winning, County Durham. North East Ambulance Service took 49 minutes and 49 seconds to respond despite receiving six calls asking for help. The service's own investigation found that an ambulance was not allocated to Mr Morris until 25 minutes after the first call and there was a 95 per cent chance he would have survived the collision if there had not been a delay A husband in Hull has told of his 'anger' after his wife, Teresa Simpson (pictured), died following a 16-hour wait for an ambulance. He believes '100 per cent' that his 'best friend and soul mate' would still be alive if she had received care earlier Dr Adrian Boyle, the president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, told The Guardian: 'These 500-plus deaths a year when an ambulance hasn't got there in time are tragic and avoidable. 'These numbers are deeply concerning. This is the equivalent of multiple airliners crashing.' The Guardian investigation gathered data from ambulance trusts on deaths after delays and also examined the outcome of coroner inquests. However, the 511 figures is expected to be an underestimate. Only three of England's 10 ambulance services provided full data for the last two years. Data for four other ambulances trusts could be gathered from this published data. Britain's broken NHS, like you've never seen before: Horrifying documentary captures final moments of man killed by delays Daniel Waterhouse is the 30-year-old 999 worker who bravely sacrificed his career in order to expose the terrifying reality of life in the NHS Advertisement But three trusts London, East Midlands and East of England did not provide the data or publish it, even though they are required to do so to improve care, according to The Guardian. And Dr Boyle warned in January that up to 500 people per week died this winter due to delays in emergency care. This figure also included those facing long waits in A&E, however. The West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) and Yorkshire Ambulance Service both recorded 70 deaths due to ambulance delays. The figure is more than three-times that logged by WMAS in 2021. Almost half of the ambulance delay fatalities (248) were logged by the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS). The figure is double the 122 deaths linked to delays in 2021. They affected callers classed as category one calls from people with life-threatening illnesses or injuries and category two, which includes heart attacks, strokes and epilepsy. For category one emergencies, paramedics are supposed to arrive on the scene within seven minutes. For category two, it is 18 minutes. However, at the worst point this winter, category one waits reached nearly 11 minutes, while category two soared above one hour and 32 minutes. Latest NHS data for February show improvements. Category one waits were 8 minutes and 30 seconds, on average, while category two averaged 32 minutes and 20 seconds. The Guardian investigation found that one of the fatalities was Aaron Morris, 31, who died following a crash while he was riding a motorbike in County Durham last July. NEAS took 49 minutes and 49 seconds to respond despite receiving six calls asking for help. The service's own investigation found that an ambulance was not allocated to Mr Morris until 25 minutes after the first call and there was a 95 per cent chance he would have survived the collision if there had not been a delay. Stephen Segasby, chief operating office of NEAS, offered his 'sincere and heartfelt condolences to Aaron's loved ones'. His wife Samantha was pregnant at the time and has since given birth to twin boys, Aaron-Junior and Ambrose-Ayren. Pictured: Ambulances lined up outside the Medway Maritime Hospital in Gillingham, Kent in January 2021 In a separate case, Teresa Simpson, from Hull, died in November following a 16-hour wait for an ambulance. Her husband Matthew believes '100 per cent' that his 'best friend and soul mate' would still be alive if she had received care earlier. Rita Taylor, 84, who died after suffering a head injury due to a fall at her home in Milton Keynes in October, was also among the ambulance delay fatalities. An ambulance was called at 10:28am but did not arrive until 5:17pm 'due to a lack of resources' which meant there were a 'number of lost opportunities to admit her to hospital and begin her treatment', a coroner concluded. She died in hospital on the day of her fall, after a CT scan revealed she had suffered a bleed in the brain. Father-to-be, 31, died in motorbike crash without meeting his unborn twins after ambulance took more than an hour to arrive Samantha Morris pictured with her twin boys Aaron-Junior John Robson Morris (left) and Ambrose-Ayren Morris (right) Advertisement The coroner issued a prevention of future deaths report which coroners are duty-bound to produce if they believe action is needed to prevent more fatalities under the same circumstances that was sent to Health minister Will Quince in January. Andrew Cox, the senior coroner for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, sent a prevention of future deaths report to Health Secretary Steve Barclay in November after conducting a 'series' of inquests where delays in ambulance arrivals had caused or contributed to the deaths. These included cases when ambulances took up to 19 hours to arrive. Lawrence Turner, the GMB union's head of policy and research, told The Guardian that the figures expose the brutal reality in ambulance services'. He said: 'The horrific scale of this loss of life is placing an unbearable strain on staff and patients' loved ones. This is a hidden scandal and sadly we know that the true number of deaths will be much higher. More than half of GMB ambulance members have witnessed a fatality due to delays.' Ambulance chiefs have blamed crews being stuck outside of A&E units, leading to delayed responses, as the key reason for patient deaths rather than too little staff or money. However, NHS bosses have blamed a spike in demand for care leading to overcrowded hospitals and A&E departments, along with years of underfunding and a lack of staff. An NHS spokesperson said: 'NHS staff have worked exceptionally hard, particularly throughout winter, to continue to provide patients with care despite record levels of demand, industrial action, a "twindemic" of Covid and flu, and limited capacity due to thousands of beds taken up by patients who are medically fit for discharge every day. 'Despite this incredible pressure on services, which has continued into this year, the NHS has delivered significant improvements in ambulance performance in the last two months with response times for category 2 calls an hour faster in January and February than in December. 'We know there is more to do, which is why last month the NHS launched its urgent and emergency care recovery plan, which sets out how we plan to reduce waiting times and boost capacity, with hundreds more ambulances, thousands more beds, and increased use of measures like urgent community response teams.' The Department of Health and Social Care said: 'Our sympathies are with the family and friends of those who have lost loved ones. 'No one should be waiting longer than necessary for emergency care and we are taking urgent action to reduce waiting times. 'We have set out a plan to deliver one of the fastest and longest-sustained improvements in emergency waiting times in the NHS's history, backed by record funding.' Lee Soon-il, a city bus driver, smiles in this photo taken on June 6, 2021, at Iksan Bus Terminal in North Jeolla Province. Courtesy of Nathi Sihlophe Nathi Sihlophe prepares to publish photobook featuring bus drivers in Iksan City By Kang Hyun-kyung Bus driver Lee Soon-il was taking a break at the bus terminal in Iksan, North Jeolla Province, on June 6, 2021, when Nathi Sihlophe from South Africa approached him for a chat. Due to the language barrier, Lee, 62, said he found it difficult to make himself understood at the beginning of his conversation with the South African. "As our conversation continued, however, I came to understand what he was trying to say," he told The Korea Times. "Although we met briefly, I had a good first impression of him." Their brief interaction was mostly non-verbal as neither speak the other's language fluently. As an icebreaker, the South African photographer familiarized himself with the bus driver before asking if he could take photos of him. Welcoming the offer, Lee posed inside and outside of his bus. "When we checked the pictures, he realized that he wasn't wearing his name tag displaying his attention to detail and pride in his work," Sihlophe said. "Without hesitation, he invited me to follow him onto his bus and we continued our impromptu photo session inside." Lee is one of the bus drivers the South African met and photographed in the bus terminal during summer 2021 for his photobook project, tentatively titled "Gisanim," or Mr. Driver. Sihlophe's photo project reflects his personal connection with the transportation industry. His father owned several minibus taxis commonly used for public transportation in South Africa. "Before working on this project, I had limited interaction with bus drivers, mostly during my daily commutes," he said. "My preconceived notions of them were largely negative. However, by taking the time to connect with them outside of their work environment, I gained a more nuanced appreciation of their work and the challenges they face." He said his photo project in Iksan Bus Terminal helped him develop greater empathy and respect for their hard work and dedication, rather than simply viewing it as a means of transportation. Freelance photographer Nathi Sihlophe poses with his camera in this photo taken in 2019 at Helsinki Central Railway Station in Finland. He is preparing for the publication of a photobook featuring Korean bus drivers he met at Iksan Bus Terminal in North Jeolla Province in 2021. Courtesy of Pekka Keskinen Sihlophe called bus drivers "unsung heroes." "The COVID-19 pandemic in particular highlighted the vital role that these drivers play in keeping communities safe and functioning," he said. "Amid the pandemic, they were responsible for implementing and enforcing social distancing measures, as well as keeping their buses clean and disinfected, often putting their own health on the line to ensure the safety of their passengers." In 2021, Lee drove the 109 bus connecting the bus terminal to downtown Iksan. His work would finish after driving the route 22 times a day. Like other bus drivers in the city, he works more than 16 hours a day as there are no shifts. "Like several other industries, the public transportation industry was hit hard by the pandemic as we had seen a sharp drop in passengers after the outbreak of the virus," he said. "Here in Iksan, all bus drivers worked 16 or 17 hours a day at that time and the long working hours still continue today." COVID-19 has made the already hard-working bus drivers busier. They have had to work even harder by disinfecting their buses. Lee was no exception. He disinfected the bus whenever it returned to the terminal, which is its last stop. If he had passengers showing symptoms of COVID-19, he quarantined their seats with disinfectant spray once they got off. "Bus drivers are frontline workers. We are exposed to contagion because our work made us constantly interact with our passengers," he said. "There are 400 or 500 bus drivers working in this city. All of us have paid greater attention not to get infected with the virus since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. We tried not to mingle with others during our days off and kept trying to keep ourselves safe from the virus, because if we get infected, our passengers' safety will be at risk, too." The dedicated Iksan bus drivers' professionalism has paid off. According to Lee, none of the bus drivers there have been infected with COVID-19. A bus driver in Iksan, North Jeolla Province, cleans a rearview mirror, June 2021. Courtesy of Nathi Sihlophe Bus drivers are unappreciated frontline workers. After the COVID-19 pandemic began, healthcare workers, among others, were praised as heroes for their long working hours testing people and treating infected patients at the risk of their own safety. Although also frontline workers, bus drivers and their precarious work particularly during the times when infection rates reached a peak were never properly acknowledged. Sihlophe's photobook project is his personal tribute to these unsung heroes. The South African said he plans to visit Korea again to complete his photobook project with the permission of the drivers he captured. "Positive representation and validation of their work matters and I hope to share copies of the photobook with the drivers and even their photos as a tribute to their profession," he said. On top of the publication, the South African also plans to show his works in Finland where he is currently based. "The exhibition would also provide an opportunity for the viewers to connect with the human subjects of the photographs and to learn about their stories and experiences," he said, revealing his hope that the exhibition could connect Korea and Finland. Born in 1990, Sihlophe is a self-taught photographer. He has worked as a freelance photographer since 2020. He curated a photography book, titled "No Justice, No Peace," which documented the Black Lives Matter protests in Finland. He is one of the 40 photographers who contributed their works to the book. It was selected as one of The Most Beautiful Books in Finland, and won the gold prize at the Vuoden Huiput design competition in 2021. Sihlophe first came to Korea in 2016 as an English teacher and stayed here for four years. He conducted his photo project of Iksan bus drivers during his second visit to Korea in 2021. Matt Hancock feared being labelled 'racist' over raising concerns that Covid was spreading faster among certain communities, new leaked messages reveal. WhatsApp exchanges from August 2020 show Nadine Dorries, a key figure at the Department of Health at the time, warn her boss Mr Hancock not to lockdown 'our voters' because of the 'behaviour of non compliant communities'. She later suggested there could be 'race riots' if he chose to lockdown the 'white working-class' area of Colne in Lancashire while the virus was quickly spreading in the neighbouring town of Nelson. The messages, the latest to be published by The Daily Telegraph, also reveal another Conservative MP told then prime minister, Boris Johnson, that local lockdown restrictions were fuelling 'race relation issues' in his constituency. Texts unearthed today reveal Mr Hancock, then health secretary, told Ms Dorries on August 20, 2020: 'I don't want to be called a racist but we've got to name it.' New leaked WhatsApp messages published today by The Daily Telegraph reveal Matt Hancock, then health secretary told Ms Dorries on August 20, 2020: 'I don't want to be called a racist but we've got to name it' WhatsApp exchanges from August 2020 show Nadine Dorries, a key figure at the Department of Health at the time, warn her boss Matt Hancock not to lockdown 'our voters' because of the 'behaviour of non compliant communities' Later on August 20, 2020, in a message to Ms Dorries, Mr Hancock said he had spoken to Philip Davies, the Conservative MP for Shipley, West Yorkshire regarding local lockdowns Ms Dorries, who at the time served as minister for patient safety, suicide prevention and mental health, later suggested there could be 'race riots' if Mr Hancock chose to lockdown the 'white working-class' area of Colne in Lancashire while the virus was quickly spreading in the neighbouring town of Nelson Ms Dorries, who at the time served as minister for patient safety, suicide prevention and mental health, responded: 'We can't put whole towns and villages with extremely low R rates in lockdown (our voters) and deprive those people of work and family bcse of the behaviour of non compliant communities.' MailOnline has not seen or independently verified the WhatsApp messages, leaked to The Daily Telegraph by Isabel Oakeshott, the journalist who helped Mr Hancock write his book Pandemic Diaries. The R rate - which epidemiologists use measure a disease's ability to spread - is, in essence, the number of people that one infected person will pass on a virus to, on average. At the time the R rate across England was believed to be between 0.9 and 1.0 according to data from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage). On August 19, test and trace data showed a 27 per cent jump in the number of positive Covid cases, despite the number of people tested reducing slightly. Local lockdowns and measures were in place across a number of towns to target areas with a higher R rate, after the national lockdown ended on July 4. On August 20, ministers were considering fresh interventions in Oldham, Pendle and Blackburn in Lancashire as the epidemiological data showed that cases were getting out of control in certain areas. Later that day, in a message to Ms Dorries, Mr Hancock said he had spoken to Philip Davies, the Conservative MP for Shipley, West Yorkshire regarding local lockdowns. 'I told him that given he's got a veto, it's actually very good for him,' Mr Hancock told Ms Dorries. 'I'm speaking to Andrew Stephenson (Tory MP for Pendle) tonight regarding Pendle', she responded. She added: 'Remember the Burnley race riots? I was working as Oliver Letwin's Spad [special advisor] at the time. Andrew very concerned at his LA [local authority] CEOs stance that any restrictions should be one size fits all, across the constituency. 'The town ward of Colne, 18 pubs, white working class would be like a tinder box if it's pubs closed bcse of non compliance and infection rates in Nelson, 2 pubs, Pakistani community next door.' On August 21, the Government then unveiled new Covid guidance to come into force on August 22, tightening restrictions on households meeting and attendances at weddings and funerals, in some parts of east Lancashire. In a message shared with Mr Hancock by then Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the MP for Shipley wrote: 'I am desperate to speak to you about the decision of the govt to include my constituency in the local lockdown on Bradford - even though there are barely any cases in my constituency' Philip Davies, MP for Shipley, had also reached out to then Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, earlier in August to prevent lockdown restrictions from including Pendle, leaked WhatsApp messages show Those in Oldham, Pendle and Blackburn were told not to socialise with anyone outside their household and not to use public transport unless it was essential. Colne was not included in these new measures. Announcing the restrictions, Mr Hancock said at the time: 'Working with local leaders we agreed further action in Oldham, Pendle and Blackburn. It is vital that everyone in these areas follow the advice of their councils, and abide by their local rules carefully.' The action was 'as targeted as possible, with the maximum possible local consensus', he added. It came as Mr Davies had reached out to then Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, earlier in August to prevent lockdown restrictions from including Pendle, leaked WhatsApp messages show. In a message shared with Mr Hancock by Mr Johnson, the MP for Shipley wrote: 'I am desperate to speak to you about the decision of the govt to include my constituency in the local lockdown on Bradford - even though there are barely any cases in my constituency. 'This is causing a massive issue and is fuelling huge race relations issues. This needs to be resolved ASAP. 'I would be very grateful if you could find the time to discuss with me. This is toxic locally.' Pendle had been placed under restrictions alongside swathes of the north of England including Bradford and Greater Manchester on July 30, the evening before Eid. But further texts leaked to The Daily Telegraph also show Dido Harding, who led the Government's test and trace programme, warn Mr Hancock of a rise in infections among the 'same communities' who would be celebrating Eid, ten days earlier. She wrote: 'I am really worried about Eid. The geographic spread is all in the same communities.' Further texts leaked to The Daily Telegraph also show Dido Harding warn Mr Hancock of a rise in infections among the 'same communities' who would be celebrating Eid, ten days before new lockdown restrictions were implemented Keeping your teeth clean can ward off the misery of arthritis flare ups, a new study suggests. Bacteria associated with gum disease can worsen severe joint pain that worsens rheumatoid arthritis when it enters the bloodstream, according to researchers at Rice University in Texas. Biologist Vicky Yao made the connection when she was examining blood samples collected from rheumatoid arthritis patients. Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease in which a person's immune system attacks healthy cells within the body's joints, leading to swelling and inflammation. RA can also cause heart, lung and eye problems. Rice University computational biologist Vicky Yao (Pictured) found traces of bacteria associated with periodontal disease in samples collected from rheumatoid arthritis patients Tracing the connection between gum disease and RA could help develop therapies for the latter, an autoimmune inflammatory disease that attacks the lining of the joints and can cause heart, lung and eye problems Establishing a connection between the oral bacteria and arthritic flareups could pave the way for new treatments not only for RA, but also for other diseases. Dr Vicky Yao, lead researcher, said: 'Data gathered in experiments from living organisms or cells or tissue grown in petri dishes is really important to confirm hypotheses, but, at the same time, this data perhaps holds more information than we are immediately able to derive from it.' Dr Yao's findings catalyzed a series of subsequent experiements with rheumatologist Dr Dana Orange and Dr Bob Darnell, a physician at Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Dr Yao said: 'Orange, working with Darnell, collected data from arthritis patients at regular intervals while, at the same time, monitoring when the flares happened. 'The idea was that perhaps looking at this data retroactively, some pattern would become visible giving clues as to what might cause the arthritis to flare up.' The study, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, found germs associated with gum disease changed consistently prior to flare ups. In addition to informing treatment for arthritis flare-ups, their research opens the door to developing better therapies for other diseases as well, such as cancer. The method of monitoring microbes as they relate to disease could be useful in finding out more about certain cancers. The team led by Dr Yao found that the germs in the samples that changed consistently across patients prior to flares were largely ones associated with gum disease. Dr Yao explained: 'I was curious about this tool that allowed you to detect microbes in human samples. 'One of the things that came up when we were discussing this was, how cool would it be if you could prescribe some kind of mouthwash to help prevent rheumatoid arthritis flares.' The breakthrough came about serendipitously, Dr Yao said. 'While I was working on that project, I went to this talk that I thought was really cool because it pointed out that in the data that gets ignored or thrown out, you can actually find traces of microbes. 'You are looking at a human sample but you get a snapshot of the microbes floating around. I was intrigued by this.' The discovery of meaningful information in data that would usually be ignored or discarded inspired her to take a similar approach in looking at data from cancer patients. She said: 'I got really interested in what else we can find mining for microbial signatures in human samples. 'Now, we are doing something similar in looking at cancer. The hope here is that if we find some interesting microbial or viral signatures that are associated with cancer, we can then identify productive experimental directions to pursue. 'For instance, if having a tumour creates this hotbed of specific microbes that we recognise, then we can maybe use that knowledge as a means to diagnose the cancer sooner or in a less invasive or costly way. 'And if experiments confirm a causal link between a specific virus or bacteria and a type of cancer, then, of course, that could be useful for therapeutics.' It is widely known that certain microbes are causal for cancer, such as human papillomavirus and cervical cancer. But for the vast majority of cancers, the relationship is not clear. Dr Yao added: 'When we did the same exercise looking at cervical cancer tumour samples, we consistently detected the virus. 'I am really interested in using computational approaches to bridge the gap between available experimental data and ways to interpret it. Computational analysis is a way to help interpret data and prioritise hypotheses for clinicians or experimental scientists to test.' If they don't without exemption, they will not be able to access in-person classes Students must receive a bivalent booster dose on top of their other Covid shots Ivy League schools are still refusing to teach students in-person who are not up to date with their Covid vaccines in a move slammed as 'senseless' and 'non-scientific'. Harvard, Yale, Columbia and Pennsylvania have the most stringent mandates that make having the new bivalent booster a condition of entry. This means students at those schools who have already received four of the older shots would still need to get the new shot to continue their studies. The rest of the Ivy League universities demand at least two Covid jabs, with some requiring a booster too. Multiple experts told DailyMail.com the mandate 'does not make sense' now that evidence shows the vaccines do not prevent transmission on a large scale. Half the Ivy League universities require students to have the bivalent Covid shot to continue their studies Students who do not comply will not be allowed to attend in-person classes It comes as the US continues to mandate the Covid vaccine for foreigners visiting from other countries. It is the only country in the West to still do so. There is little evidence mandates have ever stopped transmission, though the shots are highly effective at preventing severe disease and death. Dr Paul Offit, professor of pediatrics and infectious diseases at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, told DailyMail.com: 'The people who benefit from boosters, as has been shown by studies performed by the CDC and in the UK, fall into four groups: people who are elderly, people who have multiple comorbidities, and people who are immune compromised, and women who are pregnant. 'But healthy young people, such as most of the people who are attending Harvard [and other universities], don't fall into those groups. What a vaccine will provide is short-lived immunity against mild illness, and I just don't see that as a viable public health strategy.' He added that most hospitals don't even require a bivalent booster for staff or visitors, despite the fact that 'hospitals take care of vulnerable patients, many of whom can't be successfully vaccinated'. Bob Moffit, a senior research fellow at the center for health and welfare policy studies at the right-wing think-tank Heritage Foundation, told DailyMail.com 'there is no scientific justification for Harvard or any other university for coercing healthy young men and women to get a Covid vaccine.' He said: 'The data is overwhelming: young and healthy persons have faced extremely low risk from severe illness, hospitalization and death from Covid-19. 'The vaccine does, in fact, carry some small risk, particularly to young males, of myocarditis. 'Whenever there is a personal risk from a medical intervention, including a vaccine, the ethical imperative is personal choice, not institutional coercion.' Harvard University requires all on-campus students to have a primary series of Covid shots plus the bivalent booster. Its staff are not required to get the booster Yale University similarly requires students to have the bivalent shot Dr Monica Gandhi, medical director of the San Francisco General Hospital HIV Clinic, Ward 86, told DailyMail.com she did not see 'any evidence to mandate the bivalent booster for students at universities like Harvard given that they are generally young people'. She added: 'The school[s] can no longer mandate the bivalent vaccine for the benefit of transmission prevention. 'There is a lot of population level immunity in the US at this point and vaccine mandates do not make sense at this phase of the pandemic.' Private companies and venues across the US are still able to enforce vaccine mandates, such as hospitals, as are state employees in some areas. Covid vaccine policies for Ivy League universities Yale - primary series plus bivalent booster Harvard - primary series plus bivalent booster Columbia - primary series plus all boosters when eligible Pennsylvania - primary series plus all boosters when eligible Dartmouth - primary series and one booster dose when eligible Brown - primary series and one booster dose when eligible Princeton - primary series only Cornell - primary series only The CDC deems a primary series to be two-doses of the Covid vaccine. Advertisement The Ivy League universities' requirements stands even if students have had Covid, despite studies showing natural immunity provides significant protection. Dr Anna Durbin, director of the Center for Immunization Research at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told DailyMail.com: 'We know that the vaccines may not reduce transmission for more than a few months and that severe Covid is rarely seen in younger individuals. 'It is unclear what effect the booster dose will have in this population in terms of disease reduction.' Made by Moderna and Pfizer, the bivalent (or updated) booster dose became available in the US from September last year. The updated vaccines were advertised as being able to boost protection against Omicron subvariants that have become world-dominant. But a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released in January suggested most Americans who get their bivalent booster vaccine are not protected against falling sick with Covid. It found the updated shots were just 48 percent effective at stopping symptomatic infection caused by the XBB.1.5 subvariant, the currently dominant variant, for up to three months. The CDC highlighted that the main purpose of the vaccines is to prevent hospitalization and death rather than transmission, and they are still expected to give high protection against severe illness. But the findings mean the bivalent shots - which the US Government paid $5billion for last autumn - fall short of the World Health Organization's 50 percent efficacy threshold for an effective vaccine. Columbia University requires all staff and students to have their primary series plus all boosters when eligible According to CDC data, so only 16 percent of the US population have received the updated Covid booster shot. Harvard's vaccine requirement policy, updated February 2023, states: 'Harvard requires the new bivalent Covid-19 booster for all eligible students with an on-campus presence.' Students must prove they are up to date with all of Harvard's vaccine requirements via the Harvard patient portal before they can register for classes. Exceptions will be provided only for medical or religious reasons, the university said. Meanwhile, Harvard 'highly recommends' that its employees with an on-campus presence get the booster, and current staff no longer need to prove their vaccination status. New employees must provide evidence that they have had their primary series of Covid shots. Similarly, Yale only requires its students and not teachers to get the bivalent shot. Columbia University's mandates is more universal, requiring all staff and students to have their primary series plus all boosters when eligible. If students are not jabbed and cannot provide an exemption, they will not be able to attend in-person classes, or even study at the university at all. Early last year, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention warned that young males who had received the mRNA vaccines either the Pfizer or Moderna shot were at an increased risk of suffering heart inflammation. The agency warned that myocarditis was appearing more frequently in males 16 and older within seven days of receiving the shot. A war of words has broken out between federal health officials and Ron DeSantis' vaccine-skeptic doctors over the Covid shots. Last month Florida issued guidance to physicians telling them it was their duty to warn patients the vaccines may cause heart attacks, based on widely disputed research. Today the FDA and CDC angrily hit back at the new order, saying antivaxx rhetoric will cause 'unnecessary death, severe illness and hospitalization' if elderly and vulnerable Floridians are now put off getting the shot. The letter takes aim at Dr Joseph Ladapo, the state's controversial surgeon general who has taken a hard line on Covid vaccines, once saying: 'far less attention has been paid to safety [of the shots] and the concerns of many individuals have been dismissed.' Florida Health officials report a 1,700 percent increase in adverse events to the vaccines in the state in 2021, the first year the Covid vaccine was made available. They are now recommending doctors warn patients of the increased risk of adverse events when recommending the Covid vaccine The FDA replied to an advisory by Florida officials telling doctors to warn Covid vaccine recipients that they could suffer a heart attack as a result of receiving the shot. They say that misinformation could be potentially deadly (file photo) Dr Joseph Ladapo (pictured), had been an the center of a vaccine skepticism campaign in Florida. The FDA addressed Friday's letter to the Sunshine State's Surgeon General 'Unfortunately, the misinformation about COVID-19 vaccine safety has caused some Americans to avoid getting the vaccines they need to be up to date,' the letter, signed by FDA Commissioner Dr Robert Califf and CDC Director Dr Rochelle Walensky, reads. 'This has led to unnecessary death, severe illness and hospitalization.' The letter comes in response to a notice sent to doctors in the state by the department of health on February 14. The letter was first reported by DailyMail.com, and later picked up by local media outlets. It warned that reports of adverse events following vaccination in Florida had increased 1,700 percent from 2020 to 2021. Among them was a massive spike in life-threatening conditions linked to vaccines, including include heart attacks and other cardiovascular issues. This is despite only a 400 percent in the number of vaccines administered in Florida that year. This suggests the increase in shots administered is not the sole reason for this increase. The system cited by Florida officials uses self-reported information and does not require verification. Some reports may not be true, and others could be caused by Covid itself - which is known to cause long-term heart symptoms in some sufferers. 'The COVID-19 pandemic brought many challenges that the health and medical field have never encountered,' a notice from state officials reads. 'Although the initial response was led by a sense of urgency and crisis management, the State Surgeon General believes it is critical that as public health professionals, responses are adapted to the present to chart a future guided by data.' The notice references reports to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), a system run by the US Department of Health and Human Services to log vaccine-related injuries. In 2021, 41,473 vaccine-related injuries were reported in Florida, a massive increase from the 2,466 a year earlier. VAERS data is self-reported, and cases submitted to the system do not need to be verified by a physician. 'The claim that the increase of VAERS reports of life-threatening conditions reported from Florida and elsewhere represents an increase of risk caused by the COVID-19 vaccines is incorrect, misleading and could be harmful to the American public,' the letter reads. 'Reports of adverse events to VAERS following vaccination do not mean that a vaccine caused the event.' The FDA cites a study published last week by researchers from Mount Sinai, in New York City. In the study, data from nearly 2million American adults was gathered to gauge the risk of suffering a heart attack, stroke or major heart issues after vaccination. They found that people who received the shot were less likely to experience cardiovascular problems. They credit this to the vaccine preventing Covid infections - which have been linked to serious heart problems in some cases. This research was peer-reviewed and published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, a prestigious medical journal. Gov DeSantis and Dr Ladapo have been criticized in the past for using studies that were not peer reviewed and did not include listed authors. In October, the pair used such data to stand up their recommendation against teenagers receiving the vaccine, a first for any state in the US. The leading public health agencies also cite CDC data estimating that a person who is fully vaccinated and has received a bivalent Covid booster is 9.8 times less likely to die from the virus. The bivalent booster was developed by Pfizer and Moderna to target the Omicron variant. It has replaced the original Covid vaccine, developed to fight the original Wuhan strain. It also notes that uptake of bivalent booster among the elderly in Florida - a state known for its retired population - falls well short of the national average. 'As the leading public health official in state, you are likely aware that seniors in Florida are under-vaccinated, with just 29 percent of seniors having received an updated bivalent vaccine, compared to the national average of 41 percent coverage in seniors,' the letter reads. 'It is the job of public health officials around the country to protect the lives of the populations they serve, particularly the vulnerable. Fueling vaccine hesitancy undermines this effort.' 'The response from the federal government is just another redundant display of the same apathetic talking point of safe and effective. Googling their fact sheets would have achieved the same result,' the Florida Department of Health told DailyMail.com in a statement. Last month, Florida officials cited studies of their own to dispute the safety of the vaccines. An American study published in September found one in every 550 recipients of the Covid vaccine suffered an adverse event. 'Which is much higher than other vaccines,' the notice says. The study focused on clinical trials held for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to initially earn FDA approval in late-2020. Across all the trials gathered for the study - which included tens of thousands of patients - 52 Pfizer vaccine recipients and 87 who got the Moderna shot had a significant adverse reaction. This is compared to 33 and 64, respectively, among people who did not receive the shot, indicating that the existing risk is still relatively small. This data was considered by the FDA and CDC before they issued emergency use authorization - and eventually full approval - for the shots in recent years. Florida Health also cites a 2022 study by Israeli researchers, which found a 25 percent increase in cardiac events in the Middle-Eastern nation in the months following the shot's rollout. Researchers note that it is unclear whether any of these events had any link to the vaccine. 'While not establishing causal relationships, the findings raise concerns regarding vaccine-induced undetected severe cardiovascular side-effects and underscore the already established causal relationship between vaccines and myocarditis, a frequent cause of unexpected cardiac arrest in young individuals,' researchers wrote. Gov Ron DeSantis (pictured) has proved to be a staunch opponent of vaccines and Covid related mandates over the past two years The FDA and CDC cite a recent study from Mount Sinai that found people who had received the vaccine were less likely to suffer issues such as a heart attack or stroke (file photo) A Norwegian study cited by the Florida health department showed that the AstraZeneca vaccine was linked to blood clotting in the brain and low blood platelet counts - both of which are life-threatening. The vaccine is not available in America, though, and could not be responsible for the uptick in VAERS reports in 2021. The shots do not come without some relatively small risks, though. Early in 2021, the CDC warned that young males who had received the mRNA vaccines - either the Pfizer or Moderna shot were at an increased risk of suffering heart inflammation. The agency warned that myocarditis was appearing more frequently in males 16 and older within seven days of receiving the shot. Despite the warning, officials also continued to recommend the vaccine to this age group. Earlier this year, the FDA and CDC also issued a warning linking the Pfizer's bivalent shot to ischemic stroke three to four weeks post-vaccination. The possible link between Pfizer's jab and the elevated stroke risk was detected by the CDCs Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD), a real-time surveillance system. Two weeks later, it was noted the risk was minimal, but getting the bivalent shot on the same data as a flu shot could pose some issue. Global health officials have given widespread approval to the Covid vaccines. Despite existing risks, they have determined the benefits of the shots outweigh any risks. Floridian officials have stood out among other US leaders in their continued criticism of the Covid vaccines. In December, Gov Ron DeSantis called for a grand justy to investigate 'wrongdoing' related to the shots. 'We'll be able to get the data whether they want to give it or not,' DeSantis said. 'In Florida, it is illegal to mislead and misrepresent, especially when you are talking about the efficacy of a drug.' He continued, 'today, I'm announcing a petition with the Supreme Court of Florida to enpanel a statewide grand jury to investigate any and all wrongdoing in Florida with respect to Covid vaccines.' Dr Ladapo was present too. He drew criticism last year after recommending against teens receiving the shots, despite FDA approval. 'The data that's coming in on this is showing for healthy kids very little benefit in terms of what the vaccine is doing and that's weighed against the fact that they're at very, very low risk,' he said. 'Individuals can make their own decision but I think the data is in line with what the surgeon general recommended.' A couple of nights ago I woke up suddenly, around 3am, feeling panicky. My heart was racing, stomach churning, and I was convinced that something bad was about to happen. I soon realised that I was having a full-blown panic attack, but knowing what was happening didnt really help. I tried to do some slow, deep breaths and focus on other, more pleasant, thoughts but the feelings of dread just got stronger. After a couple of minutes I put my clothes on and went outside for a walk (Im currently filming in Australia, so it wasnt cold). And in 20 minutes or so, the fear had passed and I got back into bed and almost immediately fell deeply asleep. A couple of nights ago I woke up suddenly, around 3am, feeling panicky. My heart was racing, stomach churning, and I was convinced that something bad was about to happen. Pictured: Dr Michael Mosley I tried to do some slow, deep breaths and focus on other, more pleasant, thoughts but the feelings of dread just got stronger Panic attacks are common, with around a third of us experiencing at least one at some point. If youve previously had a panic attack it increases the chances youll have another, and some unfortunate souls have them almost daily. The main symptom is the onset of intense fear in a situation where there is no obvious danger, and its often accompanied by feeling faint, chest pain, shortness of breath and trembling. Some people report ringing in the ears, while others describe it as like an out-of-body experience. Many of those having a panic attack for the first time think theyre having a heart attack or stroke. There seems to be a genetic basis, with panic attacks often running in families, and they can be triggered by a major life event, such as divorce but otherwise, theyre a bit of a mystery, as often theres no obvious cause. N ext week I am embarking on a tour across the main Australian cities. And while I enjoy appearing in front of a live audience, I find the build-up to the first show very stressful. So I am under a lot of pressure at the moment, which could explain why the panic attack happened. Its also possible that the groundwork for this recent attack was laid many years ago when I made a documentary about fear. It involved going caving and I got stuck deep underground while trying to squeeze through a narrow fissure. I was only trapped for a few minutes, but I can still remember the intense feelings of fear, and Ive had nightmares about it since. READ MORE: How to stop a panic attack before it starts: Expert reveals 5 ways to manage anxiety to prevent it from spiralling out of control Advertisement So perhaps I had a nightmare, which I cant remember, but which flooded my body with adrenaline, triggering an attack. One of the things that adrenaline does is make you breathe faster, and one of the most striking things about panic attacks is that people who experience them often start hyperventilating some time before the attack itself. In a 2011 study by the Southern Methodist University in Texas, 43 people who were prone to daily panic attacks were fitted with sensors to measure their heart rate, breathing rate and level of carbon dioxide in their breath (when you hyperventilate you breathe out more carbon dioxide than normal). The sensors were attached to a monitoring pack that had a panic button, which the participants pressed if they felt an attack. The main finding from this study was that carbon dioxide levels were abnormally low in the hour before the volunteers experienced a panic attack suggesting that they had begun hyperventilating long before they felt panic but those levels then suddenly shot up just before the attack. As levels of carbon dioxide rose, patients began to experience anxiety, fear of dying and chest pain. So are the rapidly changing levels of carbon dioxide whats really triggering these attacks? In 2012, researchers at Maastricht University in the Netherlands asked a group of healthy volunteers to inhale carbon dioxide at increasing concentrations they found the higher the concentration of carbon dioxide in their blood, the greater the feelings of panic and fear, accompanied by surges in blood pressure. The link between carbon dioxide and fear could help explain why one of the best ways to cope with a panic attack is to try to control your breathing focusing on taking long, slow, deep breaths. Follow a pattern of 4:6 breathing in deeply through your nose to a count of four, then out through your mouth to a count of six. Doing this for a couple of minutes should stabilise your carbon dioxide levels and the feelings of panic should subside. This is obviously easier said than done, particularly when youre feeling terrified and finding it hard to focus. But if you practise doing slow, deep breathing at times when youre not panicked, this will help. You could also try hugging a cushion or at least a cushion like the one being developed by engineers at the University of Bristol. It has an inflatable chamber thats linked to a pump which makes it breathe in and out at a slow and steady rate. When they tested it on students about to take a gruelling exam, hugging the cushion helped reduce their anxiety, mainly because the students began unconsciously to adjust their own breathing rate to that of the cushion. There are other ways to cope with panic attacks. You can, for example, try reasoning with yourself, along the line of, I know this will soon pass and I am not going to die. Or try distracting yourself by counting as many brightly coloured objects around you as you can. Or grab something really cold from the fridge, as this will help you focus on the feelings of cold, rather than the fear. If you have persistent attacks see your GP, who may prescribe medication or cognitive behavioural therapy, which can help by encouraging you to challenge your negative thoughts. And do, of course, practise slow, deep breathing. In To Love And Be Wise, a genteel family is thrown into disarray by the appearance in their midst of a handsome, young society photographer CLASSIC CRIME TO LOVE AND BE WISE by Josephine Tey (Penguin 9.99, 272 pp) One of the finest writers of the Golden Age, Josephine Tey is back with us in a fine batch of Penguin reissues. In To Love And Be Wise, a genteel family is thrown into disarray by the appearance in their midst of a handsome, young society photographer. His impact on the women in the household and on a close-knit community of tender egos brings resentment and jealousy. The sense of impending crisis becomes all too tangible when, on an expedition to record the local beauty spots, the cause of all the trouble goes missing. It is left to Inspector Alan Grant to determine if the sinister implications are to be taken seriously. The joy of the novel is in the vivid characterisation, with Grant testing his skill and patience on an assembly of wildly contrasting personalities. His solving of the mystery is the icing on a delicious cake. John Ferguson is in no hurry to pull back the veil on the murder of a wealthy dealer in rare books DEATH OF MR DODSLEY by John Ferguson (British Library 9.99, 256 pp) Prepare for a leisurely read. John Ferguson is in no hurry to pull back the veil on the murder of a wealthy dealer in rare books. But this is not to say that the mystery lacks interest. Refraining from what the author calls 'cheap thrills', he succeeds in weaving a plot that has all the marks of an insoluble crime. That is until private detective Francis MacNab takes a hand in demonstrating to the police the flaws in their reasoning. On the way to a satisfying solution, we meet an assortment of prospective killers, led by those who stand to benefit from the inheritance. Then there is an ambitious politician who has much to hide in his rise to the top. What reason has he to fear the revelations that might come with the murder inquiry? Ferguson will keep you guessing. Branching out from her popular Maisie Dobbs series, Jacqueline Winspear has struck gold with another indomitable heroine of wartime Britain THE WHITE LADY by Jacqueline Winspear (Allison & Busby 19.99, 384 pp) Branching out from her popular Maisie Dobbs series, Jacqueline Winspear has struck gold with another indomitable heroine of wartime Britain. When we first meet Elinor White she is living in rural seclusion in Kent, coping with traumatic memories of a hit-and-run life behind enemy lines. But the threat of violence is never far away. By helping a young couple trying to break free from a family mired in crime, Elinor, 'the White Lady', is thrown back into a life of subterfuge and brutality. Calling on the support of a former comrade, now a senior police officer, she finds that, in peace as in war, trust is never absolute. It takes all her skills as an undercover agent to defeat enemies close to home, while at the same time coming to terms with the demons in her own life. Though said to be a stand-alone novel, The White Lady must surely warrant a sequel. Advertisement England's slowest city for drivers has been revealed - and some may be surprised to learn the answer is not London. Bristol came out top of the list with a slow traffic score of 8.51/10 - with the research taking into account average speed, average delay, the number of A roads, motorways, B and C roads needing maintenance, the annual average daily traffic flow, and the annual average hours lost in congestion. Nottingham ranks as the second slowest city for drivers, with an overall slow traffic score of 8.28/10 and Liverpool rounds off the top three as the third slowest city for drivers, scoring 7.88/10. London only ranked as the fourth slowest city in the study, falling from first place since 2021, the research by Moneybarn revealed. Further findings showed Middlesbrough is the fastest area to drive in, with a slow traffic score of just 0.8/10. The working class town has the third shortest average delay time in the study, as well as the second lowest amount of hours lost in congestion. Moneybarn has compared how slow it is to drive in Englands towns and cities based on average speed, the number of roads requiring maintenance, average daily traffic flow and hours lost in congestion In Bristol there is an average of 91 annual hours lost in traffic and 10 per cent of the southwestern city's 'B' and 'C' roads require maintenance. There is also nine per cent of Bristol's 'A' roads and motorways that need maintenance too, making it a difficult city for motorists. Nottingham, which came in as the second slowest city for drivers, has 10 per cent of its 'A' roads and motorways needing maintenance, which is the highest of any cities in the study. On top of this, the average speed of traffic in the city is just 14mph, with only motorists in Brighton scoring a lower average speed. Liverpool has the worst 'B' and 'C' roads of any major city in the country, as the study said 15 per cent of them should be considered for maintenance. Additionally, the average delay in Liverpool is over 83 seconds per vehicle per mile (spvpm) and there is a very high average daily traffic flow of over 1,250 vehicles. Further data analysed by Moneybarn which compared driving in different countries concluded that Peru is the slowest country to drive in. The research found it has an average congestion level of 42 per cent and 26 days of high traffic within Peruvian cities. The United States is the fastest country to drive in, with an average of just six days per year of high traffic and a high top speed limit of 50 mph in urban areas, according to the research. Slow moving traffic snakes its way through Bristol city centre at evening rush hour - pictured dated October 22, 2015 Jeremy Hunt has quite a task ahead in next weeks Budget. The Chancellor plans to lift the spirits with high-flown rhetoric about Britains world-leading achievements in life sciences, deep technology, AI, fintech and much else. He will do so against the tormented backdrop of Arm, business lender OakNorth and troubled data group Wandisco deciding the grass is greener on the other side of the Atlantic. Challenge: Chancellor Jeremy Hunt plans to lift the spirits with high-flown rhetoric about Britains world-leading achievements in life sciences, deep technology, AI and much else This is just the tip of an iceberg. As we learnt in the pandemic (with no exaggeration). Britain is genuinely a world beater when it comes to biotech, developing vaccines and new medicines. Many UK discoveries turn into start-ups and then race towards Stage One approval in the regulatory process. That indicates a prospect of success. Then the fun begins with small biotechs looking for direct finance and big pharma seeking licencing deals to capture the new treatments or compounds. Realistically, this is a hit-or-miss process with only a one-in-ten chance of success. Nevertheless, the competition is hot and as one biotech lawyer told me this week, at this point, you can almost hear the whoosh of great science, developed in UK universities, heading to Stanford and the US West Coast. American venture capital is so much more willing to take the risks than British funders. This is a huge pity because as vaccine hero Kate Bingham has noted, the NHS could be a fantastic testbed for genetic treatments, digitalisation, AI and much else. Many of our better-known growth companies have been spin-outs from the universities with Arm, Aveva, Darktrace and Oxford Nanopore among them. It is jolly good that HM Treasury recognises this and the Chancellor has set up a task force to identify best practice in turning university research into commercial success. This looks to be typical Whitehall, with civil servants, as Bingham has observed, focused on process rather than outcomes. Of course, there is huge room to turn university research into a greater commercial success. This stuff is already going on with Russell Group universities such as Southampton. It has created an enormous science hub where dozens of innovations have been turned into firms. M&G is seeking to be a pioneer in this space through Northern Gritstone. Its 5bn Catalyst Fund is being opened to external investors for the first time and is hungry for investment targets. Tory voices, such as Lord Leigh of Cavendish Corporate Finance, argue if the UK really is to become a beacon for start-up funding, then mechanisms such as the tax-advantaged Enterprise Investment Scheme need to be modernised and extended. The Government still lives in fear of fiscal turbulence after the Truss fiasco last autumn. But the UK cannot recover its mojo without generous tax breaks and a change in attitude among defensive domestic investors to more venture capital. Leaving it to the Americans should not be an option. Suisse watch US regulators are never slow to punish overseas banks. Both HSBC and Standard Chartered have in the past been penalised for money-laundering and sanctions busting. Problems at Credit Suisse are of a different kind. The Securities & Exchange Commission unusually has intervened to prevent publication of the troubled banks report and accounts. It doesnt trust cash flow numbers for 2019 and 2020. The net effect of the mistakes may not be material but queries from the USs top Wall Street regulator are not a good look. Earlier this week, the banks biggest investor, Harris Associates, sold its stake and the shares tumbled another 5 per cent in latest trading. The goal at the Swiss bank is to stem the outflows and focus on its wealth management skills. Latest events can hardly be classed as confidence building. Survival skills Nothing is more important to Jamie Dimon and JP Morgan than the Wall Street lenders white-shoe reputation. In turning the tables on former Barclays chief executive Jes Staley over his links to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, it clearly has decided that some allegations and testimony released, as a result of court actions, is too toxic to be left hanging. Not for nothing has Dimon survived at the apex of JP Morgan since 2005, a period encompassing the great financial crisis. Six FTSE 100 bosses scooped a total of 31.8million in pay last year, despite the UK being in the grip of a cost of living crisis. Amid a flurry of annual reports, the blue-chip businesses, including Unilever, Segro, Shell, Aviva, Rolls-Royce and Flutter, published documents revealing what their chief executives were paid. The pay bonanza for some of Britains top bosses will raise eyebrows while families across the country are struggling to make ends meet as food and energy bills soar. In the money: Ben van Beurden (pictured) received fixed pay of 2.2m during the year as well as a 2.6m bonus and 4.9m worth of share awards Shell paid former boss Ben van Beurden 9.7million in his last year in charge after the oil and gas giant delivered record profits on the back of surging energy prices. The 64-year-old stepped down at the end of 2022 and received fixed pay of 2.2million during the year as well as a 2.6million bonus and 4.9million worth of share awards linked to the companys long-term incentive plan. It means over his nine years in charge, van Beurden raked in over 86million and is due to receive another 700,000 this year for staying at Shell as an adviser for six months. Hellmanns mayonnaise and Dove soap maker Unilever paid outgoing chief Alan Jope 4.8million, a 10 per cent jump from a year earlier despite coming under fire for the firms poor performance. Last years bonanza takes his pay since taking the helm in January 2019 to 16.5million. Jope is being replaced in July and is set to leave the business with shares broadly flat since he took over. Rolls-Royces former boss Warren East, who quit in December after seven and a half years in charge, scooped 3.8million before bowing out. His final payout took his earnings since becoming chief executive of the aircraft engine maker to more than 20million. Elsewhere warehouse giant Segro paid its chief executive David Sleath 3.9million, a dip from last year when he scooped 4.7million. Insurer Aviva paid boss Amanda Blanc 5.5million, a jump from the 3million she was awarded a year earlier. And gambling giant Flutter, owner of Paddy Power and Betfair, cut boss Peter Jacksons pay almost in half. Despite the fall, he was still handed 4.1million last year. Luke Hildyard of the High Pay Centre said companies should have thought twice before handing out the huge pay packets during the cost of living crisis. He said: Multimillionaire chief executives making such massive windfall gains in the middle of a cost of living crisis, partly caused by a war thats killed hundreds of thousands of people, is such a clear sign of an economy that needs major changes. Hammerson saw shares tumble after a fall in the value of its property empire. The shopping centre group, which owns Birminghams Bullring, said its estate was worth 5.1billion at the end of 2022, down from 5.4billion 12 months earlier. Hammerson said it carried out a disciplined programme of disposals of unwanted sites and was focusing the business on prime city centre locations. Slump: Hammerson, which owns Birminghams Bullring (pictured) said its estate was worth 5.1bn at the end of 2022 - down from 5.4bn 12 months earlier It completed 195million of disposals last year and pledged a further 300million of sell-offs by December 2023. Market confidence was also knocked by a decline in rental income from 250.4million in 2021 to 215.2million. Shares plunged 11.5 per cent, closing at 25.94p. Broker Peel Hunt said Hammersons balance sheet required some TLC. But chief executive Rita-Rose Gagne said the company had made progress despite a volatile macroeconomic and market backdrop. Promotion image of Korean Air / Courtesy of Korean Air A live bullet was found on a Korean Air plane about to take off from Incheon International Airport on Friday, grounding the aircraft and causing more than 200 passengers to evacuate, airport police said. The airport police received a report at 8:05 a.m. that a passenger found the bullet lying under his seat at the airplane bound for Manila, the Philippines. The plane had been scheduled to take off at 7:45 a.m. but returned to the terminal right before take-off after the bullet was found. A total of 230 people aboard the plane 218 passengers and 12 crew members were also evacuated. Police officials said an antiterrorist police unit and a military explosive disposal team were searching the interior of the aircraft. Police plan to look into how the live bullet was brought into the airplane. Gun possession is illegal in Korea, except for licensed sporting and hunting guns, which must be stored at police stations. (Yonhap) A businessman who previously compared his negotiation tactics to those of a rapist is at the centre of a mounting crisis at beleaguered Home REIT. Christopher Downing, a property entrepreneur, sold vast amounts of housing to the landlord for the homeless before it was thrown into chaos after an attack by short-seller Fraser Perring and his outfit Viceroy Research. Since the initial broadside in November, Home REIT has been buffeted by a series of interlocking debacles that have seen its shares suspended on the London Stock Exchange. Questions: Christopher Downing sold Home REIT a large portion of its nearly 2,500-strong property portfolio through his social housing group Karla as well as other entities It is facing legal disputes with several of its tenants, a detailed probe into its accounts by auditor BDO and an investigation into allegations of bribery by forensic accountant Alvarez & Marsal as well as the National Crime Agency. Downing, 64, sold Home REIT a large portion of its nearly 2,500-strong property portfolio through his social housing group Karla as well as through other entities. Former associates claim he has made tens of millions of pounds by selling the properties at inflated prices, allegations denied by Downing. The debacle at Home REIT has raised fears that many of its residents, which include ex-servicemen and domestic abuse survivors, could be relocated if the group is forced to sell its portfolio amid a collapse in rental income. But for Downing, its problems are likely to seem like a world away, with the businessman having decamped to a village on the Venetian Lagoon, in which Venice is situated, where he is planning to turn an old glass factory into a luxury hotel. Profits from his time in property have also allowed him to amass a garage of luxury cars including a white Rolls-Royce and two Bentleys. His reputation among several former partners, including some of Home REITs charity tenants, is notorious, with many accusing him of abusive behaviour, bullying and manipulation. Hes very good at what he does, said Matt Fearnley, chief executive of Noble Tree, one of the tenant organisations currently in a dispute with Downing and Home REIT over allegations he reneged on contracts to refurbish properties used to house vulnerable people. In a statement, Downing said there had been many false and deliberately misleading accusations made against him. Fortune: Downing's property deals have allowed him to amass a garage of luxury cars including a white Rolls-Royce and two Bentleys The statement said: The truth is Im a self-made man and have worked hard to be able to move into a 250,000 one-bedroom apartment in the Veneto region of Italy, an area known for its peace and tranquillity, which is important to me as I recover from cancer. Over the last 40 years, Ive worked in the property industry and have been well remunerated, mainly from my work in emerging markets. Downing said like many others he sold properties to Home REIT at Local Housing Allowance rates and that the properties had been valued by Knight Frank as instructed by Home REIT. He highlighted the company had confirmed it undertook extensive due diligence prior to purchase. I have gone above and beyond to ensure, through providing grant money to all social renters, that this business would be sustainable, Downing said, claiming he paid 20million to the renters in excess of funds required for refurbishment works. But during that 40-year career Downing also appeared to have cultivated a reputation for ruthlessness across multiple countries. According to Karlas website, in 1992 he moved to Russia shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Downing also spent time in Pakistan, South Africa and Myanmar, saying in an email seen by the Mail he had seen and done things over his career that made him a deeply unpleasant person. In the email outlining his negotiation strategy to two prospective charity partners, Downing said: We purchase properties, mostly portfolios, we try and steal them and this is what I am good at We buy at one price, this is a negotiated price based on how cruel I can be It can stretch from fair bid, to brutal, to rapist. He added the profit he and his business partners made went towards supporting an outrageous lifestyle and warned those working with him to never f*** up, never ever f*** up. Some who have worked with Downing have highlighted examples of his self-admitted cruelty in action. In an email to several Home REIT employees seen by the Mail, a whistleblower alleged Downing became angry and verbally abusive with the head of one of the charities signing property leases, who was described as being financially reliant on his business and in the early stages of pregnancy. Other choice language used by Downing included calling people money grabbing lazy idiots as well as saying a female employee at one charity had no use unless one of the bosses wanted the young lady as a girlfriend. Downings previous business partners included the late Meyrick Cox, a former Goldman Sachs banker and old Etonian who attended the exclusive school alongside Boris Johnson. Cox died of cancer in 2020 Senior figures in the UK oil and gas industry last night warned the Governments punishing windfall taxes are bad for business. Trade association Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) said several companies have raised concerns about the future of the North Sea and the risk involved in investing there. The comments came after Harbour Energy, the largest oil producer in the North Sea, said its profits last year were all but wiped out by the windfall tax. Warning: Trade association Offshore Energies UK said several companies have raised 'concerns about the future of the North Sea and the risk involved in investing there' It said it was now cutting jobs and investment in the North Sea and looking overseas for growth. OEUK said Harbour was not alone in raising concerns. It said French giant TotalEnergies has slashed its North Sea investment plans by 100million for 2023 alone, while London-listed group EnQuest has decided to halt drilling activity at its Kraken oilfield as a result of the levy. The International Association of Drilling Contractors also warned the Government last month that the North Sea faced an exodus of skills and equipment as the industry sought better opportunities elsewhere. Mike Tholen, sustainability director at OEUK, said the announcements were a stark reminder that the windfall tax and the uncertainty it brings is ultimately bad for business. He added the industry needed stable regulation, predictable competitive taxes and, above all, long-term planning and leadership from politicians of all parties. In a bleak update to the stock market, Harbour Energy reported an after-tax profit of just 6.7million for 2022, down from 85million in 2021, due to a 1.3billion charge linked to the windfall tax. This was despite the companys profit before tax, before taking account of the cost of the levy, ballooning to nearly 2.1billion in 2022 from 264million the previous year as it cashed in on energy prices that surged following the outbreak of war in Ukraine. Harbours shares inched up 0.4 per cent, or 1.1p, to 288p. Boss Linda Cook said the Governments windfall tax, which imposes a 75 per cent effective tax rate on profits made from the North Sea, has disproportionately impacted Britain-focused oil and gas firms critical for domestic energy security. She said the windfall tax has all but wiped out our profit for the year, adding: This has driven us to reduce our UK investment and staffing levels. Given the fiscal instability and outlook for investment in the country, it has also reinforced our strategic goal to grow and diversify internationally. Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: Given businesses like Harbour Energy have the option of investing elsewhere, there is a risk of the UKs energy security being undermined by understandable moves to tax profit which was indisputably boosted by the knock-on effects of the invasion of Ukraine. Exclusive DailyMail.com photos show the widowed mother-of-three, pushing three-year-old daughter Zaia in a stroller while son Maddox, six, trailed behind The widow of Stephen 'tWitch' Boss, Allison Holker appears to be gradually adapting to her new normal, nearly three months after the dancer's tragic death. The mother-of-three has retreated from the public eye in recent months as she mourns the loss of her husband, only occasionally taking to social media to share tributes and statements about the father of her children. But over the weekend, the 35-year-old seemed to be soldiering on as she set out on a stroll with her two youngest children around their Encino-area neighborhood. Allison Holker was spotted going on a stroll with her two youngest children around her Encino neighborhood over the weekend The 35-year-old dancer can be seen pushing three-year-old daughter Zaia in a stroller while son Maddox, six, trailed behind The outing comes nearly three months after the shock death of husband Stephen 'tWitch' Boss who tragically took his own life at the age of 40 Exclusive DailyMail.com photos show a somber Allison dressed for the cool weather in a cream colored double-breasted coat, jeans and sneakers, as she pushed three-year-old daughter Zaia in a stroller while her son Maddox, six, trailed behind. The former Dancing with the Stars dancer could be seen still wearing her wedding ring on her left finger. Little Zaia wore a limited edition pop artist Keith Haring 'holding heart' sweatshirt from the H&M kids line under a jean jacket, while her brother wore a hoodie and shorts. The outing marks a rare sighting of the family since the death of their beloved patriarch DJ tWitch. The former Ellen show DJ and passed away last year in Encino at the age of 40, with the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner ruling his death a suicide the following day, reported People. He was found at a hotel just half a mile from the family's $2.7million home on December 13. Allison has retreated from the public eye while she picks up the pieces for her young family as a now widowed mother The former Dancing with the Stars dancer could be seen still wearing her wedding ring on her left finger Support: Stephen 'tWitch' Boss' wife, Allison Holker, 35, took to Instagram on Friday to send a loving message of support to her children nearly three months after his tragic passing At the time, a heartbroken Allison released a statement saying: 'He was the backbone of our family, the best husband and father, and an inspiration to his fans.' The couple was known to millions of followers for their slick dance shorts shown on social media, which sometimes included Allison's eldest daughter Weslie, 14, from a previous relationship who was later adopted by Boss. On the outside, they were the picture perfect family, complete with a white picket fence, so it naturally came as a devastating shock to all when the husband, father, and TV personality took his own life. Allison has now been left to pick up the pieces for her young family as a widowed mother. Aside from a brief getaway during the holidays, the Boss family has not been seen out and about. Allison's first birthday since the passing of her husband on February 6 was also very low key and not mentioned on any of her platforms. Update: A source recently informed People that the mother of three is, 'doing as well as expected' following her husband's shocking death His family: The mother-of-three shared Weslie, 14, Maddox, six, and Zaia, three, with the late star Three days later, DailyMail.com reported that Allison had filed legal papers to receive half of her late husband's property and monetary holdings as there were 'no written agreements' between the two. One day before Alison's outing she posted a sweet message to her kids on Instagram. 'My loves, we are stronger than you can ever imagine. And we will stand strong together as a unit, and find the courage to hold each other up. I will be here for you every step of the way through the highs and lows, the ups and downs. 'I will protect and I will guide, I will be a listening ear, a shoulder to cry on, I will have mom jokes ready for when you need a good laugh. 'The love and light inside our hearts will still shine. I love you forever and always. Mommy.' If you or a loved one is experiencing suicidal thoughts or actions, please contact the National Suicide Hotline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255) Mr Buckingham said Liberal and Labor had 'their heads in the sand' His son Eden took his own life after telling parents he was abused as a child A politician leading the charge to legalise cannabis as a tribute to his son who took his own life has branded both NSW election hopefuls as out of touch. Premier Dominic Perrottet and Labor leader Chris Minns ruled out decriminalising marijuana for recreational use during Wednesday's debate. Legalise Cannabis Party candidate and former Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham said the pair were too conservative for modern Australia. 'The major parties have got their heads in the sand,' he told Daily Mail Australia after watching the debate. Legalise Cannabis Party candidate Jeremy Buckingham said NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet and Labor leader Chris Minns were out of touch for refusing to legalise cannabis 'The legalisation of cannabis is inevitable the rise of the Legalise Cannabis Party is indicative of a growing awareness in Australia that it is the sensible rational thing to do. 'We can reduce harm, save money, and free up a drug that millions of Australians use both recreationally and for medicine.' Mr Buckingham pointed to Hawaii voting to legalise marijuana on Tuesday, and numerous other US states and countries that made the switch years ago. He also noted recent polling showed a majority of Australians for the first time wanted recreational cannabis legalised, and surveys showed most had tried it. 'The major parties are making a massive mistake by continuing with prohibition, which is expensive, pushes it into the hands of criminals and the black market. That's a mistake and everyone in Australia knows it,' he said. 'Millions of Australians have tried cannabis and thousands in NSW use it - they should not be criminalised and we should not be wasting millions of taxpayers' dollars on a pointless war that hasn't worked.' Mr Buckingham's son Eden, 23, (pictured) took his own life last August a day after revealing he had been abused by a relative, and his dad wants to legalise marijuana as a tribute to him Mr Buckingham said he wasn't surprised both leaders ruled out legalisation because they were both 'very conservative and have their heads in the sand'. He said this position was to both their detriment as it was out of touch with what NSW voters, particularly younger ones, wanted. 'Young people, especially, recognise that cannabis use and be safe if it's well regulated,' he said. 'Ultimately the major parties are going to have to change their position.' Mr Buckingham said if he and others in his party were elected at the March 25 election, they would push for both the legalisation of cannabis and the reform of roadside drug testing laws that 'unfairly impact on people who are using legally prescribed medicinal cannabis'. Tragedy behind push for legal weed Mr Buckingham lost his boy Eden, aged just 23, last August after a long struggle with depression and drug addiction. Eden was found dead in bushland after telling his parents he 'suffered the most evil abuse' at the hands of a relative before he was even a teenager. Eden's death prompted Mr Buckingham's return to politics after four years as he hopes to provide an alternative to opiates for young people suffering mental illness and chronic pain. 'The struggle my son had with his mental health issues was very, very difficult and he was on various medications, opiates, that I don't think did him any good whatsoever,' he said. Mr Buckingham said 'every day was a struggle' since his son's suicide, and he didn't want another family to go through what his did. 'It's been, and will continue to be, a dark and and tragic circumstance. I love my son, I miss him every day,' he said. He described his 'beautiful, golden boy' as a sensitive and intelligent 'warrior' and sharing news of his death were 'the hardest, unbearable words'. 'Eden couldn't live with his truth, telling us a day before he passed that he had suffered the most evil abuse from a relative,' Mr Buckingham wrote in an emotional Facebook post after his death. 'His trust, faith and hope were shattered. He couldnt live with the secret shame and guilt, and couldnt live with the truth revealed. 'He said he didnt want to be the guy that this had happened to. It was too much for him. I understand and am not angry at him. I know why.' Advertisement Mr Buckingham previously told Daily Mail Australia that Australia was 'far behind' many Western democracies that legalised marijuana years ago, and the drug was less dangerous than other legal ones. 'The government makes a fortune out of alcohol and tobacco taxes, and there's incredible harm from that,' he said. 'When was the last time you saw two stoned people having a punch-up in a car park? Never. Poll Should Australia legalise cannabis? Yes No Should Australia legalise cannabis? Yes 231 votes No 102 votes Now share your opinion 'But how many people who've had 14 cans of rum have you seen having a ding-dong in the Maccas car park?' Mr Buckingham said it was 'inevitable' Australia would soon legalise marijuana, and it would happen faster if voters supported his party. 'We're riding a wave [of support] with two people elected in WA and Victoria and we have confidence about NSW... and a majority of Australians support legalisation,' he said. 'It won't happen overnight but it won't take forever. We need to build consensus but don't want to get bogged down in inquiries - the research is being done overseas.' He hoped for a progressive upper house that wouldn't be dominated by MPs who 'have their heads in the sand with a just-say-no approach that doesn't work'. 'Whoever forms government should be looking at this - even conservative states in the US are legalising cannabis because it's a freedom issue, people should be free to enjoy their lives with a plant that's humans have been using for thousands of years,' he said. Eden's death prompted Mr Buckingham's return to politics after four years as he hopes to provide an alternative to opiates for young people suffering mental illness and chronic pain Mr Buckingham called the war on cannabis one of the most catastrophic policy failures in Australian history that needed to end quickly. 'We've wasted billions of taxpayer dollars on a senseless and damaging war on cannabis. It's needlessly criminalised tens of thousands of people for no reduction in harm,' he said. He had particular disdain for draconian drug driving laws that punished even medical cannabis patients if they failed a roadside saliva test as long as a month after they last used it. 'With alcohol you can have a glass of wine or mid-strength beer and drive, but if you have a small trace of a legal cannabis prescription for chronic illness three days later you can lose your licence and be fined even though you're not impaired, it's ridiculous,' he said. 'Australia is way behind, Canada and US states like California legalised cannabis more than five years ago and studies show there was no corresponding spike in drug-related accidents. If anything, they show marijuana users are slightly better drivers. 'There are many tests that measure impairment, and that is what we should be moving to - not ones that catch people taking medicine.' Mr Buckingham said research overseas showed more people tried marijuana when it was legalised, but there were only a small number of additional, regular users 'We don't want kids using it, and if you have well-formed legislation you're far more able to protect and educate young people young people,' he said. 'That's a far more effective way to deal with an issue that isn't going away because Australians use cannabis.' Mr Buckingham called the war on cannabis one of the most catastrophic policy failures in Australian history that needed to end quickly Mr Buckingham was a member of the NSW Legislative Council from 2011 to 2019. He was a Greens member from 2011 to 2018, but resigned from the party in December 2018. Announcing his return to politics, he said he was fighting for the common sense change that California, Canada, Germany, South Africa, Thailand and soon the ACT had already moved to and it was now time for NSW. 'I believe that current laws criminalising cannabis use and possession are not only costly and ineffective but also unjust. They disproportionately affect the sick, the young and Indigenous Australians,' he said. 'The legalisation of recreational cannabis for adult use would create a significant industry and employer, whilst massively reducing the burden and cost of prohibition on the community and criminal justice system.' For confidential crisis support contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 Customers say they have not been refunded Yet another Australian construction company has gone under owing $1.1million, crushing the dreams of those who had a contract with the company to build their home. Sunfox, based on Queensland's Gold Coast, promised it would help families 'to build their dream home with confidence', but has now appointed administrators after complaints of unpaid invoices and cancelled contracts. It comes after the Queensland Building and Construction Commission restricted the company's licence last month due to its financial situation. Pictured are Art of Homes director Corey Hobbins with wife Rachael. Customers say they have not been able to contact the pair The business, which traded under the name Art of Homes, has now been flooded with reviews from angry customers online. 'Avoid Sunfox at all costs. They owe families & businesses hundreds of thousands of dollars!' one person wrote. They added that they are struggling to get a response via email or call. Administrators Edwin Narayan and Domenic Calabretta said the company owes more than $1.1m to its creditors, including $324,297 in tax. The company finished $6.3m worth of projects across 19 residential properties in 2020/21 but this dropped to only three projects worth $1.2m last financial year, QBCC records show. The company finished $6.3m worth of projects across 19 residential properties in 2020/21 but this dropped to only three projects worth $1.2m last financial year, QBCC records show (pictured, a screenshot from the company's website) One would-be homeowner said they cancelled their contract after a year, with the company refusing to pay back their $48,000 deposit. 'We are paying rent and mortgages and it is crippling us. How can someone do this? Do not touch them and tell everyone to avoid them too,' Lismore resident Jess Ambridge wrote online. Another customer said he's owed more than $10,000 but isn't able to get hold of anyone from the company. 'We haven't been unable to get hold of them,' he told the Daily Telegraph. They had gang nicknames like Alien and Airforce1 which they used to communicate over encrypted cyber group chats while trafficking drugs including Dior-plated bricks of cocaine. They sold mountains of cocaine, including the vacuum sealed blocks of cocaine with the French designer brand name stamped on the surface, along with methamphetamine and MDMA, stashed in freezer bags and sold to customers in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs. The gang members, some of whom had bikie links, swapped cash for drugs concealed in Coles shopping bags in car parks, unaware that by late 2020 they had been infiltrated by detectives from NSW's gang and drug squads. The gang members kept bags and bags of the drugs inside their suburban flats, as well as firearms, scales, a vacuum sealer, an electronic money counter and massive wads of cash. But after an undercover police officer posed as buyer and joined the gang, it took only 21 days to bring them down. Details of the 'Dior cocaine gang', who were also obsessed with designer label clothing, which was busted in a stunning police sting almost two years ago, emerged during the sentencing of two of them on Friday. The bosses, Jake Davies and Abbas Hijazi - believed to have used the code names Cleo and Military Mind in their cyber encrypted chats which were monitored by undercover police - have already pleaded guilty and will be sentenced later in the year. On Friday, NSW District Court Judge Pauline David sentenced two gang members - Alfredo San Giorgio and David Anthony Coleman - whose roles she described as warehousing, packing and selling the gang's drugs. The gang members had criminal nicknames like Alien and Airforce1 which they used to communicate over encrypted cyber group chats while trafficking drugs including Dior-plated bricks of cocaine Alfredo San Giorgio (above) whose gang name was Airforce1 supplied massive amounts of cocaine, MDMA and ice in a Coles bag he handed over to another gang member in a car park NSW Police have busted an alleged criminal syndicate linked to bikies who are accused of dealing illegal drugs and guns, after raids across Sydney and Wollongong The bust in April 2021 made international headlines when police cracked open the gang spread across Sydney and Wollongong, discovering evidence of the gang's illicit activity and the designer clobber bought with the ill-gotten gains. Police seized 12.5kg of illicit drugs with a combined street value of $12million, $1.2million in cash, Rolex watches, Louis Vuitton sunglasses, and the Christian Dior-plated cocaine bricks. Six men were arrested in the raids, with one man being hauled out in Gucci slides while another was handcuffed in his underwear. San Giorgio, 49, pleaded guilty to supplying a commercial quantity of a prohibited drugs and supplying a large commercial quantity. The court heard on Friday that San Giorgio had the encrypted gang name of Airforce1 and had supplied 1.33 kg of methamphetamine, 2.5kg of cocaine and 1.8kg of the drug MDMA. Coleman, 38, whose gang name was Alien, pleaded guilty to supplying a commercial quantity of a prohibited drug, supplying a large commercial quantity, knowingly deal with proceeds of crime, and possessing an unregistered firearm. The court heard that Coleman supplied 834g of MDMA, 2.46kg of methamphetamine and 1.18kg of cocaine and was found in possession of an unlicensed .45 Colt semi-automatic pistol. Judge David relayed the workings of the drug gang, saying the principals Davies and Hijazi first had police crack into their drug operation in October 2020, then place an undercover operative (UCO) in the gang by January 2021. The pattern of dealing with Coleman, San Giorgio and the UCO saw Giorgio getting the drugs and handing them to Coleman inside a plastic Coles bag in his apartment car park in the inner Sydney suburb of Zetland. Coleman then sold the drugs to the UCO near his home in Sydney's southern suburbs which included one exchange of $21,000 from the cop for Coleman's Coles bag containing a freezer bag with 277.7 gram of MDMA of 42 per cent purity. In another drug swap, on April 20, 2021, Coleman collected the bag of drugs from Giorgio at Zetland, met the UCO and took $37,000 in exchange for a shopping bag containing 277.2g of MDMA, of 49pc purity, and 139.4g of methamphetamine of 79pc purity. Detectives had been investigating the supply of drugs and alleged criminal activities in the state's south since September 2019 - allegedly finding Dior-branded cocaine and a Rolex watch Strike Force Gommera was set up to investigate the syndicate's link to Sydney-based outlaw motorcycle gangs (pictured, one of the men arrested) The court heard that the UCO had conversations with the gang's principalJake Davies over the cyber encrypted chats in which Davies offered the cop ice and cocaine which he declined, and Davies admitted regarding his MDMA 'bro my prices have gone up a bit'. On Friday, David Coleman and Alfredo Giorgio appeared in prison greens via AVL from Parklea maximum prison and John Morony Correctional Centre. Both men faced life in prison for their drug crimes, but Judge David gave them greatly reduced sentences due to their early guilty pleas, backgrounds of trauma and drug addiction which included bodybuilder Coleman's steroid and cocaine use. She sentenced Coleman to a maximum six years and seven months, with a non parole period which could see his reelase in March 2025, and San Giorgio to six years and three months with an earliest release date of October 2024. Another member of the drug gang, Ibrahim Kansou has already been sentenced to three years in prison to be served as an intensive corrections order for supplying a prohibited drug. In July, Davies will be sentenced for several counts of supplying a commercial quantity of a prohibited drug, and Hijazi will be sentenced for take part in the supply of a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug. Louis Vuitton sunglasses were among the items seized in raids across Sydney and Wollongong, police say, as well as bags of cash A Maine resident and vegan whose vanity license plate says 'LUVTOFU' is deemed inappropriate by the state because they consider his homage to bean curd could be seen as a reference to sex. Peter Starostecki was shocked by the new mandate and insisted that there was no mistaking the intent of his custom vanity plate because the back of his car has several tofu-related stickers showing his love of soy. He argued during a recent Zoom hearing with the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles stating that 'it's my protest against eating meat and animal products.' His appeal, however was rejected disappointing the father-of-two. When he was offered another license plate - 'V3GAN' - that had become available Starostecki's decided he was done with vanity plates, after all, and is now awaiting for his boring randomly selected plate to arrive. For years the state allowed people to put just about any combination of letters and numbers on their vehicle plates, including words and phrases that other states would ban, but that came to an end earlier this year after many motorists were apparently going bonkers with their license plate freedoms. Peter Starostecki pictured with his children Sadie (center) and Jo Jo sit behind their car with the vanity license plate that says 'LUVTOFU' that the state of Maine has deemed in appropriate. The vegan family's car will soon have a randomly selected plate Under the new mandate - 274 plates have been recalled of 120,000 - and deemed inappropriate, including Starostecki's. Earlier this year, the Maine Legislature directed the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to reestablish a system and crackdown on those with vanity license plates- there are roughly 120,000 in the state - of that number 274 were deemed inappropriate. The new rules bans derogatory references to age, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, religion or disability. Also banned is language that incites violence or is considered obscene. Heather Libby and her best friend grudgingly gave up their matching license plates that contained a word for a female dog. 'People are so sensitive nowadays,' said Libby, of Jonesport, after a hearing examiner rejected her appeal. 'I just think its foolish.' In 2015, the state effectively ended the review process for so-called vanity license plates leaving some residents to fill their plates with all manner of profanities, including F-bombs, either spelled out or abbreviated. Residents in a state known for being laconic and even-tempered soon were sporting uncensored plates pairing the F-word with 'snow,' 'haters,' and 'ALS,' - the incurable neurodegenerative disease. Restored as censors, Maines vehicular officials now walk a similar tightrope as their colleagues in other states. In 2020, a federal judge ruled that Californias ban on plates that are 'offensive to good taste and decency' was overly broad, and violated constitutional rights to free speech. Earlier this year, Texas officials rejected a license plate similar to Starostecki's - 'LVTOFU' - leading to rebukes from an animal rights group. Maines rules were narrowly crafted to pass legal muster, officials said. Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said motorists have the freedom to express themselves, but she said that they should do it on a bumper sticker, not a state-issued license plate. 'We have a public interest in keeping phrases and words that are profane or may incite violence off the roadways,' she said. She said shes happy that most motorists have relinquished their objectionable license plates without a fight. So far, there have been only 13 appeals, but there could be more. If a motorist loses an appeal to a hearing examiner, then they can sue in Superior Court. So far, no one has taken that step. As for Starostecki, he was offered another license plate that had become available, V3GAN. But he decided he was done with vanity plates. Hes awaiting a new license plate - a boring one randomly selected by the state. Libby, who lost her B-word plate, got a custom plate celebrating her dog Zeus, named for the mythical god of thunder. 'That could be offensive to someone because its a Greek god,' she quipped. 'But I hope not.' Charles Bronson said he would be 'on very thin ice' if he was ever let out of prison because of the restrictive nature of parole conditions. In an interview from behind bars, the 70-year-old slammed the limitations put on released prisoners and said he would hate wearing a 'f*****g tag' because he would struggle to have a shower. 'Britain's most dangerous prisoner' is begging the parole board to approve his release after nearly 50 years in jail. He was first locked up for armed robbery in 1974, but during his time inside he has taken hostages in 10 prison sieges and attacked at least 20 prison officers. Eventually in 1999 he was handed a life sentence for kidnapping a prison art teacher. Charles Bronson slammed the limitations put on released prisoners and said he would hate wearing a 'f*****g tag' because he would struggle to have a shower Speaking in 2021 with his friend, YouTuber Steve Wraith, for his series - The Charlie Salvador aka Bronson Interviews - the inmate mocked the conditions placed on prisoners who are released on parole. 'Let's just say they say I'm not allowed to walk past the Post Office, well, how do I know if there's a Post Office round the f*****g corner? 'Now in a paedophile's case they're not allowed to walk past schools, but how do they know if there's a school round the corner? 'And you're not allowed to talk to girls? Well, what happens if a girl talks to you. 'I'm going to be on very thin ice out there. But at least it's half freedom. 'The only thing I'm not looking forward to is that f*****g tag on my ankle for three months I think. How do you ever shower with that on? 'How do you put your socks on? I won't be able to wear my suspenders and tights with them!' Bronson's tribunal has heard how he would need a great deal of support for everyday tasks if ever freed because he has never even used a cash machine. He was first locked up for armed robbery in 1974, but during his time inside he has taken hostages in 10 prison sieges and attacked at least 20 prison officers A panel of three considered the case this week at HMP Woodhill in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, while members of the press and public watch the proceedings on a live stream from the Royal Courts of Justice in central London. The psychologist told the hearing that Bronson would be very low risk of absconding if he was moved to an open prison but she advised against releasing him into the community. 'You can never say someone is no risk but I think he would be a low risk of absconding,' she said. 'I think the benefits of being in open conditions and the work that could be done there would outweigh the immediate risks at the moment. '[But] I can't recommend that he is released at this time because I think there's further work that needs to be done.' The psychologist said he had suffered with PTSD from his brutal treatment in prisons across the UK, including Broadmoor and Rampton high-security hospitals. The psychologist said he had suffered with PTSD from his brutal treatment in prisons across the UK, including Broadmoor and Rampton high-security hospitals 'His violence has been exacerbated while he has been in the prison system and that is because he has felt that he is locked in a battle with the authorities,' she said. 'He feels like the whole system is about humiliating and degrading him.' Richard Booth, who co-authored a novel with Bronson and was yesterday described by the prisoner as 'a legend, an icon,' told the hearing that Bronson had shown significant improvements in his mood and happiness in the last four years. 'He is much more calm, he's been using breathing techniques,' he told the panel. Mr Booth said Bronson's artworks sell for between 1,000 and 30,000 each, and they raised 67,000 for charity at a single auction last year. Bronson, who has changed his named to Charles Salvador, had previously told the hearing he once 'lived to have a rumble' but has mellowed in his old age. He said he would like to go for a cup of tea with art teacher Phil Danielson and apologise for taking him hostage for two days in HMP Hull in 1999. The act lead to a life sentence being given to the former jewellery shop robber. Bronson - whose real name is Michael Peterson - is having one further hearing in private before learning his fate in the coming weeks. Danish police have searched for a yacht on the tiny Baltic Sea island of Christianso near the Nord Stream pipeline blast sites, officials said on Thursday. German authorities confirmed on Wednesday they had raided a ship in January that may have been used to transport explosives used to blow up the pipelines. Soren Thiim Andersen, the island of Christianso's top boss, said: 'The police was searching for a specific boat that had moored here in September.' The September 26 explosions on the Nord Stream pipelines, constructed to supply Russian natural gas to Europe, have become a flashpoint between the West and Russia after last year's Russian invasion of Ukraine. International investigators said the explosions were deliberate and a bombshell report claimed a pro-Ukraine commando unit carried out the attack on the Russian gas pipelines. The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline leak as seen from a Danish F-16 on September 27, 2022 Danish police have searched for a yacht on the tiny Baltic Sea island of Christianso, near the Nord Stream pipeline blast sites The September 26 explosions on the Nord Stream pipelines, constructed to supply Russian natural gas to Europe, have become a flashpoint between the West and Russia after last year's Russian invasion of Ukraine Germany's ARD broadcaster and Zeit newspaper reported that German authorities were able to identify a boat used for the sabotage operation. The operation to place explosives on the seabed was carried out by six people, who sailed from Rostock, on September 6, and was later located on the Danish island of Christianso, according to the reports. Danish police in January searched for information about boats that had docked on Christianso on September 16-18, interviewing local residents, collecting footage from the harbour, and collected information from the harbour ticket machine, Andersen said. A six-person commando unit reportedly used a yacht rented from a Ukrainian company to destroy the Nord Stream pipelines last September. Soren Thiim Andersen (pictured), the island of Christianso's top boss, said: 'The police was searching for a specific boat that had moored here in September' German minister Boris Pistorius (pictured) cautioned against reports a pro-Ukraine group was involved Research by the broadcasters ARD and SWR, Contrast magazine, and Die Zeit newspaper concluded that five men and a woman rented a yacht in Rostock, Germany, on September 6, 2022, which they used to destroy the gas pipelines on September 26. The yacht was reportedly hired from a company registered in Poland that was owned by two Ukrainian citizens, Die Zeit reported. The team included a captain, two divers, two diving assistants and a doctor - all with professionally faked passports and all as yet unnamed. Investigators were said to have found particles of explosives on the yacht's cabin table, as the attackers did not have time to cover their tracks. Germany's defence minister today voiced caution over reports that the pro-Ukraine group of six was involved in destroying the pipelines, suggesting a potential 'false flag' operation - which Die Zeit acknowledged was still a possibility. The Times reported today that Western intelligence had known for months the name of an alleged Ukrainian sponsor who is supposed to have financed the sabotage of the pipelines. The publication wrote that an unnamed Ukrainian without state affiliation sponsored the attack. The Times said that NATO officials hid the names of those involved to save Ukraine from a public row with Germany. Ukraine previously denied any involvement in the Nord Stream pipeline blast after US officials said a 'pro-Kyiv' group were behind the explosion. A senior aide to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, Mykhailo Podolyak, said that Kyiv was 'absolutely not involved' in the blasts and has no information about what happened. Christianso is part of a small archipelago about 18 km northeast of the Baltic Sea island of Bornholm. The archipelago with just 98 inhabitants is a former naval fortress but remains under administration of the Danish defence ministry. Danish police declined to comment. Australians could soon be paid their full-time wage to work just four days a week should sweeping proposals from a senate inquiry be adopted. The landmark report by the select committee on work and care backed a raft of changes, including a year of paid parental leave and the right to disconnect from work outside of hours. Greens senator Barbara Pocock, who chaired the inquiry, called on the government to seriously consider the 'ambitious' reforms to boost quality of life. 'In our history, Australia led the world in reductions in the working week in the 1850s. We're at the other end of the spectrum with too many Australians working very long hours,' she told ABC News Breakfast. Australians could soon be paid their full-time wage to work just four days a week should sweeping proposals from a senate inquiry be adopted 'We need to think more seriously about how we deal with a changed workforce.' The report recommended the Albanese government trial the 100:80:100 model. Workers would continue to be paid a full-time wage and maintain productivity despite working 80 per cent of the week. 'We heard a lot of evidence... of people who are already working a four-day week in workplaces that are trialling a reduction in working hours and getting very positive results,' Senator Pocock said. How radical proposal intends to shake up your workplace Introduce a four-day work week Full year of paid parental leave Increases to carers pay Advertisement 'We're seeing in the evidence improvements in productivity, a lot greater work and family balance, and really good outcomes in the workplace and at home in terms of relationships and putting your life and your job together.' The Labor government has committed to a reform of the paid parental leave scheme, making it easier for new fathers to spend time at home. And by 2026, Labor is hoping to boost paid parental leave to 26 weeks total, rather than the 20 weeks currently available. But the Greens are pushing for stronger policies, including superannuation payments for the leave and a clear path toward a full 52 weeks off. 'The government-funded leave should be paid at least at the minimum full-time wage, with consideration given to encouraging employers to top up payments to full wage replacement,' the report states. The pilot would be spread across the workforce and conducted in partnership with an Australian university. A review into the idea of the 38-hour work week and whether stronger penalties were required for employers who made staff work long hours should be considered by the Fair Work Commission, the inquiry said. Another key recommendation from the report was restricting employers from contacting employees outside of work hours unless it's an emergency. 'What people are saying is, can we work our working hours and once we're beyond those, unless it's absolutely urgent, we should be able to turn the phone off and not be at its beck and call,' Senator Pocock added. While the report had the broad support of Labor and Coalition senators, additional comments provided by government members noted the reforms might not be possible in the current economic environment. 'This fiscal reality necessarily imposes constraints on social policy,' Labor senators Deborah O'Neill, Jana Stewart and Linda White said. 'It is now the role of government to consider the report and its recommendations within the context of broader budgetary and legislative constraints.' gettyimagesbank Appropriate education needed to prevent young people's exposure to drugs By Jun Ji-hye Drug-related crimes have become a major concern in Korea, but what is more concerning is the increasing number of cases involving teenagers. According to the police, Friday, a growing number of teenagers have been exposed to the use and trafficking of illegal drugs in recent years, as instant messaging platforms, including Telegram, have become one of the major drug distribution channels. Experts have called for improved education to prevent young people from being exposed to drugs, adding that teenagers who use illegal drugs are more likely to become addicted. Data tallied by the National Police Agency showed that the number of teenage drug offenders increased from 104 in 2018 to 241 in 2020 and 309 in 2021. Last year, 294 teenage drug offenders were apprehended. According to data provided by the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, the ratio of drug offenders aged between 10 and 20 last year stood at 34.2 percent. The figure has sharply increased from 15.8 percent back in 2017. What is worse is that the actual number of drug offenses probably goes far beyond the official figures. Investigators admit it is extremely difficult to track all of the drug trafficking that is rampant online. The latest case involving a 14-year-old middle school student directed more attention to the seriousness of teen exposure to drugs. On March 6, the police said they were investigating the girl for allegedly using methamphetamine at her house in Seoul's Dongdaemun District. Her mother contacted the police when she found out that her daughter had fallen down the stairs of their house after using the drug. The student allegedly bought the drug via a Telegram chatroom, according to police. In May last year, the police in Incheon arrested 23 drug carriers for selling methamphetamine, ketamine, ecstasy and other illegal drugs through Telegram. Among the 23, three were 17 years old. Investigators said teenagers who are adept at using digital devices, as well as secret online chatrooms, have been exposed to drugs more easily. "While smartphones are widely used, young people can easily search for drug advertisements via social network services or portals. Some of them buy drugs there out of curiosity," an official at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office said. Yoon Heung-hee, a professor of Drug and Alcohol Studies at Hansung University's Graduate School of Public Administration, said education should be prioritized over crackdowns or punishment. "Some advanced countries have already adopted education on drugs as a regular curriculum at schools," Yoon said. "In Korea, the central government, local administrations and schools should join hands to establish an effective education system to inform teenagers of the dangers of drug addiction." Rep. Lee Tae-kyu of the ruling People Power Party agreed with the need to offer proper education. "Teenagers are still growing up, but drugs affect their brain," Lee said. "Education to prevent teenagers from access to drugs must come first." In a bid to facilitate such education, the lawmaker submitted a bill to revise the School Health Act in November. Elon Musk has plans to build his own 'utopia town' for workers close to his SpaceX and Boring sites where he can regulate his own projects outside Austin. Top brass at Boring Co., Musk's tunneling operation, have discussed how to incorporate their own town called Snailbrook in Bastrop County, around 35 miles outside the Texas capital. Not only could Musk provide cheap housing for his employees - $800 per month for a three-bedroom house - but it would allow the magnate to set regulations and help grease the wheels for his ambitious building projects. His Austin area employees, which include staff at Boring, electric-car maker Tesla and his space exploration firm, SpaceX, would ideally all live in the brand new homes nestled in thousands of acres of farmland beside the Colorado River. Musk, his ex-girlfriend Grimes, Kanye West and the rapper's architect held multiple discussions over the last year about the design of the town, sources told The Wall Street Journal. Elon Musk has plans to build his own 'utopia town' for workers close to his SpaceX and Boring sites where he can regulate his own projects outside Austin A map of the construction project Musk is said to be planning for his workers in Austin. Documents filed in the Bastrop County Commissioners Court show plans for 110 more homes to be built The site of Musk's company developments in Bastrop County in 2021 The talks were broad-brushed and involved some mock-ups but have not yet resulted in finalized plans, one person familiar with the discussions told the paper. Bastrop County has not yet received any application by Musk to incorporate the town. This would require at least 201 residents and approval from a county judge. Musk opened his new Tesla factory dubbed Giga Texas in April last year. The sprawling plant spread across 2,500 acres of Travis County outside Austin is billed as the manufacturing hub for the Model Y and the future home of the Cybertruck. In neighboring Bastrop County, his tunneling firm Boring is building a new warehouse, while SpaceX is building a 12-acre facility. The proposed Snailbrook 'utopia' for his employees is just a half-mile up the road. Snailbrook takes its name from Boring's mascot, a snail named Gary - a reference to the SpongeBob cartoon character of the same name. Photos uploaded to Facebook by locals show signs hanging which say, 'Welcome. Snailbrook, TX, est. 2021.' The site already includes a number of trailer homes, a pool, an outdoor recreation area and a gym. A general view of the Tesla factory in Austin, Texas The average monthly rent in Bastrop County is around $2,200 but Musk wants to offer his employees the chance to live there for just a fraction of that price. Local farmers have expressed concern about how the vast plans would affect the land, particularly with regards to Boring's tunneling operation which may impact aquifers which supply the region's wells. Boring, founded in 2016, has ongoing and proposed projects designed for intra-city 'loop' transit systems to provide all-electric, zero-emission, high-speed underground public transport. The only operational tunnel is a 1.7-mile stretch across the Las Vegas convention center which transports attendees on limited days during events using Tesla cars. Boring recently made an application to pump up to 140,000 gallons of industrial wastewater a day into the Colorado River. David Barrow, who runs Eden Barrow East Farm on Bastrop's North Main Street, told the Journal: 'I would like to know what is actually being sprayed, what they're actually building, and who is going to hold them accountable. He said there had been 'no transparency.' Over the last three years, legal entities linked to Musk or his companies have bought up some 3,500 acres of land in the Austin area, records show. Cars are seen on the assembly line during a tour of the Tesla Giga Texas manufacturing facility ahead of the 'Cyber Rodeo' grand opening party on April 7, 2022 in Austin, Texas Local officials told the Journal that they have heard the billionaire actually owns north of 6,000 acres in the region - more than seven times the size of Central Park in New York. Musk quit Silicon Valley two years ago after losing patience with California's tight regulations, including planning permission and tax laws. He called his former home the land of 'overregulation, overlitigation, overtaxation,' in December 2021. Unlike California, Texas has fewer zoning laws, environmental and labor requirements, and has thousands of acres of loosely regulated farmland. The Lone Star state also has no corporate income tax or income or capital gains levies on individuals. The purchases of land in Texas have been made by at least four limited liability companies tied to Musk's businesses or executives, filings show. They include plans for a private residence for Musk located away from the main site for his workers, sources told the Journal. Musk has personally approved each land acquisition, those familiar with the operation said. Chap Ambrose, a computer programmer who lives on a hilltop overlooking the new Boring and SpaceX facilities, told the Journal 'they want it to be secret. They want to do things before anyone knows really what's happening.' Musk has previously floated the idea of providing affordable housing for his employees in purpose built communities. In 2018, during a public panel alongside then-Gov. Brian Sandoval of Nevada, the tycoon said he would like to build housing for Tesla workers beside its huge site outside Reno. Two years later, he tweeted about building 'the city of Starbase' in Boca Chica Village, Texas, where SpaceX does work on the Gulf of Mexico. Musk has said he lives in a $50,000 house in Boca Chica that he rents from SpaceX. However, reports say his primary residence is actually a friend's mansion in Austin. More than half a billion dollars worth of frozen goods could go to waste after a trucking company that supplied all the major supermarkets went into liquidation. Australia's largest cold-chain logistics operator Scott's Refrigerated Logistics, went into receivership last Monday. Some 1,200 of its 1,500 staff have already been made redundant while the company owes more than $100 million to its creditors. The Sydney-based company is seeking to exit its costly leases on all of its 24 warehouses, meaning its 114,000 pallets of frozen food must be relocated. Fears have been raised the food could go to waste, leading to supply shortages across Woolworths, Coles, Aldi, IGA and Foodbank Australia. More than half a billion dollars worth of frozen goods could go to waste after a trucking company that supplied all the major supermarkets went into liquidation Investment and consulting firm KordaMentha is attempting to move the goods but is struggling find a suitable location due to a shortage of cold storage spaces. A shortage could spell more pain for customers with frozen good prices potentially skyrocketing as a result. Coles has been able to retrieve the products it managed directly from Scott's in a positive turn of events. Some 15 per cent of the logistic company's business came from the supermarket. All the other supermarkets have been redirecting their deliveries from Scott's to other providers. Voluntary administrator McGrathNicol said KordaMentha was working with the customers of the logistics company to move their stock. 'However, there is a lot of stock,' partner Jonathan Henry told The Australian. 'In addition, there's not enough space in the storage capacity to realistically relocate the stock. 'Negotiations and site visits have been conducted with landlords and customers to determine a pathway forward.' 'At some point in the near future, the receivers intended exiting leases, however, commercial arrangements may be reached to continue to provide customers with ongoing access to stock and the receivers continue to employ a small number of staff to assist with that process.' The logistics company's biggest landlord AP Eagers is understood to be in negotiations to provide short to medium-term solutions. KordaMentha has already made 1,200 of the 1,500 staff redundant. Scott's Refrigerated Logistics also owes more than $100million to its creditors. The reason for its liquidation has been blamed on its ageing fleet, Covid-19 pandemic, severe weather and disruptions from a software upgrade. It's believed that Scott's could have been sold prior to the collapse as a measure to keep afloat, with companies such as Lindsay Fox's Linfox, ASX-listed Lindsay and Toll Global reportedly showing interest - but any potential sales fell through. The Transport Workers' Union says transport sector operators had been left to fend for themselves in a broken market. Fears have been raised the food could go to waste leading to supply shortages across Woolworths, Coles, Aldi, IGA and Foodbank Australia (stock image) 'Retailers are reaping the gains from razor-thin margins while operators and drivers collapse under the strain,' National Secretary Michael Kaine said. The TWU had hoped that the company would be sold to a 'responsible' buyer and workers would be prioritised in a deal. A spokesperson for Aldi said: 'Our thoughts are with the employees directly impacted. 'We are confident the high demand for talent in the logistics industry means the employability of Scott's employees is extremely high.' Aldi said they'd hoped the 'challenges facing Scott's could have been overcome, saving jobs and maintaining competition in the road freight industry'. 'Following the challenges presented this week from Scott's Refrigerator Logistics, we have worked with our existing logistics partners to ensure the 3 per cent of Scott's business managed for Aldi now transitions to other logistics partners,' the spokesperson said. 'As we transition the volume, we will work to minimise any impact to Aldi customers with regard to product availability, and to ensure continuity of product collection from our valued supplier partners.' Last year Scott's leveraged their fleet of trucks to take out nearly $100million worth of loans but it wasn't enough to save the company. Their most recent financial report, covering a 16-month period ending in June 2021 shows the company had turned over $542million, but had lost $7.3million. A deadly bull shark was spotted lurking swimming between jetties near the same area a young girl was fatally mauled to death by a similar beast earlier this year. The three-metre shark was sighted just off the shore near Barrack Street Jetty in Perth and reported by a keen-eyed member of the public, as locals remain vigilant after the death of 16-year old Stella Berry in February. Western Australia Surf Life Saving WA warned the public to avoid waters between the fourth and fifth jetty berths at Barrack St after they received a call from someone who'd just seen the shark. The public was warned at 3:30pm yesterday after the eyewitness said they saw it a couple of hours earlier at 12:30pm the same day. Year 11 student Stella Berry was attacked near the Fremantle traffic bridge last month. Public report 3.0m bull shark sighted 12:20hrs 09/03, Barrack Street Jetty, Perth Metro 2m offshore , Large 3m bull shark sighted between the 4th and 5th jetty berths. . Surf Life Saving WA (@SLSWA) March 9, 2023 The public was warned at 3:30pm yesterday about a bull shark sighting at 12:30pm yesterday (stock image) The three-metre bull shark was sighted just off shore near Barrack Street Jetty in Perth and reported by a keen-eyed member of the public Ms Berry was swimming amongst dolphins with friends in the Swan River before the bull shark latched onto her leg. Heroic bystanders jumped in to pull her out before paramedics tried to save the critically injured teen but she could not be saved. It was the first shark-related fatality in the Swan River in a century. The local government has responded to the recent sightings and Ms Berry's death by tightening safety measures in the area to prevent more tragedies in the future. This includes a new shark barrier which will be installed at the Bicton Baths, a popular swimming area between where Ms Berry was attacked and a spot where another swimmer was attacked in 2021. Stella Berry was swimming among dolphins with friends before a bull shark fatally mauled her last month The attack happened in the Swan River, the first fatality in the area in 100 years It will be the first river-barrier in the state's history, but the Bicton and Melville City councils agreed that it was the best thing to do after the latest attack, according to Fisheries Minister Don Punch. 'There is complexity putting barriers into the river, we have to take into account the environment of the river, and also the fact there's a lot of traffic on the river, and a river flow,' Mr Punch said. Considering these factors, the government said it plans to complete the barrier before next summer, with the price tag falling between $200,000 and $400,000. 'Shark mitigation is a complex issue and our work is firmly based on evidence and science,' Mr Punch said. The barrier is one of a slew of new measures the government is considering with other ideas including a shark-tagging program also on the table. Dr. Anthony Fauci said Thursday that former CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield was 'absolutely incorrect' when he claimed that he was sidelined over his support for the COVID lab leak theory. Fauci also insisted that he had 'kept a completely open mind' about the origins of COVID-19, though said to this day that 'the evidence weighs more likely towards one, namely a natural occurrence,' over the virus leaking from a lab in Wuhan, China. Fauci braved Fox News Channel Thursday afternoon to appear on Your World with Neil Cavuto and was asked about testimony Redfield delivered Wednesday before the House GOP-led committee on COVID. Redfield charged that he had been excluded from a call with prominent virologists 'because it was told to me that they wanted a single narrative and that I obviously had a different point of view.' 'That call was organized by a group of evolutionary virologist in order to discuss the possibility that this might actually be a virus that was actually engineered. So I didn't put anybody on the list of that call, nor that I take anybody [off],' Fauci told Cavuto. Dr. Anthony Fauci said Thursday that former CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield was 'absolutely incorrect' when he claimed that he was sidelined over his support for the COVID lab leak theory Former CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield testified Wednesday before the House GOP-led House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic and said he was left off a call with prominent virologists because he supported the COVID lab leak theory He also said that Redfield's complaint doesn't make sense because 'half the people on the call were of the opinion that it might be a lab leak.' 'So his rationale of why he was excluded is an invalid rationale,' Fauci said. 'So it's really unfortunate that he made those statements. He's a good guy, I've known him for years, I'm so ... I'm just really a little disturbed about why he said that, which was completely untrue.' Fauci, who retired from government service in December, has become the top punching bag on the political right for the U.S.'s COVID response, despite working under both Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic President Joe Biden. Redfield served as CDC director during the Trump administration and was in that position during the start of the pandemic. Rep. Jim Jordan, a member of Oversight Committee who sat in on Wednesday's Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic meeting, made a number of claims about Fauci including the COVID-19 'most definitely came from' a lab that used U.S. tax dollars to fund gain-of-function research. Jordan pushed that Fauci was leaving Redfield off the calls to cover that up. 'What was Dr. Fauci doing? He was trying to cover his backside,' Jordan claimed. 'That's why he did what he did to the exclusion of a brilliant guy running our CDC, kept him out of the loop,' Jordan said of Redfield. Workers unload fish at the Wuhan market in April 2020. Fauci slammed the Chinese for immediately clearing out the wet market where the original COVID outbreak occurred suggesting that was a cover-up With Cavuto, Fauci said he would testify before Jordan and before the committee. 'Of course I would Neil, I told you that before, I'd be more than happy to testify,' the retired government official said. But he also went after Jordan's performance at the hearing. 'And that circus that went on at the hearing about accusing me of trying to get people to be convinced one way or the other, was really very unseemly and had nothing to do with reality,' Fauci argued. Fauci argued that there was a Chinese cover-up, but it started in the wet market where COVID reportedly started. 'What the Chinese did as soon as the outbreak occurred, they completely cleaned out the wet market of animals that should not have been there to begin with,' Fauci said. 'So if there's anything that the Chinese are covering up, they're covering up the fact that they violated their own rules about getting wild animals from the forest or whatever, putting it into contact with human, that was the real problem,' Fauci added. Fauci's comments came a a week after FBI Director Christopher Wray said that the origins of COVID are 'most likely a potential lab incident.' That followed a Department of Energy report that said the virus' origin was most likely a lab leak in Wuhan, but that the conclusion was reached with low confidence. An Antifa goon arrested over the weekend for setting fire to a proposed $90million police training center has been identified as the transgender daughter of a millionaire North Carolina businessman. James 'Jamie' Mariscano, 29, was among the Antifa rioters arrested Sunday night after burning construction vehicles and attacking police officers with fireworks and Molotov cocktails at the site of the future Atlanta Police Safety Training Center, booking documents show. Mariscano is an outspoken anti-police advocate who is in her first year of law school at North Carolina School of Law. Her father, Michael Mariscano, was previously heralded as Charlotte, North Carolina's 'most powerful person' for running a foundation worth $4 billion. Jamie is now being held on domestic terrorism charges without bail, along with 21 of her cohorts as they were just trying to defend the public forest. James 'Jamie' Mariscano, 29, was arrested following fiery riots at the site of a proposed police training facility outside of Atlanta on Sunday Rioters burned construction vehicles and attacked police officers with fireworks and Molotov cocktails at the site of the future Atlanta Police Safety Training Center Jamie has described herself publicly as an anti-police advocate who would like to dismantle the prison system. A profile for the nearly 30-year-old on the National Lawyers Guild website describes her as a 'queer and trans organizer from Charlotte, North Carolina.' It says that before she started law school this year, 'Jamie worked with mutual aid collective Charlotte Uprising to start a grassroots community bail fund that raises money to bail people out of jail and support them through court, regardless of charge. 'Jamie believes that no one should be in a cage, and dreams of a world where we can prevent and respond to harm in our communities without relying on prisons or police,' the profile continues. She has previously had warrants out for her arrests at other demonstrations in North Carolina, where her father is a well-known philanthropist. Michael Mariscano served for 23 years as president and CEO of the Foundation for the Carolinas a Charlotte-based organization that increases charitable giving and improves communities with civic leadership opportunities before he retired in January. Michael was so respected amongst the political leaders in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County that they proclaimed this past October 24 'Michael Mariscano Day.' In a proclamation at the time, government officials cited his long- term role as a fundraiser across the region, raising half a billion dollars since just 2019. He also served on the Duke University Board of Trustees, the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce and the UNC Charlotte Foundation. Jamie, meanwhile, is now serving as a Haywood Burns fellow for the National Lawyers Guild, working at the Law Office of Habekah B Cannon, whom she describes as 'an explicitly abolitionist, public interest criminal defense firm.' Jamie has described herself publicly as an anti-police advocate who would like to dismantle the prison system Her father, Michael (pictured), is a well-respected philanthropist in Charlotte, North Carolina It is not clear when she traveled down to the Weelaunee public forest outside of Atlanta to join other Antifa protesters for a 'week of action' to protest the development of the police training center, which they have dubbed 'Cop City.' The week-long demonstrations were set to include a Jewish Shabbat service on Friday night, herbal workshops and a 'know your rights' workshop. And as the fiery riot broke out Sunday night, a Weelaunee Music Festival was scheduled for the protesters who have descended into the woods in recent months. But as the music festival was going on, the Atlanta Police Department said in a statement, activists protesting the development of the training center in the Weelaunee public forest 'changed into black clothing, entered the construction area, and began to throw large rocks, bricks, Molotov cocktails, and fireworks at police officers. 'The agitators destroyed multiple pieces of construction equipment by fire and vandalism. 'Multiple law enforcement agencies deployed to the area and detained several people committing illegal activity. 'The illegal actions of the agitators could have resulted in bodily harm, and clearly do not reflect a peaceful demonstration. Thankfully, officers exercised sound judgment and restraint while conducting non-lethal enforcement and arrests.' The police department also released video on Monday showing a mob of around 150 people with masks covering their faces march through scrub and woodland around the proposed $90million center before unleashing havoc and setting fire to a power line. Police officers protecting the site were forced to stand off as the attackers overran the site and targeted machinery. They were then pelted with rocks and fireworks by the thugs. A video released by the rioters themselves shows the mob torching a temporary building The violent protestors also set fire to vehicles using Molotov cocktails in the newly-released propaganda video Aerial footage of the riots show the nearly 150 Antifa thugs marching on the site of the city's Public Safety Training Center, dubbed 'Cop City' by activists The frenzied thugs torched a power line after gaining access to the site which they've dubbed 'Cop City' In the aftermath, 23 people including Mariscano and Thomas Webb Jurgens, 28, an attorney for the hard-left Southern Poverty Law Center, were arrested. Jurgens joined the SPLC in September 2021 and worked on its Economic Justice Project, according to his LinkedIn page. He has also worked as an assistant public defender and a legal intern at a US attorney's office in Florida. Jurgens was present as a 'legal observer on behalf of the National Lawyers Guild', the SPLC said. Another of those charged with domestic terrorism was revealed to be the son of a New York City plastic furniture tycoon. Mattia Luini, 30, whose late father Ivan Luini helped popularize high-end plastic furniture in the United States, remained in custody on Wednesday night. His mother owns a $2 million condo. Luini had told his mother, Martegani, he was traveling down to Atlanta over the weekend to attend a concert and 'protest the development of the forest.' Others who were charged include several serial protesters and a young dancer who recently turned to violent activism. Thomas Webb Jurgens, 28, an attorney for the hard-left Southern Poverty Law Center, was also detained after violent clashes between police and protesters at the construction site. Left: his professional LinkedIn picture, right: Jurgens' police mugshot Mattia Luini, 30, the son of a plastic furniture tycoon, was also arrested in the protests The 23 Antifa 'terrorists' who were arrested after violent clashes at the construction site for a police training facility in Atlanta dubbed 'Cop City' They are now defending their actions, arguing that the 381 acres of Weelaunee Forest where the police training center is being built is 'stolen Muscogee land' and that the creation would mean the destruction of wildlife and forestry. The group has even released their own two-minute video showing the mask-clad mob in combat fatigues and hoodies, some of whom also carried makeshift shields, swarming the site. It shows the rioters smashing the windows of a metal cabin, setting fire to vehicles and hurling flares. A description for the propaganda video, titled 'Cop City Finds Out' says that 'a large crew of forest defenders gathered and marched to the cop city construction site. 'Forest defenders torched construction equipment, a police surveillance station, and destroyed barricades intended to keep people out of the forest. 'As smoke rose from the smoldering ashes of their new training facility, police locked down the park and began making arrests. 'As part of their brutal repression tactics police have handed down domestic terrorism charges to 23 people.' It concluded by saying: 'Cop City will never be built.' Police are on high alert in Sydney as a controversial anti-trans rights campaigner prepares to give a speech on Saturday. UK-based activist Kellie-Jay Keen, who also goes by the name Posie Parker online, believes it's impossible to change sex and campaigns to exclude trans women from female-only spaces. Mounted horse and public order riot police are expected to be deployed, with Sydney's Pride in Protest among the groups preparing to counter protest the rally at Victoria Park, Camperdown. The right-wing campaigner, who has built a following in the UK with transphobic campaigns under the guise of women's rights, will go on to do a 'Let Women Speak' tour across Australia. Speaking on 2GB with breakfast host Ben Fordham on Friday, Ms Keen described herself as a 'transphobe' but argued that she's 'not scary' because she's 'really small'. UK-based activist Kellie-Jay Keen, who also goes by Posie Parker online, believes it's impossible to change sex and campaigns to exclude trans women from female-only spaces Pride in Protest say they will be protesting her 'vile bigotry'. 'TERFs/SWERFs in an anti-queer culture war. This far right politics needs to be stopped,' the group said in a Facebook post, referring to acronyms for 'feminists' that exclude trans women and sex workers from their activism. Ms Keen has come under fierce criticism from many groups, including for allegedly posing with a campaigner who celebrated Winnie Mandela's death and called the anti-apartheid fighter 'a whore' and 'white farmer murdering c***'. She has also been slammed by a British MP for saying access to abortion and contraceptives need to be rolled back for children and teenagers. Ms Keen also raised eyebrows recently after she criticised British MP Jess Phillips for reading out the name of a teenage trans murder victim Brianna Ghey in the House of Commons during an International Women's Day speech. Pride in Protest say they will be protesting her 'vile bigotry'. 'TERFs/SWERFs in an anti-queer culture war. This far right politics needs to be stopped,' they said in a Facebook post. LGBTQI protesters are seen in Sydney She has also spoken alongside a number of figures in far-right groups, including Christopher Barcenas, a member of the Proud Boys, who was deposed by the US government due to his presence at the January 6 Capitol riots. The National Union of Students has also called for a series of counter-protests against Ms Keen. 'We are protesting Keen's speaking events for two reasons - firstly, because these events are demanding the removal of trans rights, and we strongly support transgender people,' a spokesperson said. 'Secondly because these events are supported and attended by the political right. 'Allowing the right to network and grow under the pretence of supporting women, poses a threat to every progressive cause and everything unions stand for.' Ahead of her travel to Australia, Stephen Bates, the Greens spokesperson for LGBTIQA+ issues, wrote Immigration Minister Andrew Giles asking him to revoke her visa. Ms Keen has also been slammed by a British MP for saying access to abortion and contraceptives need to be rolled back for children and teenagers Mr Bates argued that Ms Keen had a long history of 'promoting or excusing hate and violence towards trans and other marginalised communities'. In her 2GB interview, Ms Keen argued people had 'attempted to cancel her' and that she 'does nothing to invite controversy' but she's 'so influential, trouble follows her'. 'I'm not scary. I'm really small as well,' the British commentator told Fordham. When asked by Fordham why people were scared of her, Ms Keen said: 'It's my ability to speak directly and speak the truth. 'I think that's quite frightening for some people. We've lost the ability both in the UK and Australia and elsewhere, to just speak plainly, just just to speak the truth.' Trans rights supporters have also protested Ms Keen's rallies in the UK. Pictured, a group in London's Hyde Park 'In today's money, because being transphobic means that you say "a woman doesn't have a penis", and probably I am a transphobic.' When asked if she's an anti-trans activist, she replied: 'I am a woman's right activist' and that she defines a woman as an 'adult human female'. 'Because so many people are complete cowards, social media has been able to manifest into a mass silencing tool,' Ms Keen added. 'There's a weird social currency of acceptance. And I think underpinning that is really not caring at all about women.' When asked what she would say to people who who were born male, and feel like they're trapped in the wrong body and they want to be a female, Ms Keen said: 'There's plenty of people that feel things that aren't true. We don't then say that they're a different category of person. She said that she has 'no objection' to people 'doing what they want in lives' but that this shouldn't 'impinge on her'. Ms Keen also spoke against trans people being allowed in female prisons or participating in female sports. She is seen speaking at a rally in Wiltshire, UK Ms Keen also spoke against trans people being allowed in female prisons or participating in female sports. She added that she also has a problem with calling trans people by names and pronouns that don't align with ones they were born with, because it 'opens the door' for more trans rights. When questioned by Fordham why she then goes by the name 'Posie' instead of her birth name 'Kelly', she added: 'If I wanted to be called John, it would be difficult.' 'I'm so influential. Trouble just comes along. I do nothing, I really do nothing to invite it,' she added. 'What's happening in a country like this, the state is gaslighting women into pretending they cannot see the truth in front of their eyes and they can't name it.' Ms Keen announced her Australian and New Zealand tour earlier this month. She will visit Perth, Adelaide and Melbourne before heading to Hobart, Canberra, Auckland and Christchurch. NSW Police have warned protests must be done lawfully. 'The NSW Police respects the right of individuals and groups to protest; however, those involved must do so peacefully and in compliance with the law,' a spokesman said. Dominic Perrottet has been caught out slamming his own future policy to help renters as 'socialist' just six months before announcing landlords would be barred from evicting tenants without a reason. The NSW Premier last week announced his Coalition government, if re-elected at the state election on March 25, would move to a 'reasonable grounds' model for evictions. Rental vacancy rates are sitting at well under one per cent in regional parts of the state and tightening in Sydney. This would change existing laws that allow landlords to kick out a tenant with just 30 days' notice at the end of a lease, or 90 days' notice if they are on a rolling lease, without giving a reason. But on September 21, 2022, Mr Perrottet declared the Liberal Party he led supported property rights and went as far and quoting the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 'This is a Liberal Government, not a Greens socialist one,' he told the Legislative Assembly during Question Time. Dominic Perrottet (pictured with wife Helen) slammed his own future policy to help renters as 'socialist' just six months before announcing landlords would be barred from evicting tenants without a reason 'We believe in the right for people to own property and do what they like with it.' Mr Perrottet then proceeded to lecture Jenny Leong, the Greens member for Newtown in Sydney's gentrified inner-west on the 1948 UN principles. 'I thought the member for Newtown would be interested in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to which we are a signatory,' he said. 'Article 17 states: 1. Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others. 2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.' Mr Perrottet also sparred with Labor's shadow minister for customer service Yasmin Catley, who argued the government's plan to ensure landlords properly maintain their properties was insufficient to protect renters from being unfairly evicted if they had done nothing wrong. 'That is all well and good, but not when you get kicked out of your home,' she said. The Premier expressed shock at Labor's plan to ban no-fault evictions. 'Okay. Interesting. New policy. Thank you,' he said. Mr Perrottet then proceeded to lecture Jenny Leong (pictured), the Greens member for Newtown in Sydney's gentrified inner-west on the 1948 UN principles Mr Perrottet then reiterated his view that banning no grounds evictions was 'socialist'. Dominic Perrottet changes position on rental evictions SEPTEMBER 21, 2022: 'This is a Liberal Government, not a Greens socialist one. 'I thought the member for Newtown would be interested in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to which we are a signatory 'Article 17 states: 1. Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others. 2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property. 'We can say that the Liberals and Nationals will not be taking the same approach as the socialist approach of Labor and The Greens.' MARCH 3, 2023: 'A re-elected NSW Liberal and Nationals Government will introduce a package of measures this year to provide greater protection and support for renters. 'The proposed reforms include: 'Moving to a reasonable grounds model for evictions during periodic leases, with the final list of reasonable grounds to be subject to consultation with key stakeholders, including landlords.' Advertisement 'We can say that the Liberals and Nationals will not be taking the same approach as the socialist approach of Labor and The Greens,' he said. 'I appreciate that new policy announcement from the floor of the Chamber today.' But Mr Perrottet on March 3 announced that should he win the March 25 election, he would explore a 'reasonable grounds' model for evictions, ban rent bidding and extend the notice period for the end of fixed-term leases to 45 days from 30 days. 'These new measures will provide even greater certainty and flexibility for nearly a million renters across NSW,' he said. Rose Jackson, Labor's shadow minister for housing and homelessness, said Mr Perrottet's political backflip was a sign of a Premier worried about losing the election, with the Coalition seeking a fourth consecutive term. 'Dominic Perrotett's sudden change of heart cannot be taken seriously,' she told Daily Mail Australia. 'It's just another example of the Premier making up policy on the run just to ensure his own political survival. 'When it comes to improving the lives of renters across New South Wales, the Liberals simply cannot be trusted.' Mr Perrottet's media team declined to respond to Daily Mail Australia but Fair Trading Minister Victor Dominello, who is retiring at this election as the member for Ryde, argued the Coalition's policy was different to what the Greens had proposed. 'The Greens proposal went much further than what has been proposed by the NSW Liberal and Nationals government,' he told Daily Mail Australia. 'At the same time, the NSW Liberal and Nationals governments commitment is more than NSW Labor has promised tenants. 'The NSW Liberal and Nationals Government believes the Greens punitive approach goes too far, creating an imbalance between tenant and landlord rights, and that's why we did not support it.' The Liberal Party last year lost the South Coast seat of Bega to Labor, in a by-election, with a 12 per cent swing against it. The rental vacancy rate in this area is an ultra-tight 0.3 per cent, SQM Research data shows. Sydney had a 1.3 per cent rental vacancy rate in January 2023, a big drop from 2.3 per cent a year earlier after Australia's border was reopened to migrants and international students (pictured is a queue during that month in Randwick in the city's south-east) Sydney had a 1.3 per cent rental vacancy rate in January 2023, a big drop from 2.3 per cent a year earlier after Australia's border was reopened to migrants and international students. 'The surge in net overseas longer term and permanent arrivals relative to new residential property supply is ensuring extremely tight rental conditions will continue for the immediate future,' SQM Research said. Courtney Houssos, Labor's shadow minister for better regulation, has promised to establish a Rental Commissioner to only allow evictions on reasonable grounds, ban secret rent bidding, make it easier to have pets and implement a portable bonds scheme. 'While it's great the Liberals have decided to adopt Labor's policy on banning no ground evictions, it's disappointing it has taken them 12 years to do so,' she said. The Coalition has been in power since 2011, making it the longest uninterrupted run in NSW for the conservative side of politics since the Liberal Party was formed in 1944. A Liberal Party premier hasn't won the Coalition a fourth straight term since 1973 when Robert Askin was in charge. 'The fact that Democrats are pressuring him... that is such a violation of the First Amendment,' retorted Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio Democrats on the House subcommittee panel probing the 'weaponization' of the federal government,' and the subsequent release of the 'Twitter Files' were accused by Chairman Jim Jordan of bullying two journalists testifying before the committee Thursday. The House ranking member Delegate Stacey Plaskett (D-Virgin Islands) gave opening statements, including dismissive remarks about Matt Taibbi and Michael Shellenberger, who were given unprecedented access to Twitter's internal discussions after Elon Musk bought the company in October 2022. Their investigation helped create the now infamous 'Twitter Files,' which alleges a deep connection between Big Tech and government agencies in an attempt to quell conservative voices. 'The Republicans have brought two of Elon Musk's public scribes,' declared Plaskett and alluded that they were selected as stooges for the GOP. Weaponization of the Federal Government Subcommittee ranking member Delegate Stacey Plaskett (D-VI) (C) talks with fellow subcommittee members Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX) (L) and Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) 'This just isn't a matter of data being given to 'so-called journalists' before us now,' as she pointed to the witnesses. 'Ranking member Plaskett, I'm not a 'so-called journalist,' the veteran Rolling Stone reporter Taibbi retorted. He also added that he was the author of ten books, 'including four New York Times bestsellers.' Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) joined in the Democratic tarnishing of Taibbi's reporting because he agreed to testify. 'Being a Republican witness today certainly casts a cloud over your objectivity,' she said. Later in the hearing, Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas) repeatedly asked Taibbi when Elon Musk first approached him and other journalists to review emails and documents surrounding the 2020 election and the social media giant. 'I can't give it to you, unfortunately, because this is a question of sourcing, and I'm a journalist. I don't reveal my sources,' Taibbi said. Garcia pressed on: 'So you're not going to tell us when Musk first approached you?' 'Again, congresswoman, you're asking a journalist to reveal a source,' Taibbi said. 'You can't have it both ways,' Garcia said when House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, swatted away any further requests for information. 'He's not going to reveal his source and the fact that Democrats are pressuring him to do that is such a violation of the First Amendment.' Journalist Matt Taibbi wouldn't reveal any sourcing to the panel with respect to the Twitter Files. Journalist Michael Shellenberger testifies about the 'Twitter Files' before the House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government Twitter is accused of having a cozy relationship with government agencies. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) joined in the Democratic tarnishing of Taibbi's reporting because he agreed to testify. Australia's acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines will be the biggest step in military capability since the end of World War II, making potential enemies think twice about causing the nation harm. Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles, who is also the defence minister, would not be drawn on confirming key details of the highly anticipated AUKUS announcement by Anthony Albanese in the US next week. Speculation is mounting following leaks from the US and UK that Australia will acquire five Virginia-class submarines, with the remaining boats combining a British design with US technology. 'This is the biggest step forward in our military capability that we've had since the end of the Second World War,' he told Nine on Friday. 'And this more than anything that we can do will allow us in a pretty difficult world to look after ourselves.' In what will be the largest step up in military capability since the end of World War II, Australia is set to acquire two types of nuclear-powered submarines (pictured: Virginia-class fast attack submarine) Minister of defence Richard Marles said the country needed 'a more potent boat' and said it was 'important that we're bringing to bear this capability in the future' Asked about the potential for a capability gap until the delivery of the nuclear-powered submarines, Mr Marles backed the current Collins-class fleet but said a more potent boat was needed in the next decade. 'There is nothing which gives any adversary a second thought more than a capable submarine, which is why it's so important that we're bringing to bear this capability in the future,' he said. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said the impending announcement was 'a great outcome for the country'. 'The Virginia-class is an established class, so you don't have the problems of a first-in-type, the new design, cost blowouts,' he said. 'The acquisition of the Virginia-class is in our country's best interests and we strongly support it.' Meanwhile, China's foreign ministry urged Australia, the UK, and the US to 'abandon the Cold War mentality and zero-sum games'. 'China has made clear its strong position on nuclear submarine cooperation between the US, the UK, and Australia on multiple occasions,' Chinese population Mao Ning said. 'We hold that the trilateral cooperation has posed a serious nuclear proliferation risk and will bring shocks to the international non-proliferation system, stir up an arms race and undermine peace and stability in the Asia-pacific region, which has been widely questioned and opposed by countries in the region and international community.' 'We urge the US, the UK, and Austrian to abandon the Cold War mindset and zero-sum game and faithfully fulfill their international obligation and of things that contribute to regional peace and stability. Libby Squire's killer exposed himself to her weeks before her murder, her mother believes. Her mother Lisa Squire said a stranger she now believes to be the man who murdered her daughter had exposed himself to her on her way home weeks before her death. She said the incident had left her daughter feeling 'absolutely furious', but had never thought to tell her to report the incident to the police. Pawel Relowicz, 28, a married father-of-two and a Polish butcher, dumped the 21-year-old student's body in the River Hull after raping her on a playing field in the early hours of February 1 2019. Before carrying out the murder, Relowicz had been carrying out a campaign of chilling, sexually-motivated crimes in the student area of Hull, peering through windows to watch young women and breaking into their homes to steal intimate items. Lisa Squire (pictured), her mother, told the Guardian that a stranger she now believes to be Relowicz had exposed himself to her daughter on her way home weeks before her death She said the incident has left her daughter (pictured) feeling 'absolutely furious', but she had never thought to tell her to report the incident to the police Mrs Squire told the Guardian: 'But I never thought to say to her, you need to report that, you need to ring the police, and she didn't report it either. 'We're almost conditioned to ignore indecent exposure. I didn't know better then, but I know better now.' Earlier this month, Sarah Everard's killer Wayne Couzens was finally brought to justice for a series of earlier flashing incidents. Ex-officer Couzens, 50, was supposed to be on duty and working from home when he exposed himself to a female cyclist in a country lane in Kent in November 2020. He went on to expose himself to female attendants at a McDonald's drive-through in Swanley, Kent, twice in February 2021 - the last incident just days before he snatched Ms Everard, 33, in south London. Pawel Relowicz (pictured), 28, a married father-of-two and a Polish butcher, dumped the 21-year-old student's body in the River Hull after raping her on a playing field in the early hours of February 1 2019 Lisa Squire said she was 'absolutely horrified' when she learned about the details of Ms Everard's murder as they were 'identical' to her daughter's. While she admitted she will never be able to prove that it was Relowicz who flashed her daughter, however, she said 'the coincidence is there'. 'As likely as not, it was Relowicz who flashed Libby because he was doing that in the area at the time,' she said. 'I'll never be able to prove that but the coincidence is there, isn't it?' During Relowicz's sentencing hearing, Mrs Justice Lambert said he had been 'emboldened' by the fact he had not been stopped. Since her daughter's death, Ms Squire has been campaigning for earlier intervention and harsher measures for lower-level sex crimes. 'Not every non-contact sexual offender will go on and become a rapist, but every rapist was a non-contact sexual offender at one point,' she said. 'So I think we need to take them for the red flags that they really are.' Feature: Chinese-built Ethiopia-Djibouti railway wins acclaim for boosting integration on 5th anniversary Xinhua) 09:50, March 10, 2023 ADDIS ABABA, March 9 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese-built Addis Ababa-Djibouti Standard Gauge Railway, also known as the Ethiopia-Djibouti railway, has won acclaim for boosting regional integration and prosperity as it marked its fifth anniversary of operations. This came as senior Ethiopian and Djiboutian government officials, the Chinese diplomatic community in Ethiopia, and management contractors of the 752-km transnational railway celebrated the anniversary at the Lebu Railway Station on the outskirts of Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, on Wednesday. Ethiopia's Minister of Finance Ahmed Shide said during the occasion that over the last five years, the railway has shown remarkable achievements in the areas of operation, maintenance and capacity building. Shide commended the railway's crucial role in streamlining Ethiopia's export-import trade, and boosting people-to-people relations between the two neighboring countries as well as technology transfer with better coordination among Chinese and local experts. Noting that the Ethiopia-Djibouti Railway Share Company is tasked with operations, maintenance and capacity building, Ahmed said "in all these areas, the company has been showing considerable growth." He said the railway's operation capacity in terms of freight carriage has grown by 100 percent, reaching 1.9 million tons of cargo annually. Shide said the railway, by reaching its maximum capacity, is expected to become the best transport alternative for import-export commodities by providing fast, safe and efficient transportation service. "The Addis Ababa-Djibouti railway line is an example of the ever-flourishing Sino-African relations. The sino-African partnership has passed the test of time, demonstrated its resilience, and marks a brighter and strong future," Shide said. Djibouti's Minister of Infrastructure and Equipment Hassan Houmed Ibrahim, on his part, said on the occasion that the railway observed increasing performance despite major obstacles, and enabled motivated and highly committed young engineers and technicians from both countries. Ibrahim said the quality of services offered to users, the safety of goods and people, availability, and local human relations are among the key factors in achieving greater performance quality. The electrified railway has cut the transportation time for freight goods from more than three days to less than 20 hours, and reduced the cost by at least one-third. Ethiopia, as a land-locked country in the Horn of Africa, accesses international maritime trade through ports in neighboring countries. The Ethiopia-Djibouti trade corridor is the main gateway for Ethiopia, with about 90 percent of import and export passing through it. Ethiopia's State Minister of Transport and Logistics Denge Boru commended the railway's multifaceted significance for the two countries. "The railway mutually benefits the two sisterly countries in promoting regional economic and social integration, facilitating trade and industrial development, and bringing employment and entrepreneurial opportunities for citizens of both countries." Chinese Ambassador to Ethiopia Zhao Zhiyuan lauded the railway as "a way of peace, a way of development, a way of hope, and a way to prosperity." Zhao said the railway, as an important Belt and Road cooperation project, has demonstrated greater performance and resilience. "The past five years have been great for the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railway. I am confident that, with close collaboration between all relevant parties from China and Ethiopia, as well as Djibouti, the next five years will be even better, as the railway still holds huge untapped potential," he said. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan) This Feb. 28 photo shows Kim Dong-myung, chairman of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions. Yonhap The leader of a major umbrella union on Friday pledged to stand up against the controversial reform of the 52-hour workweek system, accusing the government of trying to cancel labor progress achieved over the past decades. The government announced a set of labor reform measures on Monday, including enabling companies to increase the maximum work hours per week to 69 hours from the legally permitted 52 hours now. The measures seek to increase flexibility in the working week so that employers can choose more hours during busy weeks and fewer hours during slow weeks. "After only a year following the presidential election, we are witnessing the regression of society and the collapse of communities," Kim Dong-myung, the leader of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU), said in a speech marking the union's 77th anniversary. The union leader denounced the workweek reform and accused the government of "trying to take backward steps and bring the state of the labor act back to 70 years ago." "From measures forcing (labor unions) to submit accounting ledgers to the exploitative 69-hour workweek system, FKTU will stand up against attacks from the government," he said. Korea's business communities have welcomed the workweek revision, but opposition parties and the labor sector have voiced strong objections. "In the eye of the Yoon Suk Yeol government, workers are not members of the country, but the subject of exploitation," Rep. Lee Jae-myung, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party, said in a message read by a DP lawmaker during the FKTU event. "I wonder if the government wants people to die working by expanding the working week to 69 hours," Lee said. Attending the event, Labor Minister Lee Jeong-sik said both the labor and business sectors should strive together to upgrade the dilapidated labor act from 70 years ago to correspond to the needs of the era of changes. (Yonhap) The UK's school watchdog has no power to regulate 'age-inappropriate' sex education like 'gender unicorns' and 'anal sex', the head of Ofsted has warned. Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman said the regulator is currently powerless to sanction schools teaching inappropriate material to children as young as 12. Mrs Spielman added that the current Relationships and Sex Education guidance issued by the Government places no limit on what can be taught. It comes after a Daily Telegraph investigation found some academies and independent schools were teaching pupils about 'gender unicorns' and asking children as young as 12 how they felt about anal and oral sex. Pupils in Years Seven and Eight at schools overseen by The Kemnal Academies Trust have been taught using a diagram of a 'gender unicorn' showing sliding scales of male, female and other identities, alongside spectrums of gender expression and sex assigned at birth. The UK's school watchdog has no power to regulate 'age-inappropriate' sex education like ' gender unicorns' and 'anal sex', the head of Ofsted has warned Meanwhile, pupils in other schools are taught there are more than 100 genders while children are being taught gender fluidity as fact in other major academy trusts and independent schools. In some cases, teaching resources include children being asked how they 'feel' about oral and anal sex, and primary school teaching resources on masturbation. But Mrs Spielman told the Daily Telegraph it was 'clear' some materials were being used in schools that had no basis in any 'reputable, scientific, biological explanation' of human relationships. She added that Ofsted had 'no reference point' to say a school was overdoing sex education, and it was 'very hard' for the regulator to intervene. Mrs Spielman claimed she had raised concerns with the Department for Education's guidance which was drawn up in 2019 in consultation with LGBT+ charity Stonewall. Chief inspector of Ofsted Amanda Spielman (pictured) said the regulator is currently 'powerless' to sanction schools teaching inappropriate material to children as young as 12 Nearly 50 Conservative MPs have called on the Prime Minister to 'act with urgency' to 'protect children and childhood across the UK'. The Prime Minister told the House of Commons on Wednesday that he had asked the Department for Education to 'ensure that schools are not teaching inappropriate or contested content' in sex education. A Kemnal Academies Trust spokesman told the Daily Telegraph: 'In September 2021, the Department of Education published guidance on Relationships and Sex and Health Education. 'In light of this, TKAT revised its policy. Since this point, there has been no further guidance from the DfE, although we note this is expected this year. 'Once this guidance is published, we will amend our policies accordingly. As an evolving and sensitive subject matter, we will continue to review and refine our guidance to all our schools.' An airline pilot who killed his estranged wife will undergo a full risk assessment before his release and could be kept behind bars, campaigners said yesterday. Robert Brown, 59, bludgeoned his estranged wife Joanna Simpson to death with a claw hammer within earshot of their two young children, hitting her at least 14 times. He is due for automatic release this year after serving 13 years of a 26-year sentence, but Joanna's mother Diana Parkes said she had won assurances from Justice Secretary Dominic Raab that he would order a full risk assessment of the release. Under legislation passed last year, Mr Raab can refer cases to the Parole Board if he feels prisoners due for release could pose a risk to the public, or to national security. Prison officials blocked former British Airways pilot Brown from moving to an open prison last year, reportedly because he was deemed too high risk. Mrs Parkes, 84, met Mr Raab and victims and sentencing minister Edward Argar yesterday, and pleaded with them to keep Brown behind bars. She said Mr Raab, who is also the Deputy Prime Minister, promised a complete risk assessment of Brown's release, and said it was an 'important development' in the #NotAnotherJo campaign. Mrs Parkes, 84, met Mr Raab and victims and sentencing minister Edward Argar yesterday, and pleaded with them to keep Brown behind bars Mrs Parks said Mr Raab, who is also the Deputy Prime Minister, promised a complete risk assessment of Brown's release, and said it was an 'important development' in the #NotAnotherJo campaign Speaking after the meeting in Westminster, Mr Raab said he would review the case personally READ MORE: Joanna Simpson's killer husband Robert Brown, 59, barred from transferring to open prison before his automatic release as he still 'poses serious threat to public' Mrs Simpson, 46, had filed for divorce from Brown after enduring years of abuse, harassment and intimidation Advertisement Speaking after the meeting in Westminster, Mr Raab said he would review the case personally. He added: 'Joanna Simpson was brutally killed in a heinous and despicable act which has changed the lives of her family and friends for ever. 'I was humbled to meet with Joanna's mother and best friend to extend my deepest sympathies for what her family has been through and assure her that I am giving this case my closest personal attention and will be reviewing it very carefully. 'Public protection is my top priority. I want dangerous offenders to remain behind bars for longer.' Mrs Parkes' campaign has won high-profile support, including from Carrie Johnson, the wife of former prime minister Boris Johnson, and former home secretary Priti Patel. Brown attacked Joanna, 46, in their former marital home in Ascot in 2010 using a hammer he had hidden in their children's homework bag and buried her in a grave he had previously dug in woodland in Windsor Great Park. Joanna had filed for divorce after enduring years of abuse, harassment and intimidation and the pair were locked in a legal battle over their finances. At his trial, Brown was acquitted of murder but admitted manslaughter due to diminished responsibility, and said he suffered from a stress-related 'adjustment disorder'. Mrs Parkes questioned why he was eligible for automatic release without any medical review, given his plea of diminished responsibility due to the disorder. She said she feared he could still pose a threat to her family, including his children, who were just nine and ten when he killed their mother. She warned his release would require a high level of monitoring, at a time when the Probation Service has warned it is struggling to cope with existing workloads. She and Joanna's best friend Hetti Barkworth-Nanton launched the Joanna Simpson Foundation in her memory and both met Mr Raab. Brown attacked Joanna, 46, in their former marital home in Ascot in 2010 using a hammer he had hidden in their children's homework bag In a statement released via the foundation, they said: 'We are thankful for the time the secretary of state and his team spent with us. 'We welcome his assurance that he will request a complete risk assessment of Robert Brown's release under the new powers he has available to him. 'We are very encouraged by this important development.' Mrs Parkes said she was 'tremendously grateful' for the public and political support she had received since launching the #NotAnotherJo campaign earlier this month, when she spoke to the Daily Mail about her family's fears over Brown's release. Joanna had filed for divorce after enduring years of abuse, harassment and intimidation and the pair were locked in a legal battle over their finances Joanna Simpson's family are urging people to write to their MP calling for Brown to remain in jail. Details can be found at www.jsfoundation.org.uk Former Labour shadow minister Charlotte Nichols has claimed a colleague sexually assaulted her. The MP for Warrington North, 31, made the allegation during an interview to mark International Women's Day. The politician said she had been sexually assaulted but wouldn't reveal whether she had made a complaint about it because it was 'an ongoing thing'. Nichols also said she was sexually propositioned by a Conservative MP old enough to be her grandfather. After the interview she wrote online: 'You have two types of people who go into Westminster. Former Labour shadow minister Charlotte Nichols, 31, (pictured) has claimed a colleague sexually assaulted her 'The ones who look at it and go, "Yeah that's all fine, I want to be part of that" and the ones that go in to change things and fix what's wrong. 'I'm the latter and if you are too, come and be part of that change with me.' During the interview with Times Radio she also said: 'I have been repeatedly sexually propositioned by a Conservative MP... in front of colleagues. This was during the middle of the working day in front of various witnesses. 'This is still very much an ongoing issue in Westminster.' She added that she was the victim of violence by people at events she attended and received threats. Warrington North MP Charlotte Nichols previously told how she was given a 'whisper network list' of people to avoid when she arrived in Westminster in 2019 Nichols said she had a 'bulletproof, bombproof, fireproof front door' and 'a panic button in every room of my house'. The former shadow minister for women and equalities said she did not believe her experiences should 'come with the territory' of being an MP. Nichols previously said she was given a 'whisper network list' of people to avoid when she arrived in Westminster in 2019. She made the revelation as she spoke about Parliament's toxic 'culture of impunity' that meant many of them were still walking around. Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live the 31-year-old said: 'Everyone has a kind of whisper network list of the people to avoid, but the problem is that some of the most dangerous people are people who would be the people you least suspect.' 'When I first came into parliament, there was a group of people that I knew who kind of sat me down and gave me a list of MPs who I should never accept a drink from, who I should never be alone with, who I should never get in a lift with, and who I should try to avoid as far as possible to keep myself safe.' Former President Donald Trump reacted with vitriol on social media after a report that he will likely face charges for his role in hush-money payments given to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election. The New York Times reported Thursday that Trump's lawyers were informed by the Manhattan district attorney's office that the ex-president could face criminal charges over the $130,000 payment, citing four sources close to the investigation. They've invited him to testify before a grand jury, which legal experts believe is a sure sign that criminal charges will follow. Trump wrote on TRUTH Social Thursday: 'I did absolutely nothing wrong, I never had an affair with Stormy Daniels, nor would I have wanted to have an affair with Stormy Daniels.' He went on to lay the blame at those who want to stop him from winning again in 2024, calling himself the leading candidate in the next presidential election. He also claimed that 'Congress, numerous Democrat District Attorneys, Attorneys General, and the Department of Injustice itself, which has unprecedentedly placed top DOJ prosecutors into the Manhattan District Attorney's office in order to 'get Trump', have found that I did nothing wrong.' 'Now, they fall back on the old, and rebuked case which has been rejected by every prosecutor's office that has looked at this Stormy 'Horseface' Daniels matter, where I relied on counsel in order to resolve this Extortion of me, which took place a long time ago. Since then, I have won lawsuits.' Former President Donald Trump (left) will likely face charges for his role in hush-money payments given to porn star Stormy Daniels (right) and Playmate Karen McDougal ahead of the 2016 presidential election Manhattan's District Attorney Alvin Bragg's (pictured) office has been investigating whether any state laws were broken over hush-money payments were made to a porn star and Playboy playmate on behalf of Trump ahead of the 2016 presidential election Former President Donald Trump reacted with vitriol on social media after a report that he will likely face charges for his role in hush-money payments given to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election Prosecutors gave Trump the option to appear before a state grand jury that's been assembled since January and has been hearing evidence in the case, generally a sign that an individual will be indicted. Several of Trump's top advisers have been spotted going into the Manhattan district attorney's office in recent days including former counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway and ex-White House communications director Hope Hicks. An indictment of Trump will make American history, as no ex-president of the United States has ever been slapped with criminal charges after leaving office. President Richard Nixon, who left office over his role in the Watergate break-in, was pardoned by his Republican successor, President Gerald Ford, before any criminal charges could be brought. A Trump indictment could also complicate the 2024 presidential election, as he announced his candidacy in November and continues to lead most GOP polls. If Trump was convicted - which is a longshot - he would be sentenced with up to four years in prison, though serving time would not be mandatory, The Times said. Trump already escaped being charged with a crime for his role in the hush-money payments by federal investigators. Trump's former lawyer turned critic, Michael Cohen, was the only person ensnared in the federal probe. He facilitated the payments between Trump and Daniels and also Playboy Playmate McDougal, both of whom claimed to have had sexual relations with the married businessman and reality TV star. Once the federal investigation concluded, Manhattan's District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg took the investigation up, to see if any New York state laws were broken. Kellyanne Conway was spotted in New York Wednesday walking into one of the Manhattan district attorney's offices as part of the Stormy Daniels hush-money probe involving former President Donald Trump Bragg's prosecutors have not concluded their work in front of the grand jury and he could decide against pressing charges, The Times reported. The Manhattan district attorney's office has already brought six witnesses in front of the grand jury, the newspaper said. Cohen has met with prosecutors 18 times through several iterations of the probe he told the Associated Press after another meeting with them last week. He said the investigation was 'really progressing' and he expected to soon be called before the grand jury. 'The level of specificity to which they are attacking the various issues is extraordinary,' the former Trump lawyer said. In his book, he also ties Conway - who made news this week due to her divorce from her Trump critic husband George - to the hush-money payment, writing that she was the person who informed Trump that Daniels had been paid off. Conway, who served as Trump's 2016 campaian manager, said 'she'd pass along the good news' to Trump, once Cohen gave the money to Daniels, Cohen wrote in his 2020 memoir, Disloyal: A Memoir: The True Story of the Former Personal Attorney to President Donald J. Trump. Conway ignored reporters Wednesday when she walked into Bragg's lower Manhattan office. Trump's actions are also under scrutiny in Georgia, as Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis investigates whether crimes were committed when Trump and his allies tried to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Additionally, Attorney General Merrick Garland has appointed a special counsel to oversee the Department of Justice's investigations into whether Trump mishandled classified documents when he left office and his effort to overturn President Joe Biden's 2020 win. Emmanuel Macron is expected to refuse Rishi Sunak's demands that Britain be allowed to return migrants who cross the Channel in small boats back to France at today's summit in Paris. Britain hopes to secure his active support at the summit for a long-term deal, similar to the EU's existing 'Dublin' rules, to return illegal immigrants who cross the English Channel. But European diplomats said the request would be rejected at a time when France is accusing other member states, such as neighbouring Italy, of failing to take back migrants. President Macron has already made clear that France would not be prepared to agree a bilateral treaty with the UK on the return of cross-Channel migrants, saying that any agreement would have to be EU-wide. Yesterday, interior ministers from France, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands clashed with Italy, Greece and Spain over EU rules requiring them to take back migrants who entered the bloc when they arrived in their territories. Emmanuel Macron is expected to refuse Rishi Sunak's demands that Britain be allowed to return migrants who cross the Channel in small boats back to France at today's summit in Paris. Macron has already made clear that France would not be prepared to agree a bilateral treaty with the UK on the return of cross-Channel migrants, saying that any agreement would have to be EU-wide Yesterday, interior ministers from France, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands clashed with Italy, Greece and Spain over EU rules requiring them to take back migrants who entered the bloc when they arrived in their territories One diplomat told The Times: 'Why would Macron take back Brexit Britain's returns, or ask others to do so, when other EU members, like Italy, are not following European rules? It will not happen. It is a pipe dream.' It comes after Priti Patel has urged Rishi Sunak to use a summit with Emmanuel Macron today to push for a deal to let Britain return Channel migrants to EU countries. The former home secretary said this was crucial to help end the small boats crisis as well as clear a huge backlog of asylum cases. She urged the Prime Minister to capitalise on the goodwill created through a post-Brexit trade deal for Northern Ireland to convince Mr Macron to broker a bloc-wide migrant returns agreement. Before Brexit, Britain could send asylum seekers back to countries such as Greece and Italy without considering their case if they lodged a claim there when arriving in the EU. But UK ministers have not negotiated a replacement for the scheme, known as the Dublin III Regulation. Priti Patel (pictured) has urged Rishi Sunak to use a summit with Emmanuel Macron today to push for a deal to let Britain return Channel migrants to EU countries. The former home secretary said this was crucial to help end the small boats crisis as well as clear a huge backlog of asylum cases She urged the Prime Minister to capitalise on the goodwill created through a post-Brexit trade deal for Northern Ireland to convince Mr Macron (pictured) to broker a bloc-wide migrant returns agreement It means that thousands of asylum seekers are languishing in Britain who could potentially have been deported by now. Ms Patel also took a swipe at her successor Suella Braverman's plan for tackling small boats by saying that some measures springing from her own Bill, the Nationality and Borders Act 2022, still needed to be implemented. Mr Sunak will travel to Paris today to meet the French president in the first Anglo-France summit for five years. In a sign of the importance being placed on it for rebooting relations, he will be accompanied by six Cabinet ministers, including the secretaries of state for foreign affairs, home affairs and defence. Britain hopes to secure a long-term deal with the EU to return illegal immigrants who cross the Channel. In exchange the UK would accept refugees from the EU. But Elysee Palace officials in Paris have suggested Mr Macron will play hardball over the issue, with an agreement not expected because EU leaders want a bloc-wide deal. Instead, Mr Sunak and Mr Macron appear to be on course to agree a long-term multi-million-pound deal to boost French beach patrols with extra surveillance and officers to smash people-smuggling gangs. There is scepticism about whether it will provide value for money however because Britain has handed over nearly 200million to France since 2018 to tackle the small boats crisis yet 45,728 migrants still arrived in Kent last year. Ms Patel, who was home secretary from July 2019 to September last year, called on Mr Sunak to lobby Mr Macron to broker a returns deal using his key role in the EU. She said: 'He needs to push for a returns agreement. The EU has been dragging its feet for too long. Shared global outlook 'They all talk about an EU-wide returns agreement but actually the EU is not speaking with one voice. 'But it's about time they recognised there's a global migration crisis and that everyone needs to work together to solve this, and Rishi needs to go and make that case. 'There's no one single solution to fixing illegal migration and stopping Channel crossings. 'But this is what he should be asking for and it would be key for returning people who have already travelled through a safe country and have no right to be here. Before Brexit, Britain could send asylum seekers back to countries such as Greece and Italy without considering their case if they lodged a claim there when arriving in the EU. But UK ministers have not negotiated a replacement for the scheme, known as the Dublin III Regulation Mr Sunak will travel to Paris today to meet the French president in the first Anglo-France summit for five years 'These crossings are dangerous, they're illegal and we've seen the most appalling consequences because of them, so it's right that the Government does everything possible to fix this.' Other topics to be discussed today include collaboration on nuclear energy and the defence industry. Among goodwill gestures set to be agreed is a deal to make school trips easier. Mr Sunak said: 'Our deep history, our proximity and our shared global outlook mean that a firm partnership between the UK and France is not just valuable, it is essential. 'From tackling the scourge of illegal migration to driving investment in one another's economies, the work we do together improves the lives of each and every person in our countries.' The PM's spokesman said: 'It's important that we do secure a [returns] agreement with the EU, and France will be an important component of that.' Britain's worst criminals who are facing whole life jail terms will be banned from marrying thanks to new legislation. News that Milly Dowler's murderer Levi Bellfield planned to marry a regular female visitor at HMP Frankfield in Durham prompted outrage last year. But such unions will be prevented under Justice Secretary Dominic Raab's Victim's Bill which set to be unveiled in the next two weeks, The Sun reports. Some 60 prisoners, many of them serving long jail terms, applied to marry last year. In a leaked letter to a cabinet colleague, Mr Raab said: 'I consider there is a very real risk that marriage in such cases would undermine public and victims confidence in the Criminal Justice System. News that Milly Dowler's murderer Levi Bellfield planned to marry a regular female visitor at HMP Frankfield in Durham prompted outrage last year Bellfield's girlfriend has reportedly said the killer has changed and is her dream man 'Even where there is no risk of direct physical harm there is a significant risk of coercive or controlling behaviour. 'I have seen how Bellfield seeking to marry has caused distress and trauma to his victims.' The launch of the bill was pushed back amid concerns of legal challenges, while Article 12 of the European Convention on Human Rights sets out the right to marry. But the Rishi Sunak's Government is confident it would face off any legal battle, with backing from the Attorney General. A Government source said allowing egregious criminals to wed would add to the distress the surviving relatives of victims Tory MP Brendan Clarke-Smith has also lent his support, saying vulnerable members of the public could be 'groomed' into marriage by manipulative crooks. Labour's Shadow Justice Secretary Steve Reed criticised the Conservatives for failing to enact a bill sooner, insisting that Labour has led calls for a Victims Bill for eight years. Dowler was snatched from the street while on her way from school to her home in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, in March 2002 Marsha McDonnell, 19, was had been to the cinema with friends and was on a late night bus when she was attacked with a hammer Bellfield is known as Britain's most evil killer and murdered 13-year-old schoolgirl Milly Dowler in 2002. His new fiancee previously told the Mirror: 'He is not a monster. Yes he has a bad past, but 17 years in prison changes a person. 'He has changed, he has remorse, and there are always reasons a person goes wrong in life. 'There is always a far bigger picture. He is 53 years old, still young and has to live knowing he will just grow old and die in that horrendous place.' Bellfield was introduced to his fiancee through Peter Sutcliffe, who was friends with the woman before he died in 2020. Bellfield and Sutcliffe were on the same wing in HMP Frankland. Bellfield asked to be put in touch with her after seeing her picture in Sutcliffe's cell, the Sun reported. They spoke on the phone, before she then began visiting Bellfield at the County Durham prison. 'What people don't realise is that the woman was friends with Sutcliffe for years before he died, although there was no romance between them,' a source told the Sun. Amelie Delagrange, 22, whose body was found, with a serious head injury lying on Twickenham Green, south west London A career of evil: Bellfield's rap sheet 1981: His first conviction was for burglary 1990: Convicted of assaulting a police officer October 14, 2001: Anna-Marie Rennie, 17, was attacked in Hospital Bridge Road, Witton, southwest London. She manages to escape but four years later identifies Bellfield as the man who tried to kidnap her. The jury failed to reach a verdict on a charge of false imprisonment and kidnapping March 21 2002: Milly, 13, is walking home from school in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, when she disappears. Her remains are found six months later 25 miles away. February 2003: Marsha McDonnell, 19, gets off a bus near her home in Hampton after a night out with friends, and is struck three times on the back of the head with a blunt object by Bellfield. May 2004: Kate Sheedy, 18, is left for dead after Bellfield runs her down in his car after she gets off a bus in Isleworth after spending the evening with friends. August 2004: Amelie Delagrange, 22, is battered to death by Bellfield after she gets off at the wrong bus stop and is attacked walking across Twickenham Green. She dies of head injuries. February 2008: Bellfield is convicted of the murders of Marsha and Amelie, and the attempted murder of Kate. March 2010: Bellfield is charged with killing Milly. May 2011: Bellfield goes on trial at the Old Bailey after he denies abducting and murdering Milly. June 2011: Bellfield yawns as he is found guilty of Milly's murder. The following day he refuses to attend court where he is jailed for life. Bellfield becomes the first person to receive two whole-life terms. February 2012: Bellfield loses a Court of Appeal bid to challenge his conviction for Milly's kidnap and murder. January 2016: Bellfield admits abducting, raping and killing schoolgirl Milly Dowler for the first time, Surrey Police say. Advertisement They said that Bellfield asked for Sutcliffe's consent to write to her, around a year before he died. His fiancee has now said that she is 'not ashamed' of their relationship, and believes that Bellfield has 'changed' and is 'not a monster'. She described herself to the Mirror as 'extremely non-judgemental', adding that her and her fiance have had 'kisses and cuddles' in the County Durham prison. Yesterday Dominic Raab said that Bellfield's request to get married in prison is 'inconceivable' and a wedding is unlikely to happen because of the risk he would pose to his fiancee. And prime minster Boris Johnson has also condemned the nuptials, along with prisons minister Victoria Atkins. 'The PM is sickened and appalled by this, and his thoughts are with the families of his victims,' his spokesperson said. Ms Atkins called Bellfield a 'monster' and said that she is looking into the marriage application 'very carefully'. Bellfield, who is serving two whole life sentences for the murders of Marsha McDonnell, Amelie Delagrange and Milly Dowler, has asked for permission to marry a woman while in custody. Last year, the killer got down on one knee and proposed to the woman in front of staff at HMP Frankland in County Durham, according to a report from The Sun. Mr Raab, who is justice secretary and Deputy Prime Minister, said the 53-year-old is a 'dangerous serial killer' and suggested any nuptials in prison are unlikely to happen. When asked what powers he has to stop the wedding, Mr Raab, who is also deputy prime minister, criticised the Human Rights Act. He said: 'The Human Rights Act puts all sorts of obstacles in our way in that regard, which is I think one more reason why we are introducing a Bill of Rights to add a bit more common sense. 'What I can tell you is it is inconceivable that the prison or the Ministry of Justice would authorise that marriage unless the very significant concerns about the safeguarding were addressed; we've asked for a risk assessment in relation to that. 'Clearly, we're dealing with a dangerous serial killer.' Mr Raab said it is 'very difficult to see' how the safeguarding concerns could be overcome. The Government outlined its plans to replace the Human Rights Act with a new Bill of Rights in Tuesday's Queen's speech. Former bouncer and wheel-clamper Bellfield's bid to wed is 'exactly the kind of case' which shows the new legislation is needed, Mr Raab said. Bellfield asked to be put in touch with his now fiancee after seeing her picture in Sutcliffe's cell before he died in 2020. Pictured, Sutcliffe aged 74 He is engaged to a female visitor and got down on one knee to propose in front of prison staff at HMP Frankland (pictured) He added: 'We need written down in UK law a clear set of rights. They shouldn't be trumped by elastic interpretations of human rights.' Former justice secretary Robert Buckland said people will be 'rightly shocked' to hear he has become engaged, with director of the Centre for Crime Prevention, David Spencer, calling the marriage an 'insult' to his victim's families. Jeremy Hunt's corporation tax hike will make Britain a 'significantly worse place to do business', a top think-tank has warned. The increase, which will take the levy from 19 per cent to 25 per cent next month, will knock around 30billion from the UK's annual economic output, the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) found. And as pressure mounts on the Chancellor to boost growth, a separate report found he can afford almost 100billion of tax cuts in next week's Budget without breaking his fiscal rules. In a stark intervention ahead of the Budget, CPS director Robert Colvile said the hike would be a 'big mistake'. Senior Tory MPs and business chiefs have urged Mr Hunt to scrap the planned increase, which they say will drive investment away and stifle growth. And as pressure mounts on the Chancellor to boost growth, a separate report found he can afford almost 100billion of tax cuts in next week's Budget The CPS said raising corporation tax, while letting the super-deduction tax break expire, would make the UK a less attractive place to invest. The changes would see Britain drop from 10th to 33rd out of 38 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries based on the competitiveness of its taxes. The CPS said it is 'not too late' to reconsider the tax hike and the Government should introduce a system to replace the super-deduction which gives big tax breaks to companies investing in infrastructure and factory and machinery assets. Mr Hunt is considering replacement options such as a 'full expensing' regime, which would allow investments to be offset against profits for tax purposes. The CPS said a 'generous' version of the tax break could boost the economy by 3.4 per cent in the long run adding more than 60billion to GDP each year. Mr Colvile said: 'We still believe that increasing corporation tax is a big mistake. But introducing full expensing as a replacement for the expiring super-deduction would at least compensate for its effects and persuade businesses to help deliver the growth we so desperately need.' Meanwhile the National Institute of Economic and Social Research said that lower than expected spending, higher income and a better economic outlook have left Mr Hunt with a 97.5billion windfall. Researchers said the headroom should be used to reduce or scrap the corporation tax hike, which they said would harm investment and growth. The CPS said raising corporation tax, while letting the super-deduction tax break expire, would make the UK a less attractive place to invest Tory former leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said the Government needs to make Britain more competitive for firms through deregulation and lower tax rates. 'Do that, and we have a chance,' he said. He added: 'If we put up corporation tax it will tell people abroad Britain does not value companies making profits.' The Government said the UK's corporation tax will still be the lowest in the G7 after April, while 70 per cent of companies will be unaffected by the increase. A spokesman said: 'Growing the economy is one of the Prime Minister's top priorities.' A black Las Vegas family have been awarded $8.25 million in damages after they were hauled out of their car at a Starbucks in the Bay Area by two white deputies, who were searching for local car thieves. The three women argued they were singled out for their race, and were awarded the significant sum thanks to California's Bane Act, which allows any damages awarded to be tripled if lawyers can prove that a person's civil rights have been violated. Aasylei Loggervale was traveling with her daughters Aaottae, then 17, and 19-year-old Aasylei Hardege-Loggervale in September 2019 when they stopped at the Castro Valley Starbucks. The trio were en route to Berkeley City College, where one of the teenagers was due to sit a math test. While stopped for coffee and a rest, the family was confronted by two Alameda County deputies and held for an hour on suspicion of car theft. The two deputies, Steven Holland and Monica Pope, were both white. Aasylei Loggervale is seen being taken from her car in September 2019 outside a Starbucks in Castro Valley, California The deputies told the trio that they were searching for suspects in a series of car thefts. Loggervale refusing to give her identification, asked the officer: 'What kind of crime did I commit?' The court documents state: 'Loggervale did not want to engage further with Defendants because, as a black person, she feared that the encounter could result in serious physical harm or death to her and/or her daughter.' She 'stated that they had not done anything wrong and had no connection whatsoever to any auto burglaries,' the suit states. Holland then ordered all three family members out of the car and detained them, body camera video shows. The police officers, who did not state a reason as to why they were arresting them, handcuffed the family and 'forcefully' put them in a patrol car, the lawsuit states. The family was held for several minutes, with no citation or charges. All three had abrasions to their wrists and arms and suffered 'emotional distress, fear (and) embarrassment,' the lawsuit said. Steven Holland, a deputy with Alameda County, detained the family Holland was accompanied by Deputy Monica Pope The Loggervale family accused the deputies of racially profiling them when they detained the trio while searching for car thieves The jury ruled that the officer's conduct was 'unlawful' and that Holland and Alameda County together must pay $2.75 million to the mother and $2 million to each daughter, while Pope and the county must pay $750,000 to each daughter, according to the final order. Craig Peters, one of the attorneys representing the Loggervales, said the family brought the case to see the deputies brought to justice. 'This is vindication and validation for the Loggervales, that they've been wronged and that means a lot,' he said. 'They're a rather private family. 'But they felt that what had happened was really wrong, and so they were willing to file the lawsuit and try to hold the sheriff's office accountable.' Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez said that she was unable to comment. 'The community's trust in my agency is foundational to my mission of maintaining a positive relationship with those we serve,' she told CBS News in a statement. 'The facts of this case are extremely important to me and our community members, however, I must reserve my comments until the case has been fully adjudicated through the court system.' A former Home Office mandarin has attacked the Government's asylum reforms as 'unspeakably cruel'. Sir David Normington, who was permanent secretary of the department from 2006 until 2010, said the package of measures was more about 'grabbing headlines' than tackling the Channel crisis. His intervention comes amid growing concern over attacks on the asylum plan from the so-called 'Blob', comprising civil servants and other agitators. The Illegal Migration Bill, published on Tuesday, has 'little chance of success', Sir David wrote in a letter to the Times. 'Unless this Bill acts as a deterrent (which seems unlikely), I fear the prospect is for more arrivals, ever-growing backlogs, crowded detention centres, endless legal challenges and further damage to our international reputation - not to mention unspeakable cruelty to those people who are genuinely looking to the UK as a place of refuge from oppression and persecution,' he added. Sir David Normington (pictured) said the package of measures was more about 'grabbing headlines' than tackling the Channel crisis READ MORE: How Suella Braverman's new Illegal Migration Bill will work... and which measures might fall foul of 'the Blob' Previous attempts to solve the Channel crisis have been blocked by 'Establishment forces', Home Secretary Suella Braverman (pictured) says Advertisement 'In my day in government that would have been more than enough to stop a policy in its tracks. 'Hence I can only conclude that this is more about grabbing headlines and talking tough than it is about stopping the boats.' Sir David, 72, was the Home Office's top civil servant when it was famously declared 'not fit for purpose' by then home secretary John Reid in 2006. The following year the department was overhauled and radically slimmed down, losing its responsibilities for prisons and probation to the newly-created Ministry of Justice. The Mail reported yesterday THU how Home Office civil servants lodged a flood of complaints about Home Secretary Suella Braverman's new asylum policy. One anonymous worker said in an internal online session that they were 'embarrassed and ashamed' of measures, while another suggested they breached international law. In another anonymous remark, a staff member said they were struggling to balance 'my own personal ethical convictions' with the Home Secretary's 'rhetoric and policies'. Under the Civil Service Code government workers are required to remain impartial. It sets out that they must 'serve the government, whatever its political persuasion' and not allow their 'personal political views' to influence their work. There was also a row this week over an email sent to Conservative supporters under Mrs Braverman's name which said an 'activist blob of left-wing lawyers, civil servants and the Labour Party' had 'blocked' previous attempts to grapple with illegal immigration. Sir David, 72, (pictured) was the Home Office's top civil servant when it was famously declared 'not fit for purpose' by then home secretary John Reid in 2006. The Mail reported yesterday THU how Home Office civil servants lodged a flood of complaints about Home Secretary Suella Braverman's (pictured) new asylum policy The email, from Conservative Central Office (CCHQ), was resent five minutes later with the passage removed. But the leader of one civil service trade union accused the Home Secretary of a 'cowardly attack' and demanded an apology. Downing Street said Mrs Braverman 'did not see, sign off or sanction' the email and said procedures would be reviewed at CCHQ, Yesterday THU Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's official spokesman, said the email 'was not signed off by the Home Secretary'. He added: 'It doesn't represent her views and certainly does not represent the views of the Prime Minister.' It marks deliverance of Jewish people from a 2,500 year old extermination plot But it can result in drunken abandon as some men drink heavily in celebrations The annual festival is typically marked with parties, fancy dress, and great food These images are not exactly what you might picture when you think of a religious celebration. But among Jewish communities, the annual festival of Purim can result in drunken abandon as it is marked with parties, fancy dress, great food and for the men, a lot of booze. The scenes in Mea Shearim were typical of the holiday, which celebrates the deliverance of the Jewish people from a plan to exterminate them in the Persian empire 2,500 years ago. According to the tale, the plot was thought up by Haman, an official of the Achaemenid Empire. Haman was the advisor to Persian King Ahasuerus. But the plans were foiled by Mordechai. The tale is recounted in the biblical book of Esther, which is publicly recited in synagogue, known as the reading of the Megillah, as part of the annual festivities. Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men rest after getting drunk during celebrations of the Jewish holiday of Purim in Mea Shearim The carnival-like Purim holiday is celebrated with parades and costume parties to commemorate the deliverance of the Jewish people from a plot to exterminate them in the ancient Persian empire Among Jewish communities, the annual festival of Purim can result in drunken abandon as it is marked with parties, fancy dress, great food and for the men, a lot of alcohol. People are known to drink to the point of drunkenness during the annual holiday Ultra-Orthodox Jews celebrate the holiday in a synagogue with a cheerful group dance This joyful holiday is marked with the exchanging of delicious food, drink and gifts, eating a lavish celebratory meal and donating to the poor It's a holiday which has been embraced by ultra-Orthodox Jewish people, who are known to throw huge parties, complete with fancy dress and popular dishes An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man lies on the floor as he takes part in a celebration in Mea Shearim This joyful holiday is marked with the exchanging of delicious food, drink and gifts, eating a lavish celebratory meal and donating to the poor. According to religious law, each adult must give at least two different foods to another person, and at least two charitable donations to the poor during the holiday. The giving of these food parcels, called mishloach manot, has become a huge aspect of the celebrations. To fulfil the aspect of charity to the poor, either food or money equivalent to the amount of food that is eaten at a regular meal can be donated. In Synagogue, collections will also be taken. It's a holiday which has been embraced by ultra-Orthodox Jewish people, who are known to throw huge parties, complete with fancy dress and popular dishes such as three-cornered pastries called hamantashen. These are traditionally filled with traditionally filled with a raspberry, apricot, date, or poppy seeds. Seeds, nuts, legumes and green vegetables are customarily eaten on Purim, as is Kerplach, a dumpling filled with cooked meat, chicken or liver and served in soup. Special breads are also commonly consumed, and a dessert consisting of fried dough balls and vanilla custard, called Arany galuska is traditional for Jews from Hungary and Romania, as well as their descendants But, arguably the most raucous part of the festivities is the drinking of alcoholic beverages to the point of drunkness. Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men and children some in costumes celebrate the Jewish holiday of Purim The most raucous part of the festivities is when men drink alcoholic beverages to the point of drunkenness Children are encouraged to dress up and parade on the streets during the event Men dance on the streets dressed in fancy dress costumes to celebrate the annual religious event The custom is said to stem from a statement in the Talmud, attributed to a rabbi named Rava According to the custom, men must drink until he can 'no longer distinguish between arur Haman (Cursed is Haman) and baruch Mordechai (Blessed is Mordecai) Even the older generation get involved in the celebrations at synagogue and on the streets It is thought drinking wine stimulates the experience of spiritual blindness Children also get involved in the celebrations by dressing up and parading through the streets It is said drinking wine impairs the men and stops them from distinguishing between good and evil The custom is said to stem from a statement in the Talmud, attributed to a rabbi named Rava, who allegedly states that men should drink during the festivities until he can 'no longer distinguish between arur Haman (Cursed is Haman) and baruch Mordechai (Blessed is Mordecai). It is thought drinking wine stimulates the experience of spiritual blindness, in that a person is unable to distinguish between good and evil while drunk. However, the men have had to curb their drinking in recent years. During the pandemic, senior ultra-Orthodox rabbis were forced to urge moderation as the large parties resulted in a coronavirus spike. President Yoon Suk Yeol salutes the national flag with heads of the five largest conglomerates Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin, Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, and LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo in an event for small and medium-sized businesses held at the presidential office, Seoul, in this May 2022 file photo. Yonhap By Lee Yeon-woo The heads of the country's major conglomerates will accompany President Yoon Suk Yeol on his upcoming visit to Japan next week, in hopes of seeking new business opportunities and resuming economic cooperation that was virtually halted following Japan's export restrictions on key industrial materials to Korea. The presidential office said that Yoon will travel to Tokyo for a summit with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on March 16 and 17. Industry sources reported that a round table for business people from both countries will also take place either before or after the summit. "We are discussing ways to arrange meetings between top Korean and Japanese business people during the visit," an official at the presidential office said. The details of the economic delegation have not yet been revealed. But it is known that the list will include the heads of national economic institutions, the 10 largest business groups and companies with connections to Japan. SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, left, shakes hands with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, right, while accompanying President Yoon Suk Yeol, middle, on his visit to the UAE on Jan. 16. Yonhap Iger said the the company was trying to restructure and find $5billion in savings Disney CEO Bob Iger admitted a theme park was too 'aggressive' in many of its recent price hikes, shortly after it cut prices on its $20,000 two-night stay at a Star Wars-themed hotel when bookings dried up. During remarks at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom Conference Thursday, Iger said that Disney made the grave mistake of putting profits first in recent years, leaving even its most zealous fans disenchanted with the happiest place on Earth. Iger said: 'I always believed that Disney was a brand that needs to be accessible. 'And I think that in our zeal to grow profits, we may have been a little bit too aggressive about some of our pricing. 'And I think there is a way to continue to grow our business but be smarter about how we price so that we maintain that brand value of accessibility.' 'Some of those rip-offs included the park's top access tickets being hiked to $244 for a single day's pass - a ticket which in 2017 cost just $124. Iger - who previously retired as Disney's CEO in 2021 - returned as the company's top executive in November after his successor Bob Chapek was ousted amidst plummeting stock prices and irate customers. On Thursday he said his focus was going to be on cost cutting measures at Disney to make it more affordable for customers, and announced a plan to reorganize the company and find $5billion in savings. Part of that plan is to cut 7,000 jobs. Disney CEO Bob Iger admitted that the theme park was too 'aggressive' in many of its recent price hikes Some of Disney's latest rip-offs included the park's top access tickets being hiked to $244 for a single day's pass - a ticket which in 2017 cost just $124. Iger said Disney was focused so much on profit that it undermined the brand that had won so many devoted fans. 'In our zeal to grow profits, we may have been a little bit too aggressive about some of our pricing,' he said. 'I think there's a way to continue to grow that business, but be smarter about how we price so that we maintain that brand value of accessibility.' In announcing those intentions, he vowed 'to continue to listen to consumers [and] we're going to continue to adjust.' The parks have already begun scaling back some of its pricing, including returning free overnight parking for hotel guests, and increasing how many days Disneyland offers its lowest-price $104 adult ticket. At Disneyland, free downloads of photos taken of guests on rides were returned to all ticket admissions after customers were forced to pay an additional fee for them. At Disney World, Genie+ tickets will once again come with free downloads. Iger said the parks are also going to focus on regulating how many people they let in to preserve the quality of experience inside. 'One of the things that we had to do was we had to improve the guest experience by reducing crowding,' he said. 'It's tempting to let more and more people in, but if the guest satisfaction levels are going down because of crowding then that doesn't work. We have to figure out how we reduce crowding but maintain our profitability. And we did that well.' Walt Disney recently opened its Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser experience in Florida, which puts guests into a story set on the Halcyon space vessel. Above is one of the 100 Starcruiser cabins that guests can stay in The hotel ship's 'Bridge,' where guests can interact with action taking place on screen But Iger said not everything had been priced to high - on the contrary, he said Disney's streaming platform was started at far too low a price. 'One of the key things that we have to figure out is a pricing strategy that makes sense,' he said. 'In our zeal to grow global subs[cribers], I think we were off in terms of that pricing strategy. And we're now starting to learn more about it, and to adjust accordingly.' When Disney+ kicked off in 2019 subscribers were charged $6.99-a-month, but the platform now charges $10.99 for its advertisement-free subscription after it started hemorrhaging billions and contributed to tanking Disney stock prices. Iger also said Disney may have harmed its Star Wars and Marvel brands by making too many movies. He said going forward those films and shows would be closer scrutinized. 'Marvel has 7,000 characters, so there are a lot more stories to tell,' he said. 'What we have to look at at Marvel is not necessarily the volume of Marvel storytelling but how many times do we go back to the well on certain characters? Sequels typically work well for us, but do you need a third and a fourth [installment] for instance? Or is it time to turn to other characters?' The exterior of the windowless $20,000 per stay Disney Star Wars themed hotel in Orlando Bunks inside the rooms of the expensive Star Wars-themed immersive hotel His comments come after Disney rearranged the schedule of its billion-dollar Star Wars themed hotel due to low demand. The hotel, which opened in March 2022 in the Orlando-area to much fanfare and sold out 'voyages,' charges guests anywhere between $5,000 and $20,000 for an immersive two-night experience in which they are thrust into a story taking place in a galaxy far far away. The booking portal for Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser shows that there are reduced dates during October, November and December. Starting in the fall, the hotel is only open for bookings three or four times a week. Many hardcore Disney and Star Wars fans have long been critical of the resort's exorbitant prices and the fact that it is windowless. Among the price gauging going on inside the hotel include, $13 beers and $23 cocktails as well as $99 for an official Star Wars themed photo, The New York Times reported at the time the park opened. Childcare support for low-income parents will be increased in the Chancellors Budget next week. Jeremy Hunt is under pressure to reform the system after childcare was shown to be among the most expensive in the world. MPs on the Commons education committee heard a warning that there will be only 1,000 childminders left in England by 2035 under the current system. Labour yesterday laid out a 18billion reform plan, but were criticised for failing to reveal how it would be funded. Ahead of next Wednesdays Budget, Treasury sources have revealed the Chancellor is looking to increase how much parents on Universal Credit can claim back for childcare. Jeremy Hunt is under pressure to reform the system after childcare was shown to be among the most expensive in the world The maximum level has been frozen since 2006 an effective 56 per cent real-terms cut at 646 per month for one child, or 1,108 for two or more children. But the average cost for a part-time nursery place for a two-year-old has leapt to an eye-watering 1,250 per month, or 15,000 per year, childrens charity Coram said. Poorer families may also be offered up-front payments, rather than claiming in arrears. Meanwhile Labour announced that they would not invest in a broken system but look at wholesale reform, calling it a bold and ambitious vision. Former Cabinet minister Theresa Villiers said: The cost of childcare is high in this country compared to many places. It must be keeping women out of the workplace. Its certainly shortening the hours they feel willing to do. A paedophile Met Police officer who admitted a string of child sex abuse offences including having sex with a 14-year-old girl has been dismissed from Scotland Yard without notice. PC Hussain Chebab was found to have committed gross misconduct after he plead guilty to four counts of sexual activity with a girl aged 13 to 15 as well as three counts of making indecent photographs of a child and sexual communication with a child in court in January. The 22-year-old is facing jail and will be sentenced at Wood Green Crown Court on March 17. No verdict was recorded in a further four counts of making indecent photographs of a child and so the Judge ordered they be left to lie on file. Barbara Grey, the Met's assistant commissioner responsible for professionalism, told The Times: 'These types of offences undermine the public's confidence in the police service.' PC Hussain Chehab is facing jail after pleading guilty to four counts of sexual activity with a child, one of sexual communication with a child and three counts of making indecent photographs of children The 22-year-old had sex with the schoolgirl on at least two occasions between March and September 2019, when he was aged 19 Some of PC Hussain Chehab's shocking offences took place when he was a serving officer whose duties included meeting parents and children at school gates in north London. The revelations come as Scotland Yard grapples with the fallout from the David Carrick scandal, after the beleaguered force was found to have had one of Britain's worst rapists lurking within its ranks for 20 years. READ MORE: Serving Met Police officer is charged with four counts of sexual activity with child aged 13 to 15 Advertisement Chehab had sex with the schoolgirl on at least two occasions between March 1 and November 16 2019, when he was aged 18 and before he joined the Met Police. Chehab joined the Met on March 30, 2020 and came to police attention in July 2021 after a complaint was made. He was arrested the following month, while he was working as a safer schools officer in a secondary school in Enfield, which is one of the boroughs he covered alongside Haringey. Case manager at the misconduct hearing was PC Christie Koller, who told the hearing that after officers seized Chabab's personal devices, they discovered indecent images of children and text messages with the 14-year-old schoolgirl. She added that Chebab discredited the police service with his behavour. Chehab, who is currently out on bail, was served with the misconduct papers on February 21, but did not attend the hearing. Assistant commissioner Gray said that Chebab's behaviour was clearly gross misconduct and he would therefore be dismissed without notice. Detective Chief Superintendent Caroline Haines, the lead for policing in Enfield, told The Times: 'Following his criminal conviction it is right that PC Chehab is formally dismissed from the Met. 'Chehab committed the vilest of offences and abused his position of trust in the most despicable of ways.' She continued that the Met was committed to root out officers who do not belong in the force due to behaviour like Chebab's. In the trial, Wood Green Crown Court also heard that the officer was found with 882 still and moving indecent images of children on his devices while a Met officer. Of these, 293 were Category A images the most serious and some were said to have been of children aged just two. An interest in teenagers Sarah Ellis, defending Chehab, said the images had come to be on his devices due to membership of chat groups, adding he did not seek images of the youngest children himself. 'He will say that yes he had an interest in teenagers but he does not have an interest in children as young as two,' she told the court. Judge John Dodd, KC, released him on bail under strict conditions he must not contact his victim or have unsupervised contact with anyone aged under 18. But he warned Chehab, from Barnet, north London, that he faced a lengthy prison term. 'You have admitted some extremely serious offences and I don't want you to misunderstand you must prepare yourself for a prison sentence,' Judge Dodd said. Detective Chief Superintendent Caroline Haines, the lead for policing in Enfield, told The Times: 'Following his criminal conviction it is right that PC Chehab is formally dismissed from the Met. 'Chehab committed the vilest of offences and abused his position of trust in the most despicable of ways' Wood Green Crown Court (pictured) also heard that the officer was found with 882 still and moving indecent images of children on his devices while a Met officer Chebab's offending came to light when the family of a 16-year-old girl called police to raise concerns about the fact she had recently been in a relationship with Chehab, which they believed began when she was 15 years old. He was arrested on August 24, 2021 during which time a number of digital devices were seized. He was placed on restricted duties, which ordered him to work within the confines of a police building in a non public-facing role and to have no contact with schools or children. When his devices were examined, a number of indecent images were found and he was further arrested on October 28, when he was also suspended from duty. Analysis of further devices also revealed messages between PC Chehab and a 14-year-old girl engaging in sexual communication. She later provided evidence to police that they had entered into a sexual relationship in 2019 when she was just 14. On September 13 he was charged with the above offences. Detective Chief Superintendent Haines, lead for policing in Enfield where PC Chehab served, said: 'Our thoughts foremost today are with the young girls who Chehab exploited and took advantage of for his own sexual gratification. 'These offences are made all the more sickening by the fact that some of the image offences were committed while PC Chehab was in a role as a Safer Schools officer attached to a secondary school in Enfield between May 2021 and his arrest in August 2021. 'Once the initial allegations against PC Chehab were made, he was immediately removed from his role while the investigation took place. We have worked closely with the school concerned, and Enfield local authority, to ensure that there were no further unreported safeguarding incidents or missed opportunities. 'A review of the information provided to the Met prior to him joining as a police officer was carried out and nothing was found that could have indicated his offending. 'Prior to commencing his role as a Safer Schools Officer he was also subject to further Child and Vulnerable Group Supervision vetting, in line with the current vetting standards for all those who work with children and young persons. 'This news will of course cause considerable damage and concern, not only to the local community, but Londoners as a whole, who place their trust in police officers to go into our schools alongside their children every day and keep them safe. 'While no evidence has been found linking any of Chehab's offending to his role, we are engaging with our local schools, community forums and independent advisory groups to reassure them following the damage his actions will have caused. 'The Met continues to ruthlessly target those who corrupt our identity. We have made it clear there is no place for the likes of PC Chehab in the Met and will take quick and immediate action to arrest and prosecute anyone who commits such abhorrent criminal acts, and will work to quickly remove them from the organisation.' The total number of Russian deaths in Ukraine is likely to have exceeded all fatalities in 16 of the nation's military actions since the Second World War, it has been claimed. The rate of soldiers being killed per month in the first year of the war was 25 times higher than in Chechnya and 35 times higher than in the Soviet Union's ten-year war in Afghanistan, a US think-tank said. It is thought Russian troops are dying at five times the rate of Ukrainians, at a total of around 70,000. The Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said Russia suffered between 13,000 and 25,000 deaths in the two Chechen wars meaning the numbers killed in Ukraine in a year could be five times greater than those killed in Chechnya over almost 15 years. Those killed in the initial attack on Ukraine in February last year included elite regiments, now being replenished with reluctant recruits with little training and poor equipment. It is thought Russian troops are dying at five times the rate of Ukrainians (Pictured: A Ukrainian service member carries a mortar shell before firing towards Russian troops) Soldiers are furious about tactics of their commanders, such as being ordered at gunpoint to charge across open ground (Pictured: A Ukrainian MSLR BM-21 'Grad') Reports this week claim Russian teenage boys now have the same life expectancy as those in Haiti. It comes as more reports emerged yesterday of mutinies among Russian forces in eastern Ukraine. Soldiers are furious about tactics of their commanders, such as being ordered at gunpoint to charge across open ground. A video on social media channel Telegram featured Russian troops refusing to do this. One said: 'You can imprison us. How long is it? Five, seven, ten years? Fight yourselves. But what for? Who for? Life is more important.' At least six Ukrainian civilians were killed and more wounded as Russia launched 81 air strikes yesterday. The attack temporarily cut power to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, raising fresh fears of a catastrophe. Meanwhile, Ukraine has dismissed Kremlin claims it tried to murder officials in Moldova's breakaway Transnistria region. The pro-Russian enclave said Ukrainian agents had intended to detonate a car bomb. Ukraine denied planning any attack. Last month pro-Western Moldovan president Maia Sandu accused Moscow of plotting to overthrow her. The devastated mum at the centre of a Qantas in-flight race row has detailed the shocking lead-up - and aftermath - to the moment she realised the passenger in front of her was writing a racist text message about her baby boy. Sally Fifita had just sat down with one-year-old son Carter on the QF158 flight from Auckland to Melbourne on Sunday evening when a man, realising he was sitting in front of a little boy, shot her a fierce glare. Ms Fifita then saw him describe her to a friend as a 'fat Islander woman' and her son as a 'black kid kicking me' in a text he was writing on his mobile phone. Ms Fifita angrily confronted the passenger before he hastily tried to delete the incriminating message and deny the accusations, she said. 'He will always regret what he did and I hope that he will always remember the mother who only wanted to just get home with her son,' she said. 'God bless his ugly a** soul.' The devastated mum at the centre of a Qantas in-flight race row has cursed the passenger who blasted her son in a racist text to forever live with the hurt he caused (pictured is the text) Sally Fifita (pictured on their 2021 wedding day with husband Siale who had flown home for work a week earlier) angrily confronted the passenger before he hastily tried to delete the text Sally Fifita was travelling home with one-year-old son Carter (pictured on the QF158 flight from Auckland to Melbourne on Sunday night) when the air-rage storm erupted The horrified mother said she had tried her best to minimise the impact of her young son on fellow passengers and had strapped him in to stop him kicking the seat in front. But the passenger in front was already irate before the pair had even sat down, she said. I just hope he doesn't kick my seat the whole way The brief comment the old man made after taking his seat 'I was already dreading this flight back alone with my toddler,' she said. 'As soon as we found our seats and we were trying to settle in, this man turns around, looks at my son, and shook his head. 'Confused as to why he looked back, I asked him if something was wrong and he replied ,'I just hope he doesn't kick my seat the whole way'. 'I looked at my son and he was not even kicking his seat because he was meant to sit on me instead of his own seat.' She said she moved her son into his own window seat and put his seatbelt on with the toddler's feet barely reaching the edge of the cushion. 'Just as we were about to fly, he turns around again saying, 'Can he stop kicking?'' Ms Fifita revealed. 'I was so frustrated and told him he can't even reach his seat and maybe he should've paid for business class or his own plane if he didn't want a child behind him. 'Then as we were in the air I could see what he was texting... this old man writing racial messages. 'After taking a photo, absolutely stunned, [you] best believe I confronted him - even if I was making a scene. 'I feel as though the whole interaction had nothing to do with my son 'kicking' his chair but merely something to do of how we looked with his racial comments.' Ms Fifita said the exchange left her 'tired, frustrated and mad' and she fled to the back of the plane to calm down and spoke to flight attendants as they returned. The attendants then asked others to swap seats with the mother and son to get them away from the other traveller. When they eventually found a father travelling with his teenage son willing to exchange seats, the man then tried to make a grovelling apology. 'The flight attendant saw how distraught I was,' Ms Fifita said. 'We moved seats to the back. 'The man told the flight attendant he wanted to come say sorry as he felt bad the whole plane ride and she told him she didn't think it was appropriate.' Ms Fifita gave her heartfelt thanks to the flight attendants and the family who swapped seats with them to defuse the situation - but says other passengers ignored the request. She added: 'If you see anything like that, I hope you are not a bystander like the many people on that flight who didn't bother to help or do anything.' Ms Fifita says she will never fly without her husband Siale by her side again after he had flown home alone earlier in the week for work. Sally Fifita told a flight attendant about the incident, who then moved the pair to different seats at the back of the plane (pictured) Sally Fifita says she will never fly without her husband Siale (pictured together) again But despite the clash, she says it has not put her off travelling again. 'We're glad to be home safe and can't wait for our next flight in the near future,' she added. Social media users were quick to sympathise with the woman. 'Your so brave, even in tears you still the bigger person who stood up for yourself against such bullying and racism,' one wrote. 'Traveling with a toddler is hard and that punk made it worst for you!' another said. 'I'm so sorry you had to go through that sis, my gosh the audacity this man has,' a third commented. Daily Mail Australia has contacted Qantas for comment. A self-declared 'TikTok detective' who was arrested after he allegedly filmed police while they pulled Nicola Bulley's body out of the river has claimed he committed no crime in a YouTube rant. Curtis Arnold was arrested on suspicion of malicious communications offences and perverting the course of justice in connection with the investigation into the missing mother-of-two. The 34-year-old barber, of Kidderminster, Worcestershire, posted a video on YouTube complaining about his arrest after Lancashire Constabulary announced it without naming him. He said that he has been bailed until June and that his bail conditions include no longer sharing online content about the case or publicly discussing it and that he does not enter Lancashire. Arnold captioned the latest video on his 'Curtis Media' channel: 'My arrest over...Lancashire police prove their point and ban me from Lancashire and...from uploading or speaking about her case'. Curtis Arnold (pictured), 34, was arrested on suspicion of malicious communications offences and perverting the course of justice in connection with the investigation Arnold's arrest relates to footage taken on February 19 from inside a police cordon close to the River Wyre in Lancashire and posted online. It was the day that 45-year-old mother-of-two Nicola Bulley's (pictured) body was found by dog walkers in reeds and retrieved by officers He begins by saying: 'Even though I am talking about my case and my arrest over a video I have got to be very careful that I don't talk about that case.' Arnold's arrest relates to footage taken on February 19 from inside a police cordon close to the River Wyre in Lancashire and posted online. It was the day that 45-year-old mother-of-two Nicola Bulley's body was found by dog walkers in reeds and retrieved by officers. A police spokesperson said: 'The man was held on Wednesday morning with assistance from West Mercia Police and has since been released on bail with conditions. Our priority is, and has always been, to support Nicola's family and the wider community in St Michael's. We hope this arrest provides reassurance that we take concerns seriously and will act on them.' Arnold alleges in his video that officers were heavy-handed when they arrested him at 1.30am at his grandparents' house and then searched the property. He complains: 'I still have marks on my hands now from the handcuffs. That's how tight they put them on. My nan is now a nervous wreck. She hasn't been sleeping over it. There was no need to arrest like that. They could have just knocked the door. They could have even just phoned me and I would have gone in for a voluntary interview, no problem.' He said that a pair of Lancashire Constabulary detectives interviewed him for two hours. Arnold said: 'Essentially guys, I didn't post the video to cause harm or stress. I just posted it for my media channel as everybody knows. 'I think everybody knows that there's no crime been committed here and I think everybody is aware why the police have done this to me. They have basically made it so that I can't go there and I can't do videos on the case any more. 'That is what the locals wanted and that is what they have got. They have made an offence fit. 'My solicitor said it doesn't fit but obviously they've made it fit and I'm on bail for three months and that is just the way it is.' Lancashire Constabulary was widely criticised for disclosing Nicola's struggles with alcohol and menopause two weeks into the search. The search lasted 23 days before her body was found by the dog walkers less than a mile from where she was last seen The disappearance of mortgage advisor Nicola Bulley sparked a vast amount of speculation online. Experts have claimed that TikTok algorithms that reward and encourage controversial content fuelled the waves of online interest. Content creators descended in droves on the village where Nicola was last seen on January 27 in a bid to crack the case. So many sleuths flooded into St Michael's on Wyre to film videos that, at one point, police had to issue a 48-hour dispersal order to clear the village of outsiders. During the investigation, Detective Superintendent Rebecca Smith said that social media users had been 'playing their own private detectives'. The force asked people not to 'take the law into their own hands' and risk 'thwarting' their investigation. Amateur detectives were warned against abusing witnesses or breaking into empty buildings as it was distracting detectives and risked prosecution. Lancashire Constabulary was widely criticised for disclosing Nicola's struggles with alcohol and menopause two weeks into the search. The search lasted 23 days before her body was found by the dog walkers less than a mile from where she was last seen. Investigators in San Jose have concluded an inquiry into a bizarre episode in which an apparent exotic dancer was seen walking out of a fire truck - but are yet to say whether anyone involved will be disciplined. The city was shocked by footage from October of the bikini-clad woman in high heels climbing down from the fire truck parked outside the Pink Poodle strip club, and marching through the door. 'If the investigation concludes that this video is as bad as it looks, then heads must roll,' said Sam Liccardo, the mayor at the time. 'We cannot have a life-critical emergency rescue apparatus relegated to a frat party bus, nor tolerate any conduct that so demeans the heroic work of the rest of our SJFD team.' On Tuesday the city confirmed to KRON 4 that the inquiry had concluded. But they would not say whether anyone would face punishment. A video posted to Instagram in October appeared to show a woman exiting a San Jose Fire Department truck and strutting into a local strip club wearing just a bikini and extremely high heels Matt Mahan, the new mayor, who replaced Liccardo, said he expected the fire chief, Robert Sapien, to act. 'Like all of our residents, I was shocked when I saw the video, and have to believe the investigation will show conduct well below the high standard the women and men of San Jose Fire hold themselves to everyday,' said Mahan. San Jose Fire Chief Robert Sapien 'I have the utmost confidence Fire Chief Sapien will conduct a thorough review of what happened and take appropriate action once that work is done.' A firefighter told KRON4 that the firefighters involved with the Pink Poodle incident still remain on the job. 'You can't make this stuff up,' the firefighter said. 'It is so hush hush in our department, it's an internal affairs deal. We are in the dark about it too. 'Our department has been known for buffoonery.' The video was posted in October to an account called San Jose Foos. It showed a firetruck parked in front of local strip joint The Pink Poodle. After a few moments the truck's door swings open and a brunette woman wearing a string bikini, platform stilettos and nothing else hops out and struts into the club. An Instagram account called San Jose Foos posted the video after it was first posted by a private account The Pink Poodle brags that it is San Jose's only all-nude strip club. It has served the community since 1963 The city's mayor says heads will roll if the video posted online turns out to be as bad as it looks following investigation The Pink Poodle's website boasts that it is 'San Jose's only all-nude strip club.' The identity of the woman is unknown, and it is not known whether the female works there. The San Jose Local Firefighter Executive Board said in a statement in October: 'We are aware of the situation. This union does not condone what was seen on video. 'The fire department is handling and investigating. This does not represent the values of San Jose firefighters Local 230.' The Pink Poodle has been in business in San Jose since 1963, according to its website. The Home Office has reportedly been forced to shore up an extra 2million to pay for hotel rooms for asylum seekers after the Government admitted there was no deadline in sight to stop their use. For the first time, the number of migrants in hotels has reached 50,000, a vast increase from the 2,600 reported in March 2020. The cost of the hotel accommodation is reported to be 6million per day, The Telegraph reports. The newspaper's investigation found asylum hotels were being used in 43 of England's 48 counties. Tory MPs have been nervously waiting for progress over the issue, with fears it could be a talking point during the next General Election. The Best Western Premier Yew Lodge Hotel in Kegworth has stopped taking bookings for the foreseeable future The Home Office has faced pressure from the Treasury to cut back on 'expensive' hotels while Suella Braverman's team has called for a bigger budget. A package of efficiency cuts has now been agreed by the Treasury to help plug the 2billion overspend on migrant hotels, A senior Whitehall source told the Telegraph: 'The Treasury has been frustrated that the Home Office is placing migrants in expensive hotels and has pushed them to look at cheaper alternatives.' There have been fraught discussions between the Home Office and Treasury officials in recent weeks about the ballooning cost of hotel accommodation ahead of next weeks Budget. Yesterday, it was reported a luxury spa hotel in a rural Leicestershire village has closed to guests and cancelled existing bookings so it can provide accommodation for 250 asylum seekers. The Best Western Premier Yew Lodge Hotel in Kegworth - which includes a Marco Pierre White New York Italian restaurant - stopped taking reservations two weeks ago after bosses signed an 'exclusive use contract' with the Home Office to house refugees. Locals have protested over the plans, claiming they were only told about the venue closing days before the asylum seekers moved in. It is understood several staff have been made redundant as a result of the hotel shutting to members of the public. Rita Pearson, 75, has lived in the village for 42 years and took part in protests outside the hotel last week with her husband Tony. The hotel, which includes a Marco Pierre White restaurant, has been temporarily closed due to an 'exclusive use contract by the Home Office' A statement on Marco Pierre White's (pictured) website stated: 'Please be advised that the Yew Lodge Hotel in Kegworth, which includes Marco's New York Italian restaurant, has been temporarily closed due to an exclusive use contract by the Home Office' The retired administrator and grandmother-of-four said: 'I feel we are too small of a village to house 250 asylum seekers. 'We know a lot of people that used to work at the Yew Lodge that have been made redundant. 'We were given hardly any notice about their arrival and so couldn't really do a lot about it before they came. That is why we are complaining now. 'The village of Quorn in Leicestershire went through a very similar thing a couple of months ago where one of their hotels was taken over to house asylum seekers, but because they had Jane Hunt the MP living in the village, the decision was overturned. 'We haven't got an MP or anyone living here to help us like they did so we feel aggrieved in Kegworth about the situation.' The Best Western Premier Yew Lodge Hotel in Kegworth stopped taking reservations two weeks. Pictured: The food at Marco's New York Italian in Kegworth Local Kegworth resident Tony Pearson, 73, said: 'There is nothing for them to do here, they have no money and can't work so I don't know what they are going to do all day.' It is understood several locally-employed staff have been made redundant at the hotel (pictured) as a result of the closure to members of the public Rita's husband Tony, 73, added: 'There is nothing for them to do here, they have no money and can't work so I don't know what they are going to do all day.' The first asylum seekers arrived at the hotel at the beginning of the week and it is expected to be full by the weekend. Mother-of-two Elisabeth Shepherd, 53, said locals were given 'no notice' about their arrival, and said that people were 'frightened, including myself'. She said: 'A lot of the villagers use the resources at the hotel such as the gym, pool and restaurant and now we've haven't got anything here to use and will have to turn elsewhere for these facilities. 'People found out about the asylum seekers moving into the hotel because their gym memberships were instantly cancelled.' Bob Katter sparked chaos at an airline boarding counter when he refused to let his suitcase be stowed in the plane's hold. The independent MP was boarding a 5.10pm Qantas flight from Canberra to Sydney on Thursday on his way back from the parliamentary sitting week. A flight attendant told him that due to the size of the small Dash plane, his suitcase needed to be tagged and handed to ground staff to be stored in the hold. Mr Katter, 77, refused, and after a short back and forth, marched through the doors towards the plane. Bob Katter sparked chaos at an airline boarding counter when he refused to let his suitcase be stowed in the plane's hold The flight attendant yelled at him to stop have have his bag tagged, then chased after him a short distance - before giving up. Instead, she radioed to colleagues on the tarmac telling them his bag needed to be tagged and taken on to the plane, before returning to boarding other passengers. 'He does this every time,' she exclaimed after returning to the counter. Mr Katter managed to get his suitcase into the cabin and stored it in an overhead compartment, mostly spending the 55-minute flight napping. After arriving at Sydney Airport, Mr Katter explained why he refused to allow Qantas staff to stow his suitcase. The maverick politician admitted he had never been good at doing what he was told, and still wasn't 'The lady at the counter demanded my bag, it felt like a bit of a power play,' he said. 'I said I have sensitive documents in there and I can't let it out of my sight, but I'm not the best at hearing these days.' The maverick politician admitted he had never been good at doing what he was told, and still wasn't. Mr Katter is the 'Father of the House' as the longest-tenured MP in the lower house, having been elected to the seat of Kennedy in North Queensland in 1993. Before that, he was a member of the Queensland parliament from 1974 to 1992. Xi Jinping was handed a third term as Chinese president on Friday, capping a rise that has seen him become the country's most powerful leader in generations. The appointment by China's rubber-stamp parliament comes after Xi locked in another five years as head of the Communist Party and the military - the two more significant leadership positions in Chinese politics - in October. Since then, 69-year-old Xi has weathered widespread protests over his zero-Covid policy and its subsequent abandonment that saw countless people die. Those issues have been avoided at this week's National People's Congress, a carefully choreographed event that is also set to appoint Xi ally Li Qiang as the new premier. On Friday he was handed a third term as China's President - the culmination of a remarkable rise in which he has gone from a relatively little-known party apparatchik to the leader of a global superpower China's President Xi Jinping is applauded as he arrives for the third plenary session of the National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 10, 2023 And on Friday they handed Xi a third term as China's President - the culmination of a remarkable rise in which he has gone from a relatively little-known party apparatchik to the leader of a global superpower. His coronation sets him up to become modern China's longest-serving president, and will mean Xi will rule well into his seventies - if no challenger emerges. Adrian Geiges, co-author of 'Xi Jinping: The Most Powerful Man in the World', told AFP he did not think Xi was motivated by a desire for personal enrichment, despite international media investigations having revealed his family's amassed wealth. 'That's not his interest,' Geiges said. 'He really has a vision about China, he wants to see China as the most powerful country in the world.' For decades China - scarred by the dictatorial reign and cult of personality of founding leader Mao Zedong - eschewed one-man rule in favor of a more consensus-based, but still autocratic, leadership. That model imposed term limits on the largely ceremonial role of the presidency, with Xi's predecessors Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao relinquishing power after 10 years in office. President Xi Jinping pictured at a plenary meeting of the delegation of the People's Liberation Army and the People's Armed Police Force during the first session of the 14th National People's Congress in Beijing, on March 8, 2023 Secondary school students gather in front of a screen displaying an image of Chinese President Xi Jinping Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) is congratulated by Li Qiang after he is unanimously elected as President during a session of China's National People's Congress Chinese President Xi Jinping, 69, applauds during a session of China's National People's Congress. He was unanimously elected as President during the session Xi has torn up that rulebook, abolishing term limits in 2018 and allowing a cult of personality to foster his all-powerful leadership. But the beginning of his unprecedented third term leading China comes as the world's second-largest economy faces major headwinds, from slowing growth and a troubled real estate sector to a declining birth rate. Relations with the United States are also at a low not seen in decades, with the powers sparring over everything from human rights to trade and technology. 'We will see a China more assertive on the global stage, insisting its narrative to be accepted,' Steve Tsang, Director of the SOAS China Institute, told AFP. 'But it is also one that will focus on domestically making it less dependent on the rest of the world, and making the Communist Party the centrepiece of governance, rather than the Chinese Government,' he said. 'It is not a return to the Maoist era, but one that Maoist will feel comfortable in,' Tsang added. 'Not a direction of travel that is good for the rest of the world.' Trade, Industry and Energy Second Vice Minister Park Il-jun, second from left, speaks during a meeting at Doosan Enerbility's hydrogen liquefaction plant in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, Thursday. Yonhap Doosan Enerbility Chairman & CEO Park Gee-won / Korea Times file Julia Fox's brother was arraigned and is being held on $450,000 bond over a litany of charges related to the manufacturing of illegal guns in his New York City apartment. Christopher Fox, 30 appeared in a Manhattan courtroom today looking disheveled with unkempt hair and listened as prosecutors read off a list of nefarious items that were found in the apartment on the Upper East Side he shared with his father Thomas. Prosecutors said those items included 3D printed gun silencers, high capacity ammunition magazines, an unauthorized pistol and ammunition, along with numerous 3D-printed parts of machine guns he appeared to be manufacturing. There was also a large amount of cash in the apartment, along with a pill press, fentanyl, pressure cookers, chloroform, heroin, propane, explosives materials and formaldehyde. Fox was arrested Wednesday as a part of a widespread investigation into the manufacturing of illegal weapons - known as ghost guns - across New York City. On Thursday prosecutors said Fox's purchase history compared to the materials found in his apartment suggested he had already produced and distributed a number of weapons. Christopher Fox, 30 appeared in a Manhattan courtroom today for his arraignment Julia Fox's father, Thomas Fox, 65, was arrested along with his son, Christopher, 30, at their Upper East Side home after cops found unidentified pills, a pill press, fentanyl, pressure cookers, chloroform, heroin, propane, explosives materials and formaldehyde Prosecutors initially asked for $750,000 in bail, raising fears that Fox had access to cash and posed a flight risk. The judge lowered it however, on the stipulation that Fox's passports be seized. He was charged with criminal possession of controlled substance, manufacture of a machine gun, and manufacture of a rapid-fire modified device. The materials found in his apartment also led him to be charged with manufacture of a dangerous instrument, criminal possession of a weapon, criminal possession of a firearm and criminal possession of drug paraphilia. At the hearing, assistant district attorney Cyril Heron detailed the extent of the investigation that ensnared Fox. 'Between March 2018 and December 2022, the defendant purchased at least 190 ghost gun items, totaling over $7,600,' Heron said. 'All of these items were sent to the defendants home.' 'In addition, over $8,000 in cash was recovered. Notably, the NYPD did not recover a substantial number of the items reflected in his purchase history, which indicates that he has manufactured ghost guns and sold them,' Heron added. Fox is due back in court on March 13. He has two prior arrests that remain sealed. Thomas Fox, 65, was also arrested, but not charged. DailyMail.com was exclusively told by a source that Julia cut ties with both of her family members years ago. 'Julia and Christopher were raised by their unstable, abusive and unhinged father. She knew about her dad and brother's 3D printing and suspected drug usage, but has no direct knowledge about this because she has zero contact with either of them,' the source said. 'Her dad is insane and has caused her emotional trauma that she will have to deal with for the rest of her life. She knew that one day his life would catch up with him. She is glad that no one was hurt by his disgusting actions.' Julia Fox's reclusive brother Christopher Fox, 30, was charged on Wednesday Christopher Fox in Manhattan for his arraignment on Thursday for weapons charges The father and brother of actress Julia Fox, pictured, have been arrested after cops raided their Manhattan apartment and found a litany of disturbing items Julia has not spoken to either of her family members since their arrests, the source confirmed. Julia and her brother, who were once close, have been estranged for years after he 'turned out just like his father'. 'When Julia was young, her dad didn't give a f**k about her and her brother. She was forced into his care, and they were living on the streets and in parks due to his actions,' the source said. 'Her brother became just like him and she cut him off as well. When she became successful, her dad and brother tried to make things good with her to ride her coattails, but she didn't let this happen.' The model and influencer, who has a one-year-old son Valentino, recently divorced her ex-husband Peter Artimiev. Their bitter split has hit headlines, with 33-year-old calling him a deadbeat dad and an alcoholic. However, the pair have started to repair their relationship for the sake of their son - and her father's neglect was a deciding factor. 'She wanted her baby to have what she didn't, which was love from a dad who will be there for him,' the source said. Christopher Fox, 30, was held on $450,000 bond over a litany of charges related to the manufacturing of illegal guns in his New York City apartment Ghost guns, bomb-making materials and evidence of narcotics manufacturing were uncovered in the raid at the Upper East Side apartment on Wednesday Unidentified pills, a pill press, fentanyl, pressure cookers, chloroform, heroin, propane, explosives materials and formaldehyde were also reportedly snared Investigators discovered 3D printers inside the apartment that they believe are used to make the ghost guns - firearms without traceable serial numbers The materials found in the apartment also led Julia's brother Christopher being charged with criminal possession of controlled substance, manufacture of a machine gun, and manufacture of a rapid-fire modified device Thomas and Christopher's apartment on 84th Street on the Upper East Side was raided at 6am on Wednesday after lengthy investigation into their alleged offenses. Cops found material that can be used to manufacture dangerous weapons, such as machine guns, rapid-fire modified devices. Christopher is also facing charges of criminal possession of a firearm and possession of drug paraphernalia. An NYPD spokesman said officers had seized several ghost gun parts as well as equipment for pressing narcotics pills. 'Team members also discovered materials typically used as components in explosives, including pressure cookers and various chemicals, which can also be used for manufacturing narcotics.' 'At this time, the matter is believed to be contained, with no apparent nexus to terrorism,' the spokesperson said. 'The NYPD will continue to fight relentlessly against illegal guns against both the steady proliferation of traditionally-manufactured firearms and the increasingly prevalent numbers of illegal, untraceable but fully functioning weapons known as ghost guns.' In 2019, Julia - who became a household name for briefly dating Kanye West after his split from Kim Kardashian - spoke with High Snobiety in 2019 and said that she does not often speak with her dad or her 'recluse' brother, who she described as being a 'mad scientist.' DailyMail.com contacted a representative for Julia who said she has 'no comment' on the arrests. Following the raid, DailyMail.com was exclusively told by a source that the Uncut Gems star cut ties with both of her family members years ago Julia posted this adorable photo on her Instagram that was taken when she first arrived to New York City from Italy. The woman that she is with in the photo could be her mother Neighbors, who reported seeing dozens of cops including 15 SWAT officers raid the building before arresting the pair on the street, told DailyMail.com it did not come as a shock. 'If you were going to say someone in the building was doing something weird in their apartment, you'd be like 'that makes sense, it's that guy,' a neighbor said. Neighbors said they had not seen Christopher in years and speculated he was carrying out his operation in a padlocked room. 'I guess he always stayed inside the apartment,' they said. 'I heard they let the father go because he claimed he didnt know what the son was doing - the son was behind locked doors. 'In my apartment I cant lock them, so he must have padlocked himself away. How the father allowed his son to padlock a room away I have no idea.' A brave diver has ended a two-year hunt for a couple's lost engagement ring after it accidentally went overboard on a boating trip and they feared it would be lost forever. Nick Richards, a metal detectorist from Forster on NSW's mid-north coast, and a friend found the priceless antique ring lost by Mike and Joanna Vink in Sydney's Paramatta River after several other scuba teams failed to locate it on the murky riverbed. After six hours beneath the surface and a couple of air tank refills, Mr Richards heard a ping from his metal detector before sifting through 25cm of muddy sand to discover the ring. But he warned his missions are not for everyone. Mr Richards said he is one of the only divers willing to enter the waters around the Five Dock Bay area because it is notorious for bull sharks, but said the satisfaction of finding treasured lost items helps him overcome the fear. The ring, which was over 100 years old and celebrated the couple's 40-year marriage, had been on Mr Richards' mind after the couple hired a friend of his who emerged from the river unsuccessful after his own expedition. After six hours beneath the surface, Nick Richards heard a ping from his metal detector before finding the ring under 25cm of muddy sand The 140-year old engagement rink fell overboard when Mike and Joanna Vink were out boating in 2021 Despite the dangerous nature of the water, Mr Richards said its 'mind over matter' when it comes to the job and that he doesn't blame others from staying away. 'The murk's not everyone's cup of tea and I'm not even actually sure it's my cup of tea,' Mr Richards joked to Daily Mail Australia. 'I've often wondered whether a metal detector attracts sharks or deters them, I don't know. They're dangerous, but you'll never see them because in the Parramatta (river), you don't see anything. 'From the moment you leave the surface and get to the seabed you don't see anything.' Relying purely on sound, he recalled hearing two pings in the hours he spent searching for the ring. Sharks are notorious in Sydney's Paramatta river where the priceless ring was lost The first was within the first hour or two and turned out to be a sinker, but the second was more promising after six hours on the hunt. 'There's no point in even looking at it when you pick it up, because of how little you can actually see - you're relying on a mental picture of what you're looking for,' he said. 'When I got to the surface and confirmed it was the ring I sent Mike a photo and it was two hours before he messaged back saying, 'is that real?'.' 'I said, 'Well, yeah, I'm pretty sure it's real, but if it's not the ring that you're looking for are you ok with this one instead?'.' Mr Richards said the couple told him they were so happy they didn't sleep on Sunday after he found it, although they are yet to actually have it back in their possession. Mr Vink had to leave around 11am, just half an hour after the search had begun, to get to work, so after Mr Richards found the ring he headed home where he posted it in the mail. 'According to my tracking information it was due there between 11am and 1pm today,' Mr Richards said. 'I actually insured the ring with Australia Post but they only insure things up to $5,000 and I think this ring is worth much, much more than that.' And when it comes to money, Mr Richards does not accept payments for his work, saying that he does it purely for the satisfaction of reuniting lost items with their owners. 'We like people to cover our costs which they did, but we do it for the mission and for the satisfaction of it,' he said. 'If they really want to pay, we just ask them to make a donation to the surf club or something. 'Sometimes they'll buy me half a case of ginger beer which costs maybe 10 bucks. 'In cases like this everyone's a winner, Joanna has a win getting their ring back and we have a win because it's tremendously satisfying.' Mr Richards even noted that the locals had a happy ending in the long drawn-out hunt for Ms Vink's ring. 'There was a fella there when we were wrapping up who asked what we were doing. 'He said, 'For two years I've been watching people dive here, I had no idea what they were doing bit it must've been fairly important'.' Mr Richards then explained about the lost ring and that the hunt was over. 'Even he was happy that we'd found it.' This is the amazing moment a group of fishermen wrangled a shark and removed six fishing lines from its mouth on a Western Australian beach. Three men caught the bronze whaler in Mandurah, south of Perth, with one wading in to the water to hold it while another pulled the hooks out of it mouth, incredible footage shows. A clip of the rescue was posted to TikTok by clothing label owner Nikki Mosco, with the mum-of-four revealing the group found the hooks were tangled up with sinkers, fishing line and seaweed. Showing no fear, one of the fishermen reached into the shark's mouth and cut out a hook with a pair of pliers, while his fellow good Samaritan wrapped his arms around the shark to keep the animal still. Once they removed the hooks the shark was set free to swim away. People quickly went to the comments, with many praising the group. 'That sharks calmer than me in the dentists,' joked one. 'On ya boys! This is living like a proper Aussie,' said a second. Other described them as 'legends', 'very brave' and 'champions'. 'Well done guys!! That poor little thing,' commented one person. Three men caught the bronze whaler in Mandurah, south of Perth, with one wading in to the water to hold it while another pulled the hooks out of it mouth, incredible footage shows 'You blokes are awesome, so good to see' said another. 'You guys are absolute legends. Such an Aussie thing to do. Well done boys,' said one. 'The way the guy on top was literally hugging him. What an experience!' commented one. 'Thank you. There's some really irresponsible people out there,' quipped another. Joe Biden's new budget plan, released on Thursday, is light on initiatives for dealing with the drug crisis sweeping the county but heavy on gender politics, according to a new analysis. Biden mentioned 'equity' 63 times in the document, Fox News found - more than double the references to the word 'border'. The word 'fentanyl' was only mentioned twice. The word 'transgender' featured eight times, and 'queer' seven times - but the word 'opioids' was mentioned four times. 'Equity', a key focus, was mentioned in the context of racial equity, equal access to healthcare, and equity for veterans. President Joe Biden speaks about his 2024 budget proposal at the Finishing Trades Institute on Thursday The White House on Thursday released a video on social media promoting the budget plan The document has been published online. It is not thought likely to pass It has largely replaced the word 'equality' in progressive circles. Equality means offering everyone the same opportunity, while equity means ensuring everyone achieves the same outcome. Supporters say equity helps eliminate unfair barriers which make it harder for some to achieve their full potential. Critics say it often involves unfair bias against certain groups deemed as successful, and that equal outcomes are often achieved artificially, by lowering overall standards. 'On his first day in office, the President signed a sweeping Executive Order directing the entire Federal Government to advance an ambitious equity and racial justice agendanot as a one-year project, but as part of a sustained commitment to make the promise of America real for every American,' the document reads. 'Since then, the Administration has made significant progress advancing equity across the Federal Government, including by releasing a second Executive Order that strengthens its ability to create opportunities for communities and populations that have been historically underserved, and continues to build an America in which all can participate, prosper, and reach their full potential,' it continues. Biden's 2024 plan is seen as unlikely to pass. Analysts are describing the proposal as a blueprint for the issues he will run on in 2024, if he decides to seek re-election. Biden also threw down the gauntlet to his Republican rivals, demanding they too unveil their spending plans. 'I've now laid out my budget,' he said. 'Republicans in Congress should do the same.' Biden said his plan was designed to help ordinary working people Heres how President Bidens budget will continue our work to grow the economy from the bottom up and the middle out not the top down.https://t.co/fjDcj4092E pic.twitter.com/lpSZYnzgtx The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 9, 2023 Biden's plan would cut deficits by $2.9 trillion over the next decade - a proposal that Republicans already intend to reject. On Thursday, the president spoke at a union training center in Philadelphia, discussing his plan for the government's finances and how his values contrasted with Republican priorities. 'I just laid out the bulk of my budget,' Biden said. 'Republicans in Congress should do the same thing. Then we can sit down and see where we disagree.' Yet the president doubted that Republican members of Congress could make their numbers match their calls for a balanced budget and he suggested that any efforts to do so could come at the expense of middle-class families. 'How are they going to make the math work?' Biden said. 'What are they going to cut?' House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said the president's proposed deficit reduction was inadequate. 'It just seems like it's going to create the biggest government in history. 'I don't think that's what we need at this time,' he said. In addition to deficit reduction, Biden's 10-year budget largely revolves around the idea of taxing the wealthy to help fund programs for the middle class, older adults and families. It would raise $4.7 trillion from higher taxes, with an additional $800 billion in savings from changes to programs. The tax increases include a reversal of the 2017 tax cuts made by President Donald Trump on people earning more than $400,000 a year. Biden has floated a new 25 percent minimum tax on households worth $100 million or more. Also, the tax that companies pay on stock buybacks would rise fourfold and those earning more than $400,000 would pay an additional Medicare tax that would help to keep the program solvent beyond the year 2050. Medicare could negotiate on the prices of more prescription drugs, helping to save the government money. Accompanying that would be $2.6 trillion worth of new spending, including the restoration of the expanded child tax credit that would give families as much as $3,600 per child, compared with the current level of $2,000. That credit would be 'fully refundable,' which means households could receive all of that sum even if they don't owe any taxes. The budget proposal would impose a $35-a-month cap on insulin prices, matching a change that Biden already put in place for Medicare recipients. At a time of increased tensions with Russia and China, the budget shows a decline in military spending as a share of the U.S. economy over the next decade. But federal spending would be equal to roughly one-quarter of economic output as the spending on Social Security and Medicare climbs, essentially keeping the government the same size as it is currently. The budget would seek to close the 'carried interest' loophole that allows wealthy hedge fund managers and others to pay their taxes at a lower rate, and prevent billionaires from being able to set aside large amounts of their holdings in tax-favored retirement accounts. The plan also projects saving $24 billion over 10 years by removing a tax subsidy for cryptocurrency transactions. A woman who crushed and killed her cheating boyfriend with her car in what has been described as an 'explosion of emotion' will spend the next 14 years behind bars. Jackline Sabana Bona Musa was sentenced in the NSW Supreme Court on Friday for killing her boyfriend on the evening of June 27, 2020. An emotional Musa entered the dock just before 2.30pm wearing a black blazer and pants, while seven supporters sat in the public gallery. She was found guilty of smashing her black Toyota Kluger into Payman 'Paul' Thagipur, 31, in the carpark of his apartment building at Wentworth Point in Sydney's west about 8.30pm. He died at the scene. The pair met online at the end of 2019 and by June the following year, Musa was under the impression Mr Thagipur was her boyfriend, the court was told. Jackline Sabana Bona Musa (pictured) will spend the next 14 years behind bars The last time the pair saw each other was June 21, after which Musa sent text messages to Mr Thagipur that went unanswered. On the afternoon of June 27, she sent another text that he didn't answer. The 47-year-old decided to check on Mr Thagipur at his apartment and stopped on the way at a shisha bar he frequented. She attempted to get into the apartment building's carpark without alerting Mr Thagipur before following another car into the building and hitting the roller door, causing it to break. Musa was let through the security door by another resident and knocked on Mr Thagipur's door to find him in only his underwear and another woman in the apartment. She asked the woman 'is it your turn today?' and spat in Mr Thagipur's face as she left the apartment, the jury was told during the trial. Minutes later, Mr Thagipur walked into the carpark wearing a T-shirt and pants and began walking in the direction of his car. Payman 'Paul' Thagipur, 31, was killed by his girlfriend in an 'explosion of emotion' When she saw him, the court was told Musa deliberately drove directly at her former lover and pushed him into a nearby wall, crushing him to death. The court was told she got out of her car, walked towards her boyfriend's prostrate body 'gasping for air' and looked down on him for a minute before she called triple-0. Musa pleaded not guilty to murder and manslaughter before she was found guilty by a jury in December last year. In summarising the facts, Justice Richard Button said the offence was 'spontaneous and not premeditated', with the intention to inflict serious harm for 'only a matter of seconds'. 'The life of a human being was violently extinguished in a place where he was entitled to feel safe,' Justice Button said. 'His final ordeal was short but terrifying and he surely died in enormous pain.' Musa was found guilty of smashing her black Toyota Kluger into her boyfriend in the carpark of his apartment building at Wentworth Point in Sydney's west in June 2020 Justice Button said what occurred was a 'deeply self-centred imposition of violence' and a stark example of what used to be called a crime of passion. He said modern Australians expected a person 'disappointed and upset' by romantic matters to deal with the emotions maturely and without harming others. 'I regard this as a grave example of an extremely grave offence,' the justice said. Musa was described as a person of otherwise good character who made a life for herself in Australia when she moved here in 2004. Justice Button said the murder was 'grossly out of character' for the 'woman of mature years'. 'In short, a life was taken simply because a fellow human being was exercising autonomy in romantic matters, as he was absolutely entitled to do,' he said. 'After an early life of great deprivation and disruption, the offender made a successful fresh start in this country, something especially to her credit in light of the psychological problems. 'They played their part in this fatal explosion of emotion.' Musa was sentenced to 20 years with a non-parole period of 14 years. Congressman George Santos, who has been accused of lying about much of his resume, is now alleged to have been the mastermind behind an ATM fraud involving a former roommate who has since written to the FBI about the scam. The embattled Republican has been outed several times as a seemingly pathological liar and is now the subject House ethics investigation. Despite this, Santos is still refusing to step down from his post. The latest scandal relates to an identity theft con that took place in Washington state in 2017. Gustavo Ribeiro Trelha, who was convicted of credit card fraud in the case, wrote a letter submitted to the FBI Wednesday calling Santos - aka Anthony Devolder - the the brains behind the crime. It saw devices fitted to ATMs which copied customers card details, allowing Trelha - and allegedly Santos - to drain those accounts. Santos in 2017 spoke to a judge in King County in support of Trelha, whom he referred to as a 'family friend.' That's when the New York Republican told the judge his infamous lie about working for Goldman Sachs, according to Politico. He also said he was 'an aspiring politician.' Gustavo Ribeiro Trelha (pictured right), who was convicted of credit card fraud in the case, wrote a letter that was submitted to the FBI Wednesday calling Santos (pictured left) - aka Anthony Devolder - the person in charge of the crime The Congressman has previously said he was 'an informant' in the case and has been questioned about it by Secret Service, according to Politico. 'Santos taught me how to skim card information and how to clone cards. He gave me all the materials and taught me how to put skimming devices and cameras on ATM machines,' Trelha wrote. The letter, delivered by Trelha's Long Island-based attorney Mark Demetropoulous, was written (and translated from its original Portuguese) after the Brazilian resident saw Santos on television in Congress. He says he met Santos in 2016, having rented a room in his apartment in Florida after chatting in a Facebook group for Brazilians living in Orlando. Trelha said that Santos soon involved him in the scam, which involved a warehouse in Orlando containing 'parts, printers, blank ATM and credit cards to be painted and engraved with stolen account and personal information.' He claims the Congressman gave him some of these parts and then showed him how to pull off the grift. Trelha flew thousands of miles across country to Seattle in 2017, with a plan to split the stolen funds 50/50. 'We used a computer to be able to download the information on the pieces. We also used an external hard drive to save the filming, because the skimmer took the information from the card, and the camera took the password,' he wrote. The letter, delivered by Trelha's Long Island-based attorney Mark Demetropoulous, was written (and translated from its original Portuguese) after Trelha saw Santos on television in Congress Trelha says in the declaration he met the now Representative Santos in 2016, having rented a room in his apartment in Florida after chatting on a Facebook group for Brazilians living in Orlando However, he was captured on security footage removing a skimming device from a Chase ATM. He was arrested on April 27, 2017. He served seven months in prison after pleading guilty to felony device fraud before being deported in 2018. Trelha then goes on to write that Santos visited him in jail and told him not to mention his name to anyone, even threatening his friends back home in Florida or to 'make things worse for him' if he did. He did, however, promise to get him $20,000 to get out and even saying he would hire El Chapo's lawyer for him, neither of which happened. 'Santos did not help me to get out of jail. He also stole the money that I had collected for my bail,' Trelha added. He ended the declaration by saying he was willing to speak with any investigators from the US government. Santos, as he has with many of the stories revealing his past, denied the Politico report in a tweet Thursday night. 'With everyone asking I'll give a simple answer,' he wrote. 'The newest insanity published by politico is categorically false. Any news organization willing to do good Journalism I'll entertain sitting down with you and go over it all. Be well and stay safe all.' Santos, as he has with many of the stories revealing his past, denied the Politico report in a tweet Thursday night The House Ethics Committee announced a week ago that Santos is officially under an ethics investigation. It formed a panel to examine several charges against him, including allegations about his 2022 congressional campaign and a complaint from a former staffer that Santos tried to engage in appropriate sexual misconduct. Santos admitted to lying about his education and work history, but says he has learned his lesson and vowed that going forward, 'everything is always going to above board.' He's also said he will run for re-election in 2024. The ethics probe comes as even some Republicans have called on Santos to step down. The investigation will focus on whether Santos 'engaged in unlawful activity with respect to his 2022 congressional campaign; failed to properly disclose required information on statements filed with the House; violated federal conflict of interest laws in connection with his role in a firm providing fiduciary services; and/or engaged in sexual misconduct towards an individual seeking employment in his congressional office,' the House Ethics Committee said in a statement. The Republican congressman from New York has stepped down from his committee assignments amid questions his conduct during the midterm election, including lying about his work history, his education and his heritage in his campaign biography. Additionally, a watchdog group claimed he's made multiple campaign finance violations and filed a complaint with the FEC, particularly citing questions about loaning his campaign more than $700,000 despite having only $55,000 in earned income. Santos, 34, also is accused of masking the true source of his campaign's funding, misrepresenting his campaign's spending and using campaign resources to cover personal expenses. Santos is also being investigated by the district attorney's office in Nassau County, N.Y., and by authorities in Brazil Official business cards of U.S. Representative George Santos (R-NY) are displayed on his desk on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Derek Myers, a former Santos aide, has accused the congressman of sexual misconduct Rep. George Santos (R-NY) chats with his State of the Union guest and members of his staff as they prepare for the evening in Santos's office on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. And a former staffer, Derek Myers, revealed he's filed a complaint with the U.S. Capitol Police and the Office of Congressional Ethics alleging Santos touched his groin, asked him if he was on the Grindr dating app, invited him home and violated House ethics' pay rules. Myers said Santos hired him as an assistant on Jan. 25. He said the two were going through letters from constituents when Santos asked Myers if he was on the dating app and explained that he had a profile. Myers claims that Santos asked him to sit closer after they spoke about Grindr, and allegedly began touching his leg before inviting him to karaoke. The aide said he declined the invitation, but Santos then moved his hand to his 'groin area' and assured him that his husband was out of town and invited him over. Santos is already being investigated by the district attorney's office in Nassau County, N.Y., which is where his congressional district issue. And authorities in Brazil are also seeking to revive a fraud case against him dating from 2008. A group of Democrats, along with some Republican support, have moved to expel Santos from Congress. Those who voted for Santos in New York's 3rd congressional district have started calling for the lawmaker to resign. Santos was lauded in the GOP after his win in the 2022 midterms as he flipped the district from blue to red and became the first openly gay Republican member elected to the House. Shortly after being elected, however, reports started coming out revealing that Santos lied about much of his resume, including his career accomplishments, educational background and even his supposed Jewish heritage. Launching him into deeper trouble were lies about where money came from that enriched his 2022 campaign, as law enforcement agencies look into the financing of his campaign, his supervising of a pet charity and his work for a company later ensnared in a Ponzi scheme probe. Democrats officially kicked-off an effort last week to expel Santos from the House of Representatives in February, which has happened to only five other lawmakers in the history of the lower chamber. Santos has denied any wrongdoing. Shocking surveillance footage shows the moment a murder suspect ran out of an Oregon courthouse after sheriff's deputies unshackled him. Ed Villalobos, 28, was scheduled to stand trial on February 27 for allegedly stabbing his mother's partner before knifing an unrelated man just two hours later and leading police on a pursuit that lasted hours back in 2021. But when a sheriff's deputy unshackled his wrist and ankle restraints, as required under Oregon's woke laws, he stood up, pushed a chair in and made a run for it, through the hall and past the Staff Only doors. Deputies had left a clear, obvious route of escape, and police only caught up with him after a two-hour long manhunt when someone reported that a man was trying to break into an apartment. Villalobos is now back in custody, and will face additional charges for his attempt to flee. Ed Villalobos, 28, was set to stand trial on February 27 for allegedly stabbing his mother's partner before stabbing an unrelated man just two hours later Shocking security footage from the courtroom shows him making a run for it Security footage from the Washington County Courthouse shows two sheriff's deputies a man and a woman leading Villalobos down a hallway to the first-floor courtroom where his hearing was scheduled. Once inside, the male deputy pats him down and removes his wrist shackles, after which Villalobos takes a seat so the deputy could remove his ankle restraints as well. 'When it comes to removing the restraints, that's what Oregon law requires us to do,' the Washington County Sheriff's Department later said in a statement. But once the sheriff's deputy has unshackled him, Villalobos simply stands up, pushes in a chair behind the table where he and his lawyers would have sat for the trial and sprints out the courtroom. He makes his way through the door as the male sheriff's deputy follows just few feet behind him, with the female officer in tow. As he makes his way into the hallway, Villalobos increases the distance between him and the officers, who are still following him on foot, and seems to jump in front of a woman about to open the door to the outside. Villalobos nearly tackles a man as flees through the Staff Only door, which he slams behind him. A male sheriff's deputy could be seen in the footage unshackling Villalobos' wrists Villalobos then sat down so that the deputy could unshackle his ankle restraints as well, under Oregon law Once the sheriff's deputy was finished, Villalobo stood up, pushed in a chair and ran out the courtroom at the Washington County Courthouse It is unclear when the sheriff's deputies lost track of him, but what followed was a two-hour manhunt through the town of Hillsboro, where police blocked off streets and even used a drone to track down Villalobos' location. KATU reports that someone eventually alerted deputies that someone was trying to get into an apartment in the 300 block of Southeast Fourth Avenue. The owner said nobody was supposed to be inside, but when deputies searched the home they found Villalobos hiding in a closet underneath a blanket. He was then taken back into custody, sheriff's officials say, and a grand jury indicted him on charges related to his escape. Villalobos' trial has now also been postponed to a later date. He is accused of stabbing Artemio Guzman-Olvera, 33, whom his mother was dating, in April 2021 and fleeing the scene in a car. About two hours later, the Oregonian reports, Clackamas County sheriff's deputies working for the city were called to an assault at an apartment complex, where they say Villalobos had stabbed Saul Antonio Ramirez Aguierre, 26. He made his way through the door to the courtroom as the deputies followed him Villalobos managed to gain enough distance between himself and the deputies as he ran The murder suspect nearly tacked an innocent bystander as he made his way through the Staff Only doors to the world outside Aguierre was rushed to the hospital in critical condition in the aftermath, but ultimately survived. About half an hour after the second stabbing, a police officer spotted Villalobos' car and a police chase ensued. At one point, the sheriff's department said, he stopped, got out of the car and ran. But with the help of multiple law enforcement agencies, Villalobos was arrested and jailed. Hundreds of Sydney commuters were evacuated from a busy train after live wires fell onto the track. More than 500 passengers were trapped on the train when it came to an abrupt halt between Revesby and Panania stations in the city's southwest shortly after 3pm on Friday. Passengers were stuck on the train for more than an hour in stifling heat while crews assessed the wire. Rescue workers ripped panels off the train to help passengers exit through the drivers compartment, onto the tracks. Several commuters became agitated while in the train with many complaining the air conditioning had been switched off as temperatures reached 28C. A Sydney train was stopped between Revesby and Panania stations with some 400 passengers stuck on board (pictured, emergency responders at the scene) It's understood some 400 passengers were trapped on the train for about an hour (pictured, commuters on the train) Allow extra travel time due to urgent overhead wiring repairs at Panania. Delay travel if possible or consider using other transport. We'll update you when we have more information. pic.twitter.com/cEENm7Xlg5 T8 Sydney Trains (@T8SydneyTrains) March 10, 2023 Commuters, which included babies and pets were relieved to get off the train after an hour stuck in carriages without any airconditioning. 'I thought we were going to die, we're all a mess,' one woman told Nine News. One man added: Never coming on Sydney Trains again.' Trains on the Macarthur Airport line stopped running between Panania and Glenfield. 'Delays are expected on the East Hills, T8 Airport and South, T2 Inner West and T3 Bankstown lines this afternoon, and customers are advised to delay travel or consider other forms of transport,' a Sydney Trains spokesperson said. 'Crews are currently on site conducting urgent repairs. Sydney Trains apologises for the inconvenience and thanks our customers for their patience.' Rescue workers ripped panels off the halted train to help passengers evacuate through the driver's compartment (pictured, rescue workers at the scene) Limited buses have replaced trains between Revesby and Glenfield for the commute home. NSW Police and NSW Fire and Rescue attended the scene. It comes just two days after Sydney's entire train network was halted for almost two hours due to a communication issue. Several commuters became agitated while in the train with many complaining the air conditioning had been switched off as temperatures reached 28C (pictured, the stopped train) Virginia's attorney general has written to a middle school in the state demanding they stop selecting students for a college preparation program 'based on race, color and national origin'. AG Jason Miyares wrote to Cooper Middle School in McLean after the school sent an email to eighth grade parents asking if they children would benefit from a scheme to help them with college applications. The email, sent around March 1, said the course was only open to black or Hispanic students. Miyares wrote: 'Please cease and desist the illegal conduct of soliciting and selecting applicants to the College Partnership Program based on race, color and national origin. This matter is under investigation by the Office of Civil Rights.' The school then clarified that the course was open to all, and stressed that the website - unlike the email - said only that 'a typical college prep student' was black, Hispanic, Native American or economically disadvantaged. But there was still no mention of white or Asian students on the website, leading to allegations of Fairfax County trying to exclude them by stealth. The equity-fixated board is among the wokest in the United States. It has been open in its desire to boost the number of black and Latino students at its most prestigious school, Thomas Jefferson High, and has been accused of engineering admissions there at the expense of white and Asian students. Jason Miyares, the attorney general for Virginia, on Thursday wrote to Cooper Middle School saying he was concerned about discrimination in their college preparation program, which according to a March 1 email is only open to black, Hispanic or Native Americans The school responded by pointing out that Asians made up 17.4 percent of CPP students in the current year, and white students 8.7 percent. A spokesman for Fairfax County Public Schools - the district in which Cooper Middle School sits - said that 'false and damaging public accusations against Cooper Middle School have been made.' 'Publishing false narratives like this undermine public school efforts to boost U.S. educational achievement,' they said, without clarifying why the erroneous email was sent out. DailyMail.com has contacted the district for further comment. Miyares, however, stood by his complaint - and an Asian whistleblower said the district's long history of woke bias makes it harder to take their denials seriously. 'The Virginia Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, or national origin,' he tweeted. 'It's important that every public school in the Commonwealth follow the law.' The inquiry is just the latest by Miyares into the school district. Since the beginning of the year Fairfax County Public Schools has been under investigation by Miyares for withholding merit awards from students at Thomas Jefferson High School. TJ's, as locals call it, is the United States' top-performing public school, and teachers there claimed they'd held back the merit awards to boost 'equity.' Miyares is also probing whether TJ's discriminated against Asian students with their admission policies. Students were previously-selected for the school on the basis of academic merit. Attempts to change the system to make it more 'equitable' were met with anger from many parents, and a court case is ongoing. Cooper Middle School's latest controversy began when parents of eighth grade students were asked whether their children were considering college, and could benefit from preparation classes. The March 1 email said lessons were only available, however, to black or Hispanic students, as well as those with disabilities, language barriers, economic disadvantages or those who were the first in their family to apply. Lisa Barrow is the principal of Cooper Middle School, which has come under fire over a new program offering college prep to students - except those who are white or Asian Journalist Asra Nomani, who obtained the letter, tweeted: 'In the 20th century, Asian Exclusion Act denied Asians equal opportunities. 'Now @FCPSNews promotes a college prep program with race-based admissions, excluding Asians + whites. Asra Nomani first revealed the letter to parents 'A judge already ruled FCPS violated US Constitution in new anti-Asian admissions.' Nomani noted that the benefits of the program were substantial: Those attending were given academic counseling, access to colleges to experience their teaching, and advice on 'completing college and scholarship applications.' She became an anti-woke activist during her son's time at Thomas Jefferson, during which she saw what she claims were a range of unfair and racist biases directed towards white and Asian students. One father, Glenn Miller, an attorney, told Fairfax Times the scheme was problematic. 'This program excludes children based on race, and it seems to be in direct violation of the school district's own anti-discrimination policy,' he said. Cooper Middle School, pictured, sparked racism accusations after offering a college prep program that excluded white and Asian-American students There are 17,760 black students in Fairfax County Public Schools, representing 10 percent of the total student body. Hispanic students make up 28 percent, with 51,048 people. The school district's anti-discrimination policy states: 'No applicant or employee on the basis of, of race, sex, color, age, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, genetic information, pregnancy status, childbirth or related medical conditions, marital status, veteran status, and disability shall be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under, any education program or activity, as required by law.' Thomas Jefferson was forced into a humiliating apology over its withholding of merit awards, which angry parents said could have been used to boost their children's college applications. Virginia's GOP Governor Glenn Youngkin was sufficiently outraged by the incident to launch a formal probe by state lawyers. Criminal charges against the school could follow. Youngkin swept to a surprise victory in the state in 2021 largely on the back of his opposition to policies such as those on display at Fairfax County schools. Democrat rival Terry McAuliffe is widely believed to have tanked his campaign after telling parents they had no place interfering in what was going on in schools. Another Virginia school board, Loudon County, sparked national outrage with its transgender bathroom policies after a boy in a skirt molested two girls in bathrooms at two separate high schools. 'Equity' is the current woke buzzword, and means seeking equal outcomes for all students, rather than just offering them equal opportunities. Proponents say it helps level the playing field for disadvantaged children who deserve the same chance to succeed as everyone else. Critics say working towards equity rarely lifts those children up, and instead lowers standards overall, to give the artificial impression of improved outcomes. Three teenage boys have been charged after they allegedly went on a wild robbery spree targeting six brothels where workers were threatened with an axe and a knife. An employee was allegedly stabbed in the leg while another alleged victim was struck over the head several times during the rampage across western Sydney and Wollongong last month. Detectives from the NSW State Crime Commands robbery and serious crime squad established Strike Force Generation to investigate four robberies and two attempted robberies. Five of the incidents were allegedly carried out in one single night in the early hours of February 15, police said. Two of the boys allegedly kicked off the crime spree at a business in West Street in Wollongong on February 8 before 2am. An employee was allegedly stabbed in the leg while another victim was allegedly struck over the head several times during the rampage across western Sydney and Wollongong last month (pictured, one of the brothels in Rydalmere targeted by an attempted robbery last month) The teens allegedly threatened a 54-year-old employee with a knife and demanded cash before stabbing the man in the leg and fleeing the premises. Another brothel in Pendle Hill in Sydney's west was hit a week later around 1.30am February 15 where two workers were allegedly threatened with a knife. Two boys allegedly demanded cash while threatening one of the staff with an axe before they took off in a white ute. About 45 minutes later, a 61-year-old employee was allegedly confronted by two teens, one wielding an axe and the other at knife at a business on Alan Street in Fairfield in the city's south-west. They allegedly stole cash and a mobile phone before fleeing in the white ute. A 34-year-old man was allegedly threatened with a knife and an axe at a brothel on Christina Road in Villawood shortly afterwards. A home in Marayong in Sydney's west was raided by police on Thursday morning before two boys aged 16 and 17 were arrested(stock image) He was allegedly struck on the head numerous times before the pair allegedly took off with stolen cash and an electronic tablet. Two more brothels were the target of attempted armed robberies later that morning in Clyde and Rydalmere, police alleged. A home in Marayong in Sydney's west was raided by strike force detectives on Thursday where two boys aged 16 and 17 were arrested. The 17-year-old was charged with eight offences, which included robbery/attempted robbery with an offensive weapon, larceny, and dishonestly obtain financial advantage by deception. The 16-year-old faces similar charges after being stung with nine offences. A third teenage boy, aged 16, was arrested at a home in Kyeemagh in Sydney's south later in the day and was taken to Kogarah Police Station. He was charged with similar offences. All there were refused bail to appear in the childrens courts on Friday. Hyundai E&C CEO Yoon Young-joon, third from left, Korea Development Bank Chairman Kang Seog-hoon, fourth from left, and S-Oil CEO Hussain A. Al-Qahtani, fifth from left, cut rice cakes with participants at a groundbreaking ceremony for Shaheen project in Ulsan, Thursday. Courtesy of Hyundai E&C By Park Jae-hyuk Multiple domestic builders hit the jackpot thanks to S-Oil's 9.26 trillion won ($7 billion) "Shaheen" project aimed at building Korea's largest petrochemical plant in the southeastern port city of Ulsan by 2026, according to industry officials, Friday. Hyundai E&C said in a regulatory filing that it signed a 2.4 trillion won contract with the oil refiner, which is owned by Saudi Arabia's Aramco, to construct a steam cracker and thermal crude-to-chemicals (TC2C) facility. The construction arm of Hyundai Motor Group has led a consortium of local builders to participate in the mega-size project named after Saudi Arabia's national bird. Shaheen means falcon in Arabic. "Our participation in the largest-ever project in the Korean petrochemical industry's history is the result of the recognition of our world-class technical skills in the construction of petrochemical and gas plants, as well as our excellent capabilities in engineering, procurement and construction (EPC)," a Hyundai E&C official said. Hyundai Engineering, a subsidiary of Hyundai E&C, is also participating in the consortium to build the steam cracker and TC2C facility, as well as the construction of an automated warehouse and manufacturing facilities for high-density polyethylene and linear low-density polyethylene. DL E&C, another participant in the consortium, said it signed a 1.4 trillion won contract with S-Oil for the steam cracker and TC2C facility. "We will prove our ability through the nation's largest-ever petrochemical project," a DL E&C official said. "We will make every effort to commercialize TC2C for the first time in the world." Lotte E&C is involved in the construction of the automated warehouse, as well as another project to build 21 tanks to store petrochemical products and materials, including liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), ethylene and propylene. "We will do our best to successfully complete the project," a Lotte E&C official said. The CEOs of Hyundai E&C, DL E&C and Lotte E&C also attended Thursday's groundbreaking ceremony for the Shaheen project, along with senior-level government officials and S-Oil CEO Hussain A. Al-Qahtani, in order to celebrate Aramco's largest-ever investment in Korea. During the groundbreaking ceremony, Aramco CEO Amin H. Nasser told President Yoon Suk Yeol that the Saudi state-run oil giant's board members will visit Ulsan during the weekend to be briefed on the project, according to the presidential office. Aramco also hosted a banquet for its board members at Grand Hyatt Seoul on Thursday evening, inviting Korean ministers and business leaders. According to industry officials, the guests included HD Hyundai President Chung Ki-sun, GS Caltex CEO Hur Sae-hong, Hyosung Vice Chairman Cho Hyun-sang, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong, Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Jin and Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Cho Seung-hwan. The Korea Times asked Aramco Korea whether it can disclose additional itineraries of the board members in Korea, but the company refused to answer. Two police officers have been allegedly assaulted and a man is in custody after a worrying incident during peak hour at one of Australia's busiest train station. NSW Police rushed to Central Station, in Sydney's CBD, just after 4pm on Friday to reports two officers had been injured. A NSW Police spokeswoman confirmed two officers had been hurt in the altercation but said they were still seeking further information. One horrified commuter took a photo of the scene, showing a large part of the station cordoned off. Parts of Central Station was cordoned off after two police officers were allegedly assaulted Police have since confirmed two male transport command officers were patrolling the station and speaking to a woman when they were approached by a man who allegedly attempted to interfere. The man was arrested before he allegedly assaulted two male officers. One officer was treated by paramedics for a shoulder injury while the second suffered facial injuries. They were taken hospital for treatment. The man was taken to Surry Hills Police Station. No charges have yet been laid. Inquiries continue. A West Australian father who won $40m has finally come forward after he remembered he hadn't checked the Powerball ticket in his back pocket. The Swan Valley man bought the ticket from Springs News in Bennett Springs in Perth's north-east just an hour before the draw closed on March 2. The winning ticket holder was announced on Friday when he finally checked his forgotten ticket, a week after he bought it. The discovery ends a week-long wait for the massive Powerball winner to come forward after the dad bought a lucky Slikpik 18 ticket last week. The winner said he bought the ticket on a spur-of-the-moment decision and was floored by his windfall. 'I was in complete disbelief and shock when the retailer explained I had the winning ticket,' he said. 'This has changed our lives.' 'I was in complete disbelief and shock when the retailer explained I had the winning ticket,' the winning ticket holder said. The dad decided to celebrate with his family by enjoying fish and chips for dinner. 'We're a tight family and will share the win together, making sure our kids and grandkids are looked after,' he said. The family plan to travel business class to their next holiday destination. Owner of Springs News, Milan Vuletich, said he was shocked after discovering his store had sold the $40m prize. 'We've had a decent run in selling $1m Division One prizes a few years back, but this $40m news is something special,' Mr Vuletich said. The winning punter became an overnight multi-millionaire after sweeping up the entire Division One jackpot last week. The Swan Valley man bought the ticket from Springs News in Bennett Springs (pictured) in Perth's north east just an hour before draw close on March 2 The dad's close call at almost missing out on the huge windfall is not the only case that has puzzled lottery authorities. Last October it was revealed $22.3million worth of lottery winnings had yet to be claimed across the country. NSW punters held more than $9.5million worth of unclaimed prize money from 11 winnings, while Queenslanders had more than $5.5million from nine major unclaimed windfalls. Western Australian ticket holders from three prizes worth $5.9million remained elusive, and more than $1.2million from two lottery events in Victoria were unclaimed. Ticket holders have been encouraged to look for old lottery tickets by The Lott, which aggregates Australia's official lotteries. Meanwhile, Western Australia has recorded 21 division one lotto winners in 2023, sharing in $74 million in prizes. North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un has been pictured spending some quality father-daughter bonding time... while overseeing a missile launch and threatening to attack South Korea by preparing for war. State media said on Friday that Kim had ordered the military to intensify drills to deter and respond to a 'real war' if necessary, and claimed the live fire demonstration overseen by the leader and his daughter proved the country's capabilities. The country's military fired a short-range ballistic missile off its west coast on Thursday, South Korea's military said, adding it was analysing possibilities the North may have launched multiple missiles simultaneously from the same area. Pictures released by Pyongyang appeared to confirm that multiple missiles were fired. They showed at least six mobile missile systems stationed in a coastal area launching one missile each into the sky, leaving a blazing trail behind them. Kim watched the launch from a bunker along with military officials and his daughter, believed to be named Kim Ju Ae and around 10 years old. North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un (seen sitting at a desk) has been pictured spending some valuable father-daughter bonding time... while overseeing a missile launch and threatening to attack South Korea by preparing for war Kim (centre) watched the launch from a bunker along with military officials and his daughter (left), believed to be named Kim Ju Ae and around 10 years old Pictures released by Pyongyang appeared to confirm that multiple missiles were fired. They showed at least six mobile missile systems stationed on a small island firing launching one missile each into the sky, leaving a blazing trail behind them (pictured) She has appeared at several events tied to his military since first being showcased at a missile test launch in November. Analysts believe the events and elevated descriptions of her in state media are meant to show the world he has no intention to voluntarily surrender his nuclear weapons, which he apparently sees as the strongest guarantee of his survival and the extension of his family's dynastic rule. In the latest images, Kim is sat at a large wooden desk inside the observation post. His daughter is sat on a small chair over his right shoulder, while military officials are all standing, huddled together along a wall to Kim's left as they watch the launches. KCNA (Korean Central News Agency) said a unit trained for 'strike missions' fired a 'powerful volley at the targeted waters' and demonstrated its capability to 'counter an actual war.' '(Kim) stressed that the fire assault sub-units should be strictly prepared for the greatest perfection in carrying out the two strategic missions, that is, first to deter war and second to take the initiative in war, by steadily intensifying various simulated drills for real war ...,' KCNA said. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said his country would step up combined military drills with the United States and enhance joint planning and execution of US extended deterrence against the North's nuclear and missile threats. 'We will build an overwhelming response capability and retaliation posture,' Yoon said at a commissioning ceremony for naval academy graduates in the southeastern city of Changwon, adding that the security situation surrounding the Korean peninsula was 'more serious than ever.' The South's joint chiefs of staff was assessing whether more missiles than the six pictured may have been launched simultaneously. The KCNA report did not specify what types of weapons were involved in Thursday's exercise or how many rockets were fired. Some of the North's newer short-range weapons targeting South Korea include large-sized multiple rocket launchers which experts say blur the boundaries between artillery and ballistic missile systems. The North describes some of its advanced short-range systems as tactical weapons, which implies an intent to arm them with lower-yield battlefield nuclear weapons. Seoul has been seeking to strengthen extended deterrence, the ability of the US military to deter attacks with its nuclear umbrella, amid growing calls within South Korea for the country to develop its own nuclear capability to counter threats. The latest missile launches came as the United States and South Korea were set to kick off large-scale military exercises known as the Freedom Shield drills next week. North Korea has long bristled at the allies' drills as a rehearsal for invasion. Kim's daughter (right) has appeared at several events tied to his military since first being showcased at a missile test launch in November. Analysts believe the events and elevated descriptions of her in state media are meant to show the world he has no intention to voluntarily surrender his nuclear weapons Pictured: Five rockets are launched from mobile missile launchers in an image released by North Korean state media, amid tensions between Pyongyang and South Korea The US has recently sent long-range B-1B and B-52 bombers for several rounds of joint aerial drills with South Korean warplanes. North Korean leader Kim's sister, Kim Yo Jong, said earlier this week any move to shoot down one of its test missiles would be considered a declaration of war and blamed the joint military exercises for growing tensions. Yang Uk, a research fellow and defence expert at Seoul's Asan Institute for Policy Studies, said North Korea has been increasingly claiming that its smaller missiles are nuclear-capable, in apparent threats to South Korea. 'North Korea doesn't appear to have developed miniaturised nuclear warheads to be loaded on cruise or tactical ballistic missiles yet, but it's clear that's where they are headed to,' Yang said. The United States will hold an informal meeting of United Nations Security Council members next week on human rights abuses in North Korea, a move likely to anger Pyongyang and spur opposition from China and Russia. Experts say the North with the wording is communicating a threat to proactively use those weapons during conventional warfare to blunt the stronger conventional forces of South Korea and the US, which keeps about 28,000 troops in South Korea to help deter potential aggression from North Korea. Mr Kim's comments were in line with an escalatory nuclear doctrine the North set into law last year, which authorises preemptive nuclear strikes in situations where it may perceive its leadership as under threat, including conventional clashes. Coming off a record year in missile testing, North Korea has conducted additional weapons demonstrations in 2023. Experts say North Korea with its heightened testing activity and threats is trying to claim a dual ability to conduct nuclear strikes against South Korea and the US mainland. Mr Kim's campaign is aimed at forcing the US into accepting the North as a nuclear power and negotiating badly needed economic concessions from a position of strength, analysts say. Diplomacy between the US and North Korea has stalled since 2019. The South Korean and US militaries will conduct computer-simulated command post training from March 13-23 and will resume their largest springtime field exercises, which were last held in 2018. This photo provided by the North Korean government shows what it says is an artillery drill at an undisclosed location in North Korea, Thursday, March 9 Pictured: Six missile arc into the skies over North Korea in a drill said to be on March 9 The allies' regular drills were cancelled or scaled back to support diplomacy or because of the Covid pandemic but they renewed them after the diplomacy collapsed and North Korea's threats and weapons testing escalated. On Tuesday, Kim Yo Jong, the North Korean leader's powerful sister and one of Pyongyang's top foreign policy officials, said her country is ready if necessary to take "quick, overwhelming action" in the face of the allies' expanded drills. In previous statements, she threatened to turn the Pacific into North Korea's firing range and repeatedly implied that the North might test-fire an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) toward those waters on a standard ballistic trajectory, which would be seen as one of its most provocative weapons demonstrations yet. All of North Korea's ICBM tests since 2017 have been conducted on a high angle to avoid the territories of neighbours. Some schools have closed across the UK this week as an Arctic blast hits the country and Storm Larisa sweeps in, with more snow and ice on the way today. The Met Office has issued amber warnings for northern England, the Midlands, North Wales and Northern Ireland, where 'significant disruption' is expected. Four yellow warnings for snow also cover much of the rest of the nation, with the exception of South East England and western Scotland. The wintry weather has resulted in schools shutting their doors with children set to work remotely instead. Check here if your child's school is closed today. A car drives through the heavy snowfall in Lanchester, County Durham, this morning BUCKINGHAMSHIRE Bedgrove Junior School Click here for all closures. CAMBRIDGESHIRE Any school closures will be communicated to parents via their school or college. More information can be found here. CENTRAL BEDFORDSHIRE No closures reported. For more information click here. CORNWALL No closures reported. For more information click here. CUMBRIA Kirkby Stephen Grammar School Sedbergh Primary School Settlebeck School For more information click here. DERBYSHIRE Ambergate Primary School Anthony Gell School Belper School and Sixth Form Centre Brackenfield SEND School Corfield CofE Infant School Dove Holes CE Primary School Dronfield Infant School Eckington Camms CE Primary School Fairfield Infant and Nursery School Flagg Nursery School Flagg Nursery School Furness Vale Primary & Nursery School Glossopdale School & Sixth Form Glossopdale School & Sixth Form Holmesdale Infant School Hunloke Park Primary Immaculate Conception Catholic Primary School Killamarsh Junior School Killamarsh St Giles CE Primary School Lons Infant School New Bolsover Primary School Northfield Junior Schhol Osmaston CE Primary School Park House Primary School Parwich Primary School Peak Dale Primary School Penny Acres Primary School Pinxton Nursery School Renishaw Primary School Ripley Infant Schoo Ripley St. Johns CE Primary School and Nursery Scarcliffe Primary School South Darley C.E. Primary School South Derbyshire Support Centre Speedwell Infant School Stonebroom Primary & Nursery School Swanwick Primary School Taddington & Priestcliffe Primary School The Brigg Infant school Tibshelf Infant School Town End Junior School Unstone Junior School Unstone St Marys Nursery & Infant School Whaley Bridge Primary School Whitwell Primary School Wigley Primary School Youlgrave All Saints Primary School For more information click here. DEVON No school closures today. More information is here. DORSET No school closures today. See here for more updates. DURHAM Aclet Close Nursery School For more information click here. EAST RIDING OF YORKSHIRE Sledmere and Wetwang Primary Schools For more information click here. EAST SUSSEX No school closures today. See here for more updates. ESSEX No school closures today. See here for more updates. GLOUCESTERSHIRE Blockley C of E Primary School Steam Mills Primary School For more information click here. HAMPSHIRE No school closures today. See here for more updates. HEREFORDSHIRE Bredenbury Primary School Brockhampton Primary School Clifford Primary School Kimbolton St James' CE Primary School Kington Primary School Leintwardine Endowed Primary School Michaelchurch Escley Primary School Pencombe CE Primary School Peterchurch Primary School St Peter's Primary School Stoke Prior Primary School Wellington Primary School Wigmore School Primary Earl Mortimer College and Sixth Form Centre Fairfield High School Kingstone High School Lady Hawkins High School Queen Elizabeth High School Wigmore School St David's Centre Westfield School For more information click here. HERTFORDSHIRE Parents are advised to check their child's school or academy website directly for school closures. More information can be found here. KENT No school closures today. See here for more updates. LANCASHIRE Barden Primary School Blessed Trinity Roman Catholic College, a Voluntary Academy Burnley Brunshaw Primary School Burnley Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School Burnley Lowerhouse Junior School Burnley Springfield Community Primary School Burnley St James' Lanehead Church of England Primary School Burnley St Peter's Church of England Primary School Burnley St Stephen's Church of England Primary School Burnley Stoneyholme Community Primary School Burnley Whittlefield Primary School Casterton Primary Academy Cherry Fold Community Primary School Christ the King Roman Catholic Primary School Coal Clough Academy Holly Grove School Ightenhill Nursery School Padiham Green Church of England Primary School Reedley Hallows Nursery School Ridgewood Community High School Rosegrove Infant School Rosewood Primary School Shuttleworth College Sir John Thursby Community College St Augustine of Cantebury Roman Catholic Primary School St John the Baptist Roman Catholic Primary School. Padiham St John's Church of England Primary School, Cliviger St Mary Magdalene's Roman Catholic Primary School The Heights Burnley The Rose School Unity College Wellfield Methodist and Anglican Church School Worsthorne Primary School Accrington Green Haworth Church of England Primary School Accrington Hyndburn Park Primary School Accrington Lee Royd Nursery School Accrington Spring Hill Primary School Accrington St Anne's and St Joseph's RC Primary School Accrington St Christopher's Church of England High School Accrington St John with St Augustine CofE Primary School Accrington St Peter's Church of England Primary School Accrington Woodnook Primary School Broadfield Specialist School For Sen (Cognition and Learning) Church. St Nicholas Church of England Primary School Clayton Le Moors All Saints Primary School Clitheroe Royal Grammar School Fairfield Nursery School Mount Carmel Roman Catholic High School Oswaldtwistle Hippings Methodist Primary School Oswaldtwistle Moor End Community Primary School Oswaldtwistle St Andrew's Church of England Primary School Oswaldtwistle St Paul's Church of England Primary School Ribblesdale Nursery School Rishton Methodist School Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Primary School. Church St Charles' Roman Catholic Primary School. Rishton St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School. Hurst Green St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School. Oswaldtwistle St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School. Sabden St Oswald's Roman Catholic Primary School. Accrington St Wulstan's Roman Catholic Primary School. Great Harwood The Hollins The Hyndburn Academy Barnoldswick Coates Lane Primary School Barnoldswick CofE Voluntary Controlled Primary School Barrowford School Barrowford St Thomas Church of England Primary School Bradley Nursery School Bradley Primary School Castercliff Primary School Colne Christ Church Church of England Primary School Colne Primet Primary School Earby Springfield Primary School Foulridge Saint Michael and All Angels CofE Va Primary School Higham St John's Church of England Primary School Holy Saviour Roman Catholic Primary School. Nelson Kelbrook Primary School Lomeshaye Junior School Lord Street Primary School, Colne Marsden Community Primary School Marsden Heights Community College Nelson Mcmillan Nursery School Nelson St Paul's Church of England Primary School Nelson St Philip's Church of England Primary School Nelson Walverden Primary School Nelson Whitefield Infant School and Nursery Unit Pendle Community High School and College Pendle Primary Academy Pendle Vale College Pendle View Primary School Reedley Primary School Salterforth Primary School St John Southworth Roman Catholic Primary School. Nelson St Joseph's Catholic Primary School. Barnoldswick Trawden Forest Primary School Walton Lane Nursery School West Street Community Primary School Wheatley Lane Methodist Voluntary Aided Primary School Alder Grange School All Saints' Roman Catholic High School Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School Bacup Britannia Community Primary School Bacup Holy Trinity Stacksteads Church of England Primary School Bacup Nursery School Bacup St Saviour's Community Primary School Crawshawbooth Primary School Haslingden High School and Sixth Form Haslingden Hillside Nursery School Haslingden Primary School Helmshore Primary School Newchurch St Nicholas Church of England Primary School Northern Primary School St John with St Michael Church of England Primary School St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School. Stacksteads. Bacup St Mary's Rawtenstall Church of England Primary School St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School and Nursery St Paul's Church of England Primary School, Rawtenstall St Peter's Roman Catholic Primary School. Newchurch Stubbins Primary School Water Primary School Waterfoot Primary School Whitworth Community High School For more information click here. LEICESTER Abbey Mead Primary Academy Alderman Richard Primary School Al-Aqsa School Al-Islamia Institute for Education Ash Field School Avanti Fields School Babington Academy Barley Croft Primary School Beaumont Leys School Belgrave St Peter's C of E Primary School Braunstone Frith Primary School Bridge Junior School Brook Mead Academy Buswells Lodge Primary School Castle Mead Academy Catherine Infant School Catherine Junior School Charnwood Primary School Christ the King Catholic Primary School Coleman Primary School Crown Hill Community College Ellesmere College English Martyrs Catholic School Evington Valley Primary School Eyres Monsell Primary School Falcons Primary School Fosse Primary School Fullhurst Community College Glebelands Primary School Green Lane Infant School Heatherbrook Primary Academy Highfields Primary School Imperial Avenue Infant School Inglehurst Infant School Inglehurst Junior School Kestrel Mead Primary School Knight Mead Primary Academy Krishna Avanti Primary School Lancaster Academy Leicester City Primary PRU Leicester Partnership School Linden Primary School Marriott Primary School Mayflower Primary School Mellor Community Primary School Merrydale Infant School Merrydate Junior School Moat Community College Nether Hall School New College Leicester North Mead Primary Academy Oaklands School Orchard Mead Academy Pindar Nursery Rolleston Primary School Rushey Mead Academy Rushey Mead Primary School Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy Saint Patrick's Catholic Voluntary Academy Scraptoft Valley Primary School Shenton Primary School Sir Jonathan North Girls' College Soar Valley College Sparkenhoe Community Primary School Spinney Hill Primary School St Barnabas C of E Primary School St John the Baptist CoE Primary School St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy St Mary's Fields Primary School St Paul's Catholic School St Thomas Moore Catholic Voluntary Academy Taylor Road Primary School The City of Leicester College The Children's Hospital School Tudor Grange Samworth Academy Uplands Infant School West Gate School Whitehall Primary School Willowbrook Mead Primary School Wolsey House Primary School Woodstock Primary Academy Wyvern Primary School For more information and updates click here. LINCOLNSHIRE No school closures today. For updates click here. LONDON Check for updates by visiting the relevant council website. Barking and Dagenham Beam Primary ELUTEC Barnet Bexley Brent Bromley Camden City of London Croydon Ealing Enfield Greenwich Hackney Hammersmith & Fulham Haringey Harrow Havering Hillingdon Hounslow Islington Kensington & Chelsea Kingston upon Thames Lambeth Lewisham Merton Newham Redbridge Richmond upon Thames Southwark Sutton Tower Hamlets Waltham Forest Wandsworth Westminster NOTTINGHAMSHIRE Parents are advised to check their child's school or academy website directly for school closures. For more information click here. NORFOLK No school closures today. For updates click here. NORTHAMPTONSHIRE Parents are advised to check the school or academy's website for school closures. For more information click here. NORTHUMBERLAND No school closures today. For updates click here. NORTH YORKSHIRE Settle College is closed due to an issue with the fire alarm. Parents are advised to check the school or academy's website for school closures. More information can be found here. OXFORDSHIRE Hardwick Primary School For more information click here. SHETLAND ISLANDS Parents are advised to check the school or academy's website for school closures. More information can be found here. SURREY Parents are advised to check the school or academy's website for school closures. More information can be found here. SOMERSET No school closures today. For updates click here. SHROPSHIRE Adderley Primary School Albrighton Primary Alveley Primary School Barrow (Free School) Baschurch Primary Beckbury Primary School Belvidere Primary, Shrewsbury Bicton Primary School Bishop Hooper, Ashford Carbonell Bishop's Castle Primary Bitterley Primary School Brockton School Broseley Primary Brown Clee, Ditton Priors Bryn Offa, Pant Buntingsdale Primary, Market Drayton Burford Primary School Castlefields, Bridgnorth Cheswardine Primary School Chirbury Primary School Christ Church, Cressage Church Preen Claverley Primary School Clee Hill Community Academy Cleobury Mortimer Primary Clunbury Cockshutt Coleham, Shrewsbury Condover Corvedale, Diddlebury Criftins Crowmoor, Shrewsbury Ellesmere Primary Farlow Gobowen Grange Primary (Academy) Greenacres, Shrewsbury Greenfields, Shrewsbury Harlescott Junior, Shrewsbury Highley Hinstock Holy Trinity, Oswestry John Wilkinson, Broseley Kinlet Kinnerley Long Mountain CE Primary School Longden Longlands, Market Drayton Longnor Lower Heath Ludlow Primary School Lydbury North Martin Wilson, Shrewsbury Meadows, Oswestry Meole Brace Primary, Shrewsbury Mereside Primary, Shrewsbury Minsterley CE Primary School Morda, Oswestry Moreton Say Morville Mount Pleasant Primary, Shrewsbury Much Wenlock Primary Myddle Newcastle CE Primary School Newtown Norbury Norton-in-Hales Oakmeadow, Bayston Hill Onny, Onibury Our Lady & St Oswald's Catholic Primary, Oswestry Oxon, Shrewsbury Pontesbury Radbrook, Shrewsbury Rushbury Selattyn Sheriffhales Shifnal Primary Shrewsbury Cathedral Catholic Primary St Andrew's Primary, Shifnal St Andrew's, Nesscliffe St Edwards CE - Dorrington St George's Junior, Shrewsbury St George's, Clun St Giles', Shrewsbury St John's Catholic, Bridgnorth St Laurence, Ludlow St Lawrence Primary, Church Stretton St Leonard's, Bridgnorth St Lucia's, Upton Magna St Martin's, Oswestry St Mary's Bluecoat, Bridgnorth St Mary's Primary, Shawbury St Mary's, Albrighton St Mary's, Bucknell St Thomas & St Anne's, Hanwood Stiperstones Stoke-on-Tern Stokesay, Craven Arms Stottesdon Sundorne Infant, Shrewsbury Tilstock TMBSS - Harlescott Education Centre TMBSS - Monkmoor Education Centre Trefonen Trinity, Ford Welshampton West Felton Weston Lullingfields Weston Rhyn Whitchurch Infant Whitchurch Junior Whittington Wilfred Owen, Shrewsbury Wistanstow Woodfield Infant, Shrewsbury Woodside, Oswestry (Academy) Woore Worfield Belvidere, Shrewsbury Bridgnorth Endowed (Academy) Church Stretton (Academy) Community College, Bishops Castle Corbet, Baschurch (Academy) Grove, Market Drayton Idsall, Shifnal Lacon Childe, Cleobury Mortimer Lakelands, Ellesmere (Academy) Ludlow CE Marches, Oswestry (Academy) Mary Webb, Pontesbury Meole Brace, Shrewsbury Oldbury Wells, Bridgnorth Priory, Shrewsbury (Academy) Shrewsbury Academy Sir John Talbot's, Whitchurch St Martin's, Oswestry Thomas Adams, Wem TMBSS - Bridgnorth Education Centre TMBSS - Hook A Gate TMBSS - Ludlow Education Centre TMBSS - Oswestry Education Centre TMBSS - Sundorne Education Centre William Brookes, Much Wenlock (Academy) Keystone Academy, Shrewsbury Severndale Specialist Academy Woodlands, Wem More information can be found here. STAFFORDSHIRE Erasmus Darwin Academy, Burntwood Staffordshire University Academy All Saints CE (A) First School All Saints CE Primary School, Trysull Alleyne's Academy Alsagers Bank Primary Academy Beresford Memorial CE(A) First School Biddulph High School Blackfriars Academy, Newcastle Blackshaw Moor CofE First School Blythe Bridge High School and Sixth Form Bridgtown Primary School C.E.D.A.R.S. Newcastle & Moorlands Cardinal Griffin Catholic College Castle Primary School, Mow Cop Chadsmoor CE(VC) Junior School Chadsmoor Community Infant and Nursery School Chase Terrace Academy Chase View Community Primary School Chaselea PRU Churnet View Middle School Cicely Haughton School Coppice Academy Endon Hall Primary School Endon High School Five Ways Primary School Fulford Primary School Greysbrooke Primary School Hazel Slade Primary Academy Hednesford Nursery School Hednesford Valley High School Hollinsclough CE Academy Horton Lodge Community Special School Horton St Michael's CofE First School Hugo Meynell CE(VC) Primary School, Loggerheads Ilam CE(VA) Primary School James Bateman Middle School Jerome Community Primary School Kingsfield First School Knypersley First School Leek First School Loxley Hall School Madeley High School Merryfields Special School Moor First School Moorhill Primary School Moorside High School Norton Canes High School Oxhey First School Queen's Croft High School Ravensmead Primary School Redhill Primary School Rushton CofE First School Sherbrook Primary School, Cannock Springfield School Squirrel Hayes First School, Biddulph St. Anne's CE(VC) Primary School, Brown Edge St. Bartholomew's CE(VC) Primary School, Longnor St. Benedict Biscop CofE Primary School, Wombourne St. Edward's Cof E Academy, Leek St. Edward's CofE Academy, Cheddleton St. Leonard's CE(VA) First School St. Peter's CE Primary Academy, Stonnall The Cheadle Academy The Meadows Special School Walton Hall Academy Waterhouses CofE Primary Academy Werrington Primary School West Hill Primary Westwood College Wightwick Hall School Woodcroft Academy For more information and updates click here. SUFFOLK No school closures today. For updates click here. WARWICKSHIRE High Meadow Communtiy School Bilton Infant School Stockingford Maintained Nursery School Nicholas Chamberlaine School Wheelwright Lane Primary School The Canons CE Primary School St Edward's The Nethersole CE Academy Newdigate Primary School and Nursery St Andrews Benn C of E Primary School Brownsover Community School St James C of E Academy St Paul's C of E Primary School St Matthews Bloxam C of E Primary Atherstone Nursery School Bournebrook C of E Primary Bedworth Heath Nursery School Northlands Primary School Arden Forest Infant School Aylesford School Warwick Wood End Dordon Primary For more information and updates click here. WEST SUSSEX No school closures today. For updates click here. WILTSHIRE Parents are advised to check the school or academy's website for school closures. More information can be found here. WORCESTERSHIRE Abberley Parochial Primary School Abbeywood First School Arrow Vale RSA Academy Arrow Valley First School Astwood Bank Primary School Batchley First School Baxter College Bayton CE Primary School Beaconside Primary & Nursery School Birchen Coppice Academy Birchensale Middle School Chadsgrove School & Specialist Sports College Church Hill Middle School Clent Parochial Primary School Crabbs Cross Academy Far Forest Lea Memorial CE Primary Academy & Nursery Great Witley CE Primary School Hagley Catholic High School Hagley Primary School Holyoakes Field First School Holywell Primary & Nursery School Ipsley CE RSA Academy Lickey Hills Primary School Lindridge St Lawrence's CE Primary School Matchborough First School Academy Meadow Green Primary School Moon's Moat First School Oak Hill First School Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic First School Ridgeway Secondary School Rigby Hall School St Augustine's Catholic High School & Sixth Form St Bede's Catholic Middle School St Georges CE First School, Redditch St James' CE Primary School, West Malvern St Kenelm's CE Primary School St Luke's CE First School St Oswald's CE Primary School St Peter's Catholic First School, Bromsgrove St Stephens CE RSA Academy St Thomas More Catholic First School Tenacres First School Tenbury High Ormiston Academy The Chantry School The Forge Secondary PRU The Kingfisher School The Vaynor First School Trinity High School & Sixth Form Centre Walkwood CE Middle School Waseley Hills High School Webheath First School Academy Woodfield Academy Woodrow First School Woodrush High School More information can be found here. WALES BLAENAU GWENT No school closures today. For updates click here. BRIDGEND Pencoed Primary (Inset day) For updates and more information click here. CAERPHILLY St James Primary For updates and more information click here. CARDIFF No school closures today. For updates click here. CARMATHENSHIRE No school closures today. For updates click here. CEREDIGION Parents are advised to check the school or academy's website for school closures. More information can be found here. CONWY Canolfan Addysg Penmaenrhos Education Centre Canolfan Addysg Penrhos Avenue Education Centre Canolfan Addysg y Ddraig Goch Education Centre Ysgol Aberconwy Ysgol Awel y Mynydd Ysgol Babanod Llanfairfechan Ysgol Bendigaid William Davies Ysgol Betws y Coed Ysgol Betws yn Rhos Ysgol Bod Alaw Ysgol Bodafon Ysgol Bro Aled Ysgol Bro Cernyw Ysgol Bro Gwydir Ysgol Bryn Elian Ysgol Capel Garmon Ysgol Capelulo Ysgol Cynfran Ysgol Dolwyddelan Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy Ysgol Dyffryn yr Enfys Ysgol Eglwysbach Ysgol Eirias Ysgol Emrys ap Iwan Ysgol Glan Conwy Ysgol Glan Morfa Ysgol Glanwydden Ysgol Gymunedol Cerrigydrudion Ysgol Hen Golwyn Ysgol John Bright Ysgol Llanddoged Ysgol Llangelynnin Ysgol Maes Owen Ysgol Morfa Rhianedd Ysgol Nant y Groes Ysgol Pant y Rhedyn Ysgol Pen y Bryn Ysgol Pencae Ysgol Penmachno Ysgol Pentrefoelas Ysgol Porth y Felin Ysgol Swn y Don Ysgol T Gwynn Jones Ysgol Talhaiarn Ysgol y Creuddyn Ysgol Y Foryd Ysgol y Gogarth Ysgol Y Plas Ysgol Ysbyty Ifan For updates click here. DENBIGHSHIRE Ysgol Y Faenol Ysgol Emmanuel St Asaph VP Ysgol Esgob Morgan Ysgol Bryn Hedydd Ysgol Y Parc Ysgol Llywelyn Ysgol Carreg Emlyn Ysgol y Castell Ysgol Pant Pastynog Ysgol Penmorfa Ysgol Pentrecelyn Rhos Street School Christchurch School Ysgol Bodfari Ysgol Tremeirchion Ysgol Borthyn Ysgol Carrog Ysgol Caer Drewyn Ysgol Clawdd Offa Ysgol Melyd Ysgol Bryn Clwyd Ysgol Gellifor St. Brigid's School Ysgol Henllan Ysgol Twm o'r Nant Ysgol Y Llys Ysgol Llanbedr Ysgol Trefnant Ysgol Pen Barras Ysgol Bro Dyfrdwy Ysgol Cefn Meiriadog Ysgol Betws Gwerfil Goch Ysgol Bro Elwern Ysgol Bro Famau Ysgol Bro Cinmeirch Ysgol Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd Ysgol Dewi Sant Ysgol Hiraddug Ysgol Pendref Bodnant Community School Ysgol Frongoch Junior Ysgol Dyffryn Ial Ysgol Gymraeg y Gwernant Ysgol Bryn Collen Ysgol Plas Cefndy Stepping Stones South Ysgol Plas Cefndy including Stepping Stones North Ysgol Plas Cefndy (Milestones Unit) Ysgol Tir Morfa Ysgol Plas Brondyffryn Rhyl High School Ysgol Brynhyfryd St. Brigid's School Ysgol Glan Clwyd Denbigh High School Prestatyn High School Ysgol Dinas Bran Christ the Word Catholic School For updates click here. FLINTSHIRE Buckley, Westwood Community Primary School Alun School Ysgol Treffynnon Hope, Castell Alun High School Connahs Quay High School Broughton Primary School Flint, St Richard Gwyn Catholic High School Holywell, Ysgol Gwenffrwd Greenfield, Ysgol Maesglas Hawarden High School Shotton, St. Ethelwolds Church in Wales Voluntary Aided School Connahs Quay, Ysgol Cae'r Nant Mynydd Isa, Ysgol Mynydd Isa Buckley, Elfed High School Bryn Tirion (Plas Derwen) Shotton, Venerable Edward Morgan Catholic Primary Brynford, Ysgol Brynffordd Holywell, Ysgol Maes y Felin Rhosesmor, Ysgol Rhos Helyg Higher Kinnerton, Derwen Foundation Primary School Hawarden, Penarlag Primary School Abermorddu C.P. School Bagillt, Ysgol Glan Aber Bagillt, Ysgol Merllyn Buckley, Mountain Lane Primary School Buckley, Southdown Primary School Caerwys, Ysgol yr Esgob CW Voluntary Aided School Carmel, Ysgol Bro Carmel Cilcain, Ysgol y Foel Connahs Quay, Bryn Deva Connahs Quay, Golftyn Community Primary School Connahs Quay, Wepre Primary School Drury Primary School Ewloe Green C.P. School Flint High School Flint, Cornist Park School Flint, Gwynedd Primary School Flint, St Marys Catholic Primary School Flint, Ysgol Croes Atti Ysgol Maes Hyfryd Ysgol Pen Coch Gronant, Ysgol Gronant Gwernaffield, Ysgol y Waun Gwernymynydd C.P. School Gwespyr Picton, Ysgol Mornant Hawarden Village Church School Holywell, Perth y Terfyn Holywell, St Winefrides Catholic Primary School Holywell, Ysgol y Fron Hope, Ysgol Estyn Leeswood, Ysgol Derwenfa Lixwm Primary School Mold, Bryn Gwalia Mold, St Davids Catholic Primary School Mold, Ysgol Bryn Coch Mold, Ysgol Gymraeg Glanrafon Ysgol Maes Garmon Mostyn, Ysgol Bryn Pennant Nannerch V.C. Primary School Nercwys, St. Marys Nercwys Church in Wales Northop Hall C.P. School Northop, Ysgol Owen Jones St John the Baptist Church in Wales Voluntary Aided School Penyffordd, Ysgol Bryn Garth Penyffordd, Ysgol Penyffordd Queensferry Primary School Saltney Ferry C.P. School Saltney, Wood Memorial C.P. School Saltney, St Anthonys Catholic Primary School St Davids High School Sandycroft C.P. School Sealand C.P. School Shotton, Ysgol Croes Atti (Satellite) Shotton, Ysgol Ty Ffynnon Sychdyn Primary School Trelawnyd, Voluntary Aided Church in Wales Primary School Trelogan, Ysgol Trelogan Treuddyn, Ysgol Parc y Llan Treuddyn, Ysgol Terrig Whitford, Ysgol y Llan Church in Wales Voluntary Aided Primary School Argoed High School Hawarden, Penarlag Primary School For more information and updates click here. GWYNEDD Ysgol Friars Uchaf Ysgol Hafod Lon Ysgol Rhosgadfan Ysgol Y Gelli Ysgol Santes Helen Ysgol Baladeulyn Ysgol Yr Hendre Ysgol Llanllechid Ysgol Brynaerau Ysgol Cefn Coch Ysgol Maesincla Ysgol Nebo Ysgol Llandwrog Ysgol Felinwnda Ysgol Y Moelwyn Ysgol Dyffryn Nantlle Ysgol Pennal Ysgol Corris Ysgol Y Garnedd Ysgol Ardudwy Ysgol Talysarn Ysgol Pendalar Ysgol Glancegin Ysgol Llanllyfni Ysgol Llandygai Ysgol Penisarwaen Ysgol Ffridd y Llyn Ysgol Cae Top Ysgol Llanrug Ysgol Hirael Ysgol Bontnewydd Ysgol Tregarth Ysgol Bodfeurig Ysgol Y Garreg Ysgol Y Faenol Ysgol Rhostryfan Ysgol O. M. Edwards Ysgol Waunfawr Ysgol Bro Llifon Ysgol Tryfan Ysgol Syr Hugh Owen Ysgol Godre'r Berwyn Ysgol Dolbadarn Ysgol Bro Hedd Wyn Ysgol Bro Tryweryn Ysgol Tanygrisiau Ysgol Bro Lleu Ysgol Bro Idris - Safle Rhydymain Ysgol Maenofferen Ysgol Bro Idris - Safle Friog Ysgol Bro Idris - Safle Llanelltyd Ysgol Brynrefail Ysgol Y Felinheli Ysgol Bro Idris - Safle Cynradd Dolgellau Ysgol Penybryn Ysgol Bro Idris - Safle Uwchradd Ysgol Dyffryn Ogwen Ysgol Babanod Abercaseg Ysgol Rhiwlas For more information and updates click here. ISLE OF ANGLESEY No school closures today. For more information and updates click here. MERTHYR TYDFIL No school closures today. For more information and updates click here. MONMOUTHSHIRE Cross Ash Primary in Abergavenny For more information click here. NEATH PORT TALBOT No school closures today. For more information and updates click here. NEWPORT Parents are advised to check the school or academy's website for school closures. More information can be found here. PEMBROKESHIRE Haverfordwest High VC School is closed due to the sprinkler system not working. For more information click here. POWYS Llanidloes High School Newtown High School - John Beddoes Campus Newtown High School - Newtown Campus Welshpool High School Ysgol Bro Caereinion - Secondary Campus Ysgol Calon Cymru - Builth Campus Ysgol Calon Cymru - Llandrindod Campus Ysgol Llanfyllin - Secondary Campus Abermule C.P. School Arddleen C.P. School Berriew C.P. School Brynhafren C.P. School Buttington/Trewern C.P. School Caersws C.P. School Carreghofa C.P. School Forden C. in W. School Gladestry C. in W. School Guilsfield C.P. School Irfon Valley C.P. School Knighton C. in W. School Leighton C.P. School Llanbister C.P. School Llandinam C.P. School Llandysilio C. in W. School Llanfechain C. in W. School Llanfihangel Rhydithon C.P. School Llangedwyn C. in W. School Llanidloes C.P. School Llanrhaeadr ym Mochnant C.P. School Llansantffraid C. in W. School Maesyrhandir C.P. School Montgomery C. in W. School Newbridge-on-Wye C. in W School Penygloddfa C.P. School Presteigne C.P. School Radnor Valley C.P. School Rhayader C. in W. School St. Mary's Catholic Primary School St. Michael's C. in W. School Treowen C.P. School Welshpool CinW Primary School Ysgol Bro Caereinion - Primary Campus Ysgol Bro Cynllaith Ysgol Calon y Dderwen Ysgol Cwm Banwy Ysgol Dafydd Llwyd Ysgol Dolafon Ysgol Dyffryn Trannon Ysgol Glantwymyn Ysgol Gymraeg y Trallwng Ysgol Gynradd Carno Ysgol Llanbrynmair Ysgol Llanfyllin - Primary Campus Ysgol Meifod Ysgol Pennant Ysgol Pontrobert Ysgol Rhiw Bechan Brynllywarch Hall School Pupil Referral Unit - Mid/South Powys Pupil Referral Unit - North Powys Ysgol Cedewain For more information and updates click here. RHONDDA CYNON TAF Parents are advised to check the school or academy's website for school closures. More information can be found here. SWANSEA No school closures today. More information can be found here. TORFAEN No school closures today. More information can be found here. VALE OF GLAMORGAN Parents are advised to check the school or academy's website for school closures. More information can be found here. WREXHAM Acton Park Primary School Alexandra School All Saints' Church in Wales Voluntary Aided School Barkers Lane School Black Lane CP School Borderbrook Aided Voluntary Controlled School Borras Park CP School Bronington Church in Wales Voluntary Aided School Brynteg CP Eyton Church in Wales Voluntary Controlled Primary School Froncysyllte CP Garth CP Gwenfro Primary School Gwersyllt CP Hafod y Wern Primary School Holt CP Penygelli CP Rhosddu School Rhosnesni High School Rhosymedre Primary School St Anne's Catholic Primary School St Chad's Church in Wales Voluntary Aided School St Joseph's Catholic and Anglican High School St Mary's Catholic Primary School St Mary's Church in Wales Voluntary Aided School, Overton St Mary's Church in Wales Voluntary Aided School, Ruabon St Mary's School Church in Wales Voluntary Aided School, Brymbo St Paul's Church in Wales Voluntary Aided School St Peter's Church in Wales Primary School St. Giles' Church in Wales Voluntary Controlled Primary School The Rofft School Victoria CP School Wat's Dyke CP School Ysgol Acrefair Ysgol Bodhyfryd Ysgol Bro Alun Ysgol Bryn Alyn Ysgol Bryn Tabor Ysgol Bwlchgwyn CP Ysgol Cae'r Gwenyn Ysgol Cefn Mawr Ysgol Clywedog Ysgol Cynddelw Ysgol Deiniol Ysgol Heulfan Ysgol I.D. Hooson Ysgol Llan-y-pwll Ysgol Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog Ysgol Maes y Llan Ysgol Maes y Mynydd Ysgol Min y Ddol Ysgol Morgan Llwyd Ysgol Penrhyn Ysgol Plas Coch CP Ysgol Rhiwabon Ysgol Rhostyllen Ysgol Sant Dunawd Ysgol St Christopher's School Ysgol Tanyfron Ysgol Y Grango Ysgol Yr Hafod More information and updates can be found here. An eight-year-old girl who had been missing since 2018 when she was kidnapped from a Washington shopping mall has been found safe and well in Mexico and returned to the US. Aranza Maria Ochoa Lopez was abducted by her biological mother on October 25, 2018, in Vancouver, Washington, according to the FBI, who announced her return Wednesday. Lopez had a supervised visit with her mother, Esmeralda Lopez-Lopez, on the day that she disappeared, the FBI confirmed to CBS News. She was safely recovered by Mexican authorities in February in Michoacan, a state in western Mexico. FBI special agents took Lopez back to the US after she was found. Officials have yet to reveal further details on her discovery, including how she was tracked down and who the child was with when she was found. Aranza Maria Ochoa Lopez was kidnapped by her biological mother on October 25, 2018, at a shopping mall in Vancouver, Washington, according to the FBI The FBI had offered a $10,000 reward for information that might help them with the search After the kidnap, the FBI determined that the eight-year-old was taken to Mexico. Her mother was taken into custody in September, 2019 in Puebla, a city in east-central Mexico, as the search for the girl continued. The girl's mother, Esmeralda Lopez-Lopez, was taken into custody in September, 2019 in Puebla, a city in east-central Mexico, as the search for the girl continued She pleaded guilty in 2021 to second-degree kidnapping, robbery and first-degree custodial interference, according to local newspaper The Columbian. Richard A. Collodi, special agent in charge of the FBI's Seattle field office, said that law enforcement never gave up on finding Lopez. 'For more than four years, the FBI and our partners did not give up on Aranza,' Collodi said. 'Our concern now will be supporting Aranza as she begins her reintegration into the US.' The FBI had offered a $10,000 reward for information that might help them with the search. They worked with the Vancouver Police Department in Washington and law enforcement in Mexico on the investigation. The majority of abducted children are taken by family members, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Only 1 per cent of missing children cases are abductions by non-family members, according to the center's data. Chinese officials want to bring in lockdowns to combat the flu, leaving many furious about a prospect of returning to the strict restrictions seen during the Covid-19 outbreak. The city of Xi'an, in Shaanxi Province in central China, said it may enforce lockdowns 'when necessary' if an outbreak of the common flu virus poses a 'severe threat'. The emergency response plan for the city published on Wednesday is intended to combat the rising number of influenza cases in the country, as Covid-19 cases continue to fall. Authorities in the Chinese city have not suggested that a new set of lockdowns are imminent, but locals in the area have still dubbed the plans excessive. China's zero-Covid lockdown plans were implemented throughout the country during the pandemic and were seen as extreme by many. An old man who went out, breaching Chinese Covid restrictions, was pinned to the ground by the Covid police and unable to move, Haining, Shanghai Residents undergo swab testing under lockdown due to Covid-19 coronavirus restrictions in Beijing on November 29, 2022 The plan by the Xi'an local government accounts for four levels of flu outbreak. If the common virus was to reach a critically high level, lockdowns would likely be reinstated. During the pandemic, Chinese residents were not allowed to leave their homes. Some were not even allowed to got shopping for food or crucial supplies. The city of Xi'an was placed under some of the strictest lockdown measures by authorities until restrictions were rapidly eased across the country in December last year following mass uproar. Reacting to the prospect of a return to enforced lockdowns, social media users in China on Weibo said the common flu was a normal virus and did not require lockdown measures prior to Covid. The BBC reported one user saying 'life went on as per normal' when influenza outbreaks hit. Another said China's local governments had become 'addicted to sealing and controlling'. Speaking to the BBC, Yanzhong Huang, a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations, said: 'To local residents who were traumatised by the lockdown measures not long ago, the return to the same draconian method in coping with flu outbreaks is by no means justified.' Others urged caution, believing a return to the strict lockdown was likely. Medical staff in white hazmat suits walking on street in Shanghai, January 2021 Professor Tang Renwu of the School of Government at Beijing Normal University told Singapore newspaper Lianhe Zaobao that he expected more local governments to unveil plans for possible flu outbreaks in the coming days. Prof Tang said: 'Local governments should pay attention to their wording when issuing similar documents so as not to trigger social panic.' Despite strict lockdowns being implemented during the Covid-19 pandemic throughout China, this was not the first time such restrictions were planned. In 2015, the Shanghai government said it would restrict gatherings and recall students from school and people from work if the common flu posed a serious threat. Parents have been issued a warning by police over dangerous Snapchat ads luring children into becoming drug mules for County Lines gangs. The social media adverts have been found to offer up to 500 for those willing to sell drugs on a weekend, as well as working in return for mobile phones, vapes and clothing. Police have been going into schools to outline the risky business on the app, where drug runners are using children to courier cocaine, heroin, cannabis and weapons across the UK. The Evening Standard reports that the gangs have been using the social media platform as one of their main tools for recruitment. Speaking to the publication, Detective Chief Inspector Dan Mitchell, head of Scotland Yard's county lines taskforce, explained that it is a 'hard' thing to police against. Parents have been issued a warning by police over dangerous Snapchat ads luring children into becoming drug mules for County Lines gangs. The social media adverts have been found to offer up to 500 for those willing to sell drugs on a weekend, as well as working in return for mobile phones, vapes and clothing (file photo) 'With county lines, we see Snapchat being one of the main tools for recruitment,' he said, 'We are working with schools to build resilience in young people. That is the way forward, to give them the knowledge to understand this is a trap.' He added that with county lines 'intrinsically linked' to serious violence and even homicide, the dangers of children becoming involved in the system leaves them extremely vulnerable. READ MORE: Children as young as NINE being forced to turn their grandmothers into drug runners Advertisement DCI Mitchell continued: 'County lines networks prey upon children and young people, trafficking them and subjecting them to modern slavery involving horrendous emotional and physical abuse. 'Victims are coerced - through violence, blackmail and debt bondage - to hold and supply drugs. Those involved use weapons and serious violence including kidnaps to intimidate and threaten victims.' A spokesperson for Snapchat told MailOnline: 'Using Snapchat to buy or sell drugs is strictly against our rules and we do not allow adverts that encourage criminal behaviour. We are proactive in searching for drug dealing and people are also able to report it in-app. 'When we become aware of this type of behaviour, we remove it and take appropriate action, including working with the police to support investigations. 'We also regularly meet with safety experts to understand new drug related trends, including terminology that may be used by gangs.' The publication reports that raids carried out between February 27 and March 5 found 8.3kg of class A drugs, 37.6kg of class B and over 650,000 in cash. It comes after a report by the Commission on Young Lives found that children as young as nine were being found to be forced by county lines drug gangs to pressure their grandmothers into becoming drug mules because they look less suspicious. The organisation which targets vulnerable children to protect them from criminalisation and violence said it was aware of cases where young children have felt forced to involve their grandparents in order to satisfy gang leaders. Criminals are said to often threaten to harm the child's family if they refuse a request or try and pull out of the operation. The harrowing description is just a small part of a final report by the commission which found that it is now 'the norm' for criminal gangs to use primary school children to run drugs. County lines gangs have been using the social media platform as one of their main tools for recruitment. Speaking to the publication, Detective Chief Inspector Dan Mitchell, head of Scotland Yard's county lines taskforce, explained that it is a 'hard' thing to police against The report found that the Government is 'failing' in its duty to protect young people. 'There are parts of our country where the state is completely failing in its duty to protect vulnerable children. 'This goes beyond failing individuals. It is a failure that affects whole communities, for generation after generation.' It added the issues are a 'threat to [the UK's] prosperity and security'. Once children have been 'groomed' into criminal activity there is little choice to leave as they are 'controlled' by the gangs, many of which are now run by teenagers. It came as government figures revealed that as many as 200,000 children in England aged between 11 and 17 are thought to be vulnerable to serious violence. There were 11,600 instances where gangs were a factor and 10,140 in which child criminal exploitation played a part. Vladimir Putin today congratulated Xi Jinping on securing his historic third term as China's leader and hailed the strengthening of the relationship between the two countries. 'Dear friend, please accept sincere congratulations on the occasion of your reelection,' he said in a statement released by the Kremlin. 'Russia highly values your personal contribution toward the strengthening of ties... and strategic cooperation between our nations.' 'I am certain that working together, we will ensure the development of fruitful Russian-Chinese cooperation in all sorts of different areas. We will continue to coordinate joint work on the most important regional and international issues. Xi Jinping was handed a third term as Chinese president on Friday, capping a rise that has seen him become the country's most powerful leader in generations. China has become an increasingly valuable ally to Russia, importing Russian energy and commodities and softening the impact of western sanctions after the invasion of Ukraine. Putin congratulated his 'dear friend' Xi Jinping, who has become a valuable ally to Russia Xi Jinping is unanimously elected president of the People's Republic of China on 10 March Vladimir Putin hailed the strengthening of ties between Russia and China Snubbed by the west in light of the invasion of Ukraine, Russia has benefitted from increasingly close ties with China. Chinese relations with the United States have also become especially tense in recent months, owing in part to economic competition and over the status of Taiwan. At the end of February, US officials raised concerns China would look to support the Russian war effort by supplying the invaders with prototype ZT-180 drones. The manufacturer denied that they had any 'commercial contact' with Russia. Nonetheless, Xi Jinping has sought to deepen the relationship with an isolated Russia through trade. Imports have helped soften the impact of a Russian recession brought on by the invasion of Ukraine and related sanctions. Exports from Russia to China increased 43% year-on-year in 2022. The reappointment of Xi Jinping as president is expected to signify the continuation of a close relationship between the two countires. The appointment by China's rubber-stamp parliament comes after Xi locked in another five years as head of the Communist Party and the military - the two more significant leadership positions in Chinese politics - in October. Since then, 69-year-old Xi has weathered widespread protests over his zero-Covid policy and its subsequent abandonment that saw countless people die. Those issues have been avoided at this week's National People's Congress, a carefully choreographed event that is also set to appoint Xi ally Li Qiang as the new premier. And on Friday they handed Xi a third term as China's President - the culmination of a remarkable rise in which he has gone from a relatively little-known party apparatchik to the leader of a global superpower. His coronation sets him up to become modern China's longest-serving president, and will mean Xi will rule well into his seventies - if no challenger emerges. Adrian Geiges, co-author of 'Xi Jinping: The Most Powerful Man in the World', told AFP he did not think Xi was motivated by a desire for personal enrichment, despite international media investigations having revealed his family's amassed wealth. 'That's not his interest,' Geiges said. 'He really has a vision about China, he wants to see China as the most powerful country in the world.' For decades China - scarred by the dictatorial reign and cult of personality of founding leader Mao Zedong - eschewed one-man rule in favor of a more consensus-based, but still autocratic, leadership. That model imposed term limits on the largely ceremonial role of the presidency, with Xi's predecessors Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao relinquishing power after 10 years in office. President Xi Jinping pictured at a plenary meeting of the delegation of the People's Liberation Army and the People's Armed Police Force during the first session of the 14th National People's Congress in Beijing, on March 8, 2023 Secondary school students gather in front of a screen displaying an image of Chinese President Xi Jinping Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) is congratulated by Li Qiang after he is unanimously elected as President during a session of China's National People's Congress Chinese President Xi Jinping, 69, applauds during a session of China's National People's Congress. He was unanimously elected as President during the session Xi has torn up that rulebook, abolishing term limits in 2018 and allowing a cult of personality to foster his all-powerful leadership. But the beginning of his unprecedented third term leading China comes as the world's second-largest economy faces major headwinds, from slowing growth and a troubled real estate sector to a declining birth rate. Relations with the United States are also at a low not seen in decades, with the powers sparring over everything from human rights to trade and technology. 'We will see a China more assertive on the global stage, insisting its narrative to be accepted,' Steve Tsang, Director of the SOAS China Institute, told AFP. 'But it is also one that will focus on domestically making it less dependent on the rest of the world, and making the Communist Party the centrepiece of governance, rather than the Chinese Government,' he said. 'It is not a return to the Maoist era, but one that Maoist will feel comfortable in,' Tsang added. 'Not a direction of travel that is good for the rest of the world.' A former FHM model who struck up a 'romance' with Charles Bronson is standing by Britain's 'most violent prisoner' during his bid for freedom this week. Gemma Fernandez, who first wrote to Bronson after seeing Tom Hardy play him in a 2008 film about his life, has attended this week's public parole hearings where he asked to be released after 48 years behind bars. They conducted their 'relationship' through letters and video calls, named 'purple visits', and she was even allowed a visit to meet him face-to-face at HMP Woodhill after Covid restrictions eased in 2021. But they split months later, with Bronson writing from prison: 'I'm no longer with Gemma. We split. Romance and prison don't mix. It's two different worlds. I believe in freeing ones you love.' Gemma Fernandez, who first wrote to Bronson after seeing Tom Hardy play him in a 2008 film about his life, has attended this week's public parole hearings The inmate appearing via video link from HMP Woodhill during his hearing on Monday Despite this, she has remained an enthusiastic supporter, mingling with crowds outside the Royal Courts of Justice with a t-shirt bearing the words, 'Free Charles Salvador'. She told the Mirror: 'I've been advised not really to say anything. I just think he's done really well and it's time that he got out. 'I'm really supportive of him.' Bronson, who has changed his name to Salvador, was first locked up for armed robbery in 1974, but during his time inside he has taken hostages in 10 prison sieges, attacked at least 20 prison officers and caused 500,000 in damages in rooftop protests. But at parole hearings this week he insisted he is now a 'man of peace', as he asked to be freed for the sake of his 95-year-old mother, who he called 'the duchess'. Bronson being played by Tom Hardy in a 2008 film The pair split several years ago, with Bronson writing from prison: 'I'm no longer with Gemma. We split. Romance and prison don't mix. It's two different worlds' Long criminal history of 'Britain's most violent prisoner' 1974: Bronson's first conviction aged 22. He was jailed for seven years for robbery, aggravated burglary, assault with intent to rob and possession of a firearm. He was convicted for numerous assaults behind bars in 1975, 1978 and 1985, leading to his sentence being extended. 1987: He was released from prison at the age of 34. 1988: After 69 days he was back in prison, sentenced for seven years for robbery at a jewellers' shop. 1992: He was released but weeks later was jailed for eight years for intent to rob. He has been behind bars since then for violent offences committed while in custody. 1994: He was given seven years for false imprisonment and blackmail, then in 1997 he took a deputy prison governor, staff and three inmates hostage for which he received five years. 1999: He took an art teacher hostage for three days and was given a life sentence with a minimum term of three years which expired in 2003. 2014: He was further sentenced to three years for assaulting a prison governor. Advertisement The inmate will have another hearing this week before being informed of his fate in the coming weeks. Ms Fernandez, who is in her 30s, previously opened up about her visit to see 'gentleman' Bronson on Steve Wraith's true crime YouTube channel. She said: 'It was his first visit in two years, it was a big, big day. It was lovely to see him. I gave him a massive hug. He hasn't had a hug in two years, so it was really, really nice. He was all excited, he took my jacket off, he's a gentleman. 'He was supposed to sit in a chair six feet away but apparently he walked into the room before I got there and said, 'No way, I'm not having that' and dragged a chair from across the room. 'It was amazing. I thought it was quite a comfortable, cosy setting.' The former model claimed she's never been to a prison before visiting Bronson. It was after watching Tom Hardy play him in 2008 that she decided to get in contact. She added: 'Years ago I wanted to write to him after seeing the film and I never really did. 'But with the lockdown happening and everyone suffering with their mental health I thought, ''He's been banged up for 46 years, I need to write". 'He's a reformed character. He cares about people. He's such a nice bloke.' The former model is not Bronson's first fling from behind bars - the convicted armed robber had previously been married to ex-Coronation Street star Paula Williamson. The 38-year-old actress died after taking cocaine, pills and alcohol. Her body was discovered at home in Stoke-on-Trent by her partner lorry driver Peter Jones on July 29, 2019. Despite this, she has remained an enthusiastic supporter, mingling with crowds outside the Royal Courts of Justice with a t-shirt bearing the words, 'Free Charles Salvador' Paula Williamson (pictured), the Coronation Street actress who is the ex-wife of notorious prisoner Charles Bronson, died after partying in her home town of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffs Ms Williamson, who was an animal lover, was described by family as a 'brilliant' daughter and a 'lovely girl', had been 'teetering on the edge of getting her life back in order' when she died, the inquest into her death heard. She had previously appeared in Coronation Street, Hollyoaks, Emmerdale and Doctors, but was thrust into the spotlight after marrying notorious criminal Bronson in 2017. The pair had been pen pals before they married at HMP Wakefield, although their relationship had quickly fallen apart, with it being revealed a month before her death that their whirlwind marriage was set to be annulled. Bronson had reportedly fat-shamed his ex-lover in a slew of nasty text messages in the weeks leading up to her death, according to friends of Ms Williamson. Ms Fernandez is now managing the petition website called Free Charlie Official and she said 'every day she reads him emails' that she gets in support of Bronson and those campaigning for his release. Ms Fernandez, who is in her 30s, previously opened up about her visit to see 'gentleman' Bronson on Steve Wraith's true crime YouTube channel A married City lawyer sent leaked nude pictures of a Love Island star to a teenage legal assistant and told her that he wanted to have sex in front of their colleagues, a tribunal has heard. Oliver Bretherton, 41, is also accused of encouraging the 18-year-old to have unprotected sex with a man on her first date because 'he enjoyed her taking risks'. Bretherton admitted he sent the 18-year-old links to pornography on one occasion - including leaked images 'relating to' 2018 Love Island star Megan Barton-Hanson - but denied doing it multiple times. He claimed that he and the teenager, known as Person A, both watched Love Island - and that the 18-year-old had discussed meeting Barton-Hanson in a night club, 'behaving in a particular way'. Bretherton - who claimed the context was 'very important' - said that he had not viewed the leaked pictures that were sent by some friends, but he 'assumed she [Person A] wanted to see them because she already had familiarity with the Love Island star'. City lawyer Oliver Bretherton (pictured), 41, sent leaked nude pictures of a Love Island star to a teenage legal assistant, a disciplinary tribunal has heard Bretherton admitted he sent the 18-year-old links to pornography - including leaked images 'relating to' Love Island star Megan Barton-Hanson (pictured on show in 2018) Nimi Bruce, for the Solicitors Regulation Authority, also claimed that Bretherton told the legal apprentice he wanted to 'f*** her and he would do it in the office and he didn't care if there was a glass wall'. The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has heard that married banking and finance specialist Bretherton recruited the woman around five years ago, just after she finished her A-levels. The teenager was hired by international law firm Gowling WLG after being interviewed by Bretherton. The alleged misconduct is said to have begun in 2017, shortly before he married Laura Innes in a traditional Scottish ceremony, and lasted for almost two years. The lawyer was a director of Gowling WLG at the time of the allegations. He is now a banking and finance partner with the law firm Gunnercooke. He allegedly sent her a video of himself performing a solo sex act, told her what to wear, demanded to know where she was and who she was with, timed her toilet breaks and threw ping-pong balls down the teen worker's dress. Bretherton is also alleged to have told the 18-year-old to have unprotected sex with a man on their first date. He told the tribunal that he was on a break in Scotland when she sent him pictures of herself having sex with another man. He claimed the 'unsolicited' photos were sent 'to try and arouse me'. 'I had limited access to my phone because I was with my wife. I was alone with my wife, so it was hard to message back,' he said. The woman claims that Bretherton was 'controlling'. She alleges that Bretherton knew she was going on a first date and instructed her to sleep with the man. She told the tribunal: 'I did because I knew that Oliver would be angry with me if I did not. 'He also asked me to send him pictures of me having sex and that I was not to use a condom or be on the pill because he enjoyed me taking risks.' Bretherton denied instructing her. He told the tribunal: 'I never really understood what Person A was doing in her dating life.' He denies allegations of sexually motivated conduct towards three women including another, Person B, who claims Bretherton described her as 'hot'. A third complainant claims Bretherton behaved inappropriately towards her in a sexualised manner. Bretherton is also alleged to have told the 18-year-old to have unprotected sex with a man on their first date Giving evidence, Bretherton recalled that Person A was a 'very confident' individual. He said: 'The impression I got from Person A was that she was very confident and I didn't get the impression she wasn't doing things that weren't office behaviour.' Acknowledging there was a power imbalance between them that never shifted over time, he said: 'I was more senior and she was junior. I accept there was a power imbalance.' Bretherton accepts that he discussed Person A's sex life and told her a picture of her turned him on. He denies that he told her he was masturbating to it. He also admits sending a message asking her to take her underwear off, describing sex and what it would 'feel and taste like'. The lawyer said: 'Yes, we exchanged messages of that nature but I don't remember the details. I remember we discussed positions.' Bretherton denied Ms Bruce's suggestion he was a 'risk-taking thrill seeker'. He also denied persuading Person A to buy a sex toy and telling her to pleasure herself with it. He said: 'No, I never gave her anything. We had conversations where she explained she was using the vibrator, I could have asked her in that context but I cannot recall a specific situation where I asked her [to use the vibrator]. 'I admit what I was doing was inappropriate behaviour. I was married. I don't think I can sit here and claim morally it was the right thing to do. Morally I was betraying my wife. I have hurt loved ones.' Ms Bruce replied: 'We're not talking about morality, we're talking about lack of integrity.' The lawyer was a director of Gowling WLG (pictured) at the time of the allegations. He is now a banking and finance partner with the law firm Gunnercooke Bretherton claimed he was not certain of the difference between the two words. In relation to a kiss between him and Person A on an office chair, Bretherton said: 'I'm not proud of what I did but it was consensual at that time and I don't think it's wrong for two adults to engage in a consensual relationship. 'I had a relationship between someone who I viewed at the time as an adult, very mature, very confident. 'At the time I believed that it was something that not only did she want to engage between two consenting adults engaging in an activity which they both wanted to get involved with and it was equal. 'In terms of the involvement of the input in the relationship, I would possibly say she tried to instigate more but I definitely instigated, but it [the relationship] was equal for sure.' When Bretherton asked Person A to spread their legs in the office chair he said: 'I was aroused, yes. I do disagree that I was a risk-taking thrill seeker.' Recalling a kiss with Person A at the pub during a work social, Bretherton said: 'That was away from everyone. I definitely didn't want to take a risk there and it's something I regretted immediately. 'I think, in the example of the kiss, I think it was out of character because we had been drinking. 'It was consensual but it wasn't the thrill of the tension of being caught that made that happen and I think the way I reacted to it makes that point. 'I don't know who could or couldn't have seen.' Ms Bruce said: 'So it's not so much of an incredible suggestion that you might have said you would f*** her in the office and you wouldn't care if there was a glass wall?' Bretherton replied: 'I did not say that to her... I find that suggestion very far fetched as I would never do that.' The hearing continues. From left, Lotte Chemical basic material business president Hwang Jin-koo, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards, Lotte Chemical Vice Chairman Kim Kyo-hyun and Secretary of Louisiana Economic Development Don Pierson pose for a photo at a meeting to discuss joint partnership at Lotte World Tower in Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap By Lee Kyung-min The top executives of Lotte Chemical met Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards, Thursday, to fortify cooperation in the green energy business, according to market watchers, Friday. The U.S. state of Louisiana is where the chemical affiliate of Lotte Group built a manufacturing complex. It was the first time that a local chemical firm established a production facility in the U.S. The Lotte affiliate has an ethane cracking center (ECC) and ethylene glycol plant in Lake Charles, Louisiana, with a capacity of producing 1 million tons of ethylene and 700,000 tons of mono-ethylene glycol. Ethylene is widely used in the chemical industry. Much of it goes toward polyethylene, the most commonly produced plastic. It is a polymer, primarily used for packaging, including plastic bags, plastic film, geomembranes and containers including bottles. Mono-ethylene glycol is a vital ingredient for the production of polyester fibers and film, polyethylene terephthalate resins and engine coolants. End uses for the ingredient range from clothing and other textiles, packaging and kitchenware, engine coolants and antifreeze. Lotte Chemical Vice Chairman Kim Kyo-hyun and the firm's basic material business President Hwang Jin-koo met with the governor for discussions on the firm's commitment to carbon neutrality spanning the sectors of hydrogen-ammonia and battery materials. "Louisiana has enjoyed a long and beneficial trade relationship with Korea and we are happy to strengthen our economic development ties here with companies such as Lotte Chemical," Edwards said, according to his office. "Louisiana exported $4.9 billion (6.4 trillion won) worth of goods to Korea in 2022, and our total imports were valued at $1.35 billion. Opportunities abound for continued economic activity between our two countries and we are working actively with Korean companies to launch or expand their operations in our state." Kim said the successful operation of the facilities in Louisiana since 2019 is attributable to the support of the governor. "Thanks to the support of the Louisiana government, Lotte Chemical successfully completed our large investment in Lake Charles," Kim said. "Future investment opportunities of our firm in the U.S. will expand to include clean energy. We look forward to Louisiana's continued support for our investments for sustainable growth for both," he added. Pope Francis has said that he may step down if he becomes too tired to continue in the role. Asked by Italian media what would lead the him to resign, the Pope, 86, warned of 'a fatigue that makes you not see things clearly... A lack of clarity when it comes to knowing how to assess situations.' He said that he was 'a bit ashamed' to use a wheelchair due to a knee injury. 'I am old. I have less physical resistance, the knee [problem] was a physical humiliation, even if the recovery is going well now.' Last month, the Pope said that papal resignations should happen in exceptional circumstances, and said quitting was not 'on [his] agenda'. Pope Francis has been head of the Catholic Church since March 2013, on Monday marking 10 years of his papacy. Pope Francis arrives in a wheelchair during the audience to the Participants to Plenary Assembly of the International Union of Superiors General on May 5, 2022 Pope Francis is pictured holding a child at the end of his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Wednesday, March 8, 2023 In an interview with Italian Swiss television RSI, with extracts published in La Repubblica, La Stampa and Corriere della Sera, he also said that the war in Ukraine had been driven by the interests of several empires. He said the conflict was fuelled by 'imperial interests, not just of the Russian empire, but of empires from elsewhere.' He expressed a readiness to talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin to call for peace. While the Pope has repeatedly called for an end to the war and denied being pro-Putin he has previously suggested the invasion of Ukraine was 'perhaps in some way provoked'. Asking himself in June last year whether this made him a supporter of Putin, he said: 'No, I am not. It would be simplistic and wrong to say such a thing.' He added: 'I am simply opposed to reducing complexity to distinction between good and bad'. The Pope denounced the injustice of war at the Christmas Eve mass last year from a wheelchair. The congregation was there warned that the Pope was unable to stand for long periods of time due to pain in his knee. The leader of the Catholic Church has for over a year suffered with pain in his right knee. Despite last month saying quitting was not on the agenda, the Pope has progressively added to speculation that he would at some point stand down from his position should his health worsen. He previously claimed to have signed a resignation letter in case of a deterioration of his health: 'In practice there is already a rule. I have already signed my renunciation.' 'I signed it and said, "If I should become impaired for medical reasons or whatever, here is my resignation. Here you have it,"' he said, referring to Cardinal Bertone, to whom the letter was given. In January, he gave a sermon on the 'virtue of stepping aside at the right time'. He said: 'It is easy to become attached to roles and positions, to the need to be esteemed, recognised and rewarded.' He continued: 'It is good for us too to cultivate, like [Saint] John [the Baptist], the virtue of setting ourselves aside at the right moment, bearing witness that the point of reference of life is Jesus. Pope Francis arrives for an audience with members of Roman Universities and Pontifical Institutions, in the Pope Paul VI hall at the Vatican, Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023 Pope Francis has been head of the Catholic Church since March 2013, this month marking 10 years of his papacy Five popes have 'verifiably' renounced the position through history, with others disputed. The most recent was Benedict XVI, who resigned in 2013 and said he was motivated by his declining health due to old age. Pope Benedict XVI was the first pope to renounce the position in 598 years, since Gregory XII resigned to end the Western Schism in the Catholic church. Contemporary popes are generally expected to hold the position until their death. The new precedent has flared rumours that Pope Francis may too at some point renounce the position. In December, the current Pope revealed he had already signed a resignation letter years ago to take effect should be become 'impaired' by health issues or an accident. A large-scale police operation in Melbourne's northwest has finally come to an end seven hours after a man barricaded himself inside a home with a firearm. Police began negotiations with an allegedly armed man barricaded a Sunbury home on Magdalene Court on Friday. Emergency services were called to the scene shortly before 11am following reports of a dispute between two parties known to each other. A man allegedly armed with a firearm locked himself inside a property about 650m away on Xavier Court. Police began negotiations with an allegedly armed man barricaded a Sunbury home on Magdalene Court on Friday afternoon (pictured, police at the scene) Special Operation Group officers forced entry into the home at about 7pm and found the alleged gunman unresponsive (pictured, police at the scene) At about 7pm Special Operation Group officers forced entry into the home and found the man unresponsive. He was taken to hospital in a critical condition. While negotiations were underway, Seven News spoke to a man who claimed to be the owner of the home the alleged gunman was in. He said there was no firearm on the property and claimed the gunman was a recently released prisoneraged in his 30s. 'The exact circumstances surrounding the incident are yet to be determined and investigations remain ongoing,' Victoria Police said. A one-hour-old baby was found alive inside a gas station trash can in Fullerton, Orange County on Thursday, prompting authorities to search for the mother. Crews were called to the Chevron gas station, located in the 900 block of Orangethorpe Avenue, at around 3:30pm after the baby boy was discovered in the bathroom, according to Metro Cities Fire Authority. The baby had been placed in a bag inside of the trash can and was found by an employee of the gas station, CBS Los Angeles reported. Officers immediately began lifesaving measures and firefighters took the baby to a nearby children's hospital in the city of Orange. Fullerton Police Department said he is in a critical but stable condition. Authorities are examining security footage in the search for the mother, whose identity is unknown. The baby had been placed in a bag inside of the trash can and was found by an employee of the gas station in Fullerton, according to CBS Los Angeles When police officers arrived they immediately began lifesaving measures. Firefighters then took the baby to a nearby children's hospital in the city of Orange 'It's an active investigation. They're working all possible leads to do all they can to solve this issue,' Sergeant Ryan O'Neil from the Fullerton Police Department said. O'Neil said: 'The call for service was a possible newborn child in the bathroom trash can. Upon arrival, officers located a newborn child in the trash can and immediately began life-saving measures. 'Fullerton Fire responded very shortly after and transported the child to a local hospital for further medical care.' It is not known whether the baby's mother had given birth at the gas station. Sergeant Ryan O'Neil from the Fullerton Police Department said: 'It's an active investigation. They're working all possible leads to do all they can to solve this issue' Crews were called to the Chevron gas station, located in the 900 block of Orangethorpe Avenue, at around 3:30pm after the baby boy was discovered in the bathroom, according to Metro Cities Fire Authority O'Neil said: 'I think that would be a tragic event for anybody who was put in that situation.' 'There are Safe Surrender Baby laws that allow parents, guardians or mothers to surrender their child within 72 hours of birth with no questions asked,' O'Neil said. 'There are hospitals that are designated as safe surrender along with fire departments.' The process is legal, confidential and free. The person has to state that they would like to safely surrender the baby. They will be given matching ID bracelets with the baby in case the person wants to later reclaim it. The person surrendering the baby will also be provided with an optional medical questionnaire. Anyone with information about the abandoning of the infant was asked to call Detective Marcus Saenz at 714-738-5361. Anonymous calls can be made to Orange County Crime Stoppers at 855-TIP-OCCS or sent to occrimestoppers.org. Rishi Sunak attempted to woo 'close ally' France today with a thawing of cross-Channel relations as he seeks a deal over small boat migrants. The PM spoke privately with President Macron for an hour in Paris this morning about the thousands crossing the waterway - as well as the Six Nations rugby. Ms Sunak used the trip to defend a decision to pay France an additional 200million in a bid to stop thousands crossing the world's busiest shipping lane. But they are not expected to discuss the elephant in the room that is a returns agreement for failed asylum seekers. President Macron has already made clear that France would not be prepared to agree a bilateral treaty with the UK on the return of cross-Channel migrants. He has said any agreement would have to be EU-wide, which is politically impossible. Speaking to reporters on the Eurostar, Mr Sunak said the UK Government was ready to 'pull all the leavers at our disposal' to stem the flow of boats. He said the money invested was 'yielding benefits' and the payments amounted to 'sensible investments for the UK'. He later tweeted that the two nations were 'close neighbours, great friends (and) historic allies'. The two men greeted each other warmly at the Elysee after a rather colder relationship between Mr Macron and Mr Sunak's predecessors. Macron's antipathy to the Brexit figurehead Boris Johnson was barely concealed, while his brief successor Liz Truss said she didn't know whether the French leader was a 'friend or foe' during her campaign to become prime minister. Mr Sunak arrived at the Elysee this morning amid reports he is to pay France an additional 200million in a bid to stop thousands crossing the world's busiest shipping lane. The summit comes after a period of sour Anglo-French relations. The nations have clashed over post-Brexit fishing rights and other issues. Mr Sunak's two predecessors also riled France with jibes at the alliance last year and part of his mission is to restore the entente cordial. Macron has already made clear that France would not be prepared to agree a bilateral treaty with the UK on the return of cross-Channel migrants, saying that any agreement would have to be EU-wide Yesterday, interior ministers from France, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands clashed with Italy, Greece and Spain over EU rules requiring them to take back migrants who entered the bloc when they arrived in their territories More than 3,000 people have already made the perilous sea journey this year, with almost 46,000 arriving by unofficial routes in 2022. It is understood the Prime Minister and the French president changed the original plans for their meeting to ensure they could speak for longer in private. The PM's spokesman told reporters in Paris: 'The Prime Minister and President Macron spoke for more than an hour one to one. They were joined at the end by their respective chiefs of staff for a brief period. 'It was a warm and productive meeting. They discussed the upcoming Six Nations match, having exchanged signed shirts. 'They both agreed on the need for further collaboration on a range of issues, including on defence, energy security and illegal migration.' Foreign Secretary James Cleverly confirmed this morning more money would be handed to France for joint efforts to prevent small boats heading across the Channel. Speaking from Paris, he told BBC Breakfast: 'It will cost money, it has cost money and of course we will be negotiating how we fund that joint work to prevent those migration attempts across the Channel.' The summit comes as the two nations have clashed over post-Brexit fishing rights and other issues. Mr Cleverly told GB News: 'I don't know if I would go as far as to describe it as a bromance but there is a very strong professional relationship between the UK and France. We don't agree on everything but we agree on a lot.' Britain hopes to secure Macron's active support at the summit for a long-term deal, similar to the EU's existing 'Dublin' rules, to return illegal immigrants who cross the English Channel. But European diplomats said the request would be rejected at a time when France is accusing other member states, such as neighbouring Italy, of failing to take back migrants. Yesterday, interior ministers from France, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands clashed with Italy, Greece and Spain over EU rules requiring them to take back migrants who entered the bloc when they arrived in their territories. One diplomat told The Times: 'Why would Macron take back Brexit Britain's returns, or ask others to do so, when other EU members, like Italy, are not following European rules? It will not happen. It is a pipe dream.' It comes after Priti Patel has urged Rishi Sunak to use a summit with Emmanuel Macron today to push for a deal to let Britain return Channel migrants to EU countries. The former home secretary said this was crucial to help end the small boats crisis as well as clear a huge backlog of asylum cases. She urged the Prime Minister to capitalise on the goodwill created through a post-Brexit trade deal for Northern Ireland to convince Mr Macron to broker a bloc-wide migrant returns agreement. Before Brexit, Britain could send asylum seekers back to countries such as Greece and Italy without considering their case if they lodged a claim there when arriving in the EU. But UK ministers have not negotiated a replacement for the scheme, known as the Dublin III Regulation. Priti Patel (pictured) has urged Rishi Sunak to use a summit with Emmanuel Macron today to push for a deal to let Britain return Channel migrants to EU countries. The former home secretary said this was crucial to help end the small boats crisis as well as clear a huge backlog of asylum cases She urged the Prime Minister to capitalise on the goodwill created through a post-Brexit trade deal for Northern Ireland to convince Mr Macron (pictured) to broker a bloc-wide migrant returns agreement It means that thousands of asylum seekers are languishing in Britain who could potentially have been deported by now. Ms Patel also took a swipe at her successor Suella Braverman's plan for tackling small boats by saying that some measures springing from her own Bill, the Nationality and Borders Act 2022, still needed to be implemented. Mr Sunak will travel to Paris today to meet the French president in the first Anglo-France summit for five years. In a sign of the importance being placed on it for rebooting relations, he will be accompanied by six Cabinet ministers, including the secretaries of state for foreign affairs, home affairs and defence. Britain hopes to secure a long-term deal with the EU to return illegal immigrants who cross the Channel. In exchange the UK would accept refugees from the EU. But Elysee Palace officials in Paris have suggested Mr Macron will play hardball over the issue, with an agreement not expected because EU leaders want a bloc-wide deal. Instead, Mr Sunak and Mr Macron appear to be on course to agree a long-term multi-million-pound deal to boost French beach patrols with extra surveillance and officers to smash people-smuggling gangs. There is scepticism about whether it will provide value for money however because Britain has handed over nearly 200million to France since 2018 to tackle the small boats crisis yet 45,728 migrants still arrived in Kent last year. Ms Patel, who was home secretary from July 2019 to September last year, called on Mr Sunak to lobby Mr Macron to broker a returns deal using his key role in the EU. She said: 'He needs to push for a returns agreement. The EU has been dragging its feet for too long. Shared global outlook 'They all talk about an EU-wide returns agreement but actually the EU is not speaking with one voice. 'But it's about time they recognised there's a global migration crisis and that everyone needs to work together to solve this, and Rishi needs to go and make that case. 'There's no one single solution to fixing illegal migration and stopping Channel crossings. 'But this is what he should be asking for and it would be key for returning people who have already travelled through a safe country and have no right to be here. Before Brexit, Britain could send asylum seekers back to countries such as Greece and Italy without considering their case if they lodged a claim there when arriving in the EU. But UK ministers have not negotiated a replacement for the scheme, known as the Dublin III Regulation Mr Sunak will travel to Paris today to meet the French president in the first Anglo-France summit for five years 'These crossings are dangerous, they're illegal and we've seen the most appalling consequences because of them, so it's right that the Government does everything possible to fix this.' Other topics to be discussed today include collaboration on nuclear energy and the defence industry. Among goodwill gestures set to be agreed is a deal to make school trips easier. Mr Sunak said: 'Our deep history, our proximity and our shared global outlook mean that a firm partnership between the UK and France is not just valuable, it is essential. 'From tackling the scourge of illegal migration to driving investment in one another's economies, the work we do together improves the lives of each and every person in our countries.' The PM's spokesman said: 'It's important that we do secure a [returns] agreement with the EU, and France will be an important component of that.' Radio 2's 'Poundland' replacement for Ken Bruce's much-loved Popmaster has found itself in the middle of a 'cheat' row just days after launching. Do you know music quiz 'cheat' Sheila? Email tom.cotterill@mailonline.co.uk Advertisement Furious listeners have accused yesterday's contestant 'Sheila' of secretly using her phone to help her answer questions while appearing on Ten To The Top hosted by Gary Davies. The new music quiz was launched as a replacement for Popmaster following the departure of Bruce, who left the radio station last week after more than three decades, moving over to rival Greatest Hits Radio. Sheila, from Pinner in north-west London, managed to become the first person in the show's history to score a perfect score of 65 and said: 'Its too good to be true all the questions and groups that I know, the questions came up.' But those tuning into the morning quiz yesterday branded the digital project manager an 'obvious and blatant' cheat because of her four-second pause before correctly answering questions. One tweeted: 'Obvious, blatant and unconvincing cheating on #Radio2's #10totheTop. I wouldn't want Sheila on my pub-quiz team! What a shame.' Social media users have accused contestant 'Sheila' of being a 'blatant cheat' during yesterday's installment of Ten To The Top the replacement for Ken Bruce's legendary Popmaster music quiz Veteran DJ Ken Bruce stepped down from his popular BBC Radio 2 show last week and is set to be succeeded by Vernon Kay in April While another quipped: 'What a pity to hear such blatant cheating on 10 to the Top. I don't know how you stop it but it certainly spoils it for the listener. Sheila was no Popmaster.' Can you answer all of Sheila's questions? 1: Coming up is the hook of the 2007 number one by a Swedish singer but who is she? 2: Who wrote and sang the 1972 hit 'American Pie'? 3. Who had back-to-back hits in 2011 with the songs 'Grenade', 'Marry You' and 'The Lazy Song'? 4: Autobahn gave which German band their biggest UK chart hit of the 70s? 5: In 1991 the song Wiggle It' became the biggest chart success for which group? 6: 'A Winters Tale' was hit at the start of 1983 for which singer? 7: Im going to play you the intro to a 1984 top-10 hit by Scritti Politti. Which famous singer is mentioned in the title of the song? 8: Youre Gorgeous became the second chart hit for which act when it got to number three in 1996? 9: Love is the Law was the first of four songs that reached the top 20 during 1997 for which band? 10: The title song to the movie Pretty in Pink gave which band their biggest hit in 1986? The answers are at the bottom of the article Advertisement 'There is no doubt at all that Sheila was cheating or she was a stooge given the answers in advance. Like she knew who the Psychedelic Furs were! Its an awful replacement for PopMaster,' added another user. While one fan, referring to the recent Twitter storm caused by Gary Lineker, said: 'Another BBC Gary at the centre of a big row today. You'd think they could do without it.' The BBC has insisted Sheila won the show fairly, with a spokesman telling The Sun: 'Prior to going on air, all Ten To The Top contestants are asked to participate alone with no assistance, books or devices, and were confident that all players just use their music-filled brains.' The contest sees two competitors going head-to-head to answer ten music questions. Winners can bag themselves a smart speaker. But the show has been rubbished by listeners for being a carbon copy of Bruce's beloved Popmaster. One person tweeted: 'What is this garbage on Radio 2? Dont mind Gary Davies but absolutely no point in having a quiz which is like a Poundland Popmaster.' Another added: 'Its a Popmaster Champions League carbon copy! Anyway, back to GHR.' Other players insisted the scoring system was 'confusing' and made it harder to participate alongside. The quiz is set to continue when Vernon Kay takes over Bruce's old slot in the schedule. A BBC spokesman said: 'Radio 2 listeners have enjoyed a weekday music quiz at 10.30am for decades and this will continue with our brand new quiz, Ten To The Top, for our new mid-morning show.' Radio 2 has been accused of ageism after a mass departure of some of its best-known hosts. Social media users have lashed out and accused Sheila of cheating, saying her four-second pauses were 'suspicious' Radio 2 presenter Gary Davies (pictured) is hosting the Ten To The Top quiz as he sits in on Bruce's former mid-morning slot Paul O'Grady, 67, Vanessa Feltz, 61, and Simon Mayo, 64, have all bid adieu from the station in recent months. A source told the Sun: 'Ken is Europes most listened-to DJ and has nothing left to prove at the BBC. 'Hes had an incredible time working there and is so grateful for the loyalty of all his listeners. 'But in recent years, theres been a noticeable shift in direction, with a drive to attract a younger audience.' Last month, it was reported Bruce quit Radio 2 because he felt 'unloved' by bosses who failed to reassure him over a new contract even though they wanted to keep him, say BBC insiders. But during an interview with BBC News last Friday, Bruce later went on to say he left 'absolutely of my own accord'. 'I wanted to go at this time. I understand the BBC were in the process of preparing an offer for me to continue but Id made my decision before that,' the radio veteran insisted. The Scottish DJ was a Radio 2 legend after hosting his show for over three decades. His exit follows a slew of similar departures from BBC DJs in an ongoing agesim row One person tweeted: 'What is this garbage on Radio 2? Dont mind Gary Davies but absolutely no point in having a quiz which is like a Poundland Popmaster' Another added: 'Its a Popmaster Champions League carbon copy! Anyway, back to GHR' The unexpected announcement of the 71-year-old presenter's departure is now said to have sparked discord at the BBC, as many regard it as completely avoidable. One well-placed source said: 'They definitely wanted to renew his contract but because of a mix-up nobody told him. He is a proud man and did not want to ask. When he told them he was going they were all saying, "but we were about to offer you a three-year deal"... Bit late.' But another source close to the station disputed the contract claims, saying: 'Ken was reassured on more than one occasion that his future on Radio 2 was safe.' The Scottish star is believed to have been unsettled by the way the corporation had axed presenter Wright's long-running show last year amid a push to appeal to younger listeners. Bruce is also said to have asked bosses to stop making him play 'tuneless dance music' but had not received any proper responses to his pleas. The Radio 2 insider told the Mail: 'Ken felt unloved.' Bruce had been at the BBC for 45 years 31 of them presenting his Radio 2 mid-morning show. But loyal listeners have become increasingly fed-up at what they see as a shift to a younger audience. Answers to Sheila's questions: 1. Robyn; 2. Don McLean; 3. Bruno Mars; 4. Kraftwerk 5. Two in a Room; 6. David Essex; 7. Aretha Franklin; 8. Babybird; 9. The Seahorses; 10. Psychedelic Furs. The gunman who killed seven people in a gun massacre inside a Jehovah's Witness church in Germany reportedly left the Christian group a year and a half ago 'not on good terms' and police had been tipped off that he was mentally unfit to own a gun. An unborn baby was among the victims of last night's shooting that left eight people dead, including the shooter, who killed himself as armed officers stormed the building. Philipp Fusz, 35, a German citizen and former member of the religious community in Hamburg, was behind the 'shooting rampage' that also injured eight others, four of them seriously, officials confirmed in a press conference this morning. Police gave no official motive for Thursday night's attack, but said the former member of the Christian group had left the community about 18 months ago 'apparently not on good terms'. They also acknowledged an anonymous tip in January that claimed he showed anger towards religious groups and might be psychologically unfit to own a gun. Philipp Fusz, 35, (pictured) a former member of the religious community, was responsible for the deadly attack that also injured several other people, some seriously Footage (pictured) has emerged of the gunman firing bullets through the window of the church. The grainy video recorded from a distance appears to show the man walking up to a window of the church and firing off several shots into the building from what has been reported to be a pistol Pictured: The Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall building in Hamburg - where eight people were shot dead on Thursday night - is seen on Friday morning guarded by police In terrifying grainy footage, recorded from a distance, the man was seen to walk up to a window of the church and fire off several shots into the Kingdom Hall building from what was likely a semiautomatic pistol - before storming inside. Police said the perpetrator was found among the dead after armed officers rushed into the church last night. Officials said officers did not need to use their firearms, that he acted alone, and that he killed himself as they closed in. What we know about the shooting so far: Four men, two women and an unborn child were killed by Philipp Fusz last night Eight were hurt, including four seriously. The mother survived, police said The 35-year-old gunman stormed into Kingdom Hall of the Jehovah's Witnesses just after 9pm and fired off nine magazines each holding 15 bullets (135 rounds) There were around 50 guests inside the three-storey building at the time Armed police officers entered the building less than ten minutes later, causing Fusz to flee to the first floor where he turned the gun on himself The police's quick response likely saved many more people from the shooter Fusz had a weapons licence and legally owned a semi-automatic pistol Police had been warned of the killer's mental health. Authorities had in the past conducted an unannounced check on the attacker, and issued a warning Fusz's website describes him as a business consultant and offers services for a daily fee of 250,000 (220,600) - saying he can add value of 'at least 2.5m' The victims were attending a bible study meeting at the Jehovah's Witnesses church that began at 7pm local time on Thursday. Police said they received the first reports of an attack at 9.04pm, and entered the building less than ten minutes later. Senator Andy Grote - Hamburg's interior minister - praised the police response to the unfolding tragedy, saying there would have been more victims if armed officers had not intervened so quickly. From receiving the first reports, he said officers were inside the building by 9.11pm. Hamburg's top security official said a special operations unit that happened to be near the hall. 'We can assume that they saved many people's lives,' Grote said. A police official said there were 50 people inside the building at the time. Grote said when armed police stormed the building, they were able to separate the suspect from other potential targets. They saw a man holding a gun flee to the floor above, where he killed himself before officers giving chase could reach him. The minister confirmed initial reports that said eight people, including the shooter, were shot dead in the attack, including an unborn baby of seven months. Eight people were wounded, including the woman who was 28 weeks pregnant. Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the death toll could rise. 'Amongst the dead there is an unborn child of seven months that was hit in the mother's womb,' he told reporters at the press conference. The mother of the unborn child survived the shooting, police later confirmed. Grote said the shooter was considered to be 'running amok', a scenario for which police have an established response plan in place. The officials confirmed that the gunman was Philipp F., not giving a surname in-line with Germany's strict privacy laws. He was later identified as Philipp Fusz. 'Philipp F. was a former member' of the Jehovah's Witnesses, a senior police official told the press conference, adding that the attacker left the community about 18 months ago 'but apparently not on good terms'. Hamburg police chief Ralf Martin Meyer said the suspected shooter had a weapons license and had legally owned a semi-automatic handgun since December, and that he shot nine magazines of ammunition during the attack. Each magazine of the Heckler & Koch Pistole P30 handgun could hold 15 bullets, which suggests he could have shot as many as 135 rounds. Hamburg's state prosecutor said they have already ruled out a terrorist motive, with the police chief suggesting during the press conference Fusz may have suffered from mental illness. The motive is still unknown, the officials said. There was 'no indication of a terrorist background' to the attack, a spokesman for the Hamburg prosecution's office said. Meyer said the man was visited by police after they received an anonymous tip in January, claiming he 'bore particular anger toward religious believers, in particular toward Jehovah's Witnesses and his former employer.' Officers said the man was cooperative and found no grounds to take away his weapon, according to Meyer. 'The bottom line is that an anonymous tip in which someone says they're worried a person might have a psychological illness, isn't in itself a basis for (such) measures,' he said. In the video, the suspect can be seen standing at a window holding an object out in front of him, from which flashes are seen in the dark. The sound of shots can also be heard in the video, obtained by MailOnline, echoing across the built-up area. In one of several bursts of gunfire, 15 continuous shots are heard ringing out as the purported gunman deliberately opens fire into the building. The shots stop, presumably because he has run out of ammunition in that magazine. The footage was taken at night from a distance - across a road and a car park - so the man is lost from view when he appears to enter the three-storey building. Pictured: Armed German police officers storm the church on Thursday night Pictured: People are evacuated from the church after shots were fired at the building last night Pictured: A body is carried out of a Jehovah's Witness building in Hamburg, Germany, on Friday, March 10, after the deadly shooting left eight people dead, including the gunman A coffin is moved out of a vehicle outside a building housing a Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses, where several people have been killed or seriously injured in a deadly shooting Hamburg Police President Ralf Martin Meyer sits next to security official Thomas Radszuweit, Head of the Schutzpolizei Matthias Tresp, State Prosecutor Ralf Peter Anders and Interior Senator Andy Grote, as he attends a news conference in the aftermath of a deadly shooting at a Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses, in Hamburg Neighbours in the area recalled hearing multiple shots fired late Thursday. TIMELINE: Hamburg Jehovah's Witness shooting A timeline of the shooting at a Jehovah's Witnesses hall in the German city of Hamburg on Thursday evening, according to information provided by authorities on Friday. About 9 p.m. The perpetrator opens fire in the parking lot of the Kingdom Hall in the Gross Borstel district of Hamburg, firing 10 shots at a car. The woman who is driving it manages to get away with light injuries. He then shoots through a window at people taking part in a service on the ground floor of the building before climbing in through the window while continuing to shoot. There are 36 people present in the hall, with another 25 participating online. 9:04 p.m. Police and firefighters receive the first of 47 emergency calls, some of them from people inside the building, alerting them to the shooting. 9:08 p.m. The first police officers arrive at the scene just four minutes later. 9:09 p.m. A Hamburg police unit specially trained to deal with rampages and terror attacks, known by its acronym USE, arrives at the scene. Police say it is a 'lucky coincidence' that the unit is still on duty and is nearby. 9:11 p.m. The unit enters the building, using firearms to break a pane of glass and open the door. They hear continuous shots as they force their way in. They find a large number of people in a room, some of them lying on the floor. The suspected perpetrator flees to the second floor. Police reaching the second floor find a man lying on the floor with a fatal gunshot wound and a firearm next to him. Around 20 people are rescued unhurt from the building. Authorities find nine empty magazines that can carry up to 15 bullets at the scene, as well as 20 loaded magazines in a backpack and another two on the body of the suspected gunman. Six people are confirmed killed, while a pregnant woman loses her unborn baby. 12:30 a.m. Friday Authorities remain uncertain whether there are any other perpetrators after witnesses report that there may have been two shooters. Prosecutors order a search of the deceased suspect's apartment. Investigators find 15 magazines, each loaded with 15 bullets; another four boxes of ammunition with a total of 200 bullets; and laptops and smartphones. Investigators establish that what appears to be a possible second shooter in a video of the scene is in fact the shadow of the single gunman. Advertisement 'We heard shots,' one unidentified witness told reporters. 'There were 12 continuous shots,' he said. 'Then we saw how people were taken away in black bags.' The footage suggests there were many more than 12 shots fired by the gunman. 'Our son filmed the whole thing, he could see quite well from the house,' Bernd Mibache, a 66-year-old business owner, told AFP reporters. It was unclear if he was referring to the same footage. 'On the video you can see that someone broke a window, you can hear shots fired and see that someone broke in.' Police are asking witnesses to come forward and upload any pictures or videos they may have to a special website. Another resident said police arrived on the scene within 'four or five minutes'. 'We heard shots and we knew something big was happening,' said the woman, who gave only her first name Anetta. She said she knew the building was used by members of the Jehovah's Witness community, describing them as 'very peaceful, quiet'. Student Laura Bauch, who lives nearby, said there were around four periods of shooting, German news agency dpa reported. 'There were always several shots in these periods,' she said. Bauch said she looked out her window and saw a person running from the ground floor to the second floor of the Jehovah's Witnesses hall. Gregor Miebach, who lives within sight of the building, heard shots and filmed a figure entering the building through a window. In his footage, shots can then be heard from inside. The figure later apparently emerges from the hall, is seen in the courtyard and then fires more shots through a first floor window before the lights in the room go out. Miebach told German television news agency NonstopNews that he heard at least 25 shots. After police arrived, one last shot followed, he said. His mother, Dorte Miebach, said she was shocked by the shooting. 'It's really 50 meters (yards) from our house and many people died,' she said. 'This is still incomprehensible. We still haven't quite come to terms with it. A large emergency response quickly descended on the building. In later footage, armed police were seen storming the church and working their way upstairs while pointing their guns up a stairwell. The first officers at the scene found several lifeless bodies and seriously wounded people, police said. Officers heard a shot in the 'upper part of the building' before finding a body in the area where it rang out, they added. On his website, Fusz claims to have first moved to Hamburg to work in the energy sector. On one page of the site, he offers consultancy for a daily fee of 250,000 (220,600). 'The fee incorporates the fact that my work should generate you a leverage or value added of at least 2.5million,' his website says, justifying the cost. His website also links to a book, written by Fusz, titled: 'The Truth About God, Jesus Christ And Satan. A New Reflected View Of Epochal Dimensions.' According to Amazon, the book was published in paperback on December 20, 2022. According the 'About The Author' page, Fusz was born on September 18, 1987, and grew up in Kempten in the Allgau region in a strictly religious family. After he left high school, he trained as a bank clerk. He settled in Hamburg after studying business administration and after living abroad on a number of occasions. On his website, he says he is a business consultant, describing himself as 'multicultural' and 'a self-confessed European'. His favourite football club is Liverpool FC, the book says. On his website, he calls for people to 'follow the Golden Rule'. 'Doing good to others will come back to you in meaningful ways from somewhere you can't even imagine,' Fusz's website says. After officers arrived, they heard a shot from an upper floor and found a person dead upstairs. Officials have said that they believe this to have been the perpetrator of the attack. Pictured: Special police inside the building in Hamburg, Germany Pictured: Armed police gather at the scene of the shooting in Hamburg late on Thursday night Pictured: Police guard the site where several people were killed in a church in a shooting the night before Earlier, Germany's DPA news agency, citing a reporter on the scene, said that residents in the city's northern Alsterdorf district had received warnings on their mobile phones of a 'life threatening situation' and that streets had been sealed off. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, a former Hamburg mayor, lamented the 'terrible incident in my home city' and condemned the 'brutal act of violence'. 'We are speechless in view of this violence,' Scholz said at an event in Munich. 'We are mourning those whose lives were taken so brutally.' A spokesperson for Scholz, Christiane Hoffmann, referred to it as a 'shooting rampage' rather than a suspected terrorist attack. The Jehovah's Witnesses in Germany association said it was 'deeply saddened by the horrific attack on its members'. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said investigators were 'working flat-out to determine the background' to the attack. The three-storey building was still cordoned off on Friday with several officers standing outside, an AFP reporter said. Germany has been rocked by several attacks in recent years, both by jihadists and far-right extremists. Among the deadliest committed by Islamist extremists was a truck rampage at a Berlin Christmas market in December 2016 that killed 12 people. The Tunisian attacker, a failed asylum seeker, was a supporter of the Islamic State jihadist group. Europe's most populous nation remains a target for jihadist groups in particular because of its participation in the anti-Islamic State coalition in Iraq and Syria. Between 2013 and 2021, the number of Islamists considered dangerous in the country had multiplied by five to 615, according to interior ministry data. But Germany has also been hit by several far-right assaults in recent years, sparking accusations that the government was not doing enough to stamp out neo-Nazi violence, or groups plotting attacks. In the most recent shooting involving a site of worship, a far-right extremist attempted to force his way into a synagogue in Halle on Yom Kippur, Judaism's holiest day, in October 2019. After failing to gain entry, he shot two people to death nearby. And in February 2020, a far-right extremist shot dead 10 people and wounded five others in the central German city of Hanau. Germany's gun laws are more restrictive than those in the United States, but permissive compared to some European neighbours. Shootings are not unheard of. A man leaves a condolence card among flowers and candles at the scene where several people were killed in a church in a shooting the night before in Hamburg, north Germany on March 10 A police seal on the damaged door to the building that houses the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses, the day after a deadly shooting in Hamburg, March 10 A screenshot taken March 10,2023 shows the website of the gunman Philipp Fusz, who killed seven people and then killed himself at a Jehovah's Witness place of worship in the German city of Hamburg the day before Last year, an 18-year-old man opened fire in a packed lecture at Heidelberg University, killing one person and wounding three others before killing himself. In January 2020, a man shot dead six people including his parents and wounded two others in southwestern Germany, while a month later, a shooter who posted a racist rant online killed nine people near Frankfurt. The German government announced plans last year to crack down on gun ownership by suspected extremists and to tighten background checks. Currently, anyone wanting to acquire a firearm must show that they are suited to do so, including by proving that they require a gun. Reasons can include being part of a sports shooting club or being a hunter. A mum who was left in tears after being ejected from a court by a judge for breastfeeding her baby has spoken out about the humiliating ordeal which continues to drive fierce backlash. The woman who didn't want to be named said it made her feel 'overwhelming shame and humiliation' after Judge Mark Gamble made no apology as he spoke to jurors on Friday, the day after she was ousted. Judge Gamble evicted her on Thursday as he presided over a high-profile case at the County Court in Victoria, saying her breastfeeding was a 'distraction'. She had been sitting in the courtroom with her baby observing the trial when he called her out. The controversial eviction has sparked outrage and backlash across Australia, including former Victorian MP Kirstie Marshall who was also ordered to leave parliament two decades ago for the same issue. Former Olympic aerial skier and politician Kirstie Marshall, who was asked to leave parliament while she breastfed newborn daughter Charlotte in 2003 weighed into the controversy after a mum was evicted from a courtroom Judge Gamble addressed the controversy on Friday with the 15 jurors who were not in the courtroom at the time, telling them his actions were 'self-explanatory. But the mum at the centre of the controversy said there needs to be a lot more education on the issue. 'I don't want any other mother to have to go through the overwhelming shame and humiliation that I experienced,' she told Herald Sun. 'It's not just about me, it's about all the other mothers out there who are struggling with breastfeeding and are not feeling supported.' Judge Gamble doubled down on his stance when he spoke to the jury on Friday repeating what he had said the day before. Judge Mark Gamble (pictured) evicted the mum as he presided over a high-profile case at the County Court in Victoria on Thursday, saying her breastfeeding was a 'distraction' 'It should all be self-explanatory, members of the jury,' he said. 'What I said was this, and I am reading from the transcripts: 'Madam, you will not be permitted to breastfeed a baby in court. I'm sorry. I will have to ask you to leave. It will be a distraction for the jury at the very least. Thank you'' 'I'm telling you this because it is something that has attracted some media publicity, and I think you need to know exactly what it was that I said and why I said it. 'As I said a moment ago, I think that it is self-explanatory.' Judge Gamble urged the jury to not let the media attention surrounding the court room eviction to stop them from making important decisions for the court case and said to 'focus on the issues at hand'. The mum who walked out of the court room crying on Thursday said she respected the judge and wasn't demanding an apology from him or the courts. But she is angry about singled her out for simply feeding her child. 'We're not where we were 20 years ago ... there's so many other ways he could have went about it,' she said. Greens Senator Larissa Waters (pictured) made history in 2017 for being the first woman to breastfeed in federal parliament called out the decision to oust the mum Meanwhile, the incident sparked outrage with prominent breastfeeding mums speaking their minds on the issue. Greens Senator Larissa Waters made history in 2017 for being the first woman to breastfeed in federal parliament. 'If I can breastfeed in Parliament, mums should be able to breastfeed anywhere. We definitely need more women judges - even breastfeeding ones!' she tweeted on Friday. Senator Waters breastfed her her baby daughter, Alia, while moving a motion on black lung disease in the Senate. Former Olympic aerial skier and politician Kirstie Marshall who was asked to leave Victorian parliament while she breastfed her then-11-day-old daughter Charlotte in 2003 also weighed into the controversy 'A woman is simply providing for her baby,' Ms Marshall (pictured) said this week 'A woman is simply providing for her baby in a institution that is by all intent is designed to represent justice, fairness and protection of equality,' she told 10News. 'The irony is not lost on anyone.' Presenters on Channel 10's flagship program The Project called for the need for understanding after the woman was 'shamed, singled out and humiliated'. Katherine Feeney told the panel mothers like her have to respond to their bubs when they need a feed. 'We can do this while maintaining the dignity of the court room it's been done in parliament - the more we see women breastfeeding in public places the better,' she said. Meanwhile, other presenters were 'surprised' the baby was in the court room in the first place. 'If the baby was there and it was that tiny and it's being breastfed, it's probably going to make noise it will need to eat - so there has to be some sort of understanding, journalist Georgie Tunny said. Earlier on Friday, Today show host Karl Stefanovic also weighed into the saga. Karl Stefanovic has blasted a judge for booting a breastfeeding mum and her child out of a courtroom 'I can't believe in this modern society,' he said. 'There are going to be people out there who say, 'Oh, well, she could've gone outside somewhere else'. Come off it, what is the big deal?' Police have released an image of a man they want to speak to after an elderly man was set on fire outside a west London mosque last month. The Metropolitan Police released images of the suspect who allegedly doused a 82-year-old man in a liquid, believed to be petrol, before setting him on fire using a lighter. The suspect engaged the victim in conversation as they both left the West London Islamic Centre on Singapore Road in Ealing, west London, at around 8pm on February 27. He then doused the victim in a liquid and set him alight before strolling away from the scene, investigators said. The victim was rushed to hospital where he received treatment for severe burns to his arms and face. Investigating officers have now released several CCTV images of the suspect from the mosque in the hope of identifying and catching the culprit The pair spoke for around five minutes outside the mosque before the attacker set fire to the 82-year-old victim - before simply strolling away CCTV images released today show a man kneeling to pray in the mosque in black trousers and a dark puffer jacket, with a white logo over the left side, before leaving the building with a rucksack on his back, wearing brown shoes. Officers are urging anyone with information to come forward after the 'incredibly shocking incident'. Investigators acknowledged the anxiety the incident had caused the mosque and its surrounding Muslim community. Detective Sergeant Steven Constable said: 'I know this will be an incredibly shocking incident for the community and we are carrying out a full investigation into what happened. 'Understandably, there is a great deal of local concern in the wake of this incident and local officers have been carrying out reassurance patrols daily at the mosque. 'We are continuing to work alongside the West London Islamic Centre who have been very supportive of our investigation and have been assisting us with our inquiries. CCTV images released by police of a man suspected to have set fire to an 82-year-old victim. Police are hunting a man who savagely doused an elderly pensioner in petrol and set him alight outside a mosque they'd both attended 'A key part of that is identifying the man in the image we have released.' In urging the public to come forward, he said: 'If you recognise this man I would urge you to get in touch, either directly with police or, to remain anonymous, contact Crimestoppers. 'I would also urge anyone who witnessed this incident and has not yet spoken to police to please get in touch.' Anyone who recognises the man or has further information is urged to call police on 101 quoting reference 6422/27FEB. You can also contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 to remain anonymous. SNP leadership rivals Humza Yousaf and Kate Forbes last night continued their increasingly bitter war-of-words in a second live TV debate. Both Mr Yousaf, the Scottish Health Secretary, and Ms Forbes, the Scottish Finance Secretary, took fresh swipes at each other in the race to become new SNP leader. The pair are the frontrunners in the contest to become Nicola Sturgeon's successor as party leader and first minister, with third candidate Ash Regan seen as an outsider. In a debate hosted by Channel 4 last night, Mr Yousaf continued to highlight Ms Forbes' socially conservative views. He suggested he would not be able to serve under Ms Forbes if she became first minister and did not continue with Ms Sturgeon's 'progressive' agenda. Mr Yousaf also sniped that the Tories were 'rooting for' Ms Forbes to win and put pressure on the Finance Secretary over her stance on abortion buffer zones. Humza Yousaf, the Scottish Health Secretary, and Kate Forbes, the Scottish Finance Secretary, took fresh swipes at each other in the race to become new SNP leader But Ms Forbes, a member of the evangelical Free Church of Scotland, insisted her religious views would not influence how she would lead as first minister. She also warned Mr Yousaf would face 'a lot worse' than her attacks on him, if he were to be elected SNP leader. The tensions between the pair spilled over into last night's debate from the first TV head-to-head on Tuesday, when Ms Forbes had panned Mr Yousaf's ministerial record and suggested he should be sacked from his current health brief. She used Tuesday's debate to accuse her fellow Cabinet minister of overseeing failures across the country's transport, justice and NHS systems during his time as a key member of the Scottish Government. Last night, Mr Yousaf berated Ms Forbes for 'trashing' the SNP's record and handing 'ammunition' to the party's opponents. 'We are only going to win independence, we are only going to win support for our cause if we work together as a team,' he said. 'But what unfortunately happened in the last TV debate, Kate, is you essentially gave our opponents so much ammunition to attack us with. 'In fact (Scottish Tory leader) Douglas Ross stood at First Minister's Questions today and said your words would be on every single Conservative leaflet. 'What you've done is you've handed the Conservatives and our opponents material, ammunition to attack and trash our record. 'They don't fear you Kate, they are rooting for you to win so your words are on every single leaflet.' Ms Forbes insisted the SNP's opponents 'do fear me' and warned Mr Yousaf: 'The future first minister is going to have to deal with a lot worse than we've been dealing with during this contest. 'They're going to have to stand up to the UK Government, they're going to have to stand up to the opposition, and they're going to be accountable to the people of Scotland who want answers and they want to see competent delivery of results.' Mr Yousaf suggested he would not be able to serve under Ms Forbes if she became first minister and did not continue with Nicola Sturgeon's 'progressive' agenda Former minister Ash Regan - seen as the outsider in the SNP leadership contest - pitched herself as the candidate that would push quickest for Scottish independence Mr Yousaf pressured Ms Forbes over her views on abortion, with legislation set to be introduced at Holyrood that would introduce buffer zones outside abortion clinics. Ms Forbes has repeatedly said she would support the principle of the legislation, but she refused to say if she felt abortion was morally wrong during last night's debate. 'When Kate was asked this question (about her support for buffer zones) the other day at a hustings, you said "with balance",' Mr Yousaf said. 'What I didn't understand is what you mean by that balance? 'I think it's right to ask what do you mean by that balance, would you allow, for example, prayer vigils?' In her response, Ms Forbes hit back at Mr Yousaf, saying: 'This is an example where we see another candidate trying to poke holes and trying to erode the honest and solemn commitments I have made. 'It boils down to a question of honesty does Humza accept my word when I say that I will uphold those legal protections and support buffer zones or not?' Mr Yousaf also hinted he could refuse to be part of the Scottish Government, if Ms Forbes became first minister. Asked if he could serve a leader who voted on issues according to their religious faith, the Health Secretary said: 'I am unashamedly progressie and we have done well with our progressive agenda in the SNP. 'If I was to be asked to be in a government, I would have to be comfortable that the progressive agenda that has won us so much support in this country - not just for the SNP but for independence - that that was something the next first minister is going to continue.' But Ms Forbes insisted her religious beliefs would not influence her leadership. 'It will infuence how I lead in the same way it influenced how I set my budgets; in other words, not at all,' the Finance Secretary said. Meanwhile, former minister Ms Regan pitched herself as the candidate that would push quickest for Scottish independence, saying: 'This is the time for brave hearts, not faint hearts.' The war in Ukraine is driven by the interests of several 'empires' and not just of Russia, Pope Francis has said. The 86-year-old pontiff said the brutal conflict was fuelled by 'imperial interests, not just of the Russian empire, but of empires from elsewhere. 'It is typical of the empire to put nations in second place,' he added. In the interview published Friday, the Pope expressed a readiness to talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin to call for peace. The Pope said he tried to go to Russia to meet with Putin to bring an end to the war after the invasion in February last year. Pope Francis waves to the crowd from the papamobile during his inauguration mass at St Peter's square on March 19, 2013 at the Vatican Ukrainian service members fire a mortar towards Russian troops outside the frontline town of Bakhmut Francis and Putin have met several times, and told the interview: 'Putin knows I'm available.' The pontiff added: 'On the second day of the war I went to the Russian embassy at the Holy See to say that I was willing to go to Moscow if Putin would give me a window to negotiate. 'Lavrov wrote to me saying thank you but now is not the time. Putin knows I am available. But there are imperial interests there, not only of the Russian empire, but of empires elsewhere. It is typical of the empire to put nations in second place.' Francis was speaking to Italian Swiss television RSI, in an interview due to be broadcast on Sunday. Extracts were published on Friday by Italian dailies La Repubblica, La Stampa and Corriere della Sera. The Pope, who was born in Argentina, has repeatedly called for an end to the war and denied being pro-Putin. However, he has previously suggested the invasion of Ukraine was 'perhaps in some way provoked'. Asking himself last year the comment made him a supporter of Putin, he said: 'No, I am not. It would be simplistic and wrong to say such a thing.' He added: 'I am simply opposed to reducing complexity to distinction between good and bad'. The Pope also denounced the injustice of war in his message at the Christmas Eve mass last year. The recent interview marks commemorations of the 10th anniversary of his election on March 13. Russian President Vladimir Putin attends an awarding ceremony marking International Women's Day at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, March 8, 2023 Ukrainian soldiers come back from Bakhmut in two BTR-80 vehicles in Chasiv Yar, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine on March 7, 2023 During the interview he also said he would resign if he got too tired and lost the capacity to govern the Roman Catholic Church. Last month, he had said that papal resignations should happen in only exceptional circumstances. His predecessor Benedict XVI, who died on Dec. 31 aged 95, became the first pontiff to resign in about 600 years when he stepped down in 2013. Asked what would lead him to make the same decision to quit, Francis said: 'A tiredness that doesn't make you see things clearly. A lack of clarity, of knowing how to evaluate situations'. Francis said he was 'a bit ashamed' to use a wheelchair due to a knee ailment. 'I am old. I have less physical resistance, the knee (problem) was a physical humiliation, even if the recovery is going well now,' he said. Pope Francis has been head of the Catholic Church since March 2013, on Monday marking 10 years of his papacy. U.S. President Joe Biden walks accross the South Lawn as he returns to the White House in Washington, DC, March 9, after speaking about his proposed Federal budget for the fiscal year 2024 in Philadelphia. AFP-Yonhap President Joe Biden presented Thursday what amounts to his 2024 reelection pitch on the U.S. economy, with a proposed budget targeting the rich with new taxes, while promising to assist the country's "working families." The details released by the White House due to be laid out in person by Biden in a speech later in Philadelphia throw down the gauntlet to Republicans as the president builds to an expected reelection campaign announcement. Republicans in Congress will certainly block most of Biden's proposals, arguing that spending cuts, not tax raises, are the solution to resolving the country's ballooning debt. However, they are now under pressure to explain where they would reduce spending. Democrats, meanwhile, are trying to seize the populist high ground by framing themselves as the party of ordinary Americans. Biden's plan will "invest in America, lower costs and cut taxes for working families," the White House said. "President Biden has long believed that we need to grow the economy from the bottom up and middle out, not the top down." Main points in Biden's budget proposal include a pledge to slash the federal deficit by $3 trillion over the next decade. Among measures achieving that would be a minimum 25 percent tax on the wealthiest 0.01 percent of Americans. And the corporate tax would rise from less than 10 percent to 28 percent, reversing a huge tax cut enacted under president Donald Trump in 2017, the White House said. Biden is also proposing to raise taxes on those earning more than $400,000 a year to ensure that Medicare the government-funded health insurance system for people over 65 remains solvent. Hiking the Medicare tax from 3.8 to 5.0 percent for those wealthy individuals would ensure the program's viability for more than two decades, the White House says. "My budget will ask that the rich pay their fair share so the millions of workers who helped build that wealth can retire with the Medicare they paid into," Biden tweeted Thursday. U.S. President Joe Biden visits Philadelphia to deliver remarks about his budget for fiscal year 2024 at the Finishing Trades Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., March 9. Reuters-Yonhap A Louisiana murder suspect has killed himself in jail two months after he was arrested over the murder of a Texas teacher he met on a dating app. Charvas Thompson, 26, who was being held for 28-year-old Wendy Duan's murder, died inside the Caddo Parish jail, police revealed Thursday, but they did not state when he was pronounced dead. Police responded to reports of a shooting at 9.50pm on January 7 in the 1100 block of Oxford Mills Lane in Sugar Land, Texas, where they found Duan dead in her backyard. Thompson, who she was dating, was arrested on January 11 in Louisiana in connection with the murder, more than 260 miles from the deadly shooting. The two had met on the dating app MeetMe, according to Duan's mother, who did not want to be identified. Charvas Thompson (pictured right), 26, who was being held for the murder of 28-year-old Wendy Duan (pictured left), died inside the Caddo Parish jail, police revealed Thursday, but they did not state when he was pronounced dead Thompson was arrested in connection to the murder, which took place in the 1100 block of Oxford Mills Lane in Sugar Land, Texas, on January 7 She told KHOU11 that she had not been comfortable with the arrangement. Speaking of the tragedy, she said: 'It's unbelievable. The guy is very evil. He took her life away. I hope this guy gets the full legal punishment.' Duan was a third-grade language arts teacher with the Alief Independent School District. Charvas Thompson was arrested in connection with the murder on January 11 in Louisiana, more than 260 miles from the deadly shooting According to her mother, Duan was dedicated to her job and put her students first. In December 2021, Duan was named English as a Second Language (ESL) Teacher of the Year, according to a post on her Facebook page. 'I still can't believe that I won ESL teacher of the year. The whole time I kept telling people that there's no way that I would win,' she wrote. 'Especially going against other teachers who have been teaching way longer than I have. Thanks to the people who believed in me and voted for me!' In a video on her Facebook account, the 28-year-old teacher can be seen marking papers for school. In the post, shot on her phone, Duan pans round to a stack of papers she had left to mark over the weekend. 'My a** has been procrastinating because I'm just not one of those teachers that grades throughout the week, so I wait last minute and their due tomorrow,' she can be heard saying. Duan was a third-grade language arts teacher with the Alief Independent School District and was named English as a Second Language (ESL) Teacher of the Year in December 2021 On her Instagram profile, Duan wrote that she is a University of Houston Alumni. The profile included several pictures of the 28-year-old performing day-to-day activities and hanging out with friends, as well as photographs of her car. Some posts indicate that Duan was not short of date offers, with followers questioning her relationship status and some even asking her out. Tributes flooded in for the Texas teacher after the news of her death spread to family and friends. One person said that Duan loved to help her community posting pictures of her doing charity work One person who Duan volunteered with wrote: 'Sad to learn about one of our volunteers 29-year-old Wendy Duan being killed' Tributes flooded in for the Texas teacher after the news of her death spread to family and friends. One person posted on Facebook: 'The small moments I spent with her she was a force of light. You can just tell. I remember going to her home and see all the cards on her fridge from her students and the faculty members from her school. 'She was and still loved by many people & my heart breaks that she lost her life. No one deserves that.' It continued: 'She was a kind soul, from what I knew of her and my heart breaks that none of her friends and family will ever be able to experience that again.' On her Instagram profile, she wrote that she is a University of Houston Alumni. The profile has several pictures of the 28-year-old showing her day-to-day activities and hanging out with friends, as well as pictures of her car Some posts indicate that Duan was not short of date offers, with followers questioning her relationship status and some even asking her out Another person who Duan volunteered with said: 'She wanted to do some good deeds in the community, so she came out to volunteer with us. She was a very friendly, and soft-spoken person. 'We all had a good genuine vibe about her. We had prayer with her Wow you just never know what a person is going through. Our sincere condolences to her family.' The Alief Independent School District wrote in a statement: 'We are deeply saddened to learn about the tragic passing of Alief ISD employee Wendy Duan. 'She was a third grade reading and writing teacher at Boone Elementary. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family during this difficult time. 'She is a 2017 Graduate of the University of Houston and was on the Dean's List in the College of Education from Fall 2015-2017 and is the HAABE (Houston Area Association of Bilingual Educators) 2021-2022 Teacher of the Year.' Britain's High Streets are set to be hit by more closures from tomorrow as Argos, Boots and B&Q shut branches. Argos in Coatbridge, Lanarkshire, Scotland, will shut its doors as part of Sainsbury's plans to get rid of 50 standalone branches by the end of this month, according to reports. Boots will also get rid of two of its shops tomorrow: in Church Street, Malvern, near Worcester, and in Port Arcades Shopping Centre, Ellesmere, near Chester. These closures will come on the same day B&Q says goodbye to eight of its mini branches seen inside Asda supermarkets, according to the Sun. Instead, B&Q aims to launch small stores on the High Street. Our map shows where B&Q, Argos and Boots stores are closing across the country From March 11, B&Q will close its concession in the following locations: Sheffield Drakehouse, Dagenham, Roehampton, Edmonton, Thurmaston, Great Bridge, Lancaster and Hartlepool. A B&Q spokesman told MailOnline: 'To adapt to changing consumer demand for speed and convenience, B&Q has been testing smaller store formats on high streets, on retail parks and in concession formats within Asda stores. 'Thanks to our "test and learn" approach, we're continually gathering feedback from customers and colleagues, helping us evolve the shopping experience in these smaller stores. 'We have decided to focus on developing our blueprint for smaller high street formats. We recently launched our new brand of small format stores, B&Q Local, with a view to expanding into more locations and, as a result, we will be closing eight small concessions within Asda stores. 'All employees have been offered alternative employment at nearby stores.' A spokesman for Boots told MailOnline: 'Boots has over 2,200 stores across the UK. 'We continually review locations to make sure they are where our customers need us most and it is never a decision we take lightly when looking to close a store.' The statement continued: 'Two stores Port Arcade store in Ellesmere and Church Street store in Malvern will close tomorrow as part of previously announced store closures. 'In all cases there is an alternative Boots store less than three miles away. 'Affected team members have been offered opportunities in other stores in the local area. 'Boots stores nearby will continue to offer pharmacy services and customers can find their nearest store at Store Locator (boots.com).' MailOnline has contacted Argos owner Sainsbury's for comment. The B&Q branch inside Sheffield Drakehouse's Asda supermarket is one of the branches to get the cut The Argos in Coatbridge is also shutting its doors in fresh blow to the local economy Boot's Church Street store in Malvern will also close tomorrow one of two that are shutting Marks and Spencer is another name closing stores across the country as it battles soaring costs in yet another blow to the ailing British High Street. The department store announced last year it would be closing 67 larger stores as it looks to open more of its popular Foodhalls in a push to save 300million including reducing a 100million energy bill. M&S chief executive Stuart Machin said the retailer aims to have 180 'full-line' shops selling food, clothing and homeware products by early 2028 down from 247. The first of the stores to shut, in East Kilbride Shopping Centre, closed its doors on February 25, with other closures over the spring, some of which are still undergoing consultation. Seven 'lower productivity, full line stores' are having the shutters pulled down for good but the closures are still undergoing consultation Meanwhile, budget chain Poundland is opening 12 new stores in a fresh boom for Britain's struggling High Streets. The retailer has confirmed the dates of four new openings with the rest of the stores set to open at some point next month. Among the new sites will be the chain's Scottish flagship store in Crown Street, Glasgow, which will become the country's largest branch at 18,380 square feet. The openings come as part of a wider plan to by the discount retailer to open or relocate 50 new shops by the end of the year. The branches will be across the High Street, shopping centres and retail parks. The budget retailer is set to open 12 shops across the UK over this and next month here is where they will all be Last month, Sainsbury's announced plans to close two Argos depots over the next three years in a move that will impact 1,400 jobs. The supermarket giant confirmed it is aiming to shut its Argos warehouse in Basildon, Essex, and a depot in Heywood, Greater Manchester, by 2026. Bosses said staff losing their jobs would have the 'opportunity to find alternative roles' elsewhere in the business. The retailer is closing 50 larger Argos stores before the end of the financial year in favour of investing in more small branches inside Sainsbury's supermarkets. Police have launched an investigation after a woman and two children were found dead inside a property in London. A 47-year-old woman and two boys, aged seven and nine, were found dead at a home on Mayfield Road in Belvedere, near Bexleyheath in south-east London, after officers and London Ambulance Service crews were called to the scene. Investigators are currently unable to confirm whether the three are related, as the bodies have not yet been formally identified. Detectives are not actively seeking anyone else in connection with the investigation and post-mortem examinations will be arranged. The terraced property which is on a road where the average house price in the last 12 months was 395,000 was sealed off on Friday following the discovery of the bodies on Thursday morning. A 47-year-old woman and two boys, seven and nine have been found dead inside a house in Belvedere, near Bexleyheath, in south east London Detectives are not actively seeking anyone else in connection with the investigation and post-mortem examinations will be arranged A Met Police spokesperson said: 'Detectives are investigating following the deaths of three people at an address in south London. 'Police were called at 11:50hrs on Thursday to concerns for the welfare of occupants at an address on Mayfield Road in Belvedere. 'Officers and London Ambulance Service attended. At the scene, a 47-year-old woman and two boys, aged nine and seven, were found deceased inside the property. 'Next of kin have been notified. Post-mortem examinations will be arranged in due course. 'The Met's Specialist Crime Command is leading the investigation. 'At this early stage, detectives are not actively seeking anyone else in connection with the investigation. A crime scene remains in place.' A London Ambulance Service spokesman said: 'We were called at 12.16pm yesterday (9 March) to reports of an incident on Mayfield Road, Belvedere. 'We sent a medic in a fast response car and two incident response officers to the scene. 'Sadly three people were pronounced dead at the scene.' He hit his head and sustained an injury which rendered him disabled to this day A grandfather who fell from a village loft and cracked his head while helping out at a school nativity play is suing for more than 200,000. Graham Holdsworth, 64, from Walsingham, was volunteering at Langham Village School's Christmas show at Blakeney Village Hall, Norfolk, when he fell in December 2018. He was asked to put on the stage lights by a 'stressed and anxious' headteacher minutes before the play was due to start, he climbed up a loft ladder, but lost his footing and crashed to the ground floor. Mr Holdsworth, a DIY shop worker, says he sustained an injury which has rendered him disabled and still affects him to this day. He has now filed papers suing local education authority Norfolk County Council and the Blakeney Village Hall as well as the Pavilion Trust for more than 200,000 in compensation at the High Court in London. Grandfather Graham Holdsworth, 64, (pictured) who fell from a village loft and cracked his head while was volunteering at a local primary school's nativity play in Blakeney, Norfolk, in December 2018, is suing for more than 200,000 He was asked to put on the stage lights by a 'stressed and anxious' headteacher minutes before the play was due to start, he climbed up a loft ladder, but lost his footing and crashed to the ground floor. The DIY shop worker says he sustained an injury which has rendered him disabled and still affects him to this day (pictured following the injury) Both deny liability, with lawyers for the council arguing that if the school is held responsible for his accident, it could jeopardise school plays being held all over the country. James Todd, KC, the council's barrister, said: 'A school nativity play is a desirable activity and the school's ability to call on occasional volunteer help with simple tasks for such an activity is a benefit to the school and to society.' In papers filed at the court, Mr Holdsworth's lawyers say he agreed to operate the sound board at Langham Village School's December 2018 nativity play after the normal sound man was unable to attend. A few days before the performance was due to take place, he was shown by the usual sound operator, Peter Yetman, how to operate the audio system at the venue and how to turn off the lights afterwards. He was shown by Mr Yetman, who is a member of local amateur dramatics group, the Blakeney Players, to a small room where a retractable ladder allowed access to a loft where the switch was situated. On the day of the show, he was approached by 'stressed and anxious' school head Polly Kossowicz, who said the play would not be able to start without the lights being turned on and asking for his help, say his lawyers. 'When the claimant reached the room in which the loft access point was situated, the retractable ladder was not pulled down,' the documents state. 'The loft hatch was open and the ladder was retracted within it. The claimant had not been given any instruction or training in how to draw down the ladder and put it in place in order to make it safe for use. 'Mrs Kossowicz indicated to the claimant that the play needed to start urgently. The claimant therefore attempted to pull down the ladder. He pulled it down as best he could and began to climb it. He has now filed papers suing local education authority Norfolk County Council and the Blakeney Village Hall (pictured) as well as the Pavilion Trust for more than 200,000 compensation at the High Court in London Lawyers for Mr Holdsworth (pictured before the injury) say he agreed to operate the sound board at Langham Village School's play after the normal sound man was unable to attend. A few days before the performance was due to take place, he was shown by the usual sound operator, Peter Yetman, how to operate the audio system and switch off the lights after 'Rather than foot the ladder, Mrs Kossowicz walked away to the door and started to talk urgently to a person who had come to look for her. 'As the claimant neared the top of the ladder, the top plate on which he was standing moved and the whole ladder swung beneath him. 'He fell from height to the ground below. He struck his head, initially on the edge of the loft hatch and then subsequently on the hard floor. His back also hit the hard floor.' Mr Holdsworth suffered a 'serious traumatic brain injury,' which has led to 'cognitive, executive and emotional dysfunction' and changes to his personality, it is claimed. He also suffered a spinal injury, has been left permanently disabled and his ability to work hampered, say the lawyers. On the day of the show, he was approached by 'stressed and anxious' school head Polly Kossowicz, who said the play would not be able to start without the lights being turned on and asking for his help, say his lawyers (pictured is Blakeney Village Hall) He is suing the village hall trust, as managers of the venue, and the local authority, which is responsible for the school. Mr Holdsworth claims no sufficient risk assessment was undertaken and that safe access to the light switch was not provided. He was also not shown how to safely use the ladder, which was in place ready for use when he first visited, but retracted on the day of the show. Both the trust and the council deny liability for the accident. In its defence to the claim, the trust's barrister Steven Snowden, KC, says the stage lights which could have been used were operated by a switch next to the stage. The ones in the loft from which Mr Holdsworth fell were special 'theatrical lights' which were owned by the local amateur dramatics group, the Blakeney Players. 'The residual control over the conditions and safety and use of the lighting loft and the means of access to it rested with the Blakeney Players and those to whom they gave access to the loft, such as the local education authority and its employees and volunteers on 14 December 2018,' he says. 'The agreement between the trust and the council did not include provision for the council to make use of the 'theatrical lights' accessed via the lighting loft. 'However, it is denied that it was reasonably foreseeable that those putting on the play would need to enter the lighting loft. 'The production could have been put on using the local 'stage lights' only, which were switched and controlled from the stage, not from the lighting loft.' In defending its claim, the council is relying on the Compensation Act 2006, which forces courts to take special account of whether the event at which an accident occurs was a 'desirable' community activity. It also points to the Social Action, Responsibility and Heroism Act 2015, which protects those who are acting for the 'benefit of society' when something goes wrong and they are sued. 'Schools would be discouraged from taking advantage of offers of volunteer services if it were the case that such an arrangement required the school to treat the volunteer as if he or she were an employee for all purposes,' Mr Todd says. However he also claims that a 'reasonable and adequate risk assessment' of the performance had been conducted by school staff. 'There was a reasonably safe means of access to the light switch, involving the use of the ladder, properly operated,' he continues. A trial will take place at a later date, unless the case is settled beforehand. A British tourist has been arrested in Greece after reports said he attempted a U-turn and struck and killed an individual on a passing motorbike. The 52-year-old Brit, who has not been named for legal reasons, is said to have hit the 42-year-old head-on with his car yesterday. The Brit was said to be attempting to perform a U-turn in the middle of the road and struck the motorcyclist. The incident occurred around 3pm on Thursday outside a fire station near the village of Prosilio on the Kalamata-Areopolis road that runs across the southern coast of the country. Local reports said the motorcyclist, a father-of-two, was killed instantly. It is believed the motorcyclist was returning home south to Kalamata (pictured) on his motorcycle after work The father-of-two was a driver at an intercity bus firm in Messina, a region in the southwestern part of Greece's Peloponnese region. It is believed he was returning home south to Kalamata on his motorcycle after work. Western Mani police said the collision happened some 17 miles (around 27 kilometers) along the long stretch of road. Police said the driver, heading towards Areopoli, further down the coast, then entered the opposite flow of traffic. The municipality's Western Mani authorities confirmed that the 52-year-old British citizen was arrested. Police said they would continue to investigate the fatal incident. The death of a 14-year-old Ukrainian girl on a beach in Devon is not suspicious, police confirmed today. Albina Yevko, who had settled in Dawlish with her mother Inna, died in hospital after being discovered unconscious in the Devon seaside town on Saturday evening. Today, Devon and Cornwall Police said a CCTV trawl, a post mortem and a review of Albina's phone showed there was 'no third party involvement' in her death. They added that she had 'settled very well into the UK' and had 'enjoyed living by the sea and being part of a new family'. The force did not give any cause of death and said the case had been passed to the coroner. Albina Yevko, 14, had been living in Dawlish after fleeing Ukraine following Russia's invasion Inna Yevko with her daughter Albina as a child in Ukraine. She has spoken of her heartbreak Detective Inspector Becky Davies said: 'Following police enquiries undertaken throughout the Dawlish area, including CCTV trawls, review of Albina's phone and a forensic post mortem; investigative officers can confirm that there was no third party involvement and that the death of Albina Yevko is not suspicious. 'Our investigation shows that Albina had settled very well in the UK since moving from Ukraine and enjoyed living by the sea and being part of a new family. 'She had made good friends, both Ukrainian and English in the UK, enjoyed school and was very much welcomed by the local community. 'We have informed Albina's next of kin of our findings and we ask that their privacy is respected at such a difficult time. 'The police's role is to continue gathering information surrounding this matter and to submit a file to the coroner who will hold an inquest into this death in due course. 'We would like to thank everyone who has helped us with our investigation into this matter. Our thoughts are with all who knew Albina at this tragic time.' Albina had moved to the UK in May last year after the Russian invasion - and was settling into new life and attending the local secondary school. Tributes have continued to pour in for the schoolgirl - with those who knew her expressing their shock at her death. The teenager, who attended a local school, was found on a beach in Dawlish Olena Kravchenko, 39, a married accountant from Kharkiv, also came to the UK in May with her daughter, Vasilisa, seven, and had grown close to the family. She said: 'I didn't believe it when I heard she had died. I thought this is not about her. I thought it was about another person, or a pet - a cat, hamster or fish. I couldn't believe it. 'Nobody thought it would be that way. We came abroad to find a safe place, so nobody could imagine that this could happen. 'Albina was lovely girl. She was calm, she was smart. I can't say she was very communicative. As with all kids [from Ukraine] she was with some stress and some not understanding how it will be one year later. 'She was normal teenager - calm, kind, smart. She was a very good girl.' Ms Kravchenko said she met Albina's mother Inna at a local church in Dawlish shortly after arriving in the UK last year and had been supporting her. She added: 'For any kid, it's difficult to adjust. Our kids could learn English a little bit, but they can't speak good. This isn't a second language for them. They can know only a few phrases and it's difficult to make friendships. 'I don't think she was struggling with something. She didn't speak about struggling. Her mum, she never said about any problems in school. She didn't speak about this. I can only assume she didn't have any problems.' Police pictured on Monday close to the beach where Albina was found on Saturday Ms Kravchenko, whose husband and brother are in Ukraine fighting, said Inna was from an area called Kryvyi Rih. She added: 'It was normal to meet people like this because all our lives, being displaced from Ukraine, we are on the move. 'I found out about Albina on Sunday. Us Ukrainians speak with each other, and if something bad happens, of course people will call or message. It's a close community. 'My message to Inna would be don't give up. Everything will be good one day. For all Ukrainians. 'Albina was really nice person. She didn't offend anybody. She was nice girl. And her mother, she is really brilliant person - she is a good mother, a good worker and a good friend. I can't say anything bad about either of them. 'She loved to read books, she was a normal kid. My daughter was playing with Albina and they listened to music together. 'Her daughter was the one point of her life. She is alone and she had only a daughter. It is so sad. 'It's like you lost your friend. We knew this girl. She was a normal teenager. 'We are willing to support Inna with everything that we can and give her everything she needs.' Paying an earlier tribute alongside the release of a photo of her daughter, Inna said: 'Myself and my family are devastated to have lost our beautiful Albina. 'Nothing can ever replace her in our hearts. 'We ask that our privacy is respected at this incredibly painful time.' Police were first called on March 4 to reports Albina had gone missing. She was found on Dawlish Beach and airlifted to the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, where she later died. Another close family friend Viktoriia Zviholska, 38, added: 'She was not only young, but also very bright, smart, interesting, she loved to draw. 'She was a good person. I can't believe this could happen to her. Albina always discussed with her mother what she would do and where she would go. 'They liked England. Albina rejoiced at the new school. I found good people in them. I have only good memories of our time together.' Inna Yevko (R) Albina's mother, pictured with her friend Viktoriia Zviholska (L), who revealed they had come to Dawlish last May Angela Wood, owner of Coast to Coast souvenir shop in Dawlish, said: 'I'm shocked and saddened. There are quite a few Ukrainian families here. 'As a mother it is just very sad. It's really tragic. When you think of all the trauma they have already gone through it's heartbreaking.' Ukraine's foreign affairs ministry said it was aware of the death and that its 'embassy is cooperating with the British [police] in order to establish the circumstances'. Dawlish College, where Albina was a pupil, said she 'would be sorely missed by all who knew her'. Headteacher Sam Banks said the school was 'devastated to learn of the tragic death'. He added: 'Our thoughts are currently with Albina's family and loved ones and we have extended our deepest condolences and offers of support to them. 'We have set up emotional support... for staff and students. We would like to respect and echo the family's request that their privacy be respected.' Ron DeSantis is privately telling people he will run for president in 2024 as he makes his first trip to the important early campaign state of Iowa on Friday. Iowa would be a crucial test for the Florida governor. The state will hold the first Republican nominating contest early next year and, if DeSantis could beat Donald Trump in its caucuses, it would show his strength and viability as a candidate. DeSantis has made no formal announcement about his 2024 plans but he has indicated privately that he intends to run for president, two people familiar with his comments told The Washington Post. He has long been seen as presidential contender for Republicans. His trip to Iowa comes three days before Trump visits the state to campaign there in his first visit since announcing his 2024 bid. Nikki Haley, who also has announced a presidential campaign, is in the middle of a three-day Iowa campaign swing. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will be in Iowa on Friday, an important early voting state in the Republican presidential primary Trump has deep ties to the state - thanks to his previous two presidential campaigns - and is popular there. But a new Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll out Friday shows his support is starting to erode: the percentage of Iowa Republicans who say they would 'definitely' vote for him if he were the 2024 nominee has plummeted by more than 20 points since June 2021. The poll also found Trump and DeSantis are on par when it comes to approval in the state: 44% of voters approve of Trump with 42% approving DeSantis. Both are about 20 points ahead of Haley. DeSantis on Friday will appear at events in Des Moines and Davenport that will be moderated by Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, who has said she will remain neutral in the GOP presidential primary. Then the Florida governor heads to Nevada on Saturday - another important early voting state in the Republican presidential primary. The trips - including one to the Ronald Reagan presidential library in Simi Valley, California last week - are part of DeSantis' effort to build his national profile, introduce himself to voters, and connect with donors ahead of an expected presidential announcement. DeSantis allies don't expect him to announce a presidential bid until after the Florida state legislative session ends in May. But, already, a super PAC has been formed that could be a boost to his presidential campaign. Never Back Down will be run by Ken Cuccinelli, who served as acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services during the Trump administration, and Chris Jankowski, a veteran GOP operative. All of DeSantis' recent moves point to his presidential ambitions and those close to him told the Post that the governor is talking about a campaign without any caveats that would suggest he's still deciding. Former Presidential Donald Trump will visit Iowa on Monday - his first visit to the state since announcing he will run again in 2024 Nikki Haley is in the middle of a three-day Iowa tour - above she campaigns in Nevada, Iowa Late last month DeSantis held a private, three-day retreat in Palm Beach - where Trump resides in Florida - with several prominent Republicans, many of whom backed the former president. The event, billed as a celebration of his policies for the state he refers to as the 'Florida blueprint,' also served as a way to connect him to donors and powerbrokers in the party. He also recently published a book: The Courage to Be Free: Florida's Blueprint for America's Revival. He is pitching his policies in Florida as a 'blueprint' for the nation. His events in Iowa and Nevada are tied to that book tour, which many see as a precursor to a presidential campaign. Iowa, famous for its retail politics, will also be a test of DeSantis' campaign abilities. The governor has faced chatter he's not a natural on the campaign trail, that he lacks charm and seems unwilling to commit to the hours of glad-handling and schmoozing it takes to campaign. In Iowa, face time counts. Presidential candidates are expected to make multiple trips, visit nearly every county in the state, and do extensive retail campaigning. That strategy gave early boosts to other Republicans in past presidential primaries: Mike Huckabee in 2008, Rick Santorum in 2012 and Ted Cruz in 2016. From left: Madison DeSantis, 6; first lady Casey DeSantis; Mason DeSantis, 4; and Gov. Ron DeSantis hold their hand over their hearts as they recite the Pledge of Allegiance at the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California on Sunday, March 5, 2023 Trump lashed out at DeSantis for the trip, accusing him of trying to 'kill ethanol' - an important issue to Iowa farmers. 'Why on earth (farmer's love earth!) would the wonderful people of the GREAT State of Iowa vote for Ron DeSanctimonious when he voted and fought to KILL Ethanol (and will definitely do so if given the chance),' Trump wrote on his Truth Social website Thursday night. 'He will be in Iowa on Friday to beg for mercy. I supported Ethanol, FIRED NAFTA, & made USMCA & China Trade Deals!' While in Congress in 2017, DeSantis co-sponsored legislation that would have immediately ended the Renewable Fuel Standard, a mandate that requires renewable fuel to be blended into the nation's fuel supply. One of those requirements is met by corn starch ethanol. Iowa produces more corn than any other state. Trump will be in Davenport on Monday to outline his education plan and take questions from voters. It's his first visit to the state since he announced he's running for president again. He clearly sees DeSantis as a threat - giving him the derogatory nickname Ron DeSanctimonious and accusing him of wanting to cut Medicare and Social Security benefits. DeSantis will visit the Rhythm City Casino Resort in Davenport and then head to the Iowa State Fairgrounds, a traditional destination for presidential candidates. He'll also make a stop in Des Moines between his public events to meet with a small group of Republican lawmakers. In Las Vegas on Saturday, DeSantis will visit the night club Stoney's Rockin' Country with Adam Laxalt, a longtime friend who was the GOP nominee for Senate in Nevada last year. Historic levels of snow will be washed out, leading to flash flooding 21 California counties are under a state of emergency A severe weather front is set to batter the West Coast over the weekend Catastrophic flash floods have hit California as the state is slammed by its third major storm of the year. The devastating 'Pineapple Express' storm hit the West Coast on Thursday evening, placing 21 counties under a state of emergency while evacuation orders were issued in several coastal counties. Roughly 17 million people in parts of California and Nevada are under flood watches as of Friday, with the weather front bringing upwards of an inch of rain every hour through the day. The death toll from the region's recent weather destruction rose to 14 Friday morning after one person died when a warehouse roof partially collapsed in Oakland, California, in what a fire official said was a likely weather-related incident. And more than a dozen people have died and many more remain stranded in the San Bernadino mountain range as historic amounts of snow have hit the Golden State. Recent weeks have seen some of the most destructive weather on the West Coast in decades, with snowpack levels across the state currently 215 percent higher than normal, according to forecaster Snoflo. Torrential rain will continue to batter the Golden State over the weekend, while 21 counties are under a state of emergency The wet and wild weather comes after California has seen historic snowfall in recent months, with mountainous regions remaining under deep snowpack Hundreds of residents in Soquel are likely left stranded this weekend in the Santa Cruz Mountains after a key road was washed out by the flash floods Fears of roof collapses in hard-hit California mountains as rain follows massive snowfall. @molareports has the latest. pic.twitter.com/vqt8jIS4Px Good Morning America (@GMA) March 10, 2023 A Level Four of Four excessive rainfall warning has been issued for California residents stretching over 120 miles from Salinas to San Luis Obispo. The National Weather Service is warning of severe storms leading to catastrophic flooding in several areas along the West Coast heading into the weekend. 'Multiple rounds of rainfall in addition to melting snow will result in the potential for significant rises along streams and rivers, with widespread flooding impacts possible through early next week,' the forecaster said Thursday. Nevada is also expected to be hit by the storm, causing potent wind gusts and further flooding across the northeast of the state. The area has been blanketed in upwards of 170 inches of snowpack, with the deepest snow reaching a depth of 230 inches at Leavitt Lake. But with torrential rain now forecast to wash out the state, rapidly melting snow is leading to fears over severe property damage and travel chaos in the coming days. As of 6am Friday, more than 67,000 homes and businesses across California were without power. Roofs collapsed under the deep snow and rainfall in some communities, while Yosemite National Park has closed its doors until Monday due to the inclement weather. And forecasters have warned that the influx will potentially put further 'lives and property' in 'great danger' in California. 'Areas that do not experience flash flooding will flood,' continued the National Weather Service. 'The first round of heavy precipitation is expected through Friday, with heavy precipitation likely again late Sunday through early next week.' Deputies reportedly went door-to-door Thursday night as the San Lorenzo River began overflowing due to the downpour. Santa Cruz County ordered residents in Felton Grove, Paradise Park and Soquel Village to evacuate, with local Sean Gianni telling KABC it was his fourth evacuation due to California's recent weather struggle. 'The river comes like super far up, there are a couple of houses in the neighborhood that aren't even raised so they are going to go completely underwater,' he said. All residents in Kernville have also been ordered to evacuate, with approximately 1,000 people instructed to vacate the region as torrential rain hammers the area. One person died and another was injured Friday morning after a roof collapsed under heavy rain in Oakland, California California Governor Gavin Newsom has placed 21 counties under a state of emergency after a severe weather front made landfall Thursday evening A portion of Interstate 580 was closed after it was washed out by severe flooding Thick snowfall has continued to blanket the Sierra Nevada Mountains, pictured, with the state currently experiencing 215 percent deeper snow than normal Hundreds of residents are likely left stranded this weekend in the Santa Cruz Mountains after a key road was washed out by the flash floods Friday morning. Stunning footage shows the community of Soquel watching on after the fast-flowing water took out the only road connecting them to a nearby town. The Santa Rosa Fire Department has also warned people to avoid all 'unnecessary travel,' as shocking images showed the entirety of Highway 12 submerged. In San Mateo County, around 20 miles from San Francisco, two motorists escaped serious injury after a tree collapsed onto their Tesla due to the high winds. Speaking after placing 21 counties under a state of emergency, California Governor Gavin Newsom said Wednesday evening: 'The state is working around the clock with local partners to deploy life-saving equipment and first responders to communities across California. 'With more dangerous storms on the horizon, well continue to mobilize every available resource to protect Californians.' The governor has since requested a Presidential Emergency Declaration to aid his response to the storm. Newsom's Friday appeal is his second request in the last two months as California continues to be slammed by frequent weather bombs. In San Mateo County, high winds caused a tree to crush a Tesla while two occupants, who survived, were inside Highway 12 in Santa Rosa, California was submerged Friday as torrential rain washed out the region The Los Angeles area is set to be hit with torrential rain in the coming days It comes after at least 13 have died directly due to the wild weather and heavy snowfall in recent weeks, which left large numbers without power across the region. Back-to-back snowstorms dumped over 17 feet of snow in San Bernadino County over the last two weeks, as the Sheriff's Department saying they have responded to 13 related deaths since February 23. Residents in the mountain communities told the Los Angeles Times that they have been left stranded without food, electricity, heat and medication for weeks. 'They're going to find more dead,' warned resident Liberty Guerrero, who said she knows three elderly locals who died in the last week. Last week, San Bernadino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus warned locals to avoid the mountains due to the deep snowfall, while deputies tirelessly worked to extract the stranded residents. Many remained trapped inside their homes in San Bernadino, California as emergency vehicles struggle to get through the snow-covered roads The 'Pineapple Express' storm is set to stretch through the nation after battering the West Coast The 'Pineapple Express' storm will begin moving through the Midwest over the weekend, bringing upwards of six inches of snow to the Northern Plains. After stretching through Missouri, Illoinois and Wisconsin through the weekend, the storm will bring modest wind gusts and some snow. Hitting the East Coast by Sunday, more wild weather is predicted to linger through to Wednesday. Bitter winds, torrential rain and snow in places is expected, and while the exact track of the weather front has not been confirmed, it is predicted to hug parts of the Northeast seaboard into next week. A man has been arrested and charged after he allegedly fractured his four-month-old daughters arm during a trip to a dog beach in Western Australia. WA Child Abuse Squad detectives have charged a 24-year-old man after an investigation was launched when the child was allegedly injured on January 8. Police allege the man was with his baby girl and partner at the Yanchep dog beach on Brazier Road in Yanchep about 10.30am when the incident occurred. Police will allege the man was responsible for his daughter suffering a fractured upper arm. WA detectives have charged a man in relation to the alleged assault of four-old baby girl In an earlier callout for community assistance, police alleged the infant had sustained fractures and bruising while at the beach between 9am and 12pm. She was taken to the Perth Childrens Hospital where she received medical treatment for her arm and other injuries that were identified. The Merriwa man has been charged with aggravated assault occasioning bodily harm. He is due to appear before the Joondalup Magistrates Court on April 5. Western Australia Police on Friday thanked the public for their assistance in the investigation. A fifth American who was denied entry to Mexico where her four friends were later kidnapped by the notorious Gulf Cartel has said the group told her they'd only be across the border 'for 15 minutes'. Cheryl Orange traveled to the southern border with Latavia 'Tay' McGee, Eric Williams, Zindell Brown, Shaeed Woodard for her friend's cosmetic tummy tuck. But Orange said she was unable to enter Mexico because she lacked the proper identification - and the four carried on to Matamoros where they were caught in gang crossfire before being abducted. Only Williams and McGee survived the ordeal. Orange told CNN that after she was unable to enter Mexico, the group dropped her off at their hotel and said they 'return in 15 minutes'. She spoke of the ordeal as pictures emerged of a stolen Lamborghini that was seized by Mexican police near the wooden shack where survivors Williams and McGee were found along with the bodies of their murdered friends. Police also recovered the stolen ambulance that was used by cartel members to drive the American victims to a local clinic for treatment following the attack. Cheryl Orange traveled to the southern border with Latavia 'Tay' McGee, Eric Williams, Zindell Brown, Shaeed Woodard for her friend's cosmetic tummy tuck. Orange couldn't get into Mexico and her friends said they'd return 'in 15 minutes' A stolen Lamborghini was seized by police near the shack where the kidnap victims were held Orange said: 'When I told her that I didn't have my ID with me [to enter Mexico], they dropped me off at the hotel and said they would return in 15 minutes.' 'That's why I was so worried and in fear, because it didn't seem right. Fifteen minutes had gone by, they were not there.' She said: 'When they dropped me off at the hotel, I had got into the shower, I showered and I laid on the bed, I was exhausted from the long hours, the long ride, so I ended up falling asleep. 'I woke up and it was already 5pm in the afternoon.' Orange said she asked hotel staff whether the group had returned or made contact but they hadn't 'I called my boyfriend, I called Tay's brother and I said something is not right and I text my roommate. I said something's not right. 9 o'clock got here, 12 o'clock got here, midnight and an hour into Saturday morning. 'At 10.23 it's literally a few minutes before checkout. I'm like there's no way, I called the cops immediately.' Orange described the moment she saw footage which purported to show the kidnapping, in which cartel members force their victims into a white truck. Orange's trip came to a sudden halt when she was denied entry because she lacked the proper identification - the four carrying on to Matamoros where they were caught in gang crossfire before being abducted. Only Williams and McGee surviving the ordeal Orange said: 'I dropped the phone, my body clenched up, I dropped the phone, my stomach was in knots and I just began praying for the return of them. I didnt know much about the cartels and I started looking up videos and it was bad. I began to think the worst.' She added: 'I want the world to leave us alone and stop being mean. I want them to have a heart because everyone has a past. What happened to her wasn't right. She didn't deserve it, she's a beautiful person. When I spoke to Latavia yesterday, she said thank you. She told me thank you.' The interview came before details pictures surfaced this morning of a stolen Lamborghini seized by police near the shack where the cartel kept Williams and McGee along with their murdered friend. ABC reported the vehicle was among five vehicles that were seized. The interview with Orange comes after footage obtained by the NCbeat appear to show McGee, Williams, Brown, Woodard and Orange happily singing as they traveled to the southern border. Orange later stressed to authorities that the group had been at the southern tip of Texas for the cosmetic procedure as lengthy rap sheets emerged of the four members who were hauled into a truck and kidnapped for four days by Mexican crime and drug syndicate the Gulf Cartel. A case report obtained by NewsNation states that Orange 'appeared worried and nervous' and 'an odor of marijuana' had been 'emitting from her person.' The report from the Brownsville Police Department also stated that: 'Cheryl did not appear to know the details of Latavia's surgery, but did state that she believed the surgery to be a gluteal augmentation.' These are the current travel advisories for Mexico from the US government. Only two states - Yucatan and Campeche - are completely free of advisories The report continued: 'Cheryl stated that she would not be surprised if her friends got arrested because they are known to party and use narcotics.' The five friends had driven a rented minivan from South Carolina on Thursday to the southern tip of Texas, according to a police report based on Orange's account. Four of them left Friday morning around 8:00am to go to Mexico. On the drive south, footage uploaded to Facebook stories show the five friends singing and joking with one another revealing a fifth passenger, now identified as Orange, sleeping in the back. In one video a person named 'Tay,' a nickname of McGee's, can be heard speaking to another passenger saying 'We're on the way to Mexico b****.' The video then pans to the other passengers in the car including Orange who can be seen laying next to the passenger filming that NCbeat have identified as Williams. 'Mexico here we come,' Williams is heard saying before laughing and talking about the group pulling into a gas station. Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada March 8. Reuters-Yonhap Canadian Police said on Thursday they are investigating allegations that two Montreal-area centers are being used as Chinese state-backed "police stations" to intimidate or harass Canadians of Chinese origin. The investigation adds to mounting allegations of Chinese interference in Canada's internal affairs, including accusations by Ottawa that Beijing tried to influence the last two Canadian elections. China has denied those accusations. "We are carrying out police actions aimed at detecting and disrupting these foreign state-backed criminal activities, which may threaten the safety of persons living in Canada," the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in Quebec said in a statement. Countries including the United States and the Netherlands have conducted similar probes following a report in September by Safeguard Defenders, a Europe-based human rights organization, detailing the presence of dozens of Chinese police "service stations" in major cities globally. In November, the RCMP also launched an investigation into similar reports of Chinese "police service stations" in the Toronto area. The RCMP in Ontario did not respond to a request for information on that probe on Thursday. The RCMP's deputy commissioner for federal policing, Michael Duheme, told a parliamentary committee last week that the agency has "taken overt actions" that led to the ceasing of operations at four alleged Chinese police stations. The Chinese embassy in Ottawa did not respond to a request for comment. It has previously said that there are centers outside China run by local volunteers, not Chinese police officers, that aim to help Chinese citizens renew documents and offer other services disrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Quebec RCMP alleged that Canadians of Chinese origin have been "victims of the possible activities" conducted by two centers, in Montreal and nearby Brossard, it has identified as possible police stations run by Beijing. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told parliament on Thursday his government would take every measure to protect Canadians from "unacceptable actions by hostile authoritarian regimes." VISA denied Tensions between Canada and China soared in late 2018 when Canadian police detained an executive of the Chinese company Huawei Technologies Co, which was followed by Beijing's arrest of two Canadians on spying charges. All three were freed in 2021. More recently, accusations of election interference by China have strained relations. Last autumn, Canada denied a visa to a Chinese diplomat after authorities found the individual was a "political operative," Foreign Minister Melanie Joly told a parliamentary committee on Thursday. "When China wanted to send a political operative last fall, we decided to deny a visa," she said during the committee's hearings focused on allegations of Chinese election interference. Joly's disclosure followed Trudeau's announcement on Monday that he will appoint an independent special investigator to probe those allegations and also announced separate new probes into the suspected foreign meddling. (Reuters) Kristin Smart's killer Paul Flores will finally be sentenced today, more than 25 years after her murder. Smart and Flores were both students at California Polytech University in San Luis Obispo when she vanished in 1996. The case remained unsolved for decades, but a 2020 true crime podcast jolted local police. Flores, now 46, was arrested as a result. While police have never found her remains, they believe Flores raped her in his dorm room then murdered her. He and his father, Ruben, were both charged in connection with her death. Prosecutors say Ruben helped his son by stashing Kristin's body under their backyard deck for years. Flores is shown in an unrelated arrest photo from 1996, when he was 19. He was convicted in 2022 for Smart's murder and his sentencing hearing will be Friday Flores' defense team filed a motion on February 24 for a new trial. His sentencing hearing will be held on March 10 when the judge will either sentence Flores or grant him a new trial The pair are suspected of moving her remains once suspicion started growing in 2020. Flores was found guilty of murder in October last year. He now faces 25 years to life in prison. The trial was held in Salinas, in Monterey County, about 110 miles (177 kilometers) north of San Luis Obispo, after the defense argued that the case's notoriety prevented Flores and his father from receiving a fair trial in their own county. A jury found Flores guilty of first-degree murder in October. A separate jury acquitted Ruben Flores, 81, of being an accessory. Freshman Kristin Smart disappeared in 1996 after a California college party - and the prime suspect was found guilty after a crime podcast helped crack the case At Paul Flores' trial, defense attorney Robert Sanger tried to pin the killing on someone else. Sanger noted that Scott Peterson, who was later convicted at a sensational trial of murdering his pregnant wife and the fetus she was carrying, was also a student at the campus about 200 miles (320 kilometers) up the coast from Los Angeles. Sanger filed motions on Feb. 24 in Monterey County Superior Court requesting that charges be dismissed and his client acquitted. One motion also seeks a new trial. Sanger disputed forensic evidence offered by the prosecution. He contended that Flores' right to a fair trial was violated because of prosecution errors and 'the admission of junk science as evidence.' 'There is a reason that a case against Paul Flores was not brought for 25 years,' the motion said. 'There was no evidence of a murder or that Paul Flores committed it.' The San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office asked the court to deny those requests, arguing 'claims of misconduct are baseless and the claims of judicial error are incorrect.' This is evidence that was shown in court, found in Smart's dorm at the time The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has come under fire for wasting millions of pounds of taxpayers' money and making 'huge mistakes' in its 10-year investigation into G4S's electronic tagging arm as charges against three former executives were dropped. In September 2020, former managing director Richard Morris, former commercial director Mark Preston and former finance manager James Jardine were charged with seven counts of fraud. The executives of G4S Care and Justice Services, which provided electronic monitoring services, were accused of making false representations to the Ministry of Justice between 2009 and 2012. The charges were brought after G4S accepted responsibility for three counts of fraud and agreed to pay a financial penalty of 38.5 million, and to pay the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) costs of 5.9 million. On Friday, prosecutor Crispin Aylett, KC, offered no evidence in the case against the three former executives who were due to go to trial in April next year. In September 2020, former managing director Richard Morris (left), former commercial director Mark Preston and former finance manager James Jardine (right) were charged with seven counts of fraud The executives of G4S Care and Justice Services, which provided electronic monitoring services, were accused of making false representations to the Ministry of Justice between 2009 and 2012 Mr Aylett said: 'The decision to drop this case is not one that could be taken either quickly nor lightly.' Following a 'careful and comprehensive review' it was decided it was 'no longer in the public interest' to proceed, he said. Mr Aylett said: 'The defendants have been under suspicion for 10 years and the prosecution are only too aware of the impact the proceedings will have had on them and their families. 'We recognised the potential unfairness of asking that this should go on for a substantial period of further time. 'We regret the way the case has turned out.' Mr Justice Johnson formally acquitted Mr Morris, 47, from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, Mr Preston, 51, from Cheshire, and Mr Jardine, 41, from Cumbria. After the Old Bailey hearing, Mr Morris, who attended court, said he was 'delighted' the case was over and thanked his lawyers who 'worked so determinedly to expose the truth and dismantle the SFO's flawed case'. He said: 'From the outset, the allegations against me were plainly wrong. 'That it has taken 10 years for the SFO to acknowledge as much is a scandal.' Mr Morris said he had been 'shocked' G4S had entered into a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) with the SFO, accusing him of a 'wholly untrue allegation'. He said: 'This amounted to G4S signing a false confession, plain and simple. 'The outcome of this case shows G4S's decision to enter into a DPA was unfair and misguided. To later learn that the SFO accepted the DPA's untrue narrative and decided to prosecute me without properly investigating the underlying evidence, was incomprehensible. 'I am of course pleased to be vindicated, but no-one should have to go through such an ordeal. Without significant changes to the DPA regime and the SFO, I fear they will.' Mr Morris's lawyer Ross Dixon, of Hickman & Rose Solicitors, blamed the SFO for 'failing to understand its own evidence'. He said: 'This is not the first time a major fraud prosecution has come unstuck for the SFO after it signed a DPA with the company at the centre of its investigation. How this is like Tesco and Serco cases: Comparisons have been drawn with past failures at the Serious Fraud Office as it gave up on attempts to convict three former executives at security company G4S. Two former bosses at Tesco were on trial but the case was thrown out by a judge in 2018. They were on trial over a 250 million hole in the company's 2014 accounts, but the judge said there was not enough evidence that they knew income was being booked illegally. Like in the G4S case, Tesco has signed a so-called deferred prosecution agreement with prosecutors. This allowed the company to avoid prosecution in exchange for a 129 million fine. For companies deferred prosecution agreements offer an incentive to come clean: tell the authorities when you find wrongdoing, pay a fine and co-operate with law enforcement and you can avoid a costly trial. A different trial of two former Serco executives collapsed in 2021. The company had signed a nearly 23 million deferred prosecution agreement, allowing it to avoid criminal charges. Serco had engaged in a scheme which misled the Ministry of Justice over the profits it had made from the electronic monitoring services it provided to the Government between 2010 and 2013. The high-profile failures often overshadow the SFO's successes. So far this financial year it has held five other criminal trials and secured convictions in each. In November, mining giant Glencore was forced to pay 281 million for bribing its way to oil in Africa. It was the largest amount a company had paid after a conviction in the UK. The SFO also convicted two companies for bribery and corruption and secured more than 100 million in fines, penalties and other costs from three deferred prosecution agreements. Advertisement 'As in the cases of Tesco and Serco, this DPA was based on the alleged wrongdoing of individuals, but the narrative on which the DPA was based has failed to stand up to scrutiny in criminal proceedings. 'This case collapsed because the SFO failed to understand its own evidence; failed to secure significant evidence (the underlying books and records that would have demonstrated the true position as to costs that were at the heart of the allegations); and only at the eleventh hour disclosed key material that undermined its case. 'It is deeply worrying that after such a long time, only now has the SFO offered no evidence. Ten years is far too long for any individual to have to wait for justice. 'The SFO must engage in an honest and searching appraisal of what went wrong in this case. If not, this won't be the last time this happens.' Mr Jardine's lawyer Joanna Dimmock, partner in the Investigations and White Collar Defence practice of Paul Hastings, said: 'After 10 years of delay, mismanagement and misunderstanding of the evidence, the SFO have finally recognised this case should never have been brought. 'The SFO knew in 2021 fundamental errors existed which impacted the safety of Mr Jardine's case. What followed has been a litany of disclosure disasters and breaches by the SFO of over 60 Court Orders. 'In light of its discovery of further huge mistakes in its investigation in December 2022 and our relentless pursuit to uncover this mishandling, the SFO has now elected to drop the case rather than reveal the sheer scale of the errors they had discovered. 'Yet again the SFO has wasted millions of pounds of taxpayers' money whilst three men's lives have been ravaged and put on hold for nearly a decade. 'This case has collapsed without any evidence even being heard. Mr Jardine is grateful that he can finally put the injustice of the last nine years behind him and begin to rebuild his future with his family.' An SFO spokesperson said: 'As a public prosecutor we have to make difficult decisions, including ending a prosecution where it is right to do so. 'In line with the Code for Crown Prosecutors, we have determined it is no longer in the public interest to continue this prosecution.' Under the DPA with the SFO, G4S could continue to be considered as a Government supplier. The DPA only applied to the potential criminal liability of G4S Care and Justice Services as a company, and not to any current or former employees. The defendants in the case had previously pleaded not guilty to the charges against them. A Florida teaching aide, who was brutally attacked by a 6'6" boy, has obtained a permanent protection order against him. Joan Naydich, 57, of Palm Coast, was attacked by Brendan Depa, 17, a special needs student, at Matanzas High School on February 21, where she was knocked unconscious and struck at least 15 times. It was originally reported that Naydich was attacked after taking Depa's Nintendo Switch, but the teaching aid - who has been at the school since 2021 - said she never tried to take it away from him. 'For the record, I NEVER took or touched any device. This information was incorrect and may have been said by the other party when being taken into custody,' Naydich wrote in an update on GoFundMe, which has raised more than $97,000. 'It was the teacher that was threatening to not have it be utilized at school; I had nothing to do with it,' Naydich, who DailyMail.com first pictured, told Wesh 2. Now, the teaching aide has obtained a permanent injunction against the 270-pound student, who threatened to kill her. Depa has been charged as an adult with aggravated battery, which carries up to 15 years. Scroll down for video Joan Naydich, 57, of Palm Coast, was attacked by Brendan Depa, 17, a special needs student, at Matanzas High School on February 21, where she was knocked unconscious and struck at least 15 times The teaching aide has obtained a permanent injunction against Depa, who threatened to kill her. 'No one should ever have to endure what I went through that day,' she said 'No one should ever have to endure what I went through that day. My children shouldnt have had to bear seeing their mother in that condition, either. I have a long road of recovery ahead of me, but with the help of my children and friends, I will not quit until I am me again,' she wrote in a March 4 update. 'I just want to make sure this doesn't ever happen to anybody else ever again,' she told Wesh 2. Permanent injunctions are issued in Florida when the court deems it necessary for the petitioner's safety. Permanent injunctions, unlike restraining orders, do not have time limits. Depa's attorney did not object to the injunction, according to Wesh 2. Naydich suffered from broken ribs and bruises, among other injuries, and is currently resting at home with her children. Depa's attorney did not object to the injunction. Permanent injunctions are issued in Florida when the court deems it necessary for the petitioner's safety. Permanent injunctions, unlike restraining orders, do not have time limits Depa has been charged as an adult with aggravated battery, which carries up to 15 years 'Besides occasionally watching my children bowl at the local bowling alley, I have been resting at home,' she wrote on GoFundMe. 'I want to thank all of my coworkers from both jobs for their support during this time. The outpouring of generosity and love is overwhelming, especially from students and staff at my school. I have received so many emails, texts, cards, and phone calls wishing me well,' she continued. 'The healing process, as well as other proceedings, will take a long time.' The mother-of-two has a son Morgan, a senior, who attends the high school and a daughter who graduated in 2013. She has worked for Flagler County Schools since 2004 and has worked at Matanzas since 2021. In surveillance footage, released by the Flagler County Sheriff's Office, the hulking student can be seen rushing up to Naydich before launching her across the room, her body flying several feet. In surveillance footage, released by the Flagler County Sheriff's Office, the hulking student can be seen rushing up to Naydich before launching her across the room, her body flying several feet She hits the ground head-first, rendering her unconscious. The special needs student immediately begins kicking Naydich before kneeling down to punch her in the head and torso It takes five staff members to restrain and drag him away from her body as he fought against them She hits the ground head-first, rendering her unconscious. The special needs student immediately begins kicking Naydich before kneeling down to punch her in the head and torso. Another woman runs up to the student and grabs his arm, but is unable to pull him off the aide before several others rush to drag him off her. Even after they manage to push him to the ground, he still reaches his leg out to hit Naydich a few more times. It takes five staff members to restrain and drag him away from her body as he fought against them. 'My children shouldnt have had to bear seeing their mother in that condition, either,' the teaching aide (pictured with her children) said In bodycam footage, the student can be seen asking officers if he is 'going to jail,' while they handcuff him in the school, before telling them he has 'more important things to do' The Flagler County Sheriff's Office found Naydich with 'severe injuries' and she was transported to the hospital for treatment. The teen claimed he would 'beat her up every time she takes away his game,' and spat on Naydich as deputies escorted him away, according to the arrest report. In bodycam footage, the student can be seen asking officers if he is 'going to jail,' while they handcuff him in the school. 'For how long?' the students asked. 'I don't know,' the officer replied. Moments later he told officers: 'F**k you, I don't want to go to jail. I have more important things to do,' before accusing them of manhandling him. An LA Times writer is facing a furious backlash after claiming white drivers are 'polluting the air' breathed by black and Latino citizens. Sammy Roth cited a study that calls the city's freeway planning 'racially motivated' as it means white people living in LA's suburbs drive through diverse neighborhoods every day on their way to work. But Roth's piece has been slammed as 'idiotic' on social media, while Twitter slapped an inaccuracy warning on it before later deleting it. In his work the writer referred to a University of Southern California report that found LA residents 'who drive more tend to be exposed to less air pollution and Angelenos who drive less tend to be exposed to more pollution.' The study - 'Local Inequities in the Relative Production of and exposure to Vehicular Air Pollution in Los Angeles' - was authored by professor Geoff Boeing, with whom Roth spoke. Sammy Roth, an Energy and Environment reporter for the LA Times, has come under fire for a piece claiming white drivers are 'polluting the air' of black and Latino citizens LA is the most polluted city in the US, according to a study by IQair in 2021. The city is pictured in March 2020 'He told me it largely comes down to the shameful history of Los Angeles Countys low-income communities of color being torn apart to make way for freeways a history that has been extensively documented by The Times,' Roth, who is the paper's Energy and Environment reporter, said. 'Today, many residents of the countys whiter, more affluent neighborhoods who were often able to keep highways out of their own backyards commute to work through lower-income Black and Latino neighborhoods bisected by the 10, 110 and 105 freeways and more.' The university report was published in the peer-reviewed Urban studies in January this year. Its abstract states: 'Decades of racially-motivated freeway infrastructure planning and residential segregation shape today's disparities in who produces vehicular air pollution and who is exposed to it, but opportunities exist for urban planning and transport policy to mitigate this injustice.' Twitter slapped a warning on the piece which read: 'This claim is false. 'This assumption is based on research that those who drive tend to be exposed to less air pollution while those who drive less tend to be exposed to more pollution.' It also pointed out the article had skewed LA's diversity ratios as its population is 48.4 percent Hispanic/Latino and 28.1 percent white only. The warning was later retracted but Roth's piece sparked fury among the social media site's users. Nick Short, Communications Director for the Claremont Institute, wrote: 'Congratulations to the author of this piece @Sammy_Roth. You have managed to write not only the most idiotic but racist piece of 2023!' Roth cited a study authored by University of Southern California professor Geoff Boeing America was ranked as the 90th most polluted country in the world in 2021 TV anchor Jesse Kelly who describes himself as 'anti-communist', added: 'REMINDER: There arent separate communist groups. 'Theyre all the same group with the same goal: Destroying this nation. 'Thats why seemingly separate groups work together. The climate nutters work with the race hustlers who work with the LGBTQ demon mob who work with' America was ranked as the 90th most polluted country in the world in a 2021 study by IQAir. Bangladesh, Chad, Pakistan, Tajikistan and India made up the top five. The study also showed that L.A. was the most polluted city in the U.S. A senior British Army officer who was deputy director of the Government's Covid-19 task force has denied fraudulently claiming thousands of pounds in allowances to pay his children's private school fees. Marcus Reedman, 51, has denied falsely claiming more than 43,000 in school fees as he appeared at Southwark Crown Court today. The retired colonel was a lieutenant colonel at the Ministry of Defence (MoD) building in Whitehall at the time of the allegations - between October 1 2016 and August 17 2017. Reedman, from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, faces one charge of fraud relating to Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) claims in relation to three payments totalling exactly 43,470. It is alleged that the retired colonel, whose last post was deputy director of the Covid-19 taskforce as acting brigadier, used these payments to pay his three children's 75,000-a-year private school fees - which matched his Army salary. Marcus Reedman, 51 (pictured with David Cameron in 2014) is charged with falsely claiming more than 43,000 in allowances to pay school fees Today, Reedman appeared at Southwark Crown Court (pictured above) where he pleaded not guilty to a single count of fraud Prosecutors said that he also failed to declare that he was serving unaccompanied at his residence at work address (RWA) in Biggin Hill, south-east London. This is while his wife, Astrid Reedman, lived at the family home in Rye, East Sussex. Last year Reedman was last year charged with fraud relating to three CEA payments totalling 43,470 over the course of a single school year. Following this, in April last year, he appeared at Southwark Crown Court wearing a plain grey jumper and jeans, speaking only to confirm his name. The allowances he used was aimed at enabling children of service personnel to remain at the same schools to allow their serving parents to be accompanied by their spouses as they were posted to different locations. However, the Continuity of Education Allowance payments come with conditions. For example, rules state that the spouse must not be away from the RWA for more than 90 days per year. Today, Reedman appeared at Southwark Crown Court where he pleaded not guilty to a single count of fraud. The indictment alleges that he dishonestly failed to disclose to the MoD that he was serving unaccompanied at his RWA from October 1 2017. It says the information had an effect on (his) eligibility to claim CEA which (he) was under a legal duty to disclose. During his career, Reedman has previously been pictured alongside the King - who was then the Prince of Wales - and the then-Prime Minister, David Cameron. A date has been set for Reedman's trial, estimated to take two weeks. It will take place from 9 May 2023. This is the bizarre moment a man dressed as a unicorn and his shellsuit-clad friend sparked a massive brawl at a Las Vegas food truck after claiming a waitress was rude to them. The altercation took place outside Taqueria Casa del Sabor, on Las Vegas Boulevard, on Monday night. A video, captured by a taco truck worker and posted on the company's Instagram page, shows the argument unravel. The footage shows a man wearing a furry, white unicorn hat shouting at the taco truck employees before the fighting breaks out. Police said that two of the victims suffered injuries. One man had significant bruising near his left eyebrow, while another had bruising on his face and a large cut to his forehead. The footage shows a man wearing a furry, white unicorn hat shouting at the taco truck employees before the fighting breaks out Jason Wiggins, of Los Lunas, New Mexico, was arrested on suspicion of battery and other charges after he launched an expletive-laden tirade at employees and then assaulted five different people, according to a Metropolitan Police Department arrest report. Michael Boyd, who was with Wiggins, was cited for misdemeanor battery, police said. Speaking in Spanish, taco truck worker Lazaro Alberto Correa alleged: 'They attacked me and my coworkers.' In the video, several people can be seen pushing each other just before the mass brawl erupts outside the taco store. A man in an eye-catching purple shellsuit is involved and is shown throwing multiple punches. Another man is seen lying on the floor while being hit in the face as the man in the purple shellsuit continues fighting a few feet away. One person in the video appears to have been wrestled into a headlock beside a vehicle. A man in an eye-catching purple shellsuit is seen throwing multiple punches during the mass brawl At the end of the video, a man can be heard saying: 'Let's go.' The arrest report said that Wiggins is seen shouting at an employee. He then turns to the person filming the incident on her phone and tells her to stop recording, before trying to grab the phone a couple of times. Wiggins and Boyd can be seen punching somebody in the face numerous times. Wiggins shoves another employee to the ground. A male described as Wiggins' son darts over to an employee and 'hits him in the face multiple times,' the arrest report said. Wiggins was also 'hitting and grappling' with somebody alongside Boyd, police said in the report. Wiggins' son, who was not identified in the report, was also wrestling with somebody. In the video, one man has been pushed to the floor. He is hit in the face as fighting continues a few feet away Another employee later told police Wiggins had shoved a female taco truck worker into a sink, according to the report. Wiggins was also accused of returning after the scrap with an apparent thermos bottle and hitting one of the employees in the head and neck with it. Correa said the taco truck staff were fearing for their safety after the fight. All of the victims' identities were blacked out of the arrest report. Wiggins also faces a charge of resisting an officer. Police said that he made his body 'dead weight' and dropped to the ground when police tried to take him into custody. In the post that contains the video on Taqueria Casa del Sabor's Instagram account, the company spoke out against the people who started the fight and thanked customers for their support. They wrote that they will not move because it is their home. Britain is to pay France almost half a billion pounds over the next three years in a high-stakes gamble to end Channel migrant crossings. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak committed to sending Paris 478million (540million euros) to fund a new detention centre on the continent and hundreds of extra French law enforcement officers. The announcement came as he met French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris in a show of new cross-Channel harmony following a fractious period after Brexit. Mr Sunak hailed an 'entente renewed' as they spoke together at the Elysee Palace, while Mr Macron referred to him as 'dear Rishi', after having a strained relationship with predecessors Boris Johnson and Liz Truss. But the two sides have not discussed a returns agreement to send failed asylum seekers back across the Channel. Tory backbencher Natalie Elphicke, the MP for Dover, told MailOnline the 'eye-watering' financial commitment Mr Sunak made today needed to be 'met by equally determined French action to actually stop the boats leaving France'. Meanwhile, former Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage despaired at the PM's decision to hand over the vast sum in the absence of a returns agreement. 'Macron makes it clear there is no deal on the return of illegal migrants, and the Brits will pay yet more money for nothing,' Mr Farage said. The French President had dismissed the question of a returns agreement at a joing press conference with the PM this afternoon, saying it was an issue for Brussels and London to hammer out. 'This is not an agreement between the UK and France, but an agreement between the UK and the EU,' Mr Macron said. He also took a swipe at the UK's decision to quit the EU, saying 'all the problems we have are the consequence of Brexit. Probably they were underestimated'. Mr Sunak expressed his hope that in the future the UK may still be able to sign a returns agreement with France, saying: 'Going forward there will be more that we can do.' Rishi Sunak, speaking at a press conference today with France's Emmanuel Macron, has committed to sending Paris 478million to fund a new detention centre The PM and French President put on a show of new cross-Channel harmony following a fractious period after Brexit Mr Sunak hailed an 'entente renewed' as they spoke together at the Elysee Palace, while Mr Macron referred to him as 'dear Rishi' Mr Macron's closeness with Mr Sunak was apparent after his strained relationship with the PM's predecessors Boris Johnson and Liz Truss But the PM and French President have not discussed a returns agreement to send failed asylum seekers back across the Channel The summit comes after a period of sour Anglo-French relations. The nations have clashed over post-Brexit fishing rights and other issues Mr Sunak's two predecessors also riled France with jibes at the alliance last year and part of his mission is to restore the entente cordial. Here Mr Sunak and Mr Macron meet young leaders in the Elysee Palace today It came as a new poll today suggested the Government's tough new action on migrants was not winning over voters. A survey by Omnisis found support for the Tories had fallen by five points in a week. Included in the deal are plans for a new, permanent French mobile policing unit dedicated to tackling small boats. France will deploy more drones and aircraft and step up intelligence sharing. There will also be a new 24-hour 'zonal coordination centre' with UK personnel embedded in it. Mr Sunak said: 'We don't need to manage this problem, we need to break it. And today, we have gone further than ever before to put an end to this disgusting trade in human life. 'Working together, the UK and France will ensure that nobody can exploit our systems with impunity.' Mr Macron said: 'In the fight against illegal immigration we wish to make progress in lockstep. 'We're aware of the human issues and the extreme sensitivity of these issues.' The package the UK has agreed with France to tackle migrants crossing the Channel will see hundreds of extra French law enforcement officers using enhanced technology and intelligence to prevent the small boats. For the first time, the UK will help fund a detention centre in France to enhance its ability to cope with the level of people being trafficked across the Channel. 'This new centre will support French efforts to increase detention capacity, allowing more migrants who might otherwise travel by dangerous and illegal routes to the UK to be removed from the French coast,' the UK Government said. 'Building on our existing partnership, which saw twice as many illegal crossings stopped in 2022 than 2021, today's agreement will also more than double the number of personnel deployed in northern France to tackle small boats, with over half of these in place by the end of the year. The UK will contribute funding towards this.' Mr Macron said he and Mr Sunak had agreed to 'heightened coordination' and 'new initiatives' to tackle the Channel migrant crisis. A new poll today suggested the Government's tough new action on migrants was not winning over voters Yesterday, interior ministers from France, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands clashed with Italy, Greece and Spain over EU rules requiring them to take back migrants who entered the bloc when they arrived in their territories The UK has already committed more than 300million to France in the last decade to help tackle unauthorised migration. More than 3,000 people have already made the perilous sea journey this year, with almost 46,000 arriving by unofficial routes in 2022. That is despite Mr Sunak and Home Secretary Suella Braverman announcing a 63million package to increase patrol officers by 40 per cent four months ago. That package followed a 55million deal in 2021. It is the first time the UK will contribute to building a detention centre in France to help deal with the numbers of people being trafficked. Ministers say twice as many unauthorised crossings were stopped last year than in the previous 12 months and hope the new drones, aircraft and other surveillance technologies being funded will increase this. Britain had hoped to secure Mr Macron's active support at the summit for a long-term deal, similar to the EU's existing 'Dublin' rules, to return illegal immigrants who cross the English Channel. But European diplomats said beforehand the request would be rejected at a time when France is accusing other member states, such as neighbouring Italy, of failing to take back migrants. Yesterday, interior ministers from France, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands clashed with Italy, Greece and Spain over EU rules requiring them to take back migrants who entered the bloc when they arrived in their territories. One diplomat told The Times: 'Why would Macron take back Brexit Britain's returns, or ask others to do so, when other EU members, like Italy, are not following European rules? It will not happen. It is a pipe dream.' British holidaymakers made the most of a Costa winter heatwave today as Storm Larisa sparked chaos in the UK. Bare-chested tourists downed pints of lager in Benidorm under sun and blue skies as others packed the beaches with temperatures reaching a glorious 23 degrees Celsius (73.5 degrees Fahrenheit). On Saturday it was due to be more of the same, except hotter still with thermometers set to reach an incredible 26 degrees Celsius (78.8 degrees Fahrenheit) in the popular Costa Blanca resort. Spain's mini-winter heatwave also blessed the Costa del Sol, with top temperatures around the same dizzy heights as Brits back at home struggled with gales, blizzards and snow. Sun worshipers on Benidorm's beaches today soaked up some unexpected winter rays Bare-chested tourists downed pints of lager in Benidorm as they enjoyed the mid-winter sun and blue skies On Saturday it was due to be more of the same, except hotter still with thermometers set to reach an incredible 26 degrees Celsius (78.8 degrees Fahrenheit) Hundreds packed the beaches in Benidorm today as temperatures reached a glorious 23 degrees Celsius (73.5 degrees Fahrenheit) Ricky Davis, 35, who stripped off his T-shirt to enjoy a lager at a pub in Benidorm's Little England area at lunchtime today said: 'I've got here yesterday and I can't believe it. 'I come from Manchester and have just got off the phone to a mate who says it's freezing back there. 'He was supposed to join me but a last-minute work thing got in the way. He's really gutted.' Londoner Sheila Cummings, sunning herself on Benidorm's famous Levante beach with a couple of friends, added: 'I only packed my bikini at the last minute when I saw there was going to be a mini-heatwave. 'I was still half-expecting the weathermen to have got it wrong but it's better than I thought it was going to be. 'I never thought I'd have to be putting on factor 15 sunscreen in Benidorm in winter. I'll be needing an ice cream in a bit.' Spanish weather agency Aemet is predicting temperatures this weekend will be up to 15 degrees Celsius than normal, especially on the Mediterranean coast. In cities like Murcia in south-east Spain experts reckon they could surpass 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit). Holiday makers enjoy the mid-winter sun and a mini heat wave hits Spain's coastal resorts Meanwhile, Storm Larisa sparked chaos in the UK. A man walks his dog in Tow Law, County Durham, after heavy overnight snowfall this morning Bare-chested beachgoers lay in the sun during the mini heatwave this week in Benidorm Hundreds headed for the beach to enjoy the blue skies and unexpected mid-winter rays in Benidorm British Holidaymakers and resort locals enjoy the Spanish Sun on Benidorm's beaches today Many Brits headed for some winter sun in Benidorm as the UK continues to brace for Storm Larisa Brits and locals sat out in the sun as they enjoyed the mid-winter rays in Benidorm today Valencia is another place where the top temperature tomorrow could reach 30 degrees Celsius, the first time ever in the first half of March since records began in 1869. The temperatures are more akin to those Spain normally experiences at the end of May and beginning of June. The unseasonal weather comes less than a fortnight after heavy snow brought chaos to Majorca. Around 20 inches of snow shut roads and cut power in dozens of towns on the holiday island at the start of last week. Temperatures on the Costas are due to drop again after the weekend, to around 16 degrees Celsius (60 degrees Fahrenheit) in Benidorm by Wednesday and the same in Fuengirola on the Costa del Sol although it is expected to remain reasonably sunny. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Thursday that the U.S.'s fentanyl crisis is due to 'social decay' and not the powerful synthetic opioid pouring over the southern border from Mexico. Lopez Obrador tried to clean his hands of responsibility, despite both U.S. and most Mexican officials acknowledging that fentanyl is being produced in labs in Mexico from Chinese ingredients. The Mexican president's comments came as White House Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall was visiting the country and engaged in meetings about the fentanyl trade. 'Here we do not produce fentanyl, and we do not have consumption of fentanyl,' Lopez Obrador said. 'Why don't they take care of their problem of social decay?' Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Thursday that the U.S.'s fentanyl crisis is due to 'social decay' and not the powerful synthetic opioid pouring over the southern border from Mexico This photo provided by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's Phoenix Division shows some of the 30,000 fentanyl pills the agency seized in one of its bigger busts in August 2017 Lopez Obrador then listed why Americans are turning to the drug, saying it's because of single-parent families, parents kicking adult children out of their homes and the elderly being sent to nursing homes where they're only visited 'once a year.' Fentanyl producers in Mexico haven't spent much time developing a domestic market because shipping the drug to the U.S. is so profitable, explained Mexican security analyst David Saucedo to the Associated Press. In the U.S., fentanyl is frequently mixed with street drugs like cocaine and heroin, causing an epidemic of overdoses in unsuspecting users. Fentanyl has been blamed for around 70,000 U.S. deaths per year. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) was so incensed about the uptick in fentanyl deaths that he recommended Mexican drug cartels be officially categorized as 'Foreign Terrorist Organizations.' He also pressed Congress to pass a military authorization so U.S. forces could go after Mexican drug labs. In response, Lopez Obrador said Mexican-Americans and Hispanics should boycott the Republican Party. 'We are going to issue a call not to vote for that party, because they are inhuman and interventionist,' Lopez Obrador said. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby was asked on a Zoom call with reporters Friday to react to Lopez Obrador characterizing fentanyl as solely a U.S. problem. Kirby said the two presidents have yet to speak since Lopez Obrador made the 'social decay' comments, while pointing out that Sherwood-Randall is currently on the ground in Mexico. 'I can assure you that concrete steps to address fentanyl was definitely high on the list' of agenda items for the U.S. delegation, Kirby noted. He also pointed to discussions Biden, Lopez Obrador and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had about drug trafficking during January's so-called 'Three Amigos' summit in Mexico City. 'Fentanyl is a problem that doesn't just affect the United States - it affects every nation in the world. It's a global issue,' Kirby also said. 'We think we've made some important progress so far, but we're not taking our foot off the gas. It's a critical challenge. It continues to take the lives of so many Americans.' A Kansas school board member is under fire and facing calls to resign after saying the best quality in a new superintendent would be 'blue eyes,' sparking outrage among many parents and staff members. Vanessa Reid, a board member with Leavenworth school district made the remark during a special school board meeting last month whose agenda was to discuss the hiring of a new superintendent. The current superintendent Mike Roth will be retiring in January 2024. After the controversial remark Reid said 'I'm just kidding... trying to break it up a little bit, you know,' but many didn't buy the explanation and are now calling for her resignation. Courtney Ricard, the PTO president at David Brewer Elementary School was one of the board members infuriated. She told the Kansas City Star that Reid's comment was 'racist,' and cited her behavior as 'immature and unprofessional.' Ricard was also made furious by a comment Kansas Republican state Republican Pat Proctor made during a recent school visit. After viewing some of the fourth grade student's artwork, including Ricard's daughter's rainbow flag, he said the school library 'was doing more indoctrinating than educating.' Vanessa Reid, a board member with Leavenworth school district made the comment during a school board meeting last month that angered parents and school members Kansas State Republican Pat Proctor made a remark during a visit to the school's library on a rainbow flag drawing created by Ricard's daughter as evidence that the library was 'doing more indoctrinating than educating' The theme of the art work: 'My School Library is for Every Student' asking fourth grade students to draw who is welcome at the school library and Ricard's daughter drew a rainbow flag (pictured) Mike Roth, the current superintendent of the Leavenworth school district will be retiring by the end of the year. Proctor said Reid's 'tough questions finally forced the exit of failing Leavenworth superintendent Mike Roth.' But, Board President Judith Price addressed the claims saying Roth's 'announcement was for a long-planned retirement and is not in reaction to anything else.' 'Dr. Roth is well-regarded by a majority of the board and was offered an extended contract.' 'Roth will continue to serve through December, to help with the transition of the new superintendent, who will join the district in July,' Price said. 'Neither of those actions indicate the board is actively trying to dismiss or force his exit. Quite the contrary.' The school board voted 5-2 to appoint Kellen Adams, the superintendent in Chanute, Kansas, who is white, as the district's next leader on Monday. However, Reid and another school board member Alisa Murphy voted no. Reid has also been accused of helping Proctor, who was elected in 2021, and other conservative newbies get their agenda out, including at the school board level. 'Vanessa is committed to putting kids and parents ahead of administrators and the Teachers' Union. She isn't afraid to ask tough questions and demand answers.' In his latest newsletter, Proctor wrote that he is standing by Reid. 'I am proud to stand with conservative School Board Member Vanessa Reid in her fight to protect our kids' from the radical woke agenda that threatens Leavenworth Schools,' he said. But the PTO president, whose child is a student at the school, claims that it is Reid's job to 'protect our children' and called for Reid to resign during Monday's school board meeting. 'The immature behavior of a certain board member is unprofessional to say the least and quite frankly, I'm embarrassed she represents us,' Ricard said. ' 'Being a board member is supposed to be a (nonpartisan) position.' Leavenworth father Harry Schwarz, a Democrat who lost to Proctor for the House seat last year, agreed with Ricard and did not find Reid's comment appropriate. 'It may have been a joke. You may have been trying to be funny, but I don't think that's the time or place to be making that joke,' he said. He added: 'At first, I took it as what does someone's physical characteristics have to do with the job they're doing? And then I had someone point out to me, why blue eyes? I'm not accusing anyone of being racist, but it was inappropriate and it sits uneasy with me.' An image of David Brewer Elementary School in Kansas Conservative School Board member Vanessa Reid (pictured) with Republican State Senator Pat Proctor. Reid has been accused of helping Proctor, who was elected in 2021, and other conservative newcomers get their agenda out including at the school board level Many parents rallied around Ricard and also expressed their anger towards the congressman claiming that he used her daughter's artwork without permission as a way to further his political agenda. She also claimed that Reid 'betrayed the students' by allowing her child's drawing to be critiqued while other students also showed their support for the LGBTQ community. 'My daughter has the kindest heart. She is the sweetest child and wants everyone to feel loved and included. That was her message. She was trying to spread love. He is spreading hate,' Ricard told the Star. The school library aide, Brandi Bond spoke at Monday's meeting in support of Ricard. 'This local politician is attacking our schools. What's even more disappointing is one of our very own board members is joining this attack, someone who took an oath,' Bondi said. 'They're trying to tear down what we've worked so hard to create, a safe, inclusive space for all of our students,' Bond said. 'These individuals coming into our buildings pose a risk to our students. As a parent of a high school student, I am nervous that they could target my son next because his work may not align with their agenda.' The Republican senator stood by his decision to share the student's drawing saying that he felt it was 'impossible to believe that all of these kids, spontaneously, drew the same thing.' It was clear that they were either instructed or encouraged to do so by the librarian. I don't think this is an appropriate subject to be discussing with eight and nine year-olds,' Proctor said. 'And I know most of my constituents feel the same way I do. I felt I had a duty to share what I had found with them, so that they would know what their kids were being exposed to in our schools.' Reid participated in Monday night's board meeting over Zoom and has not publicly commented on the fiasco. In this Jan. 3, 2016 file photo, Iranian protesters chant slogans as they hold pictures of Shi'ite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr during a demonstration against the execution of Nimr in Saudi Arabia, outside the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Tehran. Reuters-Yonhap Regional rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed Friday to restore ties and reopen diplomatic missions in Chinese-brokered talks, they said in a joint statement, seven years after relations were severed. The move caps a broader realignment and efforts to ease tensions in the Middle East. Riyadh cut ties with Tehran after Iranian protesters attacked Saudi diplomatic missions in the Islamic republic in 2016 following the Saudi execution of revered Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr. Shiite-majority Iran and Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia support rival sides in several conflict zones across the Middle East, including in Yemen where the Huthi rebels are backed by Tehran, and Riyadh leads a military coalition supporting the government. "Following talks, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have agreed to resume diplomatic relations and reopen embassies and missions within two months," Iran's state news agency IRNA said, citing the joint statement. The official Saudi Press Agency also published the statement, which said talks took place in Beijing for five days immediately before the announcement. Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, had travelled to Beijing on Monday for "intensive negotiations with his Saudi counterpart in China in order to finally resolve the problems between Tehran and Riyadh", IRNA said. Iraq, a neighbour to both countries, had hosted several rounds of talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia since April 2021. Those encounters were held at a relatively low level, involving security and intelligence officials. Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian had said in July that the two countries were ready to move talks to a higher level, in the political and public spheres. But no talks had been publicly announced since April last year. In Friday's statement, Iran and Saudi Arabia said they "thank the Republic of Iraq and the Sultanate of Oman for hosting the talks held between the two sides in 2021 and 2022 as well as the leaders and government of the People's Republic of China for hosting and supporting the talks held in that country." "The three countries expressed their keenness to exert all efforts towards enhancing regional and international peace and security," they said. Other Gulf states had also scaled back their ties with Iran after the 2016 incident. But in September, Tehran welcomed an Emirati ambassador back after a six-year absence. A month earlier, Iran said Kuwait had sent its first ambassador to Iran since 2016. Another regional rupture took place in June 2017 when Saudi Arabia and its allies the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties with Qatar. They claimed it supported extremists and was too close to Iran allegations that Doha denied. Those ties were mended in January 2021. On Thursday Amir-Abdollahian was in Damascus where he welcomed Arab outreach to Syria's internationally isolated government after an earthquake struck Turkey and the war-torn country last month. He also said Tehran, which has backed Damascus during its 12 years of conflict, would join efforts to reconcile Syria and Turkey, which has long supported rebel groups opposed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Ties between Riyadh and Ankara have also undergone a rapprochement since the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist and government critic Jamal Khashoggi in the kingdom's Istanbul consulate. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has pushed hard to revive bilateral ties, a move analysts describe as largely driven by economic considerations. (AFP) Rishi Sunak has declared that Russia's war in Ukraine will be brought to an end with diplomacy, but said Kyiv must first be given all the support it needs to enjoy a 'decisive battlefield advantage' ahead of negotiations. Speaking ahead of a visit to Paris to meet French President Emmanuel Macron, Sunak told reporters: 'Now is not the time for negotiations, and I think everyone at the moment is united in providing Ukraine with the additional support that they need in order to have a decisive battlefield advantage.' He added: 'Of course, this will end as all conflicts do at negotiating table, but that is a decision for Ukraine to make. 'What we need to do is put them in the best possible place to have those talks at an appropriate moment that makes sense for them.' Following talks in the French capital with his counterpart, Sunak later announced that Britain and France will train Ukrainian marines to combat Vladimir Putin's invading forces. Ukrainian soldiers fire a self-propelled howitzer towards Russian positions near Bakhmut, the site of the heaviest battles, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Tuesday, March 7, 2023 Sunak is pictured shaking hands with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky outside Downing St. in February French President Emmanuel Macron (R) and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak embrace at a joint news conference in Paris. The pair today announced marines from both countries would deliver training to Ukrainian armed forces He said: 'We've agreed to train Ukrainian marines, helping to give Ukraine a decisive advantage on the battlefield and for Ukraine to win this war.' The Prime Minister's comments came as European Union officials said the bloc is soon to settle on yet another increase in funds used for purchasing weapons for Kyiv to beat back Russian advances in eastern Ukraine. A senior EU official said the next top-up could amount to as much as 3.5 billion euros (3.1 billion). Under a plan drawn up by foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, EU states would get financial incentives worth 1 billion euros to send more of their artillery rounds to Kyiv while another 1 billion euros would fund joint procurement of new shells. 'If there is a deal on this 2 billion euros package, resources under the EPF will be exhausted,' the senior EU official said, referring to the European Peace Facility (EPF) used to fund arms for Kyiv. 'It's up to the member states to decide if and when they want to operationalise this new possible 3.5 billion euros top-up,' he added. Meanwhile, Switzerland's government said on Friday it will not change its long-standing policy banning the transfer of Swiss-made arms to a third country despite growing pressure from the EU to export them to Ukraine. The Prime Minister Rishi Sunak talks to the travelling media on the Eurostar train to Paris Ukrainian service members fire a mortar towards Russian troops outside the frontline town of Bakhmut, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine March 6, 2023 Ukrainian soldiers come back from Bakhmut in two BTR-80 vehicles in Chasiv Yar, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine on March 7, 2023. Chasiv Yar is a city at the gates of Bakhmut where Russian forces are close Calls for the non-EU state to break with centuries of tradition as a neutral state have been growing both internally and externally since Russia invaded Ukraine more than a year ago. In January, two parliamentary committees recommended that the rules be eased, but the cabinet rejected the call following a meeting. 'The Federal Council is committed to the values of Swiss neutrality and will continue to work to ensure the benefits of neutrality are realised,' it said in a statement. However, it said it would continue to monitor the debates and make a further statement 'if necessary'. Since the war began, Switzerland has received requests from Germany, Denmark and Spain for the re-export of Swiss war material to Ukraine but those requests were all denied. It has however adopted the European Union's sanctions and has repeatedly called for a withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine. It says feds can't 'intentionally discriminate' on employment, contracting work Bill backed by GOP Reps. Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin, Byron Donalds and Michelle Steel of Florida and Burgess Owens of Utah A group of House Republicans has introduced a bill to 'prohibit discrimination' by the federal government in race, color or national origin on the same day President Joe Biden unveiled a budget with repeated references to programs that promote ''equity.' The bill, authored GOP Rep. Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin, states that the government shall not 'intentionally discriminate' on matters of federal employment, federal contracting, or other activities. It would prohibit the feds from granting a preference to 'any person or group based in whole or in part on race, color, or national origin,' according to the bill, which was released Thursday. Tiffany's measure is cosponsored by Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida, Rep. Burgess Owens of Utah, and Rep. Michelle Steel of Florida, three prominent minority members. The House GOP includes four black Republicans this year, a modern record. Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.) has introduced legislation to 'prohibit discrimination' by the feds based on race, color, or national orientation. The bill would also apply to contractors Supporters say they are organizing additional cosponsors, and Tiffany's office has been in touch with former Donald Trump senior official Stephen Miller, whose group America First Legal, which commits itself to 'true equality under law.' It follows a move in the last Congress by Rep. Paul Gosar to eliminate federal funds to an entity that uses Affirmative Action in hiring. 'If we are serious about ending discrimination in the U.S., the first step is for the government to stop doing the discrimination,' Tiffany tweeted about the bill. The bill also applies to any 'state or private entity' that gets federal financial assistance, stating that they may not 'discriminate' or grant a preference in any contract, employment, or educational institution. This would presumably have wide-ranging effects, although the Supreme Court has already issued a series or rulings on university affirmative action programs. Donalds issued his own tweet, writing: 'The difference between equity and equality is stark. While the Biden administration stands for an equity agenda with prescribed outcomes, I am proud to join Rep. Tiffany and my colleagues in promoting equality of opportunity. The message linked to an article about the bill in the Daily Caller. Organizers did not identify a Senate cosponsor, and the measure would likely meet strong opposition from the Democratic majority in the other chamber. President Biden championed diversity efforts in his administration and has set records for diversity in his judicial appoints, 74 per cent of which went to women and 46 per cent to women of color as of the end of last year. Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) said if the government is 'serious about ending discrimination in the U.S., the first step is for the government to stop doing the discriminating' Also cosponsoring the measure is Rep. Burgess Owens of Utah, who is one of four black Republicans in the House Rep. Michelle Steel, R-Calif., is another cosigner The bill title says it prohibits discrimination and 'preferential treatment' It would apply to federal contracts as well as subcontracts, amid small business laws focused on 'disadvantaged' individuals Democrats say the bill, if enacted, would making the existing 8(a) Small Business Administration program inoperable. Said Democratic Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.), 'This reckless and short-sighted bill would destroy successful programs that have benefited socially and economically disadvantaged small businesses since the 1960s.' 'Lawmakers introduced this legislation to score political points, but it would have a very real and very negative impact on small businesses if it became law,' the top Democrat on the Small Business Committee said in a statement. The push comes as Biden released a new budget plan that touts his 'equity agenda,' which begins by referencing an executive order he signed his first day in office 'directing the entire Federal government to advance an ambitious equity and racial justice agendanot as a one-year project, but as part of a sustained commitment to make the promise of America real for every American, including rural communities, communities of color, women and girls, Tribal communities, LGBTQI+ individuals, people with disabilities, and communities impacted by persistent poverty.' It lists programs to combat housing discrimination and homelessness, and calls for $3 billion in spending to reform eviction policies through access to lawyers and rental assistance. Although courts have struck down explicit racial set-asides, programs such as the 8(a) business development program make the goal of awarding 5 per cent of all contracts to firms controlled by 'socially and economically disadvantaged individuals.' The new push on ending federal 'discrimination' comes as Biden leaned heavily on the language of 'equity' in his budget, using the term 63 times in the document, Fox News found. It found half as many references to the word 'border' and only two mentions of 'fentanyl,' while the word 'transgender' featured eight times, and 'queer' seven times - but the word 'opioids' was mentioned four times. 'Equity', a key focus, was mentioned in the context of racial equity, equal access to healthcare, and equity for veterans. Donalds and Tiffany tweeted about the bill President Joe Biden speaks about his 2024 budget proposal at the Finishing Trades Institute on Thursday The White House on Thursday released a video on social media promoting the budget plan The document has been published online. It is not thought likely to pass It has largely replaced the word 'equality' in progressive circles. Equality means offering everyone the same opportunity, while equity means ensuring everyone achieves the same outcome. Supporters say equity helps eliminate unfair barriers which make it harder for some to achieve their full potential. Critics say it often involves unfair bias against certain groups deemed as successful, and that equal outcomes are often achieved artificially, by lowering overall standards. 'On his first day in office, the President signed a sweeping Executive Order directing the entire Federal Government to advance an ambitious equity and racial justice agendanot as a one-year project, but as part of a sustained commitment to make the promise of America real for every American,' the document reads. 'Since then, the Administration has made significant progress advancing equity across the Federal Government, including by releasing a second Executive Order that strengthens its ability to create opportunities for communities and populations that have been historically underserved, and continues to build an America in which all can participate, prosper, and reach their full potential,' it continues. Biden's 2024 plan is seen as unlikely to pass. Analysts are describing the proposal as a blueprint for the issues he will run on in 2024, if he decides to seek re-election. Biden also threw down the gauntlet to his Republican rivals, demanding they too unveil their spending plans. 'I've now laid out my budget,' he said. 'Republicans in Congress should do the same.' Biden said his plan was designed to help ordinary working people Heres how President Bidens budget will continue our work to grow the economy from the bottom up and the middle out not the top down.https://t.co/fjDcj4092E pic.twitter.com/lpSZYnzgtx The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 9, 2023 Biden's plan would cut deficits by $2.9 trillion over the next decade - a proposal that Republicans already intend to reject. On Thursday, the president spoke at a union training center in Philadelphia, discussing his plan for the government's finances and how his values contrasted with Republican priorities. 'I just laid out the bulk of my budget,' Biden said. 'Republicans in Congress should do the same thing. Then we can sit down and see where we disagree.' Yet the president doubted that Republican members of Congress could make their numbers match their calls for a balanced budget and he suggested that any efforts to do so could come at the expense of middle-class families. 'How are they going to make the math work?' Biden said. 'What are they going to cut?' House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said the president's proposed deficit reduction was inadequate. 'It just seems like it's going to create the biggest government in history. 'I don't think that's what we need at this time,' he said. In addition to deficit reduction, Biden's 10-year budget largely revolves around the idea of taxing the wealthy to help fund programs for the middle class, older adults and families. It would raise $4.7 trillion from higher taxes, with an additional $800 billion in savings from changes to programs. The tax increases include a reversal of the 2017 tax cuts made by President Donald Trump on people earning more than $400,000 a year. Biden has floated a new 25 percent minimum tax on households worth $100 million or more. Also, the tax that companies pay on stock buybacks would rise fourfold and those earning more than $400,000 would pay an additional Medicare tax that would help to keep the program solvent beyond the year 2050. Medicare could negotiate on the prices of more prescription drugs, helping to save the government money. Accompanying that would be $2.6 trillion worth of new spending, including the restoration of the expanded child tax credit that would give families as much as $3,600 per child, compared with the current level of $2,000. That credit would be 'fully refundable,' which means households could receive all of that sum even if they don't owe any taxes. The budget proposal would impose a $35-a-month cap on insulin prices, matching a change that Biden already put in place for Medicare recipients. At a time of increased tensions with Russia and China, the budget shows a decline in military spending as a share of the U.S. economy over the next decade. But federal spending would be equal to roughly one-quarter of economic output as the spending on Social Security and Medicare climbs, essentially keeping the government the same size as it is currently. The budget would seek to close the 'carried interest' loophole that allows wealthy hedge fund managers and others to pay their taxes at a lower rate, and prevent billionaires from being able to set aside large amounts of their holdings in tax-favored retirement accounts. The plan also projects saving $24 billion over 10 years by removing a tax subsidy for cryptocurrency transactions. Right-wing protesters and counter-protesters clashed over a 'non-existent' drag queen story hour event at a London pub. Turning Point UK had organised a demonstration at The Great Exhibition pub in East Dulwich for 11am today, publicising their plans on Twitter with the message 'groom dogs, not kids'. Actor Laurence Fox was present at the rally, after writing on Twitter yesterday: 'I am speaking tomorrow, not because I oppose drag queens (looks like a blast) but I do object to the fetishists who wish to sexualise our kids. 'I hope to speak to those who disagree with me, and I hope concerned parents turn up. Free speech is the the right to disagree.' According to reports, the protest was in response to an out of date listing on the pub's website from last year - and no drag queen story telling event was planned to take place today. A counter protest by Stand up to Racism South London took place with supporters and pro LGBT+ activists. The rally organised by right wing group Turning Point UK on March 10 in London Counter protesters demonstrated outside the Great Exhibition pub in Dulwich A spokesperson for CLIP, which hosted a Drag Storytime event at the pub last July told BBC London that the venue's website was still showing the event as running monthly because the listings had not been updated. But they said they had stopped drag storytime events after 'safeguarding' concerns. Around 150 people were outside the pub, and Met Police officers were also at the scene. A statement from The Great Exhibition pub released earlier in the week said: 'The team at the Great Exhibition is proud to serve the amazing community of East Dulwich. We are here to ensure that your local pub is at all times a safe, warm and fun place to visit and that everyone is always made to feel welcome. 'It has been brought to our attention that a group calling themselves Turning Point UK are intending to carry out a protest at the Great Exhibition on Friday 10th March at 11am. 'They appear to be opposing our Drag Storytime event for the under 5s, an event that took place in July 2022. 'Whilst the event was a huge success last year and brought great joy to parents and children alike, there is no event booked at the Great Exhibition next Friday, nor has there ever been. 'However, we remain committed to offering events at this pub that are magical, fun, inclusive and appropriate. Police said: 'Officers were on scene to respond to any serious disruption, crime and disorder, and to keep the public safe' Actor Laurence Fox, who was there today, tweeted 'They are a strange bunch. But more power to them. Free speech and all that' News pundit Calvin Robinson tweeted: 'Were protesting inappropriate drag queen story-time for children' Protesters were separated by Met Police officers in attendance today Turning Point UK had organised a demonstration at The Great Exhibition pub in East Dulwich for 11am today 'We would like to assure all our customers that we are committed to comfort, safety and inclusivity at all times. Next Friday lunchtime is no exception. We thank you for your constant support of the Great Exhibition and for allowing us to make such a rich and varied contribution to community life in East Dulwich. We love you all.' Turning Point UK tweeted this afternoon: 'If as the left claim there was no drag queen event planned at the pub why did they turn up in such numbers? 'What do they have to fear from letting us speak? Anyhow we were protesting the venue and raising awareness.' A spokesman for the Met Police told MailOnline: 'At 10:00hrs, the Met deployed to a demonstration outside the Great Exhibition Public House, Crystal Palace Road, East Dulwich. 'Approximately 150 people have attended the event. 'Officers were on scene to respond to any serious disruption, crime and disorder, and to keep the public safe. 'There was minor disruption to traffic in the area and Crystal Palace Road from the junction with Underhill Road was temporarily closed. 'As of 13:00hrs, the demonstrators had dispersed from Crystal Place Road and the Crystal Palace Road from the junction with Underhill Road has now reopened and the traffic flow has resumed as normal.' The spokesman confirmed there were no arrests. Blanchett is favored to win Best Actress at the Oscars on Sunday night She blended in and was dressed down in sneakers, cargo pants and sunglasses DailyMail.com spotted the 53-year-old Australian actress with daughter Edith, eight, shopping at upscale supermarket Erewhon in Beverly Hills Thursday Cate Blanchett is favored to win Best Actress on Oscar night for starring in the film Tar, but that doesn't stop her from performing her most important role: Mom. On Thursday morning, the A-lister was a typical busy mom rushing around downtown Beverly Hills in search of healthy snacks for her family. DailyMail.com spotted the 53-year-old Australian actress with daughter Edith, eight, walking briskly into the upscale health supermarket Erewhon with her own shopping bag. She was dressed down in sunglasses, sneakers, cargo pants and a black jacket. 'I can't believe no one recognized her,' an onlooker told DailyMail.com. 'Aside from wearing sunglasses inside the grocery store, it seemed like she wanted to just blend in.' DailyMail.com spotted the 53-year-old Australian actress with daughter Edith, eight, shopping at upscale supermarket Erewhon in Beverly Hills On Thursday morning, Blanchett was seen rushing around downtown Beverly Hills in search of healthy snacks for her family Cate Blanchett is a favorite to win Best Actress on Oscar night for her starring role in the movie Tar The mother-daughter duo first headed to the dairy section where Blanchett carefully read the labels on various yogurts. Erewhon regularly trends on social media with videos and posts made by shoppers revealing the exorbitant costs of their goods. Several times Blanchett appeared to get a bit of sticker shock herself, picking up items, checking the price and putting them down. She ordered a hot coffee and was very polite to the employees. She then did some window-shopping at stores like Lululemon, Kitson, and the kids' store Monnalisa. They headed back to their $1,800 a night hotel in the Golden Triangle section of Beverly Hills. A source tells DailyMail.com, 'Just because you stay at a fancy hotel, it doesn't mean that they have everything you want to eat, especially when it comes to healthy items. Erewhon has only been open about seven months in Beverly Hills and they're getting a lot of hotel guests as customers.' Several times she appeared to get a bit of sticker shock from Erewhon's prices, picking up items, checking the price and putting them down The actress and her husband Andrew Upton, 57, share three sons, Dashiell, 21, Roman, 18, Ignatius, 14, and their young daughter 'I can't believe no one recognized her,' an onlooker told DailyMail.com. 'Aside from wearing sunglasses inside the grocery store, it seemed like she wanted to just blend in' Blanchett ordered a hot coffee and was very polite to the employees. She then went window-shopping The sighting came just one day after fellow Best Actress nominee Michelle Yeoh, 60, took aim at Blanchett. Yeoh star of Everything Everywhere All At Once posted then deleted screenshots from a Vogue article titled, 'It's Been Over Two Decades Since We've Had a Non-White Best Actress Winner. Will That Change in 2023?' The article pointed out that Cate Blanchett already won Best Supporting Actress for The Aviator in 2005 and Best Actress for 2014's Blue Jasmine, but the last non-white winner was Halle Berry for Monster's Ball in 2001. The award for Yeoh, would be 'life-changing' it said, 'her name would forever be preceded by the phrase Academy Award winner, and it would result in her getting meatier parts, after a decade of being criminally underused in Hollywood.' Luckily for Yeoh, she may not have to worry about competing with Blanchett in the future. Michelle Yeoh star of Everything Everywhere All At Once posted then deleted screenshots from a Vogue article titled, 'It's Been Over Two Decades Since We've Had a Non-White Best Actress Winner. Will That Change in 2023?' The sighting came just one day after Michelle Yeoh, 60, took aim at fellow Best Actress nominee Cate If Cate Blanchett wins for her role as the obsessive German composer Lydia Tar, it will be her third Oscar In a recent interview Blanchett called her role as the obsessive German composer Lydia Tar so physically and mentally draining she contemplated giving up acting. She added that during filming she was profoundly homesick for her husband of nearly three decades Andrew Upton, 57, three sons Dashiell, 21, Roman, 18, Ignatius, 14, and her young daughter who were all back in Australia. Back in 2019 she opened up to Interview magazine about her constant struggle with her chosen profession. 'As you get older, acting just gets more and more humiliating. When I was younger I would wonder why the older actors I admired kept talking about quitting. Now I realize it's because they want to maintain a connection to the last shreds of their sanity,' she said. A woman was today jailed for four years after she admitted forcing a man to have sex with her while he was asleep. Tanya Lord, 41, was told by the judge there 'seems to be no distinction to be drawn between this and the rape of a female.' Outlining how the victim has been left mentally scarred and suspicious of people by his ordeal, the judge said 'there's a repeated myth that males are less susceptible' to the consequences of sex attacks. He revealed the victim has received counselling, is still prescribed medication for his mental health, has been left untrusting of people and 'feels alone' unless he's with his kids. In an impact statement, the victim told the court: 'I would not wish this on anyone,' adding that 'encourage anyone who has been abused to come forward.' Tanya Lord (pictured), 41, was told by the judge there 'seems to be no distinction to be drawn between this and the rape of a female' Outlining how the victim has been left mentally scarred and suspicious of people by his ordeal, the judge said 'there's a repeated myth that males are less susceptible' to the consequences of sex attacks. Pictured: Craigavon Crown Court, Northern Ireland , where Lord was sentenced Judge Lynch said if the myth about male victims 'needs to be disabused, it can be disabused now by the contents of the victim impact statement I have just read out' and warning that 'there's no distinction between male and female rape - the fact that a male is the victim doesn't make it any less serious than the rape of a female victim'. Lord, from Lancashire, who is a lesbian, had already pleaded guilty to the sex attack at her home in Co Armagh at an earlier hearing at Craigavon Crown Court. She admitted causing a man 'to engage in sexual activity with you involving penetration of your vagina with his penis and that he did not consent to the sexual activity, and you did not reasonably believe that he so consented'. READ MORE: 'Horny' 24-stone student, 30, 'pinned' down online date and forced him to have sex, leaving him with love-bite so bad it looked like he'd been 'strangled', hears sex-without-consent court trial Advertisement The court heard how Lord forced the victim to have sex when they shared a bed at her home. Prosecutor Joseph Murphy said the man had been drinking all day and met up Lord after she finished work on June 23, 2020. They went back to her house, had a few more drinks and some food and then went to bed with both wearing shorts. The victim believed that no sexual intercourse would take place because he understood that Lord was a lesbian. The prosecutor said however that in the early hours of the morning, the victim woke and 'felt a pain across his chest'. He regained his senses and realised that his boxer shorts had been pulled down to his knees, his penis was inside Lord and she was 'straddling him, bouncing up and down'. He added that the victim pushed her off and she pretended to be asleep. The victim got up and went downstairs 'to process what had happened'. He pretended to be asleep in the sofa when Lord brought his clothes down but when she left the room, he got dressed and left the property. He then spoke to his mother and partner before reporting the incident to police. He was taken to a rape enquiry centre where he had to endure an intimate examination, have swabs taken from his private parts and be interviewed on video by specialist detectives. It was those swabs, the court heard, that helped form an 'overwhelming case' against Lord because while she claimed there had been no sexual contact whatsoever, her full DNA profile was found on the victim's penis. When she was questioned, Lord 'could provide no explanation' why her DNA had been found on intimate swabs and more than two years after the incident, with repeated delays and adjournments and an aborted trial, she finally confessed her guilt at the eleventh hour. The prosecutor argued the fact that the victim asleep when he was attacked was an aggravating feature of the case. Mr Murphy told the court that he could find no similar such case in the UK. 'Factually this case involved a woman having sex with a man without his consent and there should be parity between male victims of sexual crime and female victims,' he said, submitting that to do otherwise would affirm the 'myth that men are less affected by sexual assault than women.' Defence lawyer Michael Ward said Lord, who suffers from a personality disorder and has poor mental health, 'has expressed remorse for her offending and some victim awareness'. 'She understands the position she had put herself in and she expresses, through me today, her remorse and her apologies to the victim for the unfortunate and regrettable incident,' said the barrister. In addition to the four-year sentence, Lord was ordered to sign the police sex offenders register for the rest of her life. He was among several death row inmates suing over expired execution drugs The convicted killer made several last-minute appeals to extend his life Arthur Brown Jr slammed his execution as an injustice A Texas killer who murdered four, including a woman who was nine-months pregnant, used his last words to condemn his execution as an injustice. Arthur Brown Jr., 52, received a lethal injection Thursday evening at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. 'What is happening here tonight isn't justice,' he said. 'It's the murder of another innocent man.' Brown was given the death penalty over three decades ago for the 1992 slayings of four people in a fatal drug robbery-gone-wrong. Arthur Brown Jr., pictured, used his last words to condemn his execution as an injustice, branding himself an 'innocent man' Pictured from left to right: The killer was convicted for the brutal murders of Jessica Quinones, 19, Jose Tovar, 32, Frank Farias, 17, and Audrey Brown, 21 Authorities say Brown was a member of a drug ring that transported narcotics from Texas to Alabama. While visiting the home of a married couple who supplied drugs to the gang, Brown and his accomplices gunned down four people as they raided the property. After tying up the residents, they shot dead Jose Tovar, 32, his wife's son Frank Farias, 17, neighbor Audrey Brown, 21, and Jessica Quinones, 19, who was nine-months pregnant at the time. Jose Tovar's wife Rachel and another occupant were also shot in the horror incident, but survived. 'I don't see how anybody could have just killed a pregnant woman and then made her suffer so much,' said Quinones' older sister Maricella before the execution. 'It's just beyond words.' Brown's attorneys attempted a last-minute delay on his execution, arguing that he should be exempt from the death penalty as he is intellectually disabled, a claim disputed by prosecutors. 'Mr. Brown's intellectual limitations were known to his friends and family,' the killer's attorneys wrote in their petition. 'Individuals that knew Mr. Brown over the course of his life have described him consistently as "slow"'. The US Supreme Court, which has previously ruled that intellectually disabled individuals cannot be put to death, declined the appeal Thursday. He reportedly took two deep breaths as a lethal dose of the sedative pentobarbital was injected into his system, before he quickly began snoring. Brown was pronounced dead at 6:37pm, 17 minutes after he was administered the drug. Brown was executed Thursday evening at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas, pictured The killer was part of a lawsuit alleging the Texas prison system is using expired execution drugs in its lethal injections. Pictured: The execution chamber at the Huntsville penitentiary He was convicted for the 1992 slayings of four people in a fatal drug robbery Brown was the second death row inmate executed this week in Texas, just days after Gary Green, 51, pictured, received a lethal injection for double murder in 2009 The inmate's attorneys had also previously launched several other unsuccessful appeals in lower courts, including a claim that his conviction was tainted by a racist juror. Two days before he was given the lethal injection, a Houston judge denied a request from for DNA testing that Brown's attorneys claim would exonerate him in the killings. However, the last-minute appeals were slammed as merely a delay tactic to extend his life by Josh Reiss, who heads the Post-Conviction Writs Division with the Harris County District Attorney's Office in Houston. 'It was an absolutely brutal mass murder,' he said. 'These families deserve justice.' Reiss argued that school records, which were shown at Brown's trial, reveal that the convicted killer was only believed to be intellectually disabled in the third grade, but that was no longer the case by the time he reached the ninth grade. In the years before his execution, Brown had long argued that another gang member had committed the killings. But Reiss also claims that the other alleged killer was found to not have been in Houston at the time of the slayings. One of Brown's accomplices, Marion Dudley, was executed in 2006 for the shootings, while a third is serving a life sentence in prison. Brown was one of six Texas death row inmates who joined a lawsuit against the state's prison system, alleging it uses expired execution drugs in lethal injections. The suit alleges that authorities are extending the use-by-dates of its lethal injection drugs due to a lack of pharmacies willing to produce them. Prison officials deny the lawsuits' claims that the expired drugs make their execution more painful, and say the state's supply of drugs is safe. Five of the inmates involved in the lawsuit have since been executed, as the litigation moves through the courts. Brown was the fifth inmate executed in Texas this year, and the ninth in the US. His Thursday lethal injection was also the second in Texas this week, following the death of murderer Gary Green, who was also part of the lawsuit. A woman was raped by a stranger while another man stood and acted as a look-out, police who are hunting the two suspects said today. Police have released a new image of the two men they want to trace following the 'traumatic' rape of a woman in Tottenham, north London. The victim, aged in her 30s, was approached by two men on West Green Road at around 3am on June 25, 2022. They walked to Houghton Road together before the victim was raped by one of the men while the other stood guard. The offence was reported to police and officers quickly attended to the scene and spoke with the victim. An image and a reconstruction of the incident have now featured on the BBC's Crimewatch Live programme in the hopes that someone will come forward with information that can help with the investigation The victim, aged in her 30s, was approached by two men in West Green Road, Tottenham, at 3am on June 25, 2022. They walked to Houghton Road (pictured above) together before the victim was raped by one of the men The first man was described by the victim as being inebriated. He was also described as being possibly Asian or Turkish, and around 5ft 8inches tall with a stocky build. He was wearing a grey hoodie. He was described to have thick, tidy black beard and did not speak with an English accent. The second man was also described as being possibly Asian or Turkish, being around 5ft 8ins tall, with a slim build. He had an oval, slim face with short receding hair and a light brown short beard. He was wearing a black jumper. He stood nearby whilst the victim was attacked. More than eight months have passed since the victim's ordeal, and the pair have not been tracked down yet. Following this, an image and a reconstruction of the incident have now featured on the BBC's Crimewatch Live programme in the hopes that someone will come forward with information that can help with the investigation. Meanwhile, cops have confirmed that the woman is being supported by specially trained officers as they continue to conduct enquiries into the offence. Detective Sergeant Pembe Rayif, from North Area's Safeguarding Team, said: 'This was a traumatic ordeal for the victim and we are doing everything we can to support her and bring the perpetrator to justice. 'We are very keen to speak to the men in the CCTV images we have released and we would ask anyone who can identify them to come forward.' Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101 or Tweet @MetCC quoting reference CAD 1632/25JUN22. Alternatively you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at crimestoppers-uk.org. The House has voted unanimously for the Biden administration to declassify all information related to the origins of COVID - nearly three years since the Trump administration declared a national emergency due to the pandemic. The American public is now one step closer to discovering the truth about the start of the virus that sparked widespread lockdowns and restrictions, and to the extent to which China is to blame. The vote passed 419-0 on Friday, with all members of Congress backing the bid to make links to the Wuhan lab and documents on the beginning of the virus public. The bill now heads to President Biden's desk after the Senate passed it earlier this month, and Republicans have demanded he sign it for get clarity on what happened. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden would 'look' at the bill, but wouldn't confirm if he will sign it when asked at her briefing. The House has voted unanimously to for the Biden administration to declassify all information related to the origins of COVID - including documents on the investigation into whether it leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (above) White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden would 'look' at the bill, but wouldn't confirm if he will sign it when asked at her briefing. The bipartisan vote comes two weeks after a Department of Energy report stated that COVID likely leaked from an accidental lab leak in China. It would require the Director of National Intelligence to release all information the declassification of 'any and all information relating to potential links between the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the origin of the Coronavirus Disease.' FBI Director Christopher Wray also said on March 1 that the bureau believes the virus most likely came from a lab accident. The rest of the U.S. government is split on theories of the genesis of the pandemic that led to the lockdowns and restrictions. Dr Anthony Fauci, the Biden COVID advisor who retired from the government last year, has said he still believes it was likely a natural occurrence. However, he has insisted he still has an 'open mind' on the theories and the origins may not be known for years, if ever. He has faced constant scrutiny, and earlier this week was accused of trying to shut out experts who backed the lab leak theory because they didn't fit into his 'narrative'. In an interview on Fox News on Thursday, Fauci denied the allegations. The vote passed 419-0 on Friday, with all member of Congress backing the bid to make links to the Wuhan lab and documents on the beginning of the virus public Dr Anthony Fauci, the Biden COVID advisor who retired from the government last year, has said he still believes it was likely a natural occurrence Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri introduced the bill and said the passage was the first step in finally holding China accountable. 'Today the House passed my COVID origins bill with bipartisan support, sending it to the President's desk,' said Hawley. 'This is a great first step in holding China accountable for this crisis, and I urge President Biden to sign it immediately. The American people deserve to know the truth.' Experts say the true origin of the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 1 million Americans, may not be known for many years if ever. 'Transparency is a cornerstone of our democracy,' said Rep. Jim Himes, of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, during the debate. A woman who smuggled suitcases full of cash to Dubai was told she was working for the UAE Royal Family, a court heard. Beatrice Auty, 26, was recruited by Leeds-based mother-of-two Michelle Clarke to work as a 'courier' for the gold trading company 'Omnvivest' which involved her travelling to the middle east from London Heathrow with cases full of cash in July 2020. She became part of a gang of cash smugglers including Jo-Emma Larvin, ex-glamour model and former partner of Joe Calzaghe, who brought 100million in dirty money to be laundered in the desert resort. The gang are accused of removing criminal property from the UK, which they all deny. Appearing in court on Friday Auty, wearing a cream dress and grey blazer, said she was put in contact by Michelle Clarke by her ex-partner Mark Cladnick after she was made redundant in the Covid-19 pandemic. Beatrice Auty allegedly hid wads of cash in her luggage before flying it out from Heathrow (pictured in court on March 3) Prosecutor Julian Christopher, KC, told jurors Auty was recruited as a courier by married mother-of-two Michelle Clarke (pictured) Auty said her ex-partner had told her she would be working for UAE royal family, and that Michelle Clarke was the wife of a close friend of his. 'She called me up and introduced herself as one of Mark's friends. 'She appeared lovely and told me she was a mother and had worked at SKY as a PA and had left that job to work for a company called 'Omnivest', a gold trading company and she was now in charge of their recruitment.' Johnathon Green, defending Auty, asked: 'What questions did you ask Michelle Clarke?' 'I said, what is the nature of Omnivest? What is the company basically... I understood it to be the buying and selling of gold... Michelle Clarke said the owner was based in Dubai. 'I asked who the owner was, and I was told it was a man named Sheikh Abdulla Alfalsi,' Auty said. 'What do you understand by the name Sheikh?' asked Mr Green. 'My understanding was it meant someone in the royal family' replied Auty. Auty said she had been told that Sheikh Abdulla Alfalsi was the owner of the company. 'I googled Omnivest, they came up as being a gold trading company. I then googled 'Sheikh Abdulla Alafalsi' and it came up with a section of 'The House of Alfalsi,' Auty said. 'And did you know who was 'The House of Alfalsi?' asked Mr Green. 'From my understanding, that it was a big connection of to one of the ruling families in Dubai,' said Auty. 'Did this prove any reassurance?' asked Green. 'It did, yes,' said Auty. The court heard the Auty took her first trip to Dubai in July 2020 and that she was instructed, by Michelle Clarke, to travel to a Starbucks in Knightsbridge where she would meet the company driver Karim. After meeting Karim, Auty travelled to a town house in Knightsbridge. 'A man came out of the house, and he came out with the suitcases, maybe three or four,' said Auty. Auty said the man had been called Toby and that she had heard he had been working for the company. 'Did Toby get in the cab?' asked Mr Green 'No. He loaded the cases then came into where I was sitting, shook my hand, introduced himself and said "Have a lovely trip", Auty said. 'Did you get any inkling something was wrong?' asked Mr Green. 'No, if I did, I wouldn't have gone to the airport,' said Auty. Auty, of Fulham, is charged with transporting criminal property. Auty, alongside ex-glamour model Jo-Emma Larvin, 44, Larvin's partner Jonathan Johnson, 55, Amy Harrison, 27 and Liam Rabone, 29, all deny removing criminal property from the UK. Jo-Emma Larvin and Larvin's partner Jonathan Johnson, 55, who also denies removing criminal property from the UK Ex-glamour model Jo-Emma Larvin, 44, denies removing criminal property from the UK Jurors previously heard Rabone was recruited by his 'best friend' Hanlon, 32, in July 2020. A video sent from Hanlon to Rabone shows Hanlon touring the luxurious hotel room she was put up in by the organisation. Messages exchanged between Hanlon and Rabone from July 2020 read in court today detailed Rabone's concern at the amount of cash he was being asked to transport. One message read: 'The only thing I question is cash. Moving cash in six-figure amounts is literally illegal.' Hanlon replied: 'You can't talk about it on here, I don't know the ins and out... but yes, it's a lot lol.' Jurors also heard how Rabone was briefed and recruited to the scene after attending a Zoom call with Hanlon and Clarke. The court previously heard that the total amount of cash taken out of the UK over the 83 trips was 'in the region of 100m.' After the call Rabone sent a message to Hanlon on July 16, 2020 that said: 'It sounds good, I don't see why it would be an issue, I've been doing my research around it so game on! Let's f***ing do this, let's make some money.' Millions of pounds in English and Scottish banknotes were carried in suitcases checked in as luggage, the court heard. The couriers were paid 3,000 and all their expenses for their trips to Dubai before flying back with 'their very considerably lighter' suitcases, jurors heard. Anything over Euro 10,000 Euros leaving the EU has to be declared to HMRC, but the smugglers' suitcases usually contained up to 500,000, the prosecutor said. The organiser, Abdulla Alfalasi, 47, arranged 83 successful trips over 18 months and these defendants were involved in 16 while two more were unsuccessful, the court has heard. The total amount of cash taken out of the UK in those 83 trips was 'is in the region of 100m', the court has heard. The trial continues. A horrifying image has shown the brutal harm endured by an elephant after years of carrying tourists on its back. Animal group Wildlife Friends Foundation in Thailand (WFFT) released an image of 71-year-old Pai Lin, a female elephant who has been left with a disfigured spine after decades of carrying tourists. In some instances, the aged elephant was made to carry up to six people at a time. In the rather harrowing picture, the elephant's back visibly caves inwards. Where the back should round to form an almost dome shape, the spine jags in and is sunken after decades of carrying enormous weight. Pai Lin spent 25 years being made to work in Thailand's trekking industry, but has now found sanctuary at Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand's facility. In the rather harrowing picture, the Pai Lin's back visibly caves inwards following decades carrying tourists Riding elephants is an incredibly popular tourist activity in countries like Thailand that are populous with Asian elephants. This also makes it incredibly lucrative work for trekking companies. Campaign groups such as WFFT have long campaigned to stop local tourist companies from using the animals. They believe the practice exploits elephants. 'Elephants used for trekking often spend full days carrying the weight of their mahout (handler), groups of tourists, and a heavy howdah (seat),' the animal campaign group said. 'This continuous pressure on their bodies can deteriorate the tissue and bones on their back, causing irreversible physical damage to their spines. 'Pai Lins back still bears scars from old pressure points.' The 71-year-old elephant was rescued by WFFT in 2007 from the Thailand trekking industry. She is now known as the grandmother to the 22 other elephants who live within the sanctuary. Elephants like Pai Lin live within the animal group's enclosures that expand to 44 acres wide and are filled with trees and lakes for them to play. Where the back should round to form an almost dome shape (pictured), Pai Lin's spine jags in and is sunken after decades of carrying enormous weight The group said they hoped this stark image would encourage tourists not to take part in exploitative trekking industries and to instead opt to support ethical and sustainable sanctuaries Tom Taylor, the WFFT's Project Director said: 'While elephants may be known for their strength and size, their backs are not naturally designed to carry weight, as their spines extend upwards. 'Constant pressure on their backbones from tourists can result in permanent physical damage, which can be seen in our gentle Pai Lin.' 'Most of the rescued elephants here at WFFT have experienced decades of abuse,' the group said. 'While we could never comprehend the trauma these animals have experienced in the past, at least they can now live the rest of their lives in peace at our sanctuary.' The group said they hoped this stark image would encourage tourists not to take part in exploitative trekking industries and to instead opt to support ethical and sustainable sanctuaries. Comes as US Navy Secretary warns China's navy is growing beyond US capacity A Chinese research team claims it used an AI programme to design the electrical system of a warship in a day - a task that takes a team of humans with advanced computer tools almost a year. A study published in China's journal of Computer Integrated Manufacturing Systems last month said the AI designer completed all of its tasks with 100 per cent accuracy, breezing through complex design problems. China's Ship Design and Research Centre said the AI perfectly navigated more than 400 challenging design tasks, prompting leading senior engineer Luo Wei to declare the programme was 'ready for engineering applications' in China's shipbuilding industry to boost the speed of warship manufacturing. The shocking news comes just weeks after the US Secretary of the Navy warned that China's naval fleet has surpassed America's in terms of sheer size and is growing faster than US manufacturers have the capacity to match. Furthermore, Wei's team told the journal that ship design rather than manufacturing capacity was the key factor limiting production of new vessels, according to the South China Morning Post, suggesting that AI design programmes could dramatically boost China's naval development. 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 The navies of China and the US differ considerably, but Chinese production of new vessels is outstripping that of the US China's aircraft carrier, the Liaoning is pictured right '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 last month. 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 290 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 is to have 350 manned ships by 2045. 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. 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 America's 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 The Navy secretary 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. 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. 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 in the January issue of the US Naval Institute's Proceedings magazine. His analysis of 25 historical naval wars found 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. Pleaded not guilty to possession of a firearm and charges of funding of terrorism Aine Leslie Davis, 39, was charged after returning to Luton Airport last August A British Muslim convert who allegedly travelled to Syria for terrorism has pleaded not guilty to a string of charges. Aine Leslie Davis, 39, formerly from London, was arrested and charged after returning to the UK at Luton Airport last August. On Friday Davis pleaded not guilty to possession of a firearm contrary to Section 57 of the Terrorism Act 2000, and two charges relating to the funding of terrorism. The first charge alleges that between 28 July 2013 and 16 January 2014 he possessed a firearm 'in circumstances which give rise to a reasonable suspicion that the possession is for a purpose connected with the commission preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism'. On Friday Davis pleaded not guilty to possession of a firearm contrary to Section 57 of the Terrorism Act 2000, and two charges relating to the funding of terrorism A British Muslim convert, Aine Leslie Davis, 39, who allegedly travelled to Syria for terrorism has pleaded not guilty to a string of charges. Formerly from London, Davis (pictured) was charged arrested and charged after returning to the UK at Luton Airport last August The second charge alleges that in January 2014 he invited 'one or more others to provide money and intended that it would be used - or had reasonable cause to suspect - that it would or may be used for the purposes of terrorism'. The third charge alleges he entered into an arrangement with his then-wife Amal El-Wahabi and others to make money available for the purposes of terrorism. The defendant entered his pleas at the Old Bailey during a hearing before Judge Mark Lucraft KC. The judge set a further hearing for April 18 and Davis was remanded into custody. The BBC won't broadcast an episode of David Attenborough's new wildlife series because of fears it would risk a backlash from Tory politicians and the right-wing press, it has been reported. The episode is part of Attenborough's new Wild Isles documentary which focuses of themes of the destruction of nature across the UK and reportedly won't be broadcast to fend off potential critique from the political right. The documentary, which was part-funded by nature charities WWF and RSPB will not be broadcast with the other five episodes and will only be available on the BBC's streaming service iPlayer. It comes as the BBC has taken Gary Lineker off air after he reportedly refused to apologise for his tweet comparing the Government's Illegal Migration Bill to 1930s Germany, when the Nazis came to power. The corporation fears some 'lobbying groups' with 'dinosaurian ways' like the farming and hunting industry would 'kick off' if the show had potential to be too political, according to the Guardian. The episode is part of Attenborough's new Wild Isles documentary which focuses of themes of the destruction of nature across the UK and reportedly won't be broadcast to fend off potential critique from the political right The corporation fears some 'lobbying groups' with 'dinosaurian ways' like the farming and hunting industry would 'kick off' if the show had potential to be too political, according to the Guardian The Telegraph criticsed the series this week for taking funding from 'two charities previously criticised for their political lobbying' - the WWF and RSPB. But in a statement provided after the story was published, a BBC spokesman said: 'This is totally inaccurate, there is no 'sixth episode'. 'Wild Isles is and always was - a five part series and does not shy away from environmental content. READ MORE: Match of the Day in chaos: BBC takes Gary Lineker off air 'after he refused to apologise for Nazi tweet' Advertisement 'We have acquired a separate film for iPlayer from the RSPB and WWF and Silverback Films about people working to preserve and restore the biodiversity of the British Isles.' Laura Howard, who produced the programme, told the Guardian: 'I think the facts speak for themselves. You know, we've worked really closely with the RSPB in particular who are able to factcheck all of our scripts and provide us with detailed scientific data and information about the loss of wildlife in this country. 'And it is undeniable, we are incredibly nature-depleted. And I don't think that that is political, I think it's just facts.' Green Party MP for Brighton Pavillion Caroline Lucas struck out at the BBC, slamming its decision as an 'unforgiveable dereliction of its duty to public service broadcasting'. Mrs Lucas told the Guardian the BBC shouldn't be intimidated by a culture war stoking Government and called for the episode to be televised. A soldier tasked with protecting the royal family headbutted a security guard in a drunken punch-up just around the corner from Windsor Castle. Lance Sergeant Thomas Kivlin, 28, was in military uniform as he enjoyed a night out with friends in August 2022 near the Victoria Barracks where he was based. He became embroiled in a group argument and refused to leave The Old Ticket Hall music venue, headbutting security guard Joe Barrett. Appearing at Berkshire Magistrates' Court on Friday, he pleaded guilty to assault by beating and was fined 1,160. An Army spokesperson said his behaviour 'falls short' and that he will be considered for military disciplinary action. Lance Sergeant Thomas Kivlin, 28, was in military uniform as he enjoyed a night out with friends in August 2022 before a fight He was based with the Coldstream Guards, who protect the royal family, in the Victoria Barracks in Windsor The fight last August saw two security guards intervene in a heated argument, placing Kivlin in a headlock after a scrum-like tussle. The soldier freed himself and ran off through the town. He was later spotted back at his barracks, a few minutes' walk away. Prosecutor Tina Flannery told Berkshire Magistrates' Court that Kivlin believed he was acting in self-defence as he did not know Mr Barrett was a security guard. She added that Kivlin 'feared he was going to be attacked himself'. Mr Paul Turnbull, defending, said as a soldier, Kivlin had been trained to be aggressive, which had flared up in public after a drink. He said: 'The Army trains these young men to do a particular job. Fortunately their behaviour has improved immensely in the local community but occasionally it flares up. Kivlin (left), who was based with the Coldstream Guards in Windsor at the time of the fight, has now been moved to the Wellington Barracks in London The 28-year-old soldier pleaded guilty to assault by beating and received a fine of 1,160 to be paid within 28 days Two security guards put the Lance Sergeant into a headlock during the brawl before he broke free from the hold 'Combine a young man so trained with alcohol, occasionally they will misinterpret a situation.' Mr Turnbull added that Kivlin wanted to continue to serve his community. Presiding Justice Mr Paul Wassell told Kivlin: 'You let everyone down. If you can't take a drink and be pleasant, don't drink. 'You are no different to any other member of the public when you are with the public. He headbutted and punched security guard Joe Barrett before running back to his barracks, the magistrates' court heard The 28-year-old soldier was told not to drink if he was going to be violent and that he was no different than any other member of the public 'They won't think "he's a soldier", they will think "he's a violent man".' Kivlin, who was based with the Coldstream Guards in Windsor at the time of the fight, has now been moved to the Wellington Barracks in London. An Army spokesman told The Sun that all criminal convictions are immediately considered for internal disciplinary action. Twenty years ago this month, in the largest deployment of British troops since World War II, Coalition forces invaded Iraq to end Saddam Hussein's brutal rule. As they advanced, Iraq's cities degenerated into chaos. In a snapshot of life under fire from a nail-biting new book, Burning Horizon, Lance Sergeant Bob Giles of the 1st Battalion Irish Guards (aka the Micks) tells how, on April 10, 2003, his unit was called to investigate reports of gunfire in Basra. After having to shoot several gunmen dead and arresting the others, the soldiers set off to return to base... We all had to walk back the 500 metres to what I believed would be a well-deserved round of mutual back-slapping after an excellent job well done. I felt like a champion. All my time as an infantry soldier had just come to fruition with that attack. The gunmen were dead, we were all alive, without even a scratch. In a snapshot of life under fire from a nail-biting new book, Burning Horizon, Lance Sergeant Bob Giles (pictured) of the 1st Battalion Irish Guards (aka the Micks) tells how, on April 10, 2003, his unit was called to investigate reports of gunfire in Basra After having to shoot several gunmen dead and arresting the others, the soldiers set off to return to base... (file image of Iraqi protestors in Basra in 2005) Six Platoon headed off and I led my section behind them. After a while they started to slow up, so I stopped to allow a gap to appear between me and them and became aware I was standing on one of those makeshift roundabouts you find in the middle of a four-way junction. It was no more than a blob of white paint and I thought for a millisecond what an excellent target I must be making. Then, to my left, there was an almighty explosion. I glanced over and about 100 metres away I could see two large doors, about three metres in height, hurtling across the street. I only then became aware that we were in the banking sector of the city and the doors were from one of the banks. Apart from some difficulty breathing and a pain no worse than a slightly pulled muscle in my chest, I actually felt great. A warm glow covered me and I had that feeling of having just woken up in the sunlight after a really deep sleep. I know now that what I was in fact doing was dying. My body was closing down and my lungs were filling up. The Fedayeen Saddam's loyal paramilitary force were attacking all the targets that may have financial worth before making their retreat from the city. We had just walked into the middle of a Fedayeen bank robbery. I headed for the side of a building and walked quickly towards where the explosion had gone off. 'Northern Ireland all over again,' I thought. As I lifted my radio mic to my mouth to report the incident, one of the most horrific sights I have ever witnessed unfolded in front of me. The street had been full of civilians and passing cars, and as the bank doors were sent flying across the street, the local population had rushed towards what they thought would be all their birthdays come at once. As they drew near to the now wide-open bank, the guards inside, eager to protect any possible bounty for themselves, opened fire with a number of weapons on the crowd. Men, women and children leapt from the back of passing vehicles. Some were shot before they hit the ground. Others were still sitting where they had been when the explosion went off, slumped dead, as bullets hit their faces and chests. I could see women dressed in black burkas, head to toe, being hit by bullets which made their clothes dance up and spit out dust like a rug hung on a washing line being beaten with a stick. At least 15 people were hit and surely more. My contact report went something like: 'S**t. Hello Zero, this is Whiskey 2-3 Bravo. Contact, 100 metres rear of Sheraton Hotel. People being shot and...' I never got to finish. Then, to my left, there was an almighty explosion. I glanced over and about 100 metres away I could see two large doors, about three metres in height, hurtling across the street (file image of British soldiers in Basra in 2003) The whole world stopped as if a pause button had been pressed so it could get its breath back. All I knew was something had smashed into my chest. I was just about to put my left heel to the floor as I walked forward but was rocked back on it. The world had gone mute. There were no sounds, just a sense of a mild electric shock running through my body accompanied by a buzzing after-shock that lasted the smallest fraction of a second. What followed probably lasted for no more than 60 seconds but takes half an hour to tell due to the billion sensations that went through my mind and body. Still standing, I looked at my left breast, which seemed to be the epicentre of whatever the f*** had just hit me. There was no blood and the first thought that went through my head was that I had been hit by a riot-type plastic bullet. Noises from the outside world began to fill my ears again. I thought: 'Well I'm not standing here to be hit by something else.' Quite nonchalantly, I turned and walked 10 metres to my rear and sat down in an alcove which formed the corner of the junction where I had been standing. I still had no idea that I had just had most of the contents of my left lung blown out of the back of me at approximately 1,000kph by a 7.62mm AK-47 round, leaving a hole the size of the rim on a pint glass, just below my shoulder blade. The round had missed my front body armour plate and had lodged in the rear one. Apparently, my heart had been missed by half an inch, but right then I just figured something had hit me in the chest and at worst I had broken a rib. You've been shot, you silly b*****d. But, I argued with myself, there's no blood! I don't feel like I've been shot! In fact, I feel quite good, a little tired maybe. What if I haven't been shot and I tell everyone on the net I have? I'll look a right tw*t! I got on the radio and said: 'Hello Zero, this is Whiskey 2-3 Bravo, I think I've been shot. Over.' No Reply. 'Hello Zero, it's Bob, I've been shot.' I found I hadn't got the breath to say it again and I was getting interrupted on the net by others reporting in and clogging up the airwaves. Zero hadn't heard me but L/Cpl Simon Campbell had and he constructively butted in. 'Shut the f*** up and get off the net, Bob's been shot. Bob's been shot.' I was all alone. The whole of my section was across the street about 20 metres away. I remember thinking that I was about to start panicking. If I panicked, I'd go into shock and if I went into shock, then I was dead. I felt like a champion. All my time as an infantry soldier had just come to fruition with that attack. The gunmen were dead, we were all alive, without even a scratch (file image of British soldiers in Basra in 2006) So, I spent the time thinking: 'What will be will be and no amount of fretting is going to change anything.' I even mentally hummed that Doris Day tune: 'Whatever will be, will be...' to myself. There was no way I was going to stare at my own blood as it soaked into the Basra dust and bugger up all the good work I had done in calming myself. Across the street I could see one of my section looking at me as if to say: 'What the f*** are you doing sitting down? There's a gun battle going on up here!' I took my helmet off, subconsciously letting everyone know that was me, game over, I'm done. Apart from the difficulty in breathing and a pain no worse than a slightly pulled muscle in my chest, I actually felt great. A warm glow covered me and I had what I can only describe as that feeling of having just woken up in the sunlight after a really deep and relaxing sleep. I know now that what I was in fact doing was dying. My body was closing down and my lungs were filling up. Dying then would have been an extremely comfortable way to go, but I was snapped out of it when Parky from 6 Platoon came running round the corner. 'What are you doing, Bob?' 'I've been shot,' I replied, as I kicked my legs around trying to get more air. 'No you haven't, you silly c**t.' As word spread and the men gathered around me, Major Ben Farrell sprang into action, telling someone to start first aid, get the medic up, get into all-round defence and so forth. 'Look Bob, it's going to be OK,' he said. 'You'll be fine.' He'd never called me Bob in my whole service, so I knew I was in trouble. Parky ran off to summon a Warrior to pick me up. If he hadn't, none of us would have made it out of there alive as the fireworks were really about to start. Within seconds there was heavy fire cutting the street in two, which had my full attention in case it should start to creep the 10 metres or so towards me. We were right in the s**t and were pinned down. I saw Cliff in the Warrior pull up just short of the junction and put around 20 bullets into a man directly above my head. Wood splinters showered around me, which was somewhat unnerving as I no longer had my helmet on. It's been said that the gunman Cliff dispatched was the man who fired at me, but I have other theories. Suffice to say, the individual in question was part of the bank robbery gang. I look back now and realise it was at this point that I left the physical act of fighting the war in Iraq behind and the mental battle that I am still fighting today started (file image of British Z company, of the Desert Rats, who stop alleged looters in Basra in 2003) Then, in a move I can only describe as bloody stupid or a total lack of self-concern to save a fallen comrade, I saw my friends Simon and Lee come bounding through the gunfire, dancing, swerving and kicking up their legs in order to miss the heavy weight of fire. I didn't notice at the time, but the rest of the section thought Lee was dead when he stumbled, only to pick himself up and keep running. The pair of them raced over to me. I still had no idea that I had just had most of the contents of my left lung blown out of the back of me at approximately 1,000kph by a 7.62mm AK-47 round, leaving a hole the size of the rim on a pint glass, just below my shoulder blade (file image) The rescue Warrior pulled up alongside, facing the smouldering bank down the street. As the rescue party started to pick me up, a Fedayeen getaway vehicle came out of the bank car park. It was a pick-up truck with a belt-fed machine gun on it, which was pouring rounds straight at the front of the Warrior. The bullets did not penetrate but were ricocheting off in a shower of sparks in every direction. The Warrior gunner deftly swung his 30mm cannon round to point at the pick-up and squeezed off a dozen rounds which completely pulverised it, blowing great chunks off it and doing the same to the three Fedayeen who had been living souls until then. As Lee and Simon prepared to lift me up from the street, Simon kindly pointed out: 'You lucky b*****d, you'll be on the p*** in Ayia Napa in 12 hours.' We all knew any casualties who required extraction from Iraq would be flown to Cyprus. It was all I could do to stop the two of them spinning me round to take a good look at the puddle of red that had once been inside me before they literally threw me into the back of the wagon. 'I can't breathe!' I told them as I lay unceremoniously on my front, face sticking to the PVC seating in the back of the Warrior. I felt a hand grab me by the scruff of the neck and hoist me upright. That was better. Strangely I could breathe perfectly again. Lee was hugging me tightly around the waist. 'What are you doing?' I asked him. 'I'm holding your guts in.' 'Well, that would be great, if I'd been shot in the stomach, but I haven't, have I?' 'I'm going to hold your guts in anyway'. 'Look Bob, it's going to be OK,' he said. 'You'll be fine.' He'd never called me Bob in my whole service, so I knew I was in trouble (file image of British soldiers in Basra in 2003) I was told later that I had only five minutes to live at that point, had it not been for the intervention of Major Burgess, the platoon doctor. We had only gone a hundred yards in the Warrior when it stopped abruptly and I was dragged out. Major Burgess wanted to get a chest drain in me, but it was too cramped in the Warrior. I was starting to lose focus and slip in and out of consciousness, but I remember him saying: 'What I'm about to do is going to save your life'. READ MORE - The quiet heroes: The soldiers almost burnt alive in Basra and the heroic medics who saved them (file image of Basra in 2004) Advertisement He stuck a plastic pipe, 10 inches long, into my chest cavity, the blunt end scraping around inside, sucking the blood out. They drew two-and-a-half bags of blood from the cavity before it started to dry up. Apparently if more than three bags are drawn out you generally die soon after. The Warrior drove us the short distance back to the Company HQ at the Sheraton Hotel where a CASEVAC [casualty evacuation] helicopter would pick me up. While waiting for the helicopter, the gathered medics put intravenous drips into my arm, stripped my kit off and dressed my two wounds: the tidy, small entry wound and a ragged fist-sized exit wound near my shoulder blade. Unfortunately the area around the Sheraton was now also under fire, so the helicopter needed to land a distance away. This meant being loaded into a vehicle again, but just a few minutes later I was dragged out of the vehicle into... silence. No more engine noise or shouting or firing of weapons or chattering voices. I look back now and realise it was at this point that I left the physical act of fighting the war in Iraq behind and the mental battle that I am still fighting today started. There must have been the din of the helicopter engine and rotor blades, but I don't remember them just this overwhelming sense of peace and silence as we lifted off the ground and up into the darkening sky. Adapted from Burning Horizon: British Veteran Accounts Of The Iraq War, 2003 by Julian Whippy, published by Casemate at 29.95. Julian Whippy 2023. To order a copy for 26.96 (offer valid to 25/03/23; UK P&P free on orders over 20), visit www.mailshop.co.uk/books or call 020 3176 2937. Postscript: L/Sgt Giles was flown to a field hospital in Kuwait then to the UK, where he recovered from his injuries in hospital. Eight months later he was back on patrol in South Armagh. He served 23 years in the Army, is married with children and is still in the Reserves. Gun battle in Basra: Lance Sergeant Bob Giles was left with a fist-sized exit wound to his back A twisted shooter has gunned down four others inside a Miami-Dade home before turning the weapon on himself in what police are calling a 'murder-suicide.' Investigators said a relative called authorities shortly before 10am Friday after being unable to contact someone inside the residents in the 14800 block of Northwest 87th Court. Police Detective Alvaro Zabaleta said during a news conference at the scene that the bodies of two men and three women were found inside the house. The relationship between the five people remains unclear and is still under investigation. Zabaleta said officers entered the home through an unlocked window and found one body before finding the additional bodies. Evidence at the scene near the body of a man found inside appeared to indicate that he had been the shooter before taking his own life. Footage from the neighborhood showed several police cruisers at the scene and police tape surrounding grisly murder. This is a developing story, more to come. A twisted shooter has gunned down four others inside a Miami home before turning the weapon on himself in what police are calling a 'murder-suicide' Its authors describe it as a book about how 'wokeism is poisoning young brains' The Forbes CEO was celebrating the launch of conservative book Stolen Youth Forbes was targeted by 'wild-eyed' female protesters who threw drinks at him Media mogul Steve Forbes has revealed he was assaulted by two 'wild-eyed' Black Lives Matter protesters at a conservative book launch in New York. Forbes says the campaigners stormed into the event on Wednesday and began 'yelling almost incoherently,' pushing books off the counter and drenching guests in drinks. The 75-year-old Forbes CEO was celebrating the launch 'Stolen Youth,' a book centered on how 'wokeism is poisoning young brains.' 'I was taking to co-author Bethany Mandel near the counter where the books were on display,' he told Fox Digital. 'Suddenly a woman seemingly out of nowhere was angrily yelling almost incoherently about matters that weren't related to the subject of the book. Steve Forbes say he was attacked by screaming Black Lives Matter protestors during the launch of Conservative book 'Stolen Youth.' He is pictured with the book's authors Bethany Mandel, left, and Karol Markowicz, right Forbes said protesters hurled drinks at him. He is pictured with Eva Longoria at the Forbes Women's Summit in 2019 'The books themselves were pushed off the counter loudly landing on the floor while simultaneously she tossed a drink our way.' He and Mandel both ended up splattered in the drink. 'I joked that a dark suit was an advantage in a situation like this,' Forbes said. Stolen Youth was penned by Bethany Mandel and Karol Markowicz. The book's description on Amazon reads: 'The Left is waging an all-out battle on the American family, particularly the youngest members. 'If they can make our children miserable, lead them to question every building block of society and rebuild their entire concept of reality, then the Left and their woke indoctrinators will consider that a victory.' Markowicz told the conservative news outlet Daily Wire News: 'Two wild-eyed young White women run up to our party and scream Black lives matter!' 'They threw their drinking glasses at the wall where our books were displayed and ran off. 'Suddenly I heard screaming, had books thrown at me, and I was soaking wet,' Both women had short, dyed blue hair and repeatedly screamed 'Black Lives Matter' and 'trans lives matter.' The Black Lives Matter is a radical anti-racism movement that gained mass popularity with liberals following the death of George Floyd in 2020. The authors were targeted by liberal protesters at Wednesday night's event Stolen Youth is written by Bethany Mandel, left, and Karol Markowicz, right. It centers around how 'wokeism is poisoning young brains' The book celebrated its official launch in New York on Wednesday night The movement has been associated with many far-left causes such as defunding the police. Mandel told the outlet. 'I realized young women with short, dyed blue hair were screaming at us Black lives matter, trans lives matter! I tried to talk to them, but they ran off.' Another group of young women also stood in the doorway and yelled at attendees, calling them fascists. Mandel launched a scathing attack on the protesters who she said proved the point of her research. 'Wokeism is poisoning young brains. Its the thesis of the book, and the young deranged women who protested the party are exactly what we warn about in our book: angry, irrational and uninformed,' she told Fox News Digital. 'They parroted the approved chants about black and trans lives mattering. They didnt know what they were protesting, just that we were dissidents. 'They are exactly what our readers dont want their kids turning into.' Mandel, a mother-of-six, added that her newborn baby 'narrowly missed' being assaulted at the event. A British businessman has been charged with raping a British Airways flight attendant on the island of Barbados. Daniel Johnson appeared before magistrates in the island capital Bridgetown to be formally charged with the offence. Johnson, 41, was granted bail of 4,000 but ordered to hand over his passport so he could not leave the island. Magistrate Ian Weekes also ordered him to report to a police station twice a week as part of the bail conditions. Johnson is partner in a business selling electric vehicles called Endless Electrics and has lived in Barbados for the past seven years. Daniel Johnson (pictured) appeared before magistrates in the island capital Bridgetown to be formally charged with the offence Johnson is partner in a business selling electric vehicles called Endless Electrics and has lived in Barbados for the past seven years (pictured: a Barbados beach) The alleged rape took place at a five-star hotel during a stop over for the crew member who is in her 20s. Police said Johnson was known to the woman and they had been out for a meal along with other BA crew. The alleged victim claimed she was attacked after inviting him back to her 300 a night hotel room during a stopover between flights. The woman remained on the island while police launched an investigation into the rape allegation. A BA flight from Barbados to London earlier this week had to be cancelled after four of the woman's colleagues were asked to make statements to police. More than 150 passengers were put up in a hotel overnight unaware of the shocking reason for the sudden cancellation. British Airways sent out their own investigator and support help to the crew member while police carried out their inquiries. Police were initially unable to locate the suspect, but he was later arrested. Questioning by detectives had to be postponed after the suspect was found to have Covid. Barbados Police spokesman Inspector Rodney Innis said: 'Employees from the British Airways have given statements on the matter. An airline source said 'This has been an unimaginable time for the stewardess and her flight colleagues. 'What was one of the most magical parts of working for BA - heading out on the town in Barbados and staying at a lavish hotel - turned into a nightmare. 'The stewardess was brave enough to go to the police and report the attack. 'And her colleagues did not hesitate to provide supporting statements as part of the ongoing investigation.' Another insider said: 'BA bosses did not hesitate to cancel the flight home, despite the cost and inconvenience to passengers. Staff is always the priority in these situations. 'The airline has experienced support now on the ground in Barbados and everything will be done to look after the woman and her colleagues. 'Everyone is rooting for the stewardess and supporting the Barbados police in every way possible.' Johnson was not asked to enter a plea and will appear back in court next month He was represented by a local lawyer Lalu Hanuman. Silicon Valley Bank's monumental downfall is the second-largest bank collapse in U.S. history. The collapse on Friday, which has left customers fearful of losing deposits totaling tens of billions of dollars, is eclipsed only by the failure of Washington Mutual in 2008. SVB had assets of $209 billion at the time the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation shuttered the bank. That compares to the $307 billion in assets that Washington Mutual had when it was closed. The FDIC is a U.S. government-owned corporation that guarantees bank deposits up to $250,000. SVB's customers with accounts of that amount or less will have access to their money no later than Monday morning, the FDIC said. But many of SVB's depositors are corporate clients with much larger accounts - and they now face an uncertain wait for their money. Investors in SVB bonds also face heavy losses. The collapse of Washington Mutual in 2008 was the largest bank failure in history. The bank had assets of $307 billion. Silicon Valley Bank, which failed on Friday, becomes the second largest, with assets of $209 billion Read more: What caused Silicon Valley Bank to collapse and will customers get their money back? Washington Mutual's collapse came during the global financial crisis of 2008. In late 2007, the bank had around 43,000 employees, 2,200 branches and deposits of $188.3 billion. By the end of the following year, it was bankrupt. The collapse was closely linked to the burst of the housing bubble in the United States. Washington Mutual failed after customers withdrew $16.7 billion in 10 days, causing an unmanageable bank run. Like with SVB, the bank was seized by the FDIC, which took over on September 25 2008. Washington Mutual was then sold to JPMorgan Chase for $1.9 billion. Merging failed lenders with large, stable institutions is a tactic used by the regulator in such circumstances to try and minimize the damage. It's unclear how exactly the FDIC will proceed following its takeover of SVB. Silicon Valley Bank failed on Friday after customers rushed to withdraw money over concerns about the bank's finances The largest losses after the fall of Washington Mutual were among bondholders, shareholder and investors, as opposed to retail customers. Bondholders lost a reported $30 billion, while investors clawed back just five cents per share. At the beginning of 2007, shares were worth about $45 each. After Washington Mutual and Silicon Valley Bank, the third largest bank failure in the US happened in 1984, when Continental Illinois failed with approximately $40 billion in assets. The bank, whose history can be traced back to the 1800s, was given a bailout worth around $13.5 billion, a mixture of government funds and new capital. The rescue led to the popularization of the term 'too big to fail', which was used by Congressman Stewart McKinney during congressional hearings about the FDIC's intervention. In 1994, Continental was acquired by Bank of America. A 10-year-old boy was sexually assaulted at Leicester Square Tube station in front of his shocked mother. The schoolboy was walking with his mother through the station, busy with tourists and commuters, when a man groped him as he walked up the stairs. His mother chased after the suspect as he fled but she could not catch him, police said. The assault happened at the central London Underground hub around 4.30pm on February 16. British Transport Police today, on March 10, released a CCTV image of a man they would like to speak to over the incident. Police have released a CCTV image of a man they would like to speak to over the incident The schoolboy was walking with his mother through the station, busy with tourists and commuters, when a man groped him as he walked up the stairs. The assault happened at the central London Underground hub around 4.30pm on February 16 (file image) A spokesman for the force said: 'Do you recognise this man? Officers investigating a sexual assault at Leicester Square Underground station are releasing this image in connection. 'At around 4.30pm on Thursday February 16, a 10-year-old boy was walking up a set of stairs at the station with his family when a man sexually assaulted him and ran away. 'The victim's mother chased the man through the station, but didn't catch him. 'Officers believe the man in the CCTV image may have information which could help their investigation. If you recognise him, or have any information, please contact BTP.' Anyone with information can contact BTP by texting 61016 or calling 0800 40 50 40 quoting reference 474 of 16 February, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. Revelation comes as President Biden pledged a crackdown on rip-off flight fees Passengers on social media claim they have been charged extra for bags that clearly fit within airline's requirements Frontier Airlines has admitted it dishes out $10 bonuses to staff every time they charge customers an extra fee for oversized luggage. The budget airline has felt the wrath of passengers on social media who allege they were hit with penalties for bags that clearly met the airline's size requirements. And after one woman went viral for her video complaining about the con, a Frontier Airlines staff member got in touch to reveal they are given financial incentives to slap customers with extra baggage charges. Frontier Airlines confirmed the allegation, claiming the bonus was to 'help ensure compliance with our policies.' The revelation comes after Biden pledged to crack down on what he described as 'junk fees' that airlines use to squeeze cash from customers. The President is weighing up a law that would require airlines and booking sites to show the total price of tickets upfront on their websites to avoid customers being caught out by hidden fees. Frontier Airlines charges between $50 and $100 for luggage that is overweight. Its restrictions state that personal baggage must be 18 x 4 x 8 inches while standard luggage is 24 x 16 x 10 inches and no heavier than 35 pounds. The airline allows passengers one piece of personal luggage for free. However if staff deem the bag's dimensions too big to fit in a cabin they can charge passengers on the spot. Poll Have you been hit with an extra baggage fee at the gate? Yes No Have you been hit with an extra baggage fee at the gate? Yes 114 votes No 106 votes Now share your opinion But earlier this week journalist Dyana Villa went viral after showing gate staff try to fine her party for bags that clearly fit within the airline's guidelines. In the video, Villa's friend is seen demonstrating that the bag can fit in a device designed to measure the size of personal items and carry-ons. An agent can be heard saying 'they don't fit, you're forcing them down.' A second airline employee then comes over and states 'That's our policy, ma'am.' Villa uploaded a series of videos shaming the firm which attracted the attention of former Frontier staff. In one video she highlights a message that read: 'My cousin works for Frontier, she says they get a bonus for every bag they charge you for.' She said: 'I've been getting a lot of comments like this. 'One of the Frontier Airline flight attendants messaged me and she said 'I'm so tired we've been getting so many complaints. 'Based on what that person told me, they get a $10 commission for each person that they charge that $100 per bag. 'They're on the lookout trying to see who has a bag that could pass as not fitting. 'They're just being very, very petty about it. That's how they get their commission.' The airline's size requirements on carry-on baggage is stated on its website The budget airline confirmed it offers staff a bonus for every passenger they charge for extra luggage prior to boarding She has now launched a petition to stop the firm 'overcharging' customers. It is not clear if the commission varies depending on the size of the fine. A spokesman for Frontier Airlines told Dailymail.com the fee is 'simply an incentive for our airport customer service agents to help ensure compliance with our policies and that all customers are treated equally.' SHAMED: HOW MUCH AIRLINES CHARGE FOR OVERSIZED LUGGAGE American Airlines - $100-$200 Delta Airlines - $100-$200 Jet Blue - $150 Silver Airlines - $100 Frontier Airlines $50-$100 Hawaiian Airlines - $35-$70 Alaska Airlines - $40-$100 Sun Country Airlines - $75 Southwest Airlines - $75 Spirit Airlines - $65 Advertisement Of Villa's complaint, they added: 'The video fails to show that the customer using the sizer box had an additional carry-on bag. 'Each customer is allowed one free personal item that must fit within the smaller sizer box. 'This customer had more than one bag and they were not able to combine them into a single bag that fit in the personal item box. 'The second customers bag did not fit into the free personal item sizer box without removing much of its contents.' The statement added that most customers 'pay for their bags in advance, in accordance with our policies.' 'Allowing these customers to board without paying would be inequitable to every other customer who was already onboard with paid bags,' said the statement. Currently there are no laws around what extras airlines can charge customers for. It means there is no consistency between flight guidelines and prices. Consumer experts recommend that the best way to avoid fees is by taking out the airline's co-branded credit card. Often these cards come with deals that waive the fees for at least the first item of luggage. He said hours cap rise to let women work less when pregnant or raising children South Korea's government has proposed raising the nation's 52-hour weekly working hours cap to 69 hours in a bid to improve work-life balance. The labour minister said yesterday that increasing the cap by a third will give working mothers more choice and help them raise children amid growing concerns over the country's falling birth rates. The government says allowing workers to accrue more overtime hours in return for time off later will mean people who want to take longer breaks - such as parents or caregivers - will be able to do so. 'We'll introduce bold measures to help cut working hours during pregnancy or while raising children,' the minister, Lee Jung-Sik, told a media briefing when asked whether the labour reform proposal will help tackle South Korea's fertility crisis. Critics of the measure, however, have said that the measures will hurt, not help, working mothers and other women. South Korean lawmakers and protesters during an anti-government rally on Tuesday Lee Jae-Myung (pictured on Screen at South Korea's National Assembly), leader of the main opposition Democratic Party with a parliamentary majority, said his party would block the bill President Yoon Suk Yeol (pictured) on Wednesday ordered 'bold measures' to tackle the country's fertility rate 'While men will work long hours and be exempt from care responsibilities and rights, women will have to do all the care work,' the Korean Women's Associations United said in a recent statement. South Korea has the lowest fertility rate in the world - with just an average 0.78 children being born per woman in 2022. President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday ordered 'bold measures' to tackle the country's fertility rate. South Korean labour minister Lee Jung-Sik has proposed raising the weekly work hours cap from 52 to 69 hours The ministry said the labour reform proposal, first unveiled in December and officially announced on Monday, is part of efforts to bring more labour flexibility and improve work-life balance in a country where many women are forced to choose between their career and raising children. It would supersede a 2018 law that limited the work week to 52 hours - 40 hours of regular work plus 12 hours of overtime. The Ministry of Employment and Labor said the law has made the labour market more rigid. While the move has been welcomed by business interest groups, it has been criticised by the opposition and unions as neglecting workers' rights. 'It will make it legal to work from 9am to midnight for five days in a row. There is no regard for workers' health and rest,' the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions said in a statement. Lee Jae-Myung, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party with a parliamentary majority, said on Wednesday that his party would block the bill. Bereaved families are having to report maternity blunders because watchdogs and hospitals are unable to spot failings, an expert has warned. Bill Kirkup said avoidable deaths were 'a badge of shame' but would continue without urgent change. Eight years on from his report into the Morecambe Bay maternity scandal, he said the failure of officials to act had needlessly cost more lives. 'I am very disappointed and surprised that we're still where we are,' he said. 'That's a terrible badge of shame for the health service that it takes families to come and tell us what's wrong. Bill Kirkup said avoidable deaths were 'a badge of shame' but would continue without urgent change. Eight years on from his report into the Morecambe Bay maternity scandal , he said the failure of officials to act had needlessly cost more lives 'I am very disappointed and surprised that we're still where we are,' Bill Kirkup (pictured) said. 'That's a terrible badge of shame for the health service that it takes families to come and tell us what's wrong' 'Yet just about every tragedy that I've ever been involved with investigating has come to light when there's a group of families who say "You've got a problem here". 'People are lying, they're not being open and they're concealing what's happening. 'If we can't bring this change, I'm not confident that there won't be another East Kent, Morecambe Bay or Nottingham, somewhere else.' Dr Kirkup said cover-ups, toothless regulators and the absence of proper scrutiny of maternity outcomes meant picking the next scandal was like 'finding a needle in a haystack'. He said an accountability law was needed to put a duty on public bodies to tackle, rather than conceal, potential issues. Coroners should also be given jurisdiction over stillbirths, allowing failures to be fully investigated, he added. Dr Kirkup led the inquiry into East Kent maternity services last year and was involved in both the Hillsborough and Jimmy Savile investigations. His inquiry into the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust found 20 major failures from 2004 to 2013 at Furness General. These led to the unnecessary deaths of 11 babies and a mother. He had hoped his 44 recommendations would bring meaningful change to maternity care but admitted they had failed to stop the 'recurring cycle of catastrophes happening in a unit sooner or later'. The Government this week published its initial response to the East Kent maternity inquiry, in which Dr Kirkup and his team concluded that up to 45 babies could have lived with better care. Regulators have painted a worsening picture of maternity care in England, with the most recent Care Quality Commission report finding more than half of services failed to meet safety standards. Almost a third of maternity units were judged to require improvement with 6 per cent inadequate. Just 4 per cent were judged to be outstanding and the remainder good. Experts say this does not paint the full picture, with East Kent rated as 'good' for aspects of its care during periods covered by the damning inquiry. Recurring cycle of catastrophes NHS England is this month expected to publish a single, maternity delivery plan, designed to simplify safety improvement. James Titcombe, whose son Joshua died of sepsis nine days after his birth at Furness in 2008, said he hoped it would 'finally be the reset moment'. The patient safety campaigner added: 'A lot of the recommendations from the Morecambe Bay report have not happened and progress has been much too slow and fragmented. 'The latest ONS data shows stillbirths and neonatal deaths have actually increased, rather than previous trends of falling, so all in all, it's a pretty depressing picture.' Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent, chief midwifery officer for NHS England, said: 'We will continue to work with NHS trusts in England, with the Government and our partners to make the necessary changes and implement the recommendations from Bill Kirkup's review.' Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen reassured the public Friday that the U.S. banking system remains 'resilient' after meeting with banking regulators in the wake of the failure of Silicon Valley Bank. Yellen expressed 'full confidence in banking regulators to take appropriate actions in response and noted that the banking system remains resilient, and regulators have effective tools to address this type of event.' The head of Treasury called a meeting with the Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency following the spectacular failure of the bank, also known as SVB. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen testifies during a House Ways and Means Committee hearing on President Joe Biden's fiscal year 2024 budget request. She said in a statement that the nation's banking system is 'resilient' and expressed 'full confidence' in bank regulators Yellen also called the failure a 'matter of concern' in comments to lawmakers. She was at the Capitol on Friday to testify about the release of the president's $6.8 trillion budget blueprint. 'There are recent developments that concern a few banks that I'm monitoring very carefully. And when banks experience financial losses, it is and should be a matter of concern,' she said. At the White House, economic advisor Cecilia Rouse, asked if she had confidence in the banking system, spoke of post-2008 reforms. 'Our banking system is fundamentally different because of the changes we put in place because of 2008,' said Rouse. 'They have to hold more capital. They have to undergo stress tests. So, we know that we had to build more resilience into our banking system, which allows it to withstand these kinds of shocks. So, I do have faith that we have the tools for this sector and for regulators to be able to absorb,' she continued. 'We do know that our banking system is in a fundamentally different place.' Regulators from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) seized SVB's assets today after depositors triggered a run on the bank following the shock announcement of a $1.8 billion loss. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is seizing the assets of Silicon Valley Bank, marking the largest bank failure since Washington Mutual during the height of the 2008 financial crisis. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation seized SVB's assets today as trading was halted after its shares tumbled 66 percent in premarket 'We do know that our banking system is in a fundamentally different place,' said Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors Cecilia Rouse at the White House Friday A Brinks security truck is parked outside the Silicon Valley Bank in Santa Clara as investors line up outside after the bank shut its doors. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) seized SVB's assets today as depositors - mostly tech workers and start-up firms - began withdrawing their money following the shock announcement of a $1.8bn loss Before trading was halted, the banks shares fell by as much as 69% in premarket trading on Friday. With around $209 billion in assets, SVB is the second-largest bank failure in US history after the 2008 collapse of Washington Mutual. The crash is expected to have a colossal impact on the tech sector, with many start-ups using SVB as their sole account and creditor. It is the first FDIC-insured bank to fail in over two years, the last being Almena State Bank in October 2020. Investors started to pull their money from the bank amid a market where capital initial public offerings have cooled amid repeated rate hikes driven by the Fed. The bank sold a $21 billion bond portfolio on Wednesday to try to keep up with withdrawals, then sold stocks worth $2.25 billion on Thursday. Analysts have said it was in a relatively unique situation, but it's still led to concerns a broader banking crisis could erupt. Auriol Grey is being held in the hospital wing of HMP Peterborough until a permanent prison place is found for her. While her name and face which has been splashed across the news over the past week might not be immediately familiar, almost everyone will be aware of the controversy surrounding her incarceration. Her three-year sentence for causing the death of an elderly cyclist on a narrow pavement in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, has divided public opinion. Unusually, and poignantly, the tragedy was captured on CCTV. Auriol, 49, can be seen gesticulating angrily as 77-year-old Celia Ward approaches her on her bike. At the point when Celia toppled into the path of an oncoming car, Auriol, to quote the judge, made 'a lateral sweeping movement' with her left arm, which he said, either made contact with the former midwife or made her recoil and fall. In that split second the lives of so many people were destroyed. Appealing her sentence: Auriol Grey (pictured) is being held in the hospital wing of HMP Peterborough until a permanent prison place is found for her Moment of tragedy: Grey (left), 49, confronts Celia Ward (centre and right), 77, before the cyclist falls into the path of an oncoming car Many, though, believe what happened was an accident and that Auriol Grey should never have been charged with manslaughter; her barrister said she had 'no intention to cause harm'. It was a defence, however, that was unanimously rejected by the jury. So the resulting controversy fuelled by the increasingly heated 'pedestrian versus cyclist' debate in town centres must be unbearably painful for the thoroughly decent family of Mrs Ward; her husband's dignified 'impact' statement to the court was heartbreaking. The enduring distress of Carla Money, the driver of the car that hit Mrs Ward who has said her marriage has collapsed since the incident, also cannot be underplayed. There are, however, some troubling aspects to the case, to which we shall return. But, whatever side of the debate you might be on, Auriol remains a most unlikely killer: she has cerebral palsy, she is partially blind, she walks with a splint on her leg and she has a 'degree of cognitive impairment'. This is also the second time she has stood trial over the death of Mrs Ward in October 2020; the first jury failed to reach a verdict. She is now appealing her sentence. Yet, despite the media coverage and the furore little is actually known about the bespectacled, middle-aged woman who stood in the dock at Peterborough Crown Court last week. For the past 17 years, Auriol Grey has lived alone, on state benefits, in an adapted ground-floor flat in Huntingdon run by a charity that provides homes for disabled people who want to live independently. Her legal team said that imprisonment would inevitably mean that she would lose her home and all her possessions because she has no financial or family support. She could be left with nothing, in other words. Many readers who have followed the case will be surprised to learn, however, that her humble circumstances detailed in court bear little resemblance to an earlier, much more gilded life. How she ended up living alone in sheltered accommodation, estranged from her wealthy family, is the unreported subplot to an already terribly tragic story. Auriol was born in King's Lynn, Norfolk, the youngest daughter of bridge-playing matriarch Verna and her architect husband Thomas, who was also well known as a cartographer (map-maker) locally. Home was a grandiose apartment, with ornate high ceilings, in the 17th-century wing of Hunstanton Hall, on the north Norfolk coast. The ancestral pile of the Le Strange family, in its heyday it was one of the 'great houses' of the county with a moat, courtyard and gatehouse. P.G. Wodehouse, a friend of the then owner Charles Le Strange, was a frequent visitor during the early 20th century when he would often sit with his typewriter on a rowing boat on the river flowing through the grounds of the estate. He is said to have reimagined Hunstanton Hall as Blandings Castle, the setting for 11 of his novels, including Sunset At Blandings, which he wrote on his deathbed in 1975. The eight-sided summer house in the grounds, known as the Octagon, featured in another Wodehouse classic, Jeeves And The Impending Doom. And it was in these magnificent surroundings that Auriol spent her formative years. 'Her family are very posh and she [Auriol] sounds very la-di-da,' said her closest friend back in Huntingdon. 'She had a very good education and with her voice you'd think she'd gone to Roedean.' In fact, she attended a private convent school in a remote part of Norfolk at around the age of 15 or 16 before going on to college and gaining a typing qualification and a number of NVQs (national vocational qualifications). She had a boyfriend for a while, too, a postman, which appears to have been her only romantic relationship. She never went back to live at Hunstanton Hall after college, only to visit, choosing instead to move to a property provided by the Papworth Trust for people with special needs and disabilities. Grand: Greys childhood home was in a wing of Hunstanton Hall (pictured) Her elder sister, Genesta, a mother of two, on the other hand, went on to become a director of numerous villa and yacht investment companies with her husband; the couple had a 2.5 million home in Chiswick, West London, as well as a holiday residence in Devon, which was once showcased in a glossy magazine. The contrast between the lives of the two sisters could not have been starker, which must have been felt keenly by both girls and their parents. 'To their mother, Genny was perfect,' said a friend possibly her only, true friend who drove Auriol to both trials. 'She was a wife, mum, she ran a successful business, everything her younger sister was not.' Inevitably, perhaps, with the passage of time, Auriol became cut off from both her sister, who died from ovarian cancer two years ago, and her mother, now widowed, who moved out of Hunstanton Hall in 2007. Verna Grey, now in her 80s, and living in a smart Victorian terrace in Sudbury, Suffolk, more than an hour's drive from Hunstanton, appeared upset when asked about her daughter. She had 'spent years trying to help her', she said, before politely declining to comment further. Back in Huntingdon, Auriol's flat stands empty. Outside the front door is a mat with the words: 'Welcome Friends.' Today, they feel somewhat ironic and pitiful. The one true friend she did have, the kind-hearted family man who drove her to court every day, supported her for many years and knew her better than anyone. He paints a picture of a lonely, awkward character, often at odds with her local community, who had been bullied her whole life. Auriol's daily routine, he said, involved getting up early, going for an 8am stroll, buying a newspaper for him and then dropping it off at his home en route. She liked shopping and going to restaurants: her favourite place to eat was her local Wetherspoon's, the national pub chain. Auriol was also a member of the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) which arranged occasional days out; one such event was a tea party to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee in June last year where she was pictured in a lilac cardigan sitting at a table decorated with a flag of the late monarch. Aside from her disabilities, her solitary existence enjoying hobbies such as bird watching and painting and listening to brass bands was not always easy. When she ventured out, she was sometimes teased mercilessly by 'lads on scooters' who swore at her and shouted: 'Get off the path, you spastic.' This is the backstory of the woman who, on the day of the fateful confrontation on Nursery Road in Huntingdon more than two years ago, was on her way to the doctor's surgery to collect a repeat prescription for her medication. The section of pavement, opposite a multi-storey car park, where the terrible chain of events unfolded, came under scrutiny at the trial, at which Auriol chose not give evidence. During sentencing, Judge Sean Enright said: 'This was, I think, a shared path for cyclists and pedestrians that allowed them to go round the busy ring road.' Auriol was, the judge said, 'territorial about the pavement' and 'resented the presence of an oncoming cyclist'. But the police, in their evidence, said they could not categorically state that the route in question was a shared cycleway and the county council could find no legal records showing that it was. And according to Department for Transport guidance on cycle infrastructure design issued to councils in July 2020 shared routes should be at least three metres wide on roads used by up to 300 cyclists per hour and 4.5 metres wide on roads used by more than 300 cyclists per hour. The stretch of pavement where Celia Ward fell off her bike into the path of an oncoming Volkswagen Passat was just 2.4 metres wide and there wasn't a sign indicating a 'shared path'. The pavement was certainly used by cyclists but unlawfully, it seems. This is not meant in any way as a criticism of Mrs Ward, who was riding responsibly along the route, and who, it goes without saying, was the polar opposite of an aggressive or reckless cyclist. But aren't we entitled to ask if Judge Enright's comments were entirely fair in the light of this information? Might this evidence also form part of Auriol Grey's appeal? Almost everyone who knows Auriol has described her as 'childlike' and 'vulnerable', something which was reiterated by her barrister in court. Judge Enright was not persuaded when passing sentence, however. He told her: 'Experts suggested that childhood surgery resulted in 'a degree of cognitive impairment'. In my view, these difficulties do not bear on your understanding of what is right and wrong and what is appropriate or not.' Disability campaigners criticised her jail sentence. 'The sentence given to Auriol does seem extremely harsh,' said one. Indeed, it is hard not compare her sentence with the one given to 18-year-old cyclist Charlie Alliston who killed a woman crossing a road in East London in 2016. His bike had no front brakes but no law exists yet to charge a cyclist with the equivalent of causing death by dangerous driving. Charlie Alliston got 18 months. Auriol Grey got three years. 'She had been expecting to get a two-year suspended sentence at worst,' said her friend. 'She is in the medical unit at a holding jail [Peterborough] but is worried that when she starts mixing with other female prisoners or is moved elsewhere she will be the victim of bullying, which has happened all her life.' The consequences of that fatal collision have been truly devastating. For Mrs Ward's husband, retired RAF pilot David Ward: 'Rarely a day goes by without thinking of her and our happy life together but I can so easily burst into tears, as I have done on so many occasions,' he said in an impact statement. For the driver of the Passat, mother-of-two Carla Money who now suffers from PTSD: 'My relationship has collapsed with my husband so much we are getting divorced,' she told the court. 'My children, aged seven and four, now have to deal with separated parents.' And for Auriol Grey. At least three officers were injured and ten students were arrested The clash began between a group of female students before violently spreading A shocking 200-person brawl involving students, parents and police officers erupted at a Louisiana high school Wednesday morning as the campus was plunged into chaos. At least three police officers were injured and ten people were arrested as droves of people, including parents, threw themselves into the melee. Footage of the clash caught the moment a cop brutally punched a student's head into a brick wall, while separate incidents saw dozens of students and police violently lashing out at each other. Officials are still attempting to explain how the ugly scenes unfolded at East Baton Rouge Readiness Alternative School, which enrolls students who were previously suspended or expelled from other schools in the district. The NAACP released a statement in response to the circulating video calling for 'immediate action' to be taken against the officers seen striking students and condemning parents who participated. The organization also said it spoke with the sheriff's department to ensure that all footage of the incident, including body camera footage, will be reviewed as part of the investigation. Footage caught the moment an officer punches a student in the face, sending his head crashing into a brick wall behind him East Baton Rouge School District communications director Ben Lemione, pictured, insisted school officials were 'not going to tolerate' the incident According to the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office, school board security were the first on the scene shortly after 8am after responding to reports of a major campus disturbance. And authorities quickly called for backup after discovering the violence, which expanded into involving around 200 students and parents fighting. Local reports indicate that the hostility first broke out among a group of female students before it quickly spread throughout the grounds. Parents and outside individuals rushed to the campus and joined in the mass brawl after text messages were reportedly sent out calling on people to participate. Shortly after law enforcement first arrived, the quick escalation led them to issue an urgent call for backup from all available units to quell the chaos. As the students and officers fiercely clashed, officials said a Baton Rouge cop was rushed to hospital with a broken hip and head lacerations. A total of 10 arrests were made by law enforcement, including three charged with battery on a police officer, which is a felony offense. Five teens were also arrested on a count of disturbing the peace, with one 18-year-old girl arrested on counts of unlawful disruption of the operation of a school and resisting arrest and a 17-year-old girl on a count of disturbing the peace and resisting arrest. None of the parents or outside adults were taken into custody, and all of those arrested were aged between 15 to 18. A dozen students were arrested following the melee, including three charged with battery on a police officer, which is a felony offense Law enforcement issued an urgent call for all available units to race to the scene and provide backup Video of one of the confrontations with police showed a 17-year-old student and an officer scrambling as the cop attempts to make an arrest. In scenes that have since been widely circulated, the officer then strikes the student in the face, sending his head flying back into a brick wall. Police said the teen had previously punched the officer in the face moments before and attempted to bite him, and he was among those charged with battery on an officer and resisting arrest. The Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office did not immediately respond to request for comment over the incident when contacted by DailyMail.com Authorities added that they found a loaded gun outside the school during the fight, however there is currently no indication it was fired. Police violently confronted the out-of-control students as they flew into a frenzy, with one 17-year-old, pictured, arrested after he assaulted an officer 'What (police) walked into was a series of fights, and they began making arrests,' said East Baton Rouge School District communications director Ben Lemione, to WIBW. 'We just want to stress to the public that we're not going to tolerate this as a district, this is a real shame. 'The fact that people from the outside are coming onto our school campuses and conducting in this kind of behavior is really concerning for us and law enforcement.' The East Baton Rouge Parish School System said in a statement it is cooperating with authorities to review evidence and investigate what led to the school-wide conflict. Following the violence, Lemione added that the school remains open, but is working with authorities to increase security on campus. When Sheree Spencer, the mother of three little girls and a senior manager at the Ministry of Justice, was facing sentence for 'the worst case of controlling and coercive behaviour' the judge in question had ever seen, her abused husband Richard could only 'focus on a spot on a piece of furniture and stare at it to get through it'. 'I felt absolutely nothing the few times I glanced across at Sheree,' says Richard. 'I didn't feel anger. I didn't feel scared. I didn't have any emotion,' he says, in this harrowing interview. 'But I was hyper-conscious of how my family was reacting when the judge described the horrific things she'd done. 'To hear the judge use the same language Sheree used the f-word and the c-word the things she called me like 'bitch' and knowing my family were hearing those things was . . .' He struggles to find the words. There aren't any. 'When I think about those memories, I don't feel associated to them. It's like they happened to someone else. I know it was me but, in my mind, I can't understand how I could have allowed that to happen.' When Sheree Spencer, the mother of three little girls and a senior manager at the Ministry of Justice, was facing sentence for 'the worst case of controlling and coercive behaviour' the judge in question had ever seen, her abused husband Richard (pictured) could only 'focus on a spot on a piece of furniture and stare at it to get through it' It's hard to comprehend how anyone could have tolerated two decades of such living hell, during which he was subjected to daily beatings and verbal attacks that left him cowering on the floor in the foetal position This is the first time Richard has relived his 20-year ordeal at the hands of his wife. It's hard to comprehend how anyone could have tolerated two decades of such living hell, during which he was subjected to daily beatings and verbal attacks that left him cowering on the floor in the foetal position. Few could have imagined to look at Sheree, a senior project manager for HM Prison and Probation Service who boasted to friends of meetings with former prime minister Boris Johnson, that this bewitchingly pretty blonde was capable of such despicable abuse. Last week, she was sentenced to four years in prison at Hull Crown Court after pleading guilty to coercive and controlling behaviour and three counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. Her campaign of violence and intimidation is almost too shocking to catalogue. She spat in his face. Hit him with whatever she had to hand a bottle, a mobile phone, a TV remote control. I wore make-up to hide bruises. Abuse became the norm On one occasion, she defecated on the floor, then forced him to clear it up. On another, she beat him with a wine bottle so hard it permanently disfigured his ear. Richard, 46, has shared with me some of the videos of abuse which were captured on a security camera in the children's playroom. Sheree's uncontrolled fury is the most terrifying I have ever witnessed. She threatens him with a knife, drags him to the floor, kicks him, punches him. 'Get the f***ing chicken on! Get to the f***ing shop,' she screams. 'You will learn.' He cowers. Pleads with her to stop. When officers from Humberside police interviewed Richard at the family's seven-bedroom home in a leafy village near York following Sheree's arrest in June 2021, the investigating officer was so disturbed by what she heard she had to leave the room. 'She was crying,' Richard recalls. He weeps himself now. 'When the things that have happened to me upset someone else I feel guilty,' he explains. 'I just feel that no normal person would have let that happen.' Richard is actually a thoroughly decent, intelligent man with the sort of logical brain that gained him a degree in computing at Leeds Metropolitan University and a position at BT in network design that soon saw him addressing global conferences as an expert in his field. Yet at home he was made to feel worthless. As difficult as he finds talking about it now, he is determined to speak out to 'help as many other people in a similar situation as I can,' he says. Richard and Sheree on holiday in Brazil in 2003, when they had known each other three years Richard and Sheree married in Phi-Phi, Thailand, shortly before Christmas 2009 The couple during their wedding in Phi-Phi, Thailand, in December 2009 'I want as many people to read about my thoughts and feelings and think, 'That sounds like me or that sounds like my partner' because this was so incremental.' Looking back to the start of their relationship, it is a miracle Richard can recall any fondness at all. 'For the first couple of years it was 95 per cent nice times and 5 per cent not nice times,' he says. 'It evolved. By the time she was punching me so I was having to wear make-up to hide the bruises, the abuse had become the norm. 'I felt I deserved to be punished. I lost my independence and willpower and just accepted that was how my life was going to be. In the end, she controlled everything from which room I could sleep in to which toilet I could use. I was no longer me.' When Richard met Sheree at a nightclub in 2000, he was a confident, fun-loving 23-year-old who went to the gym, loved music and travel, had a wide circle of friends and liked nothing more than to spend time with his family. His mum had died when he was nine, but he was close to his dad, younger sister and extended family, including a stepmother he now calls 'Mum'. Sheree, then 22 and hugely attractive, was, he says, 'this fun, effervescent, really confident person who everyone liked. She'd do really kind things, buy thoughtful gifts.' He remembers an early romantic break in Venice before the violence began. 'I remember going to a Vivaldi concert in a church or cathedral and a meal at a nice restaurant afterwards. Walking back to the hotel by the canals was quite atmospheric unlike memories of most of the other cities we went to, which are tainted by evenings when she'd become abusive.' She controlled everything. I was no longer me Sheree, who was from Sunderland, didn't have 'the best childhood,' he says. 'She'd moved around a lot and witnessed abuse herself. 'She would go into detail about when her mum and dad got drunk. I wanted to help her. She was the first person I'd fallen in love with.' The violence began a few months into their relationship when she was staying at his flat in Ipswich. The arguments would start 'always when she'd be drinking,' he says. 'They could be about anything normally something I'd done or not done. In the early stages it was pushing me, breaking things and slapping me. The next day she'd be extremely apologetic and say she wouldn't let it happen again. 'She'd write little notes saying she loved me. I'd apologise too because, although I wouldn't have been the one shouting, I'd feel I played a role in the argument. 'Sheree would explain her behaviour by saying, 'If you hadn't done that, then I wouldn't have done this.' You'd think, 'OK, I can see why she's saying that.' Why he didn't end their relationship when they were merely dating is something he still can't explain. 'I've got quite a lot of blank periods in my mind,' he says. 'I felt like I was in love with her probably for years and I thought she was with me, but looking back now I don't think I'd call it love any more.' He even excused her having an affair with a friend of his in January 2007 because, he says, 'it was my fault for working long hours and neglecting her. I had an internet business I worked on in the evening because I wanted us to be financially secure. 'She said I had also been disloyal by putting my family before her because I'd gone alone to a party at my auntie's, that she didn't want to go to, on the night the affair began. She said I deserved it how could I have thought she was right?' He looks truly bewildered. For a man who has lost all bearings on the narrative of his own life, he is now trying to fit together the jigsaw of his past from emails he has kept. Following her affair, Richard's relationship with his family, whom Sheree insisted 'judged' her, became increasingly distant. He saw friends less and less. 'I have found lots of emails from Sheree telling me how much she loves me and that I am her soulmate,' he says. 'So I think the period after the affair and deciding to make a go of things must have been a nice, calm time leading up to our marriage.' Richard says now he still believed he loved Sheree on their wedding day in December 2009. So much so, he agreed to slip away to Thailand, on the pretext of a holiday, to marry her at a luxury, beachfront hotel in the Phi Phi Islands without a single friend or family member present. 'It wasn't the best of days,' he says. 'Sheree got drunk and angry with the people who came to do her hair and told them to get out. 'I made an excuse in my mind that she was being like that because of the pressure of the day. I even said to her, 'Everyone has butterflies'. 'Believe it or not, I felt marriage was a natural progression. When we came back, I wanted to think of it as a fresh start. Richard has bravely shared graphic photos that he took detailing his injuries, including a wine glass wound to his arm from Christmas 2019 and a bust lip the following June 'But we never really got back on track.' Indeed, the violence escalated, particularly when, year after year, they tried unsuccessfully to start a family. 'She'd say to me, 'When I have a baby, I'll be happy. I won't mind you working all those hours.' We actually had a phrase for it 'baby dance' and sometimes I had to 'dance' twice a day. 'If I wasn't physically able, she'd say things like, 'All you've got to do is perform. You're not a man.' 'As she got more desperate she got really angry. She'd talk about my size to insult me. I resorted then to getting Viagra-type drugs online. There weren't any pleasurable feelings.' I'd try to placate her, then she'd punch me again After three fruitless years, they decided upon IVF. When the third cycle failed in February 2014, Sheree's violent explosions increased. So much so that in April Richard was admitted to A&E requiring stitches after Sheree smashed a wine glass on his head. Yet again, he made excuses, feeling that she lashed out through disappointment. 'I thought a baby was going to answer our problems,' he says. Their eldest child was eventually conceived in 2015 during their sixth cycle of IVF. Her birth was, says Richard, 'amazing.' He fell in love with his daughter the moment he held her. However, his joy was short-lived. When they came back home, things deteriorated. Nor did a move to a larger property a seven-bedroom house near York ease the strain. 'She started really attacking me a year after we moved when our daughter was about 14 months,' he says. 'It would go on over a period of hours. She'd attack me and then sit back down. I'd try to placate her, then she'd get back up and start hitting and punching me again. Eventually she'd go to sleep on the playroom floor because she'd been drinking. An elbow injury Sheree inflicted on Richard with a wine bottle in 2020 A set of injuries inflicted on Richard at different times during 2020 'When she got angry, one of the ways she used to hurt me was smashing my laptop on the floor. Once she picked one up and put it straight in the washing-up water. I probably got through five or six laptops, so I used to hide them. 'That was about the time when she began to threaten me about our daughter. She said she was going to smash her face in the mirror and cut it, then call the police and say I'd done it so I wouldn't be able to see her. 'So I started gathering the recordings from the camera in the playroom and take photographs of my injuries because I thought I needed to protect myself. 'Still in my mind, I wanted us to be together. I really loved the family unit. We had one embryo left. Sheree didn't want our daughter to be an only child. I rationalised in my mind, 'If we have another baby we'll get through this.' It's crazy, isn't it?' Their middle daughter was conceived during the first cycle of IVF. Within four months of her birth, Sheree was pregnant again with a child they'd conceived naturally. She'd lie on the sofa drinking bottles of wine 'Sheree had always wanted three children and, once she was born, that's when, what I now know they call, 'the discard phase' began,' says Richard, who has read goodness knows how many articles about narcissistic behaviour. 'She wanted the house, wanted the kids and wanted me to pay maintenance. She'd whisper in my ear, 'You'll never win. Watch this.' She'd open the bedroom window and shout, 'Richard stop it. You're hurting me. Don't hit me.' Then, she'd shut the window and say, 'I told you you'll never beat me. I'm much cleverer than you.' The violence and drinking escalated. For days on end, Sheree would lie on the sofa drinking as much as three bottles of wine a day. At 3am, she would slap Richard awake and make him drive to the garage to get more. More photos Richard has shared of the injuries his wife inflicted on him in attacks during 2020 'At night, when I was alone in bed, either in pain after being beaten with a bottle or completely demoralised, I'd imagine a switch on the wall and that it could end all the pain and the feeling of hopelessness. 'I'd visualise getting out of bed, pressing the switch and the darkness turning into pure light. Nothing else would exist just the bright warm light and I would be absorbed into it. 'I felt guilty I'd become estranged from my family and thought it might be easier for them if I wasn't here. 'Then I thought about the sadness they would feel if I was gone and how it would affect my children, so I knew I'd never get out of bed and press that switch no matter how bad things got.' Today, Richard's home is a warm, calm place with photographs of the girls and their paintings from school on the walls. Goodness knows how their young lives would be if Tony, an old dear friend of Richard's who worked as a military policeman, hadn't intervened one night and alerted the authorities. Sheree was on the sofa and in a state of semi-undress when officers arrived at the house later that night to arrest her. Their eldest daughter, woken by the noise, wandered downstairs and saw the police Tony, who Richard hadn't seen for several years, had gone to the family's home following a drunken phone call from Sheree who'd called to say that she was being abused. When he arrived, Richard finally confessed the truth, sharing with Tony his disturbing video footage and images of his injuries. 'Tony said, 'I've got to do what I think is best for you as a friend and for the kids. Even if you hate me now, I hope in the future you'll think it's for the right reason.' I said, 'You do what you have to do.' Sheree was on the sofa and in a state of semi-undress when officers arrived at the house later that night to arrest her. Their eldest daughter, woken by the noise, wandered downstairs and saw the police. 'I took her to the spare room and sat with her while Sheree got some clothes. My daughter was stood at the window and could see her mum being put in the police van.' Tears choke him now, as he thinks of his children's suffering. READ MORE: Domestic abuse soared in lockdown: Calls to helpline rose by more than a fifth as number of crimes was higher EVERY month of 2020 compared with 2018 and 2019 Advertisement 'When the police came back that night to take a statement, I made excuses for Sheree. They were so empathetic. All the fears I'd had about not being believed disappeared, but I'd spent half of my lifetime trying to rationalise her behaviour. It was natural for me to defend her even to the police.' The following day, two officers and a social worker arrived to inform Richard that Sheree was being charged. The scales finally dropped from Richard's eyes when he was told of her reaction to a video the police showed her when she threatened Richard with a knife. 'They told me they'd played her a video, first without sound, of her telling me she was going to burst my car tyres because I'd looked at her in a certain way. She'd gone outside, cut the tyre and came back holding the knife which she held against my neck. 'She watched it and said, 'OK, so what's happened is I've got a knife because I've been telling him I want a divorce and that he may as well kill me if he won't give me one. I'm trying to hand him the knife because I can't take it any more.' 'They then played the video with the sound and asked her, 'Have you got anything to say?' She just shrugged and said, 'There's not much I can say, is there?' 'I thought when she saw the video she wouldn't believe she was capable of that and would get very upset. But the police said she never showed any emotion. I knew then her whole life was a tapestry of lies.' In total, Richard handed police 36 videos, nine audio recordings and 43 photographs of the abuse. Sheree was charged and issued with a restraining order. Richard says his family have been nothing but supportive, but it will take many years to recover 'I felt like an elephant had got off my neck,' says Richard. 'I could breathe. I rang my dad. He came straight over with my youngest sister and stepmum. 'They were crying and hugging me. They'd only seen my oldest two daughters a couple of times and never met my youngest, so it was partly a reunion and partly traumatic.' His family have been nothing but supportive since. 'I don't know if they feel they should have known. We haven't talked about it. We might one day but how was anyone to know? It hurts me that this has affected so many people.' Richard accepts it will take many years, if ever, for his mental scars to heal. For now, he wants only to give his lovely daughters the calmest, most stable two years he can before their mother is released from prison. 'I've been struggling because everyone has been so kind it's overwhelming,' he admits. 'There was no kindness with Sheree. I can still hear the girls crying and want to show them life shouldn't be like that. They're flourishing in a safe, secure home. It's what they deserve.' PM accused of giving 'succour' by saying war may end without military defeat Sunak says Ukraine needs peace deal - which could lead to portioning of nation Rishi Sunak has indicated Ukraine will eventually have to seek a peace deal with Vladimir Putin. The Prime Minister suggested negotiations with the Kremlin which could lead to the portioning of Ukraine were inevitable. His remarks saw him accused of giving 'succour' to Putin, by suggesting the conflict could end without the outright military defeat of Russian forces. Addressing reporters ahead of a summit with Emmanuel Macron, Mr Sunak said: 'Of course, this will end as all conflicts do at the negotiating table, but that is a decision for Ukraine to make. 'What we need to do is put them in the best possible place to have those talks, at an appropriate moment that makes sense for them. 'At the moment the priority is giving them the resources, the training and the support they need to push forward and create an advantage on the battlefield.' Liberation: Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky with Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin on Friday Territory bid: Russian President Vladimir Putin Former UK military commanders expressed concern at the statement, which marked a clear departure from his predecessors Boris Johnson and Liz Truss. The former head of the British Army Lord Dannatt told the Mail: 'I am afraid the Prime Minister is mistaken. Given Zelensky's and Putin's strategic objectives are irreconcilable, the denouement for this war can only come about on the battlefield. 'For this reason ourselves, Nato and the European Union and everyone in the West must give all possible support to Ukraine this year to ensure their military victory.' Mr Sunak's change of tone over Ukraine comes just weeks after Mr Johnson urged Nato to provide President Volodymyr Zelensky with tanks and fighter jets to 'finish the job'. Mr Johnson was PM as Britain became the first country in Europe to provide military aid to Ukraine. Former chief of the UK's Special Forces, Major General Jonathan Shaw went further, suggesting Mr Sunak's remarks provide succour for Putin and his henchmen. He said: 'If I was Putin hearing these words I would take great heart from the implied gap between his and Zelensky's statements about how the war ends. 'Zelensky has absolute goals liberation of all Ukraine back to the boundaries of 2014. If the West and Ukraine are not united in their objectives, it will hinder their chances of achieving them. 'The implication of Sunak's cliched but false comments about the inevitability of negotiations is that he sees this ending some way short of total Ukrainian territorial integrity.' Ukrainian servicemen from 24th brigade are seen along the frontline south of Bakhmut near New York, Ukraine on Friday Zelensky with Sunak during the Ukrainian President's surprise visit to the UK on February 8 President Zelensky yesterday met with Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin in Kyiv, where they laid flowers at a memorial wall for those who have fallen in the conflict. Ukraine is against peace talks because it believes with Western military assistance it can defeat Russian forces. Negotiations would likely lead to a partitioning of the country, with Russia holding on to the territory it has gained in eastern Ukraine, including the Crimean peninsula. With its weapons stocks dwindling and having lost an estimated 200,000 troops either wounded or killed in battle, Russia is more inclined towards talks with Ukraine. Former British Army commander in Afghanistan, Colonel Richard Kemp, said: 'Conflicts do not always end in negotiations. Any end to this conflict which leaves Russia with the territory it has taken will be a defeat not just for Ukraine but also for Nato.' Putin is considered unlikely to concede ground occupied by Russia and is banking on the weakening of Western support for President Zelensky. Chair of the Defence Select Committee Tobias Ellwood said: 'We must unite around the single mission of liberating all of Ukraine and park any discussion of deals or ceasefires otherwise Russia will claim a form of victory then re-arm and attack again in a few months' time.' Rishi Sunak took a thinly veiled swipe at Boris Johnson on Friday over reports he has nominated his father for a knighthood. When asked if honours should go to family members and if he would ever nominate a relative, the Prime Minister joked that the best his own dad gets is a card on Father's Day. Mr Johnson's office has not denied reports that he has nominated Stanley Johnson for a knighthood. Speaking to reporters on a Eurostar train on his way to the Anglo-French summit in Paris, Mr Sunak said: 'For me, a big success is remembering to get my dad a card on Father's Day, so that is probably about my limit... if I am doing a card, I'm doing well.' He added: 'There is always comment and speculation about honours lists beforehand. The Prime Minister (left) joked that the best his own dad gets is a card on Father's Day as controversy continues over the potential nomination of Stanley Johnson Mr Johnson Snr would join his other son Jo, a former Tory minister now in the House of Lords, in being honoured by the former prime minister 'I'm not going to comment on speculation. I don't see these things until I see them so it is hard for me to say any more than that.' Asked whether he agreed in principle with nominating relatives for honours, he added: 'My dad's going to get a card on Father's Day and that is about that.' It came after immigration minister Robert Jenrick said prime ministers should 'absolutely not' hand honours to family members. He told the BBC's Question Time programme: 'As a principle, is it wise for a prime minister to nominate a member of their own family for an honour? No, absolutely not. Mr Johnson Snr would join his other son Jo, a former Tory minister now in the House of Lords, in being honoured by the former prime minister. Mr Sunak could come under pressure from his own MPs to block a knighthood for Mr Johnson Snr Robert Jenrick told a Question Time audience that it was 'not wise' for politicians to nominate members of their own family for honours While it has been met with some criticism, some Tory MPs have appeared to show support. But Labour has criticised the decision, accusing the ex-premier of 'cronyism'. In 2021, Mr Johnson Snr was accused of inappropriately touching Conservative MP Caroline Nokes and political journalist Ailbhe Rea. Ms Nokes, 50, said he smacked her 'on the backside as hard as he could' and said 'you've got a lovely seat' at the 2003 Conservative Party conference. Ms Rea claimed he 'groped me' at the 2019 Tory conference when she was 24. At the time Mr Johnson told Sky News: 'I have no recollection of Caroline Nokes - but there you go.' It means Mr Sunak could come under pressure from his own MPs to block a knighthood for Mr Johnson Snr. Veteran religious campaigner Fred Nile dramatically collapsed shortly after giving a speech to Christian protestors outside Channel 10's Sydney office on Saturday. The member of the New South Wales Legislative Council, 88, joined more than a hundred protestors who demonstrated against a controversial segment that aired on The Project last month. He gave a short speech, praising the crowd for gathering, before his wife Silvana Nero gave a longer address, calling on Christians in Australia to stand up for their rights. However, the event took a dramatic turn when the anti-gay rights speaker collapsed in the sunshine, shortly after his speech. Veteran campaigner Fred Nile dramatically collapsed shortly after giving a speech to Christian protestors outside Channel 10's Sydney office on Saturday The member of the New South Wales Legislative Council, 88, joined more than a hundred protestors who demonstrated against a controversial segment that aired on The Project last month Christian groups held hands and prayed while holding up pictures of Jesus during the protest Protestors and police rushed to provide aid to the stricken politician, putting him in the recovery position and calling an ambulance. He was helped up and walked to the side and sat in a chair, appearing to be without serious injuries while the protesters prayed for him. He was then loaded into an ambulance with his wife at his side. Christian groups have been protesting Channel 10 every week, following outrage by the broadcaster after comedian Reuben Kaye made an 'offensive' Jesus joke on The Project last month. The comedian was speaking about the hate he receives from members of the public - and Christians in particular - for being gay and wearing drag when he joked: 'I love Jesus. I love any man who can get nailed for three days straight and come back for more!' Rev Nile gave a short speech, praising the crowd for gathering, before his wife gave a longer address, calling on Christians in Australia to stand up for their rights. He then collapsed (pictured) Speaking ahead of the protest, protest group Christian Lives Matter said their 'five aims' for the rally include 'cancelling The Project altogether'. 'We come in unity to pray for the conversion of those who mock Our Lord,' they said in a Facebook post. They are demanding a 'sincere public apology on air, on all their websites and a written signed media statement from the management of The Project', as well as no airing of the show during Catholic Holy Week and Orthodox Holy Week. The group is also asking for 'assurance that mocking of any faith will never happen again and will be cut off air' if none of their demands are met. Christian groups have been protesting the broadcaster after comedian Reuben Kaye (pictured) made an 'offensive' Jesus joke on The Project Attendees held hands and prayed during the protest - including NSW Upper House MP Fred Nile (standing in hat) before his dramatic collapse One protester named Jo told Daily Mail Australia: 'When I first realised what was said I was surprised it was on mainstream media. 'I'm more disappointed than angry. Anger is such a strong word because anger relates to hate. We don't hate people who are born the way they are. Everyone's got the idea wrong. 'Everyone needs to be able to come together and work together. 'Everyone does their own thing in their private life. Just leave it at that. Leave it there, leave the religion out of it, leave the kids out of it and everyone respects each other. That's how it should be.' Another attendee called Moray told Daily Mail Australia she was 'very disappointed with what happened'. 'We feel like our values and morals were just shattered, especially when they say it during the time of when children were awake. It was very uncalled for. 'We need to all stand up and say "enough is enough". 'It cannot go any further, we all believe in Christ. 'So if we follow God's law, and we're peaceful, and we don't harm anybody, why are people coming to harm us? 'This is our question. 'Absolutely 110 per cent, Reuben and The Project need to make an apology. 'The apology that was aired is not enough. It was a mockery.' A third protestor called Michael said the protest was about 'basic human decency and respect'. 'I believe what Reuben said was a hate speech. 'We truly believe, we are followers of Jesus and anything that is disrespectful, derogatory and demeaning needs to be called out. Protesters held up pictures of Jesus and the Virgin Mary as well as signs that read 'forgive them Father for they do not know what they are doing' Some attendees held up crosses while other had slogans that said 'disrespecting Christ is not cool' 'We're all about love and and just being respectful of other people's beliefs. That's the main message here. 'I don't think they need necessarily to be punished. I think that's the wrong word to use. We just need a sincere apology. 'I truly believe that the media needs to be neutral and respecting people's beliefs and differences. And to be proactively promoting this sort of rhetoric is divisive.' The Australian Communications and Media Authority has received hundreds of complaints from the public after the lewd joke. Hosts Waleed Aly and Sarah Harris apologised for the crude joke the day after it was broadcast. 'During an interview last night our guest told a joke which we know was deeply and needlessly offensive to many of you,' Aly said. 'We want to acknowledge the particular offence that caused our Muslim viewers but especially our Christian viewers. 'Obviously I understand just how profound that offense was.' Harris, who burst out laughing after the joke, also joined the grovelling apology. A large NSW police presence was seen at the protest outside Channel 10's Sydney studios 'Live TV is unpredictable and when this happened in the last few moments of last night's show, it took us all by surprise, there wasn't a lot of time to react in any sort of considered way,' she said. In a statement to Daily Mail Australia earlier this month, ACMA said they had received 203 inquiries. It's not clear how many more complaints have been received since. Nile has sat in the Upper House of the New South Wales Parliament almost continuously since his election in 1981 and is its longest-serving member and has been at the forefront of moral campaigns in Australia for more than 50 years. Crucifixes - alongside cross necklaces - were common among the protesters He has called for bans on casinos, brothels and pornography, tried to reduce drinking and smoking, and urged police to crack down on organised criminals. He has condemned homosexuality, opposed sex outside marriage and every year prayed to God that torrential rain would fall upon the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. The right-wing politician has also called for a ban for Muslim migration. In 2017, he was denied a visa to the US to attend Donald Trump's presidential inauguration as he was deemed a 'security risk'. China's whole-process people's democracy vibrant, effective Xinhua) 09:52, March 10, 2023 BEIJING, March 9 (Xinhua) -- As an American who grew up in the United States and has lived in China for a few decades, I have found a keyword that many people talk about is "democracy." Many in the United States think that China is not democratic. In my opinion, seeing is believing. The democracy I've seen in China is vibrant and very effective. Every year at this time, when spring flowers bloom, the "two sessions" -- China's important annual political gatherings -- are held in Beijing, and this year was no exception. In Western countries such as the United States, where democracy and elections are essentially equated, people elect someone and hope for the best. In China, democracy is more than elections. The "two sessions" have been a window to showcase the strength and vitality of China's democracy. Last year before the "two sessions," my colleagues and I had the opportunity to visit a Shanghai community, which gave me a sense of how China's whole-process people's democracy works on a daily basis. In Shanghai's Hongqiao subdistrict, we interviewed Noyan Rona, a Turkish banker and an enthusiastic volunteer. Rona told us that, when approached about a draft revision to the individual income tax law in 2018, he suggested adding the word "accumulated" before the individual tax residency threshold of 183 days in a tax year to make the rule more explicit. Rona recalled this story from several years ago with renewed excitement. His suggestion was adopted and written into law, which would influence a lot of foreigners living in China, he proudly told us. I was very curious to know that, for residents like Rona who are keen to offer opinions, in what ways can they have their opinions heard by lawmakers? At a civic center in Hongqiao, we saw a type of red mailbox designed to collect letters of opinion from residents. In fact, the Legislative Affairs Commission of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee set up a community-level contact station at the civic center. The red mailboxes are part of their facility. Draft laws are sent down here so that ordinary citizens can discuss them and have their opinions heard. In other words, the voices of grassroots people will reach the highest legislative body. Since the establishment of the contact station in 2015, 78 draft laws, including the Foreign Investment Law, have been discussed here by residents in Hongqiao and 163 pieces of advice incorporated, including Rona's suggestion about individual income tax law. I learned from this year's "two sessions" that similar community-level contact stations have been set up across the nation, becoming the "through train" for the grassroots voices to reach the national legislature. What I didn't know was that as a foreigner living in China, I also have such rights. Of course, the channels themselves do not guarantee full participation. There is an important role to play for representatives of public opinion at the grassroots. They are the 2.77 million deputies to people's congresses at all levels nationwide. Deputies would visit organizations and individuals that can vote, hear and collect public opinions, and conduct research for the proposals and suggestions they submit. They would also participate in research trips, seminars, dialogues, and open-day events to talk about issues of public concern. In addition, they would receive training from time to time to enhance their ability to perform their duties. The practice in Hongqiao is very successful. In November 2019, President Xi Jinping visited the civic center while a consultation meeting on a draft law was underway. Xi talked to both the Chinese and foreign residents attending the meeting, and for the first time made the remark that "People's democracy is a type of whole-process democracy." Compared with legislators in the West who make politics their career and usually have a staff and campaign team, NPC deputies come from all walks of life and all 56 ethnic groups in China. Most of them are part-timers, who work and live among their people and therefore understand their needs best. In an interview with Xinhua, Rick Dunham, a U.S. visiting professor at Tsinghua University, pointed out that in the United States, there are more lawyers, doctors, and top managers involved in politics. In China, one finds more grassroots representation including blue-collar workers, farmers and takeaway riders. I would agree with his conclusion that China's NPC deputies are more representative than U.S. lawmakers. From protecting workers' rights in the food-delivery and car-hailing industries to alleviating the pressure of excessive schoolwork and off-campus tutoring; from solving the financing difficulties of SMEs to protecting the ecology of the Yellow River... Deputies and political advisors collect and sort out the opinions of ordinary people, which often form the basis of their proposals and suggestions. Some of these ideas will be incorporated into relevant laws, regulations, systems, policies, decisions and arrangements. Over the past five years, as I was told, some 18,000 pieces of advice from national lawmakers and political advisors have been adopted by relevant departments of the Chinese central government and over 7,800 policy measures have subsequently been introduced. As a result, many problems have been addressed related to the country's reform and development and the people's most urgent needs. In a nutshell, China's democracy is a whole process that can involve all people. To let the people discuss the affairs of their own and to make sure that the people are in charge are the essence of the "whole-process people's democracy." (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan) Kristin Smart's killer Paul Flores was sentenced to 25 years on prison on Friday - more than 25 years after her murder. Judge Jennifer O'Keefe told him: 'Mr Flores, you have been a cancer to society.' 'For 25 years you have lived free in the community' and continued to drug and assault women, she said, according to the San Luis Obispo Tribune. Smart and Flores were both students at California Polytech University in San Luis Obispo when she vanished in 1996. The case remained unsolved for decades, but a 2020 true crime podcast jolted local police. Flores, now 46, was arrested as a result. While police have never found her remains, they believe Flores raped her in his dorm room then murdered her. Paul Flores is seen on Friday in court in Salinas, California for his sentencing Flores is seen in an interview at the time of Smart's disappearance Freshman Kristin Smart disappeared in 1996 after a California college party - and the prime suspect was found guilty after a crime podcast helped crack the case Smart left an off-campus party on May 25, 1996 at around 2am, accompanied by Flores. He claimed he walked her as far as her dorm, but she was never seen again. A missing persons report was filed three days later. Friends said she was intoxicated and Flores repeatedly said he would escort her home. He was identified as a 'person of interest' early in the case, but to this day insists he is innocent. On Friday, the judge said he was a dangerous predator. 'This predatory behavior has spanned your adult life. 'You deserve to spend very day you have left behind bars.' Flores was ordered to pay a total of $10,000 in restitution to his victims. He must also register as a sex offender for life, as he assaulted and killed Smart with the 'purpose of sexual gratification and sexual compulsion,' O'Keefe said. Smart's brother Matthew told the court that Flores was 'a menace to society'. 'Paul chose to take a life, my sister Kristin's life, a beautiful life,' he said. 'And now he must pay.' Prosecutor Chris Peuvrelle told the court that Flores was 'a true psychopath'. He noted that Flores 'still maintains his innocence but we know he lies.' He added: 'Paul Flores is a true psychopath' who 'takes perverse pleasure in raping women. 'He murdered Kristin with no remorse. 'Kristin's family will never see her again.' He and his father, Ruben, were both charged in connection with her death. Prosecutors say Ruben helped his son by stashing Smart's body under their backyard deck for years. Flores is shown in an unrelated arrest photo from 1996, when he was 19. He was convicted in 2022 for Smart's murder and his sentencing hearing was on Friday Flores is seen in court in July 2022 in Monterey County courtroom in Salinas The pair are suspected of moving her remains once suspicion started growing in 2020. Flores was found guilty of murder in October last year. The trial was held in Salinas, in Monterey County, about 110 miles north of San Luis Obispo, after the defense argued that the case's notoriety prevented Flores and his father from receiving a fair trial in their own county. One of the items showed only in the courtroom during the trial was an interview at the Arroyo Grande Police Department on June 19, 1996. The film was obtained by KSBY. Flores was questioned many times about how he got a black eye. 'It didn't really matter,' Flores said. 'It was days later.' Asked why his story about the black eye changed, Flores said: 'Why does it matter if I leave out little details?' A jury found Flores guilty of first-degree murder in October. A separate jury acquitted Ruben Flores, 81, of being an accessory. Kristin Smart's brother Matthew called Flores 'a psychopath' At Paul Flores' trial, defense attorney Robert Sanger tried to pin the killing on someone else. Sanger noted that Scott Peterson, who was later convicted at a sensational trial of murdering his pregnant wife and the fetus she was carrying, was also a student at the campus about 200 miles up the coast from Los Angeles. Sanger filed motions on February 24 in Monterey County Superior Court requesting that charges be dismissed and his client acquitted. One motion also seeks a new trial. Sanger disputed forensic evidence offered by the prosecution. He contended that Flores' right to a fair trial was violated because of prosecution errors and 'the admission of junk science as evidence.' 'There is a reason that a case against Paul Flores was not brought for 25 years,' the motion said. 'There was no evidence of a murder or that Paul Flores committed it.' The San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office asked the court to deny those requests, arguing 'claims of misconduct are baseless and the claims of judicial error are incorrect.' A decorated police officer who risked his life to save four farmers trapped in a toxic silo has been accused of atrocious behavior against two women. In legal documents lodged with the Supreme Court of Victoria last year, former Detective Leading Senior Constable Danny Shaddock's ex-wife Karyn Porch claimed he broke into her home in January 2013 and urinated on her bed after the couple split. Now another woman who he was having an affair with, Julie Bond, has launched legal action against Victoria Police, accusing Mr Shaddock of using police computers to harass her. Mr Shaddock, who retired from the force in 2019, has strongly denied the accusations amid claims he is being stitched up by the women. Hero cop Danny Shaddock was awarded for bravery alongside Leading Senior Constable Jenny Wiltshire after they saved the lives of four farmers Former Detective Leading Senior Constable Danny Shaddock has been the subject of two Supreme Court civil suits amid allegations he behaved badly to women 'Victoria Police have some exceptional investigators who have independently and thoroughly investigated these claims, which include numerous false, offensive, untested and unsubstantiated assertions,' he told The Age in a statement. 'This is now the fourth occasion a mystery source has contacted the media and provided a misleading, ongoing narrative, seemingly intended to cause distress and apprehension to my family and I.' According to a statement of claim filed on behalf of Ms Porch in March 2022, Mr Shaddock allegedly embarked on a campaign of fear and harassment against his ex-wife. The allegations included numerous threats and twice damaging her vehicle in 2013. Ms Porch claimed Victoria Police failed to investigate her complaints seriously and in in 2017 she was forced to go to the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission. 'Despite numerous complaints and formal statements, I believe there has been a failure of police force members to act,' her statement read. Meanwhile, Ms Bond claims Victoria Police failed in its duty of care to protect her from the then serving member. She had only recently become a widow in 2003 when she met Mr Shaddock while he was stationed at Moe Police Station in Victoria's far east. Ms Bond claimed Mr Shaddock left his calling card at her home six different times between 2003 and 2007 after tracking her down on the work computer. It was then that the pair began their illicit relationship, which carried on until 2013, court documents stated. Ms Bond became aware in 2018 Mr Shaddock was being investigated by his own in an operation code named Taskforce Salus. It was then she learnt of allegations Mr Shaddock had used Victoria Police's Law Enforcement Assistance Program (LEAP) to not only check up on her, but her friends and colleagues. Danny Shaddock and Leading Senior Constable Jenny Wiltshire at another awards event after they saved the lives of four farmers Ms Bond's lawyers claimed Mr Shaddock did so 'maliciously, with the intention to breach the plaintiffs privacy, to harm or harass the plaintiff, to groom or stalk her or her associates, and to cause the plaintiff mental distress, and or reckless indifference to same'. In bringing the case to court, Ms Bond argues Victoria Police was negligent for failing to take reasonable steps to ensure that private information was not accessed for unauthorised purposes by serving police officers. Just last week, Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton went public to declare war against any of his officers who dared to use the LEAP system without authorisation. 'I am concerned about some of the behaviours I am seeing that clearly do not align with the Victoria Police values,' Mr Patton said in an earlier email to officers. 'Unfortunately, some employees have accessed and disclosed police information without justification and to serve private interests.' Ms Porch claimed news of Mr Shaddock's alleged misconduct had terrified her due to stories she claimed he had told her about his previous dealings with his ex-wife. 'In particular, Officer Shaddock disclosed to the plaintiff that he had engaged in a pattern of stalking and intimidation against his former wife Karyn Porch, including that he had broken into Porchs house, urinated on her bed, stolen personal property, damaged Porchs car, put sugar in Porchs petrol tank and attempted to damage Porchs brakes,' court documents stated. 'When the plaintiff challenged Shaddock regarding his behaviour regarding Porch, Shaddock responded with words to the effect, good I hope she dies.' In a document outlining Victoria Police's defence to the claims, police stated Ms Porch was not entitled to 'any relief sought'. 'The Defendant says that the Plaintiff is precluded from recovering damages for non-economic loss because: (a) she has not sustained a significant injury within the meaning of and for the purpose of Part VBA of the Wrongs Act 1958 (Vic); and (b) she has not complied with the requirements of Part VBA of the Wrongs Act 1958 (Vic),' it stated. Victoria Police has reached a settlement with Ms Porch, but a Supreme Court civil trial with his former lover Ms Bond remains a possibility. They had sex in her car and in her home A female teacher who admitted to having sex with her 16-year-old student in the backseat of her car won't spend a night behind bars for her shocking crime. Monique Ooms, 31, of Maffra, pleaded guilty this week in Victoria's Latrobe Valley County Court to four counts of sexual penetration of a child under her supervision and care. On Friday, Judge John Smallwood told Ooms he would not send her to jail despite fears that decision could be overturned on appeal. repeatedly had sex with her young student The 31-year-old appears to have embraced her new tradie life and has posted photos of herself wearing an Akubra in front of a 4WD on her social media pages Monique Ooms leaves court pursued by reporters Ooms had faced a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail. The court heard Ooms' young victim had snuck out in the dead of night to have sex with his then school teacher. The 16-year-old had been grieving the loss of a close friend who died in a fatal car crash the week before and was in a 'vulnerable situation emotionally'. Ooms was scheduled to be sentenced on Friday, but it was abandoned by Judge Smallwood to allow prosecutors to check whether the Court of Appeal had ever dealt with a case similar to hers. Judge Smallwood said he had never dealt with a case involving a teacher where the child wasn't aged under 16. The experienced judge said he was concerned whether or not Ooms' victim had actually been harmed by their illicit liaisons. 'Often in these situations the harm is what comes from other people after it becomes public,' he said. Judge Smallwood said while Ooms' victim was a school student, he was not a child aged under 16. 'There has clearly been discussion between he and her about the wrongfulness of it. He nevertheless consents and makes that very clear,' he said. 'He being very close to 17 ... does that go to in any way, shape or form the objective seriousness of the offending?' Monique Ooms, 31, pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual penetration of a child under her supervision and care in Latrobe Valley County Court on Wednesday Judge John Smallwood has never sentenced anyone like Ooms Judge Smallwood claimed a previous case where a 17-year old girl had sex with her 40-year old male teacher was 'not this situation' and he was keen to avoid his sentence being appealed. 'I don't want those points being sorted out elsewhere,' he said. 'In terms of comparable cases, I can't find any ... I don't want to make a guinea pig of her,' he said. 'I don't want her to be put through the ordeal of a court of appeal over matters that haven't been properly addressed by me.' Judge Smallwood said he would not jail Ooms due to the 'sheer fragility' of her mental state. 'I don't want there to be any accidents when it's not necessary if you understand what I'm saying,' he said. Judge Smallwood said the offence Ooms committed was not the act of having sex with the boy, but the fact she was his teacher. Crown Prosecutor Andrew Moore told the court the teenager had refused to discuss the crime with counsellors and was determined to get on with his life. 'There's no definitive evidence of harm, but it is of course a notorious fact that in these sorts of cases - sexual offending against minors - harm doesn't surface sometimes until a little bit later and sometimes decades later,' he said. Judge Smallwood said Ooms' crime was a breach of trust created by statute. 'You use the word minor. Is he? I mean I don't know. They are the matters I'm worried about,' he said. Ooms was duped by police into getting into a text exchange with a friend where she made admissions The former teacher (right) had reached out to the student after noticing he was more withdrawn and offered her Instagram handle, and later her phone number Ooms formally taught a range of subjects to high school students and had only been at Sale Secondary College for a year before the inappropriate relationship started The court heard Ooms had preyed upon her student in the weeks after his friend was killed in a car crash. While the pair initially chatted over social media and phone, before long Ooms was texting her student photos of herself in her underwear. In July last year the pair shared their first kiss and discussed all the things that were wrong with what had occurred. The next time they met the pair had sex in the back of Ooms' car while parked in a forest at night. The court heard Ooms had sex with her student at least four times over the next few weeks in the backseat of her car before arranging hook-ups at her home. Ooms' grubby relationship was discovered when someone wrote two letters to the school principal, who promptly alerted police. While Ooms initially attempted to deny her antics, she eventually confessed to police after she was duped into making admissions to a friend via text message. The court heard when asked You did actually do it, didnt ya? she responded Yeah. On Wednesday, Ooms' barrister Katherine Rolfe argued her client should be spared jail because she's suffered 'public shame' and lost her job. The 31-year-old appears to have embraced her life as a tradie and has posted photos wearing an Akubra and posing in front of a 4WD to her social media pages. Ooms lawyer, Katherine Rolfe, said her client had no criminal history, was of previous good character and accepted the offending was serious Ooms formally taught a range of subjects to high school students and had only been at the school for a year before the inappropriate relationship began. The messages revealed the pair repeatedly said they 'missed' and 'loved' one another, with Ooms claiming she fell in love with the student. When the 16-year-old was questioned he told police they were 'just friends' and called Ooms to give her a heads up to delete their correspondence. The student declined being involved with court proceedings, however his mother read out an emotional witness impact statement in court. She said she worried for her son's future and how her family was going to move past the inappropriate student-teacher relationship. She said the former teacher had been involuntarily admitted to a psychiatric ward in recent months because of suicide attempts and ideation. Lifeline 13 11 14 Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 (for people aged 5 to 25) This week NASA warned that a city-destroying asteroid the size of the Leaning Tower of Pisa could slam into Earth in a little over 20 years' time. It comes just two months after another space rock which was as big as a London bus made the fourth closest approach to our planet on record. The good news is that the US space agency, along with scientists from across the globe, are monitoring potential asteroids and the even better news is that you can too with this interactive tool. It shows the next five closest approaches to Earth, starting with 2020 FV4 in three days' time. The 100ft (30m)-wide object is expected to race past our planet at a distance of some 4.1 million miles (6.7 million km). Our space rock neighbours: NASA has an interactive tool known as the Eyes on Asteroids (pictured) which allows followers to track asteroids that are making a close approach to Earth That is nothing to worry about. After all the moon is 240,000 miles away, so this particular asteroid won't pose any danger at all. THE NEXT FIVE SPACE ROCKS SET TO COME CLOSEST TO EARTH 1. 2020 FV4 Date: March 13 Size: 100ft (30m) wide Distance: 4.1m miles (6.7m km) 2. 2023 CM Date: March 14 Size: 620ft (190m) wide Distance: 2.5m miles (4m km) 3. 2023 DM Date: March 15 Size: 212ft (65m) wide Distance: 1.9m miles (3.2m km) 4. 2018 UQ1 Date: March 17 Size: 470ft (142m) wide Distance: 2.5m miles (4.1m km) 5. 2016 WH Date: March 19 Size: 46ft (14m) wide Distance: 4.2m miles (6.9m km) Advertisement What might, however, is the 165ft (50m)-wide 2023 DW, which NASA has revealed has a one in 560 chance of impacting Earth on Valentine's Day in 2046. If it did, the impact would be comparable to the Tunguska 12-megaton event that slammed into Siberia 114 years ago. This 160ft asteroid caused a nuclear explosion that would have destroyed a large metropolitan area but it landed in a forest, flattening more than 80 million trees. The predicted impact zones of 2023 DW stretch from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and the west to the east coast of the US with Los Angeles, Hawaii and Washington DC all possibilities. Scary though this may be, that is a generation away. Looking at the here and now, stargazers who want to keep an eye on space rocks that are soaring past Earth over the next weeks and months can keep checking back into NASA's 'Eyes on Asteroids' map. Twenty four hours after 2020 FV4's approach on March 13, another asteroid known as 2023 CM will hurtle past us. This is much bigger than both 2020 FV4 and 2023 DW. It measures a colossal 620ft (190m) wide and will come much closer to our planet than its fellow visitor a day earlier. 2023 CM will be just under 2.5 million miles (4 million km) away 10 times the distance of the moon from Earth. The nearest of the next five space rocks to come close to Earth will be 2023 DM next Wednesday. This 212ft (65m)-wide asteroid, named 2023 DM, will be around 1.9 million miles (3.2 million km). It will be followed by 2018 UQ1 two days later a 470ft (142m)-wide space rock that'll be 2.5 million miles (4.1 million km) away and 2016 WH a week on Sunday. As well as looking at the next space rocks due to fly by our planet, users of the Eyes on Asteroids tool can also see a wider view of our solar system (pictured) and where some of the more famous asteroids are currently These include Bennu (pictured), which NASA says has a 1-in-1,750 chance of smashing into Earth over the next 300 years A city-destroying asteroid about the size of the Leaning Tower of Pisa could hit Earth on Valentine's Day in 2046. The asteroid, known as 2023 DW, is large enough to destroy a metropolitan area - and Los Angeles and Washington DC are in the potential impact zone This will be by far the smallest asteroid, at 46ft (14m) wide, and will come within 4.2 million miles (6.9 million km) of Earth at its closest approach. As well as looking at the next space rocks due to fly by our planet, users of the Eyes on Asteroids tool can also see a wider view of our solar system and where some of the more famous asteroids are currently. These include Bennu, which NASA says has a 1-in-1,750 chance of smashing into Earth over the next 300 years. This was also the space rock that the US space agency made an historic landing on in 2020, when its OSIRIS-REx spacecraft collected rock samples and then launched back into space. Bennu was chosen for the mission because scientists believe it may contain the building blocks of life within its 'rubble-pile' surface. They also think its body was once part of a much larger, water covered world. Among the others that can be seen on the map is Ryugu, which Tokyo's Hayabusa2 probe collected samples from in 2018 and 2019 Also on the map is 16 Psyche, the asteroid that was once thought to be full of iron, nickel and gold and worth $10,000 quadrillion (8,072 quadrillion) Didymos, the double-asteroid system which has a moonlet that NASA deliberately crashed a spacecraft into last year, is visible too Among the others that can be seen on the map is Ryugu, which Tokyo's Hayabusa2 probe collected samples from in 2018 and 2019. Last year, Japanese scientists said these showed that the asteroid contained the building blocks of life. Experts previously said the samples were the 'most primitive material in the solar system we have ever studied'. Didymos, the double-asteroid system which has a moonlet that NASA deliberately crashed a spacecraft into last year, is also visible. The US space agency' Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), a refrigerator-sized satellite, managed to shave 33 minutes off the orbit of the 520ft-wide (160m) asteroid Dimorphos when it careered into it at 14,000mph (22,000km/h) in September2022. It was the first ever planetary defence mission and proved to be a success. The tool also reveals the locations of some of the probes and spacecrafts that have been launched into space by humans. These include the Lucy mission (pictured), which will swing past eight different asteroids during its 12-year journey through the solar system Also on the map is 16 Psyche, the asteroid that was once thought to be full of iron, nickel and gold and worth $10,000 quadrillion (8,072 quadrillion). However, new analysis has since suggested it may actually be less heavy metal and more hard rock. The interactive tool doesn't just have asteroids and planets on it, however. It also reveals the locations of some of the probes and spacecrafts that have been launched into space by humans. These include the Lucy mission, which will swing past eight different asteroids during its 12-year journey through the solar system and OSIRIS-REx. There are also comets including Wild 2, which was discovered in 1978, and 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The latter was spotted in 1969 and was the first to be landed on by a robotic mission from Earth. In August 2014, the Rosetta spacecraft rendezvoused with the come while carrying the Philae lander. Ever wondered what it looks like inside a Doomsday vault? Well, wonder no more! A new virtual tour grants access to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, which stores 'spare copies' of valuable plant seeds in the event that the originals are lost. It is located on a mountainside on Spitsbergen, an island in the remote Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard in the Arctic Sea, and houses over 1.1 million seed varieties. The island's permafrost means that the seeds should stay frozen, even if the facility's cooling plant which maintains a temperature of -0.4F (-18C) loses power. Now, the online tour unlocks the 'Bond-like' vault's metal doors to the public, something that has never been done since it was opened in 2008. A new virtual tour grants access to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault , which stores 'spare copies' of valuable plant seeds in the event that the originals are lost It is located on a mountainside on Spitsbergen, an island in the remote Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard in the Arctic Sea, and houses over 1.1 million seed varieties The vault contains 642 million seeds from almost every country in the world, but has the capacity for 2.5 billion. WHAT IS THE SVALBARD GLOBAL SEED VAULT? The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is buried on an island off of Norway's northern coast. It already stores nearly one million samples of seeds, which represent 13,000 years of agricultural history. The vault provides a last resort back-up to a network of seed banks around the world, which store seeds but can be threatened by war, accidents and natural disasters. Plants are also vulnerable to biodiversity loss as a result of invasive species, pests and climate change. Permafrost and thick rock ensure seed samples remain frozen even without power. The vault aims to secure millions of seeds representing every important crop variety available in the world today. Advertisement The majority of these are species of food crops, with 69 per cent being grains, 9 per cent legumes and the rest being fruits, vegetables, herbs and other plants. They even store 100,000 seeds for hallucinogenic plants such as cannabis and opium, but no genetically modified organisms (GMOs) as Norwegian law prohibits them. Rice is by far the most common seed type stored, with 85 million seeds, and 82 million of these being Asian varieties like oryza sativa. However, the specific species with the most seeds at Svalbard is Pearl Millet, a nutritious grain that grows in arid regions, with 84 million. It is primarily intended to serve as a back-up for other seed banks around the world which store valuable plant species. Regional vaults help to maintain a diversity of different plant varieties and provide seeds when needed to support agricultural efforts. The grains, bulbs, rice and other seeds in Svalbard keeps are only to be used in the event that the originals are lost as a result of regional or global crises. For example, the national seed bank of the Philippines was damaged by flooding and subsequently destroyed in a fire in 2012, while facilities in Afghanistan and Iraq were destroyed in conflict. Seed banks are also increasingly being called upon to help farmers adapt to global warming. In Zambia, for example, the Plant Genetic Resources Centre of the Southern Africa Development Community has been providing to farmers a type of grass called sorghum, which is used for flour and can grow rapidly in dry conditions. The Svalbard Seed Vault is vulnerable to its own challenges to, as it is in a location that is warming faster than anywhere else on Earth. In 2017, unusually warm winter temperatures sent unexpected amounts of meltwater pouring into its entrance tunnel, causing a flood. However, the seeds are replaced every few decades, opening three times a year to accept new deposits from global institutions. The permafrost that surrounds it also protects it from the event of extreme warming. Spitsbergen's permafrost means that the seeds should stay frozen, even if the facility's cooling plant which maintains a temperature of -0.4F (-18C) loses power The seeds in Svalbard Seed Vault are replaced every few decades, and it opens three times a year to accept new deposits from global institutions. The permafrost that surrounds it also protects it from the event of extreme warming Neil Henderson, the owner of The Virtual Tour Experts, travelled to Svalbard to film the vault's interior himself. He said: 'The experience filming the Svalbard Global Seed Vault was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and very humbling' The tour, which takes you around the stunning Arctic landscape as well as inside the vault, was designed by The Virtual Tour Experts, a company based in Devon, UK. It has been developed in collaboration with the Crop Trust to celebrate the Seed Vault's 15th anniversary. Neil Henderson, the owner of The Virtual Tour Experts, travelled to Svalbard to film the vault's interior himself. He said: 'The experience filming the Svalbard Global Seed Vault was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and very humbling. 'But this great honour didn't come without challenges as the building is buried in Arctic permafrost. 'With rumours of polar bears lurking nearby, we shot in freezing temperatures of around -20C (-4F) in hazardous materials gear, while ensuring our equipment functioned properly to produce the best possible image quality from the air and ground.' The majority of the species stored at Svalbard are food crops, with 69 per cent being grains, 9 per cent legumes and the rest being fruits, vegetables, herbs and other plants. Rice is by far the most common seed type stored, with 85 million seeds, and 82 million of these being Asian varieties like oryza sativa. However the specific species with the most seeds at Svalbard is Pearl Millet, a nutritious grain that grows in arid regions, with 84 million The vault contains 642 million seeds from almost every country in the world, but has the capacity for 2.5 billion. Pictured: Origin countries of seeds in Svalbard Seed Vault The Climate in Svalbard 2100 report was commissioned by the Norwegian Environment Agency. Svalbard and, specifically, the town of Longyearbyen, which sits adjacent to the site of the Doomsday Vault, have been experiencing warming at an unparalleled rate in recent years 'The experience felt like one straight out of a James Bond film but the biggest reward is the education our world will receive about this important work, especially amid rising climate concerns.' The tour offers day and night views of the landscape that surrounds Svalbard Seed Vault, as well as a glimpse behind its doors. After making their way down a long tunnel to the three seed chambers, users can walk down the aisles and click on individual containers to learn about what is inside. There is also a talking video guide, available in multiple languages. Henderson added: 'The level of detail in the tour is amazing and, most importantly, allows users to understand the important work that the Svalbard Global Seed Vault does for our planet and humanity.' To view the virtual tour, please click here. The tour, which takes you around the stunning Arctic landscape as well as inside the vault, was designed by The Virtual Tour Experts, a company based in Devon, UK The tour offers day and night views of the landscape that surrounds Svalbard Seed Vault, as well as a glimpse behind its doors WhatsApp would rather be banned in Britain than weaken its security as part of the UK Government's flagship new internet legislation, the messaging platform's boss has warned. Will Cathcart, Meta's head of WhatsApp, said it would refuse to comply with the Online Safety Bill if it attempted to outlaw 'end-to-end' encryption. Speaking ahead of a meeting with UK legislators to discuss the proposed law, he described the Bill as the most concerning piece of legislation currently being discussed in the western world. 'End-to-end' encryption secures messages by scrambling them and ensuring that only those sending and receiving them can read them. WhatsApp cannot see messages sent via its own service, and so cannot comply with law enforcement requests to either hand them over for anti-terror purposes or to identify and remove child-abuse material, for example. Stand-off: WhatsApp would rather be banned in Britain than weaken its security as part of the UK Government's flagship new internet legislation, the messaging platform's boss has warned Will Cathcart (pictured), Meta's head of WhatsApp, said the popular messaging service would refuse to comply with the Online Safety Bill if it attempted to outlaw 'end-to-end' encryption The UK Government insists that it is possible to have both privacy and child safety. But Mr Cathcart said that undermining the privacy of WhatsApp messages in the UK would do so for all its users worldwide. WHAT IS THE ONLINE SAFETY BILL? Hailed as groundbreaking regulation of the tech sector, the aim of the Online Safety Bill is to introduce rules to social media and other user-generated content-based sites that compel them to remove illegal material from their platforms, with a particular emphasis on protecting children from harmful content. In addition, the largest platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter will have to tackle named forms of 'legal but harmful' content, which could include issues such as promoting self-harm or eating disorders. Under the bill, all platforms in scope will have a duty to find and remove illegal content, as well as have clear and robust terms and conditions in place. Companies which breach these new rules face fines which could run into billions of pounds for the largest services or face being blocked. All this would be overseen by communications regulator Ofcom, which is set to become the new regulator of the sector. Advertisement 'It's a remarkable thing to think about. There isn't a way to change it in just one part of the world,' he said. 'Some countries have chosen to block it: that's the reality of shipping a secure product. We've recently been blocked in Iran, for example. But we've never seen a liberal democracy do that.' Mr Cathcart added: 'The reality is, our users all around the world want security. 'Ninety-eight per cent of our users are outside the UK. They do not want us to lower the security of the product, and just as a straightforward matter, it would be an odd choice for us to choose to lower the security of the product in a way that would affect those 98 per cent of users.' The Online Safety Bill has been working its way through Parliament since being published in draft form in May 2021. It is designed to help clamp down on online trolling and illegal forms of pornography by placing more responsibility on the platforms that internet users use. As part of this, it allows the UK Government or regulator Ofcom to require companies to scan the contents of messages sent through their platforms for illegal content. However, doing so would likely force them to weaken or do away with their own security measures. The Government insisted that the bill 'does not represent a ban on end-to-end encryption' and that 'we can and must have both' privacy and child safety. But it also does not explicitly state how it would be possible to monitor message content and continue their encryption, creating a 'grey area'. The Investigatory Powers Bill, which passed in 2016, already gives authorities the power to demand that apps begin scanning messages for illegal material, but they have yet to do so with WhatsApp. Mr Cathcart was openly critical of the Online Safety Bill in September, saying that it was 'puzzling' governments wanted to weaken security, not bolster it. WhatsApp uses end-to-end encryption on all messages, scrambling them so that they cannot be read by anyone other than the intended recipient The upcoming legislation has also brought criticism from Signal, another high-security messaging app. It told the BBC it would 'walk' from the UK if it felt forced to weaken its privacy measures as a result. Technology companies believe that encryption is essential for maintaining user confidence that their data is secure, and not susceptible to hacking. Mr Cathcart said that, because WhatsApp is used all over the world, allowing UK authorities to reduce the app's security would mean they would have to do the same for other countries. He added: 'When a liberal democracy says, "Is it OK to scan everyone's private communication for illegal content?", that emboldens countries around the world that have very different definitions of illegal content to propose the same thing. 'If companies installed software onto people's phones and computers to scan the content of their communications against a list of illegal content, what happens when other countries show up and give a different list of illegal content?' Therefore, he is urging the UK Government to add wording that differentiates private messaging apps from other social networks. Instead of just making statements about the importance of encryption, he said they should put it in writing that encryption will be protected in the Online Safety Bill. Mr Cathcart said: 'It could make clear that privacy and security should be considered in the framework. 'It could explicitly say that end-to-end encryption should not be taken away. 'There can be more procedural safeguards so that this can't just happen independently as a decision.' Artemis was the twin sister of Apollo and goddess of the moon in Greek mythology. NASA has chosen her to personify its path back to the moon, which will see astronauts return to the lunar surface by 2025 - including the first woman and the next man. Artemis 1, formerly Exploration Mission-1, is the first in a series of increasingly complex missions that will enable human exploration to the moon and Mars. Artemis 1 will be the first integrated flight test of NASAs deep space exploration system: the Orion spacecraft, Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the ground systems at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Artemis 1 will be an uncrewed flight that will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration, and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human existence to the moon and beyond. During this flight, the spacecraft will launch on the most powerful rocket in the world and fly farther than any spacecraft built for humans has ever flown. It will travel 280,000 miles (450,600 km) from Earth, thousands of miles beyond the moon over the course of about a three-week mission. Artemis 1, formerly Exploration Mission-1, is the first in a series of increasingly complex missions that will enable human exploration to the moon and Mars. This graphic explains the various stages of the mission Orion will stay in space longer than any ship for astronauts has done without docking to a space station and return home faster and hotter than ever before. With this first exploration mission, NASA is leading the next steps of human exploration into deep space where astronauts will build and begin testing the systems near the moon needed for lunar surface missions and exploration to other destinations farther from Earth, including Mars. The will take crew on a different trajectory and test Orions critical systems with humans aboard. Together, Orion, SLS and the ground systems at Kennedy will be able to meet the most challenging crew and cargo mission needs in deep space. Eventually NASA seeks to establish a sustainable human presence on the moon by 2028 as a result of the Artemis mission. The space agency hopes this colony will uncover new scientific discoveries, demonstrate new technological advancements and lay the foundation for private companies to build a lunar economy. Who is Victor Glover? The man set to become NASA's first black astronaut to orbit the moon Victor Glover (pictured) was selected as an astronaut in 2013 and became the first African American ISS expedition crewmember to live on the ISS seven years later NASA is set to send the first-ever black astronaut to the moon. Victor Glover, 46, was selected to take part in the space agency's Artemis II mission the US' first lunar mission in a half-century. The Pomona, California, native will be the first person of color to travel into deep space, hundreds of thousands of miles beyond the low-Earth orbiting International Space Station (ISS). NASA officials say the diverse crew assignments signify the cultural shifts that have taken place since the original Apollo missions, which ended in 1972, at a time when white men dominated space exploration. Glover was also the first black man to ever live on the International Space Station (ISS) in 2020 and is among 15 African Americans to be selected as an astronaut. In his esteemed career since being selected as an astronaut in 2013, Mr Glover has logged over 3,000 flight hours in 40 different aircraft. Artemis II - which will launch in November 2024 - will see the four-man crew orbit the moon in the Orion spacecraft but not land. Their goal is to test new technology, including heat shields that protects Orion as it travels 24,500 mph in 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit on its way back. If successful, NASA plans to launch an expedition to land on the moon titled Artemis III. Another success would spell out a trip to Mars for NASA. I wanna thank God for this Amazing opportunity, Mr Glover said during a new conference Monday. This is a big day. We have a lot to celebrate. Its so much more than the four names that have been announced. We need to celebrate this moment in human history. 'Artermis II is more than a mission to the Moon and back. Its more than a mission that has to happen before we send people to the surface of the moon. It is the next step on the journey that gets humanity to Mars. This crew will never forget that. Mr Glover was born in 1976 in Pomona, around 30 miles east of Los Angeles. The city is far from the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, known for its high poverty rate and relatively high crime. Mr Glover grew up in Ponoma, CA, 30 miles east of Los Angeles He said his parents and teachers served as mentors as him growing up. 'Early on in life it had to be my parents; they encouraged me and challenged me and held me to high standards. Outside of home, I had teachers that did the same,' he told USA Today in 2017. 'They all challenged me, and they encouraged me.' Mr Glover continued that his teachers and parents urged him to go the engineering school and eventually become a test pilot leading to him becoming an astronaut. He graduated from Southern California's Ontario High School in 1994, and went on to attend California Polytechnic State University, before completing his graduate education at Air University and the US Naval Academy. 'Im the first person in my family to graduate from college, and being at graduation with my mom and my dad and my stepdad and my little brothers and my grandparents,' he said to USA Today. 'That was unreal, that was cool and it was special for me.' In 1999 he was commissioned as part of the US Navy. After completing flight training in Corpus Christy, Texas, he was 'given his wings' and awarded the title of pilot in 2001. He then moved to San Diego to learn to fly the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet, known as one of the Navy's more versatile aircraft. After spending the next two years training in Florida and Virginia, he was deployed to Iraq in 2004 for six months. Mr Glover was working in the office of the late Sen John McCain as a legislative fellow when he was selected by NASA to become an astronaut in 2013. NASA only selects a handful of the thousands of people that apply to be a member of the nation's astronaut corps each year. Only 15 black astronauts have ever been selected out of 348. A vast majority of the 41 current astronauts have a military background, like Mr Glover. He completed his astronaut training in 2015. Three years later, he was selected to be a part of the first ever operational flight of SpaceX's Crew Dragon, a reusable aircraft designed by the firm Elon Musk found in 2002. As part of that mission, he would live on the ISS from November 17, 2020 to May 2, 2021. The nearly six-month-long stay on the station makes him the first black astronaut to inhabit it. Jeanette Epps, 52, who was selected to be an astronaut in 2009 is set to become the second African American, and first black woman, to live on the ISS after the launch of Boeing Starliner-1 in 2024 or later. In 2020, Mr Glover said it was an honor to be the first black person selected to the ISS. 'It is something to be celebrated once we accomplish it, and I am honored to be in this position and to be a part of this great and experienced crew,' he said during a news conference. 'I look forward to getting up there and doing my best to make sure, you know, we are worthy of all the work that's been put into setting us up for this mission.' In an interview with The Christian Chronicle later that year, he said there were qualified black astronauts that should have earned the honor before him. 'I've had some amazing colleagues before me that really could have done it, and there are some amazing folks that will go behind me,' he said. 'I wish it would have already been done, but I try not to draw too much attention to it.' Who is Christina Koch? The first female NASA astronaut set to orbit the moon Christina Koch is set to become the first woman to go around the moon when NASA's Artemis II mission takes off next year. Christina Koch, 44, from Grand Rapids, Michigan, is set to become the first woman to go around the moon The Grand Rapids, Michigan native, 44, is already the record-holder for the longest amount of time a woman has spent in space, 328 days, and for taking part in the first all-female spacewalk in 2019. Selected to become an astronaut in 2013, Ms Koch said she has not followed a 'checklist' in order to become an astronaut but instead chased her passions whether this be rock climbing, sailing or even learning to surf in her 40s. She said in 2020: 'I really don't remember a time when I didn't want to be an astronaut. 'For me, I learned that if I was going to be an astronaut, it was because my passions had turned me into someone that could contribute the most as someone contributing to human space flight.' While she's exploring space, her husband Robert will be left taking care of housework and the couple's puppy, LBD. It is not believed that they have children. 'Am I excited? Absolutely!' she said at a news conference at the crew's announcement Monday. The one thing I'm most excited about is that we will carry your excitement,your aspirations, your dreams, on this mission. She also said: We are going to launch from Kennedy space center, we are going to here the words go for launch on top of the most powerful rocket NASAs ever made. NASA has sent a total of 355 people to space so far, of which some 55 have been women or 15 percent. It has also sent 24 people to orbit the moon and 12 to walk on the lunar surface who were all men. Russian Valentina Tereshkova was the first woman to ever leave the earth's atmosphere setting off in 1937. American women did not get sent to space until 1983. Ms Koch, however, will make history on the Artemis II mission when she completes her long-awaited trip around the moon. She revealed her love of space in a video when she was announced as a member of the Artemis I team in 2020. The astronaut said: 'I am someone who has loved exploration on the frontier since I was little. 'I used to be inspired by the night sky and throughout my career, it's been this balance between engineering for space science missions and doing science in really remote places all over the world. 'I loved things that made me feel small, things that made me ponder the size of the universe, my place in it and everything that was out there to explore.' She added: 'I didn't necessarily live my life following check boxes of how you could become an astronaut. 'But I followed those passions and one day I looked at what I had become and the skills I had gathered and I asked "could I sit across from a table and present myself as someone who could do this well?". And I thought, I'm going to give this a shot.' She went to North Carolina State University in Raleigh to get a bachelor's and a master's in Electrical Engineering. She then became an Electrical Engineer at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, before becoming a research associate for the United States Antarctic Program living an entire year in the Arctic. Ms Koch was one of eight selected as part of NASA's 21st class of astronauts in 2013. After two years of training, she became a full-fledged astronaut. Her first space flight came in 2019 when she was sent to the International Space Station (ISS) to work as a flight engineer. She stayed up there for 328 days, taking the record for the longest spaceflight by a woman. The previous record holder, Peggy Whitson, was in space for 288 days. While in space she also took the record for the first all-women space walk when an astronaut gets out of a vehicle while in space with Jessica Meir. The pair spent seven hours and 17 minutes on the side of the ISS as they worked to replace a power controller. The walk also included a brief call with President Trump. Upon her return to Earth in 2020, Ms Koch said she felt 'like a baby' who was two weeks old and working hard to hold up its head. Back on Earth, she lives in Galveston, Texas, just outside of the Houston area. Among her interests are backpacking, running, yoga, photography and travel. Now she will be a part of a groundbreaking mission in NASA's goal towards putting a man on Mars. The Artemis II mission marks NASA's first trip to the moon in half a century. It says it will be performed to help test kit in preparation for getting humans onto Mars. The agency sent an empty Orion capsule around the moon last year before it returned to Earth in a long-awaited dress rehearsal. If this latest mission goes well, then another flight to land people on the moon will be sent in 2025 as part of tests ahead of getting people onto Mars. Are you struggling with the cost-of-living? Tired of miserable grey skies when we're supposed to be entering spring? One Swiss town might have the answer to ease your woes. Albinen, located in the canton of Valais, is offering to pay families over 50,000 just to move to the stunning mountain valley village. The beautiful area sits on the mountain slope at 4,265 feet (1,300 metres) above sea level. Its traditional chalets look down over vast surroundings of snowy white peaks. The small village has been threatened with extinction for some time as an increasing number of residents are moving out of the rural picturesque community in favour of surrounding cities. At the end of 2020, there were just 243 residents in the village. But the scheme, originally launched in 2018, is hoping to buck that trend. Albinen, located in the canton of Valais, is offering to pay people over 50,000 just to move to the stunning mountain valley village The beautiful area sits on the mountain slope at 1,300 metres (4,265 feet) above sea level The scheme was launched five years ago to reverse the trend of people leaving the town. Despite the alluring village being just over four miles (6.8km) from the spa town of Leukerbad and a 35 minute drive from both the Canton capital Sion and the industrial city of Visp, the town has emptied out over the years because of the lack of jobs. Families of four will receive 25,000 Swiss Francs (22,440) per adult and a further 10,000 Swiss Francs (8,975) per child. While the deal for over 50,000 in exchange for moving to one of the world's most beautiful spots is tempting, there are some other requirements. To stop the town form emptying, Albinen is looking for people aged under 45 to take up residence. You will also need to be a Swiss citizen with a permit C residence. If you are citizen of an EU or European Free Trade Association country, or from the U.S. or Canada, you can obtain this after living in Switzerland for five years. But for other countries, including us Brits, you would need to live in Switzerland continuously for a decade. You are then required to live in a home valued at at least 200,000 Swiss Francs (180,000) - and then you must remain living in Albinen for 10 years. Albinen's traditional chalets look down over vast surroundings of snowy white peaks At of the end of 2018, there were just 238 residents in the small village. But the scheme, originally launched in 2018, is hoping to buck that trend If you leave the scenic town before the term is up, you will then have to pay back your 50,000 payout. The municipality's president Beat Jostin in 2017 said Albinen was characterised by its quietness, phenomenal views, great air quality, and many hours of sunshine throughout the year. Jost also added some more caveats: 'Second homes and large residential complexes of investor groups are out of the question. 'Anyone who moves away again ten years after the start of construction or after buying the house must repay the money.' Despite the strict requirements, Switzerland does boast one of the best education systems in the world, and air pollution also isn't such an issue up a mountain side. Life expectancy is also relatively high, and the country has a low violent crime rate. Zanab Jeffrey claims her ex-fiance Cole Barnett 'weaponised' mental health issues by branding her 'bipolar' on two occasions and discovering his stag do betrayal 'tipped her over the edge.' The Love Is Blind star, 32, who agreed to marry fellow contestant Cole, 27, sight unseen on the Netflix series, told MailOnline there's no way she could have gone through with their wedding after he treated her with 'disrespect' and 'dishonesty.' According to Zanab, hours before she was due to walk down the aisle, Cole confessed that he tried to kiss another woman the night of his bachelor party, an admission he later denied during The Reunion episode, where the couple met again for the first time since their big day. After signing up to Love Is Blind in the hope she would finally meet The One following a decade of dating, Zanab says Cole's unkind remarks about her body sparked an eating disorder and his 'violent' behaviour in questioning whether she has bipolar led her to have therapy and avoid meeting someone new for a year. She said: 'He asked me if I was bipolar twice The first time he asked I moved along like you can't be serious but then he reenforced "did you hear what I said?" And he asked me again, the second time with a smirk on his face. Zanab Jeffrey claims her ex-fiance Cole Barnett 'weaponised' mental health issues by branding her 'bipolar' on two occasions and discovering his stag do betrayal 'tipped her over the edge' The Love Is Blind star, who agreed to marry Cole, sight unseen, told MailOnline there's no way she could have gone through with their wedding after he treated her with 'disrespect' According to Zanab, Cole confessed that he tried to kiss another woman the night of his bachelor party hours before they were due to walk down the aisle 'I found that really violent. It's funny you see my eyes shift and I almost look dead at the camera like what the hell? I believe in fighting clean and not hitting below the belt. I always handle my relationships with respect. 'It's the century old 'call a woman crazy' like do better, come up with something better. People heard it and ran with it. I will continue to talk about therapy and be open about mental health because people don't feel safe to talk about what they're struggling with. 'People that throw words around like that are the reason that people don't seek help. It is such an ugly side of society, which is why we have the mental health issues we do. Weaponising mental health issues is totally wrong.' Zanab and Cole grew close in the show's 'pods', which is where hopefuls date from behind a screen for a solid nine days before having the opportunity to get engaged. The couples are encouraged not to ask questions that reveal details about their physical appearance and are instead given 'deeper' topics to discuss such as prospects for the future, religious beliefs, and their childhoods. Despite falling for each other in the pods, Zanab's relationship with Cole failed to work outside the experiment, with her telling him at the alter 'you have disrespected me, insulted me, critiqued me, and singlehandedly shattered my self-confidence.' Speaking to MailOnline, she said: 'I didn't date for an entire year afterwards and I just poured back into me. 'As much as I hoped I would end up with a person who was my hype man and my cheerleader you have got to give a lot of that love to yourself. Zanab and Cole grew close in the show's 'pods', which is where hopefuls date from behind a screen for a solid nine days before having the opportunity to get engaged Zanab's romance with Cole failed to work outside the experiment, with her telling him at the alter 'you have singlehandedly shattered my self-confidence' Zanab told MailOnline that she didn't date for a year after starring on Love Is Blind and she focussed on building back her own self-worth The Netflix star struggled to cope during filming because her partner Cole made subtle digs targeted at her body while even pressurising her to decrease her portion size or not eat at all 'I made the decision to go to therapy right after the wedding. There were fundamental issues and a lot of disrespect, and you don't go into marriage with disrespect and dishonesty. 'We are not friends and there is no communication. We do not speak, no contact is best for me, but I also knew I wouldn't hear from him, and we wouldn't speak after the wedding.' Zanab, who lives in Dallas but is originally from the UK, challenged Cole on his stag do antics after she claimed he confessed to flirting and getting another woman's number. During The Reunion episode, Cole attempted to rubbish the allegation, stating: 'We didn't see a single girl.' Former flight attendant Zanab stands by the conversation she knows herself and Cole had, saying: 'Well, there were absolutely no cameras around It's easy for him to say that it didn't happen because he's only choosing to remember particular parts. 'People think I was so harsh at our wedding and questioned where it all came from but if the last conversation you had with your fiance before walking down the aisle was 'I have to tell you something that happened at my bachelor party' it pushed me over the edge. 'You don't do that to someone you love and respect. There wasn't even the bare minimum of respect.' Zanab struggled to cope during filming of the third series because her partner Cole made subtle digs targeted at her body while even pressurising her to decrease her portion size or not eat at all. Former flight attendant Zanab, who lives in Dallas but is originally from the UK, had the support of her fellow co-stars Raven Ross and Nancy Rodriguez during the process At The Reunion, Cole denied attempting to kiss another woman at his stag do, alleging that Zanab wasn't honest about a conversation they had ahead of their wedding day Zanab is back on the dating scene and teases that she's met someone special, though she's not ready to officially announce her relationship status just yet The reality personality believes Netflix producers refused to air scenes showing Cole's true colours to protect him and she was consequently made to look like the 'villain' for being truthful about her experience. She said: 'I looked like a liar because I said something happened and the viewer didn't see it so therefore it did not happen. But for me there was still plenty that was aired. 'I went into the show quite confident. I have a great personality, it was right after Covid so was I a little bit fluffier than usual? Sure. 'But men I have dated have thoroughly enjoyed my body and loved that I am not a stick, skinny girl and I never will be. I love my body, I do, but I didn't during the show because the person I loved and I had found put such pressure on how I looked. 'It chipped away and bought up insecurities that I haven't felt since high school. In high school the girls are so tiny, and it bought those things back to the surface.' Love Is Blind season three, which was presented by US hosts Nick and Vanessa Lachey, was filmed in 2021 and the new series is set to premiere this month. But Zanab, who was inspired to enter the show by the success story of married Lauren and Cameron Hamilton, won't be watching the new cast embark on their journeys. She said: 'I have no intention of watching the new series. It was pretty triggering watching myself back and considering the backlash and negativity I got I've spoken to other women that were deemed the 'villain' and it's not something I want to be part of. 'I am the most non villain, villain but there was a section of the internet that liked to claim that I was. It was the pick-me girls, his fans absolutely.' It may have taken her time to heal, but Zanab is back on the dating scene and teases that she's met someone special, though she's not ready to officially announce her relationship status just yet. She added: 'There is definitely potential to be so excited about, but I will 100 per cent take a long breather before I put that in the public domain and let the guy be picked apart.' She recently distanced herself from toxic influencer Andrew Tate after photos resurfaced of them holidaying together in Thailand. But long before her past came back to haunt her, MAFS star Evelyn Ellis looked positively carefree as she went for a stroll through Sydney's CBD during a break from filming last year. The model and marketing manager, 27, turned heads in a trench coat inspired by the 1999 sci-fi action film The Matrix, in photos taken on October 9. She paired the long shiny coat with a low-cut brown crop top, high-waisted pants and white sneakers. Evelyn accessorised with a Louis Vuitton handbag and a pair of rectangular-rimmed sunglasses, and swept her dark hair into a low bun, allowing two tendrils to perfectly frame her face. MAFS star Evelyn Ellis rocked a Matrix-style trench coat as she went for a stroll through Sydney's CBD during a break from filming last year The model (left) turned heads in a trench coat inspired by the 1999 sci-fi action film The Matrix, in photos taken on October 9. (Right: Carrie-Anne Moss in The Matrix Revolutions) The characters from The Matrix were known for their futuristic leather and PVC outfits Her look was certainly the most out-there of all the MAFS sightings during Daily Mail Australia's months-long stakeout in Sydney last year. You could almost hear the heavy riff of Rammstein's Du Hast as she pounded the pavement in her futuristic ensemble. It comes after Evelyn was forced to address her former friendship with Andrew Tate during an interview with Nova FM's Fitzy & Wippa on Thursday. Evelyn paired the long shiny coat with a low-cut brown crop top and high-waisted pants and white sneakers Evelyn accessorised with a Louis Vuitton bag and a pair of rectangular-rimmed sunglasses, and swept her dark hair into a low bun, allowing two tendrils to perfectly frame her face The former nightclub hostess carried an iPhone with a personalised green case She said the Tate she knew when they were both contestants on Big Brother UK in 2016 was nothing like the woman-hating 'influencer' he would become years later. She spoke about her link to the controversial kickboxer - who now faces sex trafficking charges in Romania - after a photo resurfaced of the pair on holiday together in Thailand seven years ago. While many fans speculated the two were an item, Evelyn said that wasn't true, clarifying she never hooked up with him. When asked by host Ryan 'Fitzy' Fitzgerald about her trip to Thailand with Tate, she stressed they knew each other long before he launched his career as a professional misogynist. 'Look, I knew Andrew before he was Andrew,' she said. It comes after Evelyn was forced to address her former friendship with Andrew Tate during an interview with Nova FM's Fitzy & Wippa on Thursday (pictured in the studio) She spoke about her former friendship with Tate, who now faces sex trafficking charges in Romania, after a photo resurfaced of the pair on holiday together in Thailand seven years ago 'So before all this he was just old mate Andrew. But I can only take him for face value - at the time he was super nice. Him and [brother] Tristan always treated me with respect,' she added. The photo of Evelyn and Tate in question was posted on his Instagram account years before he was banned from the Meta-owned social media platform for hate speech. It showed Evelyn sitting next to the British-American internet personality at a restaurant or bar on the island Koh Samui. While many speculated the two were an item, the MAFS bride told Fitzy & Wippa that was not true, and she never hooked up with him Channel 5 had earlier removed Tate from the Big Brother house for undisclosed reasons. However, Tate went on to accuse the network of giving him the boot over a an 'edited' video of him beating a woman with a 'felt' belt. In an unrelated matter, Tate was arrested in Romania on December 29 alongside his brother Tristan, 34, and two women as authorities investigate numerous allegations of sex trafficking and rape. They remain in custody and deny the charges. During her Fitzy & Wippa interview, Ellis was pushed by the hosts to condemn Tate's statements about women on social media, but she wouldn't say much. 'It's so weird, because it was like overnight he just exploded. I don't remember him,' she said, before Michael 'Wippa' Wipfli interrupted to ask how long she was going out with him for. 'I didn't go out with him,' she said firmly, before explaining they weren't strictly speaking on holiday together when the Thailand photo was taken. She said she was already in Asia with friends when she discovered Tate was travelling too and they decided to meet up. Married At First Sight continues Sunday at 7pm on Channel Nine and 9Now Kristin Cavallari had a 'bucket list moment' as she finally saw the aurora borealis for the first time in person. The 36-year-old reality television personality shared snaps of her happily posing by the stunning display during her current trip to Finland on Thursday. The jewelry designer, who recently revealed that she did not use Botox, captioned the post, 'Bucket list moment: THE NORTHERN LIGHTS.' Cavallari wore a large brown overcoat that covered up her toned frame while viewing the northern lights. The former cast member of Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County also wore a black crewneck sweater and matching pants. Milestone: Kristin Cavallari revealed that she had finally seen aurora borealis with a post that was shared to her Instagram account on Thursday The entrepreneur donned a pair of snow boots and a matching pair of gloves as she made the most of her trip. Much of her beautiful blonde hair was covered up by a sizable beanie, although several strands fell onto her shoulders. Cavallari also reposted the image to her Story and added that the experience was 'pretty special.' The entrepreneur went on to share a video and two photos to her Instagram Story to give her 4.6 million followers a look into her Finnish getaway. In her clip, the jewelry designer appeared to be enjoying a dogsled ride through a snowy forest landscape. She also posted a photo that showed her walking along a snow-lined trail while taking in Finland's scenic views. The reality television personality donned a pair of white-and-brown boots before venturing into the snow. Cavallari also included a shot that had been taken during a meal, in which she enjoyed a glass of wine and held a decorative utensil. Making the most of it: The jewelry designer, who recently revealed that she did not use Botox, wrote that she had been able to check off what she described as a 'bucket list moment' in her post's caption Four-legged friends: In her clip, the jewelry designer appeared to be enjoying a dogsled ride through a snowy forest landscape Seeing the sights: She also posted a photo that showed her walking along a snow-lined trail while taking in Finland's scenic views Enjoying herself: Cavallari also included a shot that had been taken during a meal, in which she enjoyed a glass of wine and held a decorative utensil Building hype: Just before leaving for Finland, Cavallari promoted her upcoming cookbook, Truly Simple, with a video that was shared to her Instagram account Just before leaving for Finland, Cavallari promoted her upcoming cookbook, Truly Simple, with a video that was shared to her Instagram account. In the clip, the reality television personality made a batch of blue blueberry muffins using a recipe from her upcoming publication. The entrepreneur also took a bite of her muffin at the end of the clip and appeared to be satisfied with what she had made. Truly Simple is currently scheduled to be made available to the public on April 11. Netflix has offered counselling sessions to the stars of the Heartbreak High reboot to help them cope with the pressures of overnight fame. The Australian teen drama, based on the '90s soap opera of the same name, became an international hit when its first season was released last year. Josh Heuston, who plays Dusty Reid, said on Friday that mental health professionals were made available to the cast if they needed help navigating stardom. '[It was important] especially considering it's a cast of young adults who were suddenly thrown into the spotlight,' he told The Daily Telegraph. Josh added he was pleasantly surprised fans of the show were respectful when it came to differentiating between his personal and professional lives. Netflix has offered counselling sessions to the stars of the Heartbreak High to help them cope with the pressures of overnight fame. (Here: Ayesha Madon, left, and Gemma Chua-Tran, right) Josh Heuston (pictured), who plays Dusty Reid, said on Friday that mental health professionals were made available to the cast if they needed help navigating stardom 'Anything personal I keep offline... it's probably best to keep something to yourself considering the rest of [my] life is on show,' he said. Heartbreak High became one of Netflix's most-watched shows within days of its launch last September. Speaking of the impact the show had on his career, Josh said it 'opened doors for all of us and definitely changed the caliber of roles you can go for'. '[It was important] especially considering it's a cast of young adults who were suddenly thrown into the spotlight,' Josh told The Daily Telegraph 'I get to do something I haven't stopped doing since I was a kid, which is dressing up and sword fighting, but now people don't think Im crazy,' he added. Josh, who is dating model and DJ Carla Martinez, is expected to return for the second season of Heartbreak High, which starts filming later this month. He has recently been flying between Sydney and Budapest after being cast in the upcoming TV series Dune: The Sisterhood. The original Heartbreak High and its reboot are available to stream on Netflix Daniel Radcliffe was originally lined up for the leading role in All Quiet on the Western Front, according to the film's producer Lesley Paterson. The German-language war film starring Felix Kammerer has impressively dominated awards season and looks set for more success as it has been nominated in nine Oscar categories. However, the critically-acclaimed film could have been very different as producer Lesley, 42, has revealed that Harry Potter star Daniel, 33, originally agreed to work on the project. Lesley said they did not originally think they would be able to make the war epic as a German-language film so planned to cast a high profile English actor as the lead. She told The Mirror that Daniel agreed to play the main character, German soldier Paul Baumer, back in 2011 soon after wrapping up on the Harry Potter franchise. Casting: Daniel Radcliffe was originally lined up for the leading role in All Quiet on the Western Front, according to the film's producer Lesley Paterson Success: The German-language war film starring Felix Kammerer has dominated awards season and looks set for more success as it has been nominated in nine Oscar categories The Scottish producer said she had hoped his high-profile signing would convince bosses to back the World War One film, but Daniel's name did not rake in the funding needed. She told the publication: 'When we optioned the book 16 years ago, the landscape was so different, there's no way you could have done a German-language, film and raised any money for it. 'So we decided pretty early on, we would probably have to pitch it as English speaking with German accent. 'And we thought: "What names are going to raise finance?" and at that time, Daniel Radcliffe was coming off the back of Harry Potter.' Lesley explained that Daniel 'loved' the script and the team were thrilled at signing the star, raising their hopes that they were finally going to get the film made. However, she said they quickly realised the 'wonderful' actor wasn't right for the movie and his name unfortunately didn't raise the finances they needed. The team finally secured funding from Netflix after director Edward Berger signed on and they decided to cast all-German speakers in the adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque's 1928 novel. Austrian actor Felix was then cast in the leading role, while Daniel Bruhl also took on a supporting role in the critically-acclaimed movie. Lead: However, the critically-acclaimed film could have been very different as producer Lesley, 42, has revealed that Harry Potter star Daniel, 33, originally agreed to work on the project Plans: Lesley (pictured) said they did not originally think they would be able to make the war epic as a German-language film so planned to cast a high profile English actor as the lead When asked how The Lost City star Daniel would feel about the film's incredible success, Lesley said he would be 'so supportive' and think it was 'amazing'. MailOnline has contacted Daniel's representatives for comment. Olympic triathlete Lesley bought the rights to the classic German book All Quiet On The Western Front and spent 16 years trying to get the film off the ground, all the while having to raise money to keep renewing the deal. She recently told The Daily Mail's Alison Boshoff: 'I did the script in English and [writing partner] Ian Stokell and I did a lot of historical research, which is how we came up with the Armistice storyline. We approached a lot of German directors and didn't get anywhere,' she told me. 'Eventually we got the script to Edward Berger, who said he wanted to do the German story in the German language.' She added: 'He made changes to the script in English, taking it back closer to the book and then Edward himself translated the whole thing into German. 'As a film it has an unusual perspective, both inside the conflict and outside it, and I think that is what helps it to be so powerful.' All Quiet On The Western Front has now secured a slew of nominations at the Oscars after sweeping the BAFTAs with an incredible seven wins including Best Film. The war film has been put up for nine nominations at the Oscars, drawing with The Banshees of Inisherin and being beaten only by Everything Everywhere All at Once, which has nine nods. Celebrities will flock to the iconic Hollywood Boulevard on Sunday evening for the 95th Academy Awards - one of the biggest nights of the year for film. The Oscars will be hosted by chat show host Jimmy Kimmel and are being held at the regular venue of the Dolby Theatre. Acclaim: The team finally secured funding from Netflix after director Edward Berger signed on and they decided to cast all-German speakers, with Austrian actor Felix nabbing the lead role All Quiet On The Western Front has already had an impressive awards season run and lead star Felix recently revealed he was thrilled when he discovered the film received 14 BAFTA nominations. With its impressive stack of nods, the film equalled a record for the non-English language film holding the most nominations in BAFTA's history. The Austrian actor reacted to the incredible news in a gushing post shared to Instagram at the time. He penned: 'Thank you BAFTA!!! This is amazing! Congratulations to the best director @eeedwardberger, the most wonderful @lisychristl29a and amazing @h.merker and of course to my partner in crime @albrecht.schuch and the whole fanatastic team of this movie. See you in London.' Amber Turner was pining for the sunny climes of Thailand on Thursday as Britain battles days of weather warnings. The TOWIE star, 29, has just jetted back from Phuket after filming a new series of the ITVBe reality show. And Amber sent temperatures sizzling as she took to Instagram to share a slew of snaps in a plunging blue bikini. The TV personality showcased her ample cleavage in the sparkly halterneck top as well as her impressive washboard abs. She teamed the look with a matching sarong and seashell necklace, with blue aviators in hand as she posed for a mirror selfie by an outdoor sink. Bikini babe: Amber Turner was pining for the sunny climes of Thailand on Thursday as Britain battles days of weather warnings Busty display: Amber sent temperatures sizzling as she took to Instagram to share a slew of snaps in a plunging blue bikini Amber looked incredible as she posed up a storm in the sexy swimwear in-between filming the new series. The star captioned the shot: 'Thailand Blues'. TOWIE will soon be back on screens with the new series after a string of stars departed the show. Show favourites Liam Blackwell (Gatsby), Pete Wicks and Chloe Sims alongside her sisters Demi and Frankie have all left. But it seems there is plenty of drama already within the cast, as a huge feud has a reportedly erupted while in Thailand. It is claimed there was a 'frosty' atmosphere between some members of the show as soon as they reached the hotel reception after their flight. A source told The Sun there was 'a lot of drama' with Chloe Brockett and Jordan Brook, with them clashing in 'a big way'. They added: 'Chloe has been involved but this time she had a reason to kick off and all will become clear as filming rumbles on.' Feeling blue: Amber looked incredible as she posed up a storm in the sexy swimwear in-between filming the new series The source continued: 'There is no love lost between Junaid and Amber either the pair are taking their dislike to the next level and let their feelings be crystal clear. 'To say the atmosphere in Thailand is frosty is a huge understatement. There are two camps in the cast opening up and a big divide is emerging. 'It is the worst in terms of atmosphere that has ever been seen. Amber and Junaid are on very rocky ground, and even girl band are not unscathed.' MailOnline has contacted TOWIE for comment. The latest season of TOWIE began filming in Thailand last week, with all major cast members making the trip. James Lock's brother George has also joined the show for the new series and was seen with his sibling in Phuket. Bill Nighy has revealed that he was offered money to sleep with older women when he was just 16 years old. The Living actor, now 73, moved to Paris as a teenager and applied to work in a fancy bar there after leaving formal education. But when they asked more of him than just waiting tables he turned down the offer of employment over fears he was too inexperienced. He told The Sun: 'I was offered a job at a club and it was explained that if I slept with women of a certain age, they'd give me 200 francs. 'I never did it because I'd never done it and would not know how.' Shock: Bill Nighy has revealed that a club job in Paris offered him money to sleep with older women there when he was just 16 years of age During the chat he also reflected on his drinking and drug use in his early career and how glad he is that he stopped using when he did. He quit in 1992 the year he got his first big break on TV when he was cast in the BBC series The Men's Room. Bill said of giving up: 'Had I continued to drink and take other drugs, I would not be having this conversation. That is the central fact of my life. I got help. 'There's not a day that goes by when I don't thank my lucky stars I do not have to drink.' It comes as Bill will be heading to the Oscars on Sunday night where he is nominated in the Best Actor category for his role in Living. He already has a couple of Baftas and a Golden Globe, plus a string of nominations for some of his previous films, but this marks the first time he's had a nod from the Academy Awards. Living, directed by Oliver Hermanus, is adapted from the 1952 Japanese film Ikiru, which in turn was inspired by the 1886 Russian novella The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy. Set in 1953 London, it follows a bureaucrat in the county Public Works department (Bill) who is facing a terminal illness and quickly sets out to discover a purpose and sense of meaning for his life before he dies. Youth: The Living actor, now 73, moved to the French capital as a teen after leaving formal education when he applied to work in a fancy bar there (pictured in 1991) The film explored the idea of intergenerational friendship - with Sex Education's Aimee Lou Wood playing Margaret, a young colleague to Bill's character Mr Williams. Mr Williams becomes intrigued by Margaret who helps him utilise his years of experience to focus his energy towards completing a final big project. Aimee previously opened up about her special friendship with co-star Bill with Glamour. She said: 'I love having friendships with older people whenever I'm in a play, for instance, it will always be the oldest person in the cast that I make best friends with. 'I have many friendships with older men that are totally a space of safety, joy and comfort for me. I see evidence every day of amazing, unlikely connections and friendships.' Speaking about the film, Living's screenwriter Kazuo Ishiguro told Variety: 'The inner story suggests that it's the responsibility of each of us to bring meaning and satisfaction to our life. Busy: It comes as Bill will be heading to The Oscars on Sunday night where he is nominated in the Best Actor category for his role in Living where he stars opposite Aimee Lou Wood 'That even against the odds, we should try to find a way to be proud of, and happy with, the lives we lead. 'I believe this story can speak to the many of us obliged to spend long hours each day anchored to desks and screens all the more so in this era of COVID struggling to see what our individual contributions can possibly amount to within the broader picture.' While director Hermanus added that the purpose of the film is to show that one of the purposes of humanity is that each individual's small contribution might seem insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but that each small effort to help others is what life is about. Living is being developed by Film4 and Ingenious Media, and in association with Kurosawa Productions and executive producer Ko Kurosawa. Deena Cortese revealed that she was age seven when she learned that she had a sister nearby on Thursday's episode of Jersey Shore: Family Vacation on MTV. 'My sister was my sister but my mom when she was young gave my sister up for adoption to a family on her street,' Deena, 36, said. 'My mom always knew (where) Joanie was, my mom watched Joanie grow up. But then, as it wasn't a closed adoption, later Joanie decided she wanted to find my mom.' Mother-of-two Deena said she didn't know she had a sister until she was seven. 'I was so excited,' Deena said. 'I always wanted a sister.' Deena shared her family story during a girls trip to Solvang, California, with Jenni 'JWoww' Farley, 37; Nicole 'Snooki' Polizzi, 35; and Angelina Pivarnick, 36. Family story: Deena Cortese revealed that she was age seven when she learned that she had a sister nearby on Thursday's episode of Jersey Shore: Family Vacation on MTV They each offered details about their personal family history. The conversation of adoption started after Angelina said she was thinking about having a child but she had a phobia about having a kid with anyone. 'Pick one out of a catalog,' Jenni said. 'It'll be a lot easier.' Jenni said it would be like a closed adoption and revealed that her mother was a closed adoption. Snooki said her adoption was not. 'Do you know who your parents are?' Jenni said. 'No, I never looked but I could find out,' Snooki said. Jenni said that her mother didn't know her biological parents, but she sees all her mother's relatives names through an ancestry DNA test. 'I see all my mom's side popping up,' Jenni said. 'It's wild and I'm like ''I don't want to f***ing meet these people''.' Angelina said that one time her mother told her 'your father might not be your father.' Sister adopted: Mother-of-two Deena said she didn't know she had a sister until she was seven Found out: 'My sister was my sister but my mom when she was young gave my sister up for adoption to a family on her street,' Deena, 36, said. 'My mom always knew (where) Joanie was, my mom watched Joanie grow up. But then, as it wasn't a closed adoption, later Joanie decided she wanted to find my mom' Opening up: Deena shared her family story during a girls trip to Solvang, California, with Jenni 'JWoww' Farley, 37; Nicole 'Snooki' Polizzi, 35; and Angelina Pivarnick, 36 Considering adoption: The conversation of adoption started after Angelina said she was thinking about having a child but she had a phobia about having a kid with anyone 'She said ''I'm just kidding'' and I said ''Mom, I'm going to do the 23 and Me '',' Angelina said referencing the DNA kit. 'I wonder why he treated me like that, and I have no clue,' Angelina said. In a confessional, Angelina said if her father turned out to actually not be her father that it would make sense. 'Why I was treated differently than my sisters growing up as a kid,' Angelina said. 'Maybe he knows that I'm not his daughter.' Angelina said she was nervous to take the DNA test. Snooki shared that her original name was Claudette. 'Isn't that the name of your she-shed?' Angelina said. 'Yes, that's why,' Snooki said. Treated differently: In a confessional, Angelina said if her father turned out to actually not be her father that it would make sense Original name: Snooki shared that her original name was Claudette before she was adopted Deena asked if she knew why they gave her up for adoption. 'My mom said they had a lot of kids and they wanted to give me a better life,' Snooki said. 'So like, I'm so grateful.' Snooki said in a confessional that she never had the urge to find her biological parents. She said her mother couldn't have babies so she adopted. She said at first her mother was going to adopt a boy, but it fell through and then they told her they had a Chilean girl. 'She came and picked me up at six months,' Snooki said. The episode titled Skoal! opened with Angelina insisting on helping the restaurant staff at the Ballard Inn clean up after the girl's messy drunken dinner. 'We got it,' the restaurant staff told her. The next day, Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino, 40, and Paul 'DJ Pauly D' DelVecchio, 42, flew to Los Angeles to surprise Vinny Guadagnino, 34, who was appearing as a contestant on Dancing With The Stars. Mike brought Vinny's mother Paola's cutlets that Mike kept eating. So grateful: 'My mom said they had a lot of kids and they wanted to give me a better life,' Snooki said. 'So like, I'm so grateful' No urge: Snooki said in a confessional that she never had the urge to find her biological parents Surprise visit: The next day, Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino, 40, and Paul 'DJ Pauly D' DelVecchio, 42, flew to Los Angeles to surprise Vinny Guadagnino, 34, who was appearing as a contestant on Dancing With The Stars 'Save some for him,' Pauly D said. In wine country, Deena and Snooki ordered mimosas to their room. The room service woman came dressed in a Danish outfit and told them that there was a festival going on in the town of Solvang. Snooki and Deena both couldn't figure out in a confessional where Danish people were from. 'I know it's not Italy, but I don't know, I'm not great with geography, ' Snooki said in a confessional. Vinny came down to the lobby and met Mike and Pauly D. 'You are making a scene already,' Vinny said. Angelina revealed to the girls her skin problems. 'For a while now my skin has been affecting my life on a daily basis,' Angelina said in a confessional. 'I have a lot of scars, so I can't walk out out of the house with no makeup on.' Danish festival: The room service woman came dressed in a Danish outfit and told them that there was a festival going on in the town of Solvang Skin issues: Angelina revealed to the girls her skin problems Angelina said she also had eczema and psoriasis and cystic acne. Jenni also didn't know where Danish people were from so they googled and were surprised to learn it was Denmark. Vinny opened up the package of his mother's cutlets and saw there were only four cutlets left. 'Did she give you four?' Vinny said. 'About that,' Mike said. In a confessional, Mike jokingly blamed TSA for the missing cutlets despite the fact that he ate them. Mike asked Vinny to give him a sneak peak of one of his new dance moves. Vinny said he learned how to lunge. 'This is a big chooch move,' Pauly D said in a confessional. Cutlets missing: Vinny opened up the package of his mother's cutlets and saw there were only four cutlets left 'I do need to hit the gym,' Vinny said. The women then got dressed into Danish outfits. 'If I go out of this hotel and we are the only a**holes dressed like this I am going to be upset,' Angelina said. They arrived at the Solvang festival and saw that no one else was dressed up. 'Everyone is not dressed in Danish outfits, f*** my life,' Angelina said. Two women started yelling 'skoal' at them but they had no idea what they were saying. 'I have no idea what skoal means but listen give me shot,' Snooki said in a confessional. Pauly D asked Vinny if he had been dating anyone. Dressed up: The women then got dressed into Danish outfits 'No, I don't have time,' Vinny said. Vinny said he was about to turn 35. 'Dang you've been on the market so long you about to go on the clearance aisle,' Mike said. The girls went in their Danish outfits to a shoe store to get wooden clogs. The guys went out to dinner and Vinny thanked them for coming. 'I'm super proud,' Mike said. The women made their way to Biergarten and started drinking and ran into the women that had given them shots earlier. One of the women told her that she had been married for 51 years and Angelina asked her if they still had sex. Working out: Vinny, The Sitch and Pauly worked out together 'He's awesome in bed,' the woman said. The other woman said her husband was 87 so 'that's gone. It's hanging down.' Mike tried not to reveal the gender of the new baby but then slipped up and said it was a very different pregnancy. 'So it's a girl!' Vinny said. Mike's face turned red. 'You guys are going to get me in trouble again. I've got to do the gender reveal,' Mike said. 'I can't wait to start buying some pink s***,' Pauly D said. 'Lauren is going to kill you,' Vinny said. Gender revealed: 'You guys are going to get me in trouble again. I've got to do the gender reveal,' Mike said The girls danced in their clogs and then hopped in a motorcycle for a sidecar tour of the town. 'Today has been an amazing day,' Angelina said in a confessional. 'These girls are my sisters. We love each other and that's all that matters.' Vinny, Mike and Pauly went back to their hotel room. 'Are you sure you don't want to go to a strip club,' Mike said. 'Lauren got him locked down,' Vinny said. The women kept drinking at a tiki bar. They had three hours before their flight at 7 am and ended up going to the airport in their Danish outfits. Jersey Shore: Family Vacation will return next Thursday on MTV. Strip club: 'Are you sure you don't want to go to a strip club,' Mike said the guys Seth Rogen opened up about his choice not to become a father and his 'very happy' life with wife Lauren Miller, who he wed in 2011 after seven years of dating. After he was asked if he would be might be 'happier' if he had children, the 40-year-old Superbad actor said he didn't 'think it would' and credits the decision for helping him 'succeed' in Hollywood over the past two decades. While speaking about discussions between him and his spouse as they get older, the comedian said: 'Now, more than anything, the conversation is honestly, thank God we don't have children.' 'We get to do whatever we want, we are in the prime of our lives, we are smarter than we've ever been, we understand ourselves more than we ever have, we have the capacity to achieve a level of work and a level of communication and care for one another, and a lifestyle we can live with one another that we've never been able to live before,' he said on Steven Bartlett's The Diary of a CEO podcast. The filmmaker continued: 'And we can just do that and we don't have to raise a child, which the world does not need right now.' Childfree lifestyle: Seth Rogen opened up about his choice not to become a father and his 'very happy' life with wife Lauren Miller, who he wed in 2011 after seven years of dating Happy marriage: After he was asked if he would be might be 'happier' if he had children, the 40-year-old Superbad actor said he didn't 'think it would' and credits the decision for helping him 'succeed' in Hollywood over the past two decades; seen in 2016 Overall, Rogen noted: 'Me and my wife seem to get a lot more active enjoyment out of not having kids than anyone I know seems to get out of having kids.' 'I've been around, obviously, a lot of children, I'm not ignorant to what it's like to I've seen everyone I know [have] kids, I'm 40. Some of my friends have had kids for decades, you know?' Rogen pointed out. 'Some people want kids. Some people don't want kids.' The star also stated that 'a lot of people have kids before they even think about it.' His interview comes two years after he said that his wife 'wants kids less than' him on SiriusXM's The Howard Stern Show. The Knocked Up star insisted that parenthood would prevent them from being 'able to do all this work that' he likes. 'We're f*****g psyched all the time. We're lying in bed on Saturday mornings smoking weed, like watching movies naked - if we had kids we could not be f*****g be doing this,' he mused. 'There is no one whose child is giving them as much joy as we are right now getting because we do not have a kid,' the actor added. Howard, who has three daughters, says as a parent you can't be narcissistic and 'give yourself over to parenting,' and the kids have to be the 'priority.' Not interested in parenthood: While speaking about discussions between him and his spouse as they get older, the comedian said: 'Now, more than anything, the conversation is honestly, thank God we don't have children' Satisfied: Overall, Rogen noted: 'Me and my wife seem to get a lot more active enjoyment out of not having kids than anyone I know seems to get out of having kids' 'Yeah, I don't want that. That does not sound fun to me and why, there's enough kids out there. Do we need more people? Who looks at the planet and thinks, do you know what we need, more f****n people. Like that is truly a confounding thing to me.' Seth and Lauren began dating in 2004 after meeting on the show Da Ali G Show; he appeared on six episodes of the show. The couple got engaged on September 29, 2010 and tied the knot on October 2, 2011 in Sonoma County, California. Mario raced down the Rainbow Road and teamed up with Donkey Kong in the final trailer for The Super Mario Bros. Movie released on Thursday by Universal Pictures. The 95-second trailer opened ominously with a panoramic view of Bowser Castle with hot lava flowing from the volcanic home of the Koopa villain's stronghold. Luigi [Charlie Day] was next shown imprisoned in a hanging cage inside Bowser Castle. 'Where am I?,' Luigi asked in a fearful voice. 'Oooh, fresh meat for the grinder,' said a blue caged Lumas. Final trailer: Mario raced down the Rainbow Road to save his brother Luigi in the final trailer for The Super Mario Bros. Movie released on Thursday by Universal Pictures Another prisoner advised Luigi to ignore him. 'There's gotta be a way outta here,' Luigi said while looking around frantically. 'There's no escape, the only hope is the sweet relief of death,' the Lumas said. 'Whoa,' the other prisoners exclaimed at his morbid outlook. Bowser [Jack Black] then amassed his army. 'We will destroy the Mushroom Kingdom!,' Bowser vowed. Princess Peach [Anya Taylor-Joy] warned everyone that Bowser was coming as Mario declared that he wasn't afraid. Mario and Donkey Kong [Seth Rogen] were then shown teaming up as they smashed obstacles together. Dynamic duo: Donkey Kong and Mario teamed up together during the trailer Ominous opening: The 95-second trailer opened ominously with a panoramic view of Bowser Castle with hot lava flowing from the volcanic home of the Koopa villain's stronghold Encaged prisoner: 'There's gotta be a way outta here,' Luigi said while looking around frantically No escape: 'There's no escape, the only hope is the sweet relief of death,' the Lumas said Princess Peach jumped on a motorcycle while Mario climbed into a cart before they sped onto the Rainbow Road. Mario got creative on the colorful roadway while fighting off villains at high speed. The voice cast also includes Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong, Sebastian Maniscalco as Foreman Spike and Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek. The Super Mario Bros. Movie was produced by Universal Pictures through its Illumination animation division and will be in theaters on April 5. Leading voice: Chris Pratt, shown last month in Los Angeles with wife Katherine Schwarzenegger, provides the voice of plumber Mario Invasion plan: 'We will destroy the Mushroom Kingdom!,' Bowser vowed Cart driving: Mario got creative on the colorful roadway while fighting off villains at high speed Olivia Munn took to social media to share a new milestone from her son Malcolm. The 42-year-old actress was a proud mom as she posted a video to Instagram of her one-year-old saying 'no' for the first time. Olivia who shares the tot with boyfriend John Mulaney wrote in the caption, 'This is the first time Malcolm ever said no and even he couldnt take himself seriously.' The snippet showed the youngster sitting in a high chair and dressed in a striped beige shirt as he grabbed for her phone and murmured 'no' repeatedly until he made himself laugh. 'He wanted the phone but we made a new rule: no more phones or tablets unless its a code red emergency like a long travel day,' Munn explained. New share: Olivia Munn was a proud mom as she posted a video to Instagram of her one-year-old saying 'no' for the first time And over the seconds-long outtake she also wrote, 'When he pushes it too far with the last 'no.' The adorable little one had bits of food around his mouth as he reached longingly for the mobile device. After giving one last stern 'no' he burst into a fit of laughter and also made his parents chuckle off-camera. And taking to the platform's Stories feature, Olivia also shared photos of herself while at an interactive event. She posed with two women and wrote, 'Got to meet these two amazing Asian women who are making dolls with Asian features... something that is actually crazy hard to find on the market right now. Can't wait to get one for Malcolm when they're ready!' Olivia also made sure to tag the women's official Instagram account @hellojillybing. For the occasion, the former television host donned a modest, long-sleeved, beige sweater and eyeglasses. The star whose full name is Lisa Olivia Munn posed with a molded clay trinket in one snapshot. Precious: Olivia who shares the tot with boyfriend John Mulaney wrote in the caption, 'This is the first time Malcolm ever said no and even he couldnt take himself seriously Activity: Taking to the platform's Stories feature, Olivia also shared photos of herself while at an interactive event She wrote over the image as she held the craft, 'They made me this! It's me driving a bowl of ramen.' Showing her amusement at the cute fixture she dropped her mouth in amazement as she snapped the selfie. Earlier this week Munn shared a heartwarming picture of her baby boy trying to drink from a glass bottle while sitting on a beach. The Oklahoma native threw her head back in laughter as John held the bottle near Malcolm's mouth. The Daily Show alum showed off her impressive figure in a brown triangle bikini top with her one-year-old son on her lap, wearing a red and white striped onesie. Olivia - who regularly entertains 2.8M Instagram followers on Instagram - captioned the post, 'Sandy.' In December, Munn shared pictures taken during a tropical family vacation where she and John celebrated Malcolm's first birthday. Asian pride: She posed with two women and wrote, 'Got to meet these two amazing Asian women who are making dolls with Asian features... something that is actually crazy hard to find on the market right now' Mulaney was still married to Anna Marie Tendler when he first met the Tales of the Walking Dead star while attending Seth Meyers' 2013 wedding. After reconnecting, John officially began dating Olivia in February 2021. The former Saturday Night Live writer revealed that Munn was pregnant in September 2021 while appearing as a guest on Seth's talk show. He finalized his divorce from Tendler four months later, in January 2022. Beach day: Earlier this week Munn shared a heartwarming picture of her baby boy trying to drink from a glass bottle while sitting on a beach Tigerlily Taylor looked a vision as she stepped out in a eye-popping blue sequined dress for the launch party of Kendall Jenners tequila brand 818 on Thursday night. The British model, 28, who is the daughter of Queen drummer Roger Taylor, 73, and Debbie Leng, 58, rocked the low-cut number, which boasted of a delicate lace trim in bright pink. Making sure to keep the cold weather at bay, Tigerlily kept warm in a long black leather jacket. No stranger to embracing bright colours on glitzy nights out, she opted for luminescent lime green square-toed heeled boots to complete her outfit. Tigerlily gave her 73k followers a sneak glimpse at her beauty preparations for the showbiz event on her Instagram Story. Eye-popping: Tigerlily Taylor opted for a dazzling short blue sequined dress for Kendall Jenners UK launch of her tequila brand 818 Model behaviour: The 28-year-old star arrived at Isabel Mayfair, an upmarket central London restaurant, with a friend Taking to the social media platform, she shared a photo of the nail extensions she was customising to compliment her outfit. Earlier this week, Tigerlily made sure she was the centre of attention while she attended the Shazam! Fury of the Gods UK special screening at Cineworld Leicester Square in London. Stepping out in a Stella McCartney crocheted floral dress, the model stood out for all the right reasons on the red carpet. Tigerlilys colourful ensemble was emblazoned with embroidered flowers and featured many cut-outs, revealing a cheeky glimpse at her black underwear. Kendalls star-studded tequila party took place at Isabel Mayfair, an upmarket central London restaurant. Fashion model Amber Le Bon, 33, was also pictured arriving at the trendy venue and kept a low profile with her head down as she walked towards the entrance. Amber, accompanied by a friend, wore a black dress and wrapped up in a black suede coat and black tights. She finished her ensemble with a pair of black croc embossed boots. Stylish: Tigerlily's sequined number featured a delicate lace trim in bright pink Glam squad: Tigerlily shared a snap of her beauty preparations ahead of the star-studded event Sneaking in: Fashion model Amber Le Bon, 33, was also pictured arriving at the trendy venue Shots! Kendall Jenner's tequila brand 818 has officially launched in the UK Kendalls multi award-winning 818 tequila brand, which is named after her area code in Calabasas, California, is now available for purchase in the UK. The luxury product, which is sustainably produced, is said to be one of the smoothest tequilas on the market and has a unique versatility that is enjoyed neat, sipped on the rocks, or in a cocktail. Expressing her excitement over the UK launch, Kendall enthused: I can't wait for people across the UK to experience the magic of 818 Tequila. We're arriving in London just in time for the start of spring, and I know everyone will love our delicious tequila when they try it. Lily James and Pamela Anderson were both in attendance for the Versace Fall/Winter show on Thursday, after the Baywatch star berated the actress' portrayal of her in the controversial Hulu series Pam & Tommy The Baywatch bombshell, 55, wore an eye-catching shimmery black fringe jacket and matching mini skirt that showed off her toned legs. Meanwhile the British actress, 33, donned a plunging black gown that showcased her ample cleavage and featured a saucy front slit. It comes after Anderson slammed James' portrayal of her in Pam & Tommy, and refused to watch the show, saying that seeing Lily and Sebastian Stan dressed as her and ex Tommy Lee, 60, felt like a 'Halloween costume.' The series dramatizes the creation and subsequent theft of her infamous sex tape with her rocker ex-husband created during their honeymoon. Ravishing: Lily James, 33, and Pamela Anderson looked ravishing as they both attended the Versace Fall/Winter show held at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood on Thursday Gorgeous: Lily stunned in a plunging black gown with an off-the-shoulder neckline as she posed on the front row at the fashion event 'Halloween costume': It comes after Anderson slammed James' portrayal of her in the Pam & Tommy Hulu series last year (L) Anderson in Baywatch, (R) Lily in Pam & Tommy The Barb Wire star added extra height to her look with a pair of pointed-toe black heels. The 90's superstar wore her blonde locks pinned into a chic updo, and sported a pair of black sunglasses for the occasion. Meanwhile James wore a pair of open-toe heels, showing off her black pedicure. The beauty had her brunette tresses parted in the middle and styled straight for the event. As for glam, she opted for smokey eye makeup and a mauve shade of lipstick. Inside of the event James mingled with actress Ariana DeBose, 32, who wowed in a black fishnet dress. The beauty later took her seat next to Everything Everywhere All at Once star Ke Huy Quan, 51, who looked dapper in a navy suit. Anderson delved into her distaste for the Pam & Tommy miniseries - which also starred Sebastian Stan as Tommy Lee - a number of times, including in a January interview with Howard Stern. James and Stan star in Pam & Tommy as the eponymous couple at the height of their romance, when Pamela was a Baywatch star and Tommy was the drummer for Motley Crue. Pamela admitted that she felt 'run over' after she allegedly learned of the show - which chronicles her three-year marriage and heavily focuses on the sex tape - via an ad. Bombshell! The Baywatch bombshell, 55, wore an eye-catching shimmery black fringe jacket and matching mini skirt that showed off her toned legs Unique look: The Barb Wire star added extra height to her look with a pair of pointed-toe black heels Fashionista: The 90's superstar wore her blonde locks pinned into a chic updo, and sported a pair of black sunglasses for the occasion Happy: The blonde beauty flashed her megawatt Hollywood smile In good spirits: Pamela previously admitted that she felt 'run over' after she allegedly learned of the Pam & Tommy series via an ad Sultry: James teamed her busty form-fitting gown with a pair of open-toe heels, showing off her black pedicure Glam gal: As for glam, she opted for smokey eye makeup and a mauve shade of lipstick Sensational! Lily cut a glamorous figure in the form-fitting black sating dress as she posed solo ahead of the fashion event Gorgeous: She looked stunning as she took her place on the front row in her glamorous gown The star claimed to Stern that she had never been contacted about the series. Even worse, she told Stern that based on what friends told her she didn't belief the performances from James or Stan were particularly accurate. She said: 'I remember seeing this advert for Pam & Tommy and was like, what? No one called me, I'm still alive, no one asked me, it's nothing to do with me.' 'I felt kinda run over by that one. I don't think they portrayed Tommy or I very accurately. I haven't seen it but I've heard from people that it's a very shallow representation of us. I wish they would've called.' And though she happily shared her distaste for the show, Pamela stressed that she has no issue with Lily for playing her, during an interview with Variety. 'I think it's hard to play somebody when you dont know the whole picture. Ive got nothing against Lily James. I think that she's a beautiful girl and she was just doing the job,' Pamela said. 'But the idea of the whole thing happening was just really crushing for me,' she added. Pamela also called the creators of the show as 'a**holes.' Meanwhile Lily shared that she tried to reach out to Anderson and wanted her to be involved in the process. 'I was really hopeful that she would be involved. I wish it had been different,' she said in an interview with Net-a-Porter last year. 'I was very hopeful that we would be in touch right up until we started filming... My sole intention was to take care of the story and to play Pamela authentically.' After the final episode of the show aired in March 2022, the series received critical acclaim, along with garnering a total of ten Primetime Emmy nominations and four Golden Globe nominations. Enjoying the show: Anderson was pictured inside as she took her front row seat ahead of the show No issues with Lily: Though she happily shared her distaste for the show, Pamela stressed that she has no issue with Lily for playing her, during an interview with Variety Just doing a job: 'I think it's hard to play somebody when you dont know the whole picture. Ive got nothing against Lily James. I think that she's a beautiful girl and she was just doing the job' Wanted her to be involved: Meanwhile Lily shared that she tried to reach out to Anderson and wanted her to be involved in the process: 'I was really hopeful that she would be involved' Mingling: James mingled with Ariana DeBose, 32, who wowed in a black fishnet dress Front row seats: James took her seat next to Everything Everywhere All at Once star Ke Huy Quan, 51, who looked dapper in a navy suit Laughing it up: The duo laughed it up together Advertisement Miley Cyrus was a total blonde bombshell as she joined the likes of Dua Lipa, Paris Hilton, and Anne Hathaway at Versace's fall winter 2023 fashion show in West Hollywood on Thursday. The Flowers songstress, 30, was rocking a head full of blonde and brunette curls as she posed up a storm at the Pacific Design Center in a very edgy yet glamorous ombre gown with a thigh-high slit. Dua, 27, meanwhile, wowed in an old Hollywood look complete with a classic black dress which cinched into her waist and jet black hair styled into romantic waves with a dramatic side part. Paris, 42, was literally dazzling in a sparkling silver mini dress accessorized with blinged out gloves and transparent high heels. As for Anne, The Devil Wears Prada actress, 40, displayed her edgy side in a sexy leather mini dress, tights, and leather boots. Style icons! Miley Cyrus was a blonde bombshell as she joined the likes of Dua Lipa, Paris Hilton, and Anne Hathaway at Versace's fall winter fashion show in West Hollywood on Thursday Miley was a sight to behold with her eyes accented with a pro coat of shadow, a touch of blush on her cheeks, and a pink pout. The Wrecking Ball songstress looked like a showstopper in a pink and black dress featuring a dramatic leg slit and decked out in delicate silver chains She ramped up the glamour with a chunky silver bracelet and strappy heels. Her hair, in hues of blonde and brunette, was styled into messy curls and cascaded down the front of her chest. Dua looked breathtaking as usual as she soaked up the spotlight in her glam look. She rocked a classic French tip manicure, strappy black heels that wove around her ankle, and a matte lip. Anne ditched her Princess Diaries past for a very edgy look which consisted of a crocodile print mini skirt, silver chain necklace that clung close to her clavicle, and a dainty purse. Paris brought back the early 2000s style in her seriously sparkly look. On top of her metallic mini dress, she worked glittering heels and fingerless gloves decked out in tiny gems. Leggy lady! The Flowers songstress showcased some major leg in a pink and black ombre gown as she posed at the Pacific Design Center with her black and blonde curls cascading upon her shoulders Showstopper! Miley was a sight to behold with her eyes accented with a pro coat of shadow, a touch of blush on her cheeks, and a pink pout Having fun? Miley cut a playful figure as she posed on the front row with fellow guests Elton John and Lil' Nas X Va va voom! Dua, meanwhile, wowed in an old Hollywood look complete with a classic black dress which cinched into her waist and romantic waves Meeting the stars! After arriving for the show, Dua posed for a beaming snap with fellow guest Elton Cheeky! She planted a playful kiss on Elton's cheek as they attended the fashion show No missing her! The Princess Diaries actress worked a glossy leather mini skirt and platform boots Her hair was also styled flat and straight as it cascaded down her chest from a center part. She rocked a very smoky eye, blush, and a tint of color on her lips. It was truly a who's who of showbiz attending the fashion extravaganza, with everyone from Cher to Lil Nas X in attendance. Paris' sister Nicky Hilton was among the big names in attendance. She shared the spotlight with her famous sibling as she posed in a sexy black dress with corset inspired top and textured hot pink purse in hand. The heiress also had her hair styled sleek and straight as she stood tall in glossy pink heels. All that glitters! The heiress looked breathtaking in her silver look Lights, camera, action! The socialite looked every inch the model posing before the camera Sister act! Paris' sister Nicky Hilton was among the big names in attendance The Hiltons are here! Nicky enjoyed a photo op with her glamorous mother Kathy Hilton Elsewhere on the red carpet, Pamela Anderson stole the show in a very elaborate fringe jacket and coordinating skirt. Her legs on display, the Baywatch vet beamed with happiness as she worked a chic yet messy hair bun, black turtleneck, and shades. In terms of her footwear, she sported black slingbacks laced at the center. There were also plenty of cute couples enjoying a star-studded night on the town. Cher couldn't have looked any happier spending some quality time with her boyfriend Alexander Edwards. The music icon, 76, cosied up to her music executive boyfriend, 37, whilst clad in a bedazzled blue leather jacket, matching tights and platform ankle boots. No missing her! Elsewhere on the red carpet, Pamela Anderson stole the show in a very elaborate fringe jacket and coordinating skirt So in love! Music icon Cher wowed in all blue as she posed with her boyfriend Alexander Edwards What age gap? The 76-year-old singer put on a PDA show with her 37-year-old lover Man of style! Lil Nas X rocked the red carpet in a bedazzled top, beaded skirt, and knee-high boots Even the tips of her jet black hair contained a blue hue. Gabrielle Union ruled the red carpet in a chic black dress with dangerously low neckline and hood thrown over her head. She held hands with her dashing husband, former pro basketball player Dwyane Wade. He was looking smart in a salmon pink suit decked out with gold buttons. Former Girls star Allison Williams beamed with happiness in a quirky fuchsia Versace gown and scarf wrapped around her neck. She was joined by her fiance, Alexander Dreymom. The couple welcomed their first child together last year. Jeff Bezos looked dashing in a glimmering black blazer as he posed beside his glamorous girlfriend Lauren Sanchez. Suited and booted! Matt Bomer, Channing Tatum, and Ke Huy Quan were looking smart in their suits Red carpet moms! Demi Moore enjoyed the spotlight with her daughter Rumer Willis, who is pregnant with her first child Safety first! Lily James worked her magic in a sexy off-the-shoulder black dress clipped into her waist with a safety pin Having fun? The Downton Abbey star beamed as she posed up a storm on the front row at the show Sensational! Lily showed off her ample bust in the plunging satin dress as she arrived for the fashion show Power couple! Gabrielle Union rocked a chic plunging dress complete with a hood while her husband Dwyane Wade sported a salmon pink suit Loved up! Allison Williams worked a Versace gown as she posed beside her fiance Alexander Dreymom Miley also brought her new boyfriend Maxx Morando. Other big names on the red carpet included Demi Moore and her daughter Rumer Willis. Rumer, who is pregnant with her first child, cloaked her bump in a fitted black mini dress worn beneath a jacket. Lily James worked her magic in a super sexy black dress which fit her like a glove. It was clipped to her waist with the help of a safety pin. Lil Nas X wowed in a bedazzled, ab-baring top, beaded skirt, and knee high boots. Some of the biggest names in modeling also dominated the catwalk, with Gigi Hadid, Kendall Jenner, and Naomi Campbell showcasing Versace's upcoming wears. Date night! Jeff Bezos and his glamorous girlfriend Lauren Sanchez enjoyed an evening with the stars Sweet! The pair cosied up together as they arrived for the show Singing sensations! The music icons rubbed elbows at the star-studded event Love is in the air! Cyrus was also joined by her new boyfriend Maxx Morando Turning heads! Ariana DeBose, Christine Chiu, and Delilah Belle Hamlin captivated on the red carpet Stunning: Sabrina Dhowre Elba commanded attention in a plunging velvet dress with hood thrown over her head Exuding cool! Simone Ashley and Naomi Ackie ensured all eyes were on them in their bold looks Tastemakers! Queer Eye stars Tan France and Antoni Porowski made a very fashionable arrival Rubbing elbows! James mingled with the likes of Quan and DeBose Star power! Anne and Lil Nas X also shared the spotlight together Catwalk queens! Kendall Jenner, Gigi Hadid and Emily Ratajkowski took the runway by storm Runway icon: Legendary supermodel Naomi Campbell looked flawless at 52 Va va voom! Stella Maxwell and Imaan Hammam also hit the catwalk Looking on the bright side: The collected featured plenty of bold colors alongside all-black looks Australian Survivor star Jordie Hansen has delighted fans by posting an intimate father-and-son photo on Instagram. The picture showed the 26-year-old cradling Theodore Paul Frost Hansen, known as Ted, in his arms following the child's birth on Wednesday. He said he was looking after Ted to give his actress fiancee Sam Frost a much-needed break so she could recuperate after her delivery. 'Ted, this is you and me having a cuddle, giving mumma a break,' he captioned the post on Friday. Jordie added that he and Ted were lucky to have the former Home and Away star in their lives. Australian Survivor star Jordie Hansen has delighted fans by posting this intimate father-and-son photo on Instagram 'You and I will never be able to fully understand how hard it is to do what she's done, but she was amazing; and at times she was my strength too,' he said. 'You would be so proud of her. And I'm proud of you both. Get ready for some adventures, my boy.' Sam had announced Ted's arrival on Wednesday, posting a black and white photo of the newborn on Instagram. Sam had announced baby Ted's arrival on Wednesday, posting a black and white photo of the newborn on Instagram Their celebrity friends and followers soon congratulated them on their new addition. The former Bachelorette had been documenting her pregnancy on social media since announcing she was expecting in September. Jordie and Sam became engaged last July after just five months of dating. Home and Away star Sarah Roberts has undergone major surgery to remove endometriosis from her uterus, bowel and both of her ovaries. On Friday, the actress, 38, shared a photo of herself in hospital and revealed her post-surgery wounds. Sarah, who is married to co-star James Stewart, said she was relieved she was finally diagnosed with 'stage two endometriosis' after suffering years of pain. Endometriosis is a painful condition where the tissue that is similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside this layer. According to IVF Australia, endometriosis can affect a women's chances of falling pregnant. Home and Away star Sarah Roberts has undergone major surgery to remove endometriosis from her uterus, bowel and both of her ovaries Other debilitating symptoms include extreme fatigue and painful bowel movements. The soap star admitted her condition took a toll on her marriage of three years. 'If you woke up today with another opportunity to add another page to the story of your life, then you owe it to yourself to create the most beautiful story you can imagine,' she wrote in her lengthy post on Instagram. 'You owe it to yourself to find answers even if it takes 5 years and 4 months of unanswered questions from medical professionals, a lack of fertility, the testing of relationships, grief and an attempt at a sparkling smile to hide the cocktail of confusing emotions throughout it all.' She went on to thank her mother for her support throughout her battle with the condition and said she was relived when she finally got a diagnosis. The soap star admitted her condition took a toll on her marriage of three years to co-star James Stewart Sarah said she was relieved she was finally diagnosed with 'stage two endometriosis' after suffering years of pain 'Let your fingers flicker across the keyboard with the moment you woke up in hospital after your laparoscopy and laughed SO HARD when the obstetrician finally told you that you had Stage 2 Endometriosis on your uterus, bowels and both ovaries that your scars nearly burst open with relief on the unwritten pages of your future,' she wrote. 'You weren't ''crazy''. She then encouraged fellow endometriosis sufferers to share their stories in a bid to help others and raise awareness. 'Let's talk about it, write about it, read about it, because there is power in the sharing of our experiences to help others and I am so grateful for the women who shared their experiences with me and pushed me to search for answers while I was flailing around in the dark,' she said. Sarah and James became engaged in November 2018 and tied the knot at Luttrellstown Castle, on the outskirts of Dublin, in July 2019. In 2020, Sarah told Stellar magazine she had suffered two miscarriages since getting married 'We can be messy and afraid but hopeful and brave in a community of warriors, support, consideration and acknowledgement around us. Looking to the light.' Sarah and James became engaged in November 2018 and tied the knot at Luttrellstown Castle, on the outskirts of Dublin, in July 2019. Stewart, who plays Justin Morgan on Home and Away, shares daughter Scout, 10, with his ex-fiancee Jessica Marais. In 2020, Sarah told Stellar magazine she had suffered two miscarriages since getting married. Speaking to Now To Love in October, Sarah shot down persistent rumours she and James had split. 'We're happy,' she told the publication. Sarah told the publication James, 46, was romantic as ever, even picking her up from the airport with a bouquet of flowers following her recent trip to Italy. It comes after Bindi Irwin spoke for the first time on Wednesday about her decade-long struggle with endometriosis. Stewart, who plays Justin Morgan on Home and Away, shares daughter Scout, 10, with his ex-fiancee Jessica Marais It comes after Bindi Irwin spoke for the first time on Wednesday about her decade-long struggle with endometriosis She revealed she had undergone major surgery for endometriosis in the United States. The Crikey! It's the Irwins star said she had spent ten years 'torn apart [by] the pain' and knew she had to have surgery because she 'couldn't live like I was'. She explained how the surgeon from the Seckin Endometriosis Center in New York City had removed a total of thirty-seven lesions and a 'chocolate cyst' - a term for a cyst filled with menstrual blood. She also wanted to draw attention to the fact doctors often do not take the condition seriously enough, noting how one physician had once told her the pain was just a normal part of being a woman. 'Things may look fine on the outside looking in through the window of someone's life; however, that is not always the case,' Bindi said. Bindi also warned against asking women about their family plans, because you never know if they are struggling with a condition like endometriosis, which can affect fertility. Ariana DeBose put on a very sultry display as she wore a revealing netted black dress to Versace's fall/winter fashion show in West Hollywood on Thursday. The 32-year-old West Side Story bombshell who recently performed at the BAFTAs left little to the imagination as she flashed her undergarments under the see-through frock. The Raleigh, North Carolina native was the picture of glamour as she flaunted her fit figure in the bold look. The long-sleeved dress stretched down to her ankles and she punctuated the look with open-toe black heels. The star-studded event was attended by a host of A-listers such as Miley Cyrus, Cher, and Dua Lipa. Hot stuff: Ariana DeBose put on a very sultry display as she wore a revealing netted black dress to Versace's fall winter fashion show in West Hollywood on Thursday Ariana coordinated her look with a black bra and cheeky black underwear that flashed her pert derriere. The Academy Award-winning actress pulled her dark hair into a ponytail that she gave an added edge with three cornrow braids arranged on each side of her head. She commanded the red carpet with unflinching confidence as she gave cameras her best come-hither stare. DeBose was styled by stylist duo Zadrian Smith and Sarah Edmiston with makeup by Andrea Tiller. She turned heads with a soft cosmetics look that included a dark, smokey eyeshadow palette. Additionally, her cheeks were lightly contoured a dusted with a helping of shimmery highlighter. Carefully shaped eyebrows framed her visage and she completed the look with a glossy pink lip. The stunner's head turning Versace getup was elevated with glinting diamond drop earrings and a cuff on her left ear. Sexy: The 32-year-old West Side Story bombshell left little to the imagination as she flashed her undergarments under the see-through frock Angles: The Raleigh, North Carolina native was the picture of glamour as she flaunted her fit figure in the bold look Ariana flaunted an understated nude manicure on her almond-shaped nails and drew attention to it with two simple rings worn on either hand. She caught up with fellow entertainer and fashionista Lily James on the red carpet. The two posed together for photos and shared a sweet moment as the Pam & Tommy star affectionately grabbed her hand at one point. Lily, 33, was outfitted in a black off-the-shoulder dress from the in-demand and iconic fashion house. It featured a low-cut neckline that exposed the superstar's ample cleavage for the special occasion. The bodice of the dress gathered diagonally and was accented by two black supersized safety pin accoutrements, a Versace signature. Ariana recently made headlines for her unforgettable opening number at the BAFTAs. Ariana's performance was intended to be an empowering rap about the female nominees, but its lyrics sparked a barrage of negative comments across social media. The Oscar winner later explained that she was told her performance would 'celebrate women,' and she 'had a blast' despite viewers' negative reaction. Va va voom: The long-sleeved dress stretched down to her ankles and she punctuated the look with open-toe black heels Glam squad: DeBose was styled by stylist duo Zadrian Smith and Sarah Edmiston with makeup by Andrea Tiller Photo-op: Ariana caught up with fellow entertainer and fashionista Lily James on the red carpet Bonding: The two posed together for photos and shared a sweet moment as the Pam & Tommy star affectionately grabbed her hand at one point Speaking on the Zoe Ball radio show she reflected, 'It's not like I was like ''Hey BAFTA let me in." They actually called me, believe it or not. 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 Luhrmann 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!' Jenna Ortega said she got so nervous meeting Paul Mescal that she couldn't look him in the eye when he introduced himself to her at the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Thursday's episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on NBC. The 20-year-old star of the Netflix hit show Wednesday shared that she had a nice conversation with Zendaya, 26, who was sitting at her table at the awards show in February in Los Angeles. 'But I was kind of freaking out because she was sitting next to Paul Mescal, who I think is so talented and so good,' said Jenna, 20, who wore a chic black Thom Browne New York jacket, with a white Oxford and a matching black mini shirt. 'And I was so nervous to meet him and I knew he was going to be at my table. He introduced himself to me when I wasn't expecting it.' Jenna said she ended up looking away. 'He was like 'oh hi nice to meet you I'm Paul' and I was so nervous I kind of couldn't look him in the eye,' Jenna said. Got nervous: Jenna Ortega said she got so nervous meeting Paul Mescal that she couldn't look him in the eye when he introduced himself to her at the Screen Actors Guild awards on Thursday night's The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on NBC Jimmy said the best thing at that award show was her standing next to Aubrey Plaza and showed the audience a picture of them. 'It was so funny and it destroyed,' Jimmy said. 'It was a great bit and then the internet went on fire and it was like 'we want to see you guys in a movie.' 'I would do anything with her,' Jenna said. 'She's another one of those people where everyone kept saying 'oh you remind me of Aubrey or you two should get together.' And we just never did until we were backstage then and she just looked at me and said 'hey you get over here.' Jenna also revealed that Ghostface is 'much more brutal' in the slasher sequel Scream VI while promoting the film on the NBC talk show. She reprises her role of Tara Carpenter from the 2022 film Scream and noted the New York City setting for Scream VI was the first time in the franchise that the action took place outside of fictional Woodsboro, California. 'I think it makes for a lot more intimidating story,' said Jenna who wore a black Thom Browne New York jacket, with a white Oxford shirt and a matching black mini-skirt as she pointed out that Ghostface could attack on a subway or skyscraper. 'I think everything about this movie is just bigger and scarier and also Ghostface is just so much more brutal,' Jenna said. 'I feel like he's very unforgiving and everyone's a victim, not just the lead cast, which makes it better.' Jimmy, 48, asked her if she knew who Ghostface was from reading the script. Irish actor: Paul Mescal is shown in February at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles Nice conversation: The 20-year-old star of the Netflix hit show Wednesday shared that she had a nice conversation with Zendaya, 26, who was sitting at her table at the award show Slasher sequel: Jenna also revealed that Ghostface is 'much more brutal' in the slasher sequel Scream VI while promoting the film on the NBC talk show 'Sometimes they give us different scripts, different endings,' Jenna said. 'This time around they didn't give us the third act at all.' 'So you've got to see the movie to find out,' Jimmy joked. 'You just don't know. Everyone usually finds out by the last two weeks,' Jenna said. 'But they try to play games.' Jimmy also congratulated Jenna on her hit Netflix show Wednesday getting picked up for a second season and asked her if she had any idea where the show would go. 'We just started getting a writers room together kind of talking about it and everyone is being really cool,' Jenna said. 'I think we want to up the horror aspect a little bit and then get Wednesday out of the romantic situation. And just let her be her own individual and fight her own crime.' Jenna will host the upcoming episode of Saturday Night Live and shared how SNL rehearsals were going. 'It's going really well,' Jenna said. 'Everyone is really cool. It's very comfortableI forget that they have been doing it for so long so things happen so quickly. We were deciding the sketches the other day and I remember I was sitting in the chair across from Lorne Michaels. Everyone started getting up and leaving and I looked to Lorne and I was like ''Oh, are we done?'' And he was like ''yeah''.' Jenna said she was sitting there for 30 seconds before she realized it was over. More brutal: 'I think everything about this movie is just bigger and scarier and also Ghostface is just so much more brutal,' Jenna said. 'I feel like he's very unforgiving and everyone's a victim, not just the lead cast, which makes it better' Good question: Jimmy, 48, asked her if she knew who Ghostface was from reading the script Script games: 'Sometimes they give us different scripts, different endings,' Jenna said. 'This time around they didn't give us the third act at all' SNL host: Jenna will host the upcoming episode of Saturday Night Live and shared how SNL rehearsals were going 'I'm so in awe of everybody around me I'm also being really quiet,' Jenna said. Jimmy also asked Jenna if she enjoyed going to awards show following the critical acclaim of Wednesday. 'The 30 minutes before it's the most sick you will ever feel in your entire life,' Jenna said. 'You're so anxious, so nervous, so whatever and especially you're with people that you admire like the SAG Awards it was all your peers. Everyone who's a part of SAG.' Jenna also played Box Of Lies with game enthusiast Jimmy. Awards circuit: Jimmy also asked Jenna if she enjoyed going to awards show following the critical acclaim of Wednesday Advertisement Four days after glamming up for the Valentino FW/23 ready-to-wear show in Paris, Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas attended the South Asian Excellence pre-Oscars bash held at the Paramount Studio Lot in Los Angeles on Thursday. The 30-year-old New Jersey native showcased his chest hair in an unbuttoned navy-blue shirt beneath a matching suit selected by stylist Avo Yermagyan. The Indian 40-year-old bared her belly in a sheer white corset, embellished maxi-skirt, and a white Ostrich feather coat selected by 'image architect' Law Roach. Priyanka and Mindy Kaling co-hosted the celebration for Academy Award-nominated talent behind films like RRR, Turning Red, All That Breathes, The Elephant Whisperers, and Everything Everywhere All At Once. 'This is iconic. And to be able to look around me, and see my peers and colleagues that have hustled and pounded the pavement for years, and to be able to have them receive a moment that's just theirs, makes me like, cry,' Chopra told ET. Still going strong! Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas attended the South Asian Excellence pre-Oscars bash held at the Paramount Studio Lot in Los Angeles on Thursday 'This night is about the nominees, and you see a lot of them coming. This'll be about giving them the stage and giving them a moment. Showcasing a little bit of the movies and championing them as the Oscars come back.' As for the married couple of four years' 14-month-old daughter Malti Marie, the Bulgari brand ambassador said: 'She's asleep. Thank God. Can you imagine? No, tonight's daddy and mommy's night out.' Priyanka and Nick - who are also 'dog parents' to Panda, Diana, and Gino - originally met in 2017 at an Oscars bash, but they didn't truly connect until the Met Gala in 2018. As for career matters, Jonas' collaboration with New Delhi rapper King - Maan Meri Jaan (Afterlife) - drops this Friday. The Jonas Brothers - whose sixth studio record The Album drops May 12 - will next headline a five-night stand at the Marquis Theatre in Manhattan from March 14-18. The talented trio technically originated as a solo project for Nick back in 2005 before he began writing songs with his older siblings Joe and Kevin. And it's still unclear when audiences will get to see the two-time Grammy nominee as Frankie Valli in Des McAnuff's long-delayed musical movie adaptation of the Broadway musical, Jersey Boys Live! Meanwhile, Chopra will next play Mira Ray, a woman grieving the loss of her fiance, in Jim Strouse's rom-com Love Again - hitting US theaters May 12 - alongside Sam Heughan and Celine Dion. Arm candy: The 30-year-old New Jersey native (R) showcased his chest hair in an unbuttoned navy-blue shirt beneath a matching suit selected by stylist Avo Yermagyan See-through skirt: The Indian 40-year-old bared her belly in a sheer white corset, embellished maxi-skirt, and a white Ostrich feather coat selected by 'image architect' Law Roach Emcee: Priyanka and Mindy Kaling co-hosted the celebration for Academy Award-nominated talent behind films like RRR, Turning Red, All That Breathes, The Elephant Whisperers, and Everything Everywhere All At Once Chopra told ET: 'This is iconic. And to be able to look around me, and see my peers and colleagues that have hustled and pounded the pavement for years, and to be able to have them receive a moment that's just theirs, makes me like, cry' The Bulgari brand ambassador added: 'This night is about the nominees, and you see a lot of them coming. This'll be about giving them the stage and giving them a moment. Showcasing a little bit of the movies and championing them as the Oscars come back' As for the married couple of four years' 14-month-old daughter Malti Marie, Priyanka said: 'She's asleep. Thank God. Can you imagine? No, tonight's daddy and mommy's night out' (pictured February 18) Career matters: Nick's collaboration with New Delhi rapper King - Maan Meri Jaan (Afterlife) - drops this Friday Broadway bound: The Jonas Brothers - whose sixth studio record The Album drops May 12 - will next headline a five-night stand at the Marquis Theatre in Manhattan from March 14-18 Hitting US theaters May 12! Chopra will next play Mira Ray, a woman grieving the loss of her fiance, in Jim Strouse's rom-com Love Again alongside Sam Heughan (R) and Celine Dion The former Miss World 2000 will also star in Amazon Studios' $185M-budget seven-episode spy series Citadel alongside Stanley Tucci and Richard Madden - premiering April 28 - which was created by Patrick Moran and the Russo Brothers. Also speaking at the South Asian Excellence pre-Oscars bash was Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai, who rocked a red lip with her pink embellished sari. Two-time Emmy winner Aziz Ansari wore a blue-patterned scarf with his black suit. Mr. Malcolm's List star Freida Pinto took the plunge in an ornate lace coat over matching pants and peep-toe stilettos. Not Dead Yet star Hannah Simone wore a long-sleeved patterned dress for the film festivities. Ms. Marvel actresses Anjali Bhimani and Zenobia Shroff also opted for patterned frocks for the celebration. The Flash star Sendhil Ramamurthy sported salt and pepper stubble with his black suit and purple necktie. Evil star Aasif Mandvi wore a red palm-print top beneath a blue chambray suit and black sneakers. All grown up! Also speaking at the South Asian Excellence pre-Oscars bash was Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai, who rocked a red lip with her pink embellished sari Multi-talented: Two-time Emmy winner Aziz Ansari wore a blue-patterned scarf with his black suit Fancy! Mr. Malcolm's List star Freida Pinto took the plunge in an ornate lace coat over matching pants and peep-toe stilettos On the fringe! Not Dead Yet star Hannah Simone wore a long-sleeved patterned dress for the film festivities MCU duo: Ms. Marvel actresses Anjali Bhimani (L) and Zenobia Shroff (R) also opted for patterned frocks for the celebration Handsome: The Flash star Sendhil Ramamurthy sported salt and pepper stubble with his black suit and purple necktie The Daily Show alum: Evil star Aasif Mandvi wore a red palm-print top beneath a blue chambray suit and black sneakers Hands on hips: Never Have I Ever actresses Sarayu Blue (L) and Megan Suri (R) bared their shoulders in pink and brown frocks, respectively The long and short of it: Wearing traditional kurtas were (from L-R) Russian Doll actor Ritesh Rajan, Community alum Danny Pudi, and The Resident star Manish Dayal Talented twosome: Also attending the star-studded South Asian soiree were Four Samosas actresses Sujata Day (L) and Meera Simhan (R) Never Have I Ever actresses Sarayu Blue and Megan Suri bared their shoulders in pink and brown frocks, respectively. Wearing traditional kurtas were Russian Doll actor Ritesh Rajan, Community alum Danny Pudi, and The Resident star Manish Dayal. Also attending the star-studded South Asian soiree were Four Samosas actresses Sujata Day and Meera Simhan. Cate Blanchett always puts on a show when it comes to fashion. And the Australian actress did not disappoint when she attended the Green Carpet Fashion Awards in Hollywood on Thursday night. The 53-year-old donned an unusual suit, which featured a large pink, satin bow embellishment. The pastel green number including a matching jacket and blazer with black lapels for added interest. Cate opted for a dress shirt in a similar tone underneath and tied the look together with a dark tie. Cate Blanchett (pictured) always puts on a show when it comes to fashion And the Australian actress did not disappoint when she attended the Green Carpet Fashion Awards in Hollywood on Thursday night The 53-year-old donned an unusual Tom Ford suit, which featured a large pink, satin bow embellishment She completed her high fashion ensemble with pointed black heels and skipped the accessories. The actress chose a clean makeup look for the occasion, with a pale pink lipstick, and wore her blonde locks down in soft waves. Cate is preparing for the Academy Awards, where she may land her coveted third gong. Blanchett recently landed a Best Actress nomination for her lead role in the psychological drama Tar. The pastel green number including a matching jacket and blazer with black lapels for added interest Cate opted for a dress shirt in a similar tone underneath and tied the look together with a dark tie She completed her high fashion ensemble with pointed black heels and skipped the accessories The actress chose a clean makeup look for the occasion, with a pale pink lipstick, and wore her blonde locks down in soft waves She is a well decorated actress, having already won two Oscars from seven previous nominations. The star has recently been hard at work on the set of her new film Borderlands alongside Jamie Lee Curtis. In Borderlands, Blanchett stars as Lilith, an infamous outlaw who leads a team on an intergalactic mission to find her missing daughter. Curtis plays Dr. Patricia Tannis, a scientist grappling with her own sanity. Directed and co-written by Eli Roth, the science fiction action comedy film is based on the video game of the same name. The 95th Academy Awards will air live on ABC on March 12 from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. Tammin Sursok made a devastating confession on Thursday when she revealed she grew up 'hating' her body and letting other people define her value. The former Home and Away star, 39, said she 'desired to be wanted, to be lusted over' as a young girl and struggled with an eating disorder. Posting a series of heartbreaking stories to her Instagram in honour of International Women's Day, the actress reflected on the devastating effects she suffered being objectified by men. The first story she shared was about a young boy she had a crush on who told her she needed to lose weight at the age of 15. She revealed she was 'paralysed in fear and lust' when he approached her, saying: 'My heart stopped. I had daydreamed for years that this moment would come.' Tammin Sursok, 39, (pictured) made a devastating confession on Thursday when she revealed she grew up 'hating' her body and letting other people define her value But her dream came crashing down when the boy brutally told her: 'You need to go to Jenny Craig [weight loss program].' Sursok moved on to her next story which recounted a time when she had dropped to 45 kilograms in weight by forcing herself to throw up after a meal. 'I had spent the last 40 minutes ramming my chapped and raw knuckles down my throat. I knew this routine well. I had become an expert at lying,' she said. 'I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and saw my eyes; they looked like they were bleeding. I weakly smiled at my reflection. I was 100 pounds (45 kilos), I thought, now people would love me.' The former Home and Away star said she 'desired to be wanted, to be lusted over' as a young girl and struggled with an eating disorder Posting a series of heartbreaking stories to her Instagram in honour of International Women's Day, the actress reflected on the devastating effects she suffered being objectified by men Finally, Sursok told the story of the 30-year-old man she dated at the age of 21 who she let make fun of her body because 'I was taught in school that boys that like you make fun of you'. The South African-born Australian finished her post by adding she used to cry over her post-baby body and spent over 30 years being told 'the only way to happiness, worth and love was for other people to view my body as good enough'. She said: 'To all my fellow women warriors that have ever struggled with self-worth, body image and the fear to break free of old belief systems, I see you. May we all love ourselves.' For confidential 24-hour support in Australia call Lifeline on 13 11 14. Two entomologist and Pokemon fan in Singapore have named a newly discovered species of cockroach after the show's bug Pheromosa. The insect features antenna, long legs and wings that mimic a hood much like the cartoon character that was first introduced in 2016's Pokemon Sun & Moon. In the show, which first hit screens in 1996, characters catch, train, care for fictional species known as Pokemon, with 1015 different kinds at present. Named Nocticola pheromosa the new insect was discovered by Foo Maosheng and Cristian C. Lucanas in a forested nature reserve. Following the find they told The Straits Times: Both my collaborator and I are Pokemon fans, so we thought, why not name it after a pokemon inspired by a cockroach'. Discovery! Two entomologist and Pokemon fan in Singapore has named a newly discovered species of cockroach after the show's bug Pheromosa Bugs: The insect features antenna, long legs and wings that mimic a hood much like the cartoon character that was first introduced in 2016's Pokemon Sun & Moon Foo's love of the Japanese series is well known amongst his fellow scentists and has earned the name 'bug catcher' like characters in the show. He said: Im like one of those bug type trainers as I go to different places to find out more about what insects we have'. This contributes to the museum for research and education and The Biodiversity of Singapore website, which is kind of like our local pokedex. It comes after the news that Netflix were developing a stop-motion animation series with The Pokemon Company called Pokemon Concierge. The project was announced on Monday, the 17th anniversary of the first Pokemon game, also known as Pokemon Day. The series will follow Haru, a concierge at the Pokemon Resort who interacts with the Pokemon and their owners who visit as guests, according to Deadline. The resort caters to Pokemon characters, and the plot follows the concierge's many interactions with them as she helps with their resort stays. The short trailer shows a Psyduck walking alongside Haru on the beach before they see something in the sky. Fans: Following the find they told The Straits Tim es: Both my collaborator and I are Pokemon fans, so we thought, why not name it after a pokemon inspired by a cockroach' Big fan: Foo's love of the Japanese series is well known amongst his fellow scentists and has earned the name 'bug catcher' like characters in the show. The stop-motion will be done by Dwarf Studios, who was behind Netflix's stop-motion anime Rilakkuma and Kaoru. Vice President of Netflix content in Asia Minyoung Kim said, 'We have a group of experts here in Japan who are passionate about finding and developing original stories here in Japan that will excite audiences all over the world.' Kim added, 'We are dedicated to adapting fan-favorite stories and manga into extraordinary shows. 'Netflix is looking forward to delighting fans in Japan and around the world with Pokemon Concierge, an entirely new visual and storytelling experience featuring ground-breaking stop-motion animation set in the Pokemon world in close collaboration with The Pokemon Company,' said Kim. There is no release date set for Pokemon Concierge, but it is expected to be released sometime in 2023. In its library, Netflix already has numerous Pokemon movies, including Indigo League, Journeys: The Series, and Mewtwo Strikes Back. The streaming service previously announced they were developing a live-action Pokemon series in 2021 akin to 2019's highly regarded Pokemon Detective Pikachu. The executive producer of Netflix's Lucifer, Joe Henderson, is the writer and executive producer. In addition to their collaboration with The Pokemon Company, Netflix has acquired the Roald Dahl Story Company and is developing numerous projects with Dahl's titles. New twist on Pokemon: Netflix revealed they are developing a stop-motion animation series with The Pokemon Company called Pokemon Concierge The plot: The series will follow Haru, a concierge at the Pokemon Resort who interacts with the Pokemon and their owners who visit as guests Netflix bought the entire catalog of Roald Dahl, including classics such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Matilda, as the streaming service faced stiff competition from Disney+ and HBO Max. The deal expanded Netflix's existing licensing agreement with The Roald Dahl Story Co (RDSC) struck in 2018 to create animated series based on the author's books. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the original agreement in 2018 was reported to be among the biggest ever for kids programming at that time, worth between $500 million to $1 billion. Recently, Yahoo! News reported the streaming giant paid 500 million pounds - about $686 million - giving it full access to Dahls works and animated and live-action films. Recently, a public meeting held by Socialist Revolution, the US section of the International Marxist Tendency, was infiltrated by a member of the far-right group Turning Point USA. We encourage readers to watch the video made by Socialist Revolution in response to the vacuous 'expose' produced by these reactionary idiots. It is clear that big sections of the US capitalist class, and its rabid dogs on the far right, are spooked by the increasing popularity of Marxism and communism, particularly among the young. Their fears are warranted! The comrades of Socialist Revolution are conducting a fundraising campaign to redouble their efforts to spread revolutionary ideas across the country. We encourage all our readers to support the comrades in this task! Donate to Socialist Revolution here In the fall of 2022, over 300 revolutionary socialists registered to attend the 2022 Marxist Schools in cities across the US. These regional events, hosted by Socialist Revolution branches in Phoenix, Minneapolis, Atlanta, New York City, and Bellingham, WA, brought together comrades from more than 40 cities across 25 states. The schools consisted of 30 sessions across ten days, discussing various topics of revolutionary theory, strategy, history, and perspectives for the period ahead. To commemorate the centenary of the founding of the Soviet Union, each school featured a session on the rise and fall of the USSR, the legacy of the October Revolution, and the material reasons for the subsequent Stalinist bureaucratic degeneration. Another common theme discussed across the regions was the historic impasse of capitalism and the many factors that are propelling the US toward a revolutionary situation. These sessions highlighted the revolutionary nature of the epoch were living in today, and the urgent need to build the forces of Marxism into a serious point of reference for the millions of workers and young people who are drawing revolutionary conclusions. These efforts represent the culminating point of this years #CommunismOnCampus campaign, which the International Marxist Tendency (IMT) is conducting across dozens of countries around the world. As a result of the global effort to systematically raise the banner of revolutionary Marxism, the IMT has come into contact with thousands of young workers and students who are interested in getting organized to fight for socialism in our lifetime. As a result of the global effort to systematically raise the banner of revolutionary Marxism, the IMT has come into contact with thousands of young workers and students / Image Socialist Revolution Our enemies take notice The preparations for the Marxist Schools involved mobilizing comrades for systematic outreach and promotion, putting up hundreds of posters in public places across dozens of cities. In addition to the outpouring of support and interest this generated, our comrades also caught the attention of some of the most rabid sectors of the far right. In September, three IMT comrades who were tabling on a University of Wisconsin campus in Madison were harassed by a group of five Turning Point USA (TPUSA) members. These far-right activists insulted and photographed the comrades in an attempt to intimidate them. One of the most vocal of TPUSA members was a self-professed Catholic theocrat and an antisemite who accused the comrades of being funded by the Jews. A few weeks later, TPUSA sent an undercover agent to infiltrate a public meeting at the Marxist School in Minneapolis. As we show in our video, he collected secret footage of various sessions and discussions over the weekend, which mostly consisted of comrades calmly and articulately explaining our revolutionary ideas. This footage was then edited and served up on TPUSAs daily show Frontlines in an exclusive report to uncover the dangerous anti-American values being discussed at the Marxist training camp. Lacking anything intelligent to say about our ideas, the conversation between the host and the undercover reporter quickly devolved into repulsive vitriol as they took turns spewing their hateful transphobia and boorish mockery of our comrades appearance and identity. Fascists funded by billionaires But their tone quickly changed whenever the conversation turned to the topic of finances. They repeatedly remarked with a sense of disbelief that the comrades gathered at the Minneapolis school managed to raise $79,000 in pledges for the Fighting Fund. Not only did they raise $79,000 in less than an hour, but they give monthly! They give monthly so that they can have full time revolutionaries. It was apparently unthinkable for these right-wingers that our political activities could be funded by the sacrifices of working-class youth, motivated only by a deep sense of revolutionary commitment. Do I think that some of them truly believe that what they are pushing and teaching themselves, do I truly believe that they believe that this could work? I really do. But that just goes to show how far the indoctrination goes. This kind of political commitment is naturally difficult to understand for members of the billionaire-funded TPUSA, which has an annual budget in excess of $50 million, provided exclusively by wealthy mega-donors of the right wing. In addition to TPUSA, another hysterical right-wing outlet funded by billionaires, Campus Reform, published an overview of the various Marxist Schools organized by the IMT and included coverage of our international efforts around the #CommunismOnCampus campaign. Campus Reform describes its surveillance operations as an effort to report on the proliferation of Marxist and other leftist influences in higher education. Though they attempt to put forward an image of being a mere network of conservative students, in reality, the outlet is run by the Leadership Institute, the notorious right-wing think tank that aims to train freedom fighters to effectively defeat the radical Left. Over the years, the Leadership Institute has received hundreds of millions in funding through foundations controlled by the notorious billionaire Koch brothers. And although the Institute is a major player in mainstream conservative politicshaving groomed the likes of Mitch McConnel, Karl Rove, and Mike Penceit also provides training to extreme far-right elements. In 2016, the Huffington Post quoted a neo-Nazi activist, Matthew Heimbach, who attended the Leadership Institute and reportedly encouraged all the chapter leaders of his racist organization to attend the youth leadership courses put on by the Institute. In his words, They trained this entire next generation of white nationalists. Marxism is on the rise but we need your help! Despite the efforts of fanatical trolls funded by reactionary billionaires, it is a fact that Marxism is on the rise in the US. For years, numerous polls have consistently indicated that tens of millions of young people view Marxism and communism in a favorable light. And this is ultimately because of the historic impasse of the capitalist system, which has long outlived its usefulness to humanity. No amount of right-wing propaganda can change that basic fact, which expresses itself as a deep-seated crisis in the foundations of society. But its not enough for tens of millions to reject capitalism and have a positive opinion of revolutionary socialism. What is needed is to organize those millions into a serious revolutionary force that can transform society! For that, we need your help! We do not have the backing of billionaires. All our activity is funded exclusively by the dues, donations, and contributions of our members and sympathizers, who are confident that the International Marxist Tendency has a historic role to play in the present era. Our financial independence guarantees our political independence. We are beholden to no one but our own comrades and the ideas of revolutionary Marxism. If you share the goal of living to see the end of capitalism and helping humanity to take the next step forward, we appeal to you to make a financial contribution through the form below to help our efforts, or better yet, become a member and join us in this fight! Donate to Socialist Revolution here He's set to turn 90 years old on Tuesday 14 March. And Sir Michael Caine got the celebrations kicked off early on Thursday evening as he headed out for dinner to exclusive members club Oswald's in central London. The acting legend was accompanied by his wife of five decades Shakira, 75, as they enjoyed a birthday dinner with a group of friends. Assisted by staff while leaving the swanky venue, the Hannah and Her Sisters actor used a walking frame to make his way to the waiting car afterwards. Former actress and fashion model Shakira appeared in high spirits for the evening as she flashed a smile from their chauffeur-driven car on the way home. Celebrations: Sir Michael Caine, 89, and his glamorous wife Shakira, 75, enjoyed a dinner at London's exclusive club Oswald's on Thursday for a celebration with pals ahead of his 90th birthday Helping hand: Assisted by staff while leaving the swanky venue, the Hannah and Her Sisters actor used a walking frame to make his way to the waiting car afterwards Shakira, who tied the knot with Michael back in 1973, donned a black ensemble with a dark blazer over the top. She appeared glamorous with a chunky pearl necklace and cross-body chain handbag adding to the look. Her age-defying complexion looked radiant, while the star had styled her brunette locks into a curl. Michael opted for a blue shirt and navy cardigan for the night out, which saw him meet with a bunch of friends to celebrate his upcoming birthday. Upon getting into their car to head home for the evening, Michael sat in the passenger seat while Shakira peeped her head through from the back to flash a smile. Oswald's club, which is popular amongst wine connoisseurs, is one of the most exclusive members' only clubs in London. Prince William has previously been spotted enjoying nights there, while the membership roster also reportedly includes stars such as Mick Jagger and Harry Styles. It comes after it emerged Sir Michael's first Rolls Royce is set to make 150,000 as it goes under the hammer just days after his 90th birthday. When the star bought the Silver Shadow Drophead Coupe in 1968, he reportedly wandered into a Berkley Square showroom with a shopping list for 'milk, bread, newspaper, cigarettes, Rolls-Royce'. Smart: Michael opted for a blue shirt and navy cardigan for the night out, which saw him meet with a bunch of friends to celebrate his upcoming birthday A-list: A doorman and driver were on hand to help him with the stairs from the club, which is one of London's most exclusive and boasts members such as Prince William and Mick Jagger But he was so scruffy he was ushered off the premises, and had to travel to Mayfair's other dealership to complete his chores for the day. Sir Michael, then 35, eventually picked the sleek car up from exclusive dealership H.A. Fox, who had it in stock after playwright and screenwriter Terence Rattigan cancelled his order. The actor did not even have a driving licence and ended up hiring a chauffeur after finding it was cheaper than the insurance he had been quoted. He claimed he had great pleasure flicking the 'vs' at the snooty salesmen when he next went past him. The Rolls-Royce is just one of 506 - and will go on sale at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford, on March 15. Stephen Bear's brother Danny has been unveiled as a millionaire businessman who has worked with Priscilla Presley. It emerged this month that Stephen, 33 - now a convicted sex offender - had been faking his luxury lifestyle, boasting of his wealth and pretending to own luxury items that were believed to be either fake or rented. Yet in a bizarre twist of fate it's emerged that while he was pretending to be millionaire he is connected to a wealthy entrepreneur. Danny Bear, 35, made his fortune after he founded his artisan bakers brand Euphorium in 1999 and sold it to Tesco in 2015 years later. He has continued to work on businesses, becoming a partner in Shogun Films, and revealed last year he was setting up a global hospitality brand with Priscilla Presley, ex wife of the late Elvis. Brothers: Stephen Bear's brother Danny has been unveiled as a millionaire businessman who has worked with Priscilla Presley The businessman has since branched out to acting and has starred in low-budget gangster crime dramas Renegade and Nemesis. He has been mentored by British film producer Jonathan Sothcott who told Essex Magazine: 'I meet so many actors who just dont have that grit and realness, it is something you just cant fake. 'Danny is a natural hes a good looking chap, he can act and hes just got that star quality. I can see him being in a lot of our films going forward, hes just got that something about him.' Danny has displayed his luxury lifestyle on Instagram, giving his one million followers a glimpse into his swanky manor in Surrey and his custom built BMW X6 modelled on the Batmobile. In 2016, Danny revealed he was hoping to branch out into the reality TV business, claiming a fly on the wall show focused on his family could rival The Kardashians. After Stephen became a household name as the winner of Celebrity Big Brother, Danny revealed he wanted the entire family to shine. He told The Sun: 'Were a family of entertainers its in our DNA. 'Our old man says: "A day without laughter is a day wasted". Were a proper East End family and were always laughing and joking. Never mind these Kardashians, wed make great TV.' Faking it: It emerged this month that Stephen - now a convicted sex offender - had been faking his luxury lifestyle, boasting of his wealth and pretending to own luxury items Businessman: Danny Bear, 35, made his fortune after he founded his artisan bakers brand Euphorium in 1999 and sold it to Tesco in 2015 years later (pictured at the London Enterprise after winning the Best Emerging Independent Film Production UK award) Entrepreneur: He has continued to work on businesses, becoming a partner in Shogun Films, and revealed last year he was setting up a global hospitality brand with Priscilla Presley Stephen's family did hit the headlines that year when it was claimed his father was ejected from Elstree Studios on the night of the Celebrity Big Brother final. Following the end of the show Bear's father is alleged to have become drunk and disorderly and ranting at security, which ended with the family minus their winning son leaving in a car. Though it seems that the house trickster wasn't annoyed with his father in the slightest, as the next day Bear joked about his father's run-in with security. He wrote: 'My dads a legend [sic],' before adding several crying with laughter emojis. Earlier this month, Stephen - who is engaged to Jessica Smith - was convicted following a trial at Chelmsford Crown Court with television personality Georgia waiving her right to anonymity afforded to her under the Sexual Offences Act, saying she felt compelled to as so many people knew of the video. Judge Christopher Morgan jailed Stephen for 21 months and gave him a restraining order not to contact Georgia. The reality star was also ordered to sign the sex offenders' register and will be subject to notification requirements for 10 years. Following the sentencing on March 3, the deputy chief crown prosecutor for East of England, Hannah Von Dadelszen, said that Stephen will be forced to 'sell any assets he has' to pay back the 2,100 made on Georgia's video. He turned up to his court appearances in lavish spectacles, arriving in pricey vehicles, often clad in a fur coat and waving around a gold topped cane as he played up for the cameras. Despite giving the illusion of living a lavish lifestyle, with an OnlyFans platform, lavish holidays, designer clothing, Rolexes and jewels which appear to be fakes, Stephen, 33, could now be forced to sell his assets just to pay back the funds he made from posting the video. He could also lose his 600k three-bed Essex home after struggling to meet the mortgage payments. He had eight failed businesses and ran his one remaining business from his parents' house. Family: In 2016, Danny revealed he was hoping to branch out into the reality TV business, claiming a fly on the wall show focused on his family could rival The Kardashians (parents Linda and Stephen Sr seen on Gogglebox with Stephen) Loaded: Danny has displayed his luxury lifestyle on Instagram, giving his one million followers a glimpse into his swanky manor in Surrey Pricey: Danny also has a custom built BMW X6 modelled on Bruce Wayne's Batmobile His company is called Cubanlink Ltd and his parents Linda and Stephens home address in Walthamstow is listed as its registered office. Stephen's occupation is listed on Companies House as a shop-assistant. Back in 2021, Stephen bragged that he has a cryptocurrency fortune worth over than $200,000 - however his Twitter followers soon pointed out that the accompanying screenshot was a stock image which had been used elsewhere. He also has a website for his own alleged university in his Facebook bio, where he promises that he can 'help you earn six figures a year'. However, the website is down, with an error message stating the domain has not been connected to a site. Olivia Wilde was among the glamorous arrivals as she attended the W Magazine and Saint Laurent Directors Dinner in Los Angeles on Thursday. The actress cut a sophisticated figure in an all-black ensemble as she posed up a storm at the event. Joining Olivia at the party were fellow screen sirens Salma Hayek and Jennifer Coolidge, with the trio posing for a slew of gorgeous images together. Olivia showed off her slender pins in an oversized black mini dress and black heels as she posed solo. She swept her glossy brunette tresses in a curled up-do as she arrived in her muted outfit for the private fashion dinner. Here they come! Olivia Wilde (far left) was joined by Salma Hayek (centre) and Jennifer Coolidge (far right) for the W Magazine and Saint Laurent Directors Dinner on Thursday Gorgeous! The actress cut a sophisticated figure in an all-black ensemble as she posed up a storm at the event Looking good! Upon arriving at the dinner, Olivia was joined by Salma, Santigold and Sara Moonves, who is the Editor in Chief of W Magazine Salma showed off her sartorial sense of style by donning a plunging white blouse with lace frilled sleeves, teamed with a black trouser suit. The star added a cheeky pop of colour to her ensemble with a statement red lip. Jennifer also opted for a form-fitting black midi dress with a faux fur stole, accessorised with a red heart-shaped clutch. The trio of stars certainly made for an eye-catching look as they posed up a storm together. Also in attendance was Zoe Kravitz, who showcased her svelte physique in a high-neck black gown. Olivia's outing comes on the heels of her ex-fiance Jason Sudeikis' recent interview about their amicable co-parenting relationship amid their messy split. The We're The Millers actor was asked whether his son Otis, eight, or daughter Daisy, six, had an idea of how hard he works as a successful actor in Hollywood. 'I don't know if they know how hard, they know how often,' he told ET, before name-dropping his former partner. Making a statement! Olivia showed off her slender pins in an oversized black mini dress and black heels as she posed solo Here they come! Salma showed off her sartorial sense of style by donning a plunging white blouse with lace frilled sleeves, teamed with a black trouser suit Perfect! The star added a cheeky pop of colour to her ensemble with a statement red lip (pictured with Olivia, Saint Laurent creative director Anthony Vaccarello and Jennifer) Glammed up! Jennifer also opted for a form-fitting black midi dress with a faux fur stole, accessorised with a red heart-shaped clutch (pictured with Salma and Zoe and Lenny Kravitz) Pals! Dressed in her chic black trouser suit, Salma posed for snaps alongside Lenny at the Saint Laurent dinner Gorgeous! Also in attendance was Zoe Kravitz, who showcased her svelte physique in a high-neck black gown Besties! Jennifer was also seen alongside W Magazine boss Sara The Ted Lasso star continued: 'They know [co-creators] Brendan and Joe real well, and so they see how much we hang out, and laugh and enjoy each other's company, that any of us get the opportunity to find a job where you have so much fun doing it, and if that's the example that myself and Olivia, provide for them, then I'm happy about that.' In January, a source told ET that the former couple is 'getting along better now' since her split from Harry Styles, 28, and are 'co-parenting in a healthy way.' The insider added: 'Olivia has been focusing all her energy on her kids and family since her split with Harry, and now that they're broken up, it's been easier for Jason and Olivia to get along.' They continued: 'Jason has been trying to be supportive of Olivia and a good co-parent during this transition. Things between Jason and Olivia are cordial and going well.' Emmerdale filming has been cancelled after the soap's set in Leeds was hit by heavy snow from Storm Larissa. A representative for the soap confirmed to MailOnline that work had been delayed for the day due to issues with 'road accessibility.' They said: 'Due to the weather and road accessibility all Emmerdale filming units have been cancelled today.' Actor Nick Miles, who plays Jimmy King, also tweeted: 'Filming on Emmerdale cancelled today due to the snow. Look out Leeds. We're all going sledging.' Emmerdale's set was first hit by the snowy weather on Thursday, but the cast continued with filming their scenes, which will air in May. On hold! Emmerdale filming has been cancelled after the soap's set in Leeds was hit by heavy snow from Storm Larissa It's off! A representative for the soap confirmed to MailOnline that work had been delayed for the day due to issues with 'road accessibility' Going for a ride? Actor Nick Miles, who plays Jimmy King, also tweeted: 'Filming on Emmerdale cancelled today due to the snow. Look out Leeds. We're all going sledging' Stars Rosie Bentham, who plays Gabby Thomas, and Lewis Cope, who plays Nicky, also took to Instagram to share snaps of Emmerdale's village set during the blizzard. The exterior scenes of Emmerdale were filmed at Esholt for 22 years but by 1998 residents had grown tired of the crew's presence and the tourists the soap was attracting. Bosses then set up a replica of Esholt on the outskirts of Leeds for external filming, and internal scenes are filmed at a studio in the city. Storm Larisa has brought travel chaos to Britain after it battered the nation with 50mph gales and blizzards - with up to 16in of snow set to fall. The Met Office still has a number of warnings in place for snow and ice, including two amber warnings covering northern England and the Midlands until midday and Wales until 9am. Four yellow warnings for snow also cover much of the rest of the nation, with the exception of south-east England and western Scotland. There was also an official record of 14cm (5.5in) at Bingley in West Yorkshire but a Met Office spokesman said that anecdotally they have heard of observations higher than this in Leeds and Sheffield. Traffic was brought to a standstill on long stretches of the road running through Yorkshire and Greater Manchester in the early hours of this morning, with some drivers said to have abandoned their cars. A bit nippy? Stars Rosie Bentham, who plays Gabby Thomas, and Lewis Cope, who plays Nicky, also took to Instagram to share snaps of Emmerdale's village set during the blizzard In Yorkshire, some 2,000 people were left without power, with a blackout affecting the South Yorkshire area, Northern Powergrid reported. Motorists in Wales are being asked not to travel by police amid mounting safety concerns. And in Northern Ireland, 137 schools have been shut due to the weather. The snow also forced East Midlands Airport, near Castle Donington in Leicestershire, to temporarily shut its runway - although it has since reopened. And the majority of flights departing Liverpool John Lennon Airport were delayed this morning. Flights were also suspended at Birmingham Airport for around an hour to clear snow from the runway. Derbyshire Constabulary urged drivers not to travel in the Peak District 'unless absolutely necessary' as most roads in the High Peak and Derbyshire Dales areas were 'impassable'. The weather is expected to clear by the end of Friday, before then being replaced by another low pressure system, leading to a further yellow snow and ice warning for much of northern England and Scotland from 3pm tomorrow to 6am on Sunday. National Highways issued a 'severe weather alert' for snow covering the North East, North West and Midlands regions until 8am on Friday, where motorists have been warned not to drive unless their journey is essential. The Met Office amber snow alert for England lasts until noon today and covers major cities including Liverpool, Sheffield, Bradford and Leeds. Over Wales, an amber snow and ice warning is in place from noon until 9am today, stretching from the north coast to Radnorshire. Another amber snow and ice warning in Northern Ireland covers Belfast and areas south of the city from 3pm Thursday until 4am Friday. Nile Wilson was crowned Dancing On Ice champion after taking to the rink with partner Olivia Smart for the final time on Sunday night. They beat out stiff competition from Joey Essex and partner Vanessa Bauer, as well as The Vivienne who was teamed with Colin Grafton. Former gymnast Nile, 27, won a bronze medal in the men's horizontal bar at the 2016 Summer Olympics, while Sheffield born Olivia skated for Spain in the Beijing games. Nile previously revealed he was inundated with support from Dancing On Ice fans after discussing his mental health and addiction troubles on the show. He explained how he sunk into a deep depression when he was forced into retirement after suffering an injury. He subsequently needed neck surgery in February 2019, and went on to deal with his resulting depression by partying, drinking and gambling. Big night: Nile Wilson was crowned Dancing On Ice champion after taking to the rink with partner Olivia Smart for the final time on Sunday night Sportsman: Former gymnast Nile, 27, won a bronze medal in the men's horizontal bar at the 2016 Summer Olympics Beach babe: Meanwhile Sheffield born Olivia skated for Spain in the Beijing games While he may no longer compete professionally he continues to train in the gym sharing updates to his social media. He is usually shirtless as he builds up a sweat the snaps and his large olympic ring back tattoo is often visible. Who is Nile Wilson's girlfriend? Nile also keeps fans up to date with his love life and shares romantic snaps with girlfriend Hermione, who he is believed to have been dating since late last year. He has previously dated fitness enthusiast and vlogger Gabrielle Paige as well as Cirque Du Soleil star Emily McCarthy. Meanwhile Olivia, 25, came eighth at the winter Olympics alongside professional partner Adrian Diaz. After years of competing together in May Adrian retired from skating, with Spanish citizen Olivia later teaming up with German skater Tim Dieck. While it's unclear if gorgeous Olivia has a partner she regularly stuns her social media followers with stylish snaps as she travels the world. Sunday's show will kicking off at 6:30pm and running for an hour and a half on Sunday 12 March, the live final will see judges Jayne Torvill, Christopher Dean, Ashley Banjo and Oti Mabuse return to the panel to cast their votes once more. Sportsman: Nile explained how he sunk into a deep depression when he was forced into retirement after suffering an injury - pictured, far right with gold medalist Fabian Hambuechen (C) of Germany, silver medalist Danell Leyva (R) Strength: While he may no longer compete professionally he continues to train in the gym sharing updates to his social media Date night: Nile also keeps fans up to date with his love life and shares romantic snaps with girlfriend Hermione, who is believed to have been dating since late last year (pictured together) Nile Wilson - 1/4 odds Leading the pack, Nile is the online bookmakers favourite to win this years competition by landslide, with an 80% probability. After scoring a perfect 10 from each judge and bagging a full 40/40 mark for his performance last week, the Olympian has provided a number of breath-taking routines throughout the series. According to Betvictor, Nile's odds to win are 1/4 - putting him in the top spot for a win. With 2-time Scottish champion skater Daniel King sharing: 'Nile certainly seems to be the favourite for the judges. 'Although all three of the finalists performances are at a similar level. There aren't many points between 38, 39 and 40. So I think it will all depend on the public vote.' The three finalists are all set to perform a bolero routine, with Nile sharing this week: 'We've got some exciting stuff in store this week. It's a huge production. Skater:Meanwhile Olivia came eighth at the winter Olympics alongside professional partner Adrian Diaz (pictured) Nomad: While it's unclear if gorgeous Olivia has a partner she regularly stuns her social media followers with stylish snaps as she travels the world Competition: Her social media is full of her competing in competitions As Joey, Nile and The Vivienne remain the last three celebrities standing, who is predicted to win this series? The Vivienne - 5/1 odds Despite suffering a nasty fall during the solo skate challenge in the show's semi-final, The Vivienne is predicted to bag second place. Trailing miles behind the expected winner, this prediction is still a massive ray of hope for the drag queen, who was previously predicted third. With odds of 5/1 as of March 8, this is a last-minute switch up for the RuPaul's Drag Race star, who was previously trailing behind Joey Essex. This means that there is a 16.7% chance it could be The Vivienne holding that trophy. Speaking ahead of the performance during an appearance on Good Morning Britain this week, the star shared: 'The bolero is something that changed history. I might be paying homage to Jayne with my costume. Who will win Dancing On Ice 2023? Joey Essex, The Vivienne and Nile are all set to battle it out during this week's final Winner? Olympian Nile could be headed for a landslide victory as the odds appear to be firmly in his favour 'We want to pay homage to Chris and Jayne. The pressure is on when you're skating it in front of the people who created it.' Joey Essex - 7/1 odds Joey has been bumped off the no.2 spot after previously being the outright second favourite to win. Now with 7/1 odds, the former TOWIE star trails at a still-impressive predicted third place - a 12.5% chance of winning according to BetVictor. The TV personality has already revealed what fans can expect to see from him during the final, sharing this week that he and Vanessa will pay snag some of Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean's moves during their bolero. Winning gold at the 1984 Winter Olympics with the routine, the professional dancers have given Joey and his partner some inspiration. Admitting that the final bout of training has been hardcore, Joey shared: 'I feel like I'm training for the Olympics. I've not done anything, I've not gone out, I've been dedicated to this competition.' The Bachelor's Locky Gilbert and Irena Srbinovska are officially married. The Bachelor couple wed in Melbourne on Friday where they had an intimate ceremony surrounded by friends and family. The couple shared the good news in a joint Instagram post showing the sweet moment Locky kissed his bride at the altar. 'The happiest day of our lives' the pair captioned the image, adding the hashtags: #mr&mrsgilbert #irenaslockyinlove. In the photos, Irena, 32, looked stunning in an off-the-shoulder gown with a long trail and flowing veil. Locky, 32, went for a classic black tuxedo paired with a white dress shirt and patent leather dress shoes. The pair were inundated with congratulations from their famous friends with fellow Bachelor star Laura Bryne writing, 'Congrats you two'. Former Bachelor Jimmy Nicholson wrote: 'Congratulations love birds!' while Bec Judd added, 'Congratulations'. Married At First Sight groom Telv Williams chimed in: 'Congratulations mate' while Bachelor star Mary Viturino added, 'Congratulations'. The Block stars Elise and Matt wrote: 'Wooohoooooo yes you are!!!!Congratulations beautiful friends. So so so happy for you both, yet so sad we couldnt be there to celebrate with you love you both'. The pair were inundated with congratulations from their famous friends with fellow Bachelor star Laura Bryne writing, 'Congrats you two' The happy couple, who met on the Channel 10 dating series, announced their engagement in June. 'Mrs Gilbert has a nice ring to it,' Irena captioned the post. They got engaged in front of Mackenzie Falls at Grampians National Park, and shared a kiss in front of the falls after Locky popped the question. The pair were both rugged up in activewear and puffer jackets, indicating that they'd been out hiking in the area. Irena also showed off her stunning diamond engagement ring, which was from Larsen Jewellery. The happy couple, who met on the Channel 10 dating series, announced their engagement in June. They got engaged in front of Mackenzie Falls at Grampians National Park, and shared a kiss in front of the falls after Locky popped the question 'Mrs Gilbert has a nice ring to it,' Irena captioned the post A number of reality stars posted well-wishes in the comments, including Love Island's Dom Thomas, The Bachelor's Anna Heinrich, Former Bachelorette Georgia Love and her husband Lee Elliott, and Survivor star David Genat. It comes after the couple purchased their first home together in Perth. The couple posted to Instagram to share the exciting news - telling fans they will soon commence renovations. 'We bought a house!! Let the celebrations sorry renovations begin,' wrote Locky and Irena. 'It's taken us a while to find our perfect (renovators dream) home in our favourite location but we got there and we are so excited to make this our home.' Locky declared his love for Irena on The Bachelor in 2020, choosing her over runner-up Bella Varelis in the finale The couple went on to say they are happy to finally set down some roots after their lengthy travels since falling in love on the show. 'We are super eager to see what the future has in store for us and it's good to finally set some roots after all our travels,' they wrote. 'Now let the renovations begin but first a quick celebratory drink or two.' The news came just one month after the pair dampened talk of a split after they bizarrely unfollowed each other on Instagram. Split rumours first emerged in January, after Irena announced that she had left Locky behind in Perth and returned to her home city of Melbourne. It comes after the couple purchased their first home together in Perth Friends close to the couple previously told Daily Mail Australia that they wouldn't be surprised if they had split when she relocated back to Melbourne and decided to keep it low-key. They also claimed that Irena had been 'a lot more stressed out than normal in the past few weeks'. Speaking to Daily Mail Australia in April, Locky refuted claims of a breakup. 'We haven't unfollowed each other at all,' he said, seemingly unaware that Irena had temporarily blocked him on Instagram. Irena had relocated from Perth to Melbourne in January, after telling fans she'd been 'struggling being away' from her family in Victoria. The news came just one month after the pair dampened talk of a split after they bizarrely unfollowed each other on Instagram The couple met on season eight of The Bachelor back in 2020, with Locky choosing Irena over aspiring Instagram model Bella Varelis. In an episode of SAS Australia, which was filmed in 2021, Locky fought back tears as he couldn't imagine life without Irena. Locky and his fellow recruits were tasked with writing a 'death letter' - a letter to their loved ones in the event of their death - as part of a brutal psychological challenge. While the challenge was done on SAS Australia for dramatic purposes, similar letters are penned by real-life Special Forces soldiers in the battlefield in case they don't make it home alive. Locky was on the verge of tears as he read out his letter to the other recruits. 'We haven't unfollowed each other at all,' he said, seemingly unaware that Irena had temporarily blocked him on Instagram 'Dear the best thing that's ever happened to me in my whole entire life, Irena,' he began. 'I love you more than I can say. What matters most is not my desires and my ambitions, it's our future together. Without you in it, I have nothing.' The Australian Survivor star went on to reveal the importance of family in his life. 'Please tell mum and Bon, my sister, I love and miss them so much, and when I get back I'll make more of an effort to stay in contact. There needs to be more family in my life and that starts with me.' Locky concluded: 'Irena, you are my everything. I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you. I love you so much. Locky.' Dancing On Ice came to a glittering close on Sunday evening as the final three celebrities got their skates on for one last hurrah. Nile Wilson and his partner Olivia Smart ultimately took home the win, after beating Joey Essex and Vanessa Bauer and The Vivienne and Colin Grafton. The live final saw judges Jayne Torvill, Christopher Dean, Ashley Banjo and Oti Mabuse return to the panel to cast their votes once more. It's the final! Dancing On Ice came to a glittering close on Sunday evening as the final three celebrities got their skates on for one last hurrah Ahead of the final, Nile was the online bookmakers favourite to win this years competition by landslide, with an 80% probability. After bagging the win, the Olympian broke down in tears as he joined his professional partner Olivia Smart lifting the glittering trophy, after wowing viewers with his jaw-dropping version of the iconic Bolero skate. Getting emotional, Nile said: 'I just want to say, 11 human beings proved we could do anything if you put your mind to something and work hard, you can achieve anything.' Runner-up Joey added: 'I missed a few steps but it was the best time of my life, well done to Nile and Olivia' The Vivienne and Colin came in third place during the final - leaving Nile and Joey skating the iconic Bolero. WINNER: Nile Wilson has been crowned the winner of Dancing On Ice 2023, beating out Joey Essex and The Vivienne in the grand final Incredible: The Olympian broke down in tears as he joined his professional partner Olivia Smart lifting the glittering trophy, after wowing viewers with his jaw-dropping version of the iconic Bolero skate Third: The Vivienne and Colin came in third place during the final - leaving Nile and Joey skating the iconic Bolero Nile was up first with an elegant performance and said at the end: 'I can't believe I got emotional'. Joey then took to the ice and gave an emotional performance, with judge Chris saying: 'You have come so far' but pointed out a few missteps. While Nile made history as the first male contestant to perform the headbanger during the grand final. He was given the maximum amount of points for the show-stopping routine with judges, Ashley Banjo, Oti Mabuse, Jayne Torvill and Chris Dean all scoring him 10. The headbanger, or the bounce spin, sees a skater picked up their ankle and spun round by their partner. Due to the potential danger, the move is actually banned by the International Skating Union (ISU), which governs competitive skating. Performing the move at an ISU event will see points deducted by the judges, but it can be used in routines for exhibition or show skating. Speaking ahead of his routine Nile said: 'There's going to be eight other professionals on the ice and it very very intimidating. I need to blend in with them and not stand out.' Close: Joey then took to the ice and gave an emotional performance, with judge Chris saying: 'You have come so far' but pointed out a few missteps Nile was up first with an elegant performance and said at the end: 'I can't believe I got emotional' 'A hell of a lot can go wrong in this routine, it's the biggest challenge I have ever attempted on this show!' Commenting on the routine, Ashley said: 'After the week I know you'v e had, to pull that routine off cleanly with no mistakes is incredible' Oti said: 'The passion, the thrill, the way you push yourself every week, this performance was worthy of a 10' The Vivienne was up next with a jam-packed routine, which they skated to Katy Perry's Dark Horse, and scored a massive 40 points with partner Colin. After smashing the performance, the Drag Queen said: 'I will remember this for the rest of my life!' Oti said: 'For me, I've always thought you are a great performer but there's something so special about you, thank you for showing us power and control.' Chris added: 'It was so nice to see it come together tonight, it was so strong, well done'. Tense: Dancing On Ice came to a glittering close on Sunday evening as the final three celebrities got their skates on for one last hurrah Dangerous: Nile made history as the first male contestant to perform the headbanger during the grand final Joey Essex transformed into Hercules for his showcase skate with professional partner and beau Vanessa. Like Nile and The Vivienne, the pair also got tens across the board and were praised by the judges. 'I have had the time of my life this has been the best experience. I have enjoyed every single day. It couldn't have gone any better,' Joey gushed after his performance. 'I'm so proud of you bro, I really hope people can get behind you,' Judge Ashley Banjo admitted. Christopher Dean added: 'It really was from zero to hero tonight!' Tonight's three couples then took to the rink together to battle it out to remain in the competition - with only two couples making it through to perform the Bolero. Cate Blanchett could soon collect another Oscar for her mantel. And on Thursday, the 53-year-old wowed on the red carpet as she attended the Australian Oscars Nominees Reception. The actress opted for an eye-catching outfit as she posed for photos at the Chateau Marmont Penthouse in Los Angeles. Cate chose a sparkling gold blouse covered in gold sequins, and featuring long sleeves and a cinched waist. She added a pair of leather trousers to the ensemble, as well as towering pointed black heels. Cate Blanchett (pictured) could soon collect another Oscar for her mantel And on Thursday, the 53-year-old wowed on the red carpet as she attended the Australian Oscars Nominees Reception The actress opted for an eye-catching outfit as she posed for photos at the Chateau Marmont Penthouse in Los Angeles The star kept her makeup soft, choosing clean, glowing look with a pale pink lipstick and wearing her blonde bob down in waves. Cate is preparing for the Academy Awards, where she may land her coveted third gong. Blanchett recently landed a Best Actress nomination for her lead role in the psychological drama Tar. She is a well decorated actress, having already won two Oscars from seven previous nominations. Cate chose a sparkling gold blouse covered in gold sequins, and featuring long sleeves and a cinched waist She added a pair of leather trousers to the ensemble, as well as towering pointed black heels The star kept her makeup soft, choosing clean, glowing look with a pale pink lipstick and wearing her blonde bob down in waves The star has recently been hard at work on the set of her new film Borderlands alongside Jamie Lee Curtis. In Borderlands, Blanchett stars as Lilith, an infamous outlaw who leads a team on an intergalactic mission to find her missing daughter. Curtis plays Dr. Patricia Tannis, a scientist grappling with her own sanity. Directed and co-written by Eli Roth, the science fiction action comedy film is based on the video game of the same name. The 95th Academy Awards will air live on ABC on March 12 from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. Guitarist Eric Clapton will stage two concerts paying tribute to his former Yardbirds bandmate Jeff Beck, after he died in January aged 78. Johnny Depp and Sir Rod Stewart are also among the stars expected to perform as part of the tribute at the Royal Albert Hall. Pioneering and influential rock guitarist Beck died in January at the age of 78 after contracting bacterial meningitis. Beck's widow Sandra Beck, 58, and guitarist Clapton, 77, have announced two concerts to honour Beck's memory and artistry, which will take place at the London venue in May and feature performances from a number of high-profile musicians. The final line-up is set to be confirmed nearer to the performances, which have been billed for May 22 and 23. Tribute: Eric Clapton (pictured in 2014) will stage two concerts at the Royal Albert Hall in May for his former Yardbirds bandmate Jeff Beck Guitar legend: Jeff Beck passed away aged 78 in January after contracting bacterial meningitis Other artists who have reportedly indicated their interest to be involved in the tribute concerts include Doyle Bramhall, Gary Clark Jr, Billy Gibbons, Imelda May, John McLaughlin, Robert Randolph, Joss Stone, Susan Tedeschi, Derek Trucks and Olivia Safe. Members of Beck's touring band, Rhonda Smith, Anika Nilles and Robert Stevenson, are also expected to perform. Grammy-winner Beck rose to prominence with rock band The Yardbirds and went on to have a successful solo career and fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. A chance meeting with musician Jimmy Page led Beck to join the the Yardbirds in 1965 - replacing the band's former guitarist Clapton. Clapton ranked second in Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Guitarists Of All Time and is regarded as one of the most influential in rock music. He recorded his signature song Layla with Derek and the Dynamos and covered Bob Marley's I Shot The Sheriff in 1974. He has sold more than 280 million records, making him one of the best-selling musicians of all time, and is an 18-time Grammy winner. After close to two years with the band, Beck went on to forge a successful solo career. Star-studded event: Johnny Depp is also expected to perform - after he and Beck toured together last year (pictured in 2022 performing in Helsinki with Beck) Beck made headlines last year when he announced a collaborative album with Depp shortly after the Hollywood actor's defamation battle with ex-wife Amber Heard drew to a close. The pair first met in 2016 and began recording the album in 2019 while Depp was also playing with Alice Cooper's supergroup Hollywood Vampires. In 2022, Beck released the full length album, titled 18, with Depp and the pair played a number of live gigs together. They finished a transatlantic live tour together just weeks before Beck died, with the Pirates Of The Caribbean star reportedly visiting his friend in hospital. The pair became close friends in recent years and were seen out drinking in Britain together late last year. Fans are able to register for pre-sale tickets for the Jeff Beck tribute concerts, which will go on sale on March 14 at 10am. Tickets for the concerts will go on general sale on March 15 at 10am and are available from the venue and BookingsDirect.com. Surplus income from the concerts will be donated to the Folly Wildlife Rescue, based in Tunbridge Wells. She has lately been focused on dark dramas and pitch black satire, but Jennifer Lawrence delighted her fans with the release of the first trailer for her upcoming sex comedy No Hard Feelings on Thursday. The trailer for the hard R-rated movie promises more laughs than Lawrence has delivered in years, and its the first straight-ahead comedy she has ever made, as most of her lighter projects have been dramedies or satires. Lawrence, 32, stars in No Hard Feelings as a woman who responds to an ad from a set of parents who offer a car as a gift to any woman who is willing to date their straitlaced son before he leaves for college. While several Twitter users were elated to see Lawrence doing comedy again, some noted that her return comes amid a seeming downturn of sex comedies and rom-coms. 'I'm glad Jennifer Lawrence is doing a sexy comedy,' wrote the comedian and writer Kath Barbadoro. 'They should make more sex comedies! Idk why they stopped.' Palpable excitement: Jennifer Lawrence, 32, energized her fans on Thursday with the release of her raunchy hard R-rated sex comedy No Hard Feelings Change of pace: While several Twitter users were elated to see Lawrence doing comedy again, some noted that her return comes amid a seeming downturn of sex comedies and rom-coms 'Jennifer Lawrence doing physical comedy??? Yes!! She looks good in this!' gushed another user. The trailer showed off plenty of physical comedy from the Oscar winner, including a scene in which she writhed around on the ground in agony after her intended date Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman) sprays her with pepper spray after thinking she was trying to kidnap him. In another over-the-top scene, Percy who was previously a teetotaler has way too much wine and tries to punch an older man, only to miss and accidentally hit Jennifer in the throat, causing her to gasp comically before making an exit. Others appeared to appreciate Lawrence playing up her sex appeal and comedy skills. 'Jennifer Lawrence being hot and funny is all I need from a film so my ticket is sold,' tweeted another person. Another person added: 'Jennifer Lawrence has always had unmatched charisma and star-power. So excited to see her in this R-rated comedy!' Some fans were particularly excited to see the new film because it appears to be such a stark contrast from her latest film, in which she costars with Brian Tyree Henry, and one was particularly elated to see that Lawrence had creative control of her latest project. 'Jennifer Lawrence going from her acclaimed understated indie film (causeway) to a raunchy R-rated comedy movie (no hard feelings) seems like such an inspired//fun career move... and producing both (!!),' one user enthused. Some fans were even expecting the upcoming film to be a hit, as several of her films from the last few years have failed to gain traction with critics. Nailed it: One fan thought Lawrence was just the right fit for the material Good enough: Another wrote that Lawrence being 'hot and funny' was all they required of a movie Icon: Some Twitter users thought Lawrence's 'unmatched charisma' and 'star-power' would be beneficial to the comedy Taking charge: Others applauded Lawrence's range, as her most recent film is the critically acclaimed drama Causeway. One fan noted that she had produced both films Could be big: Some fans were even expecting the upcoming film to be a hit, as several of her films from the last few years have failed to gain traction with critics Wow: Lawrence plays a cash-strapped woman trying to seduce a 19-year-old boy for pay in a wild new trailer for No Hard Feelings Girl in trouble: The racy comedy movie stars Jennifer as Maddie, who finds herself in such dire financial straits that she is on the brink of losing her late mother's house Care and concern: Maddie throws herself on the mercy of a rich pair of New Age 'helicopter parents' played by Broadway stars Laura Benanti and Matthew Broderick Innocent: Percy (Andrew Feldman), their geeky 19-year-old son, is about to go to college and has been cosseted his whole life, never breaking the rules 'I'll date his brains out': The couple offers Maddie a car in exchange for a heavyweight favor - she must seduce Percy before he leaves for Princeton In No Hard Feelings, Jennifer plays Maddie, who finds herself in such dire financial straits that she is on the brink of losing her late mother's house. Maddie throws herself on the mercy of a rich pair of New Age 'helicopter parents,' played by Broadway stars Laura Benanti and Matthew Broderick. Percy, their geeky 19-year-old son, is about to go to college and has been cosseted his whole life, never breaking the rules. The couple offers Maddie a car in exchange for a heavyweight favor she must seduce Percy before he leaves for Princeton. Maddie begins the trailer by running out of her house to see her car getting impounded by a tow truck driver she apparently used to date. She tries to finagle her way out of the situation by telling the man (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) she misses him - but the previous night's plans get in the way. Right as she tries to put the moves on the driver, a musclebound Italian wearing nothing but underwear bounds out through her front door. The sizzling beefcake wraps his arms around Maddie from behind and grabs her breasts over her protestations to the tow truck driver that he is her 'cousin.' 'I'm an Uber driver and I don't have a car!' she says, and resorts to attempting to carry out food deliveries on a pair of roller-blades. While commiserating with her pals about her circumstances, she sees a classifieds ad on her phone: 'Need a car? "Date" our son this summer to bring him out of his shell before college. In exchange we'll give you a Buick Regal.' Uh oh: Maddie begins the trailer by running out of her house to see her car getting impounded by a tow truck driver she apparently used to date Level best: She tries to finagle her way out of the situation by telling the man (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) she misses him - but the previous night's plans get in the way 'Buongiorno!': Right as she tries to put the moves on the driver, a musclebound Italian wearing nothing but underwear bounds out through her front door 'Second cousin': The sizzling beefcake wraps his arms around Maddie from behind and grabs her breasts over her protestations to the tow truck driver that he is her 'cousin' Side by side: The cast includes Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse voice actress Natalie Morales and The Mick star Scott MacArthur as Maddie's pals What a task: She sees a classifieds ad on her phone from Percy's parents: '"Date" our son this summer to bring him out of his shell before college' Unfiltered: Maddie wonders if the offer is a joke, but her friend says: 'No, have you seen these helicopter parents? I'm surprised they're not gonna f*** him themselves' Maddie wonders if the offer is a joke, but her friend says: 'No, have you seen these helicopter parents? I'm surprised they're not gonna f*** him themselves.' She sits down for a meeting with the parents, who express their concern that their son 'doesn't come out of his room, he doesn't talk to girls, doesn't drink.' 'So when you say date him, do you mean "date him" or "DATE him?" asks Maddie, and Percy's parents instantly catch her meaning. 'Yes,' says Percy's mother hurriedly, while the boy's father doubles down: 'Date him, date him hard,' to which Maddie promises: 'I'll date his brains out.' Maddie decks herself out in a slinky pink cocktail dress and struts her stuff into an animal shelter where he is volunteering with dogs. 'Mind if I touch your wiener?' she asks the gobsmacked teenager, before slyly clarifying she was just talking about the pooch in his arms. After failing to make much headway, she tries to playfully kidnap him - only for her plans to go disastrously awry when he maces her in the face. 'WHY?' she wails, crawling across the ground, and when he squeals: 'You tried kidnapping me!' she snaps back at him: 'You're 19! Grow up!' Her attempts to get the 'unf***able' 'kid' into bed continue unabated, even to the point of taking him out to drink underage. 'Yes': 'So when you say date him, do you mean "date him" or "DATE him?" asks Maddie, and Percy's parents instantly catch her meaning 'Mind if I touch your wiener?': Maddie decks herself out in a slinky pink cocktail dress and struts her stuff into an animal shelter where he is volunteering with dogs No stone unturned: Her attempts to get the 'unf***able' 'kid' into bed continue unabated, even to the point of taking him out to drink underage Whoops: However when she tries to ply him with a Long Island Iced Tea, he spits it out onto the table, complaining: 'This is the worst iced tea I ever had!' However when she tries to ply him with a Long Island Iced Tea, he spits it out onto the table, complaining: 'This is the worst iced tea I ever had!' Persistent as ever, because 'I just know my mom would've wanted me to save the house,' she keeps trying to bring out the excitement in Percy. She takes him to an arcade and performs a lap dance for him at home and in a burst of desperation she takes him skinny dipping in the ocean at night. Maddie peels off her clothes and slides into the waves, patiently trying to assuage his misgivings about sharks and jellyfish. When Percy, unable to overcome his squeamishness, adds: 'It's really the lack of lifeguards that - ' she bellows: 'JUST GET THE F*** IN HERE RIGHT NOW!' Maddie finds herself touched by how 'sweet' Percy is, especially after he confesses over an elegant dinner how 'romantic' his sensibility is. On his end Percy does in fact begin to uncover a rebellious streak, rather overpouring his wine while having lunch with his parents. As he glugs his glass down in one go, his father tries haltingly to pull the brakes, advising him: 'You wanna savor it - savor it!' Maddie then accompanies Percy to a party with other teens, where he proceeds to get so drunk she has to help him into the bathroom to vomit. Tenacity: Persistent as ever, because 'I just know my mom would've wanted me to save the house,' she keeps trying to bring out the excitement in Percy Going for it: She takes him to an arcade and performs a lap dance for him at home and in a burst of desperation she takes him skinny dipping in the ocean at night Uninhibited: Maddie peels off her clothes and slides into the waves, patiently trying to assuage his misgivings about sharks and jellyfish Changes: Maddie finds herself touched by how 'sweet' Percy is, especially after he confesses over an elegant dinner how 'romantic' his sensibility is 'Savor it': On his end Percy does in fact begin to uncover a rebellious streak, rather overpouring his wine while having lunch with his parents Overindulgence: Maddie then accompanies Percy to a party with other teens, where he proceeds to get so drunk she has to help him into the bathroom to vomit Once they emerge, they are confronted by a middle-aged man who appears to be te father of the high school graduate hosting the party. The man tries to make Maddie leave, and when a drunken Percy takes a swing at him in her defense, he accidentally winds up punching her in the throat. Helmed by Good Boys director Gene Stupnitsky, No Hard Feelings is slated for release right at the beginning of summer on June 23. The cast includes Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse voice actress Natalie Morales and The Mick star Scott MacArthur as Maddie's pals. She's expecting a child with fiance Lorri Haines this year. And Ferne McCann showed off her growing stomach this week as she shared a beaming mirror snap to Instagram. The reality star, 32, who already shares daughter Sunday with ex-boyfriend Arthur Collins, bared her blossoming bump in a white crop top for the snap. Teamed with a pair of beige fitted leggings, the expectant mother added crew socks and grey chunky trainers to the sporty ensemble. She confirmed the pregnancy news earlier this week, after it was initially reported in January - with the couple keeping tight-lipped on the news. Glowing: Pregnant Ferne McCann, 32, displayed her growing baby bump in a white crop top and leggings this week - after confirming her second pregnancy It's official: Ferne and her fiance Lorri Haines confirmed the pregnancy news earlier this week, after it was initially reported in January - with the couple keeping tight-lipped on the news Flashing a smile for the picture, Ferne had her jaw-length brunette locks left to fall in a natural style from a deep side parting. She added a bright palette of makeup with a glossy pink lip, as her adorable pup could be seen in the background through the full-length mirror. After months of speculation, Ferne and fiance of six months Lorri finally confirmed that the rumours of a pregnancy were true. The duo told OK! Magazine they've chosen not to find out the baby's gender and that they 'don't believe' in due dates, but that she's set to give birth in the summer. She gushed: 'I would love a girl, just because I've got my girl's name and I feel like a girl mum because I've got Sunday. I can only see myself with girls.' Elsewhere, she said: 'I would love to have a home birth and I've been told many times that I'm the perfect candidate. I had a smooth and lovely birth with Sunday and I did the majority of my labour at my mum's house. It was just the delivery that I did at the hospital. I would love to have the pool, but Lorri's worried about the mess.' Ferne also told the publication: 'We can't have your average top 10 in the UK names. I love unusual, but not weird. I'm firing some names at Lorri and he's like, "No, no." Sunday comes up with some really good names actually.' The TV personality and her businessman partner are filming their journey to second-time parenthood for her First Time Mum reality show on ITVBe. Ferne has a daughter Sunday, five, from a previous relationship with jailed acid attacker Arthur Collins. Lorri also has a son the same age as Sunday with his ex partner. Soon to be 2! She already shares daughter Sunday with ex-boyfriend Arthur Collins Not long now: Speaking this week, the couple told OK! Magazine they've chosen not to find out the baby's gender and that they 'don't believe' in due dates, but that she's set to give birth in the summer Ferne added: 'I would love to have a home birth and I've been told many times that I'm the perfect candidate' During the same interview, Ferne spoke out about the scandal surrounding a series of leaked voice messages. In November 2022, an anonymous Instagram account, called Lady Whistledown after the Bridgerton secret gossip sharer, posted a series of voice messages from a woman they claimed was Ferne. One heard a woman's voice label one of acid attacker Arthur Collins ' victims a 'silly b****' while another saw Ferne accused of body-shaming Sam Faiers. Ferne addressed the voice notes in a new interview, saying the circumstances around them will be dealt with on an upcoming series of her reality show, First Time Mum. Speaking out this week, she revealed that it would be addressed on her reality show, where she will react on screen to the scandal. Explaining that it's not as easy as simply speaking out, Ferne added: 'The frustration comes from just not being able to be fully transparent and I cannot wait to share my full truth and the full story, but unfortunately, I can't because there is the criminal investigation and for that reason I can't go into detail.' Jane Fonda shared her secret for staying vibrant and youthful-looking on Thursday in New York City as she told a reporter they key was 'good genes and lot of money.' The actress, 85, who looked glamorous at the recent Vienna Opera Ball, didn't skip a beat as she quipped her answer to a TMZ reporter who asked her about her personal fountain of youth while she posed for photos outside the Ed Sullivan Theater. The Oscar winner looked stylish in all black as flashed a peace sign at fans waiting to catch a glimpse of her before her appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. The exercise guru, who announced in December that she was in remission following chemotherapy for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, stepped out in high waist black pants and a simple black top with a blue and white collar. She covered up with a thick knee-length black jacket. Vibrant: Jane Fonda, 85, shared her secret for staying vibrant and youthful Thursday in New York telling a reporter the key was 'good genes and lot of money' Stylish: The Oscar winner looked stylish in all black as she posed for photos for waiting fans outside the Ed Sullivan theater ahead of her appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert The 80 for Brady actress styled her silver locks in loose layers. She met up with her old friend, Lily Tomlin, 83, backstage. The two pals were invited to the late night talk show to promote their latest film, Moving On. The pair star as old friends who reconnect at a funeral and comically plot their revenge on the widower who caused problems for them in their younger years. Lily looked fresh in an all white suit as she sat next to her buddy of some 40 years. The former Laugh-In star accessorized with a thick gold coin necklace. Her hair was styled in loose waves. When asked how she would describe the long friendship with her Grace and Frankie co-star, Jane answered 'Just short of intimate,' and referred to The Madness Within star as 'a genuine genius.' When Lily tried to modestly brush off the praise, Jane told her, 'don't make fun of me, I'm serious.' Warm: Jane stepped out in high waist black pants and a simple black top with a blue and white collar and a thick knee-length black jacket. The exercise guru announced in December that she was in remission following chemotherapy for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma Appearance: Inside the theater, she met up with her pal, Lily Tomlin, 82, who looked fresh in a white suite with a thick gold coin necklace. The pair were promoting their latest film, Moving On Genius: In the interview Jane called her Grace and Frankie co-star a 'genuine genius,' and sais their friendship was ''Just short of intimate' Lily then hilariously described their friendship saying, 'I too, am serious when I say, somewhat distant. When both Jane and Stephen seemed shocked at her answer, she explained, 'well, that's how you keep the love alive... you withhold a little bit, always holding something mysterious and aspirative, not just divulging everything.' The Emmy winner later described how she and Jane came to star in Moving On, revealing it began with a simple phone call to writer and director Paul Weitz. 'I said, "why don't you write a movie for me and my friend," and he said, "sure." And he though about it and he wrote one.' Moving On opens in theaters March 17. Distant: Lily said she felt the secret was the keep their relationship 'somewhat distant,' explaining 'well, that's how you keep the love alive...' Vanderpump Rules star and Raquel Leviss' former fiance James Kennedy pledged his support for Tom Sandoval's ex Ariana Madix in the wake of the pair's explosive cheating scandal. The show has been thrown into uproar after it emerged Leviss, 28, had an affair with heartthrob Sandoval, 39, while he was still dating their co-star Madix, 37. Leviss then claimed Madix's friend and fellow reality star Scheana Shay, 37, punched her in the face and filed for a restraining order against her. Shay's lawyer has denied these claims. Ahead of the show's explosive reunion special for season nine, Kennedy, 31, who is now dating Ally Lewber, showed his allegiance to both Madix and Shay in an exclusive DailyMail.com video. He said: 'I'm here for Ariana and she's definitely a great friend of mine, she always has been and we're here to support her no matter what. His say: Vanderpump Rules star and Raquel Leviss' former fiance James Kennedy pledged his support for Tom Sandoval's ex Ariana Madix in the wake of the pair's explosive cheating scandal (pictured with Leviss in 2019) Comment: Ahead of the show's explosive reunion special for season nine, Kennedy, who is now dating Ally Lewber, showed his allegiance to both Madix and Shay in an exclusive DailyMail.com video When asked if he supported Shay, he added: 'Yep she knows well... I don't know much about it because I've not been able to speak to Scheana in person. He added that he 'doesn't even remember' the last time he spoke to Leviss or Sandoval. When asked if he thought it was 'weird' that Sandoval had got involved in his May 2021 proposal to Leviss, Kennedy said: 'I don't know, everyone has to wait for the reunion to hear what I have to say... 'It's gonna be very interesting, everyone's gotta watch it to see what happens.' Leviss announced her split from Kennedy in January after five years together. In the wake of the hook-up revelations, he wrote on Instagram: 'Hope you all feel as sick as I do. This explains everything.' This comes after Shay joked that the cast will 'need to have cages' when they film their next reunion. Madix dumped Sandoval last week when she discovered his infidelity and the women on the show have rallied around her, including Shay. Amid the mounting drama, Shay quipped on her podcast Scheananigans that each cast member will need 'their own personal bodyguard' at the reunion. Love triangle: The show has been thrown into uproar after it emerged Leviss, 28, had an affair with heartthrob Sandoval, 39, while he was still dating their co-star Madix , 37 - Sandoval, Madix and Leviss are seen together in November 2022 Over: Sandoval and Madix were in a relationship for nine years (Tom and Ariana pictured February 7) In the wake of the hook-up revelations, he wrote on Instagram: 'Hope you all feel as sick as I do. This explains everything' with Dayna Kathan branding the pair 'cowards' Feud: Leviss then claimed Madix's friend and fellow reality star Scheana Shay, 37, punched her in the face and filed for a restraining order against her. Shay's lawyer has denied these claims The black eye: Leviss claimed that Shay gave her a black eye after being shoved against a brick wall There for her: He said: 'I'm here for Ariana and she's definitely a great friend of mine, she always has been and we're here to support her no matter what' Shay was discussing the 'Scandoval' on her podcast with her fellow reality stars Kristen Doute and Lala Kent, who shot to fame with her on Vanderpump Rules. When the reunion came up, Kent vamped: 'Security will definitely be amped up,' and Doute chimed in: 'I was literally thinking the same thing.' 'Oh, like we need to have cages,' Shay cracked, adding: 'Everyone needs their own personal bodyguard because...oof!' A lawyer for Shay has blasted claims made by Leviss after the latter accused her co-star of giving her a black eye during an altercation. The Vanderpump Rules stars engaged in a 'heated confrontation' on March 2 in which Shay allegedly punched Leviss in the face over her affair with Sandoval, which resulted in Leviss filing a restraining order against Shay. Fans of the show and friends of the cast have seemed to side with Shay, believing that Leviss had the black eye before encountering Shay. Scheana's attorney, Neama Rahmani, slammed the allegations in a blistering statement obtained by DailyMail.com. 'This case is a fabrication by a known liar and a cheat who has betrayed everyone close to her. Scheana never punched Rachel [Raquel], period. The supposed dark markings around her left eye have been there for months.' Rahmani continued, 'Neither Scheana nor other cast members want anything to do with Rachel going forward. The judge has only heard a one-sided account of what happened, and we look forward to presenting the full and true story at the March 29 hearing.' After the supposed altercation, Leviss claimed Shay attacked her following a taping of Andy Cohen's late-night talk show Watch What Happens Live, in which they both appeared. An enraged Shay allegedly shoved Leviss against a brick wall before punching her in the left eye. In response to Leviss's original claims, members of the Vanderpump Rules community and fans have come forward to share their thoughts on the situation. Whose side: 'This case is a fabrication by a known liar and a cheat who has betrayed everyone close to her. Scheana never punched Rachel [Raquel], period' Kael Ramsey Ackerson, a close pal of many of the show's stars, took to Instagram Wednesday to share his take. 'Sooooo Ive tried to stay out of this whole thing but one thing were not about to do is lie,' he wrote. He accompanied his post with several photos of Leviss taken before March 1, when the alleged incident took place. 'All these photos were before #wwhl and in all of these this so-called black eye was present @raquelleviss this is not how you treat family but again everything comes to light.' Erika-Jayne's estranged husband Tom Girardi gave more than $1million in gifts and payments to a State Bar of California investigator and his wife, according to newly-released reports. Last month disgraced attorney Girardi, 83, was indicted for allegedly stealing $18 million from clients including the grieving families of victims of the 2018 Lion Air crash. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Girardi is already facing a mountain of civil litigation over claims he stole money from his law firm. The alleged fraud and theft first came to light in 2020, around the same time RHOBH star Erika filed for divorce. He was federally disbarred in August 2021. The reports detail how Girardi kept an 'extensive network of connections at all levels' of the State Bar of California which is tasked with regulating the legal profession - with dozens of client complaints against Girardi closed without any action taken. Then-State Bar investigator Tom Layton, his wife, Rose, and a business entity they ran together received over $600,000 in payments from Girardi's law firm, Girardi Keese, during Layton's employment. Erika-Jayne's estranged husband Tom Girardi gave more than $1million in gifts and payments to a State Bar of California investigator and his wife, according to newly-released reports (pictured at court last month) The alleged fraud and theft first came to light in 2020, around the same time RHOBH star Erika filed for divorce. He was federally disbarred in August 2021 (pictured 2016) Girardi Keese also leased Layton multiple cars over the years and gave him a credit card which he used to pay for routine expenses, with Layton charging an average of $45,000 a year between 2013-2020. Layton received a $150,000 bank loan in 2006, that Girardi guaranteed and for which Girardi Keese made repayments. The report also states Girardi Keese employed two of Layton's children while their father was employed at the State Bar, while Girardi is the godfather to Layton's daughter - with the pair's relationship described by one witness as a 'father-son' bond. The report reveals the multiple handouts 'were never properly disclosed'. Layton was fired from the association in 2015, The report states: 'Even though we did not find evidence that Layton was assigned to or made discretionary decisions in any Girardi case, there is evidence suggesting that he assisted Girardi in disciplinary matters in other ways.' The reports also describe how Girardi's `unethical and unacceptable behavior went unchecked for so long and reveal systemic organizational dysfunction that persisted for many years and through many changes of leadership.' It was also found eight Girardi cases were closed by individuals who had conflicts of interest at the time they worked on the cases. The report found that their conflicts tainted their decisions to close the cases. Also, between 2013 and 2015, both the executive director and general counsel's offices received reports about Girardi's influence at the State Bar and connection to Layton and others - but failed to investigate, the report showed. 189 people died in the crash of Lion Air Flight JT-610. Girardi and his firm represented five relatives of victims, but stole $3million of their settlement money Then-State Bar investigator Tom Layton, his wife, Rose, and a business entity they ran together received over $600,000 in payments from Girardi's law firm, Girardi Keese, during Layton's employment - Girardi pictured 2019 The first of the two reports was prepared by attorney Alyse Lazar, who in 2021 was retained by the State Bar to review 115 files of past complaints against Girardi. Her review, limited to documents in investigative files, identified numerous instances in which complaints were closed without complete investigations or despite the development of facts warranting discipline. The second report was completed by an outside law firm hired by the State Bar to conduct a probe that included interviews of 74 witnesses. That report details instances where Girardi's efforts to buy relationships and exercise influence at the State Bar at all levels likely impacted the handling of some complaints against him, causing those complaints to be shut down improperly. On at least one occasion, Girardi successfully deployed his connections at the bar to discourage people from making complaints against him. The bar association stated that none of the individuals whose unethical behavior is alleged are still affiliated with or employed by the agency in any capacity. The corruption attempts extended to at least nine former State Bar employees or board members who accepted items of value, travel or meals from the then-attorney who is currently facing federal charges, the bar association found. Ruben Duran, chair of the State Bar Board of Trustees, said: 'The magnitude and duration of the transgressions reveal persistent institutional failure and a shocking past culture of unethical and unacceptable behavior' at the State Bar of California. After he was disbarred last year, the State Bar said it had received 205 complaints against Girardi alleging he misappropriated settlement money, abandoned clients and committed other serious ethical violations over the course of his four-decade career. On February 1, Girardi was indicted by grand juries in Chicago and L.A. on allegations of stealing $3 million from the plane crash victims and an additional $15 million from other clients. On February 6 Girardi had not guilty pleas entered on his behalf. Girardi is charged in Los Angeles federal court with wire fraud for allegedly stealing millions from clients that included an Arizona widow whose husband was killed in boat accident, a Los Angeles couple injured in a car wreck that paralyzed their son and a man who was severely burned in the 2010 San Bruno gas pipeline explosion. As one of the nations most prominent plaintiffs attorneys, Girardi took on powerful corporations, movie studios and Pacific Gas and Electric in a case that led to a $333 million settlement, which was portrayed in the 2000 Julia Roberts film Erin Brockovich. He and Erika Jayne are estranged, but have not yet finalized their divorce. She filed for divorce in 2020. Last month, Jayne teased that fans would be hearing from her 'soon' about Girardi's legal troubles after declaring that she is not worried about 'her situation.' Tom was once worth an estimated $264 million, and the pair moved out of their luxury Pasadena mansion following the scandal. The reports detail how Girardi kept an 'extensive network of connections at all levels' of the State Bar of California which is tasked with regulating the legal profession - with dozens of client complaints against Girardi closed without any action taken. (pictured with Erika-Jayne) Girardi resides in an assisted living center. His wife has claimed publicly that he is in the throes of dementia and was formally diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2021. It remains unclear if he is deemed fit enough to stand trial. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 20 years in prison. In June, it was revealed she was struggling to pay off a $2,226,985.77 tax bill - despite refusing to 'downsize' on her rumored $40K-a-month glam squad. The 51-year-old Jayne previously said on a episode of RHOBH: 'You can downsize and we've downsized, right? Certain things you don't downsize on and that's your glam.' She's a busy mum-of-three and clearly a woman in a hurry. And Vogue Williams was so rushed off her feet she didn't even have time to let her freshly polished toenails dry as she stepped out in London on Thursday. The TV personality, 37, whos married to Pippa Middletons brother-in-law Spencer Matthews, was spotted struggling to get into a car while trying to keep her red paint job intact. She sported sandals with white tissue separating her toes as she ran errands in the capital. For the outing, Vogue wore a black jumpsuit that nipped in at her waist and layered a bright green coat over the top to keep the cold at bay. In a hurry! Vogue Williams, 37, was so rushed off her feet that she didn't even have time to let her freshly polished toenails dry as she stepped out in London on Thursday Oh no: The TV personality was spotted struggling to get into a car while trying to keep her red paint job intact The Irish model has talked in the past about how challenging it can be to raise three young children with former Made In Chelsea star husband Spencer, 34, as well as pursuing a career. She joked: 'When you wipe bums all day you cant really get an ego.' It comes after Vogue reflected on the terrible morning sickness she suffered with all three of her pregnancies. The TV personality shares Theodore, four, Gigi, two and Otto, 10 months, with Spencer but her journey to having them wasn't easy. Speaking on the Happy Mum Happy Baby podcast with Giovanna Fletcher she said she was even relieved the days after giving birth as she was no longer nauseous. The influencer and businesswoman explained: 'My pregnancies, I have to say, were very hard. I was sick to the very last day, with Gigi and Otto. 'So, I remember waking up the next day after giving birth and I felt amazing and I know a lot of people don't feel amazing. 'But, that was the first time I had woken up and hadn't felt sick. You don't realise how awful you felt, until you feel normal again. So, the day after giving birth waking up and being like 'Oh, I don't need one of those tablets!'. Careful: She sported sandals with white tissue separating her toes as she ran errands in the capital Stylish: For the outing, Vogue wore a black jumpsuit that nipped in at her waist and layered a bright green coat over the top to keep the cold at bay The Irish model has talked in the past about how challenging it can be to raise three young children with former Made In Chelsea star Spencer Matthews as well as pursuing a career Family: Vogue shares Theodore, four, Gigi, two and Otto, 10 months, with her husband Spencer 'It's so lovely to not feel sick! I adore the process of giving birth. I would rather give birth 10 times, and never be pregnant and just do the end bit!' During the candid chat she also spoke about her and Spencer's parenting styles noting they deal with things differently. She said: 'Spencer is very chilled out, I'm like super organised, definitely more of a worrier, I worry about stupid things. 'But, I actually think that's linked to like anxiety, and he definitely doesn't have any kind of anxiety but I would worry about things that would never happen.' Rebel Wilson showed off her Mickey Mouse shaped pancakes while on a hike getaway. The actress shared Instagram stories on Friday morning as she posed with pancakes in the shape of the beloved Disney character. The Australian star donned a New York Yankees with a white T-shirt, adding a hoodie and a cream colored jacket on top. The Australian star was in the middle of nowhere during her hike with friends when they set up a picnic area. Rebel's Mickey Mouse shaped pancakes comes just weeks after she proposed to her now-fiancee Ramona Agruma. The latest: Rebel Wilson showed off her Mickey Mouse shaped pancakes while on a hike getaway A close up: The actress shared Instagram stories on Friday morning as she posed with pancakes in the shape of the beloved Disney character Yum: The Australian star was in the middle of nowhere during her hike with friends when they set up a picnic area During her vacation in the outdoors, Rebel also posed in her Minnie Mouse emblazoned sweater while by a camp side fire. She shared a snap of her fiancee Ramona as well during their hike. Rebel popped the question on in mid February at the happiest place on Earth - Disneyland in Anaheim, California. The 42-year-old Pitch Perfect star posted her and Ramona in matching sweaters - pink and white striped knitted sweaters with a black heart emblazoned on the front. She was on bended knee in front of Sleeping Beauty's Castle with Ramona there next to her. Confetti was flying around the the lovebirds, with two large bouquets next to them on each side Rebel revealed that she asked Disney CEO Bob Iger permission to do her proposal to Ramona, along with help from Disney Weddings. 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. 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. She 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. Cute: During her vacation in the outdoors, Rebel also posed in her Minnie Mouse emblazoned sweater while by a camp side fire Love: She shared a snap of her fiancee Ramona as well during their hike Views: The Australian star was in the middle of nowhere during her hike with friends when they set up a picnic area Close up: Rebel shared a loser look at her Yankees hat It's love! Rebel Wilson announced that she had become engaged to her now-fiancee, Ramona Agruma, in a post that was shared to her Instagram account in mid February 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. The hotly-anticipated final dates continued during Friday night's episode of Love Island as the countdown until the grand finale continue. And Will Young and Jessie Wynter enjoyed a fun-filled barn dance date and even patted some lambs as they went back to Will's farming roots. Making their way into a barn, they were met by a band and dancers where Will, 23, brought out his best moves. The couple both donned denim for the evening with Will accessorising his look with a cowboy hat and boots, while Jessie rocked a pair of sparkling silver boots. After Will showed off his 'dad dancing', the pair then sat down for a beverage and some food together. Sweet: The hotly-anticipated final dates continued during Friday night's episode of Love Island as the countdown until the grand finale continue (Pictured: Jessie) Romantic: Will Young and Jessie Wynter enjoyed a fun-filled barn dance date and even patted some lambs as they went back to Will's farming roots Smitten: Talk quickly turned to their time in the South African villa together and their future, with Jessie gushing that she didn't think she'd fall in love 'so hard' on the show Talk quickly turned to their time in the South African villa together and their future, with Jessie gushing that she didn't think she'd fall in love 'so hard' on the show. She said: 'I've had the best time here with you, I didn't think I'd meet someone that I'd fall in love with so hard. 'You've been so supportive of me the whole way through, I want you to know how special you are to me.' Jessie then went on to ask Will the all-important question as she shared her desire to finally make things official. She said: 'I want you to be my boyfriend.' To which an overjoyed and emotional Will replied: 'I think I'm going to cry.' After the pair finally agreed to become boyfriend and girlfriend, they jumped up and shared a close embrace and a kiss as they appeared to be more loved-up than ever. Later, back at the villa, Jessie told the girls that she wanted to make Will 'feel loved' by asking him to make things official. As she celebrated with her fellow Islanders, she added: 'Why should the boy have to do it?' It's official! Jessie then went on to ask Will the all-important question as she shared her desire to finally make things official Romantic evening: The couple both don denim for the evening with Will accessorising his look with a cowboy hat and boots, while Jessie rocks a pair of sparkling silver boots They are not the only couple to have made things official as Shaq Muhammad popped the question to Tanya Manhenga on their date while Ron Hall and Lana Jenkins had already done so. Elsewhere in the episode, Kai and Sanam were the fifth and final couple to go on their date as they dressed to impress with Kai wearing a suit and Sanam in a stunning black evening dress. As they walked into the decadent location, complete with sweeping staircases and romantically lit with candles, they were treated to music by a pianist. Discussing their future Kai spoke about his family as he told Sanam: 'My mum will absolutely adore you because you're literally the kindest most sweet hearted girl that I've ever met and she will see how good you are for me.' Kai and Sanam also bonded over their careers as he said: 'Our careers are so similar, it takes a special sort of person to go into the careers that we both went into, me being a teacher and you being a children's social worker.' Overjoyed: Later, back at the villa, Jessie told the girls that she wanted to make Will 'feel loved' by asking him to make things official Sanam said: 'I love hearing you talk about your job, I just love that side of you, I think it's amazing. 'It also drew me to you, to work with children you need to be a certain type of person and to actually love it shows how much of a kind heart you've got.' After sharing a kiss, Kai and Sanam deliberated which couple they were going to vote for as the least compatible. At the end of their dates, each of the couples were forced to pick which couple was the least compatible, with Will and Jessie, Lana and Ron and Kai and Sanam all vulnerable. It is down to a public vote which couple will be dumped from the island just days ahead of Monday's much-anticipated final. Love Island continues on Sunday on ITV and ITVX at 9pm. Travis Barker appeared to be on the mend one week after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ligament on one of his fingers. The drummer, 47, shared a black and white photo of his scarred digit on social media Friday. The picture appeared in his Instagram stories without comment. Another snap on Travis' Instagram Stories indicated the MTV Video Music Award winner was passing some of his time away getting a new tattoo, this one on his head. The Dammit musician tagged artist Chuey Quintanar in the photo. Recovery: Travis Barker appeared to be on the mend one week after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ligament on one of his fingers. The drummer, 47, shared a black and white photo of his scarred digit on social media Friday Plans: Travis and wife, Kourtney Kardashian, 43, shared a full color snap of the scar on Thursday, with the Blink 182 rocker writing, 'If you wanna make god laugh, tell him your plans' New tattoo: Another snap on Travis' Instagram Stories indicated the MTV Video Music Award winner was passing some of his time away getting a new tattoo, this one on his head. The Dammit musician tagged artist Chuey Quintanar in the photo Travis and wife, Kourtney Kardashian, 43, shared a full color snap of the scar on Thursday, with the Blink 182 rocker writing, 'If you wanna make god laugh, tell him your plans.' The group was supposed to kick off their South American tour Saturday, with their first show just a few hours south of Los Angeles, in Tijuana, Mexico. Those plans changed quickly after the first hurt his hand February 8, revealing the incident on Twitter. 'I was playing the drums at rehearsals yesterday and I smashed my finger so hard I dislocated it and tore the ligaments,' he wrote, followed by an angry emoji. After injuring it again in another rehearsal, Travis and his doctor decided the next step should be surgery. The musician explained his anguish at having to cancel shows in order to undergo the procedure. In a post surgical note to fans on social media he wrote, 'It was a hard decision to make but ultimately I couldnt continue to play the drums without it.' 'It was inevitable that my finger would have dislocated again without fixing the torn ligament surgically.' Necessary: In a post surgical photo, Travis explained the surgery was necessary, writing, 'It was a hard decision to make but ultimately I couldnt continue to play the drums without it' Cancelled dates: The surgery results in Travis and Blink 182 having to cancel their Latin American concerts which were scheduled to begin Saturday, March 11 in Tijuana It's unclear how much time will be needed for recovery. Blink 108's website indicates the North American leg of the tour will open as scheduled in May. However, Travis's website, TravisBarker.com indicates there are no upcoming tour dates scheduled. Molly Smith showed off her toned figure as she jetted off to sunny Mexico with her boyfriend Callum Jones. The former Love Island star, 28, took to Instagram on Friday to share the stunning images as she slipped into a tiny pink bikini. She had her ample assets and toned abs on display in the eye-catching two-piece as she posed up a storm on the beach. Molly went makeup free during the outing, showcasing her natural beauty, while her blonde locks were styled in loose waves. The influencer and Callum appeared in great spirits as they beamed in a video before going out to see the turtles. Wow! Molly Smith showed off her toned figure in a skimpy two-piece as she jetted off to sunny Mexico with her boyfriend Callum Jones Incredible: The former Love Island star, 28, took to Instagram on Friday to share the stunning images as she slipped into a tiny pink bikini Molly donned a skin-tight blue cut-out mini dress while carrying snorkeling gear and water. Meanwhile, Callum was wearing a black vest and carrying a bag pack during the fun outing. The previous evening, Molly put on a very leggy display in a stylish blue crochet crop top and mini skirt co-ord. She boosted her height in a pair of silver strappy heels and carried a matching handbag while posing in front of a picturesque background. Molly and Callum are one of Love Island's major success stories , meeting on the first-ever winter edition of the ITV dating show in 2020, where they left before the finale. The couple moved into a lavish four-bedroom house in Manchester that November after meeting on the show. Despite their rushed start, the lovebirds seem to be going from strength to strength, recently celebrating their second anniversary together. Beaming: The influencer and Callum appeared in great spirits as they beamed in a video before going out to see the turtles Stylish: The previous evening, Molly put on a very leggy display in a blue crochet crop top and mini skirt co-ord It hasn't always been smooth sailing for the couple, however, as their get-together caused a stir on the ITV2 show. Callum entered the show as one of the original contestants and connected with Shaughna Phillips at the beginning. The couple's relationship continued to blossom until the infamous Casa Amor came along - which saw Molly's arrival to the show. Molly and Callum hit it off upon meeting, and he decided to return to the villa with her - leaving Shaughna devastated as she was left to fly solo. The Comedy Of Errors (More Or Less) (Shakespeare North Playhouse, Prescot) Rating: Verdict: Its fun up north Top Girls (Everyman Theatre, Liverpool) Rating: Verdict: Just off peak Locals can hardly believe it themselves. In Shakespeares day, Liverpools sleepy eastern suburb of Prescot was an Elizabethan Las Vegas: a market town where people flocked for gambling, merriment and . . . theatre! The handsome new playhouse, which opened here in the autumn, aims to re-bottle that energy with a lively programme that continues with a loving travesty of the Bards mistaken identity caper, The Comedy Of Errors. Only here, the plays been updated as a Lancashire-Yorkshire stand-off in 1980s Scarborough (and, as it happens, its running there, at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, after this). Shakespeares verse is updated, with strong modern vernacular and rhyming couplets, by Nick Lane and Elizabeth Godber daughter of Hulls most celebrated playwright (before Richard Bean), John Godber. Godber Jr and Lane set the stage ablaze with joyous seaside-postcard caricatures. Plot details are too complex to relate, but suffice to say that one of the long-lost twins, Antipholus of Prescot, rocks up in Scarborough and is bewildered to find himself mistaken for the husband of wealthy heiress Adriana. But what makes this great fun are the dotty characters, including David Kirkbrides (pictured) double act as Antipholus of Prescot and Scarborough Confusion is partially curated by Andy Cryers (pictured) fixer in a shell suit, Pinch (My suppliers take payment with pliers) Although the play has been cleaned up for political correctness, that doesnt stop the language being pungently northern. Methinks he takes the p***! cries one. Shut your cake hole, you nutty slack, barks another. The ten-plus age guidance seems, er, broadminded. But what makes this great fun are the dotty characters, including David Kirkbrides double act as Antipholus of Prescot and Scarborough. The former winds up in a massive 99 ice cream costume, while the latter falls foul of Claire Edens payday lender Big Sandra (Ill tek him he owes me brass). And the confusion is partially curated by Andy Cryers fixer in a shell suit, Pinch (My suppliers take payment with pliers). No attempt should be made to follow the logic of Paul Robinsons dizzying production. Just trust hes got his head around the geometry of Shakespeares plot on our behalf. Yes, it pushes its luck by running at the best part of three hours. But with 1980s chart hits from Billy Joel to Whitesnake, it keeps the audience chortling and singing along. Carly Churchill's 1980s classic Top Girls, about employment agency exec, Marlene, has been given a more modest makeover at Liverpools Everyman. Shifting from its original London and Norfolk setting to London and Liverpool its a slightly tame intervention by the theatres new regime, led by flawlessly PC creative director Suba Das. It starts with Marlene inviting women including ninth-century female Pope, Joan to dinner to discuss the trials of being female down the ages. Theres no such ambivalence about Dass production, which starts by thanking us for sharing the casts non-binary values The action then shifts to Marlenes agency and the pressures facing professional women. But the most interesting thing is the ambivalence Churchill records about professional independence, through the child Marlene has given up to be fostered by her sister. On the one hand, Churchill seems to celebrate womens release from being second-class citizens in the workforce. On the other, she paints professional ambition as exacting a high personal cost. Theres no such ambivalence about Dass production, which starts by thanking us for sharing the casts non-binary values. Tala Gouveias Marlene is certainly smart, but comes across as more bemused than guilty or troubled. Only Alicya Eyo, as her sister Joyce, really makes us feel her characters resentment at having to raise Marlenes child and care for their mother. We must, however, wish Das well in his mission to put the Everyman back on the map as the Scouse powerhouse it was in its heyday. In alignment with the companys core philosophy of Kyosei, meaning living and working together for the common good, Canon (Canon-CNA.com) will continue its Women in Sales programme for the second year in a row, in its endeavor to empower young women; The initiative reinforces Canons commitment to gender-equality, emphasizing an enhanced need for female representation in sales through its year-long programme, centering internship and mentorship opportunities for young women in Central and North Africa. Canon Central and North Africa announced the second-year continuation of its Women in Sales programme, aligned to address the growing need for women representation in sales management by empowering them through dedicated internship and mentorship opportunities designed to advance their skills and knowledge. The women-only initiative was rolled out during International Womens Month last year in 2022, with the objective to identify 10 fresh-graduate women and provide them with skill-enhancing opportunities such as trainings with mentors and blended/experiential learnings from across various regions in Central and North Africa. The selected participants were offered a year-long holistic training with the opportunity to be employed full-time by Canon. As a successful outcome of the programme, 7 out of 10 women were offered full-time employment at Canon while various others were supported in embarking on their career journey in sales. Out of the seven women who went on to pursue full-time roles with Canon, three were chosen from Turkey, two from Saudi Arabia, one from Kenya, and one from UAE. Key to Progress Equal Amplification of Opportunities As an extension of Canons overarching guiding principle of Kyosei, meaning living and working together for the common good, the 2023 Women in Sales programme will focus primarily on gender-inclusivity and amplification of equal opportunities for men and women alike. Given the lack of female-led roles in Sales across the industry, the initiative will drive progressive opportunities for women allowing them to hone their skills. The 2023 programme will again invite young, fresh-graduate women to engage and learn, however with an augmented goal of targeting 17 full-time positions across Turkey, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Morocco, Kenya, Egypt, and Ivory Coast. Women empowerment has always been a priority for Canon, and it is reflected through our various endeavors that are designed with the intent to support this cause. The overwhelming response received during last year convinced us that we need to continue this progressive path of empowerment and inclusivity. We are delighted to see that we exceeded our initial goal of converting 50% of the selected women into full-time employees, which proves that more women need to come forward and be supported in their sales careers. Celebrating the success of last year, we are now setting our eyes on 2023 with heightened goals, says Veronica Juul-Nyholm, HR Director, Canon Middle East, Central North Africa, and Turkey. Educate, Empower, and Excel The launch of the Women in Sales initiative was lauded by the managing director of the company and has also been awarded for its people-centric approach in alignment with the companys core beliefs. Beginning in February 2022, 10 women participants namely Rahaf Alharbi, Ruba Moafa, and Fatima Alamer from Riyadh Saudi Arabia, Sila Ucar, Billur Konukcu, and Senab Bayram from Istanbul Turkey, Ajuma Gabriel from Lagos Nigeria, Hind Abdoudaime from Casablanca Morocco, Scholarstica Ochieng from Nairobi Kenya, and Shahnaz Bhandari from Dubai UAE, were invited to become part of the Women in Sales programme. The first phase of the programme focused on education, the second on the execution aspect of learning followed by certification and onboarding of successful participants as permanent Canon employees. Canons commitment to the environment, education, and empowerment is clearly reflected in its internal and external initiatives. From my experience as a trainee, I feel the Women in Sales programme is very cleverly and objectively designed to give interns the opportunity to become full-time employees the growth is supported from every direction during the training phase so they can be confident when its time for a transition into full-time roles. I feel privileged to have received this chance to learn and grow under a company like Canon, remarked Ajuma Gabriel, who joined the Women in Sales programme from Nigeria as a Sales Trainee at Canon. A Stepping-Stone for Success Announcing the continuation of its Women in Sales programme for 2023, Canon envisions celebrating this International Womens Day by providing women with a platform that acts as a stepping-stone for success in their sales careers. Last years 12-month programme was divided into two parts, the training programme, and the on-the-job experience. Each participant was also assigned a mentor to ensure support and guidance for every woman that participated in the programme. Selected participants from the programme also received an opportunity to be part of meet and greets, as well as conferences in Dubai to align with the companys greater women in sales objective. The women participants were also recognized by fellow company leaders and colleagues for their contribution towards different company events, such as during their diversity, equity, and inclusion presentation during the Human Resources Learning and Development Conference. The 2022 Women in Sales programme culminated in a graduation ceremony that honored the efforts of all participants in the presence of Canons senior leadership team. It was always a dream for me to work for a global organization like Canon with a fast-paced environment that is full of opportunities and challenges to grow, learn, and excel. And receiving this opportunity to first learn as an intern and then work as a full-time employee was really a dream come true for me. My role at Canon today allows me to work with an international team as big as 46 people, and thats how great it gets! I am amazed at how far I have come from being an intern to an employee working on such big projects now; I am very thankful to Canon for it, said Scholarstica Ochieng from Nairobi, Kenya, previous participant and now, Sales Support Supervisor at Canon. Partager et informez vous aussi...... 0 shares Share Tweet LinkedIn Articles similaires Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a meeting with Prime Minister of Australia Anthony Albanese, in New Delhi, Friday, (PTI Photo) NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australias PM Anthony Albanese held "positive, productive and engaging" talks in New Delhi on Friday at the first India-Australia annual summit, when the two nations decided to ramp up ties in several sectors, including defence and security, trade and investment, climate and clean energy, culture and people-to-people ties, and signed four pacts. Modi, in his remarks before the media, said it was a "matter of regret" that temples in Australia were being attacked and that this issue worries and concerns "everyone in India". He added that Albanese had assured him the welfare and security of the Indian community in Australia was of "special priority" to him. Foreign secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra said at a special briefing in the evening that Modi had raised the issue of disturbances being created by pro-Khalistan elements in Australia and pointed out that such actions disrupt peace and harmony in both societies. The foreign secretary said Modi was assured by the Australian PM of "deep understanding" of the matter and told that Australia was making all efforts to "ensure peace and harmony". It was agreed officials of both sides would stay in touch on the matter, he added. The four pacts that were signed were on culture, sports, innovation and renewable energy, with the constitution of two task forces in solar energy and the clean hydrogen sector. A fifth pact was also signed a few days ago on mutual recognition of education degrees. In his remarks on the Indo-Pacific region, Modi also spoke about the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two nations and the strengthening of bilateral defence ties, including in logistics support, maritime security and exchange programmes between officers of the armed forces of both sides. In his remarks, the Australian PM described ties with "vibrant, wonderful and diverse" India as "multi-faceted" and said he looked forward to welcoming Modi to Australia to attend the four-nation Quad leaders summit in May this year. On trade ties, Albanese hailed the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) that came into force last year which he said eliminated tariffs for more than 85 per cent of Australian goods exported into India. He added that the two nations were now working towards the early conclusion of the proposed Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) between the two nations and hoped that it would be finalised this year, adding that it would be a "transformational deal" that would realise the full potential of the bilateral economic ties, create new employment opportunities and raise living standards of the people of both nations. On strengthening defence and security ties, Albanese talked about efforts to "strengthen an open and stable Indo-Pacific region", in what is being seen as a move by both nations with an eye on China, without referring to that country by name. He spoke about the need for increased defence-related sharing of information between both nations and said Australia would host the four-nation Malabar exercises this year which will see the participation of the Indian, Australian, US and Japanese navies. Asked at his briefing whether the bilateral defence cooperation was to tackle Chinese expansionism in the region, the foreign secretary said India-Australia defence cooperation should not be seen in the context of a third nation but added that both India and Australia face challenges in the maritime domain. "It is a bilateral ecosystem and not a derivative of what a third country does," he said. The Australian PM welcomed a new bilateral agreement on recognition of the educational qualifications of both nations and hoped for an greater presence of Australian universities campuses in India. He also spoke of the progress made towards a proposed new bilateral migration and mobility pact that he said would benefit students, academic researchers, businessmen and professionals. On cooperation in the clean energy sector, Albanese spoke about the cooperation in solar energy and green hydrogen and the agreement on the terms of reference of establishment of an India-Australia Solar Task Force. He also mentioned the bilateral audio-visual agreement in the cultural sphere that would benefit screen projects. He also said that the Indian sport of kabaddi will be showcased at the 2026 Commonwealth Games to be held in Australia. Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader K. Kavitha during a hunger strike seeking early passage of the Women's Reservation Bill, at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, Friday,. (PTI Photo/Ravi Choudhary) HYDERABAD: The Women's Reservation Bill can be passed in less than 10 minutes if the Narendra Modi-led BJP government at the Centre is sincere as it has an absolute majority in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. The current dispensation at the Centre is not sincere in this regard, but the task can be accomplished with the combined efforts of women leaders like Brinda Karat, Sonia Gandhi, Jayanthi Natarajan, BRS MLC and Bharat Jagruthi founder Kalvakuntla Kavitha stated on Friday as she sat on a day-long hunger strike at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. Speaking to the gathering at Jantar Mantar, Kavitha demanded that the BJP-led government at the Centre introduce and pass the Women's Reservation Bill, which would guarantee 33 per cent reservation to women in Parliament and Assemblies, during the current Budget session of Parliament. Kavitha vowed to continue her agitational programmes until the Bill was enacted in the Parliament, claiming that the dharna in the national capital was just the beginning. She said that the Parliament would meet for two more sessions during the winter and vote-on-account Budget session before the general elections in 2024, and she would continue to undertake various agitation programmes until then to step up pressure on the Modi government to pass the Bill. Kavitha sat on dharna for six hours from 10 am to 4 pm, and a large number of women as well as representatives from several political parties took part in the dharna to express their solidarity with Kavitha. Women leaders from the BRS, including ministers, MLAs, MLCs, and MPs, joined Kavitha. She sat on a dharna after garlanding the statues of some renowned women leaders with flowers. The day-long dharna of Kavitha began with veteran Communist leader and CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury extending his support. In her address to the crowd, Kavitha thanked all the political parties that had expressed support for her agitation and described her efforts as a historic imperative to achieve something that had been on hanging fire for the past 27 years. The Bill was drafted when H.D. Deve Gowda was the PM 27 years ago, but could not be passed in Parliament due to several factors. Yechury said he would stand with Kavitha until the Bill was passed in Parliament. "Unless equal opportunity is given to women in social, fiscal and political spheres, no country can progress. PM Modi himself extended his support for the Womens Reservation Bill when he assumed office as the PM in 2014. But, even after nine years, the PM did not make any attempts in this direction," he remarked. As a Philippine Coast Guard plane carrying journalists flew over the Spratly Islands in the hotly disputed South China Sea, a Chinese voice issued a stern command over the radio: "Leave immediately." The order came from a radio operator on a Chinese coastguard vessel 3,500 feet (1,000 metres) below -- one of dozens of ships seen prowling the waters. AFP was one of several media outlets given the rare opportunity on Thursday to fly over some of the dozens of tiny islands and reefs where the Philippines, China and several other nations have competing claims. Beijing claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, including the Spratlys, ignoring an international ruling that its claims have no legal basis. In the past decade, it has ripped up thousands of hectares of reef in the archipelago to create militarised islands with runways, ports and radar systems. To assert its claims, hundreds of Chinese coastguard and other vessels patrol the waters, swarming reefs, harassing and attacking fishing and other boats. They also try to expel non-Chinese planes from the airspace overhead. Also Read | India jostles with China for April ESPO crude from Russia, prices jump "You have entered (the water around) a Chinese reef and constituted a security threat. To avoid misunderstanding, leave immediately," the Chinese radio operator said, in one of seven messages issued in Chinese and English as the coastguard plane flew over a Philippine-occupied island and shoal. The Philippine pilot responded that they were flying within his country's territory. During the four-hour flight in the Cessna Caravan, Philippine Coast Guard personnel identified nearly 20 Chinese vessels, including what they described as "maritime militia" boats, in waters around some of the nine islands and reefs occupied by the Philippines. Seventeen boats reported by the Philippine Coast Guard to be Chinese maritime militia were also spotted near Sabina Shoal, which is claimed by Manila. Fifteen Chinese boats were seen in the vicinity of Thitu, the largest Philippine-occupied island, which lies about 430 kilometres (267 miles) from the major Philippine island of Palawan and more than 900 kilometres from China's nearest major landmass of Hainan island. The Philippine Coast Guard said that was down from 42 the previous week. A Chinese navy ship was 15 kilometres from the island, while a coastguard vessel was half that distance away, according to estimates provided by the Philippine Coast Guard. At Second Thomas Shoal, where Philippine marines are stationed in a derelict navy ship grounded to assert Manila's territorial claim in the waters, a Chinese coastguard vessel was about 11 kilometres away, the Philippine authorities said. Last month, a Chinese coastguard boat was nearly 20 kilometres from the shoal when it allegedly used a military-grade laser light against a Philippine patrol boat. That was the latest major maritime incident between the Philippines and China. Also Read | Putin congratulates Xi on new term, hails 'strengthening' ties It sparked a fresh diplomatic row and prompted Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos to take the unusual step of confronting the Chinese ambassador to Manila. China's foreign ministry insisted Friday the country had sovereignty over the Spratlys and surrounding waters, making it "reasonable and legal" for its ships to conduct "normal activities" there. Marcos has insisted he will not let China trample on the Philippines' maritime rights -- in contrast to his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte who was reluctant to criticise Beijing. The Philippines' new strategy was to call out China's "bullying behaviour and aggressive actions", Commodore Jay Tarriela, the Philippine Coast Guard spokesman for the West Philippine Sea, told a forum in the capital Manila on Wednesday. Manila refers to waters immediately to its west as the West Philippine Sea. The coastguard is regularly publishing information, including photos and videos, about Chinese vessels in the waters around Philippine-occupied features. This helps inform the Philippine people and enables other countries to criticise China over its activities, Tarriela said. And it forces Beijing "to come out in the open to explain or to completely lie". Your Ultimate Investing Toolkit Sign up for MarketBeat All Access to gain access to MarketBeat's full suite of research tools: Portfolio Monitoring Top Stock Lists Premium Reports Stock Screeners Live News Feed Premium Support Free for your first month. 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Members of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) at BBC Northern Ireland are to be balloted for industrial action over planned changes to BBC Radio Foyle's schedule. A half-hour breakfast news programme is to replace Radio Foyle's current two-hour show and it will lose its lunchtime half-hour programme. Hourly news bulletins will continue. The NUJ said 10 staff remain at risk of redundancy. Davy McAuley spokesperson for the campaign has questioned the timing of the announcement: "We have been told that there is a consultation period lasting until 31st March. "Trade Unions are still in talks with BBC bosses, yet it's clear the bosses had already made their decision." Mr McAuley went on to slam the lack of democratic accountability at the Corporation: "We pay for the BBC, yet we are told that we have no say in the service we receive. "BBC bosses were begged to come to the North West to explain their decisions and chose not to. Their arrogance is beyond belief." Protestors said the announcements from the BBC outline their news plans for the Northland Road based station and also delivered a bombshell for local music with the scrapping of the Monday to Thursday, Stephen McCauley Show. Davy McAuley claims the changes are even worse than what the BBC first proposed. He continued: "Stephen McCauley's show is the most important new music radio show in Ireland. "Hundreds of artists have had their first play on it. The plans to replace it with a generic pop music show broadcast from Belfast are absolutely outrageous. "The plans to slash the news output and move the Mark Patterson Show to compete with TalkBack must be resisted. " Mr McAuley vowed that the fight to save the station will go on, "Our voices will be heard. The North West will not be silenced." Foyle MLAs took a united front in support of staff at Radio Foyle and the community they serve. They echoed Mr McAuley's statement that Radio Foyle is "vital to the community" and "Derry's voice will be heard." Mayor of Derry and Strabane District Council, Sandra Duffy also expressed her disappointment at the BBC's announcement. Mayor Duffy described the revised programme schedule changes announced by the BBC today for Radio Foyle as extremely disappointing and encouraged the public to continue to support the Save Radio Foyle Campaign. Mayor Duffy, who travelled to London earlier this year to meet with BBC bosses, said she was extremely disappointed that BBC chiefs had not listened to the views and concerns expressed by the people of the North West. Mayor Duffy said it was hugely disappointing that the Morning Programme has not been reinstated in full, and that the local lunchtime programme is to be discontinued, and called on the BBC to urgently provide clarification on the future of the jobs deemed at risk. She said that it was good news that the hourly news bulletins will continue but said the additional cuts to reduce some of the programming schedule at the station, including the popular Stephen McCauley Show, was very worrying. Mayor Duffy said she was also concerned that the Mark Patterson show is to be rescheduled to an earlier time slot of 12noon to 1.30 daily, so that it is competing with Talkback. Mayor Duffy said: It is extremely disappointing that despite all our efforts the BBC have not listened to the people of the North West and the strong case we put forward to retain both the Morning and Lunchtime news programmes. "While we welcome the fact that there is some level of programming in the morning, we dont believe 30 minutes is sufficient to fairly report the news of the North West region. The BBC in their statement have said that the headcount at Radio Foyle will be retained, they have failed to provide further clarification on this and provide steadfast reassurances that all jobs are safe. The Mayor paid tribute to the staff at the station, trade unions and the wider public who have all supported the campaign to date. "She said the campaign had been successful in bringing to the fore the importance of local and regional radio and the important role it plays in communities like Derry and Strabane. She concluded: I would encourage the local community to continue to support the campaign and to do all we can to get the BBC to review this latest round of cuts and ensure the North West continues to have a voice on the airwaves. Several past pupils of St Columb's College in Derry have expressed dismay that former Taoisaech Bertie Ahern will be the guest of honour at the annual dinner of St Columb's College Past Pupils' Union. Ahead of the presentation, the former St Columb's College students said the former Taoiseach had been disgraced when it emerged a decade ago he had played fast and loose with the truth when required to explain major aspects of his finances. The former students added: "A statutory inquiry described his sworn evidence as 'unreliable and untrue'. "The Inquiry under Judge Mahon found that he had accepted large donations from property developers and others while in government without declaring them. "In one instance, it ruled that he had been dishonest under oath in his account of how he had received 165k. He testified that hed won the money on the horses. "He [Mr Ahern] claimed that he couldnt explain his income and outgoings during his period as Minister of Finance because he hadnt had a bank account. "If an ordinary citizen had come up with this sort of yarn to explain social welfare payments hed be told to think up a better one than that if he wanted to stay out of jail. "St Columbs is one of the most prestigious schools in these islands. It boasts Nobel Laureates, great musicians and a roll-call of other giants of global culture. "This shining reputation will be sullied by St Columbs now conferring honour upon him. Nothing else that he's done can wash away the stench of corruption. "Aherns attendance at this function sets current St Columb's students a terrible example as they prepare to make their way in the world." The statement was signed by: Eamonn McCann, Shaun Harkin, Ronan Moyne, James Doherty, Declan Donnelly, Colm Bryce, Mark Burns and Patrick Bradley. Derrys award-winning, monthly Walled City Market is being axed. Barring a reprieve by Derry City and Strabane District Council, the final Walled City Market is scheduled for Saturday, April 1. Speaking to Derry News, Harry Canning, a stallholder in the Market for the past 10 years who sells handmade crafts, said there was consternation among the traders about the Markets closure, how the decision was communicated, and the negative impact it will have on Derry City Centre going forward. None of the traders have heard a word from the Council since we received the email from its Markets Development Officer last week telling us about the closure. All the traders are disgusted we were not consulted. There were 30 stalls at last Saturdays Market and in the summer months, when the weather picks up, there could be upwards of 40. What we find on the Saturdays when the Walled City Market is on, say between 9 oclock and 11 oclock, is a large number of tourists from other parts of Ireland coming across Guildhall Square with suitcases. As they are coming and going from the bus station and hotels, they all stop in the Walled City Market and buy produce and items at the stalls. We also have the walking tours from the Guildhall and the people on those also shop at the Market. There are an awful lot of tourists from all over Ireland in Derry at the moment and in March, April and May, there will be tourists here from all over the world and they just love the Market, said Mr Canning. He added that tourists arriving in Derry come straight to the Market from their hotels. They would sit here and drink tea or coffee and listen to the music. They also walk around the stalls and there is just a great atmosphere, said Harry. A lot of families from Derry would meet up at the Market too. They sit down on the chairs and spend the whole day there. They would buy items from many of the stalls. The Walled City Market is a great place to meet up with family and friends, especially after covid. I think people really appreciate all the handmade produce and items available in the Market. We have food from South America and Spain, not to mention the legendary Dohertys stew, and it is all in one central location. The Walled City Market is unique. Mr Canning added that the traders were disgusted at how the closure of the Market was done. He said: If the Council had come to us and told us there was a problem with finance, within three days we could have come up with four ways to save the Council money on the Market. They never consulted or asked anyone. The traders are now hoping to get organised and send a letter to the Council and get a meeting. We have proposals for a constructive way forward but this will need to be based on us getting a full breakdown of the Councils costs for the Market, The stallholders at the Walled City Market are from all sides of the community as are the customers. If the Market is closed, it is going to affect the whole community. The days of Council riding roughshod over people with no accountability are long gone. They need to come forward and tell us why they made this decision. Ironically, we are in the middle of Councils Enterprise Week and some of the SMEs promoting their businesses as part of that are actually Walled City Market traders, said Harry Canning. Harry Canning was adamant the closure of the Walled City Market would have a detrimental effect on Derry city centre. Especially during the summer months, he said, because it is amazing there. Derry is a big city and we have a market and craft fair selling unique, handmade goods. If they get rid of it, how will we start it up again? We struggled after covid to get it back up and running and things are really picking up now. In a requested statement on the closure of the Walled City Market, a spokesperson for Derry City and Strabane District Council said: Following the recent rates process and the unprecedented financial challenges facing Council, Council took the decision to implement several budgetary savings and efficiencies across a number of services which included the withdrawal of the Markets Development Programme for 2023-2024 from April 2023. The Walled City Market scheduled for Saturday, April 1, 2023 will go ahead as planned. The Council has been engaging directly with traders about the withdrawal of the market and is working alongside its colleagues across the Councils Business and Culture Directorate to look at options for possible market trading opportunities at Councils key events going forward. Council is also engaging with the traders to offer them business support and advice through its Business Support team. What a judge described as a 'disgraceful domestic abuse assault' has resulted in a Derry man being ordered to pay 1,000 to his victim in compensation. Patrick James Breslin (40) of Duddy's Court in Derry admitted a charge of assault on a woman on August 8 last. The court heard that police were called by River Watch who reported a distressed female on the peace bridge who had been assaulted by a male who was also on the bridge. Police attended and found a woman lying on the bridge and Breslin nearby. He initially gave police a false name but then it was ascertained who he was. The woman had a lump on her head and was taken to hospital. The court heard that the woman went unconscious in the police vehicle. CCTV was examined and Breslin was seen to assault the woman in the Guildhall Square earlier in the evening. Breslin was seen to hit the woman and push her to the ground. Defence counsel Michael Donaghey said it was 'a nasty assault' captured on CCTV. He said the incident was 'fuelled by alcohol' and said his client had been in a distressed state over an unrelated matter and 'took his anger' out on the woman. The barrister said that it was 'a one off incident' and said his client had not taken alcohol since. District Judge Barney McElholm said that the defendant did not have the worst record but he wanted the woman compensated. He sentenced Breslin to five months in prison suspended for three years and ordered him to pay 1,000 to his victim. Nine entrepreneurs from the Derry City and Strabane District Council area this week made a successful pitch to a panel of expert judges to claim their share of thousands of pounds in start-up funding. The business owners were taking part in Derry Strabane Enterprise Weeks Start Up Launch Pad pitching competition at the North West Regional Colleges Foyle Theatre. The competition was split into three Seed Funding Competition winners, two from a closed Strabane BID section and four special category awards. Hospitality recruitment specialist Paul Leonard from Swift Shift claimed the first prize of 1,500 in the open category while Caithiln Hughes from The Movement and Neuro Skill Shop owner Pamela Capriglione were awarded runners up prizes of 1,000 and 500 respectively. Strabane artisan ice cream vendors Scoop and Cup won the 1,500 first prize in the BID section where Sharon McMorrans pottery studio The Painted Pig received the 1,000 runners up award. In the Special Category section Deborah Boyles ReJenerate were the Social Impact winners while Scoop and Cup and Fairleys Flavours owner Fairley Ramraj won the Youth and Student Entrepreneur categories. Sean Gough from Amethyst Tattoos and Offing Coffee owner Stephanie Bradley were joint winners of the Welcome Home category for entrepreneurs who have returned home to operate from the Council area in the last two years. The all-day event was part of a comprehensive programme for Enterprise Week that features panel discussions, workshops, and networking opportunities. Head of Business at Council, Kevin OConnor, congratulated all the winners. The Start-Up Launch Pad event was an ideal opportunity for our entrepreneurs to showcase their business and get valuable feedback from a panel of industry experts, he said. Maria McKeever, Business Officer, DCSDC with Judge Chris Bean, Challenge Curve, Deborah Boyle (ReJeanerate), Winner of the Social Impact Award. Judges Anna Doherty, Londonderry Chamber, Paul Nelis, Challenge Curve and Andy Sheen, Wurkhouse. The judging panel had a challenging job to select the winners from the high calibre of all 16 entrepreneurs who were shortlisted. Congratulations to all the winners who can use the funds to help them navigate the crucial start-up phase of their enterprise. The North West Pitch Competition was hosted by Council in association with Strabane BID, Londonderry Chamber of Commerce, Inner City Trust, Ulster University and Hyperfast NI, who are supported the Student and Youth categories within the competition. The judges were Anna Doherty Londonderry Chamber of Commerce, Jennifer McKeever Airporter, Paul Nelis and Chris Bean Challenge Curve, Andy Sheen Wurkhouse, Michael Kelly Strabane BID. The event was part of the wider Enterprise Week theme of 'Seeds of Change', highlighting the Micro-Businesses and SMEs in the North West who have grown with purpose, driven by expert management as well as focusing on sustainability, digital technology, growth, and innovation. Senior DUP MP Gregory Campbell has said he would advise party colleagues to oppose the new Brexit deal on Northern Ireland trade if further movement is not secured. The East Derry MP said the Windsor Framework was better than the contentious Northern Ireland Protocol, but it was still not what we need to see. The DUP, which collapsed powersharing in Northern Ireland in protest at the protocol, has yet to come to a collective decision on whether to back the framework and return to devolution. Mr Campbell and other senior party figures, including Sammy Wilson, Ian Paisley and Lord Dodds, have all expressed concern at the UK/EU agreement. Earlier this week, DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson established a consultation panel to inform its deliberations on the new deal. It will report back by the end of March. The UK Government has pledged to publish domestic legislation that it insists will provide further assurances to the DUP on Northern Irelands place within the UK and on how the new arrangements will operate in practice. Its a bit better than what went before but its not what we need to see, East Derry MP Mr Campbell told BBC Radio Ulster. And thats what we need to now work on and we need to see from the Government. Were doing our internal consultations, and youve seen proposals that Jeffrey has put out there, and thats good and proper that we do that. But the Government now need to be demonstrating what they are going to do, because weve all examined the good ship Windsor and there are holes in it, we need to see are the holes below the waterline or is it a seaworthy vessel and thats what were going to be doing in the next couple of weeks. He added: If the Secretary of State said theres going to be a vote in the House of Commons if that vote comes in the next week or two, the way things stand I would be recommending that our party vote against the proposals, because they are not what we need to see and, until they are, I wouldnt be voting in favour of them. Mr Campbell said he was confident the DUP would reach a position by the end of March. I think this needs to be wrapped up fairly quickly, he said. When I say fairly quickly, we need to do it systematically but promptly, but at the same time, were not going to drag things out, you know, had we simply reacted immediately, we would have been accused of a knee jerk reaction. So were not doing that. On the other extreme, you know, if we were to drag it out, people would have said, no, youre not taking this seriously, youre just trying to prolong things. Were not going to do that either. Well look at it systematically and seriously and come to a final conclusion very shortly. On Thursday, Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris indicated that MPs would get a vote on the Windsor Framework before the end of the month. The framework will reduce the volume of Brexit red tape on the movement of GB goods bound for Northern Ireland that was created by the Northern Ireland Protocol. It also introduces a mechanism, the so-called Stormont brake, that enables a minority of Stormont MLAs to formally flag concerns about the imposition of new EU laws in Northern Ireland in a move that could ultimately lead to the UK Government vetoing their introduction. When the deal was published it was suggested that if 30 MLAs pulled the brake then the Government would make its own assessment of the proposed new EU law before making a final decision on whether to veto it. However, Mr Heaton-Harris said on Thursday that, if the brake was activated, the Government would be bound to block the new law. Some Stormont parties have expressed concern on whether his comments indicate that the brake will end up handing a powerful veto to a minority of MLAs. Firm details on how the brake will operate are set to be outlined in secondary legislation published by the Government in the coming weeks. A senior DUP MP has said he would advise party colleagues to oppose the new Brexit deal on Northern Ireland trade if further movement is not secured. Gregory Campbell said the Windsor Framework was better than the contentious Northern Ireland Protocol, but it was still not what we need to see. The DUP, which collapsed powersharing in Northern Ireland in protest at the protocol, has yet to come to a collective decision on whether to back the framework and return to devolution. Mr Campbell and other senior party figures, including Sammy Wilson, Ian Paisley and Lord Dodds, have all expressed concern at the UK/EU agreement. Earlier this week, DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson established a consultation panel to inform its deliberations on the new deal. It will report back by the end of March. Sir Jeffrey said the panel had held its first meeting on Friday morning and elected former party leader and first minister Peter Robinson as chair. Sir Jeffrey added: As we continue to engage in discussions with the Government I would encourage a broad section of unionism and loyalism, businesses and all those who want to see Northern Ireland prosper within the union to take part in the consultation process. The UK Government has pledged to publish domestic legislation that it insists will provide further assurances to the DUP on Northern Irelands place within the UK and on how the new arrangements will operate in practice. Its a bit better than what went before but its not what we need to see, East Londonderry MP Mr Campbell told BBC Radio Ulster. And thats what we need to now work on and we need to see from the Government. Were doing our internal consultations, and youve seen proposals that Jeffrey has put out there, and thats good and proper that we do that. But the Government now need to be demonstrating what they are going to do, because weve all examined the good ship Windsor and there are holes in it, we need to see are the holes below the waterline or is it a seaworthy vessel and thats what were going to be doing in the next couple of weeks. He added: If the Secretary of State said theres going to be a vote in the House of Commons if that vote comes in the next week or two, the way things stand I would be recommending that our party vote against the proposals, because they are not what we need to see and, until they are, I wouldnt be voting in favour of them. Mr Campbell said he was confident the DUP would reach a position by the end of March. I think this needs to be wrapped up fairly quickly, he said. When I say fairly quickly, we need to do it systematically but promptly, but at the same time, were not going to drag things out, you know, had we simply reacted immediately, we would have been accused of a knee jerk reaction. So were not doing that. On the other extreme, you know, if we were to drag it out, people would have said, no, youre not taking this seriously, youre just trying to prolong things. Were not going to do that either. Well look at it systematically and seriously and come to a final conclusion very shortly. On Thursday, Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris indicated that MPs would get a vote on the Windsor Framework before the end of the month. The framework will reduce the volume of Brexit red tape on the movement of GB goods bound for Northern Ireland that was created by the Northern Ireland Protocol. It also introduces a mechanism, the so-called Stormont brake, that enables a minority of Stormont MLAs to formally flag concerns about the imposition of new EU laws in Northern Ireland in a move that could ultimately lead to the UK Government vetoing their introduction. When the deal was published it was suggested that if 30 MLAs pulled the brake then the Government would make its own assessment of the proposed new EU law before making a final decision on whether to veto it. However, Mr Heaton-Harris said on Thursday that, if the brake was activated, the Government would be bound to block the new law. Some Stormont parties have expressed concern on whether his comments indicate that the brake will end up handing a powerful veto to a minority of MLAs. Firm details on how the brake will operate are set to be outlined in secondary legislation published by the Government in the coming weeks. Oscar nominee and Bafta winner Barry Keoghan has been hailed as inspirational by young people who have been through the care system. The star of The Banshees of Inisherin, who has spoken about his experience in foster care as a child, has been praised for helping to break a stigma by sharing his story and rising to the top of his profession. Care leavers can face multiple barriers in life, including disrupted education and prejudice, said Katharine Sacks-Jones from the Become charity. She said these can often lead to mental health issues, homelessness after leaving care and people not being in education, employment or training. Four young people who have all gone on to higher education have told the PA news agency of their experiences. Keoghans success is huge for care leavers to see, said Kim Emenike, who went into care aged 10. The 25-year-old Londoner said it is imperative for people to share their stories to combat the negative perception of those in care. She said: When its someone thats care-experienced thats nominated for it (an Oscar), that is very huge in our community because it just shows, Look, you can kill it in whatever industry youre in. If its the creative arts, if its dance, if its academics, whatever you can get to the top of your career. Now working as a civil servant, running her own bakery and an advocate for young people, Ms Emenike has found herself facing adversity head-on. She studied for her A-levels while living in a hostel and was homeless during summers at university without a family to support her. She said: Its really hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. But when you hear stories like that it is a light and it motivates you because youre like, OK, if he can do it, I can do it. I can be the best version of me. And it definitely pushes you and drives you. Jessie Stringer-Fewtrill said it has only been in recent years that she has felt comfortable to be open about her background in care, but she now channels that experience into her work. The 30-year-old from Manchester also went into care aged 10 and is now a self-employed seamstress, as well as a school art technician. She also runs art projects with disadvantaged young people. She said: I think that it is really inspiring and encouraging to hear that somebody of care experience has been nominated for an Oscar. I mean, we start life with the odds stacked against us so its really re-affirming to hear these success stories. I feel like it can help channel our pain and turn it into power and help us to motivate us to follow our dreams. The graduate in fashion design with marketing said a story like Keoghans is encouraging and that it is good to have these conversations to create the awareness and reduce any stigmas that people growing up in care might face. Trainee barrister Joseph Brennan hailed Keoghans resilience and noted how he has achieved success despite facing instability in moving between foster homes. The actor who was later raised by his grandmother after his mothers death has recalled the difficulties of such moves in his younger years but said it has made him stronger and more solid in life. Mr Brennan, 29 and from County Armagh but living in Dublin, said he benefited from a long-term stable foster care placement. He said: It really shows the individual resilience that Barry was able to show by pursuing a career such as acting where nothing is guaranteed. He is definitely an inspiration to all young people, especially for a former child in care. I would highly doubt that the average person in care with the same level of disruption would have the same resilience and confidence as Barry has demonstrated. His experience in care, having been moved to various placements, for me represents a failure of the care system which is sadly far too prevalent. Kevin McKenna, 23, from Newry but living in London, said people who have been in care should not have to wear that as their identity when they are so much more. The final year student, studying politics and international relations at the University of Greenwich, has met politicians, visited Downing Street and worked at a summer camp in the US with children in care. He said: Being in foster care becomes your identity, when young people in care are so much more, as shown in my 11 years of volunteering in the youth sector. On successes for people who have been in care, he added: It is good to hear the positive end of things and hear the positive stories of where people have got to and I think its even more important to hear the likes of me and Josephs stories, where youre integrated into a family and you have those kind of meaningful connections and youre not moving about all the time. Ms Sacks-Jones said: The care-experienced community is incredibly inspiring and we know can achieve amazing things in life, especially with the right support. Thats why we want to see all children in care receive the love, stability and security that we all need to thrive. Huge congratulations to Barry Keoghan for his Bafta win and we wish him every success at the Oscars. I got to interview Mr Kireet Khurana, Director, Aniverse and Visual Arts Foundation (AVAF). Some of you may know him as the director of Toonpur ka Superrhero, the Ajay-Kajol starrer animation film. AVAF and Annency Festival, France have partnered for Indias first-ever international festival for Animation, VFX, Gaming Comics, and XR called AniMela. As a founder of this festival and an industry veteran, his answers to my questions were infused with experience, passion and valuable insights. We started off the discussion by talking about AniMela. He tells me the festivals mandate is to empower, enable and be the catalyst for change. It will showcase films and games from across the world, invite the best professionals and award-winning game designers and animation filmmakers from across the world. All of these are aimed to foster an environment of creativity and innovation for nurturing and mentoring India's leading emerging talent. He also shed light on the relevance of XR or extended reality as an evolving field and the space of the future. He finds AVGC and immersive experience will be inextricably interlinked, a confluence of art and technology. Hence we have decided to have XR too as part of our universe and embrace. In this discussion, we tried to touch upon a breadth of topics like that and beyond. So, lets get rolling. Interview with Kireet Khurana 1. Could you shed some light on the state of startup incubation, patent registration, and IP protection for AVGC-XR content in India? Currently, India has a very negligent startup incubation in IPs, close to non-existent, save for a few sporadic and inconsistent efforts by some studios. We need to institutionalise this process. Once we create the festival and the platform for emerging talent, we hope to attract the best talent to it. Through our association with the world's largest and best animation film festival - Annecy (The 'Cannes' of animation), we hope to get world-class filmmakers and storytellers to mentor this talent to make them internationally ready. As far as IP protection and other issues are concerned, there is a clear roadmap available for the registration of bibles, stories and artworks and that shouldn't be an issue as it's similar to the process followed by the Indian Film Industry. 2. Can you discuss any ethical considerations that arise when using technology in the AVGC industry, such as deep fake technology or the use of AI in animation? Given the proliferation of AI using deep fake technology, and also the advent of AI creation tools like Mid-Journey, Dall.E and many others, understandably there is anxiety and uncertainty among many about the implications of such a powerful technology. Will ChatGPT make academicians redundant? Will myriad image-processing AI-driven software make artists redundant? It's hard to tell, but certainly, the bar will be raised for the basic output expected out of the average individual. And AI technologies will certainly give the intellectually driven superhuman prowess to unleash new realms of possibilities. Also read: Why Is India Regulating Online Games And What Does The Indian Gaming Industry Think About This? 3. Can I get your take on why Indian toons arent as mature as the Japanese Anime and American cartoons we used to watch in our childhood? Unlike in the west which has a long history of Animation spanning over 120 years, animation didn't start to proliferate in India till the early 2000s. We don't have a culture and tradition of watching cartoon films in the same manner or longevity that the Americans have, hence Indian animation is yet to find its roots. Similarly, in Japan, its rich comic book and graphic novel tradition span over several decades, which then took root and formed the anime animation culture in the 70s and 80s. Save for a few low-quality local comic books, we don't have too many stories in this domain either which can be extrapolated into an animation filmmaking culture. Therefore, India will take its time to create its own IPs and will need to follow a longer, more arduous path of trial and error. Due to the unavailability of already established cartoon heroes, it becomes difficult to create commercially viable animation with unknown, new characters and make them identifiable to the masses. Also read: India Mobile Gaming Report Reveals The Top Performing States And Games 4. On a similar note, what do you think are the reasons behind clunky VFX in some of the recent high-budget Indian movies? This is a very unfair comparison. We must know that films like 'Dune', 'Narnia' and 'Life of PI' were done by either Indian studios and/or Indian artists. If we have the talent and ability to do the highest quality of animation, then it's obvious that there are other factors that come into play. And the biggest factor is budget. Whereas even the most expensive film made in India rarely exceeds $20mn. budget, this is typically the cost for an Indie film in America. We simply don't have the markets, distribution, monetization or wherewithal to recover investments for more expensive movies than that. Hence every single head is rationalised, including VFX is allocated a proportionate budget. Hence the quality of our VFX isn't up to world standards in many films. 5. What advice would you give to someone interested in pursuing a career at the intersection of technology and AVGC? Focus on the art and creativity! Technology is the enabler, the tool, the means to an end, not the end by itself. If you focus on the art and find uniqueness and purity in your voice, then everything else will follow. He said from his experience, the real challenge (while filming Toonpur ka Superrhero) was not of technology, but of uncertainty as the Producers were backing something unique and untested. They weren't sure if the film could be executed in India at all. The technology was in place, but there were no trained animators, nor had India achieved anything of scale at that moment. So I embarked on a month-long training workshop with the animation teams, personally taking them through the creative and technical process of achieving the results expected. The result was that Toonpur was the best film technically achieved by India during that period in India. Also read: Google Bard should address these 5 concerns against generative AI chatbots like ChatGPT Thats inspiring and I hope you found the whole discussion enlightening. The AniMela Festival falls in line with the recommendations of the AVGC Promotion Task Force (announced in the Union Budget 2022-23 and formed by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting). Among other things, such a festival is envisioned to attract foreign direct investment (FDI), and encourage skill development as well as new employment opportunities. At present, the Indian AVGC industry reportedly contributes $2.5-3 billion out of the $260-275 billion worldwide estimate. It also employs around 1.85 lakh professionals in this space. It is predicted to grow 14-16% in the coming decade and become a $40 billion industry by 2025. More jobs to the tune of 1,60,000 are also expected to be created. Experts believe that these initiatives could be crucial in achieving Prime Minister Modis goal of establishing India as a global hub for the AVGC industry, as part of his vision for Brand India. Well, brand me excited as I look forward to the annual AVGC festival set to debut in December 2023, wherein we should learn more. I shall keep you posted. Primebook claimed that it will be the first laptop which will operate on the Android 11 operating system. Flipkart has revealed the launch timeline of the laptop and some offers which will be available then. The Primebook 4G is going to launch in India on March 11 and will go on sale on Flipkart around the launch. Flipkart hasnt revealed the exact date yet. Lets have a look at the price of Primebook 4G and the offers which Flipkart will offer on the laptop. Flipkart offers on the Primebook 4G Flipkart has offered plenty of offers on the laptop. As we know its a student-friendly laptop so it comes with a very affordable price of 16,990 but you can get a discount on it by availing of these offers: 2000 Instant Discount on Prepaid orders, with Select Cards. There is a student offer which can give you a 1000 discount. Students will be asked to confirm their enrollment by providing their ID cards. You can get a boat Basshead 104 along with Primebook 4G which is worth 999. There will be a free MS Office subscription worth 2,450 and a free iPrep worth 3000 on the laptop as well. Primebook 4G specifications The laptop has an 11.6-inch LCD IPS display and weighs just 1.2kg which makes it quite easy to carry. It comes in a Royal Black colour option. Primebook 4G operates on PrimeOS and has a user-friendly experience thanks to Android 11. It Is powered by the MediaTek Kompanio 500 chip. It is packed with 4GB of RAM. It comes in 64GB or 128GB storage variants which can be expanded up to 200 GB. The Primebook 4G also offers a 2MP Full HD camera for all online meetings and calls. It has a 4000 mAh battery that promises 10+ hours of battery life on a full charge. For more technology news, product reviews, sci-tech features and updates, keep reading Digit.in or head to our Google News page. Qualcomm China is set to host a local event on March 17th, where it is expected to unveil its next-generation Snapdragon 7 series chipset designed for mid-range smartphones. It is speculated that the mobile platform will be named Snapdragon 7 Gen 2, in keeping with the naming convention of the flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. However, there have also been rumours suggesting that the new chipset could be called Snapdragon 7+ Gen 1, and thus it cannot be confirmed which name will ultimately be chosen. Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 2 rumoured specifications The upcoming SoC is likely the SM7475 that recently surfaced in a Geekbench listing. If true, it could include one Cortex-X2 core clocked at 2.92 GHz, three Cortex-A710 at 2.5 GHz, and four Cortex-A510 cores at 1.8 GHz. The chipset follows the same 1+3+4 core configuration as Snapdragon 7 Gen 1, but the major change is that the prime Cortex-X1 core is now replaced with a faster Cortex-X2. This makes the upcoming chipset to be the first mid-range option with the Cortex-X2 core. Cortex-X2 is a high-performance 64-bit-only core where ARM promises notable performance and architectural improvements as compared to Cortex-X1, but with a slightly higher peak power consumption. Also Read: Top 8 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 features that you should know about The cores and frequencies are similar to what we had with Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, which also explains comparable scores in the Geekbench listing. The upcoming chipset is also rumoured to include Adreno 725 GPU clocked at 580 Hz. Details regarding the upcoming Snapdragon 7 Gen 2 mobile platform are still sparse and we will have to wait for the official unveiling. Also Read: 5 smartphone specifications that are actually misleading Market positioning challenge Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 series used to be really popular in India up to a few years back, but the market dynamics are quite different today. The Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 that launched last year didnt get much traction. This is perhaps because manufacturers were more inclined to use current or last-gen Snapdragon 8 series SoCs including Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, Snapdragon 870, and Snapdragon 888 for higher mid-range phones and the lower mid-range was mostly dominated by MediaTek and Snapdragon 6 series. It would be interesting to see how Qualcomm stacks the upcoming Snapdragon 7 series in its portfolio and make it a more lucrative proposition for OEMs. Source For more technology news, product reviews, sci-tech features and updates, keep reading Digit.in or head to our Google News page. Interview: UK-China financial cooperation mutually beneficial, says business leader Xinhua) 09:55, March 10, 2023 LONDON, March 9 (Xinhua) -- The demand of the Chinese market and the expertise of the United Kingdom's (UK) financial industry have made the continuation of financial cooperation a win-win scenario for both countries, John McLean, chair of the Institute of Directors (IoD) for the City of London, told Xinhua in a recent interview. "China has a population that is rapidly becoming wealthier and financially more sophisticated, which offers opportunities," McLean said, noting that China's economy is steadily growing due to its huge internal market, highly successful global companies and the leading role it plays in some key and developing technologies. The UK, and especially the City of London, which has a cluster of global financial organizations and experts and a long history in providing financial services, gives access to global capital and investors to actually support that growth, he said. McLean applauded the existing deep ties between his country and China's capital markets, including the Shanghai-London Stock Connect and the recently announced Shenzhen-London Stock Connect. London, a leading foreign exchange market, has also actively adopted the internationalization of the renminbi, he added. Stressing the importance of green development, McLean said that "green is the new driver" of UK-China financial cooperation. Both countries have been keen players in green finance, such as green bond issuance, he said. McLean, also chair of the UK-China Business Development Center and a senior adviser to the China Chamber of Commerce in the UK, listed several other areas in which businesses in the UK and China could further cooperate. These include education, pharmaceuticals, the arts, green energy and electric vehicles. McLean said that although the people-to-people and government-to-government exchanges between the UK and China were considerably reduced during the COVID-19 pandemic, business-to-business ties have continued unabated. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), UK-China trade in goods increased in 2022. China was the UK's second largest trading partner in goods imports and the fifth largest in goods exports. Asked about his expectations for China's economic performance in the near future, McLean said he was optimistic. He cited early data from the first two months of this year as indicating that a 5 percent economic growth in 2023 could be a reality rather than just a forecast. "What we have to do is ensure that Chinese businesses feel welcome in the UK and that it applies the other way round," McLean said. Founded in 1903, the IoD is one of the UK's longest running organizations for company directors, senior business leaders and entrepreneurs from various sectors, including finance, property, education and international trade. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan) Garda Commissioner Drew Harris has described a planned protest march by members of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) as unnecessary and not particularly helpful. The AGSI is to hold a day of action and stage a protest march to Garda headquarters in Dublin on Monday over roster concerns. Gardai were moved to a new roster during the Covid-19 pandemic and the AGSI said undertakings by the Garda Commissioner that we would return to our normal working patterns have not been honoured. Very necessary action when the concerns of @AGSI_Ireland members are not being listened to contrary to the quote of @gardainfo Commissioner Harris the internal processes have not been exhaustedfair comment from @LeoVaradkar on getting the balance right to meet all needs pic.twitter.com/zfM6W7SBR8 AGSI (@AGSI_Ireland) March 10, 2023 Mr Harris said roster issues have been examined for three and a half years and have moved to an external process at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC). We tried hard internally to find a resolution, that wasnt possible, he said. He said the rationale for changing rosters included efficiency, effectiveness and cost. The protest itself will be unnecessary given the action taken. I dont think it is particularly helpful when were going into the process of the WRC, Mr Harris said. Minister for Justice Simon Harris said on Friday that he had held meetings with all four Garda representative bodies about the issue, and hoped that talks would bring a solution. A number of these issues came up at the meetings, specifically in relation to rosters it is clear theres a strong difference of view between Garda management and Garda representative bodies, he told reporters in Dublin. All disputes are resolved by sitting down and talking through issues I hope and expect that thats what will happen. Its important that the Garda Commissioner has the number of gardai that he needs at the right time of the day or night, and I know its also important that the views of rank-and-file gardai are listened to carefully. Mr Harris was speaking at the reopening of a Garda station in OConnell Street, Dublin, where Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the matter was a very important issue that needs to be resolved. We need rosters that work for the public so that the gardai are available when they need to be available, he added. But we also need rosters that work for gardai, that respect family and the work-life balance. The OConnell Street station will be home to a community policing team and be open between 8am and 2am. Asked if the station has full services such as cells and a detective unit, Mr Harris said there would be no detectives working there but there was no shortage of cells elsewhere in the city centre. This should be seen as a community policing station, he said. Mr Varadkar said the reopening was a symbol of the Governments commitment to make the Norther Inner City and, for all those who live here, a safer and stronger community. Asked about the logic behind the 2am closing time, Mr Varadkar said there were other Garda stations in the area and there was a desire to have our resources on the street rather than in buildings. Dundalk Library hosted a celebration on March 7th to celebrate the Louth Library Service receiving the "Library of Sanctuary" award. Louth County Councils Library Service is the first in the country to gain this award for a library service as a whole, with the five branches and schools service gaining recognition. Cathaoirleach of Louth County Council, Councillor Conor Keelan welcomed representatives from Places of Sanctuary Ireland and Sanctuary Ambassadors from Dundalk, while also recognising what a hugely positive time it is for Louth County Councils Library Service with considerable investment, numerous new initiatives, services and infrastructural upgrades that have taken place recently. The award was officially presented to Joan Martin, Chief Executive of Louth County Council by Tiffy Allen, National Co-Ordinator Places of Sanctuary Ireland who commented, Louth Library Service does wonderful pioneering work to make refugees and people seeking international protection feel welcome in the community. That work should be a guiding light to libraries throughout Ireland. This award recognises the good practice taking place in Louth County Councils Library Service and the contribution libraries make to building a community of welcome and sanctuary across County Louth, welcoming people seeking sanctuary and all new arrivals in the community. Louth Library Service says that welcome and inclusion are its core principles and the vision going forward is to ensure that Louth libraries continue to be safe and nurturing spaces for all and to support other local organisations such as schools to gain Sanctuary status. Louth Libraries offer a varied, relevant physical stock, a suite of e-Services including e-books, e-audio books, language learning opportunities and much more. The introduction of the My Open Library initiative in Drogheda and the re-opening of My Open Library in Ardee, together with a service wide enhanced digital upgrade offer increased opportunities and accessibility for the community. Acting County Librarian, Amanda Branigan, said: We are delighted to have been recognised by Places of Sanctuary Ireland. It is a testament to the hard work and enthusiasm of our staff and we will continue to strengthen and support communities by providing dynamic, inclusive and responsive library services. For more information on Louth Library Service log on to https://www.louthcoco.ie/en/services/library/ EBRD Vice President J urgen Rigterink to visit Turkiye Meetings scheduled with officials and private sector clients Earthquake response will be on visits agenda The First Vice President and Head of Client Services Group of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Jurgen Rigterink, will be embarking on a four-day visit to Turkiye on 12 March, with stops scheduled in Istanbul and Ankara. The key item on the agenda will be the EBRDs response to the devastating earthquakes that shook the country on 6 February, causing widespread damage and more than 45,000 fatalities. The Bank plans to invest up to 1.5 billion in the countrys earthquake-hit region in a package that includes credit lines, infrastructure investments, and support for the private sector and small and medium-sized enterprises. In Ankara, the First Vice President will meet, among others, Nureddin Nebati, Minister of Treasury and Finance and EBRD Governor for Turkiye, and representatives of The Union of Municipalities of Turkiye, including the unions president and the Mayor of Gaziantep, Fatma Sahin. Mr Rigterink will also conduct a site visit to the citys Etlik Hospital, the development of which the Bank supported in 2015 with a long-term financing package. The First Vice President will also meet representatives of Turkiyes leading financial institutions and private sector clients to discuss the Banks operations in the country and the implementation of the its 1.5 billion earthquake relief response. Ahead of his visit, Mr Rigterink said: Turkey is a very important country for the EBRD. The devastating loss of life and livelihoods, as well as the unprecedented economic cost of the disaster, requires a robust and meaningful response. That is why the EBRD plans to invest up to 1.5 billion in Turkiyes south-eastern region over the next two years, including an approved framework of 600 million to be lent to banks for them to assist their clients. We are also working on expanding this to cover areas such as infrastructure investments and private sector support. At the EBRD we are committed to providing effective, long-term support to the country in its recovery and reconstruction efforts. He added: I will be meeting with government officials and private sector clients during my visit to further detail our cooperation in the aftermath of this terrible disaster. I am certain that these meetings will yield insightful discussions. The EBRD invested more than 1.6 billion in Turkiye in 2022, with most of those investments in the private sector. To date, the Bank has invested nearly 17 billion in the country. GARDAI at Kent railway station observed a 31-year-old man who was just about to inhale crack cocaine. That was on December 11, 2021. Now at Cork District Court, Dane Ring of Gort Aoibhinn, Youghal, County Cork, has pleaded guilty to a charge of possessing the drug for his own use. Inspector Gillian Sinnott said the accused had 73 previous convictions. Diarmuid Kelleher asked for sentencing to be adjourned until March 28 and Judge Marian OLeary acceded to that application. Insp. Sinnott said the young man was observed at the railway station as he was about to inhale a white substance. When searched under the Misuse of Drugs Act, he had crack cocaine inside his trousers. A CORK city councillor has welcomed the completion of a new social housing development on the northside of the city which will provide much-needed one and two-bed units for those on Cork City Councils housing waiting list. The Laurel Heights development on Blarney Road is a mix of houses and apartments comprising three one-bed apartments, nine two-bed apartments and eight one-bed houses. Its a really nice development for those who are waiting on the housing list, Fianna Fail councillor Tony Fitzgerald said. The North-West ward councillor said the development is particularly aimed at single applicants in need of housing. This site is specifically to address the needs of single applicants as theyre a large sector of the housing list. Weve been considering this in council for some time, so its a positive reaction to addressing this particular need. Mr Fitzgerald said the units are in an ideal location, close to a range of amenities. The units are currently being allocated by Cork City Council. They are nicely designed and constructed to the highest standard. Im glad that I played my part in working with officials and with the Minister for Housing Darragh OBrien in securing this development. In a housing report to councillors at the start of the year, Cork City Council expressed confidence that it will be able to meet the social and affordable housing targets set out in a five-year action plan published last summer. Under the Governments Housing for All plan, local authorities were required to prepare a Housing Delivery Action Plan. Cork City Councils plan, published in July, sets out the city councils delivery targets for both social and affordable housing for the period 2022 to 2026. It provides for the delivery of up to 5,671 social and affordable homes across the city from 2022-2026, in accordance with the targets as set by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (DHLGH), with 3,934 social homes and 1,737 affordable homes to be delivered in that timeframe. OVER 300,000 in cash was seized by Gardai in a commercial premises in a West Cork town yesterday afternoon. As part of Operation Tara, Gardai seized 322,000 in cash following an operation in Dunmanway at 12.05pm yesterday. No arrests have been made and investigations are ongoing said the gardai. A Garda spokesperson said: As part of Operation Tara, Gardai have seized 322,000 in cash, following an operation in Dunmanway yesterday, Thursday, March 9, 2023. At approximately 12.05pm, Gardai conducted a search of commercial premises on Main Street, Dunmanway. "During the course of the search approximately 322,000 in cash was seized." "No arrests have been made, investigations are ongoing, the spokesman said. The seizure is part of Operation Tara; an enhanced national anti-drugs strategy, which was launched by Garda Commissioner Drew Harris in July 2021. The focus of Operation Tara is to disrupt, dismantle and prosecute drug trafficking networks, at all levels - international, national, and local. THE Alliance Francaise Cork French Film Festival is back for its 34th year, bringing the best in Francophone cinema. The festival runs from March 9th to 12th in the Gate Cinema, and the programme consists of films from five French-speaking countries. Whether you are a fluent speaker or speak just a few words of Francais, the beauty of subtitles allows everyone to understand what is said. Valerie David-McGonnell is the president of Alliance Francaise de Cork and the co-director of the film festival. She says the programme represents some of the best films in French cinema. The programmers are delighted to open the festival with the Irish premiere of The Innocent (LInnocent) , a multi-award nominated film by renowned Parisian actor, writer, and director Louis Garrel . The film is a dark comedy inspired by Garrels mother, who falls in love with a man in prison and Garrels attempts to derail the relationship. The film was nominated for 11 Cesar Awards, the French film industry equivalent of the Oscars. Driving Madeleine: Is an excellent pick for those with wanderlust. The festival has a family film this year, Dilili in Paris , which follows a little girl whose adventures in Paris lead her to cross paths with legends Marie Curie, Toulouse-Lautrec, Claude Debussy, Auguste Renoir, and more. According to David-McGonnell, it is important to include all ages and all levels of language ability. We need something for everyone. Our family film is for children in general and children with one or two parents who have French as a first language. Its imperative to have opportunities for families with French as one of their languages. We are trying to cater to everyone in Cork and beyond, including Irish people and French-speaking people. Every year, people travel to Cork from outside the county to support the festival, which is fantastic. The festival also has a film for secondary school students. Remi, Nobodys Boy (Remi Sans Famille) is an adventure film inspired by French author Hector Malots famous novel . Last year, over 800 students came to our secondary school film. This year we have Remi, Nobodys Boy, a little like Oliver Twist. Malot , who wrote the story, lived in the 19th century. He was excellent at writing adventure stories, and this is full of adventure. Theres nothing worse than being bored when youre a teenager, so we needed to make sure we had an exciting film to show them, and it doesnt get much more exciting than this film. Close is nominated for an Oscar at this years Academy Awards. It is a Belgian-made French-language film which centres on best friends, 13-year-old Leo (Eden Dambrine) and Remi (Gustav de Waele). The boys are incredibly close and think nothing of resting their heads on each others shoulders or hugging. When they start secondary school, their closeness draws negative attention, and a misguided comment about them being gay sets a tragic series of events in motion. We are delighted to have a French-language film nominated for an Oscar this year. Its a Belgian film, and were grateful to the Belgian Embassy in Ireland for supporting this screening, says David-McGonnell. Les Cyclades: About friends who travel to Greece. The programme also includes Eiffel, directed by Martin Bourboulon, which follows the construction of the Eiffel Tower and the love affair between its designer, Gustav Eiffel (Romain Duris) and long-time paramour, Adrienne (Emma Mackey). Lie With Me (Arrete avec tes mensonges) sees an old romance between Guillaume de Tonquedec and Victor Belmondo and is revisited years after their relationship ends. More Than Ever (Plus que jamais) looks at what happens when illness comes between Helene (Vicky Krieps ) and Mathieu (Gaspar Ulliel ). Prima ballerina Elise (Marion Barbeau) must learn to cope when a devasting ankle injury jeopardises her career in Rise ( EnCorps ), and Viking is a comedy-drama that follows a group of volunteers as they prepare for a mission to Mars. Set in Senegal, Xale is a thriller that sees a family devastated by an incident which has far-reaching consequences. This years theme is travel, and each film brings the audience on a journey, giving us an insight into life in French-speaking countries. David-McGonnell says that watching films gives you an appetite for travel. Allowing you to travel virtually through film gives you an appetite to travel. All our films this year will inspire you, especially Two Tickets to Greece (Les Cyclades) , about a group of French friends (Laure Calamy, Kristin Scott Thomas, Olivia Cote) who travel to Greece. We get to travel with them in beautiful Greece and listen to French, so it is a real opportunity to travel. David-McGonnell also says Driving Madeleine (Une belle course) is an excellent pick for those with wanderlust. It is about a disillusioned taxi driver who drives an elderly woman through Paris on her last journey before she goes to live in a retirement home. It is a very moving film and a chance to see different views of Paris. David-McGonnell says that although all the festival films are equally good, she has a soft spot for Driving Madeleine as the director and two of the actors are from her region in France . The director, Christian Carion, and two of the main actors are from my region in France. I come from the north, from Hauts-de-France, and it is great to support my home territory. Close: Nominated for an Oscar. David-McGonnell says the films were programmed with French Honorary Consul in Cork Josselin Le Gall, and they have worked together to bring a variety of films and genres to the county . Cork and France have a long history. We are celebrating the 225th anniversary of The Year of the French, which celebrates Frances attempt to help the Society of United Irishmen against British rule by sending ships to Ireland in 1798. Before that, France tried to land ships in Bantry to support the United Irishmen. Unfortunately, it failed due to bad weather but solidified France and Corks relationship. The festival also coincides with Francophonie Month in Ireland, which celebrates the French language and the diversity of French language countries. For the festival programme, see here Ken Foxe Irish Water has spent nearly 100,000 on a rebranding project to change their official identity to Uisce Eireann. The utility said it had been trying to keep costs to a minimum and was also using the name change as an opportunity to highlight its role in delivering clean, safe and reliable drinking water and wastewater services. It said a public information campaign advising customers of its new identity had cost just over 64,000 over the past number of months. This included 78 for translation services, 7,492 to the Publicis advertising agency, and the bulk of the spend of 56,460 with OMD media planning. Uisce Eireann said a further 7,200 had been spent revamping its website and social media presence to make its new identity clear. Overall, another 22,800 was paid for development work around creation of the new brand identity and logo. It was paid to the Richards Dee design agency, according to records released under Freedom of Information rules. The total spend on the rebrand had run to 94,030 by early this year. Uisce Eireann said the utility had always been known in Irish by that name alongside its separate better-known identity of Irish Water. However, following the introduction of the Water Services (Amendment) Act 2022, the utility is only to be known through its name as Gaeilge. An information note said: This decision, taken by the Oireachtas is in accordance with the spirit of the Official Languages Acts 2003 and 2021. They said meetings had been held with designers explaining that the old logo understated the word Eireann and could lead to challenges from Irish speakers and under the language acts. Uisce Eireann said a further requirement was given the low level of Irish speaking people as well as Irelands multi-cultural population that the English-language Irish Water would be retained in a secondary position. It said there were also difficulties in pronouncing the word uisce among non-Irish speakers and that keeping the English name was vital in the context of public health communication around the public water network. An information note added: A re-examination of the logo provided an opportunity to re-set perception of the organisation with the public, businesses, our employees, and transitioning local authorities. The new brand identity, (in development), needed to reflect the Uisce Eireann name change, and elevate the energy and vibrancy needed [for the utility]. Financial processes and merchandisers need an upgrade in awareness to cash in on younger consumers in-store shopping loyalty. Embedded within the changing economy are fundamental differences in the buying and banking mores of younger consumers compared to older constituents. Meeting the needs of three essential overlapping consumer groups can go a long way in how customers view their shopping options. Businesses cannot afford to ignore their quirks and behavior shifts when shopping. Two of the most influential consumer generations are millennials, aka Gen Y (ages 27-42) and Gen Z (ages 18-24). Packed within these age groups is a lesser-recognized segment of shoppers tagged as Zillennials. This tag-along buying force is a micro-generation that sits in between. Zillennials identify with key parts of the millennial and Gen Z shopping experience. But many banks and marketers consider them too young or too old to fully participate in social or cultural norms, which could be a costly and misguided decision. As physical stores enjoy a return of foot traffic from younger consumers, their banking and payment preferences present challenges to retailers. Gen Z does not want to have to call someone or wait for an email response to complete simple tasks, like updating an address, locking or unlocking their credit card, or disputing a transaction. The one must-have to cater to Gen Z customers is simple self-service through a mobile app, according to Sagar Rajgopal, president and chief customer officer at Ubiquity, a customer service and business process outsourcing provider headquartered in New York City. Banks need agility if they are going to meet the needs and demands of Gen Z customers. Omnichannel capabilities should include self-service via an app, chatbots, live chat, in-app messaging, and a live agent over the phone. Banks that provide a seamless customer experience and great customer support will be well positioned to capture this generation, he told the E-Commerce Times. Younger Consumers Welcome New Payment Methods Todays changing economy involves two sides of the same money coin retaining returning customers on e-commerce sites and fanning the flames of in-store shopping. Both can be served by providing support for new payment methods, such as digital wallets, to offer the best possible checkout experience. Despite the continued rise of e-commerce and online shopping, younger consumers still want to make in-store purchases. Digital wallets and biometric payment methods are critical for creating the best possible payment experience for younger consumers, suggested Peter Galvin, chief product officer at global payment enablement platform NMI. These electronic options encourage them to make more purchases in-store. New data from NMI found that 83% of consumers ages 18-24 and 87% of consumers ages 25-40 said they are always excited to try new payment methods. Zillennials are even more likely to make in-store purchases than millennials. Younger consumers still want to be able to use the convenient, tech-first payment options they enjoy online when making in-store purchases, as they already feel comfortable with those digital payment methods. That sets the path for what this consumer segment wants. Merchants, the independent software vendor (ISVs), and independent sales organizations (ISOs) who partner with merchants to enable these payment experiences must ensure their payment systems are equipped to handle this new era of payments whether it is in-store, online, or on a mobile device, said Galvin. New Banking Process Needed Too Tweens, teens, and 20-somethings comprise 68 million consumers whose banking reality is much different from how their parents started out using financial services. Catering to this burgeoning Gen Z consumer base requires a fresh approach to customer experience (CX). Why? More than half (54%) of Gen Z consumers will drop a company after a single negative customer experience. That type of See Ya consumer flip-off is not limited to product purchases, either. Banking for digital natives bears little resemblance to their parents habits, observed Rajgopal. Recent research found that 83% of Gen Z consumers are frustrated with bank processes. Therefore, in addition to digital services and offerings, banks also need to take a thorough look at and use a fresh approach to customer experience to capture and maintain loyalty from younger consumers. Unlike banking of the past, 90% of Gen Zs digital banking interactions take place on smartphones. Partly because of this digital-first mindset, this young generation is not wed to traditional banking, he observed. By pairing mobile banking features with a fresh approach to customer experience, banks can differentiate their brands across generations, he noted. Consumers Ripe for New, Simpler Digital Options NMIs Payments Innovation Pulse Report showed that around half of consumers ages 18-24 (53%), 25-40 (57%), and 41-56 (46%) use payment applications for in-store purchases. Clearly, Gen Z consumers are far more comfortable with mobile payments and digital wallets than those of older generations. Among respondents ages 57 and older, less than a quarter of these older respondents do, Galvin said. Right now, younger consumers prefer mobile and digital payments, and they expect these options to be available to them in almost all payment scenarios. Younger consumers today will simply walk away from a purchase if the payment process is too confusing, time-consuming, or difficult for them. The journey from finding the item they want, swiping their card, or tapping their phone has to be quick and painless for them, he insisted. In todays tough economy, every customer is critical, so businesses cannot afford to lose a sale, he added. A serious consideration here is the fact that many younger consumers do not carry cash. Some do not even carry a physical credit or debit card anymore, noted Galvin. But they will almost always have their phone. So implementing mobile and digital payments can help ensure that younger consumers always have a payment method available to them, he said. Devising New Tricks for the Banking Trade Banks have a role to play in helping younger consumers handle their financial literacy, according to Ubiquitys Rajgopal. Departure from traditional tedious brick-and-mortar transactions also presents a colossal opportunity for stores to improve the CX they provide. Mobile banking apps are non-negotiable for Gen Z. The good news is that what will appeal to them is not likely to be a turn-off for other demographics, he suggested. The opposite is true. Digital interfaces must be packed with appealing visuals, easy-to-access resources, and full functionality. But businesses cannot ignore their web portal for those customers who prefer it. Product and feature sets should focus on financial wellness and provide helpful tips to help young consumers gain their financial footing, he offered, adding that those same features can also be useful to older consumers. The biggest difference will be in how and what you market as opposed to wholesale differences in your product set, said Rajgopal. For example, 65% of Gen Z consumers use social media to inform their purchasing decisions. Reaching them on their social platforms of choice is going to be necessary, as well as monitoring your own brand reviews online and in social channels. Parents Factor in Also For younger Gen Z consumers who still live at home, banks should consider targeting their parents, according to Rajgopal. That is what fintech organizations like Greenlight, GoHenry, Step, and some banks are doing. Targeting parents with financial tools explicitly developed for digitally savvy teens who are starting to earn money through chores or part-time jobs makes sense. Parents want to offer guardrails and financial education for their children, and the teens want simple, engaging digital experiences that mirror other brands they love while empowering them to shop, he said. All customers want to feel like their bank has their back. But it is especially true for Gen Z customers living paycheck-to-paycheck. Banks that provide services like budgeting and personal financial management tools that help Gen Z consumers make smarter financial decisions can build trust and loyalty, added Rajgopal. Business Barriers to Adding Payment Options Providing multiple forms of digital payments can offer choices to consumers. But too much choice can create a lot of confusion, Galvin warned. The more forms there are, the greater the risk that consumers feel confused with the options available to them, he explained. A crowded checkout can lead to consumers not knowing which option is best for them, can delay the checkout process, and decrease customer satisfaction. If customers are confused or frustrated at checkout, they may take their business elsewhere as they prioritize speed and convenience when paying. One or two digital or mobile options could bring in new sales and be a good alternative for younger consumers. However, it is not always quick and easy for businesses to implement multiple methods. Implementing multiple forms can get to be expensive and time-consuming. This can be especially true if the business is trying to accomplish these methods themselves without the help of an ISV or ISO partner that can provide guidance and expertise into the technical side of integration, noted Galvin. 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. Two new studies highlight the vulnerability of California forests. Climate change, mainly caused by the extraction and combustion of fossil fuels, has heated the atmosphere faster than conifer forests in the Sierra Nevada mountains can adapt, shifting their ideal elevation 600 feet above where it was nearly a century ago, according to a study published in PNAS Nexus. That heating has left nearly one-fifth of conifer forests in the Sierra Nevada mountains mismatched to the current climate, including 8% that are severely mismatched. This mismatch makes the so-called zombie forests less, or even completely, unable to recover after wildfires, themselves supercharged by climate change while also releasing massive amounts of carbon into the atmosphere. Those findings come as a study published in PNAS finds climate-supercharged fires are so destructive that forests across 2.2 million acres across the West may be unable to regrow after fires a landmass that could more than triple by midcentury to 7 million acres. Researchers say improved forest management, including low-intensity burns can help, so long as those actions are taken concurrently with action on climate change. But the longer you wait, the bigger the warming effect gets, study co-author Phil Higuera told Inside Climate News. Importantly, the projections only go through 2050, and that seems a lot closer than it used to. For a Deeper Dive: Zombie forests: New York Times, Fire intensity: Inside Climate News, The Hill, Climate Signals background: Wildfires For more climate change and clean energy news, you can follow Climate Nexus on Twitter and Facebook, sign up for daily Hot News, and visit their news site, Nexus Media News. Cargill Animal Nutrition showcases solutions at VIV Asia 2023 Cargill Animal Nutrition, along with Cargill brands Provimi, Delacon and Diamond V, has participated at this year's VIV Asia show in Bangkok, Thailand, as a total nutrition solution provider delivering premix, compound feed and pet food, as well as professional consultation and digital solutions for swine, poultry, cattle, dairy and 'lifestyle' animals at all life phases. Under the theme of "DISCOVER THE POWER OF THE MICROVERSE," Cargill presented animal health technology which specialises in feed additives dedicated to supporting healthier lifestyles through its in-depth understanding of microbiome's complex ecology, nourishing its natural potential and boosting animal and companion pet health. The organisation is focusing on the innovation, investment and infrastructure needed to modernise the industry and serve diverse customer needs. With its long heritage of more than 75 years in the Asia-Pacific region, Cargill views this market as one of the most critical long-term growth opportunities and is committed to advancing productivity gains and sustainability with customers. Kelly Stange, the US Agriculture Counsellor for Thailand, said: "Cargill Animal Nutrition & Health makes a smart decision to secure its position in the center of the supply chain, giving Cargill a unique role in linking farmers and producers, customers and consumers, and helping to make the world's food system more sustainable, resilient and accessible. This may be accomplished through Cargill's efforts and shared vision in Unlocking the Microverse for Better Lives and becoming the world's greatest science-based feed additives and nutrition business, delivering the next frontier for animal productivity and sustainable, wholesome food supply." "Cargill delivers world-class sustainable solutions in animal nutrition, performance and health to drive the success of customers who nourish, raise or care for animals," said John Fering, regional managing director of Cargill Animal Nutrition Southeast Asia. - Cargill Brazil's aims to resume beef exports to China Carlos Favaro, Brazil's Agriculture Minister, said he is moving forward a planned visit to China to discuss resuming beef exports to that country, after shipments were halted following a case of mad cow's disease detected in Brazil, US News reported. Favaro said he will make the trip the China before Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's March 28 scheduled visit. Following the discovery of an unusual case of mad cow disease in the Brazilian state of Para in February, shipments of beef to China were immediately suspended. A Brazilian government official said the Brazilian government anticipates that beef exports to China will resume in the coming days and is preparing to ask for a revision of the protocol that led to the ban. - US News Continued support for Homes for Ukraine Scheme People intending to apply for host payments relating to the Isle of Man Homes for Ukraine Scheme are urged to do so before the end of March. Proposed changes to the Isle of Man Homes for Ukraine (Host Payments) Scheme will be considered by Tynwald at this months sitting and, if approved, with come into effect on 1 April 2023. The Isle of Man Homes for Ukraine Scheme will remain open after April 1 and the Government will continue to support guests and hosts, in terms of safeguarding, DBS checks, advice and signposting. Any Island-based family members or sponsors wishing to host Ukrainian guests will still be able to do so. In order to support the ongoing effort to help those impacted by the war in Ukraine, the Isle of Man Government has committed a further 100,000 to be donated to the Ukrainian Embassys WithUkraine appeal. Minister for the Cabinet Office, Kate Lord-Brennan MHK, said: I want to place on record our thanks, once again, to those who act as hosts to our guests from Ukraine and play such an important role on behalf of our community. It is also crucial we help those working in Ukraine to support those in need locally, and a further 100,000 has been committed to provide humanitarian relief directly through the Ukrainian Embassy in London. Find out more by visiting gov.im/Ukraine or contacting the Ukraine Support Team on 642500 or UkraineSupport@gov.im There are questions about how much the former employee really knows. TikTok whistleblower claims US data privacy efforts are seriously flawed There are questions about how much the former employee really knows. TikTok's efforts to address US data privacy fears may have holes. A self-proclaimed whistleblower talking to The Washington Post says the social network's plan to protect American users' data, Project Texas, has major flaws. The former Trust and Safety team member claims the $1.5 billion initiative will still let TikTok connect to parent company ByteDance's Toutiao, a well-known Chinese news app. That link could theoretically allow China to access US data. A truly secure approach would require a "complete re-engineering" of the service's infrastructure, the ex-employee says. The staffer also claims to have met with the offices of Sen. Chuck Grassley and Sen. Mark Warner to discuss the alleged weaknesses. Representatives for both senators acknowledged that meetings had taken place. We've asked TikTok for comment. Unnamed people at the social media giant tell The Post that the claims are "unfounded," and the Toutiao code only amounts to a "naming convention and technical relic" that doesn't tie the app to China. They also believe that the relocation of US data to Oracle servers undercuts the assertion that Toutiao could affect the US business. The whistleblower was only employed for half a year, and he supposedly left months before Project Texas was finalized. He may not know the full picture, in other words. TikTok has repeatedly denied cooperating with the Chinese government, and there's no publicly known evidence to that effect. Douyin, the equivalent app available inside China, has completely separate content. 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. The timing of the purported revelation isn't good for TikTok. House and Senate bills (Warner co-sponsored the latter bill) could lead to nationwide TikTok bans if they become law, and CEO Shou Zi Chew is set to testify before the House on March 23rd to address security and child safety concerns. Politicians are worried the Chinese government may use TikTok to collect data on Americans and spread propaganda, and the report doesn't help ease those fears. Since the subject is subjectivity, it is tempting to turn a few leaves of a seemingly unrelated discourse, as a point of departure. Anna Freud, the prodigal daughter of Sigmund Freud, renowned for her contributions and development of child psychology, emphasised the psychic movement of ego in response to the conditioned experiences in childhood. A dynamic psyche is, however, a picture of conditioned mobility vis-a-vis a living fraught with leaving and vice versa! Such psychoanalytic insights were bound to emerge, speculating along the biographical experiences of the Freuds (father-daughter duo), given their own emigrations to a non-native land (London). Adding more historical-sociological complexity to the phenomenon, wedding psychoanalysis with sociology and anthropology, Erich Fromm underlined a psychic movement in which home and the world have manifold and chequered interactions. Exploring the reasons behind why a troubled psyche fears freedom and slips to authoritarianism, Fromm emphasised the perpetual breaking and making of relationships qua psychic movement in/from the family and kinship to the formal world of actions. Such an unseemly commencement of a review of a book is appropriate given the concurrence of the underlying nuances. Aimed at the complex experiences of migrants, the informalformal, primarysecondary, livingleaving, homeworld, the book under review is organised under five key themes pertaining to human migration in South Asia, that is, labour, gender, folk, the self and religiosity. A rare work of its kind, with wide-angled discursive panorama, the book not only provides explanation and understanding of the issue(s) on the anvil, but also enables for sharpening questions, some direct and some oblique. Even though the book does not centralise it as a question, the migrant subjectivities of scholars, researchers and writers play a considerable role in the way they understand home and the world, and living and leaving. One shall wonder with this very important book, how much of migrant subjectivities of the scholars qua authors in this book underpinned by psychic freedom-unfreedom play a role in their attempts to narrativise the migrant subjectivities? Could one write about migrant experiences without factoring in the ordinaryeverydaybiographic accounts of the self? The editorial pronouncement has conscientiously put the self as a refrain, more in terms of promise than in delivery. The self as the second or third fiddle in the larger dramatics of narrativising, however, serves the same perfunctory role as does the visual testimonies in the age of Photoshop. One wonders whether the idea of subjectivity is orientalised. Such an ominous tacit assumptionthe subjective self of the other, while the objective self of the scholareven after the worldwide pandemic that humanity experienced in the last few years! Kicking off Montana Agriculture Month, Governor Greg Gianforte today visited a multi-generational family sheep ranch near Dillon. At their ranch in southwest Montana, the Helles raise thousands of sheep, bringing sustainable, high quality, 100% Montana grown Merino Wool to market, Gov. Gianforte said. To keep family operations like this one running for future generations, well continue to promote and invest in value-added ag so producers can capture more of the tremendous value they create. With wool sourced from their Rambouillet herd, the Helles cofounded Duckworth, a Merino Wool products clothing company. While at the ranch, the governor sheared an ewe, taking part in the first step of the companys Sheep to Shelf process. Gov. Gianforte shears an ewe at the Helle Rambouillet Shear 'N Shred event Evan Helle, a fourth-generation sheep rancher and son of Duckworth co-founder and head rancher, John Helle, led the group in a shearing demonstration. People want to know where their clothing comes from, and we had all the tools in place to be able to start a company with products made in the USA from Sheep to Shelf, Helle said. Working with 23 factory partners in 12 states, Duckworth is rebuilding the American textile industry from the bottom up, Helle explained. Director of Agriculture Christy Clark, who attended the shearing with the governor, added, Today was a great opportunity to highlight entrepreneurial activity in our state specific to agriculture. Additionally, having the opportunity to highlight domestic supply chain strengths coming out of a 4th generation sheep ranch is a story that we hope inspires other producers in the state to keep pushing value added agriculture forward." After the shearing, Gov. Gianforte met with members of the Helle family and Duckworth representatives. Earlier this week, Gov. Gianforte proclaimed March 2023 as Montana Agriculture Month, March 19-25, 2023 as Montana Agriculture Week, and March 21, 2023, as Montana Agriculture Day. UPDATE, MARCH 30: Trooper Lewis Johnson, who was injured in a pursuit southwest of Eureka in February, is still recovering at Craig Hospital in Colorado. Montana Highway Patrol (MHP) shared an update on Trooper Johnsons condition Thursday, saying his medical status continues to stabilize, and he completed treatment for the medical complications related to his chest wall injuries. Trooper Johnson now has less pain and has been able to focus more on his recovery and rehabilitation related to the injuries sustained in this incident. He has also started to use a manual wheelchair for mobility. Trooper Johnson is motivated and engaged with all members of his rehabilitation team. Thank you for your thoughts, prayers and continued support of Lewis and his family, MHP said. UPDATE, MARCH 9 at 3:01 PM: Montana Highway Patrol shared an update on Trooper Lewis Johnson Thursday, saying he completed his first week at Craig Hospital in Englewood, Colorado, and has been getting up and dressed for PT/OT every day. Johnson is still battling his injuries, and is using a powered mobility chair until his left shoulder heals more. The community support has been incredible, and the family is truly grateful. His room is starting to fill with cards and beautiful drawings. Please, keep them coming! He still has a long road ahead, but hes in the right place for healing, Montana Highway Patrol wrote. You can help support Trooper Johnson through a GoFundMe set up to help during his recovery. Donations can also be sent directly to the family at: Lewis and Kate Johnson to PO Box 356 Chester, MT 59522. You can also send donations to the First Montana Bank here: Lewis and Kate Johnson Support fund, Lincoln Co Sheriff's Reserve Fund 501(C)(3) First Montana Bank 504 Mineral Ave Libby, MT 59923 Contact: Sheriff Darren Short - (406) 293-4112 ext. 1230 UPDATE, FEB. 26 AT 1:56 PM: Injured Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Lewis Johnson is continuing to heal after being hit by a fleeing suspects vehicle on Feb. 17. An event Sunday was held for Trooper Johnson and his family at Logan Health in Kalispell where an update on his condition was shared. Logan Healths Chief of Surgery said Trooper Johnson arrived at the hospital with multiple crushed ribs, a collapsed and bruised lung, lacerations and a critical spine fracture. Trooper Johnson spent his first few days at the hospital on life support and has since been taken off, and was even able to make an appearance at the event in person. Trooper Johnson thanked attendees for coming to the event, adding I am here, I am fighting, but it is going to be a long fight. Officials thanked the community and emergency personnel who helped get Trooper Johnson the care he needed. You can watch the full event from the Flathead County Sheriffs Office below: KALISPELL, Mont. - Officials are coming together to support injured Montana Highway Patrol Trooper, Lewis Johnson and his family. Local law enforcement officials are holding the event in the conference room at Logan Health starting at 1:00 pm Sunday. Trooper Johnson was injured during a pursuit southwest of Eureka, and he has since been in the care of the team at Logan Health. Sundays event will recognize Trooper Johnsons care team, the life-saving actions of other law enforcement personnel the day he was injured and Montanas law enforcement community. An update on his future medical care and recover will also be shared. The public is welcome to attend, and a live stream will be available. You can watch the stream from the Flathead County Sheriff's Office here. Article originally posted February 24, 2023. A UK retailer has been ordered by the National Food Crime Unit (NFCU) to remove pre-packed beef which was labelled British but came from South America. The unit, a dedicated law enforcement function of the Food Standards Agency, is investigating the potential case of food fraud involving pre-packed sliced beef. The NFCU has declined to reveal which retailer or supermarket chain is involved. Andrew Quinn, deputy head of the NFCU, said the investigation was "not a food safety issue, but a matter of food fraud". "The retailer was notified on the same day that we took action against the food business suspected of the fraud and immediately removed all affected products from their shelves. "The retailer continues to work closely and co-operatively with the NFCU investigation to progress the case against the supplier." He added: "Any fraud investigations of this nature take time to go through evidence and bring to any outcome, including any potential prosecution. "We take food fraud very seriously and are acting urgently to protect the consumer." The potential case of food fraud comes ten years on from the horse meat scandal, when horsemeat entered the UK's food supply chain. The meat was found in a series of beef products that reached the supermarket shelves resulting in millions of products being withdrawn. At the recent NFU Conference, the union's president Minette Batters warned against the possibility of another food scandal rocking the industry. She said: Ten years on from the horsegate scandal, we cannot afford to be so complacent about the risks that continue to exist. Although the food industry has since taken steps to make food safer, John Pallagi, founder of online butcher Farmison & Co, recently warned that the supply chain remains vulnerable. He said that more than ever consumers were demanding and deserved to see full traceability of produce. The horse meat scandal undoubtedly inspired a great deal of scrutiny from retailers into their supply chains at the time, but I wonder what reforms have been introduced. I fear the answer isnt enough and that meat food supply chains remain as opaque and difficult to trace as ever. "Reputation management I would venture has been more important than addressing the fundamental wrongs of these systems. The US has the potential to be a key export market for British lamb despite it being one of the less popular meats there, industry experts have said. According to the commercial manager at Dunbia, one of Europe's leading food companies, the biggest opportunity lies in the size of the population with over 300 million people, the majority of whom are meat eaters. But Tom Coles said he recognised that growing lamb exports was going to be challenging due to its high price and competition from already established importers. Lamb is expensive compared to other proteins, and other countries such as Australia and New Zealand are already established in the US market. The biggest challenge I see is reaching those discerning customers in the premium food service sector in the hope that the popularity of lamb will continue to grow, Mr Coles said. But the UK has one of the most sustainable production systems in the world, using our natural resources such as grass, sunshine and plenty of rain to produce highly nutritious, succulent and tasty lamb. "It is through showcasing these key qualities that opportunities will start to open," he explained. Mr Coles comments were made at the Annual Meat Conference in Dallas this week, where he joined AHDB and Hybu Cig Cymru Meat Promotion Wales (HCC) to showcase UK lamb to more than 1,500 visitors, mostly Americans. James Hutcheson, commercial director for ABP, another who attended the event, said he was pleased with the willingness of US importers to engage with UK processors. Were just about to conclude our USDA approval as a business and the next step will be putting a commercial aspect to that work and exporting to the US. "This mission gave us a good focal point to achieve this," Mr Hutcheson explained. One of the most welcome surprises has been the general willingness to engage from the US importers. "There is an active interest in British meat and the most pleasant surprise has been the level of engagement they have afforded us as a newcomer to the market. But Mr Hutchinson said that he also recognised the challenges of exporting to the US, as it was a 'mature market' for the UK's southern hemisphere competitors. "Theres a willingness and understanding of buying an Australian or New Zealand cut of lamb because its traditional to the market and we havent had access to it previously," he said. But the US has a low level of domestic production and consumers who are looking for a taste and flavour experience that is beyond the everyday meal occasion. We have seen there is a good acceptance of lamb, they like the flavour profile, particularly of UK lamb, and we see that as an opportunity. "Theres others in the marketplace and that could be perceived as a threat but there is an understanding that all meal occasions are open to us and there are opportunities for everyone." Welshman Dewi Jenkins was 'top dog' again at Skipton Auction Marts latest online-only sale of working sheepdogs, with a 18,100 sale. Dewi, a frequent price topper at the North Yorkshire venue, both at live and online sales, far eclipsed his 7,000 top price at the previous online sale last December. At the recent event, he sold his black and white dog Gwyddil Ben, a 12-month-old son of Clwyd Bob, himself by the handlers main stud dog Jock, the reigning 2022 International Supreme Champion, and with whom he also represented Wales at last years BBC One Man and His Dog final. The 2016-born Clwyd Bob has exceptional bloodlines going back to multiple champions on both sides, among them on the grand dams side former International Supreme Champion Glencregg Silver. Gwyddil Ben's own dam is Malta Jill, acquired by Dewi from Carlaine Thom, of Malta Border Collies, based in Co Tyrone, Northern Ireland. After being mated a home to Clwyd Bob, now increasingly proving an exceptional stud dog, Jill then sold in-pup to friend and fellow Welshman T Davies carrying both Gwyddil Ben and litter sister Bess. Gwyddil Ben returned at eight weeks old to Dewi, who reports that Bess is due to be sold at Skipton Auction Mart this May. The top-notch nursery trials prospect joined Staffordshire buyer, Eamonn Vaughan, who farms beef and sheep and clearly thinks a great deal of Jenkins bloodlines. He paid a then world record price of 27,100 in 2021 for Dewis Kim, which has since been bettered, though remains a world record for a dog under 12 months. Mr Vaughan, who farms the Partridge Nest pedigree Texel sheep flock and also has a herd of pedigree Charolais, Limousin and Simmental cows, now has plans to put Ben to Kim next year, who he describes as a phenomenal bitch. She is out every day and absolutely flying, a superb worker, so strong, a serious bitch, he enthused. In fact, Kim has already bred a world beater for Mr Vaughan, when her 11-week-old Kim Jnr made 11,600, a new record price for an unbroken pup. Back at Skipton, Welsh vendors were again responsible for the leading online prices. Next best with a 6,200 sale was James Jones, of Rhayadar in Powys, with his 22-month-old black and white bitch, Brondrefawr Misty. She is a daughter of fellow Welshman Kevin Evans trialling legend, Tanhill Glen, a dual European Nursery and Royal Welsh Champion who has had such a major impact on selling prices at Skipton in recent years. In January 2023, the US' imports of textiles and apparel declined by 5.7 per cent to $9.599 billion, compared to $10.179 billion in January 2022. China, with a 27.83 per cent share, remained the largest supplier to the US, followed by Vietnam with 14.45 per cent. However, the imports from China witnessed a sharp decline of 25.28 per cent in the same period. Within textiles, apparel constituted the bulk of the imports by the US in January 2023, amounting to $7.266 billion, while non-apparel imports accounted for $2.332 billion, according to the latest Major Shippers Report released by the US department of commerce. Both segments saw a decline in inbound shipment. Apparel imports slipped by 3.44 per cent compared to the trade of $7.525 billion in January 2022, while non-apparel imports declined by 12.12 per cent from $2.653 billion in the corresponding period of the previous year. In January 2023, the US' imports of textiles and apparel declined by 5.7 per cent to $9.599 billion, compared to $10.179 billion in January 2022. China, with a 27.83 per cent share, remained the largest supplier to the US, followed by Vietnam with 14.45 per cent. However, the imports from China witnessed a sharp decline of 25.28 per cent in the same period. Among the top ten apparel suppliers to the US, imports from Nicaragua and Bangladesh gained 27.60 per cent and 15.43 per cent year-on-year, respectively. Imports from India and Indonesia also grew by 9.77 per cent and 4.73 per cent, respectively. However, imports from the other six nations among the top ten, including China and Cambodia, declined by 24.61 per cent and 12.92 per cent. In the non-apparel category, among the top ten suppliers, imports from Vietnam gained 19.43 per cent year-on-year. Imports from Mexico and Cambodia saw positive growth of 12.89 per cent and 3.63 per cent, respectively. However, imports from the other seven countries, including China, India, Turkiye, and Canada, declined. The imports from China dipped by 26.58 per cent. Of the total US textile and apparel imports of $9.599 billion during the period under review, man-made fibre products accounted for $4.884 billion, while cotton products were worth $4.121 billion, followed by $279.972 million worth of wool products, and $314.184 billion worth of products from silk and vegetable fibres. In 2022, the US imports of textile and apparel further increased to $132.201 billion, up from $113.938 billion in 2021. This was a bounce back after a sharp decline in 2020 when the country's inbound shipment decreased to $89.596 billion compared to imports of $111.033 billion in 2019. Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL) The robot game has more than 200,000 users ANDORRA, Spain, March 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Japanese Trademark Office has rejected the arguments filed by Japanese giant Imagineer on 21 January 2022 against the registration of Andorran Kevin Comadran's Medabots trademark. Imagineer sought the cancellation of this trademark on the grounds that it could create confusion with its trademark Medarot, which it changed internationally to Medabots. In the pleadings, Imagineer sought cancellation of Comadran's mark on the grounds that the marks are similar and that it was acquired by Comadran in bad faith. However, each of the points raised in the opposition brief was ultimately rejected by the court. The Japanese Trademark Office's decision finds that Imagineer's mark cannot be said to be widely known to consumers, in Japan or abroad. Furthermore, it rejects that confusion or bad faith has been shown. Currently, the Medabots game, created by Comadran Studios, in which consumers can battle each other with robots assembled from scratch, continues to grow daily and has more than 200,000 users. It is a fully strategic game in which, in addition to having to complete daily missions, players can compete in different leagues. In 2017 Kevin Comadran started to design a video game about robot battles and, when he was thinking about the name of the trademark and the possibilities of registration, he discovered that the name Medabots was available because it had been abandoned by its owner, so he decided to register it as a trademark for his game. It was not until a few years later that Imagineer remembered the trademark (which once belonged to another company and for which this company was a publisher) and wanted to register it, trying to do so in several countries and opposing the trademarks registered by Comadran. Now the Japanese Office considers that Comadran is right. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/comadran-wins-legal-battle-and-keeps-medabots-trademark-in-japan-301765845.html CHICAGO, March 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Plant Growth Regulators Market was valued at USD 2.9 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach USD 4.5 billion by 2028, at a CAGR of 7.4% from 2022 to 2028 according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets. Plant Growth Regulators are chemicals used to modify plant growth, such as increasing branching, suppressing shoot growth, increasing return bloom, removing excess fruit, or altering fruit maturity. Numerous factors affect PGR performance, including how well the plant absorbs the chemical, tree vigor and age, dose, timing, cultivar, and weather conditions before, during, and after application. Plant growth regulators can be grouped into six classes: compounds related to auxins, gibberellins, gibberellin biosynthesis inhibitors, cytokinins, abscisic acid, and compounds affecting the ethylene status. Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=94580110 Browse in-depth TOC on "Plant Growth Regulators Market" 282 - Tables 70 - Figures 333 - Pages These PGRs are known for various functions, such as stem elongation, fruit enlargement, cell division, and root shedding. Amongst the types of PGRs, gibberellins are widely used on crops, such as fruits & vegetables. These are used on a large scale in regions with extensive production and cultivation of fruits & vegetables. The cytokinins segment accounted for the largest market share in 2022 globally, followed by auxins and gibberellins. This market is majorly driven by the strong demand for high value crops, rise in trading requirements for industrial activities and rise in resistance developments in various pests and insect species estimated to drive the consumption of natural plant growth regulators in agriculture. Plant growth regulators are becoming increasingly popular agents that modify the physiological processes of plants in agriculture-driven economies. Plant growth regulators are in high demand as agriculture becomes more mechanized, and scientific advancement ensures the possibility of using novel inputs to improve production. Damage and loss of agricultural land Rapid industrialization and urbanization resulted in a decline in arable or cultivable land. Increased concerns about the limited availability of agricultural land could hamper the optimum food production requirements to feed the increasing world population. With the increase in population, the level of demand for agricultural products is increasing, which has led to the need for higher yields from limited land. The scarcity of natural resources and their competitive demand due to urbanization and industries is worsening the situation. The arable land in the world is expected to experience a similar phase of continuous decline in the coming years. Disasters also have a direct effect on agriculture through lower-than-expected production. This causes direct economic loss for the farmers, which eventually cascades through the entire value chain, affecting the growth of the sector or the entire national economy. During 2008-2018, billions of dollars were lost in various regions due to a decline in crop and livestock production. One of the most impactful disasters was droughts. Over 34% of the crops and livestock production loss in the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Low-To-Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) are due to droughts costing the sector around USD 37 billion. The next vital disaster count is floods. Over 19% of total loss is due to floods and is responsible for USD 21 billion of crops and livestock production losses. Next counts the infestations caused by pests and diseases that account for approx. 19% of all crop and livestock production losses. Agriculture and climate change are internally correlated factors, as climatic change is one of the main causes of biotic and abiotic stress development, which adversely impacts plant growth and overall agriculture. Biostimulants can enhance stress tolerance levels to promote plant growth without any environmental hazards, thus supporting the concept of sustainable agriculture development. It also improves crop tolerance to heat, salinity, and drought. Due to prevailing harsh climatic conditions, plant growth promoters help in improving productivity and enriching soil, which helps plants grow in a better and healthier way. Plant growth promoters are substances that improve the growth and development of plants. These substances are obtained either synthetically or biologically, of which biological plant growth promoters are more effective and safer. Plant growth promoters are used to improve the quality and productivity of crops. There are various types of plant growth promoters; some of the most popular ones include auxins, gibberellins, and cytokinins. They help in growth and development during flowering, fruiting, root initiation, and an overall increase in yield. In flowering, it helps in inducing flowering & reduces flower drop. During fruiting, it helps improve fruit size, quality, and color. The current climate has caused changes in temperature and precipitation rates, resulting in extreme drought conditions. These changes in environmental conditions contributed to an increase in global warming, increasing the demand for irrigation. Population growth, on the other hand, has resulted in significant devastation of valuable crops due to increased soil erosion and urbanization. As a result, there is an urgent need to use soils with reduced capability for agricultural development and production. For example, sandy soils have weaker plant development and less capacity to transfer water from deeper layers because sandy soil is loose and light in structure. These soils drain fast. However, the fertility and yield capacities of these soils can be increased using Plant Growth Promoters (PGP), such as Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR). To meet global food demand, there is an increasing desire to enhance drought resistance in pulses, particularly chickpeas. As a result, policies may be devised to protect agricultural plants from drought stress and to develop drought tolerance in crop plants. The high cost of developing new chemical pesticides, the increase in insect & weed resistance to chemical treatments, and high regulatory pressure to limit chemical usage with respect to ecosystem damage have contributed to an increase in the need for these plant growth promoter products. BASF SE (Germany) is one of the key players in the plant growth regulators market because of its diverse product portfolio. A variety of system solutions and services are offered by BASF SE, along with goods for the chemical, automotive, building, agricultural, oil, plastics, electrical, electronics, furniture, and paper industries. Under its agricultural solutions division, BASF SE provides plant growth regulators. The company's extensive line of plant growth regulators (PGRs) targets the hormonal system of the plant and alters the proportions of various plant hormones to help the plant develop in advantageous ways. In order to increase crop health and yield, BASF SE's plant growth regulators business segment conducts research, develops, manufactures, and sells plant growth regulator products. Request Sample Pages: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=94580110 Asia Pacific to grow at a CAGR of 8.2% during the forecast period. The Asia Pacific plant growth regulators market accounted for a share of about 30.9% of the total market, in terms of value, in 2022. The region is an emerging market with investments from several multinational manufacturers, especially in countries such as China, New Zealand, and Japan. The Asia Pacific region contributes to more than 60% of the global population, with China and India being two of the most populous countries. This rising food demand from the region has led to the use of plant growth regulators. The primary occupation of the population in the Asia Pacific region is agriculture. The increasing agricultural practices and requirement for high-quality agricultural produce are expected to drive this region's plant growth regulators market. The major crops produced here are rice, sugar beet, fruits & vegetables, cereals, and grains. Cotton, sugarcane, fruits & vegetables, and cereals are the leading agricultural commodities exported from these countries. The Asia Pacific region comprises developing countries with vast agricultural lands. The per capita income of the region depends on its agricultural activities. Advanced agricultural technologies are widely accepted and practiced in this region. According to recent figures from the World Bank, nearly 57.3% and 61.2% of the entire land area was accounted for as agricultural land in China and India, respectively, in 2021. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in 2022, these two developing countries were the largest economies in the Asia Pacific, and thus, they provided significant market opportunities for global manufacturers. The key crops produced in this region include rice, sugarcane, sugar beet, fruits & vegetables, and other cereals & grains. India, China, Japan, and Australia are the key countries that play an important role in agriculture in this region. Cotton, sugar crops, fruits & vegetables, and cereals are the leading agricultural commodities exported from these countries. The key players in this market include Sumitomo Chemicals Co., Ltd. (Japan), Xinyi Industrial Co., Ltd. (China), Sichuan Guoguang Agrochemical Co., Ltd. (China) Tata Chemicals Ltd. (India), and UPL (India). Get 10% Free Customization on this Report: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestCustomizationNew.asp?id=94580110 Browse Adjacent Reports @ Agriculture Industry Market Research Reports & Consulting Related Reports: Biopesticides Market by Type (Bioinsecticides, Biofungicides, Bionematicides, and Bioherbicides), Source (Microbials, Biochemicals, and Beneficial Insects), Mode of Application, Formulation (Dry, Liquid), Crop Type and Region - Global Forecast to 2027 Biostimulants Market by Active Ingredient (Humic Substances, Amino Acids, Seaweed Extracts, and Microbial Amendments), Mode of Application (Foliar, Soil Treatment, and Seed Treatment), Form (Liquid and Dry), Crop Type and Region - Global Forecast to 2027 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/plant-growth-regulators-market.asp Visit Our Website: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ Content Source: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/plant-growth-regulators.asp Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/660509/MarketsandMarkets_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/plant-growth-regulators-market-worth-4-5-billion-by-2028--exclusive-report-by-marketsandmarkets-301767734.html Evluma expands their roadway product line with a new low-glare luminaire, the RoadMax RX2. With a lumen output up to 28,000 lumens, the LED RX2 is positioned to assist municipalities and utilities retire inefficient and maintenance-intensive legacy HID cobraheads. RENTON, WA / ACCESSWIRE / March 9, 2023 / LED lighting manufacturer Evluma announces the next major release in the RoadMax roadway luminaire line, the RX2. Positioned to replace 150-400W HID cobraheads, the RX2 sits between the lower-wattage RX1, released in 2022, and the forthcoming high-wattage RX3 in size. Ranging from 8,000 to 28,000 lumens, the 70-220 watt RX2 will satisfy rigorous streetlight requirements while slashing energy use in half. "The versatility of this one offering reduces the number of SKUs a roadway lighting program might have to stock. It simplifies things," stated Senior Product Manager Jason Dobbs." Multiple luminaire configurations for Type II, Type III and Type V, all with zero-uplight (U0), are offered. "The RoadMax product line now replaces any HID cobrahead up to 400 watts with just two housing sizes. Consistent product design across models also provides aesthetic continuity." Like the RX1, the precision primary optics are designed to address Disability Glare while achieving maximum pole spacing. The RX2 is also equipped with optional secondary lenses for enhanced glare control; light trespass shields offer spill light curtailment. Evluma recently authored a white paper on LED Streetlight Glare, Causes and Solutions. "Reducing brightness and installing a secondary lens are two ways to combat Disability Glare. With an FAO (Field Adjustable Output) and secondary lens options, RoadMax offers both," stated National Sales Director Chris Lubeck. RoadMax can be customized to include Evluma's Photocontrol Failsafe, a patented technology that solves photocontrol failures on street and area lights. Compatibility with ConnectLED, Evluma's Bluetooth app for wireless lighting controls, enables dimming and dimming schedules without the need for a network. Evluma's comprehensive 10-year warranty and signature 20kV/10kA surge protection comes standard with every model. Preview the RX2 at TechAdvantage, March 6-9, 2023, in Nashville, TN. About Evluma Formed in 2008, Evluma is committed to developing affordable, long-lasting and environmentally low-impact LED lighting solutions that fundamentally change the landscape of the outdoor utility lighting market. Evluma's high standard of customer service plus its background in innovative lighting technologies and software creatively influences the design of its utility-grade products. Evluma is located in Renton, WA, USA. Contact: Cathleen Shattuck 425-336-5824 cshattuck@evluma.com SOURCE: Evluma View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/742054/Evlumas-New-LED-Roadway-Luminaire-RoadMax-RX2-replaces-150-400W-HID-Cobraheads SEOUL, South Korea, March 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Creatip (CEO Daniel Kong) was the only agency in the year 2023 to win the B2B marketing award in the Korea / Japan region. Creatip is a leading independent digital marketing agency representing Korea and Japan for 15 years. It has been recognized for excellence in marketing performance by winning the silver award in the independent marketing agency category in 2022, the bronze award in the social media category, and the bronze award in the B2C marketing in 2021. With the recognition, Creatip has been honored to win the Agency of the Year awards for three consecutive years in the Korea / Japan region. Agency of the Year is the event that selects agencies with exceptional performance, creativity, and ingenuity. It is also a prestigious award hosted by Global Communications Magazine 'Campaign Asia Pacific'. Daniel Kong, CEO of Creatip, said, "We are delighted to win the award for the third consecutive year as an independent digital marketing agency representing Korea and Japan." "We will continue to do our best to deliver the best possible results through the utmost and creative performance marketing for our clients around the world who target Korea and Japan market." View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/creatip-a-digital-marketing-agency-earns-the-award-3-consecutive-years-301767557.html DUSSELDORF, Germany, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Tianyu Information (300205.SZ), one of the world's largest manufacturers of smart payment terminals, aims to grow its presence in the European market following the company's successful participation in the world's leading retail trade fair, EuroShop, that took place between February 26 and March 2 in Dusseldorf, Germany. "We are pleased to meet our partners at the exhibition and discuss our business plans for 2023 in Europe, as well as other regions such as Asia Pacific, MEA, North America, and Latin America," said David Liu, VP of International Business Division at Tianyu. "Through our extensive network of regional service centers and global marketing channels, we are confident to provide excellent value and unparalleled support to help our customers achieve their goals." Tianyu was in the world's Top 4 smart payment terminal players globally by market share, per a 2022 Nilson report. The company's global expansion efforts are expected to yield full-year earnings of $9m to $13m in 2022, up to 163% YoY. The company's growth growth is driven by enhanced supply chain management and a dual-driven domestic and international development strategy, boosting sales and revenue for its smart card and intelligent payment terminal offerings. In addition, Tianyu also expanded its business footprint into products and solutions covering communications, the Internet of Things (IoT), big data, and more. The company offers a range of communications solutions, including eSIM solutions and telecom products such as SIM cards, Mobile Wi-Fi, Customer Premise Equipment (CPE), Passive Optical Network (PON). The company's main business includes services and products for the financial industry, intelligent payment terminals, and the IoT. The financial industry unit is mainly engaged in the R&D, production, and sales of financial IC cards as well as other smart card products and e-CNY products. About Tianyu Information Tianyu Information (www.whty.com) is a leading technology company providing comprehensive digital solutions, from fintech to smart devices, IoT, and data security. With 20+ years of experience, Tianyu is an industry leader in China's telecom and banking smart card markets and a top-four global POS provider, dominating Asia's POS business. The innovative R&D and strong production capabilities make it a trusted partner for businesses seeking to thrive in the digital era. With over 2,000 employees, Tianyu empowers its vision for a secure and intelligent information life for all. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/digital-solutions-provider-tianyu-eyes-european-payments-market-in-2023-301768706.html BANGALORE, India, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The ITB Berlin, the world's largest tourism trade fair, hosted a panel on 'Gender Equality: Tourism as a door opener for female empowerment and the role of gender equality in addressing the climate crisis' in Berlin, Germany. The panel was led by Dagmo Ahmed Jama, Director Integrated Marketing for Oman Airports Management Company and was joined by esteemed panelists: Ms Shruti Shibulal, Director and CEO of Tamara Leisure Experiences Pvt Ltd., Danielle D'Silva Head of Sustainability at Booking.com, Barbara Glanz General Manager B2B Europe at Intrepid Travel, and Nino Zambakhidze Chairwoman of the Georgian Farmers' Association (GFA) The panel conjoined the reality of climate change and its disproportionate impact on women to address the ways in which tourism can facilitate inclusive and equitable practices which include human capital building and meaningful job creation to uplift women and thereby communities in a sustainable way. Taking both a strategic and holistic view of the matter, Shruti Shibulal said, "The real problem is that we have a retention issue. We need to take a close look at how we can keep women employed. Firstly, it's training; women need to be given the opportunity to learn financial literacy and other key skills. Secondly, it's leadership. We need more women in leadership roles, and not just one token position. We need female role models and mentors in leadership positions. You have to make space for women and fight for their inclusion." "Empathy is crucial to achieving gender equality. Both women and men have their challenges, and inclusivity must be a more united conversation. Some people are aware of the need to build equality for women, but women may not have that same awareness for men. As such, there is a mutual empathy that needs to be built to ensure lasting change," added Shruti. This year, the ITB Convention centered on 'Mastering Transformation' within Tourism, with a strong focus on sustainability. Tamara Leisure Experiences, a responsible hospitality group has grown to become a thought leader in sustainable tourism in India. At the ITB convention, the group introduced their NABH (National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers) Certified Ayurvedic resort: Amal Tamara on a global stage. Additionally, PATWA (Pacific Area Travel Writers Association) awarded Tamara Leisure Experiences international recognition under the category of 'Boutique Hotel Chain of the Year - India' at the convention. At the award ceremony, held as part of the PATWA World Tourism and Aviation Leaders Summit, Shruti Shibulal spoke on 'New Initiatives in Tourism' alongside prominent leaders: Winnie Muchanyuka - CEO of Zimbabwe Tourism Authority, Mr. Alain St. Ange - Former Minister of Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports, and Marine, Republic of Seychelles, Georgi Alipiev, Director of International and Visa Affairs Directorate, Ministry of Tourism of the Republic Bulgaria, and Mr. H. E. Edmund Bartlett - Minister of Tourism Jamaica. Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2030265/Tamara_Leisure_Experiences.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/shruti-shibulal-ceo-and-director-of-tamara-leisure-experiences-joins-a-panel-of-global-experts-to-discuss-gender-equality-in-tourism-at-itb-berlin-301768708.html Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - March 10, 2023) - Arrow Exploration Corp. (AIM: AXL) (TSXV: AXL) ("Arrow" or the "Company") announces the resignation of Maria Charash, Director. Maria Charash, Director of Arrow since June 3, 2021, has resigned to pursue other opportunities. Ms. Charash assisted Arrow with its transformation to an AIM listed company, and her hard work and dedication in the furtherance of Arrow's ongoing success is greatly appreciated. We would like to thank Ms. Charash for her many contributions to the Company during her time on the Arrow Board and wish her success in her future endeavors. For further Information, contact: Arrow Exploration Marshall Abbott, CEO +1 403 651 5995 Joe McFarlane, CFO +1 403 818 1033 Brookline Public Relations, Inc. Shauna MacDonald +1 403 538 5645 Canaccord Genuity (Nominated Advisor and Joint Broker) Henry Fitzgerald-O'Connor James Asensio Gordon Hamilton +44 (0)20 7523 8000 Auctus Advisors (Joint Broker) Jonathan Wright Rupert Holdsworth Hunt +44 (0)7711 627449 Camarco (Financial PR) Georgia Edmonds Rebecca Waterworth Billy Clegg +44 (0)20 3781 8331 About Arrow Exploration Corp. Arrow Exploration Corp. (operating in Colombia via a branch of its 100% owned subsidiary Carrao Energy S.A.) is a publicly traded company with a portfolio of premier Colombian oil assets that are underexploited, under-explored and offer high potential growth. The Company's business plan is to expand oil production from some of Colombia's most active basins, including the Llanos, Middle Magdalena Valley (MMV) and Putumayo Basin. The asset base is predominantly operated with high working interests, and the Brent-linked light oil pricing exposure combines with low royalties to yield attractive potential operating margins. Arrow's 50% interest in the Tapir Block is contingent on the assignment by Ecopetrol SA of such interest to Arrow. Arrow's seasoned team is led by a hands-on executive team supported by an experienced board. Arrow is listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange and on TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "AXL". Forward-looking Statements This news release contains certain statements or disclosures relating to Arrow that are based on the expectations of its management as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to Arrow which may constitute forward-looking statements or information ("forward-looking statements") under applicable securities laws. All such statements and disclosures, other than those of historical fact, which address activities, events, outcomes, results or developments that Arrow anticipates or expects may, could or will occur in the future (in whole or in part) should be considered forward-looking statements. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of the words "continue", "expect", "opportunity", "plan", "potential" and "will" and similar expressions. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release reflect several material factors and expectations and assumptions of Arrow, including without limitation, Arrow's evaluation of the impacts of COVID-19, the potential of Arrow's Colombian and/or Canadian assets (or any of them individually), the prices of oil and/or natural gas, and Arrow's business plan to expand oil and gas production and achieve attractive potential operating margins. Arrow believes the expectations and assumptions reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable at this time, but no assurance can be given that these factors, expectations, and assumptions will prove to be correct. The forward-looking statements included in this news release are not guarantees of future performance and should not be unduly relied upon. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof and the Company undertakes no obligations to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws. 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. Glossary API: A specific gravity scale developed by the American Petroleum Institute (API) for measuring the relative density of various petroleum liquids, expressed in degrees. Bopd: barrels of oil per day boe/d: barrels of oil equivalent per day Qualified Person's Statement The technical information contained in this announcement has been reviewed and approved by Grant Carnie, senior non-executive director of Arrow Exploration Corp. Mr. Carnie is a member of the Canadian Society of Petroleum Engineers, holds a B.Sc. in Geology from the University of Alberta and has over 35 years' experience in the oil and gas industry. This Announcement contains inside information for the purposes of the UK version of the market abuse regulation (EU No. 596/2014) as it forms part of United Kingdom domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("UK MAR"). NOT FOR RELEASE, DISTRIBUTION, PUBLICATION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO OR FROM THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, JAPAN, THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO MIGHT CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OR REGULATIONS OF SUCH JURISDICTION. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/157886 THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FIRSTGROUP PLC Trading update FirstGroup plc ('FirstGroup' or 'the Group') today reports an update on trading since the half-year results for the 26 weeks to 24 September 2022, published in November 2022. First Bus improved performance driven by higher passenger volumes in H2 2023 and driver resource pressures easing in certain locations First Rail open access operations benefiting from stronger than anticipated passenger demand over the winter months Acquisition of Ensign Bus Company Limited ('Ensignbus') completed Sale of First Transit by EQT Infrastructure completed with final earnout consideration anticipated later in 2023 First Bus Recent First Bus passenger volumes have increased to 83% of 2020 equivalent levels, with commercial and concessionary volumes at 87% and 75% respectively. The increase in demand has partially resulted from the 2 bus fare cap scheme introduced in England in January 2023, recently extended to the end of June 2023, and the Scottish Government's funding for free bus travel for all under-22s that has been in place since January 2022. First Bus has also benefited from improved driver resources in certain locations, with increased recruitment largely due to a number of initiatives introduced across the business, with more drivers completing their training and lower rates of attrition. In addition, we welcomed the Government's extension of the Bus Recovery Grant in February 2023, which will help protect vital services for passengers for a further three months. We continue to work with our government and industry partners on long-term funding arrangements for the sector. First Rail Our open access operations Lumo and Hull Trains, which are the only segment of the First Rail division where the Group takes full passenger revenue risk, have experienced stronger than anticipated passenger demand throughout H2 2023. The First Rail division has also benefited from the settlement of one-off claims relating to prior reporting periods. FY 2023 Guidance As a result of the factors detailed above, the Group anticipates that the FY 2023 Group adjusted operating profit and Group adjusted attributable profit will be ahead of the Group's previous expectations. The Group's expectations for FY 2024 remain unchanged. The Group expects to report its results for the year ended 25 March 2023 on 8 June 2023. Completion of acquisition of Ensignbus Following the conclusion of a customary regulatory review, the Group completed the acquisition of Ensignbus on 9 March 2023. The Ensignbus business includes commercial bus operations in Essex, a vehicle refurbishment and re-sale operation, and a high value depot. The acquisition of this long-established, high-performing business will not only provide a number of synergies and value accretive growth opportunities in the B2B and bus vehicle dealership markets, but it will also enhance the Group's local commercial bus operations in Essex. Update on First Transit Earnout Further to the Group's announcement on 26 October 2022, the Group notes that EQT Infrastructure's sale of First Transit to Transdev North America, Inc. has now completed. FirstGroup is entitled to an earnout consideration which is calculated as a percentage of the realised equity value on the disposal and contemplating the cash flows generated by First Transit since March 2021 to completion. As previously announced, the Group currently estimates the earnout consideration to be approximately 74m. The Group anticipates confirmation of the earnout consideration and subsequent receipt of proceeds later in 2023. Graham Sutherland, FirstGroup Chief Executive Officer, said: "I am pleased by the Group's progress in the second half of our 2023 financial year, which has been driven by increased passenger volumes and improved operational performance in bus and stronger than anticipated demand for our open access operations in rail. We remain committed to working closely with our partners to deliver successful bus and rail networks that serve the needs of our customers and communities and to playing a central role in achieving many of society's economic, social and environmental aims." Contacts at FirstGroup: Marianna Bowes, Head of Investor Relations Stuart Butchers, Head of Corporate Communications corporate.comms@firstgroup.co.uk Tel: +44 (0) 20 7725 3354 Contacts at Brunswick PR: Andrew Porter / Simone Selzer Tel: +44 (0) 20 7404 5959 Contacts at Liberum Capital Limited: Nicholas How / John Fishley / William Hall Tel: +44 (0) 20 3100 2000 Contacts at RBC Europe Limited: James Agnew / Jonathan Hardy / Jack Wood Tel: +44 (0) 20 7653 4000 FirstGroup plc compiled analyst consensus estimates for FY 2023 The Group's compiled consensus estimates for FY 2023 Group adjusted operating profit and Group adjusted attributable profit are currently 137.4m and 58.6m respectively. These estimates are an aggregation of five sell side analysts' forecasts, based on publically available information, published following the announcement of the Group's half-yearly results for the 26 weeks to 24 September 2022 on 9 November 2022. FirstGroup plc does not endorse or approve the analysts' consensus estimates or any underlying estimates that may have formed part of the analysts' consensus estimates. FirstGroup plc provides no assurance with regards to the accuracy or correctness of the analysts' consensus estimates. Forward-looking statements Certain statements included or incorporated by reference within this announcement may constitute 'forward-looking statements' with respect to the business, strategy and plans of the Group and our current goals, assumptions and expectations relating to our future financial condition, performance and results. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, assumptions, uncertainties and other factors that cause actual results, performance or achievements of the Group to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. No statement in this announcement should be construed as a profit forecast for any period. Shareholders are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. Except as required by the UK Listing Rules and applicable law, the Group does not undertake any obligation to update or change any forward-looking statements to reflect events occurring after the date of this announcement. Notes Legal Entity Identifier (LEI): 549300DEJZCPWA4HKM93. Classification as per DTR 6 Annex 1R: 2.2 and 3.1 This announcement contains inside information. The person responsible for making this announcement is David Blizzard, Company Secretary. FirstGroup plc (LSE: FGP.L) is a leading private sector provider of public transport services. With 4.6 billion in revenue and more than 30,000 employees, our UK divisions transported nearly 1.5m passengers a day in the last financial year. First Bus is the second largest regional bus operator in the UK, serving two-thirds of the UK's 15 largest conurbations with a fleet of c.4,900 buses. First Rail is the UK's largest rail operator, with many years of experience running long-distance, commuter, regional and sleeper rail services. We operate a fleet of c.3,800 rail vehicles through four management fee-based train operating companies (Avanti West Coast, GWR, SWR, TPE) and two open access routes (Hull Trains and Lumo). We create solutions that reduce complexity, making travel smoother and life easier. Our businesses are at the heart of our communities and the essential services we provide are critical to delivering wider economic, social and environmental goals. We no longer purchase new diesel buses and are formally committed to operating a zero-emission First Bus fleet by 2035; and First Rail will help support the UK Government's goal to remove all diesel-only trains from service by 2040. In February 2023 FirstGroup was named as one of the world's cleanest 200 public companies for the fourth consecutive year by sustainable business media group Corporate Knights in partnership with US not-for-profit organisation, As You Sow. Visit our website at www.firstgroupplc.com and follow us @firstgroupplc on Twitter. WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - LyondellBasell (LYB) and Grenergy, on Friday, announced signing of five long-term solar power purchase agreements or PPAs. Under the 15-year contracts, the Spanish renewable energy producer will supply solar energy from the La Cereal solar farm project, which is expected to be operational at the end of 2025. The agreements represent about 329,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) of solar power annually, equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of more than 90,000 European homes. 'With these agreements, LyondellBasell has now achieved 70% of our target to procure at least half of our electricity from renewable sources by 2030,' said Willemien Terpstra, LyondellBasell vice president, Decarbonization. 'In total, our PPA portfolio will generate over 2.9 million megawatt hours of renewable electricity and reduce our company's scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions by more than one million tons.' This PPA would help to optimize the financing of Grenergy's largest project to date in Spain. Grenergy noted that its development also strengthens the weight of its European portfolio, which the company expects to double from the current 25% to 45% by 2025. Also, LyondellBasell continues to progress towards its goal to reduce its scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 42% by 2030 and achieve net zero by 2050. 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. FlexShares ICAV Georges Court, 54-62 Townsend Street Dublin 2, Ireland Tel +353 (0) 1 542 2000 Fax +353 (0) 1 542 2920 northerntrust.com DIVIDEND DECLARATION FlexShares ICAV (the "Fund") wishes to announce the following details with respect to an interim dividend to be paid with respect to the following sub-fund: Sub-Fund: FlexShares Emerging Markets High Dividend Climate ESG UCITS ETF ISIN: IE00BMYDBH24 Declaration Date:09/03/2023 Ex-Date: 16/03/2023 Record Date:17/03/2023 Payment Date:29/03/2023 Dividend Rate: 0.0674 Currency: USD Type: Confirmed Please note that the above dates are in respect of the primary market of the Fund. All dividend proceeds are paid in the Fund's base currency (USD). The amount that is actually received by an investor will depend on whether the investor receives the proceeds in the same currency as the base currency of the Fund. If an investor will receive the proceeds in a currency other than the base currency of the Fund, then the amount the investor will receive will be affected by the FX rate at which the investor's broker/nominee converts the proceeds. If you purchased your investment on the secondary market (for example, on a stock exchange), please liaise with your broker/nominee. As a large proportion of the Fund's shareholders are broker/nominees who hold the shares in the Fund on behalf of their underlying investor clients, it is up to the relevant brokers/nominees to ensure that the proceeds are distributed to their underlying investor clients in accordance with the contractual arrangements they have in place with their clients. Should you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact FlexShares: Tel: +44 207 982 1866 Email: EMEA_FlexShares@ntrs.com ___________________________ Director FlexShares ICAV 09/03/2023 FlexShares ICAV is registered in Ireland as a body corporate under the Irish Collective Asset-management Vehicles Act 2015. Registration Number C432491. Registered Office: As above An Irish Collective Asset-management Vehicle with variable capital and segregated liability between sub-funds. Directors: T Daniels (NL), C Cawley (IE), M Dzanis (US), M Fee (IE), B Shah (UK), F Dempsey (IE) A Keating (IE) and C Farrell (IE) Los Angeles, California--(Newsfile Corp. - March 10, 2023) - COTT Electronics, a leading designer and manufacturer of customized electronic products and devices, is expanding its operations for the Hospitality Division to North America. COTT Electronics Expands Its Hospitality Division to North America To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8871/157666_e32b4c14d411599c_001full.jpg The company's innovative IPTV solutions have been well-received by many hotels across Europe, including some of the largest establishments on the continent. The expansion is driven by the growing demand for its products and services in the North American market. As part of its growth strategy, COTT Electronics is actively pursuing partnerships with local Cable and IT integrator companies to ensure that its products and services meet the specific needs of North American customers. The company's mission is to provide innovative electronic solutions that enhance the guest experience in the hospitality industry. COTT Electronics' product portfolio includes All-in-one IPTV solutions and Hospitality TVs that are tailored specifically for the hospitality industry. The company is committed to delivering exceptional customer service and high-quality products that exceed customer expectations. "We are excited to expand our operations to North America," said Giorgi Gulua, Head of Strategic Partnerships at COTT Electronics. "Our innovative solutions have been well-received by the hospitality industry in Europe, and we are confident that they will be equally well-received by North American customers. We are committed to delivering high-quality products and exceptional customer service that meet the specific needs of our customers." COTT Electronics is a leading designer and manufacturer of IT products including Dual Purpose Military Grade Tablets. The company has obtained NATO Commercial and Government Entity (NCAGE) Code in 2022. COTT ELECTRONICS is dedicated to providing innovative solutions that enhance the customer experience and improve business operations. For more information about COTT Electronics and its products and services, please visit the company's website at https://www.cottelectronics.com Contact: Andrew Kerr Public Relations Manager COTT Electronics 71-75 Shelton Street, London, United Kingdom, WC2H 9JQ Phone: +44 (20) 38070707 Email: info@cottelectronics.com To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/157666 GUANGZHOU, China, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In this exciting March, PHNIX will exhibit at ISH 2023 in Germany, the second stop of its international exhibition tour this year. As the major vehicle for stimulus in the sector, ISH showcases the future developments in the heating market. On the show, for the very first time, PHNIX will present its comprehensive green energy solution for home, which is a combination of PHNIX state-of-the-art heat pump technology and PV system, aiming to maximize the efficiency of energy management for every home. Moreover, PHNIX's next generation air-to-water heat pump - Everest Series will debut on the show, which boasts to be the highest standard of R290 heat pump solution in the industry. Products to be displayed: House Heating, Cooling+DHW Heat Pump: Everest Series, HeroPremium Series and Heco Series Air-to-water Heat Pump Water Fan Coil Unit Multi-functional Water Tank i-GreenLine Series Swimming Pool Heat Pump All-in-one Heat Pump Water Heater R290 airExpert Series 100L &300L AC15-K Wall Mounted Water Heater Commercial Heat Pump Water Heating Solution R290 HeatMaster Series Air-to-water Heat Pump The focus of attending this show is on future-proof solutions for greater convenience - with improvements in energy efficiency and use of renewable energies. PHNIX will continue to offer a wide portfolio using R290 refrigerant, one of the main refrigerant solutions that PHNIX has been advocating. The Everest Series air-to-water heat pump, which is able to combine with both R290 and R32, will contain tailor-made components that enhance performance, add application flexibility while also safeguarding each stage of product life cycle. "In the sustainable heating field, all the manufacturer are presenting their latest technology and products, which are tailored to meet the current decarbonization goal. We do the same as well. We struggle to leading in this industry with our progressive development and innovation. Attending ISH Expo will be a great opportunity for us to bring our sustainable solutions to the world." Peter Wang adds, Director of Overseas Sales Center. About PHNIX As a leading heat pump manufacturer in China, PHNIX is an international enterprise specializing in the R&D and production of heat pumps and energy-saving solutions. Almost 50% of PHNIX products are exported to Europe, North America, and other overseas markets. To learn more about PHNIX and its products, please visit www.phnix-e.com. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2029331/PHNIX__ISH_2023__PHNIX_To_Present_Comprehensive_PV_Energy_Heat.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/phnix-ish-2023-phnix-to-present-comprehensive-pv-energy-and-heat-pump-solution-for-home-301767720.html Contest website: https://mobility-contest.jp/department2/ Toyota City, Japan, Mar 10, 2023 - (JCN Newswire) - Toyota Mobility Foundation (TMF) has selected five teams to work on activities in the first half of 2023 in the "Fun & Safety--Safely Experience Peak Excitement" category of its Make a Move Project, an idea contest aiming to realize the practical implementation of ideas and solutions in society.Under the concept of "The stage is a racetrack. The possibilities are endless. The pursuit of fun is connected to the pursuit of safety," this contest, which started in 2022, publicly seeks ideas and solutions that draw on motorsports know-how to further traffic safety and regional revitalization. The Ebisu Circuit (Nihonmatsu, Fukushima Prefecture), which has long been helping a wide range of drivers improve their skills, was selected at the test site. A total of 74 organizations and individuals submitted ideas and solutions to the contest. These were evaluated from the perspective of innovativeness and sustainability, with external experts also contributing opinions. The result saw 16 teams passing the document screening stage and being invited to refine their ideas at the Ebisu Circuit.After participating in the above screening stages, five teams were selected as finalists by February 2023. Each team was awarded a grant of up to 50 million yen, for a total of 170 million yen, to fund their activities for the first half of the year. Team demonstrations at the Ebisu Circuit are planned for July, with the results being used to further activities.Since its founding, the Toyota Motor Corporation has conducted its business activities with the aim of creating a prosperous society through automobiles while respecting all stakeholders, including customers, business partners, employees, and the local communities in which it operates. Accordingly, TMF was established in August 2014 to conduct activities that benefit the public good.Aiming to realize a mobility society in which everyone can move about freely, TMF is working to solve mobility issues around the world through a diverse range of projects. Going forward, the Toyota Group, working in cooperation with various partners and utilizing the technologies and knowhow it has cultivated through its business activities, will continue to promote undertakings that are aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) while contributing to the realization of a society where people can lead rich and fulfilling lives.Source: Toyota Motor CorporationCopyright 2023 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved. DUBAI, Mar 10, 2023 - (ACN Newswire) - Crypto Oasis will be participating in the upcoming Turkish Arab Financial Forum to be held on March 13, 2023, at the Grand Hyatt Dubai. The event is being organized by Al-Iktissad Wal-Aamal Group in collaboration with the Ministry of Treasury and Finance of Turkiye and the Republic of Turkiye Investment Office and Unlock Blockchain.The forum aims to bring together high-level participants from Turkiye and the Arab world, including senior government officials, investors, VCs, asset managers, private equity firms, Fintech leaders, finance and investment leaders, investment bankers, and representatives of major regional and international financial institutions. The event will focus on the latest developments and opportunities in fintech, with a particular emphasis on the intersection and partnership between Fintech and traditional banking.The forum will see participations from some of the leading banks and Fintech firms in Turkey and the UAE, including Denizbank, HalkBank, Turkiye Finans, PayFix, Ininal, Paycell and more than 20 fintech companies' member of TODEB.As a key participant of the event, Crypto Oasis will be represented by its co-founder Saqr Ereiqat who will moderate a panel discussion on "The role of DeFi and crypto assets in Turkish-Arab financial partnership" along with Managing Director of GCEX, Mehtap Onder, Senior Executive Officer of SEBA Bank AG ADGM, Christian Borel and CEO of VAF compliance, Gilson Costa."Participating in the Turkish Arab Financial Forum is an excellent opportunity for us to showcase the digital asset space in the UAE and to contribute to the growing financial ties between Turkiye and the UAE," said Saqr Ereiqat, Co-Founder of Crypto Oasis.The upcoming forum presents a significant opportunity, as it marks the first such gathering since the United Arab Emirates and Turkey signed an agreement aimed at promoting increased trade between the two nations over the next five years. The event will offer a unique platform for participants to network and share insights on the latest trends and opportunities in the fintech space.For more information on the event, please visit this link, www.iktissadevents.com/event/turkish-arab-financial-forum/.About Crypto OasisThe Crypto Oasis is a MENA focused Blockchain Ecosystem headquartered in Dubai, UAE. The core elements needed for its growth are Talent, Capital, and Infrastructure. The Ecosystems stakeholders include Investors & Collectors, Start-Ups & Projects, Corporates, Science & Research Institutions, Service Providers and Government Entities & Associations. Crypto Oasis' vision is to be one of the leading Blockchain Ecosystems in the world. Today it is the fastest growing Blockchain Ecosystem in the world, with more than 1,650+ organisations identified in the UAE alone with more than 8,300+ individuals working in the space. www.cryptooasis.aeAbout Turkish Arab ForumThe forum represents a natural extension of the esteemed Turkish Arab Economic Forum, renowned for its commitment to fostering enhanced economic and trade relations between the Arab States and Turkey. This occasion will serve as a platform for high-level discussions, with a particular emphasis on fintech and digital payment innovation. The forum will explore prospective partnerships between financial institutions spanning the Arab States and Turkey, while simultaneously striving to advance and augment economic and investment cooperation between these sectors.For more information contact:Faisal ZaidiCrypto Oasisfaisal@cryptooasis.ae+971552000840Source: Crypto OasisCopyright 2023 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved. (from the right), Mr. Henry Ko, General Manager - Enterprise Sales, CITIC Telecom CPC, Mr. Jacky Zheng, Senior Manage, Greater China, Siemens Digital Industries Software, Mr. Shu Lian, General Manager of Information Development and Management, Buchang Pharmaceuticals, Mr. Taylor Lam, Chief Strategy Officer, CITIC Telecom CPC and Mr. Ivan Lee, Vice President of Information Technology Services & Data Science, CITIC Telecom CPC. "CITIC Telecom CPC's Future-Ready Innovation and Intelligent Operation Suite, designed by seasoned technology and industry sector expertise, provides enterprises with a revolutionary digital transformation journey," said Mr. Ivan Lee, Vice President of Information Technology Services & Data Science, CITIC Telecom CPC. HONG KONG, Mar 10, 2023 - (ACN Newswire) - CITIC Telecom International CPC Limited (CITIC Telecom CPC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CITIC Telecom International Holdings Limited (SEHK: 1883), is creating new benchmarks for operational efficiency and cost optimization with its Intelligent Operation Suite. It leverages Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Augmented Reality (AR), Big Data and Blockchain technologies to create an Intelligence Operation Journey for far-sighted companies, offering a strategic competitive advantage for a sustainable and high-quality business development.CITIC Telecom CPC's Intelligence Operation Journey integrates the power of algorithms and a full stack of innovative technologies. It seamlessly connects the technology stack with the company's intelligent ICT infrastructure for access management, processes optimization, operational efficiency enhancement and compliance management across diverse scenarios. It is based on the extensive experience and capabilities of CITIC Telecom CPC's professional team, who can customize the unique needs of enterprises."We blended innovation and application capabilities to achieve measurable business outcomes and solve intractable problems for our clients with cross-technology and subject-matter expertise. Our Future-Ready Innovation and Intelligent Operation Suite, designed by seasoned technology and industry sector expertise, provides enterprises with a revolutionary digital transformation journey," said Mr. Ivan Lee, Vice President of Information Technology Services & Data Science, CITIC Telecom CPC. "With these solutions, customers can immediately experience the improvements in various aspects of their operational journey."Future-Ready Innovation and Intelligent Operation SuiteCITIC Telecom CPC has been a technology-driven digitalization enabler for various industries for over two decades. It has successfully designed, integrated, and deployed winning solutions at scale to address enterprise needs. They include:-- AI and Computer Vision Capabilities to empower Recognition and Access ManagementVehicle & Visitor Access Management System. It improves access rights management, streamlines office operations, and integrates records for holistic operational insight and decisions. Investigating incidents and analyzing trends can be done quickly. The Access Control Management System is a video/object analytics-based solution that associates vehicle recognition data with those in the database records for granting vehicle and visitor access permission within 3 seconds.-- Integrated Intelligence Technologies to enhance Automated Operational SystemsAutomated In-line Quality Inspection with AI and Computer Vision. The comprehensive suite of intelligent solutions uses computer vision and image analysis technologies to help frontline workers rapidly and efficiently identify raw materials and defects or deviations from specifications and improves quality control.Use Case: A globally-renowned steel manufacturer uses AI-based visual inspection, integrated sensors, visual computing, machine learning, and advanced algorithm tools to detect defective steel product quality by analyzing an unstructured image and big data models.Collaborating with the Service Teams using AI-AR Remote Assistance. The award-winning solution combines data visualization, computer vision techniques, and machine-learning algorithms can create 2D/3D diagrams with instruction guides for field workers. It helps local-global expert teams, such as local frontline engineers, regional field technicians, and system operators, to collaborate with subject matter experts in real-time to resolve together--no matter how far apart they are.Use case: Using AI-AR Remote Hand, an MNC customer headquarters in Hong Kong provided on-site training to their local workers and real-time guidance to field technicians to repair complex factory machinery in the Caribbean region.Eliminating Language Barriers and Improving Data Entry Process with AI-OCR Data Capture Solution. The well-trained AI-OCR Solution captures and "reads" document data using Natural Language Processing (NLP), Big Data analytics, machine learning (ML) and advanced CORS technology. It eliminates the need for time-consuming manual data entry by automatically scanning medical records, invoices or designated documents and intuitively performing field mapping on data collection. It integrates approval workflows more efficiently by learning unique languages and specific formats based on different layouts.Use case: A China-based hospital group used the AI-powered OCR data capture solution to improve patient medical records' filing and indexing, standardize specific field requirements, increase accuracy rates, and eliminate data entry workflow bottlenecks.Use case: CITIC Telecom CPC used AI-OCR solutions, which integrate with COR, NLP and Blockchain technologies, to capture Chinese and English invoices for in-house staff expenses and vendors' billing systems, simplifying and automating the entry system records. The company plans to extend this capability to other languages to fully comprehend the Smart Ledger system.-- Innovative AI-enabled Computer Vision Solutions reinvent enterprise business valuesManaging Smart Warehouse and Supply Chain in an even more intelligent way. An innovative Machine Learning model using AI, Big Data analytics, and Deep Learning methods to identify, locate and count objects within 95 milliseconds with 99% accuracy. Real-time access to quality data provides better visibility throughout the supply chain process.-- Future of Cybersecurity in a Multiverse Era - "AI-Powered Visual Security"A Game Changer reinvents the "Seeing is Believing" security model, protecting enterprises from sophisticated malware with visible tracing, integrating AI algorithm, a weakly supervised regularization algorithm, visual computing, and a neural network to transform datasets into graphic images and map potential malware, boosts 10x to 100x faster than conventional techniques.Digital transformation for 2023 and beyond:As the Global-Local DICT Service Provider, CITIC Telecom CPC's Intelligent Operation Suite can help businesses improve their operational efficiency and collaborate to achieve digital transformation goals.Engaging Customers for Transformational Digital Experiences-- A Panacea for Digital and Intelligent Upgrades in Pharmaceutical IndustryBuchang Pharmaceuticals is committed to be a leading healthcare provider through continuous scientific innovations, developments and solutions as one of China's leading pharmaceutical brands, contributing to the lives of the people through innovative healthcare solutions and medicines. Throughout its 20 years of development, Buchang Pharma has established a comprehensive network in China's large healthcare industry."In a post-pandemic world, the business environment of pharmaceutical companies is facing massive changes. There is a higher emphasis on technologies and innovations, continuous medical reforms, and the occurrence of public health emergencies and pandemics. Together, they are reshaping the landscape and driving the digitalization of the industry," said Mr. Shu Lian, General Manager of Information Development and Management, Buchang Pharmaceuticals. "Digitalization in Pharmaceutical Industry is driven by internal and external forces. Innovative ICT Partners are the accelerator of digital transformation. Hence, collaboration is the key to fostering DX in the Pharmaceutical industry across people, processes, and technology."Shu Lian used Buchang Pharmaceuticals's past experience to create an effective strategy for digital transformation:1. Pharmaceutical companies should respond to national policies and ride the wave of digital transformation to advance their informationization. For instance, China's large healthcare industry with related policies to support and encourage digitalization.2. By learning from different industries and companies, pharmaceutical companies can determine the entry point and directions of digital transformation.3. It is essential to have management support. Digitalization are long-term projects which cannot be done overnight; therefore, enterprises need to be careful of the cost and invest steadily to empower digitalization.Buchang Pharmaceuticals shifted its operations and production to the TrueCONNECT Hybrid SD-WAN to meet the needs of its DX development. Shu said, "we are not only overcoming the technical challenges of multi-location operation but also believe embracing intelligence in our operation journey is how we should go."-- Siemens Digital Industries Software Reinvents Industry with Digital TransformationWith the advent of digital transformation, Siemens digital industry software is committed to promoting digital enterprise transformation and engineering to meet future needs. It is using its recently-developed Xcelerator product portfolio to accelerate the digital transformation for companies of all sizes, especially in the manufacturing sector, simplify complexity, improve productivity and gain competitive advantage. Mr. Jacky Zheng, Senior Manager of Siemens Digital Industries Software's Greater China division, said: "We have been using various ICT infrastructure services and intelligent solutions from CITIC Telecom CPC and its subsidiary China Enterprise Communications since 2019. They help us grasp the opportunities of digital development, and realize the new value of products and processes faster." Mr. Zheng continued: "Our partnership with CITIC Telecom CPC has enabled us to explore the potential of innovative technologies while supporting our corporate sustainable development goals.About CITIC Telecom CPCWe are CITIC Telecom International CPC Limited ("CITIC Telecom CPC"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CITIC Telecom International Holdings Limited (SEHK: 1883), serving multinational enterprises the world over by addressing their specific ICT requirements with highly scalable tailored solutions built upon our flagship technology suites, comprising TrueCONNECT private network solutions, TrustCSI information security solutions, DataHOUSE cloud data center solutions, and SmartCLOUD cloud computing solutions.With the motto "Innovation Never Stops," we leverage innovative technologies, embracing AI, AR, Big Data, IoT, and other cutting-edge emerging technologies to transform technical potential into business value for our customers. As an enterprise digital transformation partner, we strive to help our customers achieve industry-leading positions, high agility, and cost-efficiency through digitalization.With our Global-Local capabilities, we are committed to providing our customers with one-stop-shop ICT solutions with superior quality. Having a worldwide footprint across nearly 160 countries, including Asia, Europe and America, Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia, our global network resources connect over 160 points of presence (POPs), 60 SDWAN gateways, 21 Cloud service centers, 30+ data centers, and two dedicated 24x7 Security Operations Centers (SOCs). We are certified with a series of international certifications, including SD-WAN Ready, ISO 9001, 14001, 20000, 27001, and 27017, to ensure our services compliance with international standards and resources for enterprises. We offer local professional services, superior delivery capabilities as well as exceptional customer experience and best practices through our global presence and extensive industry know-how, becoming a leading integrated intelligent ICT service provider to enterprise customers.For more information, please visit www.citictel-cpc.comMedia Contacts:Catherine YuenCITIC Telecom CPC(852) 2170 7536Email: catherine.yuen@citictel-cpc.comBarton ChuiOgilvy Public Relations(852) 9776 5647Email: barton.chu@ogilvy.comSource: CITIC Telecom CPCCopyright 2023 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved. Top Designers and Industry Leaders to Showcase Latest Trends at UAE's First-Ever Digital Fashion Week in Dubai DUBAI, UAE / ACCESSWIRE / March 10, 2023 / The fashion industry is set to embrace a new era of innovation and technology with the announcement of the first-ever UAE Digital Fashion Week (DFW) to be held in Dubai. This historic event is scheduled to take place on March 18-19, 2023, and emerges become an exciting occasion for fashion enthusiasts, designers, and industry experts a The DFW will showcase the latest developments in fashion technology and digital art, highlighting the potential of "phygital" experiences in the fashion industry. The event will be held both in the virtual and physical worlds, allowing a wider audience to participate in the festivities. To create a virtual world that would allow fashion lovers to experience the event in a completely new way, DWF teamed up with the "SPACE" metaverse, which delivers a fully-functional hub that merges commerce, virtual reality and gaming. The virtual event inside SPACE can be accessed from everywhere in the world, using desktop, VR or mobile devices. In the physical world, the event will be held as part of the digital and technical art festival "Disartive Fair" and will be supported by the PRBA media agency, which is one of the leading PR agencies in the blockchain field. The event is expected to attract industry experts and enthusiasts from around the world. Valery Laganza, founder of Digital Fashion Week Dubai and VSD Digital Fashion Academy said: "The UAE Digital Fashion Week aims to explore the potential of phygital trend and how it can be incorporated into the fashion industry, also show novelties in the digital fashion industry, discover top designers and introduce new names of industry." Felix Mago, Co-Founder of SPACE Metaverse adds: "Together, DFW and SPACE will showcase how easy it is for brands to create a shop or virtual experience inside the Metaverse and start selling physical, digital or phygital clothes inside virtual worlds." The event will feature a range of speakers from different parts of the world who will offer their unique perspectives on the future of fashion. This will provide an opportunity for attendees to learn about the latest developments in the industry and gain insights from experts. In addition to the speakers, the event will also host a fashion show, where digital fashion designers will showcase their art. This is an excellent opportunity for up-and-coming designers to display their creativity and participate in this historic event. The contest for digital fashion designers is open to all, and it presents a unique opportunity for designers to showcase their talent on a global stage. DFW is all set to showcase how easy it is for brands to create a shop or virtual experience inside the Metaverse and start selling physical, digital or phygital clothes inside virtual worlds.The event is expected to attract industry experts and enthusiasts from around the world, who will witness the fusion of technology and fashion in a whole new way. About the Company - Digital Fashion Week The UAE Digital Fashion Week is an anticipated event that brings together fashion industry experts, designers, brands, and fashion and tech enthusiasts from around the world. This event thrives to exhibit the latest fashion trends in a unique and innovative way, utilizing both virtual and physical platforms. For more information, please visit the official Instagram page at instagram.com/digitalfashionweekofficial or app.tryspace.com. Media Contact Contact Person: Valery Laganza Company Name: digital fashion week dubai Email: Media@digitalfashionweekdubai.com Website: https://digitalfashionweekdubai.com Country: United Arab Emirates SOURCE: Digital Fashion Week Dubai View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/743110/Digital-Fashion-Week-emerges-as-the-The-First-Ever-virtual-fashion-Event-to-be-Held-in-Dubai Beverly Hills Family Law Firm Atighechi Group's founder Maryam Atighechi recently appeared on The Attorney Post Podcast to announce a dramatic shift in her firm's principle focus: prenuptial agreements for high-net worth couples. Beverly Hills, California--(Newsfile Corp. - March 10, 2023) - Beverly Hills Prenuptial Agreement Lawyer Maryam Atighechi, founder and principal family law attorney of Southern California's Atighechi Law, recently appeared on The Attorney Post to discuss her firm's expertise in prenuptial agreements for high net worth couples, and the reasons for her firm choosing recently to focus more intensely on serving clients needing this particular service. Atighechi Law is a family law firm that specializes in handling complex family law cases for high net worth clients across California. Beverly Hills Prenuptial Law Firm Refocuses on High-Net-Worth Prenup Agreements To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8814/156688_acac1fcda426a9a1_001full.jpg During the podcast interview where she discussed this shift, Atighechi discussed the importance of prenuptial agreements (or "premarital agreements"), for high net worth couples, emphasizing the need for customized and transparent agreements that reflect the individual needs of each client. It was noted that many of her firm's clients have significant assets going into a marriage - such as businesses, real estate, and investments - that they wish to protect in the event of divorce. A prenuptial agreement definitely facilitates division of assets, and can provide a clear roadmap for how those assets will be divided, as well as help avoid costly and time-consuming litigation. The Beverly Hills Prenup Lawyer's episode can be viewed at The Attorney Post's website, as well as listened to across most podcast channels and can also be viewed on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgS9Q9HZz30 Atighechi emphasized the importance of full financial disclosure and clear communication in the prenuptial agreement process, and noted that her firm takes a team-based approach to client representation to ensure comprehensive and high-quality representation. The Atighechi Law Group is a Beverly Hills Prenuptial Agreement and Family Practice Law Firm serving all of California, that does handle a range of other family law matters, including divorce, child custody, and support issues, even though the Law Group has shifted a lot of their focus to servicing high-net-worth clients in the Los Angeles County area with the preparation of their prenuptial agreements. Maryam noted the emotional challenges that family law matters can bring, and highlighted her firm's commitment to taking a compassionate approach to these cases. For more information on Atighechi Law Group and their family law services, visit their website. Contact Info: Name: Maryam Atigechi Email: maryam@familylaw-firm.com Organization: Atighechi Law Group (DBA Beverly Hills Prenuptial Attorney) Address: 9465 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, California 90212, United States Website: https://FamilyLaw-Firm.com To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/156688 WHITE ROCK, BC / ACCESSWIRE / March 10, 2023 / Pulsar Helium Inc. (a private company incorporated in British Columbia, Canada), a primary helium development company, announces a significant evolution to its brand guidelines. The re-branding includes a new logo and visual identity, with a new website currently under construction and set to launch in the near future. The updated brand guidelines reflect Pulsar's core values of innovation, technology, and sustainability. Pulsar is a company focused on primary helium development, whereby helium is not associated with hydrocarbon production, and where helium is a vital component in many modern technologies that we rely on for our lifestyle of today, and the future. "We are excited to announce this evolution to the Pulsar brand" said Thomas Abraham-James, President & CEO of Pulsar Helium Inc. "Our new brand guidelines and visual identity are streamlined with a more modern appearance, better reflecting our values as an innovative, forward-looking and sustainable company." The new website, set to launch in April, will provide a modern and user-friendly platform for customers and stakeholders to learn more about Pulsar's mission and activities. For more information, please contact: Thomas Abraham-James - President & CEO, Pulsar Helium Inc. E: connect@pulsarhelium.com T: +1 (604) 599-0310 ABOUT PULSAR HELIUM Helium exploration and development is a nascent industry, brought into existence by a sudden and significant supply deficit that has persisted for over a decade and shows no sign of ending. Pulsar exists to develop its helium assets, with the objective of bringing stability via sustainable supply that is not associated with hydrocarbon production. Pulsar's assets include the flagship Topaz project in the USA with a helium content of 10.5%, positioning it among the world's highest-grade occurrences. Efforts are focused on fast-tracking activities at Topaz to realize its potential. Helium uses are abundant, the most significant being in superconducting magnets, semiconductor manufacturing, and as a pressuring agent in the fuel tanks of spacecraft. For further information visit www.pulsarhelium.com FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS This press release contains forward looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. The use of any of the words "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "expect", "estimate", "objective", "may", "will", "project", "should", "predict", "potential" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward looking statements. In particular, this press release contains forward looking statements concerning the Company's plans with respect to future helium exploration activities and ultimate helium content. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which the forward looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward looking statements because the Company cannot give any assurance that they will prove correct. Since forward looking statements address future events and conditions, they involve inherent assumptions, risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of assumptions, factors and risks. These assumptions and risks include, but are not limited to, assumptions and risks associated with regulatory approval. Management has provided the above summary of risks and assumptions related to forward looking statements in this press release in order to provide readers with a more comprehensive perspective on the Company's future operations. The Company's actual results, performance or achievement could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward looking statements and, accordingly, no assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward looking statements will transpire or occur, or if any of them do so, what benefits the Company will derive from them. These forward looking statements are made as of the date of this press release, and, other than as required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly any forward looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. SOURCE: Pulsar Helium Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/743078/Pulsar-Helium-Inc-Updates-Brand-with-New-Logo-and-Visual-Identity VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / March 10, 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 is pleased to share an update on its initial sales results from the launch of its Keylime Kush flower and pre-rolls in British Columbia. Lotus Cannabis Co.'s launch of its Keylime Kush cultivar is off to a strong start. Lotus announced the initial order for the Keylime flower in late January and pre-rolls on February 10, 2023. The Company has received a positive response from both retailers and consumers which we're pleased to share more about below. British Columbia Sales Update: The Lotus Keylime Kush flower and pre-rolls are currently sold in over 125 retail stores in British Columbia and both quickly sold out of the first rounds of available cases for BC retailers. The BCLDB made a second order of both the Keylime Kush flower and pre-rolls with strong sell-through continuing. The BCLDB's initial order of the Lotus Keylime Kush pre-rolls was 3x the expected initial order size. The pre-rolls sold out of the first three rounds of available cases for retailers in British Columbia with a fourth order already committed by the BCLDB. Lotus received approval for a 14-gram Keylime Kush flower SKU in British Columbia and the offering is expected to be introduced to the market over the next quarter. The 14-gram flower offering will be sold in addition to the 3.5-gram flower and 3 x 0.5-gram pre-roll SKUs currently selling in B.C. As mentioned above, the Lotus Keylime Kush is currently sold in over 125 retail stores in British Columbia distributed throughout the Okanagan, Kootenays, Metro Vancouver, Vancouver Island, and Northern B.C. Some of our early BC retail supporters of the Keylime Kush include: Spiritleaf (Vernon, Kelowna, Penticton, Maple Ridge) Blended Buds, Bluewater Cannabis, Cannabis Cottage, Cheeba Cheebas, Clarity Cannabis, Flora, Kalamalka Cannabis, Vernon Cannabis Store (Okanagan) Burb (Vancouver, Victoria, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Maple Ridge) ARCannabis, Canna Cabana, City Cannabis Co., Muse Cannabis, THC Canada, This is Cannabis, Village Bloomery (Vancouver) Kaya Connection, Pacificanna, Daylight Cannabis (Vancouver Island) We also appreciate all the other early supporters. If you'd like to be added to our BC retailer email list, please contact info@lotuscannabis.ca. The Keylime Kush: Lotus has now harvested six crops of the Keylime Kush flower which is expected to test between 24% - 30% in THC with the highest value recorded so far at 32.5%. The Keylime Kush flower terpene profile is expected to test between 2.5% - 3.1% and features farnesene, limonene, caryophyllene, and linalool which provides flavours and aromas of lime kush, green apple and notes of gas. The Keylime Kush pre-rolls are also expected to test between 24% - 30% THC and between 2.0% - 3.0% in terpene content with the highest values recorded so far at 37.0% THC and 1.9% in terpene content. Lotus products above: Lotus Keylime Kush 3.5-gram glass jar and 3 x 0.5-gram pre-rolls tube Ontario Keylime Kush Product Launch: The Company is pleased to share that its Keylime Kush was approved by the Ontario Cannabis Store for the 2023 Spring Product Call. Lotus will be debuting its branded flower in Ontario and the first shipments are expected to be made in April. If you'd like to be added to our Ontario retailer email list, please contact info@lotuscannabis.ca. For more information on the Keylime Kush and our other Lotus-grown cultivars, please visit lotuscannabis.ca/flower ON BEHALF OF LOTUS VENTURES INC: Lotus Ventures Inc. "Dale McClanaghan" Dale McClanaghan, President and CEO About Lotus Ventures Inc. Lotus Ventures Inc. is an experienced licensed cannabis producer in the North Okanagan, B.C. and has quietly been a grower for some of Canada's top premium cannabis brands. Lotus owns its own premium-craft consumer brand Lotus Cannabis Co. and sells its Keylime Kush flower and pre-rolls in British Columbia. Lotus has had its cannabis flower sold by wholesale partners in all provinces to date and currently has flower in British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario. The Lotus team has launched popular and exclusive cultivars like the Keylime Kush, Black Blossom, Tranquil Elephantizer, and Kalifornia. 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 IR & Marketing Manager Daniel McRobert dan@lotuscannabis.ca (604) - 842 - 4625 Investor Relations investors@lotuscannabis.ca (604) - 842 - 4625 General Information info@lotuscannabis.ca 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/743065/Lotus-Shares-Update-on-Keylime-Kush-Sales-in-British-Columbia - Three presentations, including two orals, will highlight the efficacy, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of VTAMA cream for the treatment of adults with plaque psoriasis Dermavant Sciences, a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing and commercializing innovative therapeutics in immuno-dermatology, today announced that data from multiple studies of VTAMA(tapinarof) cream, 1% will be presented at the 2023 American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting, to be held from March 17-21 in New Orleans, Louisiana. VTAMA cream is a first-in-class, steroid free, once-daily, topical treatment that was approved for mild, moderate, and severe plaque psoriasis in adults by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in May 2022. In the two months following approval, VTAMA cream became the #1 prescribed branded topical treatment for plaque psoriasis in adults with more than 100,000 prescriptions written to date and over 9,000 unique prescribers.1,2 The following posters will be viewable online at eposters.aad.org and onsite at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. In addition, two of the posters have been selected for oral presentations during the conference, which will take place in the Exhibit Hall (Level 1, Hall E, Poster Center 1). This fall, all of the abstracts will also be published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology (JAAD Poster Presentations Title: Tapinarof Cream 1% Once Daily (QD) for Plaque Psoriasis: Psoriasis Area and Severity Index Score by Body Region for the PSOARING 1 and 2 Trials (Accepted as Oral Presentation) Oral Presentation Date/Time: Friday, March 17, 2:05 p.m. 2:10 p.m. Presenter: Rocco Serrao, MD This poster will present an analysis of efficacy by body region, including intertriginous and sensitive skin areas, for VTAMA (tapinarof) cream, 1% versus vehicle in adults with mild to severe plaque psoriasis in the pivotal Phase 3 trials, PSOARING 1 and PSOARING 2. Authors: Linda Stein Gold, Alexandra Golant, Rocco Serrao, Anna M. Tallman, Philip M. Brown Title: Tapinarof Cream 1% Once Daily (QD) for Plaque Psoriasis: Post Hoc Analysis of Physician Global Assessment x Body Surface Area (PGAxBSA) Composite for the PSOARING 1 and 2 Trials (Accepted as Oral Presentation) Oral Presentation Date/Time: Friday, March 17, 2:10 p.m. 2:15 p.m. Presenter: Leon Kircik, MD This poster will present data on the efficacy of VTAMA cream once-daily (QD) in PSOARING 1 and PSOARING 2 according to the product of the physician global assessment (PGA) and body surface area (BSA) (PGABSA), an endpoint that may provide a simpler composite measure and overcome some limitations of Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) and PGA alone. Authors: Bruce Strober, Leon Kircik, Lawrence Green, Benjamin Lockshin, Philip M. Brown, Anna M. Tallman Title: Tapinarof Cream 1% Once Daily for Plaque Psoriasis in Two Pivotal Phase 3 Trials: Minimal Systemic Exposure is Consistent with Adverse Event Profile This poster will report on pharmacokinetics of VTAMA (tapinarof) cream, 1% in adults with mild to severe plaque psoriasis in the PSOARING 1 and PSOARING 2 clinical trials. Rates of any local versus systemic adverse effects will also be reported. Authors: Linda Stein Gold, Mark G. Lebwohl, Philip M. Brown, David S. Rubenstein, Glenn Tabolt, John E. Jett, Stephen C. Piscitelli For more information about VTAMA (tapinarof) cream, 1%, visit VTAMA.com. IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION Indication: VTAMA (tapinarof) cream, 1% is an aryl hydrocarbon receptor agonist indicated for the topical treatment of plaque psoriasis in adults. Adverse Events: The most common adverse reactions (incidence 1%) in subjects treated with VTAMA cream were folliculitis (red raised bumps around the hair pores), nasopharyngitis (pain or swelling in the nose and throat), contact dermatitis (skin rash or irritation, including itching and redness, peeling, burning, or stinging), headache, pruritus (itching), and influenza (flu). You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088 or report side effects to Dermavant Sciences at 1-8 DERMAVANT (1-833-762-8268). See full Prescribing Information and Patient Information at VTAMA.com. About Psoriasis Impacting approximately 8 million Americans and 125 million people worldwide, psoriasis is a complex autoimmune disease meaning that the body's immune system targets and attacks its own cells.3 Plaque psoriasis, also called psoriasis vulgaris, is the most common form and affects about 80 to 90% of people with psoriasis. In people with light skin, plaque psoriasis is characterized by raised, red or pink patches of skin with silvery-white scale. People with black or brown skin are more likely to have brown or violet-colored patches with silvery-white or gray scale. The scale can be itchy, painful and disfiguring. Psoriasis can begin at any age, but typically appears around 15 to 25 years of age and 50-60 years of age. The exact cause of psoriasis is not known, but risk factors and triggers may include genetics or a family history of psoriasis, as well as stress, smoking, heavy alcohol consumption and cold or dry weather conditions. People with psoriasis are at an increased risk of developing other health conditions, including psoriatic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and depression. In addition to physical symptoms, psoriasis can have a significant impact on a person's quality of life and psychological health. About Dermavant Dermavant Sciences, a subsidiary of Roivant Sciences, is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing and commercializing innovative therapeutics in immuno-dermatology. Dermavant's focus is to develop therapies that have the potential to address high unmet medical needs while driving greater efficiency in research and clinical development. The company's medical dermatology pipeline includes commercialized, late-stage, and early-development product candidates that target specific unmet needs in two of the largest growing immuno-dermatology markets, plaque psoriasis and atopic dermatitis, as well as other immunological and inflammatory diseases. Dermavant is marketing VTAMA (tapinarof) cream, 1%, for the topical treatment of plaque psoriasis in adults. Dermavant is also developing VTAMA cream for the treatment of atopic dermatitis in adults and children and expects to release topline results from its Phase 3 clinical trials in March and May 2023. Dermavant's pipeline includes DMVT-506, a next generation aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) agonist under development as a potential differentiated treatment option for immunological and inflammatory diseases with multiple potential routes of administration. For more information, please visit www.dermavant.com, and follow us on Twitter (@dermavant) and LinkedIn (Dermavant Sciences). 2023 Dermavant Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of Dermavant Sciences, GmbH. This information including product information is intended only for residents of the United States. ______________________________________ 1 IQVIA National Prescription Audit (NPA) for the 3-month period ending 2/24/2023, reflecting estimates of real-world activity. All rights reserved. 2 NPA for the period 5/20/22 to 2/10/2023, reflecting estimates of real-world activity. All rights reserved. 3 National Psoriasis Foundation. Psoriasis statistics. Available at: https://www.psoriasis.org/psoriasis-statistics/. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230310005065/en/ Contacts: Gilmartin: Laurence Watts Managing Director laurence@gilmartinir.com 619-916-7620 dna Communications: Angela Salerno-Robin Senior Vice President, Media Relations, Healthcare ASalerno-Robin@dna-comms.com 212-445-8219 NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / March 10, 2023 / US food and grocery brands take note - missing the mark on sustainability comes with a higher cost than ever before. According to the 2023 US Brand Sustainability Benchmark Report, produced by research technology company Glow in partnership with global information services company NielsenIQ, consumers are changing brands to better align with their values. One in two consumers have changed food and grocery (F&G) brands based on sustainability considerations, with the number rising to seven in ten among Millennials. Consumers are switching to brands with the strongest sustainability credentials at twice the rate of the average brand. The report provides sustainability benchmarks for the US Food and Grocery Industry. Comprised of NielsenIQ data and Glow's proprietary measure Social Responsibility Score (SRS), which assesses consumer perceptions of brand ESG performance, the report is based on 33,000 respondents and their views on over 150 brands collected from April to December 2022. The report reveals that switching behavior is occurring across all F&G departments but has the highest incidence within Health & Beauty, Meat & Seafood, Household, and Beverage departments. Across all F&G departments, sustainability efforts from brands can reduce the risk of consumers trading down. The report found that in 7 out of the 10 departments measured, at least 1 in 10 consumers reported sustainability as the main reason they are not trading down in that area. Download the report to discover: What is driving switching behavior Which consumer groups are most active in switching Which food & grocery brands are seen as sustainability leaders (top 20) How sustainability is good for business growth What environmental, social and governance (ESG) areas brands must address to win Where brands should communicate their ESG story to drive impact [ DOWNLOAD NOW] To stay up to date with Glow, follow the company on LinkedIn and Twitter. Media Enquiries: For more information, or to arrange an interview with Glow's CEO and founder, Tim Clover, please contact PR@glowfeed.com -Ends- About Glow: Glow is a research technology ('restech') company founded in Australia, with offices in the UK, Hong Kong and the US. Glow is on a mission to make consumer research faster, more transparent and accessible so that businesses can make better decisions that fuel their growth and support their customers, stakeholders and the planet. It is a proud member of the 'data for good' movement which encourages businesses to use data to help better the world. Glow used its own platform to develop the IP and features for the SRS product, demonstrating how the platform can be used to gather, package and present quality data products. Download Now View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Glow on 3blmedia.com. Contact Info: Spokesperson: Glow Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/glow Email: info@3blmedia.com SOURCE: Glow View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/743117/US-Sustainability-Study-Finds-1-in-2-Consumers-Switching-Food-Grocery-Brands BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - President Joe Biden has earmarked $400 million in discretionary funding to counter potential threats from China, and $1.7 billion to help Ukraine win the war against Russia in his Fiscal Year 2024 Budget. In addition, the Budget includes a new, multifaceted interagency mandatory proposal to outcompete China. This includes $2 billion to support high-quality, strategic 'hard' infrastructure projects globally; $2 billion to strengthen Indo-Pacific economies and support U.S. partners in pushing back against predatory efforts; $2 billion for a new revolving Fund at DFC to boost equity investments; and $7.1 billion over 20 years to support the renewal of the Compacts of Free Association (COFA). China is the United States' only competitor with the intent to reshape the international order and the economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to do it, accordibng to the White House. In response to these unprecedented challenges, the Budget requests resources to outcompete China and advance American prosperity globally. The Budget supports a new $6 billion mandatory proposal to strengthen the U.S. role in the Indo-Pacific and to advance the U.S. economy, which will allow the U.S. to focus on new and critical investments. To counter China's predatory financing, the budget offers countries a positive alternative, 'which will simultaneously expand markets and opportunities for U.S. businesses; create a new U.S. International Development Finance Corporation's equity revolving fund to support highly developmental investments to empower early and growth-stage companies from low and lower-middle income countries that would otherwise not be able to take on debt,' the White House says. In line with Washington's new policy of 'invest, align, and compete' with China, the budget envisages an expanded investment of $3.2 billion in the Indo-Pacific region. The Budget continues to increase the Defense Department's security cooperation funding planned for the Indo-Pacific region. The Budget also supports investments to accelerate critical weapons and munitions production lines; develop capabilities like long-range strike, undersea, hypersonic, and autonomous systems; and increase resiliency of U.S. space architectures. While focusing on maintaining robust deterrence against China and Russia, the Budget continues support for Ukraine, the United States' strong alliance with NATO nations, and other European partners. The budget has prioritized funding to enhance the capabilities and readiness of U.S. forces, NATO allies, and regional partners in the face of continued Russian aggression. Biden's budget request for the Foreign Affairs Budget includes $4.2 billion for the climate crisis; $1.2 billion for food insecurity; $10.9 billion for global health; more than $10.5 billion to support global humanitarian needs, including resources to rebuild the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program and resettle 125,000 refugees; and more than $1 billion to address the root causes of migration from Central America. Copyright(c) 2023 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 10, 2023) -Nevada Vanadium Mining Corp. ("Nevada Vanadium" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the appointment of Ron Espell to its board of directors. Mr. Espell has served the Company as Chief Executive Officer since November 2021, and will remain in that position as well as taking on the position as a director. The Company also announces the resignation of Mr. Greg Hall as a director of the Company and extends its gratitude for his service to Nevada Vanadium. Flying Nickel and Nevada Vanadium Mining Corp. ("Nevada Vanadium") also announce that further to their joint press release dated October 7, 2022, Flying Nickel and Nevada Vanadium continue to work diligently with their respective advisors towards completion of the proposed acquisition of all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Nevada Vanadium by Flying Nickel by way of a court-approved plan of arrangement (the "Transaction"). Flying Nickel and Nevada Vanadium have agreed to extend the Transaction closing date to July 31, 2023. About Nevada Vanadium Mining Corp. Nevada Vanadium Mining Corp. is a Canadian reporting issuer, holding a 100% interest in the Gibellini Vanadium project in Nevada, United States. To find out more about Nevada Vanadium, visit www.nevadavanadium.com. NEVADA VANADIUM MINING CORP. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD "Ron Espell" CEO For more information about Nevada Vanadium, please contact Investor Relations: info@nevadavanadium.com Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this news release, including statements which may contain words such as "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "plans", "believes", "estimates", or similar expressions, and statements related to matters which are not historical facts are forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Such forward-looking statements, which reflect management's expectations regarding Company's future growth, results of operations, performance, and business prospects and opportunities, are based on certain factors and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These factors should be considered carefully, and readers should not place undue reliance on the Company's forward-looking statements. The Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements contained in this news release and the documents incorporated by reference herein are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct. In addition, 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 statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events, or results not to be as anticipated, estimated, or intended. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release any future revisions to forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this news or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as expressly required by law. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/157973 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 10, 2023) - Flying Nickel Mining Corp. (TSXV: FLYN) (OTCQB: FLYNF) ("Flying Nickel" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the appointment of Greg Hall to its board of directors. Mr. Hall is President and Director of Water Street Assets, and a Member of the Institute of Corporate Directors. Mr. Hall is a graduate of the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, SME Enterprise Board Program, and a Member of the Institute of Corporate Directors. The Company also announces the resignation of Mr. Mark Scott and wishes to thank Mr. Scott for his service to the Company. Flying Nickel and Nevada Vanadium Mining Corp. ("Nevada Vanadium") also announce that further to their joint press release dated October 7, 2022, Flying Nickel and Nevada Vanadium continue to work diligently with their respective advisors towards completion of the proposed acquisition of all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Nevada Vanadium by Flying Nickel by way of a court-approved plan of arrangement (the "Transaction"). Flying Nickel and Nevada Vanadium have agreed to extend the Transaction closing date to July 31, 2023. About Flying Nickel Flying Nickel Mining Corp. is a premier nickel sulphide mining and exploration company. The company is advancing its 100% owned Minago nickel project in the Thompson nickel belt in Manitoba, Canada. Further information on the Company can be found at www.flynickel.com. FLYING NICKEL MINING CORP. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD John Lee Interim Chief Executive Officer For more information about the Company, please contact: Phone: 1.877.664.2535 / 1.877.6NICKEL Email: info@flynickel.com 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. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Investors are cautioned that any information released or received with respect to the Company may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon. Trading in securities of the Company should be considered highly speculative. This press release contains statements which constitute "forward-looking information" or "forward-looking statements" (together "forward-looking information") within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including, without limitation, statements regarding the completion of the Warrant Repricing and Option Repricing, the terms on which the Options and Warrants will be repriced, the approvals required for the Company to proceed with the Warrant Repricing and Option Repricing, whether such approvals as may be required will be obtained, the timing and completion of the Warrant Repricing and Option Repricing, the participation of the Warrant Repricing and Option Repricing by insiders and related parties to the Company, and plans, intentions, beliefs and current expectations of the Company with respect to future business activities and operating performance, as well as other statements identified by the words "may", "would", "could", "should", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" or similar expressions. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking information is not based on historical facts but instead reflect the Company's management's expectations, estimates or projections concerning future results or events based on the opinions, assumptions and estimates of management considered reasonable at the date the statements are made. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking information are reasonable, such information involves risks and uncertainties, and undue reliance should not be placed on such information, as unknown or unpredictable factors could have material adverse effects on future results, performance or achievements of the combined company. Among key factors and risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information may include, without limitation, the financial situation of the Company; the Company's limited operating history; global economic risk; COVID-19's impact on the Company; the general economic environment; cybersecurity risks; financial projections may prove materially inaccurate or incorrect; the ability of the Company to obtain TSXV, shareholder and warrantholder approval in respect of the Warrant Repricing and Option Repricing and the transactions related thereto; the changes to the Company's stock price that may result from the transactions contemplated herein; the Company may experience difficulties to forecast sales; general competition in the industry from other companies; management of growth-related risks; reliance on management; risks relating to insurance; changes in supply costs could adversely affect profitability and ultimately our results of operations; our business could be adversely affected by increased labour costs or difficulties in finding suitable employees; changes in commodity prices; changes in regulation; risk associated with occupational health and safety; risks associated with contamination and workplace accidents and hazards; uncertainty surrounding early stage exploration issuers; environmental laws; requirements for further financing; the Company may prioritize certain targets and milestones over others; volatility in the stock market; and other risks applicable to early stage exploration issuers. This forward-looking information may be affected by risks and uncertainties in the business of the Company and market conditions. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking information prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Although the Company has attempted to identify important risks, uncertainties and factors which could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be others that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update this forward-looking information except as otherwise required by applicable law. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/157971 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 10, 2023) - ArcWest Exploration Inc. (TSXV: AWX) ("ArcWest") is pleased to announce that it has entered into an earn-in agreement with Freeport-McMoRan Mineral Properties Canada Inc. ("Freeport") to advance ArcWest's Todd Creek copper-gold (Cu-Au) project (Fig. 1), located in BC's Golden Triangle (the "Todd Creek project"). ArcWest's 100% owned Todd Creek project adjoins Newcrest Mining's Brucejack mine property (Fig. 2); in March 2022, Newcrest acquired Pretium Resources and its Brucejack mine in a transaction valued at CAD $3.5 billion. The Todd Creek project is also situated approximately 40 km southeast of Seabridge Gold's giant KSM-Iron Cap porphyry Cu-Au deposits and Tudor Gold's Treaty Creek Au-Ag-Cu project. Collectively, the KSM-Iron Cap and Treaty Creek deposits represent one of the largest Au-Cu concentrations in North America. Contained metal within Proven plus Probable Reserves at KSM-Iron Cap total 38.8 million ounces (oz) Au, 183 million oz Ag and 10.2 billion pounds of copper (www.seabridgegold.com). Tudor has released a measured plus indicated resource estimate for Treaty Creek totaling 17 million oz Au and 93 million oz Ag (www.tudor-gold.com). A technical presentation for the Todd Creek project is available for download here. Tyler Ruks, President and CEO of ArcWest, commented, "ArcWest looks forward to advancing our Todd Creek project in partnership with Freeport, one of the world's largest copper miners and a team with a track record of global copper-gold discoveries that have proceeded to mine development. ArcWest's Todd Creek project is host to one of the largest underexplored copper-gold systems in BC's Golden Triangle, and Freeport's endorsement of the project is a testament to its potential for hosting a world class copper-gold deposit. ArcWest is in discussions with multiple mining companies regarding potential earn-in agreements for our additional copper-gold projects." Todd Creek Project Earn-In Agreement with Freeport Under the terms of the earn-in agreement, Freeport has a two-stage option to earn up to an 80% ownership interest in the Todd Creek project over up to a 10-year period. To earn an initial 51% interest, Freeport is required to fund CAD $20 million of work expenditures over a 5-year period and make staged cash payments to ArcWest totaling CAD $900,000. ArcWest will be the operator during the initial earn-in period. Upon Freeport earning such 51% interest, it can elect, at its sole discretion, to earn an additional 29% ownership interest in the Todd Creek project (for a total 80% interest) by sole funding a further CAD $30 million within the following five years and make staged cash payments to ArcWest totaling CAD $750,000. Once Freeport has finalized its earned ownership interest at either the 51% or 80% level, each party will be responsible for funding its pro rata share of project costs on a 51:49 or 80:20 basis. ArcWest's corporate and project specific technical presentations are available for download from www.arcwestexploration.com. About ArcWest Exploration Inc. ArcWest Exploration is a project generator focused on porphyry copper-gold exploration opportunities throughout western North America. The company is in possession of seven 100% owned copper-gold projects throughout BC's premier porphyry copper-gold districts. These include ArcWest's Todd Creek and Oweegee Dome projects, which are two of the largest and most prospective land positions for copper-gold exploration in BC's prolific Golden Triangle. Oweegee Dome neighbours Seabridge Gold's supergiant KSM-Iron Cap-Snowfield porphyry copper-gold deposit and Todd Creek adjoins Newcrest Mining's Brucejack mine property. In March of 2022, Newcrest completed the acquisition of Pretium Resources and its high grade Brucejack gold-silver mine in a transaction valued at $3.5 billion. Several ArcWest projects are currently being advanced by partners through earn-in and joint venture agreements; this includes an agreement with mining giant Freeport-McMoRan to advance ArcWest's 100% owned Todd Creek copper-gold project. By conducting partner funded exploration on multiple exploration projects simultaneously, ArcWest's chances of discovery are enhanced while exposing shareholders to minimal dilution. The company is managed by an experienced technical team with a track record of discovery and a reputation for attracting well-funded senior partners, including Freeport-McMoRan, Robert Friedland group companies, ITOCHU, Antofagasta and Teck. Qualified Person ArcWest's disclosure of a technical or scientific nature in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Nigel Luckman, PGeo, Chief Operating Officer, who serves as a Qualified Person under the definition of National Instrument 43-101. For further information please contact: Tyler Ruks, President and CEO at +1 (604) 638 3695. Investors are cautioned that ArcWest Exploration Inc. has not verified the data from the KSM-Iron Cap, Treaty Creek, and Brucejack deposits. Further, the presence and style of mineralization on these properties is not necessarily indicative of similar mineralization on the ArcWest Exploration Inc. property. Historical assays from exploration programs on its properties have not been verified by ArcWest but have been cited from sources believed to be reliable. This news release contains statements about ArcWest's expectations and are forward-looking in nature. As a result, they are subject to certain risks and uncertainties. Although ArcWest believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them as actual results may differ materially from the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof, and ArcWest undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, except as required by law. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/157926 - The Board of Directors resolved not to include the KGC spin-off in the agenda after careful consideration SEOUL, South Korea, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- KT&G Corporation ("KT&G" or the "company") (KRX:033780) today announced that its Board of Directors set the agenda for the 2023 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders ("AGM"), which will be held on March 28, 2023 at the KT&G Human Resources Development Center in Daejeon, South Korea. Agenda items to be discussed at this year's AGM include a) approval of financial statements, b) amendments to the Articles of Incorporation, c) cancellation of treasury shares, d) acquisition of treasury shares, e) appointment of directors and members of the Audit Committee, f) approval of ceiling amount on remuneration for directors, and others. Previously, KT&G Board of Directors has concluded that a corporate spin-off is not subject to a shareholder proposal under the current law, and resolved not to include the KGC spin-off proposal as an agenda item for the 2023 AGM. The shareholder who filed a preliminary injunction regarding the spin-off has also decided to withdraw the application. Meanwhile, KT&G Board of Directors resolved to include an agenda on acquiring treasury shares for the AGM, following the Court's decision to approve the preliminary injunction filed by a shareholder. KT&G Board of Directors has nominated three outside director candidates after a fair and rigorous candidate verification assessment by the Outside Director Candidate Nominating Committee. The candidates are as follows- Kim Myung-chul, a former CFO of Shinhan Financial Group, Koh Yun-sung, a business administration professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, and Lim Il-soon, a former CEO of Homeplus. Kim Myung-chul, a current outside director of KT&G, is an expert in global finances and economics with over 30 years of experience in the global financial markets, including the United States and Hong Kong. Based on his abundant experience and expertise, he has been taking part in making critical decisions for the company. During his incumbency as a KT&G's Board chairman, the candidate utilized his experience as a former CFO of a major bank in South Korea to help the company make strategic investment decisions to strengthen the global business and develop a growth engine. He is expected to continuously play a key role in terms of the company's global risk management and strategic investment decision-making. Koh Yun-sung is also a current outside director of KT&G, serving as the Audit Committee chairman. He has been demonstrating his capabilities as an expert in tax and accounting. The candidate has been at the forefront of enhancing the reliability of the company's financial reporting, expanding global market audits, and strengthening auditing capabilities per KT&G's global business growth. As a tax professional, he will continue to make contributions to the Board's decision-making by providing tax and accounting-related analyses and suggestions that reflect the characteristics of the company's areas of business. Lim Il-soon, a former CEO of Homeplus and a newly nominated candidate for the outside director, is the first female CEO from the retail industry in Korea. The candidate is experienced in leading a large corporation when the retail industry was going through a major transformation. She has developed and executed strategic business plans for the company during the challenging times. Based on such capabilities and experience, Lim is believed to play an essential role in enhancing diversity and expertise of the Board in the fast-changing business environment. Moreover, with the candidate's capabilities as a financial expert, she is expected to make contributions in providing a strategic perspective on the overall business of the company and seizing new business opportunities. KT&G hosted an Investor Day in January 2023, and openly discussed the company's future visions and growth strategies with its shareholders and capital market stakeholders. Currently, the company is faithfully executing on its three-year shareholder return policy worth KRW 2.75 trillion since 2021. In line with this policy, KT&G plans to launch a KRW 0.9 trillion shareholder return program and introduce a semi-annual dividend payout policy. In order to provide the shareholders with a more predictable return profile, the company will remain committed to diversifying and expanding its shareholder return policy by increasing its dividend per share and reviewing the cancellation of treasury shares. KT&G plans to continue closely communicating with all of its stakeholders including the shareholders in regards to KT&G Group's future visions and growth strategies. The company will also put the best efforts to maximize shareholder and corporate values from a long-term perspective. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1961370/KT_G_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/ktg-to-hold-the-36th-annual-general-meeting-of-shareholders-301768963.html NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / March 10, 2023 / MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET) announced that for the eighth consecutive year it has been named to the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI), which tracks the performance of public companies that report gender-related data. MetLife The reference index measures gender equality across five pillars: leadership and talent pipeline, equal pay and gender pay parity, inclusive culture, anti-sexual harassment policies, and external brand. "Realizing the potential of women in the workplace by reinforcing an inclusive culture, growing careers and developing leaders is directly aligned to MetLife's purpose of building more confident futures for all," said MetLife Chief Human Resources Officer Susan Podlogar. "Our focus on gender equity is part of our company's broader commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, which we believe creates an environment where our employees are energized to drive innovation for our customers and other stakeholders." As part of MetLife's 2030 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commitments, MetLife is addressing the needs of the underserved and underrepresented through a mix of investments, products and services, supply chain, volunteering, and community efforts. Gender is among MetLife's diversity, equity and inclusion focus areas, and in support: MetLife is a member of the UN Global Compact's (UNGC) Target Gender Equality Initiative, a gender-equality accelerator program for companies that have signed on to the UNGC. MetLife is executing the UN Women's Empowerment Principles through time-bound action plans aimed at building a workplace that works for all. MetLife is part of WEConnect International, an organization committed to enabling women business owners to compete in the global marketplace. For more information on MetLife's commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, check out our podcast, Inclusion Begins with Me: Conversations that Matter, available wherever you listen to podcasts, and visit https://www.metlife.com/about-us/global-diversity-equity-inclusion/. About MetLife MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET), through its subsidiaries and affiliates ("MetLife"), is one of the world's leading financial services companies, providing insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management to help individual and institutional customers build a more confident future. Founded in 1868, MetLife has operations in more than 40 markets globally and holds leading positions in the United States, Japan, Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. For more information, visit www.metlife.com. Contact: MetLife For Media: Brian Blaser (212) 578-2415 bblaser@metlife.com View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from MetLife, Inc. on 3blmedia.com. Contact Info: Spokesperson: MetLife, Inc. Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/metlife-inc Email: info@3blmedia.com SOURCE: MetLife, Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/743125/MetLife-Honored-as-a-Member-of-the-2023-Bloomberg-Gender-Equality-Index Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 10, 2023) - Bear Creek Mining Corporation (TSXV: BCM) (OTCQX: BCEKF) (BVL: BCM) ("Bear Creek" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that, further to its news release dated October 26, 2022, it has revised the terms (the "Revised Terms") of the heads of agreement with Equinox Gold Corp. ("Equinox Gold") to amortize over a two-year period payment of the final US$25 million purchase price installment (the "Deferred Payment") for the Mercedes Gold Mine ("Mercedes") in Sonora, Mexico. Pursuant to the agreement to acquire Mercedes, the Deferred Payment, as previously amended, was due to be made on October 26, 2022 (see Bear Creek news releases dated December 17, 2021, April 21, 2022 and October 24, 2022). The Revised Terms provide for converting the Deferred Payment into a secured interest bearing promissory note (the "Note"). The Note bears a nominal rate of interest equal to 12.5% per annum plus the greater of (i) 90-day average Secured Overnight Financing Rate and (ii) 2.50% per annum, and matures after a term of two years on October 21, 2024 (the "Maturity Date"). Commencing March 3, 2023, the Note will amortize at a fixed rate of US$700,000 per month during the first year until March 3, 2024 and thereafter at an amount per month equal to the greater of (i) US$700,000 and (ii) 50% of the free cash flow generated from Mercedes. The Company may prepay, without penalty, any portion of the Note at any time prior to the Maturity Date. The Note will be secured by a first lien (pari passu with certain security held by Bear Creek's existing creditors) and certain second lien pledges of Bear Creek's equity interests in the holding companies through which Bear Creek holds Mercedes and the Corani silver-lead-zinc deposit in Puno, Peru. In addition to the Note, the Company will issue to Equinox Gold 2,750,000 common shares of the Company (the "Bonus Shares"). Issuance of the Note and Bonus Shares are subject to completion of definitive documentation and approval of the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV"). About Bear Creek Mining Bear Creek Mining is a precious metals producer with a world-class development asset. Our Mercedes mine in Sonora, Mexico is a cash flow generating gold mine with operational upside, a strong track record of reserve replacement and exciting exploration potential. Our Corani silver-polymetallic deposit in Puno, Peru is one of the largest fully permitted silver deposits in the world and is highlighted by its substantial reserves and resources, long projected mine life, lost estimated operating costs and overwhelming community support. On behalf of the Board of Directors, Anthony Hawkshaw Chief Executive Officer For further information contact: Barbara Henderson - VP Corporate Communications Direct: 604-628-1111 E-mail: barb@bearcreekmining.com www.bearcreekmining.com Subscribe to Bear Creek Mining news Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information This news release contains forward-looking statements regarding: finalizing documentation in respect of the Note; issuing the Bonus Shares; TSXV approval of the Note and the Bonus Shares; expectations regarding cash flow improvements resulting from the Mercedes improvement program; anticipated production levels at Mercedes; and the ability of the Company to meet amortization, interest and principal repayment obligations under, or prepay, the Note; and other statements regarding future plans, expectations, exploration potential, guidance, projections, objectives, estimates and forecasts as well as the Company's expectations with respect to such matters. These forward-looking statements are provided as of the date of this news release, or the effective date of the documents referred to in this news release, as applicable, and reflect predictions, expectations or beliefs regarding future events based on the Company's beliefs at the time the statements were made, as well as various assumptions made by and information currently available to them. In making the forward-looking statements included in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including, but not limited to: that the Note and Bonus Shares will be approved by the TSXV and issued as expected and that the Mercedes improvement program will result in increased gold production. Although management considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information available to it, they may prove to be incorrect. By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, and risks exist that estimates, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will not be achieved or that assumptions on which they are based do not reflect future experience. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements as a number of important factors could cause the actual outcomes to differ materially from the expectations expressed in them. These risk factors may be generally stated as the risk that the assumptions expressed above do not occur, but specifically include, without limitation, risks relating to general market conditions and the additional risks described in the Company's latest Annual Information Form, and other disclosure documents filed by the Company on its SEDAR page at www.sedar.com. The foregoing list of factors that may affect future results is not exhaustive. Investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time by the Company or on behalf of the Company, except as required by law. 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/157974 NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / March 10, 2023 / Illumina Originally published on Illumina News Center "Pediatricians like to say children are not little adults, and accordingly, pediatric cancer is not just the miniature form of adult cancer," says Midhat Farooqi, MD, PhD, Director of Molecular Oncology, Genomic Medicine Center at Children's Mercy Kansas City in Missouri. Historically, less attention and expertise have been devoted to researching cancer in children than adults, but Children's Mercy is helping lead the effort to change that. From its humble beginnings in 1897 with just one bed, the hospital has grown to 390 inpatient beds and 16 locations. It had 14,345 pediatric admissions in 2022-60% of them for patients less than 10 years old-who traveled to the hospital with their families from all 50 US states. Children's Mercy also pursues leading-edge research. In 2015, it established the Children's Mercy Research Institute, founded and led by Tom Curran, PhD, FRS, Senior Vice President, Executive Director, Chief Scientific Officer, and Donald J. Hall Eminent Scholar in Pediatric Research. The Institute supports the launch of ambitious initiatives like Genomic Answers for Kids (GA4K), headed by Tomi Pastinen, MD, PhD, Dee Lyons/Missouri Endowed Chair in Pediatric Genomic Medicine. The program's goal is to sequence 30,000 children and their parents, and it just passed the milestone of providing more than 1,000 rare disease diagnoses to families; it largely addresses cases of rare genetic disease, but, as Farooqi points out, "Pediatric cancer is also a rare disease," and the program is enrolling cancer patients as well. Currently, the hospital is conducting 137 studies and trials-49 of which are in oncology-and developing databases that are crucial for research. In 2017, Erin Guest, MD, Director of the Children's Mercy Cancer Genomics Program, and Alexander Kats, MD, Director of Nephropathology and Transplantation Pathology Services, set up a pediatric oncology biobank for storing both solid tumor and leukemic samples. This biobank is now part of the Research Institute's CAP-accredited Biorepository, which is overseen by John David Nolen, MD, PhD, Chair of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. To date, over 500 patients have enrolled and Farooqi and his team have performed whole-genome and whole-exome sequencing on 200 of them. Children's Mercy, which is the pediatric consortium partner of The University of Kansas Cancer Center, was awarded a grant from the National Cancer Institute to share this genomic data as part of the Childhood Cancer Data Initiative. Farooqi explains, "Collecting and sharing data nationally and beyond is really important for pediatric cancer because the numbers are low-it can take a few years for the university to register a dozen children with a single tumor type, whereas for adults, let's say, the same number of cases could be accrued within a month. If we all work together, we can amass higher numbers of rare tumor types within pediatrics as well." How is pediatric cancer different from cancer in adults? Cancer in children is rare, making it more difficult to study. Genetic mutations differ in pediatric cancer patients compared to adults-even within the same tumor type. Pediatric cancer is driven more often by genetic fusions than genetic mutations, necessitating the development of different targeted therapies. The younger the patient, the more years side effects from chemotherapy could potentially affect them. Not only does the study and diagnosis of cancer differ with children, but their treatment is more complex, considering how much of their life still lies ahead. This raises the stakes considerably. "Nonpersonalized, general chemotherapy is sort of a poison for all cells," Farooqi cautions. "It hits cancer cells first because they are dividing faster, but normal cells are also affected, which leads to side effects and sometimes even secondary cancers from the initial therapy itself. We have to be really mindful that after cancer treatment, kids have a much longer lifetime ahead of them, so developing precision therapies that don't have off-target effects is much more important in pediatrics." Farooqi works in the lab with Assistant Clinical Laboratory Director Lisa Lansdon, PhD, who helps the team look for clinically actionable variants. Her motivation stems from her first encounter with pediatric rare disease and pediatric cancer: When she was in elementary school, a friend was diagnosed with an inherited blood disorder called Diamond-Blackfan anemia. "He ended up passing away in sixth grade after developing leukemia," she says. "It was a really impressionable experience for me, and I knew that genetics was where I wanted to land." Farooqi, too, was inspired by a personal connection. While he was in his residency, his grandfather was diagnosed with cancer. "That made me see the value of genetic testing for oncology," he says. "Because one of the things we're finding is that every patient's cancer is unique, and that there are many, many different roads that a cell can take to become a tumor cell. So, figuring out which path that is can have a really big impact on the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment for every patient with cancer." Why do kids get cancer? For the most part, the answer to this question is unknown. Relative to adults, children have had much less exposure to environmental toxins and less time to accumulate "somatic mutations," which generally occur after birth and can lead to cancer. We know that 10%-15% of all childhood cancers occur because of a predisposition-they carry a "germline mutation," usually inherited from a parent at conception, that gives them a higher risk of cancer in their lifetime. However, this is not much different from the rate of adult cancers stemming from germline mutations, which is thought to be 5%-10%. Overall, more research is needed to answer this question. A new exome test for patients Recently, Children's Mercy launched a clinical exome-based test for newly diagnosed or newly relapsed pediatric oncology patients. The Genomic Medicine Center's CAP- and CLIA-certified lab runs the exome-based sequencing test at 300 coverage on samples of the patient's tumor tissue and their healthy tissue (also called tumor/normal testing), analyzing the former for somatic variants and the latter for germline variants. The advantage of doing this paired tumor/normal testing is that it tells the clinical team which specific variants are present in the tumor-if the healthy tissue also has the variant, then the patient's blood relatives may benefit from being tested as well. "Otherwise, for some variants you always have this question of, 'Is this variant in the germline?'" Farooqi says. "And if you're trying to target mutations only in the tumor, then it helps to be absolutely sure that the variant is somatic." In general, most adult reference laboratories tend to do a high volume of tumor-only testing. Some academic institutions and commercial labs will do paired tumor/normal testing, but it's more the exception than the rule. Children's Mercy tests both under one roof and also offers a paired germline variant report, all thanks to an enormously supportive clinical group, hospital administration, and the philanthropic community of Kansas City. "We're lucky to have the support of the Hematology/Oncology group, under the direction of Alan Gamis, MD, MPH, and the Genetics Division of Pathology, directed by Carol Saunders, PhD," says Farooqi, "and financial help from local foundations such as Black & Veatch, Big Slick, Braden's Hope for Childhood Cancer, as well as many others. Plus, our hospital's Philanthropy department and Senior Vice President of Allied Health Brian O'Neal, PharmD, MS, created a framework to ensure that no patient at Children's Mercy would have to pay out of pocket for this testing, which is amazing!" A bright future Farooqi, who joined the hospital in 2016, is thrilled to be offering the exome-based test with a quicker turnaround mode of operation and the opportunity to share data for research. "Time is of the essence for our patients with cancer, so having accelerated capabilities to do paired tumor-normal analysis clinically in real time, plus the accuracy of the variant calling, makes the integration of our NovaSeq 6000 with Illumina Connected Software critical to our workflow," he says. "Since we've laid a foundation, I am now most excited about getting to grow the program to offer more research insights and clinical tests-we are keenly interested in analyzing the sequence data for microsatellite instability and tumor mutational burden, as well as pharmacogenomics, to look at variants that could impact dosing for chemotherapy medicines." "We can see a path toward the future," Lansdon adds. "We're going to be able to develop additional tests that we can layer on top, get better insights, and give the latest and greatest information to our clinical teams. We have a laundry list a mile long of all the things that we could do in this vision for the future, and that's super exciting, because it means that it doesn't stop here with our new clinical exome test. For us, it really is just the beginning." Learn more about how Illumina is expanding access to genomics, click here. Assistant Clinical Laboratory Director Lisa Lansdon, PhD and Midhat Farooqi, MD, PhD, Director of Molecular Oncology, Genomic Medicine Center at Children's Mercy Kansas City | Photo: Steve Puppe View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Illumina on 3blmedia.com. Contact Info: Spokesperson: Illumina Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/illumina Email: info@3blmedia.com SOURCE: Illumina View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/743132/Childrens-Mercy-Kansas-City-Tackles-the-Unique-Complexity-of-Pediatric-Cancer South Africa: Cable thieves receive heavy sentences A man has been sentenced to 15 years imprisonment by the Musina Regional Court after being found guilty of tampering with essential infrastructure, theft of copper relating to essential infrastructure and illegal immigration. National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Limpopo regional spokesperson, Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi, said 30-year-old Shepard Munorwa and an accomplice who managed to escape were caught stealing cables which disrupted service delivery to a private farm. During the trial, the accused pleaded not guilty to the offences. In aggravation of sentence, the state prosecutor Jan Krijt submitted that the country is currently experiencing unprecedented levels of cable theft and the owner of the farm has suffered a loss of R500 000.00 in the past years as a result to cable theft and he even appointed a security company. The prosecutor further submitted that there are no substantial or compelling circumstances to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence. [The court] further declared the accused unfit to possess a firearm. The National Prosecuting Authority welcomes the sentence and applauds the good work of Prosecutor Jan Krijt and the investigator, Sergeant Singo of Musina Detectives. We hope that the would-be offenders of these crimes will learn from the sentence, Malabi-Dzhangi said. Meanwhile in the Eastern Cape, the Motherwell Regional Court has also sentenced a man to 15 years imprisonment for tampering and destroying essential infrastructure and theft of ferrous or non-ferrous metal which form part of essential infrastructure. According to NPA regional spokesperson, Luxolo Tyali, 29-year-old Ayabulela Nkole was arrested after being caught in the act by Nelson Mandela Bay Metro police officers. The streetlights were off at that moment and when Police approached, Nkole started running away. The officers managed to catch him not far from where the cable was stolen, was taken back to the scene and later to the police station. During the trial, Nkole pleaded not guilty, but evidence led by prosecutor Sicelo Hina, including that of the Metro officer who effected the arrest, convinced the court. Addressing the court in aggravation of sentence, the prosecutor argued that cable theft was a serious and prevalent offence, which has a crippling effect not only on the livelihoods of communities but on the economy of the country. Eastern Cape Director of Public Prosecutions, Barry Madolo, said the sentence must serve as a deterrent to other would-be cable thieves, who seem to be taking advantage of the current electricity crisis to deepen the suffering of the society, Tyali said. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2023-03-10. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Interview: More efforts needed to bridge gender gap in digital era, says UN official on child protection Xinhua) 09:59, March 10, 2023 BEIJING, March 9 (Xinhua) -- More efforts should be done to minimize the gender gap in the digital era, said chief of Child Protection of United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in China. "There is a lot of gender discrimination still, and a lot of gaps in how girls can really fulfill their rights, and how they can fulfill their full development and will reach certain stages of well-being," said Dora Giusti, chief of Child Protection of UNICEF in China in an exclusive interview with Xinhua on Wednesday. On the sidelines of the symposium on gender-responsive technology and innovation in the 21st century organized by UN Women and the Center for China and Globalization, Giusti noted that the situation is uncomfortable for girls. With more than 20 years of experience in the development sector, and particularly on child protection, Giusti told Xinhua that the situation varies from country to country, from region to region, but across the world, girls were lagged behind. "I think one of the big issues is also the violence that there is exposed, the violence based on gender," she said. Girls experience more gender-based violence and abuse, both online and offline. Globally, with 52 percent of young women have experienced some form of digital harm; 87 percent of them believe the problem is getting worse, according to a UNICEF report. Internet Watch Foundation found that 86 percent of child sexual abuse images were of girls. The distribution of child sexual images has increased at an unprecedented rate in scale, especially during the pandemic, Giusti said. Girls' lack of digital skills exacerbates their lack of ability to defend themselves, Giusti said. Despite the gender violence, the digital gender gap is also evident. "We heard a lot today that girls are more excluded than boys. They have less access and less skills in terms of digital literacy on how they use or access digital technology. So I think that's another aspect," Giusti said. Study shows that boys are 1.5 times more likely than girls to own a mobile phone. And 1.8 times more likely to own a smartphone. Girls are usually at a disadvantage when it comes to the adoption of digital products, with less access to the digital technology compared to boys as well, she said. "In the field of education, we still have higher enrollment rates for boys rather than girls." Giusti described the declining enrollment rates of girls with age as "a leaking pipe." Many girls dropped out of school in secondary school age, "dramatic gap" still exists in some regions in the world, since the importance for girls to continue study is not considered. "Girls are maybe pulled out of potential streams of education like sciences," Giusti said, adding that the proportion of women in science and digital enterprises is also worrisome. More opportunities for girls in the field of science should be created, Giusti said. "I think that's where we need to promote the education and the inclusion in these branches of education." How to bridge the digital divide is very important, so as to give full play to the potential of girls. "We still have these gaps in education, in health, and nutrition," Giusti said. "To promote empowerment of girls, we need to have policies and regulations that the gender lines need to be cross-cutting and in specific sectors like in education," Giusti said, calling for more opportunities for girls to participate as well. The awareness of how to abolish gender stereotypes, especially from every level, from families, from the school environment and wider society, could ensure girls to thrive in all aspects of life and society, she stressed. "In all aspects, anyway of anywhere, I think it's good to ensure the boys and girls are familiar about gender stereotypes," she said, noted that with the aim to meet the Sustainable Development Goals, UNICEF focuses on the implementation of child rights and gender equality. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan) Originally posted on bloomberg.com Partnership will work to ensure first-ever global delegation of mayors at the World Leaders Summit and include local climate priorities and contributions in the COP28 program NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / March 10, 2023 / Michael R. Bloomberg, the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions and founder of Bloomberg L.P. and Bloomberg Philanthropies, joined COP28 UAE President-Designate Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber to announce a new partnership to bolster meaningful climate action from cities, businesses, financial institutions, and civil society at and ahead of the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference (COP28). COP28 will be a milestone moment as the world comes together to deliver the Global Stocktake - the first-ever comprehensive assessment of national contributions and progress against the goals of the Paris Agreement, including keeping global temperatures below 1.5 degrees. Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, COP28 President- Designate said, "What the world needs at COP28 is not just a Conference of the Parties, but a Conference of all Parties. Governments alone cannot act at anywhere near the scale we need. We need everyone to join forces now - from our universities and cities to civil society organizations and nature groups, as well as every single sector of industry. The COP28 Presidency's partnership with Michael R. Bloomberg will help mobilize all parts of global society to make COP28 the turning point we need for global climate progress." "Not long ago, national governments were the only ones at the table in global climate talks - but cities and local communities, states and regions, and businesses and investors have increasingly led the way in cutting emissions," said Michael R. Bloomberg. "The more we do to support and empower them, the more we can quicken the pace of progress, and that's exactly what Bloomberg Philanthropies has been working to do. Thanks to the leadership they've shown, these groups will have a formal role in this year's COP for the first time, which can mark a historic turning point in the global fight against climate change. Bloomberg Philanthropies is glad to be joining Dr Al Jaber and the UAE to seize the moment, help all of these groups take bold action in the months ahead, and set the stage for a successful conference." Building on an unmatched global track record of supporting city climate action, mobilizing climate finance from the private sector, and tackling the world's toughest emissions challenges, Bloomberg's commitment will focus on galvanizing climate action across three main tracks at COP28, both in the lead up to and on the ground in Dubai: Catalyzing cities, states, and subnational action: In partnership with the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy, America Is All In, and the Under2 Coalition, Bloomberg will support local leaders - including mayors, governors, and CEOs - to take ambitious climate action and demonstrate climate leadership; mobilize financing for urban climate projects; showcase scalable climate solutions; and strengthen collaboration at the local, national, and regional levels to accelerate climate action implementation around the world. In partnership with the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy, America Is All In, and the Under2 Coalition, Bloomberg will support local leaders - including mayors, governors, and CEOs - to take ambitious climate action and demonstrate climate leadership; mobilize financing for urban climate projects; showcase scalable climate solutions; and strengthen collaboration at the local, national, and regional levels to accelerate climate action implementation around the world. Supporting the COP28 Energy Transition action agenda: Further to the recent announcement by Dr. Al Jaber, the partnership will aim to drive transformation within the energy sector, advancing stronger climate actions from carbon-intensive industries that help put them on net-zero pathways. Further to the recent announcement by Dr. Al Jaber, the partnership will aim to drive transformation within the energy sector, advancing stronger climate actions from carbon-intensive industries that help put them on net-zero pathways. Increasing clean energy development and capital mobilization: Through its partnerships with the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ); the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA); and Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), Bloomberg will promote favorable policy environments through data, research, and advocacy; strengthen project preparation facilities; and create blended finance vehicles to unlock private-sector funding. Earlier, Dr. Sultan and Michael R Bloomberg convened mayors and city leaders from around the world to highlight the critical importance of cities in the fight against climate change and to discuss pathways for subnational climate leadership at COP28 in the UAE. This new commitment deepens Mike Bloomberg's longstanding dedication to the UN's climate agenda and aims to help deliver on UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' call for transformative and decisive action ahead of this year's COP in Dubai. As part of the partnership, Bloomberg Philanthropies and Bloomberg L.P. will host events and foster cross-sector dialogues to bolster global contributions from subnational actors - including cities, financial institutions, businesses and civil society - and ensure they are better integrated within global climate discussions. Bloomberg will also provide a series of tools, data and resources to subnational actors to support the global, whole-economy transition and the scaling up of clean energy investment. Bloomberg L.P. and Bloomberg Philanthropies will also collaborate with organizations and programs in the UAE on cultural and community-focused engagements that will inspire local climate action, engage young people, and create a lasting legacy for COP28 in the Middle East. Bloomberg and COP Globally recognized for his work to fight climate change and accelerate the energy transition, Mike Bloomberg has long been dedicated to strengthening climate capacity across the UN and promoting climate ambition and solutions at previous COPs. To date, Mike's commitment to strengthen and support the UN's climate agenda has included filling the funding gap created when the Trump Administration revoked federal financial support, publishing annual assessments of U.S. subnational action to reduce emissions consistent with the Paris Agreement, and bringing together influential change-makers and leaders from across government, business, finance, technology, media, and the arts to help accelerate the clean energy transition, inspire local climate action, mobilize climate finance, and protect the ocean. To date, Mike has invested over $1.5 billion on climate and environmental issues. About Bloomberg on Climate Led by Michael R. Bloomberg, a global climate champion and Special Envoy to the UN Secretary-General on Climate Ambition and Solutions, Bloomberg Philanthropies and Bloomberg L.P. are tackling the climate crisis from every angle. Bloomberg Philanthropies is at the forefront of U.S. and global efforts to fight climate change and protect the environment, bringing together mayors and other government and business leaders, grassroots partners, and environmental advocates across a key array of issues. These philanthropic efforts are accelerating the transition from coal to clean energy, improving air quality and public health, advancing city and local climate action, protecting and preserving ocean ecosystems, and helping unlock billions of dollars in sustainable finance. At the same time, Bloomberg L.P. is providing the global financial community with data-driven insights, news, and analysis to help integrate an ESG lens across the investment process. As a company, Bloomberg L.P. is also leading by example, including committing to 100% renewable energy by 2025 and taking action in the communities where its employees live and work. And through Bloomberg's stewardship of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero and the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, Bloomberg is using the power of the capital markets to address climate change and support the transition to a net-zero economy. About Bloomberg Philanthropies Bloomberg Philanthropies invests in 700 cities and 150 countries around the world to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people. The organization focuses on five key areas for creating lasting change: the Arts, Education, Environment, Government Innovation, and Public Health. Bloomberg Philanthropies encompasses all of Michael R. Bloomberg's giving, including his foundation, corporate, and personal philanthropy as well as Bloomberg Associates, a pro bono consultancy that works in cities around the world. In 2022, Bloomberg Philanthropies distributed $1.7 billion. For more information, please visit bloomberg.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Media contact: daphne@bloomberg.org About Bloomberg LP Bloomberg is a global leader in business and financial information, delivering trusted data, news, and insights that bring transparency, efficiency, and fairness to markets. The company helps connect influential communities across the global financial ecosystem via reliable technology solutions that enable our customers to make more informed decisions and foster better collaboration. For more information, visit Bloomberg.com/company or request a demo. Media contact: oomalley2@bloomberg.net COP28 UAE COP28 UAE will take place at Expo City Dubai from November 30-December 12, 2023. The Conference is expected to convene over 70,000 participants, including heads of state, government officials, international industry leaders, private sector representatives, academics, experts, youth, and non-state actors. As mandated by the Paris Climate Agreement, COP28 UAE will deliver the first ever Global Stocktake - a comprehensive evaluation of progress against climate goals. The UAE will lead a process for all parties to agree upon a clear roadmap to accelerate progress through a pragmatic global energy transition and a "leave no one behind" approach to inclusive climate action. For all media enquiries and requests for interviews, please contact comms@climateenvoy.gov.ae View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Bloomberg on 3blmedia.com. Contact Info: Spokesperson: Bloomberg Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/bloomberg Email: info@3blmedia.com SOURCE: Bloomberg View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/743140/UN-Special-Envoy-Michael-R-Bloomberg-and-COP28-Presidency-Announce-Partnership-To-Tackle-Climate-Change-Ahead-of-UN-Climate-Change-Conference OTTAWA (dpa-AFX) - President Joe Biden will embark on a two-day visit to Canada on March 23. 'President Biden will reaffirm the United States' commitment to the U.S.-Canada partnership and promote our shared security, shared prosperity, and shared values,' the White House said while announcing the presidential tour. During the visit, President Biden will meet with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in capital Ottawa. The two leaders will discuss defense cooperation and modernizing the North American Aerospace Defense Command, strengthening supply chain resilience, taking bold action to combat climate change and accelerate the clean energy transition. The governments of the neighboring nations will work together on regional challenges, including instability in Haiti. Biden and Trudeau will discuss ongoing efforts to support Ukraine, to increase the costs to Russia and those supporting its war effort, and to counter the negative impacts of the war on the rest of the world. They will also discuss enhanced collaboration to address the synthetic opioid crisis that has devastated both countries. Irregular migration and forced displacement throughout the region will also come under discussion, according to the White House. The U.S. President will also address the Canadian Parliament to highlight the importance of the United States-Canada bilateral relationship. First Lady Jill Biden will accompany Biden in his travel to Canada. Copyright(c) 2023 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / March 10, 2023 / The Board of Directors of Southern Company recently announced the election of David E. Meador and Lizanne Thomas as independent directors, effective April 1, 2023. Board committee assignments for Meador and Thomas have not yet been determined. "Dave is a highly regarded strategic thinker with a decades of knowledge of, and experience in handling, the specific issues facing our industry and our company in this evolving energy landscape," said Southern Company chairman, president and CEO Thomas A. Fanning. "Southern Company will further benefit from his deep financial expertise, well-rounded understanding of corporate culture, and passion for making the communities where he lives and serves economically stronger." Fanning continued, "Lizanne is an accomplished advisor with a firm understanding of corporate governance. The guidance she will provide via her expertise, as well as the insights and learnings gained through years of work with publicly traded companies across a wide spectrum of industries, will benefit Southern Company." Meador is the recently retired vice chairman and chief administrative officer of Detroit-based DTE Energy. In this role, he was responsible for information technology, procurement, fleet, facilities, corporate communications, as well as the government, corporate and public affairs, and philanthropic giving areas of the business. With over 40 years of experience in the manufacturing and energy sectors, Meador is a recognized expert in finance and accounting, strategy, governance, ESG, mergers and acquisitions, government and community relations, procurement and information technology. Meador joined DTE Energy in 1997 as vice president and controller. In addition to controller, Meador served as senior vice president, treasurer and chief financial officer where he focused on improving the company's systems and processes. After Meador took on leadership of DTE Energy's supply chain organization, the company became a leader in supporting local businesses and expanding opportunities for woman- and minority-owned businesses. Prior to joining DTE Energy, he served in a variety of financial and accounting positions at Chrysler Corp. for 14 years and was an auditor with Coopers & Lybrand. Meador currently serves on the Board of Directors of Amerisure Mutual Insurance and Energy Insurance Mutual and from 2008 to 2017 served on the board of Landauer, Inc. He has been an active board member of prominent economic development groups at the state, regional and city levels, including the Michigan Economic Development Corp., the Detroit Regional Partnership and the Detroit Economic Growth Corp. In addition to focusing DTE Energy's community outreach on jobs, equity and the environment, he co-chaired Detroit's Workforce Development Board with a goal of to connect 100,000 Detroiters with meaningful jobs. Thomas is of counsel with the global law firm Jones Day, which she joined in 1982 and served as a partner from 1991 to 2022. In addition to ample experience working on mergers and acquisitions, Thomas served as the head of the firm's corporate governance team. Thomas is experienced in shareholder activism, public and private mergers and acquisitions, and executive compensation and served as Partner-in-Charge of the Firm's Southeast U.S. Region from 2014 through 2022. Thomas currently serves on the Board of Directors of American Software, Inc. and previously served on the Board of Directors of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Inc., Atlantic Capital Bancshares, and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. In 2016, Thomas was named one of the top 100 directors by the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD). Additionally, Thomas is a Fellow of the American College of Governance Lawyers and is a Trustee of the Georgia Research Alliance. She also is a Trustee of Washington & Lee University and The Woodruff Arts Center. She is a member of the Rotary Club of Atlanta and is a former Trustee of Furman University and a former director of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Southern Company on 3blmedia.com. Contact Info: Spokesperson: Southern Company Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/southern-company Email: info@3blmedia.com SOURCE: Southern Company View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/743151/Former-DTE-Energy-Vice-Chairman-and-Chief-Administrative-Officer-David-E-Meador-and-Former-Jones-Day-Partner-and-Corporate-Governance-Authority-Lizanne-Thomas-To-Join-Southern-Company-Board-of-Directors CHICAGO, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Thermoelectric Generators Market is projected to grow from USD 761 Million in 2022 to USD 1,233 Million by 2027, at a CAGR of 10.1% from 2022 to 2027 according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets. The market growth can be attributed to the rising demand for durable and maintenance-free power sources. Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=91553904 Browse in-depth TOC on "Thermoelectric Generators Market" 291 - Tables 55 - Figures 283 - Pages With the rising demand for energy and accurate temperature control in microdevices, thermoelectric technology, which can transform heat into electricity and vice versa, has drawn global attention to power generation and solid-state cooling. This technology uses thermal sources to generate electrical power across various applications ranging from terrestrial to space exploration. Thermoelectric technology can be used for solid-state refrigeration or power generation applications through the large Peltier effect in thermoelectric materials. An efficient thermoelectric material must have a large Seebeck coefficient, a low resistivity, and low thermal conductivity to generate power. Thermoelectric generators and thermoelectric materials that were previously utilized primarily in niche applications are now becoming more popular with the introduction of wider automotive applications and the efforts to exploit waste-heat-recovery technologies. The soaring costs of fossil fuels have prompted the creation of a program between the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy office of the US Department of Energy and numerous automotive manufacturers to integrate thermoelectric waste-heat-recovery technology in the design layout of heavy trucks. In fact, without such systems, greater than 60% of the primary energy of fossil fuels is lost worldwide as impractical waste energy; the loss is as great as 70% in some automobiles. Based on application, the waste heat recovery segment to held largest share in the base year Based on application, the thermoelectric generators market is segmented into energy harvesting, waste heat recovery, direct power generation, and co-generation. The waste heat recovery application is expected to lead the market for TEGs during the forecast period, driven by the increasing trend of electrification of automobiles. This trend will help increase the demand for TEGs, which produce electricity from the waste heat from automobiles. Based on vertical, automotive segment projected to lead market during forecast period Based on vertical, the thermoelectric generators market is segmented into automotive, aerospace & defense, marine, industrial, consumer, healthcare, oil & gas, mining, and telecommunications. The automotive industry is expected to registered the largest share in the base year. This large share is due to increased adoption of automotive thermoelectric generators (ATEG). In the automotive industry, thermoelectric generators convert the waste heat from an internal combustion engine into electricity. Automotive thermoelectric generators consist of four main elements: hot side heat exchanger, cold side heat exchanger, thermoelectric materials, and compression assembly system. Thermoelectric generators can act as substitute batteries to power vehicle lights and other electronic devices, and they require minimal maintenance. With the increasing number of vehicles, the market for TEGs is expected to grow across regions. However, their high cost is a major constraint to the growth of the market. Currently, they are available in high-end cars. Request Sample Pages: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=91553904 North America is expected to register largest share in 2021. Based on geography, the thermoelectric generator market is classified into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Rest of the World. North America contributed the largest share in the thermoelectric generator market in 2021. The growth of the thermoelectric generators market in North America is primarily driven increased use of TEGs across healthcare, space, and automotive sectors. The major players in the thermoelectric generator market are Coherent Corp. (US), Gentherm Inc. (US), Ferrotec Holdings Corporation (Japan), Laird Thermal Systems, Inc. (UK), and Komatsu Ltd. (Japan) Get 10% Free Customization on this Report: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestCustomizationNew.asp?id=91553904 Browse Adjacent Market: Aerospace and Defence Market Research Reports &Consulting Related Reports: Aircraft Heat Exchanger Market by Application (Environmental Control System and Engine System), Type (Plate-Fin, Flat Tube), Vendor (OEM, Aftermarket), Platform (Fixed-Wing Aircraft, Rotary-Wing Aircraft, and UAVS), and Region (2021-2026) Aircraft Propeller System Market By Type (Fixed Pitch, Variable Pitch), Component (Blade, Spinner, Hub), Engine (Conventional, Hybrid & Electric), Platform (Civil, Military), End Use (OEM, Aftermarket), & Region (2021-2026) Environmental Control Systems Market by End User (Commercial, Defense), Platform (Rotary, Fixed), System (Air Supply & Management, Thermal Management & Control, Cabin Pressure & Control), Component, and Region - Global Forecast to 2022 Aerospace Valves Market by Aircraft Type, End Use (OEM, Aftermarket), Type, Application (Fuel System, Hydraulic System, Environment Control System, Pneumatic System, Lubrication System, Water & Wastewater System) Material, Region (2021-2026) Aircraft Fuel Systems Market by Application (Commercial, Military and UAV), Engine Type (Jet engine, Turboprop engine, Helicopter engine and UAV engine), Component, Technology & Region - Global Forecasts to 2020 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 Visit Our Web Site: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ Research Insight: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ResearchInsight/thermoelectric-generators-market.asp Content Source: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/thermoelectric-generators.asp Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/660509/MarketsandMarkets_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/thermoelectric-generators-market-worth-1-233-million-by-2027---exclusive-report-by-marketsandmarkets-301768742.html MORGAN HILL, CA / ACCESSWIRE / March 10, 2023 / EMQ, developer of the world's leading open source MQTT messaging platform, EMQX, recently announced that it had been awarded a Winter 2023 Leader Award by SourceForge, the world's largest software and services review platform. SourceForge has become a trusted source to help businesses make informed decisions regarding their software needs in an ever-changing digital world. This award recognizes exceptional companies and products with outstanding user reviews that put them in the top fifth percentile of highly reviewed products on SourceForge. For EMQX, this is a huge achievement, as our product has been selected as best-in-class from over 60,000 products on SourceForge. This prestigious award is also a clear endorsement of our IoT connectivity solutions among IoT decision-makers and developers from all around the world. "It's my pleasure to award the Winter 2023 Leaders on SourceForge. EMQX has been named a Leader this Winter in the MQTT Brokers category, and their numerous outstanding user reviews are proof of the excellent solution they provide to their customers. Congratulations, and keep up the great work!" said SourceForge President Logan Abbott. "We couldn't be happier about the Winter 2023 Leader Award, as real feedback from our customers validates our efforts to solve pain points and turn them into wins," said Dylan Kennedy, General Manager at EMQ. "EMQ prides itself on offering best-in-class performance. We're glad to see our MQTT messaging platform being used in various industries towards digital transformation, including IoT, connected vehicles, Industrial IoT, oil & gas, carrier, finance, smart energy, and smart cities." To win the Winter 2023 Leader award, each winner had to receive enough high-rated user reviews to place the winning product in the top 5% of favorably reviewed products on SourceForge, which demonstrates the performance that EMQX delivers to global IoT customers. We'd like to thank all of the EMQX users who have taken the time to write such detailed and thoughtful reviews. As of today, MQTT is one of the leading and most convincing protocols in the IoT due to its highly scalable and reliable feature to connect devices over the Internet. Since its inception, EMQ has been committed to advancing the MQTT standard for reliable IoT messaging. Its core product, EMQX, has become the world's most scalable and reliable MQTT broker, supporting 100M concurrent IoT device connections per cluster while maintaining extremely high throughput and sub-millisecond latency. EMQX boasts more than 20,000 global users from over 50 countries, connecting more than 100M IoT devices worldwide, and is trusted by over 400 customers in mission-critical IoT scenarios, including well-known brands like HPE, VMware, Verifone, SAIC Volkswagen, and Ericsson. Looking ahead, EMQ will continue to scale proven enterprise-level IoT data solutions at a global level to forge our digital future. If you're seeking a solution to manage your IoT device connections and process IoT data in real-time, please check http://www.emqx.com. About SourceForge SourceForge.net is the world's largest software comparison directory, serving nearly 30 million users every month and featuring user reviews, product comparisons, software guides, and more. SourceForge's mission is to help businesses find the best software to fit their needs and their budget. There are a variety of software tools available to businesses, and there are tools in almost every category and niche, each serving a slightly different purpose. SourceForge also powers the Slashdot.org/software/ business software and services directory. About EMQ Technologies Inc. EMQ is the world's leading software provider of open-source IoT data infrastructure, delivering world-class cloud-native MQTT messaging, streaming database, and edge computing solutions. Flex to meet the demands of various industries towards digital transformation, including Connected Vehicles, IoV, Industrial IoT, Automation, Energy, Carrier, Finance, and Smart City. Its core product EMQX, the world's most scalable and reliable open-source MQTT messaging platform, supports 100M concurrent IoT device connections per cluster while maintaining 1M message per second throughput and sub-millisecond latency. It boasts more than 20K+ enterprise users, connecting 100M+ IoT devices, and is trusted by over 400 customers in mission-critical IoT scenarios, including well-known brands like GM, HPE, VMware, Verifone, SAIC Volkswagen, and Ericsson. EMQ's robust and flexible edge-to-cloud IoT data solutions encompass a suite of technologies designed for IoT applications: reliability, security, availability, scalability, latency & throughput. This enables successful enterprise-grade IoT deployments with ease and scale. EMQ's global R&D center is located in Stockholm, Sweden. It has 10+ offices throughout the Americas, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region. To learn more, follow us on Twitter @EMQTech or visit our website. Contact: melanie.wu@emqx.io +1 9255192104 SOURCE: EMQ Technologies Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/742905/EMQX-Wins-the-Winter-2023-Leader-Award-in-MQTT-Brokers-from-SourceForge NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / March 10, 2023 / The Consumer Goods Forum By Didier Bergeret, Director of Sustainability, and Debora Dias, Senior Manager, Environmental Sustainability, The Consumer Goods Forum To create a forest positive future for climate, people, and nature, businesses must take action quickly and at scale to address deforestation, forest degradation, and conversion risks in their supply chains. As our planet continues to lose millions of hectares of forests per year thanks to human activity - notably through the production of commodities such as palm oil, soy, wood pulp and fibre, and beef - there is no time to waste. The rich biodiversity of our planet, the temperature of our climate, and the wellbeing and livelihoods of the 1.6 billion people who live and work in forests depend on it. Our Forest Positive Coalition of Action is the most ambitious collective of consumer goods companies taking action against commodity-driven deforestation and conversion, and Coalition members are striving to become forest positive businesses by implementing a five-step strategy to responsible sourcing. Known as our Forest Positive Approach, it requires businesses to have: A public commitment to deforestation and conversion-free across entire commodity business including a public time-bound action plan with clear milestones; A process for regular supplier/producer engagement; A mechanism to identify and respond to grievances/non-compliances; Support for initiatives delivering forest positive development at landscape/jurisdictional and/or sectoral level; and Regular public reporting against Key Performance Indicators. We developed this approach in consultation with key stakeholders from our industry and civil society, and through our Commodity Roadmaps and guidance for companies and their suppliers, we are helping drive forest positive transformation throughout the value chain. For our members, being forest positive businesses means protecting forests is at the heart of how they operate. Our Coalition is committed to implementing business models that help forest ecosystems and communities thrive, all the while ensuring the long-term success of its member companies. However, we know that as a whole, our industry still has ways to go on the forest positive journey: as the recent results of Global Canopy's annual Forest 500 rankings illustrate, many companies and the financial institutions that support them are still behind in taking action around deforestation. The report assesses 350 companies - including 18 of our Coalition members - and is a key resource to understand industry progress against deforestation. Global Canopy is also one of our Coalition's key stakeholders who provides critical input on our strategies and actions, including our Forest Positive Approach. This year, the report highlighted several key areas where companies still need to take action, and notably, these areas are strongly aligned with our Forest Positive Approach. We are pleased that our strategy aligns with the expectations of civil society, and we strongly agree with many of the report's calls to action. For example: "(31%) of the companies with the greatest influence on/exposure to tropical deforestation risk through their supply chains don't have a single deforestation commitment for any of the commodities to which they are exposed." Having a commitment to forest positive sourcing is the first step of our Forest Positive Approach. To drive any meaningful action against deforestation, companies must first have their own clear objectives and strategies in place. Having a commitment to forest positive sourcing is the first step of our Forest Positive Approach. To drive any meaningful action against deforestation, companies must first have their own clear objectives and strategies in place. "Of the 100 companies with a deforestation commitment for every commodity to which they are exposed, only half (50%) are monitoring their suppliers or sourcing regions in line with their deforestation commitments for every commodity." In order to drive true transformation at scale, we believe that all businesses across the value chain must become forest positive. The Forest Positive Approach calls for engagement with upstream suppliers to create momentum by ensuring upstream suppliers' commodity operations are fully forest positive - meaning we look to create not just an abundance of forest positive commodities, but an abundance of forest positive commodity suppliers . It also requires businesses to have mechanisms in place for responding to grievances and non-compliance with their commitments - keeping everyone accountable to the forest positive vision. In order to drive true transformation at scale, we believe that all businesses across the value chain must become forest positive. The Forest Positive Approach calls for engagement with upstream suppliers to create momentum by ensuring upstream suppliers' commodity operations are fully forest positive - meaning we look to create not just an abundance of forest positive commodities, but an abundance of forest positive commodity . It also requires businesses to have mechanisms in place for responding to grievances and non-compliance with their commitments - keeping everyone accountable to the forest positive vision. "None of the companies assessed meet the requirements for all human rights commitments alongside their deforestation commitments for all of the commodities to which they are exposed." We also believe addressing human rights abuses linked to deforestation and conversion is critical along with ensuring the protection and wellbeing of people who live and work in forests, particularly Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IP/LC). As a result, we are working to incorporate actions to respect IP/LC rights into our Commodity Roadmaps - starting with palm oil - and also supporting landscape-level initiatives that have positive impacts on human rights and forest communities. These efforts are in parallel to the work of our Human Rights Coalition which, through its People Positive Palm Project, is addressing systemic human rights challenges and advancing Worker wellbeing in the Malaysian palm oil sector by improving suppliers' due diligence practices and helping develop enabling policy environments for responsible recruitment and employment. We will also take our learnings from this project and apply them to other commodities and geographies. We also believe addressing human rights abuses linked to deforestation and conversion is critical along with ensuring the protection and wellbeing of people who live and work in forests, particularly Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IP/LC). As a result, we are working to incorporate actions to respect IP/LC rights into our Commodity Roadmaps - starting with palm oil - and also supporting landscape-level initiatives that have positive impacts on human rights and forest communities. These efforts are in parallel to the work of our Human Rights Coalition which, through its People Positive Palm Project, is addressing systemic human rights challenges and advancing Worker wellbeing in the Malaysian palm oil sector by improving suppliers' due diligence practices and helping develop enabling policy environments for responsible recruitment and employment. We will also take our learnings from this project and apply them to other commodities and geographies. "98% of Forest 500 companies with climate commitments are likely to miss them due to insufficient progress on deforestation." For us, forest positive is climate positive, and we know that it will be impossible to reach any climate goals without meaningful action on forests. Through reducing deforestation and conversion and supporting forest positive commodity production, businesses can have a huge contribution to decarbonisation efforts and help our industry reach net-zero. For us, forest positive is climate positive, and we know that it will be impossible to reach any climate goals without meaningful action on forests. Through reducing deforestation and conversion and supporting forest positive commodity production, businesses can have a huge contribution to efforts and help our industry reach net-zero. "Financial institutions' actions are far too slow given their high exposure and influence." The financial sector is a critical actor in reaching a forest positive future and we have already initiated conversations with key stakeholders about how to work to bring about the forest positive vision together. We look forward to continuing engaging with them to leverage their influence in the industry. The financial sector is a critical actor in reaching a forest positive future and we have already initiated conversations with key stakeholders about how to work to bring about the forest positive vision together. We look forward to continuing engaging with them to leverage their influence in the industry. "The political momentum for addressing deforestation must be turned into practical steps to address the problem - with legislation part of the package." Legislation is a critical tool for enabling and driving corporate action on deforestation. Our members are eager to provide the industry's voice in the development of emerging due diligence legislation linked to deforestation and we are already in dialogue with producing and purchasing governments including Brazil, China, Indonesia, and the European Union. With half of our Coalition member companies ranking in the top 50 companies assessed by Forest 500 and our agreement with many of the reports takeaways, it is clear that our Coalition's forest positive strategy is aligned with the expectations of civil society for how businesses can take action around deforestation and conversion risks in their supply chains. It is also clear that both in our Coalition and beyond, our industry must continue to keep working towards forest positive by taking action and, critically, sharing reports on progress and impact transparently. Membership to our Coalition is open to any consumer goods brand or retailer looking to lead industry efforts against deforestation and conversion, though our strategic and technical resources are all open source and available for all. We also collaborate and engage with more than 200 external organisations including supply chain partners and civil society members. In line with Forest 500, we call for everyone - businesses, governments, investors, and civil society alike - to ramp up individual and collective efforts to help us reach forest positive. Our forests, people, and climate - and our businesses - depend on it. View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from The Consumer Goods Forum on 3blmedia.com. Contact Info: Spokesperson: The Consumer Goods Forum Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/consumer-goods-forum Email: info@3blmedia.com SOURCE: The Consumer Goods Forum View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/743174/Forest-Positive-Approach-Is-Key-Driver-of-Industry-Progress-and-Credibility-on-Deforestation-Forest-500-Results-Show Regulatory News: Technip Energies (Paris:TE) (ISIN:NL0014559478) (the "Company"), a leading Engineering Technology company for the energy transition, today published its 2022 Annual Report. The Company filed its 2022 Annual Report with the Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) in the Netherlands and the Autorite des marches financiers (AMF) in France. The 2022 Annual Report is available at: https://investors.technipenergies.com/financial-information/results-center Technip Energies will hold its Annual General Meeting in Schiphol, the Netherlands on May 10, 2023. The convening notice, agenda and all related documents will be available at https://investors.technipenergies.com/events-presentations/agm on March 29, 2023. About Technip Energies Technip Energies is a leading Engineering Technology company for the energy transition, with leadership positions in Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), hydrogen and ethylene as well as growing market positions in blue and green hydrogen, sustainable chemistry and CO2 management. The company benefits from its robust project delivery model supported by extensive technology, products and services offering. Operating in more than 30 countries, our 15,000 people are fully committed to bringing our client's innovative projects to life, breaking boundaries to accelerate the energy transition for a better tomorrow. Technip Energies shares are listed on Euronext Paris. In addition, Technip Energies has a Level 1 sponsored American Depositary Receipts ("ADRs") program, with its ADRs trading over-the-counter. For further information: www.technipenergies.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230310005337/en/ Contacts: Investor Relations Phillip Lindsay Vice-President, Investor Relations Tel: +44 203 429 3929 Email: Phillip Lindsay Media Relations Stella Fumey Director, Press Relations Digital Communications Tel: +33 1 85 67 40 95 Email: Stella Fumey Jason Hyonne Press Relations Social Media Lead Tel: +33 1 47 78 22 89 Email: Jason Hyonne 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. Money Mindset Strategies, a financial consulting firm, is excited to announce the release of their latest eBook Lubbock, Texas--(Newsfile Corp. - March 10, 2023) - Money Mindset Strategies, a leading financial consulting firm, is excited to announce the release of their latest eBook, "5 Surprising Reasons You Shouldn't Settle For Long-Term "Buy and Hold" Financial Advice In Your 50s & 60s (And What to Do Instead)." The eBook offers a fresh perspective on retirement planning and presents strategies that can help individuals achieve their financial goals and live the life they want. Money Mindset Strategies, A Financial Consulting Firm, Announces Release of New eBook To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8843/157962_23206d10a44a6a15_001full.jpg With over 50 years of experience in the financial industry, Money Mindset Strategies' CEO, Van Sharpley, understands the importance of having a well-rounded financial plan that can withstand life's uncertainties. According to a recent study, only 16% of Americans are confident they will have enough money saved to retire comfortably. With this in mind, Money Mindset Strategies offers a consulting service that analyzes a person's financial life and goals, with recommendations for achieving a stable financial life, security and sustainability. The new eBook is a resource for individuals in their 50s and 60s who are considering retirement or want to improve their financial situation. It offers a new perspective on the traditional "buy and hold" financial advice that many have been following for years. The eBook presents five surprising reasons why this strategy may not be suitable for everyone and provides alternative strategies that can help individuals reach their financial goals. The eBook emphasizes the importance of developing a personalized financial plan that takes into account factors such as age, risk tolerance, and income needs. Money Mindset Strategies' consulting service offers personalized advice that can help individuals make confident decisions about their finances. "We believe that everyone should have a stable financial life and live the life they want," said Van Sharpley, CEO of Money Mindset Strategies. "Our new eBook offers a fresh perspective on retirement planning and presents alternative strategies that can help individuals achieve their financial goals." The eBook covers a wide range of investment options, including real estate investments, stocks, franchises, small businesses, bank savings accounts, gold, and silver. It explains their advantages and disadvantages, so individuals can make informed decisions about their finances. To learn more about Money Mindset Strategies and download the eBook, "5 Surprising Reasons You Shouldn't Settle For Long-Term "Buy and Hold" Financial Advice In Your 50s & 60s (And What to Do Instead)," visit their website at https://www.moneymindsetstrategies.com. Media Contact: Contact: Jeremy McGilvrey Address: 1 Riverway Ste. 1724, Houston, TX 77056 Phone: (713) 300-3778 Email: Hi@JeremyMcGilvrey.com Website/URL: https://www.jeremymcgilvrey.com To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/157962 BEDFORD, NS / ACCESSWIRE / March 10, 2023 / Silver Spruce Resources Inc. (TSXV:SSE) (the "Company") announces today that due to an over-subscription to its previously announced private placement of up to $1,000,000 (see news release of February 27, 2023), the private placement has been increased to 80,000,000 units at a price of $0.015 per unit for gross proceeds of up to $1,200,000. Each unit will consist of one common share and a warrant to purchase an additional common share at an exercise price of $0.05 per share for a period of five years from the closing of the private placement. The private placement is expected to close on or before March 22, 2023. The proceeds from the private placement will be used for exploration of the Company's mineral projects and general working capital. The private placement is subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. Finder's fees will be paid on the private placement in accordance with the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange. About Silver Spruce Resources Inc. Silver Spruce Resources Inc. is a Canadian junior exploration company which has signed Definitive Agreements to acquire 100% of the Melchett Lake Zn-Au-Ag project in northern Ontario, and with Colibri Resource Corp. in Sonora, Mexico, to acquire 50% interest in Yaque Minerales S.A de C.V. holding the El Mezquite Au project, and up to 50% interest in each of Colibri's Jackie Au and Diamante Au-Ag projects. Silver Spruce has signed Definitive Agreements to acquire100% interest in the MysteryAu project in the ExploitsSubzone Gold Belt, Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Pino de Plata Ag project in western Chihuahua, Mexico. Silver Spruce Resources Inc. continues to investigate opportunities that Management has identified or that have been presented to the Company for consideration. Contact: Silver Spruce Resources Inc. Michael Kinley, CEO (902) 402-0388 mkinley@silverspruceresources.com info@silverspruceresources.com www.silverspruceresources.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, including but not limited to, statements regarding the private placement. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others, the inherent uncertainties associated with mineral exploration and difficulties associated with obtaining financing on acceptable terms. We are not in control of metals prices and these could vary to make development uneconomic. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and we assume 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 we believe that the beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions will prove to be accurate. SOURCE: Silver Spruce Resources Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/743211/Silver-Spruce-Announces-Private-Placement-Over-Subscription ATLANTA, GA / ACCESSWIRE / March 10, 2023 / PNC Bank officially debuted its Mobile Branch program in Atlanta at Focused Community Strategies (FCS), underscoring PNC's commitment to positively impacting the communities in which it operates by making banking easier and more accessible. The 30-foot branch on wheels allows existing and prospective PNC Bank customers in underserved areas to conduct banking transactions, such as opening accounts and applying for loans, in the same way they would at a traditional branch. "PNC is committed to helping all move forward financially," said Courtney Smith, senior vice president and market manager for PNC Community Development Banking in Atlanta. "The Mobile Branch helps us do that by offering essential banking services to those without access to a traditional branch and allows us to go where we are needed most." Throughout 2023, the Mobile Branch will visit FCS and Families First on a rotating basis, with the goal of visiting several additional community locations each week. Among the banking services that can be conducted in the Mobile Branch are: Meeting with a personal banker Opening a checking account Applying for a personal loan, credit card or mortgage Receiving or replacing a PNC debit card Receiving assistance with digital services Atlanta is the fifth market to host a PNC Mobile Branch, with the program launching in 2020 in Chicago, expanding into Detroit in 2021, and last year, debuting in Baltimore and Dallas. PNC's Community Development Banking group and local community organizations are the drivers of the program in each market, with the organizations helping coordinate financial wellness initiatives for residents and members. The initiatives include educational seminars, as well as financial tips and tools to help individuals address important topics, such as the foundations of money management. The Mobile Branch program is aligned with PNC's $88 billion Community Benefits Plan, which focuses on benefiting low- and moderate-income people and neighborhoods, as well as people and communities of color in every community in which PNC operates. Access to the Mobile Branch is available to one individual or family at a time. In compliance with COVID-19 safety standards, PNC team members are furnished with a supply of gloves, face masks and cleaning supplies to use as appropriate. Employees will wipe down surfaces after each customer interaction and follow social distancing best practices to protect visitors and themselves. For customers hesitant to enter the unit, bankers have the option to assist them remotely through encrypted tablet technology. PNC Bank, National Association, is a member of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: PNC). PNC is one of the largest diversified financial services institutions in the United States, organized around its customers and communities for strong relationships and local delivery of retail and business banking; residential mortgage banking; specialized services for corporations and government entities, including corporate banking, real estate finance and asset-based lending; wealth management and asset management. For information about PNC, visit www.pnc.com. CONTACT: Christina Anderson (205) 903-3706 christina.anderson472@pnc.com View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from The PNC Financial Services Group on 3blmedia.com. Contact Info: Spokesperson: The PNC Financial Services Group Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/pnc-financial-services-group Email: info@3blmedia.com SOURCE: The PNC Financial Services Group View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/743212/PNC-Bank-Deploys-Mobile-Branch-to-Atlanta KEY TAKEAWAYS $2 million grant deepens Comcast's extensive work to advance digital equity and provide communities with the resources needed for jobs of today and tomorrow. The Hidden Genius Project has provided mentorship, career planning and tech skills training to hundreds of Black male high school youth through their Intensive Immersion Program. PHILADELPHIA, PA / ACCESSWIRE / March 10, 2023 / Comcast NBCUniversal announced a new $2 million grant to The Hidden Genius Project, furthering the company's longstanding efforts to advance economic mobility through critical digital skills building. A globally recognized nonprofit, The Hidden Genius Project trains and mentors Black male youth in technology creation, entrepreneurship, and leadership skills to transform their lives and communities. Comcast's funding, which will be distributed over two years, will support The Hidden Genius Project's expansion to new markets in Atlanta and Chicago this year. Representation within the tech sector continues to be starkly inequitable. Black Americans occupy just 7% of tech jobs, although they account for 14% of the national population. Founded in 2012, The Hidden Genius Project has provided mentorship, career planning and tech skills training to hundreds of Black male high school youth in Oakland, Richmond and Los Angeles, CA, and Detroit, MI through their Intensive Immersion Program. Program participants have a 98% high school graduation rate with 95% entering post-secondary education and over 40% of alumni studying computer science or related fields. Building on this track record, Comcast's funding will help even more former program participants gain post-secondary education and support the development of Genius Lab, an innovative new curriculum for young people of color to gain computer science, software development and entrepreneurship skills. "Our continued partnership with Comcast NBCUniversal will equip us to engage even more Black youth with the skills, experiences, and networks to find their way into family-sustaining career pathways, including the tech sector," said Brandon Nicholson, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of The Hidden Genius Project. "With ample access, our young people regularly realize their potential to pursue meaningful and exciting pathways, and subsequently create future opportunities not only for themselves, but also their entire community." "As the lack of digital skills continues to be a determinant of future economic opportunity, we must ensure that young Black men have access to the resources and programming that will put them on a path to success in our digital economy," said Dalila Wilson-Scott, EVP and Chief Diversity Officer of Comcast Corporation and President of the Comcast NBCUniversal Foundation. "For years, The Hidden Genius Project has proven to be a key partner in helping young people acquire the knowledge and resources needed to ensure long-term upward mobility and create generational change." "Comcast is proud to deepen our commitment to help empower these Geniuses and future leaders pave the way to even greater innovation and equity within the tech sector and beyond." - DALILA WILSON-SCOTT This grant announcement marks the continuation of Comcast's seven-year partnership with The Hidden Genius Project, which has enabled programmatic, volunteer and outreach collaboration in local communities across the country. The announcement is also a part of Project UP, Comcast's $1 billion commitment to reach tens of millions of people in order to advance digital equity and help create a future of unlimited possibilities. View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Comcast Corporation on 3blmedia.com. Contact Info: Spokesperson: Comcast Corporation Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/comcast-corporation Email: info@3blmedia.com SOURCE: Comcast Corporation View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/743225/Comcast-Partners-with-The-Hidden-Genius-Project-to-Help-Black-Male-Youth-Acquire-Digital-Skills-and-Enter-the-Tech-Sector Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 10, 2023) - Atomic Minerals Corp. (TSXV: ATOM) is pleased to announce that the company is presenting a live virtual corporate update hosted by Red Cloud Financial Services on March 14th, 2023 at 2:00 PM ET. We invite our shareholders, and all interested parties to register for the webinar and participate in the live Q&A session at the end of the presentation moderated by Red Cloud. The replay will be emailed out to all webinar registrants proceeding the event and will also be available on the Red Cloud website. For more information and to register: https://redcloudfs.com/rcwebinar-ATOM. Join Clive Massey who will present on the companies five uranium projects. Atomic Minerals is a Vancouver based publicly listed uranium exploration company trading on the TSX Venture Exchange under symbol ATOM, with current assets in Saskatchewan's Athabasca Basin and the Four Corners region of the southwest United States. Commodities to be covered: Uranium About Atomic Minerals Corp. Atomic Minerals is a Vancouver based publicly listed exploration company trading on the TSX Venture Exchange. The company is focused on uranium and is led by a highly skilled management and technical team with numerous previous successes in the junior mining sector. About Red Cloud Financial Services Inc. Red Cloud Financial Services Inc. is a comprehensive capital markets platform that provides a full range of unconflicted corporate access and media related services. Offering these services as a unified platform provides the ultimate value proposition for junior resources companies in their efforts to broaden their capital markets presence. About Red Cloud Securities Inc. Red Cloud Securities Inc. is an IIROC-regulated investment dealer focused on providing unique comprehensive capital market services and innovative financing alternatives to the junior resource sector. The company was founded by capital markets professionals with extensive experience in the junior mining industry. For further information: Atomic Minerals Corp. Clive H. Massey President & CEO 604-341-6870 info@atomicminerals.ca For additional information contact marketing@redcloudfs.com or visit: www.redcloudfs.com www.facebook.com/RedCloudFinancialServices www.twitter.com/RedCloudFS www.linkedin.com/company/red-cloud-financial-services-inc www.youtube.com/c/RedCloudFinancialServicesInc www.instagram.com/redcloudfs CHICAGO (dpa-AFX) - Boeing Co. (BA) is set to resume deliveries of its 787 Dreamliners as early as next week, the Federal Aviation Administration said Friday. The airline maker had last month temporarily stopped deliveries of its 787 Dreamliners as directed by the FAA, pending an additional analysis on a fuselage component. 'Boeing addressed the FAA's concerns,' the agency said in a statement. 'The FAA may resume issuing airworthiness certificates next week.' Boeing earlier Friday said it completed the work needed to resume deliveries of planes to airlines and other customers. 'We have completed the necessary analysis that confirms the airplane continues to meet all relevant requirements and does not require production or fleet action,' a Boeing spokesperson said. 'The FAA will determine when 787 ticketing and deliveries resume, and we are working with our customers on delivery timing.' On February 23, Boeing said, 'In reviewing certification records, Boeing 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.' Boeing previously had faced serious issues related to its 787 Dreamliners over certain manufacturing defects. 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. NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / March 10, 2023 / Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is more important than ever for signaling to your consumers that you are a company where they should spend their money. In a recent Reputation Institute study, more than 91% of participants said they would buy from a company with a good CSR program. If you aren't already investing in CSR initiatives, it's not too late to start. While this is an ongoing commitment, it doesn't have to be burdensome. In fact, an authentic effort can benefit your company culture and your financial success. Corporate social responsibility is how companies signal their values to the communities that they serve. This can be done in many different ways, from financially investing in philanthropic causes to initiating social or environmental improvement programs. Having a robust CSR program is not only greatly beneficial to the community being served, but it also positively influences the company's reputation. The positive impacts of CSR programs include improved brand image, increased customer loyalty, deepened employee connection with company values, and even reduced employee turnover. Seeing as how your board is responsible for many high-level decisions regarding your mission and values, involving them in crafting CSR policies is essential. We'll explore several ways to involve your board in your CSR initiatives, including: 1. Set a CSR policy for the company 2. Initiate a grant program 3. Build external partnerships 4. Assess performance Giving your board the opportunity to shape the image of the company in such an important way can also help re-engage some of your board members. An engaged board is the first step to creating an environment for employees to develop a strong connection to your company. A board's culture and work ethic influence the entire organization, so explore Boardable's guide to board engagement to learn how you can infuse a culture of enthusiasm in your boardroom. There's no time to waste when it comes to engaging your board members and employees through an excellent CSR program. Let's get started! Set a CSR policy for the company Your board is responsible for ensuring that your organization carries out its mission and achieves its goals. This includes creating the necessary programs and environment for employees to embody your core values. After all, employee buy-in starts at the top. You can't expect your other employees to be dedicated to your organization if they are not seeing genuine examples of that from the organization's leaders. One of the best ways for your board to do this is to establish an excellent CSR program. To get started, dedicate a board meeting to discussing ideas for CSR policies. Consider sending out materials on different CSR policies in the industry and the importance of these types of programs to prepare your members to actively participate and bring ideas to the table. If you're asking board members to come prepared, it's important that you also come ready to lead a productive discussion. Some of the different types of CSR efforts you might discuss include: Philanthropy . Directly donating to a philanthropic cause or hosting a fundraising event are common ways to support charitable causes, but you can also develop a matching gifts program. Matching gifts will encourage your employees to make donations to causes they care about all year long, which your company will match. This spreads out your philanthropic efforts and strengthens employee satisfaction since you'll be supporting the causes they care about. Directly donating to a philanthropic cause or hosting a fundraising event are common ways to support charitable causes, but you can also develop a matching gifts program. Matching gifts will encourage your employees to make donations to causes they care about all year long, which your company will match. This spreads out your philanthropic efforts and strengthens employee satisfaction since you'll be supporting the causes they care about. Volunteer grants. Similarly, with a volunteer grant program , your employees can volunteer at an organization. Then, your company will donate X dollars for every X amount of hours. Similarly, with a , your employees can volunteer at an organization. Then, your company will donate X dollars for every X amount of hours. Ethical practices. This includes transparency in practices, improving employee benefits, family leave time, offering competitive pay, and more. You can show that you care about the well-being of your employees outside of work hours by implementing these practices. This includes transparency in practices, improving employee benefits, family leave time, offering competitive pay, and more. You can show that you care about the well-being of your employees outside of work hours by implementing these practices. Environmental practices. For example, you could commit to reducing your carbon emissions, using more environmentally-friendly materials, or undergoing any other initiative aimed at reducing your environmental impact. This is especially important to younger generations and is most impactful with large companies. Because there might be many different ideas on the best kind of policies to put in place, it's important to hear out all ideas and have a fair vote. A secure and streamlined board voting process can help ensure this. Additionally, it's not only important to consumers that you have some sort of CSR program but that it seems genuine and aligned with your mission and values. Make sure your board considers this when making their final decision. Initiate a grant program Depending on your organization's community, it may also be a good idea to consider setting up a grant program for nonprofits. Matching gifts and volunteer grants can significantly increase funds for nonprofits and are excellent for getting your employees involved in philanthropy, but a grant program will allow you to contribute in a more substantial way. Here are some best practices to follow when creating a grant program: Determine a balance between what you can afford to offer and what will be useful to an organization. Get a variety of opinions on the criteria a nonprofit must meet to apply for a grant. Ensure that the application is shared with diverse communities. Create a rubric to enforce fair judgment of the applications. Use grant management software to protect sensitive information. While volunteer grants and matching gifts give your employees the opportunity to engage with an organization they know and love while securing additional funding, grants don't require your employees to donate first or spend time volunteering. Instead, they give you the opportunity to select and engage with different organizations in your community. Build external partnerships Board members can use their connections in the community to help facilitate partnerships with nonprofits as part of your CSR program. By providing employees with ideas of where to donate and volunteer in the community and showing your dedication to supporting local businesses, organizations will ensure that your message does not ring hollow. At your next CSR strategizing meeting, have all of your board members come with a list of a few local organizations or programs that may be good for partnership. You can consider planning designated volunteering days for your company at some of these organizations or hosting a fundraising event together. Having your company's name listed as a sponsor of a local community event can be an excellent way to increase brand awareness. Additionally, when the holidays roll around, there may be opportunities to do a temporary larger match offering for employees who donate or volunteer with specific local organizations that you've developed partnerships with. Building strong connections in your community is one of the most effective ways to build a strong brand name and increase name recognition. If you're facing competition in your community, making your company name familiar to the whole community will establish you as the foremost option. Assess performance While making the initial decision to implement a CSR program is great, it's also important to evaluate your first set of policies. Your board can be responsible for analyzing any employee engagement metrics or survey responses and implementing changes as necessary. A few key performance indicators (KPIs) they might consider tracking are: How many employees took advantage of the new policies. Keep track of how many employees took action and participated in your CSR program. A high level of participation can indicate your policies have been well received whereas a lack of action may indicate that you haven't made the policies clear or that they are not beneficial to employees. Keep track of how many employees took action and participated in your CSR program. A high level of participation can indicate your policies have been well received whereas a lack of action may indicate that you haven't made the policies clear or that they are not beneficial to employees. Donations made through the matching gift and volunteer grant programs. If you have clearly explained your new corporate giving policies, ideally you will have employees actually submitting requests to get gifts matched or volunteer grants distributed. If you're not seeing this, consider supplying employees with suggestions of organizations to volunteer with or donate to. If you have clearly explained your new corporate giving policies, ideally you will have employees actually submitting requests to get gifts matched or volunteer grants distributed. If you're not seeing this, consider supplying employees with suggestions of organizations to volunteer with or donate to. Employee perception of the new policies through a survey. 58% of Americans consider a company's social and environmental impact when deciding where they want to work according to these Crowd101 corporate giving statistics . With that in mind, you'll want to make sure you assess your employees' perceptions of your initiatives. Send out a survey to get feedback on the changes you've made. 58% of Americans consider a company's social and environmental impact when deciding where they want to work according to these . With that in mind, you'll want to make sure you assess your employees' perceptions of your initiatives. Send out a survey to get feedback on the changes you've made. Progress made towards goals set. Having goals like getting X% of employees to participate in the volunteer grant program or securing X amount of community partnerships can help you gauge if your policies are actually tangibly changing anything at your business. Having goals like getting X% of employees to participate in the volunteer grant program or securing X amount of community partnerships can help you gauge if your policies are actually tangibly changing anything at your business. Revenue changes since the implementation of the policies. Believe it or not, spending money on CSR can increase revenue over time! This is not a metric to measure immediately after you start your program, but over time, a successful CSR program can increase customer support and eventually, revenue. Believe it or not, spending money on CSR can increase revenue over time! This is not a metric to measure immediately after you start your program, but over time, a successful CSR program can increase customer support and eventually, revenue. Changes in reputation with a customer survey. A survey is not only a smart way to measure employees' perception of the workplace. Your customers are also an important point of feedback when it comes to your brand's reputation. This survey can be used to measure how customers perceive your company and the work you do. Understanding how your CSR program is performing is essential to crafting policies that actually have an impact and go beyond the surface. Remember, consumers want to see a genuine effort to engage in social good from your company. Corporate social responsibility is not a one-and-done kind of project. This will require ongoing effort from not only your board but your entire organization. As with any large project, it will be crucial for the team working on this to do their research in order to put our tips to use in the best way for your organization. There are a variety of ways for your company to engage with your community and show your dedication to being socially responsible. The most important thing to consider when working on these policies with your board is how they align with your mission and values. Authentic efforts will not only be easier to maintain but will also be more successful in fostering a positive brand image. This post was created in partnership with Boardable, a board management software. View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Submittable on 3blmedia.com. Contact Info: Spokesperson: Submittable Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/submittable Email: info@3blmedia.com SOURCE: Submittable View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/743237/How-Your-Board-of-Directors-Can-Play-a-Role-in-CSR-Efforts Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 10, 2023) - Lithium Energi Inc. (TSXV: LEXI) (the "Company" or "LEXI") is pleased to announce that it has called its annual general and special shareholders' meeting on March 20, 2023 (the "Meeting") to, among other things, approve its recapitalization transactions with Arena Investors, LP ("Arena") and Triangle Lithium, LLC ("Triangle"), and the debt settlement arrangements with Steven C. Howard and Omar E. Ortega (collectively, the "Transactions") as previously disclosed by the Company in a press release dated February 1, 2023, and further detailed in the Company's management information circular prepared for the Meeting (the "Meeting Materials") filed on its SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com . Benefits of the Transaction and Board Recommendation In addition to those benefits detailed in the Meeting Materials, certain benefits of the Transactions to the Company's shareholders include: Strengthened Balance Sheet : The Transactions will strengthen the Company's balance sheet providing it with greater financial flexibility and opportunities as it will achieve a full and final settlement of all material outstanding indebtedness and litigation of the Company, including: all amounts due and payable to Arena pursuant to the historical credit facility between the Company and Arena, and all associated litigation, shall be fully and finally settled and released; indebtedness of approximately $4.9 million, being all amounts previously due and payable to Mr. Howard (CEO and director of LEXI) and Mr. Ortega (VP Exploration of LEXI), and certain affiliates thereof, will be fully and finally settled and released, with approximately $3.5 million of such amounts being purchased by Triangle in advance of the settlement as part of Triangle's strategic investment into the Company; up to an additional $500,000 in outstanding payables to be funded through a cash private placement by Triangle; and a new $15 million credit facility provided by Arena with an initial drawdown of $7 million expected on closing of the Transactions. : The Transactions will strengthen the Company's balance sheet providing it with greater financial flexibility and opportunities as it will achieve a full and final settlement of all material outstanding indebtedness and litigation of the Company, including: Lack of Alternative Transactions : The Company has been actively seeking a resolution to its working capital and indebtedness repayment requirements for several years, and has extensively canvassed the market for alternative investors that could address the Company's capital needs. It has also diligently explored other potential settlement paths with its creditors. The Company believes that the Transactions are the Company's best path forward, in terms of both providing new working capital and settling its overdue and outstanding indebtedness, including but not limited to those amounts subject to litigation with Arena and those amounts due and payable to each of Mr. Howard and Mr. Ortega and their affiliates. : The Company has been actively seeking a resolution to its working capital and indebtedness repayment requirements for several years, and has extensively canvassed the market for alternative investors that could address the Company's capital needs. It has also diligently explored other potential settlement paths with its creditors. The Company believes that the Transactions are the Company's best path forward, in terms of both providing new working capital and settling its overdue and outstanding indebtedness, including but not limited to those amounts subject to litigation with Arena and those amounts due and payable to each of Mr. Howard and Mr. Ortega and their affiliates. Voluntary Lock-up : Each of the parties to the Transactions, other than the Company, have agreed with each-other to an 18 month lock-up of all securities issued pursuant to the Transactions. : Each of the parties to the Transactions, other than the Company, have agreed with each-other to an 18 month lock-up of all securities issued pursuant to the Transactions. Priced with Reference to Market : All common shares issued pursuant to the Transactions have a deemed price of $0.1875, the loan bonus warrants issued under the terms of the new credit facility provided by Arena have an exercise price of $0.24 and all other warrants to be issued pursuant to the Transactions have an exercise price of $0.30, which is a 25% premium above the $0.24 per share closing price on January 31, 2023, the last trading day prior to the announcement. : All common shares issued pursuant to the Transactions have a deemed price of $0.1875, the loan bonus warrants issued under the terms of the new credit facility provided by Arena have an exercise price of $0.24 and all other warrants to be issued pursuant to the Transactions have an exercise price of $0.30, which is a 25% premium above the $0.24 per share closing price on January 31, 2023, the last trading day prior to the announcement. Lithium Processing Agreement : As facilitated by Triangle, Ensorcia Argentina, LLC, a controlling shareholder of Triangle has agreed to provide LEXI with access to a direct lithium extraction technology developed and owned by International Battery Metals, Ltd. : As facilitated by Triangle, Ensorcia Argentina, LLC, a controlling shareholder of Triangle has agreed to provide LEXI with access to a direct lithium extraction technology developed and owned by International Battery Metals, Ltd. Refreshed Board and Amicable Management Turnover : As part of the Transactions, LEXI's board of directors (the "Board") will be expanded to four directors on closing, with each of Ali Rahman, as a nominee of Triangle, and Daniel Blanks, as a nominee of Arena, bringing their expertise to the Company's board. As the new incoming CEO of the Company, Mr. Rahman will also bring to bear his wealth of knowledge of the lithium sector and Argentina based projects that he's cultivated as CEO of Triangle. Mr. Howard and Mr. Ortega will each resign from all positions with the Company and its subsidiaries on completion of the Transactions, and each receive an agreed severance payment as part of their departure from the Company, such that each individual will be departing from the Company after years of service on amicable terms and will enter into a mutual release with the Company to ensure a smooth transition to new management. The full terms and conditions of the Transactions are detailed in the Company's press release dated February 1, 2023, the Meeting Materials and copies of the Transaction-related documents, each filed on its SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. The Board would like to thank Mr. Howard for the substantial time and effort he has dedicated to seeking resolutions for the Company's liquidity issues. Mr. Howard's personal knowledge of the lithium industry, complex transaction structuring, and the historical circumstances regarding the Company's litigation and indebtedness were essential in assisting the Company in progressing the currently proposed Transactions that will resolve the Company's litigation and indebtedness issues detailed in the Meeting Materials. The Company directly benefited from this knowledge, skills and experience through his continued service throughout the search for alternative transactions and negotiating the definitive documentation for the Transactions. Further, the Board would like to thank Mr. Hobbs whose financial expertise and acumen were similarly invaluable to the negotiations and and direct involvement in the negotiations assisted the Company in reaching the currently proposed amicable resolutions with all parties. The Board also acknowledges the pivitol role of Triangle in assisting with the mediation of a resolution between the Company and Arena throughout the last phases of the settlement process and looks forward to welcoming Triangle and its principals as new strategic investors into the Company. LEXI and Triangle have a history of successful collaboration going back to the creation of the Triangle Lithium Argentina, S.A exploration joint venture in October 2021. Definitive documents for the present Transactions could not have been settled without Triangle's dedication to the negotiations and personal purchase (and corresponding equity conversion) of the Company's outstanding indebtedness that was due and payble to certain affiliates of Mr. Howard and Mr. Ortega. As a result of Triangle's commitments and constructive working relationship with Arena, the Company will emerge after the Transactions with a clean balance sheet. As disclosed in the Meeting Materials, each of Mr. Howard, Mr. Ortega and Mr. Hobbs (CFO and director of LEXI) were named as co-defendants in certain of the litigation claims brought by Arena, which will be released upon closing of the Transactions. The Board considered the interest of such directors and officers in the Transactions, but does not believe that the release of such claims impacted the ability of such directors and officers to assist with and lead the negotiation or settlement of the Transactions. In addition, the Board considered the interests of Messrs. Howard and Ortega's direct and indirect interests in the Transactions and transactions connected thereto, and the Board considered that ultimately settling the debt owed to them and their affiliates was important to the Company as this was an important condition of the Transactions with Arena as disclosed in the Meeting Materials and as these transactions assist in clearing out all material and unfunded due and payable debt obligations of the Company. With respect to the severance fees detailed in the Meeting Materials, the Board believes that these are reasonable and appropriate as each of Mr. Howard and Mr. Ortega have held their posts since 2017, are leaving the Company on amicable terms and providing a release as to any claims they may have had in the event of a deemed termination after years of service. With respect to the success fees detailed in the Meeting Materials, the Board similarly considered the roles played by each of Triangle and Mr. Howard in reaching these settlement terms, and thus it proper and in the Company's interest to remunerate Triangle and Mr. Howard for the successful conclusion of the settlement that has been agreed. The Board, excluding Mr. Howard, believes that the Transactions, including the settlements of all debt, the payments of the severance amounts and the payments of the success fees, are desirable and fair to the Company. Further, the Board, excluding Mr. Howard, believes that the terms and conditions of the Transactions, including the deemed price per common share and the exercise prices for the applicable warrants, are fair and in the best interests of shareholders given the benefits that the Company will receive as a result, including those highlighted above. Closing Update and Conditions Subject to obtaining the required approvals and satisfying all required conditions, including the final acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange and approval of the Company's shareholders as detailed in the Meeting Materials and below, the Transactions are expected to close on or about March 20, 2023. The consummation of the Transactions is subject to conditions customary for transactions of this nature, including, among others: (i) the approval of a simple majority of the votes cast by shareholders of the Company excluding any shares owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by Arena, Triangle, Howard and Ortega, pursuant to the rules of the TSX Venture Exchange and section 8.1 of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101") at the Meeting ("Minority Approval"); and (ii) final approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. Accordingly, pursuant to MI 61-101 and the rules of the TSX Venture Exchange, 64,500 common shares held by Arena, 8,480,000 common shares held directly or indirectly by Mr. Howard, and 5,300,000 common shares held directly or indirectly by Mr. Ortega will be excluded for the purposes of determining whether Minority Approval has been obtained for each of the resolutions being put forth at the Meeting in relation to the Transactions. Mr. Hobbs does not hold any common shares. The Transactions are exempt from the formal valuation requirements of MI 61-101 as none of the Company's securities are listed on a market set out in section 5.5(b) of 61-101. For further details with respect to the Transactions, see LEXI's news release dated February 1, 2023, the materials for the Meeting, and copies of the Transaction-related documents, copies of which are available under LEXI's profile at www.sedar.com. About Arena Investors, LP . Arena Investors, LP is an institutional asset manager founded in partnership with The Westaim Corporation (TSXV: WED). With approximately $3.5 billion of invested and committed assets under management as of December 31, 2022, and a team of over 100 employees in offices globally, Arena provides creative solutions for those seeking capital in special situations. The firm has individuals with decades of experience, a track record of comfort with complexity, the ability to deliver within time constraints, and the flexibility to engage in transactions that cannot be addressed by banks and other conventional financial institutions. See www.arenaco.com for more information. About Triangle Lithium, LLC . Triangle Lithium, LLC is a Delaware limited liability company formed by Sorcia Minerals, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ensorcia, and by an affiliate of Global Oil Management Group, LLC, a resource development holding company controlled by Harry Sargeant, III, a billionaire investor focused principally in the diversified energy and shipping industries, which operates an expansive, multibillion-dollar conglomerate of private global enterprises consisting of aviation companies, oil refineries, oil trading operations, alternative fuels development, alternative energy development, and oil and asphalt shipping. About Ensorcia Argentina, LLC . Ensorcia Argentina, LLC is a Delaware limited liability company founded as a subsidiary of Ensorcia. Ensorcia is a private corporation formed to acquire, license, and develop proprietary technologies for the metals industry. Ensorcia is the largest shareholder of IBAT, has partnered with Dr. John Burba to develop IBAT's technologies, and holds an exclusive license to implement the IBAT technologies in certain countries in Latin America. About Lithium Energi Inc. Lithium Energi Inc. is an exploration company focused on acquisition, exploration, and development of lithium brine assets in Argentina. Headquartered in Toronto, Ontario with offices in Dallas, Texas and Catamarca, Argentina, the Company's shares are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV: LEXI) and the Frankfurt Exchange (FSE: LO9). LEXI's portfolio of prospective lithium brine concessions in the Argentina Province of Catamarca (heart of the lithium Triangle) includes approximately 57,000 hectares and a 20% interest in Triangle Lithium Argentina, S.A., which owns an additional 15,000 hectares - all located in and around the Antofalla Salar, one of the largest basins in the region, which is over 130 km long and up to 20 km across. Albemarle Corporation, the world's largest lithium producer, owns exclusive exploration and acquisition rights to large claim blocks located throughout the Antofalla Salar. With prospective lithium properties located just west of Livent's producing properties and offset to the north and south of Albemarle's concessions, LEXI believes that its claim package holds the potential to deliver impressive values to its shareholders, if the economic viability and technical feasibility of the properties are established and developed. For more information about Lithium Energi Inc., please view the Company's filings at www.SEDAR.com. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS "Chris Hobbs" ________________________ Chris Hobbs, Chief Financial Officer and Director FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Lithium Energi Inc. Tel: 416 276-6689 Email: chris.hobbs@lithiumenergi.com Arena Investors, LP Lindsay Jablonski Email: ljablonski@prosek.com Parag Shah Email: ir@arenaco.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release 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" 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. These forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions and estimates of management of the Company at the time such statements were made. Actual future results may differ materially as 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 materially differ from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors, among other things, include: the absence of material changes with respect to the Company and its businesses; conclusions of future economic evaluations; fluctuations in general macroeconomic conditions; fluctuations in securities markets; fluctuations in spot and forward prices of commodities; fluctuations in currency markets (such as the Canadian dollar to United States dollar exchange rate); change in national and local government, legislation, taxation, controls, regulations and political or economic developments; failure to close the Transactions contemplated by the terms of the definitive documentation with Arena or Triangle, or the other applicable parties; failure to close the Transactions, or any one of them, on the terms set out herein or at all; the use of proceeds; and receipt of all requisite approvals to the Transactions. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the Company believes, or believed at the time, to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure its shareholders that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking statements, as there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. 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 assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by law. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/158087 New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - March 10, 2023) - The law firm of Kirby McInerney LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on behalf of those who acquired PLDT Inc. ("PLDT" or the "Company") (NYSE: PHI) securities during the period from January 1, 2019 through December 19, 2022 (the "Class Period"). Investors have until April 7, 2023 to apply to the Court to be appointed as lead plaintiff in the lawsuit. PLDT is a telecommunications and digital services provider, which offers fixed line, wireless, and fiber optic communication technology services in The Philippines. On December 16, 2022, PLDT announced that it had overrun its budget by PHP 48 billion (equivalent to $866 million) for broadband and data projects over the past four years and that it was "undertaking a management reorganization process and has initiated improvements on its processes and systems to address weakness that allowed such budget overruns to occur." In response, the Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission launched an inquiry amid questions over the Company's corporate governance and fiscal control. On this news, the price of PLDT shares declined by $6.35, or approximately 23.69%, from $26.81 per share to close at $20.46 on December 19, 2022. The lawsuit alleges that, throughout the Class Period, Defendants issued materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) there were capital spending budget overruns; and (2) Defendants had failed to address weaknesses that allowed such budget overruns. If you purchased or otherwise acquired PLDT securities, have information, or would like to learn more about this lawsuit and how it might affect your rights, please contact Thomas W. Elrod of Kirby McInerney LLP by email at investigations@kmllp.com, or by filling out this contact form, to discuss your rights or interests with respect to these matters without any cost to you. Kirby McInerney LLP is a New York-based plaintiffs' law firm concentrating in securities, antitrust, whistleblower, and consumer litigation. The firm's efforts on behalf of shareholders in securities litigation have resulted in recoveries totaling billions of dollars. Additional information about the firm can be found at Kirby McInerney LLP's website: http://www.kmllp.com. This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules. Contacts Kirby McInerney LLP Thomas W. Elrod, Esq. 212-699-1180 https://www.kmllp.com investigations@kmllp.com To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/158119 Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 10, 2023) - ALX Resources Corp. (TSXV: AL) is pleased to announce that the company is presenting a live virtual corporate update hosted by Red Cloud Financial Services on March 13th, 2023 at 2:00 PM ET. We invite our shareholders, and all interested parties to register for the webinar and participate in the live Q&A session at the end of the presentation moderated by Red Cloud. The replay will be emailed out to all webinar registrants proceeding the event and will also be available on the Red Cloud website. For more information and to register: https://redcloudfs.com/rcwebinar-al-4/. Exploration for an Electric Future Commodities to be covered: Lithium and Uranium About ALX Resources Corp. ALX Resources Corp. is a junior explorer company born of discovery. In 2012, a predecessor company of ALX was a 50-50 partner with Fission Energy at Patterson Lake SK in the discovery of what is now known as the Triple R Uranium Deposit, and was acquired by Fission Uranium in late 2013 for $189.0 million. ALX is committed to that legacy and to the discovery of new mineral deposits by using the most advanced exploration tools available integrated with historical data. ALX is pursuing energy metals such as lithium, uranium and nickel, of which domestic supply is needed for the growing electrification of our society. About Red Cloud Financial Services Inc. Red Cloud Financial Services Inc. is a comprehensive capital markets platform that provides a full range of unconflicted corporate access and media related services. Offering these services as a unified platform provides the ultimate value proposition for junior resources companies in their efforts to broaden their capital markets presence. About Red Cloud Securities Inc. Red Cloud Securities Inc. is an IIROC-regulated investment dealer focused on providing unique comprehensive capital market services and innovative financing alternatives to the junior resource sector. The company was founded by capital markets professionals with extensive experience in the junior mining industry. For further information: ALX Resources Corp. Warren Stanyer 604-602-0293 wstanyer@alxresources.com For additional information contact marketing@redcloudfs.com or visit: www.redcloudfs.com www.facebook.com/RedCloudFinancialServices www.twitter.com/RedCloudFS www.linkedin.com/company/red-cloud-financial-services-inc www.youtube.com/c/RedCloudFinancialServicesInc www.instagram.com/redcloudfs Indra, a Great Malvern, UK-based company providing charging solutions for electric vehicles, raised over 20M in Series B funding. The round was led by Gulf Oil International Limited. The company intends to use the funds to expand the development of its technology in the bidirectional electric vehicle (EV) charging space, grow its customer base, increase revenue stream in UK and international markets and accelerate the development of its home EV charging hardware and technology platform. Led by CEO Adrian Moores, and CTO Mike Schooling, Indra provides bidirectional EV charging technology designed to help EV drivers save money and the planet by accessing low-carbon renewable energy to charge their EV batteries, and then use any surplus energy stored in their vehicle to power their home or sell back to the grid. Indra is providing a full-service home charging solution for Mobilize Power Solutions, part of the Renault Group, and for ElectriX, the new one-stop shop for EV ownership from LV= General Insurance. The company also has a partnership in place to supply the Smart PRO to Plug Me In, a leading nationwide expert in EV infrastructure and installation services. FinSMEs 09/03/2023 Neocol, a Guildford, UK and Chicago, IL- based company which helps subscription companies scale and grow, secured a round of funding with Salesforce Ventures. The amount of the deal was not disclosed. The company intends to use the funds to further enable its growth plans, grow its team, and deeper alignment with industry specific solutions and IP. Led by Ryan Lott, CEO, Neocol is a Salesforce CPQ & Billing, B2B Commerce, and Integration consulting Partner. It is a large pure-play Salesforce Summit (Platinum) partner and Level III / Expert Navigator specifically dedicated to the subscription economy. FinSMEs 09/03/2023 The good news is, Nokia shows aspiration. It looks like the company is willing to put up a tough fight against giants such as Samsung, Realme and Lenovo as far as tablets are concerned. And the latest T21 tablet is one step in the right direction. Inside the box Nokia T21 tablet Typc-C cable and 18W adapter SIM ejector tool User guide When the device gets booted up, a once-familiar ringtone runs in the background, transporting us to a nostalgic past. For those unfamiliar with the emotion, this tune from Nokia was quite literally an anthem for a whole generation of cellphone users, not so long ago. No smartphone company can match the joy of a Nokia device warming up. Period. A veteran in the cellphone industry and rightly so, Nokia, for many of us, has become a prized possession of the past. And I, for one, havent used a Nokia device in a decade at least. But, but, Nokia is not done yet. After struggling hard to re-establish a foothold in the cut-throat smartphone industry, Nokia is slowly getting back on its feet. With the new T21 tablet, they seem to have cracked the formula: no fake promises or tall claims. The tab benefits largely from this approach by keeping things simple and straightforward. The T21 is a decent follow-up to its predecessor, with a few improvisations. But at the same time, the tablet is a classic case of the device being good but not good enough. Ive been testing the device for two weeks and these are my thoughts: Design As far as the design is concerned, the T21 has an aluminum body (60% of which is recycled plastic antenna cover, according to Nokia) that feels sturdy in the hands. But there is a downside too: the matte finish on the back might get slippery. Clearly this is not a tab for someone who has butterfingers! It has the power button on the top right, while on the right-hand side are volume buttons. Theres a removable tray that has a slot for microSD and SIM cards (for the WiFi-4G) variant. The device I tested came without the SIM card slot. With the thickness of 7.5mm and weighing 471g, the T21 does feel a little heavy and comes only in one colour: charcoal grey. Something about this device reminded me of Samsung Galaxy Tab S8. Perhaps its the thin bezels. Unlike the Samsung tablets, you dont get a stylus included in the box. Nokia has made a few small improvements in the hardware when compared to its previous version the T20. Like the latter, the new tablet also comes with an IP52 rating. The T21 has two sets of stereo speakers on both ends of the tablet and has a provision for a 3.5mm headphone jack on the bottom. Thats a yay. Overall, the design is simple and sleek. Display and sound Nokia T21s display is definitely good for a mid-ranger. But not good enough. It has a 10.36-inch display with 2K resolution that offers brightness up to 360 nits, and is protected by toughened glass just like its predecessor. The 60Hz display is bright and fares fairly well indoors, though it gets tricky outdoors. I made a mistake by taking this tablet out on a bright Monday morning in Chennai. The device warmed up too quickly under the scorching Sun. So much so that at one point, the tablet was too hot to handle. You may not want to try doing it. Even in the indoor conditions, it feels like the display has this overpowering blue-ish tint that reminded me of the tacky display quality in Micromax products. This is hard to miss if you are reading something or just surfing on the internet. There is another catch: you can play only 720p videos, which is a bummer. In some cases, the tablet lets you play 1080p videos. But otherwise, it doesnt let you change the resolution on YouTube. The tablet supports HD streaming on Netflix, however, if you are someone who consumes a lot of videos, the T21s display and the video quality might make you want to look elsewhere. Hello, Samsung! The tablet comes with two sets of stereo speakers and the sound quality is decent. It gets loud for a room (can go up to 96dB) but not loud enough. When I tried changing the display from portrait to landscape to portrait again there was a macro-second lapse in the audio. A bug? Software and performance The T21 tablet is shipped with 4GB RAM with 64GB internal storage. Additionally, there is a provision for a microSD slot that allows you storage up to 512GB. Though the device works fine for basic operations, it does lag quite a bit, especially when multitasking and switching between apps. Sometimes the device takes its own sweet time to open apps such as Settings or even Files. This could perhaps be due to the hardware: Unisoc T612 octa-core processor is simply not powerful enough. At the same time, the T21s performance is not bad either. Playing performance-heavy games like Asphalt was a smooth-sailing experience. At the same time, the device gets buggy. There was one instance when I switched on the device, and it just froze after the Nokia logo appeared on the screen. The tablet currently runs on Android 12; Nokia promises that it will stand by you with a durable build but only for two years! For, the device will only receive two OS upgrades. This is not a dealbreaker, though. You wouldnt want to use the T21 for more than two years. Camera and face unlock The face unlock feature in T21 is fast and simply superb. It unlocks the device in a matter of macro seconds and comes handy in the absence of an in-display fingerprint scanner. Since the front-facing camera is on the right-hand side of the tablet, the face unlock feature is naturally more efficient in landscape mode. Speaking of cameras, the device has a front and rear camera of 8MP. It is hard to expect a decent set of photos from such a hardware system. The T21 tablet takes okay-ish photos in daylight conditions; the color reproduction is decent too. In low-light conditions, the camera takes a hit and the photos are too soft and washed out. If you look at the selfie, you will notice that the photo isnt sharp enough. Here are some of the photos I clicked: Battery This device is a battery monster and I say this, after testing it for two weeks, with the least bit of exaggeration. It is powered by a 8200 mAh battery and the T21 wont simply give up. I have been using it mostly for watching videos, some casual browsing, and occasionally playing Asphalt. The battery is one of the most impressive features of this device; Nokia guarantees a battery life of three days. I am not sure about that, but I did get a battery for two days, with a screen-on-time of 1012 hours. Having said that, the device gets warm a little too frequently, even while charging. Hopefully, an update should fix it. Whats the verdict? The good news is, Nokia shows aspiration. It looks like the company is willing to put up a tough fight against giants such as Samsung, Realme and Lenovo as far as tablets are concerned. If Nokia is serious about not giving up and can pool in the extra money for R&D, and a UI of its own, the company could well become a competition to Samsung in the budget segment. And Nokia T21 is one step in the right direction. The Wi-Fi version of Nokia T21 tablet is priced at 17,999, while the Wi-Fi+4G costs 18,999 in India. It is available from Amazon.in, Flipkart and Nokia.com online as well as retail stores, partner portals and leading outlets. Review by Srivatsan, an independent journalist who previously worked with The Hindu as a cinema-cum-feature writer, and has written for publications such as India Today, The Quint, The Federal and The News Minute. A gadget enthusiast, he is not guilty of bingeing on unboxing videos on YouTube. News editor's pick centerpiece featured Lawsuit seeks $420K, apology for historic site demolition STUART VILLANUEVA/The Daily News Charlesa Gary, president of the African American Historic Preservation Committee, holds a 1965 Lincoln High School yearbook under the two trees that marked the entrance to the Lincoln School Auditorium in Texas City on Thursday. The building was torn down last year after years of being vacant. STUART VILLANUEVA/The Daily News Charlesa Gary, president of the African American Historic Preservation Committee, displays a photo of the Lincoln School Auditorium in Texas City on Thursday, March 9, 2023. The building was torn down last year after years of being vacant. STUART VILLANUEVA/The Daily News file photo Demolition worker Jay Coronado sprays water as crews tear down the old Lincoln Auditorium on Carver Avenue in Texas City in August 2022. jenniferreynolds / JENNIFER REYNOLDS/The Daily News file photo Lincoln Auditorium, which was in the 6000 block of Carver Avenue in Texas City, was all that remained of Lincoln High School and Woodland Elementary School, which were the African American schools in Texas City before integration in the 1970s. The city demolished the old building in 2022. TEXAS CITY A legal battle is underway in Texas City after the city demolished a historic segregated school on a site formerly owned by a freed slave. The 1867 Settlement African American Historic Preservation Committee filed a lawsuit Jan. 11 against the city of Texas City and the state of Texas after the Aug. 3 demolition of the auditorium of the former Lincoln High School, 6006 Carver Ave. The auditorium was one of the last remaining buildings that was part of the original 1867 Settlement community, the only Reconstruction-era Black freedmans community in Galveston County. The auditorium was on land owned by 97-year-old Vera Bell-Gary, who inherited it from her great-grandfather, Calvin Bell, a freed slave who owned 230 acres in Texas City. It hurts my heart that this happened and the city would sneak around and tear it down, Bell-Gary said. It was my dream to have it preserved and utilized and people could remember the history. I worked at the high school for 37 years and the auditorium was used for many functions over the years. This was destruction of our heritage. I have lost respect for the mayor. They werent thinking about the hurt they caused in the community. I have a scar on my heart that I will take to the grave. The auditorium was in disrepair, dilapidated and posed a public safety hazard, the city previously said. In a news release Tuesday, Mayor Dedrick Johnson Sr. said the city is committed to preserving Black historical sites in Texas City. The citys commitment to African American history is evidenced by our preservation of the historic Bell Home and the installation of informational kiosks, outlining the history of the home and the 1867 Settlement Historic District, Johnson said. The city also purchased additional property and relocated some of our iconic cattle and steer sculptures to the Bell Home property to pay tribute to the Chisholm Trail. The city of Texas City has supported with both staff and resources many of the historically significant portions of our community. And we will continue to do so, in a manner that is consistent with values of safety and civic responsibility, as well as historic preservation. Our overriding priority is, and always will be, the health, safety and welfare of our residents. Charlesa Gary, president of the heritage committee, agrees the demolition was not racially motivated, but does believe the city didnt follow due process. It would be idiotic to believe that Mayor Johnson is trying to take away African American history, he is a man of color and the citys first Black mayor, she said. But he had no regard for the last standing black school on the mainland. We were disrespected and disregarded. I respected the administration enough to reach out for discussion on the property. They didnt do the same for us. The most upsetting part is that the mayor pro-tem is an alumna of the school, and she hasnt even thought enough to reach out to us. Im just disappointed all the way around. Johnson said the structure was unoccupied and has been abandoned for at least 12 years and that no permits have been filed for repair, renovation or restoration of the structure in 30 years. Texas City is committed to being one of the cleanest, safest and most beautiful cities in the greater Houston-Galveston area, Johnson said. One of the many ways we do that is by abating old, dilapidated, substandard structures that do not comply with the citys ordinances and building codes. In the lawsuit, the city notified the committee that on July 29 it had until Aug. 8 to contact the code enforcement office. On Aug. 1, the city filed a notice of ordinance violation, and demolition began Aug. 3, despite the deadline, according to the lawsuit. The state of Texas filed a motion for emergency abatement, initiated by a petition for abatement and removal of a public nuisance, but the committee was not given a citation or a hearing before the municipal court, according to the lawsuit. The emergency order for abatement, filed Aug. 3, stated the structure was substandard, has structural defects and was a nuisance, and the municipal court ordered the abatement. On Oct. 14, the city asserted the committee owed it $86,176 from the cost of the abatement, according to the lawsuit. Keeping the city beautiful by demolishing buildings is a subjective determination, Ralph P. Manginello, the committees attorney, said. The inspections of the property were done visually by the fire marshall with no actual tests conducted, he said. The committee was in the process of doing the repairs the city requested and communicating with the mayor, but he must not have liked the speed of it and destroyed the property. This is a constitutional violation, and the city owes compensation. They should work with Vera and the committee to build a new community center to pay homage to the history and culture of the Black community. We want to put an end to the citys practice of building demolitions. We also think the mayor owes an apology. The Bell family has contributed more to Texas City than Mayor Johnson can ever dream of contributing. The committee is seeking from the city $420,000, the assessed fair market value for the structure, Manginello said. A status conference in the case is set for April 13 in the 405th District Court, with Judge Jared Robinson presiding. The state is represented by Zachary L. Rhines from the Attorney Generals Office and the city of Texas City is represented by Kyle L. Dickson of Murray-Lobb Attorneys. Lebanon firefighters responded to a garage fire on Porter Street early Friday morning, March 10. A 20-by-30-foot detached garage had heavy flames exiting the building, according to a Lebanon Fire District news release. To reach the fire, firefighters had to navigate through multiple abandoned vehicles and discarded belongings. The Fire District responded with one truck company, two engines, a medic unit, one heavy rescue, one pump-tender, a rehab unit for firefighters, four officers and assistance from the Linn County Sheriff's Office. It took a little more than an hour to extinguish the flames, and no injuries were reported. Firefighters remained on scene, trying to access hotspots but were hampered by pianos and belongings inside the building. Firefighters cleared the scene just before 4 a.m. Friday. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. SAN FRANCISCO, March 09, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hagens Berman urges Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE: CS, CSGKF) investors who suffered substantial losses to submit your losses now. Class Period: Dec. 1, 2022 Feb. 17, 2023 Lead Plaintiff Deadline: May 8, 2023 Visit: www.hbsslaw.com/investor-fraud/CS Contact An Attorney Now: CS@hbsslaw.com 844-916-0895 Credit Suisse Group AG (CS, CSGKF) Securities Fraud Class Action: The litigation focuses on Credit Suisses statements about its liquidity and overall financial condition. On Dec. 1, 2022, the companys Chairman (Axel P. Lehmann) assured investors during an interview with the Financial Times that customer outflows not only completely flattened out but also that outflows had partially reversed. The next day, Lehmann reassured investors in an interview with Bloomberg Television when he said that, as of Nov. 11, 2022, customer outflows had basically stopped. The complaint alleges that Defendants made false or misleading statements and failed to disclose that: (1) contrary to statements by Lehmann, the sharp increase in customer outflows Credit Suisse began experiencing in Oct. 2022 remained ongoing; (2) accordingly, the company downplayed the impact of its recent series of quarterly losses and risk and compliance failures on its liquidity and client retention ability; and (3) as a result, Credit Suisse overstated its financial position and prospects. Investors began to learn the truth on Feb. 9, 2023, when Credit Suisse announced its 2022 financial results that revealed large customer outflows continued through year-end 2022. During the final 3 months of 2022, outflows totaled 110.5 billion Swiss francs, or about $119.65 billion, an amount that far exceeded investor expectations. Then, on Feb. 21, 2023, Reuters reported that Swiss regulators are investigating whether remarks by Lehmann about customer outflows having stabilized were potentially misleading. These events have driven the price of Credit Suisse American Depositary Receipts sharply lower. Were focused on investors losses and proving Credit Suisse lied about the magnitude of customer outflows in an effort to slow an apparent run-on-the-bank, said Reed Kathrein, the Hagens Berman partner leading the investigation. If you invested in Credit Suisse and have substantial losses, or have knowledge that may assist the firms investigation, click here to discuss your legal rights with Hagens Berman. Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding Credit Suisse should consider their options to help in the investigation or take advantage of the SEC Whistleblower program. Under the new program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC. For more information, call Reed Kathrein at 844-916-0895 or email CS@hbsslaw.com. About Hagens Berman Hagens Berman is a global plaintiffs rights complex litigation law firm focusing on corporate accountability through class-action law. The firm is home to a robust securities litigation practice and represents investors as well as whistleblowers, workers, consumers and others in cases achieving real results for those harmed by corporate negligence and fraud. More about the firm and its successes can be found at hbsslaw.com. Follow the firm for updates and news at @ClassActionLaw. Newark, New Castle, USA, March 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Invasive Fungal Infection Therapeutics Market Size Worth US$ 10.36 billion With CAGR of 4.10% from 2022 to 2030 As per the report published by Growth Plus Reports the Global Invasive Fungal Infection Therapeutics Market was estimated at US$ 7.21 billion in 2021 and is expected to surpass a valuation of US$ 10.36 billion by 2030, progressing at a CAGR of 4.10% from 2022 to 2030. The report provides a detailed analysis of top winning strategies, drivers & opportunities, competitive scenario, wavering market trends, market size, statistics & estimations, and major investment pockets. The rising incidence of invasive fungal infections is due to the increasing number of immunocompromised patients. The growing prevalence of chronic diseases is a prominent trend observed in the global invasive fungal infections therapeutics market. Request Free Sample Copy of the Research Report: https://www.growthplusreports.com/inquiry/request-sample/invasive-fungal-infection-therapeutics-market/8188 Invasive Fungal Infection Therapeutics Market Scope Report Attribute Details Market size value in 2021 US$ 7.21 billion Revenue forecast in 2030 US$ 10.36 billion Growth Rate CAGR of 4.10% from 2022 to 2030 Base year for estimation 2021 Forecast period 2022-2030 Historical Year 2020 Segments covered Drug Type, Disease Type, and Region Regional scope North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Rest of the World (ROW) The market is also characterized by the growing demand for novel and more effective antifungal treatments. This is supported by the emergence of new and more virulent fungal strains. Moreover, there is also an increase in funding and research activities aimed at development of better diagnostic and treatment options for invasive fungal infections. There is also an increasing focus on the development of immunotherapies for the prevention of invasive fungal infections. Expansion of healthcare infrastructure in developing countries is also increasing access to treatment options for invasive fungal infections. Overall, the global invasive fungal infections therapeutics market is expected to continue to grow due to the increasing prevalence of invasive fungal infections, and the growing demand for more effective diagnostic and treatment options. The number of pipeline drugs is expected to increase the global invasive fungal infection therapeutics market. For instance, the PC945 drug by Pulmocide Ltd. is in Phase 3 clinical trials. PC945 is a brand-new triazole antifungal medication with effective CYP51 inhibition that is intended to be inhaled for high local lung concentrations and minimal systemic exposure. In contrast to conventional therapies, PC945 is inhaled into the lung and is intended to remain there and treat the infection, therefore, it may help treat people infected with aspergillus fumigatus. The global invasive fungal infection therapeutics market has been analyzed from three perspectives: Drug Type, Disease Type, and Region. Excerpts from by Drug Type According to drug type, the global invasive fungal infection therapeutics market is grouped into: Polyenes Echinocandins Triazoles Flucytosine Others The triazoles segment has the majority of the market share. The advantages offered by triazole, such as it provides enhanced absorption and distribution, are influencing segment growth. Furthermore, triazole antifungals have become standard treatments and preventative measures for several systemic mycoses. The drug is highly demanded by patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and chemotherapy. Request for Customization https://www.growthplusreports.com/inquiry/customization/invasive-fungal-infection-therapeutics-market/8188 Excerpts from by Disease Type According to disease type, the global invasive fungal infection therapeutics market is segmented into: Invasive Aspergillosis Coccidioidomycosis Scedosporiosis Candidaemia And Invasive Candidiasis Cryptococcal Meningitis Intra-Abdominal Candidiasis Mucormycosis Invasive Rhinosinusitis Others (Esophageal Candidiasis, Acute Pulmonary Histoplasmosis) The invasive candidiasis segment is currently leading the market. The prevalence of invasive candidiasis is increasing segment growth. Furthermore, as organ transplant is trending, the rate of fungal infection is increasing, which is attributed to the extensive use of immunosuppressors. Excerpts from By Region Regionally, the global invasive fungal infection therapeutics market has been segmented into: North America Europe Asia Pacific Rest of the World North America has dominated the market, followed by Europe and Asia Pacific. The factors supporting the growth of North America are rising healthcare standards, and the increasing prevalence of fungal diseases. Further, the presence of majority of market players in the region also influences the market potential. The European region is increasing as high prevalence is noted. Furthermore, market player in this region is involved in developing novel therapeutics. The Asia Pacific region for invasive fungal infection therapeutics is impacted by factors such as increasing illness prevalence, increased awareness, and high R&D spending. In the Asia Pacific area, Japan has dominated the market. Excerpts from Competitive Landscape Some of the prominent players operating in the global invasive fungal infection therapeutics market are: Abbott Laboratories Inc. Cidara Therapeutics Inc. Basilea Pharmaceutical Pfizer Inc. Astellas Pharma Inc. GSK plc Merck & Co. Bayer AG F2G Ltd. Scynexis, Inc. Pulmocide Ltd. Table of Content INTRODUCTION Market Ecosystem Timeline Under Consideration Historical Years 2020 Base Year 2021 Forecast Years 2022 to 2030 Currency Used in the Report RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Research Approach Data Collection Methodology Data Sources Secondary Sources Primary Sources Market Estimation Approach Bottom Up Top Down Market Forecasting Model Limitations and Assumptions PREMIUM INSIGHTS Current Market Trend (COVID-19 Perspective) Key Players & Competitive Positioning (2021) MARKET DYNAMICS Drivers Restraints Opportunities GLOBAL INVASIVE FUNGAL INFECTION THERAPEUTICS MARKET - ANALYSIS & FORECAST, BY DRUG TYPE Polyenes Echinocandins Triazoles Flucytosine Others TOC Continued Buy this Premium Research Report: https://www.growthplusreports.com/checkout-8188 VALUE PROPOSITIONS RELATED TO THE REPORT: Powered with Complimentary Analyst Hours and Expert Interviews with Each Report Comprehensive quantitative and qualitative insights at segment and sub-segment level Covid 19 impact trends and perspective Granular insights at global/regional/country level Deep-rooted insights on market dynamics (drivers, restraints, opportunities) and business environment Blanket coverage on competitive landscape Winning imperatives Exhaustive coverage on 'Strategic Developments' registered by leading players of the market CUSTOMIZATION OPTIONS: Distributor Landscape Assessment Pricing Intelligence Customer Base Assessment Investment & Initiatives Analysis 'Business Profile' of Key Players Schedule a call with our analyst: https://appoint.ly/s/salesZ3Jvd3RocGx1c3JlcG9ydHMuY29t/introduction Visit our report store at - https://www.growthplusreports.com/report-store Browse related reports: Gastroenteropancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumor Market by Product (Somatostatin Analogs, Targeted Therapy, Chemotherapy, Others), End-user (Hospitals, Ambulatory Surgical Centers, Cancer Centers) Global Outlook & Forecast 2023-2031 Cytogenetics Market by Product (Instruments, Consumables), Application (Genetic Disorders, Oncology) Techniques (Comparative Genomic Hybridization) End-user (Clinical & Research Laboratories) Global Outlook & Forecast 2023-2031 Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS) Market by Product (Standalone CDSS, Integrated CPOE with CDSS), Application (Drug-drug Interactions, Drug Allergy Alerts), Delivery Mode (Web Delivery, Cloud Delivery), Component (Hardware, Software, Services) Global Outlook & Forecast 2023-2031 Clinical Alarm Management Market by Component (Solutions, Services), Product (Nurse Cell Systems, Physiological Monitors) End-user (Hospital Pharmacies, Retail Pharmacies) Global Outlook & Forecast 2023-2031 Cancer Registry Software Market by Type (Standalone, Integration), Database (Commercial, Public), Functionality (Cancer Reporting, Patient Care), Delivery (On-premise, Cloud), End-user (Private Payers, Research Centers) Global Outlook & Forecast 2023-2031 About Us: Growth Plus Reports is part of GRG Health, a global healthcare knowledge service company. We are proud members of EPhMRA (European Pharmaceutical Marketing Research Association). Growth Plus portfolio of services draws on our core capabilities of secondary & primary research, market modelling & forecasting, benchmarking, analysis and strategy formulation to help clients create scalable, ground-breaking solutions that prepare them for future growth and success. We were awarded by the prestigious CEO Magazine as "Most Innovative Healthcare Market Research Company in 2020. Luton, Bedfordshire, United Kingdom, March 10, 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 Precision Guided Munition Market. The global precision guided munition market size is estimated to be valued at USD 28.92 billion in 2020 and is projected to reach USD 45.25 billion by 2029, recording a CAGR of 5.1%. The market for precision guided munitions is poised to grow as a result of a consistent rise in defense budgets worldwide and the need for advanced weaponry to counter modern combat scenarios at national borders. Another key driver of the market is the growing number of conflicts and high levels of defense spending globally. Several governments, including those of the US, China, India, and Russia, are investing heavily in modernizing their military capabilities, leading to an increasing number of weapon manufacturers shifting their focus towards the development of precision guided munitions. Nonetheless, the integration of missiles presents a challenge to the growth of the precision guided munitions market. Industry Developments In 2021, Boeing was awarded a contract by the US Department of Defense for JADM munition for the US Navy. In 2020, The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) awarded a USD 239.1 million modification contract for 6 lots of StromBreaker to Raytheon Technologies RTX Missiles and Defense unit. In 2019, BAE Systems was awarded a contract worth USD 2.68 billion by the US Navy for the indefinite delivery and quantity purchase of APKWS laser-guided bombs. Get a Full PDF Sample Copy of the Report: (Including Full TOC, List of Tables & Figures, and Chart) https://exactitudeconsultancy.com/reports/5124/precision-guided-munition-market/#request-a-sample Drivers and Restraints Factor: Increasing demand for precision guided munitions to minimize collateral damage The majority of nations abide by the Law of Armed Conflicts (LOAC) and endeavor to limit collateral damage, which encompasses the inadvertent destruction of civilian items and casualties. Circular Error Probability (CEP) measures the precision of weapons, and precision-guided munitions possess lower CEP, which is essential in minimizing collateral damage and civilian casualties. Regardless of whether it is a low-intensity conflict operation such as counter-insurgency and counterterrorism or a high-intensity conventional conflict, casualties have significant implications in terms of public opinion and policies. In today's digital era, precision-guided munitions aid in making better decisions and reducing collateral damage, thus avoiding casualties in the aftermath. Moreover, precision-guided munitions effectively neutralize threats as targets on battlefields are dispersed, mobile, and maneuverable. The nature of warfare has shifted from conventional border-to-border engagements to urban-centric warfare, making precision strikes crucial for providing indirect fire capability in complex terrains where low-angle fire is required to neutralize targets. The rising utilization of satellite networks, navigation aids, and drones to eliminate high-value and distant targets is a key factor driving the demand for precision-guided munitions. Stringent regulations related to arms transfer State-owned defense organizations must comply with federal and legislative rules and regulations, including import-export control regimes, exchange controls, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and the Export Administration Act. In many countries, munition manufacturers are prohibited from exporting their products, limiting their ability to serve international customers and hindering their access to global markets. The issue of transferring technologies and weapons has been exacerbated by terrorist organizations gaining access to advanced weaponry such as anti-tank guided weapons and advanced land mines. As a result, there are strict controls on the transfer of technologies and weapons to other nations, which acts as a hindrance to the growth of the Precision Guided Munition Market. Report Attribute Details Precision Guided Munition Market size value in 2022 USD 28.92 billion Revenue forecast in 2029 USD 45.25 billion Market Growth rate CAGR of 5.1% from 2023 to 2029 Base year for estimation 2022 Historical data 2018 - 2021 Forecast period 2023 - 2029 Quantitative units Revenue in USD Million, volume in units, CAGR from 2022 to 2029 Report coverage Revenue forecast, company ranking, competitive landscape, growth factors, trends Segments covered By Type; By Application and By Region Regional scope North America; Europe; Asia Pacific; Latin America; MEA Country scope U.S.; Canada; Mexico; U.K.; Germany; France; Italy; Russia; China; South Korea; India; Brazil; Argentina; Saudi Arabia; Iran Key companies profiled Lockheed Martin Corporation, BAE Systems Plc, Raytheon, MBDA, Israel Aerospace Industries, Elbit Systems Ltd, Saab AB, General Dynamics Corporation, Northrop Grumman and Rheinmetall AG. Customization scope Free report customization with purchase. Addition or alteration to country, regional & segment scope. Request Free sample pages to learn more about this Precision Guided Munition Market report. Companies Covered in Precision Guided Munition Market Report: Lockheed Martin Corporation BAE Systems Plc Raytheon MBDA Israel Aerospace Industries Elbit Systems Ltd Saab AB General Dynamics Corporation Northrop Grumman Rheinmetall AG. Report Benefits Develop business strategies by understanding the trends shaping and driving the Market. Drive revenues by understanding the key trends, innovative products and technologies, market segments, and companies likely to impact the Precision Guided Munition Market in the future. Formulate effective sales and marketing strategies by understanding the competitive landscape and by analyzing the company share of Precision Guided Munition Market leaders. Identify emerging players with potentially strong product portfolios and create effective counter-strategies to gain a competitive advantage. Track sales in the global and country-specific Market. Organize your sales and marketing efforts by identifying the market categories and segments that present maximum opportunities for consolidations, investments and strategic partnerships. Browse Full Premium Report | Precision Guided Munition Market Analysis with Strategic Developments https://exactitudeconsultancy.com/reports/5124/precision-guided-munition-market/#report-outlook Regional Insights In 2021, Asia Pacific held the largest revenue share of the global precision-guided munition market, accounting for over 31%, and is projected to continue this trend with the fastest CAGR over the forecast period. The region's major players in tactical warfare include China, South Korea, India, North Korea, Pakistan, and Japan. The increasing tensions between countries in the region and the need to strengthen their defense capabilities are expected to drive the demand for precision-guided munitions. India, for example, has enhanced its missile capabilities with the addition of advanced missiles such as Prithvi, Agni, and Brahmos due to its ongoing conflict with Pakistan. Technological advancements and collaborations with foreign defense departments for modern war equipment are also expected to increase the penetration of guided weapons. The ongoing conflict between Iran and the U.S. has resulted in enhancements in the military operations of both countries, leading to an increased demand for precision-guided munitions in the near future. The U.S. military's strong research and development capabilities have led to the development of long-range missiles and rockets with precision targeting capabilities. In Europe, the presence of prominent manufacturers and high investments in military operations by economies such as the U.K., Germany, France, Italy, and Russia are anticipated to boost the regional market. Military developments in Russia are also expected to lead to the development of improved artillery and missiles, further driving the demand for precision-guided munitions in the region Key Market Segments: Precision guided munition Market By Type Air-To-Air Water Source Geothermal By Application Residential Industrial Commercial By Regions North America Europe Asia Pacific South America Middle East and Africa Frequently Asked Questions About This Report How big is the Precision Guided Munition Market? What is the Precision Guided Munition Market growth? Which segment accounted for the largest Precision Guided Munition Market share? Who are the key players in the Precision Guided Munition Market? What are the factors driving the Precision Guided Munition Market? Discover more research Reports: Military Wearables Market by Technology (Communication & Computing, Connectivity, Navigation, Vision & Surveillance, Exoskeleton, Monitoring, Power & Energy Management and Smart Textiles), End User (Land Forces, Airborne Forces and Naval Forces), and Wearable Type (Headwear, Eyewear, Wristwear, Bodywear and Hearables), Region (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa), Global trends and forecast from 2023 to 2029 - Get more information on this report: Request Sample Pages Precision Guided Munition Market by Product (Tactical Missile, Guided Rockets), Technology (Infrared, Inertial), by Region (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa), Global Trends and Forecast from 2023 to 2029 - Get more information on this report: Request Sample Pages 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. Contact us for your special interest research needs at sales@exactitudeconsultancy.com and we will get in touch with you within 24hrs and help you find the market research report you need. SINGAPORE, March 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Jinping (Singapore) Mining Pte. Ltd. (Jinping) announces the completion of the following transaction (the Transaction). Jinping, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Zijin Mining Group Co., Ltd. (Zijin), acquired via private placement 179,116,132 ordinary shares (the Xanadu Shares) in the capital of Xanadu Mines Ltd. (Xanadu) for an agreed consideration of A$7,164,645.28 (A$0.04 per share) (the Phase II Placement). Based on the exchange rate of A$1:C$0.9114 on March 9, 2023, the consideration in Canadian dollars is C$6,529,857.71. The Phase II Placement occurred pursuant to a subscription agreement entered into on 21 December 2022 between Xanadu, Jinping and Zijin (the Subscription Agreement). As a result of the Phase II Placement, Jinping now holds 318,116,132 Xanadu Shares (representing 19.42% of the issued and outstanding Xanadu Shares). Prior to the completion of the Phase II Placement, Jinping held 139,000,000 Xanadu Shares (representing 9.53% of the issued and outstanding Xanadu Shares) (the Phase I Placement Shares). Pursuant to the Subscription Agreement, Jinping has the right to nominate one director to the board of Xanadu for so long as Jinping holds voting power of not less than 10% in Xanadu. Pursuant to a subscription agreement dated 19 April 2022 between Xanadu, Jinping and Zijin in relation to Jinpings subscription for the Phase I Placement Shares, Jinping continues to have a limited and conditional participation right in future capital raisings of Xanadu for so long as Jinpings shareholding interest in Xanadu is not less than 5%. In addition to the Phase II Placement, Jinping and Zijin also entered into a share subscription agreement with the Xanadu and Khuiten Metals Pte. Ltd. (Khuiten Metals) (which indirectly holds 76.5% of the rights, title and interest in Xanadus flagship Kharmagtai Copper-Gold Project in Mongolia (the Project)) pursuant to which Jinping subscribed for 50% of the shares of Khuiten Metals (the Khuiten Metals Shares) in consideration of US$35 million. Jinping acquired the Khuiten Metals Shares on March 10, 2023 (the Commencement Date). Khuiten Metals, Jinping and Xanadu previously entered into a joint venture shareholders agreement dated 21 December, 2022 in respect of a 50/50 joint venture (the Khuiten JV) that was later formed on the Commencement Date. The intention of the Khuiten JV is to enable the parties to work co-operatively to fund the exploration, development and operations of the Project. Neither Jinping nor Zijin have any current intention to increase or decrease its beneficial ownership over any additional securities of Xanadu. The head office address for Xanadu Mines Ltd. is Level 12, 680 George Street, Sydney, NSW 2000 Australia. Jinpings office address is 6 Temasek Boulevard, #41-02/03 Suntec Tower Four, Singapore (038986). A copy of Jinpings early warning report will be filed on Xanadu's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. For further information concerning the Transaction, please contact Robin Wang, Director of Jinping at (65) 6992 8559 or by email addressed to wang.chao@zijinmining.com. U.S. neighborhoods with more people of color suffer worse air pollution: The Guardian Xinhua) 10:02, March 10, 2023 LONDON, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Across the United States, people of color are often the ones forced to live with the nation's worst fine particle air pollution, British newspaper The Guardian has reported. An analysis, based on a model created by a team of researchers at institutions including the University of Washington, shows that the more people of color who live in a neighborhood, the higher the fine particulate air pollution levels are likely to be, according to the report published Wednesday. "In our society, people of color are given the least value," professor Robert Bullard from Texas Southern University, who helped to start the environmental justice movement, was quoted as saying. "The underlying variable that is most predictive is systemic racism," he said. While the Clean Air Act has prompted steady improvement in air quality around the United States in the last five decades, studies have shown that a wide gap persists in air pollution levels suffered by people of different races, the report said. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan) Detroit, Michigan, March 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions, Inc., (the Company) (OTCPK:AITX), a global leader in AI-driven security and productivity solutions for enterprise clients along with its wholly owned subsidiary, Robotic Assistance Devices, Inc. (RAD), today announced the successful deployment of multiple ROSA security robots. The end-user for this deployment is a large regional hospital group that is part of a health group with over 600 locations. This order was facilitated through one of the Companys largest dealers. Eight ROSA units comprising this phase of the deployment have been configured as dual-unit ROSA-P devices in addition to one standard ROSA. ROSA-P is one of the recent additions to the ROSA lineup that uses existing light poles as its primary power source whether or not the light is centrally controlled. The critical feature of this deployment is the inclusion of the RAD Light My Way platform. This unique patent-pending solution was the basis for the clients purchase decision. Parking lots are the third most common place for assaults, abductions, and homicides, according to recent FBI data. A survey by the International Association for Healthcare Security and Safety group found that nearly 70% of armed robberies and 56% of rape incidents of health care workers occurred in parking and adjacent areas. "This is by far the most meaningful and personally satisfying of our hundreds of deployments, said Steve Reinharz, CEO of AITX and RAD. "While speaking with administrators at another healthcare facility years ago the idea for RAD Light My Way was born. The nursing staff at that facility expressed their unease about walking alone to and from their cars during night shifts. This deployment is evidence that the idea had merit, and can provide much needed peace of mind, while improving security for these essential workers. Reinharz added, I have never seen security and facility professionals this excited, and so grateful for a solution to their problems. Soon thousands of the hospitals staff will be enrolled in RAD Light My Way, making this RADs largest deployment to date. ROSA is a multiple award-winning, compact, self-contained, portable, security and communication solution that can be deployed in about 15 minutes. Like other RAD solutions, it only requires power as it includes all necessary communications hardware. ROSAs AI-driven security analytics include human, firearm, vehicle detection, license plate recognition, responsive digital signage and audio messaging, and complete integration with RADs software suite notification and autonomous response library. Two-way communication is optimized for cellular, including live video from ROSAs dual high-resolution, full-color, always-on cameras. RAD has published three Case Studies detailing how ROSA has helped eliminate instances of theft, trespassing and loitering at car rental locations and construction sites across the country. RAD Light My Way has been named the recipient of two Secure Campus 2022 Awards from Campus Security & Life Safety Magazine. In October 2021 RAD Light My Way along with RAD's ROSA won CBREs 2021 Best Workplace Experience Solution Award. AITX, through its subsidiary, Robotic Assistance Devices, Inc. (RAD), is redefining the $25 billion (US) security and guarding services industry through its broad lineup of innovative, AI-driven Solutions-as-a-Service business model. RAD solutions are specifically designed to provide a cost savings to businesses of between 35%-80% when compared to the industrys existing and costly manned security guarding and monitoring model. RAD delivers this tremendous costs savings via a suite of stationary and mobile robotic solutions that complement, and at times, directly replace the need for human personnel in environments better suited for machines. All RAD technologies, AI-based analytics and software platforms are developed in-house. RAD has a prospective sales pipeline of over 35 Fortune 500 companies and numerous other client opportunities. RAD expects to continue to attract new business as it converts its existing sales opportunities into deployed clients generating a recurring revenue stream. Each Fortune 500 client has the potential of making numerous reorders over time. CAUTIONARY DISCLOSURE ABOUT FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS The information contained in this publication does not constitute an offer to sell or solicit an offer to buy securities of Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions, Inc. (the "Company"). This publication contains forward-looking statements, which are not guarantees of future performance and may involve subjective judgment and analysis. The information provided herein is believed to be accurate and reliable, however the Company makes no representations or warranties, expressed or implied, as to its accuracy or completeness. The Company has no obligation to provide the recipient with additional updated information. No information in this publication should be interpreted as any indication whatsoever of the Company's future revenues, results of operations, or stock price. About Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions (AITX) AITX is an innovator in the delivery of artificial intelligence-based solutions that empower organizations to gain new insight, solve complex challenges and fuel new business ideas. Through its next-generation robotic product offerings, AITXs RAD, RAD-M and RAD-G companies help organizations streamline operations, increase ROI, and strengthen business. AITX technology improves the simplicity and economics of patrolling and guard services and allows experienced personnel to focus on more strategic tasks. Customers augment the capabilities of existing staffs and gain higher levels of situational awareness, all at drastically reduced cost. AITX solutions are well suited for use in multiple industries such as enterprises, government, transportation, critical infrastructure, education, and healthcare. To learn more, visit www.aitx.ai, www.stevereinharz.com, www.radsecurity.com , www.radgroup.ai, and www.radlightmyway.com, or follow Steve Reinharz on Twitter @SteveReinharz . ### Steve Reinharz 949-636-7060 @SteveReinharz Attachment TORONTO, March 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Xanadu Mines Ltd (ASX: XAM, TSX: XAM) (Xanadu or the Company) is pleased to announce the completion on 10 March 2023 of Phase 2 and Phase 3 of its Strategic Partnership with Zijin Mining Group Co., Ltd. (Zijin). This provides crucial funding for the Companys flagship Kharmagtai Copper-Gold Project (Kharmagtai) through the next phase of project evaluation and exploration, leading to formal Decision to Mine. It will also provide funding to Xanadu for activities outside of Kharmagtai such as our second project at Red Mountain. Xanadu also announces the appointment of Mr Shaoyang Shen as a non-executive director, having been nominated by Zijin in accordance with the Phase 2 Share Subscription Agreement. Highlights Completed A$7.164,645.28 million placement for 179,116,132 Xanadu shares at $0.04 per share, a 33% premium on the latest market close price, increasing Zijin shareholding to 19.42% of Xanadu. US$35 million invested directly into the Kharmagtai project creating a 50/50 Joint Venture (JV) at the project level. Kharmagtai Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) and Discovery Exploration have now commenced, with data acquisition drilling underway. PFS will evaluate growth-focussed opportunities in Mining & Processing Technologies and higher-grade focussed Discovery Exploration, aimed at materially upgrading the base case Scoping Study 1 . Xanadu is Operator of the JV with an 18-month plan to complete the PFS (upon which operatorship will pass to Zijin). Post PFS, Xanadu has options to a) independently fund its share of construction, b) sell its 50% share of the JV to Zijin for US$50M, or c) sell half its share of the JV (25%) to Zijin for US$25M plus a zero cash loan carry for the remaining 25% to commercial production 1 . New, highly experienced non-executive Director appointed to Xanadus Board Upcoming near term announcements will outline detailed Kharmagtai PFS program of work, targeting value enhancement, Resource Definition Drilling and Discovery Exploration. Xanadus Executive Chairman & Managing Director, Colin Moorhead said, We are pleased to have money in the bank and PFS activities underway. We have already started working successfully with our partners at Zijin and with Mr Shen our new Director, who are fully aligned with our goal for Kharmagtai to realise its potential as globally significant copper-gold project. We expect to provide regular updates and news-flow through the next 18-month PFS period. Strategic Partnership The strategic partnership2 included three phases of investment. The first phase (Phase 1 Placement) was completed on 27 April 2022, raising A$5.56 million via a subscription by Zijin to 139 million fully paid ordinary shares in Xanadu at A$0.04 per share to provide Zijin with a 9.9% shareholding in the Company. The two subsequent phases were completed on 10 March 2023 and included a second placement of ordinary shares at A$0.04 per share to increase Zijins total shareholding in the Company to 19.42% (Phase 2 Placement) and the creation of a 50/50 Joint Venture in Khuiten Metals Pte. Ltd., the entity currently 100% owned by Xanadu that holds a 76.5% effective interest in Kharmagtai (Phase 3 JV), for a cash investment of US$35 million. Following the 18 month PFS, Xanadu has the option to fund its share of construction, sell its 50% of the Phase 3 JV to Zijin for US$50 million or sell half of its share of the Phase 3 JV (25%) to Zijin for US$25 million plus a loan carry for Xanadus remaining share of costs until commercial production. PFS to Evaluate Upside in Scoping Study The 2022 Scoping Study3 confirmed Kharmagtai as a potential world class, low cost, long life mine with an estimated 20% IRR (range 16-25%), US$630 million NPV at 8% (range US$ 405-850 million) and 4-year payback (range 4-7 years) over 30 year mine life. This included first quartile all in sustaining costs and projected production ranges from 30-50ktpa copper and 50-110kozpa gold production during the first five years. It is based on a JORC Compliant Mineral Resource of 1.1 billion tonnes containing 3 million tonnes of copper, 8 million tonnes of gold and 100 million tonnes of higher grade zones at > 0.8% copper equivalent grade. The Scoping Study outlined a conventional, low technical complexity open pit and process plant with low 0.9:1 strip ratio for the first five years. However, it also identified growth-focussed upside opportunities which could materially upgrade the economics of the project, all of which will be investigated during the PFS: Oxide Processing: Top 20-30 metres of partially oxidised mineralisation cannot be processed through flotation and is conservatively treated as waste in the Scoping Study. The PFS will evaluate the use of glycine-cyanide leach technology to convert this pre-strip waste into cash generating ore. Top 20-30 metres of partially oxidised mineralisation cannot be processed through flotation and is conservatively treated as waste in the Scoping Study. The PFS will evaluate the use of glycine-cyanide leach technology to convert this pre-strip waste into cash generating ore. Mining Technology: Use of electrified haulage and in-pit crush & convey technology could significantly reduce mining costs as well as Scope 1 emissions. This has the potential to deepen and extend current pit shells, incorporating additional, deep zones of high-grade ore, adding to the valuation and enhancing life of the mine. Use of electrified haulage and in-pit crush & convey technology could significantly reduce mining costs as well as Scope 1 emissions. This has the potential to deepen and extend current pit shells, incorporating additional, deep zones of high-grade ore, adding to the valuation and enhancing life of the mine. Processing Technology: PFS will evaluate coarse ore flotation and beneficiation technologies, targeted at reducing energy requirements and operating cost per tonne of ore processed. PFS will evaluate coarse ore flotation and beneficiation technologies, targeted at reducing energy requirements and operating cost per tonne of ore processed. Exploration Drilling: Kharmagtai Mineral Resource remains open at depth and along strike. Deeper drilling at Stockwork Hill completed after the 2021 Mineral Resource has already confirmed continuation of the higher-grade bornite mineralisation at depth. There is also significant potential to grow White Hill Resource and new discoveries across the tenement. These will be investigated as a matter of priority and could prove transformational for Kharmagtai project economics. During the PFS, Xanadu and its partner Zijin will complete all major project trade-off decisions and refine capital and operating cost estimates to +/-15-25%, leading to selection of a single go-forward option for final engineering and construction. With the study and inclusion of upside opportunities above, Xanadu and Zijin are targeting a real and sustained uplift relative to the Scoping Study economics. Xanadu is operator of the joint venture during the PFS delivery period of 18 months, after which Zijin will become operator for final engineering, construction and operation stages of the project. Appointment of Non-Executive Director Mr Shaoyang Shen has been appointed as a non-executive director of Xanadu, having been nominated by Zijin in accordance with the Phase 2 Share Subscription Agreement. Mr Shaoyang Shen is the Deputy President for Corporate Development & Overseas Operations of Zijin Mining Group. He has more than a dozen years of operations management and investment (M&A) experience in the mining industry. Prior to joining Zijin in 2014, he held senior executive positions with Silvercorp Metals Inc., including as COO of the company and Vice President for China Operations. He also served as a board member of Pretium Resources Inc. from 2015 to 2018, and as a Managing Director of Barrick New Niugini Limited from 2015 to 2019. Mr. Shen graduated from Xiamen University with a bachelors degree in economy. He obtained an MBA from the National University of Singapore and a Master of Management & Professional Accounting (MMPA) from the University of Toronto. About Xanadu Mines Xanadu is an ASX and TSX listed Exploration company operating in Mongolia. We give investors exposure to globally significant, large-scale copper-gold discoveries and low-cost inventory growth. Xanadu maintains a portfolio of exploration projects and is operator of the globally significant Kharmagtai copper-gold project. For further information on Xanadu, please visit: www.xanadumines.com or contact: Colin Moorhead Executive Chairman & Managing Director E: colin.moorhead@xanadumines.com P: +61 2 8280 7497 Spencer Cole Chief Financial Officer E: spencer.cole@xanadumines.com P: +61 2 8280 7497 This Announcement was authorised for release by Xanadus Board of Directors. 1 ASX/TSX Announcement 6 April 2022 Scoping Study Kharmagtai Copper-Gold Project 2 ASX/TSX Announcement 21 December 2022 - Investment Deal Signed with Zijin - Pathway to Production 3 ASX/TSX Announcement 6 April 2022 Scoping Study Kharmagtai Copper-Gold Project. The material assumptions underpinning production target and the forecast financial information derived from the production target continue to apply and have not materially changed. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2e3bf58b-9acb-4c4b-97f3-fa464d4e011f Dublin, March 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Middle East & Africa Unified Endpoint Management Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Regional Analysis" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The Middle East & Africa unified endpoint management market is expected to grow from US$ 270.61 million in 2022 to US$ 1,170.31 million by 2028. It is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 27.6% from 2022 to 2028. High Growth Potential in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise (SME) Sector would drive the Middle East & Africa Unified Endpoint Management Market Large enterprise customers dominate the unified endpoint management market across various geographies. The complex, large-scale operations, huge number of endpoint devices, prevailing trend of remote work, and fast adoption of advanced solutions are some of the key reasons driving the demand for unified endpoint management solutions and services across large enterprises regionally. In addition, large enterprises are also at the forefront of digital transformation to improve operations and enhance process security. However, small, and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are still in the growth stage of adopting advanced technology solutions such as unified endpoint management by replacing traditional endpoint management solutions. The lack of resources and awareness about the potential cost and productivity benefits of unified endpoint management solutions have impacted the adoption to some extent among SMEs. However, with the growing popularity of cloud-based unified endpoint management, SMEs are increasingly investing in such solutions, thus, offering a huge growth opportunity for the market players operating in the Middle East & Africa unified endpoint management market . Key companies such as Citrix Systems, Inc.; VMware, Inc.; and Microsoft Corporation are offering cloud-based UEM solutions/subscriptions at competitive prices for SMEs to increase their revenue and market share. Moreover, the rising trend of digital transformation among these enterprises to improve business processes, enhance productivity, and reduce costs will boost the adoption of unified endpoint management solutions and services among SMEs, thus, providing potential growth opportunities to the market players during the forecast period of 2022 to 2028. Such initiatives would drive the growth of Middle East & Africa unified endpoint management market during the forecast period. Middle East & Africa Unified Endpoint Management Market Overview The Middle East & Africa unified endpoint management market is segmented into South Africa, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and the Rest of Middle East & Africa. The Gulf countries are economically advanced, while the African countries still have to balance their economic conditions. The Gulf Countries Council (GCC) plans various strategies to encourage collaboration, enhance innovation, streamline intermodal transportation, and improve national economies. The EU's introduction of GDPR is creating issues for companies in the region, majorly for SMEs. The government authorities are on the path to pursue economic growth programs to accelerate employment and diversify GDP in addition to oil-and-gas production. As the private sector grows, SMEs are heavily hit by the cost of federal regulatory compliance. In Middle East, it is mandatory for businesses to comply with GDPR rules to avoid cyber risks. As per the assistant general counsel for corporate external and legal affairs for the Middle East & Africa at Microsoft, there are nearly 160 GDPR requirements for how business gathers, stores, and uses personal information to mandate a 72-hour notification of personal data breaches. T he implementation of GDPR compliance in the Middle East & Africa is projected to affect the utilization of unified endpoint management to ensure data security. Boldon James, Titus, and a few companies have adopted unified endpoint management tools. In July 2019, Spire solutions became a distributor of Titus to cater to data protection and unified endpoint management requirements in the region. Similarly, in July 2017, StarLink, the security-specialized Value-Added-Distributor (VAD), partnered with Boldon James. The company has expanded its sales in Middle East through this partnership. Such initiatives would drive the growth of Middle East & Africa unified endpoint management market during the forecast period. Various verticals, including BFSI, energy, healthcare, and government, are adopting endpoint management as they possess an enormous amount of sensitive and secret data. Additionally, the network security industry in the Middle East & Africa is expanding because the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) and Work from Home (WFH) scenarios are becoming prevalent during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the Aruba Networks report, in 2021, 69% of the organizations in Middle East adopted some form of BYOD. Similarly, the network security business in the region witnesses implementation difficulties because of the increasing complexity of establishing IT security infrastructure on operational technology (OT) and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA). The network of businesses in Middle East has also been threatened by the expansion of remote working practices due to the effects of COVID-19 pandemic. Organizations are implementing countermeasures and working with security suppliers to handle the situation successfully. Hence, the expanding BYOD practice across the region is anticipated to create lucrative opportunities for the Middle East & Africa unified endpoint management market over the forecast period. Middle East & Africa Unified Endpoint Management Market Segmentation The Middle East & Africa unified endpoint management market is segmented into component, deployment type, platform, organization size, end-user, and country. Based on component, the Middle East & Africa unified endpoint management market is segmented into solutions and services. The solutions segment held the larger market share in 2022. Based on deployment type, the Middle East & Africa unified endpoint management market is segmented into cloud based and on-premise. The cloud based segment held the larger market share in 2022. Based on platform, the Middle East & Africa unified endpoint management market is segmented into desktop and mobile. The desktop segment dominated the market share in 2022. Based on organization size, the Middle East & Africa unified endpoint management market is segmented into SMEs and large enterprises. The large enterprises segment dominated the market share in 2022. Based on end-user, the Middle East & Africa unified endpoint management market is segmented into BFSI, government and defense, healthcare, IT and telecom, automotive and transportation, retail, manufacturing, and others. The IT and telecom segment dominated the market share in 2022. Based on country, the Middle East & Africa unified endpoint management market is segmented into South Africa, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and the Rest of Middle East & Africa. Saudi Arabia segment dominated the market share in 2022. Key Attributes: Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 150 Forecast Period 2022 - 2028 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2022 $270.61 Million Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2028 $1170.31 Million Compound Annual Growth Rate 27.6% Regions Covered Africa, Middle East Key Topics Covered: 1. Introduction 2. Key Takeaways 3. Research Methodology 4. Middle East & Africa Unified Endpoint Management Market Landscape 5. Middle East & Africa Unified Endpoint Management -Market Dynamics 6. Middle East & Africa Unified Endpoint Management Market -Market Analysis 7. Middle East & Africa Unified Endpoint Management Market Analysis - By Component 8. Middle East & Africa Unified Endpoint Management Market Analysis - By Deployment Type 9. Middle East & Africa Unified Endpoint Management Market Analysis - By Platform 10. Middle East & Africa Unified Endpoint Management Market Analysis - By Organization Size 11. Middle East & Africa Unified Endpoint Management Market Analysis - By End User 12. Middle East & Africa Unified Endpoint Management Market - Country Analysis 13. Industry Landscape 14. COMPANY PROFILES A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes Citrix Systems, Inc. IBM Corporation Ivanti MICROLAND LIMITED Microsoft Corporation STEFANINI Zoho Corporation Pvt. Ltd. For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ojo1ez 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 NEW YORK, March 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds investors in BlockFi Interest Accounts (BIAs) between March 4, 2019 and November 28, 2022, inclusive (the Class Period), against Zac Prince, Flori Marquez, Amit Cheela, David Olsson, and Samia Bayou (together, Defendants), of the important May 1, 2023 lead plaintiff deadline. SO WHAT: If you invested in BIAs during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement. WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the BlockFi class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=12656 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. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than May 1, 2023. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. 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, but are merely middlemen that refer clients or partner with law firms that actually litigate the cases. 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. DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, the Defendants made false and misleading statements to promote BIAs, including that BIAs were a secure method of collecting interest. In addition, the Complaint alleges, among other things, that the Defendants omitted and concealed material information concerning the risks associated with BIAs, including through BlockFis exposure to FTX Trading, Ltd. (FTX) and Sam Bankman-Frieds trading firm Alameda Research (Alameda), both of which collapsed in the wake of revelations that FTX and Alameda were engaging in fraud on a massive scale. In the wake of the FTX collapse, the lawsuit alleges that BlockFi froze withdrawals in BIAs, harming BIA investors. Further, investors in BIAs were not aware of conflicts of interest and self-dealing between BlockFi and other entities, such as Gemini Trust LLC, controlled by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss. The Complaint further alleges BlockFi and the Individual Defendants engaged in the unlawful offer and sale of securities in violation of Sections 5, 11, 12(a)(2), and 15 of the Securities Act of 1933 by selling BIAs to investors. The lawsuit also alleges claims for violation of Section 10(b) and 20 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Massachusetts General Law Chapter 110A. To join the BlockFi class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=12656 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. No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investors ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff. 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 English French Not for distribution to U.S. news wire services or dissemination in the United States MONTREAL, March 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MONARCH MINING CORPORATION (Monarch or the Corporation) (TSX: GBAR) (OTCQB: GBARF) announces the closing of the first tranche of a non-brokered private placement for total gross proceeds of $999,997.15 (the Offering). The Offering consisted of the issuance of 7,333,334 flow-through units of the Corporation (the Quebec FT Units) at a price of C$0.075 per Quebec FT Unit, and 6,428,530 flow-through units of the Corporation (the National FT Units and collectively with the Quebec FT Units, the Units) at a price of C$0.07 per National FT Unit. Each Quebec FT Unit consists of one common share of the Corporation and one-half of one common share purchase warrant (each whole purchase warrant a Warrant). Each common share comprised in each Quebec FT Unit will qualify as a flow-through share (within the meaning of subsection 66(15) of the Income Tax Act (Canada) and section 359.1 of the Taxation Act (Quebec)). Each National FT Unit consists of one common share of the Corporation and one-half of one Warrant. Each common share comprised in each National FT Unit will qualify as a flow-through share (within the meaning of subsection 66(15) of the Income Tax Act (Canada). Each Warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one common share of the Corporation (a Warrant Share) at an exercise price of C$0.15 for a period of 24 months following the closing of the Offering. The gross proceeds from the sale of the Units will be used by the Corporation to incur eligible "Canadian exploration expenses" that qualify as flow-through mining expenditures as both terms are defined in the Income Tax Act (Canada) (the Qualifying Expenditures) related to the Corporations eligible projects in Quebec. The Qualifying Expenditures will be renounced in favour of the subscribers with an effective date no later than December 31, 2023. As consideration for the services provided by finders in connection with the first tranche of this Offering, the Corporation paid cash finders' fees totalling $69,999.79 and issued 483,333 compensation options (the Compensation Warrants). Each Compensation Warrant is exercisable to acquire one common share of the Corporation at a price of $0.10 per share over a period of 24 months following the closing of the Offering. Closing of the Offering is expected to occur on or before April 6, 2023. All securities issued pursuant to the first tranche of this Offering are subject to a restricted hold period of four months and a day, ending on July 11, 2023, under applicable Canadian securities legislation. The Offering remains subject to the final approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The securities being offered have not been, nor will they be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") and may not be offered or sold to, or for the account or benefit of, persons in the United States or U.S. persons absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws. "United States" and "U.S. person" are as defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act. About Monarch Monarch Mining Corporation (TSX: GBAR) (OTCQB: GBARF) is a gold mining company that owns four projects, including the Beaufor Mine, which is currently on care and maintenance and has produced more than 1 million ounces of gold over the last 30 years. Other assets include the Croinor Gold, McKenzie Break and Swanson properties, all located near Monarchs wholly owned Beacon Mill with a design capacity of 750 tpd. Monarch owns 29,504 hectares (295 km2) of mining assets in the prolific Abitibi mining camp that host a combined measured and indicated gold resource of 666,882 ounces and a combined inferred resource of 423,193 ounces. Forward-looking statements All statements, other than statements of historical fact, contained in this press release including, but not limited to those describing the timeline of the initiatives described in this press release, those relating to the intended use of proceeds of the Offering, the final approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange in connection with the Offering, the entering into or more sale agreements, debt settlement agreements, merger or other combination business agreements, the Corporations commitments and initiatives outlined in the press release, the intended results of the initiatives described in this press release, the positive impact of the foregoing on project economics, and generally those statements which are discussed under the About Monarch paragraph and elsewhere in the press release which essentially describe the Corporations outlook and objectives, constitute forward-looking information or forward-looking statements (collectively, forward-looking statements) within the meaning of Canadian, and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as of the time of this press release. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Corporation as of the time of such statements, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. These estimates and assumptions may prove to be incorrect. Forward-looking statements are subject to known or unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. Risk factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among others, the Corporation's ability to continue as a going concern, the Corporation being a going concern able to realize its assets and discharge its liabilities in the normal course of business as they come due into the foreseeable future, the generation of interest for its review of a range of alternatives, in either the sale of part or all of the Company or its assets, a merger or other business combination with another party, a potential investment in Monarch, a debt restructuring, or other strategic initiatives with the goal of maximizing return in respect of the Companys assets, the ability of the Corporation to successfully implement its strategic initiatives and whether such strategic initiatives will yield the expected benefits, the availability of financing or financing on favorable terms for the Corporation, the business conditions of the Corporation will not change In a materially adverse manner, expectations that the business of the Corporation will continue in the ordinary course, litigation as well as cash flow and capital structure risks and general business risks. A further description of risks and uncertainties can be found in Monarch's Annual Information Form dated September 28, 2022, including in the section thereof captioned Risk Factors, which is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Unpredictable or unknown factors not discussed in this Cautionary Note could also have material adverse effects on forward-looking statements. Many of these uncertainties and contingencies can directly or indirectly affect, and could cause, actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements. 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. Forward-looking statements are provided for the purpose of providing information about managements expectations and plans relating to the future. The Corporation disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements or to explain any material difference between subsequent actual events and such forward-looking statements, except to the extent required by applicable law. Neither the Toronto Stock Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the manuals of the Toronto Stock Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Further information regarding the Corporation is available in the SEDAR database (www.sedar.com) and on the Corporations website at: www.monarchmining.com NEW YORK, March 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 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 newaction@pomlaw.com 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, Allianzs 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 rswilloughby@pomlaw.com 888-476-6529 ext. 7980 NEW YORK, March 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Credit Suisse Group AG (Credit Suisse or the Company) (NYSE: CS), and certain officers. The class action, filed in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, and docketed under 23-cv-01297, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons and entities other than Defendants that purchased or otherwise acquired Credit Suisse securities between December 1, 2022 and February 17, 2023, both dates inclusive (the Class Period), seeking to recover damages caused by Defendants violations of the federal securities laws and to pursue remedies under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the Exchange Act) and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, against the Company and certain of its top officials. If you are a shareholder who purchased or otherwise acquired Credit Suisse securities during the Class Period, you have until May 8, 2023 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com . To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at newaction@pomlaw.com or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 7980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased. [Click here for information about joining the class action] Credit Suisse, together with its subsidiaries, provides various financial services in Switzerland, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Americas, and Asia Pacific. The Company offers wealth management solutions, including investment advice and discretionary asset management services; risk management solutions, such as managed investment products; and wealth planning, succession planning, and trust services. In October 2022, Credit Suisse began experiencing a sharp increase in customer outflows, or withdrawals of client funds, after a series of quarterly losses and risk and compliance failures significantly decreased the Companys American Depositary Share (ADS) price. On December 1, 2022, Credit Suisses Chairman, Defendant Axel P. Lehmann (Lehmann) stated in an interview with Financial Times that customer outflows had not only completely flattened out, but had, in fact, partially reversed. The following day, in an interview with Bloomberg Television, Defendant Lehmann reiterated his previous statements, reassuring investors that as of November 11, 2022, customer outflows had basically stopped. Following Defendant Lehmanns statements, Credit Suisses ADS price rose $0.29 per ADS, or 9.36%, to close at $3.38 per ADS on December 2, 2022. The complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Companys business, operations, and compliance policies. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) contrary to Defendant Lehmanns representations in December 2022, the sharp increase in customer outflows Credit Suisse began experiencing in October 2022 remained ongoing; (ii) accordingly, Credit Suisse had downplayed the impact of the Companys recent series of quarterly losses and risk and compliance failures on liquidity and its ability to retain client funds; (iii) as a result, Credit Suisse had overstated the Companys financial position and/or prospects; and (iv) as a result, the Companys public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times. On February 9, 2023, Credit Suisse issued a press release announcing its 2022 financial results. The press release revealed that, contrary to Defendant Lehmanns prior statements, large customer outflows had continued through year-end 2022. Specifically, the press release reported customer outflows of 110.5 billion Swiss francs in the final three months of 2022, a figure which far exceeded market expectations. On this news, Credit Suisses ADS price fell $0.56 per ADS, or 15.64%, to close at $3.02 per ADS on February 9, 2023. Then, on February 21, 2023, Reuters reported that the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority was reviewing Defendant Lehmanns previous comments regarding customer outflows. On this news, Credit Suisses ADS price fell another $0.10 per ADS, or 3.31%, to close at $2.92 per ADS on February 21, 2023. 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 HOUSTON, March 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dr. Jon Kiev, a highly experienced medical professional with over three decades of expertise, is pleased to offer a scholarship program for medical students in the United States. The Dr. Jon Kiev Scholarship for Medical Students is intended to assist students with their financial and academic fees. This scholarship opportunity is open to university students and high school students who aspire to become professionals in the medical field. To apply for the grant, interested students must submit an essay with a maximum word count of one thousand words, along with their full name, contact information, educational background, GPA, and personal biography. The essay topic is available on the Dr. Jon Kiev Scholarship website. Applications may be submitted in a Word format to apply@drjonkievscholarship.com. The winning student will be awarded a monetary prize of one thousand dollars. The deadline for scholarship submission is August 15, 2023, and the winner will be announced on September 15, 2023. Scholarships are an excellent way to obtain a college education, as they can cover some or all of the student's tuition fees and living expenses. To be eligible for the Dr. Jon Kiev scholarship program, applicants must be medical students enrolled in a university in the United States or high school students with plans to study medicine. Dr. Kiev will choose the winner based on their creative writing skills. Dr. Kiev's vast experience in the medical field makes him an unparalleled authority in his field. He earned his bachelor's degree from Syracuse University and his medical degree from Tulane University School of Medicine. He has passed the required boards to perform thoracic and general surgery and is also qualified to do so by the American Board of Surgery. Dr. Kiev has been honored with fellowships at several prestigious institutions, including the Mayo Clinic, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and Loma Linda University. Driven by his deep desire to assist less fortunate individuals, he founded the Dr. Jonathan Kiev Medical Scholarship to assist students interested in pursuing careers in medicine pay for school. To support medical students, Dr. Jon Kiev has decided to establish a scholarship grant aimed at providing financial assistance. University and high school students who aspire to pursue a medical career can submit their applications. To learn more about the grant, students may visit Dr. Kiev's website. If any queries arise, applicants can use the website's contact page to ask questions. Dr. Kiev is also open to collaborating on the grant, and students can contact him through the same page. For medical students in the United States, this could be the opportunity that they have been looking for. Take advantage of this scholarship program to begin the most exciting part of your journey as a medical student. NEW YORK, March 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Crescendo Partners, a New York City based investment firm that beneficially owns a sizable position in the common stock of Canaccord Genuity Group, Inc.,(TSX: CF), today, issued an open letter to Canaccords Chair of the Special Committee, Jill Denham, regarding the proposal to take the company private. The full text of the letter follows: Crescendo Partners 777 3rdAvenue 37thFloor New York, NY 10017 (212)-319-7676 March 10th, 2023 Ms. Jill Denham Chair of the Special Committee Canaccord Genuity 609 Granville Street Suite 2200 Vancouver, Canada V7Y 1H2 Dear Jill, Crescendo Partners and its affiliates (Crescendo) are large shareholders of Canaccord Genuity (Canaccord or the Company). I write to you to address the current untenable position in which the Special Committee and Canaccord now find themselves. My viewpoint is informed by my recent experience of being a board member of Canaccord and by my extensive experience in the capital markets in Canada and the United States. I believe Canaccord is not well suited to continue being a public company. Despite efforts over the last 15 years to lessen the cyclicality of the business, no long-term shareholder value has been created. The ideal time to have sold the company was at the peak of the last cycle, but the rest of the board rejected exploring that path when I had proposed it. Now the shareholders are being offered a very substantial premium to the trading price of the stock over the last several months. I believe there is an immediate opportunity for the Special Committee and the Management Group proposing to buy the Company to reach an agreement on an improved price. The Management Groups position that they are only buyers and not sellers make it virtually impossible for any other buyer to purchase such a people intensive business. You have hired Barclays to explore the sale of Canaccord or parts of the Company. In my opinion, simply selling a part of the business is unlikely to create a significant premium to the current trading price of the stock. On Tuesday, Skky Capital Corporation Limited (Skky), requisitioned a shareholder meeting to remove the members of the Special Committee and add two new directors. So now the Management Group, with its takeover bid and through the actions of Skky, and the Special Committee, each has a threat of drastic action on the table. Youll probably be able to postpone the shareholder meeting until July, resulting in this mess continuing for the next four months and causing untold damage to Canaccord and its business. In order to avoid this scenario, I strongly suggest that the Special Committee reach an agreement with the Management Group in the near term on an improved bid. I would expect that if both of you are creative and flexible, a price in excess of $11.25 is achievable. If an agreement is not reached and the Special Committee ends up causing there to be no transaction, Crescendo intends to support the new slate at the requisitioned meeting. Yours truly, Eric Rosenfeld LONDON, March 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL) (the Company) announced today that the Companys Board of Directors has declared a cash dividend of $0.546875 per depositary share, each representing a 1/100th interest in a share of its 8.75% Series B Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Shares (the Series B Preferred Shares) (NYSE:GSLPrB). The dividend represents payment for the period from January 1, 2023 to March 31, 2023 and will be paid on April 3, 2023 to all Series B Preferred Shareholders of record as of March 27, 2023. About Global Ship Lease Global Ship Lease is a leading independent owner of containerships with a diversified fleet of mid-sized and smaller containerships. Incorporated in the Marshall Islands, Global Ship Lease commenced operations in December 2007 with a business of owning and chartering out containerships under fixed-rate charters to top tier container liner companies. It was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in August 2008. As at February 28, 2023, Global Ship Lease owned 65 containerships, ranging from 1,118 to 11,040 TEU, with an aggregate capacity of 342,348 TEU. 32 ships are wide-beam Post-Panamax. Adjusted to include all charters agreed, up to March 1, 2023, the average remaining term of the Companys charters as at December 31, 2022, to the mid-point of redelivery, including options under the Companys control and other than if a redelivery notice has been received, was 2.7 years on a TEU-weighted basis. Contracted revenue on the same basis was $2.09 billion. Contracted revenue was $2.50 billion, including options under charterers control and with latest redelivery date, representing a weighted average remaining term of 3.5 years. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements provide the Companys current expectations or forecasts of future events. Forward-looking statements include statements about the Companys expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, intentions, assumptions and other statements that are not historical facts. Words or phrases such as anticipate, believe, continue, estimate, expect, intend, may, ongoing, plan, potential, predict, project, will or similar words or phrases, or the negatives of those words or phrases, may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not necessarily mean that a statement is not forward-looking. These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions that may be incorrect, and the Company cannot assure you that the events or expectations included in these forward-looking statements will come to pass. Actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including the factors described in Risk Factors in the Companys Annual Report on Form 20-F and the factors and risks the Company describes in subsequent reports filed from time to time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Accordingly, you should not unduly rely on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly revise any forward-looking statement to reflect circumstances or events after the date of this press release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Investor and Media Contact: The IGB Group Bryan Degnan 646-673-9701 or Leon Berman 212-477-8438 Stanbic Bank's parent lender ready to writeoff $81m of its bond losses Bloomberg Business News Mar - 10 - 2023 , 06:38 The parent bank of Stanbic Bank Ghana Limited, the Standard Bank, has set aside $81 million to cover potential losses that the subsidiary may suffer from the recently concluded domestic debt restructuring programme (DDEP). Global newswire, Bloomberg reported that Africas biggest lender by assets was also ready to re-capitalise its Ghanaian unit in addition to making the provisions to cover more than half of its holdings in the nations debt. Banks in Ghana are staring at losses after President Nana Akufo-Addos government restructured 83 billion($6.8 billion) of local debt as part of a move to finalize a $3 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund. Standard Bank on Thursday joined FirstRand Ltd. in accounting for the impairment. Ghana has an estimated 576 billion of public debt. Standard Bank said it had set aside 1.5 billion rand ($81 million) to cover potential losses arising from the West African nations loan-restructuring program. The bank said its total holdings of both domestic and onshore dollar-denominated bonds is about 2.6 billion rand. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Standard Bank, Sim Tshabalala said We believe that the pain that we have taken in Ghana is exquisite. The numbers are very large, but we have a portfolio, and the portfolio is calculated to do that. Notwithstanding the impact of Ghana, our Africa regions business performed very well. According to Mr. Tshabalala, the government of Ghana has been textbook in their approach to the restructuring, extracting the appropriate bargain from all stakeholders. Theyve been very tough in the negotiation process, as you can expect, because they have a public policy role to play. The government has extracted what they consider to be the appropriate bargain, which while appropriate from a policymaker and a government point of view, its been painful for holders of that debt, the CEO said. Standard Banks shares, which have advanced 7.3 per cent this year, were up as much as 1.6 per cent before paring gains to 0.6 per cent by 3:47 p.m. in Johannesburg. FirstRand said last week it impaired 496 million rand to cover potential losses. Nedbank Group Ltd., which has an indirect exposure to Ghana through its 20 per cent holding in Ecobank Transnational Inc., estimated its exposure to the countrys sovereign debt at 175 million rand. Despite the challenges, Standard Bank said it remains committed to Ghana. It plans to leverage its fortress balance-sheet to drive market share and capitalise on growth opportunities when they arise, it said. Record Performance Standard Banks headline earnings surged 37 per cent to a record 34.25 billion rand for the year ending in December 2022, beating forecasts. Green loans stood at 54 billion rand and the book is expected to grow to as much as 300 billion rand by 2026, Corporate & Investment Banking unit CEO Kenny Fihla said in a separate investor briefing. Standard Bank declared a final dividend of 6.91 rand per share, a payout ratio of 60 per cent. Killed soldier laid to rest - Ashaiman residents demand justice Benjamin Xornam Glover Mar - 10 - 2023 , 08:09 The remains of the soldier who was allegedly killed at Taifa, a suburb of Ashaiman, were laid to rest at the Military Cemetery at Burma Camp in Accra yesterday. Private Imoro Sherrif, a trumpeter of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) Band at the 3 Garrison in Sunyani, was suspected to have been stabbed to death on Saturday, March 4, 2023. Family members, friends, colleague soldiers and other well-wishers were at the cemetery to bid farewell to the young soldier. Military honours The solemn burial ceremony was characterised by military honours and Islamic service, led by the National Chief Imam, Sheik Osman Nuhu Sharubutu, who prayed for the soul of the departed soldier. Many shed tears as the body was moved from the 37 Military Hospital, where it had been prepared for burial. Background The father of the deceased, Awudu Imoro, said Private Sherrif had his primary and junior high school education at Ashaiman and attended senior high school at Akwamuman SHS, completing in 2017. Explaining the circumstances leading to Sherrifs death, Mr Imoro said in early January this year, Sherrif phoned his mother to inform the family that he was going to be in Accra in the first week of February for a course. Sherrif, according to the father, told them that when he arrived in Accra, he would get the opportunity to visit the family on Fridays, and so in the past three weeks Sherrif had been going home every Friday until his demise. Residents demand justice Meanwhile, residents of Ashaiman are demanding justice following the military raid on the community on March 7, 2022 Wearing red armbands, the residents said the molestation visited on some of them was without sound reason. Some soldiers invaded some suburbs of Ashaiman on March 7, 2023 after their colleague had been killed in the area on Saturday, March 4, 2023. In a bid to find the perpetrators of the murder, the soldiers took over the streets of Ashaiman to brutalise some residents. Addressing a press conference yesterday under the banner: Ashaiman Lives Matter, opinion leaders of the community, led by the Regent of Ashaiman, Nii Annang Adjor, condemned the attack on the young soldier and the reprisal attacks by the soldiers. The opinion leaders who addressed the media included two former Members of Parliament (MPs) for Ashaiman, Franklin Winfred K. Aheto and Alfred Agbesi; the current MP, Ernest Norgbey; a private legal practitioner, Emmanuel Kumadey; the NPP Ashaiman Constituency Chairman, Alexander Amanor, and the NDC Constituency Vice-Chairman, Francis Damasi. Demands While condemning the killing of the soldier and commiserating with his family, the leaders called on the police to speed up their investigations and bring the perpetrators to book. In addition, they called on the President to immediately set up a committee to investigate the action of the soldiers and punish the culprits. The group also called on the President, as the Commander-in-Chief of the GAF, to order the immediate release of all residents of Ashaiman who were still illegally in the custody of the soldiers. Furthermore, they wanted the President to direct the Ministry of Defence to pay for all damaged properties, as well as compensate innocent victims brutalised during the swoop. Besides, the community leaders urged the municipal assembly to provide street lights in all communities, since darkness was a contributory factor for the murder of the soldier because the incident happened at a dark place. The convenors of the press conference called on the media, civil society, professional bodies such as the Ghana Bar Association, religious bodies, among others, to join the residents of Ashaiman in condemning the violence and criminal acts by the soldiers. Consistently and persistently, the GAF have taken Ashaiman as their training ground for unleashing violence on innocent citizens with impunity. We are saying it loud and clear that we have suffered enough, and enough is enough, Mr Kumadey told the media. Rule of law The Regent of Ashaiman condemned the killing of the soldier and the retaliation meted out by the soldiers on the residents. If we should keep quiet over this, we dont know who will be the next victim. Ghana is a democratic country and human rights and the rule of law must be preserved at all times, he stated. For his part, Mr Norgbey advised residents not to take the law into their own hands but trust their leaders in the community to fight for justice on their behalf. Resource Geoelogical Survey to deliver "Director-General to government" Timothy Ngnenbe Mar - 10 - 2023 , 08:59 The Ghana Geological Survey Authority (GGSA) has called on the government to resource the National Seismic Observatory with modern equipment to enable it to deliver real-time information on earthquakes. According to the acting Director-General of the GGSA, Isaac K. Mwinbelle, the current manual means of transmitting data from the monitoring stations dotted across the country for interpretation delayed the release of relevant information on earthquakes to the public. "We have some of the monitoring stations at Weija, Achimota, in the Greater Accra Region around the three sites for nuclear power plants and other key areas which monitor seismic activities; but the main issue is that with some of them, data are not transmitted real time, so we have to do data conversion, he said. To make the transition from the manual transmission of data, he said, the GGSA would require $200 million to bolster its network system. He made the call at a workshop organised by the GGSA for some journalists on the activities of the authority. The journalists were educated on the mandate of the GGSA, the facilities on which it relied to execute that mandate, some ongoing projects and the challenges confronting it. Justification Mr Mwinbelle said the GGSA currently used satellite transmission, saying this is not real time, so we need to switch to SIM modem transmission, so that we can get data real time when there is an earthquake. "We are saying that being a national asset, we need the required funding to make it fully operational, so that when there is an earthquake, we can give real-time information, he said. The acting Director-General said it was worrying that anytime there was an earth tremor, the authority was left handicapped in providing up-to-date information for members of the public. "We need to make this switch to a better monitoring system, so that we will be able to provide information for the public that there was an earthquake at this time, it happened at this location and was of this magnitude. We need to also give members of the public assurance on whether to go out to work or not, he said. Mr Mwinbelle said although the authority was delivering on its mandate, the lack of an efficient network system for providing real-time data on earthquakes had been a major setback. He said the GGSA was collaborating with the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) to push for the needed resources because NADMO depended on the GGSA for all earthquake issues. Engagement Mr Mwinbelle said the GGSA had started engaging some occupants of high-rise buildings on how to minimise the risks associated with earthquakes. Again, he said, the authority was working with the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation and Development and metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) to educate members of the public on the need to stop putting up structures at fault zones. He indicated that although developers were required to obtain reports on whether the areas they intended to develop were free of faults from the GGSA, they had failed to do so. He described the development of structures in earthquake zones at Weija and its environs in the Greater Accra Region as a ticking time bomb that needed to be defused by the various stakeholders. He said related state agencies were working out a strategy to educate residents of those areas on the potential risk of earthquakes and the need to take precautionary measures. It will be a difficult situation for the government to ask people who have already built in those areas to pull down their houses. What we are trying to do is educate them to know the risks they face, so that they can take the right decisions, he said. Ongoing projects Mr Mwinbelle said as part of its mandate, the GGSA was currently undertaking some projects that would be crucial to the countrys developmental needs. In the mining sector, for instance, he said, the authority, in collaboration with the Minerals Commission, was delineating some areas for small-scale mining to help halt illegal mining activities. He said two areas had so far been delineated in Dunkwa-on-Offin and Obuasi in the Central and the Ashanti regions, respectively. Again, he said, the authority was ramping up iron ore investigations in the Oti, Northern, Western and Upper West regions, with similar exercises going on for limestone in the North East and the Savannah regions. Spanish warship provides maritime security Augustina Tawiah Mar - 10 - 2023 , 08:19 One of Spain's modern navy warships, the Audaz, is in the country to provide maritime security and conduct serialised training with personnel of the Ghana Navy. As part of the four-day trip, the 80-man crew on board the ship will conduct scouting activities, as well as surveillance operations, across the country's maritime domain in order to ward off threats of terrorism, piracy, narcotics, arms smuggling, human trafficking and environmental pollution that occurred at sea. The ship, which has a well-equipped sick bay, will also provide medical protection and treatment for the crew, which is made up of a detachment of marines, a diving team, a priest and a medical team, as well as for other forces operating at the Tema Port, where it docked last Monday, March 6. Speaking with the Daily Graphic during a tour of the gigantic ship, the Captain, Lieutenant Commander Marcos de Sousa Fuchs, said the ship's main mission was to deliver maritime security to countries along the western coast of Africa, adding that Ghana being one of those countries and also being a key partner of Spain in Africa, Spain was committed to supporting it to achieve safety at sea for all. Key partner "Ghana is one of the key actors in Africa, from Spain's perspective. So we are here to cooperate with the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) and increase and expand this cooperation. Besides the fact of having one of Spain's most modern warships here, the Commander of the Joint Command of Operation of Spain, Lt General Francisco Braco Carbo, is also here to reinforce this message of Spain to Ghana," Lt Commander Fuchs said. He said the ship, which is on a five-month deployment, set sail from Spain on January 15 and had since been to Congo and Angola, adding that from Ghana, it would visit other African countries, especially those with coastal cooperation. Lt Commander Fuchs said this was the 13th consecutive year that Spain had dispatched one of its warships and vessels to Ghana, with the aim of fostering cooperation and to deliver maritime security, adding that on the previous visits, the ships docked at the Takoradi Harbour. Training with Ghana Navy Touching on training exercises, he said for the past few days, the crew had had training, including first aid at sea, medical capabilities, maritime intervention, diving and platform control, with personnel of the Ghana Navy, adding that they would soon move to the Volta Region where they would be training with the training audience participating in the massive United States Flintlock exercise involving security personnel from 29 countries, including Ghana. He said the Audaz participation in that exercise would be the first time a ship was participating in Flintlock. He expressed delight at Spain's security personnel working with the GAF and said they looked forward to enhancing and expanding the cooperation and work. Baba Jamal shifts constituency to Nima, ready to 'uproot' NDC Ayawaso East MP Enoch Darfah Frimpong Politics Mar - 10 - 2023 , 08:33 Baba Jamal Mohammed Ahmed, a former Member of Parliament for Akwatia in the Eastern Region has shifted his constituency to Nima in the Greater Accra Region. He has initiated moves to contest the Ayawaso East constituency National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary primary. He is hoping to "uproot" the sitting NDC MP, Naser Toure Mahama. Baba Jamals argument is that, even though he hails and had lived in Akwatia from where he was first elected as a representative to Parliament on the ticket of the NDC, he has been a resident of Nima for so many years and has his house in the neighbourhood. Sounding ironic and deciding not to talk about the sitting MP, even though he has sent out signals that in his view, Naser Toure Mahama is unknown by the media, not vocal in Parliament and not known by his constituents, Baba Jamal said it was his intention to fight for what is due Nima and the entire Ayawaso East constituency if given the opportunity by NDC delegates and he goes ahead to win the seat in 2024. His plan is to root for development projects in Nima located in the heart of Accra. I dont think Nima is receiving what it deserves as a constituency, he said in a radio interview on Accra based Okay FM, monitored by Graphic Online on Friday morning (Mar 10, 2023). Baba Jamal, who is a legal practitioner is currently a Deputy Director in charge of Legal Affairs for the NDC. He served as MP for Akwatia from Jan 2013 to Jan 2017 and also served as a deputy minister. Baba Jamal got involved in partisan political activities during his days in the university and got fully involved right after his university education. For a very long time since 2000, he was eyeing the Akwatia constituency seat in the Denkyembour District of the Eastern Region which had been won continuously by the New Patriotic Party in 2000, 2004 and 2008. The NDC had initially won and occupied it in 1992 and 1996. In 2008, Baba Jamal put up a strong contest with the NPP's candidate, the late Dr Kwaku Asare but lost it. Dr Kwaku Asare won it after a controversy and a rerun in six polling stations on August 18, 2009. In 2012, Baba Jamal was successful and won the seat but was defeated after one term by the NPP's Mercy Adu Gyamfi, commonly known as Ama Sey, a hairdresser. In deciding to take another shot at Parliament, Baba Jamal has turned away from Akwatia and now heading towards Nima in the Ayawaso East constituency of Greater Accra. Writer's email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Follow @enochfrimpong Follow @Graphicgh Early testing of the pressurized 20kW High Temperature Proton Exchange Membrane (HTPEM) stack power module in ZeroAvias UK R&D location has demonstrated a record 2.5 kW/kg specific power at the cell level, paving the way for 3+ kW/kg system level densities in the next 24 months. ZeroAvia is focused on hydrogen-electric aviation solutions to address a variety of markets, and is initially targeting a 300-mile range in 919 seat aircraft by 2025, and up to 700-mile range in 4080 seat aircraft by 2027. ZeroAvias HTPEM Fuel Cell Stack For energy-intensive applicationssuch as large fixed-wing aircraft and rotorcraftit is necessary to increase the temperature and pressure within fuel cell stacks in order to have a commercially viable product, ZeroAvia says. Increased temperature and pressure allows for air cooling, reduces cooling drag, simplifies the system, and ultimately enables much more demanding applications. ZeroAvias team has delivered a pressurized HTPEM system, innovative conductive coatings enabling the use of aluminum bipolar plates in highly aggressive HTPEM environments, and a novel approach to advanced membrane electrode assembly (MEA). ZeroAvias proprietary technology has been developed over the last three years as part of a concentrated effort to build an in-house portfolio of critical technologies for fuel cell aviation at ZeroAvia. Further R&D is targeting more than 3kW/kg fuel cell system specific power, which enables a step change in performance relative to the traditional fuel cell technologies, making fuel cell propulsion commercially viable for large aircraft. Specifically, the HTPEM systems will be prime candidates to support ZeroAvias ZA2000 powertrain for 40-80 seat aircraft, as well as a range of rotorcraft and eVTOL applications. This next generation of fuel cells could also be sufficient to enable electric propulsion systems for 100+ seat single-aisle turbofan aircraft such as the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320. The components used in the ZeroAvia system have already been validated through third-party independent testing at several independent labs, including a leading US Department of Energy national lab. The testing confirms the potential for HTPEM systems to accelerate the development of large hydrogen-electric powertrains for large aircraft. ZeroAvias recent breakthrough first flight of a 19-seat aircraft utilized Low Temperature PEM (LTPEM) fuel cell systems. Todays LTPEM systems work well for the sub-megawatt scale of these smaller aircraft, but the lower stack core temperatures make it harder to remove heat from the larger systems. HTPEM technology eliminates a number of components from the fuel cell system and reduces cooling drag, thereby enabling commercially relevant payload and range. ZeroAvia says that HTPEM can also offer greater durability, further reducing operating costs for airlines. The companies and geographies that seize the lead in high fuel cell temperatures and pressures will lead the industry. This progression is similar to the story of turbine engines, where ever-increasing temperatures and pressures drove higher and higher performance. Hydrogen fuel cell propulsion is the most environmental and economical alternative to existing engines, and HTPEM is the most promising route to delivering these benefits into large aircraft categories. I am confident that what we are demonstrating now is the core building block to delivering zero-emission flight for all categories of aircraft in the long-term. Val Miftakhov, CEO and founder of ZeroAvia ZeroAvias development of the HTPEM systems is in part supported by the HyFlyer II project, backed by the UK Government via the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI). An updated master plan for the city's Greenbelt was adopted by the Green River City Council Tuesday night, giving both the city and the Greenbelt Taskforce a roadmap to dictate the future growth of the pathway system. According to the city's Parks and Recreation director Brad Raney, the plan is already being used to bring grant funds to the city for improvements along the Greenbelt. The original plan was drafted more than 30 years ago, before the volunteer group and city were able to build the riverside system. The new master plan comes two years after the start of a large-scale push to gat... At approximately 9:37 a.m. Tuesday, March 7, the Green River Fire Department, along with Green River Police Department and Castle Rock Ambulance, was dispatched to a vehicle fire that threatened a home. The fire crew quickly extinguished the fire, which was contained to the original vehicle. The cause of the fire was determined to be from the block heater on the Chevy Duramax pickup. GRFD Lieutenant Casey Kendall, who is also an electrician, assisted with the investigation. Kendall stated that the engine block heater draws a lot of power to operate, noting that there was a break in the insulation which caused the heater to short out. GRFD would like to remind everyone to pay attention to engine block heaters, and plumbing heat tape as these appliances can become extremely hot. Additionally, after years of use and animals chewing on the cords it can create electrical hazards. Russell Dean Smith, 69, passed away peacefully surrounded by his family on Saturday, March 4, 2023. During his 13 year battle with multiple myeloma, he was a relentless optimist. Russ was born June 23, 1953. He was the son of William Dean Smith and Charmaine Marlene Fagnant, the oldest of five children. He was a lifelong resident of Green River, Wyoming with the exception of a 10 year exile in Minnesota. He attended school in Green River, Wyoming and was a 1971 graduate of Green River High School. He earned two Bachelor of Science degrees: Industrial Education and Industrial Tech from University of Wyoming and Utah State University. He put his degrees to use by working at FMC for over 30 years as a maintenance engineer and supervisor. Russ married his love, Lee Carol Scutt, on April 9, 1977 in Laramie, Wyoming. Together, they have four supercalifragilisticexpialidocious children: Erin, Jocelyn, Alyssa and Nathan. Russ enjoyed spending time with his family, especially his grandchildren, at the family cabin in Bear Lake. He also enjoyed woodworking, the outdoors, archery and trap shooting. One of his favorite outdoor activities was to go watch the annual dance of the sage grouse. Russ was truly a jack of all trades, and was an incredible resource for many people, especially his children. He could help with anything from carpentry, to electrical work or plumbing. He remodeled two houses recently, and was an exceptional engineer. Got a question? Call Dad. Need a tool? Call Dad. Russ took joy in visiting with others, and given enough time, could find a connection with anyone. He was a die-hard fan at his grandchildren's activities, and his unfiltered commentary will be sorely missed. Survivors include his wife of 45 years, Lee Smith, of Green River, Wyoming; one son, Nathan Phillip Smith of North Carolina; three daughters, Erin Deanne (Tom) Arnold of Green River, Wyoming; Jocelyn Lee (Joe) Palinek of Rock Springs, Wyoming; Alyssa Ellen (Traeger) Sperry of Green River, Wyoming; two brothers, Brad Smith and Ross (Tina) Smith, both of Hot Springs, South Dakota; two sisters, Nanette (Ken) Lacey of Green River, Wyoming; and Jan (Wally) Studer of Rupert, Idaho; nine grandchildren; Jenna, Jayci, Jillian, Sophia, Lucas, Joseph, Corbin, Asher and Liam; mother-in-law, Dorothy Scutt, of Green River, Wyoming; numerous cousins, nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents Wm. Dean Smith and Charmaine Smith, nephew, Alex Perez, and father-in-law, Harry Scutt. He is sorely missed by his treat-loving, four legged companion, Jasper. The family respectfully requests donations be made in Russ' memory to Hospice of Sweetwater County, 333 Broadway Street, Suite 220, Rock Springs, Wyoming 82901 or to the City of Green River at 50 E 2nd N, Green River, Wyoming, referencing GBTF - Killdeer Wetlands Project, or to any charity of your choice. Cremation has taken place. A Celebration of Life will be conducted at a later date. Condolences may be left at http://www.vasefuneralhomes.com. Actors' Mission presents an evening of one-act plays Inez, played by Sierra Marissa Taylor Bernal, right, listens to Estelle, played by Sarah Schaeperkoetter, left, in "No Exit." Life, death, existence, and everything in between - for everybody, and for specific individuals - are the subjects of the Actors' Mission's 76th production, "Morality and Mortality: an Evening of One-Act Plays." The evening will have two separate but thematically connected one-act plays, starting with "Everybody" by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins and ending with "No Exit" by Jean-Paul Sartre. "Everybody" "This is not going to be what everybody's expecting, and I kind of enjoy that," Heather Pristash, the director of "Everybody," said of the production. "Everybody" is a humorous modern adaptation... Guam Regional Transit Authority launched 10 new buses Friday, according to a press release from the Office of the Governor. With the new buses, the total brings up to 21 buses and wheelchair-compatible vans. All new buses were purchased using grant funding of about $1.6 million from the Federal Transit Administration and are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, according to the release. By nearly doubling our bus fleet, we make a significant stride toward strengthening the transportation services that ensure the livelihoods of working people, the health of transit-reliant patients and the growth of Guams economy, Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero said in the release. As we enter a new era of opportunity, our administration will continue to support our islands evolving transportation needs to fuel long-term prosperity and improve the quality of life for all. A bus driver training program with the Guam Department of Labor was held last October, as part of a wide-scale industry investment, and a double fleet of buses will open job opportunities, according to Lt. Gov. Josh Tenorio. Eventually, as we make more improvements, we will offer a truly reliable mass transit system that can help mitigate the cost of gas and reduce environmental impacts, he said. The governor and I thank the transportation workers who are creating this reality every day along their routes. GRTA will be utilizing federal funding to build a new park-and-ride hub and bus facility in Dededo, as well as purchase an additional six buses and five 10-passenger, ADA-compliant buses using the Accelerated Innovated Mobility Program. GRTA offers services from 4:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Monday to Saturday. The agency serves approximately 8,000 fixed route riders and 5,000 paratransit riders monthly, according to the release. North Korea on Thursday fired a short-range ballistic missile toward waters off its western coast, according to South Korea's military, but there was no indication the launch posed an immediate threat to the Marianas, Guam Homeland Security Advisor Samantha Brennan said. The launches out of North Korea are a testament to how important it is to keep plans and preparedness procedures up to date, not only from natural hazards, Brennan said in a press release from the Offices of Guam Homeland Security and Civil Defense. According to an Associated Press report, the launch came as the United States and South Korea prepare to hold their biggest combined military training exercises in years next week to counter the threat of North Koreas nuclear arsenal, which leader Kim Jong Un has aggressively expanded in recent years despite his country's deepening economic isolation and pandemic-related difficulties. South Korea'ss Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile was fired at around 6:20 p.m. from an area near the western coastal city of Nampo. There were no immediate assessments of how far it flew or where it landed. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said later Thursday it was examining the possibility that North Korea may have launched several ballistic missiles from the area, not just one. The South Korean military strengthened its surveillance of North Korean activities while maintaining full readiness in close coordination with its ally, the U.S., the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said the launch did not pose an immediate threat to U.S. personnel or territory, or to our allies but still highlighted the destabilizing impact of North Korea's nuclear weapons and missile program. The launch came after Kims powerful sister warned Tuesday that her country is ready to take quick, overwhelming action against the United States and South Korea as the allies expand their military training to cope with a growing North Korean nuclear threat. Coming off a record year in missile testing, North Korea has conducted more weapons demonstrations to 2023 including test launches of an intercontinental ballistic missile, short-range missiles and a purported long-range cruise missile system in recent weeks. Experts say North Korea with its escalated testing activity and threats is trying to claim an ability to conduct nuclear strikes in South Korea and the U.S. mainland. Kim, who sees his nuclear arsenal as his strongest guarantee of survival, is trying to force the United States into accepting the North as a nuclear power and wants to negotiate badly needed economic concessions from a position of strength, analysts say. Diplomacy between the U.S. and North Korea has stalled since 2019 because of disagreements over an easing of crippling U.S.-led sanctions against the North in exchange for steps by the North to wind down its nuclear weapons and missile programs. Last week, the South Korean and U.S. militaries announced they will conduct computer-simulated command post training on March 13-23 and will resume their largest springtime field exercises, which were last held in 2018. The United States has also recently sent advanced warplanes, including the B-1B and B-52 long-range bombers, to train with South Korean aircraft in a show of strength, triggering protests from North Korea, which describes the allies joint drills as invasion rehearsals. The allies had canceled or scaled back some of their regular drills since 2018 to support now-dormant diplomacy with North Korea and guard against the COVID-19 pandemic. But they have been restoring their exercises after North Korea test-fired dozens of missiles last year and threatened to use its nuclear weapons in potential conflicts with its rivals. North Koreas growing nuclear arsenal and provocations have raised the urgency for South Korea and Japan to strengthen their defense postures in conjunction with their alliances with the United States. While expanding joint drills with the U.S., South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeols government is also seeking stronger assurances that the United States will swiftly and decisively use its nuclear capabilities to protect Seoul in the event of a North Korean nuclear attack. Under Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Japan has made a major break from its self-defense-only post-World War II principle, adopting a new national security strategy in December that includes the goals of acquiring preemptive strike capabilities and cruise missiles to counter growing threats from North Korea, China and Russia. Their shared urgency over security is also pushing South Korea and Japan closer together following years of disputes stemming from Japans colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula before the end of World War II. Earlier Thursday, the South Korean and Japanese governments said Yoon will travel to Tokyo to meet with Kishida next week. The summit plan was announced days after the Yoon government announced a domestically contentious plan to use local funds to compensate Koreans enslaved by Japanese companies before the end of World War II. The plan was praised by U.S. President Joe Biden as a major step toward resolving the strained relationship between Seoul and Tokyo. Washington has been pressing South Korea and Japan to repair their relations as it seeks stronger trilateral security cooperation to cope with the growing regional challenges. Yoon is also planning to travel to Washington next week for a meeting with Biden. This is likely only the beginning of a series of provocative tests by North Korea, said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul. North Korea "is poised to respond aggressively to major U.S.-South Korea defense exercises, as well as to President Yoons upcoming summits with Prime Minister Kishida and President Biden. The Kim regime may order missile firings of longer ranges, attempt a spy satellite launch, demonstrate a solid-fuel engine and perhaps even conduct a nuclear test. In her statement on Tuesday, Kim Yo Jong, Kim Jong Uns sister and one of his top foreign policy officials, said North Korea is keeping a close eye on the U.S. forces and the South Korean puppet military and is prepared to take appropriate, quick and overwhelming action at any time according to our judgment. In previous statements, Kim Yo Jong threatened to turn the Pacific into North Koreas firing range and repeatedly implied that the North might test-fire an ICBM toward those waters on a ballistic trajectory, which would be seen as one of its most provocative weapons demonstrations yet. All of North Koreas ICBM tests since 2017 have been conducted on a high angle to avoid the territories of neighbors. Published on 2023/03/09 | Source New stills added for the upcoming Korean movie "I Leave Home" (2021) Advertisement Directed by Kim Sung-hwan-II With Yang Heung-joo, Na Hyun-joon,... Synopsis 'Seong-min', who has been preparing to leave for a long time, heads to a Buddhist temple, Taeungsa, with his friend 'Jin-woo'. However, when Seong-min arrives at the temple, he is unexpectedly denied entry due to the age limit. Confused, Seong-min and Jin-woo did not give up and headed to Bobmunsa Temple in Odaesan, but this time they are rejected for another unexpected reason... Life isn't easy at all! From now on, a pleasant mind journey begins! Shall we leave together? Release date in Korea : 2023/04/05 (Das Original dieses Beitrags ist bei Heise auf Deutsch erschienen.) GPT-4 is coming next week: at an approximately one-hour hybrid information event entitled "AI in Focus - Digital Kickoff" on 9 March 2023, four Microsoft Germany employees presented Large Language Models (LLM) like GPT series as a disruptive force for companies and their Azure-OpenAI offering in detail. The kickoff event took place in the German language, news outlet Heise was present. Rather casually, Andreas Braun, CTO Microsoft Germany and Lead Data & AI STU, mentioned what he said was the imminent release of GPT-4. The fact that Microsoft is fine-tuning multimodality with OpenAI should no longer have been a secret since the release of Kosmos-1 at the beginning of March. Dr. Andreas Braun, CTO Microsoft Germany and Lead Data & AI STU at the Microsoft Digital Kickoff: "KI im Fokus" (AI in Focus, Screenshot) (Bild: Microsoft) "We will introduce GPT-4 next week" "We will introduce GPT-4 next week, there we will have multimodal models that will offer completely different possibilities for example videos," Braun said. The CTO called LLM a "game changer" because they teach machines to understand natural language, which then understand in a statistical way what was previously only readable and understandable by humans. In the meantime, the technology has come so far that it basically "works in all languages": You can ask a question in German and get an answer in Italian. With multimodality, Microsoft(-OpenAI) will "make the models comprehensive". Report by Silke Hahn Silke Hahn is a technology editor at Heise, Germany's biggest tech and IT news outlet. With her historical background (she studied ancient history and dead languages), she bridges the gap between antiquity and modernity. She considers artificial intelligence and technology sovereignty to be the most explosive topic of our time and follows the ongoing debates around generalising AI as well as AI legislation closely. Reach out via Twitter Find Silke on Mastodon Disruption and "killing old darlings" Braun was joined by the CEO of Microsoft Germany, Marianne Janik, who spoke across the board about disruption through AI in companies. Janik emphasised the value creation potential of artificial intelligence and spoke of a turning point in time the current AI development and ChatGPT were "an iPhone moment". It is not about replacing jobs, she said, but about doing repetitive tasks in a different way than before. One point that is often forgotten in the public discussion is that "we in Germany still have a lot of legacy in our companies" and "keep old treasures alive for years". Disruption does not necessarily mean job losses. It will take "many experts to make the use of AI value-adding", Janik emphasised. Traditional job descriptions are now changing and exciting new professions are emerging as a result of the enrichment with the new possibilities. She recommends that companies form internal "competence centres" that can train employees in the use of AI and bundle ideas for projects. In doing so, "the migration of old darlings should be considered". Disruption in the German Industry: Keynote by Dr. Marianne Janik, CEO Microsoft Germany at "KI im Fokus" (AI in Focus, Screenshot) (Bild: Microsoft) In addition, the CEO emphasised that Microsoft does not use customers' data to train models (which, however, does not or did not apply at least to their research partner OpenAI according to its ChatGPT policy). Janik spoke of a "democratisation" by which she admittedly only meant the immediate usability of the models within the framework of the Microsoft product range, in particular their broad availability through the integration of AI in the Azure platform, Outlook and Teams. Use cases that are already possible today Clemens Sieber (Senior AI Specialist) and Holger Kenn (Chief Technologist Business Development AI & Emerging Technologies, both Microsoft Germany) provided insights into practical AI use and concrete use cases that their teams are currently working on, but also into technical backgrounds. Kenn explained what multimodal AI is about, which can translate text not only accordingly into images, but also into music and video. He talked about embeddings, which are used for the internal representation of text in the model, in addition to the GPT-3.5 model class. Responsible AI is already built into Microsoft products according to Kenn, and "millions of queries can be mapped into the APIs" via the cloud. Most of the audience probably agreed with him on a basic assessment, that now is the time to get started. Especially in the programming area, models such as Codex and Copilot make it easier to create boilerplate code. Dr. Holger Kenn, Chief Technologist Business Development AI & Emerging Technologies, vividly explains how multimodality works ("KI im Fokus", Screenshot) (Bild: Microsoft) Clemens Siebler illustrated with use cases what is already possible today. For example, speech-to-text telephone calls could be recorded and the agents of a call centre would no longer have to manually summarise and type in the content. According to Siebler, this could save 500 working hours a day for a large Microsoft customer in the Netherlands, which receives 30,000 calls a day. And the prototype for the project was created within two hours, a single developer implemented the project in a fortnight (plus further time for final implementation). According to him, the three most common use cases are answering questions on company knowledge that is only accessible to employees, AI-assisted document processing and semi-automation by processing spoken language in the call and response centre. Digital Kick-off Event "AI in Focus" at Microsoft Germany, 9 March 2023 ("KI im Fokus digitaler Kickoff", Screenshot) (Bild: Microsoft) When asked about operational reliability and fact fidelity, Siebler said that the AI will not always answer correctly, so it is necessary to validate. Microsoft is currently creating confidence metrics to address this issue. Customers often use AI support only on their own data sets, primarily for reading comprehension and querying inventory data, where the models are already quite accurate. However, the text generated by the model remains generative and is therefore not easily verifiable. "We build a feedback loop around it with thumbs up and thumbs down," Siebler said this is an iterative process. Interestingly, none of the four Microsoft employees commented on AI integration in the company's own search engine, "the new Bing". The final panel was not open to audience questions, and only pre-registered participants had been admitted. Microsoft and European AI regulation a footnote On the topic of regulation, Microsoft Germany took a more positive stance at the AI kickoff event than the Microsoft and US position deposited in Brussels, pointing here in particular to the dangers of regulation for innovation and the grassroots community. "Open source must of course be allowed to flourish," said Janik. Unquestionably an important concern, but its advocate is probably not called Microsoft. On the subject of attempted influence on European legislative procedures, the German edition of the MIT Technology Review had reported at the beginning of March 2023, and a year ago, a French cloud provider had filed an antitrust complaint for anti-competitive practices by the hyperscalers. Against this background, commitments to fairness, security, the right to privacy and reliability may have been more of a message to business customers and partners. Readers interested in the activities of BigTech corporations like Microsoft around the AI Act in Brussels should refer to the research findings of the lobbying watchdog group Corporate Europe Observatory, in particular its report "The Lobbying Ghost in the Machine" from the end of February 2023. Behind the scenes, BigTech seems to be keen to keep its generative AI models free from an overly strong commitment to AI security and European legal norms, and instead to shift regulatory obligations and responsibility for any damage to European providers and user groups. As a potential customer, it is important to consider this, as the contractual penalties provided for in the upcoming AI Act for the use of high-risk AI (which currently still includes ChatGPT and Co.) could hit a company hard, with up to 30 million euros or 6 percent of annual turnover. The details can be found in the publicly accessible draft regulation, e.g. in Article 71 under "Sanctions". Microsoft's information event, however, was not a press conference on this topic, but was probably aimed more at potential or existing business customers as well as future partner companies. (sih) The Finnish startup community organized a tax seminar on Thursday, March 9 in Helsinki, where they presented a tax survey conducted by the community. The survey examines the relationship between the migration of top talents and innovators and taxation based on the existing literature. Additionally, the survey presents the tax incentives used in countries that compete with Finland for skilled labor and companies. According to the survey, tax incentives have an impact on the migration of specific groups, such as patent-holding top innovators and other high-income individuals. Youssef Zad, the chief economist of the Finnish startup community, stated that several studies have shown that high-income immigrants and top innovators react strongly to changes in income taxation and R&D tax credits. These are the people whose skills are essential to the ability of businesses in the region to innovate and increase productivity. These are also the people that Finland needs urgently, especially now that the strong increase in R&D expenditure under the R&D funding act requires improving the availability of skilled labor. Global competition for innovators is intense, and they are not queuing up to come to Finland. High taxation also has its advantages: it funds critical public services that can enhance Finland's attractiveness. We must hold on to such critical welfare services. "Finland's economy is rapidly increasing its debt, and therefore any potential tax cuts must be channeled carefully to avoid further weakening of public finances. The literature also shows that at least in the big picture, income taxation does not affect the migration of skilled labor. In other words, I do not see it reasonable to cut income taxation at all income levels in Finland, at least in fear of labor leaving elsewhere. In the survey, we discuss limited incentives for high-skill and income-level labor that moves to Finland. As a concrete policy change, we should consider increasing the incentives for key personnel taxation," Zad added. Key findings of the survey: The importance of top innovators and skilled professionals for the national economy is significant. High-income immigrants and top innovators react relatively strongly to tax incentives. High taxation also has its advantages: it funds critical public services that can enhance the country's attractiveness. However, the financing base of the public sector and the reduction of the need for borrowing can be achieved by supporting strong economic growth. Therefore, we must create a tax-competitive environment in Finland. This way, we can attract the skilled labor force that Finland desperately needs to compete globally. HT The search is on for the most exciting up-and-coming fashion designers in Finland in the country's most prestigious fashion design competition, "Vuoden nuori suunnittelija" (Young Designer of the Year) 2023. The 29th edition of the competition is open to fashion design students who are asked to create designs with the theme of "joy". The winner will receive exposure and a booth at the I love me trade fair, taking place from October 20 to 22, 2023. The competition is split into two parts. In the first part, participants must create a complete outfit that embodies the theme of joy. They can interpret the theme in any way they wish and design an outfit that reflects it. The second part of the competition requires participants to design a "Mielinauha" (mental health ribbon) for MIELI ry, a national mental health charity. The winning designer will have the opportunity to showcase their talent to a large audience and gain significant exposure, as previous winners have demonstrated. Rolf Ekroth, the 2015 winner, has since gone on to establish his own fashion label, design clothing collections for several major brands, and win other international design competitions. Ervin Latimer, another past winner, has also gained attention at the Florence Pitti Uomo fashion show, while Heidi Karjalainen's design was worn by the wife of the Finnish President for the Independence Day reception in 2017. The competition offers a unique opportunity for young Finnish designers to showcase their talent, gain recognition and exposure, and meet with industry professionals and the public. It also serves as a platform to promote the importance of fashion design and craftsmanship in Finland, which is highly regarded globally. I love me, the trade fair which offers a booth to the winner, has partnered with MIELI ry to raise awareness about mental health issues and the charity's work. The annual mental health ribbon campaign, Mielinauha, raises funds to support local mental health and crisis services. The theme of "joy" for this year's competition is timely and reflects the current global mood. The competition challenges participants to create designs that express the joy and positivity that we all need in our lives, especially in these challenging times. The competition will be accepting applications from fashion design students in the coming weeks, and the winner will be announced later this year. Find the Young Designer of the Year 2023 competition rules, participation instructions and application form here. HT Public debate about the shorter working hours has been re-kindled this spring by trials carried out in, for example, Iceland, Spain and the UK. THE MINISTRY of Economic Affairs and Employment revealed last month it has begun looking into a number of options for trialling shorter working hours during the next electoral term at the request of Minister of Employment Tuula Haatainen (SDP). The UK recently wrapped up a six-month trial of a four-day work week that involved almost 3,000 employees and dozens of employers across sectors. Over 90 per cent, or 56, of the 61 participating companies said they intend to continue implementing the shorter work week after the trial, with 18 saying the shift would be permanent, according to the Washington Post. Matias Makynen, the deputy chairperson of the Social Democrats, in February said Finland should carry out a similar trial one where weekly working hours are cut by 20 per cent without affecting pay, wrote Helsingin Sanomat. He argued that it is necessary to look into new ways of arranging the working life in order to reduce burnouts particularly among young adults. Also Li Andersson, the chairperson of the Left Alliance, and the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK) have expressed their support for trialling reduced working hours. Mikael Pentikainen, the managing director of Suomen Yrittajat, in February tweeted that shorter working hours should obviously be reflected in pay. Reducing working time without lowering wages would leave many employers in dire straits, he argued, admitting that shorter working hours could suit some workplaces. As Finland is drifting toward an economic crash, a general four-day work week isnt realistic. The Finnish Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment is expected to publish its report on trial possibilities by the end of the month, just before the parliamentary elections held on 2 April. Aleksi Teivainen HT On March 9th, 2023, the Government of Finland adopted the Decree on the Sami Climate Council, marking a significant milestone in the country's efforts to address climate change. The Sami Climate Council is an independent expert body established under the new Climate Act with the primary purpose of bringing the knowledge base and perspectives of the Sami people into the climate policy processes. The Sami people are an indigenous group that has inhabited the northern regions of Europe, including Finland, for thousands of years. Their traditional livelihoods and cultural practices are closely intertwined with the Arctic environment, making them particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. The Sami Climate Council will help to ensure that their voices and perspectives are heard in the decision-making processes that affect their lives and communities. As stated by Minister of the Environment and Climate Change Maria Ohisalo, "the warming climate has very particular impacts on the Sami culture and traditional livelihoods that are based on the Arctic environment. This is why it is an absolute necessity to integrate the knowledge of the indigenous Sami people strongly into the decision-making concerning climate policy." The Sami Climate Council will consist of a chairperson, a deputy chairperson, and up to ten other members. At least half of the members must be holders of traditional Sami knowledge, while the other members represent environmental sciences or other relevant fields of science. The council's primary task is to produce a knowledge base for assessing and monitoring the impacts of national climate policy from the perspective of the Sami culture and the rights of the Sami people. The Sami Climate Council's establishment is particularly timely, given the urgency of the global climate crisis and the need to ensure that climate policies are equitable and inclusive. The Arctic is warming at a much faster rate than the rest of the world, and the impacts of this warming are already being felt by the Sami people. By bringing their knowledge and perspectives into the climate policy processes, the Sami Climate Council has the potential to serve as a trailblazer in international contexts and lead the way towards a climate policy that takes the rights of indigenous peoples into account. In conclusion, the establishment of the Sami Climate Council is a significant step forward for Finland's efforts to address climate change and promote social and environmental justice. The council's work will help to ensure that the voices and perspectives of the Sami people are heard and taken into account in the decision-making processes that affect their lives and communities. As we face the urgent challenges of the global climate crisis, initiatives like the Sami Climate Council are essential to building a sustainable and equitable future for all. HT The Finnish Customs (Tulli) reported a significant increase in tax collection in 2022, with a total tax revenue of approximately 429 million euros. This is an increase of 46% compared to the previous year, with customs duties contributing to the majority of the tax collected. The increase in customs duties was mainly due to rising import prices. The sale of virtual currencies that were confiscated by the state also contributed to the increase in tax revenue. According to Tom Ferm, Director of Customer Relations and Tax Collection at Tulli, customs duties contributed to about 297 million euros of the total tax collection in 2022, an increase of 92 million euros from 2021. The increase was mainly due to the rise in import prices. The European Union received 223 million euros from customs duties, with Finland receiving a quarter of the total amount as a reward, which is 74 million euros. Largest tax revenues Year 2022 Year 2021 Customs duties 297 milj. (+45 %) 205 milj. Fairway dues 52 milj. (+16 %) 45 milj. Value added tax on imports 40 milj. 40 milj. Service fees etc. 40 milj. (+900 %) 4 milj. Tulli is part of the European Union Customs Union, and customs duties are part of the EU's own resources. The tariff rate depends on the commodity code and the customs value of the goods. Usually, customs duties are not levied when goods come from within the EU or within the EU customs territory but outside the tax territory, such as from Aland or the Canary Islands. In addition to customs duties, Tulli also collected value-added tax on imports, amounting to 40 million euros, which was the same as in 2021. The collection of fairway dues increased from 45 million euros in 2021 to 52 million euros in 2022. Fairway dues are collected on ships engaged in commercial shipping in Finnish territorial waters, and the amount depends on the type of vessel, net tonnage, and ice class. Tulli's miscellaneous service fees and other random revenues also increased by 36 million euros compared to 2021. The revenues included the sale of virtual currencies, which amounted to 46.5 million euros. Out of this amount, 37 million euros were included in the miscellaneous service fees and the remaining amount was used to remove the virtual currency's book value. The tax collection by Tulli amounted to 429 million euros, which is a significant increase from the previous year. The tax arrears were about 1 million euros, with a tax arrears rate of 0.23%. This is a positive sign for Finland's economy, as it indicates that the country is recovering from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Tulli's ability to collect taxes is essential for the country's economic growth and development. The increase in tax collection will also help the Finnish government to fund essential public services such as healthcare, education, and social welfare. HT Hunting for white-tailed deer and roe deer in Finland ended in mid-February, with a total of 67,152 white-tailed deer and 18,583 roe deer harvested across the country. The yield for both species decreased by approximately 9% from the previous hunting season. The annual harvest of white-tailed deer had grown significantly over the past ten years, with the harvest rate more than tripling during that time. However, the number of white-tailed deer harvested declined by about 9% in the last season, with a total yield of approximately 7,000 animals fewer than the previous season. The decline in hunting yield was particularly evident in the border areas of the Satakunta, Northern and Southern Hame, and Southwest Finland game management districts. The white-tailed deer population in these areas is also believed to have decreased. In recent years, efforts have been made to systematically reduce the deer population in southwestern Finland, primarily to decrease the number of deer-vehicle collisions. Half of the harvested white-tailed deer were fawns, while half of the adult animals were males and females. Approximately 68% of the granted hunting permits were utilized across the country. Each hunting permit allows for the shooting of one adult animal or two fawns. In March, the Natural Resources Institute Finland will release an estimate of the white-tailed deer population size. Last year, the population was estimated to be around 109,000 white-tailed deer in the early spring of 2022. White-tailed deer are the most important game species in southwestern Finland, with tens of thousands of hunters participating in hunting annually. The estimated yield of deer meat from hunting in recent years is more than 2 million kilograms per year. Hunting for roe deer, the smallest deer species in Finland, does not require a hunting permit, but the harvested animals must be reported to the Finnish Wildlife Agency. The yield for the previous season decreased by about 9% compared to the previous season. Roe deer were harvested in all Finnish game management districts, with the highest numbers in Southwest Finland. In the case of moose, hunting for European elk ended in late January, and 313 were harvested. Yield increased in all areas except Southwest Finland. The total increase was about 28% compared to the previous season. The European elk occurs primarily in southern Finland and archipelago areas as localized populations. HT Well both be in Nato by Vilnius. The US has supported and continues to support our memberships, he told reporters in Washington DC. PRESIDENT Sauli Niinisto on Thursday indicated that he remains optimistic about the timeline for Finnish and Swedish admission to Nato, reiterating that he believes the membership applications will be ratified by the defence alliances summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, in July. Niinisto, who spoke to the media after sitting down with US President Joe Biden at the White House, said Biden re-affirmed his strong support for Finland and Sweden. Biden urged us forward. He hoped Im right with my optimism, he said. The meeting was initially not on the agenda of his five-day visit to the US, according to Helsingin Sanomat. It was proposed by the White House. Niinisto declined to comment on speculation that the US could use F-16 fighter jets as leverage to expedite the ratification process in Turkey, saying Finland will not interfere in bilateral issues between Turkey and the US. Fighter jets arent elements of the Finnish and Swedish memberships, he retorted. He stated that he and his counterpart share an understanding that heavy weapon systems and surface-to-air missiles are presently critical for Ukraine. Also Kevin McCarthy, the newly elected Republican Speaker of the US House of Representatives, is firmly in favour of continuing to support Ukraine, according to Niinisto. Ukraine will continue to receive support as long as necessary, he affirmed. Also China, he added, would have an opportunity to have a positive impact on the war, but the pronounced disconnect between western and eastern thinking has become an obstacle. A growing amount of global tension is emerging between the two parties, meaning western and eastern thinking. These are features that you should recognise, said Niinisto. Aleksi Teivainen HT Theres been talk in recent days that the government could continue in its current composition also after the elections [held on 2 April], she wrote on Facebook on Thursday. MINISTER of Finance Annika Saarikko (Centre) has said the Centre is not prepared to form another government with its current coalition partners, the Greens, Left Alliance, Social Democrats and Swedish Peoples Party, reports MTV. Some are hoping that it would, others are warning that it could. I think its fair to voters to tell that that wont be happening. Saarikko explained in her social media post that the five parties are simply too far apart in terms of economic policy particularly as rejuvenating the national coalition will be the most important task of the next government. That wont be possible if the government is made up mostly of parties that think debt and deficit dont matter, she said. The Centre, she added, will determine whether it is prepared to join a ruling coalition based on the results of the elections, but it will not categorically rule out co-operation with any individual party. The composition and issues will be decisive, stated Saarikko. The Green League, Left Alliance and Social Democrats have all announced they will refuse to join a coalition that includes the Finns Party. The Swedish Peoples Party has similarly suggested that the likelihood of it being in part of the same ruling coalition as the populist right-wing party is very low. The Left Alliance has also indicated that it is not ready to rule with the National Coalition. Saarikko had a different tone when she commented on the speculation at an election debate hosted by Maaseudun Tulevaisuus in January, reminded Helsingin Sanomat. She stated that although the current government has elements she will not miss, she is proud that the centre-right has been able to co-operate in a variety of ruling coalitions. For us to close the door on each others faces, Im not sure how smart thats from Finlands perspective. Not smart at all, she said. Aleksi Teivainen HT The state of Finnish work well-being and capacity continues to decline, according to the latest report by the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health. The report reveals that there has been a mild decline in the investment in work, while the incidence of burnout symptoms has increased, particularly among lower-educated employees. The younger generation is also experiencing poorer work well-being. Researchers call on companies to change their approach by improving working conditions and job resources. The latest report from the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health shows that there is still a slight decline in Finnish work well-being. The study surveyed 480 Finnish employees aged between 22 and 66 who responded to four surveys. The experience of individual work capacity has declined simultaneously as burnout symptoms increased. Slightly more than one in four respondents experienced burnout symptoms in the latter half of 2022. On average, work engagement was only experienced once a week. Job resources, such as a sense of community and feedback, have not improved and remain at the same level as they were in the summer of 2021. "Changes for the worse are not dramatic, but it is unfortunate that there has been no improvement," says Janne Kaltiainen, a specialist researcher at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health. "It would have been desirable for companies to invest more in supporting work well-being, as the COVID-19 crisis recedes." The study found that younger respondents had weaker work well-being and fewer job resources. For example, work engagement increased by an average of 3.9% for every ten years of age. "Our research shows that work well-being, especially for young people, can be improved by investing in community, recognition, and recognition of success in the workplace. Now is the time for companies to demonstrate their ability to promote work engagement and combat burnout," encourages Professor Jari Hakanen. Educational levels polarize work well-being experiences Development trends in work well-being differ significantly based on education level, which could contribute to greater inequality. For example, the rise in burnout symptoms does not affect university-educated employees. They had the most work engagement and job satisfaction, as well as better work capacity than others. One in five university graduates has an increased risk of burnout, while one in three basic and secondary school graduates does. "Socio-economic disparities in work well-being have existed before, but they appear to be increasing. Working conditions and workload explain work well-being, while education and age explain the kind of working conditions people end up in," says Janne Kaltiainen. Overall life satisfaction has also declined, especially among lower-educated workers. This observation may reflect changes in lifestyle caused by the rising cost of living. The majority of respondents reported a decreased sense of security. "It is a heavy burden on our society that work well-being continues to decline," Kaltiainen says. "We need to focus on changing our approach to work and to improving job resources and working conditions." HT Edwards calls on SEC to investigate stock sale by Canton paper mill execs U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards is calling on the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate the selling of stock by four of Pactiv Evergreen executives four days before the company announced the closure of its Canton, a shutdown that will result in the projected loss of 1,200 jobs and most likely devastating blow to Haywood County's economy. Stocks were sold at $11.30 per share. The profits, according to a report on WLOS-TV, made by the executives are as follows: President and CEO Michael King: $509,776 Chief Legal Officer and Secretary Chandra Mitchell: $63,426 President of Beverage Merchandising Byron Racki: $46,250 Chief Operations Officer Douglas Owensby: $44,849 "Only days before announcing the closure of the plant, several executives at Pactiv Evergreen reportedly sold thousands of shares of the companys stock at $11.30 per share," Edwards told SEC Chairman Gary Gensler in a letter. "After the closure of the plant was formally announced, the price of Pactiv Evergreens stocks plunged to $9.73 per share, which allowed these executives to profit by thousands of dollars. "It would be illegal for anyone to profit from inside information, and it would be reprehensible for them to reap a windfall while workers in my district will soon be struggling even more to provide for their families. I urge you to investigate these actions as insider trading.' Flat Rock awards $1M in rescue plan money FLAT ROCK Henderson County's emergency medical services and three fire departments received $565,000, businesses were awarded $179,000 and village personnel will split $109,000 in premium pay based on the Flat Rock Village Council's distribution of American Rescue Plan Act money. The Flat Rock Village Council on Thursday announced the awarding of grants that provide financial support to public service providers countywide and Flat Rock-based independent businesses and nonprofits impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. The Village of Flat Rock received $1,078,153.45 in ARP funds. Supporting public service providers that work throughout the county was particularly rewarding for the council, the village said in a news release. The Village Council worked with the County Commissioners to fund on a 50-50 basis a quick-response vehicle for the county's Emergency Services. The Village Council also awarded an additional grant to EMS for a state-of-the-art training simulator. In addition, the three fire departments that cover the Flat Rock area Blue Ridge Fire & Rescue, Valley Hill Fire & Rescue and Green River Fire & Rescue received substantial funding to update equipment used in the vital life-saving services they provide. After reviewing all submitted applications, the Council approved the following grants: General government service grants Blue Ridge Fire and Rescue, $320,000 Valley Hill Fire and Rescue, $125,000 Green River Fire and Rescue, $50,000 Henderson County Emergency Services, $70,000 Flat Rock-based independent business and nonprofit grants: Flat Rock Playhouse, for Covid-related expenses (HVAC, carpeting, sanitizing, testing), $103,748 Friends of Carl Sandburg at Connemara, Inc. to help maintain access to the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site with passenger vehicle service while the lake bridge is repaired, $37,500 Ladies Aid Society of Flat Rock Inc., to continue providing assistance to local nonprofits helping residents with basic needs, $17,500 Pinecrest Presbyterian Church, for Covid-related expenses (installation of air purifier), $7,727 Cuisine Team, qualified award for severely impacted sole proprietor business, $12,500 Village service grants: Premium pay for village employees, $109,004 Consultation/administration costs for the grant program through Land of Sky Regional Council, $15,000 Stormwater project along Dye Creek, a remediation project in the Park at Flat Rock, is set to begin in fall of this year, $210,000 All grants awarded followed federal and state regulations. The business/nonprofit grants were also required to demonstrate a 20 percent reduction in revenue from a base year prior to the pandemic emergency to the following year. Mary Roderick, Ph.D. with Land of Sky Regional Council, is working with the Flat Rock Village Council and staff on administering these grants. AN award-winning composer has written a musical work inspired by Henley. Cecilia McDowall was commissioned by the Henley Choral Society as part of its 50th anniversary celebrations to write The Ice is Listening. Last week, she visited the d:two centre in Market Place to give a talk about the work to members of the society and its gold friends group. She was joined by Oxford poet Kate Wakeling, who provided the libretto, Tim Wilson, the societys chairman, and Richard Harker, its musical director. Ms McDowall said: I have always known Henley and the river my brother rowed for Leander so I was thrilled when I was asked to create this new work. She explained that when she was learning to play the piano as a child she composed her first piece of music but her mother told her to stop messing about and instead do some practice. When it came to writing her latest work, she and Ms Wakeling considered a wider theme of the River Thames and its history and geology. Ms Wakeling said: The text for the first movement, Solid Waters, is drawn from a wonderful 17th century manuscript that I found in Magdalen College library in Oxford called An Historical Account of the Late Great Frost. It describes in marvellous detail the frost fairs of 1683 and 1864 when the Thames froze solid and all manner of roasting, boyling, eating, drinking [and] rejoicing took place on its surface. The text for the second movement, The Ice is Listening, takes as its starting point a quote from the climate scientist Josh Willis: When the ocean speaks, the Greenland Ice Sheet listens. I spoke to Heather Lane, the librarian and keeper of collections at the Scott Polar Research Institute and was fascinated to be told there are air bubbles trapped in the glaciers that are 20,000 years old. As the glaciers melt, this is lost. This felt to me like an assault on nature and history, of course, as well as having implications for humankind. The third movement, Moulin, takes its name from the waterfalls that form within the ice. Ms McDowall said: I was struck by the fact that, when a 700-year-old glacier in Iceland was officially declared dead in 2014, when it was too thin to move, a commemorative plaque was put up with a letter to the future on it. What a powerful idea. I feel we owe it to people who are going to come and listen to create something meaningful. She told the audience that she writes using a pencil and manuscript paper and is not precious about ideas, adding: The floor is covered in rejects. The event ended with the choir rehearsing the first movement for Ms McDowall. Mr Harker said: When we are singing existing works, you are dealing with something that has the weight of history on it. This piece is so fresh, the dust hasnt settled. It has been wonderful to have Cecilia and Kate here to give us their insight and to guide us in the interpretation. We cant wait for the performance itself. The world premiere of the piece will take place in St Marys Church on Saturday, April 1 at 7.30pm in a concert that will also include Vivaldis Gloria and Bachs Mass in G Minor. Tickets cost 20 for adults and 5 for under-18s and can be bought at www.henleychoralsociety.uk.org Chinas Dongying city sees ecological improvements in Yellow River Delta People's Daily Online) 10:16, March 10, 2023 Dongying city in east Chinas Shandong Province has witnessed ecological improvements in the Yellow River Delta thanks to various measures to improve wetland restoration and protection. The Yellow River flows into the Bohai Sea in the city, and the deposits of huge amounts of sand and mud from the river makes the Yellow River Delta, which generates extensive wetlands and is Chinas most complete and youngest wetlands ecosystem in the warm temperate zone. This aerial photo taken on Oct. 18, 2022 shows scenery at the Yellow River Delta National Nature Reserve in east China's Shandong Province. (Xinhua/Guo Xulei) Many years ago, the wetlands there were threatened due to less water from the river, seawater intrusion, and other factors. To protect the wetlands ecosystem of the rivers estuary, the Yellow River Delta National Nature Reserve was established in 1992. In recent years, Dongying has adopted a comprehensive wetlands restoration model by giving high priority to protecting the nature reserve and letting nature restore itself. It has launched 17 wetlands restoration projects with a total investment of 1.36 billion yuan ($190 million) for the nature reserve. These projects connected 241 kilometers of water channels. The city has also continued intensifying eco-compensation efforts by diverting water from the Yellow River to the nature reserve. Over the past three years, it has transferred 469 million cubic meters of water to the nature reserve, which has alleviated the salinization of soil and recovered the ecological functions of the wetlands there. Last year, the nature reserve built six additional water gates, ensuring that it can divert water from the river throughout the year, according to Wang Lidong, deputy head of a special working group for wetland restoration projects at the nature reserve. Smooth cordgrass has severely encroached on the growing space of Suaeda salsa that has adapted to alkaline soil at the nature reserve since 2010, said Wang Jinhe, head of Dongying Marine Economic Development Research Institute. This photo taken on Oct. 18, 2022 shows white-naped cranes at the Yellow River Delta National Nature Reserve in east China's Shandong Province. (Xinhua/Yang Bin) The smooth cordgrass also threatens other local plants and hinders the stability of the wetlands ecosystem at the nature reserve, Wang added. Since 2016, Dongying, in collaboration with scientific institutions such as the Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has used geographic information systems and remote sensing technology, and launched field investigations to learn the distribution and intrusion mechanism of the smooth cordgrass in the Yellow River Delta. The city has developed multiple treatment technologies and carried out management projects that have effectively contained the expansion of the plant and restored the biotic population in the intertidal zone. The nature reserve has restored 72,500 mu (4,833 hectares) of wetlands and flat from farmlands, recovered 52,000 mu of Suaeda salsa and seagrass beds, and added 188 square kilometers of new wetlands, an increase of 12.3 percent. Last year, Dongying built a real-time monitoring network for bird species at the nature reserve by using the internet, big data, remote sensing, radar and other information technologies in the nature reserve. We built a 24-hour monitoring system in key positions, including entrances and exits of roads and the distribution areas of birds. The system can identify the variety of bird species and count the number of birds, helping us ensure that birds are free from disturbance of human activity, said Zhao Yajie, senior engineer of the Yellow River Delta National Nature Reserves management committee. The nature reserve has put the habitats of Saunders's gulls, oriental white storks, cranes and other species under key protection. As a result, the nature reserve has seen a prominent increase in the variety and number of bird species in recent years. It is now home to 371 bird species, up from 187 when it was just established. It has become an important stop, wintering ground and breeding place for birds migrating along East Asian-Australasian and the West Pacific flyways. It is also an important breeding place for oriental white storks, the worlds second-largest breeding place for Saunders's gulls, and the worlds second-largest wintering ground for white cranes. Dongying is currently working to build the Yellow River Estuary National Park, which will span 3,523 square kilometers, including 1,371 square kilometers of land area and 2,152 square kilometers of sea area, to explore pathways for the protection of river and delta ecology, said Yu Hongbo, head of the publicity department of the Communist Party of China Dongying municipal committee. (Web editor: Hongyu, Du Mingming) Ovolo Hotels opened the doors to the revamped Laneways By Ovolo on March 7, 2023. Inspired by 80's Memphis nostalgia and infused with creative flair, Laneways By Ovolo is the evolution of the much loved Ovolo Laneways, and its new-look is a colourful nod (and a cheeky wink) to Melbourne's vibrant laneways and eclectic offerings. Laneways By Ovolo elevates the location with more personalised experiences for guests, reimagined public spaces and rooms by Australian interior designers Luchetti Krelle, and a new all-new drinking and dining venue Amphlett House - spearheaded by celebrated chef and restaurateur, Ian Curley and mixologist extraordinaire and Diageo's 2017 Bartender of the Year, Andrea Gualdi. In the hotel lobby guests are greeted by reception pods and an Honesty Bar, offering an assortment of sweet and savoury treats, bottled cocktails, wine and Champagne, and relying on an honour system where guests note what they take and it is charged back to their rooms. With 42 rooms, the new look for the hotel takes inspiration from 80s Memphis nostalgia - an aesthetic characterised by scattered, brightly coloured shapes and lines, combined with black-and-white graphic patterns. The new design adds an immediate fun and funky feel when guests arrive and is perfect for the weekend adventurer or corporate traveller. Located at the top of Little Bourke Street, Laneways By Ovolo offers the perfect starting spot for travellers to explore the city, and is also perfectly placed to access the city's nearby theatre district. In true Ovolo style, Laneways By Ovolo will offer its unique set of Perks when you book directly, and these include: Breakfast to go-go High-speed Wi-Fi In-room mini bar (First round is on Ovolo) Self-service laundry All-day sweets Welcome goodie Social hour in Amphlett House A tree planted by Eden Project In creating the new design for the hotel, interior designer and Luchetti Krelle principal Rachel Luchetti looked to harness atmospheric narratives in compelling ways, creating sensory journeys heightened by nostalgia. She explains: "We have relished the creative challenge of creating a sophisticated and stylish space that gives a nod to the building's 80's era. The Memphis nostalgia aesthetic was a perfect fit for this project and we have interpreted this with an injection of colour and energy in the classic Ovolo manner." The refreshed hotel features Room 303 - an exclusive suite designed by renowned interior designer, editor-in-chief of Belle magazine and judge on the television series 'The Block', Neale Whitaker - which also happens to be his room of choice when staying in Melbourne. His love for the room and the hotel led Ovolo to invite him to work alongside Luchetti Krelle to style his very own suite, adding to their 80s Memphis-inspired decor by incorporating some of his favourite pieces. Whitaker explains, "In the theme of Memphis nostalgia, I sourced a whole load of styling items and a few knick-knacks to put into the room, as well as artwork, fitting with Luchetti Krelle's design narrative." Guests who reserve room 303 can expect to stay among a collection of original art, limited-edition objects and soft furnishings hand selected by Whitaker, including a sculptural lamp by Sarah Nedovic Gaunt the last of the highly sought-after 'Lady' collection and similar to a piece which Whitaker has in his own home. An illustration of Whitaker himself, created by former Ovolo staffer Flynn Cowan, lends a dash of Warhol-style art, using repetition and colour-blocking. The room's colour scheme has been brought to life by Melbourne-based artist Nunzio Miano, whose flamboyant and generous use of colour brings high-octane energy to the room's scheme. Guests can also enjoy a 100-song Spotify playlist of Whitaker's favourite tracks. A key Laneways By Ovolo experience is the addition of the all-new food and drink offering Amphlett House. The 120-seat venue features a sophisticated yet fun interior with exceptional drinks and elevated pub classics making it the perfect spot for lunchtime dining, an afterwork drink, or pre- or post theatre visit Amphlett's House menu has been overseen by Ovolo's Group Kitchen Operations Director Ian Curley with support from Head Chef Ben Green, previously executive chef at multi-site Gather and Gather in London. and offers a selection of snacks, light bites and main courses. In creating the menu, Curley wanted a menu that was unpretentious yet tantalising, he explains: "The food concept for Amphlett House is elevated pub dining, with a classic menu highlighting quality Victorian produce. I've loved this part of Melbourne for many years and am looking forward to serving up humble fare with big flavours at the top end of town. We welcome guests to share a meal with family and friends or grab a quick bite with your better half." Amphlett House is one of the only restaurants in Australia to be serving beef heart, presented at the restaurant seared on a bed of lentils, creamed spinach and mustard. Other menu highlights include: Smoked Bone Marrow Served On Toast, Parsley and Shallot Salad Grilled Asparagus Egg Confetti, Hollandaise, Pangratatto Blue Oyster Mushroom Skewer With Smoked Romesco Moules Marinieres Aioli And Toasted Sourdough Steak and Hand Cut Chips With Kampot Peppercorn Sauce The beverage program, led by Andrea Gualdi, Ovolo's Food & Beverage Director, features a curated drinks list serving up classics and a variety of craft beers and local and international wines. The cocktail menu features classic cocktails with native Australian ingredients, including a Wattle Seed Negroni, Finger Lime Daiquiri and a Eucalyptus Smoked Margarita. Gualdi shares: "My background has been completely focused on cocktail bars so I am thrilled with this unique opportunity. Our aim is to bring the same level of quality you'd find in Australia's best bars to the drinks offering at Amphlett House. We are lucky to have access to some incredibly progressive Australian and international producers, both in the alcoholic and non-alcoholic categories, and we're excited to showcase quality, local produce in a welcoming setting." When it was first opened in 2013, Ovolo Laneways was the first Ovolo branded hotel to launch in Australia, and was voted Australasia's Best City Boutique Hotel at the World Boutique Hotel Awards. Its new iteration is anticipated to follow in the original's footsteps, with its own unique take on what the modern traveller needs today. To learn more about Laneways by Ovolo, or to make a booking, head to: ovolohotels.com Hotel website easyHotel, the affordable low-carbon hotel chain, is set to open the doors to its brand-new 180-bedroom hotel in Paris Nord Aubervilliers in March, directly connected by metro to the centre of the French capital. The opening marks the Group's third hotel in France, joining hotels in Nice and Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport as it continues to expand its Pan-European estate, with a focus on France and Spain. easyHotel Paris Nord Aubervilliers is set to open at Place du Front Populaire, a newly developed area at the junction between Paris, Aubervilliers and Saint-Denis in the north of Paris. The urban redevelopment provides a perfect location to attract businesses, tourists and families due to its accessibility to the centre of Paris as well as office buildings, including the Paris Olympic Committee. The hotel is located 100 meters from the Front Populaire metro station (line 12). This allows guests to directly reach popular tourist sites such as the Montmartre and Pigalle districts, the Opera Garnier or the Place de la Concorde, as well as the Saint-Lazare and Montparnasse stations. Within the immediate vicinity of the hotel stands a 1.5-hectare park and the Condorcet Campus, the largest university for human and social sciences in Europe. The hotel itself includes a lobby and a breakfast room. The hotel has been designed to combine contemporary design with a minimal approach to construction to minimise emissions for hotel guests. Visitors can enjoy everything they need for a great night's sleep, including comfy 4* mattresses, quiet rooms and high-speed WiFi. The hotel is part of the JUMP complex, a building designed by Dutch architect firm, KAAN Architecten and developed by Icade, a real estate investment trust, which will welcome the 4,000m2 hotel under a 12-year lease. This complex, certified BREEAM to Very Good level, uses a natural ventilation system to help reduce its carbon footprint, aligning with easyHotel's strategic goals to be the become the leader in low-carbon, affordable hotel accommodation in Europe. It also hosts offices and a rooftop open to the public. Hotel website Previously at the Montage Laguna Beach for 13 years, Guzzetta brings over 20 years of dynamic hospitality experience to Balboa Bay Resort. His most recent role at the Montage was Director of Banquets, where Guzzetta was responsible for the day to day operations of both the banquet and in-room-dining departments, having worked closely with the Culinary, Stewarding, Sales and CCS departments to execute successful corporate, social, offsite, and internal events. During his time at the Montage, Guzzetta was also the Director of Hearts of Montage, a volunteer organization that fundraises for the local community through beach cleanups, blood drives, sea lion releases, and more. Balboa Bay Resort Newport Beach, California United States Website Thoughtful and dynamic in his approach, Che Sutton brings more than two decades of hospitality experience to his role at Marriott Irvine Spectrum. Sutton is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the property, utilizing his leadership expertise and inventive skill set to further elevate the guest experience. Sutton has held various positions across the Marriott brand portfolio, including Scottsdale Marriott at McDowell Mountains in Arizona, the Los Angeles Airport Marriott and Torrance Marriott Redondo Beach in California. He held key leadership positions and mastered his knowledge in various areas of operations, food and beverage, renovations and concept branding. Prior to joining the Marriott Irvine Spectrum team, Sutton held ranks as the dual general manager of the Residence Inn and Fairfield Inn & Suites Tustin Orange County. From better customer experience to digitising all the processes like check-ins, contactless service, online booking, and payment, blockchain technology has the potential to completely transform the sector. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs)By Nikhil GoyalNFTs have made quite a buzz around many industries like gaming, healthcare, logistics, real estate, etc. With the emergence of the metaverse, the hospitality industry has finally realised its potential. NFTs can provide massive opportunities to hospitality companies to streamline their processes and many hotels are already taking advantage of it. From better customer experience to digitising all the processes like check-ins, contactless service, online booking, and payment, blockchain technology has the potential to completely transform the sector. Now-a-days, hotels are betting big on NFT Souvenirs in order to enrich their relationships with the customers. As the NFT market grows, it is essential for hotels and restaurants to join the NFT league before their competitions so that they have the first mover advantage.How hotels can use NFT technologyNFT souvenirThe first and foremost benefit of NFTs in the hospitality sector is that it can revolutionize hotels customer loyalty programs by creating a permanent record on the blockchain. Guests can hold these NFT Souvenirs as loyalty badges for life without any risk of tampering. Moreover, through NFT based Souvenirs hotels can sustain a long-term relationship with their customers and create a community of brand ambassadors for their brand. Read the full article at The Economic Times Frankfurt am Main/Berlin -- Deutsche Hospitality announces comprehensive enhancements to its loyalty program, H Rewards, providing more flexibility, benefits and personalization to over 200 million members. Deutsche Hospitality introduces its partnership with Fritz Hansen, a leading Danish design company. The next generation IntercityHotel brand is being revealed with urban design, lively public space and unique food concepts. The Scandinavian brand, Zleep Hotels is being centered around Danish design and the sensibility of simplicity. H Rewards More personal, more flexibility, more benefits We are excited to provide the most comprehensive enhancements since the launch of our H Rewards program. It now provides our fast-growing community of 200 million members with more flexibility, quicker ways to earn points and digital touchpoints for a seamless guest journey, says Oliver Bonke, Deutsche Hospitalitys CEO. We have developed tremendous internal digital capability across H World, our ownership group, giving our customers intuitive digital solutions. The loyalty program and booking platform, H Rewards now accelerates the earning of points by rewarding online check-in and contactless arrival as well as direct bookings via the App or new website, hrewards.com. Furthermore, members have the option to waive certain benefits by turning them into reward points; they can choose from more attractive member rates and special offers as well as new benefits per tier level such as free breakfast for gold members. H Rewards now also allows Chinese members to enjoy personalized benefits in hotels of Deutsche Hospitality across Europe, Middle East and Africa. These include dedicated amenities and features such as Chinese-speaking welcome managers, Chinese breakfast menus and payment systems. The future generation of IntercityHotels The IntercityHotel brand is being redesigned to accelerate its international growth by embracing a diverse, mobile and tech-savvy group of travelers. The CitySquare, a new social lobby will create a multifunctional, seamless space where guests can enjoy a fresh coffee alongside the signature bakery serving freshly baked goods all day. Grab and go snacks and a bar complement this innovative space to lounge, work or meet with friends. The IntercityHotel Amsterdam is currently showcasing many of the new initiatives. Upcoming openings for the brand in 2023 include city locations in Germany, Switzerland and Asia. Zleep Hotels bringing Danish design to the world The economy brand, Zleep Hotels, is centered around Danish design and the sensibility of simplicity alongside a great nights sleep. Enhancing its authentic Nordic roots the brand just entered a partnership with Danish furniture design company, Fritz Hansen. Both brands share a common DNA, believing that good design, a commitment to sustainability and quality are essential for a good life. Fritz Hansens timeless pieces of furniture and signature chairs will soon be accessible for guests in all existing 15 Zleep Hotels in Denmark, Sweden and Spain as well as in new Zleep Hotels scheduled to open in Germany, Switzerland and the Czech Republic over the next 12 months. About Deutsche Hospitality Setting standards since more than 90 years: Deutsche Hospitality delivers outstanding hospitality in over 130 hotels in Europe, Asia and Africa. Eight distinctive brands, ranging from economy to luxury are unified under H Rewards, both seamless booking platform and loyalty program for more than 200 million loyalty members internationally. Deutsche Hospitality is part of Asian-based H World, one of the biggest and fastest-growing hotel groups in the world with a focus on digitization, technology and innovation. Visit deutschehospitality.com and hrewards.com for more information. Chicago, IL (60637) Today Rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers and windy conditions developing in the afternoon. Morning high of 60F with temps falling to near 40. Winds WSW at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch.. Tonight Periods of rain and snow showers in the evening transitioning to snow showers late...windy. Low 34F. Winds WSW at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of precip 60%. Higher wind gusts possible. 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. TikTok moral panic grows as Senators attempt more elaborate ban [Karl Bode] The chance that TikTok will be banned in the U.S. are increasing, but Karl Bode of Tech Dirt argues that these efforts are misguided and stem in part from a failure to pass basic internet privacy laws in the U.S. Op-ed Karl Bode from Tech Dirt Weve noted for a while now how most of the outrage surrounding TikTok isnt exactly based in factual reality. Theres no real evidence of the Chinese using TikTok to befuddle American toddlers at scale, and the concerns about TikToks privacy issues are bizarrely narrow, with many of the folks proposing a ban seemingly oblivious to the broader problem: namely a lack of data broker oversight and our comical, corruption-fueled failure to pass even a basic U.S. privacy law for the internet era. Undaunted, Senator Mark Warner and John Thune this week introduced the Restricting the Emergence of Security Threats that Risk Information and Communications Technology (RESTRICT) Act (summary and full bill text), legislation the duo claims will make Americans far more safe and secure by, among other things, eventually, maybe banning TikTok in the United States. Unlike other proposals that weirdly hyperventilate exclusively about TikTok, Thune and Warners proposal claims it will empower the Department of Commerce to more broadly review, prevent, and mitigate technology transactions that pose undue risk to our national security: Today, the threat that everyone is talking about is TikTok, and how it could enable surveillance by the Chinese Communist Party, or facilitate the spread of malign influence campaigns in the U.S. Before TikTok, however, it was Huawei and ZTE, which threatened our nations telecommunications networks. And before that, it was Russias Kaspersky Lab, which threatened the security of government and corporate devices, said Sen. Warner. We need a comprehensive, risk-based approach that proactively tackles sources of potentially dangerous technology before they gain a foothold in America, so we arent playing Whac-A-Mole and scrambling to catch up once theyre already ubiquitous. Thune and Warner are applauded for at least proposing broader solutions instead of singularly freaking out about TikTok exclusively. Still, the bills a bit murky, and generally structured to avoid being vulnerable to a legal challenge as a bill of attainder, something likely to plague a recent House GOP legislative proposalfocused on singularly banning TikTok. That said, these efforts are all largely based on a lot of silly fearmongering that doesnt have much basis in reality. Before he released the bill, Warner stated that one of his key motivations for it was to thwart TikTok from becoming a tool for Chinese propaganda. But again, theres no evidence thats actually happening, and Warners proposed theoreticals are just kind of silly: What worries me more with TikTok is that this could be a propaganda tool, Warner said. The kind of videos you see would promote ideological issues. Warner said the app feeds Chinese kids more videos about science and engineering than American children, suggesting the apps content recommendation system is tuned for Chinas geopolitical ambitions. Thats to say, Warner couldnt actually come up with any examples of TikTok being used for Chinese propaganda at scale (because there arent any yet), so he just effectively made up a claim that the Chinese are intentionally showing Americans fewer science videos to make us stupid, which is just silly. Congress fixation on TikTok as a theoretical propaganda weapon are amusing coming from a country thats increasingly so buried in right wing and corporate propaganda, that Americans not only routinely cheer against their own best self interests while parroting conspiracy theories, theyre increasingly likely to become radicalized and commit mass murder. Congress doesnt seem in much of a rush, there. The other concern about TikTok: that the Chinese will use TikTok data to spy on Americans, is obviously more valid. Yet proposals to ban TikTok even elaborate ones like the legislation proposed by Thune and Warner still arent getting at the real heart of the problem. For decades, weve effectively let telecoms, app makers, OEMs, and every other company that touches the internet hoover up every last shred of consumer data. Those companies then consistently not only fail to secure this data, they sell access to it to a rotating crop of global data brokers, which in turn sell access to everything from your daily movement habits to your mental health issues. Its trivial for the Chinese, Russian, or American governments to purchase and abuse this data, even if you banned TikTok (and every single other Chinese app in existence) tomorrow. But youll notice that the lions share of the Congressfolk whove dropped absolutely everything to hyperventilate about TikTok dont much care about that; an attempt to regulate data brokers or implement meaningful penalties for corporations (and executives) that over-collect data and then fail to secure it might impact the revenues of U.S. companies, and you simply cant have that. Freaking out about TikTok is far more politically safe than addressing the bigger problem. It lets you pretend youre being tough on China and genuinely care about national security and consumer privacy, even if your stubborn refusal to hold data brokers accountable or pass a privacy law undermines all the national security goals you claim to be keen on addressing. Share on: Anna Farrington and her dog Oscar pose in the empty gallery before it was filled by a group of design students from MassArt. Farrington said this is her favorite way to see the space because of the endless possibilities it can become. Eagle Street Gallery a Portal to Immersive Experiences Graphic designer Anna Farrington bought the old Army-Navy store building as a way to help reinvigorate the city's downtown. NORTH ADAMS, Mass. For the past five years, graphic designer Anna Farrington has hosted a free installation art experience with her gallery Installation Space , located at 49 Eagle St. A lot of work she does professionally involves creating an environment, something Farrington said has always been an attraction to her. "For me, installation art provides this sense of sort of transporting you to a different place. It's coming into a space that's out of the ordinary. It's coming into a space that's presenting someone's creative idea, and in an immersive and interactive way," Farrington said. "So I want people to feel sort of that tingling excitement of seeing something new, and seeing something they weren't expecting." Originally Farrington had been looking for a three-family house as an investment property and to use as office space but had an epiphany when she saw Eagle Street. "It was literally like a light bulb going off and I had this idea that I wanted to do something to help revitalize downtown," she said. "I had this really crazy opportunity to buy a piece of downtown North Adams and do something that was going to have a positive impact." She purchased the building at 49 Eagle, better known to longtime residents as Jack's Army and Navy , in 2017 and as she became more familiar with the community, she decided to make it a gallery space featuring installation art. Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art is known for exhibiting that type of art and Farrington wanted to bring a tiny piece of the Mass MoCA experience downtown, for free. Not only does it provide art lovers a range of experiences, it provides installation artists an opportunity to show their work outside the constraints of a typical gallery where they are expected to sell their work, she said. Those types of galleries can be difficult for installation artists because there isnt something to sell, rather it is an experience. One of the most gratifying aspects of having this space is being able to see the community interact with the space and have conversations about the works with patrons with varying knowledge on the craft. "I think I've gained some notoriety in the local community. Folks who come in see that I'm doing it, I'm doing it regularly, and I'm doing it in a professional way. They come in and maybe they don't get the art, but we have a conversation about it and at least they're looking and I think that that to me is really gratifying," Farrington said. "One of my favorite repeat visitors is a young girl named Emma, and she comes in, and it's just always such a delight to see her. Sometimes her parents come in or adults come in with her, sometimes they don't. But it's always fun to see the community people interacting with the space." Every show that the gallery puts on is radically different so the space changes every time. The day of the interview, the space was empty, which is one of Farringtons favorite ways to see it because of the endless possibilities of what the artists can make it become. "Like an empty space to me says possibility and there's like so many crazy things that could happen in here and they will," she said. The Installation Space is going into its sixth year and will feature five shows this season that will go through Thanksgiving weekend. The first show, "Spectral Strata," opens on Friday in collaboration with "Venus Spectra" at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts' Art Lab on Main Street. Both installations are designed by students from Massachusetts College of Art's Studio for Interrelated Media as part of its travel program. The opening reception is Friday from 4 to 8 p.m. The Installation Space exhibit will be on view for eight weeks, and then followed by four more shows through the summer. "I'm just super excited for the upcoming season. I think people are going to be excited when they see the installations that we're bringing to North Adams this season," Farrington said. Farrington has been personally funding the gallery but has been working to organize sponsorships so that she can be more formal about receiving gifts from donors so the space can fund itself. Up until this season, the gallery has been showing work from local and regional artists but she would one day like to put a call out to national artists. "Getting fiscal sponsorship would help me do that and being able to help provide artists with travel and shipping accommodations, things like that," she said. The gallery sends out a request for proposals to a shortlist of artists in December and about a month later a small jury made up of local artists, curators, and arts administrators review the proposals with Farrington to determine who should be in the next season's lineup. To be added to the shortlist for proposal requests, reach out to the gallery directly via Instagram Facebook , or email info@49eaglestreet.com Farrington said her first experience as an artist was a child, since children have an innate need to create art. She attended Smith College to get a bachelor of fine arts with a focus on printmaking. She got her start in the sign industry as a printmaker, moving on to a silkscreen printer and then fabrication. Now she works as a graphic designer creating architectural signage and wayfinding systems for universities, colleges, hospitals, health-care facilities, municipalities, park systems, and museums. Farrington designed the donor recognition wall for Building 6 at Mass MoCA. Greylock/Brayton School Project Will Look at Grade Reconfiguration NORTH ADAMS, Mass. The Brayton/Greylock school project is back in the feasibility phase along with expanded options for the School Building Committee to review. Superintendent Barbara Malkas updated the School Committee on Tuesday of the Massachusetts School Building Authority's decision received on March 1 The project had been back in the "eligibility" phase because of the stop and start that occurred after MSBA recommended that the city not pursue only a renovation of Greylock and recommended that Brayton School be brought into the mix as the city looks to consolidate to one school in the West End. The administration had been in talks with the MSBA about the potential for reconfiguring the grade structure so that one school might be an early education center. After reviewing the district's update enrollment figures, the authority has agreed to exploring that option as well as keeping the schools as kindergarten through Grade 6. "We have been identified as having either 265 students that's what we would be building our school or renovating our school for if you maintain it as a K through 6 because pre-K numbers get added in after the project is approved," she said, "or 240 students if we are looking at a kindergarten to 2 school, so not much difference in terms of the numbers." In her letter to Mayor Jennifer Macksey, chair of the School Committee, Mary Pichetti, director of MSBA's capital planning, said the authority had looked at two additional years of enrollment data, local birth data for three years and updated female population projects from the University of Massachusetts' Donahue Institute. This is in addition to enrollment figures provided a couple years ago when only Greylock was being considered. The numbers show a drop of nearly 200 students overall since 2016. The MSBA says this indicates continued decline 10 years out that is projected at 535 students in K-6 and 235 in K-2. These figures were adjusted up for out-of-district enrollment at 20 and five, respectively. "They outline the methodology that they use in order to ascertain those two values. Those values are important because that is part of the scope of the project in terms of square footage that will be reimbursed by the MSBA so these were important numbers to have as we consider our options," said Malkas. School Committee member Richard Alcombright, also a member of the building committee, asked that Malkas reiterate that no decision has been made on which school might be renovated, rebuilt or sited. She confirmed that those decisions have yet to be determined but added that the MSBA's letter "expanded our options, not limited our options." "We're going to end up with maybe 15 to 17 different options," Malkas said. "And then we'll go through a process by which we look at those options and start to narrow that down based on the feedback we've received in the education planning that included our teachers, community members, as well as members of the School Building Committee and administrators. ... "We're nowhere near yet determining that preferred option, and it really has broadened our opportunity to consider both sides equally, and to really consider what's in the best interest of servicing our students for the next 50 years." Design firm TSKP was hired last year and has been working on the feasibility study and the last update on the timeline put preliminary plans to be submitted for an October vote by the MSBA's board of directors to move into the schematic phase. Malkas said plans will be presented to the community for feedback with expectation of a vote on the project a year from now. Registration Now Open for Nonprofit Leadership Conference SHEFFIELD, Mass. Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation presents the 2023 Institute for Trustees (IFT), a virtual conference for nonprofit leaders and board members from March 28 to May 15.? The 2023 IFT will offer 18 educational workshops and networking opportunities led by experts in the nonprofit sector. Participants can sign up for any of the workshops on topics ranging from strategic planning and fundraising to inclusion and board development. The conference is presented collaboratively with several Massachusetts community foundations.? All nonprofit executive directors and board members serving Berkshire County, Mass., northwest Litchfield County, Conn., and Columbia and northeast Dutchess counties in New York are invited to attend the conference.? On March 28, Rachel Hatch, chief operating officer at Institute for the Future (IFTF) a nonprofit research firm that helps organizations, communities, partners and leaders build resiliency will kick off the 14th annual Institute for Trustees with a discussion that answers this question and more. Hatch will talk about the ways in which nonprofits and philanthropy will need to evolve to address the biggest shifts facing our sector in the coming decades: from a changing climate to the evolving world of work and more. "Collaboration and board leadership are key elements to organizational resiliency," said Peter Taylor, president of Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation. "It's fitting, therefore, for the state's community foundations to come together to offer support through the broad-reaching learning opportunity the IFT provides to our nonprofit partners as they work to build resiliency during times of change." To register for and learn more about the 2023 Institute for Trustees Virtual Conference, visit?www.eccf.org/nonprofits-grants/ift. Registration will cost $130. Full board registration is available for $550 with no limit on the number of board members who can attend.? The 2023 Institute for Trustees is presented by Berkshire Taconic Foundation in collaboration with Essex County Community Foundation, the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts in Springfield and SouthCoast Community Foundation in New Bedford, Mass. This publication is designed to introduce the fundamentals of investing in the Indian market and includes a gu... Menzies Aviation, the world's largest aviation services company, has chosen Wipro Limited, a leading technology services and consulting firm, to transform its air cargo management services. The collaboration will help Menzies maintain its position as the market's leading cargo handler, allowing the company to expand its services and make use of new technologies. It will also boost competitiveness while putting customers, partners, employees, and the environment at the forefront of this transformation. Wipro's revolutionary cargo handling product was designed with cloud-native technologies to meet all of Menzies' and the air cargo industry's needs. It was created to increase business efficiencies, improve employee experience and customer service through increased automation, and provide critical business insights while maintaining best-in-class security. This product will give Menzies and its customers greater visibility into cargo location, support scanning technology for cargo and documentation, and integrate directly with customers' operating systems, resulting in increased transparency and real-time tracking. It will also enable the development of future warehouse technologies such as robotics, autonomous vehicles, and true paperless environments. Menzies plans to roll out the Wipro product to five air cargo locations by the end of 2023: Bucharest in Romania, Wellington, Christchurch, and Auckland in New Zealand, and Macau in China. The company plans to fully implement the product across Menzies' global network by the end of 2024. For feedback and suggestions, write to us at editorial@iifl.com Filmmaker Louise Malkinson and producer Harry Hewland team up for MH370: The Plane That Disappeared, which digs into the numerous theories behind the disappearance of the 777 on its routine red-eye journey from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. The first episode of the three-part series focuses mainly on the plane's disappearance and the government of Malaysia's response to it. After moving from Malaysian air traffic control to Vietnamese air traffic control in Ho Chi Minh City, MH370 disappeared from all screens. Families of the passengers and crew members gathered in Kuala Lumpur and Beijing to wait for news. Rumors were spreading that the plane may have made a sharp left turn and crossed back over the Malay Peninsula, heading either north into Asia or south into the remote Indian Ocean. Several people are interviewed in this documentary, including family members of passengers and crew, Malaysian aviation investigators, investigative reporter Jeff Wise, and citizen investigators looking into the many possible explanations for what occurred. The first speculation included the pilot, Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah. Twitter The general theory is that he banned his co-pilot from the cockpit, dropped cabin pressure until the oxygen masks ran out, and then flew the jet south over the Indian Ocean until it ran out of fuel. Twitter Second theory: Russian Hijackers Wise, a former Independent Group member, has another MH370 scenario resembling a James Bond movie. A surface-to-air missile downed Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, another 777, over Ukraine a few months after the flight went missing. He believed two of the three diverted attention while the third flew the jet remotely. The theory was shortly debunked. "Anyone who gets into the hatch can disable the transponder and disable the communications systems," Sharuji says. "But flying the aircraft from the avionics compartment is impossible." Wise's coworkers similarly dismissed the concept. "[The group is] certain that the plane turned south, not north. It was surprising that Jeff decided to take off on this route," says Exner. Wise's speculations stopped with his Independent Group dismissal. Third Theory: American Interception Twitter There is also the outlandish theory that the United States military, which was conducting drills in the South China Sea at the time, shot down MH370 at the location where it lost radar contact, halfway between Malaysian and Vietnamese airspace. Twitter Florence de Changy, a French journalist, has noted that MH370 was carrying 2.5 tons of electronics without first scanning the cargo. Twitter Its public knowledge that China was very eager to acquire highly sensitive US technology in the field of surveillance, stealth, drone technology, de Changy says. This could be at the heart of what happened to MH370. In the evening, MH370 took off, and the United States had two radar-jamming aircraft with an Airborne Warning & Control System (AWAC) nearby. Hoda Emam/Reuters De Changy speculates that they were deployed to electrically take the jet off the radar, at which point Shah was explicitly instructed to land. She maintains that when he called to keep the airplane on track, either through a missile strike or a midair collision, MH370 met its fate. Although de Changy shares Wise's lack of evidence, her argument is not supported by Inmarsat data projections. Exner is critical of her for utilizing the controversial theory to market her book "The Disappearing Act: The Impossible Case of MH370," which was published in 2021. I don't think I will be watching that documentary of #MH370 any time soon. I lost a friend and colleague on that flight. Someone who I regularly went to lunch with and chatted about stuff. She was a wonderful person & full of life. Also onboard were her mum, sister & aunt. Azrul Mohd Khalib (@azrulmohdkhalib) March 8, 2023 After viewing the three-part docuseries, the audience pointed out that much focus was on conspiracy theories, and victims' families were not interviewed. WHY THE FUCK DIDNT THAT GIRL ANSWER HER FATHERS CALL WHEN THE PLANE WENT MISSING??!????!! #MH370 #Netflix LeonarD (@leonardftw) March 8, 2023 Many pointed out that the Singapore authorities and Malaysian airlines failed to act wisely and track the plane. Several viewers of MH370: The Plane That Disappeared have taken to social media to express their displeasure, stating that the series offers no new information beyond the "theories" mentioned. Here are the reactions. I spent my night watching MH370: The Plane That Disappeared documentary and its disappointing to see that Netflix gave more screentime to the conspiracy theorists than the actual experts or family members of the victim. emc (@eulyxx) March 8, 2023 totally disagree with @netflix's documentary of flight #MH370. It only promotes conspiracy theories without any valid arguments and proof of what they suggest. There are a lot of other documentaries in youtube with aviation experts speaking; i suggest watching them instead pic.twitter.com/KBFkBigXw7 kcinanastasi (@Nick__Anastasi) March 9, 2023 1. Why wait 2 years to release the info of the pilots flight simulator flight path that was similar to actual flight path of flight MH370 2. What was in that unchecked cargo that was on flight. 3. That phone call the girl received 4. Why wasnt the black box mentioned #MH370 Amit Patel (@Pateliii) March 8, 2023 The Netflix #MH370 documentary is a masterpiece of complete sensational conspiracy bullshit based on theories of a blogger who finds himself way too important. Jill (@jillloislingen) March 8, 2023 Watching half of episode 1 on Netflix made me realise that the Malaysian government then were so so shady during press conferences. #MH370 rahull (@rahulnambiar26) March 8, 2023 Wow NETFLIX #MH370 doc was so disappointing, dominated by Jeff Wise & Florence de Changy ridiculous & unsupported conspiracy theories. So sad for the Voice370 families. Inmarsat is real, Blaine Gibson is real, the plane is in the SIO. Resume the underwater search @cryfortruth David Mearns OAM (@davidlmearns) March 8, 2023 Hey, @netflix! A documentary is supposed to be based on mostly facts and at the very least provide some sort of clarity, not leave you confused with a billion other questions that you didnt even have 9 years ago. The lack of intelligence is almost frustrating. #MH370 Shreedhee Sajeev (@shreedheesajeev) March 9, 2023 The new Netflix #MH370 programme shouldn't be allowed to be classified as a documentary. Mostly ridiculous conspiracy theory nonsense mixed in with people with little more than an internet connection and spare time thinking they know more than experts on the matter. Utter shite PD Jenkins (@PDPie85) March 8, 2023 just done watching @netflixs #MH370 all I can say about the doc is that its baseless. jeff wises narration & theories seem utter bullshit. 9 years on and still a mystery, all we got is unanswered questions. My heart goes to the families of the victims, hope they get closure. staywithmimi (@MiraliSakhiya) March 8, 2023 Watching the #MH370 #Netflix documentary and why is no one talking about the girl whos dad literally called her after they all tried calling their family? for real??? what happened? Alvin Lasco (@LascoAlvin) March 8, 2023 Im so confused why they just skimmed over the satellite images the lady said she found of the plane, you can clearly see the tail?? Why has it all been focused on going back west? im baffled coz that seemed like a credible lead #MH370 #netflix #mh370theplanethatdisappeared Lauren (@Lauren_mcmahon_) March 8, 2023 #MH370 on #Netflix seems to be giving air to absolutely ridiculous theories about what happened. One guy was convinced it was the pilot in Episode 1. By Episode 2 he was convinced it was a Russian plot. Episode 3 rolls around and now he thinks America did it. Absolutely bonkers. Scarlett Shaw (@ScarlettShaw) March 8, 2023 Just finished watching #MH370 on netflix. I never expected to see the theory of the pilot committing mass murder presented so boldly on Netflix. Losing a loved one is already devastating, let alone having to endure the added pain of having them accused of committing mass murder. LANA (@LanaNoordin) March 8, 2023 Watching that #MH370 on Netflix. I cant believe that they didnt trace that phone call ringing somewhere?? I mean, its 2014 we have great technology 9 years ago? pic.twitter.com/UdtMZgvKBB d3rf (@notFredric) March 8, 2023 currently watching #MH370 on netflix and what pisses me off is the fact that they used jeff wise as the main source/blueprint for this whole documentary a (@alanissshhh) March 8, 2023 Just watched the #MH370 Netflix doc and I cant get past the fact that the plane only had fuel to last seven hours, disappeared at 1am, but the entire next day peoples calls were still going through and that one girl had an incoming call from her dad?? the math is not mathing denver era chelsea (@diaryofcdd) March 9, 2023 This blogger has gone around town, saying the captain of #MH370 committed mass murder & suicide promoting his blog and website on major networks, but he hasnt provided a motive on why Cpt Zahari would have done that He's just making stuff up to support his warped theory #netflix pic.twitter.com/r5wfVGlhJj Silly Chili (@SteamBake) March 8, 2023 #MH370 on #Netflix has me puzzled. 1.Why did they ignore the fact that the calls were going through & the girl and the dad? 2.Why is no one looking for the debris that was found in South China Sea? 3. How could they not track a plane that flew over the airspace of 6 countries? Kimberly Muchina (@MuchinaKimberly) March 8, 2023 My heart goes out to the families the pain must be unbearable. @Netflix this documentary seemed to be based on conspiracy theories #Netflix #MH370 #MH370ThePlaneThatDisappeared pic.twitter.com/PjwQPmQ8W1 Cassia Keziah Maximen (@CassiaMaximen) March 9, 2023 The most fascinating part of this @netflix docuseries is the story of this girl's missed call from her Dad who was on-board #MH370. If that story is true then MH370 must have landed somewhere for her Dad to have gotten a cell signal. Where did the call come from? Male Airport? pic.twitter.com/dgbQyFXRwd Ken S (@kstaubin) March 9, 2023 Wasted 3 hours of my life last night watching the MH370 documentary so you dont have to. Calling this a documentary would be a stretch since Netflix would rather spend 80% of its screentime on wild conspiracy theories. Dont get me started on Jeff Wise. Insulting. pic.twitter.com/oPAEqxCi6l Maha Jeffery (@MahaJeffery) March 9, 2023 #MH370 Even after nine years I still search for answers on the DigitalGlobe/Tomnod scans from the SCS. Here is my latest find. The spacing of the rectangular lines match the Malaysia font. Crash debris will not be perfect, so IMO this is an almost perfect match to lettering. pic.twitter.com/IAjSHFmMBd Cyndi L. Hendry (@CyndiLHendry) March 5, 2023 Im watching the MH370 docu series on Netflix and this Jeff Wise guy has to be one of the most batshit and ridiculous conspiracy theorists Ive ever seen. Netflix dropped the ball big time on this. pic.twitter.com/gGXm4PvgQz mark (@marksiembida) March 9, 2023 The Malaysian government has concluded that the jet crashed somewhere in the southern Indian Ocean, irrespective of the many theories that have been proposed. The lack of debris or other tangible evidence frustrated the passengers' relatives, who had to rely on math instead. MH370: One of the biggest mysteries in civil aviation Edgar Su/Reuters On March 8, 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 disappeared somewhere over the South China Sea en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Despite a multi-national search operation that lasted for years, the missing plane and its 239 passengers and crew members have still not been located. Jason Lee/Reuters Subsea searches for the plane have cost around $200 million and spanned 120,000 square kilometers of the Indian Ocean. So, in January 2017, the undersea investigations were halted indefinitely. AP Photo/Ng Han Guan The Malaysian government, however, has accepted a "no-cure, no-fee" offer from a US exploration company, Ocean Infinity, in 2018. Researchers looked at 112,000 square kilometers of territory north of their first search zone for three months. Unfortunately, the investigation yielded no valuable results. In May 2018, they quit looking. Samsul Said/Reuters MalayMail cited a 495-page government report from July 2018 that concluded that MH370 had been purposefully diverted from its intended route. In terms of money spent, it ranks as aviation's priciest search-and-rescue mission ever. (To read more such stories related to movies and shows released on OTTs, keep reading Indiatimes BINGE) Ever since the popularity of ChatGPT, many have questioned whether it will make a journalists job obsolete. AI tools are indeed seeping into newsrooms. However, it would be a swiping statement to say that it will make journalists irrelevant. Nieman Lab predictions for Journalism in 2023 delves into the use of AI in newsrooms. The predictions, though, do mention the transition of the newsroom. It also provides that this does not mean journalists work will become irrelevant. ChatGPT and other AI Unsplash/Representational Image ChatGPT stands for Chat Generative Pre-Trained Transformer. It is an artificial intelligence chatbot developed by OpenAI. OpenAI had launched DALL-E earlier, which generated realistic images and art based on the description provided. Though ChatGPT does help in structuring scattered thoughts, it may not replace a humans work. To work with ChatGPT, one must be able to give commands to suit the needs. Any AI bot will not provide you with the exact information. It also needs a human to instruct it in a step-by-step process. Combining human intelligence with artificial intelligence is important for operating any AI bot to get the best results. Pitfalls of AI It is undeniable that AI bots may make their way through newsrooms, but even that needs supervision. Stereotyping and biases are prominent in AI-produced results. In 2019, AI Now Institute, based at New York University in its report, called AI a diversity disaster. AI works as per the set of data fed to it, as a result of which, the AI product does not account for outliers or exceptions. For instance, an AI artist Madhav Kohli uses AI to show the stereotypical image it produces for people from different regions. Unsplash/Representational Image In February 2019, a 31-year-old Black man from New Jersey was accused of shoplifting and violence against a police officer. Later, it was discovered that, at the time of the incident, Parks was at least 30 miles away. The arrest was made based on AI facial recognition software. Parks spent 11 days in jail, even though he did not commit any crime, because AI stereotyped races that mistook Parks for another black person. Furthermore, it also raises the million-dollar question of ethics. Journalists are looked at as the authentic storytellers, the ones upholding democracy. AI can produce a story in a shorter time, but it may have corrupted data, which can also question the storys authenticity. The content that AI produces is also not original. AFP/Representational Image As AI entered CNETs newsroom, many AI-written articles turned out to have wrong data, errors, and plagiarism. It was found that many of the stories were copied from Red Ventures and Bankrate- the two competitors. It is also important to note that AI is not an information generator. It can only generate content based on the data already fed to the AI bot. As the Nieman Lab report mentions, AI may be equipped to provide stories in the coming times so that Journalists can work on better, more human stories. Only the journalist can interview its sources, provide different and fresh perspectives, and produce facts. The AI is incapable of producing facts, and rather, it should be used to process facts. Unsplash/Representational Image Future of Journalism The future of Journalism, as experts have mentioned, will change. However, it is important to incorporate, learn and adapt to the change. So, to fully understand why the usage of AI in media will not make a journalists job obsolete. Quoting Bill Grueskin, as he quotes the excerpts from ChatGPT, I believe that journalism is still a valuable and necessary part of our society. And in conclusion, fellow journalists, I just want to reiterate that I think the industry needs to adapt to the changes that are taking place. In a case of medical negligence, a private medical college hospital in Puducherry has been asked to pay a sum of Rs 10 lakh to a woman as compensation for inflicting mental agony, pain and suffering on her. Representational Image The district consumer disputes' redressal commission in Tamil Nadu's Cuddalore also directed Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute to settle Rs 2 lakh as punitive charges for unfair trade practices and to pay Rs 25,000 towards litigation costs. Needle left during childbirth procedure The aggrieved woman, in her complaint, registered that a team headed by a gynaecologist in MGMCH & RI left a broken needle in her perineum, TOI reported. This incident happened when an episiotomy was performed on her after she gave birth to a baby boy on December 11, 2016. Representational Image/Unsplash Following this, the baby was moved to an intensive care unit, citing some complications, and the woman and family members were barred from seeing the baby. Notably, on December 13, 2016, an x-ray report revealed that a part of the needle, which was broken, was nestled in the woman's perineum. Surgery to extract needle was unsuccessful Upon this, the hospital administration fetched signatures from the woman's mother in 'agreement' to conduct surgery to extract the broken needle without informing her about a foreign object's presence in the patient's body. Representational Image/Unsplash However, the surgery, which went on for 3 hours, still was unsuccessful, as the doctors could not retrieve the needle, further complicating the woman's health. Thereafter, the woman's family opted to get her discharged and approach another hospital. But the hospital authorities made her sign and execute another agreement, with her husband assigned as a witness. The complainant said the needle part was still lodged in her body and which caused immense trouble to her. Hospital promised resolution after three months MGMCH & RI, while acknowledging the presence of a small part of the needle in the woman's perineum, stated that the needle was not trackable during the recent surgery owing to inflammation in the area. The surgical team temporarily left the piece of the needle to avoid more damage to the reproductive organs. The health facility, which has maintained that the patient and her relatives were briefed about the situation, said the issue could be sorted out only after three months. The hospital then executed an agreement with the patient and guaranteed that they will take care of medical issues and cover all the treatment costs, including subsequent management, investigations, medicines and procedures. For more on news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News. You would be wrong to think that a matrimonial website's only use is to help single people meet each other. A LinkedIn post about how a woman used Jeevansathi.com in her job search has gone viral on social media. representational picture Ashveen Bansal, a software engineer at Google, said his friend had used Jeevansathi.com to find out how much similar jobs paid at different companies before applying. Unsplash "So a friend told me she is using #jeevansathi.com to see compensation from different companies through people's profiles and then applying there," Bansal revealed in a LinkedIn post currently going viral online. Pexel His LinkedIn post has received over 34,700 "likes" and countless comments. screenshot "This could be the next potential product idea for all the matrimonial services to include in premium services," wrote one person in the comments section. Another one wrote, "Men use LinkedIn for dating, and women use dating or matchmaking websites for job search". A year ago, a story of a woman who tried to hire a guy she met on the matrimonial website Jeevansathi.com went viral, shedding some light on the role of these sites outside the sphere of courting. Salt co-founder Udita Pal of Bengaluru said she had asked for a resume and sent an interview link to her Jeevansathi match. Most people use dating apps to find a partner for life, but one Twitter user found his soul mate by applying for a job. A man named Adnaan posted a screenshot of his conversation with a possible match on the dating app Bumble. He landed an interview with the start-up scheduled within a few moments of the chat. (For the latest trending stories, keep reading Indiatimes) Two status orange weather warnings have been issued by Met Eireann as another cold night is expected to set in on Thursday. A status orange snow and ice warning is in place for Cavan, Donegal, Monaghan, Clare, Connacht, Longford, Louth, Meath, Westmeath until midnight. Met Eireann has warned of travel disruption, hazardous road conditions and poor visibility in places. According to the forecaster there will be further spells of sleet and snow combined with strong east to northeast winds. They say significant accumulations of snow are expected in some areas along with icy conditions. Meanwhile, a status orange snow and ice alert comes into effect at midnight for Leinster, with snowfall and significant accumulations expected. This warning will end at 10am tomorrow. A status yellow snow and Ice warning for the whole country will remain in place until midday on Friday. Council workers clear snow drifts on a laneway near Glencullen in the Dublin Mountains where cars and some homes were snowed in for a time following heavy snowfall Thursday. Picture: Damien Storan. A number of schools around the country closed on Thursday and further closures have not been ruled out. Chair of the National Emergency Co-ordination group, Keith Leonard said: "There's definitely a question mark over schools opening everywhere but it will be hard to know exactly which schools will be effected. "Principals will make that decision tomorrow, based on the local conditions," he told RTE News. Temperatures will reach lows of -4C on Thursday night, with the coldest weather in the west. "Cold and windy at first tonight with falls of sleet and snow in many areas giving rise to very poor visibility and hazardous road conditions," said Met Eireann. "The sleet and snow will continue overnight over the eastern half of the country, but it will become drier further west with frost and ice developing under clear breaks." Friday will see another cold day, but it will be mostly dry with sunny spells. And while Friday night will see temperatures fall to -3C in some parts, temperatures look set to rise over the rest of the weekend. On Saturday, afternoon temperatures will range from 1C to 2C in the north and 12C or 13C degrees in the southwest. The last of the rain and sleet will clear the northeast early on Saturday night. Minimum temperatures of 2C to 6C will occur early on with temperatures ranging 4C to 8C overnight. Sunday will be wet and windy, but there will be much milder temperatures. Forecasters are expecting afternoon highs of 10C to 14C, with lows of 6C to 9C at night. Sunday night will see windy conditions set in with "showers or longer spells of rain". A bus in a ditch between Ennis and Kilrush in Co Clare on Thursday morning. Picture: Eamon Ward It comes as six people were rescued from Carrauntoohil on Wednesday night in an eight-hour operation. One woman found herself stuck on top of Carrauntoohil in the midst of heavy snowfall. She was rescued from Ireland's highest mountain in the early hours of this morning, after falling and injuring herself. The woman was among a party of six stuck in a gully in the Hags Glen area. They were coming down a steep gully adjacent to The Bone when they made a navigational error and took a wrong turn and ended up stuck in the gully. The full rescue team was called out at 4.15pm Wednesday and assembled, spokesman Gerry Christie of Kerry Mountain Rescue said. The party had to be led 200 meters up the mountain again before being led safely down to Cronin's Yard. The group were brought to safety at 1.30am by 26 members of Kerry Mountain Rescue. Conditions on the mountains are "extremely challenging", rescuers said. "Apart from being very cold and fatigued, thankfully none of the casualties were injured," a spokesperson said. Mr Christie described the rescue as "a long and difficult operation". He also rejected condemnation on radio and social media about the people going on the mountain in the first place on Wednesday when the forecast was so poor and there were weather warnings. The mountain was not particularly treacherous at the time and some climbers liked to go up in snow conditions, he said. Elsewhere in Co Clare, two minor collisions were reported on the Kilrush Road outside Lisseycasey owing to the weather conditions. Farmers have expressed "surprise" after coming under attack from junior agriculture minister Pippa Hackett over the record slaughter of calves in recent days. A collection of the latest news, views and analysis from the farming desk on the topic of Dairy. Pippa Hackett has strongly condemned the slaughter of thousands of young dairy calves, claiming it is damaging public perception of the sector. The Department of Agriculture has confirmed that a record 4,556 calves were slaughtered in the week ending Sunday, March 5. The number of category-v calves, which refers to bovines slaughtered from the day of birth until the day they are eight months old, has increased dramatically in recent years. In 2018, some 16,788 unwanted calves were culled, however, this had jumped to 29,495 by last year. Ms Hackett described the most recent figures as "unacceptable" and said the dairy sector "must take responsibility for its unwanted calves". "This has a detrimental impact, not only on the animals, but on the public perception of farming," she said in a tweet. However, farming organisations have hit back at the minister, accusing her of criticising them on social media at a time when she should be working with the sector to develop positive options. 'Surprising' reaction Pat McCormack, president of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA), said that for Ms Hackett to describe a practice that is under the remit of her own department as unacceptable was, "to say the least, a little surprising". Mr McCormack said that it might be better and more useful if Ms Hackett was to join the ICMSA in developing positive options that could be put in front of farmers in relation to bull calves. "The ICMSA thinks that looking at the data and seeing what works and then developing options around that is a better policy then tweeting that something your department is in charge of regulating is unacceptable'," said Mr McCormack. The number of dairy cows in the country has been steadily increasing since the abolition of milk quotas in 2015 and this has also resulted in a rise in calves born each year. Heifer calves can often be kept on dairy farms to continue on the herd, however, bull calves are either exported, sold at marts or slaughtered. While the number of live dairy calves exported out of the country increased by 19% last year, so too did the number of calves slaughtered jumping by 16% compared to 2021. Department of Agriculture figures also show that just 100 dairy farms were responsible for 53% of calf slaughtering last year. A Calf Stakeholder Forum has been working on plans to stop the culling of young dairy bull calves from 2024 and had suggested that processers would stop collecting milk from farmers if they continued with the practice. As part of this work the Department of Agriculture last year wrote to farmers urging them to use "alternative, more socially sustainable welfare-friendly management practices". Mr McCormack pointed out that the ICMSA has been calling for the provision of "positive options" through a Dairy Beef Welfare Scheme, that if structured correctly would address the concerns raised by Ms Hackett. The scheme was set to up to increase the economic and environmental efficiency of beef from the dairy herd by supporting farmers who rear calves from the dairy herd. For the scheme, farmers must weigh eligible calves and are then paid 20 per calf up to a maximum of 40 calves. These payments have not changed this year despite calls from the ISCMA for increased funding. We proposed it and outlined how it would work better for dairy-beef integration and crucially, emissions and sustainability. "We might have expected the support of the Minister in our repeated requests to have the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine look at the data and put some proportionate funding in, but that hasnt happened. "Even after the department released figures just recently that showed that the Dairy Beef Welfare Scheme was by far the best emissions value of all the current schemes on a cost-benefit basis. "We still have no reactions and increase in commitment from Minister Hackett or her colleagues," he said. The widow of a man who died after a workplace fall at Dublin Airport five years ago has told a court that she is left with no answers as to why her husband died. Richard Gracey, 64, of Balbriggan, Co Dublin, was unloading cargo from a plane on November 24, 2018 when he fell headfirst five metres to the ground and suffered fatal injuries. Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that the main deck loader, a moving platform for unloading cargo, was 2.7m away from the aircraft door when Mr Gracey fell and that this gap should have been no more than three inches. Swissport Ireland Limited was fined 250,000 after the company admitted failing to ensure the safety and welfare of people at work on the morning in question. Kirsten Brooks, an authorised representative of Swissport Ireland, further pleaded guilty to failing to provide adequate fall prevention measures in relation to the off-loading of a cargo plane. Judge Martin Nolan said that if the loader had been flush to the plane as it should have been, the fatal accident would not have happened. The court heard there was a failure to police safety measures that would normally be in place. An inspector for the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) said that while it was not industry standard for staff to be harnessed while unloading cargo from an aircraft, she said this ought to be reconsidered. Mr Gracey and six other employees had been working on the unloading of an Air France cargo Boeing 777 which had flown in from OHare International Airport in Chicago. Victim impact statement Mr Graceys daughter Laura read aloud a victim impact statement prepared by her mother, Therese Gracey, describing the debilitating grief, anger and sadness suffered by herself and her family. Mrs Gracey said her husband loved his job and was so meticulous and safety conscious in every aspect of his work. She said Richard often came home from work disheartened because of difficulty with machinery and described the situation at his workplace as accidents waiting to happen. Mrs Gracey said she only learned four years later in a courtroom of her husbands total innocence of what happened and that she has been left with more questions. No words can explain or conjure up such an immense loss of such a solid presence in my home and in my heart, wrote Mrs Gracey, adding that it pains her to watch her children struggling with the awful trauma of losing their dad in such a terrible way. Solicitors for the Gracey family issued a statement calling on all employers to appreciate the duty of care they owe to their employees and to take all appropriate steps to ensure employees are adequately trained and not exposed to the risk of harm. The statement also called for a change in policy so that families can receive more detailed information about the circumstances of a death of a loved one at the workplace and not have to wait until the conclusion of a prosecution. Addressing the Gracey family, Judge Martin Nolan thanked them for submitting their oral and written victim impact statements, which he said described their huge loss, huge grief and huge devastation. He it was a devastating, tragic and difficult case of a very loyal employee who liked his work and didnt come home. If the loader had been flush to the plane as it should have been, then this incident would not have occurred, said the judge, noting that the family has been left bereft and devastated by the loss of their father and husband. Judge Nolan noted that while his court has imposed a fine to punish the company, the issue of compensation to the family is being dealt with by another court. Background The court heard Mr Gracey had worked with Swissport Ireland since April 2005 and, at the time of the accident, was engaged in training with another colleague. HSA inspector Mairead Wall said Mr Gracey had been carrying out two roles on the day, of team leader and trainer, when he fell five metres from the main cargo deck door of the aircraft. We dont know exactly how he fell or what happened at that moment, but he fell headfirst onto the tarmac, Insp Wall told Sinead McMullen BL, prosecuting. Insp Wall said a yellow safety net which served as a visual warning, was also not attached correctly to the main cargo deck door, with only three hook points connected out of four. Ms Wall said that although it is not industry standard for anyone to be latched on or attached while unloading cargo from an aircraft, she thinks this needs to be reconsidered. Because human error comes in if Mr Gracey had had a harness, at least he would have been held in position, said Insp Wall. The court heard that Mr Gracey was taken to Beaumont Hospital after the fall but died later from his injuries. Swissport Ireland, which provides airport ground, lounge hospitality and cargo handling services, has no previous convictions. Insp Wall agreed with Remy Farrell SC, defending Swissport, that the company had cooperated with the garda investigation at all times and implemented substantial training. Mr Farrell offered his sincere condolences to the Gracey family on behalf of Swissport and said that although the company had a health and safety system in place, it was not policed on the day. The court heard that Swissport took immediate significant remedial steps to review operating standards and procedures and had provided all relevant documentation to the court. Swissport has a good record, was fully insured and has a significant turnover, the court heard. The court heard that the maximum fine that could have been imposed was 3m. Martin Leahy took his housing crisis protest song Everyone Should Have a Home to the Dail for the 44th time yesterday as heated debates erupted inside over the Governments decision to lift the eviction ban. Mr Leahy, a Cork musician, hopes that public pressure may force Government to make a U-turn on the decision which will plunge some people into homelessness. It will affect me directly. Its very disappointing, Mr Leahy said. The level of [Government] heartlessness and cruelty is beyond comprehension for me. Nothing has changed since the eviction ban came in, so all the reasons that stood for introducing it still stand and theyre lifting it. As soon as the ban is lifted Im expecting to be served a notice. It's depressing thinking of all the people around the country who are just terrified of what theyre facing. There are something like 2,500 eviction notices waiting to be served and nowhere for people to go. For anyone to get thrown into homelessness is tragic. Mr Leahy had previously been served a notice to quit on his Co Cork home but the eviction ban helped give him some respite. Although he is a well-known session musician who has worked with some of Irelands biggest songwriters, including Christy Moore and John Spillane and whose own songs receive widespread radio play, at the age of 46, he suddenly found himself priced out of the private rental market. I hope that they extend the eviction ban. There are talks about protests. I think it was public pressure, those collective voices, that made them look at the ban in the first place so theyre not deaf to that. If enough people make enough noise I do believe that theyll turn. Cork Simon Campaigns and Communications Manager, Paul Sheehan, said that when the previous eviction ban was lifted last year it led to a steady increase in people seeking emergency accommodation. And as homeless shelters and other forms of emergency accommodation are already full, he does not know where people will go. Martin Leahy says it is 'depressing thinking of all the people around the country who are just terrified of what theyre facing'. Were seeing record numbers in our place, in emergency shelters in general across Cork and Kerry, and our concern is the same thing will happen this time around. He said that he was disappointed that more was not done during the eviction ban to boost housing supply. Plans announced recently by the Department of Housing to increase supply and give local authorities targets to acquire more social housing through leasing or buying would take time to kick in. But even the level of [housing stock] increase they're talking about comes nowhere near to meeting the need, he said. There will be a little bit of breathing space. Anyone served a notice will have at least until the end of May/early June because of the notice period. One in three people turning up to our soup run every night is in housing, mostly privately rented. And all their resources are going to keeping the roof over their head, theres nothing left. So its inevitable that were going to see some of those people in over the summer I think. And we dont have more capacity. Were packed to the rafters. We had an average of 78 or 79 people staying per night in January weve never seen figures like that. Back in 2017, the average was 47. Martin Leahy feels that 'if people make enough noise' about the lifting of the eviction ban that the Government might do a U-turn. Well do everything we can, but there's not much more we can do with space we have. Theres a shortage of emergency accommodation as it stands. There are more people in private emergency accommodation hotels and B&Bs than in emergency accommodation like ours and theyll be under pressure when the tourism season kicks in. It's very hard to know what will happen. But there is a need for more emergency accommodation in Cork. The Department of Housing's own figures show record numbers in emergency accommodation in Cork. In the last three or four months its consistently been above 500, weve never seen that before. ITS a relief to know the decision on how to approach future media coverage of that family is way above my pay grade. Given their notoriety, use of a surname here is deemed superfluous. Its difficult to recall any family in recent memory that has received the oxygen of so much publicity, even globally. They have officialdom in a twist, not least our courts. Its difficult to see where it will all end. But first, my sympathy for the Burkes. Specifically for the children. The Biblical names alone Isaac, Kezia, Enoch, Ammi, Keren, Elijah, Simeon, Jemima, Josiah, and Esther set them apart. What sort of childhood must it have been, to grow up conditioned to believe in the one true way. Observing the behaviour, non-believers, or indeed believers who are not pure enough, appear to be the enemy. There is the fact of their home schooling. This can be a way for parents with unequivocal beliefs to ensure their children are not contaminated by being sent to school with other local children, where less absolute or indeed even opposing views might be taught in class. Were there birthday parties, with friends invited over? Cinema trips? First discos? Brownies or Scouts? Or was life a long diet of extreme Christian evangelism? When they did then begin to interact with formal education settings at third level, the Burke children became involved in legal actions. This particular way of interacting with the outside world would become a habit and dominate so many headlines, ending up in the extraordinary scenes we saw in a Dublin court on Tuesday as they attempted to turn themselves into the Mayo martyrs. It appears coverage of the Burkes latest doings is catnip for the public. As one senior editorial newspaper figure told me this week: Every time we write about the Burkes they are the most read and I hear the same from elsewhere Id estimate a 40% spike compared to non-Enoch stories. Another expressed concern about giving it too much oxygen, believing it to be digital/meme fodder (not to mention the Enoch-standing-outside-the-school-gate greeting cards), rather than something being discussed around kitchen tables. But, whatever the angle, this is seen as guaranteed to get the clicks. After the courtroom shenanigans on Tuesday, the family made the majority of front pages including large photographs. In this newspaper, they were on the front page but it was a small, mid-page mention of what was a very good read by my colleague Mick Clifford. If you looked at the Irish Examiner homepage on Wednesday, youd have seen that column Burkes show their only obligation is to themselves was the site's most read, just as it ranked right up there on the websites of other publications. Its a big deal on the airwaves also. 'Travelling circus' Not that long ago, the thing we were obsessed with was finding out just what plans the Government had in terms of restrictions and rules during covid. Now it is this family described by one senior counsel last year, on the opposing side to them during one of their many cases, as being like a travelling circus. After all, for all the possible pity one might have had for the junior Burkes, there is another person who has been strongly and directly affected, over a sustained period, by the behaviour of the family, especially Enoch. That student at Wilsons Hospital School in Multyfarnham already has the emotional burden of identifying as trans, never easy in this society. The behaviour of this teacher has resulted in this case receiving worldwide attention. The family of the student is concerned about the students identity becoming known. Those Burke children, those of them weve seen publicly involved anyway, perhaps not all of them, are now adults, fully able to discern between the right of their beliefs and the wrong done to those injured as collateral damage. Its well known how much pressure there is on the media industry, newspapers in particular. Its a tough call to make the decision not to use all of this as clickbait. But it is probably time that we all reined it in on the Burkes, realising when were being played. There is a need to recognise the harm being caused. Discussion of trans issues is already hugely incendiary, without that sort of petrol now being doused on it. The Burkes trail in the wake of other conservative forces who have done similarly, but none quite as spectacularly. It all plays beautifully to the trans rights culture wars. This is all happening as a debate foments on what primary school children will be taught in the classroom as part of a new curriculum. The Catholic Primary Schools Management Association (CPSMA) has written to ministers hitting out at information on transgender issues being included. The CPSMA expressed concern that teaching about being transgender to children of that age would be counterproductive, generating unnecessary divisions in school communities where none now exists. The association pointed out that the science is far from settled on this matter, there is no scientific consensus on the cause (or causes) of gender dysphoria, and there is currently an intense international debate on the appropriate treatment of children with gender dysphoria. There was mounting evidence of psychological contagion, it said, adding that, in the UK, the numbers of children referred to the Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) rose from 50 a year in 2009 to 2,500 in 2020". It was a little disconcerting to read that these are many of the points Ive made myself over recent years. I do need to catch my own reflexively negative response when I see something coming from an official Catholic source. Enoch Burke on one of his many protests standing outside Wilson's Hospital School. Picture: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin I disagree with a total ban on teaching around trans issues. However, therein lies the rub. How to get any sort of agreement without massive rows on what is the correct information given the massive gap that exists. There are few agreed facts here, right down to the view that sex is biological and should not be conflated with gender identity. When asked this week, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar answered reasonably saying trans people exist and theyve always existed. He believes it makes more sense to just inform children about the world around them. It does not have to be a value judgment in either direction to challenge anyones personal or religious opinions, he said, adding that parents should have the right to withdraw children from certain classes. For a long time, there was intense fear around saying a word on this topic in public. That has eased so much for the better but there is a long way to go. What we need now is a proper, lacking-in-hysteria discussion involving trans people, politicians across all parties, teachers, parents, the public. What this conversation does not need is any more high-profile input from the belligerent Burkes of Mayo. There were just a handful of TDs in the Dail chamber when proceeding opened soon after 9am on January 25 last. Sinn Fein education spokesperson Donnacha O Laoghaire stood to ask the Education Minister Norma Foley about the plight of survivors of institutional abuse. With each passing year, there are fewer survivors. Many have reached the end of their natural lifespan, which is often shorter than average life expectancy due to the effects of their early years in sometimes brutal circumstances. O Laoghaire wanted to know where things now stand. Following the publication of the Ryan report, an agency called Caranua had been set up to cater to the needs of survivors. That had been wound up in 2020 and a new process set up to deal with outstanding issues. A group of survivors met with a group of facilitators appointed by the ministers department late in 2019 and came up with a number of recommendations, O Laoghaire said. Those recommendations centred around fundamental things such as enhanced medical care or an enhanced medical card, housing entitlements, or a pension, as was the case with the survivors of the Magdalene institutions. "Those proposals were submitted in late 2019, which is now more than three years ago. I understand there was one further meeting in late 2020 which the minister was part of, but there has been nothing since. They feel badly let down. They feel they are in the dark. The minister responded that a forum set up as a result of those meetings had compiled a report. The final report of the forum was submitted to the department last year, Foley said. Sorry, O Laoghaire came back. That wasnt last year. It was the year before. I will not lead the deputy astray regarding the date, the minister reported. I will check it and get back to the deputy today with the information. Education Minister Norma Foley was unaware of the date of the publication of a report detailing recommendations on supporting survivors of institutional abuse. Picture: Gareth Chaney/ Collins It turned out that the Sinn Fein spokesperson was correct. The final report had been submitted in 2021. The exchange is notable, as the subject matter is a group of elderly people, many of whom have been unable to get past the trauma inflicted on them as children. Some are struggling through their winter years with various financial and medical issues. They had been led to believe the State considered itself responsible to some extent for their plight and that special arrangements would be made to ease them through the latter stages of life. Time, quite obviously, is precious for them. Yet the minister was telling the Dail a report outlining how best to respond to their needs had been gathering dust for over a year. That the minister was apparently unaware of this herself also spoke volumes. Ryan report It was all so different in 2009 on publication of the Ryan report. The report outlined the extent of physical, sexual and emotional abuse suffered by children in institutions run by various agencies of the Catholic Church, but funded and inspected by the State. Over 1,000 men and women reported abuse to the commission in 200 different residential settings between 1914 and 2000. This happened in industrial schools, childrens homes, schools, day centres, and foster care settings as well as Magdalene laundries. The report found the State had a deferential and submissive attitude towards the religious congregations that ran the institutions. Shock at what had been perpetrated was the reaction throughout society and abroad. A deep sense of shame that this was allowed to occur was also felt. In the Dail, then-opposition leader and future taoiseach Enda Kenny spoke for many. I regret the inadequacy of the words that I will use to deal with the Ryan commission report, he told the House. I cannot speak with the conviction, truth of recollection, or vividness of the nightmare through which so many of our young children went to grow into adulthood. Nor can I speak with the power of the emotion to which I listened yesterday or in recent weeks. "All I can do is speak as a citizen, the leader of my party, and the father of a young family and try to imagine what those young boys and girls went through in the torture of their minds, given the extent of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. Kennys words were emotionally imparted, no doubt deeply felt, and reflected the sadness and horror of many. Yet, when he and his party made it into government less than two years later, the urgency in assisting survivors appeared to dissipate somewhat. In 2012, the Residential Institutions Statutory Fund, known as Caranua, was set up to assist survivors as a response to Ryan. A total of about 110m, donated by religious congregations, was invested in the fund. This was designed to help out with financial aid, medical expenses, pension requirements and anything that might ease their passage through their winter years after a life that began in such traumatic circumstances. The State did not contribute to this fund as the government pointed out that over 1.5bn had already been spent on the residential redress board. Applications to Caranua for assistance opened in January 2014. Did Caranua's fulfil its remit? There are two versions of how Caranua fulfilled its remit. The official version is contained in a nine-page evaluation report completed in 2020. A total of 6,181 survivors who contacted Caranua were eligible for services. In order to evaluate the service, 183 of these survivors were contacted and 59 agreed to participate in questionnaires. Out of that came the result that: More than three-quarters of the participants thought the service provided by Caranua was excellent, very good, or good. Tom Cronin doesnt recognise that result. Tom and his brothers spent time in Upton industrial school in his childhood, but he emphasises he knows many who had it far worst than himself. There is only one word to use about how Caranua conducted itself and that is disgraceful. I saw it as a survivor and as a member of the board. I could see it from the inside and outside and from both it was awful how they treated people. I would have no interest in saying that if it wasnt true. It looked to me like they begrudged the survivors everything that was given. His opinion was echoed by many other survivors and chimed with the accounts given by TDs and senators when Caranua came before Oireachtas committees. Tom Cronin: 'The Government and particularly the Department [of Education] has been dragged and hauled through this as a very reluctant participant.' Picture: Eddie O'Hare Tom Cronins brother Paul says he had various issues when he had a medical problem and Caranua would not contribute to his bills despite initial assurances. However, his biggest problem involved those whom he considers less fortunate than himself. I asked one of the people in there about these two guys who I knew who couldnt read or write and there was a lot of form filling to be done to access anything, he says. They would come to me about a form and come back because they couldnt read the form. That was a simple thing like getting a few teeth out would take six months before the dentist got the go-ahead to do it. I gave them a hand but I told Caranua there must be dozens more in the same situation. Could we get somebody to deal with these people? She said shed look into it. She might still be looking into it because she never did anything about it. Elizabeth's story Elizabeth Coppin spent time in the industrial school in Tralee and left for England in 1969. Later in life, she got to know her mother and came back to live in Kerry. She made applications to Caranua to have new windows put into her home which was a poor state. I was happy with what I got in the end but I had to really fight for it, she says. I came home and had the opportunity to get to know my mother later in life for which Im very grateful, but they [Caranua] didnt make it easy. It was as if they begrudged us anything, and in that way, some of us felt it was like the attitude towards us when we were growing up all over again. Another survivor who spoke to the Irish Examiner but wishes to remain anonymous, applied to Caranua when she was in the US, where she lived for decades. She was born in the Bessborough home and fostered out to parents who were brought before the courts for cruelty to children. At four and a half she was sent by the court to the Good Shepherd home in Cork where she lived until she was 16. For me, more than anything I had wanted to be educated, she says. I wanted the education I didnt get a child. I got my BA and wanted to study for a masters. I was told Caranua would cover my education. I was told I had to apply when doing the course but I had to show the college that I had the money to do it but they [Caranua] wouldnt budge on it. I was very upset about the whole thing because education is everything to me. Later, she encountered further problems when she applied for assistance in putting a new roof on her home. I had to get quotes, I had to explain to contractors, male strangers, that they had to present me with their tax, business, and bank details so I could send those details to Caranua, rather than them sending the stuff direct. Then Caranua decided based on that whether to give the money or not. I wrote to Caranua and said that this is our money. I am a responsible human being. It was humiliating. While some survivors obviously encountered these kinds of barriers, the agency was obliged to have financial controls in place to ensure the money was being distributed in a fair and equitable manner. An audit of the agency covering 2014 to 2019 pointed out there were weaknesses in internal control where the boards procedures were not always followed in respect of payments to survivors. For example, in over one-third of cases in 2019 where invoices and receipts were required for payments they had not been recorded. There was also a case of suspected fraud to the value of over 11,000 which the gardai are investigating. These details do illustrate that the agency had to balance the needs and sensitivities of survivors with the requirement for financial controls and in some scenarios, this was extremely difficult. Solicitor Fionna Fox, who offered her services on a voluntary basis to survivors who were having difficulty with Caranua, says a better balance could have been struck between maintaining financial controls and providing appropriate supports to survivors. Ultimately this was a scheme to help survivors, many of whom had little education, and for many the tremendous bureaucratic requirements laid down by Caranua was excessive, she says. In my view, Caranua seemed more concerned with being able to demonstrate that they had tight controls over the administration of the fund than in providing appropriate support to enable survivors to access those funds. "Caranua failed to balance the need for necessary financial controls with its statutory requirement to meet the needs of survivors. It was so overly obsessed with financial regularity that is all they seemed to focus on. Ms Fox found she encountered repeated difficulties in getting Caranua to operate properly in compliance with the statute and the guidance. There were a huge number of cases where Caranua acted in breach of the act and the guidelines. Looking back on it now, a lot of it was down to a failure to govern themselves properly and there was no effective oversight. The board of the agency was designed to include four survivors from a full complement of nine members. Tom Cronin took up one of the survivor positions in 2016 but he didnt last long. I resigned after a short while, he says. As far as I could see the agenda was set before the board meetings took place. I remember on one occasion I made three or four attempts to have a topic raised at a board meeting. "I had to threaten to go back to the minister and say that the agenda was set out beforehand so they finally included it. But there was never a vote taken on anything that was brought up during the board meetings while I was there. Marty Lodato took up one of the positions reserved for survivors in 2017. I was asked to join and felt I could bring something because of my involvement with survivors in the UK. I stayed for about six months, she says. I felt they werent interested in listening to survivors voices. At each board meeting, my impression was that a lot of meetings went on outside those and that things were decided there and we were sort of expected to rubberstamp all that. "It was very difficult to try and raise issues. I was advised that my duties were in the first instance to the board rather than to survivors and it was stated that we had to manage the expectations of survivors. After much consideration, I decided I had to resign. Those running Caranua repeatedly pushed back against these kind of criticisms. At a Public Accounts Committee meeting in December 2020, the chief executive of the agency Rachel Downes refused to acknowledge the experience of all survivors had not necessarily been a happy one. Im very proud to work with Caranua, she told the meeting after repeated questions from Fianna Fail TD Paul McAuliffe. The TD suggested her failure to acknowledge this was doing a disservice to all the good work that you might have done. Mr Downes replied she would be happy to speak to anyone who might raise the issue with me. The evaluation report echoed Ms Downes emphasis on the positive. 87% of survivors questioned believed the support given to them by Caranua was very important or important in their lives, the reports conclusion states. For some, the difference in the quality of their lives was monetary, for others it was assistance at a bad time in their lives or that the support helped improve their mental or physical health. The report also canvassed opinion from staff who had served in the agency and the result of that does chime with some of the concerns that were expressed by survivors. The response on what learnings could be taken from the experience of the agency included: Staff should have an awareness of the complex nature and needs of survivors; the importance of all staff receiving trauma-informed care training and the importance of having enough staff who are trained and supported for the task. Attempts to contact Ms Downes were unsuccessful. A request for an interview with her or other senior figures in Caranua through the Department of Education received the following response: It would not be appropriate for the department to seek to facilitate an interview with Ms Downes or any former chair of the agency. Following the winding-up of the agency, plans were put in place to provide a service to those survivors who still had outstanding needs at a late stage in their lives. Two facilitators were appointed to meet with the survivors and assess their needs. There was also a few meetings with department officials, including one attended by Education Minister Norma Foley. Following that, a committee was established to produce a report on the best way to proceed. The members of this committee were made up of senior civil servants from the departments of Education, Children, Employment and Enterprise, Social Protection, Housing, Foreign Affairs, and Justice. The reasoning behind such a composition is unclear but it does illustrate that the process is now being viewed as something to be tightly controlled within government. Solicitor Fionna Fox believes the composition of the group speaks volumes. They created that inter-department committee simply because there is no money available or rather they dont want to make money available and they really just want to sit on it, she says. Tom Cronins view is equally jaundiced. The Government and particularly the Department [of Education] has been dragged and hauled through this as a very reluctant participant, he says. That attitude goes all the way back, for instance, to when Judge Mary Lafoy felt she had to resign because of how it was being handled. If the past isnt dealt with properly, our society now or in the future just will not progress. A spokesperson for the Department of Education responded to questions where the process of attending to the remaining needs of survivors with the following statement: A number of published reports have highlighted the ongoing needs of survivors and the lifelong difficulties they experience due to their childhood experiences in residential care. "A survivor-led consultative forum was also established and has provided a very good insight into the issues of concern to survivors. This work is currently being considered by the department with input from colleagues from other departments. Significant resources are being devoted to progressing this as quickly as possible, to feed into proposals to Government. What's happened to RTE's Home of the Year? Were halfway through the season and its a conveyor belt of cavernous open-plan living, dining and kitchen areas, with massive windows. I actually like this look and totally advocate for professional architectural and interior design input to make the best of your home, but surely theres more variety available seeing as weve all gone interiors mad. Where are the quirky homes from the early series, created with love and oodles of character? I recall my reactions from the sofa loving or loathing, smiling or wincing, but this season its expressionless me sighing at yet another Hans Wegner Wishbone chair with a sheepskin draped over; the tea and coffee station cupboard and trio of lights above the kitchen island. Maybe its too intimidating for DIY homemakers to apply when theyre up against some of these architecturally exacting, big-budget projects, but while viewers are getting a steer from the programme on good design, its really become Designer Home of the Year. I havent watched the latest episode as Im happily distracted by a book on mindful homes. Not the homes to win accolades necessarily, but created around what feels right for the occupants using feng shui principles. Simplifying your home includes having enough storage space for your belongings. Doors on cabinets and cupboards help to create calm qi and less visual clutter. Thats right, feng shui is back and not feeling as difficult to apply as when it hit the West in the '90s. Many, though, have progressed with its offshoot decluttering but now were so well versed in it and mindfulness, feng shui doesnt seem so alien this time round. Read More Use feng shui to make your home interiors work for you Mindful Homes: Create Healing Living Spaces with Mindfulness and Feng Shui, by Anjie Cho, architect, and feng shui master, starts with the author saying, When we change our homes, we change our lives. This is down to what Cho calls qi, pronounced "chee, the energy around us and how it flows or gets stuck around possessions. A simple exercise to get started on creating good flowing qi is to determine where its blocked which in turn blocks us in life, according to Cho. Feng shui says our bedrooms are a symbol of ourselves and a good place to apply the bagua in the home. It can even be applied specifically to the bed for quality sleep and comfort. Get out of bed, go to the bathroom or whatever you do and however you start your day, she says. Literally walk through your typical daily path and take notice of the flow. Is it easy to move through your home? Are there obstacles or is the qi smooth? Is there anything in your way? Do the doors open easily? Can you walk spaciously? Do you see something that makes you feel happy or feel dread? How does it feel? After that, enhancing our homes brings back the bagua, a map representing various areas of our lives health, prosperity, reputation, career path, off-spring, new beginnings, helpful people and knowledge with corresponding colours and materials. Its the bit of feng shui I find easiest to grasp and Im loving playing with it after determining how my qi is behaving. Painting a door in a contrasting colour can strengthen your voice and invite creativity, according to feng shui. The idea is to place the bagua over your homes floor plan and see where each area lands, determining furniture placement and guiding decorating schemes, although it can be tricky to apply precisely to a western home. Not everyone has a straightforward home floorplan, says Cho, so please dont be dismayed if the bagua doesnt initially work out so easily for you. Also, you need not even use it on your entire home if its too complicated. Instead, I encourage you to keep it simple. We can use the feng shui bagua in a single room in your home. Mindful Homes: Create Healing Living Spaces with Mindfulness and Feng Shui, by Anjie Cho. The surprise, though, was no talk of decluttering. People think that feng shui equals decluttering, Cho explains. However, when feng shui was developed in ancient China there was no such thing as clutter. Only in the past few decades have human beings lived in such a consumer-focused society. We have way too many things. As a second book for the author who penned a tips-based approach to feng shui prior, her approach now is slower and mindful, a trend developing among decluttering experts maturing in their practice, steering away from frantic disposal of possessions and maintaining immaculate homes in favour of prioritising enjoyment of our homes first. Being easy, if you will. Keep it simple, Cho says. You dont need to do everything. Theres no need to get overwhelmed and try to do it all. Listening to what your intuition tells you is the most important thing for you to do. Burma Myanmar Regime Task Force Leaves Trail of Beheaded and Mutilated Victims Locals and resistance fighters retrieve the bodies of slain Tar Taing villagers including women killed and dumped by junta soldiers outside Nyaing Yin Village in Myinmu Township on March 2. Photo/ supplied Warning: Graphic Content Myanmars junta is employing a special task force accused of beheading, mutilating and raping victims in its attempts to crush resistance in the countrys anti-coup stronghold of Sagaing Region, according to locals and resistance fighters. In a series of raids from February 23 to March 5 in Ayadaw, Myinmu and Sagaing townships in Sagaing, a task force of around 100 regime soldiers under the Myanmar militarys Division 99 killed and beheaded 20 resistance members and massacred 16 civilian detainees, including three women who were raped before being killed. Peoples Defense Forces (PDFs) who clashed with the task force said that the soldiers seemed to be focused on wiping out members of the resistance. The PDFs said that the junta troops in the task force were very different to the ones they had encountered before, who tended to flee in the face of resistance attacks. It was hard to fight them as they were commandos and dared to raid our areas without worrying about losing their lives, said Ko Thet Gyi, the leader of Zero Guerrilla Force which helped defend Kan Taw Village, one of ten villages raided by the task force. The resistance leader said that the junta soldiers decapitated detained PDF fighters and chopped limbs off a resistance leader to scare people away from becoming involved in the anti-regime movement. News of the latest atrocities committed by the junta comes less than a month after the regime imposed martial law in 14 of Sagaings townships, as well as in 26 other townships across four states and three regions. The task force began its barbarous raids on February 23, after being airlifted into the region by helicopter from the base of North West Military Command in Monywa. The regime soldiers raided and occupied Ma Lel Thar Village in southern Ayadaw Township the same day, while MI-35 helicopter gunships attacked the village, said resistance groups. At the same time, heavy clashes were taking place in a nearby village between junta troops and a combined force of PDFs. On February 24, the task force raided and torched houses in Pa Dat Htine Village in nearby Myinmu Township, as well as killing a resistance fighter. On the following day, the task force raided and occupied Nyaung Pin Kan Village and a neighboring village. A 10-hour firefight then broke out on February 26, when seven PDFs defended Kan Taw Village, a resistance stronghold, in Myinmu Township against the task force. The junta task force had earlier abducted seven civilians, including two teenage resistance fighters from Acid Army Defense Force, from Nyaung Pin Kan Village to use as human shields and guides during the raid. After coming under attack from the PDFs, the regime troops decapitated the two resistance fighters at a monastery just outside the village, which they then torched, according to Zero Guerilla Force leader Ko Thet Gyi. Military regime troops placed the head of one decapitated resistance member on a fence and left the head of the other PDF fighter on a table at the monastery, while destroying Zero Guerilla Forces temporary camp. The junta task force occupied Kan Taw Village for one night, leaving on February 27. The soldiers also killed and beheaded another two resistance fighters defending the village. At around 3am on March 1, the task force raided and occupied Tar Taing Village near the confluence of the Ayeyarwady and Mu rivers in neighboring Sagaing Township. During the raid U Kyaw Zaw, the leader of the village defense force, was detained and killed. Another PDF member and a villager were also killed, while 70 villagers were detained. Around 70 villagers were locked in a monastery building along with three monks. Some detainees were severely beaten after being taken away from the monastery, a Tar Taing villager named U Myint, who escaped the junta raid, said in an online press conference held by the civilian National Unity Government (NUG). Resistance leader U Kyaw Zaw was beheaded and his legs and arms were chopped to pieces, while he was also knifed in the stomach. Two firefights broke out when PDFs surrounded the village in an attempt to rescue the civilian detainees, according to PDFs that took part. But the regime task force was able to occupy the village for the night. Citing reports from military informants, the leader of Tike Nal Swon PDF, which took part in the Tar Taing clashes, told The Irrawaddy that the junta task force is made up of commandos tasked with killing resistance leaders and civilians whose names they get from lists of PDF groups. For that reason, the task force has only been raiding villages that are known to be resistance strongholds. On March 2, 14 Tar Taing villagers including three females were taken as human shields, along with other villagers detained in nearby villages. Residents and resistance fighters subsequently discovered the 14 bodies of the Tar Taing villagers on a sandbank and in a mango plantation near Yaung Yin Village outside Myinmu Town, according to PDFs who spoke with The Irrawaddy. Resistance fighters and locals retrieve the bodies of Tar Taing villagers killed by junta troops and dumped outside Nyaung Yin Village in Myinmu Township on March 2. Video/ Demon King Defence Force All the victims had been beaten around their heads before being shot. The three female victims were raped, before being stabbed and shot. Their faces and heads were badly damaged by the beatings before they were shot. It hurt us a lot to see the dead bodies. The most atrocious thing is that the three women had been abused before being killed, said Tar Taing villager U Myint who saw the bodies of the victims. Another Tar Taing villager Ko Naing Thu Aung, who lost his mother, a brother, an aunt and a brother-in-law in the raid, said at the NUGs online press conference: I thought they [regime troops] would not kill hostages and women. But they killed all my family members. He appealed to the international community to protect the people of Myanmar from the military regime. I want no more families and civilians to be killed by the junta, said Ko Naing Thu Aung. The regime task force raided Nyaung Yin Village on March 2 and also shot dead a civilian on a motorbike after being ambushed with landmines by the Peoples Army to Fight Dictatorship PDF outside Myinmu Town. Four soldiers were killed in the ambush, while others were injured, according to the PDF leader. A PDF video shows the task force carrying injured soldiers as it entered Myinmu Town on March 2. Two days later, the task force raided Lat Ka Pin Village in western Myinmu Township, detaining 200 residents. Citing the village defense force, a PDF leader told The Irrawaddy on Friday that the task force killed a total of 13 resistance fighters including seven from Mandalay Region who were sheltering at the villages monastery. The Mandalay PDF fighters were shot dead at the monastery, while the other six local PDF members were killed and dumped outside the village. One had been stabbed and beheaded. Regime troops also detained a monk along with several villagers. After the raid, the task force is believed to have moved to Myaung Township. NUG human rights minister U Aung Myo Min said during a recent meeting with a Czech government representative that the junta is killing civilians including children because it sees them as the enemy of the state. The situation right now is going beyond human rights violations. I would say that it is democide. It is more than genocide, said U Aung Myo Min. Burma Nationalist Monk Joins Chinese Gambling City-Linked BGF Leader's Mass Donation Saw Chit Thu and family members present cash donations to extremist monk Wirathu during the pagoda festival in Kyar Inn village, Hlinebwe, in February. Brigadier General Saw Chit Thu, the leader of Myanmar junta-affiliated Border Guard Force (BGF), who presides over a controversial China-backed gambling city in Myawaddy Township, Karen State, has organized a mass donation ceremony. The resistance fighter turned businessman had a pagoda called Pyi Tha Lin Aye built in his home village, Kyar Inn, in Hlinebwe Township, Karen State. A festival was held for nearly two weeks from February 20 until March 5 to mark the consecration of the pagoda. More than 100 million kyats were spent on the festival, which featured Dhamma talks, funfairs and sporting events. Wirathu, the extremist monk from the Buddhist nationalist Association for Protection of Race and Religion better known as Ma Ba Tha, delivered sermons. Both Wirathu and Saw Chit Thu last year were awarded the honorary Thiri Pyanchi title by junta chief Min Aung Hlaing. Residents posted on Facebook that Saw Chit Thu organized a lucky draw with prizes including 11 unlicensed vehicles, 18 motorbikes, expensive phones and cash. Pictures of Buddhist monks jostling with residents for tickets were distributed online and attracted criticism. Buddhist scholar Sayadaw Min Thone Nya said: Such acts amount to supporting Saw Chit Thu who is making dirty money and working with the military dictators. Such acts totally deviate from Buddhism. It is extremely shameful. Buddha said that society will collapse when humans are not ashamed and do not fear doing bad acts. If even the monks have no sense of shame or fear of doing bad things, they will destroy society. Following the fall of Manerplaw, which served as a base for an umbrella group of forces opposed to the military regime in 1995, the leaders of the Karen National Union fled their Manerplaw headquarters and the Karen armed movement splintered into several groups. One was the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) led by Saw Chit Thu. In 2009 Saw Chit Thus forces were transformed into a BGF under the command of Myanmars military. Saw Chit Thu was appointed general secretary of the BGFs central advisory and command board and given the rank of colonel. But he refers to himself as a brigadier general, the rank he held in the DKBA. A few months before the 2021 coup, Myanmars military pressured BGF leaders into resigning over the controversial Shwe Kokko new city gambling project. Ninety officers, including 13 majors who commanded BGF battalions, submitted resignations in solidarity with Saw Chit Thu. They, however, withdrew their resignations following the militarys request for a rethink. Saw Chit Thu retained his position, and the Chinese-backed project has grown over the past two years. The Shwe Kokko project is a collaboration between the Chit Lin Myaing Co run by Saw Chit Thus BGF and the Hong Kong-registered Yatai International Holding Group. The project has become notorious in Southeast Asia for involvement with Chinese criminal gangs, human trafficking, labor exploitation, online scams, gambling and other illegal activities while providing the main source of income for Saw Chit Thu and his forces. Chinese investor Shi Zhijiang was arrested in Bangkok last August. He is the subject of an international arrest warrant for allegedly running an online casino and has controversial mega projects and gambling ventures in Cambodia and Shwe Kokko. The BGF said the project is running as normal despite the arrest. Earlier this month, the feminine hygiene company Thinx settled a class-action lawsuit for five million dollars over the use of PFAS in its products. Thinx used PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, to improve the performance of its period underwear. Studies have linked PFAS to fertility problems, certain cancers, and other health risks. Consumers who purchased Thinx products between November 12th, 2016, and November 28th, 2022 have until April 12th, 2023 to submit an online claim to be eligible for partial cash reimbursement or a voucher for thirty-five percent off a single purchase. Consumers may visit thinxunderwearsettlement.com/Home/SubmitClaim to submit a claim. Misleading Marketing The class-action lawsuit focused on misleading marketing by the manufacturer who claimed in advertisements that its products were sustainable, organic, and reusable. As part of the settlement, Thinx is required to change its marketing language, and ensure that PFAS are not intentionally added to its products in the future. Columnist for Sierra Magazine Jessian Choy is credited with uncovering high levels of PFAS in Thinx products in 2020. Choy asked Dr. Graham Peaslee, a nuclear scientist at the University of Notre Dame, to test Thinx products. Testing revealed that one pair of Thinx underwear contained 3,264 parts per million, and another contained 2,053 ppm of the forever chemicals. In 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency updated its recommendations of lifetime exposures for four types of PFAS in drinking water but has yet to set a limit for other sources of PFAS exposure such as food and consumer products. However, a 2017 study by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation revealed that PFAS were able to migrate from textiles into spit and sweat, and laundry water. According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, about ninety-seven percent of the United States population has PFAS in their bloodstream. Why are PFAS considered dangerous? PFAS belong to a large family of man-made chemical compounds, which include Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulphonate (PFOs). According to recent studies, PFAS may pose environmental and human health risks. Known as forever chemicals because of their resistance to breakdown, they are used in products such as non-stick pans, cleaning products, waterproof clothing, and firefighting equipment. Experiments on PFAS have shown that exposure can lead to negative effects on human health, including changes in cholesterol, thyroid dysfunctions, osteoarthritis, increased levels of uric acid, delayed puberty, liver problems, and immune disorders. What to do if youve been exposed to PFAS If you or a loved one have been injured due to a defective product like the chemicals found in Thinx undergarments, call an experienced defective product attorney immediately. Our team of expert attorneys can help you understand your options and navigate the legal process. Call us today at (305) 662-6178 or visit panterlaw.com for a free consultation with a dedicated attorney. Panter, Panter & Sampedro is a leading personal injury law firm dedicated to protecting Floridas families. For over 30 years, our experienced trial attorneys have worked one-on-one with clients to successfully get the justice, recovery, and compensation they deserve. Mitchell Panter, Esq. is a Board Certified Civil Trial Attorney, Community Advocate and Managing Partner at Panter, Panter & Sampedro, P.A. To read another one of Mitchell Panter's pieces, click here. To learn more about Panter, Panter & Sampedro, click here. Sources: Feature: Chinese stories win publishers' hearts at children's book fair in Italy Xinhua) 10:18, March 10, 2023 BOLOGNA, Italy, March 9 (Xinhua) -- A picture book series titled "Palace Cats," depicting a few of the furry occupants of the Palace Museum, the huge national museum complex housed in the Forbidden City in the heart of Beijing, caught the eyes of nearly all visitors to the exhibition area of a Chinese publishing house at the Bologna Children's Book Fair, which ran from March 6 to March 9 in the central Italian city. In its 60th edition, the annual book fair is a major international forum for publishers, authors and illustrators of children's literature to exchange ideas, forge bonds and select partners. At the 32-square-meter stand of China Science and Technology Press, hundreds of Chinese story books and science books for children were on display. Audrey Lorenzini, an independent publisher from Padova, Italy, discussed copyright issues with the Chinese exhibitors. "It's very difficult for children in Italy to access books about Chinese culture," she said while she was looking for books for Italians who want to learn about China. Publishers and licensing professionals were also drawn to the exhibition booths of other Chinese publishers, such as Beijing-based UTOP publishing house and China Children's Press and Publication Group, to seek deals for cooperation. Popular selections from these industry insiders included "Palace Cats," which tactfully integrates information about the 24 solar terms in the Chinese lunar calendar and the imperial palace into the stories, as well as "My Hillside, My Fallen Leaves," an educational story. "I like the style of the illustration. It's bright, simple but impressive," Christina Wu, principal consultant with Wellread &Boekenreis Agency commented. She said she wants to publish "My Hillside, My Fallen Leaves" in Dutch for Dutch readers. "I am also impressed by the core message the book conveys -- support and help between friends foster their mental growth." Zhu Weina, senior project manager with the book fair organizer's Chinese subsidiary Ronbo BolognaFiere Shanghai Ltd., said three works from China won major awards at this year's Bologna fair -- "the best performance Chinese original stories achieved at the book fair in recent years." "This is an important signal to the world that Chinese original stories are becoming more and more competitive," she said. "In the past, China was generally seen by industry insiders as a major buyer of content and copyright in the global market. Now that China is growing in content creation, it is attracting more buyers worldwide." At the Bologna fair, China Science and Technology Press inked cooperation deals with Brazilian and Russian publishing houses to publish 10 sets of Chinese works in their countries. Praising the way Chinese history was presented in the books and the illustrations, Carlos Eduardo Cavalheiro Filho, chief executive of Bom Bom Book's LTDA of Brazil, said he and his whole team are excited about the cooperation with the Chinese press. "Many (book) contents we translated are already famous in Brazil," he said. "We're looking forward to publishing these works in Portuguese and selling them in the country." Slava Fedorov, chief executive of Russia's IRSI Publishing House, said many Russians have a basic understanding of traditional Chinese culture but are not familiar with modern Chinese literature, especially children's literature. "We are in the very beginning to open this market to introduce modern Chinese literature to Russia, and we see the interest from our readers," he told Xinhua. Over 1,400 exhibitors from 90 countries and regions attended the fair, including world-renowned publishers, such as Penguin Random House and HarperCollins Publishers. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan) Cybercriminals can use artificial intelligence to create realistic and sophisticated threats, according to one global cyber safety company. Norton, the consumer cyber safety brand of Gen, warns that cybercriminals can now quickly and easily craft email or social media phishing lures that are even more convincing, making it more difficult to tell whats legitimate and whats a threat. Norton says its latest Pulse Report reveals that throughout 2022, it thwarted over 3.5 billion threats, or around 9.6 million threats per day, and blocked: 90.9 million phishing attempts 260.4 million file threats 1.6 million mobile threats 274 thousand ransomware attacks Norton AntiTrack blocked over 3 billion trackers and fingerprinting scripts. In Australia, throughout the last quarter alone, Norton says it blocked over 28 million threats, or around 300 thousand threats per day. And from October through December 2022, Norton Australia blocked: 960 thousand phishing attempts 1.3 million file threats 24 thousand mobile threats Releasing its quarterly Consumer Cyber Safety Pulse Report, the global research team from Norton said that ChatGPT has captured the internets attention with millions using the technology to write poems, craft short stories, answer questions and even ask advice - and meanwhile, cybercriminals are using it to generate malicious threats through its impressive ability to generate human-like text that adapts to different languages and audiences. Norton says that in addition to writing lures, ChatGPT can also generate code. Just as ChatGPT makes developers lives easier with its ability to write and translate source code, bad actors too can manipulate the technology and use it to scam at a more larger and a faster scale. While the introduction of large language models like ChatGPT is exciting, its also important to note how cybercriminals can benefit and use it to conduct various nefarious activities. Were already seeing ChatGPT being used effectively by bad actors to create malware and other threats quickly and very easily, said Mark Gorrie, Asia Pacific Managing Director at Gen. Unfortunately, its becoming more difficult than ever for people to spot scams on their own, which is why Cyber Safety solutions that look at all aspects of our digital lives are comprehensibly needed, be it our mobile devices to our online identity, or the wellbeing of those around us being cyber vigilant is integral to our digital lives. In addition to using ChatGPT for more efficient phishing, Norton experts warn bad actors can also use it to create deepfake chatbots - and these chatbots can impersonate humans or legitimate sources, like a bank or government entity, to manipulate victims into turning over their personal information in order to gain access to sensitive information, steal money or commit fraud. To stay safe from these new threats, Norton experts recommend: Get unlimited access to all content and features at ivpressonline.com with our Full Online Access Subscription. Read our E-Edition, the digital replica of the print newspaper online, access content in exclusive sections including Family, Teen, Business, Databases, Farm and more. This option does not include daily home delivery of the Imperial Valley Press newspaper. For home delivery service, please select Premium or Premium Plus. JUSTICE INFO: Nearly four years after the Truth and Dignity Commission (IVD) ended its work, what do you think were the most important recommendations in the final report of its "Memory" committee? ADEL MAIZI: The Commission identified five major components related to the preservation of memory, drawn from three sources: victims' requests during public and private hearings; the national consultation on reparations held by the IVD in 2017; and the proposals of MPs at the time the Commissions annual budget was adopted. First, we recommended in our final report that sites of serious human rights violations, such as prisons and torture centres, be transformed into "authentic sites" of culture and remembrance. We can cite as examples "Sabbat Edhlam" (The Door of Darkness), a house located in the medina of Tunis, which was used to torture and execute opponents of Bourguiba [president of Tunisia from 1957 to 1987] engaged between 1955 and 1956 in the Youssefist movement [supporters of Salah Ben Youssef, a nationalist activist opposed to Bourguiba]. Theres also the "April 9 Prison", demolished by former President Ben Ali [President of Tunisia from 1987 to 2011] in 2009, six years after the centenary of this place used to detain opponents during the colonial period. We propose to erect a memorial above which would be inscribed the history of the prison and the names of its victims. This vacant lot, as it is today, could house an institution in charge of remembrance. We also thought of a memorial to the disappeared of Jebel Agri (Agri Mountain), in the southeast of the country. It would be to honour the memory of all fallagua [independence activists] and resistance fighters shot by the French army between 1955 and 1956 in this mountainous region of Tataouine because they refused to lay down their arms after the agreements on internal autonomy. Open-air mass graves were found there by members of our Commission during a visit to Djebel Agri. Secondly, renaming streets, avenues, squares, schools and other public establishments after events or figures of opposition to the authoritarian regimes of Bourguiba and Ben Ali, or the martyrs of the revolution [of 2011]. Many of the victims who spoke at the IVD consultation in 2017 expressed their objection to the fact that a major street in central Tunis pays tribute to Charles de Gaulle, who led France in the 1962 Bizerte War in which hundreds of Tunisians lost their lives. Third, rewrite the history of violations and transmit it through education, replacing the current unilateral vision with an approach that ensures diverse views. The IVD's archives, in all their forms, are a major resource that can contribute to this goal. Among the good practices here, I noted something cited by the [UN] Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-repetition in a report published in 2020. It is a textbook entitled "History of the Other", published by the Peace Research Institute for the Middle East, which deals in an intelligent way with one of the longest conflicts in the Middle East. In its various chapters, it first presents the Palestinian perspective and then the opposing side's perspective on the same historical facts. It has a blank space left in the centre for students to place their own narrative. The fourth major recommendation relates to accessing, managing and exploiting the legacy of the IVD: digitized audiovisual archives and internal files of the Commission. The fifth component of our strategy concerns encouraging any artistic initiative that deals with and documents gross human rights violations. Given the Tunisian art scene in recent years, it seems artists have already taken on the work of remembrance. Did you expect such a dynamic? We certainly did not expect a star like actor and producer Dhafer Abidine to take up a theme like transitional justice in the feature film "Ghodwa" (Tomorrow)! What with films, television series, documentaries, plays, photography and novels, it's incredible how much remembrance inspires Tunisian artists. The victims stories sometimes surpass fiction - I think thats what appeals to artists, who often come to ask me where they can listen again to the public hearings and these incredible stories of lives marked by violence and repression. In our final report, we recommended that the public authorities encourage artists to evoke this violent past through works retracing the lives of victims and the circumstances of their deaths, by boosting budgets, creating grants, competitions and prizes for this purpose. Why have the public authorities not followed these recommendations? The reasons are many. The old regime of Ben Ali did not completely disappear after the revolution of 2011, I realized during my time at the IVD. Its apparatus came back to power in 2014, following the election of Beji Caied Essebsi as President of the Republic, at the very moment when the IVD started to work. The parliament and the political coalitions formed at the time have only hindered our work. On the other hand, it seems to me that many Tunisians refuse to face the past. Worse still, some resort to denial and suspicion about the revelations of the IVD. Mistrust of the victims for ideological reasons has also harmed the process. We have not, unfortunately, developed a human rights culture that guarantees respect and dignity for all, regardless of the political colour of our opponent. Furthermore, these recommendations are not binding. Only a combination of Article 148 of the 2014 Constitution [which says that "the state undertakes to implement the transitional justice system in all its areas and within the timeframes prescribed by the related legislation"], which has now disappeared [in the 2022 Constitution] and a decision of the Constitutional Court, which has so far done nothing, could have forced the state to implement them. Adel Maizi : "Memory is never seen as an independent tool that can change people's perceptions of history." Instance verite et dignite In the December 2013 Organic Law on Transitional Justice, only three rather skeletal articles mention the issue of memory. Was this pillar of transitional justice neglected in advance? I think the provisions on memory/remembrance are characterized by vagueness. The legislator has considered preservation of memory as a secondary matter. Why, for example, does the law give alternatives on where the IVDs legacy should go, either the national archives or an institution dedicated to remembrance? It would have been wiser to decide from the outset. The text does not clearly define either the right to remembrance or the obligations of the state in relation to memorialization. In our final report, we devoted a long paragraph to explaining the contours of this right to remembrance. But it must be said that the victims do not attach much importance to this pillar of transitional justice either, as their demands generally emphasize financial compensation - something I can understand in view of the precarious situation in which many of them live. As for national and international NGOs, few of them dedicate gatherings and workshops to remembrance. And when this theme is addressed in meetings on transitional justice, it is often linked to revealing the truth or the reform of institutions. It is never seen as an independent tool that can change people's perceptions of history. NGOs prefer to work on projects that have an immediate impact, such as the training of judges for specialized chambers. Remembrance, on the other hand, requires a long term strategy over a long period of time. As you just recalled, the IVD should, after its work has ended, entrust all its documents and files to the National Archives or a dedicated institution for the preservation of memory. In 2016, the Commission called for the establishment of such an institution, but it was not heard. Why? This institution should actually have been established from the start of the IVD's mandate in June 2014, because a truth commission starts to receive files, testimonies, property and objects of victims very early. A law creating this structure should have been passed after the 2014 legislative elections. But none of the former victims who became MPs paid attention to it. And even before, at the time of the revolutionary euphoria of January 2011, nothing was done to initiate a memorialization process. Yet all the conditions were there: empathy for former victims, freedom for them to express themselves on social networks and television, the thousand and one projects to launch a museum of the Revolution in Sidi Bouzid and Kasserine. The train of transitional justice started too late in our country. We should have remembered also that politicians need the people to forget some serious things in the past in order to be able to govern... Where are the archives of the IVD? Since the authorities have not set up a structure for the study and development of the truth commission archives, it was forced to deliver its 10,000 boxes of archives to the National Archives, and its audiovisual recordings, containing the private testimony of victims, to the Prime Ministers office. The documentary archives, transferred to the National Archives, contain the files of victims' complaints, archives collected during the Commissions investigations and covering its whole mandated period of 1955 to 2013, the decisions of its governance, and documents of the various committees. There are 80,000 gigabytes of audiovisual archives. They contain valuable testimonies recorded during private hearings. Is it possible to access these two types of archives today? Currently, there is no legislative framework for the IVD archives. Our final report recommended revising the law on the National Archives, expanding its areas of competence, ensuring the institution's independence from the executive branch and providing it with qualified human resources. The IVD even went so far as to outline the contours of a new law, in line with international standards and better adapted to the specificities of these archives, guaranteeing their security and with precautions against use that would harm witnesses and victims. During your speech at the Transitional Justice Conference in Tunis from February 23 to 24, you mentioned the "sensitivity" of transitional justice archives. Why are they sensitive? I call these archives "sensitive" because they embody all the conditions and restrictions inherent in the protection of personal data: data relating to identity and privacy, medical data and security information. Hence the need to manage, process and use them in a different way than ordinary documents. However, these considerations should not hinder the work on remembrance. Referring to comparative experiences, we have recommended rewriting testimonies according to a well-defined protocol, to provide a version with all the sensitive data I mentioned taken out. While this is a daunting task, it is possible if there is political will and awareness of the archives importance, and if resources are allocated to this project. Software and applications can be used to make victims' stories accessible. If you had to prioritize, what would be the two or three memory preservation projects proposed by the IVD that you think would best help prevent people forgetting and denying Tunisia's violent past? Today it is crucial to find a new way of teaching history. With new school curricula, it is possible to forge a culture of peace and non-violence, to build a new person who does not, for example, resort to torture to extract confessions. Remembrance is not just about the past, it helps build the future. As urged in the December 2013 the law, the results of the final report should be widely disseminated. A digital version of this document was published in the Official Gazette in June 2020, but today we can't find a trace of it anywhere! On March 6th, the Norwegian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) conducted a larger hearing in the Norwegian Parliament with representatives of various parts of Indigenous peoples and national minorities, the Sami, Kven, Forest Finns and Norwegian Finns. The hearing coincides with intense protests that took place in Oslo last week, when Sami activists protested against outspoken inertia in the Norwegian state administration to act upon the verdict reached by the Norwegian Supreme Court in a case about a windfarms project in a Sami reindeer herding area. Sami activists called it a crisis of trust. A crisis which was also among the key concerns voiced in the TRC hearing. The decision to establish a TRC on the assimilation policies conducted towards the Sami, Kvens and Norwegian Finns (Forest Finns were added to the list shortly after the commission took seat), was taken by the Norwegian Parliament in the Spring of 2018. The mandate states that the commission is obliged to document historical assimilation policies, to investigate the consequences of the assimilation up until the present day and to propose measures to contribute to further reconciliation. In the past five years the commission has carried out archival research, collected witness accounts and conducted meetings with various parts of the affected communities around the country. The March 6 hearing was part of the finalization of the TRC Final Report, which will be handed over to the Norwegian Parliament on June 1. Preserving languages and culture 35 institutions, organizations and associations representing various parts of the Sami, Kven, Forest Finn and Norwegian Finn communities had responded to the invitation to take part in the hearing. The session, which lasted 6 hours, gave each delegate 5 minutes to present a response of their own choice, with the option to also hand in a longer written statement. The entire 12-member commission was present and could ask clarifying questions. Kvens, Norwegian Finns and Forest Finns were recognized as national minorities in Norway, when in 1998 the country ratified the 1995 European Councils Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. However, a Kven delegate spoke of the need that Norway recognizes the Kven as an indigenous people alongside the Sami and distinct from Norwegian Finns and Forest Finns. The themes and suggestions chosen by the delegates attest to the fact that although united under the banner of being subjected to Norwegian assimilation policies, the Sami, Kven, Forest Finn and Norwegian Finns constitute different communities with different historical trajectories and consequently different needs in terms of reconciliation. Efforts and problems connected to securing the survival of the Sami languages as well as the Kven and Finnish, and to revive the Forest Finnish language were a common theme mentioned by several of the representatives. While the rights to preserve their languages are already secured by law in Norway, many representatives voiced concern that the practical implementation often lags far behind the law. Several Sami representatives paid particular attention to the need to secure the implementation of Sami rights to land and natural resources, which despite being recognized as essential to the continuation of traditional Sami livelihoods, time and again come under pressure from other interests such as the development of green infrastructure, mining projects and tourism. Representatives of the Forest Finn communities were concerned with securing state support to create and continue museums documenting and keeping alive the history and culture of the Forest Finns. The differences between the minorities and the Sami was noted by some to be addressed in terms of internal reconciliation both within the Sami communities, between Sami and Kvens and between Kvens and Norwegian Finns. The concept of internal reconciliation was also employed by the Greenland Reconciliation Commission (2014-17). Arrogance and ignorance in the Norwegian administration One concern seemed to unite almost all delegates: the complaint against ignorance and sometimes arrogance amongst Norwegian administrators, civil servants and bureaucrats that repeatedly create major obstacles to both the Sami, the Kven, Forest Finns and Norwegian Finns. The rights of the Sami, Kvens, Forest Finns and Norwegian Finns are protected by both national and international law adopted by Norway. However, several of the gathered representatives at the hearing mentioned the lack of automatic implementation of these rights. A complaint which covered both the state administration as well as local and district municipalities. Several of the representatives told of the deep ignorance or outright arrogance they were faced with when holding on to their rights be it to create museums, make sure that their children are taught in their native languages or continue traditional reindeer herding. As several of the representatives mentioned, the ignorance and arrogance attested to the fact that while the Norwegianization policies were formally abandoned in the Norwegian Parliament in 1963, the Norwegianization process is still pervasive. A number of the representatives spoke of the feeling of constantly being forced to fight for their rights to be implemented, which takes it toll on the mental health amongst all groups. This results in a pronounced crisis of trust between indigenous peoples, national minorities and the state. Recent Sami protests over the Fosen case The crisis of trust was also a key factor in the so-called Fosen protest taking place in Oslo, when Sami activist on February 23rd blocked the entry to the Ministry of Oil and Energy to denounce a seemingly infinite bureaucratic procedure to decide on how to implement the verdict of the Norwegian Supreme Court in the Fosen case 500 days after the ruling was issued. The Fosen case concerned the construction of Storheia and Roan windfarms in Fosen region, in the county of Trndelag, which is placed in the middle of a traditional Sami reindeer herding area. The Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate issued license to these windfarms already in 2010. However, on 11th October 2021, the Supreme Court ruled the license invalid, since it violates the right to culture of the Sami Indigenous people in the Fosen area under Art. 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Despite the courts decision, the windmills have continued to run up to now. Demonstrators therefore wanted to press the government to make a decision on how to deal with the ruling of the Supreme Court. The Fosen protest has been called the new Alta conflict, referring to the protests in Norway in the late 1970s and early 1980s over the construction of a hydroelectric power plant in the Alta River in Finnmark. There are some important differences. In the 1980s, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the government, and the construction was completed. But the conflict was instrumental in forwarding the rights of the Sami people in Norway, with the Sami Act in 1987, the opening of the Sami Parliament in 1989 and the Finnmark Act in 2005, which strengthened Sami rights to use land and water in the Finnmark county, as important milestones. Norway also ratified the International Labour Organisation Convention No. 169 on the Rights of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in 1990. Nothing of this would probably have happened, had it not been for the Alta conflict. The Fosen demonstrations attests to a crisis of trust between the Sami and the Norwegian State, since some now feel that they can not trust that the government will follow the rule of the Supreme Court regarding Sami rights. The protesters called off the demonstration after the Norwegian Government had issued a statement of regret, admitted that an ongoing violation of human rights was indeed taking place and promised prompt action in the case. Waiting for the TRC final report While the current Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the Alta conflict and the Fosen demonstration are not directly linked, the recent protest will nevertheless have implications for the success of the TRC. Indeed, the February 23-March 2nd manifestation still echoed in the March 6 hearing. The crisis of trust and the need to create a new relationship between the State and the Sami, Kven, Norwegian Finns and Forest Finns were key messages across all parts of the delegates at the hearing. This new relationship must build on Norwegian knowledge and acceptance of the detrimental assimilation policies; equity amongst parties; a sincere and honest dialogue and automatic implementation of the rights already secured in Norwegian Law. The TRC was appointed by the Norwegian Parliament as a commission of inquiry, a measure taken by the Norwegian Parliament in rare instances, when the Parliament agrees that an inquiry into a matter is compelling. This status also means that the Norwegian Parliament cannot just ignore the TRC findings but is bound to treat its final report politically. Chairman of the commission Dagfinn Hybraten has repeatedly stated that the report will include findings and recommendations that will be hard to accept by the Norwegian society at large. Based on the overall message of the hearing, the crisis of trust and how to solve it seems likely to be addressed in the TRC Final Report. In a trust-based democracy as the Norwegian, which relies on high levels of confidence between citizens and the State, this is likely to cause some controversy. 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 Twenty-six supporters of Ivory Coast's former president Laurent Gbagbo have received two-year jail terms on public order charges related to an anti-government protest last month. Thirty-one people were arrested after the February 24 protest in support of Damana Pickass, secretary general of the African Peoples' Party (PPA-CI), who is under investigation for his alleged role in an attack on an Abidjan barracks in 2021. All but one of the 27 in court late Thursday were sentenced to jail, with one acquitted. The prosecution had called for three-year sentences. Defence lawyer Jonas Zadi said there would be an appeal. "The concept of public order is a kind of catch-all," he said. PPA-CI spokesman Justin Kone Katinan last week accused the authorities of manipulating the justice system for political ends against opposition forces. Ivory Coast was thrust into a political crisis in 2020 when Alassane Ouattara won a controversial third presidential term. Election-related violence saw 85 deaths and some 500 injured. But legislative polls which ensued a year later passed off calmly, and Gbagbo and his former right-hand man Charles Ble Goude returned home following their acquittal on human rights charges by the International Criminal Court (ICC). Gbagbo after his return abandoned the party he had founded, the Ivorian Popular Front (FPI), and launched the PPA-CI, a leftwing pan-African group. To listen to the podcast, click on the "play" button below: The arrests of two Eritrean men extradited to Italy and the Netherlands have shed light on the work of a Joint Team looking into crimes against migrants in Libya. The men were accused of being part of a network that trafficks migrants from Ethiopia and Eritrea to Libya and then to Italy and Northern Europe. Part of the networks revenues come from ransom that they ask from the families of migrants, who they held in Libya until more money is paid. In these detention centres migrants often experience torture, rape, and other human rights abuses. Stephanie went to the procedural opening of an alleged Eritrean trafficker known as Welid in the provincial town of Zwolle (very pretty place, but not a usual crimes against humanity spot for us). She asked Gerben Wilbrink spokesperson for the Dutch Prosecutors Office about the link to the Netherlands. Via our Italian connection, we got an insight into the investigations that led to the arrest and extradition of another alleged trafficker Ghebremedin Temeschen Ghebru to Italy. Our producer Margherita Capacci interviewed public Prosecutor Giorgia Righi who told her more about the cooperation behind the case and the specific charges that Ghebru is facing. As the ICC officially joined the Joint Team in September 2022, Janet could get hold of Nicole Samson, senior trial lawyer and head of the Libya Unified team. Alongside the ICC, theres Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom Spain and most importantly Europol. Samson discusses the details of how this cooperation developed and how it relates to ICC investigations into the armed conflict in Libya. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will tell Ethiopia next week that it needs to move forward on a fragile peace process if it wants to restore once warm ties when he pays the highest-level US visit since the brutal civil war, officials said Friday. Blinken will also pay the first visit by a top US diplomat to Niger to discuss security cooperation in the Sahel, where Russia has been making growing inroads through its Wagner mercenary force. Blinken will arrive Wednesday for talks in Addis Ababa with the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who transformed from a close US ally to near-pariah over the two-year war in the Tigray region that has left more people dead than the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Molly Phee, the top US diplomat for Africa, said the Tigray war was "earth-shattering" and that there could not be an immediate return to normal with Ethiopia, even though the United States valued its historically strong partnership with the continent's second most populous country. "What we're looking to do is refashion our engagement with Ethiopia," Phee told reporters. "To put that relationship in a forward trajectory, we will continue to need steps by Ethiopia to help break the cycle of ethnic political violence that has set the country back for so many decades," she said. Blinken will also meet Tigrayan officials, civil society and humanitarian groups to discuss the November 2 accord, which was brokered in the South African capital Pretoria by the African Union with US participation. Under the deal, the rebel Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) promised to disarm in the face of an onslaught by the government, which agreed to restore basic services in a region that has suffered dire shortages. But access remains heavily restricted, making it impossible to assess the situation on the ground, and violence and rights concerns have flared elsewhere in Ethiopia. The United States has put the death toll at 500,000 while former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo, who negotiated for the African Union, put it as high as 600,000, which would make the war one of the deadliest of the 21st century despite the greater spotlight on Ukraine. Blinken has alleged crimes against humanity in the course of the war, angering the Abiy government which has warned that a UN-backed probe into abuses would undermine the peace process. - Incentives for peace - Abiy won the Nobel Peace Prize for making peace with historic rival Eritrea and was once seen by the United States as part of a generation of dynamic new democratic leaders in Africa. The war and allegations of abuses -- including the withholding of food -- have badly strained relations with the United States, which suspended Ethiopia's right to duty-free exports under a key trade pact, although Abiy participated in December in President Joe Biden's Africa summit in Washington. Cameron Hudson, an Africa expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said there was an active debate within the Biden administration on whether to patch up with Ethiopia or to prioritize human rights. "This is a bit of a fact-finding mission. There is this debate happening within the administration and I think Blinken needs to see for himself," Hudson said. "What Addis is looking for is whether Washington is willing to say, enough has been done and we can normalize the bilateral relationship -- and that means turning on the financial spigot by restarting international lending assistance and assisting with the country's increasing debt crisis," Hudson said. Abiy ordered the offensive after the TPLF, once Ethiopia's dominant power, attacked military installations. Authoritarian Eritrea intervened against its longtime TPLF foes. Phee said the United States believes that Eritrean troops have largely withdrawn. The Biden administration has been looking to boost its influence in Africa in the face of a growing presence by China and increasingly Russia, which is seeking diplomatic support in the developing world against Western sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine. Niger has offered key US support through a base for drone strikes against Islamist militants. In the capital Niamey, Blinken will meet President Mohamed Bazoum as well as young people from conflict zones. Since he starred in the Netflix hit series "Love to Hate You," Yoo Teo consistently made headlines. Even the public got curious about his relationship status and found out that the actor is already married to this brilliant photo enthusiast. Is Yoo Teo Also A Romantic Guy in Real-Life? South Korean star Yoo Teo has been in show business and acting in films for almost two decades already and bagged a number of awards including the Korea Arts and Culture Awards and Blue Dragon Film Awards. After playing villain roles, the actor proved that he still has the charisma as he headlined the rom-com series "Love to Hate You." But same as his character, Yoo Teo is also a romantic guy in real-life. Did You Know? Yoo Teo & Nikki Are Married for More Than A Decade Already Yoo Teo is married to the famous and talented photographer Nikki Seung Hee Lee. They tied the knot in 2007 and have been married for more than fifteen years. According to a source, Nikki is 11 years older than the actor. Though the couple have hardly any public appearance together, Yoo Teoo has often mentioned his wife in interviews and considers her as the biggest source of inspiration. To recall, in his Allure Korea interview in 2020, the "Vagabond" star said that since he is an introvert and likes to stay home, one of his favorite things in the morning is to make coffee for Nikki. The "Money Game" star also mentioned Nikki as someone who brings him happiness. Who is Yoo Teo's Wife, Nikki Lee Like the actor, his wife Nikki has garnered critical appreciation with her award-winning photography over the years. The photo enthusiast's interest in immersing in a variety of different cultures led her to produce the most famous works, "Projects" (1997-2001) ,where Nikki became part of various American subcultures and created a new self-identity by producing photos with a diverse range of people from swing dancers, senior citizens, drag queens, fans, and more. One of Nikki's recent pieces was "Layers," which also deals with multicultural identities as she exhibited portraits from fourteen different cities. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Yoo Teo Net Worth 2023: How Rich is the 'Love to Hate You' Star What can you say about the news? Share your thoughts/replies in the comments! For more K-Drama, K-Movie, and celebrity news and updates, keep your tabs open here at Kdramastars. Kdramastars owns this article. Shai Collins wrote this. The cat-and-dog relationship with Lee Sung Kyung and Kim Young Kwang is about to change as one becomes more drawn to the other's mysterious personality. Here's what went down in "Call It Love" episode 5. Read on to know more. Shim Woo Joo Shows Concern For Han Dong Jin The fifth episode of "Call It Love" focuses on the blooming relationship of Shim Woo Joo (Lee Sung Kyung) and Han Dong Jin (Kim Young Kwang). It begins with Shim Woo Joo coming across Han Dong Jin who spends his night drinking at a pub to ease his restless mind. After he leaves, she follows him down the road to make sure that he's safe. With a speeding car ahead, Shim Woo Joo quickly pulls Han Dong Jin to the side of the road. Because of their complicated relationship, things get even more awkward. Before he walks away. Shim Woo Joo patches up his bleeding hand and reminds him not to hurt himself anymore. Han Dong Jin Experiences Burnout At work, Han Dong Jin shares to Shim Woo Joo that his rough attitude is the reason why his clients come to Cha Young Min (Seo Dong Won) instead. He does things without thinking about it thoroughly, which hurts other people. Choi Sun Woo (Jun Suk Ho) then apologizes to him for lying about the issue in their company. To make it up to him, he proposes to Han Dong Jin that they go to their clients to talk to them, stealing them back from Cha Young Min. Meanwhile, Kang Min Young (EXID Hani), Han Dong Jin's ex-lover who's about to get married, receives a call from his CEO; it turns out that she is also secretly working with his boss behind his back. Tired of seeing Han Dong Jin take endless hits, Shim Woo Joo helps the former to iron out his career. They pack up all of Cha Young Min's stuff to get rid of him, determined not to be played by anyone anymore. Shim Woo Joo Grows Small Crush On Han Dong Jin Shim Woo Joo, though she hates to admit it, is slowly becoming more drawn to Han Dong Jin, his kindness and mysterious allure. When she is about to ask him out for dinner, Han Dong Jin's ex-girlfriend appears, creating noticeable tension in the room. At the end of the episode, Han Dong Jin asks Kang Min Young to leave and turns down all of her advancements, and walks away with Shim Woo Joo. On the other hand, Shim Woo Joo is still burning with annoyance. To get back at Han Dong Jin's past flame, she holds his hand in front of her and glares at Kang Min Young as they walk away. KDramaStars owns this article. Written by Elijah Mully. The latest episode of "The Heavenly Idol" breaks countless viewers' hearts as Kim Min Gyu's past gets in between him and Go Bo Gyeol. Previously, Kim Min Gyu and Go Bo Gyeol opened up to one another, creating a great foundation between their friendship. Here's what happened in "The Heavenly Idol" episode 7. Read on to know more. Woo Yeon Woo Misunderstands Go Bo Gyeol's Feelings In the previous episodes, Kim Dal (Go Bo Gyeol) dedicated her time helping Pontifex Lembrary (Kim Min Gyu) become a popular K-Pop idol when he wakes up inside Woo Yeon Woo's body. Despite not knowing what to do, the two hold hands together in order to survive. As they overcome many hurdles, the two grow closer than ever. In "The Heavenly Idol" episode 7, Kim Dal gets confused when Woo Yeon Woo turns her down, saying that he's a high priest who has devoted his life to God. However, Kim Dal doesn't like Pontifex Lembrary. The one she likes is Woo Yeon Woo who's now residing inside a priest's body to avoid becoming a failed idol. Woo Yeon Woo Surrounded By Evil One's Subordinates Meanwhile, Oh Jung Shin (Oh Jin Seok), who's under Evil One's spell, forces Woo Yeon Woo to drive drunk by taking advantage of their sacred contract. Fortunately, he is saved by Hwang Tae In (Shin Myung Seung), the main vocalist of Wild Animal, who scolds him with his stupid thinking. Their group hasn't had the time to breathe from issues ever since he became Woo Yeon Woo. At work, Kim Dal is summoned by the Evil One who is deeply curious about her identity. Little does she know that the Evil One also observes in the sidelines as Shin Jo Woon (Lee Jang Woo), their company's vice chairman. She then realizes that this is all a trap. With this, Kim Dal runs for her life as she gasps for air, feeling light-headed like she is about to die. Unfortunately, Woo Yeon Woo isn't there to protect her with his divine powers. Meanwhile, Woo Yeon Woo is set to make an appearance in a dating program without Kim Dal's knowledge, raising tension to a new level. Have you seen the brand new episode of Kim Min Gyu and Go Bo Gyeol's "The Heavenly Idol"? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below! KDramaStars owns this article. Written by Elijah Mully. What better way to celebrate the International Women's Month than by binging on women-centered K-Dramas while pampering? In recent years, the influx of works that star powerful, independent and badass women has been amazing. In addition to that, a lot of them also feature the beauty of female friendships. Here are four women-driven works that you need to watch this month! 'Work Later, Drink Now' In 2021, Lee Sun Bin, Jung Eunji and Han Sun Hwa decorated the screen with their comical and inspirational friendship. In "Work Later, Drink Now," they starred as three best friends who try to get through their work, personal and romantic problems by discussing everything over a generous amount of alcohol. Praised for its realistic portrayal of friendship, daily lives and alcoholism, "Work Later, Drink Now" became a fan-favorite work among viewers, all thanks to its fantastic portrayal of the lives of single women and strong female friendship! Due to popular demand, "Work Later, Drink Now" released a new installment in the following year! 'Little Women' Last year, Kim Go Eun, Nam Ji Hyun and Park Ji Hu played the role of the destitute Oh sisters in the South Korean adaptation of the classic novel "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott. The drama follows the lives of the sisters whose lives become complicated when they get entangled with the most influential family of South Korea. Besides the bond of the sisters, Kim Go Eun's chemistry with Uhm Ji Won and Choo Ja Hyun is also a must watch. "Little Women" also boasts the tinge of mystery, thriller and suspense along its narrative, which earned the work high praises during its broadcast. 'Thirty Nine' With Jeon Mi Do, Kim Ji Hyun and Son Ye Jin, a great drama is guaranteed! In the 2022 drama "Thirty Nine," the three acclaimed actresses transformed into best friends who are on the verge of turning 40 years old. Despite being accomplished women with different attitudes and outlooks in life, they all get along well. In ups and downs, they are there for one another. What makes the drama the best is how real their characters are, especially how they handle life's challenges that could strain their relationship. 'Green Mothers' Club' Last but not the least is the mystery drama "Green Mothers' Club" that was released last year. Starring five amazing women including Lee Yo Won, Choo Ja Hyun, Kim Gyu Ri, Jang Hye Jin and Joo Min Kyung, the drama follows their lives as mothers who meet around school to ensure their children have the best education and things in life. Besides that, "Green Mothers' Club" also features complicated yet beautiful friendships, motherly love, and growth of the five mothers who encounter life-altering challenges. While it consists of strong women, the womance of Lee Yo Won and Choo Ja Hyun, who stuck with one another through thick and thin, is off the charts; it even gained its own cult following! KDramaStars owns this article. Written by Elijah Mully. "Cash Course in Romance" star Roh Yoon Seo broke a record after she occupied the top spot of the Most Buzzworthy Stars list for the first week of March. Roh Yoon Seo Tops Most Buzzworthy Actors List Roh Yoon Seo is gaining popularity after she starred in tvN's "Crash Course in Romance." The rookie continues to receive recognition even after the drama concluded. As proof of this, Roh Yoon Seo is hailed as the new Most Buzzworthy Star for the first week of March! Impressively, she outshines her senior co-stars Jung Kyung Ho and Jeon Do Yeon, who now occupy the second and third spots on the list. The two lead stars had been consistently in the top five since the rom-com drama premiered. Adding to the good news, another "Crash Course in Romance'' star joins them on the list for the first week of March. He is none other than the drama's villain, Shin Jae Ha. He was lauded for playing the drama's antagonist Ji Dong Hui, and many were captivated by his acting. Due to his performance, Shin Jae Ha increased his following on social media. In addition, "Crash Course in Romance" also remains superior as it is named the Most Buzzworthy Drama. 'Divorce Attorney Shin' Stars Cho Seung Woo & Han Hye Jin Enter the Chart Meanwhile, "Taxi Driver 2" stars Lee Je Hoon and Pyo Ye Jin made it to the fifth and sixth spots. On the other hand, "Divorce Attorney Shin" actor Cho Seung Woo already made his debut on the list at No. 7 a week after his drama was released. His co-star Han Hye Jin also made it and occupied the ninth spot, following Park Ha Na who was at the eighth spot. Rising actor Lee Chae Min from "Crash Course in Romance" officially entered the chart, landing him in tenth place. Top 10 Most Buzzworthy Actor for First Week of March 2023 1. Roh Yoon Seo - "Crash Course in Romance" 2. Jung Kyung Ho - "Crash Course in Romance" 3. Jeon Do Yeon - "Crash Course in Romance" 4. Shin Jae Ha - "Crash Course in Romance" 5. Lee Je Hoon - "Taxi Driver 2" 6. Pyo Ye Jin - "Taxi Driver 2" 7. Cho Seung Woo - "Divorce Attorney Shin" 8. Park Ha Na - "Vengeance of the Bride" 9. Han Hye Jin - "Divorce Attorney Shin" 10. Lee Chae Min - "Crash Course in Romance" Top 10 Most Buzzworthy K-Dramas For First Week of March 2023 1. "Crash Course in Romance" (tvN) 2. "Taxi Driver 2" (SBS) 3. "Three Bold Siblings" (KBS2) 4. "Divorce Attorney Shin" (JTBC) 5. "Vengeance of the Bride" (KBS2) 6. "The Heavenly Idol" (tvN) 7. "Our Blooming Youth" (tvN) 8. "Kokdu: Season of Deity" (MBC) 9. "Brain Works" (KBS2) 10. "Delivery Man" (ENA) For more K-Drama, K-Movie, and celebrity news, keep your tabs open here at KDramaStars. KDramaStars owns this article. Shai Collins wrote this. "Squid Game" actress Jung Ho Yeon and "The Silent Sea" star Bae Doona stir buzz in the online Hallyu scene after they flaunted their adorable friendship in their personal Instagram accounts. The two actresses both began their career as a model, and were able to enter showbiz. Here's what's next for Jung Ho Yeon and Bae Doona. Jung Ho Yeon & Bae Doona Flaunt Adorable Friendship Jung Ho Yeon and Bae Doona are two beautiful besties on a trip! The two Netflix stars wowed fans with their adorable friendship in their newest Instagram updates! On March 9, Jung Ho Yeon and Bae Doona shared photos of each other while enjoying their private time in a plane's first class on their Instagram stories. Both actresses attended the Louis Vuitton's 2023 Fall-Winter Women's Collection show during Paris Fashion Week in Paris, France, channeling their inner sophistication and elegance. On the other hand, the two photos, which were taken from the same angel at the same place, give a semblance of a "lovestagram," a cute photo update popular among couples. Alongside Bae Doona's photo, Jung Ho Yeon captioned, "It's sad that we couldn't play Rummikub... What's sleep? (I wonder if she has a Rummikub in her bag, though?)" This sends fans to laughter as Rummikub is a popular online game among teens who are still in school. In response to this, Bae Doona also captioned Jung Ho Yeon's photo with a laughing emoticon. Due to their cute interactions and healthy friendship, fans stated that they long to see Jung Ho Yeon and Bae Doona in a sci-fi thriller project together, similar to their previous Netflix works. Though there's no news about their possible collaboration, the two model-and-actresses are booked and busy this 2023! Jung Ho Yeon & Bae Doona's Upcoming Hollywood Films, More Earlier this 2023, Bae Doona returned to the big screen with her drama film "Next Sohee," where she portrayed the role of a dedicated detective in a murder case. Currently, she's gearing up for her return to the American scene with Netflix films "Rebel Moon" and "Virus," which are both expected to hit the screen within the year. Meanwhile, Jung Ho Yeon is set to headline Joe Talbot's newest film "The Governesses" with Lily-Rose Depp and Renate Reinsve. The actress is also preparing for her star-studded Apple TV+ thriller series "Disclaimer," which follows the story of a journalist who becomes the key character in a documentary film. It stars veteran actresses Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Sacha Baron Cohen, Kodi Smit-McPhee and more, which heightens fans' excitement. "Disclaimer" hasn't announced its exact release date and additional cast members yet so stay tuned for more updates! KDramaStars owns this article. Written by Elijah Mully. The TikTok startup page is displayed on an iPhone in Ottawa on Monday, Feb. 27, 2023. The City of Toronto says it is removing and banning the social media app TikTok from roughly 350 city-issued devices. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind. Artist and Poet, Eoghan ODriscoll returns to Dublin with a new collection of paintings for his second solo Dublin exhibition at Gallery X in March. Eoghan is an abstract, expressionist painter who draws on his experience of mental health issues to produce vibrant works on a large scale. This body of work includes both portraiture and free flowing abstract pieces. With a deep understanding of the human condition, Eoghans work compels us to stop and reflect on what really matters. A Kilkenny native, ODriscoll studied art at Kilkenny College and went on to study Creative Arts at the University of Glamorgan. He also studied American Poetry at UCD and has written five collections of poetry with another volume just completed. His exhibitions include an annual show at the AKA Festival in Kilkenny, a solo exhibition at Framexperts in Ranelagh and group exhibitions in Dublin and the Crawford Gallery in Cork. He is one of the artists participating in the Elephant in the Room project calling attention to mental health issues. He lives and works in Kilkenny, where he has a full time studio. The exhibition will be curated by Tony Strickland. Limited street parking will be available. Three Kilkenny schools have been hit by news that government have placed their plans, due to proceed to tender and construction stage, on hold. In Kilkenny, the 'Nore Project' schools (Presentation Secondary School, CBS Kilkenny and St Canice's Co-Ed) have been impacted. In recent days, discussions have been taking place between the Department of Education and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in a bid to secure the additional funding that will allow the projects to proceed. Principal of St Canice's Co-Ed, Andy Hanrahan, stated that the school 'were given no further information on how long this the delay in construction will be'. "The news is very disappointing for students and staff who have been eagerly campaigning for this project since 2010," he said. "Local representatives have been engaging with us since this news was announced and we are hopeful that a resolution can be found as soon as possible." Deputy John McGuinness told Kilkenny Live that he has been actively engaging with the Tanaiste, Minister for Education and Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform on the matter. "It's a serious concern and I won't stand over inefficiency in getting these projects over the line," he said. "These projects are vital for Kilkenny and that's a point I made clear to the Education Minister and the Tanaiste during their recent visits to Kilkenny," he added. Rising building costs have been cited as the primary reason for the funding delay as contractors are finding it difficult to stand over tendered costs for many planned school buildings. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has stated that the solution 'may involve some additional capital' or 'the reallocation of capital across departments'. Education Minister Norma Foley has since moved to assure the schools impacted that her department was 100% committed to facilitating their projects. For the local schools impacted, time is of the essence. Despite this, the Minister has not yet announced a definitive timeframe for when the issue will be resolved. Two of Kilkenny's foodie businesses have been short listed for this year's prestigious Good Food Ireland awards! A popular cafe and a food producer are included in their respective categories. Cafe Of The Year Fennelly's of Callan Sustainability Award O' Shea Farms The winners are due to be revealed at a high-profile business lunch taking place on Monday 17th April at The K Club, County Kildare. What sets the Good Food Ireland Awards apart from all others is their cross-sector approach, celebrating the successful collaboration of agri-food and tourism working together for inclusive economic growth. Each award will be underpinned by premium quality, exceptional achievement, innovation, agility and resilience, together with a core commitment to local Irish provenance, community, sustainability and a culture where all can flourish. An independent panel of Irish and international leaders including founder and managing director of Good Food Ireland Margaret Jeffares, journalists John Wilson and Amii McKeever, IFAC Consultant Stephanie Walsh and Executive Chairman and Owner of Odyssey International Kevin Shannon, shortlisted the nominees from those businesses approved by Good Food Ireland, subject to meeting strict criteria through onsite inspection. The expert panel will select the overall winner following mystery inspections and assessments. The public also has the opportunity to cast their votes for their favourite places across the island of Ireland in the Food Lovers Choice Award. The shortlist will be drawn from the finalists in all other categories. Online voting began on Tuesday 7th March and remain open until Monday 20th March. Other awards of recognition will include Outstanding Contribution to Food Production, Outstanding Contribution to Irish Food/Drink Internationally and Lifetime Achievement Award. Returning for the first time since pre-Covid, the awards proudly sponsored by Kerrygold, Irish Farmers Association, Bord Bia, Tourism Ireland and National Dairy Council will be opened by guest of honour, Simon Coveney T.D., Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, and attended by some 300 guests including business owners, Irish and international chefs, buyers, food and drink writers, media and industry leaders. Anita Mendiratta, Special Advisor to the Secretary General of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, will deliver the afternoons Key Note speech. Margaret Jeffares, Founder and Managing Director of Good Food Ireland says: "There is great excitement around the return of The Good Food Ireland Awards. All of those wonderful businesses who have made the shortlist are a committed collection of passionate and driven people who genuinely capture the essence of Ireland's food and drink, setting it in a cultural context to inspire travellers, international consumers and locals to seek out real authenticity and Irish provenance. All the judges would like to extend our congratulations to them all and wish everyone the best of luck for the 17th April." See the full shortlist of finalists below. For full details on the individual awards, tickets to the event, and general information about Good Food Ireland visit goodfoodireland.ie Sweden, Finland discuss NATO accession with Turkiye Xinhua) 10:57, March 10, 2023 BRUSSELS, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Representatives of Sweden, Finland and Turkiye held talks in Brussels on Thursday to discuss progress on fulfilling Turkiye's conditions for agreeing to the Nordic countries' accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the military bloc said in a statement. Sweden and Finland last year applied to join NATO but faced objections from NATO-member Turkiye on the grounds that the two countries harbour members of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), considered a terrorist group by Ankara. The accession needs a unanimous agreement by all members of NATO. According to NATO's statement, "the participants welcomed the progress that had been made" on a three-way deal called the Trilateral Memorandum, struck last year in Madrid, aimed at satisfying Turkiye's complaints. The participants also agreed that rapid ratifications for both Finland and Sweden would be in NATO's interest, and that their membership would strengthen the bloc, the statement said. "Finland and Sweden have taken unprecedented steps to address legitimate Turkish security concerns. It is now time for all allies to conclude the ratification process and welcome Finland and Sweden as full members of the alliance ahead of the upcoming NATO Summit in Vilnius," said NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. As agreed in the Memorandum, there won't be any arms export restrictions between the parties; they need to significantly enhance counter-terrorism cooperation; and Sweden is now in the process of tightening anti-terrorism legislation, including against the PKK. The three countries on Thursday agreed to meet again in the same format ahead of the NATO summit in July. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan) Shenandoah, IA (51601) Today Clear. Gusty winds diminishing after midnight. Scattered frost possible. Low 32F. NW winds at 20 to 30 mph, decreasing to 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Clear. Gusty winds diminishing after midnight. Scattered frost possible. Low 32F. NW winds at 20 to 30 mph, decreasing to 10 to 15 mph. New York man wrongfully imprisoned for over 18 years despite a botched identification has been freed Volleyball player who lost both legs after being hit by car in STL returns home Voula Tegou from Greece gives a presentation about organic food products from the European Union during an EU organic event in Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of Hellenic Trading By Kwon Mee-yoo Organic food products ranging from fruits, olive oil and wine sourced from the European Union (EU) are poised to approach the Korean market, showcasing their superior quality, which is attributed to the favorable climate conditions and certified organic farming methods. Bio Net West Hellas, a group of organic producers in Greece, and the Bulgarian Organic Products Association hosted an event introducing organic products from the EU in Seoul, Tuesday, in cooperation with the Korean company, Hellenic Trading. "This event brings all of us together around the Greek philosophy of wine. Greece is actually the mother of viticulture," Konstantinos Daskalopoulos, a counselor at the Embassy of Greece in Seoul, said. "Tonight's opportunity is about sharing also other great products from Greek soil like kiwis." During a presentation on organic food products from the European Union specifically Greece and Bulgaria Voula Tegou from Novacert Limited said, "This European program is to promote and increase the awareness of organic products that are produced in Greece and Bulgaria in the markets of South Korea, Norway and Switzerland." Tegou highlighted key organic food items from the region, including citrus fruits, watermelon, melon, kiwi, olive oil, dairy products and organic wine. Korean nutritionist Moon Da-som provided a brief explanation of the benefits of organic food, including reduced exposure to chemicals and higher levels of nutrients and antioxidants like vitamin C and iron. She also introduced some recipes using EU organic products such as orange canapes, baked brie cheese and olive marinade. Kendallville, IN (46755) Today Rain showers early changing to snow showers overnight. Low 33F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of precip 60%.. Tonight Rain showers early changing to snow showers overnight. Low 33F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of precip 60%. Angola, IN (46703) Today Rain showers this evening changing to mixed rain and snow overnight. Low 33F. Winds SW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of precip 50%. Higher wind gusts possible.. Tonight Rain showers this evening changing to mixed rain and snow overnight. Low 33F. Winds SW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of precip 50%. Higher wind gusts possible. TWICE has revealed their thoughts regarding their newest album "READY TO BE," group chemistry, and plans for 2023. Here's what they said. TWICE Shares Thoughts on Album 'READY TO BE,' Teamwork, Music Production On March 10, TWICE conducted a Q&A session, where they introduced their album "READY TO BE," which is set to release on the same day (March 10). According to TWICE members, the album represents the willingness to break out from the world's expectations and preconceptions. With its title track, "SET ME FREE," the message TWICE attempts to convey couldn't be more clear. "SET ME FREE" takes on the commitment of protecting one's emotions and people's freedom of expression. "The track 'SET ME FREE' talks about freeing oneself from being binded, and encouraging everyone to love more feely," TWICE's leader Jihyo stated. TWICE members also announced that various genres have also been considered. In their music production, Momo stated that voting is an important factor when choosing songs for the album. The main dancer shared how difficult it was to finalize songs, since every track contains a different charm on its own. Member Mina thought that "SET ME FREE" was the perfect track for the album's main highlight, given its powerful message and music. On the Q&A session, Dahyun was also interviewed regarding the production, specifically on the songwriting aspect. Dahyun's name was credited on several songs for "READY TO BE," which includes "BLAME IT ON ME" and "CRAZY STUPID LOVE." TWICE was then asked about their reaction when pre-release English track "MOONLIGHT SUNRISE" entered on Billboard's Hot 100. Nayeon shared how much TWICE members were happy with the song. Momo stated "MOONLIGHT SUNRISE" was worth performing at the "Billboard Women In Music" awards. "I'm looking forward on getting positive results and complete our schedule in the United States with 'MOONLIGHT SUNRISE,'" Jeongyeon added. The group also opened what it's like for them to shoot the "SET ME FREE" MV. Nayeon voiced out how exciting the sequences are. Meanwhile, Sana and Mina dished out the acting scenes, as well as the members' performances. "The music video will present TWICE becoming more limitless. Our performance is also awesome too and in the MV, each member will possess a different kind of freedom. Please look forward to it!" Afterwards, Dahyun expressed her surprise towards fans who attended the "Billboard Women In Music" event. She voiced out her gratitude to those who supports the group, followed by Chaeyoung and Tzuyu, who gave their acceptance speech in the awarding ceremony. "I was really shocked about how many people who attended the event and gave us unconditional support every time we appear on the screen. Thank you so much to everyone who supports and love TWICE." TWICE also revealed how members manage to work well together as a team. Jeongyeon shared that sympathy is an essential factor on building coordination. Since TWICE members have been together for a long time, Jeongyeon stated how much they're confident and relaxed with each other. What's Next For TWICE This 2023? TWICE members also laid out the blueprint for 2023. Firstly, they were asked about how they felt when they sold out the North American stadium on May 2022. Mina expressed her amazement on overseas fans. Dahyun, on the other hand, declared that TWICE is also excited to meet more of ONCEs internationally on their fifth world tour. "I came to the realization that even in other countries, people really do love TWICE." "We'll be starting our fifth tour in April in Seoul. As much as Once has been waiting for us, TWICE has also been eagerly anticipating the upcoming tour. We are already thrilled and can't wait to see our fans." Are you excited for TWICE's activities this 2023? Let us know in the comments below! Read KpopStarz for more K-pop news. KpopStarz owns this article Written by Israel Monte Amid the delight of ONCEs to TWICE Sana's new ambassadorship, some netters and K-pop fans mocked the idol's fandom for THIS reason. TWICE Sana Hailed Espoir Ambassador Earlier on March 6, "Nation's Girl Group" TWICE Sana has been selected as the ambassador for the Korean cosmetic brand, Espoir! On the same day, the female star's photos were revealed, showing her various charms. In her pictorial, Sana stood out with her luxurious, elegant yet chic aura. Even if the star is not doing any fancy pose, she proved her aspect as a "photo master" by capturing everyone's heart with her melting gaze at the camera. One of the crowd's favorites was when she showed off her goddess-like beauty by wearing lively lip makeup that highlighted her smooth and flawless skin. The full Espoir pictorial, which contains Sana's unique charm, can be found on the official website and SNS channel of the brand and since then, the idol will continue to promote the cosmetic company through various campaign activities as a brand ambassador. ONCEs Mocked After TWICE Sana Was Selected As Brand Ambassador Why? Following the official announcement, a lot of K-pop fans can't help but praise the idol who once again cemented her status in the beauty industry. A lot of supporters especially ONCEs (fandom) agreed that Sana's visuals truly suit the brand's philosophy of natural beauty and confidence. "She's so pretty." "Freakin' pretty." "Seriously, Sana is so beautiful." "Damn, this concept suits her well." "Sana is a real-life princess." "Sana is the embodiment of perfection." However, amid the celebration of the fandom, there are netizens and K-pop fans who mocked ONCEs and Sana's role as ambassador. According to those who raised their brows, the fandom was so "obsessed" calling her ambassador, when Sana's work is the same as the CF model. Web users mocked the fandom as well for being called ambassadors as if it was for a luxury brand. "They say she's just a CF model, why are they so obsessed with calling it ambassador?" "I thought it was for a luxury brand. Why call it ambassador?" "Espoir ambassador? ONCEs are cute haha" "At this rate, Daiso ambassador will also come out." As soon as ONCEs saw this, the fandom came to the defense of Sana and retaliated: "You guys don't even complain when other idols are called ambassadors, it was only now that it's Sana." "Just say you are just jealous. Even Daiso won't even look at you." "A lot of ignorant people here." "It's funny how some think that ambassadors are better than the CF model." On the other hand, TWICE, the group to which Sana belongs released their 12th mini album, "READY TO BE" on March 10 and fired a flare for a comeback in earnest. The title song, "SET ME FREE" contains a message promising "I will risk everything to protect this feeling" after facing the love that awakens the true self hidden inside. For more K-Pop news and updates, keep your tabs open here at KpopStarz. KpopStarz owns this article. Written by Eunice Dawson. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. The EU and its Member States intend to make a significant pledge for further relief, recovery, and reconstruction in Turkiye and further relief, recovery, and rehabilitation in Syria. The EU calls on other international partners and global donors to show solidarity with the people in Turkiye and Syria in these difficult circumstances by mobilising pledges in line with the scale and magnitude of the damage. Therefore, on 20 March in Brussels, the European Commission and the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU will host an International Donors' Conference to support the people in Turkiye and Syria affected by the recent devastating earthquakes. Co-hosted by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and by Prime Minister of Sweden, Ulf Kristersson, for the Swedish Presidency of the Council, and organised in coordination with the Turkish authorities,the Donors' Conference will be open to EU Member States, candidate countries and potential candidates, neighbouring and partner countries, G20 members except for Russia Member States of the Gulf Cooperation, as well as the UN, international organisations, humanitarian actors and international and European financial institutions. Six weeks after the devastating earthquakes in Turkiye and Syria , we come together to support the survivors of this tragedy. Our solidarity will continue to be as strong as it was in the first hours after the earthquake. The people in Turkiye and Syria should know that we are with them for the long run. I invite all nations and all donors, public and private, to contribute and honour the memory of the lives lost, the heroism of the first responders and most importantly to build together a better future for the survivors. President Ursula von der Leyen "The earthquakes in Turkiye and Syria is a disaster of historic proportions. I'm saddened by the loss of lives and homes, and the human suffering. The consequences are truly horrendous. As President of the Council of the European Union, Sweden will do everything in our power, together with the EU and international partners, to help those affected in the next phases of the rehabilitation and early recovery. Ulf Kristersson, Prime Minister of Sweden. Preparations for the International Donors' Conference are underway following the initial discussions between Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi, Swedish Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Johan Forssell, and the Turkish authorities during their recent visit to Ankara. Invitations are expected to be sent shortly. Background Following the 6 February earthquakes, the EU immediately sent support such as search and rescue and medical teams, shelter, medicines via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. We also quickly allocated humanitarian assistance to the people affected in both countries, as well as mobilised our EU emergency stockpiles via the European Humanitarian Response Capacity and RescEU. In total, close to 12 million of EU humanitarian aid has been allocated to respond to the immediate needs of the population in Turkiye, and some 10 million have been immediately mobilised to respond to the immediate consequences of the earthquake in Syria. 1,750 rescuers and 111 search dogs were deployed via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) to support search and rescue operations in Turkiye. Several lives have been rescued by the search and rescue teams deployed via the Mechanism. 20 EU Member States, including Sweden, and Montenegro have offered millions of items, including shelter equipment, heaters, generators, furniture, medical equipment, hygiene kits, food, and warm clothing for the population in Turkiye. Belgium, France, Italy, Spain and Albania have also deployed medical teams and the Netherlands has offered a medical evacuation plane via the Mechanism. Two thousand tents and 8,000 beds mobilised via the rescEU reserve hosted by Romania have arrived in the country, while 500 relief-housing units equipped with 2,500 beds have been sent from the stockpile hosted by Sweden. The EU is delivering support to Syrian people affected by the earthquake both in government controlled and non-government controlled areas. 6 flights organised via the European Humanitarian Response Capacity (EHRC), have already transported much needed assistance from EU stocks in Dubai and Brindisi to both Northwest Syria and government-controlled areas. Winterised tents, heaters, blankets and warm clothing, hygiene kits, medical consumables and equipment as well medical units, field beds and other emergency items to people affected by the earthquake are being delivered to Syrians in need. In addition, 16 European countries have offered in-kind assistance to Syrian people via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. The aid is being channelled through hubs in Beirut and Gaziantep, where EU civil protection experts help coordinate the incoming donations. Full coordination of all relevant actors will be essential as we advance. The International Donors' Conference will be held back-to-back with the European Humanitarian Forum, co-organised on 20 and 21 March 2023 by the European Commission and the Swedish Council Presidency. The Forum will take place in the context of sharply increasing humanitarian needs, changing geopolitical realities, and shrinking humanitarian space. It will provide a platform for European actors and international community to discuss ongoing humanitarian challenges, including the humanitarian funding gap and the need to broaden the donor base. In addition to the International Donors' Conference, on 14-15 June the EU will host the 7th Brussels conference on the Future of Syria and the Region. The aim of the June conference will be both to focus international engagement for a political solution to the conflict, and to generate pledges of humanitarian support for Syria and in support of Syrian refugees and their host communities in the wider region. The EU and its Member States have remained the largest donors supporting people in Syria and the region since the beginning of the crisis in 2011. More Information International Donors' Conference Together for the people in Turkiye and Syria EU humanitarian support in Syria EU humanitarian support in Turkiye European Humanitarian Forum EU Delegation Syria EU Delegation Turkiye EU-Turkiye relations Syria country page Turkiye country page * Updated on 10/03/2023 at 12:05 Zarazeno pa 10.03.2023 10:03:00 Zdroj Evropska komise en Original ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/api/documents?reference=IP/23/1582&language=en lang en U-Blox AG / Key word(s): Annual Results u-blox AG: u-blox reports full-year 2022 financial results 10-March-2023 / 07:00 CET/CEST Release of an ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. Ad hoc announcement pursuant to article 53 LR u-blox reports full-year 2022 financial results 2022 marked a record year in terms of revenue and profitability. The year ended with revenue of CHF 624 million, adjusted EBITDA margin of 27.2%, EPS (adjusted) of CHF 15.65 and cash and cash equivalents of CHF 137.7 million. 2023 guidance: revenue growth expected to be between 6% and 16% and adjusted EBITDA margin between 21% and 24%. Dividend proposal: a dividend payment of CHF 2.00 per share, 54% higher than 2021, will be proposed to the annual meeting of shareholders on 19 April 2023. Thalwil, Switzerland 10 March 2023 u-blox (SIX: UBXN), a leading provider of positioning and wireless connectivity semiconductor solutions, today announced its financial results for the full year 2022. As announced on 11 January 2023, the company achieved record revenue of CHF 624 million. EBITDA and EBIT margins slightly exceeded guided numbers, reflecting strong demand across all regions and industrial and automotive target markets. 2022 was an exceptionally strong year for u-blox. Our revenue grew considerably and we achieved a strong level of profitability and cash-flow. During the year, several key customers successfully ramped up promising new product offerings using our solutions. These results confirm the successful implementation of our innovation strategy which is focused on industrial and automotive target markets. Our ability to continuously provide customers with innovative, reliable and easy to implement solutions should fuel our future growth, said Stephan Zizala, u-bloxs Chief Executive Officer. Financial highlights for 2022 (All comparisons versus the prior year period unless otherwise noted) Revenue of CHF 624 million (previous year: CHF 414 million), an increase of 51% (at constant exchange rates: 47%) EBITDA (adjusted) of CHF 170 million (previous year: CHF 72 million), an increase of 136% EBITDA margin (adjusted) of 27.2% (previous year: 17.4%), an increase of 983bps EBIT (adjusted) of CHF 131 million (previous year: CHF 35 million), an increase of 274% EBIT margin (adjusted) of 21.0% (previous year: 8.5%), an increase of 1257bps Cash flow from operating activities of CHF 117 million (previous year: CHF 98 million), an increase of 20% Free cash flow of CHF 66 million (previous year: CHF 56 million), an increase of 18% Business Highlights for 2022 New products Demand was fueled by long-term investments in R&D materializing in strongly ramping up of customer projects. Also in 2022, u-blox launched numerous innovative products, which greatly enhanced solution capabilities for our customers and are expected to contribute to future growth. Some of these product launches are listed below: LARA-L6 module: the world's smallest LTE Cat 4 module with global coverage which is ideal for demanding size-constrained applications including video surveillance, dashcams, high-end telematics, gateways and routers, and connected health devices. MIA-M10 module: the worlds smallest GPS module, roughly half the size of competing products, offers the most power-efficient solution for size-constrained battery-powered asset tracking devices and allows developers to design more attractive and comfortable solutions. MAYA-W2 module: a tri-radio Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth LE 5.2 and Thread module, extends the benefits of highly efficient Wi-Fi 6 to industrial applications, particularly when handling crowded networks, while supporting Bluetooth LE 5.2 and Thread. Security as a Service: a Certificate lifecycle control Security-as-a-Service (SaaS) that continuously renews device credentials in a fully automated mode which together with u-bloxs existing zero touch provisioning service provides out-of-the-box onboarding to IoT Cloud platforms with total control of the device certificate lifecycle. Partnerships We continuously partner with customers to create or co-develop innovative solutions and complement our internal capabilities with third-party partnerships. During 2022, u-blox entered into several partnerships, including: Li Auto, an electric vehicle innovator in China, chose the u-blox ZED-F9K high precision dead reckoning module to provide lane-level accurate positioning data for the assisted driving system in their latest model, the Li L9 6-seat smart SUV. Ricoh integrated u-bloxs ZOE-M8B GNSS module into the new RICOH THETA X. Ricohs latest camera, the first of its kind, allows users to shoot high-quality 360-degree spherical images and videos in just one click and to visualize them immediately on a large LCD touch panel. Universal Douglas Lighting Americas, a leading manufacturer of scalable lighting solutions, develops a new open standard Bluetooth Mesh platform based on the u-blox NINA-B406 Bluetooth low energy module which will serve building automation use cases, including smart lighting, access control and energy management. GMV, a leader in functional safe positioning systems, to provide ready-to-use functional safe positioning solutions which complement u-bloxs existing GNSS receiver portfolio and advanced GNSS augmentation service PointPerfect. NXP Semiconductors integrated u-blox positioning and wireless communications modules in their new Orange Box connectivity domain controller (CDC) development platform. Financial Overview During 2022, u-blox generated revenues of CHF 623.9 million, EBITDA (adjusted) of CHF 169.9 million and an EBIT (adjusted) of CHF 131.3 million. Revenues in all regions were higher in 2022 compared to the previous year, reflecting strong and broad-based expansion of overall demand for existing and new products and solutions. In particular, the automotive and industrial end markets exhibited robust year-over-year growth. Revenues benefited from increased USD/CHF exchange rates. At 2021 exchange rates, revenue growth would have been 47%. Revenues by region: All regions contributed to the encouraging business expansion, with APAC showing the strongest increase. APAC: 2022 revenues increased to CHF 245.0 million from CHF 152.7 million in 2021 (+60.4%), driven by strong growth with applications in healthcare, infotainment and navigation, with strongest growth in Australia, Japan and Korea. EMEA: 2022 revenues rose to CHF 176.0 million from CHF 124.8 million in 2021 (+41.0%), driven by good business with applications in infotainment and navigation, industrial automation and asset tracking. AMEC: 2022 revenues expanded to CHF 202.9 million from CHF 136.6 million in 2021 (+48.5%), driven by robust growth with applications in infotainment, navigation, telematics and healthcare. Revenues by segment: Positioning and wireless products: 2022 revenue for chips and modules for positioning and wireless connectivity that are used in automotive, industrial and consumer applications increased to CHF 622.9 million compared to CHF 413.5 million in 2021. Wireless services: 2022 revenues for wireless communication technology services in terms of data services, reference designs and software decreased to CHF 34.1 million compared to CHF 35.8 million in 2021 (including intra group revenue). Adjusted gross profit reached CHF 307.2 million in 2022 from CHF 193.9 million in 2021, resulting in an adjusted gross profit margin of 49.2% (2021: 46.8%). The gross margin benefitted from u-blox active shift of the product mix to higher-end products, price increases, positive scale effects and cost improvement measures. Adjusted operating expenses, which include R&D, Sales, General & Administration (SG&A) expenses, totaled CHF 177.9 million for 2022, compared to CHF 163.9 million in 2021. As a percentage of revenue, operating expenses were 28.5% of total revenue compared to 39.6% the year before. R&D expenses (adjusted) increased only slightly to CHF 106.3 million in 2022 compared to CHF 102.2 million in 2021, while as a percentage of revenue R&D expenses reduced to 17.0% (2021: 24.7%). Improved operational effectiveness resulted in better use of R&D spendings. Sales, General & Administration (SG&A) expenses (adjusted) in 2022 were CHF 71.6 million, an increase compared to CHF 61.7 million in the previous year, while as a percentage of revenue SG&A expenses (adjusted) decreased to 11.5% in 2022 compared to 14.9% in 2021. SG&A expenses increased due to the fast-growing business. Share based payment expenses recognized according to IFRS in 2022 were CHF 4.4 million compared to CHF 3.3 million in 2021. Financial costs of CHF 2.1 million (2021: CHF 6.9 million) consisted primarily of the interest of the outstanding bond and the interest accounted for financial leases under IFRS-16. The share of loss of equity-accounted investees net of tax was CHF 0.2 million in 2022 (2021: CHF 1.8 million). Net profit (adjusted) before minority interests went up to CHF 109.0 million, compared to CHF 22.9 million in the previous year. EPS (adjusted) in 2022 increased to CHF 15.65 per share compared to CHF 3.30 per share in 2021. Net cash generated from operating activities Cash from operating activities further increased to CHF 117.3 million in 2022, compared to CHF 97.7 million generated in the previous year, thanks to growing business. Investing Activities Investments in property, plant and equipment and intangible assets totaled CHF 51.0 million for 2022, compared to CHF 43.1 million in 2021. Free cash flow (before acquisitions) was CHF 66.2 million, compared to CHF 56.0 million in 2021. Financial Position At 31 December 2022, u-blox had a solid balance sheet with an equity ratio of 61.6%. Cash and cash equivalents totaled CHF 137.7 million as of 31 December 2022, compared to CHF 83.7 million as of 31 December 2021. With regard to this strong financial position and the positive outlook, the Board of Directors plans to propose to shareholders at the Annual General Meeting, scheduled for 19 April 2023, a dividend payment of CHF 2.00 per share. This is an increase of 54% and underlines u-blox positioning as an attractive growth stock. Outlook The strong orderbook at year-end provides good visibility into 2023. Revenue growth in 2023 is expected to continue at more normalized rates which are in line with our historical average rates while EBITDA (adjusted) and EBIT (adjusted) margins are expected to remain on an elevated level compared with our historic results. 2022 As reported Guidance 20231 10 March 2023 Revenue 624 (MCHF) + 6 to 16% +37 +100 (MCHF) EBITDA (adjusted) margin 27.2% 21 to 24% EBIT (adjusted) margin 21.0% 14 to 18% 1) Exchange rate assumptions for 2023: USD: 0.98, EUR: 0.99, GBP: 1.18 Ad Hoc press release with tables 2022 full year report Presentation Webcast details Stephan Zizala, CEO, and Roland Jud, CFO, will host a press conference and webcast with Analysts and investors, 10 March, 2023, at 14:00 CET. Registration Link: https://www.webcast-eqs.com/ublox-2023-fy The archived version of the webcast will be available at u-blox website: https://www.u-blox.com/en/presentations About u-blox ublox (SIX:UBXN) is a global technology leader in positioning and wireless communication in automotive, industrial and consumer markets. Its smart and reliable solutions, services and products let people, vehicles and machines determine their precise position and communicate wirelessly over cellular and short-range networks. With a broad portfolio of chips, modules and secure data services and connectivity, ublox is uniquely positioned to empower its customers to develop innovative and reliable solutions for the Internet of Things, quickly and costeffectively. With headquarters in Thalwil, Switzerland, the company is globally present with offices in Europe, Asia and the USA. (www.ublox.com) Find us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter @ublox, Instagram and YouTube Financial calendar Three-month 2023 revenue:12 April 2023 Annual General Meeting: 19 April 2023 Six-month 2023 revenue: 12 July 2023 Half-year 2023 results: 18 August 2023 Nine-month 2023 revenue: 11 October 2023 Disclaimer This release contains certain forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements reflect the current views of management and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements of the ublox Group to differ materially from those expressed or implied. These include risks related to the success of and demand for the Groups products, the potential for the Groups products to become obsolete, the Groups ability to defend its intellectual property, the Groups ability to develop and commercialize new products in a timely manner, the dynamic and competitive environment in which the Group operates, the regulatory environment, changes in currency exchange rates, the Groups ability to generate revenues and profitability, and the Groups ability to realize its expansion projects in a timely manner. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in this report. u-blox is providing the information in this release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in it as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. This press release is published in German and English. Should the German translation differ from the English original, the English version is binding. End of Inside Information For over a decade Russia has been demonstrating its revolutionary new T-14 Armata tank and declaring that mass production was imminent. The recent collapse of Russian defense production, because of economic sanctions imposed after the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, resulted in revelations about several major cases of corruption in Russian defense production. One of the most embarrassing incidents involved the many deceptions and failures related to the T-14 tank and why it began, and remained, a fraud for so long. Development of the T-14 began after the failure of an earlier but similar tank failed. This one also used an unmanned turret and other innovations the T-14 inherited. The decision to develop and manufacture the T-14 attracted the attention of senior military and political leaders. The first mistake was the decision to keep the T-14 compact by using the then-new A-85-3 engine. This design was a copy of the German Porsche Tour 212 engine. The A-85-3 was smaller, more powerful and heavier than other tank engines and the T-14 was built around it. That proved to be a major mistake because the A-85-3 was the usual flawed Russian copy of a foreign tank engine (this has happened several times) and there were many reliability problems that were never solved, despite continuing efforts to do so. This meant the A-85-3 engine was more difficult and time-consuming to maintain. Replacing the A-85-3 was not an option because all potential replacements were larger. Pressure from the government to get the T-14 into production led to the construction of a manufacturing plant but the manufacturing equipment was never installed because the money ran out. The T-14 was not ready for mass production and all those built were done so by hand, an approach used to build prototypes that can be developed into vehicles ready for mass production. The T-14 never got that far. Meanwhile the Russian government pretended that the T-14 was ready for mass production. The T-14 looked impressive and was considered as evidence that Russian tank design continued to be the most advanced in the world. That was an illusion that eventually did not last. While impressive looking, many of the impressive performance features never worked. Not just the engine, but also the new electronic systems. After 2014, sanctions made it impossible to freely import all the electronic components needed for theT-14. Since this tank was never tested in combat, these shortcomings were never revealed. Russia could have sent a few T-14s to Syria to gain some combat experience but never did so. After the 2021 invasion of Ukraine there was talk in the media of putting the T-14 to work. That never happened because all the failures of the T-14 would have been revealed. In late 2021 Russia released videos of the two prototypes of their new IFV (infantry fighting vehicle) design, the T-15. This was the first evidence that this Armata variant existed. The T-15s looked like a T-14 tank without the turret and the T-15s were described as 48-ton vehicles powered by a 1,500 HP diesel. Max road speed is 70 kilometers an hour (43 miles per hour) and range of 550 kilometers on internal fuel. T-15s were described as having the same armor protection as the T-14 tank. The T-15 never went into production because it was too expensive and the underlying Armata technology did not work. Cost is preventing the Russian army from getting more than a token number of Armata vehicles. In 2019 the army received twelve T-14 tanks and four BREM tank recovery vehicles for the T-14. These were described as the first production models. There were doubts that these vehicles would appear, given the dire financial condition of the manufacturer and reports of unresolved technical problems with this revolutionary tank design. The most serious problems were thought to be with the electronics, which are more extensive than in any previous Russian tank. It was later discovered that the engine powering Armata was unreliable and unfixable. Meanwhile there were more problems with Armata that were supposed to be fixed by increasing crew size three and installing a toilet in the crew capsule. Because the crew is confined to the armored capsule they have limited visibility even if someone sticks their heads out of one of the two crew entry hatches. Visibility is normally dependent on the cameras installed outside the tank and the reliability of the power supply and electronics that keep those cameras operational. Much of the time the external cameras were not working. Despite all this, the manufacturer was supposed to deliver about 40 T-14s by 2021. This slow production schedule allowed time for developers to solve many of the remaining technical and design problems. That apparently enabled prototype T-15 IFVs, which videos showed performing as well as the T-14. T-14s and T-15s were still being built as prototypes. Russia supplied production contracts for all this, as well as more loans, to keep the manufacturer from going out of business. Uralvagonzavod (UVZ), the firm that developed the Armata T-14 tank and T-15 IFV, has been bankrupt since 2016 and survived because of state-owned Rostec, a holding company that takes over failing, but essential defense firms, to keep them operating. Uralvagonzavod has produced tanks and other armored combat vehicles since World War II and continued after the war. After 1991, most of those military orders stopped but Russia has learned the hard way that once a lot of these skilled workers are out of work, they use their skills to find new careers or even emigrate, and are virtually impossible to get back later. UVZ obtained enough orders for new armored vehicles or upgrading existing ones in an effort to maintain the workforce that, once lost, is extremely difficult and time-consuming to rebuild. Uralvagonzavod, like many defense manufacturers of high-tech equipment (vehicles, aircraft, ships, missiles and electronics), had a difficult time staying in business and retaining its skilled workforce after the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991. That meant orders for armored vehicles disappeared. In 2014 the Russian economy and defense budget took major hits from lower oil prices plus Western sanctions resulting from the Ukraine invasion. The situation got desperate for Uralvagonzavod as it was surviving on loans and whatever commercial work it could get. The company gambled on developing and marketing the revolutionary Armata T-14 and T-15 vehicles. Russian leaders were impressed but there was no money to place large orders and there were no export customers either. The government encouraged work on the T-14 because it was a prestige item that proved Russia was still a major defense developer and manufacturer. That was not true but the government was willing to scrape up the cash to make it appear so. Rostec stepped in to buy UVZ and keep it going and work on the T-14 and T-15 IFV version could continue. That attitude is being exploited by Russia because of much reduced post-Cold War procurement budgets. For example, in early 2021 Russia announced that the army would receive over 400 upgraded tanks and IFVs in the coming year but none will be the new T-14 Armata tank and T-15 Armata IFV. Upgraded tanks like the T-80BVM filled the gap for the missing T-14s. The Armata was a radical new design for tanks and IFVs but too expensive given the defense budgets available. This was due to a 2013 plunge in oil prices that did not recover while the 2014 Ukraine invasion resulted in many economic and trade sanctions. Since then, the Russian replacement program for elderly Cold War era gear has had to settle for more rebuilds than brand new stuff. Russia did announce plans to start building more T-14s in 2022. As of 2023, Armata production is still stalled, but permanently this time because all the problems with the T-14 have been revealed. The T-14 does not work and never came close to working as an effective combat vehicle. Most of the new tanks the Russian army has received since 2000 have been refurbished and much upgraded T-72B3s. In late 2021 the Russian Army had about 3,000 tanks in service and most (65 percent) were T-72B3s, which you hear little about. Russian troops prefer the T-72B3M over the T-80 and T-90 and few have any personal experience with the T-14. There were more serious problems with the Russian tank forces. When Russian invaded Ukraine in 2022 they had 2,600 tanks and most (1,600) were older models while a thousand were improved and updated tanks which took the Russian tank industry about ten years to produce. More than half the tanks sent into Ukraine were destroyed or captured by the Ukrainians during the first few months of the war. This was a major loss to the Russian army. The T-14 revelations were a minor footnote to the sad state of Russian tank production and usefulness in combat. Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh) [India], March 10 (ANI): Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will inaugurate the integrated steel plant spread over 82 acres on Sunday. The plant has been built at a cost of Rs 550 crore. The steel plant, developed by Ankur Udyog Ltd, has started producing TMX (Thermax Powered) bars in this plant and the plant's area spread over 82 acres was allotted by the Gorakhpur Industrial Development Authority (GIDA) in AL-2 Sector 23. Also Read | JUST IN US Believes Russia is Trying to Incite an Insurrection Against the Government in Latest Tweet by Disclose.tv. While it also has a captive power plant of 30 MW, two thousand people will get direct employment and 5,000 will get indirect employment after the plant became functional. Along with successfully operating the plant, Ankur Udyog has also signed an MoU Global for its expansion with an investment of Rs 700 crore in the Investors Summit, according to a statement from the company. The production capacity of the integrated steel plant is 3 lakh tonnes per annum. Also Read | South Africa vs West Indies 2nd Test Day 3: Temba Bavuma's Crucial Knock Helps SA Gain Big Lead Against WI. The work of setting up the plant started in 2020. Under the state government's Investment Promotion Policy 2020, the designing of this mega plus category project has been done by the country's leading steel industry consultants and technical experts. Ankur Udyog has developed private railway siding with a 1.5-km track. An unloading platform of 700-m length has also been made in the factory premises to get the raw materials from different regions of the country. TMX bars are being produced here which is a modified and improved form of TMT, according to the statement. Ashok Jalan, chairman and managing director of Ankur Industries Group, said the entire requirement of energy for the operation of the factory was being met by the captive power plant here. Ashok Jalan said the Yogi government had taken effective steps for the protection, promotion and convenience of the investors. Pawan Agarwal, chief executive officer of GIDA, said the industry-friendly policies and transparent system of the government have given a lot of encouragement to entrepreneurs. In GIDA, the Gallant group has also operated the cement plant of the steel plant, while now the Ankur Udyog group has started operating the integrated steel plant. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal and US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo before the India-USA Commercial Dialogue (Photo/@PiyushGoyal) New Delhi [India], March 10 (ANI): Top business chieftains of India and the United States will meet on Friday in the national capital to strengthen business and commercial relations between the two countries. Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal and US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo will chair the meeting. Sources told ANI that Tata Sons' Chairperson N Chandrasekaran and Lockheed Martin's CEO James Taiclet will co-chair the meeting. The India-US CEO Forum meeting is scheduled today between 3:30 pm and 5:15 pm. Also Read | Addressing a Day-long Hunger Strike at #Jantar Mantar to Press for the Passage of the Latest Tweet by IANS India. According to sources, Bharti Group Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal; Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra; Otis Elevator Chair, President and CEO Judy Marks; Jubilant Bhartia Group Founder and Co-Chairman Hari S. Deloitte Global CEO Bhartia and Infosys CEO and MD Salil Parekh will attend the meeting. Sources told ANI that around two dozen CEOs of top Indian companies will also be present. Around one dozen CEOs of top US companies will represent the US side of the business, including MasterCard CEO Michael Miebach, FedEx President and CEO Rajesh Subramaniam. Also Read | Indian Wells Masters 2023: Andy Murray Beats Argentina's Tomas Martin Etcheverry, Pulls Off Another 'Marathon Win' of the Season. Today, India and the US signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the semiconductor supply chain and innovation partnership during the India-USA Commercial Dialogue, which was re-launched, with a strategic outlook and a focus on supply chain resiliency and diversification and new emerging areas, after a gap of three years. Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and US Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo signed the agreement during the Dialogue in New Delhi today. US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo is on a visit to New Delhi on the invitation of Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Chicago [US], March 10 (ANI): According to a recent Northwestern Medicine study, pregnant women should dim their home's lights and switch off or at least dim their screens (computer monitors and smartphones) a few hours before bedtime to lower their risk of gestational diabetes mellitus. In the multi-site trial, women who acquired gestational diabetes mellitus were exposed to more light for three hours before falling asleep. In comparison to individuals who did not acquire it, they did not differ in their levels of exercise, sleep, or daily light exposure. Also Read | H3N2 Virus-Linked Death in India: 82-Year-Old Man Becomes First Victim of Hong Kong Flu in Karnataka. "Our study suggests that light exposure before bedtime may be an under-recognized yet easily modifiable risk factor of gestational diabetes," said lead study author Dr Minjee Kim, assistant professor of neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a Northwestern Medicine neurologist. Growing evidence suggests exposure to light at night before bedtime may be linked to impaired glucose regulation in non-pregnant adults. However, little is known about the effect of evening light exposure during pregnancy on the risk of developing gestational diabetes, a common pregnancy complication with significant health implications for both mother and offspring. Also Read | Unseasonal Rains or Sudden Change in Weather Conditions? Heres How To Avoid Falling Sick as Weather Transitions With Easy Tips and Precautionary Measures. This is believed to be one of the first multi-site studies to examine light exposure before sleep on the risk of developing gestational diabetes. Gestational diabetes is on the rise in the U.S. and globally. About 4.5 per cent of first-time pregnant women with a baby born between 2011 and 2013 developed gestational diabetes, which has been increasing on average by 3.4 per cent per three-year period until 2019. In 2020, the rate of gestational diabetes was 7.8 per cent of all births in the U.S. "It's alarming," Kim said, adding, "Gestational diabetes is known to increase obstetric complications, and the mother's risk of diabetes, heart disease and dementia. The offspring also are more likely to have obesity and hypertension as they grow up." Data show that women who have gestational diabetes are nearly 10 times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes mellitus compared to those who do not have glucose issues during pregnancy, Kim said. Bright light exposure prior to sleep can come from bright lights in your home and from devices like TVs, computers and smartphones. "We don't think about the potential harm of keeping the environment bright from the moment we wake up until we go to bed," Kim said, adding, "But it should be pretty dim for several hours before we go to bed. We probably don't need that much light for whatever we do routinely in the evening." Scientists don't know which source of bright light causes the problem, but it might all add up, Kim said. "Try to reduce whatever light is in your environment in those three hours before you go to bed," Kim said, adding, "It's best not to use your computer or phone during this period. But if you have to use them, keep the screens as dim as possible," Kim said, suggesting people use the night light option and turn off the blue light. If pregnant persons develop gestational diabetes during the first pregnancy, they are more likely to have it in the next pregnancy. Pre-sleep light exposure may affect glucose metabolism through sympathetic overactivity, meaning the heart rate goes up before bed when it should go down. "It seems there is inappropriate activation of the fight or flight response when it is time to rest," Kim said. Data shows that sympathetic overactivity may lead to cardiometabolic disease, which is a cluster of conditions including abdominal obesity, insulin resistance, increased blood pressure and an imbalance of lipids, all leading to cardiovascular disease. The study of 741 women in their second trimester was conducted at eight clinical U.S. sites between 2011 and 2013. The participants' light exposure was measured by an actigraph worn on their wrists. The women were measured during the second trimester of pregnancy, the time when they receive routine screening for gestational diabetes. After adjusting separately for age, BMI, race/ethnicity, education, commercial insurance, employment schedule, season, sleep duration, sleep midpoint, sleep regularity index, and daytime light exposure, pre-sleep light exposure remained significantly associated with gestational diabetes. The growing rate of gestational diabetes has been partially attributed to increasing body mass index and the older age of pregnant persons. "But even after adjusting for BMI and age, gestational diabetes is still rising," Kim said, adding, "We have a lot to prove, but my personal worry is that light may be silently contributing to this problem without most people realizing the potential harm." Losing body weight and exercising also reduce the risk of developing gestational diabetes, which is important but take some effort. "Turning down the lights is an easy modification you can make," Kim said. "Now I'm the light police at home," Kim said. "I see all this light I never thought about before. I try to dim the light as much as possible. Just for evening activities such as dinner and bathing the kids, you don't need bright light." "This study highlights the importance of reducing light exposure in the hours before bedtime," said senior author Kathryn Reid, research professor of neurology at Feinberg. The name of the paper is "The association between light exposure before bedtime in pregnancy and the risk of developing gestational diabetes mellitus." (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, Mar 10 (PTI) As many as 23 surgical blades, drugs, smartphones and a SIM card were recovered from an inmate in Tihar jail, prison officials said on Friday. On noticing some suspicious movement of some inmates on Thursday around 6.40 am, the staff of Central Jail number 3, Tihar intercepted them and carried out checking, a senior official said. Also Read | Call Centre, Remote Customer Service Jobs Grew by 400% in India Since 2019; Bengaluru Leads. They recovered a packet containing 23 surgical blades, drugs, two smartphones and a SIM card among other things were recovered from the possession of one inmate, officials said. It was revealed that the packet was thrown inside the jail over the walls of an adjoining prison. The inmate who threw the packet has been identified, they said. Also Read | Kerala Government Issues Health Advisory As Temperature Soars in State. The matter has been reported to the police for further investigation, they said. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Godda (Jharkhand) [India], March 10 (ANI): Jharkhand Police suspended five policemen for consuming alcohol and dancing inside the police station campus on teh occasion of Holi in the Godda district of Jharkhand after a video of the incident went viral on social media. "On 09.03.2023, a video of the Mahagama police station under Godda district went viral, in relation to the said viral video, an inquiry was conducted with the Sub-Divisional Police Officer, Mahagama. In the course of the investigation, the following officials were found guilty, agreeing with which the undersigned was suspended and returned to the police station," a press note issued by the office of the Superintendent of Police, Godda said. Also Read | Lok Sabha Elections 2024: With Eye on General Polls, BJP Plans Massive Rallies for PM Narendra Modi in 160 Seats Lost in 2019. Superintendent of Police Nathu Singh Meena has suspended five policemen with immediate effect. The suspended policemen include two ASIs and three constables. They are Assistant Sub Inspector Bipin Bihari Rai, Assistant Sub Inspector Radha Krishna Singh, Constable Satyendra Narayan Singh, Constable Krishna Kumar Singh and Constable Pyare Mohan Singh. Action was taken against these policemen after a video went viral on social media. Visuals from the purported video showed policemen dancing while drinking alcohol inside the police station campus. Also Read | Karnataka: 45-Year-Old BMTC Conductor Burnt to Death While Sleeping in Bus in Bengaluru (Watch Video). Chief minister of Jharkhand Babu Lal Marandi took to Twitter to expressed his disappointment. "This vulgar and careless sloppy presentation of some policemen in the police station campus. This is the sinister face of the devourers as protectors. Jharkhand has really been put on a powder keg by Hemant, the accidental prince of Soren Sultanate. Tribal society and country will remember him like Jaichand. Wake up youth of Jharkhand," Marandi tweeted. Departmental action has been initiated against all five policemen in this matter. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) The war in Ukraine continues to be a series of battles with different types of weapons where quantity often counts as much as quality and who has the most ammunition. For the last few months, the Ukrainians have been killing lots of Russians who seek to regain enough lost territory to claim a victory. That Russians strategy has failed so far. The Russians dont have the ability to carry out a large-scale offensive and rely on smaller battles where large numbers of poorly trained and led Russian troops seek to overwhelm smaller numbers of Ukrainian soldiers. Both sides suffer losses, especially from artillery fire. Satellite photos show numerous dead Russians but few of the dead Ukrainian defenders. Defenders have the advantage and the Ukrainians made the most of that to inflict heavy losses on the Russians while suffering fewer losses and falling back slowly. This is small-scale attrition warfare where the better trained and led Ukrainians are able to keep most of their forces out of combat so they can prepare for a larger scale offensive using Western tanks and longer range guided missiles, bridge building units and mine-clearing troops to overwhelm Russians defenders on a large scale and take back the 17 percent of Ukraine still occupied by Russia. This large-scale offensive warfare is something Russia has never been able to carry out in Ukraine. In late 2022 the Ukrainians carried out two of these operations. The first one started at the end of August 2022 in the northeast (Kharkiv province). By September the Russians were gone because they were taken by surprise and suffered major losses in terms of troops, equipment and territory. In November Russia lost Kherson City in the south, along with half of Kherson province. After these two Ukrainian victories, Russia has only been able to launch small scale attacks. Since December the Ukrainians have been organizing offensive forces for another major advance. The Ukrainians will not reveal where this offensive force will be used and that uncertainty makes it difficult for Russia to develop an effective defensive strategy. Another important factor is the length of the front line in Ukraine. It is enormous at about 2,500 kilometers long and only a relatively small number of Russian and Ukrainian troops are available to monitor, much less defend, the entire front. Russian forces in Ukraine are insufficient to man a World War I style front line defense with continuous trench lines. During World War I, the front line in east (Russia) was straighter (about 1,300 kilometers) and manned by millions of troops. This is ten times the number seen in 2022 Ukraine. Even then there were portions of the World War I east front that were patrolled but not manned by troops in trenches. World War I also saw the first use of aircraft on a large scale to maintain a better idea of who was where on the ground. Observer reports were augmented by aerial photographs. In 2022 Ukraine has an advantage in terms of aerial surveillance because of NATO assistance (satellite observation and some special aircraft),. Because of NATO assistance Russia has not been able to obtain air superiority over Ukraine. Both sides can carry out airstrikes but must beware of air defenses on the ground and in the air. The NATO nations supporting Ukraine did not anticipate this kind of war with Russia and lacked enough of some types of weapons the Ukrainians needed. Anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems are the best example. NATO countries had lots of Stinger (and other similar models) portable anti-aircraft missiles that can be carried by troops but have limited range and capabilities. NATO expected to have air superiority against a possible Soviet invasion of Western Europe, mainly due to large and very effective American air forces. Ukraine needed longer range air-defense systems as well as some BMD (ballistic missile defense) systems to deal with the Russian use of cruise and ballistic missiles launched from inside Russia. NATO nations discovered that they didnt have many of these weapons because of the expected air superiority in a major war. NATO had some BMD systems, but not enough to supply the Ukrainian need to deal with cruise missiles and the occasional Russian effort to achieve temporary air superiority. Another unexpected (by NATO nations) shortage is artillery ammunition. This has been a common problem since World War II because actual combat requires more artillery ammo than NATO nations can afford to stockpile. The problem is that artillery munitions have a relatively short shelf life. After 15-20 years the chemical components degrade to the point where the ammo is unreliable and must be safely disposed of. Having the peacetime forces firing all this ammo each year for training purposes wears out the artillery weapons. In practice, most nations maintain insufficient stockpiles of artillery ammo and do not maintain manufacturing facilities to produce a lot more of it quickly if there is a war. That sort of thing is expensive and no nation can afford to do it. The many nations of the NATO alliance sent Ukraine almost all the artillery ammunition they had, along with artillery to use it. This gave the Ukrainians an advantage against the Russians, who were not expecting a long war and encountered shortages of artillery ammo before Ukraine did. After a year of fighting, both sides have to limit their artillery use because it will take years for ammo stockpiles to be rebuilt. Russia lacks the manufacturing resources of the NATO alliance and is not able to keep up with the large assortment and quantity of weapons NATO sends Ukraine. The Ukrainians are gradually receiving new weapons and equipment so they can expel the Russians and end the war. There are delays caused by local politics in the NATO nations supplying the weapons and munitions. The United States has always supplied most of the weapons and supporting services like air power and air transport as well as naval forces. The Ukraine War is the first time NATO has had to supply a battle against a major force, in this case the post-Soviet Russians. For decades the Soviet threat was very real, with dozens of Russian divisions stationed in East Germany and further back in Ukraine (then a part of the Soviet Union). This attack force contained thousands of tanks and even more artillery, backed up by a large air force. When the Soviet Union went bankrupt and dissolved in 1991, all those Soviet divisions withdrew to Russia where most were disbanded. Most of the tanks and other armored vehicles as well as artillery stockpiles of ammunition were abandoned. Since Ukraine was a major staging area for the second wave of the planned Soviet offensive, Ukraine inherited those stockpiles in 1991 when they became an independent nation. Ukraine also inherited some Soviet nuclear weapons, which they agreed to surrender in return for Russian assurances that they would never attack Ukraine. Russia broke that promise, but the surrendered nuclear weapons were disassembled and the nuclear material used for nuclear power plant fuel. Russia agreed to do the same with many of their nuclear weapons. The Americans paid for most of the nuclear weapon disassembly and Russia received a lot of the nuclear material that had been converted into nuclear power plant fuel. When Russia attacked in 2014 and invaded in 2022, Ukraine still had a lot of those Soviet era tanks (which they had upgraded) and artillery. Ukraine and Russia were often using the same weapons against each other. Ukraine was able to obtain more and more modern Western weapons that the Russian were unable to match. The Soviet era defense manufacturers largely disappeared in the 1990s because Russia could not afford to keep them going. Russia has developed and built some new weapons but these are not as effective or numerous as what NATO sends Ukraine. Another problem is that, while the East European nations that joined NATO after the Soviet Union collapsed have recent experience with Russian aggression and unreliability, the original NATO members in West Europe and North America do not, This gives opposition politicians in these countries an opportunity to criticize aid to Ukraine as excessive and more than the donor countries can afford. This explains why Ukraine hasnt pushed the Russians out of Ukraine by now with the assistance of NATO weapons and munitions. Ukraine knew what they needed and the nearby NATO members agreed with them. But the older and larger NATO members farther way did not, which takes time to deal with and prolongs the fighting in Ukraine. What could have been a relatively quick victory has turned into a slog because of the constant need to plead and scrounge for the needed weapons for Ukraine. By Payal Mehta New Delhi [India], March 10 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Nishikant Dubey on Friday appeared before the Lok Sabha Privilege Committee and demanded the termination of the Lok Sabha membership of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, sources said. Also Read | Liquor Worth Rs 14 Crore Sold in Noida Ahead of Holi, Highest Since COVID-19 Outbreak. Nishikant Dubey sought a privilege motion against Rahul Gandhi for making a "misleading, derogatory, unparliamentary and incriminatory" statement during a discussion on the motion of thanks on the President's Address. Lok Sabha MP Sunil Singh asked Dubey to appear as a witness in the committee. Apart from panel chief, Sunil Singh, other members from the committee who were present today include TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee, K Suresh from Congress, CP Joshi, Dilip Ghosh, Raju Bista and Ganesh Singh of BJP. Also Read | Madhya Pradesh: Tiger, Tigress Released Into Enclosures in Madhav National Park To Revive Big Cat Population (Watch Video). MPs like K Suresh and Kalyan Banerjee argued that there was no ground for any such breach as the speech by the Wayanad MP was already expunged. According to the sources, DMK, MP TR Baalu wasn't present before the committee today but he has written to the panel saying that there was no privilege that would stand any argument against Rahul. In his argument on the issue, Dubey first stated that even if the debate was in the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address, Rahul Gandhi's reply was largely about Gautam Adani and in fact in his speech, Adani was mentioned by Rahul Gandhi at least 75 times. Further, the Jharkhand MP presented his case stating that three privilege notices needed to be moved against Gandhi. One, Under Rule 352 (2), an MP can comment on a fellow parliamentarian only with prior notice and without the approval of the Speaker. This was breached by Rahul by commenting on PM Modi, sources said. Secondly, Dubey also quoted the incident in 1976 when Subramanian Swamy was dismissed from Rajya Sabha - when allegations were made against Parliament and PM. Dubey stated that the same is the case now - casting aspersions on the conduct of the Prime Minister is undermining democracy. Thirdly, Dubey authenticated that the speech of Rahul Gandhi was expunged but when he checked on the social media, handles of Gandhi on Twitter and YouTube channels still had the expunged speech and tweets. This itself undermines the authority and discretion of the Speaker, the sources further said. "Undermining the authority and position of any state leader or head of state itself accounts to compromise on national interest," sources quoted Dubey as saying. Dubey argued that allegations made by Gandhi viz-a-viz Adani projects listed in Israel and Bangladesh are an act against the interest of India, sources said that this was another point that Dubey argued. Nishikant Dubey also authenticated the power plant agreement between India and Bangladesh in 2011 between Indian Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh and Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. "Therefore, any argument being made by the Congress that the power plant by the Adani group was given to Bangladesh under the Modi regime was false," the BJP MP said. "Therefore Nishikant Dubey demands the termination of the Lok Sabha membership of Rahul Gandhi through his privilege motion," sources said. In the coming days, Rahul Gandhi is likely to be asked by the panel to depose before it in connection with the privilege motion. BJP MP Nishikant Dubey on February 8, wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker to move a breach of privilege motion notice against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, a day after his speech in Lok Sabha where he made certain allegations about Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his association with industrialist Gautam Adani. A similar notice was also sent to Lok Sabha Speaker by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi. In a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on February 8, Dubey had said, "These statements are misleading, derogatory, indecent, unparliamentary, undignified and incriminatory in nature to the dignity of the House and Prime Minister being a Member of Lok Sabha. Rahul Gandhi, despite making a statement in the House that he would provide documentary evidence has not submitted any duly authenticated document for supporting his statements." Dubey further said the Congress MP had made a statement which amounts to misleading the House in the absence of documentary evidence besides being a reflection upon the Prime Minister. "This conduct is in clear violation of the privileges of the House and its members besides being a clear case of contempt of the House. I request you to take immediate action against Rahul Gandhi for breach of privilege and contempt of House," the letter read. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had launched a strong attack on the government in the wake of the Hindenburg-Adani row linking the rise of the Adani group to that of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and alleging that "rules were changed" in some sectors to favour the businessman. Rahul Gandhi, who was the first opposition leader to speak during the debate on the motion of thanks to the President's address in the Lok Sabha, said the relationship with Gautam Adani began many years ago when Narendra Modi was Gujarat Chief Minister and added that "real magic" started after 2014 and the businessman rose from 609th to second spot globally in the rich list. "Relationships begin many years ago when Narendra Modi was Gujarat's Chief Minister...one man stood shoulder to shoulder with PM Modi, he was loyal to the PM and helped Mr Modi construct the idea of a 'Resurgent Gujarat'. The real magic began when PM Modi reached the national capital in 2014," Rahul Gandhi said addressing the Lok Sabha. The BJP rejected Rahul Gandhi's allegations both inside and outside the House. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Hubballi (Karnataka) [India], March 10 (ANI): Ahead of the Karnataka Assembly polls, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday said the biggest strength of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is its robust grassroots-level organisation. Speaking to reporters here, Bommai said that the third phase of the pre-poll campaign is underway. After Booth Vijay, the 'Vijay Sankalp' yatra has been taken up. The conferences of all the morchas are going on." Also Read | CISF Raising Day 2023: Union Home Minister Amit Shah to Review CISF Parade in Hyderabad on March 12. Bommai said organizational works are going on in all 224 Assembly segments in Karnataka. The Chief Minister said there has been a tremendous response from the people to the works done by his predecessor BS Yediyurappa, the works of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the last eight years, and works in his one-and-a-half-year tenure. He exuded confidence that BJP will come to power with a complete majority. Also Read | Pakistani National Inadvertently Enters India in Punjab, Arrested by BSF; Handed Over to Pakistan Rangers. Asked about Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar's prediction that the ruling BJP will get 65 seats in the coming Assembly polls, Bommai said, "Shivakumar might have told the number of seats to be won by the Congress Party." On denial of tickets to the sitting BJP legislators, CM Bommai said since every election will be different there is no example of giving the tickets to all the sitting MLAs. The tickets will be given only after the survey, performance, and other yardsticks. Assembly elections in Karnataka are slated to be held later this 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) Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], March 10 (ANI): Asserting that the Budget 2023-24 presented by Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Cheema is the blueprint of a new, progressive and prosperous Punjab, the state Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday termed it as 'Aam Lokaan Da Budget', adding that it will help in restoring the pristine glory of the state. The budget was presented by Finance Minister Harpal Cheema in the state assembly here on Friday.The Chief Minister in a statement said that it is a matter of great pride and satisfaction that the budget which proposes no fresh tax has been presented as his government completes one year in office. Also Read | Call Centre, Remote Customer Service Jobs Grew by 400% in India Since 2019; Bengaluru Leads. "This budget will be the blueprint of a new, progressive and prosperous Punjab. This is the Budget of common people," Mann said in an official statement. The Aam Aadmi Party-led Punjab government on Friday presented its first Budget for the financial year 2023-24. Also Read | Kerala Government Issues Health Advisory As Temperature Soars in State. Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Friday tabled a Rs 1.96 lakh crore size state budget for 2023-24 in the Assembly, an increase of 26 per cent growth versus last year's figures reflecting the commitment of the government to ensure uninterrupted development in Punjab. In 2022-23, Punjab's overall Budget size was Rs 1.55 lakh crore. Mann further said that it was a matter of great pride and satisfaction that this "tax-free budget" was presented exactly one year after his government came to power. "The first full budget of his government was intended to promote the development of the state in a big way. I hope that this budget would change the fortunes of the common people by ensuring peace, progress and prosperity in the state," he added. Mann also said that this budget would give a boost to development in every field and would ensure the all-round development of the state. "According to the commitment of the government, a draft was presented in the budget to make Punjab 'Rangla Punjab' again. The Chief Minister said that the state government has given 26,797 government jobs to the youth so far," Mann added. Bhagwant Mann said that the budget for agriculture and allied professions which has been increased by 20 per cent for taking the steps to make agriculture a profitable profession. Among major allocations, Rs 9,331 crore was earmarked for free power to farmers and Rs 3,133 crore for subsidized energy to industries. Cheema, while presenting the budget said that Rs 13,888 crore has been allocated for agriculture and allied activities, which is 20 per cent more than the previous financial year. He said the new agriculture policy will also be announced shortly and added that a risk mitigation scheme, Bhaav Antar Bhugtan Yojana, will be launched for horticulture producers. An allocation of Rs 1,000 crore has been made for diversification in agriculture and procurement of Basmati rice, among others. Another Rs 125 crore has been made available for direct seeding of rice and procurement of Moong at minimum support price (MSP). Further, Rs 100 crore has been earmarked for the expansion of the milk procurement network. The AAP government, he said, will provide Rs 9,331 crore for free power to agricultural tubewells. On the health front, Cheema said that 10.5 lakh people have been treated in Aam Aadmi Clinics in the state so far and 26,797 jobs have been given so far by the Bhagwant Mann government. To provide financial assistance to over 33 lakh elderly, widows and destitute women, orphan children and handicapped persons, a monetary provision of Rs 5,650 has been made in the Budget. (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], March 10 (ANI): Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Bhagel met Congress President Mallikarjunan Kharge in Delhi on Friday. The meeting took place at INC president Mallikarjun Kharge's residence. Also Read | PM Sheikh Hasina and PM Narendra Modi to Virtually Inaugurate First Bangladesh-India Cross-Border Oil Pipeline on March 18. Chief Minister Baghel expressed gratitude to Mallikarjun Kharge for the successful organization of the Congress session in Raipur. While talking to the media, Chief Minister Baghel said, "I reached Delhi from Karimnagar, Telangana where I was attending Congress's Hath Se Hath Jodo campaign. I came to meet Mallikarjunan Kharge and I congratulated him for the successful organization of the Congress plenary session which was organized in Chhattisgarh". Also Read | UP Nikay Chunav 2023: Yogi Adityanath Cabinet Accepts Report on OBC Reservation in Urban Body Polls. During the meeting, Baghel informed the Congress President about the initiatives taken for the youth, farmers and tribals in the Chhattisgarh state budget. On allegations made by BJP that Rahul Gandhi is using foreign soil to defame India, CM Baghel said, "Who started using foreign soil after 2014 ? It was BJP. They started this trend. They should not blame others for doing the same act". He also pointed out that ED and CBI are the B team of BJP and corruption investigations should be fairly conducted in all the states. "Wherever BJP is weak only in those states BJP uses CBI and ED as their B teams. There should be no doubt that investigation should happen in corruption cases but it should happen in all the states irrespective of whether BJP has its government or not," CM Baghel told the media. On upcoming assembly elections in Chhattisgarh, he said, "We are hopeful, I feel we will get the mandate of the public again". (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], March 10 (ANI): Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Friday called on Union Power Minister RK Singh in the national capital on Friday. Chief Minister Dhami informed Union Minister about the power shortage in the state in the coming times. Also Read | CISF Raising Day 2023: Union Home Minister Amit Shah to Review CISF Parade in Hyderabad on March 12. Earlier on Friday, Dhami met Union Minister for Heavy Industries Mahendra Nath Pandey and requested for assistance in making electric charging stations in the state and for investment in electric vehicles and battery products. He also urged the Minister to start a Center of Excellence in Uttarakhand with industry partners for research and promotion of innovation and new technology in the automotive industry. (ANI) Also Read | Pakistani National Inadvertently Enters India in Punjab, Arrested by BSF; Handed Over to Pakistan Rangers. (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, Mar 10 (PTI) The defence ministry on Friday sealed a deal with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to procure six Dornier aircraft at a cost of Rs 667 crore for the Indian Air Force. The addition of the six aircraft will further bolster the operational capability of the IAF in remote areas, the defence ministry said announcing the contract. Also Read | Indian Air Force To Get Six Dornier-228 Aircrafts From HAL at Rs 667 Crore. The Dornier-228 aircraft is a highly versatile multi-purpose light transport aircraft. It has been developed specifically to meet the manifold requirements of utility and commuter transport as well as for maritime surveillance. Also Read | Manish Sisodia Was Part of Money Laundering Nexus, Says ED; AAP Leader Sent to ED Custody Till March 17 in Excise Policy Case. The aircraft will have an upgraded fuel-efficient engine coupled with a five-bladed composite propeller, the ministry said. "The Ministry of Defence, on March 10, signed a contract for procurement of six Dornier-228 aircraft for the Indian Air Force from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) at a cost of Rs 667 crore," it said. "The aircraft was used by IAF for route transport roles and communication duties. Subsequently, it has also been used for training of transport pilots of the IAF," it said. The aircraft is ideally suited for short-haul operations from semi-prepared and short runways of the North East and island chains of India. (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], March 10 (ANI): After a sharp rise in H3N2 influenza cases being reported in India, the Empowered Group and the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19 (NEGVAC) will hold an internal meeting on March 11 to review Covid19 and H3N2 situation in the country. "The meeting will be conducted at Niti Aayog to monitor overall Covid19 and H3N2 cases in India," the ministry official said on Friday. Also Read | Call Centre, Remote Customer Service Jobs Grew by 400% in India Since 2019; Bengaluru Leads. On Friday, the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Mansukh Mandaviya held a review meeting with states over rising cases of H3N2 in the country. "Held a meeting to review rising cases of #H3N2 Influenza virus in the country. Advisory issued to states to be on the alert and closely monitor the situation. Government of India is working with States & extending support for public health measures to address the situation," Manadaviya said in his tweet. Also Read | Kerala Government Issues Health Advisory As Temperature Soars in State. However, the Union Health Ministry issued a press statement on the current situation of H3N2 in the country and said that the cases arising from seasonal influenza including H3N2 which has claimed one death each in Haryana and Karnataka are expected to decline from March end. "India every year witnesses two peaks of seasonal influenza: one from January to March and the other in the post-monsoon season. The cases arising from seasonal influenza are expected to decline from March end," the Union Health Ministry said in a press release. Seasonal influenza is an acute respiratory infection caused by influenza viruses which circulate in all parts of the world, and the cases are seen to increase during certain months globally. It further said that real-time surveillance of cases of Influenza-like Illness (ILI) and Severe Acute Respiratory Infections (SARI) presenting in OPDs and IPDs of health facilities is undertaken by Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP), National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). According to the latest data available on IDSP-IHIP (integrated health Information Platform), a total of 3038 laboratory-confirmed cases of various subtypes of Influenza including H3N2 have been reported till March 9 by the States. This includes 1245 cases in January 1307 in February and 486 cases till March 9. Further, the IDSP-IHIP data from health facilities indicate that during the month of January 2023, a total of 397,814 cases of Acute Respiratory Illness/Influenza Like Illness (ARI/ILI) were reported from the country which increased slightly to 436,523 during February 2023. In the first 9 days of March 2023, this number stands at 133,412 cases. The corresponding data for admitted cases of severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) is 7041 cases in January 2023, 6919 during February 2023 and 1866 during the first 9 days of March 2023. Till February 28, a total of 955 H1N1 cases have been reported. The majority of the H1N1 cases are reported from Tamil Nadu (545) following Maharashtra (170), Gujarat (74), Kerala (42) and Punjab (28). So far, Karnataka and Haryana have confirmed one death each from H3N2 influenza, it added. The Ministry is also tracking and keeping a close watch on morbidity and mortality due to the H3N2 subtype of seasonal influenza. Young children and old age persons with co-morbidities are the most vulnerable groups in the context of seasonal influenza. The ministry has provided guidelines on the categorization of patients, treatment protocol, and guidelines on Ventilatory management to the states and UTs which are also available on the website of the Ministry (www.mohfw.nic.in) and NCDC (ncdc.gov.in). It has also advised the state governments to vaccinate healthcare workers dealing with H1N1 cases. However, according to the ministry, Oseltamivir is the drug recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for curing the infection. "The drug is made available through the Public Health System free of cost. The government has allowed the sale of Oseltamivir under Schedule H1 of the Drug and Cosmetic Act in February 2017 for wider accessibility and availability," it said. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], March 10: Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramanian inspected the mass fever camp on Friday organised in the Saidapet area in Chennai. Chennai Mayor Priya Rajan also joined the Health Minister in inspecting the camps. "About 1000 fever camps have been set up all over Tamil Nadu of which 200 fever camps are in Chennai," Health Minister said. Hong Kong Flu Spread: Pattern of H3N2 Viruses Changed Unexpectedly in Past Six Months, Says Delhi Hospital Expert. Recently, H3N2 virus fever broke out across the country sparking concerns. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in a statement asked the administrations all over to comply with the safety protocols and take necessary precautions. People have been instructed to wear masks and maintain proper hygiene to avoid the virus infection. "Apart from the fever camps, about 11,333 public health centres in the state have been instructed to conduct frequent fever check-ups," said the minister in the statement. "We have adequate medicines for the fever. As of now, there are no severe cases and there is no need to panic." The Health Minister added, "According to ICMR, we have to be cautious with H3N2 virus spread like we were during the Covid Pandemic. People with fever symptoms should isolate themselves as per ICMR guidelines to prevent spread." Reportedly, corona cases have also been increasing in Tamil Nadu and also India, in general. What Is Hong Kong Flu? As H3N2 Virus Hits Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Know Its Symptoms, Causes, Treatment and Preventive Measures. "PTPCR tests are done and the number of tests has been increased. There were only 2 cases last month but now it's 20 to 25 cases in Tamil Nadu and we are preparing to curtail it," assured the Health Minister. Health Minister also said, "As of now it's not a community spread of H3N2 virus in Tamil Nadu. We are taking precautions to make sure it does not spread rapidly and turn into a community spread. I appeal to the people of Tamil Nadu to avoid going to public places if they identify themselves with the symptoms and immediately inform the authorities." According to the administration, the mega fever camps will continue their operations on Saturday, Sunday and also in the coming days in the state. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Bengaluru, March 10: A 82-year-old man died of the H3N2 virus in Karnataka becoming the first victim of the virus, the official said on Friday. The deceased has been identified as Hire Gowda. According to the District Health Officer of Hassan Dr Shivaswamy DN, Hire Gowda died due to the virus on March 1. "He was admitted to the hospital on February 24 and died on March 1. His test report, on March 6 confirmed that he was infected with H3N2," Dr Shivaswamy DN said. He further said that the deceased was suffering from diabetes and hypertension. H3N2 Virus Scare: India Records First Deaths, One Each in Karnataka and Haryana Due to 'Hong Kong Flu', Say Reports. "He suffered from fever, cough, sore throat and had symptoms of influenza-like illness. He was admitted to the HIMS on February 24," he added. The state Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar held a meeting with the officials in view of the sudden spike in H3N2 virus infections on March 6 and appealed to people not to panic over the virus. The state health and family welfare department had on March 6 issued an advisory for health officials to prevent and control the spread of the infection. "The Central government in its guidelines has set a target of 25 tests per week and the department is screening 25 cases of Sari and ILI in Victoria and Vani Vilasa Hospitals to keep track of the variants. The infection can be seen in children under 15 years of age, and in senior citizens over 65 years of age, he had told reporters after the meeting. Pregnant women are also more likely to get infected. He said that the spread of the infection can be tackled through measures such as cleanliness, preventing crowding, and hand hygiene. 20 cases of H1N1 were detected from January to March. He said that 26 cases of H3N2, 10 cases of Influenza B 10, and 69 cases of Adeno were detected. Sudhakar further said that a committee has been formed to cap the price of testing for this new infection. What Is Hong Kong Flu? As H3N2 Virus Hits Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Know Its Symptoms, Causes, Treatment and Preventive Measures. "We are taking measures to ensure that testing is available at low rates. He said that the fee for the examination will be fixed after the committee receives the report," he added. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Hyderabad, Mar 10 (PTI) BRS MLC K Kavitha's hunger strike in Delhi in support of the women's reservation bill was an attempt to divert people's attention from the allegations against her in the Delhi excise policy case, Telangana BJP chief Bandi Sanjay Kumar alleged here on Friday. Also Read | Maharashtra Horror: Married Woman From Beed Raped and Starved, Her Menstrual Blood Sold for Rs 50,000 for Black Magic Rituals; FIR Registered. Addressing a protest held here by the paty, titled "Mahila Gosa - BJP Bharosa" (Women's problems- BJP's assurance), the MP wondered as to why the BRS MPs did not raise the issue of women's reservation in the Parliament. Why did not Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao follow the 33 per cent quota in cabinet formation and distribution of party tickets. Also Read | OBC Reservation in Uttar Pradesh Municipal Elections 2023: UP Govt Approves Recommendations of Backward Classes Commission. Referring to Kavitha's comments that Telangana would never bow before the oppressive anti-people regime in Delhi, he asked as to how the Telangana society is concerned if there are allegations against her. Kavitha should get interest-free loans for women in the state, among other welfare measures, he said. The NDA government led by the late Atal Bihari Vajpayee had made efforts to pass the reservation bill and the Modi government too had women representation. Several other measures like providing gas connections to crores of women were taken, he said. BJP Rajya Sabha member K Laxman claimed that while the BRS government tried to avoid the woman Governor's address to the legislature, the BJP made a woman as the country's President. The ruling BRS has had its run-ins with state Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan. BJP vice president D K Aruna and other leaders took part in the protest. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Since mid-December 2022, when a new F-35B developed a vibration problem in its engine that caused the aircraft to be seriously damaged, production and deliveries of new F-35s engines were halted and some F-35s were grounded. It took over two months to find the problem and develop a fix. It will take three months to apply this fix to all F-35s. While the F-35 stealth fighter is very popular with pilots, both American and foreign, the aircraft continues to have readiness problems because of unexpected problems with the F135 engine that powers each aircraft. These problems were predictable before the air force decided to save money by only having one source for the engine. Early on the air force was urged to heed similar bad past experiences and spend the extra money to have two engines available. The second engine, the F136, was developed by General Electric and Britains Rolls-Royce. Britain was a major export customer for the F-35 and contributed over $2 billion to F-35 development partly because of the Rolls-Royce involvement with the F136. The air force was facing larger problems with escalating F-35 development costs and in 2007 decided to drop the F136 to help deal with those. The air force made two other mistakes; introducing the new ALIS (Autonomic Logistics Information System), a spare parts management system that did not work as expected, and underestimating the difficulty of updating the complex F-35 software in a timely manner. These three bad decisions are now combining to keep F-35 readiness (mission capable) rates low while those for older aircraft, including the F-22 stealth fighter, increase. The F135 engines current problem is that its turbine rotor blades wear out faster than expected. Nearly seven percent of the 665 F-35s delivered as of mid-2021 were out of service because of engine shortages caused by so many engines needing repairs. The rotor blade fix is a special coating for the rotor blades applied to engines which routinely come through the maintenance depots for checkups and fixes to any other problems found, as well as dealing with rotor blade failure. The engine shortage and some other problems with an inadequate supply of spare parts were a key reason the F-35 readiness fell from 74 percent in 2019 to 52 percent in 2022. The other reasons had to do with continuing problems with ALIS and managing the software update. There is no simple solution for problems arising from defects in the only engine model available for the F-35. With two suppliers of engines, problems like the current one are usually spotted by one of the engine suppliers early and the other engine supplier alerted. The Department of Defense, acting on U.S. Air Force advice, believed that such problems were not going to arise because engine technology had advanced to the point that this was no longer an issue. The air force was wrong. Additional costs of fixing the readiness problems produced a cost per flight hour of over $35,000, which is substantially more than for the older F-16s and F-15. The F-35 manufacturer earlier said it was possible to reduce F-35 cost per flight hour to about $25,000 by the end of the decade. That is not very convincing because it will cost a lot to achieve that goal, which was supposed to be available early on at much less development cost. The Department of Defense acceptance of the air force cancellation of the F136 alternative engine program turned out to be a perfect example of "penny wise and pound foolish". By trying to save money needed to develop and field the F136 it could cost our country billions down the road because of the lack of competition, and shrinking the knowledge and manufacturing base required to design and build military jet engines. By 2021 that proved to be correct. There was another factor at work here; heavy wartime use of all American jet fighters, except the new F-35, between 2001 and 2018. This was revealed because of a 2018 order from the Defense Department requiring the air force and navy to raise the readiness rate to 80 percent for several key combat aircraft and get it done during fiscal 2019 (which ended September 30, 2019). The aircraft involved were the air force F-16, F-22 and F-35 as well as the late model navy F-18s (F-18E/F and EA-18G). Only the navy made it, hitting 80 percent in September 2019. The navy had the hardest job because, when this order was issued, its F-18s had a readiness rate of only 50 percent. Even though they came up short, some of the air force aircraft made remarkable progress, The F-16 went from 70 to 75 percent while the F-22 went from 52 percent to 68 percent and the F-35 went from 50 percent to 74 percent. Overall, the 80 percent challenge had a positive effect because aircraft readiness rates had been falling for over a decade. There were reasons for that. Since 2001 air force and navy aircraft have been largely operating under wartime conditions. American military aircraft readiness rates have traditionally been high compared to all other major air forces, but age and two decades of heavy use took their toll. The workload for maintenance personnel is higher, while budgets for maintenance were not keeping up. This reduced readiness rates noticeably by 2018, but compared to ten years earlier the air force was doing rather well. Readiness rates or the percentage of your aircraft that are mission-capable varies by aircraft type and technology an aircraft is based on. Age is important but has less to do with it than you might think. The F-22 rate was higher in 2010, partly because it had overcome the problems of being a new aircraft but problems of failure to pay higher maintenance costs from overuse plus lack of durability led to a slide from a high of 65 percent readiness in 2014 to 52 percent in 2018. The many stealth features of the F-22 required special, time consuming and expensive attention, and provided more items that could break. The F-35 did not start entering service until 2015 so this new stealth fighter is where the F-22 was back then. The F-35 was designed to overcome the readiness problems of the F-22 but failed, mainly because of more engine problems plus the introduction of a new parts supply management system and inexperience managing aircraft software as extensive as found in the F-35. Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], March 10 (ANI): The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court upheld the life sentence of four men pronounced by a trial court, for raping a 23-year-old woman from Delhi in 2018. A division bench of judges, G Jayachandran and KK Ramakrishnan passed the order on Saturday, March 4, while hearing appeals filed by the five convicts. Amongst the five, four were sentenced to life imprisonment and one was sentenced to seven years imprisonment. Also Read | PM Sheikh Hasina and PM Narendra Modi to Virtually Inaugurate First Bangladesh-India Cross-Border Oil Pipeline on March 18. According to the prosecution, the woman, a senior associate of a bank, took her flight to Chennai from Delhi. After alighting from the flight at Chennai airport, the woman took a train and arrived at Kumbakonam at around 9.30 PM. She was scheduled to attend a training program at Kumbakonam. She hired an auto to get to her accommodation, however the auto driver Gurumurthy took took a detour through the Chettimandapam bypass. The woman made a phone call to her friend and stepped down from the auto midway. Also Read | UP Nikay Chunav 2023: Yogi Adityanath Cabinet Accepts Report on OBC Reservation in Urban Body Polls. The woman asked for a lift from a motorcyclist who was followed by his friend on another bike. They took the woman to a remote location on the bypass road near Nachiyar Koil, where they sexually assaulted her. Later they called over two more persons. The woman filed a police complaint and special forces arrested the four youth and the auto driver. The police submitted a 700-page charge sheet in the Thanjavur Mahila court. At the end of the trial, the court sentenced them to life imprisonment up to natural death and a fine of Rs 65,000 each, while the auto driver, Gurumurthy was sentenced to seven years imprisonment with a fine of Rs 10,000. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Kolkata, Mar 10 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has urged the Centre to allow poppy cultivation in the state, insisting that delicacies prepared with its seeds are integral to the Bengali cuisine. Banerjee said 'posto' or poppy seeds are costly as it is cultivated only in a few states. Also Read | OBC Reservation: Panel on Quota for Other Backward Classes in Uttar Pradesh Municipal Elections Submits Report to CM Yogi Adityanath. "Bengalis love posto'. Why should it be cultivated in only four states? Why not in West Bengal, despite it being on our menu every day?" she said. "Why will we have to purchase posto' from other states at high prices? Why will West Bengal not get permission for its cultivation? I will ask members of the opposition to write to the Centre on it," the CM said on Thursday. Also Read | Madhya Pradesh: 'Illegally Built' Structure of Accused in Damoh Gangrape Bulldozed by Authorities (See Pics). The state has been trying to get permission for cultivation of the highly-regulated crop. "We have said that the state will cultivate it in agriculture farms. If we can grow poppy here, we will get them at Rs 100 (per kg), instead of Rs 1,000. At times, we have to take decisions unanimously. Not all poppies are drugs," she claimed. Banerjee was speaking on budget discussions relating to the Food and Supplies Department. The chief minister also said that as the Centre gave tax relief to basmati' rice, it should extend similar benefits to gobindobhog' and tulaipanji' varieties of rice produced in West Bengal. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Noida, Mar 10 (PTI) A 43-year-old man was sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment by a court in Gautam Buddh Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh on Friday for kidnapping and raping a teenager related to him in 2011, a government lawyer said. The convict has also been slapped with a penalty of Rs 40,000. Also Read | CISF Raising Day 2023: Union Home Minister Amit Shah to Review CISF Parade in Hyderabad on March 12. The convict is the husband of a cousin of the victim, who was 16 years of age at the time of the incident and was lured by him on the promise of marriage, the lawyer said. The man was convicted under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 363 (kidnapping), 366 (kidnapping to compel for marriage) and 376 (rape) by Additional Sessions Judge (POCSO Court) Chandra Mohan Srivastava, Additional District Government Counsellor Dharmendra Jaint said. Also Read | Pakistani National Inadvertently Enters India in Punjab, Arrested by BSF; Handed Over to Pakistan Rangers. The girl had gone missing on June 30, 2011 and an FIR was lodged on the basis of a complaint from her family members the next day, with her father raising suspicion on her brother-in-law after someone known to them told them that he had seen the duo on a motorcycle near the Khurja junction, Jaint said. Also, while the girl was missing, the convict had also not returned to his home since June 30, the government lawyer added. Police arrested the convict from Punjab while the girl was also rescued, he said. During the trial, the convict's counsel pleaded leniency, saying the convict was young at the time of the incident and the sole breadwinner of his family. He said the convict had already spent some time in jail, which should be taken into consideration. However, the prosecution succeeded in proving that the convict had taken the victim with him by luring her and raped her, after which the court passed the order, Jaint said. The court sentenced the convict to three years in jail under IPC section 363, five years in jail under section 366 and seven years of rigorous imprisonment under section 376. The sentences will run concurrently. (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, Mar 10 (PTI) India is in a unique position to provide leadership in the Global South and there can be no solution to climate challenges without the country being central to it, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said here on Friday. Addressing a gathering at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, Albanese said education is about growing an economy as it is the key to productivity, new ideas and more efficiency. Also Read | Liquor Worth Rs 14 Crore Sold in Noida Ahead of Holi, Highest Since COVID-19 Outbreak. "India is in a unique position to provide leadership in the Global South. There can be no solution to climate challenges without India being central to that. Australia will become a renewable energy superpower, given its location. India will be too, and therefore, there are great opportunities to collaborate and work together. "Australia is blessed with natural resources, critical earth minerals that can help in the production of renewables. Hence, this partnership will help India meet the growing energy demands," he said. Also Read | Madhya Pradesh: Tiger, Tigress Released Into Enclosures in Madhav National Park To Revive Big Cat Population (Watch Video). "Education is about growing an economy; it is also about creating opportunities. Education is the key to productivity, new ideas and more efficiency. It not only benefits individuals but also societies," he added. Albanese asserted that India's development has been "extraordinary". "The perception of India in the world (today) is very different from what it was in 1991, when I had visited the country for the first time, and this is a great tribute to the people essentially," he said. Noting that India is a natural leader in the Indian Ocean region and the world's fastest growing major economy, Albanese said, "India and Australia are natural partners. Together, we can do more and we will do more for a shared future based on common interests and visions for embracing a better tomorrow." "India and Australia need to be strategic partners in the Indo-Pacific in a much deeper sense and not just in defence and security," he added. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) [India], March 10 (ANI): The Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) is gearing up to host the G20 summit meetings on March 28 and 29. The government agencies have lined up Vizag city beautification works to the tune of over Rs 150 crore, and the ongoing sprucing up works are likely to be concluded in the next two weeks. Also Read | El Nino Weather Patterns May Affect India Adversely, Likely To Cause Monsoon Rain Deficit: Experts. Andhra Pradesh Commissioner and Director of Municipal Administration Praveen Kumar said that Visakhapatnam is a very fast growing city in the country. "The second meeting of G20 IWG is scheduled to be held in Visakhapatnam on March 28 and 29. We are developing public places from state government up to Rs 100 to 150 crore. Delegates from different parts of the world are going to be participating in the summit. Visakhapatnam is a tourist destination with hill areas and ocean of the Bay of Bengal. As part of development, we are developing more beaches for visitors visiting from various parts of the country," he said. Also Read | Maharashtra Horror: Married Woman From Beed Raped and Starved, Her Menstrual Blood Sold for Rs 50,000 for Black Magic Rituals; FIR Registered. The GVMC commissioner P Raja Babu said that about 200 delegates from 40 countries may visit the city during the G20 Summit meetings. "Right from mural paintings, road laying and footpath renovation to new beach stretch development, beach cleaning, and median development, the city beautification works are going on at a rapid pace. About 200 delegates from 40 countries may visit the city during the G20 Summit meetings. Only public amenities will be added at the newly developing beach stretch such as toilets, seating benches, parking facility, CCTV coverage, lighting, etc. without disturbing the natural setting," said Raja Babu. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Bhopal, March 10: A tiger and tigress were on Friday released into enclosures in Madhav National Park in Shivpuri district in Madhya Pradesh by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia in a bid to revive the big cat population in the facility, officials said. While the tiger was captured in October last year after it strayed into the sprawling premises of the Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology (MANIT) in Bhopal, the tigress that was released into MNP was brought from Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, they said. Tamil Nadu: Tiger Spotted at a Tea Estate in Ooty, Video of Big Cat Roaming Freely Goes Viral. Tiger, Tigress Released Into Enclosures in Madhav National Park: ! , , ... pic.twitter.com/WyL8bALu3q Jyotiraditya M. Scindia (@JM_Scindia) March 10, 2023 The tiger, after its capture from MANIT, was released in Satpura Tiger Reserve in October, and has been brought to MNP from STR. A plan to release another tigress did not work out as it could not be captured at Panna Tiger Reserve, these officials added. The translocation of the two big cats took place to mark the birth anniversary of former Union Minister Madhavrao Scindia, the father of Jyotiraditya Scindia. MNP, incidentally, is named after their ancestor Madho Rao Scindia. Chouhan and Scindia pulled a lever each to release the two big cats from their cages into the enclosures, the officials said, adding five tigers in all, comprising two males and three females, will be translocated to MNP to revive the big cat population. The tiger and tigress have been released, MNP director Uttam Sharma told PTI. These animals, after being kept in separate enclosures for some time, will be released in the wild at MNP, which is spread over an area of 375 square kilometres, officials said. Karnataka Tiger Attack: Fear Grips Region After Maneater Tiger Kills 10-Year-Old Boy, His Grandfather in Kodagu. This is the third time the MP forest department is going re-introduce a tiger in a wildlife sanctuary, with successful projects of the kind having been undertaken in Panna Tiger Reserve and the Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary in Sagar, officials said. MNP has a good prey base for big cats and the revival program was cleared by the Centre, they added. These big cats are going to be radio-collared and three teams have been formed to keep an eye on them when they will be released in the wild, the officials said. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Union Minister Scindia had said the "the roar of the big cats had fallen silent in MNP 27 years ago". Additional Principal Conservator of Forests (wildlife) Subharanjan Sen said the number of tigers was fairly good in MNP in 1970. According to local residents and officials, no tiger has been seen in and around MNP since 2010. As per reports, tigers from Rajasthan roamed around MNP for some time in 2010-12. Wildlife experts said MNP had lost its tiger population primarily due to hunting. Shivpuri borders Sheopur district, which houses the Kuno National Park, a new home for 20 cheetahs brought from Namibia and South Africa under the ambitious reintroduction project for the species. London, Mar 10 (PTI) An Indian-origin man has been charged with the murder of a woman found stabbed to death at a central London property over 28 years ago, Scotland Yard said on Friday. Sandip Patel, 50, appeared before Westminster Magistrates Court in London charged with the murder of Marina Koppell who died after being stabbed at her home in Chiltern Street in Marylebone on August 8, 1994. Also Read | Indian-Origin Teen in Singapore Charged for Cheating on Bank, Abetting Money Laundering. She was 39 at the time of her killing and the Metropolitan Police said the new development comes as a result of a review of unsolved cases. This development comes following a review of the investigation by the Met's Special Casework Team who review unsolved homicide cases, the Met Police said. Also Read | US: Woman Dies of Severe Malnutrition After Carrying Rare 'Stone Baby' Inside Her For Nine Years. According to reports that emerged at the time of the murder, Koppell was believed to have been a Colombian-born woman and her body was discovered with multiple stab wounds by her English husband. She had reportedly lived in London for 13 years and had worked as a prostitute for several years. The police at the time described the incident as a frenzied attack in which Koppell died of multiple stab wounds. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) ndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida shake hands in Tokyo in May 2022. (Photo/Reuters) New Delhi [India], March 10 (ANI): Prime Minister of Japan Kishida Fumio will pay an official visit to India on March 20-21. During the visit, he will hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Both sides will discuss bilateral and regional issues of mutual interest. Also Read | Cryptocurrency Crash: Traditional US Bank Silvergate Capital Collapses After Stock Plunges. They will also discuss their priorities for their respective Presidencies of the G7 and G20. India is currently the chair of the Group of 20 economies for 2023. Also Read | Indian-Origin Teen in Singapore Charged for Cheating on Bank, Abetting Money Laundering. Japanese foreign minister Yoshimasa Hayashi could not attend the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting due to an ongoing session of the Japanese Parliament. The Japanese foreign minister participated in the 8th Raisina Dialogue in the morning of March 3. He participated in the panel discussion, "The QUAD Squad: Power and Purpose of the Polygon ", and stated that the Quad is not an effort to counter nor to pursue military cooperation, but to promote practical cooperation. Minister Hayashi also stated that, as four countries which share fundamental values, the Quad intends to lead efforts to maintain and enhance a free and open international order based on the rule of law. During the panel, Minister Hayashi engaged in a lively discussion on concrete cooperation among the Quad and the relations with regional countries, with Antony Blinken, Secretary of State of the United States of America, Senator the Hon Penny Wong, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Commonwealth of Australia, and Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs of India. He drew an analogy between the Asian Quad with the iconic English rock band 'The Beatles' and said the grouping of Japan, Australia, the United States, and India is more like a "soft Beatles" where the members can release their "solo albums". In tandem with other G7 members, Japan has been bolstering economic sanctions on Russia. But India has abstained from implementing punitive measures against Russia. India has also emerged as a key nation of the "Global South," a term that collectively refers to developing countries in areas such as Asia, Africa and Latin America. Nikkei Asia reported last week that Kishida is keen to deepen ties with such countries to pave the way for the success of the G7 in-person summit scheduled for May in Japan's western city of Hiroshima. During the envisioned meeting, Kishida is expected to invite Modi to participate in the G7 summit. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Bakersfield [US], March 10 (ANI): A former Bakersfield City Council candidate, Rajvir "Raj" Singh Gill, 60, was arrested last weekend on suspicion of trying to hire hit men to shoot members of one of Bakersfield's largest Sikh temples, Gurudawara Shaheed Baba Deep Singh Ji Khalsa Darbar, and burn down the property, US-based bakersfield.com reported. Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. Also Read | US Budget for Fiscal Year 2024: President Joe Biden Unveils USD 6.9 Trillion Budget, Raises Taxes on Rich, Boosts Spending on Social Programmes and Infrastructure. The Sikh leader, Gill who was under a temporary restraining order not to harass the temple, was taken into custody on Saturday after being accused of six counts of solicitation to commit a criminal act, according to the police. Records, however, show that Gill has since been released from jail. Gill had won less than 7 per cent of the vote in November's Ward 7 election. According to a temple elder, Sukhwinder Singh Ranghi, Gill has in recent months shown up at the property, disrupting prayers and threatening members of the congregation and carrying a gun before being arrested at one point. There are no records of his arrest prior to Saturday. Also Read | Germany Church Shooting: Several Dead After Shots Fired Inside Jehovahs Witnesses Kingdom Hall in Hamburg. According to Ranghi, the repeated confrontations were due to a dispute over more than USD 800,000, contributed by members of the congregation, that was supposed to reimburse a corporate entity set up to buy the temple out of foreclosure in July 2020, bakersfield.com reported. "It's the greed that most likely got to him," Ranghi said through a translator. Bakersfield.com, couldn't reach Gill for a comment. Manpreet Kaur, a City Councilwoman, who won last fall's election and sometimes prays at the temple just south of Panama Lane, said she knew of the restraining order against Gill but was unaware of the conflict's details. She called the allegations against him unfathomable. "It's really heartbreaking. It is. It's frightening and I'm just hoping the community stays safe," she said, as quoted by bakersfield.com A Bakersfield Police Department spokesman declined to address what may be the reason behind Gill's actions. The officer didn't elaborate on the case. According to the Sikh elder, Ranghi, Gill offered USD 10,000 to two Hispanic men to kill certain leaders of the congregation who are involved in the court cases, including Ranghi. He said Gill drove the men around the city pointing out the homes of the temple leaders he wanted to be killed. This information came to temple leadership from an associate of the intended hit men, bakersfield.com reported. Ranghi alleged that Gill had instructed the men on how they could burn down the temple by exploiting faulty electrical wiring, installed by his own workers when the temple was built more than a decade ago. Ranghi showed part of a video he said captured Gill unplugging microphones still in use during a religious service at the temple. Gurudawara Shaheed Baba Deep Singh Ji Khalsa Darbar is one of Bakersfield's best-attended Sikh temples, with more than 500 members. It hosts an annual celebration in late October that draws thousands. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Hyderabad, March 10: Union Home Minister Amit Shah will review the 54th Raising Day Parade of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to be held in Hyderabad on March 12. For the first time, the CISF is holding its annual Raising Day celebrations out of Delhi national capital region (NCR) at the CISF National Industrial Security Academy (NISA) in Hakimpet here, senior officials said on Friday. "This is the first time in the history of CISF that this Raising Day Parade is being held outside the NCR. This was government's directive. A decision was taken that we should go to locations outside NCR. NISA, a training academy, is a centre of excellence of CISF. It was decided that this Raising Day Parade will be held in NISA on March 12," CISF ADG (North) Piyush Anand told reporters here. CISF Raising Day 2023 Wishes: Greetings, Quotes, Images, HD Wallpapers and WhatsApp Stickers To Salute Paramilitary Force on Day Marking the 54th Anniversary of CISF Foundation. Shah will be the chief guest for the Raising Day Parade, he said. CISF ADG (South) Jagbir Singh said the central force has grown manifold in its capacity and capabilities after starting its journey in 1969 with a strength of 3,000. Today, with a strength of more than 1,70,000 personnel, CISF provides security cover to 354 vital installations of the country including 66 airports, seaports, nuclear and space installations, Delhi Metro, steel and power plants, etc., he said. CISF Raising Day 2023 Wishes: PM Narendra Modi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Amit Shah and Other Leaders Applaud CISF Personnel for Providing Security at Key Locations on Day Marking 54th Anniversary of CISF Foundation. The Special Security Group (SSG) of CISF provides security to 147 various categories of persons under protection. CISF is also providing fire service cover to 111 units, he added. Mexican president denounces U.S. lawmaker's intention of military intervention Xinhua) 11:15, March 10, 2023 MEXICO CITY, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Thursday rebuked a U.S. lawmaker for offering to send U.S. troops into Mexico to combat the drug trade. "We are not a protectorate of the United States or a colony of the United States," said Lopez Obrador, denouncing the proposal as an "offense" to Mexico's sovereignty, as well as "interventionist," "inhumane" and "hypocritical." "We do not receive orders from anyone. The people of Mexico govern here," the president said at his daily press conference. U.S. Republican Representative Dan Crenshaw of Texas submitted a bill to the legislature that seeks to authorize deployment of armed forces in Mexico to fight drug trafficking, particularly fentanyl. "We are not going to allow any foreign governments to intervene in our territory, much less the armed forces of a foreign government," the Mexican president said. The United States, he said, is failing to tackle drug abuse at home, especially fentanyl addiction among its youths, which is a problem Mexico does not share. "Why don't they take care of their young people? Why don't they take care of their serious problems of social breakdowns?" he asked. Lopez Obrador described the lawmaker's initiative as more of an "electoral" stunt rather than a sincere effort to address drug abuse and trafficking, noting that elections are coming up in the United States. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan) A 50-year-old woman, originally from Congo, died from severe malnutrition after carrying an unborn fetus for around nine years inside her body. The woman had visited doctors in New York complaining of stomach cramps, indigestion and a gurgling sound after eating. The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) on Friday rescued seven people from a gorge in Mussoorie, Uttarakhand where a car was reported falling from a road bend ahead of Mussoorie lake near Bhatta village at around 11. 50 am. Ladakh: BRO Rescues Four Persons Trapped in Heavy Snow in Leh. ITBP Rescues Seven in Uttarakhand: Seven persons were rescued by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) from a gorge in Mussoorie, Uttarakhand. One car was reported falling from a road bend ahead of Mussoorie lake near Bhatta village at around 11. 50 am today: ITBP ANI (@ANI) March 10, 2023 (SocialLY brings you all the latest breaking news, viral trends and information from social media world, including Twitter, Instagram and Youtube. The above post is embeded directly from the user's social media account and LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body. The views and facts appearing in the social media post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY, also LatestLY does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.) The Gulf Cartel, which Mexican authorities believe to be responsible for kidnapping four American citizens and killing two of them, has issued an apology letter for the deaths of the two Americans. Images of the apology letter have been circulating online, and a version of that letter has been obtained by CNN, which reported that investigators believe that the letter is authentic. In the handwritten apology letter, the Gulf Cartel stated that the organization is apologizing to "the society of Matamoros, the relatives of Ms. Areli, and the affected American people and families." It added that the cartel's Scorpion Group also "strongly condemns" the attack, which took place on Friday. Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera, a professor at George Mason University who studies the cartels, told CNN that Mexican drug cartels in the northeast usually send these kinds of messages to the authorities or rival groups whenever high-profile incidents such as the abduction of the four Americans happen. Men Who Killed the Two Americans Also Handed Over by the Gulf Cartel In addition to the apology letter, the cartel responsible for kidnapping the four Americans also handed over five men they claimed were responsible for killing the two Americans. They were turned over to Mexican authorities, with the letter reading, "We have decided to turn over those who were directly involved and responsible in the events, who at all times acted under their own decision-making and lack of discipline." READ NEXT: Mexico Kidnapping: Gulf Cartel Blamed for Tragic Attack on 4 Americans The letter claimed that these men went against the cartel's rules, which included "respecting the life and well-being of the innocent." According to ABC News, a photograph of the five men being bound and lying face down on the pavement has surfaced, and they were all accompanied by the apology letter. However, it is noted that state officials still have not confirmed if they have received new suspects in the kidnapping case. One state official admitted that the five men were found tied up inside one of the vehicles that Mexican authorities have been searching for with the letter from the gulf cartel. Meanwhile, the cousin of one of the survivors noted that they will not accept any apology from the cartel. Apology Letter Came After Local Gulf Cartel Leader Was Arrested The cartel gave up the two Americans' alleged killers after a local Gulf Cartel leader was arrested by Mexican authorities in Reynosa. The local cartel leader was Ernesto Sanchez-Rivera, who, according to KAKE, is also known to have ties with a more notorious criminal organization, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). However, it is still unclear whether the Gulf Cartel leader's arrest had anything to do with the kidnapping of the four Americans. Mexican authorities believe that the American tourists, who were in Mexico for tummy-tuck surgery, were kidnapped as a result of mistaken identity as the victims' vehicle was caught in a middle of a firefight between rival gangs and crashed, with its passengers suddenly abducted by armed men. READ NEXT: Notorious Drug Trafficker Tied to CJNG, Sinaloa Cartel Pleads Guilty to Cocaine Conspiracy This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Rick Martin WATCH: Family member of Mexico kidnapping victims describes shock, sadness - CBS Evening News The leader of the Senate GOP, Mitch McConnell, was rushed to the hospital Wednesday evening after tripping and falling during the Senate Leadership Fund dinner. The Republican Senate minority leader and former Senate president reportedly suffered a concussion. McConnell is currently receiving medical treatment and will likely remain in the hospital for "a few days." Close ally and Utah Republican Senator Mitt Romney predicted that the Senate minority leader will remain hospitalized over the weekend but would return to the Senate next week. The dinner was held at the Waldorf Astoria Washington DC, formerly the Trump International Hotel, and the event was for a cause aligned with the Kentucky senator, according to the Associated Press. The Kentucky Senator, once Senate President, recently rebuked Fox News host Tucker Carlson for his downplaying of the January 6 Riot, agreeing with the Capitol Police Chief and Democrats, saying that the embattled host's reporting of what happened was a "mistake." President Joe Biden, Other Politicians Wish Mitch McConnell Well According to Al Jazeera, after news broke of McConnell's fall and hospitalization, several politicians sent their well-wishes to him and his family. President Joe Biden, who said he recently spoke to the ailing senator's family, wished his former Senate colleague a "speedy recovery" on Twitter. Jill and I are wishing Senator McConnell a speedy recovery. We look forward to seeing him back on the Senate floor. https://t.co/ZIQ0zo8TqZ President Biden (@POTUS) March 9, 2023 The president noted that after speaking with the senator's family, he said that the elderly senator will be "all right." READ NEXT: Democrats Back Connecticut Bill to Ban 'Latinx' Term South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the No. 2 Republican, revealed that the 81-year-old McConnell's fall happened later in the evening as he was delivering his remarks during the Wednesday night dinner "as usual." McConnell's Democratic counterpart, Senate President Chuck Schumer of California, stated that he tried to call McConnell but was instead directed to staff. However, he stated that he was able to send his well-wishes. The former Senate President is apparently not taking any calls and may have been ordered to take a break, as noted by Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, who said that none of the other Senators, Republican or Democrat, have been able to reach McConnell. "We just need to make sure that the leader does what he's told," said Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, another Republican. Falling Proves to be a Danger for the Elderly Like Mitch McConnell Mitch McConnell is already 81 and is the longest-serving official in the Senate. However, this was not the first time that the senator has fallen, as in 2019, when he also fell in his home in Kentucky and was also hospitalized. Slate noted that falls could be dangerous to the elderly, like the former Senate president, as it has been the leading cause of accidental death for the elderly for the past decade. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention even released a fact sheet that warns Americans that the country is on track to experience seven deaths by falling every hour. Research suggests that a third of elderly adults who are admitted to the hospital for a fall die within the year. READ MORE: Trump Lawyers Scolded by Judge This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Rick Martin WATCH: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is hospitalized after falling - MSNBC George Santos's ex-roommate has offered new accusations against the New York lawmaker, telling the Federal Bureau of Investigation that the controversial congressman taught him "how to skim card information and how to clone cards." Santos's ex-roommate, Gustavo Ribeiro Trelha, said that the lawmaker also gave him "all the materials" and taught him how to place skimming devices and cameras on ATMS, according to Rolling Stone. Trelha wrote in a letter that was obtained by Politico that he met Santos in 2016 when he rented a spare room in his Florida apartment. He noted that Santos was using the name Anthony Devolder at the time, adding that Santos instructed him on using credit card cloning material. He then flew him to Seattle and started stealing financial information for Santos. Trelha said that the deal was they would divide the collections 50-50. Santos's ex-roommate was then arrested in 2017, telling the FBI that Santos visited him in jail and warned him "not to say anything about him." The now-lawmaker allegedly also threatened his friends in Florida, leading him to lose contact with them as "they were all afraid of something happening to them." READ NEXT: George Santos Scandal: NY Rep. Took $3,000 From Dying Dog's GoFundMe; Ex-Roommate Says He Had 'Delusions of Grandeur' George Santos's Ex-Roommate Declaration Trelha wrote in his declaration that he was declaring that the person in charge of the "crime of credit card fraud" when he was arrested was Santos. The declaration was sent by express mail and email to the FBI and the U.S. Secret Service New York Office. The U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of New York also received a copy of Trelha's declaration. Trelha said in his declaration that he decided to contact law enforcement officials after he saw the newly elected congressman on television. In his declaration, he noted that they met in the fall of 2016 on a Facebook group for Brazilians living in Orlando, Florida. Trelha also added that Santos had a warehouse on Kirkham Road in Orlando to store the skimming equipment, with materials ranging from parts and printers to blank ATMs and credit cards, which could be used to place stolen information and accounts. Trelha's declaration was the recent development in potential legal trouble that Santos is facing, who is already under fire for his several false statements on his educational, professional, and personal background. George Santos's Credit Card Fraud Operation George Santos was interviewed about the credit card fraud case, according to a childhood friend named Tiffany Bogosian. One of Santos's acquaintances told CBS News that the New York congressman claimed in 2020 to have served as a confidential informant in the case. However, the said acquaintance now doubts whether Santos's claim was true. Prosecutors noted that they had evidence that Santos's ex-roommate had stolen around 300 accounts in Seattle in just three days, using a card skimmer. A court transcript showed that prosecutors described the operation as "sophisticated," with DAs believing it was just "the tip of the iceberg." Meanwhile, the House ethics panel launched a probe into Santos, exploring possible "unlawful activity" linked to his run. Aside from the House of Representatives, state, federal, and Brazilian authorities are also investigating Santos. READ MORE: Brazil Renews 2008 Fraud Charges Against George Santos This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Mary Webber WATCH: Rep. George Santos was questioned by U.S. Secret Service in 2017 fraud investigation - from CBS News A Manhattan grand jury has invited former President Donald Trump to testify about the hush money controversy with porn star Stormy Daniels, suggesting criminal charges may follow. The Manhattan district attorney's office extended the offer to Trump's legal team, Fox News noted. Under the direction of Alvin Bragg, the District Attorney's Office has spent the past five years looking into the 2016 hush money incident. The opportunity to testify before a grand jury in New York is often a preliminary to an indictment. If this happened, it would set a historical precedent for the charge of a former president of the United States. As with many other states, defendants in New York have the right to testify before a grand jury, but Trump is unlikely to do so. Although hush payment is not illegal in and of itself, the fact that Daniels' NDA aided Trump's campaign raises the possibility that prosecutors will try to treat the $130,000 she received as an illegal campaign contribution. READ NEXT: Donald Trump Rape Case Several Agencies Are Investigating Donald Trump and His Business Several government authorities are investigating Donald Trump and his business. Trump's role in the endeavor to remain in power after the 2020 election and the mishandling of official materials at Mar-a-Lago are subjects of investigations assigned to a special counsel by the Justice Department. A prosecutor in Georgia is also looking into whether Trump tried to sway the election there as well, said The Hill. But, Bragg could get the upper hand if he acts quickly on the matter that has percolated since Trump's first presidential campaign, ultimately leading to the dismissal of Trump's longtime attorney. Michael Cohen, Trump's attorney and longtime fixer, claimed in his guilty plea for campaign finance crimes in 2018 that he paid Daniels at Trump's direction and was reimbursed in installments by the president. Bragg started giving the grand jury evidence in late January. The prosecution may pursue charges of fabricated business records if it can prove that Trump took part in the misclassification of Cohen's reimbursements as legal expenditures, legal experts suggested. "Some Radical Left crazies, coupled with 'ratings crushed' and failing Fake News, are trying to get [Bragg] to go the prosecutorial misconduct route, and take on certain very weak cases which are dead anyway based on the Statute of Limitations," Donald Trump wrote on social media last month, dismissing the prospect of charges. Donald Trump Delays Trial to Avoid Charges, Says Michael Cohen If Donald Trump continues to dodge legal repercussions for his alleged violations of the law, Cohen claims it will become increasingly impossible to prosecute him with any crimes, according to Newsweek. For the 19th time, Trump's former attorney and right-hand man, Cohen, met with Bragg on Tuesday in Manhattan to discuss the claims that Trump paid adult film star Stormy Daniels $130,000 in hush money before the 2016 election. This information is being collected in preparation for a possible grand jury investigation. Trump's team wants to put off the probe for six months, and their only reason is that they are just not ready yet, said Cohen, speaking to MeidasTouch. "Well, the question becomes, what the f*** have you all been doing over the course of the last two years? I don't think that's a valid response to give a judge, so I don't think that's going to get delayed," he added. Cohen continued expressing his opinion that Trump's political standing will influence the judicial processes. "Political power, in this sense, could give Donald a kind of 'get out of jail free' card if by some chance he somehow becomes the Republican nominee [and] if-it's hard to believe-he becomes president," he said. Donald Trump has stated that he will continue to run for president in 2024 even if he is indicted in the numerous ongoing state and federal investigations. READ MORE: Donald Trump NFTs Crash in Value by 80% This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Bert Hoover WATCH: Trump legal bomb: D.A. signals Trump charges 'likely' in hush money probe - From MSNBC Honduras President Xiomara Castro has ended a 13-year ban on an emergency contraception, signing the executive order for International Women's Day on March 8. Castro tweeted that March 8 "commemorates women's historic struggle," adding that she signed the executive order for the universal use of the morning-after pill. According to BBC News, the Honduran president noted that the World Health Organization (WHO) determined it is part of women's reproductive rights and not abortive. The health ministry of Honduras approved the use of the pill exclusively for rape victims after a campaign from feminist groups. Honduran Health Secretary Jose Manuel Matheu said they were not promoting the morning-after pill as contraception, adding that doing so would lead to "sexual debauchery." Reproductive rights activist Sandy Artega dubbed Castro's move as a welcomed change but noted that more work should be done on the matter. READ NEXT: Honduras Declares National Security Emergency Amid Rising Number of Gang Extortions Honduras' Emergency Contraception Ban According to NPR, Honduras has an absolute ban on the sale or use of emergency contraception, which is commonly known as morning-after or "Plan B" pills. It was first banned in Honduras in 2009 and was ultimately affirmed by its Supreme Court in 2012. When Jose Manuel Matheu slightly pulled back on the ban, critics argued that it would not go far enough despite making the medicine legal in cases of rape. Groups in Honduras have called for open access to emergency contraception, which included Strategy Group for PAE or GEPAE. The group has been working with the U.S.-based Women's Equality Center. GEPAE also used Bad Bunny's tour in Honduras to legalize emergency contraception, referring to the artist's hit "Me Porto Bonito," which mentions the Plan B pill. The Center for Women's Rights welcomed the news, noting that women's rights "must not remain the bargaining chip of governments." Violence against women and girls is rampant in Honduras, with abortion being illegal in all circumstances. Women and girls who have experienced sexual abuse may be forced to continue an unwanted pregnancy against their will, which continues the cycle of violence. Honduras Women's Rights In United Nations' 2018 report, experts noted that Honduras has one of the highest rates of teen pregnancy in the Latin American region and has an absolute ban on abortion despite the fact. Experts said that comprehensive sexual education in the region was also lacking, adding that more efforts should be undertaken to include programs focusing on gender equality and violence against women. Women human rights defenders in Honduras are regularly criminalized, intimidated, and even killed. During her inauguration, Xiomara Castro vowed to Honduran women that she will not fail them. "I will defend your rights, all your rights, count on me," she noted, as The Guardian reported in December. Castro is the first female president of Honduras, with her election victory ending years of conservative rule. Some of the activists in Honduras believe that Castro will "possibly fulfill some of the things" she promised. READ MORE: Honduras Travel: Safety Advisories and Tourist Attractions You Should See During Your Visit in Honduras This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Mary Webber WATCH: Xiomara Castro Sworn in as Honduras' First Female President - From Guardian News Jenna Ortega has been speculated to be included in "Beetlejuice 2," according to multiple sources. Sources told the Hollywood Reporter that Ortega is "circling" a role in Tim Burton's Beetlejuice sequel. The Latina actress was rumored to have been offered to play the daughter of Winona Ryder's character from the original film. The rumors of Ortega being in the cast of Burton's film started after "Scream VI" was speculated to land the top opening in the franchise's 25-plus-year history. Ortega plays Tara Carpenter in "Scream VI," reprising her role from the previous film. The young actress also starred in Netflix's "Wednesday," featuring direction by Burton. Ortega previously said she had "consistent dreams" about "Beetlejuice" when she was younger. Jeff Sneider of the Ankler noted that Burton's "Beetlejuice 2" has officially been given the green light, with original cast members, namely Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, and Catherine O'Hara, seen to return on screen, according to Consequence. Burton, Keaton, and Ryder have expressed interest in continuing the project..Burton reportedly got an official go signal from Warner Bros. in 2015, but a year later, it was reported that it was no longer in active development. Brad Pitt's production company Plan B boarded the project last year, intending to finally shoot the film. However, there has yet to be an announcement that "Beetlejuice 2" is officially a go. READ NEXT: Pablo Escobar Net Worth: How the Notorious Drug Lord Became 1 of the 10 Richest People Until His Death Tim Burton's 'Beetlejuice' Tim Burton's "Beetlejuice" premiered in 1998 and was considered a dark comedy film. It revolved around the story of the Deetz family, who arrived from New York City. Ryder has taken the character of Lydia, the goth daughter of a sculptor and a former real estate developer. Lydia then starts seeing the ghost couple, Adam and Barbara, who remains invisible to Charles and Delia. Jenna Ortega's Filmography Before becoming an A-lister Hollywood star for her "Wednesday" role, Jemna Ortega has been in Hollywood for more than a decade. Indie Wire reported that she started her career when she was just 10 years old. Ortega talked about her portrayal in the horror genre in October 2022, saying that horror has become a second home to her, adding that she has been on enough horror sets that she knows what is expected of her. In 2013, Ortega made her big screen entrance, with the MCU installment of "Iron Man 3," wherein she played Vice President Rodriguez's daughter. She also played a small role in the "Insidious" sequel film, where she played young Annie. Annie is the film's character who can see the spirit form of Elise Rainier while paranormal investigators are in her house. Ortega also played the younger version of Jane in the TV series "Jane the Virgin" in flashback scenes. She also played a role in "The Babysitter: Killer Queen" in 2020. Ortega was also in the Foo Fighters movie "Studio 666," where the plot revolved around a rock band in a haunted mansion recording their 10th studio album. Ortega's net worth is believed to be around $3 million. READ MORE: Jennifer Lopez Net Worth 2022: Is the Latin Pop Diva Richer Than Her Boyfriend Ben Affleck? This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Mary Webber WATCH: Jenna Ortega Does the 'Wednesday' Dance in 'SNL' promo - From TODAY Jenna Ellis, who previously worked as a senior legal adviser for former President Donald Trump's 2020 election campaign, faced state disciplinary proceedings in Colorado. She admitted in court that she made at least 10 false statements about the 2020 election as part of an effort to mislead the public. Judge Bryon M. Large, who oversaw the former Trump lawyer's disciplinary hearing, made her sign a legal acknowledgment that "she made a number of public statements about the November 2020 presidential election that were false." She also admitted doing it in a "reckless state of mind" and with "a selfish motive." According to the Washington Post, Large wrote in his opinion that Ellis "repeatedly made misrepresentations on national television and on Twitter, undermining the American public's confidence in the 2020 presidential election." Many of her claims were made on Fox News, which is facing a massive $1.6-billion defamation lawsuit against Dominion Voting Systems for lying about the 2020 elections. While the outlet's hosts, such as Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingram, peddled notions on air that the elections were stolen and Dominion helped President Joe Biden steal the elections, they brutally mocked claims of voter fraud by Trump privately. Court papers showed that Carlson told Ingram in a text message that he did not believe Trump's claims. His texts also revealed that he could not wait until Trump was out of office and hated the former president "passionately." Ellis has also made misleading comments on other networks, such as Newsmax, MSNBC, and local talk radio. READ NEXT: Tucker Carlson Admits He Hates Donald Trump 'Passionately' in Private Text Message Ex-Donald Trump Lawyer Jenna Ellis' Punishment for Lying About the Elections According to CNN, Jenna Ellis was ordered to pay $224 after admitting that she knowingly misrepresented facts with her comments. The censure may have saved Ellis from an even tougher punishment, as the Attorney Regulation Counsel's office had previously indicated it was preparing a charge against Ellis. With the censure, the office said in a statement that it "is not currently pursuing any other charges against Ms. Ellis." What Did Jenna Ellis Admit to Lying About? According to Politico, Jenna Ellis is among Donald Trump's attorneys to face disciplinary action. Previously, Rudy Giuliani had his license temporarily suspended and is now awaiting a final ruling from a bar discipline proceeding in Washington, D.C. John Eastman is facing disciplinary proceedings in California, while Jeffrey Clark has temporarily delayed bar discipline proceedings against him in Washington. Among the things Ellis admitted to lying about was falsely claiming in November 2020 that Hillary Clinton did not concede the 2016 election. She also claimed that the Trump team had evidence of a "coordinated effort in all of these states to transfer votes either from Trump to Biden, to manipulate the ballots, to count them in secret." On November 30, 2020, she appeared on Fox News and stated that Trump "won in a landslide." She also falsely claimed the Trump team found 500,000 illegal votes had been cast in Arizona in December 2020. Trump lost not only in the popular vote in the 2020 election but also in the electoral college. READ MORE: Tucker Carlson Blasted by Republican Senators for 'B.S.' January 6 Take This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Rick Martin WATCH: Former Trump Attorney Jenna Ellis Censured for Election Rigging Lies - From Next 9NEWS Body camera footage from a traffic stop in Utah earlier this month shows that officers shot and killed a recent college grad after allegedly seeing him reaching for a gun. According to Fox News, officers from the Farmington Police Department in Utah flagged down a BMW car driven by 25-year-old Chase Allan on March 1 at 3:22 p.m. after seeing its illegitimate license plate. The body camera video related to the incident was made public on Wednesday by Police Chief Eric Johnsen. A police officer told Allan that he was stopped because the vehicle had no registration, to which the Utah man replied, "I don't need registration, and I don't answer questions." Four other police officers arrived at the scene after the officer asked for backup. READ NEXT: Utah Man Accused of Killing His 5 Kids, Wife Utah Man Allegedly Not Cooperative During the Traffic Stop The police officer asked Chase Allan for identification, and he refused multiple times before he handed over his passport. However, the Utah man said it was not him on the passport because "that is a piece of plastic paper." The officer then asked Allan if he had a fraudulent passport, to which Allan replied, "no." The officer then directed him to get out of the car, but he refused. An officer also said they would "break the window" and pull him out of the vehicle if he did not step out. But the Utah man instead stated, "We're going to have an issue." One of the police officers then moved in to pull Allan out of the vehicle, but another cop suddenly yelled, "gun, gun, gun," VICE reported. Several police officers can be seen in the video then firing multiple shots at the Utah man. During Wednesday's press briefing showing the video, Eric Johnsen noted on the screen that the Utah man's gun holster was initially concealed in the vehicle, but the weapon was eventually visible on the floor of the front seat. It was not clear if, at any point, Allan was reaching for the weapon as he was also holding a cell phone. Only seconds After the officer yelled "gun" multiple times, several shots rang out, hitting the Utah man who eventually died at a hospital. According to Allan's family, the Utah man was shot 12 times. They said his death was a "brutal murder" and questioned whether the arrest was targeted, which the police denied. Allan's sister published an emotional message on Facebook about how they discovered his death through the news and how the cops were "stonewalling" them. Police Chief Says Officers at Traffic Stop Not Aware of Utah Man's 'Sovereign Citizen' Beliefs Four cops involved in the incident had been with the Farmington police department for less than eight months, while the fifth had been with the department for 12 years, according to Eric Johnsen. They all fired their weapons during the incident and have already been placed on paid leave pending the investigation as per department policy. Before last week's incident, the Utah man and his mother, Diane Killian-Allan, had run-ins with local police where they seemed to express their "sovereign citizen" beliefs that can be described as a group of individuals believing they were not bound by the country's laws, Standard-Examiner reported. However, Johnsen said none of the law enforcement employees were familiar with their beliefs. "I see (police) deal with (Allan) professionally, even feel cool calm and collected temperament, and unfortunately, then I see things go a really tragic direction," Johnsen noted. He declined to say whether he believed the officers' actions were justified, noting that it is the investigators' job to make that determination. Yet, he addressed the general situations where police may use lethal force. "Officers are trained to respond using deadly force when there's an imminent threat of serious bodily injury or death... to them or anyone other than the suspect... And what I see on that video is officers not responding to someone with a gun in a holster," he said. Johnsen noted that Bountiful Police Department officials were assigned to serve as liaisons to Allan's family and not the Farmington police. He added that officials have tried contacting the Utah man's family to let them watch the body camera footage but have not heard back. READ MORE: Donald Trump Might Face Criminal Charges This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Bert Hoover WATCH: Farmington Police Release Body Cam Footage From Deadly Officer-Involved Shooting - From KUTV 2 News Salt Lake City The St Patricks Day Parade Rathdowney is shaping up to be the best yet and its going to be led by one of the Operation Transformation Leaders who did her fair share of walking in 2023! The organisers say the are honoured to have Andrea Daly of Operation Transformation as their Grand Marshal leading the community celebration. She'll lead the way with pride alongside St Patrick himself, aka, Kieran OLoughlin. The Rathdowney St Patrick's Day parade explained with Andrea is the perfect fit for their parade this year which as as its theme 'Stronger Together'. "Andreas story, hard work and dedication has touched the hearts of many and won the support of not only all in Rathdowney, but in the entire county and indeed the nation. Her journey and inspiration epitomises this years parade theme Stronger Together and we look forward to uniting on this day to celebrate our community," the said. While Andrea hails from Wicklow, she lives in Portlaoise with her children and husband Joe who is a Rathdowney native. The parade itself gets underway at 12.05 pm after a blessing by Fr Delaney and Rev Seymour Whitley. Apart from the parade the organisers have a big day of festivities lined up for Friday, March 17. The day features music on the bandstand from 11am featuring The Finns, Campion Irish Dancer Darragh Kelly, Johnny and Jackie, Fiachra, The Dooley Brothers. The MC is Michael Cleare. There'll be lots of fun for the family on the day including face painting, art, photobomb, try an instrument and life-size games. There'll also be a prize for the best most fun dressed. Met Eireann's latest weather forecast on the Status Orange snow event for Laois and Leinster warns that most of the snow will fall through a very cold night. The forecast also warns that temperatures will dip to between zero and -4 degrees. The forecaster has made no change to its Status Orange alert for significant accumulations of snow in Laois and Leinster counties. This has led to warnings from national emergency planners about the dangers faced by early morning commuter driving conditions and doubts over some schools opening. The snow-ice warning is valid from midnight Thursday to 10am on Friday while an all-Ireland Satus Yellow snow ice alert will remain in force until midday Friday. MORE FORECAST DETAILS BELOW LINK. Met Eireann National Forecast issued at 8.36pm on Friday, March 9 BELOW TWEET Status Orange - Snow/Ice warning for Leinster Possible Impacts: Very hazardous road conditions Travel disruption Poor Visibility Valid: 00:00 Friday 10/03/2023 to 10:00 Friday 10/03/2023 More detail https://t.co/l8JdKfwZt9 pic.twitter.com/o0eogHPSV6 Met Eireann (@MetEireann) March 9, 2023 Thursday night: Cold and windy to start with falls of sleet and snow in many areas leading to very poor visibility and hazardous road conditions. The sleet and snow will become confined to the eastern half of the country through the night. Turning drier further west with frost and ice developing under clear breaks. Lowest temperatures of -4 to 0 degrees, coldest in the west, with fresh to strong northerly winds gradually easing overnight. Friday: Any remaining rain, sleet and snow in the east will quickly clear into the Irish Sea early tomorrow morning, leaving a cold and generally dry day with sunny spells. It will be cloudier in the southwest with the chance of an isolated shower. Daytime temperatures of 4 to 7 degrees in a light variable breeze. Dry in many areas to begin on Friday night but with cloud gradually thickening from the southwest. Rain in the southwest will spread northeastwards over Munster and parts of Connacht and Leinster overnight, falling as a wintry mix of sleet and snow initially. Lows of -3 to +3 degrees, generally but locally colder in the northeast where snow is lying and skies remain clearest the longest. Light to moderate southeast breezes will be fresher near west and southwest coasts. Saturday: Rain, sleet and snow will continue to extend northeastwards over the country on Saturday morning with transient accumulations across Connacht, Ulster and parts of Leinster before a clearance extends from the southwest during the afternoon and evening. Afternoon temperatures will range from 1 to 2 degrees in the north to 12 or 13 degrees in the southwest. Moderate and occasionally gusty southeast winds, fresh to strong near coasts, will veer west to southwest as the rain clears. The last of the rain and sleet will clear the northeast early on Saturday night and most places will be dry with variable cloud and clear spells for a time. Cloud will thicken countrywide later in the night and patchy rain and drizzle will develop in the western counties towards morning. Moderate southwest winds will be fresh to strong near coasts. Minimum temperatures of 2 to 6 degrees will occur early on with temperatures ranging 4 to 8 degrees overnight. Sunday: Becoming wet and windy. Rain will become widespread during the morning, before transitioning to showers in the afternoon and evening. Afternoon highs of 10 to 14 degrees in moderate to fresh and gusty southerly winds, strong near coasts. A windy night on Sunday with showers or longer spells of rain. Lows of 6 to 9 degrees generally, but 4 to 6 degrees in Ulster. Fresh to strong and gusty southwest winds with gales in some sea areas. Monday: Scattered showers to begin, but becoming mainly dry with sunny spells for a time in the afternoon. Another spell of rain will arrive from the Atlantic towards evening. A windy or breezy morning with fresh to strong and gusty west to northwest winds easing light to moderate in the afternoon. Afternoon highs of 5 to 8 degrees in the north, 9 to 12 degrees further south. Further Outlook: Unsettled with a mobile Atlantic regime predominating - wet and breezy spells alternating with short intervals of drier and brighter conditions. Temperatures generally trending near to above average. 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. One of the Government's most powerful Ministers has ordered a review to find out if there is enough money in a 12 billion pot to pay for over 50 new schools including one in Laois that caters for 40 children with profound learning disabilities but who are being educated in old prefabs. Paschal Donohoe switched from the Department of Finance to the top job in Public Expenditure and Reform when Leo Varadkar became Taoiseach. In recent days the Kolbe School in Portlaoise and scores of others around Ireland have been told to halt their plans due to the intervention of his department. It is reviewing the cost of the schools on the list against the amount of money in the 12 billion National Development Plan budget. Minister Donohoe's Department has yet to reply to Leinster Express Laois Live questions as to why but he was asked about the delay to 50 schools on Morning Ireland on RTE. Aine Lawlor asked directly: "Will your department be able to give the money to those schools to go ahead to tender and construction and by when?" Minister Donohoe replied. "We will work with Minister (for Education Norma) Foley in relation to this. Minister Foley has already indicated a committment that she has to delivering those schools," he said. He said he appreciated that the schools needed a timeline but wants to check the figures. "But what we need to do is look at all of the different capital projects that we have underway across the country and make sure we have the funding in place to deliver them all. What I will do in the coming weeks is to work with Minister Foley in relation to this. "Of course, I can understand when we are talking about a National Development Plan, and what I am talking about here is how we can improve decisions in the plan as opposed to making more money available for it which will wait until the budget. "It is correct that we have to point out the things that we have difficulties on such as where we are with new schools but we are also going ahead with a very ambitious school programme already which has lots of new schools being opened at the moment," he said. He added that in higher education there is a new campus for TU Dublin and good decisions have been made around student accommodation. Asked if there will be delays to projects. "There was some delays but it is to be expected when you are investing over 12 billion in delivering new projects. Not every projects unfolds in the way you want. The reason for that is we are experiencing such change in the cost of raw materials and the war in Ukraine and of course we have continual challenges in getting enough and the right people to do the work that we want," he told RTE. He insisted that the NDP will deliver new schools, universities, better public transport and more homes being built. The Kolbe School has already been costed at about 9 million. The project has planning permission, the designs are in place and the Department of Education authorised the project. The Kolbe School is one of the last schools in Portlaoise to be given an overhaul. The state has spent millions of euro in the past two decades building new schools around Portlaoise. The Fine Gael Cathaoirleach of Laois County Council called on her party colleague and Government Minister responsible for Special Education and Inclusion to intervene on behalf of 40 children with profound disabilities who attend a Portlaoise school completely unsuitable to meet their needs. Cllr Thomasina Connnell has written to Minister Josepha Madigan in the Department of Education after the Kolbe School was told that a new 9 million purpose-built school is on hold. The delay appears to have come on the back of an intervention by Fine Gael's Minister for Public Expenditure, Paschal Donohoe who wants to check if there is a enough money in a 12 bill National Development Plan fund to cover the cost of a new Kolbe school and more than 50 like it around the country. However, Cllr Connell insisted that the delay to the Kolbe school should not have happened simply becuase of the state of the building. "The conditions at Kolbe Special School are nothing short of deplorable. The current school operates in one main building and associated prefabs. I am informed that these prefabs have no adequate ventilation, are consistently damp and are completely unsuitable to meet the complex needs of the children who attend Kolbe," she wrote to Minister Madigan. "In withdrawing funding for this schools project, whose students have a particularly high level of need is especially mean-spirited. Indeed, it would appear at best to be a significant error and at worst a total failing of the States Constitutional responsibility to the students who attend Kolbe to allow the current conditions to continue. "I would urge you to make contact with your colleague Minister Norma Foley in the Department of Education immediately with a view to meeting her to discuss how solutions can be found so that the funding for this project is made available and the works can proceed in the very near future," said Cllr Connell. The Department of Education had already given the green light to Kolbe. Plans have been drawn up, costings done, planning permission obtained. Minister Paschal Donohoe told RTE that checks are being carried out on the amount of money available. "But what we need to do is look at all of the different capital projects that we have underway across the country and make sure we have the funding in place to deliver them all," he said. See below full text of letter from Cllr Connell to Minister Madigan 9th March 2023 Re: Development Project at Kolbe Special School, Portlaoise, Co. Laois Dear Minister, I write in relation to the Kolbe Special School in Portlaoise, and the recent communications received by the schools Board of Management to the effect that the proposed extensive building works which had been promised for many years would be put on hold indefinitely. This news came as a huge shock to the Board, and of course to the students who attend Kolbe, their parents, teachers and staff. The conditions at Kolbe Special School are nothing short of deplorable. The current school operates in one main building and associated prefabs. I am informed that these prefabs have no adequate ventilation, are consistently damp and are completely unsuitable to meet the complex needs of the children who attend Kolbe. The project has recently been granted planning permission, being approval for the construction of eight classrooms, a hall, specialist educational spaces, and administration areas. Externally, approval was granted for appropriate minibus drop-off spaces and external recreational areas. It would appear now that the Department of Education has made the decision to withdraw the funding required for this long-awaited project. In withdrawing funding for this schools project, whose students have a particularly high level of need is especially mean-spirited. Indeed, it would appear at best to be a significant error and at worst a total failing of the States Constitutional responsibility to the students who attend Kolbe to allow the current conditions to continue. I would urge you to make contact with your colleague Minister Norma Foley in the Department of Education immediately with a view to meeting her to discuss how solutions can be found so that the funding for this project is made available and the works can proceed in the very near future. I note from the communication from the Department of Education to the schools Board that the work programme for 2023 was to be reassessed with a view to certain priority requirements. With all due respect, Kolbe needs to be made a priority in light of the current poor condition of the school and the educational environment that its students have to tolerate on a daily basis. In the event that funding continues to be withheld, the least that could be done is for the Department of Education to provide an explanation to include as to how it identified projects that it considered more of a priority than the project at Kolbe, a school where some of the most vulnerable children in our society attend. I do feel that you would have a far better appreciation for what I have set out above in terms of the conditions these children are forced to endure if you would attend at Kolbe school; an invitation I know the Board would be keen to extend to you. I am asking you to do all within your power to have the decision to pause the proposed project for Kolbe Special School overturned. I look forward to hearing from you. Yours sincerely, Cllr. Thomasina Connell Cathaoirleach Laois County Council Three Designs from Laois have been chosen to compete at the Dublin City Final of Junk Kouture. Wednesday 8th and Thursday 9th March saw the next generation of Irish up-and-coming eco-conscious creators, innovators, and fashion designers at the 2023 Regional Finals of Junk Kouture, the worlds largest sustainable fashion competition for youth. 1,200 haute-couture designs made from 100% recycled materials by post-primary students entered the 13th year of the creative programme in Ireland. From this, 300 designs were shortlisted and aired on Junk Koutures YouTube and TikTok channel for the 2023 Regional Finals. During the showcase, eighty was the magic number, as eighty creations crafted by young designers aged 13 -18 years from across the North, South, East, South-East and West of Ireland were chosen to represent their region at the Dublin City Final taking place this May. Taking to one of Irelands most prestigious stages, Laoiss three finalist teams will face stiff competition from over 70 other entries from across the country in this years Dublin City Final. Heywood Community Schools two designs as well as Mountrath Community School will compete in a bid to secure a space at the inaugural World Final of Junk Kouture where Irish finalists will compete with their fellow creative peers from Paris, Milan, NYC, London and Abu Dhabi. The three designs from Laois heading to the Dublin City Final are: Fast and Fabulous by Moya Cahill, Aoife Cahill and Leah Bergin from Heywood Community School created from car seats, CD's, keys, wood, toy cars, hubcap, air fresheners and a flag. With Brave Wings She Flies by Sarah Phelan, Leah Rice and Cameron Doyle from Mountrath Community School created from milk filterage socks, wire, loofahs and a corset. A Journey to The Past by Roisin Holton, Alex Smith and Isabelle Foxall from Heywood Community School created from maps, cardboard, wire, luas tickets and a wooden handle. Junk Kouture is Powered by RTE. The Regional Finals can be watched back on Junk Koutures YouTube channel and details of the Dublin City Final this May including date, venue and tickets will be announced in the coming weeks. Eurospar and DHL are the official partners. Met Eireann is warning people in Laois and other Leinster counties, particularly drivers, to prepare for significant accumulations of snow on Friday morning after very cold and snowy overnight conditions. The worst of the weather is set to hit the most populated counties in Ireland and this was enough to cause the forecaster to issue its second-highest level weather alert - a Status Orange - will be in effect Thursday night into Friday. The National Emergency Coordination Group convened to coordinate a response. Its chairman Keith Leonard warned that drivers face particularly hazardous conditions in east of the country. "Particularly around that commute time between 7am and 9.30am tomorrow morning", he said. He also said some schools may not open. "There's definitely a question mark over schools opening everywhere but it'll be hard to know which schools will be affected so principals will make that decision tomorrow based on the local conditions. "The east coast is going to have the highest accumulations of snow but in reality tomorrow but with the ice that's already happened and the snow that's been in the west today, there could be hazardous conditions across the country. "So school principals across the country will be making that judgment tonight and tomorrow morning," he said on RTE. The National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management Crisis Management Team continues to monitor developments, liaising with Local Authority Severe Weather Assessment Teams in Laois and other counties and Crisis Management Teams who are actively monitoring the evolution of weather conditions. Authorities say cold weather arrangements remain in place throughout the country to ensure that there is adequate capacity to prevent any need for rough sleeping during the current period. The Weather Warning says spells of sleet and snow overnight combined with strong northerly winds will cause "significant accumulations" of in some areas by morning along with icy conditions. Met Eireann says the pssible impacts are: Very hazardous road conditions Travel disruption Poor Visibility The alert is valid from midnight Thursday to 10am on Friday. A Status Yellow snow-Ice warning for Ireland is valid for all of Ireland up to noon on Friday. Large parts of the country had already been hit with substantial snow on Thursday but Met Eireann expects the next wave to be worse. Fostering First Ireland is urging Kildare people to consider fostering a child or young person in care? Jessica Mooney, Fostering Advisor said: Fostering Fortnight takes place every year and the aim is to raise awareness for need for more foster carers in Ireland. We are continuously recruiting and assessing new foster carers all around Ireland and would like to hear from you! At Fostering First Ireland we are always looking for more foster carers to join our amazing community of carers. There are currently over 6,500 children in care in Ireland who need a safe loving family setting to thrive in. Could you make a difference that lasts a lifetime.So, whats the first step? The first step is to visit our website on www.fosteringfirstireland.ie to send an enquiry, we will then send you out some information and offer you to attend one of our online information evenings. At this event you will meet one of our foster carers and find out all about the process. After you have read over the information given, we will then arrange for our fostering advisor to come out to visit you in your home, where you will discuss what the assessment will entail. The process of becoming a foster parent takes 5-6 months and includes many different interviews and background checks, but dont worry, we will be with you every step of the way through assessment and during your fostering journey. We are really looking forward to hearing from some of you very soon! Who knows, the most amazing journey of your life could be just one click away! Email www.fosteringfirstireland.ie Ph: 01 417 1944 Good Food Ireland is delighted to announce the finalists for its highly-regarded awards, with two businesses from County Leitrim making the shortlist. The winners are due to be revealed at a high-profile business lunch taking place on Monday 17th April at The K Club, County Kildare. Featuring across 2 different categories, the County Leitrim businesses who made the shortlist are: Pub Of The Year The Oarsman Producer Of The Year (Bakery & Chocolate) Jinny's Bakery & Tea Rooms The public also has the opportunity to cast their votes for their favourite places across the island of Ireland in the Food Lovers Choice Award. The shortlist will be drawn from the finalists in all other categories. Online voting will commence on Tuesday 7th March and remain open until Monday 20th March. Other awards of recognition will include Outstanding Contribution to Food Production, Outstanding Contribution to Irish Food/Drink Internationally and Lifetime Achievement Award. Returning for the first time since pre-Covid, the awards proudly sponsored by Kerrygold, Irish Farmers Association, Bord Bia, Tourism Ireland and National Dairy Council will be opened by guest of honour, Simon Coveney T.D., Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, and attended by some 300 guests including business owners, Irish and international chefs, buyers, food and drink writers, media and industry leaders. Anita Mendiratta, Special Advisor to the Secretary General of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, will deliver the afternoons Key Note speech. Margaret Jeffares, Founder and Managing Director of Good Food Ireland says: "There is great excitement around the return of The Good Food Ireland Awards. All of those wonderful businesses who have made the shortlist are a committed collection of passionate and driven people who genuinely capture the essence of Ireland's food and drink, setting it in a cultural context to inspire travellers, international consumers and locals to seek out real authenticity and Irish provenance. All the judges would like to extend our congratulations to them all and wish everyone the best of luck for the 17th April." See the full shortlist of finalists below. For full details on the individual awards, tickets to the event, and general information about Good Food Ireland visit goodfoodireland.ie British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron react as they shake hands during a joint press conference at the end of a French-British summit in Paris on March 10, 2023. KIN CHEUNG / AFP British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday, March 10, agreed on a new pact worth over 500 million to stop illegal cross-Channel migration, at a summit in Paris aimed at forging a new start after years of Brexit tensions. The deal will see Britain step up funding to France to allow hundreds more French police to patrol the Channel and also establish a new detention center as a further deterrent. Both leaders hailed a fresh beginning in relations between the two neighbors, after intense talks in Paris which were also marked by expressions of unity in their support for Ukraine in fighting the Russian invasion. It was the first UK-French summit in five years, after Sunak became prime minister in October following the stormy tenures of Boris Johnson and Liz Truss marked by rancorous relations with Paris. Macron said his talks with Sunak marked a "new start" while Sunak said it was "a new beginning, our entente renewed." "We're writing a new chapter in this relationship," Sunak added, acknowledging the relationship "has had its challenges in recent years." 'No silver bullet' The centerpiece of the new atmosphere Friday was the deal to thwart illegal cross-Channel migration, a prime political priority for Sunak as he seeks to rescue the popularity of the ruling right-wing Conservative Party. Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes British government faces backlash over law to deny asylum to migrants who arrive illegally London will step up funding to France over the next three years to total 541 million, allowing the deployment of "hundreds" of extra French law enforcement officers along the Channel coast to stop the illegal migration, the British government said in a statement. For the first time, the UK will help fund a detention center in France to enhance its ability to cope with the number of people being trafficked across the Channel. "We don't need to manage this problem, we need to break it," said Sunak. "And today, we have gone further than ever before to put an end to this disgusting trade in human life." The new funding from the UK this year is already more than double last year's package worth over 70 million that increased the number of French police patrolling Channel shores. Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes Calais, the French bunker border city pushing migrants into the English Channel Sunak is under fierce pressure at home to reduce the number of asylum seekers arriving in Britain, and this week unveiled legislation that critics said would make Britain an international outlaw on refugee rights. "There is no one silver bullet to solve this problem. So the legislation we introduced this week is incredibly important, cooperation with the French is important, illegal migration enforcement at home is important," Sunak said as he traveled to Paris on the Eurostar train. But activists expressed unease over the plan, with the France director of Human Rights Watch Benedicte Jeannerod saying the sides were persisting with a tactic that "pushes exiles to risk dangerous crossings and subjects them to undignified treatment." They said they were in complete agreement on helping Ukraine to defeat the Russian invasion and it should be Kyiv that chooses when any peace talks start. "We want Ukraine to win this war. We are absolutely united on this," said Sunak. Macron added: "Our desire is to help Ukraine to resist and to carry out the counter-offensives that it wishes to carry out. The priority of the moment is military." Bromance? Macron's distrust of Brexit figurehead Johnson was barely concealed, while Truss said she didn't know whether the French leader was a "friend or foe" during her campaign to become prime minister. But both sides now see an opportunity to reset the "Entente Cordiale" between Western Europe's two nuclear powers. "I hope it can be the start of a stronger relationship between us and it's a privilege to be able to play a part in that," Sunak told reporters as he traveled over. As part of the British government's post-Brexit outreach, the summit paves the way for King Charles III to make France his first foreign destination when he heads there on a state visit at the end of March. While Johnson reveled in French-bashing, Sunak says he and Macron are "friends." with their warm embrace during their first encounter in November sparking light-hearted speculation about a "bromance." "It was not a summit like others. It was a summit of new ambitions," Macron said at the news conference. Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes UK and EU hope for more peaceful relationship following Northern Ireland deal Le Monde with AFP Burkina Faso President Ibrahim Traore (center), attends the closing ceremony of the Pan-African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou on March 4, 2023. OLYMPIA DE MAISMONT / AFP The question is on the minds of more and more public figures in Burkina Faso. How much longer will they be able to express themselves freely? Since the junta came to power in a coup in September 2022 the second in eight months freedom for political parties, human rights activists and journalists has been dwindling. Parties have had their constitutionally guaranteed freedom of assembly curtailed. In a statement issued on February 14, the Union for Progress and Reform party, which has long been in opposition, said the government had prohibited the next meeting of its political bureau. At the end of January, another party, the Congress for Democracy and Progress, was issued a "warning" after meeting in an ordinary session. The reason given by the authorities was contained in a simple statement issued on September 30, the day of the coup that brought the military to power, ordering the suspension of "the activities of political parties." "A very dangerous language is emerging, marginalizing and even intimidating dissenting voices," Ousmane Diallo, Amnesty International's West Africa researcher, said. For the military, the objective is to consolidate power by unifying public opinion around a single narrative marked by the army's victories over jihadist groups that have been steadily expanding their hold since 2015, to the point where they now control more than 40% of the country. In mid-January, a series of four unsigned posters targeting "all those who do not support the defense and security forces (FDS)" circulated online. "If you tarnish the image of the FDS, I will expose your private life on social media," one read while another called "civilian terrorists" those whose online posts are seen as going "against the fight against terrorism." Kidnappings and executions Committed to an all-security strategy aimed at arming more than 50,000 civilians to fight with the army against terrorism, the junta and its supporters "are trying to muzzle freedom of expression, especially that of human rights defenders," Daouda Diallo said. Diallo, the secretary general of an organization fighting officials' impunity and ethnic stigmatization, experienced this bitterly after denouncing, at the beginning of January, the "extrajudicial executions" carried out by armed men "claiming to be 'volunteers for the defense of the country (a name given to civilian auxiliaries of the army)'" in the city of Nouna, western Burkina Faso. Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes Burkina Faso: Where Russians, Wahhabis and pan-Africanists join forces around the junta In this locality, on December 30 last year, 30 were killed according to the government. Witnesses interviewed by Amnesty said that more than 80 people, mainly Fulani, were killed. Diallo, himself a Fulani, claims to have been the subject of "surveillance" and even "kidnapping attempts." "I received calls saying that I should be put out of existence. On the radio, speakers also called to kill people like me who, they said, were accomplices of the terrorists," he said. On January 8, the government said it deeply regretted "the hateful or ethnicist language seen on social media." You have 62.84% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only. A Palestinian man who entered a settlement in the occupied West Bank armed with knives and explosive devices was shot and killed by an Israeli settler on Friday, March 10, the military said. Hours later, a 16-year-old Palestinian died after being critically wounded when Israeli troops opened fire on stone-throwing Palestinians in the northern West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. The violence comes a day after a Palestinian gunman shot and wounded Israelis in downtown Tel Aviv the latest to grip Israel and the West Bank in one of the deadliest periods of unrest among Israelis and Palestinians in years. The Israeli military said the armed Palestinian slipped into a farm near the settlement of Karnei Shomron and was fatally shot by an Israeli settler overseeing the land. Palestinian authorities identified him as 21-year-old Abed al-Sheikh. His father, Badaie al-Sheikh, said Israeli security forces searched his house, interrogated him and confiscated his son's phone in the nearby Palestinian village of Saniriya. The teen, Amir Ouda, was wounded close to a checkpoint near the town of Qalqilya, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. Read more Israeli democracy undermined by finance minister given de facto authority over West Bank 'For every action, there is a reaction' Hours earlier, Israeli security forces entered the Palestinian village of Naalin and prepared to demolish the family house of the Palestinian suspected of carrying out the Tel Aviv attack Thursday night. The shooter had opened fire near Dizengoff Street in a bustling area of the city's center and wounded three Israelis, including one critically, before being shot and killed. The Hamas militant group claimed the attacker, a 23-year-old former prisoner named Moataz Khawaja, was a member of the organizations armed wing. Hamas said the shooting was in response to an Israeli military arrest raid that day that killed three gunmen in the northern village of Jaba, along with another raid earlier this week that killed seven Palestinians in the flashpoint Jenin refugee camp, including a wanted assailant and a 14-year-old boy. "This is evidence of the equation that says, for every action, there is a reaction," Mosher al-Masri, a Hamas official, told The Associated Press (AP) from a rally in support of the Tel Aviv shooting held in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahiya. "Blood will be returned with blood, the killers will be killed, the bombers will be bombed." Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes Israel faces unprecedented revolt of army reservists Israeli police said Friday they were continuing their investigation into the Tel Aviv attack, and that two men from the Israeli town of Ramle, near Tel Aviv, and the Bedouin town of Kuseife, in the Negev desert, had turned themselves in over their alleged smuggling of the gunman and other Palestinians from the occupied West Bank into Israel. As Israeli forces stormed into Naalin and arrested two family members of the suspected attacker for questioning, they said they were met by a barrage of explosive devices, Molotov cocktails and stones. Israeli troops responded with gunfire, which they said struck at least one Palestinian. The person's condition was unclear. Before being arrested, Khawaja's father, Salah Khawaja, said he felt pride in his son for carrying out the attack. Like many Palestinians living in an environment where attacks on Israelis are celebrated and their perpetrators exalted, he expressed little sympathy for Israeli civilians and said he understood his son's desire for revenge. "Praise God, Moataz is beloved by everyone," he told reporters. "Any young man who witnesses such massacres will naturally respond." Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes Israel is stuck in a repressive impasse as Palestinian resistance grows Violence in Tulkarm Further north, Israeli forces entered the Palestinian city of Tulkarm, home to an emerging armed group that has increasingly attracted young Palestinians angry at Israeli violence and disillusioned by their leadership. Gunmen opened fire, striking an Israeli military vehicle in the city, the army said. Others hurled explosive devices and shot at Israeli forces from a passing car. The Israeli army said it responded with live fire. There were no immediate reports of casualties on either side. The past few months have been marked by rising violence in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, which Israel captured along with the Gaza strip in the 1967 Mideast war. Palestinians seek those territories for a future independent state. At least 75 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire during military arrest raids and other confrontations so far this year, according to a tally by the AP. Over that same period, a series of attacks by Palestinians against Israelis has left at least 14 Israelis dead so far this year, all but one of them civilians. The upsurge in deaths has raised fears of a possible greater escalation under Israel's most right-wing government in history, which has pledged tough action against the Palestinians. Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes Palestinian lawyer Salah Hamouri's new life under surveillance in France Le Monde with AP Packets of fentanyl, which US Customs and Border Protection say they seized from a truck crossing into Arizona from Mexico, are on display during a news conference at the Port of Nogales, Arizona, January 31, 2019. HANDOUT / REUTERS Mexicos president said on Thursday, March 9, that his country does not produce or consume fentanyl, despite enormous evidence to the contrary. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador appeared to depict the synthetic opioid epidemic largely as a US problem and said the United States should use family values to fight drug addiction. His statement came during a visit to Mexico by Liz Sherwood-Randall, the White House homeland security adviser, to discuss the fentanyl crisis. It also comes amid calls by some US Republicans to use the US military to attack drug labs in Mexico. Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes Biden visits Mexico to meet President Lopez Obrador amid concerns over illegal immigration, fentanyl The Mexican government has acknowledged in the past that fentanyl is produced at labs in Mexico using precursor chemicals imported from China. Fentanyl has been blamed for about 70,000 opioid deaths per year in the United States. "Here, we do not produce fentanyl, and we do not have consumption of fentanyl," Lopez Obrador said. "Why don't they (the United States) take care of their problem of social decay?" He went on to recite a list of reasons why Americans might be turning to fentanyl, including single-parent families, parents who kick grown children out of their houses and people who put elderly relatives in old-age homes "and visit them once a year." His statement contrasted sharply with a Thursday tweet from US Ambassador Ken Salazar saying a meeting between Sherwood-Randall and Mexico's attorney general was meant "to enhance security cooperation and fight against the scourge of fentanyl to better protect our two nations." 'The president is lying' There is little debate among US and even Mexican officials that almost all the fentanyl consumed in the United States is produced and processed in Mexico. In February, the Mexican army announced it seized more than a half million fentanyl pills in what it called the largest synthetic drug lab found to date. The army said the outdoor lab was discovered in Culiacan, the capital of Sinaloa state. In the same city in 2021, the army raided a lab that it said probably made about 70 million of the blue fentanyl pills every month for the Sinaloa cartel. Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes Fentanyl, the drug that is ravaging the United States "The president is lying," said Mexican security analyst David Saucedo. "The Mexican cartels, above all the CJNG (Jalisco New Generation Cartel) and the Sinaloa Cartel have learned to manufacture it." "They themselves buy the precursor chemicals, set up laboratories to produce fentanyl and distribute it to cities in the United States and sell it," Saucedo said. "Little by little they have begun to build a monopoly on fentanyl because the Mexican cartels are present along the whole chain of production and sales." While it is true that fentanyl consumption appears to remain low in Mexico and largely confined to northern border areas, that may be because the Mexican government is so bad at detecting it. A 2019 study in the border city of Tijuana showed that 93% of samples of methamphetamines and heroin there contained some fentanyl. Saucedo said fentanyl exports to the US are so lucrative for Mexican cartels that they previously had not seen a need to develop a domestic market for the drug. Le Monde with AP TWO FORMER banks in County Limerick are in the process of being turned into board and lodging for Ukrainians fleeing the war in their homeland. The former Bank of Ireland branches in Askeaton and Abbeyfeale are expected to accommodate up to 25 people in a new plan. Cllr Liam Galvin, who raised the subject at a Newcastle West Municipal District meeting, welcomed the move to rehome Ukrainians in the banks. The Fine Gael councillor said he had sought assurances that the branches would return to community use when the war is over. Bank of Ireland announced it would close seven of its branches across the city and county in March 2021. A year later, Limerick City and County Council confirmed it is to purchase four of the former branches - Rathkeale, Askeaton, Bruff and Abbeyfeale - with the buildings to be re-purposed for community use. A further 12 months on the council have told the Limerick Leader the properties have been earmarked to accommodate Ukrainians. A council spokesperson said the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage requested that they prepare a tender for the refurbishment of the former Bank of Ireland properties at Askeaton and Abbeyfeale under the Ukraine Refurbishment Project. The tender was published on eTenders on February 17 for the refurbishment and operation of the properties as multi-occupancy temporary accommodation centres for beneficiaries of temporary protection fleeing the war in Ukraine, said a council spokesperson. It is envisaged that the centres will each be able to accommodate approximately 20-25 people in family bedrooms with shared kitchen / recreation and sanitary facilities. The tender closing date was March 3. The results will be notified to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage who will advise as to whether or not the projects can proceed. If the projects are given approval to proceed by the Department following this tender process, Limerick City and County Council will arrange community engagement to discuss the projects, concluded the council spokesperson. Cllr Jerome Scanlan noted that it wouldnt be the first time the buildings have been lived in as in times gone by the bank manager would reside in the property. Mr Scanlan, who previously worked for Bank of Ireland, recalled a story from the 1940s. He said while the manager of the Abbeyfeale branch was on his summer holidays, his replacement was a man named Galway Foley. As Foley is a common name in Abbeyfeale, the sub-agent was called Galway Foley after his native county. Cllr Scanlan said Mr Foley got a loan of a cow to eat the grass on the lush lawn at the back of the branch which stretches down to the River Feale. After the bank manager returned from his holiday, the councillor said he was less than impressed by the damage caused to the previously pristine lawn by Mr Foleys bovine. Ministers have admitted agonising over their decision to end the eviction ban at the end of the month, in the face of warnings that the move could significantly increase homelessness. Justice Minister Simon Harris said it was a challenging week, but that the government had chosen genuine housing supply, while Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe said the decision weighed heavily on government. Despite fierce criticism of the move, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he is not unduly concerned about the government losing its majority in the Dail if coalition TDs rebel against the decision. Speaking in Dublins city centre, he also said the government intended to do more in the autumn budget to support landlords. I dont think what weve done is enough in that regard, he said. Were still seeing landlords leaving the market at a faster rate than theyre coming in and we need to turn that around, so theres more landlords coming into the market than theyre leaving. We need more landlords because we need more places for people to rent and we are working now on proposals in advance of the next budget to encourage landlords to stay in and also more to come in and offer property for rent. He also fully backed Housing Minister Darragh OBrien as he insisted the scale of the problem was more fundamental than who was in charge of addressing it. I think its a little bit simplistic to say that you appoint any one individual as a minister and theyre going to be able to solve the housing crisis, he said. Its a very difficult problem and I think reducing it to which person is minister, which party is in government or who cares more, that just misunderstands the seriousness of the housing crisis and diminishes it I think. Mr Harris said that the problem was not as simple as portraying the government as choosing landlords over tenants. The government chose genuinely housing supply, the government chose making sure that there are enough homes, Mr Harris said. We have to be honest with people here in relation to this eviction ban, you are trying to weigh up lots of different issues including making sure that there was rental supply and weve seen a very significant fall off in rental supply. The government also made a number of other decisions this week, including indicating very clearly to people who do own a second home or maybe a small landlord that we are going to bring forward supports for them in the budget to encourage them to stay in the market. So I know this was a very difficult and challenging week. There is now that window of time I think to see an acceleration of the supports that we have in place for local authorities to buy up homes. He added: Even during the temporary eviction ban, we did actually see homelessness grow. So I mean, this really is a very stark reminder of the fact that the way out of the housing crisis is around supply and government in all conscience couldnt stand over a measure that we know was continuing to have a contracting effect on housing supply. Mr Donohoe accepted that there would be difficult consequences as a result of not extending the ban, but added that if it had been extended, the challenges of today would become even harder tomorrow. He said the government had introduced more than 5,000 new social homes in recent months. Asked about reports that local authorities in Dublin purchased just 13 out of 400 properties that were offered in recent months under the tenant-in-situ scheme, Mr Donohoe said it had been agreed with the Minister for Housing that more money would be made available to local authorities for the scheme. Well spare no effort in making sure theyre clear regarding the money that is available to them, he told RTE Radio. Mr Donohoe said the budgetary decisions he made on housing were right, but said he accepted responsibility for where our country stands. However, he said that government delivered on its housing targets last year. For December and January, weve had more commencement notices, which is new houses being built per month, than weve ever had before, he said. But we need to do more, we need to do better, he added. Mr Donohoe is expected to bring an update on the National Development Plan to Cabinet soon. Asked about funding for 58 school building projects that were paused this week, Mr Donohoe said government needed to look at all capital projects and make sure funding is in place to deliver them all. He said he would work with the Minister for Education on the school projects in the coming weeks. Were going ahead with a very ambitious school programme already which has lots of new schools being open at the moment, he said. There are some delays but it is to be expected when you are investing over 12 billion euro in delivering new projects that not every project unfolds in the way we want, he added. He said changes in the cost of raw materials and the war in Ukraine provided challenges to delivering projects. Media Sales Advisor Limerick Leader & limericklive.ie Limerick, County Limerick Multi-Media Attractive salary package Starting a career in multi-media Advertising Sales could prove to be your launch pad into a long-term, successful future in the media sector. If you have the communication skills to present well and persuade customers of the immense value of advertising, it could be both highly lucrative and personally rewarding. About us Iconic is Irelands largest independently owned newspaper group, with an unrivalled audience in print, online and mobile. As part of the groups development strategy, we are now seeking Media Sales Advisors to join the advertising sales team working on the Limerick Leader and www.limericklive.ie. About the role As a Media Sales Advisor you will be responsible for a portfolio of existing customers and for developing new relationships with potential advertisers. Youll be part of an experienced and dedicated team and will be fully supported in understanding the role and how to achieve targets. About you Previous customer facing or telesales experience (retail or call-centre) would be desirable but is not essential for this role. Above all else we are seeking ambitious people with strong communication skills who can build relationships with existing and potential customers. To be a success youll need to be energetic, self-motivated and able to think on your feet, professional, personable and able to inspire others. Youll also need to demonstrate the confidence to hit the ground running. We offer a competitive salary and massive career progression for the right fit. To apply please email your CV with a covering letter. Strictly No Agencies India, March 10 2023: Wrapping up its inaugural Bharat Inclusion Summit in Bengaluru, the Bharat Inclusion Initiative, headed by IIM Ahmedabad's CIIE.CO, served as the ideal platform to reflect on lessons and strategize about the path ahead for fintech inclusion in India. On March 3rd, 2023, industry and policy leaders from prominent companies, research foundations, fintech innovators and investors gathered together to network and create opportunities for collaboration. Commenting on the initiative, Priyanka Chopra, Chief Operating Officer at CIIE.CO said,We recognised that the time was ripe for building for Bharat and created the Bharat Inclusion Initiative as a full-stack platform to attract entrepreneurial energy to solve for Bharat.After supporting over 60 entrepreneurs who are now serving over 38 million customers, we are convinced that the moment for Bharat has indeed arrived. CIIE.CO is committed to continuing the conversations that have started and leveraging the platform we have built to create many more solutions that truly include Bharat and meet its unique needs." View Full Image Bharat Inclusion Initiative by CIIE.CO has accelerated over 54 inclusive fintech companies and invested in 8 ready-for-scale startups The event was filled with engaging conversations about financial inclusion through embedded finance and gender inclusion in finance and its implications for the ecosystem. Other topics explored included CBDC and the future of finance in India, providing access to credit and insurance for smallholder farmers as well as climate finances role in building resilience in Bharat. Among the impressive lineup of participants were Nandan Nilekani, Co-Founder and Chairman of Infosys; Ajay Kumar Choudhury, Executive Director of RBI; Suseela Chintala, Chief General Manager of NABARD; Dilip Asbe, CEO of NPCI; Nithin Kamath, Founder of Zerodha among many other renowned leaders. These distinguished speakers provided thought-provoking insights into holistic financial inclusion and the future of Bharat in fintech. View Full Image CIIE.CO's Bharat Inclusion Initiative is dedicated to bringing new technology to disadvantaged communities Bharat Inclusion Initiative by CIIE.CO has since accelerated over 54 inclusive fintech companies, invested in 8 ready-for-scale startups, incubated 7 promising ideas, supported 24 research studies and catalysed path-breaking research on rural households. "Over the years, BII has worked with 60+ entrepreneurs and, under this process, backed many different new stages. This journey has been insightful; with this initiative, we have explored all ingenious ideas that have enriched the local ecosystem. Today, the platform we have provided to these young entrepreneurs has grown into a significant movement, and we're really glad to be a part of it!", added Sanjay Jain, Partner, Bharat Innovation Fund and Chief Innovation Officer, CIIE.CO. CIIE.CO's Bharat Inclusion Initiative is dedicated to bringing new technology to disadvantaged communities, by providing support for startups working towards financial inclusion, employment, skills training and healthcare. Backed by esteemed donors such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, J.P. Morgan, MetLife Foundation, the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation and Omidyar Network - it offers grants and hands-on assistance for prototyping/piloting activities all the way up to seed capital for startups developing new models in this space. To assist entrepreneurs in tackling inclusion through research, incubation, acceleration and investment - their ecosystem follows four key pathways. About CIIE.CO Founded in 2002, CIIE.CO - the Innovation Continuum of IIM Ahmedabad - has expanded, adapting to the needs of Indias innovation-based entrepreneurial ecosystem. This continuum covers incubation, acceleration, seed and growth funding, and research. It also includes pioneering sectoral and sector-agnostic incubation and acceleration programs. Disclaimer: This article is a paid publication and does not have journalistic/editorial involvement of Hindustan Times. Hindustan Times does not endorse/subscribe to the content(s) of the article/advertisement and/or view(s) expressed herein. Hindustan Times shall not in any manner, be responsible and/or liable in any manner whatsoever for all that is stated in the article and/or also with regard to the view(s), opinion(s), announcement(s), declaration(s), affirmation(s) etc., stated/featured in the same. Loyalty Ventures Inc., an operator of consumer rewards programs, filed for bankruptcy with plans to sell Canadas Air Miles Reward Program to Bank of Montreal. The company filed for Chapter 11 protection in Houston, Texas, court papers show. The bankruptcy filing allows Loyalty to keep operating while it works on a plan to repay creditors. The companys deal to sell Air Miles to BMO is not final, according to a statement. An affiliate of BMO has also agreed to provide $70 million of bankruptcy financing to a Loyalty Ventures affiliate, according to the statement. Loyalty listed assets of as much as $10 million and liabilities of as much as $1 billion in its bankruptcy petition. An affiliate, LoyaltyOne, also began restructuring proceedings in Canada. The company has been grappling with dwindling liquidity and a loss of customers. In addition, Loyaltys revenue has come under pressure because of operational challenges and macroeconomic turbulence. Its total revenue for the third quarter that ended Sept. 30 dropped by 4% year-over-year to $162 million, according to regulatory filings. A measure of earnings collapsed by 30% to $33 million. Loyalty was spun off from Alliance Data Systems into a publicly listed company in November 2021. Earlier in March, Loyalty said it plans to sell its Dutch-based BrandLoyalty business to Opportunity Partners BV for $6 million. This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Reliance Industries subsidiary Reliance Polyester Limited has completed the acquisition of the polyester business of Shubhalakshmi Polyesters Limited and Shubhlaxmi Polytex Limited. RIL informed the investors about this acquisition via stock exchange filing. The Mukesh Ambani-backed company wrote, "We wish to inform you that Reliance Polyester Limited (formerly known as Reliance Petroleum Retail Limited), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, has on March 8, 2023, after receipt of the necessary approvals, completed the acquisition of polyester business of Shubhalakshmi Polyesters Limited and Shubhlaxmi Polytex Limited". Last year, Reliance Petroleum Retail acquired the polyester business of Shubhalakshmi Polyesters (SPL) and Shubhlaxmi Polytex (SPTex) for 1,522 crore and 70 crore, respectively, in cash. Fair trade regulator Competition Commission cleared the acquisition of business undertakings of Shubhalakshmi Polyesters Ltd and Shubhlaxmi Polytex Ltd by Reliance Polyester Ltd on October 2022. SPL and SPTex are primarily engaged in the production and supply of polyester products while RPL is engaged in the production and supply of certain petrochemical products and polyester yarns. Shubhalakshmi Polyesters has two manufacturing facilities--in Dahej (Gujarat) and Silvassa (India) (Dadra and Nagar Haveli). And, Shubhlaxmi Polytex has a texturised yarn manufacturing facility at Dahej. New Delhi: Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) has appointed Rohit Jawa as the consumer goods majors new managing director and CEO, effective 27 June 2023. He will replace Sanjiv Mehta, who is set to retire from the company after a decade at the helm. Jawa will join the company as CEO-designate and whole-time director from 1 April. He will also take over as president, Unilever South Asia, the company said in a filing to the exchanges on Friday. Jawa, 56, will join the Unilever Leadership Executive (ULE) effective 1 April 2023. After a transformational tenure of 10 years at the helm of HUL, Sanjiv Mehta will retire from the company, the company further added. Jawa, an MBA in marketing from the Faculty of Management Studies, and an alumnus of St Stephens College, Delhi, is currently the chief of transformation for Unilever based out of London, where since January 2022, he has orchestrated the end-to-end transformation of Unilever. He joined HUL directly from campus as a management trainee in 1988, in Mumbai, moving on to work across regions such as India, South East Asia, and North Asia. Jawa's success replicates that of several HUL executives who moved on to far-flung regions helming businesses for Unilever globally. As EVP for North Asia & Chairman for Unilever China, Jawa led a significant transformation of Unilever China into a competitive, profitable, and consistent business, now Unilevers third biggest globally, the company said. As the chairman of Unilever Philippines, he led the business to become one of the top 10 markets for Unilever globally. Jawas ability to integrate the strength of traditional markets with digital technologies and future-fit business models positions him well to take HUL into its next growth phase," the company said. In fiscal 2022, the company that sells household products such as Lux soap and Knorr soups reported a turnover of 50,336 crore. India is the largest market for Unilever globally in terms of volumes and second in terms of value. Mehta, 62, had taken charge of HUL as its MD & CEO in October 2013 and led the business through a period of sustained growth. During his decade at the helm, the business crossed the 50,000-crore turnover mark and the market capitalization of the company increased more than four times from $17 billion to $75 billion, reinforcing HUL as one of Indias most valuable businesses," the company said. Mehta also led acquisitions of brands such as GSK Consumer Healthcares Horlicks, apart from regional hair-care brand Indulekha bolstering the companys presence in the nutrition as well as personal care market. He has led the business into future growth segments with several strategic mergers and acquisitions such as the amalgamation of GSK Consumer Healthcare into HUL, one of the biggest mergers in the history of FMCG in the country," the company said. Mehta also led several transformative business programmes such as Dial Up the Big Q and Winning in Many Indias to make the business more consumer-centric, agile, and resilient. To make the business more future-fit, Mehta also championed the Reimagine HUL agenda by leveraging data and designing business models to redefine how HUL engages with consumers. On Friday, the company also announced the appointment of Ranjay Gulati as an independent director of the company for a term of five years effective 1st April 2023 up to 31st March 2028. Gulati is presently a professor at Harvard Business School. He is an expert on organizational growth and until recently, chaired the Advanced Management Program, the Schools flagship Senior Leader Executive Program. Gulati holds a Master's Degree in Management from the MIT Sloan School of Management and a PhD in Organizational Behaviour from Harvard University. He graduated in Economics from St. Stephens College, Delhi University. Bank of Baroda: The Board of Directors of Bank of Baroda (BOB) authorised the divestment of up to 49% of the bank's shareholding in BOB Financial Solutions Ltd. ("BFSL"), a subsidiary that is 100% owned by the public sector lender. Board of Directors of Bank of Baroda (BOB") have approved for divestment up to 49 % of Banks shareholding in its 100% owned subsidiary i.e. BOB Financial Solutions Ltd. (BFSL"), and issuance of an advertisement inviting Expressions of Interest (EOI"), from Suitable Investors / Strategic Partners to acquire the shareholding of BOB in BFSL," said the bank in a regulatory filing today. Reliance Industries: Reliance Consumer Products Limited (RCPL) on 9 March announced to have the launch of the iconic beverage brand, Campa, in three new flavours Campa Cola, Campa Lemon and Campa Orange in the sparkling beverage category. The FMCG arm and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL) claims the launch of this brand is in line with the firm's strategy to promote homegrown Indian brands, which not only have a rich heritage but also boast a deep-rooted connection with Indian consumers. InterGlobe Aviation/SpiceJet: In a respite for airlines, the state government of Maharashtra has reduced the value-added tax (VAT) on aviation turbine fuel (ATF) to 18%, a reduction of 28% from the current level of 25%. This was announced by Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis while presenting the state budget on Thursday. In a scenario of high fuel prices, this step will prove to be a catalyst to ramp up air connectivity, he added. Fuel prices are a major cost component for Indian airlines as they account for 35-40% of an airlines expenditure as against a global average of nearly 30%. IRB Infrastructure Developers: IRB Infrastructure Developers on Thursday said its total toll collection across all projects has increased 27 per cent year-on-year to 351.75 crore in February 2023. The company had reported the toll collection at 277.47 crore in February 2022, it said in a statement. IRB Infrastructure Developers Chairman & Managing Director Virendra D Mhaiskar said that the February 2023 toll collection on all the corridors has once again revealed the consistency and robustness in the growth over last year; thus, reflecting Indias economic stability in the post-pandemic era. Axis Bank: Axis Asset Management Company, a subsidiary of Axis Bank, has appointed B Gopkumar, the managing director and chief executive officer at Axis Securities, as the new CEO of leading fund house Axis Mutual Fund. Gopkumar takes over from Chandresh Nigam who has stepped down as the CEO of the company. Axis MF has been plagued by the front-running scandal that came to light when the fund house sacked its chief dealer Viresh Joshi in May 2022 in a shocking case of suspected front-running. This was followed by income tax raids at Joshis premises and Joshi suing his former employer for wrongful termination. REC: Government-owned Navratna company, REC on Thursday announced its plan for raising up to 1.20 lakh crore through different debt instruments in the fiscal year FY24. The company has received approval from the board of directors for the same. As per the regulatory filing, of the total, 1.05 lakh crore will be raised through domestic bonds, capital gains tax exemption bonds, rupee term loans, and external commercial borrowings. These bonds can be unsecured or secured and can be issued on a private or public placement basis. Jindal Power/JSW Steel/Ambuja Cement/UltraTech Cement: Jindal Power, JSW Steel, Ambuja Cement, and UltraTech Cement were among the winners of coal mines in the latest auction which closed on Thursday. The union ministry of coal launched the auctions of coal mines for commercial mining under the sixth round and the second attempt of the fifth round on the third of November 2023, which has drawn to a close on Thursday. Jindal Power bags two mines in Chhattisgarh, JSW Steel three mines in Jharkhand and Ambuja Cements one mine in Maharashtra. Power Grid Corporation: Maharatna company Power Grid Corporation of India on Thursday said that its board has approved raising up to 900 crore through the issuance of non-convertible bonds on a private placement basis. With a green shoe size of Rs. 600 crore, the base issue size will be Rs. 300 crore. The bond will be listed on the NSE or the BSE Limited, according to the company. Two projects worth 4,040.98 crore have recently received approval from the board of directors of the Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd for grounding in the Kurnool region of Andhra Pradesh. Godrej Agrovet: Godrej Agrovet Ltd has proposed to invest 100 crore to set up a refining plant for edible oils in Andhra Pradesh. In a statement, the company said it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the state government on the sidelines of the Andhra Pradesh Global Investors Summit (APGIS) 2023. As a part of the MoU, Godrej Agrovet's oil palm business will be making an estimated investment of 100 crore to set up a manufacturing facility for an edible oil refinery and solvent extraction plant. Gokaldas Exports: Goldman Sachs Collective Trust on March 9 bought a majority stake through a bulk deal in the company. A total of 7,20,634 shares of Gokaldas Exports were purchased by Goldman Sachs Collective Trust at an average cost of 391.68 per share. At an average price of 390, Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund also acquired roughly 8 lakh shares of Gokaldas Export. Clear Wealth Consultancy, one of the sellers, sold 60 lakh of the company's shares at 390.91 per share. Clear Wealth Consulting Services LLP had a 20.56% promoter ownership in Gokaldas Exports in Q3FY23. Anthony Albanese, Prime Minister of Australia, on Friday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the two leaders spoke about different aspect including strengthening Australia-India defence & security partnership and a shared ambition for an open, stable & prosperous Indo-Pacific. Regarding the meeting, Prime Minister of Australia Office said, they agreed to further strengthen the bilateral relationship between Australia and India at the Annual Leaders Summit in New Delhi. The Prime Ministers also discussed the potential presented by the India-Australia Audiovisual Co-Production Agreement. The Agreement will support skilled jobs, creative exchange, & the development of culturally significant screen projects in both countries" The leaders announced their intention for the soonest possible conclusion of the ambitious Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), which will build on the landmark trade agreement signed last year, PM of Australia Office said Australian PM calls on President Murmu Later the Australian PM called on President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi. #WATCH | Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese calls on President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi. pic.twitter.com/VAQH5qPyXt ANI (@ANI) March 10, 2023 Welcoming Prime Minister Albanese and his delegation, the President said that India and Australia enjoy a very friendly relationship. The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries has given a boost to the bilateral engagements. She expressed confidence that his visit would instil greater momentum in India-Australia ties. The President was happy to note the growing defence cooperation and deepening institutional engagements between India and Australia. She added that both countries should continue their practical cooperation in the emerging areas of critical minerals, new and renewable energy, cyber diplomacy and innovation. The President said that the Indian community in Australia is known for being hardworking and peace-loving, with entrepreneurial skills. She expressed confidence that the Australian Government would take all necessary steps to provide a safe, secure and positive environment to the Indian community in Australia. Welcoming Prime Minister Albanese and his delegation, the President said that India and Australia enjoy a very friendly relationship. The comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries has given a boost to the bilateral engagements. I am confident that this visit would instill greater momentum in India-Australia ties," she added. The President was happy to note the growing defence cooperation and deepening institutional engagements between India and Australia. She said that both countries should continue their practical cooperation in the emerging areas of critical minerals, new and renewable energy, cyber diplomacy and innovation. President Murmu added that the Indian community in Australia is known for being hardworking and peace-loving, with entrepreneurial skills. She expressed confidence that the Australian Government will take all necessary steps to provide a safe, secure and positive environment to the Indian community in Australia. Australian PM Albanese is in India for India-Australia Summit from 8-11 March. It is PM Albaneses first bilateral visit to India since the Labour Party government was sworn in May 2022. The visit to India aims to further strengthen India-Australia bilateral relations. Australia and India established diplomatic relations in the pre-Independence period, when the Consulate General of India was first opened as a Trade Office in Sydney in 1941. Indias first High Commissioner to Australia arrived in Canberra in 1945. In March 1944, Lieutenant-General Iven Mackay was appointed Australias first High Commissioner to India. Australia has placed India at the forefront of its international partnerships. Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi on Friday remanded former Delhi deputy chief minister and Aam Aadmi party (AAP) leader Manish Sisodia to Enforcement Directorate's custidy till 17 march. Earlier the court had reserved its order on the ED's plea seeking 10-day custody of former D elhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia , arrested in a money laundering case related to the excise policy. #WATCH | AAP leader and former Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia being brought out of Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi. The Court sent him to ED remand till March 17 in excise policy case. pic.twitter.com/l9BdGbPaib ANI (@ANI) March 10, 2023 Sisodia was arrested by the CBI on 26 February in its ongoing investigation of a case related to alleged irregularities in the framing and implementation of the excise policy of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD). Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court sent him to Judicial Custody till March 20. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 9 arrested former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia in the liquor policy case, after hours of questioning at Tihar Jail. Here are the latest updates on the the case against Manish Sisodia -Sisodia was presented before the court at 2 pm today after he was arrested by ED yesterday after hours of questioning in Tihar Jail where the AAP leader is lodged. -Special judge M K Nagpal allowed the anti-money laundering probe agency to interrogate the senior AAP leader in custody. The ED had sought Sisodia's custody for 10 days. -The ED told the court that Manish Sisodia had purchased SIM cards and mobile phones in other people's names -The lawyer for the federal anti-money laundering probe agency alleged Sisodia made false statements about the 'scam' and that it wanted to unearth the modus operandi of the perpetrators and confront him with the other accused. -There was a conspiracy behind framing the excise policy. The conspiracy was coordinated by Vijay Nair, along with others and the Excise policy was brought out for extraordinary profit margin for wholesalers, ED argued in the court. -ED told the court that the margin of 12 per cent of wholesale profit margin to private entities was never discussed in the GoM meeting. -Earlier in the day, the Delhi High Court stayed lower court proceedings against Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) Chairperson Swati Maliwal in connection with the case of alleged appointments of Aam Aadmi Party leaders to DCW -Earlier, Sisodia through his lawyer had pointed out that not a single penny couod be traced to him. "In money laundering you are expected to look at concealment, possession, use...it has to be traced ..not a single penny is traced to me. They say Vijay Nair representative of Sisodia....it is laughable. Premier investigative agency...They have not traced a single rupee to me", Krishnan said. Fuel demand in India hit its highest level in at least 24 years in February, according to data showed on Thursday. This comes as the industrial activity in Asia's third-largest economy is boosted by cheap Russian oil. Viktor Katona, lead crude analyst at Kpler said that the strength highlights a combination of profitable refining from record Russian crude imports in February, total utilization for primary distillation across India, and still-robust domestic consumption. The fuel consumption rose by more than 5% to 4.82 million barrels pre-day (18.5 million tonnes) in February, its 15th consecutive year-on-year rise. The demand was the highest recorded in data compiled by the Indian Oil Ministry's Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) from 1998, Reuters reported. Refiners in India, which rarely used to buy Russian oil because of costly logistics, have emerged as Russia's key oil client, snapping up discounted crude shunned by Western nations since the invasion of Ukraine last February. Indian refiners have begun paying for most of their Russian oil purchased via Dubai-based traders in United Arab Emirates dirhams instead of U.S. dollars, four sources with knowledge of the matter said. Traders are concerned they may not be able to continue to settle trades in dollars, especially if the price of Russian crude rises above a cap imposed by the Group of Seven nations and Australia in December. That has led traders to seek alternative methods of payment, which could also aid Russia's efforts to de-dollarize its economy in response to the Western sanctions. The G7 price cap prohibits any Western company, such as the insurance and shipping service providers that underpin much of global trade, from involvement in trading Russian crude if the purchase price is above $60 a barrel at the loading point in Russia. That remains the case even if the oil is bound for countries such as China and India which do not recognize the cap. Indian refiners typically buy Russian crude from traders at a price that includes delivery to India. Geoffrey R Pyatt, US Assistant Secretary of State for Energy earlier said the experts assess that India right now is enjoying a discount of about USD 15 a barrel in the price that it is paying for its imports of Russian crude. So India, by acting in its own interest, by driving a hard bargain to get the lowest price possible, is furthering the policy of our G7 coalition, our G7 plus partners in seeking to reduce Russian revenues," he said. India expects fuel demand to grow 4.7% next fiscal year India's fuel demand is likely to grow 4.7% in the next fiscal year beginning on April 1, initial government estimates showed. The estimates were released on the website of the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC), a unit of the federal oil ministry. Fuel consumption in 2023-24, a proxy for oil demand, could rise to 233.8 million tonnes from the revised estimate of 222.9 million tonnes for the current fiscal year ending in March, according to government forecasts. Domestic demand for gasoline, used mainly in passenger vehicles, is expected to rise by 7.1% to 37.8 million tonnes, while gas oil consumption was seen growing by about 4.2% to 90.6 million tonnes, the data showed. Consumption of aviation fuel would likely increase by 14% to 8.6 million tonnes, compared with the revised estimate of 7.4 million tonnes for the year ending March 2023. (With inputs from agencies) HDFC bank has denied the recent claims of data breach report which claimed that data of over 6 lakhs customers have been leaked on dark web. Personal information of around 6 lakh customers of the India-based HDFC Bank has allegedly been leaked by hackers on a popular cybercriminal forum, a report by Privacy stated. However, replying to a news report, the bank denied all the claims and said, We wish to state that there is no data leak at HDFC Bank and our systems have not been breached or accessed in any unauthorised manner. We remain confident of our systems. However we treat the matter of our customers data security with utmost seriousness and we continue to monitor bank systems and our ecosystems to ensure highest standards of data security and safety." The report by privacy claimed that on 6 March, a popular hacker forum claimed to have database allegedly belonging to HDFC Bank. It further stated that the cyber criminals provided data samples while demanding money for the full database. The hacker alleged that the database of customer has data from May 2022-March 2023. As per the report, the hackers claimed they had sensitive customer data such as full name, date of birth, phone number, email address, physical address, employment information, credit scores, loan information, and more. The Privacy Affairs also stated that it reviewed the samples which were posted on the hacker forum and said that the data appeared to be genuine. Though the bank has denied claims of data breach, customers on the private lenders official channel, HDFC Bank Cares, have posted of suspicious activities on their account. One customer complained of account hack while another customer said that he received an SMS from the bank to open a fake HDFC website. Some users who are not HDFC customer have also received some fake messages. A user claimed, I received certain spam messages as below (screenshot from my mobile phone). I am not an HDFC bank customer and never was. I trust you will take the necessary legal steps to safeguard your clients." Earlier, some customers also received fake text messages claiming their accounts will be blocked or suspended if they dont update their Permanent Account Number (PAN). Stay alert and this is nothing but a fake message. One of the message received by a customer yesterday read, Dear customers HDFC Bank account will be suspended today please click here to link and update your pan no immediately." The message also contains a link which you should never click. Check all the posts here: @HDFC_Bank Have been on a call trying to speak to your risk team for almost an hour now after an account hack. Any one listening please help#regalia #accounthacked #HDFCBank #HDFC pic.twitter.com/A7xH9da6ro Anamika (@D_Analyst) March 9, 2023 AutoPay (E-mandate) Reminder! Your Amazon Amt INR1499.00 will be deducted from HDFC Bank debit Card 3640 ON:12/03/2023 SI Hub ID:WSIRPeaTze Cancel:https://t.co/lMxxWkBU8A TnC It is fake or not @HDFC_Bank @HDFCBank_Cares @ANI narendra panchal (@nk5nkp) March 9, 2023 @HDFCBank_Cares hi, today I got a msg from bank related to deduction of 3300 by google on 11/3/23. What kind of fraud is this? I did not do any transaction. Kindly help me. Attached screenshot. @jagograhakjago @HDFC_Bank @GoogleIndia @GooglePlay pic.twitter.com/KIrmoP54we Cricdic (@JatinNa92558943) March 9, 2023 @HDFC_Bank, today I received certain spam messages as below (screenshot from my mobile phone). I am not an HDFC bank customer and never was. I trust you will take the necessary legal steps to safeguard your clients. Mumbai police. @MumbaiPolice , FYIA pic.twitter.com/fDDAQfeLtc Ajit.S.Khare (@Ajit_explorer) March 9, 2023 Private Indian refiners are jostling with independents in China for Russian ESPO crude loading in April, pushing prices higher after Moscow lowered exports of its flagship grade Urals, industry sources said. China, which is set to import record volumes of Russian crude in March, typically sweeps up all of the ESPO crude exported from the Pacific port of Kozmino due to close proximity while sanctions on Russian oil have shrunk the pool of buyers. However, for April, Indian refiners Reliance Industries Ltd and Nayara Energy have snapped up at least five of the about 33 ESPO crude cargoes due to low prices, four people familiar with the matter said. Reliance and Nayara did not immediately respond to requests for comment. That is up from one cargo for March delivery, its first since buying three for November 2022, shiptracking data compiled by Kpler and Refinitiv showed. One of the sources said prices for April-loading ESPO crude to India were about $5 a barrel below Dubai quotes on a delivered ex-ship (DES) basis. Indian refiners mostly buy Russian oil on a delivered basis, with the seller arranging for insurance, freight and ship. While most cargoes are below the price cap imposed by G7 countries and the European Union, prices of Russian low sulphur oil purchased by India have risen above the $60 a barrel cap due to rising demand. China has also been buying ESPO at above the price cap level, according to Reuters calculations. Indian companies are using non-dollar currencies to settle payment for certain niche Russian crudes and are avoiding use of Western services and banks to avoid sanctions. Competition from India has narrowed discounts for April-loading ESPO shipments to about $6.80 a barrel against June ICE Brent DES basis to northern China from $8.50 a barrel last month for March-loading oil, three trading sources said. Similar quality Murban crude from Abu Dhabi was traded at a premium of around $3.30 a barrel to Dubai quotes on a free-on-board basis. In comparison, April-loading Murban crude is about $9 a barrel more expensive than ESPO delivered to China and India, according to Reuters calculations. Seaborne ESPO crude exports averaged 800,000 barrels per day in 2022, Kpler's data showed, accounting for 17.3% of Russia's total seaborne exports. Exports of flagship Russian grade Urals averaged 1.74 million bpd, although Moscow has cut exports from its western ports by 10% in March from the previous month. Meanwhile, China's buying spree of ESPO continues as the country emerges from its zero-COVID regime, prompting a rebound in fuel demand from industry and the travel sector. China's seaborne imports of Russian oil are set to hit a record of nearly 43 million barrels this month, including at least 20 million barrels of ESPO. The solid demand drove the lumpsum freight rates for tankers carrying crude from Russia's Far East port Kozmino, a major ESPO export hub, to northern China to an all-time high of $2.4 million in February before easing to $2.3 million this month, Simpson Spence Young data on Refinitiv Eikon showed. (Reporting by Muyu Xu and Florence Tan in Singapore; additional reporting by Nidhi Verma in New Delhi; editing by Jason Neely) India's forex reserves have snapped its four consecutive weeks losing streak. In the week of March 3rd, reserves climbed by $1.458 billion to $562.40 billion, as per RBI's latest data. Except for SDRs, all other components in forex reserves recorded an upside in the week under review. Data from RBI showed that the country's foreign exchange (forex) reserves stood at $562.40 billion up by $1.458 billion. This is compared to a drop of $325 million to $560.942 billion in the week ending February 24, 2023. In the four weeks prior to March 3rd, the country's reserves declined by around $15.83 billion. Further, RBI's data revealed that foreign currency assets (FCA) which is the largest component in reserves, climbed by $1.181 billion in the week ending March 3rd. While gold reserves picked up by $282 million to $42.033 billion in the latest week. Also, the reserve position in the IMF surged by $8 million to $5.107 billion in the week under review. However, SDRs dipped by $13 million to $18.174 billion in the week ending March 3rd. India's reserves were at an all-time high of $645 billion in October 2021. However, to tame rupee depreciation, RBI has been intervening in the forex market via both spot and forward positions. On Friday, the rupee closed at 82.04 per dollar --- compared to the previous day's print of 81.9750. For the week, the rupee ranged between 81.60 to 82.30 -- and closed overall with just a 0.1% upside. Earlier this week, Rajeshwar Rao, Deputy Governor at RBI in an annual conference at FEDAI said, further dynamics are likely to emerge as we progress down the path of internationalisation of the Rupee. It is now widely accepted that while internationalisation and a freer capital account comes with its own set of benefits, it is not without risks and that freer capital flows comes with their own set of challenges, the primary one being that of volatility and we need to gear up to manage that." Rao added, "We are seeing a good amount of interest in the Rupee trading arrangements that we have been endeavouring to put in place. If our efforts towards Rupee invoicing bear fruit, domestic exporters and importers will not need to hedge, but there will be other opportunities in the form of their non-resident counterparts who may need to hedge." After three years of stalled commercial dialogue between the two biggest democracies in the world, India and the US, on 10 March re-launched their commercial dialogue to discuss supply chain issues and agree upon a semiconductor partnership initiative. US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal jointly addressed a press conference on Friday at the India-USA Commercial Dialogue. The dialogue focused on several emerging areas, including building supply chains, facilitating clean energy cooperation, talent development, and post-pandemic economic recovery for start-ups and small businesses. Both the dignitaries discussed India-US strategic partnership, as well as economic and commercial engagement between the two countries, including through the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF). During the meeting, the minister and the secretary acknowledged that the bilateral goods and services trade has almost doubled since 2014, surpassing $191 billion recorded in 2022. Both sides welcomed further steps to enhance their commercial collaboration and tap into market potential across multiple sectors, and also enable an environment for investment by small and medium-sized industries (MSME) and startups. Secretary Raimondo applauded the steps undertaken under the National Infrastructure Pipeline and PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan. The minister and the secretary welcomed the US-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET). The Ministers also noted Indias interest in partnering with the United States in developing a secure pharmaceutical manufacturing base and diversifying supply chains for critical and strategic minerals (including rare earths). Both countries also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on semiconductor supply chain and innovation partnership to promote cooperation in the segment. This comes just a week after reports of Apple Inc. partner Foxconn Technology Group planning to invest about $700 million on a new plant in Bengaluru to ramp up local production. Recognizing the importance of U.S. and Indian markets to the global electronics industry, Secretary Raimondo and Minister Goyal intend to utilize the Commercial Dialogue to enhance public and private efforts to promote industry cooperation in the semiconductor sector. These efforts will identify opportunities for growth and challenges to address in order to ensure that US and Indian semiconductor industries develop stronger connections, complementary ecosystems, and a more diverse supply chain for semiconductors," said a joint statement issued by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry. Both ministers recognized that small businesses and entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of the US and Indian economies and there is need to facilitate collaboration between the SMEs of the two countries and to foster innovation ecosystems that facilitate their post-pandemic economic recovery and growth. In this context, Both sides announced the launch of a new Working Group on Talent, Innovation and Inclusive Growth under the Commercial Dialogue. This will further the cooperation on Start-ups, SMEs, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship including in digital and emergent technologies. This working group would also support the efforts under iCET, particularly in identifying specific regulatory hurdles that hinder cooperation and fostering of greater connectivity between our innovation ecosystems (including tech start-ups). The two countries also relaunched the travel and tourism working group to strengthen cooperation between them. Re-launched the Travel and Tourism Working Group to continue the progress from before the pandemic and to also address the many new challenges and opportunities to create a stronger travel and tourism sector. The activities of this working group also support SMEs as travel & tourism sector comprises SMEs such as hotels, restaurants, travel agents, handicrafts and so on," the joint statement reads. Raimondo praised India for its incredible culture, and thanked Goyal for hosting the US delegation and showcasing the nations culture. She said it was an incredibly opportunity" for her to experience Indian culture, making the country a special place. Both countries also launched the Standards and Conformance Cooperation Program that will be carried out in partnership between USs American National Standard Institute (ANSI) and Indias Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) towards standards cooperation. Meanwhile, EAM and Secretary Raimondo launched strategic trade dialogue" focusing which will address export controls, explore ways of enhancing high technology commerce, and facilitate technology transfer between the two countries. The Strategic Trade Dialogue will address export controls, and ways of enhancing high-technology commerce and facilitating technology transfer between the two countries. Also, US side to send a senior government official-led Clean Energy and Environmental Technology Business Development Mission to India in 2024. The trade mission would be an opportunity to further foster US-Indian business partnerships in grid modernization and smart grid solutions, renewable energy, energy storage, hydrogen, liquefied natural gas, and environmental technology solutions," the joint statement reads. Both sides also pledged to work together in the Global Biofuels Alliance and in the development and deployment of hydrogen technologies. The two sides made announcement regarding US-India Energy Industry Network (EIN) as a broad platform for facilitating US industry involvement in the Clean EDGE Asia initiative, the US governments signature initiative to grow sustainable and secure clean energy markets throughout the Indo-Pacific region. Both sides expressed interest in working together in developing next generation standards in telecommunications, including 6G. Secretary Raimondo welcomed Indias ongoing G20 Presidency. The ministers expressed interest to look forward to the next Commercial Dialogue meeting, to be held in Washington, DC, in 2024 contributing towards a growing strategic and economic relationship between India and the United States. The US is Indias largest exporter and trade partner, while India is the ninth largest trading partner for the US. The bilateral merchandise trade during April-January stood at $108.43 billion. Both nations aim to achieve bilateral trade of $500 billion by 2025. The US is also the third biggest investor in India with a cumulative foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow of $56,753 million from April 2000 to September 2022. New Delhi: India and the US on Friday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on semiconductor supply chain and innovation partnership to promote cooperation in the segment. US Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo and Indias Commerce & Industry minister Piyush Goyal signed the pact during India-US Commercial Dialogue in Delhi. The India-US Commercial Dialogue was re-launched today to discuss cooperation for unlocking new trade and investment opportunities between the two countries. The MoU seeks to establish a collaborative mechanism between the two governments on Semiconductor Supply chain resiliency and diversification in view of USs CHIPS and Science Act and Indias Semiconductor Mission. It aims to leverage complementary strengths of both countries and facilitate commercial opportunities and development of semiconductor innovation ecosystems through discussions on various aspects of semiconductor value chain. The MoU envisages mutually beneficial R&D, talent and skill development. The US commerce secretary had on Thursday said the India-US MoU on cooperation in semiconductors will help the Indian side play a greater role in diversified supply chains. Raimondo is on a four-day visit to India for India-US Commercial Dialogue and India-US CEO Forum meeting on 10 March. The India-USA Commercial Dialogue is a cooperative undertaking encompassing regular government-to-government meetings to be held in conjunction with private sector meetings, with an aim to facilitate trade, and maximize investment opportunities across a broad range of economic sectors. Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio will pay a visit to India on March 20 and 21 to explore ways to expand bilateral cooperation in a range of areas including trade and investment. The Japanese prime minister will hold wide-ranging talks with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, covering the entire expanse of bilateral ties. "Prime Minister of Japan Kishida Fumio will pay an official visit to India on March 20 to 21," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said. "During the visit, he will hold talks with Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi. Both sides will discuss bilateral and regional issues of mutual interest," it said in a statement. The MEA said the two leaders will also discuss priorities for India's presidency of G20 and Japan's presidency of the G7. "They will also discuss their priorities for their respective Presidencies of the G7 and G20," the MEA said. This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Amid the rising number of H3N2 influenza cases, India reported its first death due to the infection in Karnataka on Friday. The 82-year-old man died due to the virus on March 1, said an health department official. The confirmation about the first death due to the H3N2 virus was given by the District Health Officer of Hassan on Friday. "It is confirmed that Hire Gowda, son of Halage Gowda, 82 years, died of H3N2 virus on March 1," the DHO told PTI. Also Read: Hyderabad hospital on alert as over 600 viral flu cases reported per day The official also informed that the octogenarian was suffering from comorbidity like diabetes and hypertension. After contracting the virus, he was admitted to hospital on February 24 and he succumbed to it on March 1. His sample was sent for test. On March 6, it was confirmed that he was infected by the virus. Also Read: Tamil Nadu health dept to conduct 1,000 fever camps on Mar 10 amid rising cases In the wake of the rising cases, the state Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar held a meeting with the officials to tackle the spike in H3N2 virus infections. The Central Government, in its guidelines, has set a target of 25 tests per week and the department is screening 25 cases of Sari and ILI in Victoria and Vani Vilasa Hospitals to keep track of the variants. The infection is contracting children more than adults. Children under the age of 15 are more prone to the viral infection. Apart from younger population, the virus is also contracting senior citizens over 65 years of age, the Minister told reporters after the meeting. In addition to the senior citizens and children, pregnant women are also susceptible to the infection. The spread of infection can be contained through measures like cleanliness, preventing crowding, and hand hygiene. Following are some prevention tips to stay safe from H3N2 influenza. Symptoms of H3N2 influenza People contracted with H3N2 influenza show common symptoms to that of normal cough and cold, and even mild covid. However, people need to get themselves tested if they show symptoms of fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people also suffer from vomiting and diarrhoea. H3N2 prevention tips 1.People should wash their hands regularly or use hand sanitizer. Just like COVID it is advisable to maintain distance at least with sick people. Keep your face covered while coughing or sneezing. Avoid touching your face unnecessarily, especially eyes, nose and mouth. Avoid crowded place and congested areas. The Pakistan delegation, which includes the Chief Justice of its Supreme Court, did not attend the 18th meeting of the Chief Justices of the Supreme Courts of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states on March 10. This happened after they earlier agreed to participate virtually. The event is being hosted by the Supreme Court of India from March 10 to 12 in New Delhi. In an interview with The Indian Express, a Supreme Court official said that Pakistan had requested a link to the meeting, which was then forwarded to them. Livemint could not independently verify the development. Pakistan earlier said that it would not participate in the meeting of Chief Justices of the SCO, according to The Express Tribune. In a statement issued by Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, Pakistan expressed its regular participation in all SCO activities and its constructive contributions to their outcomes. Also Read: 'We do not have final decisions,' Pakistan on joining SCO meeting in India However, due to unavoidable commitments, Pakistan's Chief Justice will not be able to attend the meeting even though India did extend an invitation to the Pakistani Chief Justice. All other members, including new member Iran, will be attending the meeting in person. India, the current president of the SCO, will be hosting several events, including the meeting of Chief Justices of the member states. Observers believe that the current state of the relationship between Pakistan and India may have played a part in Islamabad's decision. Also Read: Another India-Pakistan war? High possibility of military retaliation in Kashmir under Modis leadership India has also invited Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari for the SCO foreign ministers meeting to be held in Goa in May. Pakistan has yet to decide whether the foreign minister will attend. According to an official note, the interaction of the highest judicial instances is becoming more and more popular as the SCO's activities expand. The meeting of the presidents of the Supreme Courts allows for a constant dialogue on a wide range of issues, giving a new impetus to the development of relations and allowing the development of mechanisms for further improving the work of the judiciary. (With agency inputs) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 10 March, 2023, inaugurating the 3rd Session of the National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (NPDRR), said recognition and reform are the two main components for strengthening disaster management. "While recognition will help in identifying the possible threats posed by natural calamities and when they will strike in the future, reform is a system where the threats of a possible natural calamity are minimised, he explained. He suggested improving the system by making it more capable in a time-bound manner and emphasized the approach of long-term thinking instead of shortcuts," he said. We cannot stop natural calamities but we can definitely minimise its effects by putting better strategies and systems in place", the prime minister remarked as he emphasised on adopting a proactive approach rather than a reactive one. With the main theme of the event being Building Local Resilience in a Changing Climate, Modi said the concept was a familiar one in Indian tradition and it is clearly visible in the wells, architecture and the old cities. In India, the system, solutions and strategy of disaster management have always been local, he said, giving the the example of Bhunga houses of Kutch that survived earthquakes to a large extent. He stressed the need to evolve local models of housing and town planning as per new technologies. PM Modi emphasized the need to strengthen disaster management governance in the local bodies. We will have to institutionalize planning and review local planning. Underlining the need for overhaul of the complete system," the prime minister called to work on two levels. First, disaster management experts will have to focus more on public participation. He stressed a continuous process of making people aware about the dangers of earthquakes, cyclones, fire and other calamities. It is important to impart awareness about proper process, drill and rules in this regard. You will get success only by following the mantra of Local Resilience by Local participation", he said while asking the stakeholders to use train Yuvak Mandals and Sakhi Mandals at village and neighborhood levels. PM Modi asked to further strengthen the mechanisms of Apada Mitr, NSS-NCC, Army veterans and need to ensure equipment in the community centers for the first response as timely start of the rescue work can save many lives. On the second level, the prime minister asked for a real time registration and monitoring system using technology. He said, Knowledge on aspects like age of the houses, drainage, resilience of our electricity and water infrastructure will help in taking proactive steps." He talked about the discussion on the hospital fires during his recent review meeting on the heatwave and how regular review of fire preparedness of the hospital can save lives. PM Modi noted the increase in fire incidents in dense urban areas such as a hospital, factory, hotel or multi-storey residential building in the past few years especially with the increasing heat. He highlighted the challenges of having to work very systematically in densely populated areas where reaching by a vehicle is a difficult task and insisted on finding a solution for this. He stressed on constantly increasing the skill set of our firefighters in order to extinguish the fire in high rise buildings while also making sure that there are enough resources to extinguish the industrial fires that start. PM Modi focussed on the need for continuous modernization of local skills and equipment. He asked to explore the possibility of providing equipment that changes forest fuel into biofuel to women of self help groups to increase their income and reduce fire incidence. He also talked about creating a force of specialists for industries and hospitals where chances of gas leaks are high. Similarly, highlighting the need to make Ambulance networks future ready, PM Modi asked to explore the use of AI, 5G and Internet of Things (IoT) in this regard. He also asked the stakeholders to look into the use of drones, gadgets for alerting, and personal gadgets that can help in locating people buried under debris. He requested the experts to study the work of global social bodies that are creating new systems and technologies and adopt best practices. India and the United states on Friday inked a deal on increasing private sector cooperation in the area of semiconductors. The Memorandum of Understanding signed between US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal aims to facilitate business opportunities and develop an ecosystem with a view to reduce their dependency on China and Taiwan. The MoU was signed during the US Commercial Dialogue. According to a joint statement, both sides have agreed to set up a semiconductor sub-committee, led by the Department of Commerce for the US side and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and Ministry of Commerce and Industry for the Indian side. However, while addressing reporters, Raimondo clarified, We also want to be clear that the US does not seek to decouple from China nor it seeks the technological decoupling from China.". China has been the biggest consumer of semiconductor chip in 2020. China bought 53.7% of the world supply of chips worth around $240 billion. "What we seek to do is ensure that certain technologies where the US is ahead and where Chinese explicit strategy is to have these technologies and deploy them in Chinese military apparatus, those are the technologies that we have used export controls to ban the sale to China," Raimondo told reporters in Delhi. She also said that majority of the trade with China is in benign products and that will and should continue. "So this is not about decoupling, what it is about is keeping eyes wide open to the fact that China is explicitly trying to get access to American technology for use in its military and we need to protect ourselves and our allies and partners from that happening," she said. According to reports, China has sanctioned USD 140 billion to boost domestic chip manufacturing to overcome the US export restrictions. Indian government has also approved a 76,000 crore-scheme to boost semiconductor and display manufacturing in the country in a bid to position India as a global hub for hi-tech production and attract large chip makers. Incentives have been lined up for companies engaged in silicon semiconductor fabs, display fabs, compound semiconductors, silicon photonics, sensor fabs, semiconductor packaging and semiconductor design. After the pandemic, several sectors, including automobile and telecom, were severely impacted on account of shortage of semiconductor chips as India mainly imports them from China and Taiwan. Semiconductors are silicon chips that are used in various products, including automobiles, computers and cellphones. Ramesh Agarwal, father of Oyo Rooms founder Ritesh Agarwal, has died after falling from the 20th floor of a Gurgaon high rise. Agarwal lived in the apartment with his wife. Ritesh Agarwal did not live in the same building. The tragic development comes days after the family celebrated the young entrepreneurs wedding during a reception in New Delhi, which was attended by Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, billionaire investor and Softbank chairman Masayoshi Son and other luminaries. Virender Vij, deputy commissioner of police (east), said that the police received information from DLF The Crest condominium in DLF 5 on Friday about the death of a person after falling from the 20th floor. The deceased was identified as Ramesh Agarwal, the father of Oyo Rooms founder Ritesh Agarwal. We have handed over the body after the post mortem on Friday," deputy commissioner Vij said. In a statement, Ritesh Agarwal requested that the familys privacy be respected at this time. With a heavy heart, my family and I would like to share that our guiding light and strength, my father, Shri Ramesh Agarwal, passed away on 10 March. He lived a full life and inspired me and so many of us, every single day. His death is a tremendous loss for our family. My fathers compassion and warmth saw us through our toughest times and carried us forward. His words will resonate deep in our hearts. We request everyone to respect our privacy in this time of grief." With inputs from Leena Dhankhar Canada's Express Entry system will undergo several amendments as Bill C-19 received royal assent. Under this new system, groupings will be established based on economic goals, factors such as employment, and fluency in English or French. The big changes are aimed at responding to Canadas labour market and demographic needs more effectively. More details on the C-19 Bill is likely to be revealed, along with the exact categories and its eligibility in the upcoming months. What is Bill C-19 in Canada? Bill C-19 is a new amendment to the Canada visa application process. Passed on 23 June 2022, Bill C-19 will amend the Immigration Refugee Protection Act (IRPA). How would Bill C-19 impact Express Entry? 1) With Bill C-19 passed, candidates can now be invited based on groupings" set out by the Immigration Minister. 2) Under this new system, groupings will be established based on economic goals. 3) The groupings will most likely be chosen based on factors such as employment experience, academic experience, or proficiency in English or French. 4) The Bill also seeks to implement nationwide changes by raising the age range for applicants who are required to demonstrate language and knowledge capabilities to 18 years of age or more but less than 65 years of age" from the current 18 to 54 age requirement. How does Express Entry work? The Express Entry application management system endeavours to streamline processing for skilled workers who apply under three economic immigration programs. Express Entry includes categories like the Canadian Experience Class, the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Federal Skilled Trades Program, and a component of the Provincial Nominee Program, which will experience changes under Bill C-19 in 2023. How Canada currently selects Express Entry candidates. Canadas Express Entry is a point-based system that evaluates candidates based on factors in the CRS points calculator. An Invitation to Apply (ITA) is solely based on a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score. With Canadas ever-growing labor shortages, businesses in Canada have urged the federal government to ease Canada Immigration pathways especially for skilled workers. A total of 37 cases, including litigation, police, and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), were filed against former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan in different parts of the country. The proceedings have been launched by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman, according to The News International. Imran Khan himself is a petitioner in 19 cases that have been filed against government departments and individuals, as per the litigation status report of PTI chief provided by Fawad Chaudhry. However, there are a total of 37 cases against Khan in which he is directly involved. The report stated that a total of 21 FIRs are registered against the former prime minister out of which 11 were registered in a single day on May 25, 2022, while eight were registered on May 26. The remaining three FIRs were registered on August 8. It is pertinent to mention that the list does not include recent cases filed against Imran Khan. Out of the total litigation cases, five are ongoing in the Supreme Court of Pakistan after being filed by Khan against the Federation of Pakistan. Khan has filed two cases against the Election Commission of Pakistan while two are registered against him in the Islamabad High Court, ANI reported. Pakistan: Cases registered against Imran Khan in different courts In the Lahore High Court, a total of six cases are filed by Khan, four against the Federation of Pakistan and two against the election commission. However, only two cases are ongoing against Imran in the LHC. The News International report also mentioned that a total of three cases are ongoing in the Peshawar High Court involving Imran Khan in which he is a petitioner in only one case. In the Islamabad District Court, there are three cases against the former Pakistan PM. The Election Commission of Pakistan is pursuing five cases against Khan, which include foreign funding case, a KP helicopter case, removal of chairmanship case, and contempt case for using inappropriate language against the commission and the chairman commission. The Federal Investigation Agency has also registered two cases against Khan and both are related to the cipher. Further, in anti-terrorism courts, Imran is facing three cases. Only one case has been filed against Khan by the FIA Banking Crime Court Islamabad, as per ANI reports. Earlier this week, the PTI chief had claimed on Twitter that 76 cases have been registered against him. My 76 cases and increasing rapidly include terrorism, blasphemy, and sedition. In sedition case, neither the officer is named nor institution identified." (With ANI inputs) At least seven people were killed and others were injured in a shooting at a Jehovah's Witnesses church in Hamburg, Germany. The incident was reported at approximately 1:45 AM on March 10 (India time) after nearby residents heard gunfire. Hamburg police spokesperson Holger Vehren stated that there were no indications of any suspects still at large, and investigations were ongoing. Vehren suggested that the perpetrator might still be at the scene, possibly among the dead. A deceased individual was discovered at the scene of the Jehovah's Witnesses event, and Hamburg Police have suggested that this individual "could be a perpetrator." Germany has only experienced five mass shootings between 1998 and 2019, in contrast to 101 recorded in the United States. Also Read: 6 people shot dead in Mississippi, the US state with weakest gun laws German news outlet Bild Zeitung reported that seven individuals have died, while at least eight others are injured. Police officers happened to be nearby as they were returning to their accommodations at the police headquarters in Alsterdorf. The officers were from the special unit USE, created in 2020 to deal with such situations. One witness, Lara Bauch, reported hearing several rounds of gunfire, lasting approximately 20 seconds to a minute apart. According to The Guardian, dBauch saw an individual running from the ground floor to the first floor of the Jehovah's Witnesses building. Shots were fired inside a building used by Jehovahs Witnesses in the German city of Hamburg on Thursday evening, and an unspecified number of people were killed or wounded, police said. https://t.co/OEgpYpVzCg pic.twitter.com/Z01FgJLWaZ The Associated Press (@AP) March 9, 2023 Hamburg's Interior Minister, Andy Grote, stated on Twitter that special police forces and a significant number of officers were deployed to the scene. Jehovah's Witnesses are a Christian-based religious movement founded in the late 19th century in the USA by Charles Taze Russell. The group's headquarters is in New York. Police have urged the public not to speculate or spread rumours about the incident. Also Read: One dead, several injured in shooting at Michigan State University The police have stated that they are uncertain about the background and possible motives behind the shooting. A spokesperson at the scene stated that there were no indications of a perpetrator fleeing the scene, but there were "indications that a perpetrator may have been in the building and may be even among the dead. We found a lifeless person in a community center in #GroBorstel who we believe could be a perpetrator. In order to rule out the involvement of other perpetrators, we carry out checks and search extensively," the police tweeted. (With agency inputs) Foreign exchange reserves of State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) have been increased by $487 million to $4.301 billion by the week ended March 03, 2023, as compared with $3.814 billion a week ago, February 24, according to official data released on Thursday. With this, the forex reserves have now reached a level providing more than one month of import cover to cash-strapped Pakistan, a report by pkrevenue stated. The bank attributed the increase in its forex reserves to inflows of a $500 million loan from China. The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China has approved the rollover of a $1.3 billion loan to Pakistan. This is in addition to the $700 billion that the bank had previously lent to the country. It is pertinent to note that a country's central bank ideally should have a level of foreign exchange reserves equal to three-month of import cover China comes to Pakistan's rescue amid IMF delay Pakistan expects to receive a $1.3 billion loan rollover from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, taking the total relief to $2 billion for the nation that is seen at risk of default. ICBC has approved the rollover of existing debt and actual inflows will happen in three tranches with $500 million in the next few days, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said at a briefing in Islamabad Friday. The move follows a $700 million loan by China Development Bank earlier last week. The funds will provide much-needed relief for the nation that has about $7 billion of repayments in the coming months. Pakistans dollar bonds due next year slid to the lowest since November on Thursday as investors remained concerned about its ability to make good on its payment obligations amid a dollar crunch. Authorities in Pakistan are relying on a bailout loan from the IMF to stave off a default, which has remained elusive so far. To win the lender's support, the South Asian nation has increased taxes, raised energy prices, and allowed its currency to depreciate. It will raise electricity prices in the next 24 hours for next fiscal year, that is one of the two pending prior actions, Dar said without disclosing the second step. The Kremlin is opening up Vladimir Putins schedule around this years G-20 summit in India in September to make it possible for the Russian president to participate in the leaders gathering after skipping the last two, according to people familiar with the planning. Kremlin defiance is growing as efforts by the US and its allies to isolate Russia over its invasion of Ukraine are stalling in the face of reluctance among other countries to join. For the moment, the Kremlin is planning for him to participate in the summit though no final decision has been made, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss plans that arent yet public. Officials this week shifted the dates for an annual economic forum in Vladivostok, which had been set for the eve of the Sept. 9-10 summit, to a week later to give Putin greater flexibility and open the possibility that senior officials from India and China might attend the forum, the people said. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment. Formally, India has invited Putin to the G-20 summit and the Kremlin has accepted. But last year, amid pressure from the US and its allies over the war, Putin dropped plans to attend the gathering in Indonesia and sent Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in his place. He also skipped the G-20 meeting in Rome a year earlier while he was planning his invasion of Ukraine. Since November, however, the Kremlin has found itself a bit less isolated in the group. At the meeting of G-20 foreign ministers in New Delhi in early March, Russia and China rejected wording on the war that had been agreed at the leaders summit in Indonesia less than six months before. They teamed up to block India, the host country, from negotiating a compromise. China Joins Russia in Refusing to Agree to G-20 Statement on War Russia has hardened its position since the fall after the US and its allies agreed to step up weapons supplies to Ukraine early this year, according to a person familiar with Kremlin thinking. A similar meeting of G-20 finance ministers and central bank heads failed to reach a consensus on the language. Russia has stopped sending senior economic officials to such gatherings, seeing their participation as pointless, according to people familiar with the decisions. The Kremlin has said Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Moscow this year, as trade between the two countries surges despite sanctions imposed on Russia by the US and its allies over Putins invasion of Ukraine. India, meanwhile, may send a government minister to represent the country at Putins annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum again in June this year, according to people familiar with the plans. A final decision will be up to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Indian leader didnt hold an annual in-person summit with Putin last year, for only the second time in the last two decades. India and Russia are, however, continuing with established diplomatic engagements despite unease in New Delhi over Russias war in Ukraine. India hasnt joined the US and European sanctions and has seen trade surge with Russia since the invasion. This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. China's Xi Jinping is set to secure a third term as his country's head of state on Friday. Xi, who leads the ruling Communist Party, will become Chinas longest-serving head of state since the Communist victory in 1949 after the countrys 3,000 members of rubber-stamp legislature formally vests him with another five years as president on Friday. The annual legislative gathering is expected to also reappoint Xi as chairman of the Central Military Commission, a post that makes him chief of the worlds biggest armed forces in terms of active personnel. He was already the head of an identical party body overseeing the Peoples Liberation Army. A vice president will be voted into office, too, filling the role previously occupied by Wang Qishan. 69-year-old Xi Jinping is likely to easily win National Peoples Congress backing to serve five more years. He took all 2,970 ballots cast in 2018, the same year China abolished constitutional provisions that wouldve prevented him from getting a third term. His reelection is the culmination of a remarkable rise in which he has gone from a relatively little-known party apparatchik to the leader of a global superpower. Xi Jinping's rise: For decades China eschewed one-man rule in favour of a more consensus-based, but still autocratic, leadership. That model imposed term limits on the ceremonial role of the presidency with Xi's predecessors Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao relinquishing power after 10 years in office. Xi has torn up that rulebook, abolishing term limits in 2018 and allowing a cult of personality to foster his all-powerful leadership. His coronation this week sets him up to become modern China's longest-serving head of state and will mean Xi will rule well into his seventies and -- if no challenger emerges -- even longer. Jinping's challenges According to the South China Morning Post, it will be a critical period for both Xi and China as he needs to put the country back on an economic growth path to convince the world that Chinas unique governance and development model works and that his ambitious political legacy is within reach amid intensified rivalry with the US. Xi has also faced some challenges, with mass protests over his zero-Covid policy and its subsequent abandonment that saw countless people die. Those issues have been avoided at this week's National People's Congress (NPC). The lawmakers have focused instead on a sweeping revamp of Beijing's science ministry and tech capabilities. In the past two weeks the Indian government has organised two major G20 meetings of finance and foreign ministers while a private think-tank organised the Raisina Dialogue, Indias largest international affairs policy forum, in Delhi. Organising such large gatherings of policymaking elites, or of those who influence policy making, are now an essential facet of a countrys soft-power outreach, which is itself a means to achieving practical, hard-power goals. India has a history of organising large gatherings of government and other influential elites. It hosted the Asian Relations Conference of 1947, even before it had attained Independence. It was also the moving spirit at the Afro-Asian Conference in 1955 in Bandung, Indonesia. This outreach and spirit of leadership, however, fell by the wayside over the following decades as India focused its attention to combating a sometimes actively hostile external environment and several internal crises. It is only in the past two decades, when Indias economic growth has accelerated, that the old confidence on the world stage has started to return. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, foreign policy has developed a particular activism, with a former professional diplomat in charge of the external affairs portfolio and three ministers of state to boot the most in any central government ministry. The Raisina Dialogue is one result of this activism. Backed hugely by Indias External Affairs Ministry, it has grown to the level of its predecessors, such as the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Shangri La Dialogue in Singapore, and Manama Dialogue in Bahrain. But it is already past time that the Indian government launched new initiatives. Thats because New Delhi, even now, is still playing catch-up in the region. India does not have the kind of inter-governmental forums it can actively lead, where its views and positions hold the kind of sway that ASEAN has, for example, with the ASEAN Regional Forum or the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting Plus. While these are largely talk-shops, they keep alive for ASEAN the useful fiction that it is at the centre of regional geopolitics and able to direct it. China has, since the mid-1990s, actively sought to shape its region and the wider world through regional initiatives such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), with its focus on Eurasia, as well as a series of regional economic cooperation forums like the China-Eurasia Expo and the China-ASEAN Expo. These are massive platforms where business elites meet to exchange views and conclude deals under subtle Chinese political direction. China has also had various kinds of South Asia-focused initiatives such as the China-South Asia Think-tank Forum and the China-South Asia Legal Forum. At these forums, Indians are often merely onlookers or are simply ignored as smaller countries in the region use Chinas backing to criticise India or let the Chinese fire from their shoulder. With time and greater confidence, China has organised pan-Asian or trans-regional initiatives such as the long-running Boao Forum for Asia, its rival to the World Economic Forum in Davos, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and sub-regional forums like the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Mechanism, which seeks to undermine both the Asian Development Bank-led Greater Mekong Subregion project and the India-led Mekong-Ganga Cooperation project. The Chinese have also used other forums such as the IISS Singapore forum to grandstand and sell their narratives about the perils of a US-led global order. What India urgently needs is a major security dialogue forum that it can lead and set the agenda for, in order to promote its own interests between the dominant US-China or US-Russia competition narratives. As real or intractable as such issues might be, to allow them to dominate regional or global attention without putting forward an Indian narrative or showcasing Indias ability to handle major security tasks mediation, peacekeeping, and yes, warfighting is to undersell India and undo the good work of New Delhis presidency of the G20 and of forums such as the Raisina Dialogue. The Chinese have a long-running Beijing Xiangshan Military Forum and other inter-governmental mechanisms such as the China-Africa Peace and Security Forum and the Middle East Security Forum, in addition to platforms within the SCO. The Concept Paper on Chinas new Global Security Initiative, released in February, talks of encourage[ing] more exchanges and cooperation among university-level military and police academies" and of Chinas willingness to provide other developing countries with 5,000 training opportunities in the next five years to train professionals for addressing global security issues". Such confidence comes from years of preparation and hosting of multilateral dialogues by the Chinese military. India has active defence training and cooperation mechanisms with many countries in its immediate and extended neighbourhood, including for UN peacekeeping. But these initiatives are undersold or poorly advertised, at least in part because of a dysfunctional civil-military relationship in India. This has to change. National Maritime Foundation, an Indian Navy-backed think-tank, conducts an annual Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue focused on maritime issues and defence expos have caught on in a big way but this is not enough. Indias military diplomacy must move beyond port calls, military exercises and a few slots within the MEA allotted to serving defence personnel to make up for the ministrys manpower shortages in administrative and logistical tasks. Instead, the Indian government must do away with outdated service rules about contacts between serving Indian military officers and foreign counterparts they have met during officially sanctioned education and training exchanges, and promote a culture of area studies and intellectual endeavour within the Indian armed forces. India needs a global forum whose conduct and agenda are led by its military to signal more strongly its global capabilities and ambitions. Their faces smeared in green and black, some with Stinger anti-aircraft missiles on their packs, the men of Darkside"the 3rd battalion of Americas 4th marine regimentboarded a pair of Sea Stallion helicopters and clattered away into the nearby jungle. Their commanders followed in more choppers carrying ultralight vehicles and communications gear. Anything superfluous was left behind. No big screens for video links of the sort used in Iraq and Afghanistan: to avoid detection, the marines must make sure their communications blend into the background just as surely as their camouflage blends into the tropical greenery. The goal of the exercise: to disperse around an unnamed island, link up with friendly green" allies and repel an amphibious invasion by red" forces. Ignore the polite abstractions. The marines are training for a war with China, probably precipitated by an invasion of Taiwan. Their base in Okinawa, at the southern end of the Japanese archipelago, is just 600km (370 miles) from Taiwan. The two islands are part of what American military planners call the first island chain": a series of archipelagoes and islands, big and small, that stretches from Japan to Malaysia, impeding naval passage from China to the Pacific. Whether by harrying Chinese ships from a distance ormuch less likelyby deploying to Taiwan to help repel a Chinese landing, the marines will be early participants in any conflict. The hardest part, says Lieutenant-Colonel Jason Copeland, Darksides commanding officer, would be dealing with an adversary thats coming at you in mass". As Chinas military power grows, predicting how a war over Taiwan might unfold, and thus improving the odds of fending China off without unleashing a nuclear calamity, is getting ever harder. The only certainty is that, even if all nuclear weapons remained in their silos, such a conflict would have horrific consequences, not just for the 23m people of Taiwan, but for the world. Chinas Communist leaders have claimed Taiwan since Nationalist forces fled to it after losing a civil war in 1949. America has long pledged to help the island defend itself. But in recent years, on both sides, rhetoric and preparations have grown more fevered. Chinas forces often practise island landings. Its warships and fighter jets routinely cross the median line" (in effect Taiwans maritime boundary) and harass military ships and planes of America and its allies. After Nancy Pelosi, at the time the Speaker of Americas House of Representatives, visited Taiwan last year, China fired missiles towards it. Dire strait America, meanwhile, is sending more military trainers to Taiwan. The Taiwanese government recently increased mandatory military service from four months to a year. Prominent congressmen have urged President Joe Biden to learn from Russias attack on Ukraine and give Taiwan all the weapons it may need before an invasion, not after one has started. Adding to the sense of impending crisis are Americas efforts to throttle Chinas tech industry and Mr Xis growing friendliness with Russia. American military commanders and intelligence chiefs say Mr Xi has ordered the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) to develop the capacity to invade Taiwan by 2027. Some think conflict is closer. My gut tells me we will fight in 2025," General Michael Minihan, head of Americas air mobility command, recently warned subordinates. Both sides fear that time is running out: America worries that Chinas armed forces may soon become too strong to deter, while China frets that the prospect of peaceful reunification is evaporating. War with China is not inevitable, and its not imminent," declares Admiral John Aquilino, commander of Americas Indo-Pacific Command, who would oversee any fight with China. Speaking in his headquarters overlooking Pearl Harbour, scene of Japans pre-emptive strike in 1941, he says his first mission is to do everything in my power to prevent a conflict". Nonetheless, he adds, if deterrence fails, you must be prepared to fight and win." As Russias invasion of Ukraine shows, he warns, There is no such thing as a short war." The first question for Americas strategists is how much warning they would get of an impending invasion. The PLA, with an estimated 2m active personnel, versus Taiwans 163,000, would need extensive preparations to conduct what would be the biggest amphibious assault since the D-Day landings in 1944. It would have to cancel leave, gather landing ships, stockpile munitions, set up mobile command posts and much more. But in a war of choice, with Mr Xi able to pick his timing, many of these moves could be disguised as military exercises. American defence officials say they might see unambiguous signs of imminent war, such as stockpiling of blood supplies, only a fortnight ahead. For smaller operations, to seize islands Taiwan controls close to the mainland, say, there might be only a few hours warningif that. America would want to expose Chinas preparations early, as it did with Russias invasion of Ukraine, and rally an international coalition in opposition. That would be easier if Mr Xi embarked on an outright invasion. But China may try to exploit the ambiguities of Taiwans status: it does not have diplomatic relations with most other countries. If Mr Xi cites some provocation", and begins with actions short of war, such as a blockade, America or its allies might equivocate. America must also weigh how far its preparations risk precipitating conflict. Send aircraft-carriers to the region as a show of force? Deploy troops to Taiwan? Threaten Chinas oil supplies through the Strait of Malacca? All might be deemed provocations by China, if not acts of war. As war approaches, Taiwan will move navy ships from its vulnerable western coast to the east, behind the mountain range that runs along the eastern side of the island. It would seek to hide jet fighters in underground shelters and mobilise its 2.3m reservists. It would also have to control widespread panic, as multitudes attempted to flee and as transport links to the outside world were cut. America, too, would be dispersing jets from exposed bases. The marines would deploy around maritime choke-points. American submarines would slip under the waves, some mustering close to Taiwan. Some American and Taiwanese military commanders would no doubt press for military strikes against Chinas gathering invasion force. They would probably be overruled by those seeking a diplomatic solution, or at least not wanting to be blamed for firing the first shot. China, for its part, would have to take a momentous decision. Should it limit its attack to Taiwan, hoping to create a fait accompli as America and its allies dither? Or should it strike Americas forces in the region, in a new Pearl Harbour? The first option leaves America free to attack the invasion fleet; the latter all but guarantees its wholehearted entry into the war, and probably Japans, too, if China attacked American bases there. An invasion would almost certainly begin with massive missile and rocket strikes on Taiwan. These would quickly destroy much of Taiwans navy, air force and air defences. Wang Hongguang, a former deputy commander of the PLA region opposite Taiwan, predicted in 2018 that there would be 24 hours of bombardmentfirst on military and political targets, then on civilian infrastructure such as power plants and fuel depots. He suggested that China would blind Taiwans satellites, cut its subsea internet cables and use electronic warfare to scramble its command-and-control systems, hobbling co-ordination with American and allied forces. General Wang said the onslaught would cause enough havoc to open at least a two-day window for invasion. If American forces did not arrive within three days, he blustered, dont bother to make a trip in vain". China will also do its best to sap Taiwans will to fight. Its cyber-forces will try to hack local television and radio, and bombard Taiwanese soldiers with text and social-media messages, offering rewards to mutineers and deserters. China must then confront the formidable challenge of an amphibious assault, one of the most difficult forms of warfare. The beaches of Kinmen, a Taiwanese island just 3km from the mainland, are dotted with relics from an attempted invasion in 1949, when Nationalist forces killed or captured almost the entire advance party of 9,000 Communist troops who landed in small fishing boats. The PLA has come far since then, acquiring advanced weaponry and studying precedents such as D-Day, the American-led landings at Incheon in Korea in 1950 and Britains recapture of the Falkland Islands from Argentina in 1982. Walk of strife Yet the risks are still great. China has not fought a war since invading Vietnam in 1979. Although the Taiwan Strait is only 130km wide at its narrowest, its currents and tides are powerful and erratic. Conditions are usually propitious only in March-May and September-October. Just 14 of Taiwans beaches are suitable for landings and they are heavily fortified, especially the ones close to Taipei, where Chinese forces would probably prefer to start an invasion (see map 1). Taiwan has built lots of bunkers and tunnels in the area. Nor is it certain that the PLA has enough ships to transport an adequate landing force quickly across the strait. It would need 300,000 to 1m troops to be sure of subduing Taiwan. It has six amphibious army brigades stationed nearby, with a combined 20,000 troops, plus a similar number of marines. But Chinas amphibious landing ships could probably ferry only about 20,000 soldiers across in the first day or two, depending on how much equipment they take. Likewise, the PLAs transport aircraft could probably convey only half of its 20,000 airborne troops in the opening phase. The PLA recently practised using ferries and other civilian ships, which could bring across many more units but, for that to work well, China would need to capture a still-usable port. The war in Ukraine has raised fresh doubts, too, especially about Chinas ground forces. Its combined-arms battalions, including its amphibious ones, are modelled on Russias battalion tactical groups, which have struggled in Ukraine. Even if China succeeded in swiftly decapitating Taiwans leadership, it might still face protracted fighting against forces replicating the Ukrainians use of portable missile-launchers and drones. Taiwans strategy, meanwhile, is to thwart Chinas initial landing or prevent it from bringing enough troops. Taiwanese forces would block ports and beaches with sea mines, submerged ships and other obstacles. Backed by surviving aircraft and naval vessels, they would strike Chinas approaching force with missiles and pound disembarking Chinese troops with artillery and rockets. Some PLA texts suggest that Taiwan has underwater pipelines off its beaches that could release flammable liquid. Some of its outlying islands are protected by remote-controlled guns. If the PLA broke out of its beachheads, it would face a slog through arduous terrain to reach Taipei and other urban centres. Then both sides would face a challenge for which neither is fully prepared: urban warfare. Taiwan is reluctant to fight in its cities, fearing high civilian casualties. The PLA does train for urban warfare, but had long banked on a quick victory if it reached Taipei. Since the war in Ukraine began, however, both sides have been practising fighting in built-up areas more. Even if a Chinese invasion got bogged down, though, time would not be on Taiwans side. We can fend them off for one or two weeks but no longer," says Si-fu Ou of Taiwans Institute for National Defence and Security Research, a think-tank. Unless Taiwanese forces resist steadfastly, everything else is futile. But, by the same token, Taiwan cannot hope to defend itself in the long run without American help. As an island, Taiwan is not just harder to invade than Ukraine, but also harder to support. Its ports might be destroyed by China, its own forces or even Americas. Attempting to bring reinforcements or supplies to the island as Chinese missiles rain down would be almost as difficult as attempting to invade. At the very least, America and Taiwan would need help from allies. Japan, which hosts tens of thousands of American troops, has capable forces. The Philippines is weak militarily but close to Taiwan. Australia is closely allied but modestly armed and farther away. Countries in the Pacific could provide rear bases. More distant allies, such as Britain, might send naval vessels. A big uncertainty is how much India would help. A lot would depend on how the crisis unfolds and who is blamed for it. Americas plans to help Taiwan used to hinge on aircraft-carriers. It sent one to the area after China fired missiles near Taiwan in 1995 and again after another salvo in 1996. But China has since invested heavily in anti-access/area-denial" (A2/AD) weapons, designed to fend off American ships and aircraft. They include the DF-26 missile, which can strike deep into the Pacific (see map 2), and new hypersonic missiles that are harder to intercept. Chinas navy is now the worlds largest, with a fleet of submarines to attack approaching American ships. Its long-range bombers are also a menace. David Ochmanek of the RAND Corporation, a think-tank that has run classified war-games simulating a Taiwan conflict, argues that old American strategies now lead to defeat". American planners alternative is summed up with three Ds: disrupt Chinese operations within the first island chain, defend allies on it and dominate the sea and air beyond. America must overcome daunting problems: the tyranny of distance" in the vast Pacific Ocean, the growth of Chinas weapons engagement zone" to encompass American bases in the western Pacific and the sheer mass of Chinas manpower and weapons, which exceeds Americas in many categories. The risk of Chinese attack, by missiles or bombers, decreases with distance (see chart). But even Guam, Americas big military hub some 3,000km from China, is vulnerable. What is more, Americas air defence is worryingly thin. It also has few means of passive defence, such as concrete aircraft hangars. American officers speak of the prospect of war with a mixture of dread at Chinas growing power (Every day I am astounded by their capabilities," says one), and optimism that new tactics can achieve victory. They emphasise distributed lethality", meaning the scattering and constant movement of forces to avoid becoming easy targets, while maintaining the capacity to gather or co-ordinate in attacks. This will rely to an unprecedented degree on Americas experience of fighting as a joint force", in which separate military branches and weapons systems reinforce each other. Military jets would disperse from big bases, gather in the air for battle and settle where they can on specks of land. They would repeat the pattern as quickly as possible by hot-pit" refuelling with engines running. Sometimes planes would perch in civilian airports; sometimes on austere airfields, many dating from the second world war, which are being refurbished. Adding ever more concrete to protect aircraft is a fools errand", says Brigadier-General Paul Birch, commander of the 36th Wing at Andersen air base, in Guam. Being in the air is much safer." Engineers, meanwhile, would aim to repair cratered runways within about six hours. Ground crews would set up pop-up hangars as well as traffic-control centres and data links. A big headache would be how to get fuel and munitions to the right places. One aim of this agile combat employment" is to force China to expend its large but finite stock of missiles. Rather than fight near Taiwan, American surface ships would probably hold back, to survive, provide air defence for Guam and other rear bases and blockade Chinese trade. They would pulse"sailing briefly in and out of the danger zoneto shoot at Chinese ships and planes. Brothers with arms Marines would deploy to key maritime terrain", especially islands dominating the straits that separate Taiwan from Japan and the Philippines. They would reinforce the local troops, reconnoitre Chinese dispositions and, armed with new missiles coming into service in the next few months, fire on enemy ships. The marines are creating three new marine littoral regiments", each with more than 2,000 troops, giving up their tanks and many of their howitzers. Read more of this package How to avoid war over Taiwan Special report: Frontline Formosa Some critics say these units would be too vulnerable; others reckon that, without deployment to Taiwan itself, they would be too distant to help much in the main battle. The marines, though, argue that they would multiply the threats China must face, canalise" Chinese ships into vulnerable positions and, above all, sense and make sense" of Chinese deployments. General David Berger, the marines commandant, talks of turning the tables" on China by using an A2/AD strategy to defend the first island chain. America wont have to fight its way in, he says: We are there persistently, 52 weeks a year." Dispersed warfare sacrifices efficiency for resilience. To succeed, though, lots of things need to go well. First, command-and-control networks must be able to withstand Chinese electronic attack. Planners talk of a yet-to-be-perfected kill web", in which artificial intelligence helps sensors" and "shooters"including those of alliesoperate together even when far apart. Marines on islands, stealthy F-35 fighters, drones and more can all act as nodes. Second, America would need more sophisticated logistics to supply far-flung units. Last, it must persuade allies to risk Chinas wrath. Their willingness would become clear only as hostilities erupt, which complicates planning. Early in the war the job of sinking Chinas invasion fleetthe critical task in defending Taiwanwould fall mainly to submarines and long-range bombers. Though its boats are outnumbered by Chinas, America retains the edge in underwater warfare. Its attack submarines carry torpedoes, cruise missiles and sea mines. Sooner or later, however, they would run out of munitions, and would have to sail away for several days to replenish in places such as Guam, where they would be vulnerable. Too far away Bombers flying from Hawaii, Alaska and the American mainland, meanwhile, would be using munitions that can be fired from beyond the reach of Chinese anti-aircraft missiles. But Americas Long Range Anti-Ship Missiles, which can travel 200 nautical miles or more, would probably run out within a week. Thereafter, American forces would have to move closer to Taiwan to sink ships. Americas hope is that, by then, China has also run short of long-range munitions. America and China would debate whether and when to attack each others satellites, potentially turning low-earth orbit into a scrapyard. Some war-games suggest they might refrain from doing so for fear of harming themselves. But as a senior American military official puts it, The side that shoots first gets a big advantage." Every stage of the war would be fought in the shadow of nuclear weapons. Mr Biden has talked about reducing Americas reliance on nukes, and China espouses no first use". But the risk of disaster is presumably rising as China expands its arsenal. It will grow from 400 or so warheads today, the Pentagon reckons, to 1,000-odd by 2030 (still less than America and Russia have). A recent war game conducted by the Centre for a New American Security, a think-tank, suggested that both sides underestimate the risk of escalation. This grows if either attacks the others mainland, or if the conflict becomes protracted. The toll of even a purely conventional war would be devastating, for the victors as well as the losers. A war game by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, another American think-tank, found that under its base scenario" Taiwanese, American and Japanese forces typically severed PLA supply lines after about ten days, stranding some 30,000 Chinese troops on the island. Taiwan survived as an autonomous entity, but was left with no electricity or basic services. America and Japan suffered, too, losing 382 aircraft and 43 ships, including two American aircraft-carriers. China lost 155 planes and 138 ships. The economic cost would be enormous, too. RAND estimated in 2016 that a year-long war over Taiwan would reduce Chinas GDP by 25-35% and Americas by 5-10%. The Rhodium Group, a consultancy, concluded in 2022 that the disruption to the supply of semiconductors (Taiwan makes 90% of the worlds most advanced computer chips) would cause global shortages of electronic goods, leading to incalculable" damage to the world economy. Given the appalling consequences, would America and China really go to war? Chinese officials say their preferred option is still peaceful unification, and deny there is any timetable for an attack. China also has many options short of an all-out invasion. They include economic coercion, a full or partial blockade and the seizure of outlying islands such as Kinmen. China may well embark on this sort of grey-zone" operation as a substitute for, or a prelude to, a wider attack. Mr Xi has strong incentives to bide his time, not least because his forces are growing, whereas American defence spending is near an 80-year low as a share of GDP. But he may also feel pressure to attack if Taiwan abandons all pretence that it might ever reconcile with the mainland, and formally declares independence, or if America deploys troops to Taiwan. The year-long conflict in Ukraine is proof that an irredentist autocrat can miscalculate appallingly. Zhou Bo, a former senior officer in the PLA, notes that to achieve its aims, China does not need to exceed Americas global might; it just needs an edge in the western Pacific. Many strategists in America and Asia fear that the loss of Taiwan would replace the American-led order in the region with a Chinese-led one. Japan and South Korea might feel obliged to develop their own nuclear weapons. Rather than constraining China, the first island chain would become a platform for it to project power farther afield. Taiwan is the cork in the bottle," as an American military official puts it. America draws solace from Russias failures in Ukraine, believing they have increased Mr Xis doubts about his ability to take Taiwan. But to preserve the precarious balance across the Taiwan Strait, America must act with exquisite skill. It needs to reinforce Mr Xis hesitation by strengthening itself, its allies and Taiwan, but not go so far that he thinks he must attack fast or give up on seizing Taiwan for ever. 2023, The Economist Newspaper Limited. All rights reserved. From The Economist, published under licence. The original content can be found on www.economist.com The arts collective Engage are lighting up the Longford dusk with an entrancing arts installation. 'Another One Lights The Dusk' is a projection of intriguing images on the facade of one of Longford' town's most iconic buildings. Artist, illustrator, animator and music producer Pat Taaffe created the projection piece to celebrate the fourth anniversary of the studios at Garvey's Yard. Pat was the first artist to occupy Studio 3 in 2019, as he prepared for his solo exhibition at Backstage Theatre in February 2020. Engage Longford is an artist's led organisation that provides a platform to promote Longford as a hub for visual art. Their studios at Garveys Yard provide opportunities for artists to live, work and develop their practice in Longford. Pat Taaffe has also been a featured artist and muralist with Cruthu Arts Festival Longford and taken part in open studios and Culture Night events at Garvey's Yard. His current projection features a mix of classic and modern, comprising a stellar line including Da Vinci ,Vermeer, Van Gogh, Magritte, Warhol, Bowie, and Nirvana. Garveys Yard studios facilitate a broad mix of artists, providing a valuable asset to local arts infrastructure adding to the growing creative vibrancy of Longford. The studios present possibilities for networking and collaborative projects with existing and new communities, local schools and interest groups. Engage Longford's studios at Garveys Yard also assist with the regeneration of the site and help to reverse the poor reputation which has blighted the area for some time Rosie OHara, of Engage Longford, explained the idea behind the installation: Since we set up Garveys Yard Arts Studios in February 2019 we've marked each anniversary with a public piece. Our first with an exhibition at Backstage Theatre in 2020, our second in 2021 with a series of projected pieces from January to March and our third, last year, was the new installation beside our studios off Main Street. This year our piece is on the facade of Ulster Bank. 'Another One Lights The Dusk' will be shown nightly from 7pm to 10pm up until this Sunday, March 12 at the former Ulster Bank building, Main Street, Longford. Police: Smithtown Man Arrested after Masturbating at Secaucus Kohls in Front of Kids Crime By Chris Boyle Published: March 10 2023 Christopher Honnold, 27, is charged with sexual assault and criminal sexual contact. A Smithtown, New York man was arrested after masturbating in in front of children at a Kohls department store in Secaucus, New Jersey last week, Police say. On March 2nd at 3:11 p.m., Secaucus police responded to Kohls, located at 3 Millcreek Drive, after recieving complaints about a man walking around the store committing lewd acts," according to Police Chief Dennis Miller. Reports say that Honnold was allegedly gratifying himself in view of the public were he could be observed by children under the age of 13. Honnold had already left the store by the time police arrived after being told to leave by a loss prevention officer. However, after an investigation, Christopher Honnold, 27, was identified, and turned himself in to Secaucus police on Monday. (Alliance News) - Nostrum Oil & Gas PLC said on Friday it had agreed to acquire 80% of Positive Invest LLC for USD20 million. Positive Invest holds the Stepnoy Leopard Fields in West Kazakhstan, which are estimated to hold between 50 and 150 million barrels of oil equivalent of recoverable volumes. These are considered contingent resources, with over 20% estimated to be liquids, Nostrum said. The London-based oil and gas exploration company, which operates in Kazakhstan, said that the acquisition will enable Nostrum to tie-in further resources in the region that can be processed at its gas treatment facilities. If the acquisition is completed, Nostrum plans to implement an appraisal programme in 2023, with the intention of preparing a technical expert's report which could allow the re-classification of certain hydrocarbon resources. Chief Executive Officer Arfan Khan said: "We are pleased to announce the proposed acquisition of a majority interest in Positive Invest, whose assets are complementary to our own and which we know well. We look forward to working with the relevant stakeholders to appraise the known potential and develop additional resources which can be part of the continuing expansion of operations at our world-class gas treatment facility in Kazakhstan." Shares in Nostrum Oil & Gas were down 4.3% at 15.50 pence at midday on Friday in London. By Sabrina Penty; Alliance News reporter Comments and questions to newsroom@alliancenews.com Copyright 2023 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved. (Alliance News) - Berkeley Group Holdings PLC on Friday said trading between November and February was in line with levels noted in December as the UK housebuilding sector recovers from its September 'mini budget' shock. The Surrey-based housebuilder said its performance of around 25% lower sales from November 1 to February 28, when compared to May 1 to September 30, was "resilient" given the market volatility since the end of September. Berkeley added that this reflected the underlying demand for homes in London and the South East. Berkeley reaffirmed a target of pretax profit of GBP600 million for financial 2023 ending April 30, with at least GBP1.05 billion in aggregate to follow over the next two years. Pretax profit in financial 2022 was GBP551.5 million, up 6.4% from GBP518.1 million the year prior. Cash due on exchanged forward sales is anticipated to be above GBP2.0 billion at year-end, down slightly from GBP2.17 billion a year before. Berkeley said it working with the UK government to be in a position to sign the fire safety remediation agreement, whose deadline is Monday. The self-remediation contract requires developers to fix unsafe buildings from the past 30 years. The new requirement follows the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, which was made deadly by flammable building cladding. Meanwhile, Berkeley said it aims for the next GBP141.4 million shareholder return to be provided by the end of September via a combination of dividends and share buybacks. Berkeley shares were 0.7% lower at 4,007.00 pence each on Friday morning in London. By Tom Budszus, Alliance News reporter Comments and questions to newsroom@alliancenews.com Copyright 2023 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved. (Alliance News) - The US treasury chief voiced concern on Friday over the recent sell-off in bank stocks, spurred by the collapse in the share price of high-tech lender Silicon Valley Bank. "There are recent developments that concern a few banks that I am monitoring very carefully," Janet Yellen told a Congressional committee. "When banks experience financial losses, it is and should be a matter of concern." Shares in SVB's parent company, SVB Financial Group fell more than 60% on Thursday following the disclosure that it had lost USD1.8 billion in securities sales in an effort to raise funds. Trading was halted early Friday after a sharp decline in pre-market trading. The bank's disclosure has raised fears that a broader swathe of banks may be forced into similar transactions. US banks including Citigroup and Wells Fargo fell in early trading, extending a sell-off among European banks. source: AFP Copyright 2023 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved. The Spanish Audiencia Nacional (High Court) in Madrid today ordered the incommunicado detention (generally understood as a situation of detention in which an individual is denied access to family members, an attorney, or an independent physician) for the jihadist suspect arrested in Mallorca on Thursday, for his participation in crimes of self-indoctrination and for making terrorist threats. The individual was arrested in Campos by a special National Police unit from Madrid in cooperation with Palma National Police. He appeared in court this morning. This investigation began in September last year, when investigators detected a social network profile from which pro-jihadist publications were made. The individual was managing different profiles, in which he had hundreds of followers and was spreading continuous threatening speeches against any type of authority, mainly police and military officials, setting himself up as a jihadist, mujahidin and hitman of Allah. The suspect, of Spanish nationality and with radical jihadist beliefs, had no permanent address in Spain, having been detected in recent years in different Spanish provinces and managing criminal profiles on social networks from mobile devices. At the beginning of this year he travelled to Egypt, where he was arrested by the Egyptian authorities when he tried to travel to Sudan, and was then expelled to Spanish territory. The threats and pro-Daesh propaganda that he was sharing on social networks among his numerous followers had multiplied in recent weeks, as had the radical nature of his message, and one of his latest publications, in which he directly incited to commit an attack against police officers, led to his immediate arrest. After the arrest, along with documentation of interest to the investigation, an electronic device and a knife which, according to the investigators, he always carried, were seized. 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. China's national political advisors meet to elect new leadership Xinhua) 15:22, March 10, 2023 The third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing) BEIJING, March 10 (Xinhua) -- China's national political advisors met on Friday afternoon to elect a new leadership for the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). The top political advisory body's new leadership, including chairperson, vice chairpersons, secretary-general and standing committee members, is due to be elected at the third plenary meeting of the ongoing session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee. The CPPCC serves as an important mechanism for multiparty cooperation and political consultation led by the Communist Party of China. The third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing) The third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Ye) Staff members distribute ballots at the third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Yao Dawei) Staff members prepare to distribute ballots at the third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing) Staff members distribute ballots at the third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Ye) The third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Ye) A member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) casts her ballots at the third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Ye) The third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Shen Hong) A member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) casts his ballots at the third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Yao Dawei) A member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) casts her ballots at the third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Shen Hong) The third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Yue Yuewei) A member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) casts his ballots at the third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing) (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) So, apparently, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's romantic African trip didn't impress Prince William all that much. According to royal author Tina Brown, when Harry returned from the trip and spoke to William about his new love, William's response was: "This is the fourth girl you've taken to Botswana." Ouch. But let's back up a bit. In case you didn't know, Harry and Meghan took their first trip together to Botswana, where they lived in a tent for five days and apparently fell deeply in love. This was before they were married and before the whole "Megxit" drama, of course. Prince Harry defends making public allegations against his family In the Netflix docuseries 'Harry & Meghan', the couple discussed how their feelings for each other deepened during their time in Botswana. "I was astonished that she said 'yes,'" Harry said of the trip in episode one of the docuseries. "This woman that I've really met twice, she's coming to Botswana, and we're gonna be living in a tent for five days!" Meghan recalled the romantic African trip in the docuseries, saying, "So I get there; this is the first time I've seen him in a month. Very awkward at first, like, oh God, do we, do we kiss? Do we? And I just remembered he handed me a chicken sandwich!" Will feared his brother was heading for trouble But according to Brown, William knew Harry all too well and feared he was heading for trouble. "Every time his brother fell in love, it was an eruption of Vesuvius," Brown wrote in her book The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor, the Truth and the Turmoil. William reportedly told Harry: "Do you do realize this is the fourth girl you've taken to Botswana?" But behind the scenes, Brown says, "William was nervous about the speed at which all this was going down." He feared Harry's "mental fragility" was such that he wouldn't be strong enough to handle the pressures on the couple and his issues. Despite William's concerns, Harry and Meghan's romance continued to flourish. "Those first few months when no one knew," Harry revealed. "It made much more sense for her to come to me so she could stay with me on Kensington Palace grounds." Prince Harry and Meghan Markle eventually became engaged in Nov. 2017 and wed in May 2018. They are now the parents of two children, Archie and Lilibet, and they currently live in California after leaving their roles as senior royals in early 2020. According to the Daily Mail, Buckingham Palace is preparing for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to attend King Charles III's forthcoming coronation. But before we get too excited, there has been no official word from the couple about whether they will attend. "Harry and Meghan are being factored into all of the planning... the cars, the seating plans, dining arrangements, everything," an insider told the outlet. "No one knows for certain whether this means they have definitely accepted - it could, of course, be just in case they do - but it's clearly not a 'no'." Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's children officially recognized as prince and princess The staff at Buckingham Palace have reportedly been instructed to include the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in their program for May 6. However, the couple has not confirmed whether they will attend. Last week, a spokesperson for Harry and Meghan confirmed that they had received invitations to Charles' coronation via email, adding, "An immediate decision on whether the Duke and Duchess will attend will not be disclosed by us at this time." Charles will be crowned on the same day as his grandson's 4th birthday Charles ascended to the throne after his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, died last September. She was 96. The monarch is set to be formally crowned on May 6, which happens to be the same day as their son Archie's 4th birthday. Tensions have been high between the royal family and Harry and Markle after the Invictus Games founder and his wife stepped away from their royal duties in 2020. And if you haven't heard, Harry released his bombshell memoir, "Spare," which detailed his strained relationships with his older brother, Prince William, and their father. In one excerpt of the book, Harry revealed that Charles would often make jokes about Harry's "real father." Harry added, "He'd laugh and laugh, though it was a remarkably unfunny joke, given the rumor circulating just then that my actual father was one of Mummy's former lovers: Major James Hewitt." The former British Army captain also recalled a time when William allegedly got physical with him during an argument in which Charles called Markle "difficult," "rude," and "abrasive." "It all happened so fast. So very fast. He grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and he knocked me to the floor," he wrote. "I landed on the dog's bowl, which cracked under my back, the pieces cutting into me. I lay there for a moment, dazed, then got to my feet and told him to get out." As of now, the royal family has not publicly addressed Harry's book. So, what do you think? Will Harry and Meghan attend Charles' coronation? We'll just have to wait and see. LOBAMBA A lifestyle audit can unearth that some civil servants under the Ministry of Health are richer than they should be, according to Ndzingeni Member of Parliament Lutfo Dlamini. The legislator submitted that the fortune amassed by the civil servants under the ministry was attributed to the persistent loss of drugs at the Central Medical Stores (CMS), an anomaly that had also been highlighted by the Auditor General (AG), Timothy Matsebula, in his recent report. The Ministry of Health made its portfolio committee annual performance report presentation at the House of Assembly yesterday, where the issue of loss of drugs through distribution of same formed part of the discussions. Matsebula revealed in the Forensic Investigation Proposal and Audit of Acquisition, Distribution, and Management of Pharmaceuticals report that drugs worth E151.6 million were missing and unaccounted for in public health facilities around the country. He said this might be caused by theft and misuse for personal benefits, leading to a public outcry on the shortage of the medicines. Acquisition The audit focused on the acquisition and distribution of medicines to public health facilities, including the Central Medical Stores (CMS), under the administration of the Ministry of Health and covered the 2020/21 and 2021/22 financial years. There is a report of the auditor general, who is empowered in terms of Section 207 of the Constitution, to deal and even surcharge anybody implicated in the mismanagement of public funds. The minister should push the controlling officer to deal with this matter because the AG has made and presented his findings. This should be done promptly so that the auditor general is comfortable with what the controlling officer will say regarding the matter, the MP said. Dlamini then suggested that Eswatini should go and benchmark the drone delivery system that had been adopted by African countries like Rwanda and Ghana. For example, this mode of transport was being harnessed to transport vital medicines, blood tests and supplies in Rwanda, in a partnership that would facilitate care for the ill and the vulnerable at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to aviation-today, Californian start-up Zipline made the deliveries by drone, and the delivery system allowed medical staff across Rwanda to transport and process blood tests quickly and thereby keep a close eye on who may be at risk. Manzini Region MP Busisiwe Mavimbela was the first to suggest that the ministry benchmarked with other countries on how they would efficiently manage the distribution of drugs and she also suggested that the CMS should be decentralised in all four regions of the country too, a move that she said could help government in properly managing the medication. Hhukwini MP Nkhanyeti Ngwenya, who is the Parliament Portfolio Committees Chair of Chairs, requested the ministry on what law the legislators could pass in Parliament to assist them in transforming the CMS into a parastatal so that they efficiently distributed the drugs. Engage We cant be addressing the same issue over and over again. The ministry should engage us on how we can assist them in terms of a piece of legislation so that this issue is dealt with, he submitted. Nkwene MP Vulimpompi Nhleko said the issue of the drugs shortage was a serious concern in the sense that even healthcare workers were now operating pharmacies and taking advantage of the referrals to chemists by doctors to patients. He made an example that there was one just a stones throw from the Hlatikhulu Government Hospital and it was servicing mostly the patients referred to pharmacies for medication. Nhleko said he was informed that the operator of the pharmacy was actually a doctor at the hospital. Making his recommendation through the report, AG Matsebula said the ministry should investigate the unaccounted for medicines, with the aim of recovering and reporting any unrecovered stock to the Losses Committee at the Ministry of Finance. He said the ministry should have a system that monitored the medicines from ordering, receiving, stores until dispensary to patients and it should strengthen internal controls and implement monitoring controls to ensure that facilities adhered to regulations. The ministry should evaluate the use of the Stock Record Cards, and design controls which will help mitigate the risk of misuse of medicines in the facilities, said Matsebula in his recommendations. Shortage When responding to the concerns by the MPs, Minister Lizzie Nkosi said they had a plan to combat the loss and shortage of drugs in the country and they would present it to the ministrys portfolio committee soon. She also mentioned that they also had a plan to implement the use of drones for the distribution of drugs as some of the MPs suggested and she mentioned that it would also be presented to the committee in due course. Worth mentioning is that Ndzingeni MP Lutfo Dlamini mentioned that Eswatini should start manufacturing some of the medication locally, as was the case in countries like Lesotho, instead of procuring medical drugs that would soon be destroyed because they had expired. The expiring of medicines is the oldest way of cheating a government. We need to change the way we do things, engage our partners and start manufacturing these drugs and medicine locally, he said. LOBAMBA A lifestyle audit can unearth that some civil servants under the Ministry of Health are richer than they should be, according to Ndzingeni Member of Parliament Lutfo Dlamini. The legislator submitted that the fortune amassed by the civil servants under the ministry was attributed to the persistent loss of drugs at the Central Medical Stores (CMS), an anomaly that had also been highlighted by the Auditor General (AG), Timothy Matsebula, in his recent report. The Ministry of Health made its portfolio committee annual performance report presentation at the House of Assembly yesterday, where the issue of loss of drugs through distribution of same formed part of the discussions. Matsebula revealed in the Forensic Investigation Proposal and Audit of Acquisition, Distribution, and Management of Pharmaceuticals report that drugs worth E151.6 million were missing and unaccounted for in public health facilities around the country. He said this might be caused by theft and misuse for personal benefits, leading to a public outcry on the shortage of the medicines. Acquisition The audit focused on the acquisition and distribution of medicines to public health facilities, including the Central Medical Stores (CMS), under the administration of the Ministry of Health and covered the 2020/21 and 2021/22 financial years. There is a report of the auditor general, who is empowered in terms of Section 207 of the Constitution, to deal and even surcharge anybody implicated in the mismanagement of public funds. The minister should push the controlling officer to deal with this matter because the AG has made and presented his findings. This should be done promptly so that the auditor general is comfortable with what the controlling officer will say regarding the matter, the MP said. Dlamini then suggested that Eswatini should go and benchmark the drone delivery system that had been adopted by African countries like Rwanda and Ghana.For example, this mode of transport was being harnessed to transport vital medicines, blood tests and supplies in Rwanda, in a partnership that would facilitate care for the ill and the vulnerable at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to aviation-today, Californian start-up Zipline made the deliveries by drone, and the delivery system allowed medical staff across Rwanda to transport and process blood tests quickly and thereby keep a close eye on who may be at risk. Manzini Region MP Busisiwe Mavimbela was the first to suggest that the ministry benchmarked with other countries on how they would efficiently manage the distribution of drugs and she also suggested that the CMS should be decentralised in all four regions of the country too, a move that she said could help government in properly managing the medication. Hhukwini MP Nkhanyeti Ngwenya, who is the Parliament Portfolio Committees Chair of Chairs, requested the ministry on what law the legislators could pass in Parliament to assist them in transforming the CMS into a parastatal so that they efficiently distributed the drugs. Engage We cant be addressing the same issue over and over again. The ministry should engage us on how we can assist them in terms of a piece of legislation so that this issue is dealt with, he submitted. Nkwene MP Vulimpompi Nhleko said the issue of the drugs shortage was a serious concern in the sense that even healthcare workers were now operating pharmacies and taking advantage of the referrals to chemists by doctors to patients. He made an example that there was one just a stones throw from the Hlatikhulu Government Hospital and it was servicing mostly the patients referred to pharmacies for medication. Nhleko said he was informed that the operator of the pharmacy was actually a doctor at the hospital. Making his recommendation through the report, AG Matsebula said the ministry should investigate the unaccounted for medicines, with the aim of recovering and reporting any unrecovered stock to the Losses Committee at the Ministry of Finance. He said the ministry should have a system that monitored the medicines from ordering, receiving, stores until dispensary to patients and it should strengthen internal controls and implement monitoring controls to ensure that facilities adhered to regulations. The ministry should evaluate the use of the Stock Record Cards, and design controls which will help mitigate the risk of misuse of medicines in the facilities, said Matsebula in his recommendations. Shortage When responding to the concerns by the MPs, Minister Lizzie Nkosi said they had a plan to combat the loss and shortage of drugs in the country and they would present it to the ministrys portfolio committee soon. She also mentioned that they also had a plan to implement the use of drones for the distribution of drugs as some of the MPs suggested and she mentioned that it would also be presented to the committee in due course. Worth mentioning is that Ndzingeni MP Lutfo Dlamini mentioned that Eswatini should start manufacturing some of the medication locally, as was the case in countries like Lesotho, instead of procuring medical drugs that would soon be destroyed because they had expired. The expiring of medicines is the oldest way of cheating a government. We need to change the way we do things, engage our partners and start manufacturing these drugs and medicine locally, he said. Jazeera Airways, Kuwaits leading low-cost airline, has become the first Kuwaiti carrier to fly with an all-female deck and cabin crew. The flight commemorating International Womens Day flew from Kuwait to Riyadh, encouraging diversity, gender parity and womens empowerment. This step is a significant achievement especially in an industry considered male oriented. The eight-member crew including the pilot and co-pilot flew Jazeeras A320neo carrying 172 passengers. This initiative by Jazeera Airways also highlights this years International Womens Day theme to #EmbraceEquity. Seham Al Husaini, Board Member, Jazeera Airways who was a passenger with the crew, said: It's been a pleasure to be a part of today's all women flight to Riyadh on International Womens Day. I would like to congratulate the entire crew headed by Capt. Elif Guveyler and the amazing Jazeera team on the ground. The aviation industry is one of the most exciting places to build a career and break barriers, Im hoping to be on many more flights led by women in the air and supported by women on the ground. Jazeera Airways first took off from Kuwait in 2005 and now flies 19 aircraft to 59 destinations across the Middle East, Central and South Asia, Africa, and Europe. With an employee base of over 1,200 employees from 68 nationalities, the airline encourages diversity, inclusion and gender parity. The airline is also committed to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) 25by2025, an initiative to change the gender balance within the aviation industry. Rohit Ramachandran, CEO, Jazeera Airways said: This year started with us announcing record profits for the year which was followed by the launch of two new destinations and now this momentous flight. I truly appreciate our crew for their service every day. While it is a historic moment for us, for these hardworking women, it is just another day at work. At Jazeera, employees are the backbone of our company and we pride ourselves on being an equal opportunity employer. We believe that by valuing and absorbing diverse perspectives from employees, we can create a stronger, more innovative, and more successful organization. TradeArabia News Service 09.03.2023 LISTEN Ghanaian dancehall artiste, Samini has cautioned civilians against making comments that could surge the situation in Ashaiman after a military raid in the area. In a tweet, the Linda crooner stated that there is always an appropriate expression to defend an action or inaction hence, it is safer to not utter any remarks or take any action that could produce any negative consequence. What can a civilian say after this statement? Watch your mouth, my youth. There's always the right terminology to justify an action or inaction, and that to condemn a reaction or rebellion Know to which side you belong and act accordingly. Don't fuel the fire; you can't fight. Saminis warning comes in the wake of a statement released by the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) regarding their recent operation in Ashaiman after a Military man was murdered. Check Saminis tweet below -citinewsroom A seasoned Nigerian actress, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde has told ladies and young people in general to value the views of their parents. The famed filmmaker made a point that ladies should not disrespect their parents' views when choosing a life partner, which is very critical in ones life. Speaking in an interview with Doreen Avio on Wednesday, March 8, amid the International Womens Day celebration, Omotola explains that parents know more about the issues of life due to experience. While she acknowledged that parents may not be right at all times, she alluded that they mostly have their opinions correct on life's major issues. Dont argue with your parents about your life partner. There are things they see that you will not see. It doesnt mean they are always 100% right. But trust me, 80% 90% are right when it comes to very serious life choices like a life partner, she stated. When it comes to career, you will have to understand that parents are sometimes biased. Its not really their fault. It is because they want the best for you and they believe some careers will make more money and time passed, it hasnt, But times are changing, the actress noted. Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde added sometimes they dont see that because they are not in that generation. In the beginning, when it is very rocky, find a way to merge both that is your will and vision and somehow accommodate them. 10.03.2023 LISTEN Popular gospel songstress, Selina Boateng got many screaming when she fell flat on her back while dancing at a gospel concert in Accra. The interesting incident took place at the Celestial Praiz Concert held in Accra on March 6, during a performance by her fellow gospel star Piesie Esther. In a video circulation, Selina was walking away when Esther boateng invited her to come back. While approaching the stage she decided to show off her dance moves but it didn't go well as planned. She tried to spin herself but unfortunately, her legs could not keep her standing. She fell flat on her back. The fall attracted huge cheers and screams from patrons while Esther Piesie said, it's her deliverance, Selina quickly got up on her feet to resume dancing at the program to the glory of God. Ghanaian actress and social critic Lydia Forson has clashed with a supposedly caring fan on social media. The said fan, who claimed to care and love the filmmaker, asked her to at least give birth even if she was not ready to get married. "Lady Lydia. I'm a huge fan of you. In fact, I love you. Please, I'm not in your DM to stress you. You are a woman of substance, and I would love to see you have at least one child to carry on your legacy. You can decide not to marry, but please give the world at least one child. Please. I love you. Please take care," the fans direct message to the actress on Twitter read. Infuriated by the message, Miss Forson said what the fan wrote to her doesnt have any element of love. The actress stated that children are not sold on virtual stores like Amazon where she can easily walk in and acquire one. "Im only sharing this here so people who send or say this daily understand that this is NOT love. "Love will have the emotional intelligence to know that babies are NOT bought on Amazon, nor do they guarantee your legacy lives on," she responded with anger. She concluded by urging people to "stop policing womens wombs." 09.03.2023 LISTEN The Ghana International Trade Commission (GITC) has denied the request for a waiver/exemption of 35.77% Anti-Dumping Duty on imported consignments of Global Roofing and Construction Ltd, a subsidiary of the Asadtek Group of Companies This follows a petition by the company requesting for a waiver/exemption of 35.77% Anti-Dumping Duty (ADD) imposed on consignments of Aluminum coils and circles imported from China. The Commission in a press statement signed by its Executive Secretary, Frank Agyekum, stated that The Petitioner contended that the above-mentioned consignments of aluminium coils and circles did not constitute dumping. It added that the Commission took into consideration the facts contained in the filed Petition and the 29-page supporting documents. The commission's stance on the issue is in accordance with the GITC Act 926, 2016, and the GITC Anti-Dumping Regulations, 2019, L.I.2380. How French farmers are adapting since the war in Ukraine halted grain and seed exports. Why we need to buy fewer clothes if we want the fashion industry to be sustainable. And the voice of Ernest Renan one of the big thinkers of 19th century France, famed for his biography of Jesus. An impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine has been a drop in grain exports around the world, as Ukraine was a major producer before the war. Farmers in France - Europe's largest grain producer have shifted their production to make up some of the difference. At the annual 'Salon de l'Agriculture' agriculture fair in the south of Paris, Laurent Rosso, director of the French vegetable oil and protein trade association , talks about how French grain farmers have increased their sunflower crops, for animal feed and cooking oil, and France is looking for self-sufficiency. And as the cost of wheat has increased, farmers might be discouraged planting other grains. Cedric Truphemus, a producer of petit epautre, or small spelt, in the high Alps, says not enough farmers in the region are planting, and cannot meet the demand. (Listen @1'15) The fashion industry does not have great green credentials: not only is it responsible for at least four percent of global carbon emissions, the dyes and chemicals involved in garment-making are damaging to both the environment and to human health. Fashion shows, such as the recent Fashion Week in Paris, are the most visible part of the fashion industry, but they are just the tip of the iceberg. The big problem is the growth of 'ultra fast fashion', which floods the market with cheap garments with short shelf-lives. Catherine Dauriac, a fashion journalist, author and country coordinator of the global non-profit Fashion Revolution, talks about the urgent need to make fashion more sustainable. It begins with buying less but better and repairing the clothes we already have. (Listen @17'50) France is marking the bi-centenary of the birth of historian and philosopher Ernest Renan. Renowned for works such as the "Life of Jesus" and "What is a nation?" his voice was recorded by Gustave Eiffel in 1891 in one of the earliest audio recordings in France. (Listen @12'00) Episode mixed by Cecile Pompeani. Spotlight on France is a podcast from Radio France International. Find us on rfienglish.com, iTunes (link here), Spotify (link here), Google podcasts (link here), or your favourite podcast app (pod.link/1573769878). At a ceremony paying tribute to the late feminist activist Gisele Halimi, French President Emmanuel Macron promised that a draft law enshrining abortion rights in the constitution would be put forward within months. Speaking at a national tribute to Halimi, who died in 2020 aged 93 after a long career as a lawyer, activist and politician, Macron lamented the fact that the rights of women remain fragile. The French leader promised that an amendment to the constitution would be submitted to parliament. "This will guarantee the freedom of women to choose abortion, and be a solemn pledge that nothing can ever limit or abolish that right because it will have become irreversible," he said. Macron went on to say that parliamentary debate will allow the inclusion of this freedom in French fundamental law. Preparation for that debate will begin in the coming months the president said. The US Supreme Court overturned abortion rights last year. France's National Assembly has voted in favour of the constitutional change, but without deciding on a timeline. That vote was in November 2022. French senators earlier this month also supported the plan but the upper chamber, where conservatives have a majority, modified the text's wording to "women's freedom" to abort, from parliament's insistence on "women's right". Abortion was de-criminalised in France in 1975. Halimi's controversial career In a case in 1972, the Bobigny affair, Halimi won the acquittal of a minor who was on trial for abortion after she became pregnant as a result of rape. Earlier, Halimi denounced the use of torture and rape by French soldiers during the Algerian war of independence. She insisted on the need for a ban on muslim headcovering in French schools, warning that it was a debate which could lead only to widening divisions in a France already riven by questions of communiuty and republican identity. She was a Socialist MP in the French National Assembly between 1981 and 1984. Macron's decision to focus on Halimi on International Women's Day sparked some resistance, even from within her family. Her son, Serge Halimi, refused to attend Wednesday's ceremony, saying it came "at a time when the country is rising up against an extremely unfair pension reform". Several Women's Day demonstrations across the country included protests against the retirement reform that some critics say gives women a worse deal than men. Violaine Lucas, president of "Choosing the Cause of Women" which Halimi co-founded in 1971, said politicians were "hijacking" Halimi's legacy for their own ends. However, Halimi's other surviving son, Jean-Yves Halimi, spoke at Wednesday's ceremony, welcoming her "place in history" thanks to the tribute. A former National Vice Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Alhaji Said Sinare has asked party members who are trying to contest former President Mahama in the flagbearership race to back off. To him, there is no way any member of the party can defeat the former President in the May 13 primary elections. He said their effort will be a waste of time and resources. Mr. Kojo Bonsu and Dr. Kwabena Dufour, whom the former National Vice Chairman claimed to be very good friends with, advised them to instead use the GHS30,000 and others they were spending on a campaign to support their home constituencies. He stressed while speaking on Accra-based XYZ FM that the health conditions of the former Finance Minister, Dr. Kwabena Dufour, will not even help him tour the entire country to canvass for votes. Alhaji Sinaire pressed, You're wasting your time if you say you want to contest John Dramani Mahama. You are going to waste your resources; you are going to waste your money; you are going to waste your energy. At the end of the day, you can't beat the guy. But you will be very productive if you send those monies, those resources, to the constituencies and help them financially. You will be a better man if you channel those resources to the constituencies. I respect Dr. Duffuor very much; he is somebody that I love so much; he is there in my heart. But I will always say that he will not get to the promised land. Listen to his assertions in the video below; After a prominent Senegalese journalist was arrested last year on charges of spreading false news, activist Beyna Gueye mounted a small protest, chanting to demand the journalist's release following a meeting with the prime minister. He was arrested on the spot and sentenced to two months in prison. On the day of his release this week, another journalist was detained, also for "spreading false news". The coincidence reinforces the view, held by rights defenders and President Macky Sall's opponents, that civil liberties in Senegal are coming under pressure in the run-up to the February 2024 presidential election. They claim the government has cracked down on demonstrations, used coercive measures against the press, increased the number of arrests and abused the justice system. The government refutes that there has been any regression and says the law is applied fairly in Senegal, which has a reputation for stability in a region where political turbulence is widespread. President Sall's critics say there has been an increase in arrests and a crackdown on demonstrations. By JOHN WESSELS (AFP) Democracy has been under pressure across West Africa, with military juntas governing neighbours Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso. Gueye, 24, told AFP he and two other members of a citizen's movement, led by the rapper Abdou Karim Gueye, were arrested in January after participating in a meeting with Prime Minister Amadou Ba about the alleged misuse of Covid-19 funds. They were picked up after they left the meeting chanting, "Free Pape Ale Niang". Niang, head of the news website Dakar Matin, is also known as a critic of the president. He was detained in November. Old promises The case against Niang arose after he wrote about rape charges faced by Senegal's main opposition leader, Ousmane Sonko. He has been accused, among other things, of "disclosing information likely to harm national defence" and "spreading false news". Two journalists have been arrested in recent months after reporting or commenting on the opposition politician Ousmane Sonko. By SEYLLOU (AFP) Niang was released in January and placed under strict judicial supervision. Rights activists have been quick to remind President Sall, who was elected in 2012 and again in 2019, that he promised in a 2015 interview never to jail a journalist "for a press offence". But on Tuesday, another journalist, Pape Ndiaye of the Walf TV news channel, was charged and detained after questioning the independence of the judiciary in the Sonko case. Sonko's legal affair, and the threat it poses to his presidential candidacy, have been a source of tension in Senegal for two years. The firebrand politicians claims the charges are part of a plot to torpedo his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election. He also claimed President Sall intends to override the constitution and run for a third term. Critics claim President Sall intends to override the constitution and run for a third term. By JOHN WESSELS (AFP) "We have seen a deterioration in human rights for more than two years in Senegal through several violations of freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, movement and the press," Ousmane Diallo of Amnesty International told AFP. He decried the arrests, which he said have mostly been of people "close to the opposition and critics of the government". Dangerous emojis Senegal was ranked 73rd out of 180 countries on the 2022 World Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders, down 24 places from the previous year. The opposition claims the government has almost systematically banned demonstrations. In February, dozens of people were arrested following clashes, ransacking and looting during a Sonko rally in the city of Mbacke in central Senegal. The Ministry of Justice told AFP in a written message that bans on demonstrations always have "valid reasons" -- usually to prevent disorder or to protect people and property. Sonko's legal affairs have been a source of tension in Senegal for two years. By MUHAMADOU BITTAYE (AFP) Only 136 out of 4,633 requests for permission to protest -- or about 3 percent -- were refused in 2022, the ministry said. Senegal "remains a land of human rights" where the government "protects public freedoms" and "guarantees (their) exercise", it added. Outhmane Diagne, a social media activist, says he spent five months in detention after resharing a Facebook post showing newspaper headlines that had been edited to reflect badly on the government. He had shared the post with smiling emojis. "I am the only man in history convicted of sharing emojis," said Diagne, who has been under judicial supervision since January. A US investment firm has proposed to stop a controversial oil auction in DR Congo's rainforests, bidding to exploit carbon credits instead of drilling in the environmentally sensitive areas. In July, the Democratic Republic of Congo opened bidding for 27 oil blocks, arguing that exploiting its fossil resources was an economic imperative for the impoverished central African country. But some of the blocks overlap with protected areas in the basin of the Congo River -- a huge carbon sink and rainforest haven second in size only to the Amazon. Green groups have warned of dire consequences should the oil industry move in. The danger is considered particularly acute in the central Congo Basin peatlands, which researchers estimate store around 30 billion tonnes of carbon. Worldwide carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions for 2021 stood at about 37 billion tonnes, according to Global Carbon Project, a monitor. Investment firm EQX Biome has filed a bid for the 27 oil blocks, setting out an alternative business case to extraction, designed to protect the forest. The New York-based company is proposing to spend $400m in conservation projects, which would then generate $6 billion over 20 years through the sale of carbon credits, according to CEO Matthias Pitkowitz. Planting trees or protecting tropical rainforests have become popular tools for companies to offset CO2 emissions or burnish their green credentials. Companies can buy carbon credits, from certified conservation projects, that represent the volume of CO2 prevented from being emitted into the atmosphere. One credit typically represents one tonne of C02. A condition of EQX Biome's bid is that the government call off oil drilling in all 27 blocks. Pitkowitz argues that the proposal makes better economic sense than oil, with the potential to create thousands of local jobs and generate taxable revenue. "$6 billion instead of oil drilling," he told AFP. "This isn't dreamland". DR Congo. By (AFP) The $6bn-revenue figure is based on estimates about the success of the conservation projects, which would then would generate carbon credits, Pitkowitz explained. He declined to comment on whether EQX Biome, founded in 2022, had secured funding for its proposed $400m investment. The DRC's hydrocarbons ministry did not respond to questions. Contested credits Proponents argue that carbon credits are a viable mechanism to avoid deforestation. But critics warn that forests do not store carbon permanently -- trees release carbon back into the atmosphere when they die -- and that some companies may use credits to cover for increased emissions. A recent scandal over the alleged ineffectiveness of projects certified by leading carbon-credit provider Verra has also cast a shadow over the industry. A lax regulatory environment in the DRC, one of the world's poorest and most corrupt countries, has also triggered skepticism about efforts to use carbon credits to protect its vast tracts of remote forest. 'Their plan is very ambitious,' said a Western diplomat following environmental issues in the DRC, explaining that EQX Biome had little direct experience in the country, or in the carbon-credits market. But the diplomat said that it was important to explore credits as a tool to fight deforestation despite criticisms of the relatively new mechanism. Countries with the most forest in the world. By Valentin RAKOVSKY (AFP) It is unclear which other firms have submitted bids for the 27 oil blocks. Companies have until October to submit bids on some of the blocks, according to the hydrocarbons ministry. In the DRC's Cuvette Centrale region -- one of the most sensitive areas comprising forests and peatlands -- bidding ends in July and August. Hydrocarbons Minister Didier Budimbu has previously indicated that he is open to bids to carbon-credit groups. Thomas Annicq, CEO of carbon-credits firm Oneshot.earth, said that his company expressed an interest bidding but the Congolese government never responded to a request for further information. "I felt like they didn't take it seriously," he said, adding that carbon credits have more to offer longterm than fossil fuels. The value of the voluntary carbon market -- where firms can purchase carbon credits from conservation projects -- reached about $2 billion in 2021, according to Boston Consulting Group. It is expected to rise to $10-40 billion by 2030. Fourteen people from sub-Saharan Africa drowned in the Mediterranean, authorities said Thursday in Tunisia, where black migrants have faced a wave of violence since an inflammatory speech by President Kais Saied. The drama occurred off the coast of Tunisia's Sfax region, where a spokesman for the court in charge of the investigation said the dead were from two sunken migrant boats. Three migrants died and 34 were rescued in one sinking on Tuesday, followed Wednesday by 11 deaths in a separate incident with 20 rescued, the spokesman Faouzi Masmoudi said. The coastguard, in an earlier statement on Facebook, said its personnel had rescued 54 people "of various sub-Saharan African nationalities", and recovered 14 bodies, but mentioned only one boat. The agency said it had prevented a total of 14 attempts to cross the sea and rescued 435 migrants overnight Wednesday-Thursday, almost all from African countries south of the Sahara. Many black migrants in Tunisia have been made homeless amid a wave of racist violence since President Kais Saied accused them last month of causing a crime wave and representing a "criminal plot" to change the country's demographic composition. The North African country hosts around 21,000 undocumented migrants from other parts of Africa, less than 0.2 percent of the population. Hundreds, including children and pregnant women, were made homeless in the winter cold and many registered with their embassies for repatriation, mostly to West African countries. Others have sought to reach Europe in unseaworthy boats from Tunisia, whose coast lies about 130 kilometres (80 miles) from the Italian island of Lampedusa at its closest point. The country has long been a springboard for people fleeing war and poverty elsewhere on the continent to seek better lives in Europe, along with thousands of Tunisians themselves. Rome said in February that more than 32,000 migrants, including 18,000 Tunisians, reached Italy from Tunisia last year, while thousands more have departed from neighbouring Libya. European governments, particularly in Rome, have pressured Tunis to stem the flow, and the coastguard regularly intercepts boats carrying migrants in its territorial waters, part of the world's deadliest migration route. A spokesman told AFP on Thursday that the coastguard would continued to battle "gangs involved in organising clandestine immigration operations". Saied backpedals Last month, Saied had ordered "urgent measures" to tackle irregular migration. He said "hordes" of migrants were causing a crime wave and threatening Tunisia's demographic composition, echoing a conspiracy theory popular among the far right in France. Shipwreck off the coast of Tunisia. By Sylvie HUSSON (AFP) His comments sparked outcry, with rights groups accusing him of racism and hate speech. Landlords, fearing heavy fines and jail sentences, evicted hundreds of migrants, many of whom are still living rough in Tunis. But Saied on Wednesday denied he was racist, saying he had African friends. He slammed the "malicious remarks" of those who "wanted to interpret the speech as they saw fit to harm Tunisia". Speaking after a meeting with Guinea-Bissau's President Umaro Sissoco Embalo, who is chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Saied said migrants in Tunisia were "brothers". He said the aim of his speech was to ensure respect for "Tunisian legality regarding foreigners". "This situation concerning Africans cannot be interpreted by malicious tongues, as they have done in recent days, as racism. What are they talking about?" "I am African and I am proud to be African," he said. Embalo, current chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), said Saied's speech on sub-Saharan migrants had been "misinterpreted". The African Union has previously expressed "deep shock and concern" at Saied's remarks, urging member states to "refrain from racialised hate speech that could bring people to harm". French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will seek to reset cross-Channel relations at a meeting on Friday that signals an end to years of post-Brexit feuding. While the two leaders have met on the sidelines of international events since Sunak came to power in October, the summit will be their first one-on-one visit. It will also be the first Franco-British summit, which used to be held almost every year, since Macron met then PM Theresa May in 2018. Following years of antagonism, especially under Boris Johnson, ties have improved markedly in recent months. "We're renewing things at the moment, putting things back in order, and preparing for the future," an aide to Macron told reporters on Wednesday. Migration deal on the cards The new mood is expected to produce another deal to stem migration to the UK via the Channel, a political priority for both leaders. The agreement would focus on "increasing the resources deployed to manage this common border, with multi-year financing", another aide to Macron told reporters. France and the UK signed a deal in November that saw London agree to provide 72 million of funding to help boost security forces patrolling France's northern beaches. A Downing Street source said: "Tackling illegal migration is a global challenge and it's vital we work with our allies, particularly the French, to prevent crossings and loss of life in the Channel." Although Britain's departure from the European Union is expected to continue to create tension, recent developments including an agreement to settle the trade status of Northern Ireland have created goodwill. King Charles III is also set to make France the destination for his first overseas trip as sovereign later this month in another statement of British outreach to France. Defence cooperation The two neighbours have also found common cause on Ukraine in supporting Kyiv's fight against the Russia invasion. "The war in Ukraine has forced both countries to come together," Georgina Wright, a European politics expert at the Montaigne Institute, a Paris-based think tank, told French news agency AFP. "Clearly there's an attempt to build a relationship of trust." New defence initiatives such as the joint training of Ukrainian soldiers, bolstering NATO defences in eastern Europe, or developing new weapons systems together are all set to form part of Friday's discussions. "Defence cooperation remains the cornerstone of the bilateral relationship," the French Institute of Foreign Relations said in a research note ahead of the summit. Mutual worries about China and Iran's nuclear programme are also seen as compelling reasons for resurrecting relations. 'Bromance' Macron, 45, and Sunak, 42, appear eager to put the bad blood of previous years behind them. At their first meeting in November on the sidelines of UN climate talks in Egypt, the two former investment bankers embraced so warmly and so frequently it led to light-hearted speculation about a "bromance". "Friends, partners, allies," Sunak wrote as he tweeted a picture of them after the encounter. It was an obvious reference to his predecessor Liz Truss, who said during her short-lived time in office that "the jury is out" on whether the French leader was a friend or foe of Britain. Macron and Sunak have several things in common at a personal level: they are similar in age; their fathers were provincial medics; they were both privately educated; and each had a career in banking before entering politics. Significant political differences remain, however, with Sunak a conservative Eurosceptic and free-marketeer, while Macron is fervently pro-EU and a believer in strong state intervention. "I think there's a sense [in Paris] that the British prime minister is serious, that he's not looking to score political points, but I wouldn't exaggerate the bromance between them," added Wright. (with AFP) Just $1.4 billion in new loans and grants were promised at a UN summit devoted to the world's poorest nations where UN leader Antonio Guterres had appealed for massive aid, officials said Thursday. A top UN envoy warned at the end of the five-day Least Developed Countries meeting that these countries are falling "far behind" in reaching development goals. Guterres started the summit by saying the 46 poorest states need a $500 billion a year stimulus to reach the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs), a blueprint to end poverty and boost health and education by 2030. The Doha meetings saw Saudi Arabia offer $800 million in loans to LDCs. Germany said it would make an extra $210 million of financing available and the European Union announced investment agreements worth $135 million. Qatar said it would give $60 million for UN projects and Canada $59 million for vitamin supplements and conservation efforts in LDCs. Other smaller initiatives were agreed, leaving the total well short of the figure sought by Guterres. UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said the SDGs apply to all countries, rich and poor alike, but if they "do not deliver to the least developed countries, they do not deliver. It is as simple as that." She told a press conference at the end of the summit: "After the turbulent years of the Covid-19 pandemic and the cost of living crisis, these countries are falling far behind" in meeting the SDGs. The poor states' progress toward the targets was "below the global average," Mohammed said. "Risks are growing rather than diminishing." But Mohammed said an action plan adopted ahead of the summit could be an "accelerator" to help get back on course. The plan includes initiatives to set up a food stock for poor countries, more help to attract investment and for states that will leave the LDC category. Referring to Guterres' appeal for cash and to reform the financial system, Mohammed said the UN was "urging all countries to do everything in their power to do everything to support this stimulus, particularly in the G20," a reference to a grouping of the world's major developed and emerging economies. No-show No leader from the world's biggest economies attended the Doha summit. Mohammed said other major UN meetings this year on the SDGs, climate and water resources "must be opportunities to deliver" for poor states. The G20 has not yet said how it will help at those summits. Cambodia's Commerce Minister Pan Sorasak told the summit's closing meeting that "reaching the ambitious SDGs seems even more daunting now than ever before." But the summit chairman, President Lazarus Chakwera of Malawi, said the Doha plan was proof that different nations were working together. "For those who say that multilateralism is dead I say that your eulogies are premature. You are going to a funeral with an empty coffin," he declared. Huang Lei, the son of galamsey queen, Aisha Huang, has been convicted and sentenced to a fine of GH10,800 on his own plea after he pleaded guilty to charges of remaining in Ghana after expiration of his permit, possession of ammunition without lawful authority and possession of forged official documents. Huang Lei was arrested in November last year with other Chinese nationals for the same offence. The accused persons previously pleaded not guilty to the charges before Justice Lydia Osei Marfo. But on December 16, 2022, lawyer for Huang Lei revealed plans by his client to change the plea to guilty. Subsequent to that, Aisha Huang's son then pleaded guilty before justice Comfort Tasiame at the criminal court 4. The court then sentenced him on his plea with a fine of GH10,800 and an order for him to be deported. He has since been deported according to Citi News sources. However, the other accused persons are still standing trial for the same charges and are expected to reappear in court on April 5 for case management conference. -citinewsroom 09.03.2023 LISTEN Do fellow Ghanaians or Africans read what I read? Do fellow Ghanaians see what l see? Do fellow Ghanaians hear what l hear? If the answer is yes to all the three questions posed, then why are they still behaving deplorably, as though they have no brains in their head? I have seen a video that made me cringe. It is all about finding effective ways to decimate or cull the world population which in the eyes of Bill Gates and others, is overpopulated. Have you seen that video and if yes, what was, and has been, your reaction? When l saw the video, l googled the name of the expert in the meeting where the tribunal was taking depositions from experts in regard of reducing the world population. The expert in the video is one Dr Robert Oldham Young, a practitioner of naturopathy and or, microbiology. From the video, there is a quadrillion dollar enterprise amongst us aimed at decimating or culling the human family population. The expert asserts that Africans are deplorable, worthless and are not part of the world economy hence must be exterminated. He suggests the use of systemic poisoning of Africans through medicines and experiments but not open bacteria warfare. This is not the first time that l have come across the evil intentions some superior people have against the inferior Africans. However, the Africans have themselves to blame but no-one else, for we are truly a bunch of sorry to say, useless people. We are lovers of quick wealth regardless of how it is acquired. No wonder that almost all of our politicians are corrupt with the rest of us stupidly singing their praises all the time. We are never ready to face and accept the truth. We are never ready to acquire knowledge that will make us powerful and bring us wealth. We are always happy feeding on lies and buying into divisive political and tribal sentiments to culminate in our sufferings as has always been. Africans, and in that matter Ghanaians, must start to put on their thinking cap to cease chasing wealth instead of knowledge. The video as in this publication is only one out of many out there about how some of our white contemporaries see us as worthless beings only good for extermination. Should we continue from today forward to be fooled by dirty politics to believe that the free Senior High School education that will acquire us knowledge is not good, but doing galamsey is, then what a depiction of folly by the Ghanaian! Why are many people dying on daily basis in Ghana? Is there not a reason for that? Cease your quest for freebies all of the time or else, you you are increasing your chances of dying prematurely. Love and patronise your locally-manufactured food and goods to stay healthy and live longer. Be mindful of the slow but systemic poisoning of the African because of our uselessness as human beings. Rockson Adofo Thursday, 9 March 2023 One hundred and four persons with disability in the Atebubu-Amantin municipality have benefitted from some income generating support items and cash at a brief ceremony in Atebubu. Welcoming beneficiaries to the ceremony, the municipal director of the Department of Social Welfare and Community Development Mr. Emmanuel Bukari said about 900 disabled persons are currently registered with his outfit. He indicated that the fund has assisted the disabled in the municipality in diverse ways including education and healthcare adding that it is currently supporting two blind persons at the University of Cape Coast. Mr. Bukari reminded all that section 37 of the disability act makes it an offence for anyone to mock a disabled person using his or her infirmity and urged service providers to consider the needs of the disabled when planning their activities. Making the presentation, the municipal chief executive Hon. Edward Owusu said the New Patriotic Party government out of concern for the welfare of the disabled increased their share of the common fund from two to 3 percent on the assumption of office in 2017. He urged all who have not benefitted under the current arrangement to exercise patience since they will eventually have their turn. The MCE asked all potential beneficiaries who have not registered with the Department of Social Welfare and Community Development to do so. Twenty beneficiaries went home with chest freezers, with 2 each receiving block making, fufu pounding and Knitting machines whiles one got an oven and a cylinder. Twelve beneficiaries who intend to get into various vocations received hair dryers, weaving tools, welding and sewing machine together with cash ranging between GHC1,000.00 and GHC1,500.00 to pay for their apprenticeship. One beneficiary received GHC 4,500.00 and another 23 got GHC2000.00 each to pursue petty trading whiles 10 beneficiaries took home GHC2000.00 each for crop farming with 9 receiving GHC1,200.00 each for animal farming. Twenty-two others received support for education and healthcare. Mr. Sulemana Shaibu chairman of the local branch of the Ghana Federation of the Disabled on behalf of the beneficiaries, thanked government and the municipal assembly for the gesture and urged parents and guardians to desist from hiding their disabled children from the public since they may have some potentials in them which could be unearthed given the needed support. Nana Kwabena Kyere the Adontenhene of the Atebubu traditional area and acting President of the Atebubu traditional council who chaired the function urged beneficiaries to put the items to the intended use to benefit themselves and their families. The Otumfour Osei Tutu II Foundation has pledged to come out with landmark initiatives to empower girls and young women in the field of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education. The move according to the foundation formed part of their grand plan to bridge the gender gap in technology courses and careers in the country. Patron of the Otumfuo Osei Tutu II Foundation and the Wife of the Asantehene, Her Royal Highness Lady Julia made this known during a Mentorship Masterclass on March 8, 2021. Dubbed "Lady Julia's Mentorship Masterclass 2023", the program was organized by the foundation as part of events to observe 2023 International Women's Day. Speaking on the theme:"Ensuring Today's Technology Benefits All Girls and Women", Her Royal Highness, Lady Julia said the foundation is committed to ensuring that, the countrys development through the application of science, technology, engineering and mathematics by the youth particularly females is well supported both financially and technically. She however urged young women to make good use of the opportunities offered by technology, especially the internet . She added that internet, has proven to be a powerful resource to the world, and young people must be guarded in the activities they undertake online. Held at the Great Hall of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology KNUST, the event brought together over 600 female students drawn from about 30 public and private Senior High school students in the country. 09.03.2023 LISTEN When over 300 Ghanaians died of a primitive and globally eradicated disease like cholera under your presidency, the 6th March Independence Day celebration was held and you took the salute. When Ghana was going through debilitating dumsor under and thousands of Ghanaians perished in operation theatres due to power outages under your presidency, the independence day was held and you were there to take the salute. Indeed, when newly-wed couple died in Dansoman from fumes from a generator in their room to provide them light because of dumsor, independence day was held and you were there to take the salute. When a final year student died instantly in the central regional town of Agona Swedru, when her television set exploded like a missile in her room as a result of dumsor-related power surge, the independence day was held and you were there to take the salute. Today, we're having shortages of vaccines for children to stem childhood diseases which is an unfortunate situation we're all extremely worried about, and demanding it is resolved as quickly as practicable. But for John Dramani Mahama to say he will not attend today's 66th commemorative independence ceremony in the Volta regional capital Ho, because there is shortage of vaccines, is a textbook attestation of his unquenchable affinity for decrepit hypocrisy and crude populism. In anycase, since when, in our post-independence history, has independence day commemorative event ever been held, with Ghana not dealing with one problem or the other? I very much remember when our independence day was marked while then-sitting President Kufuor happened to be away in Australia; ndc propagandists took him to the cleaners and described him as unpatriotic. I don't know if John Mahama attended that year's Independence day commemoration because, just as they're trumpeting today, they were shouting from the rooftops that Kufuor had totally messed up the economy and Ghana was a total failed state. Like I said yesterday, John Mahama is a character with no scruples. He has chosen to throw caution and decency completely out-of-the-window and traversing, recklessly, the highway of indecent behaviour, just for the sake of political power. Some Ghanaians have developed a propensity to kill personnel of our security services, over just trivial issues. A uniformed person bearing an insignia of the coat of arms, literally, is untouchable in the course of on or off duty. As a matter of fact, no Ghanaian has the right to kill anybody, when one's life is not in clear imminent danger. Indeed, as a viable State, we can't allow pockets of neighbourhoods to degenerate into total no-go areas. Ghana, we all have come to appreciate the fact that some areas, over the years, are notorious for criminal acts. Some of us weren't that mature in 1979 but we remember deadly reign of chorkor spanner, German cargo etc. These were societal misfits brazenly terrorising innocent Ghanaians whom J.J Rawlings dealt with. They declared enclaves in Accra and Ashaiman no-go areas, and Rawlings chased them in military helicopters. Now, when the 21-year-old military personnel was brutally murdered in Ashaiman, it didn't make the headlines. But the moment his colleagues strike, the media rushed there in droves, and MP for the area started talking. I, indeed, wonder if our MPs would've mentioned this incident on the floor if the military hadn't acted. We all wondered why Maj Mahama didn't kill to save his life. But had he, we would've accused him of overreacting. The point is this: if some miscreants in a community choose to kill uniform men, they'll risk inviting pure anger. Oftentimes, such criminals are well-known within the community but for some reason, we don't give them up!! A very young lad with his whole future ahead of him has been killed by miscreants in such a dastardly manner!!! And as we're busy condemning the military for the unfortunate excesses, we must pray for the disconsolate mother. South African authorities must swiftly and thoroughly investigate the recent assaults of journalists Silindelo Masikane and Gaddafi Zulu and prosecute those responsible, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. On February 25, in Johannesburg, supporters of the opposition party Economic Freedom Fighters and municipal police obstructed and then assaulted Silindelo Masikane, a reporter with the privately owned broadcaster eNCA, according to a local news report, a tweet by the journalist, a statement by the South African National Editors Forum, and her editor John Bailey, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app. Separately, at about 10:30 a.m. on February 28, a former mayor and his bodyguards attacked Gaddafi Zulu, a reporter with the privately owned newspaper Zululand Observer, according to multiple news reports, a SANEF statement, and Zulu, who spoke to CPJ by phone. South African authorities must thoroughly investigate the unprovoked assaults on journalists Gaddafi Zulu and Silindelo Masikane, and all those responsible must face the consequences for such outrageous actions, said Angela Quintal, CPJs Africa program coordinator, in New York. Failure to arrest and successfully prosecute the perpetrators will simply encourage open season on journalists covering events of public interest, including by assaulting and filing retaliatory charges against members of the press. Masikane and camera operator Thamsanqa Chamane were trying to interview an elected EFF municipal councilor involved in a new crime prevention program when EFF supporters created a human barrier around the party member, shoved Masikane to the ground and, alongside some members of the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police, stepped on her, according to Bailey and those reports on her case. Masikane was not severely injured. ECA representatives reported the incident to the Johannesburg Metro Police Department on February 27, and they have not heard anything back as of March 9, Bailey told CPJ. Previously, in March 2021, EFF leader Julius Malema tweeted that no eNCA journalist would be allowed to interview a party member anywhere globally and that June party members blocked eNCA from covering an anti-racism protest and harassed and threatened reporter Ayesha Ismail and camera operator Mario Pedro. CPJ called EFF spokesperson Thambo Sinawo and Johannesburg police spokesperson Justice Hlabisa, and contacted them via messaging app for comment, but did not receive a replies. In Zulus case, he was attempting to photograph an official who had been denied entry to the local government offices in the northern KwaZulu-Natal town of Mtubatuba when the former mayor of Mtubatuba, Mandla Zungu, and at least six bodyguards approached Zulu and asked who permitted him to take those photographs. Before I could answer, I was slapped [and] punched in the face, head, and the upper body, Zulu told CPJ. He pushed one of the attackers and escaped the building, leaving behind his laptop, phone, and notebook. While outside, Zulu asked Zungu to return his equipment, and Zungu unsuccessfully tried to drag Zulu back into the building and then threw the journalists empty laptop bag at him. Zulu reported the assault to police later that day, and his badly damaged laptop and phone, which appeared to have been dropped on the ground, were returned to him with the help of the police, but his notebook was not. Zungu lodged a counter assault complaint against the journalist the same day, which Zulu called untrue. KwaZulu Natal police spokesperson Nqobile Gwala responded to CPJs request for comment sent via messaging app saying an investigation was ongoing. Zulu saw a doctor on March 1 and was treated for bruising to his head. On March 3, Zulu and Zungu appeared in the Mtubatuba District Court, and the matter was adjourned to March 29 to allow the parties to obtain legal representation. CPJ repeatedly called Zungu and contacted him via messaging app for comment but did not receive any replies. The Ashanti regional chairman of the ruling NPP, Bernard Antwi Bosiako, known affectionately as Chairman Wontumi, agrees with President Akufo-Addo's assertion that Ghanaians need to count their blessings amid the nations economic crisis. The business magnate noted that though the countrys economy is in shambles due to COVID-19 and the Russia/Ukraine war, it is still better than countries like the United Kingdom. He claimed that the unbearable economic situation in the UK has compelled him to relocate his children, who are UK citizens, back to his home country, Ghana. Speaking on Accra-based Movement TV, the NPP stalwart pleaded with Ghanaians to keep their faith in NPP administration and support governments efforts to restore the economy. "There is too much hardship in the UK. As I speak to you, I have brought them all to live in Ghana because Ghana now is better than the UK, said Chairman Wontumi. "What we are pleading with Ghanaians is that there is hardship everywhere in the world. I gave birth to my children in the UK but as I speak to you, I have brought them all to live in Ghana because Ghana is now better than the UK," Chairman Wontumi emphasized this in his interview. My advice to Ghanaians is that, if we don't take care a day will come we are going to lose the place we are", he stressed Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Member of Parliament for North Tongu, has slammed President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for failing to mention the aftermath of the killing of a soldier in Ashaiman during his State of the Nation Address. Following the death of a soldier in the area, some military personnel moved to attack residents of Ashaiman on Tuesday. In a debate on President Akufo-Addos State of the Nation Address, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said the President should have commiserated with the families of the deceased officer and the innocent people brutalized by the military. As Commander in Chief of the GAF, he should have first of all commiserated with the family and the GAF over the loss of the solider. But the President did not say a word. He didnt think that he should condemn the brutality and assure that there will be a committee to probe the killing and the high-handedness meted out to the residents, and he is the Commander in Chief of the GAF? Dont invite the military to a tea party, and when we honour the invitation you turn around through both traditional and social media to vilify us. The Ghana Armed Forces is the only institution currently standing, now the political establishments have lost their dignity, the reverence around the clergy years ago is diminished, and our traditional leaders have also lost their respect. If we allow the Ghana Armed Forces to be destroyed through democratic gymnastics, the day the criminals will turn on the law-abiding citizens there would not be any uniformed men to defend them, an Ex-Military Officer stated. The Ex-Military Officer noted in an interview in Tema that recent engagement and disengagement between the military and a section of the civilian calls for the renewal of discussion on deepening the professional standards in controlling the armed forces through Parliament and civil society. The Armed Forces of any nation are the powerhouse of authority whether under a democratically elected regime or military-controlled establishment, he noted. It is therefore taboo for a civilian to touch an officer and even dare to kill military personnel. It is unmentionable within military circles for a soldier to run away from the civilian mob, we have done this which is an affront to the military just to avoid extrication but unfortunately the unprovoked attacks on soldiers continue. Some civilians through their actions have dared the power of the armed forces, these acts are provocations, an Ex-Military Officer stated in an interview in Tema. The Ex-Military Officer noted that people should discard the old paradigm of thinking that the officers have little professional experience at the command and staff level and lacked the vital political understanding of the democratic state. The Lieutenant-Colonel retired explained the need for public education about the operations of the Ghana Armed Forces and any other security establishment. We must reignite the process of training some members of the identifiable groups including members of parliament, religious and traditional leaders, the media, civil society organizations, and opinion leaders among others to understand military and security issues, he said. The Ex-Military Officer noted that the military enjoys an overwhelming advantage in coercive power, therefore, it is critical for the civil population to also use due process in case of any entanglement with any officer instead of taking the laws into their own hands (instant justice). The Military High Command has in actual fact restrained its Officers and men in recent times in spite of extreme and most often unwarranted provocation from the civilian public which has led to the death of some men in uniform, he said. The Lieutenant-Colonel retired also appealed to the media to stop using their platforms to denigrate the Ghana Armed Forces anytime we are provoked to act under extreme circumstances. We are serving the interest of the civilian public, if we allow the criminals to morally overcome the men in uniform, they will later turn their guns on the public and there would be total anarchy in the country. He described the military action in Ashaiman as unfortunate but unavoidable. Let us say never again should civilian kill a military officer or any Ghanaian for that matter, let us protect each other and let the good people also report the activities of criminals in our communities to the appropriate authorities. CDA Consult || Contributor A shooting at a Jehovah's Witness meeting hall in the German city of Hamburg has left eight people dead, including the suspected gunman, police said Friday, as the motive for the attack remained unclear. The shooting took place at the Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall in Hamburg at around 9 p.m. local time on Thursday where members were attending a religious service. Police on Friday said the gunman acted alone and was among the eight fatalities. "Eight people were fatally injured, apparently including the suspected perpetrator," Hamburg police said in a statement, adding that several other people were hurt, "some seriously". Soon after the violence began, residents in the Alsterdorf district received warnings on their mobile phones of a "life threatening situation" and the area was sealed off, the DPA news agency reported. Television footage showed dozens of police cars as well as fire engines blocking off streets and some people, wrapped in blankets, being led by emergency service workers into a bus. Police arrived at the scene to find several people seriously wounded and some dead. "Then they heard a shot from above, they went upstairs and found one further person," said a police spokesperson. The reasons behind the shooting remain unclear for the moment. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said on Twitter that the authorities were working urgently to investigate the crime. News weekly Der Spiegel reported that the suspected attacker was a former member of the Jehovah's Witness community who was not a known extremist. The magazine, which did not cite its sources, described him as a man aged 30-40 and said he had been armed with a handgun. 'Brutal act of violence' German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, a former Hamburg mayor, described the attack on Twitter as a brutal act of violence". He said his thoughts were with the victims, their families and the security forces. In a statement, the Jehovah's Witnesses in Germany association said it was "deeply saddened by the horrific attack on its members at the Kingdom Hall after a religious service". Jehovah's Witnesses is an international Christian denomination found in the U.S. in the 19th century. It claims a worldwide membership of about 8.7 million. Germany granted the denomination legal status in 2017 as a major religion. There are about 2,020 Jehovah's Witness congregations and 170,491 ministers in Germany and one in 498 Germans practice the faith, according to its website. Germany has been shaken by a number of shootings in the last few years. In February 2020, a gunman with suspected far-right links shot dead nine people, including migrants from Turkey, in the western town of Hanau before killing himself and his mother. In October 2019, a gunman killed two people when he opened fire outside a synagogue in the eastern city of Halle on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur. (with newswires) Ghana chapter of international human rights organisation Amnesty International has condemned the violence meted out by the military to some civilians in Ashaiman following the murder of a young soldier. Amnesty International Ghana called out the military and asked them to step back and allow the Ghana Police Service to conduct investigations into the incident. The young soldier, Imoro Sherrif, was stabbed in the neck on Saturday, March 4 when he went to the area to visit his parents. His death provoked a Military High Command-backed sanction of a coordinated operation in the area on Tuesday, March 7, leading to the arrest of 184 persons. Many complained of abuses by the soldiers on Tuesday and have called for punitive sanctions against the soldiers. We would like to respectfully remind the President of Ghana who is the Commander in Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces, the Minister of Interior, the leadership of the Ghana Armed Forces and other authorities involved in law enforcement in Ghana, that under their international human rights obligations, they must promptly, independently, thoroughly, and effectively investigate this unfortunate incident, Amnesty International Ghana said in a press release on Thursday, March 9. Amnesty International Ghana is calling for an independent investigation, as matter of urgency, to ensure that the military personnel involved in carrying out human rights abuses against the people of Ashaiman are held accountable and that adequate compensation be given to these victims, it added. The international organisation backed the Member of Parliament of Ashaiman Constituency Ernest Norgbeys call for restraint and calm among residents as justice is sought for all victims. Already, pressure group #FixTheCountry Movement is deploying volunteers to the area to offer legal services to all who fell victim to the brutalities on Tuesday. 3news.com The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has released the 2021 Population and Housing Census Thematic Report on Migration. Among the key findings, it was discovered that Ghana is a sending, receiving, and transit country for migrants. This situation according to analyses by the Ghana Statistical Service creates a complex situation for the formulation of a strategy to deal with international migration in the country. As a result, it has recommended in its Thematic Report on Migration that Ghana urgently needs to conduct a study on migration. Ghanas situation as a sending, receiving and transit country for migrants at the same time creates a complex situation for the formulation of a strategy to deal with international migration in the country. Any policy direction will be determined by which of the three is most dominant. This certainly calls for a careful study of the situation to come to a definite conclusion which cannot be achieved through the census. It is almost three decades since a comprehensive migration study was conducted in the country. It is time to have another one to help set the records straight, parts of the Thematic Report on Migration launched on Thursday, March 9, reads. The 2021 PHC Thematic Report on Migration is one of the thematic reports aimed at making data available to planners and decision-makers at regional and national levels. The objective of this report is to describe, analyse and provide an explanation for patterns, trends, and the future perspective of both internal and external migration in Ghana. The report dwells mainly on the 2021 PHC, supported by data from previous ones, mainly those of 2000 and 2010. Among many other findings, it was discovered that migrants constituted 28.9% out of the total population of 30,832,019 enumerated in 2021 PHC with the majority (52.5%) of the migrants being females as against 47.5% males. Also, there has been an increase in the number of Ghanaians who have travelled and settled outside the country between 2010 and 2021. While 250,624 emigrants were recorded during the 2010 PHC, the figure now stands at 289,531 according to data from the 2021 PHC. Speaking at the launch of the 2021 PHC Thematic Report on Migration, Government Statistician, Prof. Samuel Kobina Annim stressed that his outfit is focused on working to ensure that data is integrated into policymaking for the good of the country. What we seek to do is to highlight the status of migration in this country and also point to areas that will require that we as a country focus on why we need deeper studies around issues on migration. We are positioning Ghana Statistical Service as a pivotal agency to supply all the other Ministries of the relevant data that is needed. We want to incite policymakers and government to push for what we are calling integrating statistical targets in policy documents, Prof. Samuel Kobina Annim. He further expressed appreciation to all partners with special mention to the International Organisation on Migration (IOM) for the collaboration and sponsorship of the 2021 PHC Thematic Report on Migration. In her address, the IOM Chief of Mission in Ghana, Ms. Fatou Ndiaye stressed the importance of the 2021 PHC Thematic Report on Migration, explaining that it is key to providing a basis for evidence-based policymaking in line with SDG 17 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as well as objective one of the GCM on migration data. She said the call for improved migration statistics has gained currency in recent years given that data is critical to tracking progress on the SDGs as well as monitoring the 23 sets of objectives of the Global Compact on Migration, for which Ghana is a champion country. With this, Ms. Fatou Ndiaye argued that the thematic report on migration, therefore, provides the very much-needed data to interrogate the state of play of migration in Ghana to inform the right policy engineering. She added that additionally, the data will support the review of the migration profile of Ghana. I want to reiterate the International Organization for Migrations commitment to supporting the Ghana Statistical Service in improving migration statistics for development. Through our new project, the EU-UN Building Migration Partnership project, which I had the opportunity to launch with madam Chief Director of the Ministry of the Interior and the UN Resident Coordinator, IOM will continue to support the building of the capacity of officials for effective management of migration in Ghana, Ms. Fatou Ndiaye assured. The use of vagina-tightening chemicals is dangerous and could increase the risk of contracting cervical cancer, Dr. Mrs. Anita Owusu-Afriyie, a Medical Officer at the Oncology Department, International Maritime Hospital (IMaH) has stated and cautioned women. She said most of the vagina wash chemicals were harmful and deprived the reproductive organ of its natural PH Levels which were essential to keeping the place healthy and unsusceptible to viruses and infections. Dr. Mrs. Owusu-Afriyie gave the warning at Your Health! Our Concern! A Ghana News Agency Tema Regional Office, an initiative aimed at promoting communication on health-related and setting the medium for the propagation of health information to influence personal health choices by improving health literacy. The GNA-Tema Your Health! Our Concern initiative also serves as a public health advocacy platform initiated to explore the parameters of the four approaches to health communication: informative, educating, persuasive, and prompting. Dr. Mrs. Owusu-Afriyie said the only thing needed for the cleansing of the vagina was water, as the vagina was self-cleansing, therefore, no need for douching with chemicals and spices in the name of tightening it. She rather advised women who for some reason, such as after delivery would want to tighten their vaginas, to engage in Kegel exercises which was safer and helpful. Dr. Mrs. Owusu-Afriyie explained that to undertake the Kegel exercise the lady must make sure that her bladder is empty, then sit or lie down, tighten your pelvic floor muscles, hold tight, count three to five seconds, relax the muscles and count three to five seconds again. Repeat ten times, three times a day - morning, afternoon, and night. She said the exercise strengthens the pelvic floor muscles which support the uterus, bladder, and rectum among others. Dr. Mrs. Owusu-Afriyie stressed that the Kegel exercise involves trying to squeeze the muscle around the pelvic area as if holding on to ones urine. She added that it could also be done around the rectum and at any time without any complications. It aids the female reproductive organ to have the right tightening. The IMaH Medical Officer advised women to promptly seek medical care whenever they notice a change in their discharge or have any issues including warts as untreated infections could lead to cervical cancer. Mr. Francis Ameyibor, Ghana News Agency Tema Regional Manager explained that Your Health! Our Concern! is a public health advocacy platform created to explore the parameters of the four approaches to health communication: informative, educating, persuasive, and prompting. He said the GNA through the weekly health dialogue platform serves as an effective communication channel for health professionals to educate the public on healthy practices and other general health challenges. Mr. Ameyibor said it also seeks to create active two-way media advocacy channels for healthcare professionals to communicate promotional health information through which to disseminate public health issues and health education. CDA Consult || Contributor Desist from washing the vagina with herbal concoctions as such a practice is dangerous to the female genital organ Dr. Mrs. Anita Owusu-Afriyie, a Medical Officer at the Oncology Department, International Maritime Hospital (IMaH) has advised women. Dr. Mrs. Owusu-Afriyie noted that females who wash their vagina with an unprescribed feminine wash with the belief that it will cause dryness and cure vagina infections are misinformation, therefore, one needs to stop such practices which can cause severe dangers to the vagina. She explained further that the use of cloves and water as many females do to wash the vagina can cause injuries to the soft and delicate skin of the vagina. "Furthermore, washing the vagina with herbal-made feminine wash would not make there tight but would rather expose the female genitals to infections which not treated well will lead to damage. This could lead one in developing cancer of the cervix." Dr. Mrs. Owusu-Afriyie gave the warning at Your Health! Our Concern! A Ghana News Agency Tema Regional Office, an initiative aimed at promoting communication on health-related and setting the medium for the propagation of health information to influence personal health choices by improving health literacy. The GNA-Tema Your Health! Our Concern initiative also serves as a public health advocacy platform initiated to explore the parameters of the four approaches to health communication: informative, educating, persuasive, and prompting. She stated that even though lack of personal hygiene is a risk factor for cervical cancer, it does not require the insertion of medicines that have not been prescribed by a health expert into the private parts. She said seeking proper health care will help treat any infections of the vagina, therefore, it is more important to maintain healthy personal hygiene. She cautioned that the vagina has a PH level that helps to protect itself from harmful bacterial infections. The bodys estrogen helps keep the vagina in a healthy stage. Dr. Mrs. Owusu-Afriyie stressed that the vagina must simply be washed with clean water which will help in maintaining its cleanliness and keep it hygienic. "Again practicing good personal hygiene will prevent the vagina from getting infected hence it helps reduce the risk of cervical cancer." Mr. Francis Ameyibor, Ghana News Agency Tema Regional Manager explained that Your Health! Our Concern seeks to leverage Ghana News Agencys communication expertise together with the health professional skills to educate the public to understand that the health of everyone matters and should be the concern of all. He said parents health should be the concern of children and vice versa, employees health should be the concern of employers, and in general, Health professionals health should be the concern of the public, while the reverse should also hold. We must all be concerned about the health of some other person in order to develop a healthy society, Mr. Ameyibor noted. Mr. Ameyibor said the weekly health dialogue platform would also be used as an effective communication channel for health professionals to educate the public on healthy practices and other general health challenges. -CDA Consult || Contributor Kwame Governs Agbodza 10.03.2023 LISTEN President Akufo Addo, peddled falsehood on the number of roads constructed under the NPP between 2017 and 2023, compared to the Mahama NDC-led administration, Hon. Kwame Governs Agbodza, Minority Chief Whip and Ranking Member, Roads and Highways Committee of Parliament has said. The President during his State of the Nation Address (SONA), in Parliament, said the NPP government under his leadership had built more roads compared to any government under the Fourth Republic. But, the Minority Chief Whip who doubles as the ranking member on Roads and Highways Committee in a statement debunked the assertion, saying they were fabrication and lies. According to him, the President captured projects such as the Pokuase Interchange, Tema Motorway Interchange Phase 1, Obetsebi Lamptey Interchange Phase 1, Flowerpot and Suhum Interchange which were started under the erstwhile Mahama administration. The attempt to expropriate for his government, the following projects, is most scandalizing and such dishonesty must be called out and condemned by all, he stated. He continued, "Again, the president presented asphaltic overlays, resealing, sectional rehabilitation, regravelling and even reshaping and pothole patching as new roads constructed by his government between 2017 and 2023. "He listed Kwame Nkrumah Circle, Ring Road Flyover, Kasoa Interchange, Giffard Road, Airport Hills, Obetsebi Phase 1, Pokuase Interchange, Tema Motorway Interchange Phase , Flowerpot and Suhum Interchange as roads constructed under the Mahama NDC-led administration. "Meanwhile the Akufo Addo NPP-led administration constructed roads including Tamale Interchange (completed), East Legon Underpass (completed), Nungua Interchange (Ongoing), Adjiringanor (Ongoing), PTC Interchange - Synohydro (Ongoing), Kpone Barrier, Dawhenya, Prampram and Savanah Interchanges (Not started) and Obetsebi Lamptey Interchange - Phase 2 (Ongoing). Another lie peddled in the said document is when the Bolgatanga - Bawku - Polimakom Road whose construction began under the erstwhile Mahama/NDC government, has been counted as part of a so-called 108.40km of new road construction in the Upper East Region. Nothing could be further from the truth than this. The truth of the matter is that, the Akufo-Addo government upon assumption of office in 2017, completely abandoned that project and left it to rot until the Brazil Contractor packed out of site. The contractor only recently returned to site after several demonstrations against government. The year 2010 is still fresh in the minds of many people around the world. That year marked the beginning of a new era in the political history of a number of Arab and other countries like Nigeria. In that year, a wave of revolutionary protests in most Arab countries ushered in what became known as the Arab Spring. It was a period that defined the direction of an emerging socio-political movement for many Arab nations. But in Nigeria, the wind of regime change that blew across Arab nations took a different turn. Nigeria is the most densely populated country in Africa, numbering about 200 million people. Southern Nigeria is predominantly Christian. North is mainly Muslim. But despite the fact that the north is principally Muslim, the wave of protests that gripped the Nation of Islam by 2010 did not have much effect on the country. While the revolutions that brought about regime changes in most Arab countries lasted, Nigerians had been preoccupied with coping with their own internal crises. It was around this time that the Boko Haram insurgency came about, following the death of the founder, Mohammed Yusuf, in 2009, while in police detention. The Nigerian authorities had grossly underestimated the strength and determination of the insurgents. And so, they were hugely flabbergasted when they saw that the insurgents had started killing people and destroying properties in villages in the northeast of the country. In other words, while Nigerians had their own internal problems to sort out, the problems did not bear the same identity as that of the Arab World. The troubles did not call for a demonstration. They did not call for regime change. If there was any demand by the people, it was to fortify the government so that it could deal a sustained blow on the insurgency that was rearing its ugly head. But elsewhere in the Arab World, Saturday 18 December 2010 was the day all the trouble started. The day before, on 17 December, a 26 year-old Tunisian street vendor, Mohamed Bouazizi, had protested against his humiliation and the seizure of his wares by a municipal council official and her aides. The government officials had accused the young man of making sales without due licence. The governor refused to listen to his pleading to return his cart and the wares he was selling. Out of frustration, the young man sat down in front of the State Office, poured fuel over his head and set himself ablaze. He died 18 days later on Wednesday, 5 January 2011. Spontaneously, Bouazizis self-immolation ignited public anger and violence in Tunisia and subsequently became the wake-up call, not only for the people of Tunisia but also for the wider Nation of Islam. From the moment Bouazizi set himself on fire at the front of the state office, the stage was set. From North Africa to the Middle East and beyond, protest after protest followed in quick succession across the entire Arab World. The success of the Tunisian protest stoked the fire of rebellion among discontented citizens of several Arab countries. The wave of unrest sparked by the Tunisian street vendor hit Algeria, Jordan, Egypt and Yemen, and quickly spread to other countries, including non-Arab nations. Tawakkol Karman & Aisha Yesufu: two of a kind In Yemen, Tawakkol Karman was the most notable activist opposed to Salehs continued presidency. The32 year-old mother of three continued to organize protest after protest by the front gate of Sanaa University every week. She was the chairperson of Women Journalists without Chains, an organisation that defended human rights and, especially, the freedom to protest. Karman was fiercely protective of Yemens youths. She continuously condemned Salehs leadership which she said had robbed her generation of not only a meaningful future, but also its honour and dignity. Addressing journalists, she said: We are suffering from a ruler who tries to control the country with constitutional amendments that will change Yemen into a monarchy. Yemen, like Tunisia and Egypt, needs an end to a dictatorship in the guise of a presidency. Indeed, Ali Abdullah Saleh had been in power since 1978. That was for more than 33 years. The combination of dictatorship, corruption, poverty and unemployment created this revolution, Karman said. Its like a volcano. Sadly, injustice and corruption are exploding, while opportunities for a good life are coming to an end. By 2011, more than 5 million Yemenis were living in poverty, and nearly half were illiterate. Oil was scarce. Water reserves were declining. Considering the rate of water consumption at the time, it was often touted that Yemen would be the first country in the world to run out of water, sometime in 2025. Yet the government seemed unable or unwilling to address the fundamental problems of the people, lamented Karman. On Thursday, 3 February, Karman called for a Day of Rage. But on the fifth straight day of protests, supporters of the Saleh-led government, armed with sticks and knives, attacked pro-democracy demonstrators who were calling for Salehs ouster. Karman said she did not believe in matching force with force. On her office wall, she hung portraits of Martin Luther King Jr, Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. We refuse violence, she asserted. We know that violence has already caused our country countless problems. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has its base in Yemen. So does Anwar al-Awlaki, the American-born extremist preacher suspected of inspiring a host of would-be jihadists, including Nigerian-born underwear bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. Karman protested every Tuesday from 2007. She said that watching the dictators in Tunisia and Egypt fall gave her and the protest movement renewed energy. The goal is to change the regime by the slogan we learned from the Tunisian revolution, The people want the regime to fall. We are using the same methods and the same words from the Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions. They taught us how to become organized. Tunisia and Egypt also taught the Yemenis the power of social media. Facebook and Twitter posts called thousands more to the streets. Flyers were rolled out from Sanaa University and distributed to garner and consolidate public conscience. Positive coverage from satellite channels like AlJazeera and Al Hurra also encouraged Yemenis to protest, by exposing them to the support of the outside world. About the protests, Karman said: Yemen is not different from any other country. The future is unknown. What is known is that Yemen is part of a community of nations that is finally starting to shake off a plague of dictators. The spark started in Tunisia. What stabilized this revolution was Egypt. It gave light and hope and strength to people everywhere. Now theres a race between Yemen and Algeria to see who will be next. And if we succeed here, and I believe we will, revolutionary movements in every Arab country will grow stronger. In Nigeria, there is a similar character like Karman. Widely known across the country, her name is Aisha Somtochukwu Yesufu. Aisha is a Nigerian activist and businesswoman. She was co-founder of the #BringBackOurGirls movement, which brought global attention to the abduction of 276 girls by Boko Haram from Government Girls Secondary School Chibok, Borno State, on 14 April 2014. After the terrorists abducted the schoolgirls, Yesufu and Oby Ezekwesili co-founded the #BringBackOurGirls movement to push for the rescue of the girls. Yesufu was among the women protestors who marched to the premises of the Nigerian National Assembly, in the nation's capital, Abuja, on 30 April 2014. Aisha joined a group of like minds to advocate for a speedy and effective search and rescue of all the 276 abducted school girls and for a rapid containment and quelling of insurgency in Nigeria. #BringBackOurGirls trended across multiple platforms worldwide and sparked off physical protests in various countries. Out of the 276 girls, 107 were rescued, and 169 were still in the captivity of the terrorists. The school girls were between the ages of 15 and 18 in 2014 when they were abducted from school. The #BringBackOurGirls campaign attracted global attention from dignitaries like Barrack and Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton. Aisha and Tawakkol: freedom is the word Yesufu was a prominent member of the End SARS movement which began in 2017 and also drew global attention to police brutality in Nigeria. The organization derived its name from the amorphous unit in Nigeria Police Force called the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). A photograph of her wearing hijab at an End SARS protest became an iconic symbol of the movement. Yesufu said of the End SARS protests, "I will not be an irresponsible parent and leave this fight for my children. I am ready to sacrifice my life for my children to live. I brought them into this world, and I need to fix the world I put them in." About Aisha, Charles Aniagolu of the Arise TV had this to say: If the recent history of Nigeria and indeed the world tells us anything, it is that we have the power to stand up and demand for change. And one of the most important voices in that support for change would have to be the activist and campaigner, Aisha Yesufu. Her work shines through for all to see. Whether through protests, social activism or online campaign, she has always been at the forefront of trying to make real change happen. Aisha Yesufu would have to be one of Nigerias best known civil rights activists in recent years. She is famous across the country for her inner steely, unquenchable desire for good governance, her stubborn fight for good governance and her great strength in never giving up. Aisha Somtochukwu Yesufu was born on 12 December 1973 and raised in Kano State but she hails from Agbede in Edo State. About her childhood, she said she experienced the difficulties of growing up as a girl in a heavily patriarchic environment. By the time she was 11 years old, she didn't have any female friends because they had all been married off or had died during childbirth. By the time she married at 24, most of her friends were already grandmothers. Her love of books was what helped her during childhood. Reading made her realize there was a world beyond the ghetto that she was growing up in, and she wanted that life. She applied to the Nigerian Defence Academy in 1991, but was rejected because she was a woman. In 1992, she was admitted into Usman Danfodiyo University. But after the school was shut down, she enrolled in Ahmadu Bello University to study Medicine. Yesufu left Ahmadu Bello University after the school was also shut down as a result of the killing of a professor in 1994. She completed her education at Bayero University Kano, from where she graduated in Microbiology, in a second-class upper division. She eventually took up a Masters degree programme in Pharmaceutical Microbiology at the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria. Njideka Agbo In 2019, Njideka Agbo of The Guardian wrote about Aisha: "Often maligned for her stance on national issues in Nigeria by pro-government voices, she is not a run-of-the-mill activist. Her penchant for naming names earned her truckloads of enemies, and perhaps, admirers". Yesufu was among BBC's 100 Influential Women in 2020. She was included in a list of the Top 100 Most Influential Africans by New African magazine in 2020. Yesufu married her husband, Aliu Osigwe Yesufu, a chartered accountant in 1998 and they have two children, Amir and Aliyyah Yesufu. To a large extent, no historical documentation of the tortuous road to true democracy and the attainment of genuine nationhood that Nigerians have come through without the mention of Aisha Yesufu would be deemed complete. She is to Nigeria today, exactly what Tawakkol Karman was to Yemen in the days of the Arab Awakening. Aisha Yesufu has been defined as a change-driven and impact-led Nigerian socio-political reformer, a civic and community development crusader, a public speaker and an educator who consistently demands for good governance. Her consistent fight for justice, fairness and equity has earned her a place in the history of Nigerias democratic evolution. Always willing to lend her voice in support of women safety and empowerment, she is highly regarded by those who want Nigeria to attain true democracy in our lifetime. She is a business woman who teaches financial literacy to empower people to be financially independent and also have a voice in the demand for good governance. Aishas outspokenness and impulsion to stand up against injustice is inborn, and can be traced back to her childhood days in Northern Nigeria where speaking up as a female was taboo. When she was as young as 4 years old, Aisha Yesufu was already standing up against injustice. Her father tells the story of how she came to him while in nursery school to demand that he should be the one to take her to school as the neighbour who helped take her to school was being hostile. After INEC chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu released the results of the presidential election days after the 25 February event, many Nigerians were not convinced the result was authentic. The fact that the electoral umpire could not upload them to the INEC server did not help matters. In the midst of the controversy that beclouded the result, Professor Yakubu told the country and the world that the APC flagbearer, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu had won the election with PDPs Atiku Abubakar coming second and Labour Partys Peter Obi trailing a distant third. But many Nigerians who were desirous to see change happen in their country rejected the results. Aisha and her husband Soon after, both Atiku and Obi went to court. They wanted the court to grant them permission to inspect all the BVAS and other materials INEC utilized in conducting the elections so they could verify if there were any discrepancies. Many Nigerians saw that there were manipulations, voter-intimidation, vote rigging, vote buying, ballot box snatching and other malpractices that bedeviled the election. About the presidential election, Aisha said: No matter what they do, we will not be provoked. We will stay on the issue. This is not a time to get angry. There were times they would have looked at or examined our anger but that is not now. This is the time to be cool and calculative. This is the time to sit down and say yes, bring it on. Bring it on in terms of creativity, in terms of intelligence, in terms of technology, in terms of social media. This project belongs to you, the Nigerian youths. This is the time to put all the evidences together, the polling unit results. They will try to make you angry but dont give in because if you do, we will all then leave the main issue which is that our votes must count and look another way. We must work within the ambits of the law and we must ensure that the mandate of the people is not stolen. The massive number of people who came out to vote, their interest must be protected. We must ensure that political opportunists do succeed in rigging the election results as they are planning to do. Upon completion of the compulsory National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) program in 2000, Aisha ventured into the world of business where she remains active. She founded Citizens Hub (www.thecitizenshub.org), a not-for-profit organization seeking to build a financially independent, active and responsible citizenry through a solutions-driven and dynamic approach. The organization has successfully hosted a good number of attendees across Nigeria. Citizens Hubs vision to empower is built on core focus areas of educating citizens on financial literacy, personal and social development. As a Public Speaker, Aisha has travelled widely visiting the United States, South Africa, Ghana, United Kingdom, Argentina and other countries to provide engaging keynote speeches and to ignite discussions on socio political issues. Of particular note is that she was invited to speak at Edinburgh University CAS Seminar on The Many Meanings of #EndSARS in Nigeria. She also spoke on The Role of Non-Violent Protests in Influencing Change and Delivery at the Chatham House Africa Programme organized by UNDP Governance in Africa. Again, she was invited to speak at the Strategy Session organized by the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) students on the #EndSARS peaceful protest. Aisha is the Convener of #NigeriansMarchAgainstCorruption a peaceful demonstration against corruption within the Nigerian public sector. She has continued to remain a vocal critic of dubious government policies and frequently advocates for good governance, accountability and transparency. She is an avid reader and writer. And like Tawakkol Karman of Yemen, her sister-in-arm against bad governance, her life and works have been chronicled in print and broadcast media around the world. When Aisha Yesufu turned 40 on 12 December 2013, she decided it was time to devote her life fully to Nigeria. She said: the first 40 years of my life I devoted to myself to be financially independent and be able to help others. It is said you cant help the poor by being poor yourself. The next 40 years, God willing, I am going to devote to Nigeria. I am going to be an active citizen. My silence makes me part of the problems of Nigeria. By Emeka Asinugo, KSC Prof. Kwesi Aning 10.03.2023 LISTEN Director in charge of Faculty of Academic Affairs & Research at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre, Prof. Kwesi Aning has opined that he believes the press release from the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) on the military brutalisation of residents in Ashaiman was hastily put together. According to the Security Expert, the release was simply not thought through, adding that Parliament must take charge of the matter and ensure that those responsible for brutalising Ashaiman residents are not made to go scot-free. The bigger challenge in the failure is that Parliament has not spoken, and the Parliamentary Committee on Defence and Interior, with a deputy who was a former personnel from the Ghana Police Service, ought to show leadership and that leadership is lacking. The Deputy Defence Minister, as I have said earlier, has shown political maturity and humility by saying, look, there were some unfortunate excesses but it is Parliament, particularly the Committee on Defence and Interior, that needs to invite the people who did the planning to come and answer some tough questions and to reassure the public post that conversation that we have learned these lessons, those who carried out the excesses will also be dealt with, Prof. Kwesi Aning said. The security expert continued, the Military tells us that it was an intelligence-led operation or that they used intelligence and were targeted. I think the series of explanatory statements coming from the army itself have been unfortunate. When you read the press release carefully and you do a discourse analysis of the release, it was hastily put together, it wasnt thought through and undermines this credible and creditable institution. Military personnel earlier this week stormed Ashaiman to carry out what it described as an intelligence-led operation to fish out the killers of a young soldier. In the execution of the operations, 184 residents were arrested with several people beaten up by the military officers. On the back of public backlash and condemnation from various organisations, the Ghana Armed Forces in a release said the operation was sanctioned but not focused on avenging the deceased soldier. Geneva/ Rwanda The International Organization for Migration (IOM), is supporting the relocation of Afghan girls to Rwanda to continue their education, following the decision by the de facto authorities to ban women and girls from secondary and tertiary education in Afghanistan. The girls are among the first overseas students to be admitted to the School of Leadership, Afghanistan (SOLA), an Afghan all-girls boarding school originally based in Kabul, before it was forced to relocate to Rwanda following the ban. As the first and only school of its kind, SOLA provides a safe space for Afghan girls to receive a secondary level education, with a vision of creating a generation of female leaders. The dedication and strength of Afghan women and girls in the face of such adversity inspires and humbles us every day, says IOM Director General Antonio Vitorino. This initiative fills me with hope and resolve to continue our advocacy alongside women and girls in the country, for an Afghanistan that acknowledges, promotes, and builds on the contributions of its women, and invests in its girls. The arrival of the girls in Rwanda follows an agreement between IOM and SOLA to assist with safe travel arrangements and relocation of its students - already outside Afghanistan - from their current countries of residence to the SOLA campus in Rwanda. The students who have arrived so far were assisted and escorted to the SOLA campus by IOM staff. The students were very excited to be travelling to their school. During the flight, the youngest girl was given a pilots hat and sunglasses. She was so excited and happy; she wore her hat the entire journey and told me she wants to be a pilot when she grows up, said an IOM staff escorting the students. Reflecting on the agreement between IOM and SOLA, SOLAs Founder, Shabana Basij-Rasikh said: March 2023 marks one year since the Taliban closed the doors of girls schools in Afghanistan, denying Afghan girls the right to study past 6th grade. It is incredibly meaningful to me that they are now arriving in Rwanda to pursue their education, and I am endlessly grateful to IOM for helping facilitate their safe travel to our school where they will grow to become members of a generation of leaders who one day will help rebuild Afghanistan. The new students will join their classmates at SOLA, who were welcomed by the Rwandan Government back in August 2021. IOM will be continuing to help with the relocation of more Afghan students to SOLA. The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) on Thursday, March 9, held a launch event at the Accra International Conference Centre for the release of the 2021 Population and Housing Census Thematic Report on Migration. The 2021 Population and Housing Census (PHC) Thematic Report on Migration has revealed that ten out of the sixteen regions had more people migrating out than migrating in with the Volta region having the largest net loss of people. Of the six regions that had a net gain of migrants, Greater Accra had the highest gain. Further, the leading destinations for persons emigrating from Ghana to settle outside the country are Europe and America. The report also indicates that there are gender differences in the main drivers of migration: female migrants mostly move due to marriage and family reunions whereas males move for economic reasons. The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) in collaboration with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) released the report on 9th March 2023. The programme was chaired by Mrs. Adelaide Anno-Kumi, Chief Director, Ministry of the Interior. In her remarks, she highlighted the importance of the report and congratulated GSS for releasing statistics on migration because the data provides the basis for planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluating and needs of the population within the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 10.7." She noted that The Ministry of the Interior counts so much on the rich data emanating from the 2021 Population and Housing Census to address the issues relating to migration in the country to move forward with our sectorial policies and programmes." She concluded with the commitment of the Ministry of the Interior to engaging further with the Statistical Service on the production of analytical reports to answer policy-relevant research questions on migration. She urged all stakeholders, including the media to support the GSS with the effective dissemination of the 2021 PHC data for national development. The Government Statistician, Prof. Samuel Kobina Annim, gave the opening remarks which focused on the importance of data utilisation keeping in mind the leaving no one behind sustainable development agenda. He noted that Ghana in recent times has not been able to do a survey solely on migration. He added that it was important such surveys are conducted in collaboration with Ghana Immigration Service and Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture, to accurately capture the issues relating to travel and tourism. Mrs. Fatou Ndiaye Diallo, Chief of Mission for Ghana, Togo, and Benin made a statement on behalf of IOM. She stated that Ghana requires up-to-date migration data to facilitate reporting and evidence-based policymaking as a country of origin, transit, and destination. While this has been identified as a key need by the Government of Ghana through the National Migration Policy, the achievement of this goal has proven to be a challenge." She commended the Statistical Service for producing the report which she said provides the very much-needed data to interrogate the state of play of migration in Ghana to inform the right policy engineering. Additionally, the data will support the review of the migration profile of Ghana." Prof. John K. Anarfi, the lead author of the Thematic Report on Migration presented the key findings from the report as highlighted above. Following his presentation, the discussant, Prof. Stephen Owusu Kwankye of the University of Ghana Regional Institute for Population Studies gave his remarks. He discussed the policy implications of the findings and highlighted key ones such as (1) 30% of Ghanaians being classified as migrants (i.e. persons whose place of birth was different from the place of enumeration) indicating that Ghanaians are mobile and (2) the leading reason for migration being to settle permanently with 36% of migrants moving for long-term or permanent stays (3) Greater Accra leading the regions which gained population through migration, followed by Ashanti region while on the other hand, among the 10 regions which lost population through migration, the Volta region was the highest. If you have an event you'd like to list on the site, submit it now! Submit Freddy is on track to break the record as the longest-lasting tropical cyclone, the United Nations said Friday as the killer storm was set to hit Mozambique once again. "Freddy is continuing its incredible and dangerous journey," Clare Nullis, spokeswoman for the UN's World Meteorological Organization, told reporters in Geneva. Freddy developed off the north Australian coast and became a named storm on February 6. The current record is held by Hurricane/Typhoon John, which lasted 31 days in 1994, the WMO said. Freddy has been a named tropical cyclone for 33 days. Once it has dissipated, a WMO climate extremes expert committee will assess all the data to determine whether a new record has been indeed set -- a process which could take months. Freddy has periodically weakened below tropical storm status, such as when it was lingering over Mozambique and Zimbabwe the first time around. "We will obviously need to address if that is a concern in our evaluation," said Randall Cerveny, the WMO's Weather and Climate Extremes rapporteur. Freddy crossed the entire southern Indian Ocean and made landfall in Madagascar on February 21, crossing the island before reaching Mozambique on February 24. It tracked over Mozambique and Zimbabwe, bringing heavy rains and flooding. It then looped back towards the coast, picking up moisture and strength from the warm waters, hit Madagascar again and is now heading back towards Mozambique. Freddy is expected to make landfall in the northern province of Zambezia late Friday or possibly Saturday morning. Madagascar was hit by Freddy on February 23. By JOSA LESOA (AFP) "There will be very destructive winds, a very dangerous storm surge on landfall and extreme rainfall over large areas, not just in Mozambique but northeast Zimbabwe, southeast Zambia and Malawi," said Nullis. The expected rainfall totals are around 200 to 300 millimetres (7.9-11, but locally it could be more than 400-500 mm over the landing area. "This is more than twice the usual monthly rainfall and its coming on top of the existing rainfall that Freddy caused the first time around," Nullis said. The last cyclones to cross the entire southern Indian Ocean were Tropical Cyclones Leon-Eline and Hudah in 2000. Once upon a time in a village called Ampenkro, there was a law that made it a criminal offence punishable by death for any person to kill or eat the flesh of another person. This law was made because there was a great famine in the land, and people had to eat human flesh to survive. The land was full of wild and dangerous beasts which attacked and killed many people. Farmers could not go to their farms to fetch food stuffs as they feared to be killed by the wild beasts. Many people died of hunger. By a decree of the chief, six skilled hunters were selected to enter the forest to fetch food and meat for the town folks. The hunters travelled too far into the forest that they missed their way back home. Meanwhile, they had neither game nor food. When the hunters realized that they could possibly die of hunger, there was a proposal to kill and eat one of them to survive. Five of them voted in favour of the proposal while one voted against it. By majority decision, they killed and ate one of them. The human flesh sustained them till they eventually found their way home many days thereafter. When they got home, four of them quickly reported to the chief that a wild beast had killed one of them but they managed to escape. The other one told the chief the 'truth' that no wild animal killed one of them; they in fact killed and ate him to survive. As the law of the land protected whistle blowers from prosecution, the four hunters were arraigned before the court on two counts of (a) murder and (b) cannibalism, but the one was not charged. At the trial, the testimonies of all four accused persons concurred that the deceased was killed and eaten by a wild beast. The prosecution had only one witness to call in support of their case. Now, the trial has ended, and you are the judge. You did not take part in the hunting expedition. Would you convict or acquit the four hunters? Can the testimony of one witness override concurring testimonies of four witnesses? Your judgment would be as good as mine! Introduction One of the greatest fallacies entertained by people about law is that the business of the court is to discover truth. Truth is a fundamental value deeply ingrained in our culture, morality and religion, which is a necessary component of social cohesion and progress. All the main religions in Ghana emphasize truth as a fundamental value. It is generally expected that the law would reflect that fundamental value and do so at the core of its processes. The public never accepts that justice can be attained without emphasizing truth. To the public, law should be a system of rules dedicated to the search of truth. But do courts really concern themselves with and commit to the search of truth? What at all is truth? It must be pointed out that a court of law is never engaged in ascertaining ultimate verities. The business of the court is to determine what is the proper result to be arrived at, having regard to the evidence before the court. Like all common law countries, Ghana operates an adversarial system of legal procedure. The adversarial trial is not committed to the finding of truth as we know it in morality, religion and culture. The core business of the court is to find fact that is supported by evidence. This is why our judges are called 'fact-finders'. The court is concerned with procedural truth or legal truth. The court does not concern itself with any truth that is not supported by evidence. The legal system has established fact-finding criteria and the norms to ascertain the truth in the established facts. What is the purpose of swearing an oath? Before a person testifies in court, he is made to swear an oath to speak the truth. A person may swear with the Bible, Quran, Cross, Traditional belief or Affirmation, according to his belief. Before giving his evidence, a witness swears the oath to speak the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. The oath is a formal promise by which the person swearing invokes God or some deity or pronounces some words which he considers sacred. The purpose of the oath is to encourage truth. What kind of truth do parties and their witnesses swear to speak? What is truth according to the Bible? It was a cardinal maxim of the Mosaic Law that the testimonies of at least two witnesses were capable of establishing every matter as true. Thus, no one could be condemned or punished where there were not at least two or three witnesses to prove the offence against him. This maxim is also found in the New Testament of the Bible. References may be made to the following Bible verses: Deuteronomy 17:6: At the mouth of two witnesses or three witnesses shall he that is worthy of death be put to death. At the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death. (MKJV) Deuteronomy 35:30: Whoever kills any person, the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses. But one witness shall not testify against any person to cause him to die. (MKJV) Matthew 18:16: But if he will not hear you, take one or two more with you, so that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. (MKJV) John 8:17 It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. (MKJV) 2 Corinthians 13: 1b In the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established. (MKJV) Hebrews 10:28: He who despised Moses law died without mercy on the word of two or three witnesses. (MKJV) The clear import of these scriptures is that whenever the testimonies or evidence of two or more witnesses concur in proof of any issue, that issue is said to have been established and settled. The Mosaic law did not trust the evidence of only one witness, hence Deuteronomy 19:15 cautions thus One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity. It was a belief amongst the Jews that a judgment based on the evidence of at least two witnesses accorded with natural justice. Daniel Korang Esq. Mr Fred Agbenyo, Deputy Director of International Affairs for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), says he is confident of emerging victorious in the upcoming parliamentary primaries of the party. He is also hopeful that he would become the first Member of Parliament (MP) of Guan in 2024. Mr Agbenyo in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Likpe said he was born and raised in the Guan enclave and his message resonated well with the people who appreciated that he had, gone through the mill and was adequately prepared for the task ahead. Mr Agbeyno said he had picked the nomination form and had also interacted with delegates in the various communities he would be representing if given the nod to represent them. I very hopeful that come May 13, when we congregate to elect a parliamentary candidate, I will emerge victorious and have the opportunity to represent my people. Mr Agbenyo said agriculture was key on his agenda and since the area was an agrarian, the use of technology and modern ways of farming were the way. He said the issue of education was also critical to him since education when taken seriously, would let one become successful, adding that health, roads, and tourism would equally be given serious attention on his agenda. Mr Agbenyo said he would leverage on his network and bring the needed developments for the district and the Constituency if given the nod to lift up the image of the new district and constituency. GNA Speaker Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin is leading a high-powered Ghanaian delegation to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Conference in Manama, Bahrain. A statement issued by the Public Affairs Directorate of Parliament, copied to the Ghana News Agency said the 146th Assembly of the IPU and its related meetings were scheduled to be held in the Arab country from Saturday, March 11, to Wednesday, March 15, 2023. It said all IPU statutory bodies, including the Governing Council, Standing Committees, Committees on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians and on Middle East Questions, as well as the Forum of Women Parliamentarians and the Forum of Young MPs, would convene during this Assembly. It stated that the General Debate was expected to provide a platform for delegates to deliberate, exchange views and galvanize parliamentary action in fighting intolerance and promoting peaceful coexistence. The statement said the conference, on the theme Promoting Peaceful Coexistence and Inclusive Societies: Fighting Intolerance, would explore and share ideas and perspectives on strengthening democracy worldwide. It said Ghanas parliamentary delegation headed by Speaker Bagbin comprises both leaders of the House, Majority and Minority Leaders, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu and Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, respectively. Also included in this delegation, the First Deputy Minority Whip Ahmed Ibrahim, and Second Deputy Majority Whip Habib Iddrisu. The rest are Madam Patricia Appiagyei, Member of Parliament (MP) for Asokwa; Madam Abla Dzifa Gomashie, MP for Ketu South; Sheba Nana Afriyie-Osei, The Director of Parliamentary Relations and Protocol and Mr Richard Acheampong, Head of the Speakers Secretariat. It said the delegation would represent Ghanas interests, including Parliament, in the Conference and related meetings. The IPU is the global organization of national parliaments, which was founded more than 133 years ago as the first multilateral political organization in the world, encouraging cooperation and dialogue between all nations. The IPU comprises 178 national Member Parliaments and 14 regional parliamentary bodies. It promotes democracy and helps parliaments become stronger, younger, gender-balanced and more representative. It also defends the human rights of parliamentarians through a dedicated committee of MPs worldwide. GNA Anti-apartheid activist Neil Aggett (29) died in apartheid police detention in 1982. - Source: Charcoal on paper Dr Amitabh Mitra/Wiki Commons 10.03.2023 LISTEN Neil Aggett , the trade unionist and anti-apartheid activist who died in detention at the hands of police 41 years ago, was one of very few white South Africans who actively fought apartheid. He was only 29 when he died. He came from a community enjoying one of the most privileged existences on earth, with a black servant class attending to their every need. Yet he gave that all up because he believed every person regardless of their race, religion, gender or sexuality had the right to justice, the right to liberty, the right to equality of opportunity. He was selfless, fighting for others. He lived according to Nelson Mandela's guidance : What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others. Neil was a role model, winning numerous awards and certificates at Kingswood College in Makhanda, Eastern Cape, before studying at the University of Cape Town and completing his medical degree in 1976. He became a doctor working mainly in overcrowded and desperately under-resourced hospitals reserved for black people across the country. At the same time, he was a champion of workers' rights and workers' health and safety. He became a volunteer organiser with the African Food and Canning Workers' Union , working without pay, taking additional weekend hospital night shifts to support himself. But his passionate trade unionism proved fateful. It made him a target of a brutally repressive apartheid police state. He was arrested in late 1981, ending up in Johannesburg's notorious police headquarters, John Vorster Square . He emerged from there in a coffin. A lire aussi : Ahmed Timol inquest: why uncovering apartheid crimes remains so important The apartheid security police who had brutally interrogated Neil maintained he had hung himself with a scarf just as they claimed others who died in prison had slipped in the shower or fallen out of a window . He was the 51st person to die in detention under apartheid. The total later escalated to over 70. He was the first and only white person to die in detention from torture. No one has ever been convicted for any of those 70-plus murders . Sacrifice and betrayal Today it is taken for granted that Nelson Mandela walked to freedom in February 1990 after 27 years' imprisonment, and four years later was elected president. Today it is taken for granted that, however serious South Africa's problems of poverty , unemployment , homelessness , corruption , power and water cuts and mafia-like crime , each South African citizen has human rights protected by their constitution . But none of that was achieved without a bitter fight against merciless opponents. My family's story was a small part of that. The apartheid security forces dispatched my parents, me, my brother and two small sisters unwillingly into exile . Not because my mom and dad had committed the sort of normal crimes in democratic societies policed by the rule of law such as theft, fraud, violence, rape or murder but because they stood up and fought apartheid : the most institutionalised system of racism the world has ever seen. In exile, the apartheid security service tried to kill me in June 1972 with one of their specialities, a lethal letter bomb, sent to our family's London address. It would have blown up our family and our home except for a fault in the trigger mechanism . Other anti-apartheid campaigners weren't as fortunate as I was. A letter bomb killed Ruth First in Maputo in 1982 and Abram Tiro in Botswana in 1974. Neil Aggett also paid that ultimate price. In any civilised society he would have lived a full life, protecting people's health as a doctor or protecting food workers' rights as a trade unionist. But today, tragically, the many thousands of freedom struggle activists like Neil have been betrayed by the governing African National Congress (ANC) politicians who have looted and brought the country nearly to its knees. Similarly betrayed have been the heroes of the liberation struggle, the leaders such as Mandela , Oliver Tambo , Walter Sisulu , Ahmed Kathrada , Robert Sobukwe , Steve Biko and Lilian Ngoyi who gave up the prime of their lives to serve harsh jail sentences. A lire aussi : Multiparty democracy is in trouble in South Africa collapsing coalitions are a sure sign South Africans from every walk of life, black and white, young and old, tell me they feel helpless, feel they cannot do anything about power cuts, water cuts, or about dysfunctional or non-existent postal or local municipal services , feel politics doesn't serve them anymore, feel their vote is worthless even though it took a momentous fight to get it for everyone. My message to them, my message to you all, is: learn from South Africa's struggle history. Need for active citizenship The struggle giants, the Nelson Mandelas and Oliver Tambos, the Neil Aggetts and Joe Slovos , didn't defeat apartheid on their own. They were leaders of a mass movement of many tens of thousands of ordinary people who, in the most oppressive of conditions, threw themselves into activism. Many made sacrifices, some small, some big. Some did a little, others did a lot but they all did something. And they each contributed in whatever way they could to one of the most successful movements for change ever in modern history. They defeated a powerful police state. They refused to be subjugated by an economic system feeding profitably in a trough of racism. And they beat apartheid. Back in the 1950s, the 1960s, the 1970s, people said, people feared, that could never happen, might be impossible. But it was made possible because enough ordinary citizens rose up together and campaigned, and struggled and fought for change. Courageous school students in Soweto lit a fuse in June 1976 . They were gunned down by police for protesting peacefully, but refused to be cowed, and their defiance triggered a fresh wave of resistance. Today South Africa must be changed again radically, and soon. But history teaches us that big change doesn't normally come from the top. Looking forward I don't know if the ANC can be saved from itself. I don't know if the good people still in the ANC can fully reclaim it from the corrupt ones who riddle the party from top to bottom. A lire aussi : ANC in crisis: South Africa's governing party is fighting to stay relevant - 5 essential reads But meanwhile, every South African can do their bit. First by doing your very best, driven by the vision of an inclusive and united South Africa propagated by democracy's founding mothers and fathers. And also saying No! to paying a bribe or a backhander for a contract, for a job, for a permit, for a licence, for starting a business, for building a home. Often it's very difficult to say No!. But until everyone unites to say No!, nothing will change. Until a mass uprising said No! to apartheid, it didn't change, and never would have. South Africans can join a popular uprising to say No! and demand change, and stop their beautiful, special country from becoming a failed state. This is an edited version of the Neil Aggett lecture delivered at Kingswood College, Makhanda, on 7 March 2023. Peter Hain's memoir A Pretoria Boy: South Africa's 'Public Enemy Number One' is published by Jonathan Ball, as are his thrillers The Rhino Conspiracy and The Elephant Conspiracy . Peter Hain is President of Britain's Action for Southern Africa and Chair of the Donald Woods Foundation, a charity based at Hobeni in the Transkei. A Labour member of the House of Lords since 2015, he was an MP for 24 years and government minister for 12 years. By Peter Hain, Visiting Adjunct Professor at Wits Business School, University of the Witwatersrand 10.03.2023 LISTEN Newmont Africa has announced that its Ghana operations (Ahafo South and Akyem mines) paid a total of GHS 2.76 billion in taxes, royalties, levies, and carried interest to the Government of Ghana in 2022, through the Ghana Revenue Authority, Forestry Commission, and Ministry of Finance. For the full year (2022), Newmont Africa paid GHS 1.53 billion as Corporate Income Tax, GHS 548.3 million as Mineral Royalties, GHS 261.3 million as Pay As You Earn, GHS 164.5 million as Withholding Tax, GHS 222.1 million as Carried Interest, and GHS 35.5 million as Forestry Levy. In the last quarter of the year (September to December of 2022), Newmont Africas payment to government amounted to GHS 1.04 billion, across the two operations. Breaking it down by operation, Newmont Africas Regional Chief Financial Officer, Danquah AddoYobo, said, the Ahafo operation contributed GHS 1.22 billion for the year while the Akyem operation contributed GHS 1.54 billion. Over the years, Newmont Africa has been recognised as a compliant and significant tax payer in Ghana, and has been duly acknowledged as such by the Ministry of Finance and its revenue agency, the Ghana Revenue Authority. Beyond meeting its tax obligations to the government, Newmont Africa also supports the nations growth through employment opportunities, local supply chain development, and social investment, among others. Newmont Africa played, and continues to play a major role in the governments gold purchasing programme, designed to shore up the countrys gold reserves and help stabilize the national currency. First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joseph Osei-Owusu, has urged Ghanaians never to vote for another hung Parliament again. The Bekwai MP believes the situation has made the current legislature less efficient as compared to the seventh Parliament. He wants Ghanaians to vote massively for either the NPP or NDC in the 2024 general elections to give one political party an overwhelming majority in the House. According to him, the seventh Parliament, for instance, passed over 100 laws but the current Parliament which is in its third year has passed less than 10 laws. Citing the approval of ministerial nominees and nominees to the Supreme Court as an example, he stated that there is less cooperation and the Minority tends to oppose almost all governments decisions irrespective of the substance of the issues. Speaking exclusively to Citi News, he stated that the lack of effective collaboration in Parliament is adversely affecting governance in the country. It is affecting governance generally. I am saying that next time Ghanaians should vote more. If they want the NPP to be the Majority, they should give them more votes. If you want NDC to be the majority give them more votes. This one is affecting governance very badly. The seventh Parliament, probably because of the numbers, passed the highest number of laws since 1993, we passed over 100 laws. This Parliament is our third year, but I doubt we have passed even 10 laws. The level of cooperation that I saw is no longer there. -citinewsroom Ministry of Education has informed students about the Ministrys introduction of a one-year pre-engineering programme offered at some selected universities for students with non-science backgrounds. The one-year programme is for non-science students who wish to pursue engineering at the tertiary level. Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, the sector minister, made this announcement on Thursday, March 9, 2023, when he paid an unannounced school visit to Osu Presby Senior High School in the Greater Accra Region. As part of the visit, the minister inspected most of the classrooms while lessons were ongoing and he shared lessons from his life experiences and that of other great personalities like Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana's first president and Barrack Obama, the former United States of America president, and many others. He further encouraged the students to study hard and excel regardless of their various backgrounds. In addition, he pledged to furnish some classrooms with paints and louvre blades to make it a convenient learning environment for students and also provide textbooks for efficient learning. Source: Classfmonline.com Founding President and chief executive officer of IMANI Centre for Policy and Education, Franklin Cudjoe has indicated that President Akufo-Addo did not paint the true state of the country when he delivered the State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Wednesday, March 8. During his SONA in Parliament, the President rubbished allegations that his government misused Covid funds and have been borrowing recklessly. He explained that on the contrary, his government has made needed investments in education, road infrastructure, and in other sectors. Beyond the use of COVID funds, there are legitimate questions being asked about how the countrys debt situation got where it is. Mr. Speaker, let me state emphatically that we have not been reckless in borrowing and in spending. It is worth noting that the debts we are servicing were not only contracted during the period of this administration, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said. The President added, Mr. Speaker, we have spent money on things that are urgent, to build roads and bridges and schools, to train our young people and equip them to face a competitive world. Considering the amount of work that still needs to be done on the state of our roads, the bridges that have to be built, considering the number of classrooms that need to be built, the furniture and equipment needs at all stages of education, considering the number of children who should be in school and are not, considering the number of towns and villages that still do not have access to potable water, I daresay no one can suggest we have over borrowed or spent recklessly. Speaking to Asaase Radio in an interview, Franklin Cudjoe who is a Policy Analyst has shared that in his estimation, government did not make prudent investments. According to him, President Akufo-Addo was economical with the truth in his State of the Nation Address. We shouldnt be seeing the records we are seeing now. The economic data as we speak is an anomaly on the continent and in most parts of the world. It is what it is and what it means is that the investments were not prudent. I wouldnt say the President wasnt honest but politically he is being economical with the truth. Thats what it is, Franklin Cudjoe opined. The Imani President further questioned, I as an analyst Im just asking one question. Assuming we even believe the president that we invested the money here and there, Im asking myself whats the result? 10.03.2023 LISTEN Some unknown persons have cut parts of some newly laid electricity cables at the Smelter Two Bulk Supply Point by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Mr. Emmanuel Akinie, Tema ECG Regional General Manager has said. Mr. Akinie told the Ghana News Agency in an interview in Tema that power disruptions that occurred in Kpone, and its environs some few days ago were the result of their acts. The areas and industries served by the Bulk Supply Point cable include B5 Plus, Mass Industries, Mavis Industries, Blow-Chem, the entire Kpone Township, Community 25, Ghana Steel, Affordable Housing, and Adi Steel among others. He said ECG discovered the cable cut on the morning of March 08 as part of investigations into the outage which occurred at dawn. He noted that the cable was part of a set of new cables which had been laid a few days prior to the incident, adding that they were the replacement for some old and worn-out cables He disclosed that the said cables were replaced due to the challenges of supplying electricity to these places for some time now. The ECG General Manager said the cutting of the cable after it has been laid and energized (electricity was running thru them) led to the outage. As it is now, the cable has been decommissioned as work has to be done on it before it can be energized again, he said. He added however that the load of customers who did not have supply because of the cable cut had been transferred to other networks and were on supply now while engineers worked to fix the cut cable. He also pleaded with customers and the public to help protect ECG property and equipment as damage to them, such as the cable cut, ended up affecting customers, while adding cost to the company which must spend resources meant for other projects on such repair and replacement works. Mr. Akinie cautioned criminals against such acts, saying such attempts were dangerous as one could easily lose their life through electrocution. When cables are laid, you may not know whether there is electricity in them or not; in this case, while the person was cutting it, there was an explosion which then caused the outage and the person also bolted, leaving behind a hacksaw, he said GNA Five investments in 3 years show German company's confidence in China Xinhua) 16:20, March 10, 2023 BEIJING, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Despite the impact of the pandemic, Bitzer, a German compressor technology company, decided to invest another 300 million yuan (about 43 million U.S. dollars) in its Beijing factory this year. Part of the investment will be spent on a 4,800-square-meter building for the research and development (R&D) department, and the foundation-laying ceremony is scheduled in April. "We have brought in some equipment, so we desperately need the building as soon as possible," said Karl Heinz Meister, vice president of the Bitzer Asia Pacific Area. It is the fifth time the company invested in its Beijing subsidiary over the past three years, with a total of 84 million yuan poured for the previous four times. Meister said the Chinese government has emphasized high-quality development and environmental protection, so the company needs to design and put forward new products in the Chinese market. The country's "no food waste" campaign has also benefitted the refrigeration business, he added. China will intensify efforts to attract and utilize foreign investment, according to a government work report unveiled on March 5 at the first session of the 14th National People's Congress, the national legislature. The country will expand market access, continue to open up the modern services sector, ensure national treatment for foreign-funded companies, improve services for foreign-funded companies, and facilitate the launch of landmark foreign-funded projects, said the report. Bitzer started investing in Beijing in 1994, with a joint venture established in Tongzhou District. In 2006, the company founded its wholly-owned subsidiary -- Bitzer Refrigeration Technology (China) Co., Ltd. -- in the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area. The compressor is the heart of any refrigeration or air conditioning system. Bitzer's products are applied in central air-conditioning systems in buildings, freezers in supermarkets, as well as air conditioners in automobiles and trains. Apart from the market, the increasingly complete supply chain in China is another reason for them to keep investing in the Beijing factory. "In the past, the company could only assemble compressors using imported parts, with almost no R&D staff, but now, with some 100 suppliers across China, the factory has become more and more independent in both production and the development of new products," said Fang Yuyan, financial director of the factory. To encourage foreign investors to continue to expand their investment, China has issued a deferring tax policy, which would exempt the withholding tax temporarily if foreign investors' profits from Chinese domestic enterprises were directly invested in China, said Cong Lin, an official in charge of the international sector with the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area Tax Service, State Taxation Administration. To simplify the related procedures, an e-channel taxation service has been set up where companies can apply for different kinds of services online, without having to send staff to the taxation service hall. "We have also conducted English training for our team for easier communication with international companies and foreign taxpayers," Cong said. Despite the epidemic, the sales revenue of Bitzer Beijing factory has been stable over the past three years, with a record of 1.6 billion yuan set in 2021. Bill Feng has worked in the company for 16 years. He said China has been through multiple difficulties over the years, like the SARS and financial crisis, but the long-term uptrend of the country's development remains unchanged all these years. "The impact of COVID-19 is only short-term, and we are confident about the business prospects in China in the long run," said Feng, now vice president of Bitzer Greater China. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Ethiopia next week to push forward a fragile peace process, the State Department said Friday, on the highest-level US visit since the brutal civil war shook ties between the longtime allies. Blinken will also pay the first visit by a top US diplomat to Niger to discuss security cooperation in the Sahel, where Russia has been making growing inroads through its Wagner mercenary force. Blinken will hold talks Wednesday and Thursday in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa with officials, civil society and humanitarian groups on the November 2 deal that halted the two-year war that has killed more people than Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Under the agreement, brokered in the South African capital Pretoria by the African Union with US participation, the rebel Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) said it would disarm in the face of an onslaught by the government, which agreed to restore basic services in a region that has suffered dire shortages. But access remains heavily restricted, making it impossible to assess the situation on the ground, and violence and rights concerns have flared elsewhere in Ethiopia. The United States has put the death toll at 500,000 while former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo, who negotiated for the African Union, put it as high as 600,000, which would make the war one of the deadliest of the 21st century despite the greater spotlight on Ukraine. Blinken has alleged crimes against humanity in the course of the war, angering Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government, which has warned that a UN-backed probe into abuses would undermine the peace process. Incentives for peace Abiy won the Nobel Peace Prize for making peace with historic rival Eritrea and was once seen by the United States as part of a generation of dynamic new democratic leaders in Africa. The war and allegations of abuses -- including the withholding of food -- have badly strained relations with the United States, which suspended Ethiopia's right to duty-free exports under a key trade pact, although Abiy participated in December in President Joe Biden's Africa summit in Washington. Cameron Hudson, an Africa expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said there was an active debate within the Biden administration on whether to patch up with Ethiopia, the continent's second most populous nation and home to the African Union, and those who believe that human rights concerns outweigh any geopolitical advantage. "This is a bit of a fact-finding mission. There is this debate happening within the administration and I think Blinken needs to see for himself," Hudson said. Hudson expected that Blinken would offer better ties as an incentive for moving forward on the peace process, including increasing humanitarian access in Tigray. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed addresses the African Union in Addis Ababa on February 18, 2023. By Tony KARUMBA (AFP/File) "What Addis is looking for is whether Washington is willing to say, enough has been done and we can normalize the bilateral relationship -- and that means turning on the financial spigot by restarting international lending assistance and assisting with the country's increasing debt crisis," Hudson said. Abiy ordered the offensive after the TPLF, once Ethiopia's dominant power, attacked military installations. A remaining sticking point is the role of Eritrea, whose authoritarian regime has tense ties with the TPLF and is accused of atrocities in Tigray. US officials have hailed what they saw as Eritrean troop movements out of Tigray, but it is unclear to what extent the forces remain there. The Biden administration has been looking to increase its presence in Africa in the face of inroads by China and increasingly Russia, which is seeking diplomatic support in the developing world against Western sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine. In Niger, Blinken will meet President Mohamed Bazoum as well as young people from conflict zones. The focus of the management of higher institutions needs to shift from theoretical knowledge to skill-based education with a more practical and dynamic approach. This approach, which is geared towards bridging the gap between academia and industry, will help ensure that graduating students will find their transition into industry roles smoother. The Director of Tertiary Education at the Ministry of Education, Dr Bless Dzakadzi, made the proposal at the maiden graduation of Heavy-Duty Equipment Operators within the West and Central African sub-region at the Regional Maritime University on Thursday in Accra. He stated that despite exponential changes in almost every field of education, the tertiary education curriculum is often rigid and hard to revise, adding that It is advisable that curriculum is revised regularly and developed in accordance with what industry needs. He noted that besides imparting the core or technical knowledge, academia should also try to focus on the softer and behavioural aspects. Hammering on sectors such as interpersonal skills, leadership capability, attitude, communication skills, team spirit and alike will play a critical role in determining the success of individuals once they join the industry. Well-timed and well-deliberated exposure to the industry will also provide a much-needed experience to the students, he added. He echoed that the economic transformation of the country depended to a large extent on graduates of Professional Universities, who have been equipped with high-level practical and career-focused skills for self-employability by being job creators rather than job seekers. On his part, the Ag. Vice Chancellor of the Regional Maritime University, Dr Jethro W. Brooks Jr., stressed the need for standardized training and certification within the sub-regions. This gives a competitive advantage to certified heavy-duty operators to seek job opportunities across borders. We believe that a standardized training and certification programme will enhance the quality of our workforce, improve safety standards and promote cross-border mobility of skilled labour, he stated. He called on industry players to collaborate with the institution to help train students and staff on employable skills. It is our hope that other industry players such as the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, the Gambia Ports Authority, the Liberia Ports Authority, the National Port Authority of Cameroon, the Sierra Leone Ports Authority and the industry in general, will collaborate with the RMU for training such as this. The first batch of 25 trainees completed their training in crane and forklift operations as part of the MoU signed between the Regional Maritime University (RMU) and the National Association for Heavy-duty Operators of Ghana (NAHEOG). 10.03.2023 LISTEN The National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) has begun preparing the 2022 National Annual Performance Report (NAPR) in response to its mandate to monitor, evaluate and coordinate development policies, programmes and projects. The goal of the 2022 NAPR is to make policy recommendations based on the review of the status of policies and initiatives implemented in 2022 as outlined in the MediumTerm National Development Framework, An Agenda for Jobs II: Creating Prosperity and Equal Opportunity for All, 2022-2025. This was contained in a press release issued by the National Development Planning Commission on Thursday. It stated, The NDPC has commenced processes towards the preparation of the 2022 National Annual Performance Report (NAPR) at a stakeholders inception meeting in Accra. According to the statement, the inception meeting for the preparation of the NAPR started from the 7th to the 9th March 2023. The purpose of the inception meeting was to evaluate the instruments, strategies, techniques and steps for data gathering and to review the data requirements as well as to guide Cross Sectorial Planning Groups, especially Ministries, Departments and Agencies and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies on the approaches for drafting the progress report. Specifically, the 2022 APR would track the progress of the performance of key national development indicators over the past year; assess the status of the progress of annual targets established for 2022 under the MTNDPF, and inform discussions on national annual budget estimates for approvals by Parliament, it emphasized. It further stated that the 2022 NAPR would be a document that has detailed progress of accomplishments on key performance indicators achieved in the maiden year of implementation of Agenda for Jobs II, as well as proposed recommendations made to overcome identified hurdles to retain gains. The inception meeting engaged as many stakeholders as possible from MDAs, MMDAs, Civil Society Actors, the Private Sector, Policy Think Tanks, Research Institutions and Academia, it added. The Annual Progress Report (APR) is prepared annually by the NDPC to track the progress of implementation of the MTNDPF towards an agreed set of targets, identify key challenges and provide policy recommendations. The Commission has prepared Annual Progress Reports on the implementation of the Medium-Term National Development Agenda since 2002. To raise public awareness of the benefits of clean cooking, officials from the Ministry of Energy have toured Rekoff Company, manufacturers of biomass cookstoves at Joma Ablekuma in Accra. The tour was part of the Ministry's goal of distributing 500,000 efficient biomass cookstoves to over 350,000 households in the country between 2019 and 2024, with a focus on low-income households in urban and peri-urban communities. According to Mr Seth Mahu, Director of the Ministry's Renewable Energy, the Improved Cookstoves Distribution Project was a US$5 million collaboration between the Ministry of Energy and South Korea's Climate Change Centre (CCC). He stated that clean cooking was important in ensuring environmental protection, citing cleaner air, improved health in terms of respiratory-related diseases, reduced pressure on the forest, and significant firewood and charcoal savings. In addition, substantial savings of more than One Million Tonnes of CO2 emissions are some of the immense benefits of the improved cookstoves. Mr Francis Kugblenu, a Senior Official at Rekoff Co Ltd, led the team around the factory to observe and explain the manufacturing process. According to him, the company produces about 500 units of cookstoves per day, employing 100 people, the majority of whom are women. He further stated that the company's activities had contributed to the creation of several jobs in the catchment area and boosted the local economy. He noted that the project has so far done distribution in the Greater Accra, Ashanti, and Central Regions, covering 94 districts and 977 communities, with a total allocation of 316,607 stoves. Adding that approximately 57,170 stoves have been distributed throughout the Western, Northern, Upper East and Volta regions. The Association of Passengers Ghana (APG), has called on all driver associations to begin a hunt for the driver who kicked out a passenger, Henry Ankobea from his vehicle at the Akyem Apedwa intersection of the Accra-Kumasi Highway in the Eastern Region. The passenger, now deceased, was alleged to have been travelling to Accra from Asante Bekwai. The deceased was kicked out of the vehicle on which he was travelling when his health deteriorated and he began to have breathing difficulties. He was, however, assisted by a passerby, who assisted him to cross the road to the other side. Mr Ankobea then lost consciousness and was taken to the Apedwa Health Centre by a police officer, Detective Sergeant Bright Armah, who came across the scene. The passenger, was referred to the Kibi Government Hospital, due to his blood sugar level, where he died before his family could arrive. Reacting to the incident in a statement issued on Friday, 10 March 2023, the APG condemned the action of the driver. As an Association we condemn this inhumane act by the said bus driver as well passengers on board of that particular bus for allowing one of their own to be treated in that unspeakable manner, the association stated. It further consoled the bereaved family, and called on all drivers Association in Ghana to do the needful by first condemning the act most especially the union mother body, GPRTU of TUC. It urged all passengers on board of any vehicle to support each other so not to allow this incident to happen to any of its members again. It also urged the drivers unions to identify the said bus driver and reprimand him to serve as a deterrent to other drivers. Source: classfmonline.com Hundreds of Gambians marched through the capital Banjul on Friday in what is believed to be the first opposition protest permitted in the former dictatorship for nearly three decades. "The principle reason for this peaceful protest is to demand greater transparency and accountability from the President Adama Barrow-led government," Binta Senghore, one of the leaders of the youth wing of the United Democratic Party (UDP), which organised the march, said in a speech. Surrounded by a strong police presence, she was among youths who delivered petitions to the National Assembly secretariat and the attorney general's office. "This is the first time the government has granted UDP a permit for more than 27 years," party leader Ousainou Darboe, a longtime opponent of the former dictator Yahya Jammeh, said in an audio message ahead of the event. "We used to apply but the government never accepted. I thank the youth wing who took the steps in applying for the permit," he added. Darboe, 74, who did not attend Friday, had served as vice president under Barrow before running against him in the 2021 presidential election. In a statement, the UDP Youth Wing described the police decision to grant the march as a "positive development" that it hoped would mark "a turning point in the political landscape" Almami Taal, a spokesperson for the UDP, also said it was the first authorised march in 27 years. Youth leaders delivered petitions to the National Assembly secretariat and the attorney general's office. By MUHAMADOU BITTAYE (AFP) "The UDP Youth Wing is... calling on the Gambia government to design a robust anticorruption institutional framework anchored on laws with a three-pronged (prevention, investigation and prosecution) strategy against corruption that will inspire public officials to carry out their work conscientiously for the public good," Senghore said in her speech. The petition also highlighted the high cost of living and a swathe of financial scandals including Covid 19 funding and a Gambia Ports Authority embezzlement scandal. On Wednesday, the attorney general's office announced that the former permanent secretary at the fisheries and water resources ministry had been convicted on charges of corruption and financial crimes, in connection with bribes accepted to release fishing vessels arrested by the navy. Barrow won a second term as president in 2021 in the country's first open transition of power since Jammeh's dictatorship. His rule of more than two decades was ended in 2016 with Barrow's unexpected victory. 10.03.2023 LISTEN 2023 is poised to be a crucial year for our nascent democracy. A year when Liberians, in their droves, will form queues across the country to elect 73 representatives, 15 senators, and most importantly, the president. In many quarters across the country, there seems to be a high level of enthusiasm among voters as well as potential candidates at all levels of the political spectrum. For many, it is a turning point; a time to take inventory of those who were given the commonwealth over the last 6 years. For others, it will be an assessment of their stewardship and a determination as to whether they are deserving of the nod for a second term, or it is the final goodbye. In recent times, we have seen many political activities around the country, especially in the rural areas. We have witnessed public officials making rounds and dishing out direct cash in some instances, while in others, making lofty pledges and awarding scholarships. The massive wave of active political activities bears testament to the fact that we are indeed in the political season. This is a season of interesting happenings. Over previous years, this is a time that has been dubbed the transfer window; a time when many would trade parties for pecuniary gains, the promise of jobs, or the anticipation of being included in the near future. Amidst this, the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) finds itself in a political chokehold. It is struggling on one end to mobilize its base, while on the other end, an election is on the horizon. In 2018, after the CDC won, it was believed in many quarters that it was our time and that those who wouldnt join the movement, would be treated as outcasts. Those who would muster the courage to speak against the ills of society were often referred to as angry losers and in some instances, enemies of the state. For us, we believe that the CDC will lose in 2023, and here is why: The sudden evaporation of the Pro-Poor Agenda By 2018, the slogan Pro-Poor Agenda became a household one. Everyone and everywhere across the nooks and crannies of the country had heard the slogan. An African attire was named in honor of the agenda and made popular by the president and many of his officials. Chinese rice was re-bagged with the inscription pro-poor rice and distributed across many rice depots around the country. At street corners, petty traders would use the phrase to lure customers. By early 2019, the slogan had gained huge traction, and many had thought that the CDC would have championed the cause of the people; the majority being the grassroots. Unfortunately, the agenda was only meant to cajole the masses into believing that the CDC represented their interest. The president started to construct his condominiums near the Baptist Seminary. His abandoned 9th street residence soon became a modern home while his residence in the Rehab Community on the Robertsfield highway was also refurbished. As if this wasnt enough, the McGills, Koijees, and Tweahs also started acquiring luxurious homes worth thousands of dollars. By that time, they began flying Business Class on Emirates airlines and dining at rooftops restaurants around Mamba Point and within the Monrovia suburbs. Acquiring a fleet of luxury cars and making travels to Europe to buy designer brands such as Gucci, Prada, Versace, and Balenciaga became the order of the day. By mid-2019, the country started to take a downward spiral. The pro-poor agenda was simply used by people seeking CHANCE not CHANGE to hoodwink the masses into believing that they had come to change the objective conditions. Soon, teachers started to go on strike for the failure of the government to pay their salaries. Civil servants became subjects of ridicule due to the governments inability to pay their wages. A massive protest styled Save the State was held with thousands of Liberians taking to the streets over matters relating to corruption, bad governance, an economy in free fall, and the lack of basic social services. By July 2019, the opposition had swept Montserrado county, a place believed to be the stronghold of the CDC, in a by-election. By 2020 and the preceding years, the pro-poor agenda had been publicly criticized sufficiently by many across the country. It had already lost steam and was practically dead and buried to the extent that even its progenitors cant be seen discussing it just as the coastal highway, ETON and EBOMAF loans, the Nigerian teachers and many other failed plans had suddenly evaporated. The argument of it is Our time and no one else During the previous administration, the issue of a political party or political affiliation being the prerequisite for public service was practically nonexistent. People were given jobs based on what they could offer and not whether they had filled in a membership form of a political party. We saw many CDCians across government ministries and agencies serving their country. This was a noteworthy endeavor. We witnessed how Liberians from different political persuasions would converge to interact. CDCians would visit the offices of officials of government on Fridays and many other times during the week. Many officials of the previous government had made a significant impact on the personal lives of many. Sadly, when the CDC took over in 2018, it began with what was dubbed a rest list. It was a list of individuals who they believed shouldnt form a part of whatsoever activity within their government. In short, they needed to rest and find alternative sources of income in the private sector. While many of those listed were civil servants, the CDC felt it was necessary to let them go. Those who wanted to stay on were forced to either resign, be placed in offices without any assignment or made frustrated to the point that they would walk away. All of these were meant to punish them. Punish them in ways that were unimaginable. Unfortunately, it turned out the opposite since many of those who were targeted had specialized skills that could be utilized to make ends meet for themselves. The CDC failed in this effort, and it is still haunting them. The callous and inhumane treatment of those who joined the CDC after its victory After the CDCs victory in 2018, we witnessed the crossover of many persons. They were compelled to a so-called ritual under the sycamore tree. We watched prominent sons and daughters being humiliated during those many initiation exercises. Water and holy oil were placed on their heads in some instances while others were made to chew leaves. All of these were happening while live podcasts were being shared across social media. The likes of Amb. Jeremiah Solunteh and many others were subjected to wearing red berets like soldier recruits during the heydays of Liberias brutal civil war. Amidst such treatment, one reasonably thought that the CDC wouldve appointed them as they anticipated. They have been left in the cold, abandoned in many instances, and forced to fend for their own jobs within the private sector. Many of them would only express their frustration in private while others have returned to other parts of the world where they had initially come from. This story is the same for many of our colleagues! This is a lesson to those who seek to join the CDC in 2023 as it sends a strong message and would be the basis upon which many political decisions will be made. The tenure nature of every position in government This is the first time in Liberias checkered history where officials of government, though underperforming, have been kept in their positions. It sends a bad message to qualified CDCians, many of whom were hopeful of a chance to serve their country after its ascendency in 2018. Sadly, their hopes were dashed, and it appears that those who started in 2018, will continue up until 2023. The CDC now finds itself between the rock and hard place. It is struck between whether to risk replacing some of its current actors and the attending issues ahead of an election year or bring on new members that may not have a strong connection with some of its base. This is a particularly strong argument among CDCians at home and in the diaspora, who believe they were hoodwinked into supporting Weah and were promised jobs. Unfortunately, they have witnessed the same actors since 2018 and are of the belief that if the CDC wins in 2023, they will be placed in a similar role as Weah has failed to give them any guarantee. This is an Achilles heel for the CDC as it struggles to redefine itself. Prince Y. Johnson and the NPP have gone rogue The coalition seems to be imploding at the time when it should be expanding its base. The recent attacks on the CDC by MDR, NPP and a very quiet LPDP have undermined to a larger extent the CDCs ability to consolidate power. The issues raised by these allied parties are testimonies to what many Liberians have said over the last 5 years: no jobs, no FDIs, a failed PAPD, rampant corruption by public officials, an economy in tartars, delayed and reduced salaries, secret killings among others. PYJ continues to speak out loud and while many believe he is erratic and cannot be trusted, the damage he has caused will injure the CDC at the October polls. Given the strategic importance of Nimba in terms of numbers, it appears that the pathway of the ruling party is like a journey from the wilderness to the cemetery. James Biney of the NPP has also signaled how the government has abandoned the people of the southeast-a traditional stronghold of the CDC. These lingering issues will play a crucial role as Liberians decide in nine (9) months. The Nobody Stupid Here Movement This new wave of slogans, Nobody Stupid Here has taken social media by storm lately. It seems to be the slogan that will lead the political campaign ahead of the 2023 polls. This is a slogan that has deep interpretation within our body polity. While it is subject to many interpretations, it has found its place to serve as a reminder to the government that indeed nobody stupid here. Many people are of the view that what didnt happen over the last 5 years, wont happen in the next 15 months and that the few projects that are popping up lately are only meant to cajole them into re-electing the CDC. Like the Black Lives Matter movement in the summer of 2020 in the USA which resulted in a wave across the US, so is the slogan Nobody Stupid Here poised to become in Liberia. This slogan will greatly undermine the CDCs campaign effort in 2023. Conclusion To conclude, with all these reasons, we can safely conclude that the CDC will lose in 2023. The damage over the last 5 years is irreparable. Nine (9) months is too short a time to make amends. The proverbial train left the station at 300 mph with absolutely no chance of a comeback. The sad reality is the CDC dashed the hopes of many, especially its grassroots base. The colossal failure of the CDC is an embarrassing reality that will haunt them for generations to come. Be that as it may, October 2023 promises to be a year of many twists and turns as Liberians will again go to the polls to elect a new team that will steer the affairs of the country over the next 6 years post-2023. Stephen Johnson holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics and a master's degree (MBA, Highest Honors) in Finance. A leadership certificate from the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University and has a master's in public policy from Penn State University. He has over 15 years of experience in finance, governmental administration/policy, special programs business development, account management, process improvement, and team leadership. He can be contacted at [email protected] . Nairobi, March 10, 2023Ugandan authorities should immediately release freelance journalist Andrew Arinaitwe and drop all charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On Sunday, March 5, authorities arrested Arinaitwe while he was reporting at a boarding school in the central district of Wakiso, according to a statement shared with CPJ by Kiiza & Mugisha Advocates, a law firm representing the journalist, and tweets from the Human Rights Network for Journalists-Uganda, a local press rights organization. Arinaitwe was on assignment with the weekly publication The Continent, which is distributed via messaging apps including WhatsApp, according to those sources and the outlets news editor, Lydia Namubiru, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app. Authorities held Arinaitwe until Monday, when he was released on bail, according to those sources and a police document reviewed by CPJ. On Thursday, authorities formally charged Arinaitwe with criminal trespass with the intent to steal, detained him, and adjourned his case until March 14, according to his lawyers statement, Namubiru, and Culton Scovia Nakamya, a journalist who observed the court proceedings and spoke to CPJ via messaging app. Ugandan journalist Andrew Arinaitwes ongoing detention and prosecution raises serious questions about the lengths authorities will go to restrict coverage of sensitive topics, said CPJs sub-Saharan Africa representative, Muthoki Mumo. Arinaitwe should be released immediately, all charges against him must be dropped, and he should be allowed to continue his reporting without undue interference or further intimidation. At the time of his arrest, Arinaitwe was reporting on allegations sexual abuse by teachers in Ugandan boarding schools, including at Kings College Budo, and had gone to the institution to seek comment from its principal after failing to reach him on the phone, according to his lawyers statement and Namubiru. Arinaitwe entered the school without being stopped or questioned by a security guard at its gate, but then the principal, John Fred Kazibwe, accused the journalist of illegally accessing the institution and reported him to military officers who were on the campus, who in turn handed him over to the police, Namubiru told CPJ. In a statement sent to CPJ via messaging app, Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson Patrick Onyango, in whose jurisdiction Wakiso district falls, accused Arinaitwe of failing to use normal procedures to access the school and of sneak[ing] into the college to improperly interview students. Before releasing him on bail Monday, police confiscated Arinaitwes phone and laptop, according to Namubiru and the lawyers statement. At the Nsangi Magistrates Court on Thursday, authorities formally charged Arinaitwe and then adjourned the hearing after state prosecutors argued that they needed time to verify the addresses of his sureties, persons who guarantee that he will abide by bail orders, according to those sources and Nakamya. Under Ugandas penal code, criminal trespass is a misdemeanor that carries a prison term of one year upon conviction. Contacted via messaging app, Kazibwe told CPJ that he could not comment while the case was before the court. Ugandas national police spokesperson, Fred Enanga, did not respond to queries sent by CPJ via messaging app. Abuja, March 10, 2023Senegalese authorities should immediately release journalist Pape Ndiaye and drop all legal proceedings against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On March 3, police in the capital city of Dakar detained Ndiaye after he responded to a summons, according to media reports and the journalists lawyer Moussa Sarr, who spoke to CPJ by phone and messaging app. On Tuesday, March 7, a judge charged Ndiaye with six crimes including spreading false news, and ordered him transferred to a prison in the town of Sebikotane while he awaits trial, Sarr told CPJ. The allegations against Ndiaye, a reporter with the privately owned Walf TV broadcaster, stem from his on-air commentary about the prosecution of opposition politician Ousmane Sonko, according to Sarr and those news reports. Senegalese authorities should immediately release journalist Pape Ndiaye, cease jailing members of the press for their work, and reform the countrys laws to ensure they cannot be used to criminalize journalism, said Angela Quintal, CPJs Africa program coordinator, in New York. The jailing of journalists has thrown into serious doubt Senegals reputation as a stable democracy in West Africa. Sarr told CPJ that no complaint had been filed against Ndiaye, and that the case was being pursued at the discretion of a government prosecutor. The six charges include provoking a crowd, contempt of court, intimidation and reprisals against members of the judiciary, speech discrediting a judicial act, spreading fake news, and endangering the lives of others, the journalists lawyer told CPJ. CPJs calls to government spokesperson Abdou Kerim Fofana and Justice Minister Ismaila Madior Fall rang unanswered or did not connect. In late 2022 and early 2023, another Senegalese journalist, Pape Ale Niang, also faced arrest and detention over reporting on Sonkos case, before being released on bail. The Ghana Police Service has issued a statement to provide an update on investigations into the murder of young soldier Imoro Sheriff. In a statement on Friday, March 10, the Police said key suspects have been arrested after an intelligence-led operation. The Police after a week of sustained intelligence-led operation have arrested the key suspects involved in the murder of Imoro Sherrif, the soldier who was found dead at Taifa Ashiaman on 4th March 2023, parts of the Police statement said. Trooper Sherrif, who was stationed in Sunyani, was in Accra on a Course and had sought permission to visit his parents at Ashaiman where he grew up, but was found in a pool of blood in the early hours of Saturday near the Amania Hotel in Ashaiman. His murder provoked the military to conduct a swoop in Ashaiman midweek. The operation, unfortunately, resulted in the brutalisation of some innocent civilians. Some 184 residents of Ashaiman were picked up and sent to the military barracks. During the swoop, the personnel seized 29 slabs and 57 mini slabs of suspected Indian hemp and amnesia among other narcotics. Meanwhile, Trooper Imoro Sherrif has been laid to rest. March 10, 2023 Mediated By China Iran And Saudi Arabia Restore Ties - There Are Winners And Losers This is huge! Regional rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia agree to restore ties after years of tensions The deal, which will see the two countries reopen embassies in each others capitals, was sealed during a meeting in China and announced Friday in a joint communique. Archrivals Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed Friday to restore diplomatic relations, a dramatic breakthrough brokered by China after years of soaring tensions between the regional rivals. The deal, which will see the two countries reopen embassies in each others capitals, was sealed during a meeting in China a boost to Beijings efforts to rival the United States as a broker on the global stage. The agreement also may put a dampener Israel's ongoing efforts to normalize relations with its Arab neighbors. The talks were held because of a shared desire to resolve the disagreements between them through dialogue and diplomacy, and in light of their brotherly ties, according to a joint communique from Tehran, Riyadh and Beijing that was published by the Saudi Press Agency, the countrys official news agency. The agreement followed intensive negotiations between Ali Shamkhani, a close adviser to Irans supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khameni, and Saudi Arabias Minister of State Musaad bin Mohammed Al-Aiban, according to the statement. It added that the foreign ministers from both countries would meet to implement this, arrange for the return of their ambassadors, and discuss means of enhancing bilateral relations. The joint statement by Saudi Arabia, Iran and China is here: In response to the noble initiative of His Excellency President Xi Jinping, President of the Peoples Republic of China, of Chinas support for developing good neighborly relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran; And based on the agreement between His Excellency President Xi Jinping and the leaderships in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the Islamic Republic of Iran, whereby the Peoples Republic of China would host and sponsor talks between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran; Proceeding from their shared desire to resolve the disagreements between them through dialogue and diplomacy, and in light of their brotherly ties; ... Congrats to China for nudging this deal forward and making it possible. There are winners and losers in this. The winners are: Iran, which will now be even more able to break through the sanctions wall the U.S. has put up around it. Saudi Arabia, which now will likely be able to end its disastrous and costly war on Yemen. China, for outplaying the U.S. State Department by achieving this. Iraq, Syria, Yemen as they will become more peaceful as the two middle powers influencing policies on their grounds end their rivalry. The losers are: Israel, because the chances for its attempts to get the U.S. into a war with Iran are now diminished. Its hoped for coalition with the Saudis will not come into being. The U.S. for having been outplayed on its traditional 'home grounds' in the Middle East. Anti-Iran hawks everywhere. The Emirates for losing at least some of the sanction busting trade with Iran to Saudi Arabia. This renewal of relations will change the Middle East: Tensions between Sunni Muslim powerhouse Saudi Arabia and Iran, which is majority Shiite, have dominated the region for decades. The two countries have been locked in an intensifying struggle for dominance, their rivalry exacerbated by proxy conflicts, including the war in Yemen. Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam and the site of its two holiest cities, has historically seen itself as the leader of the Muslim world. The Iranian Revolution of 1979 shook Saudi Arabia and other Gulf kingdoms, which saw the regime in Tehran as a rival. While tensions brewed for years, Saudi Arabia broke off ties in 2016 after protesters stormed Saudi diplomatic posts in Iran and set fire to the embassy in Tehran. Days earlier, Saudi Arabia had executed the prominent Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr. Clearing up the misunderstandings and looking to the future in Tehran-Riyadh relations will definitely lead to the development of regional stability and security and the increase of cooperation between the countries of the Persian Gulf and the Islamic world to manage the existing challenges, Shamkhani said Friday after signing the deal, according to Press TV. In 2016 I describe the killing of Nimr al-Nimr as a smart move in the sense of Saudi domestic realpolitik. But I also said that it would lead to escalating costs in Saudi Arabia's regional policies, predominantly in Yemen. That indeed proved to be the case. Reviving relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran will make a lot of new things possible. That Iran and Saudi Arabia accepted China's mediation is a recognition of Beijing's new standing in world policies. That alone is enough reason for the White House to hate the deal. Posted by b on March 10, 2023 at 14:17 UTC | Permalink Comments next page next page FIFA president Gianni Infantinos criminal investigation has been shelved as Swiss prosecutors didnt find any wrongdoings over his use of a private jet in 2017. In a controversial move, Infantino chartered a flight from Suriname to Geneva, Switzerland and prosecutor Stefan Keller called for a criminal investigation as a result, which has now been dropped. FIFA welcomes the decision of the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG), which has closed the investigation against FIFA President Gianni Infantino related to a private jet being chartered to fly from Suriname to Switzerland in 2017, a statement from FIFA reads. It has been confirmed that the travel arrangements, made by the President's Office and FIFA's travel department, were fully in line with FIFA's compliance rules and regulations - a decision that is in line with the ruling of FIFA Ethics Committee in August 2020 on this case. In addition, the OAG has acknowledged that the manner of communication in relation to these travel arrangements at the time were completely justified. Panuelo out; ex-president likely to become new FSM leader Yves here. While this piece discusses some useful frames of reference for thinking about social media, it is nevertheless striking to see the author criticize Musks interventions at Twitter and not mention the government censorship campaign aimed at Twitter and other platforms. By Pia Malaney, Senior Economist and Director of the Center for Innovation, Growth & Society. Originally published at the Institute for New Economic Thinking website Elon Musks recent takeover of Twitter paralleled, in some sense, the 2016 earthquake when Donald Trump unexpectedly took over the Oval Office. In both cases, a populist billionaire put an existing entity with millions of members under radically new management. Unsurprisingly, whereas alarmed Americans had signaled a desire to escape to Canada in 2016, alarmed tweeters in the fall of 2022 signaled their trepidation by announcing their intention to move as well. But the most commonly threatened exit was to a structure of which few had ever heard: Mastodon. Mastodon is but one of many new social media sites, alongside Post, Steemit, Planetary, or the Dorsey-funded Nostr, that are drawing attention in the face of Musks inscrutable decision-making with respect to the banning of journalists, the firing of personnel, and algorithmic changes. Many of these new sites focus specifically on shifting away from the centralized architecture of todays tech behemoths like Twitter and Facebook. It can be difficult to remember that a mere quarter century ago, the very social networks that have now demonstrated the terrible pitfalls of the social media revolution known as Web 2.0, were the objects of fanfare and genuine idealism. Facebook set out to Connect the World, while Google sought to make available all human knowledge for everyone at no cost. The latter went so far as to embrace the unofficial slogan of Dont be Evil. In the spring of 2018, it was finally deliberately removed and retired from the preface to Googles code of conduct when the obvious absurdity of the statement coming from an enormous hierarchical corporate leviathan made it more of an embarrassment than an asset. These social media sites are perhaps the best example of the destruction of the idealism that characterized the development of the internet in the late 1960s. A time of flourishing countercultures, there was a belief, captured effectively in Richard Brautigans poem, All watched over by machines of loving grace, that we were entering a technological utopia, where machines would protect humans, and mammals and computers (would) live together in mutually programming harmony like pure water touching clear sky. The idealism infected many of the original engineers of these social media sites. Evan Henshaw-Plath, one of the first employees of Twitter, points to the origin of Twitter as an open platform, a space by which people would build APIs and could interact with third-party services. The structure of the market, however, forced it away from that. The market has also defined the reality within which much of the architecture defining other social media sites was developed. A neoclassical economic framework would tell us that this sort of manipulation of consumers should be kept in check in a well-functioning market by competitive forces, the way Facebook was able to outcompete Myspace in 2008 by promising a better user experience and increased privacy. But social networks are intrinsically natural monopolies most users would prefer to be on a site that hosts all their friends than to have to spread out over several different sites. When Facebook took over as the dominant site in this space and proceeded to share highly personal user data while promising to keep it private, there was very little the market could do to rein in what was essentially a monopoly. Much of the dissatisfaction with the Web 2.0 services is not based on the quality of the software engineering, as the market has provided many of the worlds most talented coders and tech managers the opportunity to build a highly reliable architecture that is given away to users for no monetary cost. Oddly, since the services are free, the problem stems instead from non-monetary market failures in the form of asymmetric information and principal-agent problems in a monopoly setting. The for-profit model of Twitter, Facebook, and other giant social media networks has increasingly been an advertising model which has obscured the real costs to the user in terms of privacy hence the well-worn adage, If you arent paying for the product, you are the product. As the Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments in the case Gonzales vs. Google, where the family of an American killed in an ISIS terrorist attack blames YouTube for promoting terrorist videos, the debate about Section 230, which protects platforms from responsibility for content hosted on their sites, rages on. But more than the issue of hosting content the case points directly to the algorithms that suck viewers to increasingly darker and more toxic content because that has been proven to be the most effective way to keep them watching. It is the profit-driven imperative to increase engagement, and thereby ad revenue for the corporations, that drives these algorithms, and inevitably causes the problem, as powerfully captured by the movie The Social Dilemma. Fears of harassment and bullying, selling of personal data, and abuse of government backdoors, are all tied to the fact that users have become dependent on monopolies, where the costs paid are not in dollars but in safety, privacy, and manipulation by unseeable forces. In the face of this manipulation, the notion of decentralization is increasingly attractive to users, and there has been a push to develop peer-to-peer or federated systems that emphasize distributed ownership and control, privacy, and control over ones own data. The blockchain is one example of this, and there is a push to develop social media networks based on the blockchain architecture. From its inception, the Blockchain has been deeply grounded in libertarian ideology. If there is an analog of Rands famous redoubt, free from institutional control, techs most likely parallel for Galts Gulch is Web 3.0. In fact, the parallel seems so tight that the fictional question of Who is John Galt? is literally replaced by the real-world question of Who is Satoshi Nakamoto? given the reliance of Web 3.0 on blockchain technology. In this digital gulch, the blockchain protocol allows for transactions that do not require a central authority building the concept of digital tokens as currency into the foundations of Web 3.0. The development of these protocols is largely backed by venture capital in the traditional economics of tech innovation. There is, however, a counter move; one that harkens back to the idealism of the early internet, a belief that the technology can be used to build a more connected world. Through organizations such as the Internet Archive, a community is growing around the notion of a Decentralized Web (DWeb), where there is a push to build decentralized protocols that do not use the blockchain. This technologically-savvy future-oriented community has formalized a set of values, the DWeb principles, grounded in the Nobel-winning theories of Elinor Ostrom on game design for the solution of Garrett Hardins tragedy of the commons. The aim of this movement is to architect systems that can avoid the pitfalls of control of speech and interaction centralized in the hands of tech billionaires such as Musk or Zuckerberg controlled by cryptic algorithms designed to maximize corporate profits. While it is impossible to simply separate protocols into DWeb vs. Web 3.0, the general orientation of the DWeb community is to focus on designing or structuring systems built around models of governance that encourage community cooperation rather than relying on the market to resolve issues. The common critique of Ostroms approach, however, is that while it might work in small-scale, locally governed commons, it is less likely to do so in the case of larger, national, or even global cases.[1] While farmers in a Swiss village may be able to develop institutional frameworks and agreements to prevent overgrazing, how do Ostroms principles work when attempting to, say, govern large oil companies driven by a profit motive and with significant resources at their disposal to lobby regulating bodies or change governments? In the case of social media, where the government itself has significant interests and incentives to exert power and control, as witnessed by reports of FBI involvement in Facebook content, or the revelations of the Twitter Files, and where giant tech corporations are managing billions of dollars in profits, do these institutional design principles really have the ability to scale? In the end, the issue with social networks comes back precisely to the question of scaling. At a technical level, decentralized networks have the advantage of being more robust; when faced with attacks that destroy some nodes, other nodes, and links can be decoupled, limiting damage. At an ideological level, they attempt to break from the capitalist, profit-driven models that lie at the heart of many of the current problems of social media. But the economics of the platforms cannot get around the fundamental issue of the economies of scale. Each of the links in a network cost something to run. While these costs can be distributed among users or a non-profit structure can be created to raise resources to support networks, it will require very creative architecture to push back against the inherent tendency towards a monopolistic structure. Nonetheless, the contrasting ideologies at play in this tech sector mirror, to a surprising extent, the conflicting ideologies in economics between the most extreme, Ayn Randian version of libertarianism and its reflection in the neoliberal economic models of the Chicago School and the more heterodox, community-oriented approach of Ostrom. It is possible, and perhaps likely, that what we are watching is the nth iteration of a cycle that we seem powerless to exit. In this view, Ayn Rand might represent the thesis that the power of atomized market selfishness is sufficient and optimal for converting greed into a catalyst for pro-social greatness through the counterintuitive genius of the markets invisible hand. By contrast, Elinor Ostrom represents the antithesis, as market failures due to monopoly, public goods, principal-agent problems, regulatory capture, etc. pile up until they torture the honest market argument into a form where it is almost no longer recognizable or easily defensible. What we are missing now is a synthesis into a harmonized model combining the insights of two existing schools. This tension is not peculiar to decentralization. One man one vote (democracy) is likewise pitted against One Dollar One Vote (the market); Nonprofits vs For-profits; Open Source vs Proprietary software; Citizen Journalism vs Professional Reporting. In all cases, the structures appear side by side because the tension appears as yet unresolvable. And perhaps the overarching idea is that what we are dealing with is different failure modes of human beings. In the case of designing around communal values, we forget that anti-social elements form communities, just like pro-social elements, so simplistically empowering the community through optimally designed architecture without oversight, will likely always lead to inadvertently supercharging destructive actors. Likewise, the market will always succeed brilliantly until it finds its market failures, at which point we may find ourselves with tech oligarchs and digital dictators after the initial corporate idealism burns off and shareholder value takes over. A perspective seldom shared is that while Ayn Rand and Elinor Ostrom may appear as antagonists battling for victory, their true function may be as an intellectual version of Heinn and Hogni whose function in Germanic heroic legend is to sustain the Hjaningavig, an eternal legendary battle between antagonists which can never be won or lost. If this is in fact correct, the battle protects us against either pure failure mode by constantly rebalancing the power via dialectical tension. If this turns out to be true, we can look forward to seeing both intellectual frameworks presiding over new armies when we begin to hear about Web 4.0, 5.0, 6.0ad infinitum. __________ Notes The author is grateful for comments from Thomas Ferguson, Michael Grossberg and Eric Weinstein. [1] See, for example Araral, Eduardo. Ostrom, Hardin and the commons: A critical appreciation and a revisionist view. Environmental Science and Policy 36 (2014) 11-23 The Medieval Thieves Who Used Cats, Apes, and Turtles as Accomplices Atlas Obscura (Chuck L) Sheep come to the rescue of Pompeii ruins Reuters (furzy) Touchy feely: How human senses compare with those of other life forms Times Literary Supplement (Anthony L) Breeding dogs to be cute and anthropomorphic is animal cruelty aeon (Anthony L) Leonardo da Vincis forgotten experiments explored gravity as a form of acceleration PhysOrg (Chuck L) Rare, pristine first edition of Copernicus De Revolutionibus up for sale ars technica (resilc) Replacing Asteroid Belt With Rocky Planet Would Break Solar System, Astronomers Find Sputnik (Kevin W) Earths Life-Nourishing Water Came From Interstellar Space, Scientists Find Vice (furzy) New atmospheric river storm pushes into California Associated Press. Kevin W: California just cant catch a break. #COVID-19 1) That paper is bullshit (emulation, 1:10 randomization, <1% absolute risk reduction). And the fact that a WHO advisor is acritically endorsing the authors conclusions is unequivocal sign of the decline of science. https://t.co/f1fvgtl47s Daniele Focosi, MD PhD MSc (@dfocosi) March 8, 2023 What the 'Swedish model' really suggests is that pandemic mitigation measures can be effectively deployed in a respectful, largely non-coercive way. Obviously, being a rich country with a decent welfare net, and having achieving high vaccination rates didn't hurt either. 3/ Prof Francois Balloux (@BallouxFrancois) March 7, 2023 Millions of NYC rats could have Covid-19 study RT (Kevin W) Climate/Environment China? European Disunion Why Germany is not attractive for foreign workers DW (resilc) New Not-So-Cold War EU plans joint navy patrols to combat Russian threat to infrastructure Financial Times. So the Nord Stream guys in a boat story worked so well that the officialdom is back to trying to insinuate Russia done it. Ex-Russian president mocks Western medias Nord Stream claims RT (Robin K) Larry On Macron; Vera, Scott And Me, And Andrei Martyanov. From a few days back. Chuck L notes: Embedded within this post is a video of an interview of Scott Ritter by the Russian TV host Vera, with Andrei Martyanov translating. The 4 minutes or so beginning about 31:45 are must watch as Ritter explains the danger of the USA deploying Dark Eagle missiles in northern Europe. The gist: Nuclear war threat exceeds that of Cuban Missile crisis. Satellite technology raises new issues for American military Washington Post. Resilc flags: The Washington Post reports that White House and Pentagon officials have been scrambling to determine their official policies regarding armed conflicts in space. This panic comes in response to recent actions by the Ukrainian government, which reportedly used private satellites belonging to commercial enterprises to target and attack Russian invaders. If Russia should retaliate by targeting these (or similar) satellites in orbit around the planet, well, that open up a whole new can of worms when it comes to the rules of war. Maritime law is complex enough; now extrapolate that to the point where its not even terrestrial anymore, then factor in the involvement of non-governmental privateers, and things get exponentially more complicated. Syraqistan Big Brother is Watching You Watch Imperial Collapse Watch Biden Bidens FY2024 budget request Speaking Security. See: I regret to inform you that much like his FY2023 discretionary budget, two-thirds of Bidens spending proposal for FY2024 is for programs related to military, law enforcement, or prisons Mexican cartel apologizes for deaths of 2 Americans RT (Kevin W) GOP Clown Car Christians clash as extremists move into Idaho and very frightened population moves out Raw Story (furzy) At US border, tech issues plague new migrant applications BBC (resilc) Norfolk Southern Chemical Bomb Our No Longer Free Press Giving the middle finger is a God-given right, says Quebec judge CTV News (resilc). A Canadian view of free speech. Woke Watch AI The Bezzle Class Warfare Antidote du jour. Timotheus: Hoopoe from Jirish Atrash, Jerusalem desert. And a bonus (guurst): Having a stubborn child is really troublesome. https://t.co/LFnscqEgGh Moon of Alabama (@MoonofA) March 4, 2023 See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here. (Natural News) Many supermarkets in Europe are seeing empty shelves, most especially for produce, thanks to food shortages in areas where these are procured. A March 8 article on Strange Sounds cited three locations that had their food production impacted the Netherlands, Morocco and Spains southern Almeria region. Quoting a piece from the German Der Spiegel magazine, the Strange Sounds article noted that major greenhouses in the Netherlands experienced a complete crop failure because of the high energy prices to the point that heating them would not have been worthwhile. It also pointed out that the Dutch greenhouse miracle has a weak point: It eats enormous amounts of energy, above all gas. Almost nine percent of all national natural gas consumption goes into greenhouses. Citing the Dutch greenhouse growers association Glastuinbouw Nederland, a March 6 report by Bloomberg stated that soaring energy costs forced tomato growers cultivating plants under lamps to turn off more than 90 percent of them last winter. This dented production and forced British supermarkets to impose purchase limits on tomatoes and other vegetables. (Related: UK rationing produce as country grapples with severe shortage of tomatoes and other vegetables.) The same Der Spiegel article talked about a greenhouse grower that switched to geothermal energy and shelled out 10 million ($10.6 million) for the shift. While farmers initially mocked the decision, it paid off for the grower. Now, the greenhouse grower sells excess heat to its neighboring greenhouses. We turned from energy consumers to energy producers when we have more heat than we need, it said. Weather affects tomato harvests Aside from high energy costs, the weather also played a role in food shortages. In the case of the southern Spanish province of Almeria, extreme weather dented the regions food production. Eurofruit magazine attributed the shortages to high temperatures in the autumn and early winter, followed by a persistent cold spell. Coexphal the association of fruit and vegetable growers in Almeria pointed out that the volume of tomatoes sold between the fifth and seventh weeks of 2023 was 22 percent lower than during the same period in 2022. Similar reductions were seen in other vegetables such as cucumbers (down 21 percent), peppers (down 25 percent), eggplants (down 25 percent) and zucchini (down 15 percent). The association described the situation as concerning, and mentioned some companies reporting problems in meeting their customers requirements. Our companies are doing the impossible to fulfill all their commitments, but it is practically unfeasible given the circumstances, lamented Coexphal CEO Luis Miguel Fernandez. The Strange Sounds piece also mentioned the issues faced by Morocco such as flooding, cold temperatures and canceled ferries that had serious repercussions on the European food supply. It quoted a Fresh Produce Journal (FPJ) article that expounded on these three problems faced by Moroccan growers. Moreover, the FPJ piece said Moroccan producers tackled the emergence of the tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRV). According to Michigan State Universitys College of Agriculture and National Resources, the pathogen first appeared in Israel in 2014. The university added: ToBRV is present in countries exporting tomato and pepper fruit to the United States. Rabat has stepped in to address the tomato harvest issues caused by unstable weather by supporting investment in tomato production in the city of Dakhla in the disputed Western Sahara territory. Compared to the coastal city of Agadir in Morocco, temperatures in Dakhla are more regular and reliable particularly in January and February. Visit FoodCollapse.com for more stories about food shortages in various countries. Watch Neil McCoy-Ward warn viewers that the food crisis in the United Kingdom has already begun. This video is from the Pool Pharmacy channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Tomato shortage looms as drought threatens Californias summer crops. Food prices soar as abnormal rains, floods in Australia wipe out more crops. As fears of food rationing grow, UK govt tells Britons to turn to seasonal veggies. Grocery rationing begins in UK as a means of normalizing coming shortages ahead of collapse. Two UK supermarkets now limiting customers egg purchases due to food industry supply chain issues. Sources include: StrangeSounds.org Bloomberg.com Fruitnet.com 1 Fruitnet.com 2 CANR.MSU.edu Brighteon.com (Natural News) The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is suing the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for illegally spying on and surveilling Americans using advanced facial recognition software. Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), in speaking to The Washington Post about the suit, explained that Americans deserve to be able to go about their lives in peace without being watched by corrupt federal agencies that have grossly overstepped their bounds. Americans ability to navigate our communities without constant tracking and surveillance is being chipped away at an alarming pace, Markey said to the Post, the first media outlet to break the news about the ACLU suit. We cannot stand by as the tentacles of the surveillance state dig deeper into our private lives, treating every one of us like suspects in an unbridled investigation that undermines our rights and freedom. (Related: In order to sell on Amazon, marketplace participants must submit a video of themselves for the online retailers facial recognition database.) Democrats introduce legislation to stop FBI from illegally spying on Americans At the current time, there are only state-level bans in some areas blocking the FBI from using facial recognition tools to track Americans without their knowledge or consent, and without a warrant. There is no federal-level ban on such practices, though Markey has pledged to see one passed. Along with Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and numerous other Democrats, Markey has promised to unveil new legislation that would rein in the FBI and other federal agencies and stop them from taking advantage of the system in violation of the Constitution. The year is 2023, but we are living through 1984, Markey added upon reintroducing the Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act, which is backed by the ACLU and numerous other privacy rights groups. The continued proliferation of surveillance tools like facial recognition technologies in our society is deeply disturbing. Biometric data collection poses serious risks of privacy invasion and discrimination, and Americans know they should not have to forgo personal privacy for safety. As we work to make our country more equitable, we cannot ignore the technologies that stand in the way of progress and perpetuate injustice. Documents obtained by the ACLU show that the FBI, along with the Department of Defense (DoD), have been collecting drone and street camera footage to feed into its facial recognition software. These agencies have been doing this to a much more expansive degree than most people realize. We obtained thousands of documents revealing the FBIs major involvement in developing face recognition software that could allow the government to identify and track millions of people at a time, the ACLU tweeted about what it has uncovered. In essence, the FBI has been quietly working alongside academic researchers to refine artificial intelligence techniques that could help in the identification or tracking of Americans without their awareness or consent, the Post further reported about the matter. Many of the records obtained by the ACLU and the Post have to do with the Janus program, which was funded by the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Agency. This program was ultimately used to create a search tool called Horus, named after the occultic Eye of Horus, that is used by multiple federal agencies. These tools allow for the quick and accurate processing of truly unconstrained face imagery recorded by the potentially millions of surveillance cameras that litter public spaces throughout the United States. Were essentially beta-testing technology on real people with real-world consequences, the government admitted. There is no limit to the amount of corruption present at the FBI. To learn more about it, visit FBIcorruption.news. Sources for this article include: ChildrensHealthDefense.org NaturalNews.com Britannica.com (Natural News) Wall Street finance giant JPMorgan Chase is resisting attempts by lawyers to question Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon under oath in litigation over the banks decision to keep Jeffrey Epstein as a client for 15 years. The United States Virgin Islands is seeking damages from JPMorgan over its alleged links to Epstein, claiming that the Wall Street giant turned a blind eye to evidence of human trafficking despite the many red flags raised over Epsteins involvement in heinous crimes. The U.S. Virgin Islands lawsuit, initially filed in December by the former attorney general of the territory, accused JPMorgan of facilitating and benefiting from Epsteins sex trafficking operations. On Feb. 23, the U.S. Virgin Islands filed documents in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan demanding that JPMorgan provide the territory with relevant documents from 2015 to 2019 involving Dimon, labeling him a likely source of relevant and unique information. The lawyers also wanted Dimon to be deposed, claiming he played an important role in JPMorgans decision to continue providing banking services to Epstein. One internal JPMorgan email cited by the U.S. Virgin Islands complaint, whose sender and recipient are both unknown to the public, reads: I would count Epsteins assets as a probable outflow for 08 ($120mn or so?) as I cant imagine it will stay (pending Dimon review). Dimons mention in this email is what has led Virgin Islander authorities to try and question Dimon regarding his knowledge of or involvement in Epsteins criminal activities. Both of the U.S. Virgin Islands cases against JPMorgan focus in part on Epsteins relationship with Jes Staley, who was JPMorgans CEO from 2001 until 2013. Staley has acknowledged being friends with Epstein but denied knowing about his human and sex trafficking operations. JPMorgan claims Dimon not relevant to USVI case According to documents filed by a legal team from the United States Virgin Islands on Tuesday, March 7, in a federal court in Manhattan, lawyers for JPMorgan claimed they did not believe Dimon was an appropriate deponent. Days before, JPMorgan also denied a request from the U.S. Virgin Islands for documents from Dimon from 2015 to 2019, noting that Dimon was not involved in any decisions regarding Epsteins account and further claiming that the bank had dropped Epstein as a client in 2013. (Related: New emails reveal deep ties between Jeffrey Epstein and former CEO of JPMorgan, Barclays.) Dimon is not relevant to this action, claimed JPMorgans lawyers. If there were evidence supporting discovery from JPMorgan Chase from 2014 to 2019, [the U.S. Virgin Islands] would have already found it. The banks lawyers noted that expanding the range of communications it was required to hand over would nearly double the number of documents captured from at least 364,000 to at least 694,000. JPMorgan claimed that this is just a fishing expedition for U.S. Virgin Islands authorities, who are eager to obtain another massive trove of information in litigation against Epsteins estate. One previous lawsuit against the estate resulted in the territory being awarded more than $105 million. While JPMorgan continues to refuse to allow Dimon to be compelled to answer lawyers questions, it did agree to find a date in March for a different top executive, Mary Callahan Erdoes, to be deposed in the case. Erdoes is CEO of JPMorgan Asset and Wealth Management, a division of the main company. Learn more about Jeffrey Epsteins ties to the American financial world at Epstein.news. Watch this episode of World Alternative Media as host Josh Sigurdson lays out the connection between Jeffrey Epstein and JPMorgan Chase. This video is from the World Alternative Media channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Virgin Islands AG fired three days after suing JPMorgan over Jeffrey Epstein. Virgin Islands files suit against JPMorgan Chase alleging bank illicitly profited from Jeffrey Epsteins sex trafficking of minors. Judge orders dozens of documents related to Jeffrey Epsteins associates to be made public. Judge who authorized raid of Mar-a-Lago represented Jeffrey Epsteins pilots, his scheduler and a Yugoslavian sex slave. Ghislaine Maxwell found guilty of sex trafficking a minor, rest of Epstein clan escapes all accountability. Sources include: HealthImpactNews.com FT.com Fortune.com CNBC.com Brighteon.com (Natural News) NaTonya McNeil, a mother of two teenage children who were secretly given Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccines without her permission, is suing the doctor responsible. Janine A. Rethy, MD, MPH reportedly lied to and tricked McNeils two older children during their annual physical exam at the KIDS Mobile Medical Clinic / Ronald McDonald Care Mobile clinic, operated by Georgetown Hospital in Washington, D.C. In order to continue attending school, the children were falsely told by Rethy, they had to get injected with Fauci Flu shot poisons. And it all happened in secret while McNeil stood outside the exam room unaware of what was happening inside. Rethy, who directs the mobile clinic, reportedly held McNeils children in the examination room for much longer than necessary during their check-up. It turns out Rethy was jabbing them without consent using fear and deception while their mother was outside the room. Rethy made up lies about how McNeils children would be barred from getting an education unless they agreed to roll up their sleeves for DNA and gene modification therapy. (Related: Remember when Pfizers covid vaccine caused a hepatitis outbreak in children?) One of Janine Rethys stated life goals is to vaccinate all children against the Chinese Flu With financing assistance from Childrens Health Defense (CHD), McNeil is now suing Rethy with the help of D.C. attorney Matthew Hardin, who is pursuing damages for false imprisonment, battery, and fraud. According to CHD President and General Counsel Mary Holland, CHD couldnt just sit still and allow this wrong to go unpunished and not bring this to the publics attention. In an exclusive interview with The Defender, McNeil explained why she decided to sue Rethy. I just feel like people shouldnt be able to do whatever they want to do to other people and especially not to children. As a mother, I feel like, You all just took all my rights away from me to do what you wanted to do to my kids,' she said. I do want justice to be done in this case. I feel like something needs to be done. This cant just continue to happen. McNeils complaint also addresses Rethys stated mission of injecting all children everywhere for the Chinese Flu, which is barely even a threat to them, especially in its current forms. Our goal is to increase vaccination rates in children here in D.C., Rethy told the press. For more than 30 years our role has been to be in the community to help address the problem of health disparities, bringing families care where they are. For this particular effort, we are glad to be partnering with D.C. Health to provide both regular childhood vaccines and Covid-19 vaccines to all children. Is Rethy a eugenicist who is targeting children for sterilization and early death through covid injection? It would sure appear that way based on her past statements about covid shots. McNeil says that Rethy never once asked or even informed her that her two teenage children would be receiving any vaccinations the day of their scheduled physical examinations. McNeil never signed anything towards this end because she was never even consulted about it. It was only after McNeil started driving home after leaving the clinic that she discovered her daughters jabbed arm hurt pretty bad. When McNeil asked why it hurt, her daughter explained that Rethy forced her to get injected against her will. When she had the needle in her hand and she was coming towards me, I backed up and I asked her what is that needle, and she said it was the covid shot and I told her I didnt want it and she said, Well it is mandatory, you have to get it in order to go to school,' McNeils daughter said. Want to keep up with the latest news about the covid vaccine saga? Visit VaccineWars.com. Sources for this article include: ChildrensHealthDefense.org NaturalNews.com (Natural News) Norfolk Southern Railway (NSR), the rail company involved in the Feb. 3 derailment and chemical spill in Ohio, announced a safety plan following the disaster. The safety plan introduced on March 6 was based on preliminary findings by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) regarding the derailment and chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio. The plan centered on six points the company pledged to immediately work on, namely: Enhance the hot bearing detector network Pilot next-generation hot bearing detectors Work with industry on practices for hot bearing detectors Deploy more acoustic bearing detectors Accelerate the companys digital train inspection program Support a strong safety culture Reading the NTSB report makes it clear that meaningful safety improvements require a comprehensive industry effort that brings together railcar and tank car manufacturers, railcar owners and lessors and the railroad companies, NSR President and CEO Alan Shaw said in a March 6 statement. We are eager to help drive that effort and we are not waiting to take action. The March 6 announcement of the safety plan and remarks by Shaw followed the NTSBs preliminary report, which was released on Feb. 23. According to the report, the derailment stemmed from an overheated axle on car No. 23, which was carrying plastic pellets. Tests conducted by the NTSB found that the aluminum covers over the pressure relief valves on three of the five tank cars carrying vinyl chloride melted due to the intense temperature. Hot bearing detectors, which three of the six safety points focus on, are installed along railroad tracks to determine wheel bearing temperatures and overall rail infrastructure health. According to the report, detectors had discovered the rising temperatures of the wheel bearings of one NSR train. However, the train had already veered off the tracks by the time the bearings temperature reached the level for a mandatory stop and inspection. Accidents involving hazardous materials not a rare occurrence for NSR The Feb. 3 disaster in East Palestine involved a 151-car freight train with 20 cars carrying hazardous chemicals. Eleven cars loaded with chemicals were among the 38 that derailed, with the dangerous cargo spilling out. Three days later on Feb. 6, officials intentionally released and burned vinyl chloride from one of the trains. This sent a massive cloud of black smoke into the sky that could be seen for miles. It also caused the formation of dangerous dioxins that are linked to various health problems. (Related: BOMBED WITH DIOXINS: East Palestine residents developing chemical bronchitis following train derailment.) Texas-based attorney Mikal Watts expounded on NSRs history of train derailments at a recent town hall meeting in East Palestine. Among the incidents was a 2012 crash in Paulsboro, New Jersey that involved an NSR train spilling 300,000 pounds of vinyl chloride. The East Palestine derailment spilled 1.1 million pounds of vinyl chloride almost four times the amount in the 2012 incident into the environment. According to Watts, NSR only had 79 incidents involving hazardous materials in 2012. Ten years later in 2022, this grew by almost tenfold to 770. In October 2022, 21 cars from an NSR train derailed in the city of Sandusky in Ohio. The resulting accident spilled 10,000 gallons of paraffin wax, which is commonly used in candles. Exactly five years prior, an NSR train veered off the tracks in Loudonville also in Ohio. One of the cars involved in the Feb. 3, 2018 accident spilled more than 30,000 gallons of liquefied petroleum gas, while another car released 200 pounds of environmentally hazardous substances in solid form. The company was also involved in another accident on March 4 just two days before announcing its supposed safety guidelines. According to a statement by NSR, 20 cars of a 212-car train veered off the tracks outside Springfield, Ohio near the Clark County Fairgrounds. No hazardous materials were loaded onto the train, and no injuries were reported. Visit Disaster.news for more stories about the Feb. 3 disaster in East Palestine. Listen to Health Ranger Mike Adams as he talks about Norfolk Southern trying to bribe East Palestine residents $1,000 each to keep silent about the Feb. 3 disaster. This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: U.S. government FORCES railroads to carry extremely toxic chemicals even if they dont want to. More and more East Palestine residents reporting health issues following train derailment and toxic chemical spill. The burning of hazardous chemicals following Ohio train derailment unleashed TOXIC materials used in PVC plastic. 200 Million Americans face the constant risk of experiencing chemical disasters like the East Palestine train derailment. Norfolk Southern trying to BUY OFF East Palestine residents for just $1,000 to silence them forever, and block all future cancer lawsuits resulting from vinyl chloride train catastrophe. Sources include: TheEpochTimes.com Brighteon.com (Natural News) The City of Philadelphia is experiencing the worst violent crime surge in its history. In a scathing opinion piece published by the Washington Examiner, commentary writer Christopher Tremoglie, an alumnus of the University of Philadelphia who has previously worked for the Philadelphia Inquirer, noted how incompetent city leadership coupled with radical left-wing criminal justice policies and reforms have left Philadelphias more than 1.5 million residents reeling from its worst violent crime surge ever. (Related: More people are rapidly leaving crime-ridden, high-cost cities like New York, San Francisco and Chicago.) Tremoglie pointed out how the Democratic Party officials and voters in Philadelphia owe the rest of the citys residents an apology for tricking them into believing that life would be better under their rule. As a lifelong resident of the City of Brotherly Love, its continued allegiance to Democrats boggles my mind. No matter the horrors of the reality of living in the city, Philadelphians overwhelmingly continue to vote for Democrats who just keep making things worse, wrote Tremoglie. Something has to change. Its time well beyond time, really for Philadelphias Democratic voters to apologize to the rest of the city for the mess they have caused, he continued, citing crime, poverty and corruption as the main hallmarks of decades of Democratic Party rule over Philadelphia and other major urban centers in the United States. The citys voters are to blame because they never learn. Shootings becoming increasingly common in Philadelphia Of the many crimes plaguing Philadelphias neighborhoods, shootings have become increasingly common. This past weekend alone has seen at least six dead in Philadelphia, including a 14-year-old boy. Anthony Pinkney, 14, was shot dead in the Overbrook neighborhood of West Philadelphia on Saturday night, March 4. He was the youngest of the six victims. Local media outlet 6ABC noted that Saturdays are typically the deadliest day of the week over the past three years, followed closely by Sundays and then Mondays. This violence has kept first responders and aid organizations like CARES busy providing emergency services and aid. No sooner than Im leaving off my block, I get another alert of another homicide, said Melany Nelson, director of CARES and a respected community leader who has provided victim services for nearly 30 years. The shooting has to stop in the city of Philadelphia. Unfortunately for city residents, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner was unable to provide any concrete solutions. During a news conference on Monday, March 6, all Krasner could provide were words of mourning for Pinkneys death. Its awful, he said. Its totally unacceptable that any child is ever shot. According to the Philadelphia District Attorneys Office, as of Monday, Philadelphia has already seen 79 homicides. The city averages 1.5 homicides per day. It feels like gun violence is happening everywhere [in the country] but its not, said Philadelphia Councilmember Jamie Gauthier. Gun violence is happening in the same place over and over and over again. Tremoglie noted that, unless something changes in the way the citys residents regularly vote overwhelmingly for Democrats, Philadelphia will only keep getting worse. Philadelphias voters are harming their communities, he warned. At some point, people will have to admit that those in cities like Philadelphia who routinely vote to keep the status quo deserve the crime, poverty and misfortunes that result from their decisions. Learn more stories discussing Americas collapsing state at Collapse.news. Watch this clip from InfoWars featuring investigative reporter Savanah Hernandez exposing how leftist Democratic control over Philadelphia has made the city collapse. This video is from the InfoWars channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Skin-rotting animal tranquilizer drug known as tranq spreads all over US. 18-inch pipe bomb found near railroad tracks in Philadelphia neighborhood. Philadelphias Kensington neighborhood in CRISIS due to widespread abuse of animal tranquilizer xylazine. Horse sedative street drug killing thousands in Philadelphia and other US cities. Philadelphias Democrat mayor signs gun ban that applies to concealed carry permit holders. Sources include: ZeroHedge.com WashingtonExaminer.com 6ABC.com PhillyDA.org Brighteon.com (Natural News) A Russian virologist who helped develop the countrys COVID vaccine was found dead in his apartment on Thursday, according to authorities. (Article republished from InfoWars.com) Andrey Botikov, one of 18 scientists who developed the Sputnik V vaccine, was believed to have been strangled to death with a belt. From Newsweek: Andrey Botikov, one of 18 scientists who developed the Sputnik V vaccine at the Gamaleya National Research Center, was identified as the man who had been discovered strangled in his Rogova Street home on March 2, Regnum reported, citing official sources. It previously reported that he had survived the attack. The Investigative Committee of Russia (ICR) has now opened a murder investigation, believing that a 29-year-old man strangled the scientist with a belt during a disagreement before fleeing the scene. While official accounts point towards a burglary gone wrong, the 47-year-olds death comes amid a string of members of the Russian elite being found dead in mysterious circumstances over the past year, including scientists and businessmen. ICRs Moscow division released a statement claiming the 29-year-old assailant has been found and confessed to the crime. The location of the attacker was established in short order. During the interrogation, he pled guilty and was charged. The defendant has a previous criminal record, as he stood trial on charges of committing a serious crime. In the near future, the investigation plans to petition the court to place the defendant in custody pending trial, the Investigative Committee said. The criminal investigation remains ongoing. Botikov had received an Order of Merit for the Fatherland by Vladimir Putin in 2021 for his work on the viral-vector Sputnik V COVID vaccine, which was the first COVID-19 vaccine to be released. Read more at: InfoWars.com (Natural News) A public school teacher from Washington state gained national attention last week for a social media post indicating her support of school policies designed to keep secrets from so-called Christo-fascist parents. (Article by Jean Mondoro republished from LifeSiteNews.com) Kelly Love is an English teacher at Auburn High School whose comments regarding a conservative opinion on social media circulated on Twitter, attracting the spotlight as the latest blunt advocacy for denying parental rights in education. Ian Prior, senior advisor at American First Legal who speaks out against critical race theory and gender ideology in schools, posted a screenshot of the concerning tweets on February 24, saying that the teacher thinks schools dont go far enough to keep secrets about their students. She also believes that 50% of Caucasian female teachers support upholding white supremacy and the patriarchy. 2 pic.twitter.com/wP4PTP1Avs Ian Prior (@iandprior) February 24, 2023 So many students are not safe in this nation from their Christo-fascist parents, Love wrote. And our guidelines and laws havent caught up with this. Love, whose account now doesnt exist on Twitter, was responding to a conservative post warning parents to check your school districts policy regarding keeping info about YOUR child secret from you. The post added that schools should not have the right to keep such secrets from parents and criticized scary policies that push parents away from their children. Prior also pointed out that in another response to a comment about how few educators have a working knowledge of the history of racism and oppression in America, Love indicated her belief that most female, Caucasian teachers support white supremacy. 80% of teachers are white women, Love claimed. And at least statistically, over 50% of them vote for upholding white supremacy and patriarchy. Love posted a blog entry on her website, Mrs. Loves Blog-o-Rama, on March 4, reiterating claims that fascism is taking over America and bashing white women as key players in enabling so-called white supremacy. Their hate is the most equalitarian thing about them, Love wrote, presumably about those who disagreed with or criticized her social media comments. They hate and fear everyone, even themselves. Its about well-funded, targeted attacks at whole communities, taking them apart, dividing them . If it was my turn to draw their time and funding/energy at me, okay. Love continued to slight parents trying to protect their children from indoctrination, saying that our children grow up and when they begin making their own decisions, thats terrifying for some families. And adults with children who do not want their children to grow up and make decisions for themselves, and will blame anyone but their own actions. So, when an adolescent shares with a friend that their mom will kick them out of the house if they are LGBTQ+ [sic], or a student breaks up with a boyfriend, were the first line of defense. Love added that parents and guardians are always informed of personal information shared with teachers and school officials. She also said, I deactivated my Twitter account because Elon Musk weaponized the trolls, gave them all blue checks, and then put a dome over it. In a June 27 post in a blog series titled white people homework, Love wrote, white people: fair warning. This might hurt a little. But youre tough, right? You can take criticism, reflect, pray, meditate, and reconsider your opinion if you realize its doing harm to others. I mean, golden rule and all that. Loves recent comments against concerned parents are just another segment in the nationwide saga of local and federal officials striving to push conservative parents out of their childrens education. In 2021, a whistleblower exposed the Biden administrations Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for using counter-terror tools against parents who object to certain educational practices such as the teaching of critical race theory and radical gender ideology. Similarly, a group of left-wing Loudoun County school teachers ganged up on parents who disagreed with the ideologies being pushed on their children with a plan to expose them. In January, a Tennessee high school teacher went viral on social media after posting a video rant in which she threatened to quit the education field because conservatives pushing back against indoctrination in the classroom are starting to take over education. More recently, newly surfaced emails showed that officials within a Colorado school district agreed that gender-confused kids should be called their preferred names and pronouns at school even if their parents object, further undermining parental rights in education. Read more at: LifeSiteNews.com (Natural News) For author Ann Coulter, the border wall is going to solve every problem in the United States. The wall solves every problem in America, she told Timcast IRL co-host Ian Crossland during a recent episode of the podcast hosted by Tim Pool. Every single problem: race relations, poor people [and] bringing manufacturing back. Everything gets easier when you solve immigration because you dont have this. We dont need an extra problem to deal with, and extra poor people we have to pay for. In response to Crosslands question about cartels trafficking humans and drugs across the border, Coulter said it was 100 percent a function of not having a wall. She cited liberal journalist Sam Quinones who wrote about the opioid crisis in the U.S. in his book Dreamland. According to her, Quinones was aware that methamphetamine came from a town in Mexico and cartels were in charge of trafficking it. (Related: Mexican drug cartel labs are smuggling mass quantities of meth into America.) He knows everything about the drug drama. It is not coming from China. It is meth being made in Mexico. Then the opium, it is all coming from Mexico, Coulter stated. According to Coulter a popular syndicated columnist for outlets such as Breitbart and Daily Caller the Chinese used to send the precursor chemicals for these drugs directly. But the method of delivery through packages were problematic and inefficient. She added that people need to be on the border an operation run by many Mexicans and a few American collaborators to get the drugs straight into the United States. Coulter: Leftists are fine with 100K Americans dying annually from drugs The author and columnist said on the podcast that the crazy Left is vehemently opposed to a border wall. She continued: There is an element of the Left that just hates this country, and they are fine with Americans dying of opioids. They are fine with 100,000 Americans dying from drugs every year Pool commented that it is ironic that there are people who think the U.S. is evil and have no idea about what life outside of America is. These people have no idea because they have never been to other nations, he added. Meanwhile, podcast co-host and reporter Hannah Claire Barlow brought up the issue of Mexico posing a threat to American lives. She said an invasion is justified. Coulter responded by mentioning that an invasion is unnecessary had America took the border wall seriously. However, she pointed out that it should be done to take out the cartels which certainly pose a more serious threat to America than Russia. Coulter lamented how America has spent a ton of money shipping aid to Ukraine, when this money should have been used to build the border wall. Ultimately, the author and columnist told Barlow that the U.S. going into Mexico to take out the cartels can be done if the Mexicans cannot do it themselves. Coulter cited the example of former President George H.W. Bush, who sent American troops to Panama to oust its military leader Manuel Noriega. Follow BorderSecurity.news for more news about the American border. Watch Ann Coulters take on the U.S. border wall issue on Timcast IRL. This video is from the GalacticStorm channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Opioid drug trafficking: Another excellent reason why Congress should fund Trumps border wall NOW. Kari Lake: Katie Hobbs stole elections to protect cartels trafficking drugs, humans across border. Illegal immigration is RIGGING House seats in Congress, stealing power away from real Americans and handing it over to illegals. Biden approves billions for defending Ukraines borders but refuses to finish building border wall for America. Unbelievable: U.S. agrees to give Mexico more than $10 billion but there are NO dollars for the border wall. Sources include: Brighteon.com SamQuinones.com AnnCoulter.com (Natural News) Dr. Anthony Fauci oversaw the funding of coronavirus gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China, and bragged about working with the Chinese scientists there. He has infamously argued that conducting such experiments on contagious viruses and increasing their potency was worth the risk, even if the research could accidentally lead to a pandemic. So, with the help of his colleague Peter Daszak at EcoHealth Alliance, Fauci helped subvert the ban on gain-of-function research, offshoring it to China. Fauci then tried to cover up his illegal and unethical gain-of-function research programs by prompting leading scientists to debunk any inquiry into the lab leak as conspiracy theory. Fauci prompted the scientists to publish the paper, The Proximal Originals of SARS-CoV-2 in February of 2020, with the intent to suppress inquiry into the lab leak theory and shame any scientist who investigated the laboratory origins of SARS-CoV-2. Even the former CDC Director, Robert Redfield said that Fauci and Collins froze him out of discussion on the origins of SARS-CoV-2. When confronted by Senator Rand Paul, Fauci went before Congress and lied about his involvement in this coronavirus gain-of-function research and tried to obscure the definition of gain-of-function research. Fauci must face involuntary manslaughter charges After the covid-19 vaccines were forced into existence and coerced into the global population, the worldwide death toll for covid-19 continues to climb; it currently sits at 1.13 million. Fauci bears great responsibility for the failure of the predatory mRNA vaccines he pushed out, mandated, and cashed in on through the gain-of-function research and suppression of efficacious treatments. He bears great responsibility for the human rights violations that ensued from his mandates and censorship, and for the covid-19 death toll itself. Faucis gain-of-function gambit is at the heart of all these travesties and the wrongful death. For these reasons, Anthony Fauci could be indicted on multiple accounts of negligent homicide/involuntary manslaughter. Criminal defense attorney Steven Rodriquez explains: Criminal negligent homicide (more commonly referred to as Involuntary Manslaughter and also referred to as Negligent Homicide) is a crime of causing anothers death through criminal negligence. Criminal negligence involves more than ordinary carelessness, inattention or mistake in judgment. A person acts with criminal negligence when: He or she acts in a reckless way that creates a high risk of death or great bodily injury; and A reasonable person would have known that acting in that way would create such a risk In other words, a person acts with criminal negligence when his or her behavior is a gross deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable person would exercise in the same or similar situation. For example, if a driver kills a pedestrian while speeding through a residential area and blowing stop signs, he could be charged with criminal negligent homicide, he iterated. Fauci played leading role in the many covid crimes against humanity Fauci used psychological terrorism to achieve his goals and to capitalize on the predatory vaccine program that was unleashed prior to the declaration and quantification of the pandemic. Government officials like Anthony Fauci made sweeping, society-wide diagnoses that came with broad consequences, various medical errors, and far-reaching adverse effects. These officials took full control over entire sects of society, threatening the individuals conscious, their consent, and body autonomy rights. Fauci did not provide adequate informed consent for any of his decrees, and he even conspired to eliminate informed consent by controlling important information through the large social media companies. Government officials like Fauci made broad prescriptions for a problem they never clearly defined or ever had control of in the first place. Then, they forced their prescriptions onto the public and coerced a large part of the population to take part in medical experiments. When government officials took control over peoples lives, and subverted informed consent, they automatically assumed responsibility for the consequences of their hasty diagnoses, prescriptions and experiments. Fauci was the one who ordered school closures and then later lied that he ever called for school closures. This is the man who forced fraudulent diagnostic tests on the population and used the collective results of these test to control the medical system and private industry with lockdowns and irrational quarantines. This is the man, whose predatory mRNA vaccine mandates, destroyed countless lives and livelihoods. His mandated protocols, suppression of efficacious treatments and dismissal of natural immunity, paved the way for hundreds of thousands of needless covid-19 deaths. All the individuals who missed medical procedures and screening, who were separated from family and forced on Remdesivir and ventilation, or who spiraled into alcohol and drug abuse were victims of Faucis criminal lockdown, isolation, and quarantine orders. To make matters worse for Fauci, the 2021 and 2022 global excess mortality statistics go beyond covid-19 and is an even greater problem than the pandemic deaths that resulted from gain-of-function research, lockdowns, and ineffective, mandated protocols. While far from being the only one responsible, Fauci bears great responsibility for all the excess mortality in the post-covid-19 vaccine era, including all the harms of his mandates, his censorship, and coercive gain-of-function experiments. All of these atrocities are far from over. Serious accountability must ensue for Anthony Fauci, Francis Collins, Peter Daszak, and all offenders involved. Sources include: NYPost.com NaturalNews.com Politico.com NaturalNews.com NYTimes.com TheDailyBell.com NaturalNews.com NaturalNews.com NaturalNews.com Fee.org ONS.gov.uk NewsPunch.com (Natural News) Americans vote for people to represent them ever two years and for someone to lead the country every four years, but its more than obvious that the citizenry has completely lost any control over our government, which is 180 degrees the opposite of what our founders envisioned nearly 250 years ago. The most recent case in point: In February, a whistleblower testified in a closed-door interview with the House Judiciary Committee that a significant financial institution had engaged in inappropriate data mining of its customers bank information to assist the FBI in their investigations into the January 6 riots, Breitbart News reported this week. Based on a transcript of his testimony reviewed by Breitbart News, George Hill, a retired FBI National Security Intelligence Supervisor who was stationed in the Boston Field Office in 2021, stated that Bank of America had supplied the FBI with a list of all customers who had made transactions in or around Washington D.C. between January 5 and 7, 2021. So much for the Fourth Amendments guarantee of citizens privacy. Bank of America had no directive from the FBI to compile the list, said Hill, adding that the bank gave priority to individuals who had purchased a firearm using any Bank of America product, such as a debit or credit card, by placing them at the top of the list. Hill gave his testimony during the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Governments investigation into several allegations of civil liberties violations by agencies within the executive branch, Breitbart News noted further. According to Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH), he has received dozens of complaints from FBI whistleblowers that may be relevant to the subcommittees investigation into civil liberties abuses by executive branch agencies since Biden took office. This year, both Jordan and Democrats on the Judiciary Committee, which oversees the weaponization subcommittee, have conducted interviews with three FBI whistleblowers, including Hill. As a result of these interviews, the chairman recently asked FBI Director Christopher Wray to arrange interviews with 16 FBI employees to further investigate the matter. Last week, Democrats released a report that focused on discrediting the witnesses, whom they referred to as so-called whistleblowers. The report questioned the credibility of the three witnesses, with Hill being accused of providing unreliable testimony regarding Bank of America. He had no knowledge of the actual origins of this supposed evidence, never used the evidence himself, and never looked at the actual document containing the information, the Democrats said in their report, adding that the former FBI supervisor had involvement in less than a dozen cases related to January 6. The Democrats said they therefore could not reasonably find this testimony reliable. In any event, that a large financial institution may have provided evidence to the FBI in the aftermath of the attack on the Capitol is hardly newsworthy, and certainly not evidence of FBI misconduct, they argued. But according to the transcript of Hills testimony, he was clear that he did not physically see the Bank of America list, but rather saw FBI communication about it, the outlet reported. I did not see the list, but I did see the EC [electronic communication] that the FBI used it to bring it into theinto SENTINEL [FBI database], Hill said. Hill also testified that the FBIs Washington Field Office (WFO), which has been accused by whistleblowers of delegating cases to field offices across the country to exaggerate their scope, attempted to coerce the Boston Field Office into investigating January 6 cases based on the Bank of America list. A supervisory special agent (SSA) with the Boston office said at the time that there was no predication, theres no crime that was committed by using a BoA product in the District or around the District and said, you know, No further action required, Hill said, according to the transcript. To which WFO came back on a peer-to-peer level, an SSA to SSA, and said, No, you need to open up cases on these, to which he said, No, were not going to, Hill added. Sources include: Breitbart.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) Beginning in 2011, a new report has found, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was conspiring with doctors in multiple states to strip Americans of their Second Amendment rights. Documents obtained by Gun Owners of America (GOA) via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request reveal that FBI disarmament happened in at least five different states, and it was all done in secret. Dozens of people were affected by the sweep, including five people whose gun rights were revoked entirely. The FBI worked both with hospitals and medical clinics, the report shows, to target these people for de-gunning. Investigative reporter Gabe Kaminsky says that U.S. Immigration and Customers Enforcement (ICE) along with the Secret Service worked alongside the FBI to remove these peoples Second Amendment rights and all without the approval of Congress. The Washington Examiner confirmed that people in Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Oklahoma were targeted by this cadre of three-letter agencies. (Related: The totalitarian FBI also arrests people for protesting the murder of children.) Why is the FBI going after peoples Second Amendment rights? The scheme involved the use of the FBIs National Instant Criminal Background Check System Indices Self-Submission Form, which was filled out and signed by both patient and doctor. This form, once endorsed, blocks an individual from buying, owning, or handling firearms. The form also allows the FBI to obtain the mental health records of anyone who signs it. And it appears as though the FBI, along with ICE and Secret Service, compelled people to sign it, possibly against their will. The signatory is likely to be barred from exercising his or her Second Amendment rights for life, said Johnathan Jones writing for The Western Journal. In one instance, an agent from the FBI along with another bureau employee targeted a persons gun rights based on social media posts in which he expressed a desire to purchase a firearm. Agent, I have reviewed the NICS Indices Self-Submission Form regarding [redacted], reads an email correspondence about the matter that took place in September 2019. In order to make this entry, we will need to verify the subjects [sic] DOB. It appears as an incorrect DOB on the form. Also, if only the form is returned with no specific documents establishing federal criteria (see below), A temporary record will be created for this subject that will expire in 30 days. The hospital in question was not named in the email. Several hours later, another FBI agent responded with an attached petition submitted to the unnamed hospital calling for the target in question to be committed for Mental Treatment along with the supporting Social Media Posts expressing a desire to obtain a firearm. In another instance, a man from Massachusetts is said to have been involuntarily hospitalized for mental health treatment. The FBI reportedly brought a form for this person to fill out, which he did, but with the caveat that his treatment was voluntary rather than involuntary. This same process occurred for dozens of other targets between the years of 2011 and 2019, an investigation found. It is unclear why the secret program was halted when it was in 2019. It really speaks to the rogue nature of the deep state mentality, says former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, who worked for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under Donald Trump, about the collusion between the FBI and the medical industry. Any time you have evidence of private entities coordinating with federal agents to strip Americans of their rights, the public should be alarmed and demanding answers and action, added Aidan Johnston, GOAs federal affairs director. More related news can be found at FBIcorruption.news. Sources for this article include: WesternJournal.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) In what officials believe may have been a case of mistaken identity, two Americans who traveled to Mexico for an abdominoplasty procedure (tummy tuck) were found dead this week. It is believed that cartel gang members mistook the two Americans as Haitian drug smugglers when they were abducted and murdered. Two others who were also abducted survived their captors, though one is currently in hospital fighting to survive injuries. All four of the people had crossed into Mexico via the Texas border. They were driving a white minivan with North Carolina license plates when they came under fire in Matamoros, a city located in the north east of Mexico. The vehicle crashed into another car outside a shop, shattering the passenger-side window. Men with assault rifles and tan body armor were also spotted at the scene forcing the four people into the bed of a white pickup truck in broad daylight. One was alive and sitting up, but the others seemed either dead or wounded, reported The Telegraph (United Kingdom) about the incident. At least one person appeared to lift his head from the pavement before being dragged to the truck. (Related: In other news, Mexico is phasing out all imports of genetically engineered [GMO] corn to protect its citizens from toxic harm.) Matamoros is an infamously cartel-affected Mexican city with lots of violence Authorities believe, based on current evidence, that the four individuals were mistook as Haitian drug smugglers, which cartel gang members saw as a threat. This is like a bad dream you wish you could wake up from, said Zalandria Brown of Florence, S.C. Browns younger brother Zindell was one of the four victims. To see a member of your family thrown in the back of a truck and dragged, it is just unbelievable. In addition to Zalandrias son Zindell, the other victims include LaTavia Tay McGee and her cousin Shaeed Woodard, as well as their friend Eric James Williams. Strangely, there is no indication as to which of these individuals died and which survived. According to McGees mother, who is a mother of six, her daughter Tay was scheduled to undergo the tummy truck procedure. Her friends were there to support her. All of the individuals were extremely close and had divvied up the costs of travel among themselves to make the process more affordable. They are said to have been well aware of the dangers in Mexico, with Browns brother having stated before the trip that he was concerned about their safety. Zindell kept saying, we shouldnt go down, his mother Zalandria said. It turns out that Matamoros, where the four were traveling, is known for its violence. Factions of powerful Gulf drug cartels fight among themselves there, and thousands of Mexicans have disappeared from the Tamaulipas state where the city is located. Of the four, two of them are dead, one person is wounded and the other is alive and right now the ambulances and the rest of the security personnel are going to them to give the corresponding support, announced Americo Villarreal, the Tamaulipas Governor. No further details were shared by Villarreal, including where or how the four Americans were discovered. There was another woman from Mexico who reportedly died in the crossfire as well, it was revealed. The bodies of those who are now deceased have reportedly been returned to the United States for proper burial. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is reportedly offering a $50,000 reward to anyone who has further information about what transpired on that fateful day, according to the U.S. embassy in Mexico. More related news can be found at Violence.news. Sources for this article include: Telegraph.co.uk NaturalNews.com ABCNews.go.com (Natural News) After several years of forced face mask fascism, the Big Apple is switching sides and becoming a mask-free zone in order to fight crime. Mayor Eric Adams told local businesses in New York City this week that they should consider banning face masks upon entry in order to stop criminals from concealing their identity before committing a crime. Mask wearing in public, government officials now admit, has made it easier than ever for criminals to get away with all sorts of crimes because nobody can tell who they are either in person or on CCTV surveillance. We are putting out a clear call to all of our shops, do not allow people to enter the store without taking off their face mask, Adams said in a recent radio interview with 1010 WINS. And then once theyre inside, they can continue to wear if they so desire to do so. But we need to use the technology we have available to identify those shoplifters and those who are committing serious crimes. (Related: Last summer, Adams told New Yorkers to pack a bag and brace for an impending nuclear holocaust.) NYC Police Chief Jeffrey Maddrey says requiring unmasking as a condition of entry will help stop escalating violent crime Adams is hardly alone in issuing a plea for New York business owners to require that customers remove the mask before entering. New York City Police Chief Jeffrey Maddrey agrees. At a February 28 press conference, Maddrey addressed a recent jewelry store robbery in which police say a 78-year-old shop worker was brutally beaten by several suspects, one of whom was wearing a Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) face veil at the time of the crime. Maddrey says local stores can avoid these types of crimes by requiring that the mask comes off as a condition of entry. The NYPD is here to work with our businesses, but I have to ask our businesses to be just as proactive as well, Maddrey said. Were seeing far too often where people are coming up to our businesses, sometimes with masks, sometimes with masks, hoods, and latex gloves and then we have a robbery or some kind of property being stolen. Watch the video below from NYPD News: Watch as NYPD executives provide an update on an active investigations. https://t.co/lsUCpE9Ytj NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) February 28, 2023 In many ways, unmasking could serve as a peace offering to workers, Maddrey further said. As a sign of a peace offering, a sign of safety to those store workers, when we walk in, we should take down our masks, he explained. We should let them know that theyre not in any danger, any harm that were customers. At least three other robberies occurred recently in which the suspect(s) were masked at the time of the crime. In one of the cases, a 67-year-old bodega worker was murdered by a masked assailant. I mean at the end of the day if you dont have nothing to hide, [its] just doing what theyre asking you to do for the safety of others, said Nestor Osiris, a resident of the Bronx, about the New York City governments efforts to get people to stop masking for public safety. In the comments, someone wrote the following verse about the state of our world with leftists in charge: Wear a mask, dont wear a mask. Defund the police, fund the police. Have a brain, dont have a brain. Leftism at work. Another asked why New York City went two years mask shaming only to now call on people to not mask. It is all so confusing and clownish. The latest news about left-wing lunacy can be found at Libtards.news. Sources for this article include: Breitbart.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) Because the pharmacy chain refuses to sell drugs that kill unborn babies in some states, Walgreens has lost its contract with the state of California. Gov. Gavin Newsom made the decision to sever a $54 million contract that Walgreens had with the Golden State after the company chose to no longer dispense mifepristone, the first of two drugs in the medication abortion process, in 20 states. Walgreen made the decision after receiving a letter on February 1 from GOP attorney generals in these states warning that continuing to dispense the drug may be an affront to the Supreme Courts decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. We intend to be a certified pharmacy and will distribute mifepristone only in those jurisdictions where it is legal and operationally feasible, reads a statement issued by Walgreens following the decision. Previously, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had indicated that pharmacies are allowed to dispense mifepristone directly to anyone who has a prescription from a certified prescriber. (Related: Last spring, Walgreens published data showing that Wuhan coronavirus [Covid-19] vaccines do absolutely nothing to prevent covid infection.) Newsom throws social media fit over Walgreens decision to stop dispensing baby murder drug The second-largest pharmacy chain in the U.S. behind CVS, Walgreens stands to potentially lose a lot of profits over Newsoms guttural response to the news. Were done, Newsom wrote in a tweet about how California wont be doing business with @walgreens or any company that cowers to the extremists and puts womens lives at risk. An aggressive supporter and proponent of baby murder, Newsom simply will not tolerate any entity that does not likewise endorse his bloodlust for as many unborn children as possible to be terminated in the womb. Were serious about not investing in companies that cave to the extremist agenda of the GOP, Newsom added in a statement. A spokesperson for Rite Aid, another Walgreens competitor, said the pharmacy chain will continue monitoring these developments in guiding its own decision about whether or not to continue dispensing mifepristone. Rite Aid is monitoring the latest federal, state, legal and regulatory developments regarding mifepristone dispensing and we will continue to evaluate the companys ability to dispense mifepristone in accordance with those developments, company spokeswoman Catherine Carter told CNN in a statement. Ever since the Supreme Courts decision to overturn Roe, Walgreens and other entities have grappled with whether or not abortion drugs like mifepristone can still legally be sold in states where restrictions on abortions exist. California is not one of those states, but Newsom appears to be letting his own personal views on the matter guide his vindictive response to Walgreens making a circumspect move to protect itself in states where abortion is now illegal. There is a lawsuit currently in the works that, if successful, would block the use of abortion medication nationwide. This means the drugs would become illegal even in California, which could send Newsom into a maniacal rage. Theyre still a company that sells Disney rainbow Mickey plush toys to celebrate the lgbtxyz agenda, one commenter noted in response to conservative sentiment that suddenly supports Walgreens simply because of its recent decision to stop selling mifepristone, as if this was somehow done for moral reasons as opposed to just protecting the companys bottom line. They are only doing this because they dont want to be sued. Another person wrote that Newsom is punishing Walgreens because it has decided to abide by laws passed in conservative states. Newsom is telling Walgreens to break the law in these states, this commenter added. More related news about the leftist love affair with abortion can be found at Abortions.news. Sources for this article include: TheGatewayPundit.com NaturalNews.com CNN.com (Natural News) While the vast majority of Texas leans conservative, one bright blue spot on the state map run by Democrats is the capital of Austin, and it shows. According to a report by the New York Post on Friday, Austin, which left-leaning officials control, is experiencing a shortage of police officers, as both current and former officers noted the hostility towards law enforcement and conservative values as the primary reasons for the shortage. The Post said that multiple sources reported that the city has over 300 vacancies and that officers are resigning because they feel disrespected. The Austin Police Association has further predicted that an additional 77 officers will retire before the end of March. Recently retired Lt. Brian Moon, who served for 23 years, stated that Austin has become hostile to conservatives and law enforcement, similar to Portland, Seattle, and San Francisco, adding, if youre at all conservative or in law enforcement, its become a hostile place. Due to the severe shortage of police officers, the Austin Police Department has resorted to redirecting 911 emergency calls to the non-emergency 311 line. Its become a concerning situation as the redirects have led to longer response times and hindered the departments ability to effectively investigate and solve crimes. If you come home and find your home burglarized, calls like that are now going to 311, police union president Thomas Villarreal told The Post. Youre not getting a police response to many property crimes if its not a violent crime that is currently ongoing. According to Senior Police Officer Justin Berry, the department, under significant pressure, has redeployed detectives from case-solving duties to serve as patrol officers. Moody, who previously served as a watch commander and has been employed by the Austin Police Department since 1999, has observed significant changes in recent years. In 2021, the city recorded an all-time high of 88 homicides, and while this number decreased in 2022, the first half of the year saw a marked increase in the number of reported rapes, with 179 cases, as well as almost 2,000 cases of aggravated assault, as reported by the local news site KXAN. Austin had always been a pretty liberal-leaning city, but it was pro-law enforcement at the same time. They expected us to do things the right way, obviously, but they werent hyper-critical like they became, he said, according to the post. The United States, generally, is facing a nationwide police shortage. The phenomenon is being experienced in both big and small cities across the country. According to recent reports, several departments are struggling to fill their vacant positions, leading to a significant decrease in the number of officers on the streets. The police shortage has had detrimental effects on communities across the country. The increased workload on the existing officers has led to exhaustion and burnout. As a result, response times have slowed, and the quality of service has decreased. The shortage has also led to a rise in crime rates in many areas. The defund police movement among left-wing cities is also taking a toll. Following protests and clashes with the police in Austin over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, the city council made the decision to defund the police by $150 million in 2020. This resulted in a one-third reduction in the police budget and the cancellation of three cadet classes, as well as the removal of 150 officers from the departments budget by elected officials, The Post noted. And last year, the local district attorney announced the indictment of 19 police officers who were accused of using excessive force against protesters during the 2020 demonstrations. It almost felt like there was a target like the District Attorneys Office and the city was looking for an opportunity to do something to you, to prosecute you or fire you, no matter if you did it right or did it wrong, Moon stated. The Democratic left is purposely creating chaos in our largest cities so residents beg them to fix the problem, which they will with authoritarian measures. Theyre not stupid, theyre just power-hungry. Sources include: NYPost.com Newswars.com The Mexican Wolf population has grown as a result of recovery efforts, but experts are concerned about species diversity. Despite being eradicated from the American Southwest during the 20th century, recovery efforts have resulted in a dramatic resurgence of the Mexican wolf. Steady Population Rise In 1998, 11 wolves were returned to the wild in Arizona as part of a captive breeding program. Twenty-five years later, more than 200 wolves were living there, with at least 241 being counted in 2022. According to data from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the population increased from 196 in 2021 by 23%. Jim deVos, the Mexican wolf coordinator for the Arizona Game and Fish Department, told KTAR News 92.3 FM that the past year was encouraging for the wolf's continued recovery. DeVos claims that there has been population growth for the past 10 years, so it is critical that the population boom not be viewed as a one-year anomaly simply since the rate was so high in comparison to other years. He said that in the previous decade and the beginning of the following decade, the recovery was attained. Mexican Wolf Population In New Mexico, there are 40 packs with two or more wolves, while Arizona has 19. According to USFWS, the population has increased for seven years in a row, and the count of gray wolves has surpassed doubled since 2017. Brady McGee, Coordinator for the USFWS Mexican Wolf Recovery, claims that in 2022, more packs, more breeding pairs, and a growing occupied range were recorded, demonstrating the species' recovery trajectory. At least 121 pups were born in 2022, and at least 81 of them made it to the end of the year, which is a much higher percentage than the average of about 50%, deVos noted. Diversity Woes Conservation organizations applauded the development but cautioned against declaring the species managed to recover or nearly so. Craig Miller, the Senior Southwest Representative for Defenders of Wildlife, pointed out in a press release that since there are so few founding animals, it is first important to ensure that the genetic makeup of the wild population has improved and that recovery is continuing in all habitats that are suitable for the subspecies. According to a press release from Center for Biological Diversity, Michael Robinson, a senior conservation advocate for the center, nearly all southwestern wolves are as genetically related to one another as siblings, even though more Mexican gray wolves made it through 2022. Litter size is a crucial indicator of genetic stagnation in a population, according to deVos, and this past year would be what agencies were looking for. He pointed out that despite the advancements, genetics will still be a problem for the species given its roots in closely related species. Also Read: Makings of an Alpha: Parasite in Grey Wolves Triggers Risk-Taking Behavior, Study Shows Cross-Fostering Cross-fostering is a tactic used to help wild packs maintain genetic diversity. According to USFWS, in 2022, two of the 11 foster pups from captivity that were relocated to wild dens were reported to have survived, bringing the total known number of fostered wolves to 14. The Center for Biological Diversity requested that the USFWS release well-bonded captive families into the wild to expand the gene pool. Currently, there are about 380 wolves housed in 60 captive breeding facilities across the US and Mexico. A letter of intent to keep working on Mexican wolf conservation was signed in July by representatives of the USFWS, New Mexico, Arizona, and Mexico, KTAR News reports. Related Article: Wolf Growing Extra Tooth in Minnesota Might Be Caused by Inbreeding Weather reports revealed that 12 people were found dead in snow-hit San Bernardino Mountains after heavy snowstorms, causing many residents to become stranded at their homes without supplies and electricity. The recent heavy snow struck Southern California, especially San Bernardino County, where massive snow was reported. Recently, CNN reported that about 13 countries were under a state of emergency after snowstorms caused widespread power outages and snow in the region. Heavy snow and deaths ABC7 and AccuWeather reported that about 12 people were found in heavy snow-affected San Bernardino Mountains after clearing and snow removal operations came to the rescue. According to AccuWeather and National Weather Service, about 100 inches of snow unloaded in parts of Lake Arrowhead. Residents and communities in the San Bernardino Mountains dealt with the challenging snow storms without electricity and enough food supplies. Back-to-back snowstorms were unloaded in Southern California that raised concerns over the massive snow. Based on the reports, only one death is considered weather-related. The remaining casualties will undergo autopsies to determine the causes of death. In the AccuWeather report, residents were caught unprepared after the heavy snowstorms hit San Bernardino County and Running Springs. The unusual snow left homes stranded, as some stayed there for a weekend getaway. Furthermore, the situation became more life-threatening due to extreme cold and widespread power outages. The lack of emergency food supplies made the problem harder for communities. Meanwhile, ABC7 reported that authorities in California would respond to calls for help in affected communities. The Guardian added that rescue efforts and authorities looked into a possible gas leak after the severe winter storms. The report said that rescue operations and firefighters helped to clear snow from roofs that could cause roof collapse. Flooding threat Recently, AccuWeather and Nature World News (NWN) reported the possible flooding forecasts in California due to snowmelt and atmospheric event. According to forecasts, flooding concerns could emerge in parts of San Francisco, Redding, Salinas and Santa Barbara. Also Read: Two Snowstorms Likely to Emerge in Northeastern US in Coming Weeks, Forecast Warns The weather reports advised Californians to keep updated with the weather conditions in the region, especially regarding the flooding risk. Meanwhile, the NWS Sacramento said to stay safe from heavy rain and flooding this week. The advisory said warm and wet snow could be possible in North California from Thursday to Sunday. In the latest key message on Twitter, the National Weather Prediction Center reported the potential winter storm impacting portions of the Upper Midwest, Great Lakes and Northern Mid-Atlantic. The forecast warned of possible snow conditions in Lake Erie, Michigan, southern Wisconsin and Northern Illinois. The weather key message warned of possible road hazards: Reduced road visibility Snow-covered roads Slippery and slick roads Blowing of snow Motorists are advised to stay alert with the weather conditions this week, anticipating slower commutes and travel disruptions. On the other hand, Reuters previously reported that the snowpack in California helped to ease the prolonged drought. The snow and rain improved California's reservoirs, which are essential for storing water. Related Article: California Weather Forecast: Possible Snowmelt, Rain Could Result in Dangerous Flooding Conditions For more similar, don't forget to follow Nature World News. The latest weather forecasts said that Chicago and Detroit could expect heavy snow conditions this week as severe winter storms impact parts of the United States. The challenging weather conditions could likely result in slower commutes and flight delays. Travelers are advised to observe the weather conditions this week. Heavy snow in Chicago and Detroit this week From Wednesday to Friday, AccuWeather's latest forecasts said snowfall is expected in Bismarck, Casper, Sioux Falls, Minneapolis, Lincoln and Chicago. The forecasts noted that the heaviest snow accumulation could unload in the northwest or north parts of Detroit and Chicago this week. As mentioned, there could be a possibility of travel delays and slower commutes in the affected areas this week. In the latest weather key message, the National Weather Prediction Center announced that winter storms could become noticeable Friday in the Upper Midwest and Northern Mid-Atlantic. Furthermore, USA Today and Weather Prediction reported possible snow in portions of Minnesota, Michigan, Iowa and Wisconsin. Based on AccuWeather's outlook on Friday, snow could unload in Detroit. In contrast, possible rain could unfold in Cincinnati and Washington D.C. AccuWeather also reported the potential rain in the South, especially in Little Rock, Atlanta and Dallas. The forecasts warned of possible flash flooding. How homes can prepare for snow conditions Parts of the United States are experiencing heavy snow, particularly in California and the Northeast. Also Read: 12 Deaths Recorded After California's San Bernardino Mountains Suffer from Heavy Snow, Winter Storms The challenging weather conditions became troublesome in the first week of March. While spring season is near, homeowners should keep prepared for possible snowstorms this month. Heavy snow could become problematic, causing potential damage to roofs. Widespread power outages are also possible. As a result, snow preparedness is crucial for homeowners. Here are essential reminders for this week. Understanding the weather conditions Midwest residents should anticipate the weather conditions, especially in Chicago and Detroit. Staying updated with the forecasts and reports is essential. It would help homeowners and motorists prepare for heavy snow and snowfall. Check your home and car conditions Recent events of heavy snow could have damaged your homes and car. Homeowners should check for immediate repairs. Cars and homes should be in the best conditions to prevent road accidents and damage during snowstorms or heavy snow. Preparing home and car emergency kit Emergency kits are helpful during severe winter events. It is useful for homeowners and travelers if they become stranded. Here are essential car emergency kits. Extra power banks and full-charged mobile phone Medicines and bottled water Non-perishable goods or supplies Small shovel Small battery-powered radio Flashlight The American Red Cross showed more winter tips during winter storms and blizzard-like conditions. Related Article: California Weather Forecast: Possible Snowmelt, Rain Could Result in Dangerous Flooding Conditions For more similar, don't forget to follow Nature World News. China spares no effort in helping strengthen Madagascar's health system, says official Xinhua) 16:47, March 10, 2023 ANTANANARIVO, March 9 (Xinhua) -- A health official from Madagascar's Ministry of Public Health on Thursday praised China for sparing no effort in helping strengthen her country's health system for decades. "China has spared no effort to strengthen the health system in Madagascar and improve access to health care for the (Malagasy) population," said Onivelo Gabhy Andriamanantena, chief of staff of Madagascar's Ministry of Public Health. She made the remarks at a welcoming ceremony for the 23rd Chinese medical team in Madagascar, which also celebrated the outgoing 22nd Chinese medical team in Madagascar on its successful completion of its mission. "Chinese medical teams are an integral part of this valuable support from China," said the official, adding "the presence and support of these medical teams will help meet the challenge of the (Malagasy) Ministry of Public Health in terms of community-based care and achieve the goals of 'Health for All' in Madagascar." Starting from 1975, China has dispatched 23 medical teams to Madagascar, with a total of nearly 700 Chinese doctors bringing health care to millions of Malagasy patients, said Huo Wei, charge d'affaires at the Chinese embassy in Madagascar. The Chinese diplomat added that China would continue to actively cooperate with Madagascar within the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation to promote bilateral health cooperation. The 23rd Chinese medical team, composed of 32 members, will be sent to four Malagasy public hospitals, according to Liu Dongyun, the head of the team. Liu said the team would work hard to help improve the health of the Malagasy people, promote joint projects in the medical field and deepen the friendship between the two countries. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) In a move that highlights how the ongoing US-China chip war is disrupting the global semiconductor supply chain, the US is taking measures to address a gap in restrictions imposed on Chinese server maker Inspur Group that leaves US companies free to continue supplying Inspurs affiliates, of which there are dozens, according to a report by Bloomberg. Inspur sells servers targeted at AI and big data workloads, and does business worldwide, including in the US, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific. Earlier this month, the Biden administration added 37 more entities, including Inspur, to a trade blocklist. The blocklist includes companies to which US semiconductor makers and manufacturers of chip-making equipments may not sell products without special licenses. The companies were added to the blocklist for, among other activities, contributing to Russias military and/or defense industrial base, supporting PRC military modernization, and facilitating or engaging in human rights abuses in Burma and in the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), the US Department of Commerce said in a statement. The Biden administration, including officials at the Commerce Department, is aware that the chip blocklist does not specifically cover Inspur affiliates and is working to close the gap, but that may take several weeks, according to the Bloomberg report. Until then companies including Intel, Nvidia, and Cisco, among others, are free to trade with Inspur without the need for a license. Inspur looks to mitigate risks from US sanctions Meanwhile, Inspur Electronic Information Industry, a major unit of the Inspur Group, convened a board meeting this week to change its home location from the address of its corporate parent to a place which is about two kilometers away, according to a report by Hong-Kong based newspaper South China Morning Post. The company did not cite reasons for the change, but the decision was made just days after the US Department of Commerce added Inspur Group to the trade blocklist, the report added. Inspur Electronic Information Industry is, however, a separate legal entity from its parent company and is not currently on the blocklist. The change of corporate domicile, signaling a distancing of the affiliate from the rest of the Inspur group, partly reflects the limited options available to Chinese tech firms when it comes to mitigating the risks of US sanctions given their reliance on American components or technologies, the South China Morning Post report added. The US semiconductor trade restrictions appear to be taking a toll on Chinese companies. For example, Chinese chip-maker YMTC, which has been looking to challenge Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, has had to lay off employees and put he brakes on expansion plans after it was added to the blocklist, the South China Morning Post report noted. US pressures allies on chip export restrictions As part of a broader trade war with China, the US had some months ago convinced the Netherlands and Japan to join it in banning transfers of some DUV equipment. The Netherlands export restrictions have been in the works for some time, and on Wednesday the Dutch government posted more information on its plans. "These new export controls focus on advanced chip manufacturing technology, including the most advanced deposition and immersion lithography tools," according to an announcement by Netherlands-based ASML, a leading global manufacturer of semiconductor manufacturing equipment. The US-China chip war puts all sorts of global enterprises in the crosshairs, since disruption of the supply chain for semiconductors can affect a wide range of products, such as cars and different types of consumer goods. Champaign, IL (61820) Today Windy with light rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers for the afternoon. High around 45F. Winds WSW at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 60%. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph.. Tonight A few rain showers this evening mixing with snow showers overnight. Low near 35F. Winds W at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of precip 40%. Higher wind gusts possible. Champaign, IL (61820) Today Occasional light rain. Some snow showers mixing in overnight. Low near 35F. Winds W at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of precip 80%. Higher wind gusts possible.. Tonight Occasional light rain. Some snow showers mixing in overnight. Low near 35F. Winds W at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of precip 80%. Higher wind gusts possible. Approximately one billion people are infected with influenza around the world each year, with more than half a million deaths estimated to result from the disease. Despite the diseases potential severity, especially among older populations and those with cardiometabolic risk factors, approximately 30 percent of U.S. adults over age 65 were not vaccinated during the 2019-2020 flu season. To evaluate best strategies for increasing vaccination rates, researchers from Brigham and Womens Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, collaborated with Danish researchers to develop and implement a nationwide trial in Denmark testing nine different electronic messaging tactics among adults over age 65. Their findings, published in The Lancet, identify two types of electronic letters that resulted in modest but statistically significant increases in vaccination rates, especially among patients who had not received the flu vaccine the previous year. This was a first-of-its-kind nationwide implementation trial to help address the very topical issue of overcoming vaccine hesitancy at a national level. Electronic letters are a low-cost intervention that can reach across a population and have meaningful implications. Our efforts show that mass communication systems are feasible and can be rigorously tested, and we believe similar models should be tested in the US and other countries as well. Co-author Muthiah Vaduganathan, MD, MPH, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine. In particular, the trial found that emphasizing the potential cardiovascular benefits of vaccination and a repeat-letter strategy with a 14-day follow-up letter resulted in 0.89 percent and 0.73 percent increases in vaccinations, respectively, compared with a usual-care group. The usual-care group received a letter typically sent by the Danish Health Authority under Denmarks universal health system, which provides free influenza vaccines. Notably, those without influenza vaccination in the prior season had a 2.46 percent absolute increase in vaccine uptake with the cardiovascular-themed letter, highlighting that this messaging strategy could be an effective intervention in a vaccine-hesitant group. Vaduganathan, as co-director of the Brighams Center for Cardiometabolic Implementation Science, worked with other Brigham researchers, investigators at the University of Copenhagen and others to design the studys electronic messages according to behavioral science principles. During the 2022-2023 influenza season, the study team worked directly with the Danish Health Data Authority and Statens Serum Institute, the Danish authority responsible for infectious disease preparedness, to implement the trial, called the Nationwide Utilization of Danish Government Electronic Letter System for Increasing InFLUenza Vaccine Uptake (NUDGE-FLU) trial. Even small increases in influenza vaccination rates may have important public health implications when applied at a population level, including prevention of numerous deaths, hospitalizations and illnesses, said first author and coordinating investigator Niklas Dyrby Johansen, MD, of the Center for Translational Cardiology and Pragmatic Randomized Trials at the University of Copenhagen. While the observed improvement in vaccine uptake was slight, its potential impact is high while being extremely low-cost. According to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, a 0.89 percent absolute increase in vaccination rate could prevent 7,849 illnesses, 4,395 medical visits, 714 hospitalizations, and 66 deaths each year in the U.S. If 112 electronic letters are needed to encourage one additional vaccine, the cost of encouraging each additional vaccine is less than five dollars. Of note, important differences between Denmarks universal health system and the U.S. health system may limit the translation of these results. At baseline, Denmarks vaccination rates in adults over 65 are approximately 75 percent, higher than in the U.S., and attitudes toward vaccination may differ. Additionally, the U.S. does not have a centralized communication platform analogous to the one used by the Danish government for priority notifications. However, the authors note that a large proportion of the U.S. population could be reached with text-message platforms typically used to alert populations of local emergencies, as well as messages deployed by large insurers to their covered populations. NUDGE-FLU underscored the feasibility of conducting large-scale nationwide implementation trials in the universal Danish health system, said chief investigator and senior author Professor Tor Biering-Srensen, MD, MSc, MPH, PhD, of the Center for Translational Cardiology and Pragmatic Randomized Trials at the University of Copenhagen. Hopefully, this will set the stage for future NUDGE trials in other patient populations. PacBio, a leading developer of high-quality, highly accurate sequencing solutions, today announced its first customer shipments of Revio long-read sequencing systems will commence on March 8, 2023. As previously announced, the Revio system features significant advances in SMRT Cell design, compute, and system architecture. Together, this enables a dramatic increase in throughput and lower sequencing costs with the trusted power of HiFi chemistry, which offers exceptional accuracy and direct methylation detection. Revio is a remarkable product, and I am excited to announce the commencement of broad commercial shipments. This is an important step in our mission to enable the promise of genomics to better human health and, it is rewarding to see our team successfully execute on our aggressive product development timeline. The Revio system will empower our customers to leverage the power of HiFi sequencing at scale and I believe the system will enable a significant paradigm shift in our understanding of biology. Christian Henry, President and Chief Executive Officer, PacBio. With the Revio system, researchers will be able to scale their interrogation of the full genome: from telomere-to-telomere with phasing information, small variants, structural variants, and epigenetic profiles all in the same run. This will allow further exploration of biology and offers the potential to better understand the role of genetics in health and disease. Among the first customers receiving Revio systems are many of the original Human Genome Project sequencing centers: Baylor College of Medicine, the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard (Broad), Wellcome Sanger Institute, and Washington University in St. Louis. Broad is one of many customers to purchase multiple systems, ordering ten Revio systems to scale long-read sequencing for population sequencing initiatives. The ten Revio systems at Broad will have the same sequencing capacity as 150 Sequel IIe systems. With the increased capacity now available, the Broad is looking to scale up significantly and complete several thousand long-read sequencing samples. We are focused on proving the utility of long-read sequencing in research and rare disease applications. We are also excited to continue to investigate and push the boundaries of how long-read sequencing could transform discovery with higher resolution isoform sequencing. Niall Lennon, Senior Director of Translational Genomics and Institute Scientist, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. In the plant and animal genomic space, the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology in Huntsville, Ala., plans to use its Revio systems to scale its efforts to improve crop species. We can make a big impact when we scale genomics for breeding, said Josh Clevenger, Ph.D., Faculty Investigator at HudsonAlpha. It has been difficult to generate enough good quality genomes to understand variation. With the Revio system's high throughput and high-quality reads, we will be able to quickly and cost-effectively look at genomes to identify traits. Revio systems will be shipped worldwide, with Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences (MBRU) set to expand their large-scale research projects with Revio. We are thrilled that Mohammed bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences will be one of the first centers in the world to receive the Revio sequencing technology, said Alawi Alsheikh-Ali, Professor at MBRU and Chief Academic Officer at Dubai Academic Health Corporation (DAHC). With its improved throughput and high accuracy, this technology represents a major advancement in the field of DNA sequencing and is expected to accelerate our understanding of the complex biological systems that underlie human health and disease. Meanwhile, alongside Darwin Tree of Life sequencing, the Wellcome Sanger Institute is expected to use Revio to increase its utilization of long-read sequencing in various applications, including de novo genome assembly, single-cell transcriptomics, and variant detection. We are delighted to be implementing the Revio sequencing platform at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, taking the next step forward to expand our PacBio long-read sequencing technologies, said Ian Johnston, Associate Director of Sequencing Operations and R&D at the Wellcome Sanger Institute. The platforms increased capacity will help to support accelerating the generation of de novo genome assemblies for novel species as we support a goal to sequence all complex life on Earth. The Revio platform provides another step forward in long-read sequencing technology to support our mission to generate and use genome sequences to advance understanding of biology and improve health. Additional Revio systems will also be shipped to customers in China, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, and Sweden. Revio systems garnered interest from many institutions in Asia Pacific, and multiple units will be shipped to Macrogen, Berry Genomics, GrandOmics, DNA Link, HaoRui Genomics, and JMDNA. PacBio announced orders of 76 Revio systems in the quarter ended December 31, 2022, making it the most successful product announcement in PacBios history. PacBio expects to ship at least 25 Revio systems during the first quarter of 2023 and will continue to scale throughout the year. Despite racial and ethnic minority groups making up nearly half of the United States population, underrepresentation in clinical trials remains a critical challenge. In an effort to improve clinical trial diversity, researchers at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and College of Medicine partnered with The African American Male Wellness Agency, Genentech Inc. and Pfizer, Inc. to engage with almost 450 community members in 25 states and five countries to create solutions to barriers of access, awareness, discrimination and racism and workforce diversity. Study findings are published online in the journal PLOS One. Equitable representation is key when testing novel therapeutic and non-therapeutic interventions to ensure safety and effectiveness across populations, especially since 20% of new drugs demonstrate differences in exposure and/or response across racial and ethnic groups." Dr. Joshua Joseph, senior author, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism and an investigator in the Diabetes & Metabolism Research Center "The lack of Black and Hispanic/Latinx populations in clinical research studies for endocrine conditions including diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease research is particularly troubling because these diseases are common with a high prevalence and mortality in racial and ethnic minority populations," said co-author Timiya Nolan, assistant professor of nursing and principal investigator of Partners in Negating Statistics in Black Women (PINS). During the study in 2021, participants attended two webinars in a four-part series titled "Health Equity Through Diversity: From Communities to Clinics to Clinical Trials." They discussed solutions for advancing health equity through diversifying clinical trials and addressing medical mistrust in communities. Each 90-minute webinar began with panelist discussions followed by breakout rooms where moderators led discussions related to health equity while scribes recorded the conversations. The diverse groups of panelists included community members, civic representatives, clinician-scientists, government organizations and biotechnology/biopharmaceutical professionals. Scribe notes from discussions were collected and thematically analyzed to uncover the central themes. "We found that based on these discussions, barriers to clinical trial participation were broadly grouped into the themes of access, awareness, discrimination and racism and workforce diversity. Participants noted that innovative, community-engaged, co-designed solutions are essential," said first author Luiza Reopell, clinical study coordinator with the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism. Within each theme, barriers and solutions to clinical trial participation were identified: Access: Barriers included opportunity cost, transportation, caregiver burden and work. Solutions included transportation vouchers and extending clinic hours. Barriers included opportunity cost, transportation, caregiver burden and work. Solutions included transportation vouchers and extending clinic hours. Awareness: Barriers included contact with healthcare system, research literacy, language and health literacy. Solutions included using translators or research ambassadors and educating patients. Barriers included contact with healthcare system, research literacy, language and health literacy. Solutions included using translators or research ambassadors and educating patients. Racism: Barriers included interpersonal, structural and institutional racism. Solutions included investing in communities and offering training for providers. Barriers included interpersonal, structural and institutional racism. Solutions included investing in communities and offering training for providers. Workforce Diversity: Barriers included lack of coordination and lack of clinical research coordinator diversity. Solutions included hiring racially and ethnically diverse staff and ensuring cultural competence. Study collaborators included researchers at Ohio State's College of Nursing, College of Public Health; and Center for Clinical and Translational Science; the Center for Cancer Health Equity at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute; the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine; The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Nursing; Franklin University; Hue-Man Partnership and the National Center for Urban Solutions. Funding for this study includes the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Genentech, Inc. and Pfizer, Inc. provided financial support for the webinar series. The Center for Primary Care Innovation and Transformation at Ohio State Wexner Medical Center and Ohio State College of Nursing provided logistical and technical support with producing the webinar series. A young mother in California's Antelope Valley bathes her children and dresses them in neat clothes, making sure they look their very best at medical appointments. "I brush their teeth before they see the dentist. Just little things like that to protect myself from being treated unfairly," she told researchers. A 72-year-old in Los Angeles, mindful that he is a Black man, tries to put providers at ease around him. "My actions will probably be looked at and applied to the whole race, especially if my actions are negative," he said. "And especially if they are perceived as aggressive." Many Black Californians report adjusting their appearance or behavior even minimizing questions all to reduce the chances of discrimination and bias in hospitals, clinics, and doctors' offices. Of the strategies they describe taking, 32% pay special attention to how they dress; 35% modify their speech or behavior to put doctors at ease. And 41% of Black patients signal to providers that they are educated, knowledgeable, and prepared. The ubiquity of these behaviors is captured in a survey of 3,325 people as part of an October study titled "Listening to Black Californians: How the Health Care System Undermines Their Pursuit of Good Health," funded by the California Health Care Foundation. (KHN receives funding support from the California Health Care Foundation.) Part of its goal was to call attention to the effort Black patients must exert to get quality care from health providers. "If you look at the frequency with which Black Californians are altering their speech and dress to go into a health care visit," said Shakari Byerly, whose research firm, Evitarus, led the study, "that's a signal that something needs to change." One-third of Black patients report bringing a companion into the exam room to observe and advocate for them. And, the study found, more than a quarter of Black Californians avoid medical care simply because they believe they will be treated unfairly. "The system looks at us differently, not only in doctors' offices," said Dr. Michael LeNoir, who was not part of the survey. LeNoir, an Oakland allergist and pediatrician who founded the African American Wellness Project nearly two decades ago to combat health disparities, found the responses unsurprising, given that many Black people have learned to make such adjustments routinely. "There is general discrimination," he said, "so we all learn the role." There is ample evidence of racial inequality in health care. An analysis by the nonprofit Urban Institute published in 2021 found that Black patients are much more likely to suffer problems related to surgical procedures than white patients in the same hospital. A study published in November by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that Black mothers and babies had worse outcomes than other groups across many health measures. And a study published in January, led by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute investigators, found that older Black and Hispanic patients with advanced cancer are less likely to receive opioid medications for pain than white patients. (Hispanic people can be of any race or combination of races.) Gigi Crowder, executive director of the Contra Costa County chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, said she frequently sees delayed mental health diagnoses for Black patients. "I hear so many stories about how long it takes for people to get their diagnoses," Crowder said. "Many don't get their diagnoses until six or seven years after the onset of their illness." Almost one-third of respondents in the California Health Care Foundation study which looked only at Black Californians, not other ethnic or racial groups reported having been treated poorly by a health care provider because of their race or ethnicity. One participant said her doctor advised her simply to exercise more and lose weight when she reported feeling short of breath. She eventually discovered she had anemia and needed two blood transfusions. "I feel like Black voices aren't as loud. They are not taken as seriously," the woman told researchers. "In this case, I wasn't listened to, and it ended up being a very serious, actually life-threatening problem." People KHN spoke with who weren't part of the study described similar bad experiences. Southern California resident Shaleta Smith, 44, went to the emergency room, bleeding, a week after giving birth to her third daughter. An ER doctor wanted to discharge her, but a diligent nurse called Smith's obstetrician for a second opinion. It turned out to be a serious problem for which she needed a hysterectomy. "I almost died," Smith said. Years later and in an unrelated experience, Smith said, her primary care doctor insisted her persistent loss of voice and recurring fever were symptoms of laryngitis. After she pleaded for a referral, a specialist diagnosed her with an autoimmune disorder. Smith said it's not clear to her whether bias was a factor in those interactions with doctors, but she strives to have her health concerns taken seriously. When Smith meets providers, she will slip in that she works in the medical field in administration. Black patients also take on the additional legwork of finding doctors they think will be more responsive to them. Ovester Armstrong Jr. lives in Tracy, in the Central Valley, but he's willing to drive an hour to the Bay Area to seek out providers who may be more accustomed to treating Black and other minority patients. "I have had experiences with doctors who are not experienced with care of different cultures not aware of cultural differences or even the socialization of Black folks, the fact that our menus are different," Armstrong said. Once he gets there, he may still not find doctors who look like him. A 2021 UCLA study found that the proportion of U.S. physicians who are Black is 5.4%, an increase of only 4 percentage points over the past 120 years. While health advocates and experts acknowledge that Black patients should not have to take on the burden of minimizing poor health care, helping them be proactive is part of their strategy for improving Black health. LeNoir's African American Wellness Project arms patients with information so they can ask their doctors informed questions. And the California Black Womens Health Project is hiring health "ambassadors" to help Black patients navigate the system, said Raena Granberry, senior manager of maternal and reproductive health for the organization. Southern California resident Joyce Clarke, who is in her 70s, takes along written questions when she sees a doctor to make sure her concerns are taken seriously. "Health professionals are people first, so they come with their own biases, whether intentional or unintentional, and it keeps a Black person's guard up," Clarke said. While the study shed light on how Black patients interact with medical professionals, Katherine Haynes, a senior program officer with the California Health Care Foundation, said further research could track whether patient experiences improve. "The people who are providing care the clinicians they need timely feedback on who's experiencing what," she said. This story was produced by KHN, which publishes California Healthline, an editorially independent service of the California Health Care Foundation. Digitalization, one of the megatrends of the future, has arrived in the world of dentistry. Modern technologies underpin precision applications while also making treatments less invasive for patients. At the beginning of June 2023, an international congress will bring dentistry experts from all over Europe to Vienna to discuss the broad range of application options opened up by the latest breakthroughs. The University Clinic of Dentistry Vienna is a renowned international innovation driver, especially when it comes to digital applications. From 3D scans to prosthetic adjustments and maxillofacial surgery modeling, some of the techniques already in use in Vienna still sound like science fiction elsewhere. "Good dental surgeries will soon find themselves unable to do without the technologies we use here," explains Andreas Moritz, head of the University Clinic of Dentistry Vienna and organizer of the Dentistry 4.0 conference. Digital applications are increasingly replacing invasive and stressful examination and treatment methods. And this applies to all disciplines - from pediatric dentistry to prosthodontics and implantology. While the new techniques are designed to support dentists, people are already starting to wonder whether patients might end up being treated by robots working independently in future. Andreas Moritz is quick to offer reassurance: "In the years to come, patients will continue to be treated by humans, but with computer-controlled techniques offering optimal support." International conference in Vienna Committed to sharing the latest developments and discussing the options opened up by digitalization across a wide range of applications, the University Clinic of Dentistry Vienna is inviting experts from Austria home and abroad to attend the specialist Dentistry 4.0 conference in the Austrian capital on 2 and 3 June 2023. The conference provides a platform for dentists, professionals and students to share their knowledge and experience in different areas of dentistry. Orthodontics, Prosthodontics, Implantology, Endodontics, Periodontics, Paediatric Dentistry and Laser Dentistry are among the focuses at the two-day conference, which also features an exhibition showcasing the latest products and technologies in the field. Workshops and training sessions dedicated to various topics will give participants the opportunity to improve their practical skills. The numerous networking events held during the event will offer participants the chance to compare notes and establish closer ties with other dentists and professionals. Sao Paulo, March 6th, 2023 - MGI Tech Co. Ltd. (MGI), a company committed to building core tools and technology to lead life science, in partnership with Pensabio - a Brazilian distribution company, brings to Brazil a new technology to support a large national genomic sequencing project with sequencers. The goal of the project is sequencing the complete genomes of thousands of patients with rare diseases and hereditary cancers, searching for genetic markers in order to track inherited diseases for early diagnosis. Image Credit: MGI The initiative also objective to stimulate technological and scientific development in the country, by boosting the development of the Brazilian genomic industry. "MGI is excited to bring to Brazil one of the most innovative genetic sequencing technologies* in the world. By supporting this project, we hope to contribute to innovative solutions, capability of improving the health and quality of life of all Brazilians", says Yongwei Zhang, CEO of MGI Americas. Over the last three years, the project has seen more than 5600 patients. The new technology is expected to increase the sequencing speed of patients' genomes with rare diseases in Brazil. "We have already created the largest genetic database in Brazil, which should be of great use to the scientific community that studies rare diseases, as well as to the entire health system. The information may contribute to various research in the future. We also want to establish protocols for the adoption of genomics in care practice, to accelerate diagnosis and refine therapeutic and preventive conduct, improving quality of life and reducing long-term health costs", says Dr. Joao Bosco de Oliveira Filho, project coordinator. "Besides that, we intend to train professionals who can contribute with new discoveries in genomics, as happened at the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic, says Dr. Oliveira Filho. Innovation for health impact The Brazilian genomic project will adopt the MGI technology provided for large-scale population genomics research projects in different countries worldwide through its proven accurate, credible, and affordable sequencing platform. MGI's sequencing and automation technology was selected by Indonesia's Ministry of Health in last year to support its National Genome Project and contributed to Thailands roadmap for genomic medicine in Genomics Thailand Initiatives in October of the same year. Powered by MGIs core DNBSEQ technology, DNBSEQ-T7* can generate 6TB of high-quality data daily and complete up to 60 whole human genomes per day. The ultra-fast and high-capacity equipment can turbocharge your sequencing which is recognized as one of the most powerful sequencers to date. The equipment* is also able to perform deep exome sequencing, epigenome sequencing, transcriptome analysis, and tumor panels and can be used in large-scale analysis projects, using biochemical systems, fluidics, and optics, fully updated to make sequencing more efficient and productive. About MGI MGI Tech Co. Ltd. (MGI), headquartered in Shenzhen, is committed to building core tools and technology to lead life science through intelligent innovation. Based on its proprietary technology, MGI focuses on research & development, production and sales of sequencing instruments, reagents, and related products to support life science research, agriculture, precision medicine and healthcare. MGI is a leading producer of clinical high-throughput gene sequencers*, and its multi-omics platforms include genetic sequencing*, medical imaging, and laboratory automation. MGI's mission is to develop and promote advanced life science tools for future healthcare. For more information, please visit the MGI website or connect on Twitter, LinkedIn or YouTube. Unless otherwise informed, StandardMPS and CoolMPS sequencing reagents, and sequencers for use with such reagents are not available in Germany, Spain, UK, Sweden, Belgium, Italy, Finland, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Portugal, Austria and Romania. Unless otherwise informed, StandardMPS sequencing reagents, and sequencers for use with such reagents are not available in Hong Kong. About Pensabio Pensabio was created to meet the most demanding exigences in Life Sciences in Brazil, with the commitment to offer high-end solutions, supported by high-level service services. Following the tradition of the Pensalab Group, the company's priority is customer satisfaction, whether in consulting, as well as sales, support or service delivery. Pensalab Group has more than 20 years of experience operating nationwide and Latin America. In addition to the company Pensabio, the Pensalab Group also owns the organizations Pensalab and Pensacom, with 4 offices in Brazil and one in the USA. For more information, visit the Pensabio website or connect through LinkedIn. When Deb Horning's youngest daughter was 5, she got her measles, mumps, and rubella shot like many other kindergartners. But unlike many other moms, Horning had to stay away from her daughter for a week after the shot. Horning, 51, was diagnosed in 2014 with acute myeloid leukemia, an aggressive cancer the five-year survival rate for those older than 20 is 27%. Horning had been through chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant, which severely weakened her immune system. Because the MMR vaccine contains live virus, she couldn't get the vaccine herself and had to temporarily avoid her vaccinated daughter. Now, Horning is worried about Montana legislation that could further compromise her and other immunocompromised people by making it easier for more people to opt out of routine vaccinations. "If they do allow this, and a significant amount of people don't vaccinate their kids, then there could be community spread," Horning said. "And then Im really in danger, the same as a newborn is in danger." In 2021, Montana passed House Bill 702 the first of its kind in the nation which prohibited discrimination based on vaccine status in settings like employment, education, and health care. In effect, it banned private businesses and local governments from requiring employees to be vaccinated, not just against covid-19 but any disease. A federal judge ruled the law unconstitutional in health care settings in a lawsuit filed by hospitals, medical providers, and nurses. Two other lawsuits challenging HB 702, one by private businesses and another by tribal nations, are pending. This year, lawmakers have introduced proposals to expand vaccine exemptions in schools and change criteria in the workplace and the legal system. Proponents of the school-related measures include mothers advocating for their parental rights over whether to vaccinate their children; a nurse who maintained that medical choices should be private; and a day care instructor concerned about the connection between vaccines and autism, a claim that has been discredited. Some experts say those bills, like HB 702 from two years ago, are an overreaction to the fear and anger surrounding the covid pandemic. Those who promote vaccine exemptions on the grounds of parental rights and individual freedom should be honest about the consequences, said Cason Schmit, an assistant professor at Texas A&M University School of Public Health. Those consequences could include more people sick and dead from preventable diseases, he said. "We know what the outcomes of these types of laws are," Schmit said. According to a study published in 2019 in the Expert Review of Vaccines journal, nonmedical vaccine exemptions have increased over the past two decades in the U.S. Medical exemptions for vaccines are granted for conditions that could result in adverse reactions to a vaccine, such as a cancer patient undergoing chemotherapy. The nonmedical type comprise religious based on a sincerely held religious belief and conscience exemptions based on personal or moral beliefs. According to Lauren Wilson, president of the Montana Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, no state in the last 20 years has implemented a conscience exemption for childhood vaccines. The National Conference of State Legislatures reports philosophical exemptions in 15 states. Currently, Montana allows exemptions based on religion but not conscience for K-12 school vaccinations, and the religious exemption must be provided on a notarized affidavit. A medical exemption must be signed by a licensed health care provider. That would change under Senate Bill 450, sponsored by Republican Sen. Daniel Emrich, which would require schools, employers, health care providers, state agencies, and other entities to accept "without question or malice" religious or conscience exemptions pertaining to certain medications, including vaccines. Any entity that doesn't comply would lose state funding. Religious or conscience exemptions could be used for any of the immunizations required in the Montana code: varicella, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, poliomyelitis, rubella, mumps, and measles for attendance in primary schools, and influenza B before starting preschool. SB 450 also would remove the requirement that an exemption be given on a notarized affidavit and allows that a signed letter or statement is sufficient. Supporters say SB 450 would preserve parental rights as well as the right to choose what goes into one's body, and provide a justification to refuse vaccination if someone is not particularly religious. Opponents, including Montana Families for Vaccines, the Montana Medical Association, and Wilson, said states with conscience exemptions have the lowest vaccination rates. "I think part of the problem is that vaccines have been victims of their own success," Wilson said. "There have been many childhood illnesses that have been eliminated for more than a generation, and people don't remember." Another measure, House Bill 715, would require schools to inform parents which exemptions are available through whatever communication they already provide to students about vaccines. It initially added a conscience exemption for schools, too, but that was taken out of the bill. Republican Rep. Jennifer Carlson, the sponsor of both HB 715 and 2021's HB 702, cast doubt on whether HB 715 would significantly affect vaccination rates. She said during a legislative hearing on Feb. 27 that the state has a 95%-97% vaccination rate despite its existing medical and religious exemptions. In the 2018-19 school year, 96% of Montana's kindergartners were vaccinated against measles, mumps, and rubella, while 3% were excused under religious exemptions, according to the state's public health department. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the share dropped to nearly 93% of Montana kindergartners in the 2020-21 school year. Nationally, about 94% of kindergartners receive two recommended doses of MMR vaccine and 2% remain unvaccinated because of nonmedical exemptions. Carlson emphasized that HB 715 wasn't about covid, and that she isn't opposed to vaccinations, saying at the hearing that she and her five children have all had their childhood vaccines. "This bill is not a debate about the efficacy of vaccines," Carlson said. Dr. Marian Kummer, a retired pediatrician and Montana Families for Vaccines board member, said she worries that if HB 715 and SB 450 become law, it will leave the state vulnerable. "The fear is what's going to happen if they pass the personal exemption the exemption rate will go up and that is going to put more communities at risk for outbreaks of these diseases," Kummer said. To maintain immunity against measles, 95% of a population needs to be fully vaccinated having both MMR shots against the disease. Kummer said if there are more exemptions, the state could fall below that threshold. The 2021 legislature passed a law that eliminated the requirement that vaccine rates be reported to Montana's Department of Public Health and Human Services and local health departments. Democratic Rep. Ed Stafman has drafted a bill that would boost vaccine and exemption reporting. Stafman said that at some point there will be an increase in outbreaks because of increasing exemptions, and data will be crucial. "When that outbreak happens here, we're going to be in deep trouble," Stafman said. In the workplace, Senate Bill 369 would require workers' compensation insurance to cover adverse reactions to employer-mandated vaccines. And in the courthouse, House Bill 684 would prohibit the use of vaccination status as evidence or grounds for decisions in guardianship or custody cases. It also would make it so vaccination status can't be used as a factor in determining criteria for adoption. That bill's sponsor, Republican Rep. Caleb Hinkle, said including vaccination status in evidence could lead to biased decisions because of how politicized vaccinations have become. But Schmit of Texas A&M said the measure could handicap judges' ability to rule what is in the best interests of a child. Keely Larson is the KHN fellow for the UM Legislative News Service, a partnership of the University of Montana School of Journalism, the Montana Newspaper Association, and Kaiser Health News. Larson is a graduate student in environmental and natural resources journalism at the University of Montana. A new guide by the University of Agder's Centre for Care and Research in Norway, provides an introduction as to how research in the health and care sector in Norwegian municipalities can be carried out. Many people are interested in doing research on Norwegian municipalities, and the municipalities want to facilitate this. The Health and Care Services Act states that the municipalities shall contribute to and facilitate research. That is why UiA's Centre for Care Research is launching a guide for such research, Veiviser for forskning i helse og omsorgstjenestene i kommunene. The target group is researchers, municipal leaders, managers and other municipal employees interested in research. The editors of the guide are Professor Terje Fredwall and Associate Professor Per Gunnar Disch at the University of Agder and the Centre for Care Research. Several municipalities are currently systematically working with research. Many are already great facilitators for research activities. At the same time, we know that some struggle to get started or succeed. In this guide, we put emphasis on describing the research process well and giving good advice on the planning and implementation of research projects." Professor Terje Fredwall, University of Agder New and updated The guide is aimed at stimulating research based on day-to-day practice and help services to adopt new knowledge to face future challenges. The guide is a heavily revised edition of a research handbook that came out in 2014. The new edition is already available at omsorgsbiblioteket.no. It is free to download. Why, what and how Torunn Wibe is a specialist consultant at the Centre for Development of Institutional and Home Care Services in Oslo. She welcomes the new guide. "It provides an up-to-date and easy-to-understand description of how the municipalities can fulfil their interest and meet their responsibility to contribute to and facilitate research on municipal health services. We get answers to why, what and how. It also provides insight into the value of good cooperation between municipalities and research institutions," she says. Here is some of the content covered in the guide: What is research? Why do we need research in the municipalities? Research as a strategic investment How is research conducted? Research ethics and data protection Anchoring, participation and implementation Research expertise and collaboration How can research be funded? What should the research protocol contain? "Municipalities must be equipped for research" Municipalities in Norway have been given greater responsibilities within healthcare in recent years, while research efforts and capacity have not kept pace. Lars Bergesen, adviser for research, innovation and education in the knowledge cluster Kunnskapskommunen Helse Omsorg Vest, believes this is changing. "That is why it is very important that the municipalities equip themselves to become good research players," he says. Bergesen thinks the guide provides a good overview of research in the sector and believes that it can be of great help in knowledge work. "Not just for the enthusiasts" In addition to Disch and Fredwall, Kathrine Cappelen, Oddvar Frland and Hanne Rostad are also behind the book. The publication is funded by the Norwegian Directorate of Health. Lars Bergesen thinks that the guide should be read by managers and key personnel in the health sector, who have the opportunity to influence and strengthen knowledge work in the municipalities. "It is important that research is not just something that the enthusiasts and experts in the municipalities deal with. Work must be done at system level to develop a culture for thinking about research and establishing an evidence-base in the municipal sector," he says. Municipalities' needs must be the focus This view is shared by Torunn Wibe: "We need research that strengthens the evidence-base for decision-making in the municipalities in the coming years. If the research focuses more on the needs of the municipality it increases the chance that the results will be useful and of interest to more people than just the researchers." She adds: "If this guide can challenge the municipality to take a more active role as an initiator of and participant in research, then there is reason to be satisfied." A study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from 2009 to 2017 determined that approximately 1 in 44 children ages 3-17 are diagnosed with some form of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Research also has established that children with ASD have an increased risk of obesity, and obesity has been linked to increased risks for cardiometabolic disorders such as diabetes and dyslipidemia (high level of cholesterol or fat in the blood). However, the question of whether or not there is an association between autism, cardiometabolic disorders and obesity remains largely unanswered. To help provide an insight into the possible ASD-cardiometabolic diseases link, Chanaka N. Kahathuduwa, M.D., Ph.D., and a collaborative team from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) and Texas Tech University (TTU) conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis using the PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, ProQuest, Embase and Ovid databases. Their study, "Association Between Autism Spectrum Disorders and Cardiometabolic Diseases: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis," was published in January by JAMA Pediatrics, a journal of the American Medical Association. Members of the collaborative team included Kahathuduwa, Chathurika S. Dhanasekara, M.D., Ph.D., Dominic Ancona, M-PAS, Leticia Cortes, M-PAS, Amy Hu, M-PAS and Christina Robohm-Leavitt, M-PAS, DMSc, from the TTUHSC School of Health Professions; Afrina H. Rimu, M.D., M.S., Drew Payne, D.O., and Sarah M. Wakefield, M.D., from the TTUHSC School of Medicine; and Ann M. Mastergeorge, Ph.D., from the TTU College of Human Sciences. For Kahathuduwa, the seeds for the study were planted shortly after he received his Ph.D. in nutritional sciences with a focus on the neuroscience of obesity. Working as a research assistant professor under Mastergeorge, a nationally renowned ASD expert, he was invited by Naima Moustaid-Moussa, Ph.D., director of TTU's Obesity Research Cluster (now the Obesity Research Institute),to present a seminar discussing the neuroscience of obesity and autism. When I searched the literature to prepare my presentation, I realized that the evidence on the association between obesity and autism was quite ambiguous. A solid meta-analysis was needed to address this gap." Chanaka N. Kahathuduwa, M.D., Ph.D. That initial meta-analysis led Kahathuduwa to investigate further. He explored how neuroimaging may provide insight into relationships between ASD and obesity, the association between ASD and patients who are underweight and the just-published study on autism and cardiometabolic risks. The studies accelerated after Dhanasekara, who focused on obesity and metabolic health to earn her Ph.D. in nutritional sciences, joined the collaboration. In their latest meta-analysis, Kahathuduwa, Dhanasekara and their collaborators evaluated 34 studies that included 276,173 participants who were diagnosed with ASD and 7,733,306 who were not. The results indicated that ASD was associated with greater risks of developing diabetes overall, including both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. The meta-analysis also determined that autism is associated with increased risks of dyslipidemia and heart disease, though there was no significant increased risk of hypertension and stroke associated with autism. However, meta-regression analyses revealed that children with autism were at a greater associated risk of developing diabetes and hypertension when compared with adults. Kahathuduwa said the overall results demonstrate the associated increased risk of cardiometabolic diseases in ASD patients, which should prompt clinicians to more closely monitor these patients for potential contributors, including signs of cardiometabolic disease and their complications. "We have established the associations between autism and obesity, as well as autism and cardiometabolic disease, including diabetes and dyslipidemia," Kahathuduwa said. "We don't have data to support a conclusion that autism is causing these metabolic derangements, but since we know that a child with autism is more likely to develop these metabolic complications and derangements down the road, I believe physicians should evaluate children with autism more vigilantly and maybe start screening them earlier than the usual." Kahathuduwa also believes the study shows that physicians should think twice before prescribing medications such as olanzapine that are well known to have metabolic adverse effects to children with autism. "Our findings should also be an eye opener for patients with autism and parents of kids with autism to simply be mindful about the higher risk of developing obesity and metabolic complications," Kahathuduwa added. "Then they can talk with their physicians about strategies to prevent obesity and metabolic disease." Kahathuduwa said the next logical step for the collaborative team would be to generate evidence that either supports or rejects causality with regard to the observed associations. "We have done some work with the ABIDE (Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange) dataset regarding how neuroimaging shows the correlation between autism and obesity, but there is more work to be done," Kahathuduwa said. "None of these studies would have been possible without the help of the wonderful mentors, collaborators and students at both TTUHSC and TTU who contributed in numerous ways, and who will continue their important efforts to move these studies forward." A scientific instrument at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory could help create a noninvasive cancer treatment derived from a common tropical plant. Pancratistatin is a chemical compound found in the spider lily, a native Hawaiian flower. Unlike traditional treatments, it kills cancer cells while keeping healthy cells intact. Until recently, pancratistatin's workings have mystified scientists, clouding hope for potential new treatments. But after conducting neutron experiments at ORNL, students from the University of Windsor have gained fundamental insights into the mechanics of pancratistatin that could open new doors to much-improved cancer treatments. "By experimenting with cellular extracts here at the lab, we're building on previous work to get a more detailed picture for pancratistatin," said Stuart Castillo, the UWindsor doctoral candidate leading the study. "Our hope is to create a new path for treating cancer that doesn't damage healthy cells." ORNL's Spallation Neutron Source provides one of only a handful of neutron beamlines in the world capable of making the kinds of measurements the study needed. The Neutron Spin Echo instrument allowed the students to simultaneously measure cellular dynamics in angstroms and microseconds. One angstrom equals one ten-billionth of a meter. One microsecond equals one millionth of a second. Cancerous tumors begin with an overgrowth of cells, a process that starts in mitochondria, the parts of a cell that produce energy. In theory, cancer cells get an influx of cholesterol that stiffens mitochondria's cellular walls, or membranes, stopping their communication with other parts of the cell. Then, the mitochondria go rogue, causing cells to overmultiply. One step back, one leap forward Decades ago, scientists used living cells to discover pancratistatin's effect on cancer. In these early experiments, pancratistatin successfully triggered apoptosis, or cell death, in cancerous testicular, breast, liver, pancreatic and nerve cells. Since then, research has been confined to experiments on synthetic membranes until more could be understood about this natural remedy. Experimenting with synthetic material allows researchers to build their understanding of specific changes without the variables that come with living systems. Something we say about working with synthetic membranes is that it's never 100% representative of a cell and never will be. The scientific community as a whole eventually wants to transition from this basic synthetic model to a more realistic cell model. We want to use living cells to understand cells, but getting there isn't easy. We need to fully understand the picture before we can slowly transition into using more realistic systems." Maksymilian Dziura, UWindsor graduate researcher SNS and its sister facility, the High Flux Isotope Reactor, provide essential tools to help researchers observe and measure materials at the atomic scale. Neutrons are particularly suited for investigating biological membranes, because neutrons can pass through delicate biological materials without damaging them. Before coming to ORNL, the students showed that pancratistatin stiffened synthetic mitochondrial membranes in a way that triggered apoptosis, providing the basis for working with cells. The students used SNS's Neutron Spin Echo spectrometer to compare how pancratistatin affects the inner and outer layers of the mitochondria's membranes in cancerous and noncancerous cells. "We're looking specifically at how stiff the membrane is, how thick it is and how those molecules behave next to each other," said UWindsor graduate researcher Dominik Dziura. "The thought is that a healthy membrane will be flexible and move like it's supposed to, binding to other receptors and membranes and allowing communication between cells, unlike the cancerous membranes." "There's so much we don't know about cancer," said UWindsor graduate researcher Isabelle Dib. "And we haven't really looked at the differences between cancerous and noncancerous cellular membranes. This is a new approach." The team also used labs at the ORNL's Shull Wollan Center and Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences to develop and prepare their samples. Both are a short walk to SNS. The proximity of these resources enabled the team to do research a few short weeks that otherwise could have taken them months or longer. "The setup we have here, with SNS, the Shull Wollan Center and CNMS, it's perfect for us to conduct our experiments and analyze our data," said Castillo. "It's the whole package." This research was supported by the University of Tennessee Shull Wollan Center, co-located at ORNL. The rapid transition from in-person to care to telemedicine visits at the start of the COVID19 pandemic did not adversely affect the quality of care and even improved some aspects of care for patients with major depression in a major integrated health system, according to a new report. The study appears as part of a special "Virtual Visits" supplement to Medical Care, published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer. "A rapid shift to virtual behavioral health care was possible without compromising health care-related practices," according to the new research, led by Nancy S. Weinfield, PhD, of Kaiser Permanente (KP) Mid-Atlantic Permanente Research Institute, Rockville, Md. The study is one of 10 original research papers examining the implementation and impact of telemedicine in the new supplement, sponsored by KP. New research on telemedicine implementation in health care systems In March 2020, health care systems across the United States rapidly pivoted from in-person appointments to virtual visits via telemedicine. While many providers had been building their telemedicine capabilities, the unprecedented shift to virtual visits during the pandemic had the potential to disrupt care practices and outcomes perhaps especially in vulnerable patient groups. The new studies look at how the shift to telemedicine affected the quality, utilization, and patient experience of care. "The supplemental issue of Medical Care aims to advance evidence about how health care organizations and systems can best support telemedicine implementation," according to an introduction by Guest Editor Hector P. Rodriguez, PhD, MPH, of University of California, Berkeley. Seven papers assess the implementation of telemedicine within three regions of the KP system, examining trends in telemedicine utilization, and comparing the impact of telemedicine and in-person visits on conditions including urinary tract infections, neck and back pain, and depression. Other studies focus on vulnerable populations, including Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries and patients receiving care in community health centers highlighting telemedicine's role in maintaining continuity of primary care and the quality of diabetes care. Virtual visits persist for major depression, and some aspects of care improve In their study, Dr. Weinfield and colleagues looked at how the shift to virtual visits in the KP system affected care for patients with depression. The researchers analyzed electronic health record data on nearly 29,000 first telemedicine follow-up behavioral health visits by patients diagnosed with major depression. Two of three KP regions showed small but significant reductions in prescriptions for antidepressant medications during the peak pandemic shift to virtual care (April to June 2020), after adjustment for patient characteristics. However, medication orders returned to pre-pandemic levels during the recovery period, beginning in the summer of 2020. Prescription fulfillment rates were unchanged between the three periods. Meanwhile, rates of patient completion of depression symptom screening tools increased significantly in all three regions during the peak pandemic period, and continued to increase during the recovery period. "The transition and subsequent adjustment period have instead been marked by improved adherence to measurement-based care practices in virtual visits, signaling a potential new capacity for virtual health care delivery," the researchers write. In contrast to the conditions evaluated in other KP studies, behavioral health for major depression continued to be delivered predominantly through telemedicine during the pandemic recovery period. Dr. Weinfield and coauthors conclude: "Within these three regions of KP, the fact that care has not rebounded to include substantial in-person visits suggests that virtual visits have proven to be a successful model for providers and patients." Anxiety is the most common psychological disorder affecting adults in the U.S. In older people, it's associated with considerable distress as well as ill health, diminished quality of life, and elevated rates of disability. Yet, when the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an independent, influential panel of experts, suggested last year that adults be screened for anxiety, it left out one group people 65 and older. The major reason the task force cited in draft recommendations issued in September: "the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of screening for anxiety" in all older adults. (Final recommendations are expected later this year.) The task force noted that questionnaires used to screen for anxiety may be unreliable for older adults. Screening entails evaluating people who don't have obvious symptoms of worrisome medical or psychological conditions. "We recognize that many older adults experience mental health conditions like anxiety" and "we are calling urgently for more research," said Lori Pbert, associate chief of the preventive and behavioral medicine division at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School and a former task force member who worked on the anxiety recommendations. This "we don't know enough yet" stance doesn't sit well with some experts who study and treat seniors with anxiety. Dr. Carmen Andreescu, an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh, called the task force's position "baffling" because "it's well established that anxiety isn't uncommon in older adults and effective treatments exist." "I cannot think of any danger in identifying anxiety in older adults, especially because doing so has no harm and we can do things to reduce it," said Dr. Helen Lavretsky, a psychology professor at UCLA. In a recent editorial in JAMA Psychiatry, Andreescu and Lavretsky noted that only about one-third of seniors with generalized anxiety disorder intense, persistent worry about everyday matters receive treatment. That's concerning, they said, considering evidence of links between anxiety and stroke, heart failure, coronary artery disease, autoimmune illness, and neurodegenerative disorders such as dementia. Other forms of anxiety commonly undetected and untreated in seniors include phobias (like a fear of dogs), obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder (a fear of being assessed and judged by others), and post-traumatic stress disorder. The smoldering disagreement over screening calls attention to the significance of anxiety in later life a concern heightened during the covid-19 pandemic, which magnified stress and worry among seniors. Here's what you should know. Anxiety is common. According to a book chapter published in 2020, authored by Andreescu and a colleague, up to 15% of people 65 and older who live outside nursing homes or other facilities have a diagnosable anxiety condition. As many as half have symptoms of anxiety irritability, worry, restlessness, decreased concentration, sleep changes, fatigue, avoidant behaviors that can be distressing but don't justify a diagnosis, the study noted. Most seniors with anxiety have struggled with this condition since earlier in life, but the way it manifests may change over time. Specifically, older adults tend to be more anxious about issues such as illness, the loss of family and friends, retirement, and cognitive declines, experts said. Only a small fraction develop anxiety after turning 65. Anxiety can be difficult to identify in older adults. Older adults often minimize symptoms of anxiety, thinking "this is what getting older is like" rather than "this is a problem that I should do something about," Andreescu said. Also, seniors are more likely than younger adults to report "somatic" complaints physical symptoms such as dizziness, fatigue, headaches, chest pain, shortness of breath, and gastrointestinal problems that can be difficult to distinguish from underlying medical conditions, according to Gretchen Brenes, a professor of gerontology and geriatric medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. Some types of anxiety or anxious behaviors notably, hoarding and fear of falling are much more common in older adults, but questionnaires meant to identify anxiety don't typically ask about those issues, said Dr. Jordan Karp, chair of psychiatry at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Tucson. When older adults voice concerns, medical providers too often dismiss them as normal, given the challenges of aging, said Dr. Eric Lenze, head of psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the third author of the recent JAMA Psychiatry editorial. Simple questions can help identify whether an older adult needs to be evaluated for anxiety, he and other experts suggested: Do you have recurrent worries that are hard to control? Are you having trouble sleeping? Have you been feeling more irritable, stressed, or nervous? Are you having trouble with concentration or thinking? Are you avoiding things you normally like to do because you're wrapped up in your worries? Stephen Snyder, 67, who lives in Zelienople, Pennsylvania, and was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder in March 2019, would answer "yes" to many of these queries. "I'm a Type A personality and I worry a lot about a lot of things my family, my finances, the future," he told me. "Also, I've tended to dwell on things that happened in the past and get all worked up." Treatments are effective. Psychotherapy particularly cognitive behavioral therapy, which helps people address persistent negative thoughts is generally considered the first line of anxiety treatment in older adults. In an evidence review for the task force, researchers noted that this type of therapy helps reduce anxiety in seniors seen in primary care settings. Also recommended, Lenze noted, is relaxation therapy, which can involve deep breathing exercises, massage or music therapy, yoga, and progressive muscle relaxation. Because mental health practitioners, especially those who specialize in seniors' mental health, are extremely difficult to find, primary care physicians often recommend medications to ease anxiety. Two categories of drugs antidepressants known as SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) and SNRIs (serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors) are typically prescribed, and both appear to help to older adults, experts said. Frequently prescribed to older adults, but to be avoided by them, are benzodiazepines, a class of sedating medications such as Valium, Ativan, Xanax, and Klonopin. The American Geriatrics Society has warned medical providers not to use these in older adults, except when other therapies have failed, because they are addictive and significantly increase the risk of hip fractures, falls and other accidents, and short-term cognitive impairments. We're eager to hear from readers about questions you'd like answered, problems you've been having with your care, and advice you need in dealing with the health care system. Visit khn.org/columnists to submit your requests or tips. New research published in Anaesthesia (a journal of the Association of Anaesthetists) shows that black pregnant women in the UK are much more likely than white women to be given general anesthesia during Caesarean section births, while some black and south Asian women having vaginal births are less likely than white women to receive an epidural (a type of anesthetic used to provide pain relief in labor). The authors of the study include Dr James Bamber, Consultant, Department of Anaesthesia, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK, and Dr Nuala Lucas, Consultant, Department of Anaesthesia, London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust, Harrow, UK, and Marian Knight, Professor of Maternal and Child Population Health at the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit, University of Oxford, UK. They say that the reasons for these differences are unknown, but there should be further research to see if improvements can made to reduce any inequalities in the different types of pain relief and anesthesia that women can receive for childbirth. With general anesthesia, a woman is unconscious during the cesarean birth of her baby and is at more risk of serious medical complications compared to being awake with a spinal or epidural anesthetic. The quality of recovery after cesarean birth with a spinal or epidural anesthetic is better than after general anesthesia. Over 95% of women who have cesarean births in the UK have a spinal or epidural anesthetic and are awake during the delivery of their baby. For women who have planned, non-emergency cesarean births, less than 2% will have general anesthesia. An epidural is a relatively safe intervention that can provide excellent pain relief for labor that can improve the parental birthing experience. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended epidural analgesia for healthy pregnant women requesting pain relief during labor, depending on a woman's preferences. Recent research has found that the use of epidural pain relief in labor has also been associated with less risk of severe complications for the mother during labor and delivery and that babies born to women who had epidural pain relief may have better childhood developmental outcomes. It is known that there are differences in maternal and neonatal outcomes for women from different ethnic groups in the UK. The maternal death rate in black women is four times that of white women and there is a higher incidence of stillbirth, preterm labor and fetal growth restriction in South Asian and black women compared with white women. Minority ethnic women reported a poorer maternity care experience than white women. However, until now, there has been no published study of the relationship between ethnicity and obstetric anesthetic care in the UK. In this new study, using routine national maternity data for England (hospital episode statistics admitted patient care) collected between March 2011 and February 2021, involving data for 2,732,609 births, the authors investigated ethnic differences in obstetric anesthetic care adjusting for any differences between ethnic groups for maternal age; geographical residence; deprivation; year of delivery; number of previous deliveries; and pre-existing health conditions including obesity. This study found that Black Caribbean-British women in the UK were 58% more likely than white women to receive general anesthesia during elective cesarean births and Black African-British women were 35% more likely. For emergency cesarean births, Black Caribbean-British women are 10% more likely than white women to have general anesthesia. Compared to white women who had vaginal births, Bangladeshi-British women were 24% less likely to have an epidural, whilst Pakistani-British women were 15% less likely and Black Caribbean women 8% less likely. Other studies that have found differences in obstetric anesthesia care between ethnic or racial groups have mostly come from the USA, where access to healthcare maybe determined by insurance or economic status. The authors say, "In contrast to other published studies of obstetric anesthetic care by ethnicity, the care of the women in our dataset was provided within an integrated national healthcare system, where care is provided free at the point of access and where a woman's access to obstetric care and her anesthesia choices should not be limited by her personal financial circumstances." Another finding in the study was that black women were 40% less likely to have an assisted (forceps/ventouse) vaginal delivery compared to white women but instead were more likely to have an emergency cesarean birth. The authors note the limitations of their study, which include that it is observational and therefore cannot explain the reasons for the differences found. In addition, the study analysis depended on the accuracy of the data collected by hospitals. Furthermore, there may be other unknown factors, not collected in national statistics, about how a woman's labor and delivery was managed, that were not accounted for in the analysis and may have contributed to the differences found in the study. The authors discuss how differences in the maternity care given to women with different ethnicity may arise from barriers to information and knowledge, as well as barriers to choosing how and where care is provided. There can also be empathy biases from healthcare professionals, for example the interpretation of the labour pain experience of women from different ethnic groups. The authors conclude: "Ethnic disparities may reflect different cultural attitudes in different ethnic communities and arise from positive maternal preferences and choices. However, it behooves health professionals and providers to ensure any differences in anesthesia rates are not due to inequities in the access, delivery or quality of care before they are attributed to personal or cultural preferences. To ensure that obstetric anesthetic care is equitable, the information provided in maternity care on the choices for anesthesia and analgesia must be easily accessible in terms of availability, language and readability, and should be culturally cognisant. There is a need to listen better to women from ethnic minorities so as to avoid health professional misconceptions and presumptions about women's expectations and experiences of their perinatal care." A recent BMC Medicine study investigated the relationship between Vitamin D and serum Anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) in infertile men. This study was based on secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial, which assessed the effect of high-dose Vitamin D plus calcium and placebo on semen quality in Vitamin D deficient infertile men. Study: Low serum anti-Mullerian hormone is associated with semen quality in infertile men and not influenced by vitamin D supplementation. Image Credit: Image Point Fr/Shutterstock Importance of AMH AMH is a glycoprotein that belongs to the transforming growth factor (TGF-) family. AMH plays an important role in normal sexual differentiation in men. In the first trimester of male fetal development, this hormone assists in the regression of the Mullerian duct. At puberty, the level of AMH in serum decreases rapidly, and in adults, this level reaches around 34% of the total concentration prevalent during infancy. Even though follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) is a known stimulator of AMH, the increase in testosterone level during puberty enables Sertoli cell maturation, which indirectly reduces serum AMH. In the general adult population, serum AMH is linked with testis size, but not with sperm concentration. Very few studies have evaluated the relationship between serum AMH and semen quality in infertile men. In both humans and animals, Vitamin D plays an important role in male reproduction and sex steroidogenesis. Even though one study showed the Vitamin D response element in the promotor region of AMH, not much evidence assessing the link between Vitamin D and AMH in men has been documented. About the study The current study is a part of the Copenhagen Bone-Gonadal Study, which is a double-blinded, single-centered, randomized clinical trial conducted at the Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark. The inclusion criteria of the current study were Vitamin D deficiency, i.e., serum Vitamin D level 50 nmol/L, and no serious comorbidities. All participants were randomized 1:1 to active or placebo treatment for a period of 150 days. A total of 151 men were in the active group and they initially received oral 300,000 IU cholecalciferol, followed by daily supplementation with 1400 IU cholecalciferol and 500 mg calcium. The placebo group contained 156 participants and they received an oral bolus of oil and placebo tablets. Two semen samples from each participant were collected, before and after 150 days of the study period, for an andrological examination. Findings A low serum AMH was found to be a marker for poor gonadal function. This finding was based on impaired semen quality, along with lower serum inhibin B, testosterone/LH ratio, inhibin B/FSH ratio, and higher serum FSH in the cohort of infertile men. A low serum AMH could be due to poor Sertoli cell function, which is supported by higher FSH, lower serum inhibin B, and decreased inhibin/FSH ratio in men having the lowest serum AMH with a threshold at 26 pmol/L. An impaired Sertoli cell function could be attributed to an inadequate number of germ cells. A lower serum AMH manifests as threefold lower sperm quantity and smaller testis size in men. The number of germ cells predominantly determines the size of the testis. Hence, a low serum AMH could be an indicator of the function of seminiferous tubules and Sertoli-germ cell interaction. A low concentration of serum AMH along with impaired Sertoli cell function could lead to inadequate Leydig cell function. In the future, the difference in reproductive hormone levels between the two study groups could be further supported via testis histology. The findings of the present study are consistent with a recent study that revealed serum AMH is positively correlated with serum FSH, sperm production, and serum inhibin B in normozoospermic men. Nevertheless, several studies have contradicted this result, which could be because some infertile men might have higher serum AMH due to the presence of more immature Sertoli cells that challenges the clinical applicability of serum AMH levels. The combination of low levels of serum AMH and high levels of serum FSH was a better marker for semen quality than AMH alone. This combination indicates adverse prognostic signs in infertile men. Contradicting previous studies, the current study revealed that Vitamin D deficiency did not affect serum AMH levels. In addition, no change in serum AMH levels was observed over time in the Vitamin D-treated men. Vitamin D supplementation also did not affect serum AMH, even in men with Vitamin D deficiency. Conclusions The current study indicated that Vitamin D has no association with serum AMH in infertile men. A low serum AMH could be used as a marker for impaired Sertoli cell function and poor sperm production in men with infertility. Deputy Secretary for Justice Cheung Kwok-kwan visited Geneva, Switzerland, and The Hague, the Netherlands, on March 9 to promote the unique strengths of Hong Kong's legal system, which are conducive to the optimisation of international investment and business environment. Accompanied by Permanent Representative of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Laurie Lo, Mr Cheung met WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in Geneva to exchange views on various topics of mutual interest and lay down a more solid foundation for future work. He said Hong Kong, China, as a founding member of the WTO, has for years been a firm supporter of a rules-based multilateral trading system with the WTO at the core, and is one of the most proactive and constructive WTO members. In addition to thanking the WTO for its support to and acknowledgement of the city, Mr Cheung said Hong Kong, being the centre for international legal and dispute resolution services in the Asia-Pacific region, will continue to participate vigorously in and promote the reform of the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body. During his visit in Geneva, Mr Cheung also called on the Ambassador Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary & Permanent Representative of the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the United Nations Office at Geneva & other International Organizations in Switzerland Chen Xu to introduce the latest legal developments in Hong Kong and learn more about the latest situation of the United Nations and other international organisations. He emphasised that Hong Kong, as the only common law jurisdiction in the country, would proactively assist in the country's foreign-related legal affairs. After arriving in The Hague, the last stop of his Europe visit, Mr Cheung attended the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) reception hosted by China for over 200 delegates from around 90 member states attending the meeting of the HCCH's Council on General Affairs & Policy. Speaking at the reception, he updated the participants on the rule of law situation in Hong Kong and stressed that some media reports on "one country, two systems" and the enactment of the National Security Law in recent years have been baseless and unsound. He also highlighted that the Constitution of the PRC gives the legislative backing and source of power for the Basic Law and provides a solid legal basis for and the constitutional framework of the Hong Kong SAR, adding that the central government fully supports Hong Kong to maintain the common law system. Mr Cheung reiterated that Hong Kong's rule of law remains robust. Not only has the National Security Law restored the law and order of Hong Kong society, but also fortified the city's existing and solid legal inheritance, making Hong Kong the most desirable foothold of trade and investment in the entire Asia-Pacific region now and in the future. Meanwhile, Mr Cheung thanked the HCCH for choosing Hong Kong as the venue for hosting the sixth HCCH Asia Pacific Week in September this year to celebrate its 130th anniversary, which signified a vote of confidence by the HCCH to Hong Kong's rule of law. Noting that the event will be the first large-scale celebration of its kind in the Asia-Pacific region and the world, he welcomed everyone to visit Hong Kong to witness the vibrancy, diversity, and prosperity of the events capital. At the reception, Mr Cheung exchanged views with HCCH Secretary General Christophe Bernasconi, Ambassador Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary of the PRC to the Kingdom of the Netherlands Tan Jian and ambassadors from other countries. Moreover, he pointed out that Hong Kong is committed to the development of private international law and hopes that the city and the HCCH can forge closer co-operation. Fairbanks, AK (99707) Today Cloudy with snow showers mainly during the evening. Low 11F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 40%.. Tonight Cloudy with snow showers mainly during the evening. Low 11F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 40%. They called her a bad role model, but she stood up and now inspires other Bahraini women They called her a bad role model, but she stood up and now inspires other Bahraini women Agencies | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com Sajida Saeed Tabbara, a retired linguistics professor from Bahrain, faced criticism when she first started riding a motorbike in 2008. Some said she was a bad role model for girls. However, her children and students stood up for her, inspiring her to continue pursuing her passion for biking. It was very difficult for me as a woman, it was tough because people passed a lot of judgements, she was quoted as saying by Reuters. Standing next to her red Softail Deluxe Harley Davidson, she said, But the most wonderful thing was that my kids, my own students, stood up for me and said how dare you say something like this about her! The retired linguistics professor, who was dressed in leathers, displaying her biking badges, believes that change is difficult for any society, particularly when it comes to women. Change is difficult for everybody, change is difficult for any society and in any community, particularly when it comes to women, she said. I remember riding as a pillion when I was just eight years old. My father, who was a school headmaster at the time was so angry with the person who gave me a ride he nearly dismissed him from school! During my career as a Professor, I decided one day that I had to go after my dreams. I actually talked a number of my female students into becoming bikers and they did. Yeah, that was quite something. Tabbaras story shows that breaking stereotypes and challenging societal norms can be difficult but also rewarding. She serves as a role model for women who want to pursue their passions, regardless of what others may think. Her determination and commitment to her love for biking prove that anyone can achieve their dreams with hard work and perseverance. Japan's parliament on Friday approved academic Kazuo Ueda as the next Bank of Japan governor, entrusting him with the formidable task of minimizing the side-effects of the central bank's protracted monetary easing and preparing the ground for an exit strategy once its inflation target is within reach. Ueda, 71, will be the first BOJ chief from academia in postwar Japan, taking over on April 9 from Haruhiko Kuroda, who has been at the helm for 10 years. Friday's approval by the House of Councilors set the stage for the government to formally appoint Ueda, as the more powerful House of Representatives gave the go-ahead a day earlier. The nominees for deputy governors -- Ryozo Himino, a former commissioner of the Financial Services Agency, and Shinichi Uchida, an executive director at the BOJ -- were also endorsed by parliament. They will succeed Masayoshi Amamiya and Masazumi Wakatabe on March 20 for five-year terms. The surprise selection of Ueda in February has been taken as an indication that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida wants a gradual departure from the "Abenomics" economy-boosting program that entailed powerful monetary easing as a major pillar. ...continue reading The All Progressives Congress (APC) National Vice Chairman, North-west, Salihu Lukman has called for an emergency national convention where a new national leadership of the party would be elected. Lukman in a statement issued Friday also called for the resignation of the National Chairman of the party, Senator Abdullahi Adamu and National Secretary, Senator Iyiola Omisore. He stressed that with a National Chairman who is also a Muslim, it would be important that every necessary step is taken to inject a change of leadership in the party so that a new National Chairman who is a Christian can take over. Lukman explained that part of the advantage of this is that the National Chairman could be retained in North-Central. He said the current National Chairman has done an excellent job to manage a successful campaign to win the 2023 election with all the attendant challenges, there should be no difficulty in convincing Adamu to resign as National Chairman to create an opportunity for a new National Chairman of APC to emerge who is a Christian. Lukman noted: For that to happen, it may require an Emergency National Convention because if the hierarchy of the current leadership is to be followed, the successor to Sen. Adamu will be Sen. Abubakar Kyari who is a Muslim from the North-East. He pointed out that apart from changing the National Chairman, there was the need to also recognise the case of the National Secretary of the party, saying he has become a source of stronger dispute in Osun State. The party Chieftain said rather than serving as a unifying factor for the party leadership in Osun State, Omisore is more of a divisive factor, which might have been responsible for why APC lost the 2022 governorship election to a political mediocre whose only qualification in politics may appear to be a comic dancing skill. Lukman said to save Osun State and bring it back to its old standard of national political reckoning, Omisore would need to resign as National Secretary of APC, and a new unifying National Secretary elected. He pointed out that beyond Omisore, any member of the National Working Committee of the party who is not a unifying leader in his/her state should be changed. For that to happen may require an Emergency National Convention because if the hierarchy of the current leadership is to be followed, the successor to Sen. Adamu will be Sen. Abubakar Kyari who is a Muslim from North-East, Lukman stated. The Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, on Thursday, reserved its judgement on a suit the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, filed to disqualify the president-elect, Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and his running mate, Kassim Shettima. A three-member panel of Justices of the court adjourned to deliver its verdict on the appeal marked: CA/ABJ/CV/108/2023, after all the parties adopted their final briefs of argument. Specifically, PDP, whose candidate, Atiku Abubakar, came second in the presidential election that held on February 25, is contending that the APC candidate, Tinubu, who was declared the winner of the presidential contest, was legally ineligible to participate in the poll. It told the court that the manner the APC and Tinubu nominated Shettima as a Vice Presidential candidate for the election, was in gross breach of the provisions of Sections 29(1), 33, 35 and 84(1) and (2) of the Electoral Act, 2022, as amended. According to the PDP, Shettima, was nominated twice, both for the Vice Presidential position, as well as for Borno Central Senatorial seat, an action it argued contravened the law. Aside from asking the court to nullify Tinubu and Shettimas candidacy, the appellant further sought an order to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to expunge their names from the list of nominated or sponsored candidates eligible to contest the election. PDP prayed the appellate court to set aside the January 13 judgement of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which dismissed legal issues it raised against the candidacy of both Tinubu and Shettima. It argued that Justice Inyang Ekwo of the trial court erred in law and arrived at an unjust conclusion that paved way for the two Respondents to participate in the presidential election. Both INEC and APC were equally cited as Respondents in the appeal. It will be recalled that Tinubu and Shettima had in a joint preliminary objection the filed, challenged the competence of the suit and the jurisdiction of the court to entertain it. They contended that PDP was bereft of the locus standi (legal right) to institute the action against them. The duo maintained that no portion of the law conferred on the PDP, the right to dabble into the domestic affair of another political party, especially on the issue of the nomination of its candidates for an election. They argued that the opposition party failed to disclose any reasonable cause of action, adding that issues the PDP raised in the suit were non-justiceable. In his judgement, Justice Ekwo upheld the preliminary objection and dismissed the suit for lacking in merit. Besides, he held that the case was caught by the principle of estoppel, as the issue that was raised against the Tinubu and his running mate, was previously decided by another court. Justice Ekwo held that the suit was an abuse of court process and as such, deserved to be dismissed, adding that the court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain it. Ahead of the March 18 governorship election, Dr Alex Otti, the gubernatorial candidate of the Labour Party, LP, in Abia State, has rubbished claims that his partys presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi, had an agreement with Governor Okezie Ikpeazu to support the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship candidate, Okey Ahiwe, in the state. Speaking on Arise Televisions The Morning Show on Friday, Otti said that there was no such agreement, adding that Obi is a man of honour. According to Otti, Obi would be in Abia to campaign for him ahead of the governorship election. He said: I know for a certainty that there was no such agreement, and I know Peter Obi very well, I had known him for details, and I know him as a man of honour, and he cannot enter into a fraudulent agreement. Lets assume without conceding that there was such an agreement with Okezie Ikpeazu. The question to ask is how well did he implement the agreement because for you to deliver somebody, you must deliver yourselves first and in that election, he failed. He came third in his senatorial race. Abaribe came first, my candidate Chinedu came second by the result declared by INEC, and Okezie came a distant third. So if he could not deliver himself, how can he claim that he was the one that delivered Peter Obi? Mr Peter Obi was delivered by Labour Party and the Obidients in Abia State, which doesnt include PDP. So I will just say it is the cry of a man that is drowning. Peter Obi, bearing all problems that have to do with his litigations, will be in Abia and he will campaign for us. So there was no such agreement. He would have loved that agreement to hold. Let me ask them, Okezie Ikpeazu is a member of the G5; what happened to their leader [Wike] in Rivers State, who he supported? So my understanding is that the G5 supported the APC candidate [Bola Tinubu], so to that extent, he cannot come to reap where he did not sow. T he Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said that it will appeal the Thursdays ruling by the Federal High Court, Abuja, ordering it to allow the use of Temporary Voter Cards (TVC) in the March 18 governorship and state houses of assembly elections. Mr. Rotimi Lawrence Oyekanmi, the Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said this on Thursday night in Abuja. According to him, the commission is taking immediate steps to appeal against the judgement of the trial court. INEC has been served a copy of the judgement delivered today (Thursday) by the Federal High Court, Abuja Division which ordered it to allow two plaintiffs to vote with their Temporary Voters Card (TVC). The commission is taking immediate steps to appeal against the judgement of the trial court, Oyekanmi said. The Federal High Court, Abuja on Thursday, ordered INEC to allow the use of TVCs in the March 18 elections. Justice Obiora Egwuatu made the order while delivering judgment in a suit filed by two aggrieved Nigerians seeking the use of TVCs in the general elections in the absence of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs). Justice Egwuatu said that the order was made on the grounds that the plaintiffs were duly registered and captured in INECs database. An order is made compelling the defendant (INEC) to allow the plaintiffs to vote using their TVCs issued by the defendant, the plaintiffs having been duly captured in the National Register of Voters database. The court held that there was no portion of the law, both the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act (as amended) that states that it is only the PVCs, that could be used, but that the law under Section 47 provided for only a voters card. Section 47(1) of the Electoral Act 2022 (as amended) provides that: A person intending to vote in an election shall present himself with his voters card to a Presiding Officer for accreditation at the polling unit in the constituency in which his name is registered. The judge, however, said that he was unable to grant another prayer of the plaintiffs, which was to allow every eligible voter with a TVC to vote because the suit was not filed in a representative capacity. Since 2011, INEC, relying on its powers to develop guidelines for the elections and manage the electoral process, had consistently maintained a policy of no PVC, no voting. Officials of the commission has said that the judgment goes contrary to the provisions of the Electoral Act 2033 (as amended), insisting that only voters with PVCs, should be allowed to vote in the elections. The Kogi State Government on Friday ordered the arrest and prosecution of individuals and businesses rejecting the old naira notes. A statement by Commissioner for Information, Kingsley Fanwo congratulated Nigerians on the historic ruling of the Supreme Court. The apex court last week ruled that both the old and new naira notes remain legal tenders until December 31, 2023. Fanwo explained that the Yahaya Bello administration joined other states to pursue the case to ease the hardship occasioned by the unavailability of cash. He said it was unacceptable that some persons and businesses continue to reject the old notes, even after the court validated their use. Rejecting the old naira notes is a clear disobedience of the Supreme Court ruling, the commissioner stressed. Anyone who rejects the old naira notes should be reported to security and government authorities for immediate action. Also, banks that refuse to accept old naira deposits shall be sealed. Fanwo warned that the government will not accommodate financial institutions that willfully disobey court orders, moreso, the orders of the highest court in Nigeria. Since the banks are issuing the old naira notes, they are bound to also receive it. We cannot continue to kill our economy after the Supreme Court has granted us freedom. The statement announced the establishment of a high-powered committee to ensure full adherence and compliance to the verdict. The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos has described the endorsement of Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, governorship candidate of the Labour Party(LP), by Afenifere, as a laughable charade. On March 18, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos and candidate of the APC, will contest against Olajide Adediran of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Rhodes-Vivour of LP, for the governorship seat of the state. In the build-up to the election, Afenifere, the Yoruba social-cultural group declared support for the candidature of Rhodes-Vivour. However, in a statement on Thursday, Seye Oladejo, the spokesperson of the APC in the state, said the endorsement of the LP candidate by the group is irrelevant and borne out of bitterness for the incumbent. Our attention has been drawn to a laughable charade called the endorsement of the Labour Partys Lagos state governorship candidate by the factional leader of Afenifere, Chief Supo Shonibare, Oladejo said. We will ordinarily have ignored this non-event but it will be a disservice to the general public if the records are not set straight. The so-called endorsement by a group of attention-seeking and a politically irrelevant group of people is ominous as they have consistently backed the wrong horse out of malice, envy, bitterness and political frustration. Our political history is replete with many victims who lost elections as a result of the backing of these people who lack electoral value. The most recent was the Labour partys presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi whos now facing the reality of their valueless support. The legal team of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has denied reports that the Biafra agitator was planning to overhaul his legal team. Reports had it that Kanu met with his Special Counsel, Aloy Ejimakor and was working on changing his legal team. As a prelude to the disbanding of his legal team, Kanu was reported to have held a meeting with Ejimakor, and instructed him to ask the team to return his case file to him without further delay. The IPOB leader is upset over what he considers the inability of the legal team to secure his freedom despite the judgment of the Appeal Court, which freed him last year. However, Ejimakor distanced himself from the reports, stressing that he never met Kanu over the issue of overhauling his legal team. In a chat with newsmen, Ejimakor described the reports as false. He said: False story. Mazi Nnamdi Kanu never discussed such with me last Monday. Our discussions were not even close to what was reported here. I suspect that someone, a desperate and deranged person, is trying to pit the legal team against me or infuse disarray into the legal team. There have been similar false stories like this in the recent past. The Presidency said regardless of alleged irregularities and harsh criticism of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, the results of the February 25 presidential and National Assembly elections stand until otherwise proven in court. It also ruled out any possibility of annulling the presidential elections as was done on June 12, 1993; advising aggrieved candidates of the opposition parties to pursue redress in court instead. The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, revealed this in a piece chronicling key takeaways from the Presidents recently-concluded trip to Doha, Qatar, for the 5th United Nations summit on Least Developed Countries. According to the Presidency, Buhari remained reticent about INECs criticism by wishful thinkers because he had long decided not to take any decision that would undermine the electoral process. President Buhari not only muted himself following the cacophony, he picked up international travel. Bola Tinubus election stands. If you are aggrieved, and you have the locus to do so, go to court, the statement read. The Presidency said in the build-up to Buharis trip to Qatar, he was faced with orchestrated attempts to poison public opinion against national institutions, particularly the presidential election and its conduct by INEC as an institution, against which vile and unsubstantiated allegations were hurled. According to Shehu, The clear intent of this was creating an atmosphere of fear, polarising the public and demonising the administration of the President. The wishful thinkers appeared to assume that the June 12, 1993 election crisis, the worst ever since the Civil War, could be recreated. Those who sought to do this forgot what the President said at the palace of the Gbong-Gwon Jos, when he went to the city to inaugurate the Tinubu-Shettima campaign. He said this election will not be annulled; whoever is the winner will be president. The presidential spokesman echoed Buharis several iterations to world leaders in Qatar about handing over to a new President on May 29, 2023. Recall that prior to the INECs declaration of the All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, as the winner of the election, the opposing Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the Labour Party, LP, called for the cancellation of the exercise altogether, citing irregularities. In a press conference held in Abuja on Monday, February 27, the vice presidential candidates of PDP and LP, Ifeanyi Okowa and Yusuf Datti, respectively, demanded fresh elections nationwide. They said INEC failed to transmit results electronically from the BVAS to the iREV portal immediately after collation at the polling units. However, the Commission proceeded with the collation exercise, which culminated with Tinubu securing over eight million votes to emerge President-elect. The governing APC and the opposing PDP and LP have since constituted their legal teams to do battle in court. J-20 fighter pilot calls for improved military communications network development By Liu Xuanzun (Global Times) 16:49, March 10, 2023 Four J-20 fighter jets fly in formation at Airshow China 2022 on Friday to celebrate the 73rd birthday of the PLA Air Force. Photo: Cui Meng/GT Deputies to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) said at the ongoing two sessions that China should continue its military's digitalization, informatization and intelligentization, with one J-20 stealth fighter jet pilot suggesting the military communications network development be improved, and a JH-7 fighter bomber pilot calling for implementation of artificial intelligence technologies in missions. NPC deputy Gao Zhongqiang, who has experience flying four types of warplanes including the J-20, put forward his motion to develop an improved military communications network that aims to win informationized wars, 81.cn, the news website of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), reported on Wednesday. Over the past decade, he has flown increasingly advanced aircraft, and his colleagues have also become increasingly capable, and as a result, their systematic joint operational capabilities have increased, which have brought higher demands on the communications network that links all weaponry, said Gao, a winner of the Golden Helmet, the top award a PLA Air Force pilot could get. Different armed services and branches should be integrated together into a system via a constantly improved communications network, Gao said. As a pilot of the highly informationized J-20, Gao said he has become used to receiving a cloud map of vast data. "A pilot should jump out of his own perspective in aerial combat [...] and put himself in a system of joint operation, contributing more to winning as a whole," he said. Zhang Xiao, another NPC deputy who is also a fighter jet pilot, proposed that artificial intelligence be integrated into command chains, China Central Television (CCTV) reported. The computer can sum up all situational information and assist military personnel in making more efficient and accurate decisions, said Zhang, who is among China's first group of female fighter jet pilots. She pilots the JH-7 fighter bomber and has carried out alert patrol missions over the East China Sea, according to CCTV. Both Gao and Zhang are the PLA Air Force's top pilots, conducting missions on the frontiers of China's air defense with the country's main combat weaponry, and their motions to the NPC show that digitalization, informatization and intelligentization are major focuses in the modernization of the Chinese armed forces, a Beijing-based military expert told the Global Times on Thursday, requesting anonymity. In future warfare, all weaponry will likely become interconnected through a fast, stable and efficient communications network, and all the vast data will likely be preprocessed, selected and highlighted by artificial intelligence before being presented to human operators, so the latter can make the best decisions for victory, the expert said. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) The Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, has slammed a former minister, Rotimi Amaechi for saying he loves the Igbo people. Amaechi, while moving around the Diobu area of Port Harcourt, campaigning for the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, during the week, said that Igbo blood runs through his veins. Amaechi said that while he was the Governor of the State, his administration favoured the Igbo, who he also claimed to be part of, berating the current administration of Wike for not being fair enough with Igbos. However, addressing the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, supporters during a campaign rally ahead of the 2023 governorship and State Assembly elections in the State, Wike wondered how Amaechi could claim to love the Igbo and yet refuse to support the Labour Party candidate Peter Obi for the presidency but instead, voted for the PDP candidate, Atiku Abubakar. You think youre smart, but youre not smart. You said you love the Igbo, but you supported Atiku. You refused to support Obi. You didnt know the Igbos then youre supposed to support them. Youve been a minister for how many years, what did you do for the Igbo? What do you do for the Igbo? When he was running for President, he said power should come to the South. When he lost, he didnt believe in that again and said power should go to the North. So that when the North finishes, theyll give him, Wike said. Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has said he did not support the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Mr Peter Obi overtly at the Feb. 25 election because nobody discussed Igbo presidency with him. According to NAN, Publicity Secretary of Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide, Dr Alex Ogbonnia, stated on Friday in Enugu that Wike made the declaration at a meeting the socio-political group had with him in Port Harcourt on Thursday. Ogbonnia stated that at the meeting, Ohaneze Ndigbo confronted Wike over his alleged role against Obi during the presidential election. He stated that Gov. Wike expressed surprise that Ohanaeze was on a fact-finding mission and would explain his role in the presidential election. According to Ogbonnia, the Rivers governor explained that the Southern Governors Forum first met at Asaba and agreed that power must shift to the South after President Muhammadu Buhari. He also explained that the governors later met in Enugu in September 2021 to reaffirm their position for power to shift to the South. He stated that throughout the meetings, the issue of presidency to the Southeast was never on the table. Wike also explained that throughout his political adventure, he tried as much as possible to maintain the position of the Southern governors. Wike expressed disgust that during the PDP presidential primary election, several well-known people of the Southeast betrayed him and sabotaged the Southern interest by voting for a candidate from the northern part. He added that his unalloyed commitment to the South motivated him to provide logistics for Obi when he was in Rivers for the presidential campaign. Wike noted that conversely, he refused to provide even a campaign ground for Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of his own Peoples Democratic Party. The governor further stated that what is circulating in the social media is the handiwork of Wike adversaries. I am a man with the courage of my convictions and have no reasons to tell lies or to owe an apology to anyone. I am always ready to defend my actions any day and at any time, and I did not rig the presidential election against Obi, Ogbonnia quoted Wike as having said. The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has urged Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, Yoruba traditional rulers, Afenifere leaders and Gani Adams to stop the attacks on Igbos. IPOB asked the Yoruba leaders to stop those trying to ignite an ethnic war in Lagos State and the Southwest in general. The group lamented that there was a plot to pitch Igbos against Yorubas in Lagos and the Southwest. In a statement, the spokesman of IPOB, Emma Powerful, urged Igbos in Lagos and the Southwest to defend themselves against all forms of ethnic agenda. The statement reads partly: IPOB is urging Ndigbo and Biafrans in general resident in the Western region Nigeria particularly in Lagos, to be very vigilant and be prepared and ready to defend themselves and their businesses against thugs and criminals if the Nigerian security apparatus is incapable of or unwilling to protect them. That same evil bird that sang in the 60s is singing again. Fulani cabals rigged the 2023 election to set Ndigbo up against the Yorubas. But we are so much wiser now, and we hope that Yoruba people will not fall into the script of the Fulani caliphate. The political thugs and criminals hired to terrorise and burn down properties belonging to Ndigbo should know that they have no monopoly on violence, hence, must be prepared to receive at least as much as they give. IPOB is urging the Lagos State Governor, Yoruba Traditional rulers, their opinion moulders, politicians, Afenifere leaders particularly Gani Adams to do all that is necessary to stop these criminals and their sponsors in their track to avoid igniting a fire that will pitch us against each other while the Fulani Caliphate is standing on the sideline laughing at us. These thugs must be compelled to desist from further attacking and bullying Ndigbo that are doing their legitimate business in Lagos. Lagos government should know that 2023 is not 1993 and Igbos will defend themselves against these criminals with whatever means is available to them. We are making this requests in good faith so that tomorrow none should wake up to tell the story from the middle that Ndigbo are fighting their host community. The leaders and elders in Yoruba land should call the criminals terrorising Igbos and their sponsors to order before things degenerate into dangerous and unimaginable dimensions. Igbo leaders and Traditional Rulers should equally speak out to their Yoruba counterparts. Nobody should blame Ndigbo and the youths for defending themselves against ethnic cleansing and impoverishment agenda. The Supreme Court has sacked the Majority Leader of Ebonyi State House of Assembly, Victor Uzoma Chukwu, as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for Ezza North West State Constituency of Ebonyi, in the March 18 general election. The Supreme Court declared Leonard Nweke Igboke as the duly nominated House of Assembly candidate of APC in Ezza North West State Constituency of Ebonyi. Igboke, who won the APC primaries in the Constituency on May 26 last year, had his name removed from the final names of aspirants published by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on July 22, 2022. Disgruntled with the development Igboke approached the Federal High Court, Abakaliki, on August 3, 2022, and the court affirmed him as the rightful candidate of the APC in the Constituency. However, Chukwu appealed the decision at the Enugu Division of the Court of Appeal, which dismissed the judgement of the lower court and held that the Majority Leader was the APC candidate in the Constituency. Subsequently, Igboke challenged the judgement in the Supreme Court on February 9, 2023. Delivering the judgement at the Supreme Court on Thursday, Justice Mohammadu Lawal Garba JSC, who led the five-man Panel of Justices, set aside the Judgment of the Court of Appeal, in its entirety and restored the earlier judgment of the Federal High Court, Abakaliki. With this Supreme Court judgment, Igboke, is the authentic APC candidate for Ezza North West State Constituency of Ebonyi State, in the March 18th, 2023 general election. Reacting to his victory at the Supreme Court, Igboke said: I thank the Learned Justices of the Supreme Court for the erudite final Judgment. This is a victory for democracy and restoration of the mandate unanimously given to me by the good people of My Constituency. I extend hands of fellowship to all men of Goodwill, including the House Leader, Rt. Hon. Victor Uzoma Chukwu (Inyadime) and his supporters. Its our collective victory and our Mandate. The Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, on Thursday, took aim at the campaign team of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, over their protest of the outcome of the February 25 poll. Atiku came second in the keenly contested presidential election, polling 6,984,520 votes, while winner Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) got 8,794,726 votes. On Monday, the former Vice President led a black uniform protest to the national headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abuja that also included the PDP National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu; and Atikus running mate, Ifeanyi Okowa. Following INECs declaration of Tinubu as the President-elect last Thursday, Atiku slammed the conduct of the elections, saying the umpires inability to upload results on the INEC Results Viewing Portal (IReV) is a rape of democracy. But Wike mocked the PDP leaders while speaking at the commissioning of Igwuruta internal roads in the Ikwerre Local Government Area (LGA) of Rivers State. I won three of the Senate seats three over three. Ask them, did they win three over three? You cannot win! the governor said. I told them; they said they would conspire against me. Those who said theyll conspire against me are those wearing black. I am wearing white and theyre wearing black. Wike, who is a member of the G5, the group of five aggrieved PDP governors who abstained from campaigning for Atiku on the grounds that his candidacy allegedly violated the partys constitution. In the build-up to the presidential election, the rift between the G5, a group of five aggrieved PDP governors, including Wike, and the partys national leadership proved irreconcilable. Unequivocal about the presidential seat returning to the South, the governor is widely believed to have spearheaded the APCs unprecedented win in Rivers. He however denies being involved in any anti-party activity, saying he fought for the unity of the country. To him, the alleged anti-party actions belong to them at the national level in PDP. Wike pondered what could be more anti-party than party members abandoning the provisions of their constitution that talk about zoning of elective and appointive offices. [Between] you that refused to obey the constitution of your party because of impunity, because you think you have the number, you refused to obey the provisions of the constitution of your party, and we that say Nigeria must be one, Nigeria must be united, Nigeria must work for our people, [and] let everybody have hope, who committed anti-party [activities]? They are the ones who committed anti-party [misconduct], he said. On the fallout of the election, Wike assured PDP supporters the first phase of the war is over, adding that the second phase is about to begin. The second phase of the war: We must chase out the buccaneers and vampires. We are going to chase them out of the party and take our party and rebuild our party, he said. These people left our party in 2014/2015. Our party lost. Again, they have come back, our party has lost again. Theyve destroyed our party. Were going to chase them out of the party. They have no role to play for our party. I told them, agreement is agreement. The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has cautioned against allowing the enthronement of the Fulani emirate in Imo and Abia states. IPOB vowed to resist any Igbo politician or political party that attempts to enthrone the Fulani emirate in the Southeast. A statement by Emma Powerful, the spokesman of IPOB, said: We, the global family and movement of the Indigenous People of Biafra under the leadership and command of Nnamdi Kanu, warn against any plans to enthrone the Fulani Emirate in the Southeast, especially in Imo and Abia States. Any Igbo politician and party that has reached any agreement to enthrone Fulani Emirate in any Christian community in Biafraland will be resisted with everything we have. The separatist group applauded Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State for preventing Fulani stooges from establishing a Fulani Emirate. We commended the proactive approach used by Governor Okezie Ikpeazu to stop the nonsensical move by Fulani stooges to introduce Fulani Emirate in Abia State. If that agenda had not been nipped in the bud, the caliphate, in collusion with some useless idiots in the East, would have established a Fulani Emirate in Aba, Abia State. IPOB urged the people of Imo State to be vigilant and know that Governor Hope Uzodinma is planning to create a Fulani Emirate in the state. The group stressed that Uzodinmas planned move was responsible for the insecurity in Orlu and Oru axis. 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. Watertown, NY (13601) Today Partly cloudy skies this evening will give way to cloudy skies and rain overnight. Low near 45F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies this evening will give way to cloudy skies and rain overnight. Low near 45F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Sounds good. Swiping a card is convenient I just hope tech problems won't back up the lines Cash is easy. I don't see why they can't accept both I'd rather the vendor get all my money instead of the credit card companies Vote View Results The campaign to recall Mayor LaToya Cantrell kicked off last summer with a signing event that drew a crowd of thousands in Lakeview, and ever since its organizers have sought to dismiss any claim that racial politics played any role in their drive. But an analysis of more than 32,000 signatures organizers turned over to The Times-Picayune under a court order show a stark disparity in the recalls appeal: though New Orleans is a majority-Black city, those who signed the nearly 10,000 pages provided by the campaign are overwhelmingly White. Signers were mostly clustered in just a few affluent neighborhoods, many not far from where organizers set up shop on that first day. How The Times-Picayune analyzed the signatures of LaToya Cantrell recall petition In an effort to understand how many New Orleanians signed the petition to recall Mayor LaToya Cantrell, and a bit about their backgrounds, The The analysis provides the first major insights into how well the recall campaign did in its efforts to collect 45,000 signatures and trigger an election that would determine Cantrells fate. A continuing lack of transparency on the part of recall organizers places hard limits on what can be definitively said about the recall. Organizers submitted thousands of pages of records to the Registrar of Voters that they have withheld from the newspaper for reasons that are unclear. The Times-Picayune has repeatedly asked for a full accounting of the petitions that were turned in, but has been rebuffed or ignored by the campaign. The additional records could differ from the documents reviewed by The Times-Picayune, potentially in ways that would change the newspapers analysis of where the campaign draws its support. Still, the records provided so far reveal key data about who supported the drive. The recalls organizers did not respond to a request for comment on the demographic trends the newspaper observed. The New Orleans City Council passes a limited ban on short-term rentals, friends and fans mourn the killing of bounce artist Charlie Whop, weather forecasters say the La Nina pattern has finally ended and more. Here's a look at today's top stories in New Orleans for Thursday, March 9, 2023. Did you know that you can now submit your own suggested clues for Clue Dat? Play today, and submit your best ideas! U.S. Steel laid off tin mill workers last week when it indefinitely idled its tin mill on the west side of the Gary Works steel mill. The Pittsburgh-based steelmaker warned the state of Indiana in late December it would lay off about 244 employees at its flagship steel mill in Gary because of the declining tin mill business, but most of the workers were moved to other parts of the plant, Media Relations Manager Amanda Malkowski said. "U. S. Steel worked closely with the United Steelworkers to create a plan that would lessen the effects of the potential layoffs brought on by surging tin imports," Malkowski said. "Thanks to the cooperation between labor and industry, about 200 employees were reassigned to new employment opportunities within U.S. Steel." All of the workers should eventually be recalled at some point as positions open back up at Gary Works, USW District 7 Director Mike Millsap said. U.S. Steel already started calling back steelworkers at the tin mill who were voluntarily laid off five months ago in anticipation of the idling. It found a need for tariffs of up to 296% that would price foreign imports out of the market in favor of domestically produced steel. "Under our labor contract they have to ask for voluntary layoffs first," Millsap said. "The senior guys will often take the layoffs to let the junior guys work. They volunteer because they're hopefully more financially able to take the layoff than the younger guys." Workers who were recalled complained of being bumped down from laborer grades 2, 3 and 4 to laborer grade 1. That's a difference in pay of about $1.50 to $2 an hour but the workers can regain that seniority over time. Millsap said some displaced steelworkers were transferred to the Midwest Plant and other parts of Gary Works. "Some went to the tin mill at the Midwest Plant," he said. "Some went to the hot end side of the mill. There were openings to fill on the east side and on the west side. They have openings from retirements they need to fill." The tin mill at Gary Works may eventually come back, Millsap said. Cleveland-Cliffs and the United Steelworkers union recently filed a trade case against cheap tin imports, winning an initial victory in front of the International Trade Commission. "Our hope is that it's short-lived," he said. "It's not a permanent shutdown. It's an idling." Tin mill imports surged 30% last year, leading U.S. Steel to idle the No. 5 tin line at Gary Works and then the entire tin mill there." Tin is used in paint cans and cans for food like soup, fruit, vegetables, beans and chili. Canned food demand has been shrinking as more shoppers have come to favor fresh food, dispensing with processed food that has been taking up less shelf space in supermarkets. Many food manufacturers also have adopted alternative forms of packaging, such as microwavable plastic containers or cardboard cartons for soup. 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 D.C. 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 such as 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 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 has 22,000 electric vehicle charging stations worldwide. It aims to have 100,000 more by 2030 as it 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 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." Orland Parks Lea Luchini tried to answer the age-old question. How does someone live to be 100? Luchini, who turned 100 Feb. 15, had no answer. I dont have any secret. I just keep going, she said. When I was younger, I never even thought of living this long. Luchini was honored at the Feb. 20 Orland Park Board of Trustees meeting with several friends and family members showing their support at Village Hall. As she hit the century mark, Luchini was proud to say she is not on any medication, bucking the odds. A 2019 study by the Kaiser Family Foundation showed that 89% of those 65 or older take at least one prescription drug. I survived living to 100, and there is nothing wrong with me, she said. According to information supplied by her family, Luchini was born in 1923 in Gragnola, Italy, a small town in the mountains of northern Tuscany. She came to the Roseland neighborhood of Chicago with her mother Adele, and father, Emil, when she was 2. The family said she didnt speak English but soon learned and graduated from St. Willibrords School and St. Louis Academy High School. She met and later married active-duty World War II Navy Seaman August Luchini, another Roseland resident. In 1947, their family grew with the addition of their first daughter, Adele, followed by Alice in 1950 and Anita in 1954. Lea Luchini spent her days as a mother and working part-time at a furniture store. I handled the money, she said. The family said she always cared for her family, including her parents who lived within walking distance, and her daughters remember helping their grandparents with groceries and laundry. The family moved to Orland Park in 1973. The children were growing up, and the Luchinis had seven grandchildren, five of them living within walking distance of Gus and Leas Orland Park home. Lea eventually took an interest in selling jewelry at craft shows and got a chance to head back to Italy in 1974 for a homecoming. Gus died in 1994 and Lea worked at a local knitting shop, teaching others just as her mother had done for her. He also learned to jet-ski when she was 86. Her family grew to include five great-grandchildren. Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau read a proclamation recognizing Luchini. She keeps her mind engaged, stays active and is still up for new adventures, Pekau said. Some advice from Lea: Listen to your elders. They have much to contribute and dont let your newly widowed young mother move in with you temporarily. Lucini was given a plaque and told the mayor she didnt deserve all of the recognition. She also brought a box full of cards. Family members asked people to mail her birthday cards and several family members, friends and even strangers responded. Luchini still crochets and recently made and donated baby blankets for a charitiable cause. She also is preparing to go to Kalamazoo, Mich., for a craft show. I keep myself busy, said Luchini, who now uses a wheelchair. Even when I am at home, I try to stay busy. Im happy, she said. Its been a good life. A Northwest Indiana attorney convicted in federal court of possession of child pornography might never again practice law in the Hoosier State. The law license of Robert McMahon, 33, of Crown Point was indefinitely suspended last year by the Indiana Supreme Court on an interim basis after the five justices were notified of McMahon's conviction by the high court's disciplinary commission. Following its own investigation, the Supreme Court issued a new order Wednesday suspending McMahon's law license for a period of at least two years, without automatic reinstatement. The court said McMahon violated Indiana's professional conduct rules for attorneys by committing a criminal act that reflects adversely on his honesty, trustworthiness or fitness as a lawyer. Specifically, the court said McMahon's crime of possessing pornographic materials involving a child under age 12 was "insidious," and inflicted harm "on an extremely vulnerable victim." "An attorney who would commit such a depraved act cannot be entrusted with the responsibilities that accompany a license to practice law and, at a minimum, should be required to demonstrate his professional fitness before ever again practicing law in this state. The question before us, quite frankly, is whether (McMahon) should be afforded that opportunity," the court said. In a 3-2 ruling, the Supreme Court agreed to give McMahon a chance to someday regain his law license, in accordance with attorney discipline decisions in similar cases over the years. At the same time, the court said if McMahon seeks reinstatement it only will be granted "if he is able to prove his fitness to resume the practice of law by clear and convincing evidence, a burden that will be particularly steep given the severity of (McMahon's) misconduct." The two-year law license suspension without automatic reinstatement was supported by Justices Christopher Goff; Derek Molter, a Newton County native; and Geoffrey Slaughter, a Crown Point native. Chief Justice Loretta Rush and Justice Mark Massa dissented from the decision. They said McMahon should be permanently disbarred and never again work as a lawyer. Records show McMahon currently is incarcerated at the federal prison medical center in Lexington, Kentucky. His earliest possible release date from incarceration is Oct. 15, 2024, followed by three years of supervised release. McMahon's plea agreement also obligated him to forfeit to government investigators a mobile phone associated with his crime, to register as a sex offender and make restitution to his victims, according to court records. Records show McMahon previously worked as a deputy prosecutor in Lake and Porter counties, and as a judicial commissioner at the Lake Superior Court. Gallery: Indiana historical markers in the Region First Physician Great Sauk (Sac) Trail St. John's Lutheran Church Tolleston Dutch in the Calumet Region St. John Township School, District #2 The Lincoln Highway/The Ideal Section The Lincoln Highway/The Ideal Section Froebel School - side 1 Froebel School Stewart Settlement House Stewart Settlement House Origin of Dr. MLK Day Law Origin of Dr. MLK Day Law Bailly Homestead Iron Brigade Willow Creek Confrontation Ogden ski jump.jpg Teale 1.jpg Teale 2.jpg Steel 1.jpg Steel 2.jpg Civil War camps.jpg Old lighthouse.jpg Railroad.jpg Camp Anderson.jpg Boundary line 1.jpg Boundary line 2.jpg LaPorte courthouse 1.jpg LaPorte courthouse 2.jpg Carnegie 1.jpg Carnegie 2.jpg Rumely Co 1.jpg Rumely Co 2.jpg Lincoln train 1.jpg Lincoln train 2.jpg LaPorte university 1.jpg Laporte university 2.jpg Gary Roosevelt 1 Gary Roosevelt 2 CROWN POINT Recent legal rulings addressing the operation of the Lake County Jail are beginning to impact counties elsewhere in Indiana. In November, the Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed a Lake Superior Court ruling authorizing Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr. to ink contracts relating to the county jail without obtaining approval from the Lake County Board of Commissioners, so long as money for the purchases was appropriated by the county council. The courts said the sheriff's statutory obligation to "take care" of the county jail and its prisoners gives the sheriff the power to enter into contracts relating to the jail independent of the county executive. The commissioners have asked the Indiana Supreme Court to review those decisions. Records show the state's highest court has not yet decided whether to grant transfer in the case. In the meantime, the Court of Appeals on Thursday relied in part on the Lake County precedent to rule in favor of the Clinton County sheriff and his policy permitting inmates at the central Indiana jail to use electronic cigarettes and consume smokeless tobacco notwithstanding an order adopted by the county commissioners banning tobacco use in all county buildings. The unanimous ruling declares county commissioners do not have control over the acts of a sheriff when it comes to the sheriff taking reasonable precautions to protect the life, safety and health of an inmate in the county jail. "While the commissioners have the power to enact a general ordinance governing the use of e-cigarettes in county buildings under the Home Rule Act, the commissioners do not have the authority to regulate the use of e-cigarettes in the county jail because that power is entrusted in the sheriff's office pursuant to the take care provision," the appeals court said. Appeals Judge Melissa May, writing for the court, said the fact Clinton County Sheriff Richard Kelly is awaiting trial on felony allegations of conflict of interest and three counts of official misconduct is irrelevant to the sheriff's authority to manage the jail as he sees fit. According to court records, Kelly and his wife, Ashley, the jail matron, are accused of improperly contracting with their own company to run commissary operations at the jail, including the sale of e-cigarettes and tobacco products to jail inmates. Martinez also is under indictment on a felony charge of resisting law enforcement and misdemeanor reckless driving after allegedly failing to stop while driving an unmarked, county-owned Jeep TrackHawk at 96 mph in a 45-mph zone in what police described as a "completely reckless" manner in September 2021 as two Crown Point police officers chased him with their lights and sirens activated, records show. According to the sheriff's office, tobacco use is not permitted at the Lake County Jail. GARY Indiana University Northwest is facing a lawsuit over firing Mark McPhail, a tenured communications professor. McPhail is suing IUN, the university's board of trustees, Chancellor Ken Iwama and two other administrators in federal court. He says the university violated his freedom-of-speech rights, discriminated against him on the basis of race and illegally fired him. In the lawsuit, McPhail says that because he held a forum in which he argued IUNs campus climate contributed to racial disparities and criticized university administration for alleged lack of adherence to university policies, he was banned from teaching and his salary was reduced by 70%. When he appealed, he claims to have been fired abruptly and without a hearing. McPhail, who is Black, says his race was "a motivating factor" and the university administration "relied on stereotypes of Black men as irrationally angry and violent." The lawsuit says this is in violation of his First Amendment right to free speech, the due-process clause of the 14th Amendment, his employment contract, Indiana University policy and the Civil Rights Act of 1866. The forum, "Diversity: An unfulfilled promise at IU Northwest," in April 2018 was aimed at highlighting challenges faced by Black students at IUN and identifying ways in which IUN failed to support those students, according to court documents. Additionally, McPhail complained in August 2018 to university administration about the hiring of David Klamen now the dean of the School of Arts and one of the defendants in the case because he believed the hiring process was not transparent and was in violation of university policy, which mandates hiring decisions be "based upon (applicants) individual qualifications." After these two incidents, McPhail was sent to Indiana University Bloomington, the system's flagship campus, for a two-year assignment, according to the court documents. After McPhail's return to the Gary campus, he reportedly had a performance review with Klamen in July 2021. During that review, his teaching was characterized as "inadequate" due to his "reputation as a teacher" and "the contention that McPhail issued failing grades to too many students." McPhail refuted both of these, casting doubt on the unspecified reports administrators used to determine his reputation and claiming that the failing students didn't complete required coursework. Klamen reportedly called this an "attempt to shift blame to students for your own professional shortcomings. After the performance review and McPhail's response to it, Klamen recommended suspending the professor from teaching the fall semester and have his salary reduced by 75%, according to court documents. McPhail says this decision was made in retaliation for his complaints about racial discrimination on IUN's campus and his complaints about Klamens appointment. On Sept. 14, 2021, one day after he appealed his suspension, McPhail was terminated. In McPhail's termination letter, Vicki Roman-Lagunas executive vice chancellor and the final defendant in the case reportedly told him he was fired because he said "words to the effect that 'the only way to end racism is to kill all the white people'," according to court documents. McPhail denies saying this and denies threatening to kill anybody. In a response filed to the court, the defendants denied that McPhail's firing was connected to the April 2018 forum or to his complaints about Klamen's hiring. They also said McPhail "selectively quoted" Klamen's performance review in his lawsuit and they stand by the fact that he gave out failing grades to too many students, "an alarming number of which were students of color." Furthermore, they denied violating McPhail's employment contract or IUN policy, and allegations of racism. McPhail is seeking a jury trial. He hopes to receive reinstatement to his job as well as monetary damages. The American Association of University Professors has joined the fight, siding with McPhail. The AAUP's governing council voted Saturday to censure the university over the dismissal. This comes about a month after AAUP released an investigative report on the incident. The investigating committee deemed the charge that McPhail had made violent threats "implausible" and found McPhails allegation that the administrations actions were prompted by his criticism of the administrations handling of racial equity issues "highly credible." They called this a violation of his academic freedom and said IUN's "racial climate is unwelcoming to faculty members of color." In response to The Times' request for comment, IUN officials provided the following statement via email: "We disagree with the AAUP report and, because this involves ongoing litigation, we cannot comment further at this time." Gallery: The Times Photos of the Week Riding shotgun with the Gary Fire Department Valparaiso gymnastics regional Valparaiso gymnastics regional Valparaiso gymnastics regional Class 4A Sectional semi-final Class 4A Sectional semi-final 030523-spt-bbk-mor_1 030523-spt-bbk-mor_11 030523-spt-bbk-mor_2 Munster Superintendent Shadows Eads Elementary Student Munster superintendent shadows Eads Elementary Student Class 4A Sectional 2 quarterfinal Class 4A Sectional 2 quarterfinal 030223_spt-bbk-mun_4 030223_spt-bbk-mun_6 030223_spt-bbk-mun_1 Malden Solar hearing draws angry crowd Malden Solar hearing draws angry crowd 030123_spt-bbk-mun_1 030123_spt-bbk-mun_2 Ballet Hispanico hosts a dance workshop at IUN Screw Conveyor Corporation marks 90 years in Hammond Tri Kappa sorority is back in the chocolate egg business Tri Kappa sorority is back in the chocolate egg business Tri Kappa sorority is back in the chocolate egg business Gallery HTML code Class 4A Sectional semi-final Class 4A Sectional 2 quarterfinal LAPORTE In a move that appeared to surprise the judge, a LaPorte woman has opted to go to trial rather than plead guilty as expected for her alleged role in the 2021 torture death of her 4-year-old son. LaPorte County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Alevizos told attorneys at the status hearing Friday that he thought a plea agreement would be entered on behalf of Mary Yoder, 27. Instead, Alevizos set a trial for Sept. 25 upon the request from what appeared to be a new defense attorney in the case. The name of the attorney was not immediately available Friday morning. The move toward trial also surprised Knox resident Jenna Hullett, a second cousin to Judah Morgan, who raised the boy for the first several years of his life until the Indiana Department of Child Services ordered him placed with Yoder and the child's father, Alan Morgan. The boys body was found six months later. Hullett, who again wore a "Judahs Army" T-shirt, said she wanted to see a guilty plea in the case to bring some resolution, but she is now hoping that Yoder spends more time behind bars if she is convicted by a jury. Judah's badly battered and starved body was discovered Oct. 11, 2021, at his parents' home in Hamlet. Officials said the boy had been bound with duct tape, confined in a dark basement for days at a time, beaten and starved. Yoder is charged with Level 1 felony neglect of a dependent resulting in death, Level 5 neglect of a dependent involving cruel confinement, Level 5 felony domestic battery and two counts of Level 6 felony neglect of a dependent, court records show. She also faces misdemeanor counts of cruelty to an animal and failure to make a report. Alan Morgan pleaded guilty to murdering the boy and was sentenced by Alevizos in November to 70 years behind bars. He recently announced his intention to appeal the sentence. Rep. Mike Andrade, D-Munster, is hosting two town-hall meetings Saturday to discuss the proposed new laws eligible for final approval during the second half of the 2023 Indiana General Assembly. The free events are set for 10 to 11 a.m. at the Griffith-Calumet Township Branch of the Lake County Public Library, 1215 E. 45th Ave., Griffith; and noon to 1 p.m. at the Lincoln Community Center, 2450 Lincoln St., Highland. Andrade hopes the first session primarily will be attended by Griffith and Schererville residents, and the second session by Munster and Highland residents. Pending legislation must win approval by the Indiana House and Senate with identical language on or before April 29 to go to Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb to be signed into law. 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 A 300-home development set to be constructed south of Aberdeen is likely to be eligible for annexation by Valparaiso on terms similar to Aberdeen's proposed annexation. The Indiana Senate could vote as soon as next week to approve House Bill 1418 and send it to Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb to be signed into law. The House-endorsed legislation was unanimously recommended for final passage Thursday by the Senate Committee on Local Government after a presentation by its sponsors, Rep. Ed Soliday and Sen. Ed Charbonneau, both R-Valparaiso. "Two Eds are better than one," Charbonneau quipped during the committee hearing. The plan would permit the new development to become part of Valparaiso, even though it's 4 miles outside the city's boundaries, by following a process established last year for noncontinuous Aberdeen to voluntarily join the city. The process requires the new development's homeowners association to initiate an annexation by Valparaiso after a financial study and public hearings. That way, the residents know the financial impact of becoming part of Valparaiso and a majority has an opportunity to overrule the homeowners association and halt the annexation. "It's basically the same language as the previous one," Soliday said. "They have to vote and request annexation from the city." Soliday could not say how long the potential annexation process might take. He noted that Aberdeen is in the early stages nearly a year after winning state authorization to move forward in House Enrolled Act 1110 (2022). Attorney Brian Burdick, speaking on behalf of Valparaiso, told the committee that city leaders support the voluntary annexation process for Aberdeen and the new development. Soliday said the few homes between Aberdeen and the new development will not be compelled to join Valparaiso if Aberdeen and the new development choose to do so. He also said Valparaiso plans to provide water utility services to the new development as it does in Aberdeen. 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 Earlier this year, members of the Interfaith Action Network joined hundreds of faith leaders at the Statehouse to show their support for SB 1 and ask that the legislation be fully funded. The estimated cost for the mental health bill is $130 million. Now that the Common Council has appropriated the needed money, the city will put out a Request for Proposals for contractors who will help implement the mobile mental health unit. "We know that the safest communities are not the ones with the most police in them," said Councilwoman Lori Latham, D-at large. "The safest communities are the ones that treat the whole person, that have the best jobs, the best educational opportunities, the best public health services. "So while this is a celebration, it is also a challenge to keep going, keep organizing, and let's keep moving forward and building those critical services." PROIA You used to be one, and now youre one of three. CHON Its definitely changing. Women are far more comfortable, and youve just got to break the ice, just jump in. As Dana said, actually once you get in, people have lots to say. Theyll talk to you about anything. But its first getting in, and when you open the door the first time. LI Its just dudes. CHON It is a little, and theyre looking at you. I wouldnt say this is true anymore for authorized dealers, but it sure was true for me at the beginning: They always assumed I was a plus one, an unknowledgeable plus one. I remember I had to say a couple times, No, hes my plus one. Hes with me. He doesnt know. I know something. Hes wearing a quartz piece. Do you feel its getting better? CHON Definitely. Thanks to certain groups and certain individuals, female collectors who now have social media presence, who are getting attention. But also, the brands are starting to realize women have buying power, right? Its not just the odd one who goes in and spends her own money and has an opinion, has some taste and wants to buy something for herself. Brands are business, right? They realize this. Youve been disrespectful, youve been ignoring a good segment that has money to spend, so I think this is only a good thing. At least from what Ive seen over the last three or four years, women have a lot more confidence to speak up, and not just opinionated women like me. 1. Prosecutors in New York signaled to Donald Trump that he is likely to be charged with a crime. The Manhattan district attorneys office recently informed the former presidents lawyers that he could face criminal charges for his role in the payment of hush money to a porn star, according to four people with knowledge of the matter. The prosecutors gave Trump until next week to testify before the grand jury that has been hearing evidence in the potential case an offer that Trump will likely decline. Such offers almost always indicate that an indictment is close. A real estate market that is threatening the financial system and holding back the economy. A tech industry that is being targeted by aggressive U.S. efforts to cut it off from the world. Tech companies that are trying to keep pace with fast-moving developments in artificial intelligence. As its trade and economic rivalry with the West has intensified, China has launched a government overhaul intended to address some of its biggest stated priorities. A series of changes handed down from the highest reaches of the government were approved Friday at the annual gathering of the countrys legislature. That body, the National Peoples Congress, also confirmed Xi Jinping for a third term as Chinas president. The moves reflect broader changes by Mr. Xi to centralize Communist Party control throughout the government. Several regulatory agencies are being realigned to stabilize the financial sector, which faces a potential onslaught of losses from loans made to troubled real estate developers. In another key change, the central governments bank regulator will start playing a bigger role in supervising thousands of fast-growing local banks, which continue to make many of the riskiest loans. To boost tech, Chinas primary scientific policy agency is being refocused on Mr. Xis goal of having China make its own advanced semiconductors and not rely on imports. The Manhattan district attorneys office recently signaled to Donald J. Trumps lawyers that he could face criminal charges for his role in the payment of hush money to a porn star, the strongest indication yet that prosecutors are nearing an indictment of the former president, according to four people with knowledge of the matter. The prosecutors offered Mr. Trump the chance to testify next week before the grand jury that has been hearing evidence in the potential case, the people said. Such offers almost always indicate an indictment is close; it would be unusual for the district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, to notify a potential defendant without ultimately seeking charges against him. In New York, potential defendants have the right to answer questions in the grand jury before they are indicted, but they rarely testify, and Mr. Trump is likely to decline the offer. His lawyers could also meet privately with the prosecutors in hopes of fending off criminal charges. Any case would mark the first indictment of a former American president, and could upend the 2024 presidential race in which Mr. Trump remains a leading contender. It would also elevate Mr. Bragg to the national stage, though not without risk, and a conviction in the complex case is far from assured. These days the deficit scolds are much less influential than they were. The news media is, by and large, treating Republicans claims that they have a plan to balance the budget with the ridicule they deserve. And the parties themselves have changed: Democrats have become more unapologetically progressive, while the G.O.P. seems far less interested in fiscal policy, or policy in general, than in the past. So, about President Bidens budget: The starting point for this budget is that Bidens people evidently view deficits as a source of concern, but not a crisis. Overall, Bidens budget proposes increasing social benefits on a number of fronts even in the face of rising debt. It nonetheless proposes to reduce the budget deficit, but only modestly yes, it claims to shrink the deficit over the next decade by almost $3 trillion, but thats less than 1 percent of G.D.P. How can Biden reduce deficits while expanding social programs? Mainly by raising taxes on corporations and wealthy individuals, with an assist from cost-cutting measures in health care, especially using Medicares bargaining power to reduce spending on prescription drugs. Are Bidens numbers plausible? Yes. Notably, the economic projections underlying the budget are reasonable, not very different from those of the Congressional Budget Office. The projections even assume a substantial but temporary rise in unemployment over the next year or so. Now, even economists like yours truly, who have been fairly relaxed about budget deficits, generally believe that at some point well have to do more than this. Well need a much broader effort to bring down health care costs, and were also going to need more revenue than you can raise solely by taxing Americans with very high incomes. But Bidens plan is a step in the right direction. There really should be an Academy Award for best house in a feature film. Past winners might have included the charming houseboat where Tom Hanks wooed Meg Ryan in Sleepless in Seattle, or the gaudy Miami mansion in Scarface where Al Pacinos character met his end. These real-life homes for made-up characters are movie stars in their own right. But which deserve top billing? To find the houses that movie fans are most curious about, LAHomes, a real estate listing site, found the average number of monthly Google searches over the past five years for the most popular movie titles and the word house (and similar queries). The 25 most-searched houses from the movies are revealed in this weeks chart. For some students, a humorous name is as important to a BORG as the electrolytes. A TikTok prompt for name suggestions posted last month by Benjamin Giller, a sophomore at San Diego State University, has been viewed nearly a million times on the platform and received hundreds of comments. Some students said they were drawn to BORGs because of their supposed safety benefits. It is nice that you can put a cap on it instead of, like, if youre at the bar and you have an open drink, someone can easily just, like, roofie you, said Ms. Keane, 21, referring to the so-called date rape drug Rohypnol. Ms. Alonzo echoed that sentiment, noting that she liked how BORGs allowed her to be in control and aware of exactly how much liquor was in her jug. On TikTok, a video highlighting how BORGs could be considered a harm-prevention tactic has been viewed more than three million times. But not everyone is on board with the BORG. The Amherst Fire Department reported 28 requests for ambulance transports during the Blarney Blowout on March 4. Ed Blaguszewski, a spokesman for the University of Massachusetts Amherst, declined to comment on how many ambulance calls were requested in prior years, but said this years figure was higher than in the past. (In 2014, CBS News reported that police officers in riot gear were called in to handle what the school described as unruly behavior at the same event. Over 70 arrests were made.) I think it really can do a lot of harm, Dr. Sarah Andrews, an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, said of the trend. Its promoting false ideas about drinking. She acknowledged the importance of college students being aware of what is in their drinks, but she said she did not believe BORGs were the answer to the problem. Noras disaster has been less visible. To the outside eye she has lacked for little, and with Torvald about to become the manager of a bank, she will soon lack for nothing. But unknown to him, that security has come at a terrible price, with more yet to be paid. Having borrowed money secretly to save his life during a health crisis, she finds herself under a new threat from the lender, the disreputable Nils Krogstad (Okieriete Onaodowan). Deprived of any independent vision of the world, she can imagine only three solutions. One is to tell Torvald the truth, hoping he will offer to do the most beautiful thing take the blame. Another is to ask their best friend, Dr. Rank (Michael Patrick Thornton), who has long been in love with her, to pay Krogstad off. But the first would be to defer again to the supposedly greater moral fortitude of men, and the second to make herself not just Torvalds doll but Ranks. The third is suicide. That we see these options so starkly is because everything else is pared away. Herzogs dialogue, pruning the social floweriness and conversational whorls of Ibsens naturalism, gets right to the point of every line, leaving the text raw and red, as if exfoliated. What the first English translation of the play, by William Archer in 1889, rendered as You see, it is very difficult to keep an account of a business matter of that kind becomes, for Herzog, Its impossible to keep track five words instead of 17. The play, usually nosing past three hours, comes in shy of two. But in cutting and modernizing the language, Herzog does not make the mistake of trashing the social conventions that create the drama in the first place. She doesnt need to; most of them are still too familiar. In Torvalds presence, Nora remains a recognizable type, the strategically chirpy songbird pursing her lips and cooing in baby talk. Yet in her superb scenes with Kristine and Rank, the only two people she is not afraid of, we see her other side: calculating, callous and kind when she can afford it. He will make you laugh, though. And with his director, Jordan Fein, and fellow actors, Dickie Hearts and Alejandra Ospina, he will change the way you think about disability and prompt you to think of accessibility as something that can deepen a dramatic experience when its built into the architecture of the piece. The autobiographical stories here set on buses, or on Grindr dates, or on the pitted streets of New York are calibrated to blast away condescension and replace it with something closer to comprehension. Partly, theyre about how arduous it can be to navigate a world thats oblivious to your comfort and safety, because it wasnt built with your kind of body in mind. But these stories are also about the body as an instrument of pleasure, a vessel of longing, a means of communication. Presented by the Public and the Bushwick Starr, Dark Disabled Stories is a highly theatrical, gracefully layered model of inventive inclusivity. Haddad and Hearts, a Deaf actor who radiates charisma, play parallel versions of a character called Ryan. Haddad speaks the lines; Hearts signs them. (The director of artistic sign language is Andrew Morrill.) The written dialogue is projected, attractively, on the upstage wall. Ospina spends most of the show just offstage, periodically speaking audio description that is anything but intrusive. When she says that the set is not merely very, very pink but in fact Benjamin Moores Island Sunset pink, this is valuable intel for us all. (Set and costume design are by dots, lighting by Oona Curley, sound by Kathy Ruvuna, video by Kameron Neal.) Ospina also briefly takes the stage in her wheelchair to tell her own dark story, about what its like to be trapped in a subway station with the elevators out. Its not the only tale that might make you wish, urgently, that the M.T.A. would send a delegation to see this play. A man who fatally shot a woman and injured four others last year at a protest against police killings in Portland, Ore., pleaded guilty on Wednesday to second-degree murder and other charges, the authorities said. The man, Benjamin Smith, 44, who the authorities said confronted a group protesting at a park near his house, also pleaded guilty to four counts of attempted murder, three counts of first-degree assault and one count of second-degree assault, according to records from the Multnomah County Courthouse. Mr. Smith faces a maximum possible penalty of life in prison at his sentencing on April 18. His roommate, Kristine Christenson, said in an interview in February, 2022, that Mr. Smith had been radicalized in recent years, professing his hatred for Antifa, Black Lives Matter and those damn commies. Katherine Knapp, the wife of the 60-year-old woman who was killed, Brandy Knightly, told KOIN 6, a TV station, on Wednesday: Today, we can take some small satisfaction in knowing Benjamin Smith finally had to accept the truth and concede the fact that he is guilty as charged. Antonio Brown, who said that Ms. Taylors killing led him to become a political activist in the citys Black community, scoffed at the idea that policing in Louisville would improve because of the report. He noted that the mayor allotted $15.6 million only last week to outfit a new Police Department headquarters and an officers wellness center, with exercise equipment and mental health counselors, even as the city was investigating what officers said was an accidental shooting of two Black teenagers. I have no faith in this system, Mr. Brown said. If we want something done, weve got to do it ourselves. My suggestion is for us to run for seats and join the police force. The River City Fraternal Order of Police, the union representing the citys police officers, has criticized the report as an unfair assessment that does not account for the quality work done by many officers. Unfortunately, no law enforcement agency is without flaws, the group said in a statement. There have been instances where officers have acted in a manner that is not consistent with the values, ethics and morals of good policing. Some of those instances have been referenced in the D.O.J. report. However, there are protocols in place to address those transgressions and officers have been held accountable. Lt. Daniel Lewis, who serves on the Violent Crime Unit, said he believed the report inaccurately portrayed officers as biased and racist. That is the way I read it, he said. WASHINGTON House Republicans on Thursday began their promised investigation into whether people charged with crimes in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol have been mistreated in jail, fulfilling a pledge G.O.P. leaders made to their right flank. The investigation part of a broader effort by Republicans to rewrite the history of the riot in part by portraying participants as the true victims has been a top priority of Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican of Georgia. On Thursday, Ms. Greene wrote to the D.C. mayor, Muriel Bowser, demanding answers to questions, a tour of the correctional facility in southeastern Washington, and access to staff and inmates to conduct interviews by March 23. She and two other lawmakers also asked for all documents and communications about the Jan. 6 detainees complaints regarding the conditions. Eyewitness accounts of conditions at the D.C. jail facilities particularly regarding the treatment of Jan. 6 detainees paint a picture of despair, hopelessness, and a severe abuse of justice, Ms. Greene wrote in the letter, which was also signed by Representative James R. Comer, Republican of Kentucky and the chairman of the Oversight Committee, and Representative Clay Higgins, Republican of Louisiana. No prisoner in the United States should be treated in this fashion. A former Ohio House of Representatives speaker was found guilty on Thursday by a federal jury of participating in a racketeering conspiracy that involved nearly $61 million in bribes and a $1.3 billion bailout for two struggling nuclear power plants, the authorities said. Larry Householder, the former Ohio House speaker who was once one of the states most powerful officials, and Matthew Borges, a former chairman of the Ohio Republican Party, face maximum prison sentences of 20 years each for their roles in the scheme. A nuclear energy company financed Mr. Householders election and bankrolled efforts to push the bailout through the Ohio House and defeat a ballot measure that would have overturned it, and then sent him and others bribes, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said. The F.B.I. did not identify which energy company was involved, but the U.S. Justice Department noted that FirstEnergy Corporation agreed to pay a $230 million fine for conspiring to bribe public officials. Mr. Householders attorneys will most certainly appeal the decision, Steven L. Bradley, one of Mr. Householders lawyers, said. South Africa: Government condemns violent protests Government has condemned the disruptive actions of some protesting workers at some government facilities. The government condemns the disruptive actions displayed yesterday and continuing today by some members of trade unions at some health and other government facilities around the country,which affected access to urgently required health care by citizens whose right to life and health is constitutional, the Department of Public Service and Administration said on Friday. The department said government is concerned about protests that are currently ongoing in the country and are taking on a nature that is not reflective of defending democracy and human rights. Government welcomes the call by the Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC) for all parties involved in the public service wage negotiations to return to the bargaining council to continue with negotiations. Government reiterates that no one has the authority to block anyone from accessing healthcare and other government facilities in the country. The right to have access to healthcare services is a basic human right guaranteed by the Constitution. The government acknowledges the right of labour to raise their concerns, however, the infringement on the basic human right goes against the law and will not be tolerated, the department said. Government has called upon all parties to remain committed to the process of the Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council Collective Agreement to arrive at a solution that serves the best interests of the country. Government is alive to the challenges affecting society; however, we cannot use violence to make our voices heard. Our democracy offers many avenues for people or communities to address any grievance. All stakeholders involved are urged to engage in discussion and resolve issues peacefully. Whilst the right to protest is guaranteed in the Constitution, it has to be done so within the confines of the law. Any deviation from the law, such as illegal protests, destruction of property, infringement of the rights of others, intimidation, violence, and damage to infrastructure, amongst others are viewed as criminal activities, the department said. The department said the principle of no work no pay will apply to public servants taking part in the strike during working hours. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2023-03-10. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. WASHINGTON Saudi Arabia is seeking security guarantees from the United States, help with developing a civilian nuclear program and fewer restrictions on U.S. arms sales as its price for normalizing relations with Israel, people familiar with the exchanges say. If sealed, the deal could set up a major political realignment of the Middle East. Riyadhs ambitious request offers President Biden the chance to broker a dramatic agreement that would reshape Israels relationship with the most powerful Arab state. It could also fulfill his pledge to build on the Trump-era Abraham Accords, which brokered similar diplomatic deals between Israel and other Arab nations, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco. A normalization deal would also fulfill one of the most cherished goals of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, capping what he considers a legacy of increasing Israels security against its archenemy, Iran. The deal would strengthen regional alliances, analysts say, while downgrading the relative importance of the Palestinian issue. Officials and experts in the United States and the Middle East were divided on how seriously to take the proposal, given the frosty relations between Mr. Biden and Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabias crown prince. The power had been out for a week with snow to the rafters in Crestline when the neighbors found 93-year-old Elinor Dolly Avenatti bundled up in a chair in front of her fireplace, which had gone cold. Barbie Hughes, 39, the clerk at the local hardware store, was hit by a vehicle on a dark, snow-covered road just after midnight near Big Bear Lake; she died at the hospital. Alden Park Thayer, 85, an Air Force veteran, a man of faith and a retired professional baker, died at his Lake Arrowhead home as the snow drifts outside piled up to 10 feet, then 14 feet. His daughter, Lisa Thayer, had sat by his side singing How Great Thou Art. The roads were impassable, and the emergency officials said it would be a week until they could retrieve his body, and so, Ms. Thayer said, for the next five days it lay on a mattress with a pillow and blanket in the garage. As the mountain communities of Southern California braced for an incoming atmospheric river, local authorities, stunned survivors and close-knit neighbors began to sort out the toll from a staggering, two-week onslaught of snow. President Xiomara Castro of Honduras signed an executive order on Wednesday that lifted a longtime ban on emergency contraceptive pills, delivering on a campaign promise for a policy change that was sought by feminist groups for years. Ms. Castro, who signed the order on International Womens Day, said on Twitter that the emergency contraceptive pill was part of womens reproductive rights, and not abortive, citing the World Health Organization. The order was celebrated by human rights and feminist organizations, and it was a major victory for Ms. Castro, who was elected the first female president of Honduras in 2021 and campaigned on overturning the ban on emergency contraceptive pills, among other issues. But, in a country that is heavily Catholic, Ms. Castros order still found resistance. Mirtha Gutierrez, Hondurass human rights secretary, said that the presidents order was a great step and that the Honduran government would continue to do more for women. MEXICO CITY Five men, lying face down with their hands tied, were found by the Mexican authorities on Thursday along with a letter purportedly written by a powerful criminal cartel, blaming the men for a recent attack on four Americans, according to two people familiar with the investigation. The note apologized for the assault, which left two Americans and one Mexican dead, and claimed that the cartel was offering up the men who had carried it out, according to photos reviewed by The Times. The people who described the discovery were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. We have decided to hand over those involved and directly responsible for the events, who at all times acted of their own volition, the letter said. The five men were found, alive, along with the note, in Matamoros, the border city on the Rio Grande where the Americans were attacked. It was not clear whether the message was accurate or actually written by the cartel. The Mexican authorities will question the five men, officials said, to try to determine whether they actually participated in the abduction and killings. Xi Jinping solidified his status as Chinas most powerful leader in decades by sweeping into a new term as president on Friday, as he steels the country for an era of superpower rivalry and seeks to revive a battered economy. The unanimous vote on the presidency by the Communist Party-controlled legislature formalized Mr. Xis continued dominance of Chinese politics after he had already claimed a fresh term as party leader in October. He will keep holding the three main crowns of power in China party, military and state with no rivals or potential successors vying for attention. With his personal power secure, Mr. Xi, 69, is now casting himself as the strong leader that China needs in a hostile world, dismissive of the criticisms that his autocratic style is adding to the countrys dangers. The partys heavy-handed pursuit of zero Covid dragged on the economy, set off rare, widespread protests and added to investor worries about the countrys long-term growth prospects. Under Mr. Xi, Chinas relations with the West have become increasingly strained, especially over Beijings rising pressure on Taiwan and Chinese closeness to Russia throughout the war in Ukraine. KYIV, Ukraine Russia launched its biggest aerial barrage in weeks on Thursday, blasting targets across Ukraine with a diverse array of weapons, including its newest hypersonic missiles, in what it said was retaliation for an armed incursion into Russian territory last week. Volleys of missiles streaked into Kyiv and other cities overnight and in the predawn, setting off air raid sirens and jarring people from their sleep with thunderous booms, and killing at least six people, Ukrainian officials said. The strikes included six of the new Russian missiles known as Kinzhals, the most Russia has used in a single wave since the war began a year ago, according to Ukraines Air Force. They are hypersonic meaning they travel at more than five times the speed of sound, and Russia has hinted at much higher speeds and can maneuver in flight, making them all but impossible to shoot down. Several missiles hit electrical power plants, damaging three of them, continuing a Russian campaign to black out Ukrainian cities and undermine morale, and Moscows forces followed their usual tactic of trying to overwhelm air defenses with waves of missiles of various kinds and drones fired at intervals through the night. Two men in lavender puffer vests and jean shorts strike a pose. Together, they scratch their noses. And then they go right back to the pose. This happens in the opening duet of Jordan Demetrius Lloyds Blackbare in the Basement, which had its debut at Danspace Project on Thursday. Lloyd is a young choreographer who made a splash last year staging a performance in a schoolyard near his home in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Blackbare, his first evening-length commission, extends the impression of a distinct voice still developing. All three shows are sold out. That moment in the duet is indicative of the 50-minute works attention to detail and destabilizing use of form. The nose scratching is casual, seemingly a break in form, but since the two men do it in unison, the doubled gesture is as choreographed, as formal, as the pose. Much else in this duet for Lloyd and Owen Prum is foundational. It has a stop-and-start rhythm of quick-freeze balletic poses and long pauses set against bursts of larger movements and loud footfalls. The rhythm and tone call to mind a military exercise, but something is off, disorienting. The men keep looking around, and up. The OKeeffe painting, which depicts a New Mexico landscape of rolling hills with blood-red hues, is the crown jewel of the Brauers collection and has been exhibited in Ireland, Spain and Canada. A sale is estimated to bring in $7 million. The orange-tinged work by Church, one of the Hudson River Schools most successful artists, is valued at $1 million, and the university hopes to make another $2 million by selling Childe Hassams The Silver Veil and the Golden Gate, a coastal landscape by a pioneering American Impressionist. Schools typically court controversy when they announce they will sell artworks to raise funds, an act known as deaccessioning. Several sales have resulted in sanctions from art associations. To settle a lawsuit, Brandeis University, in Waltham, Mass., reversed its decision to sell off its artwork and close its museum, part of a plan it had made in 2009 during the Great Recession. Valparaisos desire to pay for work on the dorms with proceeds from the paintings has received pushback. Students delivered dozens of letters opposing the sale to the presidents office, and 75 faculty members expressed their disappointment in another letter. The problem is that the whole process has been secret, said Ruff, who retired from teaching in July and now serves as a volunteer gallery attendant at the museum, where his wife long worked as an associate curator and registrar. The faculty senate resolution against the sale passed, 13-6, with two people abstaining. Jennifer Hora, a political science professor who voted in favor of the resolution, said she worried that if the sale went through, the wishes of future donors might not be respected: My true fear is none of this will be a victory for anyone. One of the no votes came from Sami Khorbotly, an electrical and computer engineering professor, who said, While we all appreciate the art and respect it, I think that we needed to prioritize, and our students are our top priority. BERLIN In 2018, after a visit to Berghain, the storied techno club here, the saxophonist and curator Ryan Muncy called the composer Ash Fure, a friend and collaborator. God spoke to me in the subwoofers, Muncy told her. Bring me Ash Fure. Soon Fure, at the time a fellow at the American Academy in Rome, boarded a plane to Berlin. She and Muncy went straight to Berghain. I remember so vividly every single detail, Fure said in a video interview. She recalled watching as the other club-goers shed their coats and donned futuristic outfits. She explored the labyrinthine architecture, discovering vantage points from which to watch and listen. She got close to the famous Funktion-One sound system, which engulfed her with its volume but never hurt her ears. She stayed for 14 hours. It all had this wild warping effect, Fure said. Back in Rome, she felt the experience staying with her. It felt really spiral, she said, referring to Berghain. You keep going around and around, you get deeper and deeper in this place. Classical musicians are no strangers to clubs. In 2001, the record label Deutsche Grammophon founded a concert series, Yellow Lounge, that included performances in places like Berghain. For decades, the Republican Party has seemed to care more about labor unions than the Democratic Party has. Many Republican officials treat organized labor as their political enemy. When Republicans gain power in a state capital, they often try to pass right to work laws meant to shrink unions. And these laws have their intended effect: They reduce the number of workers who belong to unions, reduce Democrats share of the vote in elections and reduce the number of working-class candidates who run for office, academic research has found. Modern Democratic politicians, on the other hand, have often sat out the political battle. Every Democratic president for decades, including Joe Biden, has said he favors a federal law to make it easier for workers to organize and each of those presidents has failed to pass such a law. Democratic leaders in Congress also have not made labor law a priority. Nor have many Democratic governors. Jamelle Bouie, a Times Opinion columnist, captured this asymmetry when he wrote: Republicans and other conservatives know who their enemies are they know that organized labor is a key obstacle to dismantling the social safety net. The question is whether Democrats understand that their fortunes are also bound up in the fate of workers. The pinched cylinders of Russian-built nuclear power plants that dot Europes landscape are visible reminders of the crucial role that Russia still plays in the continents energy supply. Europe moved with startling speed to wean itself off Russian oil and natural gas in the wake of war in Ukraine. But breaking the longstanding dependency on Russias vast nuclear industry is a much more complicated undertaking. Russia, through its mammoth state-owned nuclear power company, Rosatom, dominates the global nuclear supply chain. It was Europes third-largest supplier of uranium in 2021, accounting for 20 percent of the total. With few ready alternatives, there has been scant support for sanctions against Rosatom despite urging from the Ukrainian government in Kyiv. For countries with Russian-made reactors, reliance runs deep. In five European Union countries, every reactor 18 in total was built by Russia. In addition, two more are scheduled to start operating soon in Slovakia, and two are under construction in Hungary, cementing partnerships with Rosatom far into the future. Times Insider explains who we are and what we do and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together. Living in Los Angeles two decades ago, I had seen the headlines about Anthony Pellicano, the notorious private investigator who had defended people accused of rape, tapped phone lines, bribed police officers and was linked to a threat against a reporter in which a dead fish was left on her car. But in 2008, Mr. Pellicano, who had already served time for illegal possession of hand grenades and C-4 explosives, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for wiretapping, racketeering, conspiracy and wire fraud and, seemingly, eternal infamy. He disappeared from public life or so I thought. In January 2021, I was reading an article in Variety and did a double take. Anthony Pellicano Is Back in Business and Working for Joel Silver, the headline read. (Mr. Silver is a longtime movie producer.) No way, I thought. How could this possibly be true? Back when Mr. Pellicano was making headlines for bringing Cosa Nostra vibes to Beverly Hills, he seemed like an isolated offender, an invader of privacy on a grand scale, the likes of which would not be seen again soon. But as my reporting partner Liz Day and I re-examined the story, we realized that the issues his case raised remain relevant today. Roald Dahls Matilda the Musical Stream it on Netflix. Every great kids movie needs a memorable villain, and Emma Thompsons character in Matilda, with her yellow teeth and exaggerated physicality, is tough to forget. Adapted from the Olivier- and Tony Award-winning stage musical, this version of Roald Dahls beloved book gives kids someone to root for (Alisha Weir as the brilliant, telekinetic Matilda Wormwood) and a delicious antagonist in the form of a cruel, shoulder-padded boarding school headmistress named Agatha Trunchbull (Thompson). Matilda comes into the world like any cute baby only, as she tells us in her introductory song, where other childrens parents say things like Shes an angel, Matildas tell her shes a good case for population control. She finds acceptance via a teacher, Miss Honey (Lashana Lynch), and pushes back against the tyranny of Trunchbull, her parents and any adult who tries to crush her spirit. You might not want your kids to revolt in real life if it means they refuse to brush their teeth or go to sleep at night, but introducing them to a hero whos a precocious little girl, rebelling out of a desire to be loved for who she is, sounds pretty good. Turning Red Stream it on Disney+. Almost as soon as Busick and his co-writer James Vanderbilt decided to set the film in New York, eager to move the franchise to the big city, they envisioned a subway sequence. But Vanderbilt, who grew up nearby in Connecticut and would frequently visit, wanted to subvert the familiar idea that a relatively abandoned car was the most terrifying scenario. That thing where its 2 in the morning was never scary to me, he said. Whats scary to me is its really hot and there are 150 people in the car. Take Ghostface out of it. That, to me, is still scary. Add in Halloween and the accompanying disguises and its only more unsettling. In the film, the Carpenters and their friends decide theyll be safer if they all travel together in a very public setting. Amid aggressive crowds, the doors close before two members of the group can get on, and, with cellphone service spotty and plenty of potential slashers present, the plan goes awry. The films directors, Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, were immediately excited by the prospect of a Ghostface attack on the subway. The whole movie is built around these ideas of danger in public and whats right in front of you, and that, for us, was the scene where all of that comes together, Bettinelli-Olpin said. At the same time, they were aware of the challenges. For budgetary reasons, production took place in Montreal, where the transit system looks nothing like New Yorks. They considered importing a decommissioned PATH car from New Jersey, but it was too heavy to sit on their production stage. It ultimately fell to the production designer Michele Laliberte to recreate a 1 train from scratch. Shooting took place over three days and involved 140 to 180 extras, clothed in costumes ranging from normal businessman to Debbie Harry in David Cronenbergs Videodrome. (Fun fact: If you can spot her, its Harrys actual costume.) They have the same surname and were high school classmates in Queens in the late 1970s, but Mayor Eric Adams and the City Council speaker, Adrienne Adams, appear to have different agendas for the city. That was one takeaway from the speakers State of the City address this week. The mayor, who listened from the audience, gave his own State of the City speech in January. I asked Emma G. Fitzsimmons, who covers New York politics as our City Hall bureau chief, to discuss the divergent views that were reflected in the two speeches. How did Speaker Adamss State of the City speech differ from the mayors? Adrienne Adams focused on different policies from the mayor, like 3-K for All and half-price MetroCards for poor New Yorkers, and she called forcefully for closing the Rikers Island jail complex by 2027. She said the conditions there now are only creating harm for everyone there. And she wasnt just speaking for herself. She said her mother had worked as a correction officer at Rikers and had told her, Baby, they should have closed that place a long time ago. Craig Hart is troubled by a multimillion-dollar puzzle: How to get his condo building to conform with the citys sweeping new climate law before potentially steep penalties begin next year. Ive been looking at every option I can think of, and I dont know what to do, said Mr. Hart, the board president of the Washington Heights condo. Mr. Hart, who studied ways to prevent climate change at M.I.T., believes in the aims of the new measure: to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions that are warping weather patterns and raising sea levels. Now, months before compliance begins, a mix of real estate interest groups are lobbying to delay the process or carve out exemptions, claiming that the requirements are too burdensome for residential boards with limited funding. But environmental groups warn that weakening the law could imperil its goals at a time when climate change is already endangering the city. Mr. Hart, for one, is not sure where he will find the money to get his century-old condo into compliance. Should he add solar panels and heat pumps to a roof already due for a $650,000 replacement? Install an updated fossil-fuel-burning boiler system that will still fall short as requirements become stricter in coming years? What about a laundry list of other costly repairs and renovations? The news last summer hit his friends like a punch in the gut: Malachy McCourt had entered hospice care. It wasnt a complete surprise. Mr. McCourt was about to turn 91, and he was once known as much for his drinking as for his status as a public raconteur. He was part of a lineage that includes Jimmy Breslin and Pete Hamill, bar-stool champions of the little guy and dispensers of hard-earned wisdom. But very soon, it seemed, the last of this breed would leave the earth. Throughout his long and colorful career, Mr. McCourt suffered many misfortunes but always bounced back. This time he would not, and another chapter in New York history would be closed. Then on Nov. 9 came another not-quite shock: Mr. McCourt had been kicked out of hospice for not dying quickly enough. Who but Malachy McCourt could outrun the hospice? said Colum McCann, the Irish-born novelist of Let the Great World Spin, who now lives in New York and has known Mr. McCourt for more than 20 years. Malachy was provocative before it was fashionable, using his platform to speak out about social injustice. Even in his 90s, he supports young talent, especially in the Irish American community. He has helped us uncover what it means to be an immigrant away from home, how one exists in new space, always pushing the edge. A former New York City police officer was convicted this week of several crimes for her role in the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, during which, prosecutors said, she pushed against and slapped the arms of police officers, all while yelling and wielding a tambourine. A federal jury in Washington, D.C., found the retired officer, Sara Carpenter, guilty Thursday on seven felony and misdemeanor charges that included civil disorder, obstruction of official proceeding and entering or remaining in a restricted building or ground, according to court records. Ms. Carpenter, 53, is among about 1,000 people to be charged in connection with the Jan. 6 riot, prosecutors said. She and other supporters of former President Donald J. Trump stormed the Capitol that day in a bid to disrupt the certification of President Biden as the winner of the 2020 election. The first person to be convicted, Guy Wesley Reffitt, was found guilty last March of obstructing Congresss certification of the election results and other crimes. Image Security footage captured Ms. Carpenter, left, wielding a tambourine inside the Capitol. Credit... Department of Justice Ms. Carpenter was charged after security cameras captured her confronting a phalanx of officers as they guarded a hallway leading to the U.S. Senate chambers, prosecutors said. Despite having been told to leave the premises, she stayed for a half-hour, prosecutors said. Michael D. Cohen, the former fixer who for years did Donald J. Trumps dirty work, is expected to testify before a Manhattan grand jury next week, a sign that prosecutors are poised to indict the former president for his role in paying hush money to a porn star, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The Manhattan district attorneys office has already questioned at least seven other people before the grand jury hearing evidence about the hush money deal, according to several other people with knowledge of the inquiry, potentially making Mr. Cohen the last witness. Once he has testified, nearly every crucial player in the hush money matter will have appeared before the grand jury with the exception of the porn star herself, Stormy Daniels, who may not be called to testify. It would be highly unusual for a prosecutor in a high-profile white-collar case to go through a weekslong presentation of evidence and question nearly every relevant witness without intending to seek an indictment. Criminal charges against Donald J. Trump were unveiled on Tuesday, as prosecutors accused him of participating in a scheme to cover up potential sex scandals during the 2016 presidential campaign. Mr. Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony charges of falsifying business records, all of them focused on his involvement in the payment of hush money to a porn star, Stormy Daniels, who said she had an affair with him. Mr. Trump was indicted last week, becoming the first current or former American president to be charged with a crime. His arraignment on Tuesday was the culmination of a nearly five-year investigation by the Manhattan district attorneys office, and it also sets in motion a lengthy legal process. Any potential trial would likely be next year at the earliest. What happens next? In the coming months, prosecutors and defense lawyers will exchange documents and evidence and file motions. The owner of a Brooklyn real estate company pleaded guilty this week to paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks to a homeless-shelter operator in a yearslong scheme to profit from programs meant to help homeless people. The real estate company owner, Sheina Levin, specialized in renting housing to nonprofit groups. On Thursday, she admitted to bribing Victor Rivera, the former leader of one of the largest nonprofit homeless-shelter contractors in New York City, to lease property from her company and tap into a stream of city funding earmarked for housing homeless people, according to papers filed in Federal District Court in Manhattan. Mr. Rivera, the former chief executive of the Bronx Parent Housing Network, pleaded guilty last year to federal crimes related to the same scheme and was subsequently sentenced to 27 months in federal prison. His dealings with Ms. Levin, as well as a pattern of sexual assault and harassment accusations against him, were first detailed in a New York Times investigation in 2021. Ms. Levin was charged on Thursday and immediately pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud for the kickback scheme, which stretched from May 2019 to January 2021. The air-raid sirens wail woke Yoshiko Hashimoto from her sleep. It was just after midnight on March 10, 1945, when the first of hundreds of American bombers appeared over Tokyo. Incendiary bombs soon crashed through tile rooftops, igniting fires in the surrounding thicket of tinderbox homes. Hashimoto and her family fled for their lives. They made their way through terror-stricken crowds and found themselves trapped by fire on a bridge. Urged on by her father, Hashimoto jumped into the freezing water with her 13-month-old son in her arms. The leap saved their lives. But her parents and sister, along with an estimated 100,000 others, died in the raid, which obliterated 16 square miles of the city. After its defeat in World War II, Japan was forced to renounce its right to wage war and maintain standing armed forces capable of doing so a clause enshrined in its 1947 Constitution. Ms. Hashimoto and other survivors of wartime horrors zealously guarded this principle, fighting to stave off what they worried could be a slide back down the path of militarization. Despite the strong current of pacifism in Japanese society, circumstances have forced a reappraisal of that stance. China is continuing its saber-rattling toward Taiwan. North Korea is firing missiles near the Japanese archipelago. Russia, which has a longstanding territorial dispute with Japan, invaded and occupies parts of Ukraine. While the review assessed 78 studies, only 10 of those focused on what happens when people wear masks versus when they dont, and a further five looked at how effective different types of masks were at blocking transmission, usually for health care workers. The remainder involved other measures aimed at lowering transmission, like hand washing or disinfection, while a few studies also considered masks in combination with other measures. Of those 10 studies that looked at masking, the two done since the start of the Covid pandemic both found that masks helped. The calculations the review used to reach a conclusion were dominated by prepandemic studies that were not very informative about how well masks blocked the transmission of respiratory viruses. For example, in one study of hajj pilgrims in Mecca, only 24.7 percent of those assigned to wear masks reported using one daily, but not all the time (while 14.3 percent in the no-mask group wore one anyway). The pilgrims then slept together, generally in tents with 50 or 100 people. Not surprisingly, given there was little difference between the two groups, researchers found no difference from mask wearing and declared their results inconclusive. In another prepandemic study, college students were asked to wear masks for at least six hours a day while in their dormitories, but they were not obligated to wear them elsewhere. Researchers found no difference in infection rates between those who wore masks and those who did not. The authors noted this might be because the amount of time masks were worn was not sufficient obviously, college students also go to classes and socialize where they may not wear masks. As a mixed Asian kid growing up in the suburbs of Southern California in the 1990s, I was always searching television and movies for people who looked like me. Every glimpse of, say, Margaret Cho doing stand-up or BD Wong on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit felt like an all-too-rare cause for celebration. So watching the cast and crew of Everything Everywhere All at Once sweep this winters awards season, during their march toward the upcoming Oscar ceremony, has felt to me and many Asian American friends like an overdue coming-out party. The standard explanation for why this moment took so long is that back in the day despite the success of a few trailblazers there simply werent enough Asian artists working in Hollywood who were worthy of the academys gilded praise. That explanation, Ive since realized, is false. Asian Americans have been a part of Hollywood since its earliest days, making significant contributions despite formidable obstacles, but their names and artistry have been forgotten, overlooked or willfully erased. And it all started with Anna May Wong, the first Asian movie star born in the United States. In this world, its as much Mr. Massies lifestyle as his politics that have won him fans. He grew up in the tiny town of Vanceburg, Ky., and went on to M.I.T., where his high school sweetheart soon joined him. Together, they founded a virtual reality company while they were still undergrads. Mr. Massie now holds about two dozen patents. They sold the company and moved back to Kentucky, beginning work on their off-the-grid home in 2003. We wanted to raise our kids the way we had been raised, he told an interviewer who filmed him for a 2018 documentary titled Off the Grid, which helped to make him a niche celebrity in an age when lots of people are suddenly getting into homesteading, prepping and do-it-yourself farming. They began work on their surprisingly stately house while living in a 900-square-foot mobile home, constructing it as much as possible with materials coming directly from land that had been in Mr. Massies wifes family for generations. I think theres this notion that if somethings available locally its not as good, that its got to be exotic, he said, while chiseling a piece of limestone. I want a house thats coming out of the ground and belongs here. He ran for a county office in 2010 as a disciple of the libertarian-minded Senate candidate Rand Paul, campaigning in part by playing banjo at local bluegrass jams. I guess part of what endeared me to them is that I wasnt that good, he said. Both men won their races, and Mr. Paul endorsed Mr. Massie in his first U.S. House race two years later. Once in Washington, he alternately annoyed and endeared himself to members of both parties. He is loudly anti-abortion, despite his libertarianism. But hes quick to denounce the military-industrial complex, and more than any other Republican in Congress, proved willing to join antiwar Democrats in trying to end American involvement in overseas conflicts. He voted against disaster-relief bills, but also introduced legislation to reduce some federal prison sentences and reform civil asset forfeiture. He fought to repeal the Patriot Act and introduced bills to allow for legalized hemp production and the sale of raw milk across state lines. He remained surprisingly independent of Donald Trump, who once called him a third-rate grandstander, and joined the group of seven conservatives in the House who while voicing concerns about supposed issues with the vote voted to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election. As perhaps the G.O.P.s most vocal opponent of Covid restrictions and vaccine mandates, he came off as a kook to a national audience that largely knew little else about him. But his dogged vaccine skepticism and anti-lockdown activism endeared him to many young conservatives like Catharine ONeill, a 20-something veteran of the Trump State Department, who moved to Wyoming in 2021 to operate a cattle business. Mr. Massie is the one who really fought the vaccines and the Covid tyranny, for lack of a better term, she told me. In some cases against Trump. When Adam Tendler learned about his fathers passing, inheritance was the last thing on his mind. His father had been financially ambiguous and notoriously frugal so if there even was one, Mr. Tendler thought, it would be weird. At a Dennys on the New Hampshire border, he was handed a manila envelope full of cash. Despite never having held so much cash before, he was aware the sum could disappear easily into a couple months of rent and bills in New York City. Would that be his fathers legacy? A few weeks later at Roulette, a music venue in Brooklyn, Mr. Tendler had an epiphany. I thought to myself, This is why Im alive. Music. Alive, he wrote as the idea took form. He decided to use his inheritance to commission a program of new piano works about inheritance itself a project that arrives at the 92nd Street Y in New York on March 11. The goal for Inheritances, from the start, had been to provide a vessel through which I could connect to my elusive father, process my grief and reconcile with my past, he wrote. But I also hoped that writing these pieces would provide a similar vessel for the composers, and ultimately that this shared experience would extend to our listeners. Written and narrated by Dan Barry Tornadoes, one might think, should be easy to spot. They reach down like gnarled fingers in the heat of storms, ripping trees from the ground and blowing cars off the road, picking up Kansas farmhouses and transporting them to the land of Oz. But things are not so simple in Canada, or in any region with a low population density. Canada is vast it is the worlds second-largest country by landmass, after Russia but most of its residents live near the United States border. As a result, many Canadian tornadoes end up touching down in areas with no witnesses, leaving the countrys twister census remarkably incomplete. Until just a couple of years ago, the average number of confirmed Canadian tornadoes per year was around 60 (enough to earn its spot as the country with the second most tornadoes in the world, behind the United States, which averages around 800 annually), although scientists calculated that the actual number should be closer to 150. Francisco Ayala, one of the worlds leading evolutionary biologists and a champion of science against the forces of religious fundamentalism, who was forced to give up his university post late in life amid sexual harassment allegations, died on March 3 in Newport Beach, Calif. He was 88. His son Carlos confirmed his death, in a hospital, which came after a fall. Dr. Ayala brought the training of a geneticist to the study of evolution, making important findings about the emergence and extinction of species in response to natural selection, mutation and other natural processes. As disputes about evolution raged in American courts, school boards and classrooms, Dr. Ayala, a native of Spain and a former Dominican priest, rose to its defense. In books, speeches and testimony in a lawsuit, he asserted that the theory of evolution is both scientifically sound and compatible with belief in God. In 1981, he testified in a case that overturned an Arkansas law that had required a balanced treatment in teaching creationism and evolution. Knitting is therapeutic for Ms. Barry. When youre living on your own, its nice to have something to do, she said. She knitted the sweaters for The Banshees of Inisherin during one of Irelands pandemic lockdowns, spending a week on each. It kept me sane, she said. Ms. Barry said she was sad that young people today dont learn knitting in school. She and her husband had no children of their own, but they helped raise her nieces and nephews when her sister died unexpectedly. Her younger relatives have followed Ms. Barrys viral fame with amusement. They say: Youre not going to know us now. Well have to make any appointment just to talk to you. Eimer Ni Mhaoldomhnaigh, the films costume designer, commissioned Ms. Barry to create the sweaters. After the release of the movie, Ms. Ni Mhaoldomhnaigh recalled, My daughter, who is 20, came and said Delia is a TikTok sensation. Ms. Ni Mhaoldomhnaigh came across Ms. Barrys work when she was sourcing knitwear for a 2017 television adaptation of Little Women. A woman working on the production knew that Ms. Barry had helped on other films, including Dancing at Lughnasa, for which she created knitwear for Meryl Streeps character. Ireland is very small, Ms. Ni Mhaoldomhnaigh said, laughing. Its all word of mouth. Ms. Barry credits her success to being willing to take on a job without a pattern, something many knitters would be wary of. For The Banshees of Inisherin, Ms. Ni Mhaoldomhnaigh provided photographs of Irish fishermen from the 1920s, which Ms. Barry studied with a magnifying glass. One showed a sweater with a distinctive long collar, the inspiration for the red piece that would become Mr. Farrells. We were really lucky to be able to make all the costumes for the principal characters, Ms. Ni Mhaoldomhnaigh said. Not just the knitwear, but the tailoring, the hats. Ms. Barry is not the only older figure involved: Ms. Ni Mhaoldomhnaighs tailor is well into his 80s. I say every day, what are we going to do if he ever retires! she said. There are many ways to tell a story. Freestyle, direct address and a varied assortment of orange balloons are just a few of the expressive means deployed in Misty, which opened on Thursday at the Shed. This multidisciplinary piece, by the British writer and performer Arinze Kene, uses an array of sights and sounds to toy with the perceptions of the people it presumes are watching. The onstage musicians, Liam Godwin (keys) and Nadine Lee (drums), criticize Kenes opening rhymes, about a Black man who beats up a drunk passenger on the night bus. Will this be another play about, as Lee says, a generic angry young Black man? A story that meets the expectations of a mostly white audience and transforms Black trauma into a commodity? Maybe so, but its also a probing and restless self-portrait of the artist. In the show that Kene says hes writing, he plays a Londoner navigating an increasingly hostile city, likening its rhythms to the inner workings of a living creature. (Misty was commissioned by the Bush Theater in London, where, in 2018, it transferred to the West End.) Accompanied by live beats and with microphone in hand, he delivers spoken verse as the Black man: He leaves the drunk passenger behind, visits a lover and later discovers that his mother has locked him out of their home and hes being pursued by the police. Barbara Everitt Bryant, the first woman to lead the United States Census Bureau, who dived into roiling waters when she took the job in late 1989 as the agency was beginning the contentious decennial census of 1990, died on March 3 in Ann Arbor, Mich. She was 96. Her daughter Linda Bryant Valentine confirmed the death, at a senior living center Dr. Bryant was appointed by President George H.W. Bush in December 1989; she came to the job from Market Opinion Research, a Detroit company specializing in polling data, where she had been senior vice president. The process of taking the national census once a decade begins years in advance and was already well underway. It was also already drawing criticism and challenges. In 1988, New York City joined with other municipalities and some states in a lawsuit seeking to require the bureau to do something about the chronic undercounting problem that left many minority groups, the homeless and others underrepresented in census figures. There are so many parts of the operation and also such enormous media and congressional scrutiny that you felt as though you were constantly fighting off the critics, Dr. Bryant said in an oral history recorded for the bureau in 1993. The tendency, partly orchestrated because of the lawsuit, I think, was for everybody to come in and be a critic. One of the busiest places in Memphis these days is the impound lot north of downtown, where tow-truck drivers can sit in line for over six hours to make drop-offs, victims can wait weeks to get stolen vehicles back and some 2,700 cars are squeezed onto the grounds of an old farm-equipment factory. The overcrowding is the result in part of an auto theft boom that has gripped Memphis and other U.S. cities. Vehicles from two manufacturers, Kia and Hyundai, have proven especially vulnerable to theft, prompting cities to file lawsuits against the carmakers and at least one states attorney general to open an investigation. Of the nearly 11,000 cars stolen in Memphis last year about twice as many as in 2021 roughly a third were late-model Kias and Hyundais, according to the police. It doesnt take much to rip them off: just a screwdriver, a USB cord and hot-wiring know-how found in videos proliferating on social media. Many of the culprits are teenagers or young adults stealing cars for kicks or to use them for other crimes, such as robberies, the police say. More than half of the 175 people arrested and accused of car theft this year in Memphis were teenagers, who often abandon the vehicles after a joyride. Paul Flores, who was found guilty last year of murdering Kristin Smart in 1996 when they were both university students, was sentenced on Friday to 25 years to life in prison, capping an emotional day for the Smart family, who waited more than a quarter of a century for some sense of justice. A Superior Court judge, Jennifer OKeefe, sentenced Mr. Flores, 46, for the murder of Ms. Smart, 19, a freshman at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, where Mr. Flores was also a student. He got the maximum sentence, which was 25 years to life in prison, according to the district attorneys office for San Luis Obispo County. Relatives of Ms. Smart spoke in the courtroom on Friday before the sentencing and talked candidly about how Mr. Flores had upended their lives. SAN FRANCISCO Even on the rainiest of nights, the neon-lettered sign breaks through the fog, and the door opens into a dim, moody restaurant where a very long deco bar looks like the wooden deck of a ship. With its first proprietors having set up shop in 1849, Tadich Grill bills itself as the oldest restaurant in California and among the oldest in country. Now in San Franciscos Financial District, the seafood restaurant has seen it all, from the gold rush to Covid lockdowns, through big earthquakes and tech bubbles. It is, proudly, the most resilient of vessels on this coast. Few restaurants last 50 years, let alone 150, The New York Times wrote about Tadich in 1999, the restaurants sesquicentennial year. In a city known for cutting-edge restaurants, Tadichs is old-fashioned, a nostalgic shrine to local piscine tradition. Tadich Grills story began when three immigrants from Croatia arrived in California in 1849 the year before the Golden State joined the Union and began serving coffee out of a tent on San Franciscos Long Wharf, a pier that reached a half-mile into the Bay close to where the Ferry Building is now. Specifically, The Times asked the contenders whether they agreed with the departments position and, if not, whether they would instruct it to rescind those memos. Writing that it is a core principle that no one is above the law especially the president, Mr. Biden expressed deep skepticism of the departments rationale. The opinions that the Department of Justice has issued in the past, immunizing the president from accountability for criminal conduct for as long as he is in office, have been called into serious question by leading constitutional scholars, he wrote. These rulings also communicate to the public the un-American, false notion that remaining in the Oval Office is a stay-out-of-jail pass. Mr. Biden vowed that if elected, he would instruct the department to revisit them. I will promptly direct the attorney general to order a comprehensive review of these opinions, he wrote, and if it is determined that they are in error and a misreading of our constitutional law, to revise or withdraw them. But after he took office in 2021, a chaotic period after Mr. Trump had sought to cling to power, that promise fell through the cracks, people familiar with the matter said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive issue. The issue has since become much more fraught because a special counsel, Robert Hur, is now investigating whether Mr. Biden improperly handled classified documents. That means those memos which apply to Mr. Hur are shielding Mr. Biden from even the possibility, however remote, of indictment. WASHINGTON Etienne Termulis spent nine days trying to make an appointment with the U.S. government for a chance to seek asylum. The process is part of a new border management plan the Biden administration announced this year to decrease the number of illegal crossings at the southern border. But immigration advocates say, and some migrants experiences show, that it is far from the fair, orderly and humane system the president has promised. To complete an application for one of the governments programs, migrants must use an app, called C.B.P. One, on a smartphone in a location with decent internet access. That is where things got tricky for Mr. Termulis, who is Haitian. Because the shelter where he was staying in Reynosa, Mexico, did not have internet, he, his wife and their 6-year-old daughter had to venture into the city center to find a signal. Reynosa is one of the countrys more violent cities, dominated by cartels that kidnap, rape and extort migrants. About 1.9 million Yeti brand coolers and soft gear cases were recalled by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission on Thursday because various products magnet closures could detach and cause serious injury. The recall includes the Yeti Coolers Hopper M30 Soft Cooler 1.0 and 2.0, Hopper M20 Soft Backpack Cooler and SideKick Dry Gear Case, a smaller sealed bag that protects items from water damage. The recalled products were sold between March 2018 and January 2023, including nearly 41,000 products in Canada, through retailers like Dicks Sporting Goods and Ace Hardware and online through Yeti and Amazon. Yeti said in a statement that it was cooperating with the agency and voluntarily recalling the products. The commission urged consumers to stop using the products immediately, after receiving nearly 1,400 reports of the magnet-lined closures failing, falling off or going missing. No magnet ingestions or injuries from Yeti products have been reported. The Australia Letter is a weekly newsletter from our Australia bureau. Sign up to get it by email. This weeks issue is written by Natasha Frost, a reporter in Melbourne. Last year, my colleague Yan Zhuang reported on a group of men who had been abruptly relocated to a motel in Melbourne after almost a decade of being detained in camps offshore. They had originally come to Australia seeking asylum. Yan describes a group of people grappling with medical problems, physical and psychological scars, and uncertain futures on precarious visas. After being moved to the mainland, each had been given a few hundred dollars and accommodation for a couple of weeks and left, with the aid of a caseworker, to work their way through bewildering immigration bureaucracy. Reporting this story, I was struck by how hard it was for the men to comprehend the reason for their detention, she told me. They understood, in theory, the politics behind it, but how could they reconcile that with the scale of the loss they suffered of a decade of their youth, their health, their freedom? Australias unyielding approach to refugees which includes a system of indefinite mandatory detention for people suspected to be in the country unlawfully is among the strictest in the world. TORONTO A member of Canadas highest court confirmed on Friday that he had been placed on leave while a judicial body investigates his role in a violent altercation at an Arizona resort. Justice Russell Brown, who was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada in 2015, was temporarily relieved of his duties last month, the court said. A complaint into his conduct is under review at the Canadian Judicial Council, a 44-member organization that oversees disciplinary matters for federally appointed judges, the council said in a statement. The nature of the complaint came to light on Friday via a report in The Vancouver Sun newspaper, but the complaint itself has not been released to the public. The council did not announce Justice Browns leave of absence until Tuesday, over five weeks after the investigation had begun. The Sun identified the complainant as Jonathan Crump, a mortgage adviser and veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, who told the paper that Justice Brown had been drunk at the Arizona resort and had harassed his friends. To be abundantly clear, he wrote, it is not a crime to give someone the finger. Judge Galiatsatos added, in an apparent reference to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms: Flipping the proverbial bird is a God-given, Charter-enshrined right that belongs to every red-blooded Canadian. It may not be civil, it may not be polite, it may not be gentlemanly. Nevertheless, it does not trigger criminal liability. Details of the case, and its outcome, were reported this week by The Canadian Press. Mr. Epstein, a schoolteacher with two young daughters, was arrested on May 18, 2021, after returning home from a long walk. Earlier that day, he and Mr. Naccache had a confrontation outside Mr. Naccaches home. Mr. Naccache testified that he had been doing renovation work on his front staircase when Mr. Epstein walked by his house, said something and gave him the finger with both hands. Mr. Naccache, who said he had been wearing earplugs at the time, claimed that Mr. Epstein had then made a throat-slashing gesture and a punching motion with his hand, as if he were challenging him to a fight. Mr. Naccache called the police and said he feared that Mr. Epstein was going to try to kill him. Mr. Epstein recalled the interaction differently. He testified that Mr. Naccache had been holding a power drill in a menacing way and yelling threats at him. Mr. Epstein denied making a throat-slitting gesture but said he had yelled an expletive and acknowledged having given his neighbor the finger as he walked away. The judge rejected Mr. Naccaches allegations. On what basis did he fear that Mr. Epstein was a potential murderer? he wrote. The fact that he went for quiet walks with his kids? The fact that he socialized with the other young parents on the street? If that is the standard, we should all fear that our neighbors are killers in waiting. KYIV, Ukraine Dmytro Kotsiubailo was a skinny teenager when he took to the barricades in Kyivs Independence Square nine years ago, joining thousands of Ukrainians demanding to be treated with dignity and freed from the yoke of Russia. On Friday, he was returned to that same square in an open coffin, as thousands of Ukrainians gathered to pay tribute to the boy who became a decorated soldier and a symbol of Ukrainian resistance. Mr. Kotsiubailo was better known by his call-sign, Da Vinci, given to him because he once dreamed of being an artist. But he never got the chance: Soon after taking part in the protests known as the Maidan Revolution, he joined Ukraines Army to fight a Russian-backed rebellion in eastern Ukraine. He was only 18 years old. Over the years Da Vinci became one of Ukraines best-known fighters and a battalion commander. He was killed near Bakhmut on March 7, mortally wounded in a Russian assault. He was 27 years old. When President Emmanuel Macron of France welcomed Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of Britain to Paris on Friday, commentators were quick to call it a communion of kindred spirits: Both are former investment bankers in their 40s. Both govern countries gripped by strikes, economic dislocation and political anxiety. But while the importance of like-minded leaders can easily be overstated in foreign relations, the palpable rapport between Mr. Macron and Mr. Sunak has come to symbolize a potential mending of the badly frayed relationship between Britain and France. The two men agreed on Friday that Britain would give France additional money to bolster patrols of the beaches in Normandy, where thousands of refugees set off in small boats on dangerous crossings of the English Channel to Britain. They announced plans to deepen military cooperation, including the development of a new generation of long-range missiles that could be used to deter aggressors like Russia, with the war in Ukraine as a backdrop. Diplomats and analysts said the real value of the meeting, the first formal tete-a-tete between French and British leaders since 2018, was less about substance than about symbolism: two neighbors pledging to bury the hatchet after years of bickering over Brexit, fishing rights, even a submarine alliance between the United States, Australia and Britain that left a fuming France on the sidelines. TBILISI, Georgia Georgias Parliament on Friday voted down draft legislation that set off a political storm and mass demonstrations this week over fears the measure would push the small former Soviet republic back into Moscows orbit. Lawmakers from the governing Georgian Dream party dropped the legislation that critics have called a Kremlin-inspired effort to undermine democracy by voting against it during its second reading, according to a statement on Parliaments website. Despite fears that lawmakers will devise other ways to crack down on civil society, the decision on Friday, which had been telegraphed by the government, was met with cheers outside the building. After the bills expedited initial approval on Tuesday, a crowd had gathered on the same spot. Chanting, No to the Russian law and No to the Russian government, some tried to storm Parliament but were met with riot police officers using water cannons, stun grenades and tear gas. In Georgia, which lost territory to Russia in a painful war in 2008 after an invasion by President Vladimir V. Putin that has drawn parallels to the war in Ukraine, any association with Moscow is a politically combustible issue. In its statement about scrapping the bill, Georgian Dream blamed the oppositions lying machine, which it said had attached a false label of Russian law. Weeks before a gunman opened fire on his former congregation at a Jehovahs Witness hall in northern Germany, the authorities got a tip that he harbored a special rage toward religious groups, officials said Friday. But when they checked on him, they said, they determined they did not have grounds to seize his weapons. The gunman killed six people and shot a pregnant woman whose fetus did not survive the shooting, before turning his weapon on himself as police stormed the building in Hamburg on Thursday in what the authorities called the worst such mass shooting incident of this dimension to affect the city. Eight people were wounded, four of them severely. In keeping with German privacy laws, the police identified the gunman only as Philipp F., a 35-year-old German who, according to the authorities, had been a member of the congregation until a year and a half ago, but apparently did not leave on good terms, said Thomas Radszuweit, the head of state security in Hamburg. Mass shootings are extremely rare in Germany, where regulations limit who can own a weapon, and make training and testing compulsory before a gun can be purchased. Fully automatic weapons are considered weapons of war and are illegal. The two leaders met with President Volodymyr Zelensky separately last month when the Ukrainian leader made a rare trip outside Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, to meet with allies in Britain, France and Belgium, a whirlwind tour in which he pleaded for more weapons. Mr. Zelensky implored European allies to send military fighter jets, heavy weapons and ammunition, issues that remain on the table. Britain promised to train Ukrainian troops on NATO-standard jets and suggested that the delivery of warplanes could come next, but no Western allies have pledged to send any to Kyiv. Last month, France said it had not ruled out sending fighter jets to Ukraine, but Mr. Macron laid out several conditions. Among them was that providing such equipment would not lead to an escalation of tensions or be used to touch Russian soil. Ties between Britain and France have been strained since Britain decided to split from the European Union. But the nations have a rare common goal in supporting Ukraine, and there appears to be a heightened effort to solidify their relationship. A week ago, Buckingham Palace said that King Charles III and Camilla, the queen consort, would go to France this month as one of their first state visits since Charles ascended to the throne in September. While in France, on a trip that begins March 26, the royal couple will join Mr. Macron and his wife, Brigitte Macron, in Paris for a ceremony of remembrance and wreath laying at the Arc de Triomphe. The king and queen consort will also attend a state banquet in their honor at the Palace of Versailles. Mark Landler and Jenny Gross contributed reporting. Traute Lafrenz, the last survivor of the White Rose, a resistance movement in Nazi Germany whose opposition to Adolf Hitler led to swift and ferocious Gestapo repression and the beheading of its leaders, died on Monday at her home in Meggett, S.C., near Charleston. She was 103. Her son Michael Page confirmed the death. The White Rose was short-lived and never counted more than a few dozen members, most of whom were young and idealistic. Ms. Lafrenz (who later in life went by the name Traute Lafrenz Page) carried political leaflets and helped the group gain access to ink, paper and envelopes to produce and disseminate its anti-Hitler tracts, and to urge Germans to turn against the Nazis. But the response to its activities, peaceful as they were, seemed to betoken the profound intolerance displayed by the Third Reich to any hint of opposition among Germans, even as it pursued the extermination of European Jewry and what it called total war against its adversaries. As the German Army faced crushing losses at Stalingrad in 1942 and 1943, the White Rose sensed mistakenly that military reverses would turn Germans against Hitler. The groups fliers, quoting from Goethe, Schiller, Aristotle, Lao Tzu and the Bible, urged passive resistance and sabotage of the Nazi project. The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in southern Ukraine briefly moved to emergency generators on Thursday after Russian shelling cut its external power supply, prompting the top director of the United Nations nuclear watchdog to disparage the international community for failing to secure the complex. The nuclear plant, which is the largest in Europe, and the only one to ever be in the middle of active fighting, has now been forced to resort to its emergency diesel generators six times since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine a year ago, according to the U.N.s top nuclear official, Rafael Mariano Grossi. Each time, we are rolling a dice, Mr. Grossi said on Thursday, and if we allow this to continue time after time, then one day our luck will run out. I am astonished by the complacency, added Mr. Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency. That included restricting some Israeli settlement construction in the occupied West Bank and removing certain privileges awarded by Parliament to ultra-Orthodox Jews moves that drew the ire of both communities. Now, three decades later, a new ultraright governing coalition is trying to sharply reduce the Supreme Courts powers. The effort is at the heart of a deep ideological and cultural divide in Israel between those who want a more secular and pluralist state and those with a more religious and nationalist vision. The dispute has brought about waves of protests, turmoil in the military, criticism from influential American Jews and the Israeli tech sector, and fears of civil unrest. The courts critics, who tend to be more religious and right-wing, envisage Israel as a majoritarian democracy that gives elected lawmakers primacy over the judiciary. They associate the courts judges with Israels secular elite, personified in a former chief justice, Aharon Barak, who helped shape the court as it is today. The courts supporters want Israel to be a liberal democracy, with strong judicial checks and balances on Parliament, and see the court as a last defense against a rising far right. It is the first group that took office late last year when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces corruption charges, turned to the ultraright to build a governing coalition. And it is his administration that is now attempting the sweeping judicial overhaul as a way to eliminate roadblocks to its agenda. The announcement by Iran and Saudi Arabia that they are re-establishing diplomatic ties could lead to a major realignment in the Middle East. It also represents a geopolitical challenge for the United States and a victory for China, which brokered the talks between the two longstanding rivals. Under the agreement announced on Friday, Iran and Saudi Arabia will patch up a seven-year split by reviving a security cooperation pact, reopening embassies in each others countries within two months, and resuming trade, investment and cultural accords. But the rivalry between the two Persian Gulf nations is so deeply rooted in disagreements about religion and politics that simple diplomatic engagement may not be able to overcome them. Here is a look at some of the key questions surrounding the deal. Why is this important? The new diplomatic engagement could scramble geopolitics in the Middle East and beyond by bringing together Saudi Arabia, a close partner of the United States, with Iran, a longtime foe that Washington and its allies consider a security threat and a source of global instability. RIYADH, Saudi Arabia After years of open hostility and proxy conflicts across the Middle East, Saudi Arabia and Iran have agreed to re-establish diplomatic ties, they announced on Friday, in a significant pivot for the two regional rivals that was facilitated by China. China hosted the talks that led to the breakthrough, highlighting Beijings growing role as a global economic and political power, and counterbalance to Washington particularly in the Middle East, a region that was long shaped by the military and diplomatic involvement of the United States. Seven years after cutting formal ties, Iran and Saudi Arabia will reopen embassies in each others countries within two months, and confirmed their respect for the sovereignty of states and noninterference in their internal affairs, they said in a joint statement published by the official Saudi Press Agency. Irans state news media also announced the deal. The two countries agreed to reactivate a lapsed security cooperation pact a shift that comes after years of Iranian-backed militias in Yemen targeting Saudi Arabia with missile and drone attacks as well as older trade, investment and cultural accords. What explains the shift? For one possible explanation, check out Patricks article with Ronen Bergman about protests spreading to the Israeli military: Hundreds of soldiers in the reserves have signed letters expressing reluctance to participate in nonessential duties, or have already pulled out of training missions. Many are from the countrys most elite units, including the military intelligence division. In January, I wrote about the power politics of protest and social change, drawing on research that showed social movements in countries like South Africa were most successful when they connected with a political constituency that had leverage over the government. In Israel, the military is a tremendously powerful institution, culturally and politically as well as for security reasons. Its easy to see how protests within its ranks could exert much more effective pressure on the government than mass street demonstrations alone. Importantly, military officers are concerned that weakening the judiciary could leave them vulnerable to future prosecution if the lack of judicial oversight makes it more likely that they could be ordered to engage in illegal operations, and that it could also strengthen calls for Israelis to be tried by the International Criminal Court. Those concrete concerns about self-interest may be far more difficult for the government to defuse than if the protests were just motivated by ideology and political solidarity. Elsewhere in the Middle East: Saudi Arabia and Iran announced today that they had reached a surprise agreement brokered by China that paves the way for the re-establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries. That could be a setback for Israel, which had hoped to establish closer ties with Saudi Arabia to protect against threats from its archenemy, Iran; and also for the United States, which has long been the dominant superpower in the Middle East. Li Qiang, a longtime ally of Chinas top leader and the man who oversaw last years bruising two-month Covid lockdown of Shanghai, was formally appointed the countrys premier on Saturday. He will face the challenge of trying to revive the economy, which is languishing from three years of Covid restrictions. As premier, Mr. Li is now Chinas No. 2 leader and the top bureaucrat leading the countrys cabinet and wielding broad authority over economic policy. The position has weakened under Xi Jinping, the top leader, who was widely seen to have sidelined the departing premier, Li Keqiang. But some analysts say that Li Qiang may play a larger though not necessarily more influential role than his predecessor. The government has said it expects to expand the economy by around 5 percent this year, a modest goal that most likely points to the difficulty of resolving the housing market slump, slowing exports and rising debt. Youth unemployment is high. Chinese companies face the threat of crippling economic sanctions by the United States and its allies. Li Qiang, the former Communist Party secretary of Shanghai, was elevated last fall to be the No. 2 official in the Chinese Communist Party, probably a product of his perceived loyalty to Mr. Xi. He carried out the lockdown of Shanghai in the name of Mr. Xis zero Covid policy of eradicating the virus, despite the enormous economic and social cost it exacted on the city, partly as a result of mismanagement that led to food shortages. On Feb. 3, a Norfolk Southern train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, igniting a fire and setting off fears of an explosion. The authorities carried out a controlled release and burn-off of some of the trains hazardous cargo, but residents on both sides of the Ohio-Pennsylvania state line are concerned about the impact on their health and the environment. Here is a timeline of the derailment and its aftermath, from the evacuations during the emergency response to the investigations and cleanup. February Feb. 3 The train was on its way from Madison, Ill., to Conway, Pa., when, around 9 p.m., 38 of its 150 cars derailed in East Palestine, a village of 4,700 residents about 50 miles northwest of Pittsburgh. A fire ensued, damaging an additional 12 cars. Shortly after the derailment, 1,500 to 2,000 residents were told to evacuate. Cristina Spano Airlines plan out flights months in advance. But how do you know whether you can count on a carrier to stick to its published schedule? One way is to take a look at its completion factor. Heres what to know President Bidens budget was released this week, with splashy policy proposals and many, many pages of detailed tables of dollars to be spent. Workers in every corner of the federal government toiled to create this document, which has received extensive attention from Congress and news reporters. But a detailed review of past presidential budgets shows that, for all the seriousness and industry of the professionals who make them, they very rarely align with the trajectory of federal spending, revenue or the deficit. Year of budget 1994 Deficits Budgets Reality Spending Taxes and other revenue You have probably heard of the main reason for this: The presidents budget has no force of law. Its a request for Congress to follow its instructions, and Congress doesnt always do the presidents bidding. President Trump didnt succeed in repealing the Affordable Care Act, though he proposed to do so in his budgets. President Biden didnt pass paid family and medical leave, as he proposed earlier in his term. And presidents preferred policies are even less likely to become law when their party doesnt control both houses of Congress the situation now, but not in the year Mr. Trump wanted to repeal the A.C.A. or when Mr. Biden wanted to expand paid leave. But the presidents budget is often not predictive for another reason: Unexpected, cataclysmic events end up changing the trajectory of federal spending far more than shifts in any line item in a budget table. The Sept. 11 attacks, the Great Recession and the Covid pandemic all radically reshaped the path of spending, revenue and deficits in ways no presidential budget could have foreseen. The economy is much more powerful than the budget, said Richard Kogan, a veteran congressional and White House budget staffer who is now a senior fellow at the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Below, we examine the proposed budgets and fiscal realities from the last 30 years. Bill Clinton Deficits Budgets Reality Spending Taxes and other revenue Mr. Clintons budgets matched actual spending and revenue far more than those of the presidents who followed him. He benefited from a stable, growing economy as the internet took off. The major source of error in his budgets was faster-than-expected economic growth that led to high tax revenues. He had policy ideas that never became law because of disagreements with a Republican-led House. But he also cooperated with Republicans to trim government spending and reduce the deficit, changes that were partly reflected in his budgets. We did not have any unexpected catastrophes, said Elaine Kamarck, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, who was a top policy aide for Vice President Al Gores 2000 presidential campaign. Those years were very lucky. Of course, the last Clinton budgets didnt predict the recession that would come after he left office. George W. Bush Deficits Budgets Reality Spending Taxes and other revenue President Bush arrived with a large government surplus, and he wanted to return that money to taxpayers. The large tax cut he proposed was passed. But his first budget couldnt have anticipated a recession, the Sept. 11 attacks and the accompanying military buildup. The creation of the Department of Homeland Security, and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, drove federal spending significantly above budgeted levels, and an economic slowdown depressed tax revenue. Mr. Bushs budgets also did not foresee the financial crisis that started in 2007 or the Great Recession that followed. Barack Obama Deficits Budgets Reality Spending Taxes and other revenue Note: Data for President Obamas 2010 budget is from updated summary tables released in May 2009. President Obamas budgets were wrong about how long the Great Recession would depress tax revenue and his early budgets incorrectly assumed that Congress would allow the Bush tax cuts to expire after 10 years, as they were originally designed to do. But his budgets also overestimated how much the government would spend, an error that cut in the opposite direction. A chief source of those miscalculations was a sustained slowdown in health care spending growth that economists still struggle to explain. Another was the Budget Control Act, a bipartisan bill that reduced federal spending across the government that Mr. Obama had not proposed. Donald J. Trump Deficits Budgets Reality Spending Taxes and other revenue President Trumps first budget missed big. It assumed outsize economic growth that did not materialize. It called for the repeal of the Affordable Care Act and major cuts to Medicaid that Congress rejected. And it estimated that a large tax cut proposal would pay for itself. Estimates from the Congressional Budget Office suggested the tax bill Congress passed in 2017 would increase the deficit by $1.9 trillion. But that was dwarfed by the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic. Multiple Covid relief bills expanded public health resources and provided financial assistance to individuals and states. Those dollars helped stave off economic catastrophe. They also caused a huge increase in the federal deficit. Joe Biden Deficits Budgets Reality Spending Taxes and other revenue President Biden didnt get everything he asked for in his early budgets, but he benefited from unified Democratic control of government in his first two years while passing many programs. Those that didnt pass included both proposed taxes and spending, which have somewhat balanced out in their deficit impact. But its too soon to tell how well his budgets will hold up over time. This years proposal includes many things that the Republican House will not embrace. And his calculations assume that Mr. Trumps tax cuts will expire in 2027, which conflicts with his promise not to raise taxes on Americans earning less than $400,000. There could always be a hard-to-predict economic shock. His budget office is not planning for a big recession, despite continued actions by the Federal Reserve that make some economists warn of a slowdown. An avian influenza epidemic or a military conflict could all throw off his projections by even more. Overall, unexpected economic changes have tended to make deficits larger than expected, and caused federal debt to grow. Public debt Budgets Reality The various ways a presidential budget can be wrong might make you think theyre not worth publishing or discussing. But even inaccurate budgets are still a key to governance. Underneath the big new policy proposals are detailed requests from agencies for every program they operate. When it comes time for Congress to set spending levels, appropriators rely heavily on those numbers. Its true that theres a lot of sturm and drang associated with the presidents budget, said G. William Hoagland, a former Senate Budget director who is now a senior vice president at the Bipartisan Policy Center. But in the basic work that has to get done every year for government funding, those budgets are critical. Often the policy changes are in that part of the budget where the federal bureaucracy exerts the most influence. Big changes to so-called mandatory programs, like Social Security, Medicare and food assistance, are often the most politically difficult to achieve. Most of the budgets dollars are in those mandatory programs, but Congress doesnt change their trajectory much from year to year. You cant touch the biggest part of the budget, Ms. Kamarck said. And as were often reminded during budget season, budgets are also important because they tell you about a presidents goals and values. Campaign promises are often vague and squishy. Budget proposals have to be written down, described and measured. The budget has increasingly become a political document, said Eugene Steuerle, a former Treasury Department official who is now a fellow at the Urban Institute. The budget wont always tell us where were headed, but it shows us where the president wants to go. I always say, Budgeting is governing, and governing is budgeting, Mr. Hoagland said. A mountainous river valley in Chinas Hubei province is home to one of the Asian countrys most impressive pieces of infrastructure a highway bridge that runs through the middle of a river. Finalized in 2015, Chinas river highway is widely regarded as an infrastructural wonder. Designed to link the town of Gufuzhen in Xingshan county to the main highway running between Shanghai and Chengdu in southwestern China, this unique suspended highway doesnt make much sense at first glance. Why have a massive bridge built in the middle of the Xiangxi River, when you could just have it run alongside it, on land? In fact, there was already a road running along the river, which meant it could obviously be done, so why not build the highway that way? Well, apparently, Chinese engineers decided that a suspended highway running along the middle of the river was not only cheaper to build, but more efficient. Photo: Xinhua/YouTube It turns out that building a highway through a complex mountainous landscape like Hubeis Xiangxi River Valley is harder than it sounds. It involves digging miles of tunnels through rock, relocating people living by the edge of the river, and affecting the local flora and fauna. After doing the math, a team of engineers showed that building a highway bridge over the river was both cheaper and faster than building the highway on land. Plus it solved all the other issues as well. Obviously, building a 4.4-kilometer suspended road that follows the curves of the Xiangxi River wasnt exactly a cheap undertaking, but it was apparently better than the alternative. The 440 million yuan ($71 million) spent on this unique river highway are apparently several times less than what a land highway in this valley would have cost. Plus, it shortens the time it takes to drive from Gufuzhen to the main highway from over an hour to just 20 minutes. In the 8 years since its inauguration, Chinas river highway has become somewhat of a tourist attraction, with millions traveling to Hubei to experience driving through the middle of a river and taking in the breathtaking sights. This river highway is just one of the Chinese wonders of engineering weve featured here on OC over the years. What drug chains will follow Walgreens cave-in Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal has fired off letters to the CEOs of CVS, Walmart, Kroger, Rite Aid, Albertsons and Costco seeking assurances that they will not follow Walgreens cowardly decision to not offer the mifepristone abortion medication in 21 states. He said Walgreens capitulated to Republican attorneys general. In deciding to put profits over people, Walgreens is succumbing to bullying and intimidation by hard right ideologues, saying, you win, women lose, wrote Blumenthal. The Democrat wrote that "during this moment of crisis for access to reproductive rights, healthcare providers, such as your company, should be using every tool at its disposal to assure everyone access to care no matter where they live." On March 9, he joined 48 Senate Democrats in support of the Womens Health Protection Act to guarantee access to abortion throughout the country. It is their response to the Supreme Courts decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. FT loves ESG. The Financial Times ran an editorial on March 7 that supported Joe Bidens expected first veto to preserve a rule allowing fiduciaries of private investment funds to include environmental, social and governance considerations in their investment decisions. The Republican woke capitalism crowd, which is led by Florida governor Ron DeSantis, has barred state fund managers from taking ESG factors into consideration. The FT notes the Biden rule permits, but does not compel, managers to take ESG into account. And asset managers increasingly realize that earning the best returns and avoiding losses, means considering all risks and externalities related to any investment, according to the FTs editorial board. Company values can be affected by more than just financial performance. Financial PR firms should rejoice at the FTs position. Earthquake relief for Turkey and Syria. US Chamber of Commerce Foundation tracks $110M in corporate donations of cash and services to benefit victims of the earthquakes that rocked Turkey and Syria. The Moderna Charitable Foundation has committed $1M to the International Medical Corp. to help the people of both nations. PepsiCo is providing shelter for employees and their families in Turkey and Syria and donating $1.2M to local relief groups. Meta has partnered with the Turkish Red Crescent to amplify campaigns promoting the blood donation tool on Facebook and with the Turkish AKUT rescue operation for an information helpline on WhatsApp. The PwC Charitable Foundation is giving $300K to CARA and Project HOPE to help those impacted by the disasters. The CoC has a corporate aid tracker submission form for companies that want to highlight their relief efforts. Pasadena, which wants to be known as more than the host of the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses parade, seeks proposals for an economic development plan. KINNITTY GAA Club have called for the Offaly GAA County Board to take a lead role in examining the county's long standing parish rule. Established in 1909 and the bedrock of the way Offaly runs its GAA affairs, the Parish Rule has come under renewed scrutiny after three young players were suspended for playing illegally with Kinnitty-Lusmagh in underage hurling competitions last year. The chairperson and secretary of the Kinnitty-Lusmagh underage amalgation, Michael Troy and Kevin Callaghan were also hit with three month bans in January after the legality of Kinnitty-Lusmagh U-13 and 17 hurling teams last April were investigated. It is the latest major test of the parish rule. It came under scrutinty last year when Tullamore GAA Club were told they could not play a number of young players living in the Cappincur area. Tullamore initially submitted a motion for Offaly GAA Convention, seeking an amendment to the parish rule, allowing children to play with a club that their parents had a strong connection with even if they were living outside the parish they mounted a strong campaign canvassing support for it but withdrew the motion as it became clear it would not pass. Now a parish rule row has erupted between Kinnitty and Drumcullen GAA Clubs over the three young players. They live in Drumcullen parish, in the Knockbarron and Droughtville townslands. There has been historic controversy over players in this area and the parents of the three suspended players have stated that they want to play with Kinnitty and that all their connections are with the Kinnitty area. Drumcullen GAA Club have said they would be willing to cede the three players to Kinnitty on the understanding that they would not give up any other players from these areas. This was turned down by Kinnitty GAA Club and their chairman Ger Coughlan said this week that an agreement catering for just three players would not solve what is a county wide issue. He called for an re-evaluation of the parish rule with it brought up to date to cater for the modern world. A brilliant Offaly hurling wing back in the 1980s, Coughlan referred to high profile players who lived in Kinnitty parish but who they have allowed to play with neighbouring Seir Kieran: the Dooley brothers, Joe, Billy, Johnny, Kieran and Seamus, and another former Offaly star, Joe Bergin and his brother Barry. He described the Dooleys as the most notable example of their determination to put the wishes of families first. While we in Kinnitty have always respected the parish rule, we have always put the children's and family's well-being and wishes before the parish rule, he said. Talking about the Dooley brothers, he remarked: If we tried to stop them, we knew we would be breaking up a community, causing huge stress on a family and probably stopping three of our greatest hurlers from winning All-Irelands for Offaly. Ten years later, we had the same situation with well known Offaly hurler Joe Bergin and his brother, Barry Bergin. Again we put family and community first. Mr Coughlan talked about the contribution of the families of the three suspended players to Kinnitty GAA club and the wider community in the area. The parents and children have publicly stated that if they are not permitted to hurl in their home community, Kinnitty and the rest of their friends and family, they will not hurl at all. The whole ordeal has brought enormous stress and, if not dealt with, could have a serious negative impact on the children's mental health, he maintained. He also accused the County Board of discriminating against these children and singling them out when you ignore all the other cases of the same nature in county Offaly that exist. A hero on the Offaly teams that won All-Ireland senior hurling titles in 1981 and 1985 and a two time All-Star, he spoke about the impact this is having on the families of the players. These are pure hurling people. I have been involved in the GAA since I was five years of age. I have hurled at all levels, administered at all levels, trained and selected teams at all levels. Different things happened everywhere along the way but nothing has had such a profound effect on families as this. This has had the biggest effect of all on me because I can clearly see the effect it is having on those families. That is why we stood back in 1987-1988 when this subject came up about Clareen. We made the decision that we shouldn't go there at all. The effect this has had on those families is grave. Hurling is key in this area and for the GAA to stand back and let those lads be hung out to dry is just not right. He was queried about Drumcullen's offer to cede those three young players and Kinnitty's rejection of this. Any offer made like that would have to have everybody on board for it to work. There was no formal offer in relation to this, they said they would have to talk to their club in relation to it. We asked them to talk to every other club in this situation so that everyone is on board. This is a county wide issue and dealing with isolated cases on their own won't solve anything. There are families in adjoining parishes around in the same situation and it needs everyone on board. Mr Coughlan said that Kinnitty will have a look at submitting a motion on the parish rule at Convention next year but he is adamant that the County Board should lead it. Pointing out that things have changed considerably since the parish rule came in during 1909, he claimed that several other counties have made changes that have worked, including nearby ones such as Laois, and Longford. There are very good things in other counties that we can look at. Other counties have shown that they can make changes and they have worked. Let's look at it together. He agreed that Offaly needs to retain the parish rule and that to do away with it would fundamentally alter the GAA landscape in the county. We are talking about tweaking it to cater for families like this, he said, adding: The basics of the parish rule has worked well but the reason it has worked well was the understanding by clubs like ourselves. We more than anyone else stood by the basic ethos and principle of the parish rule but we looked at families first. We did not interfere or object when other clubs were illegal when we were playing them. We didn't make objections, we stood back and looked at the families and area first. I have talked to numerous clubs and they have also stood back because to do otherwise would put too much hardship on families. We want to twinge it. Other counties have done this. He called on the County Board Management Committee to take a proactive role in this rather than waiting for clubs to do it. The County Board should be taking the lead role and accepting we have a problem, not waiting for someone else to put it up. There is no point in them stepping back from it, this needs to be led from the top. This is about families and discrimination. We feel strongly that these children are being discriminated against. The County Board needs to take leadership. What happens if there are objections to illegal players all over the county (to breaches of the parish rule). The percentage fall out of players in the county would be very high and people would be very disillusioned with the GAA. Our families are very disillusioned. They are from fierce hurling backgrounds. He was asked would he accept a change to the parish rule where players in an area such as Knockbarron whose parents played with Kinnitty could play with them but other families moving in or living in the area would play with Drumcullen even if their children went to school in Kinnitty and they gravitated towards the village. Let's have a look at what system we come up with. Longford, Monaghan, Laois all have different models. The system mightn't be perfect but it would be a lot better than the moment where half the county is illegal. A TULLAMORE man asked a judge to please send him to prison, during last week's sitting of Tullamore District Court. Before the court was Thomas Power, 47 Grand Canal Court, Tullamore and he was charged with a large number of offences. The defending solicitor Donal Farrelly said his client is 20 years of age and was pleading guilty to all the charges. My client has told me, commented Mr Farrelly, that he would accept a small prison sentence as punishment for his offences. He tells me the reason is he is finding it difficult to cope with his troubles and problems in society. He feels he needs time away from his peers and his locality and his problematic alcohol habit. I appreciate that this is a strange request. It is certainly not something that I have ever asked the court to do before. Sergeant James O'Sullivan told the court what some of the charges were. On August 31, 2021 at Kilbride Street Tullamore at the rear of the Garda Station he was shouting abuse at the Gardai. He picked up stones and threw stones at the Garda cars. When asked to, he wouldn't leave the scene. He caused damage to a number of the Garda cars and to the station itself. He also threatened to cause damage to Sergeant Gary Ryan's car." On another date, February 27, 2021 at 2.45am the Gardai observed Mr Power driving a vehicle in a dangerous fashion on Church Road, Tullamore. The Garda patrol car followed Mr Power's car and witnessed him carrying out a number of dangerous driving manoeuvres at a number of spots, including Cloncollig Roundabout, Tullamore, Tesco Roundabout Tullamore, Church Hill Roundabout Tullamore, the N52 bypass, Chancery Lane Tullamore, New Road Tullamore, Church Street Tullamore, and O'Moore Street Tullamore. When the pursuit finally came to an end the Gardais discovered that Mr Power had no driving licence and no insurance. Sgt O'Sullivan said he had two previous convictions, for theft and criminal damage. This happened two years ago, said Mr Farrelly. He was young, only 18 years of age. He is now 20. When these offences happened in February and August 2021 he was under the influence of a lot of alcohol. Judge Andrew Cody said he would not send Mr Power to prison. Going into prison is not the answer for you Mr Power, remarked the Judge. Going into Midlands Prison for three to six months is not going to be good for you at 20 years of age. It is a reasonably good report about you that I have here before me. You have in fact come on a long way. These offences happened quite a while ago and you haven't come to the attention of the Gardai since. I am not going to throw away the key on you. You could be mixing with people in prison that, to be honest, I would prefer you didn't mix with, because you could be misled by them. That is not the answer for you. Therefore I am convicting and disqualifying from driving for four years and sentencing to three months imprisonment suspended for three years. For no insurance I am also fining 400. There are lots of people out there to help you if you engage with them. Please do so. And I would also like you to continue to engage with the Probation Service for the next 12 months. A FERBANE native was among three TUS students who showcased their culinary talents at the recent Chef of Ireland competition in the RDS, Dublin, at CATEX, bringing home gold and silver medals. Students Martin Duffy, Liam Martin, and Kayleigh Jade Hannon competed against student chefs from across the country to win the coveted prizes. Martin Duffy, now in his first year of a BA in Culinary Arts, won gold in the Chocolate Sculpture category for his chocolate windmill sculpture, which he created as part of his Advanced Pastry module. It was a lot of work, a lot of preparation, but it was really, really worth it, he said, explaining that hed put at least 150-200 hours" in behind the scenes preparing for his first ever culinary competition. With 25 years culinary experience under his belt, however, Martin is certainly no stranger to the kitchen and is currently employed as the head chef of the 4-star Athlone Springs Hotel. The Ferbane native, now living in Athlone, returned to education last year on a part-time basis to fulfil his dream of earning a degree and going on to become a culinary lecturer. Culinary arts lecturer Kevin Ward, himself an award-winning chocolatier, mentored Martin throughout the competition process and called CATEX a hugely positive experience for the students. All of our students and their mentors have put in hours of work outside of class time in order to hone skills to a level required for international competition. This includes attending extra technical sessions in their discipline areas, he explained. Competitions like this give students an opportunity to experience culinary practice far removed from the usual routine - giving students a chance to learn self-management, practice flexibility and build teamwork skills. Liam Martin, currently in his second year of a Higher Certificate in Culinary Arts, also enjoyed huge success at this years CATEX competition, claiming a silver medal for the second time in a matter of weeks with his contemporary take on Sole a la Polanaise. The budding chef, who competed in the Fish category, also represented TUS on the national stage at the 25th Knorr Student Chef of the Year competition in Dundalk recently. Talking about the benefits of getting that real-word experience before heading out into the hospitality industry, Liam said its absolutely crucial for student chefs. You learn so much from doing these competitions. Its just a completely different experience, and Id recommend anyone to do it, the Athlone native said. Liams mentor culinary lecturer John Killeen explained how partaking in competitions gives students a huge amount of confidence. Student chefs get the rare opportunity to experience being on a level playing field with more experienced peers, helping to give them a new level of confidence to take forward in their careers, he said. Just interacting with participants and the jury helps a student chef get their name out to industry professionals and helps them learn how to carry themselves as professionals while networking. Kayleigh Hannon, from Roscommon town, also took home a silver medal for her unique sage-infused butternut squash prawn risotto. Kayleigh, who is a chef working in the Darkhorse Bar and Restaurant in Athlone, is currently pursuing a Certificate in Culinary Arts at TUS via Springboard. On receiving the silver, she agreed it gave her great confidence and said aside from being great fun, the competition makes you see your own ability. It gives a clearer vision of what your strong points and weaker points are and what you can do to improve yourself, Kayleigh explained, adding that shes looking forward to heading back next year to try for the gold. Department of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure head Dr Emma Reardon said she was thrilled for the students successes at the CATEX Chef of Ireland competition and congratulated staff who were involved in this triumph. This exemplifies the Department of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisures commitment to active learning, where students learn by doing, she said. This hands-on approach to learning ensures TUS culinary graduates are among the most sought-after in the country with the relevant knowledge and skills employers are looking for. Met Eireann is warning people in Offaly and other Leinster counties, particularly drivers, to prepare for significant accumulations of snow on Friday morning after very cold and snowy overnight conditions. The worst of the weather is set to hit the most populated counties in Ireland and this was enough to cause Met Eireann to issue its second-highest level weather alert - a Status Orange - which will be in effect on Thursday night up to 10am on Friday. The National Emergency Coordination Group convened to coordinate a response. Its chairman Keith Leonard warned that drivers face particularly hazardous conditions in east of the country. "Particularly around that commute time between 7am and 9.30am tomorrow morning", he said. He also said some schools may not open. "There's definitely a question mark over schools opening everywhere but it'll be hard to know which schools will be affected so principals will make that decision tomorrow based on the local conditions. "The east coast is going to have the highest accumulations of snow but in reality tomorrow but with the ice that's already happened and the snow that's been in the west today, there could be hazardous conditions across the country. "So school principals across the country will be making that judgment tonight and tomorrow morning," he said on RTE. The National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management Crisis Management Team continues to monitor developments, liaising with Local Authority Severe Weather Assessment Teams in Laois and other counties and Crisis Management Teams who are actively monitoring the evolution of weather conditions. Authorities say cold weather arrangements remain in place throughout the country to ensure that there is adequate capacity to prevent any need for rough sleeping during the current period. The Weather Warning says spells of sleet and snow overnight combined with strong northerly winds will cause "significant accumulations" of in some areas by morning along with icy conditions. Met Eireann says the pssible impacts are: Very hazardous road conditions Travel disruption Poor Visibility The alert is valid from midnight Thursday to 10am on Friday. A Status Yellow snow-Ice warning for Ireland is valid for all of Ireland up to noon on Friday. Large parts of the country had already been hit with substantial snow on Thursday but Met Eireann expects the next wave to be worse. An agribusiness services firm is advising Irish farmers to be aware of legal obligations to employees. Ifac has issued advice to farmers across the country to ensure they stay ahead of the evolving legal landscape, with HR services manager, Clarissa O'Nuallain, stating the law is "constantly changing". She said, "Employment law is constantly changing and as a result it has been difficult for employers to keep up to speed with all their obligations." Ifac has compiled a list of the top five employer obligation questions with answers: Do I need to give all my employees a contract of employment? Employers are obliged to give their employees a statement containing the core terms of employment within five days of the start of employment. Employers must then give their employees a statement containing the remaining terms and conditions within one month. Ifac recommends drafting a contract of employment containing all terms of conditions in one document before the employee commences employment. This ensures that an employer's legal obligations are met but also provides clarity around the employment relationship for both parties, which can reduce disputes at a later stage. Can my employee work over 48 hours a week during busy times? Yes, the maximum number of hours that an adult employee can work in an average week is 48 hours. This does not mean that it can never exceed 48 hours, but it is the average that is important. Normally this is calculated over a four-month period, but in the case of farming, it can be calculated over a six-month period. Do I need to keep a record of all my employees' working hours? Employers are required by law to keep records of daily hours worked. This should include start and finish times, breaks taken and time spent on annual leave. All employers must keep these records in a way that can be easily understood by an inspector from the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC). How does the new Sick Leave Act affect me? Under the Sick Leave Act 2022, paid sick leave is now a statutory entitlement in Ireland. All employees, both full-time and part-time, have an entitlement to be paid sick leave. Heres how it works: Employees are entitled to up to three days paid sick leave per year. This can be taken consecutively or non-consecutively. An employee becomes entitled to sick pay after 13 weeks of continuous services in the employment. Employees need to provide a medical certificate to qualify. The daily rate of payment under the Sick Leave Act is 70% of regular earnings, up to a maximum of 110 per day. There are plans to increase the minimum number of sick leave days over the next four years. What risks are associated with non-compliance? WRC Inspectors visit places of employment and carry out investigations on behalf of the commission in order to ensure compliance with employment legislation. If a breach of legislation is found, an Inspector may issue a Fixed Payment Notice to an employer. Other more serious breaches of employment law are classed as offences, which may result in criminal prosecution. Additionally, an employee can also submit a complaint to the WRC if they feel that their employment rights are being breached. An employer should also take into consideration that poor workplace practices can increase employee turnover. This can also affect brand/reputation, which can discourage employees from applying for jobs in the future. White House officials have visited Belfast in advance of a potential trip by President Joe Biden next month. It is understood officials and members of the Secret Service arrived in Northern Ireland last weekend to scope possible venues for a presidential visit. The officials have also toured sites in Dublin and elsewhere in the Republic of Ireland as part of planning for a multiple-destination visit to the island of Ireland, the PA news agency understands. While no dates for a visit have been finalised, there is an expectation that a trip, if confirmed, would take place in April, given that is the month when Northern Ireland marks the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement peace deal. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar will meet Mr Biden in Washington DC next week as part of the annual St Patricks programme of events in the US capital. Political leaders from Northern Ireland will also be in Washington next week. That could potentially be the juncture when a presidential visit to the island of Ireland is confirmed and announced. Former US president Bill Clinton and his wife and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton are already expected in Belfast next month for events to commemorate the landmark accord that largely ended the Troubles. Other key figures involved in securing the deal are also due to travel to the city. A visit by Mr Biden to Northern Ireland to mark the Good Friday deal has long been anticipated but there has been speculation that it might not materialise if the powersharing impasse at Stormont is ongoing in April. The DUP is blocking the operation of the institutions created by the Good Friday deal in protest at Brexits Northern Ireland Protocol. The party is currently deliberating on whether to accept a new UK/EU deal on post-Brexit trading arrangements for Northern Ireland the Windsor Framework and return to Stormont. It is understood that the devolution impasse will not be a determining factor for US officials planning the potential visit by Mr Biden. The President has a deep affection for his Irish ancestry and a visit to the island has always been on the cards since his election. Paraphrasing James Joyce, one of his favourite Irish writers, Mr Biden once wrote that north-east Pennsylvania would be written on his heart when he dies but Ireland will be written on my soul. His Irish Catholic heritage is not only a source of intense pride but it also frames much of his political back story. The number of times Joyce and other Irish literary greats, such as Seamus Heaney and William Butler Yeats, find their way into his speeches is apparently somewhat of a running joke in Washington. Mr Biden is also fond of quoting Irish phrases and sayings that have been handed down through generations of his family. He can trace his ancestry to Irelands west and east coasts, specifically Ballina in Co Mayo and the Cooley Peninsula in Co Louth. His great-great-grandfather Owen Finnegan emigrated to the United States from the Cooley peninsula while another great-great-grandfather Patrick Blewitt was born in Ballina, leaving during the Irish famine in 1850 to sail to America. Distant relatives celebrated his election win in November 2020 and gathered again in January 2021 to mark his inauguration. Champagne corks were popped, cakes were baked and a huge mural of the 46th president was painted on a wall in Ballina. The affection is reciprocated and prior to becoming president, Mr Biden had visited both counties in recent years to meet long-lost cousins. Any visit to Ireland as president would be anticipated to include aspects related to his ancestry. Irish premier Leo Varadkar has said the UK would be required to engage with the European Union to resolve any issues about proposed new EU laws being introduced in Northern Ireland. Mr Varadkar made his comments a day after Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris suggested the UK Government would be bound to veto any law if the Stormont brake element of the new Windsor Agreement was activated. The framework will reduce the volume of Brexit red tape on the movement of GB goods bound for Northern Ireland that was created by the contentious Northern Ireland Protocol. It also introduces a mechanism the so-called Stormont brake that enables a minority of Stormont MLAs to formally flag concerns about the imposition of new EU laws in Northern Ireland in a move that could ultimately lead to the UK Government vetoing their introduction. The DUP, which collapsed powersharing in Northern Ireland in protest at the protocol, has yet to decide whether to back the Windsor Framework and return to devolution. Speaking to reporters in Dublin, Mr Varadkar was asked about Mr Heaton-Harriss comments. I think what were going to have to see is the legislation that the British government introduces, and theyve committed to consulting with the five main parties in Northern Ireland on that and also the Irish government, said Mr Varadkar. We see the Stormont brake as a red flag mechanism, a mechanism by which 30 assembly members from two parties or more can raise an issue, an issue that we will then try to sort out between the EU and UK and that if things cant be resolved we then go to international binding arbitrations, thats how we would see it develop, thats certainly how its written down in the legal text that was agreed between the EU and the UK. But of course the UK can bring in its own internal legislation, but they have committed to consulting with the parties on that. During a visit to Belfast earlier this week, Mr Heaton-Harris said further detail would be provided in the coming weeks on how the Stormont brake would work. He said that technical talks on the mechanism had been held with the Stormont political parties. Pressed on whether the Government was bound to veto a law if the brake was pulled, he said: So the criteria really have to be fulfilled at the Assembly level, and yeah, we make an assessment, but in the piece of secondary legislation that well be bringing forward, the Government will be bound, yeah. Some Stormont parties have expressed concern on whether his comments indicate that the brake will end up handing a powerful veto to a minority of MLAs. The death occurred in Birmingham on January 11 of Tullamore native Mary Coady of Convent View. The youngest of the nine, Mary had moved to Birmingham in 1968 where she remained until 1998 when she returned to live and work in Tullamore for a number of years to be close to her sister Sue Hensey of Convent View. In 2008 Mary returned to Birmingham where she remained until her death following a short illness. In her youth Mary was a champion Irish dancer for which she won numerous awards, she also enjoyed amateur drama. But it was as an advocate for those less fortunate from which she derived the most satisfaction. She helped to set up the Lane Neighbourhood Centre in the Moseley area of Birmingham in the late 1970s, providing help and support to local women about benefits, domestic violence, clothes swaps for their children, trips out. Always a champion for the underdog, Mary began volunteering at St Basils night shelter in 1976 where she eventually got a permanent job. Mary subsequently went to college to qualify as a social worker, following which she worked in education for Birmingham City Council for many years until she retired early in 1998. For the last few years Mary had experienced mixed health but she was fortunate to be cared for by her family and continued to remain in her home where she died peacefully surrounded by her loved ones. Mary is survived by her daughters Susan, Carol, Helen and Valerie, 10 grandchildren and six great grandchildren. Funeral Mass will take place at 10am in the Church of the Assumption, Tullamore on Wednesday March 22 with the interment of her ashes afterwards in Clonminch cemetery. By Peter Dlhopolec Every time Zlatica Kusnirova feels that she is about to lose sight of the end of her battle for.. Eurasia Review 07 Mar 2023 After defeats in the opening round, last years grand finalists take on the side that finished second on the ladder with both.. Brisbane Times 10 Mar 2023 Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has pledged to his Indian counterpart to give special protection to stop the threats directed at Hindu temples in Melbourne. As Labor announces a new community group to advise Airservices Australia, a hearing reveals the government-owned corporation collects $1 billion in fees from airlines each year. The House has voted 227-198 to overturn the Biden administrations protections for thousands of small streams, wetlands and other waterways, advancing long-held Republican arguments that the regulations are an environmental overreach and burden to business. House Republicans used the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to block recently enacted executive-branch regulations. The measure now heads to the Senate, where Republicans hope to attract Democratic senators wary of Bidens environmental policies. West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, a frequent Biden antagonist, has already pledged to support the overturn of a rule he calls federal overreach. Biden says he will veto the measure if it reaches his desk. Ukraine's military said it shot down many drones and missiles during the biggest wave of attacks in a month. Pope Francis says the conflict was fuelled by Russia and "empires from elsewhere." Follow DW for more. Hull Daily Mail 10 Mar 2023 Star of the 1970s TV show Baretta was cleared of murder but a civil court ordered him to pay Bonny Lee Bakleys family 25m Intellectuals do not have a monopoly on culture, on values, or on truth, much less on the meanings attributed to any one of these.. Eurasia Review 01 Mar 2023 Members of Parliament are asking questions about the company that is now Canada's largest wood pulp producer in the wake of an investigation by CBC News. A shooting at a Jehovah's Witnesses hall in the German city of Hamburg killed seven people, police said Friday. An unspecified number of other people were wounded, some of them seriously. Another person, possibly the perpetrator, was also found dead. The gunman who killed seven people at a Jehovah's Witness building in Hamburg was a former member of the congregation who police had been warned about, German police have said. Ireland welcome back a number of key players as they make six changes for Sunday's Six Nations game against Scotland at Murrayfield. The prime minister said returning to support his constituents after the attack would be a "surrender to terrorism." Rishi Sunak has arrived in Paris to open a "new chapter" in UK-French relations as he resets ties with President Emmanuel Macron after five rocky years. Berlin, Germany (SPX) Mar 06, 2023 In 2023, the German Aerospace Centerwill provide significant research support for the development and rapid application of sustainable technologies. The aim is to make the best possible use of innovations in aeronautics, space, energy, transport, and security to transition towards a climate-neutral society. This is intended to strengthen Germany's position as a prime location for green technolog Best Restaurant and Award for Special Contribution were among the awards taken home to Cornwall. Britain will pay 480m over the next three years in a deal struck between Rishi Sunak and Emmanuel Macron to tackle small boat Channel crossings, including helping fund a detention centre in France. Veuer 11 Apr 2023 Black Americans have been the most affected by gun violence in the US. A Kaiser Family Foundation poll results highlighted the.. Rumble 13 Apr 2023 Former U.S. President Donald Trump has been charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records after a Manhattan grand.. The U.S. releases February unemployment numbers. The president of the European Commission and President Biden will meet to discuss trade and the war in Ukraine. California braces for severe weather. One year after Russias invasion of Ukraine upended agricultural commodity markets, food prices remain elevated even after retreating from their record highs in early 2022. With two of the worlds largest exporters of wheat and other crucial crops entering a second year of war, many vulnerable countries still face... Saudi Arabias Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said the Kingdom is ready to mediate between the parties to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis on Thursday. Speaking during an official visit to Moscow, Prince Faisal affirmed the Kingdoms support for all efforts to find a political solution to the conflict,... Good news from Guantanamo: Ghassan Al-Sharbi, a Saudi prisoner held for nearly 21 years, has been repatriated. 48 years old, he was just 28 when he arrived at the prison on June 19, 2002. Al-Sharbi was seized on March 28, 2002, during a number of house raids in Faisalabad, Pakistan, which also led to the capture of Abu... ViewGerman officials say the suspected perpetrator of a mass shooting in Hamburg was a former member of the Jehovah's Witnesses. Seven people were killed inside the Kingdom Hall of the Jehovah's Witnesses, including an unborn baby. Eight people were wounded, four of them seriously. Thomas Radszuweit, a Hamburg security... Newsy 09 Mar 2023 ViewGerman media reported that at least six people were killed in a shooting in the northern German city of Hamburg, the.. Rumble 10 Mar 2023 An eyewitness filmed what he believes to be the person responsible for the shooting in Hamburg on Thursday (March 9) that left.. Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The third ordinary meeting of the Council of Ministers of the National Unity Government Friday took measures to meet the financial obligations for the month of Ramadan, the fasting month of Muslims, scheduled for the second half of March Photo: (Photo : Jay Paul /Getty Images) The 6-year-old boy who shot his first-grade teacher in Virginia will not be criminally charged. The chief prosecutor in Newport News, Virginia, has stated that there is no legal justification to charge the 6-year-old boy who shot his teacher. Nonetheless, the prosecutor has not yet concluded whether any adults involved in the incident could face criminal charges. No charges for the 6-year-old boy According to NBC, the prospect of a 6-year-old child standing trial for a criminal offense is a problematic issue. Howard Gwynn, the Newport News Commonwealth's Attorney, highlighted the challenges such a situation presents. He emphasized that a child of that young age lacks the necessary competence to comprehend the legal system's complexities, the implications of a charge, or the ability to adequately support an attorney. Although it is not unheard of for adolescents of that age to be arrested, it is theoretically possible for a 6-year-old child to be charged with a crime under Virginia law. However, Gwynn does not believe that charging such a young child has a legal basis; thus, his office focuses on other individuals. Gwynn stressed that his office's objective is not to rush the legal process. He explained that they would only charge individuals who they believe, beyond a reasonable doubt, committed a crime based on an analysis of all the facts. He also received three binders from Chief Drew regarding the investigation and still has hours of police body camera footage to review. He said his office would not charge anyone until he completes his thorough review. Furthermore, WUSA9 reports that Chief Steve Drew did not recommend charges, leaving the decision entirely up to Gwynn. It showed the level of independence Gwynn has in making a crucial decision like this. This is significant because it allows Gwynn's office to handle the case without external influence or pressure. It also reflects a commitment to a fair and just legal system that ensures that due process is followed in all cases. Read Also: Lawsuit Against Texas Claims Abortion Bans Violate Women's Rights to Health, Equality Abby Zwerner is suing the school district The shooting incident happened at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia, on January 6, 2023. It became the first school shooting in the country. The incident involved a 6-year-old boy who shot his first-grade teacher, Abby Zwerner, aged 25, in front of their class. Days before the incident, the boy had been suspended for one day after breaking his teacher's cell phone. The following day, he returned to school with a 9mm handgun and shot Zwerner while she was seated at a reading table. According to Fox News, Zwerner is now suing the school district for the shooting. As per Diane Toscano, Zwerner's attorney, teachers and employees warned administrators three times on the day of the shooting that the boy had a gun on him. Additionally, school administrators were informed that the 6-year-old boy had been threatening other students. They are suing for the school's negligence, which could have prevented the shooting had the school administrators cared or followed the proper protocols for incidents like this. Later investigations revealed that the boy's mother had legally purchased the 9-mm handgun he used to shoot his teacher. The family claimed that the gun was secured in the mother's closet, on a shelf, with a trigger lock that required a key. Related Article: Florida Republicans Propose Controversial 6-Week Abortion Ban Photo: (Photo : Mike Coppola / Getty Images) Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced that their daughter, Lilibet Diana, had been christened in an intimate ceremony in California. During the christening of their daughter, they publicly referred to her as a princess and disclosed for the first time that they would use royal titles for their children. This move elevates both children's titles to align with the 1917 Letters Patent, a written order by King George V. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will use royal titles for children According to NBC, there was speculation regarding whether Prince Harry and Meghan would bestow royal titles upon their children after they stepped down as senior royal family members. This decision meant they would no longer use their royal titles and would cease receiving public funds. However, the recent christening of their daughter, Princess Lilibet Diana, confirmed that they had decided to use royal titles for their children. The christening took place on Friday and was officiated by Rev. John Taylor, Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles. A spokesperson for the couple confirmed the news on Wednesday. The royal family's website is expected to update the children's titles soon. This announcement marked the first time the children's titles were publicly used. Princess Lilibet Diana will turn two in June, while her older brother Prince Archie will be four this May. It is not believed that members of the royal family attended the christening, which took place in California. According to Good Morning America, Lilibet's birth in 2021 was historic, as she was the first senior royal baby born in the United States and the first great-grandchild born outside of the United Kingdom. She is also the first senior royal baby to be christened in the U.S., while her brother and three cousins were all christened in the U.K. Approximately 20 to 30 guests attended the christening, including Tyler Perry as Lili's godfather and Doria Ragland, Meghan's mother, as her grandmother. Read Also: Bindi Irwin Speaks out on Endometriosis; Advocates for Improved Diagnosis, Support The royal titles of Lilibet and Archie In a March 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan discussed how there was a debate within the family regarding whether their son Archie would be given the title of prince. According to NPR, that argument was a year after they left their public roles. She clarified that the royal institution made the decision and not her or her husband. Meghan stated that they had no desire for Archie to be a prince or princess, as this would be contrary to protocol, and he would not receive security. Those heated arguments were made in the final months of her pregnancy, which was a difficult time for her. She expressed her fears about giving up her baby, knowing he would not be protected. Meghan suggested that this might have been due to Archie's status as the first member of color in the royal family. It would also have marked the first time a royal grandchild was not given the same title as the other grandchildren. The family's official title change will align with the 1917 Letters Patent, established by King George V. This decree states that the children of the sovereign's sons should be referred to as prince and princess. Related Article: Prince Harry's Fatherhood Journey: From Childhood Trauma to Smothering His Kids With Love Photo: (Photo : Amy Sussman / Getty Images) Michelle Obama talks about how she loves her life now in her 50s and discusses why she is currently enjoying her life on her podcast - The Light Podcast, where Hoda Kotb joined her. The host of Today Show, Obama, revealed that one of the reasons she is savoring this phase of her life is because she has moved on from the parenting phase. Michelle Obama on parenting in her 50s Through her years of parenting in and out of the White House, the former first lady learned an important lesson about how to treat young people. According to CNBC, she believes that parents should not greet their kids with a critical eye but instead express how happy they are to be together. It is easy for parents to fall into the trap of critiquing their kids rather than focusing on the joy of spending time together. As children grow older, their needs change, and the role of a parent evolves accordingly. Michelle Obama recognized this and decided to transition from being a "mom-in-chief" to an "advisor-and-chief" as her children entered their teenage years. This transition allowed her to guide and support her children while respecting their independence and autonomy. Being an advisor mom-in-chief involves stepping back and allowing your children to make their own decisions while offering guidance and support when needed. Per the Parents, she quoted Toni Morrison, who said that kids just want happiness and do not need their parents to fix them or point out their faults. Obama emphasized the importance of extending this joy to children who are not our own. Obama also advised parents to be careful in their communication with young people, as we are models who show them the best parts of themselves. Treating them like a nuisance or dehumanizing them can leave a lasting impact. Communicating with young people in a positive and uplifting manner is essential to foster their growth and development. Read Also: 2023 International Women's Day Celebrates' DigitALL' Innovation, Technology for Gender Equality Michelle Obama on the definition of being a mother Motherhood is a complex and diverse experience that can be shaped by various factors such as culture, race, sexuality, and socioeconomic status. However, mainstream media often portrays a narrow and exclusionary definition of motherhood that does not reflect this diversity. This can leave many mothers feeling unseen, unheard, and unworthy. According to She Knows, Michelle Obama addressed this issue and pointed out that the portrayal of motherhood in media and popular culture often fails to represent numerous people. The public lacks representation of LGBTQ+ parents, mothers with disabilities, families of color, and those who adopted their children or used IVF. Single mothers and blended families are also often left out of this narrow definition of motherhood. This limited portrayal of motherhood fails to represent the diversity of mothers' experiences and backgrounds and perpetuates harmful stereotypes and stigma. However, Michelle Obama also highlighted the importance of sharing diverse stories of motherhood to challenge and expand society's narrow definition of what it means to be a mother. During the podcast, Obama praised Hoda Kotb, an amazing mother who breaks many of these mainstream mom stereotypes. Kotb, an older mom who adopted her two daughters, spoke about her initial feelings of doubt and unworthiness as a mother. She highlighted the importance of sharing these stories of struggle and growth to help other mothers realize that they are not alone and that their experiences are valid. Related Article: Bindi Irwin Speaks out on Endometriosis; Advocates for Improved Diagnosis, Support Photo: (Photo : JOSEPH PREZIOSO / Getty Images) The state of West Virginia has declined the proposed law prohibiting underage marriage. The decision was made soon after Democratic Representative Kayla Young introduced the bill and provided a brief statement to the committee. Young mentioned that over 3,600 marriages involving minors have occurred in the state since 2000, putting children at risk. West Virginia rejects bill prohibiting minors from getting married The Republican-dominated Senate Judiciary Committee rejected the bill. According to ABC, the bill was voted down by a narrow margin of 9-8, one week after the House of Delegates had passed it. Under current laws in West Virginia, children as young as 16 can get married with their parents' consent, and younger people require a judge's waiver. The proposed bill would have raised the age of consent to 18 and removed the option for a minor to obtain consent through their parents or legal guardians or by court petition. However, existing marriages, including those conducted in other states, would not have been affected. Despite the bill's intention to safeguard children from an underage marriage, some opponents contended that teenage marriages are common in West Virginia and should be upheld as a tradition. However, supporters of the bill, which seeks to end forced and child marriage, believe that setting the minimum age for marriage at 18 reduces domestic violence and unwanted pregnancies and improves the lives of teenagers. In response to the vote, Cabell County Democratic Sen. Mike Woelfel reminded the committee that it was International Women's Day, implying that allowing minors to marry can harm women's lives. Woelfel, along with other supporters of the bill, argued that underage marriages could be exploitative and could lead to a loss of educational opportunities, health complications, and psychological issues. As per U.S. News, Senator Mike Stuart, a member of the majority who voted against the bill, clarified that his vote was not intended to be a vote against women. He explained that his mother was married at 16, and he was born six months later. Read Also: Texas Mom Warns Parents About the Dangers of Water Beads After Baby's Emergency Surgery Child marriage in other states Child marriages occur when one or both parties are under 18. It is currently permitted in 43 states across the United States. However, some states, including Rhode Island, New York, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Delaware, and Pennsylvania, have eliminated all exceptions and set the minimum age at 18. In contrast, 20 states in the country do not require any minimum age for marriage, with a parental or judicial waiver. West Virginia, however, recently attempted to prevent minors from getting married to protect teenagers under 18 from being forced into marriages. According to Equality Now, child marriage can potentially be a harmful practice with adverse health consequences while depriving these young women of more opportunities. Young girls forced into marriages are subjected to state-sanctioned rape and are at an increased risk of domestic violence and forced pregnancy. Shockingly, about 86 percent of these marriages in the U.S. involve girls married to adult men, many of whom are much older. Unfortunately, despite children being allowed to get married in the U.S., they are not yet entitled to file for divorce or seek shelter in domestic violence cases. Related Article: Couple Turns Grief Into Action, Raising Funds for Congenital Heart Disease Research Photo: (Photo : Brett Jordan on Unsplash) If you are considering bariatric surgery in Turkey, there are a few things you should think of, before making a decision. Let us outline the main benefits and drawbacks for you, as well as the associated costs and complications. So whether you are thinking about undergoing surgery or just want to know more about it, this read is for you. Turkey - the Google Search hit You have become interested in bariatric surgery. You open Google and type bariatric surgery" into the search engine. 99/100 that the results you will have listed first are about bariatric surgery in Turkey. Searching for prices? Your how much is bariatric surgery" makes Google go how much is bariatric surgery in Turkey". This is because there is a great number of Turkish bariatric clinics with paid ads, the prices are cheap and as with any search engine, popularity is feeding popularity, so it is hard to even see other options. Is bariatric surgery in Turkey worth the hype? You may be reading of the excellently cheap surgery packages and high quality clinics in amazing locations perfect for some pre- or post-surgery holiday. But you could as well be learning about lots of botched surgeries, including fatal injuries and death. So, which is it - is Turkey good for weight loss surgery or not? Yes and no. You may chance upon some of the best bariatric surgeons in Turkey. There really are some excellent surgeons out there, but you may also meet those who have just got the right by law without years of practice... It will not be easy to tell. As to the prices and their own cost" - The cost of bariatric surgery in Turkey Fees for weight loss surgery in Turkey are 50-60% lower than in the UK. gastric sleeve, 3500+ gastric bypass 3000+ package deals start at 3000-3500 as well, however, what the package includes, varies by clinic. Reasons for these prices do/may include: Much lower costs of service and locally manufacturing equipment "Conveyor method," which includes shorter observation time in the clinic and lack of personal approach To cut weight loss surgery expenses, overall cheap and low-quality equipment may be used PS. These procedures are cheap only for medical tourists coming from countries with greater wages. What do the reviews of bariatric surgery in Turkey say? When we take a quick dip into the reviews of bariatric surgery in Turkey, a lot of the previously mentioned topics come forth - the speeding, the lack of personal approach, also the amount of complications post-surgery. Of course, there are also very positive reviews of weight loss surgery in Turkey. As mentioned earlier, there really are some excellent surgeons in Turkey, just that finding them can be tricky and a bit of a casting dice while crossing fingers. What we do advise, when it comes to bariatric surgery in Turkey, is do your individual and independent research, and definitely reach out to local forums and FB groups to learn from previous patients and their personal experience. These are life-changing operations, so make an informed decision! 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 Parsons Sun office at (620) 421-2000 if you have any questions Today Apple TV+ reveals the trailer and 12 innovative artists featured in upcoming eight-part series My Kind of Country, from executive producers Reese Witherspoon and Kacey Musgraves. My Kind of Country is a fresh take on a music competition series, breaking down barriers in country music by providing an extraordinary opportunity to diverse artists from around the world. Scouts Jimmie Allen, Mickey Guyton and Orville Peck each handpick a roster of exceptional up-and-coming artists and invite them to the home of country music in Nashville, Tennessee, to showcase their unique sound. The winner will receive a life-changing experience from Apple, including global exposure across the Apple TV+ and Apple Music platforms. To read the synopsis of the artists to appear on the show from South Africa, India, Mexico and a few U.S. Southern States, check out Apple's full press release. Archive: Apple TV News A new article, this one a review article, has been published in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship: In New Zealand: Even More Faithful Latter-day Saints, written by Louis C. Midgley Review of Selwyn Katene, ed., Let Their Light So Shine: Mormon Leaders in New Zealand (Wellington, NZ: Huia Publishers, 2021). Foreword by Charles A. Rudd (pp. viiviii); Preface by Peter Lineham (p. ixx); Introduction by Selwyn Katene (pp. 13); Contributors (pp. 21518); Glossary (and Mormon Terms) (pp. 21921); Index (pp. 22230). NZ $30.00 Hardbound. Abstract: This is a review of the third in the series of books of essays on what Selwyn Katene again calls Mormon Leaders in New Zealand. This volume as at least as excellent, if not even better, than the other two volumes, which received very favorable reviews. Every effort must be made to preserve and publish an accurate history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in New Zealand/Aotearoa. Such effort is to be praised, especially when it is set out in such a handsome and exceptionally well-edited and published version as one finds in this entire valuable series. Despite this and the two other previous volumes in this series, there are yet more Latter-day Saints whose stories of faith and dedicated service in building the Kingdom of God in this beautiful land must be told in future volumes of this truly remarkable series. Please permit me to recount one of my own experiences from a visit to New Zealand quite a few years ago. First, though, a preliminary note: As Ive said here on several occasions, I grew up in a part-member family in southern California. My mother was a fairly marginal member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who had grown up in St. George. My father was a nominal Lutheran who had been born and raised in an immigrant Scandinavian family in rural North Dakota. I began to interest myself in the Restoration as an early teenager, largely on my own. (Eventually, I was able to baptize my father, and my parents became fully active in the Church, which led, among other things, to my fathers serving in a bishopric and to our familys sealing in the Los Angeles California Temple.) When I began to take an interest in the Gospel, I decided to attend early-morning seminary. I think that it was probably there that I first encountered the well-known story of Elder Matthew Cowley (1897-1953), who served as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles from 1945 until his early and unexpected death. As a very young man, Elder Cowley served as a missionary among the Maori of New Zealand, where he gained both a life-long love for Polynesians in general and for the Maori in particular and where he evidently gained a remarkable mastery of the Maori language. He continued to be involved with New Zealand and its people for the rest of his life, and also gained a reputation as a worker of miracles among those very faithful people. Anyway, I was once over in New Zealand giving lectures and firesides on the North Island and being taken around by none other than Professor Louis C. Midgley and his wonderful wife, Ireta. (They were serving as CES missionaries there, directing the Lorne Street Institute of Religion in Auckland.) At one point, we attended Sunday services at a Latter-day Saint ward sadly, I cant remember where it was which included participation in a high priests group meeting after the conclusion of sacrament meeting. We were all seated around a large seminar-style table (perhaps in a high council room) waiting for the meeting to start. Or maybe it was when Professor Midgley and I were asked to introduce ourselves. Many if not most of those around the table were Maori. One of the men at the table asked me, Do you know who the man is whos sitting next to you? I replied that no, I didnt. Have you ever heard the story of Matthew Cowley raising a young Maori boy from the dead? I said that yes, I was very familiar with that famous story. Well, he said, pointing to the sixtyish-looking gentleman at my left, thats the boy. And sometimes, one of the other Maori brethren chipped in, inspiring laughter all around the table, we wish he hadnt. I was astonished. The story of Matthew Cowley and that Maori boy was a piece of almost-legendary Church history with which I had never imagined having direct personal contact. But I did. Im really, really looking forward to returning to New Zealand next February. Please consider joining me. I now conclude the quotation from Alister McGrath, Darwinism and the Divine: Evolutionary Thought and Natural Theology, The 2009 Hulsean Lectures, University of Cambridge ( Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011) that I began yesterday in my blog entry Joseph Smith and the Architecture of Genesis. Frankly, this passage wont be fully comprehensible unless youre acquainted with the first part of the quotation, which I shared yesterday: More than a few of you, I think, will find this enjoyable: Conference Talks: Joseph Smith and the Architecture of Genesis, presented by David Calabro Dr. Calabros interesting remarks were originally delivered on 25 October 2014 at the Interpreter Foundations 2014 Temple on Mount Zion Conference. And, speaking of Genesis, how about a visit to Eden? The folks at Bountiful Travel want me to mention this trip so that people out there will be aware of it. Its coming up in just a little under a year: New Zealand / Australia Cruise 13 DAY CRUISE 9-20 February 2024 Sail with Daniel Peterson as he enlightens and uplifts our group with his informational lectures on sea days. Join our private tours at the ports to make the most of this incredible journey. This is a small-group tour limited to 30 people so you will want to book soon. Explore Auckland Museum with its amazing Polynesian artifacts as well as Harbour Bridge, Viaduct Basin and Westhaven Marina. Learn about the earthquake that destroyed the city of Napier in 1931 and discover the unique Art Deco style they used to rebuild this unique city. From Picton, take a small boat wildlife tour to Marlborough Sounds and visit Motuara Island, a kiwi nursery and bird sanctuary. Along with its beautiful city center, Wellington offers Te PapaNew Zealands National Museum, Zealandia and the Karori Sanctuary. Visit Larnach Castle, the Toitu Otago Settlers Museum and the Royal Albatross Centre in Dunedin. Savor onboard evening shows, endless gourmet delights, and private lectures from Dan. Join our adventurous LDS group as we create memories to last a lifetime. Small Group Tour: Group Size Limited to 30 People Book Soon! Now, I dont want to dampen anybodys enthusiasm for this tour, but Ive read online that Peterson is not only one of the nastiest people alive but a complete buffoon. Still, Aotearoa or New Zealand is such a wonderful place that even Peterson probably cant ruin it. And, anyhow, he doesnt get paid for these junkets beyond simply being compensated for his and his wifes expenses which may well rank him as one of the most dimwitted folks alive, even beyond being a depraved monster so its not as if youll be depositing money in his corrupt Swiss bank account should you sign up. This will, I think, be Petersons fourth or even fifth trip to New Zealand. Or something on that order. And yet the country has survived. And participants on this cruise may survive, too. And, of course, thinking about Genesis also gets me, fairly often, to thinking about evolution, which (sometimes) gets me to thinking about Richard Dawkins. In which context, I like the passage below from Alister McGrath, Darwinism and the Divine: Evolutionary Thought and Natural Theology, The 2009 Hulsean Lectures, University of Cambridge ( Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011). A word about the author: Formerly (well into his university studies) an atheist but now an ordained Anglican priest, Alister McGrath currently holds the Andreas Idreos Professorship in Science and Religion in the Faculty of Theology and Religion at the University of Oxford. He has earned three doctorates at Oxford first, a D.Phil. in molecular biophysics, then a D.D. (Doctor of Divinity) in theology, and, most recently, a D.Litt. (Doctor of Letters) in intellectual history. To illuminate the problem more clearly, we may consider a passage from [Oxford biologist Richard] Dawkinss early masterpiece of Darwinian popularization, The Selfish Gene (1976). This important and influential work supplements overt scientific description with a covert metaphysic, which represents genes as active agents in control of their own destiny and those of their hosts: [Genes] swarm in huge colonies, safe inside gigantic lumbering robots, sealed off from the outside world, communicating with it by tortuous indirect routes, manipulating it by remote control. They are in you and me; they created us, body and mind; and their preservation is the ultimate rationale for our existence. The passage presents a completely defensible scientific statement genes are in you and me with a series of rather less defensible metaphysical assertions. We are told, for example, that the preservation of our genes is the ultimate rationale for our existence. This is, however, simply a presentation of a genes eye view a hypothetical metaphysical way of interpreting scientific observation, which arguably reached its zenith in the early 1980s. This approach conceived the gene as an active controlling agent, which could be regarded as manipulating the destiny of biological entities, including humanity. Yet the empirically verified facts in this statement are limited to the brief statement that genes are in you and me. The rest is speculative. Metaphysical presuppositions have been smuggled in, and portrayed as if they were scientifically verified facts. The point becomes clearer by reflecting on the same paragraph, as teasingly rewritten by the Oxford systems biologist Denis Noble. Noble retains what is scientifically valid and verifiable of Dawkinss prose. Then, in a masterly piece of ideological subversion, he identifies and inverts Dawkinss non-scientific statements. Noble playfully portrays genes as passive, where Dawkins depicts them as active. [Genes] are trapped in huge colonies, locked inside highly intelligent beings, moulded by the outside world, communicating with it by complex processes, through which, blindly, as if by magic, function emerges. They are in you and me; we are the system that allows their code to be read; and their preservation is totally dependent on the joy that we experience in reproducing ourselves. We are the ultimate rationale for their existence. [pages 38-39] [To be continued] By the way and on a quite distinct topic, heres a new entry on the Neville-Neville Land blog that puts me in mind of Lewis Carrolls Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There: Rian Nelson posts antisemitic comments; Jonathan Neville blames Daniel Peterson for pointing this out Remembering Harriet Tubman, the Woman Called Moses Araminta Ross was born a slave somewhere around 1820 in Maryland. One of vastly too many. Her life, as was the norm for the enslaved, was brutal. At one time when one of her owners threw a heavy weight at another slave while she tried to intervene, she was accidentally hit. She would suffer spells of dizziness and pain for the rest of her life. While it was illegal she married John Tubman, a free man in 1844, taking his family name. She also gave herself a first name, something uncontaminated by the slavers. She called herself Harriet Tubman. And then something happened. In 1849, on the 17th of September, Harriet escaped to freedom. It is not possible at this distance to fathom the danger involved. Anyone who attempted to flee bondage deserves to be remembered for their courage. Actually Harriets husband was too afraid to flee himself. And I dont believe it is possible to condemn someone for that. The danger, the consequences in being caught was unspeakable. People can dream of what theyd do. Most of us are heroes in our imaginations. What makes us remember Harriet Tubman, however, is what she did after that first astonishing act of claiming her body for herself. After securing her own freedom, she returned, gathered up her family, and the led them to freedom, as well. Harriet Tubman would eventually lead some thirteen bands of escaped slaves out of bondage. The scholar Robert Gudmestad writes Tubmans Christian faith tied all of these remarkable achievements together. She grew up during the Second Great Awaken ing which was a Protestant religious revival in the United States. Preachers took the gospel of evangelical Christianity from place to place, and church membership flourished. Christians at this time believed that they needed to reform America in order to usher in Christs second coming. A number of black female preachers preached the message of revival and sanctification on Marylands Eastern Shore. Jarena Lee was the first authorized female preacher in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. It is not clear if Tubman attended any of Lees camp meetings, but she was inspired by the evangelist. She came to understand that women could hold religious authority. Historian Kate Clifford Larson believes that Tubman drew from a variety of Christian denominations, including the African Methodist Episcopal, Baptist and Catholic beliefs. Like many enslaved people, her belief system fused Christian and African beliefs. Her belief that there was no separation between the physical and spiritual worlds was a direct result of African religious practices. Tubman literally believed that she moved between a physical existence and a spiritual experience where she sometimes flew over the land. An enslaved person who trusted Tubman to help him escape simply noted that Tubman had de charm, or Gods protection. In the run up to the Civil War Tubman assisted John Brown in preparing for his raid on Harpers Ferry. During the war she worked as a cook, as a nurse, and eventually as an armed scout and spy. Harriet Tubman is counted as the first woman to lead an armed expedition in the war when she led the raid on Combahee Ferry, freeing a hundred slaves. When the war ended, Tubman retired to her home in Auburn, New York, where she focused on caring for her elderly parents. She married a Civil War veteran, Nelson Davis. Unable to just rest on her laurels, Harriet Tubman soon turned to womens suffrage, which she labored for until old age and illness overtook her. Eventually he received a small pension as the widow of a veteran, and later another in recognition of her own astonishing work. Harriet Tubman, the woman called Moses, died on this day, the 10th of March, in 1913. Tubman was buried with military honors. She an American hero, well deserving of replacing one of our more problematic presidents on our currency, as was planned before Donald Trump assumed the presidency. I believe it is simply a matter of time before this is corrected. If youre used to working with multiple computer monitors at your desk, traveling with a laptop can be tough. Suddenly, youre back to the single-screen lifestyle, and on a cramped laptop display to boot. Fortunately, though, theres a free way to use old iPads, Android tablets, or even other laptops as extra monitors for your Windows PC. The solution is a utility called Spacedesk. It may not be the only multi-monitor software out there, but its the most versatile free option Ive found so far. Installing Spacedesk for Windows Spacedesk consists of two parts: Spacedesks Driver software runs in the background on your PC and connects to your other screens. You can install it from the Spacedesk website. Note that youll need to make a firewall exception for Spacedesk to work. An option to do so is included in the installation process. runs in the background on your PC and connects to your other screens. You can install it from the Spacedesk website. Note that youll need to make a firewall exception for Spacedesk to work. An option to do so is included in the installation process. Spacedesks Viewer apps can be launched on other devices, at which point your PC will recognize them as additional monitors. Apps are available for Windows, iOS, Android, Amazon devices, and any other device via the web viewer. Jared Newman / Foundry The server connection works over Wi-Fi. Once youve installed the Driver software, open the Viewer app. Spacedesk should recognize your computer automatically if its on the same Wi-Fi network, so you can select it and launch second-screen mode. Configuring Spacedesk Jared Newman / Foundry By default, Spacedesk doesnt scale up any display elements, which can make things look too small on your extra screen. To fix this, head to Windows Settings > System > Display, select your new display from the list of monitors, then try adjusting both the display resolution and scaling to a more comfortable level. Also, note that by default, the Spacedesk Driver will always launch when your computer boots up. To change this, right-click on Spacedesks taskbar icon, select Spacedesk driver console, then uncheck the box that says Automatic Start at System Boot Time. Jared Newman / Foundry Make sure to configure your monitors in Windows as well. Head to Settings > System > Display, and youll see a layout of all your screens, which you can drag and drop to reflect their actual positioning at your desk. Now you can move your mouse in the direction of your additional screens, and theyll be right where you expect them. In the Viewer app, you can also click the Gear icon and select Settings for additional options, including screen resolution and quality. Jared Newman / Foundry Unfortunately, Spacedesk only supports wired USB connections on Android devices, and the company has indicated that this may become a premium feature in the future. But even over a wireless connection, Spacedesk is good enough for referencing emails, documents, or team chats alongside your main windows. It also has no issues playing video in sync with system audio. More multi-monitor software options Luna Display has a dedicated dongle for connecting with an iPad. Jared Newman / Foundry If youre interested in exploring more multi-monitor apps, here are a few to consider: Luna Display is a $130 dongle (available in USB-C, HDMI, or DisplayPort for Mac) that turns either an iPad or a spare Mac into a secondary computer screen. It eliminates the cursor lag typically found on other solutions, so its a compelling alternative for graphic design or any other application where fine-grained input is important. Duet Display supports both wired and wireless connections, but requires a subscription starting at $25 per year. Samsung Galaxy Tab owners can take advantage of Samsungs Second Screen app, turning the tablet into a secondary computer monitor at no charge. For Mac users, the built-in Sidecar feature lets you use an iPad as a space screen. You can activate it through Control Center by hitting the Display button, then selecting your iPad. Alternatively, hover your cursor over the green full screen button on any window, than choose the option to move it to your iPad. For most people, though, Spacedesk is a great free option for those times when a single screen wont suffice. Sign up Jareds Advisorator newsletter to get more advice like this in your inbox. The report of a five-member ad hoc Cabinet committee set up by President Nana Akufo-Addo on the implementation modalities to enhance domestic production in some 20 selected products, on which the country spends more than US$10billion importing yearly, is ready for implementation. Once confirmed, it is expected the Minister-designate for Trade and Industry, who is currently awaiting parliaments approval, will urgently roll out a series of initiatives to implement the policy, the President told parliamentarians during his State of the Nation Address on Wednesday. Apart from the enhancement of revenue and judicious use of resources, we all agreed that we need to do something about our huge import bill. Last year, I set up a five-member ad hoc Cabinet committee to work on a policy to enhance domestic production and export development. The report on implementation modalities to enhance domestic productive capacity in these products has been prepared, and once confirmed the new Minister for Trade and Industry will urgently roll out a series of initiatives to implement the policy, he said. Among these target products are rice, fish, poultry, fruit juice, sugar, tomatoes, vegetable oils and oil palm. The list also includes fertiliser, pharmaceuticals, soaps and detergents, insulated wire, ceramic products, corrugated paper and paper-board, cement/clinker, and motor vehicles. The policy to enhance domestic production and export development is centred on four main strategies: reducing the countrys import bill in the short-medium and long term; enhancing domestic productive capacity in selected products; generating widespread employment opportunities; and diversifying and expanding Ghanas export capacity to Africa and beyond. In November last year, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta told parliament that the countrys import bill on fish, rice, iron, steel, aluminum, sugar, poultry, palm oil, pharmaceuticals, toilet rolls, fruit juice, among others, exceeds US$10billion per annum. The heavy dependence on importation of goods and services, he lamented, puts excessive pressure on the cedi; rendering it weak against major trading currencies. Mr. Ofori-Atta further noted that Ghana has the capacity to locally produce these products which account for about 45 percent of the countrys imports value annually. According to the Ghana Revenue Authoritys Integrated Customs Management Systems (ICUMS), in 2021 Ghanas total import bill was put at US$13.7billion. Last year, the economy spent over GH6.8billion (equivalent to about US$560million at current market rates) to import rice alone. While total rice consumption stood at 1.4 million metric tonnes in 2022, imports valued at US$560million accounted for 800,000 metric tonnes (mt) of the consumption figure with domestic production catering for the remaining demand according to data from IDH Sustainable Trade, a foundation headquartered in The Netherlands. Similarly, according to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, between 2010 and 2020 the countrys rice imports hit a staggering US$8billion. This, in addition to imports of other food items that can be produced locally has been a major source of concern for stakeholders. 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 The National Lottery Authority (NLA) has launched "Blue Star Lotto". The latest addition to the NLA family is expected to take the lotto business in Ghana a step further. Speaking at the launch, the Deputy Director General of NLA, Mrs. Anna Horma Miezeh said the banker to banker illegal lotto operators are a source of worry to the Authority. She warned that the NLA will not hesitate to arrest all those running illegal lotto, indicating that revenue from such businesses are required by the government to develop the country. Mrs. Horma Miezeh noted that NLA will soon regularize the operation of all lotto operations. Mr. Clement Adu-Sarpong, Chief Executive of Blue Star Lotto, was optimistic the pact would improve the lotto system in the country. Nana Opoku Boakye, the Director of Sales and Marketing at NLA, noted that the Authority and Blue Star are now partners. According to him, NLA has given Blue Star Company the mandate to do business with the Authority. Mr. Opoku Boakye stated that NLA trusts Blue Star, the reason for doing business with the company, and stressed that technology has changed the way of doing business in Ghana. He stated that Blue Star is a Ghanaian-owned company and that the machines of the company are state-of-the-art. The NLA Director of Marketing said Act 722 enjoins the NLA to raise funds to support the needy in society, hence the good causes Foundation. He explained that through such collaborations with strategic business partners, NLA would get funds to carry out its needed projects. Others present at the ceremony were lotto retailers and marketers as well as other stakeholders in the lotto industry. 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 Huang Lei, a Chinese national believed to be the son of illegal mining kingpin, En Huang, popularly known as Aisha Huang, has been convicted by an Accra High Court and subsequently deported by the Ghana Immigration Service. The convict was arrested on September 2, 2022, and the arresting officers retrieved among other things, eight packs of Eley shotgun cartridges, containing about two 250 pieces of ammunition. He was not able to provide a valid licence for them. He was before the court charged with one count of remaining in Ghana after the expiration of his passport and one count of possessing 250 rounds of ammunition without authority. He had pleaded not guilty before the court presided over by Justice Lydia Osei Marfo, but later changed his plea to guilty before a relieving judge, Justice Comfort Tasiame, as a result of the substantive judge being on her annual leave. Huang Lei, was subsequently convicted on his own plea of guilty and was sentenced to a fine of GH10,800. The court ordered the Ghana Immigration Service to deport the convict, and he has since been deported to his home country of China. Meanwhile, two of his accomplices who are standing trial for similar offences are before the court, which has set a date to conduct case management which paves way for the trial. His counterpart, Huang Haihua, has also been charged with one count of possessing a forged document a fake residence permit, while Shi Yang, who was initially standing trial with his mother and stepfather has now been charged with one count of possessing a forged residence permit and four counts of possessing ammunition without authority. He has been charged with being in the possession of 114 rounds of ammunition 83 live rounds of 9mm ammunition, three live rounds of 8mm ammunition and another 22 live rounds of BB ammunition without authority. Lucy Ekeleba Blay, counsel for the two, told the court yesterday that she had filed another application for bail on behalf of the accused, who had been remanded into prison custody. The court, however, said it will not be able to hear the application yesterday and subsequently adjourned the case to March 22, 2023, for the application to be moved. Source: dailyguidenetwork.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 Assemblyman for Bepotenten Electoral Area in the Amansie Central District, Ashanti Region, yesterday told an Accra High Court that uncovered pits left behind by illegal mining activities of En Huang, aka Aisha Huang, has claimed the lives of residents. Mathew Kwabla Abotsi, the prosecutions seventh witness in the trial of the illegal mining kingpin, said the illegal mining activities of Aisha Huang has affected the living condition of the indigenes. He indicated that the lands that were mined by the accused person were farmlands that were never reclaimed, and pits were left uncovered. He cited for instance, Opanin Mensahs village which is now littered with galamsey sites, adding that children and adults have fallen into these pits and lost their lives. Aisha Huang is on trial for engaging in illegal mining at Bepotenten in Amansie Central District of the Ashanti Region without valid licence. The Chinese national, who is often referred to as Galamsey Queen, has also been charged for her illegal re-entry into Ghana after her deportation in 2019, and also for illegally employing foreign nationals. Led in his evidence-in-chief by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Yvonne Atakora Obuobisa, the witness told the court that the accused person also extended her illegal mining activities across a footpath which residents used to their farms. Mr. Abotsi said he personally went to Aishas mining site at Sukuumu to verify and address the situation, and at the said site, he saw mine workers, both Chinese and Ghanaians numbering about twenty, about six excavators, two washing plants and about four water pumps in use. I verified the complaints I had received and found that Aishas mining activities had been extended to where the road used to be, and there was uncovered pit filled with water like a dam close to what was left of the footpath, the witness said. He said he took up the issue with the accused who had promised to create a new footpath and cover up the dam. A new path was created but the dam was left uncovered, the witness said. Mr. Abotsi also told the court that the illegal mining activities of Aisha Huang also destroyed water bodies, forcing residents to rely on sachet water. He said as a result of the destruction of the water bodies, he as the assemblyman had to approach Aisha Huang to ensure she dug a well to replace the destroyed sources of water, which she did. He tendered in evidence a photograph of a well constructed by Aisha Huang at Opanin Mensah Nkegbes village, to provide water for residents. The witness also told the court that he knew Aisha as far back as early 2016 at Gyaaman at Bepotenten, when the community at the time appealed to her to support their school building project. The Elders of the Community requested for six thousand cedis as financial support for the project, and I later learnt she gave it to them, the witness said. He said Aisha later moved to Bepotenten with her mining activities, and the community also approached her to support them to construct a borehole, but she failed to honour same. Mr. Abotsi said Aisha then moved her illegal mining activities to Sukuumu sometime in 2017, and the community also approached her to assist them to construct a borehole. Sometime after the request was made, the accused person agreed to the request of Sukuumu community and started the borehole project but never completed it, Mr. Abotsi added. Source: dailyguidenetwork.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 a bid to create public awareness of the benefits of clean cooking, officials of the Ministry of Energy led some media personnel on a tour of the Rekoff Company at Joma Ablekuma in the Ga West District of the Greater Accra Region which has been engaged by the Ministry to produce biomass cookstoves. This tour is pursuant to the Ministrys target to attain the distribution of 500000 efficient biomass cookstoves to over 350000 households in the country between 2019 and 2024, primarily targeting low-income households in urban and peri-urban communities nationwide. According to Ing Seth Mahu, Director of the renewable Energy Directorate of the Ministry, the Improved Cookstoves Distribution Project is a US$5million collaboration between Ministry of Energy and the Climate Change Centre (CCC) of South Korea. A Senior Official of Rekoff Co Ltd, Mr. Francis Kugblenu conducted the team around the premises to observe and explain the manufacturing process. According to him, the company produces about 500 units of the cookstoves per day with a workforce of 100, majority of whom are women. He further stated that the companys activities have helped create several jobs in the catchment area, thereby boosting the local economy. Mr. Kugblenu explained that sand is hardened into a mould in the shape of a stove which is normally obtained from either the Volta Region or Central Region. With the aid of some mortar, the mould is then set in a cookstove manufactured with metal sheets that have been hammered into shape, resembling a traditional coal pot. Each stove is allocated a serial number to identify and track it throughout the various stages up to distribution. The project has so far completed distribution in the Greater Accra, Ashanti and Central Regions covering ninety-four (94) districts, nine hundred and seventy-seven (977) communities with an allocation of three hundred and sixteen thousand, six hundred and seven (316607) stoves. Further, about fifty-seven thousand one hundred and seventy (57170) stoves have been distributed in the Western, Northern, Upper East and Volta Regions, according to Ing. Mahu. He expressed the Ministrys satisfaction with the output of the various establishments engaged for the production process under the project. The team further visited households in the vicinity where some people, particularly women, have been beneficiaries of the improved cookstoves in order to ascertain their benefits. Unanimously, the view among those interviewed was that these cookstoves had brought theme enormous benefits as they no longer have to deal with harmful smoke emissions and that financially, the cookstoves had enabled them save considerable amount of money as they now use far less charcoal for the same amount of fuel. Ing. Mahu further stated that clean cooking is important in ensuring the protection of the environment and listed cleaner air, improved health in respect of respiratory-related diseases, reduction of pressure on the forest, significant firewood and charcoal savings and substantial savings of more than one million tonnes of CO2 emissions as some of the immense benefits of the improved cookstoves, and pledged that the Ministry will continue to pursue its targets to ensure that the country benefits significantly from the project. 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 The Cyber Security Authority (CSA) has warned internet users against clicking two malicious links in circulation which purport to provide access to a monetary grant from a former President of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama. In a public alert issued today (March 9, 2023), the CSA said the links were mainly being distributed through social media platforms including WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and Telegram. The webpages displayed after the links are clicked come with the message: "Former President JOHN MAHAMA on Feb 1st 2023. Offer a New Grants of 2,000 GHS to individual to support all Citizens and Empower the Youths. My idea for the introduction of this is to make every individual happy and empower our Youth for business and career goals. Get Your Own 2,000 By Filling The Form Below. The JOHN MAHAMA 2,000 GHS New Grant Support for All Ghanians. Applicants are to fill the form below and click on Apply". A form titled "Mahama's Grant Application Form" is also displayed on the web pages for interested persons to submit Personally Identifiable Information (PII). Warning The Authority also warned that harvested Personally Identifiable Information (PII) from applicants of the websites may be used for phishing attacks and other online fraudulent activities. "The public is hereby informed to disregard the offer as the former President is not associated with these websites," the alert reads. Other recommendation The CSA also warned internet users to be cautious of links that were unsolicited and pay attention to the domain names for any website that claims to be associated with a high-profile personality. "Contact the CSA if you need help to confirm the authenticity of links," the alert adds. "Pay attention to the content on sites you visit. Fake or malicious sites are likely to have several spelling and grammatical errors. Avoid clicking on links in suspicious or unexpected messages and emails, especially those that ask you to enter personal information or login credentials. "Keep all your software especially antivirus up to date. This will help prevent attackers from exploiting known vulnerabilities in your software or operating system". The CSA has a 24-hour Cybersecurity/Cybercrime Incident Reporting Points of Contact (POC) for reporting cybercrimes and for seeking guidance or assistance on online activities. Call or Text-292, WhatsApp-050 160 3111, Email - [email protected] Source: graphic.com.gh Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video A woman in Australia went on a spending spree when a crypto company accidentally sent her $10,474,143. The incident occurred when Thevamanogari Manivel received the money in her bank account in 2021. Instead of reporting it to authorities, she went on a shopping spree. She spent almost the entire amount until Crypto.com discovered the error in December of that year. Manivel could not return the funds because she had purchased a home in Melbourne for AUD$1.35 million after the funds were transferred to a joint account she shared with her sister, Thilagavathy Gangadory. The court heard four houses had been purchased with the ill-gotten cash - all of which had been frozen by the Supreme Court as part of ongoing civil action launched there by Crypto.com. Senior Constable Healy alleged $8million had been transferred from Manivel's account between December 24, 2021, and February 2022. Of that, $1.2million was used to buy a luxury home in Craigieburn and a $56,000 deposit went on a home in Mickleham. Police allege Manivel lavished gifts on her daughters, giving $500,000 to one, $430,000 to another and $200,000 to a third daughter. Another $70,000 was used to buy her daughter in Melbourne a car and $1.2million gifted to her partner Jatinder Singh's friend to pay off his mortgage on a Mickleham property. The rest was allegedly blown on furniture, art, and other luxury items. Manivel was recently ordered to sell her home and repay the funds with interest after Crypto.com won its legal case against her. According to UNILAD, Justice James Dudley Elliot said during the ruling that evidence showed Manivel purchased her home through stolen funds. It is established that the Craigieburn property was acquired with funds traceable to the wrongful payment and would never have been in Gangadorys hands if the wrongful payment had not been made. Thus, Gangadory was unjustly enriched by receiving the purchase price of the Craigieburn property out of the wrongful payment. Accordingly, I was satisfied that the orders relating to the sale of the Craigieburn property were appropriate. In a report by CNBC, Crypto.com was originally supposed to send Manivel AUD$68 but sent the millions in error. The lawsuit was filed in 2022, and local authorities froze her assets. Crypto transactions are not reversible, but centralized platforms can attempt to reverse payments if fraud or human error occurs. 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 Touted as one of Ghana's favorite platforms focused on empowering youth across Ghana, the Ghana Youth Excellence Awards 2023 has released nominations for the highly anticipated awards. Themed, "The Ghanaian youth is relevant in national development and nation building", the organizers, Apex Africa Concept have stated that their focus is to offer a platform where hardworking Ghanaian youthwill be recognized. Nominations for the Ghana Youth Excellence Awards 2023 was released on 1st March, 2023 after over 1,000 applicants filed to be part of the prestigious event. Ghana Youth Excellence Awards 2023, regarded by many as favorite when it comes to recognizing the hard work of Ghanaian youth is expected to be mind blowing. Already Apex Africa Concept, organizers of the awards have promised an event that will thrill nominees with an unforgettable memories that will last for a long time. Among the notable figures nominated include; EdemAgbana, Sammy Gyamfi, Lawyer Godwin EdudziTamakloe, Samuel Awuku, Henry Nana Boakye, Salam Mustapha, Joseph Yamin, John Dumelo, Isaac Jay Hyde, Hon. KojoOppong Nkrumah, Hon. CassielAtoForson, Hon. HarunaIddrisu, Armose Blessing Amos, George OpareAddo, BrogyaGenfi, Bernard AntwiBoasiako, Hon. Bryan Acheampong, Hon. Frederick ObengAdom, Hon. Mavis HawaKoomson, Hon. Francis Asenso-Boakye and a host of others. Voting is currently ongoing, the USSD code for voting by all nominees is *447*714# or *800*714#. For enquiries and sponsorship, you are to contact organizers on 0598225556. Source: Isaac Kwame Owusu/Peacefmonline/[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 Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Council says it shall deal with the impending tension at Nsawam-Adoagyiri over a claim of ownership of the area by some Chiefs of Akyem Kotoku. There has been growing tension in the Nsawam-Adoagyiri township over a planned installation of a new Chief in Adoagyiri. The Ghana Police Service in its quest to maintain peace and order at Adoagyiri secured a restraining order, restraining some principal Kingmakers of Adoagyiri and the Akyem Abuakwa traditional council from installing a new Chief in the town. The police further secured the same restraining order from the Nsawam High Court restraining the embattled Adoagyirihene from holding a durbar outside his Palace or residence in commemorating this year's Odwira Festival. The embattled Adoagyirihene seems to have support from the Akyem Kotoku Traditional Council on the other side, claiming ownership of the Adoagyiri stool. The situation continued to pose a threat to the Adoagyiri township and traders who ply their business in the area as residents live in fear of communal clashes. Meanwhile, in a statement issued by D.M. Ofori-Atta, State Secretary to the Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Council, he indicated that all records relating to the Nsawam-Adoagyiri lands and stool will be set straight on Monday, 13th March 2023. He said Nsawam-Adoagyiri at all times holds allegiance to the Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Council. 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 Former National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament for Ashaiman Constituency Alfred Kwame Agbesi says government wants to turn Ashaiman into a battleground especially as it came to power with the mantra The Battle is the Lords. He said anybody who wants to wage war or engaged in battle should rather go to Ukraine and not come to Ashaiman, quoting the Bible to back his claim, especially to challenge the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta. If you come here to wage war on us with soldiers, armoured cars, helicopters, all that we will say is that the battle is for the Lord and I will give him Psalm 144: We are protected, we are guided [and] we are going to be under the armpit of the Lord. Because he likes quoting the bible, because Ofori-Atta likes quoting the Bile I am also quoting the Bible to them that we are protected. This is not Ukraine. They should not dare because the Lord is our protector. Video below: Anybody who wants to wage battle should go to Ukraine not Ashaiman Alfred Kwame Agbesi- Former NDC MP for Ashaiman#3NewsGH pic.twitter.com/M2Q7DlqVyj #TV3GH (@tv3_ghana) March 9, 2023 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 Former Head of Monitoring Unit at the Forestry Commission, Charles Owusu has fired shots at critics seeking justice for the residents of Ashaiman following a military invasion in the community regarding the death of a young military personnel, Imoro Sherrif. Imoro Sherrif was found murdered in Ashaiman and has been laid to rest according to Islamic rites. His death triggered reaction from the Military who stormed the community, dragging some residents from their homes and whipping them to stupor. After the action by the Military which their authorities say was a sanctioned operation, some human rights organizations and activists together with former President John Dramani Mahama and the Member of Parliament for the locality, Ernest Henry Norgbey, have condemned the operation. "I am deeply saddened by the death of one of our soldiers, at such a young age, in Ashaiman...As your former Commander in Chief, I do appreciate how such unexpected deaths affect the Force. However, I encourage you to exercise restraint and allow due process to investigate, apprehend, prosecute and punish the perpetrator(s) of the dastardly act, the former President said in a Facebook post. He added; "I pray we find peace and harmony in our dear country, as the government and state institutions immediately step in to address this potentially inflammatory development between Ashaiman and the Ghana Armed Forces; including providing commensurate compensation for all persons affected. The Ashaiman MP is reportedly taking steps to sue the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) over the injustice meted out to the residents on Tuesday, March 7, 2023. But to the critics, Charles Owusu is asking why they are not putting the same energy in seeking justice for the deceased who was murdered by some unidentified assailants in the community. Although not happy about the injuries caused to the residents, he however believes it was a necessary action to stop future occurence of such barbaric attacks. "Now, just because some people have been injured, look at the number of press conferences going on. I use the word 'just' because you can't compare injury to death. Look at the press conferences in the morning, afternoon and evening people are holding and condemning the act but what about the person who has died?...Between the injured and the dead, who needs justice?", he queried. Sending a strong message to the Ashaiman residents and all Ghanaians, he stressed; "Under no circumstances do you have the authority to claim the life of a person. It doesn't matter; nothing can justify you killing someone." 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 Speaker of Ghana's Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin is leading a high-powered Ghanaian delegation to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) conference in Manama, Bahrain. The 146th Assembly of the IPU and its related meetings are scheduled to be held in the Arab country from Saturday, March 11, to Wednesday, March 15, 2023. All IPU statutory bodies, including the Governing Council, Standing Committees, Committees on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians and on Middle East Questions, as well as the Forum of Women Parliamentarians and the Forum of Young MPs, will convene during this Assembly. The General Debate is expected to provide a platform for delegates to deliberate, exchange views and galvanize parliamentary action in the area of fighting intolerance and promoting peaceful coexistence. Ghana's parliamentary delegation headed by Speaker Bagbin comprises both leaders of the House, Majority and Minority Leaders, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu and Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, respectively. Also included in this delegation are the First Deputy Minority Whip Ahmed Ibrahim and Second Deputy Majority Whip Habib Iddrisu. Female MPs Patricia Appiagyei and Dzifa Gomashie, the Director of Parliamentary Relations & Protocol, Sheba Nana Afriyie-Osei, Richard Acheampong, Head of the Speaker's Secretariat, among others. The delegation will represent Ghana's interests, including Parliament, in the Conference and related meetings. The conference, under the theme "promoting peaceful coexistence and inclusive societies: fighting intolerance", will explore and share ideas and perspectives on strengthening democracy worldwide. The IPU is the global organization of national parliaments. It was founded more than 133 years ago as the first multilateral political organization in the world, encouraging cooperation and dialogue between all nations. The IPU comprises 178 national Member Parliaments and 14 regional parliamentary bodies. It promotes democracy and helps parliaments become stronger, younger, gender-balanced and more representative. It also defends the human rights of parliamentarians through a dedicated committee of MPs worldwide. About Speaker Bagbin Rt. Hon. Bagbin, a seasoned legislator who had retired as a Member of Parliament on January 6, 2021, was elected Speaker a few hours after that move. He holds the enviable fame of being the longest-serving legislator of Ghana's Parliament and was first elected an MP in 1993 when the first Parliament under the 4th Republic was inaugurated. He has held several positions in the House and capped his law-making career with the ultimate, the Speaker of Parliament. Prior to that, he held various portfolios, including the Second Deputy Speaker, Majority Leader and Leader of Government Business in the House, the Minority leader, and Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Subsidiary Legislation, among others. Source: Emmanuel Akorli/Parliamentary Correspondent, 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 At the tail end of Wednesdays sitting which saw the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo present the State of the Nation Address, Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin tickled the House with his humorous remarks when he assured women of his unflinching support. The brief statement in commemoration of International Womens Day was made at the time there seemed to be a deadlock on whether sitting should be adjourned to Thursday as the response from the House on two occasions appeared to have had no clear distinction in favour or against the motion. Both sides of the House Majority and Minority screamed on top of their voices to be heard either voting against or for the motion of adjournment when the question was put out. Seated comfortably in his chair, the Speaker steadily acknowledged all women for their enormous contribution to humanity. Today is International Womens Day. I want to take this opportunity to congratulate all our beautiful ladies here and all the ladies in the world for partnering with men to get us this far. I want to assure all the women, that I am here for you," said Bagbin as the latter part of his statement triggered uncontrollable laughter and cheers from the house. After this incident, the House agreed to adjourn the sitting to Thursday for a thorough discussion of the presidents presentation. About SONA The State of the Nations Address is in accordance with Article 67 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, which states that the President shall deliver a message on the SONA to Parliament at the start of each session and before the dissolution of Parliament. SONA is a constitutional obligation and yearly tradition where the Commander-In-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces reports on the status of the country unveils the governments agenda for the coming year and proposes to Parliament certain legislative measures. Article 67 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana obliges Members of Parliament (MPs), the Speaker of Parliament, and the Judiciary to receive the Presidents SONA. About International Womens Day International Women's Day (March 8) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The UNs theme for this years International Womens Day is DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality. The theme, according to the UN, is aligned with the priority theme for the upcoming 67th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW-67), Innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. 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 A former Western Regional Minister and also a former Member of Parliament(MP) for Sefwi Wiawso, Paul Evans Aidoo has described the 'One-District One-Warehouse' policy in the Western North Region as a complete waste of the country's resources. He, has, therefore called on any future government to do a broader consultation with the people in any region and look at how beneficial a project will be to them. Mr Paul Evans Aidoo made this disclosure when speaking in an interview with UTV's Western North Regional Correspondent, Kwabena Dickson at Sefwi Ewiase, a small farming community near the Western North regional capital, Sefwi Wiawso. According to the former legislature, constructing a warehouse is not a bad idea but it should have been constructed for the regions who grow crops like maize, rice, beans for commercial purposes and storage. He said after the construction of about nine warehouses in the region, not even an okro has been stored in the warehouses. He challenged the media to visit all the warehouses in the Western North region to ascertain for themselves whether any food has been stored since its completion. " . . Schools need logistics, text books and other materials for their academic works in the region, but why are we wasting money constructing a warehouse which is not functional all in the name of providing contract to families and friends in government?" he said. He added that maybe the farmers in the Western North region were expecting to recieve farm inputs for their farming activities but here is the case the government has wasted money in the construction of warehouses. The former NDC Member of Parliament for Sefwi Wiawso has declared his intention not to contest again for the Sefwi Wiawso Seat in the upcoming NDC Parliamentary primaries slated in May, 2023. He lost his Parliamentary seat to Dr Kwaku Afriyie who is on the ticket of the ruling New Patriotic Party(NPP) for the first time in the 2016. He was once again defeated in the 2020 Elections which created a lot of tension in the Sefwi Wiawso constituency. President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in October 2017 rolled out the governments one-district, one-warehouse programme with a sod-cutting for work to begin on the first warehouse project in Ejura in the Ashanti Region. The warehouse project is a component of the governments Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Programme (IPEP). Warehouses are to be constructed in the 216 districts to handle produce and store the anticipated surpluses under the governments Planting for Food and Jobs initiative. Post-harvest losses Performing the sod-cutting President Akufo-Addo said the construction of the warehouses in all districts would not only minimise post-harvest losses but also improve the marketing of agricultural produce. He said the warehouses would help address poor farm-level practices,handling and storage activities that exposed farm produce to moulds, rodents and other pests. At the launch of the Planting for Food and Jobs programme in Sunyani in April 2017 , the President declared the intention of the government to construct 1,000 metric tonne-capacity warehouses in each of the 216 districts under its one- district, one-warehouse programme. Source: Kwabena Dickson, UTV News Western North Regional correspondent 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 Outspoken Ghanaian media personality Bridget Otoo has condemned the military for unwarrantedly attacking residents of Ashaiman following the murder of a military person last Saturday. The reprisal attack has forced the township in a self-imposed curfew to save themselves from the rage of the military. Viral videos on social media have scenes of some men in military uniforms brutalising some of the residents. Thats not all, the military invaded the community with an armoured bus and helicopter which was seen flying over the township. The videos showing the brutalities happening at the Ashaiman have received wide condemnation from the public and a clearly upset Bridget Otoo will have none of it. In a series of tweet earlier today, Bridget called out the actions of the military stating emphatically that the men in uniform should know better that the country was not under military dictatorship. Forget Ashaiman for a second and insert East Legon. A soldier is killed there & as a result the military goes to East Legon and assault residents of East Legon. Its Ashaiman so you think they deserve it. We are not being ruled by Military. Or Police no longer investigate crime (sic)? she stated. She added that until appropriate measures were taken to stop them, individuals like herself would speak out about such ills that authorities continue to turn a blind eye on. We will defend our country. We are not cowards like you. Keep sucking up to them. The country isnt for the military and sure as hell wasnt built by them. 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 B.C. Representative for Children and Youth Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond listens during a news conference after releasing a joint report with the B.C. Information and Privacy Commissioner about cyberbullying, in Vancouver, B.C., on Friday November 13, 2015. Another award has been stripped from Turpel-Lafond, the former judge, law professor and British Columbia representative for children and youth whose claims of Indigenous ancestry have been discredited. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck FILE - This undated photo provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows Arthur Brown Jr. Brown Jr. is scheduled to receive a lethal injection Thursday evening, March 9, 2023, at the state penitentiary in Huntsville for the drug-related killings of four people more than 30 years ago. (Texas Department of Criminal Justice via AP, File) Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print The Manhattan DA has signaled to Trumps lawyers that the former president is likely to be criminally charged for his illegal hush money payments to Stormy Daniels. The New York Times reported: The Manhattan district attorneys office recently signaled to Donald J. Trumps lawyers that he could face criminal charges for his role in the payment of hush money to a porn star, the strongest indication yet that prosecutors are nearing an indictment of the former president, according to four people with knowledge of the matter. The prosecutors offered Mr. Trump the chance to testify next week before the grand jury that has been hearing evidence in the potential case, the people said. Such offers almost always indicate an indictment is close; it would be unusual for the district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, to notify a potential defendant without ultimately seeking charges against him. Subscribe To Our Newsletter: It is now a race to see whether Alvin Bragg or DA Fani Willis in Fulton County, Georgia will be the first to indict Trump. Once Trump is criminally indicted somewhere, the floodgates could soon open. There will be no more concern about indicting a former president because it will have already happened. Trump is an unprecedented case, as it could be argued that he engaged in and potentially used criminal activity to obtain the presidency. Richard Nixon engaged in criminal activity as president. Donald Trump might go down in history as a criminal who happened to become president. Prison time is unlikely for Trump given that any indictment is expected to be for a low-level felony, but a criminal conviction could be another step that would end his career and rid the nation of Trump. Aiken, SC (29801) Today A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible early. Considerable clouds this evening. Some decrease in clouds late. Low 49F. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph.. Tonight A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible early. Considerable clouds this evening. Some decrease in clouds late. Low 49F. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph. Shocked is how some Houndslake residents are feeling after a man was arrested and charged with killing his 70-year-old wife. Yeah, we were really surprised because we didnt really know him well and its really sad, Houndslake resident Peyton Taylor said. Ruth Ann Whitaker, 70, of Aiken, was found shot at a residence in the 1400 block of Woodbine Road on Tuesday. Police arrested her husband, Robert Whitaker, 70. He was charged with murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime in connection to the shooting. The death was attributed to a domestic violence incident, the Aiken Department of Public Safety said Thursday in a news release. Whitaker is listed as an inmate at the Aiken County detention center and has no bond. Taylor has lived in Houndslake for a little over 18 months and was surprised because when she typically sees police cars, it is for a medical emergency. "I didn't know either of them, but I think my husband said he spoke with the husband (Robert Whitaker) a couple of times and said he was pretty nice," Taylor said. Neighbors told her they heard gunshots coming from the Whitaker residence. "I think generally it's a very safe neighborhood," Taylor said. "I haven't experienced anything funky like this (shooting) at all." Another resident, Rachel Farmer, was sitting on her porch and thought it was a drug bust or something else after seeing several police cars. I was reading and I heard a car come by and it was police, and it was another police car and then I saw the lights, Farmer said. Farmer said her neighborhood is safe and she leaves her door unlocked, but after the incident she is reconsidering. Other neighbors spoke of Richard Whitaker as a nice person and said he would be the last person they would suspect to commit the crime. It was a domestic situation and it is pretty tragic," said Aiken City Council member Kay Brohl, who represents the area. Brohl has lived in the Houndslake area for 30 years but said she didnt personally know the Whitakers. I do know the police will get to the bottom of it and find out all the background, Brohl said. Residents like Taylor said the neighborhood feels safe even with a recent tragedy, but she made sure she checked on her neighbors after the shooting. I am not really freaking out and its obviously really sad and devastating," she said. They may be small in number, but Gamma Omega has served the Aiken community through acts of service since 2014. Gamma Omega is a philanthropy organization that is affiliated with Epsilon Sigma Alpha (ESA), which is an international service organization. Since 1929, ESA's mission has been "Good Friends, Goods Works and Good Times" through education, leadership and service, with a positive difference, according to the organization's website. ESA has grown to nearly 800 local and campus chapters and its nearly 10,000 members continue to create a better world locally, nationally and internationally. The current chapter in Aiken has five members and is affiliated with the Georgia State chapter, which was founded in 1951. It takes a lot of time, but we enjoy it, Gamma Omega president Theresa McGugan said. McGugan became involved with Gamma Omega six years ago because she lost a daughter to cancer. She said Gamma Omega holds events in South Carolina, but organization meetings are held in Georgia. St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, Easter Seals, Hope for Heroes and Operation Paperback are among the causes Gamma Omega supports. Another organization Omega Gamma has supported is Bridge 2 Home, which will be a home for girls who are victims of human trafficking. Last October, Gamma Omega held a fundraiser for Bridge 2 Home and raised $17,445. A silent auction raised an additional $800. In the past Gamma Omega has donated $295,000 to Wreaths Across America. Operation Paperback, a program through which Gamma Omega buys gently used books and sends a box overseas, donates money for Wreaths Across America for veterans and Hope for Heroes, and Easter Seals disaster funds. McGugan said enjoys being able to give back to the community through Gamma Omega. We appreciate the community support," she said. Those interested in joining the organization can contact McGugan at 803-522-5308. Once again the City of Cayce is partnering with the Cayce Avenues Association and has combined the Cayce Festival of the Arts with Soiree on State giving the City one amazing event showcasing everything the City, and State Street, have to offer. Read moreJoin us for Soiree on State The redevelopment plan for a vacant 10-story building described as an "eyesore" received warm reception this week from the city panel in charge of scrutinizing the design details. Bennett Hospitality's proposal to convert the former MUSC Harborview office tower at 19 Hagood St. into a nearly 250-room hotel was welcomed, said John Robinson, chairman of the Board of Architectural Review. He said the renovation and reuse would be a massive improvement compared to the existing building, which he likened to a prison. I think you've done a great job, and it's really nice that you're able to work within the existing structure, Robinson said during the BAR's March 8 meeting. This is actually a remarkable transformation. BAR member Jay White called the empty office building a piece of garbage building and that a heroic effort would be required to renovate it. The board members expressed optimism that Bennett Hospitality could be up for the challenge. Despite the early praise, the BAR deferred the project to allow for further study of the buildings integrity and the impact that seismic-related bracing would have on the exterior architecture. Bennett Hospitality bought the aging building in 2018 from the Medical University of South Carolina for $18.6 million. The Charleston-based company, which developed The Bennett luxury hotel near Marion Square and at least two other downtown lodgings, did not respond to requests for comment this week. Richard Ellison of Rabun Architects told the BAR that office buildings are generally challenging to convert into hotels, but he noted this property is well-proportioned and well-suited for the conversion. The developers plans include traditional amenities such as a pool, breakfast area, fitness center, meeting space, and a top-floor bar and restaurant that would offers sweeping views of the water. The company is proposing to demolish the elevator and stair exterior shafts and move further to the inside of the structure. The building will need some reinforced bracing, which has been proposed as a possible architectural element. An existing parking structure would remain. City staffers commented that while the proposed design is a move in the right direction, it still feels static. The bland 1970s-era structure sits on 3.27 acres near the Septima P. Clark Expressway, the mixed-use WestEdge development, the Medical University of South Carolina and The Citadel. Robinson asked the owner to focus more on the streetscape elements, noting that area of the city is expected to see some major changes in the years ahead. It may not seem like a big deal now, but it will be as this area transforms, he said. Built in 1979, the Harborview tower originally was called the Summerall Center. MUSC bought it in the late 1980s for about $7.2 million, according to county property records. The medical university announced in late 2016 that it was seeking to sell the 180,000-square-foot building under a plan to move some of its office employees off the peninsula. The Federal Aviation Administration cleared the way March 10 for Boeing Co. to resume deliveries of 787 Dreamliners it builds in North Charleston. The safety agency said in a statement that it "may resume issuing airworthiness certificates next week" for the wide-body planes, and deliveries could occur soon afterward. "The agency must still sign off on every plane before Boeing can deliver it." the FAA said. Boeing paused deliveries Feb. 23 after discovering what it termed a documentation error by a supplier. In reviewing certification records, Boeing discovered an analysis error by our supplier related to the 787 forward pressure bulkhead, the company said in a written statement. That part is built by Wichita, Kan.-based Spirit Aerosystems, which has denied any problems with its documentation. Boeing said on March 10 that it had completed its own analysis and confirmed "the airplane continues to meet all relevant requirements and does not require production or fleet action." The company said it is working with customers on the timing of specific deliveries. The documentation issue was not related to fixes Boeing is making to about 100 Dreamliners that were put into inventory after minor production flaws were discovered and deliveries halted in May 2021. Deliveries of the 787 resumed last August, but the repairs are time-consuming and the FAA must sign off on each plane before it is turned over to a buyer. Boeing currently builds about one Dreamliner a month while the joint verification work is being done. The company has said it hopes to boost production to as many as five of the twin-engine wide-bodies a month in North Charleston by the end of this year. The redevelopment plan for a vacant 10-story building described as an "eyesore" received warm reception this week from the city panel in charge of scrutinizing the design details. Bennett Hospitality's proposal to convert the former MUSC Harborview office tower at 19 Hagood St. into a nearly 250-room hotel was welcomed, said John Robinson, chairman of the Board of Architectural Review. He said the renovation and reuse would be a massive improvement compared to the existing building, which he likened to a prison. I think you've done a great job, and it's really nice that you're able to work within the existing structure, Robinson said during the BAR's March 8 meeting. This is actually a remarkable transformation. BAR member Jay White called the empty office building a piece of garbage building and that a heroic effort would be required to renovate it. The board members expressed optimism that Bennett Hospitality could be up for the challenge. Despite the early praise, the BAR deferred the project to allow for further study of the buildings integrity and the impact that seismic-related bracing would have on the exterior architecture. Bennett Hospitality bought the aging building in 2018 from the Medical University of South Carolina for $18.6 million. The Charleston-based company, which developed The Bennett luxury hotel near Marion Square and at least two other downtown lodgings, did not respond to requests for comment this week. Sign up for our real estate newsletter! Get the best of the Post and Courier's Real Estate news, handpicked and delivered to your inbox each Saturday. Email Sign Up! Richard Ellison of Rabun Architects told the BAR that office buildings are generally challenging to convert into hotels, but he noted this property is well-proportioned and well-suited for the conversion. The developers plans include traditional amenities such as a pool, breakfast area, fitness center, meeting space, and a top-floor bar and restaurant that would offers sweeping views of the water. The company is proposing to demolish the elevator and stair exterior shafts and move further to the inside of the structure. The building will need some reinforced bracing, which has been proposed as a possible architectural element. An existing parking structure would remain. City staffers commented that while the proposed design is a move in the right direction, it still feels static. The bland 1970s-era structure sits on 3.27 acres near the Septima P. Clark Expressway, the mixed-use WestEdge development, the Medical University of South Carolina and The Citadel. Robinson asked the owner to focus more on the streetscape elements, noting that area of the city is expected to see some major changes in the years ahead. It may not seem like a big deal now, but it will be as this area transforms, he said. Built in 1979, the Harborview tower originally was called the Summerall Center. MUSC bought it in the late 1980s for about $7.2 million, according to county property records. The medical university announced in late 2016 that it was seeking to sell the 180,000-square-foot building under a plan to move some of its office employees off the peninsula. COLUMBIA A Columbia man pleaded guilty March 9 to shooting and injuring a Jake's Bar manager in 2021. Jonathan A. Wise, 22, will spend five years in prison for assault and battery of an aggravated nature. Wise went to Jake's Bar in Five Points on July 24, 2021, with a group of friends. The bar was at capacity that night, causing bouncers to institute a one-in, one-out policy between the indoor and outdoor area, assistant solicitor Carter Potts told Judge Debra McCaslin. When Wise, who had a gun in his waistband, was told he couldn't go back inside the bar, he began to fight with the bouncer, Potts said. During the tussle, the gun went off, striking manager Geoff Sears in the groin area. While Potts said Wise took out the gun and shot at the bouncer, Wise contended the gun went off accidentally. Regardless, Wise said he took responsibility for having a gun on him in the first place. Because of the question over how, exactly, the gun was fired, Wise's charges were reduced from attempted murder to aggravated assault and battery. Police never recovered the gun. Since he was shot, Sears has had a long recovery process involving multiple surgeries, he told the court. "After this, I have not had a normal day and may not for the rest of my life," Sears testified. He had to have his urethra surgically reconstructed and used a colostomy bag connected to a piece of his intestine to collect waste. He has also been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety since the incident, he said. With the bar at its capacity of 315 people, Sears noted that the bullet could have hit or possibly killed any one of them. "There is something truly evil about a person who will fire a gun with such reckless abandon," Sears said. Violence in Five Points, a part of town often frequented by college students, is a problem that plagues the business owners and service workers in the area, Sears' attorney Joe McCulloch told the court. JAMES ISLAND Charleston Water System is investigating a sewer main break on Harborview Road that poured unknown amounts of wastewater into James Island Creek. This is the second time in three years that a break occurred in this area. Environmentalists say the repeated frequency, combined with current bacteria concerns, suggest better system maintenance is needed, along with riddance of septic tanks adjacent to the creek. A contract diver discovered on the afternoon of March 9 that two pipes had separated, causing the leak. A fisherman notified the water utility March 8 of the underwater break in the water below the Julian Thomas Buxton Jr. Bridge. It took time for inspection crews to get to the site because of the tides, but the pumps were turned off shortly after, said Mike Saia, a spokesman for the utility. Shutting off the pumps eliminated the release of additional wastewater into the water system. This sewer main manages wastewater from a broad area of the James Island Public Service District and parts of unincorporated Charleston County. The same one broke about three years ago in the marsh but closer to Plum Island. It took a number of days to repair. The breaks are a big concern, said Andrew Wunderley, executive director at Charleston Waterkeeper. "It's an established problem with bacteria pollution at James Island Creek from human sources and other sources, as well," he said. "Any additional bacteria discharge in a creek is a concern of course." Charleston Waterkeeper consistently tests the quality of a number of waterbodies in the Lowcountry, including James Island Creek. The waterkeepers sample for bacteria as an indicator of the possible presence of pathogens. Persistently high bacteria levels have been identified in the James Island Creek, mainly in the Folly Road area. Wunderley said any input of bacteria is a problem. It is a challenge for iron pipes to survive long-term in soft environments like the marshy parts of Charleston. Saia said Charleston Water System is considering grant funding to help replace the James Island pipes that have seen two breaks in three years. This notion is good progress, Wunderley said, "but I think we need to accelerate that project." "Whatever needs to be done to bump that up in the priority list, they need to be thinking about it," he added. A vactor truck was on site March 9 to pump down the wet wells and pump stations at both sides of the break. Because of this, no additional wastewater will spill into the creek, Saia said. The utility is working on a plan to repair the pipes. People are urged to avoid swimming, fishing or using the area for other recreational activities until further notice. Interruptions to customers' service is not expected while assessments and repairs are made. No road closures have been announced. In the meantime, people can do like the fisherman on March 8, and report possible main breaks. It's helpful in identifying them and stopping the wasterwater spills. GREENVILLE Behind a curtain sat a South Carolina-built fighter jet. Officials gathered on March 10 at Lockheed Martin's Greenville County plant for a ceremony commemorating the completion and transfer of the first Upstate-built F-16 to Bahrain. As a video played and a poem was recited in Arabic, the curtain was pulled back to reveal the Block 70 model, which rolled off the assembly line in late 2022 and took its first test flight in January. "I would suggest that we're witnessing much more than the unveiling of an airframe," said James Hursch, director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency. "We're witnessing the projection of defense capacity into the hands of a trusted partner. And in the process, we're advancing our security interests to align with the challenges of today, many of which are still well beyond our shores." The DSCA falls under the Department of Defense and oversees, among other things, the transfer of military equipment to U.S. allies. The F-16 Block 70 is the latest generation of an aircraft that first flew in the 1970s. While the current model resembles the original, it is packed with the latest technology. In the next decade, hundreds of F-16s will roll off the production line as part of a $62 billion contract awarded to Lockheed Martin in 2020. Currently, the Greenville factory has 127 orders from six countries. The list will grow to 147 once additional contracts with Bulgaria and Jordan are complete. Lockheed Martin first opened a facility in Greenville County adjacent to Donaldson Center Airport in the 1980s. In 2017, it announced it would move F-16 production to the Upstate so its Fort Worth, Texas, site could focus on F-35 production. Bahrain, an island nation in the Persian Gulf, was the first F-16 operator in the Gulf Cooperation Council in the early 1990s. Now, it is the first to receive the Block 70 model. The Royal Bahraini Air Force was founded 46 years ago. In the 1980s, the country's defense force submitted a request to acquire the F-16. The partnership has been ongoing since then. Bahrain ordered 16 of the Block 70 jets. The first aircraft will arrive in the country in 2024. Before the F-16 can be delivered to Bahrain, it will be transported to Edwards Air Force Base in California to go through a year-long program including software and operational testing. It will then return to Greenville to be prepared for delivery. Danya Trent, Lockheed Martin's Greenville site lead and vice president of the F-16 program, said the Royal Bahraini Air Force will receive its jets throughout 2024. The last set will arrive in 2025. The next F-16 at the Greenville facility will be completed in mid-summer and the expectation is to produce "seven or so this year, Trent said. She added that the next ceremony similar to the one on March 10 will be held for Slovakia in early 2024. The current Lockheed Martin Greenville workforce is about 1,400. The company has nearly 116,000 employees worldwide. "We've got a few hundred more hires that we're anticipating over the next couple years," Trent said of the Greenville facility. The ceremony was attended by numerous elected officials, including Sen. Lindsey Graham and Gov. Henry McMaster, as well as high ranking representatives of the U.S. Department of Defense and the Royal Bahraini Air Force. GREENVILLE Mayor Knox White will seek an eighth term in the office he has held since 1995, a tenure in which he has served as the predominant figure in the city's dramatic transformation over the past two decades. In a statement provided to The Post and Courier on March 9 announcing his intentions for this year's municipal elections, White said that he's hopeful for Greenville's future. "At a time of so much division and rancor, we have worked hard to create a city government that is respectful of differing views and focuses on solutions," White said. "To put it simple: We work together to continue building a Greenville that is beautiful, livable, and safe for you and your family." White has presided over landmark changes downtown that have sparked both unprecedented prosperity and challenges as Greenville grows exponentially. He was instrumental in the 2004 creation of Falls Park and, most recently, the development of the 60-acre Unity Park in the Southernside community. In announcing his run, White said he would prioritize five areas: managing growth, expanding greenspace particularly at Unity Park and the Swamp Rabbit Trail, alleviating traffic congestion, investing in affordable housing and neighborhoods, and increasing police pay and public safety efforts. White, the longest-serving mayor in Greenville's history, was first elected to City Council in 1983. It's unclear if he will face opposition as no one else has announced intentions to run. The city's municipal elections operate on a partisan system. If a fellow Republican were to run, White would face a primary challenge on June 12. If a Democratic challenger were to emerge, the race would be decided in the Nov. 7 general election. The election filing period opens March 16 and closes March 30. GREENVILLE An expanded Greenlink public transportation network could add anywhere from $670 million to $2 billion in new annual economic activity in Greenville County, according to a new study by a local public transportation advocacy group. Greenville Connects commissioned Joey Von Nessen, an economics professor at the University of South Carolina, to perform an economic impact study of the potential benefit if the county and city of Greenville funded a full implementation of Greenlinks 10-year transit development plan. The plan calls for more than doubling the number of bus routes and frequency of routes throughout the county. Greenville Connects is a coalition of Greenville County businesses, residents and nonprofits working to increase investments in local public transportation. Greenlink wants to add 15 new bus routes to encompass the entire county by 2030 and double the frequency of routes from 60 minutes to 30 minutes, two changes that would make the bus system more usable for residents commuting to jobs, said James Keel, Greenlinks executive director. More convenient bus routes to more locations in the county could allow residents who arent currently looking for work to fill jobs across the county. The study analyzed the number of unemployed people living within census tracts the expanded system would serve. There are approximately 8,463 people between the ages of 25 and 54 currently unemployed or not seeking employment who live in the affected areas. If just 25 percent of those found work due to available public transportation, they would fill 2,116 jobs and generate $671 million in annual economic activity, the study found. If 75 percent found jobs, it would boost economic activity by $2 billion annually and fill 6,347 jobs, in addition to indirectly supporting 1,400 to 4,300 more jobs. This could be a major economic driver and we just need to really start talking about how to get this investment in the coming years so we dont miss this opportunity, said Erin Predmore, Greenville Connects executive director. Greenlink has already begun to implement portions of its expansion plan. A new bus maintenance facility under construction in the New Washington Heights community, just north of the city limits, is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2024. It will provide the backbone for the bus system to service more buses, hire more drivers, add routes and increase frequency of buses on routes, Keel said. The next phase would be to double the frequency of stops along routes from every hour to every half-hour, he said. That would give riders better efficiency for their travel and make the system easier to navigate for work or when switching bus lines. A full implementation would increase the number of routes the system operates from 12 to 27, bringing bus service to Fountain Inn, Mauldin, Travelers Rest, Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport, Prisma Health System and a number of busy roads and residential areas in the Greenville area. Most of those routes arent directly served now. Benton Blount, a Greenville County councilman serving District 19 and the councils liaison to Greenlink, said he saw the economic benefits an expanded system would provide the county and the Berea and Poinsett corridors in his district. It looks like just another testament to the potential it could bring to Greenville County because it could be a profitable thing for us, but most importantly, it would be a way for people, particularly in my district who dont have a vehicle but are desperate for work, to have that availability, Blount said. Greenlink would need about $25 million more per year for operational costs once fully expanded, Keel said. That increased funding would come in steps over several years as Greenlink gradually hires drivers and buys buses to fill routes, Keel said. Blount said he is researching grants and funding mechanisms to help pay for expanded service but wasnt in favor of raising taxes to pay for public transportation when he said the countys roads are first priority. He said he would consider public transportation as a voter referendum if roads were also addressed because that would give residents a direct vote in any tax increase. County Councilman Alan Mitchell said the county should explore Greenlink expansion along with other options to invest in infrastructure. "After years of growth throughout our county, our infrastructure needs more investment, and this Greenville Connects study suggests that we can get an $80-to-$1 return on transit investment, Mitchell said. County Council Chairman Dan Tripp said the council would discuss Greenlink expansion as part of a council retreat in anticipation of the next two-year budget. The council is scheduled to meet at 8:45 a.m. on March 14 at the Younts Conference Center at Furman University for a planning retreat about council priorities. Generally speaking with a growing county, with population and the road congestion that we have, theres no question that weve got to have a robust functioning public transportation system and theyre part of that solution, Tripp said. As the county seeks to create more infill in its center to prevent further sprawl in its northern and southern areas, Greenlink would be vital to moving people around, Tripp said. He said he wasnt sure how the county could fund $25 million more annually but that there was goodwill on the council to work with Greenlink and Greenville Connects to figure out a path forward. COLUMBIA A former Fort Jackson recruit who hijacked a school bus with kids on it in 2021 was found not guilty through an insanity plea on March 9. Jovan Collazo was suffering from a mental disorder that made him unable to distinguish moral and legal right from wrong, two evaluations found. An initial screening upon his arrest found he had schizophrenia and was making delusional statements. Collazo will spend no more than 120 days in a Department of Mental Health facility receiving treatment, Judge Debra McCaslin ruled. On May 6, 2021, New Jersey native Collazo left the Fort Jackson barracks with an unloaded rifle before jumping the fence, crossing Interstate 77 and finding a school bus in a nearby neighborhood, deputy solicitor Dan Goldberg told the judge. Collazo boarded the Richland County District 2 bus, which had 18 students on it, and shouted, "Drive! Drive! Come on, drive!" while pointing his rifle at the driver. Collazo later added, "Get out of town, now!" He promised not to hurt anyone on the bus, Sheriff Leon Lott told reporters at the time, and no one was injured in the incident. After the bus traveled about 4 miles, Collazo told the driver to stop and had everyone exit the bus. Collazo then asked the driver how to operate it, drove about another mile, then gave up and left on foot, Goldberg said. Sign up for our SC Military Digest newsletter Get exclusive military reporting, updates from Palmetto State bases, headlines from around the globe and more delivered to your inbox each Tuesday. Email Sign up! At the time, Collazo was trying to get back home to New Jersey under the belief that someone was coming after him. He was arrested on charges of armed robbery, carjacking, presenting and possessing weapons, and kidnapping. While Collazo has been in custody at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, he has started receiving antipsychotic medication, which has helped with his delusions, attorney Elizabeth Pringle said. Before trying to steal the bus, Collazo had similar delusions in which he thought someone was trying to kill him, Pringle said. He was 23 at the time of the incident, which is a common age for the onset of schizophrenia, she said. "He had no idea what was happening to him," Pringle said. After Collazo's stay in a DMH facility, he will appear before another judge who will reevaluate his status, McCaslin said. The incident prompted the state Department of Education to add identification numbers to the tops of school buses so they are identifiable from an aircraft in the case of a similar situation. Click here for more news from Columbia, S.C. Former banker Russell Laffitte asked for a retrial on charges he helped disbarred attorney and convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh steal from clients, arguing that Murdaugh cleared his name in sworn testimony last month. Laffitte's request on March 9 came just days after U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel rejected a previous motion for a retrial on different grounds. Now, Laffitte's attorneys say the banker should get a new trial because Murdaugh testified their client wasn't involved in the thefts. Murdaugh refused to testify at Laffitte's November trial on six federal charges, including bank fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy; the ex-lawyer cited his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. But months after Laffitte was convicted, as Murdaugh stood trial on two murder charges, he waived that right and said Laffitte didn't know what was going on. "Mr. Murdaugh testified that he, and he alone, committed the financial crimes and explicitly admitted under oath that he did not conspire with Mr. Laffitte," the motion argues. Laffitte was accused of using his role as the chief executive of Hampton-based Palmetto State Bank to divert money that should have gone to Murdaugh's clients. Laffitte was tasked with managing the clients' money as a court-appointed custodian. At his double-murder trial, Murdaugh testified that Laffitte "never conspired" with him and that if Laffitte had helped him steal, he did it "unknowingly." That's key because prosecutors were required to prove Laffitte was a willing participant in the scheme. "This is stuff that I did," Murdaugh testified Feb. 23. "I did this. Im the one that took peoples money." In the latest motion, Columbia attorney Mark Moore argues that Murdaugh's testimony could have convinced jurors to acquit his client. Assistant U.S. attorney Emily Limehouse, who led Laffitte's prosecution, declined to comment on the new motion. Laffitte is the only person so far charged with a federal crime in connection with the Murdaugh saga, and he was the first of Murdaugh's associates to stand trial. The story of Murdaugh's downfall has captured international attention ever since his 52-year-old wife, Maggie, and son Paul, 22, were shot dead at the family's sprawling hunting estate in Colleton County. Murdaugh, 54, was convicted of two counts of murder this month and sentenced to life in prison. The Laffitte family's bank had long financed Murdaugh's borrowing habit, and Laffitte on several occasions had authorized private loans to the former lawyer off the bank's books. He was accused, in part, of helping Murdaugh steal from his clients and others who trusted him by processing checks the lawyer then used to divert settlement funds for his own benefit. Laffitte admitted during his trial that he had a role in Murdaugh's alleged scheme. But he insisted his actions were unintentional and he maintained his innocence as an unwitting enabler, another name in the long list of people Murdaugh had apparently deceived. A panel of 12 jurors wasn't convinced, however. They ultimately found him guilty on all counts, concluding his role was intentional. Laffitte's attorneys attempted to have Murdaugh testify at trial and his testimony remained a possibility up until the last minute; Laffitte's former attorneys hoped he would help clear their client's name by corroborating his ignorance. Murdaugh, who still faces dozens of state charges and a mountain of civil lawsuits related to his alleged financial crimes, declined. His defense attorneys said he would invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination if called to the stand. Gergel refused to force Murdaugh to take the stand to do so. The judge this week denied Laffitte's first request for a new trial, which primarily focused on his trial's chaotic ending. Gergel replaced two jurors with alternates after several hours of deliberations jurors whom Laffitte's attorneys say were holding out against a conviction. It took under an hour for the reconstituted jury to reach a guilty verdict on all six counts. In his March 6 ruling, Gergel wrote that he stood by his decision to replace the two jurors. Laffittes defense team had agreed to removing one juror who needed medicine, the judge wrote, and it was plain to see that the other juror, who asked to be removed due to severe anxiety, was experiencing "significant emotional distress," becoming almost unable to speak. After the verdict, Laffitte hired Moore to lead his new defense team, which argued that the bankers previous lawyers didnt advocate for him effectively enough when the jury chaos emerged. Gergel disagreed; he found that the original team, helmed by Charleston attorneys Bart Daniel and Matt Austin, were simply dealing with an unusual and fluid situation. Daniel and Austin filed a motion March 9 formally withdrawing as Laffitte's counsel. They cited Laffitte's "failure to fulfill his financial obligations" to the attorneys during and after his trial. Laffitte has yet to be sentenced on his six convictions. Once a formal conviction order is entered, he will be eligible to appeal Gergel's first decision. WALTERBORO Minutes before sentencing disgraced ex-attorney Alex Murdaugh to consecutive life terms for murdering his wife and son, Judge Clifton Newman paused. He wanted to discuss scheduling Murdaugh's roughly 100 pending criminal charges. "There are other victims whose cases deserve to be heard," he said from the bench March 3. Murdaugh's double-murder trial, which lasted a lengthy six weeks inside the Colleton County Courthouse, gave authorities and curious onlookers alike insight into the bevy of legal matters which still loom over the former Hampton trial lawyer and part-time, volunteer prosecutor. Murdaugh confessed to a buffet of misconduct stretching the better part of a decade as he took the witness stand in his own defense. Murdaugh's downfall, as epic as it was swift, has captured international attention in the 17 months since his first arrest on charges he had orchestrated his own death in an insurance fraud scheme. State prosecutors have slapped Murdaugh with nearly two dozen indictments totaling around 100 charges. They have accused the man, whose last name once rang synonymous with "law" in the Lowcountry, of theft, money laundering and drug trafficking. The cases ensnare at least five of his associates, from Murdaugh's alleged drug dealer to his former banker. A pile of civil lawsuits mirror many of the criminal indictments, which continued as recently as Dec. 15 when prosecutors charged Murdaugh with tax evasion for failing to report the $6.9 million he earned through illegal acts. Back-to-back life sentences in the killings of 22-year-old Paul Murdaugh and his mother Maggie, 52, all but guarantee Alex Murdaugh will spend the rest of his years behind bars. But the South Carolina Attorney General's Office, tasked with prosecuting the remaining cases, is prepared to pursue every charge brought against Murdaugh and his associates. "We believe that every victim of his crimes deserves their day in court," Attorney General Alan Wilson told The Post and Courier on March 10. The question of when, however, remains unclear. Financial crimes As presiding judge over state grand jury cases, Newman is assigned to oversee 19 indictments the investigative body has brought against Murdaugh since November 2021. The roughly 100 charges accuse him, in part, of scheming to defraud legal clients, his law firm and others who trusted him out of a staggering $8,789,447 over the course of a decade. The Attorney General's Office isn't sure yet how many separate trials will come out of the indictments. Each "body of conduct" toward a victim constitutes its own case, Wilson said. He added evidence has been turned over in all of the cases and it's now a matter of scheduling. Murdaugh defense attorney Jim Griffin said, realistically, no criminal proceedings involving his client will happen before July. His co-counsel, Dick Harpootlian, is a state senator from Columbia. As such, Harpootlian is protected from court appearances during the legislative session a right he waived for Murdaugh's double-murder trial. Murdaugh, 54, has not entered a plea in connection with any of the 99 charges, though he readily admitted to prosecutors Feb. 23 that he had been stealing money "for years." A state statute bars prosecutors from using Murdaugh's testimony against him in future criminal cases, unless he is indicted for perjury. But Creighton Waters, the state grand jury's chief prosecutor, still used the opportunity at trial to walk Murdaugh through many of the financial charges. Waters asked the ex-lawyer what, if anything, he remembered from each case, and whether Murdaugh could recall moments when he looked his clients in their eyes and lied. Murdaugh admitted to stealing money in at least 10 cases Waters named including pilfering millions from settlement funds awarded to the family's late housekeeper Gloria Satterfield, who died from injuries she received after reportedly tripping and falling at the Murdaughs' home in 2018. But he seemed to shy away from addressing specifics, preferring instead to repeat broad-brushed phrases and statements. "The details that youre asking me for I cant tell you," Murdaugh said. "But what I can tell you is that in all these financial situations, I stole money that was not my money. I misled people that I shouldnt have misled and I did wrong." Murdaugh's alleged accomplices Several rounds of indictments also charge five Murdaugh associates with related crimes. None of the cases have been scheduled, and the defendants have not yet entered their pleas. Curtis "Eddie" Smith, Murdaugh's reputed drug dealer, faces 12 charges stemming from an alleged years-long scheme to help the ex-attorney move mounds of ill-gotten cash and drugs. Russell Laffitte, former chief executive of Hampton-based Palmetto State Bank, is charged with 21 crimes accusing him of helping Murdaugh steal from his legal clients and law firm. Laffitte was convicted in November on six federal charges, including bank fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy. The indictment is similar to the three he faces from the state grand jury. Wilson said his office has no intention of dropping the state charges. Columbia attorney Mark Moore is leading Laffitte's new defense team, which will represent him in both the federal and state cases. Cory Fleming, a Beaufort trial attorney and close friend of Murdaugh, faces two grand jury indictments totaling 23 charges. Prosecutors say he helped Murdaugh steal more than $3 million from Satterfield's wrongful death settlements. Jerry Rivers and Spencer Roberts, two unemployed Walterboro men, were each handed indictments accusing them of receiving Murdaugh's laundered money as part of an illicit narcotics pipeline. Murdaugh has said he was in the throes of a decades-long opioid habit when he committed his financial crimes. Wilson was reluctant to discuss specifics of how prosecutors would approach the remaining cases, but said it's certainly possible Murdaugh's alleged accomplices will be tried alongside him in cases where the victims and allegations overlap. Roadside shooting A Hampton County grand jury on Nov. 4, 2021, indicted Murdaugh and Smith on three and five charges, respectively. They stemmed from a roadside shooting just two months prior. In a taped interview publicly played for the first time during his double-murder trial, Murdaugh confessed to State Law Enforcement Division agents that he'd asked Smith on Sept. 4, 2021, to fatally shoot him. Murdaugh had been forced to resign from his law firm the day before over allegations he'd stolen money. He told investigators he thought it would be "easier on my family for me to be dead." He said he'd hoped staging his death to look like a homicide would allow his remaining son, Buster, to collect on a hefty life insurance policy. Wilson declined to comment on whether prosecutors are trying to reach a plea deal with Murdaugh on any of the pending cases: "I can't comment on conversations that we're having with his attorneys on those other charges." No trial has been set in the roadside shooting case. Smith, who has denied the allegations, remains jailed in Lexington County, records show. Boat crash lawsuit Prosecutors' theory for why Murdaugh brutally gunned down his wife and son hinged in large part on a deadly boat crash. Investigators had charged Paul Murdaugh with drunkenly driving the family's boat into a Beaufort County bridge piling in February 2019, ejecting several passengers into chilly waters and killing 19-year-old Mallory Beach. Her mother, Renee Beach, filed a wrongful death lawsuit the following month on behalf of her daughter's estate. It would eventually name as defendants Alex Murdaugh, his wife and their two sons, as well as the owner of Parker's Kitchen convenience store, where the youngest Murdaugh allegedly made an underage purchase of alcohol the night of the boat crash. The four surviving passengers also each filed their own lawsuits against the Murdaughs and Parker's chain. Prosecutors say Murdaugh felt immense pressure from the Beach lawsuit, which threatened to expose his shaky finances and mountain of theft. The case, initially set to go to trial in October 2022, was delayed due to Murdaugh's preparations for the double-murder trial. In the time since, Murdaugh's surviving son Buster and the estate of his late wife have been dismissed from the case after settlements were reached. Mark Tinsley, an attorney for the Beach family, said a new trial date has been set for Aug. 14 on the remaining claims. Attorneys representing the surviving passengers in the other lawsuits have previously told The Post and Courier the direction and outcome of those cases will likely depend on the Beach lawsuit's resolution. Murdaugh and his associates face at least seven additional civil claims stemming from a decade of alleged misconduct. Murdaugh's former law firm is suing him over allegations he stole untold sums from clients and colleagues. Two of his former law partners one of whom is his older brother, Randy are suing Murdaugh over unpaid loans. (Murdaugh signed confessions in November 2021, though the judgements remain pending in Hampton County.) And at least three of his clients, along with one insurance company, also filed lawsuits against Murdaugh, many of which echo the state grand jury indictments. The complaints all of which remain pending detail schemes in which Murdaugh secretly negotiated hefty settlements on their behalf and then directed the money to his own accounts, stealing what they never knew they had. The road ahead Wilson said he hasn't had the chance to sit down and talk with prosecutors about their strategy for trying the pending criminal cases. They haven't discussed any sort of timeline, either other than that they plan to move quickly. His office is still celebrating a conviction secured the week prior in perhaps South Carolina's most highly anticipated trial within the last century. Prosecutors were settling back into the office, returning to their families and getting into the routine of their daily lives after a six-week hiatus. "We're drinking from firehoses," Wilson said. Murdaugh, for his part, will continue communicating with his lawyers from the Kirkland Reception and Evaluation Center in Columbia, where he is currently jailed. Their current focus is on overturning his double-murder conviction. Murdaugh's attorneys on March 9 filed a notice to appeal. SOCASTEE A planned hospital for one of the fastest-growing areas of Horry County near Socastee hopes to combat one of the leading causes of death for men and women in the United States when it opens in a few years. Tidelands Health officials recently announced that its Tidelands Health Carolina Bays Hospital, at the interchange of S.C. 31 and 707, will offer advanced cardiac care, including a planned open-heart surgery program and a cardiac catheterization lab in partnership with Charleston-based MUSC Heath. The 36-bed hospital, including previously announced rehabilitation and acute care facilities, is slated to open in 2027. The cardiovascular experts at Tidelands Health have cared for the hearts of thousands of area residents over the years, said Dr. Philip Dulberger, executive vice president and chief physician executive in a statement. Our team has been recognized by U.S. News & World Report, the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association for excellence in cardiac care, and we are excited to bring a new, advanced level of heart care to the people of our region. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease is the number one cause of death for both men and women nationally. One person dies every 34 seconds in the U.S. from cardiovascular disease. Nearby S.C. 707, a 12.6-mile highway in southeastern Horry County, has seen tremendous growth in the past few years, but it has not always been that way. With an agricultural past, the growing community located between Socastee and Murrells Inlet is becoming another spot in rural Horry County where commercial spaces and subdivisions are starting to sprout up out of old farmland. The previous widening of S.C. 707 from two-lanes to a five-lane roadway complete with curbs and gutters as well as sidewalks and construction of the S.C. 31 connector has added to the construction boom, resulting in the need for additional healthcare facilities. Tidelands Health has more than 60 locations across the region, and more than 54 percent of the patients it sees annually are Horry County residents, according to the hospital. The health provider operates Georgetown Countys only cardiac cath lab, but it is located at Tidelands Georgetown Memorial Hospital, more than 30 miles away. Conway Medical Center has a three-story facility housing primary and pediatric care, specialty medical services and an ambulatory surgery center located a few miles away from the planned Tidelands Heath hospital. The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Controls 2020 Health Plan projects Horry County needs an additional 155 hospital beds to keep up with current growth. Tidelands Health said it expects to file certificate-of-need applications soon for the new services with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. Pending approval, construction on the cath lab would begin upon the completion of Tidelands Health Carolina Bays Hospital, which has received state approval but is on hold while legal appeals are heard. The Certificate of Need Program is a regulatory process in which health care providers seek the states permission to build new spaces, expand existing sites or buy high-dollar medical equipment in South Carolina. Approved applications have often drawn lawsuits from competitors that can drag on for years. On Jan. 25, 2022, the S.C. Senate voted 35-6 to repeal the controversial Certificate of Need process, yet it later stalled in the S.C. House of Representatives. As a not-for-profit health system, our sole mission is the health of the communities we serve, said Bruce Bailey, president and CEO in a statement. Just as our region continues to grow and transform, Tidelands Health with the support of MUSC Health, is also transforming bringing a new level of advanced, compassionate care to our region so that the people of Georgetown and Horry counties can receive the care they need close to home. As record numbers of air travelers continue to visit South Carolina, airports across the state continue to make it easier for people to fly to and from the Palmetto State. Charleston, Greenville and Myrtle Beach airports picked up a total of five new destinations, airlines announced recently. Columbia will soon see nonstop flights to three additional destinations. Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport on March 9 announced budget carrier Avelo Airlines will offer nonstop service to New Haven, Conn., and Orlando, Fla. When those flights start this summer, Avelo will become the seventh airline serving the Upstate airport. The Houston-based low-fare airline already has flights from Charleston and Myrtle Beach. JetBlue Airways plans to start daily nonstop flights May 25 from Charleston to Westchester County Airport in White Plains, N.Y., which is about 30 miles north of Manhattan. The New York-based airline already offers flights from Charleston to John F. Kennedy International and LaGuardia airports in the New York City area. The new route will bring head-to-head competition between JetBlue and Breeze Airways, which already offers service to White Plains from Charleston and plans to offer daily flights to Westchester County Airport beginning May 1, according to its flight schedule. Since Breeze started serving Charleston in 2021 with flights to 11 destinations, the Utah-based low-cost carrier will reach 22 destinations from the Lowcountry when it adds twice-weekly service to Portland, Maine, beginning May 19. Myrtle Beach also is getting new nonstop flights for the summer. Spirit Airlines, the largest carrier at Myrtle Beach International Airport, will add a seasonal nonstop flight to Rochester, N.Y., beginning May 15. Allegiant Air will launch a seasonal nonstop flight from the Grand Strand to the Akron-Canton Airport in Ohio beginning June 1, according to the Las Vegas-based airline. American Airlines soon will start flying nonstop to three destinations from Columbia Metropolitan Airport, beginning with service to LaGuardia on May 5 and Chicago O'Hare on July 6. Seasonal nonstop service to Miami begins June 3 and runs through Aug. 12. Both Charleston and Myrtle Beach airports saw record passengers in 2022. Charleston International, the state's largest airport, saw 5.32 million travelers coming and going last year, a 27 percent jump from 2021. Its previous record of 4.87 million was set in 2019. Myrtle Beach International reported a record 3.46 million arrivals and departures, for a 7.7 percent gain from 2021 which saw a then-record 3.2 million passengers. Officials with both airports attributed the surge to an increase in air service and the availability of more nonstop flights to and from South Carolinas popular tourist markets in the Lowcountry and along the Grand Strand. Greenville-Spartanburg International reported nearly 2.2 million passengers in 2022. Its record of 2.6 million passengers was set in 2019. Columbia Metropolitan recorded 1.06 million passengers last year, its most since a record 1.35 million in 2019. Last year, Siqi Fang, an eighth grader at Hanahan Middle School in Berkeley County, didn't make it to the Spellbound! Bee, the Lowcountry's only regional bee officially sanctioned by the Scripps National Spelling Bee. She was knocked out of the competition at the district level. This year, standing under the beaming spotlights at Charleston Southern University's Lightsey Chapel, her left palm turned upwards to mimic her college ruled paper and her right hand holding an imaginary pen, Fang spelled the winning word. "F-E-R-R-U-G-I-N-O-U-S," she said, meaning of, relating to or containing iron. All eyes glued to center stage, cheers and applause erupted from the crowd. The contest had gone down from 30 students to two: the other was Zachary Teachman, a student at Thomas C. Carlo Middle School in Charleston County. Teachman was given the word "epenthesis," which is defined as the insertion of a sound or letter in the body of a word. The bell, notorious for sending rows of competitors to sit on the other side of the stage to watch the remaining spellers, followed, echoing throughout the chapel. Suddenly, the bee sting on Fang's right finger that had pestered her the past few days felt obsolete. "I was kind of nervous," Fang told The Post and Courier after posing for myriad photos with her winning trophy. "My competitor was also really good." Fang would have to spell the word correctly along with one final word to win. "This year she seemed to be more comfortable on stage," Fang's mother, Cui He, told The Post and Courier. "I'm maturing," Fang interjected proudly. Students go through an intense series of elimination rounds to compete in Spellbound! They have to win their school and district spelling bees to qualify. More than 40,000 students compete for the finals. The contest this year marked the bee's 31st anniversary and represented students from Charleston, Berkeley, Colleton, Dorchester 2 and 4 school districts, the Catholic Diocese of Charleston, and S.C. Independent School Association. The Post and Courier is a sponsor of Spellbound! The winner advances to the virtual preliminary rounds of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Those who make it through the virtual preliminaries go to National Harbor, Md., to compete for the champion title. The mother of the 28-year-old man who withered in a filthy Charleston County jail cell for months as his untreated mental illness worsened has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the county and its sheriff. D'Angelo Dontrel Brown died Dec. 29 at Medical University Hospital after officers found him unconscious and covered in dry vomit inside an eight-by-ten foot isolation cell soiled with feces, The Post and Courier previously reported. The father of two was detained for four months at the Sheriff Al Cannon Detention Center in North Charleston after he was arrested following a violent home invasion. Nekeya Jones, who is Brown's mother and the administrator of his estate, filed the suit March 8 against Charleston County and the Charleston County Sheriff's Office, which operates South Carolina's largest detention center. Brown was subjected to "inhumane treatment" and "deplorable living conditions" inside the jail, which contributed to his death, alleges the complaint filed in the 9th Judicial Circuit's Court of Common Pleas. The county Coroner's Office has not yet disclosed Brown's cause and manner of death. The State Law Enforcement Division is investigating potential criminal charges in Brown's death. The Sheriff's Office is conducting its own internal investigation. The suit contends the Sheriff's Office and county knew Wellpath LLC, the private medical provider at the facility, was inadequate, and they failed to take the appropriate steps to help Brown when he was in distress. Sheriff's Office spokesman Andrew Knapp reaffirmed that every person detained at the jail "has the right to adequate medical care." "While our staff cannot provide it directly, we are committed to providing access to quality care," he said. "We will continue to work with the on-site medical contractor and Charleston County to address concerns about the quality of care provided at the facility." A county spokeswoman declined to comment on the lawsuit. Since 2020, the county has paid Wellpath more than $6 million annually to provide medical care to detention center inmates, records show. The Nashville-based company is the largest private health care provider inside jails and prisons throughout the country. In multiple lawsuits, Wellpath has been accused of cutting costs at the expense of patients' health. Sheriff Kristin Graziano told The Post and Courier in January that Wellpath is "woefully inadequate." The county is considering replacing Wellpath and is reviewing bids from three potential alternative medical providers to the jail, The Post and Courier learned last week. Neither the Sheriff's Office nor the county has conducted an audit of Wellpath's services, according to spokespeople at the agencies. "The Defendants and its employees working during Mr. Brown's detainment had actual and constructive knowledge of his deteriorating condition and acted in blatant disregard of his health and life by failing to intervene on his behalf and ensuring he had access to reasonable medical attention," the complaint states. "Defendants acted with conscious and deliberate indifference to the basic and serious medical needs of Mr. Brown, and as a result, he suffered numerous personal injuries, conscious pain and suffering, and eventually died." Brown deteriorated in an isolation cell over four months as his untreated schizophrenia worsened, court and jail records obtained by the newspaper revealed. Officers at the detention center diligently documented Brown's decline in their custody after he was arrested Aug. 10 at the scene of a home invasion in West Ashley that traumatized the family. Affidavits supporting his arrest reported Brown stripped his clothes at the scene and called himself God as he was taken into police custody. The North Charleston man had a documented history of mental illness, but medical staff did not comply with his request for medication early on in his detention, records show. Graziano previously said that detention center officers are trained to recognize signs of mental illness, but they can only relay their observations to medical staff, who are responsible for providing appropriate care. Brown told jail staff on Aug. 25 that he was "really scared for [his] life," according to the lawsuit. He was hospitalized for 18 days in September for "altered mental status" after officers observed him "laying in his urine, not eating or drinking, evidencing severe agitation, and picking paint off of the walls," according to a medical evaluation filed in court. The medical evaluation was ordered by a judge in the 9th Judicial Circuit's criminal court, where Brown's charges were pending. The report found that Brown had not been receiving psychiatric medication at the jail and that he evidenced "brain disease that alters functions" at the time he was hospitalized. Brown was prescribed medication to treat schizophrenia at the hospital and his condition improved. Brown was discharged back to the jail Sept. 29. The lawsuit states detention center officers placed Brown in a restraint chair for approximately 130 minutes "for being uncooperative" when he was returned to the jail. Brown often refused prescribed medications when he returned to the jail, the evaluation states. He was observed inside his cell naked, non-communicative, unable to sleep, refusing to eat or shower, and wallowing in his urine and feces. Brown, the lawsuit states, was observed on Nov. 11 eating his feces. The next day, he was reported yelling and jumping throughout the night. On Dec. 15, a circuit judge found Brown incompetent to stand trial and ordered him to be committed to the S.C. Department of Mental Health for 180 days for observation and treatment. Brown was found unconscious in his cell six days later. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for claims of negligence and wrongful death. The lawsuit was brought by Charleston attorney James B. Moore III. He said the March 8 filing is one of several lawsuits the Evans Moore Law Firm plans to pursue on behalf of Brown's family. "From what we know at this early stage, D'Angelo's death was painful, undignified and preventable," Moore said. "We are committed to ensuring that those involved are held accountable." Brown is one of six people who died in 2022 while in the Charleston County jail. Throughout the state, at least 39 people died that year in county detention centers, according to data provided by the S.C. Department of Public Safety. "Individuals who have...been charged with a crime but are presumed innocent, like Mr. Brown, possess a federal constitutional due process right to reasonable medical care and to be free of cruel, inhumane, and unusual punishment," the lawsuit states. After issuing thousands of parking citations on upper King Street, city of Charleston officials switched to a different approach: towing. So far it appears to be working. In the first month of weekend towing enforcement, 23 cars have been hauled away. The first weekend of Feb. 9 saw eight cars towed with less each subsequent weekend. The result is more room for pedestrians and first responders as well as less congestion. Charleston initially banned parking on the stretch of King from Spring to Calhoun streets in May 2021 after a string of violent incidents. It also reduced traffic from two lanes to one. The hope was that removing parked cars from the main stretch of the popular nightlife district would prevent people from congregating at their vehicles or storing drugs or guns inside them, Charleston Police Capt. Jason Bruder said. "It has created a better environment," Bruder said. "We don't have people hanging at cars, ... and the visibility for officers and drivers is so much more expansive." At first, the parking ban did not work as intended. Over the first year and half, the city issued over 3,000 tickets with fines starting at $45 and cars still clogged the area. "Before, we were getting no compliance," Bruder said. If the $45 tickets were being written to repeat offenders, the city would have considered increasing the parking ticket fee rather than relying on towing. But city police officials said the data showed they were not. Since Feb. 9, cars parked in the 70 spaces on King between Spring and Calhoun after 6 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays began getting towed by Jennings Towing. The company already has a contract with the city for towing cars from emergency lanes, street sweeping locations, parade routes and other events. Cars cost $130 to retrieve on the first day they are towed and incur additional fees the longer they sit on the lot. Vehicles are brought to the tow company's Neck Area lot at 2026 Meeting Street Road, which is about 3 miles north of the King Street bar district. The idea hasn't been popular with everyone. City Councilman Robert Mitchell, whose district includes parts of the bar district, was skeptical it would have the intended impact. He voted against approving the towing contract in January. Now, he said he feels more optimistic about the idea because he hasn't gotten any calls or complaints from constituents. But he said it is still too early for him to fully endorse it. "The crowds are still going to be there. I don't think that is going to deter (violence)," Mitchell said. He said he also is concerned that more people will park in the surrounding neighborhoods, especially as tourism picks up over the spring and summer. SIMPSONVILLE The bill passed by the S.C. House in February to allow people to carry a gun in public without a permit is a danger to public safety and should not be passed by the Senate. Read moreCommentary: SC Senate needs to kill dangerous permitless gun bill SLED Chief Mark Keel made a valiant effort to tie the Good Friday shooting on the Isle of Palms to the push by S.C. police for bail-bond reform legislation, speaking on Tuesday about the problem with too many kids and too many repeat offenders having access to guns. Read moreEditorial: There's no easy answer for IOP shooting, but there is a place to start Charleston, SC (29403) Today Variable clouds with thunderstorms, especially in the morning. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High 81F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Partly to mostly cloudy skies with scattered thunderstorms before midnight. Low 54F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%. Michael B. Moore, the great-great grandson of Civil War hero Robert Smalls who commandeered a Confederate ship in Charleston Harbor to secure his freedom, is preparing to launch a 2024 campaign for Congress in South Carolina's 1st District. Moore, who previously was the founding president and CEO of Charlestons International African American Museum, would run as a Democrat. A formal announcement could take place in the coming weeks as he would seek the coastal district seat now held by U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-Isle of Palms. "When I was growing up, it was commonly believed that each generation would do better than the previous," Moore told The Post and Courier on March 9. "I have four sons, and a granddaughter on the way. And I, frankly, am concerned about the world we are leaving them." Moore is the first major Democratic candidate to express interest in the race for a district that spans from Charleston to Hilton Head Island. He quietly filed his statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission on Feb. 6. In a video on his campaign website, Moore broadly outlines some of the issues he plans to explore covering the economy, access to affordable health care and improving public education. He also expressed interest in protecting the environment and lowering the temperature on the political discourse, while defending Social Security and Medicare as programs that cannot afford to be eliminated. "Those are promises that the country has made to its citizens. Yes, we need to be strategic and diligent and intentional about how to keep them healthy," Moore said. "But the idea, at this point in time, of coming along and sort of pulling that rug out from underneath our seniors, that just doesn't make any sense to me." Moore, 60, lives in Mount Pleasant and this will be his first run for elected office. Most of his experience has been in the business world. At the International African American Museum, which is scheduled to open in June on Gadsdens Wharf downtown, Moore led the museum through its initial fundraising process. Though he spent roughly three years there, Moores background prior to the philanthropic effort has been in private industry. He worked for companies including Coca-Cola, Glory Foods and Kraft. He resigned from the museum in mid-2019 for a job advancing diversity at Blackbaud Inc., a software company in Charleston that added the role in the wake of the 2020 protests advocating for racial justice. With his forthcoming 2024 congressional bid, Moore will be following in his family's footsteps. Smalls, his great-great grandfather, served in the S.C. Legislature before he was elected to the U.S. House in 1874, nearly 150 years ago. His great-grandfather, Samuel Jones Bampfield, was a member of the S.C. House of Representatives. "I grew up in a family that understood that problems don't just solve themselves, and that we needed to participate in our communities, in our state and in our country in a way that can make a difference," Moore said. South Carolinas 1st District seat has long been a reliable seat for Republicans in ruby-red South Carolina. But that changed in 2018 when Democrat Joe Cunningham won, flipping the seat out of GOP control for the first time in nearly 40 years. In 2020, the seat flipped back to Republican hands when Mace won it back for the GOP. She then easily won her 2022 reelection bid by 14 percentage points against Democrat Annie Andrews. But those district lines could change. In January, a panel of federal judges ordered state lawmakers to redraw South Carolina's 1st Congressional District map, saying it was a racial gerrymander that discriminated against Black voters. State Republican lawmakers appealed the decision, and now the fate of the political map is in legal limbo as courts review the claim. Many Nigerians this week faced difficulties making payments for goods and services as traders, motorists, and business owners refused to accept the old Naira notes in anticipation of an official approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). In multiple interviews with PREMIUM TIMES, Nigerians who got paid the old N500 and N1000 notes by the banks expressed their frustration amid silence from the CBN and the Nigerian government. Last Friday, the Supreme Court ruled that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) must extend the use of old banknotes until 31 December due to the negative impact of the policy. A seven-member panel of the court, led by John Okoro, unanimously ordered the CBN to continue receiving the old notes from Nigerian citizens. The court also found that President Muhammadu Buharis directive to the CBN on the withdrawal of old notes and redesign of new banknotes without proper consultation was invalid. The CBN had last December introduced new N200, N500, and N1000 notes, which led to the withdrawal of the old notes from circulation. This policy resulted in widespread chaos across the country, with protests erupting in various regions as Nigerians faced difficulties doing business and making cash payments in daily transactions. After the Supreme Court delivered its judgment on the naira policy last Friday, some commercial banks in parts of the country on Monday resumed the issuance of the old N500 and N1000 notes to their customers. Analysts thought the development would bring relief to many Nigerians whose businesses have suffered because of their inability to access cash. But since the Supreme Court gave its verdict on the case, neither the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) nor the Nigerian government has reacted to the new development. The silence of these key institutions has left many Nigerians confused about the implications of the ruling and how the uncertainty could impact the nations financial ecosystem. Abuja Despite lamenting the ripple effect of the cash crunch on sales in recent months, PREMIUM TIMES found that traders across the Abuja metropolis refused to accept the old naira notes from their customers. Some complained of how they have been unable to spend the old notes they had earlier received because of the Supreme Court ruling. As of Wednesday, PREMIUM TIMES gathered that apart from traders and other service providers, grocery stores and filling stations have declined to accept the old notes. Dickson Durotimi, a phone repairer at the Wuse market, told PREMIUM TIMES that he will not receive the old note until there is confirmation from the government and other traders begin to receive it. I will not be the first to collect it when I know that it will be useless to me. People at Banex (a huge complex where phones and accessories are sold) are not collecting it and this is where I get my market from, he said. I cannot risk it, even as banks are giving it, we are all waiting to hear the go-ahead from the CBN. About three filling stations visited in Garki/Apo axis of the federal capital territory only received payment from customers through POS or the new notes. Lagos In Lagos, Nigerias commercial nerve center, traders also lamented the effect of the uncertainty on their businesses and daily activities. Aramide Samuel, a civil servant in the state, complained about the rejection of the new notes and how it could cripple businesses. She also expressed worry over the hardship residents are subjected to because of the situation. People in Lagos are not collecting the old notes. Yesterday, I was lucky to get N5,000 old notes from the bank. Could you believe that after the hurdles of getting this morning, I could not spend it? My colleague that had no cash had relied on me to pay for her transport fare, we trekked from Surulere inside traffic, and not a single bus was willing to collect the money, she said. Mrs Samuel, however, expressed optimism that once the CBN governor speaks, people will be convinced to transact business with and accept the old notes. Katsina In Katsina metropolis, northwest Nigeria, PREMIUM TIMES gathered that traders and other residents are apprehensive about collecting the old naira notes. A mechanic in the Layout area of the metropolis, Sanusi Bashir, said he would not collect the old notes because he has not heard from the federal government. Let me be honest with you, I cant collect such notes (500/1000) because Im not sure of the seriousness of the federal government. Of course, youre right the court said we should be collecting it but are you sure the banks will accept the old notes? he wondered. A sugarcane seller who simply identified himself as Murtala, said he rejected old notes on several occasions on Wednesday. Yes, I dont collect them (old notes) because I dont know where Ill take them to. I rejected the old N500 notes three times today because if I collect them, I dont what to do with them, Mr. Murtala said. When he was informed that the Supreme Court had passed a verdict that old notes should be accepted and banks have started giving out old N500 and N1000, Mr. Murtala said he didnt trust the government. A car wash attendant on Mani road by Kebram plaza, Bashir Dan-Waire, said he would not collect the old notes because the banks might not accept them. If I accept it, banks may not collect it from me. You know how cruel these leaders are. I dont trust them. If they want us to collect the money, let the president and CBN governor announce through the media that we should start collecting it, but Ill not be collecting money just because the court said I should, Mr Dan-Waire said. Ekiti In Ekiti, commuters and traders also complained about the confusion caused by the silence of the government on the issue. Speaking with PREMIUM TIMES, Felicia Samuel, a foodstuff seller in Olojudo market, Ido Ekiti, confirmed that she and many other traders are rejecting the old naira notes. Mrs Samuel said she was aware of the order of the Supreme Court but insisted that it was a presidential directive to the CBN that the old N200 should be returned to the banks. I wont accept the old note until I hear that President Buhari has ordered us to start collecting it again, she said. You know, when they wanted us to start collecting the old N200 note, the president came out to address the country and now let him address us again. If not, nothing will make me collect the old note. Nkiruka Romanus, another foodstuff seller at the market, said: I dont have any problem collecting the money but I have called the man that used to supply me goods and he said that I should wait until we hear from the president or the CBN before I can start collecting the old note. I know the Supreme Court is the highest and they have given orders for us to start collecting the old note but to be on the safe side, Im not going to collect it until the President or CBN orders us to do so. Another trader at the market who identified herself as Mama Kemi said people only listened to what the CBN and the government have said in the past. In effect, she said, many Nigerians are hesitant because they dont know the status of the old naira notes since the CBN hasnt spoken about it yet. So Im not ready to start collecting it now. What if I collect and I cant spend it to buy back my goods? What will now happen to me, will I now go and tell the people that are supplying me goods that they must collect the old note from me because the Supreme Court has given an order? Other people are rejecting it too, she said. Emeka Obi, an electronics dealer at Oja Oba in Ado Ekiti, the state capital, said: For now, if you buy something from me and you have the old N500 or N1000 notes, I wont collect it from you. Either you pay with the new note or you do a transfer. I still have the old notes at home now, nobody is collecting them from me, I went to the bank the other day to deposit them and I was asked to go to a computer Centre and generate a code. With the code, I can now be able to deposit the money. I just went back home with the money and it is still in my house as I speak to you now. So, if the president is in support of the Supreme Court order let him address us. I will not collect unless the president or the CBN gives a directive on it. I can not come and run my business at a loss because of one Supreme Court order. Osun State In Ile-Ife, Osun State, traders and transport workers within the campus of the Obafemi Awolowo University also rejected the new notes. On Thursday, PREMIUM TIMES observed some of the bus drivers at the popular student union building park warning commuters that they wouldnt accept the old notes. Enter with a new naira note, we are not collecting old N500 and N1000, they warned. PREMIUM TIMES also gathered that petrol attendants at Matrix and Poplat filling stations on Ede Road rejected the old naira notes from customers. A resident, Odunayo Adelusi, noted that once the governorship elections are over, the CBN will make pronouncement on the use of the old notes. Even in the market where their tomatoes keep getting bad, they will not collect the money (old note), she said. Akwa Ibom Nyakno Abasi, a Point of Sale vendor in Uyo, lamented the scarcity of cash across the metropolis. I have been going to my bank since Monday but they have not been dispensing any cash. The situation is the worst here. I dont know about any other bank but the bank I am banking with is not going at all, she said. On her part, Victoria Uyoh, a resident of Uyo, said some banks are dispensing the old naira notes but commercial bus drivers, filling station attendants and commuters are rejecting the notes. But some market women have started accepting the old notes, she told PREMIUM TIMES Thursday morning. On his part, Solomon Ikotidem, another resident of Uyo, said one of the banks on Abak road axis of Uyo dispensed the old notes, but when some of their customers came in to deposit the old notes, the bank rejected them. So theyre free to dispense but unavailable for deposit. I will strongly advise against accepting old notes from any bank. As it is now in Akwa Ibom only a few people can trade with it. Market women are rejecting it for the fear that Buhari has not made any official statement, Mr. Ikotidem said. Kano In Kano, PREMIUM TIMES observed that filling stations fuel rejected the old notes despite the judgment of the Supreme Court. No customer has come up with the old new naira note to buy fuel, even if they do come we were not asked to collect the old money we are dealing with the new naira notes and electronic transfer for the payment of services rendered, said a fuel attendant who declined to have his name in print. We prefer cash but people are coming with their ATM cards for payment and we have no reason to reject them because we cannot justify our action because we are not buying the petrol with cash. Nura Hashim, a popular POS operator in Fagge local government area in the kano metropolis, said he does not accept or pay customers with the old naira notes. Mr. Hashim, who paid customers with old notes in recent weeks, said the notes are difficult to get because the banks are not dispensing the old naira notes at the counter and through the ATM. As I speak with you, I am operating five bank accounts with different banks but none of them is providing the old naira notes. This is even after the supreme court judgment. Initially, I was happy with the judgment, but I later understood that the banks are not in compliance with the Supreme Courts judgment. Nazifi Muhammed, a customer of Guaranty Trust Bank at the Wapa branch in Fagge, lamented the cash crunch and how it has affected his business. This is a difficult situation because both the old and the new naira notes are not readily available. If the Banks have complied with the Supreme Courts judgment, they could have eased the suffering of many Nigerians, he said. On Thursday, some of the banks ATM points in major cities across Nigeria were deserted due to the cash crunch while a few other banks dispensed only the new notes. Spokespersons of both the CBN and the Nigerian government declined comment on the issue as of press time Friday morning. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print A Federal High Court in Lagos Wednesday issued an interim order restricting the Chief Executive of Seplat Energy, Roger Brown, from everyday running and management of the company. The court also restricted Mr Browns proxies, agents and privies from managing the company until a decision is reached on a motion by some stakeholders on notice for interlocutory injunction. The petitioners involved are Moses Igbrude, Ajani Abidoye, Sarat Kudaisi, Robert Ibekwe and Kenneth Nnabike who prayed the court to grant an order restraining the chair of the directors board, Basil Omiyi, and all independent non-executive directors of Seplat Energy from running the companys affairs in an illegal, unfairly, prejudicial and oppressive manner pending the hearing and determination of the petitioners motion on notice for interlocutory injunction. The plea was granted, according to copies of court documents obtained by PREMIUM TIMES. Justice Chukwuejekwu Aneke, the presiding judge, adjourned the lawsuit to 23 March, 2023, when the hearing of the pending application is due to commence. Meanwhile, the petitioners made a separate request for an order forbidding Seplat Energy and its chairman from retaining Mr Brown as the companys CEO or allowing him to serve in any other role within the firm. The petitioners presented to the court exhibits including a letter directed to the minister of interior, stating allegations of racism, discrimination, favouritism and breach of corporate governance against the Seplat CEO. Another letter from Rauf Aregbesola, Nigerias minister of interior, showing the ministrys resolution of the petition, was also part of the exhibits. READ ALSO: Mr Aregbesola had on 3 March written Mr Omiyi, apprising him of the revocation of Mr Browns work permit, visa and residence permit as well as of a petition from a lawyer to some aggrieved Seplat Energy employees, bringing some allegations against Mr Brown. These accusations include racism, favouring foreign workers, and discriminating against Nigerian employees. Testimony was received from several witnesses, which supported the allegations, the letter said. Mr. Roger T. Brown declined to attend despite two invitations, claiming to be unavailable even though we learnt he was in Abuja for other purposes at the time, it added. Seplat Reacts Seplat Energy Plc in its reaction Thursday debunked reports that the work, visa and residence permit of Mr Brown was withdrawn by the Ministry of Interior. Seplat Energy wishes to refute the false allegations against Mr. Brown, which have been presented to the Ministry of Interior and the public by certain petitioners, and which have not been brought to the attention of Mr. Roger Brown or Seplat Energy for a reaction, the oil and gas company said in a Thursday notification to the Nigerian Exchange. It stated further it plans to contact the ministry with a view to rejecting the perceptions the reports have created, noting that the claims are a malicious response to the implementation of corporate governance standards in the company by the board. The statement issued on the authorisation of the chair of the directors board, Mr Omiyi, disclosed that the CEO has earned for himself over the last ten years an unsullied reputation for leadership and service in the company. His records prompted the board to pass a vote of confidence on him on 8 March, 2023, it added. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print His opponents called him a social media president. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, they insinuated, were his real political party and structure. But on election day, Peter Obi of the Labour Party stunned his doubters. He pulled over six million votes, trailing Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Mr Obi has insisted he won the election and has approached the court to upturn the victory of Bola Tinubu, the candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). Before the Election Day, a journalist asked Atiku about the possibility of Mr Obis political party winning Nigerias presidential election. He first smiled and shook his head to express doubt and negativity before answering the question: They claim they have 100 million supporters online but you saw what they scored in Osun (governorship election of 2022). In fact, in the North, 90 per cent of our people are not on the internet. Like Atiku, many people believed Mr Obis political structure could not win a local government election outside Anambra State let alone a presidential poll. Their permutation was that a huge chunk of his support base existed only on the internet. But how did structureless Mr Obis Labour Party manoeuvre the major opposition parties in many states? Identity Politics (Religion) The outcome of the presidential election exposed an inherent identity tension in Nigeria: an underground but intense contest between the adherents of Islam and Christianity, Nigerias two most popular religions. After fighting a fierce battle to win the presidential ticket of the APC, former Governor Bola Tinubu faced another dilemma regarding who to choose as his running mate, from the north. Being a Yoruba Muslim from the South-west, he eventually chose Kashim Shettima, another Muslim (from the North) to appease the Muslim majority north. His choice of running mate sparked a huge controversy. Many Nigerian Christians considered this as a disrespect to their religion and its large adherents in the country. They loudly and ferociously protested the Muslim-Muslim ticket and vowed to teach Mr Tinunu a bitter political lesson. Mr Obi smartly exploited the anger of the Christians , courting faithful at their places of worship. In November 2022, the Labour Party presidential candidate campaigned at the 14th National Conference and Jubilee Celebration of the Catholic Charismatic, Delta State, violating the Electoral Act, 2022. Facing the mammoth crowd, Mr Obi appealed to the congregants for support. Im asking you to vote for me because Ill turn around Nigeria, I want to build a Nigeria where the son of nobody will become somebody, and a daughter of nobody will become somebody, he said. Before then, in July, he attended the Judgement Praise Night Worship with Pastor Paul Enenche and in August, he was at the Redemption Camp for the first time to celebrate the 70th Annual Convention of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, where he received a loud ovation. Places designated for religious worship, police stations, and public offices shall not be used for political campaigns, rallies, and processions; or to promote, propagate, or attack political parties, candidates, or their programmes, or ideologies, Section 92(3) of the Electoral Act 2022 states. Christian Lobby worked Mr Obis consistent lobby of Christians worked for him. Many pastors openly campaigned for him and urged hundreds of thousands of their followers to ready their voters cards to ensure the Muslim-Muslim candidate (referring to Mr Tinubu) is humiliated on Election Day. On the eve of the presidential election, videos of pastors sensitising their followers to vote for the Labour Party floated around social media. While there were also videos of Islamic clerics openly telling their supporters to vote for Mr Tinubu, that of Mr Obi dominated the Internet and was considered overwhelming by many observers. Overall, while Mr Tinubu played the Muslim-Muslim card to court northern Muslims, Mr Obi projected himself as the frontline Christain in the presidential race. As the ruling party paraded a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket, the Nigerian Christian community felt marginalised and saw this as an invitation to a religious battle of the ballot. Mr Obi was thus their choice candidate. The outcome of the faith war clearly manifested in the results of the just-concluded election. Mr Obi won in many Christain-dominated states, including those governed by Mr Tinubus APC. Ethnic Identity Since 1999, no presidential election in Nigeria has been as ethnicised as the recent one. Nearly all the three front-runners played the ethnic card. But one of them, Peter Obi, seems to have benefitted most from it. In June 2022, Mr Tinubus outburst during a campaign tour is considered a major appeal to ethnic consciousness. He said it was the turn of the Yoruba to take the mantle of leadership after President Muhammadu Buhari, a Fulani from Northern Nigeria. As a major political figure of the Yoruba stock, Mr Tinubu said it was his turn to be Nigerias president. He urged his kinsmen to support him to avoid a repeat of history. Atiku Abubakar of the PDP made a similar sales pitch, saying he, as a northerner, was in the best position to address the problems facing the north. Like Messrs Tinubu and Atiku, Mr Obi also played the ethnic card and it worked well for him. Since the end of the Nigerian civil war spurred by the Igbo secessionists who wanted Biafra as an independent country, the ethnic group became a victim of stereotypes from others in the country. It is common to hear unsubstantiated permutations that an Igbo president would divide the Nigerian nation. That narrative worked against Odumegwu Ojukwu, the army officer who led the Biafra war. In 2003, he contested the presidential election against Olusegun Obasanjo and lost. Twenty years later, in 2023, many Igbos were determined to break the shackle and the stereotype that their kinsmen cant lead Nigeria. Enters Obi, a Successful Trader From Anambra Why cant an Igbo man be a Nigerian president? That was the rhetorical question many southeasterners repeatedly asked. But many socio-political analysts said that the presidency is not the birthright of any region; any individual from any region who wants it must work for it. Mr Obi appeared to have appealed to these Igbo sentiments, as millions of Igbos across Nigeria and beyond rallied around him and campaigned for him vigorously more than they had ever done for any Nigerian president. Before Mr Obis appearance on the presidential political stage, Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB), a secessionist group, had resonated with many southeasterners. Though considered a minority in the South-east, Mr Kanus supporters described him as their saviour and the only living man who can grant them freedom from Nigeria, which some of them described as a zoo. When Mr Obi, a successful trader from Anambra State, announced his presidential bid, many Igbos saw it as an opportunity for one of them to eventually become Nigerias president. The expectation was probably that Mr Obis election would address the imbalance in the polity and what many Igbos consider to be unfair treatment of their ethnic group. Mr Obis presidential bid did not, however, stop the IPOB agitations. Armed persons suspected to be members of IPOB continued to launch attacks against politicians, electoral officials, security officials and other state institutions. Mr Obis critics accused him, without evidence, of being a supporter of IPOB. Also, he refused to publicly criticise the terror group, saying his position on the different agitations across the country is to dialogue and negotiate. In the long run, Mr Obi performed very well in the presidential poll, especially in the South-east. He won over 70 per cent of the votes in each of the five South-east states, securing over 90 per cent of the votes in his home Anambra State. No other candidate had such domineering support in their home state or region. Young Nigerians/Obidients Since his return as Nigerias head of state in 2019, President Muhammadu Buharis administration has been criticised by the youth, who now seem to be more conscious about the governance, policies and politics of their country. In 2020, a massive protest that shook the country emerged over police brutality. Some young protesters were killed in Lagos. But the government and the army denied the atrocities. The youth were stopped from protesting; they left the streets waiting for the right time to speak at the ballot box. Before and after then, bad news never ceased to appear as headlines of major Nigerian newspapers. Killings and kidnappings for ransom became a booming business in the North-west; Terrorism resurfaced in the North-east; ritual killings turned incessant in the South-west; IPOB continued its criminal acts in the South-east; farmer-herder violence did not stop; internet fraudsters became the stars of the streets and so on. READ ALSO: The widespread insecurity, the skyrocketing cost of living made Nigeria a hell for citizens. Many brilliant folks would prefer to leave the country for good they called it japa. Many were tired and needed a messiah to retire the old order seeking presidential power. They needed someone without much corruption baggage to his credit. The angry youth sought to rally around a Nigerian politician to break what appears like a generational curse on the country. Mr Obi was their man for the job. They wanted a thunderstorm that would strike the old folks of Nigerian politics out of power. Mr Obi appeared in the horizon and they embraced him without much vetting. Neglecting the corruption allegations he faced, they promoted him to sainthood with their savvy use of social media. Seizing the Historical Moments By weaponising the anger and yearning of the youth, Mr Obi appeared to be adhering to the law of generational myopia. Also known as Gregory, Mr Obi, 61, appears to know how to play the politics of popular demand. In the Laws of Human Nature, Robert Greene teaches how to smartly take advantage of the masses emotions and a generational movement for change to attain power. Knowing in-depth the spirit of your generation and the times you live in, youll be better able to exploit the zeitgeist, Greene says. You will be the one to anticipate and set the trends that your generation hungers for. The strong-willed, energetic young Nigerians on social media, who fondly call themselves the cocoa-nut head generation, started the revolution of retiring alleged corrupt politicians who have ruled since Nigeria returned to democracy in 1999. Most of them were participants in the nationwide EndSARS protests, leading to the disbandment of a notorious police unit in 2020. They would not leave the streets even after authorities disbanded the SARS, the police unit that so much disgusted them with brutality and extra-judicial killings. They would further trend EndBadGovernment. The protest ended in blood and tears after menacing soldiers fired fusillades of bullets to disperse demonstrators. Many of them returned to agitation online as election season drew closer. They had been accused of being social media voters and they wanted to break the stereotype. They formed the support base for Mr Obi, a man they considered to be less corrupt and a lesser evil. Are you still wondering how he got over six million votes during the just concluded presidential election? Mr Obi seized the historical moments of hunger for change and retirement of old, corrupt politicians by Nigerian youth; the fear of another eight years of marginalisation of the Igbos and their apologists and the battleline of ballots drawn between the Christians and Muslims. While many mocked Mr Obi for having no structures, the above-mentioned demographicsvformed a strong political base for him. They called themselves the Obidents. Page planned and produced by George Ogala Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Despite clamours for improvement in women participation in public life across the world, Nigeria appears to be moving in the wrong direction. From 1999 till date, only 157 women have been elected into the 469-member National Assembly (38 senators and 119 members of the House of Representatives), compared to 2,657 men (616 senators, 2,041 reps) during the same period. The results of the 25 February presidential and National Assembly elections have further exposed Nigerias failure to implement several treaties and statutes it signed, which are aimed at ensuring womens involvement in politics. Of the 92 women who contested for the Senate in the February elections, only three won, while out of the 286 who contested for seats in the House of Representatives, only 15 have been declared winners. Mercy Abang, the CEO of Host Writer, said the low number of women in elective and appointive positions in Nigeria is directly proportional to the level of development. She said Nigerias political parties are not interested in prioritising issues of womens development, saying decisions still need to be made for women by men, even when women constitute a significant portion of the voting population. The Taliban government strips women and girls of fundamental freedom and rights. If you look at what is happening in Afghanistan regarding how women are seen, would you say there is a difference between the Nigerian state and her political structure? she asked rhetorically. Nigerian women have continued to excel in the private sector and are serving in top-level positions globally, yet featuring in public life at home remains a challenge. UN Resident Coordinator in Nigeria, Matthias Schmale, echoed this when he told PREMIUM TIMES in an interview that Nigeria has produced so many women of excellence across the world and private sector but in public life, Nigeria lags behind most African countries. What data says? A total of 18 political parties fielded 380 female candidates for the National Assembly elections; 92 for the Senate and 288 for the House of Representatives. Out of the 92 who contested for the 109 senatorial seats, representing 8.4 per cent, only three won. They are Ireti Kingibe of the Labour Party (LP) from the FCT; Idiat Adebule of All Progressives Congress (APC) from Lagos West District; and Ipalibo Harry Banigo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from Rivers West District. Only 15 of the 288 women who contested for House of Representatives seats also won, with eight from the APC; four from PDP, and one each from LP, APGA and YPP. Oby Orogbu, LP; Maureen Gwacham, APGA; and Chinwe Nnabuife of YPP won their House of Representatives seats in Anambra State. Ebikake Enenimiete of PDP won in Bayelsa while Blessing Onuh and Regina Akume of APC won in Benue State. Zainab Gimba won in Borno under the APC, Erhiatake Ibori-Suenu of PDP won in Delta State; Miriam Onuoha, Ogbara Kafilat and Adewunmi Onanuga of the APC won in Imo, Lagos and Ogun states respectively. Beni Lar and Boma Goodhead of the PDP emerged winners in Plateau and Rivers State, while Fatsuma Talba and Khadija Ibrahim of APC won their contests in Yobe State. The only female presidential candidate, Chichi Ojei of the Allied Peoples Movement, secured only 25,961 votes from the 24,025,940 total valid votes cast in the election. According to figures from INEC, the total number of eligible voters rose by 9,464,924 or 11.3 per cent from the 84,004,084 recorded in the 2019 general elections to 93,469,008 in 2023. Of the total registered voters, 49,054,162 or 52.5 per cent are male while the remaining 44,414,846 or 47.5 per cent are female voters. Nigeria, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union Women in Politics Report 2022, ranked 184 out of 192 for womens representation in the national parliament. True to this ranking, there are only 21 women in the ninth National Assembly out of 469 members. At the sub-national level, data from Invictus Africa shows that there are only 45 women out of 990 state House of Assembly members; 15 of the 36 states have no female members. The tenth assembly would most likely be worse than the previous ones given the numbers so far. Nigerias place in Africa In Africas 54 countries, Nigeria ranks the lowest, coming 54th with a 5.45 per cent female representation, while Rwanda ranks first with 47.95 per cent. On the list of five worst-performing countries, Algeria came second after Nigeria with 6.20 per cent; Benin Republic, 7.40 per cent, while the Gambia and Liberia followed with 8.60 and 11.00 per cent respectively. Senegal came second place in the overall ranking after Rwanda with 44.20 per cent; Mozambique followed with 42.60 per cent, then South Africa and Burundi with 41.60 and 39.60 per cent respectively. Representation trend Between 1999 and 2003, the House of Representatives had 12 female members who made up 3.3 per cent of the total 360 members while men made up 96.7 per cent with 348 members. From 2003 to 2007, only 21 women were in the House of Representatives, increasing the percentage to 5.8 as men occupied 339 seats representing 94.2 percent. Only 628 of a total of 7,160 candidates in the April 2007 elections were women, representing 8.8 per cent of the total number of candidates. There were a total of 3,141 candidates who ran for seats in the National Assembly, and only 209 (6.7 per cent) of these were women. While there were 25 elected representatives in 2007 and 19 elected in 2011, the number of female senators rose to nine in 2007 and remained the same in 2011. In 2019, 235 women ran for Senate seats out of a total of 1,904 candidates, while 533 women ran for House of Representatives seats out of a total of 4,680 candidates. Before the 2023 elections, the numbers dropped to 21 women serving in the National Assembly, eight in the Senate and 13 in the House of Representatives, representing 4.47 per cent of the National Assembly membership. Women speak Adenike Aloba is the Programme Director at Dataphyte, a media data and innovation centre. She said on every occasion of International Womens Day, Nigerian women have little or nothing to celebrate. Mrs Aloba said in 2022, Nigerian women suffered the rejection of relevant gender bills, and this year, INEC, in its characteristic inability to read the room, chose the eve of 8 March (International Womens Day) to announce that only 18 women made the cut. She said the poor showing of women at the polls was not strange as we saw it in the number of women candidates that were contesting elective positions. She said it was obvious that increasing womens chances of being elected would mean increasing the number of female candidates, and as that did not happen, the outcome could be easily foretold. So this is sad but not surprising. Also speaking, the Labour Partys spokesperson, Ndi Kato, said Nigeria has taken several steps backward, saying it was clear from the onset how the numbers did not add up. I think where we are right now is terrible and I could see the signs during the elections. I thought to myself that it did not look like many women made it through the primaries It looked like things were going to get worse, I could see the signs because as a woman who was part of the election season but was not running, I had the time to see how many women there were, especially for the major political parties. It did not look like we had that many and it was so problematic to me, she told PREMIUM TIMES. Way forward Ebere Ifendu is the President of Women in Politics Forum. She said the only way forward would be to commence activities towards enhancing female participation in politics. According to Mrs Ifendu, the political parties primaries were largely monetised and the processes made it difficult for women to compete. This is why we will continue to advocate legislations that ensure political participation of women; otherwise our male counterparts will continue to use excuses like religion and culture to undermine womens political participation. Let me say here that Sokoto State recorded 11 female candidates in this election and for me, it is a positive testament to the work that we and other CSOs have been doing in improving womens political participation. The results for the National Assembly may not seem like Nigerian women know better but we have already started preparing towards 2027 and we look forward to a positive impact. Mrs Aloba advised that campaigns and advocacy should not be loud only around set-apart days like International Womens Day. It has to be sustained. Like I often say, we need to get much louder, much quicker and for longer. Yes, it will require significant investment but it is not impossible, she said. She accused the media of complicity, noting that if the media reflect the issues, then they exist and vice versa. Framing, gate-keeping and agenda-setting are still imported roles that the media play and the media must, as a matter of necessity, take on these roles conscientiously to tackle gender inequality, Mrs Aloba added. Ms Kato decried the frequent last-minute attempt by civil society and international organisations to galvanise support for women in politics. I think that a long-term, well-thought-out effort to get more women to participate and then to loosen the loopholes that prevent women from participating is what is key, she advised. For Ms Abang, women should make decisions and be part of law-making; women should lead at cabinet meetings, control resources, and lead teams on policy decisions that concern the general population. It should be a top-bottom and bottom-top approach to achieve development strides. The face of power needs to change for reforms to happen in Nigeria; for too long, the other gender has held it, she said. Ms Abang added that the only way Nigeria can flip the indexes is by flipping the coin and opening the space for more women in decision making, and please do not tell me 35 per cent, that is 2000 and late, we are talking 50 and 60 per cent here. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Bauchi State has condemned the alleged killing of its member by a group of supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC). The party called on the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali, to investigate the incident that led to the death of the member. PREMIUM TIMES reported on Thursday how one person identified as Danlami Shata was killed on Wednesday following a clash between supporters of the APC and the PDP in the Alkaleri Local Government Area of Bauchi State. The incident occurred in Duguri, the hometown of the governor of the state, Bala Mohammed. The APC governorship candidate, Sadiq Abubakar and the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, led the APC campaign in the town. The PDP denied that its supporters blocked the passage of APC supporters, which allegedly triggered the fracas. The spokesperson of the PDP in the state, Yahya Zainabari, said the intervention of the Inspector General of Police will ensure law and order are respected in the state during campaigns. We are calling on the IG and other security agencies to come in and investigate the matter because this is not the first time, there was a shooting in Akuyam, where two of our supporters were killed when the APCs Governorship candidate, Sadiq Abubakar was passing through the town. There was another shooting in Toro and Alkaleri during the APCs campaign as well as the one just happened on Wednesday in Duguri where one person was killed right inside his home by the APCs political thugs. How can the APCs candidate be allowed to be carrying a group of hoodlums that are attacking, shooting, maiming and killing the innocent and law-abiding citizens of Bauchi state? Is it because he is a retired Military officer? We are not in the barrack, he must respect the sanctity of human lives and respect the people of Bauchi state, Mr Zainabari warned. The PDPs spokesperson further explained that they campaigned in all the 20 local governments in the state without hurting or killing anyone. He, however, said the APCs campaigns are always characterised by violence, killings and maiming. He said before the campaign train of the APC entered Duguri, they called the district head of the town who is the elder brother of the governor and informed him of their mission to the town, noting that the traditional ruler said although he was not going to be available, they would meet his representative who would receive the campaign tea at the palace. They went straight to the Palace and they were received, they performed their prayers there, presented their speeches and their mission to the town of Duguri, everything was going on peacefully, when one Mr Yakubu Wowo led the group of thugs going from house to house, causing mayhem, inflicting wounds on the innocent residents. They started by breaking Governor Balas billboards, and posters, destroying motorcycles, and Keke. They went into the house of one innocent person and started beating him until he died. So, is that how the retired military man wants to win the election and govern the state?, Mr Zainabari asked. Efforts to get the APC response was not successful Friday evening. Governor visits casualties Meanwhile, Mr Mohammed has paid a condolence visit to the family of the man killed during the fracas. Mr Mohammed said it was an organised attack carried out on the innocent people of his hometown. Today, in my hometown of Duguri, in Alkaleri Local Government Area of the state, I paid a sympathy and condolence visit to the families of the victims of the recent shootings during the APC gubernatorial campaign, which claimed a life and left many injured, Mr Bala said. I urged the residents of the town to take heart and let the matter go so that peace shall reign. Adding that the town was purposely attacked because their son is the Governor of the state. While extending condolences and sympathy to the families, I called on citizens to exercise their franchise peacefully without participating in any activity that would sabotage the security of lives and properties. Anybody found guilty of victimising, terrorising, intimidating or injuring innocent individuals before, during or after the forthcoming election will be dealt with decisively to deter others, Mr Mohammed warned. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Could the protracted dispute over the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean finally be drawing to a close? Britain steadfastly insisted for decades that it was the rightful owner of what it called British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT). But it did an apparent about-turn on 3 November 2022 when Foreign Secretary James Cleverly announced the United Kingdom (UK) had entered negotiations with Mauritius on the exercise of sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago/BIOT and that it expected a resolution early in 2023. The Chagos Archipelago comprises over 60 islands in the Indian Ocean about 2 000 km north of Mauritius and only about 1 000 km south of the Maldives. Yet it was once part of what was then the British colony of Mauritius until 1965 when departing Britain, in effect, purchased it from Mauritius just before the latters independence in 1968. London did this to allow the United States (US) to build a military base on the largest Chagos island, Diego Garcia. Washington required that not only Diego Garcia but the whole archipelago be uninhabited by locals. And Britain obliged reportedly in exchange for a US$14 million discount on US Polaris missiles by forcibly removing all the Chagossians to Mauritius, Seychelles and the UK. The aggrieved Chagossians have been agitating ever since to be allowed to return to their homes. They also want to be financially supported to do so and to receive reparations for having been deprived of their homeland for over 50 years. A Human Rights Watch (HRW) report published last month accused the UK and the US of having committed crimes against humanity against the Chagos people. They called on them to launch full and fair investigations of those responsible. The report, which calls Chagos the last British colony in Africa, notes that the UK has over the years made small amounts of compensation to some Chagossians resettled in Mauritius. However, it says it hasnt nearly compensated all the displaced islanders fully for the injustices they suffered and should do so now. Britain has so far been swimming against the international tide. The International Court of Justice on 25 February 2019 and UN General Assembly Resolution 73/295 were clear that the Chagos Archipelago formed an integral part of the territory of Mauritius. Britain rejected the courts opinion and the General Assembly resolution demanding it abandon Chagos by November 2019, incurring condemnation from Mauritius, the African Union and others. Now London seems to have had a change of heart, though the contents and progress of the negotiations remain secret. However many questions remain, mostly concerning possible differences between the interests of Mauritius and those of the Chagossians. Mauritian MP Muhammad Reza Uteem of the opposition Mouvement Militant Mauricien told ISS Today he believed the UK planned to hold a referendum among the scattered Chagossians. It would ask them if they wanted the Chagos Archipelago to remain British; to be returned to Mauritius; or to become independent. Mauritius flatly rejected such a referendum, he said, as its sovereignty over Chagos was non-negotiable. Yet he conceded that perhaps most Chagossians would, if offered such a choice, opt to remain part of Britain simply because the UK had more resources to offer. Milan Meetarbhan, a constitutional expert and former Mauritian ambassador to the UN who was previously part of Mauritiuss legal team arguing this issue, told ISS Today that there had been no official mention of such a referendum. He suggested the UK might have floated the possibility as leverage in the negotiations. Nevertheless, he did say that Mauritius was reluctant to use the term Chagos people as HRW very explicitly does in its report as that implied the Chagossians had a right to independence. Asked if there were significant differences between the interests of Mauritius and those of the Chagossians in this matter, he suggested there was no single Chagossian interest as the community had become so divided. He said many Chagossians seemed to have settled there. Some of those in Mauritius might wish to return to Chagos, but he wondered if this was a viable option. I dont really see them parting ways with the government of Mauritius. [Although] this has been a very strong political and emotional issue, I dont really see this new generation who have lived in a totally different [world] would want to go back and start from scratch because there is no economic activity at all on the other islands of the archipelago (other than Diego Garcia). But I can understand why they have always been asking for it. Its a genuine interest. There are also differences between Mauritius and the Chagossians over Diego Garcia. Mauritius has made it clear that if it regained the Chagos Archipelago, it would be prepared to extend Americas lease over its military base. But it has also suggested that though the Chagossians would be allowed to return to the other islands of the archipelago, this would not include Diego Garcia. Those originally from that island have insisted they should enjoy the right to return there. Meetarbhan believes the UK may be aiming to resolve the sovereignty dispute with Mauritius as part of a broader security framework for that strategic part of the Indian Ocean. He notes that in his 3 November 2022 statement, Cleverly, for the first time, recognised Indias interest in the issue, also adding a security dimension. He said an agreement would allow the UK and Mauritius to significantly strengthen their cooperation on Indian Ocean security, working with key regional allies. Wrapping a return of the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius in this broader security package that includes the US and India could be a face-saving tactic for London to avoid looking like it was backing down, Meetarbhan suggested. And to avoid setting a precedent for similar situations in the Falklands and Gibraltar. It could also act as a cover for Mauritius having given away territory to the US and to India, to which Mauritius seems to have secretly ceded the Agalega islands 1000 km to the north for military purposes. Uteem suggests India is being roped in as an ally of Mauritius to strengthen its claim against the Maldives on its maritime jurisdiction over the waters around the Chagos islands. Its clear that the interests of Mauritius and the Chagossians dont entirely align. So HRWs insistence that the Chagossians must be fully consulted in the negotiations about the future of their homeland is valid. Yet Cleverlys statement though mentioning that the aim of the negotiations will be to resolve all outstanding issues, including those relating to the former inhabitants of the Chagos Archipelago also makes clear they are not part of the formal negotiations. READ ALSO: The putative referendum Uteem refers to may not be the way to seek their opinions. However, its hard to justify not bringing the Chagossians more formally into the negotiations. They are, after all, the main aggrieved party in this sorry saga. Peter Fabricius, Consultant, Institute for Security Studies (ISS) Pretoria (This article was first published by ISS Today, a Premium Times syndication partner. We have their permission to republish). Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print MonroviaTwo more prosecution witnesses have told appeal hearings in Monrovia for Gibril Massaquoi, a former commander of the Revolutionary United Front, (RUF) of Sierra Leone that he ordered his soldiers to kill and rape seven women. The witnesses, speaking separately in their native Gbandi language through a translator told the Turku Appeals Court of Finland on Thursday that the alleged acts took place in Kamatahum Town, Lofa County between 2001-2002. He said your put this house on fire and they (RUF soldiers) did, said Civilian 13 (name given to him by the court to protect him from reprisal). All those who were in the house could not come out because it was locked. I was afraid and lost hope because of those that were set on fire. Civilian 13 alleged seven women had been raped, while some were forced to become sex slaves. I cannot tell you how they were killed, said Civilian 13. Yes, I remember seeing the corpse of about seven women, after they were killed. I saw their bodies. They were dried when we dug holes and buried them. Asked on direct examination about how he knew that it was Mr Massaquoi who directed the killings and rapes, the witness said: His soldiers were calling him by the name Angel Gabriel. I heard it myself. The controversial nickname is one of the issues at the heart of this appeal, with the other being that he sneaked out of the safe house of the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone and came to Liberia to fight against rebels from the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy for forces of the government of Charles Taylor, who was the President at the time. As they did before the district court that acquitted him, Mr Massaquois lawyers are arguing on appeal that it was impossible for him to have been in Liberia at the time of the alleged crimes when he was testifying before the special court against Mr Taylor and some RUF commanders. The court convicted and sentenced Mr Taylor to 50 years for fueling the war in Sierra Leone. Like other witnesses in the past two weeks, Thursdays witnesses insisted they were making no mistake about the alleged perpetrator of the crimes, as well as his infamous name. They (RUF soldiers) put seven women in another house, and they raped them, said Civilian 14, as he corroborated the testimony of Civilian 13. All the civilians that were in the town were told to go in the centre of the town. He gave an order and they put them in the house. He ordered tput the house on fire, after that. The man claimed Mr Massaquois wife helped to save his life. The thing that blessed me, Angel Gabriel wife took my hand, and I was standing. But he claimed Mr Massaquoi also killed the woman out of anger. He killed her with the knife, said Civilian 13. After that, it made me afraid, and I decided to escape. The witness told prosecutors on direct examination that he didnt know what had caused Mr Massaquois alleged anger. The witness also gave his account of how the seven women mentioned by Thursdays first witness were killed. They killed the women after they were raped, said Civilian 13. He (Massaquoi) was the same person who gave the order. He really never used to do something by himself, but he was boastful to say it.. he stated that your carry them and have them and kill them. Mr Massaquoi was a commander with the Revolutionary United Front during the conflicts in Sierra Leone and Liberia Civilian 16, the third witness, corroborated the two witnesses testimonies. He claimed Mr Massaquoi had ordered his soldiers to gather all civilians from different villages in Kamatahum Town to speak to them. He said I am Gibril Massaquoi, the witness said of Massaquoi. My fighting name is Angel Gabriel. I told you not to fire gun in Kiatahum. These people, we are going to burn them because it is their children that are bringing the war. The witness, sounding in a shaky voice, claimed after that encounter, the civilians were killed. They put the people in the house. The sleeping beds were more than twenty. They spread gas inside and they put all the people. children, adults, women and everyone including some traditional people and some blacksmith and locked the door and lighted the house on fire. As the house started burning, we heard the people crying in their various tribes, said Civilian 16. But one thing that was consistent in the testimonies of all three witnesses is that they told the Court that Mr Massaquoi gave all his orders in Krio, a Sierra Leonean English. The hearings continue on Friday, with additional three witnesses expected to take the stand. But the Court will only allow the media and public to hear the testimonies of two of the witnesses. The coverage of the appeal of Massaquois acquittal is a collaboration with New Narratives as part of the West Africa Justice Reporting Project. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is set to appeal the ruling of a court ordering it to allow two plaintiffs vote with their Temporary Voter Cards (TVC). Rotimi Oyekanmi, the Chief Press Secretary, to the INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, said in a short statement late Thursday, that the commission has been served with the copy of the judgement. He added, however, that the commission is set to appeal the judgement. The Commission is taking immediate steps to appeal against the judgement of the trial court, he said. Since 2019, INEC has consistently said only registered voters who presented their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) at their respective polling units would be allowed to vote during elections. But on Thursday, the Federal High Court, Abuja, while delivering judgement in a suit brought by two Nigerians, ordered INEC to allow both applicants vote in the 2023 general elections. The judge, Obiora Egwuatu, noted that the two Nigerians who filed the suit must be allowed to vote, having registered with the commission, have their details on the INEC voters register, and were issued with Temporary Voter Cards by the commission. The court held that there was no portion of the law, both the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act that states that it is only PVCs that could be used, but that the law under Section 47 provided for a voters card. The judge, however, said he was unable to grant prayer three which was to allow every eligible voter with a TVC to vote because the suit was not filed in a representative capacity. This suit having not been brought in a representative capacity, I find myself unable to grant any relief pursuant to prayer three of the plaintiffs application, Mr Egwuatu stated. Qosim Suleiman is a reporter at Premium Times in partnership with Report for the World, which matches local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print An American university, the Massachusetts Institute Technology (MIT), has said the governorship candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in Lagos State, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, attended the school. The management of the school told PREMIUM TIMES on Thursday that Mr Rhodes-Vivour obtained a Masters Degree in Architecture after studying at the institution between 2005 and 2008. The school was reacting to reports circulating on social media suggesting that the governorship candidate did not attend the university. Mr Rhodes-Vivour has been at the centre of a certificate forgery allegation after an email that purportedly emanated from the office of the Registar of MIT appeared on social media claiming that the candidate did not attend the institution. The email quoted Nathaniel Hagee, a coordinator at MIT academic record office, that there was no record Mr Rhodes-Vivour graduated from the university. The mail was alleged to be a response to an enquiry made by a Nigerian on the educational status of Mr Rhodes-Vivour. Mr Rhodes-Vivour had via his Twitter handle reacted to the forgery allegation as fake news and another attempt by his opponents to divert attention from issue-based campaign. It has been brought to my attention that the purported email below is in circulation with respect to my degree from @MIT This is untrue and another failed strategy the opposition is using to divert your attention from having an issue-based campaign, he tweeted. On Wednesday, PREMIUM TIMES contacted the MIT records office and spoke with Mr Hagee via telephone. He requested us to write a mail on the subject. This medium immediately followed up as directed and got a response from Mr Hagee that all questions should be directed to MITs News Office,. He also did not deny or confirm the authenticity of the email circulating online. When PREMIUM TIMES contacted MITs News Office, Sarah McDonnell, Deputy Director, Media Relations, responded that Mr Rhodes-Vivour indeed attended the school and earned a Masters degree. Thank you for reaching out. The MIT Registrars Office can confirm that Mr Rhodes-Vivour attended MIT from 2005 to 2008 and earned a Master of Architecture degree, Ms McDonnell wrote. This newspaper then followed up with another email to Ms McDonnell, asking if the initial email that claimed that Mr Rhodes-Vivour did not attend the school emanated from the record office. In her response, MIT spokesperson confirmed the authenticity of the mail, noting that it indeed emanated from MIT. She, however, claimed that the record office initially ran a search using a variation of Mr Rhodes-Vivours name that did not match the information in MITs database. The MIT Registrars Office was initially asked to search for a variation of Mr Rhodes-Vivours name that did not match the information in their database. Upon further review, they can confirm that Mr Rhodes-Vivour attended MIT and earned a Master of Architecture degree, as I shared in my earlier email, she said.. Mr Rhodes-Vivour is contesting against the incumbent governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and 13 other candidates. His party, the LP, is popular among young people. During the 25 February presidential election, the LP presidential candidate, Peter Obi, defeated the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, in the state. Mr Tinubu, a former governor of the state, who is the political godfather of Governor Sanwo-Olu, suffered a humiliating defeat in a state he had politically dominated for over two decades. However, he subsequently won the presidential election. Following its victory in the presidential election in the state, the party believes it will win the governorship election come 18 March. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) says troops of Operation Delta Safe have discovered and destroyed 74 illegal refining sites in the Niger Delta region in the last two weeks. The Director of Defence Media Operations, Musa Danmadami, a major general, made this known at the bi-weekly news briefing on operations of the armed forces on Thursday in Abuja. Mr Danmadami said the troops in the conduct of Operation Octopus, also destroyed 341 storage tanks, 31 wooden boats, 260 ovens and 15 dugout pits. According to him, troops also recovered 209,000 litres of crude oil, 145,000 litres of diesel, and 4,500 litres of petrol. He added that 27 variety of weapons, 468 assorted ammunition, two speed boats, two outboard engines, eight vehicles and four motorcycles were recovered while a total of 71 criminals were apprehended. He said the troops had continued to sustain the war against oil theft, illegal refineries and other criminal activities in the region through aggressive patrols, raids and clearance operations among other activities. According to him, preparations were conducted at the creeks, waterways, the high sea, towns and cities of Bayelsa, Delta, Rivers, Cross River and Akwa Ibom states, which yielded appreciable results. It is worth mentioning that N173.9 million were denied oil thieves, he said. In the South-east Zone, the Defence spokesperson said, the troops of the Joint Task Force, Operation UDOKA sustained the fight against the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra/Eastern Security Network terrorists, aimed at restoring peace in the zone. He said troops recovered several high-calibre weapons, killed two IPOB/ESN terrorists and arrested 14. In the South-western zone, he said, the troops of operation AWATSE apprehended 30 suspected criminals and recovered different categories of arms and ammunition as well as hard drugs within the period. I wish to once again convey the military high commands commendations on the unrelenting efforts of troops and other security agencies in the various theatres of operations across the country. The media community is also acknowledged for their partnership and continued cooperation with the military and other security agencies, in our quest to restore peace and security to our dear country. Also, the entire populace is hereby appreciated, for the support given to the members of the armed forces and other security agencies in the conduct of our various operations across the country. We are also urging them to continue to provide prompt and creditable information on the activities of terrorists and other criminal elements, in their respective areas, he added. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Almost two years after the death of a Lagos-based pastry chef, Peju Ugboma, the coroner overseeing her inquest has indicted doctors of Premier Hospital for medical negligence. The mother of two died after she suffered internal bleeding following an elective hysterectomy operation for a fibroid condition at the Victoria Island-based hospital in April 2021. Until her death on 25 April, she was the founder of a pastry company, I Luv Desserts. In June, the Lagos State government through the Health Facility Monitoring and Accreditation Agency (HEFAMAA), shut down the intensive care unit of the hospital, pending the outcome of its investigation. Coroner inquest The coroners inquest which kick-started in May 2021 had 16 witnesses, including the widower, doctors, pathologist and others. After the surgery in April, she complained of severe abdominal pain and discomfort. Her blood pressure dropped to as low as 50/30. She died after she was referred from Premier Hospital to EverCare Specialist Hospital. At Evercare, they discovered that she had no pulse, and subsequent CPR to revive her failed. The deceaseds husband, Ijoma Ugboma, belived that she died due to negligence by doctors at Premier Hospital who attended to her. How she died The coroner said that the only logical insight to her death is a result of the combination of lack of due diligence of the doctors. He said that the failure of appropriate response substandard care and inadequate optimal care contributed to her untimely demise. He further said that other factors that led to her avoidable death was the absence of vital medical devices to detect the intra-abdominal bleeding, poor documentation of clinical notes and failure of the immediate involvement of appropriate surgeons. The coroner said Premier Hospital owes its patient a better medical care. He said that in his opinion, part-time doctors should not be engaged. Recommendations The coroner recommended that the code of conduct and ethics of medical practitioners should be tighly reviewed to severely punish negligent doctors. He said that the state government should not limit funding to only govenment hospitals but should render funds to private facilities to buy equipment. He said that government and regulatatory agencies should ensure that the standard PCV of WHO be strictly followed for both sexes before a surgery is carried out. The coroner further said that regulatatory agencies should do more sensitisation on the rights of patients. Husband, lawyer react to verdict Speaking with journalists after the court sitting, the widower, Mr Ugboma, expressed satisfaction with the verdict. He said that his lawyers will advise him on the appropriate step to take next. Im very happy with the outcome of the inquest, its been a very long one. The circumstances of my wifes death were not satisfactory, he said. I know that tonight, my children because they actually told me to send them a message in school to their teacher as soon as the ruling is out. His lawyer, Babatunde Ogungbamila, said she got justice but the best medical services failed her. He further said that going forward they will apply for the verdict, seek compensation and ensure that the doctors are held to account. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Supreme Court on Friday declared Rufai Hanga the senatorial candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and senator-elect for Kano Central Senatorial District. The Supreme Court nullified the candidacy of Ibrahim Shekarau, a former governor of Kano State, who defected from the NNPP to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the build-up to the general elections last year. Mr Shekarau was the flagbearer of the NNPP for the Kano Central Senatorial zone before he ditched the party for the PDP. But Mr Shekaraus name remained on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)s portal for candidates in the 25 February National Assembly election. Mr Shekarau was reportedly absent when INEC issued certificates of return to senators-elect from across the country in Abuja on 7 March. Delivering judgment on an appeal filed before it by INEC, the Supreme Court affirmed the decisions of the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal both in Abuja which had upheld the candidature of Mr Hanga as the standard-bearer NNPP. A five-member panel of the Supreme Court in a prepared by Uwani Aba-Aji but read by Emmanuel Agim, said INECs appeal lacked merit and substance. Mr Agim dismissed the appeal in its entirety. Background Mr Shekarau defected from the NNPP to the PDP in September 2022. But, on 28 March, INEC declared Mr Shekarau winner of the Kano Central Senatorial District election on the platform of NNPP despite his resignation from the party before the 25 February presidential and National Assembly elections. PREMIUM TIMES reported that INECs returning officer for Kano Central District, Tijjani Darma, said Mr Shekarau garnered 456,787 votes. READ ALSO: Mr Darma, a professor, said the candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) Abdulkarim Abdulsalam, came second in the election with 168, 677 votes, while PDPs Laila Buhari polled 55,237 votes. But, after the declaration of the results, NNPP agent, Shehu Usman, rejected Mr Shekaraus emergence as winner of the poll. He alleged that INEC refused to replace Mr Shekaraus name with Mr Hangas. Referencing the decisions of the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal, Mr Usman said INEC was ordered to accept Mr Hangas name and substitute it with Mr Shekaraus for the poll. Yet, the electoral umpire refused to comply with the orders. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Five people were killed in a road accident on the Enugu-Awka-Onitsha Road on Thursday. Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps(FRSC) in Enugu State, Joseph Toby, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu that 15 people 10 males and five females were seriously injured in the accident. He said the two vehicles involved in the crash had a head-on collision while using a single lane. Twenty persons were in the two commercial vehicles; the five that died were three male and two female occupants, he said. He added that the injured were taken to the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Enugu and a private hospital on the Enugu-Awka-Onitsha Expressway. READ ALSO: Eleven burnt to death in Ore road accident Mr Toby said corpses of the deceased were deposited at the Colliery Hospital mortuary in Enugu. He blamed the accident on a lack of lane discipline, over-speeding and brake failure. Witnesses, however, blamed the accident on the poor state of the road which compelled many motorists to drive against traffic rather than use the failed lane of the dual-carriageway. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Nigerian human rights activist and popular supporter of the Labour Party (LP), Aisha Yesufu, has disagreed with the LP presidential candidate, Peter Obi, over his support for the partys governorship candidate in Enugu State, Chijioke Edeoga, ahead of the 18 March elections. Mr Obi had via his verified Twitter handle urged his supporters to cast their votes for all the LP candidates during the forthcoming governorship and state Assembly elections. As we pursue due process and defer to the rule of law, I urge all the Obidients in the various states to continue campaigning for our candidates, namely, Gbadebo Rhodes Vivour in Lagos, Chijioke Edeoga in Enugu, Patrick Dakum in Plateau, Alex Otti in Abia, Ken Pela in Delta, he posted on the microblogging website on Wednesday. The LP candidate said he cancelled his scheduled whistle-stop campaign for all LP candidates in the governorship and state assembly elections due to his ongoing legal battles with the Independent National Electoral Commission. However, Mrs Yesufu, in a counter post on her verified Twitter handle on the same Wednesday, disagreed with the LP candidate on his choice of Mr Edeoga. God forbid I become what I want to change. I can never sacrifice competence for partisanship! she said in an apparent rejection of Mr Edeogas candidacy. The human rights activist instead expressed support for the All Progressives Grand Alliance governorship candidate in Enugu State, Frank Nweke. Frank Nweke Jnr @FrankNwekeII is the person for Enugu State. The people must be the winners and not individuals, she stated. Mrs Yesufu has been actively involved in Mr Obis campaign and repeatedly voiced her support for the LP candidates presidential ambition. Peter Obi effect Meanwhile, across various states in Nigeria, especially in southern Nigeria, the LP won some Senate and a couple of House of Representatives seats defeating candidates of ruling political parties in such states. In Enugu State, for instance, the LP won seven of the eight House of Representatives seats in the state. The party also won one of the two held senatorial elections in the state. Enugu is believed to be a stronghold of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the ruling party in the state. The PDP had won all elections in the state since the return of democracy in 1999. The victories recorded by the LP across the state and some parts of Nigeria have been linked to the effect of Mr Obi, who has been enjoying growing support across the South-east and other parts of Nigeria. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Seplat Energy said Friday its chief operating officer, Samson Ezugworie, has been asked to take over as the chief executive officer of the oil & gas company. The decision followed an interim order of a judge, C.J. Aneke, of the Federal High Court, Lagos, restraining Roger Brown, the companys CEO, from engaging in the running of the firm. The corporation said in a regulatory filing that Mr Brown has stepped back from his executive duties and delegated authority to the COO. The acting chief executive will lead the company within the seven days the court requires the former to stay away from management activities. Seplat argued that the interim orders are based on claims of unfair, offensive and prejudicial deeds of the chairman, CEO and all the independent non-executive directors of the firm. The allegations include that the CEO organised a site visit for a number of its major shareholders to the Companys operations, cancelled some catering and landscaping contracts, and introduced a new job performance rating, Seplat Energy said in the document. The court had on Wednesday barred Mr Brown from everyday running and management of the company, granting the plea of five petitioners who are stakeholders in the company. The petitioners are Moses Igbrude, Sarat Kudaisi, Kenneth Nnabike, Ajani Abidoye and Robert Ibekwe. Among the allegations against the CEO were racism, favouritism of expatriate workers and discrimination against Nigerian employees. READ ALSO: Court bars Seplat Energy CEO from management activities Seplat Energy, in the Friday statement issued on the authorisation of its chairperson, Basil Omiyi, debunked the accusations, noting that Nigerian citizens have been given the juiciest roles in the company since Mr Brown took the position of CEO in 2020. Some of those roles have included chairman, chief financial officer, chief operating officer and senior independent non-executive directors, the company claimed. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print In most of such cases of signing results under duress, the judiciary has chosen to play dumb by ruling that the law says the results read by the returning officers stand, thereby siding with forces raping basic democratic precepts. There is however a strong sentiment in Nigeria today that there must be accountability and sanctions for people who violate the principles of free and fair elections and who seek to hide behind legal technicalities. My big story this week is that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has reversed itself, saying that there is no winner in the 25 February National Assembly elections in Doguwa and Tudun Wada federal constituency of Kano State. It would be recalled that INEC had earlier announced Hon. Alhassan Doguwa, incumbent member representing the federal constituency and Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, who contested on the All Progressives Congress (APC) platform, as winner of the election. After reviewing the facts of the matter, INEC on Tuesday removed Doguwas name from the list of Reps-elect, attributing the development to irregularities in the electoral exercise. The Commission had said he was declared winner of the election by the Returning Officer under duress. This followed the arrest of Doguwa in connection with the violence which broke out in the federal constituency during the collation of the election results, leading to the death of two persons, when a secretariat of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) was set ablaze allegedly on the order of the embattled lawmaker. The Police arraigned the ranking lawmaker at a Magistrates Court in Kano, which remanded him in prison. Nigerians were shocked when Doguwa was granted a N500 million bail and released from detention in time to apparently repeat such acts in the elections that were initially scheduled to hold tomorrow but which have been subsequently rescheduled for next Saturday. How could someone charged for murder in an election be released just days later and in time to repeat such action for another election? When the story of Nigerias democracy is told, the judiciary would be seen in one of the most despicable roles. Professor Ibrahim Adamu Yakasai, the Returning Officer for the election, in a letter to INEC written on 27th February had explained clearly that the results he declared in favour of Ado Doguwa were false, read under duress and fear for his life. He had the courage to admit this and correct the error, leading to the decision of INEC to cancel the said results and announce a new election would be organised for the constituency. My fear is that Doguwa would go to court and a judge would declare that the law does not say results announced under durres are invalid. We have seen that before. This time, I hope Nigerians would not accept such an outcome should it occur. At the national level, what we remember is that failure in posting presidential election results on the IReV portal. The fact that BVAS machines were successfully used to accredit voters in most polling units has disappeared as the story of the elections, in spite of its importance in providing legitimacy to the process. Let us recall. To convince the presidential election petition tribunal sitting in Abuja to nullify the 16 April 2011 general election that brought President Goodluck Jonathan to power, the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) presented evidence that its supervisory agent in Cross River State, Mr Bassey Okon, was compelled to sign a distorted final result of the presidential poll in the state, at gunpoint (Vanguard, 15 September 2011) and it was dismissed. Another example was that of Professor Ibeabuchi, who before reeling out figures at the district collation centre in the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) Office in Orlu, said he was being held under duress to announce the results: My name is Ibeabuchi Izuchukwu Innocent, a professor at the Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO), the returning officer for Imo West (Orlu) senatorial zone My area commander; my P.Os; the party agents here present; members of the press; ladies and gentlemen. I have been held hostage here for days so Im trying to ease off and take my life home back to my children and for the sake of that I am calling these results under duress. (PREMIUM TIMES, 25 February 2019). There was also the case of the returning officer of Orumba North LGA, Dr Michael Otu, who stunned stakeholders at the Anambra State governorship election collation centre on Sunday when he denounced the result he signed. He accused the electoral officer that was supposed to work with him of collaborating with some people to scuttle the election results in the area. He stated this while delivering his report to the State Returning Officer, Professor Florence Obi, at the ongoing election result collation. He said there was no election in the entire local government area. He said a crisis fomented by policemen led to his signing the result under duress: I signed a report I didnt believe in. I signed it under duress. I was teargased. I could not even go out to ease myself. They were monitoring me up and down. At a point, I saw that my life was in danger, so, I have to sign the results they prepared. (PM News, 7th November 2021). My concern is that when we carry out fairly good elections, we do not see our success as a few trees block our sight of the forest. If the judiciary does its work well and we begin to see accountability for actors who brazenly violate electoral rules and procedures, it would reassure Nigerians and place them on the path of beginning to see relative success when it happens. In most of such cases of signing results under duress, the judiciary has chosen to play dumb by ruling that the law says the results read by the returning officers stand, thereby siding with forces raping basic democratic precepts. There is however a strong sentiment in Nigeria today that there must be accountability and sanctions for people who violate the principles of free and fair elections and who seek to hide behind legal technicalities. Such stories have tended to create the basis to completely delegitimise Nigerian elections because they are so scandalous and anti-democratic that they become what Nigerians remember about the elections. When one looks at the 25th February elections in Kano, for example, the trending story is about Ado Doguwa, the murders and declaration of results under duress. The reality of the Kano elections was that it went very well in over 90% of the polling units, where there was neither violence nor fraud. Normal elections are not a great story, so all that recedes to the back of peoples memories and they remember only the violence. At the national level, what we remember is that failure in posting presidential election results on the IReV portal. The fact that BVAS machines were successfully used to accredit voters in most polling units has disappeared as the story of the elections, in spite of its importance in providing legitimacy to the process. YIAGA Africa, which did a parallel vote tabulation count, said in its report that the figures for Imo and Rivers States appeared questionable and did not tally with their estimates and projections. This means the numbers for the 34 other states and FCT were in their findings fairly accurate. Nonetheless, for many people, the whole election was a sham and should be cancelled. My concern is that when we carry out fairly good elections, we do not see our success as a few trees block our sight of the forest. If the judiciary does its work well and we begin to see accountability for actors who brazenly violate electoral rules and procedures, it would reassure Nigerians and place them on the path of beginning to see relative success when it happens. A professor of Political Science and development consultant/expert, Jibrin Ibrahim is a Senior Fellow of the Centre for Democracy and Development, and Chair of the Editorial Board of PREMIUM TIMES. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The United Nations has condemned the killing of more than 30 civilians by terrorists suspected to be members of the Islamic State of West Africa (ISWAP) in Gamboru Ngala Local Government of Borno. The civilians were primarily fishermen. Other civilians who were said to have also suffered various degrees of injuries are now being taken care of in health facilities. The United Nations resident and humanitarian coordinator in Nigeria, Matthias Schmale, made the condemnation in an official statement released Thursday evening in Abuja. He expressed sadness over the incident that happened in Mukdolo village, a border community. Mr Schmale said several civilians were still missing following the deadly attack. The victims of this heinous attack were fishermen and farmers eking out a livelihood in a very insecure environment. They included both internally displaced persons (IDPs) and host community members from the neighbouring Dikwa Local Government Area, he said. READ ALSO: The UN official said the attack has shown the real threat that internally displaced persons and other people face in the region. He called on all parties involved in the conflict to adhere to the obligations of international human rights. Mr Schmale also called on government officials to investigate the act of terrorism. This deeply shocking attack is another horrific reminder of the real threats of violence and insecurity that IDPs and other people affected by more than 13 years of the non-international armed conflict in the region continue to face daily in their struggle to survive. The village of Mukdolo had been abandoned prior to the attack due to the activities of non-state armed groups. I remind all parties to the conflict to adhere to their obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law to protect civilians from harm. I also call on State authorities to speedily investigate this crime and swiftly bring the perpetrators to justice, he said. Borno is the centre of a 13-year-old Boko Haram insurgency that has led to the death and displacement of millions of people since at least 2010. The ISWAP has also joined the list of threats in the region fighting for supremacy between itself and members of the Boko Haram group. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Akwa Ibom State has challenged the opposition Young Progressives Party (YPP) to provide evidence that Governor Udom Emmanuel visited any office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the general elections in the state. The Chairman of the YPP in Akwa Ibom, Nyeneime Andy, told reporters on Monday in Uyo that the Akwa Ibom Governor Udom Emmanuel spent over four hours in INEC office. Mr Andy did not mention which of the INEC offices or provide any evidence to back the allegation. He also said without evidence that INEC in Akwa Ibom was in alliance with the PDP over the elections. The PDP spokesperson in the state, Borono Bassey, said in a statement on Tuesday in Uyo that the allegation against the Akwa Ibom governor and the PDP was wild and false. We challenge Apostle Nyeneime Andy to produce even the tiniest shred of evidence that shows that Governor Udom Emmanuel had visited INEC office on the said day, else the lying State Chairman of YPP should never stand before his Church to preach against the sin of lying, Mr Bassey said. Mr Bassey said Mr Andy knew deep inside his heart that the allegations were false. When he stands before God Almighty on judgement day, he shall be called to question on why he bore such false witnesses about the forthcoming elections, not minding that he is one who claims to be a Pastor of Church. The PDP spokesperson described the YPP as an ill-fated and makeshift political party, and said the party recorded an embarrassing outing during the 25 February presidential and National Assembly elections in Akwa Ibom. He said the press conference in which Mr Andy made the allegations against Governor Emmanuel, the PDP and INEC was merely a session of the YPP licking their wounds of defeat in the elections. Counter accusation The PDP made a counter-accusation against the YPP, saying there are videos showing notable YPP chieftains in the State at INEC offices in different Local Government Areas in Akwa Ibom State dishing out crude intimidations and making attempts to assault staff of INEC. The party added, We must warn that our Party will not tolerate a repeat of this kind of behaviour as we have petitioned the Security agencies to ensure that they deploy video surveillance all over the state and also apprehend Chieftain of any political party who makes effort to mar the smooth, credible and peaceful conduct of (the governorship and House of Assembly elections). The PDP had not provided evidence to back its allegation against the YPP in Akwa Ibom. The PDP won two out of three Senate seats in Akwa Ibom, while the All Progressives Congress (APC) won one seat. The YPP did not win any Senate seat. For the Federal House of Representatives, the PDP won seven out of 10 seats, while the APC won one seat. The YPP did not win any. INEC had declared the elections inconclusive in two federal constituencies in the state. The PDP presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar won the presidential election in Akwa Ibom. We urge millions of Akwa Ibom people to again troop out to their respective polling units and use their Permanent Voters Cards and massively vote the PDP to send a clear message to these elements who wish to drag our state backwards, the PDP spokesperson in the state, Mr Bassey said. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Commissioner of Police in Delta State, Ari-Mohammed Ali, has warned politicians in the state against fomenting trouble during the forthcoming governorship and House of Assembly elections. Mr Ali gave the warning at a meeting with some members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Patani Local Government Area of the state on Friday. The meeting was a sequel to a petition from the APC, accusing some PDP leaders of conducting themselves in a manner that could lead to the breakdown of law and order. Mr Ali advised the politicians to work towards peaceful conduct of the election by maintaining peace in the area. The commissioner was represented by the Divisional Police Officer in charge of the Patani Police Division, Tobi Debakeme, a chief superintendent of police. Elections are opportunities for the electorate to exercise their franchise in a peaceful atmosphere and do not call for violence, he told the leaders of the two parties. Mr Ali assured that the police would deploy their personnel to Patani to maintain law and order during the election. He reminded all the candidates in the forthcoming election that they would be required to sign an undertaking of good conduct. The commissioner warned that anyone who breaks the law would be apprehended and prosecuted. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the meeting was attended by Lawrence Babodor, Opute Yakekemewerigha, Pere Nduku, Reginald Ashugwu and Joseph Ekiyor on behalf of the APC. The PDP was represented by Patani Local Government Area Chairman, Isaac Aguanah, Jude Sinebe, Godspower Ashugwu and Godbless Omoniyei, among others. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Imo State has accused the state government of using armed thugs and personnel of the Nigeria Police Force to disrupt the conduct of its elections in the state. The NLC president, Joe Ajaero, who disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday, also declared the groups indefinite industrial action in the state. Mr Ajaero said the NLC had instructed its State Councils across Nigeria to prepare for the State Delegates Conference for the election of new leadership in all the council areas of the country. Some NLC officials were deployed to various states to act as returning officers in the elections billed for last Tuesday, he said. The NLC president alleged that the Imo State Government sought to influence the outcome of the elections in the state, by offering gratifications to the delegates to vote for their chosen candidates. This meddlesomeness was resisted by the delegates who refused the unholy offerings and baits to vote for their chosen candidates, he said. Mr Ajaero claimed that the state government was enraged by the delegates rejection of their offerings and resorted to violence ostensibly to disrupt the exercise. When it was obvious to the government and their goons that their stooges were going to overwhelmingly lose in the elections, thugs who were armed to the teeth descended on the Delegates inflicting various degrees of injuries on them, chasing them away and carting away materials meant for the conduct of the elections that was supposed to be at the heart of the conference. As if that was not enough, security agents led by the police and the so-called State Investigative Bureau invaded the venue and completed the sordid episode, he stated, insisting that the blood cuddling and act of violence on people who gathered for a democratic election was inexcusable. Continuing, he said, NLC considers this the height of irresponsibility thus unacceptable and falls far below accepted standards of behaviour by individuals who occupy high offices in Nigeria, especially the government of states. READ ALSO: It truly does demonstrate the level of decay that has continued to fester in leadership circles in the country. It does also show the level of militarisation that pervades the state from one end to another and we also feel that it may be a serious pointer to the source of the violence in the state which has made the state the epicentre of killings and brigandage in the South-east. The NLC president called on well-meaning Nigerians to prevail on the government of Imo State to mind its business and focus more on rendering good governance to the people and allow us continue setting good examples on how transition of power ought to be, stressing that the government cannot choose leaders for the NLC. The NLC holds the governor and his government responsible for any loss of life in this wanton display of hooliganism against unarmed Nigerian workers who were going about their lawful business of organising a statutory delegates conference. We call on the Federal Government, especially the security agencies, to call the errant government to order before it turns the state into a graveyard for workers and men of decency. His Excellency the President of the Federal Republic must urgently restrain the government from destroying our hallowed rules of engagement in the Industrial Relations sphere which demands an understanding of the rights and privileges of the social partners, he added. He warned that if the situation was not addressed, the NLC would mobilise its members nation-wide to take action against this violence to avert it from spreading to other parts of the country. He asked the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali to step in to stop the use of his men in unleashing terror on Nigerians particularly in Imo State just as he demanded that the police should immediately investigate the bloodletting against its members in the state. Declaration of strike Mr Ajaero also said the group has decided to withdraw its peaceful industrial relations engagement with the government from Wednesday in order to protect NLC members and workers in Imo state from further exposure to the violence. Since the safety of workers is no longer guaranteed by the government, it behoves us to protect ourselves by staying at home. This therefore directs all workers in Imo State to proceed on indefinite industrial action, he stated. Imo govt reacts Declan Emelumba, the commissioner for information in Imo State, did not respond to calls and a text message seeking comments from him about the allegations. However, when contacted on Thursday, the spokesperson to Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State, Oguike Nwachukwu, refuted the allegations. Mr Nwachukwu told PREMIUM TIMES that there was no such violence against the NLC members in the state. The allegation is nonsense, he said, without giving details. The governors spokesperson suggested that members of the NLC were not complying with the directives on industrial action in the state. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print An early morning fire on Friday destroyed four motor spare parts stores with goods worth over N10 million in Aba, Abia State. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that only a few steel products were salvaged from the fire that gutted some shops situated at No. 65 Jubilee Road in Aba. One of the shop owners, Chimezie Dike, said two of his stores were burnt. I dont know how the fire got there because there is no electricity connection to the shops. I was in my house at about 1:30 a.m. when I got a call to come to Jubilee Road Spare Parts Market where I have shops because the shops were on fire. By the time I got here, I saw that the fire which had become intense had gutted one of my shops and was consuming the second one. It also consumed two shops of my neighbours. People came to help, the Aba Fire Service also came and helped to douse the fire, he added. The trader said he lost goods worth N4 million, while his neighbours had wares of not less than N2 million burnt. Another trader affected by the fire, Uchechukwu Ezenwa, put his estimated loss at N5 million. Both Messrs Dike and Ezenwa appealed to the government and well-meaning Nigerians to come to their aid. The Commander, Abia Fire Service in Aba, Belenta Belenta, confirmed the incident to NAN, saying they responded quickly to the site and put off the fire. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print EVANSTON, Ill., March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- 160 Driving Academy's newest location in Olive Branch, Mississippi hosted a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony to celebrate the Grand Opening of the Academy. The Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for the Olive Branch Location occurred on Monday, January 30th from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Attendees included Mayor Ken Adams, the Olive Branch Chamber of Commerce, the 160 Driving Academy Olive Branch Leadership team, several media outlets, local partners and many enthusiastic students and recent graduates of the Academy. 160 Driving Academy Olive Branch Location Celebrates their Official Ribbon Cutting Ceremony The Olive Branch location is located at 8230 Camp Creek Blvd suite 118, Olive Branch, MS 38654. Overview of 160 Driving Academy CDL Training Programs in Olive Branch: Starting salaries for 160 Driving Academy graduates (on average) start at $65,000 /annual, with tremendous growth potential. /annual, with tremendous growth potential. Commercial Truck Driving is one of today's fastest growing career paths. Estimates predict 300,000 new jobs for CDL Holders. Technologically Driven: Our unique and data-driven programs focus deeply on driver safety and personalized analytics to provide our students with individual feedback and top of the line instruction via our proprietary App. Lifelong Career Support: We offer continuous job placement opportunities through our subsidiary company, Truckers Network the premier job posting and hiring platform in the trucking industry. About 160 Driving Academy 160 Driving Academy is the nation's largest commercial driving school. As the fastest growing vocational school in the country, in 2023, the Company will train over 35,000 students on how to safely operate a semi-truck. 160 Driving Academy is licensed and operates in 43 states and each school is certified and licensed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's Entry Level Driver Training Program. The 160 Driving Academy is integrated with over 400 Workforce offices nationwide to create jobs for unemployed and underemployed workers. The 160 Driving Academy supplies the largest employers in the nation with an unparalleled level of recruiting, high-quality training, safety effectiveness, and driver analytics. Many of these employers have trusted the Company to provide the majority of their driving workforce. 160 Driving Academy's sister companies, Truckers Network, and the 160 Driver Score provide the most advanced job placement and compliance scoring capabilities in the industry. SOURCE 160 Driving Academy PHOENIX, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- 1606 Corp (OTC: CBDW), an acquisition-based CBD wellness company, announces that CEO Greg Lambrecht will attend the Roth Investor Conference March 12th - 14th. Mr. Lambrecht will be meeting with investment bankers, retail investors and CEO's during the full term of the conference. To book a meeting with Greg to discuss capital provisions, please email [email protected] directly for meeting times and contact details. The Annual Roth Conference is one of the largest investment conferences in the U.S. for small-cap companies. We combine company presentations, Q&A sessions and management 1-on-1 meetings. Our award-winning Research Team identifies distinguished presenting companies across broad sectors, including consumer, energy, healthcare, industrial growth, metals & mining, sustainability, services, technology and more. https://www.roth.com/about About 1606 Corp; 1606 Corp (OTC | CBDW) is an acquisition-based CBD distribution company with over 45 individual retail products. 1606 Corp acquires CBD companies to capture the required revenue to meet listing requirements on a national stock exchange. The company aims to qualify for uplisting within the next 24 months. CBDW is a DTC "eligible security" that is freely tradable pursuant to U.S. securities laws and is otherwise qualified to be held at DTC and serviced by all market makers in U.S. and Canada. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains statements that constitute 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 statements appear in several places in this release. They include all statements that are not statements of historical fact regarding the intent, belief, or current expectations of 1606 Corp (the "Company"), its directors, or its officers concerning, among other things: (i) financing plans; (ii) trends affecting its financial condition or results of operations; (iii) growth strategy and operating strategy. The words "may," "would," "will," "expect," "estimate," "can," "believe," "potential" and similar expressions and variations thereof are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's ability to control, and actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements since they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, which are, in some cases, beyond the Company's control and which could, and likely will materially affect actual results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements. The Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the company's expectations include, but are not limited to, those factors that are disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in documents filed by the company from time to time with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulatory authorities. Company Websites; www.CBD.Inc www.brionutrition.com SOURCE 1606 Corp DUBLIN, March 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "6th Annual Next-Gen Immuno-Oncology Conference" conference has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The 6th Annual Next Gen Immuno-Oncology Conference to be held on 22nd - 23rd June 2023, in Boston, would address the challenges and future directions in IO research. The congress aims to bring academicians, researchers, and scientists from research institutes pharmaceutical, bio-pharmaceutical, and biotechnology companies to discuss the latest updates in the development of ADC's, Bispecific Antibodies, Cellular Therapy, and Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors. This congress would also focus on various combination strategies, pre-clinical and translational immune-oncology developments, updates in cellular and viral therapies, vaccines development, and personalized immunotherapy. Keynote presentations, Brainstorming Panel Discussions, and Case studies will give the stakeholders an opportunity to discuss and understand the issues faced and come up with solutions. With more than 20 speakers across the world from pharma, bio-pharma, and biotech companies, the congress will discuss the latest updates in the development of ADC's, Monoclonal Antibodies, Bispecific Antibodies, Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors, and Cellular Therapy Key Highlights Updates in development of ADC's and Bispecific Ab's Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors and Combinations Preclinical and Translational Immuno-Oncology Developments (Preclinical models for Immune checkpoint modulators) Biomarkers and Personalized Medicine in IO CAR-T Cell therapy, TCR Based-Cell Therapy Tumor microenvironment and Oncolytic Viruses Why attend? Exclusive conference to learn about antibodies, cellular therapy, and immune-checkpoint research under one roof Find out new case studies of immune-oncology projects in development Contribute to interactive roundtables with your peers to deliberate key topics most relevant to you Explore the latest platforms and technologies on the market for development Discuss the best tool for your research in immune-oncology Share your work and achievements with your industry peers in the Poster Session Who Should Attend: CSO, Director, VP, Head, Senior Investigator, Manager, Principal Scientist, Team Leader, Group Leaders, Professors, Assistant Professors, Research fellows, PhDs working on Monoclonal and Bispecific Antibodies Cell Therapy Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors For more information about this conference visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/z94as8 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 SOURCE Research and Markets Good News for Welland Condominium Construction Site Progress WELLAND, Ontario, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- It was a monumental step forward on the Upper Vista Welland construction site yesterday March 8, 2023, at 3:47 pm when the Ministry of Labour (MOL) officially lifted their stop work order which now allows Evertrust Development's team access to the site once again. After partial structural damage incidents that occurred Feb 18 and 25, 2023 in the south portion of the building, a full MOL investigation began with directives that shut down all access to the 350 Prince Charles Drive South location for the construction and engineering personnel. Some access was regained as the team successfully submitted an application for a partial demolition permit to the City of Welland which was granted on March 2, 2023. This was part of the process outlined in the Ontario Building Code Act to satisfy all the requirements of remedying the building. With this significant new development of the stop work order being lifted, crews can now complete a full remediation of all hazards on site. Once safety issues are satisfied the full team of general workers and engineers will be permitted to return, continue their assessments and move towards the goal of rebuilding and getting the project back on track. The Project Manager on site called this development "a huge step forward" and an engineering letter has stated the building in its current state is safe and stable. As the full MOL investigation continues, the team at Evertrust Developments continue to work closely with all officials and the City of Welland and are thrilled to receive this much anticipated news and take the next steps in moving forward towards the completion of Upper Vista Welland. https://evertrustdevelopments.com Contact: Evertrust Development Group Canada Inc. ***@lowcalmediainc.ca Photos: https://www.prlog.org/12954626 Press release distributed by PRLog SOURCE Evertrust Development Group Canada Inc. New collaboration will bring deeper allergy relief to America's No. 1 allergy bedding solution, AllerEase NEW YORK, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Bedding manufacturer American Textile Company (ATC) enters a partnership with the Swiss materials innovation company HeiQ to introduce several bedding products with HeiQ Allergen* Tech for the North American market. ATC and HeiQ announced a partnership for HeiQ Allergen* Tech application to mattress and pillow protectors, pillows, mattress pads, comforters, as well as blankets, throws, and other bedding product categories covering the USA, Canada, and Mexico, intended to deliver deeper relief to allergy sufferers. AllerEase Soothing Comfort Mattress Pad powered by CleanBoost The first products from ATC featuring HeiQ Allergen* Tech will be available in the market in 2024 under the renowned brands AllerEase, the No. 1 selling allergy bedding solution in North America, and Sealy, the No. 1 selling overall bedding brand. Products featuring HeiQ Allergen* Tech will be marketed under ATC's own CleanBoost technology name. HeiQ Allergen* Tech was launched at the end of 2022 and is a 100% bio-based, naturally derived technology that reduces users' exposure to inanimate allergens such as house dust mite matter, and pet allergens with the help of active probiotics. It provides one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to reduce allergen exposure in the bedroom. This innovation from HeiQ has been granted the Allergy UK Seal of Approval by The British Allergy Foundation following a comprehensive review and assessment of the technology. Additionally, it has been tested and certified by BMA Labor, an accredited lab in Bochum, Germany, to successfully reduce 96.6% of house dust mite matter allergen, 83.6% of cat hair allergen, and 76.5% of dog hair allergen. Patrick Seiffert, SVP of Product Development and Marketing at American Textile Company said, "Our new AllerEase CleanBoost products will be the first-ever solution to offer dual-action protection against allergens. By combining our expertise in allergen barrier bedding with HeiQ's revolutionary fabric technology, we are proud to introduce a product that not only blocks inanimate allergens but also reduces them on and around the bedding." HeiQ Group Co-Founder and CEO, Carlo Centonze said, "We thank ATC's trust in HeiQ over many years. ATC has always been a pioneer in adopting HeiQ's latest innovations and bringing functionalized bedding products to their consumers. Our nature-based hygiene solutions are revolutionizing the multi-billion-dollar home textiles market. With over 90% of bedrooms in the US containing three or more detectable allergens, our partnership with ATC will make a real difference in people's lives, and that's what matters most to us. HeiQ Allergen* Tech can significantly improve bedding products, but it can also be applied to curtains, carpet, and upholstery." New products under this partnership between the American Textile Company and HeiQ will be launched at the Home & Textiles Market Week in New York from March 13th to 16th. Products featuring HeiQ Allergen* Tech will be showcased in the American Textile Company Showroom at 230 Fifth Avenue, 15th Floor, NY 10001. The collaboration comes at a time when consumers are beginning to experience the first effects of the spring allergy season and scientists say allergy seasons are becoming longer and more intense.** *Inanimate allergens such as house dust mite matter & pet allergens. **According to the USDA About American Textile Company Pittsburgh-based American Textile Company is a leading provider of performance sleep solutions to retail, eCommerce, and hospitality customers throughout North America and globally. The company's owned brand portfolio includes AllerEase and Tranquility, as well as licensed brands Sealy and Tempur-Pedic. American Textile Company is a strategic supplier of store brand and OEM bedding products to the world's leading retailers. Visit americantextile.com to learn more about our business, people, and Sustainability Impact Report. About HeiQ Founded in 2005 as a spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH) and listed on the London Stock Exchange Main Market (XLON:HEIQ), HeiQ is a leader in textile and materials innovation creating some of the most effective, durable and high-performance technologies on the market today. HeiQ strives to improve the lives of billions of people through pioneering textiles and materials innovation. Combining three areas of expertise scientific research, specialty materials manufacturing, and consumer ingredient branding HeiQ is the ideal innovation partner to create differentiating and sustainable products and capture the added value at the point of sale. With its 14 offices, 7 manufacturing sites, and 7 R&D hubs, HeiQ today employs 240 professionals. It has a total capacity of 45'000 tons of specialty chemicals per year and serves over 1'000 industrial customers in over 60 countries. Today, HeiQ's consumer goods and medical devices can be found in 56 countries. For more information, visit www.heiq.com SOURCE American Textile Company DUBLIN, March 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Artificial Intelligence (AI) - Thematic Intelligence" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The total AI market will be worth $383.3 billion in 2030, implying a 21% compound annual growth rate between 2022 and 2030. In the coming decade, the country that emerges on top in AI will lead the Fourth Industrial Revolution. For decades artificial intelligence (AI) has primarily been the territory of university and corporate R&D labs. Recent progress in machine learning (ML) on the back of improved algorithms (e.g., Google's AlphaGo, OpenAI's GPT-3, Tesla's AutoPilot) and increasing computing power have made it possible for AI to solve real-life problems. Despite the hype, artificial general intelligence (AGI), or the ability of machines to do anything that a human can and possess consciousness, is still decades away. However, 'good enough' AI is already here, capable of interacting with humans, motion, and making decisions. For example, OpenAI's GPT-3 and ChatGPT models can write original prose and chat with human fluency, DeepMind's algorithms can beat the best human chess players, and Boston Dynamics' Atlas robots can somersault. If this evolution continues, it could upend the labor-based capitalist economic model. Driven by ethical and political concerns, using AI for facial recognition will lead to conflict in standards and regulatory approaches. This will lead to the break-up of the global supply chain in the AI segment, as is already underway in semiconductors. Ultimately stricter ethical regulation will break the global AI market into geopolitical silos, in isolation from one another. Scope This report provides an overview of the artificial intelligence theme It identifies the key trends impacting growth of the theme over the next 12 to 24 months It includes a comprehensive industry analysis, including market size and growth forecasts for AI hardware, AI platforms, AI consulting and support services, and specialized AI applications The detailed value chain breaks down artificial intelligence into five segments: hardware, data management, foundational AI, advanced AI capabilities, and delivery Reasons to Buy From self-driving vehicles to fraud detection, AI plays a role in virtually every industry, putting pressure on incumbents to adapt and innovate or face stagnation and possible elimination. This report is an invaluable guide to this highly disruptive theme, including analysis of key AI technologies and assessment of the leading providers Key Topics Covered: Executive Summary Players Technology Briefing What is AI? Branches of AI The AI roadmap Advanced AI capabilities Trends Technology trends Macroeconomic trends Regulatory trends Industry Analysis Market size and growth forecasts Mergers and acquisitions Venture financing Patent trends Company filings trends Hiring trends Social media trends Use cases Timeline Value Chain Hardware Data management Foundational AI Advanced AI capabilities Delivery Companies Public companies Private companies Sector Scorecards Application software sector scorecard Semiconductor sector scorecard Consumer electronics sector scorecard Glossary A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes Ab Initio ABB Advantech AEye Algorithmia Alibaba Alphabet Alteryx Amazon Ambarella AMD ANYbotics Apple Aptiv Ataccama Attivio Aurora Autodesk BAE Systems Baidu Basler Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence ( Wu Dao ) ) BigML BMC Software Boomi Brain Corp C3.ai Cambricon Celigo Cerebras Clarifai Cloud Software Group Cloudera CloudWalk Cognex CognitiveScale Cohesity Continental Couchbase Cyclr Data Virtuality Dataiku DataStax DeepAI Denso Epic Games Exasol Facewatch Festo Fetch Robotics GM (Cruise) Graphcore Groq H2O.ai Hahn Group (Rethink Robotics) Hawk-Eye Innovations HCL Technologies Hikvision Hitachi Hive Horizon Robotics HPE Huawei Hugging Face Hyundai (Boston Dynamics) IBM iFlytek ImmersiveTouch Infineon Informatica Intel iRobot Jasper Art Keras Kernel Keyence Khronos Group (OpenCL) Lockheed Martin Lumentum Luminar Technologies Magna MakeML MarkLogic MathWorks Megvii (Face++) Merative Meta Microsoft Midea (KUKA) Midjourney Mindmaze MindsEye Mobileye MongoDB Nauto NEC Neurala Neuralia Neuralink Neuroelectrics NightCafe Nippon Ceramic Northop Grumman Nvidia Okta Omron OpenAI OpenNN Oracle Palantir Panasonic Panoply PayPal (Simility) Pony.ai Precisely Profisee Prophesee Qualcomm RapidMiner Renesas Restb.ai Rockwell Automation Rohm ROS-Industrial Samsung Electronics SAP SAS SenseTime Sherpa.ai SiLC Snowflake Software AG SoundHound SparkCognition Splunk Stemmer Imaging StreamSets Talend TE Connectivity Teledyne Tencent Teradata Teradyne Tesla Texas Instruments Toshiba Tung Thih Unity Technologies Velodyne Veritas Visteon VoltDB Voyant Photonics Wolfram Workato World Wide Web Consortium (Semantic Web) For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/xrzwae 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 SAN FRANCISCO, March 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ausper Biopharma Co., Ltd. and AusperBio Therapeutic, Inc. (Together AusperBio) today announced the completion of the first cohort dosing in a Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating AHB137 in adult healthy volunteers and chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients in New Zealand. AHB-137 is a potential best-in-class, highly potent, pan-genotypic antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) targeting all HBV RNA for the treatment of CHB patients. AHB-137 has been well-tolerated in all human subjects in the first cohort. "We are thrilled to initiate the first-in-human dosing of AHB-137 in New Zealand. ASO drug targeting HBsAg production has demonstrated great promise to become a cornerstone therapy to achieve functional cure of CHB. AHB-137 has shown best-in-class activity in reducing HBsAg across multiple preclinical models." said Dr. Guofeng Cheng, CEO and co-founder of AusperBio, "Over 250 million people are infected with HBV globally and CHB is a difficult to cure viral infection disease that can lead to liver cirrhosis and cancer. Current standard of care can suppress HBV replication, but the cure rate is low. There is a great need to develop safe and finite therapies for HBV cure. AHB-137 has the potential to transform the treatment of CHB patients." Antisense Oligonucleotide Drug Candidate for the Treatment of Chronic Hepatitis B Tweet this "The completion of the first cohort dosing of AHB-137 is a significant achievement for AusperBio." said Dr. Chris Yang, CSO and co-founder of AusperBio, "We are proud of the progress AusperBio has made over the past three years. We are looking forward to advancing additional HBV cure candidates into clinic studies in 2023 for combination therapies and leveraging the potential of our proprietary and potent ASO platform to expand into non-viral targets in and outside the liver." The Phase 1 clinical trial is a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study to evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics of AHB-137 in healthy volunteers and initial efficacy in CHB patients (clinicaltrials.gov # NCT05717686). AHB-137 can trigger the degradation of all HBV RNA and has demonstrated potent reduction of HBsAg with favorable safety profile in preclinical studies. The detailed preclinical profiles of AHB-137 have been submitted for two presentations at an upcoming scientific congress in June. About AusperBio. AusperBio is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with operations in China and the USA, dedicated to the development of innovative, best-in-class therapeutics for curing HBV infections. The company's mission is to become a world leader in antiviral therapeutics. The company has developed a proprietary ASO technology platform, which enables effective and potent targeted therapies for liver diseases, with the potential for expansion into new target areas beyond the liver. AusperBio's strategy is to combine its leading oligonucleotide therapies with therapeutic antibodies and mRNA vaccines to address a broad range of unmet medical needs. Media Contact Email: [email protected] Investor Contact Tel: 650-888-1756 ( US ) Email: [email protected] SOURCE AusperBio Therapeutics Inc. WESTMINSTER, Colo., March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ball Corporation (NYSE: BALL) today elected Daniel W. Fisher, the company's president and chief executive officer, as chairman of the board, effective at the annual shareholders meeting on Wednesday, April 26. John A. Hayes, who has served as chairman since 2013, will not seek re-election to the board. Fisher has been president of Ball Corporation and a board member since January 2021 and, in early 2022, assumed the role of CEO. He has 13 years of executive leadership experience at Ball in a variety of positions, including senior vice president and chief operating officer of the global beverage business from 2016 to 2021, and president of the North and Central America beverage business during the Rexam acquisition, after ever-increasing roles of responsibility within the North and Central America beverage business. When he was named president of Ball Corporation in 2021, he assumed responsibility for the company's aerospace, aluminum aerosol and aluminum cups businesses. "Since joining Ball in 2010, Dan has proven himself as a driven, visionary leader who is dedicated to achieving our Drive for 10 vision, delivering strong financial and operational results, and nurturing a strong culture where our employees thrive on making a difference for our customers and communities through sustainability and innovation," said Stuart Taylor, lead independent director of Ball's board of directors. "Since becoming CEO in 2022, Dan's leadership has been critical in navigating Ball through a challenging macroeconomic and geopolitical environment, and we continue to be optimistic about our future under his direction. We also want to thank John for serving as chairman of the board for the past decade." Hayes joined Ball Corporation's board of directors in 2010 and served as Ball's CEO from 2011 until 2022. About Ball Corporation Ball Corporation supplies innovative, sustainable aluminum packaging solutions for beverage, personal care and household products customers, as well as aerospace and other technologies and services primarily for the U.S. government. Ball Corporation and its subsidiaries employ 21,000 people worldwide and reported 2022 net sales of $15.35 billion. For more information, visit www.ball.com, or connect with us on Facebook or Twitter. Forward-Looking Statement This release contains "forward-looking" statements concerning future events and financial performance. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "estimates," "believes," and similar expressions typically identify forward-looking statements, which are generally any statements other than statements of historical fact. Such statements are based on current expectations or views of the future and are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied. You should therefore not place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements and they should be read in conjunction with, and qualified in their entirety by, the cautionary statements referenced below. Ball undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Key factors, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to be different are summarized in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Exhibit 99 in Ball's Form 10-K, which are available on Ball's website and at www.sec.gov. Additional factors that might affect: a) Ball's packaging segments include product capacity, supply, and demand constraints and fluctuations and changes in consumption patterns; availability/cost of raw materials, equipment, and logistics; competitive packaging, pricing and substitution; changes in climate and weather and related events such as drought, wildfires, storms, hurricanes, tornadoes and floods; footprint adjustments and other manufacturing changes, including the startup of new facilities and lines; failure to achieve synergies, productivity improvements or cost reductions; unfavorable mandatory deposit or packaging laws; customer and supplier consolidation; power and supply chain interruptions; changes in major customer or supplier contracts or loss of a major customer or supplier; inability to pass through increased costs; war, political instability and sanctions, including relating to the situation in Russia and Ukraine and its impact on Ball's supply chain and its ability to operate in Europe, the Middle East and Africa regions generally; changes in foreign exchange or tax rates; and tariffs, trade actions, or other governmental actions, including business restrictions and orders affecting goods produced by Ball or in its supply chain, including imported raw materials; b) Ball's aerospace segment include funding, authorization, availability and returns of government and commercial contracts; and delays, extensions and technical uncertainties affecting segment contracts; c) Ball as a whole include those listed above plus: the extent to which sustainability-related opportunities arise and can be capitalized upon; changes in senior management, succession, and the ability to attract and retain skilled labor; regulatory actions or issues including those related to tax, environmental, social and governance reporting, competition, environmental, health and workplace safety, including U.S. Federal Drug Administration and other actions or public concerns affecting products filled in Ball's containers, or chemicals or substances used in raw materials or in the manufacturing process; technological developments and innovations; the ability to manage cyber threats; litigation; strikes; disease; pandemic; labor cost changes; inflation; rates of return on assets of Ball's defined benefit retirement plans; pension changes; uncertainties surrounding geopolitical events and governmental policies, including policies, orders, and actions related to COVID-19; reduced cash flow; interest rates affecting Ball's debt; and successful or unsuccessful joint ventures, acquisitions and divestitures, and their effects on Ball's operating results and business generally. SOURCE Ball Corporation Hosted by ADP, The Leading Conference for the Professional Development of Black Women Returns to Las Vegas NEW YORK, March 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, BLACK ENTERPRISE , the No. 1 Black digital media brand with more than 6 million unique visitors per month, will host its annual Women of Power Summit, hosted by ADP. In celebration of Women's History Month, the annual conference will provide three days of empowerment for women of color to be door openers and glass breakers in corporate America. This inspiring event will motivate attendees to share wisdom, build a sisterhood of support, and achieve their own breakthroughs. Among the star-studded roster of confirmed speakers, actress, writer, entrepreneur, and producer Issa Rae will headline the event's Luminary Awards Luncheon, where she'll explore this year's theme "Our Time, Our Way, Our Power" and reveal how she's succeeding on her own terms. With a jam-packed schedule doused in Black Girl Magic, the Summit will carry on with celebratory events and a dynamic lineup of conversations for executives and leaders to be empowered. "This gathering of talented and ambitious women is a testament to the power of collaboration and mentorship in fostering success in the workplace, which aligns perfectly with BLACK ENTERPRISE'S mission of empowering and uplifting diverse communities," said Earl Butch Graves Jr., CEO of BLACK ENTERPRISE. "We look forward to hearing the inspiring stories and insights from the impressive lineup of speakers and attendees. We are confident that this event will provide valuable tools and resources for advancing the careers of women of color across industries." In celebration of trailblazing women, BLACK ENTERPRISE will kick off the weekend-long discussion with its 17th Annual Legacy Awards Gala, honoring those who've defied the odds and changed the world for future generations. Honorees include award-winning actress Loretta Devine; Vera Moore, President and CEO of the family-owned business Vera Moore Cosmetics; Tracey T. Travis, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of The Estee Lauder Companies; and business executive Lisa Wardell who currently serves as a member of the board of directors for Adtalem Global Education Inc. "At BLACK ENTERPRISE, we recognize the unique challenges that women of color face in their respective industries, and we are committed to advocating for their advancement by investing in the necessary tools and resources to achieve their professional goals," said Alisa Gumbs, Deputy Chief Content Officer of BLACK ENTERPRISE. "It is not only a matter of equity and inclusion, but also a business imperativeresearch has shown that diverse teams lead to greater innovation and profitability. By creating space and empowering these often-overlooked voices at the Women of Power Summit, we can build a more equitable and prosperous future for all." Keeping with the theme, this year's Summit also returns with the second annual Luminary Awards and Luncheon, honoring motivational speaker, author, and producer Lauren Simmons, three-time New York Times bestselling author, multimedia entrepreneur speaker, and podcast host Luvvie Ajayi Jones. The Summit will also feature a Power Lunch Conversation titled "Conversations that Count: Permission to Put Yourself First" with actress, Founder & Owner of 4U by Tia, Tia Mowry, and Emmy Award-winning Journalist Tashara Parker. The host sponsor of the 2023 Women of Power Summit is ADP. Presenting sponsors are Accenture, Bank of America, Dell, Estee Lauder Companies, Equitable, Fidelity Investments, Gilead, Manulife/John Hancock, Morgan Stanley, Publicis Groupe, Toyota, UnitedHealth Group, and Prudential Financial. Platinum sponsors are American Express, AT&T, Lilly, Finra, Travelers, and Walmart. Corporate sponsors are AARP, Amazon, Auto Zone, Capital One, Dow, FedEx, MGM Resorts, Nationwide, Puma, and UKG. The BLACK ENTERPRISE Women of Power Summit hosted by ADP will be held at The Bellagio Hotel & Casino from Thursday, March 9, through Saturday, March 11. Attendees can learn more about the Summit, receive programming updates, see a complete list of summit speakers, and purchase tickets for the event at https://www.blackenterprise.com/womenofpowersummit/. For virtual attendees, guests can livestream select programming at https://www.blackenterprise.com/womenofpowersummit/ About BLACK ENTERPRISE Founded in 1970, BLACK ENTERPRISE is a mission-centric publication focused on providing relevant information for success-minded people at every stage of their financial journey. Designed to highlight Black leadership and entrepreneurial journeys, BLACK ENTERPRISE reaches its audience through its events and linear and digital channels. BLACK ENTERPRISE aims to be a fountain of knowledge for the how to achieve financial success. To learn more about the company, please visit blackenterprise.com and follow them on social media across Instagram , Twitter, and Facebook . SOURCE BLACK ENTERPRISE NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev., March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Due to increased efficiency in patented and proprietary manufacturing, Boxabl continues to reduce its direct labor and materials cost moving closer to its goal of making affordable homeownership accessible for everyone worldwide. "This is a major milestone for Boxabl in our goal of bringing home ownership available to all," says Galiano Tiramani, Boxabl co-founder. "2022 showed a reduction in direct labor cost by 32% and materials cost by 24%." Boxabl continues to reduce its direct labor and materials cost moving closer to its goal of making affordable homeowners Tweet this On a personal note, says Galiano Tiramani, Boxabl co-founder, "the fact that I am able to be a part of a product that has so many people cheering us on, and will make such a difference in so many lives makes all the hard work with it. Boxabl's mission is to revolutionize the standard of housing construction and affordability with its innovative, technology-based solution to mass-produce homes through advanced manufacturing. What further differentiates Boxabl from traditional modular home builders is the ability to deliver homes in a compact design, no longer requiring the use of expensive and wide load permits. With the current list of 160,000 people interested in our Casita, Boxabl is planning to continue its expansion in N. Las Vegas with the aim of building a third "Boxzilla" factory. SOURCE Boxabl Jennifer Montague appointed president and chief operating officer, Columbia Gas of Virginia MERRILLVILLE, Ind., March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- NiSource (NYSE: NI) today announced the appointment of Jennifer Montague to the role of president and chief operating officer, Columbia Gas of Virginia, effective May 1, following the retirement of Brent Archer. Brent Archer, retiring President and Chief Operating Officer of Columbia Gas of Virginia Jennifer Montague, appointed President and Chief Operating Officer of Columbia Gas of Virginia "Brent has been an outstanding leader and a valuable member of the NiSource and Columbia Gas teams for the past 37 years," said Lloyd Yates, NiSource president and chief executive officer. "For the past eight years, he has led Columbia Gas of Virginia, where he focused on ensuring the safe and reliable service that more than 290,000 homes and businesses depend on, while fostering partnerships with the local communities to drive long-term value for all our customers and stakeholders." Archer joined the company in 1986, and he has since held a number of critical roles in government affairs, communications, regulatory and business policy before assuming the role of president and chief operating officer of Columbia Gas of Virginia in 2015. "We thank Brent for his many years of service and wish him all the best in his next chapter," Yates concluded. Jennifer Montague currently serves as the company's senior vice president and chief customer officer. She joined the company in 2018 as vice president of communications and external affairs for Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO), a NiSource company, before assuming her current role. Prior to this, Montague held numerous positions of increasing responsibility with Commonwealth Edison, and prior to that, with the British Petroleum Company. Montague earned a bachelor's degree in quantitative economics and feminist studies from Stanford University, and a Master of Business Administration from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business. "Jennifer has been relentlessly focused on improving the experience for our customers since she joined the company and is well positioned to serve the people of Virginia as a trusted partner in the communities in which we serve," Yates said. About NiSource NiSource Inc. (NYSE: NI) is one of the largest fully regulated utility companies in the United States, serving approximately 3.2 million natural gas customers and 500,000 electric customers across six states through its local Columbia Gas and NIPSCO brands. Based in Merrillville, Indiana, NiSource's approximately 7,500 employees are focused on safely delivering reliable and affordable energy to our customers and communities we serve. NiSource is a member of the Dow Jones Sustainability - North America Index. Additional information about NiSource, its investments in modern infrastructure and systems, its commitments and its local brands can be found at www.nisource.com. Follow us at www.facebook.com/nisource, www.linkedin.com/company/nisource or www.twitter.com/nisourceinc. NI-F SOURCE NiSource Inc. First Up in the "Artist Discovery Program" Will be a Spotlight on Local Caribbean Artists MIAMI, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Royal Caribbean International has launched a search for iconic artistry to bring the Caribbean spirit to life on the iconic canvas that is the world's best family vacation, Icon of the Seas. In the new "Artist Discovery Program," up-and-coming artists from destinations the cruise line visits can vie to put their work on display for millions of vacationers who will set sail for years to come. The program's purpose is to infuse every region's spirit and culture into the curated art collections on board ships, in order to highlight and celebrate the very destinations and their people at the heart of Royal Caribbean's memorable vacations. Beginning in the Caribbean, local artists can send their submissions starting today and through April 4 here. Royal Caribbean Internationals new Artist Discovery Program offers up-and-coming artists a chance to display their work to millions of vacationers. Beginning with the Caribbean destinations the cruise line visits and on the highly anticipated Icon of the Seas, local artists can vie to spotlight their cultures and people by applying online through April 4, 2023. Winners will create nine large-scale murals in three highly visible locations on board. Royal Caribbean Internationals new Artist Discovery Program offers up-and-coming artists a chance to display their work to millions of vacationers. Beginning with the Caribbean destinations the cruise line visits and on the highly anticipated Icon of the Seas, local artists can vie to spotlight their cultures and people by applying online through April 4, 2023. Winners will create nine large-scale murals in three highly visible locations on board. Royal Caribbean Internationals new Artist Discovery Program offers up-and-coming artists a chance to display their work to millions of vacationers. Beginning with the Caribbean destinations the cruise line visits and on the highly anticipated Icon of the Seas, local artists can vie to spotlight their cultures and people by applying online through April 4, 2023. Winners will create nine large-scale murals in three highly visible locations on board. Royal Caribbean International launches the new Artist Discovery Program, beginning with a Caribbean edition that will debut on Icon of the Seas in January 2024. Up-and-coming artists in the destinations the cruise line visits can vie to spotlight their regions culture and people with the opportunity to put their work on display for millions of vacationers on board Royal Caribbean ships. "The Artist Discovery Program is a project close to our hearts at Royal Caribbean International because the destinations we visit are family. And it's only fitting that we begin our search for up-and-coming artists who are in the Caribbean; it's where we got our start more than 50 years ago," said Michael Bayley, president and CEO, Royal Caribbean International. "Vacationers want to immerse themselves in the places they visit. This is a way to spotlight the beauty of the local cultures and people in the places they see and enjoy every day on their cruise, beginning with large-scale canvases on a first-of-its-kind adventure Icon of the Seas." The first group of budding artists, making up the Artist Discovery Program: Caribbean Edition, will be commissioned to paint nine large-scale murals in three highly visible locations: the Royal Promenade neighborhood, the heartbeat of the new ship; among the first sights guests see at Icon's main entrance; and within the Suite Neighborhood. Each piece will invoke the vibrancy of the Caribbean, joining the collection on board that will include an array of pieces created by Caribbean artists or inspired by the region. Every artist will receive a grant from the cruise line, ranging from $20,000 to more than $100,000, to see their vision through. Later this year, as artists in residence, the winners will work closely with the Newbuilding team behind Royal Caribbean's renowned ships to bring their concepts to life in Turku, Finland, where Icon is under construction. To vie for a spot in the first edition of Artist Discovery Program, artists must submit the following: Five samples of conceptual work: The work must be original and may not currently be published or on display. A brief artist statement that helps explain their work, inspiration and other details regarding the pieces submitted. A copy of their resume. Icon is the first-of-its-kind combination of the best of every vacation. From the beach retreat to the resort escape and the theme park adventure, the brand-new getaway delivers every kind of family and vacationers their version of the ultimate family adventure. In store is an all-encompassing lineup of firsts and next-level favorites across eight neighborhoods. Between the adrenaline-pumping thrills at the new Thrill Island neighborhood and unrivaled ways to chill at neighborhoods like the new Chill Island and the luxurious four-level Suite Neighborhood, adventurers bonding with their families or getting away with friends will have all the ways to stay and play their way. The first Icon Class ship will sail year-round, 7-night Eastern and Western Caribbean vacations from Miami. Every cruise will visit Royal Caribbean's top-rated private island destination, Perfect Day at CocoCay in The Bahamas, and a mix of destinations like Cozumel, Mexico; Philipsburg, St. Maarten; and Basseterre, St. Kitts. More details about Icon are available at www.RoyalCaribbean.com/Icon. Future editions of the Artist Discovery Program will be announced at a future date. Additional information on the program can be found here. About Royal Caribbean International Royal Caribbean International, owned by Royal Caribbean Group (NYSE: RCL), has been delivering innovation at sea for more than 50 years. Each successive class of ships is an architectural marvel that features the latest technology and guest experiences for today's adventurous traveler. The cruise line continues to revolutionize vacations with itineraries to 240 destinations in 61 countries on six continents, including Royal Caribbean's private island destination in The Bahamas, Perfect Day at CocoCay, the first in the Perfect Day Island Collection. Royal Caribbean has also been voted "Best Cruise Line Overall" for 20 consecutive years in the Travel Weekly Readers Choice Awards. Media can stay up to date by following @RoyalCaribPR on Twitter and visiting RoyalCaribbeanPressCenter.com. For additional information or to make reservations, vacationers can call their travel advisor; visit RoyalCaribbean.com; or call (800) ROYAL-CARIBBEAN. SOURCE Royal Caribbean International The surge in prevalence cardiac diseases, an increase in the number of clinics equipped with advanced technology, a rise in the geriatric population, and the growing awareness regarding treatment availability of cardiac diseases drive the global cardiovascular prosthetic devices market. PORTLAND, Ore., March 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, "Cardiovascular Prosthetic Devices Market by Type (Cardiac Prosthetic Devices, Vascular Prosthetic Devices), by End User (Hospitals, Clinics, Others): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2031"According to the report, the global cardiovascular prosthetic devices industry was valued at $26.93 billion in 2021 and is estimated to generate $61.46 billion by 2031, witnessing a CAGR of 8.6% from 2022 to 2031. The report offers a detailed analysis of changing market trends, top segments, key investment pockets, value chain, regional landscape, and competitive scenario. Download Free Report Sample- https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/1618 Drivers, Restraints, and Opportunities The surge in prevalence cardiac diseases, an increase in the number of clinics equipped with advanced technology, a rise in the number of product launches and product approvals for cardiovascular prosthetic devices, a rise in the geriatric population, a rise in disposable income among the population of developing nations, and the growing awareness regarding treatment availability of cardiac diseases drive the cardiovascular prosthetic devices market. However, the high cost of cardiovascular prosthetic devices and cardiovascular surgeries and risk of complications associated with the implantation of cardiovascular prosthetic devices are likely to hinder the market growth during the forecast period. On the other hand, the rise in expenditure by government to develop healthcare infrastructure, the increase in R&D activities in the medical device sector, and an increase in the prevalence of hypertension and obesity will present new growth opportunities for the global market in the coming years. Impact of Covid-19 on Cardiovascular Prosthetic Devices Market- The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the cardiovascular prosthetic devices market. This is owing to the disruption in supply chains and healthcare systems which caused delays in the availability of cardiovascular prosthetic devices and an increase in their cost. Further, the number of surgeries performed, which required the use of cardiovascular prosthetic devices, came down drastically during the pandemic, as many hospitals gave priority to the treatment of COVID-19 patients and postponed elective surgeries. However, the post-pandemic effect on the cardiovascular prosthetic devices market is positive due to a rise in the number of cardiovascular surgeries and increase in the number of consultations for cardiac disorders. Procure Complete Report (248 Pages PDF with Insights, Charts, Tables, and Figures) https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/checkout-final/cardiovascular-prosthetic-devices-market The cardiac prosthetic devices segment to dominate the market during the forecast period Based on type, the cardiac prosthetic devices segment contributed to the largest share of over half of the global cardiovascular prosthetic devices market in 2021 and is expected to maintain its dominance during the forecast period. This is owing to a rise in the number of key players who manufacture cardiac prosthetic devices and an increase in the number of product launches and product approvals for cardiac prosthetic devices. However, the vascular prosthetic devices segment is projected to witness the fastest CAGR of 9.0% from 2022 to 2031. This is due to an increase in the number of product approvals for vascular prosthetic devices such as stent in Asia-Pacific. The hospitals segment to grab the lion's share during the forecast period Based on end user, the hospitals segment grabbed the highest share of nearly two-thirds of the cardiovascular prosthetic devices market in 2021 and is expected to dominate the market in 2031. The same segment would witness the fastest CAGR of 8.9% from 2022 to 2031. This is owing to a rise in the number of hospitals and an increase in the number of cardiac surgeries performed globally. For Purchase Inquiry- https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/1618 North America to achieve the largest revenue by 2031 Based on region, the market in North America was the largest in 2021, accounting for more than one-third of the global cardiovascular prosthetic devices market and is likely to maintain its dominance during the forecast timeframe. This is owing to a rise in the number of product launches and product approvals, an increase in the number of key players who manufacture cardiovascular prosthetic devices, an increase in number of valve replacement surgeries, and the growing number of developed healthcare infrastructure in the region. However, the market in Asia-Pacific is likely to show the fastest CAGR of 9.4% during the forecast period. This is owing to the rise in expenditure by government organizations to develop the healthcare sector, an increase in the prevalence of cardiac diseases, and a rise in the geriatric population in the region. Leading Market Players B Braun Melsungen AG Boston Scientific Corporation Artivion Inc. Meril Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd. Biotronic Edwards Lifesciences Medtronic PLC Johnson and Johnson W. L. Gore & Associates Inc. Abbott Laboratories The report analyzes these key players of the global cardiovascular prosthetic devices 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, product portfolio, and developments by every market player. Similar Research Reports for Information, Communication and Technology: Diabetes Care Devices Market - Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20212030 Glaucoma Surgery Devices Market- Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20212030 Gynecological Cancer Drugs Market- Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20212030 Electrocardiograph (ECG) Market- Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20212030 Surgical Scissors Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20212030 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 [email protected] Web: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/636519/Allied_Market_Research_Logo.jpg SOURCE Allied Market Research NOIDA, India, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new report published by UnivDatos Markets Insights, the Cell Signaling Market was valued at more than USD 14.95 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 8.5% from 2022-2028. The analysis has been segmented into Product (Consumables and Instruments); Type (Endocrine Signaling, Paracrine Signaling, Autocrine Signaling, Juxtacrine Signaling, and Others); Technology (Flow Cytometry, Western Blotting, ELISA, Microscopy, and Others); Pathway (AKT Signaling Pathway, AMPK Signaling Pathway, ErbB/HER Signaling Pathway, and Others); Region/Country. Click here to view the Report Description & TOC https://univdatos.com/report/cell-signaling-market/ The cell signaling market report has been aggregated by collecting informative data on various dynamics such as market drivers, restraints, and opportunities. This innovative report makes use of several analyses to get a closer outlook on the cell signaling market. The cell signaling market report offers a detailed analysis of the latest industry developments and trending factors in the market that are influencing the market growth. Furthermore, this statistical market research repository examines and estimates the cell signaling market at the global and regional levels. Request for Sample Pages https://univdatos.com/get-a-free-sample-form-php/?product_id=34725 Market Overview Cell signaling is the transfer of information from one cell to another. The building blocks of life are cells. A cell needs to communicate well with its neighbors in order to survive. Cells in multicellular organisms send and receive signals from their surroundings in order to communicate and coordinate with other cells, tissues, and organs. The signaling molecule binds to the cell surface receptors, further generating a physiological reaction. To identify patterns of drug resistance in malignant cells, cell signaling is utilized to analyze the signaling pathways of cells in drug discovery and therapeutic development. Additionally, it identifies how crucial signaling pathways are altered by medication therapies. Thus, the increase in the number of patients having chronic diseases leading to a rise in the number of drug discoveries and therapeutic development are also some of the factors contributing to the growth of the cell signaling market globally. For instance, on March 25, 2021, Thermo Fisher Scientific announced the completion of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) listing for the Applied BioSystems Quant Studio 5 Dx Real-Time PCR System. The innovative product enables clinical laboratories and assay developers to meet testing demands and enhance molecular diagnostics workflows. Some of the major players operating in the market include Abcam plc., Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc., Merck KGaA, QIAGEN, BD, Promega Corporation, Cell Signaling Technology Inc., PerkinElmer Inc., Danaher. COVID-19 Impact The recent covid-19 pandemic has disrupted the world and has brought a state of shock to the global economy. The market for cell signaling is likely to be significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a recent study "SARS-CoV-2 spike protein triggers cell signaling pathways in lung vascular cells," which was published in the journal News Medical in October 2020, vascular cells in the lung tissue start to secrete signaling growth factors when exposed to the spike protein of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus alone, without the other viral components. Thus, the market is anticipated to experience significant development possibilities because of the high applicability of cell signaling models for research on COVID-19 and respiratory disorders. The global cell signaling market report is studied thoroughly with several aspects that would help stakeholders in making their decisions more curated. Based on technology, the market is categorized into flow cytometry, western blotting, ELISA, microscopy, and others. Among these, ELISA is expected to grow with a significant CAGR during the forecast period. The design and development of an ELISA assay depend on various components, including capture antibodies, detection of cell signaling pathways, and research & discovery phases faster. On the basis of pathways, the cell signaling market has been classified into AKT signaling pathway, AMPK signaling pathway, ErbB/HER signaling pathway, and others. AMPK signaling pathway, and others. The AMPK signaling pathway held a significant market share in 2020. This is mainly due to the rising prevalence of cancer and tumor. AMPK pathway demonstrates both oncogene and tumor suppressor effects depending on the tissue-specific tumor microenvironment. Hyperactive According to the article published in BioMed Central Ltd (BMC), on 17 August 2020 , MAPK signaling exists in over 85% of cancers, which is caused directly by genetic alterations of its upstream activators or components. Have a Look at the Chapters https://univdatos.com/report/cell-signaling-market/ Cell signaling Market Geographical Segmentation Includes: North America ( United States , Canada , and Rest of North America ) ( , , and Rest of ) Europe ( Germany , United Kingdom , Spain , Italy , France , and the Rest of Europe ) ( , , , , , and the Rest of ) Asia-Pacific ( China , Japan , India , and the Rest of Asia-Pacific ) ( , , , and the Rest of ) Rest of the World North America held a significant share of the global cell signaling market. This is mainly attributed to the increasing demand for personalized treatment such as cell therapy, gene therapy, etc. for the management of chronic disorders. Moreover, the increasing investments in biopharmaceutical companies and the presence of global players in North America, also act as major factors that drive the growth of the industry. In addition, a wide variety of products are available in the North America market and many novel instruments also got approval in North America during the last few years. Increasing collaborations, partnerships, and acquisitions are also expected to drive the market in near future. For instance, in July 2020, Sartorius AG, a leading provider of contract testing services to the biotechnology and biopharmaceutical industries, bought a majority share in CellGenix. The major players targeting the market include Abcam plc Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc. Merck KGaA QIAGEN BD Promega Corporation Cell Signaling Technology Inc. PerkinElmer Inc. Danaher Competitive Landscape The degree of competition among prominent global companies has been elaborated by analyzing several leading key players operating worldwide. The specialist team of research analysts sheds light on various traits such as global market competition, market share, most recent industry advancements, innovative product launches, partnerships, mergers, or acquisitions by leading companies in the Cell signaling market. The major players have been analyzed by using research methodologies for getting insight views on global competition. Key questions resolved through this analytical market research report include: What are the latest trends, new patterns, and technological advancements in the cell signaling market? Which factors are influencing the cell signaling market over the forecast period? What are the global challenges, threats, and risks in the cell signaling market? Which factors are propelling and restraining the cell signaling market? What are the demanding global regions of the cell signaling market? What will be the global market size in the upcoming years? What are the crucial market acquisition strategies and policies applied by global companies? We understand the requirement of different businesses, regions, and countries, we offer customized reports as per your requirements of business nature and geography. Please let us know If you have any custom needs. About UnivDatos Market Insights (UMI) Browse Other Related Research Reports from UnivDatos Market Insights Cell Signaling Market Report Coverage Report Attribute Details Base year 2021 Forecast period 2022-2028 Growth momentum Accelerate at a CAGR of over 8.5% Market size 2020 USD 14.95 billion Regional analysis North America, Europe, APAC, Rest of World Major contributing region APAC to Dominate the Global Cell signaling Market Key countries covered United States, Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, France, China, Japan, India, and Australia Companies profiled Abcam plc., Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc., Merck KGaA, Qiagen, Becton Dickinson and Company, Promega Corporation, Cell Signaling Technology Inc., PerkinElmer Inc., Danaher Report Scope Market Trends, Drivers, and Restraints; Revenue Estimation and Forecast; Segmentation Analysis; Impact of COVID-19; Demand and Supply Side Analysis; Competitive Landscape; Company Profiling Segments Covered By Product; By Type; By Technology; By Pathway; By Region/Country About UnivDatos Market Insights UnivDatos Market Insights (UMI) is a passionate market research firm and a subsidiary of Universal Data Solutions. We believe in delivering insights through Market Intelligence Reports, Customized Business Research, and Primary Research. Our research studies are spread across topics across the world, we cover markets in over 100 countries using smart research techniques and agile methodologies. We offer in-depth studies, detailed analysis, and customized reports that help shape winning business strategies for our clients. Contact UnivDatos Market Insights Ankita Gupta Director Operations Ph: +91-7838604911 Email: [email protected] Website: https://univdatos.com/ Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1225049/UnivDatos_Logo.jpg SOURCE UnivDatos Market Insights Pvt. Ltd. BEIJING, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report by China.org.cn: Chengdu, a city with a permanent population of 21 million in west China, may offer a glance into how Chinese megacities are rising through constantly improving their governance. The first proposal to build Chengdu into a park city was made in 2018; in March 2022, a master plan was released to build Chengdu into a demonstrative park city practicing the New Concept for Development; more recently, at its second plenary session in December 2022, the 14th CPC Chengdu Municipal Committee unveiled a decision to turn Chengdu into a modern socialist megacity in west China with global influence and reputation. As one of the central cities in China, and a core and growth pole in the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle, Chengdu's answer to the questions concerning urban governance in the new era and its approach to building a park city with 21 million population are of increasing interest to the world. As a matter of fact, the city has already given its answer clearly and vigorously through its active exploration of a sound governance model, its resolve and confidence in this aspect, and the significance of its governance model to the modern governance of megacities in the world. The path and advantages of Chengdu's governance have gradually shown. Chengdu, the happiest Chinese city for 14 years In Chengdu, in accordance with their respective development foundation and resources, downtown areas, urban new areas, and suburban towns are all accelerating efforts to foster a multi-center network development pattern, in which basic functions are met locally, core functions are supported by each other, and the strength of characteristic functions is highlighted. In downtown areas, there are more and more beautiful streets attracting people to visit; in urban new areas, driverless passenger buses and cars are being tested; in suburban new towns, villagers who used to work away are returning, and those from outside are coming, to invest and star business, and new business scenes and forms are springing up. From building a park city to building a demonstrative park city practicing the New Concept for Development, Chengdu has been a trailblazer. It has systematically explored new practices to promote the harmony between the natural environment, the people and the city, and new paths for the transformation of megacities. For example, Chengdu is developing an integrated park system as an important means to build a park city. Programs in the respect include the Longquan Mountain Urban Forest Park, the Giant Panda National Park, the Jincheng Park, and Jinjiang Park. In addition, Chengdu launched ten major programs for happy life in 2021 to constantly enhance local residents' sense of security, happiness, and fulfillment. With these efforts, for the 14th time in a row,Chengdu was named the happiest Chinese city in 2022. In addition to the better environment and the growing recognition of local residents, the shift in the city's governance model from "industry-city-people" to "people-city-industry" is also a factor, actually more important, that set off the rapid industrial development of Chengdu. Chengdu's evolving industrial plans in recent years have all shown that the city has already drawn an integrated blueprint for its industrial development. Chengdu, a smart city In recent years, Chengdu has been actively building a governance system compatible with a demonstrative park city. With its unremitting efforts in community governance led by Party building, along with the systematic implementation of the ten major programs for happy life, Chengdu has laid a good foundation for city governance based on collaboration, participation, and common gains. After systematic, holistic and integrated efforts, community development and governance in urban and rural Chengdu has been much improved by building institutional frameworks, leveraging the leading role of demonstrative communities, coordinating major programs, and integrating into the overall strategy; strong impetus and vitality has emerged for modernizing Chengdu's primary-level governance system and capacity. Now, community affairs, including the solution of problems from the lack of parking lots to the difficulty in finding nearby places to buy vegetables, are all decided by its residents. However, for some longstanding problems and newly emerging ones in the governance of modern cities, traditional methods often fail. In this case, smart solutions offer the best way out. Last November, the Smart City Expo World Congress was held in Chengdu, gathering experts and scholars in the field of smart cities from home and abroad to hold in-depth exchanges. From digital, intelligent to smart solutions, Chengdu has been committing itself to digitalizing its economy, the life of local residents, and city governance, and seeking intelligent and smart transformation. A unified cloud platform for government affairs has been available in Chengdu, bringing together over 1,500 apps of city- and county-level government departments. Smart service platforms have also been launched to make it easier for locals to access public services; 90 percent of government services can be handled online now; for services requiring presence in person, they can all be provided in a one-stop way; a cloud platform has also been put in service, featuring over 800 urban services concerning people's wellbeing, commuting, fee payment, employment, entrepreneurship, and information inquiry. At its second plenary session in December 2022, the 14th CPC Chengdu Municipal Committee instructed that Chengdu will upgrade its functions to promote high-quality development, work to provide better life to enhance people's sense of happiness, and seek greater smart transformation to improve governance efficiency, with specific tasks clearly set out accordingly. With all these efforts, the city is determined to develop into a modern socialist megacity in west China with global influence and reputation. SOURCE China.org.cn MANCHESTER, N.H., March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Comcast Business today announced it has been selected as the number one Internet service provider by New Hampshire Business Review readers for the 12th consecutive year. The award is part of the publication's annual Best of Business (BOB) Awards program. Comcast Business was recognized for its unique service offerings and reliability designed to serve the growing needs of businesses of all sizes. With its recent expansion into Lyndeborough, as well as Laconia and Gilford in the Lakes Region, Comcast now provides Comcast Business services in more than 115 communities across the Granite State. The annual New Hampshire Business Review BOB awards identify, recognize and honor the top companies across the state. This year, thousands of readers cast their votes using anonymous online surveys to assess satisfaction. The publication unveiled the winners spanning more than 90 different categories during an annual celebration on Thursday, March 9 at the Grappone Conference Center in Concord. "It is an honor to receive this Best of Business recognition once again. As Comcast Business further expands its service and reach across New Hampshire, we're thankful for our customers and local business community that support us year after year," said Barry Bader, vice president of Comcast Business for Comcast's Greater Boston region, which includes New Hampshire. "Comcast Business strives to enable our customers to focus on productivity, stay agile and remain innovative, and this award is a testament to achieving that goal." New Hampshire Business Review is the state's only business newspaper, reaching more than 36,000 subscribers every other week. It is part of Yankee Publishing Inc., a publishing company that also includes New Hampshire Magazine, Yankee Magazine and 603 Diversity, among others. To view a full list of the 2023 winning businesses, visit www.bobawardsnh.com. For more information on Comcast Business, visit https://business.comcast.com/. About Comcast Business Comcast Business offers a suite of Connectivity, Communications, Networking, Cybersecurity, Wireless, and Managed Solutions to help organizations of different sizes prepare for what's next. Powered by the nation's largest Gig-speed broadband network, and backed by 24/7 customer support, Comcast Business is the nation's largest cable provider to small and mid-size businesses and one of the leading service providers to the Enterprise market. Comcast Business has been consistently recognized by industry analysts and associations as a leader and innovator, and one of the fastest growing providers of Ethernet services. For more information, call 866-429-3085. Follow on Twitter @ComcastBusiness and on other social media networks at http://business.comcast.com/social . About Comcast Corporation Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA) is a global media and technology company that connects people to moments that matter. We are principally focused on connectivity, aggregation, and streaming with 57 million customer relationships across the United States and Europe. We deliver broadband, wireless, and video through our Xfinity, Comcast Business, and Sky brands; create, distribute, and stream leading entertainment, sports, and news through Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, Universal Studio Group, Sky Studios, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, multiple cable networks, Peacock, NBCUniversal News Group, NBC Sports, Sky News, and Sky Sports; and provide memorable experiences at Universal Parks and Resorts in the United States and Asia. Visit www.comcastcorporation.com for more information. SOURCE Comcast Cable DUBLIN, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Commercial Satellite Imaging Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2023 - 2028)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The commercial satellite imaging market is expected to register a CAGR of 11.84 % during the forecast period. Images of the Earth taken by imaging satellites run by governments and companies worldwide are known as satellite images, sometimes known as Earth observation imagery, spaceborne photography, or simply satellite photos. Meteorology, oceanography, fisheries, agriculture, biodiversity protection, forestry, landscape, geology, cartography, regional planning, education, intelligence, and warfare are just a few fields where satellite photos are used. Key Highlights The imaging method generates raw image data using optically equipped satellites. Since it is closer to the object, aeronautical imaging delivers a higher image resolution than satellite imaging. The most economical and greatest image resolution is provided by terrestrial imaging; however, it has geographical limitations. Because of their quick supply of image data and wide coverage, satellites are favored over other imaging techniques. Additionally, imaging services are economical once they are in orbit, supporting industry growth over time. The increasing requirement for efficient monitoring of vast land areas is one of the key drivers for the commercial satellite market. The use of satellite imagery and data can provide detailed and accurate information about land use, vegetation, and other features, which can be used for a wide range of applications such as agriculture, urban planning, natural resource management, and environmental monitoring. The rising smart city initiatives are also driving the commercial satellite market. Smart cities use various technologies, such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and satellite imagery, to collect and analyze data to improve citizens' quality of life and reduce the environmental impact of urban areas. Satellite imagery plays a key role in smart city initiatives by providing detailed and accurate information about the built environment, such as the location and condition of buildings, roads, and other infrastructure. This information can improve urban planning, transportation, and public services. The availability of open-source data for various countries can challenge the commercial satellite imaging market. Open-source data refers to satellite imagery and other freely available data to the public, often provided by government agencies or organizations. Commercial Satellite Imaging Market Trends Military and Defense is Expected to Hold Significant Market Share Military and defense applications are the most extensive end-user application of commercial satellite imagery. The segment's expansion is attributed to the security and surveillance activities, which are crucial functions of every defense organization. Various nations have satellites circling the Earth, providing numerous functions. However, because of the security concerns of other countries, they usually have limited access to international airspace. In extreme circumstances, countries might execute shutter control laws that force satellites of foreign countries in regional airspace to turn off their photographic equipment. Considering all these global government prohibitions, other parties often obtain geographical information regarding foreign nations. Governments can regulate the characteristics such as quality and clarity of commercially accessible images and impose a ban on a specific place. However, military agencies always tend to have backup plans. Therefore, there is a massive diversity of geographical information that is principally customized to various customers' demands. With changes in satellite imagery (such as hyperspectral imaging), the commercial realm is progressively acquiring data that is only used for military purposes and the data modified for the general public. Commercial imaging is vital to meeting the needs of both new security and intelligence concerns. This is due to countries' increased attention to evolving their military capabilities and dealing with terrorism threats worldwide. Commercial satellite firms offer vital data for defense and national security. Commercial aerospace has a substantial economic benefit as space becomes more accessible, but government-funded terrorist monitoring using satellite imagery is too expensive. Growing military expenditure and defense budgets in most nations are anticipated to aid the growth of the market under study. Asia Pacific Expected to Register Fastest Growth The Asia-Pacific market is expected to grow considerably throughout the forecast period. Increasing government initiatives for satellite imaging to entice global and domestic firms are other vital reasons for the region's market growth. market is expected to grow considerably throughout the forecast period. Increasing government initiatives for satellite imaging to entice global and domestic firms are other vital reasons for the region's market growth. The ASEAN countries' developing commercial satellite business is affecting the worldwide commercial satellite imaging industry. The continuing expansion of High Throughput Satellite (HTS) technology is bringing new possibilities and capabilities in various APAC vertical areas. For instance, in May 2022 , The SuperView Neo-1 01 and 02 imaging satellites from China Siwei were successfully launched by a Long March rocket. They improved China Siwei's already-existing 50 cm resolution SuperView-1 constellation of satellites and offered 30 cm images to clients needing extra channels of extremely high-resolution imaging. , The SuperView Neo-1 01 and 02 imaging satellites from China Siwei were successfully launched by a rocket. They improved China Siwei's already-existing 50 cm resolution SuperView-1 constellation of satellites and offered 30 cm images to clients needing extra channels of extremely high-resolution imaging. The region's end-user verticals are adopting new technologies at an exponentially expanding rate, which is bolstering the growth of the commercial satellite imaging market. Governments across the region are also investing in advanced technologies that are expected to shape the future of imaging satellites. For instance, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle C-53, or PSLV C-53, of the Indian Space Research Organization, was launched from the Sriharikota, India spaceport carrying three Singaporean commercial satellites. The PSLV Orbital Experimental Module, also known as POEM DS-EO, includes an electro-optic, multi-spectral payload to satisfy the demands of humanitarian aid and disaster relief. This payload will give full-color images for land categorization. Commercial Satellite Imaging Market Competitor Analysis The commercial satellite imaging market is highly fragmented, with the presence of major players like DigitalGlobe Inc., Galileo Group Inc., Planet Labs Inc., SpaceKnow Inc., and Skylab Analytics. among others. Players in the market are adopting strategies such as partnerships, mergers, innovations, investments, and acquisitions to enhance their product offerings and gain sustainable competitive advantage. In November 2022, Planet Labs PBC and Microsoft Corp. announced an expanded agreement to support African climate adaptation programs with artificial intelligence (AI) technologies and satellite data. Planet Labs PBC is a significant provider of daily Earth data and insights. This technological collaboration supports the formation of a related AI Innovation Council comprised of regional partners and nonprofits, as well as Microsoft's recently announced first global expansion of its AI for Good Labs into Nairobi, Kenya, and Cairo, Egypt. Data scientists in Africa would have access to Planet satellite imagery from all over the African continent as part of this program, which would support projects focusing on early warning systems and climate adaptation, which is the process of adjusting to the current or anticipated effects of climate change. The AI Innovation Council nominated these projects. Market Dynamics Market Drivers Increasing Requirement for Efficient Monitoring of Vast Land Areas Rising Smart City Initiatives Big Data and Imagery Analytics Market Restraints High-resolution Images Offered by Other Imaging Technologies Market Challenges Availability of Open-Source Data for Various Countries Key Topics Covered: 1 INTRODUCTION 2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4 MARKET INSIGHTS 5 MARKET DYNAMICS 6 MARKET SEGMENTATION 6.1 By Application 6.1.1 Geospatial Data Acquisition and Mapping 6.1.2 Natural Resource Management 6.1.3 Surveillance and Security 6.1.4 Conservation and Research 6.1.5 Construction and Development 6.1.6 Disaster Management 6.1.7 Defense and Intelligence 6.2 By End-user Vertical 6.2.1 Government 6.2.2 Construction 6.2.3 Transportation and Logistics 6.2.4 Military and Defense 6.2.5 Energy 6.2.6 Forestry and Agriculture 6.2.7 Other End-user Verticals 6.3 By Geography 6.3.1 North America 6.3.2 Europe 6.3.3 Asia Pacific 6.3.4 Latin America 6.3.5 Middle East and Africa 7 COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE 8 INVESTMENT ANALYSIS 9 FUTURE OF THE MARKET A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes DigitalGlobe Inc. Galileo Group Inc. Planet Labs Inc. SpaceKnow Inc. Skylab Analytics L3Harris Corporation Inc. BlackSky Global LLC ImageSat International NV European Space Imaging (EUSI) GmbH UrtheCast Corp. For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/tphufl 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 New Charter Technologies Hosts Third Annual Kick-Off Event With Key Partners DENVER, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- New Charter Technologies , a portfolio company of Palo Alto-based private equity firm Oval Partners, hosted its third annual Kick-Off event on February 21-22. The event, held at the Westin Kierland Resort & Spa in Scottsdale, AZ, was an opportunity to collaborate on best practices and strategic initiatives, and to plan for the year ahead and beyond. Cracking the Code The event, under the banner 'Cracking the Code: Unlock the Next Level of New Charter', brought together Operating Company teams, prominent vendor partners, and investment partners, all in the spirit of beginning or continuing the entrepreneurial journey. Partners collaborated and engaged in conversations surrounding selling centralized services, sharing resources, transforming organizations digitally, and deploying advanced cybersecurity. Mitch Morgan, CEO of New Charter Technologies, began the conference by sharing his vision and overarching goal for company: to build "a caliber of business that the IT industry hasn't yet seen" and to be "better tomorrow than yesterday." "Operational maturity and strategic advancement is what we're after, and we want our businesses to be refined, efficient and forward-looking. This event really brought these core themes to life," said Morgan. "These kick-offs are designed to bring together partners and peers in an environment where they can learn from each other, and gain a deeper understanding of best-in-class approaches to their businesses. This year's event did exactly that, and was filled with copious amounts of collaboration and networking that points to future growth." The kick-off also focused on harnessing successes across the platform of New Charter's existing Operating Companies, and homing in on how to help clients (both current and future) align technology to business goals and create effective partnerships. Announcements As part of the event, New Charter announced several new initiatives and updates: New Charter's Digital Transformation Framework Our clients ask us to lead their digital transformation journey through deployment of a standardized methodology. This framework allows us to partner with clients and align their technology with their business goals. The implementation of the New Charter Maturity Model Inspired by industry maturity models, this is meant to assist New Charter Operating Companies in defining internal alignment strategies. Our companies are best in class the maturity model allows us to define what "good" looks like and [raise the tide for all boats]. Security Essentials Platform This is an integrated platform of best-in-class offerings that enables a truly customized and differentiated approach to keeping clients secure. New Charter's initial group of strategic vendors, Stellar Cyber, ThreatLocker and SentinelOne are participating in strategic ways to customize these offerings. READ FULL RELEASE MEDIA CONTACT Allison Francis New Charter Technologies [email protected] 319.572.2145 SOURCE New Charter Technologies NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN OR INTO, OR TO ANY PERSON RESIDENT AND/OR LOCATED IN, ANY JURISDICTION WHERE SUCH RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IS UNLAWFUL (SEE "OFFER AND DISTRIBUTION RESTRICTIONS" BELOW). THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY AND IS NOT AN OFFER TO PURCHASE OR A SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO SELL ANY SECURITIES. NEW YORK, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Further to its launch announcement on February 24, 2023, Deutsche Telekom International Finance B.V. (the "Company") announces today the early participation results of its invitation to holders of its outstanding: (i) US$1,250,000,000 3.600% Notes due January 2027 (ISIN: US25156PBA03 (Rule 144A) / USN27915AS11(Reg S)) (the "2027 Notes") and (ii) US$1,200,000,000 4.375% Notes due June 2028 (ISIN: US25156PBB85 (Rule 144A) / USN2557FFL33 (Reg S)) (the "2028 Notes"), each guaranteed by Deutsche Telekom AG (the "Parent Company") (the 2027 Notes and the 2028 Notes each being a "Series", and any notes within any such Series being the "Notes", and the eligible holders of any Notes, the "Holders") to tender their Notes for purchase by the Company for cash (each such invitation an "Offer" and together, the "Offers"), on the terms of, and subject to the Offer Cap and the Acceptance Priority Levels (each as defined in an offer to purchase dated February 24, 2023 (the "Offer to Purchase")) and the other conditions contained in, the Offer to Purchase. The Company further announces today an increase in the Offer Cap. Capitalized terms not otherwise defined in this announcement have the same meaning as assigned to them in the Offer to Purchase. Holders are advised to read carefully the Offer to Purchase for full details of, and information on the procedures for participating in, the Offers. The Early Tender Deadline for the Offers was at 5:00 p.m. New York City time on March 9, 2023. The Withdrawal Deadline was 5:00 p.m. New York City time on March 9, 2023. As a result, tendered Notes may no longer be withdrawn, except in certain limited circumstances where the Company determines that additional withdrawal rights are required by law or otherwise in accordance with the terms and conditions set out in the Offer to Purchase. The Company hereby announces its decision to increase the Offer Cap from US$500,000,000 to US$631,813,000. All references in the Offer to Purchase to the Offer Cap shall be deemed to refer to such amount, as so increased. For the avoidance of doubt, the Early Tender Deadline is not being extended and has expired as described in the Offer to Purchase. The Company hereby announces its indicative and non-binding intention to accept the aggregate principal amount of all Notes of each Series validly tendered, as reported by the Tender and Information Agent, as set out in the table below. No Pro-Rating Factor is expected to be applied to the Notes. Notes ISIN / CUSIP Principal amount outstanding Acceptance Priority Level Aggregate principal amount validly tendered and not withdrawn by Early Tender Deadline Indicative and non-binding principal amount to be accepted (1) 3.600% Notes due January 2027 Rule 144A: US25156PBA03/ 25156P BA0 Reg S: USN27915AS11 / N27915 AS1 US$1,250,000,000 1 US$389,877,000 US$389,877,000 4.375% Notes due June 2028 Rule 144A: US25156PBB85/ 25156P BB8 Reg S: USN2557FFL33/ N2557F FL3 US$1,200,000,000 2 US$241,936,000 US$241,936,000 (1) The final acceptance amount in respect of the Early Settlement Date, and the allocation of the Final Acceptance Amount between each Series, shall be announced after the Pricing Time. Pricing and Early Acceptance Announcement Pricing of the Offers will take place at or around 10.00 a.m., New York City time on March 10, 2023 at which time the Reference Yield, Early Consideration and Late Consideration for each Series will be determined. As soon as practicable after the Pricing Time, the Company will announce in the Pricing and Early Acceptance Announcement its decision to accept valid Tenders for purchase on the Early Settlement Date and, if so accepted: (i) the Reference Yield, the Early Consideration and the Late Consideration for each Series; (ii) the Final Acceptance Amount in respect of the Early Settlement Date; (iii) the allocation of the Final Acceptance Amount in respect of the Early Settlement Date between each Series (which will be determined using the Acceptance Priority Levels); (iv) any Pro-Rating Factor in respect of the Notes settled on the Early Settlement Date (if applicable); (v) the aggregate principal amount of Notes in each Series that will remain outstanding after the Early Settlement Date; and (vi) the aggregate amount of capacity (if any) pursuant to the Offer Cap remaining for any Tenders submitted after the Early Tender Deadline and at or prior to the Expiration Deadline. The acceptance of Notes for purchase is conditional on the satisfaction of the conditions of the Offers as provided in the Offer to Purchase. Unless stated otherwise, all announcements in connection with the Offers will be made in accordance with applicable law by the delivery of notices to DTC for communication to Direct Participants. Such announcements may also be made: (i) on the relevant Insider Screen, (ii) by the issue of a press release to a Notifying News Service (e.g., PR Newswire); and/or (iii) on the Offer Website. Copies of all such announcements, press releases and notices are also obtainable from the Tender and Information Agent, the contact details for which are below. FURTHER INFORMATION D.F. King has been appointed by the Company as the Tender and Information Agent for the purposes of the Offers. Citigroup Global Markets Limited and RBC Capital Markets, LLC have been appointed as Dealer Managers for the purposes of the Offers. Holders of Notes may access the Offer to Purchase at https://sites.dfkingltd.com/DeutscheTelekom. Requests for information in relation to the Offers should be directed to: DEALER MANAGERS Citigroup Global Markets Limited Citigroup Centre Canada Square Canary Wharf London E14 5LB United Kingdom Attention: Liability Management Group E-mail: [email protected] In Europe: Telephone: +44 20 7986 8969 In the United States: Toll Free: +1 (800) 558 3745 Collect: +1 (212) 723 6106 RBC Capital Markets, LLC Brookfield Place 200 Vesey Street, 8th Floor New York, NY 10281 United States of America Attention: Liability Management Group Email: [email protected] In Europe: Telephone: +44 20 7029 0107 In the United States Toll Free: +1 (877) 381-2099 Collect: +1 (212) 618-7843 Requests for information in relation to the procedures for tendering Notes in the Offers and the submission of Tender Instructions or for copies of the Offer to Purchase, or related documents should be directed to: THE TENDER AND INFORMATION AGENT D.F. King Offer Website: https://sites.dfkingltd.com/DeutscheTelekom Email: [email protected] In the United States 48 Wall Street New York, NY 10005 Toll Free: +1 (866) 828 6934 Toll: +1 (212) 269 5550 In Europe 65 Gresham Street London, EC2V 7NQ Telephone: +44 20 7920 9700 NOTICE AND DISCLAIMER Nothing in this announcement or the Offer to Purchase constitutes an offer of securities in the United States of America. The securities referred to above have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 (the "Securities Act") or with any securities regulatory authority of any state or other jurisdiction of the United States and may not be offered or sold within the United States except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act. Subject to applicable law, the Company or any of its affiliates may at any time and from time to time following completion or cancellation of the Offers purchase or exchange or offer to purchase or exchange remaining outstanding Notes or issue an invitation to submit offers to sell Notes (including, without limitation, those tendered pursuant to the Offers but not accepted for purchase) through open market purchases, privately negotiated transactions, tender offers, exchange offers or otherwise, in each case on terms that may be more or less favorable than those contemplated by the Offers. This announcement must be read in conjunction with the Offer to Purchase. This announcement and the Offer to Purchase contain important information which must be read carefully before any decision is made with respect to the Offers. If any holder of Notes is in any doubt as to the action it should take, it is recommended to seek its own legal, accounting and financial advice, including as to any tax consequences, immediately from its stockbroker, bank manager, attorney, accountant or other independent financial adviser. Any individual or company whose Notes are held on its behalf by a broker, dealer, bank, custodian, trust company or other nominee or intermediary must contact such entity if it wishes to participate in the Offers. None of the Company, the Parent Company, the Dealer Managers, the Tender and Information Agent and any person who controls, or is a director, officer, employee or agent of such persons, or any affiliate of such persons, makes any recommendation as to whether holders of Notes should participate in the Offers. OFFER AND DISTRIBUTION RESTRICTIONS This announcement and the Offer to Purchase do not constitute an invitation to participate in the Offers in any jurisdiction in which, or to or from any person to or from whom, it is unlawful to make such offer or invitation or for there to be such participation under applicable securities laws. The distribution of this announcement and the Offer to Purchase in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law. Persons into whose possession this announcement or the Offer to Purchase comes are required by each of the Company, the Parent Company, the Dealer Managers and the Tender and Information Agent to inform themselves about and to observe any such restrictions. United Kingdom The communication of this announcement, the Offer to Purchase and any other documents or materials relating to the Offers is not being made by, and such documents and/or materials have not been approved by, an authorised person for the purposes of section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (as amended). Accordingly, such documents and/or materials are not being distributed to, and must not be passed on to, the general public in the United Kingdom, and are only for circulation to persons to whom they can lawfully be circulated outside the United Kingdom or to persons within the United Kingdom falling within the definition of investment professionals (as defined in Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the "Order")), or within Article 43(2) of the Order, or within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order, or to other persons to whom it may lawfully be communicated in accordance with the Order (such persons together being the "Relevant Persons"). This announcement and the Offer to Purchase are only available to Relevant Persons and the transaction contemplated therein will be available only to, or engaged in only with, Relevant Persons, and this financial promotion must not be relied or acted upon by persons other than Relevant Persons. Italy None of the Offers, this announcement, the Offer to Purchase or any other documents or materials relating to the Offers have been or will be submitted to the clearance procedures of the Commissione Nazionale per le Societa e la Borsa ("CONSOB") pursuant to Italian laws and regulations. The Offers are being carried out in the Republic of Italy ("Italy") as an exempted offer pursuant to article 101-bis, paragraph 3-bis of the Legislative Decree No. 58 of February 24, 1998, as amended (the "Financial Services Act") and article 35-bis, paragraph 4 of CONSOB Regulation No. 11971 of May 14, 1999, as amended. Holders of each Series of Notes that are resident and/or located in Italy may tender their Notes through authorised persons (such as investment firms, banks or financial intermediaries permitted to conduct such activities in the Republic of Italy in accordance with the Financial Services Act, CONSOB Regulation No. 20307 of February 15, 2018, as amended from time to time, and Legislative Decree No. 385 of September 1, 1993, as amended) and in compliance with applicable laws and regulations or with requirements imposed by CONSOB or any other Italian authority. Each intermediary must comply with the applicable laws and regulations concerning information duties vis-a-vis its clients in connection with the Notes or the Offers. France The Offers are not being made, directly or indirectly, to the public in the Republic of France. Neither this announcement, the Offer to Purchase nor any other document or material relating to the Offers have only been and shall only be distributed in France to qualified investors as defined in Article 2(e) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129. Neither this announcement nor the Offer to Purchase has been or will be submitted for clearance to nor approved by the Autorite des Marches Financiers. Belgium None of the Offers, this announcement, the Offer to Purchase or any other documents or materials relating to the Offers have been submitted to or will be submitted for approval or recognition to the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority (Autoriteit voor financiele diensten en markten / Autorite des services et marches financiers) and, accordingly, the Offers may not be made in Belgium by way of a public offering, as defined in Articles 3 and 6 of the Belgian Law of April 1, 2007 on public takeover bids as amended or replaced from time to time. Accordingly, the Offers may not be advertised and the Offers will not be extended, and neither this Offer to Purchase nor any other documents or materials relating to the Offers (including any memorandum, information circular, brochure or any similar documents) has been or shall be distributed or made available, directly or indirectly, to any person in Belgium other than "qualified investors" in the sense of Article 10 of the Belgian Law of June 16, 2006 on the public offer of placement instruments and the admission to trading of placement instruments on regulated markets, acting on their own account. Insofar as Belgium is concerned, this Offer to Purchase has been issued only for the personal use of the above qualified investors and exclusively for the purpose of the Offers. Accordingly, the information contained in this Offer to Purchase may not be used for any other purpose or disclosed to any other person in Belgium. General Neither this announcement, the Offer to Purchase nor any other materials relating to the Offers constitutes an offer to buy or the solicitation of an offer to sell Notes (and Tenders will not be accepted from Holders) in any circumstances in which such offer or solicitation is unlawful. In those jurisdictions where the securities or other laws require the Offers to be made by a licensed broker or dealer or similar and any of the Dealer Managers or any of the Dealer Managers' respective affiliates is such a licensed broker or dealer in any such jurisdiction, the Offers shall be deemed to be made by such Dealer Manager or such affiliate, as the case may be, on behalf of the Company in such jurisdiction. Each Holder wishing to submit a Tender will be deemed to give certain agreements, acknowledgments, representations, warranties and undertakings in respect of the jurisdictions referred to above and generally as set out in the Offer to Purchase. Any Tenders from a Holder that is unable to make these agreements, acknowledgements, representations, warranties and undertakings may be rejected. Each of the Company, the Parent Company, the Dealer Managers and the Tender and Information Agent reserves the right, in its absolute discretion (and without prejudice to the relevant Holder's responsibility for the representations made by it), to investigate, in relation to any Tender, whether any such agreement, acknowledgement, representation, warranty or undertaking given by a Holder is correct and, if such investigation is undertaken and as a result the Company determines (for any reason) that such representation is not correct, such Tender shall not be accepted. None of the Company, the Parent Company, the Dealer Managers and the Tender and Information Agent is under any obligation to make such an investigation. SOURCE DEUTSCHE TELEKOM INTERNATIONAL FINANCE B.V. NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN OR INTO, OR TO ANY PERSON RESIDENT AND/OR LOCATED IN, ANY JURISDICTION WHERE SUCH RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IS UNLAWFUL (SEE "OFFER AND DISTRIBUTION RESTRICTIONS" BELOW). THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY AND IS NOT AN OFFER TO PURCHASE OR A SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO SELL ANY SECURITIES. NEW YORK, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Deutsche Telekom International Finance B.V. (the "Company") announces today the pricing and early acceptance of its invitation to holders of its outstanding (i) US$1,250,000,000 3.600% Notes due January 2027 (ISIN: US25156PBA03 (Rule 144A) / USN27915AS11(Reg S)) (the "2027 Notes") and (ii) US$1,200,000,000 4.375% Notes due June 2028 (ISIN: US25156PBB85 (Rule 144A) / USN2557FFL33 (Reg S)) (the "2028 Notes"), each guaranteed by Deutsche Telekom AG (the "Parent Company") (the 2027 Notes and the 2028 Notes each being a "Series", and any notes within any such Series being the "Notes", and the eligible holders of any Notes, the "Holders") to tender their Notes for purchase by the Company for cash (each such invitation an "Offer" and together, the "Offers"), on the terms of, and subject to the Offer Cap and the Acceptance Priority Levels (each as defined in an offer to purchase dated February 24, 2023 (the "Offer to Purchase")) and the other conditions contained in, the Offer to Purchase. Capitalized terms not otherwise defined in this announcement have the same meaning as assigned to them in the Offer to Purchase. Holders are advised to read carefully the Offer to Purchase for full details of, and information on the procedures for participating in, the Offers. The Early Tender Deadline for the Offers was at 5:00 p.m. New York City time on March 9, 2023 and pricing of the Offers took place at or around 10:00 a.m., New York City time today. As announced earlier today, the Company has decided to increase the Offer Cap from US$500,000,000 to US$631,813,000. All references in the Offer to Purchase to the Offer Cap shall be deemed to refer to such amount, as so increased. For the avoidance of doubt, the Early Tender Deadline is not being extended and has expired as described in the Offer to Purchase. The table below contains a summary of the Offers and the aggregate principal amount of Notes of each Series validly tendered, as reported by the Tender and Information Agent, the Company has accepted for purchase pursuant to the Offers following the Early Tender Deadline. Notes ISIN/ CUSIP Principal amount outstanding Acceptance Priority Level Reference Yield Fixed Spread Early Consideration Final Acceptance Amount 3.600% Notes due January 2027 Rule 144A: US25156PBA03/ 25156P BA0 Reg S: USN27915AS11 / N27915 AS1 US$1,250,000,000 1 4.364 % 50 bps US$956.06 per US$1,000 US$389,877,000 4.375% Notes due June 2028 Rule 144A: US25156PBB85/ 25156P BB8 Reg S: USN2557FFL33/ N2557F FL3 US$1,200,000,000 2 3.979 % 85bps US$979.02 per US$1,000 US$241,936,000 Subject to the Offer Cap and the pro-ration arrangements described in the Offer to Purchase, the aggregate principal amount of each Series that will be purchased pursuant to the Offers has been determined in accordance with the Acceptance Priority Levels, with Acceptance Priority Level 1 being the highest and Acceptance Priority Level 2 being the lowest. The 2027 Notes validly tendered pursuant to the relevant Offer, having Acceptance Priority Level 1, will be accepted before any validly tendered 2028 Notes, having Acceptance Priority Level 2. The Company has accepted all validly tendered 2027 Notes and all validly tendered 2028 Notes. Accordingly, the total Final Acceptance Amount in respect of the Early Settlement Date is US$631,813,000. Holders who validly tendered their Notes prior to or at the Early Tender Deadline will also receive Accrued Interest on such Notes accepted for purchase pursuant to the relevant Offer(s) from (and including) the immediately preceding interest payment date for the relevant Series, to (but excluding) the Early Settlement Date, in each case determined in accordance with the terms and conditions of the relevant Series. The Early Settlement Date is expected to be March 13, 2023. Although the Offers are scheduled to expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on March 24, 2023, as the Offer Cap has been reached by the Early Tender Deadline, no Notes tendered after the Early Tender Deadline will be purchased pursuant to the Offers regardless of the Acceptance Priority Level of such Notes. The acceptance of Notes for purchase is conditional on the satisfaction of the conditions of the Offers as provided in the Offer to Purchase. Unless stated otherwise, all announcements in connection with the Offers will be made in accordance with applicable law by the delivery of notices to DTC for communication to Direct Participants. Such announcements may also be made: (i) on the relevant Insider Screen, (ii) by the issue of a press release to a Notifying News Service (e.g., PR Newswire); and/or (iii) on the Offer Website. Copies of all such announcements, press releases and notices are also obtainable from the Tender and Information Agent, the contact details for which are below. FURTHER INFORMATION D.F. King has been appointed by the Company as the Tender and Information Agent for the purposes of the Offers. Citigroup Global Markets Limited and RBC Capital Markets, LLC have been appointed as Dealer Managers for the purposes of the Offers. Holders of Notes may access the Offer to Purchase at https://sites.dfkingltd.com/DeutscheTelekom. Requests for information in relation to the Offers should be directed to: DEALER MANAGERS Citigroup Global Markets Limited Citigroup Centre Canada Square Canary Wharf London E14 5LB United Kingdom Attention: Liability Management Group E-mail: [email protected] In Europe: Telephone: +44 20 7986 8969 In the United States: Toll Free: +1 (800) 558 3745 Collect: +1 (212) 723 6106 RBC Capital Markets, LLC Brookfield Place 200 Vesey Street, 8th Floor New York, NY 10281 United States of America Attention: Liability Management Group Email: [email protected] In Europe: Telephone: +44 20 7029 0107 In the United States Toll Free: +1 (877) 381-2099 Collect: +1 (212) 618-7843 Requests for information in relation to the procedures for tendering Notes in the Offers and the submission of Tender Instructions or for copies of the Offer to Purchase, or related documents should be directed to: THE TENDER AND INFORMATION AGENT D.F. King Offer Website: https://sites.dfkingltd.com/DeutscheTelekom Email: [email protected] In the United States 48 Wall Street New York, NY 10005 Toll Free: +1 (866) 828 6934 Toll: +1 (212) 269 5550 In Europe 65 Gresham Street London, EC2V 7NQ Telephone: +44 20 7920 9700 NOTICE AND DISCLAIMER Nothing in this announcement or the Offer to Purchase constitutes an offer of securities in the United States of America. The securities referred to above have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 (the "Securities Act") or with any securities regulatory authority of any state or other jurisdiction of the United States and may not be offered or sold within the United States except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act. Subject to applicable law, the Company or any of its affiliates may at any time and from time to time following completion or cancellation of the Offers purchase or exchange or offer to purchase or exchange remaining outstanding Notes or issue an invitation to submit offers to sell Notes (including, without limitation, those tendered pursuant to the Offers but not accepted for purchase) through open market purchases, privately negotiated transactions, tender offers, exchange offers or otherwise, in each case on terms that may be more or less favorable than those contemplated by the Offers. This announcement must be read in conjunction with the Offer to Purchase. This announcement and the Offer to Purchase contain important information which must be read carefully before any decision is made with respect to the Offers. If any holder of Notes is in any doubt as to the action it should take, it is recommended to seek its own legal, accounting and financial advice, including as to any tax consequences, immediately from its stockbroker, bank manager, attorney, accountant or other independent financial adviser. Any individual or company whose Notes are held on its behalf by a broker, dealer, bank, custodian, trust company or other nominee or intermediary must contact such entity if it wishes to participate in the Offers. None of the Company, the Parent Company, the Dealer Managers, the Tender and Information Agent and any person who controls, or is a director, officer, employee or agent of such persons, or any affiliate of such persons, makes any recommendation as to whether holders of Notes should participate in the Offers. OFFER AND DISTRIBUTION RESTRICTIONS This announcement and the Offer to Purchase do not constitute an invitation to participate in the Offers in any jurisdiction in which, or to or from any person to or from whom, it is unlawful to make such offer or invitation or for there to be such participation under applicable securities laws. The distribution of this announcement and the Offer to Purchase in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law. Persons into whose possession this announcement or the Offer to Purchase comes are required by each of the Company, the Parent Company, the Dealer Managers and the Tender and Information Agent to inform themselves about and to observe any such restrictions. United Kingdom The communication of this announcement, the Offer to Purchase and any other documents or materials relating to the Offers is not being made by, and such documents and/or materials have not been approved by, an authorised person for the purposes of section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (as amended). Accordingly, such documents and/or materials are not being distributed to, and must not be passed on to, the general public in the United Kingdom, and are only for circulation to persons to whom they can lawfully be circulated outside the United Kingdom or to persons within the United Kingdom falling within the definition of investment professionals (as defined in Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the "Order")), or within Article 43(2) of the Order, or within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order, or to other persons to whom it may lawfully be communicated in accordance with the Order (such persons together being the "Relevant Persons"). This announcement and the Offer to Purchase are only available to Relevant Persons and the transaction contemplated therein will be available only to, or engaged in only with, Relevant Persons, and this financial promotion must not be relied or acted upon by persons other than Relevant Persons. Italy None of the Offers, this announcement, the Offer to Purchase or any other documents or materials relating to the Offers have been or will be submitted to the clearance procedures of the Commissione Nazionale per le Societa e la Borsa ("CONSOB") pursuant to Italian laws and regulations. The Offers are being carried out in the Republic of Italy ("Italy") as an exempted offer pursuant to article 101-bis, paragraph 3-bis of the Legislative Decree No. 58 of February 24, 1998, as amended (the "Financial Services Act") and article 35-bis, paragraph 4 of CONSOB Regulation No. 11971 of May 14, 1999, as amended. Holders of each Series of Notes that are resident and/or located in Italy may tender their Notes through authorised persons (such as investment firms, banks or financial intermediaries permitted to conduct such activities in the Republic of Italy in accordance with the Financial Services Act, CONSOB Regulation No. 20307 of February 15, 2018, as amended from time to time, and Legislative Decree No. 385 of September 1, 1993, as amended) and in compliance with applicable laws and regulations or with requirements imposed by CONSOB or any other Italian authority. Each intermediary must comply with the applicable laws and regulations concerning information duties vis-a-vis its clients in connection with the Notes or the Offers. France The Offers are not being made, directly or indirectly, to the public in the Republic of France. Neither this announcement, the Offer to Purchase nor any other document or material relating to the Offers have only been and shall only be distributed in France to qualified investors as defined in Article 2(e) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129. Neither this announcement nor the Offer to Purchase has been or will be submitted for clearance to nor approved by the Autorite des Marches Financiers. Belgium None of the Offers, this announcement, the Offer to Purchase or any other documents or materials relating to the Offers have been submitted to or will be submitted for approval or recognition to the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority (Autoriteit voor financiele diensten en markten / Autorite des services et marches financiers) and, accordingly, the Offers may not be made in Belgium by way of a public offering, as defined in Articles 3 and 6 of the Belgian Law of April 1, 2007 on public takeover bids as amended or replaced from time to time. Accordingly, the Offers may not be advertised and the Offers will not be extended, and neither this Offer to Purchase nor any other documents or materials relating to the Offers (including any memorandum, information circular, brochure or any similar documents) has been or shall be distributed or made available, directly or indirectly, to any person in Belgium other than "qualified investors" in the sense of Article 10 of the Belgian Law of June 16, 2006 on the public offer of placement instruments and the admission to trading of placement instruments on regulated markets, acting on their own account. Insofar as Belgium is concerned, this Offer to Purchase has been issued only for the personal use of the above qualified investors and exclusively for the purpose of the Offers. Accordingly, the information contained in this Offer to Purchase may not be used for any other purpose or disclosed to any other person in Belgium. General Neither this announcement, the Offer to Purchase nor any other materials relating to the Offers constitutes an offer to buy or the solicitation of an offer to sell Notes (and Tenders will not be accepted from Holders) in any circumstances in which such offer or solicitation is unlawful. In those jurisdictions where the securities or other laws require the Offers to be made by a licensed broker or dealer or similar and any of the Dealer Managers or any of the Dealer Managers' respective affiliates is such a licensed broker or dealer in any such jurisdiction, the Offers shall be deemed to be made by such Dealer Manager or such affiliate, as the case may be, on behalf of the Company in such jurisdiction. Each Holder wishing to submit a Tender will be deemed to give certain agreements, acknowledgments, representations, warranties and undertakings in respect of the jurisdictions referred to above and generally as set out in the Offer to Purchase. Any Tenders from a Holder that is unable to make these agreements, acknowledgements, representations, warranties and undertakings may be rejected. Each of the Company, the Parent Company, the Dealer Managers and the Tender and Information Agent reserves the right, in its absolute discretion (and without prejudice to the relevant Holder's responsibility for the representations made by it), to investigate, in relation to any Tender, whether any such agreement, acknowledgement, representation, warranty or undertaking given by a Holder is correct and, if such investigation is undertaken and as a result the Company determines (for any reason) that such representation is not correct, such Tender shall not be accepted. None of the Company, the Parent Company, the Dealer Managers and the Tender and Information Agent is under any obligation to make such an investigation. SOURCE DEUTSCHE TELEKOM INTERNATIONAL FINANCE B.V. GUIYANG, China, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report by Huanqiu.com: "Five Rings of Ice and Snow", "Yellow River from Heaven", and "No Pigeon Can Be Lost" at the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022 showed the world the romance and aesthetics of Chinese people with the digital technology. As a creator of these spectacular scenes, BLACKBOW&CO apply that digital technology to build the Long March Digital Technology Art Museum. Long March Digital Technology Art Museum. "Long March", hailed as the "Red Ribbon on Earth", has become a spiritual portal for the world to acquire more understanding and exchanges with China. A historian specializing in the Long March, Mr. Xu Zhanquan believes that the spirit of the Red Army on the Long March transcended era and national boundaries and is a wealth of knowledge shared by all nations. The Long March Digital Technology Art Museum located next to Longdongbao Airport has been capped, and its appearance is a "Red Ribbon". With the development of traffic construction, tourists come to Guizhou from all over the world can appreciate this Red Ribbon in the air by plane. The art museum is designed to present the red history with holographic images, virtual reality, a three-dimensional sound field, a mechanical stage, and other technologies. After completion, it will form an essential base of Long March National Cultural Park together with Zunyi Conference Site and Long March Town and promote the upgrading of Red Tourism in Guizhou. Digital technology has explored the tremendous potential for rich tourism resources in Guizhou. Ms. Zhao Chunli, a docent at the Zhou Yiqun Martyrs Exhibition Hall, Tongren City, said that many teenagers felt challenged to understand the red stories interpreted in the traditional way. The exhibition hall is currently trying to use digital media in its work. In the next step, it will enhance its expressive force and vividly tell red stories through Douyin and VR. Compared with the daytime, Huangguoshu Waterfall is more dazzling at night. "It's so amazing. I used to know that Huangguoshu Waterfall is world-famous, but I hadn't expected to see such a beautiful light show when I visited Huangguoshu scenic area at night." Mr. Liu Zhiqiang, a tourist from Harbin, said that after his experience. In the Night Visit to Huangguoshu Project launched by Guizhou, the giant outdoor sightseeing escalator in Asia connects the theme areas of "Mortal World" and "Wonderland", and more than ten light and shadow experience interactions and live-action performances are interspersed. Visitors can see the wonderful and vivid weaving scenes with girls of the Bouyei nationality in the forest; they may also enjoy the special shows such as light and shadow wizards and Pandora forest, leading tourists into different mysterious Huangguoshu worlds. In the recent ten years, Guizhou has overtake other competitors in the technology field, especially in the big data information industry. The blessing of science and technology has promoted the innovation and development of the Guizhou tourism industry. SRT, cave 3D laser scanning technology, and "VIA FERRATA" construction technology have been applied to cave exploration and research. Researchers found that the length of Shuanghe Cave in Guizhou exceeds Clearwater Cave in Malaysia, becoming Asia's longest cave. Technology transfer and achievements have been transformed into the introduction of the capital of 1 billion yuan for Shuanghe Cave Scenic Spot and have indirectly created economic benefits of more than 2.85 billion yuan for Shuanghe Cave and Hongguoshu Scenic Spot. Nowadays, "scenic spots" in Guizhou are connected in series through technologies, and a new mode of "smart all-for-one tourism" can be launched simply with your mobile phone. "I made an appointment for Xingyi Wanfenglin Scenic Spot with the platform of 'One QR Code for Tourism in Whole Guizhou'. After scanning the QR code and entering the park, the platform will prompt the location of scenic spots, the route to scenic spots, and the location of toilets. You can feel comfortable and very convenient even if you are a newcomer." Guiyang citizen Wang Haoran highly praised the intelligent tourism experience. From 2014 to 2019, the proportion of total tourism revenue to GDP in Guizhou increased from 8.7% to 11.6%. Tourism has become an important pillar industry in Guizhou, and Guizhou has also become a veritable tourism province. With the gradual elimination of the impact of COVID-19 on tourism, it is estimated that there will be more than 1 billion tourists in Guizhou every year. In recent years, Guizhou has strived to build a world-class mountain tourism destination and a first-class domestic holiday and convalescence destination. And their efforts pay off. Guizhou is the only destination in China among the 23 must-see destinations in the world, published by National Geographic. It is the only selected region in China in the list of the best travel destinations in the world in 2020, posted by Lonely Planet. It is estimated that by 2025, the added value of tourism and related industries in Guizhou will double that of 2019, and the per capita spending regarding tourism will be in the top ranks in China. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2015435/Digital_and_tech_advances__tourism_in_Guizhou_surges_____3_10.jpg SOURCE Huanqiu.com GREATER DES MOINES, Iowa, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Greater Des Moines Partnership has announced the full slate of headlining authors for the upcoming DSM Book Festival. The Festival will take place on Saturday, March 25 at Capital Square in Downtown Des Moines (DSM). The DSM Book Festival connects people who love books with people who create them. Headlining authors include: Chris Bohjalian is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of 24 books including "The Flight Attendant," which debuted as a New York Times , USA Today , Wall Street Journal , Publishers Weekly , and National Indiebound Bestseller. It is now an HBO Max TV series, starring Kaley Cuoco . Bohjalian will speak at 2 p.m. the day of The Festival. is the #1 bestselling author of 24 books including "The Flight Attendant," which debuted as a , , , , and Bestseller. It is now an HBO Max TV series, starring . Bohjalian will speak at the day of The Festival. NoViolet Bulawayo is the author of the novels "Glory" and "We Need New Names," which was recognized with the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, the Pen/Hemingway Award, the LA Times Book Prize Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction, the Etisalat Prize for Literature and the National Book Foundation "5 Under 35" Fiction Selection. It was a selection for the All Iowa Reads list for 2023. Bulawayo will speak at noon the day of The Festival. is the author of the novels "Glory" and "We Need New Names," which was recognized with the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, the Pen/Hemingway Award, the Book Prize Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction, the Etisalat Prize for Literature and the National Book Foundation "5 Under 35" Fiction Selection. It was a selection for the All Iowa Reads list for 2023. Bulawayo will speak at noon the day of The Festival. Sequoia Nagamatsu is the author of the National Bestselling novel, "How High We Go in the Dark," a New York Times Editors' Choice, and the story collection, "Where We Go When All We Were is Gone." His work has also appeared in publications such the Iowa Review, Lightspeed Magazine and " One World : A Global Anthology of Short Stories." Nagamatsu will speak at 10 a.m. the day of The Festival. is the author of the National Bestselling novel, "How High We Go in the Dark," a Editors' Choice, and the story collection, "Where We Go When All We Were is Gone." His work has also appeared in publications such the and " : A Global Anthology of Short Stories." Nagamatsu will speak at the day of The Festival. Sarah Penner, who is joining The Festival through the Des Moines Public Library's Authors Visiting in Des Moines (AViD) series, is the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of "The Lost Apothecary" which has been translated into 40 languages worldwide. The novel is also being developed into a television series by Fox. Penner will speak at 4 p.m. the day of The Festival. Additionally, The Festival has announced workshops, author panels and more. Workshops include: Books and Beans: Spring Book and Coffee Pairing with Storyhouse Bookpub and Daisy Chain Coffee and Coffee Pairing with Storyhouse Bookpub and Baking Blue Ribbons Building a Better Cheese and Charcuterie Board with Django Restaurant A Taste of the Dark: Writing True Crime and Tasting Wine Building Community with Poetry and Pints DSM Podcasts: Writing, Talking, Pressing Play Traveling Literally with John Shors Local Iowa Publisher Panel 101 Basic ASL and Deaf Culture There's a Book Club for That with Raccoon River Press Author Panels include: Thrill(er) Ride Lessons Learned on the Journey to Becoming a Novelist Iowa Non-Fiction Author Panel with Beaverdale Books Children's Book Authors Panel with BookPress Publishing Iowa Fiction Author Panel with Beaverdale Books Book Marketing 101 with BookPress Publishing VIP options are available for attendees. VIP packages include signed copies of books from headlining authors, premier seats for author presentations, a commemorative DSM Book Festival item, 20% off at Beaverdale books and access to a VIP Suite. VIP packages begin at $60. Learn more here. Food will be available for purchase during The Festival from Cajun Belle, Fredrich's Coffee, Iowa Cookie Company and Jessen Concessions. Drink options will be announced at a later date. Keep up with the latest updates on The Partnership's website. The Festival is sponsored by Prairie Meadows, the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, Dotdash Meredith, Bankers Trust, Kum & Go, the Kerry and Linda Killinger Foundation, John Ruan Foundation, Bravo Greater Des Moines, the Des Moines Public Library's Authors Visiting in Des Moines (AViD) series, BH Companies and BookPress Publishing. About the Greater Des Moines Partnership The Greater Des Moines Partnership is the economic and community development organization that serves Greater Des Moines (DSM), Iowa. Together with 24 Affiliate Chambers of Commerce, more than 6,500 Regional Business Members and more than 400 Investors, The Partnership drives economic growth with one voice, one mission and as one region. Through innovation, strategic planning and global collaboration, The Partnership grows opportunity, helps create jobs and promotes DSM as the best place to build a business, a career and a future. Learn more at DSMpartnership.com. About Downtown, DSM, Inc. Downtown DSM, Inc. is part of the Greater Des Moines Partnership and is dedicated to ensuring the continued growth of Downtown Des Moines (DSM). A strong region needs a strong Downtown. Downtown DSM, Inc. leads efforts to drive development, placemaking and events in Downtown DSM. It promotes a strong Downtown through integration of retail, restaurants, businesses, housing, events and placemaking. Contact: Kyle Oppenhuizen [email protected] (515) 286-4972 Learn More About DSM USA SOURCE Greater Des Moines Partnership Financial Statements for 2022 DALLAS, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Elah Holdings, Inc. (OTC:ELLH) has released its audited annual financial statements and disclosure report for the 2022 fiscal year. This report and additional company information can be found at www.elahholdings.com under the Financial Releases section of the website. About Elah Holdings Elah Holdings, Inc. (formerly known as Real Industry, Inc.) is a holding company led by experienced business leaders that is seeking to acquire profitable businesses in the commercial and industrial markets to generate sustainable profitability and cash flows, unlock the value of our considerable tax assets, and use creative deal structures that reduce risk and ultimately create long-term value for our shareholders. For more information, visit www.elahholdings.com. Elah Holdings' stock trades on the OTC Pink Market, which is operated by OTC Markets Group, a centralized electronic quotation service for over-the-counter securities under the symbol "ELLH." Contact: Michael Hobey Elah Holdings, Inc. +1 (805) 435-1255 @elah_inc www.linkedin.com/company/elah-holdings-inc/ SOURCE Elah Holdings, Inc. DUBLIN, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Endo International plc (OTC: ENDPQ) announced today that one of its operating companies, Par Pharmaceutical, Inc., has begun shipping the first generic version of Allergan's Pylera (bismuth subcitrate potassium, metronidazole, tetracycline hydrochloride) 140 mg, 125 mg and 125 mg capsules in the U.S., following final approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration of its Abbreviated New Drug Application. "We're proud to be a reliable, quality supplier providing choices to healthcare professionals and their appropriate patients," said Scott Sims, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Injectable Solutions & Generics at Endo. "This first-to-market generic product strengthens our portfolio and is a lower-cost option for people who need the medication." Bismuth subcitrate potassium, metronidazole and tetracycline hydrochloride capsules, in combination with omeprazole, are indicated for the treatment of patients with Helicobacter pylori infection and duodenal ulcer disease (active or history of within the past five years) to eradicate H. pylori. According to IQVIA, Pylera sales were approximately $30 million for the 12 months ended December 31, 2022. Pylera is a registered trademark of Aptalis Pharma Canada ULC, an Allergan affiliate. IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION FOR BISMUTH SUBCITRATE POTASSIUM, METRONIDAZOLE AND TETRACYCLINE HYDROCHLORIDE CAPSULES WARNING: POTENTIAL FOR CARCINOGENICITY Metronidazole has been shown to be carcinogenic in mice and rats. It is unknown whether metronidazole is associated with carcinogenicity in humans CONTRAINDICATIONS Methoxyflurane: Bismuth subcitrate potassium, metronidazole and tetracycline hydrochloride. the concurrent use of tetracycline hydrochloride, a component of bismuth subcitrate potassium, metronidazole and tetracycline hydrochloride reported to result in fatal renal toxicity. Disulfiram: Bismuth subcitrate potassium, metronidazole and tetracycline hydrochloride psychotic reactions have been reported in alcoholic patients who are using metronidazole, a component of bismuth subcitrate potassium, metronidazole and tetracycline hydrochloride. Alcohol: Alcoholic beverages or other products containing propylene glycol should not be consumed during and for at least 3 days after therapy with bismuth subcitrate potassium, metronidazole and tetracycline hydrochloride occur due to the interaction between alcohol or propylene glycol and metronidazole, a component of bismuth subcitrate potassium, metronidazole and tetracycline hydrochloride. Cockayne Syndrome: Bismuth subcitrate potassium, metronidazole and tetracycline hydrochloride is contraindicated in patients with Cockayne Syndrome. Severe irreversible hepatotoxicity/acute liver failure with fatal outcomes have been reported after initiation of metronidazole in patients with Cockayne Syndrome. Severe Renal Impairment: Bismuth subcitrate potassium, metronidazole and tetracycline hydrochloride is contraindicated in patients with severe renal impairment. The antianabolic action of the tetracyclines may cause an increase in blood urea nitrogen (bun). In patients with significantly impaired renal function, higher serum concentrations of tetracyclines may lead to azotemia, hyperphosphatemia, and acidosis. Pregnancy: Bismuth subcitrate potassium, metronidazole and tetracycline hydrochloride is contraindicated during pregnancy. Hypersensitivity Reactions: Bismuth subcitrate potassium, metronidazole and tetracycline hydrochloride is contraindicated in patient with known hypersensitivity (e.g. urticaria, erythematous rash, flushing and fever) to bismuth subcitrate potassium, metronidazole or other nitroimidazole derivatives, or tetracyclines. WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS Fetal Toxicity: Tetracycline can cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman. Based on animal data, use of drugs of the tetracycline class during the second and third trimester of pregnancy can cause permanent discoloration of the teeth (yellow-gray brown) and possibly inhibit bone development. If bismuth subcitrate potassium, metronidazole and tetracycline hydrochloride is used during pregnancy, or if the patient becomes pregnant while taking bismuth subcitrate potassium, metronidazole and tetracycline hydrochloride, advise the patient of the potential risk to the fetus. Maternal Toxicity: Tetracycline, a component of bismuth subcitrate potassium, metronidazole and tetracycline hydrochloride, administered during pregnancy at high doses (> 2 g iv) was associated with rare but serious cases of maternal hepatotoxicity. This syndrome may result in stillborn or premature birth due to maternal pathology. Tooth Enamel Discoloration and Hypoplasia: The use of drugs of the tetracycline class during tooth development (last half of pregnancy, infancy, and childhood to the age of 8 years) may cause permanent discoloration of the teeth (yellow-gray-brown). This adverse reaction is more common during long-term use of the drug, but has been observed following repeated short-term courses. Central and Peripheral Nervous System Effects: Metronidazole: convulsive seizures, encephalopathy, aseptic meningitis and peripheral neuropathy (including optic neuropathy) have been reported. CNS symptoms are generally reversible within days to weeks upon discontinuation of metronidazole. CNS lesions seen on MRI have also been described as reversible. Aseptic meningitis symptoms may occur within hours of dose administration and generally resolve after metronidazole therapy is discontinued. Tetracycline: intracranial hypertension (IH), including pseudotumor cerebri, has been associated with the use of tetracyclines. Clinical manifestations of IH include headache, blurred vision, diplopia, and vision loss; papilledema can be found on fundoscopy. Women of childbearing age who are overweight or have a history of IH are at greater risk for developing tetracycline associated IH. Concomitant use of isotretinoin should be avoided because isotretinoin is also known to cause IH. Bismuth-containing products : cases of neurotoxicity associated with excessive doses of various bismuth-containing products have been reported. Effects have been reversible with discontinuation of bismuth therapy. Development of Potential for Microbial Overgrowth: Known or previously unrecognized candidiasis may present more prominent symptoms during therapy with metronidazole and requires treatment with an antifungal agent. As with other antibacterial drugs, use of tetracycline hydrochloride may result in overgrowth of nonsusceptible organisms, including fungi. If superinfection occurs, discontinue bismuth subcitrate potassium, metronidazole and tetracycline hydrochloride and institute appropriate therapy. Photosensitivity: Photosensitivity, manifested by an exaggerated sunburn reaction, has been observed in patients taking tetracycline. Instruct patients taking bismuth subcitrate potassium, metronidazole and tetracycline hydrochloride to avoid exposure to the sun or sun lamps. Discontinue treatment at the first evidence of skin erythema. Darkening of the Tongue and/or Black Stool: Bismuth subcitrate potassium may cause temporary and harmless darkening of the tongue and/or black stools, generally reversible within several days after treatment [see Adverse Reactions]. Stool darkening should not be confused with melena. Use in Patients with Blood Dyscrasias: Metronidazole is a nitroimidazole, and should be used with care in patients with evidence of or history of blood dyscrasia. Total and differential leukocyte counts are recommended before and after therapy. Increased Drug Plasma Concentrations in Patients with Hepatic Impairment: Patients with mild to moderate hepatic impairment should be monitored for metronidazole associated adverse events. Bismuth subcitrate potassium, metronidazole and tetracycline hydrochloride is not recommended in patients with severe hepatic impairment. Cutaneous Reactions: Skin and subcutaneous disorders including Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, toxic epidermal necrolysis and dress syndrome (drug rash with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms) have been reported. Discontinue treatment at the first evidence of a cutaneous reaction. ADVERSE REACTIONS Most frequently reported adverse reactions (>5o): abnormal feces, diarrhea, nausea, and headache. DRUG INTERACTIONS Methoxyfurane: risk of fatal renal toxicity; do not co-administer. Disulfram: psychotic reactions can occur; do not take concurrently or within the last 2 weeks of disulfram. Alcohol: abdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting, headaches, and flushing can occur; do not consume during therapy and for at least 3 days afterwards. Oral contraceptives: decreased efficacy possibly resulting in pregnancy; use a different or additional form of contraception. Anticoagulants: potentiation of the anticoagulant effect; prothrombin time, international normalized ratio (INR), or other suitable anticoagulation tests should be closely monitored. Lithium: increased lithium serum concentrations; measure serum lithium and serum creatinine concentrations during therapy. Antacids, multivitamins or dairy products: decreased absorption of bismuth subcitrate potassium, metronidazole and tetracycline hydrochloride; do not take concomitantly. Busulfan: increased busulfan serum concentrations; avoid concomitant use, monitor for busulfan toxicity. CYP inducers and CYP inhibitors: prolonged or accelerated half-life of metronidazole or concomitant medications; use with caution. INDICATION Bismuth subcitrate potassium, metronidazole and tetracycline hydrochloride capsules in combination with omeprazole are indicated for the treatment of patients with Helicobacter pylori infection and duodenal ulcer disease (active or history of within the past 5 years) to eradicate H. pylori. The eradication of Helicobacter pylori has been shown to reduce the risk of duodenal ulcer recurrence. Please see Full Prescribing Information, including Boxed Warning, for bismuth subcitrate potassium, metronidazole and tetracycline hydrochloride. About Endo Endo (OTC: ENDPQ) is a specialty pharmaceutical company committed to helping everyone we serve live their best life through the delivery of quality, life-enhancing therapies. Our decades of proven success come from passionate team members around the globe collaborating to bring treatments forward. Together, we boldly transform insights into treatments benefiting those who need them, when they need them. Learn more at www.endo.com or connect with us on LinkedIn. About Par Pharmaceutical Par Pharmaceutical develops, manufactures and markets innovative and cost-effective generic pharmaceutical and branded injectable products that help improve patients' lives. Par, among the top leaders in the U.S. generics industry, possesses an expanding portfolio that includes sterile injectables, alternative dosage forms and other differentiated products. Par Pharmaceutical is an Endo company. Learn more at www.parpharm.com. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Certain information in this press release may be considered "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and any applicable Canadian securities legislation, including, but not limited to, the statements by Mr. Sims, any statements relating to product launch, shipments, sales potential, quality, safety or cost. and any statements that refer to expected, estimated or anticipated future results or that do not relate solely to historical facts. Statements including words or phrases such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "plan," "will," "may," "look forward," "intend," "guidance," "future," "potential" or similar expressions are forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements in this communication reflect the Company's current views as of the date of this communication about its plans, intentions, expectations, strategies and prospects, which are based on the information currently available to it and on assumptions it has made. Actual results may differ materially and adversely from current expectations based on a number of factors, including, among other things, the outcome of the Company's contingency planning and restructuring activities; the timing, impact or results of any pending or future litigation, investigations, proceedings or claims, including opioid, tax and antitrust related matters; any actual or contingent liabilities; settlement discussions or negotiations; the Company's liquidity, financial performance, cash position and operations; the risks and uncertainties associated with chapter 11 proceedings; the time, terms and ability to confirm a sale of the Company's businesses under Section 363 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code; the risk that the Company's chapter 11 cases may be converted to cases under chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code; the adequacy of the capital resources of the Company's businesses and the difficulty in forecasting the liquidity requirements of the operations of the Company's businesses; the unpredictability of the Company's financial results; the Company's ability to discharge claims in chapter 11 proceedings; negotiations with the holders of the Company's indebtedness and its trade creditors and other significant creditors; the risks and uncertainties with performing under the terms of the restructuring support agreement and any other arrangement with lenders or creditors while in chapter 11 proceedings; the performance, including the approval, introduction, and consumer and physician acceptance of new products and the continuing acceptance of currently marketed products; and the Company's ability to obtain and successfully manufacture, maintain and distribute a sufficient supply of products to meet market demand in a timely manner. The Company expressly disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements, except as required to do so by law. Additional information concerning risk factors, including those referenced above, can be found in press releases issued by the Company, as well as the Company's public periodic filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and with securities regulators in Canada, including the discussion under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and any subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q or other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Copies of the Company's press releases and additional information about the Company are available at www.endo.com or you can contact the Company's Investor Relations Department at [email protected]. SOURCE Endo International plc NASA space vehicle's engineer, GM leader on-deck in nonprofit's line-up to bring students real-world applications and exposure to engineering professionals DALLAS and HOUSTON, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Engineering Tomorrow, a national nonprofit dedicated to broadening an awareness and hands-on exploration to the world of engineering, is amplifying its presence across Texas this spring beginning with two exciting virtual labs open to high school students statewide. More than 115,000 U.S. students across all 50 states have been reached through 208,000 Engineering Tomorrow labs to date, and already more than 36 Texas high schools have participated in labs. Free to participate and with all equipment and supplies provided at no charge, Engineering Tomorrow labs are guided by a team of professional engineers and are designed to introduce high school students to a variety of career paths and the multifaceted, impactful applications engineering has in our everyday lives. According to labor projections, the Texas Education Agency says Texas is expected to have the second-highest percentage of the nation's future STEM jobs, making access to engineering insights and experiences all the more crucial for high schoolers looking ahead to collegiate areas of academic study. "In addition to Texas' strong engineering foothold through its oil, aerospace and aviation, manufacturing, and information technology industries, it's evident we need to be exposing the state's students to the array of opportunities waiting to be uncovered," said Dr. Timothy J. McNiff, executive director of Engineering Tomorrow. "Of the students who have participated in an Engineering Tomorrow lab, 25 percent go on to declare engineering as their major their freshman year of college. Of those students, 40 percent are minority and 26 percent are female." Free to participate and with all equipment and supplies provided at no charge, Engineering Tomorrow labs are guided by a team of professional engineers and are designed to introduce high school students to a variety of career paths and the multifaceted, impactful applications engineering has in our everyday lives. Bringing together a vast network of professional engineers and college students currently majoring in the field, and working with high school teachers across multiple course subjects, the nonprofit aims to foster diversity and ignite interest in the next generation of engineers. Teachers can get their classrooms involved in two ways: by signing up to attend a virtual special lab event or scheduling their own self-paced virtual lab. Special Lab Events Engineering Tomorrow's free virtual special lab events give students the ability to learn from and ask questions to leading industry experts. Each event is live-streamed from 10 a.m. 2 pm, which consists of an introduction to the topic, a lab challenge, Q&A with collegian from the nation's top universities, and a keynote from some of engineering's brightest leaders. Upon a teacher signing up, Engineering Tomorrow provides all accompanying materials at no cost to the schools, teachers, or students. On Tuesday, March 14, Milton Davis, Space Vehicle Manager at NASA, will lead a Space Vehicles special lab event where students will create their own rocket that successfully counteracts its gravitational weight and launches to the ceiling. On Monday, April 24, Telva McGruder, Chief Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Officer at General Motors, will lead an Electric Vehicles special lab event where students will build an electric vehicle using a solar cell to charge the vehicle's battery. "It's a joy to be part of empowering, motivating, and inspiring the future of engineering," Davis said. "The engaging, hands-on experience that Engineering Tomorrow provides goes beyond the textbook it opens the door to the world of engineering to a diversity of perspectives, which will ultimately strengthen our industry as a whole." Self-Paced Labs High school teachers can also integrate Engineering Tomorrow seamlessly with their current curriculum when signing up for the wide variety of labs for students. From 3D printing to aerodynamics to robotics, each purpose-driven lab simulates a meaningful real-world scientific and engineering challenge and comes equipped with virtual presentations, student workbooks, and teacher guides. For instance, in the Machine Learning lab, students deploy the engineering design process to construct their own catapult and develop a mathematical model to predict the distance an object will fly when launched. The accompanying workbook explores the impact of machine learning in our daily lives. "This expansion into Texas allows me to give my students exposure to experiences they wouldn't traditionally have access to," stated one high school teacher in the Houston area. "The hands-on aspect of Engineering Tomorrow takes learning to the next level." To learn more, visit engineeringtomorrow.org/labs. To register for an upcoming special lab event, fill out the online request form. For additional images, go here. About Engineering Tomorrow Engineering Tomorrow was founded in 2014 by former CEO of GE Infrastructure Bill Woodburn, who was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2023, to show students the excitement of a career in engineering through virtual labs, mentorship, and hands-on instruction. The nonprofit is supported by founding sponsor Global Infrastructure Partners and a growing list of corporate and academic partners that share in the mission to inspire the next generation of engineers and build a stronger, more innovative world one that fosters diverse perspectives for the greater good of humankind. Media Contact Alex Edwards, [email protected], 281-248-3829 SOURCE Engineering Tomorrow NEW YORK, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Euclid Transactional, LLC ("Euclid Transactional"), a leading managing general agent focused on transactional insurance underwriting and claims handling, today announced 30 promotions, including nine senior promotions to Managing Director. The promotions underscore the strength and depth of Euclid Transactional's team and the firm's commitment to offering best in class service across its seven offices in North America and Europe. "Euclid Transactional views the growth and development of our team as key to our work with clients and brokers," said Jay Rittberg, Managing Principal of Euclid Transactional. "These promotions build upon our key strengths at Euclid Transactional and reflect the depth of talent our firm is able to offer clients every day." "The M&A landscape has seen major changes in the past year, and we've worked to grow and build our team in the areas with the most potential impact for clients," Kit Westropp, Managing Principal, EMEA added. "We are proud to have a team of talented, experienced industry professionals who work incredibly hard to provide best-in-class service for our clients." Since its founding in 2016, Euclid Transactional has underwritten more than 4,950 policies, for deals with a combined value of over $3.95 trillion. Insureds have received claims payments of over $500 million from policies issued by Euclid Transactional. The nine new Managing Directors include the following individuals who have made significant contributions to Euclid Transactional and bring years of extensive industry experience to our clients: Underwriting Simon Chung Senior Vice President, Head of Middle Market to Managing Director, Head of Middle Market Tim Grosso Senior Vice President to Managing Director Will Hooper Senior Vice President to Managing Director Andrea Lawrence Senior Vice President to Managing Director Miranda Ma Senior Vice President to Managing Director Chloe Steadman Senior Vice President to Managing Director Chris Waddington Senior Vice President, EMEA Tax to Managing Director, EMEA Tax Claims Daniella Smith EMEA General Counsel, Senior Vice President, Claims to EMEA General Counsel, Managing Director, Claims Brittany Zimmer Associate General Counsel, Senior Vice President, Claims to Associate General Counsel, Managing Director, Claims The additional newly announced promotions span Euclid Transactional's global claims, underwriting, counsel, and analyst teams and include individuals in the following roles: North America : Claims Nicole Daniell Claims Associate to Claims Senior Associate Abigail Kennedy Claims Analyst to Claims Senior Analyst Emily Luong Claims Analyst to Claims Senior Analyst Denise Veliky Assistant Vice President, Claims to Vice President, Claims Counsel Lila Ammeen Paralegal to Senior Paralegal Kendal Longmore Counsel to Senior Counsel Tziporah Pill Counsel to Senior Counsel Underwriting Jeremy Feinberg Assistant Vice President to Vice President Andrew Kim Assistant Vice President to Vice President Victoria Riley Vice President to Senior Vice President Analysts Diana Calautti Associate to Senior Associate Vikash Dodani Associate to Senior Associate Emilie Kilfoil Analyst to Senior Analyst Jake Liebler Senior Analyst to Associate Sydney Lodge Senior Analyst to Associate Camille Pham Senior Analyst to Associate Artha Zhang Senior Analyst to Associate EMEA: Underwriting Edward Chow Associate to Assistant Vice President, Underwriter Freddie Sargent Associate to Assistant Vice President, Underwriter Luke Williams Associate to Assistant Vice President, Underwriter Analysts Vikita Devchand Analyst to Associate About Euclid Transactional Euclid Transactional, LLC is a managing general agency specializing in the underwriting of representations & warranties, tax liability, contingent liability and other transactional insurance coverages. Operated by one of the industry's largest teams of experienced underwriters and claims executives, Euclid Transactional provides the size and security of a large insurer with the customer service of a boutique. The firm has offices in New York, London, Chicago, Frankfurt, Copenhagen, Stockholm and Toronto, and offers full-service underwriting for deals across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Euclid Transactional is an affiliate of Euclid Insurance Services, a program administrator that provides its partners with advisory, accounting, information technology and human resource services. Euclid Transactional's insurance capacity is provided by premier insurers, all of which are rated AM Best A (Excellent) or better. Euclid Transactional is an equal opportunity employer who recruits, employs, trains, compensates and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual or affectional orientation, disability, age, veteran status, and other protected status as required by applicable law. Euclid Transactional is committed to promoting and maintaining a diverse, inclusive environment where different backgrounds, characteristics and viewpoints are valued. To advance this commitment, we have formed and empowered a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee to help us put diversity, equity, and inclusion at the center of our hiring process and our company cultureand build a team that better reflects our desire for more equal representation in everything we do. Media Contact: Davis MacMillan RF|Binder [email protected] 212-994-7509 SOURCE Euclid Transactional, LLC BEIJING, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report by China.org.cn on China's economy: At the annual "two sessions" in 2023, the "Report on the Work of the Government" was delivered, in which "expanding domestic demand" is placed at the top of this year's government work agenda. Expanding domestic demand is indeed the key to propelling China's economy to look up, while it's also meaningful for stabilizing global economic growth. Full speed ahead on expanding domestic demand: Steering up Chinas economy If we look back on 2022, the COVID-19 pandemic cast a pall over the domestic demand in China, especially its consumption demand. According to China's National Bureau of Statistics, domestic demand contributed a mere 1 percentage point to China's GDP growth in 2022, while the number was around 4 in the several years leading up to the pandemic. The sluggish growth of consumption has become a key constraining factor in China's domestic demand expansion as well as its economic growth. As the influence of the pandemic wanes, however, China's consumption has resumed recovery. During the Spring Festival, hotels in popular tourist destinations were almost booked out, and restaurants all over China also saw a great increase in customers. All these phenomena have given people confidence for China's consumption to regain its momentum. Besides, the "Report on the Work of the Government" also mentioned China's incentive policies for new forms and new models of consumer spending, including reducing vehicle purchase tax, which has proven effective in spurring the purchase of vehicles. The government took measures to incentivize the selling of green and smart appliances, and green building materials in rural areas. These measures will continue to showcase effect, for rural residents now enjoy a window in upgrading their home appliances all-round. Meanwhile, the Chinese government has been encouraging investment in recent years, with a particular focus on investment in facilities that will further stimulate consumption. For example, by encouraging the revamp and upgrade of piping systems in cities as well as the further provision of water supply and plumbing systems in rural areas, residents are then expected to generate greater consumption of a higher quality in water-use related areas; by encouraging the construction of broader road infrastructure in rural areas, vehicle consumption as well as logistical efficiency in rural areas are expected to improve; by encouraging telecom service carriers to accelerate network building in rural areas, rural residents are more likely to make purchases via e-commerce platforms. In this year's "Report on the Work of the Government", there are also plans to continue relevant projects, in a bid to further marry rising investments with spurring consumption. As the world's second largest economy, China's accelerating economic growth itself is contributing to the global growth. China's burgeoning investment and consumption will for sure augment the demand for goods and services from other economies, which means a larger import volume, therefore helping other economies to achieve growth steadily. What's more, with Chinese tourists returning to global tourism, their consumption in the destination markets will also pick up. In a nutshell, China is stepping up efforts to expand domestic demand, prioritizing the revitalization and increase of consumption. This will not only help improve China's economy, but also continuously inject powerful impetus into the global economy. China Mosaic http://chinamosaic.china.com.cn/index.htm Full speed ahead on expanding domestic demand: Steering up China's economy http://www.china.org.cn/china/2023-03/10/content_85160044.htm SOURCE China.org.cn DUBLIN, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "A Review of the Best Selling Pharmaceutical Drugs in 2021: 2023 Research Report" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. This research report incorporates an in-depth analysis of the pharmaceutical drugs market and its competitive landscape through 2021 Major players, competitive intelligence, innovative technologies, and company profiles are discussed in detail. The report also examines recent developments and product portfolios of major players, and it features market share analysis and rankings in the market. It includes a regulatory landscape analysis that focuses on recent regulations in regions such as the U.S., Europe, and Japan. Report Includes An overview of the best-selling pharmaceutical drugs in 2021 Revenue forecast of the top 50 pharmaceutical drugs and assessment of their regulatory landscape Description of the pharmaceutical drugs applications and information on pharmaceutical drugs patents Detailed company profiles of the top 50 pharmaceutical drugs Key Topics Covered: Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Study Goals and Objectives 1.2 Reasons for Doing this Study 1.3 Scope of Report 1.4 Methodology 1.4.1 Primary Data and Information Gathering 1.4.2 Secondary Data and Information Gathering 1.4.3 Market Revenue Forecasts 1.5 Analyst's Credentials 1.6 Custom Research 1.7 Related Research Reports Chapter 2 Global Pharmaceutical Drug Market 2.1 Overview 2.2 Key Strategies of Major Pharmaceutical Drugs Manufacturers 2.2.1 Distribution Network 2.2.2 Trends 2.2.3 Mergers and Acquisitions 2.2.4 Recommendations 2.3 Key Developments of the Major Pharmaceutical Drugs Manufacturers 2.3.1 Mergers and Acquisitions 2.3.2 Agreements, Joint Ventures, Expansions, Divestments, and Investments 2.3.3 New Product Launches and Approvals 2.4 Long-Term Outlook Chapter 3 Regulatory Structure: Pharmaceutical Drug Market 3.1 Regulatory Background 3.2 Regulatory Systems for Biopharmaceuticals by Region 3.2.1 U.S. 3.2.2 Europe 3.2.3 Japan 3.3 Regulatory Systems for Pharmaceuticals by Region 3.3.1 U.S. 3.3.2 Japan 3.3.3 India 3.3.4 Brazil 3.4 Regulations for Vaccines 3.4.1 Current Regulatory Issues for Vaccines 3.4.2 Moderna Vaccine Regulation in the U.K. 3.5 Key Regulatory Updates 2021 3.5.1 Pharmaceuticals 3.5.2 Medical Devices 3.6 Code of Federal Regulations (Cfr) 3.7 Good Manufacturing Practice (Gmp) Compliance 3.8 Establishment Registration 3.9 Drug Registration and Listing 3.10 Local Agent Requirements 3.10.1 Responsibilities of the U.S. Agent Chapter 4 Pricing and Reimbursement: Pharmaceuticals and Biologics 4.1 Pricing and Reimbursement Background 4.2 Pricing and Reimbursement of Pharmaceuticals and Biologics by Region 4.2.1 U.S. 4.2.2 Europe 4.2.3 Japan 4.3 Pricing and Reimbursement Challenges for Pharmaceuticals 4.3.1 Patented Medicines Price 4.3.2 Prices of Older Drugs Chapter 5 Company Profiles Abbott Abbvie Inc. Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. Amgen Inc. Astellas Pharma Inc. Astrazeneca Asahi Kasei Corp. Aurobindo Pharma Bausch Health Companies Inc. Bayer AG Biogen Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. Csl Ltd. Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd. Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd. Eisai Co. Ltd. Eli Lilly and Co. Endo International plc Gilead Sciences Inc. GlaxoSmithKline plc Grifols S.A. H. Lundbeck A/S Incyte Ipsen Pharma Johnson & Johnson Services Inc. Mallinckrodt plc plc A. Menarini Industrie Farmaceutiche Riunite S.R.L. Merck & Co. Inc. Merck Kgaa Moderna Inc. Novartis AG Novo Nordisk A/S Otsuka Holdings Co. Ltd. Pfizer Inc. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. (Roche) Sanofi Servier Laboratories Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding Shionogi & Co. Ltd. China National Pharmaceutical Group Corp. (Sinopharm) Stada Arzneimittel AG Sumitomo Pharma Co. Ltd Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. Ucb S.A. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. Viatris Inc. Zydus Cadila For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/8j1aht 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 DUBLIN, March 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Platinum Mining Market Analysis including Reserves, Production, Operating, Developing and Exploration Assets, Demand Drivers, Key Players and Forecasts, 2021-2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. Global platinum production declined by 5.7% to 5.8 million ounces (Moz) in 2022. The report provides a comprehensive coverage on the global platinum industry. It provides historical and forecast data on platinum production by country, production by company, consumption, reserves by country, world platinum prices and platinum trade. The report also includes a demand drivers section providing information on factors that are affecting the global platinum industry. It further profiles major platinum producers, information on the major active, planned and exploration projects by region. South Africa was the major contributor to global platinum production decline in 2022, followed by the US. Combined output from these two countries fell from 4.7Moz in 2021 to 4.4Moz in 2022. However, this was partially offset by increases in production from Russia, Zimbabwe, and Canada, where total production rose from 1,295.9koz in 2021 to 1,317.3koz in 2022. The report contains an overview of the global platinum mining industry including key demand driving factors affecting the global platinum mining industry. It provides detailed information on reserves, reserves by country, production, production by country, production by company, major operating mines, competitive landscape, major exploration and development projects. Reasons to Buy To gain an understanding of the global platinum mining industry, relevant driving factors To understand historical and forecast trend on global platinum production To identify key players in the global platinum mining industry To identify major active, exploration and development projects by region A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes Anglo American Platinum Ltd Sibanye Stillwater Ltd Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd MMC Norilsk Nickel Key Topics Covered: 1. Executive Summary 2. Reserves, Production and Prices 2.1 Global Platinum Reserves by Country 2.2 Platinum Production 2.3 Production by Company 2.4 Platinum Prices 3. Platinum Assets 3.1 Active Mines 3.2 Development Projects 3.3 Exploration Projects 4. Demand and Trade 4.1 Platinum Consumption 4.2 Demand from the Automobile Industry 4.3 Demand from the Jewelry Sector 4.4 Global Platinum Trade 5. Major Platinum Producers 5.1 Anglo American Platinum Ltd 5.2 Sibanye Stillwater Ltd. 5.3 Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd 5.4 MMC Norilsk Nickel 6. Appendix For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/dmpayc Source: GlobalData 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 PEM electrolyzer market expected to benefit from the growing demand for green hydrogen, which would promote market expansion FREMONT, Calif., March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- BIS Research, the global leader in providing market intelligence on deep technologies, has released its latest study titled PEM Electrolyzer Market - A Global and Regional Analysis. According to this study, the global proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer market was valued at $95.9 million in 2021 and is projected to reach $2.30 billion by 2031. The following factors are responsible for the increase in demand for the PEM electrolyzer: rising adoption of fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) prevailing research and development initiatives for technological advancements in PEM electrolyzer increasing demand for green hydrogen The detailed study is a compilation of 90 market data tables and 15 figures spread through 278 pages. Check Out the Detailed Table of Content Here a https://bisresearch.com/requestsample?id=1453&type=toc Analyst's Take on the Market Projection According to Sachin Singh, Lead Analyst, BIS Research, "PEM electrolysis has gained growth in recent years due to a growing emphasis on environmentally friendly and low-carbon technology. PEM electrolysis is gaining popularity among companies as there is zero carbon emission, and it uses electricity as a feedstock. This electricity is generated by renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, which are abundant and produce no greenhouse gases. Furthermore, due to a number of technical and performance advancements in proton exchange membrane electrolyzer, the market is anticipated to expand quickly during the forecast period." Request a FREE Sample of This Report Here a https://bisresearch.com/requestsample?id=1453&type=download Platinum Expected to be the Leading Material Type in the PEM Electrolyzer Market The study by BIS Research suggests that among different material types, platinum is anticipated to lead the market during the forecast period 2022- 2031. Platinum group metal (PGM) catalysts, particularly platinum and iridium, are essential for proton PEM electrolyzer and PEM fuel cells. The uncertainty in the iridium demand outlook is high, reflecting a wide range of possible outcomes for hydrogen producers' growth rates and technological choices. Companies' plan for green hydrogen projects indicates that demand for other PGM, such as platinum and palladium, will skyrocket over the next decade. Meeting just the EU's goals for green hydrogen production could result in PGM demand for electrolyzers being several times higher than the current global supply by 2030. However, as iridium is a scarce material, increasing annual PEM electrolyzer production appears unfeasible. Various organizations and players are working to come up with solutions to solve the issue of iridium scarcity and price. Major Existing Industry Leaders in the PEM Electrolyzer Market The companies profiled have been selected based on input gathered from primary experts and analyzing company coverage, product portfolio, and market penetration. Some of the established names in the market are Plug Power Inc., Nel ASA, Cummins Inc., ITM Power PLC, Hitachi Zosen Corporation, Elogen, Siemens Energy, Ningbo Vet Energy Technology Co., Ltd., and more. Recent Developments in the Global PEM Electrolyzer Market In July 2022 , Plug Power Inc. signed a contract with an international energy company, Irving Oil, to supply a 5-megawatt (MW) containerized proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer system for the production and distribution of hydrogen at its Saint John, New Brunswick refinery in Canada . , Plug Power Inc. signed a contract with an international energy company, Irving Oil, to supply a 5-megawatt (MW) containerized proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer system for the production and distribution of hydrogen at its refinery in . In April 2022 , Ohmium received an investment of around $45 million from one of its investors, Fenice Investment Group. The fund was expected to support the growth of the company and help it to increase the hydrogen manufacturing capacity from 500 MW to 2 GW annually by the end of 2022. , Ohmium received an investment of around from one of its investors, Fenice Investment Group. The fund was expected to support the growth of the company and help it to increase the hydrogen manufacturing capacity from 500 MW to 2 GW annually by the end of 2022. In March 2022 , Elogen received an order of 1 MW proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer from Communaute d'Agglomeration Pau Bearn Pyrenees. Elogen would design and produce this PEM electrolyzer and would deliver it in the first half of 2023 to the Lescar wastewater treatment site. Want to Learn More about the Latest Trends in Advanced Materials? Speak to Our Analysts About BIS Research: BIS Research is a global B2B market intelligence and advisory firm focusing on deep technology and related emerging trends, which can disrupt the market dynamics in the near future. We publish more than 200 market intelligence studies annually that focus on several deep technology verticals. Our strategic market analysis emphasizes on market estimations, technology analysis, emerging high-growth applications, deeply segmented granular country-level market data, and other important market parameters useful in the strategic decision-making for senior management. BIS Research offers syndicate as well as custom studies and expert consultations to firms, providing them with specific and actionable insights on novel technology markets, business models, and competitive landscapes. Contact: Head of Marketing Email: [email protected] +1-510-404-8135 BIS Research Inc. 39111 PASEO PADRE PKWY STE 313, FREMONT, CA 94538-1686 Visit our Blog @ https://bisresearch.com/news Get Expert Insights @ https://community.insightmonk.com Connect with us on LinkedIn @ https://www.linkedin.com/company/bis-research Connect with us on [email protected] https://twitter.com/BISResearch Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/495163/BIS_Research_Logo.jpg SOURCE BIS Research DUBLIN, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Smart in Vitro Diagnostics - Artificial Intelligence for IVD Markets by Application, by Technology and by User with Executive and Consultant Guides" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. This report provides data that analysts and planners can use. Hundreds of pages of information including a complete list of United States Medicare Fee Payment Schedules to help understand the new pricing for nucleic acid based tests. Will Smart Diagnostics replace the physician? Will the power of Artificial Intelligence provide better diagnostics? The market is moving out of a research mode into the clinic. The market is exploding as physicians use all the information they can get to battle disease. While Pharmaceutical Companies see the potential to make nearly any therapy viable. Find out how this new approach to diagnostics will change medical care forever. Learn all about how players are jockeying for position in a market that is being created from scratch. And some players are pulling way out in front and expanding globally. It is a dynamic market situation with enormous opportunity where the right diagnostic with the right support can command premium pricing. And the science is developing at the same time creating new opportunities with regularity. And the cost of many diagnostics continues to fall. Forecast demand for new testing regimes or technologies. Make research investment decisions. Assistance in providing specific growth and market size estimates for new technology tests is normally provided without additional charges. Existing laboratories and hospitals can use the information directly to forecast and plan for clinical facilities growth. Again, assistance in using the information is normally provided without additional charges. The report includes detailed breakouts for 18 Countries and 4 Regions. A detailed breakout for any country in the world is available to purchasers of the report. Key Topics Covered: Recent Developments Vesale Bioscience to Develop AI Phage Therapy Diagnostic Platform Caris Life Sciences To Use AI and Machine Learning Numares Health To Develop AI for "Metabolite Constellations" Sepsis Testing Startup DeepUll to Use AI for Medical Decisions Viome Life Sciences Raises $67M in Series C Financing For AI Cancer Dx in Series C Financing For AI Cancer Dx ADM Diagnostics Wins Grant for Brain Injury Test Development Paige to Develop New AI-based Pathology Test Aiforia Gains CE-IVD Mark for AI-Powered Histopathology Genetic Profiling May Identify Patients Who Do Not Need Radiation Therapy Thermo Fisher Introduces Homologous Score for Cancer Profiling Genomic Test IDs Cancer Cells Early Caris Life Sciences to Offer Molecular Profiling Services Geneseeq to Build Lab for Cancer Profiling in Brazil Genetron Health Adds New Assays to Pipeline Illumina Obtains CE-IVD Marking for TSO Comprehensive Assay Guardant Health Receives Medicare Coverage for Guardant360 TissueNextT Test Labcorp, CCORN Partner for Precision Oncology Dante Labs Acquires Cambridge Cancer Genomics Celemics, Strand Partner on Integrated Platform for NGS Analysis Myriad Genetics Recalibrates Breast Cancer Panel for All Ancestries Burning Rock Revenues Rise Caris Life Sciences to Expand Liquid Biopsy Testing OncoDiag Announces Multiplex Test for Bladder Cancer Recurrence Intermountain and Myriad Combine Test Offering Illumina, Geneseeq to Offer Cancer Testing Kits in China Exact Sciences to Offer End-to-End Cancer Testing Guardant Health Turns to Tumor Tissue Sequencing Tempus Inks Oncology Testing Collaboration With Bayer Biocartis Collaborating With GeneproDx, Endpoint Health on Tests for Idylla Platform Wales to Routinely Screen Cancer Patients With Yourgene Elucigene Test to Routinely Screen Cancer Patients With Yourgene Elucigene Test Metastatic Cancer Markers Identified in Clinical WGS Study Stitch Bio Bets on CRISPR Tech Bayer, LifeLabs Launch Free NTRK Genetic Testing Program Foundation Medicine Liquid Biopsy Gets FDA Approval for Multiple Companion Dx Progress, Challenges in Liquid Biopsy Reimbursement Israeli Startup Curesponse Raises $6M Invitae, ArcherDX Merge to Advance Precision Oncology Offerings MD Anderson Precision Oncology Decision Support to Use Philips' Informatics Solution NeoGenomics, Lilly Oncology Partner for Thyroid Cancer Testing Program Germline Results Guides Precision Therapy in Advanced Cancer FDA Clears Cancer Genomic Profiling Kit From Personal Genome Diagnostics ArcherDX, Premier Collaborate to Evaluate Genomic Sequencing Assay for Cancers Labs Reporting Cancer Risk Mutations from Tumor Testing Users Begin Integrating Genomics Data for Clinical Decision Support Fujitsu Improves Efficiency in Cancer Genomic Medicine Market Trends Factors Driving Growth Level of Care Companion Dx Immuno-oncology Liability The Aging Effect Factors Limiting Growth State of knowledge Genetic Blizzard Protocol Resistance Regulation and coverage Instrumentation, Automation and Diagnostic Trends Traditional Automation and Centralization The New Automation, Decentralization and Point Of Care Instruments Key to Market Share Bioinformatics Plays a Role PCR Takes Command Next Generation Sequencing Fuels a Revolution NGS Impact on Pricing Whole Genome Sequencing, A Brave New World Companion Diagnostics Blurs Diagnosis and Treatment Shifting Role of Diagnostics Market Overview Players in a Dynamic Market Academic Research Lab Diagnostic Test Developer Instrumentation Supplier Chemical/Reagent Supplier Pathology Supplier Independent Clinical Laboratory Public National/regional Laboratory Hospital Laboratory Physicians Office Lab (POLS) Audit Body Certification Body Oncogenomics Carcinogenesis Chromosomes, Genes and Epigenetics Chromosomes Genes Epigenetics Cancer Genes Germline vs Somatic Gene Panels, Single Gene Assays and Multiplexing Genomic Profiling The Comprehensive Assay Changing Clinical Role The Cancer Screening Market Opportunity Cancer Management vs. Diagnosis The Role of Risk Assessment Diagnosis Managing Monitoring Phases of Adoption - Looking into The Future Structure of Industry Plays a Part Hospital Testing Share Economies of Scale Hospital vs. Central Lab Physician Office Lab's Physician's and POCT Profiles of Key Players 10x Genomics, Inc. Abbott Laboratories AccuraGen Inc. Adaptive Biotechnologies Aethlon Medical Agilent/Dako Anchor Dx ANGLE plc ARUP Laboratories AVIVA Systems Biology Baylor Miraca Genetics Laboratories Beckman Coulter Diagnostics Becton, Dickinson and Company BGI Genomics Co. Ltd Bioarray Genetics Biocartis Biocept, Inc. Biodesix Inc. BioFluidica BioGenex BioIVT Biolidics Ltd bioMerieux Diagnostics Bioneer Corporation Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc Bio-Reference Laboratories Bio-Techne Bioview Bolidics Boreal Genomics Bristol- Myers Squibb Burning Rock Cardiff Oncology Caris Molecular Diagnostics Castle Biosciences, Inc. Celemics CellMax Life Cepheid (Danaher) Charles River Laboratories Circulogene Clinical Genomics Cytolumina Technologies Corp. Datar Cancer Genetics Limited Diagnologix LLC Diasorin S.p.A. Element Biosciences Enzo Biochem Epic Sciences Epigenomics AG Eurofins Scientific Exact Sciences Fabric Genomics Fluxion Biosciences Freenome FUJIFILM Wako Diagnostics GeneFirst Ltd. Genetron Holdings GenomOncology GILUPI Nanomedizin Guardant Health HansaBiomed HeiScreen Helomics HTG Molecular Diagnostics iCellate ICON PLC Illumina Incell Dx Inivata Integrated Diagnostics Invitae Corporation Invivogen Invivoscribe Janssen Diagnostics Lunglife AI Inc MDNA Life SCIENCES, Inc. MDx Health Menarini Silicon Biosystems Mesa Laboratories, Inc. Millipore Sigma Miltenyi Biotec miR Scientific Myriad Genetics/Myriad RBM NantHealth, Inc. Natera NeoGenomics NGeneBio Novogene Bioinformatics Technology Co., Ltd. Oncocyte OncoDNA Ortho Clinical Diagnostics Oxford Nanopore Technologies Panagene Perkin Elmer Personal Genome Diagnostics Personalis Precipio Precision Medicine Group PrecisionMed Promega Qiagen Rarecells SAS RareCyte Roche Molecular Diagnostics Screencell Sense Biodetection Siemens Healthineers simfo GmbH Singlera Genomics Inc. Singular Genomics Singulomics SkylineDx Standard BioTools Stilla Technologies Sysmex Inostics Tempus Labs, Inc. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. Todos Medical Ultima Genomics Variantyx Veracyte Volition Vortex Biosciences Vyant Bio Singular Genomics SkylineDx Standard BioTools Sure Genomics, Inc. Sysmex Sysmex Inostics Tempus Labs, Inc. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. Ultima Genomics Variantyx Volition For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/a7dcxm-in-vitro?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, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Thermoplastic Polyurethane Market Size, Segments, Outlook, and Revenue Forecast 2022-2028 by Raw Material, Type, Application, End-User, and Region" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. Thermoplastic Polyurethane is an elastomer that can be processed by using various forms of conventional methods such as injection molding, extrusion, and compression molding. It has the characteristics of both plastic and rubber and thus exhibits properties like durability, flexibility as well as excellent tensile strength. TPU is a type of block copolymer consisting of alternating sequences of hard and soft segments that makes it ideal to be used for applications such as footwear, wire and cable, film and sheet, compounding, adhesives, and specialty molded parts. According to this analysis, the Global Thermoplastic Polyurethane Market was valued at ~US$ 2 billion in 2017. It is estimated to be ~US$ 3 billion in 2022 and is forecasted to reach a market size of ~US$ 5 billion, growing at a CAGR of ~7% owing to the increasing adoption of TPU in the footwear and automotive sectors. Rising demand for flexible and biodegradable plastics in the footwear industry is one of the key factors responsible for the growth of the market. The widespread adoption of thermoplastic polyurethane by footwear manufacturers for producing soles for safety shoes due to their abrasion resistance, slip, and aesthetic properties accelerate the market growth. Furthermore, the rise in the expansion of the automotive industry across the globe acts as one of the major factors driving the growth of the thermoplastic polyurethane market. The product is widely utilized in automobile components, such as seats, doors, vehicle wiring, attachment clips, and airbags, among others. The major challenge faced by the market is the volatile prices of the raw materials used for making Thermoplastic Polyurethane. The high cost associated with TPU when compared to other conventional materials obstructs market growth. Scope of the Report The Thermoplastic Polyurethane Market is segmented by Raw Material, Type, Application, End-User, and Region. In addition, the report also covers the market size for each of the four regions' Thermoplastic Polyurethane Market. The revenue used to size and forecast the market for each segment is US$ billion. Raw Material Polyols Diisocyanate Diols Type Polyester Polyether Polycaprolactone Application Extruded Products Injection Molded Products Adhesives Others End-User Footwear Automotive Construction Aerospace Energy & Power Medical Others By Region North America ( USA , Canada , Mexico ) ( , , ) Europe ( Germany , UK, France , Spain , Italy ) ( , UK, , , ) Asia-Pacific ( China , Japan , South Korea , India , Indonesia , Australia ) ( , , , , , ) LAMEA ( Latin America , Middle East , Africa ) Key Players 3M BASF SE Coim Group Covestro AG Huntsman International LLC KURARAY CO., Ltd Tosoh Corporation Sumei Chemical Co. Ltd The Lubrizol Corporation Epaflex Polyurethanes Spa Key Trends by Market Segment By Raw Material: The diisocyanates segment held the largest market share in the global thermoplastic polyurethane market in 2021, owing to its wide applications in various end-use industries such as automotive, building & construction, healthcare, and aerospace Diisocyanates are a family of versatile building blocks that are used in the development of multiple polyurethane products such as bike helmets, vehicle impact-absorbing foam panels, and others Diisocyanates are reacted with natural oil polyols derived from vegetable oils for the development of polyurethane products containing functional diversification and renewable resource content. By Type: The Polyester segment held the largest market share in the global thermoplastic polyurethane market in 2021, owing to its wide area of application in the engineering and construction sectors. Polyester-based thermoplastic polyurethane provides resistance to oils, fuels, and water, due to which it is widely used in the building and construction industry. Polycaprolactone segment is expected to grow with the highest CAGR, owing to its abrasion resistance with inherent toughness. The product is widely used in engineering applications due to its antimicrobial and mechanical properties. By Application: The extruded products segment held the largest market share in the global thermoplastic polyurethane market in 2021, as the extrusion process enhances the properties of TPU material and makes it suitable to be used in end-use industries. TPU is a melt-processable and highly elastic thermoplastic elastomer. It is transparent and easily colored. Therefore, it is widely used for extruded products application. TPU can be compounded with many materials by using the process of extrusion in order to enhance its properties, such as increased strength, fuel and oil resistance, and abrasion resistance. Compounded TPUs are used in a wide range of applications where superior structural integrity is required, such as for hoses and tubes, conveyor belts, electrical wires, medical disposables, and Office Automation equipment connectors. By End-User: The footwear segment held the largest market share in the global thermoplastic polyurethane market in 2021, owing to the rising demand for comfortable and durable shoes. The Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU) sole is highly resistant to abrasion, and has a longer life and better resilience property than rubber soles, which makes this material most preferred among other polymers. The automotive segment is expected to grow with the highest CAGR, owing to its wide applications in instrument panels, seats, airbags, doors, attachment clips, vehicle wiring, and anti-vibration panels. By Region: Asia Pacificheld the largest market share among all other regions within the Global Thermoplastic Polyurethane Market in 2021, due to the rapid infrastructure development and increasing demand for TPU as an insulator in the construction industry. The increasing demand from automotive, textile, and footwear manufacturers, thermoplastic polyurethane adhesives, and sealants are expected to witness growth in the region. Rapid growth of the construction industry mainly in China and India on account of growing disposable income in the nation is expected to be a key factor driving the demand for polyurethane products in the region. According to data by OICA, the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers, automotive vehicle production in India increased by 30% in 2021 compared to 2020. The country registered a total production of 43,99,112 units in 2021, which helped in the growth of the market. Recent Developments Related to Major Players and Organizations In August 2022 , BASF SE launched its new invisible thermoplastic polyurethane paint protection film (PPF), which provides multifaceted and long-lasting protection for automotive coatings , BASF SE launched its new invisible thermoplastic polyurethane paint protection film (PPF), which provides multifaceted and long-lasting protection for automotive coatings In September 2021 , KPX Chemical, a Korean polyurethane manufacturer, established a joint venture with Huntsman Corporation, KPX HUNTSMAN POLYURETHANES AUTOMOTIVE CO. LTD (KHPUA). The joint venture created innovative polyurethane system solutions for Korean automakers Conclusion The Global Thermoplastic Polyurethane Market witnessed slow growth in the year 2020, owing to the restricted supply chain worldwide. Due to the scarcity of raw materials, thermoplastic polyurethane manufacturing and processing were closed. Footwear is the largest industry for the TPU market that faced a massive decline worldwide during the pandemic period. The market condition is expected to get even better in 2022, owing to the consumers' preference for health and hygiene. The market is primarily driven by the increasing usage of Thermoplastic Polyurethane in footwear, automotive, construction, and other industries. Though the market is highly competitive with over ~300 participants, country-niche players control the dominant share in the market and regional players also hold a significant share. Key Topics Covered: 1. Executive Summary 2. Market Overview and Key Trends Impacting Growth 3. Global - Market Segmentation by Raw Material, Historic Growth, Outlook & Forecasts 4. Global - Market Segmentation by Type, Historic Growth, Outlook & Forecasts 5. Global - Market Segmentation by Application, Historic Growth, Outlook & Forecasts 6. Global - Market Segmentation by End-User, Historic Growth, Outlook & Forecasts 7. Industry/Competition Analysis - Competitive Landscape 8. Key Competitor Profiles (Company Overview, Product Offerings, and Strengths & Weaknesses Analysis) 9. Geographic Analysis & Major Countries Market Historic Growth, Outlook, and Forecasts A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes 3M BASF SE Coim Group Covestro AG Huntsman International LLC KURARAY CO., LTD. Tosoh Corporation Sumei Chemical Co. Ltd The Lubrizol Corporation Epaflex Polyurethanes Spa Omni Technologies Foster Polymer Distribution H.B. Fuller Company Kent Elastomer Products SHANDONG INOV POLYURETHANE CO., LTD. For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/7yuv7c 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 [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 BEIJING, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Discussion of Chinese modernization has culminated during this year's ongoing two sessions, with foreign envoys and experts hailing that Chinese modernization has shed light on an alternative development path for nations. The Chinese path of realizing modernization, centering on independence, peace and the public good, provides the developing world an alternative to other options. Moreover, those foreign envoys and experts see hope as China embarks on a new journey and a new stage for development, as the world's second-biggest economy responded to global expectations and reiterated its pledge to work for global development and peace, which has injected much needed vitality to a global economy that is wrecked by COVID-19 and other factors. Each town has to make its way, but without doubt, the concept of "Characteristics of the Chinese Path to Modernization" helps many of us to clarify priorities and objectives. Modernization has to reach all social sectors, provide common prosperity, allow personal and collective development, and do so in harmony with humanity and the planet we live on, in a sustainable and peaceful manner. In this regard, I want to highlight the Global Development Initiative and Global Security Initiative, presented by China within the framework of the United Nations, Argentine Ambassador to China Sabino Vaca Narvaja told the Global Times. Former ambassador of Venezuela to Cuba Adan Chavez told media that his country needs to learn from China about how to achieve great victories like poverty alleviation, one of the greatest achievements China has made. Chinese modernization has spurred discussions at home and abroad since the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in October 2022. During this year's two sessions, the Chinese modernization blueprint will be fleshed out with specific targets to strive for. As this year marks the first year of this new journey, the new measures that will be unveiled at the two sessions not only matter to China, but to other countries as well. According to this year's Government Work Report, China will make solid progress in advancing Chinese modernization. "We should, with a focus on key industrial chains in the manufacturing sector, pool quality resources and make concerted efforts to achieve breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields," it said. In the eyes of Martin Jacques, a visiting professor at the Institute of Modern International Relations at Tsinghua University and a senior fellow at the China Institute, Fudan University, instead of advocating the jungle law of nation-states, where the writ of the strongest reigns supreme, "China propounds new forms of global collaboration," as exemplified by the Belt and Road Initiative and the idea of a community with a shared future for mankind, as the way of the future. Achieving modernization in a country with a population of more than 1.4 billion will be an unprecedented feat in human history, and Chinese modernization offers solutions to many challenges facing human development, and dispels the myth that modernization is Westernization, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said during a press conference on Tuesday on the sidelines of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress. Qin detailed five features of Chinese modernization, which are independence, putting people first, peaceful development, openness and inclusiveness and working hard in unity. Chinese modernization is to let everyone usher in such process, Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times. Chinese modernization has broken a myth, said Li, noting that the Chinese path proves that modernization can be achieved via a peaceful model, and offers an alternative for other developing countries. Eyeing China's development This year's two sessions, which will lay out the roadmap for implementing the plans of the 20th National Congress of the CPC and the first since China triumphed over COVID-19, has attracted the world's attention. People from many countries say China's development is of great importance to the world and its development experience is worth learning. They believe this year's two sessions herald China's entry to a new development stage that will inject the world with much needed vitality for a global recovery. "I attended the opening ceremonies of this year's two sessions - the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the 14th National People's Congress (NPC). This is my first time attending the meetings of such important and top-level legislature and advisory bodies of China respectively. They are decisive for the future political development of China," Nepali Ambassador to China Bishnu Pukar Shrestha told the Global Times. The ongoing sessions hold special importance to the Chinese and the world as they are being held for the first time after China's decisive victory over COVID-19. Therefore, all eyes are now on the two sessions, with many expecting that the sessions will come up with good news for the pandemic and wars-stricken world, Musundali Bhuiyan, a Bangladeshi journalist told the Global Times. As a committed and responsible global partner, China has also responded to global expectations and reiterated its pledge to work for global development and peace. In the Government Work Report presented to the sessions, China announced its readiness to work with the international community to put into action the Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative and promote the shared values of humanity, said Bhuiyan. More importantly, Bhuiyan said, the report mentioned that China will remain firm in pursuing a strategy of opening up for mutual benefits, making the world more optimistic about a better future. Bangladesh is not an exception in this case. As a strategic partner of China, Bangladesh can also benefit from the decisions to be taken in the sessions. SOURCE Global Times BEIJING, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Thousands of national lawmakers and policy advisors are already halfway through this year's two sessions - an important opportunity for the world to understand the whole-process people's democracy, which is fundamentally different from Western-style democracy, often characterized by electoral politics. Some deputies to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) have refuted "rubber stamp" claims made by some Western media and observers about the main annual political gathering, saying Chinese democracy is high quality democracy that leads to concrete results, making people's lives better and the country stronger. On Thursday, NPC deputies held group meetings to deliberate the work reports of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate. They also held meetings to deliberate the draft decision on the plan for the reform of State Council institutions, holding discussions and consultations on candidates for the president and vice president of the People's Republic of China (PRC), chairperson of the Central Military Commission of the PRC, as well as chairperson, vice chairpersons, and secretary-general of the NPC Standing Committee. The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) session also held group meetings on Thursday to deliberate draft resolutions and reports, draft election methods and draft candidate lists. They recommended and elected scrutineers and prepared for the elections. The NPC and CPPCC are an important platform to showcase the whole-process people's democracy, reflecting how much top Chinese lawmakers and policy advisors care about people's livelihoods by making efforts to turn people's expectations into reality, some experts said. The whole-process people's democracy is not just a narrowly-defined democracy with periodic voting rights, but a combination of electoral and consultative democracy including elections, consultations, decision-making and oversight, which covers economic, political, cultural, social and ecological sectors, they noted. Country run by the people Li Yan, President & CEO of Qilu Pharmaceutical Group, has submitted more than 60 motions in the past six years while serving as an NPC deputy. Most of her motions are related to social and livelihood issues such as adolescent education and healthy growth, public health services and environmental protection, Li told the Global Times on Thursday. "As a business manager, I have very little spare energy. It is very challenging for me to carry out long-term special research on a certain issue. However, I fully combine fulfilling the responsibility of being an NPC deputy with my work, and give full play to our group's resource advantages," Li said. For example, Li said she often deals with medical experts and participates in important national academic conferences related to medicine and pharmacy. While communicating with professionals, she will learn about many medical and health issues and naturally find answers to these issues during following work and communication, forming a wealth of advice materials for the NPC. "There are more than 36,000 employees across the country in our group. I also pay attention to the problems they face in work and life," Li said. The three motions Li brought to this year's two sessions focus on strengthening scientific literacy education for primary school students, guiding minors to use the internet sensibly, and strengthening treatment for maternal depression. The inspiration for these three suggestions came from the female employees of the Qilu group and were eventually formed after supplementary research on the social level, according to Li. As the top legislature, the ongoing 14th NPC brings together 2,977 deputies from an array of professions and backgrounds. Among them, 442 are from ethnic minority groups, accounting for 14.85 percent of the total and cover every one of the 55 ethnic minority groups, the latest official figures showed. Official data also showed that in 2022, offices and departments under China's State Council handled 8,721 suggestions from NPC deputies and 5,865 proposals submitted by the CPPCC National Committee members, accounting for 94.8 percent and 95 percent of the total respectively. Around 4,100 motions and proposals were adopted, which were turned into 2,100 policies and measures. Roy Chu Lap-wai, a Hong Kong deputy to the 14th NPC, formerly served as district councilor in Hong Kong, believes that the whole-process people's democracy is people-oriented and pays close attention to people's expectations. "I have been engaged in grassroots work in Hong Kong for a long time, contacting people with different social backgrounds and working together to solve various social problems. After being elected as a deputy to the NPC, I continue listening to the opinions of the public in Hong Kong about the country's development," Chu said. Living in Hong Kong, an international metropolis, Chu and other deputies from Hong Kong have a deep understanding of the country's whole-process people's democracy, particularly when it's compared with Western-style democracy. "The biggest difference between Western-style democracy and China's whole-process people's democracy is that the West focuses on electoral democracy and tests democracy through checks and balances and referenda, which does not necessarily solve social issues," Chu said, noting that in order to win elections, politicians use "appealing slogans" to woo voters and even stage political farces. Defying Western-style democracy In the words of Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, "Whether a country is democratic or not depends on whether its people are truly the masters of the country. It depends on whether the people have the right to vote, and more importantly, the right to participate." Good democracy must achieve good governance and promote the country's development, Zhang Shuhua, director of the institute of political sciences at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Thursday. Deputies are an important bond for people's democracy to be practiced throughout the whole process. By performing their duties, deputies promptly report the most direct and realistic problems of the public to the CPC committees and governmental departments, and give positive guidance and explanation for the problems that are temporarily difficult to solve while putting forward proposals and suggestions, Zhang said. China has increased the number of local legislative outreach offices to 32, and now covers all provinces, autonomous regions, and cities directly under the central government, according to a report on the work of the Standing Committee of the NPC delivered at the first session of the 14th NPC on Tuesday. The country has also made progress on the Digital NPC project, in which a unified national platform for recording and reviewing normative documents has been developed and a platform for online submission of suggestions for review from citizens and organizations has been opened, according to the report. In some countries with so-called liberal democracy, democracy is often short-term and intermittent, and people only have the right to vote but lack daily channels to express their interests, Zhang noted. "Democracy is a common value for all mankind, but different countries have their own paths to realizing democracy. It's time to get rid of the myth of Western-style democracy," the expert said. SOURCE Global Times BEIJING, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Government Work Report delivered by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Sunday has drawn attention worldwide after foreign media noticed the report mentioned "stability" dozens of times and focused on realizing feasible economic development targets amid increasing uncertainties and crises around the globe. Chinese experts said on Monday that the Government Work Report shows that the Chinese government has confidence to have a "good beginning" this year for its new journey after the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2022, and it is prepared to take the lead in the global economic recovery. As a major world economy with high political certainty as well as great economic resilience and potential, China will maintain a stable environment for people and capital around the globe who are seeking stability and certainty in a turbulent world. Stability and development The world in 2023 could still face many uncertainties. Apart from the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict that could further worsen the security and economic situation of not only Europe but also the world, experts said the potential sovereign default of the US is also a huge risk for global recovery, encouraging China to be more pragmatic on setting targets. But in Chinese culture, a crisis always consists of danger and opportunity, analysts said, adding the Government Work Report shows that China has confidence to seize opportunities in a turbulent world to realize its own goals and inject hope and momentum into the global recovery. China set its annual GDP growth target at around 5 percent for 2023, as the country embarked on a rapid economic recovery after a decisive victory against COVID-19, with emphasis on ensuring economic stability and high-quality growth, sustainable development amid global economic volatility and geopolitical uncertainty. Shen Yi, a professor of politics and international relations at Fudan University, told the Global Times on Monday that "the Government Work Report has presented a thorough response to the demands from the people for development, employment, education, public health, environmental protection and so on, as well as for national security and national reunification. It underlined a series of tasks and presented visions based on the current domestic and international situations." Many other major world economies are on the brink of recession or already suffer from that, Shen said. According to the Financial Times on February 16, the US government risks an unprecedented default as soon as July if the debt ceiling is not raised, the Congressional Budget Office warned amid a growing war of words between the White House and congressional Republicans over lifting the borrowing limit. Seeking stability does not contradict embracing changes, Shen said, but China wants to make sure the world will change in a constructive way, so the international order and system can reform and be more reasonable and equal. "If China can successfully pass the test of the current turbulence and realize recovery and high-quality development, then it would show how a responsible major power could take a lead in a changing world for a positive direction," Shen said. Be prepared for uncertainties Seeking stability and development does not mean China will tolerate offensives and aggressions that harm its sovereignty and national security, experts noted. In the Government Work Report, Premier Li said that the central government has implemented the Party's overall policy for the new era on resolving the Taiwan question and resolutely fought against separatism and countered interference, pledging to continue efforts to promote the peaceful development of cross-Straits relations. Tian Feilong, a Hong Kong-Macao-Taiwan affairs expert at Beihang University in Beijing, told the Global Times on Monday that the report shows that China has got a "tool box" to handle the complicated Taiwan question with both "the soft hand" to promote integration and exchanges with peaceful measures, and "the iron fist" to fight separatism. "In the future, China will firmly push the peaceful reunification process based on its overall policy for the new era on resolving the Taiwan question," so the cross-Straits situation will remain changeable, and the Chinese government will put efforts into making it change in the way that serves the common will and interests of all Chinese people, Tian said. SOURCE Global Times DUBLIN, March 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Vaccine Contract Manufacturing Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2023 - 2028)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The vaccine contract manufacturing market was valued at USD 2,578.87 million in the base year, and it is expected to reach USD 4,824.93 million by the end of the forecast period, registering a CAGR of 11.06%. The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on the vaccine contract manufacturing market. During the outbreak of the pandemic, there was a shortage of vaccines for all diseases due to the lockdown, which hampered the growth of the vaccine contract manufacturing market. However, R&D and clinical trials across the world accelerated to provide a safe and effective vaccine, thus increasing the demand and manufacturing of vaccines, eventually driving the growth of the market. Increased demand for vaccines resulted in increased investment needs for the manufacturing and clinical trial infrastructure. For instance, as per a press release by the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) in October 2021, a new ACT-Accelerator strategy was planned, which called for a USD 23.4 billion international investment to address disparities in the availability of COVID-19 diagnostics, vaccinations, and therapies worldwide. The market has recovered since the manufacturing restrictions were lifted. The vaccine contract manufacturing market is expected to show a stable growth rate during the forecast period. In addition, the advancements in technology and cost benefits, an increase in initiatives favoring vaccinations, favorable patient demographics, and growing vaccinations of newborns and children are actively affecting the growth of the market. The initiatives taken by various governments and health organizations all over the world focusing on providing vaccinations to all people are driving the growth of the vaccine contract manufacturing market in the forecast period. For instance, as per the World Health Organization, in February 2022, Djibouti's Ministry of Health, with technical support from WHO and UNICEF, launched a five-day national polio vaccination campaign to vaccinate approximately 150,000 children in Djibouti. These vaccine drives focusing on preventive measures for various diseases are likely to drive the growth of the market in the forecast period. Furthermore, technological advancements in vaccine technology have been fueled by the introduction of genetic engineering, vaccine-delivering technology, and proteomics. For instance, according to the article published by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) in March 2021, mRNA technology promises to revolutionize future vaccines and treatments for cancer and infectious diseases. Researchers claim that mRNA can be used to create a variety of vaccines and treatments in less time and at lower costs than traditional methods. Thus, the advantage of new technology like mRNA to create vaccines is expected to drive the market's growth. Additionally, rising strategic initiatives adopted by key players, such as business expansion, partnerships, and acquisitions, are estimated to propel the market's growth. For instance, in March 2022, Bharat Biotech entered into a partnership with the Spanish biopharmaceutical firm, Biofabri for the development, manufacturing, and marketing of a new tuberculosis vaccine. The new TB vaccine, MTBVAC, is being manufactured and developed by Biofabri in close collaboration with the University of Zaragoza, the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), and the Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative (TBVI). Such developments by market players are also boosting the growth of the vaccine contract manufacturing market in the study period. The increase in the necessity of vaccine contract manufacturing around the world is expected to propel the growth of the market studied. However, the increasing cost of vaccines, along with the lack of storage infrastructure, is likely to hinder the growth of the market in the forecast period. Vaccine Contract Manufacturing Market Trends The Inactivated Vaccines Segment is Expected to Hold a Significant Share in the Vaccine Contract Manufacturing Market over the Forecast Period The inactivated vaccines contain whole bacteria or viruses that have been killed or manipulated to prevent replication. As these vaccines do not contain any live bacteria or viruses, they cannot spread the diseases they are intended to prevent, even in those with highly compromised immune systems, which is one of the major advantages of this type of vaccine. These vaccines do not produce or confer immunity as strong as live-attenuated vaccines. Hence, several doses of inactivated vaccines are required over time for better immune response. The high burden of the target diseases, regular demand for these vaccines as a preventive measure, and the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic are expected to significantly impact the segment's growth over the forecast period. In addition, the companies, as well as researchers from academics, are actively involved in the research and development of inactivated vaccine candidates for different indications, some of which are even approved by the health authorities. Hence, due to these factors, the inactivated vaccine segment is expected to grow. For instance, as of April 2022, the World Health Organization has approved ten vaccines against COVID-19, of which three are inactivated types and include CoronaVac (Sinovac), Sinopharm, and COVAXIN (Bharat Biotech). North America is Expected to Hold a Significant Market Share over the Forecast Period The rise in the adoption of highly advanced techniques and systems in vaccine manufacturing and the technological advancements made in vaccine research and development studies is expected to boost the growth of the market in the North American region. The high awareness among the population about the availability of vaccines in the market contributes to the high market growth in the region. According to data published by the American Academy of Pediatrics in March 2022, more than 1 million people in the United States have long-term hepatitis B infections, and people who are infected with hepatitis B as a baby have a 90% chance of developing serious, chronic conditions like liver cancer in their lifetime. Thus, an increase in hepatitis B is expected to increase the demand for vaccines and their manufacturing, thereby driving the growth of the market. Additionally, according to the WHO Updates in July 2022, the United States has been involved in polio-eradication efforts, both as a partner and the second-largest donor to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative and as a supporter of developing-country efforts. Polio funding in the United States is estimated to have been USD 253 million in 2022. Furthermore, in January 2021, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) launched the HPV VAX NOW campaign to increase human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination rates among young adults aged 18-26. Thus, the increasing necessity for vaccine contract manufacturing coupled with increasing investment in the health care department is likely to propel the growth of the market in this region. Market Dynamics Market Drivers Advancements in Technology and Cost Benefits Increase in Initiatives Favoring Vaccinations Favorable Patient Demographics and Growing Vaccinations of Newborns and Children Market Restraints Rising High Costs of Vaccines Lack of Storage Infrastructure and Limitations Associated with Supply Chain Key Topics Covered: 1 INTRODUCTION 2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4 MARKET DYNAMICS 5 MARKET SEGMENTATION (Market Size by Value - USD Million) 5.1 By Vaccine Type 5.1.1 Inactivated Vaccines 5.1.2 Live-attenuated Vaccines 5.1.3 RNA Vaccines 5.1.4 Subunit Vaccines 5.1.5 Toxoid-based Vaccines 5.2 By Process 5.2.1 Downstream 5.2.1.1 Analytical and QC Studies 5.2.1.2 Fill and Finish 5.2.1.3 Packaging 5.2.1.4 Other Downstream Processes 5.2.2 Upstream 5.2.2.1 Bacterial Expression Systems 5.2.2.2 Baculovirus/Insect Expression Systems 5.2.2.3 Mammalian Expression Systems 5.2.2.4 Yeast Expression Systems 5.2.2.5 Other Upstream Processes 5.3 By Scale of Operations 5.3.1 Preclinical 5.3.2 Clinical 5.3.3 Commercial 5.4 By End Use 5.4.1 Human Use 5.4.2 Veterinary 5.5 Geography 6 COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE 7 MARKET OPPORTUNITIES AND FUTURE TRENDS A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes Ajinomoto Bio-Pharma Services Curia Global Catalent Charles River Laboratories International Inc. CJ CheilJedang Corporation (Batavia Biosciences) Emergent BioSolutions Inc. Fujifilm Holdings Corporation ICON PLC IDT Biologika GmbH Lonza Group AG Recipharm AB Gedeon Richter (Richter-Helm BioLogics) For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/1bwnow 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 SOURCE Research and Markets MARRAKECH, Morocco, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Huawei debuted its Smart Railway Perimeter Detection Solution at the 11th UIC World Congress on High-Speed Rail that is taking place in Morocco on March 710, 2023. The tech giant also exhibited its innovative solutions and flagship products for the railway industry. These include the Future Railway Mobile Communication System (FRMCS), data communication network, and optical communication network. Huawei aims to build fully-connected railways, enabling fast, safe, and intelligent industry development, and facilitating digital transformation. Mr. Li Junfeng, CEO of Huawei's Aviation & Rail BU, is delivering an opening speech Mr. Li Junfeng, Vice President of Huawei and CEO of the Aviation & Rail BU delivered an opening speech. He noted that the development of future high-speed railways relies on a wireless communications system with a higher bandwidth to ensure safe train operations. A centralized platform and reliable connectivity will make a digital and green industry a reality. Huawei's LTE-based FRMCS Solution can carry more new services by just upgrading the software. It not only slashes railway project costs, but also meets the requirements of digital railway development. In terms of safety, Huawei is always integrating new technologies into service scenarios. Its Smart Railway Perimeter Detection Solution protects trackside safety around the clock, in any weather. At the Huawei forum, Mr. Gu Yunbo, President of Huawei's Enterprise Optical Business Domain, showcased the Smart Railway Perimeter Detection Solution. He explained that the solution is built on an optical-vision convergence architecture, which enables fiber vibration detection alongside analysis to safeguard railway perimeters with multi-dimensional awareness and high precision. The solution resolves low accuracy issues faced by conventional railway perimeter detection solutions, prevents missed alarms, and delivers few false alarms, ensuring safer and more efficient railway operations. The world is building more high-speed railways and undergoing a digital and intelligent transformation. As such, the railway industry requires network communications with higher bandwidth and lower latency to carry new services. "Huawei's LTE-based FRMCS Solution has a mature ecosystem based on the 3GPP standard and broadband technologies that can enable more intelligent services. Thanks to its wireless experience, Huawei can build high-performance FRMCS networks for customers, thus satisfying railway digital development requirements of railways," said Mr. Liang Jiawei, Wireless Solution Director of Huawei's Aviation & Rail BU. According to Mr. Lv Liang, Transportation Solution Director of Huawei's Data Communication Product Line, Huawei's FRMCS Solution uses innovative IPv6+ technologies to build converged bearer capabilities featuring high reliability, easy deployment, intelligent O&M, and smooth evolution. The solution securely and reliably carries multiple services, such as voice and signaling, while ensuring safe and stable railway operations. As a leading global ICT infrastructure provider, Huawei has been involved in the railway industry for 27 years and is serving more than 150,000 km of railways worldwide. Looking ahead, Huawei will continue working with more customers and ecosystem partners to explore industry standards along with building an ecosystem that complements each other's advantages, driving smart railway development together. SOURCE Huawei HEFEI, China, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The iFLYTEK Research Institute Intelligent Speech Team and Joint Laboratory has been recognized for its groundbreaking work by successfully placing 15 papers in the International Conference on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing 2023 (ICASSP). The ICASSP is the most influential and comprehensive international conference on acoustics, speech, and signal processing, voice technology. The success of iFLYTEK's research teams reinforces iFLYTEK's global reputation as a leader in the AI industry and scientific community. The 15 iFLYTEK papers accepted by the conference propose a wide range of improvements and new approaches to critical technologies including neural speech phase prediction, speech reconstruction from tongue and lip articulation, and incorporating visual information reconstruction into AI progressive learning. The 2023 ICASSP will be the first in-person celebration of the conference since before the outbreak of Covid-19 and will take place on the Greek island of Rhodes. iFLYTEK is proud to participate in the international gathering of experts to advance AI. For more details on each of the 15 iFLYTEK papers please visit: About iFLYTEK iFLYTEK is one of the world's leading artificial intelligence (AI) and speech technology companies. For more information, please visit https://global.iflytek.com/. About ICASSP ICASSP, the International Conference on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing, is an annual flagship conference organized by the IEEE Signal Processing Society. All papers included in its proceedings have been indexed by Ei Compendex. For more information, please visit https://2022.ieeeicassp.org/. SOURCE iFLYTEK ARC'TERYX and Songtsam present the Kawagarbo Series in a five-year strategic partnership to provide the ultimate consumer experience for adventure seekers NEW YORK, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ARC'TERYX, the global design company specializing in technical high-performance apparel and equipment, and Songtsam, the luxury boutique hotel group, jointly held a media sharing session at ARC'TERYX Broadway to unveil the highly anticipated co-branded collection. Born out of a five-year strategic partnership between ARC'TERYX and Songtsam, the collection inherits the shared alpine DNA of the two brands and their vision of delivering the ultimate outdoor exploration experience to consumers. Inspired by the first and highest peak in the Meili Snow Mountain Range, Kawagarbo, the collection's launch highlights the practical initiatives of the two premium brands to advocate for the harmonious co-existence between humans and nature. The session featured Guy Fattal, a well-known outdoor photographer and Florence, the Director of International Sales & Marketing of Songtsam, who shared their insights on the ongoing symbiosis of humans and nature. Official picture of the Kawagarbo Series Photo from the New York media sharing session Photo from the New York media sharing session Personal photo of Guy Fattal Personal photo of Florence The official picture of the clean-up team The official picture of the Road to ARC'TERYX The official picture of the Road to ARC'TERYX "Unexpected situations always occur in every photography project, no matter how much planning and pre-judgment of the route and climate. Through severe cold, strong wind and snowstorm, along steep slopes, cliffs, glaciers and other difficult terrains, ARC'TERYX has always been my most determined alliance", said Guy Fattal, "The co-branding between Songtsam and ARC'TERYX is inspired by the Chinese mountain culture, which is truly unique and monumental for those of us who love mountain climbing." A highlight of the New York media sharing session was the focused presentation of the co-branded Kawagarbo Series. The participants from global media outlets experienced the full range of product of the co-branded collection at ARC'TERYX Broadway in New York while learned the brands' concern over the harmony of man and nature and listened to Guy Fattal and Florence's speech about their own interpretation of the Kawagarbo Series, as well as the stories and prospects behind the two brands' hand in hand. Florence highlighted, "We are excited to inspire and encourage our industry partners to live in harmony with mountains, nature through this global media sharing session of the ARC'TERYX x Songtsam collection." Inspired by the Kawagarbo Peak, the first of the thirteen peaks in the Meili Snow Mountain Range, the co-branded Kawagarbo Series of ARC'TERYX and Songtsam features the rich colors of Oracle Yellow, Daze Yellow, Bordeaux Red, and Kingfisher Blue that reflect the local culture. These hues are beautifully presented on well-known products of ARC'TERYX, including the Beta AR Jacket Men's, Gamma MX Hoody Men's, Aerios 15 Backpack. In addition, the inner left pocket of the Beta AR Jacket Men's is embossed with the collection's exclusive logo that depicts the thirteen peaks of the Meili Snow Mountain, adding unique meaning and imagery to the product. With an in-depth analysis of the cultural imagery that people under the mountain have accumulated over the years, ARC'TERYX builds on its alpine DNA and inherits the brand's outstanding performance, providing consumers with a unique, ultimate outdoor wearing experience. ARC'TERYX has always adhered to its four core values: EVOLVE, COMMIT, LIVE IT, and DO RIGHT, and continues to provide consumers with enduring quality, ingenious design, and craftsmanship to ensure that they are safe when wearing the products while challenging the infinite possibilities of the outdoors. Concern for nature is a relevant concern for all humanity. As a representative of global leading outdoor brands, ARC'TERYX always thinks about how to impact global sustainability positively. The co-branded Kawagarbo Series combines the outdoor alpine story with the local hotel brand, demonstrating their shared value system and mental pursuit. Since 2021, the official announcement of ARC'TERYX ReBIRD project, ARC'TERYX and Songtsam reached a consensus, committed to donate part of revenue to support the operation of a mountain clean-up team initiated by residents. With more people than ever enjoying magnificent views and exploring dangerous peaks, the garbage they leave behind has also increased. The local mountain clean-up team insists on removing this litter from the mountain by utilizing human and mule efforts for the most negligible environmental impact. ARC'TERYX will initiate 'ARC'TERYX mountain clean-up team' and to donate 15 mules to the local mountain clean-up team to support the local residents' action, embodying one of the brand's four core values DO RIGHT. This commitment to harmony between human and natural, and sustainable development can only reach its peak through practical actions that improve the local environment. Since 2021, the ancient mountains and rivers have witnessed the sustainable development and practices of ARC'TERYX around ReBIRD. Since signing the five-year strategic partnership with Songtsam, ARC'TERYX has continued to explore and practice the core spirit of ReBIRD while adhering to its original mission and commitment. People are drawn to experiencing the vastness and the magnificence of nature. ARC'TERYX respects and reveres nature through the ReBIRD sustainability program. The launch of the co-branded collection with Songtsam in New York and the promised donation and support to the local mountain clean-up team is a testament to the shared concern of the benevolent consumers for the sustainability of people and nature. Human beings and nature have long been a community of destiny. ARC'TERYX will continue working with brands that share the same values to connect various communities, explore the ultimate beauty of nature and authenticity, and deliver limitless possibilities. SOURCE ARC'TERYX The Royal Collection - High Luxe, Cut-Crystal Crown cap Filled with Divine and transformative Scents. The Royal Essence collection, is a combination of craftsmanship and science in the world's finest, innovative and most sustainable natural ingredients, giving a feel of power, sophistication and elegance from the very first spray. MIAMI, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Benigna Parfums proudly announced that it was selected to offer its royal essence collection perfumes as part of the 95th famous Hollywood Academy Oscars Award "swag bag" to be given at the 95th Academy Awards events. Benigna's luxury, gender-neutral, environmentally responsible fragrances will be delivered to nominees, winners and presenters in perfectly cut and faceted, gem-adorned specially engineered crystal bottles. Inside the Oscars gift bags is the Royal Essence Collection presented to the Oscars nominees & winners. Benigna Parfums selected to offer its royal essence collection perfumes as part of the 95th famous Hollywood Academy Oscars Award swag bag to be given at the 95th Academy Awards events. Benigna Parfums selected to offer its royal essence collection perfumes as part of the 95th famous Hollywood Academy Oscars Award swag bag to be given at the 95th Academy Awards events. The legendary "Everyone Wins" Nominee Gift Bags, which have become the most buzzed-about swag in history! This year's top acting and directing nominees including Austin Butler, Colin Farrell, Cate Blanchett, Ana de Armas, Michelle Williams, Michelle Yeoh, Judd Hirsch, Angela Bassett, Jamie Lee Curtis, Todd Field and Steven Spielberg will receive the Benigna Parfums Royal Essence fragrances. Emerging from a belief that every individual is imbued with royalty within, and inspired by the history of royalties, Benigna Parfums has masterfully crafted a topnotch fragrance collection 'The Royal Essence Collection' - fittingly finished with a royal crown cap. The fragrance that takes one on an olfactory journey to a realm of royalty, splendor, power, and opulence, reminiscent of Kings and Queens. The collection: Supreme Majesty, Extravagant, Ancient Wisdom, Greatness, Worthiness, Splendor grandeur and Royal Bouquet embodies luxury and royalty, just as their names. The Royal Collection is presented in diamond shaped bottles and topped with distinct jewelry-crafted, hand-cut crystal crown caps embellished with Ruby and Emerald Stones, adorned with Swarovski crystals circling the 24-karat gold-plated neck. Benigna Parfums Charity work The company sells its signature fragrances at exclusive boutiques and online, while maintaining a solid foundation in charity, contributing a portion of its profits to multiple worthwhile causes and organizations. A percentage of the profits from Benigna Parfums goes to BeEagle Foundation, a non-profit STEM organization dedicated to inspiring young girls around the world. Benigna is also currently working on an exclusive $3 million, high-end fragrance to help generate revenue for several other STEM organizations. Follow them @BenignaFoundation For the latest Benigna products and company updates, along with exclusive views of the products used in the upcoming Oscar swag bags, follow Benigna on social media: @benignaparfums, #Benigna, #BenignaParfums, #LuxuryFragrance, #RoyalEssence, #luxury, #LuxuryPerfumes, #Fragrance, #Perfume, #SmellsLikeAnOscarWinner About Benigna Parfums Based in Miami, Benigna Parfums is an inspirational luxury fragrance brand that produces exquisitely composed gender-neutral and transformative fragrances to inspire joy, harmony, and appeal for those who want a luxurious, elegant sensory experience. A brand known for its aesthetically pleasing visual appearance offering gorgeous cut-crystal and refillable bottles filled with invigorating, luxurious, impeccably formulated elixirs Benigna is pure elegance and beauty distilled into fragrance. Learn more at: www.BenignaParfums.com. Media Contact: Beatriz Claire 305.777.2200 [email protected] SOURCE Benigna Parfums ANTAKYA, Turkey , March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A team of American, Polish and British rescuers who worked together to save animals in Ukraine is now rescuing animals in Turkey after the devastating earthquakes. Florida Urgent Rescue (U.S.), Million Hearts Foundation (Poland), and Dogs Life Rescue (U.K.) are on the ground in Turkey working with Turkish animal rescues and shelters, including Tanisan Seversin and Haytap. International rescue team from the U.S., U.K., Poland and Turkey are helping animals impacted by the devastating Kahramanmaras in Turkey and Syria. FUR Executive Director Mike Merrill with an earthquake survivor at the Kurtaran Ev shelter near Istanbul. Kurtaran Ev took in 150 earthquake dogs. Florida Urgent Rescue (FUR) has extensive experience conducting animal rescue missions in hurricanes and natural disasters. Last year, FUR worked with partners around the globe to rescue animals on the ground in Ukraine. Two of these partners are now working with FUR again. Million Hearts Foundation and Dogs Life Rescue have completed numerous rescue missions in Ukraine and Poland. The three groups worked together with Transform a Street Dog, another U.S. based rescue group operating on the ground in Ukraine, transporting animals from Zhytomyr, Ukraine to Poznan, Poland last year. With staggering losses and many people homeless after the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, the main focus is naturally helping people. Animals are in danger, too, though. Shelters are overwhelmed, veterinary care and supplies are limited, animals are scared and hiding in the rubble, and earthquake survivors need veterinary care for their pets. The team is delivering equipment and supplies, trapping strays, assisting with vet care, transporting animals and helping local rescues groups. "Whether it's an earthquake, a hurricane or a war zone, people and animals are in danger," said Mike Merrill, Founder and Executive Director of Florida Urgent Rescue. "It's a different emergency, but many of the problems are the same. We have experience providing assistance in disaster areas, and they desperately need help." About Florida Urgent Rescue Florida Urgent Rescue (FUR) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that has rescued animals in kill shelters and other urgent situations since 2015. In addition to running a foster-based rescue, the FUR Urgent Transport program helps animals in natural disasters and other emergencies. FUR has done disaster relief missions to help animals in danger during 11 hurricanes and natural disasters, and completed multiple rescue missions on the ground in Ukraine. For more information contact: Susan Merrill 1-904-274-3188 [email protected] To Donate: www.floridaurgentrescue.org/donate SOURCE Florida Urgent Rescue Latest expansion serves Texas home and commercial fitness market COTTAGE GROVE, Wis., March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Johnson Fitness & Wellness (JFW), the world's largest specialty fitness retailer and the retail division of Johnson Health Tech, announced today that it is opening 17 retail stores, as well as a commercial sales and service division, throughout Texas. Major metro markets include Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio, Texas. Johnson Fitness & Wellness Logo The 17 new stores will occupy former MyFitnessStore.com retail locations in the communities of Arlington, Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Friendswood, Frisco, Houston, Lewisville, Plano, San Antonio, Southlake, and Spring, Texas. "We are thrilled to enter one of the largest home and commercial fitness markets in the U.S. to expand our premium offerings to new customers," said Bob Zande, President of Johnson Health Tech Retail, Inc. "The experienced team we have assembled share the same passion as Johnson Fitness & Wellness for providing a customized shopping experience, along with a high level of service and support, to our customers." JFW has built a team of more than 60 tenured fitness consultants and operations staff to support the expansion. With an average of 15 years of specialty fitness experience in Texas, they are the perfect addition to the JFW retail team. The Texas leadership team includes Craig Lewin, who will manage the Texas retail division as Executive Vice President, and Lorne LaPorte, Regional Commercial Manager, who will manage the JFW Texas commercial team. Three JFW distribution centers in Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio will support operations, logistics, and customer support for the new markets. "My team and I are excited to join the largest specialty fitness dealer in the U.S.-Johnson Fitness & Wellness," said Craig Lewin, Executive Vice President of Johnson Fitness & Wellness. "As the demand for home and commercial fitness continues to rise throughout Texas, we are proud to be part of the JFW family serving up the best product, experience, and support to help our business grow and support our customers in even more ways than before." The new Texas retail locations increase the number of Johnson Fitness & Wellness stores to 114 in the U.S. and another 364 stores globally. Each store offers a deep assortment of premium fitness and wellness equipment, including Matrix Fitness, Vision Fitness, Horizon Fitness, and other brands. JFW Commercial Fitness provides fitness solutions across hospitality, corporate, medical, multi-housing, gym and fitness centers, and education markets nationwide. About Johnson Fitness & Wellness Johnson Fitness & Wellness (JFW) is the retail division of Johnson Health Tech Retail, Inc. JFW is the world's largest specialty fitness retailer with more than 475 stores worldwide and counting. Each JFW retail outlet offers the strongest assortment of fitness products and brands, including Matrix Fitness, Vision Fitness, and Horizon Fitness. The stores are staffed by experienced fitness consultants who help customers find the perfect product to achieve their fitness goals. Customers have access to a wide assortment of personal fitness and wellness equipment, including treadmills, ellipticals, stationary bikes, home gyms, and accessories. To learn more, visit johnsonfitness.com. About Johnson Health Tech Johnson Health Tech, Inc. (JHT), Taiwan, is among the world's largest and fastest-growing fitness equipment manufacturers and is home to some of the most respected brands in the fitness industry, including Matrix Fitness, Vision Fitness, and Horizon Fitness. The company manufactures a wide assortment of fitness equipment for both commercial and residential use, including treadmills, elliptical trainers, exercise bikes, and strength training equipment. JHT's global management headquarters is based in Taichung, Taiwan, with Johnson Heath Tech Retail, global product development, marketing, and engineering based in Cottage Grove, Wis. Media Contact: Geetha Kerlin (917) 596-0004 [email protected] SOURCE Johnson Fitness & Wellness LOS ANGELES, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- After six (6) years, VSEDC President and CEO, Joe Rouzan III, is retiring and making way for new leadership. Under Joe's tenure, VSEDC has grown exponentially, evolving and expanding to meet the ever-changing needs for economic and small business development solutions in South Los Angeles while increasing funding to these organizations significantly. Joe has created long-term partnerships with Federal, State, County and City Government agencies and major corporations, such as Best Buy, Annenberg, Weingart and 23 Banking Institutions. Prior to joining VSEDC, Joe held the position of Director for the City of Los Angeles Business Source Program, overseeing 9 Business Source Centers throughout Los Angeles with oversight of a $4.5M annual budget. Joe has a combined 29 years of service which includes 13 with the Economic and Workforce Development Department and 16 with the Los Angeles Police Department. The Executive Board has secured the services of an executive search firm to lead the recruiting process and is considering both internal and external candidates. "We appreciate all that Joe has done to bring the organization to where it is today." Kecia Washington, Board Chair. "I have been privileged to serve in the footsteps of my predecessor, Marva Smith Battle-Bey. Her spirit lives within the staff, which has grown from 9 to 33 over the last five years. I'll end by not saying goodbye, but rather see you tomorrow. There is so much more to be done!" Vermont Slauson Economic Development Corporation (VSEDC) is a community-based nonprofit and Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) recognized for decades of technical and entrepreneurial assistance to South LA small businesses, start-ups and entrepreneurs. The service VSEDC provides serves to drive community self-sufficiency, facilitate business growth, access to affordable housing, goods and services, and job creation. VSEDC achieves this through youth education and entrepreneurial projects, CDFI programs, and fundraising efforts. Find out more about VSEDC at www.vsedc.org, Facebook and Twitter. SOURCE Vermont Slauson Economic Development Corporation SANTA ANA, Calif., March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Kind Lending, LLC ("Kind", the "Company"), a national mortgage lending, announced today the formation of its newest joint venture mortgage company, Results Home Mortgage, LLC ("Results Home Mortgage"), in partnership with RE/MAX Results in Minnesota and Wisconsin. "The alliance with Kind Lending, one of the country's fastest growing lenders and loan servicers, will empower Results Home Mortgage to elevate the customer experience in a monumental way," said Lance Smith, President of Results Home Mortgage. "Joining forces with RE/MAX Results brings so much growth potential and I look forward to building a team to rapidly scale the business and bring that growth to fruition." Specializing in residential purchase mortgage lending, Results Home Mortgage, LLC is headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, and will focus on serving borrowers in both Minnesota and Wisconsin. "Our Results Home Mortgage Joint venture brings together superb expertise in Minnesota's real estate markets and the power of a leading national mortgage lender like Kind Lending, to ensure that homebuyers receive unparalleled service throughout the land of 10,000 lakes.," said Glenn Stearns, CEO and Founder of Kind Lending. "We are thrilled to be joining forces with our old friend Glenn Stearns. Our previous collaboration was successful, and we're excited to renew our partnership to create even greater opportunities for the customers of Results Home Mortgage," said Brenda Tushaus, Chief Executive Officer of RE/MAX Results. "As we continue to work together through Kind Lending, we are confident that we can leverage our combined expertise and strengths to drive innovation, growth, and success for our businesses," said Brenda. The launch of Results Home Mortgage, LLC marks a meaningful milestone for Kind Lending's 2nd joint venture partnership, led by a team that has managed many such partnerships at former organizations. Kind Lending launched it's 1st Joint Venture, Success Lending, LLC, in 2021 through a partnership with eXp World Holdings. About Kind Lending Headquartered in Southern California, Kind Lending is the fastest growing residential mortgage banker in the country, earning its distinction as a top 25 lender in the industry. Founded by industry veteran Glenn Stearns in 2019, the Retail, Wholesale, and JV divisions are built on the principles of simplified processes, team empowerment, inclusivity and advancing the Kind Movement. For additional information, visit KindLending.com. Company NMLS #3925 SOURCE Kind Lending, LLC - The Board of Directors resolved not to include the KGC spin-off in the agenda after careful consideration SEOUL, South Korea, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- KT&G Corporation ("KT&G" or the "company") (KRX:033780) today announced that its Board of Directors set the agenda for the 2023 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders ("AGM"), which will be held on March 28, 2023 at the KT&G Human Resources Development Center in Daejeon, South Korea. Agenda items to be discussed at this year's AGM include a) approval of financial statements, b) amendments to the Articles of Incorporation, c) cancellation of treasury shares, d) acquisition of treasury shares, e) appointment of directors and members of the Audit Committee, f) approval of ceiling amount on remuneration for directors, and others. Previously, KT&G Board of Directors has concluded that a corporate spin-off is not subject to a shareholder proposal under the current law, and resolved not to include the KGC spin-off proposal as an agenda item for the 2023 AGM. The shareholder who filed a preliminary injunction regarding the spin-off has also decided to withdraw the application. Meanwhile, KT&G Board of Directors resolved to include an agenda on acquiring treasury shares for the AGM, following the Court's decision to approve the preliminary injunction filed by a shareholder. KT&G Board of Directors has nominated three outside director candidates after a fair and rigorous candidate verification assessment by the Outside Director Candidate Nominating Committee. The candidates are as follows- Kim Myung-chul, a former CFO of Shinhan Financial Group, Koh Yun-sung, a business administration professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, and Lim Il-soon, a former CEO of Homeplus. Kim Myung-chul, a current outside director of KT&G, is an expert in global finances and economics with over 30 years of experience in the global financial markets, including the United States and Hong Kong. Based on his abundant experience and expertise, he has been taking part in making critical decisions for the company. During his incumbency as a KT&G's Board chairman, the candidate utilized his experience as a former CFO of a major bank in South Korea to help the company make strategic investment decisions to strengthen the global business and develop a growth engine. He is expected to continuously play a key role in terms of the company's global risk management and strategic investment decision-making. Koh Yun-sung is also a current outside director of KT&G, serving as the Audit Committee chairman. He has been demonstrating his capabilities as an expert in tax and accounting. The candidate has been at the forefront of enhancing the reliability of the company's financial reporting, expanding global market audits, and strengthening auditing capabilities per KT&G's global business growth. As a tax professional, he will continue to make contributions to the Board's decision-making by providing tax and accounting-related analyses and suggestions that reflect the characteristics of the company's areas of business. Lim Il-soon, a former CEO of Homeplus and a newly nominated candidate for the outside director, is the first female CEO from the retail industry in Korea. The candidate is experienced in leading a large corporation when the retail industry was going through a major transformation. She has developed and executed strategic business plans for the company during the challenging times. Based on such capabilities and experience, Lim is believed to play an essential role in enhancing diversity and expertise of the Board in the fast-changing business environment. Moreover, with the candidate's capabilities as a financial expert, she is expected to make contributions in providing a strategic perspective on the overall business of the company and seizing new business opportunities. KT&G hosted an Investor Day in January 2023, and openly discussed the company's future visions and growth strategies with its shareholders and capital market stakeholders. Currently, the company is faithfully executing on its three-year shareholder return policy worth KRW 2.75 trillion since 2021. In line with this policy, KT&G plans to launch a KRW 0.9 trillion shareholder return program and introduce a semi-annual dividend payout policy. In order to provide the shareholders with a more predictable return profile, the company will remain committed to diversifying and expanding its shareholder return policy by increasing its dividend per share and reviewing the cancellation of treasury shares. KT&G plans to continue closely communicating with all of its stakeholders including the shareholders in regards to KT&G Group's future visions and growth strategies. The company will also put the best efforts to maximize shareholder and corporate values from a long-term perspective. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1961370/KT_G_Logo.jpg SOURCE KT&G FREMONT, Calif., March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Leopard Imaging Inc. (Leopard Imaging), a global leader in intelligent embedded camera design and manufacturing launched its new state-of-the-art camera LI-ADL-ADP-IMX415-MIPI-081H based on Intel Atom processors x7000E Series, Intel Core i3 processors and Intel Processors N-Series. Leopard Imaging Announces Intelligent Embedded Solutions Collaborating with Intel Founded in 2008, Leopard Imaging has supported thousands of well-known companies in advanced imaging solutions with its experienced engineering teams, high-quality manufacturing capabilities in both "Made in U.S.A" and offshore, and quality management certifications such as IATF16949 for the automotive industry and AS9100D for the aerospace industry. Powered by Intel processors, Leopard Imaging has designed, manufactured cameras, developed camera driver software, and provided image tuning for global customers in robotics, edge AI, industrial machine vision, and autonomous machines applications. Intel Atom processors x7000E Series and Intel Core i3 processors [CD17] break new ground for x86 processors in the 6W to 15W base processor power range. Built with the same Efficient-cores and Intel UHD Graphics as 12th Gen Intel Core processors, the series supports Intel Advanced Vector Extensions 2 (Intel AVX2) and Intel Deep Learning Boost (Intel DL Boost) for accelerated deep learning inference and media processing. "We are very excited collaborating with Intel," said Bill Pu, president and co-founder of Leopard Imaging. "We are looking forward to meeting our partners and more high technology companies who are seeking advanced image solutions at Embedded World 2023." The Leopard Imaging U.S. and European team will be at Embedded World March 14 - 16 at Nuremberg Convention Center in Nuremberg, Germany. Please reach out for meetings at the event. About Leopard Imaging Inc. Leopard Imaging is a global leader providing high-definition embedded cameras and AI-based imaging solutionsfocusing on core technologies that improve image processing in automotive vehicles, aerospace vehicles, drones, IoT, and robotics. A partner of Intel, an elite member of the NVIDIA Partner Network, and a member of the AWS Partner Network, Leopard Imaging works closely with the most established sensor companies in producing advanced camera solutions for global customers. With original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and original design manufacturer (ODM) services, Leopard Imaging provides camera solutions for the most established organizations. Company Mission: Intelligent Vision for a Better World. Company Vision: To Be the World Leader in Intelligent Vision. Press Contact Cathy Zhao [email protected] +1 408-263-0988 Intel, the Intel logo, and other Intel marks are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2018925/Leopard_Imaging_Announces_Intelligent_Embedded_Solution.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1428125/Leopard_Imaging_Inc_Logo.jpg SOURCE Leopard Imaging Inc. HEXWAVE seamlessly screens individuals and automatically alerts security operators to potential threats, metallic and non-metallic, on the person. WILMINGTON, Mass., March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Liberty Defense Holdings Ltd. ("Liberty" or the "Company") (TSXV: SCAN) (OTCQB: LDDFF) (FRANKFURT: LD2A), a leading technology provider of AI-based next generation detection solutions for concealed weapons and threats, is pleased to announce it has received a letter of intent from a large corporation to purchase a HEXWAVE system to be deployed at one of its facilities in the US for screening of potential threats. "We continue to see an increase in demand for the HEXWAVE across market verticals looking for enhanced screening capability," says Bill Frain, CEO of Liberty Defense. "We are working with high profile global organizations to incorporate HEXWAVE in the company's security operations to provide next generation security detection and seamless screening." HEXWAVE uses millimeter wave, advanced 3D imaging, and AI to detect all types of concealed metallic and non-metallic weapons and other prohibited items without having to divest common items. The system allows for rapid, automated screening using a high throughput, contactless, walkthrough portal. The AI provides an automatic go/no-go alert to security operators without showing any personal images, maintaining the privacy of individuals, and improving the screening experience. "By using Artificial Intelligence to detect an object concealed on the body whether that be a weapon or a prohibited item we can customize and update the software according to the needs of the customer. This is a great advantage of the HEXWAVE, allowing us to have a solution for different applications and markets," added Frain. For updates and news, please visit the Company website to subscribe to email alerts or follow Liberty Defense on social channels. On Behalf of Liberty Defense Bill Frain CEO & Director About Liberty Defense Liberty Defense ( TSXV: SCAN , OTCQB: LDDFF , FRANKFURT: LD2A ) provides multi-technology security solutions for concealed weapons detection in high volume foot traffic areas and locations requiring enhanced security such as airports, stadiums, schools, and more. Liberty's HEXWAVE product, for which the company has secured an exclusive license from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), as well as a technology transfer agreement for patents related to active 3D radar imaging technology, provides discrete, modular, and scalable protection to provide layered, stand-off detection capability of metallic and non-metallic weapons. Liberty has also recently licensed the millimeter wave-based, High-Definition Advanced Imaging Technology (HD-AIT) body scanner and shoe scanner technologies as part of its technology portfolio. Liberty is committed to protecting communities and preserving peace of mind through superior security detection solutions. Learn more: LibertyDefense.com FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS When used in this press release, the words "estimate", "project", "belief", "anticipate", "intend", "expect", "plan", "predict", "may" or "should" and the negative of these words or such variations thereon or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements and information. Although Liberty believes, in light of the experience of their respective officers and directors, current conditions and expected future developments and other factors that have been considered appropriate, that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements and information in this press release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them because the parties can give no assurance that such statements will prove to be correct. Such statements and information reflect the current view of Liberty. There are risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in those forward-looking statements and information. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause Liberty's actual results to differ materially from those indicated or implied by forward-looking statements and information. Such factors include, among others: currency fluctuations; limited business history of the parties; disruptions or changes in the credit or security markets; results of operation activities and development of projects; project cost overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses; and general development, market and industry conditions. The parties undertake no obligation to comment on analyses, expectations or statements made by third parties in respect of their securities or their respective financial or operating results (as applicable). Liberty cautions that the foregoing list of material factors is not exhaustive. When relying on Liberty's forward-looking statements and information to make decisions, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. Liberty has assumed that the material factors referred to in the previous paragraph will not cause such forward-looking statements and information to differ materially from actual results or events. However, the list of these factors is not exhaustive and is subject to change and there can be no assurance that such assumptions will reflect the actual outcome of such items or factors. The forward-looking information contained in this press release represents the expectations of Liberty as of the date of this press release and, accordingly, are subject to change after such date. Liberty does not undertake to update this information at any particular time except as required in accordance with applicable laws. 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 press release. SOURCE Liberty Defense Holdings Ltd. 100-Foot Waves serve as Epic Inspiration for the Next Generation Functional Brands DENVER, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Liquid Core Gum Company announced the release of two new products which were inspired by its Innovation Lab in Portugal. Located on the famed Nazare coastline, and with a clear line of site to the iconic landmark that overlooks the legendary surf break, the Liquid Core Innovation Lab is the precursor to developing a new factory in Portugal. Liquid Core POWERBALL is a new performance chew with a functional liquid center that will be the first non-gum offering from the company. Liquid Core POWERBALL combines the best features of Hi-Chew, Starburst, Razzles and Liquid Core Gum for a unique chewing experience to deliver functional ingredients that will change the world for the better. Featuring compostable packaging and fully edible chews, a Leave Nothing Behind philosophy is engrained in every aspect of the brand. Also new is Liquid Core IGNITE Gum, offering Cinnamon lovers what they have been asking for. Beyond the flavor, Liquid Core IGNITE pieces are approximately 35% smaller size than the current Liquid Core brands. Liquid Core IGNITE is part of the Energy collection and contains approximately 40 mg of natural caffeine in the liquid center, which releases fast on the first several chews and as with other Liquid Core gums offers improved bioavailability compared with traditional pressed, solid or chiclet-style gums. "These new formats represent monumental changes and progress here at Liquid Core," said Founder & CEO Troy Widgery. "Both Liquid Core POWERBALL and IGNITE were inspired in part by a goal of sustainability. Liquid Core POWERBALL can take longer than two minutes to chew out for most people longer than any chewable we know of delivering an exceptional flavor experience and a more sustainable package," he stated. "With its much smaller size compared to our original Liquid Core brand gums, Liquid Core IGNITE reduces gum waste significantly," Widgery continued. The company has been focused on R&D of the liquid center for more than 15 years, ever since Widgery was told by a gum expert that a sugar-free, xylitol rich liquid center gum was a chemical and physical impossibility. As the developer of multiple patented products, and the inspiration behind the Go Fast! Games, Jetpacks, The Human Slingshot in Dubai and the world's first jet powered flying motorcycle, 'Impossible' is not in the Liquid Core Team's DNA. LiquidCore.Store will soon be accepting pre-orders for Liquid Core IGNITE and Liquid Core POWERBALL. Every Liquid Core gum and now Liquid Core chewable provides a cognitive brain-boost from chewing, including enhanced memory recall and improved concentration. The company cites numerous NIH and other studies, and additional information is available upon request. Recent market studies show the functional gum market accelerating at a CAGR of 4% over the next three years, with incremental growth estimated at more than $2B. About: Liquid Core Gum Company manufactures liquid center functional Performance, Health & Wellness chewing gums and chewables at its factory in Denver, Colorado USA. The company is also developing a European factory and distribution center in Portugal as Liquid Core Portugal, Unipessoal LDA, to service its rapidly expanding European network. Liquid Core POWERBALL was created exclusively for XChew LLC. For more information visit LiquidCore.store. Contact: Liquid Core Gum Company ***@liquidcoregum.com Photos: https://www.prlog.org/12954667 Press release distributed by PRLog SOURCE Liquid Core Gum Company LLC Mach9's new software platform produces 2D and 3D maps from mobile LiDAR 30x faster than existing solutions. To support the growth, the Pittsburgh-based company has upgraded its website, hired key engineering and sales leaders, moved into a new headquarters, and established a presence in Silicon Valley. PITTSBURGH, March 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Mach9, the company building the fastest technologies for geospatial production, launched its first product. The new product leverages AI and computer vision to produce 2D and 3D CAD and GIS engineering deliverables faster than ever before. This product launch comes amidst Mach9's pivot to a software-first business model a move driven by the rising demand for tools that accelerate geospatial data processing and analysis for infrastructure management. "The organizations that own and manage our infrastructure are dependent on high quality maps. New mapping technologies, like mobile LiDAR, have transformative potential for engineering and construction firms, departments of transportation, electric utilities, railroads, and other government entities. However, the high costs and long wait times required to generate mapping deliverables are hampering the broad adoption of these amazing tools," says Alexander Baikovitz, co-founder and CEO. "Our goal at Mach9 is to unlock this potential by creating a geospatial production platform for those that need high quality maps and actionable data fast." The rapidly growing geospatial technology industry has been driven by recent advances in data collection via "reality capture" solutions such as 360 degree cameras, remote sensing on drones, and mobile LiDAR. These systems generate unprecedented three dimensional data on real-world objects such as buildings, roads, highways, railroads and above ground utilities setting a new standard for 2D and 3D maps that is more accurate and extensive than conventional mapping methods. However, these massive data sets, which are often composed of both high resolution imagery and LiDAR point clouds, are highly-complex and require labor and time intensive processes in order to convert them into usable maps and "Digital Twins". Mach9 has been developing advanced mapping and data collection tools since the company's founding in 2021 at Carnegie Mellon University. The company's founders Alexander Baikovitz, Haowen Shi, Michael Mong, and Zachary Sussman met during their time at CMU's world-famous Robotics Institute. Together they realized that their combined experiences developing complex robotic systems for autonomous mapping and mobility could be leveraged to help infrastructure organizations adopt technologies that ultimately improve everyday life. "We found that instead of saving time and money, many infrastructure organizations were burdened with labor-intensive data manipulation," says Zach Sussman, Mach9 co-founder and head of software engineering. "We leveraged our deep understanding of AI and computer vision capabilities to build a software solution that intelligently combines information from cameras, LiDAR, and other sources to create a holistic and comprehensive picture of the world. Ultimately, it is a very elegant solution to a complex problem that drastically reduces the time to create 2D and 3D maps." Geospatial industry experts and leaders that are interested can request a demo of the platform, which is currently in "beta" with a select group of customers, by visiting the company's new website at www.mach9.ai and completing a request form. Coinciding with the product launch, Mach9 is strategically investing in growing the company. They recently moved corporate headquarters to Pittsburgh's Bloomfield neighborhood, centrally located within the thriving Pittsburgh robotics network, and established a presence in Silicon Valley with the hire of Josh Dague, a seasoned software engineer. Baikovitz says, "As we push the bleeding edge of mapping technology, we are planning further expansion later this year by adding more of the industry's most talented engineers and computer vision experts to our team. Mach9 is hiring!". ABOUT MACH9: Mach9 is serving the rapidly growing geospatial industry with the fastest solutions for geospatial production and analysis. Mach9's latest product produces 2D and 3D engineering deliverables from mobile LiDAR 30x faster than current processes. Mach9 is built upon decades of research in computer vision and artificial intelligence from Carnegie Mellon University. The company has raised $2.5mm in venture capital led by Tiger Global, Soma Capital, and Y Combinator. SOURCE Mach9 C$ unless otherwise stated TSX/NYSE/PSE: MFC SEHK: 945 TORONTO, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Manulife Financial Corporation ("MFC") has successfully completed its previously announced offering of $1,200,000,000 principal amount of 5.409% fixed/floating subordinated debentures due March 10, 2033 (the "Debentures"). The Debentures were issued under a prospectus supplement dated March 7, 2023 to MFC's existing short form base shelf prospectus. Details of the offering are set out in the prospectus supplement which is available on the SEDAR website for MFC at www.sedar.com . The Debentures were offered through a syndicate of dealers co-led by RBC Capital Markets, Scotiabank and TD Securities. The Debentures have not been and will not be registered in the United States under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), or the securities laws of any state of the United States and may not be offered, sold or delivered, directly or indirectly, in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, a "U.S. person" (as defined in Regulation S under the Securities Act) absent registration or an applicable exemption from such registration requirements. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy securities in the United States and any public offering of the securities in the United States must be made by means of a prospectus. About Manulife Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services provider, helping people make their decisions easier and lives better. With our global headquarters in Toronto, Canada, we provide financial advice and insurance, operating as Manulife across Canada, Asia, and Europe, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States. Through Manulife Investment Management, the global brand for our Global Wealth and Asset Management segment, we serve individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members worldwide. At the end of 2022, we had more than 40,000 employees, over 116,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving over 34 million customers. We trade as 'MFC' on the Toronto, New York, and the Philippine stock exchanges and under '945' in Hong Kong. Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit manulife.com. SOURCE Manulife Financial Corporation Company adds highly qualified, independent directors as part of refreshment process CHATTANOOGA, Tenn., March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Miller Industries, Inc. (NYSE: MLR) ("Miller Industries" or the "Company") today announced that it has entered into an agreement with Lakeview Investment Group & Trading Company, LLC (collectively with its affiliates, "Lakeview") in connection with the addition of highly qualified and independent members to the Company's Board of Directors (the "Board"). As part of its previously initiated refreshment efforts, and in accordance with its agreement with Lakeview, the Company will appoint Javier Reyes, Jill Sutton, Peter Jackson and Susan Sweeney to the Board. In addition, Deborah L. Whitmire will be completing her current term on the Board and will not stand for re-election at the 2023 annual meeting of stockholders ("2023 Annual Meeting"). Ms. Whitmire will continue in her role as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Treasurer. William G. Miller, executive Chairman of the Board, commented: "I am incredibly proud of the value we have created at this company. Our Board and management team have navigated significant challenges over the past few years while making thoughtful investments that are yielding long-term returns and positioning us for further success. We recognize that our focus on operational excellence and sustainable value creation needs to be supplemented by a fresh focus on corporate governance and stockholder engagement. With that goal in mind, the Board appointed Leigh Walton, a nationally recognized legal expert on corporate governance matters, to chair the Nominating & Governance Committee in August of 2022. The changes announced arise from her Committee's efforts, and those of the Board, to work constructively with stockholders on a refreshed approach and lead us through a productive engagement with Lakeview. The appointments of these new directors are important steps forward in the Company's evolution in this area. I look forward to working with Leigh, the Nominating & Governance Committee, and the full Board on this journey." Leigh Walton, Chair of the Nominating & Governance Committee, added: "I joined this Board in 2020 fully committed to working with the Company on a thoughtful and effective refreshment of its governance structure. Miller Industries has delivered reliable, attractive returns for our shareholders over decades, while maintaining its position as a partner of choice and the leading manufacturer of towing and recovery equipment. As we cleared the challenges of the global pandemic and the resulting supply chain pressures have lessened, we pressed ahead in earnest on our Board refreshment." Ari Levy, Managing Partner of Lakeview, concluded: "We believe long-term value creation begins with strong corporate governance and ongoing engagement with shareholders. Throughout our recent interactions with the Miller Industries Board, we have found common ground on these important points. The Company now has a strengthened foundation from which to capitalize on its unique market positioning and ultimately produce enhanced value for shareholders. We look forward to working closely with the Board and the leadership team moving forward." In addition to the changes outlined above, the Company has made the following changes and commitments, including as part of its agreement with Lakeview: Planning for additional Board refreshment, including plans for at least two of its longer-standing, independent directors to step down from the Board with one director to step down by 2025 and one director to step down by 2026. The Board intends to name a Lead Independent Director in the near-term. The Company intends to request stockholders ratify the appointment of its auditor at the 2023 Annual Meeting. As part of the Cooperation Agreement, Lakeview has agreed to customary standstill provisions and voting commitments during the term of the agreement. The complete Cooperation Agreement will be filed by the Company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as an exhibit to a Current Report on Form 8-K. The following is biographical information for our new directors: About Javier Reyes Dr. Javier Reyes is an innovative and dynamic leader with nearly 20 years of experience in academia, providing him with great perspective into the future of the workforce, exceptional management skills, and an educated and diverse viewpoint on socioeconomic issues. Dr. Reyes was recently appointed Chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Amherst and will transition into this position on July 1st, 2023. He is currently at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) as Interim Chancellor since July of 2022. In this position, he is responsible for managing a budget of $3.6 billion and more than 13,000 faculty and staff. Before being promoted to interim chancellor, he served as the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. Previous to his service at UIC, Dr. Reyes served as West Virginia University's Milan Puskar Dean of the John Chambers College of Business and Economics for five years and Vice President for StartUp West Virginia for three years. Dr. Reyes holds a BA in Economics from Monterrey TEC in Mexico, and a doctorate in Economics from Texas A&M University. About Jill Sutton Ms. Sutton is an executive and director with extensive experience in strategic planning, corporate finance, capital raises, mergers & acquisitions and corporate governance. Ms. Sutton served as Chief Legal Officer, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at United Natural Foods, Inc (UNFI) for over three years where she developed the company's shareholder engagement program, was deeply involved in the Company's ESG policies and programs, supported the realization of over $150 million in synergies following UNFI's acquisition of SuperValu, and helped to assure the Company's supply chain remained operational through the COVID crisis. Prior to UNFI, Ms. Sutton served in senior legal positions at General Motors Company (GM), Tim Hortons, and The Wendy's Company (WEN). She also currently serves on the Board of Potbelly Corp. (PBPB). Ms. Sutton holds multiple degrees from The Ohio State University, including a J.D. and a Masters in Healthcare Administration. About Peter Jackson Mr. Jackson possesses nearly 30 years of manufacturing technology experience. During his career he has supported countless industrial companies through complex information technology transformation initiatives. He has a wealth of expertise in technology implementation, customer experience, and productivity improvements for the manufacturing, aerospace & defense, and automotive industries. He is currently a Partner and Senior Vice President of Professional Services at Providence Consulting Group LTD (PCG), a firm that co-founded in 2016. Prior to this, Mr. Jackson was a Practice Director at Business & Decision North America for eight years and a Solution Architect & Program Manager at Infor for nearly two years. He started his career at Baan Company, where he spent the first five-and-a-half years of his professional career. Mr. Jackson holds a degree in Social Science and Human services from the State University of New York at Morrisville and a degree in Psychology from the State University of New York at Cortland. About Susan Sweeney Dr. Susan Sweeney is a senior business executive with extensive experience leading global teams and solving complex business issues. Dr. Sweeney served as Chief Human Resource Officer for Enpro Industries (NPO), a public, mid-sized industrial technology company, putting to use her unique ability to place talent based on business need. Before taking this position in early 2020, Dr. Sweeney held the position of President, GGB, for seven years with strategy and P&L responsibility in North America, South America, Europe and Asia. Prior to joining Enpro, Dr. Sweeney was an Executive with General Motors Company (GM) with responsibilities focused on assembly, engineering, supply chain, quality and site management at multiple locations in the US and Canada. Dr. Sweeney holds a Doctorate of Education from Wilmington University, a Masters in Business Administration from University of Detroit, and a Bachelor of Arts from Kalamazoo College. About Miller Industries Miller Industries is The World's Largest Manufacturer of Towing and Recovery Equipment, and markets its towing and recovery equipment under a number of well-recognized brands, including Century, Vulcan, Chevron, Holmes, Challenger, Champion, Jige, Boniface, Titan and Eagle. The Company has also made changes to the investor relations section of its website, which can be viewed here. About Lakeview Investment Group Lakeview Investment Group is a Chicago-based investment manager, founded in 2004, with a focus on small- and mid-cap companies. Lakeview's strategy focuses primarily on long-term investments in companies trading at significant discounts to its estimate of intrinsic value. On select occasions, Lakeview engages directly with company management to help drive shareholder value. SOURCE Miller Industries, Inc. After a hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mowi will make a long-awaited comeback to the Boston seafood trade show boasting a booth space of 2,400 sq ft. The Seafood Expo will showcase the expansion of the MOWI Brand, Ducktrap Ready-to-Cook product reveal and unique activities inside the booth. MIAMI, March 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- We are delighted to announce that Mowi CP of Americas will be part of the largest Seafood tradeshow happening each year in Boston, Massachusetts: The Seafood Expo North America. With a dynamic booth encompassing two areas, participants can find Mowi at booth numbers #217 and #313. "While we were absent from the Seafood Expo, innovation and category growth did not stop." Tweet this Check out the story of the journey of our salmon and find out why MOWI Salmon is all about goodness. OH! and also, meet Sal! For more information, check out our website: www.mowisalmon.us Mowi has partnered with Chef, TV Personality, Food Artist and Content Creator: George Duran (Click on link: https://www.mowiamericas.com/mediakit to find BIO of this talented dynamic personality). Chef Duran will be utilizing dedicated kitchen space in the booth for four live chef demonstrations that will take place on March 12th and 13th. Visit the Mowi Booth and find out new product innovation. With food samplings on premise, you will be able to taste the MOWI Goodness in Every Bite. Mowi Booth to exhibit a great variety of product. From Farm Raised Atlantic Salmon to other Fin Fish variety, Mowi will showcase MOWI Brand, Ducktrap Brand and Marine Harvest by Mowi product lines. Mowi will kick off its' return to the Seafood industry show with an impressive booth that is one of the largest ones at the entire event venue. "We are looking forward in greeting our customers in an event that highlights the passion, innovation, and successful products in the Seafood category. The Mowi Booth is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to our organization's capabilities to serve retail partners. With processing facilities in different parts of the world, Mowi can customize programs utilizing a pool of products and technology invested through the years." "While we were absent from the Seafood Expo, innovation and category growth did not stop. The Seafood Expo will be the perfect opportunity to present a more expanded MOWI Brand with innovative products in the fresh pre-packed, smoked and coated frozen category ....," said Diana Dumet, Director of Marketing at Mowi CP of the Americas. "We want to surprise the trade audience with variety and uniqueness". "This year, the Mowi booth will have the most extensive product collection ever exhibited at this important event vs previous years in our booth," said Robert Clark, Director of Sales and Business Development at Mowi CP of Americas. "After 4 years being out of this important event in the industry, we are looking forward connecting with the trade community and sharing all that our organization is capable to serve the Seafood space in America." The booth will showcase: MOWI Atlantic Salmon Fresh Never Frozen (skin packed) MOWI Atlantic Salmon Smoked MOWI Atlantic Salmon Coated Breaded (skin packed) MOWI Atlantic Salmon Frozen in a Box Ducktrap Smoked Seafood Marine Harvest Fin Fish Variety Food Service But product will not be the only surprise that Mowi has in store to wow the attendants. Mowi will offer a repertoire of delicious tastings that include new breakthrough signature products. A creative menu will entice the palettes of participants all day long starting at 10:00 am through 3:30 pm. The excitement will continue as Mowi has partnered with Chef, TV Personality, Food Artist and Content Creator: George Duran (Click on link: https://www.mowiamericas.com/mediakit to find BIO of this talented dynamic personality). Chef Duran will be utilizing dedicated kitchen space in the booth for four live chef demonstrations that will take place on March 12th and 13th. Mowi's return to this event further emphasizes its' position as an industry leader and its' commitment to leading the Blue Revolution by encouraging consumers to eat more blue foods from the Ocean. For more information about the Mowi booth and Seafood Expo activities visit https://www.mowiamericas.com/mediakit About Mowi: Mowi, a Norwegian company, has consistently delivered healthy and delicious seafood since 1964, and has become a leading aquaculture company. Mowi works with the ocean to produce nutritious, delicious, and supreme-quality seafood, while striving to achieve the highest sustainability standards. Fulfilling one-fifth of the global demand for farm-raised Atlantic salmon, Mowi is determined to reduce environmental impact of seafood production and works exclusively with farmers who follow the most responsible harvesting practices. Mowi has operations in 25 countries and more than 12,000 employees. Go to https://mowi.com/about/ to learn more about the world's largest supplier of Atlantic salmon. As the world's leading salmon producer, Mowi works to help preserve the ocean and work in harmony with the sea to help feed a growing world population. Mowi has been ranked as the world's most sustainable protein producer for the fourth year in a row by the FAIRR Initiative. Coller FAIRR Protein Producer Index assesses the world's 60 largest publicly listed animal protein producers, worth a combined USD 338 billion. Firms are ranked against ten environmental, social and governance (ESG)-related criteria including GHG emissions, deforestation, antibiotic usage and working conditions. Contact: Diana Dumet, [email protected] SOURCE Mowi CP of Americas AUSTIN, Texas, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- MyyShop, a cross-border social commerce platform launched by DHGATE Group in 2020, will participate in the SXSW Creative Industries Expo in Austin, Texas, on March 12-15, 2023. Setting out to impress millions of SXSW attendees and travelers to the city, MyyShop appears on billboards at Austin International Airport and will be hosting a panel at Next Stage, SXSW, under the theme of Unlocking the Power of Social Commerce. Hosted at 14:30 on Austin Industry Day (March 15), the panel's featured speakers will share with attendees how to level up their side hustle using MyyShop. MyyShop will be at booth #1023 inside the Austin Convention Center, which hosts exhibitors from industries on the cutting edge of technology, design, social goods, health, wellness, and more. MyyShop appears on billboards at Austin International Airport Through well-planned booth activities and an in-depth panel session, MyyShop aims to provide a practical and easy-to-follow demonstration of its innovative features and services to the U.S. audience. Be sure to check out MyyShop's event page and discover how social commerce is transforming the retail landscape in America, and learn from top influencers about their journey to success. Launched by leading cross-border e-commerce company DHGATE Group in 2020, MyyShop enables Generation Z members, Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs), and women entrepreneurs to participate in global trade by removing barriers to entry and providing a chance for anyone to monetize their influence on social media using the latest tools. MyyShop aims to be "Your Shop" for global creators. It allows them to set up an online e-commerce portal in minutes powered by AI technology and effortlessly monetize their influence on social media platforms. This includes empowering creators, influencers, and individual entrepreneurs with social impact to sell more products, including personalized product recommendations, digitalization tools, and constant support throughout their business journey. With MyyShop, anyone can easily "Share to Earn" by selling through shoppable feeds or leveraging influencer marketing on social platforms. "Not only want to build relationships with creators, but we also aim to create an inspiring and supportive community among creators, making Myyshop a great starting point and an awesome long-term support network, and that's why we will be at SXSW 2023," said Diane Wang, Founder, Chairperson, and CEO of DHGATE Group. "Social commerce opens a new window for MSMEs, women entrepreneurs, and the younger generation. We encourage passionate young people or small and medium-sized entrepreneurs to seize the opportunity and turn their social impact into a profitable business." SXSW is an annual bonanza featuring expositions, conference events, and a festival vibe for young and creative people in sectors including tech, film, music, education, and culture. The event is viewed as a venue to display a trendy lifestyle and the latest consumption trends. Approximately 417,400 people from 62 countries attended SXSW in 2019, during the last hosting of the event pre-pandemic. We invite you to drop by our booth, attend our panel and see what tremendous opportunities MyyShop can offer you. About MyyShop MyyShop is a pioneering social commerce platform launched by DHGATE Group that allows effortless selling on social media. MyyShop aims to provide content creators with online store creation tools, as well as AI-powered, tailored product recommendations that their audience won't be able to resist, allow them to sell with confidence knowing the products are in demand and backed by a world-leading supply chain that delivers to increase earnings quickly. For more information, please visit MyyShop.com and follow @MyyShopOfficial About DHgate Founded in 2004, DHgate has become the leading B2B cross-border e-commerce marketplace in China. Through our global operations and offices, including in the USA and UK, we reach millions of people with trusted products and services. As of December 31, 2022, DHgate served more than 59.6 million registered buyers from 225 countries and regions by connecting them to over 2.54 million sellers in China and other countries, with over 34 million live listings on the platform annually. For more information, please visit dhgate.com and follow @DHgate.com SOURCE DHGATE Group WASHINGTON, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- NASA and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) will announce during an event at 11 a.m. EDT (10 a.m. CDT) on Monday, April 3, from NASA Johnson Space Center's Ellington Field in Houston, the four astronauts who will venture around the Moon. Traveling aboard NASA's Orion spacecraft during Artemis II, the mission is the first crewed flight test on the agency's path to establishing a long-term scientific and human presence on the lunar surface. The event will air on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency's website. NASA, Canadian Space Agency to Assign Artemis II Moon Astronauts Media are invited to attend the event and speak with the astronauts about their assignments. Other experts working on Artemis missions also will be available. Additional opportunities to interview crew remotely will be available on Tuesday, April 4. International media wishing to attend must contact NASA no later than 5 p.m. CDT Friday, March 17. U.S. media must contact NASA no later than 5 p.m. Monday, March 27. Media can RSVP to the Johnson newsroom by calling 281-483-5111 or emailing: [email protected]. Artemis II is the first crewed mission aboard NASA's foundational human deep space capabilities: the Space Launch System rocket, Orion spacecraft, and the ground systems needed to launch them. The approximately 10-day mission will test and stress the Orion spacecraft's life-support systems to prove the capabilities and techniques required to live and work in deep space in ways only humans can do. The crew will include three NASA astronauts and one CSA astronaut, demonstrating the agency's commitment to international partnerships through the Artemis program. Artemis II builds on the successful Artemis I flight test, which launched an uncrewed Orion, atop the SLS rocket, on a 1.4 million-mile journey beyond the Moon to test systems before astronauts fly aboard the systems on a mission to the Moon. Learn more about Artemis at: https://www.nasa.gov/artemis/ SOURCE NASA WASHINGTON, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland is kicking off an initiative to bring area students closer to careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) for the benefit of the Northeast Ohio community and the nation. Nearly 200 high school students will ignite their STEM journey with a tour of NASA Glenn during NASA Career Exploration Day, Thursday, March 16, from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Media are invited to attend. Cleveland student explores virtual reality technology in NASA Glenn Research Center's Graphics and Visualization Laboratory. Credit: NASA Students will learn about NASA internships, as well as uniquely created paid STEM engagement learning experiences to be awarded to 25 students attending this event. These STEM engagement opportunities will take place at NASA Glenn this summer. "If we are going to fulfill NASA's mission to have a long-term human presence on the moon and eventually send astronauts to Mars, we need all the talent and skills available to us," said Darlene Walker, Director, Office of STEM Engagement. "We want to give students the opportunity to engage in the excitement of NASA research, exploration and discovery." These experiences are made possible through a new collaboration among NASA Glenn, Aerozone Alliance, and the Cleveland Metropolitan School District focused on attracting and retaining a diverse, skilled future STEM workforce. Aerozone Alliance partners contributing to this collaboration include Ohio Aerospace Institute, Ohio Space Grant Consortium, Greater Cleveland Career Consortium, and Argonaut. "We're serving the need to increase the talent pool for STEM careers to support the nation's future endeavors in aerospace," said Hrishue Mahalaha, executive director, Aerozone Alliance. "Together with NASA Glenn and the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, we are aiming to find new ways to inspire, engage, and recruit the next generation of innovators." During NASA Career Exploration Day, eleventh graders will participate in a hands-on STEM engagement activity and see research demonstrations. They also will engage in a panel discussion with NASA scientists, engineers, and current NASA interns. Student tours will include the following Glenn facilities: Graphics and Visualization Laboratory, where researchers create virtual and augmented reality Simulated Lunar Operations Laboratory, a unique indoor space designed to mimic the surface of the Moon and Mars Telescience Support Center, where researchers remotely operate experiments onboard the International Space Station Zero Gravity Research Facility, NASA's premier facility for microgravity research Media interested in attending should contact Jacqueline Minerd at [email protected] by Tuesday, March 14. Interviews with experts will take place from 9 to 10 a.m. SOURCE NASA WASHINGTON, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Press Club today announced that Executive Director Bill McCarren is stepping down after more than 15 years of service. McCarren will continue his duties until a new executive director is in place and will then consult for the Club for a brief period. The Club will soon announce the results of its extensive search for a new executive director. The National Press Club is both a venue where news happens, and a powerful organizational advocate for the freedom and rights of the journalists who cover news. McCarren has been an effective and successful leader of these two complementary missions. McCarren joined the Club as a member in 1986. The Club's board of governors hired him as general manager in July 2007 and appointed him executive director in 2010. He was the first person to hold the executive director title in the organization's 116-year history. As executive director, McCarren helped lead the Club's central mission of press freedom. He helped lead several of the Club's most high-profile campaigns, including those supporting: Jason Rezaian, Emilio Gutierrez Soto, Austin Tice, Jamal Khashoggi and Shireen Abu Akleh. "The press freedom mission of the Club is one of its most enduring and defining aspects. This is who we are. We work to get journalists out of jail and to help their families obtain justice. This work has become a personal passion over the years. I am particularly proud of how this mission was embraced by every person on the Club's remarkable, talented and dedicated team," McCarren said. Washington Post writer Jason Rezaian, who was unjustly imprisoned by Iranian authorities for 544 days before his release in 2016, commended McCarren for his press freedom work: "Bill McCarren knew me long before we ever met. He was a tireless advocate for my freedom, for which I am forever indebted. But I'm even more grateful for his friendship. It is not an exaggeration to say he has been the most supportive person of my wife and me since our release. Without his concern for our well-being and guidance, from our earliest days of new freedom until right now seven years later, I don't know where we would be. Uncle Bill, as we call him in our house, is the greatest friend a journalist in trouble, or one recently out of trouble, can have." The Club's advocacy work would not have been possible without a strong business operation behind it. During his tenure, McCarren drew from his significant business experience to lead the Club to a remarkable financial turnaround. When he took over in 2007, the Club had no cash reserves, high debt and an unprofitable business model. Under the leadership of McCarren and the board, the Club made a profit every year from 2007 until the pandemic, and currently has low debt with significant reserves. Donna Leinwand Leger, the 2009 president of the Club, praised Bill's business-building efforts, which were vital to helping the Club weather a significant pandemic-related business downturn in 2020, 2021 and early 2022. The Club bounced back later in 2022 with record profits: "The National Press Club is financially healthy because of Bill McCarren's business acumen. It's a great place to belong because of Bill's dedication. It was not uncommon to see Bill at an 8 a.m. Newsmaker and an 8 p.m. book event." Michael Freedman, executive producer of The Kalb Report and 2020 Club president, worked with McCarren to navigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Club's operations: "Bill and I partnered our way through the unprecedented first year of the pandemic (2020 and early 2021), which included shuttering the physical Club and becoming a virtual organization, taking care of the staff, providing services to members, and ensuring funding, all in addition to being a voice of strength for journalists through politics, protests, a presidential election, the insurrection and an inauguration." "For all BIll has contributed to the Club's success during his long tenure, this was his finest hour as he worked tirelessly to ensure the National Press Club would survive. It was a moment in time when leadership required multiple accrued skills, a creative spirit, patience, perseverance, and total commitment. Bill was the right person, in the right place, at the right time, and working so closely with him was an honor and a privilege I shall never forget." Events during the pandemic, particularly the murder of George Floyd, highlighted a need for increased diversity in journalism. Lisa Matthews, Associated Press U.S planning editor and 2021 Club president, worked with McCarren to carry out the Club's ongoing missions while identifying ways the Club could create opportunities with graduates of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs): "The contributions and accomplishments of Bill McCarren are numerous. Bill is and has been the hero of press freedom for the National Press Club. He is a tireless advocate for press freedom. There was never a time during my presidency when Bill wasn't working furiously behind the scenes to secure the release of a detained journalist or raising the importance of press freedom." "Bill is also acutely aware of the need for increased diversity in the news business and at the Club itself. Bill was the driving force behind the free one-year membership for journalism and communications graduates of HBCUs that started during my term." The Club's 2022 president, Defense News reporter Jen Judson, worked with McCarren to lead the Club to its most profitable year: "Bill made my tenure as president an incredibly fulfilling one because of his dedication to the Club and his deep knowledge of how it works. Bill had to navigate difficult years in the pandemic and kept us on stable footing. Not only did he keep us afloat, but in our first year rising out of the pandemic, his business savvy resulted in the Club's most profitable year on record in 2022." "He has always been outstanding and, without a doubt, he wraps up a career at the Club on a beyond outstanding note. I've enjoyed working with him immensely and he will be sorely missed upon his retirement." Earlier in his career McCarren was founder and CEO of U.S. Newswire, a wire service startup which was ultimately sold to PR Newswire. He holds a BA from Vanderbilt University and an MA from Brown University. In addition to consulting for nonprofits and companies, McCarren will continue his service to boards including: Reporters Without Borders, NYC-based tech startup LightBox, and the International Youth Peace Forum. McCarren's immediate plans for retirement include travel with his wife Andrea McCarren to favorite places and new horizons. Press contact: Cecily Scott Martin, [email protected], 202-662-7525 SOURCE National Press Club WASHINGTON, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) is encouraged by President Biden's Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 education budget request, released today, which aspires to increase federal funding for education by 13.6% percent from this year's enacted budget. The President's proposal urges robust funding for critical programs supporting students with disabilities, their educators, and their families. The President's FY 2024 education budget request would add: $2.1 billion (total requested funding: $16.8 billion ) to state grants for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) ; (total requested funding: ) to ; $392 million (total request funding: $932 million ) to IDEA Part C, Ages 0-2 ; (total request funding: ) to ; $186 million for IDEA Part D National Activities, including a $135 million increase for the personnel preparation program; for IDEA Part D National Activities, including a increase for the personnel preparation program; $63 million (total funding request: $870.9 million ) for the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). However, the funding request for the National Center for Special Education Research within IES is the same as the FY 2023 enacted level ( $64.3 million ). "Overall, NCLD commends the Biden-Harris Administration's commitment to the needs of students with disabilities, their educators, and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) programs reflected in the federal funding increases proposed today. We implore Congress to act in developing and enacting a budget for FY 2024 that supports the needs of our prevailing educational system including additional funding for special education research." Within the $392 million increase for IDEA Part C grants, the Biden Administration recommends $200 million to expand and streamline enrollment of at-risk children, such as children born prematurely or their environmental factors. Research shows a possible correlation between these factors and risk for learning disabilities and attention issues. The next few months are fundamental in advocating for the proposed budget request to align with the finalized budget, which would equip students with learning disabilities and the education programs they rely upon. "NCLD looks forward to working with Members of Congress in the coming months to ensure that the final budget bill administers the resources necessary for students with disabilities to succeed," says Lindsay Kubatzky, director of policy and advocacy. ABOUT NCLD The National Center for Learning Disabilities' mission is to improve the lives of the 1 in 5 children and adults nationwide with learning and attention issuesby empowering parents and young adults, transforming schools and advocating for equal rights and opportunities. SOURCE National Center for Learning Disabilities Researchers call for better inclusion of people in Africa and with African ancestry in studies on inherited genetics to help address disparities in prostate cancer outcomes. PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa., March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- New research in the March 2023 issue of JNCCNJournal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network highlights how the lack of genomic research for people with African ancestry, particularly those from the Sub-Saharan region, is hampering efforts to reduce disparities for people with cancer. In a first-of-its-kind study, the researchers evaluated molecular genetic results for 113 Black South African men diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer to find evidence for increased and potentially unique genetic testing recommendations. The researchers point out that, according to the GLOBOCON 2020 studies, the regions of the world most impacted by prostate cancer mortality include populations with significant African ancestry, such as the Caribbean and the regions of Sub-Saharan Africa, with mortality rates 3.4- and 2.5-fold greater, than reported for the United States, respectively. Within the United States, African American men are at 2.3- to 5-times increased risk for prostate cancer associated death than their non-African American counterparts. "Although men of African ancestry have the highest incidence rates for aggressive prostate cancer and associated death globally, due to lack of available data, no tailored testing criteria have been established for such populations at increased risk," said lead researcher Kazzem Gheybi, MD, PhD, of The University of Sydney in Australia. "This study opens the door to begin to establish new criteria, providing men of African ancestry with hope that germline testing can change current disparities in clinical outcomes." "The African diaspora is highly diverse, so I caution against regarding the most genetically diverse population in 'singular' terms," added senior researcher Vanessa M. Hayes, PhD, also from The University of Sydney and the University of Pretoria in South Africa. "What is required is concerted effort for inclusion that takes a grassroots approach. We need to build criteria based on population-specific knowledge. We encourage cancer care and germline screening providers to establish a research and development arm tailored specifically for African inclusion. We need to move away from the one-size-fits-all model for prostate cancer care; African solutions should address African-relevant disparities in prostate cancer outcomes." The study included a close examination of 21,899 single-nucleotide variants, 4,626 small insertions and deletions, and 73 structural variants across 20 genes from the 113 patients. After initially excluding variants that were known not to be cancer-causing, they found 38 mutations across 52 patients. A total of 17 pathogenic (4) and potential oncogenic (13) variants were identified. The 5.6% rate of rare cancer-causing variants in this population was significantly lower than the established rate of 11.8% for non-African patients with confirmed metastatic prostate cancer, suggesting decreased sensitivity of current gene panels for risk assessment in this patient population. "This study highlights the poor clinical utility (30%) of the currently most-utilized germline testing panels in men of African ancestry, largely due to minimal inclusion of these groups in the development of the panels," commented Samuel L. Washington III, MD, MAS, Assistant Professor of Urology; Epidemiology & Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, who was not involved in this research. Dr. Washington, who is also a Member of the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines) Panel for Prostate Cancer Early Detection, continued: "This study emphasizes two crucial domains: 1) it provides further evidence of the need for greater inclusivity in genetic panel development and 2) it recognizes that disparities in outcomes for men of African ancestry can't be explained solely by the findings in 113 Black South African males. Although the NCCN Guidelines for Prostate Cancer Early Detection identify Black/African American identity as a risk factor, the panel notes the contributions of poor access to care, social determinants of health/social risk, and heritable genes to these observations. I look forward to further research in this area that examines how the limitations of our current tools can be improved to better reflect the populations we serve." To read the entire study, visit JNCCN.org. Complimentary access to "Evaluating Germline Testing Panels in Southern African Males with Advanced Prostate Cancer" is available until June 10, 2023. Visit NCCN.org/harmonized to learn more about NCCN's global program, including resources tailored specifically for people in Sub-Saharan Africa. About JNCCNJournal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network More than 25,000 oncologists and other cancer care professionals across the United States read JNCCNJournal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. This peer-reviewed, indexed medical journal provides the latest information about innovation in translational medicine, and scientific studies related to oncology health services research, including quality care and value, bioethics, comparative and cost effectiveness, public policy, and interventional research on supportive care and survivorship. JNCCN features updates on the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines), review articles elaborating on guidelines recommendations, health services research, and case reports highlighting molecular insights in patient care. JNCCN is published by Harborside. Visit JNCCN.org. To inquire if you are eligible for a FREE subscription to JNCCN, visit NCCN.org/jnccn/subscribe. Follow JNCCN on Twitter @JNCCN. About the National Comprehensive Cancer Network The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) is a not-for-profit alliance of leading cancer centers devoted to patient care, research, and education. NCCN is dedicated to improving and facilitating quality, effective, equitable, and accessible cancer care so all patients can live better lives. The NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines) provide transparent, evidence-based, expert consensus recommendations for cancer treatment, prevention, and supportive services; they are the recognized standard for clinical direction and policy in cancer management and the most thorough and frequently-updated clinical practice guidelines available in any area of medicine. The NCCN Guidelines for Patients provide expert cancer treatment information to inform and empower patients and caregivers, through support from the NCCN Foundation. NCCN also advances continuing education, global initiatives, policy, and research collaboration and publication in oncology. Visit NCCN.org for more information. Media Contact: Rachel Darwin 267-622-6624 [email protected] Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/441768/NCCN_Logo.jpg SOURCE National Comprehensive Cancer Network Show featured sold-out exhibition of global innovators, and served as a launch platform for many exciting start-ups SAN DIEGO, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- OFC 2023, the premier global event for optical communications and networking, welcomed back attendees to a sold-out exhibition with an audience showcasing the latest advancements in the field. OFC 2023 hosted over 11,500 participants and 515 exhibiting companies and served as the platform for several start-ups to make their debut. Event organizers provided a compelling series of exciting programs and events to welcome back the entire ecosystem with a focus on inclusivity. Attendee excitement was high throughout the week. "One of OFC's highlights was live interoperability demonstrations from leading optics companies running over OFCnet," said OFC chairs Chris Cole, Coherent Corporation; Ramon Casellas, Centre Tecnologic de Telecomunicacions de Catalunya; and Ming-Jun Li, Corning Incorporated. "Another was the Plenary Session with inspiring talks by three leading executives, including two females, who shared insights into how technology is transforming our industry and reshaping the world." "The optical sector is currently in an exciting period," said Woo Jin Ho, Analyst - Hardware and Communications Equipment, Bloomberg Intelligence. "Companies continued to introduce and launch new innovations at OFC 2023, such as 1.2T and 1.6T coherent optics and Co-Packaged Optics. But it was really refreshing to hear the ramp up and monetization of the innovations that were introduced at OFC two, three years ago." "What an amazing week with so many innovations in one place," said Jelena Pesic, Ph.D., Nokia. "Nothing can replace face-to-face meetings with colleagues and researchers around the world. For Nokia, it was an opportunity to show our cutting-edge innovation with new PSE-6s, Coherent Routing, network automation, integrated C+L band line systems and 25G PON. Looking forward to seeing the boundaries being pushed even further at OFC 2024!" OFC Plenary: Visionary leaders Patricia Obo-Nai, Chief Executive Officer, Vodafone Ghana; Jayshree V. Ullal, President and Chief Executive Officer, Arista; and Wendell P. Weeks, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Corning Incorporated, gave inspiring plenary talks. Obi-Nai spoke on the impact of networks and access to data on social change and inclusive economic growth. Ullal highlighted the artificial intelligence revolution and the new network requirements her company is working to meet. Weeks gave a historical perspective on the business of technological revolutions and how that history might inform the near future in optical networking. Exhibits: 515 companies from 70 countries, including several start-ups that made their debut, used OFC to unveil new products and innovations and reconnect with customers. "OFC is the place to get a first-hand look at the technologies and applications that will power the future of optical networking," said Steve Alexander, CTO at Ciena, co-sponsor of OFCnet, and chair of OFC Long Range Planning. "Many innovations are happening in coherent technology, software, and automationincluding our WaveLogic 6, the industry's first 1.6Tb/s coherent optic solutionand the conference affords attendees the opportunity to get up close in person with the advances that are pushing the envelope in these areas." "Product announcements and company launches were back in full force at this year's event," added Casellas, Cole and Li. "OFC has long been a showcase for entrepreneurs focused on transforming markets. It was great to see so many new companies introducing innovative technologies and leveraging OFC to speed their market adoption." "We are seeing significant year-over-year growth in the PON equipment market, which approaches $20bn in 2028," said Julie Kunstler, Chief Analyst, Omdia. "Key PON ecosystem players, encompassing subcomponent, component and solution vendors, along with service providers, are here at OFC. PON innovation is around us, providing more bandwidth at lower-cost points, while ensuring backwards compatibility to earlier generations of this fiber and optics-efficient technology." "OFC is the ideal conference for Xscape Photonics - it allows us to network with vendors, customers, and partners, while also attending state-of-the-art technical talks," said Alex Gaeta, Founder and CEO, Xscape Photonics. OFCnet: OFCnet, OFC's live high-speed optical network, enabled booth-to-booth fiber connectivity for on-site optical demonstrations while also extending CENIC, the Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California, to the OFC exhibition. Technology solutions provider, SmartCity, provided the on-site support in the San Diego Convention Center for exhibitor connectivity. This connectivity is providing new opportunities for exhibitors who collaborate with affiliated academic institutions to highlight advancements and capabilities in a live real-time, fully operational network environment. In 2023, 19 organizations came together to support large-scale optical networking demonstrations. Nine companies contributed equipment to extend the reach of the demonstrations across multiple booths. Learn more: OFCNet network diagram. Interoperability Demonstrations: Four industry-leading organizationsCOBO, Ethernet Alliance, OIF and Open ROADMhosted technology discussions and live multi-vendor interoperability demonstrations of the latest optical networking advancements. Technology areas showcased include Co-Packaging architectures, Common Electrical I/O (CEI) architectures, Common Management Interface Specification (CMIS) implementations, as well as high-speed Ethernet connecting multiple booths via the OFCnet showcasing the 400GbE, Open ROADM MSA-compliant optical transport network with mesh topology and 400ZR. "OIF was thrilled to celebrate its 25th anniversary at OFC 2023," said Dave Brown, Nokia and OIF Director of Communications. "OIF is where the optical networking industry's interoperability work gets done, and OFC is the key event to showcase that work. Attendees saw OIF projects like 400ZR, CEI, CMIS, and Co-packaging come to life through our multivendor interop demos. OFC continues to be the venue to debut advanced technologies in optical communications." Online Access to Content: To meet the unique needs of a global audience, OFC 2023 was held in a hybrid format with in-person and virtual components. All technical program sessions and show floor programs will be available on-demand for later viewing: register here. OFC 2024: Mark your calendar for OFC 2024, 24-28 March, at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, CA. EDITOR'S NOTE: Photos of the event are available on request. About OFC The 2023 Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exhibition (OFC) is the premier conference and exhibition for optical communications and networking professionals. For nearly 50 years, OFC has drawn attendees from all corners of the globe to meet and greet, teach and learn, make connections and move business forward. OFC includes dynamic business programming, an exhibition of global companies and high-impact peer-reviewed research that showcases the trends shaping the optical networking and communications industry. OFC is co-sponsored by the IEEE Communications Society (IEEE/ComSoc) and the IEEE Photonics Society and co-sponsored and managed by Optica (formerly OSA). OFC was recently named one of the 50 fastest-growing shows of 2022, according to Trade Show Executive Magazine. Follow @OFCConference on Twitter, learn more at OFC Community LinkedIn, and watch highlights on OFC YouTube. Media Contact: [email protected] SOURCE The Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exhibition (OFC) GUANGZHOU, China, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In this exciting March, PHNIX will exhibit at ISH 2023 in Germany, the second stop of its international exhibition tour this year. As the major vehicle for stimulus in the sector, ISH showcases the future developments in the heating market. On the show, for the very first time, PHNIX will present its comprehensive green energy solution for home, which is a combination of PHNIX state-of-the-art heat pump technology and PV system, aiming to maximize the efficiency of energy management for every home. Moreover, PHNIX's next generation air-to-water heat pump - Everest Series will debut on the show, which boasts to be the highest standard of R290 heat pump solution in the industry. PHNIX @ISH 2023 PHNIX To Present Comprehensive PV Energy and Heat Pump Solution For Home Products to be displayed: House Heating, Cooling+DHW Heat Pump: Everest Series, HeroPremium Series and Heco Series Air-to-water Heat Pump Water Fan Coil Unit Multi-functional Water Tank i-GreenLine Series Swimming Pool Heat Pump All-in-one Heat Pump Water Heater R290 airExpert Series 100L &300L AC15-K Wall Mounted Water Heater Commercial Heat Pump Water Heating Solution R290 HeatMaster Series Air-to-water Heat Pump The focus of attending this show is on future-proof solutions for greater convenience with improvements in energy efficiency and use of renewable energies. PHNIX will continue to offer a wide portfolio using R290 refrigerant, one of the main refrigerant solutions that PHNIX has been advocating. The Everest Series air-to-water heat pump, which is able to combine with both R290 and R32, will contain tailor-made components that enhance performance, add application flexibility while also safeguarding each stage of product life cycle. "In the sustainable heating field, all the manufacturer are presenting their latest technology and products, which are tailored to meet the current decarbonization goal. We do the same as well. We struggle to leading in this industry with our progressive development and innovation. Attending ISH Expo will be a great opportunity for us to bring our sustainable solutions to the world." Peter Wang adds, Director of Overseas Sales Center. About PHNIX As a leading heat pump manufacturer in China, PHNIX is an international enterprise specializing in the R&D and production of heat pumps and energy-saving solutions. Almost 50% of PHNIX products are exported to Europe, North America, and other overseas markets. To learn more about PHNIX and its products, please visit www.phnix-e.com. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2029331/PHNIX__ISH_2023__PHNIX_To_Present_Comprehensive_PV_Energy_Heat.jpg SOURCE PHNIX ECO-ENERGY SOLUTION AUSTIN, Texas, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Rakuten SixthSense, the B2B technology products arm of Japan-based conglomerate Rakuten Group and the world's third-largest e-commerce platform, is expanding into the North American observability and SaaS markets. The company will launch its brand at the renowned South by Southwest (SXSW) Event in Austin, Texas. As a full-stack observability provider, Rakuten SixthSense leverages best-in-class AI&ML to empower companies with real-time, end-to-end visibility of application behaviour across cloud landscapes and microservice architectures. Its Test Acceleration Platform (TAP) delivers state-of-the-art testing automation, empowering companies to shift-left with accurate anomaly detection and rapid troubleshooting. As SXSW exhibitors, Rakuten SixthSense will be welcoming visitors to Booth 911 at the Creative Industries Expo from March 12th-15th between 9am-4pm at the Austin Convention Center. This marks the company's first foray into the North American enterprise-SaaS market, and its commitment to delivering high-impact innovation to businesses across the continent. "We're thrilled to be launching Rakuten SixthSense at SXSW- a hallmark event that celebrates diversity and innovation," said CEO, Sunil Gopinath. "We are confident that our observability and testing automation will be game-changing for businesses across sectors looking to optimize their IT systems. Our platform is designed by engineers, for engineers and combines expertise from Rakuten Group's 76 global businesses to support every enterprise in achieving their unique digital transformation goals." He added, "At Rakuten SixthSense, we deliver intuitive Application Performance Monitoring that allows businesses to gain real-time insights into their IT operations and make data-driven decisions to stay ahead of the competition. Since we started in 2021, Rakuten SixthSense has grown exponentially across APAC and measurably enabled leading companies to reduce downtime, increase operational efficiency and go-to-market with speed. As digital environments become increasingly complex, Rakuten SixthSense aims to empower global companies with software agility needed for sustainable growth and profitability." About Rakuten India Enterprise Rakuten India the development center and key technology hub of the Rakuten Group, Inc. enables businesses with the depth of knowledge in multiple streams of technology such as mobile and web development, web analytics, platform development, backend engineering, data science, machine learning, artificial intelligence and much more. With 2000+ employees and dedicated centers of excellence for mobile application development, data analytics, engineering, DevOps, and information security; the company ensures the success of multiple units of Rakuten Group, Inc. For more information, visit https://corp.rakuten.co.in/ Contact: Mohini Jha | e: [email protected] | m: +91 9619720497 SOURCE Rakuten SixthSense The hospital is a joint venture between HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital and Encompass Health EAU CLAIRE, Wis., March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital and Encompass Health (NYSE: EHC) announce the opening of the Rehabilitation Hospital of Western Wisconsin, a 36-bed inpatient rehabilitation hospital located inside HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital at 900 West Clairemont Avenue in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. The rehabilitation hospital serves patients recovering from debilitating illnesses and injuries including strokes and other neurological disorders, brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, amputations and complex orthopedic conditions. The Rehabilitation Hospital of Western Wisconsin replaces HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital's 24-bed rehabilitation unit that opened in 1978, with a fully remodeled space, which features all private patient rooms, a large therapy gym with advanced rehabilitation technologies, and an activities of daily living suite. In addition to 24-hour nursing care, the Rehabilitation Hospital of Western Wisconsin offers physical, occupational and speech therapies to restore functional ability and quality of life. Care is provided by highly specialized nurses, therapists and physicians. "A partnership with Encompass Health allows HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital patients in need of rehabilitation care to seamlessly transition into an advanced rehabilitation program with expertly-trained staff and consistent, positive outcomes," said John Wagner, HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital President and CEO. "We are proud to continually elevate the compassionate care our hospital has provided local communities for nearly 130 years." "We are excited to open this hospital in Eau Claire as a joint venture between Encompass Health, a national leader in post-acute healthcare services, and HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital, a trusted provider of integrated care for more than a century," said Anne Sadowska, CEO of the Rehabilitation Hospital of Western Wisconsin. "Both HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital and Encompass Health have proven track records of quality, patient and family satisfaction and are united in the mission to provide compassionate care and help patients regain the strength, function and confidence needed to move forward in their lives." The Rehabilitation Hospital of Western Wisconsin is Encompass Health's 155th inpatient rehabilitation hospital nationwide and its first location in Wisconsin. For more information about the Rehabilitation Hospital of Western Wisconsin, please visit encompasshealth.com/eauclairerehab. About HSHS Sacred Heart HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital is sponsored by Hospital Sisters Ministries, the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis is the Founding Institute, and it is an affiliate of Hospital Sisters Health System. Since 1889, it has been meeting patient needs in western Wisconsin with the latest medical innovations and technology, together with a Franciscan whole-person healing tradition. 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 155 hospitals in 37 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. HSHS Sacred Heart media contact : Encompass Health media contact: Karen Kraus, 715-717-4591 Danielle Hall, 931-247-3527 [email protected] [email protected] SOURCE Encompass Health Corp. Running Tide and Microsoft Sign Two-Year Agreement to Remove Up to 12,000 Tons of Carbon Using Breakthrough Technology That Bolsters Ocean's Ability To Naturally Remove Carbon PORTLAND, Maine, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Running Tide announces a new agreement with Microsoft that makes it the technology company's first open ocean-based carbon removal supplier. Running Tide will remove the equivalent of 12,000 tons of carbon dioxide (C0 2 e) over the next two years on behalf of Microsoft. It uses breakthrough technology that accelerates the ocean's ability to naturally remove carbon dioxide, sinking it to the deep ocean in a safe and permanent form. This agreement also includes innovations to ensure effective measurement, reporting, and verification. Carbon removal is a new, fast-growing, and urgently-needed industry that moves carbon from the fast carbon cycle (the atmosphere, biosphere, and upper ocean) to the slow carbon cycle (the deep ocean, geological reservoirs, and inorganic material like rocks). Unlike carbon offsets, which fix carbon in the fast carbon cycle, carbon removal involves both fixing carbon in the fast cycle and moving it to the slow cycle where it's stored for hundreds of years. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has been repeatedly cited carbon removal as a necessary component of the climate solution, which calls for the removal of up to ten gigatons of carbon per annum to ensure that humanity stays below the critical 1.5 degrees Celsius warming mark. The National Academy of Sciences have cited ocean-based carbon removal as one of the most promising pathways for carbon removal. For Microsoft, this carbon removal purchase supports its commitment of being carbon negative by 2030, while aiding the company's work to help scale the carbon removal market. As the ocean-based CDR market is nascent, and lacking third-party certifications, Microsoft has utilized its expertise as a leading buyer of carbon removal to build into the agreement stage gates that enable quality assurance. For example, larger purchases of carbon removal are unlocked by improvements in the quality of the MRV system, which will help establish biomass-sinking as a viable and scalable carbon removal pathway. "Supporting innovative solutions is part of Microsoft's carbon removal strategy," said Phillip Goodman, director, Carbon Removal Portfolio, Microsoft. "Running Tide's dedication towards continued improvements in ocean-based MRV systems aligns with Microsoft's pursuit of innovative CDR projects, and we look forward to Running Tide's further development of the ocean-based carbon removal space." Through natural processes like photosynthesis (by terrestrial and marine biomass) and ocean alkalinity enhancement, Running Tide fixes carbon from the fast carbon cycle, and then utilizing low energy mass transfer techniques (ships, gravity, and ocean currents), to sink the carbon in the deep ocean, moving it into safe, long-term storage in the slow carbon cycle. Running Tide also designs, builds, and implements an end-to-end suite of ocean diagnostic and sensor capabilities to measure and monitor environmental impacts. Running Tide's operations and carbon-negative industrial hubs offer cascading benefits for coastal communities and ecosystems, supply chains, and global ocean health. "This agreement represents a joint investment in an abundant future: both in removing a significant amount of carbon while restoring ocean health for future generations," said Running Tide CEO Marty Odlin. Our deal develops the system and technologies needed to responsibly steward our natural resources and to further our knowledge of and connectivity to the ocean." About Running Tide Running Tide is a global ocean health company. The ocean is critical to human and planetary health but ocean health is in rapid and accelerating decline. We believe that we have the responsibility and ability to act. Running Tide's world-class, multidisciplinary team designs and implements interventions that rebalance the carbon cycle, decarbonize global supply chains, restore marine ecosystems, and revitalize coastal communities. The company partners with governments, communities, scientific institutions, and companies taking bold, decisive action. Founded by Marty Odlin, a systems engineer from a 4th generation commercial fishing family, Running Tide is proudly headquartered in Portland, Maine, and operates across the US and abroad. Learn more at runningtide.com . SOURCE Running Tide STOCKHOLM, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Sandvik AB Annual Report 2022 is from today available on the company website: https://www.annualreport.sandvik/en/2022 The Annual Report has been printed in a limited edition and will be distributed to shareholders that have ordered the report. The Annual Report is available, and can be ordered, at home.sandvik/investors. This information is information that Sandvik AB is obliged to make public pursuant to the Securities Market Act. The information was submitted for publication at 10:00 CET on March 10, 2023. For further information, contact Louise Tjeder, VP Investor relations, phone: +46 (0) 70782 6374 or Johannes Hellstrom, Press and Media Relations Manager, phone: +46 (0) 70721 1008. Sandvik Group Sandvik is a global, high-tech engineering group providing solutions that enhance productivity, profitability and sustainability for the manufacturing, mining and infrastructure industries. We are at the forefront of digitalization and focus on optimizing our customers' processes. Our world-leading offering includes equipment, tools, services and digital solutions for machining, mining, rock excavation and rock processing. In 2022 the Group had approximately 40,000 employees and revenues of about 112 billion SEK in about 150 countries within continuing operations. The following files are available for download: SOURCE Sandvik The Allyson Felix-led footwear brand launches a new color for spring alongside their latest campaign, Saysh Girls Walk Like This LOS ANGELES, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Saysh, the community-centered footwear brand for and by women, is pleased to announce the introduction of a new spring colorway of the brand's hit Saysh One sneaker: Sail. Beginning March 10, 2023, customers can purchase the newest addition alongside Saysh's full selection of footwear and lifestyle products on Saysh.com . Saysh One Sail Sail is a limited-edition colorway offering a fresh take on the brand's signature Saysh One sneaker. Featuring a cool palette with pale green laces, Saysh One Sail serves as a reminder that women don't have to sacrifice function for style, as Saysh Ones are designed to keep women comfortable and supported on their journey, no matter where it takes them. To accompany the launch, Saysh is encouraging women around the world to join together and make walking a part of their daily routine through their 'Saysh Girls Walk Like This' campaign. After Saysh co-founder and Olympic champion Allyson Felix faced a traumatic birth experience, walking became an important part of her recovery process, eventually becoming the foundation for her return to competition and winning an 11th Olympic medal. Through the 'Saysh Girls Walk Like This' campaign, the brand is encouraging all women to support each other's journeys and remind each other they are not alone. Saysh is a community-centered footwear brand for and by women. Upon finding that most sneakers on the market are made for men, the Saysh team began crafting sneaker designs thoughtfully, piece by piece, for women, which very few brands do. From the design to testing to manufacturing, the brand's core products, which include the Saysh One and the Saysh Two, have been designed specifically for women and are sculpted based on the true proportions and needs of a woman's foot. To shop the brand's selection of footwear made for and by women, and to learn about the brand's groundbreaking Maternity Returns Policy , visit Saysh.com and follow @bysaysh . Product Images HERE | Lifestyle Images HERE About Saysh: Saysh is a community-centered footwear brand for and by women focused on ethical conscience, aesthetic sensibility, and an athletic mindset. Saysh is co-founded by Allyson Felix, the most decorated Track and field Olympian, and Wes Felix, her brother, and business partner. The brand's debut lifestyle sneaker is the Saysh One. Visit Saysh.com and join us at @bySaysh on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. SOURCE Saysh Teamsters Local 120 Members Prepare for Picket Line ST. PAUL, Minn., March 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 200 St. Paul public employees represented by the Tri-Council of Teamsters Local 120, LIUNA Local 363, and Operating Engineers Local 49 have voted unanimously to authorize a strike. The workers are demanding the city address safety concerns, understaffing, and subpar wage increases. "It's disappointing that Mayor Carter and the city of St. Paul have refused to give essential public service workers a fair contract," said Tom Erickson, Local 120 President and Central Region Vice President. "These workers provide essential services to the city and are responsible for keeping this city running. They deserve to be rewarded and protected for their service to the community." Local 120 represents public works, parks, and water workers for the city. If negotiations break down or a final contract offer is rejected, members could strike as early as March 20. "We've had enough! We're done being disrespected. We've been understaffed and underpaid for years. We are ready to do whatever it takes to protect ourselves," said Troy Eisenhuth, a Local 120 member and St. Paul resident. Teamsters Local 120 represents members in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Iowa and is dedicated to fighting for increased rights for workers and communities. Contact: Troy Gustafson, (763) 267-6120 [email protected] SOURCE Teamsters Local 120 NEW YORK and BASEL, Switzerland, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sumitovant Biopharma Ltd. ("Sumitovant") and Myovant Sciences Ltd. ("Myovant") announced today that Sumitovant has successfully completed its acquisition of Myovant originally announced October 23, 2022. Sumitovant has acquired all outstanding shares of Myovant not already owned by Sumitovant in an all-cash deal with a total transaction value of approximately $1.7 billion. With the completion of the acquisition, Myovant will be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange, and its shares will no longer be publicly traded. "We are excited to have officially completed our acquisition of Myovant and look forward to working together to address unmet needs in women's health and prostate cancer," said Myrtle Potter, CEO of Sumitovant. "By combining our unique expertise, platforms and resources, we will be better positioned to drive the growth of Myovant's products and accelerate the development of our robust combined pipeline." "I am confident that bringing together the capabilities and strengths of Sumitovant and Myovant will best position us to continue delivering innovative therapies to patients sooner and accelerate the potential opportunities for ORGOVYX and MYFEMBREE," said Hiroshi Nomura, CEO of Sumitomo Pharma. "I look forward to all we will be able to achieve with the support of Sumitovant and Sumitomo Pharma to expand the impact of our differentiated therapies and advance our clinical programs," said David Marek, CEO of Myovant. "We remain steadfast in our commitment to advance life-changing medicine and health equity for the patient communities we serve." Advisors J.P. Morgan Securities LLC served as financial advisor and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP served as legal counsel to Sumitovant and Sumitomo Pharma. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC served as financial advisor to the Special Committee of the Board of Directors of Myovant and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP served as legal counsel to the Special Committee. About Sumitovant Biopharma Ltd. Sumitovant is a technology-driven biopharmaceutical company accelerating development and commercialization of new potential therapies for patients with rare conditions and other diseases. Through our proprietary computing and data platforms, scientific expertise and diverse company portfolio, Sumitovant has supported development of multiple FDA-approved products and a robust pipeline of early- through late-stage investigational assets addressing unmet patient needs in pediatrics, urology, oncology, women's health, specialty respiratory and infectious diseases. Sumitovant is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sumitomo Pharma. Please visit our website www.sumitovant.com for more information on Sumitovant and our portfolio. About Myovant Sciences Myovant Sciences aspires to redefine care for women and men through purpose-driven science, empowering medicines, and transformative advocacy worldwide. Since its formation in 2016, Myovant has secured five regulatory approvals in the United States and Europe for its products ORGOVYX and MYFEMBREE in hormone-sensitive oncology and women's health, respectively. Myovant and its partners continue to file for additional indications of its products, as well as advance development of its pipeline. Myovant is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sumitovant Biopharma Ltd., as of March 10, 2023. For more information, please visit www.myovant.com. Forward Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements about the benefits of the transaction involving Myovant, Sumitovant and Sumitomo Pharma. Forward-looking statements include all statements that are not historical statements of fact and statements regarding Sumitovant's, Myovant's and Sumitomo Pharma's intent, belief or expectations and can be identified by words such as "anticipate," "believe," "can," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "likely," "may," "might," "objective," "ongoing," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "strive," "to be," "will," "would," or the negative or plural of these words or other similar expressions or variations, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Forward-looking statements are based on management's assumptions about future events and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors known or unknown that may cause actual results to differ materially from the views, beliefs, projections and estimates expressed in such statements. The risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but are not limited to the statement of the benefits of, effect of the announcement of the closing of the transaction on Myovant's, Sumitovant's or Sumitomo Pharma's business; the risk that Myovant, Sumitovant and/or Sumitomo Pharma will not realize the anticipated benefits of the transaction; the potential inability to successfully integrate Myovant's business; general industry and economic conditions; and other risks and uncertainties listed in Myovant's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), including under the heading "Risk Factors" in Myovant's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on January 26, 2023 as such risk factors may be amended, supplemented or superseded from time to time by other filings with the SEC. Given these risks and uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on information available to Sumitovant and Sumitomo Pharma as of the date of this communication and speak only as of the date of this communication. Myovant, Sumitovant and Sumitomo Pharma disclaim any obligation to update these forward-looking statements, except as may be required by law. Media / IR Contacts: Sumitovant Biopharma Maya Frutiger VP, Head of Corporate Communications [email protected] SOURCE Sumitovant Biopharma Ltd.; Myovant Sciences, Inc. SEATTLE, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Five Commissions from the Offices of the City of Seattle partnered to have a free community event at Seattle's City Hall to host a Black History Month for "Beloved Community," and to assist in raising awareness for the launch of the Participatory Budgeting Project. The event was sponsored by PB, in partnership with Black Brilliance Research Project. The launch of the Historic Participatory Budgeting Project in Seattle is an unprecedented community-led process that allows the Community to be in control of $27 million dollars of the City's budget in five key areas that the Community established through the Black Brilliance Research Projects Report. This event also served as the official launch of a new Black-led participatory budgeting process designed by more than 100 local Black community members who gathered in 2020 as a result of the uprising in defense of Black lives. Attendees young and old participated in a station showcasing a mock participatory budgeting cycle to celebrate the launch of Black-led participatory budgeting in Seattle. The event attracted a diverse crowd of community members, who were able to participate in a variety of activities throughout the day. The mock participatory budgeting station allowed attendees to simulate the experience of participating in a participatory budgeting process, which was of great interest to many who were not previously familiar with the concept. The official process actively seeks people to fill open paid and volunteer roles, so the event doubled as an outreach to fill those positions. The festivities included a riveting opening which included Land and Labor acknowledgments to the Indigenous and African American People, followed by 23-year-old Jayza Duhon singing the Black National Anthem. Seattle Women's Commissioner Co-Chair Tana Yasu took the stage next, remarking "How unfortunate it is this song is still as relevant today as it was over 40 years ago," then invited LGBTQ Co-Chair Andrew Ashiofu to read the Proclamation of Black History Month. This proclamation was drafted by the Human Services Department in partnership with Mayor Harrell's office and the Mayor's Council on African American Elders. The 5 Commissions welcomed the Community into City Hall to view a screening of "Since I've Been Down," an award-winning documentary film produced and directed by Dr. Gilda Shepard, shining light on the horrid effects of the "War on Drugs." A panel discussion with the producer/director, members of BPC, and Emija Smith followed the film and provided a thought-provoking discussion for attendees. Attendees were able to sample a variety of dishes provided by well-known Black Owned restaurants such as Lil Reds Jamaican, Def Chef Kitchen, and Catfish Corner. The event also included free child care, a photo booth, games, and activities for all ages. DJ Zach Zeta Tucker was on the 1's&2's keeping spirits high with music in the main atrium of City Hall, while panel discussions were carried out in the Bertha Knight Conference Room. "We were thrilled to see such a great turnout for the Black History Month community event showcasing our community, our resilience, and our hopes for our futures. We're also thrilled to use it as a way to kick off Black-led participatory budgeting because everyone in the Seattle area can be part of investing $27M to create vibrant futures for our communities, " said Fundisha Tibebe of the Participatory Budgeting Project. "It's Black History Month. We're creating Black resilience and Black futures," said Tana Yasu, Seattle Women's Commission Co-Chair. "We hope that attendees were able to learn something new, make connections with their community, and have a fun and engaging experience." For more information about the event and to view photos, please visit https://SOCRCommissionsBHMEvent.eventbrite.com . If you would like to get involved with the Participatory Budgeting Project visit https://linktr.ee/pbseattle for information on opportunities. SOURCE Black Brilliance Research OGB Chicago Marks Guinness' Second U.S. Taproom, Will Blend the Rich History of Guinness With Chicago Flair While Driving Community Partnerships CHICAGO, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Guinness today announced that the Guinness Open Gate Brewery (OGB) Chicago will open its doors to the public this coming summer, bringing locally-inspired brews and community collaborations to Chicago's vibrant West Loop neighborhood. This is Guinness' second brewing facility and taproom in the United States, the first of which is the Guinness Open Gate Brewery in Baltimore, Md. "Chicago and Guinness have been part of each other's stories for more than a century, and OGB Chicago has been a dream throughout we are thrilled to open our doors to the West Loop community this summer," said Ryan Wagner, national ambassador of Guinness. "As we grow closer to the opening date, we are looking forward to the brewery becoming a part of our new neighborhood with a lively food and beverage program, unique retail offerings and impactful community partnerships." Guinness Open Gate Brewery to open Chicago Taproom in Summer 2023. Tweet this Located in Chicago's West Loop neighborhood at 901 W. Kinzie St., the Guinness Open Gate Brewery Chicago will deliver an American craft beer experience that is authentically Guinness and distinctly local. The taproom will showcase local collaborations that highlight the rich history and flavors of Chicago, bringing the style of each of Chicago's 77 unique neighborhoods to life within the taproom walls. "Guinness has a long history of hospitality, communion and bringing people together from all walks of life, and that fits so well with the spirit of Chicago," said Rodney Williams, president, Diageo Beer Company. "This is a great moment in time for Guinness in America, and we can't wait to tap into all the different flavors and variety of heritages represented in this great city." The brewery's name takes inspiration from the Guinness Open Gate Brewery in Dublin the brand's original location, where it has innovated and experimented in beer for more than a century. And since the first barrels of its famous Extra Stout rolled into the Windy City in 1910, Guinness' story has also been a part of Chicago's rich history. Arthur Shand, Guinness World Traveller, remarked in 1911 that Chicago has and will always be an important point for Guinness Stout. Over a century later, the iconic brand is proud to further that statement as it extends its reach in the United States. "At the Guinness Open Gate Brewery, we are engaging with the community through a number of local Chicago partnerships, and we're just getting started," said Wagner. "It is extremely important that we highlight the diversity of our new home and continue to lead in sustainability initiatives that work towards the greater good." The Open Gate Brewery Chicago is committed to working with diverse business owners, leading in energy and environmental design, and empowering the next generation of hospitality professionals. The brewery will feature solar panel arrays and will pursue Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification for the site. The brewery is also strengthening an existing relationship with Open Water, a Chicago-based bottled water company committed to reducing single-use plastic and carbon emissions. The company's products have been featured at the OGB Baltimore for the last several years. The OGB Chicago also plans to work with Chicago-based coffee company Intelligentsia on developing and implementing its coffee program and will continue its partnership with Baltimore's Cane Collective on the development of both beer cocktails and non-alcoholic cocktails. Additionally, Guinness will bring parent company Diageo's Learning Skills for Life program to Chicago. The program, which provides unemployed and underemployed individuals with free hospitality and employability skills training, is currently running in five locations across North America, and will launch in Chicago this spring. For more information on the Guinness Open Gate Brewery Chicago, visit www.guinnessbrewerychicago.co and follow @GuinnessBreweryChi on social media channels to keep up to date with the latest news ahead of the summer opening. About Guinness The Guinness brand was established in 1759, when Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000 year lease on St. James's Gate Brewery in Dublin. Brewed using four main ingredients, water, barley (malted & roasted), hops and yeast, Guinness is the world's most popular stout brand. The iconic beer is brewed in 49 countries worldwide and sold in over 150 with almost 9 million glasses of Guinness beers enjoyed every day around the world. The most Guinness is sold in Great Britain, Ireland, USA, Nigeria and Cameroon. More information can be found at www.guinness.com . About Diageo Beer Company Diageo Beer Company USA (formerly Diageo-Guinness USA) is the U.S. beer and flavored malt beverage business of Diageo. Brands within Diageo Beer Company include the iconic Guinness, Harp, Smithwick's and Smirnoff ICE. About Diageo Diageo is a global leader in beverage alcohol with an outstanding collection of brands including Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, Bulleit and Buchanan's whiskies, Smirnoff, Ciroc and Ketel One vodkas, Captain Morgan, Baileys, Don Julio, Tanqueray and Guinness. Diageo is listed on both the New York Stock Exchange (DEO) and the London Stock Exchange (DGE), and products are sold in more than 180 countries around the world. For more information about Diageo, its people, brands and performance, visit www.diageo.com . Visit Diageo's global responsible drinking resource, www.DRINKiQ.com , for information, initiatives and ways to share best practice. Media Contact: Kelly Pepe, DIAGEO [email protected] SOURCE Diageo Beer Company USA COLUMBIA, Maryland, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Mexico Fund, Inc. (NYSE: MXF) announced that, at its 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, stockholders re-elected Messrs. Jonathan Davis Arzac and Emilio Carrillo Gamboa as Class III Directors of the Fund for a three-year term expiring in 2026. The results of the Annual Meeting were as follows*: For % Outstanding % of Voted Withheld % Outstanding % of Voted Jonathan Davis Arzac 11,817,049 78.75 % 96.84 % 385,088 2.57 % 3.16 % Emilio Carrillo Gamboa 11,337,886 75.56 % 92.92 % 864,252 5.76 % 7.08 % *There were no abstentions or broker non-votes with regard to the election of the Fund's Class III Directors. CONTACT: Tofi Dayan +5255-9138-3350 Email: [email protected] About The Mexico Fund, Inc. The Mexico Fund, Inc. is a non-diversified closed-end management investment company with the investment objective of long-term capital appreciation through investments in securities, primarily equity, listed on the Mexican Stock Exchange. The Fund provides a vehicle to investors who wish to invest in Mexican companies through a managed non-diversified portfolio as part of their overall investment program. This release may contain certain forward-looking statements regarding future circumstances. These forward-looking statements are based upon the Fund's current expectations and assumptions and are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in such forward-looking statements including, in particular, the risks and uncertainties described in the Fund's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results, events, and performance may differ. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. The Fund undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revisions to these forward looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. The inclusion of any statement in this release does not constitute an admission by The Mexico Fund or any other person that the events or circumstances described in such statement are material. SOURCE The Mexico Fund, Inc. CHICAGO, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Thermoelectric Generators Market is projected to grow from USD 761 Million in 2022 to USD 1,233 Million by 2027, at a CAGR of 10.1% from 2022 to 2027 according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets. The market growth can be attributed to the rising demand for durable and maintenance-free power sources. Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=91553904 Browse in-depth TOC on "Thermoelectric Generators Market" 291 Tables 55 Figures 283 Pages With the rising demand for energy and accurate temperature control in microdevices, thermoelectric technology, which can transform heat into electricity and vice versa, has drawn global attention to power generation and solid-state cooling. This technology uses thermal sources to generate electrical power across various applications ranging from terrestrial to space exploration. Thermoelectric technology can be used for solid-state refrigeration or power generation applications through the large Peltier effect in thermoelectric materials. An efficient thermoelectric material must have a large Seebeck coefficient, a low resistivity, and low thermal conductivity to generate power. Thermoelectric generators and thermoelectric materials that were previously utilized primarily in niche applications are now becoming more popular with the introduction of wider automotive applications and the efforts to exploit waste-heat-recovery technologies. The soaring costs of fossil fuels have prompted the creation of a program between the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy office of the US Department of Energy and numerous automotive manufacturers to integrate thermoelectric waste-heat-recovery technology in the design layout of heavy trucks. In fact, without such systems, greater than 60% of the primary energy of fossil fuels is lost worldwide as impractical waste energy; the loss is as great as 70% in some automobiles. Based on application, the waste heat recovery segment to held largest share in the base year Based on application, the thermoelectric generators market is segmented into energy harvesting, waste heat recovery, direct power generation, and co-generation. The waste heat recovery application is expected to lead the market for TEGs during the forecast period, driven by the increasing trend of electrification of automobiles. This trend will help increase the demand for TEGs, which produce electricity from the waste heat from automobiles. Based on vertical, automotive segment projected to lead market during forecast period Based on vertical, the thermoelectric generators market is segmented into automotive, aerospace & defense, marine, industrial, consumer, healthcare, oil & gas, mining, and telecommunications. The automotive industry is expected to registered the largest share in the base year. This large share is due to increased adoption of automotive thermoelectric generators (ATEG). In the automotive industry, thermoelectric generators convert the waste heat from an internal combustion engine into electricity. Automotive thermoelectric generators consist of four main elements: hot side heat exchanger, cold side heat exchanger, thermoelectric materials, and compression assembly system. Thermoelectric generators can act as substitute batteries to power vehicle lights and other electronic devices, and they require minimal maintenance. With the increasing number of vehicles, the market for TEGs is expected to grow across regions. However, their high cost is a major constraint to the growth of the market. Currently, they are available in high-end cars. Request Sample Pages: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=91553904 North America is expected to register largest share in 2021. Based on geography, the thermoelectric generator market is classified into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Rest of the World. North America contributed the largest share in the thermoelectric generator market in 2021. The growth of the thermoelectric generators market in North America is primarily driven increased use of TEGs across healthcare, space, and automotive sectors. The major players in the thermoelectric generator market are Coherent Corp. (US), Gentherm Inc. (US), Ferrotec Holdings Corporation (Japan), Laird Thermal Systems, Inc. (UK), and Komatsu Ltd. (Japan) Get 10% Free Customization on this Report: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestCustomizationNew.asp?id=91553904 Browse Adjacent Market: Aerospace and Defence Market Research Reports &Consulting Related Reports: Aircraft Heat Exchanger Market by Application (Environmental Control System and Engine System), Type (Plate-Fin, Flat Tube), Vendor (OEM, Aftermarket), Platform (Fixed-Wing Aircraft, Rotary-Wing Aircraft, and UAVS), and Region (2021-2026) Aircraft Propeller System Market By Type (Fixed Pitch, Variable Pitch), Component (Blade, Spinner, Hub), Engine (Conventional, Hybrid & Electric), Platform (Civil, Military), End Use (OEM, Aftermarket), & Region (2021-2026) Environmental Control Systems Market by End User (Commercial, Defense), Platform (Rotary, Fixed), System (Air Supply & Management, Thermal Management & Control, Cabin Pressure & Control), Component, and Region - Global Forecast to 2022 Aerospace Valves Market by Aircraft Type, End Use (OEM, Aftermarket), Type, Application (Fuel System, Hydraulic System, Environment Control System, Pneumatic System, Lubrication System, Water & Wastewater System) Material, Region (2021-2026) Aircraft Fuel Systems Market by Application (Commercial, Military and UAV), Engine Type (Jet engine, Turboprop engine, Helicopter engine and UAV engine), Component, Technology & Region - Global Forecasts to 2020 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] Visit Our Web Site: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ Research Insight: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ResearchInsight/thermoelectric-generators-market.asp Content Source: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/thermoelectric-generators.asp Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/660509/MarketsandMarkets_Logo.jpg SOURCE MarketsandMarkets CHICAGO, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Bankers Life, a national life and health insurance brand that focuses on the insurance needs of Americans who are near or in retirement, announced its Top Women Financial Advisors for 2023. The Top Women Financial Advisors program is a Bankers Life internal incentive awarded to the company's top-performing women financial advisors. The campaign showcases "The Best of the Best" women financial advisors representing Bankers Life Securities, Inc. and Bankers Life Advisory Services, Inc. "This elite group of advisors are making a significant impact in helping to secure the financial future of our clients," said Cheryl Heilman, president of Bankers Life Securities, Inc. (BLS) and Bankers Life Advisory Services, Inc. (BLAS). "Our Top Women Financial Advisors winners are passionate about educating clients on the importance of financial education. They go above and beyond to get to know each individual and family personally, providing them with a customized strategy and the best guidance and service possible to help build their clients' financial security." Bankers Life is dedicated to the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women in the financial services industry. The company has invested in and supports several programs, including its Women's Leadership and Networking Committee (WLNC), an affinity group that is dedicated to mentorship and career development for the women within the Bankers Life sales organization. The WLNC offers a variety of initiatives and programs that bring together women who work at Bankers Life in different stages of their personal and professional development, including Advancing Financial Advisors, the Superwoman Summit, and its Making Mentors program. Financial Advisors qualify annually for recognition by achieving specific production and client service criteria. Congratulations to our 2023 Top Women Financial Advisors: About Bankers Life Bankers Life focuses on the insurance needs of middle-income Americans who are near or in retirement. The Bankers Life brand is a part of CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: CNO), whose companies provide insurance and wealth management solutions that help protect the health and retirement needs of working Americans and retirees. There are approximately 4,300 exclusive agents, including nearly 700 financial representatives working from more than 230 U.S. sales offices. To learn more, visit BankersLife.com. Bankers Life is the marketing brand of various affiliated companies of CNO Financial Group including, Bankers Life and Casualty Company, Bankers Life Securities, Inc., and Bankers Life Advisory Services, Inc. Non-affiliated insurance products are offered through Bankers Life Securities General Agency, Inc., (dba BL General Insurance Agency, Inc., AK, AL, CA, NV, PA). Securities and variable annuities offered through Bankers Life Securities, Inc. Member, FINRA/SIPC (dba BL Securities Inc., AL, GA, IA, IL, MI, NV, PA). Advisory products and services offered by Bankers Life Advisory Services, Inc. SEC Registered Investment Adviser (dba BL Advisory Services, Inc., AL, GA, IA, MT, NV, PA). SOURCE CNO Financial Group A roundup of the week's most newsworthy financial industry press releases from PR Newswire, including a survey about women's financial security and Zillow's top cities for pet-owning renters. NEW YORK, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- With thousands of press releases published each week, it can be difficult to keep up with everything on PR Newswire. To help journalists covering the finance industry stay on top of the week's most newsworthy and popular releases, here's a roundup of stories from the week that shouldn't be missed. The list below includes the headline (with a link to the full text) and an excerpt from each story. Click on the press release headlines to access accompanying multimedia assets that are available for download. PR Newswire Weekly Finance Press Release Roundup, March 6-10, 2023. Photo provided by Wix.com Ltd. https://prn.to/3yr0ZQv Read more of the latest finance-related releases from PR Newswire and stay caught up on the top press releases by following @PRNfinance on Twitter. Can't-Miss Earnings In addition to these popular releases, several must-read earnings reports crossed the wire this week, including the quarterly results for Hut 8 and Troika Media Company. Catch up on all the latest earnings reports here. Helping Journalists Stay Up to Date on Industry News These are just a few of the recent press releases that consumers and the media should know about. To be notified of releases relevant to their coverage area, journalists can set up a custom newsfeed with PR Newswire for Journalists. Once they're signed up, reporters, bloggers and freelancers have access to the following free features: Customization: Create a customized newsfeed that will deliver relevant news right to your inbox. Customize the newsfeed by keywords, industry, subject, geography, and more. Create a customized newsfeed that will deliver relevant news right to your inbox. Customize the newsfeed by keywords, industry, subject, geography, and more. Photos and Videos: Thousands of multimedia assets are available to download and include with your next story. Thousands of multimedia assets are available to download and include with your next story. Subject Matter Experts: Access ProfNet, a database of industry experts to connect with as sources or for quotes in your articles. Access ProfNet, a database of industry experts to connect with as sources or for quotes in your articles. Related Resources: Read and subscribe to our journalist- and blogger-focused blog, Beyond Bylines, for media news roundups, writing tips, upcoming events, and more. About PR Newswire and PR Newswire for Journalists For more than 65 years, PR Newswire has been the industry leader with the largest, most comprehensive distribution network of print, radio, magazine, television stations, financial portals and trade publications. PR Newswire has an unparalleled global reach of more than 200,000 publications and 10,000 websites and is available in more than 170 countries and 40 languages. PR Newswire for Journalists (PRNJ) is an exclusive community that includes over 20,000 journalists, bloggers and influencers who are logging into their PRNJ accounts specifically looking for story ideas. PR Newswire thoroughly researches and vets this community to verify their identity as a member of the press, blogger or influencer. PRNJ users cover more than 200 beats and verticals. For questions, contact the team at [email protected]. SOURCE PR Newswire A roundup of the week's most newsworthy travel industry press releases from PR Newswire, including a new Peppa Pig theme park and the best time to book flights. NEW YORK, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- With thousands of press releases published each week, it can be difficult to keep up with everything on PR Newswire. To help journalists covering the travel industry stay on top of the week's most newsworthy and popular releases, here's a roundup of stories from the week that shouldn't be missed. The list below includes the headline (with a link to the full text) and an excerpt from each story. Click on the press release headlines to access accompanying multimedia assets that are available for download. PR Newswire Weekly Travel Press Release Roundup, March 6-10, 2023. Photo provided by Holland America Line. https://prn.to/3ZFOTin Read more of the latest travel-related releases from PR Newswire and stay caught up on the top press releases by following @PRNtravel on Twitter. Can't-Miss Earnings In addition to these popular releases, several must-read earnings reports crossed the wire this week, including the quarterly results for Wheels Up. Catch up on all the latest earnings reports here. Helping Journalists Stay Up to Date on Industry News These are just a few of the recent press releases that consumers and the media should know about. To be notified of releases relevant to their coverage area, journalists can set up a custom newsfeed with PR Newswire for Journalists. Once they're signed up, reporters, bloggers and freelancers have access to the following free features: Customization: Create a customized newsfeed that will deliver relevant news right to your inbox. Customize the newsfeed by keywords, industry, subject, geography, and more. Create a customized newsfeed that will deliver relevant news right to your inbox. Customize the newsfeed by keywords, industry, subject, geography, and more. Photos and Videos: Thousands of multimedia assets are available to download and include with your next story. Thousands of multimedia assets are available to download and include with your next story. Subject Matter Experts: Access ProfNet, a database of industry experts to connect with as sources or for quotes in your articles. Access ProfNet, a database of industry experts to connect with as sources or for quotes in your articles. Related Resources: Read and subscribe to our journalist- and blogger-focused blog, Beyond Bylines, for media news roundups, writing tips, upcoming events, and more. About PR Newswire and PR Newswire for Journalists For more than 65 years, PR Newswire has been the industry leader with the largest, most comprehensive distribution network of print, radio, magazine, television stations, financial portals and trade publications. PR Newswire has an unparalleled global reach of more than 200,000 publications and 10,000 websites and is available in more than 170 countries and 40 languages. PR Newswire for Journalists (PRNJ) is an exclusive community that includes over 20,000 journalists, bloggers and influencers who are logging into their PRNJ accounts specifically looking for story ideas. PR Newswire thoroughly researches and vets this community to verify their identity as a member of the press, blogger or influencer. PRNJ users cover more than 200 beats and verticals. For questions, contact the team at [email protected]. SOURCE PR Newswire AUBURN HILLS, Mich., March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Jeep brand is headed back to its 'home away from home' Moab, Utah for the 57th annual Easter Jeep Safari, scheduled for April 1-9, 2023. For more than five decades, thousands of enthusiasts and Jeep brand loyalists gather to take part in one of the largest off-road gatherings in the world, hosted by Moab's Red Rock 4-Wheelers club. Trail time! The first Jeep brand and Jeep Performance Parts by Mopar concept sketches hint at two of the several new concept vehicles heading to the 57th annual Easter Jeep Safari, scheduled for April 1-9, 2023 in Moab, Utah. One of which is set to conquer Moabs tumultuous backcountry trails in absolute silence, and further highlights the Jeep brands vision of accomplishing Zero Emission Freedom. Trail time! The first Jeep brand and Jeep Performance Parts by Mopar concept sketches hint at two of the several new concept vehicles heading to the 57th annual Easter Jeep Safari, scheduled for April 1-9, 2023 in Moab, Utah. One of which is set to conquer Moabs tumultuous backcountry trails in absolute silence, and further highlights the Jeep brands vision of accomplishing Zero Emission Freedom. Just when you thought the Jeep brand couldn't push the limits any farther, an entirely new collection of eye-catching, mission-capable concept vehicles will be unveiled and driven aggressively during the annual event. The Jeep brand and Jeep Performance Parts (JPP) by Mopar design teams are bringing their A-game to create several one-of-a-kind, rock-crawling, terrain-traversing vehicles that will take four-wheeling to the next level and prove why there's nothing quite like legendary Jeep 4x4 capability. Several "trail markers" leading up to the event will provide clues for what's in store for this year's Easter Jeep Safari lineup. The first Jeep and JPP sketches hot off the drawing table hint at two of the new concept vehicles, including one 4xe electrified Jeep SUV set to conquer Moab's tumultuous backcountry trails in absolute silence, and further highlight the Jeep brand's vision of accomplishing Zero Emission Freedom. For more information, visit the Easter Jeep Safari newsroom. Jeep Brand Built on more than 80 years of legendary heritage, Jeep is the authentic SUV brand that brings capability, craftsmanship and versatility to people who seek extraordinary journeys. The Jeep brand delivers an open invitation to live life to the fullest by offering a broad portfolio of vehicles that continues to provide owners with a sense of safety and security to handle any journey with confidence. The Jeep vehicle range consists of the Cherokee, Compass, Gladiator, Grand Cherokee, new three-row Grand Cherokee L, Grand Cherokee 4xe, Renegade and Wrangler and Wrangler 4xe. Jeep Wave, a premium owner loyalty and customer care program that is available to the entire Jeep 4x4 lineup, is filled with benefits and exclusive perks to deliver Jeep brand owners the utmost care and dedicated 24/7 support. The legendary Jeep brand's off-road capability is enhanced by a global electrification initiative that is transforming 4xe into new 4x4 in pursuit of the brand's vision of accomplishing Zero Emission Freedom. All Jeep brand vehicles will offer an electrified variant by 2025. Follow Jeep and company news and video on: Company blog: http://blog.stellantisnorthamerica.com Media website: http://media.stellantisnorthamerica.com Jeep brand: www.jeep.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/jeep Instagram: www.instagram.com/jeep Twitter: www.twitter.com/jeep LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/jeep YouTube: www.youtube.com/thejeepchannel or https://www.youtube.com/StellantisNA SOURCE Stellantis Community Leaders/VIPs, including Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, team up to celebrate Dedicated Senior Medical Center's concierge primary care for Metroplex's most vulnerable adults. DALLAS, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ChenMed, a leading primary care provider for older adults operating more than 125 centers in 15 states, is now welcoming patients at two Dedicated Senior Medical Centers, bringing transformative primary care to two underserved greater Dallas neighborhoods. Thousands of local seniors can now benefit from preventive, affordable, VIP care from Dedicated doctors in Dallas' Skyline neighborhood, near the city of Mesquite (4808 South Buckner Blvd.), as well as Dallas' Five Mile Creek neighborhood (1111 West Ledbetter Drive). "Our doctors and care teams do whatever it takes to help vulnerable seniors stay healthy and happy." Samiya Yasin, M.D. Tweet this Bookended by Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders are: (left to right) Glen Bogner, President and Maina Gatonye, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, Dedicated National Division; Kristi Glover, Regional Vice President, Dedicated Texas; Samiya Yasin, M.D., Center Medical Director, Dedicated Skyline; Dedicated Dallas patient champion Heather Hogarth-Smith; Jeffrey Hall, Center Director, Dedicated Skyline; and Andrew Barr, M.D., Regional Chief Medical Officer, Dedicated Texas. The official grand opening of the new Dedicated Skyline center will be followed by a May grand opening celebration for the Dedicated Five Mile Creek center. Doctors at both new Dedicated centers in Dallas are seeing new patients and ushering in a new era of VIP service for the neediest populations across the Metroplex. Dedicated is rapidly expanding across Texas, already operating five centers in Houston and one center in San Antonio. "Dallas is a world-class city with wonderful seniors who deserve best-in-class primary care. That starts today, as Dedicated Senior Medical Centers proudly bring high-touch, personalized care to Dallas and Mesquite's Medicare-eligible older adults," says Andrew "Drew" Barr, M.D., MBA, MHA, FAAFP, FACHE, Regional Chief Medical Officer for Dedicated Texas. "Our doctors look forward to welcoming Dallas' Seniors into our family demonstrating the love, dignity, and respect they deserve as we transform their healthcare in ways that are proven to reduce emergency room visits and hospitalizations by 33 percent." Dedicated locates centers in communities where a lack of access to high-quality primary care and other social determinants of health have negatively impacted longevity for many years. These barriers have shortened average life spans by as much as 20 years when compared to others living in nearby more affluent zip codes. So, the innovative medical practice is working to address what Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. heralded more than 50 years ago: "Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and the most inhumane." The festive, ribbon-cutting ceremony yesterday also included the participation of several members of the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders squad, area faith leaders, and dignitaries. The event featured music, food, photo opportunities, and facility tours. Dedicated doctors used the event to explain how their medical practice fulfills its purpose by being accountable for helping their patients achieve better health. An April 2022 survey (N=185) of Dallas residents ages 65 or older and responsible for their healthcare decisions found, that among respondents self-identifying as likely to be switching their doctor: 27% say, "I do not believe I am getting the care I deserve." 19% report, "It is too difficult to get an appointment when I need one." 19% note, "The staff is unfriendly or difficult to work with." 19% declare, "My doctor does not listen to my concerns." The Dedicated staff provides personalized, friendly care and ensures its patients can get the care they need when they need it. Dedicated doctors give patients their cell phone numbers and respond quickly to patient calls or texts. Dedicated also offers same-day telehealth or in-person appointments, whenever needed. Additionally, Dedicated centers help reduce barriers to healthy living, and help seniors benefit from community services. "Our doctors and care teams do whatever it takes to help vulnerable seniors stay healthy and happy," explains Samiya Yasin, M.D., Skyline's Center Medical Director. "We deliver affordable VIP care that includes patients getting more frequent visits with the doctor who knows them best. Plus, Dedicated doctors give 100 percent of patients their cell phone numbers, encouraging patients to call or text anytime. And, we welcome same-day and walk-in appointments by patients in need." The highly personalized care at Dedicated leads to happier and healthier patients, as noted by a 2022 third-party survey of more than 76,500 ChenMed patients: 94.8% report provider satisfaction. 95.3% agree their doctor listens to them. 97.0% feel their doctor shows respect. "Dedicated doctors already have begun improving my life and health," says Wanda, a Dallas resident. "I love the treatment that they give me and they really show love and concern about my health and my well-being." About Dedicated Senior Medical Center: Dedicated is part of ChenMed , which today operates more than 125 centers in 15 states. The hyper-growth company employs outstanding primary care physicians and specialist doctors who are empowered to do whatever it takes to deliver VIP service; to detect and effectively manage high-risk diseases; and to reduce hospital sick days for Medicare-eligible seniors, many of whom are living with multiple and major chronic conditions. ChenMed is a privately owned medical, management and technology company that delivers the high-touch and personalized primary care Medicare-eligible seniors need to enjoy better health. Named one of Fortune 2020 "Change the World" companies , a "Most Loved Workplace" by Newsweek Magazine , and a certified Great Place to Work by the Great Place to Work Institute , ChenMed brings concierge-style medicine and better health outcomes to the neediest populations. See ChenMed's 2022 Impact Report . SOURCE ChenMed DUBLIN, March 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "United Arab Emirates Social Commerce Market Intelligence and Future Growth Dynamics Databook - 50+ KPIs on Social Commerce Trends by End-Use Sectors, Operational KPIs, Retail Product Dynamics, and Consumer Demographics - Q1 2023 Update" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. According to the publisher, social commerce industry in United Arab Emirates is expected to grow by 21.6% on annual basis to reach US$975.2 million in 2023. The social commerce industry is expected to grow steadily over the forecast period, recording a CAGR of 19.9% during 2022-2028. The social commerce GMV in the country will increase from US$975.2 million in 2023 to reach US$2898.7 million by 2028. In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), consumers are spending an increasing amount of time on social media platforms. The affinity with these mobile applications is driving an upsurge in social commerce. Social media channels, such as Facebook and Instagram, have made it easier for brands to interact with their consumers and drive their sales leveraging the massive outreach among consumers in the Emirates. The trend is projected to further continue from the short to medium-term perspective, and as a result, more and more global players are entering the Emirati market to capitalize on the growth potential in the UAE. The resulting investment from global and domestic firms, amid the rising competition, will keep supporting the growth of the social commerce industry from the short to medium-term perspective. Global players are expanding their footprint in the Emirati social commerce market to accelerate growth Retailers in the Emirati nation are increasingly turning to social media channels to drive their sales while seeking to build a long-term loyal customer base. To capitalize on the trend, global players are expanding and scaling their businesses in the country. For instance, In October 2022 , respond.io, the Malaysian social commerce startup, announced that the firm is planning to increase its investment in the Emirates social commerce market to further accelerate its growth. The firm had already achieved strong growth in the UAE over the last 12 months. Being one of the largest revenue growth drivers for the firm, respond.io recorded revenue growth of 236% in the country. With the increasing investment in the UAE market, respond.io will enable more retailers to integrate social channels into their existing customer relationship management. The announcement to increase the investment in the Emirates comes after the firm raised US$7 million in its Series A funding round. From the short to medium-term perspective, more such firms are expected to boost their investment in the space, as small retailers and brands seek to diversify their sales channels in the region. Beauty and personal care segment to lead the growth in the Emirati social commerce industry Brands and retailers across industry verticals are driving sales and revenue through social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. Leveraging an increasing amount of time spent by consumers online, many brands are reaching customers through social channels. However, over the next three to four years, the beauty and personal care segment is expected to lead the growth in the Emirati social commerce industry. While family and friend sources are largely driving social commerce shopping trends, celebrity-influenced purchases are also catching up in the Emirates. The increasing trust towards content creators is projected to further grow, thereby resulting in an upsurge in social commerce activities. Consequently, the publisher expects more retailers to partner with influencers in the region to further drive their sales and revenue growth in the region from the short to medium-term perspective. TikTok has gained widespread popularity among consumers and brands in the Emirates The UAE has a strong population of young generation consumers. With this consumer demographic inclined more towards video content, like the one offered by TikTok, the social media platform has gained widespread popularity among shoppers and brands over the last two years. Many Gen Z consumers are using social channels to discover products and make purchases online. Furthermore, brands are also using the channel to converse with their audiences in the UAE. Alshaya, the retail group based in the Emirati country, leveraged the live streaming capabilities offered by the social channel to create its online shopping event, targeted towards Gen Z consumers. The group ran the live stream campaign for eight days, with eight brands under the group offering the best deals one day after the other for the Black Friday event. From the short to medium-term perspective, the publisher expects more brands and retailers to launch such campaigns in the Emirates. This report provides a detailed data centric analysis of social commerce industry, covering market opportunities and risks. With over 50+ KPIs at country level, this report provides a comprehensive understanding of social commerce market dynamics, market size and forecast, and market share statistics. The research methodology is based on industry best practices. Its unbiased analysis leverages a proprietary analytics platform to offer a detailed view on emerging business and investment market opportunities. Scope This report provides in-depth, data-centric analysis of social commerce in United Arab Emirates. Below is a summary of key market segments: United Arab Emirates Ecommerce Industry Market Size and Future Growth Dynamics by Key Performance Indicators, 2019-2028 United Arab Emirates Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Future Growth Dynamics by Key Performance Indicators, 2019-2028 United Arab Emirates Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by Retail Product Categories, 2019-2028 Clothing & Footwear Beauty and Personal Care Food & Grocery Appliances and Electronics Home Improvement Travel Hospitality United Arab Emirates Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by End Use Segment, 2019-2028 B2B B2C C2C United Arab Emirates Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by End Use Device, 2019-2028 Mobile Desktop United Arab Emirates Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by Location, 2019-2028 Domestic Cross Border United Arab Emirates Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by Location, 2019-2028 Tier-1 Cities Tier-2 Cities Tier-3 Cities United Arab Emirates Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by Payment Method, 2019-2028 Credit Card Debit Card Bank Transfer Prepaid Card Digital & Mobile Wallet Other Digital Payment Cash United Arab Emirates Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by Platforms Video Commerce Social Network-Led Commerce Social Reselling Group Buying Product Review Platforms United Arab Emirates Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by Consumer Demographics & Behaviour,2022 By Age By Income Level By Gender Reasons to buy In-depth Understanding of Social Commerce Market Dynamics: Understand market opportunities and key trends along with forecast (2019-2028). Insights into Opportunity by end-use sectors - Get market dynamics by end-use sectors to assess emerging opportunity across various end-use sectors. Develop Market Specific Strategies: Identify growth segments and target specific opportunities to formulate social commerce strategy; assess market specific key trends, drivers, and risks in the industry. For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/jvuv4r 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 SOURCE Research and Markets DUBLIN, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "United Kingdom Dental Services Market, By Service (Prosthodontics {Porcelain Veneers, Crowns, Fixing Bridges, Others}, Endodontics, Cosmetic Dentistry, Periodontics, Others), By Market Structure, By Patient Type, By Region, Competition Forecast & Opportunities, 2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. United Kingdom dental services market is anticipated to register growth with an impressive CAGR in the forecast period, 2023-2027. The market growth can be attributed to rising advancements in dental care in the country. Rising awareness regarding oral care and rising instances of diseases further drive the growth of the United Kingdom dental services market in the upcoming five years. The growing geriatric population and prolonged sedentary lifestyle of the population are also anticipated to support the growth of the United Kingdom dental services market in the next five years. Technological advancements and growing research and development of innovative products further facilitate the growth of the United Kingdom dental services market in the future five years. Dental services include diagnosis, prevention methods, and treatment for dental issues including diseases & oral infections. The dental services are provided by expert dental professionals, endo-dentists, general dentists, oral and maxillofacial radiologists, oral pathologists, oral surgeons, orthodontists, pedo-dentists, etc. based on their areas of expertise. Medical procedures like root canal treatment, tooth extraction, fillings, crowing, etc. along with imaging techniques, and pathological tests to diagnose oral diseases are all considered under an umbrella term of dental services. United Kingdom healthcare industry growth is steady and the government's involvement in the advancement of the industry is beneficial for its citizen as well as medical tourists visiting the country for healthcare services. Rising Awareness Drives Market Growth A surge in the demand for advanced dental services is majorly dependent on the population of the country and their inclination toward better dental services. Rising concerns regarding deteriorating dental health, and a sedentary lifestyle has created awareness among the population. Also, various educational drives and promotions from the dental product manufacturers are aiding the growth of the United Kingdom dental services market indirectly through five years in the future. A growing number of dental practitioners and experts in the industry further supports the growth of the market. In 2021, approximately 47 thousand dental practitioners were in employment in the United Kingdom (UK). There were over 23.7 thousand dentists active within the NHS in England in the period 2020/21. National Healthcare Services (NHS) is the major authoritative body responsible for the healthcare provisions in the country. Although high patient burden and increasing wait time for healthcare service avail have redirected the population toward private healthcare services. Increasing Healthcare Expenses Support Market Growth The healthcare sector draws heavy investments through government funding and private financial aid. Moreover, the population is also actively investing and spending on fine healthcare services. In 2019, consumer spending on dental services was at approximately 3.3 billion British pounds which are approximately over USD4 billion. Total current healthcare expenditure in 2020 is estimated at 269 billion, a nominal-terms increase of 20% on spending in 2019. With the increasing patient burden over government-funded healthcare services, the shift toward private services facilitates the United Kingdom dental services market growth. Report Scope: In this report, United Kingdom dental services market has been segmented into the following categories, in addition to the industry trends which have also been detailed below: United Kingdom Dental Services Market, By Service: Prosthodontics Porcelain Veneers Crowns Fixing Bridges Others Endodontics Treatment of Dental Pulp Root Canal Treatment Cosmetic Dentistry Cosmetic Teeth Whitening Cosmetic Teeth Shaping & Teeth Bonding Carbon Post Others Periodontics Gum Graft Surgery Laser Treatment Others Others United Kingdom Dental Services Market, By Market Structure: Organized Dental Clinics Unorganized Dental Clinics United Kingdom Dental Services Market, By Patient Type: Inbound Outbound United Kingdom Dental Services Market, By Region: London East Anglia Southwest Southeast Scotland East Midlands Yorkshire & Humberside Key Topics Covered: 1. Product Overview 2. Research Methodology 3. Executive Summary 4. Impact of COVID-19 on United Kingdom Dental Services Market 5. Voice of Customer 6. United Kingdom Dental Services Market Outlook 7. United Kingdom Prosthodontics Services Market Outlook 8. United Kingdom Endodontics Services Market Outlook 9. United Kingdom Cosmetic Dentistry Services Market Outlook 10. United Kingdom Periodontics Services Market Outlook 11. Market Dynamics 12. Market Trends & Developments 13. Policy & Regulatory Landscape 14. UAE Economic Profile 15. Competitive Landscape 16. Strategic Recommendations A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes Kings Dental Clinic Rodericks Dental Limited VM Dent Clinic Abbey Dental Care Forward Dental Care UK Dental Specialists Harley Street Dental Clinic For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/qit2n7 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 [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 Conference call to take place on Thursday March 16 at 08:30 a.m. Eastern Time HENDERSON, Nev., March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- VolitionRx Limited (NYSE AMERICAN: VNRX) ("Volition") today announced it will host a conference call on Thursday March 16 at 08.30 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss its financial and operating results for the full fiscal year 2022, in addition to providing a business update. Event: VolitionRx Limited Full Year 2022 Earnings and Business Update Conference Call Date: Thursday March 16, 2023 Time: 08:30 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time U.S. & Canada Dial-in: 1-877-407-9716 (toll free) U.K. Dial-in: 0 800 756 3429 (toll free) Toll/International: 1-201-493-6779 Conference ID: 13736997 Cameron Reynolds, President and Group Chief Executive Officer of Volition, will host the call along with Terig Hughes, Group Chief Financial Officer, Dr. Tom Butera, Chief Executive Officer of Volition Veterinary Diagnostics Development LLC, and Scott Powell, Executive Vice President, Investor Relations. The call will provide an update on important events which have taken place in 2022 and upcoming milestones. A live audio webcast of the conference call will also be available on the investor relations page of Volition's corporate website at http://ir.volition.com . In addition, a telephone replay of the call will be available until March 30, 2023. The replay dial-in numbers are 1-844-512-2921 (toll-free) in the U.S. and Canada and 1-412-317-6671 (toll) internationally. Please use replay pin number 13736997. About Volition Volition is a multi-national epigenetics company powered by Nu.Q, its proprietary nucleosome quantification platform. Through its subsidiaries, Volition is developing simple, easy to use, cost effective blood tests to help diagnose and monitor a range of life-altering diseases including some cancers and diseases associated with NETosis such as sepsis and COVID-19. Early diagnosis and monitoring have the potential to not only prolong the life of patients but also improve their quality of life. The tests are based on the science of Nucleosomics, which is the practice of identifying and measuring nucleosomes in the bloodstream or other bodily fluid - an indication that disease is present. Volition's research and development activities are centered in Belgium, with an innovation laboratory and office in the U.S. and additional offices in London and Singapore. Nu.Q is a trademark of VolitionRx Limited and its subsidiaries. Media Enquiries: Louise Batchelor/Debra Daglish, Volition, [email protected] +44 (0)7557 774620 SOURCE VolitionRx Limited BEIJING, March 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The awards ceremony of global poetry and prose competition was held on March 2 in Guoyang county of Bozhou city, east China's Anhui province, the birthplace of Chinese sage Laozi. Laozi, who was born in 571 B.C., is one of the most prominent ancient Chinese philosophers, thinkers, writers and historians. He is the founder of Taoism and the author of Tao Te Ching. Photo taken on March 2, 2023 shows the performance of Guoyang hanqiang, a genre of traditional narrative singing from Guoyang county of Bozhou city, east China's Anhui province, at the awards ceremony. Photo taken on March 2, 2023 shows honored guests, officials present awards to prize winners. As a part of a series of memorial events for Laozi, marking his 2594th birth anniversary, the event included sections such as the awards ceremony, art performance, a forum and a field trip. Zheng Qin, an official of Guoyang county government, addressed at the awards ceremony that more poets, writers and friends are welcomed to come to Guoyang and display the beauty of Guoyang's nature, history, people through works. "Laozi's words of wisdom are well-remembered, providing inspiration and guidance to modern-day Chinese. Today's journey to Guoyang, Laozi's hometown, has brought me new inspirations," said Ye Dan, first prize winner of the poetry competition. A total of over 6,000 poems and more than 300 proses had been submitted to the competition. After rounds of evaluation by professional judges, 28 pieces of works in each category were awarded prizes. This competition has set a good example of Guoyang's exploration of Laozi culture, as it has accelerated the development of Laozi culture, expanded the brand awareness of Laozi culture and enhanced Guoyang's cultural soft power, said Chen Xianfa, a famous Chinese poet. Original link: https://en.imsilkroad.com/p/333132.html SOURCE Xinhua Silk Road HAMILTON, Bermuda, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN OR INTO ANY JURISDICTION WHERE IT IS UNLAWFUL TO RELEASE, PUBLISH OR DISTRIBUTE THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. XL GROUP LTD ANNOUNCES PRICING OF ITS TENDER OFFER IN RELATION TO ITS USD 500,000,000 5.500% SUBORDINATED NOTES DUE 2045 (CUSIP: 98420EAD7 and ISIN: US98420EAD76) On 6 March 2023, XL Group Ltd (the "Offeror" or the "Company") launched its invitation to holders of its USD 500,000,000 5.500% Subordinated Notes due 2045 (CUSIP: 98420EAD7 and ISIN: US98420EAD76) (the "Notes") to tender such Notes for purchase by the Offeror for cash (such invitation, the "Offer" and the announcement in relation to such invitation, the "Launch Announcement"). The Offer is being made on the terms and subject to the conditions contained in the tender offer memorandum dated 6 March 2023 (the "Tender Offer Memorandum") and is subject to the offer restrictions set out below and as more fully described in the Tender Offer Memorandum. Copies of the Tender Offer Memorandum are (subject to offer restrictions) available from D.F. King (the "Tender Agent") on their website https://sites.dfkingltd.com/XLGroup. Capitalised terms used and not otherwise defined in this announcement have the meanings given to them in the Tender Offer Memorandum. The Offeror today announces that it has priced the Offer for the Notes. The Offer will expire today at 5:00 p.m. (New York City) time, unless extended, re-opened, withdrawn or terminated by the Offeror as described in the Tender Offer Memorandum. Holders who validly tender (and do not validly withdraw) their Notes, or who deliver a properly completed and duly executed Notice of Guaranteed Delivery in accordance with the instructions in the Tender Offer Memorandum, will be eligible to receive the Purchase Price described below and in the Tender Offer Memorandum. Certain information regarding the Notes and the pricing for the Offer is set forth in the table below. Description of Notes CUSIP/ISIN Aggregate Principal Amount Outstanding U.S. Treasury Reference Security Bloomberg Reference Page Fixed Spread Reference Yield Price USD 500,000,000 Subordinated Notes due 2045 98420EAD7/ US98420EAD76 USD 483,305,000 3.875% U.S. Treasury due February 15, 2043 (ISIN: US912810TQ13) FIT1 130 bps 3.900 % USD 1,039.06 per USD 1,000 in principal amount In addition, Holders whose Notes are validly tendered and delivered and accepted for purchase by the Offeror pursuant to the Offer, will receive accrued and unpaid interest from and including the interest payment date for the Notes immediately preceding the Settlement Date to but excluding the Settlement Date, determined in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Notes. For avoidance of doubt, Holders whose Notes are tendered and accepted for purchase which are the subject of a Notice of Guaranteed Delivery will not receive payment in respect of any interest for the period from and including the Settlement Date to the Guaranteed Delivery Settlement Date. The results of the Offer are expected to be announced on 13 March 2023. The Offer remains subject to the conditions and restrictions set out in the Tender Offer Memorandum and the expected Tender Offer Settlement Date is 15 March 2023 for Notes validly tendered and accepted for purchase which are the subject of a Notice of Guaranteed Delivery and 14 March 2023 in respect of any other Notes validly tendered and accepted for purchase. Full details concerning the Offer are set out in the Tender Offer Memorandum. Merrill Lynch International (Telephone: +44 207 996 5420 (U.K.); +1 (888) 292-0070 (U.S. Toll Free); +1 (980) 387-3907 (U.S.); Email: [email protected]; Attention: Liability Management Group) is acting as Dealer Manager and D.F. King (Telephone: (877) 283-0323; Email: [email protected]; Website: https://sites.dfkingltd.com/XLGroup; Attention: Michael Horthman) is acting as Tender Agent. DISCLAIMER This announcement must be read in conjunction with the Tender Offer Memorandum and the Launch Announcement. No offer or invitation to acquire or sell any Notes is being made pursuant to this announcement. The Dealer Manager does not take responsibility for the contents of this announcement. The distribution of this announcement, the Launch Announcement and the Tender Offer Memorandum in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law. Persons into whose possession this announcement, the Launch Announcement and/or the Tender Offer Memorandum come into are required by each of the Offeror, the Dealer Manager and the Tender Agent to inform themselves about, and to observe, any such restrictions. OFFER AND DISTRIBUTION RESTRICTIONS Belgium None of the Tender Offer Memorandum, this announcement nor any other documents or materials relating to the Offer have been or will be notified to, and none of the Tender Offer Memorandum, this announcement nor any other documents or materials relating to the Offer have been or will be submitted for approval by, the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority (Autoriteit voor Financiele Diensten en Markten/Autorite des Services et Marches Financiers). The Offer may therefore not be made in Belgium by way of a public takeover bid (openbaar overnamebod/offre publique d'acquisition) as defined in Article 3 of the Belgian law of April 1, 2007 on public takeover bids, as amended (the "Belgian Takeover Law"), save in those circumstances where a private placement exemption is available. The Offer is conducted exclusively under applicable private offer exemptions. The Offer may therefore not be advertised and the Offer will not be extended, and none of the Tender Offer Memorandum, this announcement nor any other documents or materials relating to the Offer have been or will be distributed or made available, directly or indirectly, to any person in Belgium other than (i) to qualified investors within the meaning of Article 2(e) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 or (ii) in any circumstances set out in Article 6, 4 of the Belgian Takeover Law and, in each case, provided that any such person does not qualify as a consumer within the meaning of Article I.1 of the Belgian Code of Economic Law, as amended from time to time. The Tender Offer Memorandum and this announcement have been issued for the personal use of the above-mentioned qualified investors only and exclusively for the purpose of the Offer. Accordingly, the information contained in the Tender Offer Memorandum and this announcement may not be used for any other purpose nor may it be disclosed to any other person in Belgium. United Kingdom The communication of the Tender Offer Memorandum, this announcement and any other documents or materials relating to the Offer is not being made, and such documents and/or materials have not been approved, by an authorised person for the purposes of section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, as amended. Accordingly, such documents and/or materials are not being distributed to, and must not be passed on to, the general public in the United Kingdom. The communication of such documents and/or materials as a financial promotion is only being made to those persons in the United Kingdom falling within the definition of investment professionals (as defined in Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended (the "Financial Promotion Order")) or persons who are within Article 43(2) of the Financial Promotion Order or any other persons to whom it may otherwise lawfully be made under the Financial Promotion Order (together, "relevant persons"). Any investment or investment activity to which the Tender Offer Memorandum relates is available only to relevant persons and will be engaged in only with relevant persons (and is subject to other restrictions referred to in the Financial Promotion Order). France The Tender Offer Memorandum, this announcement and any other document or material relating to the Offer have only been and shall only be distributed in France to qualified investors as defined in Article 2(e) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129. The Tender Offer Memorandum has not been and will not be submitted for clearance to nor approved by the Autorite des Marches Financiers. Italy None of the Offer, the Tender Offer Memorandum, this announcement or any other documents or materials relating to the Offer have been or will be submitted to the clearance procedure of the Commissione Nazionale per le Societa e la Borsa ("CONSOB") pursuant to applicable Italian laws and regulations. The Offer is being carried out in the Republic of Italy as an exempted offer pursuant to article 101-bis, paragraph 3-bis of the Legislative Decree No. 58 of 24 February 1998, as amended (the "Financial Services Act") and article 35-bis, paragraph 4 of CONSOB Regulation No. 11971 of 14 May 1999, as amended. Holders, or beneficial owners of the Notes that are located or resident in Italy, can tender some or all of their Notes pursuant to the Offer through authorised persons (such as investment firms, banks or financial intermediaries permitted to conduct such activities in Italy in accordance with the Financial Services Act, CONSOB Regulation No. 20307 of 15 February 2018, as amended from time to time, and Legislative Decree No. 385 of September 1, 1993, as amended) and in compliance with applicable laws and regulations or with requirements imposed by CONSOB or any other Italian authority. Each intermediary must comply with the applicable laws and regulations concerning information duties vis-a-vis its clients in connection with the Notes or the Offer. General None of the Offeror, the Dealer Manager or the Tender Agent makes any recommendation as to whether or not Holders should participate in the Offer and any Holder who is unsure of what action to take in respect of the Offer should consult their own professional advisers. Neither the Dealer Manager nor the Tender Agent accepts any responsibility for the contents of this announcement or the Tender Offer Memorandum. None of the Tender Offer Memorandum, this announcement nor the electronic transmission thereof constitutes an offer to buy or the solicitation of an offer to sell Notes (and tenders of Notes for purchase pursuant to the Offer will not be accepted from Holders) in any circumstances in which such offer or solicitation is unlawful. In those jurisdictions where the securities, blue sky or other laws require the Offer to be made by a licensed broker or dealer and the Dealer Manager or any of its affiliates is such a licensed broker or dealer in any such jurisdiction, the Offer shall be deemed to be made by the Dealer Manager or such affiliate, as the case may be, on behalf of the Offeror in such jurisdiction. Each Holder participating in the Offer will be deemed to give certain representations in respect of the jurisdictions referred to above and generally as set out in the section entitled "Procedures for Participating in the Offer" in the Tender Offer Memorandum. Any tender of Notes for purchase pursuant to the Offer from a Holder that is unable to make these representations will not be accepted. Each of the Offeror, the Dealer Manager and the Tender Agent reserves the right, in its sole and absolute discretion, to investigate, in relation to any tender of Notes for purchase pursuant to the Offer, whether any such representation given by a Holder is correct and, if such investigation is undertaken and as a result the Offeror determines (for any reason) that such representation is not correct, such tender or submission may be rejected. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about the Company's beliefs, plans or expectations, are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current plans, estimates and expectations, all of which involve risk and uncertainty. Statements that include the words "expect," "estimate," "intend," "plan," "believe," "project," "anticipate," "may," "could," "would," "look" or similar statements of a future or forward-looking nature identify forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. About AXA XL AXA XL provides insurance and risk management products and services for mid-sized companies through to large multinationals, and reinsurance solutions to insurance companies globally. We partner with those who move the world forward. To learn more, visit www.axaxl.com XL Group Ltd, the direct subsidiary of AXA S.A., comprises the AXA XL division of the AXA Group. Through its subsidiaries, it is a global insurance and reinsurance conglomerate providing property, casualty and specialty products to industrial, commercial and professional firms, insurance companies and other enterprises throughout the world. To learn more, visit www.axaxl.com SOURCE XL Group Ltd On the occasion of World Kidney Day, which falls on March 9, a virtual programme was organised with participation of experts of allopathy and ayurveda from across the country to discuss the causes of kidney diseases with emphasis laid on preventive measures, especially lifestyle changes. New Delhi, March 9 (IANS) By making changes in lifestyle, kidney diseases cannot only be prevented but also controlled in their early stages, said experts. On the occasion of World Kidney Day, which falls on March 9, a virtual programme was organised with participation of experts of allopathy and ayurveda from across the country to discuss the causes of kidney diseases with emphasis laid on preventive measures, especially lifestyle changes. Himanshu Verma, Head of the Department of Nephrology at Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital, said in his presentation that the process from kidney disease to kidney failure happens in five stages. "But it is possible to completely overcome the disease in the first and second stages. For this, first of all, it is necessary to have awareness among the patients so that the disease can be identified in the initial stage itself." According to him, keeping the body mass index (BMI) between 20-25, walking 30 minutes in a day and at least five days in a week, changing lifestyle, reducing the consumption of pain-relieving medicines, among other precautions, are effective in controlling the disease in the initial stage. Patients with diabetes and high blood pressure would be at highest risk of kidney disease. "This risk can be much higher for people over 60 years of age with any of these diseases." The experts also talked about on alternative treatment methods of ayurveda like Neeri KFT, a traditional ayurvedic polyherbal formulation that has been found to be effective in regulating functions of at least six genes variants causing kidney dysfunction. In concluding remarks, Sanchit Sharma, Executive Director, AIMIL Pharma, said the nine-day long programme experts discussed extensively on how to avoid kidney diseases and how to manage them. "This discussion shows that no standards can be fixed to prevent the disease but a dynamic approach needs to be adopted," he said. Studies have warned that the prevalence of chronic kidney disease in India is on rise among those dealing with chronic diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. New Delhi, March 9 : Airline Air India Express on Thursday said that it has suspended a cabin crew member, who was caught while allegedly smuggling over 1.4 kg gold through Cochin International Airport. Earlier, the accused crew member was taken into custody by the authorities. "A member of the crew on an Air India Express flight IX 474 has been taken into custody following an incident involving smuggling. The said individual has been placed on suspension with immediate effect," an airline spokesperson said. "Air India Express has zero tolerance for such behaviour and will be taking stern action against the individual including termination of service following receipt of the report from the investigative authorities," the spokesperson added. The Air India Express cabin crew member on a Bahrain-Kochi flight was nabbed by the authorities at the Kerala' airport for smuggling over 1.4 kg gold on Wednesday. Sources said that the accused allegedly kept the gold wrapped around his hands and covered it under his full sleeves uniform. Hyderabad, March 9 : A city court on Thursday sentenced to life imprisonment K. Rakesh Reddy in the case of the sensational murder of Non-Resident Indian Chigurupati Jayaram more than four years ago. The First Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge, who had held Rakesh Reddy guilty two days ago, pronounced the quantum of punishment on Thursday. Eleven others, including three police officers, were acquitted. Jayaram, a pharma scientist and NRI businessman, was found dead in his car off the national highway near Nandigama of Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh on January 31, 2019. Initially, it appeared to be a case of a road accident but police investigations revealed that he was murdered and the accused tried to make it appear like a road accident. Subsequent probe revealed that the victim was honey-trapped by the killers by sending him text messages to his mobile phone making him believe that a woman was sending them. When Jayaram reached a house in Hyderabad's Banjara Hills to meet the woman, he was kidnapped. Police found that Rakesh Reddy, who had given loans to the NRI, confined him to the house for 24 hours and tortured him to force him repay the loans. The NRI businessman paid Rs 6 lakh while he was being held captive, and was also made to sign some blank papers. The accused eventually smothered him to death. He, later along with other accused, took the body to Nandigama in a car. There were allegations that the policemen helped in transporting the body. Initially, the case was registered by Nandigama police which arrested Rakesh Reddy and another accused Nevnath Rajesh. The case was later transferred to Jubilee Hills police station. The police had later arrested more accused. It had filed a charge sheet against 12 accused including Assistant Commissioner of Police Malla Reddy and two circle inspectors. Rakesh Reddy had been lodged in jail for last four years. The court acquitted all other accused due to lack of evidence. --IANS ms/vd A London, March 9 : Reducing social media use by 15 minutes a day can significantly improve general health and immune function and reduce levels of loneliness and depression, suggests new research. The study, published in the Journal of Technology in Behavior Science, showed that the people who reduced their social media use had an average 15 per cent improvement in immune function, including fewer colds, flu, warts, and verrucae. They also showed a 50 per cent improvement in sleep quality, and 30 per cent fewer depressive symptoms. "These data demonstrate that, when people reduce their social media use, their lives can improve in many ways -- including benefits for their physical health and psychological well-being," said Professor Phil Reed, from Swansea University's School of Psychology. "It remains to be established whether the relationship between social media use and health factors is a direct one, or whether changes in well-being variables, such as depression, or other factors, such as an increase in physical activity, mediate it," he added. The social media platforms are designed to be addictive and are associated with anxiety, depression, and even physical ailments. Another study published by the American Psychological Association showed that teenagers and young adults who reduced their social media use by 50 per cent for just a few weeks saw significant improvement in how they felt about both their weight and their overall appearance. --IANS rvt/vd A London, March 9 : Darshan Patel, a 38 year-old Indian-origin man in the UK, has been sentenced to 14 months imprisonment after fraudulently trying to evade the prohibition on the importation of cannabis, police said. In October 2020, Wiltshire police was contacted by the UK Border Agency which had intercepted several packets of a green herbal substance which tested positive for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) -- the major psychoactive component in cannabis -- addressed to Patel and his company, Red Eyez. Products listed on the company's website for sale included hash and leaf tea, advertised as hemp or CBD - alongside false claims these were legal to sell due to the low THC content of below 0.2 per cent. The Wiltshire police said after obtaining a warrant in January 2021, Patel's house was raided, leading to seizure of numerous items, including several phones, a quantity of herbal cannabis, cannabis resin, digital scales, cash and banking paperwork. Patel, a resident of Covingham, Swindon, was arrested and forensic tests indicated that all exhibits were positive as cannabis. "Patel was caught trying to exploit the current legislation, essentially by using the law which governs the cultivation of hemp and applying it to the selling of cannabis products," Police Constable Chris Hemns said. "Under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, it's illegal to sell the leaves and flowers from a cannabis plant even when the THC level is below 0.2 per cent," Hemns added. The Swindon Crown Court sentenced Patel to one count of possession of cannabis with intent to supply and three counts of being knowingly concerned in the fraudulent evasion of the prohibition on importation in relation to the Class B drug herbal cannabis. Proceeds of crime proceedings are being instigated in relation to the benefit Patel has made from the illegal sale of cannabis, the Wiltshire police said. "Despite trying to get around the system, we have caught up with him and this case is a reminder that selling controlled drugs, in whatever form, is harmful and we will always pursue it to the full extent of the law," Hemns said. Melbourne, March 9 : An Indian family that was asked to leave Australia due to their son's Down Syndrome has now been offered permanent residency after Immigration Minister Andrew Giles intervened. After living in Perth for seven years, Aneesh Kollikkara's family was facing the prospect of being deported to India next week as their 10-year-old son Aaryan failed the visa health test, WA Today reported. The Kollikkara couple said they were denied residency because their son was considered a "burden" on the health system. After a three-year fight for the visa, the family received official word on Wednesday that Giles had intervened and granted them permanent residency. "The department rang us this morning to say they were granting the family a bridging visa until the minister made his decision ... and literally within half an hour of that call, the minister's office rang and said we've decided to intervene and offer you a full permanent residency," family advocate Suresh Rajan was quoted as saying in WA Today. "The minister has applied complete human rights principles here, and we're so grateful to him for that. It's an incredible decision and incredibly quick," Rajan said. According to the Immigration Department, the cost of looking after Aaryan would be $664,000 over 10 years. Aaryan's mother Krishna had said that her son doesn't rely on any disability support services. According to 7News, the couple's two children are privately schooled and the family has private health too. It said that the family has used Medicare for some of Aaryan's appointments but has never claimed financial help through the National Disability Insurance Scheme. London, March 10 : The UK Home Office said it has returned more than 320 foreign criminals and immigration offenders last month as part of efforts to stop the boats. The people who were returned to their home countries included over 200 foreign national offenders, over 30 asylum offenders and over 85 non-asylum offenders, with more than 15 known to have arrived in the UK via small boats. The foreign national offenders removed were convicted of crimes including rape and the supply of drugs. They had a total combined sentence of more than 145 years. "We are absolutely delivering on our commitment to return people who come here illegally or remain here without the right to do so," Home Secretary Suella Braverman said in a statement. "Since the Prime Minister's pledge in December, we have seen a marked increase in returns as part of the government's work to keep the public safe and tackle illegal migration," she said. There were four charter return flights to Albania in February, with 220 other people returned to their home countries via scheduled flights. In total, more than 690 people have been removed on eight charters and multiple scheduled flights since January 1. This includes over 450 foreign national offenders who were convicted of serious crimes including rape, supply of drugs, kidnap and possession of firearms. The Home Office has arrested 365 people since the Nationality and Borders Act became law in June. A total of 245 people have been charged, and 155 have received convictions amounting to total combined sentences of over 105 years. Of the total arrests, 87 have been for piloting small boats. Announcing a new plan to stop the surge of illegal migrants coming into the country, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak recently said that those who enter the UK illegally will not be allowed to claim asylum. Called the 'illegal migration bill', the draft law will crack down on those crossing the English Channel in small boats. More than 45,000 migrants arrived in the UK on small boats last year. Washington, March 10 : More than 300 people fell ill while on board a cruise ship from Texas to Mexico, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said. At least 284 of the 2,881 passengers and 34 of the 1,159 crew members fell ill with vomiting and diarrhoea aboard the Princess Cruises ship between February 26 and March 5, Xinhua news agency quoted the CDC as saying. The CDC is yet to determine what caused the mass illness. In response to the outbreak, the cruise company collected stool specimens from gastrointestinal illness cases to send to the CDC lab for pathogenic identification. The CDC sent a team of epidemiologists to probe the possible virus that tore through the ship, Ruby Princess, after it docked in Galveston, Texas, on March 5. The company said the sickness was likely caused by norovirus, a very contagious virus that causes vomiting and diarrhoea. Norovirus, which is sometimes called the "cruise ship virus", causes more than 90 per cent of diarrhoeal disease outbreaks on cruise ships, according to the CDC. The Ruby Princess has since embarked on a new voyage, the company said. The latest group of passengers, currently on a seven-day Caribbean cruise, were told about the increased illnesses on the previous trip. The Ruby Princess has made headlines in the past as the site of several Covid-19 outbreaks, including a 2020 cruise early in the coronavirus pandemic that docked in Australia with hundreds of positive cases on board. Los Angeles, March 10 : Indian actress Priyanka Chopra and her American popstar husband Nick Jonas are celebrating South Asian excellence. ET's Denny Directo spoke to Chopra and Anjula Acharia, at the South Asian Excellence pre-Oscars celebration Thursday night, where they highlighted the importance of celebrating South Asian culture, reports etonline.com. "I'm so grateful that we've had the ability to not just return, but do it in such an amazing capacity and be hosted by Paramount Pictures," Chopra, who is co-hosting Thursday night's event with Mindy Kaling shared. "I mean, this is iconic. And to be able to look around me, and see my peers and colleagues that have hustled and pounded the pavement for years, and to be able to have them receive a moment that's just theirs, makes me like, cry." As for what to expect at the event, Chopra said the night is all about the nominees, all of whom are nominated in some capacity for an Academy Award. Nominated films at this year's ceremony include RRR, Turning Red, All That Breathes, The Elephant Whisperers and Everything Everywhere All At Once. "This night is about the nominees, and you see a lot of them coming," she explained. This'll be about giving them the stage and giving them a moment. Showcasing a little bit of the movies and championing them as the Oscars come back." While Priyanka and Kaling are sharing a stage at the event, the pair have actually known each other for quite some time, with the new mom said: "I mean -- mostly we talk about the bad stuff, like when bad stuff happens, we call each other." Chopra added of her longtime friend: "And I've noticed, yeah we'll meet at Holi parties or Diwali -- parties and social events -- but we actually call each other when sh*t goes down. And we're like, 'I'm not feeling good about this. And she helps me through.""And she's like, 'I'm not feeling good about it.' It's so nice to have -- you know when girls have each other's back. Especially, to have that with someone who comes from where I do. Even though we have culturally very different experiences, it's just wonderful to have that." Thursday's event also served as a date night for Chopra and Jonas, who welcomed baby Malti less than a year ago via surrogate. When asked if these events get harder to do with a newborn, Chopra said that luckily, baby Malti is sound asleep. "She's asleep. Thank God," the new mom said. "Can you imagine? No, tonight's daddy and mommy's night out." Ahmedabad, March 10 : Left-handed opener Usman Khawaja touched 150 while Cameron Green continues to impress to be on the verge of his first Test century as Australia reached 347/4 against India in the morning session on Day Two of the fourth and final Test at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Friday. Khawaja and Green, unbeaten on 150 and 95 respectively, solidified their positions at the crease to fetch another wicketless session for Australia in this Test, adding 92 in 29 overs and their partnership for the fifth wicket standing at 177. For India, it was a session of toil under harsh Friday sun on a nice batting pitch, where their control with the ball was off the mark. The session began with Green reaching his half-century off just 67 balls with a single through long-off against Ravindra Jadeja. There was some uneven bounce when Mohammed Shami was introduced in the attack from the third over of the day, but that wasn't enough to separate Khawaja and Green. Green was crisp in his timing when he slashed a short ball from Ravichandran Ashwin off backfoot through the off-side. An erring Umesh Yadav provided the release to Australia when Khawaja whipped twice through the square leg for boundaries. Umesh continued to leak runs, as Khawaja slashed him through slip before Green brought out a drive on the up through the gap at extra cover for another boundary. Green feasted more on Umesh's wayward bowling, driving thrice in the arc between straight down the ground and extra cover. Khawaja's focus and determination to bat on got him to reach 150 before lunch, through a pulled four off Shami, before Green nailed the pull and got an outside edge wide of slip to collect a brace of boundaries off the fast bowler to keep Australia in the driver's seat. Brief scores: Australia 347/4 in 119 overs (Usman Khawaja 150 not out, Cameron Green 94 not out; Mohammed Shami 2-84, Ravindra Jadeja 1-61) against India London, March 10 : Two men have been found guilty of fatally stabbing a man outside a Hindu temple located in South East of England, media reports said. Mohammed Rafaqit Kayani, 24, from Slough, was found injured in the temple car park in Keel Drive on August 30, 2022 and died later in hospital, the BBC reported. A jury at Reading Crown Court convicted Hassan Al-Kubanji, 22, of Pimlico in London, and drug dealer Riaz Miah, 21, of no fixed address on Thursday, adjourning their sentencing until April 3. While Miah previously pleaded guilty to supplying heroin and cocaine as well as possessing a blade in public, the jury found Al-Kubanji not guilty of the same three offences. A third defendant, Miguel Parian John, 42, was found guilty of assisting an offender and two counts of blade possession. However, he was cleared of two counts of possessing cocaine and heroin with intent to supply, the report said. John will be sentenced at a later date. According to a Reading Chronicle report, the defendants began shouting after the verdict and a brawl broke out in the court with riot police being called subsequently. Kayani, a keen boxer and a Virgin Atlantic Heathrow check-in agent, was stabbed in the chest and collapsed in a pool of blood. He was chased from a playground in Concorde Way to the Slough Hindu Temple after an "altercation", according to media reports. The Reading Crown Court heard earlier that Miah and Al-Kubanji were allegedly "defending themselves" from Kayani and his friend Adil Mahmood. Kayani's wife described him as "a loving son, caring brother, selfless friend and proud Muslim man". Thiruvananthapuram, March 10 : State secretary of CPI(M) in Kerala M.V.Govindan will seek legal recourse against Kerala gold smuggling case prime accused Swapna Suresh for levelling fresh allegations against him. On Thursday, Swapna Suresh in a Facebook live alleged that an intermediary - Vijesh Pillai - had offered her Rs 30 crore to withdraw allegations against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, or else, state secretary M.V.Govindan would kill her. Govindan, who is leading the party's state-wide yatra, told the media on Friday that he is taking the challenge of both the Congress and the BJP. "These parties have challenged me to take legal steps against her (Swapna). Yes, I will and there is no doubt about it. The CPI(M )is not scared of such statements, as we have full support of the people. Though a section of the media has failed to realise, we know that the people have now understood the mind games being played," said Govindan and categorically denied knowing Pillai. Meanwhile, Pillai told the media that he has already filed a complaint against Swapna with the Kerala State Police chief and will take a legal action against her. "I will also take legal steps against her. I did meet Swapna in Bengaluru as part of starting a web series as I have a OTT news platform. Since Swapna is big news, I called her and told her about my business. She agreed to meet me in Bengaluru and we met on March 4. All what she said is totally false, as I spoke only about my OTT news platform. Though I hail from the same town as Govindan (Kannur), have only seen him on television. No idea what she is up to by airing things that we never discussed. Let her come out with the audio of the conversation," said Pillai. According to retired former NIA official T.K.Rajmohan said now that all the parties in these statements have clarified their views, only a proper investigation will bring out the truth. However, reacting sharply to denial by Pillai, Swapna took to her Face book and said, "Now Mr Vijesh Pillai @Vijay Pillai admitted that he has met me. He has admitted about Haryana and Rajasthan. He has admitted that he has offered 30 crore. He has admitted that he mentioned the name of M.V. Govindan and Yusuf Ali. He has also admitted that he mentioned about the threat in the airport. He has also admitted that he has asked for the evidence relating to gold smuggling case. But he says that he mentioned the above in a different context," wrote Swapna. "Immediately after the incident I have taken proper legal action, including informing the matter to the police and also to the ED with supporting proof. The ED and police have already started taking action, including questioning Vijesh Pillai. Now it's for the agency to investigate the matter and take it to a logical conclusion to find out the intention behind this incident and whether he has been sent by some one. He has now informed that he has filed police complaint against me for defamation and cheating,". "First of all I'm prepared to face the consequence of that legal action. But I've a doubt about his legal literacy. Now he's challenging me to reveal evidence regarding my allegations. I take that challenge. I've already given those to the agency and I'll produce the same before the court if he takes me to the court. I'm also prepared to face and fight the legal action proposed to be taken by M.V Govindan. I still stand by words that I will continue to fight till I bring the entire truth out to the world," added Swapna. Chennai, March 10 : The IAS officers of Tamil Nadu will be donating their one-day salary for the month of March to the coffers of 'Namma School Foundation' of the Government of Tamil Nadu. Chief Minister M.K. Stalin inaugurated the 'Namma School Foundation' (Our School project) on December 19, 2022, to improve the infrastructure of government schools. Under this scheme, the former students of government schools of Tamil Nadu, who are presently holding high positions in government, or doing big businesses will be contacted by the school education department to contribute to the development of the government schools. The Tamil Nadu IAS officers have now announced that they would contribute their one-day salary for the month of March 2023 to the scheme as an additional boost to this project. An order issued by the Tamil Nadu government on Friday states that the IAS officers will contribute their one-day salary for the month of March 2023 to the government account as a contribution to Namma School Foundation (NSF). The legislators of the ruling DMK had contributed a month's salary to the Namma School Foundation project following the footsteps of Chief Minister Stalin, who had contributed an amount of Rs 5 lakh to the scheme from his personal money. He has urged other corporates, business groups, government employees and political parties to contribute extensively for the scheme which is intended to develop the government school education in Tamil Nadu. Jerusalem, March 10 : A team of Israeli scientists has for the first time in the world developed an mRNA vaccine that can help treat a deadly plague-causing bacteria responsible for some of the worst pandemics in human history. So far mRNA vaccines, like those targeting Covid-19, have been effective against viruses but not against bacteria. The new finding paves the way for effective vaccination against antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Plague is caused by the bacteria Yersinia pestis. Symptoms vary depending on the form of infection it takes. The most serious kind is pneumonic plague, which is highly deadly without prompt antibiotic treatment and can be contagious to others. The team from Tel Aviv University (TAU) and the Israel Institute for Biological Research developed the mRNA-based vaccine that is 100 per cent effective against bacteria Yersinia pestis -- that is lethal to humans. The study, conducted in an animal model, demonstrated that all treated animals were fully protected against the bacteria. "There are many pathogenic bacteria for which we have no vaccines. Moreover, due to excessive use of antibiotics over the last few decades, many bacteria have developed resistance to antibiotics, reducing the effectiveness of these important drugs. Consequently, antibiotic-resistant bacteria already pose a real threat to human health worldwide," said Prof. Dan Peer, from TAU's Shmunis School of Biomedicine and Cancer Research. Developing a new type of vaccine may provide an answer to this global problem, Peer said. In the study, published in the journal Science Advances, the team tested the novel mRNA vaccine in animals infected with a deadly bacterium. Within a week, all unvaccinated animals died, while those vaccinated with the vaccine remained alive and well. Moreover, in one of the vaccination methods, one dose provided full protection just two weeks after it was administered. The ability to provide full protection with just one dose is crucial for protection against future outbreaks of fast-spreading bacterial pandemics. "It is important to note that the Covid-19 vaccine was developed so quickly because it relied on years of research on mRNA vaccines for similar viruses. If tomorrow we face some kind of bacterial pandemic, our study will provide a pathway for quickly developing safe and effective mRNA vaccines,"Peer said. Bengaluru, March 10 : Mining baron-turned-politician Gali Janardhana Reddy on Friday said that the rumours of him rejoining the BJP are not true. However, sources said that he is likely to go back to his old party. The rumours gained credence when Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said that he is confidant of Janardhana Reddy coming back to the BJP. "He (Janardhana Reddy) is yet to make his decision public. He has been in politics for three decades and can make his own decisions. It is a fact that he has a long relationship with the BJP party," he said. "I am confident that he would make a suitable decision," CM Bommai added. Janardhana Reddy reacting to rumours of his reentry to BJP, however stated that "all rumours are false". "I won't take a step back. One who backtracks is not a brave person. I am not shocked by the CBI's order. I am ready to give a shock to others. Tiger will remain a tiger, even if it is kept in a cage," Janardhana Reddy stated. "If I have my money in foreign countries, how long will it take for agencies to track it? If they bring the money here, I will distribute it to people. These rumours are spread to prevent other leaders from joining my party," he maintained. Following the raids by central agencies on his associates and partnership firms, Janardhana Reddy stated that those who think they can bend him and restrain him from carrying forward with his new party are wrong. The rumours are running rife in political circles that Janardhana Reddy is seriously considering the merger of his party with the BJP. He challenged the BJP in Kalyana Karnataka region known as Hyderabad Karnataka, comprising districts of Raichur, Yadgir, Koppal, Bidar, Vijayanagara and Ballary. The development raised a concern in the ruling BJP party in Karnataka. Meanwhile, the CBI Special court had given consent for investigating agencies to collect details of Janardhana Reddy's foreign investments and deposits in foreign banks. The court had also given directions to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to write letters to officers of Switzerland, Singapore, Isle of Man and UAE seeking details of financial transactions. The order is given in connection with illegal mining and export of iron ore. The authorities had sought the court's order in this regard under CRPC Section 166-A. The CBI has also charged that between 2009-2010, Janardhana Reddy had carried out transactions of 70 to 80 lakh metric tonnes of iron ore illegally. The ruling by the court is said to be a severe setback to Janardhana Reddy who floated the new party and presently is involved in high-voltage campaigning in Karnataka. Lucknow, March 10 : The Uttar Pradesh government has initiated work on setting up a greenfield township in Ayodhya. To be developed by December this year, 202 acres land out of 1,407 acres will be developed in Shahnevajpur Manjha village of the temple town in the first phase. According to a state government spokesman, as the Lucknow-Ayodhya-Gorakhpur national highway is intersecting the township, the state government will request the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to develop a 2 km-long elevated route for the highway traffic. "Preliminary consultations and deliberations have been held with NHAI. A formal proposal will be moved on behalf of the state government to construct an elevated corridor," said the officer. Announced in October 2020, the scope of the project was broadened in April last year to include more spiritual elements and promote mixed land development. The Uttar Pradesh Housing and Development Board (UPHDB) roped in consultants from Gujarat to examine the township's layout plan. "We were told to develop the township in phases and generate interest among families looking to buy a property in the temple town. As land was acquired in Shahnevajpur, we will develop 202 acres in the first phase and a scheme offering group housing units and developed plots will be launched within this year. We have to prepare the township before the opening ceremony of the Ram temple scheduled for January 2024," said the spokesman. Majority of the internal roads will be 18 metres or 36 metres in width and 24 per cent of the space within the overall township will be green zone. UPHDB will develop land chunks on both ends of the highway to develop the first phase. Superintending engineer of the housing board's Ayodhya division PK Singh said: "Three tenders have been floated to develop the first phase of the township. By March 31 we will shortlist the agencies which will develop infrastructure and design the elements in the first phase." Away from the battlefield in Ukraine, cyber warfare heats up between Russia and US(IN) Image Source: IANS News New Delhi, March 10 : Global cyber protection company Acronis on Friday said the data of a single customer was leaked due to a "password compromise". The company denied earlier reports that it was hacked. In a statement to IANS, the company said that "Acronis only currently acknowledges the compromise of a single customer password. We are still investigating the situation", A cyber-threat watcher FalconFeedsio had posted on Twitter the claims by an unspecified hacker that they breached Acronis and stole data. "A user in the hacker's forum claims to have leaked data from a Switzerland cybersecurity company," posted FalconFeedsio. "The leaked data includes various certificate files, command logs, system configurations, system information logs, archives of their filesystem, python scripts for their maria.db database, backup configuration stuff, and loads of screenshots of their backup operations," the Twitter account further posted. Acronis said that its customers' and partners' data security is its top priority. "We continuously monitor and investigate potential security issues. On March 9, a post on BreachedForums mentioned Acronis. We immediately started the investigation. The investigation confirmed that no Acronis products were affected," said the company. "However, based on the information we have, the credentials used by a specific customer to upload diagnostic data to Acronis Support have been compromised.A We are working with that customer and have suspended account access as we resolve the issue," it added. Acronis employs more than 2,000 workers in 18 countries. Founded in Singapore in 2003 and incorporated in Switzerland in 2008, Acronis solutions are trusted by millions of home users and several top companies. Acronis has 49 cloud data centres around the world, including the United States, France, Singapore, Japan, and Germany. In 2021, Acronis received more than $250 million in funding from CVC Capital Partners VII and other investors at a valuation of more than $2.5 billion. Jaipur, March 10 : If sources in political circles are to be believed, the saffron party is thinking of working on the old pension scheme (OPS) for the government employees. The BJP government in Karnataka has reportedly formed a committee to study the OPS. This committee will come to Rajasthan soon as the desert state has announced OPS for its state employees. It needs to be mentioned here that the Assembly elections are to be held in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh five-six months after the Karnataka polls which are scheduled somewhere in May, however the final date is to be announced. In such a situation, it seems that the BJP will soon clarify its stand on OPS in these states also. If this happens, then the old pension scheme will become a big issue in the Lok Sabha elections to be held after 13 months. Meanwhile, BJP state president Satish Poonia expressed his unawareness on any such development. Speaking to IANS, he said, "This is a policy matter and Delhi has to decide on it. We will follow the line which the party gives us. Veteran leaders are analysing the issue and finding a 'vikalp (solution)' that will be the party line later on. We will be able to give an official version once it is finalised." Meanwhile, he said, "We spoke to Himachal Pradesh former Chief Minister and he denied OPS to be the key reason for why the party lost. There were many factors of the poll loss and one amongst was factionalism. The ex-Himachal CM told me." Congress leaders have been promoting that OPS was the major reason why the saffron party lost in Himachal, however, Poonia mentioned many other reasons for the party's defeat. Meanwhile, Poonia said that central leadership will decide on how to take this issue in future, he added. New Delhi, March 10 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that Bengaluru Mysuru Expressway will contribute to Karnataka's growth trajectory. Modi was responding to a tweet thread by Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari wherein the Minister informed that the construction of Bengaluru Mysuru Expressway project aims to improve accessibility to regions such as Shrirangpatna, Coorg, Ooty, and Kerala, thereby bolstering their tourism potential. The Union Minister also informed that the project encompasses a portion of NH-275, also entails the development of four rail overbridges, nine significant bridges, 40 minor bridges, and 89 underpasses and overpasses. The Prime Minister tweeted; "An important connectivity project which will contribute to Karnataka's growth trajectory." The 118 Km long expressway features six main carriageway lanes and two service road lanes on either side, developed at a cost of nearly Rs 8478 crore as part of the Bharatmala Pariyojana. It is expected to reduce the travel time between Bengaluru and Mysuru from three hours to around 75 minutes. According to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, the Government of India has envisaged five Greenfield Expressways and 22 Access Controlled Corridors with an overall length of 9,860 kms. These 27 Greenfield Expressways and Access Controlled Corridors are part of the integrated planning and implementation of infrastructure connectivity projects for industrial clusters and enhance connectivity to economic centers & economic nodes by connecting 353 nodes under National Master Plan and 20 Multi Modal Logistic Parks and other transport infrastructure like 29 ports, 85+ Airports and 170+ Major Railway Stations. Lahore, March 10 : The Quetta police have reportedly arrived in Lahore with a non-bailable warrant for the arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan. The police team, led by SP Nadeem, includes DSP Abdul Sattar, sub inspector, and two other officials, Samaa TV reported. The Lahore Police have been requested to assist the Quetta Police in executing the arrest warrant against the former Prime Minister. The non-bailable warrant was issued by a Judicial Magistrate in Quetta in connection with a case of defamation against institutions. The warrant says Khan's immediate arrest and appearance before the court, Samaa TV reported. The case was registered at the Bijli Road police station. It has been reported that Khan has also filed an application for protective bail in the Lahore High Court regarding the Quetta case. Last week, the Islamabad police also returned from Lahore without making an arrest of the PTI chief, despite the issuance of an arrest warrant against him in the Toshakhana case, Samaa TV reported. According to the Islamabad SSP, the police team had gone to Khan's residence to serve him the notice and not to make an arrest. The notice was regarding the non-bailable arrest warrant issued by a sessions court in Islamabad against him in the Toshakhana case. Kanpur, March 10 : The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Kanpur has licensed a pioneering technology to Reliance Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd. that has the potential to revolutionise the field of gene therapy, especially for many genetic eye diseases. There are many inherited disorders caused by a faulty gene. 'Gene Therapy' is a way to replace the faulty gene with a functional version of the gene to treat such disorders. This marks the first time that a gene therapy related technology has been developed and transferred from an academic institution to a company in India. The gene therapy technology from IIT Kanpur will be further developed as an Indigenous Product by Reliance Life Sciences, said an official release from IIT-K. Developed by Prof Jayandharan Giridhara Rao and Shubham Maurya from the Department of Biological Sciences and Bioengineering (BSBE), IIT Kanpur, the patented technology modifies the gene of an organism to treat a hereditary disorder. In this case, the site refers to a specific location on an Adeno-associated virus (AAV) (viral vector) used for gene therapy. The technology modifies this location to optimize its ability to deliver genes to the affected cells and improve its effectiveness. The technology has the ability to improve gene therapy for many hereditary diseases, especially inherited eye diseases. It has shown significant promise in correcting the vision impairment in animal models of blindness. Prof Abhay Karandikar, Director of IIT Kanpur, said, "Gene therapy using viral vectors has recently emerged as a potent tool in the field of molecular medicine. We believe that this technology holds great promise for treating a wide range of hereditary eye diseases including Leber congenital amaurosis, an eye disorder that is present from birth; and Retinitis pigmentosa, a disease causing progressive sustained vision loss." Gene therapy is one of the most potent applications of recombinant DNA technology wherein pieces of DNA from multiple sources are combined to efficiently deliver the healthy copy of the faulty gene in a manner that production of protein from the introduced gene is sustained for life. To enable this, the therapeutic DNA molecule is delivered using a virus that can infect human cells. For successful clinical application, several optimizations of the basic process is needed aimed at ensuring adequate expression of the desired gene. New York, March 10 : A Northwest Missouri State University student from India met with a tragic car accident on the US Highway 71 while traveling as a passenger with her friend earlier this month. Sahithi was rushed to emergency care at Mosaic Life Care in St Joseph, Missouri, after the car hit a traffic light pole, leaving her severely injured. According to doctors, Sahithi is suffering from cervical spine fracture, infrarenal aortic dissection, small bowel perforation, omental injury and burst fracture of the L2 vertebra, a fundraiser page set up to help her reported. "She underwent several surgeries (small bowel and omental repair, aortic graft placement, laminectomy and reduction of the burst fracture with rods and screws along with fusion) at Mosaic Life Care and is currently in the ICU," Jhahnavi Bheri, Sahithi's cousin, wrote on the GoFundMe page. Bheri informed that doctors are not certain when she can be discharged from the hospital due to the severity of her injuries and the surgeries she underwent. "...And she is facing several months of recovery and even then full recovery is all we are hoping and praying for," Bheri wrote on the page. Sahithi, a graduate student whose parents are in India, is looking for support to meet her medical expenses. Days after the accident, a 39-year-old man from Andhra Pradesh died after he was struck by an inter-city train in New Jersey. Tel Aviv, March 10 : A gun-wielding Palestinian man opened fire on a busy street in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, injuring three individuals in what was described by Israeli officials as a "terror attack". Tel Aviv district police chief Amichai Eshed told reporters at the scene late Thursday night that the gunman opened fire at passersby before fleeing the scene, but was soon chased and killed by a policeman and policewoman, reports Xinhua news agency. He said that large police forces were searching the city for a possible second person who drove the shooter to Tel Aviv. Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service said in a press release that three people were injured and taken to a hospital. Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai confirmed that the attack took place on the Dizengoff Street, a major street known for its bars and restaurants. The street was crowded on Thursday night at the beginning of the Israeli weekend, while thousands were marching in protest against the controversial government plan to overhaul the judiciary. The Dizengoff Street has seen other attacks over the years, including one in April 2022, in which a Palestinian gunman opened fire into a crowded bar, killing two Israelis. Earlier in the day, Israeli troops killed three Palestinian militants during a raid in the occupied West Bank. Tensions between Israel and the Palestinians have been escalating in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since the beginning of this year. Official figures showed that more than 70 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces so far, while 14 Israelis have been killed in attacks carried out by Palestinians. United Nations, March 10 : The UN and its specialised agencies have continued delivering aid to Turkey and Syria following the devastating February 6 quakes that killed more than 53,300 people in the two countries, a spokesman said. In Syria, at least 8.8 million people were affected by the earthquakes, which, among other factors, also have a significant impact on the response to a cholera outbreak, said Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. "Our partners launched a cholera vaccination campaign in earthquake-hit areas of Northwest Syria on Tuesday," Xinhua news agency quoted Haq as saying. "They plan to distribute 1.7 million vaccine doses in high-risk areas. More than 53,000 suspected cholera cases and 23 associated deaths have been reported in Northwest Syria as of March 5." More than 100,000 people who had their water infrastructure damaged received water since the start of the response, he said. Humanitarian workers have also provided hygiene kits to more than 100,000 people in reception centres. "Our colleagues also tell us that 3.7 million children in earthquake-affected areas across Syria are facing the risk of contracting diseases and lack access to basic services," Haq told a regular briefing. He said the Syria earthquake flash appeal has received $218 million, or 55 per cent, of the nearly $400 million needed. Turning to Turkey, the spokesman said the world body continues to support the government-led response to the massive earthquakes. "The UN and our partners have provided more than 42,000 tents and hundreds of thousands of blankets, bedsheets and mattresses," he said. "More than 900,000 people have received food assistance and the World Food Programme has supplied more than 5.7 million food packages and hot meals." Haq said the World Health Organization provides healthcare to nearly 24,000 people. The Unicef reached 319,000 people, including more than 183,000 children, with hygiene kits and non-food items, winter clothes and heaters, among other critical supplies. However, Haq said the Turkey earthquake appeal of $1 billion is only 10.4 per cent funded. Hassan, : March 10 (IANS) Karnataka police have arrested five persons in connection with sexually harassing school girls in a residential facility in Hassan, police said on Friday. According to police, the incident had taken place at the Girls' Residential School in the limits of Halebeedu police station in Beluru taluk of Hassan district. The hostel is being run by the Social Welfare Department. Police explain that the accused have sexually harassed eight minor girls who are studying at the residential facility. The incident came to light at the time of inspection by the District Children Welfare officers. The police have arrested five persons including the Principal, two teachers and a security guard in connection with the case. The case is registered under the provisions of Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (Pocso) Act. More details are yet to emerge in the case. Investigation is on. Chennai, March 10 : Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramanian has urged people to wear face masks, maintain social distancing and adhere to Covid-19 protocols as there was a slight increase in cases. He was speaking to reporters after inaugurating the 1,000 fever clinics in the state at Saidapet on Friday. The health minister said that there was a rise in Covid cases across the country, including Tamil Nadu. Ma Subramanian said that the number of fresh cases in the state on Thursday rose to 25 from the two cases recorded a few days ago. He called upon the people to isolate themselves if they have fever and cold as they had done during the peak of Covid-19 period. Ma Subramanian said that the 1,000 fever clinics are held across the state, and people with fever and cold "are requested to consult the health professionals at the fever clinics and to get treatment". A total of 200 fever clinics were organised in Chennai city. Guwahati, March 10 : The first day of the Budget Session of Assam Assembly witnessed uproar as the opposition members raised the issue of Maharashtra MLA Omprakash Babarao alias Bacchu Kadu's stray dog remark on Assam. Governor Gulab Chand Kateria's speech was disturbed due to the ruckus created by the opposition MLAs on Friday. Kateria had to stop his speech midway, however, he again continued after 15 minutes. Congress MLA Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha first raised the issue, and questioned the government's silence on this. Later speaking to IANS, he said, "Assam Police could deplane senior Congress leader Pawan Khera in Delhi airport for a 'small' comment, but the same police are totally inactive on Kadu's statement. The Maharashtra MLA had insulted the natives of Assam, yet the government and police could not take a single step." Purkaystha also slammed the state government on its claim that the law and order situation has improved in the state. Sivasagar MLA Akhil Gogoi joined Purkaystha and demanded police action against the Maharashtra MLA. Many opposition MLAs were seen sloganeering against the ruling dispensation. Notably, Assam Pradesh Mahila Congress leader Banashree Gogoi earlier registered a police complaint at Guwahati's Dispur police station against Bacchu Kadu. "All stray dogs from Maharashtra should be relocated to Assam," said Bacchu Kadu, an independent MLA from Achalpur and the leader of the Prahar Janshakti Party, "because the people in Assam consume a lot of dog meat, and it is a practical solution to Maharashtra's canine population," he had said. Kadu made the comments in response to a debate in the Maharashtra Legislature about the threat posed by street dogs, which was brought up by MLAs Pratap Sarnaik and Atul Bhatkhalkar. Mandya, : March 10 (IANS) Mandya MP (independent) Sumalatha is all set to join BJP, the actor-turned-politician said here on Friday. "I support the BJP led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi," she told reporters. Sumalatha, wife of popular actor and politician late Ambareesh, an iconic figure of Vokkaliga community, stated that she thought about her move for a year. "Many leaders from BJP have invited me and I have decided to join the party," she said. Her move has come as a much-needed succor to the ruling BJP which is trying to strengthen its roots in south Karnataka. Two ministers of the ruling BJP are keeping themselves away from party activities and are rumoured to be joining Congress. BJP MLC Puttanna had joined Congress. The four-time MLC who won from Bengaluru Teachers' Constituency has resigned even as his term was pending for four years. The developments proved to be a setback for the party. With the declaration of Sumalatha, the saffron party has heaved a sigh of relief. "This is not about my future. It is a question of development of Mandya district. My decision has been influenced by the union government. My decision might upset some people. I don't have any fear of my political future and I won't forget my voters." Sumalatha said that she won't practice hate politics. She also charged JD(S) (without naming the leaders) that she faced humiliations and attacks by certain people. Sumalatha had defeated former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda's grandson in the parliamentary elections from Mandya. BJP then had supported Sumalatha's candidature. Lima, March 10 : Cyclone Yaku is causing heavy rain in several coastal regions of northern Peru, an official from the country's National Meteorology and Hydrology Service (Senamhi) said. "The cyclone is adding to the extreme rainfall conditions ... on the northern coast," generating floods especially in the departments of Tumbes, Piura and Lambayeque, Xinhua news agency quoted the official as saying. "These rain are going to continue. Senamhi is regularly issuing weather warnings. We have a weather warning in effect until March 11," he said. The cyclone "is not going to become a hurricane", but could rather dissipate as it will move toward the southwest where water temperatures are colder, he said. On Tuesday, Senamhi reported an unusual "cyclone with tropical characteristics" present off the northern and central coast of Peru. The cyclone is also expected to intensify rains in the departments of La Libertad, Lima and Ancash, especially in the middle basins of the Pacific Slope, in the coming days. Chamarajanagar : , March 10 (IANS) The Karnataka Police on Friday arrested 12 people in connection with boycotting and threatening an inter-caste couple in Chamarajanagar district. The police have slapped the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act on the accused persons. The incident had taken place in Kunagalli village of Kollegal taluk recently. The police had arrested four persons earlier and eight accused had surrendered before the police on Friday. The police are searching for other three accused persons, including a woman. The Family Welfare department had given Rs one lakh compensation to the family of the victims. According to police, the couple got married five years ago and the villagers came to know about it only recently. The villagers had fined the couple Rs 6 lakh and boycotted them. The couple not able to take the torture and humiliation filed a complaint with Deputy Superintendent of Police office in Kollegal on March 1. Govindaraju, belonging to the Uppara Setty community had fallen in love with Shwetha, from Mandya, belonging to the Scheduled Caste. When they decided to get married, the families agreed without opposition and marriage was done in the sub registrar office. Govindaraju settled his family in Malavalli town. He often came to visit his parents along with his wife to native Kunagalli. When the couple visited Kunagalli last month, Shwetha had mistakenly, while talking to a neighbour, told her that she is a Dalit. The matter reached the elders of the village and they held a meeting on February 23. They called the parents of the couple and imposed a Rs 3 lakh fine on them and asked them to pay the fine by March 1. The couple lodged a complaint with the DySP's office. However, the elders after coming to know about the complaint, increased the fine amount to Rs 6 lakh and boycotted Govindaraju's family in the village. The villagers sent the family out of the village and passed a diktat that they should not purchase ration, vegetables, milk and water from the village and threatened that the couple would be burnt alive if they violated their diktat. Kolkata, March 10 : The Calcutta High Court on Friday questioned 57 appointments in non-teaching staff in Group-C category in different government schools in the state without proper recommendation letters from the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC). Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay said: "How is it possible that as many as 57 Group-C staff were recruited without valid recommendation from WBSSC. In that case the question is who actually recommended them for recruitment. Was it SP Sinha?" Justice Gangopadhyay ordered the Commission to immediately publish the names of these 57 on the commission's website after which the hearing will continue. Sinha was heading WBSSC screening committee, which was constituted by the Commission during the tenure of Partha Chatterjee, the-then state education minister. A judicial probe committee headed by Justice Ranjit Kumar Bag had observed that the screening committee was constituted flouting all norms and Sinha was made to head that committee to "facilitate" illegal recruitments of teaching and non-teaching staff in state-run schools. Both Chatterjee and Sinha are currently in judicial custody for their alleged involvement in the scam. As per prescribed norms, though WBSSC is the selection authority of teaching and non-teaching staff, it is not the appointing authority for the same. As per norm, WBSSC gives recommendations of appointments to selected categories and on the basis of that, West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) makes appointment. However, in these 57 cases in Group-C category, all were appointed without recommendation from the commission. Singapore, March 10 : An Indian-origin teen in Singapore was charged on Friday with one count of cheating and one count of abetting an unknown person to secure unauthorised access to a bank's computer system. Mathana Raaj Singh Balbir Singh, 19, opened a bank account and allowed others to use it after reading on messaging platform Telegram about a cash loan being offered in exchange for bank account details, The Straits Times reported. The UOB account he opened was then allegedly used by scam syndicates to launder criminal proceeds of more than SG$249,000. According to court documents, Singh deceived the bank into believing that he was the sole operator of the account that he was opening, and allegedly gave his i-banking login credentials to an unknown person for effecting transactions on UOB computer system without authorisation. According to the report, Singh indicated his intention to apply for legal aid. If found guilty of cheating, Singh can be jailed for up to three years, fined or both. He can be jailed for up to two years, fined up to SG$5,000, or both if he is found guilty of abetting an unknown person to secure unauthorised access to a bank's computer system. Singh will return to court on April 6. Jamshedpur, March 10 : A woman killed her husband and tried to burn his body inside their house in Old Subhash Colony in Jharkhand's Jamshedpur. The accused locked herself inside and electrified the door to prevent the police from breaking in. The incident took place on Thursday night. The deceased has been identified as Amarnath Singh, who was associated with the transport and real estate business. The couple has two children, who live in different cities for job and studies. The accused, Meera Singh has been arrested. The police entered the house with great difficulty after cutting off the power supply to the area and seized the half-burnt body. Neighbours alleged that Meera is mentally unsound and that the couple fought frequently. The murder came to light when a foul smell began emanating from the house, following which the neighbours alerted the couple's son, who lives in Pune. The woman climbed the roof with a stick and threatened people when the police reached the spot. According to the neighbours, the deceased had not come out of the house since the last four-five days. The body has been sent for post-mortem. Phnom Penh, March 10 : Cambodia's tourism earned a gross revenue of $1.41 billion in 2022, a 669 per cent rise compared to the year before, said a Ministry of Tourism report released on Friday. The Southeast Asian country received 2.28 million international tourists in 2022, up 1,058 per cent from a year earlier, Xinhua news agency quoted the report as saying. "Tourism industry contributed 3.6 percent to Cambodia's gross domestic product (GDP) last year," the report said. In average, a tourist stayed two nights and three days in Cambodia, it noted. Tourism Minister Thong Khon said the kingdom is expected to attract 4 million international visitors in 2023. Tourism is one of the four pillars supporting Cambodia's economy. The country has three world heritage sites, namely the Angkor archaeological park in northwest Siem Reap province, Preah Vihear Temple in northwest Preah Vihear province, and Sambor Prei Kuk archaeological site in central Kampong Thom province. Besides, it has a pristine coastline stretching in the length of 450 km in four southwest provinces of Sihanoukville, Kampot, Kep and Koh Kong. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses Post Budget Webinar on Economic Empowerment of Women via video conference,in New Delhi on Friday, March 10, 2023. (Photo:IANS/Twitter) Image Source: IANS News New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses Post Budget Webinar on Economic Empowerment of Women via video conference,in New Delhi on Friday, March 10, 2023. (Photo:IANS/Twitter) Image Source: IANS News New Delhi, March 10 : With assembly elections in Karnataka just a month away, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Mandya and Hubbali-Dharwad districts in poll-bound Karnataka on March 12, where he will inaugurate a slew of projects. Modi will dedicate and lay foundation stones of projects worth around Rs 16,000 crore in the state during his day-long visit, official sources said. He will dedicate the Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway to the people, which will reduce travel time between Bengaluru and Mysuru from three hours to 75 minutes. The prime minister will also lay the foundation stone for Mysuru-Khushalnagar four-lane highway. He will also dedicate IIT Dharwad to people. Its foundation stone was also laid by Prime Minister Modi in February 2019. He would also be declaring open, the longest railway platform in the world at Sri Siddharoodha Swamiji Hubballi Station. He would also dedicate the redeveloped Hosapete station, which has been designed to resemble the Hampi monuments. The prime minister will also inaugurate and lay foundation stone for various projects of Hubballi-Dharwad smart city. Koraput : , March 10 (IANS/ 101 Reporters) Malyavant or Mali hill range is everything for the people of the 45 picturesque villages nestled in it. The hills, belonging to Odisha's forest department, are the provider of herbal medicines in the villages located just five km from Semiliguda town in Koraput district. From minor skin infections to heart diseases, neurological disorders, high blood pressure and paralysis, jadibuti (herbs) from the hills are traditionally seen as the perfect cure. Taking this idea forward, 10 disharis (traditional healers) jointly started the Sri Gupteshwar Herbal Medicine and Traditional Technology Research Institute in the year 2000. "We are not qualified doctors. My elder brother and mother also work as disharis. My grandfather's father was a dishari in the court of Maharaja Vikram Dev of Jeypore kingdom. We have come this far by practising the knowledge that our forefathers passed on to us... This facility will ensure that the traditional knowledge we possess will not fade away once we are gone," Sri Gupteshwar institute's director Hari Pangi (52) tells 101Reporters. The disharis collect herbs from Iswaramali, Deomali and Hatimali that form part of the Mali hill range. They turn tree branches, leaves, roots and flowers into valuable medicines. Some are dried at a specific temperature and stored away. Kishore Hantal (46) says jadibuti collection starts at a particular season and time. "We call it amrit bela. Most of the herbs and plants are collected in the monsoon season (early June to October), whereas some specific tubers and shrubs are collected before the fire season (February to May). We worship our tribal deity and pray for the good health of all villagers before setting out to find jadibuti in the morning or evening on a fixed day, as per Sushruta's chikitsa sastra," says the dishari, who claims there are many secret treatments that cannot be publicised. Ramani Ranjan Mahapatra of Kakarigumma personally attests the efficacy of the herbal treatment. "I suffered from Guillain-Barre Syndrome for many years. My condition gradually got worse and I reached the stage of partial paralysis. As medical treatment at hospitals in Cuttack, Bhubaneswar and Visakhapatnam did not help, I came to Gupteswar healing centre. After six months of regular treatment, I feel fully healthy." Raghunath Bhumia of Maliguda says he prefers herbal medications for arthritis because they "have no side-effects and come cheap". His doctor had advised a surgery that would cost him Rs 35,000. As he was not in a position to spend that much, he did not opt for it. A few months later, he contacted Pangi, who promised a cure for his three-year-old condition. "I kept coming to the centre and took medicines hoping for a cure. In fact, I am feeling good now!" Semiliguda native Tarulata Paraja strongly believes in Mother Nature and her abilities. "All tribal people first trust their traditional knowledge and practitioners. I believe in the same thing and encourage others to follow suit. Moreover, herbal medicines are inexpensive," Paraja tells 101Reporters. Losing plant diversity "Previously, around 80 per cent of our requirement of herbs was met by these hills. Kasturi haladi, nilakantha kedar, jingiberi, gunjrimali, deosandha, bhumipal, kiktas lemon and penu karla are some of the local varieties that have disappeared due to climate change, illegal felling and mining. Therefore, we have to depend on various hills in nearby Rayagada and Malkangiri districts, and also Shunki hills on the Odisha-Andhra Pradesh border," says Kalpanga-based Dishari Singru Hantal. He claims the institute has treated cases of diabetes, appendicitis, sickle cell disease, heart disease, neurological disorders, paralysis, oral cancer, osteoporosis and sinusitis. "More than 20,000 people consult us every year," he adds. "Most of the trees with medicinal properties have disappeared from the Mali hills only in the last 20 years. Unsustainable harvest practices are the main reason," says Kartik Lenka, senior scientist, MS Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF). Lenka blames disharis of tweaking time-tested harvesting practices. "Earlier, fruits, flowers and roots were collected at a specific time and season. However, it is done in an unskilled manner now, harming the trees in the long run. For example, removing the bark and leaves in dry months gradually kills the trees," he says. In some cases, after the unseasonal harvest, roots, leaves and tubers are exported to Andhra Pradesh or Chhattisgarh. Though there are strict rules under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 (Section 41(3), Chapter X), Lenka alleges that the forest department is not interested in implementing them properly. Learning curve Dambarudhara Tading proudly claims that he and other disharis have managed to preserve around 100 rare varieties of medicinal plants in the four acre of land that the forest department donated to the community. They have not got any other incentive from the government so far. "We also provide free training to young healers who are enthusiastic about this profession. Even researchers from the MSSRF, Koraput Central University, Odisha Biodiversity Board, ayurveda colleges, State Medicinal Plants Board and the National Innovation Foundation come here for training. Researchers learn the ropes from us, but do not give us any credit when publishing their findings. So, we now hesitate to speak to or teach them in-depth." For the protection and conservation of medicinal plant resources and the associated traditional knowledge, it is critical to document the locally available resources by registering them under the Peoples' Biodiversity Register at the respective gram panchayat, block, district or urban level. In case they need to bring about any changes in their practice, the healers sit together and reach an agreement on it. (Prativa Ghosh is a Bhubaneswar-based journalist and a member of 101Reporters, a pan-India network of grassroots reporters.) London, March 10 : Chinese officials want to bring in lockdowns to combat the flu, leaving many furious about a prospect of returning to the strict restrictions seen during the Covid-19 outbreak, media reported. The city of Xi'an, in Shaanxi Province in central China, said it may enforce lockdowns 'when necessary' if an outbreak of the common flu virus poses a 'severe threat'. The emergency response plan for the city published on Wednesday is intended to combat the rising number of influenza cases in the country, as Covid-19 cases continue to fall, Daily Mail reported. Authorities in the Chinese city have not suggested that a new set of lockdowns are imminent, but locals in the area have still dubbed the plans excessive. China's zero-Covid lockdown plans were implemented throughout the country during the pandemic and were seen as extreme by many. The plan by the Xi'an local government accounts for four levels of flu outbreak. If the common virus was to reach a critically high level, lockdowns would likely be reinstated, Daily Mail reported. During the pandemic, Chinese residents were not allowed to leave their homes. Some were not even allowed to go shopping for food or crucial supplies. The city of Xi'an was placed under some of the strictest lockdown measures by authorities until restrictions were rapidly eased across the country in December last year following mass uproar. Reacting to the prospect of a return to enforced lockdowns, social media users in China on Weibo said the common flu was a normal virus and did not require lockdown measures prior to Covid, Daily Mail reported. London, March 10 : Scientists have called for a legally binding treaty to ensure Earth's orbit isn't irreparably harmed by the future expansion of the global space industry. The number of satellites in orbit is expected to increase from the current 9,000 to more than 60,000 by 2030, with estimates suggesting there are already more than 100 trillion untracked pieces of old satellites circling the planet. While such technology is used to provide a huge range of social and environmental benefits, there are fears the predicted growth of the industry could make large parts of Earth's orbit unusable, wrote an international collaboration of experts in fields, including satellite technology and ocean plastic pollution, the journal Science. This demonstrates the urgent need for global consensus on how best to govern Earth's orbit, said researchers, including from the Universities of Plymouth, Arribada Initiative, The University of Texas at Austin, California Institute of Technology, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Spaceport Cornwall and ZSL (Zoological Society of London). The experts acknowledged that a number of industries and countries are starting to focus on satellite sustainability, but this should be enforced to include any nation with plans to use Earth's orbit. Any agreement, they added, should include measures to implement producer and user responsibility for satellites and debris, from the time they launch onwards. Commercial costs should also be considered when looking at ways to incentivise accountability. "Minimising the pollution of the lower Earth orbit will allow continued space exploration, satellite continuity and the growth of life-changing space technology," said co-author Kimberley Miner, scientist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Patna, March 10 : After Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids on RJD national president Lalu Prasad's relatives and close associates in connection with the land-for-job case, party MP Manoj Kumar Jha on Friday said central agencies are "working on BJP's script". "CBI and ED are working on the script given by BJP. When BJP will not be in power, its leaders will face the same treatment in future," Jha said. "BJP has maligned the image of these agencies to such an extent that no one is taking them seriously," Jha said. "After raiding the houses of Tejashwi Yadav, his in-laws, Lalu Prasad's daughters, other relatives and friends, what objectives they have achieved. After losing power in Bihar, the BJP is in deep pain and hence they are doing it," Jha said. "The pressure politics of the Central government would not affect Lalu Prasad. He would not take a step back after such an act. The political fight should be contested in a political way. They should stop CBI and ED games," Jha said. The ED on Monday raided 15 places of Lalu Prasad's relatives and friends in Patna, Ghaziabad, Gurugram, Delhi, Mumbai and some other places across the country. Chitranjan Gagan, the spokesperson of RJD, claimed: "The BJP knows that it will not come to power in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Fearing defeat, it is conspiring against opposition leaders. I want to tell them that such tactics would not work." New Delhi, March 10 : A Delhi court on Friday extended Trinamool Congress strongman Anubrata Mondal's Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody by 11 days in connection with the ongoing probe into the West Bengal's multi-crore cattle smuggling scam. Special Judge Rakesh Kumar of the Rouse Avenue Courts had, on Wednesday, remanded Mondal to the ED's custody till March 10. During the hearing on Friday, Special Judge Raghubir Singh allowed ED plea for 11 days remand extension. Special Public Prosecutor Nitesh Rana for ED argued that interrogation is necessary to confront him (Mondal) with several accused and witnesses in the case. Representing Mondal, advocate Mudit Jain submitted that the investigations conducted are closed door investigations without any sight visit, which makes them lazy and unenterprising. On Tuesday, the ED first took Mondal to their national headquarters and later to Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in the national capital for medical check-up. During the course of the hearing, the ED counsel had sought 14-day custody for Mondal. However, after hearing all the parties, the judge had remanded Mondal to ED custody till March 10. The judge had ordered that the accused will undergo a medical examination daily till March 10 and his counsels will be allowed to meet him daily for 30 minutes during the interim period. Islamabad, March 10 : Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif insists that former spy master Lt Gen (retd) Faiz Hameed played a key role in removing Nawaz Sharif from premiership, local media reported. Asif feigned ignorance about any investigation related to Gen Hameed's brothers, as opposed to the claims made by Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, Samaa TV reported. The defence minister said if party leader Maryam Nawaz has made any comments about the probes, she must have some information. He said a lot of evidence has come into the public domain that a process had started during Nawaz Sharif's prime ministership. An agenda was ruthlessly pushed against the then Nawaz Sharif government, Samaa TV reported. Asif also alleged that Lt Gen (retd) Hameed played a key role in removing Nawaz Sharif, and bringing PTI chief Imran Khan to power. He added that Khan's wishes were implemented by the former spy chief. "We are talking about the accountability of a former soldier," Asif stressed, Samaa TV reported. He alleged that the 2018 elections were engineered, people were imprisoned and punished. If Khan was honest, he remarked, the country would have gone on the path of development. He further said if Khan had admitted that the army was neutral, there would have been an improvement in country's affairs. He claimed Khan wanted Hameed to remain the chief of the premier intelligence agency, and wanted to appoint him the army chief, Samaa TV reported. He taunted that PTI Chairman could make anyone his "political godfather" for personal gains. Mumbai, March 10 : In a shocking admission, Maharashtra Tribal Development Minister Vijaykumar Gavit informed the state legislature on Friday that a minor tribal girl - who died in September 2022 - worked as a 'bonded labour', a practice abolished 47 years ago. Gavit's statement came in the Legislative Council and attracted strong criticism of the Opposition MLCs during a question on the issue of the Ashram Shalas in the state. As Gavit replied to a query on the Ashram Shalas (schools) run for tribal kids, he was also asked to respond on the death of a 10-year-old tribal girl of Nashik six months ago. The Minister said that the girl had been taken to work in the adjoining Parner tehsil of Ahmednagar district but since she was not in good health, the family which employed her had dumped the girl outside her parents' home. She was found with injury marks on her body and passed away during her treatment later, he said. The enraged Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) demanded to know whether she had been 'sold', resulting in embarrassment for the ruling Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance government. The MVA members like Ambadas Danve, Eknath Khadse and Shashikant Shinde urged the minister to make a statement on her death, and Gavit said she was not 'sold' but was employed as a 'bonded labourer'. Janata Dal's Kapil Patil pointed out that 'bonded labour' is banned vide a law enacted in Maharashtra, and "it is shameful that the Minister openly admits to the prevalence of such a practice in the state." He demanded an explanation from the Minister as to how the victim ended up working as a 'bonded labour', when this practice was abolished (in 1976). Terming it as 'a reflection' of the government's inefficiency, Khadse said that the sale or bonded labour involving children is 'unpardonable' and demanded that the state government should take it very seriously. Chennai, March 10 : The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is probing the Coimbatore car blast, has got the custody of five accused for further questioning. An NIA court in Chennai on Thursday sent the accused -- Mohammed Azharudhhin(23), Feroze Khan (29), Firoz Ismail (27), Umar Faruq (39) and Mohammed Nawaz Ismail (25) -- to NIA custody till March 16. The five accused, according to sources in the NIA, will be taken to various places for getting further information on whether there are other people behind the crime. On October 23, 2022, Islamic State suspect Jameesha Mubin was charred to death in a car blast in Coimbatore. The Islamic State of Khorasan Province had in a recent issue of its propaganda magazine, Voice of Khurasan stated that it had a role in the Coimbatore car blasts of October 23, 2022, and the pressure cooker blast in an autorickshaw on November 19, 2022. A paragraph in the Voice of Khurasan in an article titled, 'A message to the inhabitants in the land occupied by cow and mice worshipping filths' said, "Know that the spark of war has already been lit. Do you not consider our attacks in Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu) and Karnataka (Bangalore), where our brothers who took revenge for the honour of our religion and terrorized kufar and its followers? Thus we promise that this is just the beginning." Even as the write-up has mentioned the second place as Bangalore in Karnataka, the central agencies infer that Mangaluru was misquoted as Bangalore. The article has also mentioned that Kashmir and the Gujarat riots and Babri Masjid demolition have not been forgotten. The NIA will be conducting a thorough interrogation of those in custody and will try to ascertain whether those in custody have any connection with the article that has come out in Voice of Khusaran. Mohammed Thalha, nephew of S.A. Basha, leader of Al-Umma the Islamic outfit behind the 1998 February Coimbatore blasts, is also in judicial custody as an accused in the Coimbatore car blast case. Jammu, March 10 : A youth in Jammu city has allegedly stabbed his girlfriend to death following which he attempted to commit suicide, the police said on Friday. According to reports, the man stabbed his girlfriend -- a doctor by profession, with a kitchen knife in the heat of rage following an argument. The slain doctor has been identified as Sumedha Sharma of Talab Tillo in Jammu, and the accused, Johar Ganai, of Janipur, in Jammu. He then tried to end his life with the same knife. The incident took place in the Janipur area of Jammu city. The youth is undergoing treatment in the government medical college hospital in Jammu, a source said. Sources said that the incident came to light after a relative of the accused informed the police that Johar had posted on Facebook that he was going to end his life due to some personal issues. "After receiving information, the police went to Johar's house. The gate of the house was locked. Police broke into the house and found the body of Sumedha lying in a pool of blood. The accused had injuries in his abdomen," a source said. Both were immediately rushed to the hospital by the police. Sumedha, however, succumbed to critical injuries. The police have registered a case under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and have started further investigation in this regard. The accused and the victim were in a relationship and they did a Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) course at a dental college in Jammu. Sumedha later moved out of Jammu to get a masters' degree in dental surgery. "She had come home on March 7 for Holi and was at her boyfriend's house where they allegedly fought, following which the accused stabbed her. The body of the victim has been handed over to her family after completion of medico-legal formalities," a source said. New Delhi, March 10 : The Special Cell of Delhi Police has arrested a 35-year-old man involved in supplying illegal weapons to gangsters in Delhi, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, an official said, adding that eight high-quality semi-automatic pistols, seven single shot pistols and eight bullets have been recovered from his possession. The accused has been identified as Daud, a resident of Dewas, Madhya Pradesh. The official said that the weapon supplying nexus was being run by notorious arms supplier Malkhan Singh, who is running a pan-India network and is linked to gangsters operating across India. Daud was one of the key members of this nexus. "It came to our notice that Daud was supplying illegal firearms and ammunition to local gangs in Delhi-NCR. On the intervening night of March 6-7, specific inputs were received that Daud would come to the Dhansa-Najafgarh Road to deliver a large cache of firearms and ammunition to Rakesh, a member of the Nandu-Jyoti gang," said Ingit Pratap Singh, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell). A trap was laid by the police which led to Daud's arrest. On questioning, Daud revealed that three-four years back, when he was in jail in a case of scuffle, he came in contact with Malkhan, who gave him the offer to join his gang of arms trafficking. "Daud had procured illegal firearms on five to six occasions from Malkhan and supplied them to his associates in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi-NCR. He used to procure one semi-automatic pistol from Malkhan for Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000 and one single shot pistol for Rs 3,500," the DCP said. "Further investigation is underway to trace and apprehend the source and intended receiver of the recovered firearms and ammunition," the DCP added. New Delhi, March 10 : Police in Tibet's capital Lhasa have ramped up security measures ahead of Friday's anniversary of a 1959 uprising against the Chinese, media reported. Beginning February 25, security officials began randomly checking public spaces, guesthouses and hotels, and areas where Tibetan Buddhists perform religious activities and do businesses. Police also have been stopping people to check their cell phones to ensure Tibetans have not been in contact with anyone living outside the region - considered a crime. So far, police have arrested several Tibetans and charged them for alleged political infractions, sources said, RFA reported. On March 1, Lhasa police posted statements on their website about ensuring stability and preventing separatist thoughts and activities. Images on the site showed officers standing at attention and checking car drivers for IDs and books of what appeared to contain lists of people, including thumbnail photographs. Authorities also organised political education campaigns on the policies of the Chinese Communist Party, and appointed local leaders to publicise the nation's law and order, RFA reported. Authorities are taking similar initiatives in other parts of Tibet, including Nagchu, Chamdo, Lhoka and Shigatse. Friday's anniversary commemorates a 1959 revolt in which tens of thousands of Tibetans took to the streets of Lhasa in protest against China's invasion and occupation of their homeland a decade earlier. On March 10 of that year, People's Liberation Army forces violently crackdown on Tibetan protesters surrounding the Dalai Lama's summer palace Norbulingka. Subsequently, the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, was forced to escape from Tibet seven days later. He fled to Dharamsala, India, followed by some 80,000 Tibetans. A notice they issued earlier said under the current security initiatives about 50,000 individuals and more than 20,000 businesses and the spaces they rent have been searching QR codes, which are widely used in Lhasa for business transactions, RFA reported. New Delhi, March 10 : China is engaged in "political warfare" in the Pacific, the outgoing president of the Federated States of Micronesia has alleged in an excoriating letter, accusing Beijing officials of bribing elected officials in Micronesia, and even "direct threats against my personal safety", media reported. Two months before his term as president expires, David Panuelo's letter alleged China is preparing for conflict over the island of Taiwan, and that its goal in interfering in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) was to render the country neutral in any potential Pacific war. "China is seeking to ensure that, in the event of a war in our Blue Pacific continent between themselves and Taiwan, that the FSM is, at best, aligned with the PRC (China) instead of the United States, and, at worst, that the FSM chooses to 'abstain' altogether," The Guardian reported. The revelations come as Beijing seeks to significantly ramp up its efforts to exert influence in the Indo-Pacific region, creating an increasingly fast-paced tug-of-war battle with the US and its ally, Australia, it said. Last year, Beijing signed a controversial security pact with the Solomon Islands, which, along with Kiribati, made a decision to break ties with Taipei in favour of Beijing in 2019, The Guardian reported. The FSM is a longstanding ally of the US - the nations have a formal "compact of free association" - and the US is wholly responsible for the FSM's defence. New Delhi, March 10 : Following the arrest of former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Sisodia in the 2021-22 excise policy case, jailed conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar said on Friday that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will be arrested next. Chandrashekhar's comment came after he was produced before the Patiala House Court on Friday where his judicial custody was extended till March 18 in a money laundering case. While coming out of the court, Chandrashekhar told reporters that truth has prevailed, and it is Kejriwal's turn next. "I have given it in writing how close I have been to them and I am going to expose each one of them. Arvind Kejriwal is the kingpin. He is the 'Wazir' and he will be taken to task very soon," Chandrashekhar said. "I was involved with them in four different matters, but not liquoir scam," he added. In a recent letter to Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, V.K. Saxena, Chandrashekhar had made levelled allegations against Kejriwal, Sisodia and jailed AAP leader Satyendar Jain. Chandrashekhar, who is lodged in the Mandoli jail, had alleged in the five-page letter that Sisodia's arrest by the CBI is just the beginning and that he has "looted commissions" in every department that he was heading as Deputy CM. "All that matters to them (AAP leaders Kejriwal, Sisodia and Jain) is commission," he wrote. Referring to a 'tablet scam', Chandrashekhar alleged that he had bought tablets (for distribution to children) from a Chinese company, but the Kejriwal government decided to hand over the tender to someone else in exchange of 20 per cent extra commission. Bengaluru, March 10 : The BJP government is set to organise a two-km roadshow of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 12 in Mandya to strengthen the vote bank for the saffron party in south Karnataka. He will also witness the performances by the various artist groups. The party is also roping in 1.5 lakh people for the public rally organised after dedicating the Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway to the people. The roadshow has been organised from IB Circle of Mandya to Nanda Circle and nearly 30,000 to 40,000 people are expected to take part in the event. Mysuru-Kodagu MP Pratap Simha said on Friday that Modi will meet people and watch the performances by 500 cultural teams. The Prime Minister will also visit Dharwad on the same day and inaugurate an IIT, Jal Jeevan Mission and Jayadeva hospital, said Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai. Bommai told the media in Hubballi on Friday that whenever Modi visited the state, he had been releasing funds for the much-needed basic infrastructure projects because of which many projects are ready for the people. In the last few years, Modi has made a big contribution to the state and inter-state infrastructure facilities and released maximum funds for national highways, railways, ports and other institutions, which have been dedicated to the people, the Chief Minister added. This is possible due to the support received by the state from the Central government in the last five years, he said. The Chief Minister said that funds had been released in a phased manner to IIT-Dharwad, which is a prestigious institution and plans are being made to make it the country's best institution. Dharwad is the city of goddess Saraswati and the establishment of the IIT is most appropriate. Mumbai, March 10 : A Samajwadi Party MLA has filed a writ petition in the Bombay High Court challenging the Maharashtra government's order setting up a Family Coordination Committee (FCC) to monitor inter-faith and inter-caste marriages in the state, here on Friday. MLA Rais K. Shaikh has said that the Government Resolution (GR) to the effect is discriminatory against a particular religion and violates Article 14 (Right to Equality) and Article 15 (Right to Life which includes Right to Privacy) and Article 25 (Right to Freedom of Religion) and other articles as enshrined in the Constitution. The GR of December 13, 2022 came in the wake of the grisly killing of a Palghar girl, Shraddha Walkar in Delhi, allegedly by her inter-faith boyfriend, Shaikh said in the plea filed through lawyer Jeet Gandhi. "That the assumption that adult women who choose and consent to marry someone from another faith need to be 'saved' is misplaced and goes against the spirit of the Constitution," Shaikh said in his plea. He claimed that it is the government's attempt to discourage and/ or prohibit interfaith marriages and is a precursor to the laws related to purported 'love jihad' marriages that have been stayed in numerous states in the country. The government's FCC is ostensibly intended to provide a platform to 'counsel, communicate and resolve' differences between such couples and their estranged families. Shaikh said that the FCC can intervene at the behest of any person which is a breach of the couple's privacy, especially when two consenting adults are married to each other. He pointed out that the discourse around marriage in India fails to place adult individuals at the centre with the family, campaigning vigilante groups and societal forces playing the role to control the lives and determine the future of the young people who have chosen their own partner. The plea argued that the GR seeks to create a regressive and false narrative that "it is only in inter-faith or inter-caste marriages that a girl is at risk from her partner". Besides, Shaikh said that the GR discriminates against a particular religion and encourages a divide among people instead of harmony, co-existence, assimilation and peace. The FCC is authorised to seek information of both registered and unregistered marriages, which the petition warns could violate several rights of couples who have eloped to marry. He contended that the GR is ultra vires the Constitution as it was issued unilaterally, in extreme haste, under suspicious circumstances without following due procedures, particularly since distressed women have recourse to other laws like Indian Penal Code and Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act. Shaikh said that the GR doesn't cover those who plan to wed under personal laws and/or in their own religion, and sought that it should be scrapped, and the petition is likely to come up for hearing in due course. It may be recalled that earlier, the state government's move had been flayed on various counts, including that it could result in targetting of people belonging to a particular minority. Kolkata, March 10 : West Bengal accounts for 38 per cent of the swab samples that have been tested adenovirus-positive throughout the country, according to a recent survey conducted by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases (NICED). NICED sources said that in the survey, which was conducted on the 1,708 samples in the different viral research diagnostic laboratories throughout the country from January 1 to March 9, 650 samples were tested adenovirus-positive. As per the finding, West Bengal accounts for 38 per cent of the 650 samples that have been tested positive, the highest among all Indian states. Tamil Nadu comes in the distant second position with 19 per cent, Kerala at 13 per cent, Delhi at 11 per cent and Maharashtra at five per cent are in the third, fourth and fifth positions respectively. Four days ago, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that 19 deaths had been reported, out of which six are confirmed adenovirus cases, while the remaining 12 were cases of co-morbidity. Contrary to her statement, sources from hospitals said that the death figure was much higher. As per unofficial estimates, the child deaths resulting out of the related symptoms during the last 12 days has touched 48 including three fresh fatal cases during the last 24 hours. The chief minister also claimed that some people had been deliberately creating a panic over the virus. "The people panicked and this panic opened the avenues for some private hospitals to flourish their businesses," the chief minister said. The common symptoms of adenovirus are flu-like, cold, fever, breathing problems, sore throat, pneumonia and acute bronchitis. The children of two-years of age and below are most vulnerable to being affected by the virus. The virus can spread through skin contacts, by air through coughing and sneezing and through an infected person's stool. So far, there have not been any approved medicines or any specific treatment-line to treat the virus. State health department has already issued an advisory for doctors, especially paediatricians, to take special care of children being admitted with flu-like symptoms, especially those aged two years or below since they are most vulnerable to being affected by adenovirus. In wake of the alarming situation, the Health Department has cancelled all the leaves of staff for an indefinite period. Special outdoor units have been opened at state-run hospitals with special paediatric units, so that such cases do not have to wait at the general outdoor units. Rohtak, March 10 : Saying that villagers are angry with the government because of policies like e-tendering as it has curbed the independence of panchayats, former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Friday launched 'Hath Se Hath Jodo' campaign in his constituency Garhi Sampla Kiloi in Rohtak district. On the first day, he visited several villages where residents welcomed him and apprised him about the issues. Hooda said that he is continuously visiting the entire state. "First Bharat Jodo Yatra and now Hath Se Hath Jodo campaign is getting public support, it is clear that the people of every region of the state are seeking change in one voice. The public is eagerly waiting for the elections to vote out the BJP-JJP government because today every class of the state is troubled by the policies of the coalition government," he said. "Today, people in rural parts of the state are angry with the government because of policies like e-tendering as it has curbed the independence of panchayats and the development of villages. On the other hand, people in urban parts are facing the brunt of scams like property ID mess and cleaning. The Dalit community is troubled by the closure of the welfare schemes of the Congress like the allotment of 100 yards plots," the Leader of Opposition said. Hooda said the BJP-JJP (Jannayak Janta Party) government has lathi-charged on farmers, youth, government employees, panchs and sarpanches. "Elected panchayats are the pride and honour of the village but the government wants to make them powerless. Instead of wasting time in the name of meeting with panchs and sarpanches, the government should immediately get rid of e-tendering and provide funds for development to the panchayats," he said. "If the present government does not do this, then after the formation of the Congress government, the panchayats will be freed from the web of e-tendering and their funds will be increased. The Congress understands that the elected representatives are answerable to the villages and not the contractors and officials," he said. The two-time Chief Minister said that mustard farmers are facing huge losses due to non-availability of government procurement. "Their crops are being sold at Rs 1,000 below the minimum support price (MSP). The government is delaying the procurement to benefit the middlemen. Neither the MSP is being given to the farmers by the government nor the compensation has been given for the damages caused by the weather till now. Sugarcane farmers are still waiting for the payment of dues," he added. New Delhi: Delhi BJP Working President Virendra Sachdeva and LOP Ramvir Singh Bidhuri along with other senior leaders during a protest against the Delhi Government in New Delhi on Friday, March 10, 2023. (Photo:Qamar Sibtain/ IANS) Image Source: IANS News New Delhi: Delhi BJP Working President Virendra Sachdeva and LOP Ramvir Singh Bidhuri along with other senior leaders during a protest against the Delhi Government in New Delhi on Friday, March 10, 2023. (Photo:Qamar Sibtain/ IANS) Image Source: IANS News New Delhi: A BJP worker impersonates former Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia during a protest against the Delhi Government in New Delhi on Friday, March 10, 2023. (Photo:Qamar Sibtain/ IANS) Image Source: IANS News New Delhi, March 10 : Under the leadership of Delhi BJP Working President Virendra Sachdeva on Friday, the saffron party staged a massive protest outside the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) headquarters demanding resignation of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. A model of Tihar jail was placed at the protest site, inside which former Delhi ministers Satyendar Jain and Manish Sisodia were shown locked, became a special attraction among the protesters and passers-by. Apart from this, the Chief Minister's residence was also shown in the protest, on whose walls the list of corruption cases by the Kejriwal government was also hung. Besides Sachdeva, Delhi Opposition leader Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, BJP MPs Ramesh Bidhuri and Parvesh Verma, State BJP General Secretary Kuljeet Singh Chahal, Co-incharge of Assam BJP Pawan Sharma, MLA Abhay Verma and former State BJP President Adesh Gupta addressed a programme to protest against the AAP government in Delhi. State BJP Working President said, "The saffron party workers first fought for the resignation of Sisodia and today the results are in front of everyone. Now the next number is of Arvind Kejriwal because Kejriwal himself is the kingpin and mastermind of this entire liquor scam." Sachdeva added: "Kejriwal was saying that he would not celebrate Holi. How could Kejriwal apply the colour of Holi on the face which he hides behind the black money of liquor?" He added: "There was talk of free education and health but Kejriwal gave "buy one get one free liquor bottle scheme" to the people of Delhi. A conspiracy was hatched to make the youth intoxicated." Chandigarh, March 10 : Hailing the Budget 2023-24 presented by Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Cheema as 'Aam Lokaan Da Budget', Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday described it as the roadmap for a "new, progressive and prosperous Punjab". In a statement, the Chief Minister said it is a matter of pride and satisfaction that this tax-free budget has been presented exactly a year after his government assumed charge of office. He said this maiden full budget of his government is aimed at giving major fillip to the development of the state. Mann envisioned that the budget would transform the destiny of the common man (Aam Lok) by ensuring peace, progress and prosperity in the state. The Chief Minister said, as per the commitment of his government, the budget is the blueprint for restoring the pristine glory of the state. He said the Budget will give further impetus to the growth in every sector and ensure that the state witnesses comprehensive growth. Mann said the day is not far when this Budget coupled with pragmatic policies of the government will help in the progress of the state. The Chief Minister said the government has so far given 26,797 jobs to youth, adding that the budget stipulates to regularly recruit and create an ecosystem for private jobs for Punjabis to check brain drain. He said the total Budget expenditure of Rs 1,96,462 crore for 2023-24 reflects 26 per cent growth compared to 2022-23, which reflects the commitment of the government to ensure uninterrupted development in Punjab. Mann said the allocation for agriculture and allied sectors has been enhanced by 20 per cent to take adequate steps for making farming a profitable venture. The Chief Minister said the provision to introduce a new agricultural policy with the objective of conserving natural resources and enhancing farmers' income will go a long way in bailing out the farmers from the current agrarian crisis. He said an allocation of Rs 1,000 crore for a special scheme on diversification during the upcoming financial year will also act as a catalyst for the well being of farmers. Mann said the proposal to provide crop insurance for farmers to save them from the vagaries of the weather and other uncertainties is also a historic decision to safeguard the interests of the farmers. The Chief Minister said the proposal to set up the five new horticulture estates in Ludhiana, Gurdaspur, Patiala, Bathinda and Faridkot and the proposal of keeping Rs 100 crore in the next financial year to nudge Milkfed to reach new heights will also go a long way in well being of the farmers. Mann said it is a matter of great pride and satisfaction that an outlay of Rs 17,072 crore for school and higher education has been kept, which is 12 per cent higher than the previous year. He said a budget of Rs 200 crore has been kept for upgradation of schools into Schools of Eminence, adding an allocation of Rs 18 crore for Other Backward Class students and Rs 60 crore for Scheduled Caste students has been kept. The Chief Minister said Rs 4,781 crore has been kept for the Health and Family Welfare Department, which is 11 per cent higher than the previous year. Similarly, he said budgetary outlay of Rs 231 crore has been kept for employment generation and skill development, which is 36 per cent higher than the previous year. Kochi, March 10 : The Kerala High Court on Friday expressed its deep displeasure and asked the government, when will the ongoing smog at Kochi clear up, as things are very serious. The Kerala High Court had taken up this issue suo-moto and it is the ninth day, when parts of the commercial capital of the state continue to be under a cover of smoke due to a fire at a garbage dump and waste plant there. After hearing the versions of the government, Cochin Corporation, the court decided to form a committee of experts, asked them to visit the site from where the smoke is coming and come back with a detailed report on their assessment. The fire, which began last week at the waste plant at Brahmapuram, had led to a dip in air quality in the city. Due to the huge smoke cover over several areas, the data on the Kerala Pollution Control Board website shows PM2.5 and PM10 particulate levels in the air in Kochi way above the prescribed standards. Beleaguered residents are asked to wear N-95 masks if they venture out and schools have asked children in the lower classes to stay indoors. In a related development, local Congress legislator Uma Thomas filed a petition before the court seeking its intervention on this grave issue and wanted a permanent solution to it. Kerala BJP president K. Surendran wrote to the Centre seeking its urgent intervention, asking it to send a team of experts to study the environment impact assessment caused due to the waste treatment plant that has been mired in corruption. Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan, who hails from the affected district, said on Friday the sun was seen only at 9 a.m and things are bad. "The Vijayan government has miserable failed to do anything as it's been nine days and numerous allegations have also come about the handing over the waste treatment plant to an inexperienced company. Things are bad and people are suffering and there appears no solution also," said Satheesan. Chandigarh, March 10 : The Border Security Force (BSF) on Friday arrested a Pakistani national while he inadvertently entered India in Punjab's Ferozepur sector, officials said. Later, he was handed over to Pakistan Rangers on humanitarian grounds. "The Forward deployed BSF troops apprehended one Pakistan national ahead of the border fence, while he crossed the International Border and entered into Indian territory in the area falling near Dona Tenu Mal village in Ferozepur district," a BSF statement said. During questioning, it came to notice that the apprehended Pakistani national had crossed over to Indian territory inadvertently. Nothing objectionable, except personal belongings, an identity card and Pakistani currency amounting to Rs 10 were recovered from him. The BSF approached Pakistan Rangers and lodged a protest on the matter, it said. Thereafter, the apprehended Pakistani national, since he had inadvertently crossed the border, was handed over to Pakistan Rangers on humanitarian grounds, added the statement. A day earlier, the BSF nabbed a Bangladeshi national from the Amritsar sector and another Pakistani national from the Gurdaspur sector while they were trying to enter India. New Delhi, March 10 : Two men sustained burn injuries after one of them tried to set the other on fire in Delhi's Chhawla area, an official said on Friday, adding that the incident occurred on Thursday. The victim, Dipanshu (23), sustained 50 per cent burn injuries and is hospitalised along with the accused, Titu (39), said the official. The official added that Dipanshu suspected Titu of having an affair with his girlfriend and this led to a fight between the two. According to police, information was received at Chhawla police station on Thursday that two male persons in burned condition were shifted to RTRM Hospital by CAT Ambulance. "Police team reached the hospital and both--Dipanshu and Titu were found admitted in RTRM Hospital with the alleged history of burns. The doctor opined them fit for the statement. Subsequently both were shifted to Safdarjung Hospital," the police said. The victim Dipanshu alleged that one person, Kalu poured petrol upon him and Titu ignited the lighter. "Police have registered a case under section 307 (attempt to murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code and Kalu has been apprehended," said the official. "Another accused, Titu, is admitted in hospital," said the official, adding that further investigation is going on. Chennai, March 10 : BJP National President J.P. Nadda on Friday said that only the BJP can give good governance in Tamil Nadu and added that the party will strengthen its position in the state. He was speaking at a public function in Krishnagiri after inaugurating the new party office. Following this, he inaugurated nine other party district committee offices virtually. The BJP National President added that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has appointed his son Udayanidhi Stalin as a minister and said that Udaynidhi may become the next Tamil Nadu Chief Minister. Comparing Tamil Nadu with states like Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha, Telangana, Maharashtra, Nadda said that succession politics was becoming the norm in Tamil Nadu as well. The BJP and AIADMK, which are allies in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Tamil Nadu, are not on good terms after several BJP leaders in the state quit the party and joined the AIADMK. There were war of words between the Tamil Nadu BJP president, K. Annamalai and the AIADMK leadership, including former Minister and party's organising secretary, D. Jayakumar. Tamil Nadu BJP IT Cell President, C.T.R. Nirmal Kumar and State BJP IT Cell Secretary, Dilip Kannan, and several other district-wise leaders had resigned from the saffron party and joined the AIADMK. They have openly blamed Annamalai's style of functioning for their exit from the saffron party. The State BJP President had hit out at the AIADMK and the AIADMK interim general secretary and former Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami(EPS). The BJP national leadership is expecting a few seats from Tamil Nadu in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and it can get these seats only through piggy-riding on the AIADMK. BJP has a potent ally in Tamil Nadu with AIADMK aligning with it during the last Assembly elections, and the national leadership does not want to break the alliance it has with the powerful Dravidian party. The BJP national leadership is also unhappy with Annamalai acting against the AIADMK as in 2024 Lok sabha elections, BJP wants to improve its position in the state. However, after Annamalai lashing out against the state AIADMK leadership, the BJP national leadership is afraid of the political alliance going awry which the saffron party cannot afford to. Sources in the BJP told IANS that Nadda will likely conduct a meeting with EPS to iron out the differences between the two parties and to gain politically from Tamil Nadu. Riyadh, March 10 : Saudi Arabia and Iran have agreed to re-establish diplomatic ties, reopen embassies and exchange ambassadors within a period of two months, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Friday. The decision to re-establish relations, which were severed in 2016, came following talks that took place from March 6 through March 10 in Beijing, SPA reported citing a trilateral statement issued by the Kingdom, Iran and China. "Saudi Arabia and Iran agree to respect state sovereignty and not interfere in internal matters," the statement said, adding that the two countries' foreign ministers will meet soon to arrange for the exchange of envoys and discuss means to enhance ties, Al Arabiya reported. Riyadh and Tehran also agreed to activate the security cooperation agreement signed in 2001 and the trade, economy and investment agreement signed in 1998. According to the statement, China's President Xi Jinping had made an initiative to host and sponsor talks between delegates from Iran and Saudi Arabia to resolve disputes via dialogue and diplomacy, Al Arabiya reported. The Saudi delegation was headed by Minister of State and National Security Adviser Musaed bin Mohammed Al-Aiban, while the Iranian delegation was headed by Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council. During the talks, China was represented by Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs Wang Yi. Saudi Arabia and Iran thanked China for hosting and sponsoring the recent talks and for the efforts exerted to help them succeed. They also thanked Iraq and Oman for hosting dialogue sessions between the two countries' representatives in 2021 and 2022, Al Arabiya reported. "Saudi Arabia, Iran and China are keen on making all [necessary] efforts to strengthen regional and international peace and security." Saudi Arabia severed ties with Iran after two of its diplomatic posts were attacked in Tehran and Mashhad in 2016. New Delhi, March 10 : India-US bilateral goods and services trade has nearly doubled since 2014, surpassing $191 billion recorded in 2022. This was acknowledged by Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on Friday during the India-US Commercial Dialogue meeting. Co-chaired by Goyal and Raimondo, the commercial dialogue is a part of ongoing efforts to strengthen US-India Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership. Raimondo attended the meeting before leaving for the US on Friday. She had arrived in India on March 7 at the invitation of the Indian government. During the meeting, both the sides welcomed further steps to enhance their commercial collaboration and tap into market potential across multiple sectors, and also enable an environment for investment by small and medium-size industries (MSME) and startups. Secretary Raimondo appreciated the steps undertaken under the National Infrastructure Pipeline and PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan, an official statement issued by the Commerce ministry said. Goyal and Raimondo welcomed the US-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET). The two ministers also noted India's interest in partnering with the US in developing a secure pharmaceutical manufacturing base and diversifying supply chains for critical and strategic minerals (including rare earths). One of the major outcomes of the meeting was the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on establishing semiconductor supply chain and innovation partnership under the framework of India-US Commercial Dialogue. Both the ministers recognised that small businesses and entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of the US and Indian economies and there is a need to facilitate collaboration between the SMEs of the two countries and to foster innovation ecosystems that facilitate their post-pandemic economic recovery and growth. In this context, both sides announced the launch of a new working group on talent, innovation and inclusive growth under the Commercial Dialogue. This will further the cooperation on start-ups, SMEs, skill development and entrepreneurship, including in digital and emergent technologies. This working group would also support the efforts under iCET, particularly in identifying specific regulatory hurdles that hinder cooperation and fostering of greater connectivity between our innovation ecosystems (including tech start-ups). Both sides expressed interest in working together in developing next-generation standards in telecommunications, including 6G. Secretary Raimondo welcomed India's ongoing G20 presidency. The ministers expressed interest to look forward to the next Commercial Dialogue meeting to be held in Washington DC in 2024, contributing towards a growing strategic and economic relationship between India and the US. Mumbai, March 10 : In another diabolical incident, a 27-year-old married woman from Saundana village in Beed, Maharashtra, was brutally raped, starved and her menstrual blood was sold for Rs 50,000 for some witchcraft rituals, officials said here on Friday. Shiv Sena (UBT) MLC Manisha Kayande raised the issue in the Maharashtra Legislative Council and demanded strict punishment for the perpetrators of the crime, which ironically came to light on the eve of International Women's Day on Tuesday. She said that following the intervention of the woman's maternal family, the Vishrantwadi police station in Pune has lodged an FIR against even accused persons, including the victim's husband and his parents. "The victim woman has stated in her complaint that she was starved for three days during her monthly periods and her menstrual blood was collected and sold to someone for Rs 50,000 for some black magic purposes," Kayande said. The woman added that since her love marriage around 2019, her husband and in-laws had been torturing her on various grounds though the exact reasons - whether dowry demands or others - were not available. She said that recently her in-laws had tied her up during her monthly periods, collected her menstrual blood using cotton swabs and sold it for Rs 50,000 to some person who indulges in practicing witchcraft. The Pune police have booked all the accused under the stringent Maharashtra Black Magic Act and other laws and further probe is on. BJP's Pune Guardian Minister Chandrakant Patil expressed shock over the incident and directed the police to invoke the strictest laws against all the accused persons. "Many times, in rural or even urban areas, such inhumane customs and barbaric practices are followed along with black magic. I demand that firm action should be taken against the accused under the relevant sections of law and a search should be carried out to catch those indulging in such abhorrent practices," Kayande said. This is the second such shocker emanating from Pune in the past two months. In January, a 28-year-old woman was forcibly made to undergo bizarre rituals in a crematorium. The victim had informed the Sinhgad Police that she was made to take bath in the crematorium and then compelled to drink a liquid laced with powdered human bones and ashes as part of certain rites allegedly intended to enable her conception. The Sinhgad police had swooped in to nab the woman's husband, his parents, his brother and three others for the heinous crime, while the President of Maharashtra State Commission for Women, Rupali Chakankar, had sought a probe report from the police. Chennai, March 10 : AIADMK interim general secretary and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palaniswami has come out strongly against the NLC India Limited acquiring land for its expansion projects in Cuddalore district of the state. EPS in a statement on Friday called upon the NLC India -- a Central public sector undertaking, to abandon the project, and also called upon the M.K. Stalin-led Tamil Nadu government to hold tripartite talks with the NLC India management and people who were losing land under the acquisition programme of the power major. "The welfare of the farmers and the people of Cuddalore district is also as important as the thermal power station and the Coal mines are for the electricity needs of the country," the former Chief Minister said. He also said that since 1956 when the NLC was established, it has not met any needs of the people of the area who had given land for its development. Palaniswami also said that the AIADMK has raised its voice from time to time for the people, regardless of who was in power. The former Chief Minister also said that from the year 2000 till date, there was no adequate compensation for the land acquired by NLC. The former Chief Minister said: "Yesterday (Thursday), the NLC administration engaged in the work of levelling the land in the agricultural fields under the protection of hundreds of policemen, after imprisoning the land-owners, including the farmers in the area of Valiyamadevi in the Cuddalore district." The AIADMK and the BJP are engaged in a slugfest. According to a political analyst, the statement of the AIADMK interim general secretary, K. Palaniswami, against the Central government PSU is an indicator of the confrontation the party is having with the BJP. Guwahati, March 10 : The Gauhati High Court has directed the Central government to pay a compensation of Rs 20 lakh each to the kin of five youths killed by the Army in a fake encounter in Assam's Tinsukia district in February 1994, advocate of the petitioners, Pari Barman, said here on Friday. The compensation amount would be deposited with the high court and it will be paid to the victims' families as identified by the district judge, Barman told the media. According to Barman, during an anti insurgency operation 29 years ago, Army soldiers had reportedly killed five youths at Dangari in Tinsukia district, branding them as members of the United Liberation Front of Asom after the killing of the general manager of a tea estate by unidentified assailants. Hearing the case, a division bench of Justices Achintya Malla Bujor Barua and Robin Phukan directed the Centre to pay a compensation of Rs 20 lakh each to the families of five slain youths -- Prabin Sonowal, Pradip Dutta, Debajit Biswas, Akhil Sonowal and Bhaben Moran. Prabin was a local leader of the All Assam Students' Union (AASU). Reacting to the court order, Jagadish Bhuyan, General Secretary of the Assam Jatiya Parishad, said that justice has finally been served after 29 years. "For too long, the families of the five slain youths have suffered for something they did not do," he said. Bhuyan had filed a habeas corpus petition in the high court on February 22, 1994, seeking information about the whereabouts of the five youths after the local police confirmed their detention at the Army's Dhola camp. Seven Army personnel of the 18 Punjab Regiment at Dhole camp, including a Major General and two Colonels, were found involved in the killings and were awarded life imprisonment by an Army court in October 2018. -IANS sc/arm Hyderabad, March 10 : Senior Telugu movie actor Naresh, 60, has married his co-star of many films, Pavithra Lokesh. The couple recently formalised their relationship after living together for around two years. The newly married couple on Friday shared a video of their nuptials conducted in a traditional manner. Posting the video on their social media accounts, the couple wrote, "Seeking your blessings for a lifetime of peace & joy in this new journey of us." Naresh is the son of the late Telugu actress, producer and director Vijayanirmala. Tollywood superstar Mahesh Babu is his stepbrother. This is Naresh's fourth marriage and Pavitra's third. Pavitra is from Karnataka and acts in Kannada and Telugu movies as a supporting actress. Naresh had been embroiled in a messy dispute with his third wife Ramya Raghupati after they separated and his involvement with Pavitra became public. Ramya Raghupati has reportedly refused to divorce Naresh. Riyadh, March 10 : Iraq and Oman welcomed on Friday the agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran to re-establish diplomatic ties, media reported. The countries earlier on Friday said they would also open embassies and exchange ambassadors within a period of two months, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported. Iraq hailed "turning a new page" between Riyadh and Tehran, the country's state press agency said on Friday. Oman also welcomed the plans, its foreign ministry said. Saudi Arabia and Iran had thanked both Oman and Iraq for hosting previous talks in 2021 and 2022, Al Arabiya reported. Saudi Arabia and Iran have agreed to re-establish diplomatic ties, reopen embassies and exchange ambassadors within a period of two months, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said on Friday, Al Arabiya reported. The decision to re-establish relations, which were severed in 2016, came following talks that took place from March 6 through March 10 in Beijing, SPA reported citing a trilateral statement issued by the Kingdom, Iran and China. "Saudi Arabia and Iran agree to respect state sovereignty and not interfere in internal matters," the statement said, adding that the two countries' foreign ministers will meet soon to arrange for the exchange of envoys and discuss means to enhance ties, Al Arabiya reported. Riyadh and Tehran also agreed to activate the security cooperation agreement signed in 2001 and the trade, economy and investment agreement signed in 1998. According to the statement, China's President Xi Jinping had made an initiative to host and sponsor talks between delegates from Iran and Saudi Arabia to resolve disputes via dialogue and diplomacy, Al Arabiya reported. The Saudi delegation was headed by Minister of State and National Security Adviser Musaed bin Mohammed Al-Aiban, while the Iranian delegation was headed by Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council. During the talks, China was represented by Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs Wang Yi. Saudi Arabia and Iran thanked China for hosting and sponsoring the recent talks and for the efforts exerted to help them succeed. They also thanked Iraq and Oman for hosting dialogue sessions between the two countries' representatives in 2021 and 2022, Al Arabiya reported. "Saudi Arabia, Iran and China are keen on making all (necessary) efforts to strengthen regional and international peace and security." Saudi Arabia severed ties with Iran after two of its diplomatic posts were attacked in Tehran and Mashhad in 2016. Bhopal, March 10 : Having a tag of 'tiger state', Madhya Pradesh achieved yet another feat by releasing two tigers (one male and one female) into the enclosure of Madhav National Park (MNP) on Friday. The big cats were released by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia. Forest officials said at least three more tigers will be released into the enclosures of MNP in future in a bid to give fresh impetus and fillip to tourism in the region. Apart from enhancing tourism potential, this will also create a huge wildlife corridor between Kuno National Park, Madhav National Park, Panna Tiger Reserve (MP) and Ranthambore tiger reserve in Rajasthan. The officials also claimed that the development will also generate employment opportunities for the local population. "Plans are afoot to expand the tiger reserve area to 1,600 km square area. Tiger safari is one of the ambitious projects that the government is eyeing for, by enhancing the wildlife corridor and harnessing the tourism potential of the region," said an official. While the male tiger released at MNP was captured in October last year after it strayed into the sprawling premises of the Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology (MANIT) in Bhopal, the tigress was brought from Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve located in Rewa district, the official added. "A plan to release another tigress did not work out as it could not be captured at Panna Tiger Reserve," officials said adding that translocation of the two big cats took place to mark the birth anniversary of former Union Minister Madhavrao Scindia, the father of Jyotiraditya Scindia. MNP was established in Shivpuri district, in the name of late Congress leader and ex-Union Minister Madho Rao Scindia. This is the third time the MP Forest Department is going to re-introduce a tiger in a wildlife sanctuary, with successful projects of the kind having been undertaken in Panna Tiger Reserve and the Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary in Sagar, officials said. "MNP has a good prey base for big cats and the revival programme was cleared by the Centre," they added. Shivpuri borders Sheopur district, which houses the Kuno National Park, a new home for 20 cheetahs brought from Namibia and South Africa under the ambitious reintroduction project for the species. Chandigarh, March 10 : Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Badal on Friday said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab had played another fraud by fudging figures to paint a rosy picture in Budget 2023-24 but was actually leading the state to financial ruin by increasing debt and performing poorly on all parameters. Reacting to the state Budget presented in the Vidhan Sabha, the SAD president rubbished claims of increase in revenue, saying "figures have been conveniently fudged to hide the truth from Punjabis". He said the truth was that the state debt had increased by Rs 42,181 crore to touch Rs 3.47 lakh crore. He said the outstanding debt to GSDP ratio of 46.81 per cent also suggested that the state was hurtling towards financial bankruptcy. Badal also exposed the revenue figures given by the AAP government, saying the very fact that fiscal deficit was pegged at Rs 34,784 crore, meant that even the meager resources allocated for various departments and schemes were not likely to be released. He said even the revenue deficit had doubled from Rs 12,553 crore to Rs 24,588 crore. Asserting that the Budget 2023-24 reflected the complete administrative failure of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, the SAD President said "AAP has also gone back on all promises made to the people". He said this was the second Budget to be presented by the AAP government but yet no allocation had been made to provide an allowance of Rs 1,000 per month to all women in the state. "Money has not been allocated for the Old Pension Scheme whose revival was announced with much fanfare. Similarly no money has been allocated for any infrastructure project including power generation." Badal also asked the Chief Minister to explain why his government had failed to collect Rs 20,000 crore from sand mining and Rs 35,000 crore by taking anti-corruption steps. "The AAP government has earned a meager Rs 135 crore from sand mining which itself indicates it has allowed the sand mafia to loot the state exchequer." Asserting that all sections of society had been betrayed, Badal said "the Finance Minister has refused to disclose how much of the previous year's allocation was realised." According to conservative estimates, the AAP government did not achieve even 65 per cent of its target. Kolkata, March 10 : Normal functioning at the different state government offices in different parts of West Bengal was affected on Friday following a strike call given by the joint forum of state government demanding payment of dearness allowance arrears. While little less than normal attendance was reported from the state secretariat of Nabanna and Bikash Bhavan which houses the state education department, the attendance recorded at other major state government offices in Kolkata as well as in the districts were far below normal. Stray incidents of clashes between the striking employees and those opposing it were reported from the districts like Bankura and Purulia. The maximum impact of the strike was felt at the Calcutta High Court and the different lower courts in the state as a large section of court clerks remained abstained from duty. Normal teaching process in different state-run educational institutions was also affected as a large number of teaching and non-teaching staff participated in the strike. In many schools, the attendance of the students was also lower compared to normal days. West Bengal minister in charge of finance (independent charge) Chandrima Bhattacharya, however, claimed that the majority of state government has declined the strike call and attended to their duties normally. She also said that as per the notification issued by the state finance department those who did not attend duty on Friday will be first slapped with a show-cause notice and in absence of satisfactory reply the absence will be treated as dies-non (break of service) and no salary will be admissible for that day. Trinamool Congress' national general secretary and party MP Abhishek Banerjee advised the striking employees to go to New Delhi and stage protest demonstrations there. "They should ask the Union government on why Rs 1.15 lakh crore of central dues are still not paid to the West Bengal government," he said. Chennai, March 10 : Global defence aerospace player Lockheed Martin and Indias Tata Group have inked an agreement for the production of fighter plane wings at their joint venture Tata Lockheed Martin Aerostructures Ltd (TLMAL) in Hyderabad. According to Lockheed Martin, the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) envisions production of 29 fighter wing shipsets, with an option of additional shipsets, with deliveries commencing in 2025. Lockheed Martin formally recognised TLMAL as a potential co-producer of fighter wings in October 2021 after the latter's successful production and qualification of a prototype fighter wing shipset. Through this prototype project, TLMAL was required to demonstrate the capability to perform detailed part manufacturing and delivery of a fully-compliant fuel-carrying 9-g, 12,000 hour, interchangeable/replaceable representative fighter wing, Lockheed Martin said on Friday. "That achievement further strengthened Lockheed Martin's partnership with India; and supports its F-21 offering for procurement of 114 new fighter aircraft - exclusively for India and the Indian Air Force - by proving additional indigenous production capability. The India F-21 represents an unprecedented strategic and economic opportunity for the US-India relationship and represents a catalyst to future advanced technology cooperation," Lockheed Martin said. Tata Advanced Systems Limited and Lockheed Martin Aeronautics established TLMAL as a joint venture in 2010. TLMAL serves as the single global source of C-130J empennage assemblies that are installed on all new Super Hercules aircraft. To date, TLMAL has manufactured and delivered nearly 200 C-130J empennages. "I am proud of Tata Group's partnership with Lockheed Martin on this prestigious project. I would like to congratulate the TLMAL team for successfully industrialising and qualifying the fighter wing in spite of the technological complexity involved. I am confident the initiative of manufacturing fighter wings in India will go a long way in strengthening the aerospace and defence manufacturing ecosystem in India," said N. Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons Pvt. Ltd. Chandigarh, March 10 : A number of illegal cigarettes were seized during raids in Chandigarh and its nearby Panchkula town in Haryana, an official said on Friday. As per the directions of the Chairman-cum-Additional Secretary of Health, Chandigarh administration, a joint team, comprising officials of the Health, the police, the Excise and Taxation, the Legal Meteorology and the Food Safety and Drug Control, conducted the raid on shops in upscale Sectors 4 and 7-C and Manimajra locality. The shops were blamed for stocking and selling imported cigarettes without having any purchase record and the mandatory 85 per cent pictorial warning regarding health hazard as required under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003, an official statement said. The illegal cigarettes valued at Rs 21,000 were self-destroyed by a shopkeeper. An official said that such raids will be continued by the Permanent Task Force constituted by the Chandigarh Administration to make the public more aware about the harmful effects of tobacco consumption and to prevent the sale of illegal imported cigarettes. Likewise, major raids were conducted at Budhanpur village in Sector 16 of Panchkula, where most retailers were dealing with imported cigarettes. Even the Haryana chief minister's flying squad was involved in the raids, it was learnt. Illegal sale of imported cigarettes in Punjab and Haryana has become common and poses a serious threat to health of smokers who are getting hooked to catchy packs of international brands, anti-tobacco activists said. They said that selling illegal cigarettes, an organised crime, is not only evading the state's high taxes but also playing with the lives of smokers, mainly first-timers, because of inferior manufacturing processes and low quality tobacco with high levels of tar and nicotine. Trade insiders told IANS that Punjab alone has an annual legal market of 120 million cigarettes and the illegal market accounts for 20 per cent of the total trade. Chandigarh and Panchkula cities have a market of 30 million and six million cigarettes annually and the illegal market also has a share of 15-20 per cent. Most of the illegal cigarette brands originate from China and Indonesia and the retailers are attracted to them as they are available at a significantly lower price than the legal cigarettes. They are sold in the market at one fifth the price of a legal product. Ranchi, March 10 : The Jharkhand government has decided to review its excise policy after lesser sale of liquor directly impacted the state exchequer. Cabinet minister Jagarnath Mahto said on Thursday that the government has removed the Chhattisgarh State Marketing Corporation Limited (CSMCL), which had been working as a consultant to sell liquor, as the shortfall in income due to non-sale of liquor is concerning. Mahto has also issued an order in this regard. In 2022-23, the state government had estimated an amount of Rs 2,310 crore in the government exchequer from the sale of liquor, but it has only earned Rs 1,750 crore till now with just 20 days left for the financial year to end. The amount earned so far is Rs 560 crore less than the estimated sum. However, during Holi, liquor worth about Rs 139 crore was sold in the state from March 1 to 7. The government had fixed a fee of Rs 1 crore by appointing CSMCL as a consultant during the implementation of the new excise policy in 2022. Under the policy, while taking over the retail sale of liquor, the government had assigned the responsibility of running the shops to placement agencies, who were required to submit a fine of Rs 44 crore to the government if they failed to sell liquor as per the target. The process of reviewing the excise policy has started as per the orders. It is expected that the government will now take over the wholesale business of liquor. Jaipur, March 10 : After removing the widows of Pulwama martyrs from the protest site in Jaipur, the Rajasthan Police took BJP Rajya Sabha MP, Kirodi Lal Meena, into custody. However, police officials have maintained silence in the matter. Meena, meanwhile, accused the police of manhandling him. On the other hand, Meena's team said that his health deteriorated during police custody. The BJP MP was severly injured so he was first taken to Govindgarh community health centre for treatment, following which he was later referred to the SMS Hospital, Jaipur. At the same time, as soon as the news of his arrest spread, Meena's supporters started taking to the streets. During the protest, the Jaipur-Agra national highway and the Lalsot-Dausa highway were blocked. Deputy Leader of Opposition, Rajendra Rathore, said that the BJP will protest on Saturday against the misbehaviour with the Rajya Sabha MP. As soon as Meena was brought to SMS hospital, hundreds of his supporters also reached there and people started creating ruckus outside demanding to enter inside the hospital. Rathore also reached the SMS hospital to meet the Rajya Sabha MP. The Deputy Opposition leader said, "Whatever the police did to Meena, it was done at the behest of the State Home Minister and the State Home Minister is Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot." Rathore added: "BJP leaders will hold a meeting on March 11 at 11 a.m. in the party state office. After this further strategy will be decided. More than 50 people misbehaved with Meena." BJP leader Arun Chaturvedi said that police lathi-charged Meena's supporters which is wrong. Kolkata, March 10 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested one more Trinamool Congress leader on Friday evening in connection with the multi-crore teachers' recruitment scam in West Bengal. The arrested person is Santanu Bandopadhyay, the principal nodal officer of Trinamool-controlled Hooghly district Zilla Parishad. Sources said that ED had summoned Bandopadhyay for questioning in connection with the scam on Friday. After almost eight hours of questioning, the ED decided to take him into custody as he reportedly tried to dodge the questions of the interrogating officers. ED sources said that the main charge against Bandopadhyay is that he was responsible for hunting candidates willing to pay to get teaching jobs in state-run schools and establish their communication with the scam operators. Bandopadhyay will be presented before a special PMLA court in Kolkata on Saturday when the ED counsel will seek his custody in the matter. Arrested youth Trinamool leader Kuntal Ghosh also hails from Hooghly district and the ED believes that Ghosh worked in close coordination with Bandopadhyay in this scam. Chennai, March 10 : Global defence aerospace player Lockheed Martin and Indias Tata Group have inked an agreement for the production of fighter plane wings at their joint venture Tata Lockheed Martin Aerostructures Ltd (TLMAL) in Hyderabad. According to Lockheed Martin, the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) envisions production of 29 fighter wing shipsets, with an option of additional shipsets, with deliveries commencing in 2025. "These wings are initially intended for the F-16 Block 70/72 jets and would be delivered to our US facility in Greenville, South Carolina, for inclusion into the production/final assembly line. However, the transfer of technology and manufacturing rigor that Lockheed Martin and Tata have demonstrated will transfer to the F-21 if/when selected by the Indian Air Force. We are proposing the F-21 for India and these would be produced in India," a Lockheed Martin official told IANS. Lockheed Martin formally recognised TLMAL as a potential co-producer of fighter wings in October 2021 after the latter's successful production and qualification of a prototype fighter wing shipset. Through this prototype project, TLMAL was required to demonstrate the capability to perform detailed part manufacturing and delivery of a fully-compliant fuel-carrying 9-g, 12,000 hour, interchangeable/replaceable representative fighter wing, Lockheed Martin said on Friday. "That achievement further strengthened Lockheed Martin's partnership with India, and supports its F-21 offering for procurement of 114 new fighter aircraft exclusively for India and the Indian Air Force by proving additional indigenous production capability. The India F-21 represents an unprecedented strategic and economic opportunity for the US-India relationship and represents a catalyst to future advanced technology cooperation," Lockheed Martin said. According to the Lockheed Martin official, the F-21 would serve as a force multiplier for the Indian Air Force with an unmatched capability-to-cost ratio compared to the competition. "In addition, the F-21 is equipped with state-of-the-art systems and sensors that would allow the Indian Air Force to detect, track and engage multiple targets in a contested environment. The current and future state of warfare is and will be centered on gathering and sharing information across multiple domains (air, land, sea, space and cyber) to make effective decisions as quickly as possible. The F-21 will be able to integrate across these domains and across Indian services to provide current and future relevance," the official added. The F-21 will leverage advanced technologies from across the Lockheed Martin fighter portfolio. It is a single engine, low life cycle cost platform with an optimal max take-off weight right in between the Rafale and Tejas. "Our F-21 offer is also 'Make in India' which addresses the goals of 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' while providing India with an improved security cooperation relationship with the United States," ythe official said. Also, the F-21's industrial offering will put India at the epicentre of the world's largest fighter production and sustainment market, creating thousands of highly-skilled jobs in India, the official added. Tata Advanced Systems Limited and Lockheed Martin Aeronautics had established TLMAL as a joint venture in 2010. TLMAL serves as the single global source of C-130J empennage assemblies that are installed on all new Super Hercules aircraft. To date, TLMAL has manufactured and delivered nearly 200 C-130J empennages. "I am proud of Tata Group's partnership with Lockheed Martin on this prestigious project. I would like to congratulate the TLMAL team for successfully industrialising and qualifying the fighter wing in spite of the technological complexity involved. I am confident the initiative of manufacturing fighter wings in India will go a long way in strengthening the aerospace and defence manufacturing ecosystem in India," said N. Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons Pvt. Ltd. (Venkatachari Jagannathan can be reached at v.jagannathan@ians.in) New Delhi, March 10 : Union Minister of State for Electronics & IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar has held consultations with stakeholders on the soon-to-be introduced Digital India Bill, an official said on Friday. Officials said that for the first time, design, architecture and goals of a Bill are being discussed with stakeholders at its pre-introduction stage. These consultations are part of the Digital India Dialogues in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's consultative approach to law and policy making, a statement noted. Making a presentation on the objectives and goals of the Bill, Chandrasekhar said the proposed Bill aims to help India achieve the goal of becoming a trillion-dollar digital economy and becoming a significant trusted player in the Global Value Chains for digital products, devices, platforms and solutions. The Minister said that the proposed Digital India Act aims to help develop India as a globally competitive innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem while at the same time protecting the rights of its citizens. The Minister listed some of the guiding principles for the proposed legislation, which include managing the complexities of the Internet and rapid expansion of the types of intermediaries addressing the risks of emerging technologies, protecting citizen's rights, managing and setting guardrails for the varied intermediaries on the Internet. Stating that the tech ecosystem in general and the Internet in particular has evolved significantly after Information Technology Act (IT Act) came into being in 2000, Chandrasekhar said that the new law has to be evolvable and consistent with changing market trends, disruption in technologies, and keep in mind protection of "digital nagriks" from user harm. "Internet that began as a force of good has today become vulnerable to various types of complex user harms like catfishing, cyber stalking, cyber trolling, gaslighting, phishing, revenge porn, cyber-flashing, dark web, etc, and there is an urgent need for a specialised and dedicated adjudicatory mechanism for online civil and criminal offences," the Minister observed. Reiterating that the Digital India Bill is an attempt by the government to bring in global standard cyber laws, Chandrasekhar said: "We want to ensure the Internet is open, safe, trusted and accountable, and accelerate the growth of innovation and technology and create a framework for accelerating digitalisation of the government and to strengthen democracy and governance." The Minister also spoke of promoting free market access and fair-trade practices and ease of doing business and ease of compliance for start-ups and delivery of public services through online and mobile platforms in a simple, accessible, inter-operable and citizen-friendly manner in the same thread. New Delhi, March 10 : A 29-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly trying to hit an on-duty Delhi Police Head Constable in an inebriated condition with a car on Holi (March 8) here in Dwarka area, said an official on Friday. On Wednesday evening at around 8.30 p.m., when two police personnel were on patrolling in Sector 10, they noticed some people seated inside a car playing loud music. The car occupants were asked to lower the volume. "The car then began moving and it came towards Head Constable Jagdish, who managed to avoid it. Jagdish received minor injuries and did not require any hospitalisation," said a senior police officer. Both the Head Constables then followed the vehicle and apprehended the driver, identified as Nitin Godara, a resident of Dhulsiras village, Dwarka. "The driver was found to be in an inebriated state and his medical examination was conducted. A case has been registered and the accused was arrested," the police officer said. Karimnagar : March 10 (IANS) The Congress party on Friday has announced that it would re-survey all the lands within two years after the party comes to power in Telangana. Former Union minister Jairam Ramesh, while attending a programme organised to distribute 'Congress Guarantee Cards' in Sultanpur of state's Karimnagar district, said that the party would bring 'one patta one record" concept. He also said that the party would abolish 125 Acts and 30,000 government orders in connection with land records. The Congress leader further said the party would set up land tribunals in all 33 districts. "This would be done to rectify the blunders committed by Dharani portal," he said. "Out of 60 lakh land owners' accounts in Dharani portal, as many as 20 lakh owners are encountering problems due to discrepancies," he added. He also announced that in the coming 60 days, 'Dharani Adalats' would be conducted in all the constituencies where landowners can file their grievances. The party would issue 'Congress Guarantee Cards' for them and their problems would be resolved when Congress comes to power in the state, he stressed. "When Congress comes to power, not an acre of land would be acquired forcefully without the consent of the owner," Ramesh said. New Delhi, March 10 : A 37-year-old man was stabbed to death while three others were injured following a quarrel between them in Delhi's Madhu Vihar area on Friday, an official said. The deceased has been identified as Tara Chand alias Naga, a resident of Joshi Colony in the area, who was listed as a 'bad character' by the police. According to the police, on Friday, a PCR call regarding an incident of stabbing was received from Joshi colony which said a person named Tara was declared brought dead at the hospital while another person named Bharat (31) and his sister Priyanka, also a resident of Joshi Colony, were reported to be critically injured. "On inquiry, it was revealed that there was a fight going on between Tara and Bharat, his juvenile brother and his sister Priyanka," said Sachin Sharma, Deputy Commissioner of Police (East). "On Friday at 3.05 p.m., both the parties again had a fight during which Tara was stabbed. There others -- Bharat, his brother and his sister sustained injuries in the incident," the DCP said. Rome, March 11 : Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to help energy-starved Italy transform into a regional energy hub during his visit to the Italian capital. After meeting with Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Netanyahu said on Friday that he wanted to increase natural gas exports to Europe via Italy, Xinhua news agency reported. Such a move would be welcome in Italy, which has struggled to replace natural gas imports from Russia. Netanyahu and Meloni did not reveal the specifics of the import scheme. "Italy has said it wants to be a hub for the supply of energy to Europe," said Netanyahu. "We think exactly the same thing, and we have gas reserves that we will start exporting, and we would like to expedite more gas exports to Europe through Italy." In November 2022, Israel signed an initial agreement with Italian energy giant Eni and France's TotalEnergies to facilitate explorations for natural gas near Israel's Mediterranean border with Lebanon. Netanyahu mentioned the deal with Eni on Friday and said he would like to see it carried "to a much higher level." Netanyahu vowed to build deeper ties with Italy in other sectors as well, including water supplies and cyber-security. Meloni said Italy's ties with Israel were "important ... and would increase in importance." Netanyahu will remain in Italy through Sunday, meeting with political, business and religious leaders. Corporate gifting Insights Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the global corporate gifting market was estimated to be at $125 billion. Currently, the market has risen to be a $242 billion industry, which is expected to swell above $300 billion within the next two years. According to Forbes, Corporate Gifting is a $242 B dollar industry. The industry has seen a substantial amount of growth in the past couple of years and the growth of this industry is only expected to continue. Lets take a look at what this $242 B dollar industry consists of, what the current market looks like, some interesting trends and statistics, and what the future of the corporate gifting industry holds. The Global Corporate Gift Market As many companies have moved to a virtual format, spending on employee appreciation gifting has skyrocketed. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the global corporate gifting market was estimated to be at $125 billion. In 2019, the corporate gifting market jumped to $217 billion. Currently, the market has risen to be a $242 billion industry, which is expected to swell above $3 billion within the next two years. The rapid growth of the corporate gifting market is largely due to the remote work trend. Globally, 16% of companies are fully remote as of 2022. And in the United States, over 4.7 million people work from home at least half the time. Additionally, the number of workers that made the choice to work remotely in 2022 increased by 24% since 2021. It is clear that a large number of individuals in the workforce are working remotely. According to a study done by Coresight, the increase in remote work is directly linked to the increase in corporate gifting spending. The increase in the remote workforce has increased the importance of thoughtful gifts. This is why companies are putting more money towards employee appreciation now than in previous years. The Coresight study found that companies are also increasing their corporate gifting budget as a result of the pandemic. Most companies spent between $25 and $125 on per corporate gift. The largest subset from this group spent between $75 and $100. Lets take a look at how corporate gifting budgets are being spent. MerchandiseMerchandise, which includes corporate swag, apparel, and other branded products, make up a fair amount of corporate gifting The Coresight study mentioned above surveyed 300 corporate gift-givers. Of those surveyed, 27% give apparel as a corporate gift and 42% of survey respondents give everyday branded products as a corporate gift. Corporate swag kits have also seen an increase in popularity for corporate gifting as they can conveniently be sent to remote workers. Electronics and Other Similar Products Another category in corporate gifting is electronics. This could include tablets, computer accessories, smart devices, and other electronics. Electronics arent among the most popular corporate gifts, with only 28% of survey respondents stating that they gift electronics. Gifts Cards Gift cards are one of the most popular corporate gifts. The survey found that 51% of respondents give either physical or digital gift cards as corporate gifts. The same research found that gift cards make up 37% of all corporate gifts. Though this number could decrease as the corporate gifting industry grows. This is due to the fact that corporate gifting is now being used to create connections with virtual workers as well as express thoughtfulness to those employees. The Snack Industry: An Insight Into Our First-Hand Researched Data A rapidly growing sector of the corporate gifting industry is the snack industry. Gift baskets have seen an uptick in popularity after the pandemic sent a large amount of the workforce to work remotely. Food has remained one of the most frequently gifted gift basket items. Consumer and corporate food gift sales reached $33 billion in 2021. This same report also found that 67% of consumers had purchased food gifts for others during this time. The popularity of food gifting is reflected not just in consumer gifting, but in corporate gifting as well. According to the Coresight survey, 46% of respondents reported gifting food-based gift baskets. 36% of respondents reported gifting edibles, which include cookies, cakes, and other desserts or dishes. According to our curated data, published on CPG Pulse, cookies, candies, and chocolate are among the most popular subcategories of food for corporate gifting. The Correlation Between Remote Work and Corporate Gifting Industry Weve established that the growth of the corporate gifting industry is likely a result of the growth in remote work in the aftermath of the pandemic. But lets take a deeper look into these trends and statistics to predict how the corporate gifting and snack industry will continue to grow. Coresights research shows us that 61% of corporate gift buyers cited changing their working model, to either hybrid or fully remote, since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Of that 61% of corporate gift buyers, 61% said that they expect their corporate gift buying to increase as a direct result. Working with these numbers, its clear that over half of the companies (surveyed) expect to increase their corporate gifting budget as a result of their new work model.Knowing this, lets take a look at how work models are expected to change in the next few years. For starters, its estimated that 70+ million U.S. workers can do their job while working remotely. Yet recent statistics reveal that only 27.6 million workers work remotely. This means there is room for at least 40 million jobs to transition from in-person to remote. While there is no data proving that this will happen, its an interesting statistic to keep in mind when considering the future growth of remote work, both globally and in the United States. Furthermore, 90% of 70 million employees say they don't want to come back to the office full time. Other data from this same study shows us that prior to the pandemic, only 40% of employees wanted to work either fully remote or hybrid. But as of June 2022, 78% of employees would prefer to be fully remote or hybrid. This means that if employees arent getting the flexibility for remote work at their current job, they could look elsewhere. If companies want to retain employees, theyll have to make changes -- such as adapting a remote or hybrid work model. This means that the amount of remote workers will likely continue to increase in the coming years. And as remote work increases, so will the corporate gifting industry. And as the snack industry makes up a large percentage of the corporate gifting industry, this industry will likely increase along with it. A Look at the Future of Corporate Gifting in the Snack Industry The current market trends of the corporate gifting and snack industry are all important to consider when looking at the future of corporate gifting in the snack industry. Our statistics above proved that corporate gifting and snack gifting in the corporate realm have increased as a result of the pandemic sending many companies remote. Though much of normalcy has returned since the beginning of the pandemic, people are still working from home. In fact, the number of remote workers has steadily been increasing, as we mentioned in the statistics earlier. This means that the corporate gifting industry will continue to grow as companies continue to retain employees that are remote. Since food gift baskets and edible items make up a large amount of the corporate gifting industry, the snack industry in the corporate gifting realm is also likely to continue to grow. The charts above are an excellent representation of just how much the snack industry has grown in just two years. If this growth rate continues, then the future of the snack industry in corporate gifting looks bright. Market Dynamics The aftermath of the pandemic has paved the way for the corporate and snack gifting industry to thrive. We know that the growth of the corporate gifting industry is correlated with the growth of remote work. Experts predict that there will be 36.2 million Americans working remotely by 2025. This is a 417% increase from the number of remote workers pre-pandemic. At this rate, the corporate gifting market will likely continue to increase. Coresight predicts that the industry will reach $306 billion by 2024.It will be interesting to see how these numbers play out in the aftermath of the pandemic. If the predictions that the growth of remote work will increase are accurate, then the growth of the corporate gifting industry will also see a lot of steam. To keep up with how the snack gifting industry is performing in the market at any given time, you can access our snack data. Gifting Industry Trends of 2020 Popular business gift-giving occasions 51% holiday, 27% employee recruiting, milestone, appreciation, and 34% customer appreciation. An average professional received five gifts from business organizations and two among them were gift boxes or baskets. Gift cards were among the most common gifts sent in 2020, followed by gift baskets. Twice as many individuals found gift baskets or boxes memorable compared to charitable donations and other resorts. Personalization became the leading component in gifting strategies because maximum individuals wanted a gift option that aligned with their values. Gifts given back to the environment, or the community became popular options among the senders. Gifts that promoted family time and resonated with the recipients were deemed memorable. eGifting and virtual gift offerings became popular during the shift to remote work amid the pandemic situation. Gifting Industry Trends of 2021 The demand for custom corporate gifts, branded gift boxes, and swag packs increased with more hybrid workforces and distribution teams. Eco-friendly products and packaging were among the top choices of the senders and recipients. Small businesses and locally made products aimed to make a difference in society and gained momentum during this time. The recipients got empowered with a choice of a collection of items to help improve the corporate gifting experiences. The process also laid the foundation for future best practices among organizations. Increased focus on gifts and kits that supported virtual events. Corporate and consumer goods gift sales witnessed a growth of $33 billion. Gifting Industry Trends of 2022 Corporate gifts curating to the interests of the recipients became increasingly popular. It attributes to the market growing 400% over the five years, with the total industry revenue hitting $77B by 2022. Sustainable gifting continues to get prioritized among senders and recipients. Self-care gifts and WFH packages were among the top corporate gift idea for employees, followed by company swag and gift cards. Tech products like wireless headphones, Bluetooth speakers, Ui mugs, etc., became the corporate gifting trend in 2022. Curated brand items and gift boxes were among the popular corporate gifting ideas for clients. Here are the major takeaway statistics from corporate gifting reports over the years. 94% believe personal relationships are synonymous with receiving success. 89% believe that business gifts are bringing individuals closer to one another. 83% believe that business gifts generate positive ROIs for organizations. Corporate gifts have satisfied C-suites compared to other demographics. Spa, food, wine, Gift cards, and co-branded items are among the most popular categories of preferred corporate gifts. The most acceptable price range for spending on corporate gifts is $50-150. 45% of millennials like sharing gifts on social media compared to the boomers. Corporate Gifting Challenges Coresights research also brought up a few potential concerns that corporate gift buyers expressed. According to the survey concerns for managing corporate gifting include: Inability to purchase gifts from multiple brands/retailers (33% of survey respondents) Limited choice attributes such as color and size (32% of survey respondents) Managing gift inventory, storage and shipping (30% of survey respondents) Limited range of products (28% of survey respondents) Corporate gifting companies are working to solve this problem by offering gifts from multiple brands, a variety of choices, effective supply chain management solutions and a vast range of products. Gift basket companies and other corporate gifting companies that have the means to distribute to remote workers, will likely be the future of the growth in the corporate gifting industry. Venkata Bhonagiri, a seasoned marketing executive who has been focused on driving an enduring, diversified, and sustainable growth for his clients and advertisers We are honored to welcome Mr. Bhonagiri into the community, said Scott Gerber, founder of Forbes Councils Venkata Bhonagiri, a senior media and analytics leader based in Chicago has been accepted into Forbes Agency Council, an invitation-only community for owners of and executives in successful public relations, media strategy, creative, and advertising agencies. Venkata Bhonagiri was vetted and selected by a review committee based on the depth and diversity of his experience. Criteria for acceptance include a track record of successfully impacting business growth metrics, as well as personal and professional achievements and honors. We are honored to welcome Mr. Bhonagiri into the community, said Scott Gerber, founder of Forbes Councils, the collective that includes the Forbes Agency Council. Our mission with Forbes Councils is to bring together proven leaders from every industry, creating a curated, social capital-driven network that helps every member grow professionally and make an even greater impact on the business world. As an accepted member of the Council, Venkat has access to a variety of exclusive opportunities designed to help him reach peak professional influence. He will connect and collaborate with other respected local leaders in a private forum. Venkat will also be invited to work with a professional editorial team to share his expert insights in original business articles on Forbes.com and to contribute to published Q&A panels alongside other experts. Finally, Venkata Bhonagiri will benefit from exclusive access to vetted business service partners, membership-branded marketing collateral, and the high-touch support of the Forbes Councils member concierge team. I am really excited to be a part of this council. It offers an incredible opportunity to not just share my learnings and observations but collaborate with other industry leaders in the agency world Venkata Bhonagiri Reach out to Venkata Bhonagiri https://www.linkedin.com/in/venkatrb/ ABOUT FORBES COUNCILS Forbes Councils is a collective of invitation-only communities created in partnership with Forbes and the expert community builders who founded Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC). In Forbes Councils, exceptional business owners and leaders come together with the people and resources that can help them thrive. For more information about Forbes Agency Council, visit forbesagencycouncil.com. To learn more about Forbes Councils, visit http://forbescouncils.com/. In addition to offering market solutions of the highest consumer value, Aspidas delivery of a digital-first experience to financial professionals is a massive differentiator," said Matt Hamann, National Sales Manager. "Theyve built a transformational platform and business that sets a high bar. WealthVest, a leading independent distributor of annuities and structured note solutions to financial institutions, announced today they have named Matt Hamann, a senior veteran in the industry, as their first, dedicated national sales manager representing Aspida, a tech-leading and agile annuity company. With more than 25 years of experience, Hamann will oversee WealthVests exclusive distribution of Aspidas WealthLockSM Multi-Year Guaranteed Annuity and WealthLockSM Accumulator fixed index annuity solutions to banks, broker-dealers and insurance agencies. Hamanns extensive knowledge of sales distribution, go-to-market strategies and advisor marketing will provide crucial support and direction to WealthVests internal and external wholesaling team representing Aspida. Aspida and WealthVest have a shared vision to provide the tools, resources, and industry-leading solutions producers and their clients need to quickly, easily and securely protect their retirement dreams, said Wade Dokken, co-founder and CEO of WealthVest. As national sales manager, Matt will provide the leadership our team needs to achieve that vision and deliver on our promise to support Americans retirement savings needs. Hamann and the WealthVest wholesaling team are collaborating closely with Aspida to assist Americans in achieving and protecting their retirement dreams. Aspida's suite of WealthLockSM annuity solutions offers highly competitive rates, innovative crediting strategies and index options from three industry-leading asset managers. The principal-protected solutions are available through WealthVests wholesaling team in 46 states and the District of Columbia. I am excited to work alongside Aspida and their talented leadership team, Hamann said. In addition to offering market solutions of the highest consumer value, Aspidas delivery of a digital-first experience to financial professionals is a massive differentiator. Theyve built a transformational platform and business that sets a high bar. Before joining WealthVest, Hamann held key leadership roles with several industry-leading insurance carriers. Most recently, he led Transamerica's Individual & Group Worksite Long Term Care while working in partnership with Transamerica Annuity distribution. Hamann also consulted a leading fintech to help scale their digital platform for the annuity, life and long-term care markets. Additionally, he has led strategic partnerships with several prominent organizations, including the NFL, LIONS International and many of the nation's largest fraternal groups and unions. Retirees or pre-retirees interested in learning more about fixed or fixed index annuities are encouraged to speak with their financial professional. Financial professionals interested in learning more about Aspida's WealthLockSM suite of annuities should contact WealthVest at 1-877-811-6081. About WealthVest WealthVest is one of the leading distributors of fixed, fixed index, registered index-linked and variable annuitiesas well as structured products to U.S. financial advisors. WealthVests leadership is fueled by proprietary thought-leadership, consumer-driven product design expertise, strategic marketing, technology, and specialization in both field and hybrid-based advisor wholesaling. Follow them on Facebook and LinkedIn or visit wealthvest.com. Contact: WealthVest Jackson Bolstad Marketing Content Manager (406) 272-3759 jbolstad@wealthvest.com About Aspida Aspida Holdings Ltd., through its subsidiaries (collectively Aspida), is focused on providing retirement and reinsurance solutions, having operations in the U.S. and Bermuda with total assets of $7.2 billion as of Dec. 31, 2022. Aspida, through its U.S. platform Aspida Life Insurance Company is focused on leveraging technology and agility to help clients achieve and protect their dreams. Its Bermuda-based reinsurance platform, Aspida Life Re, is focused on providing efficient and secure life and annuity reinsurance solutions. Aspida seeks to be a trusted partner in its clients financial security while driving its growth by doing good for the communities it serves. Aspida is backed by Ares Management Corporation, which, through the Ares Insurance Solutions team, provides dedicated investment management, capital solutions and corporate development support. For more information, please visit aspida.com or follow them on LinkedIn. Contact: Aspida Townley Cheek Manager, Corporate Communications (919) 246-3208 Townley.Cheek@aspida.com Poppy Hand-Crafted Popcorn "Being celebrated alongside other female entrepreneurs and among our advertising peers is a testament to the ingenuity ever-present in our teams work and our collective passion for developing purpose-driven, highly impactful campaigns for our clients." North Carolina-based creative agency Made Outside has been recognized for its commitment to excellence in creative development and execution at the 2023 American Advertising Awards, also known as the ADDYs, hosted by the American Advertising Federation on February 28 in Charlotte, NC. The purpose-driven agency earned Best of Show, the districts highest of honors, for its work with Poppy Hand-Crafted Popcorn, in addition to two gold ADDYs (also for Poppy) and one silver ADDY for its work with 18 Chestnuts. Each year, the local American Advertising Awards are judged by three industry professionals from outside the region, and the ceremony aims to celebrate the most exceptional creative advertising campaigns carried out over the previous year. The ADDYs are the first stage of a three-tier national competition. The Best in Show award cast a bright spotlight on Made Outsides work for Poppy Hand-Crafted Popcorn, the women-led, Asheville-based gourmet popcorn company specializing in unique flavors and all-natural ingredients. Made Outside created an Integrated Brand Identity Campaign that included a fun and engaging new approach to the Poppy brand, with the theme of bringing joy back into popcorn. The campaign included a library of brand assets, overhauled creative direction, new photography, product styling, and a Spring 2023 catalog design. The creative agency also won a Gold ADDY for the overall Poppy campaign and a Gold ADDY for the new catalog design. In addition, Made Outsides creative team won a Silver ADDY for the packaging design of 18 Chestnuts, the gourmet soup company specializing in nourishing vegan soups, also a women-founded, women-led company based out of Asheville. The acknowledgement of Ashevilles handcrafted food and beverage scene comes at a perfect time for these rising stars of the CPG and gourmet gift industries. Made Outside, a women-owned brand development and strategic consultancy, was founded in 2018 by Kara Hollinger, an industry executive and female entrepreneur. The young agencys impressive performance at this years awards reflects their steadfast dedication to delivering unique excellence for brands with purpose. While this years awards arent the first for Hollingers agency, its a milestone demonstrating the outstanding achievements that become possible when women-founded, women-led businesses unite. As Founder and Creative Mastermind at Made Outside, Hollinger expressed her pride for the agency's accomplishments and the accolades received by her creative team. "We're beyond excited to be recognized for the exceptional vision, happiness and vibrancy we brought into the popcorn space, said Hollinger. Poppy came to us looking for a brand elevation, a way to bring joy into their customers experience as they share their delicious popcorn with the world. Being celebrated alongside other female entrepreneurs and among our advertising peers is a testament to the ingenuity ever-present in our teams work and our collective passion for developing purpose-driven, highly impactful campaigns for our clients. We look forward to unveiling more of our work for Poppy Hand-Crafted Popcorn!" Ginger Frank, Founder and Co-CEO of Poppy Hand-Crafted Popcorn, added, Ever since our founding, Poppy has added joy to our customers lives, whether day-to-day or for special occasions, and Made Outside has channeled that joy so well into our branding campaign. We are excited to continue sharing the new look and feel of Poppy with our customers. Its been an incredibly rewarding experience to work with another women-founded, women-led company producing results at the highest level. About Made Outside Founded in 2018, Made Outside is a multi-disciplinary creative consultancy that services brands within the natural, sustainable, or purpose-driven space. The companys deep experience with natural products allows the team to build growth strategies, connect deeper with consumers and stand out from competition. Made Outside is highly focused and small but mighty. The mission is simple go beyond strategy, brand development, and marketing. Their work that enhances a brand in meaningful ways so clients can tell their story. Partnering with clients who strive to give back to their communities, foster sustainability, and have a larger mission beyond selling a product is in our DNA. To learn more about Made Outside, connect with the brand and follow their journey, connect on LinkedIn, Facebook or Instagram. About Poppy Hand-Crafted Popcorn Poppy Hand-Crafted Popcorns mission is to create PURE. SIMPLE. POPCORN HAPPINESS. Launched in 2014, Poppy Hand-Crafted Popcorn is reimagining the way gourmet popcorn is produced and flavored. The company embraces a small-batch approach, using high-quality, simple, natural ingredients (including non-GMO corn) sourced from as close to home as possible. Available retailers throughout North America, Poppy remains committed to creating jobs and culinary partnerships right here in North Carolina. Shop Poppy online or find a retailer near you at poppyhandcraftedpopcorn.com, and connect on social @poppyhandcraftedpopcorn. Miami-based startup Ontop has announced that it has joined the top 150 Y Combinator-backed startups, with a valuation of more than $150 million. Y Combinator is a startup accelerator that has revolutionized the world as we know it, funding over 3,000 companies to date, including some of the most successful and disruptive startups in the world such as Dropbox and Coinbase. According to Santiago Vicaria, Vp of Marketing and founding team member, Joining the top 150 Y Combinator-backed startups is a significant milestone for Ontop, as it demonstrates constant growth and ultimately new features, such as the latest release called 'Ontop Pay' that enables its users to pay contactless anywhere they want with just a tap of their phone. The Ontop platform combines the power of virtual cards and international payments to provide businesses with a comprehensive global payroll solution that is secure, flexible, and easy to use. With Ontops integrated tools and features, businesses can manage payroll compensations worldwide while ensuring accuracy and compliance throughout the process. The company provides solutions to businesses of all sizes for expanding their global operations rapidly, including managing, onboarding, compliance and payroll. This latest achievement is a testament to Ontop's dedication to providing efficient and cost-effective solutions for businesses looking to grow their operations across borders. Along with this accomplishment, Ontop has also revealed that it is now serving customers in more than 150 countries and just released a new feature called 'Ontop Pay' that enables its users to pay contactless anywhere they want with just a tap of their phone. The company currently operates in more than 150 countries and plans to continue its worldwide expansion and scale its technology to meet the needs of businesses currently in or looking to enter new markets, with a focus on making global operations easier for them. Ontop joins the ranks of the world's most successful startups, including Airbnb, Dropbox and Stripe. With its innovative solutions and unwavering commitment to customer satisfaction, Ontop is poised for even greater success in the years to come. About Ontop Ontop is a Y Combinator company that provides an automated platform for startups and scaleups to manage international hiring by providing easy contracts, compliance, and payments. Founded in mid-2020 by Santiago Aparicio, Julian Torres, and Jaime Abella, as a fully remote startup, Ontop is being used by companies in over 150 countries to manage and pay their workers easily and without hassle in an easy way, regardless of where they are in the world. They offer thousands of remote workers the possibility to hold their funds in a Global Wallet in USD and use their money through the Ontop Visa card, which has exclusive benefits and perks for the next generation of remote workers. Ontop has the support of investors such as Tiger Global Management, Softbank, Point72 Ventures, Y Combinator, H20 Capital and several other top-tier funds and angel investors. Is part of the Endeavor community. Additionally, Ontop has entered the market of contactless payments with its 'Ontop Pay' feature which makes it easier for businesses and remote workers to pay anywhere in the world. By anticipating what global operations will look like in the future and developing solutions to address any potential challenges, Ontop has become the go-to platform for businesses of all sizes looking to take their operations beyond borders. Businesses should look no further than Ontop when it comes to streamlining and optimizing global operations, saving them time and money in the process. With this new milestone, Ontop is ready to jumpstart your journey into global markets. For more information, visit: http://www.getontop.com or follow them on LinkedIn as Ontop Press Kit available here We believe that giving back to the world we serve is a responsibility for any company, and a necessity for making our planet a better place, said Stephen Ezell, CEO & Founder of Truly Free. Inc. Magazine today revealed that Truly Free ranked No. 93 on its third annual Inc. 5000 Regionals Midwest list, the most prestigious ranking of the fastest-growing Midwest private companies. This regional list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the Midwest economys most dynamic segmentits independent small businesses. We believe that giving back to the world we serve is a responsibility for any company, and a necessity for making our planet a better place, said Stephen Ezell, CEO & Founder of Truly Free. When you Truly Free your home from chemicals and plastic waste, you also support several projects that you can be proud of. The next time you reach for one of our products, know that you have a huge impact in the lives of thousands of people around the world. Truly Free pioneered the refillable cleaning industry, revolutionizing everyday cleaning products with refillable product offerings, non-toxic formulas and monthly memberships that help create a greener future, not just a clean home. Truly Free has been on a mission to free over 10,000,000 homes from harmful toxic chemicals and excess plastic waste, helping thousands of Americans subscribe to safer Laundry Wash and Every Day Cleaner options available as Starter Kits or Refills monthly. Customers also help build empowered lives through social enterprise projects around the world. Truly Free helps employ women freed from human trafficking situations and support safe-houses and orphanages in Haiti, Dominican Republic and Mexico. Cleaning products truly empower communities around the world to influence positive change and provide hope for a brighter future. The companies ranked show a remarkable rate of growth across all industries in the Midwest region. Between 2019 and 2021, these private companies had an average growth rate of 535 percent and in 2021 alone, they added 22,750 jobs and nearly $13.9 billion to the Midwest regions economy. Complete results of the Inc. 5000 Regionals Midwest, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, metro area, and other criteria, can be found at inc.com/midwest. This years Inc. 5000 Regional winners represent one of the most exceptional and exciting lists of Americas off-the-charts growth companies. Theyre disruptors and job creators, and all delivered an outsize impact on the economy. Remember their names and follow their lead. These are the companies youll be hearing about for years to come, said Scott Omelianuk, editor-in-chief of Inc. magazine. ABOUT TRULY FREE Truly Free's revolutionary cleaning products and monthly memberships help create a greener future, not just a clean home. Leveraging over 14 years of experience, Truly Frees non-toxic formulas have freed over 230,000 homes from harmful chemicals, eliminating over 6.2 million single-use plastics, helping protect families and the planet from exposure to harmful, toxic chemicals. Thousands of Americans subscribe to popular top sellers Laundry Wash and Every Day Cleaner, available as Starter Kits or Refills monthly to make cleaning easy. Join the #RefillableRevolution today and make every room in your home the cleanest clean can Truly be. For more information about the Truly Free team or products, visit http://www.trulyfreehome.com. or follow along on Instagram @trulyfreehome and Facebook @trulyfreehome. ABOUT INC. The worlds most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community they need to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit http://www.inc.com. For decades, our advisers have delivered uncompromising fiduciary advice to our clients, ensuring each client receives prudent guidance in their best interest," said Justin Sanderson, CEO, Sanderson Wealth Management. Sanderson Wealth Management has been recognized as a 2023 Best Places to Work for Financial Advisers announced today by InvestmentNews. Sanderson was chosen as one of this years top 75 based on employer and employee surveys delving into everything from company culture, benefits, career paths and more. The firms reputation and supportive culture have enabled Sanderson to recruit highly experienced financial professionals with diverse specialties and achieve an adviser retention rate ten times higher than the industry average. Every year, InvestmentNews is proud to profile those who prioritize taking care of their own. We applaud this year's Best Firms for Advisors winners for investing in their most precious resource: their people, said Paul Curcio, executive editor of InvestmentNews. InvestmentNews partnered with Best Companies Group, an independent research firm specializing in identifying great places to work, to compile the survey and recognition program. Were honored to be recognized as a Best Place to Work for Financial Advisers by InvestmentNews, said Justin Sanderson, CEO, Sanderson Wealth Management. For decades, our advisers have delivered uncompromising fiduciary advice to our clients, ensuring each client receives prudent guidance in their best interest. I am grateful that our culture at Sanderson fosters a collaborative and trusting environment and empowers each employee to be impactful in our firms success. To learn more about the company culture that contributed to Sanderson being named one of the Best Places to Work for Financial Advisers, please go to Sandersonllc.com/careers. About Sanderson Wealth Management Established in 2001, Sanderson Wealth Management provides high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals and families with private wealth advisement, including investment consulting, financial planning, estate planning, business succession planning, tax consulting, and more. From its headquarters in Buffalo, New York, Sanderson Wealth Management works with clients from around the country. Greatmail LLC is now leveraging its email infrastructure services to mid-size resellers. An integral part of companys customer base, email resellers have traditionally utilized Greatmails legacy email hosting platforms to provide private label email for their own customers. This shift brings the dedicated infrastructure model once reserved for larger resellers to the mid-size reseller space. Starting in the $275 to $550 per month price range, Greatmail offers resellers a single dedicated IP server, administration panel, webmail, API, and basic storage. For customers looking to increase their available storage, the infrastructure model can be expanded to include scalable storage. The dedicated server model starts each reseller off with their own IP space and provides a platform for expansion into a multiple server model complete with load balancing and customized specifications per the unique requirements of the individual reseller. A typical mid-size reseller would require hosting for 50 to 100 domains and a minimum of 250 mailboxes. The resellers price per mailbox would vary depending on storage utilization and usage patterns unique to their group. Resellers may also expand in the SMTP space as needed for transactional sending, email marketing and any other outbound sending requiring segmentation from the primary email hosting SMTP. Reseller servers are fully managed by Greatmails email hosting technology partners utilizing Linux OS, Postfix MTA, Dovecot, RoundCube and MySQL. Greatmail has provided email hosting services since 2003 and is based in Texas. For more information about Greatmails reseller email hosting and other services, please visit http://www.greatmail.com. Central Coast Jiffy Lube at 3956 State Street in Santa Barbara "The team we have promoted to the new State Street location is second to none. From experience with tires, brakes, suspension, engine repair, diagnostics to Smog Checks and emissions repairs, this team has it all!" Central Coast Jiffy Lube is proud to announce the opening of their third Jiffy Lube MultiCare location in Santa Barbara. The new Jiffy Lube location is operated by local Franchise owner Sean Porcher and family. The company spent two months remodeling and cleaning up the location that was closed by the previous operator at the beginning of August. Jiffy Lube has added a remodeled lobby for customers, a new outdoor seating area as well as a coffee bar and remodeled restroom. The location, 3956 State Street, is conveniently located at the corner of Calle Real and State Street. The location joins the Goleta Jiffy Lube and Downtown Santa Barbara Jiffy Lube as the leading providers of oil changes, tires and preventive maintenance in the Santa Barbara area. The location will employ up to fifteen Jiffy Lube technicians and is managed by George Jimenez who joined the company in July of 2020 when he retired from the United State's Army. He will be joined by certified mechanic Juan Hernandez a fellow veteran of the United States Marine Corp. Manager in Training, Lorena Tovar brings four years of Jiffy Lube experience and 20 years of Automotive Experience to the team. Rounding out the leadership team is Julio Villalobos who is the company's Jiffy Lube MultiCare Master Technician Evaluator. He has been with the company for seven years. "The team we have promoted to the new State Street location is second to none. From experience with tires, brakes, suspension, engine repair, diagnostics to Smog Checks and emissions repairs, this team has it all!" said Sean Porcher, owner of the Franchise. "We are excited to have this team in place to begin delivery top quality service in Santa Barbara today!" The location will offer the full range of Jiffy Lube MultiCare services including tires and brakes. The company offers several different brands of tires which can be purchased online or through the physical store. The house brand of tires is Nexen, but the company offers nearly every brand of tire through its local distribution center. About Jiffy Lube: Jiffy Lube is a leading provider of automotive preventive maintenance. With a national footprint of more than 2,000 franchisee owned service centers across the country, Jiffy Lube offers a range of services from oil changes and tire rotations, to everything in between. Jiffy Lube technicians are not just highly trained in preventive maintenance, they are also highly trained in customer service. So if you have any questions about vehicle maintenance or the services performed at any Jiffy Lube service center, your technician will help you find the resources and information you need, whether its in-store, online or by accessing your vehicle manufacturers recommendations. Its just another way Jiffy Lube strives each and every day to help you Leave Worry Behind About P.C.J.L., Inc: A Jiffy Lube franchise entity with eight locations on the Central Coast of California. The Franchise company is owned by Sean Porcher and family. The company was established in 1987 and opened its first location in Santa Maria, CA. The company recently expanded into services such as tires, brakes and other light engine repairs. The Mayor of Lugano, Mr. Michele Foletti and Serhiy Tron, founder of White Rock Management On March 3, 2022, it was presented the Plan project which aims to create a bitcoin infrastructure in Lugano (Switzerland) for both entrepreneurs and blockchain companies, as well as ordinary residents and tourists of the region A year ago, the Plan project was launched, which provides for the creation of a bitcoin infrastructure in one of the largest cities in Switzerland. The city hall and the bitcoin community are celebrating the anniversary of the project, which was launched with the support of the founder of White Rock Management, one of the largest mining companies in the world. This became known from the material on the Bitcoin Magazine website. For a year now, the Swiss city in the heart of Western Europe has been promoting hyperbitcoinization. On March 3, 2022, it was presentedthe Plan project which aims to create a bitcoin infrastructure in Lugano (Switzerland) for both entrepreneurs and blockchain companies, as well as ordinary residents and tourists of the region. Lugano City Hall and a number of leading bitcoin organizations, including Bitcoin Magazine, are celebrating the anniversary of the initiative, the author of the article noted. According to him, during this year, the project launched an investment pool for start-ups amounting to 100 million Swiss francs ($107 million). More than 500 educational grants have also been awarded to transfer knowledge and practical skills to students and young workers in the process of mastering the technologies and opportunities of bitcoin. The information partner of the project was Bitcoin Magazine. The publication's experts also provided consulting services for the development of the plan and implementation of the initiative. The White Rock Management founder and Bitcoin Magazine partner Serhiy Tron attended the presentation of Plan and worked closely with Lugano City Hall in the context of the hyperbitcoinization of the city, the article says. Today, the example of Lugano serves as a new standard for the implementation of bitcoin technologies at the level of the entire city. Now there are a large number of bitcoin ATMs installed there, and more than 10,000 merchants already accept BTC to pay for goods and services. Residents of the city can also pay taxes in bitcoins. More than 300 blockchain experts and enthusiasts use the innovation hub to create technological innovations and integrate them with the bitcoin ecosystem. Lugano can serve as a role model for other cities not only in Europe but throughout the world. The initiative also contributes to the decentralization of the bitcoin network and the spread of green mining among companies in the region. The Municipality of Lugano supports scientific and research developments in this area. The principles of green mining are being actively implemented by White Rock Management at its production facilities in several countries, the journalist sums up. Incorporating usability for people with disabilities in product development cycles has proven to consistently drive product innovations that have drastically improved the way we all live and work. Fable was named to Fast Companys list of the The Worlds Most Innovative Companies 2023 last week, based on its strides in making the digital world more inclusive for everyone. Fast Company said the list highlights, businesses at the forefront of their respective industries. These companies are setting the standard with some of the greatest accomplishments of the modern world. The publications reporters and editors placed Fable number 5 in the top 10 companies in design, noting, ...companies like Figma and Fable are redefining what it means to make design accessible to all. Our goal from the beginning has been to fundamentally change how digital teams build products, said Alwar Pillai, co-founder and CEO of Fable. Incorporating usability for people with disabilities in product development cycles has proven to consistently drive product innovations that have drastically improved the way we all live and work. Fable joins the ranks of many of their innovative customers who have made Fast Companys list this year and in previous years, including Microsoft, Figma, and Shopify. Over one billion people live with a disability globally. This largely unaddressed market segment is vastly increasing due to an ageing population. Digital inclusion and accessibility are vital, everything from media, to commerce and healthcare, is moving online. However, the digital products and websites we depend on are still often unusable to people with disabilities. Fable challenges organizations to think differently about accessibility problems. Through testing and training platforms that provide insight into, and expertise from, the lived experiences of people with disabilities, Fable clients are discovering innovative solutions that make their products better for everyone. About Fable Fable is the leading digital accessibility platform powered by people with disabilities. Fable helps enterprises build accessible and usable user experiences by engaging people with disabilities throughout the product development cycle from custom accessibility training to research and testing. Organizations work with Fable to make digital products more accessible for the more than one billion people who live with disabilities, and in turn, more usable for everyone. For more information, visit http://www.makeitfable.com. About Fast Company Fast Company is the only media brand fully dedicated to the vital intersection of business, innovation, and design, engaging the most influential leaders, companies, and thinkers on the future of business. Headquartered in New York City, Fast Company is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, along with our sister publication Inc., and can be found online at http://www.fastcompany.com. Engel & Volkers Florida Reported Top Residential Sales Globally for Three Weeks in February The ability to lead a global luxury firm in top residential sales for 3 out of 4 weeks, demonstrates the strength of the Florida luxury real estate market, but even more so is the strength of the shop ownership and advisors we have attracted to be part of Engel & Volkers in Florida. Engel & Volkers Florida today announced three of their shops reported the highest residential real estate sales within the brands global network for three weeks in a row during the month of February. The transactions reported by Engel & Volkers Miami Coconut Grove, Engel & Volkers 30A Beaches, and Engel & Volkers Wellington were all well over the ultra-luxury market sales price in the United States. The ability to lead a global luxury firm in top residential sales for 3 out of 4 weeks, demonstrates the strength of the Florida luxury real estate market, said Peter Giese, CEO Engel & Volkers Florida. But even more so is the strength of the shop ownership and advisors we have attracted to be part of Engel & Volkers in Florida. Within the first two months of this year, Engel & Volkers Florida has closed 90 residential properties valued at over $1-million, and February started the streak of top sales with the reporting of the $30-million sale of 530 Arvida Parkway by Licensing Partner and Private Office Advisor Magnus Jennemyr of Engel & Volkers Miami Coconut Grove. Jennemyr was able to negotiate a $15-million price reduction for his anonymous buyer. The number of million dollar sales at the start of this year in Florida are more than double in 2023 than they were in 2019; the last year before the pandemic influenced buying trends, said Giese. Our global marketing platform, combined with outstanding local representation in the State of Florida, is enabling us to capture luxury clients and continue our unprecedented sales growth; as well as aggressively expand into new markets throughout the state. The second weeks top sale of 59 Green Street for $11-million was represented by License Partner and Private Office Advisor, Beau Blankenship and his advisor Ryan Lillie with Engel & Volkers 30A Beaches. Most recently, License Partner and Private Office Advisor Carol Sollak and her advisor Weston Gracida represented the $14-million sale of 13951 50th Street. This sale price is 584-percent higher than the average sales price in Palm Beach County. ### Press contact:Kaitlin Weigelt, Marketing and Brand Manager Email: Kaitlin.Weigelt(at)evrealestate.com Tel: (239) 348-9000 About Engel & Volkers: Engel & Volkers is a global luxury real estate brand. Founded in Hamburg, Germany, in 1977, Engel & Volkers draws on its rich European history to deliver a fresh approach to luxury real estate in the Americas with a focus on creating a personalized client experience at every stage of the home buying or selling process. Engel & Volkers currently operates approximately 290 shop locations with over 6,400 real estate advisors in the Americas, contributing to the brands global network of over 16,500 real estate professionals in more than 30 countries, offering both private and institutional clients a professionally tailored range of luxury services, including real estate and yachting. Committed to exceptional service, Engel & Volkers supports its advisors with an array of premium quality business services; marketing programs and platforms; as well as access to its global network of real estate professionals, property listings, and market data. Each brokerage is independently owned and operated. For more information, visit http://www.evrealestate.com. About Engel & Volkers Florida: Engel & Volkers Florida is the Master License Partner of the global luxury real estate brand Engel & Volkers in the state of Florida. Recognized for uniquely recruiting, training and equipping some of the top professionals in the real estate industry, Engel & Volkers Floridas exclusive business model positions its franchisees at the top of the premium market to gain market share and support their bottom line. The company represents franchise locations in 41 markets: 30A Beaches, Amelia Island, Belleair, Boca Raton, Bonita-Estero, Cape Coral, Clermont, Delray Beach, Destin, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers Downtown, Gainesville, Islamorada, Jacksonville, Jacksonville Beach, Jupiter, Madeira Beach, Marco Island, Melbourne Beachside, Melbourne Central, Melbourne Downtown, Miami Coconut Grove, Neptune Beach, New Smyrna Beach, Ocala, Olde Naples, Orlando Dr. Philips, Palm Beach, Palm Coast, Pompano Beach, Ponte Vedra Beach, San Marco, Sarasota, South Tampa, St. Augustine, St. Pete, St. Pete Beach, Stuart, Tampa Downtown, Venice Downtown, Vero Beach, and Wellington. Engel & Volkers Florida is continuing to strategically strengthen and expand its presence in premium real estate markets across the state of Florida. If you would like to know more about the Engel & Volkers brand or how to join its global networkwhich is known for demonstrating competence, exclusivity and passion, feel free to call our corporate office, located at 633 Tamiami Trl N, Suite 201, Naples, FL 34102 USA. Tel: +1 239-348-9000. For more information about Engel & Volkers Florida, please visit http://www.florida.evrealestate.com/http://www.florida.evrealestate.com NASA Astronaut Kjell Lindgren Im looking forward to getting Artemis to the moon, whether that is as a crew member or as one of the astronauts here on the ground that is supporting those who are flying.- NASA Astronaut Kjell Lindgren After five-and-a-half months (170 days) in space aboard the International Space Station, Kjell Lindgren and crew splashed down off the coast of Florida on October 14, 2022. The craft carried more than 4,000 pounds of experiments and landed with the help of four huge parachutes. What the commander of NASA's SpaceX Crew-4 learned during those experiments while up in space is what fascinated students today during his presentation at the worlds largest childrens museum. They also were amazed to hear how they exercise 2.5 hours every day, how they take washcloth baths and how they have fun during their spare time. In addition to learning about chores and experiments, he wants kids to walk away understanding the importance of education, More than anything, I want them be excited about Science, Technology, Engineering and Math - about the STEM disciplines - so they can work hard to set goals, work hard to achieve them and hopefully some of them will come join us as we explore the moon and then on to Mars, said the astronaut. Lindgren also divulged important life lessons, and talked about how grateful he is to all the people who helped him along his journey. He then spoke from the heart when he shared three guiding principles in his life: Number one - pick your destination and where you want to go; then, surround yourself with good people. Number two Remember, there is no shortcut. Its hard work! He then encouraged them to read as much as they can, learn as much as they can and ask teachers, guardians, parents how they can get more information. He also advised that they should do something every dayeven if its just a little bit to advance on that path. Number three - as youre on that path, be kind. Help people that are walking that path with youyour classmates, teachers, parents. Sometimes folks stumble along the way. Help them up! Being kind means understanding where people are coming from. If you take the time to understand how circumstances might be tough for a friend or classmate, then you do something to brighten their day thats amazing, thats awesome. I know sometime theyll be there for you in the future as well. One of the biggest thrills of Lindgrens life has been to walk in space. He says it is something every astronaut dreams of and its amazing. He also says its the hardest thing hes ever done physically or mentally, Its exhausting. With every movement, you have to work against the suit and all of our work is through our hands. We move around using our hands we activate our tools with our hands and move equipment around. Also its one of the most dangerous things we do. Very high consequences and we have to remain tethered. Were in a miniaturized space ship, our suit is the spaceship. If you cut a glove, miss a tether, consequences can be high. One of Lindgrens hobbies is photography. While he was in space, he took pictures of everything from historic landmarks to hurricanes. We saw the hurricane actually coming up the Florida peninsula as we were trying to return home, he said. We imagined seeing a big swirl with an eye in the middle. But whats really crazy is that from space it doesnt look dangerous, it doesnt look menacing. It looks still. We are so appreciative that Dr. Lindgren took the time to talk to students here at the museum. Not only does it emphasize the importance of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) concepts; but, it provides children with access to an amazing role model, said Jennifer Pace Robinson, president and CEO, The Childrens Museum of Indianapolis. To meet a real astronaut is inspiring and it helps students understand that education and hard work can help them achieve their dreams whether thats in space or on the ground. The astronaut says he is not done with space travel and that the desire to challenge himself and to learn more is just a part of his DNA. Im looking forward to getting Artemis to the moon, whether that is as a crew member or as one of the astronauts here on the ground that is supporting those who are flying, said Lindgren, who appears in a NASA video explaining future missions. Im very excited that we have committed to returning to the moon and setting our sights on Mars. You can learn more about a day in the life of an astronaut by visiting the museums Beyond Spaceship Earth exhibit and visit this link: A Day in the Life Aboard the International Space Station | NASA. To learn more about Lindgren, please click on https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/kjell-n-lindgren/biography For broadcast news purposes only, heres a link to video of Lindgrens visit: https://vimeo.com/childrensmuseum/review/805645417/b04f27e88f And here is a link to his interview: https://vimeo.com/childrensmuseum/review/805617993/cefe82b4cc The Childrens Museum of Indianapolis is proud to partner with Riley Childrens Health, Old National Bank, Ice Miller LLP and The Heritage Group. About The Children's Museum of Indianapolis The Children's Museum of Indianapolis is a nonprofit institution committed to creating extraordinary learning experiences across the arts, sciences, and humanities that have the power to transform the lives of children and families. For more information about The Children's Museum, visit http://www.childrensmuseum.org, follow us on Twitter @TCMIndy, Instagram@childrensmuseum, YouTube.com/IndyTCM, and Facebook. This legislation is a game changer for small businesses, including commercial properties, nearly doubling the funding available for critical investments that can deliver modern, smarter and more energy efficient buildings and move the needle on carbon reduction. The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International has endorsed bipartisan legislation expanding the maximum allowable amount businesses may borrow through the U.S. Small Business Administrations 504 Certified Development Company (504/CDC) loan program for energy efficient investments and upgrades. The bill, introduced by U.S. Representatives Jason Crow (D-Colo.) and Don Bacon (R-Neb.), is titled the Small Business Energy Loan Enhancement Act. The legislation would nearly double the loan amounts available to small businesses making energy investments through the Small Business Administrations 504/CDC loan program, increasing the maximum amount from $5.5 million to $10 million. The program provides small businesses with long-term, fixed-rate, low-cost loans that can be used to finance renovation and retrofit projects, as well as the purchase of major fixed assets, such as land, equipment, and machinery. Among the small businesses that will benefit from this legislation are commercial properties seeking to increase operational efficiency through capital-intensive investments, particularly older building stock. The average age of a commercial building in the United States is more than 50 years old. To meet the rapidly evolving needs and expectations of today's tenants, the commercial real estate industry faces a growing demand to operate more energy efficient, technologically enhanced buildings. However, commercial real estate companies often do not have capital for crucial and extensive retrofit and renovation projects, many of which exceed the current 504/CDC loan cap of $5.5 million. The Small Business Energy Loan Enhancement Act would put the necessary funding within reach. BOMA International is proud to endorse the Small Business Energy Loan Enhancement Act and applaud the leadership of Representatives Crow and Bacon to significantly expand access to funding through the Small Business Administration, said BOMA International President and Chief Operating Officer Henry H. Chamberlain, APR, FASAE, CAE. This legislation is a game changer for small businesses, including commercial properties, nearly doubling the funding available for critical investments that can deliver modern, smarter and more energy efficient buildings and move the needle on carbon reduction. The groundbreaking Small Business Energy Loan Enhancement Act will provide much-needed financial resources for commercial buildings to invest in vital renovations and retrofits that both increase operational efficiency and help the commercial real estate industry advance its sustainability objectives, added BOMA International Chair and Chief Elected Officer Randal Frobelius, BOMA Fellow, P. Eng, Founder and President, Equity ICI Real Estate Services, Inc. BOMA International commends Representatives Crow and Bacon for their work to expand the funding available for property professionals to move forward with necessary investments that will modernize the built environment. BOMA International boasts an extensive history as commercial real estates leader at the intersection of business interests and environmental policies, and it continues to pave the way in developing strategies that proactively address pro-business considerations, such as high-performance building best practices, energy efficiency and carbon reduction. The Small Business Energy Loan Enhancement Act will allow the commercial real estate industry to make the upgrades necessary to address these key considerations. BOMA International looks forward to working with Representatives Crow and Bacon and members of the 117th Congress to advance this legislation. About BOMA International International Founded in 1907, the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International is a federation of U.S. local associations and global affiliates. The leading trade association for commercial real estate professionals for more than 100 years, it represents the owners, managers, service providers and other property professionals of all commercial building types, including office, industrial, medical, corporate and mixed-use. BOMA International is the partner individuals in the commercial real estate industry choose to maximize value for their careers, organizations and assets. Its mission is to advance a vibrant commercial real estate industry through advocacy, influence and knowledge. Learn more at http://www.boma.org. Contact Hakan Ozsancak Vice President of Communications & Marketing BOMA International (202) 326-6352 hozsancak@boma.org The Jimmy Rogers Military Spouse Scholarship has helped change the future for me and my family. [] Thank you so much for this opportunity to pursue my dreams of becoming a licensed esthetician. This is just the beginning of my new career journey! 2022 Recipient Kylie Gonzales Boots For Troops, a nonprofit that supports military service members and their families through custom care packages and other initiatives, this week announced the launch of the second cycle of the Jimmy Rogers Military Spouse Scholarship. This program, established in 2022, will award two scholarships of up to $10,000 each to the husband or wife of an enlisted service member who is pursuing post-secondary education. The Jimmy Rogers Military Spouse Scholarship is designed to help the spouse of an active-duty man or woman gain their education. This will help set the family up for a stronger future together. Boots for Troops is proud to be able to offer this scholarship, said Caitlyn Warren, Development Director. To be eligible for this program, applicants must be the spouse of someone on active duty enlisted in the state of Texas; be a high school senior, high school graduate or current undergraduate student; and plan to attend an accredited college, university or vocational/technical school in the United States in the fall of 2023. The deadline to apply for the 2023-24 Jimmy Rogers Military Spouse Scholarship is April 19, 2023. For more information and to begin the application process, visit boots4troops.org/jimmy-rogers-military-spouse-scholarship. This program is administered by International Scholarship and Tuition Services Inc., an independent company that specializes in managing sponsored educational assistance initiatives, including scholarships and corporate tuition reimbursement programs. About Boots For Troops Boots For Troops is a nonprofit organization founded by Navy veteran Jimmy Rogers and his wife, Lindsey. The mission at Boots For Troops is to uplift and empower the overall morale and mental well-being of deployed service members defending our freedom. Since 2015, Boots For Troops has delivered more than 4,200 care packages to deployed service members around the world. Learn more at boots4troops.org. The WCEC Women's Business Center provides resources for small business owners like virtual classes and business counseling. This annual virtual panel spotlights local woman-owned small businesses right here in our community, said WCEC Executive Director, Rana Shanawani. Were honored to host, and hope this session provides inspiration to other NJ entrepreneurs. The WCEC Womens Business Center is recognizing Womens History Month by providing critical resources to help women-owned small businesses succeed. The WCECs mission is to support women entrepreneurs by serving as a go-to resource for women and BIPOC-owned small businesses in New Jersey. The WCEC Womens Business Center hosts cutting-edge webinars, one-on-one business counseling, and yearly events. This year, two sessions will be held in observance of Womens History Month. On Monday, March 13th, the WCEC is set to host a live webinar titled Women's History Month: Grants & Loans to review funding opportunities for woman-owned businesses, deadlines, criteria, and best practices when applying. Local, New Jersey-based women business owners will be featured in a panel discussion on Friday, March 31st. Panelists will discuss the road bumps, their successes, and best practices learned along the way. This annual virtual panel spotlights local woman-owned small businesses right here in our community, said WCEC Executive Director, Rana Shanawani. Were honored to host, and hope this session provides inspiration to other NJ entrepreneurs. WCEC Board Member and Chair of the Marketing Committee, Weld Royal looks forward to attending and supporting clients of the WCEC featured in these virtual programs. This is a great opportunity to reinforce the efforts of entrepreneurs as they invest in New Jerseys economy. According to the 2022 Annual Report from the National Womens Business Council (NWBC), women-owned businesses contribute substantially to entrepreneurship in the United States. Women business owners in the U.S. account for approximately 41% of businesses without paid employees and 19.9% of employer-based businesses, employing an estimated 10.1 million workers. It is the privilege of the WCEC to contribute to the success of these businesses not only during Womens History Month, but every day of the year. About Womens Center for Entrepreneurship Corp. The Womens Center for Entrepreneurship Corp. (WCEC) is a registered 501c3 nonprofit. As a resource partner for the U.S. Small Business Administration, the WCECs mission is to empower women to invest in themselves via entrepreneurship by providing necessary resources for women to successfully start, own, operate, & grow their businesses. The WCEC works with women and BIPOC-owned businesses at the start up stage and existing small businesses looking to scale up by providing educational resources, business counseling, and technical assistance. For more information, visit http://www.wcecnj.org/wbc Caitlin Finnegan recognized by Best Lawyers for 2023 Schwartz Injury Law - Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect Group is pleased to announce that Attorney Caitlin K. Finnegan has earned a place on the Best Lawyers - Ones to Watch list. Finnegans extensive work in medical malpractice and nursing home abuse has earned her this distinctive honor. She has won millions of dollars in settlements and awards for her clients. Best Lawyers is a reputable professional organization dedicated to identifying the best attorneys in each practice area and geographic region. The Ones to Watch list is designed to recognize up-and-coming attorneys who are making waves in their practice area and are on their way to becoming one of the best in their fields. This is not Finnegans first honor as an attorney. In the past, she has been named an Emerging Lawyer by Law Bulletins Leading Lawyer Division, an honor afforded to less than 2% of all practicing attorneys in Illinois. A Chicago native, Finnegan has long been dedicated to combatting medical malpractice and mistreatment in nursing homes. Since joining Schwartz Injury Law, she has primarily focused on cases involving nursing home abuse and medical neglect leading to serious medical outcomes. She plans to continue protecting Chicagos most vulnerable by continuing this line of work. About Schwartz Injury Law - Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect Group Schwartz Injury Law - Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect Group is a personal injury law firm located in Chicago, Illinois. The firm exclusively addresses cases involving nursing home abuse and neglect or medical malpractice. Major practice areas include violations of the Nursing Home Care Act, injuries in nursing homes, and abuse of seniors in assisted living facilities. To learn more about Schwartz Injury Law or to contact the attorneys, please visit: https://www.nursinghomeabuseinjurylaw.com/. You can also reach our team by phone at 312-535-4625. This transformational technology represents the next generation of plant breeding innovation. Corteva Agriscience (NYSE: CTVA) today announced a game-changing gene editing technology that will bring added protection to elite corn hybrids is advancing through the companys R&D pipeline. The early-stage concept uses proprietary technology to package multiple disease-resistant native traits into a single location in the gene to better address the most devastating North American corn diseases facing farmers today. In 2021, Northern leaf blight, Southern rust, gray leaf spot and anthracnose stalk rot combined to cost North America corn growers more than 318 million bushels in production. By using gene editing to combine and reposition disease resistant traits that already exist within the corn genome, Corteva is able to bolster disease tolerance and minimize production stress. Additionally, the technology could result in healthier plants and increase yield potential even further. This transformational technology represents the next generation of plant breeding innovation, said Sam Eathington, Chief Technology and Chief Digital Officer, Corteva Agriscience. Our best-in-class gene mapping capabilities have allowed us to identify and optimally position the best native resistant genes in our already high-performing hybrids, so that we can deliver a premium product to farmers. As plant disease continues to be a growing concern for farmers, the multi-disease resistance concept is intended to simplify disease management and improve sustainability by reducing the need for additional crop protection product applications. This advancement will also meet Cortevas sustainable innovation criteria for new products, which are based on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Additionally, it provides farmers with more freedom to select performance characteristics more in line with their yield goals than having to worry about disease resistance. Corteva has a long-standing commitment to meeting the rapidly evolving needs of farmers around the world. This breakthrough is another proof point in Cortevas efforts to provide farmers with more sustainable ways to protect their crop while continuing to safeguard the land, water and air resources that make food production possible. While this groundbreaking plant breeding approach is initially being applied to the diseases that most concern North American farmers, it has the potential to be scaled to other crops, incorporate other diseases or be otherwise tailored to specific geographies. The company anticipates this concept to advance to commercialization by the end of the decade. About Corteva Agriscience Corteva, Inc. (NYSE: CTVA) is a publicly traded, global pure-play agriculture company that combines industry-leading innovation, high-touch customer engagement and operational execution to profitably deliver solutions for the worlds most pressing agriculture challenges. Corteva generates advantaged market preference through its unique distribution strategy, together with its balanced and globally diverse mix of seed, crop protection, and digital products and services. With some of the most recognized brands in agriculture and a technology pipeline well positioned to drive growth, the company is committed to maximizing productivity for farmers, while working with stakeholders throughout the food system as it fulfills its promise to enrich the lives of those who produce and those who consume, ensuring progress for generations to come. More information can be found at http://www.corteva.com. Follow Corteva on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube. Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Statements This release contains certain estimates and forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, which are intended to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and may be identified by their use of words like plans, expects, will, anticipates, believes, intends, or other words of similar meaning. All statements that address expectations or projections about the future, including statements about Cortevas expectations related to regulatory approvals, product development, product offerings and product, financial or sustainability performance are forward-looking statements. Corteva disclaims and does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, except as required by applicable law. A detailed discussion of some of the significant risks and uncertainties which may cause results and events to differ materially from such forward-looking statements or other estimates is included in the Risk Factors section of Cortevas Annual Report on Form 10-K, as modified by subsequent reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K. 3/10/2023 Trademarks and service marks of Corteva Agriscience and its affiliated companies. Miss Rodeo Fort Smith Pageant. Photo by Shaylee Barber/Arkansas Bureau Federation 30 young women gathered at the Heros Arena in Natural Dam, Ark. on February 11 and 12, 2023 to compete in the inaugural Miss Rodeo Fort Smith pageant. Crowns, chaps, buckles and sashes lavished the grounds for the two-day competition. Chin up. Shoulders level. Control the reins. Most importantly, smile and have a darn good time out there. Pageant contestants of the first-ever Miss Rodeo Fort Smith rehearsed for weeks leading up to the competition. A community pageant originated for local toddlers to teens, Miss Rodeo Fort Smith set the foundation for contestants to experience rodeo arena life, and for the majority of them, contact with horses. This years winners were Queen Carissa Webster, Teen Jaydah Releford, Princess Skyla Burton, Sweetheart Stella Smith, and Little Miss Cataleya Reyes. The Miss Rodeo Fort Smith pageant was produced by Fort Smith native JaDayia Kursh, the first Black rodeo queen of Arkansas. The contemporary cowgirl started riding horses at age six and competing in rodeo pageants by age 13. She earned the crown of Miss Rodeo Coal Hill of Arkansas in 2017 and became international news by 2019. The full-time cowgirl reserves personal time to raise funds for local initiatives connected to increasing youth engagement in agriculture. Kursh created the Miss Rodeo Fort Smith pageant to get rid of the stigmas associated with types of pageants. Kursh aimed to recast the competitive scene into a sisterhood for newer generations of contestants. One founded on friendships. One that alleviates parents and cowgirl from having to go too deep into family pockets just to participate. This pageant has opened up a world I never knew about or knew was possible to participate in, said Jaidyn Burrell, a 17-year-old senior. Burrell rounded out 30 contestants for the extravaganza of country western fashion, horsemanship, and the basics to owning stage presence. Each represented the historic Wild West town of Fort Smith - 14 miles, give or take, from the arena. The city of Fort Smith pitched in to promote the event with billboards plastered around town and involvement from the Fort Smith Mayor. Fort Smiths first Black mayor and fellow native George McGill crowned each of the winners. McGill thinks the pageant helped reinforce the towns long-standing agriculture and cowhand heritage. Learn more about the 2023 Miss Rodeo Fort Smith pageant here. Justin Boot Prints is a gathering place for people leaving their mark on the western industry. From country music superstars to agriculture students to welders, Boot Prints is where Justin Boots celebrates the heartbeat of the western lifestyle: everyday people living extraordinary lives. Follow Justin Boot Prints here. About Justin Boots Justin Boots is a brand of western footwear that was founded in 1879 by H.J. Justin. The company is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, and produces a wide range of boots for both men and women, including cowboy boots, work boots, and casual shoes. Justin Boots is known for its high-quality craftsmanship and use of premium materials, and has a reputation for being a trusted brand in the western footwear market. For more information, visit justinboots.com. Facebook: @JustinBoots | Twitter: @JustinBoots | Instagram: @JustinBoots_ Law Office of Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP For more information about the lawsuit against Crunch, LLC, call (800) 568-8020 to speak to an experienced California employment attorney today. The San Francisco employment law attorneys, at Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP, filed a lawsuit against Crunch, LLC alleging the company violated Labor Code 2699, et seq. seeking penalties for DEFENDANTs alleged violation of California Labor Code 201-203, 204 et seq., 210, 218, 221, 226(a), 226.7, 227.3, 510, 512, 558(a)(1)(2), 1194, 1197, 1197.1, 1198, and 2802. The lawsuit against Crunch, LLC is currently pending in the San Francisco County Superior Court, Case No. CGC-23-604753. To read a copy of the Complaint, please click here. According to the lawsuit filed, Crunch, LLC allegedly failed to fully relieve Plaintiff and other Aggrieved Employees for their legally required thirty (30) minute meals breaks. Employees were also allegedly required, from time to time, to work in excess of four (4) hours without being provided the legally required ten (10) minute rest periods. The California Supreme Court defines off-duty rest periods as the time during which an employee is relieved from all work-related duties and free from employer control. PAGA is a mechanism by which the State of California itself can enforce state labor laws through the employee suing under the PAGA who do so as the proxy or agent of the state's labor law enforcement agencies. An action to recover civil penalties under PAGA is fundamentally a law enforcement action designed to protect the public and not to benefit private parties. The purpose of PAGA is not to recover damages or restitution, but to create a means of "deputizing" citizens as private attorneys general to enforce the Labor Code. For more information about the lawsuit against Crunch, LLC, call (800) 568-8020 to speak to an experienced California employment attorney today. Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP is a labor law firm with law offices located in San Diego County, Riverside County, Los Angeles County, Sacramento County, Santa Clara County, Orange County, and San Francisco County. The firm has a statewide practice of representing employees on a contingency basis for violations involving unpaid wages, overtime pay, discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, and other types of illegal workplace conduct. ***THIS IS AN ATTORNEY ADVERTISEMENT*** Lexington Toyota Offers Online Preapproval for Auto Loans in Lexington, Massachusetts Getting approved for an auto loan might sometimes be a tedious affair. But there is some good news for prospective car buyers in Lexington, Massachusetts. Lexington Toyota, a family-owned and operated automotive dealership in the area, now offers online preapproval for vehicle loans for its customers. No matter what the credit situation of the applicant is, the Lexington Toyota financing specialists can help tailor a finance package that matches the customers requirements. The dealership's experience with a wide variety of banks, lenders and financial institutions enables them to provide financing for all credit levels. To get started with the process, head over to the Lexington Toyota website and fill out a simple and secure online application form. After entering the basic personal and employment information, hit submit and a member of the finance team will reach out to the applicant to guide them through the remainder of the process. All personally identifiable information collected through this application will be used by the Lexington Toyota Credit Application staff for the purpose of facilitating a relationship or business transaction. Interested parties can visit the Lexington Toyota dealership located at 409 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington, Massachusetts, 02420. For any further information on the online preapproval for vehicle loans at Lexington Toyota, reach out to the dealerships friendly and professional customer care team by dialing 781-861-7400. OperaWine 2022 group photo The objective of the event is to demonstrate the great diversity of Italian wine and to promote the excellence of Italian wine to a domestic and international audience. The twelfth edition of OperaWine, Finest Italian Wines: Great Producers selected by Wine Spectator, will be held on 1 April at the site of the former Gallerie Mercatali, an imposing post-industrial site that has been revitalized as a stunning conference and exhibition space. Over 130 top producers, selected by the American magazine Wine Spectator, have been invited to share their wines with an exclusive audience of invited international journalists, sommeliers, wine experts, ambassadors, and educators. The objective of the event is to demonstrate the great diversity of Italian wine and to promote the excellence of Italian wine to a domestic and international audience. The invite-only premiere event begins with the arrival at 11.00 am of 130 top Italian producers, followed at 11.30 am by opening remarks led by Wine Spectator, a press conference, and ribbon cutting ceremony. At 12.00 participants will gather for the traditional group photo, followed at 12.15 pm by a light lunch. VIPs, including international wine buyers, Italian Wine Ambassadors, and distinguished 5StarWines and Wines Without Walls judges, will arrive at 1.00 pm, followed at 2.00 pm by the entrance of guests for the Grand Tasting. The event will close at 5.00 pm. During the Grand Tasting, an exclusive audience of invited guests will be able to taste the specially selected wines from the producer stands set up around the Gallerie Mercatali. Among the wines on offer, there will be 96 red wines, 25 whites, 7 sparkling wines, and 2 sweet wines, representing all 21 Italian regions. For further information about this edition of OperaWine, email operawine@justdothework.it. _______________ About Vinitaly: Vinitaly 2023 will be held in Verona from 2-5 April 2023. The premiere event, OperaWine Finest Italian Wines: 100 Great Producers, takes place on 1 April, on the eve of Vinitaly, and gives international wine professionals a unique opportunity to discover and taste the wines of the 100 Best Italian Producers, as selected by Wine Spectator. Since 1998 Vinitaly International has extended its global reach abroad, with the help of its strategic arm, Vinitaly International. In February 2014 Vinitaly International launched an educational project, the Vinitaly International Academy (VIA) with the aim of promoting and sharing the excellence and diversity of Italian wine around the globe. To date, there are 307 Certified Italian Wine Ambassadors of whom 16 are also Italian Wine Experts. About Wine Spectator: Wine Spectator is the worlds leading authority on wine. Anchored by Wine Spectator magazine, a print publication that reaches around three million readers worldwide, the brand also encompasses the most comprehensive wine site (http://www.winespectator.com), mobile platforms, and a series of signature events. Wine Spectator examines the world of wine from the vineyard to the table, exploring wines role in contemporary culture and delivering expert reviews of more than 15,000 wines each year. Parent company M. Shanken Communications, Inc., also publishes Cigar Aficionado, Whisky Advocate, Market Watch, Shanken News Daily, and Shankens Impact Newsletter. Jeffery T. Gates Stetson is thrilled to secure Jeff Gates as the University's next leader in Enrollment and Marketing. Stetson President Christopher F. Roellke, PhD, announced March 9 that Jeffery T. Gates, L.P.D, will serve as the university's new Senior Vice President for Enrollment and Marketing, following a nationwide search. Gates is currently Senior Vice President for Strategic Enrollment Management and Student Success at Utica University in Utica, New York, and will begin his new role at Stetson in mid-May. "Stetson is thrilled to secure Jeff Gates as the University's next leader in Enrollment and Marketing. Jeff brings an extraordinary depth of experiences that will serve Stetson well, particularly as the higher education landscape emerges from the myriad of challenges associated with the global pandemic," Roellke said. "I want to extend my sincere thanks to the search committee and the entire Stetson community for their sincere engagement in this important executive search." With more than 20 years of experience in enrollment management, Gates developed initiatives at Utica University to increase retention and grow enrollment, leading to multiple record-breaking enrollment years and significant improvements in the academic profile of the incoming classes. In addition, he increased student satisfaction, engagement and graduation, and created the new position of Dean for Diversity. He improved collaboration with faculty, enhanced campus facilities, and successfully merged the Enrollment Management and Student Affairs divisions. I am very excited to join the Stetson University community. I have been impressed with the student, faculty, staff and alumni interactions during my time on campus and look forward to learning more, Gates said. Stetson provides superior opportunities for students to explore career and leadership options, the ability to grow personally and academically through hands-on learning, while allowing students to develop and build confidence by actively doing, he added. This is important to the students and families we serve as they make this once-in-a-lifetime investment their collegiate career. Prior to joining Utica in 2013, Gates worked in enrollment management at a large public university, Binghamton University, State University of New York, and at a small private college, Bryant University, in Rhode Island. He holds a BS in Business Administration from Bryant University, a MA in Social Science (Student Services track) from SUNY Binghamton, and a Doctorate in Law and Policy from Northeastern University in Boston. At Stetson, he will oversee the new Division of Enrollment Management and Marketing, following the merger of Enrollment Management and University Marketing in December. The division includes the Office of Admissions and the Office of Student Financial Aid. President 2023-2024 Kurt A. Sommer It is an honor to be elected as President of the College. As President, I look forward to leading ACTEC as we continue to elevate the practice of trust and estate law and to engaging law students and other lawyers in these practice areas. The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) today announced that Kurt A. Sommer will serve as the 2023-2024 President. Sommer, the Managing Partner with Sommer Udall Law Firm, P.A. in Santa Fe, New Mexico, succeeding 2022-2023 ACTEC President Robert W. Goldman of Goldman, Felcoski & Stone P.A. in Naples, Florida. Sommer, who has held various roles at the College for over 20 years, was officially presented at ACTECs passing of the gavel ceremony Friday, March 3, 2023, during the ACTEC Annual Business Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana. As an officer of the College since 2019, he previously served as ACTECs Region Chair of the Rocky Mountain Region, State Chair of New Mexico, and Chair of the Financial Management Committee. He also served as a member of numerous committees, including the Business Planning Committee, Charitable Planning and Exempt Organizations Committee, and Fiduciary Litigation Committee, and served on The ACTEC Foundation Board of Directors as Chair of the Foundation Planning and Governance Committee. It is an honor to be elected as President of the College, said Sommer. As President, I look forward to leading ACTEC as we continue to elevate the practice of trust and estate law and to engaging law students and other lawyers in these practice areas. Sommer has also been active in the New Mexico Bar and served as Past Chairman of the Taxation Section. Best Lawyers in America chose Sommer as 2022 Lawyer of the Year. Sommer was also selected as a New Mexico Super Lawyer (Trusts and Estates) and previously received a Best of the Bar Award (Business/Corporate). He also specializes in natural resources law. His charitable work includes past service as a member of the Board of Directors of the Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce. During the ACTEC 2023 Annual Meeting, ACTECs Board of Regents elected the following 2023-2024 officers, each of whom serve with Sommer on the Executive Committee and the Board of Regents: About The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC): Established in 1949, the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) is a national nonprofit association of approximately 2,400 lawyers and law professors from throughout the United States and abroad. ACTEC members (Fellows) are peer-elected on the basis of professional reputation and expertise in the preparation of wills and trusts, estate planning, probate, trust administration, and related practice areas. The Colleges mission includes the improvement and reform of probate, trust, and tax laws and procedures and professional practice standards. ACTEC frequently offers technical comments with regard to legislation and regulations but does not take positions on matters of policy or political objectives. It is my great pleasure to acknowledge The Colleges newly elected Regents. I look forward to working with the entire Board of Regents this upcoming year. ACTEC PresidentKurt A. Sommer The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) today announced that eight new Regents were elected to its Board of Regents during the Colleges Annual Business Meeting, held in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Friday, March 3, 2023. ACTECs Board of Regents is the governing body of the College. Past President Stephen R. Akers chaired the 2023 Nominating Committee, with members: Lora L. Brown, Ann B. Burns, Andrea C. Chomakos, Benetta Y. Park, Sarah Moore Johnson, Nathaniel S. Putnam, Douglas J. Stanley, and Dale B. Stone. The Committee nominated eight Fellows to fill existing vacancies. Nominees elected for an initial three-year term ending in 2026 are ACTEC Fellows: Lyat Eyal, Dana G. Fitzsimons, Jr., Cynthia G. Lamar-Hart, Michele A.W. McKinnon, Raymond C. Odom, Jeffery T. Peetz, Susan B. Shields, and Stephanie M. Tuthill. Also elected to a second three-year term ending in 2026 are Fellows: Stephanie B. Casteel, Kim Kamin, and Suzanne Brown Walsh. It is my great pleasure to acknowledge The Colleges newly elected Regents. I look forward to working with the entire Board of Regents this upcoming year, stated ACTEC President Kurt A. Sommer. About the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC): Established in 1949, the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) is a national nonprofit association of approximately 2,400 lawyers and law professors from throughout the United States and abroad. ACTEC members (Fellows) are peer-elected on the basis of professional reputation and expertise in the preparation of wills and trusts, estate planning, probate, trust administration, and related practice areas. The Colleges mission includes the improvement and reform of probate, trust, and tax laws and procedures and professional practice standards. ACTEC frequently offers technical comments with regard to legislation and regulations but does not take positions on matters of policy or political objectives. Their support enables us to compete with the big dogs like Amazon, and to provide the reliable customer service customers crave. Woolpert has been contracted by Trexity, a flat-rate local delivery company, to provide Google Maps Platform services and technical support. These services include Google Maps APIs, Optimization AI, and Google Cloud solutions, which will support Trexitys small- and medium-sized business clients. Trexity was founded to make same-day, local delivery more efficient and affordable, so Woolpert customized its Google solutions to include Directions and Cloud Fleet Routing (CFR) APIs. The Directions API enables Trexity to calculate directions and distance between locations for quick delivery estimation, whether for single or grouped deliveries. CFR is a function of Optimization AI. It is a scalable solution that creates and renders an optimized delivery route, supporting vehicle fleet operators and the creation of accurate, fleetwide routing plans at scale. Woolpert Vice President and Director of Cloud Sales Rick Bennett said delivery in 2023 is all about the customer experience. The landscape has evolved to ensure the client knows where everything is in the delivery process at all times. Providing the ability to save money through efficient routing while ensuring customers can access on-demand ETAs at scale is essential to success, Bennett said. Were able to leverage our mapping and Google services expertise to accelerate clients implementation into production. The sooner theyre up and running, the sooner they can establish their brand and reputation to advance sales. Trexity CEO and Founder Alok Ahuja said the startup selected Woolpert because efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and accurate mapping and routing data are the company's primary objectives. Woolpert, a global geospatial company, was named the 2021 Google Cloud Specialization Partner of the Year for Location-Based Services. We started this company to fill a void in the industry and to help small businesses stay in business, Ahuja said. Woolpert is a longtime Google partner whose focus is on providing optimal mobility solutions for businesses of all sizes. We had lots of questions, and they had lots of expert guidance. Their support enables us to compete with the big dogs like Amazon, and to provide the reliable customer service customers crave. About Woolpert Woolpert is the premier architecture, engineering, geospatial (AEG) and strategic consulting firm, with a vision to become one of the best companies in the world. We innovate within and across markets to effectively serve public, private, and government clients worldwide. Woolpert is a top 100 ENR Global Design firm, earned six straight Great Place to Work certifications, and actively nurtures a culture of growth, inclusion, diversity, and respect. Founded in 1911 in Dayton, Ohio, Woolpert has been Americas fastest-growing AEG firm since 2015. Woolpert has over 2,000 employees and more than 60 offices on five continents. For more, visit woolpert.com. The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania today kicked off the 55th Wharton Global Forum at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore. The two-day event brings together approximately 700 Wharton alumni and business leaders to explore the most critical issues facing businesses in Singapore and the world today. This marks the first in-person Global Forum since the pandemic and since Dean Erika James began her tenure at Wharton in 2020. We are delighted to hold this years Wharton Global Forum in Singapore, one of the fastest-growing economies and a thriving financial hub in the world today. Singapore is one of the most competitive markets globally and businesses here are well-poised to attract investors and financiers around the world, said Wharton Dean Erika James. The Global Forum will be a great platform for businesses and academics to collaborate, exchange ideas, and create a vision for the future. Dean Erika James will open the Global Forum with a keynote address highlighting Whartons commitment to shaping the future of business through research, charting the course for the future of learning through innovation and reimagining the future of societal progress through collaboration. The second day of the Global Forum will commence with keynote speeches by Singapore Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Lawrence Wong, and Former U.S. Ambassador to China, Russia and Singapore (Ret) and Former Governor of Utah, Jon M. Huntsman, Jr. Attendees at the Global Forum will learn from and rub shoulders with the worlds brightest business minds, discover the latest research, and attend master classes taught by Whartons world-renowned faculty. The Global Forum will feature keynote speeches, faculty lectures, panel and roundtable discussions by the regions most exciting entrepreneurs, trailblazing investors, and industry experts who will gather to share deep industry knowledge and insights around key topics such as healthcare, supply chain resiliency, environmental, social, and governance (ESG), fintech and decentralized finance. The speaker lineup features distinguished government and industry leaders including RGE Founder & Chairman Sukanto Tanoto, DBS Bank Managing Director and Group Head of Audit Derrick Goh, Temasek Holdings Executive Director & CEO Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara, Wharton Professor and Director of the Tanoto ASEAN Initiative Janice Bellace, and Dean of the Wharton School Erika James. Since their establishment, Global Forums have been held 54 times in 31 countries around the world. The 55th Wharton Global Forum marks the second time the event has taken place in Singapore since 2005, which indicates the significance of this city to the Wharton School and the Global Forum program. More details on the Global Forums agenda are available here. About the Wharton School Founded in 1881 as the worlds first collegiate business school, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is shaping the future of business by incubating ideas, driving insights, and creating leaders who change the world. With a faculty of more than 235 renowned professors, Wharton has 5,000 undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA and doctoral students. Each year 13,000 professionals from around the world advance their careers through Wharton Executive Educations individual, company-customized, and online programs. More than 104,000 Wharton alumni form a powerful global network of leaders who transform business every day. For more information, visit http://www.wharton.upenn.edu. ### In One Choice, One World, author and visionary Frederick Tsao argues for a shift in global consciousness from a worldview centered on profit and the individual accumulation of wealth and possessions to one that fosters connection, common purpose, and collective well-being. Tsaos wide-ranging experiences in life and businesshes the fourth-generation steward of his familys business, IMC Pan Asia Alliance Grouphave helped inform his worldview. Born in Hong Kong, educated in the West, and a world traveler, Tsao says his mindset has been influenced by his exposure to diverse cultures. As a baby boomer and a young entrepreneur, I trekked around the world and became sensitive to diverse cultures, he says. I questioned the nature and role of business and seriously considered sustainability and existential questions for my own business. In One Choice, One World, Tsao lays out a road map, he says, for a renewed economic model of social transformation and integration. Observing how unchecked market economies focus squarely on profit maximization, Tsao envisions a different model that measures progress in terms of the needs and interests of humanity. We have an ethical challenge before us, Tsao says. Business needs to reinvent its ethical role in this new social economic system. The sustainability crisis today is created primarily by businesses; therefore, they need to lead the world out of this crisis. While Tsao sees wealth disparity as a symptom of pervasive flaws in todays economic ecosystem, he is not advocating simply for a redistribution of resources. I am not chanting the mantra of Robin Hood: to take from the rich and give to the poor, he says. Instead, I am advocating for a fundamental revamp of the economic model to facilitate social transformation and integration. Embracing and implementing such a model would involve a significant existential shift away from equating happiness with the accumulation of material possessions. While on the surface, these goals may seem idealistic, Tsao points to the United Nations as an example of an economic system that is shifting from measuring the economys growth via gross domestic product (GDP) to the recognized economic philosophy of gross national happiness (GNH), first introduced in Bhutan in the 1970s. Under GNH, an economys growth and success are measured according to nine domains of happiness and the collective security and wellness of its citizenry. Tsao believes that institutions that adopt GNH, paired with the principles of environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG), will begin to change the overall health of the economic ecosystem and, in turn, humanity at-large. Tsao suggests that the interconnectivity between Earth, the universe, and human beings has never been more apparent than in our age of globalization and technological innovation. This fundamental conceptthat all of existence is part of a single systemis essential to both personal and societal transformation. There is one choice, he says. Journey into our inner world to find purpose and meaning in lifecultivate our being, which informs our doing. While social tensions and political divisions may seem irreconcilable, from Tsaos perspective, the growth of human civilization has always been contingent upon collaborating on common goals. Emotional responses too often shape perceptions, while true progress emerges from a place of calm neutrality and from embracing commonalities. We need one common worldview, Tsao says. One common ground, for us to have common sense, so we put together common efforts to resolve our common challenges. Ultimately, Tsao hopes One Choice, One World will inspire readers to reassess their assumptions about community, personhood, and the role of businesses within the social ecosystem. Transforming business and global economic models requires first changing minds and perspectives. And Tsao is optimistic about humanitys potential to embrace a new world orderone in which individual needs are met and citizens collectively adopt the role of shared stewards of the planet. At its core, Tsaos worldview begins with a simple and deeply essential vision: When I am well, he says, everything is well; and when everything is well, I am wellthe I and the we are inseparable. He's looking more and more like a GOP presidential candidate every week. This week, Florida governor Ron DeSantis debuted at #1 on PW's bestseller list with his new book The Courage to Be Free: Florida's Blueprint for America's Revival. And ripping a page from the Trump playbook, DeSantis on Wednesday hosted a press conference where he said charges of book banning under his legislative agenda were a "nasty hoax." Last month, the New York Times gave DeSantis's book a less than enthusiastic review. "For the most part, The Courage to Be Free is courageously free of anything that resembles charisma, or a discernible sense of humor," opines Jennifer Szalai. "While his first book was weird and esoteric enough to have obviously been written by a human, this one reads like a politicians memoir churned out by ChatGPT." Closer to home, the Tampa Bay Times says the book offers a "glossy" view of the governor's career: "DeSantis doesnt grant readers much more insight into his life than what he has so far shown publicly. But the book does leave behind the outline of a squeaky-clean conservative warrior." Meanwhile, PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel had a harsh review of the governor's policies and his press conference. "If we take the Governor at his word that he is simply aiming to protect students from porn and sexualized texts, then the approaches and methods being legislated statewide go far beyond any conceivable effort in service of that goal," Nossel writes. "[Florida] has passed vague laws limiting what books can be in schools and libraries with stiff penalties. Every book in a school must be reviewed by a 'media specialist' and schools were told to 'err on the side of caution.' Thus the empty shelves. Have some schools been overly cautious? Quite possibly. But that is how censorship worksit sweeps up not just material directly banned but also exerts a well-documented 'chilling effect' whereby a wider circle of books and ideas are off limits to avoid risk of punishment." In Iowa, the Gazette reports that the House has now passed a "parental rights" bill that would ban books containing sexual content from school libraries in the state. Republican legislators claim the bill "is not intended to restrict books dealing with LGBTQ characters," while freedom to read advocates say the bill is unnecessary "because processes already exist to review books in schools." Iowa is today's stop on DeSantis's campaignerr, book tour. In Oklahoma, Tulsa World reports that the state Senate has passed Senate Bill 397. The bill would ban materials from school libraries that "the average person age 18 or older applying contemporary community standards" would find to have "a prominent tendency to appeal to a prurient interest in sex. Some good news for Freedom to Read advocates this week: the Utah 2023 Legislative session concluded on March 3rd without passage of two significant anti-library bills. "Were happy to report that HB464 and HB138 didnt make it across the finish line," reports EveryLibrary. HB464 proposed to create a rating system for books and civil penalties for librarians and educators that provide access to materials deemed inappropriate. HB138 would have allowed Utah schools to cancel contracts with publishers and vendors without penalty. The "combination of coalition work, public awareness building, and public activation helped ensure that these problematic bills for Utah libraries failed to gain the support they needed in the state legislature," EveryLibrary reports. For a little background on the situation in Utah, Christie Porter has an informative piece in Salt Lake magazine. Its "a small group of people who are behind it," Michele Edgley, president of the Utah Educational Library Media Association, told Porter, adding that "the accusations and the calls to the police come from parent interest groups who have strong beliefs about which books should not be available to students." Police? There are too many recent examples of police being called out to libraries or schools across the country for us to not take this for what it is: a real threat to criminalize our profession. Yes, police. For those who would have you believe that book banning and efforts to intimidate librarians are part of some media hoax, EveryLibrary this week also has a post pointing to some of the very real threats facing librarians. "There are too many recent examples of police being called out to libraries or schools across the country for us to not take this for what it is: a real threat to criminalize our profession." It lives. In Arkansas, the Democrat Gazette reported this week that Senate Bill 81, which would make librarians criminally liable for distributing materials deemed obscene, had failed to advance. Among its provisions, the bill would have created a "furnishing harmful item to a minor" offense. "Under this provision, a person who knowingly provides a minor with an item that is 'harmful to minors' would be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor," the article notes. "The bill points to existing law that provides an extended definition of the term 'harmful to minors.' Among other characteristics, an item that is 'harmful to minors' must be found by an 'average' adult 'applying contemporary community standards' to have a 'predominant tendency to appeal to a prurient interest in sex' to minors. However, the bill was quickly revived, amended, and returned to the committee where it has passed on to the full House on March 9. Is this what going on the offensive might look like? The Herald Whig reports that Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias has drafted House Bill 2789, "which would make funds eligible to Illinois libraries only if they demonstrate they either: adhere to the American Library Associations Library Bill of Rights indicating reading materials should not be removed or restricted because of partisan or personal disapproval; or issue a statement complying with the policies of the State Library or one prohibiting the practice of banning books or resources." In Book Riot, Kelly Jensen's weekly roundup of censorship news includes a tremendously helpful list of truly grassroots freedom to read advocacy groups. "These are not funded by political groups or organizations and are not in the pockets of politicians," Jensen writes. "If you are in the position to get involved, do so; if you cant, these are some places where you can also donate money to help the cause." Also in Book Riot, Jensen has a long, investigative piece about the Elmwood Public Library board's efforts to change the library. "One glance at the questions and guidance developed for the director interview show precisely the type of candidate the Board sought to hire. Indeed, these questions include bullet points beneath them for the interviewers to check for. The ideal candidate would be neutral like Switzerland in all they offer and they would play second fiddle to the direction of the library board in all decision making," Jensen writes. "Indeed, the ideal candidate would not work to 'change the complexion' of the library but work to preserve neutralityin other words, whiteness." People profiles Texas librarians and #FReadom organizers Becky Calzada and Carolyn Foote. "Books shouldn't be contraband," Foote told people. "We've lost our way in this contentious environment. We forgot what's at the core of libraries: getting kids excited about reading and seeing stories that reflect their lives." The brief article notes that both women have faced online attacks, but their efforts have empowered freedom to read advocates to speak up. "It's not just adultskids are speaking up about how books [on the banned lists] helped them," Calzada says. C-SPAN's StudentCam is an annual national competition for student documentary filmmakers. For this year's competition, students in grades 6-12 were asked to create 5-6 minute films in response to this question: "If you were a newly elected member of Congress, which issue would be your first priority and why?" One group of students focused on book banning with their film "Ella Scott's Banned Book Club: How Students Are Fighting Back In the War Over Censorship and Ideas." It's very well done, well worth a share. And, if you're so inclined, you can vote in the competition. SF Gate reports on pushback to U.C. Berkeley's recently-announced plan to close three campus libraries. "Three campus resources the Anthropology Library, the Mathematics Statistics Library and the Physics-Astronomy Libraryare set to merge their collections and staff with the campuss hub libraries and close by 2025, per the UC Berkeley Librarys long-term space plan. The plan was released in February and outlines how the school will restructure its current libraries." The Boston Globe reflects on "the culture war" targeting libraries. "Threats to public libraries are not new. But previous disputes were mostly budgetary, driven by small-government types who chafed at paying taxes for someone elses reading pleasure," writes Renee Loth. "Now the attacks are ideological, as a toxic mix of anti-vaxxers, transphobic conspiracy theorists, and right-wing extremists have found common cause." The race for the Republican presidential nomination will no doubt turn up the volume on book banning efforts nationwide. But USA Today reports that the right's efforts to stoke a culture war might not play at the national level. "Republican presidential hopefuls are vowing to wage a war on 'woke,' but a new USA TODAY/Ipsos Poll finds a majority of Americans are inclined to see the word as a positive attribute, not a negative one," the article states. "The findings raise questions about whether Republican campaign promises to ban policies at schools and workplaces they denounce as 'woke' could boost a contender in the party's primaries but put them at odds with broader public opinion in the general election." And finally, the newly established Copyright Claims Board has issued it's first ruling. IP Watchdog reports that a photographer prevailed in the case over an unauthorized use of a photo on a commercial website. Rather than grant the plaintiff's request for a $30,000 statutory damage award, however, the CCB instead awarded the plaintiff $1,000. The voluntary tribunal (litigants can opt out of the process) is billed as a lower-cost venue for small copyright claims for which the cost of federal litigation might be prohibitive. The Week in Libraries is a weekly opinion and news column. News, tips, submissions, questions or comments are welcome, and can be submitted via email. Previous columns can be viewed here. From March 8-11, the Association of Writers and Writing Programs meets at the Seattle Convention Centers state-of-the-art Summit building, which opened January 25 to regional fanfare. The Emerald Citys sustainably designed building, clad in reclaimed wood and developed around a civic-minded mission for downtown revitalization, provides a heartening environment for #AWP23s creative engagement and presentations by contemporary literary lights. On Wednesday, AWP awarded its Small Press Publisher Award to Dzanc Books of Ann Arbor, Mich. The annual award recognizes a nonprofit press or literary journal for innovation, and comes with a $2,000 honorarium and complimentary exhibition booth. Dzanc publishes original literary fiction and nonfiction; restores out-of-print and unavailable titles through its Dzanc rEprint series; and hosts a writers-in-residence program that enables authors to teach creative writing in public schools. Two additional nominees for the Small Press Publisher Award included Nomadic Press and New York Citys Four Way Books. It was a bittersweet nomination for Nomadic, founded by J.K. Fowler in 2011, which ceased publishing as of February 28. Four Way, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, hosted an anniversary reading on Thursday with authors Rigoberto Gonzalez (To the Boy Who Was Night), Allison Benis White (The Wendys), Victoria Redel (Paradise), and Glenis Redmond (The Listening Skin). AWPs George Garrett Award for Outstanding Community Service in Literature went to poet and performer Duriel E. Harris, an associate professor at Illinois State University and the editor of Obsidian: Literature and Arts in the African Diaspora. Harriss most recent book is No Dictionary of a Living Tongue (Nightboat, 2017). On Thursday evening, famed Seattle librarian and Book Lust author Nancy Pearl (who presently hosts a Book Lust video series) led a Q&A with novelist Min Jin Lee, author of Free Food for Millionaires and National Book Award finalist Pachinko. Lee talked about her appreciation for the Scrivener app and the way she outlines her fiction; her quest for meaning (Im constantly aware that this minute matters); and the exhaustive research she does, even for relatively short assignments like her recent introduction to the Penguin Vitae edition of F. Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby. When Pearl asked Lee to talk about the best and the worst writing suggestions she's received, Lee had ready answers. Her favorite writing advice, she said, doubles as excellent life advice: Choose the important over the urgent. Her least favorite saying may come as a surprise: That whole showing-but-not-telling [thing] is so stupid! Instead, she sees fiction as a dynamic and bilateral construction between the reader and the writer. Too much show-don't-tell can feel extraneous, Lee believes, and thats on her mind as she winnows a set of 120 top short stories down to 20 selections for the forthcoming Best American Short Stories. Netflix is ready for its next big series as they're heading closer to the release of The Night Agent. Starring Gabriel Basso of Super 8 and Hillbilly Elegy, the 10-episode series is based on the book by Matthew Quirk. ADVERTISEMENT In the book and series, low-ranking FBI agent Peter Sutherland's heroics on a booby-trapped Metro D.C. train get him a promotion to the White House. He's tasked by the president's chief of staff Diane Farr (Hong Chau) to answer phones there after hours. "Have you ever heard of Night Action?," Farr asks. "It's a top-secret investigative program within the FBI." According to Farr, it's grunt work. But one night, a phone call leads him to Sutherland to Rose Larkin (Luciane Buchanan) who has moved in with her aunt and uncle who are under attack. From that point on, the trailer takes viewers on a thrill ride of car and foot chases, big guns, and shady figures in and around the federal government. "You don't know what you're getting into," a mystery woman says to Sutherland. Apparently, there's a mole inside the agency and an assassination attempt coming. That's familiar ground for actor DB Woodside who also stars in The Night Agent, because before he was on Lucifer he was on 24. And with The Shield creator Shawn Ryan at the helm, it's a safe bet for Netflix. The Night Agent, also starring Sarah Desjardins, will premiere on Netflix on March 23. 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! Watch the trailer below: Porterville, CA (93257) Today Clear to partly cloudy. Low around 45F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Clear to partly cloudy. Low around 45F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. Visitors walk past a display from the U.S. Grains Council, which develops export markets for U.S. barley, corn, sorghum and related products, at the China International Import Expo in Shanghai, Nov. 5, 2020. Authorities in the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing are investigating a university lecturer for making "inappropriate remarks" after he told his class that China is currently dependent on food imports from the United States and Europe, alongside other pro-U.S. comments running counter to ruling Chinese Communist Party narratives, according to recent social media posts. The lecturer was named on social media as Chen Saibin from the school of economics and management at the Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. "Social media posts currently circulating about a lecturer from this university who made inappropriate remarks have prompted concern and public debate," the university's Communist Party committee said in a statement on March 9. "We take this very seriously, and have immediately set in motion an investigation," it said. "The lecturer's classes will be suspended for the duration of the investigation." The move comes as the ruling Chinese Communist Party tightens its ideological grip on higher education in the country amid structural changes begun in 2021 that allow a far greater degree of party control in the day-to-day running of colleges and universities. The university said it had a zero-tolerance policy towards "moral misconduct" among faculty, a reference to a political buzzword used to refer to teachers who refuse to toe the party line in class. The topic of food security is a highly sensitive one for Beijing, which has ordered officials at every level to crack down on food waste, and recently revamped a Mao-era system of food distribution that analysts said could provide a network of emergency logistics in the event of war. China has repeatedly refused to rule out the use of military force to annex Taiwan, which has never been ruled by Beijing and whose 23 million people have no interest in giving up their sovereignty or democratic way of life, with analysts suggesting an invasion could be possible in the next few years. More civilized, more developed and more free Screenshots posted to social media reported that Chen had told his class: "China depends on Europe and the United States for food. If the U.S. imposes sanctions, then more than half of Chinese people will starve to death." Chen Saibin, a teacher at the School of Economics and Management at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, told his class that China is dependent on food imports from the United States and Europe. Right: Netizens comment on students reporting teachers. Credit: Provided by Guting Chen also allegedly said that all of modern math and physics, as well as Marxism, are Western imports, as are a number of key engineering principles and many ideas in the liberal arts. He also reportedly expressed support for gun ownership in the United States, a key propaganda tool used by Beijing against Washington, saying it could better protect women's safety. "This is a sign that they are more civilized, more developed and more free in the United States," Chen allegedly told his students, according to the screenshots, citing the vicious beatings of several women at a Tangshan barbecue restaurant in June 2022 as evidence that the U.S. is safer than China for women. State media and officials have repeatedly used gun violence as a way to hit back against criticism of Beijing's rights record, or security measures and sanctions imposed by the United States. The English-language Global Times quoted a U.S.-based student in February as saying "Chinese students in the U.S. face multiple torments of gun violence and racial discrimination," while a Feb. 28 article in the same paper said the U.S. claim to be a "beacon of democracy" was undermined by "drug abuse, growing worries around gun violence [and] an ever-widening economic gap between the haves and the have-nots." An employee who answered the phone at the management committee at the university's Jiangjun Road campus confirmed the statement and the lecturer's identity when contacted by Radio Free Asia on March 9. "Our party committee has already responded to this," the employee said. "The matter is under investigation, and there are no conclusions yet." Retired Shanghai lecturer Gu Guoping said none of Chen's comments had violated Chinese law, however. "These so-called inappropriate remarks don't break any current Chinese law," Gu said. "It's part of the academic tradition to express different views and opinions." Informing on lecturers Current affairs commentator Bi Xin said it is increasingly common for students to inform on comments made by lecturers and teachers in class, citing the cases of other lecturers who had lost their jobs after making comments that were out of line with Communist Party propaganda. "You Shengdong, a professor of economics at Xiamen University, said in class that the Chinese dream of [supreme leader] Xi Jinping was nothing but a fantasy, rather than being something rational," Bi said. "He was fired after his students reported him." "Tang Yun, associate professor of literature at Chongqing Normal University, told his students that the official slogan "roll up your sleeves and work hard" did violence to the elegance of the Chinese language," he said. "His students complained about him and his teaching qualification was revoked." "There is a terrifying culture now of students informing on their teachers," he said. Former Xiamen University professor You Shengdong was fired for comments he made in class. Credit: Mia Ping-chieh Chen/RFA A resident of the central province of Hubei who gave only the surname Mao for fear of reprisals, said a culture of informing is the product of an authoritarian regime. "It causes extreme mutual distrust and suspicion at every level of society," Mao said. "This causes basic standards of social morality to deteriorate." Some social media comments thought Chen's comments were indeed out of line, and shouldn't be allowed to go unchecked. Some referred to Chen as "a bad influence" who should be investigated, while others called for the "vigorous removal of poisonous teachers and poisonous teaching materials." Other comments lamented that Chen hadn't been allowed to "tell the truth" in class, while some hit out at the students, saying they should have challenged Chen at the time rather than posting his comments on social media. Education ministry guidelines on "moral misconduct" among university lecturers dated Nov. 8, 2018 call on universities and colleges to take action if faculty fail to toe the party line, ranging from public criticism and demerits affecting promotion and research funding to dismissals and the revocation of teaching credentials. "Those who are members of the Chinese Communist Party will be sanctioned under party disciplinary processes at the same time," the guidelines said. "Those who are suspected of breaking the law and committing crimes will have their cases transferred to law enforcement and judicial agencies." Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Unelected delegates vote unanimously, paving the way for Xis indefinite rule over party, state and army. Chinese President Xi Jinping takes his oath off office after he being unanimously re-elected as president during a session of China's National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Friday, March 10, 2023. China's rubber-stamp parliament, the National People's Congress, nodded through approval for a third presidential term for ruling Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping on Friday, paving the way for him to wield power in the country's top jobs indefinitely. Some 3,000 unelected delegates to the congress voted unanimously for Xi, 69, to continue in post as president, a widely expected outcome that will likely mean tougher policies at home and rising tensions with the international community, analysts told Radio Free Asia on Friday. He was voted in for a third term as Communist Party general secretary, his most important post, at the 20th party congress last October, in a move that broke with an unwritten rule in operation since the death of late supreme leader Deng Xiaoping that national leaders step down after two terms in office. Friday's "vote" came five years after the National People's Congress approved amendments to the Chinese constitution removing term limits for the party general secretary and largely ceremonial state presidency. Xi also remains as commander-in-chief of the two-million-strong People's Liberation Army, after being reapproved as chairman of the Central Military Commission on Friday. Xi was sworn in on a copy of the Chinese Constitution, alongside former anti-corruption czar Zhao Leji as head of the National People's Congress and former Shanghai party chief Han Zheng as vice president, a largely ceremonial post. Chinese President Xi Jinping talks to Li Qiang, who is expected to become Chinas new premier, during the Third Plenary Session of the National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People, in Beijing, Friday, March 10, 2023. Credit: Pool via Reuters Zhao and Han are both key Xi loyalists, with the former presiding over Xi's anti-corruption purges as head of the party's disciplinary arm. Party ideologue Wang Huning was named head of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference, which works with the party's United Front Work Department to promote loyalty to Xi outside of party ranks and to spread his personal brand of political ideology beyond China's borders. Li Qiang, who implemented Xi's zero-COVID policies in the form of the brutal 2022 Shanghai lockdown, is widely expected to take over from Li Keqiang as premier in a weekend vote. In charge of everything Japan-based China scholar Hong Xiangan said the outcome came as no surprise. "They were just going through the motions," Hong said. "He's already the supreme leader of the country." "The Communist Party hasn't had such a supreme leader in charge of everything since Mao Zedong, who was the first-generation Communist Party leader to conquer the nation," he said. He said Mao likely had cannier political skills than Xi, however. "Mao never got rid of [his premier] Zhou Enlai, who lasted [in power] his whole life," Hong said. China's President Xi Jinping [bottom, third from left] walks back to his seat after taking the oath of office after being re-elected for a third term, during the third plenary session of the National People's Congress in Beijing on Friday, March 10, 2023. Credit: AFP By contrast, Li Qiang will be taking over from Li Keqiang at the head of the administration, while Xi ally Ding Xuexiang will be in charge of the day-to-day running of the party, he said. But he said Xi's insistence on being in charge of everything could backfire. "Mao Zedong knew very well the difference between the emperor and his prime minister," Hong said. "[He believed] that each should get on and do their job." "Now, he's acting as an all-in-one leader," Hong said of Xi, suggesting that his reliance on political allies over technocrats could make it harder to face current challenges, which include a flagging economy in the wake of the zero-COVID policy. "Are there any capable ministers?" he said. "Looking at these people's resumes ... it doesn't look as if any of them have any idea about running the country." But he said Xi likely has no way back from his current path. "There's no way for him to make a U-turn," Hong said. "There's no going back now, and the opportunity won't arise again until the next generation of leaders comes along." Even more draconian None of the 2,952 delegates in the Great Hall of the People on Friday voted against the motion to approve Xi, which came after a motion approving a government restructuring plan. Feng Chongyi, a professor of political science at the University of Technology Sydney, said Xi has now succeeded in removing any significant potential opponents from the highest echelons of Chinese politics, and has a clear path to rule indefinitely. "All kinds of policies will now become even more draconian," Feng said. "[Xi] will get more arrogant, unscrupulous and intensify [his campaigns]." "The Chinese people will suffer more as a result, as will domestic and foreign affairs, international relations and people will suffer more hardship," he said. Feng said there is still no way to be sure when Xi will move to annex democratic Taiwan by force, but he said the risk of that military conflict is directly linked to the solidity of the Chinese leader's grip on power. "His power is unlimited, so if he wants to go crazy, he could decide to totally disregard life and property in the service of his personal power or achievements," he said. "He only thinks about himself, so he won't hesitate, even if it brings down disaster on ... the international order." Current affairs commentator Johnny Lau said Xi sees the threat of instability everywhere, both domestically and internationally. "External forces [influencing Chinese politics] is their long-term nightmare," Lau said. "As the economic situation gets worse, we will see a lot of issues with people's livelihood surfacing." Expanded party control And the party-state now lacks even the meager checks and balances that it once had, according to current affairs commentator Wang Zheng. "When a single voice emerges and there are no voices of opposition, the country will be done for," Wang said. He said widespread censorship and fear of political reprisals now make it very hard to hear any kind of dissent in China at all. "If [state broadcaster] CCTV takes to the streets to interview passers-by about what they think of their president, the vast majority of people are going to say that they support him," Wang said. "If it's a foreign media organization, then a lot of people would be scared to answer at all," he said. Newly elected delegates take their oaths during the Third Plenary Session of the National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People, in Beijing, Friday, March 10, 2023. Credit: Pool via Reuters Keyword searches for "Xi Jinping" on Chinas Twitter-like Weibo appeared blocked, while comments on the official Xinhua News Agency report on Xi were hidden, RFA reporters found. But some netizens turned to foreign social media sites to decry Xi's long-expected third term. "After Mao Zedong, another life long dictator has come to power. Although I knew it would happen, I still feel disgusted when I see this news officially," said one comment. "Unanimous approval, nobody votes no, no abstentions, 100% support rate! This is the Whole Process Democracy? This is the largest democratic election in the world? This is the real national humiliation!" said another. The National People's Congress is also expected to nod through planned structural reforms bringing government security and intelligence branches under the direct control of the party, rather than the country's cabinet, suggesting a further bid to consolidate political power in the hands of Xi, analysts told RFA in recent interviews. The government announced plans on Wednesday to set up a central data bureau to tighten control over big data intelligence on its 1.4 billion citizens, as well as implementing tighter party control over the banking system and financial markets. Xi's third term will likely also see ongoing friction with Washington, after newly appointed foreign minister Qin Gang warned that the United States and China are destined for conflict if Washington refuses to hit the brakes as it speed[s] down the wrong path of engagement with Beijing. Qin spoke on the sidelines of the two sessions annual meeting of Chinas National Peoples Congress, which kicked off on Sunday, dismissing calls by the Biden administration for guardrails to prevent increasingly sour U.S.-China relations from deteriorating into full-blown hostility. Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Bangkok and northern towns have been enveloped in a toxic haze for weeks. Thai authorities have urged children and pregnant women to stay indoors and people to wear masks outside, as toxic smog covers vast areas of the country, leading more than one million people to seek medical attention, officials said. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha begged farmers to stop burning crop stubble and called for the eradication of exhaust-spewing vehicles. Thailands Pollution Control Department issued a public health notice Friday asking citizens to reduce their time doing outdoor activities and use personal protective equipment if necessary. Vulnerable groups, including the elderly, children, and pregnant women were told to stay indoors. Since the beginning of the year, more than 1.3 million people in Thailand have fallen ill from air pollution, a senior public health official said Thursday, adding that more than 200,000 people were hospitalized this week alone. A mid-day view amid air pollution of the Klong Toey neighborhood in Bangkok, Mar. 10, 2023. Credit: Subel Rai Bhandari/RFA. The PM2.5 level has been over 51 micrograms per cubic meter of air for more than three consecutive days in 15 provinces, which has begun to affect the peoples health, Opart Karnkawinpong, Thailands public health secretary, told reporters in Bangkok. PM2.5 are hazardous airborne particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, which is about 30 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair. They can cause severe health problems, including respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. The PM2.5 levels are higher this year compared to last two years partly because there was less travel due to the pandemic, resulting in less pollution, Opart added. Alliya Moun-Ob, an air pollution campaigner for Greenpeace Thailand, said the number of people who are sick due to air pollution is scary and perhaps the worst we have seen so far. We could see mountains in Chiang Mai but cant see them anymore. In Bangkok, tall buildings are lost in the smog, she told RFA on Friday. Its the post-COVID back-to-normal situation. That is why it is particularly bad this year for Thailand. Also, there is less rain this year compared to last. One of the worst in Southeast Asia Thailand ranks second in exposure to air pollution among Southeast Asia countries, according to the World Health Organizations State of Global Air report. Alliya said Thailand competes with Indonesia each year to take the top spot for air pollution. Typically, Thailands air quality deteriorates during the dry season, between December and April, due to forest fires and farmers burning their fields to remove the waste. Thai government officials and environmentalists say that open burning combined with vehicle exhaust and industrial emissions make perfect conditions for toxic smog. Somporn Chantara, the head of the Environmental Science Research Center at Chiang Mai University, said this years very poor air quality in the north is caused by the extensive burning in the region in the agricultural areas and the forest of Thailand and in neighboring countries. This years air pollution season saw a record amount of burning across the region, he said, referring to Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia. On Thursday, Prayuth asked farmers to stop burning agricultural waste altogether after imposing a three-month ban on burning it last month. Please, I dont want to use the laws. If its used, you all will be breaking it. I dont want anyone to be in trouble, but you must think about the quality of life of others and their health too, he said. In 2019, Prayuths government declared tackling PM2.5 a top national priority and issued a detailed five-year smog management masterplan. I just looked at it today. Just about 20 out of more than 60 action plans have been implemented in four years, Alliya said. Nothing has been done to tackle industrial pollution, including corn cultivation that amounts to about one-third of toxic air emissions in the hot spot areas. Back to wearing masks again Thailand lifted the COVID-19 masking mandate in June, but many Thais have taken to wearing masks again due to air pollution. I was beginning to enjoy the fresh air without masks, but the last few weeks have been horrible with pollution, Ploy Bunnag, a university student in Bangkok, told RFA on Friday. This week was one of the worst I can remember. I could even feel the toxic air on my throat. A morning view amid air pollution of the Sathorn neighborhood in Bangkok, Mar. 10, 2023. Credit: Subel Rai Bhandari/RFA. Chiang Mai, a popular tourist city in the north, was shrouded in unhealthy air on Friday afternoon, with its air quality ranked second worst in the world, according to IQAir, a Swiss company that monitors the worlds 100 major cities air quality in real-time. Beijings air was the worst. Yangon was third and Bangkok was fourth. Thailand Air Quality and Noise Management Bureaus situation report showed a 246 AQI (Air Quality Index) reading, a very unhealthy level, at a station in Chiang Mai at 2 p.m on Friday. The central province of Sukhothai had the worst reading in the country with 251 AQI, primarily due to agricultural burning, while most of Bangkok showed unhealthy levels above 101. Assanee Buranupakorn, Chiang Mais mayor, said the haze issue negatively impacts peoples health and significantly influences local tourism and the economy. One strategy in Chiang Mai is to keep an eye out for open burning, which resulted in numerous hotspots this year, Assanee told RFA. He said they have also asked owners of the citys 17 high-rise buildings to help spray water from the rooftops to help trap smoke and dust and add moisture to the air. The World Health Organization has recommended that average annual readings of PM2.5 should be no more than 5 micrograms per cubic meter. IQ Air said Thailands reading was 20.2 micrograms per cubic meter in 2021. According to WHOs State of Global Air report, air pollution was among the top 10 reasons for death in Thailand in 2019, accounting for nearly 8% of all deaths (more than 41,000 cases), with PM2.5 ranked as the top risk for such deaths. Kunnawut Boonreak in Chiang Mai contributed to this report. Edited by Mike Firn. Kim Dan-geum joined the North Korean army right out of high school because she wanted a better life. Military service was one way of acquiring membership in the Korean Workers Party, which in turn opened up a host of opportunities and privileges like increased rations, better jobs and higher salaries. There was a divisional headquarters in front of our house, said Kim, who in 2009 escaped North Korea and arrived in South Korea two years later, where she now runs a popular YouTube channel talking about her military experiences. The female soldiers looked so pretty as they walked around in their army uniforms, she said. Seeing them every day made me think that I too must join the army. But she quickly found out that life in the Korean Peoples Army was harsh and unforgiving. And she never forgot the bone-chilling cold. When youre enlisted, you cannot think of yourself as a young woman. There is no time to dress up [and do makeup], she said. The weather in Pyongyang is very cold, and I had to work in the biting wind. I opened up a hole in the ice to wash my hair and do laundry. I was hungry all the time. The food rations were not enough, Kim said. Meals were a bowl of rice with cabbage soup and some salted radish and cabbage. Also we didnt get sanitary pads, instead they gave us one meter of gauze cloth, which I divided into quarters to use, even washing and reusing them. Even as an officer we didnt get sanitary pads. No breaks for female soldiers Kims account provides a rare glimpse into life for women in North Koreas 1.15-million strong military. About 20% of the armed forces are women according to South Korean estimates. Every able bodied man must serve for seven or eight years. Women who sign up must serve for five. Female enlistment is said to be voluntary, but the government in recent years has strongly encouraged women to join, to the point that it is practically mandatory. North Korean female soldiers clean up and prepare meals in the morning. Credit: Galaxy Stars TV screenshot In North Korea, soldiers are viewed as more or less free labor for the government. Beyond their military training, troops are sent to work on farms and construction projects and women are subjected to the same backbreaking physical labor as men. Female soldiers can be seen carrying heavy rocks and firewood on their backs and clearing farmland by hand, as well as other menial tasks in a video that appeared on the YouTube channel Galaxy Stars TV, which carries footage of daily life in the North. Stones on stretchers Another former soldier, Son Na-jung, told Radio Free Asia that troops who have completed the first half of their training are immediately sent off to be laborers, and there is no distinction between male and female no matter how hard the work is. In North Korea, everything is transported by humans. I have carried stones on a stretcher so many times, said Son, who was a sergeant in the Capital Defense Command at the time of her discharge from the army. When you join the military, gender is not a thing, she said. We are all only soldiers, so [labor] must be done by both men and women. Even if you are a woman, you must participate. Professor Kang Dong-wan of Dong-A University in Busan is the head of the South Korean citys Hanawon resettlement center for North Korean escapees. For the past 10 years, he has frequently traveled to the Chinese border with North Korea and has taken pictures of North Koreans from across the Yalu River. I could see North Korean soldiers going out on the Yalu River in the middle of winter to fetch water, he said. I could see ordinary residents washing their clothes in the water in temperatures around minus 30 degrees Celsius (-22 Fahrenheit). Female North Korean soldiers work at construction sites. Credit: Galaxy Stars TV screenshot The North Korean military aggressively recruits women to join the military. On Mar. 1, recruitment events were held at high schools nationwide to essentially force high school graduates to join, a resident of the northeastern province of North Hamgyong told RFA on condition of anonymity for security reasons. The Military Mobilization Office held talks with all non-college-bound male students in the senior class and female students who were placed by the school on enlistment lists, inviting them to serve as distinguished members of the Great Generals army, using the military rank to refer to the countrys leader Kim Jong Un. But once they are in, the women never have family visits, outings or any kind of leave for the next five years except in rare circumstances, the two women said. Memorizing ideology For Kim, who enlisted at 17, the first two years of military life were miserable. She knew that the only way to overcome despair was to distinguish herself. So she spent her nights studying speeches by North Korean leaders and the Ten Principles for the Establishment of a Monolithic Ideological System, a set of rules that in practice have come to serve as the countrys supreme law and which soldiers have to demonstrate knowledge of to secure promotions. I memorized the 10 principles and the new years address so that I would not lose out to others, said Kim. I worked really hard to do well in training. No matter what, I had to do better than the others. North Korean soldiers march through Kim Il-Sung square during a military parade marking the 60th anniversary of the Korean war armistice in Pyongyang in 2013. Credit: AFP Achieving in the eyes of her superiors would give her a brief respite from the daily toil. I was very good at shooting during one of our training events, so I received a commendation and got leave time after my first year, said Kim. Ordinary soldiers dont get leave. There is no leave. You can only go home if you do very well in training and get a commendation. During and shortly after her military service, Kim said she had no regrets. She was proud of devoting her youth to the cause of the country she was born in. She was able to use her military service record to go to college and become a party secretary, then a government official. But after defecting, her thoughts on the matter changed. When I came to South Korea, I found that there are many benefits for officers in the armed forces here. It made me regret serving, Kim said. At the time I didnt know what I was doing, and I did it on a whim. I was full of will. But now that I think about it, I wish I hadnt applied. She said that military life was bearable because she didnt know any better. Now I think it is amazing what I did in that kind of poor environment. I cant fathom why I was so excited about it back then, she said. I didnt even know it could be so cold in the middle of winter, so I didnt even bother to cover my face, and I lived like that for 10 years. I thought that was normal. Why did I live like that? Son also expressed regret. Its supposed to be our time in full bloom [as young women.] Its our time to study and go out on dates. Its really sad that [female soldiers] are living life like that without being able to enjoy it. She now curses herself for joining and doing whatever she was told while she was enlisted. These days I think, Why did I live like that? I have lived such a foolish life. A North Korean soldier stands guard on the banks of the Yalu River, which separates the North Korean town of Sinuiju from the Chinese border town of Dandong on Dec. 16, 2013. Credit: AFP Kang, the professor, said that many of the female soldiers he has seen in his travels to the border region looked so young it would be more accurate to call them girls, rather than women. He recounted a time he saw a boy and a girl in uniform throwing pebbles in the river, laughing together and holding hands. These are young men and women in their teens to early 20s. They have dreams and they will have romantic feelings and become attracted to each other while living together in the same spaces, Kang said. It must be so pitiful to live like Kim Jong Uns servant rather than being able to act on your own feelings or chase your own dreams. Translated by Claire Shinyoung Oh Lee and Leejin J. Chung. Written in English by Eugene Whong. Edited by Malcolm Foster. The attacks follow calls for sanctions on companies supplying jet fuel to the junta. An airstrike by Myanmar junta forces destroyed this home in a village in Chin states Mindat township on Jan. 23, 2023. Myanmars military averaged nearly one airstrike per day on townships under martial law in Chin state, in the western part of the country, in the first two months of 2023 alone, an ethnic Chin minority rights group said Thursday, as NGOs urged governments to sanction companies selling jet fuel to the junta. The military launched at least 53 airstrikes, dropping more than 140 bombs, on the townships of Mindat, Hakha, Matupi and Thantlang, the Chin Human Rights Organization said, killing five members of the Chin National Army and three members of local anti-junta Peoples Defense Force paramilitary groups. The strikes injured six civilians, the group said. The military is increasingly using airstrikes in its multi-front conflict with the armed resistance as it becomes more formidable and effective in its use of guerilla tactics to stymie ground assaults by junta troops. But the strikes lead to significant collateral damage and sources say it is the civilian population that bears the biggest brunt of the attacks. Salai Htet Ni, a spokesman for the Chin National Front, said that the junta had initially set out to crush his and other PDF groups in the area with ground troops reinforced by artillery shelling and airstrikes. But there arent any clashes on the ground, he told RFA Burmese. They mainly launch airstrikes to attack us because they have been so effective. Trying to regain control Airstrikes were part of a bid by the military to regain control of the area in northwestern Myanmar because everywhere other than the junta camp are under the control of regional defense groups, he said. Based on the CHROs reporting, Thantlang was hit the hardest by air attacks in January and February as the junta targeted the area with 41 airstrikes and 115 bombs. On Jan. 10-11, the junta used two fighters to bomb the Chin National Fronts headquarters in Thantlang, killing five CNF soldiers and damaging a hospital and other buildings. The CHRO said that the junta launched airstrikes on Mindat seven times, dropping 13 bombs, Matupi three times, dropping 13 bombs, and Hakha twice, dropping four bombs over the two-month period. The Chin National Fronts headquarters in Thantlang, Chin state, Myanmar, was attacked by fighter jets on Jan. 10, 2023. Credit: Citizen journalist A resident of Mindat, who declined to be named for security reasons, said that as the military has increasingly targeted the area with airstrikes, civilians no longer dare to stay in their homes and are mostly taking shelter in upland farms. The civilians are too scared to stay at home as they know that the military can launch airstrikes in their area at any time, the resident said. Local defense forces have also announced plans to dig bomb shelters and instruct residents on the dos and don'ts for using them. Residents of nearby Kanpetlet township, which is not under martial law but has seen its fair share of airstrikes, told RFA that an increase in the number of junta attacks from the air had also led them to dig trenches to shelter from falling bombs. The junta has yet to release any news regarding the airstrikes and attempts by RFA to reach Thant Zin, the juntas social affairs minister and spokesman for Chin state, went unanswered Thursday. Cutting off fuel supplies The CHROs findings follow a March 3 report by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights which said that junta airstrikes had more than doubled from 125 in 2021 to 301 in 2022. They also followed a joint statement on March 1 by Amnesty International, Global Witness, and Burma Campaign (U.K.) urging governments to sanction companies that sell jet fuel to the junta to limit the countrys air force. Myanmar Junta chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing inspects a fighter jet during events marking the 75th anniversary of the air force on Dec. 15, 2022. Credit: Myanmar military Montse Ferrer, Amnesty Internationals researcher and advisor on business and human rights, claimed that his organization had traced new shipments of aviation fuel that he said had likely ended up in the hands of Myanmars military, which has consistently conducted unlawful airstrikes. These attacks regularly kill civilians, including children, yet planes can only take off if they have fuel, he said. Since the militarys coup in [February] 2021, it has brutally suppressed its critics and attacked civilians from the ground and the air. Supplies of aviation fuel reaching the military enable these war crimes. These shipments must stop now. According to the joint statement, Asian and European companies make up the lions share of those exporting aviation fuel to Myanmars military. In eastern Myanmars Kayah state, the air force has carried out airstrikes on rebel-controlled territories regardless of whether [the targets] are civilian or armed resistance, said Khu Nye Reh, the ethnic Karenni government's interior minister. It seems to me that they regard all of us as their enemies. They likely think that wherever the civilian population is, the resistance forces are too, he said. There are many incidents where they come and attack villages based on any report of suspicion. It happens almost everyday. In the two years since the coup, the junta has carried out 177 airstrikes in Kayah state, targeting schools, hospitals and Christian churches, according to a March 1 statement by the Progressive Karenni Peoples Force. RFA could not independently confirm the number of airstrikes claimed by Karenni and Chin state People's Defense Forces. Saw Khin Maung Myint, the juntas economic minister and spokesman for Kayin state, told RFA on Feb. 15 that the military does not target civilians, but warned that if the PDF hides among civilians, there will be unavoidable casualties. The military never targets the civilians only the PDF but if [PDF fighters] are mixed with local civilians, the military might have harmed them unknowingly, he said. The aircraft use modern devices such as night vision to distinguish civilians from PDF forces. Effectiveness of sanctions Kyaw Zaw, the spokesman for the office of NUG President Duwa Lashi La, said that sanctions targeting companies that sell jet fuel to the junta must be coordinated and strictly enforced to be effective. The companies importing aviation fuel to Myanmar have been found to have changed their names to avoid sanctions or maneuver their routes from locations where the sanctions are not in effect, he said. Therefore, in order to stop the imports of jet fuel to Myanmar, international coordinated sanctions should be implemented with specific measures. Kyaw Zaw did not provide details of what such measures would entail. Members of the Myanmar diaspora march in Washington, D.C., calling for a no-fly-zone in Myanmar, Feb. 25, 2023. Credit: RFA But Ze Thu Aung, a former captain of the air force who has since joined the anti-junta Civil Disobedience Movement, warned that as the armed resistance grows throughout the country, the military will increasingly use superior force in its attacks. He said something must be done to limit the air forces capabilities or civilian casualties are sure to multiply. He said that while international sanctions can limit the air force to some extent, they will never be fully effective while powerful countries are backing the junta. Since they have Russia and China backing them, they will always be supported with aircraft and related supplies, including aviation fuel, he said. In the meantime, Chin Human Rights Organization Director Salai Manhin said that his and other groups are documenting the airstrikes and other human rights violations as part of a bid to hold the perpetrators accountable. The juntas airstrikes result in massive civilian population losses, rather than serving their military purposes. They also force more people to become displaced or flee their homes, he said. The CHRO is keeping a detailed list of all the human rights violations in Chin state and we are working to take action against those responsible according to international law. Translated by Myo Min Aung. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster. More than 8,000 residents of Thanduang have been displaced since clashes in late January. No one has returned to the once-picturesque hilltop resort town of Thanduang in southern Myanmar. Six weeks after junta troops shelled the town in Kayin state, the more than 8,000 residents who fled are too scared to return to their homes for fear of further attacks by the military, they have told Radio Free Asia. Junta forces are still firing shells into the town. The ghost town is just one of scores across the country where people have fled fighting that has engulfed the country since the military coup detat two years ago. It has plunged the country into a humanitarian disaster. In Kayin state alone, more than 100,000 people have been forced to flee their homes, part of the 1.35 million people across the country who have been displaced, according to U.N. figures. An aid worker said that many of the refugees are staying within an hours distance to Thandaung and monitoring the situation while receiving assistance from civil society groups. They are sheltering in nearby Pyar Sa Khan village, Bago regions Taungoo city approximately 21 kilometers (13 miles) to the southwest and several other villages in the vicinity, said the worker, who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing fear of reprisal. Others are taking refuge in the homes of friends and relatives in Taungoo. Trigger Fighting broke out on Jan. 27 after snipers from an unidentified armed group fired on a military base camp located on a nearby hill, killing at least one soldier, and has continued since, said a resident of Thandaung who fled the area and declined to be named for security reasons. The area has typically been under the control of the Karen National Liberation Army, although it was unclear whether the group was responsible for the attack on the military camp. In fact, there was no major fighting here before, but someone in the military was shot and killed by an unidentified person or group, the resident said. After that, the military continuously fired [shells] into civilian neighborhoods in the city for three days. The residents were too scared to stay and fled their homes. In one attack on Jan. 28, the military fired two 40 millimeter shells into the city, despite there being no fighting at the time, causing damage to the Shin Mar Ku Temple in ward No. 2. Junta troops torched homes in Thandaung city, Kayin state, Myanmar, Feb. 21, 2023. Credit: Citizen journalist The shelling has shattered the peace in the once tranquil town of more than 18,000 mostly ethnic Karen people, which was developed as a hill station during the British colonial era of 1885-1948. The resident said it is still not safe enough to return home, although he has since visited the area briefly to feed his livestock. A resident of Thandaung using the pseudonym Saw Khwar Doe who had been arrested by junta forces on Dec. 16 while traveling to an area rubber plantation told RFA that although he had since been released, the tenuous situation in the city had forced him to leave his home and farm and move to Taungoo. I pray that the military junta falls only then will we be able to mind our work in our own homes with our families together peacefully, he said. Other residents of the area said that although the township administration, military forces and religious organizations are in discussions to facilitate a return of the displaced, it is still impossible to begin the process because of the juntas frequent firing of artillery and burning of civilian homes. Our local organizations met and held discussions with the commander of the military troops to allow the safe return of the refugees. We requested that he help us, another resident of Thandaung said. We hope to return if there is no more fighting. But since there have been more attacks, the residents have lost faith in the negotiations and still cant go back to their homes. Houses burned Since the initial fighting, the military has burned down the homes of Thandaung Karen National Union Chairman Tun Ke and a KNLA schoolteacher in January, and eight homes in ward No. 1 on Feb. 21. On March 4, the military also torched six houses in ward No. 2 and three others in ward No. 3 most of which belonged to local schoolteachers and Christian religious leaders, residents said. Myanmar junta troops destroyed homes in Thandaung city, Kayin state, Myanmar, with artillery and arson attacks, Feb. 21, 2023. Credit: Citizen journalist But a source with close ties to the juntas Thandaung city administrator told RFA that the houses caught fire after members of an unidentified armed group fired on the military, prompting clashes. Those [unidentified people] fired with sniper rifles and other guns, so the military responded and they exchanged fire, he said. There are some residents who remain in the city and want to live peacefully. Thats why they report to the military, frankly speaking. When they reported the shooters whereabouts, the military started chasing after them and they exchanged fire. Thats how the houses caught fire. A week prior to the exchange on Jan. 27, more than 10,000 civilians fled their homes in Kayin states Kyondoe city and nearby villages amid intensified fighting between junta troops and combined Karen National Liberation Army forces. Translated by Myo Min Aung. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster. Exile Tibetan Buddhist monks shout slogans during a protest march to commemorate the 64th anniversary of an uprising, in Dharamshala, India, Friday, March 10, 2023. Thousands of Tibetans had surrounded the Potala Palace in the Tibetan capital Lhasa to protect their leader the Dalai Lama in 1959. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia) Exile Tibetan Buddhist monks and nuns participate in a protest march to commemorate the 64th anniversary of an uprising in Dharamshala, India, Friday, March 10, 2023. Thousands of Tibetans surrounded the Potala Palace in the Tibetan capital Lhasa to protect their leader, the Dalai Lama, in 1959. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia) People stand in front of the embassy of China during a demonstration to protest with Tibetan flags against Chinas oppression in Berlin, Germany, March 10, 2023. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse Tibetans living in exile gather to observe the Tibetan uprising anniversary in New Delhi on March 10, 2023. (Photo by Arun SANKAR / AFP) A protester shouts slogans from a bus after police detained him during a demonstration near the Chinese embassy to mark the Tibetan uprising anniversary in New Delhi on March 10, 2023. (Photo by Arun SANKAR / AFP) Exile Tibetan students perform their national anthem at a gathering to commemorate the 64th anniversary of an uprising in Dharamshala, India, Friday, March 10, 2023. Thousands of Tibetans surrounded the Potala Palace in the Tibetan capital Lhasa to protect their leader, the Dalai Lama, in 1959. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia) Police detain a protester during a demonstration near the Chinese embassy to mark the Tibetan uprising anniversary in New Delhi on March 10, 2023. (Photo by Arun SANKAR / AFP) Tibetans living in exile gather to observe the Tibetan uprising anniversary in New Delhi on March 10, 2023. (Photo by Arun SANKAR / AFP) Police detain a protester during a demonstration near the Chinese embassy to mark the Tibetan uprising anniversary in New Delhi on March 10, 2023. (Photo by Arun SANKAR / AFP) Tibetans living in Taiwan and supporters gather at Liberty Square for a candlelight vigil in Taipei, Taiwan, Friday, March 10, 2023, to mark the 64th anniversary of the failed 1959 Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying) Tibetans living in Taiwan and supporters gather at Liberty Square for a candlelight vigil in Taipei, Taiwan, Friday, March 10, 2023, to mark the 64th anniversary of the failed 1959 Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying) A balloon with Free Tibet written on it is flown close to the Chinese National flag during a protest outside the Chinese Embassy commemorating the 64th Anniversary of Tibetan Uprising Day in Washington, DC, Friday, March 10, 2023. (RFA Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe) Congressman Mike Gallagher with demonstrators during a demonstration outside the Chinese Embassy, commemorating the 64th Anniversary of Tibetan Uprising Day in Washington, DC, Friday, March 10, 2023. (RFA Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe) A child with a placard accompanied by adults sits in a troller during a protest outside the Chinese Embassy to mark the 64th Anniversary of Tibetan Uprising Day in Washington, DC, Friday, March 10, 2023. (RFA Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe) A woman holds a placard and prayer beads during a demonstration outside the Chinese Embassy commemorating the 64th Anniversary of Tibetan Uprising Day in Washington, DC, Friday, March 10, 2023. (RFA Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe) Members of the Tibetan Associations and supporters with Tibetan National flags demonstrate outside the Chinese Embassy commemorating the 64th Anniversary of Tibetan Uprising Day in Washington, DC, Friday, March 10, 2023. (RFA Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe) A woman wears a mask and eyewear with pictures of the Tibetan National flag and His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, during a demonstration outside the Chinese Embassy commemorating the 64th Anniversary of Tibetan Uprising Day in Washington, DC, Friday, March 10, 2023. (RFA Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe) Congressman Mike Gallagher speaks during a demonstration outside the Chinese Embassy, commemorating the 64th Anniversary of Tibetan Uprising Day in Washington, DC, Friday, March 10, 2023. (RFA Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe) Members of the Tibetan Associations and supporters gather outside the Chinese Embassy to demonstrate, commemorating the 64th Anniversary of Tibetan Uprising Day in Washington, DC, Friday, March 10, 2023. (RFA Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe) Tibetan support groups protested and marched around the world in Rome, Washington, New Delhi, Taipei and elsewhere to commemorate the thousands of lives lost in the 1959 uprising against Chinas invasion and occupation of their homeland. In New York, Tibetans and their supporters marched from the United Nations to the Chinese Consulate, while in New Delhi, some Tibetan attempted to stage a surprise protest in front of the Chinese Embassy. They were arrested and later released by Indian police. In Washington D.C., people gathered outside the Chinese Embassy with placards and flags. Rep. Mike Gallagher, a Republican from Wisconsin, accused China of turning Tibet into an open air prison, likened it to the situation in Xinjiang province, where China has taken steps to eradicate Uyghur culture and assimilate the mostly Muslim Uyghurs. They think that if they can cut Tibet off from the world for long enough, and Sinicize the population, then the world will forget about Tibet, he said. Our message to the Chinese Communist Party is this: We will not forget. Gallagher heads a newly formed Congressional Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party that aims to raise public awareness of potential political threats posed by Beijing. You can destroy buildings, you can jail innocents, you can separate children from their parents, you can surveil, harass, torture, and even kill, he said. But you will not succeed in your cultural genocide. Uprising crushed Fridays anniversary marked 64 years since tens of thousands of Tibetans crowded into Lhasa to protest the decade-old Chinese occupation of their formerly independent country. The uprising was later crushed by Chinese security forces and led to a heavy crackdown on the Tibetan people and the flight of their spiritual leader the Dalai Lama to India. Protests on Friday also took place in Paris and Geneva, and in the capitals of Australia and New Zealand Canberra and Wellington. In Kathmandu, the Nepali government prohibited any official commemoration of Tibetan National Uprising Day. A circular from the Tibetan Refugee Welfare Office was distributed on Thursday telling people to refrain from any kind of official events. The Nepalese government stopped issuing any permits for the Tibetans to hold rallies against the Chinese government, since 2008. A large number of police forces were deployed throughout the city in neighborhoods where Tibetans live to ensure that no anti-China activities took place. In previous years, Nepal which has a close relationship with Beijing and has continued to place restrictions on Tibetan refugees has also denied permission for March 10 events. Call to release political prisoners In Canada, Tibetans and supporters gathered in Toronto as snow fell. Filmmaker Dhondup Wangchen, who spent six years in a Chinese prison beginning in 2008, was among the protesters. With a Tibetan national flag wrapped around his back, he demanded that the Chinese government release all political prisoners and enter into a meaningful dialogue to find a lasting solution to the Tibetan crisis. In Dharamsala in northern India, where the Dalia Lama has lived in exile along with tens of thousands of other Tibetans, non-Tibetans took part in protests. Among them was Jessica, a young French woman who had painted her two cheeks with words France and Tibet. I am here to show my support and solidarity to the Tibetan people, she said. I wish and hope they will get their freedom soon. Speaking to Radio Free Asia from Sikkim, India, an elderly gentleman who fled from Tibet in 1959 said he still lives with the hope that he will one day return. I am now old, he said. There is not much I can do, so I feel bad. What to do?" Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster. Lhasa police are dialing up security measures and checking peoples cell phones ahead of the anniversary of the 1959 uprising against the Chinese. Police in Tibets capital Lhasa have ramped up security measures ahead of Fridays anniversary of a 1959 uprising against the Chinese, people in the region told Radio Free Asia. Beginning Feb. 25, security officials began randomly checking public spaces, guesthouses and hotels, and areas where Tibetan Buddhists perform religious activities and do businesses. Police also have been stopping people to check their cell phones to ensure Tibetans have not been in contact with anyone living outside the region considered a crime. So far, police have arrested several Tibetans and charged them for alleged political infractions, sources said. On March 1, Lhasa police posted statements on their website about ensuring stability and preventing separatist thoughts and activities. Images on the site showed officers standing at attention and checking car drivers for IDs and books of what appeared to contain lists of people, including thumbnail photographs. Authorities are taking similar initiatives in other parts of Tibet, including Nagchu, Chamdo, Lhoka and Shigatse. Fridays anniversary commemorates a 1959 revolt in which tens of thousands of Tibetans took to the streets of Lhasa in protest against Chinas invasion and occupation of their homeland a decade earlier. On March 10 of that year, People's Liberation Army forces violently crackdown on Tibetan protesters surrounding the Dalai Lama's summer palace Norbulingka. Subsequently, the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, was forced to escape from Tibet seven days later. He fled to Dharamsala, India, followed by some 80,000 Tibetans. A notice they issued earlier said under the current security initiatives about 50,000 individuals and more than 20,000 businesses and the spaces they rent have been searching QR codes, which are widely used in Lhasa for business transactions. Translated by Tenzin Dickyi. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster. The mass prostration ritual welcomes the first month of the Tibetan calendar. Tibetans living in northern Indias Ladakh region marked the first month of the Tibetan New Year with a mass prostration ritual, in which devotees pray and bow with their foreheads touching the ground. The event celebrates what Tibetan Buddhists believe was the Buddhas revealing of miraculous powers on the first 15 days of that month. Many Tibetan Buddhists believe that prayers, meditations and good deeds done during their period give significantly higher benefits. Sonam Dorjee, who organized the event, called Gochak, said it has been going on for more than 40 years. The first month of the Tibetan lunar calendar is a very holy month and therefore our organization started organizing mass prostration for the whole month and not just a few days, Dorjee said. When I was young, I remember the prostration used to take place for only two days Now, we have people from all age groups, he said. The oldest person this year to take part in the prostration is 77 years old and the youngest is 13. Another organizer, Rinchen Tsering, told RFA that in recent years many more women have joined the ceremonies, and that the numbers of attendees have also grown. Translated by Tenzin Dickyi. Edited by Nawar Nemeh. They are the latest many implicated in the Viet-A test kit bribery scandal. An employee of Viet A corp works with COVID-19 testing kits at their factory in Binh Duong province, Vietnam, March 2, 2020. The company has been embroiled in a scandal involving the sale of substandard kits to hospitals at an inflated price. Authorities in Vietnam Friday arrested two provincial medical officials for their alleged role in the high-profile Viet A test-kit scandal, state media reported. Duong Ba Than Dan, the director of the Department of Medical Supplies at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, in the southeastern province of Ninh Thuan, and Nguyen Dang Duc, part of his staff, were accused of colluding with the medical supplier to increase the prices of COVID-19 test-kits, causing a significant loss to the state budget. The two officials are the latest to be implicated in the scandal, which involved the companys chief executive officer bribing officials the equivalent of U.S.$34 million to win contracts to sell substandard kits to hospitals at a 45% markup, earning his company U.S.$172 million in profits. State media did not disclose how much of the state budget Dan and Duc are accused of misusing. An official at the Ninh Thuan province Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Vietnam [shown] and a member of his staff have been accused of corruption. Credit: State media/CAND The scandal was uncovered in December 2021 when the Ministry of Public Security prosecuted and arrested Viet As CEO Phan Quoc Viet, four staff, and the director and chief accountant at the CDC office in the northern province of Hai Duong. The Ministry of Public Security has arrested and prosecuted many high-ranking officials for their involvement in the case, including then Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Pham Cong Tac, and Chairman of Hanoi Peoples Committee Chu Ngoc Anh. Dozens of CDC leaders and officers from various cities and provinces were also arrested. Former Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc was forced to step down in January this year and was removed from the Politburo to take responsibility for corruption cases that happened during his term in office. Despite his denial, rumors still connect his wife to the Viet A scandal. On February 2, 2023, the Ministry of Public Securitys spokesperson, Lieutenant General To An Xo said that as of that day, investigation police agencies at all levels had prosecuted 104 people involved in the case and had frozen assets worth around 1.7 trillion dong (US$74.5 million). Translated by Anna Vu. Edited by Eugene Whong. In a small village located at the western end of the snow-covered Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan's Bamiyan Province, Aziza Rahimi, 35, mourns the baby she lost four months ago after a harrowing birth with no medical care. Rahimi, who has five other children, said that riding a donkey to the nearest hospital was out of the question when she was jolted by pain while nine months pregnant in the middle of the night. Stumbling and bleeding, she walked for two hours to her in-laws' house after her husband was unable to find help to take them to the hospital. She gave birth there. The baby boy died shortly after. "It was hard for me when I lost my baby. As a mother, I nurtured the baby in my womb for nine months, but then I lost him. It is too painful," said Rahimi. Rahimi is not the only mother who has lost her child. For many women living in Afghanistan's rugged and remote landscapes, the distance from their homes to hospitals can be the difference between life and death. Isolation can become a death sentence in any difficult birth, doctors and aid workers say, contributing to Afghanistan's extremely high maternal and infant mortality rates, among the worst in the world. However, a potentially life-saving improvement is on the way. Rahimi's village is one of several that have sent 40 young women to train in the provincial capital, Bamiyan, for two years as midwives, after which they will return home. Since taking over in 2021, Taliban authorities have barred women from universities and most charity jobs, but they have made exemptions in the health-care sector. The UNHCR says local health authorities are supportive of the project. The trainee midwife program has been spearheaded by the UNHCR, the UN's refugee agency, and the Watan Social and Technical Services Association, a local charity. They hope to expand the program, which also takes place in neighboring Daikundi Province. Many of the trainee midwives, some with small children of their own, have faced logistical and financial challenges, often having to travel huge distances or live far from home to attend the program. "We want to learn and serve the people of our village," said one 23-year-old trainee, who walks two hours each day to the hospital. The UNHCR asked that the trainees not be named for safety reasons. Women giving birth experience a very different situation in Bamiyan's main city hospital, where the trainee midwives work alongside staff and, with the help of a trainer, learn how to assess and guide pregnant women, deliver babies, and provide postpartum care. Welcome back to The Azadi Briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter that unpacks the key issues in Afghanistan. To subscribe, click here. I'm Mustafa Sarwar, a senior news editor at RFE/RL's Radio Azadi. Here's what I've been tracking and what I'm keeping an eye on in the days ahead. The Key Issue The Talibans governor of Afghanistans northern province of Balkh, Dawood Muzammil, was killed in a suicide bombing on March 9. The Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) extremist group, a rival of the Taliban, took responsibility for the attack, claiming that a suicide bomber detonated his explosives inside Muzammils office. Provincial police spokesman Asif Waziri told Radio Azadi that two other people were killed in the bombing. Why It's Important: Muzammil is one of the most senior Taliban officials to be killed since the militant group seized power in August 2021. He is also the first Taliban-appointed governor to be assassinated during that time. Muzammil was appointed as deputy interior minister when the Taliban regained power. He then served as the Talibans governor of the eastern province of Nangarhar, where he led operations against IS-K militants. During the Talibans insurgency, Muzammil was the head of the militant groups military commission based in neighboring Pakistan. Muzammil was part of a Taliban faction that is believed to have close links to neighboring Iran. In 2018, he was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury for aiding Iran-sponsored armed groups in the region. His killing has highlighted the enduring threat posed by IS-K to Afghanistans new rulers. In the past 18 months, the Taliban has waged a brutal war against IS-K, killing several of its senior commanders. But that has not appeared to blunt its operational capacity. What's Next: IS-K militants are likely to continue carrying out high-profile attacks against Taliban officials. The attacks are aimed at undermining the Taliban government and puncturing its narrative about establishing security in Afghanistan. Muzammils killing is likely to lead to another wave of operations against suspected IS-K cells in Afghanistan. In February, the Taliban said it had killed two senior IS-K members in separate operations. The Week's Best Stories Through their art, eight Afghan women depict life under Taliban rule, leaving their homeland, and their aspirations for a better future. "Women are a source of light, courage, and motivation in their own homes but also on a greater scale," one artist told Radio Azadi. "They are the core pillars of every society." Afghan musician Farida Tarana's new song, Group Sex, in which she criticizes polygamy and Taliban restrictions on women, has caused an uproar in Afghanistan since it was released three months ago. "A man is allowed to have four wives. Isn't that called group sex? Or is it a death sentence for a woman?" she told Radio Azadi. Womens Day is intended to celebrate women around the world. In Afghanistan, it is a reminder of the violent resistance to girls and women seeking an education, and the highs and ultimate crushing lows they have endured in pursuit of an inalienable right. Now that the gates of the universities are closed, I'm entering a scary and dark valley," said one high school graduate. What To Keep An Eye On Universities in Afghanistan reopened on March 6 after a winter break, but with the Talibans ban on higher education for women still in force. "A girl cannot study because of [the Talibans] absurd mentality. So we remain like birds with clipped wings," Madina, who studied psychology at Balkh University before the ban, told Radio Azadi. In an open letter issued this week, female students who studied at Kabul University demanded that the Taliban overturn its ban. The letter urged male students to boycott their classes. On Womens Day on March 8, dozens of women and girls staged a protest in Kabul and demanded their rights, including being allowed to attend high school and university. Why It's Important: The Taliban has offered no signs that it will overturn its ban on female education. The militant group has come under mounting international pressure to reverse its restrictions. On March 7, the European Union sanctioned the Talibans Higher Education Minster Neda Mohammad Nadim and the minister for the propagation of virtue and the prohibition of vice, Mohammad Khalid Hanafi. The Talibans war against womens rights is likely to further isolate its government, which has not been recognized by any country. That's all from me for now. Don't forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you have. Until next time, Mustafa Sarwar If you enjoyed this briefing and don't want to miss the next edition, subscribe here. It will be sent to your inbox every Friday. A Russian court is expected to deliver a verdict in the trial of journalist Vladimir Kara-Murza, who faces 25 years in prison on charges of treason and spreading false information, which he denies. Rights groups say the trial is an attempt by the Kremlin to persecute one of its most prominent critics. The Moscow City Court is scheduled to deliver a verdict in the trial on April 17, just over a year after Kara-Murza, who twice nearly died after what he says were deliberate poisoning attacks, was arrested on the charge of spreading "false information" about Russia's armed forces. In August, Russian authorities added the charge of involvement in an "undesirable" foreign organization, and in October they added the treason charge for the 41-year-old's public criticism of the Russian authorities in the international arena. The trial was delayed last month after his lawyer told the court his client's health had "significantly deteriorated." A certificate from the medical unit of Kara-Murza's detention facility stated he was being treated for polyneuropathy, which he says is a result of the poisonings. "Vladimir Kara-Murza has been detained, prosecuted, and is facing a monstrous prison term for no more than raising his voice and elevating the voices of others in Russia who disagree with the Kremlin, its war in Ukraine, and its escalating repression within Russia," Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said in a report ahead of the verdict. "The Kremlin's persecution of Kara-Murza, which is part of its efforts to demoralize and quash civic activism, should be condemned in the strongest possible terms," he added. In his final statement to court on April 10, Kara-Murza, who Amnesty International has designated a "prisoner of conscience," said the level of opaqueness about the charges against him surpassed the trials of Soviet dissidents in the 1960s and 1970s, and the language used against him was reminiscent of the 1930s, when Soviet citizens were arrested on fabricated charges and put on show trials. Kara-Murza, a longstanding proponent of democratic values and a vocal opponent of the current Russian government, said he was jailed for his political views, "for speaking out against the war in Ukraine, for many years of struggle against (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's dictatorship." "Not only do I not repent of any of this, I am proud of it," he said, adding that he looks forward to a day "when those who kindled and unleashed this war, and not those who tried to stop it, are recognized as criminals." Russia adopted a law criminalizing spreading "false information" about its military shortly after it sent troops into Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Kara-Murza is the latest in a string of opposition activists, reporters, and others who have been arrested and prosecuted under the legislation amid a growing Kremlin crackdown on civil society. Kara-Murza was a key advocate for the U.S. Magnitsky Act, which sets out sanctions for human rights violators in Russia. He has also called for sanctions to be imposed on culpable Russian officials. On March 3, the United States designated six people, including three judges, for sanctions due to their role in Kara-Murza's detention. The late U.S. Senator John McCain was a proponent of Kara-Murza's efforts, and Kara-Murza served as a pallbearer at McCain's funeral in 2018. In a dramatic turn of events, Georgian lawmakers have voted to drop a controversial "foreign agents" bill just days after its first reading sparked massive protests over fears the legislation, which mirrored a similar law in Russia, would have severely restricted dissent and the activity of civil society groups in the country and push it toward authoritarianism. Parliament on March 10 voted in the second reading of the draft, a day after the ruling Georgian Dream party announced it was withdrawing the proposed legislation in the face of the protests. Lawmakers voted 35-1 against the bill, thus canceling it. The legislation can be brought back within 30 days, but only if it contains changes. Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of the Georgian capital over the legislation, and another gathering is planned for March 10, though it is likely to be more celebratory than protest. Police had met the demonstrators with tear gas, stun grenades, and water cannons while detaining dozens. Georgia's Interior Ministry said on March 10 that all 133 people who were detained during the protests had been released. It added that almost 60 police officers were injured in clashes during the demonstrations. The protests began on March 7 as parliament took up the "foreign agents" legislation despite warnings from critics that the bill, which would force civil society organizations that receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad to be classified as "foreign agents," mirrors Russian legislation that has been used to stifle opposition voices and the independent media. Georgian Dream officials said the legislation was aimed at bringing transparency and that it needed hold consultations to "better explain" the law's purpose in the future. WATCH: Sophie Datishvili of RFE/RL's Georgian Service explains the background to the controversial "foreign agents" law and talks about why following three days of protests, it's now being withdrawn. In Georgia, anti-Russian sentiment can often be strong. Russian troops still control around one-fifth of Georgia's territory, most of it taken during a lightning war in 2008 that was ostensibly about breakaway efforts in two northeastern regions, Abkhazia and South Ossetia. By suddenly announcing that the bill was being "unconditionally" withdrawn, Georgian Dream deescalated the current crisis -- but tensions are likely to persist over the ruling party and its opponents' competing visions for the heavily polarized Caucasus country and its nearly 5 million residents. The opposition has often criticized Georgian Dream for being too closely aligned with Moscow and the Kremlin's current war against another former Soviet republic, Ukraine, has heightened those concerns. The introduction of the legislation prompted rebukes from several corners, including diplomats from the European Union and the United States. Georgia has been moving toward joining the European Union but EU officials said the "foreign agents" law would complicate that membership path. Last year, the bloc declined to grant candidate status to Georgia, citing stalled political and judicial reforms. President Salome Zurabishvili has said she would veto the bill, although parliament could have overridden her veto. Speaking on March 10, French President Emmanuel Macron said Georgia was under pressure while expressing hope that the country could find a "path towards greater serenity" and that there is a "calming down of regional tensions." "Georgia is under some heavy pressure and I hope it can find calm," he said at a joint news conference with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in Paris. Macron dismissed Russian claims that protests in the Caucasus country were orchestrated by the West. "There is a tendency in the Kremlin, which is not new, to imagine that every public demonstration is a foreign manipulation because the fundamental belief is that there is neither public opinion nor free people," Macron said. "As an old democracy, we have the right to believe the opposite." With reporting by Reuters and AFP After Iranian security forces largely suppressed nationwide protests, could a new cause stoke anger against the authorities? Some 5,000 schoolgirls have been reported ill. There are widespread claims that they have been poisoned, but a lack of hard evidence is fueling calls for an impartial investigation. 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. ???? Seguimos trabajando de manera conjunta y con compromiso por el bien de nuestros ciudadanos. ?? La presidenta Dina Boluarte recibio la Declaracion del Consejo Empresarial de la @A_delPacifico, documento con los aportes e iniciativas de este mecanismo. #ConPunchePeru pic.twitter.com/SnuQhNsam7 Urmat has signed a contract to work for a Russian company that will pay him about $120 a day to collect dead Russian soldiers on the front line in Ukraine. The migrant worker from Kyrgyzstan, who did not want his last name published, says he is aware of the risks involved and has discussed the topic with Kyrgyz migrants working in Ukraines war zones. They told me sometimes they came under shelling and that people get killed, Urmat told RFE/RLs Kyrgyz Service. [People] do this kind of work because theyre in a desperate situation. Some have debts. Hundreds of Central Asian migrants have been hired by Russian firms to work in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory despite warnings from their governments not to go to Ukraine. Kyiv has also stated that such workers will be seen as accomplices of the Russian invaders. The majority of the migrants are working in construction in war-ravaged cities like Mariupol. Other jobs involve digging trenches and gathering dead bodies. Several women migrants from Central Asia said they have also been offered jobs in military-oriented hospitals, canteens, and factories in occupied eastern Ukraine. Money is the main motivation for the migrants. For example, construction jobs in Russian-held parts of Ukraine are being offered with salaries ranging between nearly $2,000 to $3,300 a month, which is much higher than laborers can earn in Russia. While migrant workers wages vary greatly in different Russian regions, several told RFE/RL on March 7 that they make from $600 to about $1,200 a month. Stuck In Ukraine Work in Ukraine is advertised on websites, Telegram groups, and other social media. Migrants also hear about jobs from their employers or by word of mouth from fellow Central Asian workers, according to Sorbon K., a laborer from Tajikistan. Sorbon said he makes about $1,200 a month as a road construction worker, a job he described as one of the best paid for unskilled seasonal laborers in Surgut, the western Siberian city where he lives. The majority of [Central Asian] migrants I know here are not at all interested in going to Ukraine for work, but from time to time I hear that someone has gone there, he said. I know a Tajik man who went to work in Mariupol and then encouraged his relatives to join him. Jobs in Ukraine are advertised as safe and well-paid. But dozens of migrants working in Ukraine complain they are not getting the salaries they were promised. Some of the disillusioned workers who have tried to leave Ukraine were not allowed by Russian border guards to reenter Russia. On February 25, a Kyrgyz citizen who worked for a Russian company in Ukraine told RFE/RL that border guards prevented him from going back to Russia. The man -- who didnt want his name published due to security concerns -- said he arrived in Mariupol with some 400 workers, including 20 Kyrgyz nationals, in May 2022, soon after the coastal city fell to Russian forces. I came to Mariupol after signing a contract with a Russian construction company and have worked here for more than eight months, he told RFE/RLs Kyrgyz Service by phone from eastern Ukraine. I decided to leave Ukraine on February 24, but Russian border guards didnt let me reenter Russia. They said my name was on a blacklist. I have no idea how. RFE/RL cannot verify the mans claims. Kyrgyz diplomats in Moscow said they were trying to clarify the situation. Russia is a host country for millions of migrant workers from Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan -- former Soviet countries plagued for decades by steep unemployment. 'It's Not A Moral Decision' Russian companies have reportedly even been targeting women convicts from Central Asia in Russian prisons to work in Ukraine in exchange for money and for their criminal records to be expunged. Tilekmat-ata, a resident of the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh, says his 31-year-old daughter is serving a six-year prison term in Russia on drug-trafficking charges. The man fears that his daughter -- a nurse by profession -- is being lured to work in Ukraine. She recently asked her father to send her medical college diploma. I am not going to send her any document, Tilekmat-ata told RFE/RL. She has been promised about $1,200 a month in wages. The Russians are allegedly recruiting medics from prisons. Tilekmat-ata is adamant that his daughter must stay where she is and serve her remaining time in prison instead of going to Ukraine. Khosiyat Safarmatova, a former math teacher from the northern Tajik province of Sughd, has lived most of the past decade in Russias Tyumen Province, a popular destination for tens of thousands of Central Asian migrant workers. Safarmatova says she knows about a half a dozen Tajiks and Uzbeks in her neighborhood who have worked in Russian-occupied Ukrainian cities or have considered going there. What strikes me is that most of them dont think in terms of whether its right or wrong to go to Ukraine for work. For them, its just another job, she says. Like many Russians, most migrants in Russia believe Moscows narrative of the war and blame Ukraine and the Western countries for instigating it. Some people considered going to Ukraine, but in the end they chose not to because of the [various] risks -- not because they thought its immoral or the wrong thing to do, she adds. RFE/RLs Kyrgyz Service contributed to this report Kremlin-linked businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, a co-founder and owner of the mercenary group Wagner, says that not only his troops but all of the Russian forces involved in the fierce monthslong fight to take the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut are suffering from shortages of ammunition. Prigozhin's press service issued a statement on March 10 in which he expressed his gratitude to Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov and Igor Nasenkov, the chief executive officer of Tekhnodinamika, for significantly boosting production of military ammunition in recent months after Wagner pleaded for increased supplies. 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. However, he added, even more ammunition is needed. "I am worried about ammunition and the ammunition hunger not only as far as Wagner goes, but all the units of the Russian Army. It is obvious that not only my lads are dying.... Others should not die as well. Each delayed projectile means the death of one of our comrades. And it does not matter what unit of the Russian forces they represent," Prigozhin said. Last month, Prigozhin, considered one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's closest allies, accused top military officials of committing "treason" by failing to equip his private troops, who have been a major force in the battle to take Bakhmut, with enough ammunition. In one of his statements in February, Prigozhin accused Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the Russian Army General Staff Valery Gerasimov of refusing to deliver ammunition to Wagner in "an attempt to destroy" it. Prigozhin added that he was required to "apologize and obey" in order to secure ammunition for his troops. The Defense Ministry rejected Prigozhin's claims at the time, saying that all volunteer brigades in Ukraine's east were being supplied with all types of ammunition in a "timely" fashion. Following days of heated accusations by Prigozhin against the Defense Ministry, he said on February 23 that his troops had started receiving ammunition and equipment. Wagner has recruited thousands of inmates from penitentiaries across Russia since last summer to fight in Ukraine. Prigozhin said in February that he was no longer allowed to recruit prisoners. Ukrainian troops are fighting to hold back Russian forces from advancing on Bakhmut from positions near Soledar, an industrial town located a few kilometers to the north of the besieged city. Tank and mortar units are shelling enemy positions and laying down cover for Ukrainian infantry in frontline trenches. RFE/RL correspondent Maryan Kushnir visited the front line and spoke with Ukrainian soldiers. Russian troops are continuing their assault in the direction of the eastern city of Bakhmut, Ukraine's General Staff said on March 10, adding that its forces repulsed "numerous attacks" in the areas of the settlements of Ivanske and Bakhmut during the day. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said the fighting in Bakhmut had "escalated," with a new push by Russian forces to break through Ukrainian defensive lines. Earlier, technicians worked around the clock to restore electricity in most parts of Ukraine following a devastating wave of Russian strikes, private energy firm DTEK said on March 10. Electricity was restored in all residential areas of the capital, Kyiv, and all emergency power outages were canceled, DTEK said on March 10. 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. "At 12:47 p.m., electricity was restored to all residents of the capital, so the scheduled stabilization shutdowns are no longer applicable," the company said in a statement. Serhiy Popko, the head of the citys military administration, said power and water were restored in Kyiv. Popko said that about 30 percent of consumers in the capital remained without heating and that repair work was ongoing. DTEK workers managed to finish the overnight repairs on the damaged high-voltage equipment that supplies the southern port of Odesa and the Odesa region, where the electricity has been restored, the company said. Power restrictions prompted by significant damage caused by the Russian strikes remained in the Zhytomyr and Kharkiv regions, where hourly shutdown schedules have to be imposed, state electricity company Ukrenerho reported on March 10. Some consumers in the two regions are still left completely without electricity, and critical infrastructure in the cities of Zhytomyr and Kharkiv operates mainly from autonomous power sources, Ukrenerho said. Emergency shutdowns are still taking place in other two regions -- Zaporizhzhya and Dnipropetrovsk -- that sustained damage in the Russian strikes, it said. Following the wave of attacks on Ukrainian civilian targets -- the first of its kind since mid-February -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused Russia of persisting in using terror against civilians. "The occupiers can only terrorize civilians. That's all they can do. But it wont help them. They won't avoid responsibility for everything they have done," Zelenskiy said after the attacks. IN PHOTOS: Russia launched a massive wave of air strikes on Ukraine on March 9, causing casualties and multiple power cuts across the country and halting the power supply of the nuclear power plant at Zaporizhzhya as the battle for Bakhmut in the east raged on. Zelenskiy also held talks with Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin, who made an unannounced visit to Kyiv on March 10. Marin accompanied Zelenskiy and senior military officers at the funeral of one of Ukraine's best-known fighters and commanders, who was killed in clashes near Bakhmut. The service for 27-year-old Dmytro Kotsyubaylo, killed a few days earlier, was held at the cathedral of Kyiv's St. Michaels Golden-Domed Monastery, where many mourners clutched flowers and paid their respects. Zelenskiy and Marin also laid flowers at a nearby memorial to fallen Ukrainian soldiers. "Putin knows he will have to answer for his crime of aggression," the Finnish leader told journalists. "The future tribunal must bring justice efficiently and answer Ukrainians' rightful demands." Russia has repeatedly denied targeting civilians, despite abundant evidence to the contrary. It said the attacks, during which it used hypersonic Kinzhal (Dagger) missiles, were a "massive retaliatory strike" in response to what it said was a Ukrainian-orchestrated "terrorist attack" in Russia's Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine, last week. Kyiv has denied any involvement, suggesting Moscow might be seeking a "false flag" pretext to stage new attacks on Ukraine. White House spokeswoman Olivia Dalton said it was "devastating to see these brutal, unjustified attacks on civilian infrastructure across Ukraine," and said the United States would continue to supply Kyiv with air-defense systems. Fierce fighting was under way in other parts of Donetsk region, with focus on the towns of Lyman, Avdiyivka, and Shakhtarsk, the military said. In Rubizhniy, in the neighboring Luhansk region, the Ukrainian military said that Russians used civilians as human shields. "The enemy places personnel in residential quarters, hiding behind the civilian population. Servicemen of the occupying forces are housed on the first and second floors, and civilians are left to live above," the General Staff said. With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and AP TASHKENT -- Uzbek lawmakers have agreed to hold a referendum on a new constitution that would allow President Shavkat Mirziyoev to run for a third term in office. Uzbek parliament's lower house, the Legislative Chamber, on March 10 set April 30 as the date for the referendum, with 132 lawmakers supporting the move. Two MPs abstained and three did not take part in the vote. The amendments changing the constitution are expected to be approved in the referendum by a majority of the tightly controlled former Soviet republic, which, according to Uzbek officials, will "nullify" Mirziyoev's previous and current terms, allowing him to run for another two consecutive terms. The draft also extends the duration of a term from five to seven years. Mirziyoev's current term ends in 2026. According to the lawmakers, the amendments will change about two-thirds of the constitution, with the number of articles in the document rising to 155 from 128. The draft also declares Uzbekistan will be "a social state" while almost tripling the state's obligations citizens. The changes to the constitution were initiated by Mirziyoev last summer. Among other things, the proposed amendments at the time included abolishing the Central Asian nation's Karakalpakstan Autonomous Republic's right to secede. However, Mirziyoev dropped the idea to change Karakalpakstan's status after thousands of Karakalpaks protested in early July last year against the elimination from the constitution Karakalpakstan's long-standing right to seek independence from Uzbekistan. Uzbek authorities say 21 people died in Karakalpakstan during the protests' dispersal by law enforcement forces. Dozens of the participants in the rallies were later handed prison terms on charges of plotting to seize power by disrupting the constitutional order, organizing mass unrest, embezzlement, and money laundering. Other dozens are either on or awaiting trials. The referendum, on April 30 will be the third referendum in the history of independent Uzbekistan. Mirziyoev's predecessor, the countrys late authoritarian first President Islam Karimov, who died in 2016, held two referendums in 1995 and 2002 prolonging his terms without elections and changing the length of presidential terms. I'm Steve Gutterman, the editor of RFE/RL's Russia/Ukraine/Belarus Desk. Welcome to The Week In Russia, in which I dissect the key developments in Russian politics and society over the previous week and look at what's ahead. To receive The Week In Russia newsletter in your inbox, click here. Russia launches a deadly new wave of strikes on Ukraine as the battle for the city of Bakhmut continues. A video purports to show the defiant last moments of a captured Ukrainian soldier's life. Opponents of the war are jailed in Russia, and protesters in Georgia fight against "foreign agent" legislation they say mirrors Russian law. Here are some of the key developments in Russia over the past week and some of the takeaways going forward. In The Frame A captive soldier about to be shot dead. A city razed to the ground. A jailed student activist voicing defiance and resolve in court. A protester, draped in the national flag, facing a line of riot police. These images, all recent, seem to encapsulate the death and destruction Russia has wreaked with its invasion of Ukraine, the state's still-spiraling clampdown on all forms of dissent at home, and the reverberations abroad of Moscow's conduct. Famous Last Words Amid all the horrors of the Russian invasion, a short piece of footage that appears to show a soldier smoking a cigarette and saying "Glory to Ukraine" before being shot multiple times and collapsing to the ground struck a chord in his home country and beyond. It is particularly grim and graphic, and the message of defiance is particularly clear: The soldier's last words emblemize the resistance Ukrainians have put up against what many in Russia, the West, and elsewhere believed would be the swift subjugation of the nation by force. A screenshot from the video -- without the words and without the gunfire and its effects -- somehow seems to send the same message. On March 7, the Ukrainian military's 30th Separate Mechanized Brigade said preliminary information indicated that the soldier it shows was Timofiy Shadura, who served in the brigade and has been listed as missing since February 3 amid fighting in and around Bakhmut, in the Donbas in eastern Ukraine. Later, however, the military command for northern Ukraine said it was apparently Oleksandr Matsiyevskiy, a soldier with a brigade from the Chernihiv region who was killed on December 30 near Soledar, a few kilometers northeast of Bakhmut, and Matsiyevskiy's mother said she is certain it was her son. President Volodymyr Zelenskiys office said law enforcement authorities will make a formal determination of the soldier's identity. On March 8, the UN Human Rights Office said it was "aware of this video posted on social media that shows a Ukrainian soldierapparently being executed by Russian armed forces. Based on a preliminary examination, we believe that the video may be authentic." The video has added to ever-growing accusations and evidence of war crimes by Russian soldiers since President Vladimir Putin launched a massive and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, dramatically escalating a war that had been simmering in the Donbas since 2014. According to the Geneva Convention on the Treatment of Prisoners of War, signed by Russia, POWs must be guaranteed life and humane conditions of detention. Executions and ill-treatment of prisoners of war are considered war crimes. 'Seizing Rubble' The footage, if authentic, is also a stark close-up of the situation in and around Bakhmut, which Russian forces have been trying to capture for many months in some of the deadliest and most intense fighting since the invasion. Military analysts say that the city is of little strategic importance. There's also almost nothing left of it. "The reality is that if the Russians do capture Bakhmut, they are seizing rubble," Mick Ryan, a former Australian Army major general and an analyst on Russian military doctrine, wrote in a commentary. Aerial images of Bakhmut and other largely destroyed cities and towns, their buildings either bombed out or razed to the ground -- Soledar, Vuhledar, Mariupol, and Maryinka among them -- provide breathtaking evidence of the enormity of the damage Russia has done to Ukraine. Of course, such photos make for a superficial picture, only hinting at the extent of human suffering the invasion has caused in Ukraine. Behind Bars As it presses its assault on Ukraine, the Russian state under President Vladimir Putin has escalated its already relentless efforts to silence independent voices and stamp out dissent at home. "Whatever false justifications for this war of aggression have been promulgated by the Kremlin's state-controlled media, its clear purpose is to remove the elected leadership in Kyiv and deprive Ukrainians of their fundamental right to free self-government," the U.S. government-funded democracy and human rights watchdog Freedom House said of the Russian invasion in its annual report, released on March 9. "In his desire to destroy democracy in Ukraine and deny Ukrainians their political rights and civil liberties, Putin has caused the deaths and injuries of thousands of Ukrainian civilians as well as soldiers on both sides, the destruction of crucial infrastructure, the displacement of millions of people from their homes, a proliferation of torture and sexual violence, and the intensification of already harsh repression within Russia," it said. That campaign of repression has targeted numerous prominent Kremlin opponents -- as well as countless other Russians. One of them is Dmitry Ivanov, a math and cybernetics student at Moscow State University and the administrator of a protest blog in which he posted remarks about the conduct of Russian forces in Bucha, Mariupol, and other Ukrainian cities where eyewitnesses, activists, and authorities say they have committed atrocities. On March 7, Ivanov was sentenced to 8 1/2 years in prison under legislation that criminalizes the distribution of what the government deems deliberately false information about the actions of the Russian armed forces abroad. Putin signed the law eight days after launching the invasion on February 24, 2022. At trial, the court did not address whether Ivanov's posts were accurate, and he said he stood by everything he wrote. A photo taken at a hearing shows him standing inside a courtroom enclosure and flashing a V sign with his fingers -- in this case not the letter V, which the Kremlin has adopted as part of its war propaganda, but a show of defiance and confidence that truth and justice will eventually prevail in Russia. Another is Bulat Shumekov, an anti-war activist in the Kemerovo region of Siberia who was sentenced to seven years in prison on March 9 for publications condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine. After 16 months in jail, Lilia Chanysheva, the former head of imprisoned opposition leader Aleksei Navalny's office in the Bashkortostan region, faces a court hearing on March 14. She is charged with crimes that stem from the state's designation of Navalny's regional political network as an extremist group -- a label dismissed by Kremlin critics as absurd and politically motivated -- and could face 18 years in prison. Another dramatic photograph shot this week was taken in Tbilisi, Georgia, where opponents of a Russian-style "foreign agents" bill took to the streets in protests called by the main opposition party after the government-sponsored legislation won preliminary approval in parliament on March 7. The nighttime photo shows a protester wearing the red-and-white Georgian flag like a cape and standing on a cobblestone street facing a thick crowd of riot police. 'The Russian Law' After two nights of protests and clashes in which police fired tear gas, stun grenades, and water cannon at demonstrators, who at one point tried to storm parliament, the government said it would withdraw the bill, and the legislature voted to scrap it on March 10 following a third night of demonstrations. The Georgian bill was not directly related to Russia or the war in Ukraine. But critics say it echoed Russian "foreign agent" legislation that Putin's government has used as one of the main tools in its campaign to suppress dissent, muzzle independent media, and shutter civil society. The European Union had sharply criticized the bill and said it would place a hurdle on the country's path to EU membership, which polls indicate is supported by a large majority of Georgians. Opponents of the ruling Georgian Dream party accuse it of being pro-Russian, and protesters chanted "No to the Russian law." In several former Soviet republics, Russia's invasion of Ukraine has fueled fears that Moscow has designs on them as well and might try to seize parts of their territory, subjugate them though influence on their governments, or otherwise increase its meddling more than 30 years after the U.S.S.R.'s collapse. Russia has already encroached heavily on Georgian territory, invading the South Caucasus country in 2008 and recognizing two breakaway regions where it maintains troops as independent nations. In Moldova, tensions are high amid claims of a Russian coup plot. Meanwhile, Russia unleashed rocket, drone, and artillery attacks across much of Ukraine before dawn on March 9, the first assault of its kind in weeks, killing several civilians in areas from the Dnipropetrovsk region in the southeast and Kyiv in the north to the Black Sea port of Odesa and the Lviv region in the west. Several of the attacks targeted electricity and other infrastructure facilities, causing power cuts in numerous locations and temporarily disrupting the main power supply for the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, Ukrainian authorities said. "More electricity facilities destroyed this morning," novelist Andrey Kurkov wrote on Twitter. "This is indeed the war between light and total darkness." RFE/RL intern Ella Jaffe contributed to this report. Esta coleccion esta conformada, entre otras, por 42 monedas de la epoca romana imperial, que datarian del siglo II al siglo IV d.C. Esta entrega se da gracias a la labor conjunta de autoridades aduaneras y policiales, @CancilleriaPeru y @MinCulturaPe. pic.twitter.com/6rrNyS1I4n " " A pallid bat hunts for food above a pond in Arizona. Danita Delimont/Gallo Images/Getty Images All creatures living in the wild try to gain an advantage when it comes to finding their next meal. Some animals use size to their advantage, while others rely on speed or the ability to make a threatening sound. Researchers have recently discovered that even the fairly innocent looking bat has a trick that can be used to thwart the hunting attempts of rival bats. Bats are nocturnal, hunting mainly in the darkness of night. They eat prey that's tiny and quiet, like moths and other insects, which can be difficult to find in low light and darkness. Although the expression "blind as a bat" is widely used, bats aren't blind; they just use a much more reliable means of locating these tiny tidbits of dinner than sight. Advertisement When it's time to find food, bats emit a series of high-pitched sounds into the darkness that bounce back when they hit an object. When a bat hears the echoing sound, it knows an object is nearby, and it flies closer to the source of the echo to send out more signals. As the echo-back sound of the increases in intensity, the bat knows it's getting closer to the prey, and he continues emitting signals until he swoops in for the kill. That process of finding a target's location by listening to sonar echoes is called echolocation. While primarily using sonar to find food, bats can also use their sonar in a hostile and competitive way, according to research from 2014. Wake Forest University researcher William Conner and University of Maryland colleague Aaron Corcoran used audio and video systems to observe the behavior of Mexican free-tailed bats as they hunted for tiger moths, a favorite snack. They found that the bats emitted a specific sound that was successful in interfering with the sonar of other prey-seeking bats of the same species. They called this process sweep jamming. The study concluded that bats emit this sound intentionally to interfere with the sonar of food-seeking companions [source: Yong]. When the researchers played back recordings of the jamming sound to other bats in search of insects, those bats were also thrown off track; the sound made the bats 86 percent more likely to miss their prey target. The scientists experimented with other sounds like white noise, but those didn't interfere with the bats' sonar [source: Corcoran]. In the natural world, sonar and echolocation aren't exclusive to bats -- mammals such as dolphins and other whales also use it to find their way [source: Lewis]. And humans, too, have adapted technology to mimic this process; ships regularly use sonar to help them navigate in dark waters and to explore what's in the water under and around them. Sonar can indicate the presence of another ship, a dangerous obstacle or aquatic life. In warfare, sonar can be lifesaving, clueing a ship in about the presence of a hostile submarine or an enemy torpedo, or jamming the sonar of other ships (just like bats) [source: National Ocean Service]. There's no evidence yet that other animals that use echolocation for hunting use a signal-jamming sound. But bats seem to have perfected the process of jamming one another's signals all in the search for a better meal. YEREVAN, MARCH 10, ARMENPRESS. The United States Intelligence Community has warned of Azerbaijans readiness to use calibrated military pressure to advance its goals in talks with Armenia. The 2023 Annual Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community, published by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, noted that relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan are likely to remain tense and occasionally volatile in the absence of a peace treaty, given the proximity of military forces at the interstate border, the lack of a cease-fire enforcement mechanism, and Azerbaijans readiness to use calibrated military pressure to advance its goals in talks with Armenia. Furthermore, the report states that in September 2022 Azerbaijani forces launched a coordinated attack at multiple locations along the border, seizing some Armenian territory. Relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan are likely to remain tense and occasionally volatile in the absence of a peace treaty, given the proximity of military forces at the interstate border, the lack of a cease-fire enforcement mechanism, and Azerbaijans readiness to use calibrated military pressure to advance its goals in talks with Armenia. The continued presence of military forces in close proximity along the delimited border elevates the risk of armed confrontation between Armenia and Azerbaijan, although such confrontations are likely to be limited in duration and intensity. Since May 2021, military clashes have occurred regularly at the interstate border and around the Nagorno-Karabakh region. The most intense flare-up took place in September 2022, when Azerbaijani forces launched a coordinated attack at multiple locations along the border, seizing some Armenian territory and resulting in nearly 300 military deaths. Peace talks have made some progress, but the most challenging issuesrelated to state borders and the future of Nagorno-Karabakhare far from being resolved, the report reads, in part. Intruder The Intruder crossed the border and entered Ferozepur sector last night FEROZEPUR: The Border Security Force on Friday (March 10) nabbed a Pakistani infiltrator from the Indo-Pak International Border in Punjab. Sharing this information, a BSF spokesperson said that the nabbed intruder crossed the border on the intervening night of March 9-10 and entered India through the 'Tirath' border post area in Ferozepur sector of the state. The Spokesperson said that during preliminary interrogation, the person revealed that he is a resident of Khyber district of Pakistan. He is currently being interrogated by a joint team of security and intelligence officials and will later be handed over to local police officials. Advertisement It is worth mentioning here that this incident took place a day after BSF arrested a Bangladeshi and a Pakistani national in the same manner on Punjab border. In past two days, BSF has nabbed the third such intruder from the border. Punjab Budget 2023-24 Rs 17.072 crores have been proposed by the Punjab Govt for School & Higher Education CHANDIGARH: The Punjab government-led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann presented its budget for the year 2023-24 today (Friday, March 10). The government has proposed Rs 17.072 crore for school and higher education, which is 12 percent more than last year. Presenting the budget, Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said that this time his government has fulfilled many of its promises and guarantees. The Finance Minister said that the Aam Aadmi Party government has given maximum attention to the education and health sectors. Harpal Cheema said that the process of regularization of the contractual employees belonging to the teaching and non-teaching cadre will be completed soon. The Finance Minister further said that the Punjab government has prepared a policy for the maintenance of schools and to create the posts of 'Estate Managers' for all government senior secondary schools, and proposed a budget of Rs 99 crore for cleanliness and maintenance of schools. Apart from this, Rs 20 crore has been proposed to send principals to Singapore for training to provide better education to children. Advertisement The Finance Minister said that 117 schools have been identified for upgrading as Schools of Eminence. Under this, an initial budget of Rs 200 crore has been proposed. Under the scholarship scheme Rs 18 crore and Rs 60 crore have been proposed for students. He said that Punjab's Youth Entrepreneur Program was started with an aim of developing financial and leadership skills among students. Under this startup programme, the government helps 11th students to propose their business ideas by providing seed money at the rate of Rs 2,000 per student, for which Rs 30 crore has been proposed. Along with this, Rs 100 crore for installation of roof top solar panel system in government schools and Rs 456 crore for providing mid-day meals to government schools, Rs 1,425 crore under Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan. Rs 25 crores is proposed for providing uniforms to pre-primary class students, while Rs 90 crores have been proposed for free books, repair and maintenance. Medical Education and Research.... Advertisement - Rs 1,015 crore proposed for medical education. - B. R. Ambedkar State Institute of Medical Sciences and Government Medical College have been established in Mohali. Two batches of 100 M.B.B.S students have got admission in these institutions. - 880 staff nurses and 81 paramedical staff have been recruited to meet the shortage of staff in medical institutions. - State Cancer Institute for cancer patients at Government Medical College, Amritsar at a cost of Rs 119 crore and Cancer Care Center at Fazilka at a cost of Rs 46 crore are expected to start soon. - Proposal to establish a new Nursing College at District Barnala. Protest The life-property and freedom of the common people should be protected. MOHALI: The Qaumi Insaaf Morcha is protesting at the Chandigarh border over the demand of releasing Sikh prisoners. Amidst the protest, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been registered in the Punjab and Haryana High Court against the agitation going on in Mohali since January 7. The petition demands that the government and the concerned officers should be ordered to remove the encroachment made by the protesters at YPS Chowk, Phase 7, Phase 3A, Mohali. While hearing the case, the HC bench has issued notice to the government and others for March 17 and sought reply on the matter. Advocate Ravi Kamal Gupta presented arguments on behalf of the petitioner in the court. Advertisement People facing difficulties due to Protest..... The Petitioner said that common people are facing difficulties in commuting due to the protest which is ongoing since the month of January. People are suffering unnecessarily. Working people, students and others are not able to pass through the road. The life-property and freedom of the common people should be protected. Notably, Apprehension has been raised from the High Court that the protestors may disturb the law and order situation in the state. This can disturb the peaceful and safe environment of Punjab. Arsh Dalla In a post shared on Facebook, Dalla threatened the Punjabi Media Wanted Gangster Arsh Dalla recently threatened the Punjab Media. In a post shared on Facebook, Dalla wrote, "Media people are spreading false news to increase their views. They should stop publishing wrong news, otherwise they will be killed by me." Notably, Arsh Dalla had taken responsibility for the murder of Paramjit Singh in Jagraon. The police had arrested two shooters Abhinav and Tejveer in connection with the murder case. Reportedly, Tejveer revealed that Dalla cheated on him as they were promised to get crores for the murder but Dalla only paid them Rs 14,000 in Surat and Jodhpur. The Gangster Dalla has been enraged by this news as media is showing his deceitful image in the world. Advertisement FB Post In the post, Dalla further wrote (In Punjabi) (Roughly Translated), "I have killed Paramjit in Jagraon for the sake of friendship. I never let my close ones face shortage of money. I have never killed anyone for money till now, nor i will kill in the future. I am fighting for my honour. False news going on against me should stop. If journalists do not stop publishing or broadcasting false news against me, then they will be responsible for their own losses." Harpreet Chandi She completed longest unaided journey to the South Pole LONDON: British Medical Army officer of Punjabi-origin Harpreet Chandi alias Polar Preet has set a new record. Captain Polar Preet has scripted history by becoming the first Indian-origin woman to complete a solo unsupported trek to the South Pole. 32-year-old British Sikh Army officer completed the journey to Antarctica alone in January 2023. Earlier in January 2022, Polar Preet became the first Asian woman to travel solo to the South Pole. Advertisement A fantastic achievement and a real inspiration! @PreetChandi10 has become the first woman of colour to complete a solo expedition in #Antarctica.#PolarPreet https://t.co/Gx04CljQu4 British Army ???????? (@BritishArmy) January 3, 2022 YEREVAN, MARCH 10, ARMENPRESS. Armenia has not discussed the integration of Artsakh into Azerbaijan, ARMENPRESS reports, Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan said in an interview with "Azatutyun" radio, referring to the question that Baku insists that the issue of integration of Karabakh Armenians should be on the agenda of the dialogue, and it is known that Stepanakert refuses. "We have not discussed such a question. Everyone has publicly said that these discussions are about rights and security, and these are the international agreements, and these agreements must be implemented," said Grigoryan. To the question whether it is Yerevan's position that it should not be discussed, the Secretary of the Security Council answered, "Yerevan's position is to discuss what we have agreed on, that is, rights and security within the framework of the international mechanism." To the observation that, according to Azerbaijan, this may imply integration, Grigoryan emphasized that if the end result is predetermined, then these negotiations will be difficult to move forward, because Nagorno Karabakh can also announce the end results of its expectations. "That's why, in order for the negotiations to take place, it is necessary to create an opportunity for discussions, and it is necessary to stay within the scope of the agreements, because we have agreed to discuss security and rights," Grigoryan concluded. NMC CEO Peter Wright tries to stay out of his office to keep strong lines of communication with the rest of the hospital staff. Hes seen here on the hospital floor near a nursing station. The former headmaster of a Carlsbad military boarding school was sentenced Monday to 48 years in prison for repeatedly molesting a ninth-grade cadet starting in 1999. It was the maximum punishment for Jeffrey Barton, 59, who proclaimed his innocence during his sentencing hearing in a Vista courtroom, saying his accuser had lied and that he was a victim of a witch hunt. I cannot feel remorse for crimes I never committed, Barton told Superior Court Judge Harry Elias during a roughly 30-minute statement in which he tried to rebut minutia of case and said the accusations were prompted by people gunning for money. Advertisement God knows I didnt do the crimes, Barton said. After the hearing, Deputy District Attorney Patricia Lavermicocca, who had asked for the maximum term, said Bartons lengthy prison sentence is what he deserves to bring justice to these kids who have suffered for many years. He may want to deny it for the rest of his life, but we know what happened, the prosecutor said. Forty-eight years is a small measure of justice. Barton did not react when he heard the length of his sentence. He will not be eligible for release until he is in his 90s. In June, a jury found Barton guilty of molesting the Army and Navy Academy student from 1999 to 2001, both on campus and during out-of-town trips. The victim said the abuse started when he was 14 and a cadet at the seaside academy where Barton lived and taught. The accuser did not disclose the alleged abuse until 2013, but the prosecution offered corroborating evidence, including contemporaneous suspicions from adults at the school, and other accusers dating back decades at different schools. Barton was not charged with molesting accusers from out-of-state schools; however, trial testimony from two of them was offered as corroboration. In handing down the sentence Monday, Elias said Barton is a serious danger, and that a key aggravating factor for him was Bartons position of trust as a faculty member and a mentor not just for the accuser from the Carlsbad school, but also for two other men who said Barton had molested them decades ago. I believe there is evidence that shows that these offenses were committed in a serial manner over a significant period of time, the judge said. Related Ex-headmaster convicted of molestation After the allegations from the former Carlsbad cadet arose in 2013, Barton resigned after working 18 years at the private college-preparatory academy, the only military boarding school in California. In his final year at the academy, Barton had served as head of schools, which is the administrator in charge of academic and residential programs. An Army and Navy Academy spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment following Bartons sentencing. When Barton was convicted in June, the school noted that his actions had happened long ago, under a different school administration and board of trustees. Bartons conviction came in his second trial. In 2015, another jury deadlocked on the charges involving the main accuser, known in court as John Doe. The victim, Doe, was in court and did not speak during Mondays hearing, but rather submitted a statement read aloud by prosecutor Lavermicocca. The victim wrote that Barton sexually abused me many times, taking advantage of my youth, inexperience and vulnerability, forever altering the trajectory of my life. He is a danger to society, and should spend the remainder of his adult years in prison, the statement read. Barton used his own statement to the judge as a chance to rail against his accusers, saying they had lied and that Doe was chasing money. The former cadet is suing Barton and the school. Trial is set for March. Later, as Barton was led from the courtroom at the end of the hearing, he yelled out Enjoy your millions, bud. (Earlier this summer, the law firm representing Doe had represented another former cadet who had accused a different former Army and Navy employee of wrongdoing. The North County jury awarded that ex-cadet $1.9 million.) Before the current case, Carlsbad police had twice before investigated Barton, once in 2000 and again in 2010, after adults reported suspicious behavior with particular cadets. In each instance, the cadets including Doe denied abuse, and the investigations fizzled. When Doe came forward in 2013, his delayed disclosure prompted a new police investigation, one in which six more former students from boarding schools in a total of three states came forward with allegations that Barton had abused them decades earlier. Among the new accusers was a man who said he had never spoken of the abuse until he read of Bartons arrest in October 2013 online. The man, now in his 40s, testified that he threw up, then drove home from work to tell his wife what had happened to him at a South Carolina boarding school in the 1980s. He later paid his own way to testify against Barton. The other out-of-state accuser said Barton had molested him during an overnight trip in the early 1990s, and that he had reported the incident to his mother the next day. That report eventually led Barton to leave a Tennessee school, but he was not criminally charged. In the current case, Barton was charged only with molestation involving former cadets at the Carlsbad school. At the end of his first trial, in fall 2015, a North County jury cleared Barton on four charges alleging he drugged and molested two middle-school cadets during a 1997 ski trip. But the jury deadlocked as to all counts related to Doe. Barton was retried this year solely on the charges involving Doe. Doe testified that Barton began molesting him not long after his mother shipped him off to the Carlsbad military boarding school in 1999, with promises the boy could come home if he did not misbehave during the school year. The accuser . who had been small, scrawny and reportedly bullied by other cadets said that Barton had groomed him with gifts and special attention, and said that Barton threatened to tell his mother he was making trouble if he did not comply with the molestations. Elias, in explaining his findings behind the hefty sentence Monday, said that the psychological injury that John Doe suffered showed callousness from Barton. I think the psychological impact of the relationship between Mr. Barton and the victim is tantamount to at least a psychological threat, the judge said. On Monday, Elias also heard from the two out-of state accusers via video phone calls. Both asked for Barton to receive a lengthy sentence, and both spoke of guilt for either for not coming forward or for not pressing the matter further many years ago. Other children were hurt because I didnt stand up, said the man who had attended the Tennessee school. Bartons second trial was not without controversy. During deliberations, one of the jurors was removed from the panel after other jurors accused her of refusing to deliberate. After an alternate juror was in place, the jury reached its verdicts, finding Barton guilty of six counts of molestation, and acquitting him of five other counts. Barton has indicated that he will appeal his conviction. teri.figueroa@sduniontribune.com (760) 529-4945 Twitter: @TeriFigueroaUT UPDATES: 7:05 p.m.: This story was updated with additional details. It was initially posted at 11:15 a.m. At the back of a South County campus, inside classroom trailers, students struggle to focus and learn, battling behavioral and mental health issues. Some are failing in school because of issues or distractions at home, some are foster children overcoming trauma, others are avoiding a return to Juvenile Hall. At LifeSchool these adolescents and teens are looked after not just academically but also therapeutically. Advertisement LifeSchool is a program administered by the San Diego Center for Children for special education students in grade seven through 12 who need higher-level support than in a traditional classroom. The center began operating LifeSchool in 2008 with the San Diego County Behavioral Health Services. After state funding for the program was eliminated, the center began a new contract with the Sweetwater district in 2012 using school-based mental health funds. About one-third of the population we serve comes from child welfare services and have a history of abuse and or neglect, said Moises Baron, president & CEO of the Center for Children. Because of some of the emotional challenges theyre experiencing, its impacting their ability to learn, he said. By working together, we can have much more success to help them learn and cope. On the Southwest High campus, the center helps students attending LifeSchool navigate through a variety of diagnoses. They include anxiety and depression, ADD and ADHD, Aspergers syndrome, autism, psychosis, eating disorders and self-harm. At LifeSchool, a therapeutic team works with each student to develop communication and social skills, identify strengths and areas of interest and ultimately become independent young adults. Student referrals to LifeSchool are made by teachers and counselors to district officials. The program currently serves about 15 students ages 11 to 20, the majority of whom live in Chula Vista, National City and Imperial Beach. A typical school day runs 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with the first half focusing on academics and the second half focusing on therapy. Every other Friday the students receive pet therapy for an hour in a group setting, followed by culinary arts, which allows students to learn simple recipes. Cami, a 9-year-old chocolate Labrador, and Marty is a 2-year-old yellow Lhasa Apsos-mix visited the students on Oct. 14. One student, identified only by her first name Milli, said Cami and Marty calm her anxiety. They help me relax, she said. They cheer me up and make me smile. Milli, 20, has attended LifeSchool for two years. She previously attended Mar Vista where she said she was bullied. It affected me and caused me to be shy, she said. At LifeSchool she said she feels more comfortable. Im more social and Im trying to be involved in more activities. Milli is on track to graduate with her high school diploma this winter. She wants to go to beauty school at Bellus Academy to study hair and makeup. Center CEO Baron said the benefits of pet therapy include a decreased feeling of depression and anxiety and alienation. He said it also encourages communication. We have found that when some of our youth have a therapy dog in a therapeutic session, they may be able to say things they wouldnt typically feel comfortable talking about, he said. Jesus,17, has attended LifeSchool for about six months. He also used to go to Mar Vista but said it was difficult to focus in a large class. His anxiety is triggered by large crowds and too much noise. At LifeSchool he said he can focus on his work and the dogs also help him to relax. I used to be introverted. Now Im more outgoing. I have more confidence, he said. Jesus wants to be a computer engineer to learn more about technology and programming. Each day of the week is structured. On Tuesday for example, students practice processing their feelings on a given topic. Wednesdays, the boys and girls are separated and each group talks about self-esteem and life skills. The students also participate in group therapy three days a week. The center runs a similar program in Carlsbad called North County Academy. Baron said there is a significant need in the community to help these children through their issues. After spending some time in our program, he said, students are able to return to their home school or regular classroom to succeed academically in their family and personally life. YEREVAN, MARCH 10, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan chaired a consultation, during which conceptual approaches to the development of the water sector strategy were discussed, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Prime Minister. In particular, reference was made to the existing regulations, problems in the water sector, international experience of the sector, planned legal frameworks, models of regulation of water systems, the structure of the strategy to be developed. An exchange of ideas took place, various observations and recommendations were presented. Prime Minister Pashinyan emphasized the development of the water sector strategy and noted that it should provide answers to the following questions: How much water resources are available in our country, how much should be stored and how much and in what directions should be used? Nikol Pashinyan emphasized that the priority task is the effective management of existing resources, the formation of the water market and distribution system, and the promotion of reservoir construction. Due to the blocking by Azerbaijan of the only road connecting Artsakh with Armenia, 16 patients from the Republican Medical Center the Republic of Artsakh with serious diseases of the oncology and cardiovascular system as well as pathologies requiring emergency surgical interventions have been transported today, on March 10, to specialized medical institutions of the Republic of Armenia with the mediation and escort of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Artsakh Healthcare Ministry informed. March 10, 2023, 11:21 16 patients from Stepanakert transferred to Yerevan with mediation of ICRC STEPANAKERT, MARCH 10 , ARTSAKHPRESS: 13 patients, who had been transferred to Armenia for medical treatment, returned to Artsakh together with an accompanying persons. Scheduled surgeries continue to be suspended in the medical centers of the Republic of Artsakh. 2 children remain in the neonatal and intensive care unit of the Arevik medical centre. 8 patients remain in the intensive care unit of the Republican Medical Centre, 4 of them in critical condition. United States Ambassador to Armenia Kristina Kvien traveled to the entrance of the Lachin corridor, which has been closed to normal traffic for almost three months, the United States Embassy announced in a statement Friday. March 10, 2023, 12:39 U.S. Ambassador visits entrance of Lachin corridor, reiterates Blinkens call to reopen it immediately STEPANAKERT, MARCH 10 , ARTSAKHPRESS: Ambassador Kvien traveled to the entrance of the Lachin corridor, which has been closed to normal traffic for almost three months. Syunik governor Robert Ghukasyan briefed the Ambassador on the effects of the ongoing Lachin corridor blockage, including the impact on hundreds of separated families. He highlighted the support the government has been providing to those affected by the blockage. The Ambassador reiterated Secretary Blinkens call to reopen the Lachin corridor immediately, the US embassy statement reads. "We Are Our Mountains" agency will provide about 260 tons of food to be included in the Artsakh state reserve and allocated to social groups. March 10, 2023, 14:40 "We Are Our Mountains" agency to provide about 260 tons of food to Artsakh STEPANAKERT, MARCH 10 , ARTSAKHPRESS: "We Are Our Mountains" Territorial Development Agency has signed memorandums of cooperation with the Ministry of Social Development and Migration of the Republic of Artsakh and the State Service of Emergency Situations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh. This was reported by "We Are Our Mountains" agency. According to the memorandums, the agency "We Are Our Mountains" will provide the Ministry of Social Development and Migration of the Republic of Artsakh free of charge with about 80 tons of food for distribution to relevant social groups of the population. And more than 180 tons of food will be provided to the State Service of Emergency Situations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in order to be included in the state reserve of the Republic of Artsakh. During the blockade, the agency initiated and with the funds and support of its donors initiated the "Replenishment of the Food Reserve of Artsakh" program. The goal of which was the acquisition of nutritious, but at the same time, the most appropriate products from the point of view of transportation and storage. We organized the acquisition and transportation of the products of primary importance, and now a part of the cargo has already been delivered to Artsakh. The purpose of these memorandums is to transfer goods to the relevant departments so that they can carry out distribution and further management," said Grigory Martirosyan, head of the Agency's Artsakh projects. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Thursday that the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) signed between India and Australia is a transformative agreement, which will unlock the next level of potential in trade and investment. Addressing the India-Australia CEO forum here, Albanese said the business delegation accompanying him is one of the most serious and high-profile delegations to visit India from Australian shores. He also said that it is a turning point in accelerating economic co-operation and mutual benefits in the relationship between the two countries. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, who was present at the event, said that the current goal of doubling bilateral trade must be reset by the industries and CEOs present, as there is great potential to increase trade manifold between the two nations. He reiterated the growth potential of bilateral trade and investments between India and Australia. Goyal, while recalling his previous visit to Australia in April last year, recounted his interaction with the CEO of Cochlear, Australian hearing implant manufacturers. After the interaction, he had reassured Goyal that their current market share in India was only a minuscule of the potential for the business, given India's population, rapid growth in middle class and the growing demands of the overall economy for a better lifestyle. The forum was organised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce, along with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in order to leverage the ever-growing trade and investment opportunities between the two countries. Japanese telecommunications main Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT) is betting big on the India growth story as it consolidates its datacenter and information technology (IT) services portfolio in India. The Japanese tech giant intends to exceed $1 billion in sales in India. The company recently raised its India bets by announcing an investment of $2.5 billion in Maharashtra over the next five years. With this, the total investment by the company touched $4.5 billion. In 2019, NTT Data announced $2 billion in investments to be spent over five years, of which nearly $1.6 billion was across data centers, submarines, and renewable energy. Abhijit Dubey, global chief executive officer, of NTT, on his maiden India visit, said India represents the highest growth in terms of geography for the services that NTT provides globally. India is the eighth largest in terms of revenue for NTT global business. India is in the vicinity to be a $1 billion business for us. Importantly, after Japan, India is the center where we have the largest employee base, he added. NTT - between its data center business and IT services - has 37,000 employees in India. The global headcount for this is 147,000. India is 3-5 percent of the $20-billion international business of NTT, which brings the numbers in the range of $700 million. NTT Data is the largest data center services provider in the country and is the second largest player in the IT services segment. In the data centre segment, NTT Datas market share is 22 percent. Growth driver The company currently has 11 operational data centers, with six more to be added and three under construction. Edge will be the next growth frontier for NTT. The company is also coming up with Edge data centers in cities like Kolkata, Pune, Nagpur, and Lucknow. The demand for data center services has been increasing. Nearly 70 percent of the capacity of these data centers has already been pre-booked, added Sharad Sanghi, managing director, of NTT India. In an important development, the company said that by the end of this year, India will have a submarine cable, called Mist, which will land in Mumbai and Chennai and will connect data centers in India to Myanmar, Singapore, and Malaysia. This is for the first time that a marine cable landing station will be at a data center too, said Dubey. Flipkart cofounder Binny Bansal is in discussion to invest about $100-150 million in PhonePe as part of an ongoing financing round at the digital payments company, people in the know said. The transaction, if it goes through, would be among the largest individual investments in a new-age firm, similar to the $100 million bet taken by Flipkarts other founder Sachin Bansal in Ola during 2018. The amount that he (Binny Bansal) is investing is yet to be finalised. The talks have been on and are likely to close soon, said a person familiar with the discussions. PhonePe has already secured nearly $450 million in primary capital from PE major General Atlantic, Tiger Global, Ribbit Capital, among others, in this current funding round at a valuation of $12 billion. Some of the existing shareholders in Flipkart like Bansal, Tiger Global, Chinas Tencent, Qatar Investment Authority and Microsoft, were expected to acquire a fresh stake in PhonePe, as the company put together a new ownership structure. Walmart continues to be the largest investor in PhonePe with around 70% stake. PhonePe is the dominant online payments app on Indias Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and clocks about four billion transactions monthly, president and CEO of Walmart International, Judith McKenna, had said last month. At the end of 2022, its total payment volume (TPV) touched $950 billion, she said. It competes directly with Google Pay, Paytm, Amazon Pay and WhatsApp Pay, among others, on the UPI network. PhonePe has said it held a 50.2% market share of UPI transactions by value in December last year. As per a report, PhonePe was in final stages of discussions to acquire buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) startup ZestMoney as it looks to monetise through financial services. Bansal, who was instrumental in Flipkart's acquisition of PhonePe in 2016, has stayed on its board and has been closely associated with the companys founders Sameer Nigam and Rahul Chari. In fact, Nigam, Chari and Burzin Engineer, had earlier founded Mime360, a digital media distribution company, which too was sold to Flipkart, in 2011 to help the ecommerce player build its digital music distribution platform Flyte. The deal assumes significance as it comes at a time when the overall technology industry has been facing a long period of slowdown in funding activity. Aside from PhonePe, Bansal has also put additional funds into Curefoods, a cloud kitchen platform, which was hived off from Cultfit, founded by Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori in 2016. He has bought secondary shares held by Cultfit in Curefoods, said three people familiar with the deal talks. Sources said Bansals ownership has risen from under 5% in Curefoods to around 12-13% with the $25-30 million investment. After Mukesh Bansal and Nagori split and in 2021, Curefoods took shape separately, Binny Bansal had funded the platform He is now doubling down by bulking up his shareholding, stated another person familiar with the situation. Bansals other large investment is in new-age insurance firm Acko where he holds about 8-9% stake and first invested in 2018. Since then, Bansal has put in a total of about $30 million into the firm, people aware of the matter said. Acko is currently valued at $1.1 billion. The entrepreneur-turned-investor is not just an angel and early-stage backer of Indian startups but has differentiated himself by also ploughing in funds at later stages. And taking on board seats at firms like PhonePe and Curefoods, several people who are aware of Bansals thinking said. His startup investments are routed through different entities like the Singapore- headquartered Three State Capital; 021 Capital a fund founded by Bansals financial advisor Sailesh Tulshan where he is the largest sponsor; as well as xto10x Technologies, which he founded along with former Flipkart senior executive Saikiran Krishnamurthy. His other portfolio companies include electric scooter maker Ather Energy, urban mobility startup Yulu, lending platform Rupeek, among 80 companies that he has backed as per data from research firm Tracxn. In 2019, Bansal had planned to roll out a venture capital fund. However, the plan failed to fructify and he has since backed startups from his personal pool of capital. Bansal sold a portion of his stake worth around $200 million in Flipkart as part of the $3.6 billion funding round that the ecommerce giant had closed that year. Those who invested in that round included Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), the Singapore governments sovereign wealth fund GIC and Japans SoftBank, among others. Bansal has taken concentrated bets where hes been cutting larger cheques for more mature companies, said another person familiar with his strategy. Over the last few quarters, he is also spending more time in India with frequent visits to Bangalore, said another person on condition of anonymity. Besides his investments, he is also spending more time at xto10x. They are contemplating investing in startups through xto10x as well, a person aware of the matter said. San Mateo, CA (94402) Today Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low 47F. W winds at 10 to 20 mph, decreasing to 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low 47F. W winds at 10 to 20 mph, decreasing to 5 to 10 mph. U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday unveiled a $6.8 trillion government spending plan for 2024 calling for dozens of new policy initiatives and higher taxes on corporations and wealthy individuals. But opposition Republicans immediately said it had no chance of winning congressional approval, VOA reported. March 10, 2023, 16:29 Biden unveils $6.8 trillion 2024 budget plan STEPANAKERT, MARCH 10 , ARTSAKHPRESS: Biden, a Democrat in his first term in the White House and eyeing a reelection bid next year, called for more funding to counter China's economic and military clout, bigger spending on health care for Americans young and old, new education ventures and more robust staffing for the country's Environmental Protection Agency. 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! 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 For four years, embattled fintech hotshot John Karantzis was the biggest defender of his once $1 billion ASX company iSignthis. Through shareholder letters and fiery tweets, the maverick businessman led the company as it sought to repel allegations from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and market operator the ASX that iSignthis had provided misleading information to the market. In the minds of iSignthis defenders, the company was facing a war, and Karantzis was its major-general. A lot was at stake. iSignthis had grown large enough to be considered part of the top 300 listed companies, with a suite of products tailored to take advantage of the growing world of online transactions. This included helping groups such as cryptocurrency platforms and gaming websites to process transactions and providing oversight of anti-money laundering controls that would help weed out nefarious transactions. From left: iSignthis chairman Tim Hart, managing director John Karantzis and iSignthis director Scott Minehane. Credit:Nine But come ASICs civil trial in the Federal Court against the company and Karantzis this month, for alleged serious and ongoing breaches of their obligation to keep the market informed, Karantzis has, so far, been missing in action despite the threat of banning orders hanging over his head. He has strenuously denied all allegations in an affidavit to the court, and currently lives in Cyprus, where he still runs a business that was spun out of iSignthis in 2022. ASICs barrister, Michael Borsky, KC, was keen to point that out to the judge hearing the case, Justice Timothy McEvoy. Advertisement If Mr Karantzis ultimately turns out to give evidence, therell be many questions for him to answer under cross-examination, Borsky said at the start of the trial. If he does not, the inference will, of course, be available that his evidence could not have assisted his defence, or the companies and your honour will even more readily find that the alleged acts and omissions and alleged breaches of duties and contraventions occurred. Hitting the hurdle ASICs opening salvo at Karantzis stood in contrast to the good times at the company. When iSignthis floated on the ASX in March 2015 it had much promise. The company had a strong board that was led by a high-profile and respected chairman in Tim Hart the then president of the illustrious Australian Club. It also had relationships with big-name financial services groups such as National Australia Bank and Visa. These larger financial institutions relied on iSignthis promise that its products could provide reliable and quick services that help verify customers identities that could ensure banks and credit card issuers were not inadvertently processing transactions linked to fraud, scams or other illegal activities such as money laundering. At the same time, iSignthis would provide products and services to online businesses handling large volumes of transactions. Like many fintech start-ups, iSignthis revenue was low for its first few years. The group recorded about $1 million in revenue every six months as it sought to build up its client base. Then in the first six months of 2018, its revenue suddenly exploded to a bit more than $5 million for the half year, as iSignthis entered into a flurry of contracts, some of which were allegedly backdated so that they fell within that six-month period. The jump in revenue coincided with a key milestone for iSignthis founder, directors and advisers, who had been promised the handsome share bonus potentially worth together hundreds of millions of dollars if they had reached $5 million in revenue by the end of June 2018. Advertisement But in iSignthis next six-month report after the hurdle had been met to win the shares for its executives its revenue suddenly fell back to $1 million again. Already eyebrows were raised. ASIC alleges iSignthis was aware of the concern and deliberately misled its shareholders and analysts on a briefing call in August 2018 into believing that the bulk of this revenue or 85 per cent of it was recurring revenue rather than one-off payments and therefore reflected true, ongoing, organic growth for the company. Just the start of iSignthis troubles Soon staff from the ASX and ASIC began asking questions and by October 2019, iSignthis shares were suspended from trading, sparking a fight with the company that resulted in iSignthis lodging legal action against the ASX. By 2021, iSignthis would delist from the ASX, decamp to Europe and drop its case against the ASX. The concerns about iSignthis presentation of its revenue was just the start of the companys problems. The court heard this month that the ASX and iSignthis commercial partner, Visa, would also allege during 2019 and 2020 that some of iSignthis new customers that had helped it record the unusually high revenue were associated with alleged scams, unlicensed trading and illegal gambling operations. Michael Borsky, KC, when he was acting as counsel for Crown during the Victorian royal commission. In the iSignthis case he is acting for ASIC. Advertisement Borsky also told the court that ASIC believes iSignthis broke the law when it failed to disclose in a timely fashion that Visa had terminated its relationship with iSignthis in April 2020, and when it did break the news, it did so in a misleading way on May 24 of that year and continued to do so for much of 2020. The court heard that Visa first contacted iSignthis on March 6, 2020, to inform iSignthis it was suspending it from being allowed to process Visa transactions. The Visa letter Borsky, reading extracts of the letter he said was signed by five Visa executives, told the court the letter contained a list of allegations against iSignthis. First, unusual transaction activity Visas financial intelligence and analytics program FIA program had identified an unexpectedly high volume of cross-border transactions at iSignthis merchants by United States cardholders. Thats in addition to the FIA program which identified a high number of transactions with merchant category codes, often found to be associated with miscoded and or illegal gambling. Second, there was suspicious merchant activity identified by Visa in relation to iSignthis. And thirdly, Visa had identified that there had been derogatory news regarding iSignthis which had raised concerns about our iSignthis governance and client portfolio. Visa was a very important partner for iSignthis. Credit:Jessica Shapiro Borsky told the court Visa referenced a news report, by this masthead, that revealed German regulator BaFin had warned iSignthis top customer over unlicensed trading. Advertisement Borsky went on to say that Visa alleged that iSignthis had not co-operated with an attempted review by Visa in 2019 following its concerns about its client quality, and had not responded to earlier notices from Visa about worrying transactions being processed by the know-your-customer specialists. iSignthis responded to the letter offering to provide additional information, which it promptly did. But on April 17, 2020 Visa sent a termination letter that included more allegations, Borsky said. Visa explained that a robust and fit for purpose monitoring program would have resulted in investigation of suspicious activities identified by Visa in its review. This included, Borsky said: High merchant payment volume volatility that fluctuated considerably month to month ... Inexplicable consumer transaction patterns such as a single cardholder purchasing 52 travel packages, 43 games from a website that had only three games publicly available for free and 30 student travel packages all within one month, and suspicious web traffic patterns from iSignthis to gambling payment pages. Devastating news iSignthis chairman Hart, who gave evidence on behalf of the company during the trial, told the court the company honestly believed Visa was wrong in its decision and its letter included serious errors. He said the company found the allegation it had loose anti-money laundering controls misleading. Hart agreed under cross-examination that Visas termination was devastating news, and that his first instinct was to draft a press release to tell shareholders after receiving the termination letter from Visa. Advertisement 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 Yuki Kihara has chosen familiar wallpaper for our Zoom interview: a tropical beach, the curve of white sand fringed with palms, translucent shallows and a long blue horizon. One could easily assume it is a stock photograph from Silicon Valley, an idealised holiday setting from a tourist brochure. Its nice and inviting, says the Samoan faafafine artist. But you would never know the ocean is rising. Born in Samoa in 1975, Kihara had a cosmopolitan childhood, attending primary school in Osaka, then boarding school in Wellington while living in Jakarta. Her father is Japanese, her maternal grandfather was German. Faafafine, loosely translating as born a man, living in the manner of a woman, and faatama, born a woman, living in the manner of a man, are gender identities particular to Samoa, with counterparts across the Pacific. Three Faafafine (After Gauguin), 2020. Credit:Yuki Kihara Paradise Camp first showed at the 59th Venice Biennale: The Milk of Dreams, Kihara the first Pasifika artist to represent New Zealand. Curator Cecilia Alemanis remarkable vision which centered women and non-binary artists in this time of ecological collapse pointed to humanitys need for holistic thinking, economic systems based on sustainment rather than growth and the importance of Indigenous knowledge. Kiharas installation, which will be at the Powerhouse Museum from March 24, stood out for its saturated tropicality and the faafafine featured in photographs and videos. Attending the Biennale after six months in Italy, I was struck all the more by the contrast to European aesthetics, and the aching familiarity of Pasifika culture. The pavilion was close to the main exhibition in the events notoriously huge sprawl of galleries. Being based in the Arsenale was a blessing in disguise because the group show helped form the context for my work, and my work extended some of the dialogue that Cecilia was curating: representation, the ecology, equality, human rights. Advertisement Ancillary events such as a conference on climate change to which eight Pasifika scholars were invited, were bonuses. Flood-prone, vulnerable Venice was an ideal host for them. But there was a spanner in the works. The Commissioner (Caren Rangi) of the New Zealand Pavilion consulted with the La Biennale about housing a faafafine transgender artist, and the need for gender-neutral bathrooms, but they didnt install any. They want to appear liberal but when it comes to the pragmatic side, its got a long way to go. Im kinda used to it because thats what I have to face every day in my life. Like her compatriot Greg Semu, whose photographic re-enactments of old European paintings are also shot in and with communities, Kihara trained as a fashion designer. Then I worked in wardrobe management, as a stylist, making costumes for performing arts productions, television and film. I learnt how everybody collaborated to realise the vision of the director. When I make photographs I use the methodology of film production. Siou alofa Maria: Hail Mary (After Gauguin), 2020. Credit:Yuki Kihara How did you feel about the representation of Oceania at the Biennale? Again, I wasnt surprised because were always left out; although the Pacific Ocean covers one third of the planet, we continue to be ignored. The region has 50 thousand islands, over 3200 Indigenous languages spoken actively every day. A sea of islands, as pioneering Tongan-Fijian scholar Epeli Hauofa called it. Advertisement Curated by Australian Natalie King, Paradise Camps foundation is a photographic series responding to paintings done by Parisian artist Paul Gauguin at the turn of last century. During her decades long international career, Kihara has accessed archives in New Zealand, Europe and the USA pertaining to this body of work. Yuki is indefatigable, King tells me. She has a strong research methodology, but the work has such tenderness and materiality. The paintings Gauguin produced fed Europes appetite for the exotic, gaining popularity throughout the 20th century. Born in that tumultuous year of Revolution, 1848, Gauguin left for Tahiti 50 years later, searching for the new. That his desire to escape the depredations of his own civilisation resulted in continued exploitation is tragically familiar. For all the years he spent there, Gauguin did not learn the language nor give economic remuneration to the Tahitians who enabled his bestsellers. Genesis 9:16 (After Gauguin), 2020. Credit:Yuki Kihara I think that as a person Gauguin did a lot of dodgy things but as a painter he did a wonderful job. All the interesting work happens when he comes to Polynesia, inspired by the Other. Everything else is crap, Yuki peals with laughter. Im very drawn to his use of colour and departure from Impressionism to post-Impressionism. Supposedly inspired by the landscapes of Tahiti and the Marquesas, many of Gauguins paintings were fictitious. What Kihara presented in Venice was very influenced by Pakeha photographer Thomas Andrew, whose Samoan photographs she unearthed in Gauguins journal Noa noa. Andrew took portraits in studio and landscape settings, mostly of young women. Sold in the name of science, such photos were common sources of erotic pleasure for white men from body-phobic cultures who used them to legitimise the display of bare breasts. Kihara guesses Gauguin came across Andrews photos during a visit to Auckland. Comparing them with Gauguins paintings, she found repetitions of compositions, poses, even sitters features. Her collages are astonishing illustrations not just of source material but also the interplay between photography and painting characteristic of this time. Andrews photographs often depicted Samoa, which with Tahiti and the Marquesas is part of the Austronesian language group spanning from Madagascar, Taiwan, Indonesia, then across the Pacific, following the pattern of migration millennia ago. Advertisement Kiharas 2018/2020 collage Three Tahiti(Samo)ans combines Andrews photograph Tattooed Samoan with Gauguins painting Three Tahitians (1899). The former shows a man seated from behind, the distinctive Samoan pea tattoo across his lower back. The latter shows two women flanking a man with his back to the camera, his shape and pose an exact replica of Andrews Samoan model. However, Gauguin painted a twist of cloth across the mans back, perhaps anticipating correction from a perspicacious ethnologist. Yet the pea peeps through if you know what youre looking for. The other twist is that many of the women in Gauguins paintings are now recognised as muhu, the Tahitian equivalent of faafafine. Gauguin made no reference to alternative genders, perhaps too wary of upsetting the market. Maori scholar Dr Ngahuia Te Awekotuku wryly noted in her 1992 critique of him, The male-female opposition is reconfigured and reinforced in the 19th century by missionaries, gentlemen scholars and Christian Maori scribes as the accepted norm, though the natives persist in its subversion. 2Two Faafafine on the beach (After Gauguin), 2020. Credit:Yuki Kihara Pasifika readings of Gauguin consider his attraction to mahu as complicated. His hair had grown long by the time he disembarked in Papeete. They laughed and called him tata-vahine, Tahitian for man-woman. I ask Kihara if she thinks he identified with mahu. I dont think he knew what it was like to have a mistaken identity. I think they were laughing at him because he was a white guy, and an ugly white guy. And he just hopped off the ship looking terrible. In the wittiest of Paradise Camps so-called In-drag-enous theatrical mise-en-scene, Kihara spent hours getting made up as Gauguin. As Yuki, she converses with Gauguin in a surreal spar between artist and model, subject and object, past and present, cis man and faafafine, Europe and Oceania. No prizes for guessing who wins. Paradise Camp at MAAS will be reinvigorated by the Powerhouses huge collection pertaining to Samoas colonial history, most notably 2900 glass plates by photographer Charles Kerry who visited the Pacific around the same time as Andrew. Archival interplay has been the backbone of other Powerhouse exhibitions by Indigenous artists such as Brook Garru Andrew. Advertisement I havent found any link between Gauguin and Charles Kerry. But I can make out an uncanny connection in the visual composition of the landscape, Kihara sends me a collage of a Kerry riverbank superimposed over a Gauguin painting. The landforms are the same. I think Gauguin took artistic licence. He could brand the works as from a particular place then sell through his Parisian dealer because nobody there knew. Like he used Tahitian titles for paintings of Samoans. Kerrys photos also provide a visual record. Natural disasters are on the increase. The average sea level rise around the world is 2.28 to 3.5 mm per year but in Samoa and other parts of the western Pacific, the movement of currents puts it up to around 4. Nafea e te faaipoipo? When will you marry? (After Gauguin), 2020. Credit:Yuki Kihara Kihara brings my attention back to her Zoom wallpaper. In fact, it is a photo of a beach called Saleapaga on Upolu Island, badly hit by the 2009 tsunami. The district suffered greatly. 189 people died. And their recovery has been impacted by climate change. Kiharas models are all from the Islander Faafafine Association. In the panorama Fonofono o le nuanua: Patches of the Rainbow (after Gauguin) (2020), they pose at waters edge in colourful cloths, behind them thick jungle. The stilted nineteenth-century poses are offset with knowing, self-possessed expressions. These people were among the first responders to the tsunami, care-giving and guardianship being primary roles of faafafine. Advertisement 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 Marina Mascarell isnt afraid to challenge her dancers. The Spanish choreographer has created works where dancers move around folding and unfolding pieces of carpet, bars that wobble, and even, once, 200 kilograms of dried lentils that had been shipped onto the stage. And in every piece, the bodies adapt to it, Mascarell says. For me, its a beautiful challenge. In her latest work, Mascarell has dancers working with moving fabric sculptures. In The Shell, A Ghost, The Host and The Lyrebird, a new production co-commissioned by the Sydney Dance Company and Canberra Theatre Centre, dancers interact with large ship sails and patch-worked pieces of silk that are rigged up on harnesses and pulled with ropes. Mascarell has melded choreography and installation art to create a work that continuously transforms in front of the audience: dancers tug at the ropes and hold on to them as they glide across the floor, moving the fabric sculptures into different formations as they go. They pull the silk through their hands, wrap themselves in sails like a child playing hide and seek, or cower underneath the giant folds. It is a visually spectacular work, but the intent is to do more than just inspire awe. Spanish choreographer Marina Mascarell. Credit:Louise Kennerley The sails are hard and heavy, meaning the dancers must move as much as 20 kilograms of weight up and down. But they must also work with weightless and fragile pieces of silk, the handling of which demands a very different approach. How they learn to navigate both objects is, for Mascarell, a way of reflecting the themes that interest her as an artist: resistance, pushing back against the status quo, and posthumanism, or the idea that humans are no longer the top of the moral hierarchy. Its a way to decentralise humans as the model of creation and to learn from other sources, she says. In creating The Shell, A Ghost, The Host & The Lyrebird, Mascarell was inspired by the ecofeminism theories of Donna Haraway and critiques of capitalism from Mark Fisher. The piece does not tell a narrative story but rather explores how bodies transform in relation to other beings and nature, and how theyll relate to technology in the future. Confronting the climate crisis folds naturally into this. These are themes that have long interested Mascarell. Advertisement I have always been triggered by universal justice, she says. I come from a family that is really politically engaged and at home, I would say 95 per cent of the conversations at home have been on this issue. I grew up in an environment of literally question everything, so its in my nature. Her work has long explored feminism and smashing the gender binary you will never see a woman being lifted aerially or presenting her body as beautiful in her productions, for instance, and the costuming in The Shell, A Ghost, The Host and The Lyrebird is genderless intentionally. But Mascarell feels that the best way to break stereotypes happens behind the scenes. The way I work is very horizontal, not imposing, she says. It is about creating an atmosphere of work where everybody feels they can be vulnerable, and have a place to play and be ridiculous sometimes too. So, I think [challenging gender identity] is often more in the process than, Im [directly] talking about feminism, or Im talking about queer theories. Set designer Lauren Brincat. Credit:Louise Kennerley When Mascarell fell into dance as a university student, she began to transpose those ways of thinking into movement. Throughout the 2010s she became renowned, working globally from Taiwan to the Hague, the city she now lives in, although in April, she will relocate to Copenhagen to begin a new appointment as artistic director of the Danish Dance Theatre. The Sydney Dance Company first invited Mascarell to create a work for them in 2020, but the pandemic forced a pause on those plans. Now the vision will be realised with a triple bill called Ascent, opening at the Sydney Opera House next week, and making Mascarell the first international choreographer the company has worked with in more than six years. Having a choreographer of her stature is a coup, but Shell, A Ghost, The Host and The Lyrebird has been highly collaborative. First, Mascarell connected with Sydney-based composer Nick Wales about creating the score an electronic-classical piece of music that is littered with bird calls, plummeting the audience instinctively into the natural world. Next, she sought a visual artist who might be interested in working on an ambitious, interactive set design one that could still be transportable enough to take on tour and Wales introduced her to Australian Lauren Brincat. He was like, youre gonna love her, Mascarell remembers. And it was like a crush! Advertisement Brincats work spans sculpture installations, moving images, and performance. Most recently shes worked with painter drop sheets and giant sailcloths, something that immediately piqued Mascarells interest. The pair initially met in Europe, hit it off, then spent eight months discussing ideas for the Sydney Dance Company production between continents. They say that their collaboration felt serendipitous. I didnt know Marina well, but Id looked at her work and I feel like we have a very similar way of working theres a lot of improvisation, theres a lot of playing with what things are supposed to do or how theyre supposed to move, Brincat says. Brincat brought in textiles artist Leah Giblin and together with Mascarell, they created the costumes for the dancers and the sculpture set. Brincat says she always thought of the sails and pieces of silk as instruments for the dancers to use during the performance. Mascarell with dancers Emily Seymour and Jesse Scales. Credit:Louise Kennerley My vision was, here are five extra dancers because sometimes I believe [the sculptures] are dancers on stage. And then sometimes theres a reverse, and the dancers become the sculpture. The piece has continued to evolve. It really does feel like theres no head person on this piece, Brincat says. Actually, everyones input has really elevated the work. Its been a collective gathering of minds to make it happen. Advertisement The dancers, too, have played a key role in the process. Rather than a top-down approach, Mascarell has involved each of them in the creation of the choreography. [Marina] is amazing to work with super collaborative, and loves to play in order to find instinctual movements and ideas, says Jesse Scales, one of the seven on-stage dancers in the work. We had no preconceived idea of how we would work with the sculptures. And so when we got into the studio, and we saw them all, we were just sort of going, Hey, maybe I could do this? Lets see if this works. If I pull this, what does it do to that? And how can I reflect that through my body? Loading Because were having to pull very heavy sails, its basically doing weight training all day. Well work on a section play with them and theyll end up tangled, so in order to go back and try it again, you have to reset everything, Scales laughs. But we choose to do this job because we love it. So, having now added large-scale moving sculptures to the list of objects she has built choreography around, will Mascarell ever work with an empty stage? I did a piece in Barcelona last year and that was my aim Im going to do a piece with nothing [on stage], as a challenge because I feel very comfortable with things around me. And it ended up being the busiest piece ever, with millions of things on stage, she says, describing the abandoned objects found in the Spanish countryside that she built the work around. But one day I will! Ascent will be at the Sydney Opera House from March 15 to 26. Advertisement If James Cameron truly believes in anything, its the power of big-screen spectacle, and more than ever hes determined to give us the works. This story is part of the March 11 Edition of Good Weekend. Six of the best diversions, including what to watch, read, eat and buy. Spotlight Sunnyi Melles as Vera in Best Film Oscar contender Triangle of Sadness. Credit: Alamy It was Swiss philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau who apparently said, When the people shall have nothing more to eat, they will eat the rich. Little did we know that this 18th-century political catchcry would become a popular trend in 21st-century Hollywood (of all places). While hardly starved for content, weve recently been gorging on TV shows and films dedicated to satirising those who earn the most. A woman who killed a man she had considered her boyfriend by running him over after finding him in his underwear with another woman committed deplorable violence, a judge has said, jailing her for a maximum of 20 years. Jackline Sabana Bona Musa, 47, was found guilty of murder in December after she ploughed her Toyota Kluger into 31-year-old Payman Paul Thagipur in Wentworth Point in Sydneys west. Jackline Musa after the collision. The slippers left by a frightened neighbour who ran away can be seen in the background. Musas trial in the NSW Supreme Court heard she had met her victim online in late 2019 and thought of Thagipur as her boyfriend. She had not received a reply to her text messages for a week when she arrived at his Wentworth Point unit complex about 8.13pm on June 27, 2020, breaking the garage door upon entry and lying to Thagipurs neighbour to be allowed inside, where she found him with someone else. On the strength of his performance Prince invited him to take a look at the Broadway production of Fiddler on the Roof, starring Zero Mostel, with a view to his taking the role in Israel. Topol stumbled into musical stardom. It all started when the Broadway producer Hal Prince got wind of his performance in the 1964 Israeli film Sallah Shabati, in which he played a middle-aged Jewish Yemenite immigrant arriving in Israel with his family. The film was nominated for an Oscar and featured the 28-year-old actor sporting a grey beard to pretend he was much older than he was. Chaim Topol, the Israeli actor, who has died aged 87, became indelibly associated in the public mind with just one role, that of Tevye, the dairyman singing and dancing his way around a farmyard as he dreams of being a wealthy man, in Norman Jewisons 1971 film of the hit musical Fiddler on the Roof. Yet Topol hated it: It was a matinee, he recalled. I cant explain it, but Zero was going wild. He said things like, Mrs Finkelstein, are you yawning because Im boring you or was it because your husband kept you awake all night? I didnt know what to do with myself. I telegrammed back saying there was no way I wanted to be connected to that show. When the musical opened in Tel Aviv (where it was performed in Hebrew), another actor took the part, followed, after a year, by Topols old teacher. But when the teacher fell ill in 1965, Topol started understudying for four shows a week. I telegrammed back saying there was no way I wanted to be connected to that show. Chaim Topol, on the first time he saw Fiddler On The Roof Two years later, when he was summoned to play the part at Her Majestys Theatre in London, he assumed it was because the producers had happened to see him in the role in Tel Aviv rather than the other, more established, actor. At the time he spoke hardly a word of English, so he learned the script parrot-fashion from an LP of Zero Mostel on Broadway. From 1967 the show ran for four years at Her Majestys to enthusiastic reviews. It was in London, too, that he became known simply as Topol. The producers of the show found it difficult to pronounce the name Chaim and, with his permission, omitted it from the playbill. Some people do think about it and dont care, but I think theres a lot of people who dont want to think about it because they know what the answer actually is, he said. Loading The Albanese government commissioned former Victorian and NSW Police official Christine Nixon to conduct an inquiry into the exploitation of border security by crime syndicates in January in the wake of reporting from The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and 60 Minutes. But state and federal law-enforcement officials blame inaction on the Department of Home Affairs and Australian Border Force. Six officials from state and federal agencies, who spoke to this masthead of the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly, said both Border Force and Home Affairs were warned by external agencies and their own investigators and analysts of foreign-worker exploitation syndicates. But the departments had failed to act until the media reporting late last year triggered a multi-agency inquiry codenamed Operation Inglenook. Sources said Border Force officials have privately blamed inadequate resourcing and legislative impediments, while other security and intelligence officials described a failure to prioritise Home Affairs intelligence that had identified the movement of suspected criminals into Australia and other criminality. In response to a series of questions from this investigation, Home Affairs and Border Force stressed their commitment to tackling visa rorting and human trafficking. The departments said they had also identified dozens of potential targets and were taking action against some individuals as a result of Operation Inglenook. The sources said that among the underground sex industry syndicate targets flagged with Home Affairs, but not subject to any proactive targeting, was Mae Ja Kim. Loading Kim was jailed for a minimum of 2 years in 2015 for dealing with the proceeds of crime as a result of a landmark human-trafficking taskforce led by Woodward and Cheshire. Operation Kitrino revealed Kim was managing at any one time at least 100 Asian women in brothels across Melbourne and that these women were exploited and intimidated after entering Australia. The gaps that were made by us being able to send people to prison were filled by these senior operators within the syndicate to continue or to rebuild that syndicate model, Cheshire told the Trafficked documentary. He said police had gathered intelligence very quickly after Kim was released from prison that the syndicate was exploiting imported women. Trafficked confirmed that Kim was last year living and working at a brothel in South Melbourne called 39 Tope. That brothel has previously been implicated in human-trafficking allegations. Federal detectives raided 39 Tope in May over allegations that two Japanese women may have been trafficked to the brothel, although no charges were laid. The 39 Tope brothel in South Melbourne. Credit: Paul Rovere After the raids, this investigation tracked Kim to a new suspected sex-worker business on a busy shopping strip in Hawthorn. Kim is advertising the availability of good-looking young girls at the premises. Questioned at the premises, Kim denied being a boss or taking workers passports, saying it was others at 39 Tope who had dealt with the women there. A nephew of an alleged Kim syndicate senior member has fought the Victorian government for three years to buy a new Melbourne brothel after the Victoria Police advised licensing authorities to block the purchase over links to suspected organised crime. The nephew abandoned his legal fight last week after this investigation sought access to the sealed police report about him from the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. Cheshire said the fact that figures linked to the Kim syndicate seemed unconcerned with police attention showed their brazenness. They are not really that worried about what police do, they will just continue to operate, he said. I think theres a number of brothels across Melbourne that would give concern as to what their operating model is and where their staff are coming from. Like many crime types, its something that you cant just do something about and then switch off. You need to maintain your effort within that area. The apartment block in Canberra where an alleged illegal brothel operated. Credit: Rhett Wyman He declined to comment on the adequacy of efforts by his own agency and others to combat the underground sex industry, human trafficking and related migration crime. The law-enforcement sources said more needed to be done and inadequate federal legislation amended. The department of federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus is leading a separate review into Australias modern slavery regime, which will complement Nixons inquiry findings. The resilience of organised criminals suspected of exploiting overseas workers is evident in the case of a wealthy Sydney woman who, in May 2021, was the subject of the largest civil-assets freezing order in the Australian Capital Territory. A Coogee house that police seized as part of an alleged illegal prostitution business. Credit: Nick Moir The Trafficked documentary team spent months fighting the womans lawyers in the ACT courts to access a sealed federal police affidavit detailing her alleged criminal enterprise. The Court of Appeal ordered its release last month. It reveals the federal police identified and seized houses and apartments worth more than $10 million which they allege were controlled by the businesswoman to run a network of up to 500 Asian sex workers across Australia. That included a number of women directed to work at a Canberra apartment that doubled as an illegal brothel and in which women offered unprotected sex and worked in breach of COVID-19 laws. In addition to money laundering, detectives accused the businesswoman of exposing workers to death or injury. Loading Despite the seriousness of the allegations that justified the freezing order, no criminal charges were laid against the woman or her syndicate. The properties seized by police included multimillion-dollar homes in Newtown and Coogee in Sydney, as well as houses in Wagga Wagga and Albury in rural NSW, and Sunrise Beach in Queensland. Within a short time of the police asset-seizure action in the ACT Supreme Court, online posts revealed the businesswoman had relaunched her sex business, which is still running. Watch Trafficked on Stan from Sunday, March 12. Stan is owned by Nine, which owns this masthead. The judge who ordered a breastfeeding mother and her child to leave a Melbourne court has sought to explain his decision as the woman involved speaks out, saying she felt humiliated and shamed by the ordeal. The woman was feeding her child while observing a matter in the Victorian County Court on Thursday when the judge addressed her directly. County Court judge Mark Gamble told the jury on Friday he was about to bring them into the courtroom for a closing argument when he asked the woman to leave. It should all be self-explanatory, members of the jury, what I said was this, and I am reading from the transcripts: Madam, you will not be permitted to breastfeed a baby in court. Im sorry. I will have to ask you to leave. It will be a distraction for the jury at the very least. Thank you. On March 10, from 19:10 p.m. to 19:40 p.m., the units of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces violated the ceasefire regime towards the Northern direction of the contact line using firearms, the press service of the Artsakh Republic Defense Ministry. March 10, 2023, 20:33 Azerbaijan violated the ceasefire regime using firearms. Artsakh Defense Ministry STEPANAKERT, MARCH 10 , ARTSAKHPRESS: There are no casualties from the Armenian side. The Russian peacekeeping contingents command was reported on the ceasefire violation. As of now, the situation on the contact line is relatively stable. Note the lack of a qualifier Xi does not seek for China the dominant position in Asia or the dominant position in the Indo-Pacific. This speech was not released publicly by the party for six years, but since 2018 his intent has been plain he seeks for China the dominant position in the world. Loading Is this realistic? It is indeed, according to the lead author of the 2018 US National Security Strategy. Only one country has the potential to dominate the US, Elbridge Colby told me last year. Only one country is amassing the power to be able to coerce the US economically, in turn positioning itself to be able to undermine its freedom and prosperity, he says: The only plausible way that could happen is China and Asia. Asia is about half of global GDP, in fact, probably more than that pretty soon, and China is by far the most powerful other state in the international system. So, by deduction, our most important interest is denying China hegemony over Asia. Which is why Joe Biden says the US is competing with China to win the 21st century. The slow-dawning comprehension has spread worldwide so that even the European Union abandoned its unwary welcome to the CCP. The EU now classifies China as a systemic rival promoting alternative models of governance. So, as Rudd says, the response may be slow in coming. But it is under way. As the Defence Minister, Richard Marles, told the House on Thursday: It is difficult to overstate the step that, as a nation, we are about to take. Australia will become just the seventh country to have the ability to operate a nuclear-powered submarine. We have never operated a military capability at this level before. Hes talking about the AUKUS plan, of course, an agreement conceived under the Morrison government and due for formal announcement next Tuesday. And why has Australia never operated a military capability at this level before? Chiefly because Washington would not have considered giving it to us. Even if it had, past Australian governments would have baulked at the astronomical cost. So why now? Because Washington and Canberra share a rising fear of Chinas plans. The US wants more allied help to deter China from aggression. We cant do it by ourselves any more, as the White House Indo-Pacific co-ordinator, Kurt Campbell, told me last year. By sealing the AUKUS plan, Australia marks the moment when it chooses between two worlds. One is the world that China is building with its alternative models of governance, more colloquially known as dictatorship. The other is the world that tries to preserve as many of its present freedoms as possible. Both worlds, of course, are imperfect. But in the current world, Australia gets to decide for itself how imperfect it will be, and which imperfections it will try to fix. We get to debate, to protest, to think, to decide for ourselves. In the world that China is building, Xi decides for us. What would that look like for Australia? Beijing already has given us an early blueprint of some of its ideas the infamous 14 grievances or demands. Loading Remember that, at the same time China imposed its trade bans on Australia a little over two years ago, a pair of its diplomats handed the list of 14 to Nine reporter Jonathan Kearsley in the Hyatt Hotel in Canberra in November 2020. Dont remember them all? A quick recap of the main ones. First was that Australia had to accept foreign investment on Chinas terms, not ours. Second was that we had to accept Huawei to run our communications systems. Third was that Australia had to accept foreign interference by China. Fourth was to grant visas to anyone China chose. Fifth was to drop the call for a COVID inquiry. And so on, with the final two demanding self-censorship number 13 was that Australian MPs stop criticising the CCP, and last was that the Australian media do the same. In other words, it was a demand that Australia reshape its laws and its liberties to suit the comfort and convenience of the Chinese Communist Party. When Albanese on Tuesday announces the plan for the US and UK to help Australia get eight nuclear-powered submarines, it will be the moment that gives concrete expression to Australias choice. Asked last year whether Australia had to choose between the US and China, Albanese answered weve already chosen. Wed made the decision in 1951, he said, when Australia signed the ANZUS treaty. Illustration: John Shakespeare Credit: Its true that it was the moment Australia and the US became allies. But no treaty is any stronger than the political will of its signatories. New Zealand effectively pulled out of the treaty in the 1980s over US nuclear ship visits. NZ has yet to make its real choice between China and the US. For Australia, the contemporary choice will be next week when Albanese Labor commits Australia irrevocably to the Morrison Coalition proposal for AUKUS. It will not be a partisan policy. It will be a national decision. Prominent Indigenous leaders from the southern Gulf of Carpentaria have urged Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to give the public more information about the Voice to parliament and even delay it, warning failure could set back First Nations peoples rights for generations. Mangubadijarri Yanner and Fred Pascoe said the Voice could not be driven by politics, arguing it needed to focus on economic outcomes for Indigenous communities across the country. Indigenous leader Fred Pascoe said there were substantial risks from pushing the Voice referendum too quickly. Yanner, chair of the Gangalidda and Garawa Native Title Aboriginal Corporation, and Pascoe who is a former mayor of the Carpentaria Shire, are members of the Gulf Regional Economic Aboriginal Trust. They said while they could understand the Albanese governments intent with the Voice, it was undeveloped to the point it could easily fail. When Emmanuel Macron told me in October 2021 that Scott Morrison had lied to him over the ditching of a massive submarine contract between Australia and France, the extraordinary missive generated global headlines. But overlooked amid the fallout was another comment by the French president. Speaking to Australian reporters on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rome, Macron pointed out that the decision to abandon French submarines in favour of designing and building new boats via the freshly minted AUKUS agreement between Australia, the United States and United Kingdom had created one big problem. Australia is expected to announce it will buy up to five Virginia-class nuclear submarines from the US as a stopgap. Macrons beef was that in tearing up the French contract, the Morrison government didnt actually know what type of submarine it would now acquire only that they would be nuclear-powered. The best Morrison could say was that the government would spend the next 18 months working out the details. With the French deal negotiated by Malcolm Turnbull, Australia had definitely the notion to produce in Australia conventional submarines and to get the submarines within a clear and reliable period of time, Macron said. Now, you have 18 months before a report. Good luck. The Voice to federal parliament, Anthony Albaneses passion project for the first term of his government, is poised between narrow victory and heartbreaking defeat. The published opinion polls all point in the same direction, with the Yes vote drifting lower and the undecideds rising. There is a gnawing sense of dread within Labor ranks that the referendum is doomed. Not because Australians are opposed to the idea of an Indigenous Voice enshrined in the Constitution, but because they are confused by the detail. Illustration: Simon Letch Credit: The prime minister remains optimistic because he thinks Australians will do the decent thing when they are asked to vote Yes or No later this year. And he doesnt appear to be worried about the prospect of a scare campaign from Peter Dutton. The opposition leader is aware of Albaneses calculation, although it is not yet clear if he accepts it. Albanese doesnt need the conservative side of politics to walk alongside him. In fact, a polarised debate with Dutton running a hard No campaign might help the Yes case more than it harms it. Put bluntly, the Coalitions base is more likely to split than Labors, delivering Albanese a form of bipartisanship by default. The realignment of the electorate which brought Labor to power last May provides a plausible path to victory at a referendum without the support of the Coalition. NSW Labor cannot count on the support of the Greens to form a minority government unless it agrees to several key demands, including a mandatory cashless gaming card, as crossbenchers clamour to extract promises from the major parties ahead of the state election. The Greens demand for gambling reform means at least seven likely crossbenchers in the lower house have made a digital gaming card a condition of their support in the event of a hung parliament, which Labor and the Coalition see as a likely outcome on March 25. Newtown MP Jenny Leong said Labor could not just assume it was guaranteed the Greens support in a hung parliament. Credit: Anna Kucera Labor has not supported a cashless card, which Premier Dominic Perrottet pursued after the release of a damning NSW Crime Commission report into money laundering, but it has committed to a trial of the technology in 500 of the almost 90,000 poker machines in NSW. The Greens will release its hung parliament strategy at its campaign launch on Saturday, which includes demands not currently supported by Labor, including mandated nurse-to-patient ratios, a formerly long-held policy of the Australian Labor Party. The Liberal Party will try to hold on to Aston, the once-safe Liberal seat vacated by Alan Tudge, as Labor pushes for an upset victory. The Age will publish updates from reporters in the field covering issues affecting voters in the lead-up to the poll on Saturday, April 1. One Nation leader Pauline Hanson says her party chose not to run a candidate in the crucial Aston byelection to help the Liberal Party retain the seat in which right-wing micro-parties took thousands of votes from former Liberal member Alan Tudge. Campaigning in the marginal seat in Melbournes outer-eastern suburbs will increase this weekend as Labor launches attack advertisements against Opposition Leader Peter Dutton. The ads, seen by this masthead, highlight Duttons record as health minister and label him leader of [Scott] Morrisons Liberal leftovers. Peter Dutton and the Liberals candidate for Aston, Roshena Campbell, campaign in the seat last month. Credit: Joe Armao In last years federal election, more than 11 per cent of voters backed the Liberal Democrats, United Australia Party or One Nation in Aston, with about 65 per cent of preferences flowing back to the Liberal Party. Before the writs were issued, several minor-party sources confirmed there were preliminary negotiations between One Nation, the United Australia Party, Family First and the Liberal Democrats about supporting a like-minded candidate to stand, with preferences directed back to the Liberals. However, the authorities had received an anonymous tip-off with allegations of disturbing behaviour in January. The anonymous person expressed the opinion in the letter that Philipp F. could be suffering from a mental illness, without, as the person wrote, this being medically diagnosed since Philipp F. would not seek medical treatment, Ralf Meyer, the head of the Hamburg police, told the briefing. A woman lays flowers outside the scene of the deadly shooting. Credit: Getty Philipp F. supposedly harbours a particular anger towards religious followers especially towards Jehovahs Witnesses and his former employer. The tip-off prompted two police officers to carry out an unannounced check at his home on February 7. When they met Philipp F., he was cooperative and gave no indication of mental health problems. The officers even ended up chatting about how the flat was furnished. Loading His licence was inspected and police also had to check whether his weapon and ammunition were properly stored, which they were, except for one projectile that was incorrectly lying on top of the gun safe. Philipp F. was given a verbal warning about the stray projectile. He was apologetic and the projectile was placed into the safe, after which the police felt they could not take any more action. The entire situation also showed no indications for the officers that could have pointed to a mental illness, said Meyer. On the contrary, they had a further conversation with him about a variety of things, such as the furnishing of the flat and similar things, and at the end they went out and gave him a verbal warning for the minor offence. The victims included four men and two women, and the unborn female child. The wounded included a Ugandan and a Ukrainian citizen, and four people suffered serious injuries. The Jehovahs Witnesses said in a statement the religious community was deeply affected by the horrific attack on its members of the faith in a Kingdom Hall in Hamburg after a service. Germanys Interior Minister Nancy Faeser and the head of the Hamburg police force Matthias Tresp at the site. Credit: AP Police responded in force, with more than 950 officers deployed, partly because grainy, dark footage of the attack taken by a member of the public had made it seem like there could be a second attacker. It later emerged that the man acted alone. Tightening laws The interior ministry has said the countrys gun controls are already very strict. However, the government has come under pressure to tighten rules, following a string of attacks in recent years and most recently after authorities uncovered an extremist network plotting an armed coup late last year. A law on tighter gun control that Berlin is preparing stipulates would-be owners undergo a psychological suitability test, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said on Friday on a visit to the scene of the shooting. In Germany, people aged 18 or over with no criminal history can obtain a permit to own a gun if they fulfil certain legal requirements. These regulate the weapons safe storage and also require that the individual is psychologically fit. The authorities can conduct spot checks on gun owners to ensure they are adhering to the requirements. Germany last changed its weapons law in 2020, when it outlawed certain large magazines. Also part of the changes was the introduction of a check by authorities every five years to see whether there is justification for possession of a weapon. Loading As part of the background check, the weapons authority must inquire with Germanys domestic intelligence agency whether the person concerned is known there as an extremist. Officials at the briefing said they were now reviewing whether such processes should be tightened. Even if the arms control colleagues pursued this tip-off professionally, and were personally convinced by the situation and assessment that they conducted, we must once again take a critical look at these procedures, above all the legal procedures and requirements for further measures, Meyer said. So Operation Golden Orb will not solely be an investiture. It is also the culmination of a mission launched decades ago with the code name Operation PB (Operation Parker Bowles), a public relations campaign aimed at normalising their relationship, winning over Charless future subjects and persuading the late Queen that Camilla could strengthen the royal family rather than destroy it. Seeing a crown put on her head will be the pinch-me moment, says the BBCs former royal correspondent, Peter Hunt. Though royal courtiers do not speak publicly, the view inside Buckingham Palace is that her ascent has been utterly remarkable. The couples crowning achievement, in the most literal sense. In the 1990s, she was toxic. A mistress who was spat upon by other women in supermarkets. A marriage-breaker who had to hide away in her West Country pile after Prince Charles admitted, during an ill-advised television interview, that he had been unfaithful. The third person described by Diana in her now infamous BBC Panorama interview, as in there were three of us in this marriage. The prospective wicked stepmother, whom William and Harry begged their father not to marry, even as they acknowledged his need for her companionship. The divorcee who was ostracised for years by her future mother-in-law, Queen Elizabeth II, the matriarch who did not want to speak to her, see her or even hear her name uttered within earshot. The most hated woman in Britain, to use the one-time moniker of the Fleet Street tabloids. Much of the religiosity of the service is designed to cement the idea that passing the crown, orb and sceptre from one Windsor to the next is divinely ordained. But up until late in the last monarchs reign, the notion that Camilla would be doused with the same oils as her husband would have belonged more in the realm of magical thinking. Buckingham Palace claims it will blend the contemporary with the ancient. Still, parts of the ceremony will feel more reminiscent of the Middle Ages than the modern. At one point in the liturgy, a gold cloth positioned to conceal the new monarch from view, the Archbishop of Canterbury will anoint the Kings hands, head and chest with a sacred oil made from a secret recipe, a blend of cinnamon, jasmine, ambergris, orange flowers and roses. Then, the Queen Consort Camilla will undergo the same aromatic consecration. Operation London Bridge, the funeral plan for Queen Elizabeth II, was executed flawlessly. Next, on Saturday, May 6, 2023, comes Operation Golden Orb, the code name for the coronation of King Charles III. Years in the planning, it will be a smaller affair than his mothers crowning, when Westminster Abbey had to be closed for five months beforehand so that space could be created to accommodate thousands of extra seats. Shorter, too, than the 1953 rite of passage, which lasted almost three hours from the first line of Sir Hubert Parrys thrilling choral introit, I Was Glad, to the last stanza of the national anthem, God Save the Queen. I came away thinking, I really like this person, says one former British tabloid editor of meeting Camilla two years after Dianas death. There was an authenticity to her that made me want to help her, or, at least, not be a pain in the arse. Credit:Getty Images Born into the postwar baby boom of the late 1940s, Camilla followed a well-trodden upper-class path. Pony club. Elite South Kensington private school, which she left at 16 with one O level to her name. The obligatory Swiss finishing school, where daughters of European nobility received instruction in flower-arranging and setting a table for supper parties. These were the social circles that Camillas family effortlessly moved in. Her father, Major Bruce Shand, a war hero held for three years as a POW by the Germans, was an upmarket wine merchant in Mayfair who also served as an officer in the Queens Bodyguard of the Yeoman of the Guard. Camillas mother, Rosalind Shand, who had been crowned Debutante of the Year in 1939, was a fixture in London high society. Her brother, Mark, an adventurer often likened to a raffish Indiana Jones, was one of Britains most eligible bachelors. Even if thats folkloric, the couple were certainly aware of the genetic antecedents, as the mutual friend who introduced them, Lucia Santa Cruz, an old student girlfriend of Charless from Cambridge, described their ancestral connection. Camillas great-grandmother, Alice Keppel, had indeed been the mistress for 12 years of King Edward VII, and was thought to be his dearest paramour. As he lay on his deathbed, he even summoned La Favorita to his side. In order to make sense of it, we need to revisit the backstory. And what a backstory it is. At their first meeting at a flat in Belgravia in 1971, when Charles was 22 and Camilla 24, she is supposed to have delivered the most brassy of opening gambits: My great-grandmother was the mistress of your great-great-grandfather so how about it? Sensational. Once unthinkable. Though royal courtiers do not speak publicly, the view inside Buckingham Palace is that her ascent has been utterly remarkable. The couples crowning achievement, in the most literal sense. Here, the timeline gets blurry. A friendship endured, with Camilla serving as an empathetic sounding-board, in the words of the royal biographer Tina Brown, as he continued to search for a suitable wife. By the late 1970s, their friendship had once again become a romance. In 1980, Camilla accompanied the Prince when he attended the independence ceremonies in Zimbabwe, where the obviousness of their mutual affection caused a stir. The engagement of Camilla and Andrew Parker Bowles was announced in February, 1973, while Charles was with the Navy in the West Indies. Believing he had found his soulmate, he was said to be devastated by the news. So, too, was his younger sister Princess Anne, one of Parker Bowless old flames. Besides, Camilla was captivated by another man. Andrew Parker Bowles appeared like he had leapt, riding crop in hand, from the pages of a Jilly Cooper bonkbuster. A cavalry officer in the Blues and Royals. An intrepid horseman who had ridden as an amateur in Britains most celebrated steeplechase, the Grand National. A serial lothario, who was unfaithful to Camilla in the early years of their courtship with women whom she looked on as friends. Though she was clearly fond of Charles, it was Parker Bowles who became the prime target of her marital ambitions. Indeed, there has long been a theory among Camilla-ologists that her interest in Charles was inversely proportionate to Parker Bowless interest in her. Even then, however, it seemed improbable that she would end up as his queen. Camilla, having had a string of boyfriends, was not thought to be virginal, a prerequisite for the consort of a future king. Unable to boast a grand aristocratic title, her bloodline was good but not blue. Charles and Camilla began their romance not long after that meeting in Belgravia, while the Prince was serving as a sub-lieutenant in the Royal Navy. Evidently, he was smitten. There was an easiness about their relationship. A natural camaraderie. Camilla would laugh when he impersonated characters from his favourite radio comedy, The Goon Show, a quirk that gave her an early window into the idiosyncrasies of his personality. Charles and Camilla, pictured in 1975. The pair first met in 1971; two years later, she became engaged to Andrew Parker Bowles. Credit:Shutterstock Despite spending her formative years in the throes of the feminist revolution, she had no great interest in pursuing a career, and came from a generation of high-born women whose education was centred on preparing them to marry well. Grief was not the only emotion on round-the-clock display. Just as disorientating, in a country used to deference towards its monarchy, was the mood of open rebellion. The tabloids, eyeing the chance to shift blame from the predatoriness of its paparazzi to the aloofness of the head of state, put themselves in the vanguard of this emotional insurrection. Where is our Queen? howled Rupert Murdochs The Sun. Where is her flag? Covering the death of Diana was one of my first major stories as a fledgling correspondent for the BBC, and I was dispatched to Kensington Palace and Buckingham Palace to report on the mourning unfolding outside the gates. This, of course, turned out to be a very unBritish outpouring of grief. It was almost Latin American in its intensity. Taxi drivers broke down in tears as they ferried me between The Mall and Kensington High Street. On the day of her funeral, when I asked an Anglican priest how he was comforting parishioners, he burst out crying. The blockbuster television interviews, first from Charles, then from Diana. Tampongate, the intimate phone-call recorded in 1989 and splashed over the front pages three years later, in which Charles imagined himself as a Tampax, and Camilla professed that loving him was easier than falling off a chair. The separation, also in 1992, of Charles and Diana. Camillas divorce from Andrew Parker Bowles in 1995. The legal end of Charles and Dianas marriage in 1996. That was also the year that Charles hired a new assistant private secretary, a 30-year-old public relations executive, Mark Bolland, who had worked for the newly created Press Complaints Commission. It was Bolland who became the mastermind behind Operation PB, an undertaking which must have seemed like mission impossible in the tragic aftermath of August 31, 1997. The rest is not just history but tabloid gold. The faux fairy tale marriage of Charles and Diana. The War of the Waleses that erupted shortly afterwards. The Andrew Morton book, Diana: Her True Story, based on secretly recorded tapes in which she confided: The worst day of my life was realising that Charles had gone back to Camilla. In her book The Palace Papers, Tina Brown posits that revenge on her husband may have been the motive. But Andrew Parker Bowles, like other men in upper-crust Britain, regarded being cuckolded by the future king of England as something of a status symbol. At a ball in 1980, he seemed unperturbed when Charles and Camilla danced amorously in plain view of the guests. HRH is very fond of my wife, he commented, and she appears to be very fond of him. Operation PB was going well. Mark Bolland did a fantastic job for them, says David Yelland, the then editor of The Sun, speaking of a strategy which extended to inviting select Fleet Street executives to polo matches featuring the royals in Gloucestershire. Very deliberately, Yelland was seated next to Camilla, and he left a fan. I came away thinking, I really like this person. There was an authenticity to her that made me want to help her, or, at least, not be a pain in the arse. Thereafter, The Sun was supportive. You only had to be with them five minutes to realise they were going to get married. Charles was devoted to her. We didnt want to be the blocker. Charles and Camilla make their first official appearance together in 1999 to a crowd of 200 photographers tipped off by Charles PR team. Credit:Getty Images The couples great coming-out took place in January 1999, when they briefly appeared together late one night on the steps of The Ritz in Mayfair, after attending a birthday party for her younger sister, Annabel Elliot. Tipped off beforehand by Charless PR team, almost 200 photographers congregated on the pavement opposite. Charless 50th, however, reminded the couple of the ramparts still left to surmount. Precisely because Camilla was included on the guest list, the Queen and Prince Phillip decided not to attend. Remarkably, given the intensity of feeling, Camillas long-haul journey towards public acceptance resumed shortly afterwards. First it unfolded in private. The year after Dianas death, she had her first face-to-face meeting with Prince William, a half-hour chat ahead of Charless 50th birthday celebrations, after which she apparently confessed: I need a gin and tonic! Tea with Prince Harry came a few weeks later. Grief was not the only emotion on round-the-clock display. Just as disorientating, in a country used to deference towards its monarchy, was the mood of open rebellion. On the eve of Dianas funeral, Her Majesty managed to calm this mutinous mood with a well-judged live television address to the nation. That left Camilla as the target of the nations ire. Public enemy number one. The Queen finally ended her boycott of Camilla in the summer of 2000, when they both attended a 60th birthday for the exiled Greek monarch, King Constantine, thrown by Prince Charles at Highgrove. But it was far from a royal blessing. Guest lists being the barometer of such things, Camilla was a conspicuous non-invitee later that month when the Queen threw her legendary Dance of the Decades party, which celebrated the Queen Mothers 100th, Princess Margarets 70th, Princess Annes 50th, Prince Andrews 40th and Prince Williams 18th. Present at Windsor Castle that night, as guests of the Duke of York, were the billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and the disgraced socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, but not the future wife of the Prince of Wales. Weirder still, Andrew Parker Bowles attended, as a guest of Princess Anne. Such was the Queens ongoing hostility that two years later, she even tried to torpedo the relationship. According to the royal biographer Penny Junor, Charless new private secretary, Michael Peat, was transferred from Buckingham Palace with instructions from the monarch to bring it to an end. A Gordian knot was preventing the couple from tying the knot: a tangle of public disfavour, royal protocol, ecclesiastical law, the risk aversion of palace courtiers and, above all, the antipathy of the Queen. Its unravelling came surprisingly quickly. In 2002, the synod of the Church of England voted to allow divorced spouses to remarry in the Anglican Church, reflecting broader societal shifts in views towards broken marriages. That same year, the Queen Mother, the most vehement family opponent of her favourite grandsons desire to remarry, passed away. Without her disapproving mother around to reinforce her own bias, the Queens position gradually softened. As royal resistance weakened, pressure was gently applied from Camillas family. Her father, Bruce Shand, who was then in his late 80s, had a quiet word. I want to meet my maker knowing my daughters all right, he apparently told Prince Charles, an unmistakable prod in getting him to pop the all-important question. That accelerated the process. I think the feeling was, Bugger this, the status quo is bonkers. The couple themselves, who in 2003 started openly living together at Clarence House, were also tiring of an untenable status quo. Things came to a head in 2004, ahead of the society wedding of the year, the marriage of Charless godson, Edward Van Cutsem, to one of Britains wealthiest heiresses, Lady Tamara Grosvenor. Rather than put them together, the seating plan relegated Camilla to a pew several rows behind her partner, which made Charles find an excuse not to attend. That accelerated the process, says royal watcher Peter Hunt. I think the feeling was, Bugger this, the status quo is bonkers. During a New Year break at Balmoral in 2005, Charles finally proposed, and they were married in the spring. A civil ceremony held in Windsor Guildhall was followed by a church blessing at St Georges Chapel within the walls of the castle. Then came a reception hosted by the Queen. Pushed back a day because of the funeral of Pope John Paul II, at which Charles represented his mother, the wedding now coincided with the Grand National, Britains biggest race day. When the Queen came to deliver her toast, the most treacherous fences of this most daunting of steeplechases which she had watched in a side room with Andrew Parker Bowles no less became usefully metaphoric. They have overcome Beechers Brook and The Chair and all kinds of other terrible obstacles, said the Queen, and my son is home and dry with the woman he loves. They are now on the home straight; the happy couple are now in the winners enclosure. The 2005 wedding. My son is home and dry with the woman he loves, the Queen said at the time, after years of antipathy. Credit:Getty Images The handover of the trophy that truly sealed victory, however, was still 15 years away. It finally came on the first day of the Queens Platinum Jubilee celebrations in 2022, when Her Majesty released a letter expressing her sincere wish that when Charles became the king, Camilla should be known as Queen Consort. Now there is speculation, unconfirmed as I write, that Queen Consort might simply be abbreviated to Queen. Over the years, the two women had focused on the things they had in common, not least a shared love of horses. Prince Phillip, the Duke of Edinburgh, had become a fan. The monarch had also acknowledged the blatantly obvious: Camillas great gift to Charles was a measure of personal contentment absent for so much of his childhood and adult life. She had also come to admire her daughter-in-laws loyal service, carefully chosen words included in Her Majestys letter to the British people which attested to a tireless work ethic. Decades of savvy public relations goes some way towards explaining this turnaround. At the time of their marriage, for example, Camilla insisted on being called HRH The Duchess of Cornwall rather than the Princess of Wales, a title to which she was now entitled but which obviously ran the risk of offending fans of Diana. Ahead of the upcoming coronation, shes decided not to include in her crown the controversial Koh-i-Noor diamond that was seized by the British East India Company in the 19th century. Loading Spin-doctoring alone, however, was not a cure-all.The rehabilitation of Camillas public image would never have happened without a re-evaluation of Prince Charles. Thirty years ago, some of his pet projects, like conservationism and organic farming, seemed like the eccentric concerns of an oddball heir. Now, they made him look startlingly prescient. Attitudes towards the future king also shifted because of his fatherly bond with his sons. In Spare, Harry paints a portrait of an emotionally constipated Pa, who did not even hug his sons on the morning of their mothers death. Yet many Britons recall the warmth with which Charles greeted William and Harry outside the chapel ahead of a memorial service 10 years on. Tenderly, he kissed them on both cheeks, a public display of affection that gave the impression of him as a soft-hearted single parent. The banality that time is a great healer is, in this instance, a truism. The longevity of their relationship has also helped. In April, Charles and Camilla will celebrate their 18th wedding anniversary, which is three more years than his union with Diana. Plainly, receiving the imprimatur of the Queen was decisive. Camilla remained stoic when the new King expressed frustration with a leaking pen during a ceremony just days after the Queens death. Sharing areas of commonality has helped Camilla win over large swathes of the great British public, something which has come naturally rather than being a matter of calculation. She is an addict of The Archers, the BBCs long-running radio drama about rural life, and even performed a cameo role in 2011. Like millions of Britons, she not only tunes in on a Saturday evening to watch Strictly Come Dancing, the celebrity dance-off which has become appointment viewing for the masses, but casts votes, along with Charles, on who should be eliminated. Her charity work has often focused on issues close to home: care for the aged and welfare for abandoned dogs. Her online book club, The Reading Room, recommends accessible titles, such as the Elena Ferrante novels. Speaking in February on the second anniversary of her book club, she weighed in on the Roald Dahl row, telling authors to resist those who may wish to curb the freedom of your expression or impose limits on your imagination. Another mainstream view from a royal whose politics are said to be very middle-of-the-road. In recent years, she has highlighted the epidemic of domestic violence and become the patron of the charity SafeLives. Her involvement began after a meeting in 2016 with a mother, Diana Parkes, whose daughter Joanna had been battered to death by her estranged husband a week before the finalisation of their divorce. Hearing the awful story reduced Camilla to tears. Ill never forget that moment, she told the BBCs Womans Hour during an interview last year, in which she described her work to raise awareness of domestic violence as my passion. Recently, she revealed that some of her friends have themselves been victims of violence and coercive control. The view within Buckingham Palace is that her approach has been to show rather than tell, and to let her good work on domestic violence and animal welfare speak for itself. This quiet, just-get-on-with-it attitude has clearly struck a chord. She has benefited from being the most likeable of British upper-class archetypes: the toff who is down-to-earth; the good sport who likes a laugh; the pillar of the local community with an ear for gossip. In winning over the public, it helps that Camilla is a consummate conversationalist, almost phobic towards awkward silences. Indeed, she would not have managed to mount such an effective charm offensive without possessing natural charm. It is easy to imagine her finding common ground at, say, a church fete with all the different village folk, whatever their social status. Maybe it would be her tip for the Cheltenham Gold Cup, her thoughts on the latest novel in the Wolf Hall trilogy or that Saturday nights Cha Cha Cha round on Strictly Come Dancing. Much of her success has come from transferring the countryside argot of supposedly classless conversation into the public realm. Of bridging social divides. It helps, too, that she knows what its like to buy ones own food at a supermarket, an alien experience for most members of the royal family. She knows what normal is. In this respect, she has benefited from being the most likeable of British upper-class archetypes: the toff who is down-to-earth; the good sport who likes a laugh; the pillar of the local community with an ear for gossip; the patriotic Best of British type; the epitome of that wartime motivational mantra, Keep Calm and Carry On. Camillas mischievous wink behind the backs of Charles and then US president Trump during a 2019 state visit became a social-media sensation. During a signing ceremony in the days after the Queens death, Camilla demonstrated an uncomplaining stoicism when the King thrust a leaky ink pen into her hands and then stormed off in a huff (she is the only person who can tell the workaholic King to stop working). She disclosed her sense of mischief when Donald and Melania Trump dropped by for tea at Clarence House by winking to reporters just as Prince Charles ushered the then president into a drawing room for private talks. She displayed an ability not to take herself too seriously when she invited Emerald Fennell, the actor who played her in The Crown, to an International Womens Day reception and then happily posed for photos. Loading These traits, while by no means making her bulletproof, have given her a certain amount of protection from the slings and arrows fired recently by her stepson. Though she emerged personally unscathed from Harry and Meghans Oprah Winfrey interview and also their six-part Netflix documentary, she cops it in Spare, a book which appears to have been written in the midst of the princes pain rather than at the end of his healing. When the strafing commenced, Camilla was among the early casualties, being the first member of the royal family accused of leaking stories to the press, including intimate conversations with Prince William. I have complex feelings about gaining a step-parent who I thought had recently sacrificed me on her personal PR altar, said Harry in one of the books most excoriating lines. In interviews to publicise Spare, Harry escalated his attack. On CBSs 60 Minutes, he called her a villain who left bodies in the street. Sitting down with ITV News, he took a sideswipe by alluding to a Christmas lunch she attended with close friends, such as the actor Judi Dench, and also two of Meghan Markles most vicious tormentors, Piers Morgan and Jeremy Clarkson. Days after this gathering, the former Top Gear host penned his grotesque column for The Sun, calling for Meghan to be paraded naked through the streets so that people could hurl excrement at her. You know, to use my stepmothers words recently, said Harry, referring to a powerful speech she had delivered on the silence surrounding domestic violence, there is a global pandemic of violent violence against women. Camilla with Emerald Fennell, who played Camilla in Netflixs The Crown, at an International Womens Day reception. Credit:Getty Images In the PR battle now raging between the Sussexes and Buckingham Palace, the newspapers are backing Camilla for obvious reasons. Polls suggest British public opinion is siding with a new Fab Four, Charles, Camilla, William and Kate the old Fab Four, of course, being William, Kate, Harry and Meghan. In an ever more binary world, with ever more cartoonish portrayals of its leading players, many Brits appear to prefer the caricature of Camilla over the caricature of Meghan, the Down-to-earth Duchess over the Difficult Duchess. In recent times, and especially after the divisiveness of Brexit, the preference is for royals who make Britons feel good, important and unified. A problem for Harry and Meghan right now is that their allegations of racism, misogyny and tabloid treachery make so many Brits feel awkward. But perhaps the reason Camilla will not be badly damaged by the allegation of courting the tabloids is because its largely true. A willingness to play their game, often on their terms, goes a long way towards explaining why shes been the recipient of good press. Many Brits appear to prefer the caricature of Camilla over the caricature of Meghan, the Down-to-earth Duchess over the Difficult Duchess. Those on the royal beat reckon she makes a point during public appearances of establishing friendly eye contact with reporters from the Daily Mail, the mouthpiece of Middle England. Over the years, shes developed a close friendship with Geordie Greig, an Old Etonian and former editor of the Daily Mail. Late last year, Charles and Camilla tapped another Mail executive and old Etonian, Tobyn Andreae, as their director of communications. She took the decision to walk towards the gunfire, says Peter Hunt, a move which ended up reducing the hail of bullets coming her way. For their part, Palace insiders vehemently deny that Camilla traded stories in return for favourable coverage, Harrys most damaging allegation. That lunch she attended before Christmas an annual affair held in her honour at a restaurant in Mayfair on Queen Street, aptly enough spoke of how shes moved from the outer right to the heart of British life. The presenters of Strictly Come Dancing were there. So, too, her pal Geordie Greig, now editor of The Independent. Not only was Judi Dench in the room, but another theatrical grande dame, Maggie Smith. On her table, in the prime seat next to her, was the broadcaster and entertainer Chris Evans, who for years hosted the breakfast show on BBC Radio Two, Britains most mainstream and popular radio show. As she worked the room, moving from table to table, Camilla was the central presence. The British publics royal Fab Four no longer include Harry and Meghan, with Charles and Camilla joining long-time favourites William and Kate. Credit:Getty Images Doubtless she will perform the liturgy of the coronation with all the solemnity that this high holy occasion demands. But my hunch is that she will also see the funny side. Operation Golden Orb, she might snigger, sounds like it comes from a Johnny English movie, Rowan Atkinsons lampoon of the James Bond franchise. Doesnt a secret recipe blending cinnamon, jasmine and ambergris belong in one of Gwyneth Paltrows Goop catalogues? Maybe they could merchandise a candle: This smells like my coronation. At the end of the day, you could almost see her cheekily proposing a toast celebrating the successful completion of Operation PB. Mission accomplished! she might exclaim. I need a gin and tonic. Loading Camilla will never be the Queen of Hearts, but the very fact that she would look upon such a moniker with a knowing wink goes a long way towards explaining why she has now become part of Britains furniture. But it is not just a sense of humour that has got her this far, but also a lot of savvy calculation, hard work and occasional ruthlessness in seeing a 25-year mission through to its completion. Shes delightful, funny and charming, says Peter Hunt, who has seen her up close, but youd never want to cross her. The former Sun editor David Yelland reckons she would prefer to walk barefoot across broken glass than fraternise with certain elements of the media. But she knows thats her job. Much is made about the magic of the monarchy, but Camilla has performed a special kind of alchemy. By turning the toxicity of the British tabloids into something more fragrant, shes come up smelling of orange flowers and roses. To read more from Good Weekend magazine, visit our page at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and Brisbane Times. The US also welcomed any efforts to help end the war in Yemen and de-escalate tensions in the Middle East region, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. Loading China, which last month hosted Irans hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi, is also a top purchaser of Saudi oil. Xi visited Riyadh in December for meetings with oil-rich Gulf Arab nations crucial to Chinas energy supplies. Irans state-run IRNA news agency quoted Shamkhani as calling the talks clear, transparent, comprehensive and constructive. Removing misunderstandings and the future-oriented views in relations between Tehran and Riyadh will definitely lead to improving regional stability and security, as well as increasing cooperation among Persian Gulf nations and the world of Islam for managing current challenges, Shamkhani said. Al-Aiban thanked Iraq and Oman for mediating between Iran and the kingdom, according to his remarks carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency. While we value what we have reached, we hope that we will continue to continue the constructive dialogue, the Saudi official said. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, left, shakes hands with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in an official welcoming ceremony in Beijing last month. Credit: AP Tensions long have been high between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The kingdom broke ties with Iran in 2016 after protesters invaded Saudi diplomatic posts there. Saudi Arabia had executed a prominent Shiite cleric with 46 others days earlier, triggering the demonstrations. That came as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, then a deputy, began his rise to power. The son of King Salman, Prince Mohammed previously compared Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to Nazi Germanys Adolf Hitler, and threatened to strike Iran. Since then, the US unilaterally withdrew from Irans nuclear deal with world powers in 2018. Iran has been blamed for a series of attacks after that, including one targeting the heart of Saudi Arabias oil industry in 2019, temporarily halving the kingdoms crude production. Though Yemens Iranian-backed Houthi rebels initially claimed the attack, Western nations and experts blamed Tehran. Iran denied it and also denied carrying out other assaults later attributed to the Islamic Republic. Houthi supporters burn a representation of the US flag during a rally to mark the seventh anniversary of the Houthis takeover of the Yemeni capital, in Sanaa, Yemen, in September 2021. Credit: AP Religion also plays a crucial role in their relations. Saudi Arabia, home to the cube-shaped Kaaba that Muslims pray toward five times a day, has portrayed itself as the worlds leading Sunni nation. Irans theocracy, meanwhile, views itself as the protector of Islams Shiite minority. The two powerhouses have competing interests elsewhere, such as in the turmoil in Lebanon and in the rebuilding of Iraq following the US-led 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. The leader of the Iranian-backed Lebanese militia and political group Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, said the agreement could open new horizons in Lebanon, Syria and Yemen. Iraq, Oman and the United Arab Emirates also praised the accord. Top Pakistani diplomat Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, chair of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperations Council of Foreign Ministers, praised China for encouraging dispute resolution, rather than on encouraging perpetual disputes. Loading Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, a research fellow at Rice Universitys Baker Institute who long has studied the region, said Saudi Arabia reaching the deal with Iran came after the United Arab Emirates reached a similar understanding with Tehran. This dialling down of tensions and de-escalation has been underway for three years and this was triggered by Saudi acknowledgement in their view that without unconditional US backing they were unable to project power vis-a-vis Iran and the rest of the region, he said. Prince Mohammed, focused on massive construction projects at home, likely wants to pull out of the Yemen war as well, Ulrichsen added. Instability could do a lot of damage to his plans, he said. Saudi Arabia has portrayed itself as the worlds leading Sunni nation. Credit: AP The Houthis seized Yemens capital, Sanaa, in 2014 and forced the internationally recognised government into exile in Saudi Arabia. A Saudi-led coalition armed with U.S. weaponry and intelligence entered the war on the side of Yemens exiled government in 2015. Years of inconclusive fighting created a humanitarian disaster and pushed the Arab worlds poorest nation to the brink of famine. A six-month cease-fire, the longest of the Yemen conflict, expired in October. Negotiations have been ongoing recently, including in Oman, a longtime interlocutor between Iran and the US. Some have hoped for an agreement ahead of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which begins later in March. Iran and Saudi Arabia have held intermittent talks in recent years but it wasnt clear if Yemen was the impetus for this new detente. Yemeni rebel spokesman Mohamed Abdulsalam appeared to welcome the deal in a statement that also slammed the US and Israel. The region needs the return of normal relations between its countries, through which the Islamic society can regain its lost security as a result of the foreign interventions, led by the Zionists and Americans, he said. Loading For Israel, which has wanted to normalise relations with Saudi Arabia despite the Palestinians remaining without a state of their own, Riyadh easing tensions with Iran could complicate its own regional calculations. The government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered no immediate comment Friday. Netanyahu, under pressure politically at home, has threatened military action against Irans nuclear program as it enriches closer than ever to weapons-grade levels. Riyadh seeking peace with Tehran takes one potential ally for a strike off the table. It was unclear what this development meant for Washington. Though long viewed as guaranteeing Mideast energy security, regional leaders have grown increasingly wary of US intentions after its chaotic 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan. But the White House bristled at the notion a Saudi-Iran agreement in Beijing suggests a rise of Chinese influence in the Mideast. I would stridently push back on this idea that were stepping back in the Middle East far from it, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said. Mark Dubowitz, head of the Foundation for the Defence of Democracies, which opposes the Iran nuclear deal, said renewed Iran-Saudi ties via Chinese mediation is a lose, lose, lose for American interests, noting: Beijing adores a vacuum. But Trita Parsi of the Quincy Institute, which advocates engagement with Iran and supports the nuclear deal, called it good news for the Middle East, since Saudi-Iranian tensions have been a driver of instability. He added that China has emerged as a player that can resolve disputes rather than merely sell weapons to the conflicting parties, noting a more stable Middle East also benefits the US. AP PHILIPSBURG:--- On Monday, March 6th, 2023, Herbert Prince Martina officially announced his candidacy for the Unified Resilient Sint Maarten Movement (URSM). Martina, affectionately known as Prince, has been working behind the scenes as a member of URSM since the beginning of 2022. Martina is also a co-host on the Live URSM Facebook Table Talk program that airs every Monday at 6:00 p.m. As the leader of URSM, it is my pleasure to have Mr. Herbert Martina as one of our candidates for the upcoming elections. Herbert is a dynamic activist within the Sint Maarten community. He is passionate about creating opportunities for our youth. Especially our at-risk young men and women, said the leader of the URSM Dr. Luc Mercelina. Martina is a father of 3 boys and 2 girls, a communication specialist, and an artist with various disciplines. Live on Table Talk and with his official candidacy video, Martina shared with the public that in 2018 he ran on the slate of his previous party, and after resigning from that political party he sat out the 2020 election. I could not find a party that I could align myself with. It was one of the hardest decisions I ever had to make. Though hard, I had time to step back and reflect on what exactly was going on. I figured well the two largest parties are joining in a coalition, which should be good for the people. Since the formation, it is evident that this is furthest from the truth. Martina continued: A little over a year ago I was approached by members of The U.R.S.M. after several meetings, seeing how they operate, just observing the different approach they brought to the political arena, I was positively impressed. Here I was presented with a fresh approach, a movement that maneuvers the same way I do, and a team under the leadership of a man I admire Dr. Luc Mercelina. After deliberation with my family and confidants, together we decided to join The Unified Resilient St. Martin Movement (URSM). We cannot sit back and see this country not moving forward. We cannot allow people with no team spirit and lack of vision to lead this country. Mr. Martina shared the quote Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much. ... during his political candidacy launch. He mentioned that it was no coincidence I choose a quote taken from Hellen Keller, her life, what she endured, and her fight serves as a basis for my mission in life. Three key focus points Martina will be focusing on this election are nation-building, Education, and the People of Sint Maarten. 13 years country status and we have almost nothing to show for it. All the things a country is supposed to possess, we are lagging. Our autonomy is threatened, we are not self-sufficient, and we lack the infrastructure and our greatest asset: the people of SXM cannot afford to own a piece of their home. In 10 years, every household should have a college graduate. We must insure a better life for our citizens. Prince explained that the list goes on. Through the course of his campaign, he will reveal his full list of hot-button issues, recommendations, and means to finance these projects. In closing Herbert Prince Martina asked the people of Sint Maarten to chronicle his journey into Parliament and partner with him. I dont know everything, however with your help, we will accomplish a lot. Give me your ideas, lets talk about them let me present them on the campaign trail. This is how we do it. We document a well thought out plan, which includes recommendations on fixing existing problems and money-generating methods to pay for the implementation of these projects. Senators aren't giving up on a bill to safeguard your online data. Hawaii's Brian Schatz and 18 other senators have reintroduced the 2018-era Data Care Act to set higher standards for sensitive info. Companies will need to "reasonably secure" identifying data, including prompt customer notifications for breaches. They also can't use that data in harmful ways, and must ensure third-parties treat any shared data with the same amount of respect. The measure gives the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) the authority to fine companies that violate the rules, including third parties. States could take their own civil actions, but the FTC could step in. The senators largely consist of Democrats, including Big Tech critics like Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar. Independents Bernie Sanders and Angus King also back the potential legislation. The original Data Care Act had the support of 15 Democrats. There's no guarantee the revived Act will succeed. The original bill never came to a vote after its December 2018 introduction. And while Democrats control the Senate in 2023, the Republicans lead the House. If a vote on an equivalent bill is split along partisan lines in the House, it won't reach the President's desk for approval. The conditions may be more favorable this time around, however. President Biden has been eager to rein in Big Tech, with a particular focus on limiting the collection and use of data. Meanwhile, both major parties in Congress are increasingly concerned about data privacy and security. The Data Care Act theoretically satisfies these politicians, if just by shifting more of the responsibility to businesses. ~Building Stop issued to Court House renovations.~ PHILIPSBURG:--- Member of Parliament and Leader of the United People's Party Rolando Brison presented a motion on the floor of parliament on Thursday when the continuation of the public meeting resumed. Brison through his motion mandated the government of St. Maarten to conduct an indebt investigation to identify the person or persons responsible for the demolition of the ruins at Diamond Estate in the middle of the night. Brison said in his motion that the person or persons who instructed Taliesin Construction to demolish the ruins must be held responsible for their actions and also forced to rebuild the ruins. Minister of VROMI Egbert Doran told parliament that the demolition was done by Taliesin Construction but the Minister did not inform parliament who instructed the construction company to demolish the ruins during the dark of night. With the motion, the government would either have to hold Taliesin Construction responsible for its actions or have the contractor reveal to the government who paid to have the ruins demolished. Rumors have it that the son of the Democratic Party leader is the real estate company that was hired to sell the private property at Diamond Estate. Brison made reference to the Democratic Party during his presentation on the floor of parliament but he also did not name the person. The Member of Parliament said that the person will be exposed and that person would have to be held responsible for the reconstruction of the ruins. Leader of the Democratic Party Sarah Wescot Williams left the parliament hall when the time came to vote on the motion. Minister of ECYS Rodolphe Samuel who was also in parliament on Thursday that two building permits were issued to the Court House for its renovation. The first permit was issued in 2021 for the renovation of the interior of the courthouse. However, Samuel said that permit was violated when it was discovered a door was built in the place of a window and such a building stop was issued today Thursday, March 9th, 2023. The second building permit was issued on February 24th, 2023 for the exterior of the courthouse. Click here for PDF version of motion WILLEMSTAD:--- Dutch Navy ship HNLMS Holland executed a drug interdiction on the 25th of February, in cooperation with the Colombian navy in the Caribbean Sea. The go-fasts were discovered by a maritime patrol aircraft from the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard and a helicopter from the Colombian navy. HNLMS Holland sent an embarked helicopter from the US Coast Guard and the FRISC, a fast speedboat, with a combined team of the ships crew and embarked US Coast Guard law enforcement detachment. After giving stop signals, the go-fast wasnt willing to stop. After the firing of some warning shots the suspected smugglers surrendered. The second go-fast was stopped by the Colombian Navy ship ARC Victoria. A total of 800 kilograms of cocaine were seized. The suspected smugglers and contraband were transferred to US Coast Guard custody. The suspected smugglers will be prosecuted in the United States. HNLMS Holland is deployed as a patrol vessel in the Caribbean Region as of October 2022 and alternates counter-drug operations with support to the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard Region and the US Coast Guard. Dutch ships in the Caribbean region also cooperate with the Colombian Navy to counter drugs. Central banks continue to buy gold Singapore struck in January 2023, adding 45 tons to its gold reserves, according to the World Gold Council. This means Singapore bought more gold in one month than at any time since June 2021. At the same time, it is the highest monthly purchase since records began. The records have been in place since August 2000. In total, Singapore now owns nearly 200 tons of gold. According to estimates from the World Gold Council, central banks as a whole added about 77 tons of gold to their gold reserves in January 2023. On a month-over-month basis, this still represents a 192 percent increase. As a result of this gold purchase in January, Singapore has relegated Turkey to second place. The latter bought 23 tons of gold. China picked up 15 tons, up from 62 tons in November and December 2022, meaning China is likely sitting on a gold hoard of 2,025 tons of gold. Also on the list of buyers is Kazakhstan (four tons of gold). The Central Bank of Uzbekistan sold gold in January and bought it again in February. The country thus increased its reserves for the first time since October 2022. Around 66 percent of Uzbekistan\-s total reserves now consist of gold. Globally, all countries together held about 52,000 tons of gold in 2022. The World Gold Council considers gold to be a good argument in 2023 as well. This is because it will be attractive due to increased geopolitical risk and an economic slowdown. Further purchases by central banks are likely. Private investors should also follow the banks\- lead and have equity securities of gold companies in their portfolios, for example. There is Mawson Gold https://www.commodity-tv.com/play/mawson-gold-significant-re-rating-potential-with-southern-cross-gold-share-and-finnish-assets/ with its Rajapalot project in Finland (gold and cobalt). There are stakes in other gold projects in Sweden and in Australia. Osisko Development https://www.commodity-tv.com/ondemand/companies/profil/osisko-development-corp/ also has good projects. These are the Cariboo gold project in Canada, the Tintic project in the USA and the San Antonio gold project in Mexico. Current corporate information and press releases from Mawson Gold (https://www.resource-capital.ch/de/unternehmen/mawson-gold-ltd/) and Osisko Development (https://www.resource-capital.ch/de/unternehmen/osisko-development-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 fundamentally 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 is taken from sources that are considered reliable, but in no way claim to be correct 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/ The Cayuga Economic Development Agency has received an inquiry for the closed Bombardier rail car production plant in Auburn shortly after the new owner agreed to market the property. Michael Miller, CEDA's executive director, informed members of the Cayuga County Legislature's Planning Committee about the inquiry and a meeting with Alstom, which acquired Bombardier Transportation in 2021 and now owns the 15-acre Orchard Street site where Bombardier operated a manufacturing facility until it closed in 2006. Miller told legislators on Wednesday that CEDA met with representatives from Alstom and the city of Auburn. During that meeting, he said Alstom committed to "seeing that facility go back to productive use." It is an important development because Bombardier, according to Miller, resisted past efforts to find new uses for the shuttered plant. "With Alstom's support, we're able to market this property," he said. "We know it's a great landmark in the city at over 15 acres. It has a lot going for it." There has already been interest in the plant. Miller explained that site selectors work on behalf of businesses seeking potential sites for new development or expansion projects. These site selectors contact Empire State Development, New York's lead economic development agency, which relays the information to CEDA and other local economic development agencies. CEDA responded to an inquiry on Wednesday. The entity seeking information about the plant was not revealed Miller said it is a "blind applicant" but it is an encouraging sign after the facility has sat vacant for 17 years. In preparation for more inquiries about the Bombardier plant, the agency is updating its marketing materials that will be shared with potential buyers. The meeting with Alstom and the inquiry come as the city of Auburn is applying for $10 million in state funding to revitalize the former Bombardier plant. The city is seeking aid through the Restore NY Communities initiative, which "encourages community development and neighborhood growth through the elimination and redevelopment of blighted structures." While it's unknown what companies may be interested in the property, Miller is seeking an employer that complements Auburn, offers good-paying jobs and is a good partner. "We want to be purposeful in our approach that we have a good employer long term that's committed to this area," he said. AUBURN An Auburn man, whose convictions in 2021 related to possessing a "ghost gun" and synthetic drugs were reversed on appeal last year, was sentenced again. Scott A. Corey, 45, was before Judge Thomas Leone for sentencing in Cayuga County Court Thursday. He was previously sentenced in June 2021 after pleading guilty that April on all charges from a July 2020 indictment which accused him of possessing a loaded "ghost" handgun and illegal drugs. Ghost guns are weapons without serial numbers. He had counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, criminal possession of a firearm and second-degree possession of drug paraphernalia. However, state Appellate Division-Fourth Department reversed Corey's sentences in an October 2022 decision. The decision said the defendant contended the county court "erred in refusing to suppress the statements he made to an officer while defendant was receiving treatment at a hospital. We agree in part." In court Thursday, Corey's attorney, Rome Canzano, said Corey has taken "full responsibility" for his actions. Corey was sentenced to five years in prison and five years of post-release supervision on the second-degree weapon possession charge as a part of a previous agreement. Pleading to that weapon possession count satisfied Corey's other charges. During a July 2020 search warrant at the city property where Corey was living at the time, law enforcement discovered the ghost gun, a small amount of the synthetic drug molly, scales and $200 in cash. Also in court Audrey N. Saphara, 28, with a previously listed address of 46 Orchard St., Apt. 1, was in front of Leone on charges of first-degree burglary, third-degree criminal possession of a weapon and criminal obstruction of breathing. The burglary count was reduced to first-degree attempted burglary as a part of a previous agreement. She was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison followed by five years of post release on the attempted burglary charge, satisfying the other charges. Khiry L. Dixon, 32, with a previous address of 46 Orchard St., Apt. 1, Auburn, faced charges of first-degree criminal contempt and aggravated family offense. He was sentenced to 364 days in the Cayuga County Jail on both counts, with those sentences running consecutively. Robert A. Hawkey, 20, 27 Church St., Port Byron, faced two probation violations, one related to a previous first-degree criminal contempt charge and another connected to a third-degree burglary count. He was sentenced to 1 1/3 to 4 years in prison for both probation violations, with each sentence concurrent. Joseph D. Gonzalez Nunez, 23, was sentenced to five years of probation for first-degree criminal contempt. Michael L. Jenkins, 26, with a previously listed address of 211 Pulteney St., Apt. 28, Geneva, was sentenced to 1 1/3 to 4 years of prison for fourth-degree conspiracy. Kyle Lerch, 24, was previously charged with second-degree conspiracy, but that count was reduced to second-degree attempted conspiracy. He received a sentence of 3 to 6 years in prison on the attempted conspiracy charge. City Angel L. Kirby, 29, 20 Thornton Ave., Auburn, was charged March 8 with criminal obstruction of breathing and endangering the welfare of a child. Dasir A. Johnson, 26, 518 East Brighton Ave., Syracuse, was charged March 9 with third-degree third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, fourth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, imitation controlled substances, tampering with physical evidence, third-degree unlawful fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle and third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. Chelsea L. Cottrill, 32, 130 Cottage St., Auburn, was charged March 9 with driving while intoxicated-first offense and aggravated driving while intoxicated. State Amanda M. Cox, 40, Auburn, was charged March 7 with endangering the welfare of a child. Tracy M. Dulmage, 33, Scipio Center, was charged March 7 with endangering the welfare of a child. Stephanie M. Goodrich, 28, Baldwinsville, was charged March 8 with second-degree criminal mischief. Videos Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos. The participants in the events dedicated to the Szeklers' Freedom Day, organized at the Szekler Martyrs Monument in Targu Mures adopted on Friday a petition addressed to the state authorities, requesting the Government "to start negotiations on the status of Szeklerland with the legitimate representatives of the Szekler people." "Today, 10 March 2023, we, the Szeklers gathered in Targu Mures and those who stand in solidarity with us around the country and abroad, following the path of law and democracy, declare again unanimously: we request the territorial autonomy of Szeklerland! Message of the Szeklers' Freedom Day: this is not only the day of the martyrs' commemoration, it is also the day of claims regarding our legitimate rights (...) We request the creation of the independent administrative and development region, with specific jurisdiction, called Szeklerland, in accordance with the bill drafted by the Szeklers National Council [CNS]! We request the honoring of international obligations undertaken by Romania, as well as the will of the Szekler community, and that Romania adopt the related legal regulations before joining the Schengen area. We request the Government to begin negotiations on the status of Szeklerland with the legitimate representatives of the Szekler people, The Szeklers National Council and the local authorities in the region!," according to the petition addressed to the Government and President Klaus Iohannis, adopted with cheers by approximately 450 participants. The petition also requests "full and effective equality for all the inhabitants of Szeklerland" and "autonomy for Szeklerland, freedom for the Szekler People." After the commemoration at the Szekler Martyrs Monument, the participants marched to the Prefect's Institution - Mures County, to file the petition. Within the event, speeches were delivered by Tokes Laszlo, the president of the Hungarian National Council of Transylvania (CNMT), Izsak Balazs, the president of the Szeklers National Council, Erika Casajoana Daunert, member of the International Committee of the party Together for Catalonia (Junts per Catalunya), Luke Uribe-Etxebarria, member of the Spanish Senate, representing the Eusko Alderdi Jeltzalea formation - the Basque National Party, Robert Starosta, the president of the Initiative Association for the Cultural Autonomy of Silezia, and Szili Katalin, adviser to the Prime Minister of Hungary. AGERPRES The ceremony for changing the command of the NATO Battle Group (BGFP) deployed in Romania took place, on Friday, in the Getica Joint National Training Center, in Cincu, Brasov county, an event that took place in the presence of the Chief of Staff of Land Forces, Lieutenant General Iulian Berdila, and the Commander of the Multinational Command of the Southeast Division (HQ MND-SE), Major General Dorin Toma. Colonel Laurent Luisetti took over the command of the NATO Battle Group in Romania from Colonel Alexandre de Feligonde, the Defense Ministry (MapN) informs in a release sent to AGERPRES. "Joint training with allies, coordinated and led by the Battle Group, with France as the framework nation, contributed to increasing the reaction capacity. The EAGLE 3 Battle Group undertook the organization and participation in EAGLE ROYAL 23, a multinational exercise with live ammunition firing, which tested and refined the inter-operability of artillery systems. I am confident that Battle Group EAGLE 4 will continue the series of successful activities and we look forward to working with you during the coming months," said HQ MND-SE Commander. According to MApN, the NATO Battle Group in Romania was established, starting in May 2022, by transforming the allied multinational elements within the NATO Response Force deployed in our country. Upon France's proposal to take over the role of the framework nation, the French battalion deployed in Romania, considered the spearhead of NATO's Very High Reaction Force (VJTF), forms the BGFP on the national territory. BGFP contributes to the increase of Romania's military cooperation with France and, implicitly, to the consolidation of the security of the Euro-Atlantic space on the Eastern Flank. The cooperation with strategic partners and the existence on the national territory of some relevant combat structures contribute to the increase of the defense and deterrence capacity in the context of the war in Ukraine and the crisis in the Black Sea region. * Colonel Alexandre de Feligonde was the commander of the BGFP made up of the EAGLE 3 battalion that arrived in Romania in October 2022. During his mandate, he contributed to the consolidation of the Combat Group deployed in Cincu through missions and exercises carried out in an allied context with Romanian, American, Dutch, Polish and Portuguese troops and coordinated the reception and integration activities of the Leclerc tanks that entered the equipment of the French battalion last November. Colonel de Feligonde started his military career in 1998, he specialized in tank weapons and has several active foreign missions in Africa and the Middle East. In France, the French commander will continue his activity at the command of the 1st Fighter Regiment, a structure equipped with Leclerc tanks. * Colonel Laurent Luisetti took command of the NATO Battle Group deployed in Romania. During his tenure, Colonel Luisetti will focus in particular on strengthening the BGFP's artillery and engineering capabilities. Also, under the coordination of the Southeast Multinational Division Command, the EAGLE 4 battalion, led by Colonel Luisetti, will strengthen ties with the allied forces deployed in Romania through a consistent program of missions and exercises. Colonel Luisetti started his military career 26 years ago, is an infantry officer and participated in missions in theaters of operations in Africa, the Middle East and the Western Balkans, according to the MApN press release. Minister Bogdan Aurescu on Friday participated in a new meeting of foreign ministers in the G7+ format, which focused on ways to support Ukraine's energy infrastructure, a context in which the head of the Romanian diplomacy highlighted Romania's role in ensuring the transfer of hundreds of generators that make up for the shortage of electricity supply resulting from interruptions in the power grid of Ukraine subjected to Russian bombing. According to a press release of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Hayashi Yoshimasa, co-chaired the meeting, which took place in a videoconference format. According to the same source, the Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmitro Kuleba, also took part in the meeting, informing the states participating in this format about the latest developments in Ukraine in the field of energy infrastructure, as well as about the priorities in terms of necessary assistance from the international community. In his intervention, the head of the Romanian diplomacy emphasized how severe the Russian attacks on the critical infrastructure of Ukraine are, in general, and also how irresponsible, considering the possibility that the operation of nuclear power plants is affected - as was the very recent case of the Russian bombings that affected the supply of electricity necessary for cooling the systems essentials of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Referring to Romania's efforts in support of Ukraine's energy needs, Bogdan Aurescu highlighted the role played by our country in ensuring the transfer of hundreds of generators that make up for the shortage of electricity supply resulting from interruptions in Ukraine's electrical network subjected to Russian bombing. He also underscored the high degree of mobilization of local authorities, including those of Iasi, Constanta, Cluj-Napoca, Timisoara and Bucharest, of civil society and the business environment, in order to make generator donations to local communities in Ukraine affected by the attacks of the Russian armed forces on the energy infrastructure, the release also states. The Romanian Foreign Minister also pointed out the impact of the war in Ukraine on the Republic of Moldova and Romania's efforts in support of the energy security of this state. The meeting was also attended by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs or other high representatives from the G7 states (in addition to the USA and Japan, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom), from Ukraine, as well as from the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Sweden and Norway, together with representatives of the European Union, the European Energy Community, EBRD, UNDP and the World Bank. The G7+ meeting of March 10, 2023, was the third held in this format, after the first one was organized in Romania, on November 29, 2022, on the sidelines of the meeting of the foreign ministers from NATO member states, hosted by Minister Bogdan Aurescu. AGERPRES As Cayuga County Public Health Director Kathleen Cuddy seeks authorization to hire a deputy director, some legislators expressed support for the plan at a Health and Human Services Committee meeting Thursday. Cuddy explained the potential duties for a deputy director, from assisting with daily oversight of the Cayuga County Health Department to serving as a second-in-command when she is not available. The deputy would also be available to respond to after-hours calls. A popular selling point for lawmakers is that the costs associated with the position would be covered by a federal grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The deputy director's salary and benefits would be paid using funds from the grant through November 2027, according to Cuddy. After that, the health department would use state aid to pay the salary and benefits. "We have a five-year opportunity of money to not only support the department and strengthen it but perhaps work toward succession planning as well with anchoring people in the right places at the right time," Legislator Heidi Nightengale said. "I can't really think of a better use of the CDC money." Hiring a deputy director would be in addition to other personnel moves at the department. Cuddy wants to change the supervising public health administrator's title to become the director of health education and public information. A registered nurse within the department is working to complete their bachelor's degree in nursing, which would make them eligible to be hired as a public health nurse. If that promotion occurs, Cuddy said they would not hire another RN to fill that vacancy. Cayuga County Legislature Chairman David Gould noted that not filling the RN vacancy would save $67,000 a year. "You're saving the county and not adding a position. How the hell could you not beat that?" he said. Succession planning is also a factor in the decision to hire a deputy director. Cuddy said that the average age of the department's managers is 61. Some division leaders have already departed or retired, while another recently informed Cuddy that they plan to retire in 2024. Adding a deputy would also help with Cuddy's own succession plan. She told the Cayuga County Board of Health in February that it's "reasonable to say within five years that I don't plan to be here." A deputy director could learn the job and prepare to take over once Cuddy retires. Legislator Lydia Patti Ruffini asked what happened to the deputy director's position when the county's health and human services division split a decade ago and Cuddy was named leader of the health department. Cuddy responded that the position was not filled, but she has asked for a deputy. The difference now is that she has the funding to pay for the position. Legislator Elane Daly, who chairs the Health and Human Services Committee and was Cuddy's predecessor as the county's former health and human services director, supports hiring a deputy director, especially with the turnover occurring within the department. "It's so difficult to get people and you're losing so many key people at one point that this would be another individual helping to oversee, supervise and learn the programs," she said. There was no vote on allowing the department to hire a deputy director. Cuddy plans to submit a resolution before the committee's April meeting. President Klaus Iohannis began his state visit to the Republic of Singapore on Friday morning, being welcomed by his counterpart Halimah Yacob at the Istana Presidential Palace. ''Excellent discussions with the President of the Republic of Singapore, Halimah Yacob, on ways to deepen and expand our bilateral relations, based on the same values and principles,'' the Romanian head of state tweeted.Later, president Iohannis also had a meeting with the prime minister of the government of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong.President Iohannis is currently in the Republic of Singapore after his official visit to Japan.The visit to Singapore marks the entry of the bilateral relationship into a new stage of development, the first visit of a Romanian president to this country in the last 20 years, and in the context of the 55th anniversary of bilateral relations in 2022, according to the Presidential Administration.The main objective of this visit is to boost bilateral relations, in line with their potential, especially in the economic-investment field. The agenda of the state visit to Singapore also includes intensifying cooperation in IT, education, research, food security, connectivity, cyber security and high technologies, combating climate change and green transition.In terms of economic and sectoral cooperation between Romania and Singapore, based on the positive dynamics of trade in recent years, including the fact that our country is the third largest supplier of IT services in the European Union in Singapore, Romania's interest is to deepen and expand this level of cooperation by initiating new bilateral projects, the source said. Romania's Minister of the Environment Tanczos Barna said on Friday in Sfantu Gheorghe that the pressures to reduce livestock in order to reduce methane and ammonia emissions are very high at the level of the European Union, but Romania will negotiate in Brussels, "till the end" for the European measures to affect as few farmers as possible. He told a news conference that 150 livestock units (LSUs) for livestock farms is unacceptable for Romania, and the problem will most likely be solved on March 16 in Brussels. "Today, yesterday, tomorrow and in a week from now on we are discussing and will discuss the new rules that are being implemented at the level of the European Union on chicken, turkey, pig and cattle farms, because there is a lot of pressure from environmental organisations on farmers and new rules will be introduced for farms to account for, report and reduce emissions of methane, nitrogen, carbon, including on animal farms. The dispute is fierce. And for half an hour now I've been trying to find out the position of Germany, the position of France, on beef, on pork, on poultry. So it is a dispute that will probably be settled on March 16 (...) I will fly directly to Brussels to participate in that council meeting, where the main issue that is on the agenda is exactly this topic, the new rules that will apply to large, small farms and that will bring new rules for the implementation of state-of-the-art technologies to reduce nitrogen and methane emissions. The level, the size of the farm from which these obligations of monitoring, reporting, reduction, implementation of latest generation technologies will be mandatory. Two weeks ago, the European Commission proposed 150 LSUs, which is an unacceptable level for Romania. We have argued from the very beginning that these new rules should kick in somewhere over 350 LSUs, even 450 LSUs in the case of pig and cattle farms. The Ministry of Agriculture and Mr Daea still support the total elimination of cattle from these rules (...) Probably the discussions on April 16 will be completed somewhere at a level of 280-300 LSUs for chicken, turkey, laying hen farms and somewhere over 350, I hope, or 450 on pig and cattle farms," said Tanczos. He added that the negotiations carried out so far by Romania on this topic have gone well. "The challenges are getting bigger and bigger for farmers as well (...) We try and do everything possible so that Romanian farmers are not affected by the new rules imposed by Brussels (...) Today, Romania already has a system of authorisation of farms, regardless of size, which does not exist in all other European countries. So, the way in which the amount of nitrogen, the amount of manure, the amount of methane, implicitly, affects the environment is checked when farmers file for environmental authorisations (... ) Such rules do not apply in all the countries of the European Union, in all the member states, but the new rules will be generally valid for all of them. (...) So far, together with the Romanian representation in Brussels, we have successfully conducted the discussions, negotiations, together with the Foreign Ministry as well and we are on a good path, let's see how the whole dispute will end in Brussels," he said. Tanczos voiced hope that it will be possible to find that balance allowing us to eat healthy without affecting the environment. AGERPRES CIUDADVICTORIA,Mexico A road trip to Mexico for cosmetic surgery ended with two Americans deadand two others found alive in a rural area near the Gulf coast after a violent shootout and abduction that was captured on video, officials said Tuesday. The surviving Americans were back on U.S. soil after being sped to the border near Brownsville, the southernmost tip of Texas, in a convoy of ambulances and SUVs escorted by Mexican military Humvees and National Guard trucks with mounted machine guns. A relative of one of the victims said Monday that the four had traveled together from the Carolinas so one of them could get a tummy tuck surgery from a doctor in the Mexican border city of Matamoros, where Friday's abduction took place. Tamaulipas Gov. Americo Villarreal said the four were found in a wooden shack,where they were being guarded by a man who was arrested. Villarreal said the captive Americans had been moved around by their captors, and at one point were taken to a medical clinic"to create confusion and avoid efforts to rescue them." The two dead were to be turned over to U.S. authorities following forensic work at the Matamoros morgue, the governor said. Villareal said the wounded American, Eric Williams, had been shot in the left leg and the wound was not life threatening. The survivors were taken to Valley Regional Medical Center with an FBI escort, the Brownsville Herald reported. A spokesperson for the hospital referred all inquiries to the FBI. "It's quite a relief," said Robert Williams, Eric's brother, reached by phone in North Carolina. "I look forward to seeing him again and actually being able to talk to him." The U.S. citizens were found in a shack in a rural area east of Matamoros called Ejido Tecolote on the way to the Gulf coast known as "Bagdad Beach," according to Tamaulipas state chief prosecutor Irving Barrios. Shortly after entering Mexico on Friday, the four were caught a mid fighting between rival cartel groups in the city. Barrios said the hypothesis is "that it was confusion, not a direct attack." Video and photographs taken during and immediately after the abduction show the Americans' white minivan sitting beside another vehicle, with at least one bullet hole in the driver's side window. A witness said the two vehicles had collided. Almost immediately, several men in tactical vests and toting assault rifles arrived in another vehicle to surround the scene. The gun men walked one of the Americans into the bed of a white pickup, then dragged and loaded the three others. Terrified civilian motorists sat silently in their cars, hoping not to draw their attention. Two of the victims appeared to be motion less. Officials said a Mexican woman a block and a half away from the scene also died in Friday's crossfire. The shootings illustrate the terror that has prevailed for years in Matamoros, a city dominated by factions of the powerful Gulf drug cartel who often fight among themselves. Amid the violence, thousands of Mexicans have disappeared in Tamaulipas state alone. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said the people responsible would be punished. He referenced arrests made in the 2019 killings of nine U.S. Mexican dual citizens in Sonora near the U.S. border. He complained about the U.S. media's coverage of the missing Americans, accusing them of sensationalism. "It's not like that when they kill Mexicans in the United States, they (the media) go quiet like mummies." "It's very unfortunate, they (the U.S. government) have the right to protest like they have," Lopez Obrador said. "We really regret that this happens in our country." "The cartels are responsible for the deaths of Americans," U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said. "The DEA and the FBI are doing everything possible to dismantle and disrupt and ultimately prosecute the leaders of the cartels and the entire networks that they depend on." White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said the U.S. is working with Mexican officials to learn more about the circumstances surrounding the killings. The FBI had offered a $50,000 reward for the victims' return and the arrest of the abductors. Robert Williams said in a telephone interview that he and his brother, 38-year-old Eric Williams, are from South Carolina but now live in the Winston-Salem area of North Carolina. Williams described his brother as "easy going" and "fun-spirited." He didn't know his brother was traveling to Mexi countil after the abduction hit the news. But from looking at his brother's Facebook posts, he thinks his brother did not consider the trip dangerous. "He thought it would be fun," Williams said. He hadn't heard anything about his brother's whereabouts, he said. Told that his brother was among the survivors Tuesday, Robert Williams said that when they meet, "I'll just tell him how happy I am to see him, and how glad I am that he made it through, and that I love him." BMO is extending to the St. Louis area its grant program that aims to help homebuyers in underserved neighborhoods. The bank said it can offer up to $13,000 through its Welcome Home Grant program to eligible borrowers. The goal, according to a release, is to help buyers in underserved communities access the credit they need to become homeowners. Eligible borrowers can receive up to $25,000 in assistance when the grant is combined with other home financing programs, according to the release. BMO launched the program last year in Chicago and Phoenix. The funds are reserved for full applications until July 31. Rebecca Makkais last novel, The Great Believers, was a finalist for both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. In her highly anticipated novel I Have Some Questions for You, Makkai combines skilled storytelling with abundant human insight. It is so well-plotted and thought-provoking that readers may struggle with conflicting impulses to keep turning the pages to find out what happens next or to stop and think about what it all means. This engrossing novel by the author of The Great Believers is many different books at once. It is a boarding school novel, offering an encapsulated view of a world within a world. It is a cold-case mystery in which readers learn new information along with the characters. It is an adult-revisiting-childhood story in which a narrator considers the past from a different viewpoint. It is also a perceptive commentary on contemporary society. These elements come together seamlessly in a fast-paced mystery. Bodie Kane, a college professor and podcaster, returns with some apprehension to a New Hampshire boarding school to teach a two-week course. She graduated from Granby School over 20 years ago. Her classmate and former roommate, Thalia Keith, was murdered in their senior year. Although a Black employee of the school was convicted of the murder, Bodie has some lingering doubts. Bodie will be teaching five students about podcasting. Each will research and record a podcast related to Granbys past or present. She includes the 1995 murder of Thalia Keith in her list of possible topics. When one student begins researching Thalias murder, questioning how the case was handled, Bodie is forced to ask herself whose idea it really was to revisit this episode. Makkai explores questions about the influence of teachers over students through Bodies memories of a popular music teacher. Much of Bodies narration is addressed to this teacher, as if she is telling him the story of her return to Granby. As an adult woman, Bodie sees the relationship between her lonely, withdrawn, teenage self and her attentive, charismatic teacher in a different light. I took forever to fall asleep, and then woke too early, stewing over whether youd in fact been a creeper. The idea bothered me, and I needed to weigh it a strange marble I was holding in my hand. Makkai uses a clever device to highlight the way we talk about crime stories. In the opening pages and throughout the book, a series of different murders are described with the opening words the one where. Was it where the guy kept her in the basement, the one where she went to a frat party, the one where hed been watching her jog every day, the one where she picked him up from rehab. Some of the one where instances are easily recognizable to even the most casual news consumer. It is a powerful reminder of how repetition and accumulation turn individual tragedies into background noise. Our brains are so full of half-remembered stories about murders and other crimes that it becomes difficult to focus on actual personal consequences. Makkai raises questions about our enthusiastic consumption of true crime while at the same time giving readers a juicy mystery to unravel. It is great fun to follow the clues along with Bodie. But when readers reach the conclusion to the mystery, one question persists: Why do we love it so? Rebecca Makkai When 7 p.m. March 23 Where Ethical Society, 9001 Clayton Road How much $32, includes copy of book More info left-bank.com Jennifer Alexander is a librarian at the St. Louis County Library. Q What happened to the original stars of The Wild Wild West? A Fans well remember the 1965-69 adventure series starring Robert Conrad as James T. West, the James Bond of Westerns according to one book, and Ross Martin as his master-of-disguise partner Artemus Gordon. This was Conrads second series, following Hawaiian Eye in 1959-63. He would go on to star in different TV series in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. He was famous as well for his Eveready battery commercials and for TV movies including Will, where he played G. Gordon Liddy, and the miniseries Centennial. He and Martin also reunited for two Wild Wild West TV movies. But not all was good in his life. As the New York Times reported, in 2003 he was charged with driving drunk after his car crashed into another vehicle, seriously injuring the other driver and himself. Mr. Conrad, who was left with some right arm and hand paralysis, was fined and sentenced to six months of house arrest. He died of heart failure in 2020; he was 84. Born in Poland and educated as a lawyer, Ross Martins skilled TV work before and after West was mainly in guest-starring roles; he also did some stage and movie work. He had health problems along the way, at one point taking a break from West following a heart attack (Charles Aidman filled in as another character). He died in 1981 at age 61 after another heart attack. Q I watched A Million Little Things when it first came out but never figured out what happened with the guy who died by suicide. Why did he do it? A The ABC drama, now in its fifth and final season, somewhat explained Jon Dixons suicide in its first-season finale. According to the Hollywood Reporter, while you cant usually say there is only one reason for a suicide, Jon had had a long-secret trauma: On Sept. 11, 2001, Jon was booked on Flight 11 out of Boston, one of the planes that was hijacked during the 9/11 terrorist attacks. While he missed the flight by seconds, his then-best friend Dave did not, leaving Jon with a case of survivors guilt from which he never fully recovered. Q Will we ever see another season of Taboo with Tom Hardy? A It has been about six years since a second season of the drama was ordered, but theres still no air date, and it may be still longer before there is one. According to British publication Broadcast, showrunner Steven Knight said in 2022 that he hoped to start production on Season 2 towards the end of (2023). That would probably put it on the air in 2024. Although COVID-19 played a role in the delay, a bigger challenge is fitting the show into Hardys heavy schedule as a movie actor. Q Do you know the status of Criminal Minds? A Following a broadcast run from 2005 to 2020, Criminal Minds was revived as a streaming series with much of the original cast under the name Criminal Minds: Evolution. That series had a 10-episode run on Paramount+ and has been picked up for a second season on the streamer. The new season will begin production sometime this year. Send questions to Rich Heldenfels, P.O. Box 417, Mogadore, OH 44260, or brenfels@gmail.com. THURSDAY, March 9, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- A new poll on sleep and mental health has revealed that more than 90 percent of adults who reported they get good sleep were also free of depressive symptoms. In its annual poll, the nonprofit National Sleep Foundation (NSF) focused this year on the impact of sleep on mental health because of the current mental health crisis in the United States. "In the day-to-day execution of our sleep health mission, we give lots of simple, evidence-based, and consensus-driven tips and tools to help people get enough of the quality sleep they need," NSF CEO John Lopos said in a foundation news release. "For this year's poll, we were compelled to look again at the connection between sleep health and mental health conditions like depression." The Sleep in America poll also showed that about 65 percent of adults who were dissatisfied with their sleep experience had mild or greater levels of depressive symptoms. Those who reported difficulties falling or staying asleep just two nights a week had higher levels of depressive symptoms than those without sleep difficulties. About 50 percent of all adults who sleep less than the recommended seven to nine hours nightly experienced mild or greater levels of depressive symptoms. "One unique aspect of this year's research was how we combined NSF's multiple validated measures of the population's sleep health with an established measure of depressive symptoms, to examine the link between sleep health and depressive symptoms in the general population," Joseph Dzierzewski, Ph.D., vice president of research and scientific affairs at the NSF, said in the news release. "As a licensed clinician, I'd say there's never been a more important time to think about the strong connection between our sleep and mental health." Marceline Saphians high-energy solo show of new works on view now through May at the Angad Arts Hotel invites people to find connections in an increasingly divisive world. In life and in art, this 93-year-old artist and teacher consistently chooses to resolve lifes challenging situations creatively. The process she used to build the mixed-media pieces in this show dismantles the old to create a new order. As a lifelong printmaker, shed accumulated unfinished monotype prints that didnt quite work. She cut and pasted them and painted over them to make the vibrant compositions on view today. The pieces are a continuum, taking something older, working with something new and coming up with new ideas. That really, really caught me, she says. Mickey Mouse and making art When I was just a child I knew I was going to be an artist. Mickey Mouse and paper dolls were all the rage then. I drew Mickey and designed clothes for my paper dolls. I even made my own paper dolls, Saphian says. Even though female artists were barely a blip on the radar, Saphian knew she would find a way to make art. In those days there werent many opportunities for women you could be a nurse, a secretary or a teacher, she says. She decided she would be a teacher, specifically an art teacher. I went into Harris Teachers College when it was 10 dollars a semester, then finished my degree in art education at Southeast Missouri State. At least I could teach art. Oh! What art can teach After graduation, Saphian stepped into a teaching job in the Wood River School District in Illinois that quickly morphed into much more. I was very lucky to become an art supervisor for the Wood River School District for six elementary schools. I walked right into it when someone left suddenly and I stepped into her spot, she says. She moved to Memphis, Tennessee, for six years with her husband, the late Dr. Russell C. Staphian, and returned to St. Louis to become the art supervisor for Clayton Schools. She left in the early 1960s. I decided to join my husband as the manager of his optometry business, she says. Elder wisdom In her artists statement for the current show at the Angad Arts Hotel, Saphian says, "As an older artist, I feel the fire within me has to do with being, place and connections to new ideas." She puts her ideas out on a regular basis. In 2022, she exhibited her art in 14 juried shows throughout the region and created the pieces for her solo show. Shes the elder stateswoman, speaking to all, through art. With all the division in our country and the world right now we should get together in areas where we can. Thats what its about, she says. Come together She doesnt advocate a point of view, rather she shows how disparate things fit together. In her piece "It All Evens Out" she started out to make one image, and ended up with another. When I found the things I chose didnt fit together the way I envisioned, I allowed them to go the way the wanted to, she says. Thats OK; thats the way things happen. Sometimes theyre a little crooked, but theyre going to stand up straight eventually. In her work "We Can All Dance Together" the different shapes she cut all moved in the same direction even though they have significant differences. In the between spaces, she gave each shape its own identity. Each space filled in between them is different in color and form. They merge, but not completely, and they work together, dance together, she says. Shes putting it out there can we dance together? She envisions a time when as people in community find a way to work together, even to make a joyful noise, as in her piece Violins, Horns, & Cymbols, Please. We see the whole orchestra in this black and white monotype montage. This is one of a four part series, she says, a hint to look for more from this artist whose desire for harmony in the world comes through loud and clear, but you wont find her preaching it. I like to put in a little mystery, a little humor, something different in my work so they will appeal to different people, she says. She takes a balanced approach, in art and life, that allows for differences. Its a process shell continue in the freestanding studio she built, close but separate from her home, where she creates. Marceline Saphian Art Artist Marceline Saphian Age 93 Family Saphian has a daughter and son-in-law, Melissa and Tony Cheevers. She has two grandsons, Alex and Eliot, and one granddaughter, Olivia, who she says are her pride and joy. Home Chesterfield What she makes Saphian makes original monoprints, montages, mixed-media works and collages that incorporate the old and the new from her lifetime collection of unfinished prints and mixed media materials. How much Her original artworks sell from $500 to $2,000 Where to buy Works in the Energy of Connections show are available through the Angad Arts Hotel. Saphian sells pieces directly through her website, marcelinesaphian.com New York state officials are urging motorists to be aware of the dangers of drowsy driving as Daylight Saving Time will lead to some people getting less sleep this weekend. In a news release, the state Partnership Against Drowsy Driving on Friday warned of the dangers of drowsy driving before and after the time change as a reminder that drivers should be vigilant. Daylight Saving Time begins at 2 a.m. Sunday, March 12, when clocks will be set ahead one hour. According to the Governors Highway Safety Association, 24 hours without sleep has similar effects on driving ability as having a blood alcohol concentration of 0.10 percent. GHSA also estimates that drowsy driving is a contributing factor in 328,000 crashes nationwide annually, and more than half of them involve drivers 25 and younger. In New York, according to the 2022 preliminary crash statistics from the Institute for Traffic Safety Management and Research at the University at Albanys Rockefeller College, fatigue/drowsy driving was selected as a contributing factor in 1,160 police-reported crashes, of which three were fatal crashes and 446 resulted in injuries. Also in 2022, there were 2,849 police-reported crashes where the contributing factor for driver fell asleep was cited. Six of these crashes involved at least one fatality and 1,067 crashes resulted in injuries. Since college students are among the most at risk for drowsy driving, the Partnership Against Drowsy Driving has been focusing outreach efforts on State University of New York and City University of New York campuses with younger drivers, as well as in counties where statewide crash data reflects a higher incidence of crashes in which the driver fell asleep or drowsiness or fatigue were reported as a contributing factor. Besides college students, officials said, other groups identified as most at risk of driving while drowsy include commercial drivers, particularly tractor trailer, tour bus and public transit drivers; people who work long hours or late-night shifts; people with sleep disorders; new parents or caregivers of infants and young children; high school students; and young and newer drivers. Common strategies to avoid drowsiness, such as opening a window, turning on air conditioning or playing loud music should not be relied upon to overcome fatigue. The safest thing to do when experiencing drowsiness while driving is to pull over and find a safe place to sleep. ST. LOUIS A 15-year-old boy was charged Thursday with shooting and killing a teenage girl last month in the city's Gravois Park neighborhood. The boy has not been certified as an adult, so his name has not been released. He is accused of shooting Emily Valentine, 15, Feb. 28 in the 3700 block of Minnesota Avenue. He is charged with second-degree murder in juvenile courts. Police and bystanders said Valentine was shot in an alley, then came running and collapsed on a parking pad. BYRNES MILL A Jefferson County citys police force is under criminal investigation over reports made during the resignation of the citys municipal prosecuting attorney. Jefferson County Sheriff Dave Marshaks office in a statement Thursday confirmed the investigation into Byrnes Mill police for alleged criminal violations. The nature of those violations is unclear. The investigation was prompted by a police report made by Byrnes Mill city attorney Allison Sweeney upon her resignation this week. Sweeney, who served as the city attorney for more than decade, declined to comment on the nature of her allegations Friday, citing attorney-client privilege. She wrote in her resignation letter that she had created a memo outlining why the citys trajectory is no longer compatible with my own moral and ethical values. The city did not immediately provide the memo to the Post-Dispatch Friday. The resignation prompted the municipal courts presiding judge to issue an order this week temporarily suspending the courts operations. The order was issued because the city did not have a prosecuting attorney, said Byrnes Mill City Administrator Adam Thompson. Residents with municipal court fines issued in the last several days will not be able to pay their fines until court operations resume. Older fines can still be paid, Thompson said. Thompson said the city is in the process of hiring a new prosecuting attorney and hopes to resume operations by Tuesday, the next scheduled court date. He said the city has no comment on the criminal investigation but is fully cooperating with law enforcement. Jefferson County sheriffs investigators seized municipal court computers this week as part of the review. The department said in a statement that it is focusing on state laws that maintain police accountability, oversight, and Constitutional Protections for citizens. Investigators will send findings to the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorneys Office, the Missouri Attorney Generals Office and the municipal presiding judge for review. The statement adds that the sheriffs office strongly recommends the city launch an independent internal investigation into its policies and procedures. The city of about 3,200 people in northern Jefferson County has a police force of 12 licensed officers, according to state records. The small department most recently made the news after it had two officers charged with crimes since 2017. A former interim police chief, Michael Thomas Smith, pleaded guilty to federal charges in 2018 for stealing $7,000 found inside a Bible during a police raid. Another former Byrnes Mill officer was convicted of sodomizing a boy he met on a dating app in 2019. Current Byrnes Mill police Chief Frank Selvaggio took over leadership in October 2018. ST. LOUIS The Missouri Attorney Generals Office issued a wide-ranging subpoena to the St. Louis courts on Wednesday seeking a trove of records as part of a suit to remove Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner from office. The subpoena offers a further glimpse into the case Attorney General Andrew Bailey is building against Gardner, who Bailey argues has been neglectful of her duty as the citys top prosecutor. Baileys document asks for, among other things, a list of cases dismissed by Gardners office and the average length of time cases are pending two data points that could be key as Baileys office tries to illustrate that Gardner has failed to prosecute some cases while allowing others to languish for years. Those same issues have been repeated targets of criticism of the office in recent years. In an effort to oust Gardner, Bailey filed a quo warranto petition late last month amid a firestorm over prosecutors handling of a pending robbery case that left a man free despite violating his bond dozens of times. Police said the man, Daniel Riley, caused a crash that pinned a 17-year-old volleyball player from Tennessee between two cars and resulted in both her legs being amputated. Along with the case dismissals, Bailey argued that Gardners office has failed to keep victims informed and has failed to review or act upon thousands of cases submitted by St. Louis police. The attorney generals office immediately issued a 34-point subpoena to the circuit attorneys office, seeking records including victim complaints, copies of Gardners personnel file and copies of warrant applications considered and refused. Officials then notified Gardner and her top aides they would be deposed. They also asked for documents from Mayor Tishaura O. Jones and Comptroller Darlene Green. The courts have until March 20 to provide the information sought in Wednesdays subpoena. Gardner must respond to the attorney generals petition by next week. ST. LOUIS A prosecutor tasked with leading the St. Louis Circuit Attorney's trial team will soon leave his role to spend more time with his family, a spokeswoman said Thursday. Marvin Teer, 60, came out of retirement in 2021 to join Kimberly M. Gardner's office, training other prosecutors and leading high-profile cases. He previously worked as a city prosecutor, an assistant attorney general, a traffic court judge and an administrative judge. "Judge Marvin Teer has been an invaluable leader at the (Circuit Attorney's Office), and has led his team with integrity" a spokeswoman wrote in a statement. "We wish him the best as he transitions from our office to spend more time with his family." Teer will depart at a tumultuous time in Gardner's office, leaving just five people handling hundreds of major prosecutions in the city. He's also leaving as the office faces pressure from the state legislature, where a bill moving through the statehouse would strip Gardner of most of her power, and from the Missouri Attorney General, who filed suit to remove her from office. Teer declined to comment or confirm his departure Thursday, but in a recent interview he extolled the virtues of his work and trial team, saying he was "humbled" by the young attorneys who worked long hours under difficult conditions to try cases. "We put the work in," he said last week. A spokeswoman for the circuit attorney's office did not immediately say when Teer would leave, but in a statement said there would be a "transition" where Teer would "continue to provide support." WASHINGTON The U.S. House on Friday unanimously passed a bill that would require the Biden administration to declassify intelligence information about the origins of COVID-19. It now heads to President Joe Bidens desk after previously passing the Senate. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, came after the Department of Energy said with low confidence it believed the virus leaked from a lab in Wuhan, China, contradicting early findings that the virus came about naturally through transmission from an email. Hawley said he believed the evidence the Department of Energy used to come to their conclusion should be declassified so Americans can see the information for themselves. Lets stop all of this third hand, fourth hand speaking in code, Hawley said last week, when his bill unanimously passed the Senate. Just declassify what we have. Let the American people see. I mean, if theres contrary opinions, let them read it, let them see it. The original assessment on the origin of the virus was that it came from a bat and potentially one more animal before moving to humans. Some intelligence agencies and independent researchers still hold this view. The renewed attention on COVID-19s origins come as both Democrats and Republicans appear to accept that the virus may have leaked from a virology lab but partisan rhetoric over those origins may make it difficult to uncover conclusive evidence on how the virus originated. Republicans have tied their belief that the virus originated in a lab with theories about a controversial form of scientific research called gain of function, where scientists make adaptations to a virus in order to develop ways to prevent it. Still, Democrats have agreed that it is important to understand the origin of the virus to be better prepared for future pandemics. Clearly, its important, said White House press secretary Karine Jean Pierre. We believe, he believes its important to get to the bottom of this, especially as we look ahead to the future and trying to prevent any future pandemics. But efforts to get a better understanding of the virus origins have been met with resistance from the Chinese government, who has said the U.S. is trying to pin the blame for the pandemic on their country. Hawleys office said it received a letter from the Chinese Embassy earlier this week, criticizing him for his bill. Hawley responded to the letter Friday, referencing the House vote. I know you are keenly interested in this bill your own Communist officials have written to my office demanding we renounce it, in their usual lecturing, idiotic style, Hawley wrote. But the bill will soon be law unless you can convince President Biden to veto it. Time is up. Come clean about your role in spreading COVID to the world. ST. LOUIS Former Alderman Paul Beckerle, a fixture in city government for almost four decades, died Saturday at his home in southwest St. Louis after battling lung cancer and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. He was 66. Beckerle was first elected 25th Ward alderman in 1985 and held the post until his resignation in 1999 during his fourth term. Since then he had been director of the citys Business Assistance Center. St. Louis Collector of Revenue Gregory Daly said Beckerles longevity in city government made him one of its most knowledgeable people. He was the go-to-guy here at City Hall if you needed to get something done and not ruffle feathers with anyone, Daly said. He was someone who knew the players, who knew the history. Among issues he worked on as alderman was a proposal to cut the number of city wards, which didnt pass until several years after he left the board. He also worked on a successful push to add St. Louis County representation to the commission overseeing city-run St. Louis Lambert International Airport. And he got aldermen to approve a bond issue that, along with larger amounts of private donations, made major improvements to Forest Park. In 1995, he ran unsuccessfully for the citywide post of aldermanic president. Beckerle graduated from Cleveland High School and earned a bachelors degree in justice administration and a masters in political science from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He then worked in U.S. Rep. Richard Gephardts Washington office and as an analyst for the FBI before returning to St. Louis in 1983. He came from a Democratic political family; his uncle, the late Joe Beckerle, had been a state representative and alderman before him. Beckerle was a longtime volunteer at St. Raphael the Archangel Catholic Church. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday at Kutis Funeral Home, 10151 Gravois Road in Affton. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Raphael the Archangel Church, 6040 Jamieson Avenue, preceded by visitation from 9 to 10 a.m. Burial will be at Resurrection Cemetery. Among survivors are his wife, Robin Beckerle; three sons, Jacob Beckerle of Creve Coeur, Matthew Beckerle of St. Louis and Gabriel Beckerle of St. Louis; two brothers, Jerry Beckerle of St. Louis and Jack Beckerle of St. Peters; three sisters, Joan Todt of Fenton, Susan Windish of St. Louis and Diane OBrien of University City; and one grandchild. A funny thing happened during a seemingly routine St. Louis County Council vote Tuesday regarding a proposed $150,000 expenditure to advertise an April 4 marijuana-tax ballot measure. The $150,000 request came from County Executive Sam Page. Without even one word of discussion or questions asked and without Page formally requesting it council Chair Shalonda Webb introduced a bill to double the amount to $300,000. The bill quickly passed. Then they revoted to perfect the bill, then voted to finalize passage all in the span of three minutes. Only two council members voted against the bill, but even they declined to vocalize any objections. The episode marked the epitome of spendthrift bad governance in a county grappling with a $41 million budget hole. County taxpayers deserve to be livid, but who besides concerned University City resident Tom Sullivan will speak out about it? Bueller? Bueller? First off, lets see if the Post-Dispatch can save taxpayers a big chunk of that $300,000 by educating the reading public right here. The April 4 ballot contains one referendum item, Proposition M, asking: Shall St. Louis County impose an additional sales tax of three percent (3%) on all tangible property retail sales of adult use marijuana sold in St. Louis County, Missouri? Voters may answer yes or no. Beyond restating the wording above, theres very little more the county can say about this ballot item without running afoul of state law, which explicitly forbids using taxpayer money to sway voters. Clearly, Page and the council want Prop M to pass because the county badly needs the money. But whether they support it or not, they are forbidden by law from using public funds to influence the vote. An equally troubling aspect of Tuesdays session was the utter lack of discussion about Pages request or Webbs bill to double it, as if the matter had already been discussed and decided. On a council infamous for loud squabbles over the tiniest details, no one had a single question, such as why its necessary or who would get the money to do the educating. And why wasnt $150,000 sufficient? No one seemed even the slightest bit inquisitive. Could it be that members had discussed this outside the council chamber and agreed on it ahead of time? No way theyd do that! Because that also would be specifically forbidden by Missouris Sunshine Law. Oops, we forgot. The council was supposed to hold an educational session about the open-meetings and open-records law on Feb. 25, but that meeting broke up in disarray when Webb tried to close the meeting to the public. Strange things are happening in St. Louis County governance, possibly behind closed doors, and until taxpayers start demanding answers, they shouldnt be surprised at secretive spending practices that yield $41 million budget deficits. The violent protest against the construction of a police training center in Atlanta exemplifies how little the radical left has learned since the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests and the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection. Violence and destruction couched as civil disobedience, regardless of the claimed justification, rarely if ever yields the kind of societal or political change the instigators seek. The city of Atlanta is investing $90 million to construct an 85-acre training facility in a forested area. Some of the radical-left protesters are opposed to the destruction of trees as part of the site clearance. Others, labeling the facility Cop City, contend that the training center is a symbol of police oppression. They compare it to the Georgia-based School of the Americas, where the United States trained Latin American military officers loyal to dictatorial regimes. Many trainees were subsequently linked to human rights violations. The police-training center, protesters contend, would result in oppression of Blacks, Latinos and other minorities. As with most radical agendas, the facts rarely align with such wild assertions. Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, who is Black, insists that the training facility would be used to stop police abuses by teaching officers coping strategies. Our training includes vital areas like de-escalation training techniques, mental health, community-oriented policing, crisis intervention training, as well as civil rights history education, he stated earlier this year. Why does the city need such a sprawling site? This training needs space, and thats exactly what this training center is going to offer, Dickens explained. Radical protesters, never known for listening to reason, swarmed to the site last week and set fire to construction vehicles before attacking police with fireworks, explosives and Molotov cocktails. In a previous confrontation in January, officers fatally shot a protester, and a Georgia state trooper was wounded. Police on Sunday arrested 23 protesters and charged them with domestic terrorism a charge that should have applied equally to the Jan. 6 insurrectionists. Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum doesnt buy the contention that the police-center protesters were merely engaging in civil disobedience. When you throw commercial-grade fireworks, when you throw Molotov cocktails, large rocks, a number of items at officers, your only intent is to harm, he said. Regardless of how the radicals fare at trial, they have done irreparable harm on the political front as well. The radical right is seeking justification for everything its followers do, and they draw from protests like the Atlanta one to recruit like-minded people and assert that nows the time to mobilize and fight leftist radicalism. Videos of the Atlanta violence will almost certainly become part of the radical rights narrative. Both sides will grow more vocal and steadily chip away at Americas moderate middle. The violence and destruction are sad enough, but the deepening wedge it helps drive among Americans should be a far bigger concern. Hawleys attack on Garland shows his own unfitness I recently had the misfortune to watch clips of Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, attempting to bully U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland regarding Garlands management of the Justice Department. I dont recommend that anyone watch this, but Hawleys theatrical outrage deserves comment. The immature, brash Hawley, who raised a fist in support of the mob before the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, should consider himself lucky to be in the same room with someone as honorable, thoughtful and intelligent as Garland. The attorney general had a distinguished 24-year career on the federal bench, serving both as a circuit and an appeals court judge. He would be sitting on the Supreme Court now but for then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnells disgraceful maneuvering to ignore the nomination. The criticism I have heard most of Garland is that he is being too deferential not too political or aggressive in pursuit of the case against former President Donald Trump. If Hawley thinks his phony outrage plays well with the people of Missouri, he is only digging himself deeper into the hole he created with his Jan. 6 fist-pump and questioning of the 2020 election outcome. I consider Hawley to be entirely self-centered and blinded by his own ambition. I believe he is a disgrace to our state, and I only hope enough of Missouris citizens agree so that he is voted out of office in 2024. It would be an outcome richly earned by Hawley. John Wallace University City Improving city traffic enforcement would pay for itself I see St. Louis is about to spend tens of millions of dollars on a program for safer streets (St. Louis mayor OKs more than $40 million to reshape streets, slow down speeders, March 2), without any thought on how to address the fundamental problem of bad drivers. As I walk the streets of this city, I observe that a lot of the bad driving occurs in vehicles that have either no license plates, expired temporary licenses or expired licenses. These conditions apply to both vehicles with Missouri license plates and those vehicles with out-of-state licenses to avoid the citys personal property tax. Many of the drivers with out-of-state licenses have not renewed the license or in some cases have expired temporary licenses. Removing the vehicles that do not have valid licenses from the streets will truly improve street safety. I find it difficult to understand how this city allows the operation of these illegal vehicles and does nothing. I realize that the citys police force needs funds and improving the collection of the personal property tax could provide this resource. Walter J. Kucharski St. Louis St. Louis cannot succeed without support for the police Regarding Progressives aim to tighten grip on City Hall (March 2): What a heart-sinking statement. The story is frightening to read in that St. Louis progressives like Mayor Tishaura Jones, Aldermanic President Megan Green and Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner want to run St. Louis with an agenda of fighting crime with social services, tracking racial inequities, and lifting up the poor. I do not think that most people object to using these goals in governing St. Louis, but to exclude police and their wages is biased and unfair. A social worker is not a policeman. A social worker cannot answer emergency murder and assault calls. When Jones declared she wanted to make St. Louis safer after the recent tragic accidents downtown and on Grand Avenue, did she mean that social workers needed to stop speeders, runners of red lights, drivers with no licenses and criminals who have violated the terms of their bonds? The police are not our enemies. They are desperately needed to get and keep crime under control in St. Louis. It is a stupid approach to exclude their importance and to believe that St. Louis can succeed without them. Lecil S. Saller St. Louis Replace the lawmakers who are abetting gun violence Regarding the editorial Missouri GOP already enables gun violence. Now it wants taxpayers to fund more of it. (March 2): Missouri has some of the loosest gun laws in the United States, and one of the highest firearms death rates. The Missouri Legislature has decreed that no permits are needed for people to walk around with loaded weapons. No background checks or red flag laws are required. Our Missouri lawmakers even rejected a measure specifying children cannot carry guns in public. I am not okay with this. Children should not be allowed to carry loaded weapons in our city nor should adults. Why do people need to carry loaded weapons? They do not do this in other countries. People are dying and being injured every day in St. Louis, and it is time to get laws in place to stop this terrible loss of life. We need new lawmakers who will make our city safer. Samantha Calvin St. Louis Trans people and their families need to have a voice I agree with the editorial (Just like doctors, lawmakers should adopt do-no-harm standard on gender dysphoria, Feb. 13.) that actually speaks to trans people and their parents on the issue. Their experiences should be highlighted, I believe, as they are the ones who directly are involved. I think more reporting like this is needed. It provides a real look at people who especially recently have been demonized and hurt. Jessica Medina Jacksonville, Florida Read letters online at STLToday.com Eastern Lake Ontario, with 43 known shipwrecks and one aircraft, is on the verge of becoming a national marine sanctuary. It has been a years-long process to reach this point. The effort has been supported by local governments, including Cayuga County, and New York state. If the sanctuary is established, the state will co-manage it with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. During a virtual meeting on Wednesday, NOAA representatives detailed the proposed national marine sanctuary and gathered feedback from residents. What is a national marine sanctuary? A national marine sanctuary is established to "protect special places in America's ocean and Great Lakes waters," according to NOAA. There are 15 national marine sanctuaries and four, including Lake Ontario, in the designation process. "We look at the communities, we look at the resources and we design our management approach based on that," said Ellen Brody, NOAA's Great Lakes regional coordinator. "There is not a standard size of a sanctuary and there are different resources that we protect, whether it's natural, cultural or both." Brody added that it would be a "significant accomplishment" for NOAA if eastern Lake Ontario is designated as a national marine sanctuary. With Thunder Bay and Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast, there would be national marine sanctuaries in three of the five Great Lakes. "We have a lot of NOAA resources and assets to share," she said. "We can tell the stories of how the Great Lakes contributed to American history and the movement of ships and such." Proposed sanctuary The national marine sanctuary in Lake Ontario would cover a 1,724-square-mile area. There are 43 known shipwrecks and one aircraft underwater in this territory. According to historical records, there are 20 potential shipwrecks and three aircraft. NOAA considered two alternatives for the sanctuary, one of which included a portion of the St. Lawrence River. The agency decided against that plan because of concerns from various stakeholders, including the shipping industry. Brody said the proposal recognizes "the national significance of this area's historical, archaeological and cultural resources." She added that eastern Lake Ontario "has a rich history, so we're very much looking forward to doing activities that recognize that." The process NOAA opened a nomination process for new national marine sanctuary designations. Four counties Cayuga, Jefferson, Oswego and Wayne and the city of Oswego partnered to nominate eastern Lake Ontario for national marine sanctuary status. The nomination was accepted by NOAA, which initiated its designation procedures in 2019. That included public scoping with four meetings and a three-month comment period. A sanctuary advisory council was established in March 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the council could not meet in person, it held 18 virtual meetings. In 2021, NOAA released its draft environmental impact statement and draft management plan for the proposed sanctuary. The agency published a proposed rule on Jan. 19 an important step in formally designating Lake Ontario as a national marine sanctuary. A public comment period to gather feedback on the proposed rule runs through March 20. More information about the public comment period can be found at sanctuaries.noaa.gov/lake-ontario. Why? Brody highlighted the benefits of a national marine sanctuary designation, including education and outreach and research and monitoring. She explained that because sanctuaries are underwater and difficult for people to access, they use different methods and technology to educate visitors about the waters. There are other benefits, such as resource protection and tourism. "We think of sanctuaries as places where people want to visit," Brody said. "People like to go to national parks. They like to go to national sanctuaries, so it does become a draw." Community engagement and maritime heritage are also key parts of national marine sanctuaries. Regulations There are proposed regulations for the Lake Ontario national marine sanctuary, including a prohibition on damaging or altering sanctuary resources a rule that would be consistent with New York state law, according to Brody and a ban on anchoring on shipwreck sites. NOAA plans to install a mooring buoy system that would allow divers to access the shipwrecks. Unlicensed use of tethered underwater mobile systems at shipwreck sites would be prohibited. There would be a permitting process for those interested in using these vehicles to explore shipwrecks. Boating, diving and fishing would be allowed within the sanctuary's boundary. Brody said they do not intend to have an impact on recreational activities. What's next? NOAA will review public comments and then work on a final environmental impact statement, management plan and rule. Brody does not anticipate that there will be a lot of changes to the draft documents. The sanctuary designation will take effect 45 days after the final rule is published. Brody estimates that the process will be completed in about a year. LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- AIDS Healthcare Foundation has repeatedly called for the depoliticization of the investigation into the origins of SARS-CoV-2 and for all reasonable hypotheses to be studied. Ahead of the third anniversary of the World Health Organization belatedly declaring COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11, 2020, there is renewed debate around the Wuhan lab leak hypothesis as a possible source of the outbreak. China has not been fully cooperative with the global efforts to establish the origins of COVID-19 a well-documented fact noted by the WHO, among others. With this in mind, categorical declarations from proponents and detractors of the lab leak hypothesis do a disservice to global public health for as long as key pieces of information are missing, we cannot rule out the lab leak as much as we cannot rule out zoonotic transmission, even though so far no direct infection vector has been found in animals, said AHF President Michael Weinstein. If the origin of COVID-19 remains forever a mystery, we are bound to remain vulnerable to future outbreaks. This pandemic has made it abundantly clear, COVID-19 is not a one-off event, and we must be prepared to protect the world from millions of avoidable deaths. The investigation must continue with due diligence being given to all reasonable possibilities. About AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the largest global AIDS organization, currently provides medical care and/or services to over 1.7 million people in 45 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region and Europe. To learn more about AHF, please visit our website: www.aidshealth.org, find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/aidshealth and follow us on Twitter: @aidshealthcare and Instagram: @aidshealthcare. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230310005414/en/ US MEDIA CONTACT: Ged Kenslea, Senior Director, Communications, AHF +1 323 308 1833 work +1.323.791.5526 mobile [email protected] Denys Nazarov, Director of Global Policy & Communications, AHF +1 323.308.1829 [email protected] Source: AIDS Healthcare Foundation LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of B+ (Good) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of bbb- (Good) of AXA Mansard Insurance Plc (AXA Mansard) (Nigeria). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable. The ratings reflect AXA Mansards 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 ratings also reflect rating enhancement, in the form of lift, from AXA Mansards ultimate parent, AXA S.A. AXA Mansards balance sheet strength is underpinned by risk-adjusted capitalisation at the strongest level, as measured by Bests Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR). Capital consumption is primarily driven by asset risk, which incorporates the companys substantial real estate investments. With its business concentrated domestically, AXA Mansard is exposed to the high levels of economic, political and financial system risks in Nigeria. The balance sheet strength assessment also considers AXA Mansards high reinsurance dependence on large energy and property risks. AXA Mansard is expected to report a five-year (2018-2022) weighted average combined ratio of approximately 97%, with the companys combined ratio deteriorating to marginally above 100% in 2022. Increased loss experience on the companys health book, much of which related to the 2021 underwriting year, is expected to drive the weakening underwriting performance. AM Best expects prospective operating performance to be supported by corrective underwriting measures in the health portfolio, as well as positive contributions from the companys life book. AXA Mansard is a composite insurer, writing a diverse book of business that is concentrated in Nigeria. The company has a solid foothold in its domestic market where it ranks among the largest non-life companies, and it enjoys a leading market position in the health segment. With good long-term growth prospects, AXA Mansard is expected to further strengthen its competitive market position over the coming years. 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 specialising 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/20230310005291/en/ Dale Kirby Financial Analyst +44 20 7397 0276 [email protected] Tim Prince Director, Analytics +44 20 7397 0320 [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 AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- At South by Southwest (SXSW), the Army Applications Laboratory (AAL) will feature Taqtiles Manifest augmented reality (AR)-enabled work-instruction platform at its Bots by the Bridge exhibition. At this open-to-the-public event, attendees will experience how Manifest helps military personnel complete complex tasks including preventative maintenance checks and service procedures on a Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV). This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230309005376/en/ At South by Southwest, the Army Applications Laboratory (AAL) will feature Taqtiles Manifest augmented reality (AR)-enabled work-instruction platform at its Bots by the Bridge exhibition. Soldiers will demonstrate Manifest in Army motor pool use cases, including preventative maintenance checks and service procedures. (Photo: Business Wire) Bots by the Bridge WHEN: Monday 3/13/23, 10 a.m. 3 p.m. WHERE: Center for Autonomous Robotics 5000 Plaza on the Lake #265, Austin, TX 78746 Soldiers will demonstrate Manifest in common Army motor pool use cases. Army mechanics can access and follow Manifests spatially anchored, step-by-step instructions with embedded multimedia content to efficiently perform complex inspection and maintenance tasks. With Manifest and an iPad or head mounted device, completion of these tasks is safer, more efficient, and more accurate than using outdated paper-based processes. Manifest also delivers additional support when needed, giving motor pool personnel real-time access to AR-enabled guidance from expert Army technicians, anywhere, anytime. Manifests ability to support Army personnel through AR-enabled technology is on full display at the Bots by the Bridge event, said Andrew Yakulis, Director of Corporate Ventures for AAL. Taqtile is an important partner for us, demonstrating how we can collaborate with leading software developers to create advanced technologies that increase the readiness of our armed forces. Following its successful Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) initiative with AAL, Taqtile advanced to a Phase II SBIR with a scope which has expanded in recent months. Other military customers of Manifest include the U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, the Royal Australian Navy, New Zealand Army, and other Allied defense forces, as well as original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), and systems integrators around the globe. Private sector companies are also benefitting from Taqtile technology, supporting industrial workers around the world at companies including Raytheon, PBC Linear, Nokia, and many others. Our expanding relationship with the U.S. Army demonstrates the power of Manifest and its unique ability to help military personnel complete a wide variety of complex inspection and preventative maintenance tasks, said Mr. Kelly Malone, Chief Business Officer, Taqtile. Manifest is a force multiplier that improves combat readiness by connecting soldiers with digital tools, providing them with just-in-time task guidance, as well as chronicling their work. Designed as a platform-independent solution, Manifest provides maximum device flexibility. The software is engineered with the capability to support an expanding number of head-mounted displays, as well as iPad tablets and Android handhelds, enabling defense customers to select hardware platforms that meet their specific needs. About Army Applications Laboratory The Army Applications Laboratory (AAL) is Army Futures Commands innovation unit and a partner for industry, the Army, and government organizations. We discover practices and processes to speed capability development and turn cutting-edge ideas into real, relevant solutions for Soldiers. We solve Army problems. Learn how we do it at aal.army. About Taqtile Seattle-based Taqtile equips industrial workers with the tools they need to complete their jobs more efficiently, accurately, and safely. By leveraging proven technologies, including augmented reality, 3D visualization, and real-time collaborative communication, Taqtiles Manifest platform is revolutionizing how deskless workers do their jobs and complete complex tasks. Taqtile is the 2020 Microsoft Mixed Reality Partner of the Year and a proud member of Fast Companys World Changing Ideas list for two consecutive years (2021 and 2022). For more information, please visit https://taqtile.com/. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230309005376/en/ Ray Vincenzo Taqtile (206) 290-4431 [email protected] Source: Taqtile WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- College of American Pathologists (CAP) President Emily E. Volk, MD, FCAP met with the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Health Braintrust during a forum to discuss strategies to address inequities in health care on March 10. Dr. Volk provided an overview of the CAPs work to eliminate disparities in diagnostic algorithms and reference ranges, as well as current advocacy policies supporting Medicaid expansion and mitigating social determinants of health. By advocating for policies that reduce disparities we are creating an equitable system for both patients and physicians, Dr. Volk said. For physicians to be successful, we must have the right health care policy infrastructure in place to take care of patients. Pathologists are in a unique position to make advancements in this area as we make many of the diagnoses that inform how patients are treated. The Health Braintrust is the CBCs principal health care advisory task force responsible for advancing health priorities, which include protecting health equity and reducing health disparities in all communities. Following an invitation to participate during the March 10 roundtable event, the CAP welcomed the opportunity to discuss how pathologists are working to address inequities and improve patient outcomes. For example, the use of race-based kidney function estimating equations has contributed to racial disparities in kidney disease. The CAP has worked with laboratories across the United States to incorporate non-race-based reference values in testing protocols for kidney disease. The CAP is also reviewing reference ranges for transgender individuals and assessing the use of the appropriate algorithm for cystic fibrosis testing in newborns. In terms of federal health policy, provisions under the COVID-19 public health emergency concerning testing and presumptive eligibility will soon end. States currently have the option to provide Medicaid coverage for testing and related services to individuals who are uninsured and otherwise ineligible for Medicaid. This option would expire once the emergency ends, but Congress should consider making the option permanent and expand testing criteria to a broader range of communicable diseases. The CAP has sought federal legislative opportunities, such as The Caring for Social Determinants Act (HR 1066) to address the impact of social determinants on patient health and access to health care. At the CAP, the See, Test, & Treat program is a free cancer screening and health education program for medically underserved populations. See, Test, & Treat annually addresses social determinants of health by reducing barriers to care with same-day cervical and breast screening results to reduce multiple trips, free transportation, interpreter services, and free childrens activities during health care visits. About the College of American Pathologists As the worlds largest organization of board-certified pathologists and leading provider of laboratory accreditation and proficiency testing programs, the College of American Pathologists (CAP) serves patients, pathologists, and the public by fostering and advocating excellence in the practice of pathology and laboratory medicine worldwide. As a 501(c)(6) membership organization, the CAP is the only entity representing pathologists with unrestricted advocacy capability and a political action committee, PathPAC. For more information, visit yourpathologist.org to watch pathologists at work and see the stories of the patients who trust them with their care. Read the CAP Annual Report. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230310005259/en/ Apoorva Stull 202-354-7102 Email: [email protected] Source: College of American Pathologists NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- ClearPath Energy ("ClearPath"), a Boston and New York based Energy Transition Platform and Renewable Energy developer, owner and operator, announced today the closing of an innovative facility with a direct lending infrastructure fund managed by Brookfield Asset Management (Brookfield). The capital will allow ClearPath to expand its existing 2 gigawatt pipeline further while accelerating the progression of late-stage development assets into construction and operations. The proceeds will be used to support the construction and operations of ClearPaths robust and rapidly growing renewable energy portfolio across the United States. The investment will initially focus on funding ClearPaths operating and construction-stage assets in the U.S., intending to add incremental capital as ClearPath continues to scale. "ClearPath is excited to partner with a strategic and top-tier institution like Brookfield with a lending facility that helps us accelerate and optimize our operating, construction, and development pipeline, said David Khasidy, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of ClearPath. This financing enables us to seamlessly transition our late-stage development assets into construction and then into operation. Were also looking forward to scaling our multi-sector development tools while expanding our geographic footprint." "Brookfield is delighted to support ClearPaths continued success in building essential renewable power and energy transition assets across the United States that advance decarbonization goals," said Hadley Peer Marshall, Brookfield's Managing Partner and co-head of Brookfield's infrastructure debt business. "We are pleased to finance ClearPaths portfolio underpinned by supportive Community Solar regimes and long-term offtake arrangements." Allen & Overy LLP served as legal counsel to ClearPath and Shearman Sterling LLP served as legal counsel to Brookfield. About ClearPath: ClearPath develops, owns, and operates clean energy assets throughout its core markets across the United States. ClearPaths mission is to advance the adoption of renewable energy by providing an abundance of clean energy solutions that serve communities and businesses across the United States. ClearPath believes that every home, business, and community can be part of the renewable energy revolutionand ClearPath envisions a future where the company brings that opportunity to every doorstep across the country. Founded in 2017, ClearPath is a high-growth developer focused on solar, storage and EV charging across the United States. For more information, please visit www.clearpath.energy About Brookfield Asset Management: Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE: BAM, TSX: BAM) is a leading global alternative asset manager with approximately $800 billion of assets under management across real estate, infrastructure, renewable power and transition, private equity and credit. We invest client capital for the long-term with a focus on real assets and essential service businesses that form the backbone of the global economy. We offer a range of alternative investment products to investors around the world including public and private pension plans, endowments and foundations, sovereign wealth funds, financial institutions, insurance companies and private wealth investors. We draw on Brookfields heritage as an owner and operator to invest for value and generate strong returns for our clients, across economic cycles. For more information, please visit our website at www.bam.brookfield.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230310005112/en/ MEDIA CONTACT: Jami Eastman, [email protected] Source: ClearPath Energy BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Board of Directors (the Board) of Columbia Seligman Premium Technology Growth Fund, Inc. (the Fund) (NYSE: STK) today announced that the Funds 13th Annual Meeting of Stockholders will be held on June 20, 2023 (the Meeting) in Minneapolis, MN. The close of business on April 11, 2023 has been fixed by the Funds Board as the record date for the determination of Stockholders entitled to notice of, and to vote at, the Meeting or any postponement or adjournment thereof. At the Meeting, Stockholders will be asked to elect one director, Ms. Janet Langford Carrig, to the Board, to hold office until the 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, and to re-elect three other directors, Mses. Patricia M. Flynn and Catherine James Paglia, and Mr. Brian J. Gallagher, to the Board, each to hold office until the 2026 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, and all until their successors are elected and qualify; to consider the ratification of the Boards selection of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as the Funds independent registered public accounting firm for the 2023 fiscal year; and to consider such other matters as may properly come before the Meeting or any postponement or adjournment thereof. This and other information relating to the Meeting, including additional details of the Meeting time and how to access the Meeting, will be described in a notice of meeting and proxy statement that the Fund intends to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Fund is managed by Columbia Management Investment Advisers, LLC. This material is distributed by Columbia Management Investment Distributors, Inc., member FINRA. Investors should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses of the Fund carefully before investing. You can obtain the Funds most recent periodic reports and other regulatory filings by contacting your financial advisor or visiting columbiathreadneedleus.com. These reports and other filings can also be found on the Securities and Exchange Commissions EDGAR Database. You should read these reports and other filings carefully before investing. Investment products are not insured by the FDIC, NCUA or any federal agency, are not deposits or obligations of, or guaranteed by any financial institution, and involve investment risks including possible loss of principal and fluctuation in value. 2023 Columbia Management Investment Advisers, LLC. All rights reserved. Adtrax: 5501851 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230310005378/en/ Stockholder contact: Kevin Howley 617-385-9517 [email protected] Media contact: Lisa Feuerbach 617-897-9344 [email protected] Source: Columbia Threadneedle Investments U.S. FDAs Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee voted 11 to 2 in favor of the clinical benefit of the Phase III POLARIX study of Polivy in combination with R-CHP for people with previously untreated diffuse large B-cell lymphoma This is the first treatment in 20 years to show a significant and clinically meaningful improvement in progression-free survival over the standard-of-care for first-line DLBCL DLBCL is an aggressive, hard-to-treat disease and the most common form of non-Hodgkins lymphoma in the United States SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Genentech, a member of the Roche Group (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY), announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) voted 11 to 2 in favor of Polivy (polatuzumab vedotin-piiq) in combination with Rituxan (rituximab) plus cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin and prednisone (R-CHP) for the treatment of people with previously untreated diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). The ODAC provides the FDA with independent opinions and recommendations from outside medical experts though the recommendations are not binding. The FDA is expected to make a final decision on its review of the supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for Polivy in this indication by April 2, 2023. Todays committee decision to recognize the potential of this Polivy combination as a first-line treatment option is important since four in 10 people with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma relapse or do not respond to initial treatment, said Levi Garraway, M.D., Ph.D., chief medical officer and head of Global Product Development. We believe the clinical benefit demonstrated in the POLARIX study may improve outcomes for many people with newly diagnosed DLBCL and look forward to continued collaboration with the FDA to make this treatment option available in the U.S. More than 60 countries have approved this Polivy combination for the treatment of adult patients with previously untreated DLBCL, including in the EU, UK, Japan, Canada and China. Polivy in combination with R-CHP was recently added to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines) as a category 1, preferred regimen for first-line DLBCL. DLBCL is an aggressive, hard-to-treat disease and is the most common form of non-Hodgkins lymphoma in the United States. Limited progress has been made in improving patient outcomes in previously untreated DLBCL over the last two decades. Polivy in combination with R-CHP is the first treatment in 20 years to show a significant improvement in progression-free survival (PFS) over the standard-of-care, Rituxan in combination with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisone (R-CHOP), in this setting. The sBLA submission is based on pivotal data from the Phase III POLARIX study, which demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in PFS with Polivy plus R-CHP compared to standard-of-care R-CHOP in first-line DLBCL. The risk of disease progression, relapse or death was reduced by 27% with Polivy plus R-CHP compared with R-CHOP (hazard ratio [HR] 0.73; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.570.95; p Polivy in combination with bendamustine and Rituxan is currently approved in more than 80 countries worldwide for the treatment of adults with relapsed or refractory (R/R) DLBCL after one or more prior therapies, including in the U.S. under FDA accelerated approval. About the POLARIX Study POLARIX [NCT03274492] is an international Phase III, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study evaluating the efficacy, safety and pharmacokinetics of Polivy (polatuzumab vedotin-piiq) plus Rituxan (rituximab), cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin and prednisone (R-CHP) versus Rituxan, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisone (R-CHOP) in people with previously untreated diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Eight-hundred and seventy-nine patients were randomized 1:1 to receive either Polivy plus R-CHP plus a vincristine placebo for six cycles, followed by Rituxan for two cycles; or R-CHOP plus a Polivy placebo for six cycles, followed by two cycles of Rituxan. The primary outcome measure is progression-free survival (PFS) as assessed by the investigator using the Lugano Response Criteria for malignant lymphoma. POLARIX is being conducted in collaboration with The Lymphoma Study Association (LYSA) and The Lymphoma Academic Research Organisation (LYSARC). About Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common form of non-Hodgkins lymphoma (NHL), accounting for about one in three cases of NHL. DLBCL is an aggressive (fast-growing) type of NHL. While it is generally responsive to treatment in the frontline, as many as 40% of people will relapse or have refractory disease, at which time salvage therapy options are limited and survival is short. Approximately 150,000 people worldwide are estimated to be diagnosed with DLBCL each year. About Polivy (polatuzumab vedotin-piiq) Polivy is a first-in-class anti-CD79b antibody-drug conjugate (ADC). The CD79b protein is expressed specifically in the majority of B cells, an immune cell impacted in some types of non-Hodgkins lymphoma (NHL), making it a promising target for the development of new therapies. Polivy binds to cancer cells such as CD79b and destroys these B cells through the delivery of an anti-cancer agent, which is thought to minimize the effects on normal cells. Polivy is being developed by Genentech using Seagen ADC technology and is currently being investigated for the treatment of several types of NHL. Polivy U.S. Indication Polivy is a prescription medicine used with other medicines, bendamustine and a rituximab product, to treat diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in adults who have progressed after at least two prior therapies. The accelerated approval of Polivy is based on a type of response rate. There are ongoing studies to confirm the clinical benefit of Polivy. Important Safety Information Possible serious side effects Everyone reacts differently to Polivy therapy, so its important to know what the side effects are. Some people who have been treated with Polivy have experienced serious to fatal side effects. A patients doctor may stop or adjust a patients treatment if any serious side effects occur. Patients must contact their healthcare team if there are any signs of these side effects. Nerve problems in arms and legs: This may happen as early as after the first dose and may worsen with every dose. If a patient already has nerve pain, Polivy may make it worse. The patients doctor will monitor for signs and symptoms, such as changes in sense of touch, numbness or tingling in hands or feet, nerve pain, burning sensation, any muscle weakness, or changes to walking patterns This may happen as early as after the first dose and may worsen with every dose. If a patient already has nerve pain, Polivy may make it worse. The patients doctor will monitor for signs and symptoms, such as changes in sense of touch, numbness or tingling in hands or feet, nerve pain, burning sensation, any muscle weakness, or changes to walking patterns Infusion-related reactions: A patient may experience fever, chills, rash, breathing problems, low blood pressure, or hives within 24 hours of the infusion A patient may experience fever, chills, rash, breathing problems, low blood pressure, or hives within 24 hours of the infusion Infections: Patients should contact their healthcare team if they experience a fever of 100.4F or higher, chills, cough, or pain during urination. Also, a patients doctor may give medication before giving Polivy, which may prevent some infections, and monitor blood counts throughout treatment with Polivy. Treatment with Polivy can cause severe low blood cell counts Patients should contact their healthcare team if they experience a fever of 100.4F or higher, chills, cough, or pain during urination. Also, a patients doctor may give medication before giving Polivy, which may prevent some infections, and monitor blood counts throughout treatment with Polivy. Treatment with Polivy can cause severe low blood cell counts Rare and serious brain infections: A patients doctor will monitor the patient closely for signs and symptoms of these types of infections. Patients should contact their doctor if they experience confusion, dizziness or loss of balance, trouble talking or walking, or vision changes A patients doctor will monitor the patient closely for signs and symptoms of these types of infections. Patients should contact their doctor if they experience confusion, dizziness or loss of balance, trouble talking or walking, or vision changes Tumor lysis syndrome: Caused by the fast breakdown of cancer cells. Signs include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and lack of energy Caused by the fast breakdown of cancer cells. Signs include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and lack of energy Potential harm to liver: Some signs include tiredness, weight loss, pain in the abdomen, dark urine, and yellowing of the skin or the white part of the eyes. Patients may be at higher risk if they already have liver problems or are taking other medication Side effects seen most often The most common side effects during treatment were: Low blood cell counts (platelets, red blood cells, white blood cells) Nerve problems in arms and legs Tiredness or lack of energy Diarrhea Nausea Fever Decreased appetite Infections Polivy may not be for everyone. A patient should talk to their doctor if they are: Pregnant or may be pregnant: Data have shown that Polivy may harm an unborn baby Data have shown that Polivy may harm an unborn baby Planning to become pregnant: Women should avoid getting pregnant while taking Polivy. Women should use effective contraception during treatment and for at least 3 months after their last Polivy treatment. Men taking Polivy should use effective contraception during treatment and for at least 5 months after their last Polivy treatment Women should avoid getting pregnant while taking Polivy. Women should use effective contraception during treatment and for at least 3 months after their last Polivy treatment. Men taking Polivy should use effective contraception during treatment and for at least 5 months after their last Polivy treatment Breastfeeding: Women should not breastfeed while taking Polivy and for at least 2 months after the last dose These may not be all the side effects. Patients should talk to their healthcare provider for more information about the benefits and risks of Polivy treatment. Report side effects to the FDA at (800) FDA-1088 or http://www.fda.gov/medwatch. Report side effects to Genentech at (888) 835-2555. Please visit https://www.Polivy.com for the full Prescribing Information for additional Important Safety Information. About Genentech in Hematology For more than 20 years, Genentech has been developing medicines with the goal to redefine treatment in hematology. Today, were investing more than ever in our effort to bring innovative treatment options to people with diseases of the blood. For more information visit http://www.gene.com/hematology. About Genentech Founded more than 40 years ago, Genentech is a leading biotechnology company that discovers, develops, manufactures and commercializes medicines to treat patients with serious and life-threatening medical conditions. The company, a member of the Roche Group, has headquarters in South San Francisco, California. For additional information about the company, please visit http://www.gene.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230309005120/en/ Media Contact: Nicolette Baker (650) 467-6800 Advocacy Contact: Cem Mangir (202) 251-4037 Investor Contacts: Loren Kalm (650) 225-3217 Bruno Eschli 011 41 61 687 8503 Source: Genentech TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Inovalis Real Estate Investment Trust (the REIT) (TSX: INO.UN) announced today that its Board of Trustees has declared the REIT's monthly cash distribution for the months of March, April and May 2023 as per the following schedule: Month Record Date Distribution Date Distribution Amount March, 2023 March 31, 2023 April 17, 2023 $0.034375 April, 2023 April 28, 2023 May 15, 2023 $0.034375 May, 2023 May 31, 2023 June 15, 2023 $0.034375 About Inovalis REIT Inovalis REIT is a real estate investment trust listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange in Canada. It was founded in 2013 by Inovalis and invests in office properties in primary markets of France, Germany and Spain. It holds 14 assets representing 470 million Euros of AuM. Inovalis REIT acquires (indirectly) real estate properties via CanCorPEurope, authorized Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) by the CSSF in Luxemburg, and managed by INOVALIS S.A. About Inovalis Group Inovalis S.A. is a French Alternative Investment fund manager, authorized by the French Securities and Markets Authority (AMF) under AIFM laws. Inovalis S.A. and its subsidiaries (Advenis S.A., Advenis REIM) invest in and manage Real Estate Investment Trusts such as Inovalis REIT, open ended funds (SCPI) with stable real estate focus such as Eurovalys (for Germany) and Elialys (Southern Europe), Private Thematic Funds raised with Inovalis partners to invest in defined real estate strategies and direct Co-investments on specific assets Inovalis Group (www.inovalis.com), founded in 1998 by Inovalis SA, is an established pan European real estate investment player with EUR 7 billion of AuM and with offices in all the world's major financial and economic centers in Paris, Luxembourg, Madrid, Frankfurt, Toronto and Dubai. The group is comprised of 300 professionals, providing Advisory, Fund, Asset and Property Management services in Real Estate as well as Wealth Management services. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230309005864/en/ For further information, please contact: David Giraud, Chief Executive Officer Inovalis Real Estate Investment Trust Tel: +33 1 5643 3323 [email protected] Khalil Hankach, Chief Financial Officer Inovalis Real Estate Investment Trust Tel:+33 1 5643 3313 [email protected] Source: Inovalis Real Estate Investment Trust CALGARY, Alberta--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Mainstreet Equity Corp. (Mainstreet or the Corporation) (TSX: MEQ) is pleased to announce the results of its annual general meeting of shareholders held March 9, 2023 (the Meeting). The Meeting had a very strong shareholder turnout with holders of approximately 86% of the issued and outstanding common shares represented in person or by proxy. There are currently 9,318,818 common shares outstanding. Navjeet (Bob) Dhillon, Joseph Amantea, Ron B. Anderson, Karanveer Dhillon, Richard Grimaldi and John Irwin were re-elected to the Board of Directors of the Corporation for the upcoming year as follows: Outcome of the Vote Votes For % Withheld % Navjeet (Bob) Dhillon Elected 6,788,259 85.20 1,178,770 14.80 Joseph Amantea Elected 6,667,038 83.68 1,299,991 16.32 Ron B. Anderson Elected 7,519,441 94.38 447,588 5.62 Karanveer Dhillon Elected 7,038,544 88.35 928,485 11.65 Richard Grimaldi Elected 7,765,400 97.47 201,629 2.53 John Irwin Elected 7,496,824 94.10 470,205 5.90 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP was re-appointed as the Corporations auditor. Details in respect of all of the resolutions approved at the annual general meeting of shareholders may be found in the Management Information Circular (Circular), dated February 8, 2023. The Circular is available on SEDAR (https://www.sedar.com). About Mainstreet Mainstreet Equity Corp. (Mainstreet) is a Calgary-based real estate operating company, traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: MEQ). Mainstreet is a top provider of high-quality, affordable multi-family rental units in western Canada, covering BC, AB, SK, and Winnipeg, with year-to-date holdings of over 16,800 units. The company's long-term value is anchored by a counter-cyclical strategy to aggressively acquire undervalued units at distressed prices, using low-cost capital. Once acquired, Mainstreet rapidly stabilizes the assets to minimize cycle times and boost net operating income. The company employs a 100% organic, non-dilutive growth model, leveraging its robust liquidity position. As at Q1 2023, Mainstreets assets were valued at nearly CDN $3B based on IFRS value. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230310005388/en/ For further information: Bob Dhillon, Founder, President & CEO D: +1 (403) 215-6063 Executive Assistant: +1 (403) 215-6070 100, 305 10 Avenue SE, Calgary, AB T2G 0W2 Canada https://www.mainst.biz https://www.sedar.com Source: Mainstreet Equity Corp. Tata Motors, which owns British luxury car brand Jaguar Land Rover, has reportedly approached the UK government to seek financial help to set up an electric vehicle battery manufacturing facility in the country. According to reports in British media, the carmaker wants nearly $600 million (roughly converted to nearly 5,000 crore) to set up the facility which will supply key the EV component to its luxury car wing in coming days. Reports also suggest that the Indian carmaker threatens to relocate the facility outside of the country if the UK government denies the fund required. According to reports, Tata Motors is planning to set up the electric vehicle battery manufacturing facility together with Envision, the EV cell manufacturer from China. It is the same company with which Jaguar Land Rover was planning to partner last year to build EV batteries. A facility was also supposed to come up in Somerset. However, after former PM Boris Johnson stepped down, the plan was delayed. The fund sought by Tata Motors from the UK government includes subsidies as well as energy and research costs. The carmaker has reportedly given a week's time to the UK government to decide, before which Tata Motors could approach Spain for the upcoming facility. One of the UK government officials was quoted by British media outlet The Telegraph saying, We are engaging with them whether or not the talks go anywhere depends on whether a final amount can be agreed." Also check these Vehicles Find more Cars Hyundai Kona Electric cc | Electric | Automatic 23.79 - 23.98 Lakhs* **Ex-showroom price Add to compare Check latest offers UPCOMING Mahindra Ekuv100 8.25 - 10 Lakhs* *Expected Price View Details Mercedes-benz Eqc Electric | Automatic 1.07 Cr* **Ex-showroom price Add to compare Check latest offers Bmw Ix Electric | Automatic 1.16 Cr* **Ex-showroom price Add to compare Check latest offers Audi E-tron Electric | Automatic 99.99 Lakhs - 1.16 Cr* **Ex-showroom price Add to compare Check latest offers UPCOMING Mahindra E20 Nxt 6 - 8 Lakhs* *Expected Price View Details Jaguar Land Rover was earlier offered funding from the government which was reportedly bigger than its other European rivals. The fresh fund sought by the carmaker is considered to be huge given the estimate of JLR's transition from ICE to EV genre not more than $1.2 billion. The high energy costs required to run the EV manufacturing facility remains one of the key issues for the UK government to decide. Tata Motors had earlier hinted at setting up two EV battery manufacturing facilities, one of them being in Europe. However, there is still no clarity if the European facility will be located in the UK. First Published Date: MISSISSAUGA, Ontario--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Nuvo Pharmaceuticals Inc. d/b/a Miravo Healthcare (TSX:MRV; OTCQX: MRVFF) (Miravo or the Company) is pleased to announce that it has obtained a final court order from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Commercial List) approving its previously announced arrangement (the Arrangement) with Searchlight Pharma Inc. (the Purchaser). The Arrangement is expected to close on or about Tuesday, March 14, 2023, subject to the satisfaction or waiver of all conditions to the Arrangement. Following completion of the Arrangement, the Company will be de-listed from the TSX and applications will be made for the Company to cease to be a reporting issuer in each of the provinces of Canada. Pursuant to the terms of the Arrangement, each holder of common shares in the capital of the Company (the Company Shares) will receive $1.35 in cash, less applicable withholdings. To receive the consideration under the Arrangement, each registered shareholder of the Company must complete, sign, date and return the letter of transmittal, which accompanied the Companys management information circular dated February 6, 2023. The consideration to be paid to the Companys shareholders under the Arrangement is denominated in Canadian dollars. However, registered shareholders of the Company may elect to receive the consideration in U.S. dollars in the applicable letter of transmittal. Non-registered shareholders of the Company must contact the intermediary in whose name their Company Shares are registered in order to make such an election on their behalf. About Miravo Healthcare Miravo is a Canadian focused, healthcare company with global reach and a diversified portfolio of commercial products. The Companys products target several therapeutic areas, including pain, allergy, neurology and dermatology. The Companys strategy is to in-license and acquire growth-oriented, complementary products for Canadian and international markets. Miravos head office is located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, the international operations are located in Dublin, Ireland and the Companys manufacturing facility is located in Varennes, Quebec, Canada, though the Company is in the process of winding-down its manufacturing operations in Varennes. For additional information, please visit www.miravohealthcare.com. About Searchlight Pharma Inc. Searchlight Pharma Inc., headquartered in Montreal, is a leading Canadian-based specialty healthcare company that executes best-in-class search, acquisition, commercialization, and focused development of innovative and unique specialty healthcare products. Searchlight Pharma Inc.s core products focus on womens health, urogynecology, urology, endocrinology and hospital specialty markets, and its team is committed to improving peoples lives by bringing the right products to market. Follow Searchlight Pharma Inc., learn more about what it does, and get to know its product portfolio at www.searchlightpharma.com. Forward-Looking Statements The information in this press release includes certain forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties. More particularly and without limitation, this press release contains forward-looking statements and information concerning: the ability of the parties to satisfy the conditions to, and to complete, the Arrangement, the anticipated timing of the closing of the Arrangement, the delisting of the Company Shares from the TSX and the Companys intention to cease to be a reporting issuer. Forward-looking statements may include, without limitation, statements regarding the operations, business, financial condition, expected financial results, performance, prospects, ongoing objectives, strategies and outlook for the Company. Forward-looking statements may in some cases be identified by words such as will, plans, believes, expects, anticipates, estimates, projects, intends, should or the negative of these terms, or similar expressions. Except as required by applicable securities laws, forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. In respect of the forward-looking statements and information concerning the completion of the proposed Arrangement and the anticipated timing for completion of the Arrangement, the Company and the Purchaser have provided such in reliance on certain assumptions that they believe are reasonable at this time, including assumptions as to the ability of the parties to satisfy, in a timely manner, the conditions to the closing of the Arrangement; and other factors discussed under the heading Risk Factors in the Companys annual information form dated March 25, 2022 (available under the Companys SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com). The anticipated dates provided may change for a number of reasons, including the need for additional time to satisfy the conditions to the completion of the Arrangement. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this press release. 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. Risks and uncertainties inherent in the nature of the Arrangement include the failure of the Company and the Purchaser to otherwise satisfy the conditions to the completion of the Arrangement, in a timely manner, or at all. Failure to so obtain such approval, or the failure of the parties to otherwise satisfy the conditions to or complete the Arrangement, may result in the Arrangement not being completed on the proposed terms, or at all. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230310005397/en/ Miravo Investor Relations 905 673-6980 / option 2 [email protected] Searchlight Information (514) 613-1513 [email protected] Source: Nuvo Pharmaceuticals Inc. BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Board of Directors (the Board) of Tri-Continental Corporation (the Corporation) (NYSE: TY) today announced that the Corporations 93rd Annual Meeting of Stockholders will be held on June 20, 2023 (the Meeting) in Minneapolis, MN. The close of business on April 11, 2023 has been fixed by the Corporations Board as the record date for the determination of Stockholders entitled to notice of, and to vote at, the Meeting or any postponement or adjournment thereof. At the Meeting, Stockholders will be asked to elect one director, Ms. Janet Langford Carrig, to the Board, to hold office until the 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, and to re-elect three other directors, Mses. Patricia M. Flynn and Catherine James Paglia, and Mr. Brian J. Gallagher, to the Board, each to hold office until the 2026 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, and all until their successors are elected and qualify; to consider the ratification of the Boards selection of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as the Corporations independent registered public accounting firm for the 2023 fiscal year; and to consider such other matters as may properly come before the Meeting or any postponement or adjournment thereof. This and other information relating to the Meeting, including additional details of the Meeting time and how to access the Meeting, will be described in a notice of meeting and proxy statement that the Corporation intends to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Corporation is managed by Columbia Management Investment Advisers, LLC. This material is distributed by Columbia Management Investment Distributors, Inc., member FINRA. Investors should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses of the Corporation carefully before investing. A prospectus containing information about the Corporation (including its investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses, and other information about the Corporation) may be obtained by contacting your financial advisor or visiting columbiathreadneedleus.com. The prospectus should be read carefully before investing in the Corporation. For more information, please call 1-800-345-6611 or visit columbiathreadneedleus.com. Investment products are not insured by the FDIC, NCUA or any federal agency, are not deposits or obligations of, or guaranteed by any financial institution, and involve investment risks including possible loss of principal and fluctuation in value. 2023 Columbia Management Investment Advisers, LLC. All rights reserved. Adtrax: 5501866 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230310005379/en/ Stockholder contact: 800-345-6611, option 3 Media contact: Lisa Feuerbach 617-897-9344 [email protected] Source: Tri-Continental Corporation SHAKOPEE, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Twin Cities Business (TCB) magazine today honored Cherne Industries with a 2023 Manufacturing Excellence Award for growth and innovation. Part of the Oatey Co. family of companies, Cherne Industries is the industry-leading manufacturer of test plugs and testing equipment for residential, commercial, industrial and municipal piping systems. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230310005358/en/ Cherne associates attended the Twin Cities Business awards reception Thursday evening where Cherne was recognized in the publication's Manufacturing Excellence Awards. (Photo credit: Cherne Industries) The TCB Manufacturing Excellence Awards recognize excellence in manufacturing related to product design and engineering, manufacturing processes, business operations, human capital, logistics and supply-chain management, local manufacturing, and/or product or niche uniqueness. The six companies TCB is recognizing with the 2023 Manufacturing Excellence Awards demonstrate why Minnesotas manufacturing sector remains vibrant, nimble, and innovative, writes Contributing Correspondent Gene Rebeck. Our editorial team was extremely impressed with Chernes growth and advances, says Allison Kaplan, Editor-in-Chief of Twin Cities Business. In March 2021, Cherne completed an historic move of its headquarters and manufacturing operations its first in more than 60 years to a newly constructed, 130,000-square-foot facility located in Shakopee, MN, situated 25 miles southwest of downtown Minneapolis. The manufacturing portion of the new, state-of-the-art headquarters was built to Cherne's exacting specifications by the OPUS Group, as management sought to more fully integrate all its operations under one roof. The new facility features best-in-class robotic and automation manufacturing technology that ensures state-of-the-art safety, durability, and performance. The facility also includes an R & D laboratory for product testing, extensive customer training facilities, and an in-house machine shop. We are very proud to be recognized by Twin Cities Business for Chernes innovation and growth in the local manufacturing community, says Steve Carlson, Manager Manufacturing Operations, Cherne Industries. This recognition demonstrates the enduring strength of the Cherne brand, our commitment to quality and the incredible work our talented associates do each and every day. Cherne is featured in the 2023 February/March issue of Twin Cities Business and was honored at the Manufacturing Excellence Awards event on March 9 in Minneapolis. To learn more about careers and opportunities available at Cherne Industries, visit cherneind.com/careers ABOUT CHERNE INDUSTRIES Part of the Oatey Co. family of brands, Cherne Industries (Cherne) is the industry-leading manufacturer of test plugs and testing equipment for residential, commercial, industrial and municipal piping systems. Based out of its state-of-the-art headquarters in Shakopee, Minn., Chernes products are manufactured with an unwavering commitment to safety and quality. Available via Oatey Co.s distribution network throughout North America and through partner distribution on every continent, Cherne products are relied upon by residential and commercial contractors, as well as industrial and municipal engineers, worldwide. For more information, visit www.CherneInd.com, call 1-800-843-7584 or follow Cherne on LinkedIn. ABOUT OATEY CO. Since 1916, Oatey has provided reliable, high-quality products for the residential and commercial plumbing industries, with a commitment to delivering quality, building trust and improving lives. Today, Oatey operates a comprehensive manufacturing and distribution network to supply thousands of products for professional builders, contractors, engineers and do-it-yourself consumers around the world. Oatey is based in Cleveland, Ohio, and has locations in the United States, Canada, Mexico and China. For more information, visit www.oatey.com, call (800) 321-9532 or follow Oatey on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230310005358/en/ John OReilly Greenhouse Digital + PR [email protected] 708.428.6385 Source: Cherne Industries Swan aims to inspire veterans, build resilience and offer hope PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- University of Phoenix celebrates the accomplishments of its alumna Takosha Swan, MBA, who has launched a Georgia nonprofit, The Veteran Anthem, following her service in two military branches and the Iraq war. Swan, who received her Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University, aims to support veterans who may be struggling mentally to find a sense of community and purpose. The nonprofit followed Swans composition of a song by the same name, both endeavors intending to convey a sense of hope and inspiration to her fellow veterans. When I began my work helping veterans, I realized there was something missing in terms of emotional support, shares Swan. There are many services available for veterans, but there was a spiritual and inspirational piece missing, which is why I wrote 'The Veteran Anthem' and started the nonprofit. My hope is that by spreading a message of inspiration and purpose, veterans and their families will have access to all the resources they need to live a successful and happy life. Swan has received multiple recognitions for her work with veterans. Last year, Swan received a commendation from Georgia Governor Brian Kemp for her work with veterans and for her original composition, The Veteran Anthem. In 2019, Swan was appointed to the State Board of Veterans and currently serves as Vice-Chair. In the Georgia General Assembly there are currently two resolutions (S.R. 122 and H.R. 347) to make The Veteran Anthem the official song of Georgia service members, veterans and their families. Swan has also been invited to perform the anthem at the Georgia State Capitol this spring. Takoshas dedication to veterans in Georgia, and across the country, is a powerful example of servant leadership, stated Eric Ryan, Marine Corps veteran and senior director of Military Operations at University of Phoenix. Her years of military service and dedication to improving the experiences of veterans and their families is remarkable, and we are tremendously proud of her accomplishments. Seeing our veteran alumni embrace mission-driven work and making a positive difference in their communities is truly inspiring. Swan earned her MBA from the University of Phoenix in 2010, and a bachelors degree in business management in 2008, and still sees value in those experiences. Im so happy the University of Phoenix was there for me to complete my education with the help of veteran education benefits, Swan shares. I had a newborn when I decided to go back to school, and University of Phoenix provided the flexibility I needed to attend school online despite many life changes and challenges. University of Phoenix MBA programs continue to feature practitioner perspective and courses are taught by faculty with an average of 28 years of industry experience. In addition to the traditional MBA program that Swan completed, University of Phoenix now also offers the competency-based Master of Business Administration (MBA-CB) degree program, intended to fast-track students who demonstrate on-the-job skills. Read more about The Veteran Anthem here. About University of Phoenix University of Phoenix is continually innovating to help working adults enhance their careers in a rapidly changing world. Flexible schedules, relevant courses, interactive learning, and Career Services for Life help students more effectively pursue career and personal aspirations while balancing their busy lives. For more information, visit phoenix.edu. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230309005866/en/ Sharla Hooper University of Phoenix [email protected] Michele Mitchum University of Phoenix [email protected] Source: University of Phoenix Reuters reports Friday, citing a company spokesperson, that Ford Motor Company plans to slash 1,100 jobs at its plant located in Valencia in eastern Spain. The company has decided to stop assembling Galaxy minivans and S-Max station wagon-like cars in Valencia. News of the layoffs has been shared with unions and are part of the company's changes to its car production lineup in Europe, the spokesperson said. "Ford will work constructively with its union partners to reduce the impact of the separations on employees, their families, and the local community," she said. Last year, Ford had said it was delaying production investments in Spain, citing a "revised outlook for Europe", but said it would stick with a plan to start producing electric vehicles later this decade at its Spanish factory. The electric vehicle production plan would entail job cuts, Ford had said when unveiling the project. Shares of F are down 1.57% in morning trading on Friday. By Michael Elkins | [email protected] FILE PHOTO: The Ford logo is pictured at the 2019 Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt, Germany. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay MADRID (Reuters) -U.S. auto maker Ford plans to slash 1,100 jobs at its plant located in Valencia in eastern Spain, a company spokesperson said on Friday. The layoffs, which were shared with unions, are part of the company's changes to its car production lineup in Europe, the spokesperson said. "Ford will work constructively with its union partners to reduce the impact of the separations on employees, their families, and the local community," she said. The company has decided to stop assembling Galaxy minivans and S-Max station wagon-like cars in Valencia. Last year, Ford had said it was delaying production investments in Spain, citing a "revised outlook for Europe", but said it would stick with a plan to start producing electric vehicles later this decade at its Spanish factory. The electric vehicle production plan would entail job cuts, Ford had said when unveiling the project. (Reporting by Inti Landauro, editing by Andrei Khalip and David Latona) NiSource (NYSE: NI) today announced the appointment of Jennifer Montague to the role of president and chief operating officer, Columbia Gas of Virginia, effective May 1, following the retirement of Brent Archer. "Brent has been an outstanding leader and a valuable member of the NiSource and Columbia Gas teams for the past 37 years," said Lloyd Yates, NiSource president and chief executive officer. "For the past eight years, he has led Columbia Gas of Virginia, where he focused on ensuring the safe and reliable service that more than 290,000 homes and businesses depend on, while fostering partnerships with the local communities to drive long-term value for all our customers and stakeholders." Archer joined the company in 1986, and he has since held a number of critical roles in government affairs, communications, regulatory and business policy before assuming the role of president and chief operating officer of Columbia Gas of Virginia in 2015. "We thank Brent for his many years of service and wish him all the best in his next chapter," Yates concluded. Jennifer Montague currently serves as the company's senior vice president and chief customer officer. She joined the company in 2018 as vice president of communications and external affairs for Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO), a NiSource company, before assuming her current role. Prior to this, Montague held numerous positions of increasing responsibility with Commonwealth Edison, and prior to that, with the British Petroleum Company. Montague earned a bachelor's degree in quantitative economics and feminist studies from Stanford University, and a Master of Business Administration from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business. "Jennifer has been relentlessly focused on improving the experience for our customers since she joined the company and is well positioned to serve the people of Virginia as a trusted partner in the communities in which we serve," Yates said. Orion Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: ORN) announced multiple contract awards totaling $134 million, with the majority of this work to be completed in 2023. Since the beginning of 2023, the Concrete segment has been awarded $100 million across several contracts including $25 million for a 22-story high-rise building in Houston, $12 million for a Dallas hospital, and $10 million for a Dallas packaging center. The Marine segment was awarded the Companys largest diving services contract of $20 million by a private client. The project is in support of the US Army Corps of Engineers ongoing deepening and widening of Gulf Coast shipping channels. The contract award is the largest diving contract in Orions history and will be completed by the end of 2023. For this project, Orions world-class specialty divers will remove 31 pipelines from the ship channel floor. In addition, the Marine segment has been awarded contract wins on several projects totaling $14 million and was the bid winner on a $7 million dredging procurement by the US Army Corps of Engineers in the Gulf of Mexico. 2023 is off to strong start with high-quality project wins in both of our business segments, said Travis Boone, Chief Executive Officer of Orion Group Holdings, Inc. Refocusing our Concrete business in the Dallas and Houston markets is delivering results. In our Marine business, were excited to participate in this important pipeline project that will ultimately accommodate larger ships servicing the Gulf Coast. Our specialty divers are the best in the industry with an outstanding record for performance and safety. Battery makers in China were put on notice this week following a message from President Xi Jinping. On Monday, the President said that he had mixed feelings about CATL and its status as the world's largest battery maker. Xi said that he was both pleased and concerned about CATLs electric vehicle battery dominance. Xis remarks showed CATL has drawn the attention of top Chinese officials. Since last year, CATL's customers have complained about its market position and the company itself has warned about the risks of the industry expanding too quickly. Three battery industry executives - including two at CATL - and two people close to regulators working with the industry told Reuters that they understood Xis remarks to be a warning to both the company and the wider battery industry. One of the five, a senior manager at CATL, said Xi's remarks were concerning for the whole industry. "Pressure is being imposed on all parties," he said, adding that "even if the government steps on the brake, CATL's position within the industry won't be shaken". Xi was quoted by Xinhua as saying regulation had a place to ensure that emerging industries like battery production developed in a steady and prudent manner to avoid a boom and a headlong rush that would dissipate in the end". CATLs deal to license its battery technology for production at a plant run by Ford also faces potential scrutiny in the United States and China as EV industry competition between the two nations intensifies. Republican Senator Marco Rubio has called for the Biden administration to review the deal. CATL told investors that the partnership, which it said was based on "commercial considerations" has been moving ahead. By Michael Elkins | [email protected] Silicon Valley Bank, Santa Clara, California, was closed today by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver. To protect insured depositors, the FDIC created the Deposit Insurance National Bank of Santa Clara (DINB). At the time of closing, the FDIC as receiver immediately transferred to the DINB all insured deposits of Silicon Valley Bank. All insured depositors will have full access to their insured deposits no later than Monday morning, March 13, 2023. The FDIC will pay uninsured depositors an advance dividend within the next week. Uninsured depositors will receive a receivership certificate for the remaining amount of their uninsured funds. As the FDIC sells the assets of Silicon Valley Bank, future dividend payments may be made to uninsured depositors. Silicon Valley Bank had 17 branches in California and Massachusetts. The main office and all branches of Silicon Valley Bank will reopen on Monday, March 13, 2023. The DINB will maintain Silicon Valley Banks normal business hours. Banking activities will resume no later than Monday, March 13, including on-line banking and other services. Silicon Valley Banks official checks will continue to clear. Under the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, the FDIC may create a DINB to ensure that customers have continued access to their insured funds. As of December 31, 2022, Silicon Valley Bank had approximately $209.0 billion in total assets and about $175.4 billion in total deposits. At the time of closing, the amount of deposits in excess of the insurance limits was undetermined. The amount of uninsured deposits will be determined once the FDIC obtains additional information from the bank and customers. Customers with accounts in excess of $250,000 should contact the FDIC toll-free at 1-866-799-0959. The FDIC as receiver will retain all the assets from Silicon Valley Bank for later disposition. Loan customers should continue to make their payments as usual. Silicon Valley Bank is the first FDIC-insured institution to fail this year. The last FDIC-insured institution to close was Almena State Bank, Almena, Kansas, on October 23, 2020. Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Great Wall Motor (GWM) announced on Thursday its sales reached 68,209 vehicles in Feb. 2023, edging down 3.65% from a year earlier. Among brands, the SUV-dedicated HAVAL still outsold others last month, but faced a 6.74% year-on-year decline. HAVAL Second-generation Big Dog; photo credit: HAVAL In late Feb., HAVAL put the second-generation Big Dog onto the market. Coming with six trim levels (including two PHEVs and four oil-fueled versions), the new SUV model is priced between 135,800 yuan ($19,500) and 175,800 yuan ($25,250). Great Wall Pick-up was the only one to achieve an upward movement in its Feb. sales, which came in at 17,156 units. For the first two months of this year, GWMs cumulative sales amounted to 129,728 vehicles, sliding 28.94% from the previous year, which is 16.02 percentage points fewer than the decrease in Jan. sales. Great Wall Pick-up was still the sole brand to win a year-on-year growth in year-to-date sales, while others all faced a two-digit dip. In Feb. 2023, GWM sold 8,340 new energy vehicles (NEVs), resulting in a Jan.-Feb. NEV sales volume of 14,653 units. In addition, the automaker said its monthly overseas market sales stood at 13,684 vehicles in Feb., which raised the year-to-date volume to 29,682 units. Sign up for StreetInsider Free! Receive full access to all new and archived articles, unlimited portfolio tracking, e-mail alerts, custom newswires and RSS feeds - and more! FILE PHOTO: The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File Photo By Parisa Hafezi, Nayera Abdallah and Aziz El Yaakoubi DUBAI/RIYADH (Reuters) -Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed on Friday to re-establish relations after years of hostility that had threatened stability and security in the Gulf and helped fuel conflicts in the Middle East from Yemen to Syria. The deal, brokered by China, was announced after four days of previously undisclosed talks in Beijing between top security officials from the two rival Middle East powers. Tehran and Riyadh agreed to resume diplomatic relations and re-open embassies within two months, according to a statement issued by Iran, Saudi Arabia and China. "The agreement includes their affirmation of the respect for the sovereignty of states and the non-interference in internal affairs," it said. Saudi Arabia cut ties with Iran in 2016 after its embassy in Tehran was stormed during a dispute between the two countries over Riyadh's execution of a Shi'ite Muslim cleric. The kingdom also has blamed Iran for missile and drone attacks on its oil facilities in 2019 as well as attacks on tankers in Gulf waters. Iran denied the charges. Yemens Iran-aligned Houthi movement has also carried out cross-border missile and drone attacks into Saudi Arabia, which leads a coalition fighting the Houthis, and in 2022 extended the strikes to the United Arab Emirates. Friday's agreement, signed by Iran's top security official, Ali Shamkhani, and Saudi Arabian national security adviser Musaed bin Mohammed Al-Aiban, agreed to re-activate a 2001 security cooperation accord, as well as another earlier pact on trade, economy and investment. China's top diplomat, Wang Yi, described the deal as a victory for dialogue and peace, adding that Beijing would continue to play a constructive role in addressing tough global issues. White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said Saudi Arabia had kept the United States informed about the talks in Beijing but Washington had not been directly involved. He said Washington had supported the process as promoting an end to the war in Yemen. "This is not about China. We support any effort to de-escalate tensions in the region. We think that's in our interests, and it's something that we worked on through our own effective combination of deterrence and diplomacy," Kirby said. Long-standing strategic ties between Riyadh and Washington have been strained during President Joe Biden's administration over the kingdom's human rights record, the Yemen war and more recently ties with Russia and OPEC+ oil production. In contrast, Saudi Arabia's growing ties with China were highlighted by the high-profile visit of President Xi Jinping three months ago. Friday's announcement came on the day Xi clinched a third term as China's president amid a host of challenges. 'MOVING IN RIGHT DIRECTION' Long at odds, Iran and Saudi Arabia, respectively the two leading Shi'ite and Sunni Muslim powers in the Middle East, have backed opposite sides in proxy wars from Yemen to Syria and elsewhere. Analysts say both sides stand to benefit from de-escalation, as Iran seeks to undercut U.S. efforts to isolate it in the region and Saudi Arabia tries to focus on economic development. Fellow Gulf states the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait welcomed restored Saudi-Iranian ties, as did Iraq, Egypt and Turkey. "Further regional instability is not in Saudi or Iranian interest at the moment," said Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, a political scientist at Rice University's Baker Institute in the United States. "And for the Chinese to have addressed this at a time when the U.S. stance toward Iran is becoming more hawkish sends a powerful signal in itself." Saudi foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, in remarks carried by state television, said Riyadh "favoured political solutions and dialogue." Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian hinted at more to come. "The neighborhood policy, as the key axis of the Iranian governments foreign policy, is strongly moving in the right direction and the diplomatic apparatus is actively behind the preparation of more regional steps," Amirabdollahian wrote on Twitter. A senior Iranian official said addressing tensions with Saudi Arabia had become a top priority for Tehran and would help resolve long-running talks on Iran's nuclear program. "It will encourage the West to reach a nuclear agreement with Iran," the official told Reuters. Saudi Arabia and its allies have long pressed global powers to address their fears about Iran's missile and drone programs in their efforts to revive a 2015 nuclear agreement with Tehran. Cinzia Bianco, research fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said Riyadh had been seeking security guarantees from the Iranians.Iran may also have responded positively to Riyadh's calls for it to "actively push the Houthis to sign a peace agreement with Saudi Arabia that frees the Saudis from the Yemen war which has become a quagmire," Bianco said. "If those two (issues) are in place I am confident and positive about the deal." Prince Faisal said in January progress was being made towards ending the Yemen conflict, and on Friday Houthis in Yemen and Iran-allied Hezbollah in Lebanon welcomed the agreement. (Additional reporting by Lisa Barrington and Dubai newsroom; Writing by Dominic Evans and Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Jason Neely, Jon Boyle, Nick Macfie, Hugh Lawson and Daniel Wallis) (Reuters) - California banking regulators on Friday closed SVB Financial Group, the largest bank failure since the financial crisis, moving quickly to protect depositors as a crisis at the startup-focused lender rippled through global markets and hit banking stocks. The regulator appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)as receiver. The failure of troubled tech-lender SVB Financial Group's rippled through global markets and sent shares of many banks tumbling, although some larger U.S. banks recovered in morning trade. The SBV meltdown, which began on Thursday, spread concern about hidden risks in the banking sector and its vulnerability to the rising cost of money. After a 6.6% decline on Thursday, the S&P 500 banks index steadied from an early fall on Friday, briefly turning higher, while the KBW Regional Banking index was down 3.5%. Europe's STOXX banking index fell almost 3.8%, marking it biggest one-day percentage slide since June 2022. COMMENTS: CHRISTOPHER WHALEN, CHAIRMAN, WHALEN GLOBAL ADVISORS, NEW YORK "I think the Fed badly miscalculated the impact of rising interest rates and so these are self-inflicted wounds and if we see more banks fail then the Fed is faced with a very tough situation which may force them to drop interest rates." "There could be a bloodbath next week as banks are in trouble, the short sellers are out there and they are going to attack every single bank, especially the smaller ones." "I think Silvergate started it. That one was the first pebble to go off the mountain and now we have a boulder and more are likely to follow." "Investors are concerned on where they should be putting their money in and it is not good for the smaller banks when these questions are getting asked by customers. It has a ripple effect and other smaller banks may suffer." MICHAEL JAMES, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF EQUITY TRADING, WEDBUSH SECURITIES, LOS ANGELES "The concerns emanating from the financial sector are rippling across the market in general. Whether there's specific concerns about any other companies in the financial space outside of Silicon Valley Bank, when you combine the debacle of Silvergate with the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank ... that's creating a ripple effect of concern for the overall market stability." "During a period of uncertainty, the initial reaction is going to be to reduce positions. You saw that yesterday and that's continued somewhat today. Even though the jobs number wasn't extremely hot, it was above expectations. And that only adds to elevated anxiety about where the equity market is going to be a couple of months down the road." "The situation in the financial sector this week is having a far greater effect on market sentiment and mentality than the jobs report this morning. It's a matter of what's dominating market sentiment and mentality today." "They're going to be incredibly volatile for the next few days." JAKE DOLLARHIDE, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, LONGBOW ASSET MANAGEMENT, TULSA, OKLAHOMA "We were all fed the theory that higher interest rates are going to be great for banks. Now we have higher interest rates and banks are the worst-performing group." "There are obvious cracks in the system, and the worry is if the Fed raises rates (50 basis points) in two weeks, will that break something in the banking system. That's why the banks are selling off and the market is nervous." "Also, is there contagion? Is it going to come into the Midwest and the East Coast?" DAVID TRAINER, CEO, NEW CONSTRUCTS, INVESTMENT RESEARCH FIRM "SVB's issues show that companies, including banks, need to be much more discerning about whom they do business with. The market has been punishing companies that have no business models since the bear market began in January 2022 and SVB's woes are the latest frontier in the market's reckoning. The market is tired of companies that do business with unprofitable companies or that are unprofitable themselves." "We do not believe there is contagion risk for the rest of the banking sector on the heels of SVB's struggles. The deposit base from the major banks is much more diversified than SVB and the big banks are in good financial health." R. SCOTT SIEFERS, MANAGING DIRECTOR, PIPER SANDLER "This weeks events increased our fears that it will be tough for this space to find sustained higher ground until some of the myriad uncertainties crystallize. And while this weeks stock price action may have seemed shocking, the reality is that some of the related issues could certainly take a while to resolve. For instance, while funding pressures seem to be moving very quickly, history suggests they are unlikely to abate until well after the Fed has completed its tightening." VIVEK JUNEJA, ANDREW DIETRICH, SAI NETTEM, ANALYSTS, J.P.MORGAN "Large bank stocks sold off sharply yesterday following events among a couple of smaller banks. We believe the sell-off was overdone as large banks have a lot more liquidity than smaller banks, they are more diversified with broader business models, have a lot of capital, are much better managed in regards to risk, and have a lot of oversight from regulators... We dont expect a fire sale of securities from our banks, unlike at some smaller banks due to their liquidity positions and large, diversified deposit funding." EBRAHIM H. POONAWALA, ANALYST, BOFA SECURITIES, NEW YORK "We believe that the sharp sell-off in bank stocks yesterday was likely overdone as investors extrapolated idiosyncratic issues at individual banks to the broader banking sector. However, the sell-off also highlights a (belated) realization among investors that higher for longer interest rates are negative for the sector's earnings per share outlook. While bank stocks could bounce in the short term on macro data that soothes inflation concerns, we believe that the group will struggle to shed the late cycle mindset that has taken hold among investors since last year. We remain biased towards maintaining exposure to the sector via mega-cap banks." ERIKA NAJARIAN, BANK ANALYST, UBS SECURITIES, NEW YORK "The sector's knee-jerk reaction is understandable, but likely overdone. While the lion's share of investors appreciated the uniqueness of SIVB's situation, investor concerns over deposit outflow and mix shift are still heightened . If investors are concerned about deposit flow, why punish the stocks who have sticky, operational retail checking deposits? "In the era where funding and liquidity is a top concern, we think the money centers, especially JPMorgan Chase & Co would be the best place to 'hide.' And Bank of America's more than 6% decline in the stock feels too much for the institution that has one of the best and stickiest retail deposit bases in banking. Wells Fargo's funding should have the least amount of 'surge' given its asset cap. And US Bancorp's 7% decline is befuddling, given a very conservatively managed balance sheet." GLENN YIN, HEAD OF RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS FROM AETOS CAPITAL GROUP: "The root of this crisis can be traced back to a broad-based downturn in tech startups, and SVB being a venture capital-focused lender, has experienced larger-than-expected deposit outflow. By nature, venture capitals are a survival game, only a very small percentage of startups can make it through incubation and grow into their ultimate form after years of careful management and constant fine tuning. As a result of SVBs rout, we are seeing prominent players in US VC pulling cash out the bank, dramatically escalating the domino effect and draining scarce liquidity even further. We are also seeing traditional banks taking damage from SVBs rout, stock prices in Bank of America, JPMorgan and Wells Fargo all fell over 5% as many of todays elements resemble those just before the GFC in 2007~2008. I dont think SVB would create a nuclear event as a standalone event but considering fragile sentiment and the expectation of a higher terminal rate from the Fed, the true risk lies in whether SVB could become the last straw to break the camels back. A ripple effect of such (an event) is the last thing we want now." ALFONSO PECCATIELLO, FOUNDER & CEO OF THE MACRO COMPASS: "This (banks which will be forced to sell available-for-sale securities at a loss) is much less of an issue at large banks because they have stronger balance sheets and they can repo securities out rather than selling them outright. Moreover, AFS bonds (unrealized) losses are already accounted for in the banks capital position, so much more disclosed than HTM unrealized losses. Selling these bonds would crystallize losses through the P&L but would be much less of a surprise. Smaller banks are more affected. Reserves at small banks have declined much faster than at large banks and the competition for retail deposits from T-bills and MMF yielding almost 5% weights on small banks much more than large banks, which have a more diversified funding base. I expect banks to buy less Treasuries overall, and this has been the case already for months. There are less reserves around due to the Feds QT and that changes the incentive schemes for banks - it makes them less aggressive when looking for bonds to buy." RYAN DETRICK, CHIEF MARKET STRATEGIST AT CARSON GROUP: Silicon Valley Bank is the 15th largest bank in the country, so everyone is wondering just how much their troubles could spread to other banks. The good news is they are in trouble because they specialized in venture-backed technology and lending to startups, while other more traditional banks arent heavy in those areas. Currently we are in the middle of a sell first and ask questions later market, but the health of other banks is still solid and this appears to be only an issue with Silicon Valley Bank. SIVB is truly in a unique situation, as they were one of the only banks that was hurt by the slowdown in 2022 of funding in venture capital and private equity. Traditional banking relies on deposits from businesses and customers, not how venture capital is doing. As of now, larger banks are in sound financial shape and have maintained healthy deposits. Small banks, think regional banks, are the area that has taken the brunt of the selling. Whereas larger banks have other ways to make money, regional banks do it the old fashioned way, but lending it out to customers longer-term and at higher rates. With short rates higher than longer-term rates currently, this is pressuring regional banks at their core. JASON BENOWITZ, SENIOR PORTFOLIO MANAGER AT CI ROOSEVELT: "There are some aspects to what is occurring at SVB Financial that are common to the banking system more broadly. But we believe there are important aspects of the crisis that are unique to SVB Financial that suggest that contagion across the banking system is unlikely. Across the system, banks hold fixed income securities with unrealized losses because interest rates have moved up so rapidly over the last year. And the Fed's balance sheet reduction program is reducing the total amount of deposits held by all banks, creating a systemwide headwind. Those aspects of the SVB crisis are common to the banking system more broadly. But SVB Financial is unique in its exposure to venture-funded startups. The bank reports that 39% of its deposits are from early-stage companies in the technology and healthcare sectors. These companies generally keep their operating funds at SVB as noninterest bearing deposits. Early-stage companies typically operate at a loss which draws down those deposits. And, in the current environment, replenishing those funds with additional venture capital funding rounds has become very challenging. This unique aspect to SVB Financial sparked the bank's need for liquidity, which led it to draw down on its available for sale securities and rapidly realize a significant loss on these holdings, impacting its capital position. The headwind of the Fed's balance sheet reduction program on system-wide bank deposits is more gradual, and we would not expect it to create sudden liquidity crises at other major U.S. banks in the way that challenges in the venture capital funding market affected the depositors at SVB Financial. As the Fed drains liquidity from the system via quantitative tightening, we would generally expect larger banks to more successfully retain or grow deposits as compared to smaller ones. Larger banks typically provide a broader suite of services to their customers which makes their deposits stickier. But all banks may feel increasing pressure to raise the rates they pay on deposits in order to retain them as they compete with attractive Treasury and money-market yields." (Writing By John O'Donnell, Noor Zainab Hussain and Paritosh Bansal; Additional reporting by Niket Nishant, Jo Mason, Marc Jones, Iain Withers Yoruk Bahceli and Mehnaz Yasmin; Editing by Toby Chopra) U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen testifies before a U.S. House Ways and Means Committee hearing on President Joe Biden's fiscal year 2024 Budget Request on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., March 10, 2023. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen met with banking regulators on Friday on the collapse of SVB Financial Group as she and the White House expressed confidence in their abilities to respond to the largest bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis. Yellen met with officials from the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Friday to discuss developments with SVB, which does business as Silicon Valley Bank, Treasury said in a statement. "Secretary Yellen expressed full confidence in banking regulators to take appropriate actions in response and noted that the banking system remains resilient and regulators have effective tools to address this type of event," it said. California banking regulators on Friday closed SVB, appointing the FDIC as receiver to protect depositors at the startup-focused lender. Cecilia Rouse, who chairs the Council of Economic Advisers, told reporters at the White House that the U.S. banking system was fundamentally different and stronger than it was during the 2008 financial crisis, and regulators were prepared to use the "better tools" they have developed to protect investments. Rouse said the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp had stepped in very quickly to protect the deposits of up to $250,000. "Our banking system is far more resilient than it was in 2008. We've learned a lot. We've got better tools," she said. She noted that banks now had to undergo stress tests and hold more capital than during the last crisis. "We put in guardrails, and our regulators have much visibility into the banking sector than they did a decade ago." In testimony earlier on Friday before the U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee, Yellen was asked about SVB's situation and said: "There are recent developments that concern a few banks that I'm monitoring very carefully. And when banks experience financial losses, it is and should be a matter of concern." (Reporting by David Lawder, Andrea Shalal, Jeff Mason and Paul Grant; Editing by Paul Simao and David Gregorio) VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BIGG Digital Assets Inc. ("BIGG" or the "Company")(CSE: BIGG; OTCQX: BBKCF; WKN: A2PS9W), owner of Netcoins (Netcoins.ca and Netcoins.com) (Netcoins), the online cryptocurrency brokerage that makes it easy for Canadians to buy, sell and understand cryptocurrency, and Blockchain Intelligence Group (blockchaingroup.io) (BIG), a leading developer of blockchain technology search, risk-scoring and data analytics solutions, today confirms, in connection with the Company's commitment to a transparent and compliant crypto industry in Canada and globally, that neither BIGG nor any of its operating subsidiaries have any exposure to Silvergate Bank or Silicon Valley Bank. Regulated, Trusted and Safe BIGGs crypto brokerage subsidiary, Netcoins, is fully regulated in Canada, and registered with the British Columbia Securities Commission and Ontario Securities Commission, along with the securities commissions in all other provinces and territories in Canada. Netcoins is also registered and legally operating in 14 states in the USA. In accordance with these registrations, Netcoins holds customer assets with licensed, third-party custodians in a secure and insured environment. Netcoins does not lend, trade or invest client assets, or co-mingle customer digital or fiat assets with company assets. All customer fiat deposits are held in designated and insured trust accounts. Theyre also held separately from Netcoins business funds. This means Netcoins cannot use customer funds for business, operating expenses or other corporate-related expenses. Netcoins has never banked with Silvergate Bank or Silicon Valley Bank, nor has any BIGG company, and BIGG has zero exposure to either organization. BIGG is a publicly-traded company, which means we have additional financial, operational and disclosure requirements. Our financials and business operations are available for public consumption anytime on SEDAR. On behalf of the BoardMark BinnsCEO[email protected] Investor RelationsVictoria Rutherford[email protected] T: 1.480.625.5772 About BIGG Digital Assets Inc. BIGG Digital Assets Inc. (BIGG) believes the future of crypto is a safe, compliant, and regulated environment. BIGG invests in products and companies to support this vision. BIGG has three portfolio companies: Netcoins (netcoins.ca), Blockchain Intelligence Group (blockchaingroup.io), and TerraZero (terrazero.com). Blockchain Intelligence Group builds technology to power compliance and intelligence for the crypto future. Banks and crypto companies depend on our technology to monitor risk from crypto transactions. Investigators and law enforcement quickly identify and track illicit activity. Blockchain Intelligence Group is trusted globally by banks, crypto companies, law enforcement, fintechs, regtechs and governments. Netcoins develops brokerage and exchange software to make the purchase and sale of cryptocurrency easily accessible to the mass consumer and investor with a focus on compliance and safety. Netcoins utilizes BitRank Verified software at the heart of its platform and facilitates crypto trading via a self-serve crypto brokerage portal at Netcoins.app. TerraZero is a vertically integrated Metaverse development group and leading Web 3.0 technology company specializing in the Metaverse space. The Companys Metaverse agnostic vision is to develop, acquire, and finance the Metaverses most promising companies, entrepreneurs, and developers. TerraZero also owns digital real estate and provides offices and services to those interested in the Metaverse. BIGG owns ~30% of TerraZero. For more information and to register for BIGGs mailing list, please visit our website at https://www.biggdigitalassets.com. Or visit SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Forward-Looking Statements: Certain statements in this release are forward-looking statements, which include completion of the search technology software 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. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are based will occur. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve numerous assumptions, known and unknown risks and uncertainties, both general and specific that contribute to the possibility that the predictions, estimates, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will not occur. These assumptions, risks and uncertainties include, among other things, the state of the economy in general and capital markets in particular, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of BIGG. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking information because BIGG can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from BIGGs expectations include, consumer sentiment towards BIGGs products and Blockchain technology generally, technology failures, competition, and failure of counterparties to perform their contractual obligations. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release. Except as required by law, BIGG 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. Additionally, BIGG undertakes no obligation to comment on the expectations of, or statements made by, third parties in respect of the matters discussed above. The CSE does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this Press Release. Source: BIGG Digital Assets Inc. MISSOULA, Mont., March 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Until recently, Communist Chinese drone company Da-Jiang Innovations (DJI) was the leading drone maker flying over American skies and had captured over 75% of the U.S. domestic drone market. However, DJI is now considered a national security threat by the Department of Defense and many U.S. lawmakers. Recently, the U.S. federal government banned the purchase of Chinese drones within the federal sector. As a result, DJIs market share is falling, and American drone manufacturers, like Skyfish are gaining momentum. Chinese drones flying in American skies were officially recognized as a national security threat when the Department of the Navy Memorandum titled Operation Risks with Regards to DJI Family of Products cited several risks and urged for a thorough study of the cyber vulnerabilities of these systems: https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/document/19804-national-security-archive-department-navy. This national security threat is further evidenced by the mysterious Chinese spy balloon that was recently shot down and according to analysis of the wreckage was used for spying on various American sites and infrastructure. Here is a timeline and highlights of the recent drone security legislation banning DJI: Since the Chinese (DJI) formal ban has come into effect, Skyfish has seen a definite uptick in Federal and State business and interest. We have seen an increase in government business, with many agencies looking to end-of-life their DJI drone program and replace it with American made drones. Fortunately, Skyfish is NDAA compliant and can take advantage of this market momentum as we sell commercial models very comparable to the DJI larger format drones. said Dr. Orest Pilskalns, CEO, Skyfish. He continued, DJI has tens of thousands of drones that need replacement, this Federal ban of DJI is a good news story for NDAA compliant, American drone manufacturers like Skyfish and will have a positive impact on the American drone industry for many years to come. Finally, we want to thank both sides of the aisle for the bipartisan support banning Chinese drones. About Skyfish The Leading Engineering-Grade Drone PlatformFounded by mapping technology pioneer Dr. Orest Pilskalns, Skyfish drones are made in America and NDAA compliant. Skyfish.ai is headquartered in beautiful Stevensville, Montana, creating a local thriving community of mapping, modeling, and radar technology specialists. The companys full (UAS) technology stack, autonomous navigation platform, and precision measurement capability are mission built for engineering use cases and critical infrastructure targets requiring highly accurate inspection, measurement, and analysis. Contact www.skyfish.ai for more info. Company Contact:[email protected]1.406.880.7104 Media Contact:[email protected]1.604.763.1008 A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/13438f56-9e84-4a12-90ba-430f99b5de7b Major events timeline banning Chinese (DJI) drones from U.S. Federal Government use Major events timeline banning Chinese (DJI) drones from U.S. Federal Government use Source: Skyfish Highlights Archer has advanced its biochip development by overcoming a conventional limitation preventing many biosensing platforms from becoming broadly useful. The work builds on the significant technology development by the Company to potentially allow for the selective, complex on-chip detection of target biomolecules. Archer has developed software and incorporated hardware with its biochip platform that addresses a fundamental phenomenon that limits gFET device sensitivity. The biochip technology is being developed in-house by Archer staff and Archer owns 100% of the related intellectual property. SYDNEY, Australia, March 09, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Archer Materials Limited (Archer, the Company, ASX: AXE) is pleased to inform shareholders that the Company has progressed the development of its biochip technology by electronically controlling the sensitivity of incorporated graphene field effect transistors (gFET) devices. The Company has addressed the fundamental challenge of disrupting electronic charge screening that attenuates biosensing signals in gFETs. The development paves the way for the specific binding of biomolecules to contribute to usable gFET sensor responses, and is a significant technological milestone towards Archers biochip function and operation. The screening layer is less than 1 nanometer (nm) in biologically relevant liquids, and generally, electronic sensing beyond this distance is impossible. For sensing to work in Archers biochip, the analyte charge must not be screened, as most biological analytes are around 2-30 nm in size, i.e., most of their charge is out of gFET sensitivity range in liquids. Overcoming this technological challenge is a significant step in progressing towards a functional and operational biosensing device as part of Archers biochip technology, as it is critical for the selective detection of target molecules. Archer has now employed a sensor design strategy which involves the use of a range of dynamic electric fields to rid the gFET sensor of signal interference caused by the screening layer and introduce practical device operation sensitivities. Archer developed the software and incorporated the hardware with the biochip system platform that allows the Company to achieve electronic modulation and tuning of gFET sensitivity. Measurements were performed by Archer staff in the low frequency range (110 Hz), which are relevant to penetrating biological fluids. Results showed a 3x increase in the sensitivity of the gFET to target analytes when compared to the static case with no oscillating voltage. In the context of overcoming charge screening in gFET devices, the 3x increase in sensitivity is significant. Commenting on Archers biochip development progress, Company CEO Dr. Mohammad Choucair said: The outcomes of Archers recent progress address a conventional limitation of electronic biosensors that prevents many electronic detection platforms from becoming broadly useful. Archer has arrived at a more sophisticated biochip platform that shows it should be feasible to design and optimise Archers gFET sensors to achieve the high sensitivity required for potential applications in molecular diagnostics despite the fundamental mismatch in size between biomolecules and nanoelectronic devices. Archers accelerated biochip progress and innovation In an ASX announcement released 16 November 2022, Archer informed shareholders that the Company had implemented an early-stage prototype of an integrated biochip platform with automated liquid sample handling and electronic readout. The work was a major milestone towards Archers biochip technology commercialisation. Since Archers biochip innovation aims to integrate gFETs into advanced fluidic systems, focus has been on building advanced and sophisticated versions of the biochip platform which could be used in commercial or applied research settings. This involves the Archer team undertaking development capable of overcoming conventional limitations of gFET sensing. Atom-thin graphene and its application in developing Archers biochip Graphene is an advanced material with electronic, chemical, and physical properties on the nanoscale that make its use in FETs for biosensing applications highly advantageous. Key advantages are often described as being easy operation, fast response times, real-time monitoring, high specificity and sensitivity, microfluidic integration, and multiplexing capability. About ArcherArcher is a technology company that operates within the semiconductor industry. The Company is developing advanced semiconductor devices, including chips relevant to quantum computing and medical diagnostics. The Board of Archer authorised this announcement to be given to ASX.General EnquiriesMr Greg EnglishExecutive ChairmanDr Mohammad ChoucairChief Executive OfficerTel: +61 8 8272 3288Media EnquiriesTel: +61 2 8091 3240 Email: [email protected] For more information about Archers activities, please visit our:Website:https://archerx.com.au/Twitter:https://twitter.com/archerxauYouTube:https://bit.ly/2UKBBmGSign up to our Newsletter:http://eepurl.com/dKosXI https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsnano.0c08622 https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2021/AN/D0AN01661F A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/027ec291-66c6-4653-9a87-68744397ae1c Archer's biochip in action Archer's biochip in action Source: ARCHER MATERIALS LIMITED Princeton, NJ, March 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Malbek, the most cutting-edge, AI-fueled contract lifecycle management (CLM) platform, announced today the release of its new Generative AI capabilities to streamline contract insights and assist with contract recommendations. The new functionality featuring ChatGPT (powered by OpenAIs GPT3) will help Legal, Executive, and Business users alike to easily comprehend the language used in contracts, make revisions, seamlessly accept or reject redlines, and make custom requests all in plain English. This powerful new feature empowers users to streamline negotiation time and shorten review cycles. "In the past few months, ChatGPT has been everywhere" said Hemanth Puttaswamy, CEO of Malbek. "The buzz around Generative Artificial Intelligence is undeniable, but businesses want to know whether this tech will actually help them. This is truly a unique innovation that will transform the contracting process, saving users time and making it easier for them to do business." Malbek is sponsoring at Legalweek, one of Legal industrys premier events in New York City. The event will take place March 20-23 at the New York Hilton Midtown. Attendees will have the opportunity to see the technology in action at booth 2109 and learn how it can benefit their organization. "Balancing tolerance for risk and the need for speed, were thrilled to be able to demonstrate how this innovation can be a staple in your business," added Matt Patel, COO of Malbek. To learn more about Malbeks new Generative AI functionality and CLM, be sure to join our session at Legalweek with Matt Patel along with Lizzie Christmas, Assistant Vice President, Legal Operations at Blackstone and Colin Levy, Director of Legal and Evangelist at Malbek on March 21 from 2-3pm ET. For more information or to request a personalized demo, please visit our website malbek.io. About Malbek Malbek is today's most modern, cutting-edge CLM solution with a proprietary AI core that empowers the enterprise to do more with less. By supporting the growing contracting demands of your entire organization, including Sales, Finance, Procurement, and other critical business units, Malbek's CLM solution delights every user. Malbek provides end-to-end contract management with out-of-the-box integration to popular business applications, like Salesforce, NetSuite, Slack, Office 365, and others, allowing your contract data to flow seamlessly while dramatically reducing cycle times. That's contracts reimagined! To learn more, visit www.malbek.io. Lizzy Painter Malbek [email protected] Source: Malbek NEW YORK, March 09, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, continues to investigate potential securities claims on behalf of shareholders of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS) resulting from allegations that Goldman Sachs may have issued materially misleading business information to the investing public. SO WHAT: If you purchased Goldman Sachs 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=11359 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] or [email protected] for information on the class action. WHAT IS THIS ABOUT: On January 20, 2023, during trading hours, The Wall Street Journal published an article entitled U.S. Fed probes Goldman Sachs consumer business. The article stated that The U.S. Federal Reserve is probing whether Goldman Sachs Group Inc's consumer business had appropriate safeguards in place as the bank ramped up lending. Further, the article stated that The central bank is concerned the Wall Street giant did not have proper monitoring and control systems inside Marcus, its consumer unit, as it grew larger. The article added that The probe, which grew out of a standard Fed review of the business in 2021 and intensified into an investigation last year, is also examining instances of customer harm and whether they were properly resolved. On this news, Goldman Sachss price fell $8.91, or 2.54%, to close at $341.84 on January 20, 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 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] www.rosenlegal.com In the second month of 2023, among the three major Japanese automakers in China, both Honda Motor and Nissan Motor still face a double-digit year-over-year downturn in monthly sales in the country, while Toyota Motor saw its monthly performance recover to its normal level. In February, Toyota Motor scored a turnaround in its monthly sales in China, with a 0.9% rise compared to a year ago, which also marked the automakers first positive growth in sales during the past four months in the worlds largest auto market. Meanwhile, both Honda Motor and Nissan Motor failed to reverse their continuous sales downturn in February 2023, making last month the respective sixth and seventh consecutive month for the two companies to suffer a year-on-year plunge in sales in the Chinese market. Toyota Motor sold about 129,600 new vehicles in China in February, representing a 0.9% notch up from a year earlier and a 13.88% increase from a month ago. It should be pointed out that February 2022 was the month where the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday fell in, automakers sales during February last year hovered at a relatively low level. The positive results achieved in the past month were mainly attributed to the prominent performance of GAC Toyota, the Japanese automakers joint venture with GAC Group. GAC Toyota posted a 26.7% year-on-year jump in February sales, while the automakers other Sino joint venture, FAW-Toyota, was confronted with a 17.1% year-on-year drop in sales. Photo credit: Lexus Additionally, Lexus, the premium auto brand of Toyota, struggled with a 27.4% decline in February sales compared to a year ago in the Chinese market. In February 2023, Honda Motor sold 74,142 vehicles in China, which slipped 30.1% % from a year earlier but climbed 15.5% from the previous month. However, the companys monthly performance largely lagged behind the records in 2022. As for the sales of the companys two Sino joint ventures, GAC Honda faced a 30% drop over a year ago with 35,829 vehicles sold in February, while Dongfeng Hondas monthly sales were also challenged with a 30.2% year-on-year tumble, which came in at 38,313 vehicles. By the end of February, sales of Honda-branded electrified vehicles (including hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and battery electric vehicles) amounted to 27,351 units so far this year, accounting for roughly 20% of the companys total sales volume in the period. Given that the light commercial vehicles sales of Dongfeng Automobile Co., Ltd., were no longer included in Nissans China sales reports since October 2022, Nissan Motors current monthly sales volume is not comparable to that of the prior-year period. In the second month of 2023, the company saw its monthly China sales recover from a month ago to 59,997 vehicles, which represented a 26.3% month-over-month jump. In the passenger vehicle sector, both the Nissan and Venucia brands achieved a month-over-month leap in February sales. Specifically, the Nissan brand sold 50,093 vehicles (+23.5% MoM), while sales of the Venucia brand amounted to 6,003 units (+30.3% MoM). Sales of Zhengzhou Nissan, the light commercial vehicle arm of Nissan Motor in China, came in at 3,271 units in the past month, which also surged 72.3% from that of January. EDMONTON, Alberta, March 09, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Servus Credit Union announced at their Annual General Meeting (AGM) on March 8, 2023, the election of three members to its Board of Directors. With each candidate elected to a four-year term, new Director Greg Nakonechny joins incumbents Doug Bristow and Amy Corrigan who were both up for re-election this year. Directors were elected by eligible member-owners from a slate of four candidates. Full election results included: Amy Corrigan 2,742 Doug Bristow 2,689 Greg Nakonechny 1,851 Donna Tona 1,673 "I'd like to offer my congratulations to each of the election winners. Their depth of experience and diverse backgrounds will serve Servus members well. I am confident that they, along with our other Board members, will ensure that our credit union has strong, effective management, and that the organization creates and maintains value for our stakeholders while serving the needs of members and their communities," says Danielle Ghai, Vice-Chair of Servus's Board of Directors. In their first meeting since the election, the Board selected Perry Dooley as Board Chair and Danielle Ghai as Vice-Chair. Directors chosen to lead committees were: Audit and Finance Committee Amber Haworth Governance and Human Resources Committee Danielle Ghai Enterprise Risk Management Committee Matthew Protti Nominating Committee Shawn Eltom Representing Servus Credit Union on the Board of Alberta Central Credit Union are John Holt and Kelso Brennan. Joining the recently elected Directors on the Board are current Directors Kelso Brennan, Perry Dooley, Shawn Eltom, Danielle Ghai, Amber Haworth, Jonathon Holt, Darcy Mykytyshyn, Matthew Protti and Omar Yaqub. Long-term Board of Directors member John Lamb announced at the AGM his intention to step down from his role as Chair. Subject to eligibility criteria set out in the Alberta Credit Union Act and the Servus Credit Union bylaws, all Servus member-owners can participate in the Board election by running for the Board and by voting for candidates. The 2023 election saw 4,204 members casting a vote. About Servus Credit Union Ltd. Servus Credit Union has served Albertans for over 80 years with a full line of secure financial services. The financial institution has more than 100 branches in 59 communities throughout the province as well as options for online, mobile and telephone banking. Servus's noble purpose is to help members reimagine their financial fitness so that they feel good about their money. For more information about Servus, call 1.877.378.8728 or visit servus.ca. For more information contact: Email: [email protected]Telephone: 587.437.7332 www.facebook.com/servuscuwww.twitter.com/servuscu Source: Servus Credit Union Merced, California, March 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, the Sisters begin selling a new gelcap, developed in the lab in Colorado, that is specifically designed to induce sleep. Although there is no evidence that CBN alone, isolated, induces sleep, there is evidence that in combination with CBD and THC, it becomes an agent of friendly sleep. A normal profile of CBN gelcaps or drops would be outweighed by CBD. That is the nature of working with natural plant medicine. The CBD content is higher than the CBN content and to be effective, there needs to be a trace of THC. When listing ingredients on aspirin, on food, on vitamins, it is customary to list them from most present to least present compounds, from the highest amount by weight to the lowest amount by weight. There are no country-wide standards when it comes to reporting cannabis compounds. If our industry followed other customary practices, these would be called CBD + CBN capsules, acknowledging which ingredient is first, explained Sister Sophia. Alas, we dont get to name things. The industry already is calling them CBN gelcaps to differentiate them from standard CBD gelcaps. Its kind of like our mushroom coffee. There is no coffee in our mushroom coffee, but we dont get to name things. And we certainly wouldnt put magic mushrooms in a category opposite functional mushrooms, when science has already proven how functional psilicybin mushrooms are in regard to neuro-regeneration. In spite of the naming challenges, the Sisters launched their CBN gelcaps today, along with an article on their store explaining CBN. The Sisters compiled charts and graphs showing how the CBN gelcaps compare in potency to standard gelcaps, and how the sisters version compares to others on the market. If you look at the market comparison chart we compiled, you can see that we started with ten CBN gelcap providers but discounted those with no test results (4 of 10) and then eliminated those that have no CBD and/or no THC in them (another 3 of 10). Seven of the ten arent really offering the combination needed for sleep, or you cant tell because of the lack of test results, explains Sister Kate. What is left on our chart are three companies actually offering the CBN plus trilogy that scientists believe will help with sleep. Because CBN is so new and highly experimental, because there are no dosage charts or clinical trials to reference, the Sisters warn everyone who might be drug-tested for their jobs to proceed with caution. Even though the THC content is far below the psychotropic level, we have no real history of usage with this CBD plus high-CBN combination, and so there is much we have to learn. We dont know if this particular combination might cause false positives on drug tests. We dont know what precisely the dosage is for individuals. We dont know the safe dosage for pets or children. Scientists consider CBN to be mildly psychoactive in high doses. This is right where we were with our products when we started eight years ago, added Sister Sophia. We have to rely on the public to tell us what it works for and for the scientists to eventually quantify it all. Lucky for us, when it comes to sleep, people tend to be open to try different things. Certainly, many have been guinea pigs for big pharma, so I doubt they will be fearful of experimenting with natural plant medicine. The Sisters make all their products by the cycles of the moon and with the exception of fifteen countries, ship worldwide. For more information about the sisters, visit their store: www.sistersofthevalley.org Attachments Source: Sisters of the Valley FILE PHOTO: SVB (Silicon Valley Bank) logo and decreasing stock graph are seen in this illustration taken March 10, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration (Reuters) -Startup-focused lender SVB Financial Group is looking to sell itself after an attempt to raise capital through a stock sale failed, CNBC reported on Friday. The bank was looking to raise more than $2 billion from investors to plug a hole in its balance sheet. Shares of the troubled company nearly halved on Friday in volatile trading with multiple halts and resumptions. SVB did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. (Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru) Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 10, 2023) - Nicola Mining Inc. (TSXV: NIM) (FSE: HLI) (OTCQB: HUSIF), (the "Company" or "Nicola") is pleased to announce that the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV") has accepted its Notice of Intention to Make a Normal Course Issuer Bid ("NCIB") which shall commence on March 15, 2023 and terminate on August 15, 2023, or such earlier date if the maximum number of shares are purchased. At the opening of the stock market on today's date, the Company is expected to have 314,152,672 common shares (each, a "Share") issued and outstanding. Under the NCIB, the Company may acquire up to an aggregate of 4,000,000 Shares over the next 5-month period, representing approximately 1.27% of the issued and outstanding Shares. The Company believes that Share purchases pursuant to the NCIB will contribute to the facilitation of an orderly market and be in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders. In the event that the Company believes that its Shares begin trading in a price range that does not adequately reflect their underlying value based on the Company's business prospects and strong financial position, the Company may purchase Shares pursuant to the NCIB. Depending upon future price movements and other factors, the Company believes that its outstanding Shares represent an attractive investment and a desirable use of a portion of its corporate funds. Purchases subject to this NCIB will be carried out pursuant to open market transactions through the facilities of the TSXV and any other available markets and alternative trading systems in Canada by Canaccord Genuity Corp. on behalf of the Company in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements. All Shares purchased by the Company under the NCIB will be returned to treasury and cancelled. To the knowledge of the Company, no director, senior officer or other insider of the Company currently intends to sell any Shares under this NCIB. However, sales by such persons through the facilities of the TSXV or any other available market or alternative trading system in Canada may occur if the personal circumstances of any such person change or if any such person makes a decision unrelated to these normal course purchases. The benefits to any such person whose Shares are purchased would be the same as the benefits available to all other holders whose Shares are purchased. US Disclaimer 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 or for the account or benefit of a U.S. person (as defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act) unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available. About Nicola Mining Nicola Mining Inc. is a junior mining company listed on the Exchange and Frankfurt Exchange that maintains a 100% owned mill and tailings facility, located near Merritt, British Columbia. It has signed Mining and Milling Profit Share Agreements with high grade gold projects. Nicola's fully-permitted mill can process both gold and silver mill feed via gravity and flotation processes. The Company owns 100% of the New Craigmont Project, a high-grade copper property, which covers an area of 10,913 hectares along the southern end of the Guichon Batholith and is adjacent to Teck Resources Ltd.'s Highland Valley Copper, Canada's largest copper mine. The Company also owns 100% of the Treasure Mountain Property, consisting of 30 mineral tenures covering 513 hectares (ha) and a mining lease covering 335 ha. On behalf of the Board of Directors "Peter Espig" Peter Espig CEO & Director For additional information Contact: Peter Espig Phone: (778) 385-1213 Email: [email protected] Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This news release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws, including, without limitation, the expectation that the Company will conduct a NCIB and purchase the up to the maximum number of Shares and within the timeframe all as described in this news release. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties, and contingencies. These statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as "may", "should", "will", "could", "intend", "estimate", "plan", "anticipate", "expect", "believe" or "continue", or the negative thereof or similar variations. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause future results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the estimated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by those forward-looking statements and the forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. The Company's statements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties, and conditions, many of which are outside of the Company's control, and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. Forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by the inherent risks and uncertainties surrounding the NCIB, including: that the Company's assumptions in making forward-looking statements may prove to be incorrect; adverse market conditions; risks inherent in the natural resource sector in general; that future results may vary from historical results; and that market competition may affect the outcome of the business, results and financial condition of the Company. Except as required by securities law, the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, events or otherwise. 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. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/158003 Europe's Quantum Communications and Quantum Security Event Montreal, Quebec--(Newsfile Corp. - March 10, 2023) - Quantum eMotion Corp. (TSXV: QNC) (OTCQB: QNCCF) (FSE: 34Q) ("QeM" or the "Company") will be attending The Quantum Technology (IQT) in-person Event at The Hague on 13 - 15 March 2023. IQT The Hague 2023 is the eighth global conference and exhibition in the highly successful Inside Quantum Technology series. Francis Bellido, CEO and President of Quantum eMotion has been invited to participate in a panel discussing "The Many Markets for QRNGs". The Hague event will focus on Quantum Communications and Quantum Security. Ten vertical topics encompassing more than forty panels and talks from over 80 speakers providing attendees with a deep understanding on state-of-the-art developments of the future quantum internet as well as the current impact of quantum-safe technologies on cybersecurity. Francis Bellido will host meetings throughout the event with attendees, family offices, and fund managers. About QeM The Company's mission is to address the growing demand for affordable hardware security for connected devices. The patented solution for a Quantum Random Number Generator exploits the built-in unpredictability of quantum mechanics and promises to provide enhanced security for protecting high value assets and critical systems. The Company intends to target the highly valued Financial Services, Healthcare, Blockchain Applications, Cloud-Based IT Security Infrastructure, Classified Government Networks and Communication Systems, Secure Device Keying (IOT, Automotive, Consumer Electronics) and Quantum Cryptography. For further information, please contact: Francis Bellido, Chief Executive Officer Tel: 514.956.2525 Email: [email protected] Website: www.quantumemotion.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. This press release may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to vary materially from targeted results. Such risks and uncertainties include those described in the Corporation's periodic reports including the annual report or in the filings made by Quantum from time to time with securities regulatory authorities. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/157969 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 10, 2023) - WonderFi Technologies Inc. (TSX: WNDR)(OTCQB: WONDF)(WKN: A3C166) (the "Company" or "WonderFi"), today confirms, in connection with the Company's commitment to providing transparent information, that neither WonderFi nor any of its operating subsidiaries have any exposure to Silvergate Bank or Silicon Valley Bank. Additional Information For additional information, please contact: President and Interim CEO Dean Skurka [email protected] Media / Investor Relations Binu Koshy, Communications Director [email protected] ABOUT WONDERFI WonderFi is a leading technology company with the mission of creating better, unified access to digital assets through centralized and decentralized platforms. WonderFi's executive team and Board of Directors have an established track record in finance and crypto. WonderFi's core team of engineers and technologists believe that everyone should have equal access to finance and are aligned in the mission to empower people around the world to access finance in a simple, smart and secure way. For more information, visit www.wonder.fi. Forward-Looking Information and Statements This press release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation and may also contain statements that may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking information and forward-looking statements are not representative of historical facts or information or current condition, but instead represent only the Company's beliefs regarding future events, plans or objectives, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of the Company's control. Generally, such forward-looking information or forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such "could", "intend", "expect", "believe", "will", "projected", "estimated", or variations of such words. By identifying such information and statements in this manner, the Company is alerting the reader that such information and statements are 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 information and statements. In addition, in connection with the forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained in this press release, the Company has made certain assumptions. Among the key factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information and statements are the following: the ability of the Company to meet its expected go-live timing for staking, types of coins that will be supported, ability to earn and pay rewards, the ability of the Company to meet its expected go-live timing for fractional stock-trading and ETFs, any additional regulatory or other approvals which may further become required in connection therewith, the ability of the Company to work effectively with its partners and changes in general economic, business and political conditions. Should one or more of these risks, uncertainties or other factors materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking information or statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein. A more fulsome description of risk factors that may impact our business, financial condition and results of operation is set out in our management's discussion and analysis and financial statements for the for the period ended September 30, 2022, as well as our annual information form, available on SEDAR. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing, and the expectations contained in, the forward-looking information and statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information and statements, and no assurance or guarantee can be given that such forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information and statements. The forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and the Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information and/or forward-looking statements that are contained or referenced herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. All subsequent written and oral forward- looking information and statements attributable to the Company or persons acting on its behalf is expressly qualified in its entirety by this notice. The Toronto Stock Exchange has not approved or disapproved of the information contained in this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/158089 FILE PHOTO: White House Council of Economic Advisers Chair Cecilia Rouse listens as U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on deficit reduction from the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., October 21, 2022. REUTERS/Sarah Silbig WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Friday said it had faith and confidence in U.S. financial regulators, when asked about the failure of SVB Financial Group, the largest bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis. Cecilia Rouse, who chairs the Council of Economic Advisers, expressed confidence in regulators when asked about the institution, which was shut down on Friday by a California banking regulator. Rouse said the U.S. banking system was fundamentally stronger than it was during the 2008 financial crisis. (Reporting by Jeff Mason and Andrea Shalal; Editing by Franklin Paul) PHOENIX, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- 1606 Corp (OTC: CBDW), an acquisition-based CBD wellness company, announces that CEO Greg Lambrecht will attend the Roth Investor Conference March 12th - 14th. Mr. Lambrecht will be meeting with investment bankers, retail investors and CEO's during the full term of the conference. To book a meeting with Greg to discuss capital provisions, please email [email protected] directly for meeting times and contact details. The Annual Roth Conference is one of the largest investment conferences in the U.S. for small-cap companies. We combine company presentations, Q&A sessions and management 1-on-1 meetings. Our award-winning Research Team identifies distinguished presenting companies across broad sectors, including consumer, energy, healthcare, industrial growth, metals & mining, sustainability, services, technology and more. https://www.roth.com/about About 1606 Corp; 1606 Corp (OTC | CBDW) is an acquisition-based CBD distribution company with over 45 individual retail products. 1606 Corp acquires CBD companies to capture the required revenue to meet listing requirements on a national stock exchange. The company aims to qualify for uplisting within the next 24 months. CBDW is a DTC "eligible security" that is freely tradable pursuant to U.S. securities laws and is otherwise qualified to be held at DTC and serviced by all market makers in U.S. and Canada. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains statements that constitute 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 statements appear in several places in this release. They include all statements that are not statements of historical fact regarding the intent, belief, or current expectations of 1606 Corp (the "Company"), its directors, or its officers concerning, among other things: (i) financing plans; (ii) trends affecting its financial condition or results of operations; (iii) growth strategy and operating strategy. The words "may," "would," "will," "expect," "estimate," "can," "believe," "potential" and similar expressions and variations thereof are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's ability to control, and actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements since they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, which are, in some cases, beyond the Company's control and which could, and likely will materially affect actual results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements. The Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the company's expectations include, but are not limited to, those factors that are disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in documents filed by the company from time to time with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulatory authorities. Company Websites; www.CBD.Inc www.brionutrition.com View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/1606-corp-stock-ticker-cbdw-will-attend-the-roth-investor-conference-301768987.html SOURCE 1606 Corp Anson is concerned with the actions of Nano Dimension's management and Board and believe that they will continue to destroy shareholder value. Anson is disappointed in Nano Dimension's refusal to constructively engage with its shareholders. Anson urges the Board to halt the proposed takeover of Stratasys, Ltd. (SSYS) until the proxy contest is resolved. Anson strongly suggests Nano Dimension materially increase its return of capital program. TORONTO, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Anson Funds ("Anson," "we," or "us") is a significant shareholder of Nano Dimension Ltd. ("Nano Dimension," or the "Company") owning 5.1% of its outstanding shares (13,252,136 American Depository Shares ("ADRs")). Since May 2022, we have attempted to engage constructively with the Company's management team to address our concerns regarding the Company's operating and capital allocation strategy and to provide input on ways to enhance shareholder value. Despite our efforts, our concerns have been completely ignored. Our primary and immediate concern is that the Company is utilizing most of its cash resources for a contemplated unsolicited takeover of Stratasys. Anson does not support this transaction in light of the ongoing proxy contest. It is apparent that the Board is acting unilaterally against the will of the Company's shareholders, entrenching themselves and working to prevent a shareholder vote. It is not surprising that Nano Dimension is attempting to structure this potential acquisition in a way that would circumvent the need to seek out shareholder approval prior to consummating a transaction. Given the Company's poor track record, we believe the best course of action is to return cash to shareholders, not to pursue large-scale M&A. The Company is engaged in a highly destructive and distracting battle with an activist shareholder which is diverting management from prioritizing the Company's business prospects. As opposed to listening to reasonable return of capital requests from shareholders, management has become aggressive, attempting to grasp at legal technicalities to avoid a democratic vote. On March 9, 2023, ISS, a trusted independent proxy advisor, published a report recommending shareholders vote in favor of the activist's proposals. ISS concluded that, among other things, there are "serious concerns with the company's governance structure," the Company "has not demonstrated an ability to grow profitably," and "there is a sense of urgency for change." Management completely dismissed the ISS analysis on Nano Dimension's sole determination that the proxy vote is illegal. If management truly believed that they have created value and were confident in their ability to continue to do so, they would declare valid the meeting requisitioned by the activist shareholder and directly address the substantive merits of the ISS analysis. By virtue of its non-response, we believe management is aware of its value destructive track record and has no plans to change course. Recently, the Company has attempted to appease shareholders by announcing its intention to repurchase up to $100 million of its ADRs. We view this as wholly inadequate and believe the Board should look to increase this amount and effort significantly for the following reasons: $100 million only represents 9% of the Company's cash and investments on hand. Each share repurchased results in immediate and certain value creation for shareholder as the stock trades at a 31% discount to their cash and investments value1 (even when attributing zero value to the operating business). The Company should look to deploy a significantly higher amount of capital into this strategy. Management has yet to demonstrate a meaningful return on its invested capital and we believe that the remaining >$1.1B of cash and investments is at risk of being deployed into value destroying mergers and acquisitions ("M&A"). Nano Dimension is materially overcapitalized for its existing operating business and only a fraction of its cash is required to fund it going forward. We have urged the Company on multiple occasions to implement a meaningful return of capital program in order to preserve and enhance shareholder value. However, management has repeatedly ignored our requests and instead has continued to erode its valuable working capital position. Discussions recently broke down after we communicated our view that the Company would best serve its shareholders by aggressively utilizing its share buyback program and meaningfully expanding its efforts to return capital to shareholders. Management rebuffed this request and informed us that "[they] control the company", not us, the actual shareholders. We would like to take this opportunity to publicly remind the Nano Dimension Board of Directors ("Board") that they owe a fiduciary duty to Company shareholders, not to Company management. Boards of public companies are not dictatorships meant to enrich a select few insiders rather they are required to act in the best interests of the company and its shareholders. We believe that it is precisely this level of arrogance from management that causes Nano Dimension to trade at a staggering and persistent 31% discount to its cash and investments balance. It is clear to us that other market participants have also lost faith in management's ability to create or enhance shareholder value. Management's focus on self-interest is concerning. For instance: The Company hired Lazard as an M&A advisor in what appeared to be a knee-jerk reaction to the activist. As we feared, this has led to large-scale M&A is in direct opposition to shareholder wishes for preservation and return of capital. Recently, management and the Board attempted to readjust the strike price of 27.7M warrants issued to its Chairman and CEO to $2.46 from $6.16. If approved, the new exercise price would have been 46% below the Company's cash and investments per share . This was a slap in the face to all investors who would realize immediate dilution. It also illustrates an attempt by the Company's entrenched management team to effectively siphon away ownership rights from its independent shareholders. Fortunately, the shareholders voted down this proposal. . This was a slap in the face to all investors who would realize immediate dilution. It also illustrates an attempt by the Company's entrenched management team to effectively siphon away ownership rights from its independent shareholders. Fortunately, the shareholders voted down this proposal. The Company recently adopted a poison pill and filed a registration statement for an extended new ESOP representing an egregious 20% of outstanding shares. In addition to the aforementioned, the current management team has presided over the Company while the share price declined >80% since January 2021. Nano Dimension has burned through in excess of $300 million of shareholder capital with negligible value creation. We urge the Board to adhere to their fiduciary duties owed to shareholders and expand their return of capital program. We also believe the Board should place a moratorium on any M&A activity pending a final resolution of outcome of the ongoing proxy battle. Moez KassamChief Investment Officer Anson Funds: Anson Funds is a privately held alternative asset manager with $1.6B in assets. The firm was founded in 2007 with offices in Toronto and Dallas. Media Contact:Anson FundsLaura SalvatoriGeneral Counsel[email protected](416) 447-8874 Forward-Looking Statements This press release may contain statements of a forward-looking nature relating to future events. These forward-looking statements are subject to the inherent uncertainties in predicting future results and conditions. These statements reflect Anson's current beliefs, are based upon public information provided in many cases by the Company, and a number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in this press release and in the attached letter. Please see the Company's securities filings filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a more detailed discussion of the risks and uncertainties associated with the Company's business and other significant factors that could affect the Company's actual results. Except as otherwise required by federal securities laws, Anson undertakes no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements to reflect new events or uncertainties. Anson is not responsible for the contents of third-party websites or for Company disclosures. ---------- Includes (i) $1,030,000 of cash and deposits as of December 31, 2022 and (ii) 9,695,115 shares in SSYS at $14.01 per share (last close on March 9, 2023). View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/anson-funds-believes-nano-dimensions-board-of-directors-requires-change-301768680.html SOURCE Anson Funds Launches $3M Raise to Continue to Fuel Notable Ongoing Growth SAN DIEGO, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Drink Monday, award-winning non-alcoholic beverage brand, is pleased to announce a truly momentous start to 2023 across various facets of their business in areas including but not limited to sales, distribution, press, and product design accolades Record-Breaking Sales Crossed $9M in lifetimes sales Record sales for the Dry January season Record sales for any one month period Continued Breakthrough in Retail and Online Partnerships Crossed 1000 retail door milestone mark Launched on Drizly in select initial market (SF, LA and NY) in select initial market (SF, LA and NY) Approved in Total Wine in 14 Authorized Markets (CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, LA, MD, MA, MN, NV, TN, TX, WA) Recent Accolades and Recognition 3 new medals awarded for packaging design by the Beverage Tasting Institute Coverage by The Dieline for outstanding design Dry January media coverage from over 30 notable outlets yielding ~10M views "Dry January this year elevated our emerging category from a trend to a true lifestyle movement," states newly-appointed CEO Ken Young. Young continues, "We're bullish on growth as our category continues to show up in new places and we expand into traditional brick-and-mortar channels while maintaining our strong digital footprint." In an ongoing effort to ensure the business is being led by the best and brightest as they head into a new and exciting chapter, Monday announces the appointment of a fully stacked Board of Directors. See below for the breakdown of all currently held seats: "As Monday continues its ascent to the top of the non-alc category, it was clear that some added firepower was needed to support Ken's growth plans for expansion and acceleration. Enter our next level Board. Each Director brings their exceptional background, experience, and superpowers to the table all in the name of elevating our brand to new heights," states Chris Boyd, Founder and Chairman. In order to support Monday's continued business expansion plans, the company is currently looking for strategic growth capital, with plans to launch both a crowdfunding initiative and Series A capital raise in the near future. About Drink Monday Founded in 2019 by six San Diego entrepreneurs, Monday was created to serve people proper adult beverages without the alcohol. Their flagship range of award winning non-alcoholic spirits includes Monday Gin, Monday Whiskey, and Monday Mezcal. Monday's spirits provide the look, feel, and most importantly - taste - of a top-shelf cocktail minus the alcohol many are taking a break from. Monday's spirits are not only alcohol-free, but support a wide variety of healthy lifestyles with its zero-calorie, no carbs, zero sugar, Vegan, gluten-free, and Big-8 allergen-free profile. Monday's spirits were made for those who want an adult beverage experience with zero downside. To learn more, visit www.drinkmonday.co. Communications Contact Taylor Foxman[email protected] For Investor Inquiries please email: [email protected]. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/award-winning-non-alcoholic-beverage-brand-drink-monday-shatters-sales-projections-breaks-1-000-retail-door-milestone-and-announces-new-retail-partnerships-with-total-wine-and-drizly-301768656.html SOURCE Drink Monday Krissy Brown moved into her Lower Greenlaw home seven years ago, and she immediately noticed the cement wall in the alley behind her house it was covered in great globs of paint. The paint had been used by volunteer graffiti cleanup crews to cover the sprayed monikers, or tags, used by vandals in the neighborhood. The paint varied in color and didnt match the brick beneath. To Browns dismay, more graffiti continued to pop up over time. The wall gradually became a more haphazard display of new graffiti and multi-colored cover-ups. Graffiti artists were treating the structure as a blank 80-foot by 10-foot canvas. Last summer Brown thought she might do the same. In June, she approached the neighbor the wall belonged to and asked for permission to apply some paint of her own. With the property owners approval, she set off for the local hardware store to buy whatever inexpensive cans of house paint they had on hand. Her approach to the alley wall was about more than covering up graffiti. It was about adding a bright spot to her neighborhood. Brown is a civil engineer for the U.S. Forest Service by day. By night, she likes to paint. Perhaps her day job had informed the motif she chose as she set to work on a mural. There are trees planted in Browns neighbors yard, their branches and tops stretching above the brick facade toward the east Flagstaff sky. Brown gave those trees trunks and roots visible from her side of the fence. She added an aspen grove and rolling green hills. The trees that grew on one side of the cement were now rendered complete by paint on the opposite side. From the spot where Brown washes dishes in her kitchen, the elms appear uninterrupted, surrounded by bright butterflies even in the dead of winter. Brown had never before tackled a large-scale project. She told herself if she didnt like the outcome, she could cover the whole project with even coats of paint in a single solid color. It was a lot of hard learning experiences," Brown said. "Number one, concrete is not the easiest medium to work with. In addition, house paint probably isnt the best medium to use on concrete. I now completely understand why taggers use spray paint, because it gets the right coverage. House paint is interesting because theyre not like acrylic where you can blend the colors. Its like whatever color you have is what you have. If you try to mix it with something else, you get a really horrible brown. Brown pressed on, and the alley art piece became a kind of small-scale community project. An 11-year-old artist who lived nearby joined. She brought printed photos of insects for reference and painted each detailed butterfly that appears beneath Browns canopy. Soon, passers-by would cut through the alley and marvel when they discovered the mural. As it rises above the snow in March, Brown insists that the landscape is a work in progress. She hopes to add more detail, more plant life, to the scene over time. For now, shes observed, the mural has acted as a deterrent against graffiti and tags. Lines and loops and initials in spray paint still appear farther up the alley on fences behind other homes. The mural has remained untouched. 'Open it up' That makes sense to Franklin Willis, an art professor at Northern Arizona University. Before launching his 30-year career teaching young artists in Flagstaff, Willis earned a grant from the Michigan Council for the Arts. He took that grant and applied it to public art work in Detroit. Of course graffiti was always a problem in Detroit. One of the things that took place there is various artists would be asked to produce murals, but produce them relative to the community, the people, and make it reflect the people in the community, Willis said. What becomes interesting with that is, once you put a mural there and it could be related to anything, it could be related to a person or individual that the community may hold in some form of high esteem or it could be related to the diversity of the community itself -- they found that many of these areas these graffiti artists would often hit, they stopped doing it. Some of that has to do with the mindset of a graffiti artist or tagger. Graffiti has been used to mark out territory for gangs. Flagstaff police spokesperson Jerry Rintala said thats been known to happen in Sunnyside, but in recent years gang-related graffiti is less prevalent. In my experience over the years, weve had a string of serial graffiti artists. That will sometimes pop up and be an issue for a duration, Rintala said. Those artists are usually taggers expressing themselves through a moniker. Its probably a younger activity, a lot of the skate parks get hit often. Those are usually not gang-related as much as they are kids being kids, Rintala added. Vandalism is typically a misdemeanor. When tags are left on school or church property, however, the crime becomes a felony. Damages over $1,000 also result in felony charges for the perpetrator. Rintala said thats one of the unique things about tags as a class of vandalism. If one tag is used over and over again, then linked back to a single artist, that artist may easily rack up a felony charge. Because most of Flagstaffs graffiti appears to emerge from a kind of impulse toward self-expression as opposed to a desire to mark out gang territory, Willis believes mural and fine art projects might offer a solution. I think that you have some graffiti artists, to them thats the best way they can showcase themselves. Just by painting their name or their markings here or there, Willis said. Willis said that often graffiti can mark the presence of a person, but it can also be a marker of a certain time and place. Over the course of decades, hes seen Flagstaff grow and change, becoming more diverse. He said he hopes graffiti artists can become collaborators for mural projects and bring their talents to the task of reflecting a community with shifting demographics. If you take locations where you see a bunch of graffiti artists spraying and highlighting or marking and you come in and you put a work of art there, you could tie it into the diversity of the community, diversity of concepts and of people, you tie things like that in there, usually they wont touch those areas again. They will go through and look at them as being the symbol that marks and highlights the area, Willis said. He thinks murals can dissuade graffiti artists, but they can also be a place to offer the often young people engaging in potential vandalism an opportunity to think bigger. If I knew who the people were who would go through and do graffiti, I would arrange for them to come and produce a work of art. Manage it, structure it so that it has a symbolic meaning and it communicates to the diversity of the community, not just to a specific group. Open it up, and a lot of these young people could see their skills transformed into something people are seeing and responding to, and it's having a positive reflection rather than a negative reflection, Willis said. As a painting professor at NAU, Willis has been known to work shoulder to shoulder with his students in order to show them how far a brush, canvas and ingenuity can take them. Willis once brought a Tonka toy, a yellow-gold front loader, to class. I would set this up as a still life in the classroom and students would come back and say to me, 'Why are you making us paint Tonkas? You cant do anything with this, why are you making us do it?' Willis said. What I essentially did is, I started painting still lifes along with the students. I found if I work with them and I paint with them, it makes them more enthusiastic to try new ideas, new concepts, new experiences. They can see something new and work with it. Its just a positive motivation. He then submitted his Tonka series to art shows and exhibitions. I tried to show them you can take your sense of creativity and whatever you want to do ... you can take that and expand it to accomplishing goals and objectives, he said. Showing students what art can do is a passion for Willis. Art opened the door to a career in construction, alongside academic pursuits for the professor. Starting with building canvasses and picture frames, Willis cultivated skills as a carpenter and builder. He later got his contractors license and built custom homes. Right now the Tonka still lifes rest on easels in Willis Doney Park studio, a bright and spacious building with high windows and an illuminating skylight. Willis built the studio himself, and now he hopes to open his doors for young people who might need opportunities to see how they can build a future on their art, too. He said hed like to work with young taggers especially. What if you took young people and got them to transform their art and produce it relative to a wall or a mural, transforming it? What if we turned around and we made canvasses or works on paper? Then, what if you showed them theres a market you could take this to and sell? Then, to me, that changes everything. That gets them to see everything in a whole new light, Willis said. It gets them to see what theyre doing from a creative and social perspective, but also attaching a monetary value to it. I think that has a big impact. It has a major impact. Thats the sort of thing I like to encourage. Brown is looking to the future, too. Shes already working with a friend in Mobile Haven on a similar project to the one in her back alley, with the goal to divert the intentions of graffiti artists and offer a new bright reflection of the community. After all, her favorite parts of her Greenlaw mural are the ones that resulted from collaboration -- those soaring butterflies. Hosted by ADP, The Leading Conference for the Professional Development of Black Women Returns to Las Vegas NEW YORK, March 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, BLACK ENTERPRISE, the No. 1 Black digital media brand with more than 6 million unique visitors per month, will host its annual Women of Power Summit, hosted by ADP. In celebration of Women's History Month, the annual conference will provide three days of empowerment for women of color to be door openers and glass breakers in corporate America. This inspiring event will motivate attendees to share wisdom, build a sisterhood of support, and achieve their own breakthroughs. Among the star-studded roster of confirmed speakers, actress, writer, entrepreneur, and producer Issa Rae will headline the event's Luminary Awards Luncheon, where she'll explore this year's theme "Our Time, Our Way, Our Power" and reveal how she's succeeding on her own terms. With a jam-packed schedule doused in Black Girl Magic, the Summit will carry on with celebratory events and a dynamic lineup of conversations for executives and leaders to be empowered. "This gathering of talented and ambitious women is a testament to the power of collaboration and mentorship in fostering success in the workplace, which aligns perfectly with BLACK ENTERPRISE'S mission of empowering and uplifting diverse communities," said Earl Butch Graves Jr., CEO of BLACK ENTERPRISE. "We look forward to hearing the inspiring stories and insights from the impressive lineup of speakers and attendees. We are confident that this event will provide valuable tools and resources for advancing the careers of women of color across industries." In celebration of trailblazing women, BLACK ENTERPRISE will kick off the weekend-long discussion with its 17th Annual Legacy Awards Gala, honoring those who've defied the odds and changed the world for future generations. Honorees include award-winning actress Loretta Devine; Vera Moore, President and CEO of the family-owned business Vera Moore Cosmetics; Tracey T. Travis, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of The Estee Lauder Companies; and business executive Lisa Wardell who currently serves as a member of the board of directors for Adtalem Global Education Inc. "At BLACK ENTERPRISE, we recognize the unique challenges that women of color face in their respective industries, and we are committed to advocating for their advancement by investing in the necessary tools and resources to achieve their professional goals," said Alisa Gumbs, Deputy Chief Content Officer of BLACK ENTERPRISE. "It is not only a matter of equity and inclusion, but also a business imperativeresearch has shown that diverse teams lead to greater innovation and profitability. By creating space and empowering these often-overlooked voices at the Women of Power Summit, we can build a more equitable and prosperous future for all." Keeping with the theme, this year's Summit also returns with the second annual Luminary Awards and Luncheon, honoring motivational speaker, author, and producer Lauren Simmons, three-time New York Times bestselling author, multimedia entrepreneur speaker, and podcast host Luvvie Ajayi Jones. The Summit will also feature a Power Lunch Conversation titled "Conversations that Count: Permission to Put Yourself First" with actress, Founder & Owner of 4U by Tia, Tia Mowry, and Emmy Award-winning Journalist Tashara Parker. The host sponsor of the 2023 Women of Power Summit is ADP. Presenting sponsors are Accenture, Bank of America, Dell, Estee Lauder Companies, Equitable, Fidelity Investments, Gilead, Manulife/John Hancock, Morgan Stanley, Publicis Groupe, Toyota, UnitedHealth Group, and Prudential Financial. Platinum sponsors are American Express, AT&T, Lilly, Finra, Travelers, and Walmart. Corporate sponsors are AARP, Amazon, Auto Zone, Capital One, Dow, FedEx, MGM Resorts, Nationwide, Puma, and UKG. The BLACK ENTERPRISE Women of Power Summit hosted by ADP will be held at The Bellagio Hotel & Casino from Thursday, March 9, through Saturday, March 11. Attendees can learn more about the Summit, receive programming updates, see a complete list of summit speakers, and purchase tickets for the event at https://www.blackenterprise.com/womenofpowersummit/. For virtual attendees, guests can livestream select programming at https://www.blackenterprise.com/womenofpowersummit/ About BLACK ENTERPRISE Founded in 1970, BLACK ENTERPRISE is a mission-centric publication focused on providing relevant information for success-minded people at every stage of their financial journey. Designed to highlight Black leadership and entrepreneurial journeys, BLACK ENTERPRISE reaches its audience through its events and linear and digital channels. BLACK ENTERPRISE aims to be a fountain of knowledge for the how to achieve financial success. To learn more about the company, please visit blackenterprise.com and follow them on social media across Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/black-enterprise-to-honor-issa-rae-loretta-devine-among-others-at-the-2023-women-of-power-summit-301768547.html SOURCE BLACK ENTERPRISE CHARLOTTE, N.C., March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Carolina Cleaning Solution has officially announced that with their expansion of commercial cleaning services, they will be officially rebranding the company and will henceforth be known as Steel and Propre. "We want to empower our employees to be able to provide the best life for themselves and their families." - Ryan Jordan "We want to give our company a name and brand that reflects our dedication to customer service, industry-leading commercial cleaning, and our dedication to our amazing family of employees", says owner Ryan Jordan. With his focus on ensuring his employees are a major priority for Steel and Propre, Jordan wants his customers to know that the company is adding a non-profit segment that contributes to his employees' long-term success. "Not only will we focus on providing higher education opportunities for our employees, a pay wage that is higher than the industry average, and additional childcare resources, but we want to empower our employees to be able to provide the best life for themselves and their families. That starts with our commitment to being the best ally to them every day." About Steel and Propre: Steel and Propre (formally Carolina Cleaning Solution) has been a trusted commercial cleaning company since 1986. they take pride in providing exceptional cleaning services to a variety of businesses, including restaurants, medical offices, government buildings, and schools. With decades of experience in the industry, their team has the expertise and knowledge to exceed your expectations and leave your facility looking its best. At Steel and Propre, they understand that a clean and organized facility is essential for the success of your business. That's why they go above and beyond to ensure that every aspect of your facility is spotless, from the carpets to the concrete floors. Steel and Propre uses state-of-the-art equipment and eco-friendly cleaning solutions to ensure that they provide the highest quality of service while minimizing the impact on the environment. Their team is fully licensed and insured, giving you peace of mind that your facility is in good hands. Their services include: Contact: Steel and PropreRyan Jordan(704) 791-5945https://steelandpropre.com/ View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/carolina-cleaning-solution-announces-rebrand-to-steel-and-propre-301769249.html SOURCE Steel and Propre Meeting to be held Friday, April 21 at 9 a.m. CT HOUSTON, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE: CNP) today announced that its 2023 Annual Meeting of Shareholders will be held on Friday, April 21, 2023, at 9 a.m. CT in the CenterPoint Energy Tower auditorium, 1111 Louisiana Street, Houston, Texas. Shareholders who hold shares of CenterPoint Energy common stock at the close of business on February 24, 2023, will receive notice of the meeting and will be eligible to vote. As the only investor-owned electric and gas utility based in Texas, CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE: CNP) is an energy delivery company with electric transmission and distribution, power generation and natural gas distribution operations that serve more than 7 million metered customers in Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Ohio and Texas. As of December 31, 2022, the company owned approximately $38 billion in assets. With approximately 9,000 employees, CenterPoint Energy and its predecessor companies have been in business for more than 150 years. For more information, visit CenterPointEnergy.com. For more information contactMedia:Media Relations[email protected]Investors:Jackie RichertPhone 713.207.6500 View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/centerpoint-energy-announces-2023-annual-meeting-of-shareholders-301769261.html SOURCE CenterPoint Energy, Inc. 35-year higher education veteran to serve as 29th president PHILADELPHIA , March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Saint Joseph's University's Board of Trustees elected Cheryl A. McConnell, PhD, its 29th and first female president in the University's 172-year history, effective immediately. Dr. McConnell is a 35-year veteran of Jesuit higher education, having most recently served as Saint Joseph's interim president since last June, and as provost and chief academic officer for three years prior. "Dr. McConnell is the right person to lead Saint Joseph's at this time of exceptional change," says James M. Norris '85, chair of the University's Board of Trustees and also chair of the search committee. "Cheryl has strong business acumen, deep higher education experience, a career marked by dedicated commitment to our Jesuit mission and exceptional leadership skills. She was the unanimous choice of the committee, even among an impressive and diverse pool of external candidates." McConnell joined Saint Joseph's in 2019, immediately accelerating academic and student life goals and initiatives as part of the University's strategic plan. Among her most notable achievements was the creation of several undergraduate and graduate programs in response to market demand, societal need and the University's mission, along with an increased and more effective focus on diversity, equity and inclusion. Early in her tenure she launched an annual, University-wide Day of Dialogue featuring lectures, workshops and events. She played an essential and central role in the University's COVID-19 response, making Saint Joseph's a leader in on-ground, in-person operations through the pandemic. Most recently, she led the historic acquisition of the University of the Sciences. After assuming the interim presidency last summer, she finalized another merger with the Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences expected to close next January. She also implemented a leadership council to ensure accountability, timely progress and implementation of strategic priorities and has overseen the start of several campus construction projects. Before her arrival at Saint Joseph's, McConnell held several leadership positions at Rockhurst University, a Jesuit institution in Kansas City, Missouri. She served as dean of both the College of Business, Influence, and Information Analysis and the Helzberg School of Management, as well as associate provost for academic affairs and full professor of accounting. While there she developed a strong track record of interdisciplinary collaboration, program innovation and growth, faculty development, budget management and strategic partnerships. "Cheryl's advocacy for and partnership with faculty have been hallmarks of her career," adds Norris. "She understands academia from many perspectives, has tremendous strategic insight and is someone who brings people together and inspires thoughtful action." McConnell is a first-generation college graduate, having earned her Bachelor of Business Administration and her Master of Professional Accountancy degrees from Wichita State University. She went on to earn a PhD in higher education administration from fellow Jesuit institution Saint Louis University. A sought-after speaker on women in leadership, she is also a certified public accountant and a certified fraud examiner. Her decades-long commitment to Jesuit education has been strengthened through leadership experiences including the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities' Ignatian Colleagues Program and Leadership Institute, as well as the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola. "I look forward to working with President McConnell as she leads our Catholic, Jesuit University into its next chapters of teaching excellence, scholarship and service to the Philadelphia community, our nation and larger world," adds Joseph M. O'Keefe, S.J., provincial of the Society of Jesus' USA East Province. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cheryl-a-mcconnell-phd-elected-first-woman-to-lead-saint-josephs-university-301769084.html SOURCE Saint Joseph's University Scientists at Hokkaido University and the Institute for Chemical Reaction Design and Discovery (WPI-ICReDD) have developed the first-ever molecular catalyst specifically tailored for mechanochemical reaction conditions. It enables high-efficiency transformations at near room temperature. SAPPORO, Japan, March 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Chemists at Hokkaido University and the Institute for Chemical Reaction Design and Discovery (WPI-ICReDD) have developed the first high-performance catalyst specifically designed and optimized for solid-state, mechanochemical synthesis. The team found that by attaching long polymer molecules to a metal catalyst, they could trap the catalyst in a fluid-phase, which enabled efficient reactivity at near room temperature. This approach, reported in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, could bring cost and energy savings if adapted for wide application in chemical research and industry. Chemical synthetic reactions are usually performed in solution, where dissolved molecules can intermingle and react freely. In recent years, however, chemists have developed a process called mechanochemical synthesis, in which solid state crystals and powders are ground together. This approach is advantageous because it reduces the use of hazardous solvents and can allow reactions to proceed faster and at lower temperatures, saving energy costs. It can also be used for reactions between compounds that are difficult to dissolve in available solvents. However, solid-state reactions occur in a very different environment than solution-based reactions. Previous studies found that palladium complex catalysts originally designed for use in solution often did not work sufficiently in solid-state mechanochemical reactions, and that high reaction temperatures were required. Using the unmodified palladium catalyst for solid-state reactions resulted in limited efficiency due to the tendency of palladium to aggregate into an inactive state. The team chose to embark in a new direction, designing a catalyst to overcome this mechanochemical problem of aggregation. "We developed an innovative solution, linking palladium through a specially designed phosphine ligand to a large polymer molecule called polyethylene glycol," Ito explains. The polyethylene glycol molecules form a region between the solid materials that behaves like a molecular-level fluid phase, where mechanochemical Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reactions proceed much more efficiently and without the problematic aggregation of palladium. In addition to achieving significantly higher product yields, the reaction proceeded effectively near room temperature the previously best-performing alternative required heating to 120C. Similar cross-coupling reactions are widely used in research and the chemical industry. "This is the first demonstration of a system that is specifically modified to harness the potential of palladium complex catalysts in the unique environment of a mechanochemical reaction," says Kubota. They believe it could be adapted for many other reactions, and also for catalysts using other elements from the transition metals of the periodic table. The wider adoption of the process, and others like it, could eventually bring significant savings in costs and energy consumption in commercial chemical processes while allowing more environmentally friendly large-scale production of many useful chemicals. Contact:Associate Professor Koji KubotaGraduate School of Engineering;Institute for Chemical Reaction Design and Discovery (WPI-ICReDD)Hokkaido UniversityTel: +81-11-706-6561Email: [email protected] Professor Hajime ItoGraduate School of Engineering;Institute for Chemical Reaction Design and Discovery (WPI-ICReDD)Hokkaido UniversityEmail: [email protected] Collin Stecker (Public Relations and Outreach)Institute for Chemical Reaction Design and DiscoveryHokkaido UniversityTel: +81-11-706-9646E-mail: [email protected] Sohail Keegan Pinto (International Public Relations Specialist)Public Relations DivisionHokkaido UniversityTel: +81-11-706-2186Email: [email protected] Paper: Tamae Seo, Koji Kubota, Hajime Ito. Mechanochemistry-Directed Ligand Design: Development of a High-Performance Phosphine Ligand for Palladium-Catalyzed Mechanochemical Organoboron Cross-Coupling. Journal of the American Chemical Society. March 9, 2023. DOI: 10.1021/jacs.2c13543 Funding: This work was supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) KAKENHI (22H00318, 21H01926, 22K18333, 22H05328); Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) CREST (JPMJCR19R1), FOREST (JPMJFR201I); and the Institute for Chemical Reaction Design and Discovery (ICReDD), which was established by the World Premier International Research Initiative (WPI), Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Japan (MEXT). Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2018685/Hokkaido_phosphine_distribution.jpg View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/customizing-catalysts-for-solid-state-reactions-301767755.html SOURCE Hokkaido University Volpara software is used to assess the breast density of more than 6 million US patients annually LYNNWOOD, Wash., March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Volpara Health Technologies ("Volpara," "the Group," or "the Company"; ASX: VHT), a global leader in software for the early detection of breast cancer, today announced that a new US federal regulation was finalized by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requiring mammography facilities across the country to inform patients whether their breasts are composed of dense tissue. The regulation standardizes language and expands the number of states with density disclosure laws nationwide. National Notification Ruling Within the next 18 monthsby 10 September 2024all mammography patient reports and summaries must include the following language about breast density to inform the patient of their density status as either non-dense or dense: Non-dense breast notification states: "Breast tissue can be either dense or not dense. Dense tissue makes it harder to find breast cancer on a mammogram and also raises the risk of developing breast cancer. Your breast tissue is not dense. Talk to your healthcare provider about breast density, risks for breast cancer, and your individual situation. Dense breast notification states: "Breast tissue can be either dense or not dense. Dense tissue makes it harder to find breast cancer on a mammogram and also raises the risk of developing breast cancer. Your breast tissue is dense. In some people with dense tissue, other imaging tests in addition to a mammogram may help find cancers. Talk to your healthcare provider about breast density, risks for breast cancer, and your individual situation." The ruling also specifies the language about breast density in reports and summaries for healthcare providers is to match the BI-RADS 5th Edition density categories. "The FDA breast density notification language is a key step in equitably empowering all women in the United States to understand their breast density so they can take informed, actionable steps to monitor their own breast health," said Teri Thomas, CEO of Volpara Health. Opportunities for Further Accuracy & EmpowermentNearly 40 million mammograms are performed each year in the US of which Volpara's software is used to assess the breast density of more than 6 million annually. The FDA ruling acknowledges advancements in density classification devices to help mitigate variability in assessment. Volpara's volumetric breast density assessment software to support physicians has long played an increasingly important role in making accurate, objective assessments of breast density possible. Through the use of AI (artificial intelligence), Volpara provides a comprehensive and precise measurement of breast density that helps ensure breast cancer risk is more accurately assessed. The Volpara TruDensity physics-based AI algorithm is cleared by the FDA, Health Canada, and the TGA (Australia), is CE-marked, and has been validated in more than 400 articles and research abstracts. "We've been working with leading clinicians and researchers around the world for more than a decade to make critical information about women's breast composition and its link to breast cancer more readily available," said Thomas. "The FDA regulation validates our focus, increases the industry's attention on breast density, and propels society forward to improve both the patient and provider experience and understanding." Volpara's Thumbnail module enhances patient mammography results letters with two mammogram images of the patient's breasts and explains the meaning of breast density in simple-to-understand terms. These additions beyond notification advance patient communication to help providers go the extra mile to help patients. Volpara users also have access to tools which help them further educate patients, referring physicians and their community. Informative brochures, posters, staff scripts and other educational aids may be used as is or be customized by the provider. Of note, Volpara has created an educational website about breast density that includes a gamification feature to allow visualization of how cancer can be obscured in dense breasts.This tool can be viewed at www.volparadensity.com. About Breast DensityDense breast tissue is common but has been linked to an increased risk for breast cancer and can also dramatically impact early detection. In the United States, nearly half of all women over 40 have dense breasts. As density increases, the accuracy of mammography decreases. According to a study published in Radiology, mammography misses almost half of breast cancers in women with the densest breasts. Because dense breast tissue and cancer appear white on a mammogram, tumors are often camouflaged on a mammogram. Studies confirm that early detection improves when women with very dense breasts receive an ultrasound or MRI exam in addition to mammography as part of their regular screening schedule. About Volpara Health Technologies Limited (ASX: VHT) Volpara Health Technologies makes software to save families from cancer. Healthcare providers use Volpara to better understand cancer risk, empower patients in personal care decisions, and guide recommendations about additional imaging, genetic testing, and other interventions. Our AI-powered image analysis enables radiologists to quantify breast tissue with precision and helps technologists produce mammograms with optimal image quality, positioning, compression, and dose. In an industry facing increasing staffing shortages, our software streamlines operations and provides key performance insights that support continuous quality improvement. Volpara is the preferred partner of leading healthcare institutions around the world. Our software is used in over 2,000 facilities by more than 5,000 technologists, impacting nearly 16 million patients globally. It helps providers conduct more than three million cancer risk assessments each year and can be deployed stand-alone or fully integrated with electronic health record systems, mammography reporting systems, imaging hardware, and genetic laboratories. Volpara holds the most rigorous security certifications and numerous patents and regulatory registrations, including FDA clearance and CE marking. Since listing on the ASX in April 2016, the Company has raised A$132 million. With an office in Seattle, Volpara is based in Wellington, New Zealand. For more information, visit www.volparahealth.com. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fda-breast-density-reporting-rule-is-a-critical-step-for-women-says-volpara-health-the-leader-in-ai-assisted-breast-density-measurement-301769438.html SOURCE Volpara Health, Inc. Continues its Global Impact and ESG Leadership AUSTIN, Minn., March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE: HRL), a Fortune 500 global branded food company, was named to Barron's list of the 100 most sustainable U.S. companies for 2023. The company ranked No. 23 on the prestigious list, which is the sixth ranking by Barron's of the 1,000 largest publicly traded companies across 200-plus environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance indicators. As one of the most admired food companies in the world, Hormel Foods, through its award-winning Our Food Journey efforts, is committed to producing food responsibly for customers and consumers by investing in its people and partners, improving communities and the world, and creating products that enrich the lives of people. "We are honored to be recognized as one of Barron's 100 Most Sustainable Companies," said Jim Snee, chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer of Hormel Foods. "We understand the responsibility that comes with being a sustainable food company, and we take that responsibility seriously. We have an incredible team of 20,000 people who take pride in the work we are doing. We know that our environmental, social and governance commitments and achievements matter, not only to our shareholders, but to our customers, consumers and communities where we live and work." In 2022, Hormel Foods supported food-security programs and disaster-relief efforts with partners such as World Central Kitchen, Feeding America, Conscious Alliance and Convoy of Hope. In addition, the company supported equity in education and continued its groundbreaking Inspired Pathways program that provides a free two-year-college education to the dependent children of its team members. Additionally, Hormel Foods has an ambitious set of corporate responsibility goals that it will strive to achieve by 2030 (its 20 By 30 Challenge). The 20 by 30 Challenge includes initiatives surrounding climate leadership, including matching 100% of the company's energy with renewable sourcing and the establishment of science-based targets for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The goals also include efforts focused on regenerative and sustainable agriculture, packaging sustainability, water stewardship, food security and human rights. More information on the Hormel Foods global impact and sustainability efforts can be found at https://www.hormelfoods.com/responsibility/. To build its sustainable companies list, Barron's worked with Calvert, a leader in ESG investing. Starting with the 1,000 largest publicly traded companies by market value, Calvert ranked each one by how it performed in five key constituencies: shareholders, employees, customers, community and the planet. Specifically, Calvert looked at more than 230 ESG performance indicators from seven rating companies, including ISS, MSCI and Sustainalytics, along with using other data and Calvert's internal research. To view the complete list of Barron's 100 Most Sustainable U.S. Companies for 2023, visit: https://www.barrons.com/articles/most-sustainable-esg-us-companies-1b5f70fd?mod=Searchresults. Additional information about the company's global impact efforts can be found at https://csr.hormelfoods.com/. About Hormel Foods Inspired People. Inspired Food. Hormel Foods Corporation, based in Austin, Minn., is a global branded food company with over $12 billion in annual revenue across more than 80 countries worldwide. Its brands include Planters, SKIPPY, SPAM, Hormel Natural Choice, Applegate, Justin's, WHOLLY, Hormel Black Label, Columbus, Jennie-O and more than 30 other beloved brands. The company is a member of the S&P 500 Index and the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats, was named on the "Global 2000 World's Best Employers" list by Forbes magazine for three years, is one of Fortune magazine's most admired companies, has appeared on the "100 Best Corporate Citizens" list by 3BL Media 13 times, and has received numerous other awards and accolades for its corporate responsibility and community service efforts. The company lives by its purpose statement Inspired People. Inspired Food. to bring some of the world's most trusted and iconic brands to tables across the globe. For more information, visit www.hormelfoods.com and http://csr.hormelfoods.com/. Contact: Media Relations Hormel Foods 507-434-6352 [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hormel-foods-named-one-of-barrons-most-sustainable-us-companies-301768993.html SOURCE Hormel Foods Corporation GREENVILLE, S.C., March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Bahraini, American and Lockheed Martin officials today celebrated the first F-16 Block 70 for the Royal Bahraini Air Force today at Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] in Greenville, South Carolina. The Kingdom of Bahrain has a unique history with the F-16: It was the first F-16 operator in the Gulf Cooperation Council beginning in the early 1990s, and now is receiving the first F-16 Block 70. "Today's ceremony represents the next generation of the powerful and proven legacy of the F-16, and demonstrates Lockheed Martin's commitment to advancing this program and getting this much-needed aircraft and its advanced 21st Century Security capabilities to the warfighter," said OJ Sanchez, vice president, Integrated Fighter Group, which includes the F-16 program. "With the Block 70 iteration, we are transforming 4th generation for the next generation for the Royal Bahraini Air Force and other partners and allies around the world." This F-16 Block 70 jet is the first of 16 jets for Bahrain, and took its first flight on Jan. 24, 2023. From here, it will begin additional flight tests at Edwards Air Force Base before arriving in Bahrain in 2024. Six countries have selected Block 70/72 aircraft. In addition to the current official backlog of 127 jets to-date to be built in Greenville, Jordan has signed a Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) for 12 jets and Lockheed Martin has received a contract to begin its long-lead activities. Bulgaria has also signed an LOA for an additional eight jets for its fleet. Once these are finalized, the backlog will increase to 147. "The F-16 celebrated today was built by our talented, committed workforce in Greenville," said Danya Trent, vice president, F-16 Programs and Greenville site leader. "We are proud to call Greenville the global home of the F-16 and look forward to continuing to produce jets serving missions around the world." Additional photos from the event are available for download here, and a video of the aircraft's reveal is available for download here. About Lockheed MartinHeadquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin Corporation is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 116,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. Please follow @LMNews on Twitter for the latest announcements and news across the corporation. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lockheed-martin-and-royal-bahraini-air-force-celebrate-bahrains-first-f-16-block-70-aircraft-in-greenville-south-carolina-301769318.html SOURCE Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Results From Multi-Year Randomized Controlled Trial, Included in Peer-Reviewed Article, Published in Substance Use & Misuse TWIN FALLS, Idaho, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Positive Action Program has significant effects on substance use in adolescents, resulting in fewer reported experiences with substance abuse, according to an article recently published in Substance Use & Misuse. The program is developed by Positive Action, Inc. ("PAI"), the leading education and technology company for evidence-based social and emotional learning (SEL) programs. "This research strengthens the scientific evidence supporting the effectiveness of the Positive Action Program." The study examined data from a longitudinal matched-pairs cluster-randomized control trial conducted in Chicago Public Schools. A diverse, dynamic cohort of approximately 1,200 students from 14 low-performing schools were assessed at eight points of time, between grades 3-8, across a six-year period. Students in Positive Action Program schools reported fewer experiences with drinking, getting drunk, and overall substance use compared to those in control schools. Researchers noted significant indirect effects of the Positive Action Program on substance use via changes in self-control. "Although the worst of the pandemic may be behind us, students continue to face a variety of challenges not only involving mental health and learning loss, but the risk of substance abuse as well," said Alex Allred, the CEO of PAI. "This research strengthens the scientific evidence supporting the effectiveness of the Positive Action Program in helping students avoid substance abuse." Data for the study were obtained as part of a randomized controlled trial funded by grants from the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. "Substance use is a multifaceted behavior that requires a multifaceted approach to address. Guided by the Theory of Triadic Influence (TTI), we selected three mediation variables (i.e., self-control, affiliation with peers who engage in deviant behaviors, and school attachment). Not only did the results show relative improvements in substance use behaviors, self-control and peer affiliation, but also, the mediating effect of self-control on the Positive Action Program's impact on substance use behaviors," said Niloofar Bavarian, associate professor at California State University Long Beach and co-investigator of the study. Read the abstract of the study, entitled, "Mechanisms of Influence on Youth Substance Use for a Social-Emotional and Character Development Program: A Theory-Based Approach" by Niloofar Bavarian, et al., which appears in Issue 12, Volume 57 of The Substance Use & Misuse published in September 2022, here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10826084.2022.2120359 About Positive Action, Inc. Positive Action, Inc. (PAI) is the leading education and technology company for evidence-based social and emotional learning (SEL) programs. Developed by founder Dr. Carol Allred beginning in 1973 and first published in 1982, our PreK-12 programs are based on the intuitive philosophy that we feel good about ourselves when we do positive actions. We offer one of the only SEL programs proven to simultaneously improve student academic achievement and behavior in multiple, multi-year randomized controlled trials, the highest standard of evidence-based education. Our programs have earned prestigious accolades from numerous institutions, including the U.S. Department of Education and The Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL). For more information, visit: https://www.positiveaction.net/. Media Contact: [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-research-presents-evidence-positive-action-program-associated-with-lower-adolescent-substance-abuse-in-chicago-public-schools-301768382.html SOURCE Positive Action, Inc. BANGALORE, India, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The ITB Berlin, the world's largest tourism trade fair, hosted a panel on 'Gender Equality: Tourism as a door opener for female empowerment and the role of gender equality in addressing the climate crisis' in Berlin, Germany. The panel was led by Dagmo Ahmed Jama, Director Integrated Marketing for Oman Airports Management Company and was joined by esteemed panelists: Ms Shruti Shibulal, Director and CEO of Tamara Leisure Experiences Pvt Ltd., Danielle D'Silva Head of Sustainability at Booking.com, Barbara Glanz General Manager B2B Europe at Intrepid Travel, and Nino Zambakhidze Chairwoman of the Georgian Farmers' Association (GFA) The panel conjoined the reality of climate change and its disproportionate impact on women to address the ways in which tourism can facilitate inclusive and equitable practices which include human capital building and meaningful job creation to uplift women and thereby communities in a sustainable way. Taking both a strategic and holistic view of the matter, Shruti Shibulal said, "The real problem is that we have a retention issue. We need to take a close look at how we can keep women employed. Firstly, it's training; women need to be given the opportunity to learn financial literacy and other key skills. Secondly, it's leadership. We need more women in leadership roles, and not just one token position. We need female role models and mentors in leadership positions. You have to make space for women and fight for their inclusion." "Empathy is crucial to achieving gender equality. Both women and men have their challenges, and inclusivity must be a more united conversation. Some people are aware of the need to build equality for women, but women may not have that same awareness for men. As such, there is a mutual empathy that needs to be built to ensure lasting change," added Shruti. This year, the ITB Convention centered on 'Mastering Transformation' within Tourism, with a strong focus on sustainability. Tamara Leisure Experiences, a responsible hospitality group has grown to become a thought leader in sustainable tourism in India. At the ITB convention, the group introduced their NABH (National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers) Certified Ayurvedic resort: Amal Tamara on a global stage. Additionally, PATWA (Pacific Area Travel Writers Association) awarded Tamara Leisure Experiences international recognition under the category of 'Boutique Hotel Chain of the Year - India' at the convention. At the award ceremony, held as part of the PATWA World Tourism and Aviation Leaders Summit, Shruti Shibulal spoke on 'New Initiatives in Tourism' alongside prominent leaders: Winnie Muchanyuka - CEO of Zimbabwe Tourism Authority, Mr. Alain St. Ange - Former Minister of Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports, and Marine, Republic of Seychelles, Georgi Alipiev, Director of International and Visa Affairs Directorate, Ministry of Tourism of the Republic Bulgaria, and Mr. H. E. Edmund Bartlett - Minister of Tourism Jamaica. Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2030265/Tamara_Leisure_Experiences.jpg View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/shruti-shibulal-ceo-and-director-of-tamara-leisure-experiences-joins-a-panel-of-global-experts-to-discuss-gender-equality-in-tourism-at-itb-berlin-301768704.html SOURCE Tamara Leisure Experiences PASAY CITY, Philippines, March 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- SM Investments Corporation (SM Investments) was recognized as among the Top Rated companies in its industry (Diversified Financial) globally, and also among Top Rated companies in the Asia Pacific, in a 2023 Top-Rated ESG Companies list by international ratings firm Morningstar Sustainalytics. In February 2023, SM Investments received an ESG Risk Rating of 13.3 and was assessed by Morningstar Sustainalytics to be at Low Risk of experiencing material financial impacts from ESG factors. The rating means SM Investments belongs to the strongly performing 6.7 percent of companies with the lowest ESG risk score within its defined peer group. "We are honoured to be cited by Morningstar Sustainalytics which reflects our commitment and initiatives towards sustainability, particularly good governance and risk management. In this period of global uncertainty, it is important for us to affirm our investors' and stakeholders' confidence in the company as a stable, sustainable and responsible proxy for Philippine development and growth," SM Investments Corporation President and Chief Executive Officer Frederic C. DyBuncio said. At SM, actions adopted to mitigate risks include investments in technology, continuous training for personnel, regular audits and implementation of policies across the organization. Moreover, the group's strong adherence to corporate governance, customer-focused innovation, financial prudence and attention to its sustainability strategies and progress, are vital to managing specific ESG factors. Morningstar Sustainalytics is a leading global provider of ESG research, ratings and data. Its ESG Risk Ratings measure a company's exposure to industry-specific material ESG risks and how well a company is managing those risks. The ESG Risk Ratings cover more than 15,000 companies across 42 industries. ESG or Environmental, Social and Governance is a framework that helps stakeholders understand how an organization is managing risks and opportunities related to environmental, social, and governance criteria. For nearly 30 years, Morningstar Sustainalytics has been at the forefront of developing high-quality, innovative solutions to meet the evolving needs of global investors. Today, Morningstar Sustainalytics works with hundreds of the world's leading asset managers and pension funds who incorporate ESG and corporate governance information and assessments into their investment processes. The firm also works with hundreds of companies and their financial intermediaries to help them consider sustainability in policies, practices, and capital projects. About SM Investments Corporation SM Investments Corporation is a leading Philippine company that is invested in market leading businesses in retail, banking and property. It also invests in ventures that capture high growth opportunities in the emerging Philippine economy. SM's retail operations are the country's largest and most diversified with its food, non-food and specialty retail stores. SM's property arm, SM Prime Holdings, Inc., is the largest integrated property developer in the Philippines with interests in malls, residences, offices, hotels and convention centers as well as tourism-related property developments. SM's interests in banking are in BDO Unibank, Inc., the country's largest bank and China Banking Corporation, the 6th largest bank. For more about SM, visit http://www.sminvestments.com/ View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sm-recognized-as-top-rated-sustainability-company-in-both-industry-and-asia-pacific-301768602.html SOURCE SM Investments Corporation LYNBROOK, N.Y., March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Prominently featured in The Inner Circle, Vanessa Gibson, MD, is acknowledged as a Pinnacle Life Member for her contributions to the field of Thoracic Surgery. Dr. Gibson received her M.D. with honors from the University of Louisville School of Medicine in 1999. She completed her internship at the University of Missouri in 2004 and finished a residency at the University of Kentucky in 2007. A Fellowship was completed at Kentucky College of Medicine. According to Dr. Gibson, she provides personalized care to patients with chest and lung issues as a thoracic surgeon. She has more than 22 years of experience and has successfully performed countless thoracic surgeries while practicing in Lynbrook, NY; Syracuse, NY; and Louisville, KY. She has worked in her current position for 15 years with admitting privileges at Mount Sinai South Nassau; Mercy Hospital Rockville Centre; and Norton Children's Hospital. Dr. Gibson is a member of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons and is also affiliated with Upstate University Hospital Community Campus. Dr. Gibson is an expert in the treatment of lungs, esophagus, heart, and other chest organs during lung cancer treatment or emphysema, as well as vascular malformations and diabetes complications. She notes that she is passionate about her line of work, caring for her patients, and represents herself with excellence and integrity. According to Dr. Gibson, patients have praised her work rebuilding diaphragms, removing portions of the lungs, and operating on the esophagus and is highly revered for her straightforward and amiable approach, telling patients precisely what to expect during and after their procedures. Dr. Gibson was recognized as a CMS Stage 1 EHR in 2012; the Compassionate Doctor Recognition in 2015; the Patients' Choice Award in 2015-2016; and the On-Time Doctor Award in 2015-2016. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-inner-circle-acknowledges-vanessa-gibson-md-as-a-pinnacle-life-member-for-her-contributions-to-the-field-of-thoracic-surgery-301768984.html SOURCE The Inner Circle AUBURN HILLS, Mich., March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Jeep brand is headed back to its 'home away from home' Moab, Utah for the 57th annual Easter Jeep Safari, scheduled for April 1-9, 2023. For more than five decades, thousands of enthusiasts and Jeep brand loyalists gather to take part in one of the largest off-road gatherings in the world, hosted by Moab's Red Rock 4-Wheelers club. Just when you thought the Jeep brand couldn't push the limits any farther, an entirely new collection of eye-catching, mission-capable concept vehicles will be unveiled and driven aggressively during the annual event. The Jeep brand and Jeep Performance Parts (JPP) by Mopar design teams are bringing their A-game to create several one-of-a-kind, rock-crawling, terrain-traversing vehicles that will take four-wheeling to the next level and prove why there's nothing quite like legendary Jeep 4x4 capability. Several "trail markers" leading up to the event will provide clues for what's in store for this year's Easter Jeep Safari lineup. The first Jeep and JPP sketches hot off the drawing table hint at two of the new concept vehicles, including one 4xe electrified Jeep SUV set to conquer Moab's tumultuous backcountry trails in absolute silence, and further highlight the Jeep brand's vision of accomplishing Zero Emission Freedom. For more information, visit the Easter Jeep Safari newsroom. Jeep BrandBuilt on more than 80 years of legendary heritage, Jeep is the authentic SUV brand that brings capability, craftsmanship and versatility to people who seek extraordinary journeys. The Jeep brand delivers an open invitation to live life to the fullest by offering a broad portfolio of vehicles that continues to provide owners with a sense of safety and security to handle any journey with confidence. The Jeep vehicle range consists of the Cherokee, Compass, Gladiator, Grand Cherokee, new three-row Grand Cherokee L, Grand Cherokee 4xe, Renegade and Wrangler and Wrangler 4xe. Jeep Wave, a premium owner loyalty and customer care program that is available to the entire Jeep 4x4 lineup, is filled with benefits and exclusive perks to deliver Jeep brand owners the utmost care and dedicated 24/7 support. The legendary Jeep brand's off-road capability is enhanced by a global electrification initiative that is transforming 4xe into new 4x4 in pursuit of the brand's vision of accomplishing Zero Emission Freedom. All Jeep brand vehicles will offer an electrified variant by 2025. Follow Jeep and company news and video on:Company blog: http://blog.stellantisnorthamerica.comMedia website: http://media.stellantisnorthamerica.comJeep brand: www.jeep.comFacebook: www.facebook.com/jeep Instagram: www.instagram.com/jeep Twitter: www.twitter.com/jeepLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/jeepYouTube: www.youtube.com/thejeepchannel or https://www.youtube.com/StellantisNA View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/trail-time-full-lineup-of-ultra-capable-utterly-efficient-and-unmistakable-jeep-and-jeep-performance-parts-by-mopar-concept-vehicles-head-to-the-57th-annual-easter-jeep-safari-301769003.html SOURCE Stellantis Independent Survey Shows Franchise Owners Are Highly Satisfied with Unishippers' Performance DALLAS, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Unishippers, one of the nation's only full-service third-party logistics providers (3PLs), was recently named a Top Franchise for 2023 by Franchise Business Review, a market research firm that performs independent surveys of franchisee satisfaction and employee engagement. Franchise Business Review provides the only rankings and awards for franchise companies based solely on actual franchisee satisfaction and performance. This is the 18th annual ranking of the 200 best franchise opportunities as rated by franchise business owners. The list is available at https://franchisebusinessreview.com/lists/top-200-franchises/. Unishippers was among over 360 franchise brands, representing nearly 38,000 franchise owners, that participated in Franchise Business Review's research. Unishippers' franchisees were surveyed on 33 benchmark questions about their experience and satisfaction regarding critical areas of their franchise systems, including training & support, operations, franchisor/franchisee relations, and financial opportunity. Unishippers' survey data showed the following: 97% of franchisees are likely to invest in the franchise again 97% of franchisees enjoy being part of Unishippers 92% of franchisees "agree" or "strongly agree" to respecting the franchisor "Our B2B, national franchise model provides entrepreneurs an incredible opportunity to own their own business while enjoying freedom, flexibility and unlimited growth potential in a recession-resistant industry," said Dustin Wesley, Unishippers Senior Vice President of Franchise Development. "We work hard every day to earn and maintain the trust of our franchisees by providing them with strong operational support, in-depth training and access to the tools, resources and technology they need to build and run successful businesses. We are honored to appear in the FBR200 rankings once again and to continuously be recognized by our franchisees as one of the top franchise opportunities in the market." "Franchisee satisfaction levels hit an all-time high last year despite the pandemic, and we are pleased to report that our 2023 research shows satisfaction has remained sky higha sure indicator that franchisee satisfaction is a top priority for franchise companiesand that's good news for franchise owners and anyone thinking about investing in a franchise," said Michelle Rowan, president & COO of Franchise Business Review. "As an independent research firm, Franchise Business Review is committed to helping prospective franchisees get an objective view of the best franchise opportunities available based on actual feedback from the people who own them. This year, nearly 38,000 franchisees completed our survey and from there we identified the franchise brands with the highest levels of satisfaction and performance to educate potential buyers about which franchise to invest in. Each of the 200 Franchisee Satisfaction Award winners on this year's list achieved stellar ratings from their franchisees." For more than 30 years, Unishippers has been the trusted advisor for small and mid-sized businesses across the country. As one of the nation's only full-service third-party logistics providers, and as part of the Dallas-based global logistics group that includes sister brands Worldwide Express and GlobalTranz, Unishippers offers a comprehensive portfolio of freight (LTL, FTL and specialty options) and small package services. Its more than 200 franchises specialize in helping SMBs find affordable solutions for their shipping challenges from evaluating and streamlining supply chains to selecting the right transportation type and everything in between. Unishippers has previously appeared in Franchise Business Review's annual rankings, including in 2022 when the company received awards for Most Innovative Franchises, Most Profitable Franchises, Top Franchises for Veterans, Top Recession-Proof Franchises, Top Low-Cost Franchises and Top Franchises Culture. To learn more about franchise opportunities at Unishippers, please visit www.unishippersfranchise.com. Visit FranchiseBusinessReview.com to see the full description of the 2023 Top Franchises. About Unishippers and Worldwide Express Worldwide Express, LLC is a full-service, non-asset-based logistics provider offering more than 121,000 customers access to industry-leading small package, truckload and less-than-truckload shipping solutions. With an annual systemwide revenue approaching $5 billion through a network of company-owned, franchise and agent locations, Worldwide Express, combined with its sister brands GlobalTranz and Unishippers, is the second-largest privately held freight brokerage in the country. As the largest non-retail UPS Authorized Reseller in the US, the company is a local partner for the global supply chains for shippers of all sizes, from small- to medium-sized businesses to enterprise organizations. This, coupled with a selective portfolio of more than 75 LTL and tens of thousands of truckload carriers, provides clients with an unmatched range of options and flexibility to meet their shipping needs. To learn more about franchise opportunities at Unishippers, please visit www.unishippersfranchise.com. About Franchise Business Review Franchise Business Review (FBR) is a leading market research firm serving the franchise sector. FBR measures the satisfaction and engagement of franchisees and franchise employees and publishes various guides and reports for entrepreneurs considering an investment in a franchise business. Since 2005, FBR has surveyed hundreds of thousands of franchise owners and over 1,200 leading franchise companies. FBR publishes free and unbiased franchisee satisfaction research reports throughout the year online at http://www.FranchiseBusinessReview.com. To read our publications, visit https://franchisebusinessreview.com/page/publications/. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/unishippers-named-a-2023-top-franchise-by-franchise-business-review-301769444.html SOURCE Unishippers DUBLIN, March 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Certificate in Employee Relations Law?Seminar" conference has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The Certificate in Employee Relations Law Seminar is designed to provide participants with a broad base of practical knowledge in all facets of employment law. The Certificate in Employee Relations Law Seminar provides the most comprehensive, practical, up-to-date employment law training available. This is a 4 day seminar is geared to the real-world needs of human resource professionals, attorneys, and managers. The seminar provides "best practices" insights and information on the full range of employee relations and labor law issues. The seminar is presented by prominent employment law attorneys who are also excellent presenters. The focus is on the practical implications of the law and what steps participants can take on the job to cope with the complex requirements of the various laws and regulations. Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) The host is recognized by SHRM to offer Professional Development Credits (PDCs) for the SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP. This 4 day program has been approved for 29.75 PDCs. HR Certification Institute (HRCI) This 4 day program has been approved for 29.75 HR recertification credit hours toward PHR and SPHR recertification through the HR Certification Institute (HRCI). The seminar provides participants with: A comprehensive understanding of all of today's significant employment laws and regulations, and the ability to know what to do about them in their own workplace. The skills to recognize and deal with problem situations and to minimize exposure to litigation by learning what steps and policies to implement in the workplace. Complete information regarding current and expected future laws and regulations, enabling your organization to anticipate and plan for the future. Agenda: Block 1 - Labor Law in the Union & Non-Union Workplace (Monday - Tuesday) Overview of Laws Governing the Employer-Union Relationship Analysis of the provisions of the Labor Management Relations Act and other applicable laws. Practical guide to understanding and successfully dealing with the National Labor Relations Board. Practical Guidance for Managing Non-Unionized Employees How to minimize legal risk through good hiring practices Identification of the most important employment policies How to use performance evaluations effectively The keys to avoiding an employment-related lawsuit How to conduct effective internal investigations Managing leaves of absence effectively Why employees unionize-recurring problems in the non-union workplace. Preventive measures to avoid union organizing efforts. Changes in the Law and How they Affect You - The Election Process Examination of election procedures-statutory provisions and NLRB processes. How to conduct a legal and effective campaign against unionization. Collective Bargaining What should management want in a collective bargaining agreement? How to get what you want out of the collective bargaining process. Extent of responsibility to bargain in good faith. The correlation between collective bargaining agreements and employee handbooks. Strikes and Picketing Activity Legal limits on strikes, picketing, and employer responses. Legal remedies and best strategies for dealing with actual or threatened strikes, picketing, and boycotts. Operating Under a Collective Bargaining Agreement Living with a collective bargaining agreement. Making effective use of the grievance procedure. Preparing for and winning arbitration cases. Successorship and the Law Buying a business whose employees are unionized. Understanding your rights and liabilities in mergers and acquisitions. Ending the Union Relationship The decertification process. Other non-election means through which to legally end the relationship. Block 2 - Employment Discrimination Law (Wednesday - Thursday) A survey course that examines legal theories under Title VII and other Civil Rights Acts, including discrimination and harassment based upon race, sex, religion, national origin, age, and disability. Analyzes race, color and national origin discrimination claims under Title VII and the Post-Civil War Civil Rights Acts. Examines the various theories of sex discrimination, including such issues as pregnancy discrimination, employee benefits design and equal pay. Discusses sexual and other types of harassment, investigations and policies employers need to mitigate their risk of liability. Reviews trends in protecting the rights of persons based on sexual orientation. Updates religious discrimination issues, including employer obligations to accommodate employees' religious practices. Strategies and Practical Advice for Dealing with Issues Under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act A thorough examination of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the effective handling of the disabled employee, including a discussion of the changed standards under the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendment Act. An analysis of current decisions interpreting an employer's rights and responsibilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act. An examination of the Family and Medical Leave Act, its regulations, and recent cases dealing with leave issues. An Update on Developments in the Law Under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act An examination of developing legal issues, including disparate impact claims and defenses. A review of issues associated with employee benefits designs, especially severance benefits. Resolving Discrimination Claims Without Litigation Resolving complaints internally and encouraging employees to use your procedures. Avoiding litigation through binding arbitration. A discussion of recent court decisions concerning the enforceability of agreements to arbitrate employment claims and class claims. Litigating Discrimination Claims A review of the case handling process under EEOC regulations. How to win your case at the administrative level. An examination of effective litigation strategies. Avoidance of retaliation claims. Settlement strategies, including pre-charge settlements as well as settlements in conjunction with agencies. An Examination of Affirmative Action A detailed discussion of voluntary affirmative action trends. An examination of the requirements of Executive Order 11246 for government contractors. How to prepare affirmative action plans. Dealing with the OFCCP effectively. Update on judicial opinions regarding affirmative action and "reverse discrimination." Block 3 - Special Issues in Employee Relations Law (Friday) This block will address specific employment law/labor law issues of interest to participants not covered in Blocks I and II plus up-to-the-minute laws, regulations and court decisions. Topics may include: Wage and Hour IssuesAn examination of the Fair Labor Standards Act and regulations affecting the categorization of employees as exempt from minimum wage and/or overtime premium pay and calculating overtime premium pay under various pay arrangements. Wrongful Discharge LitigationAn examination of the various theories of recovery arising from employee discipline and discharge. An examination of litigation prevention techniques including practical suggestions regarding employment policies, internal review procedures, and discipline/termination decision making and implementation. Assessments of effective litigation strategies in response to these developments. A discussion of post-employment inquiries and the use of separation agreements as a litigation avoidance tool. Employment-Related Tort Litigation Defamation claims arising from communications to employees, other employers, customers and others. Intentional infliction of emotional distress. Intentional interference with contract or prospective business advantage. Fraudulent or negligent misrepresentation. Negligent hiring, supervision entrustment and supervision. Alternative Dispute Resolution Pros and cons. Utilization of arbitration agreements. Features of an effective ADR System. Substance Abuse in the Workplace Legal restrictions and considerations in developing and implementing effective policies and programs. Workplace Privacy Claims Workplace searches and related issues. Employee monitoring and pending legislation. Emerging types of claims. Protecting Confidential Information What is protectable. How to protect it Speakers Patrick Scully, Esq.Partner at Sherman & Howard, LLC Wayne W. Williams, Esq.Founder of the Law Offices of Wayne W. Williams For more information about this conference visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/vtvyhb About ResearchAndMarkets.comResearchAndMarkets.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 MarketsLaura Wood, Senior Manager[email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/united-states-employee-relations-law-certificate-seminar-austin-tx-united-states---june-12-16-2023-301768226.html SOURCE Research and Markets SHANGHAI, March 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE: ZTO and SEHK: 2057), a leading and fast-growing express delivery company in China ("ZTO" or the "Company"), today announced that following its previous statement in response to the allegations made in a report issued by the short-seller firm Grizzly Research LLC on March 2, 2023 (the "Short Seller Report"), the audit committee of the Company's board of directors (the "Audit Committee"), after having reviewed the allegations, at the recommendation of the management of the Company and in order to protect the interests of all shareholders, has decided to conduct an independent investigation into the allegations made in the Short Seller Report (the "Independent Investigation"). The Audit Committee has engaged and will be assisted by independent professional advisors, including an international law firm and a forensic accounting firm that is not the Company's auditor. The Company will provide updates on the Independent Investigation in due course consistent with the requirements of applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the New York Stock Exchange, and The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited. The Company reiterates its continued and unwavering commitment to maintaining high standards of corporate governance and internal control, as well as transparent and timely disclosure in compliance with applicable rules and regulations. About ZTO ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE: ZTO and SEHK: 2057) ("ZTO" or the "Company") is a leading and fast-growing express delivery company in China. ZTO provides express delivery service as well as other value-added logistics services through its extensive and reliable nationwide network coverage in China. ZTO operates a highly scalable network partner model, which the Company believes is best suited to support the significant growth of e-commerce in China. The Company leverages its network partners to provide pickup and last-mile delivery services, while controlling the mission-critical line-haul transportation and sorting network within the express delivery service value chain. For more information, please visit http://zto.investorroom.com. Safe Harbor Statement This press release contains statements that may constitute "forward-looking" statements pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. ZTO may also make forward-looking statements in the Company's periodic reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), in its interim and annual reports to shareholders, in announcements, circulars or other publications made on the website of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the " Hong Kong Stock Exchange" ), in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about the Company's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology, such as " will," " expects," " anticipates," " future," " intends," " plans," " believes," " confidence," " estimates," "likely to" and similar statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the development of the e-commerce industry in China, its significant reliance on the Alibaba ecosystem, risks associated with its network partners and their employees and personnel, intense competition which could adversely affect the Company's results of operations and market share, any service disruption of the Company's sorting hubs or the outlets operated by its network partners or its technology system. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in ZTO's annual report on Form 20-Fs and other filings with the SEC and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. All information provided in this press release is current as of the date hereof, and ZTO assumes no obligation to update such information, except as required under applicable law. For investor and media inquiries, please contact: ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc.Investor RelationsE-mail: [email protected]Phone: +86 21 5980 4508 View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/zto-provides-updates-on-response-to-short-seller-report-301768611.html SOURCE ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. 0001013871 false 0001013871 2023-03-09 2023-03-09 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 Earliest Event Reported) NRG ENERGY, INC. (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter) Delaware (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) 001-15891 (Commission File Number) 41-1724239 (IRS Employer Identification No.) 910 Louisiana Street Houston Texas 77002 (Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code) ( 713 ) 537-3000 (Registrants telephone number, including area code) N/A (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 CFR 230.425) Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-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, par value $0.01 NRG New York Stock Exchange 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. INTRODUCTORY NOTE This Current Report on Form 8-K (this Current Report) is being filed in connection with the closing on March 10, 2023 (the Closing Date), of the acquisition of Vivint Smart Home, Inc., a Delaware corporation (Vivint), by NRG Energy, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the Company), pursuant to the previously disclosed Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of December 6, 2022 (the Merger Agreement), by and among the Company, Vivint and Jetson Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation and a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company (Merger Sub), pursuant to which Merger Sub merged with and into Vivint (the Merger), with Vivint surviving the Merger as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company. Item 1.01. Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement. Senior Secured First Lien Notes due 2033 On March 9, 2023, the Company completed the sale of $740.0 million aggregate principal amount of 7.000% senior secured first lien notes due 2033 (the Notes) pursuant to the terms of a purchase agreement, dated March 2, 2023, among the Company, the guarantors named therein and the initial purchasers named therein (the Initial Purchasers). The Notes were issued under a base indenture, dated December 2, 2020 (the Base Indenture), between the Company and Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, as trustee (the Trustee), as supplemented by a supplemental indenture, dated March 9, 2023 (the Supplemental Indenture), among the Company, the guarantors named therein and the Trustee. The Supplemental Indenture and the forms of the Notes provide, among other things, that the Notes will be senior secured first lien obligations of the Company and the guarantors. The sale of the Notes was not registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act), and the Notes were sold on a private placement basis to persons reasonably believed to be qualified institutional buyers pursuant to Rule 144A promulgated under the Securities Act and outside the United States to non-U.S. persons in compliance with Regulation S promulgated under the Securities Act. The Notes are guaranteed by each of the Companys current and future subsidiaries that guarantee indebtedness under its credit agreement. The Notes are secured by a first priority security interest in the same collateral that is pledged for the benefit of the lenders under the Companys credit agreement and existing senior secured notes, which collateral consists of a substantial portion of the property and assets owned by the Company and the guarantors. The collateral securing the Notes will be released at the Companys request if the senior unsecured long-term debt securities of the Company are rated investment grade by any two of the three rating agencies, subject to reversion if such rating agencies withdraw such investment grade rating or downgrade such rating below investment grade. The foregoing description is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the Base Indenture, the Supplemental Indenture and the forms of the Notes, copies of which are filed as Exhibits 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3, respectively, to this Current Report and each of which is incorporated by reference into this Item 1.01. Series A Preferred Stock On March 9, 2023, the Company completed the sale of 650,000 shares of its 10.25% Series A Fixed-Rate Reset Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Stock, with a $1,000 liquidation preference per share (the Series A Preferred Stock), pursuant to the terms of a purchase agreement, dated March 2, 2023, between the Company and the initial purchasers named therein. The Company received aggregate gross proceeds of $650.0 million in connection with the sale and issuance of the Series A Preferred Stock. The sale of the shares of Series A Preferred Stock was not registered under the Securities Act, and the shares of Series A Preferred Stock were sold on a private placement basis to persons reasonably believed to be qualified institutional buyers pursuant to Rule 144A promulgated under the Securities Act and outside the United States to non-U.S. persons in compliance with Regulation S promulgated under the Securities Act. The terms of the Series A Preferred Stock are set forth in a certificate of designation (the Certificate of Designation) filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware on March 9, 2023. The Series A Preferred Stock is not convertible into or exchangeable for any other securities of the Company. The Series A Preferred Stock is a new class of security that ranks senior to the Companys existing common stock with respect to dividend and distribution rights. Holders of the Series A Preferred Stock generally have no voting rights, except for limited voting rights as set forth in the Certificate of Designation. Such limited voting rights include, without limitation, voting rights with respect to any amendment to the Companys certificate of incorporation that would be adverse to any of the rights, preferences or privileges of the Series A Preferred Stock. The foregoing description is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the Certificate of Designation, a copy of which is filed as Exhibit 3.1 to this Current Report and is incorporated by reference into this Item 1.01. Item 2.01. Completion of Acquisition or Disposition of Assets. On March 10, 2023, under the terms of the Merger Agreement, the Company completed its acquisition of Vivint, pursuant to which Merger Sub merged with and into Vivint, with Vivint surviving the Merger as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the Merger Agreement, each share of Vivint common stock, par value $0.01 per share (Vivint Common Stock), issued and outstanding immediately prior to the effective time of the Merger (other than shares held by Vivint (including shares held in treasury), the Company or any of their respective wholly-owned subsidiaries and shares owned by stockholders who properly made and did not withdraw or lose a demand for appraisal rights) was converted automatically into the right to receive $12.00 in cash, without interest. A total of approximately $2.6 billion in cash will be paid to holders of Vivint Common Stock as consideration for the Merger. On March 9, 2023, the Company closed its Notes and Series A Preferred Stock offerings. The Company will use the net proceeds from the offerings of the Notes and the Series A Preferred Stock, together with proceeds from borrowings under the Companys receivables facility, revolving credit facility and cash on hand, to fund the aggregate consideration payable in the Merger and to pay fees and expenses relating to the Merger. The foregoing description is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the Merger Agreement, which was filed as Exhibit 2.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) on December 6, 2022 and is incorporated by reference into this Item 2.01. Item 2.03. Creation of a Direct Financial Obligation or an Obligation under an Off-Balance Sheet Arrangement of a Registrant. The disclosures under Item 1.01 of this Current Report are also responsive to this Item 2.03 and are incorporated herein by reference. Item 3.02. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities. The disclosures under Item 1.01 of this Current Report are also responsive to this Item 3.02 and are incorporated herein by reference. Item 3.03. Material Modification to Rights of Security Holders. The disclosures under Item 1.01 of this Current Report are also responsive to this Item 3.03 and are incorporated herein by reference. Item 5.03. Amendments to Articles of Incorporation or Bylaws; Change in Fiscal Year. The disclosures under Item 1.01 of this Current Report are also responsive to this Item 5.03 and are incorporated herein by reference. Item 8.01. Other Events. On March 10, 2023, the Company issued a press release announcing consummation of the Merger. A copy of the press release is attached as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current Report and is incorporated by reference into this Item 8.01. Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits. (a) Financial Statements of Business Acquired The information required by this item was previously reported in the Form 8-K (File No. 001-5891) of the Company filed with the SEC on March 1, 2023 (the Form 8-K) and, accordingly, is not required to be filed herewith pursuant to General Instruction B.3 of Form 8-K. (b) Pro Forma Financial Information The information required by this item was previously reported in the Form 8-K and, accordingly, is not required to be filed herewith pursuant to General Instruction B.3 of Form 8-K. (d) Exhibits 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. NRG ENERGY, INC. By: /s/ Christine A. Zoino Name: Christine A. Zoino Title: Corporate Secretary Date: March 10, 2023 ATTACHMENTS / EXHIBITS EXHIBIT 3.1 EXHIBIT 4.2 EXHIBIT 99.1 XBRL TAXONOMY EXTENSION SCHEMA XBRL TAXONOMY EXTENSION LABEL LINKBASE XBRL TAXONOMY EXTENSION PRESENTATION LINKBASE IDEA: R1.htm IDEA: tm238056d3_8k_htm.xml IDEA: Financial_Report.xlsx IDEA: FilingSummary.xml IDEA: MetaLinks.json Item 9. Undertakings . (a) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes: (1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement: (i) To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933; (ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement; and (iii) To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such information in the registration statement; provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in periodic reports filed by the registrant pursuant to section 13 or section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in the registration statement. (2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. (3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering. (b) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the registrants annual report pursuant to section 13(a) or section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that is incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. 9 OMB APPROVAL OMB Number: 3235-0145 Estimated average burden hours per response .11 UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 SCHEDULE 13G Under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Amendment No. 4*) MERUS, N.V. (Name of Issuer) COMMON STOCK (Title of Class of Securities) N5749R100 (CUSIP Number) February 28, 2023 (Date of Event Which Requires Filing of this Statement) Check the appropriate box to designate the rule pursuant to which this Schedule is filed: X Rule 13d-1(b) Rule 13d-1(c) Rule 13d-1(d) *The remainder of this cover page shall be filled out for a reporting persons initial filing on this form with respect to the subject class of securities, and for any subsequent amendment containing information which would alter the disclosures provided in a prior cover page. The information required in the remainder of this cover page shall not be deemed to be filed for the purpose of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Act) or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section of the Act but shall be subject to all other provisions of the Act (however, see the Notes). Persons who respond to the collection of information contained in this form are not required to respond unless the form displays a currently valid OMB control number. CUSIP No.: N5749R100 1. Names of Reporting Persons I.R.S. Identification Nos. of above persons (entities only) Federated Hermes, Inc. 2. Check the Appropriate Box if a Member of a Group (See Instructions) (a) (b) 3. SEC Use Only 4. Citizenship or place of Organization: Pennsylvania Number of Shares Beneficially Owned by Each Reporting Person With: 5. Sole Voting Power: 2,138,700 6. Shared Voting Power 7. Sole Dispositive Power: 2,138,700 8. Shared Dispositive Power 9. Aggregate Amount Beneficially Owned by Each Reporting Person: 2,138,700 10. Check if the Aggregate Amount in Row (9) Excludes Certain Shares (See Instructions) 11. Percent of Class Represented by Amount in Row (9): 4.62% 12. Type of Reporting Person (See Instructions): HC 1. Names of Reporting Persons I.R.S. Identification Nos. of above persons (entities only) Voting Shares Irrevocable Trust 2. Check the Appropriate Box if a Member of a Group (See Instructions) (a) (b) 3. SEC Use Only 4. Citizenship or place of Organization: Pennsylvania Number of Shares Beneficially Owned by Each Reporting Person With: 5. Sole Voting Power: 2,138,700 6. Shared Voting Power 7. Sole Dispositive Power: 2,138,700 8. Shared Dispositive Power 9. Aggregate Amount Beneficially Owned by Each Reporting Person: 2,138,700 10. Check if the Aggregate Amount in Row (9) Excludes Certain Shares (See Instructions) 11. Percent of Class Represented by Amount in Row (9): 4.62% 12. Type of Reporting Person (See Instructions): OO 1. Names of Reporting Persons I.R.S. Identification Nos. of above persons (entities only) Thomas R. Donahue 2. Check the Appropriate Box if a Member of a Group (See Instructions) (a) (b) 3. SEC Use Only 4. Citizenship or place of Organization: United States Number of Shares Beneficially Owned by Each Reporting Person With: 5. Sole Voting Power: 6. Shared Voting Power: 2,138,700 7. Sole Dispositive Power 8. Shared Dispositive Power: 2,138,700 9. Aggregate Amount Beneficially Owned by Each Reporting Person: 2,138,700 10. Check if the Aggregate Amount in Row (9) Excludes Certain Shares (See Instructions) 11. Percent of Class Represented by Amount in Row (9): 4.62% 12. Type of Reporting Person (See Instructions): IN 1. Names of Reporting Persons I.R.S. Identification Nos. of above persons (entities only) Ann C. Donahue 2. Check the Appropriate Box if a Member of a Group (See Instructions) (a) (b) 3. SEC Use Only 4. Citizenship or place of Organization: United States Number of Shares Beneficially Owned by Each Reporting Person With: 5. Sole Voting Power: 6. Shared Voting Power: 2,138,700 7. Sole Dispositive Power 8. Shared Dispositive Power: 2,138,700 9. Aggregate Amount Beneficially Owned by Each Reporting Person: 2,138,700 10. Check if the Aggregate Amount in Row (9) Excludes Certain Shares (See Instructions) 11. Percent of Class Represented by Amount in Row (9): 4.62% 12. Type of Reporting Person (See Instructions):IN 1. Names of Reporting Persons I.R.S. Identification Nos. of above persons (entities only) J. Christopher Donahue 2. Check the Appropriate Box if a Member of a Group (See Instructions) (a) (b) 3. SEC Use Only 4. Citizenship or place of Organization: United States Number of Shares Beneficially Owned by Each Reporting Person With: 5. Sole Voting Power: 6. Shared Voting Power: 2,138,700 7. Sole Dispositive Power 8. Shared Dispositive Power: 2,138,700 9. Aggregate Amount Beneficially Owned by Each Reporting Person: 2,138,700 10. Check if the Aggregate Amount in Row (9) Excludes Certain Shares (See Instructions) 11. Percent of Class Represented by Amount in Row (9): 4.62% 12. Type of Reporting Person (See Instructions): IN Item 1. (a) Name of Issuer MERUS, N.V. (b) Address of Issuers Principal Executive Offices Yalelaan 62, 3584 CM Utrecht Netherlands, 3584 CM Item 2. (a) Name of Person Filing: Federated Hermes, Inc. (b) Address Of Principal Business Office or, if none, Residence 1001 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222-3779 (c) Citizenship: Pennsylvania (d) Title of Class of Securities Common Stock (e) CUSIP Number: N5749R100 Item 3. If this statement is filed pursuant to 240.113d-1(b) or 240.13d-2(b) or (c), check whether the person filing is a: (a) Broker or dealer registered under section 15 of the Act (15 U.S.C. 78o). (b) Bank as defined in section 3(a)(6) of the Act (15 U.S.C. 78c). (c) Insurance company as defined in section 3(a)(19) of the Act (15 U.S.C. 78c). (d) Investment company registered under section 8 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a-8). (e) An investment adviser in accordance with 204.13d-1(b)(1)(ii)(E); (f) An employee benefit plan or endowment fund in accordance with 240.13d-19b)(1)(ii)(F); (g) X A parent holding company or control person in accordance with 240.13d-1(b)(1)(ii)(G); (h) A savings associations as defined in Section 3(b) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813); (i) A church plan that is excluded from the definition of an investment company under section 3(c)(14) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a-3); (j) Group, in accordance with 240.13d-1(b)(1)(ii)(J). Item 4. Ownership Provide the following information regarding the aggregate number and percentage of the class of securities of the issuer identified in Item 1. A. Federated Hermes, Inc. (a) Amount beneficially owned: 2,138,700 (b) Percent of class: 4.62% (c) Number of shares to which the person has: (i) Sole power to vote or to direct the vote: 2,138,700 (ii) Shared power to vote or to direct the vote: 0 (iii) Sole power to dispose or to direct the disposition of: 2,138,700 (iv) Shared power to dispose or to direct the disposition of: 0 B. Voting Shares Irrevocable Trust (a) Amount beneficially owned: 2,138,700 (b) Percent of class: 4.62% (c) Number of shares to which the person has: (i) Sole power to vote or to direct the vote: 2,138,700 (ii) Shared power to vote or to direct the vote: 0 (iii) Sole power to dispose or to direct the disposition of: 2,138,700 (iv) Shared power to dispose or to direct the disposition of: 0 C. Thomas R. Donahue (a) Amount beneficially owned: 2,138,700 (b) Percent of class: 4.62% (c) Number of shares to which the person has: (i) Sole power to vote or to direct the vote: 0 (ii) Shared power to vote or to direct the vote: 2,138,700 (iii) Sole power to dispose or to direct the disposition of: 0 (iv) Shared power to dispose or to direct the disposition of: 2,138,700 D. Ann C. Donahue (a) Amount beneficially owned: 2,138,700 (b) Percent of class: 4.62% (c) Number of shares to which the person has: (i) Sole power to vote or to direct the vote: 0 (ii) Shared power to vote or to direct the vote: 2,138,700 (iii) Sole power to dispose or to direct the disposition of: 0 (iv) Shared power to dispose or to direct the disposition of: 2,138,700 E. J. Christopher Donahue (a) Amount beneficially owned: 2,138,700 (b) Percent of class: 4.62% (c) Number of shares to which the person has: (i) Sole power to vote or to direct the vote: 0 (ii) Shared power to vote or to direct the vote: 2,138,700 (iii) Sole power to dispose or to direct the disposition of: 0 (iv) Shared power to dispose or to direct the disposition of: 2,138,700 Instruction: Dissolution of a group requires a response to this item. Item 5. Ownership of Five Percent or Less of a Class If this statement is being filed to report the fact that as of the date hereof the reporting person has ceased to be the beneficial owner of more than five percent of the class of securities, check the following: X Instruction: Dissolution of a group requires a response to this item. Item 6. Ownership of More than Five Percent on Behalf of Another Person. NOT APPLICABLE Item 7. Identification and Classification of the Subsidiary Which Acquired the Security Being Reported on By the Parent Holding Company. See Exhibit 1 Attached Item 8. Identification and Classification of Members of the Group: NOT APPLICABLE Item 9. Notice of Dissolution of Group: NOT APPLICABLE Item 10. Certification (a) The following certification shall be included if the statement is filed pursuant to 240.13d-1(b); By signing below I certify that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, the securities referred to above were acquired and are held in the ordinary course of business and were not acquired and are not held for the purpose of or with the effect of changing or influencing the control of the issuer of the securities and were not acquired and are not held in connection with or as a participant in any transaction having the purpose or effect. (b) The following certification shall be included if the statement is filed pursuant to 204.13d-1(c): By signing below I certify that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, the securities referred to above were not acquired and are not held for the purpose of or with the effect of changing or influencing the control of the issuer of the securities and were not acquired and are not held in connection with or as a participant in any transaction having that purpose or effect. SIGNATURE After reasonable inquiry and to the best of my knowledge and belief, I certify that the information set forth in this statement is true, complete and correct. Date: March 10, 2023 By: /s/J. Christopher Donahue Name/Title: J. Christopher Donahue, as President of Federated Hermes, Inc. Date: March 10, 2023 By: /s/Thomas R. Donahue Name/Title Thomas R. Donahue individually and as Trustee of Voting Shares Irrevocable Trust Date: March 10, 2023 By: /s/Ann C. Donahue Name/Title: Ann C. Donahue individually and as Trustee of Voting Shares Irrevocable Trust Date: March 10, 2023 By: /s/J. Christopher Donahue Name/Title J. Christopher Donahue individually and as Trustee of Voting Shares Irrevocable Trust The original statement shall be signed by each person on whose behalf the statement is filed or his authorized representative. If the statement is signed on behalf of a person by his authorized representative other than an executive officer or general partner of the filing person, evidence of the representatives authority to sign on behalf of such person shall be filed with the statement, provided, however, that a power of attorney for this purpose which is already on file with the Commission may be incorporated by reference. The name and any title of each person who signs the statement shall be typed or printed beneath his signature. NOTE: Schedules filed in paper format shall include a signed original and five copies of the schedule, including all exhibits. See 240.13d-7 for other parties for whom copies are to be sent. Attention: Intentional misstatements or omissions of fact constitute Federal criminal violations (See U.S.C. 1001) EXHIBIT 1 ITEM 3 CLASSIFICATION OF REPORTING PERSONS Identity and Classification of Each Reporting Person IDENTITY CLASSIFICATION UNDER ITEM 3 Federated Hermes Equity Funds (d) Investment company registered under Section 8 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a-8) Federated Hermes Insurance Series (d) Investment company registered under Section 8 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a-8) Federated Equity Management Company of Pennsylvania (e) Investment Adviser registered under Section 203 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 Federated Global Investment Management Corp. (e) Investment Adviser registered under Section 203 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 Federated Hermes, Inc. (g) parent Holding Company or control person, in accordance with Section 240.13d-1(b)(ii)(G) FII Holdings, Inc. (g) parent Holding Company or control person, in accordance with Section 240.13d-1(b)(ii)(G) Voting Shares Irrevocable Trust (g) parent Holding Company or control person, in accordance with Section 240.13d-1(b)(ii)(G) Thomas R. Donahue (g) parent Holding Company or control person, in accordance with Section 240.13d-1(b)(ii)(G) Ann C. Donahue (g) parent Holding Company or control person, in accordance with Section 240.13d-1(b)(ii)(G) J. Christopher Donahue (g) parent Holding Company or control person, in accordance with Section 240.13d-1(b)(ii)(G) Federated Hermes, Inc. (the Parent) is filing this schedule 13G because it is the parent holding company of Federated Equity Management Company of Pennsylvania and Federated Global Investment Management Corp. (the Investment Advisers), which act as investment advisers to registered investment companies and separate accounts that own shares of common stock in MERUS, N.V. (the Reported Securities). The Investment Advisers are wholly owned subsidiaries of FII Holdings, Inc., which is wholly owned subsidiary of Federated Hermes, Inc., the Parent. All of the Parents outstanding voting stock is held in the Voting Shares Irrevocable Trust (the Trust) for which Thomas R. Donahue, Ann C. Donahue and J. Christopher Donahue act as trustees (collectively, the Trustees). The Trustees have joined in filing this Schedule 13G because of the collective voting control that they exercise over the Parent. In accordance with Rule 13d-4 under the Securities Act of 1934, as amended, the Parent, the Trust, and each of the Trustees declare that this statement should not be construed as an admission that they are the beneficial owners of the Reported Securities, and the Parent, the Trust, and each of the Trustees expressly disclaim beneficial ownership of the Reported Securities. EXHIBIT 2 AGREEMENT FOR JOINT FILING OF SCHEDULE 13G The following parties hereby agree to file jointly the statement on Schedule 13G to which this Agreement is attached and any amendments thereto which may be deemed necessary pursuant to Regulation 13D-G under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934: 1. Federated Hermes, Inc. as parent holding company of the investment advisers to registered investment companies that beneficially own the securities. Voting Shares Irrevocable Trust, as holder of all the voting shares of Federated Hermes, Inc. Thomas R. Donahue, individually and as Trustee Ann C. Donahue, individually and as Trustee J. Christopher Donahue, individually and as Trustee It is understood and agreed that each of the parties hereto is responsible for the timely filing of such statement any amendments thereto, and for the completeness and accuracy of the information concerning such party contained therein, but such party is not responsible for the completeness or accuracy of information concerning the other parties unless such party knows or has reason to believe that such information is incomplete or inaccurate. It is understood and agreed that the joint filing of Schedule 13G shall not be construed as an admission that the reporting persons named herein constitute a group for purposes of Regulation 13D-G of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, nor is a joint venture for purposes of the Investment Company Act of 1940. Date: March 10, 2023 By: /s/J. Christopher Donahue Name/Title: J. Christopher Donahue, as President of Federated Hermes, Inc. By: /s/Thomas R. Donahue Name/Title Thomas R. Donahue, individually and as Trustee of Voting Shares Irrevocable Trust. By: /s/Ann C. Donahue Name/Title Ann C. Donahue, individually and as Trustee of Voting Shares Irrevocable Trust By: /s/J. Christopher Donahue Name/Title J. Christopher Donahue, individually and as Trustee of Voting Shares Irrevocable Trust 1. The number of shares indicated represent shares beneficially owned by registered investment companies and separate accounts advised by subsidiaries of Federated Hermes, Inc. that have been delegated the power to direct investment and power to vote the securities by the registered investment companies board of trustees or directors and by the separate accounts principals. All of the voting securities of Federated Hermes, Inc. are held in the Voting Shares Irrevocable Trust (Trust), the trustees of which are Thomas R. Donahue, Ann C. Donahue and J. Christopher Donahue (Trustees). In accordance with Rule 13d-4 under the 1934 Act, the Trust, Trustees, and parent holding company declare that the filing of this statement should not be construed as an admission that any of the investment advisers, parent holding company, Trust, and Trustees are beneficial owners (for the purposes of Sections 13(d) and/or 13(g) of the Act) of any securities covered by this statement, and such advisers, parent holding company, Trust, and Trustees expressly disclaim that they are the beneficial owners of such securities. EXHIBIT 3 EXHIBIT 3 Chinese companies are crucial to the ecosystem of the entire mobile industry, experts from GSMA, an industry group representing the world's biggest mobile phone operators, told Xinhua in recent interviews. During the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2023 in Barcelona, some media questioned whether Chinese companies such as Huawei and ZTE were eligible to participate following the "entity list" issued by the United States. A spokesperson for GSMA, organizer of the congress, told Xinhua that the association was fully allowed to conduct activities with companies such as Huawei and ZTE. "Part of our role, as a global industry association, is precisely to align technological developments for the benefit of people, industries and the society in a fragmented geopolitical environment," the spokesperson said. Companies such as Huawei "have always been important partners of GSMA and an important part of our ecosystem. We will not shut out Huawei and ZTE," said Lara Dewar, chief marketing officer (CMO) for GSMA. "China is a leader in 5G and related applications," she said, adding that the country is not just an important market but also plays an important role in how people think, discuss and exchange ideas about how to build the digital world of the future. John Hoffman, GSMA's CEO, said the number of Chinese attendees during this year's MWC, from February 27 to March 2, reached about 5,000. Hoffman said that he was very impressed by the huge crowds visiting the stands of the Chinese companies including Huawei, ZTE and Xiaomi. Mats Granryd, director-general of GSMA, said the huge exhibition areas of Huawei and ZTE at the conference site showed the importance of Chinese enterprises to the industry's ecosystem. Chinese enterprises could bring innovation, scale and advanced technology, which is crucial to the whole industry, he noted. Source(s): Xinhua News Agency The Navys proposal to dump an amphibious command ship that it needs for keeping Russia in check is risky and ignores lessons from the war in Ukraine, according to analysts and a retired admiral who once led the service in Europe. USS Mount Whitney, flagship of the Naples, Italy-based U.S. 6th Fleet, is slated for decommissioning in 2026, a move the Navy says in 2023 budget documents could save $179.7 million. The plan doesnt detail how the service would replace the ships maritime operations center, or MOC, and other capabilities, except to say the ships functions would be handled by ashore staff. The MOC gives the Mount Whitney an incomparable range of applications in naval warfare, said retired Adm. James Foggo, who led U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa and Allied Joint Forces Command Naples from 2017 to 2020. Its ludicrous to get rid of it, said Foggo, now dean of the Center for Maritime Strategy of the Navy League. We need that capability. Efforts to decommission the ship, which offers a strategic backup to ashore operations centers in Naples and Bahrain, run counter to the lessons learned from Russias failures in logistics and command and control in Ukraine, he said. Transferring the Mount Whitneys functions to a shore facility could impose significant limitations, said retired Capt. Bradley Martin, a former surface warfare officer. Mount Whitney gives the U.S. the flexibility to move into international waters if another country, potentially Italy, objects to military decisions within its borders, Martin said. If we ever had to execute a full war, not having the command ships is something we would notice, said Martin, now director of the National Security Supply Chain Institute for the Rand Corp. think tank. For example, joint task force personnel embarked on the Mount Whitney in 2011 during Operation Odyssey Dawn in Libya, the international response following a brutal crackdown on Arab Spring protests by then-Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. The ship traveled from its home port in Gaeta, Italy, about 12 miles offshore to conduct operations, Foggo said. Foggo argues that no vessel in the current fleet could adequately replace Mount Whitney, which entered service in 1971, can embark up to 500 people and is one of two Blue Ridge-class amphibious command ships. The other ship, USS Blue Ridge, serves a similar role as flagship of U.S. 7th Fleet, headquartered in Yokosuka, Japan. That ship, commissioned in 1970, is expected to be in service until 2039, according to the Navy. Analysts say a vessel such as an amphibious assault ship or an amphibious transport dock could be modified to include Mount Whitneys capabilities. But those modifications would be extensive and expensive, said Jan van Tol, a retired Navy captain and senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. Those modifications also would remove the ship from its schedule of normal operational deployments, van Tol said. The fate of the Mount Whitney has not been decided, so discussion about how it would be replaced or what would happen to its homeport in Gaeta is premature, Lt. Cmdr. Karl Schonberg, a Naval Forces Europe-Africa/U.S. 6th Fleet spokesman, said in a statement Thursday. The ship supports U.S. 6th Fleet and Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO operations. By shortening lines of communication and offering a venue for leaders to meet, Mount Whitney offers the military an assortment of key assets, Capt. Daniel Prochazka, the ships commanding officer, said in a statement. And in a conflict, a ship is more difficult to track, and less susceptible to physical, electronic and network attacks than a headquarters ashore, he added. The Mount Whitney recently completed a $20.5 million overhaul that included installation of the most up-to-date computer and communications system, the service said in a statement Tuesday. But supporters of the ships continuing role say the expenditure isnt necessarily an indication that the Navy, which faces pressure to fund other programs, will abandon its proposal to decommission Mount Whitney. CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa Japan plans to guard against a potential conflict with China by building bomb shelters across the Nansei Islands, a move that security experts say is practical and not necessarily a signal of coming war. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in recent months has doubled down on security policies released in December that call for securing various types of evacuation facilities should a hot war with China spill over from Taiwan. Some citizens may view the move as increasing the risk of war, but building shelters is a necessary measure that could save lives, experts said. Building evacuation facilities to protect the lives and property of the people makes sense, Junjiro Shida, an associate professor of international politics at Okinawas Meio University, said by email Monday. When we think about natural disasters, it is normal to build evacuation facilities and conduct evacuation drills; the same can be said about a hypothetical enemy attack. The Japanese government plans new construction and to identify existing concrete structures that could withstand missile attacks, a spokesman for Kishidas cabinet said by phone Wednesday. No tangible plans have been made and no potential sites have been identified, he said. Some government officials in Japan are required to speak to the media only on condition of anonymity. The Nansei chain includes Okinawa and stretches from Kyushu, the southernmost of Japans four main islands, to Taiwan. China has become increasingly assertive in the South and East China seas in recent years. As a result, Japanese lawmakers in December approved a record defense budget of about $51.4 billion for fiscal year 2023 that emphasizes counterstrike capabilities and strengthens standoff air and missile defense. Also in December, the Ministry of Defense released the National Security Strategy of Japan, which calls for strengthening the protection mechanisms for Japanese nationals through evacuation planning and various types of evacuation facilities. We are investigating what the tasks are and what is the required efficiency for facilities assuming severe attacks, like nuclear attacks, Kishida told Japans House of Representatives on Jan. 26. Shida said the Chinese Communist Party views a military takeover of Taiwan as not whether, but when, which would directly affect the Nansei. Toshiyuki Shikata, a former lieutenant general in the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, cited civilian casualties in Ukrainian cities as proof positive that shelters are necessary ahead of any potential conflict. If a war starts, the first thing the government must do is evacuate the citizens out of the island, but if they dont have time to do so, it is better to evacuate them into shelters and those kinds of facilities," he said by phone March 3. Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki has called for diplomacy to build trust and relieve tensions, a spokesman from the prefectures Military Base Affairs Division said by phone Thursday. Kishimoto Takashi, deputy secretary-general of the Okinawa Peace Activity Center, agreed. Building these evacuation facilities means that the country is preparing for war, Takashi said. We have always said that it is more important to conduct diplomacy than doing those kinds of preparations. Okinawa prefecture is holding an evacuation exercise March 17 at the prefectural offices in Naha. The exercise will focus on command and control, not on moving people. The spring thaw isn't just limited to the weather. Here's an unexpectedly packed week of things to do in Billings this week, with highlights for music and movies. 'The Taming of the Shrew' at NOVA If you've ever seen a production of "Kiss Me, Kate," or "McLintock!" or "10 Things I Hate About You," then you're already familiar with the framework of William Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew." But at NOVA this weekend and next, you can see the inimitable original. The Bard's great battle of the sexes is directed by Richard Leeds, and can be seen March 10, 11, 12, 17, 18 and 19. Friday and Saturday performances are at 7:30 p.m., Sunday matinees are at 1 p.m. Tickets are $11.25 for students, $17.25 for senior/military and $22.25 for everybody else at novabillings.org. Billings Symphony: 'South Pacific in Concert' This year marks the 80th anniversary of Rodgers and Hammerstein's first musical, so in that spirit, head to Faith Chapel, 517 Shiloh Rd., Billings, at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, March 10 to see one of their best. This concert production of "South Pacific" features music from the Billings Symphony, and the cast is full of local and national talent. Tina Scariano stars as Nellie Forbush, an American nurse during WWII who falls in love with French ex-pat Emile de Becque, played by Broadway veteran Jordan Bennett. Tickets are $15-$66 at billingssymphony.org. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit at Alberta Bair In what legitimately might be the biggest night at the Alberta Bair in years, Grammy winner and songwriter extraordinaire Jason Isbell and his red hot backing band The 400 Unit, named after the mental institution in Isbell's hometown of Florence, Alabama is at the theater at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 11. Isbell last played in Billings as a surprise drop-in at his wife Amanda Shires' show at the Pub Station in March 2020 (what a time). See why every writer you know is obsessed with him. Still some solid tickets available for $95.50 - $175.50 at albertabairtheater.org. To pregame, listen to Isbell's excellent new single, the first off his upcoming album "Weathervanes," which releases on June 9. Everything Everywhere all at the Oscars at the Babcock You've got one last chance to see the prohibitive favorite for Best Picture (and most everything else) on the big screen. "Everything Everywhere All At Once" is at the Babcock at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 10. Tickets are $6-$8 at arthousebillings.com/eeaao. And then everything comes together for the Oscars at 6 p.m. on Sunday, March 12. Hollywood's biggest night is also the Babcock's biggest night, as Art House is again putting on their annual Oscars party at the theater. Tickets are only available for members. Celebrity, Director and Producer levels get in free, and Basic, Artisan, Premium and Family members have a chance to purchase tickets for $50, either in person or at arthousebillings.com/oscars. Tina Scariano in Concert Tina Scariano, a Billings native who is now based out of New York City, is performing at the Snook Art Gallery, 2420 2nd Ave. N., at 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 11. The show is a benefit concert for the Yellowstone Repertory Theatre, thematically fitting, since Scariano was a frequent presence on the Billings theater circuit. She'll be accompanied by Carolyn Peters. Tickets for the show are $25 and can be purchased at yellowstonerep.org. Honorable mentions Kirks' Grocery's pay-what-you-can Kitchen Party is back on Friday, March 10 from 6-8 p.m. Food by Ashley Woodward of Rose Hollow Catering, and beats from DJ Dixon Moonstomper. Check out The Brickhouse Band at the Thirsty Street Garage at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 10. $10 at the door. On the Craft Local stage at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 10, is Lampman Hotel and Hannah Jo Lally. $5 cover. Family Tradition are playing the Heights VFW on Friday, March 10 from 7-11 p.m. and Sunday, March 12 from 2-6 p.m. Check out work by 24 Rocky students and Red Lodge Clay Center resident Teresa Larrabee, all on display as part of the Ryniker-Morrison Gallery's "Student Art Exhibition." It's on view until March 31, but there's a reception from 5-7 p.m. on Friday, March 10. Rapper Token is bringing the Never Too Different Tour to the Pub Station Taproom at 8 p.m. on Friday, March 10. Tickets are $30 at thepubstation.com. Ground Into Dust and In Rapture are playing the Thirsty Street Garage at 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 11. $12 at the door, or $10 in advance at thirstystreet.com/tickets. A group of local Montana songwriters, Kirks' is in for a night of nautical noise from 7-9 p.m. on Saturday, March 11. First up is Do Fish Make Noise (which is also just a good question), then a sure to be stomping set from Scuba Steve and the Shark. Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 at the door. Hear some heavy metal from Soulfly at the Pub Station Ballroom at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, March 13. $25 tickets can be purchased at thepubstation.com. At the Alberta Bair at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 14, see an innovative combination of dance from the James Sewell Ballet and chamber music from the Ahn Trio. Tickets are at $40-$50 albertabairtheater.org. Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki met with politicians, academics and diplomats to lobby for a reduced U.S. troop presence in his prefecture during a weeklong trip to Washington, D.C., his third since taking office. With Japan spending a record amount to forestall a perceived military threat from China, Tamaki took a message of diplomacy over missiles to the U.S. Departments of State and Defense, a spokesman for Okinawas Military Base Affairs Division told Stars and Stripes by phone Friday. Tamakis five-day trip ended Friday. Tamaki objects to Tokyos plans to position surface-to-air missiles on the Nansei Islands, part of Okinawa prefecture, to defend against a missile strike by China or North Korea. He has said he believes the plan violates Japans Constitution, which disavows the use of military force. Tamaki has said basing missiles in the prefecture places a burden on the local population and makes them a target. He has espoused diplomacy to ease regional tensions. Tamaki continued to lobby against plans to relocate the Marine Corps air operations at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in congested Ginowan to a new airfield under construction at Camp Schwab to the north, according to a copy of his itinerary. The governor also requested U.S. officials provide a plan to reduce the presence of U.S. military bases on Okinawa and the immediate relocation of Marines to Guam and Hawaii. Part of the Marines plan to relocate the airfield includes moving thousands of Marines to a new base under construction on Guam. Tamaki met on Wednesday with U.S. Sens. Todd Young, R-Ind., and Ed Markey, D-Mass., and U.S. Reps. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., the House minority leader, Jill Tokuda, D-Hawaii, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. I asked them to tell the U.S. government to conduct diplomacy peacefully and relieve tensions to not bring war to Okinawa, Tamaki said, according to the itinerary. Tamaki also continued to lobby for access by the prefecture to U.S. bases to test for the presence of PFAS in the soil and water. The chemicals are toxic substances found in firefighting foam commonly used on U.S. military bases and used to make coatings that resist heat, oil, stains, grease and water, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. On Tuesday, Tamaki met with Joel Ehrendreich, the State Department director of the office of Japanese affairs and the former U.S. consul general on Okinawa; Japanese Ambassador to the U.S. Koji Tomita; Mike Mochizuki, associate professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University; and Christopher Johnstone, Japan chair for the Center for Strategic and International Studies, according to his itinerary. Tamakis predecessor, Takeshi Onaga, started the annual lobbying trip and made four visits to Washington, D.C., before dying of pancreatic cancer in 2018. FRESNO, Calif. (Tribune News Service) Californias deadly storm season turned even deadlier Friday as the first of two atmospheric river storms descended on the state, prompting widespread evacuation orders as it flooded creeks and rivers and dropped warm, heavy rain atop the states near-record snowpack. Five Chinese companies were added to a U.S. blacklist this week over accusations that they sold parts to an Iranian firm that manufactures drones used by Russia for attacks in Ukraine. The Treasury Department says the firms used shell companies to hide sales of light aircraft engines and other components used in production of the Shahed-136 unmanned aerial vehicles that the U.S. believes Iran has exported to Russia. The United States will continue to target global Iranian procurement networks that supply Russia with deadly UAVs for use in its illegal war in Ukraine, Treasury Undersecretary Brian Nelson said in a statement Thursday. The sanctions announcement comes a month after U.S. diplomats warned of increasing Chinese support for Russias military. China has said it wants a peaceful end to the war in Ukraine, but U.S. officials counter that Chinese manufacturers have increased sales of nonlethal aid to Russia and are considering sending lethal aid in the future, CNN reported in February. The four companies based in mainland China that joined the sanctions list Thursday are Hangzhou Fuyang Koto Machinery, Guilin Alpha Rubber and Plastics Technology, S&C Trade PTY and Shenzhen Caspro Technology. Also included in the sanctions are a fifth company based in Hong Kong, Raven International Trade, and an employee of one of the China-based firms, Yun Xia Yuan. These companies sold thousands of aerospace components to the Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Co., the statement said. The U.S. says the company is controlled by Irans military and has been sanctioned since 2008. The listings mark the sixth round of U.S. action against Irans drone program. Previous rounds in September and November targeted Iranian firms accused of helping fly Shahed-136 drones to Russia. The Shahed-136 is a loitering munition drone that U.S. and Ukrainian officials say is being provided to Russia for attacks on Ukrainian cities, such as the strike Thursday that reports say killed at least six people. The drone has been used by Iran and its proxies across the Middle East. Although Iran has denied supplying it to Russia, images of the drone with its trademark delta wings have been identified in videos showing Russian attacks in Ukraine. Russia and Iran have deepened ties since Moscows full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year. Russia has been sending Iran captured weapons that the U.S. and NATO provided to Ukraine, possibly for reverse engineering, CNN reported Friday. CLEVELAND, Ohio (Tribune News Service) A former U.S. Marine from Wellington is accused of assaulting five police officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Michael Mackrell is accused of attacking three Washington, D.C., Metro police officers and two U.S. Capitol officers. His son was previously charged with storming the Capitol and attacking an officer. Authorities arrested Mackrell, 41, on Thursday, and his case was fully unsealed on Friday. He is charged with assaulting an officer, entering a restricted building without lawful authority, obstructing of justice and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. U.S. District Magistrate Judge Jennifer Dowdell Armstrong ordered him released from custody on several conditions, including that he continues mental health treatment through Veterans Affairs, possesses no weapons and travels only to Washington for court appearances. His attorney, Darin Thompson, declined to comment after the hearing. Mackrells case will be sent to federal court in Washington, where a hearing is scheduled for March 16. Mackrell is one of more than 55 people from Ohio to be charged in the insurrection at the Capitol. His son, Clifford Mackrell, was previously charged in the case and has pleaded not guilty to similar charges as his father. FBI agents wrote in court records that they recognized Michael Mackrells face from videos of the siege when they arrested his son on March 17, 2021. More than 1,000 people from across the country have been charged in connection with the attack at the Capitol. A mob stormed the building to stop the certification of Joe Bidens election as president shortly after a Stop the Steal rally and speech from then-President Donald Trump. Some 140 officers were assaulted during the riot, and the Justice Department has charged more than 320 people with assaulting police. Surveillance and news cameras recorded Michael Mackrell march to the Capitol wearing a camouflage jacket, American flag gator over his face and later what appears to be a gas mask, court records say. At 2:28 p.m., he wrapped his arm around a police officers neck and threw the officer to the ground. One minute later, he shoved a Metro D.C. police officer in riot gear, then tackled another officer near the Southwest Plaza, court records say. He rushed and tackled a Metro D.C. officer about seven minutes later and tackled another officer three minutes after that, according to court records. His son, 22, is accused of shoving back barricades and repeatedly striking a Capitol police officer. He also grabbed an officers mask so the officer would be exposed to another rioters pepper-spray, according to court records. Michael Mackrell served in the U.S Marines from 2001-2006 and suffered a back injury during combat in 2003 in Kuwait, according to a lawsuit he filed against the Veterans Affairs in 2021. Mackrell sued the agency after it tried to collect $262,000 from Mackrells $650,000 settlement he received after he sued a St. Vincent Charity Hospital doctor over a botched back surgery, according to court records. Veterans Affairs settled the case, agreeing to collect $60,000, court records say. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit cleveland.com . American Prairie opened online reservations for its yurts, cabins and campground spaces today. Prices range from $10-$18 per night for a tent campsite, $18-$36 a night for an RV spot, and $165 a night for a yurt that sleeps up to nine. Whether you come for one day or one week, we invite you to get off the beaten path and make memories in a truly unique corner of Montana, said Mike Kautz, director of Public Access and Recreation at American Prairie. These prairie grasslands are a great location to explore for anyone who enjoys wildlife watching, hiking, biking, boating, fishing or hunting. Reservation booking links will be available at americanprairie.org/visit. The website offers information and trip planning resources, including maps, lodging descriptions and amenity lists. Visitation The number of visitors to American Prairie lodging facilities surged more than 200% since 2020. The increase was largely driven by Montana residents seeking outdoor adventures in less crowded parts of the state during the height of the COVID pandemic. Kautz says growth last year was more gradual, which has helped the organization keep pace with visitor needs. American Prairie hosted 1,448 overnight reservations last year, which is a slight increase over the previous year. Montana residents accounted for 78% of all reservations at American Prairies hut system and 53% of campground reservations. A reservation is defined as a group reserving one unit of lodging (campsite, hut or cabin), and not a count of individual visitors. In addition to overnight reservations, American Prairie tracked more than 3,697 hunter days on deeded properties enrolled in the 2022 Block Management program. That total includes more than 500 hunter days on the 73 unit, which opened for visitation and hunting for the first time last year. Center American Prairie's National Discovery Center, located at 302 W. Main in Lewistown, is open for its second year of operation. The visitor facility serves as a jumping off point for adventures and as an interactive educational center to teach visitors about Montanas prairie ecosystem. The National Discovery Center is free to the public and features interactive exhibits, community meeting spaces and the Ken Burns American Heritage Theater. Last year, the facility welcomed more than 2,500 visitors. Eighty percent of visitors were Montanans and nearly half of visitors were from Lewistown. The center is open Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Visit americanprairie.org/national-discovery-center to learn more, and follow American Prairie on Facebook for updates on upcoming events and programming. Upcoming March 30 / 7:30 p.m. Baroque Music Montana Presents Carrie Krause and Julie Gosswiller. Carrie Krause is an established violinist and concertmaster of the Bozeman Symphony. Pianist Julie Gosswiller collaborates with renowned musicians across the country and teaches at Montana State University. April 13 / 6 p.m. Jason Baldes: Land Rematriation with Buffalo Restoration is Reconciliation Baldes, the Tribal Buffalo Program manager for the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming, will offer an hour-long presentation at the NDC and will then take part in a panel discussion with members of Montana Tribes who are also creating and managing their own bison programs. May 6 / 10 a.m.4 p.m. American Prairie presents ECO-Critters with ZooMontana featuring an assortment of live animals from around the world. July 1 from 16 p.m. Historic Indian Trade and Camp Blankets: A history and public appraisal with Barry Friedman, a six-time Emmy-nominated comedy writer, foremost authority on historic Indian Trade and Camp Blankets, and a consultant for Pendleton. TORRANCE, Calif. (Tribune News Service) A clinic that provides mental health services to Los Angeles-area veterans, active duty service members and their families, has officially opened its doors in Torrance. The 7,000 square-foot facility boasts 13 clinical offices, a community room, two family rooms and a large waiting area. Its currently run by a 10-member staff that includes five clinicians, a psychiatrist and a case manager. The clinic offers both in-person and telehealth services, the latter of which is accessible by veterans statewide. Torrance Mayor George Chen and representatives from the local chamber of commerce were among those who attended the Thursday, March 9, grand opening. The Torrance facility is the 23rd to open nationwide as part of a chain of mental health clinics for veterans and their families thats backed by a $275 million grant provided by Steve Cohen, a hedge fund billionaire and philanthropist who also owns the New York Mets. The Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic, 20800 Madrona Ave., Suite C-100, marks the third such facility in California. The first clinic opened in San Diego in 2019, followed by another in Oceanside last year. Dr. Anthony Hassan, president and CEO of Cohen Veterans Network, noted that veterans often have trouble getting timely treatment. Somebody asked me, What keeps me up at night? Hassan said. What keeps me up is that when we have people who finally ask for help and then they call and theyre told, I cant see you for six months, I cant see you for four months. Granted, were not perfect, he added, but we can see you a lot sooner than that. There are roughly 18 million veterans and 2.1 million active-duty and reserve service members nationwide, according to the U.S. census. And since 9/11, there have been 2.8 million active-duty American military personnel deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan and beyond, leading to increasing numbers of combat veterans among the population. The most publicized mental health challenges facing veterans service members are post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. At some point in their life, seven out of every 100 Veterans (or 7%) will have PTSD, according to an estimate by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. More than 52,000 post-9/11 veterans, 6,000 active-duty service members and 10,000 military family members in Los Angeles County are eligible for the services offered by trained clinicians at the Torrance facility, the CVN estimates. The clinic will provide mental health services in the form of individual therapy, family therapy, couples sessions and group sessions. It takes all major forms of health insurance. If a patient doesnt have insurance, the case manager will step in to provide connection to financial services, said clinic Director Jolene Balancio. The key difference between the Cohen clinics and others that serve veterans, Hassan said, is that they also treat family members of veterans or active duty members. This includes parents, siblings, spouses or partners, children, caretakers and other who might also deal with mental health challenges. The catalyst for the network was Cohens son, Robert, who joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 2009 and served in Afghanistan from August 2010 to February 2011, Hassan said. When the younger Cohen returned to the U.S., he urged his father to start the network because he saw the need for mental health care in the military population. Since its inception in 2016, the CVN clinics have seen 50,000 clients, out of which 53% were vetrans or active duty, and 47% were family members. Sgt. Ryan Pitts, a Medal of Honor recipient and an ambassador for CVN, said during the grand opening that its a hard lifestyle for people whove ever worn the uniform, as well as for those who are connected to people who have worn the uniform. In 2003, the then-17-year-old Pitts joined the Army under the delayed entry program. During his time in service, Pitts was deployed twice to Afghanistan, in 2005 for 12 months and in 2007 for 15 months. In 2014, he received the Medal of Honor for his heroic act during the Battle of Wanat in 2008. Pitts recalled getting to the medical clinic after he was wounded and looking across the room for his battle buddies, noticing who wasnt there. I can tell you, the invisible wounds have taken a far greater toll on me than the physical ones, he said. You know, theres a lot of things, even without the stress of your own mental health challenges, (such as) worrying about other people and service members in uniform, you know, just being in that community. The transition from military service to college wasnt difficult, Pitts said, but he started to experience challenges when he joined the corporate world. As time went on, I could see that there were impacts at home, he said. I was distant, I was distracted. I was never present. Even with my wife and kids, I wasnt happy to come home. I didnt enjoy being a Dad. And I saw that (having an effect) in my family. It wasnt until nine months after Pitts told his family about his mental health challenges about five or six years after leaving the military that he decided to seek treatment, he said. Mental health care, especially among the veteran population, can often be stigmatized, Balancio said. We can be apprehensive to receive treatment and get care, she said so by being available and open for services, were hoping that it can make getting care a lot easier and help break barriers down and make care more accessible. 2023 MediaNews Group, Inc. Visit dailynews.com . Nigel Burgess died of a heart attack after being punched by Co Armagh man Brian Nicholl A man who killed his neighbour in a fistfight that triggered a massive heart attack admits hes lucky not to be behind bars. Brian Nicholl, pictured here for the first time, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of 65-year-old neighbour Nigel Burgess following an altercation in their street in Armagh three years ago. The 54-year-old, of Ballinahone Close in Armagh, walked free from Newry Crown Court last week with one of the lightest sentences any convicted killer has ever received in Northern Irish legal history. Judge Gordon Kerr KC gave Nicholl just 100 hours of community service and two years supervised probation. This week, when we called at Brian Nicholls door to ask him what happened that day and if he thought he got away lightly he said, I was surprised at the sentence alright, I thought I was going to jail. I was expecting it. But the circumstances of what happened were so unusual. It was a tragic accident which I obviously regret and am sorry for. And when we put it to him that he was now a convicted killer he said: I know, thats hard to hear but I decided to plead guilty because it had caused enough stress to everyone involved. I think the people in Armagh have accepted the unusual circumstances of what happened. Nobody is calling me a murderer or killer or anything like that. Im hoping now its all over everyone can just get on with their lives. Nicholl, who it emerged during sentencing has 78 previous convictions, told the Sunday World Mr Burgess had been involved in a campaign against another resident in the street and he had been trying to help the other neighbour out. He (Nigel Burgess) had been accusing a foreign national who lived in the street of being a drug dealer but he wasnt any such thing, said Mr Nicholl. But he got it in his head that he was and he made things difficult for this guy, who has since moved away. He was shining his lights into his house and being generally awkward. On the day of the tragic incident the neighbour came over to me to tell me Mr Burgess had blocked his car in and he couldnt get out. I went out and there were words and then he came at me and I punched him. He punched me back and we both fell to the ground. It didnt last very long and I just went inside. I thought he must have gone inside too but when I came out to get my phone which had fallen out, he was slumped behind the wall. Nigel Burgess He was still breathing but he was out of it. During his sentence hearing the court was told how a post-mortem showed the victim had severe narrowing of his arteries which were clogged and that there was no evidence he had been punched unconscious. It was proven he had suffered a massive heart attack. It was just really unfortunate. Thats not to say I dont severely regret what happened. It should never have happened. When the police told me he had died I was devastated. I couldnt believe it because we only exchanged a few punches. Initially the police released me without charge but they came back six months later and charged me with manslaughter which was another big shock. It was hard to believe. Summarising the case Judge Kerr outlined how the defendant and Mr Burgess lived three doors apart in the cul-de-sac. Nicholl came outside and there was a verbal confrontation with Mr Burgess, with the defendant then throwing a punch. The deceased fought to defend himself and a fight ensued during which Nicholl accepts that they exchanged punches, the judge said. He added that it only stopped when Mr Burgess was lying motionless and unconscious on the ground. Following this, Nicholl left him and walked away, going back into his house where he changed his clothes. Meanwhile, other neighbours who saw parts of the fight went to check on Mr Burgess and shouted to Nicholl that he wasnt moving. When he came out again, he tried to roll him over and told him to get up. Police and paramedics tried to resuscitate Mr Burgess, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. The judge explained that the pathologist and a cardiac specialist were agreed in their views that Mr Burgess had suffered a fatal heart attack during the fight and that his death was most likely instantaneous. He noted that the death had badly affected Mr Burgess 13 siblings, some of whom needed counselling. He said he had received a moving statement from his brother David who outlined how there are no words to fully describe the impactor to describe the living hell in the days, weeks, months and years. When arrested, Nicholl denied doing anything that would have caused his neighbours death. Judge Kerr revealed the father-of-two has 78 previous convictions, mainly for public order offences, but had no convictions in the last 12 years. Brian Nicholl talks to Sunday World reporter Steven Moore He also said Nicholl has had to stop working as a painter and decorator due to ill health and is the main carer for his wife and elderly mother. In this case, its important to note that the parties agree the fact of the death means that the custody threshold has been met, Judge Kerr told the court. The defence argued the case could be met with a suspended sentence, but Judge Kerr did not consider that to be appropriate. He said the enhanced combination order was a direct alternative to a 12-month sentence. Following sentencing, police said the case showed how lives could be changed in seconds and urged people to think about their actions. Detective inspector Michelle Griffin said: Police officers, along with the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service, responded to a report of a fight between the two men in the Ballynahone Close area of the city. This was on the night of Saturday, April 11, 2020. Mr Burgess was found lying unresponsive on the ground and, sadly, was later pronounced dead at the scene. A subsequent post-mortem revealed pre-existing heart disease. Its believed that Mr Burgess death was caused by a cardiac arrest, triggered during the physical altercation between the two. This is a tragic case, which has seen a life cut short and left loved ones bereft. I would urge people to think about how their actions, within a matter of minutes or even seconds, can change lives forever. The victims family expressed thanks to the police and Ambulance Service for their response and support, especially in efforts to resuscitate Mr Burgess. A DUBLIN man was shot in his shoulder during a struggle with an armed off-duty Garda Special Detective Unit (SDU) officer, a court has heard. The incident occurred at the junction of Kingsland Parade and Portobello Road in South Dublin at approximately 2 am on August 23, 2017. Darren Boyd, 29, from Cabra, and Shane Thomas, 30, with an address in Finglas, Dublin, have pleaded not guilty to assaulting Garda Sergeant Colm Finnerty. At the time, he was a Garda attached to the SDU in Harcourt Square, Dublin. Mr Thomas, who was shot in the back of his left shoulder, also denies an additional charge for unlawful possession of cocaine allegedly discovered falling from him when he was rushed to St James's Hospital. The non-jury trial commenced before Judge John Hughes at Dublin District Court yesterday. In evidence, Sergeant Finnerty told the court he had finished a 13-hour shift and left work in plain clothes to drive home in his private car. He had already been aware of an armed robbery at the Conrad Hotel in the city and noticed a Toyota Yaris with three occupants at Kevin Street. The car had driven on the wrong side of the street. He suspected it could have been involved in the robbery and that the occupants could be armed. He called Garda command and control as he followed the Toyota in his Mini. He said he gave his information to the dispatcher when he went by Synge Street so it could be passed on to other units. The witness said he followed the Toyota and noticed its driver was looking in its rearview mirror. He said it pulled in at Portobello Road, and he parked a distance away and rang the dispatcher again. He said he assessed and did a tactical analysis of the situation. The defendants and a female got out of the Toyota and began walking in his direction. Cross-examined by defence barristers Oisin Clarke and Eoghan Weldon, he agreed there was an element of fear, and he thought he would be a "sitting duck" in his car. Sergeant Finnerty said he got out of his car but realised he was silhouetted by street lighting, presenting him as a target, so he moved closer to a tree. He testified that he identified himself as a garda while holding his official ID and told them, "armed gardai, show me your hands" twice or three times. Darren Boyd and Shane Thomas leaving Dublin District Court. Photo: Collins Courts He removed his weapon from his holster and held the firearm in the "low ready position" in his right hand. He was asked for his badge number and claimed Mr Thomas then "lunged" at him and grabbed his left arm. He said he moved his gun to the "high ready", pointing up; however, his finger was not on the trigger. The court heard that he fended off Mr Thomas, who wrestled with him and still had his left arm. The officer said the weapon did not have a safety catch but required 14 and a half pounds of pressure to pull the trigger. It was a feature to prevent it from going off accidentally or negligently. Sergeant Finnerty alleged that during the struggle with Mr Thomas, the co-defendant Mr Boyd somehow pulled down the firearm and was responsible for the gun being discharged. The dispatcher was still on the phone, and a recording of the call was played during the hearing. Sergeant Finnerty disagreed with Mr Clarke that one of the men could be heard replying that "I'm on the fucking ground. You are after shooting me". Mr Clarke put it to him that the entire incident took about 10 seconds, but he disagreed and thought, after hearing the recording, it was closer to 30 or 40 seconds. He also denied suggestions that in the recording, he was heard telling Mr Thomas, "You are not shot". He told counsel, "I don't hear it clearly as you can". The officer also denied telling Mr Thomas that a blank was fired. Questioned by Mr Weldon, he did not accept that he was tired after a 13-hour shift and told the court that he was alert. He had suspected they were armed and "potentially dangerous" but agreed he did not say that to the dispatcher. Mr Weldon suggested to Sergeant Finnerty that he concocted a fabricated story and was responsible for the gun being fired, which he completely rejected. The court heard that afterwards, he called for urgent assistance and other garda units and a Dublin Fire Brigade ambulance arrived. A witness filmed the scene as they were on the ground after the shooting. The court heard that the officer's suspicion that they were involved in the hotel robbery was incorrect. A statement from another garda who arrived later recorded that it was "not an aimed shot, it was an unintentional discharge of the firearm". Sergeant Finnerty disagreed with that and said that he was not responsible for the discharge. The hearing resumes today The court heard that as Tanya Lord is a lesbian there was an understandable assumption that there would be no sexual activity. A female rapist was handed a four year sentence today after she admitted having sex with a sleeping man. Ordering 41-year-old Tanya Lord to serve two years in jail and two under supervised licence conditions, Judge Patrick Lynch KC said while neither he nor counsel could find any similar case anywhere in the UK, there seems to be no distinction to be drawn between this and the rape of a female, it seems to me. Outlining how the victim, who watched proceedings at Craigavon Crown Court by videolink, has been left mentally scarred and suspicious of people by his ordeal, the judge said theres a repeated myth that males are less susceptible to the consequences of sex attacks. He revealed that the victim has had to undergo counselling, is still prescribed medication for his mental health, has been left untrusting of people and feels alone unless hes with his kids. I would not wish this on anyone, the victim said in his impact statement, commendably adding however that he would encourage anyone who has been abused to come forward. Judge Lynch said if the myth about male victims needs to be disabused, it can be disabused now by the contents of the victim impact statement I have just read out and warning that theres no distinction between male and female rape - the fact that a male is the victim doesnt make it any less serious than the rape of a female victim. On the day her trial was due to start last December English woman Lord, from Derrylodge Manor in Lurgan, Co Armagh entered a guilty plea that on 23 June 2020, she caused a man to engage in sexual activity with you involving penetration of your vagina with his penis and that he did not consent to the sexual activity and you did not reasonably believe that he so consented. Opening the facts of the case for the first time, prosecuting lawyer Joseph Murphy outlined how the victim had been drinking all day and met up with Lord after she finished work. They went back to her house, had a few more drinks and some food and then went to bed with each party wearing shorts. The court heard however that as Lord is a lesbian and he knew her sexual propensity there was therefore a proper assumption and understandable assumption that there would be no sexual activity and none was forthcoming as regards consent in his part. Mr Murphy said however that in the early hours of the morning, the victim woke up and felt a pain across his chest and when he fully regained his senses, he realised his boxer shorts had been pulled down to his knees, his penis was inside Lord and she was straddling him, bouncing up and down. He pushed her off and she pretended to be asleep, said the lawyer adding that the victim got up and went downstairs to process what had happened. He pretended to be asleep in the sofa when Lord brought his clothes down but when she left the room, the victim got dressed and left the property, contacting the police after he spoke to his mum and partner. Like any victim of a sex attack, he was taken to the Rowan rape enquiry centre where he had to endure an intimate examination, have swabs taken from his private parts and be interviewed on video by specialist detectives. It was those swabs, the court heard, that helped form an overwhelming case against Lord because while she claimed there had been no sexual contact whatsoever, her full DNA profile was found on the victims penis. Arrested and questioned, Lord could provide no explanation why her DNA had been found on intimate swabs and more than two years after the incident, with repeated delays and adjournments and an aborted trial, she finally confessed her guilt at the 11th hour. Addressing specific aspects of the unusual case, Mr Murphy argued the fact that the victim asleep and vulnerable when he was attacked was an aggravating feature while in mitigation, Lord had admitted her guilt. Highlighting that he could find no similar cases, he submitted the court should take guidance from sentencing in rape cases. Factually this case involved a woman having sex with a man without his consent and there should be parity between male victims of sexual crime and female victims, Mr Murphy argued, submitting that to do otherwise would affirm the myth that men are less affected by sexual assault than women. Defence counsel Michael Ward said Lord, who suffers from a personality disorder and has poor mental health, has expressed remorse for her offending and some victim awareness. She understands the position she had put herself in and she expresses, through me today, her remorse and her apologies to the victim for the unfortunate and regrettable incident, said the barrister. In addition to the four year sentence, Judge Lynch also imposed a seven year Sexual Offences Prevention Order, warning the pervert that if she breached any of the three conditions that will be a criminal offence that could carry a jail sentence. He also ordered Lord to sign the police sex offenders register for the rest of her life. The court heard Therese King admitted her guilt but was working largely under duress as she felt the need to help the three men out. An elderly woman (73) and a man involved in an "extremely serious offence" where a pensioner (80) was assaulted and tied to a chair while the culprits made off with his shotgun and his jeep, will be sentence later this month. Therese King, of Seffin, Birr, Co Offaly, and Edward Morrissey, of Apartment 3, Old Shop Building, Emmett Street, Birr, Co Offaly, both appeared before Judge Keenan Johnson at Mullingar Circuit Court yesterday afternoon. Both had previously pleaded guilty to their involvement in the robbery of the elderly farmer of 45 and a Seguro over-and-under shotgun at his home in Mullingar. In 2020, well-known former B&B owner Therese King had denied any guilt in regard to the allegations made against her. She told the Sunday World, following her arrest last year: "I'm not guilty of anything." And she added that in her long life this had been the first time for her to have come to the attention of the gardai. "Not even a parking ticket," she said. Yesterday, Detective Garda Adrian O'Reilly, of Mullingar Garda Station, told the court today that, on September 19, 2020, at 2.06pm, Gardai were alerted to an incident where a male was tied up and robbed. "He had a cut to his ear and bruises to his arms where he was tied to the chair. He managed to free himself and call 999," said Detective Garda O'Reilly. He told the court that the injured party, Martin Dibbs, a highly respected farmer and horse breeder, arrived home from Mullingar and was putting items from the shop into his fridge when he was confronted by three masked men who "bound him to the armchair and partially gagged him". The men demanded money and, after a sweep of the house, discovered Mr Dibbs' shotgun upstairs. "They threatened him with the shotgun and with an axe that was brought to the scene and a stick covered in duct tape, which was also brought to the scene," said Det Gda O'Reilly. The assailants made off in Mr Dibbs' jeep, which had 3,000 in the glove box. While en-route to the property, Gardai observed the jeep, which was later found in a carpark where a witness gave a description of three males and a lady making off in a white Volkswagen Jetta. CCTV footage of the Jetta in Mullingar and Birr gave a registration plate that revealed Ms King, a B&B owner in Birr to be the owner of the vehicle. During several interviews with Gardai, Ms King was truthful and assisted in the investigation, the court heard. Det Gda O'Reilly said Gardai believed the men had a presence at the property the previous day and the jeep was not at the house. "So it was agreed they'd meet at Ms King's house at 8am and go back to the house," he said. "The males were dropped off and Ms King waited at the carpark for them. They later arrived in the stolen jeep and left in her car." Therese King talks to Sunday World reporter Patrick O'Connell When asked if the shotgun was recovered, Det. Gda O'Reilly explained that the group drove to Limerick the following day, where they exchanged the gun for drugs. In a victim impact statement, read out by Det Gda OReilly, Mr Dibbs said that two walnut antique armchairs, worth 2,000 were damaged during the incident. Physically, he suffered bruising to his arms and marks to his face. He was taken to hospital that day and released that evening. Psychologically, he said the loss of his firearm has left him feeling very vulnerable as he lives alone in his home. Any noise outside alerts me and Im a lot more security conscious. If I see someone coming, I wont let them in, he said. The fact the invaders came in from the field leads me to believe theyd been at my house previously, he added. Ms King, the court heard, admitted her guilt but was working largely under duress as she felt the need to help the three men out. Meanwhile, Mr Morrisseys own admissions to Gardai were what led to his prosecution, whereas two other culprits were not before the courts because no admissions were made. Mr Morrissey, taking to the stand, expressed his remorse for his part in the incident, telling the court, I was that high on drugs. I was an addict. Back then I was an out and out scumbag. I took money from my own mothers purse, I was that bad. He told the court hed spent some time in Cuain Mhuire, where he tackled his addiction and turned his life around, but said he will never forget what he did and that he saw his father when he looked at the elderly victim. I am so sorry. Every night when I close my eyes, I see that mans face. I puked outside twice, I fell on the ground. I loosened the tie and I asked him if he was okay. I took his hanky and I wiped his nose and I said this one is loose and I pulled it so hed be able to free himself, said Mr Morrissey. I got in the jeep and I said come on, hes an old man, leave him alone. All through my life, things have happened to me, but that will never leave me. I realised then that I am an addict. Since I came out of Cuain Mhuire, I have turned my whole life around. People dont realise how sick you can be when you dont have heroin. Its ten times worse than the flu. Judge Johnson, upon hearing the evidence, said this is an extremely serious offence. It is a hugely serious offence and it is quite an extraordinary case. I do accept the two persons before the court are the least culpable of the four. The other two werent prosecuted because they made no admissions in the interview, he said. It is of great concern to me that the two main culprits arent before the courts. He said he would like to take some time to consider his judgement and adjourned the sentencing to March 30. As Congress prepares a budget for the coming year, Montana tribal leaders say it needs to be mindful of treaty obligations made to the first people of the continent. Speaking to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and related agencies this week, leaders from three reservations said that Congress has failed to adequately fund basic services like law enforcement and health care. You know, we're the first people of this country, yet we're still treated like secondhand citizens, always overlooked or stepped over, always an afterthought, said Jeffrey Stiffarm, Fort Belknap Indian Community president. Stiffarm said the reservation's law enforcement budget has remained relatively unchanged since 1997 when the tribes received enough money to hire 10 officers at $10 an hour. The southern end of the 600,000-acre reservation didnt have an ambulance for several years. The basic needs, public safety, health, housing, court systems, things like that. You know, we really need you guys to really think about that, Stiffarm said. When the money that you guys sent overseas is over $40 billion, and this was a couple years ago, it's probably a lot more now, what you guys are sending over to foreign countries, compare it to what you're spending on the poorest people in this country. U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, a Republican representing Western Montana, told subcommittee colleagues it's important to recognize the interests of each individual tribe as unique, but also important that there be consensus among tribes. We also need consensus among the nations of what to do. It gets complex because it's very difficult. Its hard in Congress to get consensus, Zinke said. The point that I learned is that every nation is different. You know, it's easy to combine and say, well, the Indian issue problem. Well, each nation is a sovereign nation and they're different. Carole Lankford, speaking for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes said leaders on the 1.2 million-acre Flathead Reservation in northwest Montana have set a goal of eradicating homelessness. The COVID-19 pandemic was particularly hard for the CSKT as the tribes lost elders, the speakers of their language and the carriers of their beliefs. There was also a significant forest fire on tribal land in 2021. Like the buffalo, Lankford said, the CSKT is turning into the storm. We face an ever-growing epidemic of untreated mental illness and substance abuse. We also faced threats to our homeland, water, forest and animals from fire and other natural disasters, as well as from invasive species, Lankford said. Our tribal council has endeavored to tackle the challenges head on. Like the bison, our people have been in a relationship for thousands of years. We must turn into the storm. To that end, our tribal council has resolved to eradicate homelessness, to address and treat mental illness and dependence on drugs and alcohol, to make our forests and fields resilient to fire and other natural disasters, and to prevent the introduction of invasive species that destroy our homeland, private property and economies. Lankford said the Indian Health Service needs to be fully funded and that tribal forest firefighters deserve pay equal to what federal firefighters are paid. Assuring the Indian Health Service has enough funding to offer complex health services and not just painkillers is essential, said Floyd Azure, chairman of the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes of Fort Peck Reservation. Drug addiction is the major challenge on Fort Peck, Azure said. For the longest time it was said that IHS was the biggest drug dealer on the reservation, because it offered painkillers in place of treatment when poorly funded. But IHS now offers procedures like hip replacements and knee surgeries. The next step is drug treatment and, separate from Indian Health Service, housing, and social services, Azure said. A key factor in keeping families together and healthy is housing," Azure said. "Our reservations dire need of housing is masked by the fact that we have families living in overcrowded situations, Azure said. Thus, when someone is asked Do they have housing? they answer. Yes. I live with my grandmother. What they do not disclose is that sometimes four or five other families live in that house. And it's usually a two-, or three-bedroom home. Azure said better social services are needed to keep Indigenous children out of foster care. Indigenous children comprise 35% of Montana children in foster care, though tribal young people are only 10% of the state population. Sean Fitzgerald (22) was seen as a soft touch as he had issues with drugs and owed a small drug debt of 400, the court heard. An apprentice who had over 33,000 of cannabis in his possession has been handed a suspended prison sentence. Sean Fitzgerald (22) of Marwood Crescent, Ballymun, pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis for sale or supply on December 3, 2021, at the same address. Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard yesterday that gardai carried out a search of the property on the day in question and found 1.8kg of cannabis, with a value of just over 33,000. Fitzgerald took ownership of the drugs. The defendant has no previous convictions and has not come to garda attention since this incident. The investigating garda agreed with Padraig Dwyer SC, defending, that his client was cooperative and took responsibility for the drugs. The garda accepted that Fitzgerald told them he had only been holding the cannabis for a few hours before gardai searched the property. The garda also agreed with Mr Dwyer that his client was unlikely to re-offend in the future, and no evidence of drug dealing was found at the property. Mr Dwyer said his client only had possession of the drugs for a limited period of time. Fitzgerald was seen as a soft touch as he had issues with drugs and owed a small drug debt of 400, he said. Defence counsel said his client had led a productive life and works as an apprentice. He said Fitzgerald has taken steps to deal with his drug issues, and a letter from the Star project was handed into the court. Mr Dwyer asked Judge Martin Nolan to consider imposing a suspended prison sentence due to Fitzgerald's young age at the time of the offence, work history, and low risk of re-offending. Judge Nolan said the higher courts have indicated that there must be exceptional factors for the circuit court to impose a suspended prison sentence in cases of this type. Judge Nolan noted there was excellent mitigation in this case and said he would impose a three-year prison sentence, suspended in full. He said he took into consideration the defendant's lack of previous convictions and good work history. He accepted that the defendant is unlikely to re-offend in the future. Judge Nolan said Fitzgerald has a low level of culpability as he was holding the drugs, which he had no interest in, for another party for a short period of time. He also noted that the amount of drugs involved was serious but on the lower end of the scale. Judge Nolan also noted Fitzgerald's age at the time and said, the court recognises young people can be stupid. Serial abuser Fr James Donaghy was jailed for ten years on 23 charges in 2012 Fr Paddy McCafferty on the day he was ordained into the priesthood with his mother and father An outspoken cleric who helped jail a paedophile priest is about to publish a book about the silence of shame. Fr Paddy McCafferty was one of four victims of James Donaghy, who put the disgraced former priest behind bars. He had suffered years of rapes and violent sexual assaults at the hands of the perverted predator as a young student training for the priesthood. When Donaghy was jailed for ten years on 23 charges in 2012, Fr McCafferty hoped it would be a turning point in the trauma caused by the assaults. James Donaghy Instead, the parish priest in Corpus Christi in Ballymurphy, west Belfast, was diagnosed with PTSD and fell into a cycle of self-harming and depression. When Donaghy was jailed I expected to feel relieved. I thought youve got justice and we were vindicated when the truth came out, but I didnt get better, I got worse. I went down into a terrible place, says the 60-year-old. He was eventually prescribed antidepressants, his weight ballooned, his blood pressure soared and at one stage his health was so poor he had to say Mass from a chair. Fr Paddy reached a turning point in February 2021 and decided his life had to change, and says he wants to share his journey to recovery. Priest who was abused as a child urges other victims to break their silence I was frozen. I was encased in this weight. That was the turnaround. I told myself either I changed, or I would die, and I had too much to do. I was too young to settle for dying or taking a stroke, says Fr McCafferty. Ive now lost eight stone and Im fit as a fiddle. Alongside his physical transformation hes also coming to terms with the sexual violence Donaghy inflicted on him, and hes on a mission to encourage other people to speak out. In the next few weeks, hell put the finishing touches to a book detailing his journey from the emotional prison Donaghy put him in. He reveals hes only recently been able to cry about his experience and grieve for the young man who was so damaged. Ive got myself back and Ive been able to ask this heartbroken kid where did you go? and tell him how much I missed him, and I couldnt stop crying. In the last year I have been allowing who I used to be to grieve and mourn his losses. I didnt enjoy being him and I couldnt look at those pictures of myself as a good-looking kid because it was too painful. He had already been abused by a babysitter and a local youth by the age of six and coped with that early trauma by telling himself it didnt happen. When he went to St Peters College in Wexford in his late teens to study for the priesthood, the predator singled him out. The first assaults took place before Donaghys ordination, and when he was given a parish in Belfast, he attacked Fr Paddy every time the younger man returned to his family home in Whiteabbey. Fr Paddy McCafferty as a boy He would come into our family home as if he owned the place, sprawl on the furniture and be rude to my father and hed say, youre coming with me. I was 20 but I looked about 14 and he was a lot bigger than me. Hed arrange that Id have to spend the night and I knew what was coming and there was nothing I could do about it. I was lost, and I was horrified, and I was ashamed. The only way I could cope with it was to say it didnt happen. I went out of my body when it happened. Fr Paddy was briefly thrown out of the seminary for going on nights out with his friends in Belfast and spent a year at Donaghys mercy. Its only now that I can say rape, says the cleric. He would come into the room when I was asleep, and hed be naked and aroused and hed pull the covers down and flip me over and get stuck in and Id be suffocated, and hed be biting and licking me. The priest says the abuse stopped when he was sent to study in Maynooth. Fr Paddy told a friend Donaghy wanted to come and meet him, but he was afraid of him. I went to meet him at the gates and my friend came along. When Donaghy arrived at the gates I introduced them, and when he put his hand out my friend eyeballed him, and he got all jumpy and jittery. He later became aware that the Catholic Church knew of abuse allegations against the cleric in the late 1990s, and Fr Paddy disclosed his own experience in 2001 when he saw Donaghy with a younger boy. He later learned the predator was already abusing the boy. In 2002, he suffered a nervous breakdown. Fr Paddy McCafferty on the day he was ordained into the priesthood with his mother and father I was in B&Q buying Christmas lights and there was a little boy all dressed up for Christmas, and he was looking at the lights with wonder. I started thinking what if someone came into his life and turned off the lights. I was broken. It wasnt until 2004 that Donaghy, by then in a parish in Bangor, was removed from ministry. In 2009, police confirmed another victim had come forward and in February 2012, after a bruising trial and cross- examination, James Donaghy was convicted. When a fourth victim came forward, he pleaded guilty and was given a two-year concurrent sentence in 2013. He was released from prison in 2017 after serving five years. Fr Paddy says he was fully supported by Bishop Noel Treanor and despite his experience his faith never wavered. I knew God and I knew good priests. I knew Our Lord said there would be evil in his Church, he said. The cleric has been outspoken about his views on abortion, urging voters last year to support anti-abortion party Aontu, and voiced his support for controversial priest Fr Sean Sheehy, who delivered a sermon in Kerry about mortal sins including same sex marriage. His mission now is to encourage other people to shake off the silence that prevents healing from sexual abuse. What stops people is the shame and fear, and fear of not being believed. I have lost the shame and Im empowering people to tell their story, he says. Mr Davis (22) was blasted by a gunman on a bike while pushing his four-month-old son's buggy in a laneway A DUBLIN man has been sent for trial charged with murdering a father-of-one who was shot dead while pushing his babys pram on a city street. His sister has also been sent for trial accused of acting to impede the apprehension or prosecution of an offender in relation to the killing. Robert Redmond (34), the second person to be accused of killing Jordan Davis (22), had a book of evidence served on him at Dublin District Court today. The first man to be charged, Wayne Cooney, was jailed for life last year for the murder. Mr Redmond was sent to the Central Criminal Court alongside a co-accused, Rachel Redmond, who is alleged to have helped Cooney to evade justice after the murder. Mr Davis (22) was blasted by a gunman on a bike while pushing his four-month-old son's buggy in a laneway beside Our Lady of Immaculate National School in Darndale on May 22, 2019. Today, a state solicitor said the books of evidence were ready and had been served on both accused. The DPP consented to the cases being sent forward to the present sittings of the Central Criminal Court. Robert Redmond Judge Treasa Kelly gave each accused the formal notice that they had 14 days to provide any alibi details to the prosecution. She remanded Mr Redmond in continuing custody and granted free legal aid for his solicitor Eoin Lysaght as well as senior and junior counsel. Ms Redmond, from north Dublin but with an address at Clifdenville Road, Cliftonville Avenue, north Belfast, is charged with acting to impede the apprehension or prosecution of an offender. The charge alleges that she committed the offence at locations in Dublin between May 22 and 25, 2019, knowing or believing that Wayne Cooney had murdered Jordan Davis. Ms Redmond was on bail, her solicitor Claire Finnegan said. At the defence's request, the judge relaxed bail conditions, reducing a requirement for Ms Redmond to sign on daily at a Dublin garda station to three times per week. Gardai did not object, and the court heard she had been signing on every day with no breaches. Jordan Davis Under other bail conditions, she is to live at an address provided in Dublin, observe a curfew, have no contact with any witnesses in the case, surrender her passport and not apply for any other travel documents. The court heard there had been a significant cash lodgement and Ms Redmond indicated that she understood the significance of signing the bail bond. The judge again granted free legal aid covering the accused's solicitor and two counsel. Previously, the court heard Mr Redmond replied "yeah, f**k off," in reply to his murder charge. At an earlier bail hearing for Ms Redmond, a judge was told it was alleged she helped murderer Cooney to evade justice by booking him into a hotel after Mr Davis killing and fleeing the country with him. Mr Davis was killed instantly when he sustained three gunshot wounds including one to the head. A TEENAGE boy has been spared a custodial sentence for a "random" unprovoked attack on a man on Dublin's O'Connell Street. The 17-year-old boy pleaded guilty at the Dublin Children's Court to assault causing harm to the man, 22, during a gang attack on the night of June 11, 2021. Judge Brendan Toale noted that another person was also involved in the attack, but the boy, then 15, was the only one to be identified and charged. The man was walking with a friend at about 10.08 pm when he received four punches to the head, fell on the ground, and was set on by two people. The assault ended when a pal of the victim dragged him into the Burger King restaurant and left bruised and sore. The defendant had one prior conviction for a breach of the peace, which happened four months after the attack and resulted in him being placed on supervised probation. The defence asked the judge to note the boy had specific vulnerabilities. The Probation Service identified cognitive and impulsivity difficulties as factors placing him at high risk of reoffending. Judge Toale said the incident would have affected the victim's "confidence of doing what you should able to do, walk up and down the street without being attacked". He added that was a serious long-term consequence of the random nature of the attack. He noted a report on the teen's background, including his lifelong issues and a diagnosis of his intellectual difficulties. He also noted the boy had been in special care and needed stability, and the Probation Service assessment found he had been "exploited and encouraged in his offending behaviour". The judge placed him on a 12-month probation bond and warned the teenager this meant accepting further assistance to divert him from reoffending. He must continue residing in his current care home placement and "stay away from people getting you in trouble". When told breaking the order could result in a custodial sentence, the boy replied, "Yes, I understand". It is understood the victim and the arrested man are well known to each other. A member of the Garda Technical Bureau at the scene where a man died in Blacklion, Co Cavan. Picture: Ronan McGrade Ronan McGrade / www.ronanmcgr Members of the Garda Technical Bureau at the doorway to a flat in Blacklion, Co Cavan where a man died on Thursday. Picture: Ronan McGrade Ronan McGrade / www.ronanmcgr A man aged in his 50s was discovered with fatal head injuries after a frantic call to emergency services was made after a suspected assault on Thursday evening in Blacklion, Co Cavan. A 999 call was made and a man was arrested a number of hours later on foot of the information received in the call, a senior source said. Gardai are investigating who made the call that alerted them to the horrific scene and are following a definite line of enquiry in the case. The victim, who is originally from the west of Ireland, was found dead in a bedroom of the property. A man was still being questioned this morning at Castlerea Garda Station in Co Roscommon on suspicion of murder a location more than 80km away from the incident. A member of the Garda Technical Bureau at the scene where a man died in Blacklion, Co Cavan. Picture: Ronan McGrade Ronan McGrade / www.ronanmcgr This is a shocking incident that seems to have originated from two men who were known to each other and both struggling with their own problems, a source said last night. The man was discovered unresponsive with serious injuries at around 9.15am. It is understood the victim and the arrested man are well known to each other. Despite medical intervention by gardai, the man was later pronounced dead by paramedics. The body remains at the scene. It is currently being preserved for examination by the Garda Technical Bureau while the office of the State Pathologist has been notified and a post-mortem examination will be arranged for a later date. The man aged in his 30s is currently being detained at Castlerea Garda Station, in Roscommon, under the provisions of Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984. Gardai are appealing to any person who has information that can assist with this investigation to contact Cavan Garda Station on 049 4368800, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any garda station. Members of the Garda Technical Bureau at the doorway to a flat in Blacklion, Co Cavan where a man died on Thursday. Picture: Ronan McGrade Ronan McGrade / www.ronanmcgr A member of the Garda Technical Bureau at the scene where a man died in Blacklion, Co Cavan. Picture: Ronan McGrade Ronan McGrade / www.ronanmcgr Detectives investigating the death of a man in his 50s in Blacklion Co Cavan have now ruled out foul play. The garda press office today said while it does not comment on the specific results of post mortem examinations for operational reasons, as a result of preliminary results provided to An Garda Siochana, foul play is no longer suspected in this incident. A man in his 30s who was detained at Castlerea Garda Station has been released and is no longer suspected of any criminality in this incident. An Garda Siochana continue to investigate this matter for the preparation of a coroner inquest file only, a statement said. Earlier today detectives were continuing to search the border village. The man, originally from the west of Ireland, was discovered unresponsive with serious injuries at around 9.15am yesterday. He is thought to have been relatively new to the area. The man, who is originally from the west of Ireland, was found dead in a bedroom of the property. Despite medical intervention by gardai, the man was later pronounced dead by paramedics. Locals said the man was someone who kept himself to himself and recalled spotting him walking through the village from time to time. I didnt know him but I saw him about: he would be down getting messages for himself in the shops regularly. But he wasnt a man who mixed with anyone. Paddy Corrigan from nearby Belcoo said the death is an awful thing to happen in this area. The strike is planned in response to low fees. Barrister fees at the District Court are in the spotlight. Getty Images/iStockphoto Irish criminal barristers are planning strike action this summer in response to a crisis in funding for legal aid. The planned strike is due to the level of fees paid to barristers in the District Court which has reached crisis point, according to legal news site, JURIST, and is scheduled to go ahead on May 2. The lack of funding has made Ireland the laughing stock of the EU and leprechaun legal aid does not provide adequate funding, barrister Darren Lalor said. Mr Lalor believes the fault lies at the hands of the Government and those in charge of the purse strings. I fully support a withdrawal of services. The sooner the better. The Irish state has not taken steps to whatsoever to deal with its failure to bring Ireland into compliance with Rule of Law funding requirements, said Mr Lalor. He and another barrister, Luigi Rea, have both been campaigning on this topic. They argue that the Irish State has neglected barristers practicing at District Court level by withholding the restoration of cuts imposed during the financial emergency. Barrister fee rates have remained unchanged since 2002. The Irish Central Banks Governor, Gabriel Makhlouf, said on February 19 that financial growth in Ireland over the year was expected to be more than treble growth in the overall EU. The campaigning barristers emphasize the need for the European Union Economic Commission to observe the growth in the economy and the essential services provided by barristers. Lalor has asked the Commission to institute an inquiry into the matter and make provisions for the payment of emergency funding in Ireland. This comes after barristers in Ireland gathered at entrances to courthouses countrywide last year to voice their concerns about fees. Chair of the Council of the Bar of Ireland, Maura McNally, said at the time: In the district court, certain of those practitioners are being paid 25 - which isnt even the minimum wage. If theyre lucky they might have two of those cases a day. You cannot force self-employed people to continue in a particular area of law and thats the problem. 60% of young barristers leave criminal law within the first six years. Our politicians have to ensure that there are going to be personnel there as part of the system to run cases, to prosecute them and to defend them. They will not have people there because you have young people who want to have normal lives and to buy houses like everybody else! she exclaimed. Since Putin launched his attack on Ukraine, 80,000 innocent people have fled to Ireland in search of shelter. Migrants are helping to rejuvenate the Irish countryside according to the CEO of a sustainability organization, Rural Link. At the tail end of 2022, there were 1,890 Ukranian children enrolled in Dublin schools and 1,373 in Kerry. Both the kids and their parents are leaving a very positive impression on Irish towns, according to Seamus Boland, chief executive of the non-profit organisation. People see it as a welcome change because these are people who come with great intentions, theyre hard-working, theyre trying to get involved and mix in with the community, Mr Boland told Newstalk Breakfast. Rural Link is a national network of organisations and individuals campaigning for sustainable rural development in Ireland and Europe. They represent over 600 community groups with a combined membership of 25,000. Mr Boland travels the land regularly and says he has seen no hostility towards Irelands new arrivals. Travelling around rural Ireland, I see nothing of that kind of element of protest or disagreement with people coming into the area. It is also part of a greater growing acceptance that migrants, whether they are war refugees or others, come into this country and we can accommodate them and do so in rural Ireland, he said. Interestingly, Mr Boland thinks that Irish schools will benefit the most from increased student numbers and investment in infrastructure. Many schools will now no longer have to close. Its a great story because it effectively does rejuvenate a whole range of things in rural Ireland. It brings people into the area, it brings services into the area and, of course, it is a great story. Looking at the figures here, a lot of schools now have increased numbers so that threat -of closure- dies away. In fact, it may even put pressure to expand the buildings that schools are in. That combined with people working from home in rural areas, I think we have a really good story in terms of rural regeneration, Mr Boland said. In March last year, the European Union gave Ukrainians the right to live and work in the bloc for three years. Seamus acknowledged the issue of finding accommodation for everyone presents a real challenge but that it is one which the countryside is embracing. A charity organisation has named a well in Africa after Michael D.Higgins. Irish President Michael D Higgins speaking at his official residence in Dublin (Brian Lawless/PA) A new well is being built in Uganda which will be named after the President of Ireland. Michael D Higgins recently returned from a visit to Senegal and the announcement was made upon his return. Whilst in Africa, Mr Higgins addressed the Dakar 2 summit on food sovereignty and sustainability in Africa. The President discussed with a variety of leaders the different ways to overcome daily challenges experienced in Uganda and beyond. Now, the Wells of Life -a charity organisation whose mission is to provide rural Ugandans access to safe, clean water through the installation of sustainable wells- will build a well in his honour. The President of Wells of Life, Pete Callahan, described Higgins as a "well-liked and well-respected public figure" who was much more than just a politician. "Our Board designated the funds for a well dedicated to President Higgins in recognition of the generosity of the many people in Ireland," said Mr Callahan. Callahan added that the charity hopes the new well will help give international recognition to their work in the developing world. "In Uganda, where Wells of Life operates on the ground, one out of five children dies before their fifth birthday because of lack of access to clean, safe drinking water, and 80% of the hospital beds in rural Uganda are filled with patients suffering from water-borne diseases," Mr Callahan said. The charity has previously dedicated wells to other well-known Irish figures, including boxer Katie Taylor, Nobel Peace Prize winner John Hume, and activist Vicky Phelan. Last year, the charity dedicated a well to the victims of the Creeslough service station tragedy in County Donegal. Wells of Life was founded in 2008 by Nick Jordan, an Irish schoolteacher who started the organization by raising funds to build five schools in Uganda. Jordan recognized that while education was fundamental in rural Uganda, clean water access was of critical importance, prompting the organization to begin to drill wells all over the country. It has grown astronomically over the past 15 years and drilled its 1,000th well at the end of 2022, achieving the milestone of bringing clean water to one million people. Callahan said the charity will likely expand beyond Uganda in the future but added that, for now, its work in the country is far from done. "Rather than scatter wells at random, we concentrate on a particular district in Uganda, aiming to meet the needs to achieve game-changing impact, while we simultaneously start our work in another district, he said. Nearly 90% of Ugandans live in rural communities, and two-thirds of these communities lack safe access to clean water. Water-borne diseases and infant mortality are realities for many Ugandans. They used to have loud arguments It is believed Amelie's grandson was after her funds. A 37-year-old factory worker in Germany has decapitated his grandmother with an axe at the weekend. Police in Hamburg arrested the crazed chemical company employee named Artur B. - on Monday morning, after he rang cops himself to say he had butchered his own centenarian granny who was a retired farm worker. We used to hear them having loud arguments. The grandson regularly came to his grandmother's apartment, one neighbour told BILD newspaper. It is understood an axe was used in the gruesome murder of Amalie G. Cops are yet to determine a motive for the horrifying murder but a relative told BILD that chemical worker Artur was considered 'the black sheep of the family'. It is believed the grandson was aware his granny had saved up a small fortune and it is said the pair had rowed often about money. We actually had good contact before her death. Amalie told me that her grandson had already broken into the apartment through the balcony and wanted to steal her money, the neighbour added. Authorities provided some further details to the media about the horrifying event. The 37 year old grandson. According to the preliminary autopsy result, it can be assumed that a neck cut caused by a sharp weapon was the cause of death. The suspected means of the crime is an axe found at the crime scene, senior prosecutor Liddy Oechtering said. Artur appears to have dealt the first blow from behind to his grandmother. After his arrest, Chief Public Prosecutor Oechtering said: 'The accused did not give any further information to the magistrate.' The public prosecutor said that Artur B. had no criminal record. According to the Hamburger Abendblatt daily newspaper, the man was only known to the police for minor crimes and none of these were acts of violence. Decapitations are considered a rare form of murder, certainly in Ireland, where there have been very few cases. One of the murders in the recent Drogheda gangland feud involved a decapitation but it is normally the type of gruesome method used by terrorists such as Al Qaida or ISIS. Mohammed Emwazi aka Jihadi John was one purveyor of decapitations. The Londoner headed off to fight for ISIS back in 2012 and was known to have carried out at least six beheadings on camera. Emwazi met a grisly end himself in 2015 when he was taken out by a US drone strike. What in Gods name has happened to the Republican Party. Large groups of it now, in the words of the Apostle Paul (2nd Corinthians 11:19), suffer fools gladly on a regular basis. Clearly, most Republicans are not fools. But many have left the party, offended by the MAGA emphasis on hate, lies, racism and anti-democratic policies. Ordinary decent Republicans still within the party are too often complicit in this awfulness by staying silent for fear of the consequences. Marc Racicot, Montanas respected former attorney general, governor and Republican National Committee chair, was recently kicked out of the state Republican Party for speaking out against nonsense and hate and in favor of democracy. We saw what happened to Liz Cheney in Wyoming for supporting truth and democracy. Authoritarian political parties cannot abide facts, truth or differing opinions that diverge from the party line. Life experience, general knowledge and cursory education enable most people to discriminate differences of opinion, tethered to reality, from foolishness. But this distinction is increasingly a problem for many Republicans. Democrats are not immune either, but their promoting and tolerating foolishness is not at epidemic levels as it is among Republicans. Much of the foolishness is not the result of ignorance. Some is cynical, political calculus. In other instances, it may be some sort of cerebral blind spot. A competent dentist may still be a member of the Flat Earth Society, a collection of delusional people. Montanas U.S. Rep. Matt Rosendale surely knew that Donald Trump had clearly lost the 2020 election when he voted against Joe Bidens certification. He decided to play the fool for political reasons. Well, lets hope so, anyway. Examples of the foolishness supported by many elected Republicans and the MAGA base include: The 2016 presidential election was rigged, there is no man-made climate change, the Holocaust is fake, the prevalence of gun ownership in the United States is in no way related to our level of gun violence, trickle-down economics is a proven theory, vaccines do not prevent disease and are a government plot, Fox News is committed to the truth, January 6th was not an attempt to overthrow a duly elected government, and Donald Trump is an honorable, truthful, law-abiding individual. Believers in this stuff, if not themselves fools or supporting fools gladly, are distressingly untethered from reality. But it is the foolishness, regardless whom you consider a fool, that is the problem and becoming ever dangerous. Together with Republican extremism, it is rendering our political and civic discourse difficult. The Missouri attorney general is trying to protect vaccine misinformation as free speech, which would endanger public safety and kill people. The Texas Board of Education has at least asked for an alternative to the proposal to call slavery involuntary relocation in its school curriculum. It is all mind-boggling. And how about elected Republicans? There were 147 Republicans who voted against certifying Joe Bidens election. Are they fools or just shameless political hacks? You pick the characterization. There are over 165 Republican election deniers in the current 118th U.S. Congress. These are the Apostle Pauls fools, representing you and protecting your democracy. Say your prayers at night. The election deniers, of course, are beyond cynical and foolish. They essentially declare that they will not accept an election that has been proven to be one of the most secure in our history. In other words, they do not believe in free and fair elections. Second, they will not accept an election which over 60 court cases have determined is without consequential blemish. This means they do not believe in the rule of law, either. If you do not believe in free and fair elections and the rule of law, you do not support the most fundamental tenets of American democracy. That is where we are: a political party that largely supports dangerous foolishness and no longer supports American democracy. Let us protect the nation from them until some responsible conservative party, like the Phoenix, rises from the ashes to participate in sensibly governing the country. Unfortunately, the mother passed away due to severe malnutrition as her body could no longer absorb nutrients. The first recorded case of a 'stone baby' was 440 years ago. The foetus had been mummified. An African lady (50) living in New York carried a calcified foetus, also known as a stone baby, compressed inside her intestines for almost a decade before it killed her. The sad tale emerged Stateside this week after scans were released showing the deceased woman passed away due to the rare condition, caused by a miscarriage nine years previously. 'Unfortunately, the mother passed away due to severe malnutrition as her body could no longer absorb nutrients, said a doctor, Waseem Sous, involved in the case. The story was revealed in a medical report in the BMC Womens Health journal this week. The first recorded case of a 'stone baby' was 440 years ago. Stone babies are an extremely rare occurrence, having been medically recorded fewer than 300 times. When a baby dies during pregnancy, it is normal for the foetus to be released from the body but in certain circumstances, it can remain lodged inside, causing a mummification process to occur. Calcification- a build-up of salts occurs which prevents the mother from becoming infected. Stone babies are usually the result of an ectopic pregnancy, where the foetus develops outside the womb. In this instance, the woman died 14 months after arriving in the U.S after reportedly refusing treatment, saying she believed her condition was due to a spell that had been cast on her. Doctors said she died from severe malnutrition, or starvation brought on by the blockage. Dr Waseem Sous, the internal medicine expert at SUNY Upstate Medical University who reported the case, said the patient 'declined intervention due to fear of surgery and elected for symptom monitoring.' 'Unfortunately, she passed away due to severe malnutrition in the context of recurrent bowel obstruction due to the lithopedion and continued fear of seeking medical care,' he added. In cases such as this, death eventually is caused by tissue degradation leading to cardiac arrest or cardiac arrhythmia, an irregular heartbeat. Other causes include an infection, brought on by a weakened immune system. The condition has only been recorded 290 times, with the first dating back to France in 1582. It is thought there are many cases where a woman can have a calcified foetus remain inside their body for decades with no side affects whatsoever, leading to a lack of reporting around the issue. An 82-year-old woman in Colombia recently attended her GP reporting a stomach bug but scans subsequently showed she was carrying a stone baby for decades. Back in 2015, a 90-year-old woman in Chile was found to have a calcified foetus still outside her womb. The pensioner had attended a hospital in San Antonio after taking a fall. X-rays showed she was carrying a 2kg foetus which could not be removed due to the patients age. The citys authorities are to coordinate efforts to avoid a repeat of last years spectacle when the extreme nationalist group NSC-131 hung a banner that read Keep Boston Irish along the parade route. South Boston is preparing an enhanced security plan to prevent neo-Nazis from ruining this years St Patricks Day parade. The citys authorities are to coordinate efforts to avoid a repeat of last years spectacle when the extreme nationalist group NSC-131 hung a banner that read Keep Boston Irish along the parade route. Along with their banner, the white supremacists wore paraphernalia related to the Nationalist Social Club, which is listed as a neo-Nazi organisation by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). They also wore masks with the number 131 and displayed a version of the Celtic cross thats been used by white supremacists. The presence of the masked members at the parade was later widely condemned by both parade organisers and elected officials who insisted the group was "not welcome" and that the display was "disgusting." Politicians wrote to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) ahead of this years parade on Sunday, March 20, which is expected to attract as many as one million people. The five Boston politicians were planning to meet with MBTA Chief Kenneth Green, to collaborate on a security plan for our public transit system to ensure a safe and inclusive event for all. The letter reads: In 2022, MBTA passengers and parade watchers had the unfortunate experience of enduring the presence of the Nationalist Social Club (NSC-131), a neo-Nazi group with chapters based in the New England region. We know that this groups members travelled to into the capital city on public transit via our MBTA and Commuter Rail system. On Parade Day, they defaced public property...and in the city with a hateful propaganda. This along with the excessive transport and consumption of alcohol by underage individuals cannot be tolerated. The letter was signed by Congressman Stephen Lynch, State Senator Nick Collins, State Representative David BIele, City Council President Edward Flynn, and City Councillor At-Large Michael F Flaherty who shared the letter on Twitter. State Senator Collins told a news conference on the day the group issued their letter to the MBTA: We want to make sure that those who are coming in feel safe, and that those who want to come in and cause (trouble) know that that wont be tolerated. "We're trying to be proactive," Collins added. "Those who want to use public property and deface public property, they'll be held accountable." Transit Police Superintendent Richard Sullivan said they were committed to ensuring all individuals coming into the St Patrick's Day Parade via the MBTA feel safe and are free from any form of intimidation and harassment. Sullivan added: "The Transit Police department will have an enhanced security plan surrounding this family-oriented event honouring tradition and service." Collins separately told WGBH: Folks are concerned about the curtailing of free speech and the First Amendment. We're not talking about that. They defaced public property, and that's against the law. So we're sending the message out that if you break the law, you'll be held accountable. After the group's letter was issued, City Council President Flynn told The Boston Globe: "This is a city that respects people of colour and our immigrant roots. We are an inclusive city, and we treat everyone with respect and dignity. Any type of hate speech or hate crimes will not be tolerated." A city spokesperson also told the Globe that Mayor Michelle Wus office is working with the Boston Police Department to ensure the St. Patricks Day parade is a safe and welcoming event for all residents and visitors. According to the Anti-Defamation League, the NSC-131 is a neo-Nazi group with small chapters based in the New England region. The NSC-131 members see themselves as soldiers at war, the League reports on its website, who seek to form an underground network of white men who are willing to fight against their perceived enemies through localized direct actions. After last years stunt the neo-Nazi group posted a video online that showed their activities at the parade for the day, including handing out fliers that read, "if you love your heritage and your city, join us!" and "above all, we stand for the security and prosperity of white New Englanders. The song featured in the neo-Nazi group's video was "The Boys are Back" by Irish American rock band Dropkick Murphys, who later took to Twitter to denounce the group. "F----- Losers. Stop using our song for your little dress up party video. We will SMASH you, they stormed. "I remember a producer from BBC, he went absolutely ballistic what was I doing speaking a foreign language on the great BBC? Eddie said. Former F1 boss, Eddie Jordan, has described the moment he told the BBC to get stuffed after a TV producer took umbrage to a conversation he was having with Michael Fassbender in Irish. Jordan claimed the BBC executive went absolutely ballistic on the pit lane during a chat he was having with the Hollywood heart throb and famous Kerryman. "I remember a producer from BBC, he went absolutely ballistic what was I doing speaking a foreign language on the great BBC? Eddie said. The Dubliner described the revelation while speaking to former McLaren driver David Coulthard on the pair's new podcast, Formula for Success. Jordan, a former driver who founded Jordan Grand Prix in 1991, worked as an F1 analyst for the BBC from 2009 to 2015. As he and Coulthard discussed their encounters with Formula One celebs, Jordan remembered a meeting in Canada with fellow Irish speaker, Fassbender, who was attending a race with some other Hollywood actors. Michael, with such a strong German name, was actually brought up and educated in Kerry in Ireland and hes a fluent Irish speaker, Eddie said. "I remember going on the pit walk and I started to speak as Gaeilge in other words I was speaking Irish to Michael as I normally would have done. "I remember the producer from BBC, he went absolutely ballistic what was I doing speaking a foreign language on the great BBC?! "I said, 'Oh, get stuffed' or whatever I said to him, I forget. Michael Fassbender on the racetrack. Photo: Getty DeFodi Images via Getty Images "But anyway, I enjoyed it. Fassbender tells this story to everybody because it was kind of unique that someone should just broach an Irish language story. "As a result, I keep in touch with him all the time, he needs to know who's doing what you can't imagine how involved he is in Formula One," Eddie added. Fassbender recently starred in a documentary about his duel life as an actor and race-car driver. Real-time footage in his new YouTube series - Michael Fassbender: Road to Le Mans shows a dramatic crash involving the actor when a brush with another car smashes his front bonnet and his bumper to the dismay of his team. At the beginning of the first episode, it shows the Kerryman looking every inch the film star in dark sunglasses as he pulls up in his Porsche to the Killer in Los Angeles. He shot the movie at the start of the year in his downtime from his new career as a driver for Porsche. American-born Abrams said Ireland is on fire this year. Eve Hewson and Charlie Hunnam attend Oscar Wilde Awards 2023 at Bad Robot on March 09, 2023 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for US-Ireland Alliance) Getty Images for US-Ireland Alli Jessie Buckley speaks onstage during Oscar Wilde Awards 2023 at Bad Robot on March 09, 2023 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for US-Ireland Alliance) Getty Images for US-Ireland Alli Catherine Martin, Colm Bairead, Catherine Clinch and Cleona Ni Chrualaoi attend Oscar Wilde Awards 2023 at Bad Robot on March 09, 2023 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for US-Ireland Alliance) Getty Images for US-Ireland Alli Bono and Ali Hewson attend Oscar Wilde Awards 2023 at Bad Robot on March 09, 2023 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for US-Ireland Alliance) Getty Images for US-Ireland Alli Charlie Hunnam, J.J. Abrams, Sarah Polley, Eve Hewson, Kerry Condon, Rhea Seehorn and Jessie Buckley attend Oscar Wilde Awards 2023 at Bad Robot on March 09, 2023 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for US-Ireland Alliance) Getty Images for US-Ireland Alli MANY of Irelands Oscar hopefuls gathered at a special Irish-themed party in Los Angeles last night as fever pitch grows in the countdown to Sundays 95th Academy Awards. But man-of-the-moment Paul Mescal was a no show at the Oscar Wilde event. The Maynooth actor, who is nominated in the Best Actor category for Aftersun, had attended a similar Vanity Fair red-carpet event with his two siblings on Wednesday night but another commitment last night led him to withdrawing. Once again the function organised by the US-Ireland Alliance was held at the headquarters of production company Bad Robot in the seaside enclave of Santa Monica. It is owned by film power couple JJ Abrams, the heavyweight director who brought Star Wars: The Force Awakens to Ireland, and his producer wife Katie McGrath. American-born Abrams said Ireland is on fire this year. The fun is celebrating people of Irish descent and from Ireland here, thats always fun and to have so many nominees makes it that much more fun as its nice to see all that work recognised, he said on the green carpet. He also confirmed he will be returning to Ireland shortly to make a new series about U2. The bands frontman Bono and his wife Ali Hewson were also there last night to support their daughter Eve who was honoured at the bash. Bono and Ali Hewson attend Oscar Wilde Awards 2023 at Bad Robot on March 09, 2023 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for US-Ireland Alliance) Getty Images for US-Ireland Alli I cannot wait to get back to shoot about the band U2 in Ireland, he told us. I cant talk too much about it, its for Netflix, its a series. This years Oscar Wilde honourees were Academy Awards nominee Kerry Condon (Banshees of Inisherin), Eve Hewson (recently seen in TVs Bad Sisters) and Jessie Buckley (Wilde Rose). Thurles native Condon, who is nominated as Best Actress and won in the same category at the recent BATA awards, initially donned the green carpet and spoke to a couple of TV crews before making her way inside for the main event. Kerry woman Buckley wore an all-white ensemble which highlighted her fiery red hair. Bonos daughter Eve Hewson was also ushered past most of the waiting press. But she did say manage to say a few words. Im so so proud I could sing the national anthem, she beamed. Jessie Buckley speaks onstage during Oscar Wilde Awards 2023 at Bad Robot on March 09, 2023 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for US-Ireland Alliance) Getty Images for US-Ireland Alli In her acceptance speech afterwards as Wild Card honouree she poked fun at her dad "for building such a privileged life for me and my siblings that we are almost impossible to like. She joked: Thank God were not tall, or we would all be models and everyone would really, really f**king hate us. Also present were the main cast members and also the writers and makers of the Northern Ireland set An Irish Goodbye, which is nominated in the Best Short Film category. Among those at the 17th annual Oscar Wilde bash were actors Seamus OHara and James Martin, who play two estranged brothers battling to either sell or hang on to their farm after the death of their mother. Its director Ross White noted: We shot all the place, we shot in Co Derry, we shot in Co Down and we shot a little bit in Antrim as well, so three locations. Dubliner Richie Baneham who is nominated in the Best Visual Effects category for his work in Avatar: The Way Of The Water movie, also attended. He previously won an Oscar for his work in the first Avatar flick. Eve Hewson and Charlie Hunnam attend Oscar Wilde Awards 2023 at Bad Robot on March 09, 2023 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for US-Ireland Alliance) Getty Images for US-Ireland Alli I think it (the new one) is just as good, its an ensemble cast so it presents a different problem for us, which is a much broader spectrum of visual effects- as far characters are concerned that needed to be dealt with, but it was a healthy and heart undertaking but well enjoyed, he said. Much of the cast and makers of An Cailin Ciuin were also delighted to go to the event, including young star Caitriona Clinse (Catherine Clinch) as well as Carrie Crowley and Andrew Bennett. Its a story about family really and the unfortunate reality that your biological family isnt necessarily where you always find your happiness or your certainly about yourself or who you can be, said its Dublin-born director Colm Bairead. Catherine Martin, Colm Bairead, Catherine Clinch and Cleona Ni Chrualaoi attend Oscar Wilde Awards 2023 at Bad Robot on March 09, 2023 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for US-Ireland Alliance) Getty Images for US-Ireland Alli He admits its a thrill to be nominated in the Best Foreign Language category. We are the first Irish language feature film ever to be nominated yeah, so we are very proud of that as Irish speakers ourselves and as people who have been making various different programmes and documentaries for television in Irish over the years, it means a great deal to us, he stressed. The Coronas played at the $2500 a ticket party, with other attendees including Sarah Bolger, Jason Patrick, Jared Harris, Samantha Mumba, Kevin Ryan, Eoin Macken, Roma Downey, Fig OReilly, Ram Charan, Arts Minister Catherine Martin and US Ireland Alliance boss Trina Vargo. The Oscars take place on Sunday night, with Ireland having a record 14 nominations. The countdown is on! The specialist ship that will deliver the new Scott Base research station to Antarctica has been booked for January 2027 exactly 70 years after the original base opened in 1957. Antarctica New Zealand and Leighs Construction Ltd are joining forces with global logistics companies BigLift Shipping and Mammoet to transport New Zealands new home 3720km across the Southern Ocean to the ice. Antarctica New Zealand Project Director for the Scott Base Redevelopment Jon Ager says the new base will safeguard New Zealands world-leading scientific research programme and presence in Antarctica for another +50 years. Were delighted to be working with Leighs Construction to harness the knowledge and expertise of BigLift Shipping and Mammoet. These companies have a wealth of experience on complex projects in challenging environments, says Jon. BigLift Shipping will sail the prefabricated base from PrimePort Timaru, New Zealand to Pram Point, Ross Island on the back of an MC-Class Vessel in four years time. Construction will begin at PrimePort Timaru mid-2023, allowing three and a half years to build, test and commission the new base before its journey south. The landmark voyage will echo New Zealands Antarctic history: the original Scott Base consisted of prefabricated buildings delivered on the HMNZS Endeavour when the research station was established. State-of-the-art heavy module carrier The MC-Class Vessel is an ice-strengthened heavy module carrier, specifically designed to operate in remote and inaccessible areas, like Antarctica. BigLift Shipping Commercial and Business Development Manager Mark van den Berg says BigLift Shipping is pleased to be contracted for the ocean transportation of the modules for the new Scott Base. We look forward to working with all partners of the Scott Base Redevelopment to make this interesting and challenging project a success, says Mark. The 20,675mt,173m vessel will bypass the usual offload point at the United States McMurdo Station and sail directly to Pram Point, where Scott Base is situated its the first time that a ship of this size will moor at New Zealands only Antarctic station. Mammoets self-propelled modular transporters (SPMTs) will move the new base onto the ship in Timaru and off again in Antarctica. The three interconnected buildings will be separated into eight modules (each about 800 metric tonnes), sealed, and welded onto the vessel for the journey. Mammoet Global Segment Lead of Transport and Logistics Reinder de Haan says the installation method is as robust as possible, with the highest priority given to safety and operational redundancy. The versatile SPMTs have tremendous power, yet can be manoeuvred with millimetre precision so that each section of the new station will be perfectly aligned when we set it down, says Reinder. Supply mission complete The first chartered vessel for the project, BigLifts Happy Delta, arrived in McMurdo Sound last month to deliver around 870,000kg of cargo for the redevelopment. Delivery of heavy plant and machinery is a major milestone for the project. After years of design and planning, it is great to be moving into the most exciting phase of the project for Leighs Construction the physical works, says Leighs Construction Project Director Iain Miller. Infrastructure, machinery and equipment were offloaded at McMurdo Station with the support of the United States Antarctic Program and the New Zealand Defence Force. A comprehensive environmental monitoring programme is underway to ensure any impacts to the environment are minimised through the redevelopment. Bay of Plenty Do you have an eye for detail and want to learn a new skill?Then this role could be for you?! Working in a production environment... View or Apply on GoodWork.co.nz Renae Bleth has joined North Dakota State University Extension as an administrative assistant in Morton County. In this role, she will support the NDSU Extension agents in Morton County and assist with 4-H youth development, family and community wellness programs, the pesticide program and the parent and family resource center. I am very excited to join the NDSU Extension team, Bleth said. I cannot wait to get to know everyone. Bleth earned an associates degree in criminal justice and applied science from Bismarck State College. She earned a Peace Officer License from North Dakota Lake Region Peace Officer Academy in Devils Lake. Before coming to NDSU Extension, Bleth worked for the Morton County Sheriff Department for 20 years. Bleth and her family enjoy camping, fishing and spending time with family and friends. Bleth and her family also own and operate a wedding decorating and catering business. She can be reached at 701-667-3340 or renae.bleth@ndsu.edu. 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. The Bismarck-Mandan Metropolitan Planning Organization has unveiled a study on upgrades to Mandan's Sunset Drive, a major north-south corridor on the west side of the city. The study is focused on potential traffic and safety improvements on Sunset Drive from Division Street to 38th Street. Officials held a public meeting on it Thursday night. The corridor has been divided into three segments: the interchange, the north segment that spans from Old Red Trail to 31st Street Northwest, and the south segment from Division Street to Boundary Street. The North Dakota Department of Transportation is conducting a feasibility study on changing the interchange independent from the Bismarck-Mandan MPO and the Sunset Drive study. The DOT study report is expected this spring and construction is likely to commence in 2026, according to Sunset Drive Project Manager Adam McGill. MPO officials are weighing three road concepts on the north segment of Sunset and changes to the intersection on 27th Street. All three concepts include three lanes with sidewalks on each side of the road, but street parking could be added on one or both sides of the street. The addition of street parking might impact the size of boulevards, a buffer zone between the road and sidewalk. Most of the businesses on the north segment already have parking lots. The study also proposes changing the four-way stop intersection on 27th to a stoplight intersection or roundabout. The intersection might not be able to meet traffic needs in coming years if changes are not made, according to McGill. The mostly residential south segment of Sunset Drive also has three concepts. All of them feature three lanes, stamped or colored concrete crosswalks, and rectangular rapid flashing beacons at 14th Street and south of the 18th Street intersection. Parking lanes on one or both sides could be added. Construction costs for the north segment are expected in the range of $5 million to $7 million, while the south segment costs fall between $1.3 million and $1.4 million, according to McGill. Funding for the project could come from special assessments, citywide sales taxes, property taxes or a combination, according to Mandan City Planner Andrew Stromme. The study along with resident feedback and preferences will be presented to the Mandan City Commission in coming weeks. Commissioners will choose the concept they believe best serves the community. McGill estimates that construction on the north segment could commence in five to 10 years; construction on the south segment is more than 10 years away. Construction will be decided by when the streets are due for upgrades. Information on the project and ranking preferences on the concepts is at https://bit.ly/3LhATXJ. Mineral owners went to the North Dakota Capitol wanting greater transparency and accountability from oil companies. State lawmakers instead offered them a middle man. Western North Dakota landowners who lease their mineral rights to oil producers have long feuded with the powerful industry over access to information and disputed fees. Last month, a Senate committee shot down legislation promoted by royalty owners but advanced several industry-backed proposals that would establish an ombudsman program to help sort out payment issues between royalty owners and oil companies. The program will next be considered by the House of Representatives after passing the Senate. Oil lobbyists say an independent intermediary could help improve relations between royalty owners and companies by bridging gaps in communication. Advocates for royalty owners argue the proposed ombudsman program would likely fall under the sway of the oil industry. Senators actions on the royalty-related bills reveal the significant "power and influence that the oil industry has in the Legislature, said royalty owner Shane Leverenz. Battle for information Leverenz and Bob Skarphol, a former Republican lawmaker from Tioga, supported an original version of Senate Bill 2374, which would have compelled oil and gas companies to provide royalty owners with payment details in electronic format and with contact information. The bipartisan bill sponsored by Sen. Merrill Piepkorn, D-Fargo, also would have established penalties for firms that withhold payment records or make late royalty payments. The legislation aimed to put some teeth into the states existing laws so companies couldnt continue ignoring royalty owners concerns, Leverenz said. A North Dakota native who now lives in Texas, Leverenz showed the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee several examples of email conversations in which oil companies brushed off his requests for information on how royalty checks were calculated. Royalty owners often cant find a phone number or email address for the firm leasing their mineral rights, he said. State law requires oil and gas producers to pay interest on late royalties regardless of whether the mineral owner requests it, but Leverenz said trying to get companies to pony up on late fees is like talking to a black hole in almost every case. Hiring an attorney to sue the deep-pocketed companies over payment disputes would be expensive and burdensome, Leverenz said. Ron Ness, president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council, opposed the bill, noting companies generally do a good job of providing information and timely payments to royalty owners. Total gross private royalties paid in 2021 were $4.1 billion. This is a big task, and our companies do it quite well, Ness said. With the sheer number of parties involved, however, there are bound to be disputes. Kate Black, vice president of Bismarck-based Inland Oil and Gas, said an ombudsman program would resolve most of the issues between companies and royalty owners. She added that North Dakota royalty owners have much greater access to payment-related data than their counterparts in Texas and New Mexico. The all-Republican Senate committee overhauled the bill, deleting all of its original contents and installing language that would set up an ombudsman program. The amended legislation passed the Senate nearly unanimously. Committee Chairman Dale Patten, R-Watford City, said the original bill would have imposed overly harsh penalties and time restraints on oil companies. Patten said hes hopeful the proposed ombudsman program would address most of royalty owners complaints. Skarphol, who founded the Williston Basin Royalty Owners Association, said the committees rewrite of the bill suggests they are unwilling to even discuss anything that doesnt have the approval of the (North Dakota) Petroleum Council. He said the oil lobby prefers the ombudsman program because it can exert influence over who serves in the intermediary role. Leverenz said its disappointing that lawmakers so often side with the oil industry over the interests of constituents. When constituents work with a legislator to introduce a bill, and then a multibillion-dollar industry can basically remove every single word in the bill and replace it with whatever they want (by) working behind the scenes, that should ring some alarm bells, he said. At the heart of the issue between royalty owners and the industry is a disagreement over whether companies should be able to take deductions from owners' royalty checks to cover post-production costs, like removing impurities from oil and transporting it. Though the disputed deductions were not mentioned in any version of Senate Bill 2374, Skarphol said the legislative push for transparency is driven by royalty owners' lack of access to information about the calculation of post-production costs. Lawmakers rejected a proposal in 2021 that would have prohibited companies from deducting post-production costs in most cases and instead approved a legislative study of the issue. Patten said its challenging to deal with post-production costs through the legislative process since several disputes on the issue are still playing out in court. Ness said the Legislature shouldn't wade into those waters while litigation continues. RahulNagaraj Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2021 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,318 Thanked: 13,444 Times Lufthansa to introduce private suite with double beds in its new first-class cabin Lufthansa Allegris is said to be part of the German carrier's massive modernisation efforts funded by a $2.67 billion investment. The most premium offering on the flight will be its First Class Suite Plus. This will provide customers with a private room, a wardrobe, a full-width TV screen and two seats with a table which can be converted to a double bed. The Allegris First Class will be introduced in 2024 on its new Airbus A350s. Lufthansa will then implement the First Class Suite Plus onto 80 new aircraft, including the Boeing 787-9s and 777-9s. The carrier will also retrofit the first-class cabin onto some of its existing aircraft, like the Boeing 747-8. Apart from revamping the First Class cabins, Lufthansa will also be extending the updates to its Business and Premium Economy passengers, offering extra legroom and new amenities. Economy cabins, however, are said to remain unchanged. While opulent first-class cabins are common among Gulf airlines like Etihad and Emirates, it is rare for European and American carriers to offer such amenities. Source: Link to Team-BHP news Lufthansa is all set to offer a new luxurious experience to its passengers on long-haul flights, as part of what it calls "Lufthansa Allegris". As part of the new experience, the most expensive tickets in first class will offer customers a completely enclosed private room with a double bed.Lufthansa Allegris is said to be part of the German carrier's massive modernisation efforts funded by a $2.67 billion investment. The most premium offering on the flight will be its First Class Suite Plus. This will provide customers with a private room, a wardrobe, a full-width TV screen and two seats with a table which can be converted to a double bed.The Allegris First Class will be introduced in 2024 on its new Airbus A350s. Lufthansa will then implement the First Class Suite Plus onto 80 new aircraft, including the Boeing 787-9s and 777-9s. The carrier will also retrofit the first-class cabin onto some of its existing aircraft, like the Boeing 747-8.Apart from revamping the First Class cabins, Lufthansa will also be extending the updates to its Business and Premium Economy passengers, offering extra legroom and new amenities. Economy cabins, however, are said to remain unchanged.While opulent first-class cabins are common among Gulf airlines like Etihad and Emirates, it is rare for European and American carriers to offer such amenities.Source: Jalopnik TechSpot is about to celebrate its 25th anniversary. TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust Cutting corners: People expect security when trusting the government with their tax information. Recently, however, a security software developer has accused Canada's government of dodging that responsibility with lackluster cybersecurity and suspicious terms of service alterations. The changes come after recent hacks impacted Canada's tax agency. The Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA), which handles the country's taxes, has new terms and conditions absolving it of any liability if its online services suffer a data breach. The change affects the entire country because all Canadian citizens and businesses must handle their taxes through the CRA, thus trusting their personal information with the agency. Because it holds the personal information of virtually every Canadian taxpayer, the CRA could be an extremely attractive target for identity thieves or other hackers. The updated terms of service say the CRA isn't responsible for the damages users suffer if someone hacks the agency's My Account portal. The CRA claims it has done everything it could to prevent cyberattacks but cannot guarantee foolproof protection. Such contracts might be acceptable if the agency had the best possible, or at least a very good, cybersecurity apparatus. Unfortunately, Tanya Janca, founder and CEO of security software developer We Hack Purple, claims the CRA neglects many basic security precautions. I must accept this risk because CRA did "all reasonable steps to ensure the security of this Web site". No you did not! You did not use any of the recommended security headers and you did not use secure configurations on your cookies! Those are secure coding BASICS! pic.twitter.com/uJCMXcVpbC --- Tanya Janca (@shehackspurple) February 20, 2023 Janca's review of HTTP responses in the My Account portal's login page suggests the site's cookies lack any protection and that it doesn't use all the recommended security headers. The ToS also forbids users from scraping the site's code, but Janca doesn't think that will stop anyone determined to penetrate the service. The ToS changes could be in response to a rash of security-related incidents that have impacted the agency over the last few years. During the summer of 2020, thousands of CRA accounts fell victim to credential stuffing attacks, in which hackers use email addresses, usernames, and passwords gained from prior breaches to steal other accounts that use the same credentials. In 2021, security concerns led the CRA to lock 800,000 taxpayers out of their accounts. One victim filed a class action lawsuit against the government last August. The victim's account was stolen, and their direct deposit information had been changed as part of a COVID-19 financial assistance scheme. So far, the CRA hasn't responded to Janca's information requests. She plans to give a presentation on the issue at the Privacy & Access Council of Canada's Privacy & Data Governance Congress on March 10. What just happened? Messaging platforms WhatsApp and Signal have said they would refuse to weaken their encryption in the UK and will walk away from the country if forced to do so. The ultimatums come as the UK government prepares to discuss the Online Safety Bill, which seeks to prohibit end-to-end encryption in the country. WhatsApp chief Will Cathcart made the statement during a visit to the UK to discuss internet regulations with legislators. "It's a remarkable thing to think about. There isn't a way to change it in just one part of the world. Some countries have chosen to block it: that's the reality of shipping a secure product. We've recently been blocked in Iran, for example. But we've never seen a liberal democracy do that," said Cathcart, as per The Guardian. "The reality is, our users all around the world want security. Ninety-eight percent of our users are outside the UK. They do not want us to lower the security of the product, and just as a straightforward matter, it would be an odd choice for us to choose to lower the security of the product in a way that would affect those 98% of users." It's not just WhatsApp that is threatening to leave the UK if the Online Safety Bill forces companies to weaken encryption. Meredith Whittaker, the president of Signal, last month said the company "would absolutely 100 percent walk rather than ever undermine the trust that people place in us to provide a truly private means of communication." While the bill doesn't specifically mention weakening encryption, it could lead to that. It requires companies to use "accredited technology" to scan users' messages for child sexual abuse material or CSAM, something that many believe would be impossible without removing end-to-end encryption. If WhatsApp refused to comply with the bill, its parent company Meta could face fines of up to 4% of its annual turnover. Meta recorded revenue of $116 billion last year. Signal would face the same punishment for not complying. The situation is reminiscent of Apple's plans to scan all iPhones and iCloud accounts in the US for CSAM in 2021. That caused so much criticism and controversy that Apple decided to scrap the idea a year later. Cathcart says one possible solution would be for the bill to explicitly state that end-to-end encryption should not be taken away - something found in similar legislation outside of the UK. "There can be more procedural safeguards so that this can't just happen independently as a decision," Cathcart said. He also wants private messaging excluded entirely from the Online Safety Bill. Back in October, OnlyFans said it wanted to move away from its image as a paid-for porn site, likely the result of the Online Safety Bill's requirement for tech companies to protect their users from "legal but harmful" content. OnlyFans will have been happy when that section of the bill was removed in November. The Online Safety Bill is expected to return to parliament this summer. TechSpot is about to celebrate its 25th anniversary. TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust The big picture: Online privacy has long been a major cause for concern, with most of the allegations of shady practices typically leveled against large tech firms like Google and Meta. However, police and other government agencies have also come under fire for resorting to unethical - or at times outright illegal - means to obtain data. The FBI recently admitted it purchased the location data of US citizens without obtaining a warrant. The acknowledgement came from FBI Director Christopher Wray at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on global threats. Answering a question from Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon about whether the FBI purchases the phone-geolocation information of US citizens, Wray said the agency had previously done so for an unnamed national security project, but does not indulge in such practices any more. According to Wray, "To my knowledge, we do not currently purchase commercial database information that includes location data derived from Internet advertising...I understand that we previously---as in the past---purchased some such information for a specific national security pilot project. But that's not been active for some time." Instead of buying the location data of US citizens, Wray said the agency currently uses a "court-authorized process" to get data required for investigation. Wray did not specify whether the process involves getting a warrant or resorting to other legal means. Wray's revelations mark the first time the FBI has admitted ever buying people's location data, despite persistent complaints from privacy activists and civil rights organizations about the policy. As reported by Wired, a US Supreme Court ruling in the landmark 'Carpenter v. United States' case held that government agencies accessing the location data of US citizens without a warrant is a violation of the Fourth Amendment. However, the ruling left a loophole that has since been exploited by many federal agencies, including US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). The Department of Homeland Security is also known to have purchased the location data of US citizens from private marketing firms in the past. As expected, the revelations have set alarm bells ringing among privacy advocates and national security reform activists, who say such actions by the FBI and other investigative agencies could have dangerous consequences for the freedom and digital privacy of US citizens. In a statement to Ars Technica following Wray's testimony, Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) Senior Staff Attorney Adam Schwartz said, "US government agencies must not be allowed to do an end run around the Fourth Amendment by buying private information from data brokers who collect information about the precise movements of hundreds of millions of people without their knowledge or meaningful consent. "This extremely sensitive information can reveal where we live and work, who we associate with, and where we worship, protest, and seek medical care," he added. Sean Vitka, a policy attorney at civil liberties and transparency advocacy group Demand Progress, termed the FBI's actions "horrifying" and said, "The public needs to know who gave the go-ahead for this purchase, why, and what other agencies have done or are trying to do the same." He also said Congress should formulate legislation to ban the practice entirely. TechSpot is about to celebrate its 25th anniversary. TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust In a nutshell: The US Air Force already has some of the most advanced fighter jets on the planet. It is now set on implementing sophisticated AI systems into its fleet that can not only fly the plane, but can also execute short- and long-range combat. The systems were already successfully tested late last year. On December 1, 2022, a state-of-the-art AI piloted an Air Force fighter jet for the first time. The system didn't just take off, fly, and land the plane. It also engaged in advanced tactical drills and a simulated dogfight over Edwards Air Force Base in California. The autonomous fighter jet is a modified F-16 codenamed VISTA X-62A. Part of the Air Force's "Skyborg" program, its codename is short for Variable In-flight Simulation Test Aircraft, but it wasn't always an AI-flown plane. It started life as an Air Force flight simulator in the 1980s. It remained the military branch's go-to pilot training simulator clear through the early 1990s primarily because of its versatility. Its open architecture allowed technicians to fit it with components and software to mimic the performance of almost any plane, from a bomber to an ultra-light fighter. Later, the Air Force implemented various systems from military contractors, including Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works and General Dynamics. Skunk Works supplied a "model following algorithm" (MFA) and a "system for autonomous control of the simulation" (SACS). General Dynamics developed an "Enterprise-wide Open Systems Architecture" (E-OSA), which tied together various components like the Enterprise Mission Computer version 2 (EMC2, or "Einstein Box"), the SACS, Getac tablet displays, and robust security features. Engineers designed the E-OSA to be open and easily upgradeable to take advantage of rapid AI advancements. In 2022, VISTA received two sophisticated AI software suites: the Air Force Research Laboratory's Autonomous Air Combat Operations (AACO) and DARPA's Air Combat Evolution (ACE). The AACO system handles single-adversary BVR (beyond visual range) combat, while ACE manages closeup dogfights. Between December 1 and December 16, VISTA completed 12 test flights and logged more than 17 hours of flight time. DARPA was tightlipped about most of the AI's training but mentioned that the algorithms had many hours of simulated missions before being implemented into the plane for live testing. Despite its extensive virtual training, VISTA still requires a pilot in the rear cockpit as backup and a technician in the front to handle any malfunctions that might occur. Officials did not specify details of the jet's test flights, only saying they were successful with minor bumps. The effectiveness of the test flights has the Air Force anxious to install AACO and ACE systems into its entire fleet as soon as possible. The Defense Department says that the AI suites are not meant to replace human pilots but to supplement their skills. "We're not trying to replace pilots; we're trying to augment them, give them an extra tool," said USAF Test Pilot School's Research Director Christopher Cotting. Cotting used mounted calvary to explain. "The horse and the human had to work together. The horse can run the trail really well, so the rider doesn't have to worry about going from point A to B." One example of computer-controlled jets being useful is when the pilot becomes incapacitated. If knocked unconscious or killed, as long as the aircraft is still functional, it can maneuver and fight to a safe landing. Additionally, the cockpits can be replaced with a customized nose section for missions that don't necessarily require a human pilot, like renascence flights. Aside from the Air Force's plans to expand AI systems into the rest of its aircraft, the future of the VISTA jet is in training. Just as it was used to train pilots in a virtual setting, the craft will now serve as a tool for giving human pilots flight time and experience using the AACO and ACE systems. So in a sense, VISTA has come full circle to its roots. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Germanys leader who was long criticised for his hesitancy in arming Ukraine, was asked if he was now pushing other nations to provide the heavy weaponry they had promised. Scholz replied: Thats a question I have to ask to others, especially those who were so much urging [me] to act. Ukraines president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who opened the three-day gathering, compared his country to the biblical David in a fight to the death with Russias Goliath. Its not just about Ukraine, Zelenskyy said in his speech via video link. The point is that Goliath must lose and there is no alternative to this. He said the west must pick up the pace of its support for Ukraine. Delayed decisions are a resource that Putins dictatorship lives on. Scholzs comments highlighted growing German frustration with its allies. The chancellor faced months of pressure to set up and lead a consortium of countries capable of supplying German-made Leopard main battle tanks to Ukraine. But in the weeks after Berlin finally agreed to send 14 Leopard 2s, few other countries have committed any of their own stockpiles of the tank. In his conference address, Scholz urged all those who can supply main battle tanks to really do so. He said German defence minister Boris Pistorius and foreign minister Annalena Baerbock would be using the Munich conference to encourage allies to fulfil their commitments on tanks. Germany would, he added, do what it can to make this decision easier for our partners say by training Ukrainian soldiers here in Germany, or providing support in terms of supplies and logistics. In a further indication of international differences on Ukraine, Emmanuel Macron, president of France, acknowledged the west had failed to win backing from countries ranging from Africa to Latin America and Asia. I am struck by how we have lost the trust of the global south, Macron said to an audience made up of top officials from both developed and developing countries. He argued that the worlds response to the war showed the need to rebalance the global order and make it more inclusive. Macron called Russias invasion of Ukraine a neocolonialist and imperialist attack that broke all taboos and called on leaders of the global south to join the west in condemning the war. While western countries have rallied to help Ukraine, many Asian, Latin American and African countries have been at best lukewarm in their support for Kyiv in what they see as a European war that is far from their daily concerns. The French president insisted that was not the case. To close your eyes [to the invasion] is to legitimise neocolonialism and imperialism around the world, Macron told the conference. It is a vision of the world that has broken all taboos, not only violating the UN charter . . . but also murders, rapes, war crimes and the systemic destruction of civilian infrastructure. He added that the global south would be needed to eventually seal a sustainable end to the conflict. First, however, the west needed to intensify our support and our efforts to the resistance of the Ukrainian people and its army and help them to launch a counter-offensive which alone can allow credible negotiations, determined by Ukraine, Macron said. More than 40 heads of state and 60 ministers are attending the so-called Davos of defence, which has also attracted the biggest US congressional delegation in the events history. Kamala Harris, the US vice-president, will be taking part in the event that runs until Sunday and is expected to focus heavily on the war in Ukraine and its implications for the global security order. Last years conference was held just days before Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, and world leaders used it to urge president Vladimir Putin to desist from his war plans pleas that fell on deaf ears. No Russian officials have been invited this year. BlueSky, a new decentralized social media platform, was recently launched on the Apple App Store. (Photo : Screenshot from BlueSky's official website ) Will BlueSky Replace Twitter? Here's How It Works, Features, Limitations, Other Details Although this new online app is backed by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, BlueSky is considered to be a new competitor of Twitter. The BlueSky project was hinted at by Dorsey even when he was still the CEO of Twitter in 2019. His decentralized social network didn't materialize back then because of his connection with Twitter. But, after stepping down as Twitter CEO, Jack decided to continue his BlueSky project. With his efforts, the new social media app was launched. Will BlueSky Replace Twitter? According to 9To5Mac's latest report, it is still too early to conclude if BlueSky can really replace Twitter. (Photo : Photo by PRAKASH SINGH/AFP via Getty Images) Twitter CEO and co-founder Jack Dorsey gestures while interacting with students at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in New Delhi on November 12, 2018. - Dorsey hosted a town hall meeting with university students on his visit to the Indian capital New Delhi. Also Read: Twitter Will Now Notify Users if They Do This One Thing Regarding Community Notes Right now, Twitter is already facing Mastodon, another decentralized social media competitor. Recently, numerous reports stated that Mastodon was gaining lots of users because of the adjustments made by Elon Musk on the Twitter platform. However, many of the users transferring to Mastodon are tech geeks, who were upset that Twitter removed Tweetbot and other third-party apps. This means that consumers, who just want to have a social media platform where they can share their opinions, still choose Twitter over Mastodon. But, BlueSky is expected to be a different Twitter competitor. Unlike Mastodon, this new decentralized social media network relies on enthusiasm to attract more users. As of writing, BlueSky is only accessible to users who received invitations. Its invite-only mechanic is clearly making many fans curious about this platform. Aside from being mysterious, BlueSky is also less complicated than Mastodon. As of press time, it is unclear if BlueSky will remain an invite-only social network. BlueSky Features, Other Details BlueSky's features commonly consist of the things you already see on Twitter and other social media platforms. These include engagements, comments, usernames, profile photos, etc. But, BlueSky's AT Protocol is different from other online platforms. It is built on performance, interoperability, algorithmic, and account portability, which makes it easier for users to transfer their account data to another BlueSky provider. Aside from this, its AT Protocol also provides more control over its network's content, as reported by The Verge. However, since it is a new social network, it still lacks many features. These include GIFs, polls, and hashtags. Aside from these, BlueSky also doesn't have web or app versions for Windows, Android, Mac, and iPad. But, BlueSky developers are expected to solve these limitations, especially if they want to replace Twitter. Other stories we recently wrote about apps: Aimi decided to launch its new AI-powered music player, which can change how listeners stream music. Meanwhile, Bing's AI Chatbot was able to attract 100 million daily active users. For more news updates about BlueSky and other new social media apps, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes. Related Article: Bluesky is Now Available on the App Store; New Twitter Competitor From Jack Dorsey With a Catch 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Port of Singapore will now require harbor craft to be net zero by 2030, according to Electrek. (Photo : ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP via Getty Images) People sit along the steps of the quay watching lights illuminate Marina Bay Sands hotels and resorts to celebrate its tenth anniversary and usher in the holiday season in Singapore on November 26, 2020. The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has mandated all new harbor craft to be electric. That said, the harbor craft must use B100 biofuels or compatible with net zero fuels by 2030. The plan is part of their net zero by 2050 goal in which part of it involves harbor craft and pleasure craft to be fully electric. Being one of the busiest ports in the world, the Port of Singapore has six terminals, which serves as an important hub for global shipping and trade. MPA Singapore's All-Electric Plans MPA Singapore has begun its efforts in going all-electric. Its pilot programs for the port's first electric ferry and first all-electric battery-swapping vessel, the Hydromover, will be launched this year. The Hydromover will be the most economical and environmentally-friendly option for cargo vessel crafts. It will be able to reduce fuel costs by around 77 percent and will save over 750 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. Shift Clean Energy, SeaTech, and Vitol have partnered up to deliver the first hybrid bunker tankers in the country. The four hybrid tankers will be designed by SeaTech and will be provided to V-Bunkers. They will be fitted with Shift's 480-Kwh liquid-cooled ESS and battery management systems. Additionally, its first charging stations for electric maritime vessels will be operational at Shell's facilities on Pulau Bukom this year. It is also set to launch a bigger charging station plan for the post that will be completed in 2025. The port authority will also work with research institutes to identify the best locations for charging infrastructure and electric power as part of their plan to electrify their ships. By the second quarter of this year, MPA will launch an Expression of Interest that will call for proposals for design and development and green financing for new electric harbor craft. Also Read: Singapore Extends 5G Coverage to Seaport, Boosting the Maritime Industry Singapore is Progressing On Its Net Zero Operations Singapore's drive to reach net zero is being felt and seen by many, and it has drew praise from activists. Kicking it off with harbor craft is a big step forward. Operators don't need to make major changes in equipment for their new builds because modern diesel engines can already use at least one form of straight biofuel without any modification. Renewable diesel is derived from vegetable oil and processed in the same way as regular diesel fuel. It meets all diesel fuel specifications and is a suitable substitute. Biodiesel, which is the more widely used of the two, is often blended with regular diesel to create a fuel that can be used in any diesel engine. Related Article: Singapore Publishes World's First AI Governance Testing Framework 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. For almost a month, Matsu Islands' residents rely on two submarine internet cables leading to Taiwan's main island. Officials blamed two ships that came from China for cutting the cables that caused the outage. (Photo : An Rong Xu/Getty Images) LIEYU, TAIWAN - FEBRUARY 04: An Island that lies inside Taiwan's territory is seen with the Chinese city of Xiamen in the background on February 04, 2021 off the coast of Lieyu, an outlying island of Kinmen that is the closest point between Taiwan and China. Cable Breakage 14,000 residents of Taiwan's Matsu Islands struggle to find good internet, pay electricity bills, make a doctor's appointment, or receive a package. Associated Press reported that the National Communications Communication blamed two Chinese ships for causing the outage. On February 2nd, a Chinese fishing vessel caused the outage of the first cable, some 50 kilometers out at sea. Six days later after that incident, a Chinese cargo ship cut the second cable. This caused the islanders to use limited internet temporarily through microwave radio transmission. Chunghwa Telecom set this up near Taipei to provide a backup signal for online banking and other basic services for the residents. Users would have to wait for hours to send a text and could experience sudden call drops, and videos that are unwatchable. Aside from daily living, the internet outage has huge implications for national security. For the past five years, The Washington Post reported that Taiwan experienced 27 times of cable cutting, but the authorities do not know the cause of this or which vessels hailed from most of the time. Cables are covered with steel armor and placed in less deep waters. Despite the protection, it can easily get cut by ships and fishing boats' anchors, steel nets, or other equipment. Asia Pacific Network Information Centre Chief Scientist believed that this level of breakage is highly unusual for a cable, both for the deep and shallow waters of the strait. Also Read: PLA Chinese Drones Crosses Taiwan's Strait Median Line, Taiwanese Military Confirms Blaming China China is suspected to have cut the cables deliberately as a part of its efforts to harass the self-ruled islands that it considers part of its territory. Matsu is one of Taiwan's outlying islands closer to neighboring China. Several efforts were made by Chinese authorities to intimidate the island's democratic government. However, the Taiwanese government stopped short of calling it a delivery act as they do not have direct evidence to show that the two ships from China were responsible for this incident. Instead, VOA reported that the NCC would put a data-gathering system in place to prevent cable-cutting incidents in the future. Institute for National Defense and Security Research Defense Expert Su Tzu-yun stated, "We can't rule out that China destroyed these on purpose. Taiwan needs to invest more resources in repairing and protecting the cables." Democratic Progressive Party Local Chapter Head believes that this can be seen as a warning signal. He wonders what could happen if the 14 international undersea cables were damaged, as he sees the possibility that it could also happen to the whole of Taiwan. Related Article: China to Use AI Against US over Taiwan Invasion, Smart Deterrence to Counter Forces 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Microsoft has announced a new Accessibility Assistant for Microsoft 365 office during its annual Microsoft Ability Summit, as reported by TheVerge. (Photo : FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images) This photograph taken in Davos on January 19, 2023 shows the logo of the American corporation Microsoft. How the New Accessibility Assistant Works The latest accessibility assistant will instruct users on how to prevent and correct accessibility issues in real-time when creating content. Users will see a new person-shaped icon to flag the location of accessibility issues across your work. Users can expect the new Accessibility Assistant will start rolling out in the coming weeks, which will replace the current Accessibility Checker. So far, there is not a lot going on for the Accessibility Assistant as it has similar features to the Accessibility Checker. However, its features are similar to tools like Grammarly. That said, the new assistant may still be better than the previous accessibility assistant. The aim is to make it easier and more convenient to identify and fix accessibility issues. The Accessibility Assistant has been designed to provide helpful options to stop accessibility issues from occurring in the first place, advice to help you make changes quickly when they do arise, and clear and simple information to support you as you go. Microsoft is aiming to make content creation easier and more accessible with the introduction of Accessibility Assistant. Through the use of a new color picker in Microsoft 365 Apps, users will be given the tools to create beautiful designs while also being mindful of the need for adequate contrast between text and its background. This way, users can create content that both looks good and is accessible to all. The new color picker has two different modes. The first one is similar to the old one but now includes a tooltip to help users choose colors with enough contrast. The second mode can be accessed by switching on the high contrast mode. This mode limits the available color choices to ones that meet the contrast requirements and provides an extra row of colors that match the theme and design of the project. Accessibility Assistant will become the go-to tool for ensuring all Microsoft 365 App content is accessible to everyone, regardless of ability. It will take over the Accessibility Checker and offer a more comprehensive range of solutions, as well as automated support for additional accessibility issues. This will make it much easier for users to create content that is accessible to all. Also Read: Microsoft 365 Basic: $2 for 100GB OneDrive, Outlook Web, But No Office Apps More Updates The company also announced new customizable 3D-printed attachments and grips for the Surface Pen later this year. With these, they will make things a lot easier for users with mobility issues to hold and control a pen stylus. New support for 13 new African languages has also been added to Microsoft's Translate tool. The new support feature will allow users to communicate in both languages. Related Article: Microsoft 365's New Feature Can Monitor Carbon Emissions for 'Greener' Operations 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. There's no denying that the new Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is a great camera smartphone. (Photo : JUNG YEON-JE/AFP via Getty Images) People walk past the Samsung logo displayed on a glass door at the company's Seocho building in Seoul on April 28, 2022. Some tech critics even believe it is the best camera phone this 2023. When the new Galaxy S23 Ultra was unveiled, it made huge headlines. Because of its advanced camera features, it was even used in many 2023 films, such as Ridley Scott's "Behold" and Na Hong-Jin's "Faith." Since Galaxy S23 Ultra packs some amazing camera features, many users think that they can take the best photos just by clicking. However, there are some tricks that can make your Galaxy S23 Ultra's captured photos more Instagrammable. Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra Camera Guide 2023 CNN provided some tips that can further enhance your captured images on the Galaxy S23 Ultra. These include the following: (Photo : PAU BARRENA/AFP via Getty Images) This photograph shows a Galaxy S23 Ultra smartphone on Samsung's stand at the Mobile World Congress (MWC), the telecom industry's biggest annual gathering, in Barcelona on February 27, 2023. Try using the Expert RAW app. This will allow you to adjust more settings, such as focus peaking, exposure, shutter speed, ISO, etc. If you're taking photos at night, don't forget to use the Astrophoto and Night Mode features. You can find these features at the top of Expert RAW. When taking portrait photos, just activate the Portrait mode. This will allow you to focus more on the subject, leaving the background blurred for better effects. Always adjust the exposure. You can do this by holding an area of the viewfinder. Instead of moving closer, you can take advantage of the S23 Ultra's advanced 10MP telephoto sensor, which relies on periscoping lens to achieve 100x zoom. Basic Camera Phone Tips Aside from the specific Galaxy S23 Ultra camera tricks above, there are other tips you can also use to make your shots better. Pocket Lint provided the basic camera tricks you always need to remember: Instead of relying on HD lenses, try looking for the best composition for your photo. You can even try turning your phone upside down to capture buildings. Check if the sun's condition is great for photoshoots. There are instances when the sun turns orange or slightly reddish during sunsets. You can take advantage of your smartphone's flash. This will give the 90s or 80s vibe. Using your hands to capture photos is not always the best option. Try using a tripod or a chair to make your smartphone more stable when taking photos of the sky or city lights. Other stories we recently wrote about Samsung's products: Rumors claimed that the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 might borrow the design of the Google Pixel Watch. We also reported about the leaked Samsung mixed reality headset roadmap. For more news updates about Samsung and its new gadgets, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes. Related Article: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 Hinge Reportedly Begins Final Testing: No Longer Lifespan? 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Ants are generally known as small insects that roam around in groups and work for their colonies, but what if some 50 million years ago, some species are as large as small birds? Indeed, there are, but its species are now extinct, giving the public only remnants of what these giant ants were, recently discovered again in Canada. The researchers refer to these giant ant species as "Titanomyrma," and its discovery in British Columbia baffles scientists about how they traveled across the Atlantic, and what happened to its size. Giant Ant Fossil Found in Canada, Raises the Question of Migration (Photo : Bruce Archibald/SFU) Simon Fraser University shared in its latest press release that another giant queen ant fossil was discovered, but this is the first time it appeared in Canada, particularly in British Columbia. This is an already extinct ant, Titanomyrma, which are large, and seen in North America after a decade since its last discovery. "This ant and the new fossil from British Columbia are close in age to other Titanomyrma fossils that have been long known in Germany and England," says Bruce Archibald, an SFU paleontologist. "This raises the questions of how these ancient insects traveled between continents to appear on both sides of the Atlantic at nearly the same time." Archibald is also known for his previous discovery of a Titanomyrma in Wyoming. Read Also: Archaeologists Trace 1,800-year-old Evidence of Roman Worship at Leicester Cathedral Giant Ants Shrunk in Size Because of Global Warming? The researchers published their paper on The Canadian Entomologist, detailing the significant discovery in British Columbia, with close ties to its former sighting from a decade ago. "They further found that modern ants with the biggest queens also inhabit hot climates, leading them to associate large size in queen ants with high temperatures. This creates a problem, however, as although the ancient Arctic had a milder climate than today, it still wouldn't have been hot enough to allow Titanomyrma to pass," said the release. Animal Fossils Found Throughout Time Animals and insects are living across the face of the Earth for a long time now, and they are considered to be the earliest living dwellers on the planet before humans. A giant lacewing fossil, regarded to be from the Jurassic Era, was recently recovered from a Walmart location in Arkansas, setting a new world record for its mysterious discovery. Fossils are a great way to explain to people how evolution works, especially among living species in the world. Some fossils belong to the same family or species but have different-looking bones or structures which shows evidence of evolution. There was once a perfectly preserved skull found underwater, and it contains a well-preserved brain that stayed intact from the centuries-old fossil. From different animals to insects walking the planet in the early days, there have been significant changes to their form, looks, physiology, and behavior which led to their notable evolutions. In the case of the Titanomyrma, these giant queen ants became smaller, and spread across the Atlantic in North America and Europe in their lifetime. Related Article: Up to 90,000 Year Old Nevada Ice Age Fossils Disrupt 500-Mile Solar Energy Line 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The Federal Aviation Administration installed a technology in airports that warns incoming planes when aiming at a taxiway instead of a runway. This system is an effort of the agency to avoid dangerous landings. (Photo : PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images) A United Parcel Service (UPS) Boeing 747 cargo aircraft taxis after landing at the Ted Stevens International Airport (ANC) in Anchorage, Alaska on September 17, 2022. - The Ted Stevens International Airport is a critical supply chain hub as the fourth-busiest airport for cargo in the world with major transpacific cargo operations to and from Asia. Avoiding Dangerous Landings 43 major airports in the United States have been provided by the Federal Aviation Administration with a technology that avoids airplanes from dangerous landings. Associated Press reported that the system's software predicts when a plane is landing on a taxiway following an alert that will be sent to air-traffic controllers. Aside from the installation, the National Transporation Safety Board recommended FAA to require planes on landing at major airports that only have systems to alert pilots if they are not lined up with a runway. This recommendation is still in consideration, as commercial planes already have other equipment to help pilots with runways at big airports. The Washington Post reported that the recent close calls between planes that involved aircraft lining up incorrectly and landing on a taxiway were not the main reasons for the Safety Board to suggest the installation. This effort was recommended by the National Transportation Safety Board after the disaster happening at San Francisco International Airport in 2017 in which an Air Canada jet crashed into four planes on a taxiway at night. Taxiways are paved surfaces that an airplanes use to position itself for takeoffs or taxis to terminals after landing. Landing airplanes involve general aviation or private planes that are much smaller than commercial ones. However, 16% also involve commercial flights as per FAA. FAA Funding CNBC reported that the Biden administration is aiming for additional funding to the Federal Aviation Administration, in an effort to boost the agency's recruitment for air traffic controllers and to facilitate other improvements to manage the growing congested airspace. $16.5 billion was the proposed funding for the agency, which is $1.3 billion higher than what the agency received for this year. The request of the administration is part of the broad budget proposal for the 2024 fiscal year, which comes less than two months after a system outage that prompted FAA to ground flights nationwide for the first time since 2001. Also Read: FAA Taps Airline CEOS to Act Quickly Regarding Verizon, AT&T's C-Band 5G Just this month, Reuters reported that the two aviation authorities investigated a fresh incident that involve two airplanes cleared to use the same runway that force the aircraft to abandon a landing and renewed safety questions. The recent incident has attracted national attention. As per FAA, the American Airlines flight crew abandoned the landing after the controller advised the pilot that the Air Canada airplane was departing from the airport. Both airplanes were about 3,100 feet apart. The agency will hold a safety summit in March as they form a team of experts to discuss airline safety after several incidents. Related Article: US FAA Pushes Aircraft Manufacturers, Charter, and Air Tour Operators to Adopt Safety Management Systems 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Ford is now offering a Type A electric school bus package on its E-Transit commercial van, as reported by Electrek. (Photo : PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images) A Ford E-Transit van is seen on display at the Ford Halewood plant in Liverpool, north west England on October 18, 2021. - US auto giant Ford on October 18 unveiled plans to convert a UK factory into its first electric vehicle component assembly site in Europe. The Electric Bus The E-Transit is the first van to provide a Type A school bus that runs on an electric powertrain. It can save over 740,000 gallons of gas and can save 57 percent of the CO2 output over the lifetime of the vehicle. Ford has not yet revealed the cost of the school bus package of the E-Transit, nor has it disclosed information on manufacturing or range. Despite this, it appears to be an obvious choice for many school districts since government incentives are making it so that buying electric school buses comes close to being cost-free. School districts are eligible to receive up to $375,000 to replace their old diesel buses with electric buses. In addition, they are eligible to receive an extra $20,000 in credits to help pay for charging infrastructure for the electric buses. This money should be sufficient to purchase at least a few electric school buses. The time is perfect for schools to switch to electric buses, since many governments are requiring this to be done within the next few years. For example, New York is planning to replace its buses with electric ones by 2035, and Boston has already started the process and is expecting to be done by 2030. Also Read: Ford's Latitude AI Wants to Help you Drive Despite Not Looking at the Road, Better than its BlueCruise? The Success of the E-Transit The E-Transit is an electric full-size cargo van that has a powerful 68 kWh battery. It generates a lot of power (266 horsepower and 317-ft.-lbs. of torque) and can be fully charged in eight hours with a 48A power source. The battery is located under the floor, meaning it doesn't take up any of the passenger or cargo space. It can be recalled that the automated introduced the E-Transit in 2020 to serve as an all-electric smart workhorse version of its cargo van for the future of their business. They were also the first in North America to launch an all-electric cargo van that has topped the charts since then. This allowed the company to have major control over the electric van market with its huge E-Transit sales in July 2022. In 2022 alone, 6,500 units were sold in the US. The E-Transit was also the best seller in Europe and Canada. Ford has also gotten major deals with Deutsche Post DHL Group, and they will also supply over 9,000 electric mail trucks to the US Postal Service. Schools should take advantage of the government funding to replace their old diesel buses with electric buses. The E-Transit is a great option for schools, as it has a powerful battery, generates a lot of power, and can be fully charged in eight hours. This would be a good investment for schools, as it would help them meet their environmental goals while also saving money on fuel costs. Related Article: Ford F-150 Lightning EV Production Restarts This March 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A Roman-era limestone sphinx was discovered from an excavation site of a limestone cabin, 310 miles south of the Egyptian capital of Cairo. The latest discovery is believed to be based on the royal features of former Roman Emperor Claudius who extended the country's great rule over to North Africa, influencing its culture and history. The team carefully unearthed this mini-sphinx carving in its excavation to preserve what is left of the iconic statue and creature that holds a human's face. Roman-Era Limestone Sphinx Excavated from Southern Egypt (Photo : Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities ) Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities shared a new press release about its latest discovery near the Hathor Temple in its southern region, where a Roman-era limestone sphinx was excavated. The mission was led by Ain Shams University, headed by A. Dr. Mamdouh Al-Damaty, with the team carefully extracting the statue from its buried state. The finding discovered this mini-sphinx to have a slight grin on its face, claiming that it was seemingly smiling. Moreover, they found traces of red and yellow painted over the mini-sphinx in the past. Alongside the statue was a painting from the Roman era, and hieroglyphic writings were found below the said statue. Dr. Al-Damaty claimed that the site features a two-level platform with sloping floors, including a water storage basin coated in mortar, and a stairway which they regarded to be from the Byzantine era. Read Also: Rare Artifact Reveals Gladiatorial Battles in Roman Britain Researchers Believe it is Roman Emperor Claudius' Face Its lead archaeologist claimed that the sphinx statue depicts the image of Emperor Claudius, the fourth emperor of Rome from AD 41 to AD 54. "Dr. Mamdouh Al-Damati described the statue as wonderful beauty as its face is characterized by finely illustrated royal features and a light smile appears on his lips," said the release. (Photo : Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities ) According to Interesting Engineering, Claudius was the first Roman emperor born outside of Italy. Egypt's Hidden Treasures Continue Discovery Despite many archaeologists and researchers who already saw many treasures from Egypt in the past, despite the multiple discoveries, there is still a lot to be known about the country. This African country is rich in history and treasures, which still amazes the academe, like the recent discovery of a secret passage in the Great Pyramid of Giza. Apart from its towering structures and iconic pyramids which researchers are still torn about as to how it was made, Egypt also features a unique burial method of mummification for their royalty. There was recently discovered a 4,300-year-old mummy which is regarded as the oldest there is in the world, and also regarded as the "most complete" discovery in history. Most royalties get statues that depict their likeness, with their people paying homage and respect to them even in the afterlife, apart from their mummification upon their deaths. The recent discovery of the limestone mini-sphinx that is smiling brings another part of history for the world to see, with speculations about Emperor Claudius being the inspiration for this craft. Related Article: Archaeologists Trace 1,800-year-old Evidence of Roman Worship at Leicester Cathedral 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The U.S. Air Force's new MUTANT missile can bend its nose. For some individuals, this seems like a useless capability. (Photo : Usaf/Getty Images) Us Air Force Personnel Launch A Test Patriot Missile During An Exercise Involving The Militaries Of The Us, Canada, Germany, And The Netherlands April 30, 1997 Near El Paso, Tx. However, having the ability to twist in mid-air can actually increase a missile's accuracy. The new MUTANT (Missile Utility Transformation via Articulated Nose Technology) was highlighted during the recent Air and Space Forces Association's Warfare Symposium 2023 event. Now, here's what the USAF recently shared about this new missile project. US Air Force's New MUTANT Missile Can Bend Its Nose! According to The Drive's latest report, the MUTANT project aims to make air-to-air missiles with flexible nose, which can bend toward targets. (Photo : USAF/Getty Images) An unarmed Minuteman II intercontinental ballistic missile launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Missile Defense Agency is expected to conduct a developmental flight test October 14, 2002. Also Read: US Air Force Awards Boeing With $1.2 Billion Contract To Construct E-7A Weapon System Via its official blog post, AFRL (Air Force Research Laboratory) explained that MUTANT is a type of active morphing, which involves high-rate pivoting of the missile's forebody. This technique is referred to as articulation. "Articulation is accomplished with an articulation control actuation system (ACAS)," explained AFRL. The agency added that ACAS consists of a composite high-strain skin structure that can envelop an internal electromagnetic actuation system. Thanks to this technology, the missile's forebody can be used as a flight control surface to augment air-to-air axisymmetric missile efficiency. MUTANT Missile's Accuracy Traditional air-to-air missiles are efficient when it comes to stationary targets. However, if their targets move before impact, these conventional missiles need to adjust their entire bodies just to hit their targets. This is a major problem if you are also targeting jets and other high-speed objects. With the new MUTANT tech, missiles no longer need to adjust their bodies. Instead, their noses will bend to the direction of their targets' new position. This slight course correction can drastically increase the accuracy of air-to-air missiles. As of writing, AFRL is still testing the new MUTANT project. The defense agency will perform three ground tests involving a modified Hellfire missile. These tests will be conducted from the mid-fiscal year 2023 until the end of 2024. You can click this link to learn more about the new MUTANT missile project. In other news, the new USAF-Reliable Robotics collaboration is expected to work on autonomous flights for military needs. Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy awarded Lockheed Martin with a $2 billion contract to develop the first sea-based hypersonic tech. For more news updates about missiles and other defense innovations, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes. Related Article: Boeing MH-139A Helicopter to Replace US Air Force's Fleet for ICBM's Further Protection 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. In this second installment of a series of blogs, Philip Clark shares his experience of being a 2022 Eccles Centre and Hay Festival Writer's Award winner.1 The Writer's Award offers 20,000, a year's residency at the British Library to develop a forthcoming book, and the opportunity to showcase work at Hay Festival events in the UK and Latin America. Philips book Sound and the City will be a history of the sound of New York City and an investigation into what makes New York City sound like New York City. For a few months at the end of last year, I communed daily with Dutch colonials of the mid-1600s. In various roles, taking various responsibilities, the likes of Peter Stuyvesant, Adriaen van der Donck, Peter Minuit, Willem Kieft and Cryn Fredericks established the city of New Amsterdam which, by 1664, had become the English colonial city of New York. Having already taken the deepest of dives into 1920s New York, through the work of the composer Edgard Varese and the novelist John Dos Passos, I decided that my book Sound and the City my history of the sound of New York City needed to flip the chronology on its head. The 1930s will follow, but later, and in the meantime I engineered a flashback to the beginnings of recordable time itself, and to the Ice Age. In the span of this history, the appearance of Dutch colonials a mere three-and-a-half centuries ago feels relatively contemporary. When they turn up, their interactions with the Indigenous People, who had populated that coast for centuries, pivots the story into something more like countable time, a reassuringly familiar turnaround of years, decades and centuries again after thinking about time in units of hundreds of thousands of years. My subject is sound. Music-writers are often called upon to speculate about where music might be heading next, although writing this section of my book made me realise that second-guessing the root sounds of the deep past is no easy matter either. How do you hear sounds of which no recorded example exists? Listening in to the modern-day city is normally a good starting point, and one afternoon last summer I took an A train from Penn Station in midtown Manhattan to where the line terminates at Inwood 207th Street. A fifteen-minute walk later, I found myself in deserted woodland, the trilling of sirens cutting through from downtown the only clue I was still in New York City. Id come to Inwood Hill Park because this park, perched on the far northern tip of Manhattan, has preserved something of its prehistory. This is where you come to look at New Yorks oldest rock formations; to trace how the imperceptible tread of glaciers scooped out what would become the landmass of New York. Inwood was the place Native Americans gravitated towards over centuries, its caves and bountiful ecosystem providing shelter and sustenance aplenty. Rocks in Inwood Hill Park, New York City; photo by Philip Clark. Although probably a wishful-thinking myth, Inwood Hill Park is also purportedly where, in 1626, Native Americans sold the island of Manhattan to the Dutch colonial governor Peter Minuit for 60 guilders. More likely, this meeting actually took place farther downtown, where Peter Minuit Plaza stands today, near Battery Park. But numerous mythologies all converge around the inlet of the park where the meeting was said to take place. This was where the British explorer Henry Hudson supposedly dropped anchor in September 1609, having made landfall a couple of weeks earlier at Sandy Hook. A tulip tree started growing there a century later and, as a commemorative plaque makes clear, the tree, 280 years old when it died in 1932, represented the last living link with the Native Americans who had lived here. In a city that became celebrated for high-rise structures, the tulip tree was a pioneer. Towering over the park, its height reportedly equivalent to a seventeen-storey building, it resonated as a marker of a past that had moved beyond collective memory a potent symbol in a city that was otherwise engaged in relentlessly inventing its future. Inwood Hill Park, New York City; photo by Philip Clark. Almost as soon as I arrived in the park, though, a shock. The 4G on my iPhone fizzled out, then Google maps froze, and I was rudderless. In an area of the park now called The Cove, the slug-like progression of glacial erosion spooned out the innards of the earth and the glacial potholes that resulted some 50,000 years old look bracingly abstract to me, like sculptures by Henry Moore or Seymour Lipton thwacked into the earth. They also look unmistakably like disembowelled speakers, I thought, with their cones ripped out, but still receptible to sound. My awareness that darkness was about to fall kept me moving, pushing through the woods, using paths trampled into the ground over centuries, with a covering of tulip trees above my head. I followed the reassuring rumble of cars and, more through good luck than canny navigation, found myself staring at the Henry Hudson Bridge, which crosses the river into the Bronx. At that precise moment my iPhone pinged back to life and I located my position. I was looking across at Spuyten Duvvil Creek where the Hudson River meets the Harlem River Ship Canal and the rock formations I could see, which I discovered subsequently are called Fordham Gneiss, are a billion years old. A few weeks later, back in the relative safety of the Rare Books and Music Reading Room at the British Library, I searched for sources that might help explain my afternoon in Inwood Hill Park. This has been the rhythm of writing this book so far; intense field trips followed by equally intense research binges at the Library. Unpicking the mythologies surrounding the tulip tree took hours of poring over old newspapers and contemporary reports. Mythology should never be dismissed lightly. What mythologies tell us about a citys sense of its own history is intriguing in itself. But chipping away the layers of folklore to reveal what actually happened was important too. Something else that needed to be chipped away at: those ancient rock formations scattered around Inwood Hill Park. One great pleasure of British Library research is the ease with which you can slip outside your own area of expertise, and, in Rare Books and Music, I began a fingertip search through geological and flora-&-fauna reports relating to the park. My examination of New Yorks oldest rock formations was about determining how nature created this giant resonating chamber later called New York City, where all sorts of sounds would happen. Slipstreams of sound ricocheting around the city is central to my obsession, and examining how geological activity established this field of play gave my book its roots. Inwood Hill Park, New York City; photo by Philip Clark. The moment the colonials arrive, primary sources bounce into life. Adriaen van der Doncks A Description of the New Netherlands (1641), Daniel Dentons A Brief Description of New-York: Formerly Called New-Netherlands (1670) and Jaspar Dankers and Peter Sluyters Journal of a Voyage to New York (1679-1680) are all fantastically vibrant accounts of the emerging city of New Amsterdam and the surrounding wilderness. Colonial fascination with the possibilities of this new world against the reality of what had been there before, the presence of Indigenous people in particular, leaves a bitter aftertaste. Dutch colonialism was ultimately responsible for through landgrab and brutal repression the decline of Indigenous Peoples. One needs to be aware of this wider historical context using this material and read with caution, but there were little clues in each journal a sound here, a sound there that allowed me to build a soundscape. A few basics became crystallised; the distinction between the downtown of the New Amsterdam, the huburb around the fort, and the streets that fanned out around it, against the bucolic peace of the bouwerie farms beyond the city walls, where the East Village and Chinatown sit now. Jaspar Dankers and Peter Sluyter a pair of visiting priests took the same trip to Inwood Hill Park I did nearly 350 years later. Fortified by supplies of peaches from the local orchard, they tackled the churning eddies and whirpools of Spuyten Duvvil Creek in a hired canoe (which they complained was over-priced). My discovery, sitting in a reading room on Euston Road, that they saw the same rock formations which had filled me with awe: two ridges of very high rocks, with a considerable space between them, displaying themselves majestically, and inviting all men to acknowledge in them the majesty, grandeur, power and glory of their creator, sent shivers down my spine. Shaking hands across history with fellow travellers. Who, I note, had no need for 4G. Notes 1. Philip Clark's first Writer's Award blog may be found here. Realme unveiled one of their latest smartphones last March 8, and one of the most iconic things about "The Champion" C55 is its new "Mini Capsule" feature at the top of its screen. This is the infamous clone of Apple's iPhone 14 Pro lineup's famed "Dynamic Island," which serves as a display feature to bring different notifications and alerts to users. Significant similarities and differences exist between the Mini Capsule and the Dynamic Island, which may cause users confusion as to its usage, especially if coming from the iPhone 14 Pro. Realme C55 Features 'Mini Capsule,' A Clone of 'Dynamic Island' (Photo : realme Global via Twitter) The latest budget smartphone from the C series from Realme is here, and the company recently held its global release for the world to see this smart device known as the C55. It features the Android operating system, powered by the MediaTek Helio G88 SoC, paired with 8 GB of onboard RAM and 16 GB of Dynamic RAM. However, one of its most noticeable features is the "Mini Capsule," which the company recently teased. Yes, it is reminiscent of the "Dynamic Island" from Apple. It is regarded as a clone of the Dynamic Island from the iPhone 14 Pro series. It brings information regarding its battery and charging, steps counter, and data usage, among its teased feature. Read Also: Apple: Dynamic Island to Arrive on All iPhone 15 Models says Analyst, Not All with ProMotion Realme's Mini Capsule vs. Apple's Dynamic Island It is still unknown what the full capabilities of the Mini Capsule from Realme are, especially as the C55 device is yet to be released from the company, particularly in other regions like Europe. (Photo : James Yarema on Unsplash) Still, both features have massive similarities as they mostly focus on delivering smartphone information to their users. Still, it is yet to improve with future updates from its operating systems and available tweaks from third-party developers. The Dynamic Island's Features and Clones Apple changing the notch design and features on the iPhone series was a sight for sore eyes when it was first released, giving the public a lot to look forward to on their smartphone usage. Instead of a bugging rectangular notch above, users get a shape-shifting feature, which hides the front-facing camera and Face ID scanner. The iPhone 14's charging prompt, call pop-up, Music controls, Maps and navigation features, and more appear on Dynamic Island, utilizing the top of the screen to feature information for its users. It also faced early appearance clones, particularly with the Grumpy UI theme created for Xiaomi smartphones to feature the pill-notch design on top. However, it was not only Xiaomi who attempted to copy Dynamic Island, as there is the China-based smartphone company, Realme, who have been long leaked regarding the same feature. Now, its C55 revealed its latest lineup for the budget smartphone, and among its iconic features include the Mini Capsule, which is quite like the Dynamic Island but with different features. Related Article: Realme Leak Hints Apple iPhone Dynamic Island Clone Coming to Android 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Amid growing speculation that Apple's main contract manufacturer, Foxconn Technology Group, is reshuffling its production operations and assembly lines away from the Chinese tech hub of Shenzhen, the company has unequivocally denied those reports and reaffirmed its commitment to the city. Foxconn Denies False Reports of Major Shift in Operational Strategy Despite growing speculation over the past weeks that the Taiwanese company is dismantling assembly lines at its production complex in the southern tech hub of Shenzhen and reports of a US$700 million investment in a new facility in India to boost local production, Foxconn denies any major shift in its operational strategy, as also shared in an article by Yicai Global. According to the story by SCMP, following worries that Foxconn's production and operations were ceasing or being set up in other countries, a representative for the company on Thursday insisted that this was not the case and that production in Shenzhen is running as normal. Foxconn's Proposed Investment in India Signals Potential Shift Away from Chinese Production Nevertheless, changes in local manpower needs and recruitment policies hint that Foxconn has yet to decide what the future holds for its regional production capacities. Foxconn's denial of a move away from China follows a proposed investment of around US$700 million in a new production facility in India, which has been interpreted as a sign of a shift from China. Whilst the Foxconn representative has not committed to this investment, they have said they will remain a major part of their electronics manufacturing network. These shifting production dynamics have been further highlighted by a significant drop in recruitment numbers at the Shenzhen training center. Return to Pre-Pandemic Maximum Production Levels at Zhengzhou Factory Last July, the recruitment and training center boasted thousands of jobseekers with bonuses of up to 7,480 yuan, which contrasts immeasurably with the dozen job seekers seen in a recent visit by the Post. However, the lowered recruitment numbers do not signify a lack of production, as production is said to have returned to its pre-pandemic maximum levels by December 30 at its factory in Zhengzhou. Read Also: Apple-Samsung Relationship Compared to Unhappy Marriage by Tech Experts! Here's Why Re-evaluating International Business Relationships Amidst Global Tensions Instead, the lowered recruitment rate seems to point to a more efficient way of operation as it's accompanied by other news that Apple has reshuffled its international management with a greater focus on India, where the company already is said to contribute half of Apple's iPhone production by 2027, as explained further on GSM Arena. Whatever the end conclusion, these happenings present a unique moment regarding Foxconn, Apple, and India's value proposition in the global market. Crucially, the decisions made in the coming months will define how the industry moves forward in view of current tensions between Beijing and Washington. Ultimately, the movements of international companies such as Foxconn reinforce the notion that the modern economy operates in a dynamic, global setting. As countries worldwide become increasingly powerful and interconnected, the future of electronics manufacturing is a multi-faceted, multi-regional affair. What is clear is this: China will remain a core part of Foxconn's production and supply chain. Related Article: Yellow iPhone 14 Hints Apple Spring Event 2023's Cancellation-How Likely Is This to Happen? 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A Tesla dummy camera was spotted in some of the company's EV models. (Photo : Spencer Platt/Getty Images) A Tesla model S sits parked outside of a new Tesla showroom and service center in Red Hook, Brooklyn on July 5, 2016 in New York City. The electric car company and its CEO and founder Elon Musk have come under increasing scrutiny following a crash of one of its electric cars while using the controversial autopilot service. This dud camera sensor is a part of the new Hardware 4.0, the automaker's latest suite of computers and sensors for the Tesla Autopilot and FSD. Recently, a filing with Chinese regulators revealed that the EV developer is changing its cameras. These adjustments involve the front-facing camera setup; integrating two cameras instead of three. However, the latest leaks show that Hardware 4.0 still has three cameras. Tesla Dummy Camera Spotted! According to Electrek's latest report, the dummy camera was spotted on Model X and Model S units manufactured at the Fremont factory. (Photo : Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images) A general view of the Tesla Assembly plant building which also does vehicle delivery and has a service centre, on March 29, 2021 in Tilburg, Netherlands. In mid-March, a Dutch online news site reported that the Tilburg plant, which assembles the Tesla Model S and Model X, will cease work due to changes in the production process, jeopardizing around 100 jobs. Also Read: Falling Tesla Steering Wheel Leads to US Probe! NHTSA to Investigate Thousands of EVs At first, it was unclear if they really have three cameras because of the front-facing camera enclosure. However, the first service manuals for the newly manufactured Model X and S units confirmed the dud camera. "Bi - Forward Facing (HW4) camera vs old Tri Forward Facing (HW3). Looks like the 3rd camera from recent photos is a dud. Backup camera also looks different," said Redditor u/carrera4s, who was able to acquire the EV manuals. Tesla confirmed that the third camera is really a dummy camera. However, the automaker didn't provide why this additional camera sensor is there. What is the Purpose of This Dummy Camera? Although Tesla didn't provide any clear explanation, many EV fans and critics shared their speculations. Experts stated that Tesla could be planning to install a new camera later on. Meanwhile, some EV fans said that the dummy camera could be a radar. They added that the third dud camera actually looks like the TACC radar of Audi. These rumors may sound quite realistic. However, they will still remain speculations until the giant automaker confirmed them. Aside from the new dummy camera, Tesla is also working on other EV innovations. These include the new Tesla Model Y Juniper, which is expected to enter production as early as 2024. The automaker is also expected to release next-gen Tesla EV models that are 50% cheaper than the current ones. For more news updates about Tesla and its upcoming EV technologies, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes. Related Article: Tesla Camera Privacy Invasion Allegations Force EV Maker to Adjust Sentry Mode 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. In 1975, Alex Mitchell, 50, was watching the UK television comedy The Goodies when he burst in such hard laughter that, well, he died laughing. His heart had failed. To be fair, he didn't really die of laughter. "Laughing can increase your intrathoracic pressure, and if you have an aortic aneurysm, that pressure can be transmitted into your vascular system, and it would rupture," Duke University School of Medicine cardiologist Jorge Antonio Gutierrez told Gizmodo in 2019. "But in that case, you just happened to laugh: the laughing didn't get you. Somebody can have a heart attack while they're laughing, but they were going to have a heart attack no matter what." From Mental Floss: "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 week of God Tuitero: Cain and Abel are a model of fraternity next to Iglesias and Yolanda Diaz Chen Yushen: You just have to work hard, and God has its own arrangements Did the suspect use a homemade bomb made by himself? Explosives at the Prime Minister's speech JGSDF helicopter accident 5 people on the seabed, 2 of them confirmed dead, considering salvaging the aircraft Explosives at the Prime Minister's speech The focus of the investigation is the suspect [Updated from time to time on the 17th] Representatives of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao business circles gathered at the Canton Fair to discuss and promote the development of the Greater Bay Area-Chinanews.com video Military flare-up and catastrophic result. Analysts explain the reasons that blew up the situation in Sudan Miyazaki "Odaisan" parade of citizens in costumes revived for the first time in four years The new profession of old-age care attracts more young people The post-90s generation began to give the "post-90s" pension "May Day" holiday tour is popular on the first day train tickets on some directions have been sold out A new generation gap between parents and children? Children's script entertainment, parents know how much From the thrashing that did not go to trouble: Atletico remains unstoppable Alex Rins takes advantage of the fall of Bagnaia and wins the GP of the Americas Missed chances and an unassigned penalty: Rostov and Zenit drew in the match of the 23rd round of the RPL OM new runner-up, Nantes sinks and PSG goes for it, what to remember from the 31st matchday of Ligue 1 120 million Euros for Zidane in two seasons. Al Nasr looks forward to Ronaldo and Zizou's double again Go deep into communities and villages to see how Tianjin can do a good job in "last mile" services How are counties younger? Secretary Wuxing of Zhejiang Province talked about the travel and prosperity of a youth city Iran: the police take action to enforce the wearing of the Islamic veil Canton Fair: the number of exhibitors reached a record high The "New Three Things" booth was hot The good news and progress of RMB internationalization continues: why is the RMB popular? The market size has ranked first in the world for 7 consecutive years Digital intelligence has accelerated the running of express delivery Script killing management will be subject to new rules, how is the self-discipline situation in the industry? Illegal "old era walking cars" ban on parking and entering the countdown How has the market changed? The director of the Cultural and Tourism Bureau "rolled" from behind the scenes to the front of the stage Travel data soared Help patients reduce the cost of medical treatment Can professional chaperones alleviate the "difficulty of seeking medical treatment"? With the addition of hyaluronic acid, the price has doubled several times: hyaluronic acid has become a new favorite in the food industry After an official report against "Jaafar Al-Omda".. Did the crew come back to shoot a different ending? MotoGP: behind Rins, Quartararo finds the way to the podium in Austin, Bagnaia falls again Tarab for him Alshashai and for his unique way of moving between melodies. Alhafiz Khalil Ismail The melodious Iraqi voice in the recitation of the Noble Qur'an Yolanda Diaz, to Podemos: "If you ask for unity to clean cake you depress the electorate" and then it does not matter if you shake hands" Zakharova reacted to Poland's statement on the ban on the import and transit of Ukrainian grain First major fire of the year in the Pyrenees-Orientales, more than 900 hectares covered Patricia Rite, from MyHyV, who became an influencer for her fight against skin cancer, dies The image of Wanping City after the "July Seven Incident" exposed the propaganda lies of the Japanese army Carry out governance actions in many places and departments to prevent and control the invasion of alien species American Thinker: anti-Russian sanctions turned out to be the largest miscalculation of the West in history 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" Political scientist Dudchak on Hersh's statement about Zelensky: there are probably a lot of such stories Naoko, Emma Nogueiro and the other women in Sanchez Drago's life (always younger and with short hair) The sexist murder of an influencer shakes the Dominican Republic: her ex shoots her in the head three days after trying The Future of Online Casinos and the Technologies That Will Shape It 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" The athlete Beatriz Flamini leaves the cave where she has remained alone and isolated for 500 days The head of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Reznikov said that the losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are less than the victims of the earthquake in Turkey FT: advanced units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will die during a counteroffensive due to lack of air support Ex-intelligence officer Ritter believes that Zelensky risks dying at the hands of Ukrainians because of the rebellion Canton Fair: the number of exhibitors reached a record high The "New Three Things" booth was hot Medvedchuk said that the tribunal over the Zelensky regime will avoid nuclear war Elections in French Polynesia: "The future of Polynesia within the framework of the Republic is at stake" A fire on the border with France burns 750 hectares and approaches Portbou on two fronts 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. Bilateral relations between Russia and Ukraine are inevitable because of the neighborhood, said the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov. Despite all the propaganda flows filled with hatred for Russia ... streams of sober thinking and approaches to the future of our bilateral relations remain in the country, and they are inevitable because we are neighbors, he said. Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleksiy Danilov said earlier that more and more Ukrainians are in favor of holding peace talks with Russia. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted that Moscow does not see any desire of Kyiv to start a serious conversation on a settlement. The furry green fry fella known as Uncle O'Grimacey was introduced into the fantastical world of McDonaldsland in 1975. McDonald's had introduced the limited-edition green Shamrock Shake only 8 years earlier, and it proved to be so popular that in fact the shake alone was responsible for funding the very first Ronald McDonald House. Naturally, the best way to celebrate this success was to round out the Grimace's already weirdly large extended family with a new Oirish uncle, wielding his shillelagh, sure n' begorrah! But what ever happened to that furry green anthropomorphic tastebud? His last known public appearance was in 1986. The McDonaldsland Fandom Wiki yields little information but some clues can be found in the comments at the end of the article: As the Philadelphia Voice reported in 2017: Although the character appeared in television commercials for a few years in the '70s and early '80s, Uncle O'Grimacey was let go shortly after because of his controversial ties to the IRA. Curiously, that very same year, McDonaldsland ran an ad campaign for the shamrock shake that replaced Uncle O'Grimacey with a man dressed in a Scottish tartan playing the shake like a Scottish bagpipe in front of the English landmark known as Stonehenge which is impressively even more culturally insulting than a walking green tastebud bellowing "top o' the mornin'!" in his stereotypical brogue. The website Odd Athaneum claimed that it was actually one of the actors portraying Uncle O'Grimacey presumably in a public appearance, not the ones who played him in the commercials who "made statements in support of the IRA and that British soldiers were better dead than alive." However, the supporting link for this claim goes back to aforementioned 2017 article from the Philadelphia Voice. If anything, the source for this alleged IRA controversy seems to be an Onion article from March 1997 (coincidentally about a year and a month before the passing of the Good Friday Agreement): The Irish Republican Army announced Monday that it will embark on the most aggressive campaign of violence in its history if McDonald's Shamrock Shakes are not made available year-round. [] In a videotaped statement from an IRA safehouse somewhere near Belfast, Uncle O'Grimacey, the most radical member of the Grimace family, demanded the immediate loosening of Shamrock Shake restrictions throughout Northern Ireland. "Release the shakes to us at once," O'Grimacey said, "or the lives of your children will be forfeit." McDonald's shake representative Grimace was quick to distance himself from his IRA-member uncle. "All shakes in their time is my watchword, and certain flavors all year," Grimace said. "O'Grimacey is a radical Grimace acting without the approval of the McDonald's corporation." In the article, a fictional version of Gerry Adams also calls for the release of the "Shamrock Seven," a group of radical Shamrock Shake activists who were wrongly imprisoned in 1983 for the bombing of a McDonald's Anglican Shake factory in England. Honestly, this Onion piece really commits to the bit, and genuinely made me laugh out loud more than once. Of course none of that actually explains what happened with Uncle O'Grimacey. But it did make for a good excuse to make the above mash-up video with scion of the Shamrock Shake singing "Come Out, Ye Black and Tans" with his nephew, The Grimace, and his nephew's Irish-American friend, Ronald McDonald. But really I just wanted to plug that my new Irish Folk Rock album, Forfocseic, Vol. 3: Love & War is now streaming everywhere, and you can check it out on Bandcamp or Spotify or Apple Music or Amazon Music or Deezer or wherever else. But also it is pretty interesting that Uncle O'Grimacey has so many connections to Philadelphia, the city that gave us Gritty. And I don't think anyone's ever mentioned anything about Gritty's parentage Sinn Fein Leaders Demand Year-Round Shamrock Shake Availability [The Onion] Bad For You McDonald's Chocolate Shamrock Shake [Bryan Bierman / Philadelphia Voice] Remembering Uncle O'Grimacey, McDonald's Bizarre Shamrock Shake Mascot [Dan O'Keefe / Guilty Eats] Surprise! The FBI has been involved in warrantless surveillance! But that's not particularly surprising; we've known that for a while now (even in some pundits like to pretend as if it's absolutely unprecedented when the FBI occasionally stops monitoring Muslims, Black rights, and environmental activists and turns their attention to money laundering networks surrounding right-wing politicians). What's more interesting is how the FBI has been obtaining this surveillance data, during a time of heightened scrutiny. From Wired (emphasis mine): The Federal Bureau of Investigation has acknowledged for the first time that it purchased US location data rather than obtaining a warrant. [] The disclosure came today during a US Senate hearing on global threats attended by five of the nation's intelligence chiefs. Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, put the question of the bureau's use of commercial data to its director, Christopher Wray: "Does the FBI purchase US phone-geolocation information?" Wray said his agency was not currently doing so, but he acknowledged that it had in the past. He also limited his response to data companies gathered specifically for advertising purposes. "To my knowledge, we do not currently purchase commercial database information that includes location data derived from internet advertising," Wray said. "I understand that we previouslyas in the pastpurchased some such information for a specific national security pilot project. But that's not been active for some time." He added that the bureau now relies on a "court-authorized process" to obtain location data from companies. In other words, the FBI circumvented the legal process by just participating in the capitalist system. Though I suppose that's not particularly surprising either the US legal system has always been tilted in favor of the capitalist class. While so many lower-class Americans rot in prison cells for failing to pay exorbitant fines, corporations enjoy the privilege of paying disproportionately small fines (read: fees) for engaging in things like gross negligence or environmental damage, which have much broader and much more negative impacts on society than who can't afford to pay a parking ticket. I suppose it's also not surprising that the FBI purchased location data considering that the Department of Homeland Security is already known to have engaged in similar tactics. Still, it's notable that this is the first time the FBI just straight-up admitted it. The FBI Just Admitted It Bought US Location Data [Dell Cameron / Wired] Meet Minnesota artist Marlene Bourne. Bourne thinks she may be a ghost and finds messages hidden in movies, song lyrics, and overheard conversations. Fox News found Bourne credible enough to base its election fraud claims on a letter Bourne sent to notoriously unreliable Trump lawyer Sidney Powell. Even thirty seconds of research would have determined a legitimate news organization could not accept Bourne as a source. Fox clearly used Bourne as she was saying garbage Fox wanted to repeat, regardless of how "kooky" they knew it to be. Daily Beast: But the ideas' origin is even more "kooky" than Bartiromo might realize. In an interview with The Daily Beast, the woman behind that emaila Minnesota artist named Marlene Bournesaid that she based her now nationally prominent ideas about election fraud on a wide variety of sources, including hidden messages she detects in films, song lyrics she hears on the radio, and overheard conversations she hears while in line at the supermarket checkout. "Yeah, I'm crazy," Bourne told The Daily Beast. "Crazy like a fox." Powell didn't respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for Dominion declined to comment. In a statement provided after this article was published, Fox called the lawsuit an effort to "silence the press." Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., shakes hands with Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., after nominating him for the third round of votes for Speaker of the House on the opening day of the 118th Congress at the U.S. Capitol, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023, in Washington.(AP Photo/Alex Brandon) This month will be the third time in recent history when voters in what is now state House District 93 chose their representative in a special election called to fill a midterm vacancy. Each time, a very small number of voters showed up to make that important decision on behalf of all voters in the district. Chinese car manufacturers are filling the void global automakers left by pulling out of Russia. So far, theyve managed to avoid the backlash aimed at Western companies that tried to stay. Carmakers including Geely Automobile Holdings, minivan maker Chery Automobile and Great Wall known for its affordable Haval brand, grabbed 17 per cent of Russias auto market in 2022 after most of the worlds biggest automakers, including Volkswagen and Toyota, exited the country following its invasion of Ukraine just over a year ago. Chinese car billionaire Li Shufu is taking advantage after Western car companies exited Russia. Credit: Bloomberg While Western companies from Apple to Sony, BP and McDonalds withdrew from Russia in the early days of the war following swift economic sanctions and consumer pressure, many Chinese firms have continued to operate there with impunity. President Xi Jinping has stood by Vladimir Putin, and Chinese companies face little danger of a consumer backlash back home. Thats in stark contrast to the experience of Renault, which suffered one of the biggest blows among businesses that were reluctant a year ago to pull out of Russia. After Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy criticised the carmaker and other French companies for sponsoring Russias war machine, Renault caved, shutting down operations in its second-biggest market and writing off $US2.4 billion ($3.6 billion) of assets. Japans Fast Retailing also faced social media calls for a boycott after being slow to leave. Jealous lover found not guilty of China Bar murder Were sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. Were working to restore it. Please try again later. Dismiss Bruce Lehrmann has been ordered to hand over to News Corp, Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson documents recording any version of events he has given to any person about the night he allegedly raped Brittany Higgins, as the media parties seek to fight his defamation suits. Lehrmann, a former federal Liberal staffer, has denied raping his then colleague Higgins at Parliament House in the early hours of March 23, 2019. Bruce Lehrmann outside the ACT Supreme Court in October last year. Credit: Rhett Wyman He filed Federal Court defamation proceedings against Ten and News Corp last month over interviews with Higgins on news.com.au and The Project published on February 15, 2021. He names Wilkinson, a Ten employee who left The Project last year, and news.com.au political editor Samantha Maiden as respondents to the lawsuits against their respective employers. The 23rd Chinese medical team in Zambia on Tuesday donated medical equipment and other supplies to the University Teaching Hospital (UTH), the biggest public hospital in the country, to help improve healthcare delivery. Charles Mutemba, senior medical superintendent at the UTH, expressed his gratitude to the medical team not only for the donation but also for the training of local medical personnel, who are now able to conduct brain surgery. "We are willing to share China's medical experience and work with Zambian doctors to help improve Zambia's medical technology," said Liu Guoyu, economic and commercial counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Zambia, noting that more extensive cooperation with the UTH is expected. The 23rd Chinese medical team has been in Zambia for the past year and will leave this month. The 28-member team was scattered in four hospitals in Zambia's three cities. Produced by Xinhua Global Service Rising GOP star George Santos further endeared himself to the Republican party after his ex-roommate, a convicted credit card fraudster named Gustavo Ribeiro Trelha, said Santos taught him the ins and outs of financial crime, reports Rolling Stone. According to Trelha, Santos showed him "how to skim card information and how to clone cards," and even provided him with "all the materials and taught me how to put skimming devices and cameras on ATM machines." He alleges Santos flew him to Seattle to steal people's personal information. "My deal with Santos was 50% for him, 50% for me," Trelha wrote in a March 7 letter obtained by Politico. Trelha also accused Santos of threatening his friends and stealing his bail money. From the letter: I, Gustavo Ribeiro Trelha, do hereby declare under penalty of perjury, as provided under 28 U.S. Code sections 1746 et seq., and the laws of the United States of America, that the foregoing is true and correct. I am a Brazilian national and was accused of a US federal crime in 2017 of credit card fraud, pled guilty and was deported from the United States. I saw Congressman George Santos, also known to me as Anthony Devolder, when I saw him recently on television. I know him. In 2016, I met Santos when I rented a room in his apartment in Florida. That is when and where I learned from him how to clone ATM and credit cards. Santos taught me how to skim card information and how to clone cards. He gave me all the material and taught me how to put skimming devices and cameras on ATM machines. Santos had a warehouse located on Kirkman Road in Orlando, Florida. He had a lot of material parts, printers, blank ATM and credit cards to be painted and engraved with stolen account and personal information. Santos gave me at his warehouse, some of the parts to illegally skim credit card information. Right after he gave me the card skimming and cloning machines, he taught me how to use them. Then I flew me to Seattle, Washington, where I started working to steal credit card information from ATM terminals. My deal with Santos was 50% for him and 50% for me. We used a computer to be able to download the information on the pieces. We also used an external hard drive to save the filming, because the skimmer took the information from the card, and the camera took the password. It didn't work out so well, because I was arrested. Santos came to Seattle and visited me in jail. He told me in jail not to say anything about him. Santos threatened my friends in Florida that I must not say that he was my boss. I no longer have contact with my friends in Florida because they were all afraid of something happening to them. I am coming forward today to declare that the person in charge of the crime of credit card fraud when I was arrested was George Santos / Anthony Devolder. Santos did not help me to get out of jail. He also stole the money that I had collected for my bail. Undoubtedly, punishment plays an important social role in every civilised society, Carroll says. But weve got to move away from the notion that these people are somehow fundamentally different from us, and nothings ever going to help [them]. And weve got to move away from the notion that if we punish them harder and harder, somehow thats going to be a solution. Weve got 100 years of evidence now that it actually doesnt work that way. Plump, cheese-filled tortelloni are nestled on a butter and sage sauce. Credit: Chris Hopkins Today were meeting at Bottega in the heart of Bourke Streets Italian precinct. Carroll orders a quattro formaggi tortelloni with butter and sage, while I opt for ricotta gnocchi with pesto, confit cherry tomatoes and generous shavings of aged Parmigiano Reggiano. Essentially, weve ordered two versions of the same meal comforting carbohydrates smothered with lashings of cheese. It is filling and homely food; the culinary version of a nonnas hug. Carroll returns to his theme: the expectation prisons should be punitive institutions that reform transgressors by treating them harshly. Ricotta gnocchi at Bottega. Credit: Chris Hopkins Carroll points to reforms within the Scandinavian prison system over the past two decades that show how our prisons could be transformed into places of reform and rehabilitation rather than punishment. When you actually look at the offender rehab literature and the sorts of things that work, its all things that are good for the person anyway, he says. To give a person skills and emotional regulation; to give them meaningful occupation in the broad sense, whether that be a job or some other goal-directed activity; to give them strategies for avoiding excessive substance use; to give them a roof over their head. These are all things that simultaneously manage risk, if you want to put it in those terms or enhance safety, as we prefer to say but they also help the person to have a better life. In Victoria, a tiny number of violent offenders wind up in intensive custodial care like that provided by Forensicares Thomas Embling Hospital. A minority of these people will probably never be able to rehabilitate enough to reintegrate safely into society, Carroll says. The Thomas Embling Hospital in Fairfield. Credit: Scott McNaughton He describes an encounter that left him feeling physically ill for days, during which a male prisoner coldly described the killing of his victim with little insight and no regret. The experience was chilling. But I think the mistake is to assume that thats the majority. The fact is, the vast majority [of prisoners] are going to come out, and so the prison role has got to be less about punishment, and much more about reform. Theres this assumption amongst most people that if you talk about rehabilitation support and transitional housing for offenders that youre being soft on crime, but youre actually advocating for things that will enhance public safety in the long run. Loading At a fundamental level, Victorias Crimes (Mental Impairment and Unfitness to be Tried) Act holds that people cant be held criminally responsible for their actions if their mental health condition, or cognitive impairment, leaves them unable to understand the nature or quality of their actions, or that their actions were wrong. In theory, at least, if people fall into this category they will either be found unfit to stand trial, or found not guilty by way of mental impairment. Then, they will be given either a custodial or non-custodial supervision order. In practice, however, the majority of people Carroll deals with are or will be convicted criminals in prison. Most are caught in seemingly perpetual cycles of trauma. There is a lot of unmet need, he says. The broad swath of unmet need is around trauma-related conditions. Its unusual to meet a male prisoner who will tell you that their childhood was all just fine. Theyve experienced neglect, absent fathers, institutional abuse, intra-familial abuse. But because of inadequate resourcing, those men will not have ready access to psychological treatments [in prison]. Loading And that matters for public safety. Because if we dont optimise peoples health while theyre in prison, their mental health and the impact of any rehabilitative interventions are not going to be as strong. If we release them back out, still with the trauma-related symptoms, its back into that cycle of substance use and reoffending. While his professional gaze is focused on the Victorian system, Carroll still looks to the international experience including his native Britain for lessons in how we could improve rehabilitation prospects for people with complex mental health and psychosocial needs. Britain has four times as many forensic beds per capita as we do ... and weve got a higher GDP per capita than England, he says. The bill, please: Lunch at Bottega is a sophisticated but comforting experience. Credit: The Age So what that means in practice is that offenders with a significant mental disorder will very likely be diverted to hospital [in Britain], where they will be appropriately treated and rehabilitated from the get-go. The truth is, Victorias prisons and prisons everywhere are filled with people who have mental impairments and mental illnesses. Research cited by the NSW Law Society Journal shows that in 2022, about 98 per cent of women in Australian prisons had experienced trauma, and almost 85 per cent had been subject to violence. Up to 73 per cent of female prisoners lived with acquired brain injuries. A forensic psychiatrist for more than 20 years, Carroll has long been drawn to the study of what makes humans tick. When he was 12, he was poking around a second-hand bookshop in Southport, north of his native Liverpool in Englands north-west, when his eye was drawn to a bound magazine collection called Know Yourself. Loading Inside were articles that fascinated the young Carroll, including the Milgram experiment where participants willingly administered what they believed to be electric shocks to strangers, up to and including the use of potentially fatal shocks (the experiment was designed to prove psychologist Stanley Milgrams hypothesis on the psychology of genocide and the willingness of people to follow orders that clashed with their consciences). These days, Carrolls main focus is the mental health training and consultancy group Our Curious Minds, which he established with colleague Brett Bridges with the aim of supporting frontline mental health workers in their delivery of care to clients. He also works as a consultant for Forensicare and as the visiting psychiatrist at Hopkins Correctional Centre at Ararat. Vulnerable people will be evacuated from an outback town by air amid widespread, record-breaking floods across Queenslands vast north-west. Small helicopters and planes will be used to airlift elderly people from Burketown near the Gulf of Carpentaria to Mount Isa, about 400 kilometres to the south, on Friday. Queensland Fire and Emergency Services said it was a precautionary step, not a total evacuation, with the nearby Albert River forecast to rise higher than the record flood level of 6.78m later in the day, and more rises possible this weekend. In the nearby Indigenous community of Doomadgee, 10 elderly people have been moved from an aged care home to a hospital. Bamboozling street signs will be simplified under Melbourne City Councils new plan to improve parking in the CBD. But how confusing are they really? How hard can it be to read a sign? Quite hard, it seems, if you ask the many Melburnians who have scratched their heads over permit zones, or attempted to absorb all the information in some zones as they slowly drove by. In an effort to demonstrate the plight of Melbourne motorists, weve pulled together a few common street signs to pose the question: Can you decipher Melbournes parking signs? Answers are at the bottom of this article. Guests turned out in droves to celebrate the Alliance Francaise French Film Festival opening night, with the Australian premiere of Nicolas Bedos drama Masquerade, a Cannes 2022 official selection, setting the scene with a heady dose of glamour, lust and manipulation. French culture and language institution Alliance Francaise launched the festival in Australia in 1989 and it has since grown into the largest festival dedicated to contemporary French films outside France. This 34th edition will screen across multiple locations in Australia, and its Perth season runs until April 5. Artistic Director Karine Mauris, who is also the Cultural Attachee to the French Embassy in Australia, said this was the most dynamic program to date. A spate of attacks on Hindu temples in Melbourne has sparked concern at the highest level in India and drawn a promise from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to give special protection to stopping the threats. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his concern to Albanese late on Friday in a closed discussion, highlighting the scale of the alarm in India over the problem. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivering statements to the press at the leaders meeting in New Delhi. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen The defacing of three Hindu temples in January came after public protests by supporters of secessionists seeking a break-away state for Sikhs to be called Khalistan. The Indian government vigorously opposes the secession movement and has called for action against the attacks in the past. The purchase of at least three, and up to five, Virginia-class submarines from the US means that billions of dollars will have to be spent upgrading the HMAS Stirling Naval Base in Perth and the Osborne shipyards in Adelaide. A new submarine base will be built on the east coast in preparation for the arrival of the first nuclear-powered subs in the early 2030s. Australia will become the seventh nation in the world to operate nuclear submarines under terms of the AUKUS deal that will be formally unveiled on Tuesday. Perths Stirling submarine base will have to be upgraded first, by 2027, so that US and UK submarines can be stationed there for extended periods of time. Adelaides Osborne shipyard will be overhauled so it can build the next-generation submarines that are expected to be based on a British design, but incorporating US nuclear technology. United States Navy Virginia Class submarine USS Mississippi arrives at Fleet Base West, Rockingham, Western Australia. More than 1000 Australians will fly to US submarine makers General Dynamics Electric Boat and Huntington Ingalls Industries to be trained on how to build nuclear submarines. Port Kembla, which is in the NSW city of Wollongong, is the clear front-runner to host a new nuclear submarine base on the east coast of Australia, at an expected cost of $10 billion. Brisbane and Newcastle are the other two cities in the running to host the base. A decision is expected mid-year. Loading South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas on Thursday reminded the federal government it had given a clear commitment to build nuclear submarines in Adelaide. The Defence Department will hold confidential briefings for defence industry primes, which include defence giants BAE Systems, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop, Grumman, Raytheon as well as General Dynamics Electric Boat and Huntington Ingalls Industries, the two US companies that jointly build the Virginia-class boats. The Chinese foreign minister fired another rebuke at the AUKUS partners on Thursday night when a foreign ministry spokeswoman said the agreement would add to the risk of nuclear proliferation, exacerbate an arms race and damage peace in the Asia-Pacific region. We urge the US, the UK and Australia to abandon the Cold War mentality and zero-sum games, honour international obligations in good faith, and do more things that are conducive to regional peace and stability, she said. Loading Albanese made no criticism of China, which has begun easing curbs on Australian exports during a thaw in relations recently, but he emphasised during his Friday press conference the need for defence firepower and the importance of a stronger security relationship with India. We need to ensure that Australias defence assets are the best they can be and that we build our capability, he said. At the same time, we need to build relationships. Thats what Ive been doing. Ive been doing that here in India. Were doing that throughout the Indo-Pacific. Weve done that as well improved our relationship with China in recent times. Morrison, the architect of the AUKUS alliance and who on Monday argued that defence spending needs to rise to 2.5 per cent of GDP, said the Albanese government had picked up the ball passed to them and ran with it. There has been a good handover. He said the mooted construction and purchase of new, British-based AUKUS submarines that used American technology after the initial acquisition of Virginia class boats and which would be built in Australia was not a surprise. The suggestion it was going to be a British boat is not new, Boris [Johnson] knew that, he was very keen. We used to talk about keeping the K in AUKUS. I agreed with that, so do the Americans. We always saw this as a three-cornered partnership, Morrison said. Abbott said the momentous process of acquiring nuclear-powered submarines was now well and truly launched, [and] shows our enduring national capability to come together in a good cause and do great things for our country and that both sides of politics would have to sustain it for years to come. Dutton, who had argued for the purchase of proven American submarines rather than a new British design, said on Friday the purchase of the established Virginia-class boats to bridge the capability gap was the right call. This is one of those issues where there truly is bipartisan support. The public often say politicians fight too much or there are stances taken that are in the short-term interest. This is in the long-term interest of our country. The chorus of noise complaints about aircraft using Brisbane Airport has grown so resounding it is being heard from 226 suburbs. This was very concerning given Brisbane had only 190 suburbs, said Marcus Foth, the chief executive of the Brisbane Flight Path Community Alliance. The number of suburbs where noise complaints from aircraft have been made has jumped from 163 to 226, senate estimates revealed. The geographic scope of complaints, revealed in senate estimates, meant planes were annoying residents as far afield as the Moreton Bay council region and Samford Valley, Foth said. His observation came as federal government on Friday announced its new Brisbane Airport noise advisory group would be chaired by Australias first aircraft noise ombudsman, Ron Brent. In addition, the incarcerated are denied access to the Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme and denied access to the National Disability Insurance Scheme, with disastrous impacts. It is in the nations 132 prisons that health inequalities and discriminations are at their most stark. Australias prisons are a long way behind those in northern Europe. In the Netherlands, for example, Rosemary and Ashley would not have been incarcerated in the first place. They would have been supported and given specialist treatments. The Australian Labor Party holds that healthcare is a universal right, that all Australians are covered by Medicare. And their national policy platforms promise to end the health discriminations of the incarcerated. Yet those in prison are still to be covered by Medicare. The trauma of incarceration should not be accentuated by and accumulate further trauma. Health equality advocates argue prisoners should in the least be availed to the same level of healthcare as everyone else. The positive result of improving mental health in prisons My daughter, Connie Georgatos, coordinated a campaign calling for access to Medicare for the incarcerated. She observed that many entered prisons with a high rate of poor health and unaddressed ailments, so there should be an emphasis on catch-up healthcare, that is, improving their overall health, which included addressing psychosocial issues and psychological wellbeing. Connie believes that lifting the physical and mental health of prisoners means they are less likely to reoffend. More than half of prisoners released reoffend within two years, with the majority slipping back during the first year. They are also up to 10 times more likely to die of suicide and of unnatural deaths in the first year of release as compared to their time locked up in dungeons. Connie and I speak with a level of authority. Following two suicides in Acacia Prison, management enlisted Connie, myself, Megan Krakouer and a psychologist colleague to work with more than 400 incarcerated souls. We made an immediate difference. In the last quarter of 2020, Acacia recorded the lowest-ever number of actual self-harms of First Nations prisoners. Half a century has passed since the introduction of Medicare. But while prisoners are being denied coverage under the scheme we cannot say Australia has universal healthcare. Equivalencies of healthcare between prisons and society just does not exist. For a decade, the Australian Medical Association has advocated for prisoners to retain their Medicare rights. The loss of Medicare and of PBS entitlements while in prison exacerbates the cycle of ill-health experienced by prisoners and detainees, the AMA says. Furthermore, the AMA insists the quality of healthcare has an indisputable impact on the rehabilitation of the individual: Poor healthcare in prisons results in poorer physical and mental health long-term. Adequate mental healthcare is the best way to combat re-offending, according to Georgatos. Credit: iStockphoto More than half a million living Australians one in 50 have been to prison. More than 130,000 First Nations people one in six have been to prison. Poor health marginalises people into unemployment and underemployment. There is no worse discrimination than health inequality. Many will find it hard to believe health rights such as Medicare and the PBS are denied to Australias 44,000 incarcerated adults and to nearly 1000 incarcerated children. There has been a long silence about this life-threatening inequality. When will we speak of this cruel unfairness and call for a love of one another? We also believe every prison should have a GP on site who, with Medicare, can bulk bill. Prisoners have more co-morbidities than the general population, higher rates of disability, higher rates of acute mental health conditions. These rates are even higher in First Nations prisoners. Loading Bulk billing on-site physicians can craft primary health care plans for the affected. They will be able to identify types of neurodiversity and mental impairment and craft health care plans and/or advocate for their transfer to specialist facilities outside the carceral estate. First Nations individuals make up nearly 30 per cent of the national prisoner population, and have a higher susceptibility to health issues. So healthcare catch-ups in prison are the perfect opportunity to intervene in one of the countrys major health crises. The federal health minister has the power to immediately extend Medicare to prisoners. Simple amendments to the relevant subsection of the Health Insurances Act, passed through parliament, can guarantee universality. I also urge the departments of Justice and of Corrective Services to speak out publicly and advocate on behalf of the souls that are in their care. The Dutch recognised a significant proportion of those corralled in prisons were people with mental illnesses, psychiatric disorders and psychosocial disabilities. They have done away with the carceral estate. The Netherlands is now a bastion of restoration, transformation, specialist support, love and nurture. I urge everyone to reflect on the horror of prison life and the impact of us not caring. Let us not wage war on one another. Let us move from the shadows into the light, let us rise beyond chains, bars and wires, prejudices, demonisation and turn our eyes to each other. Let not the unfairness of the world harness us. Let not the good luck and bad luck we are born into divide us. Society is at its kindest when it supports vulnerable people and treats well those with severe personality disorders, dissociative disorders, addictions and trauma. Everyone knows that better India-Australia trade is a massive opportunity, but for too long our economic relationship has been underdone, said Jennifer Westacott , chief of the Business Council of Australia. The prime ministers decision to make this critical visit happen is hugely significant. Hence the enthusiasm this week around Prime Minister Anthony Albaneses visit to the subcontinent, the first by an Australian leader in seven years. It is hoped the visit will result in stronger ties between the two countries, both economic and strategic. With a relatively young population about to surpass Chinas as the worlds largest , India offers not just an incalculably vast domestic market for energy, foodstuffs and other commodities but an educated workforce attractive to foreign manufacturers. Its geographic importance, meanwhile, at the crossroads of Asia, is only growing as a potential counterpoint to Chinese influence in the region. Ahead of formal talks on Friday with his powerful Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, Albanese announced Australia would open the door to more Indian students, with a new agreement to make it easier for them to have their qualifications recognised in both countries. He also signalled Australia would work to encourage more co-operation between our respective film industries. Bringing our two countries storytellers together actors, producers and filmmakers will in turn bring our people closer together, he told a tourism event on Thursday. For their part, David Crowe reports, Australian officials are hoping for a commitment from Modi to expand our trade deal for Australian exports, which include coal, lamb, wool, lobsters and rare earths. In the meantime, Albanese has enjoyed a display of soft power the likes of which only India can turn on: covered in flower petals at a holy festival, cheered by crowds at a cricket match, the first foreign leader to tour a particular flagship aircraft carrier and charmed by Bollywood stars in Mumbai. In return, he has waxed lyrical about travelling India as a backpacker in his youth and lavished praise on his hosts at every opportunity, calling his visit one of the honours of my life and praising the magnificent nation of India. It already, then, shows every sign of being a diplomatically productive visit, for both sides. The trap for Australia would be to simply pigeonhole India as an ascendant version of China, even if the comparison is compelling. As Chinas population growth slows to the extent it is now encouraging families to have more children, an incredible policy turnaround it will inevitably begin to drag on growth. Inflation in China recently charted at just 1 per cent year-on-year, a sign its economy has yet to fully emerge from its pandemic blues, if it ever entirely will. India, in contrast, has a much more youthful population, with enormous potential for growth, both as a vast consumer market for exports and a workshop for global manufacturers. Li Hongzhong has built a reputation as the Chinese official most eager to heap praise on leader Xi Jinping. Now he has a new distinction: the only nominee to receive a no vote this year for a leadership role in the countrys legislature. Li, who also sits on the 24-member Politburo, received one abstention and one vote against his bid to become one of 14 vice chairpersons on the Standing Committee of the National Peoples Congress. The other 13 nominees for the position, as well as one for secretary-general of the legislatures top body, received unanimous support from Chinas 2952 congress members. Chinese President Xi Jinping takes his oath after he is unanimously elected as President during a session of Chinas National Peoples Congress. Credit: AP At the gathering, nobody voted against Xi as he was confirmed for a precedent-busting third term. The congress also voted unanimously to install former anti-graft chief Zhao Leji as the bodys new leader and Han Zheng as vice president. Minutes after the results were announced, Li then misread his constitutional oath. Instead of saying safeguarding the authority of the constitution, he substituted in the word dignity. This advertorial is sponsored content provided by the advertiser and printed as is. Any claims, recommendations or errors are the advertisers own and the reader is responsible for evaluating all information contained herein. The reader is responsible for complying with any applicable Terms of Use for TikTok and any other sites. TikTok has become a massive social media app for individuals and businesses in just a short duration. It is a creative trend-driven platform for producing, viewing, and sharing 15-second videos for all imaginable intents and purposes. However, it can be difficult for individuals who just started a TikTok account to gain a foothold in social media influence. As a result, many websites sell followers, views, and likes for a simple reason: to enable startup TikTok accounts to gain some online traction. Read along to find 10 of the best sites to buy TikTok followers and likes that promise instant results. Before we move into the top list, let us conclude that the #1 service provider is Social-Viral.com. Top 10 Best Sites to Buy TikTok Followers and Likes You are now equipped with some pointers for choosing merchants of TikTok likes and followers. To help you ease into the vast TikTok network, the reviewer has narrowed down the list of suppliers to just ten websites. Look at them closely, and consider your budget and your timeframe. At Social-Viral, you can buy TikTok followers cheap and even rely on them to be authentic and active. Social-Viral has high standards, and that is why hundreds of famous influencers and celebrities take advantage of its services. The smallest TikTok package on offer at Social-Viral is 50 followers, and it costs $1.58.However, you can choose from several other packages of 100, 250, 500, 1,000, 1,500, 2,000, 3,000, or 5,000 followers. While the largest package of 5,000 followers costs $99.99, the packages get cheaper per follower as they get larger. Regardless of the package, you can expect to learn how to get TikTok followers fast and of the highest quality. Social-Viral also offers the same packages and prices for TikTok likes if you're not in it for the followers. Another reliable supplier of TikTok followers is Stormlikes. Its smallest TikTok package is 100 followers at $2.99, while its biggest offers 10,000 followers at $199.99. Other package sizes include 250, 500, 1,000, 2,500, and 5,000 TikTok followers. Like Social-Viral TikTok products, Stormlikes alternatives get cheaper the larger the package becomes. 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Alternatively, FameShop only offers TikTok Likes in packages up to a 5,000 count. The good thing about its likes offerings is that they are cheaper than those found on Social-Viral and Stormlikes. 4. Exploreinlife While its primary target client base is on Instagram, Exploreinlife also offers TikTok, Facebook, and SoundCloud services. You can expand your TikTok network by using this companys TikTok follower packages, including 100, 500, 1,000, and 5,000 followers. The good thing about Exploreinlife is that its 100-follower package for TikTok is cheaper than the ones from Social-Viral, Stormlikes, and FameShop. It only costs $2.30. Furthermore, the largest package of 5,000 followers can give you the best bang for your buck with the base price of $69.99. However, if you need more than 5,000 followers from a single transaction, you can save more by choosing larger packages. 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SkillPatron SkillPatron has several services to offer in its database, but the reviewer will focus on its social media marketing department. It is one website where you can buy TikTok followers cheap. This company charges a $0.05 fee for every follower, and each like from their team of marketers costs $0.01. The reviewer likes that SkillPatron gives any customer free rein when choosing the number of followers or likes to purchase. You can go as low as one follower or one like, and the sky is the limit when you need to purchase a large package. 7. Best Point Online If you are looking for a merchant that sells a combination of followers, likes, and views in single hassle-free transactions, check out Best Point Online. You will find three drop-down menus listing the different available packages for each service category as you open the widget. Followers and likes are available in 500, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, and 10,000 kits, but you can purchase as many as 20,000 likes. 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TikToks Creator Fund pays up to two cents for every 1,000 views, but the computation varies depending on several undisclosed factors. 6. How Do You Tell If Someone Bought Followers on TikTok? You can check a TikTok account for its recent follower history. Remember that unless an accounts content has gone viral fast, it is highly improbable for a random addition of more than 10,000 followers. If you find an increase of 10,000 followers within a single day, those followers have probably been paid for. 7. Is Buying Followers on TikTok Worth It? Yes, with bought followers, you can attract actual, unpaid followers who can eventually increase the traffic pouring into your account. The trick to accomplishing this is limiting the number of purchased followers to avoid exposing the practice to your spectators. Which Are the Best Sites for Buying TikTok Followers? Now that you know the top 10 best sites to buy TikTok followers and likes, gather your resources. You will need a bit of cash to secure those followers to eventually receive a continuous flow of views and likes. With that said, the best sites you can put to good use are Social-Viral and Stormlikes. Both websites have a good reputation, and they can deliver the traction you need to gain a foothold on the vast TikTok network. This content was produced by Brand Ave. Studios. The news and editorial departments had no role in its creation or display. Brand Ave. Studios connects advertisers with a targeted audience through compelling content programs, from concept to production and distribution. For more information contact sales@brandavestudios.com. Breathless exhortations for war carry an understandable, and lamentable, sense of deja vu. What do the failed and misguided wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Vietnam have in common? The flawed argument by commentators and the defence community of Australias security being vitally at stake. That is three out of three wrong. One hundred per cent failure. They were wars of choice dressed as wars necessary to counter a grave national threat. It sounds too familiar now. Australian special forces in Afghanistan, a failed and misguided war. Credit: Australian Defence Force The current argument preparing Australia for war with China has the same rationale. That does not necessarily make the argument wrong, but it is prudent to be sceptical and dig deeply into the claimed justification, especially when it cites Australias really difficult neighbourhood. Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand are our friendly and decent neighbours. You have to travel a long way to encounter difficulties. It is easy to feel anxious over the prospect of war within three years. But three years seems like just a guess, and not a particularly good one. It is premised on a view that China has an advantage, but the window is closing, in part through an ageing population, leading China to launch a war sooner rather than later. But that is a narrow, selective, view. King Charles III gave his youngest brother Prince Edward the title of the Duke of Edinburgh on Friday, handing him the title last held by their father Prince Philip. Edward becomes the latest member of the royal family to be granted a new title since Charles took the throne in September after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II. Prince Edward, the new Duke of Edinburgh, and his wife, Sophie, and their daughter Lady Louise Windsor, in the days after Prince Philips death. Credit: Getty William, Charless eldest son and heir to the throne, was named Prince of Wales, while the children of his second son Harry, no longer a working royal, were officially named prince and princess. Edwards new title comes after he took on a number of his fathers roles, including overseeing the Duke of Edinburgh Award charity, which encourages young people to undertake challenges. Washington: One of Americas biggest proponents of the AUKUS deal has welcomed Australias plans to underwrite the expansion of the alliances naval capability as part of the most important security partnership the US has entered into in decades. Congressman Joe Courtney, co-chair of the so-called AUKUS caucus in Washington, also has suggested that builders from Connecticut and Virginia, the two states where nuclear submarines are currently built, could end up being deployed to Australia to ensure the plan becomes a reality. United States Navy Virginia class submarine USS Mississippi at Rockingham, Western Australia. According to leaks to multiple international media outlets this week, Australia will purchase up to five US Virginia-class boats as a stop-gap measure before acquiring a fleet of British-designed attack boats that will incorporate American technology and are expected to be built in Adelaide. Theres going to be a lot of hard work on Australias side, he told The Age/Sydney Morning Herald, referring to the challenge of finding the workforce to bring the ships to service. Jessica Chastain revolves around the stage of the Hudson Theatre like a cheesecake at a Greek diner. Here she is, director Jamie Lloyd seems to be saying to the audience, his leading ladys arms crossed in silent judgment. This is what you paid for. The idea of women as a commodity is very much at the heart of Henrik Ibsens A Dolls House, a landmark of western drama in which a wife endures all sorts of pet names from her husband like skylark and squirrel (though never cheesecake) and dares to walk out on him when she realizes that all this cutesy affection is just wallpaper in a coldly transactional household. It scandalized audiences in 1879, but in the 144 years since the door slam heard round the world, divorce has been thoroughly destigmatized, washed over by successive waves of feminism. Could anything about this play be truly shocking to a Broadway audience in 2023? Lloyd and playwright Amy Herzog seem determined to find out, stripping the play back to its essentials in a new adaptation. The story is unchanged: Its Christmas and Nora (Chastain) is ecstatic. Her husband, Torvald (Arian Moayed), has just been promoted to bank manager, which means shell finally have enough money to pay off the massive loan she secretly took out to finance a yearlong vacation in Italy, which restored Torvalds health when he was at deaths door (he thinks she inherited the money). Her creditor, Nils Krogstad (Okieriete Onaodowan), threatens to expose her unless she can secure his position at the bank. Torvald, who despises Krogstad and would hate to think he had any leverage over him, plans to fire Krogstad and give his job to Noras friend, Kristine (Jesmille Darbouze). Nora desperately tries to make everyone happy and save her middle-class life from ruin. But is she happy? A Dolls House unexpectedly becomes a memory play under Lloyds spare, moody direction. Chastain hardly ever leaves her chair downstage center as characters float around her on a turntable, which makes up the most significant part of Soutra Gilmours set. Its as if Nora is replaying events in her mind, torturing herself right up to the moment of fate. Chastain, an Oscar winner for The Eyes of Tammy Faye, thrives under this restraint, communicating thousands of unspoken words with a single glance. Her extraordinarily naturalistic performance only veers into camp once, when she is made to dance the tarantella (flailing choreography by Jennifer Rias) and ends up convulsing on the floor. Beyond that misstep, Chastain takes us along for the ride, making us feel Noras anxiety as the walls close in on her. The supporting performers also tell that story: Simmering with resentment, Darbouzes shifty Kristine made me wonder about the next move of a character in a play Ive seen a dozen times. Michael Patrick Thornton is beguiling as Dr. Rank, bringing a gallows humor to the role of the doomed physician. And Onaodowan manages to humanize Krogstad while maintaining an air of menace, impressively holding his own even though he has been directed to play his first big scene facing the upstage wall, seated back-to-back with Chastain. Moayed delivers the most exquisitely maddening portrayal of Torvald I have yet witnessed, concealing adolescent rage behind a goofy grin. We understand what Nora sees in this boyish patriarch, yet we suspect she has been conveniently ignoring his sharper edges for years. Hes just so convinced that hes the good guy in this story, and we silently hope that someone will slap him out of his delusion. Talented voice actors all, the cast deftly navigates Jamie Lloyds world of shadows and whispers. Actors linger off-sides, emerging from the shadows for their scenes (focused lighting by Jon Clark). As in Cyrano de Bergerac, which was also sound designed by Ben and Max Ringham, the performers are micd, speaking their lines in a strangely erotic ASMR (I am convinced that Lloyds fortune is to be made directing specialty videos for the tops stars on OnlyFans). One of the great contradictions of this production is that this titillating design choice, when employed as excessively as it is here, results in pretty sleepy theater. Not everything can be a very special secret. It is a testament to the oppressive grimness of Gilmours barren set and the all-black costumes (co-designed by Gilmour and Enver Chakartash) that the reveal of West 45th Street through a loading dock door arrives like a burst of color, with Nora transformed into Dorothy over the rainbow. She instantly sold me on the wisdom of her exit, and I longed to follow her out before I lost any more of my day. When acted as well as it is here, A Dolls House remains indestructible, resilient in the face of directorial gimmicks. You absolutely shouldnt feel any guilt about buying a ticket just to see the celebrity above the title, who is a marvelous actor and worth every penny and who can also be spotted for free wandering 45th Street in the seconds before the curtain call. Q: Our real estate attorney misread an estimate to remediate the underground storage tanks on the property we purchased. The sellers had started to remove and remediate some old underground oil storage tanks. The sellers attorney and our attorney ended up recommending that we take a credit for the remediation estimate rather than have the seller finish the job. We closed and then found out our attorney did not read the remediation estimate correctly. The attorney never sent us the estimate either. The estimate was for only one of the three areas that needed to be remediated and did not include the transportation charge for any contaminated soil. Our attorney has taken no responsibility for his actions. The sellers refused to do anything because the estimate was accepted and the closing had occurred. We were never given a chance to review documents, lab results, etc., with our attorney. The attorney never warned us of the consequences associated with buying a property with contamination and our attorney never requested any money be put into escrow in case the remediation cost was inaccurate. Our attorney specifically stated he would get documents relating to the remediation started by the sellers but never finished. Now we have a nightmare on our hands with remediation estimates up to $100,000. We have looked into hiring an attorney but have had no luck. We contacted five attorneys, and none of them would take on the case either because there was too little money involved or they dont want to sue another attorney. Our attorneys position is that we accepted the sellers estimate so there is nothing he can do. All of these issues could have been avoided if our attorney had kept us informed and had sent us the documents to review. What should we do? A: What an expensive, unfortunate mess. From what you have described, it does not appear that you received the representation you deserved and, presumably, paid for. We are sorry you are in this situation. When it comes to environmental matters, Sam always advises his clients to not close on the property (commercial, industrial or residential) until the issue is resolved. In some parts of the country, buyers typically hire a real estate attorney to represent them in the purchase of a home. That attorney will work for the buyer and has a duty to represent the buyer and advocate for the buyer. In states where a buyer hires an attorney to act as a settlement agent, the attorney does not have a duty of loyalty to the buyer. The buyer has to make sure that they understand what they are getting into before sending money to close or agreeing to close on a purchase of a home. We believe that whether you live in a state where buyers typically hire attorneys to help close house deals or not, you should hire a real estate attorney if you have a serious environmental issue with the home you want to purchase. What kind of environmental issue would give us pause? Lead paint, asbestos tiles or insulation, elevated levels of radon gas, and mold issues are the top environmental issues youll find in homes. While environmental issues can be a cause for alarm, there are different degrees of harm: Where there are elevated levels of radon gas, you may be able to remediate the problem by installing a radon mitigation system for less than $2,000. Lead pipes are a big concern and can be costly to replace. A main water supply line may cost up to $20,000, or more. Mold is always problematic. But if the mold (and the water infiltration causing the problem) is contained, it might be an easy fix. However, if mold is everywhere in a home, it can be a huge problem. Asbestos tiles or insulation requires specialists who are licensed to remove and dispose of the material. It can be an expensive job depending on the size of the problem. In all of these cases, you can get a handful of estimates for the remediation, and those will generally be on target. When it comes to underground storage tanks, the problem can be minor or huge. A minor problem is a small residential tank that needs to be removed but there is no evidence that the tank leaked. Multiple tanks and leaking tanks raise the price for removal. You may even have to pay to clean the soil. But you wont know for sure until you investigate further. Depending on the situation, you may not know the true extent of the problem until you begin the process of removing the tank. Sam has had several clients that had tanks removed from properties. Some of these were removed before closing and some well after closing because they werent known to exist. In urban areas, these tanks tend to be small oil tanks. Luckily, none of the tanks had breached and the cost to remove the tanks was in line with the estimates. The big issue with oil tanks is whether they have leaked. When they do leak its quite expensive to remove the contaminated dirt, place new dirt and restore the area. The bigger the tank, the bigger the risk. The more tanks, the greater the risk. Your attorney should have kept you in the loop on the negotiations with the seller. He should have discussed the risks involved with undertaking the removal of the tank based on an estimate. And, he should have sent you the estimate(s) and kept you advised of what was happening with them in the transaction. Hindsight is 20/20. Had the environmental company done the work in line with the estimate, you would not be complaining even if the attorney had not kept you informed. But the situation got way out of hand, and youre now left footing an expensive bill. Here are some issues to think through: What amount of disclosure on the tank issue was required of the sellers under the laws of your state? Did the sellers give you sufficient disclosure of the issue? Since the seller started the removal, did the sellers have a duty to complete the removal? Does your agreement to complete the removal absolve the seller from issues that were not disclosed in the estimate? We know that you talked to several attorneys and didnt get anywhere. If you live in a larger city, you should be able to find an attorney that handles seller disclosure issues in residential real estate transactions. You may also want to discuss your situation with an attorney that handles malpractice claims against other attorneys. While you have quite a bit of information that indicates that your attorney didnt represent you adequately, you will need to have someone look over the details of your file to see if you have a case against the seller on the disclosure issue or under the contract. Secondarily, you need to evaluate whether you have a claim against your attorney for their representation of you. Lastly, we remind our readers that if you havent hired an attorney to specifically represent you in a closing, you do not have legal representation. If something goes wrong in the transaction, that may have financial consequences. In these areas of the country where attorneys are not used to help buyers or sellers close their deals, any attorneys in or around the deal act as settlement agents or closing attorneys or are attorneys representing the lender. These attorneys merely work to close the transaction but do not represent the seller or the buyer in the closing. They do not owe you any fiduciary duty. The seller and buyer are left to make their own decisions and judgments, including whether to proceed and close on the home. If you are experiencing difficulties logging in or are a subscriber getting a paywall, please try one or more of the following steps. Two lines formed outside Amigone Funeral Home on Delaware Avenue on Thursday afternoon one for uniformed first responders and the other for friends and loved ones of fallen Buffalo Firefighter Jason Arno. The day before his funeral, which is expected to draw thousands of mourners, including firefighters from around the country and over the border, dozens came to pay their respects at his wake. Arno's truck, Engine 2, which on Friday will carry his casket to St. Joseph Cathedral for his funeral, was parked in front of the funeral home Thursday, adorned with black and purple bunting. Mounted deputies with the Erie County Sheriff's Office stood guard at the driveway as volunteers with therapy dogs mingled with the crowd. Among the first to pay their respects at the wake were Buffalo Mayor Byron W. Brown, Fire Commissioner William Renaldo and Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia, along with deputy fire and police commissioners. "We wanted to pay our respect to our fallen hero, Firefighter Jason Arno," Brown told reporters. "We wanted to show our love and support for his wife, his mother, the entire family. To let them know they are supported and we will be here to support them, not just these next two difficult days, but for the long haul." Brown described an "incredible outpouring of support" that was expected to continue into the night and then again on Friday. "It is an incredible brotherhood brotherhood and sisterhood. The response has been overwhelming from firefighters here locally, across the country and internationally, as well," Brown said. "The turnout is amazing," Renaldo said. But it's not surprising, he added. That's what firefighters do for each other, no matter where in the world they are. "You can travel anywhere in this country and abroad and walk into any fire station. We all talk the same language," he said. What to know about the funeral for fallen firefighter Jason Arno Several street closures are planned to accommodate the crowds expected as well as the processions. City leaders asked the public to show their support for Arno, his family and the Buffalo Fire Department by lining up along the procession route. "We're asking members of the community that would like to show their support and pay their respects to line the route of the procession," Brown said. "Salute, wave some flags, do whatever you think to show respect and honor Jason," Renaldo said. 'Buffalo is just being Buffalo': Community wraps its arms around fallen firefighter's family Buffalo and Western New York has taken the family of fallen Buffalo firefighter Jason "Jay" Arno into its embrace in the week since he died in a four-alarm blaze, and that support is expected to continue as he is laid to rest. Rob Durette and Matthew Fournier, firefighters from Somerset, Mass., drove seven hours on Thursday to attend the wake. Then they planned to drive right back to Massachusetts. "We're on duty tomorrow," Fournier said, as the firefighters in their dress uniforms walked toward the funeral home. It was important, they said, to represent their department and to pay their respects. "We're one giant family," Durette said. Scott Bateman, a captain with the Niagara Falls, Ontario, Fire Department, made the trip over the border Thursday. He, too, is on duty on Friday. He said a large contingent from his department, made up of about 300 professional and volunteer firefighters, planned to attend either the wake or the funeral. A 41-year-old Buffalo man has admitted he threw a fake pipe bomb into Eden Supervisor Melissa Hartman's home last year, the Erie County District Attorney's Office said. Adam A. Jones pleaded guilty Thursday in state Supreme Court to attempted placing a false bomb or hazardous substance, a misdemeanor, and faces up to one year in jail at his May 23 sentencing. Jones was accused in three separate incidents on Hillbrook Drive in Eden. Buffalo man arraigned on felony charges of throwing partial pipe bomb and rocks at Eden homes Prosecutors said Adam A. Jones, 40, was charged with three counts of third-degree criminal mischief and one count of second-degree placing a false bomb or hazardous substance. Police said Jones on March 6, 2022, and again on Aug. 15 threw rocks at a home on Hillbrook, causing exterior and window damage. On March 28, authorities say, Jones threw a partially completed pipe bomb through the front window of a second home on the same street. Hartman previously said the object, which did not explode, had messages threatening her if she didn't drop out of the 2022 county clerks race, which she ended up losing. Eden police said Jones told investigators he was paid by someone to target the homes, but police would not reveal more. The District Attorney's Office did not articulate a motive in the case. A temporary no-contact order of protection remains in effect for the victims. The afternoon commute Friday will be a lot trickier than the morning trip into work. Snow began to push into Western New York mid-morning, after workers and school children had arrived at their destinations. Snow will be increasing during the afternoon. Even with the higher angle of the sun in March, accumulations will begin to build and untreated surfaces will be slippery for the afternoon commute. With the track of the low pressure system a little farther north and closer to us, snow totals are looking a bit heavier than they did on Wednesday. A model depiction of around 5 p.m. shows widespread, steady snowfall coming down. With temperatures in the low-to-mid 30s, the snow will tend to be somewhat water laden. Even though the snow will not be low density, northeast gusts across the Niagara Frontier and along the Lake Erie shoreline will be sufficient to produce some modest blowing snow at times. By 5 p.m. or 6 p.m., here is a model estimate of accumulated snow for the afternoon commute, far from overwhelming, but enough to make for a slow, slippery drive home. Some daytime melting may leave less on the ground than these totals. By the Saturday predawn hours, storm totals look moderate to almost heavy, but keep in mind the marginal temperatures will cause some melting and compression of these modeled totals. In all, a range of 3-6 inches may be expected on the Niagara Frontier, and as much as 5-8 inches on the highest elevations to the south. Travel will be easier Saturday, with a few lingering light snow showers mainly in the morning. For outdoor activities, the raw breeze will be dissipating, under a mainly cloudy sky. The high temp will be around 32, below the average of 39. Speaking of outdoor activities, ski conditions will certainly move a notch up in quality over recent weekends, with the help from nature arriving just in time for the weekend. The new snow cannot be included in the Friday listings, but should be updated during the weekend. Sunday will bring a bit of moderation, with temps heading to the mid-to-upper 30s. By the end of the day, well be watching 2 areas of low pressure, which will probably bring us at least snow showers by Sunday night. As of this writing, there is poor model agreement on the eventual tracks and dominance of these 2 lows. The overnight European/ECMWF run has the southern low becoming dominant as a major storm off the coast. If that solution verified, the low center would be too far east to bring its heaviest snow to Western New York, but such a track still has time to shift. With marginal temperatures, some rain could mix in with whatever snow we see on Monday. The American/GFS has the northern low bringing a little more snow into our region than the ECMWF. I will update this forecast in the article comments section and on social media during the weekend, as necessary. In the meantime, the Weather Prediction Center/WPC has chosen a solution farther to the east for the primary low which would leave us out of the heaviest snow. As this deep low moves near the New England coast, the cold northwest flow will make Tuesday the coldest of the next 7 days, with a high only in the upper 20s-30 with a brisk breeze adding to the chill. Nationally, the greatest weather hazard will be occurring Friday and Saturday in California, mostly north and inland from the Los Angeles coastal region. A powerful, warm storm system will be moving with soaking to torrential rain below the 8000 foot level falling into the monumental snowpack in place. This has led WPC to issue a rare high risk of flash flooding over large regions from the rain plus the snowmelt, with life-threatening flooding and mudslides likely. In our region, following the evolution of the coastal storm and its trailing ridge of cold high pressure, some moderation will be returning late next week, with a chance to melt some of the stubborn snow and frozen slush cover by next Thursday and Friday. Right now, next Fridays warmth looks like only a brief respite. The 3 principle upper air ensemble means show a return of a colder long wave trough to the Great Lakes and Midwest by next weekend. Alas, this is in keeping with the extended range below average temperature trend for March Id written about starting in late in February. It may be disappointing to many but, again, at this time of the year below average does not have the same connotation as that phrase carries in mid-January ... colder than youd like, but not extreme midwinter cold. 11-Year-Old Reads Sexually Explicit Book to Maine School Board Meeting Newly donated LGBT books are displayed in the library at Nystrom Elementary School in Richmond, Calif., on May 17, 2022. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Onlookers gasped as 11-year-old Knox Zajac read a sexually explicit passage from a book in Windham Middle Schools (WMS) library to the Windham School Board in Maine. Knox Zajac read the scene in a noticeably prepubescent voice. The book Knox Zajac read, Nick and Charlie, by Alice Oseman describes a gay sex scene between two teens. Adam Zajac (L) and his son (R) Knox Zajac. (Courtesy of Adam Zajac) But for the school librarian who saw Knox Zajac check out the book, exposing an 11-year-old to sexually explicit words wasnt enough, he said. The librarian also recommended similar books. This book was at my middle school and was on a stand. When I rented it out to show my Dad it, the librarian asked if I wanted more, and if I wanted a graphic novel version, Knox Zajac said in a video posted by Maine parental rights advocate Shawn McBreairty. At that, the room gasped. But according to father Adam Zajac, the librarian was the one gasping when Knox Zajac announced he was checking the book out for his Dad to inspect. Her face immediately turned red. She got very uncomfortable and started stuttering, said Adam Zajac. Adam Zajac said his son offered to read passages from the book before the school board. My son Knox really wanted to attend, he said. Then Knox Zajac asked if he could read a passage from the book to the meeting that included a curse word and a sexually explicit description. You know what? If it was good enough to be in your schools and its okay for them to sign that out to you, yes. You can, Adam Zajac replied. When Adam Zajac heard his childs voice reading the words, he felt a rising anger, he said. As soon as I heard him, it got me so upset listening to the book. Im glad he read that page, he said. It immediately made it easy for me to say what I said about the podium. Adam unloaded on the meeting. You know who knows the best for our children? The parents, he told the meeting. I dont work anymore, and I will be more than happy to focus my time and effort for the security of my child and children in this school. I will be a thorn in your sides. So, I just want you to be aware of what youve awoken. Knox Zajac first found Nick and Charlie while looking for books at the WMS library. He had heard his high school-age brother discussing how his school had the book Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe with his father Adam Zajac. Parents nationwide have fought against the presence of the graphic novel Gender Queer in school libraries because of the books explicit pictures of sexual positions and solo sex. Mature Content for Middle Schoolers Shocked by the inappropriate content in Nick and Charlie, Knox Zajac checked it out to show his father. Dad, you have to look at this library book that I got, Knox Zajac told him. Adam Zajac said Nick and Charlie started with normal pictures of two teen boys hanging out. But then he flipped over a page and found a picture of the two boys deep in a straddled makeout session. It frustrated the hell out of me, Adam Zajac said. Adam Zajac said he felt outraged that a middle school library would contain a book rampant with explicit sexual descriptions, endorsements of casual sex, teen drinking, and 37 curse words. An LGBT book display in Hermon High School in Hermon, Maine in November 2021. (Shawn McBreairty, the Maine First Project and Maine Source Of Truth) Everyone should go into uni single!! University years are your sexiest years!! Gotta bang as many people as you can!!!! one quote from the book reads, according to the obscene book watchdog website. He lied to people at school for months about his anorexia, reads another. I want a drunk hookup in the bathroom later, he murmurs, and then he walks off before I have the chance to answer him, one character says. Like one minute youre seriously pissed off with me and the next you want to [expletive] with me! another line reads. Battling the School Board In the school board meeting, Adam Zajac said he fought WMS to remove Nick and Charlie. He first alerted the school board to the book on Feb. 18, he said, but he doubts the school will take action to remove it. They write policies that make it extremely difficult to get these books removed, he said. Although it may be easy to get books with sex scenes into the hands of children as young as 10 years old, its difficult to get them out, Adam Zajac said. A book removal challenge can take four months to process and makes parents jump through many administrative hoops, he said. Most of the time, parents give up rather than engage in a drawn-out battle with the bureaucracy. One of many books promoting transgenderism in the childrens section of the Kennebunk Free Library in Maineone of 43 states with obscenity exemption laws for libraries. (Alice Giordano/The Epoch Times) Right now, Adam Zajac said he hopes national media coverage of his story will force the school board to act. Im so thankful that theres a national spotlight on this to really give us an opportunity nationwide to get this crap out of the schools and this indoctrination of our children out of there, he said. He added that hes not sure his efforts will result in the books removal. Few Activists Versus Many Parents Despite the schools reluctance, he estimates that nearly 80 percent of local parents want Nick and Charlie out of middle school libraries. Even so, he said, WMS appears intimidated by the small percentage of the community that appreciates the books. I really think the only people that were there for the book were these librarians and activists that were called upon to come in there and stand up, he said. As of now, the school hasnt removed Nick and Charlie from the school library, Adam Zajac said. Nick and Charlie isnt the only book in the Windham school system with sexually explicit images, he added. In Maines School District 14, there are 68 books with sexually explicit passages, he said. But he was unsure how these books were divided between middle school and high school. He said he hopes local parents will wake up to the fact that schools are willing to give children sexually graphic books but hesitant to remove them. New childrens books added to the library collection are displayed in the Alachua branch of the Alachua Country Library District in Florida on Feb. 17, 2023. (Nanette Holt/The Epoch Times) Sexualization has no place in our schools, he said. And this is taxpayer-funded. So, in my opinion, this should be a majority-rule situation, The Epoch Times reached out to WMS but received no response. As previously reported, many Maine public schools have defied parents to thrust explicit books and transgender identities on students. In one Maine school, a counselor secretly encouraged a 13-year-old girl to identify as transgender. A new curriculum for Maine schools starts teaching children as young as kindergarten about transgender teddy bears, red-labeled crayons that identify as blue, and homosexual penguins. In Hermon, Maine, a teacher told parents to take their children elsewhere if they didnt trust teachers. 2 Police Officers Shot in Lincoln Heights Released from Hospital LOS ANGELESTwo Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers injured during a gun battle with a parolee in Lincoln Heights were released from a hospital, while an investigation continued March 10 into the police operation that led to the gunfire and left the suspect dead. Three LAPD officers were shot and wounded by the gunman during a search for a parolee at large in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood on March 8. The LAPD Headquarters confirmed on Twitter that two officers were set to be discharged from LAC+USC Medical Center on Thursday. A third officer injured in the shootout is expected to remain in the hospital to receive additional medical treatment. We thank the L.A. City Fire Department and hospital staff who have provided the best possible treatment to the injured officers, according to a headquarters statement. One of the police officers was shot in the arm, another was shot in the leg and the third was shot in the torso, but body armor probably deflected the round, according to authorities. On Day of Shooting The deadly confrontation unfolded around 4 p.m. Wednesday when officers from the Hollenbeck Community Police Station arrived at the 3800 block of North Broadway, between Lincoln Park Avenue and Mission Road, regarding a parolee at large. During the subsequent investigation, officers came across the individual who refused to comply to the commands, and a request for canine officers was requested from Metropolitan Division, LAPD Assistant Chief Al Labrada said at a news conference Wednesday night outside LAC+USC Medical Center, where the officers were hospitalized. With the suspect still refusing to comply, officers eventually utilized gas to get compliance from the individual, Labrada said. Following that deployment of the gas, the suspect stepped into an alleyway and opened fire on police sometime after 6 p.m., Labrada said. Three officers, all from canine units, were struck with the gunfire, and fellow officers pulled them from the line of fire as police shot back at the suspect, authorities said. The officers were taken to the hospital while a standoff ensued with the suspect, who was holed up inside a lower-level room off the alley. LAPD SWAT officers deployed three robots into the alley to get a look at the suspect, who was ultimately determined to be down, and later pronounced dead. A Los Angeles Police Department K-9 vehicle in Los Angeles on Dec. 2, 2017. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) The man was identified by the Los Angeles County coroners office as Jonathan Magana, 32, of Los Angeles. It was not immediately clear if Magana was fatally shot by police or died of a self-inflicted wound. Authorities at the hospital eventually indicated that the officers were all in stable condition with injuries initially described as serious, although all are expected to recover. Mayor Karen Bass went to the hospital Wednesday night and spoke with two of the injured officers. I deeply appreciate their service, and let them know that their city stands with them, Bass said at the news conference outside the hospital. And I very much look forward to their recovery. My heart goes out to the officers families who tonight got the phone call, or the knock on the door, that they dread every day that their loved one go on duty. The Los Angeles Times reported that the suspectwho was not immediately identified by policehad a lengthy criminal record. In January, the suspect was charged with battery on a police officer and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person in connection with an incident late last year, The LA Times reported, citing court records and law enforcement sources. The shooting of the officers prompted a massive police presence in the Lincoln Heights area, with at least three SWAT Bearcat vehicles at the scene. Residents in the area were evacuated during the standoff. Video from the scene showed officers escorting a resident with a walker from a home near the shooting scene. Other residents were warned to stay inside their homes with their doors locked. A citywide tactical alert extending officers shifts was issued following the shooting, but it was canceled when the suspect was determined to be dead. The officers who were shot are part of the Metropolitan Division, Labrada said. 3 Dead Following Meningococcal Outbreak in Virginia The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) issued an update about a community outbreak of meningococcal which they say is continuing to spread in Eastern Virginia. Out of the 12 cases of invasive meningococcal disease (IMD), three patients have died from complications. Officials are saying these deaths might indicate that the strain is more severe than first thought. All three deaths occurred within the first week of contracting IMD. VDH warns that IMD is still spreading in Virginia and bordering states. According to officials, Meningococcal disease is a serious illness caused by the bacterium Neisseria meningitidis. The bacteria spread from person to person through contact including kissing, coughing, sneezing, or sharing eating utensils, cigarettes, or makeup. VDH believes that there is a high risk of the asymptomatic spread of the disease. The bacterium can also be found in the nose and throat of people without causing disease, the agency stated. According to VDH, in a few rare cases, these patients can develop other serious illnesses, including meningitis (inflammation of the lining of the brain and spinal cord) or septicemia (a bloodstream infection). In 2022, Australia also saw an outbreak of IMD. During a 2023 Immunization Coalition Meningococcal Webinar, professor Robert Booy, an infectious diseases expert at the University of Sydney, Australia, explained the reasons behind the rise in cases. Booy said COVID measures like social distancing, masks, and handwashing prevented infections like meningococcal. Because of less contact, we incurred an immune debt; we werent exposed to all sorts of infections. Now immune systems lost some of their memory, or they never gained that memory So now were having to repay that debt and were getting a lot more infection in 2023, Booy said. According to Augusta Free Press, all cases in Virginia have been located in Hampton Roads and most are black adults between the ages of 30 and 60. Out of these, 11 patients were not vaccinated for IMD type Y, and one was partially vaccinated. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, normally children under 2 years of age or young adults are most susceptible to this disease. Diagnosing the disease within the first day or two is crucial for treatment with antibiotics, and signs to look for include, fever, chills, headache, stiff neck, nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to bright light, and rash. The VDH encourages people to get the meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MenACWY), which it says can provide protection against type Y of the disease. There were also at least 26 cases of IMD in Florida in 2022, most of them among gay men. Booy said there have been different strains of IMD that have popped up in the UK and Australia and he expects to see more cases in the year ahead. 33 Groups Unite to Call for Foreign Agent Registry Amid Chinas Interference Attempts Gloria Fung, president of Canada-Hong Kong Link, speaks during a webinar at which a coalition of 33 multicultural organizations called on the government to create a foreign agent registry, on March 8, 2023. (Screenshot via The Epoch Times) A coalition of 33 multicultural organizations across the country have united to call on the government to create a foreign influence registry to combat the Chinese regimes interference targeting Canada, according to a webinar event. We call upon all Canadian government to pass a foreign influence registry act in the House of Commons and do this without further delay, said Gloria Fung, president of Canada-Hong Kong Link, who co-hosted the panel discussion with members of the Canadian Coalition for a Foreign Influence Registry on March 8. A foreign influence registry, also known as a foreign agent registry, would require foreign states whose aim is to influence federal officials and decision-makers in order to advance their own political interests to register their activities, according to the Public Safety Canada website. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently said he has tasked Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino with launching consultations on the creation of a foreign agent registry, but didnt provide a timeline. The Liberal government first announced in February 2021 that it was actively considering a foreign agent registry; nearly two years later in December 2022, Mendicino said that Ottawa was preparing to hold public consultations on the possible creation of such a registry. In recent months, a series of reports by the Globe and Mail based on national intelligence sources alleged that the Beijing regime implemented a sophisticated strategy to interfere in the 2021 federal election. A Global News report last November also indicated that Trudeau and his cabinet were briefed months ago by national intelligence officials about the Chinese Communist Partys interference in the 2019 election. Facing mounting pressure to hold a public inquiry, Trudeau announced that an independent special rapporteur will be named in the coming weeks to look into foreign interference in Canadian elections. Speaking at the March 8 panel discussion, Fung said the investigation by the special rapporteur shouldnt delay the creation of a foreign agent registry. If the government considers [public] consultation necessary, we would be happy to cooperate fully. However, the consultation should be conducted in a timely manner, and with groups that are truly representative of local communities and dont act as proxies for foreign governments, she said. Also speaking at the March 8 panel discussion were Charles Burton, senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute; Kayum Masimov, project manager for the Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project; Mabel Tung, chair of Vancouver Society in Support of Democratic Movement; Dinh Tran, leader of Viet Tan Ontario; and Marcus Kolga, president of The Central and Eastern European Council in Canada. In March 2022, the coalition issued a joint letter supporting Sen. Leo Hosakoss Bill S-237 in the Senate to establish a foreign influence registry. The bill, however, has languished in the Senate since February 2022. Vivian Yu from NTD contributed to this report. 5 Arrested After Deadly Kidnapping of Americans in Mexico Cartel reportedly issues apology over kidnappings, murders A woman is carried to the back of a white pickup truck in this still image obtained from social media video that allegedly shows the kidnapping of Americans in Matamoros, Mexico, on March 3, 2023. (Video obtained by Reuters) Mexican officials arrested five people in connection to the recent kidnapping and murder of Americans near the U.S.Mexico border, according to the attorney general for the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. In a statement on Twitter on March 10, Tamaulipas Attorney General Irving Barrios Mojica confirmed the arrests of five suspects linked to the March 3 incident in the border city of Matamoros for the crimes of aggravated kidnapping and intentional simple homicide. Another person who was recently arrested was linked to the kidnappings and murders, he wrote. Mojica wrote on the night of March 9 in a separate statement that five vehicles, including a Lamborghini model stolen on U.S. soil, were located in Matamoros. Earlier in the week, officials confirmed the arrest of one suspect who was guarding the victims on the outskirts of the city. A Mexican woman and two Americans, Shaeed Woodard and Zindell Brown, were killed when someone opened fire on Woodard, Brown, and two other Americans after they arrived in Matamoros, located just south of the border from Brownsville, Texas, according to officials. The bodies of the two dead Americans were repatriated to the United States on March 9, officials said. Tamaulipas Gov. Americo Villarreal previously said in a news conference that a woman and a man had survived the incident. They were identified as Eric Williams and LaTavia Washington McGee. The four U.S. citizens reportedly had traveled from the Carolinas to Mexico to receive cosmetic surgery. The arrests came as a drug cartel allegedly involved in the kidnapping issued an apology over the incident, according to The Associated Press and CNN. A purported handwritten letter from the cartel was posted in a public area in Matamoros this week, while AP reported that a state law enforcement official provided the newswire service with the apology. We have decided to turn over those who were directly involved and responsible in the events, who at all times acted under their own decision-making and lack of discipline, the letter reads, adding that the individuals went against the cartels rules, which include respecting the life and well-being of the innocent. Photos published online also appeared to show the five cartel members who were handed over to Mexican authorities. The Epoch Times couldnt confirm the authenticity of the apology, the letter, or the photos. The [Gulf Cartel] apologizes to the society of Matamoros, the relatives of Ms. Areli, and the affected American people and families, the letter also reads, according to CNN. The Gulf Cartel, Scorpion Group, strongly condemns the events of last Friday, the letter added, referring to a branch of the criminal organization. Details On March 3, after the four Americans crossed the southern border and entered downtown Matamoros, they came under gunfire and were then loaded into a pickup truck. The slain Mexican woman, identified as 33-year-old Areli Pablo Servando, was apparently killed by a stray bullet. Tamaulipas attorney generals office personnel walk at the scene where authorities found the bodies of two of four Americans kidnapped by gunmen, in Matamoros, Mexico, on March 7, 2023. (Daniel Becerril/Reuters) Another friend, who remained in Brownsville, called police after being unable to reach the group that crossed the border on March 3. Brownsville Police Department spokesman Martin Sandoval said on March 9 that officers followed protocol by checking local hospitals and jails after receiving the report about the missing people. A detective was assigned to the case within the hour and then alerted the FBI after realizing the people had crossed into Mexico. The FBI took over the case as videos showing the Matamoros shootout, with the victims matching the description of the missing people, began to circulate on social media. The surviving Americans told investigators they were taken to a clinic in an ambulance to receive first aid, a statement said. By reviewing police surveillance video around the city, authorities were able to identify the ambulance and find the clinic. No arrests were made at the clinic, according to the statement. In the meantime, the FBI and U.S. State Department have advised Americans to refrain from traveling to Mexico, especially certain states that are placed on the departments Level 4 Do Not Travel list because of the high risk of kidnappings and crime. If youre driving there, which most people will from Arizona, stay on the main highways. Try not to veer too far off course. Thats where you can kind of get into sticky situations, FBI Phoenix spokeswoman Brooke Brennan told Fox-10. Have an emergency contact, make sure youre checking in with them, and make sure they know how often you plan to check in with them. The Associated Press contributed to this report. The Chinese communist regimes policy has changed abruptly since the Partys 20th Congress in October 2022. China experts from varied backgrounds will share their perspectives in a discussion held by the Brookings Institution at 9 a.m. ET on March 10 about the recent policy shifts within China, the underlying causes, and potential implications for the future. DENVER, Colo.Adopted and brought from China to America when she was less than a year old, Beilin Brower had always thought of China as this foreign land of mysticalness. Yet when she saw Shen Yun Performing Arts at The Buell Theatre at DPAC on Mar. 9, she finally felt a connection to where she was born. The most amazing thing was feeling that connection back to my birthplace, Ms. Brower said. It was almost like there was a string in my heart that was connecting me all the way through the sky back to China, back to my home place. Beilin Brower It was amazing. It was almost like there was a string in my heart that was connecting me all the way through the sky back to China, back to my home place, she said. It was almost like as I was watching that performance, someone was plucking that string just with the music, and I could feel it inside it was a really emotional experience. Based in New York, Shen Yun was founded in 2006 and quickly became the worlds premier classical Chinese dance and music company. Over the years, Shen Yun has grown from one to eight equally sized companies, each with its own live orchestra, which combines traditional Chinese and Western instruments. Mind-Blowing Erhu Ms. Brower also said that she enjoyed the erhu, a traditional Chinese two-stringed instrument. The erhu is my favorite traditional Chinese instrument of all time, she said. The only way I can describe it is like its like a human voice thats wailing. Its a beautiful wail that has like all sorts of emotions. A live performance of an erhu, she said, was mind-blowing. Ive heard music [with] it, and Ive heard songs and everything like that, but to see it in person, to watch what I was seeing and what I was feeling, experiencing all around together, it was just incredible. Ms. Brower said that although she does not know Chinese herself, she was still able to make connections to the stories in Shen Yuns performance and find a sense of familiarity. The moment I sat down at Shen Yun and they told us about the next scene we were going to see, the next dance, I went, I know that story. I know the story of Monkey King. And the moment the characters went out, I said, I know exactly who that is. Shen Yun: Depicting Persecution Shen Yuns program also includes story-based dances set in modern-day China that depict the Chinese Communist Partys persecution of followers of Falun Dafa, a spiritual practice that teaches the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. Regarding the persecution, Ms. Brower said its horrible while adding that its also sad how common such things are. There are lots of groups out there who are being persecuted for what they believe in and what they think, and its unfortunately so commonplace now that most people dont even realize that this is a terrible thing thats happening, she said. I mean, how many disasters have we had in the last couple of years alone? Its horrible that most people just look at the next disaster and go and just add it to the list and dont think about it again, she said. But this is a thing thats happening, and this is personal to so many people. Also, just the oppression of thought is horrifying by itself If you try to suppress an idea, then youre basically suppressing free will or what a person is to their very core. Shen Yun: Reviving Chinas Traditional Culture Ms. Brower also expressed her enthusiasm for Shen Yuns mission of reviving traditional Chinese culture and said that she was looking forward to learning more about China herself. I am so excited, she said. There are so many cool things that have happened in Chinese history. There are so many interesting ideas even just like the books about cultivation or the idea about what beauty means, like you can be both strong and powerful and beautiful and graceful at the same time, she said. The whole idea about how the world works and functions, about how there has to always be balance. Its beautiful in its own way, and its really sad that more people dont know about it. Reporting by NTD and Wandi Zhu. The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006. Africas 2 Largest Economies Punished for Lack of Action Against Terrorist Financiers New South African banknotes at the value of 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 rand depicting former South African president Nelson Mandela are displayed at the the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) on July 13, 2018, in Pretoria, South Africa. (Phill Magakoe /AFP via Getty Images) JOHANNESBURGThe world anti-money laundering organization Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has gray-listed Africas two biggest economies, Nigeria and South Africa. The Paris-based task force stated that the action was taken because both countries hadnt done enough to prevent illicit financial flows and terrorist financing. Financial experts warn the gray-listing could be devastating to Nigerias and South Africas economies, both heavily based on extractive industries such as oil and gold mining, as it will reduce foreign direct investment. The agency monitors governments to check that theyre following basic principles of financial regulatory oversight. It stated that Nigeria and South Africa needed to show a sustained increase in investigations and prosecutions of serious and complex money laundering; that both had to enhance identification, seizure and confiscation of proceeds of economic crimes; and urgency in implementing strategies to counter terrorism financing. The FATF stated that the countries should ensure the effective implementation of targeted financial sanctions and to identify individuals and entities suspected of funding terror. Top South African economist Dawie Roodt told The Epoch Times: Based on history, its going to be a tall order for both South Africa and Nigeria to conform to all of these conditions. I say this because both countries are characterized by kleptocratic elites whose main business is to use the state to launder money. However, they may well be successful in targeting terrorists to get the attention off themselves. The Nigerian army is currently battling several terror groups, including the Islamic State of West Africa Province and its sister organization, Boko Haram. Last year, the U.S. government designated several South Africans as global terrorists who intelligence services stated were using front companies and so-called charities to fund ISIS activities, including insurgencies in Congo, Mozambique, and the Middle East. The U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on several South Africans and their businesses, stating that they had given technical, financial, or material support to the ISIS terror network. Lakshmi Kumar, policy director at Global Financial Integrity, an anticorruption group in Washington, told The Epoch Times that the task force had no choice but to punish South Africa and Nigeria, especially because they hadnt established strong beneficial ownership registries. These registries require public disclosure of the identities of individuals who benefit financially from companies, even if they arent legal owners. This lack of progress toward a proper ownership registry makes sense, at least in South Africas case, Paul OSullivan, a private investigator specializing in financial crimes, told The Epoch Times. The [governing] ANC [African National Congress] has hidden behind private firms to move money from corrupt deals all over the place since the 1990s, including to other parts of the world. The World Bank stated that anonymous companies are used in the majority of corruption cases it reviews and that beneficial owners hide behind shell companies and use intricate money trails to move billions of dollars around the world. Implications of Gray-Listing Severe Financial expert Bongani Mahlangu described the implications of gray-listing for South Africa as severe. There will be a reduction of capital flows coming to South Africa, so the integrity of the banking and financial system will be undermined. That makes it very difficult for our banks and financial systems to interact globally and even to some extent domestically as well, Mahlangu told The Epoch Times. South Africas Reserve Bank stated that the gray-listing is a blow to the countrys financial standing around the world and that it could have wide-reaching consequences for its financial system. The bank warned of capital and currency outflows but stated that the more immediate issue is that it would increase transactional, administrative, and funding costs for the banking sector. Mahlangu said being gray-listed by FATF indicates an absence of the rule of law and so discourages investment. He noted that investors and potential investors in Nigeria and South Africa would now be subject to intensive due diligence checks in international banking and finance and that theyll loathe the added red tape and pressure. That means the cost of investment increases, Mahlangu said. Also you find theres a credit downgrade, and when theres a credit downgrade it increases the cost of credit, more especially when you go into foreign financial markets. Citizens Will Pay Higher Taxes Mahlangu said Nigeria and South Africa would pay higher rates when borrowing from organizations such as the World Bank and international financial institutions and that this could lead to citizens being taxed more. Acting director-general of South Africas Treasury, Ismail Momoniat, told The Epoch Times that the gray-listing of both Nigeria and his country is unfair. We need to reassess the process that leads to gray-listing, he said. Both economies have made great strides toward improving their systems, and in that context, its a bit perverse to be gray-listed. Momoniat pointed out that South African President Cyril Ramaphosa signed two laws to combat money laundering and terrorism financing in December 2022. But economist Johann Els said the FATF clearly wants to see action and not words on paper. Those laws were passed at the very last minute in a desperate attempt to avoid sanction. On that basis, one cannot expect the FATF to hold off on the gray-listing, because it obviously needs to see that the laws will be implemented properly, he told The Epoch Times. In what could prove to be yet another blow to South Africas sinking economy, a group of House Republicans has introduced a bill seeking to punish the country for its recent joint military exercise with China and Russia. The naval drills, involving warships from the three countries, unfolded over 10 days in the Indian Ocean off South Africas east coast. The bill, spearheaded by Rep. John James (R-Mich.), demands a thorough review of U.S. relations with South Africa. Some U.S. politicians from both the Democratic and Republican parties have grown increasingly angry about the South African governments refusal to condemn Russias invasion of Ukraine. Ramaphosas administration insists that its neutral in the conflict. Should the bill pass, U.S. President Joe Biden would be mandated to take punitive action against South Africa, including possibly freezing it out of the African Growth and Opportunity Act. The African Growth and Opportunity Act is a piece of legislation approved by the U.S. Congress in 2000. It sets preferential trade conditions with the economies of sub-Saharan Africa, thus giving them easier access to American markets for their goods, products, and services. Professor David Monyae, a foreign policy expert at the University of Johannesburg, told The Epoch Times that the bill is unreasonable and contrary to international law. In the modern international order, one country cannot threaten another just because one country doesnt agree with it, he said. This bill makes the assumption that South Africa is a U.S. colony, and if youre a colony, you follow what your master country says. Thats very disturbing. He said Washington would sanction South Africa in various ways should the bill pass. The U.S. has enormous power; it controls the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank. The U.S. has power to influence the direction of important multilateral institutions, and also the more than 600 American companies in South Africa, Monyae said. Weve seen with recent visits by powerful U.S. politicians, including [Secretary of State Antony] Blinken, that this countrys important to the United States, and so is the United States very important to South Africa. Unfortunately domestic politics appear to be disturbing this relationship. But professor John Stremlau, international relations expert at Wits University and a former U.S. government official, said the bill shouldnt concern South Africa very much. There are only a handful of moderate Republicans who sponsored this request for a review, and its important to note that under the U.S. Constitution, foreign policy matters are for the president, the executive branch, to handle, he told The Epoch Times. This resolution, I dont think can even pass the House of Representatives, frankly. Stremlau said, At best, the bill symbolizes some American irritation that one of Africas most significant countries isnt on the right side of the RussiaUkraine conflict. This bill, which Ive read, is not only a fools errand, it means nothing, politically, in terms of the immediate consequences on U.S.South African relations, he said. There is perhaps a growing concern about South Africas so-called non-aligned policy as this war becomes more and more horrific for civilians in Ukraine and military assistance ramps up from the NATO powers, once the Ukrainians have shown their tenacity to fight for their national self-determination. But he noted that, whatever direction South AfricanU.S. relations go in the future, history will note a point of deep irony and hypocrisy that a government whose members once fought against an oppressive, racist regime for independence now appears to be allied with brutal authoritarianism. Alberta Tables Bill That Aims to Prevent Feds From Entering Private Land Without Permission A farm tractor and baler sit in a hay field on a misty morning near Cremona, Alberta, in a file photo. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press) An omnibus red tape bill tabled by the Alberta government on March 8 proposes to modify existing trespass legislation to apply to federal government employees entering private land without permission. Bill 9, the Red Tape Reduction Statutes Amendment Act, 2023, is the provinces seventh red tape reduction bill. If passed, the bill will amend 14 individual pieces of existing legislation across nine government departments, with one of its stated goals to strengthen the rights of Alberta landowners. We are reinforcing our commitment to protect the property rights of Albertans, with amendments that state that the federal government is bound by existing rules around unlawful entry onto private property, Dale Nally, minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction, said at a news conference. The bill amends trespass legislation so that rules about unlawful entry onto Albertans private property also apply to federal employees, said the government. Albertans have communicated to us very clearly that they value property rights, and that they were asking for these type of protections, Nally said. He said that while existing legislation states trespassing is a crime, it will now be clear that it applies to everyone. They Are Not Our Bosses Brian Jean, minister of jobs, economy, and northern development said the clarification was necessary so that the federal government recognizes that trespass law will apply to them. They are not our bosses, and they need to see where that line is drawn, he said at the news conference. Federal legislation does not supersede provincial legislation. We are partners in Confederation, added Jean. They need to make sure that theyre within the legislative rights that they have under the Constitution. Nally said that Saskatchewan already put forth legislation regarding property rights, and he predicts other provinces will follow suit. Saskatchewan amended its trespass laws on Nov. 23, 2022, in response to concerns about unauthorized access to private land by federal employees in August of that year. Bronwyn Eyre, Saskatchewans attorney general and minister of justice, said at the time that the legislation formalizes and reinforces the change to trespass regulations, made earlier this year, that requires federal employees to comply with the Act which prohibits individuals from entering private land without the owners consent. Farmers in Pense, Mossbank, and Pilot Butte had complained that Government of Canada employees, in clearly marked federal vehicles, had trespassed on private lands, allegedly taking samples from dugouts. Jeremy Cockrill, Saskatchewans minister responsible for water security, wrote the federal government on Aug. 21, 2022, alleging federal workers told the farmers they were testing water sources for pesticide/nitrate levels. Calling it a disappointing act of bad faith, Cockrill stated: The lands and water body, a producers dugout, are both privately owned. Government of Canada representatives did not request permission to enter from the landowner, nor did they seek permission to perform testing or advise landowners of any other purpose of necessity for attendance. In his reply to Cockrill, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault admitted that federal employees were in the area, but stated, Departmental officials are not testing water for nitrates or nutrients related to farm runoff, and their study is not related to the non-regulated, voluntary goals of the Government of Canada in an effort to reduce emissions from agricultural fertilizers. Cockrill said on Aug. 24, 2022, that dugouts on private land are outside of the federal governments jurisdiction, and that water quality management falls under provincial jurisdiction. He warned Guilbeault that federal workers sent by Ottawa could be prosecuted or arrested if they dont seek permission to access private property. Isaac Teo contributed to this report. Before controversial conservative political commentator Michael Knowles even began a scheduled talk at the University at Buffalo on Thursday night, several hundred protesters exercised their First Amendment rights. Waving rainbow flags and holding signs that said "Eradicate bigotry," they chanted "We're not going to take it anymore." The number of protesters was roughly equal to the several hundred people waiting to go inside Slee Hall at 7 p.m. to hear Knowles' speech entitled "How Radical Feminism Destroys Women (And Everything Else)." After Knowles called for transgenderism to be "eradicated" from public life in a March 4 speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference outside Washington, D.C., UB President Satish Tripathi came under intense pressure from faculty, students and community leaders to cancel the North Campus event. But Tripathi instead released a statement Sunday reaffirming freedom of expression at UB, while pledging to ensure that the university remains a safe place for those who are disenfranchised, including the transgender community. The union representing graduate and teaching assistants said Monday it was "profoundly disgusted" that UB would allow Knowles' speech to go on. We wanted to show the UB and Buffalo communities that we stand against hate," said student Hannah Krull of No Hate at UB, an organizer of the protest Thursday. Krull said she would not listen to Knowles' speech. "We stand together on campus in support and in love of each other. Specifically, for our trans community, Jewish communities and people of color in our communities. We have a speaker who, they are all so excited to spread hate," said protester Rasmieh "Sara" Sallaj, a Niagara University student. "Its absolutely awful. Im embarrassed for everyone here, to be honest with you. But others wanted to hear what Knowles had to say. "I've been listening to Michael Knowles for years now. I've always been of that persuasion politically, my whole life, and I want to hear what he has to say," said Thomas Clark, of Wilson. He said it was "100% important" that people be allowed to exercise free speech, "good, bad or ugly." "I'm here to see what's going to happen, hear what he's going to say and to experience the event," said Reece Bates, a Buffalo State student who was in line outside Slee Hall. "I went to Trump's rally. I'm not a Trump supporter at all. But I went to his rally just because I like experiencing things." Knowles, a conservative political commentator, bestselling author and host of a show at the Daily Wire, was invited to speak Thursday by a conservative student group, the Young Americans for Freedom chapter at UB. Knowles' speech, which began 35 minutes late, was briefly interrupted by a person who repeatedly yelled "Trans lives matter." The protester was escorted out of the auditorium by security. I especially want to thank those people in the audience. They are showing a lot of bravery for even coming into the auditorium with such a genocidal maniac, Knowles joked, poking fun at backlash aimed at himself. He said that when he called for transgenderism to be eradicated from public life, he was not calling for transgender people to be killed. Until 2015, Knowles said, virtually nobody believed in transgenderism. He said that same-sex marriage was not accepted by most people until recent decades. "It was the feminists who first insisted that men and women were pretty much exactly the same," he said. America Is Losing the Crypto Space-Race, Interests Argue Over How to Regulate The cryptocurrency world is rapidly evolving, with new developments emerging almost daily. However, America is in danger of falling behind its global competitors, according to Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal. During Thursdays hearing of the House Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology, and Inclusion, Grewal emphasized the importance of the crypto industry while accusing U.S. regulators of lagging behind the global competition. America seems to be the only developed country dragging its feet, he said. As other countries are bringing crypto safely into the regulatory perimeter, we should be doing the same. This is a Race to the top that the United States cannot afford to lose. In the wake of the FTX scandal, in which a multi-billion dollar company collapsed in a matter of days and left many investors penniless, Congress and regulatory bodies are seeking solutions to protect investors. This has proved a complicated task, with much debate over the years about whether the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) or the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) should have jurisdiction over digital assets. Thursdays hearing revived the debate, with some legislators broaching a potential merger of the two regulatory bodies. Mike Belshe, founder and CEO of crypto bank BitGo, argued that placing the entire industry under one regulatory umbrella is unwise. Today we classify at least five different types of assets as digital assets, he said, offering examples like stablecoins, cryptocurrencies, DeFi tokens, digital property, and NFTs. Having a single regulator for five very diverse and different activities probably isnt exactly the right approach. In general, panelists and members of Congress disagreed on the precise way to go about regulation. Grewal suggested a light-touch regulatory framework that would provide consumer protections while allowing for continued innovation. Advocating for a different approach, Policy Director at Duke Financial Economics Center Lee Reiners advocated for regulation on par with traditional financial entitiessomething that would be a radical change from the current state of play. While the opinion was not represented at the hearing, some economists disagree that more regulation will protect investors. Economist Peter Schiff (Courtesy of Peter Schiff) Economist and founder of Euro Pacific Asset Management Peter Schiffan outspoken critic of cryptocurrenciestold The Epoch Times that more regulation is unlikely to help investors but will add societal costs through higher taxes and a less efficient government. The amount of money the public loses as a result of regulation, often in the form of higher prices, is much higher than the amount of money they would have lost without regulation, if they would have lost at all, he said. Regulators end up stealing more than regular criminals. We dont need more government regulation. We need more free market regulation and personal responsibility. Law professor Tonya Evans expressed concerns about the tremendous loss of wealth accumulation opportunities for communities of colorespecially the black communityif investment and innovation opportunities in the crypto ecosystem are driven offshore. Evans argued that piecemeal regulationsas opposed to a long-term unified planhave confused industry leaders and forced many abroad. The law professor said burdensome regulation in tandem with lobbying efforts by the major lending banks have disproportionately impacted the wealth of minorities. In this latest economic boom, systematically marginalized populations will continue to be left behind under the well-intentioned guise of investor and consumer protections and as well as not-so-well-intentioned fear, uncertainty, and doubt from legacy financial institutions and other parties with vested interest in seeing the crypto economy fail. Most panelists agreed on one thing: as the world moves toward a cashless society, the role of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology will continue to grow. If the United States wants to remain competitive on the global stage and avoid leaving marginalized communities behind, it must take steps to adopt these new technologies. Another Drug Injecting Room? No Thanks! A drug user takes a needle before injecting himself with heroin in New London, Conn., on March 23, 2016. (John Moore/Getty Images) Commentary The future of Victorias contentious trial of a drug injecting room finally appears to be clear, with an announcement by the state Labor government that it will introduce legislation to establish the health service. The government is taking this action following the finalisation of a review into the Medically Supervised Injecting Room (MSIR) trial, which found, in part, that the trial has saved 63 lives while also successfully managing almost 6,000 overdoses. The panel made 10 recommendations to the government, including that the MSIR continue. The government says it will consider each of the panels recommendations but ruled out adopting the second one which involves expanding MSIR access to include peer/partner injecting, amongst other things. The challenge of managing drug-addicted residents is one faced by legislators worldwide. For example, in California, the governor recently vetoed a bill to allow the creation of a supervised drug injection sitestalling plans by proponents of this idea. California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks in Los Angeles, Calif., on Nov. 10, 2021. (John Fredricks/ The Epoch Times) There will undoubtedly be very mixed views in response to the Victorian announcement that the MSIR will be continuing. It has also been widely reported that the government has already purchased a property on Flinders Street opposite the main station in Melbourne. Such a proposal will be met with either strong support, or strong opposition and complete dismay. Many residents consistent in their opposition to this facility have once again been ignored. Bad Experiences With Existing Facility The current premier, Daniel Andrews, promised before the 2018 state election that there would be no drug injecting facilities in Victoria. However, within a relatively short time, his government commenced a two-year trial of such a room in North Richmond in Melbourne. Undoubtedly, one of the most controversial aspects of this facility is its locationa mere 37 metres (121 feet) from the Richmond West Primary School. This has caused considerable issues for the students and families of this school. These have been widely reported over the years and include students being regularly subject to antisocial and dangerous behaviour from drug users, having to walk around drug paraphernalia, and in one tragic case, witnessing the dead body of a drug user in front of the school. Unsurprisingly, these incidents have had a very distressing, ongoing impact on local students and families. Students play at recess at Lysterfield Primary School, in Melbourne, Australia, on May 26, 2020. (Daniel Pockett/Getty Images) This is also the view of the Victorian opposition, whose mental health spokeswoman stated, The political spin to try and justify how normal it is for a primary school to need prison-like security because the government built an injecting room next door is simply ludicrous. Despite this, Victorian Education Minister Natalie Hutchins said recently, Im confident that the school has been able to operate successfully and continue to thrive to date. Members of the community have been calling for years for the facility to be relocated to a more suitable site. For example, in an industrial area or even co-located at a hospital. Some opponents of the facility have been calling for rehabilitation facilities and resources to be installed at the current site, rather than facilitating an otherwise illegal activity. Legalising drug taking behaviour sends very mixed messages to the community, particularly young people who are often vulnerable to such addictions. Local police have also been plagued with issues, including behavioural problems for users, and criticism for seemingly not enforcing drug related laws around the area. Now the bigger question for Victorians is, will another such facility be built in their city? Doing so would certainly add to the states existing drug problems and adversely impact the amenity and safety of Melbournians, tourists, and businesses nearby. For the sake of law-abiding citizens and victims, one would hope not. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. The Peoples Republic of China (PRC) considers Taiwan part of its territory and has been building military capabilities to force the island to accept unification. In the past few years, PRC has sped up its military process. Is PRC getting ready for a war against Taiwan? In a panel discussion held at 10:00 a.m. ET on March 10 by the United State Institute of Peace, Alexander Chieh-cheng Huang, a Professor of Institute of Strategic Studies, Tamkang University; Phil Saunders, Director of Center for the Study of Chinese Military Affairs, National Defense University; Andrew Scobell, Distinguished Fellow, U.S. Institute of Peace; and Joel Wuthnow, Senior Research Fellow, Center for the Study of Chinese Military Affairs, National Defense University will discuss these questions. Jennifer Staats, Director of East and Southeast Asia Programs at the U.S. Institute of Peace, will moderate the conversation. Arizona Attorney General Sues County Officials Over Alleged Abuse of Power Claims illegal transfer of the board's electoral duties to county recorder An election worker gathers tabulated ballots to be boxed in a file photo. (Matt York/AP Photo) Arizona Attorney General Kristin Mayes has filed a lawsuit against the Cochise County Board of Supervisors, claiming that the board overstepped its authority by delegating election duties almost entirely to the county recorder. Suing other public officials is not something I take lightlybut it is my job as attorney general to bring action when public officials unlawfully exercise their power or act outside the confines of their authority, Mayes announced in a March 7 statement. The agreement is essentially an unqualified handover from the board to the recorder, not one that would allow both entities to work hand in hand to fulfill their statutory duties openly and transparently. The suit names as defendants the boards three memberschairwoman Ann English, vice-chairwoman Peggy Judd, and Tom Crosbyand David Stevens in his capacity as county recorder. Arizona Secretary of State and Democrat gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs (R) and Kris Mayes (L), Democratic candidate for Arizona attorney general, during the election campaign in Tucson, Ariz, on Oct. 7, 2022. (Mario Tama/Getty Images) The suit accuses the board and recorder of misusing public funds and acting beyond constitutional and legal limits and asks a judge to declare the agreement illegal and unenforceable. The 19-page document claims, among other things, that in adopting the agreement Stevens aggrandized his power and the board unlawfully and almost completely offloaded the statutory duties over elections. Mayes said that while Arizona counties may enter into cooperative agreements with their recorders to manage elections, Cochise Countys agreement steps far over the legal line. In addition to this broad transfer of power, I am deeply concerned this move might shield or obscure actions and deliberations the board would typically conduct publicly under open meeting law, she said. The board voted 21 in favor of the one-year agreement, signed on Feb. 28, in which the board and recorder agreed to combine all election functions under one department to promote efficiency, cost savings, and public confidence. English cast the lone dissenting vote, saying that the board was acting in an inappropriate and unadvised fashion, according to the attorney generals lawsuit. Under the pact, the recorder would be responsible for all election functions, including oversight of election workers, voter registration, and early voting. As the plaintiff in the case, Mayes, a Democrat, said the agreement threatens the lawful administration and running of elections and may threaten residents right to vote. Serious Concerns In shifting all election duties to the recordera distinct constitutional county officerthe agreement says not a word about how or whether the public may still have access to deliberations on matters that the board would normally consider in open meetings, the complaint reads. Without legislative authorization, a county body or officer may not give away its statutory powers or duties to another constitutionally established county body or officer, nor may it obtain the duties of another public body or officer or assume power not conferred by statute. On Feb. 27, the attorney generals office sent a letter to the Cochise County attorney expressing serious concerns over the agreements legality. Cochise County did not provide any legal authority in response, the lawsuit reads. This is not the first time that defendants have disregarded the law governing elections. The board and recorder repeatedly flouted the law with respect to the November 2022 general elections, first by attempting to engage in an illegal hand count of ballots and then by the board violating its duty to canvass the election within the statutory timeframe. In both cases, the board and recorder ceased their unlawful conduct only after a court ordered them to do so. Judd and Crosby didnt respond to a request for comment from The Epoch Times. English told The Epoch Times in an email that as a defendant in the lawsuit, it would be inappropriate for her to comment at this time. Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs Vetoes Bill Banning Critical Race Theory in K-12 Public Schools Democratic Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed a bill this week that would have prohibited schools from teaching the concept of judging an individual on the basis of their race or ethnicity, or that certain races or ethnicities are inherently racist or oppressive. Last month, lawmakers in the Arizona legislature passed state Senate Bill SB1305, which described a list of race-related topics to be prohibited in K-12 public schools in the state. On Thursday, Hobbs vetoed the bill. The language of the bill prohibited judging an individual on the basis of the individuals race or ethnicity. The bill further prohibited teaching: That one race or ethnic group is inherently morally or intellectually superior to another race or ethnic group. That an individual, by virtue of the individuals race or ethnicity, is inherently racist or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously. That an individual should be invidiously discriminated against or receive adverse treatment solely or partly because of the individuals race or ethnicity. That an individuals moral character is determined by the individuals race or ethnicity. That an individual, by virtue of the individuals race or ethnicity, bears responsibility or blame for actions committed by other members of the same race or ethnic group. That academic achievement, meritocracy or traits such as a hard work ethic are racist or were created by members of a particular race or ethnic group to oppress members of another race or ethnic group. The bill was passed by Republicans on a party-line vote in both the Arizona state House and state Senate. No Democrats voted in favor of the legislation. It is time to stop utilizing students and teachers in culture wars based on fearmongering and unfounded accusations, Hobbs said as she vetoed the bill on Thursday. Bills like SB1305 only serve to divide and antagonize. I urge the Legislature to work with me on the real issues affecting Arizona schools: underfunded classrooms, a growing educator retention crisis, and school buildings in need of repair and replacement, Hobbs added. Republican state Sen. J.D. Mesnard, who sponsored SB 1305, issued a statement (pdf) describing Hobbs move as a slap in the face. Im deeply disheartened by Governor Hobbs choice to condone these discriminatory teachings our kids are being exposed to, by vetoing my bill, he said. In a press release (pdf), Republican state Rep. Beverly Pingerelli said Hobbs veto sends a disturbing message that she is willing to allow racially divisive curriculum to be intentionally taught in Arizona classrooms. National Debate Over Racial Instruction In Classrooms Other state legislatures have passed similar bills to SB1305 in recent years, prohibiting K-12 public schools from teaching certain racially-charged ideas. Floridas Stop the Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees (W.O.K.E.) Act (pdf), for example, includes language prohibiting teaching the moral inferiority or superiority of any one race, or that a persons race or ethnic background makes them inherently racist or oppressive, or that they should be discriminated against on that basis. However, proponents of a complaint (pdf) against DeSantis Stop W.O.K.E. Act said they believed the law would stifle widespread demands to discuss, study, and address systemic inequalities. In the same document, they also defended Critical Race Theory as a recognized academic theory and body of legal scholarship originated by legal scholars in the 1970s to identify and challenge the perpetuation of racial inequalities in social institutions and the law. Proponents of such bills have insisted they are not prohibiting instruction on past issues with racism and oppression in America. They believe that education on race in classrooms, however, is too often focused on specific ideological concepts about racism such as race-based privilege, or that certain demographics are inherently racist, or otherwise bear the responsibility to pay for the wrongdoings of bearers of their ethnicity. Mesnard said his bill makes it clear that teaching about real historical events, including instances of racial hatred or discrimination such as slavery and Jim Crow, are perfectly acceptable topics of instruction. NTD News reached out to Hobbs office for comment but did not receive a response by the time this article was published. From NTD News Ban on Low-Lead Fuel a Real Threat to Aviation Safety, Pilots Association Chief Testifies U.S. Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) speaks during a committee hearing in Washington on March 9, 2023. (Janice Hisle/The Epoch Times via screenshot of live video) A Pennsylvania congressman, whos also a pilot, says avoiding the pucker factor needs to take top priority in American aviation. I dont know if anybodys familiar with catastrophic engine failure in flight, but I can guarantee you, its an unpleasant experience, U.S. Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) said on March 9, discussing a possible result of using a fuel thats environmentally friendly but the wrong type for an aircrafts engine. Perry spoke during a hearing about challenges in general aviation, which encompasses all civilian flying except scheduled passenger airlines. When mid-flight crises strike, pilots experience what they call the pucker factor, he said; the tension is so severe that you cant pull a fishing line out of your rear end with a tractor. Pilots and passengers shouldnt be imperiled for the sake of insane Green New Deal woke ideology, Perry said. He has raised concerns about safety versus ideology during the past few committee hearings as Congress works on a five-year plan for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), with a special section devoted to general aviation for the first time. Now, Perry sees that his fears have become reality. He pointed to a controversy over aviation fuel, which pits flight safety concerns against environmental onesa top issue in general aviation. The Engine Came Apart Officials in Santa Clara, California, banned low-lead fuel at their two airports in 2022. Flying Magazine reported that action was taken to reduce lead pollution, which is particularly harmful to children. But thousands of general aviation aircraft require that fuel for the safe firing of their engines. Recently, a high-horsepower airplane refueled in Santa Clara County, and the engine came apart shortly after takeoff, according to Mark Baker, president of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. He said no one was killed in that accident, but he noted there have been several other mis-fueling incidents in Santa Clara County. That countys ban on low-lead fuel poses a real threat to general aviation safety, Baker said, and its being watched closely in aviation circles. Mark Baker, president of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, speaks during a congressional hearing on general aviation in Washington on March 9, 2023. (Janice Hisle/The Epoch Times via screenshot of live video) When asked what action could be taken to address the dilemma, Baker suggested that Congress can help researchers who are working on alternatives to the low-lead fuel. Perry and Baker both emphasized that replacement fuel sources need to be affordable. Congress should also consider imposing penalties on federally funded airports that impose such bans prematurely, before viable alternative fuels are available, Baker said. Perry said he considered it offensive, irresponsible, and unsafe for airports to ban low-lead fuels right now. Aircraft that require low-lead, higher-octane fuel include search-and-rescue operations, disaster relief, and law enforcement. Eviation Aircrafts electric-powered Alice airplane is shown during its inaugural eight-minute flight in the skies over Grant County International Airport in Moses Lake, Wash., on Sept. 30, 2022. (Courtesy of Eviation Aircraft) Some of those services have been shelved in Santa Clara County, Baker said in written testimony to the Aviation Subcommittee of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. The Santa Clara policy could have an unfortunate domino effect across the 5,000 public-use airports across this country, thereby posing significant consequences to general aviation in the United States, Baker wrote. The industry is working on a safe transition to lead-free fuel by 2030, he said. Officials are also trying to figure out how to ensure a sufficient power supply for electric-powered flights. General Aviation Is Backbone While commercial aviation tends to get more attention, general aviation is a $247 billion industry and supports more than 1.2 million jobs, Baker wrote. The industry operates in 10 times as many sites as commercial airlines and at nearly 15,000 privately owned landing facilities nationwide. In fact, general aviation serves as an incubator for all pilots; everyone who gets a pilots license starts in general aviation, officials said, making it the backbone of American aviation. But all sectors of U.S. aviation are facing workforce shortages, difficulties keeping pace with technology, and wading through federal red tape. American Airlines pilots captain Pete Gamble (L), and First Officer John Konstanzer chat in the cockpit of a Boeing 737 Max jet before taking off from Dallas Fort Worth airport in Grapevine, Texas, on Dec. 2, 2020. (LM Otero/AP Photo) To help fill the pipeline of future aviators, Bakers organization has developed a four-year high school aviation curriculum. Available in 400 schools in 43 states, the program has reached more than 50,000 students, Baker said; 70 percent of graduates say theyre pursuing a career in aviation. Baker is encouraging Congress to establish the National Center for the Advancement of Aviation. Rep. Pete Stauber (R-Minn.), said he and Rep. Andre Carson (D-Ind.) will reintroduce a bipartisan measure to create such a national aviation center. Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) had partnered with Carson on that legislation before his death in 2022. Stauber, who said he started working on his private pilot license later in life, said the proposed center is intended to spark aviation interest in young people. The center also would coordinate industry and government workforce efforts and boost innovation, he said. Baker said the entire aviation industry supports establishing the center. Upgrades Needed Baker also encouraged Congress to let the FAA focus on modernizing. The FAAs Notice to Air Missions system, which malfunctioned and caused a two-hour nationwide halt of air travel on Jan. 11, sorely needs upgrading, he said. Various other systems also need to be updated, including air traffic control, pilot medical clearances, aircraft registration, and airman and aircraft certifications. General aviation is also confronting specific concerns in addition to the lead-fuel dilemma. In 2021, a national survey of 800 airports found that 71 percent had a shortage of general aviation hangars, Baker wrote. He also said his organization receives thousands of complaints from pilots who are hit with unexpected costs for using public facilities, including tie-down fees, facility fees, infrastructure fees, access fees, security fees, and handling fees. There is absolutely no reason a pilot should be charged exorbitant fees to park his or her aircraft when receiving no services, Baker wrote. It doesnt happen on our nations highway rest areas, and it shouldnt happen at public-use airports. Despite concerns facing the industry, general aviation has seen fatal and nonfatal accidents declining since 2000, and considerable excitement surrounds developing vertical takeoff aircraft and other advanced air mobility innovations. Bankman-Frieds Lawyers Say October Trial May Need to Be Delayed Former FTX Chief Executive Sam Bankman-Fried, who faces fraud charges over the collapse of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange, exits the Manhattan federal court in New York on Feb. 16, 2023. (Eduardo Munoz/Reuters) NEW YORKSam Bankman-Frieds lawyers said on Wednesday it may be necessary to delay the FTX cryptocurrency exchange founders scheduled Oct. 2 criminal trial, arguing it may take more time than expected to review the evidence and prepare a defense. In a letter to U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, the 31-year-old former billionaires lawyers said federal prosecutors in Manhattan had not yet turned over evidence collected from electronic devices belonging to Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang, previously two of their clients closest associates. Both have since pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. The lawyers also noted that prosecutors added new fraud and conspiracy charges late last month, boosting the number of counts to twelve, following the November collapse of Bankman-Frieds now-bankrupt exchange and his arrest the next month. In January, Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty to the original eight counts that he cheated investors and caused billions of dollars in losses, in what prosecutors have called an epic fraud. While we are not making such an application at this time, we wanted to note this issue for the Court now, Christian Everdell, one of Bankman-Frieds lawyers, wrote in the letter. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorneys office in Manhattan declined to comment. Bankman-Fried rode a boom in the values of bitcoin and other digital assets to an estimated $26 billion net worth, and became an influential donor to U.S. political campaigns. But his fortune evaporated after concerns about commingling of funds between FTX and Alameda Research, a hedge fund he also owned, spurred the cryptocurrency equivalent of a run on the bank at FTX. Bankman-Fried was released on $250 million bond and has been under house arrest at his parents Palo Alto, California home. Kaplan has suggested his bail could be revoked after prosecutors said he may have tried to tamper with witnesses. Prosecutors over the weekend proposed Bankman-Fried remain free with strict limits on his use of technology. The trial schedule and Bankman-Frieds bail conditions are expected to be discussed at a court hearing on Friday. By Luc Cohen Bayer Plans to Spend $1 Billion on US Pharma R&D in 2023: US Pharma Head Logo and flags of Bayer AG are pictured outside a plant of the German pharmaceutical and chemical maker in Wuppertal, Germany, on Aug. 9, 2019. (Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters) NEW YORKBayer AG plans to spend $1 billion on drug research and development in the U.S. this year as it works to double its sales in the country by the end of the decade, Bayers top U.S. pharmaceutical executive told Reuters. Sebastian Guth, president of Bayers pharmaceuticals business in the Americas, also said in an interview on Wednesday that the company had raised the number of U.S. employees working on marketing for its pharmaceutical business by around 50 percent over the last three years, and plans to expand on that by another 75 percent by 2030. Its time for us to double down on the U.S., Guth said, noting that Bayer plans to sell the drugs it is developing itself in the country, rather than partner with U.S. companies like it has in the past. Bayer is looking to build up its portfolio of new drugs as it hopes to improve share prices, which have been hit by concerns over litigation surrounding weedkiller Roundup and a lack of trust in the companys leadership. It named a new Chief Executive last month, recruiting former Roche executive Bill Anderson to replace embattled CEO Werner Baumann, who had previously said he would hold on until the end of his current term in April 2024. Guth said he expects peak sales of 12 billion euros from cancer drug Nubeqa, kidney medication Kerendia, and two of its top pipeline assets, experimental stroke drug asundexian and experimental womens health drug elinzanetant. He said he expects more than half of those sales to come from the U.S. If you look at what we have ahead of us in the U.S., I see very real opportunity to double that business, he said. By Michael Erman and Patrick Wingrove Biden Grants California Emergency Assistance as New Storm Hits U.S. President Joe Biden briefly addresses journalists moments before departing from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, on March 3, 2023, as he travels to Wilmington, Delaware. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images) President Joe Biden, who was scheduled to visit California next week, granted the storm-weary state an emergency declaration March 10, the second one this year. Gov. Gavin Newsom requested federal assistance as another series of atmospheric river storms began dumping rain and snow across the state. He also advised Californians to prepare emergency supplies as the wet and snowy weather is expected to continue into next week. California is deploying every tool we have to protect communities from the relentless and deadly storms battering our state, Newsom said in a statement. In these dangerous and challenging conditions, it is crucial that Californians remain vigilant and follow all guidance from local emergency responders. A homeless man walks by a gas station during a rainstorm in Sacramento on March 9, 2023. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) The emergency declaration will allow impacted counties to receive disaster relief efforts coordinated by federal agencies including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Homeland Security. FEMA is authorized to mobilize and provide equipment and resources to assist storm victims. Newsom recommended residents store enough food and water to last for three days and call 2-1-1 or 3-1-1 to get help during the storms. Residents can also visit CalAlerts.org to receive alerts from county officials. Californians were also asked to avoid non-essential travel and plan for power outages and floods. Three storm systems that started in late February are expected to soak the state through at least mid-March. The atmospheric river is not letting up. That means the flood risk in the west is not going to let up through the weekend, as well, Domenica Davis, meteorologist with the Weather Channel, said Friday. All this moisture thats coming in from the Pacific Ocean is going to continue to bring in rounds of rain. Vehicles drive through winter storm rains on Interstate 5 in Los Angeles, on Feb. 24, 2023. (Mario Tama/Getty Images) Heavy rainfall and gusty winds began to drench parts of northern and central California Friday. Southern California was expected to get a break from the storm this weekend before the next round arrives Tuesday, Davis said. Los Angeles could get up to 2 inches of rain while as much as 5 inches is expected in San Francisco. Forecasters predicted up to 10 inches for parts of the central coastal region. The storm could also dump up to 5 inches of snow at Mount Shasta and 2 feet in Markleeville, just south of Lake Tahoe, and the Mammoth Lakes region. Biden approved Newsoms first emergency declaration request Jan. 8 as successive and severe storms struck the Golden State. Bidens Catch and Release Agenda Violates His Constitutional Duty: Abbott President Joe Bidens catch and release policy for illegal immigrants coming across the U.S. southern border violates his constitutional duty, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Thursday after a federal court struck down the program. Yesterday, another federal court announced what Texansand Americanshave known all along: President Bidens open border policies are, in the words of Judge Wetherell, akin to posting a flashing Come In Were Open sign on the southern border,' Abbott, a Republican, said in a statement. The federal governments program of releasing illegal immigrants into the United States rather than holding them until their cases are resolved violates federal law, U.S. District Judge T. Kent Wetherell, a Trump appointee, ruled on March 8. The evidence establishes that Defendants have effectively turned the Southwest Border into a meaningless line in the sand and little more than a speedbump for aliens flooding into the country, Wetherell said in the ruling. Responding to the ruling, Abbott criticized Bidens Alternatives to Detention program, which has released more than 1 million illegal immigrants into the U.S. interior. President Bidens catch-and-release agenda, which violates his constitutional duty to enforce federal immigration laws, has catalyzed an unprecedented crisis of illegal immigration at our southern border and throughout our nation, Abbott said. A Border Patrol agent instructs illegal immigrants who crossed the Rio Grande into El Paso, Texas, as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on Dec. 19, 2022. (John Moore/Getty Images) Dereliction of Duty In a statement, the governors office called on Biden to enforce existing immigration laws and aggressively prosecute illegal border crossings between ports of entry. Abbotts office also noted that Congress itself has mandated that certain illegal immigrants shall be detained. In the new ruling, Wetherell said that the wording shall be detained in the Immigration and Nationality Act mandates the requirement that immigrants who arrive at the border without proper documents are subject to quick removal without a hearing or review. Under Supreme Court precedent, immigration officials have broad discretion in carrying out immigration laws, but must adhere to laws established by Congress. Abbotts office criticized what it called the Biden administrations lawlessness and the presidents dereliction of duty to address what it called record-breaking levels of illegal immigration. In 2023 alone, this surge of illegal immigration will saddle Texas taxpayers with an estimated financial burden of $13.3 billion, Abbott noted. The cost incurred by each illegal immigrant to be borne by Texas taxpayers is over $4,400, the statement noted. Nationally, the associated costs directly related to illegal immigrants run in the hundreds of millions every day, expected to cost U.S. taxpayers $150.7 billion in fiscal year 2023, according to a recent report by the Federation for American Immigration Reform. In total, the gross cost of illegal immigration now total $183 billion, up more than 35.7 percent since 2017. The cost incurred per illegal alien (including their U.S.-born children) has increased as well, now totaling $8,776 annually, the report states. The report noted that costs associated with illegal immigrants include medical care, tuition, incarceration costs, and federal welfare. According to the report, only a fraction of the costs is recouped from taxes paid by illegal immigrants, roughly $31 billion. A bus carrying illegal immigrants from Texas arrives at Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York on Aug. 10, 2022. (Yuki Iwamura/AFP via Getty Images) Ruling Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, a Republican, sued the government in 2021 over its catch-and-release policy, arguing it violated federal law. Biden administration officials argued they had the discretion granted under Supreme Court precedent that gives immigration officials broad discretion in carrying out immigration laws. But Wetherell noted the federal government is still required to adhere to laws established by Congress, specifically the Immigration and Nationality Act. Noting the shall be detained wording, the judge said the governments position would render mandatory detention under the law meaningless. Florida, which has been dealing with an illegal immigration crisis, was found to have standing to sue the Biden administration because the federal governments failure to hold immigrants as required by the law harms the state because they cannot do anything to keep those aliens out of the state. States are also harmed because they have to spend money to deal with the illegal immigrants, the ruling said. Wetherell vacated the policy under the procedure act, remanding it back to the government for further work consistent with his order. Moody said in a statement that the ruling affirmed that Biden has been responsible for the border crisis and his unlawful immigration policies make this country less safe. The Epoch Times contacted the Department of Homeland Security for comment. Zachary Stieber contributed to this report. Bipartisan Senate Bill Aims to Punish Beijing for Forced Organ Harvesting Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) questions U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland as he testifies at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing about oversight of the Department of Justice in Washington, on Oct. 27, 2021. (Tasos Katopodis-Pool/Getty Images) A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the Senate is aiming to hold the Chinese Communist Party accountable for forcibly harvesting organs from prisoners of conscience. The Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act, or S.761, would authorize the State Department to deny or revoke passports and visas to anyone involved in forced organ harvesting. It also would require annual government reporting on the illicit activity in foreign countries and impose sanctions on facilitators. A House version of the legislation is headed to the full chamber after advancement on a unanimous vote by the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Feb. 28. There is growing evidence that the Chinese Communist Party has and continues to harvest organs from persecuted religious groups, prisoners of conscience, and inmates, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), who is co-sponsoring the legislation with Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), said in a March 9 statement. He added that its past time to hold Beijing accountable for these heinous acts. Coons, who is co-chair of the chambers Human Rights Caucus, described forced organ harvesting as cruel and immoral, noting that it often targets ethnic and religious minorities and some of the most vulnerable groups in the world. I am proud to re-introduce the bipartisan Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act that will empower the Biden administration to take action against those who practice this despicable crime, he said. Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) speaks at the CARE International Womens Day Dinner in Washington, on March 08, 2023. (Paul Morigi/Getty Images for CARE) In communist China, the state-sanctioned program of forced organ harvesting is worth $1 billion a year, according to findings from the independent China Tribunal in London. After more than a years investigation, the tribunal in 2019 reached the conclusion that the practice had been occurring on a significant scale, sourcing primarily from imprisoned adherents of Falun Gong. The spiritual discipline, which features core values of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance as well as meditative exercises, has been the target of a brutal persecution for the past 23 years at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party. Dr. Torsten Trey, who founded the nonprofit group Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting, has called the abuse inflicted on Falun Gong practitioners a form of cold genocide, or the destruction of a group that takes place but in a slow motion and slow-moving pattern. The House versions chief sponsor, Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), said he hopes the legislation can stop Americans who seek organ transplants overseas from unintentionally abetting human rights violations. Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) speaks as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken testifies before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs in Washington on March 10, 2021. (Ken Cedeno/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) Anyone who does get a transplantation should be very aware of its source to ensure the dead person voluntarily offered their organbe it a heart, liver, or whatever it might be[and] that they were indeed dead at the time of the organ transplant, Smith previously told NTD, a sister outlet of The Epoch Times. But in China, everything is reversed. They go and pick and cullas they call itthese very healthy people, and the Falun Gong practitioners are extraordinarily healthy because of their religious practices, because of their lifestyle, so they become victimized by the Chinese Communist Party. Other senators listed as co-sponsors of the bill include Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-Nev.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Angus King (I-Maine), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), and Todd Young (R-Ind.). Britain, France Agree New 478 Million Deal to Tackle Illegal Immigration UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (left) and French President Emmanuel Macron during a joint press conference at Elysee Palace, in Paris, on March 10, 2023. (Kin Cheung/PA Media) The UK will pay France nearly half a billion pounds over the next three years to step up efforts to prevent illegal immigrants from crossing the English Channel in small boats, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said. Following a summit with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Friday, Sunak said the UK has agreed to send Paris 478 million ($577 million) to fund a new detention centre in France and the hiring of hundreds of extra French law enforcement officers. This is the first time the UK has helped fund a detention centre in France to enhance its ability to cope with the number of illegal immigrants trying to cross the Channel from the French coast. This new centre will support French efforts to increase detention capacity, allowing more migrants who might otherwise travel by dangerous and illegal routes to the UK to be removed from the French coast, the UK government said. The funding package will be paid in installments, with the French also contributing significantly more funding, it was announced. Emmanuel and I share the same beliefs, Sunak said during a joint press conference following the talks. Criminal gangs should not get to decide who comes to our countries. Within weeks of my coming into office, we agreed our largest-ever small boats deal and today weve taken our cooperation to an unprecedented level to tackle this shared challenge. Illegal Channel Crossings According to UK government figures, a record 45,755 illegal immigrants arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel in 2022, up from just around 300 in 2018. More than 3,000 have already made the journey this year. The prime minister has made stopping the boats one of his five priorities, and says hes determined to deliver on his promise. On March 7, the government introduced the Illegal Migration Bill, which will ban anyone who arrives in the UK illegally from claiming asylum. Under the new law, illegal entrants will be swiftly removed from the UK to their home country or a safe third country such as Rwanda. They will also be banned from reentry. A group of illegal immigrants is brought to the port of Dover, England, after their small boat was intercepted in the English Channel on Oct. 9, 2022. (PA Media) I have made it one of my five priorities to stop the boats, Sunak told reporters in Paris. We are delivering on that priority to stop people coming to the UK illegally. Last year, I agreed the largest-ever small boats deal with France to increase UK-funded patrols by 40 percent. This week I announced measures to ensure nobody who enters the UK illegally can remain here. We dont need to manage this problem, we need to break it. And today, we have gone further than ever before to put an end to this disgusting trade in human life. Working together, the UK and France will ensure that nobody can exploit our systems with impunity. Returns Agreement Not on the Table Despite the increased cooperation, the UK has been unable to reach an agreement with Paris on returning illegal immigrants to France. Macron said the UK must negotiate its desired immigrant return agreement with the European Union rather than France, as following Brexit the UK is no longer a party to the Dublin Regulation, an EU law setting out which country is responsible for looking at an individuals asylum application. This is not an agreement between the UK and France, but an agreement between the UK and the EU, he said. Because the Dublin agreements are no more in a situation to be implemented, so this is something now to be negotiated. Earlier, Nathalie Loiseau, a French member of the European Parliament who chairs the assemblys EUUK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly, said a returns agreement with France is not on the table. The UK decided to leave the European Union, so there is no bilateral agreement possible, she told the BBC. Its in an EU competence, and the UK should try to negotiate a deal with the European Union. New Beginning Ties between Britain and France have often been rocky since Britain voted to leave the EU in 2016. But Sunak is hoping to capitalise on renewed goodwill with France and the EU after he struck the Windsor Frameworka new agreement with the bloc that seeks to fix problems with Northern Irelands post-Brexit trading arrangements. Following their bilateral talks, Macron hailed a new beginning in AngloFrench relations, saying, It is a moment of reunion, of reconnection, and of a new beginning. Sunak described the French president as a friend of Britain. I always say, we left the EU, but we didnt leave Europe, he stated. Emmanuel said previously Brexit didnt change geography. We want to have a close, cooperative, collaborative relationship with our European partners and allies. And of course, that starts with our nearest neighbour France, and today is the first step on that journey. Were writing a new chapter in this relationship, and Im really looking forward to everything that we can build on in the coming months and years ahead. PA Media and Reuters contributed to this report. Canada Bans Russian Steel, Aluminum Imports as Part of Sanctions Regime Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland appears as a witness at a Senate committee in Ottawa on Dec. 7, 2022. (The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick) Canada is banning the import of Russian steel and aluminum as part of its sanctions regime. Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland says this will help undermine Moscows ongoing invasion of Ukraine. The Department of Industry says Canada imported $208 million in steel products from Russia in 2021 and $79 million last year. Canada also imported $44 million in aluminum from Russia in 2021, followed by $16 million last year. Russias trade with Canada plummeted in the first 10 months after Moscows invasion of Ukraine a year ago, with a 78 per cent per cent drop in exports from the same period one year prior. Ottawas economic measures already bar the export of everything from forklifts to barbers chairs, unless Canadian businesses convince the Liberal cabinet to issue exemptions. The Twitter Files hearings continue, probing the alleged weaponization of the federal government. Meanwhile, a House bill aims to prohibit the government from suppressing information. President Joe Biden acknowledges former President Donald Trumps reelection bid while giving a speech on his new budget. Whats in Bidens budget plan, and how did he react when asked by NTD about the timing of his 2024 announcement? An expert joins us to discuss the financial consequences of illegal immigration. How does it affect the U.S. labor market, and whats the impact on local state budgets? The Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) spy balloon was just the tip of the iceberg, according to lawmakers. A House Homeland Security subcommittee is probing other areas the CCP has targeted on U.S. soil. Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) from the House Select Committee on the Coronavirus Pandemic joins us to discuss the virus. What could the United States do to hold the Chinese regime responsible? NTDs Kelly Wright sits down with influential pastor A.R. Bernard, where theyll discuss the relevance of religion in society, government, and politics. China Fear Grips a Republican US House Speaker McCarthy may flip-flop on Taiwan visit Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) delivers remarks after being elected as Speaker in the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington on Jan. 7, 2023. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) Commentary Talk of U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthys caving to China by not making a trip to Taiwan, as he said in July he would love to do, is a step backward for the United States and its partners in Asia. McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Taiwans president, Tsai Ing-wen, announced a meeting in the United States, which is good, but is causing speculation that they will backtrack on the precedent set by former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), when she visited the island democracy in August and set a new status quo. After reports of McCarthys plans to visit Taiwan as early as within the next couple of months, Beijing warned against official interactions with the country. Now, Beijings threats appear to be pushing McCarthy to moderate his enthusiasm. Pelosis visit was followed by a massive uptick in Chinese cyber, air force, and naval activity around the island, which amounted to a blockade exercise. Beijing launched ballistic missiles over Taiwan and canceled eight dialogues with the United States, including on military, climate, and counternarcotics issues. Among the suspended talks were those on combating the overdose crisis, which killed 107,000 Americans in 2021. Most of those deaths can be traced to illegal fentanyl and its precursors, trafficked from China through Mexico. Tsais administration reportedly provided intelligence to McCarthy about the increased threat from China that could result from his visit, which along with his offices failure to publicly confirm his plans, suggests that hes in the process of a flip-flop. The Financial Times reported on March 8 that Tsai has convinced U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to meet in California rather than Taipei to avoid an aggressive Chinese military response, as tensions run high between Beijing and Washington. President of Taiwan Tsai Ing-wen (R) and visiting President of Paraguay Mario Abdo Benitez arrive at the welcome ceremony in front of the Presidential building in Taipei, Taiwan, on Feb. 16, 2023. (Ann Wang/Reuters) Taiwans defense minister warned on March 6 that the Chinese military was looking for pretexts like foreign senior officials visiting to escalate its aggression, including the risk of sudden entry just 24 nautical miles off Taiwans coast. The Financial Times cited Taiwanese officials, one of whom said, There might be policies even more irrational than in the past emanating from Beijing. If we can try to control this together, the risks it brings for everybody can be contained better. One official defended Tsais trip to the United States, which could similarly increase the risk from Beijing, by noting that the risk must be managed, but that pushing the status quo backward is not the way. If McCarthy fails to visit Taiwan, in contrast to Pelosi, the status quo would indeed be pushed backward. Beijings bullying strategy of military buildup, diplomatic retaliation, threats, and incrementalism would win the day. Although McCarthys office claimed that his visit with Tsai in the United States wouldnt affect his plans one way or another to visit Taipei, his failure to reaffirm those plans when asked appears to be a flip-flop. This differs from the actions of Pelosi, who pushed forward with a visit in the teeth of military threats from Beijing, and President Joe Biden, who has said on four occasions that he would defend Taiwan militarily from an invasion by China. One would think Republicans are measurably tougher, not weaker, on China than Democrats. Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), for example, is keeping to the right of his Democratic colleagues on the new House committee on competition with the regime in China. China is attempting to force the United States and its partners out of Asia so that Xi Jinping can realize his China Dream of first regional, and then global, hegemony. It appears to be paying dividends as the balance of power shifts to Beijing from Washington. The United States is weakening, because of a national debt of more than $31 trillion, costly U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and now aiding Ukraine, and large-scale deaths in the United States attributable to the pandemic and the fentanyl crisis. That the United States has retreated from Taiwan diplomatically and militarily since the 1970s, along with Beijings increasing belligerence toward the island, which could be invaded as early as this year, are measurable indicators of the United States loss of power relative to China. McCarthys Taiwan waffle is the latest retreat. We need a new strategy to roll back China and return Taiwan to the ensured independence that every democracy deserves. If Beijing succeeds, it could use Taiwan, including its computer chip industry and strong economy, to strengthen China against us. To defend ourselves, we need to strengthen our economic and military power, and that of our allies, to the point that Taiwan is fully secure from attack. Then, perhaps Speaker McCarthy wouldnt be so scared to visit. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. China Seeking to Consolidate Power in Asia, Drive Other Nations Away From US: Geopolitical Strategist A People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force WZ-7 high-altitude reconnaissance drone is pictured a day before the 13th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai in southern China's Guangdong Province, on Sept. 27, 2021. (Noel Celis/AFP via Getty Images) At its 2023 Two Sessions political meeting on March 5, Chinas Communist Party announced that this years military budget will be 1,553.7 billion yuan ($225 billion)an annual increase of 7.2 percent and the regimes second-highest spend in the last five years. China is seeking to consolidate its position as an Asian superpower, and to use its military expansion to drive other nations in the region away from the United States, according to John Sitilides, geopolitical strategist at Trilogy Advisors. Its been about a 900 percent increase over the last 25 years, Sitilides said of Chinas military build-up. Modern mankind has never seen the kind of military expansion that weve seen in the Peoples Republic of China under the Communist Party since the early 1990s. Sitilides spoke to Capitol Report on NTD, the sister media outlet of the Epoch Times on March 6. With this decision, he said, China is looking to signal to countries such as Japan and South Korea and the Philippines that the reality of geopolitics is that China is not going anywhere. China is going to remain the superpower of the Asian continent, and that America is in declineas Beijing likes to believe, and looks to communicate through its media and through diplomacy. And that in the end, that all of the countries need to come to understand that they need to reorient their relations and near-future direction away from the U.S. as an unreliable, non-credible ally and defender, and look to make peace with China on Chinas terms, he said. Taiwans future When it comes to the future of Taiwan, Sitilides said he believes that China is looking to send a signal to Taiwan specifically, that its unification with the Peoples Republic of China is a fait accompli. In his opinion, Beijing would prefer a unification with Taiwan that does not involve a kinetic conflict, as the communist regime is aware that that would bear catastrophic consequences for Taiwans society, Taiwans industry, and Taiwans economy, but also for Chinas society, Chinas economy, and Chinas place in the world. He said that this is a matter for the people of Taiwan to decide in terms of their own political process, [as] you have one party that is more status quo-oriented, and one that is perhaps seeking some type of modus vivendi with the Communist Party of China. And this will play out in the democratic elections that well see in Taiwan next year and beyond. House Select Committee on the CCP Sitilides said he believes that the newly established House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party will open up a number of discussions on critical issues in relation to the U.S.-China relationship, including trade, agriculture, technology, national security, telecommunications, and privacy. He expects the committee to settle the question: What kind of economy will the American peopleand, for that matter, people in advanced industrial economies around the worldenjoy in the decades ahead? Will it be one based on freedom, innovation, openness, dynamism, and a more democratic and consensual system of governance? Or will it be one that is dominated more by a China-style, techno-authoritarian, surveillance-based repressive system? In Sitilides opinion, the select committee could also take on the task of educating the American people, policymakers, and policy planners in Washington, D.C. to really take this relationship with China far more seriously than we have to date, and to not be distracted by lesser issues, either on the international front, or here at home. He suggested that President Joe Biden should educate and inform the American people about his policies regarding the US-China relationship, and why we need to reorient that relationship in a way that better protects the American people and our national security interests. Weve been so consumed by the Ukraine war: I think most people really arent aware of the kaleidoscopic nature of the Chinese Communist Partys threat against the United States and against the global system that has been so beneficial to the American people and to our way of life, he said. He urged that the United States adopt a more strategic approach towards the Chinese regime, one that involves grand strategy, that looks ahead 5, 10, and 20 and 30 years. I think the President of the United States, whoever that isPresident Biden today and whoever it may be in 2025needs to be able to think strategically and communicate those strategic thoughts to the American people, because thats really what executive leadership comes down to, he said. Alex Wu contributed to this report. Chinese Ambassador Summoned in February Over Interference Concerns in Canada, Official Says Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly prepares to appear before the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs to answer questions on foreign election interference, on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on March 9, 2023. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press) Chinas ambassador to Canada Cong Peiwu has been summoned by Ottawa over concerns about the regimes alleged foreign interference in Canadian federal elections in 2019 and 2021, officials said at the Commons Procedure and House Affairs committee (PROC). Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly was asked by Conservative MP Luc Berthold about whether her government has expelled diplomats for foreign interference activities in Canada. If there are ever Chinese diplomats that flout the Vienna Convention, then and there we will take action, Joly said in response. In the meantime, heres what weve done: we have denied visas, we have castigated the Chinese ambassador on a number of occasions, weve made representations to Beijing directly, and we have attempted to protect Canadian staff on Chinese soil. Jennie Chen, executive director at Global Affairs Canada (GAC), also told MPs at the March 9 PROC meeting that Cong was summoned over concerns of Beijings interference in the 2019 and 2021 elections. Diplomatic representations were made to ambassador Tong by senior officials at GAC on Feb. 24, Chen said. With respect to interference in the 2019 and 2021 elections? asked Conservative MP Michael Cooper. Yes, that is correct, Chen replied. The Chinese ambassador has been summoned multiples times over the past few months in relation to a variety of other forms of foreign interference in Canada, including over the issue of alleged clandestine Chinese police service stations in Ontario and British Columbia, and more recently, over a surveillance balloon that trespassed the North American airspace last month. A series of reports by the Globe and Mail last month, citing national intelligence sources, alleged that Beijing used its consulates, as well as politically motivated individuals and associations in Canada, to advocate on its behalf. The reports noted that Beijings foreign influence operation had two primary objectives: the return of a Liberal minority in 2021 and the defeat of Conservative candidates who are critical of the regime. A former Chinese consul-general in Vancouver, Tong Xiaoling, has touted her role in defeating two Conservative MPs in 2021, according to a secret document leaked from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and reviewed by the Globe. The Chinese embassy denied allegations of interference in a March 4 statement. Call for Expelling Diplomats Following the Globe reports on Chinese interference in Canada, there have been mounting calls from the opposition to expel Chinese diplomats. During the March 9 PROC meeting, Joly was repeatedly asked by MPs why no diplomats were expelled, particularly in regard to Tong, who remained in Canada for several months until she departed from her position in July 2022. How was this person [Tong] in this particular position allowed to stay for eight months, despite the fact that concerns were raised? asked NDP MP Rachel Blaney Has something changed? Is there a new rule that youre implementing that is preventing this? Is it because they were already in the country? Do we have weaknesses in removing people who should be removed from our country? Is it easier when they come in the door to prevent that from happening? In response, Joly said, Theres a higher level of awareness in the last months in terms of granting visas to diplomats. Ive instructed my department to never shy away from denying visa if its for a political operative, and therefore linked to the Communist Party of China, she said. Joly, however, confirmed that it is easier to prevent new diplomatic envoys from entering Canada, compared to expelling those who are already in the country. The minister also confirmed that the federal government denied one diplomatic visa to a member of the Chinese regime last fall. Christian Student Teachers at Center of Lawsuit Against Arizona School District A student is seen in a classroom in Nevitt Elementary School, in Phoenix, Arizona, on Oct. 26, 2022. (Olivier Touron/AFP via Getty Images) An Arizona school board is facing a lawsuit after it severed a long-standing partnership with a Christian university that supplied student teachers over their religious beliefs. Conservative group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) filed the lawsuit against Washington Elementary School District on Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. For the past 11 years, Arizona Christian University (ACU) has supplied the largest elementary school district in Arizona, including Phoenix and Glendale, with student teachers who would shadow teachers, according to the lawsuit (pdf). Board President Nikkie Gomez-Whaley described the relationship as mutually beneficial. However, the school district ended the partnership at a board meeting two weeks ago, where board members discussed the universitys Christian beliefs. Three school district board members identify as part of the LGBT community. They each characterized the Christian ethos of ACU and its students as potentially harmful to LGBT students during the board meeting. Not only are school officials doing a tremendous disservice to Phoenix and Glendale families by depriving their kids of much-needed teaching assistance, they are also violating the First Amendment and state law, said ADF Senior Counsel Ryan Tucker in a statement. The ADFs civil rights legal action seeks to remedy the school districts decision which it said in a statement violates fundamental freedoms to exercise religious beliefs free from unlawful governmental discrimination. Irreparable Harm David Cortman, a senior counsel and head of litigation at the ADF, said in a statement that school district officials are causing irreparable harm to the Christian university every day they force it to choose between its religious beliefs and partnering with the areas public schools. The partnership was mutually beneficial, enabling student teachers to gain the experience required to graduate, while the school district benefited from having additional teaching assistance at no cost, ADF noted. The school district later employed several student teachers who went through the program, according to a district official. At a time when there is a critical shortage of qualified, caring teachers, Washington Elementary School District officials are choosing their own political ideologies over the needs of elementary children, Tucker said. According to a school official, the school district currently has five student teachers and roughly 11 doing a teaching practicum. Around 25 student teachers have been placed with the school district over the last 11 years, and around 100 practicum placements where they observe classes. Responding to the school districts decision, an official from the university said in a statement the program has happily served children in the Phoenix and Glendale communities for over a decade via the partnership. Our university students pursuing teaching careers bring respect, kindness, and excellence to the elementary classrooms, said Linnea Lyding, dean of the Shelly Roden School of Education and the School of Arts, Science, and Humanities at ACU. We certainly hope we can continue our partnership with this district for the benefit of the elementary children in our community and for our student-teachers. I Just Dont Believe That Belongs in Schools The Washington Elementary School District school board voted unanimously on Feb. 23 to terminate the partnership after discussing the universitys religious beliefs and the school districts pro-LGBT values. According to the lawsuit, school district officials showed hostility to those beliefs, questioning how one could be committed to Jesus Christ and yet, at the same time, respect LGBT students and board members. Board member Tamillia Valenzuela, whose official profile states she is a disabled, neurodivergent Queer Black Latina, said the presence of ACU student teachers would make some students and herself feel unsafe. At some point, we need to get real with ourselves and take a look at who were making legal contracts with, and the message that that is sending to our community, Valenzuela said. Because that makes me feel like I could not be safe in this school district. That makes other queer kids who are already facing attack from our lawmakers feel that they could not be safe in this community. Another LGBT board member, Kyle Clayton, expressed specific concerns that his son may be shamed by a teacher for having two dads, and that the Christian university has a statement of faith that students pledge to live by. What gave me pause was its not just teaching, but its teaching, as they say, with a biblical lens, Clayton said. Proselytizing is embedded into how they teach, and I just dont believe that belongs in schools. I would never want, you know, my son to talk about his two dads and be shamed by a teacher who believed a certain way and is at a school that demands that they, you know, teach through Godstheirbiblical lens. School district Vice President Jenni Abbott-Bayardi, who was elected to the position in 2023, queried if the university would even want to continue its partnership given the school district has a pretty visual resolution about the LGBT community. Lindsey Peterson, serving her first term, said she was embarrassed that she allowed the school districts partnership with ACU to continue for so long, and explained that her concern isnt about Christianity. There are plenty of Christian denominations who are LGBTQ-friendly, Peterson said. So I want to make it clear that, for me, my pause is not that theyre Christian so much as this particular institutions strong anti-LGBTQ stance and their strong belief that you believe this to your core and you take it out into the world. We cannot continue to align ourselves with organizations that starkly contrast our values and say that we legitimately care about diversity, equity, and inclusion and that we legitimately care about all of our families, she added. Board members also framed some of their stances on the pretext that the school district didnt have data on how many students from the program were going on to become employed by district schools. The Epoch Times contacted the Washington Elementary School District board members for comment. Congress Holds Hearing on Chinese Surveillance on the US Lawmakers in the House held a hearing on Thursday to discuss efforts by the Chinese regime and its affiliates to surveil the United States, including the recent transit of a high-altitude surveillance balloon over the country and reports of a Chinese secret police station operating in New York City. This Chinese surveillance balloon was a brazen display of espionage in the U.S. homeland, but it is ultimately one of many ways the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] is working to exploit our vulnerabilities, Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas) said in his opening remarks before the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence on Thursday. Today, we must take the conversation beyond the balloon and discuss all the avenues the CCP is threatening U.S. homeland security. Pfluger said the United States still doesnt know what information, if any, the surveillance balloon was able to collect, but said, [W]e can be certain that the CCPs intention was to exploit sensitive U.S. military sites and critical infrastructure across the country. During the hearing, Pfluger said Chinas surveillance activities are of concern and the CCP has pursued a national strategy of military-civil fusion with the goal of establishing Chinas military as the dominant global military force by 2049. He said the Chinese regime is stealing information from U.S. military and civilian targets as part of that strategy. In recent months, a Chinese firm with ties to the CCP has tried to purchase land near U.S. military bases, raising concerns about efforts to monitor U.S. military activities. Lawmakers have also shared concerns about the relationship between the CCP and the popular social media app TikTok, amid reports U.S. user data can be accessed by the apps Chinese parent company ByteDance. Covert Chinese Police Stations Another specific surveillance concern addressed in the hearing was a report (pdf) published in September by the organization Safeguard Defenders, which alleged that China had established covert police stations around the world, including in New York City. The American Chang-Le Association was accused of sharing an office space with Chinese agents in the United States, though the organization has denied such accusations. In January, the FBI reportedly searched the address of the alleged covert Chinese police outpost in New York. Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.), the ranking Democratic member of the subcommittee, said the alleged police station is part of a pattern of Chinese officials surveilling Chinese dissidents abroad who are critical of the Chinese communist regime. The government of China is increasingly autocratic and aggressive, Magaziner told NTD. One of the ways that has manifested itself is the Chinese government operating a series of offices in the United States and around the world, targeting Chinese nationals who may have anti-CCP views. The United States has accused the Chinese regime of tracking Chinese expatriates and dissidents living abroad. An alleged Chinese effort called Operation Fox Hunt entails coercing Chinese dissidents to go back to China by threatening to harass or detain their family members who still reside in China. The Department of Justice recently charged seven individuals in connection with these so-called Fox Hunt operations. Safeguard Defenders believes the alleged covert Chinese police stations in New York City and elsewhere around the world are part of Operation Fox Hunt. The Chinese government, of course, denies that these offices exist, but we know that they do, Magaziner said. And any harassment of individuals in America based on their political views is inappropriate. We are a First Amendment country, we believe that everyone has the right to advocate for what they believe inparticularly democratic idealsand for the CCP or any nation to try to harass people on U.S. soil from exercising those rights is deeply concerning. Pfluger said U.S. officials are just beginning to understand the extent to which these covert police stations may be operating. He said Thursdays hearing was meant to begin questioning where other such covert Chinese police stations may be operating. Where are they? How long have they been there? Who has been a victim of those facilities? Again, on this issue and many others, were just scratching the surface, Pfluger told NTD. US-China Relations at All-Time Low Since taking office, President Joe Biden has said he hopes to find some areas where the United States and China can cooperate, such as addressing climate change. But the Biden administration also condemned the Chinese high-altitude balloons transit over the United States last month. Biden has said he would push back against Chinese economic abuses but wants to avoid the reflexive opposition and rigid blocs of the Cold War. Despite Bidens efforts to find areas of cooperation with China, the two countries may be ending up on opposing sides of a broader set of geo-political conflicts. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently alleged China may be considering sending weapons to Russia for use in its war in Ukraine. The Biden administration has been supplying weapons to the Ukrainian side in the conflict and has warned China against arming the Russian side. Sadly, the relations between China and the U.S., in my opinion, are very much an all-time low, Rep. Lou Correa (D-Calif.) told NTD. In terms of the apparent growing competition between the United States and China, Correa said the United States needs to invest in strengthening its workforce, education, and cybersecurity, as well as improving relations with other countries in the Western Hemisphere. He said other countries have demonstrated that they prefer American culture and values over what the Chinese regime is offering. We have to capitalize on that. We have to invest in those relationships, Correa said. Weve got to make sure we show up to these countries like Venezuelacant go there nowbut Colombia, other parts of the world, and let them know that we want to be partners. Pfluger more specifically blamed the Biden administration for showing weakness to China. Pfluger said its not a foregone conclusion that the United States and China will be drawn into a more direct conflict, but said the United States will need to bolster its defenses and push back on Chinese actions like the recent surveillance balloon incident. That starts with making sure that our homeland is defended, that we send a strong message to Beijing that if you want to be a trade partner or any other partner with us, that youre going to have to operate under the rules and the laws that we have established and the world order that says you dont attack other countries, you dont penetrate their sovereign airspace, Pfluger said. From NTD News DC Police Union Supports GOP-Led Effort Targeting Washington Police Reforms U.S. Rep.-elect Clay Higgins (R-LA) (R) puts a bible on the back of Rep.-elect Andrew Clyde (R-GA) as he votes for House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) in the House Chamber during the fourth day of elections for Speaker of the House at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington on Jan. 6, 2023. (Win McNamee/Getty Images) The D.C. Police Union released a statement Thursday in support of a new GOP-led effort in Congress that would reverse local police reforms in Washington instituted on an emergency basis after the death of George Floyd in 2020. The nearly 3,500 members of the D.C. Police Union express our full support for the new House Joint Resolution to disapprove the Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022 passed by the D.C. City Council without the support or signature of Mayor Bowser, the Union said in a press release. The House Joint Resolution, co-lead by Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) and Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.), would roll back reforms meant to weaken the police unions hand in disciplinary disputes. This Joint Resolution would disapprove of the Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022, which was passed by the D.C. Council in defiance of very real safety concerns raised by law enforcement, Garbarino said of the resolution introduced Thursday. The Act reforms, legislated to improve police accountability and transparency, included a requirement that body camera footage be released publicly in use-of-force incidents, a prohibition on neck restraints, and the creation of a database of police discipline files that would be available for open-records requests. D.C. Police Union Chairman Gregg Pemberton called the Joint Resolution necessary, claiming the Act is a dangerous law that destroys the collective bargaining rights of Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) police officers, eviscerates due process, and reduces less lethal options for law enforcement during a riot. This Act is laced with bad policies with real-world consequences that delay justice for families and victims, Pemberton said. Pemberton blamed the Act for the staffing crisis plaguing the MPD today. Since the Act was passed on an emergency basis in D.C., the MPD has lost over 1,200 police officers, only replacing 700, the Union said. The pro-criminal policy is now a public safety crisis. Garbarino said Democrats in Washington and New York have vilified law enforcement for years, gutting morale, enacting policies that prevent officers from effectively doing their jobs, and inciting violent anti-police sentiment. Dedicated public servants are resigning in record numbers due to the current policing environment with very few willing to take their place, Garbarino said. Its time to say enough is enough and push back on the anti-police narrative, starting here in our nations capital. The resolution follows the Senates 8114 vote Wednesday to block changes to D.C.s criminal code that would have reduced penalties for some violent crimes. Thirty-three House Democrats voted in favor of H.J. Resolution 26 after President Joe Biden said he would sign the measure. I support D.C. Statehood and home-rule but I dont support some of the changes D.C. Council put forward over the Mayors objections such as lowering penalties for carjackings, reads a message Biden posted to Twitter last week. If the Senate votes to overturn what D.C. Council did Ill sign it. The Police Union compared the new resolution to H.J. Res. 26, saying it seeks to disapprove another piece of anti-victim, pro-criminal legislation that is a direct attack on officer rights. Congress should not allow an Act that puts criminals before victims to pass, the Union said. The D.C. Police Union proudly supports this resolution and asks all members of Congress and the White House to do the same. Close Encounters of the Senate Kind The new National Geographic series UFOs: Investigating the Unknown includes a familiar face among the experts interviewed: U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. Since helping create a Pentagon office to investigate mysterious objects in our nations skies last year, Gillibrand has become a ufologist of sorts but she refrains from using the popular term for Unidentified Flying Objects. Gillibrand touts a new abbreviation, UAPs Unidentified Aerial Phenomena which she considers a serious threat to national security. Her seat on the Senate Armed Services Committee introduced her to decades of reports by Air Force pilots who encountered mysterious aircraft that perform in ways we cant understand, she says on the show. But instead of being investigated, these reports have been denigrated. Since July, the new AARO All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office has investigated some 350 reports of UAPs and found 163 to be balloonlike entities like the giant Chinese spy balloon that entered U.S. airspace last month just weeks after the new series debuted. Another 26 were drones and six were clutter or space debris. That leaves 150-ish unexplained. Does Gillibrand think they may be flying saucers? She doesnt go there, but the show sure does. Might these be from the Russians, the Chinese government or another hostile nation? asks U.S. Rep. Andre Carson of Indiana. Or are these aircraft otherworldly? Are these beings from another galaxy or universe? That sounds like UFOs to us. And anyway, who would watch a show titled, UAPs: Investigating the Anomalous? Janet Gramza Wanted: Criminal lawyers Could the dirty laundry of Buffalos legal community serve as the inspiration for a TV series? Attorney Vincent Scarsella, who investigated corrupt lawyers for 18 years as the deputy chief counsel of the state Grievance Committee, is working with actors and directors to develop a show based on Scarsellas series of novels, called Lawyers Gone Bad. Scarsella said his four novels are loosely based on his investigations into Buffalo- and Rochester-area lawyers who got into trouble. He retired from that work in 2008 and now lives in Venice, Fla. He was in Buffalo this month to work on the project. Scarsella said anyone who has story ideas or wants to get involved in the project in other ways can contact him at vlscarsella@gmail.com. Dan Herbeck Shovel off to Buffalo We've heard of fast fashion. But a drive-thru clothing boutique? That seemed strange to us. And, as it turns out, the article published recently by Rise Collaborative announcing its opening was entirely satirical. Rise wrote about the fictional Bloome apparel store moving into a former pharmacy on West Utica Street, near the old Children's Hospital campus, to make a point about lax sidewalk shoveling along Elmwood Avenue. The piece centered on "Julia Delgado," a fashion designer and Bloome's owner who moved her shop from New York City to Buffalo to take advantage of lower rents and a change in lifestyle. She sought a storefront in the Elmwood Village because of its walkability, according to the article, but was distressed to see so many property owners neglect their sidewalks following major snowstorms. That's why she planned to relocate to 204 W. Utica St., where shoppers won't need to leave their vehicles, to embrace Buffalo's car-centric culture. Supposedly, city officials liked her idea so much they proposed to give tax breaks to the owners of the nearby Gallagher Parking Ramp to convert the first floor to a drive-up shopping mall. The authors ended the piece by urging anyone annoyed by their fake news story to "grab a shovel and work those feelings out on your neighborhood sidewalks." Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks at Davenport at 9:00 a.m. ET on March 10 on his The Freedom Blueprint trip to the early-voting state of Iowa before his highly expected bid for the Republican presidential nomination. Jan. 6 Proud Boys Trial Paused as Defendant Attorney Alleges FBI Altered Evidence Attorney Steven Metcalf (2nd L), representing defendant Dominic Pezzola for his alleged role in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach, arrives at the E. Barrett Prettyman United States Courthouse on Dec. 19, 2022. (Win McNamee/Getty Images) The trial of Dominic Pezzola, one of the defendants of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach, was paused on Thursday due to classified FBI messages revealed in court, which the defense attorneys say show FBI agents discussing the altering of evidence. Pezzola is one of the Proud Boys members on trial for obstruction and conspiracy charges related to the Jan. 6 Capitol breach. He was arrested on Jan. 15, 2021, and indicted the same month. Pezzolas trial began in January of this year. There are a couple of emails between FBI agents casually discussing altering a document and destroying hundreds of pieces of evidence. Its very disturbing and right now we have more questions than answers, Roger Roots, an attorney at John Pierce Law who represents Pezzola, wrote to The Epoch Times. Roots confirmed that Washington District Court Judge Timothy J. Kelly, a Trump appointee, paused the trial on Thursday after the leaked messages were shown in court. The exchange Roots referred to came into light on Wednesday during the testimony of FBI special agent Nicole Miller, who was involved in the agencys investigations of the Jan. 6 defendants. When cross-examining Miller, Nick Smith, an attorney representing Proud Boys member Ethan Nordean (listed as co-defendant on Pezzolas case), revealed classified FBI emails that were hidden in a tab in an Excel spreadsheet. Roots, in Pezzolas case, used this evidence to support a motion to dismiss (pdf) the charges against Pezzola, which Rootss team filed on Wednesday. In the motion, Pezzolas team said the emails showed that the FBI monitored communications between Nordean and his lawyer, violating the Sixth Amendment, which prohibits invasions of the right to counsel (Matter of Fusco v. Moses). In the Nordean case, confidential attorneys-client trial/defense strategy and position was wrongfully obtained by the government, about which was overheard, shared, utilized, where potentially 338 items of evidence were ordered to be destroyed, said Pezzolas legal team in the motion to dismiss. According to a separate filing by Nordeans lawyers, Miller said in one correspondence that [her] boss assigned [her] 338 items of evidence [she has] to destroy; Nordeans lawyers allege that another email show an agent requesting Miller to go into [a] CHS [informant] report that Miller just put [together] and edit out that [the agent] was present. The emails show Miller admitted fabricating evidence and following orders to destroy hundreds of items of evidence, Pezzolas lawyers wrote in its motion to dismiss, and that the government obtained information that benefitted itself in the trial, causing substantial prejudice to each of the defendants, including Pezzola. If justice means anything, it requires this case to be dismissed, Pezzolas lawyer said. Roots is representing Pezzola on a pro bono basis. Legal non-profit National Constitutional Law Union (NCLU) is helping cover Rootss expenses while he is in Washington, according to NCLU Executive Director Natalie Danelishen. My thoughts are we need a longer pause to get to the bottom of some of Agent Millers emails, Roots told The Epoch Times. As of Thursday evening, the court has not issued an order responding to the motion to dismiss. Alleged Brady Violations In addition to their argument about the Sixth Amendment, Pezzolas lawyers also argued in their motion to dismiss that newly surfaced footage of events of the Jan. 6 Capitol breach constitutes exculpatory evidence. The defendants lawyers say the government, by withholding that evidence, violated their clients constitutional rights as defined in Brady v. Maryland, a 1963 case in which the Supreme Court held that prosecutors must make available exculpatory evidence to defense counsel. The defendants motion comes two days after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) released more than 40,000 hours of Jan. 6 footage to Fox Newss Tucker Carlson, who then aired some of the footage on his show on Monday and Tuesday. One tape aired Monday showed Capitol Police officers walking alongside Jacob Chansley, a Jan. 6 defendant serving a 41-month sentence after pleading guilty to an obstruction charge. Chansley was unarmed and walked past several Capitol police officers. The aired footage is plainly exculpatory, Pezzolas lawyers said in the motion. The FBI declined to comment and referred The Epoch Times to the U.S. Attorneys Office for comment. U.S. Attorneys Office did not provide The Epoch Times with comment by press time. Does the West Still Exist? Commentary From the late 1940s to the 1980s, the post-war world remained full of distrust and anxiety. The Cold War between East and West was enormously unsettling for people on both sides. Schools conducted nuclear attack drills. Trains from Berlin to Moscow stopped at the Polish-Soviet frontier to change wheel gauges and restrict cross-border transportation. Russian dissidents were sent to the Gulag. Proxy wars and an arms race stoked the fear that a final nuclear showdown might be inevitable. In 1990, after a decade of Anglo-conservative political leadership and Ronald Reagans peace through strength initiative, the world stumbled into a more hopeful era. The Cold War ended with the collapse of Soviet communism. Some predicted the permanent end of ideological conflict and the triumph of democratic-capitalism. Economic prospects were good, and the future looked bright. Free world leaders declared that the battle was over and the West had won. Weary Cold War ideological combatants prepared to stand down and get back to the matters of family life and career responsibilities. During the Reagan era, I had made good friends among our American neighbors, so I couldnt resist an invitation to attend an April 1990 fin de siecle get-together at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. It was the final meeting of the Committee for the Free World (CFW), a group of some 200 writers, academics, state officials, and politicians who generally focused on threats posed by totalitarian communism. Initially, the theme of the conference seemed out-of-step with the mission-accomplished mood among the participants. The question we were invited to think about was: Does the West still exist? CFW Director Midge Decter opened the proceedings with some of her usual tough questions: Are we a community of nations that have learned how to protect the basic liberties of our citizens? Are we a gang of friends, a congregation, a family? Or are we like one of those long sour marriages, held together for the sake of the kids and now facing an empty nest? Prominent speakers were skeptical about the status of the Western alliance. Some raised questions about the future of NATO. Was the pact a matter of love or convenience? Josef Joffe, an editor at one of the largest newspapers in Germany, suggested that no alliance was likely to persist longer than the threat that had spawned it. With the Soviet Union neutralized, what remained to keep us together? Italian scholar Giuseppe Sacco suggested there was a developing North-South front that justified continuing an entente between the United States and Western Europe. Sacco said, The South is not only armed with unarmed migrants, but also armed with respectable chemical and possibly atomic weapons. He suggested that threats from the South could be around for some time. Eugene Rostow, former director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency in the Reagan administration, warned that Even if democratic capitalism prevailed in Eastern Europe and elsewhere, the idea that we no longer have to worry about war or conflict is complete nonsense. The Cold War had been a golden era for Western solidarity. What would transpire from here on was more difficult to predict. After much talk about international relations and defense, the American writer and critic Hilton Kramer chaired a rather chilling discussion on Western Civilization, dead or alive? Several participants suggested that newly liberated people from the East who were looking for guidance from the West were more likely to discover a society that was mired in cultural decadence and ideological civil war. Kramer opined that Our universities, the media, our popular culture, a great many of the institutions that we in the past have looked to as the cornerstones of Western civilization have for some years, approximately 22 or thereabouts by my calculation, been assiduously addressing themselves to the task of deconstructing the moral efficacy of our civilization and attempting to establish, with a fair degree of success, the notion that Western civilization is the cause of all trouble, and indeed evil, in the world, and that far from providing a model for others, we should all don hair shirts and repent our fallen ways. Not only has Western culture failed to recover over the past 33 years but our present condition is considerably worse. Progressive intellectuals continue to be our worst detractors. A systemic, neo-Marxist pathology has become deeply embedded in our institutions. Thats why Islamic terrorists, Russian irredentists, Mexican drug cartels, Chinese communists, and woke domestic militants laugh in the faces of liberal Western elites. Examining the virtues of Western Civilization is virtually forbidden by 21st-century academics. Our education system preaches the gospel of identity politics while the once-normal middle-class cultural consensus is denounced as racist, patriarchal, homophobic, transphobic, and xenophobic. Western educators make it almost impossible for young people to appreciate what they can become because they refuse to acknowledge anything good about what has been inherited. Western formative institutions intentionally ignore all of the important questions. If the West still exists, where does it begin and where does it end? If our founding principles were valuable to begin with, how can they be restored and preserved? The contemporary West is in a state of flux, with wild threats and accusations coming from all quarters. Back in 1990, the late CFW Director Midge Decter discontinued our operations with a cautionary message: Our revels, like our labors to solidify what has been won, are far from over. Looking back on that counsel, one cant help thinking that were now called upon to either resist aggressors or become their victims. Politely turning the other cheek may no longer be a reasonable option. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Election Security Is Key for Voter Turnout: Florida Rep. Lee Election watchers say more must be done to draw out minorities People cast ballots on electronic voting machines for the midterm election during early voting ahead of Election Day inside a vote center at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles on Nov. 7, 2022. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images) Elections security advocates said the 2022 midterm races exemplify what happens when voters trust the system. One voting rights lawyer says more must be done to ensure everyones voice is heard. The Committee on House Administrations Subcommittee on Elections held a hearing on the 2022 midterm elections to review the impact of heightened security measures on voter turnout. According to subcommittee chair Rep. Laurel Lee (R-Fla), the overall impact of tighter security was greater voter turnout. Its simple: When voters have more confidence that their ballot will count, they are more likely to vote, Lee said. Lee pointed out that while Florida has what is considered a fairly secure election system, that was not always the case. She said the reforms that improved Floridas election integrity were borne out of an election that made hanging chad a staple late-night talk show joke in the 2000 presidential election. In that race, the outcome of the contest between George W. Bush and Al Gore was not known for three weeks due to difficulties tabulating votes in districts that used a punch-card system. The dispute was eventually decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. Florida officials learned a lesson that year, Lee said. People fill out their ballots at Bedford High School in Bedford, N.H, on Nov. 8, 2022. (Scott Eisen/Getty Images) Today, Florida is home to an effective elections code, procedures, and safeguards, she told the subcommittee. Lee said Louisiana, Ohio, and Georgia officials all took steps to increase election integrity and all reported record turnout for the 2022 midterm races. She said each state took steps to improve security. Louisiana and Ohio provide a free photo ID for eligible voters who dont have one. Louisiana also developed plans for unexpected events, such as weather emergencies, Lee said. We should celebrate those states, like those represented here today, that have continually found ways to improve their process and build voter turnout and confidence, Lee said. Who Gets to Vote Is Important But one of the witnesses before the committee said that who gets to vote is just as important as how many get to vote. The fact is that some peoplepredominantly voters of colorface barriers to the ballot box that make it more difficult and more costly for them to vote than for other people, said Damon Hewitt, president, and executive director of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. Hewitt said his organization has dealt with cases in which threats, state laws, and disinformation have been used to suppress minority votes. Referencing the Civil Rights struggle and the 1965 Voting Rights Act, he said the fight is continuing. Black voters and other voters of color continue to face unnecessary obstacles to casting a ballot, Hewitt said. According to Hewitt, the U.S. Supreme Court struck a blow against minority voting rights in 2013 when it struck down portions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. In Shelby County v. Holder, the court ruled that certain states no longer had to have any proposed election laws cleared by the court before they were implemented. This requirement was included in the original law because some states had used literacy tests, taxes and other unfair requirements to tamp down the minority vote. In the 2013 decision, the court ruled that such practices were no longer a factor and, therefore, states did not need to have laws cleared in advance. Hewitt said laws had been passed banning ballot drop boxes, limiting early voting, and making it more difficult to apply for absentee ballots. This is not success, said Hewitt. Democracy demands more. This week, we feature a collection of Tolstoys most famous stories and an inspiring memoir about one mans mission to save a friend from the Taliban. Memoir Saving Aziz: How the Mission to Help One Became a Calling to Rescue Thousands From the Taliban By Chad Robichaux The exit from Afghanistan is one of the greatest tragedies to occur on Americas watch. In the midst of this disaster, however, there were shining moments of heroism and loyalty so inspiring that they could hardly be scripted better. One of those moments is captured by Chad Robichaux, a Force Recon Marine, in his efforts to rescue Aziz, his former interpreter, and Azizs family. This memoir is a reminder of American soldiers bravery and sacrifice and the heart behind what they do. Thomas Nelson, 2023, 224 pages A Man of the World: My Life at National Geographic By Gilbert M. Grosvenor with Mark Collins Jenkins Gilbert Grosvenor spent six decades at The National Geographic Society. His destiny to guide the Society followed four generations of his family before him. Over the years, he was privileged to know the likes of Sir Edmund Hillary, Jacques-Yves Cousteau, and Jane Goodall, among others who were honored for their contributions to the field. More than doing a job, Grosvenor sought to leave the world a better place. His story about running a media company in changing times is told with unflinching honesty. National Geographic, 2022, 320 pages Being a Ballerina: The Power and Perfection of a Dancing Life By Gavin Larsen Subtitled The Power and Perfection of a Dancing Life, Larsens well-written memoir takes us from her 8-year-old days as a stumbling beginner to her life as a professional ballerina. Readers learn about the intense physical demands of dance and of the constant quest to learn more, to aim at perfection, and to overcome disappointment. For those who love the ballet or wish to gain insights into its workaday world, Larsen shines a light on the joys and realities of this unique profession. University Press of Florida, 2021, 272 pages Nature Reading the Glass: A Captains View of Weather, Water, and Life on Ships By Elliot Rappaport Elliot Rappaport commands sailing ships. A lifetime at sea has led him to develop a fascination with weather, and in this book, he draws upon 30 years experience to share everything he has learned about it. Traveling the world through his voyages, we look at seafaring and tall sailing ships in modern times, receiving a painless education in modern meteorology: from trade winds and storms to clouds and jet streams. Thoroughly entertaining, it effortlessly blends adventure, humor, and science. Dutton, 2023, 336 pages Classics The Kreutzer Sonata and Other Short Stories By Leo Tolstoy Here are three of Tolstoys most highly regarded stories. How Much Land Does a Man Need? reminds us that the possessions we own in life mean nothing in the grave. The Death of Ivan Ilych tells of an official who has lived an artificial rather than authentic life, though in the end, he finds a sort of redemption. The Kreutzer Sonata gives us as dark a portrait of love and marriage as we are likely to find. Gloomy, yes, but these stories should spark intellectual debate and self-reflection. Dover Publications revised edition, 1993, 144 pages For Kids Poetry for Young People: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Edited by Frances Schoonmaker, illustrated by Chad Wallace The Poetry for Young People series provides a wonderful introduction to poetrys greatsbringing to life the works of the worlds most renowned poets with engaging illustrations. In this edition featuring Longfellows recognizable worksPaul Reveres Ride, Woods in Winter, and morethe beautiful images enhance understanding. Collect them all. Union Square Kids reprint edition, 2010, 48 pages Extinguishing the Principle of Political Equality in Australia Kamilaroi artist Rhonda Sampsons Diyan Warrane artwork is projected onto the sails of the Sydney Opera House at dawn during Australia Day 2023 celebrations in Sydney, Australia, on Jan. 26, 2023. (AAP Image/Bianca De Marchi) Commentary Following the successful 1967 referendum, which empowered the Australian Parliament to make laws for the people of any race for whom it is deemed necessary to make special laws, there was a general expectation that we would finally become a colour-blind society. A society where the distribution of societal burdens and benefits would not depend on a persons race. The parliament would have the power to remove impediments that prevented members of any race to become full citizens of the Australian polity. These legislative powers of the parliament were expected to cement the principle of political equality into Australias DNA. It is a worthy principle, the implementation of which enhances the equal treatment of all members of society and confirms that, from a political point of view, they are deemed to be of equal standing. But the promise of political equality gradually weakened over time, and the demise of the principle of equal treatment accelerated after the adoption of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975. Local children play stickball on a street in Aurukun, far North Queensland, Cape York, on July 19, 2022. (AAP Image/Jono Searle) A growing Indigenous industry resulted in the establishment of expensive but failing quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisations (quangos). These developments have confirmed that a colour-blind society is merely a lofty aspiration, easily punctured or extinguished by the ruling elites, who now advocate for a more radical form of equalityequality of results or outcomes. This trend has now resulted in the federal government pushing for the entrenchment in the Australian Constitution of an Indigenous Voice, the establishment of which was foreshadowed in the Uluru Statement from the Heart. More Details Please While details on the powers, composition, and procedures of the Voice are carefully withheld from the public, governments around Australia are assiduously promoting the proposal. Fairness demands that, whenever a referendum is organised, the yes and no campaigns receive equal funding, with donations made to either side to be fully tax-deductible, and people are given an impartial expose of the implications and consequences of both votes. However, none of this appears to be happening with regard to the Voice. Devoid of detail, it is impossible for electors to meaningfully exercise their right to vote in a referendum. The unfairness of the process, in itself, is a sufficient reason to reject the governments proposal. Members of the Mutitjulu Aboriginal community walk through the grounds in Mutitjulu, near Alice Springs, Australia, on July 6, 2007. (Ian Waldie/Getty Images) Proponents of the Voice have argued that it is a modest proposal. For example, on Jan. 26, against a background of left-wing demonstrators protesting for constitutional recognition at Invasion Day rallies, Prime Minster Anthony Albanese said: Across the country, every state premier, every chief minister, is supporting Yes at this referendum because this is about progress going forward. It is about reconciliation. Its not a radical proposition this is a mainstream proposition. However, political nous indicates and experience confirms that whenever government officials talk about modest reform, they are usually trying to hide the monumental and disruptive impact which the proposal, if successful, will have on society. People are told that the Voice is merely an advisory body that would not have any decision-making power. But what does advice mean? Does it mean that the executive and/or the parliament merely have to ask for advice, or does it mean that the Voice must actually give advice? If the latter applies, the Voice could easily frustrate the legislative agenda of the government simply by adopting the convenient device of not giving an opinion at all. In that case, the Voice would be able to arrogate to itself the power to veto proposed laws, effectively becoming a third chamber of parliament. Is This Going Forwards or Backwards? Australians have also been told that advice would only be asked in connection with proposed laws that have an impact on Indigenous Australians. This is a disingenuous argument because all legislation adopted by parliament applies to all Australians, Indigenous and non-Indigenous. So, it follows that advice would have to be asked whenever parliament wants to adopt legislation, and as a result, Australia could find itself in administrative and legislative gridlock. Any failure by the legislative and executive branches of government to seek the advice of the Voice may well be challenged in the High Court. The Voice members may seek activist judges who claim that it should have been consulted, causing further delays and confusion and increasing judicial activism. The Voice represents the triumph of symbolism over substance. These days, politicians are prepared to spend millions of dollars on meaningless symbolism and flaunt it as social progress, like permanently raising the Aboriginal flag over the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The Aboriginal flag is seen alongside the Australian flag on top of the Harbour Bridge in Sydney, Australia on Jan. 26, 2022. (Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images) Is it believable that the Voice will make a measurable difference for Indigenous Australians? Will it curb the riots and crime spree in Alice Springs? Reduce drug addictions? Eliminate child abuse? Decrease alcohol dependency? Stop spousal abuse? Lead to longevity? Result in better health outcomes? Improve education? In this context, former Senator Eric Abetz recently proffered his view that Not one life will be improved by the proposed change. But if the funds wasted in pursuit of the Voice were spent on law enforcement and school attendance, a rapid increase in the wellbeing of our Indigenous communities would be there for all to witness. Abetzs statement exhorts policymakers to consider whether direct aid to Indigenous Australians for the purpose of establishing businesses and improving education might be the better approach to lessen the dependence of disadvantaged people on an all-powerful state. Will the Voice proposal, if successful, be the reconciliation so ardently demanded by the Indigenous lobby? Keith Windschuttle, in an article in Quadrant, argues that the eventual goal of the Voice would be to make treaties between the Commonwealth and what it calls the First Nations and that Its proponents dont just want to keep their adopted title as nations, they want to become real nations. If Windschuttle is right, the Voice is ultimately concerned about sovereignty. By enshrining the Voice in the Constitution, Australia will be a country divided along racial lines, where burdens and benefits are distributed on the ground of race. Using the language of Abetz, What is being promoted as healing and reconciling is in practice dividing and alienating. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Florida Bar Investigating Lawyer Charged With Domestic Terrorism in Cop City Attack Video footage released on March 5, 2023, shows left-wing rioters throwing fireworks and Molotov cocktails at officers in Atlanta, Georgia. (Atlanta Police Department/Screenshot via The Epoch Times) The Florida Bar has said it is investigating a lawyer who was part of a group of activists that attacked the site of a planned police training center in Atlanta on March 5 and were subsequently arrested. Thomas Webb Jurgens, a 28-year-old employee at the nonprofit legal advocacy organization, Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), was among 23 people arrested on charges of domestic terrorism following the demonstration at the 85-acre police and fire training facility currently under construction. Activists have been protestingoften peacefullyat the site that they have dubbed Cop City for months. However, Sundays demonstrations quickly turned violent, with some of the activists throwing Molotov cocktails at officers, setting fire to construction equipment, and vandalizing the area. Of the 23 individuals arrested and charged, Jurgens was the only one to be released from prison on a $5,000 bond this week. The Florida Bar confirmed he is under investigation in a statement to Fox News. The Bar can confirm that there is an open case on the matter, a spokesperson told the publication. Florida Bar disciplinary cases are confidential, so we cannot provide further comment. Video footage released on March 5, 2023, shows left-wing rioters throwing fireworks and Molotov cocktails at officers in Atlanta, Georgia. (Atlanta Police Department/Screenshot via The Epoch Times) Florida Bar Rules of Discipline The spokesperson added that generally, once notified that a Bar member has been arrested or charged, the Bar reviews the criminal case for appropriate action. According to the Florida Bars lawyer directory, Jurgens graduated from the University of Georgia School of Law and is licensed to practice law in Florida. He is listed on the bars website as being in good standing. The spokesperson directed Fox News to the bars rules of discipline (pdf). The rules state that a determination or judgment by a court of competent jurisdiction that a member of The Florida Bar is guilty of any crime or offense that is a felony under the laws of that courts jurisdiction is cause for automatic suspension from the practice of law in Florida unless the judgment or order is modified or stayed by the Supreme Court of Florida, as provided in these rules. Additionally, the rules note that a member of the bar could face disciplinary action regardless of whether the respondent has been tried, acquitted, or convicted in a court for an alleged criminal misdemeanor or felony offense. If a respondent is acquitted in a criminal proceeding that acquittal is not a bar to disciplinary proceedings. Likewise, the findings, judgment, or decree of any court in civil proceedings is not necessarily binding in disciplinary proceedings, the rules note. According to a statement from the Atlanta Police Department, a group of violent agitators used the cover of a peaceful protest of the proposed Atlanta Public Safety Training Center to conduct a coordinated attack on construction equipment and police officers, on March 5. Construction equipment set on fire by a group protesting the planned public safety training center in Atlanta on March 4, 2023. (Atlanta Police Department via AP) Demonstrators Throw Molotov Cocktails, Fireworks They changed into black clothing and entered the construction area and began to throw large rocks, bricks, Molotov cocktails, and fireworks at police officers, police said. Some of the violent demonstrators destroyed multiple pieces of construction equipment by fire and vandalism before law enforcement agencies arrived at the area and detained several people, according to police. Video footage released by the police shows a piece of construction equipment set on fire at the site and law enforcement officers frantically trying to close a gate while under attack from a group of men. The illegal actions of the agitators could have resulted in bodily harm. Officers exercised restraint and used non-lethal enforcement to conduct arrests, police said while calling for upcoming protests in the area to remain peaceful. After Jurgens was released on bail, SPLC issued a statement confirming that he was an employee of the nonprofit and said he was arrested by police at the demonstration while volunteering as a legal observer on behalf of the National Lawyers Guild. As we previously stated, Tom was performing a public service, documenting potential violations of protesters rights, the organization said. We are outraged that police officers present at the protest refused to acknowledge Toms role as a legal observer and instead chose to arrest him. We are confident that the evidence will demonstrate he was a peaceful legal observer. The Epoch Times has contacted the Florida Bar and Jurgens for comment. Gas Ranges Targeted in Class Action Suit Against LG A class action suit filed in California alleges LG Electronics USA, Inc. sold gas range stoves in the United States without properly notifying customers of toxic emissions prior to their purchases. The suit comes as the industry faces attacks and efficiency proposals by the Biden administration that would remove up to half the current gas range ovens on the U.S. market. A California woman who purchased an LG gas stove from Costco in October 2022 claims in the suit that she was unaware of the risks associated with the product before purchasing. Ms. Sherzai relied on the representations on the marketing materials disclosing risks, read the lawsuit. The marketing materials did not disclose or warn that the product emitted harmful pollutants, such as nitrogen oxides. Thus, at the time of purchase, Plaintiff was unaware that the product emitted harmful pollutants such as nitrogen oxide. According to the latest court docket, LG has not yet responded to the claims in the suit. John Taylor, senior vice president of LG Electronics USA, Inc. said in an email to The Epoch Times, as a matter of policy, LG Electronics USA doesnt generally comment on pending legal matters such as this. Claims of False Advertising and More The California woman in the suit (pdf) alleges LG committed several crimes including violating Californias Unfair Competition Law, False Advertising Law, and Consumer Legal Remedies Act, along with breach of implied warranty, violation of state consumer protection statutes, breach of implied warranties on behalf of plaintiff and the nationwide class, fraudulent omission, and unjust enrichment. She claims the suit on behalf of other customers who purchased qualifying LG ranges while living in the United States during the applicable time frame. There are tens or hundreds of thousands of class members, attorneys wrote in the suit. The precise number of class members is unknown to Plaintiff at this time. Attorneys say members of the proposed suit can be identified through public notice. The woman, Ms. Sherzai, alleges gas stoves are linked to respiratory illness and that LG knew of the risk without properly notifying customers of risks. To make her case, attorneys point to recent studies, including one by Consumer Reports that says gases can worsen asthma and other lung diseases. The corporate logo of LG Electronics in Goyang, South Korea, on Oct. 26, 2017. (Lee Jin-man/AP Photo) They go on to cite Bloomberg as stating gas stoves emit air pollutants at levels the EPA and World Health Organization have said are unsafe and linked to respiratory illness, cardiovascular problems, cancer, and other health conditions. Bloomberg cites reports from the Institute for Policy Integrity and the American Chemical Society. Court documents claim about 40 percent of American households use natural gas stoves daily to cook in their homes. Other claims cited by the plaintiffs in the suit claim nitrogen oxides are emitted which can be hazardous to human health. A Harvard University Health article cited states, A recent study published by researchers at Stanford calculated that emission of nitrogen dioxide from certain gas burners or ovens rose above the standard set for outdoors by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) within a few minutes. Other claims by Sherzai are that nitrogen oxide exposure is linked to cardiovascular effects, diabetes, poor birth outcomes, cancer, cognitive issues among children, and asthma. Claims LG Knew of Defects Since the 1980s, the natural gas industryof which Defendant is a constituenthas worried that the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission would regulate gas stove emissions due to indoor air quality concerns, the suit stated. Like other makers of gas stoves, Defendant monitors and keeps track of research on the health effects of its products. This is diligence that large companies like Defendant routinely do when selling a consumer product. Defendant is aware of the fact that its products emit harmful pollutants. It is further aware that use of gas stoves increases the rates of respiratory illness in adults and children. Sherzai claims LG could have implemented available technologies to reduce alleged danger to consumers, including jet-powered infrared gas-range burners. Another design proposed in the 1980s was the use of a flame insert, which cuts the nitrous oxides emissions more than 40 percent when the burner is turned on high, and even more at low burner settings, plaintiffs allege. Despite this, Defendant failed to use an alternative design to avoid these harms and reduce harmful pollutants from gas stoves. Claims of Failure to Warn and Overcharging Consumers Sherzai and attorneys claim LG should have warned its customers of the pollutant risks. While Defendant is aware of the harmful health effects of gas cooking, everyday consumers are unaware of these risks, attorneys for Sherzai wrote. Consumers shopping for a new oven, range, or stove have very little information about the health risks of gas appliances. Consumers remain unaware because nothing on Defendants packaging or labels suggest that the gas stoves regularly emit pollutants that are harmful to human health. Further, the labels and warnings do not mention any risk of nitrogen oxides. Sherzai also said in the suit that if customers knew of the defective design of LG gas ovens the price would drop dramatically. She also alleged through attorneys she would have paid significantly less for the product had she known that it emitted harmful pollutants. If consumers knew the truth, demand for Defendants prices would drop, and Defendant could not sell their products at current prices. In addition, the defective design of gas stoves reduces their value. Consumers pay for a stove that is safe for home cooking, but receive a less valuable stoveone with a defective design that carries significant (and undisclosed) air pollution risks. Plaintiffs in the suit seek a jury trial as well as damages, restitution, and other costs or relief as determined by the Court. Biden Administration Latest Action on Gas Ranges The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) this week advanced a request for information on gas stove hazards after it was filed by a commissioner who has floated banning the appliances. The agency announced on March 1 that its seeking information from the public on chronic chemical hazards from gas ranges. The commission released a draft public notice on the request for information but hasnt released the final notice, which should be published in the Federal Register this month, a commission spokesperson told The Epoch Times via email. Zachary Stieber and Allen Zhong contributed to this report. German Gunman Kills 6 at Hamburg Jehovahs Witnesses Hall Morticians bring a covered stretcher to their vehicle at a building used by Jehovah's Witnesses in Hamburg, Germany, on March 10, 2023. (Steven Hutchings/Tnn/dpa via AP) HAMBURG, GermanyA gunman stormed a service at his former Jehovahs Witnesses congregation in Hamburg, killing six people before taking his own life after police arrived, authorities in the German port city said Friday. Police gave no motive for Thursday nights attack. But they acknowledged recently receiving an anonymous tip that claimed the man identified as the shooter showed anger toward Jehovahs Witnesses and might be psychologically unfit to own a gun. Eight people were wounded, including a woman who was 28 weeks pregnant and lost the baby. Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the death toll could rise. Officers apparently reached the hall, a boxy building next to an auto repair shop a few kilometers (miles) from downtown, while the attack was ongoingand heard one more shot after they arrived, according to witnesses and authorities. They did not fire their weapons, but officials said their intervention likely prevented further loss of life. Scholz, a former Hamburg mayor, lamented the terrible incident in my home city. We are speechless in view of this violence, Scholz said at an event in Munich. We are mourning those whose lives were taken so brutally. All of the victims were German citizens apart from two wounded women, one with Ugandan citizenship, and one with Ukrainian. Officials said the suspected gunman was a 35-year-old German national identified only as Philipp F., in line with the countrys privacy rules. Police said he had left the congregation voluntarily, but apparently not on good terms, about a year and a half ago. Hamburg police chief Ralf Martin Meyer said the man was visited by police after they received an anonymous tip in January, claiming he bore particular anger toward religious believers, in particular toward Jehovahs Witnesses and his former employer. Officers said the man was cooperative and found no grounds to take away his weapon, according to Meyer. The bottom line is that an anonymous tip in which someone says theyre worried a person might have a psychological illness, isnt in itself a basis for [such] measures, he said. On Friday morning, forensic investigators in protective white suits could be seen outside the Jehovahs Witnesses Kingdom Hall. As a light snow fell, officers placed yellow cones on the ground and windowsills to mark evidence. Hamburgs top security official said a special operations unit that happened to be near the hall arrived just minutes after receiving the first emergency call at 9:04 p.m. The officers were able to separate the gunman from the congregation. We can assume that they saved many peoples lives this way, Hamburg state Interior Minister Andy Grote told reporters. Upon arrival, officers found people with apparent gunshot wounds on the ground floor, and then heard a shot from an upper floor, where they found a fatally wounded person believed to be the shooter, according to police spokesman Holger Vehren. They did not fire their weapons. Jehovahs Witnesses are part of an international church, founded in the United States in the 19th century and headquartered in Warwick, New York. It claims a worldwide membership of about 8.7 million, with about 170,000 in Germany. David Semonian, a U.S.-based spokesman for Jehovahs Witnesses, said in an emailed statement early Friday that members worldwide grieve for the victims of this traumatic event. The congregation elders in the local area are providing pastoral care for those affected by the event, he wrote. By Friday afternoon, the bodies of the victims had been removed from the hall, and residents laid flowers outside to commemorate the victims. GM Offers Buyouts to Most US Salaried Workers to Trim Costs DETROITGeneral Motors is offering buyouts to most of its U.S. salaried workforce and some global executives in an effort to trim costs as it makes the transition to electric vehicles. The Detroit automaker wouldnt say how many workers it is targeting, but confirmed that the move is aimed at accelerating attrition to meet a previously announced goal of $2 billion in cost cuts by the end of next year. GM has about 58,000 salaried workers in the United States. The company says the offers also are designed to avoid any possible firings at a later date. CEO Mary Barra told analysts in January that GM doesnt wasnt planning for any layoffs. Offers will go to white-collar workers with at least five years of service, and global executives who have been with the company at least two years. The decision to offer buyouts comes at an uncertain time for the auto industry, which is in the midst of a transition from internal combustion to electric vehicles. GM has a goal of selling only electric passenger vehicles by 2035. The switch is requiring more research and development spending on both types of vehicles, as well as huge capital outlays for battery factories and updating assembly plants, as well as spending to get scarce metals needed for EVs. The $2 billion in cost cuts, announced with GMs fourth-quarter earnings, also are being made to prepare for any potential economic downturn or recession, Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson told an analyst conference in February. He also said the cost cuts would be accomplished in part by filling only strategically important jobs vacated due to attrition. Although GMs auto sales remain strong, the company is seeing prices for its vehicles starting to ease, he said. We want to be cautious because we dont want to ignore the macro signs that are out there, because I dont want to be up here a year from now saying, ah, we missed it, Jacobson told the Wolfe Research conference. The company said Thursday that it also will cut costs by reducing the complexity of its vehicles and more sharing of components between both internal combustion and electric models. GM plans to cut discretionary spending companywide and focus on growth initiatives to make benefits come faster. Guidehouse Research e-Mobility analyst Sam Abuelsamid said the cost cuts may be needed because theres significant risk of a slowdown in auto sales, just as automakers are starting to increase production that was hobbled by a global shortage of computer chips. Up to this point the auto markets have been pretty lucky because there has been so much pent-up demand over the last couple of years, he said. Over the course of this year, its going to get to the point where that supply and demand even out. GM and other automakers also are offering few lower-cost models these days, so theyre looking at a smaller number of buyers who can afford their vehicles, Abuelsamid said. GM will probably shed some engineers who work on internal combustion engines with the offers, he said, adding that the company already has gone through staff cuts to reduce expenses. Automakers like GM face huge outlays to convert factories from making combustion vehicles to electric, Abuelsamid said. GMs Factory Zero in Detroit went through the conversion, but just about everything inside the walls was changed, he said. Employees who want to take the buyouts have to sign up by March 24, and those who are approved for the packages have to leave the company by June 30. U.S. salaried workers are being offered one month of pay for every year of service, up to 12 months. Theyll also be offered COBRA health care and part of the bonuses they would receive this year. By Tom Krisher Hong Kong: Deputy SJ visits Geneva, The Hague Deputy Secretary for Justice Cheung Kwok-kwan visited Geneva, Switzerland, and The Hague, the Netherlands, on March 9 to promote the unique strengths of Hong Kong's legal system, which are conducive to the optimisation of international investment and business environment. Accompanied by Permanent Representative of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Laurie Lo, Mr Cheung met WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in Geneva to exchange views on various topics of mutual interest and lay down a more solid foundation for future work. He said Hong Kong, China, as a founding member of the WTO, has for years been a firm supporter of a rules-based multilateral trading system with the WTO at the core, and is one of the most proactive and constructive WTO members. In addition to thanking the WTO for its support to and acknowledgement of the city, Mr Cheung said Hong Kong, being the centre for international legal and dispute resolution services in the Asia-Pacific region, will continue to participate vigorously in and promote the reform of the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body. During his visit in Geneva, Mr Cheung also called on the Ambassador Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary & Permanent Representative of the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the United Nations Office at Geneva & other International Organizations in Switzerland Chen Xu to introduce the latest legal developments in Hong Kong and learn more about the latest situation of the United Nations and other international organisations. He emphasised that Hong Kong, as the only common law jurisdiction in the country, would proactively assist in the country's foreign-related legal affairs. After arriving in The Hague, the last stop of his Europe visit, Mr Cheung attended the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) reception hosted by China for over 200 delegates from around 90 member states attending the meeting of the HCCH's Council on General Affairs & Policy. Speaking at the reception, he updated the participants on the rule of law situation in Hong Kong and stressed that some media reports on "one country, two systems" and the enactment of the National Security Law in recent years have been baseless and unsound. He also highlighted that the Constitution of the PRC gives the legislative backing and source of power for the Basic Law and provides a solid legal basis for and the constitutional framework of the Hong Kong SAR, adding that the central government fully supports Hong Kong to maintain the common law system. Mr Cheung reiterated that Hong Kong's rule of law remains robust. Not only has the National Security Law restored the law and order of Hong Kong society, but also fortified the city's existing and solid legal inheritance, making Hong Kong the most desirable foothold of trade and investment in the entire Asia-Pacific region now and in the future. Meanwhile, Mr Cheung thanked the HCCH for choosing Hong Kong as the venue for hosting the sixth HCCH Asia Pacific Week in September this year to celebrate its 130th anniversary, which signified a vote of confidence by the HCCH to Hong Kong's rule of law. Noting that the event will be the first large-scale celebration of its kind in the Asia-Pacific region and the world, he welcomed everyone to visit Hong Kong to witness the vibrancy, diversity, and prosperity of the events capital. At the reception, Mr Cheung exchanged views with HCCH Secretary General Christophe Bernasconi, Ambassador Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary of the PRC to the Kingdom of the Netherlands Tan Jian and ambassadors from other countries. Moreover, he pointed out that Hong Kong is committed to the development of private international law and hopes that the city and the HCCH can forge closer co-operation. This story has been published on: 2023-03-10. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Zhao Leji, executive chairman of the presidium of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), presides over the third meeting of the presidium at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Tao) BEIJING, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Candidates for the upcoming elections of state leaders including Chinese president were finalized on Thursday after the presidium of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) held its third and fourth meetings. Both presidium meetings were presided over by Executive Chairman of the Presidium Zhao Leji. At its third meeting on Thursday morning, the presidium decided that a list of candidates for president and vice president of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and chairperson of the Central Military Commission of the PRC, as well as chairperson, vice chairpersons and secretary-general of the 14th NPC Standing Committee, would be sent to all NPC delegations for discussion and consultation. Entrusted by the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, Chen Xi, head of the CPC Central Committee's Organization Department, made explanations to the presidium about the candidates of members of state organs, including state leaders. The presidium decided to submit a draft resolution on the revision to the Legislation Law to a plenary session for a vote and send a draft resolution on the plan on reforming the State Council institutions to all NPC delegations for deliberation. The presidium held its fourth meeting Thursday afternoon and decided by voting the final list of candidates for president and vice president of the PRC, chairperson of the Central Military Commission of PRC, as well as chairperson, vice chairpersons, and secretary-general of the 14th NPC Standing Committee. NPC deputies will elect these leaders at a plenary meeting of the NPC session, according to the presidium. The presidium decided to put to a vote the draft method on election and appointment and the candidate list of scrutineers at the plenary meeting. It also adopted an arrangement for holding ceremonies for newly-elected and appointed officials to make public pledges of allegiance to the Constitution and a report on the handling of the lawmakers' motions. It also decided to submit a draft resolution on the plan on reforming the State Council institutions to the plenary meeting for a vote. Executive chairpersons held their third meeting before the third presidium meeting and the fourth meeting before the fourth presidium meeting. Zhao Leji, executive chairman of the presidium of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), presides over the third meeting of executive chairpersons of the presidium at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Tao) Zhao Leji, executive chairman of the presidium of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), presides over the fourth meeting of executive chairpersons of the presidium at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2023. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin) Zhao Leji, executive chairman of the presidium of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), presides over the third meeting of the presidium at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2023. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi) Zhao Leji, executive chairman of the presidium of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), presides over the fourth meeting of the presidium at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2023. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin) Zhao Leji, executive chairman of the presidium of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), presides over the fourth meeting of the presidium at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Xueren) There was no way that everyone who wanted to honor fallen Buffalo firefighter Jason "Jay" Arno could fit inside St. Joseph Cathedral for his funeral on Friday. That didn't stop a sea of firefighters from around the country and across the border or the heartbroken citizens of Buffalo from paying their final respects. As light snow fell across the city, at least 1,000 firefighters and first responders in their dress uniforms and white gloves filled Franklin Street in front of St. Joseph Cathedral. Hundreds more lined Delaware Avenue from downtown to Forest Lawn Cemetery, dozens of their fire apparatus parked on either side of the road. Members of the public joined them, too, some with young children wearing firefighter costumes, others waving American flags. Retha Jackson, a case worker with the Department of Social Services, stood on the sidewalk on Church Street, across from the gathering outside the church. She said followed the news coverage of the tragic death of the firefighter and wanted to do her part. She was awed by the turnout and the pageantry of the funeral. Its beautiful watching the camaraderie, Jackson said. Napoleon Johnson, a retired Buffalo firefighter, and his friend Josie Torres, who works in the courts, also stood outside to take in the scene. Johnson said he could not help but think about another tragedy that struck the Buffalo Fire Department in 2009 when two Buffalo firefighters Lt. Charles Chip McCarthy and Firefighter Jonathan Croom were killed in a fire on Genesee Street. I was working that fire, Johnson said. This brings me back to all the memories of that day. I had to come today to pay my respects. Firefighters came from all over to stand with their 700 brothers and sisters of the Buffalo Fire Department. There were hundreds of firefighters from Western New York volunteer fire companies North Boston, Snyder, Clarence, Clarence Center, Main Transit, Hamburg, Big Tree, Orchard Park, Seneca Hose and East Seneca Hose among them. Then were those who traveled from afar. Firefighters donning patches from New York City, New Jersey, Virginia and Massachusetts packed the crowded block in front of the cathedral. Dale Smith of the Hanscom Air Force Base in Bedford, Mass., explained why he made the trip to Buffalo. "He paid the ultimate the sacrifice," Smith said of Arno, who served three years with the Buffalo Fire Department. "It's important to know that this is felt throughout the country." The scope of firefighters paying respects crossed national lines, too. Hundreds of Canadian firefighters were expected to honor Arno, and early Friday about 30 from Grimsby an Ontario town about an hour from Buffalo got situated in downtown Buffalo. "It's a brotherhood," said Jason Mottershead, a firefighter from Grimsby. The solemn day began as Arno's casket, draped in an American flag, was loaded onto the top of Engine 2, in front of Amigone Funeral Home. Six crew members stood atop with the coffin. Arno's turnout coat and the helmet from his locker were displayed on the truck as a procession slowly made its way toward the church. The procession was led by a motorcade of police motorcycles and patrol cars, their lights flashing. Overhead, Air One, the Erie County Sheriff's red helicopter, swooped low. The procession made its way past the Engine 2 firehouse at Elmwood Avenue and Virginia Street in Allentown. A row of firefighters stood at attention and saluted. An American flag flew at half-staff. The procession wound its way to the cathedral to a sea of uniformed firefighters standing at attention. Two ladder trucks formed an honor arch with their extended ladders a giant American flag fluttered in the cold wind between them. The Greater Buffalo Firefighters Pipes and Drums band, in their kilts and white boots, played. As the Mass of Christian Burial took place inside the packed church, many stayed in the area, others ducked away to watch the service on TV and to warm up. But soon the crowd of mourners began filing back onto Franklin Street for another tribute. They stood 13, 14, even 15 firefighters deep as they filled the block, facing the church, awaiting Arno's coffin to be carried back out and onto Engine 2. "Buffalo Fire Department, attention! Hut!" a voice yelled. "Formation, hut!" another yelled. The firefighters formed neat lines. Arno's casket was carried back on top of the firetruck. As is tradition at a line-of-death funeral for a fighter, a ceremonial "final call" was made over a PA system. The church bells tolled as the call was made: "The Buffalo Fire Department announces the line of duty death of Firefighter Jason Arno of Engine 2 First Platoon, radio call sign Engine 2 Bravo while operation of four-alarm fire at number 745 Main St., Box number 399. Dispatched at 956 hours on March 1, 2023." A fire bell rang three times. The final call is a nod to the days when fires were dispatched using bells and fireboxes. Then, the stirring drone of bagpipes and staccato of drums began to play "Amazing Grace." The second procession began, this time headed all the way up Delaware Avenue to Forest Lawn Cemetery for a private burial. Google to Stop Blocking News for Some Canadian Users Next Week, MPs Hear Google Canada's Sabrina Geremia appears via videoconference as a witness at a Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on March 6, 2023. (The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick) Google executives appearing before a House of Commons committee on March 10 said the online search-engine giant would stop running tests next week that are currently blocking news content for some Canadian users. Google said in late February that it had blocked news for some Canadians as part of a test it was running in response to the Liberal governments pending Online News Act, or Bill C-18, which seeks to regulate digital news intermediaries like Google and Meta for the stated goal of increasing fairness in the Canadian digital news marketplace and contribute to its sustainability. The company said it was blocking visibility of some online news for around 4 percent of its Canadian users, which equals around 1.2 million Canadians in total. Jason Kee, Google Canadas public policy manager, told the Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage on March 10 that the test is scheduled to end on March 16. Google Canada Vice President Sabrina Geremia also appeared before the committee and said she believes Bill C-18 sets a dangerous precedent that threatens the very foundations of the open web and the free flow of information. It also incentivizes the creation of cheap, clickbait content over quality journalism, she said. Bill C-18, which is currently pending Senate approval, will require digital media giants like Google to negotiate deals that would provide compensation to Canadian media companies for republishing their content on their platforms. Geremia also said the pending legislation would benefit legacy media more than local journalism. Boundaries When questioned by MPs about the test blocking news content for some Canadians, Geremia didnt directly answer, saying she disagreed with the premise that Google blocked any news. News is available in Canada, she said, adding, This is a product test. A number of MPs on the committee, including its chair, voiced concerns that Geremia was evading certain questions. Liberal MP Lisa Hepfner said the witnesses were not giving fulsome answers and moved that the committee place both Geremia and Kee under oath. Her motion passed unanimously. Geremia earlier told the committee that Google runs about 11,500 tests each year to assess potential changes to its search engine, but added that only a small number of the changes proposed in the tests end up launching. Conservative MP and committee vice-chair Kevin Waugh requested that the witnesses provide the committee with a list of all the product tests that Google has run in Canada since Jan. 1. Youve over-exceeded your boundaries, and I think Canadians would also today say that Google has over-exceeded their boundaries, Waugh said. Andrew Chen and The Canadian Press contributed to this report. GOP Congressman Asks Blinken to Explain US Funding of Conservative Blacklist Group Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) is seen in the Longworth House Office Building on Capitol Hill, Washington, on Dec. 13, 2019. (Patrick Semansky/Pool/Getty Images) Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) demanded answers on March 8 from Secretary of State Antony Blinken about U.S. funding for an organization that recommended censoring conservative outlets over claims they spread disinformation. An article in The Washington Examiners opinion section last month reported on the UK-based Global Disinformation Index (GDI), which received hundreds of thousands of U.S. taxpayer funds from the State Department-backed Global Engagement Center and National Endowment for Democracy. The GDI has used this funding to create a list of news organizations for advertisers and business interests to abstain from doing business with, in an attempt to limit these organizations participation in the marketplace of ideas, Buck wrote in a letter to Blinken. Recent reporting suggests that GDI listed several prominent right-leaning news organizations on their blacklist, which was sent to advertising firms around the globe. News organizations that GDI reportedly has called on advertisers to sever ties with in the name of disinformation include The American Conservative, The American Spectator, The Blaze, The Daily Wire, The Federalist, Newsmax, The New York Post, One America News, RealClearPolitics, and Reason. Reports of taxpayer funding for censorship are troubling but unfortunately, no longer isolated, Buck said. According to recent revelations from the Twitter files investigative series, the evidence suggests the [Global Engagement Center] GEC contracted with the Atlantic Councils Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab) to provide expertise on combating online disinformation, but instead received lists of ordinary Americans to silence on Twitter, he continued. These lists of American citizens marked for censorship bore no resemblance to the paid foreign bots that DFRlab promised to expose. Buck suggested that this State Department-backed disinformation effort is antithetical to the U.S. Constitution. Paying foreign (and domestic) entities to perform what is essentially censorship is troubling on two fronts: it wastes taxpayer funds and undermines constitutional protections for freedom of speech, he wrote. Buck called on the State Department to stop all current and future taxpayer funding of the GDI and all other efforts from the State Department to fund disinformation research that silences American citizens. He also asked for the number of entities the department is currently funding that implicate the free speech rights of American citizens, the total amount of taxpayer funds that have been sent to third-party organizations that implicate the free speech rights of American citizens, and whether Foggy Bottom sought or received information on the methodology the GDI and DFRLab used to determine which organizations and individuals to place on their lists. The State Department declined to comment on Bucks letter, saying it does not comment on communications with Congress. A gray horse and an Alaskan malamute who formed an instant bond the first time they met have starred in an amazing snowy photoshoot, showcasing the wonder and beauty of interspecies friendship. Russian photographer Svetlana Pisareva, 44, was enjoying a nature trek with her two Siberian huskies when they stopped at an equestrian club, where stunt horses were being trained for riding schools, competitions, and films. She noticed that one of her dogs was spellbound by the horses. They performed tricks with pleasure and completely naturally. It was so mesmerizing that even my dog could not take his eyes off them, Pisareva told The Epoch Times. When we introduced my dog to these horses, the boundaries in my head about the impossibility of such a warm interspecies friendship were erased. For both the horse and my dog, it didnt matter at all what size they were, and which of them had paws or legs. Witnessing this, Pisareva knew she wanted to express it in pictures to show people how boundless friendship can be, and how incredible animals are. With over ten years of experience in photography, Pisareva already had a portfolio of different species interacting, but she had never shot a dog and a horse together. The opportunity to do so came when Pisarevas friend offered her Alaskan malamute, Sob Aku, as a model. They then went to a local equestrian club to make an introduction. Pisareva said: The animals had not known each other until that moment. This was their first communication; no aggression, no negativity, only mutual interest and desire to communicate. We made sure that the animals were comfortable with each other, and went to the nearest forest to shoot so that our models would definitely not be distracted by anything. Armed with a Canon camera and Canon 70-200 L II lens, a couple of thermoses with hot tea, and a good mood, Pisareva and her friend watched in awe as the dog and horse found a common language. In a series of touching photos, Pisareva captured the pair nuzzling, playing, and regarding one another like old friends. The only intervention needed was helping Sob Aku climb onto and descend from the gentle horses back. The shooting was easy and natural, Pisareva said. In all my shootings, I absolutely do not allow the slightest pressure on the animals. No coercion, even for the sake of the best shot. As soon as I understand that the animal is tired, afraid, or simply does not want to continue shooting, we stop. However, this pair seemed to interact with each other until the last frame. When the time to part ways came, the malamute simply refused to leave. This was probably the brightest moment for me because before, in principle, I could hardly imagine such a creative union, and here: love, Pisareva said. I am very glad that I was able to capture the warmth of their friendship in the photographs. Pisarevas heartwarming photos were picked up by local and international news media, and positive comments flooded in. To the skeptical minority who thought Pisareva had simply spliced photos together, the photographer said: The main thing is that I am true to myself. I am against such methods, and all my clients know this very well. Pisareva, who lives in her hometown of Saint Petersburg, Russia, with her husband and huskies, did not take up photography as a profession early on. For the sake of job security, she worked as an economist and accountant for many years but grew frustrated with the lack of creative development. By nature, I am a creator, she said. Finally, at the age of 33, I literally dropped everything and started doing photography, which I have always been drawn to. I studied, practiced, worked out my shortcomings, and studied again; after all, as you know, talent is only 10 percent of success. The remaining 90 percent is work. Pisareva who shares her photos on her website never stops honing her skills, believing there is no ceiling in the art of photography, and is happy that she can showcase the charm of the animal world through her photos. I really love animals and what I do, she said. 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 Greens Senate Power Play Gives Hollow Victory, Minister Says Labor Agrees to No New Coal or Gas Amendment Industry and Science Minister Ed Husic speaks to media during a press conference in Canberra, Australia, on May 13, 2021. (Sam Mooy/Getty Images) The Minister for Industry and Investment, Ed Husic, has pushed back on claims the Greens party have won a victory over the government after negotiations on the National Reconstruction Fund (NRF) saw amendments to stop the Fund from investing in future coal and gas projects, and native forests logging. The NRF is a corporate Commonwealth entity that is designed to help the federal government rebuild Australias industrial capabilities via the corporate investment of $15 billion (US$9.91 billion) in manufacturing projects in suburban and regional areas. The Greens amendments to the Bill create a class of prohibited investments within the legislation that explicitly bans the National Reconstruction Fund Corporation from financing the extraction of coal and gas, the construction of gas pipelines, and the logging of native forests. The left-wing party also secured a government amendment so that investments made by the Board will also have to align with the legislated climate targets and any future updated commitment by Australia under the Paris Agreement. Speaking to ABC Radio National, Husic said that the government saw the amendments as a small addition that did not change the purpose of the NRF as investment would never be made in those types of projects. The fund was never about what the Greens were concerned about, and we were happy to agree to that amendment if thats what was required to get them on board. And were grateful for their support and for others, Husic said. In this photo taken early Jan. 2020, and provided Thursday, Jan. 16, 2020, by the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service personnel inspect Wollemi pine trees in the Wollemi National Park, New South Wales, Australia. (NSW National Parks and Wildfire Service via AP) When the Greens put that forward to us as a concern, we assured them at the time that this is not what this fund is about. Its not about just extraction or logging, its about the value add. The big thing about this fund is the Prime Minister has wanted us as a country to think about value add instead of just doing the mining of critical minerals, he said. For example, making Australian-made batteries onshore to meet the needs to reduce emissions. The photo shows North Rankin Complex of the North West Shelf Project owned by Woodside Energy in Western Australia on Feb. 21, 2023. (Courtesy of Woodside Energy) Husic has previously said that the goal of the Fund is to help the government generate homegrown industries that secure Australias future via the largest peacetime investment in manufacturing the country had witnessed. Greens Argue Amendments Make Australias Future Safer However, the Greens spokesperson on industry, regional development, and transition, Senator Penny Allman-Payne, said on Thursday that the amendments would ensure that the NRF would instead be focused on creating high-quality jobs across a diverse economy, particularly in regional Australia. The Greens took a policy for a manufacturing fund to the election, and we strongly support public investment in rebuilding manufacturing in Australia, she said. Every cent spent on coal and gas would wreck the climate and divert much-needed funding from manufacturing initiatives, especially in regional Australia. The Greens have made sure that this fund will only be invested in building the future of Australian manufacturing, not propping up coal and gas corporations. The win for the Greens party comes after it was confirmed in a senate estimate hearing that there was nothing currently stopping the NRF from investing in coal and gas projects. Greens leader Adam Bandt thanked the government for their constructive approach to the negotiations and signalled the party would continue their strong tactics in the upcoming Bill negotiations. Party leader of the Australian Greens, Adam Bandt, addresses the media after the resignation of Senator Lidia Thorpe from the Australian Greens Party at Parliament House, in Canberra, Australia, on Feb. 6, 2023. (Martin Ollman/Getty Images) We thank the government for the constructive approach they have taken in the negotiations and hope this can continue in the Safeguard and Housing Bill discussions in the coming period, he said. Logging Amendment Creates Controversy Meanwhile, Tasmanian senators Jacquie Lambie and Tammy Tyrrell have slammed the government for the amendment on native logging, calling it a smack in the face to Tasmanians. Taking to Twitter, Tyrrell said that the Labor government had betrayed the logging industry in her state and that she was waiting for an explanation. In May 2022, the Prime Minister wrote a letter to workers in the Tasmanian Forest and Forest Products Industry promising support, she said. The Prime Minister said in his letter: The Liberals have gone into overdrive saying that Labor will listen to the Greens. This is nothing but a desperate scare campaign designed to cover up for the fact that Scott Morrison has been a major disappointment for your industry. The Prime Minister also said Labor will support native forest harvesting. Its all well and good to tell the industry you support them during an election, but when youre in government and push comes to shove, apparently you can forget pretty quickly. Tyrrell has called on the government to stand firm on the Greens demands. I dont think the Greens are bad people, but my word, sometimes theyve got some bad ideas. The Governments got to be prepared to call it out, not back it in, she said. Group Issues Urgent Action Warning About Loose Train Wheels Multiple cars of a Norfolk Southern train lie toppled after derailing at a train crossing with Ohio 41 in Clark County, Ohio, on March 4, 2023. (Bill Lackey/Springfield-News Sun via AP) A railroad group on Thursday issued an advisory urging carriers to stop using certain railcars regarding concerns of loose wheels in the wake of the high-profile East Palestine derailment and other incidents in recent weeks. The Association of American Railroads (AAR), a trade group representing major freight railroads, released an alert warning about loose wheels in cars that may have caused a derailment in Springfield, Ohio, over the past weekend. The advisory said that operators should inspect and remove from service wheels that were made by National Steel Car of Hamilton, Ontario, in Canada. It added that Norfolk Southern had identified loose wheels on a series of cars that present an increased risk of an out-of-gage derailment. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) told Reuters it was looking at the role of the loose wheels in recent derailments and praised the industry action. Yesterday, Norfolk Southern identified loose wheels on a series of cars that presents an increased risk of an out-of-gauge derailment. Today, AAR, through its committee structure, took expeditious action and has issued an advisory to stop cars with these wheels from use and interchange until those wheel sets can be replaced, AAR spokeswoman Jessica Kahanek told industry media outlet Trains.com. This is an uncommon defect to see in a wheelset that demanded urgent action, Kahanek added. This is a voluntary, proactive step aimed at ensuring equipment health and integrity. The derailment that occurred in Springfield was among a number of incidents that triggered an NTSB investigation into Norfolk Southern. The train operator has been under fire in recent weeks following the East Palestine, Ohio, incident that led to the controlled burn and release of toxic chemicals that sparked a number of lawsuits against the company. In a statement to Trains.com, Norfolk Southern said that after the Springfield derailment, the firm determined that a specific model and series of railcars had loose wheels, which could cause a derailment. The Epoch Times has contacted Norfolk Southern for comment. The investigative team identified these wheels as coming from a series of recently acquired cars from a specific manufacturer, the statement said. Although the investigation into the cause of the accident is still underway, we immediately notified the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Railroad Administration and began inspecting other cars from this series on our network. The firm added that after it noticed cases of unusual wheel movement, it acted to address the issue. We issued orders to remove these cars from service until their wheelsets could be replaced, and we have taken steps to remove this specific model and series from service until they can be fully inspected, Norfolk said. We also notified the manufacturer and worked urgently to inform the rest of the railroad industry, as Norfolk Southern is not the only user of these cars. As a result, the Association of American Railroads issued an advisory to halt the use of these cars. Norfolk Southern will continue to investigate this matter and take appropriate action. Other Details Just hours before the alert was issued Thursday, another Norfolk Southern train derailed in Alabama, according to the firm. The train was not carrying any hazardous materials, and no injuries were reported. A train operated by Norfolk Southern derailed in Calhoun County, Alabama, on March 9, 2023. (Calhoun County Sheriffs Office) Norfolk Southern is responding to a derailment in Piedmont, Alabama, the company said in a statement on March 9. There are no reports of injuries and no reports of a hazardous materials release. We are working in close coordination with local officials. Another Norfolk Southern train derailed on Feb. 16 in Van Buren township, Michigan. No hazardous materials were on that train, officials said. Also Thursday, Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw told lawmakers on Capitol Hill that his company is determined to make this right and that Norfolk Southern will clean the site safely, thoroughly and with urgency. You have my personal commitment. Since the East Palestine derailment, the company has announced several safety upgrades. Shaw said his firm used $1 billion the company on safety last year, but he noted Norfolk Southern also spent more than $3 billion buying back its own stock. Reuters contributed to this report. Group Withdraws Federal Suit Challenging San Diegos No Exemption Student Vaccination Mandate A federal lawsuit challenging San Diegos mandate that required COVID-19 vaccinations for students is poised to be formally dismissed after the Supreme Court of California struck it down as discriminatory last month. The San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) was one of the few in the United States that required students to receive the vaccine for in-person instruction while not offering a religious exemption, however, the enthusiasm for strict COVID-19 mitigation efforts has waned since the height of the pandemic. School districts in Los Angeles and Oakland had also tried to enforce a COVID-19 vaccination mandate for students. State officials said in February that they were abandoning plans to impose a statewide mandate. No Belief-Based Objections SDUSD approved its mandate in September 2021 that required all students over the age of 16 to be vaccinated in order to attend classes in person and participate in extracurricular activities. The district specifically stated that no students with religious or personal belief-based objections to the vaccination would be accommodated. Many people object to the various COVID-19 vaccines for religious reasons. Although enforcement of the mandate was repeatedly delayed because of public resistance, the Supreme Court of California struck it down on Feb. 22 and upheld a state appeals court ruling that found school districts are unable to impose their own vaccination rules. That legal action was brought by a group called Let Them Choose, a project of Let Them Breathe, a non-profit organization founded by Sharon McKeeman. This is the final finish line that weve crossed in protecting the rights of millions of California students against any unlawful COVID-19 vaccine mandates, McKeeman said at the time, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune. We were able to keep San Diego Unified students in school, and now weve set precedent statewide, just making it clear that other school districts cannot exclude students that dont have the COVID-19 vaccine, or put forward their own mandates. Students Sued Separately A teenage student identified by the pseudonym Jill Doe and others had sued separately in federal court, arguing that the lack of a religious exemption for students meant the mandate ran afoul of the religious protections of the free exercise clause in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. But because the school district put the mandate on hold, federal Judge Linda Lopez, a Biden appointee, dismissed the lawsuit as moot in November 2022. The litigants appealed the ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit but 11 of the circuit court judges dissented from that courts refusal to act, suggesting they believed the mandate was unconstitutional. The case also made it to the nations highest court. The U.S. Supreme Court denied relief on Feb. 18, 2022, citing one of the school districts delays of the policy but left the door open to future emergency applications, stating in an unsigned order that the denial was without prejudice to applicants seeking a new injunction if circumstances warrant. But with the mandate struck down by the state Supreme Court last month, there was no reason for the federal lawsuit to continue. Mandate Gone for Good Attorney Paul Jonna, a partner at LiMandri and Jonna and special counsel for the Thomas More Society, a nonprofit focusing on religious liberty, declared victory in the legal battle against the school district, noting that the mandate was gone for good. This is indeed a victory, one that demonstrates the efficacy of judicial power to uphold the laws of the land, Jonna said. The mandate is gone and can never be reimposed again, Jonna told The Epoch Times in an interview. The mandate is dead, so were dismissing our case now because weve achieved our objective. There is no further relief we think we could obtain at this point. Jonna said on March 9 that his firm filed a motion to dismiss the appeal that is currently pending in the 9th Circuit. The school district doesnt oppose the motion, he said. SDUSD voluntarily delayed the mandate and suspended it throughout the litigation, but now, even if they wanted to reimpose it, theyd have no legal way to, in light of that other litigation in state court, Jonna said. School district officials didnt respond by press time to a request by The Epoch Times for comment. Head of Google Canada Set to Return to House of Commons Committee Google Canada's Sabrina Geremia, Vice President and Country Manager, appears via videoconference as a witness at a Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday, March 6, 2023. (The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick) The head of Google Canada is set to return to a House of Commons committee to talk about the companys decision to block news access to some of its users. Sabrina Geremia was summoned by MPs, and was originally scheduled to appear in front of the heritage committee on Monday. But technical difficulties delayed the meeting and MPs invited her back today, while also requesting documents related to Googles news ban. Three other Google executives, including its CEO, have refused a summons to appear. New Democrat MP Peter Julian says he plans to introduce a motion to notify the House of Commons that there was a refusal of the summons. Google says it is running a five-week test to limit news as a possible response to the governments proposed Online News Act, which would require tech companies to pay news organizations for linking to or otherwise repurposing their content online. Federal health officials have recommended that all adults in the United States get screened for hepatitis B virus (HBV) at least once in their lifetime, saying that most people living with the infection dont know theyre infected. Hepatitis B is one of five types of viral hepatitis, or inflammation of the liver. HBV, which is transmitted in blood and other bodily fluids, can spread through sex, sharing contaminated needles and syringes, or from mother to child in the womb. The initial HBV infection typically doesnt involve any symptoms, although some people may experience fatigue, loss of appetite, stomach pain, or jaundice. Chronic hepatitis B can damage the liver over time, increasing the risk of developing liver failure or liver cancer. For the first time since 2008, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday published an updated guidance for HBV testing. Previously, the agency only recommended HBV screening for Americans deemed at high risk for infection, such as people born in countries where the disease remains common, users of injection drugs, men who have sex with men, and newborn babies whose parents have HBV. The new CDC guidance now recommends people 18 years or older be tested at least once for HBV. Citing an analysis of recent studies, the CDC said risk-based testing alone cannot identify most people living with chronic HBV infection, and up to two-thirds of them might be unaware of their infection. Children and teenagers under the age of 18, except those at high risk, are not included in the universal screening recommendation, considering most of them already receive HBV vaccines as part of their routine childhood immunizations. The most common scheduling consists of three shots: the first administered within 24 hours of birth; the second given between one and two months after the first dose, and the third between 6 and 18 months of age. The CDC also added three new groups of people to its risk-based testing recommendations: Current or formerly incarcerated adults in a jail, prison, or other detention settings People with a history of sexually transmitted infections or multiple sex partners People with a history of hepatitis C virus infection An estimated 580,000 to 2.4 million people are living with HBV infection in the United States, according to the CDC. In 2020, there were 1,752 deaths attributed to hepatitis B, although the actual number is likely higher. Although a curative treatment is not yet available, early diagnosis and treatment of chronic HBV infections reduces the risk for cirrhosis, liver cancer, and death, the agency said, adding that the HBV screening for all adults can be cost-effective overall and life-saving. Specifically, the one-time universal screening would be expected to prevent an additional 7.4 cases of asymptomatic liver damage, 3.3 cases of acute liver damage, 5.5 cases of liver cancer, 1.9 liver transplants, and 10.3 HBV-related deaths per 100,000 persons screened. Anyone who requests HBV testing should receive it, regardless of disclosure of risk, the CDC said, because many persons might be reluctant to disclose stigmatizing risks. Chronic hepatitis B disproportionately affects those born outside the United States. While foreign-born people only make up 14 percent of the general U.S. population, they account for 69 percent of the U.S. population living with chronic HBV infection, according to the CDC. The Cochrane Reviews editor-in-chief on March 10 issued an unusual statement claiming that a recent paper published by the review does not show masks dont work. That interpretation of the paper is inaccurate and misleading, Karla Soares-Weiser, the editor-in-chief, said in a statement. The January review found that, based on the current evidence, masks were not effective in reducing the spread of respiratory viruses. Pooled results from the randomized, controlled trials analyzed for the review did not show a clear reduction in respiratory viral infection with the use of medical/surgical masks, the authors said, though several factors, including a high risk of bias in the trials, hampers drawing firm conclusions, they added. It would be accurate to say that the review examined whether interventions to promote mask wearing help to slow the spread of respiratory viruses, and that the results were inconclusive, Soares-Weiser said on Friday. Given the limitations in the primary evidence, the review is not able to address the question of whether mask-wearing itself reduces peoples risk of contracting or spreading respiratory viruses. The reviews corresponding author and several co-authors did not respond to requests for comment. Soares-Weiser first commented to a New York Times opinion writer, Zeynep Tufekci. The writer was among those in 2021 who claimed that the preponderance of evidence indicates that mask wearing reduces transmissibility. Tufekci has also written on Twitter about wearing masks: Why on earth not? Whats the upside of normalizing being a jerk? Few RCTs Despite mask mandates being introduced across the world after the COVID pandemic started, few randomized, controlled trials have been conducted to assess the efficacy of masks against COVID-19. The few trials that have been conducted have returned mixed or negative results. A study carried out in Bangladesh, promoted as supporting mask-wearing, was found in a reanalysis to suffer from significant issues, complicating its conclusions. Danish researchers in a different trial found no statistically significant difference in infections between those who donned masks and those who did not. And a trial in Guinea-Bissau did not establish that mask-wearing protected against COVID-19. Some of the Cochrane authors have said that there is no evidence masks work. There is just no evidence that they make any difference. Full stop, Dr. Tom Jefferson of the University of Oxford told independent journalist Maryanne Demasi. That statement is not an accurate representation of what the review found, Soares-Weiser told The New York Times. Apology While the authors were clear on the limitations of the review in their abstract, a summary said: We are uncertain whether wearing masks or N95/P2 respirators helps to slow the spread of respiratory viruses based on the studies we assessed. This wording was open to misinterpretation, for which we apologize, the Cochrane editor-in-chief said. While scientific evidence is never immune to misinterpretation, we take responsibility for not making the wording clearer from the outset. We are engaging with the review authors with the aim of updating the Plain Language Summary and abstract to make clear that the review looked at whether interventions to promote mask wearing help to slow the spread of respiratory viruses, she added. In November 2020, after Cochrane reviewed masks and other possible mitigation measures, Soares-Weiser acknowledged that none [of the reviews] has found robust, highquality evidence for any behavioural measure or policy. For each measure, though, lack of evidence of effectiveness is not evidence that the interventions are ineffective. Rather, the details of these reviews show why there may never be strong evidence regarding the effectiveness of individual behavioural measures when deployed, often in combination, in a general population living in the complex, diverse circumstances of individuals everyday lives, she wrote. Waiting for strong evidence is a recipe for paralysis. Public health officials must, instead, take measured gambles, based on circumstantial evidence from the reviewed studies and other sources. Yesterday, we witnessed the ex-director of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), under oath, directly blame Dr. Fauci and the U.S. government for the deaths of millions of people. However, if you went to the headlines of Google Newsthere was nary a news story. I guess Google felt it wasnt important enough to warrant above-the-fold status. Seems like they had to make room for important news items, like the ones above. A keyword search of Redfield on Google News did come up with the following stories. The actual testimony of Redfield was explosive. Yet none of these headlines belie the gravity of Redfields testimony. Redfield directly linked gain-of-function research and the creation of SARS-CoV-WIV to Fauci, and to the U.S. governmentincluding the Department of Defense (DOD). He absolutely believes and gives sworn testimony to the effect that Fauci and Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust and soon be the chief scientist at the World Health Organization, covered up the lab leak information. Redfield himself was excluded from the meetings when the processes, strategy, and tactics for covering up the lab leak were developed. This winter, we had a high-level federal employee on the farm. He/she came to me anonymously to express concerns about what had happened in the execution of this corrupt and failed public health response, and in particular to how the vaccines were developed and implemented. She/he discussed how all of the high-level meetings on the clinical trials, the safety of the vaccine, and the public health response, were all done under complete secrecy. Recorders were turned off, plus cell phones and computers were not allowed in the meetings. So there are literally NO RECORDS of these meetings. This person believes that finding evidence of the malfeasance in the meeting minutes or recordings is going to be difficult. So when the New York Times headliner (above) cynically states that the Republicans lack a smoking gun, I believe they know damn well why. The New York Times reporting and editorial staff are many things, but they are not stupid. But here is the thing, I do speak to people working on these issues in Congress. I have been told that the federal government has a large paper trail that documents the corruption over the past three years. But what happened yesterday is explosivelets start with the video of Congressman Jim Jordan speaking to Redfield. Note: these clips are not available elsewhere yet, so I am sorry for the ones from TwitterI know that some here arent on it. Rep. @Jim_Jordan: There Are Nine Million Reasons Why Two Top Scientists Changed Their Stance on Lab Leak Theory So three days after they say it came from a lab, they changed their position, and the only intervening event was a conference call with Dr. Fauci and Dr. Collins. Again, https://t.co/Oz6PWslbnG pic.twitter.com/fwgY26z6ca The Vigilant Fox (@VigilantFox) March 8, 2023 Then listen to Redfield speaking: In Sept. 2019, three things happened in that lab. One is they deleted the sequences. Highly irregular, researchers dont like to do that. The second thing is they changed the command and control from civilian to military. Highly unusual. The third, which is very telling, is they let a contractor redo the ventilation system in that laboratory. Clearly, there was strong evidence that a significant event happened in that laboratory in September. Dr. Robert Redfield, the former CDC Director, talks about three suspicious events that took place at the Wuhan lab in September 2019: In Sept. 2019, three things happened in that lab. One is they deleted the sequences. Highly irregular, researchers dont like to do that. https://t.co/YjHfyEok1g pic.twitter.com/nIT5b96AbE kanekoa.substack.com (@KanekoaTheGreat) March 8, 2023 But there is more: Redfield clearly states that the gain-of-function research received funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the State Department, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the DOD. Dr. Robert Redfield: Theres No Doubt That NIH Funded Gain-of-Function Research Ms. Malliotakis: Is it likely that American tax dollars funded the gain-of-function research that created this virus? Dr. Redfield: I think it did not only from NIH but from the State https://t.co/zLrT8CjFCZ pic.twitter.com/OqsTsb1hFg The Vigilant Fox (@VigilantFox) March 8, 2023 For those that missed it, here is the YouTube video of Redfield reading his written testimony in the hearing: Written Statement of Dr Robert Redfield Before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis March 8, 2023 Chairman Wenstrup, Ranking Member Ruiz, and members of the Committee, my name is Dr. Robert Redfield. I am pleased to testify today in support of this subcommittees important workto investigate the origin of the COVID-19 virus that resulted in the deaths of over one million Americans. As I know this Committee is aware, from 2018-2021 I served as the 18th Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during the Trump administration. As CDC Director, I oversaw the agencys response to the COVID-19 pandemic from the earliest days of its spread and served as a member of the White Houses Coronavirus Task Force. But perhaps more relevant to the purpose of this hearing, my 45 years in medicine has been focused on the study of viruses. I am a virologist by training and practice. Prior to my time at the CDC, I spent more than 20 years as a U.S. Army physician and medical researcher at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research where I served as the Chief of the Department of Retroviral Research and worked in virology, immunology, and clinical research at the forefront of the AIDS epidemic and other viral threats. In 1996, I co-founded the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in partnership with the State of Maryland, the City of Baltimore, and the University System of Maryland where I served as the Director of Clinical Care and Research and also served as a tenured professor of medicine, microbiology and immunology; chief of infectious disease; and vice chair of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. After my time at CDC, I served as the senior public health advisor to Governor Hogan and the State of Maryland. As COVID-19 began to spread across the world, there were two competing hypotheses about the viruss origin that needed to be vigorously explored. The first hypothesis is the possibility that COVID-19 infections in humans were the result of a spillover event from nature. This is a situation in which a virus naturally mutates and becomes transmissible from one species to anotherin this case, from bats to humans via an intermittent species. This is what happened in previous outbreaks of SARS and MERS, earlier coronaviruses that emerged from bats and spread through an intermediate animal. The second hypothesis is the possibility that the virus evolved in a lab involved in gain-of-function research. This is a type of research in 2 which scientists seek to increase the transmissibility and or pathogenicity of an organism in order to better understanding the organism and inform preparedness efforts and the development of countermeasures such as therapeutics and vaccines. Under this theory, COVID-19 infected the general population after it was accidentally leaked from a lab in China. From the earliest days of the pandemic, my view was that both theories about the origin of COVID-19 needed to be aggressively and thoroughly examined. Based on my initial analysis of the data, I came to believeand still believe todaythat it indicates COVID-19 infections more likely were the result of an accidental lab leak than the result of a natural spillover event. This conclusion is based primarily on the biology of the virus itself, including its rapid high infectivity for human to human transmission which would then predict rapid evolution of new variants, as well as a number of other important factors to include the unusual actions in and around Wuhan in the fall of 2019, all of which I am happy to discuss today. Even given the information that has surfaced in the three years since the COVID-19 pandemic began, some have contended that there is no point in investigating the origins of this virus. I strongly disagree. There is a global need to know what we are dealing with in the COVID-19 virus because it affects how we approach the problem to try and prevent the next pandemic. Understanding the origins of COVID-19 is critical for the future of scientific research, particularly as it affects the ongoing ethical debate around the conduct of gain-of-function research. Gain-of-function has long been controversial within the scientific community, and, in my opinion, the COVID-19 pandemic presents a case study on the potential dangers of such research. While many believe that gain-of-function research is critical to get ahead of viruses by developing vaccines, in this case, I believe it had the exact opposite result, unleashing a new virus on the world without any means of stopping it and resulting in the deaths of millions of people. Because of this, it is my opinion that we should call for a moratorium on all gain-of-function research until we can have a broader debate and come to a consensus as a community about the value of gain-of-function research. This debate should not be limited to the scientific community. If the decision is to continue gain-of-function research then it must be determined how and where to conduct this research in a safe, responsible and effective way. Thank you again for inviting me to be here today as we explore these important topics. I look forward to answering your questions. Reposted from Robert Malones Substack. 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. NEW YORK Former President Donald Trump will release a new book next month that features letters from celebrities and politicians written to him through the years. Letters to Trump includes private correspondence with former presidents including Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Richard Nixon, along with celebrities like Oprah Winfrey and Michael Jackson. There are letters from the late Princess Diana, as well as foreign leaders, including former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and North Korea's Kim Jong Un. The letters serve, in part, as a time capsule from an era before Trump became a polarizing political figure, when he was still a New York celebrity only flirting with running for office. They also feature a collection of strongmen with whom Trump has kept in touch since leaving office and as he wages a third White House run. We had lots of great letters from lots of great people and not so great people, to be honest with you," Trump told reporters in a phone call to discuss the book Thursday. "But theyre very famous people. And probably theres never been such diversity as this in terms of people where the letters come from and who they come from." Trump's letters have also taken on new significance amid the ongoing federal investigation into his retention of presidential records and how documents with classified markings ended up at his Mar-a-Lago club. That investigation began when archives officials noticed they were missing documents that Trump had spoken about publicly, including letters from Kim, with whom Trump corresponded with often as president. He wrote me beautiful letters, Trump once said. We fell in love. In addition to letters from Kim, the book includes a letter from Bolsonaro, the former far-right president of Brazil, who, like Trump, refused to accept his election defeat, claiming, without evidence, that the nations voting system was prone to fraud. The disinformation campaign culminated in thousands of his supporters swarming Brazils Congress, Supreme Court and presidential palace in a riot that bore striking similarities to the one at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The letter, which which was sent in January after Bolsonaro was voted out of office, and shared with The Associated Press ahead of the book's publication, begins with a wistful tone. During the time we were both presidents of our countries, we achieved great accomplishments for our nations, Bolsonaro wrote in Portuguese, describing the historic relationship between Brazil and the U.S. as a source of extreme importance for both nations, "whether in the economic cooperation, national defense, or for the political stability of our continents. Working together we accomplished several lasting victories which will be fruitful for future generations, he added. You will always have a partner and friend in Brazil. The letter is signed in thick black ink, reminiscent of Trump's well-known Sharpie scrawl. Trump, in the phone call, said that he had a fantastic relationship" with Bolsonaro. I think he's a very good man and he will be heard from again, I suspect, in Brazil," Trump said, adding that he has kept in touch with the Brazilian who has been living in Florida and spoke at the CPAC conference last week along with a number of other world leaders. You know, you dont just leave and you never speak to somebody again, he said. Ive kept the relationships with quite a few of them and, you know, I think that bodes well for the campaign. Trump who at one point declared, Im a denier, Im an election denier also acknowledged his pattern of building close relationships with strongmen like Kim and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, which some former White House aides have said they believe stems from Trump's desire to share their unchecked power. I get along great with, for the most part, almost everyone. And the tougher they were, the better I got along with them, which is sort of an interesting phenomenon," he said. The book will cost $99 or $399 for a signed edition. Zip codes donating the most money to Donald Trump Zip codes donating the most money to Donald Trump #50. 25276 (Spencer, West Virginia) #49. 53578 (Prairie Du Sac, Wisconsin) #48. 61046 (Lanark, Illinois) #47. 18972 (Uppr Blck Edy, Pennsylvania) #46. 78124 (Marion, Texas) #45. 96027 (Etna, California) #44. 80807 (Burlington, Colorado) #43. 89501 (Reno, Nevada) #42. 2898 (Wyoming, Rhode Island) #41. 33042 (Cudjoe Key, Florida) #40. 10162 (New York, New York) #39. 53583 (Sauk City, Wisconsin) #38. 33480 (Palm Beach, Florida) #37. 98281 (Point Roberts, Washington) #36. 68638 (Fullerton, Nebraska) #35. 82730 (Upton, Wyoming) #34. 28594 (Emerald Isle, North Carolina) #33. 21874 (Willards, Maryland) #32. 37215 (Nashville, Tennessee) #31. 2199 (Boston, Massachusetts) #30. 42544 (Nancy, Kentucky) #29. 72137 (Rose Bud, Arkansas) #28. 85377 (Carefree, Arizona) #27. 76453 (Gordon, Texas) #26. 97623 (Bonanza, Oregon) #25. 59079 (Shepherd, Montana) #24. 85334 (Ehrenberg, Arizona) #23. 57567 (Philip, South Dakota) #22. 61776 (Towanda, Illinois) #21. 22747 (Washington, Virginia) #20. 54876 (Stone Lake, Wisconsin) #19. 99180 (Usk, Washington) #18. 5456 (Ferrisburgh, Vermont) #17. 51351 (Milford, Iowa) #16. 37356 (Monteagle, Tennessee) #15. 80135 (Sedalia, Colorado) #14. 62535 (Forsyth, Illinois) #13. 54437 (Greenwood, Wisconsin) #12. 80833 (Rush, Colorado) #11. 62711 (Springfield, Illinois) #10. 38076 (Williston, Tennessee) #9. 22967 (Roseland, Virginia) #8. 52142 (Fayette, Iowa) #7. 59922 (Lakeside, Montana) #6. 84774 (Toquerville, Utah) #5. 76578 (Thrall, Texas) #4. 13417 (New York Mills, New York) #3. 57384 (Wolsey, South Dakota) #2. 55974 (Spring Grove, Minnesota) #1. 53577 (Plain, Wisconsin) Hollywood action superstar Bruce Willis announced his early retirement from acting in February 2023 due to aphasia. On Feb. 17, Emma Heming Willis, Bruce Williss wife, posted on Instagram stating that after further medical diagnosis, Bruce Willis was confirmed with frontotemporal dementia. Unfortunately, communication difficulties are only one of the symptoms of the brain disorder. Born in West Germany in 1955, Bruce Willis has starred in dozens of Hollywood blockbusters, including Pulp Fiction, The Fifth Element, and Unbreakable, since the 1980s. Willis character role of John McClane in Die Hard is famous worldwide. What is Frontotemporal Dementia? Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is one of the slow-progressing neurodegenerative diseases. It is a general terminology for various brain diseases that affect the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain. These brain areas are usually connected to personality, behavior, and language. Frontotemporal dementia can be misdiagnosed as a mental illness or Alzheimers disease. It usually occurs between the ages of 40 and 65, but can also occur later in life. Frontotemporal dementia was first mentioned by Czech psychiatrist Dr. Arnold Pick in 1892. Pick described a patient with early-onset dementia with aphasia, and after an autopsy, it was found that the left temporal lobe had shrunk (atrophied). Types of Frontotemporal Disorders 1. Behavioral Mutant Frontotemporal Dementia People with behavioral mutant frontotemporal dementia often exhibit the following: difficulty in sequencing, planning steps of events, or prioritizing tasks or activities; repeating behaviors or speech compulsively; acting and speaking impulsively and inappropriately without considering others feelings or consequences; sudden loss of interest or care for activities and loved ones; and challenges in verbal and physical communication over time. 2. Primary Progressive Aphasia Primary progressive aphasia is a neurological syndrome that affects the ability to communicate. This may include difficulty using or understanding words (aphasia), speaking, reading, writing correctly, and loss of speech. Many people with progressive aphasia display symptoms of dementia. Issues of memory, reasoning, and judgment may not be obvious at first, but will eventually develop and become more evident over time. As the disease progresses, some patients with progressive aphasia may have noticeable behavioral changes, similar to frontotemporal dementia. That is because the deterioration caused by the disease affects more brain areas. 3. Motor Disorder When the brain area that controls movement is affected, FTD patients will also suffer from neuromotor conditions, impacting thinking and language ability. Dementia and Frontotemporal Dementia Long-Term Prognosis Qian Zhengping, deputy director of Beitou Health Management Hospital in Taipei, Taiwan, pointed out that the cause of dementia may not only be limited to aging. And not everyone who gets old will have dementia. Dementia is not a disease. Instead, it is a term for a group of symptoms that can be caused by a number of disorders affecting the brain. Studying the underlying causes, dementia is a continuous cognitive decline disorder caused by cerebral nerve disease, systemic diseases, or the use of drugs or addictive substances. Qian said that dementia might not be detected in the early stage. If you dont pay special attention to it, it is easy to be misdiagnosed as normal aging, which can delay medical treatment, causing more difficulty in maintaining dementia conditions. Ryoichi Nakahara, a medical doctor at the University of Tokyo in Japan, told The Epoch Times on Mar. 3 that there is no radical cure for frontotemporal dementia, and patients can only take drugs to slow down the symptoms caused by it to improve their quality of life. Nakahara said: Generally speaking, a healthy living environment is essential for frontotemporal dementia patients, such as brightness, pleasure, safety, and stability. These criteria may improve patients symptoms. Patients can also include some simple aerobic exercises in their daily routine, following regular work and rest schedules, such as bathing, eating, and sleeping at regular hours, to enhance patients memory. As people in the United States prepare to set their clocks ahead one hour on Sunday, March 12, I find myself bracing for the annual ritual of media stories about the disruptions to daily routines caused by switching from standard time to daylight saving time. About one-third of Americans say they dont look forward to these twice-yearly time changes. And nearly two-thirds would like to eliminate them completely, compared to 21 percent who arent sure and 16 percent who would like to keep moving their clocks back and forth. But the effects go beyond simple inconvenience. Researchers are discovering that springing ahead each March is connected with serious negative health effects, including an uptick in heart attacks and teen sleep deprivation. In contrast, the fall transition back to standard time is not associated with these health effects, as my co-authors and I noted in a 2020 commentary. Ive studied the pros and cons of these twice-annual rituals for more than five years as a professor of neurology and pediatrics and the director of Vanderbilt University Medical Centers sleep division. Its become clear to me and many of my colleagues that the transition to daylight saving time each spring affects health immediately after the clock change and also for the nearly eight months that Americans remain on daylight saving time. The Strong Case for Permanent Standard Time Americans are split on whether they prefer permanent daylight saving time or permanent standard time. However, the two time shiftsjolting as they may beare not equal. Standard time most closely approximates natural light, with the sun directly overhead at or near noon. In contrast, during daylight saving time from March until November, the clock change resulting from daylight saving time causes natural light to be present one hour later in the morning and one hour later in the evening according to clock time. Morning light is essential for helping to set the bodys natural rhythms: It wakes us up and improves alertness. Morning light also boosts moodlight boxes simulating natural light are prescribed for morning use to treat seasonal affective disorder. Although the exact reasons why light activates us and benefits our mood are not yet known, this may be due to lights effects on increasing levels of cortisol, a hormone that modulates the stress response, or the effect of light on the amygdala, a part of the brain involved in emotions. Adolescents also may be chronically sleep-deprived due to school, sports, and social activities. For instance, many children start school around 8 a.m. or earlier. This means that during daylight saving time, many young people get up and travel to school in pitch darkness. The body of evidence makes a good case for adopting permanent standard time nationwide, as I testified at a March 2022 Congressional hearing and argued in a recent position statement for the Sleep Research Society. The American Medical Association recently called for permanent standard time. And in late 2022, Mexico adopted permanent standard time, citing benefits to health, productivity, and energy savings. The biggest advantage of daylight saving time is that it provides an extra hour of light in the late afternoon or evening, depending on time of year, for sports, shopping, or eating outside. However, exposure to light later into the evening for almost eight months during daylight saving time comes at a price. This extended evening light delays the brains release of melatonin, the hormone that promotes drowsiness, which in turn interferes with sleep and causes us to sleep less overall. Because puberty also causes melatonin to be released later at night, meaning that teenagers have a delay in the natural signal that helps them fall asleep, adolescents are particularly susceptible to sleep problems from the extended evening light. This shift in melatonin during puberty lasts into our 20s. The Western Edge Effect Geography can also make a difference in how daylight saving time affects people. One study showed that people living on the western edge of a time zone, who get light later in the morning and later in the evening, got less sleep than their counterparts on the eastern edge of a time zone. This study found that western-edge residents had higher rates of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and breast cancer, as well as lower per capita income and higher health care costs. Other research has found that rates of certain other cancers are higher on the western edge of a time zone. Scientists believe that these health problems may result from a combination of chronic sleep deprivation and circadian misalignment. Circadian misalignment refers to a mismatch in timing between our biological rhythms and the outside world. In other words, the timing of daily work, school, or sleep routines is based on the clock, rather than on the suns rise and set. A Brief History of Daylight Saving Time Congress instituted year-round daylight saving time during World War I and World War II, and once again during the energy crisis of the early 1970s. The idea was that having extra light later into the afternoon would save energy by decreasing the need for electric lighting. This idea has since been proved largely inaccurate, as heating needs may increase in the morning in the winter, while air conditioning needs can also increase in the late afternoon in the summer. Another pro-daylight saving argument has been that crime rates drop with more light at the end of the day. While this has been proved true, the change is very small, and the health effects appear to outweigh the benefits to society from lower rates of crime. After World War II, designating the start and end dates for daylight saving time fell to state governments. Because this created many railroad scheduling and safety problems, however, Congress passed the Uniform Time Act in 1966. This law set the nationwide dates of daylight saving time from the last Sunday in April until the last Sunday in October. In 2007, Congress amended the act to expand the period in which daylight saving time is in effect from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in Novemberdates that remain in effect today. The Uniform Time Act allows states and territories to opt out of daylight saving time, however. Arizona and Hawaii are on permanent standard time, along with Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and American Samoa. Now, many other states are considering whether to stop falling back and springing ahead. Several U.S. states have legislation and resolutions under consideration to support permanent standard time, while many others have been or are considering permanent daylight saving time. Legislation and resolutions for permanent standard time have increased from 15 percent in 2021 to 31 percent in 2023. In March 2022, the U.S. Senate passed the Sunshine Protection Act in a bid to make daylight saving time permanent. But the House did not move forward with this legislation. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio reintroduced the bill on March 1. The spike in activity among states seeking to break from these twice-yearly changes reflects how more people are recognizing the downsides of this practice. Now, its up to legislators to decide whether we end the time shift altogether and to choose permanent standard or daylight saving time. Beth Ann Malow, Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Heavy Rainfall in California Threaten Lives and Infrastructure Traffic makes its way along interstate 5 during a rainstorm in Santa Clarita, Calif., on Feb. 24, 2023. (Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP Photo) California could see large amounts of rainfall during the weekend that could result in floods and threaten the safety of people as well as potentially cause widespread damage to infrastructure. On Friday, over 2,400 miles from California to Hawaii are expected to come under the impact of an atmospheric river, said weather forecasting service AccuWeather. An atmospheric river is a plume of moisture that can bring heavy rain and snowfall. During storms that pack atmospheric rivers, there is potential for a foot or more of rain to be released, according to the service. Since higher elevations are forecast to experience above-freezing temperatures, the snow buildup at elevations of 2,500 to 5,000 feet might not fully absorb the rain and instead get melted completely. This could result in eight to 12 inches of water getting released in a matter of hours. As a consequence, the smaller rivers and streams on the mountains may see rapid flooding, creating a dangerous situation for people and structures in its path. The torrential rain and piles of snow laying at the edges of area streets and rural roads is likely to lead to flooding, said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Brett Anderson in the post. Where possible, road crews and property owners may want to open up the storm drains to minimize the flooding risk. Major rivers in places like Sacramento and San Joaquin could rise significantly. AccuWeather is predicting potential urban flooding in areas near Santa Barbara to Redding. It advised motorists to be prepared for road hazards like high water, mudslides, and falling rocks. Some sections of the roads can also get washed away, the weather service warned. Though areas from the Los Angeles basin to San Diego might avoid storm rains, these places can still get enough showers to make roads slick from Friday to Saturday. Rainfall on Saturday, Sunday, The Week Ahead In its March 10 update, the Weather Prediction Center (WPC) of the National Weather Service (NWS) issued a High Risk of excessive rainfall alert over California through Saturday morning including severe, widespread flash flooding. Areas that normally do not experience flash flooding will flood. Lives and property are in great danger from Friday into Saturday morning, WPC said. On Saturday, the threat of excess rainfall reduces significantly, due to which WPC has issued a Marginal Risk of excessive rainfall alert over some parts of California from Saturday into Sunday morning. Heavy rainfall will create localized areas of flash flooding and affect regions that tend to experience rapid runoffs, it stated. Meanwhile, AccuWeather is expecting more storms in the Pacific to likely make their way into California next week. There is the potential for another atmospheric river to be tied in with a storm next week, said AccuWeather Meteorologist Joseph Bauer. It appears that the storm next week will tend to spread the heavy rain throughout much of the state, and some of the downpours will extend all the way into Southern California. Emergency Administration Under Criticism Californias Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency in 13 counties last week due to the storms. On March 8, an additional 21 counties were brought under the purview of the emergency as the series of storms are forecasted to continue through mid-March, according to a March 8 press release. In San Bernardino, a region worst affected by the snowfall, residents criticized a lack of communication from the county as well as slow aid as people ran out of food and other supplies. There was no preparedness, resident Kandice Watson told AccuWeather about planning by the county. We havent been told anything. We just keep getting told that were being sent help and that its on its way, but we dont ever see anything. We see 20 dozers on the side of the highway, but they sit there for days and we sit in our houses. House Unanimously Passes Bill to Declassify COVID Origins Intel, Heads to Bidens Desk The Republican-controlled House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill on March 10 that would require the director of national intelligence to declassify information on the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic. The tally was 4190. The bill, which unanimously passed the Democrat-controlled Senate on March 1, will go to President Joe Biden for his signature. Its publicly unknown whether the president will enact it. The administration has yet to state a position on the measure. Really Important First Step The director of national intelligence would have up to 90 days from the enactment of the bill to declassify any and all information relating to potential links between the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the origin of COVID-19. Ahead of the vote, Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said a lab leak was the likely cause of the pandemic. He noted that the intelligence community can release information about the origins without compromising sources and methods. Also ahead of the vote, Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), like Turner, expressed support for the measure calling it a really important first step. The Wall Street Journal reported on Feb. 26 that a classified document that the Energy Department sent to the White House and crucial members of Congress stated that a lab leak most likely was to blame. But, theres low confidence in the conclusionintelligence officials told the Journal and CNNand that means the assessment cant be stated with absolute certainty. During the Feb. 27 White House press briefing, National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby and White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre asserted that theres no consensus in the U.S. government of the origin or origins of COVID-19. Getting Ahead of Conclusions If we have something that we believe can be reported to Congress and to the American people that were confident in, then we will absolutely do that, Kirby said. We really do want to know what happened here. The president wants to make sure that were postured to prevent any future pandemics or, if not, prevent them to be able to get farther along ahead of them. So were working very hard to understand this as best we can. Again, theres just no consensus across the government. The work continues. And Im not gonna get ahead of conclusions that have not been arrived at yet. Jean-Pierre echoed national security adviser Jake Sullivans words that Biden wants to get to a conclusion about how COVID-19 started. On CNN on Feb. 26, Sullivan said that there is a variety of views in the intelligence community. Some elements of the intelligence community have reached conclusions on one side, some on the other. A number of them have said they just dont have enough information to be sure, he said. Heres what I can tell you. President Biden has directed repeatedly every element of our intelligence community to put effort and resources behind getting to the bottom of this question. And one of the things in that Wall Street Journal reportwhich I cant confirm or denybut I will say the reference to the Department of Energy, President Biden specifically requested that the National Labs, which are part of the Department of Energy, be brought into this assessment because he wants to put every tool at use to be able to figure out what happened here. And if we gain any further insight or information, we will share it with Congress and we will share it with the American people. But, right now, there is not a definitive answer that has emerged from the intelligence community on this question. How COVID-19 Origin Cover-up Changed the Course of the Pandemic Commentary The old adage that you cant fool all of the people all of the time has been bolstered by a recent poll. Despite Dr. Anthony Faucis best efforts, 66 percent of Americans now lean toward a lab origin of the COVID-19 virus. A whopping 86 percent of Republicans believe that the pandemic started in a Chinese laboratory and even a majority (54 percent) of Democrats agree. Notwithstanding Faucis campaign against the lab leak theory and the attendant media blackout on the issue, the overwhelming evidence pointing to a lab leak has been apparent for some time. The fact that a highly unusual coronavirus with engineered-looking features appeared on the doorstep of the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the worlds premier laboratory for coronavirus engineering, has always been a dead giveaway. At the same time, there has been a distinct lack of evidence for zoonosis, or natural origin. The various theories put forward by natural origin proponents have all fallen apart at the slightest scrutiny. The wet market theory collapsed early on when even the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) rejected it. The pangolin theory, by which the COVID-19 virus is supposed to have been passed along by pangolins, as an intermediate host, similarly fell apart when a Chinese newspaper withdrew its claim that scientists had found a close match for COVID-19 in pangolins. The only evidence that is left is that natural origin has happened before, specifically with the original SARS virus and with MERS. However, even that argument does not withstand scrutiny because, unlike the COVID-19 virus, those viruses were not pre-adapted for human transmission, and because there have been far more lab leaks than zoonotic events. The original SARS has escaped from laboratories at least six times. A hand-picked group of scientists told Fauci in a Jan. 31, 2020, email, as well as during a hastily convened next-day teleconference, that the virus was likely engineered. The reason was very simple. No one was able to explain the presence of a furin cleavage site in the COVID-19 virus, an anomaly that had never been observed in any betacoronavirus, the genus of viruses to which COVID-19 belongs. One of Faucis hand-picked scientists privately told Fauci: I just cant figure out how this gets accomplished in nature. However, instead of alerting the COVID Taskforce which President Donald Trump had established just two days earlier, on Jan. 29, 2020, Fauciwho was himself a member of the Taskforceembarked on a mission to cover up the likely lab leak scenario. Emails that were recently released by the House Oversight Committee show that Fauci tasked his group of hand-picked scientists to write a paper to disprove any type of lab leak theory. Fauci later used that paper, Proximal Origin, to back up his false claim that the virus incontrovertibly had a natural origin. Fauci never disclosed that he had himself commissioned the paper and even claimed not to know the authors when he discussed the paper at an April 17, 2020, White House press conference. Fauci recently told The New York Times: I have stated repeatedly that we must keep an open mind as to the origins of the virus, and that the origin of the virus should be the subject of ongoing, thorough and open-minded scientific study that follows the data and evidence wherever it leads. This claim is demonstrably incorrect. For instance, on Feb. 9, 2020, Fauci told former House Speaker Newt Gingrich: Well, I think ultimately, we know that these things come from an animal reservoir. Ive heard these conspiracy theories and like all conspiracy theories, Newt, theyre just conspiracy theories. While it is encouraging that the truth about Faucis cover-up is starting to reach a wider audience (The Epoch Times first covered this story on June 2, 2021), what has not been addressed so far is why it matters. A crucial issue that has remained largely untouched is the fact that the course of the pandemic would likely have been very different, had Fauci not covered up its origin. That is because the origin question is not merely an issue of Fauci trying to wash his own hands of responsibility for the pandemic. It is true that Fauci circumvented an Obama administration moratorium on gain-of-function work by outsourcing the dangerous experiments to a foreign laboratory overseen by the CCP. However, what is far more important than Faucis self-serving incentive to cover up the origin, is the fact that his actions had a tremendous impact on the nation and the world. By covering up the fact that the virus was pre-adapted for human transmissiona fact that went hand-in-hand with a lab originFauci prevented public health officials from facing the realities of the new virus head-on. Those realities were that, unlike previous viruses, COVID-19 was extremely contagious and transmissible without any accustomization. There was no need for an adaptation period as the new virus was already perfectly adapted. This meant that none of the usual public health practices and mitigation measures, such as contact tracing, hand hygiene, disinfection, masks, or physical distancing would be effective at quelling the outbreak. Contact tracing, which Fauci pushed relentlessly, was a particularly wasteful endeavor. The virus was simply too good at infecting humans. As Trumps COVID adviser Deborah Birx belatedly admitted in 2022, the virus came out of the box ready to infect. This observation is backed by a May 2020 study that looked at how well COVID-19 binds to humans as compared to animals. The study found that COVID-19 was completely optimized from day one without the need to evolve and attached itself better to human cells than any other animal, including bats. This was extremely unusual. Usually, viruses take a period of time to learn how to infect humans and, subsequently, how to transmit from human to human. This process can be imagined by picturing the virus as a key that can unlock cells in bats but not in other species. That COVID-19 could easily unlock human cells but had difficulty unlocking other cells, including bat cells, was completely out of the ordinary. The reason the SARS and MERS outbreaks were easily contained, with a combined total of about 1,500 deaths worldwide, is that those viruses were not pre-adapted to humans. The key did not fit. Based on the false assumption that COVID-19 was just like SARS, many health experts underestimated the new virus. Not a single person in the United States died of SARS. In fact, only eight people, all of whom had traveled overseas, were shown to have traces of the virus. While ordinary health professionals werent told the truth and had to work on the basis of false assumptions, Fauci knew in early February 2020 that the new virus was optimized for humans. On Feb. 10, 2020, just a day after Fauci told Gingrich that the lab leak was a conspiracy theory, Faucis hand-picked Proximal Origin authors emailed each other, claiming that the virus seems to have been pre-adapted for human spread since the get go and that there might have been an inadvertent release following adaptation through selection in culture at the institute in Wuhan. One author added, Given the scale of the bat CoV research pursued [at the Wuhan Institute of Virology] and the site of emergence of the first human cases we have a nightmare of circumstantial evidence to assess. Among the circumstantial evidence was the fact that the Wuhan Institute of Virology had a plan to insert furin cleavage sites into SARS viruses. In other words, the lab had a blueprint for making COVID-19. As part of that process, new viruses would be perfected for human transmission by serial passage in humanized mice. These are genetically engineered mice with cells that mimic human cells. In a Feb. 4, 2020, email, Fauci expressed his surprise that the first draft of Proximal Origin apparently made reference to Serial passage in ACE2-transgenic mice, the precise scenario privately acknowledged among Proximal Origin authors. The excerpt flagged by Fauci is not present in any published version of Proximal Origin. In its published version, Proximal Origin states that its authors do not believe that any type of laboratory-based scenario is plausible. This claim is demonstrably incompatible with the privately held views of Faucis group. Between the time that Fauci commissioned the Proximal Origin paper on Feb. 1 and its publication later that month, the authors shared drafts with Fauci. They thanked Fauci for his advice and leadership in putting the paper together. If Fauci had told Trumps COVID Taskforce the truth in early February 2020 that the virus had been pre-adapted for human transmission, that it was therefore extremely virulent, and that it would unavoidably burn through populations, the COVID response would have likely looked very similar to the Great Barrington Declaration, put forward on Oct. 4, 2020, by Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, Dr. Martin Kulldorff, and Dr. Sunetra Gupta. That declaration pointed out the damaging physical and mental health impacts of lockdowns and other pandemic policies. It recommended focusing on protecting the vulnerable. It also proposed that those not vulnerable due to age or comorbidities should carry on with life as normal, including going to work, playing sports, going to restaurants and shops, as well as all the other activities that lockdowns curtailed. The declaration further stated that once the overwhelming majority of the population had built up natural immunity through infection, all of society would enjoy protection via herd immunity. Contrary to claims that neither Fauci nor anyone else knew much about COVID-19 before lockdowns were enforced in mid-March 2020, Fauci knew about the highly unusual furin cleavage site, that the virus was pre-adapted for human transmission, and that seniors were most at risk of developing serious symptoms from the virus. While the Great Barrington Declaration was aggressively attacked and censored by government actors such as Fauci and former NIH Director Francis Collins, the path put forward in the declaration is how COVID-19 was ultimately overcome. Almost everyone caught the virus, in some cases multiple times. This was always inevitable in light of the fact that the virus had been pre-adapted for human infection. Unfortunately, the scientists in charge of Trumps coronavirus response covered up this fact, and others were silenced by social media and via other means. Aside from holding the CCP financially accountable, the real significance of the lab-origin cover-up is that but for Faucis false natural origin narrative, we would have likely avoided a myriad of destructive and futile containment measures. We know how things could have turned out because one country bucked the trend and did not go down the fateful lockdown path. That country is Sweden, where public health officials did not falsely claim that the virus could be contained and where life continued as normal. The outcome for Sweden has been very positive. At four percent, Sweden has the lowest excess death over the past three years of any country in Europe. In most lockdown countries, the excess death toll stands at above 10 percent. In Bulgaria, it is 20 percent. Having kept schools and the economy open, Sweden also avoided the collateral damage we see everywhere else. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. India Declared Top-Tier Security Partner of Australia Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are seen on a lap of honour during day one of the Fourth Test match in the series between India and Australia at Sardar Patel Stadium on March 9, 2023 in Ahmedabad, India. (Robert Cianflone/Getty Images) Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has praised his countrys defence relationship with India during a visit to Mumbai, declaring the Asian nation a top-tier defence partner. The PMs comment comes as the two nations aim to deepen their ties in the Indo-Pacific as a counterbalance to an aggressive Beijing. For Australia, India is a top-tier security partner. The Indian Ocean is central to both countries security and prosperity, Albanese said on March 9 while onboard the INS Vikrant. For Australia, India is a top tier security partner. pic.twitter.com/YhS3aXHZiZ Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) March 9, 2023 Albanese was the first foreign leader to inspect the INS Vikrant, the Indian Navys first locally made aircraft carrier. The Aussie PM is currently in India for a four-day visit. The relationship between Australia and India has grown since 2020, when Australia was invited to join the annual naval Malabar exercises that India conducts with the United States and Japan. And there has never been a point in both of our countries histories where weve had such a strong strategic alignment, Albanese said. We both depend on free and open access to sea lanes in the Indo-Pacific for our trade and economic well-being. Albanese said that the defence and security partnership between the two nations had never been busier or more productive, adding that more exercises, operations, and dialogue were performed in 2022 than in previous years. For instance, in December 2022, both countries held joint military drills in India in an effort to boost defence ties. Australia to Host Joint Military Drill Albanese also confirmed that Australia would host this years Indian joint military drill, Exercise Malabar, off the coast of Western Australia. I am pleased to announce formally that later this year, Australia will host Exercise Malabar for the first time, and India willalso for the first timeparticipate in Australias Talisman Sabre exercise. It will be a great privilege to welcome Indias Navy to Australia in August, and I thank them again for hosting me here today. Shadow Trade and Tourism Minister Kevin Hogan told Sky News that strengthening trade relationships and security ties with India was very important for Australias national security. Hogan added that Australia has a lot of work to do to improve its trading relationship with India. USIndia Relationship Integral to AustraliaIndia Relationship Indias growing diplomatic relationship with the United States has been integral to the reshaping of the AustraliaIndia relationship, according to Manoj Joshi, a Distinguished Fellow at New Delhis Observer Research Foundation. This is in contrast to the relationship a few years back when India rejected the Australian Navys role in the Exercise Malabar military drill, which Australia was allowed to attend only as an observer. Now, both India and Australia are aligned with the United States in the Indo-Pacific region. That is really the cement that is binding the ties, Joshi said, reported the Voice Of America. The U.S. is the linchpin driving the Indo-Pacific strategy. Australia, India, the United States, and Japan are part of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (the Quad), which seeks to counter Beijings efforts to dominate the Indo-Pacific. However, during a Quad geopolitical summit on March 3, diplomats of Japan, Australia, India, and the United States said Beijing had no reason to fear the Quadas long as the communist regime abides by international rules. We dont try to exclude anybody. This is open architecture. So one thing we would like to say is just abide by the law of international ruling institutions. And as long as China abides by the international institutions, standards, and rules, then this is not a conflicting issue between China and the Quad, Japans Foreign Minister, Yoshimasa Hayashi, said at the summit. Anthony Blinken, U.S. Secretary of State, added that the Quad was a force for good positive affirmative action and was focused on concrete, practical needs for the region. A joint statement issued by the Quad reads, We strongly oppose any unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo or increase tensions in the area. We express serious concern at the militarisation of disputed features, the dangerous use of coastguard vessels and maritime militia, and efforts to disrupt other countries offshore resource exploitation activities. AustraliaIndia Free-Trade Agreement In 2022, Australia and India signed a Free Trade Agreement known as the Economic Cooperation Trade Agreement (ECTA), under which tariffs were removed from more than 85 percent of Australian exports and from 96 percent of Indian imports. Australia sought to diversify trading markets after a trade dispute with Beijing occurred following calls for an investigation into the origins of COVID-19 by then-PM Scott Morrison. Bilateral trade accounted for $US27.5 billion in 2021. Under ECTA, there is potential for bilateral trade to reach $US50 billion in five years. Trade, investment, defence, education, and supply chains of critical minerals are important aspects of the relationship between the two countries, former Indian high commissioner to Australia Navdeep Suri said. The visit by Albanese comes days before a visit by Japanese PM Fumio Kishida, another member of the Quad. India, US to Sign Memorandum of Understanding on Semiconductors Semiconductor chips on a printed circuit board in an illustration picture taken on Feb. 17, 2023. (Florence Lo/Illustration/Reuters) NEW DELHIThe United States and India will sign a memorandum of understanding on semiconductors as both countries discuss coordination of investment and continue dialogue around policies to spur private investment, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on Thursday. Raimondo, who is on a four-day trip to India, is accompanied by the chief executive officers of 10 U.S. companies and is scheduled to meet Indias trade minister on Friday. The two nations will map the semiconductor supply chain together and identify opportunities for joint ventures and technology partnerships, Raimondo added. India has been seeking to attract more big-ticket investments under a $10 billion incentive plan for chip and display production, aiming to become a key player in the global supply chain. Last year, the South Asian nation raised fiscal support for new local semiconductor facilities to cover 50 percent of project costs. JPMorgan Sues Former Executive Over Ties to Jeffrey Epstein Barclays CEO Jes Staley takes part in the Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit in New York, on Feb. 8, 2017. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters) JPMorgan Chase is suing one of its former executives, Jes Staley, over his ties to the late financier and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, who died mysteriously while in prison in an alleged suicide, in 2019. In late 2022, a female plaintiff filed a lawsuit against JPMorgan, accusing Staley, who was employed there from 1979 to 2013, of allegedly protecting Epstein and even participating in sexual assaults against her while he was still employed as a top executive. Staley was the CEO of Barclays from 2013 until November 2021, when British regulators launched an investigation into whether the bank had been truthful about his relationship with the late sex offender before his indictment. The bank filed a third-party complaint against Staley on Mar. 8 in Manhattan federal court, arguing he should be held liable if allegations about his relationship with Epstein were proven to be true. The court filing by JPMorgan admitted that Staley was the powerful financial executive accused of participating in an sexual offense against a unnamed female with Epstein. The unnamed woman had mentioned Staley in her claim against the bank, without publicly naming him out of fear. She also accused JPMorgan of aiding Epsteins sex-trafficking operations by allowing him to remain a client and helping him send money to pay off his victims. The banks legal action against its former executive is a long fall from grace for a man who was once considered a possible successor to JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon. The plaintiffs have made troubling allegations concerning the conduct of our former employee Jes Staley, and if true, he should be held responsible for his actions, a JPMorgan spokeswoman told The Wall Street Journal. If these allegations against Staley are true, he violated this duty by putting his own personal interests ahead of the companys. JPMorgan Stuck in Legal Triangle Due to Disgraced Former Executive The bank has demanded that Staley return all of his compensation from 2006 through 2013 while working for them, for a total of more than $80 million, reported Bloomberg. Meanwhile, the U.S. Virgin Islands filed a separate lawsuit against JPMorgan in January, accusing the bank of allowing Epstein to use his bank accounts to pay for more than 20 sex-trafficking victims, mostly from Eastern Europe, despite warnings from top executives about the troubling abuse allegations against him. Virgin Islands prosecutors allege that Epstein compensated the victims by wiring them funds from a Chase account with the full knowledge of executives like Staley. The suit would allow the bank to use a legal maneuver to force Staley to pay any damages if the bank is held responsible by the courts. Although Staley is not a defendant in either lawsuit against the firm, JPMorgan has argued that he should still pay for any damages it is facing as a result of his relationship with Epstein. JPMorgans lawsuit against Staley, combined with the two lawsuits involving the woman plaintiff and the Virgin Islands, have brought undue attention to its top leadership. The bank managed 55 separate accounts for Epstein between 1998 and 2013 under the companys private banking division, according to the Virgin Islands lawsuit. Top Bank Executives Accused of Cover-Up Staley maintained that even though he was friendly with Epstein, he never knew about his alleged sex crimes while he was running JPMorgans asset-management unit, which managed the finances of wealthy clients. I thought I knew him well, and I didnt, he told The Wall Street Journal in early 2020. For sure, with hindsight, with what we all know now, I deeply regret having had any relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, Staley said. However, the two lawsuits have revealed private communications between Epstein and Staley showing evidence that JPMorgan should have done more about their relationship. Recently released emails between the two men appear to show that they were once close, which also included what the U.S. Virgin Islands described as photos of young women in sexually explicit poses. Staley exchanged about 1,200 emails with Epstein between 2008 and 2012, including one from December 2009 in which Epstein told Staley, [Y]ou were with Larry and I had to put up with [an image of a young woman]. These women were trafficked and abused during different intervals between at least 2003 and July 2019, when Epstein was arrested and jailed, and these women received payments, typically multiple payments, between 2003 and 2013 in excess of $1 million collectively, say prosecutors. The Virgin Islands accused Staley of vouching for Epstein as a JPMorgan client, despite objections from internal compliance officers. The banks compliance team had repeatedly requested reassurances from executives due to potential liabilities after Epstein was first indicted on sex-crime charges in 2006 and his guilty plea to those charges, and later when reports about his crimes became public knowledge, according to court papers. JPMorgan said it finally cut off Epsteins accounts in 2013, just after Staley left the bank. Local authorities said that the banking giant had three opportunities to cut ties with Epstein in 2006, 2010, and 2011, but instead continued to provide him services. JPMorgan knew early on that Epstein was an extremely high-risk client, but decided, at multiple points during the relationship, to continue servicing Epsteins accounts because of his vast wealth and connections with other high-net-worth individuals, prosecutors claim. JPMorgan Shifts the Blame to Former Star Executive The bank has sought to have the both lawsuits dismissed, denying any knowledge about Epsteins alleged crimes and claiming that it could not be held liable. It also now appears that Staleys former employer is now using him as a scapegoat to pass the blame. Staleys acts of disloyalty occurred repeatedly, lasted for years, and persisted despite numerous opportunities to correct them, according to court filings by attorneys for JPMorgan. The financial giant said that he affirmatively misrepresented the true facts of his and Epsteins personal interactions, and repeatedly provided misleading information about Epsteins character and conduct. Still, Brad Edwards, one of the lawyers representing the woman in the civil suit against JPMorgan, told The Wall Street Journal said the banks suit against Staley is a damning admission of wrongdoing by JPMorgan. Judge Orders Peter Navarro to Turn Over Private Emails That Discussed White House Work A federal judge in the District of Columbia has ordered former President Donald Trumps former trade and political adviser Peter Navarro to turn over hundreds of emails from a private email account that related to his official work. In August 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a civil claim (pdf) against Navarro, alleging copies of emails he held on a private email account should have been turned over to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) at the conclusion of Trumps time in office. The government specifically argued Navarros work-related communications fell under the Presidential Records Act (PRA), whether or not they were stored on a private or official email account. Navarros attorneys identified between 200 and 250 emails on his encrypted personal Proton Mail account that matched search terms for documents NARA had requested and likely pertained specifically to Navarros work in the Trump administration. Navarros lawyers contended that the records-sharing requirements only pertained to work-related communications he sent, rather than emails he received. U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly rejected those arguments in an opinion on Thursday, writing that the PRA requirements encompass all communications, sent or received by the president or his advisers. All the emails in Dr. Navarros personal email account, whether created or received, are therefore subject to being assessed as potential presidential records if they arose out of his employment in the administration, wrote Kollar-Kottelly, a Clinton appointee. Kollar-Kottelly ordered Navarro to immediately turn over the 200 to 250 emails his legal team found that pertained to NARAs requests for documents. The judge also ordered Navarros legal team and government lawyers to decide on a protocol for reviewing other emails stored in Navarros personal account, to see if they include communications covered under the PRA. Navarros Criminal Contempt Case The dispute over Navarros emails overlaps with a criminal case involving the former Trump adviser. The DOJ brought charges for contempt of Congress against Navarro in June 2022 after he declined to cooperate with a subpoena from the now-defunct House committee to investigate the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol. In its subpoena, the Jan. 6 committee alleged Navarro has information directly relevant to the Select Committees investigation into the causes of the January 6th attack on the Capitol. Specifically, the committee argued Navarro played a key role in preparing a report that discussed strategies then-President Donald Trump and his political allies could pursue in their efforts to challenge the certification of the 2020 election results. Navarro had cited Trumps executive privilege claims in his decision not to comply with subpoenas issued by the Democrat-controlled committee. In Navarros defense, Harvard professor emeritus and constitutional law scholar Alan Dershowitz argued Congress and the DOJ should have sought a judicial ruling over Navarros privilege claims and given him subsequent time to comply with the subpoena if that judicial ruling rejected the privilege claims. Navarro pleaded not guilty to the contempt charges and rejected a plea offer from the DOJ in July 2022. In January, the federal judge overseeing Navarros criminal case agreed to delay the trial while both sides sought to further assess the executive privilege issues Navarro had claimed. During this civil case over Navarros personal emails, Navarros legal team argued that he should not be compelled to turn over his emails now because the DOJ might in turn use those communications against him in his criminal case, violating his Fifth Amendment right to protection against self-incrimination. Kollar-Kotelly rejected this argument, writing that producing these preexisting records in no way implicates a compelled testimonial communication that is incriminating. Navarro faces up to a year in prison or fines of up to $100,000 or both if he is convicted of contempt of Congress. From NTD News Judge Overturns Misgendering Conviction for Street Preacher Reported to Terror Watchdog Dave McConnell outside Elland Road police station, in Leeds, United Kingdom, in an undated file photo. (Courtesy of Christian Concern) A judge has overturned the conviction of a Christian street preacher who was arrested and reported to Prevent for misgendering a member of the public. Dave McConnell, 42, was appealing a conviction on Thursday at Leeds Crown Court after he was arrested under section 4A of the Public Order Act 1986 for insulting a member of the public in Leeds City Centre on June 8, 2021. The arrest was made after he misgendered someone who self-identified as transgender. In footage from McConnells body-worn camera, Farrah Munir is seen approaching the preacher and asking, Does God accept the LGBT community? In the video, McConnell refers to Munir as a man and this gentleman. As the police arrive, a growing crowd chants, Hate speech, hate speech. McConnell is later arrested after a policeman says, Listen mate, Im not having that because shes told you shes a woman. She asked me, he asked me what do I think, replies McConnell. At that point, the officer handcuffs him, adding, OK, youre under arrest. Joint Counter-Terrorism Team McConnell was convicted of causing harassment, alarm, or distress to Munir at Leeds Magistrates Court last year and sentenced to a 12-month community order with 80 hours of unpaid work. Following his conviction and prior to the sentencing hearing, the Probation Service reported McConnell to the Joint Counter-Terrorism Team. A legal team supported by the Christian Legal Centre sought to overturn the conviction by arguing that the police response was unlawful, disproportionate, and interfered with his rights under Articles 9 and 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. McConnells appeal was backed by evidence from Sex Matters campaigner Maya Forstater and Toby Young, general secretary for the Free Speech Union. On Thursday, the judge in the case, Recorder Anthony Hawks, sitting with two magistrates, allowed the preachers appeal against his conviction. At the start of the hearing and before cross-examination, Hawks said of the complainant, This is a womanwe will have no more debate. During proceedings, the arresting officer was asked why he had arrested McConnell after initially suggesting that he just move on. The officer said: He wanted to argue his rights of free speech. Regardless of what hed have preached, I think the crowd wouldnt allow it the final trigger was when [McConnell] referred to the victim as a man in a dress. I stopped him and told him hed been told the victim was a female. McConnell was asked in court whether he knew that misgendering a trans person could be insulting, to which he replied: I wasnt misgendering. I was telling the truth. He told the court: I think people could have been offended but thats not the intention. My intention was to simply stay faithful to my beliefs, stay faithful to God, and to stay faithful to my conscience. I wasnt being transphobicI was expressing what I believe, he added. Appalled Hawks said that McConnell misgendering the complainant did cause the complainant distress but it is not an offence to insult someone. Furthermore, he said that under the Public Order Act it is not enough to show words were insulting and that [the complainant] was distressed. They must prove that we as a bench are sure that when [McConnell] was using those words that he intended to cause distress, he said. [McConnell] said he had no such intent. He says he goes out preaching the word of God and the last thing he wants to do is upset. He said he was not intending distress, just repeating what he genuinely believed to be the Bibles teaching. The judge concluded that there was no evidence McConnell had intended to harass Munir. Following the hearing, McConnell said he was delighted and relieved, adding: I am, however, appalled at how I have been treated by the authorities in this matter. No other street preacher, professional, or member of the public must go through what I have. Misgendering is not a crime and should never be treated as such. He added, How I was treated was totally unreasonable and should concern anyone who cares about Christian freedoms and free speech in this country. Disturbing Trend This case represents a disturbing trend in our society, which is seeing members of the public and professionals being prosecuted and reported as potential terrorists for refusing to celebrate and approve LGBTQ ideology, said Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre. Police forces who fly Pride flags from their headquarters are failing to provide Christian preachers with impartial protection. If a person cries offence at a street preachers words, its the street preacher that is punished and taken out. This is deeply illiberal, she added. PA Media contributed to this report. It the midst of uglinesss, something beautiful happened Thursday at the University at Buffalo. Freedom of speech worked the way it should. Its a shame that odious ideas ever take root, of course, but theres no point in denying it. We know they do; its part of the human condition. Always, it seems, there is the irresistible need for some people to belittle, abuse or otherwise mistreat others. The question is how to counter those wretched beliefs while leaving the door open to the kind of debate that allows democracies to thrive. We know the answer: Freedom of speech. So, on Thursday night at UB, as a conservative provocateur spoke at the invitation of a student group, hundreds of protesters gathered to exercise their own right to free speech passionately and emphatically. Its exactly what needed to happen. The speaker, Michael Knowles, earlier this month called for transgenderism to be eradicated from public life. Whatever he meant by that, it wasnt supportive or loving or even accepting. It was, in a word, hateful. At UB, Knowles tired topic was How Radical Feminism Destroys Women (And Everything Else). Many students and others in the community wanted university leaders to ban Knowles from speaking. Its a natural impulse when confronted with a speaker known for indecency, but university President Satish Tripathi stood up for the First Amendment. That takes a kind of courage, not just to allow the event to take place, but because of legitimate worries about what form those protests would take. Last year when same student group ironically named Young Americans for Freedom invited conservative commentator Allen West to speak on campus, the protests turned ugly. The head of the student group, a woman, said she had to hide in a mens bathroom after being chased by a group of protesters. The same woman said another group leader was punched and kicked. It was a gross violation of the requirements of the First Amendment, not to mention a serious crime. But on Thursday, neither violence nor serious disruption occurred. UB reported that outside Slee Hall, a 25-year-old from Buffalo, unaffiliated with the university, was charged with harassment, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. During the event, two members of the audience members were escorted out of the hall for disrupting the speaker. No charges were filed. Instead, a heartening defense of humanity was put on public display. Were not going to take it anymore, protesters chanted as rainbow flags waved. Signs read Eradicate bigotry. It was democracy and the First Amendment in glorious action. We are proud of the way our campus exhibited the values we hold as a university, exercising its right to peacefully express its views, Brian F. Hamluk, vice president for student life, said in a written statement. Despite being confronted with hateful and dehumanizing rhetoric, the UB community reaffirmed our universitys commitment to ideals of inclusion, justice and equity for our trans community, and for all who are marginalized, disenfranchised and oppressed. Those are key points. What some critics, observers and even supporters may not understand is that ideas such as Knowles has professed can be traumatic. Minority groups racial, religious, sexual, national or other have learned what it can mean when people with power train their sights on them. It happens on both big and small scales, from 1965s Bloody Sunday violence on the Edmund Pettus Bridge to the daily offenses aimed at gay and, lately, transgender people all fully human, all fully American. Its unlikely to stop. If the day comes when one minority is fully accepted, another will be targeted. Demagogues, especially, cant seem to resist. Whats essential is that the response is also fully American noisy, passionate and committed to the hard work that comes with freedom of speech. Well done, UB. 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. Organ Transplants From Babies to Adults in China Raises Concerns, Expert Warns A medical staffer feeds a baby at a hospital in Danzhai, in China's southwestern Guizhou Province, on May 11, 2021. (STR/AFP via Getty Images) Chinese transplant doctors at Shanghais Renji Hospital recently published their first-of-its-kind research in an American academic journal, marking the first kidney pair transplant from preterm infants to adult recipients in a country facing allegations of human rights atrocities in its organ transplantation network. The state-funded Shanghai Jiao Tong University published a press release on Feb. 27, touting that research from its affiliated hospital Renji Hospital had been published in the authoritative journal for organ transplantation American Journal of Transplantation. The press release boasted that Renji Hospital and the Shanghai Childrens Medical Center have been constantly breaking through the limits of young and low body weight kidney transplant donors, and that it has to date performed 22 successful neonate kidney transplants. It recognized a current lack of expert opinions and consensus guidelines in the global transplant community about the minimum acceptable age and weight of donors. But it concluded that because of this, the clinical experience of using very low birth weight premature infants or neonatal kidney donors is extremely valuable and will help to accumulate clinical knowledge, build consensus in the industry, and benefit more uremia patients. Doctors at Renji Hospital published in January of two successful en bloc kidney transplantations (EBKT)both kidneysfrom preterm infants weighing less than 1.2 kilograms (2.6 pounds) to adult recipients with end-stage renal failure. The medical paper said that both the infants were delivered early by cesarean section due to fetal distress. However, it was determined that they would not survive. The parents of one child agreed to the withdrawal of life-sustaining therapy (WLST) and kidney organ donation after circulatory death (DCD) on the babys second day of life, and the other parents agreed to withdraw life support on the fourth day of life. One baby was pronounced dead 15 minutes after withdrawing life support measures, which included a 5 minute window after its mechanical heartbeat failed to be detected. The other baby was pronounced dead by doctors 25 minutes after the withdrawal of life support measures. Both of the babies small 3 centimeter-long kidneys were then removed to be transplanted to the adult recipients. Kidneys only remain viable for transplant for 24-48 hours after death. A nurse checks a pair of Siamese twins from Shanxi Province after their separation surgery June 1, 2005 at Xinhua Hospital in Shanghai, China. (China Photos/Getty Images) Technical Bottlenecks and Ethical Concerns In Western countries, recipients of neonatal kidney transplants are usually other infants, said Zain Khalpey, associate professor of Surgery, Medical Imaging, Physiological Sciences, and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Arizona. However, one recipient of this procedure in China was 34 years old, according to the paper. The other was 25 years old. It is untested, unethical. If its going into another child, sure. If its going into an adult, Im questioning it, Khalpey told The Epoch Times on March 4. The first kidney transplant in human history occurred in 1954. It was done by Dr. Joseph Murray of Brigham and Womens Hospital, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, where Khalpey was trained in cardiac surgery. In 1963, Dr. Murray performed the first neonatal transplant. A baby received a kidney transplant from its identical twin but died of an infection after two and a half years. Since then, neonatal kidney transplant has become a routine procedure for infants and babies with kidney failure. And the success rate of neonatal kidney transplants is high, with one-year graft survivals of over 90 percent reported in some studies. However, the use of neonatal kidneys for adult transplant is rare in the West due to technical and ethical issues, Khalpey said. He pointed out that one technical challenge is potential clinical mismatches between donor and recipient, saying, neonatal kidneys are smaller than the adults, and the size mismatch can lead to complications such as thrombosis or stenosis and kidney vein blockages. In addition, the neonatal kidneys are less developed than the adult kidneys, which can lead to differences in function and then [the patient could] be susceptible to injury. Another difficulty is that infants that become organ donors can be born with congenital abnormalities. Congenital abnormalities are common in neonates, and some of these abnormalities can affect the function of the donated kidney. So, for example, a donated kidney with a congenital abnormality may be more prone to infection or may have a reduced filtering capacity. So using the kidneys for adult transplantation may therefore lead to higher risks of complications. In addition, there are ethical issues associated with the transplantation of organs from infants to adults, according to Khalpey. I mean, the neonates are vulnerable. And the use of their organs for transplant raises concerns about coercion and the appropriate use of medical resources. And you know, in some cases, parents may feel pressured to donate their infants organs, particularly if theyre told that the donation will save the life of an adult, he added. And the pressure may be exacerbated if patients are from disadvantaged backgrounds or lack access to health care. You know the use of neonatal kidneys for adult transplants therefore disproportionately affects certain populations, raising concerns about equity and justice. Another major ethical issue, Khalpey said, would be the commercialization of neonatal kidney transplants. The use of neonatal kidneys for adult transplant may be seen as a way to increase the supply of organs for transplant in countries with long wait lists for a transplant, and this may lead to the commodification of neonatal organs and exploitation. Khalpey said it was odd that a needy infant recipient was not present in the Chinese study. So it seems extremely odd that this was done. And it seems manufactured, Khalpey said, referring to a pre-designed transplantation. A security guard is standing at the Shanghai Jiao Tong University library entrance in Shanghai on Aug. 3, 2010. (Philippe Lopez/AFP via Getty Images) Despite these concerns, Shanghais Renji Hospital is touting the potential to use newborn donors as sources of organs for transplants to adults. In Khalpeys analysis, he said the researchers may be motivated by a perceived advantage of infant organs. If an infants kidney is transplanted, it may last a very long time in the recipient because newborn kidneys have few antibodies that can attack the recipient tissues and cause organ rejection, which is why the attraction of [Renji Hospital] doing it when theyre neonates, he said. The first authors of the above neonatal transplant finding are Li Dawei and Wu Haoyu, attending physicians in the Department of Urology at Renji Hospital. The co-authors are Zhang Ming, deputy director of the Department of Urology at the same hospital, and Bei Fei, director of the Department of Neonatology at Shanghai Childrens Medical Center. Falun Gong practitioners march in a parade in Brooklyn, N.Y., highlighting the Chinese regimes persecution of their faith on Feb. 26, 2023. (Larry Dye/The Epoch Times) But Khalpey remains of the view that the American Journal of Transplantation should not have accepted the Shanghai Renji Hospital article as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has long been accused of violating international transplant industry regulations. He believes the magazines editors need to show they have asked the authors several questions to ensure ethical conduct: Did the babys parents give their consent for the procedure free of coercion? Were the parents prisoners of conscience or members of a vulnerable group in China? In April 2022, the same journal published a computational text analysis to conduct a forensic review of 2,838 papers drawn from a dataset of 124,770 Chinese-language transplant publications, citing ethical concerns in the studies. Our algorithm searched for evidence of problematic declarations of brain death during organ procurement, the paper said. We find evidence in 71 of these reports, spread nationwide, that brain death could not have properly been declared. According to the U.S. Congresss Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, the analysis supports the inference that transplant surgeons in the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) removed organs, including hearts and lungs, in violation of the internationally-accepted dead donor rule, i.e., before donors have been (or could be) declared brain dead. Since 2015, Chinese Communist authorities have claimed that organs in China are obtained only from voluntary donors, but the integrity of this claim is questionable. Data shows that Chinese hospitals are performing several times more transplants than the highest estimates of organ donors could support. In March 2020, an independent court issued its final verdict on the forced organ harvesting of prisoners of conscience by the CCP. On June 14, 2021, 12 United Nations officers said they were extremely alarmed by reports of organ harvesting of Falun Gong adherents, Uyghurs, Tibetans, and other ethnic minorities and Christians detained in China. They called on the Chinese communist government to allow independent monitoring by international human rights mechanisms. This article has been updated for clarity. Latest Astronaut From UAE Getting Used to Space Emerati astronaut Sultan al-Neyadi during an interview at the International Space Station on March 7, 2023. (NASA via AP) CAPE CANAVERAL, FloridaThe second astronaut from the United Arab Emirates is still adjusting to life off the planet, after rocketing to the International Space Station last week. Im still coping. Im still learning, Sultan al-Neyadi said Tuesday, but added that he hopes to improve in the coming days. Hes the second UAE astronaut to fly in space and the first from the Arab world to be assigned to a long spaceflightthe others stayed for about a week. Hell be up there until September. Al-Neyadi assured Dubais ruler in a video call Tuesday that he and the rest of his crew are in good health. But he joked that the small plush astronaut toy that he took up may be coping better with microgravity than he is. I am thankful to God you have reached the International Space Station and thank God for your safety, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who also serves as the countrys prime minister and vice president, said from the space center named after him. SpaceX launched al-Neyadi, a Russian cosmonaut and two NASA astronauts on their six-month mission last Thursday. The first UAE astronaut, Hazzaa al-Mansoori took part in Tuesdays brief video chat from Dubai. Al-Neyadis astronaut toy, nicknamed Suhail, Arabic for the brilliant star Canopus, also accompanied al-Mansoori on his 2019 space station mission. Hopefully, people will follow in the footstep of my brother Hazzaa and my footsteps, al-Neyadi said, the flags for the UAE and its space center hanging behind him. This is what we hope for. By Marcia Dunn Law Delaying Expansion of Assisted Dying Regime to March 2024 Passes A patient has his hand held at a hospital, in Minneapolis, May 3, 2021. (The Canadian Press/David Joles-Star Tribune via AP) A Liberal bill to delay the planned expansion of Canadas medically assisted dying regime has passed third reading in the Senate. The expansion, which was originally slated for March 17, would include people whose sole underlying condition is a mental disorder. Justice Minister David Lametti announced the delay in February, saying more time was needed to ensure health-care professionals and Canadian society were prepared for the expansion. That will now happen one year later, in March 2024. Federal officials say the delay will allow more time to develop practice standards and assessment guidelines for complex assisted-dying requests. While all parties supported the delay, the Conservatives are calling for the expansion to be scrapped altogether. Demonstrations in Israel are designed to bring down the government, and the Biden administration is behind the scenes, funding the protestors. Israel is a U.S. ally, but the White House wants a different man in charge. So the Biden team is deploying the same tools and tactics it used to target its domestic opposition. In this riveting new two-part episode of Over the Target Live, Lee Smith speaks with Israeli analyst Gadi Taub and hard-charging attorney Joseph McBride to bring you the news behind the news. Why is the White House determined to damage America, abroad and at home? Man Crashes Vehicle Through Wilmington International Airport Terminal in North Carolina Police have detained a driver who they said breached a terminal at Wilmington International Airport (ILM) in North Carolina on March 9 with his vehicle, smashing windows and doors. The incident happened shortly after 7 p.m., according to a news release from the New Hanover County Sheriffs Office (NHCSO). Police said they detained the driver of the vehicle, who has not been identified after he crashed through the doors and windows of a terminal at the airport. It is unclear which terminal was impacted. The New Hanover County Sheriffs Office was engaged in a situation at the Wilmington International Airport this evening shortly after 7 PM. A vehicle had breached the fence line at the airport and drove onto the tarmac, NHCSO said in a statement to CBS affiliate WBTV. The vehicle then retreated from the tarmac and the driver was engaged by deputies with New Hanover County Sheriffs Office. The vehicle ultimately ended up inside the terminal after crashing through doors and windows, the statement read. Deputies then detained the driver of the vehicle. He faces several state and federal charges. No one was injured during the altercation, police added. According to multiple reports, law enforcement officials have said that the driver of the vehicle could face several state and federal charges. No one was injured during the altercation, according to NHCSO, however, a spokesperson from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) told WBTV that a TSA officer had sustained minor injuries during the incident and was taken to a nearby hospital. Their condition is unknown. The Epoch Times has contacted the Transportation Security Administration for comment. Meanwhile, the incident is currently under investigation. Images taken from the scene showed a vehicle apparently inside the terminal and surrounded by police tape as law enforcement officials surrounded it and other passengers observed. It is unclear from the images to what extent the car is damaged, however, a second image shows broken glass and debris covering the floor of the airport terminal. Elsewhere, Wilmington International Airport confirmed the incident in a separate statement on Thursday. This evening, an automobile breached the airport. No one from the public was injured. New Hanover County Sherriffs office responded swiftly, detained the individual, and is coordinating with partner agencies. ILM said. The airport is open and had minimal impact to operations. ILM expects to be fully operational by the morning. According to the flight tracking site, FlightAware, there were 6 delays at the airport on Thursday and no cancellations. It is unclear if the delays were linked to the vehicle breach of the terminal. The Epoch Times has contacted Wilmington International Airport for comment. Man Reunites 30 Years Later With Shelter Staff Who Helped Set Him on Right Path Thirty years after his unexpected stay at a local youth short-term shelter in Laguna Beach, Calif., a now grown and successful man returned March 6 to thank those who he said helped him rebuild his life. Kevin Doar, at 16, was admitted to the Waymakers youth shelter for two months in the early 1990s after escaping an abusive household, he said. Being able to experience the house, especially now at my age, brings back a lot of good memories, Doar told The Epoch Times. I couldnt imagine where I would have ended up if I hadnt been placed at [Waymakers]. Kevin Doar at the Waymakers childrens shelter in Laguna Beach, Calif., on March 6, 2023. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) Among his favorite memories, he said, were shelter staff taking the youth on field trips to the beach and art museum, which Doar said helped develop his appreciation of art. During his recent visit, he also reunited with Carol Carlson, who was a young staff member during his stay three decades ago. Now Carlson is the director of Waymakers shelter programs. I immediately recognized his face when I saw him again, Carlson told The Epoch Times. That was very special to me. Waymakers Housing Director Carol Carlson stands outside of the Waymakers childrens shelter in Laguna Beach, Calif., on March 6, 2023. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) According to Doar, the shelters staff helped him relocate to live with the other half of his family in North Carolina following his stay. He ultimately attended college there before marrying his wife and starting a career as a technology consultant, which remains his current job at the University of Washington in Seattle. The shelter was the first of four Waymakers opened in Orange County. Two others are in Tustin, and a third in Huntington Beach. The back door area of the Waymakers childrens shelter in Laguna Beach, Calif., on March 6, 2023. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) The bedroom area of the Waymakers childrens shelter in Laguna Beach, Calif., on March 6, 2023. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) The nonprofit provides drug intervention programs, counseling for those who have been victims of crime or facing mental health issues, and educational training to the youth residents. According to a recent report by the nonprofit, it has provided support since 1972 for nearly 20,000 youth crime victims as of 2021, in addition to sheltering nearly 1,300 youth and their family members. Carol Carlson and Kevin Doar enjoy being reunited at the Waymakers childrens shelter in Laguna Beach, Calif., on March 6, 2023. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) Their Laguna Beach shelter has served over 10,000 youth alone since its opening in 1979, according to CEO Ronnetta Johnson. The nonprofit is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, having first begun as a pilot project at the University of CaliforniaIrvines Social Ecology department, Johnson said. Manchin Wont Back Bidens Interior Department Pick Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, presides over a hearing in Washington on Feb. 16, 2023. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said on March 10 that he will not advance Laura Daniel-Davis nomination to be the assistant secretary for lands and minerals management at the Interior Department. Manchin made the announcement in an op-ed published in the Houston Chronicle, where he stated he would not be advancing Daniel-Davis nomination due to her decision not to reduce fees for firms that extract oil and gas on federal land. She made her decision citing concerns about climate change. Manchin emphasized that he will not support anyone who agrees with the erroneous logic of an internal memo that the Interior Department mistakenly posted to its website on March 3. According to a memo obtained by Fox News Digital, the former Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Amanda Lefton recommended late last year that the Department of the Interior (DOI) move forward with higher royalty fees for an oil and gas lease sale spanning 958,202 acres in the Cook Inlet off the coast of Alaska as part of its climate agenda. The suggestion was eventually approved by then-DOI Assistant Secretary Daniel-Davis. This is not the first time Manchin has spoken out against President Joe Bidens nominees. Bidens choice for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Gigi Sohn, announced on March 7 she was withdrawing from consideration following Manchins opposition to her nomination, as The Epoch Times previously reported. Sohn said in a statement, first obtained by The Washington Post, that the unrelenting, dishonest, and cruel attacks on my character and my career as an advocate for the public interest over the past 16 contentious months since the president first nominated her for the position have taken an enormous toll on me and my family. It is a sad day for our country and our democracy when dominant industries, with assistance from unlimited dark money, get to choose their regulators, she said. And with the help of their friends in the Senate, the powerful cable and media companies have done just that. Manchin also opposed the nomination of Daniel Werfel, President Joe Bidens choice to head the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). In a statement released on March 8, Manchin clarified that his opposition to Werfels nomination was not due to concerns about the nominees qualifications or abilities. I have zero faith he will be given the autonomy to perform the job in accordance with the law, and for that reason, I cannot support his nomination, Manchin said. Daniel-Davis nomination was seen as part of the administrations promise to pursue officials that would fight climate change. Manchin criticized the Biden administrations implementation of the climate, tax, and healthcare bills in the op-ed, claiming that the administration continues to ignore congressional intent on critical components of the legislation. If that persists, according to Manchin, there will be consequences now and in the future. Manhattan DA Signals Criminally Charging Trump; Trump Responds Former President Donald Trump speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, Texas, on Aug. 6, 2022. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images) Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg may soon be pressing charges against former President Donald Trump regarding the former presidents alleged involvement in providing hush money to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, Trump confirmed on social media after multiple outlets reported the news. Bragg, a Democrat, offered Trump the opportunity to testify to a grand jury next week, according to multiple media outlets. This move signals that Bragg may be pressing criminal charges soon, as New York laws require that prospective investigation targets be presented an opportunity to testify before a jury before the defendant is indicted. It is unclear at this point what the exact charges would be. Based on the former presidents statements on social media Thursday, the charges would likely center around a claim by Daniels that she had received $130,000 of hush money from former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen before the 2016 presidential election, which she said was intended to cover an alleged 2006 tryst between her and Trump. Trump denied all allegations made by Daniels. Daniels sued Trump in 2018 to break that non-disclosure agreement about the alleged liaison. After the court dismissed the case, Daniels unsuccessfully sued Trump again for defamation after Trump mocked some evidence she presented as a con job. A criminal charge against Trump would be the first-ever indictment of a former president and would add to the legal challenges faced by Trump as he seeks the Republican nomination for president in 2024. Trump currently faces several challenges, including a special purpose grand jury investigation into alleged election interference activities and a consolidated Department of Justice probe into his handling of classified documents on his property in Mar-a-Lago, Florida. For five years the Manhattan District Attorneys office has investigated every facet of former President Trumps life. Unable to find criminality in any aspect of his finances, the Manhattan District Attorney now threatens to indict former President Trump for payments made to Stormy Daniels seven years ago, Susan Necheles, a lawyer representing Trump, wrote to The Epoch Times in response to a press inquiry. For the DAs office to charge former President Trump, a victim of extortion, with a crime because his then lawyer, Michael Cohen, a convicted liar, paid the extortionist would be unprecedented and outrageous selective prosecution, Necheles wrote. Witch-Hunt Trump protested the Manhattan DAs case against him on Truth Social, his social media platform, late Thursday. I did absolutely nothing wrong, I never had an affair with Stormy Daniels, nor would I have wanted to have an affair with Stormy Daniels, Trump wrote. This is a political Witch-Hunt, trying to take down the leading candidate, by far, in the Republican Party while at the same time also leading all Democrats in the polls, including Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Congress and numerous Democrat District Attorneys, Attorneys General, and the Department of Injustice itself, which has unprecedentedly placed top DOJ prosecutors into the Manhattan District Attorneys office in order to get Trump, have found that I did nothing wrong, Trump wrote. Now, they fall back on the old, and rebuked case which has been rejected by every prosecutors office that has looked at this Stormy Horseface Daniels matter, where I relied on counsel in order to resolve this Extortion of me, which took place a long time ago. Since then, I have won lawsuits for hundreds of thousands of dollars against Stormy Daniels, and every prosecutors office which has looked at it, which are numerous, including the [Federal Elections Commission], have turned this fake case down. This is not a state case, it is a federal case, and they have all passed on it, Trump said. It is appalling that the Democrats would play this card and only means that they are certain that they cannot win at the voter booth, so they have to go to a tool that has never been used in such a way in our country, weaponized law enforcement, Trump said. I will not be deterred, I will always continue to be your voice, and I will keep fighting for our great Country, the former president added. During the Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland on March 4, Trump said he would absolutely stay in the race if hes criminally charged. Oh, absolutely, I wont even think about leaving, Trump told reporters at the conference. Probably, itll enhance my numbers, but its a very bad thing for America. Its very bad for the country. The Epoch Times contacted the Manhattan District Attorneys Office and Trumps attorney for comment. Reuters contributed to this report. McCarthy Agrees to Full Public Release of Jan. 6 Tapes Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) speaks during a news conference after a budget briefing at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on March 8, 2023. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images) House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has agreed to a full public release of the security footage recorded at the U.S. Capitol during the events of Jan. 6, 2021. In an interview with Breitbart News that aired on Thursday, McCarthy discussed his decision to share the footage with Fox News host Tucker Carlson and said defendants who are facing charges after going to the Capitol on Jan. 6 should be able to see the footage for their own defense in court. When asked whether he would fully release the Capitol security footage to the public, the Republican House speaker responded in the affirmative before adding that the footage would first have to go through a security review. We just want to make sure we go through them all, and it takes time, he said. McCarthys assurance that he would pursue a broad public release of the security footage comes as a growing number of January 6 defendants have asked for their trials to be delayed so they can review the security footage. McCarthy told Breitbart he was making no personal judgment about what the security footage shows, but said that to be fair in equal justice, if theres any person thats accused, they should be able to have a right to see the tapes to make their own defense. Some of the Capitol security footage that Carlson aired on Monday night showed police officers leading Jacob Chansleythe so-called QAnon Shamanaround the building. Carlson described the officers as having acted like tour guides for Chansley, who pleaded guilty to a count of obstruction of an official proceeding and was sentenced to more than four and a half years in prison. After seeing the new footage shared by Carlson, Chansleys former attorney Albert Watkins told Fox News he had not been able to review this same footage before his client signed a plea agreement. Watkins said he had requested any evidence that could support his clients innocence and, regardless of his own requests for the footage, said prosecutors had an absolute duty to provide such evidence. Democrats Say McCarthy Jeopardizing Capitol Security Several Democratic lawmakers have accused McCarthy of jeopardizing the security of the U.S. Capitol with his decision to share security footage with Carlson and, potentially, the broader public. In an interview with MSNBC, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) said that by sharing the Jan. 6 Capitol security footage, McCarthy just gave the proudest boy of all a blueprint for the Capitol who knows where that will land for the next insurrection. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) has said McCarthy 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. Republicans have pushed back on claims that they are compromising security by sharing the footage. Last week, Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) said Carlsons Fox News team was only allowed to view the tapes under a controlled setting and had to request footage, which would then go through a security review, before the production team could have a copy. During the Breitbart News interview, McCarthy again said a security team is reviewing the footage before sharing it with members of the news media or the broader public. McCarthy said the review is looking for various security details that would need to be protected, like special exits for lawmakers. The most interesting thing, when I sat down, when I had the team talk to the Capitol police about making sure they had no problems with the exits and so on, they said [the Democrat-led Jan. 6 Committee], never asked them that, McCarthy told Breitbart, adding that the committee showed the exit of the vice president, they showed the exit from my office, they literally had [then-House Speaker Nancy] Pelosis daughter showing a secure location that they take the leadership. Thats not supposed to be known to anybody, and CNN reported it, and I dont remember the press ever getting upset with that. McCarthy also pushed back on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) after the senator accused Carlson of downplaying the events of Jan. 6, 2021, and called for Fox News to stop Carlson from sharing additional footage. I wish Chuck Schumer would read the Constitution, McCarthy said. The Democrats always go to censorship. They want to use government as much as they can to censor people. From NTD News Mexican President Threatens Republicans Calling for US Military to Target Drug Cartels Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has threatened to start a public information campaign in the United States against Republican lawmakers after several have called on the U.S. military to target drug cartels south of the border. I would just like to tell them either they change their treatment of Mexico or from today we will start an information campaign in the United States so that all Mexicans, our fellow countrymen, know about this aggression by Republicans against Mexico, Lopez Obrador said Thursday during a news conference. In the wake of the kidnapping of four Americans and the killing of two of them in the border city of Matamoros, Mexico several Republicans in Congress have demanded the United States step up its fight against Mexican drug cartels, even if that means crossing the border to do it. The kidnapping and murder of American citizens in Matamoros prove that Mexico is a narco-state, Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas) told The Epoch Times. President Biden must make it clear that this horrible violence will not go unpunished. If Mexico cant stop the cartels, then our nation must use any tool in our arsenal to solve it for them. Pflugers call to action is also shared by Reps. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) and Mike Waltz (R-Fla.), who introduced legislation in January that would create the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) to target Mexican drug cartels in Mexico. The cartels are [at] war with uspoisoning more than 80,000 Americans with fentanyl every year, creating a crisis at our border, and turning Mexico into a failed narco-state, Crenshaw said. Its time we directly target them. My legislation will put us at war with the cartels by authorizing the use of military force against the cartels. We cannot allow heavily armed and deadly cartels to destabilize Mexico and import people and drugs into the United States. We must start treating them like ISISbecause that is who they are. War of Words During his news conference, Lopez Obrador specifically called out Crenshaw who posted a video message in Spanish on Wednesday to the Mexican president, asking why Lopez Obrador rejected his proposal for the U.S. military to take action against drug cartels in Mexico. Yesterday was the last straw. According to the report presented [to] me this morning, this man, [Crenshaw] dares to say that they are going to use the armed forces of the United States to enter our territory as in an invasion, said Lopez Obrador. We are not going to permit any foreign government to intervene in our territory much less that [foreign] governments armed forces intervene, he said. We could go to the U.N. As part of the ongoing war of words between Crenshaw and Lopez Obrador, the congressman posted on Twitter Bring it. Lol, and told the Mexican president to get a grip and start campaigning against the drug cartels not Americans who want to help eradicate them. Kidnapping and Murders The Gulf cartel has taken responsibility for kidnapping and murdering the Americans in Tamaulipas, where the group has a large presence. In a letter obtained by The Associated Press through a Tamaulipas state law enforcement official, the Scorpions faction of the Gulf cartel apologized to the residents of Matamoros, the Mexican woman who died in the cartel shootout, and the four Americans and their families. We have decided to turn over those who were directly involved and responsible in the events, who at all times acted under their own decision-making and lack of discipline, the letter reads, adding that those individuals had gone against the cartels rules, which include respecting the life and well-being of the innocent. Drug cartels have been known to issue communiques to intimidate rivals and authorities, but also at times like these work with public relations to try to smooth over situations that could affect their business. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Legislation in the United States that could trigger an end to seasonal time changes in Canada is moving forward again, as Canadians get ready to wind their clocks ahead an hour before going to bed Saturday night. Provinces have been promising for years to ditch the time change but have cited a need for consistency with U.S. states for the delays. Now a U.S. bill to authorize the change that has been repeatedly thwarted is back in play. Last week, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio reintroduced the Sunshine Protection Act, which would allow daylight time to be made permanent. Rubio said in a statement that the "ritual of changing time twice a year is stupid," and that ending the practice has bipartisan support. British Columbia Premier David Eby said Wednesday that the province's position of wanting to remain "in-sync" with west coast American states hasn't changed, but he is "very much looking forward to getting rid of daylight-saving time." The U.S. bill, first proposed in 2018, has repeatedly failed to get through both houses of Congress. Last March, it was approved by the Senate but stalled in the House without a vote. If the federal bill gets through, that would allow U.S. states to enact their own changes, including those cited by Canadian provinces. More than a dozen U.S. states have passed legislation that is waiting on the federal go-ahead. In B.C., legislation was passed four years ago to allow the province to permanently stay on daylight time. But then-premier John Horgan said the change would depend on Washington, Oregon and California doing the same. In Ontario, Premier Doug Ford has said a switch would require New York state to also ditch the time change, while Quebec Premier Francois Legault has said he is open to making daylight time permanent. Eby echoed Horgan's position, saying B.C.'s close integration with U.S. states gives rise to legitimate business concerns if the province moves to a different time zone, and the need to stay aligned is the "sole reason" changes have not already been made. Story continues "I think all of us would be delighted to see the back end of daylight-saving time," he said. "But at the same time, we want to make sure we are aligned with major trading partners' efforts." University of British Columbia business professor Werner Antweiler said the latest version of Rubio's bill has bipartisan support and stands a much better chance of moving through the U.S. House as well as the Senate. If that happens, a domino effect could ensue, and B.C.'s time change at 2 a.m. Sunday morning may be its last, he said. "It looks as if the Senate is going to re-approve the bill, and the House will take it up for a vote this time around," said Antweiler, who has followed the issue closely as a researcher. "Chances are that we are not moving back to standard time in the fall." Most provinces as well as the territories of Nunavut and the Northwest Territories will move their clocks ahead one hour early Sunday. Yukon and most of Saskatchewan keep their clocks the same year-round. Yukon made the switch for the last time in March 2020, and standard time is now permanent. Government officials said in 2021 the change was a relatively smooth process. In nearby Atlin, B.C., an unincorporated community where under 500 people live just south of the Yukon border, residents have decided to join the territory rather than change their clocks with the rest of the province. "It's been great. It's actually best for us in some ways," said Sandryne Berger, who co-owns the Mountain Shack Cafe. "At first it was dark in the morning but still light when we finish work." Sean Boots moved to Whitehorse with his wife in October 2019 and welcomed Yukon abandoning the time change, having grown up in Saskatchewan. "I've always thought that the daylight-saving time changes that happen in the rest of Canada were a bit of a silly idea," he said. "I remember the first time I experienced a daylight-saving time change was when I was in Ontario for grad school and I was just like, 'What is this? This is bananas.'" With files from The Associated Press This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 10, 2023. Chuck Chiang and Emily Blake, The Canadian Press Minnesota Lawmaker Concerned Over Bill Allowing Government to Track Alleged Hate and Bias Incidents Minnesota state Rep. Walter Hudson has taken aim at a bill that would update the way the state government responds to and tracks hate and bias incidents, in which no crime may have actually been committed, calling it problematic. The bill, HF 181, was first introduced in January this year by Rep. Samantha Vang, a member of the DemocraticFarmerLabor Party, in an attempt to address what she said are hate and bias incidents that have soared during the COVID-19 pandemic against Black Indigenous and people of color communities including Asian Americans. Under the bill, Minnesotas peace officers would receive extra training to identify, respond to, and report crimes motivated by bias. Additionally, the bill would allow community organizations, school districts, charter schools, and individuals to report crimes that they believe are motivated by the victims or anothers actual or perceived race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, national origin, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, familial status, or disability. Such crimes could also be reported over the victims actual or perceived association with another person or group of a certain actual or perceived race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, national origin, or disability. The bill would allow data to be reported and developed on the nature and extent of the crimes motivated by bias. Such crimes typically fall outside of the hate crimes that are collected and reported annually by the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, according to the St. Cloud Times. Bill Language Is Problematic However, Hudson told Fox News Digital that he is concerned about problematic language in the bill that refers not only to race but also to sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. The Republican lawmaker said he fears such language could ultimately have a negative impact on religious liberty and noted that the bill contains the words incidents as well as crimes and the term actual or perceived identity. Hate incidents do not always constitute a criminal offense. Its a very insidious and conniving way to get the camels nose under the tent of expanding the scope of government scrutiny of speech beyond crimes and assault, Hudson said. The intention of whoever is being accused of exhibiting bias is irrelevant. The only thing that matters is how the person making the report feels. If the person making the report feels as though they have been the victim of an incident of bias, then they have been the victim of an incident of bias. And were going to create a database of all of these subjective, arbitrary, whimsical feelings that people have had, not anything objective or tangible at all, Hudson continued. It seems very clear, based upon their focus on motivation, that theyre more concerned about whats going on in peoples heads, which is protected speech, and thats thought crime. Hudson had earlier raised concerns over the bill to Rebecca Lucero, commissioner of the state Department of Human Rights, who has supported the bill, as well as Vang, during a committee hearing in January. Bill Not Necessarily a Crime Situation The Republican said he believes the bill would allow for the creation of a database of incidents that have no objective standard determining whether or not they violated the law, whether or not they had anything distinct from just normal speech. So if someone were to post on social media a particular Bible verse that defined marriage or spoke of Gods institution of marriage as being between one man and one woman, or a Bible verse that spoke in condemning terms regarding certain sexual proclivities, would that posting of a Bible verse be considered an incident reportable under your bill? he asked. Vang defended the bill, saying that it was important to inform the Minnesotan community that hate and bias incidents would not be tolerated and that we support communities that [have] been harassed, intimidated, and abused. Meanwhile, Lucero responded that the state is already investigating incidents around discrimination in a neutral manner and that the bill is not necessarily a crime situation here. Instead, she said the bill would allow the state to have a better understanding of what is likely going on out there so that it can be used to provide things such as additional educational outreach to schools that report an increased number of hate and bias incidents. Its helpful to know, Lucero added. Announcing her bill in January, Vang said the measure will go a long way toward giving us the data and full understanding needed to track our rising hate crime problem so we can actively work to put an end to hate. I urge my colleagues to join us in advancing this vital safety measure, she added. Names of Candidates Supported by Beijing an Open Secret, Committee Told The House of Commons is pictured on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Nov. 19, 2021. (The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick) The Chinese regimes interference in Canadian elections revealed in recent media leaks is only the tip of the iceberg, and anti-Beijing activists say they have a good idea who Beijings favoured candidates are, a Commons committee heard on March 10. If we want to say who are the 11 potential nominees that CSIS had kind of mentioned, I can pretty much guess who they are, said Cheuk Kwan, co-chair of the Toronto Association for Democracy in China. Kwan was referring to media reporting stating that the Chinese regime had funded at least 11 candidates in the 2019 election. Its an open secret that both Mr. Tohti and I have been living with and knowing, said Kwan as he testified alongside Mehmet Tohti, executive director of the Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project. The House of Commons ethics committee was holding its first meeting related to its study of foreign interference and threats to the integrity of democratic institutions, intellectual property, and the Canadian state. Kwan explained that by knowing the language and the culture and being on the ground, he understands the modus operandi of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its proxies. Thats why, after so many years, its no longer a surprise to us that the recent CSIS report has come up with this explosive intelligence, he said. Bloc Quebecois MP Rene Villemure asked Kwan to expand on his comments and identify the impacted ridings. Kwan raised the well-known case of former Conservative MP Kenny Chiu, who he says was targeted by a disinformation campaign in relation to his efforts to establish a foreign agent registry and lost his B.C. seat in the 2021 election. The other example he gave pertained to the riding of Markham-Unionville in the Toronto area, where he said the results were highly suspicious. Conservative Bob Saroya won 48.9 percent of the vote in 2019, while Liberal Party candidate Alan Ho was the runner-up with 38.4 percent. In 2021, Liberal Paul Chiang won 48.6 percent of the vote compared to the 41.9 percent garnered by Saroya. Kwan called the Liberal Partys candidate Chinese-aligned. The Epoch Times reached out to Chiangs office for comment but didnt immediately hear back. Liberal MP Lisa Hepfner came to Chiangs defence, saying shes not the least bit surprised he won the riding. He was a police officer in the region for 28 years, he speaks eight languages, and hes been an excellent member of Parliament for the last two years, she said. Liberal MP Han Dong is another whos been identified as being aligned with the Chinese regime, this time in national security leaks in the media. Global News reported on Feb. 25 that, based on Canadian Security Intelligence Service information, Dong is a witting affiliate in Chinas election interference networks. Dong has called the allegations inaccurate and irresponsible. Kwan said CCP interference in the electoral process is a grave concern, but noted its only the tip of the iceberg. Chinas interference in Canada has been soft, intangible, and gradual. As a result, this buildup over the years, the 90 percent of the iceberg if you were, remains invisible to many Canadians, he said. The Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics is looking into the matter along with the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs (PROC). Liberal MPs in PROC have been delaying a vote on a motion supported by all opposition parties that would call the prime ministers chief of staff to testify on Beijings foreign interference. New Mexico Advances Legislation to Curb Paramilitaries Albuquerque police detain members of the New Mexico Civil Guard, an armed civilian group, following the shooting of a man during a protest over a statue of Spanish conquerer Juan de Onate in Albuquerque, N.M. on June 15, 2020. (Adolphe Pierre-Louis/The Albuquerque Journal via AP/File) Legislators in New Mexico are advancing legislation that will rein in private paramilitary groups. House Bill 14 emerged Monday from the House Judiciary Committee vetting for a possible floor vote, with the backing of Democrats. The state constitution prohibits private paramilitary activity, but today New Mexico doesnt have a law thats tailored to effectively preventing paramilitary groups from mobilizing for acts of intimidation and violence, Mark Baker, an Albuquerque attorney and expert witness for the bill, told KRQE. Onate Statue Protest The proposal is partially a response to a 2020 incident when an armed group calling themselves the New Mexico Civil Guard got involved in a protest centered on the statue of early Spanish settler Juan de Onate in Albuquerque. It comes also as paramilitary groups have popped up in recent years to halt illegal migrants near the international border with Mexico. In 2019 there was an incident when armed members of the United Constitutional Patriots stopped migrants in southernmost New Mexico at Sunland Park. Albuquerque police detain members of the New Mexico Civil Guard, an armed civilian group in Albuquerque, N.M. on June 15, 2020. (Adolphe Pierre-Louis/The Albuquerque Journal via AP/File) The bill is cosponsored by Rep. Raymundo Lara (D-Dona Ana), who said that it gives district attorneys new tools and discretion by making it a crime for armed paramilitary organizations to engage in public patrols capable of causing injury or death with provisions regarding intimidation. House Bill 14 defines a paramilitary organization as a group of three or more people associating under a command structure. The bill stops people from publicly patrolling or drilling as a paramilitary group, interfering with government operations, pretending to be peace officers, and intimidating others. The bill calls for charges ranging from a misdemeanor to a first-degree felony, depending on the severity of the violation. Republican Concerns Republican House legislators have raised concerns that the proposal could interfere with neighborhood-watch-style groups that respond to crime or limit opportunities for businesses in New Mexico that have provided tactical training to visiting security forces. Lara said the proposal doesnt interfere with private firearms training or New Mexicos relatively permissive gun laws that allow both open carry of firearms and concealed handguns with permit and training requirements. Thats going to be up to the district attorney, whether they do an investigation (to) find out if they are connected in any way, if theres some kind of command structure, he said. The Supreme Court decided in 1886 and in 2008 that the Second Amendment does not prevent the prohibition of private military organizations. Armed civilian groups have been an intermittent presence on the border for years, portraying themselves as auxiliaries to the U.S. Border Patrol and operating in areas where agents are not stationed. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Norfolk Southern CEO Repeatedly Apologizes for Ohio Toxic Train Crash, Defends Safety Record in Senate Hearing Alan Shaw, President and CEO of Norfolk Southern Corporation, speaks during a hearing with the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 9, 2023, in a still from video. (Senate Environment and Public Works Committee/Screenshot via NTD) Scrutinized by lawmakers during a Senate committee hearing about railroad safety on March 9, Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw apologized multiple times for his companys Feb. 3 toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, while repeatedly defending the railroads safety record. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing to explore the crash that occurred in eastern Ohio one mile from the Pennsylvania border was led by chairman Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and ranking member Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.). Carper asked Shaw if Norfolk Southern will be there for as long as it takes to make East Palestine, Ohio; Darlington Township in Pennsylvania; and the surrounding communities whole from this disaster? Shaw responded, I am deeply sorry for the impact this derailment has had on the people of East Palestine and surrounding communities, and I am determined to make it right. 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) And yes, its my personal commitment that were going to be there for as long as it takes to help East Palestine thrive and recover, he added. Shaw explained that Norfolk Southern has committed more than $21 million in financial assistance so far, including aid to more than 4,400 families through a Family Assistance Center based in East Palestine. The company has also given more than $3 million to help the villages fire department. I have visited the East Palestine area frequently since the accident. Ive met with residents of the community. Ive heard their concerns, and I understand why they are worried, Shaw added. Their feedback has informed our approach. Derailment Background On Feb. 3, a 151-car freight train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in East Palestine. When the train crashed, 38 rail cars derailed. A fire ensued, damaging an additional 12 cars. Of the 20 cars carrying hazardous materials, 11 derailed, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. After the Feb. 3 crash and subsequent fire, residents were ordered to evacuate because 11 of the burning cars were carrying hazardous materials including vinyl chloride. Authoritiesfearing a major explosiondecided to release and burn vinyl chloride from five cars on Feb. 6, sending a massive cloud of black smoke into the sky that could be seen for miles and was likened to the mushroom cloud caused by a nuclear weapon. A clean-up crew member works on Feb. 14 at the site of the Norfolk Southern Railroad derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. (Jeff Louderback/The Epoch Times) Vinyl chloride is a chemical used to make PVC pipes and other products. The National Cancer Institute notes that vinyl chloride has been linked to cancers of the brain, lungs, blood, lymphatic system, and liver. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine held a press conference on Feb. 8 and announced that the evacuation order had been lifted and that it was safe for East Palestine residents to return to their homes. Since returning, people in the village and in surrounding communities have reported headaches, nausea, skin rashes, blurred vision, and other ailments. Shaw told the committee that, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, testing shows that the air and water are safe. He also said that the financial assistance provided to date is just a down payment. Ive met with community leaders, business owners, school officials, clergy, and others to begin to identify ways we can invest in the future prosperity of East Palestine and support the long-term needs of its people, Shaw said. There are no strings attached to our assistance. Probing Railroads Safety Record The NTSB and the Federal Railroad Administration have launched investigations into Norfolk Southerns safety record. Earlier this week, Norfolk Southern released a six-point safety plan. Shaw admitted at the hearing, it is clear the safety mechanisms in place were not enough. We currently spend $1 billion a year on technologies, equipment, and infrastructure to enhance safety, Shaw said. But the safety mechanisms in place did not prevent this accident, so we are focused on learning from this incident and working with industry to make changes. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) provided testimony early in the hearing. With co-sponsors from both parties, they introduced the Railway Safety Act of 2023 last week. If passed and signed into law, the proposed legislation would increase fines for safety violations, establish nationwide requirements for devices designed to automatically detect wheel bearing and other mechanical issues, and mandate railroads to develop disaster plans and inform emergency response commissions of any hazardous materials traveling through their states among other guidelines. Multiple cars of a Norfolk Southern train lie toppled on one another after derailing at a train crossing with Ohio 41 in Clark County, Ohio, on March 4, 2023. (Bill Lackey/Springfield-News Sun via AP) It shouldnt take a train derailment for elected officials to put partisanship aside and work together for the people we servenot corporations like Norfolk Southern, Brown said. Lobbyists for the rail companies spent years fighting every effort to strengthen rules to make our trains and rail lines safer. Now Ohioans are paying the price. Vance said that he is a conservative Republican and that his party is confronted with supporting a multi-billion-dollar industry or working-class people that he believes the GOP has become known for representing. We are faced with a choice with this legislation and how we respond to this crisis, Vance said. Do we do the bidding of a massive industry that is embedded with big government? Or do we do the bidding of the people who elected us to the Senate into the Congress in the first place? Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) is one of the bills co-sponsors. He did not attend the hearing as he continues to get treatment for clinical depression. Carper relayed a question from Fetterman inquiring if Shaw would support the Railway Safety Act, Shaw did not specifically say he would advocate for the bill. We are committed to the legislative intent to make rail safer. Norfolk Southern runs a safe railroad and its my commitment to improve that safety and make our safety culture the best in the industry, Shaw said. Just last year, derailments on Norfolk Southern were the lowest they had been in the last 10 years. And our personal injury rate is amongst the lowest in the industry. Since December 2021, the NTSB has assigned investigative teams to five Norfolk Southern incidents, the agency reported. Federal data indicates that Norfolk Southern trains are involved in around 260 accidents per year, which is one of the highest numbers among railroads. Another Derailment Last weekend, around a month after the East Palestine derailment, 20 cars from a Norfolk Southern train veered off the tracks in Springfield, in southwest Ohio. Earlier this week, a Norfolk Southern conductor was killed with a train collided with a dump truck at a steel manufacturing plant in Cleveland. On the morning on March 9, hours before Shaw testified, 30 cars from a Norfolk Southern train detailed in Calhoun County, Alabamaa point brought up by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) at the hearing. The news is reporting that theres just been a significant derailment in Alabama of one of your trains. I certainly hope that all of your team and anybody in the vicinity is safe and well, Whitehouse said during his questioning of Shaw. I also note that since 2002, the rail industry has spent more than $650 million on federal lobbying with another $60 million spent on state lobbying, Whitehouse added, noting that Norfolk Southern was among the biggest spenders at $69 million. He then asked Shaw if the New York Times report that Norfolk Southern has paid shareholders nearly $18 billion dollars to stock buybacks and dividends in 2022 is true. Sir, I have a different perspective on that, Shaw responded without further elaboration. Whitehouse asked Shaw, Can we count on you and your team of lobbyists to push for safety improvements rather than lobbying against those improvements? Yes, sir, I share your concern and your focus, Shaw remarked. Whitehouse pressed Shaw further. I just want to know will your team lobby for safety improvements rather than against them? he asked. Senator, we will continue to follow science and we will continue to follow data, Shaw responded. Not a Good Month Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) asked Shaw if Norfolk Southern completed $3.4 billion in stock buybacks and made $3.3 billion in profits last year. Shaw confirmed that those numbers are accurate. Sir, last year, we invested over a billion dollars in safety. And last year our number of accidents was the lowest it had been in the last 10 years, Shaw told Markey. Our safety stats, senator, continue to improve, and I am committed to making Norfolk Southerns safety culture the best in the industry. Youre not having a good month, Markey replied. It seems like every week theres another accident that Norfolk Southern is a part of in our country. And what Im hearing from you is just this great confidence that you have in your system. But Ill tell you this was to show overconfidence breeds complacency and complacency breeds disaster, Markey added. Democrats on Capitol Hill welcomed President Joe Bidens $6.8 trillion budget, while the House Freedom Caucus unveiled a plan on March 10 meant to cut money from government agencies. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen also faced questions from lawmakers over Bidens budget proposal. In a rare bipartisan moment, the House unanimously passed a bill to declassify all intelligence on COVID-19 origins. The bill is now heading to Bidens desk. Iran and Saudi Arabia have agreed to resume diplomatic relations after secret talks in Beijing mediated by the Chinese regime, the two countries announced. A China expert explains how this affects Americans. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis spoke in Iowa, just days before former President Donald Trump is scheduled to be there. DeSantis has not yet officially announced his presidential candidacy, but he appears to be laying the groundwork. President Joe Biden revealed his 2024 budget proposal. Hear what senators from both sides of the aisle have to say about it. After masked men broke into a New York City restaurant and smashed property, the NYPD is asking for help to bring them in. We have newly released footage of the vandalism. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin waded into some hot-button issues on March 9 as he held a town hall meeting focused on education, a controversial matter that propelled him to the governors chair. Topics in this episode include: 1. President Bidens 2024 Budget Plan 2. Senators React to Bidens Budget Proposal 3. Hack of Congress Members Data Bigger Than Thought 4. Norfolk Southern CEO Testifies Over Ohio Train Derailment 5. Group of Masked Men Wreak Havoc in NYC Restaurant 6. Gov. Youngkin Holds Town Hall Meeting 7. Deadly Shooting at Jehovahs Witness Hall in Germany 8. NYC Announces New Migrant Crisis Blueprint 9. Vintage Plate Museum in NYC 10. Grazing Sheep Tackle Unruly Vegetation in Pompeii Ofsted Chief Says Sex Education Guidance Needs Better Definition on What Schools Can Do Its very difficult to regulate relationships and sex education in schools because the current guidance doesnt limit what schools can do, Englands education chief said. It comes after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ordered a review of the Relationships, Sex, and Health Education (RSHE) guidance following concerns from MPs that children are being exposed to extreme, sexualising content. Conservative MP Miriam Cates on Wednesday told Parliament that school children are being taught graphic lessons on oral sex, how to choke your partner safely, and 72 genders in parts of their relationships and sex education. Commenting on RSHE education on Thursday, Amanda Spielman, chief inspector of the Office for Standards in Education, Childrens Services, and Skills (Ofsted), told The Telegraph, Its clear that there are materials being used which have no basis in any reputable scientific, biological explanation or any properly grounded understanding of human relationships. The chief inspector said its very hard for Ofsted to tell schools that too much is being done because the latest guidance sets clear minimum expectations but no maximum. Spielman told the publications that new guidance should have a much greater definition about what is properly taught and at which age, adding that sex education is so complicated and so contested that teachers have to have absolute clarity on what schools can do and when. She also said parents must be able to see materials used in these lessons. A Welsh parent campaigning against Wales sex education curriculum previously told The Epoch Times that schools can use third-party handouts which are copyrighted, meaning parents may not see what their children are taught at school. The Guidance Sunak on Wednesday told Parliament that he had asked the Department for Education (DfE) to ensure that schools are not teaching inappropriate or contested content in RSHE and that the government will launch a consultation as soon as possible on reviewing the RSHE guidance. The statutory RSHE guidance (pdf) requires all English primary schools to provide relationships education, all secondary schools to provide relationships and sex education, and all public schools to provide health education. Primary schools can choose to teach sex education after consulting with parents on what is to be covered, according to the guidance. Parents can request to withdraw their children from sex education but not from other aspects of the curriculum. Children can also override their parents request to withdraw from sex education three terms before they turn 16. Schools are told to ensure that all of their teaching is sensitive and age appropriate in approach and content while they are free to determine how they do this. The DfE also said it expects all pupils to have been taught LGBT content at a timely point as part of this area of the curriculum. The English guidance for primary school relationships education said families can take many forms, such as single-parent families, LGBT parents, families headed by grandparents, adoptive parents, and foster parents/carers amongst other structures. Similar course material in neighbouring Scotland also specifically included families with two mums, two dads, or two mums and two dads, appearing to allude to polyamorous relationships. DfE guidance for secondary schools said pupils should be taught the facts and the law about sex, sexuality, sexual health, and gender identity, and that sexual orientation and gender identity should be explored at a timely point and in a clear, sensitive, and respectful manner. Sex Education Providers Cates, a former genetics student and biology teacher, has for the past year been bringing up the issue that children as young as six are being introduced to indoctrinating, graphic, and extreme sexual material from sex education providers. Last year, she named some of the providers. One said that sex is defined as, anything that makes you horny or aroused. Another tells children they fall into one of two groups menstruators or non-menstruators. Another company had materials that involved the discussion of violent sexual acts. But a teachers union boss rejected the idea that age-inappropriate materials are a widespread problem. Reacting to Runaks announcement of reviewing the RSHE guidance, James Bowen, director of policy for the National Association of Head Teachers, said the union had seen no evidence to suggest there is a widespread problem with pupils being presented with age-inappropriate materials and if this were the situation, we would expect it to have been picked up on a case-by-case basis. He said there is a real concern that this is a politically motivated review, rather than one based on the reality of what is happening in the vast majority of schools up and down the country, and called on the government to ensure the review is handled with the care, sensitivity, and impartiality. Owen Evans contributed to this report. Ontario Cities, Police Forces Ban TikTok on Devices While Others Consider the Move The TikTok startup page is displayed on an iPhone in Ottawa on Feb. 27, 2023. (The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick) Cities and police services across Ontario say they are following the federal governments lead in banning TikTok from work and government-owned devices, while others consider such bans, as privacy watchdogs assess the video-sharing platform for threats. The City of Toronto says it has not decided whether to restrict the application on city-issued mobile devices but is actively monitoring for cybersecurity risks. A spokesperson for Hamilton said the city located on the western tip of Lake Ontario has kept its official TikTok account but removed the application from about 40 city-owned devices. The official account is not active and that account cannot be accessed by any city device pending the investigation by the federal privacy office along with provincial privacy officers, said Matthew Grant, a spokesperson for Hamilton. When the leader of the nation says they have concerns, well, were happy to listen, he added. The federal government banned the app from government-owned devices earlier this week after the chief information officer said it has an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security. Provincial and federal privacy watchdogs recently announced an investigation into whether the video-sharing platform complies with privacy legislation. The Ontario government announced Thursday afternoon it would ban the social media app from government-owned devices and on the personal devices of Progressive Conservative Party caucus members. Ontario was the last province to announce its decision, with all of the other provinces making the move in recent days. The City of London has also banned its employees from using TikTok on city-owned devices. Niagara police said it asked its employees to remove TikTok from all service-issued devices earlier this month while it examines security concerns, but an official account that is only accessible to its communications unit remains active. We maintain a Service TikTok account as an engagement tool to be able to share public safety information as well as investigative information, while requesting community assistance, said Stephanie Sabourin, a spokesperson for the city located in the Golden Horseshoe region of southern Ontario. Waterloo police said its main account has also been paused and all members who have TikTok downloaded on their work phones have been directed to delete it pending reviews. Brett Caraway, a professor of communication, culture, information and technology at the University of Toronto, says he is not surprised local governments are looking closely at the application. If youre at the provincial level or the municipal level, and you havent followed suit, then the accusation can be raised that somehow youre soft on security or soft on privacy issues, he said in a phone interview. So once the federal ban was in place, I expected to see provinces and municipalities across Canada institute similar bans. Caraway added its clear federal governments might consider such a ban because they deal with highly sensitive matters. Im not sure what the city government may necessarily be concerned with but maybe a data breach there could potentially have some sort of gain for an institution that would be partaking in espionage somehow. It depends on the type of data that they would have access to. Caraway said, however, the decision to delete police and city accounts comes at a cost. Municipal governments and law enforcement agencies at the local level use TikTok as a major outreach tool to get out information about campaigns, public events or issues of concern to local audiences, he said. TikTok is also very popular with younger audiences so if you give it up, you are making it much more difficult to reach large groups of people and important demographics. He said that could be why Niagara police maintain an official TikTok account. Allowing official accounts while barring employees from having the app on their personal devices certainly raises the prospect of a double standard, the professor added. But he noted that appeals to public institutions because its easier to preserve the security of a single account managed by communication specialists than monitoring dozens of devices controlled by individual employees. You could run into a situation where employees were perhaps divulging sensitive information in direct messages. Or maybe theyre taking photographs of something thats stored on their smartphone, that includes sensitive information and they never intentionally share it using the app, but the app has access to it nonetheless. Government agencies in the United States, India, Taiwan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, as well as the European Union have made similar moves. The Chinese government has a stake in TikToks owner, ByteDance, and Chinese laws allow the country to demand access to user data. Ottawa Greenlights WestJets Takeover of Sunwing A Sunwing aircraft is parked at the Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport in a file photo. (The Canadian Press/Paul Chiasson) The federal government gave the thumbs-up Friday to WestJet Airlines takeover of Sunwing Airlines and Sunwing Vacations in a major consolidation of the Canadian aviation market following a tumultuous year for travel. Proposed last March, the takeover will see Calgary-based WestJet bolster its vacation package offerings as it adds the tour operator to its fleet, though the two brands will be marketed separately. Financial terms of the takeover have not been disclosed. Todays decision was not taken lightly, especially in light of everything that happened over the holidays for those who flew with Sunwing, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said in a statement, referring to travel chaos that erupted in December amid staffing shortfalls and poor weather, impairing most airlines but leaving thousands of Sunwing passengers stranded in Mexico for days. After considering the pros and cons, we have made the decision that will allow Sunwing to continue to provide affordable vacation packages to Canadians, create more good jobs and protect current jobs as well as Canadians who have already purchased tickets. Last fall the Competition Bureau warned that the purchase by Canadas second-biggest airline would likely result in higher prices and decreased services, particularly around package deals. The transport minister has attached conditions to the acquisition that include extending Sunwing packages to five new cities, maintaining capacity on the most affected routes and keeping both a vacations business head office in Toronto and a regional one in Montreal for at least five years. Among the other conditions are a requirement to improve regional connectivity and baggage handling, boost employment at Sunwings Toronto office and gradually end its seasonal plane-leasing practice to shield jobs in Canada. WestJet and Sunwing have previously said their tour operations will be merged at the leisure carriers current home base of Toronto, while WestJet will manage Sunwing Airlines from its Calgary headquarters. Both companies are private outfits, with parent Sunwing Travel Group majority-owned by the Hunter family and WestJet owned by Toronto-based investment manager Onex Corp. after it took the airline private in a $5-billion deal in 2019. WestJet and Sunwing comprise about 37 per cent of seat capacity on non-stop flights between Canada and sun destinations. That number rises to 72 per cent between Western Canada and sun destinations, the Competition Bureau said in an October report delivered to the transport minister. The proposed transaction will result in one of Canadas largest integrated tour operators being acquired by one of its primary rivals in the provision of vacation packages, it stated. The regulator said eliminating the rivalry between the two will likely reduce or prevent competition in the sale of vacation packages to Canadians. Robert Kokonis, president of consulting firm AirTrav Inc., said westerners in particular may want to consider discount carriers such as Flair Airlines and Lynx Air, which offer cheap flights to sunny southern destinations but without package offerings. Any time you take away choice in a marketplace it might have an impact on pricing. But I still think we have a reasonable amount of competition in the east, he said, pointing to Air Canada Vacations and Air Transat. Itll be somewhat diminished in the west. Mark Taylor, president of the Unifor union local that represents around 470 Sunwing pilots, said he was worried about the implications of the deal for members. On first glance, I would say the conditions offer us nothing and likely leave us very exposed to whipsawing, he said, referring to contract negotiations with WestJet and Sunwing pilots. Its basically when two groups are played off against each other for the same work. He also said that Sunwing pilots based in cities such as Quebec City, Winnipeg and Edmonton are worried about more centralized operations. The last thing we want is for everyone to have to work at Calgary or Toronto. Taylor said it was ridiculous that the government has to mandate better service as part of its approval. The governments already had the chance to do that, and they havent. Advocates have been calling for stricter enforcement of compensation rules when flights are cancelled. The transport minister pledged in January to toughen air passenger protections following the uproar over jammed terminals, overflowing baggage halls and hundreds of thousands of flight cancellations last summer and over the winter holidays. Founded by Colin Hunter in 2002, Sunwing currently employs about 2,200 workers. Ottawa Not Forcing Chinese State Investors to Sell Shares in 3 Canadian Mining Companies Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson rises during question period on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Feb. 16, 2023. (The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld) The federal government will not be forcing Chinese state-investors to sell their substantial amounts of shares three of Canadas largest mining companies, says Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, Reuters reports. Wilkinson made the comments during an interview with the news agency on March 7 at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada conference in Toronto. The minister said during the interview that retrospectively addressing foreign investments would have a negative impact. If you start looking backwards at investments, it will create all kinds of uncertainty about whether an investment is ever really an investment,he said. Natural Resources Canada confirmed Wilkinsons comments to The Epoch Times. The three Canadian mining companies that Chinese investors will not be ordered to divest stakes in are Teck Resources, Ivanhoe Mines Limited, and First Quantum Minerals Limited. Each of the companies count Chinese state-owned enterprises as their biggest single shareholders. Wilkinson also told Reuters that Canada would seek to continue trading with China. Tis in part could involve trade in critical minerals, which include resources like lithium, copper, and cobalt. Wilkinsons comments come several months after Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne ordered three Chinese companies to sell their investments in Canadian lithium companies. Champagne said on Nov. 2 that the federal government had ordered Sinomine Rare Metal Resources Co. Ltd. to sell its investment in Power Metals Corp., Chengze Lithium International Ltd. to sell its investment in Lithium Chile Inc., and Zangge Mining Investment Co. Ltd., to sell its investment in Ultra Lithium Inc. Critical Minerals Champagne said in a statement that Ottawa would act decisively when foreign investments threatened Canadas national security and critical minerals supply chains both at home and abroad. Champagnes order for the Chinese investors to divest in the lithium companies came shortly after his department said in a statement that significant transactions by foreign state-owned enterprises in Canadas critical minerals sectors would only be approved on an exceptional basis and if Ottawa sensed it would result in a net benefit for Canada. He said he was advised on ordering the companies to divest by Canadas security and intelligence community, among others. The federal government introduced its Critical Minerals Strategy in December 2022, which included an investment of up to $3.8 billion in the sector. Wilkinson recently announced that the federal government would be putting over $344 million of that total investment into critical minerals development programs across the country. Reuters and Rahul Vaidyanath contributed to this report. Yoshie Bancroft, left, plays Mitsue Sakamoto, and Kevin Takahide Lee is Hideo Sakamoto, in Forgiveness. (Moonrider Productions - image credit) When Mark Sakamoto signed over the rights to his memoir, Forgiveness: A Gift From My Grandparents, he said he didn't want to get too entrenched in the process of turning it into a stage play. He wanted to see the artistry of the theatrical production unfold in front of him. And as it was staged in Vancouver earlier this year, he said it was surreal. "To be sitting beside my father and watch a character that is my father walk onto the stage. To look down the aisle and see generations of Sakamotos and MacLeans looking at generations past of Sakamotos and MacLeans was a moment that I don't think I was prepared for, and kind of couldn't be prepared for," he said in an interview on the Calgary Eyeopener. Mark Sakamoto's memoir was published in 2014. It explores the stories of two of his grandparents caught up in the events of the Second World War. His maternal grandfather, Ralph MacLean, volunteered to serve overseas and wound up captured by the Japanese army. His paternal grandmother, Mitsue Sakamoto, was forced from her family home in Vancouver and sent to an internment camp in Alberta. Years later, their children would meet. "That's why I'm sitting here beside you," Sakamoto said. Moonrider Productions The book won the Canada Reads prize in 2018. Shortly after, Theatre Calgary artistic director Stafford Arima said the idea for a theatrical production a co-production with the Arts Club Theatre Company in Vancouver took form. "The story of Forgiveness takes place in Canada, but very specifically, in Calgary, Alberta, Medicine Hat, Lethbridge and Vancouver," Arima said. "It is a Canadian story, and because the main characters lived and breathed in Alberta and in British Columbia, it just felt fitting for us to co-commission this work so that both of our theatres could experience this spectacle and epic play about a time of Canadian history." The production had a short run in Vancouver at the beginning of 2023 before being tweaked for its showing in Calgary. Story continues It runs from March 7 to April 1 in the Max Bell Theatre at Arts Commons. The official opening night is March 10. Hiro Kanagawa, the playwright behind the production, said they've taken everything they learned from the Vancouver run to make the play even better. "All of the changes that we made are just working beautifully and have improved the show tremendously," he said. "With the play, every time you put it on, it's a whole new thing." Transforming a memoir Kanagawa had the task of taking the memoir and transforming it for the stage. He wrote the first complete draft at the Banff Centre, and its first reading was at the Medicine Hat Public Library. With the memoir's many characters and locations, Kanagawa said he needed to find a starting point where all of the story's events would begin. "I came to the notion that that central hub could be the dinner where Ralph and Mitsue meet for the first time, that kind of gave me a structure that I could work with," he said. Moonrider Productions The story begins and ends in 1968, before the writer, Sakamoto, is born. Sakamoto said he's excited for audiences to meet his grandparents through the show. "It's a story of how they were pushed down, but more importantly, how they got up and how they refused to lose their human dignity over the course of these injurious years," he said. LISTEN | Mark Sakamoto describes memorable moments from the production: The content of the production is personal to Arima, who said his father and other family members were also interned during the Second World War. He said thinking of the many Canadians sent to the camps shows why a story like Forgiveness is important to tell. "We don't want this to happen again. We don't want this idea of xenophobia and perhaps the fear of the other to move us into a place where we repeat history in any way." For Kanagawa, that sentiment has become all the more relevant throughout the creation of the production. They started before the pandemic began. Kanagawa said they watched as anti-Asian hate incidents rose. "Ralph, at the hands of the Japanese, and Mitsue, at the hands of the Canadian government suffered tremendous atrocities and racism," he said. "To rise above and ultimately to find the grace and kindness in their hearts to forgive, I think that is a very important message for the times that we live in today." Pantomime: Opposition Leader Vows to Fight Back Labors Sheep Live Export Shutdown Australian farmer Kevin Tongue herds sheep at his property near the rural city of Tamworth, in NSW, Australia, on May 4, 2020. (Peter Parks/AFP via Getty Images) The Australian Opposition Leader has vowed to stand up for the live sheep export sector as he warned the A$92 million (US$60 million) industry is at risk of being phased out for political expediency. Speaking at a press conference in Western Australia (WA) on March 10, Peter Dutton promised to fight against Labors attempts to close it down, and if the centre-left Labor government does close it down, the Coalition would reinstate it. He said the live sheep export trade is a huge part of the economy in WA, and shutting it down would not only cripple farmers but also the stores in town, all of the producers of fertiliser, distributors of all of those products that go into making a modern farm work. Its hard to find an alternative for these farms, their families, he noted. Some people are very shell-shocked. They have worked hard for generations to build up an asset. Leader of the Opposition Peter Dutton at a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Tuesday, March 14, 2023. (AAP Image/Mick Tsikas) NO ARCHIVING The Labor party pledged to phase out the live sheep export industry during last years election. Agriculture Minister Murray Watt recently followed up on the promise, confirming that consultation to phase out live exports by sea is underway, and an independent panel is due to make recommendations by September. Dutton said the Labor Party has made its mind up and that theyre going through this pantomime. The Opposition Leader also criticised Labor for pandering to inner-city voters in big cities at the expense of farming family businesses. They have a particular audience they want to please in inner city Melbourne and inner city Canberra. They have no regard for farming families out here in the west, he said. A Complex Issue In 2019, WA exported one million live sheep to nine countries, mostly in the Middle East, with a totalled value of A$136 million (US$89 million). The state is also where the two exporting companies responsible for all live sheep exports in the country are based. But the market has shrunk in recent years, with just 575,000 sheep exported from Australia in 2021, compared with 2 million in 2017. Last week, Watt admitted that phasing out live sheep exports by sea is a complex issue but argued that the wider Australian community is interested in the phase-out, including those that want to see animal welfare maintained and improved. The agriculture minister was not sure whether Australia necessarily is facing a situation where farmers will lose their business or go out of business. He said that an advisory panel will take care of any issues around compensation, structural adjustment and those kinds of things. Animal welfare organisations applauded the decision, with animal charity RSPCA describing sheep exports as cruel, unsustainable and unpopular. Farmers Stood Up To The Ban Farmers organisations have fiercely resisted the decision, with about 25 peak agricultural bodies and farmers across Australia opposing the policy. Last week, WA Farmers president John Hassell warned the industry shutdown will negatively impact 3,000 people and have a ripple effect on the livestock export industry and all agriculture. Theyre acting as a dictatorship, he told Perths radio Perth Live. The sentiment was echoed by the National Farmers Federation (NFF) CEO Tony Mahar, who said, cancelling an entire industry based on activist demands sets a dangerous precedent. What industry will be next? Our customers in the Middle East rely on the live sheep tradeand a range of other productsto put food on the table, he said. We are an export-orientated industry if the government starts cancelling export markets, this sends a seriously bad message to farmers. The policy is based on an outdated campaign by welfare activists that ignores the significant animal welfare improvements made through heavy investment in new infrastructure and practices. A Global Trend The decision comes as multiple Western governments announced sweeping measures that sought to suppress the animal export industry in the name of climate protection. In the Netherlands, the government has introduced a 25 billion (A$38 billion and US$25 billion) scheme to drastically reduce the number of livestock by buying out farmers and closing farms. It touted the plan as a solution to the high levels of nitrogen pollution coming from animal manure. Dutch farmers responded by organising massive protests, blockading roads, train stations and airports, and dumping slurry at the house of the minister in charge as they fear their livelihoods are on the line. Meanwhile, in October 2022, the New Zealand government proposed a separate pricing system on greenhouse emissions, which includes paying tax on the methane produced by livestock, most notably its cows and sheep. In California, authorities said in March that it would pay farmers not to plant thousands of acres of land as part of a US$2.9 billion scheme to save water. In the UK, farmers could be offered cash to rewild their land, as the government sought to turn large areas of land into nature reserves using taxpayers money. Alfred Bui and AAP contributed to this report. Partisan Divide Evident About Ohio Toxic Train Derailment Response The continuing cleanup of portions of a Norfolk Southern freight train that derailed on Feb. 3, in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 9, 2023. (Gene J. Puskar/AP Photo) Legislators on both sides of the aisle have widely criticized the Biden administration for its response to Norfolk Southerns toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 3. Partisan divide about the topic was evident on March 9 at the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing to explore the crash that occurred in the eastern Ohio village located one mile from the Pennsylvania border. The hearing was led by chairman Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and ranking member Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.). Carper praised the White House, EPA, and the agency administrator Michael Regan in his opening remarks. Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Feb. 9, 2021. (Leigh Vogel-Pool/Getty Images) Its worth noting that the Biden administration has been on the ground from day one, he said. As we will hear today, the EPA, working alongside state and local partners, arrived in East Palestine within hours after the derailment and has maintained a presence ever since. In fact, Administrator [Michael] Regan has visited the area three times already and expects to go back for more. In the wake of the chemical releases, these government entities have worked tirelessly to install air and groundwater monitoring systems as well, Carper continued. Lack of Transparency Capito chastised the EPA for what she called a lack of transparency that created confusion and fear for East Palestine residents. The public deserved a better level of transparency and much, much sooner, Capito said. A month after the accident it is clear to me that the EPAs risk communication strategy fell short in the immediate aftermath of the incident. Impacted communities were clamoring for answers, she said. People in East Palestine were not properly informed about what actions the federal government would take to protect them in the derailments aftermath, Capito added. Why did it take weeks for the EPA administrator to drink the water he repeatedly told residents was safe? she questioned. Why did it take almost a month to establish a response center and go door to door to East Palestine families concerned? For weeks, critics have asked why Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg did not publicly comment about the derailment until 10 days after it happened, and why he traveled to the village for the first time on Feb. 22 after former President Donald Trump announced a few days before that he would visit East Palestine on Feb. 23. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) in a Twitter video dated Feb. 16, 2023, at Leslie Run in East Palestine, Ohio. (Screenshot of Twitter video/Courtesy of Sen. J.D. Vances Office) Biden said that he would go to East Palestine at some point, but the White House has reiterated that there are no scheduled plans for the president to be in the village in the foreseeable future. We dont have a plan for the president to go at this time, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said last week. We dont have anything to preview to all of you at this time. I believe you heard from the president just yesterday who said that he is planning to go there at some point, Jean-Pierre added. When that happens, were going to coordinate with state and local officials to make that trip occur. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) provided testimony early in the hearing. They introduced the Railway Safety Act of 2023 last week with co-sponsors from both parties. The proposed legislation would increase fines for safety violations, establish nationwide requirements for devices designed to automatically detect wheel bearing and other mechanical issues, and mandate railroads to develop disaster plans and inform emergency response commissions of any hazardous materials traveling through their states among other guidelines. It shouldnt take a train derailment for elected officials to put partisanship aside and work together for the people we servenot corporations like Norfolk Southern, Brown said. Lobbyists for the rail companies spent years fighting every effort to strengthen rules to make our trains and rail lines safer. Now Ohioans are paying the price. Theyre A Little Too Rural Vance had pointed remarks about the initial response to the disaster. I think that our leadership, our media, and our politicians were slow to respond to this crisis, in part because a certain segment of our leadership feels like the people of East Palestine are a little out of style. They have the wrong politics, Vance said. Theyre a little too rural, maybe a little too white. Vance added that the most important message to the people of East Palestine is that we will not forget about them in the weeks and months to come and I think this committee hearing reinforces that message. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) asked Alan Shaw, president and CEO of Norfolk Southern if he has benefitted from visiting East Palestine. Shaw said that he had. Graham asked Shaw if he would be willing to go to East Palestine with Biden if the president chose to go there. Shaw responded that he wanted to stay out of politics but added that he would accompany Biden to East Palestine if the president asked. Ill go with anybody who wants to go and help the community, Shaw said. Graham then called on Biden to visit East Palestine. Whats the downside of talking to people about going through a big trauma? Graham said. Him going there doesnt fix all the problems, but I think its a step in the right direction. And I just wish he would go there. Graham also asked witnesses if they believed that residents are safe living in the village. Shaw said that he trusted U.S. EPA and the Ohio EPA testing that has reported the air and water are safe. I Drink the Water U.S. EPA Regional Director Debra Shore told Graham that science is the EPAs north star and that scientific data indicates the air and water are safe in East Palestine. I drink the water there, Shore said. I drink it every time I go to town because the scientific data shows that its safe. As does the air. Shore explained that the EPA has not detected any volatile organic compounds above levels of health concerns since the derail fire was extinguished on Feb. 8 and that the EPA is currently conducting around-the-clock air monitoring. Through a voluntary program established by the EPA, around 600 homes have been screened for toxic chemicals that include vinyl chloride and hydrogen chloride. None of those chemicals have been identified, Shore said. While EPA is encouraged by the data, we also recognize that the people of East Palestine still question the health and safety of their community and their loved ones, she said. Every time a train whistle blows theyre reminded of the trauma inflicted upon them by Norfolk Southern. If Norfolk Southern does not complete EPA-ordered actions, the agency will immediately step in to conduct the necessary work and then force Norfolk Southern to pay triple the cost, Shore explained. Bill Gates Admits Cold Truth About Climate Change Billionaire Bill Gates dismissed the possibility of people making significant changes to their lifestyle, like giving up meat and becoming vegetarians for the sake of countering the alleged effects of climate change. I dont think we can count on people living a impoverished lifestyle as a solution to climate change, Gates said at an event in India on March 1. You know, meat consumption in India will be less Thats wonderful. Will all Indians become vegetarians? Will all Americans become vegetarians? I wouldnt want to count on it. Anybody who wants to evangelize that, theyre welcome to. I wont resist in any way. Gates had earlier pushed for rich nations to adopt 100 percent synthetic beef that is made from plant proteins like beans or peas, carbs like potato starch, fats like canola or coconut oil, minerals, and flavorings. In an online interaction on Reddit in January, Gates pushed for the widespread adoption of plant-based meat products. For people who want to go Vegan that is great but I dont think most people will do that. There are companies making beef in new ways and people working to still use cows but reduce the methane emissions, he wrote. I have backed a number of innovators in this space including Beyond and Impossible and Memphis. I think eventually these products will be very good even though their share is small today. Gates push to move away from meat consumption and adopt plant-based alternatives comes as he is busy buying up farmland in America. According to a July 2022 letter sent by Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) seeking Gates testimony regarding his farm purchases, the Microsoft founder is the largest private farmland owner in the United States, owning more than 270,000 acres of farmland in 19 states. Energy Consumption At the India event, Gates also talked about energy consumption. He pointed out that if governments are willing to implement tough laws, air conditioning can simply be banned, which would be good for the climate. However, he admitted that this would not happen as a warmer climate will keep raising the demand for cooling. But as India gets warmer and warmer, Im betting the demand for air condition is going to skyrocket. The country that has the most air conditioning by far is the United States. Even Europe doesnt have what we have. And so, as it gets hotter, you know, you demand more electricity, which if its not green, then youre in a positive feedback loop, he said. Gates also pointed out that most of the demand for more energy, cement, and steel is coming from middle-income nations like India, where even if you stop at, say a quarter of American energy intensity, that climate change is very, very dramatic. The Microsoft co-founder also suggested that even when the United States uses half as much energy per person, it would be unjust to ask India to maintain consumption at its current level. According to Our World in Data, energy use per person in the United States was 76,634 kilowatt-hours in 2021, which is close to 11 times Indias energy consumption of 6,992 kilowatt-hours per capita. Climate Change Agenda Last year, Patrick Moore, one of the founders of Greenpeace, claimed that climate change is based on false narratives. In an email obtained by The Epoch Times, Moore, who left the organization back in 1986, said that Greenpeace was hijacked by the political left when they became aware of the money and power involved in the environment movement. The environmental movement has become more of a political movement than an environmental movement, Moore stated. They are primarily focused on creating narratives, stories, that are designed to instill fear and guilt into the public so the public will send them money. In June last year, the independent foundation Climate Intelligence (CLINTEL) received signatures from over 1,100 scientists and professionals worldwide for its World Climate Declaration (WCD) stating that there is no climate emergency. In an interview with The Epoch Times, Marcel Crok, the founder of CLINTEL, said that even if it is accepted that carbon dioxide is the main driver of current climate change, there still is no climate emergency We simply state that all evidence so far indicates that the increase in CO2 and the increase in temperature [are] not harmful for us or for nature and therefore the climate hysteria surrounding the topic is totally unjustified [and] that the curegetting rid of fossil fuels asap and replacing them with renewablesprobably will be worse than the disease [climate change]. No one truly knows exactly when Daniel Morgan (died July 6, 1802) was born. He may have been born in 1736, or possibly 1735. What is indisputable is that Morgan was born just in time for one of the great revolutions of the world. Morgan was born to Welsh immigrants in New Jersey. Though he hardly ever spoke of his childhood, seemingly for good reason, that childhood developed him into a man who could suffer hardship and press on. When he was 16 or 17, he left home without telling either parent and wandered into Winchester, Virginia. At over six feet tall, he was a commanding presence. His affinity for playing cards, drinking hard liquor, and brawling made his presence even more prominent, earning him the nickname The Bully of Battletown (a town near Winchester). American pioneer and soldier Daniel Morgan, circa 1770. From a painting by Alonzo Chappel. (Kean Collection/Getty Images) Though he most likely worked at a sawmill, he also engaged in warfare during the French and Indian War (17541763) where he earned the nickname The Old Wagoner for his role as a wagoner. He was a strong man, but his discipline was less so. After annoying a superior officer of the British Army, the officer hit him with the flat of his sword. Hitting a man of Morgans stature and fighting reputation was unwise, as Morgan responded by knocking the officer down. However, his response was even more unwise, and subjected him to 500 lashesa punishment which often killed its victims. The brutal punishment would serve two purposes for Morgan: Firstly, it would fuel his hate for the British, which he would utilize in the coming decade; secondly, it served him as a punchline, and he would often joke that the British had miscounted and had actually only whipped him 499 times. During a skirmish against French-allied Indians, a musket ball shot through the back of his neck and through the left side of his jaw, taking his teeth with it. The massive scar on the left side of his face and neck matched the patch of scars on his back. But it only seemed to embolden his fighting spirit and enhance his fighting reputation. Engraving depicts Col. Daniel Morgan as he rides a horse and raises his sword at the Battle of Stillwater, New York, 1777. (Kean Archive/Getty Images) When hostilities against the British broke out in 1775, Gen. George Washington, whom Morgan had served under in the French and Indian War, requested rifle squadrons to join the fight in Boston. Morgan recruited 96 riflemen and covered 600 miles in 21 days. He was finally able to take revenge for the scars he had received from both the British and Indians, as his riflemen were known for their knack for targeting British officers and Indian guides. The militia under his command would be known as Morgans Riflemen, and would stand out for their guerilla tactics, hunting shirts, and deadly precision. Morgan engaged in some of the most important military moments of the American Revolutionary War. He was selected to join the incursion into Canada, which culminated in the Battle of Quebec. The two commanding officers, Benedict Arnold and Richard Montgomery, were quickly put out of commission (Montgomery was killed in the initial charge), and Morgan, despite not being a senior officer, was elevated by his men to command. Depiction of American riflemen from Col. Daniel Morgans Provisional Rifle Corps at the Battle of Saratoga, October 7, 1777, by Hugh Charles McBarron, Jr. (Public Domain) He ordered his men up ladders to storm the walls of the British garrison. When his men proved hesitant, he charged up first, yelling, Now boys, follow me! When he cleared the wall, a volley of gunfire met him, knocking him off the wall and back on the ground. With his face black with smoke, a cut on his cheek, and a hole in his hat from bullets, he quickly jumped up to the cheers of his men who were heartened that he was alive. They took the garrison, only to lose the battle after waiting for Montgomerys men to arrive. He and his men would later be released in a prisoner swap. He went home to recuperate, but soon returned to the field of battle as a colonel to play a pivotal role in the Battle of Saratoga, a victory that convinced the French to join the Americans. Gen. Horatio Gates, who commanded the battle, wrote to Congress that too much praise cannot be given to the Corps commanded by Col. Morgan. After being passed over for higher command, Morgan resigned. After Gatess disastrous showing at the Battle of Camden in August 1780, Morgan returned and was made brigadier general. Washington requested he join the Southern Campaign in South Carolina, where he would accomplish one of the most brilliant military maneuvers in American military history by conducting a fake retreat against Lt. Col. Banastre Bloody Ban Tarletons army. Though he was not supposed to directly engage the army, Morgan decided to conduct this battle on his terms. An American force led by Daniel Morgan attacked British troops at Cowpens, South Carolina. (MPI/Getty Images) The night before the battle, he went among his militia and the 300 Continental soldiers, encouraging them and revealing his scarred back as a way to embolden them. His psychological and military tactics worked flawlessly at the Battle of Cowpens on Jan. 17, 1781, routing Tarletons army and swinging the door open to the British surrender at Yorktown in October. The Old Wagoner and Bully of Battletown would live another 20 years and die two days after the anniversary of Independence Day. Railway CEO Declines to Commit to Pay for Long-Term Health Testing for Ohio Residents After Derailment Alan Shaw, president and CEO of Norfolk Southern Corporation, speaks during a hearing with the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 9, 2023. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw made an ambiguous promise Thursday to do whats right for East Palestine, Ohio, residents after one of his rail companys trains derailed there last month, releasing toxic chemicals into the environment. Were committed to doing whats right for the folks of East Palestine and the community, Shaw assured Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) at a hearing of the Environment and Public Works Committee that was devoted to the incident. I told my team, We are going to do more than less with the environmental cleanup, and were going to do more than less with the citizens of East Palestine, Shaw added. When asked by Carper, the committee chairman, whether he would commit to paying for long-term health testing for affected East Palestine residents, Shaw did not directly answer the question but reiterated that he was committed to doing whats right. Were going to be there today, tomorrow, a year from now, five years from now, 10 years from now, he added. But Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) found those responses unsatisfactory. Raising the issue again later, he pressed: Whats right is to cover [East Palestine residents] health care needs. Will you do that? Shaw, however, once again repeated that Norfolk Southern would do right by the citizens of East Palestine, adding, Everything is on the table. Adverse Health Reactions After the chemical spill, members of the East Palestine community reported experiencing a variety of adverse health reactionsincluding nausea, headaches, rashes, burning sensations, and difficulty breathingdespite reassurances from state and federal authorities that the air and public water were safe. They gave me a breathing machine, one resident, Melissa Blake, told NBC News last month after receiving treatment for bronchitis. They put me on oxygen. They gave me three types of steroids. With concerns about potential long-term health effects mounting, Sens. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) have begun pushing for a health monitoring program to track any negative health outcomes that might stem from the chemical exposure. Brown, speaking at the Thursday hearing, noted that his constituents wanted Norfolk Southern to atone for the incident by paying for every cent of the cleanup, including every water test, every hotel room, every bottle of water, every hospital bill if an Ohioan comes down sick because of these contaminants next week, next year, for the next 10 years. We know this company can afford it, he added. Although Shaw did not specifically commit to paying for residents medical costs, in his prepared remarks, he noted that Norfolk Southern had already committed to providing some financial assistance to aid the East Palestine community in its recovery. To date, we have committed to reimbursements and investments of more than $20 million in total, including by helping more than 4,200 families through our Family Assistance Center located in East Palestine, he said. Supporting first responders has been a particular area of focus, and our contributions include more than $3 million to assist the East Palestine Fire Department. Adding that those commitments were only a down payment, he continued: Ive met with community leaders, business owners, school officials, clergy, and others to begin to identify ways we can invest in the future prosperity of East Palestine and support the long-term needs of its people. We will continue to invest in East Palestine for as long as it takes to help the community recover and thrive. Rep. Stefanik Wants Answers From FBI on Hunter Biden Laptop and Mar-a-Lago U.S. House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) attends at a press conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on June 08, 2022. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) The conversation between Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY.) and FBI Director Christopher Wray during the March 9 House Intelligence Committee hearing was already icy and contentious when Stefanik asked Wray, Do you believe the Hunter Biden laptop story is disinformation? Wray responded, Well, I want to be careful aboutthere is an ongoing investigation that is relevant to that, so I have to be careful on what I can share on that here. Stefanik shot back, Do you believe the Hunter Biden laptop story is disinformation? I dont think theres anything I can share on that in an open setting, Wray said. Stefanik continued interrogating and asked, Were you aware that the FBI personnel were in contact with Twitter regarding the Hunter Biden laptop story? I dont believe FBI personnel were in contact with Twitter about the Hunter laptop story, specifically, Wray said. I think there were people in contact with Twitter about Russian disinformation efforts. Stefanik responded, Of which the Hunter Biden laptop story was included, according to the FBI. Well, I think, I dont know exactly what youre looking at, but Im happy to talk about what the FBI does and does not do with respect to social media companies, Wray said. FBI Director Christopher Wray (right), CIA Director William Burns, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, Director of the National Security Agency Gen. Paul Nakasone, and Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier testify during a House Select Committee on Intelligence hearing concerning worldwide threats, on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 9, 2023. (Win McNamee/Getty Images) The American People Deserve Answers Stefanik, chairwoman of the House Republican Conference, questioned the FBI director during the hearing at which Wray and other top intelligence officials and spymasters testified and answered questions on worldwide threats to America. Before the 2022 midterm elections, Stefanik was among a group of GOP members of congress declaring that if Republicans took back the House, on their legislative agenda would be a lot of fact-finding and investigation into the conduct of the FBI. The legislators were and remain focused on what they contend was FBI behind-the-scenes intrusion in the 2020 presidential campaign to suppress the truth about Hunter Bidens laptop that, if reported, would hurt his fathers election chances. A man walks past The Mac Shop in Wilmington, Del., on Oct. 21, 2020. (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images) Also of concern was the decision-making and motivation of the bureau related to the raid on former President Donald Trumps Palm Beach home Mar-a-Lago, an action that the lawmakers call federal overreach and a witch hunt. Stefanik was making good on her pledge and did not let up on Wray during the hearing. Were you aware that the FBI had Hunter Bidens laptop since December of 2019? asked Stefanik. I cant speak to exactly when we had a laptop available, said Wray. There is, as you know, an ongoing investigation run by the U. S. attorney out of Delaware from the prior administration that we continue to work very closely with. Stefanik retorted, And we have an ongoing investigation as well. And our Baltimore field office is working very hard with that U.S. attorney, and I expect them to pursue that case as far as it takes, said the FBI director. Not satisfied, Stefanik said, This stonewalling, Director Wray; the American people deserve answers, and this is unacceptable. A police car sits outside former President Donald Trumps residence at Mar-A-Lago, in Palm Beach, Fla., on Aug. 8, 2022, as the FBI searches his home for classified documents. (GIORGIO VIERA/AFP via Getty Images) Stefanik then switched her inquiry to another episode of FBI intelligence and actions for which she and her GOP colleagues want answers. Stefanik asked, Lastly, did you sign off on the Mar-a-Lago raid? Well, first off, it was not a raidit was an execution of a search warrant, Wray said. Did you sign off on the execution of a search warrant? Wray replied, May I finish? Second, I dont sign off on individual search warrants, in that case, or in any other. Did Attorney General Merrick Garland sign off to your awareness? asked Stefanik. I cant speak to the attorney general, said Wray. Stefanik pressed: Was there dissent at senior levels of the FBI about the conducting of the search warrant? The FBI director responded, I cant speak to internal discussions among the FBI or among the FBI and the Department of Justice. To which Stefanik replied, Even though its been reported in the Washington Post? Republican Bill Seeks to Boost Domestic Energy Production, Lower Costs for American Families House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) speaks to reporters following a House Republican caucus meeting at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, on Jan. 31, 2023. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) has announced a new reform package aimed at restoring Americas energy independence and protecting American families hard-earned dollars amid soaring energy costs. H.R. 1, known as the Lower Energy Costs Act, includes a string of energy policy proposals aimed at streamlining and expediting energy infrastructure and exports, cutting red-tape regulations to open up pipelines, bolstering domestic energy production, and lowering energy prices across the board for Americans. The package also aims to boost the domestic production and processing of critical materials that are used in advanced technologies like semiconductors and batteries used in electric vehicles, as well as renewable energy technologies. It also aims to increase government accountability. While speaking to Fox Business Networks Larry Kudlow about the energy reform package on Mar. 9, Scalise said it would run contrary to the Biden administrations current energy policies, under which the cost of energy has soared in the past year. Scalise said families are now paying over 40 percent more for their gas since January 2021. I think the more Americans find out about the Lower Energy Costs Act, theyre going to want this not only to be passed through the House but they are going to want President Biden to sign it, because its going to lower energy costs for families who are paying too much because of President Bidens attack on American energy, Scalise told Fox. Right now, if youre trying to get permitting for pipelines, for example, its almost impossible to do. They dont want, the Biden administration doesnt want, pipelines to move energy. They want to make it harder to produce American energy. So, right now you might have to go through five different agencies, and each one of them is going to drag their feet. It might be over a year, two years, before you get an answer. So they just kill these projects, the lawmaker said. A household energy bill displayed on a mobile phone held next to a gas hob, in a file photo dated Aug. 25, 2022. (Yui Mok/PA Media) Home Heating Prices Soar If you just went to one agencyyou take, for example, where all of the regulations are rolled into one placewe streamline the regulations, he continued. So lets streamline it. The House majority leader said that Republicans also plan on opening up more offshore and onshore leasing, noting that the Biden administration has canceled so many lease sales, over and over again. Biden suspended oil and gas lease sales after taking office and has vowed to overhaul Americas fossil fuels program. While speaking on boosting local production and processing of critical materials, Scalise noted that China is mining the majority of the rare materials and that the United States is becoming increasingly reliant on Beijing for them. Why would we want to be more reliant on China? Lets make it here. And we do it better than anybody else in the world, he said. The announcement of the new reform package comes after National Energy Assistance Directors Association, a policy organization, said (pdf) on Monday that the number of households receiving energy assistance this winter season rose an estimated 1.3 million, from 4.9 million to 6.2 million, the largest one-year increase since 2009 and the highest total rate of applications since 2011. Overall, home heating prices are at their highest in 10 years, according to the organization, and households will pay 12.7 percent more for home heating this winter. Heating oil expenditures are projected to rise more than any other fuels, up 25.9 percent, or nearly $500 more than the 202122 winter heating season, while natural gas expenditures may also see a significant jump of 14.5 percent more than last year, more than an additional $100, according to the organization. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) waits to speak during a news conference after a budget briefing at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, on Mar. 8, 2023. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images) Biden Unveils Budget Plan H.R. 1 will include legislation led by 26 individual members and produced by the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Natural Resources, and Transportation and Infrastructure. Scalise is set to introduce the bill next week, and the bill will then be put to the floor for consideration at the end of this month. Separately, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) welcomed the reform package, which he said will bolster the production and export of American energy and reduce the regulatory burdens that make it harder to build American infrastructure and grow our economy. The Biden administration has knee-capped American energy production, and endlessly delayed critical infrastructure projects. Democrats misguided policies increased costs for every American and jeopardized our national securityand theyve made the rest of the world more reliant on dirtier energy from Russia and China, McCarthy said. To lower costs for Americans and grow our economy, we need to get the federal government out of the way, he added. Elsewhere on Thursday, President Biden unveiled his $6.9 trillion fiscal year 2024 budget plan, which includes advancing clean energy and investing in climate science and would accelerate U.S. manufacturing and deployment of clean energy technologies. The plan would cut energy and water bills for American families by investing in a clean energy workforce and infrastructure projects that will do $1.8 billion worth of work in low-income Americans homes, including through weatherization assistance grants and supporting energy efficiency and resilience in federal-assisted and financed developments, among others. The budget would also raise $31 billion by eliminating special tax treatment for oil and gas company investments, as well as other fossil fuel tax preferences, said a White House fact sheet. Researchers Discover Unknown Molten Layer Below Earths Surface An Indonesian volcano called Anak Krakatau, known as the 'child' of the legendary Krakatoa, erupted on July 19, 2018, spewing a plume of ash high into the sky as molten lava streamed down from its summit. The Child of Krakatoa erupted at least 44 times in the past week. (Ferdi Awed/AFP/Getty Images) Scientists have recently discovered that there is a layer of partly molten rock under the surface of the earths crusta discovery crucial to understanding the movement of tectonic plates. The earths crust is the outermost layer where humans reside. Below the crust is the mantle, followed by the outer core, and finally the inner core. Continents and oceans exist on 15 moving blocks called tectonic plates which comprise the upper mantle and the lower crust. The newly discovered melt layer is located around 100 miles below the surface, according to a Feb. 6 study published in the journal Nature Geoscience. The molten layer is a part of the asthenosphere located under the tectonic plates in the upper mantle. The asthenosphere forms a kind of soft boundary of solid but malleable rock that allows tectonic plates to move through the mantle, playing a key role in plate tectonics. Without this softness, the earths upper layers would be too rigid for plate movements. The reason why the asthenosphere is soft has been a mystery. Scientists had proposed that molten rocks could be a factor. However, this study found that the asthenosphere is made up of both solid and melted rock. They also discovered that the newly identified partly molten rock layer does not contribute to the movement of the tectonic plates. Plate Tectonics As part of the study, Junlin Hua, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Texas Jackson School of Geosciences who led the research, made a global map of the asthenosphere. When Junlin compared the melt map with seismic measurements of tectonic movements, he found that there was no correlation even though the melt layer covers almost half the earth. In the mantle, the process of convection or heat transfer pushes down cooler, denser material while pushing up the hotter, less dense material. Researchers believe it is the presence of solid rocks and convection that contributes to the movement of tectonic plates. This work is important because understanding the properties of the asthenosphere and the origins of why its weak is fundamental to understanding plate tectonics, said coauthor Karen Fischer, a seismologist and professor at Brown University, according to a Feb. 6 press release. Previously, other researchers have identified melt patches at similar depths. However, this is the first time that a study has revealed the global extent of the layer. New Metallic Center The molten layer is the newest unveiled mystery about the earths composition. In February, scientists from Australia found that there is a surprise fifth layer inside the inner core of the planeta solid, metallic ball. Researchers made the discovery by analyzing seismic waves traveling to the center of the earth. They found that an earthquake in Alaska had triggered seismic waves in the south Atlantic before bouncing back to its origin. After examining the speed and trajectory of seismic waves, scientists concluded that the new fifth layer is made of a hard, metal mass composed of an alloy of iron and nickel. The discovery suggests that a major event in earths history resulted in a significant change in the planets core. Meanwhile, the earths magnetic field, generated by the planets outer core, is said to be weakening between South America and Africa. Between 1970 and 2020, the fields strength in the region dropped by eight percent, according to data from the European Space Agencys (ESA) Swarm constellation of satellites. This weakness has moved to the West at a speed of 12 miles per year. The weakening magnetic field in the region is thought to be a potential signal that the earths overall magnetic field is set to reversea phenomenon that previously took place around 700,000 years back. San Diego Police Seek to Install 500 Smart Streetlights The San Diego Police Department held community meetings last week regarding the use of 500 so-called smart streetlights, which are equipped with video cameras and license plate readers. The city purchased smart streetlights in 2016 with a loan from San Diego Gas and Electric, San Diego Police Cpt. Jeff Jordon said at a March 6 community meeting at the Rancho Penasquitos Public Library. Those streetlights were installed at locations throughout the city that were selected by the Environmental Resources Department. A street light equipped with a camera and license plate reader in San Diego. (Courtesy of the City of San Diego) But when they were installed, police werent informed that the smart streetlights had cameras and audio technology for locating gunfire, Jordon said, which could be used to reduce crime and conduct investigations. They were expected to reduce energy costs and improve traffic flow and lighting conditions with LED technology, he said. The problem [is that] they had good intentions, but didnt tell the police about the surveillance capabilities, according to Jordon. It wasnt until August 2018 that the department started using the technology embedded in the smart streetlights. However, public outcry about a lack of transparency and oversight of police use of the equipment led then-Mayor Kevin Faulconer to discontinue their use in September 2020, according to Jordon. The original cameras installed by the city are no longer usable, as they were permanently disabled when they were turned off. Jordan said before use of the cameras was halted, video from them had been used more than 400 times in investigations and helped increase conviction rates and reduce gun violence investigation costs. He also said the department is proposing 500 sites to install new smart streetlights with working cameras and license plate readers. In answer to concerns that the cameras may be used to discriminate based on race or religion, Jordon replied that the departments proposed sites for the cameras are based on crime statistics for a given location. We focused our resources where we want the most impact, he said. Smart streetlight proposed locations. (Courtesy of the city of San Diego) When asked how cameras would reduce gun violence, Jordon said only a small number of people commit such crimes and that using them helps identify a suspected shooter and get them off the streets. In answer to concerns about violations of Fourth Amendment rights to be free of unreasonable search and seizure, he explained how the cameras have a digital mask preventing recording images of private property. He noted that the cameras arent equipped with facial recognition technology. No [personally identifiable information] is collected, he said. Before the police department can use the smart streetlights, their proposal has to be reviewed by the mayor-appointed Privacy Advisory Boardwhich advises the city council on policies and issues related to privacy and surveillanceand receive final approval from the city council. The department is also required by city law to hold these community outreach meetings prior to presenting to the advisory board. Residents can submit public comments on the issue by March 14 on the citys website. Sen. Hawley Responds to CCP Letter on COVID Origins U.S. Senator Josh Hawley, Republican from Missouri, speaks during the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Hearings to examine implementation of Title I of the CARES Act on Capitol Hill in Washington on June 10, 2020. (Al Drago/AFP via Getty Images) Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) responded Thursday to a letter the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) sent to his office demanding the withdrawal of his COVID origins bill. The Chinese government wrote to me and demanded I withdraw my Covid origins bill, Hawley said on Twitter. Not a chance. The bill, titled the Covid Origins Act of 2023 (pdf), was unanimously passed in the United States Senate last week for the second time. If it becomes law, it would require the Biden administration to declassify intelligence related to any links between the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) and the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. A companion bill in the House passed unanimously on March 9, sending it to President Joe Bidens desk. The legislation had previously been passed in May 2021 under the title the Covid Origins Act of 2021. In March 2020, Hawley was the first member of Congress to initiate an investigation into the CCPs cover-up of the spread of coronavirus and, in April 2020, introduced legislation to permit American citizens to sue the Chinese regime for damages. There is overwhelming evidence that the Chinese Communist Partys lies, deceit, and incompetence caused COVID-19 to transform from a local disease outbreak into a global pandemic, Hawley said in 2020. We need an international investigation to learn the full extent of the damage the CCP has inflicted on the world and then we need to empower Americans and other victims around the world to recover damages. The CCPs letter, addressed to Hawleys Chief of Staff Christopher Weihs, from Counsellor Li Xiang with the Chinese Embassy said China opposes and condemns the claims and actions written in the Republican senators bill. First of all, the origins-tracing is a complex matter of science. This study should be and can only be conducted jointly by scientists around the world, the letter said. The embassy official said the U.S. claim that China is not transparent is an excuse to politicize and stigmatize China. China has been following the principle of openness, transparency, and responsibility by promptly introducing and sharing the genetic sequence of the virus, the official claimed. The Counsellor accused the U.S. of political manipulation, alleging the traceability report by the U.S. intelligence agency as an attempt to presume guilt on China and shift the blame from its own failure, concluding the U.S. should investigate its own laboratories. If the U.S. is truly transparent and responsible, it should release and test early case data, the letter said. If the U.S. insists on the laboratory leak story, shouldnt it invite WHO experts to Fort Detrick and the University of North Carolina to investigate? Instead of investigating and publicizing the situation in its own laboratories, the U.S. is only throwing mud at others. Hawleys response to Chinas discontent with Covid Origins Act of 2023 confirms the Missouri senators assurance of the bill. When China is this upset about a proposal, you know youre on the right track, Hawley told Fox news on March 8. Campus Activities Details CA staff members are collecting donations for the Faith House in honor of Women's History Month. Senator Risch Leads Way on New Legislation to Tackle Border Crisis Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and fellow GOP senators introduced a bill on March 9 that includes resuming construction of the border wall to secure the nations southern border and stop the rising flow of illegal immigrants crossing that boundary into the United States. Since President [Joe] Biden took office, more than 4.7 million illegal immigrantsdouble the population of Idahohave been encountered at the southern border. This is a direct result [of] the presidents open border policies that have catalyzed a full-blown disaster, said Risch in a release his office released. Joining Risch as co-sponsors of the Solving the Border Crisis Act are his fellow senator from Idaho, Mike Crapo, and senators Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, Thom Tillis and Ted Budd of North Carolina, and Arkansass John Boozman. A case full of bags of fentanyl pills seized by DEA Los Angeles. (Courtesy of DEA Los Angeles) The bill also seeks to renew Title 42, a health act from 1944 intended to prevent the spread of communicable diseases. President Donald Trumps administration enlisted it during the COVID-19 pandemic and the Biden administration continues to use it to turn away asylum seekers at the border. The authors included in the act pursuing a sense of Congress resolution to formally express to the president the opinion of the legislative body that the border crisis is a national security emergency. Other provisions were ensuring that detention facilities are adequate for Immigration and Customs Security (ICE) to do its job; developing a thorough plan to handle illegal immigrants if Title 42 is not renewed; rejecting the Biden administration policy of permitting asylum officersin place of immigration judgesto hear and rule on asylum claims; and certifying that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) are following and upholding the law by collecting the DNA of illegal immigrants in federal custody. Call For Effective Leadership With my legislation America would return to reasonable, commonsense border policies that not only stop illegal immigration but deter it, said Risch. Sen. Crapo added, A record number of illegal border crossings on the Biden administrations watch has created a humanitarian crisis of staggering proportions and fueled the increased smuggling of deadly drugs such as fentanyl into our country. This ongoing crisis demands stronger more effective leadership. Congress must act to secure the border now. Most of the illegal fentanyl in the United States is manufactured in Mexico by cartels and then trafficked into the United States. The number of illegal immigrants attempting to cross from Mexico into the United States has been growing. As The Epoch Times reported on Feb. 8, before the Biden administration there had never been a month in which there were more than 200,000 interceptions of illegal immigrants along the border. And over the previous 10 months, more than 200,000 illegal immigrants have been intercepted along the border every month. Seniors More Vulnerable to Losing Money Through Online Scams: Attorney General Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares (R) with Harold Pyon, deputy commissioner of Virginia's Department of Labor and Industry, at an Asian American town hall in Alexandria, Va., on Feb. 6, 2023. (Terri Wu/The Epoch Times) The Federal Trade Commission found that elderly people are the most vulnerable to online scams, with the age bracket of 60 to 69 being taken advantage of more than any other age group. Seniors are [a] particularly vulnerable area of the population to scammers, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares told The Epoch Times. Scammers target people using three main tactics: They create uncertainty, tug at a persons emotions, and use urgency. Elderly people are typically more susceptible to all of these tactics. Scams include tax and Medicare fraud, identity theft, funeral scams, fake virus scanners, investment and telemarketing schemes, overdue utilities, online unprocessed purchases, charity scams, and family-in-need scenarios. According to the FBIs Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) 2021 report (pdf), elderly Americans lose the most money to scams each year. Financial loss for the elderly rose 74 percent from 2021 to 2022, with people over 60 losing close to $2 billion via the internet that year. The AGs office works with state and local law enforcement agencies to protect consumers, especially the elderly, from online scams. Scammers use the three tactics to manipulate the elderly consumer, said Miyares. It can be something [like] pretending they are a law enforcement officer and their grandchild has been picked up on some charge and they are requesting their information to wire the money to have them make bail, Miyares said. Theyre very, very sophisticated. You know, my general rule of thumb is [to] never click on a link anywhere where theyre asking you for personal information, or particularly your financial information, Miyares warns. The Better Business Bureau released its online scam tracker 2022 report, which revealed that online shopping scams remained the No. 1 riskiest scam type in 2022, which made up 31.9 percent of all scams reported to BBB Scam Tracker in 2022, with 74.0 percent reporting a financial loss. COVID lockdowns created a perfect storm for those bad actors to be able to get people to depart some of their hard-earned cash, Miyares told The Epoch Times. In addition to online scams, the Attorney Generals Consumer Protection Section handled over 15,000 calls in 2022 to help resolve disputes over issues like automotive sales, home improvement, service and repair, credit, loans and debt collection, and warranties and rebates. Our No. 1 consumer complaint is always automotive sales. Its increasing particularly because of the chip shortage; you have less and less new cars being sold and more and more used cars being sold, Miyares said. We reach out to the retailer saying listen, theres been this complaint, and thats where we have this dispute resolution unit, which resolves several thousand matters [a year], Miyares said. According to the AGs office, in 2022 the Dispute Resolution Unit and the sections investigators resolved or closed 3,823 consumer complaints with consumers recovering $421,954. Miyares encourages residents to contact his office, or their states AG office, to help prevent or resolve consumer scams. Shapiros Pennsylvania Budget Projects Revenue From Sale of Still-Illegal Recreational Marijuana Governor Josh Shapiro presents his first budget to the General Assembly in Harrisburg, Pa., on March 7, 2023. (Commonwealth Media Service) Although he didnt mention cannabis in his budget address, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiros $45 billion spending plan (pdf) sets the stage for a bill to legalize recreational marijuana this legislative session. The legislature is now working on the 2023/2024 budget. The budget projects spending beyond the fiscal year, as common, so lawmakers can predict how todays spending will play out in the states future. In the projections, Shapiro includes income for a recreational marijuana programan Adult Use Cannabis Tax, his proposed budget says. It calls for a 20 percent tax on the wholesale price of products sold through the regulated framework of production and sales, once legalized, the budget says. The proposal assumes sales would start in January 2025 and it estimates generating revenues of $15.9 million for the fiscal year 20242025; $64.1 million in 20252026; $132.6 million for 20262027; and $188.8 million for 20272028. A source in Shapiros office told The Epoch Times that recreational marijuana was in the budget to start the conversation. Lawmakers have been talking about legalizing recreational marijuana for years. In 2016, Pennsylvania legalized marijuana for medical use only. Since then, mostly Democrats and a few Republicans have urged the legalization of recreational marijuana. Former Democrat Gov. Tom Wolf advocated for it, touting the hundreds of millions in tax revenue it would provide and making the case that surrounding states have already legalized the casual use of cannabis, including New York, New Jersey, and Virginia, and it will be legal in Maryland starting July 2023. Wolf sent then-Lt. Gov. John Fetterman on a 67-county marijuana listening tour in 2019. Fetterman sold T-shirts promoting legalizing recreational marijuana in Pennsylvania and the United States during his campaign for Senate. Recreational marijuana is still a crime under federal law. Chance of Passing With Democrats in the House majority, recreational marijuana has a better chance of getting out of committee and onto the floor for a vote. The Epoch Times asked the office of Democrat state House Speaker Joanna McClinton if she would run such a bill but her office, did not receive a response at the time of publication. Rep. David Zimmerman (R-Pa.) believes recreational marijuana could pass in the House but would be stopped in the Republican-ruled Senate. What [House Democrats] did to us Republicans in the House is, every committee has 12 Democrats and nine Republicans, so they can pass pretty much anything they want, Zimmerman told The Epoch Times. And then on the floor, if they have an extra vote or two, they can pass it. So Im going to believe that theyre going to get it passed over in the House. But I really dont believe that its going to have the legs over [in] the Senate, which is still 28 Republicans to 22 Democrats, so I think theyre going to block it. After years of debate on the issue, Senate Republican leadership is not saying where it stands. But it is not a hard no. This issue is multifaceted, and proposals would need to first be vetted by standing committees before advancing further and receiving input by each of our 28 members, Kate Eckhart Flessner, communications director for Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman, told The Epoch Times in an email. Strengthening our communities and ensuring public safety are of paramount importance to our caucus. Sen. Doug Mastriano (R-Pa.), who challenged Shapiro in the 2022 election, called Shapiros budget unsustainable and based on assumptions. I think its madness that he thinks recreational marijuana is a good idea when New Mexico, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington have all experimented with it. Its not gone well. There hasnt been a windfall, Mastriano told The Epoch Times. In Colorado, estimates show it costs $4.50 for every dollar brought in by marijuana tax revenue, according to the Pennsylvania Family Institute. These costs are seen in areas like health care, traffic, crime, housing, education, workplace safety, and homelessness. Marijuana legalization becomes a net loss. Using the state budget to propose marijuana being sold for nonmedical use in local communities is gross negligence to the children and families our state officials are elected to serve, Dan Bartkowiak of the Pennsylvania Family Institute said in a statement. This problematic proposal is right out of Big Tobaccos playbook: Commercialize the sale of an addictive drug, allowing a kids menu of colorfully flavored products with dangerously high THC levels by the truckload to be marketed in ways that attract young users. The harms caused by such a policyespecially one with such a high tax rate that Gov. Shapiro is proposingoutweigh any perceived benefits. SEVILLA, SpainMar Llera Llorente, a professor at Sevilla University, felt moved and shaken to the core after watching Shen Yuns performance on March 9. Exiting Cartuja Center Cite at the conclusion of the evening, Ms. Llorente said Shen Yun expressed the reality, spirituality, and moral commitment of humanity in a very beautiful way. It was done with exquisite delicacy. [The performance] appealed to us at a time when were so blinded to what is happening in the [world,] she said. The Chinese communist regime represents a threat to all of us and our way of life. [Its ideology] is completely removed from the spiritual and moral foundation of our civilization. Shen Yun Performing Arts was founded by a group of leading Chinese artists who fled the persecution of Chinas ruling communist party. In the decades since the regimes violent takeover, Chinese traditional culture was pushed to the brink of destruction. Now in the safety of America, these New York-based artists are determined to bring Chinas 5,000 years of divinely inspired culture back to life and share with everyone the beauty before communism. Ms. Llorente said Shen Yuns mission to revive traditional culture is not just important, but essential because the Cultural Revolution had swept it all away. [The artists] presented their messages in a very clear and sensitive way, she said. Theyre not just putting on a show for the love of the arts and aestheticsthat part was also very exquisitebut to bring awareness to a cruel reality that would be our future if we do not prevent it. She was especially touched by Shen Yuns dance piece depicting the Chinese Communist Partys persecution of Falun Gong practitionersa peaceful group that upholds the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. I was also amazed by the beauty and elegance that they were able to summon to overcome these tremendous hardships. Mar Llera Llorente I was tearing up over the suffering of the Chinese people. Yet, I was also amazed by the beauty and elegance that they were able to summon to overcome these tremendous hardships, Ms. Llorente expressed. [Shen Yuns] presentation was very elegant. It was protesting without violence and in a language that can reach everyone. A researcher of China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, Ms. Llorente is very familiar with the conflicts and societal issues of Asia. She thinks Falun Gong is so popular in China because it allowed people to find themselves, their deepest roots, and discover what gave their lives meaning as people and as a society. Yet this is something the ruling regime does not allow. For insisting on speaking out about the human rights issues of present-day China, Shen Yun is slandered and banned by the Chinese Communist Party. Ms. Llorente is well aware of this situation. The Chinese migrants I know in Sevilla get scared when they see posters advertising Shen Yun because they are so indoctrinated by the communist party, she said. I always said to them, Hey! Come find out [about Shen Yun] for yourself. They will not force you to do anything. It is exquisite art. If Ms. Llorente gets a chance, she would like to give a heartfelt embrace to all of Shen Yuns artists. I felt an unspoken connection with them even from the stage. I would like to deepen that communication and express my gratitude, my recognition, and my congratulations in person. Reporting by NTD, Catarina Silva, 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. Shocking and Horrifying: Attacker of Anti-CCP Protester Sentenced in Australia Kang Zhao, 30, was arrested, charged, and sentenced for assaulting a Falun Gong practitioner, Nancy Dong, after he was caught spray-painting a sign belonging to Dong which read: "CCP = China and End the Evil CCP. (Courtesy of ACT Police) A Chinese national who attacked a Falun Gong practitioner in Australias capital city of Canberra last year has apologised to his victim and been fined $3,000 (US$1,973.59) by the ACT Magistrates Court. Kang Zhao, 30, was arrested by police after trying to leave the country in December 2022. He pleaded guilty to charges of common assault, property damage, and defacing property. The incident in question occurred in October last year after Kang and two accomplices (including his wife) were caught vandalising a sign attached to a vehicle belonging to Nancy Dong, a Falun Gong practitioner. The sign read: CCP does not equate to China and End the Evil CCP. Chinese national Kang Zhao, 30, leaving the ACT Magistrates Court on March 9, 2023, after being fined $3,000 by the court for assaulting Falun Gong practitioner Nancy Dong during the Floriade Flower Festival in Oct. 2022. (Courtesy of Song Hua) After being filmed, a scuffle then broke out after Zhao attempted to take the victims phone. This young man then grabbed my neck with his elbow, lifted me up, and threw me to the ground. He then started to kick and punch me. I almost fainted from the fall, and I lost the ability to resist his attack, Dong alleged at the time. The altercation led to bruising on her arms and injuries to her lower body. Injuries sustained by Falun Gong practitioner Nancy Dong after an altercation with pro-Beijing men in Canberra, Australia on Oct. 4, 2022. (Courtesy of Nancy Dong) Attacker Remorseful for Actions On March 9, the court handed Kang a $3,000 fine and told him he had 28 days to pay it. Magistrate James Lawton said a good behaviour bond was unnecessary because Kang was soon to return to China. His lawyer, James Maher, said his client believed the sign was an affront to his homeland and that he was acting out of national pride. Maher said Zhao was remorseful. I am grateful for his honours findings that I acted excessively to protect my wife and her property in relation to the common assault, Zhao claimed in a statement he released after the sentencing. This is a big lesson and something I take very seriously. @OzraeliAvi CCP followers damaged and attacked Australia End CCP display car pic.twitter.com/dCpKpORCcs Lucy Zhao (@LucyZha94759559) October 4, 2022 Dong Hopes Assailant Can Understand the Truth Dong read out a victim impact statement to the court. The violent attack that happened to me in public in Canberra is a shocking and horrifying experience. Five months have passed, my injured leg has not fully recovered. It still hurts, and I even feel hard to lift my leg, she said. Dong also complained of heart pains, insomnia, and nervousness following the incident. Falun Gong practitioner Nancy Dong outside the ACT Magistrates Court on March 9, 2023, after her assailant Kang Zhao, 30, was fined $3,000 for an incident during the Floriade Flower Festival in Canberra, Australia in October 2022. (Courtesy of Song Hua) Back in China, I suffered from brutal persecution for practicing Falun Gong. I was arrested on many occasions, and during the last time, more than a dozen policemen broke into my home at midnight, seized our personal belongings, including cash and took both me and my husband away. Our 9-year-old daughter was left alone at home with no one taking care of her. Because of not giving up practicing Falun Gong, I was illegally sent to the labour camp for one year and my husband for one and a half years. We were forced to do 12-14 hours of hard labour work every day, making plastic flowers, handmade products, lighters, etc. She said to Zhao that he had injured her physically and mentally and that she had the right to compensation. Victim Offers Forgiveness to Her Attackers However, if you can realise your wrongdoing and sincerely apologise to me, I will forgive you. Because Falun Gong teaches me to practice Truth-Compassion-Tolerance and treat all people with kindness and forgiveness under any circumstances, Dong said. I hope that you can understand that CCP is not China. Please do not hurt others again in the name of patriotism, and please respect others freedom of expression. Falun Gong is an ancient Chinese spiritual practice that is currently banned in China, and its practitioners experience ongoing persecution from the Chinese regime. Since its prohibition in July 1999, Falun Gong practitioners across the world have been peacefully protesting against the CCPs ban and persecution while also exposing the human rights atrocities carried out by the totalitarian regime. This comes amid a wave of withdrawals from the CCP and its affiliated organisations that have seen over 400 million Chinese people quit the CCP, according to Tuidang, the Global Service Center for Quitting the Chinese Communist Party. South Korea Says North Korea Fired Ballistic Missile Ahead of Joint US Drill A TV screen shows a file image of a North Korean missile launch during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, on Sept. 28, 2022. (Ahn Young-joon/AP Photo) South Koreas military said on Thursday that it would maintain a full readiness posture with the United States after detecting North Koreas launch of a short-range ballistic missile into waters off its western coast. The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the missile was launched from North Koreas western port city of Nampo at around 6.20 p.m. (local time), but it did not specify how far the missile traveled. While strengthening its monitoring and vigilance, our military is maintaining a full readiness posture in close cooperation with the United States, the JCS was quoted as saying by Yonhap News Agency. North Koreas state media did not issue a statement about the missile launch but reported that leader Kim Jong Un watched a fire assault drill of an artillery unit charged with striking an enemys airfield on Thursday. Kim ordered his troops to be ready to overwhelmingly respond to and contain the countrys enemies, who he claimed were making all sorts of more frantic war preparation moves, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The North Korean leader further instructed his fire assault units to bolster their capabilities to carry out two strategic missions: first to deter war, and second to take the initiative in war, according to KCNA. The missile launch occurred just days before the start of a major U.S.-South Korea joint military drill. North Korea had earlier threatened that the United States and South Korea would face unprecedented and strong counteractions if they proceeded with their planned joint drills. US Capitalizing Every Leg of Nuclear Triad The United States vowed to capitalize on its nuclear triadwhich refers to three systems of U.S. nuclear weapons, including nuclear-capable heavy bombers, long-range ballistic missiles, and nuclear-armed submarinesto deter North Koreas aggression. North Korea continues to be a rogue actor and poses a threat to the United States and our allies, General Anthony Cotton, commander of the U.S. Strategic Command, told the Senate Committee on Armed Services on Thursday. To ensure our continued ability to serve as the bedrock of integrated deterrence, we are recapitalizing every leg of the nuclear triad, and the nuclear command, control, and communication systems, Cotton added. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said on March 8 that the United States remains committed to defending its allies and that North Korea would continue to face increased costs until it changes its approach. We want to see the DPRK change its approach in the direction of dialogue and diplomacy. This is what we have put forward multiple times now, Price said, using the acronym for North Koreas official name, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea. Declaration of War Kim Yo Jong, the sister of the North Korean leader, has warned that any attempt to intercept North Koreas tests of strategic weapon would be considered a declaration of war against the reclusive nation. The demonstrative military moves and all sorts of rhetoric by the U.S. and South Korea, which go so extremely frantic as not to be overlooked, undoubtedly provide the DPRK with conditions for being forced to do something to cope with them, she said. A test-fire of a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at an undisclosed location in North Korea on March 24, 2022. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP) The United States and South Korea have said that their military joint drills are defensive in nature, but North Korea regards them as hostile acts. North Korea warned that an increased presence of U.S. strategic assets in the region will push the security situation to an extreme red line. Price said the United States has offered to engage in direct talks with North Korea without preconditions for over a year, but North Korea rejected the U.S. diplomatic overtures and only responded with provocations. Our diplomatic overtures remain. We would like an opportunity to discuss these issues face-to-face if thats the preference, Price told reporters last week. North Korea conducted a series of missile launches last year, including one involving its largest intercontinental ballistic missile, the Hwasong-17, all of which are banned under U.N. Security Council resolutions on North Koreas missile program. Special Rapporteur Plan Amounts to Yet More Smoke and Mirrors Commentary If you had never heard of a special rapporteur before last week, you might be forgiven. There has never been such a position in Canadian government departments, federal or provincial. There are plenty of special rapporteurs at the United Nations, however, but even there its an obscure title. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced his intention to name a special rapporteur to look into Beijings repeated interference with Canadian federal elections. The mandate for the proposed rapporteur will likely not include investigating the prime minister for dragging his feet on the file. Special rapporteur is a title typically given to independent human rights activists, which the U.N. considers to be experts in either specific fields of human rights or in given geographic areas. For example, there are special rapporteurs for various human rights themes (like the independence of judges and lawyers) and there are special rapporteurs for Latin American or African states. Their work is to document, report, and denounce rights violations. Since the mid-1980s, the U.N. Human Rights Council appoints special rapporteurs, but they are not U.N. or government employees. They are civilians, and they do not get paid. Anyone who knows the U.N. will tell you that the organization has a terrible record protecting human rights. Rapporteurs report as they are supposed to do, often at great personal risk, but their work is inconsequential to human rights violators. Reported rights violators never admit to their violations, nor change their ways. And the worse their rights transgressions, the less these violators care about reports that so few read. So, Justin Trudeau wanting a special rapporteur working for him makes manipulative sense for several reasons. First, nothing contemplates such a position in the traditions of this country so he will fashion it however he sees fit. Two, there are no special rapporteurs for intelligence services anywhere. In fact, U.N. special rapporteurs are at odds with intelligence services, military, or armed groups who usually obliterate rights in the name of national security, often invoking fake emergencies. Lastly, but most importantly, there are no special rapporteurs appointed by governments. In their case, independent does not only mean that rapporteurs do not work for or are at arms-length from government. Rapporteurs are independent because the perpetrators of human rights violations do not get to choose them; they are never appointed by governments. Not surprisingly Cuba, for instance, refuses rapporteurs documenting rights violations on its soil. It is not that there is a flaw in Trudeaus proposal. His choice is a deliberate obfuscation. In keeping with natural justice, one ought not choose a special individualmuch less create a new position outside of the existing investigating officers in law enforcementto investigate ones misdeeds. It is illegitimate for the Liberal government to choose the person who will investigate its potential links to the misdeeds. Its not difficult to see why Justin Trudeau is creating something untethered in Canadian law or tradition. He likely knows well that there are libraries of reports at the United Nations, written by special rapporteurs denouncing gruesome human rights violations. Yet, the perpetrators of such crimes remain in place, untouched in power, often sitting in U.N. committees in review of their own crimes. Venezuela, Nicaragua, Iran, and Cuba, for example, often rotate into the U.N. Human Rights Council even though their regimes are among the most blatant violators of human and democratic rights against anyone who opposes their corrupt rule. U.N. special rapporteurs report, and the U.N. does next to nothing when it is not in the nature of the violators to change or to be moved by accusations. The proposed creation of a government-appointed rapporteur in Canada is absurd. Canadians should demand a public inquiry instead and ditch the nonsense idea of a special rapporteur for election law violations at the hands of domestic MPs in possible collusion with hostile foreign states. The countrys institutions have all the tools to investigate the issues. Theres no need to make up new ones. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Subtle Threats to US Combat Readiness Include Health Care Access on Overseas Bases The USS George Washington (CVN-73), here with components of its airwing on deployment off North Korea, incurred seven suicides between April 2021 and April 2022, not while the ship was at sea but while it was in Newport News, Va., undergoing an overhaul that forced its crew to live in inhumane industrial and toxic conditions. (Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Charles Oki/U.S. Navy via Getty Images) An army may march on its stomach, but deployed soldiers will stay focused in the field when they know their families are being cared for at home. When it comes to the front-line warfighters stationed on forward-deployed U.S. military bases and ships, concerns about financial and family health issues can be a subtle, but systemic, threat to force readiness. Those strains can manifest in many ways, from suicides, such as the seven enlisted men aboard the aircraft carrier USS George Washington between April 2021 and April 2022, to poor dependent access and inadequate health care on military bases that can cause distractions in the field and shortfalls in retaining high-performing leaders. During a March 7 hearing before the Senate Appropriations Committees Defense Subcommittee on the Defense Health Agencys (DHA) FY24 spending needs, senators heard from the Department of Defense (DoD), the agencys director, and chief medical officers of the three military branches how such strains can affect operational readiness. In 2018, the Pentagon completed a seven-year transition that established the DHA as a joint, integrated combat support agency rather than each military branch having its own. Its fiscal 2023 budget was $773 million, and the fiscal 2024 request is nearly $800 million of the Biden administrations $6.9 trillion spending plans $885 billion military budget. March and April are usually when military command officers and Veterans Affairs (VA) officials testify before congressional panels about their spending proposals during the annual budget cycle leading up to Oct. 1, the official start of the federal fiscal year. Thus far, unit and regional commanders, DoD chiefs, and VA officials have discussed in hearings an array of topics and undefineduntil Bidens budget announcementspending needs. There were 16 hearings on Capitol Hill related to military and veterans affairs issues between March 6 and March 10. Between 2008 and 2016, more than 6,000 veterans killed themselves each year, amounting to about 20 deaths a day, according to a 2018 report from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, but suicides among active duty are also alarmingand a threat to national defense. (Geoff Robins/AFP via Getty Images) Lighten the Load During the March 7 hearing before the Senate defense appropriations panel, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs Dr. Lester Martinez-Lopez said the military is paying more attention to mental health and dependents access to medical services to enhance overall force readiness, especially in addressing the ongoing cases of suicide by serving members and family members. The Pentagon must reverse the heartbreaking trends we have witnessed, he said, pointing out that while suicide is a national scourge reflected within the military community, in the armed services, its a symptom of those serving on active duty facing operational stresses who are unable, or in some cases, fearful, of seeking mental health counseling. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said mental health counseling is so important for all of usall of usbut especially in the military but in the past, there was a stigma attached to doing so. Theres movement in the bullpen on that but it will take time, Martinez-Lopez said. Mental health is health. Now we can put it on the table. Once on the table, he said, most of the time the person isnt really dealing with a mental health issue but a stress issue related to other matters. We need to lighten the load on military members, he said, and alleviate financial crises and concerns about dependents quality of life in military housing, or it can degrade force readiness. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) noted that among issues identified in providing expanded mental health services for active-duty military and their families is that it takes the DHA a year and a half to hire psychiatrists and a year to hire psychologists. And when it does issue a job offer, its often turned down because the applicant found a position elsewhere. Fort Wainwright, Alaska, is among bases where life can be harsh and soldiers are deployed with families. (U.S. Army) Arctic Warrior Stresses Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said suicide is an issue among active duty personnel and their families at the Fort Wainwright U.S. Army and Eielson Air Force bases. No wonder, she said, noting that for some Wainwright soldiers, its a three-mile trek from their barracks to a WWII-Era dining facility, which can be an arduous and depressing way to live, especially in the winter. The situation at Wainwright was identified by the military in its report, which called for replacing old buildings on base. We know weve got to do something. Doing the studies doesnt necessarily change lives, Murkowski said, noting that a proposed Arctic Warrior bill would provide those stationed in Alaska an additional stipend and allow them to be reimbursed for the cost of a flight home. These are financial stressors that decrease force readiness, she said. They need $2,000 to $3,000 for a flight home, which many cant afford. Also, Murkowski said, outdated technologies plague many commands, especially those that are forward-deployed, with active-duty warfighters not being paid on time. She has fielded complaints of some waiting up to seven months to resolve paycheck issues. That kind of financial stress on service members isnt right. Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Antietam (CG 54) is underway off the coast of Japan near Mt. Fuji. Antietam is on patrol in the 7th Fleet area of operations in support of security and stability in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region, Nov. 22, 2014. (Mass Communication Specialist Seaman David Flewellyn/U.S. Navy via AP) In Japan, a Force Diminisher Bidens fiscal 2024 budget request states that military families are key to the readiness and well-being of the All-Volunteer Force, and therefore are critical to national security. But the lack of medical facilities on bases in Japan is forcing military families to wait for extended periods for appointments and Defense Department civilians to seek host nation providers to tend to routine and chronic care issues. Subcommittee Chair Sen. John Tester (R-Mont.), in addressing the situation in Japan, began his remarks by saying, I want to talk about China. He said the United States has troops in Japan and in other places facing off against Chinese forces that require vigilance, which can be imperiled by instability on their bases, such as a lack of health care for dependents and DoD civilians. Tester was referring to the 8,000 U.S. Forces Japan (USFJ) civilian employees being allowed only space available appointments at U.S. military base medical facilities for routine health matters that began on Jan. 1. In October, the DHA announced that the militarys civilian employees in the Indo-Pacific regionwhich spans from the U.S. West Coast to the Arabian Seamust receive routine medical care from a local host nation provider because military hospitals lack the capacity to service them, beginning Jan. 1. That policy came down after an assessment of forward-deployed bases determined more space within existing medical facilities needed to be accorded and upgraded to treat active-duty casualties in, for example, a war with China. The USFJ would be a pivotal componentand targetin the event of a war. It has approximately 54,000 active-duty military and 45,000 dependents dispersed among 84 installations primarily on Honshu, Kyushu, and Okinawa islands. USFJ includes the headquarters of the 7th Fleet and the 5th Air Force on Honshu in the Tokyo area and the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force on Okinawa. The restricted access is most acutely an issue for the 8,000 USFJ civilian employees working on bases on mainland Japan, especially on Yokota Air Force Base, Naval Hospital Yokosuka, and Camp Zama, the headquarters of U.S. Army Japan. Many DoD civilian workers are key weapons systems technicians and technology consultants, and without access to on-base care, Tester said that it is going to end up being an incredible recruitment challenge. Base commanders have been lobbying for expanded medical facilities for a while, he said, but now these reports are repeatedly delivered with a sense of urgency from military leaders in Japan. The impact on our military readiness is alarming. Supreme Court Justice Russell Brown Denies Arizona Altercation Allegations Supreme Court of Canada Justice Russell Brown is shown at the Supreme Court in Ottawa on Oct. 6, 2015. (The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld) Supreme Court Justice Russell Brown spoke out Friday, a rarity for a member of Canadas highest court, about an alleged altercation in Arizona that triggered a complaint to the Canadian Judicial Council. In a statement issued by his lawyers, Brown denied details in a newspaper story published Thursday that reported allegations he harassed a group of friends during a Jan. 28 encounter at a Scottsdale resort lounge. The Vancouver Sun cited a police report in which the complainant, Jon Crump, accused Brown of being intoxicated and creeping out the group before punching the justice twice in the face. The newspaper also reported that Crump accused the judge of shoving him before he punched Brown and that the police report indicated no crime was determined. Brown described Crumps version of events as demonstrably false, saying he was invited to join the group before what his statement described as an unprovoked attack. Outside the lounge, Mr. Crump objected to me rejoining the group and suddenly, without warning or provocation, punched me several times in the head. Taken by surprise, I was unable to defend myself, Brown said. Approximately one hour after the assault, he called police and, in an apparent attempt to avoid facing the consequences of assaulting me, he falsely described me as the instigator. Neither Crump nor other members of the group identified in the media report responded Friday to requests for comment. The local police public records office was also not immediately available. Brown, who was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2015 by then-prime minister Stephen Harper, was taking part in an awards ceremony and banquet at the resort ahead of the encounter. The Vancouver Sun reported the event was to honour former Supreme Court justice and human rights advocate Louise Arbour, who was receiving a prize from Arizona State University. Brown has been on leave from the court since Feb. 1 pending the outcome of the councils ongoing investigation. This incident has caused me embarrassment and created complications for the court, his statement said. I am hopeful that the council will resolve this matter expeditiously. The councils review is proceeding in a timely way, said spokeswoman Johanna Laporte. A spokesperson for B.C. Supreme Court Justice Christopher Hinkson, who chairs the councils conduct committee, also declined to comment. Details of the altercation have emerged as Parliament considers new legislation designed to change the process by which the council handles allegations against judges. If passed, Bill C-9 would create a new process for reviewing allegations of misconduct that are not serious enough to warrant a judges removal. The bill, which is currently being considered by the Senate, would also clarify the circumstances under which a judge can be removed, and change the way the council reports its recommendations to the federal justice minister. The Canadian Judicial Council has authority over federally appointed judges and it receives, reviews and deals with complaints. It works at arms length from the executive and legislative branches of government. The Ideas That Formed the Constitution, Part 22: Public Education Commentary This is the last in the series on The Ideas That Formed the Constitution. It applies the series lessons to how we educate our young. The U.S. Constitution is Americas highest secular lawthe supreme Law of the Land (Article VI). It structures the central government, regulates American federalism, and protects individual rights. Its study should, therefore, be a component of the education of every American citizen. Indeed, for exercising American citizenship, knowing the Constitution is actually more important than studying, say, subsequent U.S. history. And its far more significant than many of the other subjects that consume time in public school classrooms. Understanding the Constitution requires much more than discussing free speech or reading charts with titles like How a Bill Becomes a Law. The Constitution benefited from ideas extending back thousands of years. Most of the thinkers profiled in this series lived during classical antiquity. Those who came later, such as John Locke and Baron Montesquieu, themselves learned from classical wisdomas well as from subsequent English and European history and from the principles of the Anglo-American legal system. Finally, the framers who drafted the Constitution and the ratifiers who converted it into law were educated through curricula that centered on classical antiquity. Begin at the End Early in my career as a teacher in institutions of higher education, I was taught a basic principle of pedagogy: When planning a lessonor a curriculumbegin at the end. This means you must start by defining what you want your students to know and be able to do. Once you establish your goal, you work back from there. Thus, if a goal of American education is to produce good and knowledgeable citizens, then educators must teach students to understand the Constitution properly. And to understand the Constitution requires that students know the foundations upon which the document was constructed. That, in turn, requires significant attention to classical antiquity, as well as to later developments and ideas. Let me be clear: Im not suggesting we should simply replicate the education of the Founding Era. I dont think an education centered on Latin-language classics is appropriate for most studentsalthough it may be appropriate for many future leaders. K-12 Education In view of what Ive just stated, then all students, at some point before graduating high school, should: Participate in classes in which students read the entire Constitution aloud, clause by clause; the teacher should insert explanations, context, stories, and illustrations as the reading proceeds. List the thinkers profiled in this series and their general contributions to the American system of government. Identify one or more constitutional contributions made by each of the following American Founders: John Adams, John Dickinson, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, George Mason, Gouverneur Morris, Edmund Randolph, George Washington, and the three Connecticut delegates to the Constitutional Convention. (This is the subject of my next Epoch Times series.) Identify at least three words or phrases the Constitution uses in ways not common today. Explain the Constitutions division of powers and responsibilities between state and central governments, and the reasons behind that division. As explained earlier in this series, knowing those reasons requires some familiarity with classical history, the American experience within the British Empire, and the constitutional debates of 17871790. Know the major provisions in the original Constitution and the reasons they were composed as they were. (One benefit: Citizens aware of the numerous factors the framers balanced in working out our presidential election system might be less vulnerable to shallow proposals such as the National Popular Vote.) Recite the general content of each of the 27 amendments and the principal reasons and historical facts behind each one. (One benefit: Citizens aware of the history behind the 14th Amendment are less likely to be misled by claims for constitutional privileges advanced by modern special interest groups.) Im aware that many interest groups compete for school time, and that there are few expressions more common than, This ought to be taught in school. I submit, however, that few subjects now taught are more imperative to the survival of American independence and freedom than Americas basic law. Canceling marginal subjects can make space available. Our public schools spend inordinate amounts of class time on issues of dubious long-term value, such as some of the social studies topics outlined here. Can anyone reasonably assert, for example, that studying life and celebrations in Kenya should displace studying the governmental system in which one lives and votes? Legal Education In the previous essay in this series, I alluded to the book titled The Shame of American Legal Education, authored by the Scottish scholar, the late Alan Watson. Part of the Shame is how the Constitution is mistaught in law school. You can get a hint of the deficiencies by reflecting on a common joke among law professors, I dont have my students read the Constitution; it only confuses them. I never thought that joke was funny. When I taught Constitutional Law, each class read the entire document aloud, with students taking turns until we got through all of it, with my interjecting observations and answering questions. Producing lawyers, and therefore judges, who thoroughly understand our Supreme Law should be a top priority for all law schools. But reforming legal education will be even more difficult than reforming K-12 schooling. This is true for several reasons: First, the degree of constitutional literacy appropriate for an attorney is higher than for the average citizen. Second, law professors tend to be poorly educated in history, classics, and language, and they cannot teach what they dont know. Third, constitutional law professors usually have only minimal familiarity with major fields of law that influenced the Founders (such as real estate, contracts, agency, and trusts). Fourth, most of them either have not practiced law, or have not practiced for very long. Finally, the far-left tilt of legal academia creates positive incentives for disregarding, or even misrepresenting, the Constitutions true meaning. The Immediate Solutions The immediate solutions arent perfect, but they will have to do. They rely on constitutional education by private, charter, and home schools, and in civic meetings and citizen classes, and in mass media outlets such as talk radio, podcasts, videos, and The Epoch Times. Those outlets will have to undertake the work that the public schools and law schools should be doing, but arent. I have written the foregoing series as one contribution to this effort. Read prior installments here: first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth, sixteenth, seventeenth, eighteenth, nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Workforce Readiness 5 Organizations Reimagining Career Navigation for Adult Learners The United States Department of Education has announced five finalists in its Future Finder Challenge, a competition announced last September seeking digital tools to help adult learners navigate from education to careers. Each finalist will receive $50,000 to help develop a prototype as well as six months of "virtual accelerator" assistance to further develop their product, ED explained in a news announcement. In stage one of the competition, the challenge received 76 submissions from teams including minority, women, veteran, LGBTQ+, and Native American-owned organizations across 29 states. Project prototypes ran the gamut from skills assessment and career matching to mentor access and job application tools; submissions were evaluated by multidisciplinary judging panels with expertise in adult education, ed tech, career navigation, industry, and inclusion and accessibility. The five finalists are: BestFit , a platform that matches learners with on-campus, community, federal, and philanthropic resources such as childcare, healthcare, transportation, meals, and financial assistance, to help them design their own support networks; , a platform that matches learners with on-campus, community, federal, and philanthropic resources such as childcare, healthcare, transportation, meals, and financial assistance, to help them design their own support networks; Gladeo , a regional career navigation platform that combines a virtual career day with a program finder, self-assessment quiz, and personalized news about resources and opportunities; , a regional career navigation platform that combines a virtual career day with a program finder, self-assessment quiz, and personalized news about resources and opportunities; Territorium , creator of a mobile application that matches adult learners' knowledge, experience, and interests with current hiring needs and supports learners through the career navigation process, including exploration, training, and application; , creator of a mobile application that matches adult learners' knowledge, experience, and interests with current hiring needs and supports learners through the career navigation process, including exploration, training, and application; Wingspans , a web platform that provides adult learners with access to more than 700 career stories and employer profiles; and , a web platform that provides adult learners with access to more than 700 career stories and employer profiles; and Workbay, a platform deployed across national, state, regional, and correctional programs that links career exploration, skill-building, job postings, and applicant tracking. Stage two of the competition offers the finalists access to virtual resources, webinars, and mentorship from subject-matter experts across a variety of topics, including adult education, design research, product design, storytelling, and growth and sustainability, ED said. Upon completion of this "virtual accelerator" stage, finalists will submit market-ready tools and proposals, as well as present at a live demo day this fall. One grand-prize winner will be selected to receive a $500,000 prize, and two runners-up will receive a share of at least $250,000. The challenge will continue to support the winners into 2024 as they deploy their solutions, ED said. In addition, a repository of challenge resources and videos will be openly available to both challenge entrants and the public. For more information, visit the Future Finder Challenge site. The Importance of Free Speech in the Medical Profession, and the Dangers of Censorship Commentary More than ever, society needs all clinicians to step up and speak up. Furthermore, professional organizations and state medical boards must make more robust use of their powers to take appropriate disciplinary action against clinicians who violate professional standards by spreading health misinformation, wrote Allison M. Whelan in an article published by the AMA Journal of Ethics on March 1, 2023. These two sentences seem to me to be in contradiction to one another. In essence, they require physicians to voice their opinions but also to face disciplinary action if their opinions happen not to coincide with the received opinions of their time. This is a very odd way of going about stimulating medical debate, which is so necessary to progress, to say nothing of freedom itself. The two sentences would be compatible only if true science were a body of doctrine and all that lay beyond it were false, which is to say heretical. But as anyone who has ever been to a medical meeting knows, this isnt the case. It has been said that where there are two economists, there are three opinions; the same might be said of doctors. Controversy over many subjects remains vigorous among doctors, and in my own career, going back several decades, I have seen medical consensus on many things change. Differences of opinion are always possible, and while they may sometimes be attributable to personal antagonisms, vanity, pride, financial interest, and so forth, often they arent. People can disagree without any of them being ill-intentioned. The medical profession isnt, and has never been, without its dishonest or fraudulent practitioners: Indeed, whole histories of medicine have been written as if the profession had been composed exclusively of fools and frauds. In my experience, though, persons with bees in their bonnet (Ive had a few myself) are more common in the profession than outright frauds, and sometimes they have been right, against the opinion of the massed ranks of their colleagues. Ignaz Semmelweis, for example, believed that the puerperal sepsis that more than decimated the mothers of Vienna in the maternity hospital there was spread by the unwashed hands of the doctors who attended them, and he ended up driven into a lunatic asylum by his colleagues who werent grateful for his absurd, though actually correct, idea. What counts as misinformation isnt straightforward, as the author of the paper I have quoted acknowledges, but shes especially concerned that those doctors connected in some way with politics or government shouldnt pass on misinformation, as theyre likely to be seen as being in authority. The examples of misinformation that she gives are unfortunate, however. For example, she quotes Dr. Scott Atlas, a radiologist, who wrote in a tweet that masks didnt work in protecting against or preventing the spread of COVID-19, this going against guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). But guidance from the CDC isnt in itself evidence of the justification of that guidance, and a recent Cochrane review (the nearest to a disinterested and objective review of medical evidence as is to be found in this wicked world) came to the conclusion that evidence in favor of masks was lacking. The review itself has been criticized by scientists who came to an opposite conclusion, but the point here is not that one side or the other is right, but that Atlass view could hardly in the circumstances be called misinformation, though his views were removed from Twitter as having been such. Being censored by Twitter, however, is also not evidence in itself of having spread misinformation. The paper in AMA Ethics continues: Atlas espoused many controversial and questionable positions about COVID-19, clashing frequently with public health officials. Among other things, he promoted a disputed and potentially dangerous approach to herd immunity, suggesting it could be achieved by allowing the virus among healthy Americans. Many public health experts believed such an approach could result in the deaths of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Americans. Officials from the World Health Organization (WHO) called such a strategy very dangerous. This passage suggests a touching faith in the knowledge and wisdom of public health experts and the WHO. In fact, in many countries, the wisdom of the drastic lockdowns that were imposed, with almost medieval severity, is now being questioned. I came to the conclusion that selective protection of the vulnerable (of whom, by virtue of my age, I would have been one) would have been better. But again, the question here isnt who was right, but whether Atlas should have found himself censored for having uttered an unorthodox vieweven if that view were mistaken. John Stuart Mill, in his great philosophical polemic On Liberty, argued that no opinion, no matter how wrong, should be suppressed, because its from the clash of opinion that truth, or something more approximating to it, emerges. This is a utilitarian argument for freedom, and a slightly dangerous one, because there are surely some opinions that are so absurd that they arent worth refuting, and might be suppressed without any loss of utility. If I were to propose that the Pacific Ocean were made of melted blue cheese, no one would bother to investigate in order to refute it, and humanity would lose nothing if I were shut up and prevented from expressing my opinion on that subject. Mill might retort that overall humanity would suffer if it werent made a rule that opinions werent to be suppressed, since if you start by suppressing the fatuous you will end by suppressing the useful, but I know of no way either to prove or refute this. What most alarmed me about the paper in AMA Ethics was that there was expressed in it no attachment to freedom of opinion as a good or desirable thing in itself, independent of its effects: in other words, that freedom is an end in itself, an extremely important value. Even if the CDC, the WHO, or the majority of expert medical opinion were invariably right, it would not be a reason for suppressing dissent by resort to robust use of [licensing authorities] powers to take appropriate disciplinary action by, for example, depriving dissidents of their livelihood. The Soviet Union, it sometimes seems, won the Cold War. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Imagine entering a grand sandstone palace, erected high up in the alcove of a cliff in the western U.S. This dream-like place really does exist. Built way back in the 12th century, there is a vast dwelling made up of almost 200 angular and circle-shaped rooms, like something straight out of a Game of Thrones episode. You can, in fact, visit this mysterious site, known as Cliff Palace, by climbing a ladder in the very same way its original inhabitants did. Its not known for sure why those farmersthe Ancestral Puebloans, who lived in the area from 500 to 1300 A.D., made their home high up above this land. All that is known is that they put an extraordinary amount of time and effort into constructing these stone and mortar buildingsoften with their bare hands. Those who travel from around the world to see this archaeological wonder with their own eyes are able to spot handprints and fingerprints preserved in the walls. However, its been theorized that the fortress may have been erected to protect against certain tribal aggressors in the area. Cliff Palace in Mesa Verde in southwestern Colorado. Photographed by Gustaf Nordenskiold in 1891. (Public Domain) A detail of a round tower at Cliff Palace. (Public Domain) Found in southwestern Colorados Mesa Verde, a national park famous for its flat-topped mountains, Cliff Palace forms part of a collection of 600 cliff dwellings built by these ancient peoples. Not all Ancestral Puebloans chose to live this way, though. Only an estimated 100 people inhabited Cliff Palace, the largest of several high-up structures, according to Colorados National Park Service. They cleverly employed wooden beams wedged into the sandstone rock to help support the buildings, each with between one to four stories. Families lived in a collection of rooms formed around ingeniously designed, circular rooms called kivas, which extend down below ground. These central structures contained fire pits and were used for ceremonial purposes. Fascinatingly, many fragments of mural still exist within Cliff Palace, some containing geometric shapes that researchers suggest may represent the landscape, mountains, sky, sun, and moon. Another interesting insight that can be gleaned from this spectacular historic site, according to the National Park Service, is the stature of the Ancestral Puebloans some 750 years ago. A ground plan of Cliff Palace. (Public Domain) A view of Cliff Palace from atop the cliff at Mesa Verde. (MarclSchauer/Shutterstock) The sandstone buildings were well fortified to defend against assaults from below. (Stephen Moehle/Shutterstock) The size of the doorways confirms, historians surmise, that the average man stood from 5 feet, 4 inches to 5 feet, 5 inches tall (roughly 163 cm), while an average woman was 5 feet to 5 feet, 1 inch tall (152 cm)similar to Europeans of the same period. Besides providing shelter from the elements, the motivation for creating the cliff homes could have been as a defense against marauding bands of ancestral Navajo and Apache. Builders refrained from adding doors and windows to the lower floors, instead choosing to gain access using ladders, which could be whipped away in the event of an attack. A view taken from inside Cliff Palace. (Abbie Warnock-Matthews/Shutterstock) A circular room called a kiva that descends into the rock. (PartStudios/Shutterstock) The damaged structures of Cliff Palace reveal quarters above and below ground. (NatalieJean/Shutterstock) A well-preserved cliff dwelling built by the Pueblo Anasazi people. (Milan Sommer/Shutterstock) Modern visitors explore the remains of Cliff Palace. (Rob Crandall/Shutterstock) Whatever the reasonor combination of reasonsfor the settlements existence, by the end of the 13th century, Cliff Palace was abandoned, most likely due to the regions Great Drought. Imagining the peoples real, day-to-day lives that once unfolded in this palace on high, one may ponder the words of TJ Atsye, a park ranger at the Mesa Verde National Park: Even though we physically moved away, the spirits of my ancestors are still here. If you stop for a minute and listen, you can hear the children laughing and the women talking. You can hear the dogs barking and the turkeys gobbling. You can hear and feel the beat of the drums and the singing. You can smell the cooking fires. You can feel their presence, their warmth, their sense of community. 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 Top Republican Senators Press Pentagon for Unanswered Questions About Chinese Spy Balloon Ranking Member Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) speaks during a hearing with the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on Feb. 15, 2023. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) Leading Senate Republicans are criticizing the Pentagon for avoiding their questions about the Chinese spy balloon that flew over the United States for days before being shot down. In a letter Wednesday to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Sens. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), the top Republicans on the Armed Services and Intelligence committees, said that their questions to understand the timeline of events before the balloon was shot down had not been adequately answered. They questioned why it had taken so long since the questions were sent to Austin and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines in a letter on Feb. 8. One of the questions in the February letter asked Austin and Haines to provide a full accounting, with date and time stamps, of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs engagements with the National Security Council and the President of the United States, regarding the balloon and its trajectory. Senator and Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chair, Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), speaks during a hearing on worldwide threats, in Washington, on March 8, 2023. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images) The senators noted in the latest letter that Under Secretary for Defense for Policy Colin Kahl responded to their initial letter on Feb. 27, but the response came 10 days after their deadline. They added that Kahl refused to answer their questions and suggested that their questions had already been answered in two briefings the Biden administration provided to senators on Feb. 9 and 14. This response, which we interpret as reflective of your position, is unacceptable, the senators wrote. We attended both briefings and can say with utmost certainty that Dr. Kahls contention is wrong: many of our oversight questions about the administrations immediate response to the Chinese surveillance balloon remain unanswered. In particular, we await documentation demonstrating when senior officials learned of the balloon and at what point you, and the President, were provided response options. The simple point of the letter was to establish baseline facts to inform all members of Congress. Issues One particular issue the two senators wanted clarification on was when Austin learned about the Chinese balloon. They noted that Gen. Glen VanHerck, the commander for North American Aerospace Defense Command, notified his chain of command when the balloon was over the Aleutian Islands on Feb. 28. But it is our understanding you did not learn of the balloon until at least a few days later, by which point the balloon had traversed Alaska and Canada and re-entered the United States, the senators wrote, referring to Austin. On Jan. 30, the Chinese balloon entered Canadian airspace before reentering U.S. airspace over Idaho on Jan. 31, according to the Pentagon. The balloon was shot down off the South Carolina coast on Feb. 4. The Chinese spy balloon drifts to the ocean after being shot down off the coast in Surfside Beach, S.C., on Feb. 4, 2023. (Randall Hill/Reuters) As the Departments senior policy official, Dr. Kahl likely would have been involved in briefing you on the balloon and developing response options, the senators wrote. Alternatively, if Dr. Kahl did not play this role during the balloon crisis, learned of the balloon belatedly, or declined to provide response options while the balloon was over unpopulated regions of Alaska and Canada, that is something Congress should understand. Instead, Dr. Kahl is simply declining to answer our questions on your behalf. Trump Administration The senators suggested that Kahl was spearheading a communications strategy that aims to hide the administrations early missteps, saying that he leaked previously classified information about Chinese balloons during the Trump administration. John Kirby, the strategic communications coordinator for the National Security Council, previously said that similar balloons traversed U.S. airspace three times during the previous administration. Former President Donald Trump and his officials have said they were never briefed on Chinese balloons entering U.S. airspace. It remains unclear whether this leak was cleared internally though the proper channels, the senators wrote. Either way, it was a brazen attempt to shift blame. We sincerely hope you will hold Dr. Kahl accountable for his politicization of previously classified material. Wicker and Rubio ended their letter by saying that they would continue to wait for their February questions to be answered. It is imperative for Congress to understand why this Chinese surveillance balloon was not stopped sooner so we can help the Department of Defense and the intelligence community better protect our airspace, the senators wrote. Please let us know as soon as possible when we can expect to receive these responses. On Feb. 17, the Northern Command issued a statement announcing that it had concluded its recovery efforts to collect debris from the Chinese spy balloon. It added that the last of the balloons debris was being sent to an FBI laboratory in Virginia for counterintelligence exploitations. The Epoch Times has contacted the Pentagon for comment. UK Disinformation Unit Monitored Headmaster Who Questioned COVID-19 Vaccines For Children A headmaster who questioned the effects of lockdown and masking on children, as well as the mRNA vaccine rollout, was reported to the UKs terror watchdog and had his social media posts monitored by government disinformation units. In January, Westminster confirmed that it had monitored lockdown critics including Conservative MPs and journalists on social media platforms via its disinformation units, after documents were obtained by the civil liberties group Big Brother Watch. Headmaster Mike Fairclough, who has 20 years experience in running the state-funded West Rise Junior School for 7- to 11-year-olds in Eastbourne on the south coast, told The Epoch Times that he also had been monitored. Fairclough was one of the very few voices in education, and the only serving headmaster, to express concerns over the effects of the response to the pandemic on children and the resultant mental health problems. My personal belief is that the risks from these vaccines outweigh any possible benefits for a child, Fairclough told The Epoch Times. I have conveyed my opinion using my social media channels, generally by reposting and quoting mainstream media articles which have supported my stance, he added. Fairclough said that colleagues within the education sector have remained publicly silent on the subject of the vaccines for children and that there is still an air of fear and caution around even mildly sceptical conversations about it. A person using a computer in an undated file photo. (Dominic Lipinski/PA Media) Counter Disinformation Unit Fairclough submitted requests for copies of his data held by government disinformation units, which The Epoch Times has seen. The Counter Disinformation Unit (CDU), part of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS), leads the UK governments operational response to domestic disinformation threats online. During the pandemic, the government used different units including the CDU, the Rapid Response Unit, and the Government Information Cell. Each had roles in tackling harmful narratives online, and monitoring and flagging disinformation content to social media companies. A government spokesman previously told the Epoch Times that these units used publicly available data, including material shared on social media platforms, to assess UK disinformation trends and narratives. A government spokesperson told Epoch Times by email: Online disinformation is a serious threat to the UK and public health, which is why during the pandemic we brought together expertise from across government to monitor disinformation about COVID. These units monitor publicly available data, including material shared on social media platforms, to assess UK disinformation trends and narratives. He added that they did not target individuals or take any action that could impact anyones ability to discuss and debate issues freely. One Twitter post was flagged by the CDU in February 2022. Fairclough wrote: Natural immunity is more powerful than vaccines. Antibodies in un-jabbed Covid survivors are stronger over time than in people whove had two shots but no infection. Hence no need to vaccinate naturally immune children against Covid-19, he wrote, adding an article from the Daily Mail that reported on a study that found that people whove had COVID-19 but no jabs may have longer-lasting immunity than those whove been double-jabbed. Prevent Fairclough also said that because of his views, he was reported to the Home Offices flagship counter-extremism policy Prevent, which aims to identify people at risk of committing terrorist acts. Thankfully, Ive been cleared of all wrong-doing each and every time and therefore continued to campaign, he said. The email came from a whistleblower who had raised concerns about Faircloughs opinions relating to the anti-government and anti-vaccine messaging he posted on Facebook and other platforms. It was also sent to Ofsted, the Childrens Commissioner, and the Department of Educations Counter Terrorism team. An investigation found no evidence of Mr Fairclough breaking Headteacher Standards and principles afforded those who hold positions of trust and high standing members of the community. There are 362 pupils at West Rise who come mainly from the local council estate, places which are often part of Englands poorest neighbourhoods. The school has a very close connection to nature, with a farm, a forest school, beekeeping sites, and children are taught to use knives and guns and to forage for food. Galloping Authoritarianism The Free Speech Union (FSU) told The Epoch Times by email that Fairclough had approached them to discuss legal options. The way hes been treated is a disgrace, said FSU founder Toby Young. Prevent was set up to counter extremism, not to monitor critics of government policy. This episode is typical of the way the state apparatus of counter-extremism, which was originally set up to protect people from terrorists, has been repurposed to suppress domestic dissent, he said. This fundamental shift, with the so-called counter-terrorism experts training their spyglasses away from ISIS training camps and towards domestic citizens like Mike was happening before the pandemic, but has accelerated significantly over the past three years, he added. Young said that we need to urgently address this galloping authoritarianism before Britain descends into an Orwellian dystopia. The real extremists are the officials in shadowy parts of the British state whove been so captured by woke ideology theyve convinced themselves that a schoolteacher who has concerns about forcing children to wear masks in lessons is a threat to national security, added Young. Fairclough was suspended from Twitter last year, though he has now been reinstated. If you are in fear, and you cant actually speak out when there are clear harms going on, then theyve got you, he said. Moving forward, we need to be able to have a culture which celebrates different opinions and which embraces questions about things, he added. US Embassy Issues Security Alert for Possible Terrorist Attack in Major European City A Belgian soldier stands guard outside the US Embassy in Brussels in a file photo. (Nicolas Maeterlinck/AFP/Getty Images) The U.S. Embassy in Belgium issued a warning this week of a possible terrorist attack targeting public areas in the country this week. Terrorist groups continue plotting possible attacks in Belgium. Terrorists may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets/shopping malls, local government facilities, hotels, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, parks, major sporting, music, and cultural events, educational institutions, airports, and other public areas, an alert posted by the embassy on March 7 reads. On March 8, the embassy stated that police have heightened security in response to a threat of a possible metro attack to be conducted today, March 8, which never came to pass, according to another statement. Continue to be aware of your surroundings and use caution when traveling in and around Brussels, the statement reads. It advises Americans to keep a low profile, avoid crowds, and be aware of their surroundings while in the country. The Belgian Federal Police stated that a terrorist attack is unlikely now after the European Commission received two emails that warned of an explosion occurring in the Brussels metro, EuroNews reported. Belgiums Coordination Unit for Threat Analysis assessed the threat as being unlikely, according to a spokesperson from the countrys National Crisis Center. Additional measures are currently not necessary. The National Crisis Center, in collaboration with all the security services, continues to closely monitor the situation, the spokesman said. Belgian police carried out a sweep of the metro on March 8, a spokesperson told Politico. They discovered nothing suspicious. According to a report from the Le Soir publication, citing unnamed security services with the European Commission, the emails allegedly came from an individual who had contacted the European Commission this year. The message from the man, written in Russian, said that in light of the EUs continued aggressive policies I hereby warn you of major terrorist attacks on EU territory. In 2016, Belgium suffered Islamist attacks that left dozens of people dead at the Brussels Airport and Maelbeek subway station in Brussels. The ISIS terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attacks, while reports state that the assailants belonged to the same terrorist cell that was involved in the 2015 Paris attacks that left even more dead. On March 2, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Ukrainian government forces of carrying out a terrorist attack in Russias Bryansk region. They infiltrated the area near the border and opened fire on civilians, Putin said. They saw a civilian vehicle with civilians, with children in it, and they fired on them. US Imposes Sanctions on 39 Entities Aiding Iranian Trade U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a Security Council meeting concerning the war in Ukraine at United Nations headquarters in New York on Feb. 24, 2023. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images) U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that his department is imposing sanctions against 39 entities believed to be assisting Iranian clients in illegally engaging in trade. The U.S. State Departments March 9 announcement outlined sanctions against dozens of shadow banking entities spread across several countries that would be subjected to the sanctions due to affiliation with Iranian groups. According to a press release, these multi-jurisdictional illicit finance systems give sanctioned Iranian firms access to the global financial system and let them conceal their business dealings with overseas clients. The sanctions will be carried out by the Department of the Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and will display the United States commitment to enforcing sanctions on the Iranian government and disrupting the overseas networks that it uses to get around the sanctions, the release said. Front Companies Used In order to facilitate commerce on behalf of their Iranian clients and assist them in avoiding U.S. sanctions, Iranian currency exchange businesses establish front companies abroad. The Iranian government has made tens of billions of dollars from businesses using these networks in a range of industries. The U.S. State Department asserted that they plan to keep up its efforts to thwart attempts to circumvent its sanctions. The Treasury Department cited the Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industry Commercial Co. (PGPICC) and Triliance Petrochemical Co., Ltd. (Triliance) as two of the organizations being used to obfuscate United States trade sanctions. Iran cultivates complex sanctions evasion networks where foreign buyers, exchange houses, and dozens of front companies cooperatively help sanctioned Iranian companies to continue to trade, said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo, according to the Department of Tereasurys press release. Todays action demonstrates the United States commitment to enforcing our sanctions and our ability to disrupt Irans foreign financial networks, which it uses to launder funds. Iranian Presence in Latin America Iran has been in the headlines in recent days since it was discovered that they have docked warships off the coast of Brazil, as The Epoch Times previously reported. People rest while the Iranian warship IRIS Makran sails on the coast of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Feb. 27, 2023. (Carl De Souza/AFP via Getty Images) The event, which took place between Feb. 26 and March 4 and sparked controversy among democratic nations in the region. The presence of the warships, according to political and security sources, is a result of a new wave of leftist politicians that has swept across Latin America in recent years, including Brazils new president. According to commentators, Iran appears to be delivering on its promise to moor warships in the Panama Canal by the end of 2023. Brazils former minister of foreign affairs, Ernesto Araujo, told The Epoch Times, The big picture here doesnt look good. US President Joe Bidens Long-Awaited Canada Visit to Happen March 23-24 President Joe Biden (L), Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (R), and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador arrive for a news conference in Mexico City on Jan. 10, 2023. (The Canadian Press/AP-Andrew Harnik) U.S. President Joe Biden will travel to Ottawa on March 23 to meet with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Canadian soil, his first visit north of the border since taking the oath of office in 2021. The president and his wife Jill Biden will spend two days in Canada, the White House confirmed Thursday, although a detailed itinerary has not yet been released. The two leaders will discuss ongoing upgrades to the aging, jointly led Norad continental defence system, which came under heavy scrutiny last month when a Chinese surveillance balloon drifted through U.S. and Canadian airspace. Fears, too, about unchecked Russian aggression and the ability of the two countries to defend the continents northern frontier have only accelerated in the year since the start of Vladimir Putins bloody invasion of Ukraine. Keeping North Americans safe from new and emerging threats requires a co-ordinated response, the Prime Ministers Office said in a statement. During the visit, the prime minister and the president will highlight ongoing co-operation on continental defence, including Norads key role in defending North America. They will also advance co-operation in the Arctic. The two leaders also plan to talk about how to fortify shared supply chains, combat climate change and accelerate the clean energy transition, the White House said. One of the likely highlights of the visit will come when Biden addresses a joint session of Parliament to highlight the importance of the United States-Canada bilateral relationship, said press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. A visit to Canada is customarily one of a new U.S. presidents first foreign trips, a tradition upended two years ago by the COVID-19 pandemic. Like the rest of the world at the time, the two leaders settled for a virtual meeting instead. The virus interfered in Canada-U.S. relations again in 2022, when Biden tested positive for COVID a second time, forcing the White House to scrap its plan for a summertime visit. Delayed though it may be, it will be an important bilateral meeting for both countries, said Scotty Greenwood, CEO of the Canadian American Business Council. Its an occasion which focuses a bureaucracy on the breadth and depth of bilateral and multilateral issues and thats a really good thing, because it causes everybody here to focus on Canada, Greenwood said. It also allows the president himself to think about and reflect on Canada in the context of all the other global relationships the U.S. has, and that can be a very good thing. In the end, however, its essential that the federal government in Ottawa make the most of the opportunity, she added. The extent to which Canada wants to lean in and try to help solve some of the pain points the U.S. has is a good opportunity for Canada, Greenwood said. We wont know until the visit happens if Canada wants to do that. As always, the two leaders have a lot to talk aboutmuch of it a direct offshoot of the pandemic as both countries recalibrate their domestic and international supply chains, bilateral travel rules and economic recovery efforts, all of it with an eye toward arresting the march of climate change around the world. Strategies to minimize dependence on China for critical minerals and semiconductors, two vital components in the global push to expand the popularity of electric vehicles and fuel what some experts liken to a post-pandemic industrial revolution, are sure to be high on the agenda. So too will be a united front in opposing Russias offensive in Ukraine, as well as what to do about Haiti, where Canada is facing international pressure to take a lead role in quelling widespread and rampant gang violence. The PMO statement emphasized a familiar Trudeau message on Haiti: that efforts to deal with the crisis should be Haitian-led. There will be bilateral tensions to address as well. The post-NAFTA era, where the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement is now the law of the land in continental trade, has been marked by irritants, including access to Canadas dairy market and how the U.S. defines foreign content in autos. Immigration has also become a hot topic: while Republican lawmakers usually have a singular focus on the flow of migrants across the U.S.-Mexico border, a spike in the number of people entering from Canada has also caught their eye. Trudeau has publicly acknowledged that the two countries need to renegotiate the 2004 Safe Third Country Agreement in order to staunch the flow of irregular migration into Canada, but theres little appetite in the U.S. to do so. Even so-called trusted travellers are having a harder time than they did before the pandemic, with the fast-track program known as Nexus having been hampered by a cross-border jurisdictional squabble. The White House said irregular migration and forced displacement throughout the region would be on the agenda, but offered no other details. The PMO mentioned only immigration. Neither mentioned the treaty. Bidens speech to Parliament will follow in the footsteps of his former boss, then-president Barack Obama, who made a similar address when he last visited Ottawa in June of 2016. Biden himself visited the national capital in December of that year, as Obamas second term was winding down and the world was bracing for the inauguration of his Republican successor, Donald Trump. I know sometimes were like the big brother thats a pain in the neck and overbearing but were more like family, even, than allies, the vice-president at the time said during a state dinner in his honour. He cheered Canadas role in defending and strengthening what he called a liberal international order amid the rise of authoritarianism around the world, perhaps sensing what the next four years had in store. Were going to get through this period because were Americans and Canadians, and so had I a glass Id toast you by saying, Vive le Canada, because we need you very, very badly. By James McCarten US Risks Losing Its Pension Funds in China: Expert A sign for BlackRock Inc. hangs above their building in New York on July 16, 2018. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters) The United States risks losing its pension funds in China as the regime seeks to undermine the economic base of America, according to Gregory Copley, president of the International Strategic Studies Association. Billionaire investor Mark Mobius recently said that the Chinese regime has taken very significant action to prevent him from withdrawing capital from Chinese equities since his HSBC account is situated in Shanghai. I cant get an explanation of why theyre doing this. Its just amazing. Theyre putting [up] all kinds of barriers, Mobius told the Fox Business Network on March 2. They dont say, No, you cant get your money out, but they say, Give us all the records from 20 years of how youve made this money and so forth. Its crazy. Copley told NTDs China in Focus: Theres a global fiction abroad at the moment, which is that the economy in the Peoples Republic of China is in for a soft landing. Its not going to be that soft. Its going to be one which has worldwide ramifications because it will cut into the pension funds, particularly of people around the world but particularly the retirees in the United States. BlackRock, the worlds largest investment manager, is the first foreign-owned company to receive a license to operate in Chinas $3.5 trillion mutual fund industry, Forbes reported. Meanwhile, many state governments in the United States have invested their pension funds with BlackRock. According to a 2021 report (pdf) from Consumers Research, Washington, Florida, and New York were the top three investors, investing $13.8 billion, $10.7 billion, and $9.8 billion, respectively. Undermining the West Amid Economic Woes According to the expert, China is basically in a very, very weak economic position. Theres no evidence that the private sector itself is stimulating growth or that there is a growth in consumer demand. Quite the contrarypeople are very, very gun-shy after the events of the last couple of years, and are not spending in the way the [Chinese] Communist Party had projected, he said. The major sectors of the economy, and particularly the property sector, look unlikely to revive at best. Copley said China is heavily dependent on food imports. In 2022, China imported more than 85 percent of its soybeans (95 million tons), mainly from the United States, Brazil, and Argentina. And thus, he said, its hard for China to build up an internal marketplace that will be enough to stimulate economic growth and operations. Copley said he believes that Chinese leader Xi Jinping has realized that economically and strategically outgrowing the West, particularly the United States, is now very difficult. So he must resort to undermining the economic and strategic base of his adversaries, particularly the United States, Copley said. So the view is, if China cannot grow strategically enough to defeat the West, then the West must be reduced by indirect means economically, politically, and so on, so that the West becomes economically deprived and politically unstable. And so thats really the very, very poor option base which Xi Jinping has available to him. Deterring Invasion of Taiwan Copley said that Xi could launch an invasion of Taiwan to shift blame for the countrys economic turmoil and urge the United States and its allies to take steps to deter it. The United States needs to demonstrate a greater physical commitment to supporting the Taiwanese Republic of China forces, he said. Other countries, such as Australia, must show more open support militarily for Taiwan. Its critical that the United States and its allies show real resolve in letting Xi Jinping know that an open war is not an option which is viable, and showing that an open war is something that he absolutely will lose, and it will cost him his party and probably his life. Andrew Moran and Frank Fang contributed to this report. Violence Is No. 1 Social Justice Issue in Black Communities: Rev. Markel Hutchins Police secure the scene of a shooting in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood in Chicago, Ill., on July 21, 2020. (Scott Olson/Getty Images) Black and brown Americans are doing themselves a disservice by concentrating their social justice activism around animosity toward the police, according to longtime civil rights leader Rev. Markel Hutchins. Instead, these communities need to find ways to build a productive relationship with the police, turning adversaries into allies, he says. In a lot of media accounts, and a lot of reports, and particularly on social media, the relationship between law enforcement and communities is often reduced to the law enforcement-involved tragedies that we see highlighted, he told The Epoch Times. But the truth of the matter is, the biggest strain between law enforcement and communities is around high violence. Theres so much violence and so much crime in urban cities and in urban communities that we are doing a significant disservice to those communities when we fail to articulate the real need for law enforcement and communities to collaborate beyond just the incidents that divide us. The charismatic Baptist pastor has spent most of his adult life as a civil rights activist. Prominently, his advocacy on behalf of Kathryn Johnston, a 92-year-old woman who was fatally shot in 2006 in her Atlanta apartment by police, contributed to exposing fraud and a coverup in the case, which ultimately led to the sentencing of the officers involved and a broader corruption purge in the Atlanta Police Department. Rev. Markel Hutchins. (Courtesy of Rev. Markel Hutchins) In the late 2000s, however, Hutchins started to see that adversarial activism wasnt enough to solve broader public safety issues in the black community. I began to see several years ago in the aftermath of some of the law enforcement-involved tragedies that have divided people that were going in the wrong direction when it came to how to actually address in a holistic way the challenges between law enforcement and communities, he said. In 2009, he started to organize churches to mediate conversations, relationship-building, and collaboration between inner-city communities and police. I really began to look at what kinds of things we could do to actually draw law enforcement and communities together for the purpose of seeing and accessing the humanity of one another and also causing communities to see the great need of collaborating with law enforcement. Because the truth is, for all the marching, all the protest, all the demonstrations, we just havent seen very much change, he said. The greatest need for change when it comes to policing in communities that are challenged by crime and violence is not change in policy and procedure, its change in relationship, its change in attitude, its change in collaboration. In 2016, he started an initiative called One Congregation One Precinct (OneCOP), which, to his surprise, law enforcement was largely open and responsive to. Ive been marching and protesting my whole life, he said. But when I extended my hand, as a national civil rights leader, to law enforcement, every single national law enforcement organization and the United States Department of Homeland Security and the Attorney General of the United States extended their hand right back. What began with 100 pastors and 25 police chiefs in Atlanta has since grown into some 2,000 congregations across the nation. We can do this. There is a willingness in the law enforcement community because they recognize they cannot attract and retain talent and they also cannot drive down crime and violence without the help of communities. His nonprofit, MovementForward, has documented countless examples of police officers and residents changing their attitudes toward one another thanks to participation in OneCOP as well as the annual National Faith and Blue Weekend, another project of Hutchinss. A protester waves a D.C. flag with Black Lives Matter spray painted on it as protesters march through the streets during a demonstration over the death of George Floyd, who died in police custody, in Washington on June 2, 2020. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images) Division Focus In 2014, in the aftermath of the police killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, a new wave of activism emerged around policingthe Black Lives Matter movement. The movement was started by self-described Marxists whose advocacy was fueled by quasi-Marxist ideas such as critical race theory. According to the ideology, society is viewed through a racial lens, by which whiteness is seen as synonymous with oppression. Hutchins saw such advocacy as divisive. When the Black Lives Matter mantra was born, again, I started to be very concerned because in this country weve never progressed around social justice issues when we segregated or separate ourselves one from another, he said. He considers himself a follower of civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr., who, as Hutchins put it, saw black and white together. In the worldview formed around ideas such as critical race theory, the entire institution of police, as well as the founding and prevailing principles of the country more broadly, are a product of whiteness and as such are automatically racist. Hutchins described such a perspective as a dead end. The history of America and the history of social activism in America has always been plagued by those that thought that America was unsalvageable, that it was irredeemable, he said. And thats simply not the view that I hold and thats not the view that the majority of African Americans, Hispanic Americans, or anybody else holds. Successful civil rights advocates have been able to make breakthroughs by building on the countrys founding ideals, he suggested. President Lyndon B. Johnson shakes the hand of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the signing of the Civil Rights Act, while officials look on at the White House on July 2, 1964. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images) They did not give up on America because they sought to hold America to a higher standard, to live up to Americas highest ideals. Thats how we got the Voting Rights Act, the Civil Rights Act. Thats how we got to the places that weve gotten to, he said. I do not believe that this nation is as divided or as racist as we are disconnected and ignorant to the realities of others. Collateral Damage The influence of Black Lives Matter particularly expanded with the 2020 police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Some of the activists were calling for defunding policereducing funding for police with the goal of ultimately eliminating police and even the prison system. Hutchins surmises that a side effect of the movement will be more crime in black and brown communities. I just knew that if we demonize law enforcement, if we bastardize them in a way that seems to be the kind of modus operandi of that Black Lives Matter, defund-the-police crowd, we would suffer consequences on the backside, he said. And we have certainly seen that with the crime and violence that has increased in urban communities across this country over the last several years. Violent crime has increased significantly since 2020, particularly in big cities. More than 2,000 people were murdered in Chicago in the 20202022 period, up 20 percent over the preceding three years. That was accompanied by a 24 percent increase in Cleveland; 27 percent in Los Angeles; 28 percent in Dallas; 33 percent in Washington; 39 percent in Philadelphia; 41 percent in both New York City and Houston; 49 percent in Memphis; and 52 percent in Milwaukee. Police investigate a crime scene where three people were shot at the Wentworth Gardens housing complex in the Bridgeport neighborhood in Chicago on June 23, 2021. (Scott Olson/Getty Images) The reality is, for every one [unarmed] African American man killed by law enforcement professional, we have 100 or more African American men who are killed in community-based violence, Hutchins said. If we look holistically at the social justice needs, the equality needs, the No.1 social justice issue in America today is not police brutality, its community violence, its gun-based violence. So the community has a role to play to collaborate with law enforcement in reducing those tragedies just as viscerally, and I would argue even more so than law enforcement-involved tragedies. Hutchins said that building rapport between police and the people theyre there to protect not only helps reduce crime, but also police killings, especially the needless or criminal ones, such as the brutal killing of Tyre Nichols by police in Memphis, Tennessee, in January. What killed Tyre Nichols was not flawed policy, not flawed procedure, and frankly, it wasnt flawed leadership. They have one of the best police chiefs in the country in Memphis, he said. Their policy and procedures were violated by the officers that killed Tyre Nichols. The thing that was responsible for Tyre Nicholss death was a lack of empathy and a lack of humanity by those officers that killed him. The case doesnt lend itself to the common racial narrative as the officers were black, he said, suggesting that the problem was rather in the minds of the officers involved. What had happened to those officers, I believe, is their seeing so much carnage, so much death, so much doom, so much violence in the community there in Memphis, that they had become totally robbed of any sense of humanity that they might have. Even though the fundamental factors may have been culture as well as the specific context and trauma involved, it doesnt absolve the officers of responsibility, he stressed. Absolutely those officers need to be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law, but theres a degree of accountability that we as a community and we as community-based organizations have in that as well, he said. A person walks past a police car in Baltimore on July 28, 2019. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Misplaced Spotlight Hutchins is convinced that any fundamental opposition to police only comes from a minority, even among blacks. The notion that a lot of people are putting forward that somehow folks arent supportive of law enforcement is absolutely not true, he said. Study after study has shown that even in black and brown communities, folks want the same or more law enforcement. There are very few communities that want less law enforcement. He suggested that the issue isnt necessarily a partisan one, either. I am no conservative, I am no Republican. Im a Democrat, Im liberal, but I recognize that the essence of our work has got to be holistic. We cant win by having 3,000 or 4,000 people in a march and then lose because law enforcement will stop doing their job. Our interest should not be defeating our enemies or adversaries, but transforming those adversaries into allies. The problem, in his view, is that the antipolice minority draws excessive attention from the media, donors, and the corporate world. What is most sad to me is that the philanthropic community, the private foundations, the Zuckerbergs, the Soroses, the majority of the private foundations, as well as corporations have been dancing and playing to the vocal minority and not to the silent majority, he said. Conflict may simply be the preferable option for some. For a lot of these organizations and funders, war is a lot more profitable than peace, he said. There are also individuals and organizations that present themselves as civil rights activists, but in reality arent interested in solutions for the people on whose behalf they supposedly advocate, he said. Protesters hold up their fists in front of a row of police officers as protesters gather to demonstrate after George Floyd died while in police custody, in downtown Los Angeles on May 27, 2020. (AGUSTIN PAULLIER/AFP via Getty Images) They are profiteers off of the suffering of people who are victimized by police brutality and, on the flip side of that, they are profiteers off of the suffering of the law enforcement professionals that serve, by and large honorably, communities every day. He didnt name names. I just wish and hope and look forward to the day when the philanthropic and corporate communities as well as the media figure out that the majority of American people are not supportive of the kind of division that weve seen, he said. They want to see unity and they want to see solutions. Hutchins noted that people want police to treat them with fairness and justice and equity. He interprets equity as equal opportunity, equal protection. If there are certain protections and certain opportunities that are afforded to you then those should also be afforded to African Americans or any other person, he said. A police officer, for example, should be just as willing to let a black person go with a warning and no ticket as he is a white person. He clarified that he doesnt subscribe to the notion of equity in the form of special treatment for different groupsbenefiting some and not others. You dont perfect an injustice by perpetuating an injustice, he said. He acknowledged that his more conciliatory approach has earned him scorn from many of his former fellow activists. There are very famous, well-known civil rights leaders that I was friends with that I would talk to two or three times a day. And now we have no conversation, he said, noting there are a lot of folks that dont talk to him anymore. But Im OK with that, because the truth of the matter is there were a lot of folks that didnt talk to Dr. King, that said he was a sellout. Virginia 6-Year-Old Who Shot Teacher Wont Be Charged, Says Prosecutor The 6-year-old boy who shot his first-grade teacher in January will not be charged, the city prosecutor in Newport News, Virginia, told NBC News on Wednesday, but he has not yet decided whether any adults associated with the case could be. In an interview with NBC News, Newport News Commonwealth Attorney Howard Gwynn said the prospect that a 6-year-old can stand trial is problematic. Though, in theory, a child that young could be arrested and criminally charged, Gwynn said, its uncertain whether he would have the competency to understand the legal system or even what a charge means, and he also would be unlikely to effectively assist an attorney in his defense. Because the city prosecutor does not believe there is a legal basis to charge a child, Gwynn went on to tell the news outlet that his office is focusing on others. Our objective is not just to do something as quickly as possible, he said. Once we analyze the facts, we will charge any person or persons that we believe we can prove beyond a reasonable doubt committed a crime. Around 2 p.m. on the afternoon of Jan. 6, the boy shot his teacher, 25-year-old Abigail Zwerner, with a Taurus 9-millimeter handgun that his mother owned, Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew said in a press conference on Facebook Live held three days after the incident. He went on to describe the situation, where Zwerner was teaching in her classroom at Richneck Elementary School when the boy walked up to her, pointed the gun, and fired one round. Zwerner put up her hand in a defensive position when the gun went off, causing the bullet to go through her hand and into her upper chest. She suffered a gunshot wound, but she was able to get all of her students out of that classroom, Drew said. From the video surveillance we have of the hallway Mrs. Zwerner was the last person to leave that classroom. The teachers actions that day inspired Mayor of Newport News Phillip Jones to call Zwerner a hero. Within five minutes of being notified, police arrived on the scene, Drew said. Within seven minutes, medics arrived, and five minutes after that, Zwerner was already transported to a local hospital, where she remained for about two weeks. School Administrators Response A potential lawsuit against the Newport News School District on the behalf of Zwerner is forthcoming, NBC reported. According to the victims attorney, the boy had a history of behavioral issues and troubling interactions with school staff and other students. Two days before the shooting, the school had given the boy a one-day suspension for slamming and breaking Zwerners cellphone and cursing at guidance counselors, according to a CNN report. The next day after his suspension, he returned to school with the firearm and shot her. During a news conference in January, Zwerners attorney Diane Toscano said that the shooting was entirely preventable if school administrators responsible for school safety had done their part and taken action when they had knowledge of imminent danger, NBC reported. But instead, they failed to act, and Abby was shot. Toscano alleged that at least three teachers and employees went to school administrators with concerns about the boys behavior on the day of the incident. But the administration could not be bothered, she told Fox News. She went on to relate the details of one such teachers warning to administrators. Around 12:30 p.m. that day, Toscano alleged, a teacher at the school had searched the boys backpack but didnt find a gun. Worried that he had put the gun in his pocket before going out for recess, the teacher told a school administrator, who reportedly dismissed the warning, saying, Well, he has little pockets. In the wake of the shooting, the schools assistant principal resigned, and Newport News School District reassigned Richneck Elementarys school principal. The Newport News School Board also ousted the district superintendent with a vote of 5 to 1, according to CNN. Boys Parents Could Be Found at Fault On Jan. 19, the boys parents released a statement through their attorney James Ellenson, where they said that their son suffers from an acute disability and was under a care plan at the school that called for one of his parents to accompany him to class every day. The week of the shooting was the first week when we were not in class with him, the statement said. We will regret our absence on this day for the rest of our lives. Ellenson told The Associated Press (AP) that the care plan mentioned in the statement was an individualized education program (or IEP), which under federal law requires schools to provide for children with disabilities. The parents statement didnt specify what kind of disability the boy suffered from, but when AP asked if it was intellectual or behavioral, Ellenson said, all of the above. He also mentioned that the decision for the parents to stop accompanying the boy to class was a joint decision between the school and the parents. The statement also noted that the family has always been committed to responsible gun ownership and keeping firearms out of the reach of children. The firearm our son accessed was secured. The statement didnt explain how the gun was secure, but Ellenson told AP that the gun had been legally purchased, was secured with a trigger lock that requires a key, similar to a bike lock, and kept on the top shelf of the mothers bedroom closet that was well over six feet high. When AP asked how the child may have gotten access to the gun, Ellenson said, We dont know. Under current Virginia law, any adult who recklessly leaves a loaded, unsecured firearm in such a manner as to endanger the life or limb of any child under the age of fourteen is guilty of a class 1 misdemeanor, which is punishable for up to one year in prison and a $2,500 fine. However, the commonwealth does not have a law that requires unattended guns to be stored or locked in a particular way. Virginia definitely has a weaker law than many other states that have child access prevention laws, senior counsel and director of local policy at Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence told AP. From NTD News Virginia AG Demands Fairfax County Middle School Stop Racial Discrimination Against Students Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares (C) announces investigations into Thomas Jefferson High School's delay in informing students of national merit awards and the school's admission policies in Alexandria, Va., on Jan. 4, 2023. (Terri Wu/The Epoch Times) FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va.Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares sent a letter Thursday to a Fairfax County middle school demanding the school stop discriminating against potential 8th-grade applicants for its college preparation program. On March 1, Cooper Middle School sent an email inviting parents of 8th graders to apply for the public school systems College Partnership Program (CPP). The invitation addressed black and Hispanic students, students with disabilities, students with limited proficiency in English, economically disadvantaged students, and students who would be the first in their families to attend college in the United States. Please cease and desist the illegal conduct of soliciting and selecting applicants to the College Partnership Program based on race, color, and national origin, Miyares wrote in the letter to school principal Lisa Barrow, saying that the conduct violated the Virginia Human Rights Act. In addition, he gave Cooper Middle School until March 17 to show evidence that the school has retracted and corrected the March 1 email, and that the application process for the CPP is conducted in a nondiscriminatory and legal manner. Finally, he said the letter would act as a litigation hold, preventing the school and its officers from deleting records. Its shocking that we continue to find such blatant examples of racial and ethnic discrimination in the Fairfax County Public School System. Every student should be able to apply for the College Partnership Program and have the same opportunities as their peers, regardless of race, said Miyares in a press statement on Thursday. I demand that Cooper Middle School, its administrators, and anyone involved in this program stop this illegal discrimination immediately. Cooper Middle School in McLean, Va., is pictured on Mar. 9, 2023. (Terri Wu/The Epoch Times) However, Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) said the AGs office had relied on wholly inaccurate media coverage about discrimination against certain racial groups in their applying to the CPP. We are disappointed that no one from the Office of the Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Virginia contacted Fairfax County Public Schools to check on the authenticity of these reports. Instead, false and damaging public accusations against Cooper Middle School have been made, FCPS said in a statement emailed to The Epoch Times. In fact, in School Year 2022-23, 352 Asian students (17.4 percent) and 176 white students (8.7 percent) out of a total of 2,018 students were enrolled in the program, which is designed to encourage historically underrepresented groups to consider a path to college, the statement read. Publishing false narratives like this undermines public school efforts to boost U.S. educational achievement. FCPS did not answer The Epoch Times question about whether the March 1 email was sent to all parents on the Cooper Middle School email distribution list, but reiterated that the programs enrollment data suggests no discrimination occurs. Mr. F.G., a father of a Cooper Middle School student of Asian ethnicity, said he was concerned that the school seemed to have invited only black and Hispanic students to apply for the CPPeven though he said his 8th-grade son might not need to use the program. This is not right. Its not right, he told The Epoch Times, in reference to the application solicitation email. The email from Cooper Middle School speaks for itself and, in the judgment of the Attorney General, violates the law, Miyares spokeswoman, Victoria LaCivita, told The Epoch Times. That is why Attorney General Miyares has demanded a correction to the email. If FCPS truly wants to boost educational achievement and not undermine it, it should stop sending emails like the one it did. Discrimination has no place in public education, and Attorney General Miyares will continue to demand that it stops. Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares (R) is pictured with Harold Pyon, deputy commissioner of Virginias Department of Labor and Industry, at an Asian-American town hall meeting in Alexandria, Va., on Feb. 6, 2023. (Terri Wu/The Epoch Times) Miyares letter comes amid a probe into FCPSs delay in notifying students who received national merit awards, as well as the admission policy of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technologyreferred to as TJ by locals and ranked No. 1 in the nation for the fourth consecutive year in 2022. The recent scrutiny of FCPS also comes as a number of parents have expressed concern at the school divisions equity policies. In November, FCPS hired Performance Fact Inc., an Oakland, California-based contractor, to develop an equity-centered strategic plan (pdf) emphasizing the equity imperative: equitable access, equal outcomes. The contract was for $455,000. FCPS was mentioned multiple times at Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkins town hall meeting with CNN on March 9. What was suggested and communicated by senior officials in schools was exactly that: That they had held back notifying students of their national merit commendation because they didnt want other students to feel bad, Youngkin said of the FCPS delay in notifying students of their awards. The reality is that when a school hires consultants to come in and teach equity for all studentsequal outcomes for all students at any costwe end up with these kinds of circumstances. We have to celebrate excellence. We shouldnt embrace equity at the expense of excellence, he said. FCPS hasnt responded to Epoch Times inquiry on Youngkins town hall remarks. Walmarts Exodus From Portland Draws Attention to Retail Crime and a Troubled City Oregon lawmakers aim to address an epidemic of organized theft from businesses Doug McMillon, Walmart president and CEO, speaks at the company's annual meeting on May 30, 2018. (Rick T. Wilking/Getty Images) Walmart announced in February that it will close its last two stores in the city of Portland, Oregon, by March 24. Though the retailer did not say whether relentless shoplifting was a factor in shuttering the locations, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon warned last year that an uptick in retail theft could lead to store closures or higher prices. Theft is an issue. Its higher than what it has historically been, he told CNBCs Squawk Box in December. 600 Jobs to Go Weve got safety measures, security measures that weve put in place. It is really city by city, location by location, its store managers working with local law enforcement, he said of how the company deals with theft and other crimes. The closure will affect 600 employees. The announcement drew national attention, with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott taking a shot at the Rose City on Twitter. This is what happens when cities refuse to enforce the rule of law, the Texas governor tweeted on March 5. It allows the mob to take over. Businesses cant operate in that environment, and people cant live in it. Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler replied on Twitter the following day. Governor Abbott, are the dozens of Walmart stores that have closed in Texas in recent years all communities that refuse to enforce the rule of law? The retail industry is changing and retail theft is a national issue. But theres no doubt that retail theft is a problem. Shoplifting has reached a crisis level in Portland according to Jeremy Girard of the Oregon Retail Crime Association The states largest business group, Oregon Business and Industry (OBI), reports that organized thefts have cost the state thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in tax revenue. Though its too late for the city to retain its biggest discount retailer, a pair of bills now before the state legislature would put millions toward fighting organized theft and allow prosecutors to seek stiffer penalties for offenders. Bills Aim to Crack Down on Retail Crime The proposals, which received a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 8, would designate $5 million to help pay for the cost of cracking down on theft in cities and counties. Additional money would be allocated to pay for new positions within the Oregon Department of Justice to help cities and counties analyze and fight organized theft. These crimes are not due to houseless individuals just trying to get by or teenagers stealing candy bars, OBI lobbyist Derek Sangston told state lawmakers during the hearing. This is theft being driven by organized retail crime syndicates. Michael Zacher, a detective with the Clackamas County Sheriffs Office, said thefts are largely driven by substance abuse and the ability to sell in secondary markets. Police report that thieves coordinate their efforts to steal large amounts of merchandise, then sell it on websites or at flea markets. These individuals are targeting a large amount of merchandise at one timelosses from anywhere between $10,000 and $100,000, Phil Smith, a retail crime investigator for Fred Meyer and vice president of the Organized Retail Crime Association of Oregon, told lawmakers. As a result of these actions retailers are now starting to close their doors or relocate to combat these issues. The legislation would allow prosecutors to seek stiffer penalties for people convicted of organized retail theft. Those who would currently face misdemeanor theft charges could face a felony charge if thieves recklessly endanger people in the course of a crime. Repeat offenders of organized retail theft could face much stiffer penalties. Help cant come too soon for Portlands businesses. Businesses Under Siege Though Walmart did not directly attribute its closing to retail theft, one prominent Portland business did. One of Nikes iconic downtown stores has been shuttered for months. The company recently sought to hire off-duty police officers to provide security so it could reopen. The city of Portland rejected the proposal given the police bureaus existing staffing shortages. When the Rains PDX clothing shop closed permanently in November after 17 break-ins, the owner posted a scathing note on the front door. Our city is in peril, it said. Small businesses [and large] cannot sustain doing business, in our citys current state. We have no protection, or recourse, against the criminal behavior that goes unpunished. Retailers are leaving, Jordan Zaitz, a member of the Portland Polices Neighborhood Response Team told Portlands KGW8. I mean, to have Walmart close two of its stores is a really big deal. The people in those neighborhoods, thats where they shop. Success of Police Stings Last fall, the Portland Police Bureau launched a retail theft sting operation to crack down on shoplifting by organized crime rings and individuals. A sting in December resulted in 64 arrests and almost $9,000 in stolen merchandise recovered. In February, a sting in the same area netted 40 arrests and more than $2,000 in stolen merchandise. Results of the recent March sting have yet to be made public. Zaitz said even with the sting operations, she has not seen much of a decrease in thefts but hopes theyll make a difference. I know the public and the stores just really appreciate our presence, Zaitz said. If they are going to [commit crimes], they are going to be arrested and held accountable. The problems associated with retail and other crime are rippling throughout Portlands economy, according to the Portland Business Alliance. And its not just businesses that are leaving. Running for the Exits According to the Portland Business Alliances annual State of the Economy report released in February, the population of Multnomah County (where Portland is located) declined by 12,691 in 2022. Employee foot traffic in Portlands Central City district is 48 percent below 2019 levels. In the Downtown District, employee foot traffic is down 65 percent. More than 8 million square feet of office space sits empty. People and businesses vote with their feet, and they are not voting for Portland, the city or the region, in the way they have in the recent past, the report states. Making the city even less attractive for retailers, local business taxes are up sharply. Taxes paid by businesses located in the City of Portland increased 32 percent during 2019-2021, and, with the passage of two local income tax measures, Portland residents now face the second highest top marginal income tax rate in the nationbehind only New York City, according to the report. Downtown Portland is challenged with high and rising office vacancy rates as hybrid work behaviors and policies take hold, alongside a rapid increase in crime rates, wrote Portland Business Alliance president and CEO Andrew Hoan in the report. Without urgent and focused interventions that deploy every available tool to help return liveability and vibrancy to our downtown, we will not enjoy the promise of shared economic prosperity that is vital for our region and the state. West Virginia Passes Law Restricting Substantial Government Intervention in Religious Freedoms Jim Justice, the Republican Governor of West Virginia, has signed into law a bill seeking to protect religious freedoms from unnecessary government interference. The Equal Protection for Religion Act was passed in the Republican-led Senate by a vote of 31-3 last week and signed into law by Justice on Thursday. The bill (pdf) prohibits the state from imposing any action that can substantially burden a persons exercise of religion unless such an action is essential to further a compelling governmental interest. Even if such an action is imposed by the state, it must be the least restrictive means of furthering that compelling governmental interest. The state is prohibited from treating religious conduct more restrictively than other conduct that might have reasonably comparable risk. Religious conduct should also not be more restricted than comparable conduct due to any alleged economic need or benefit. Individuals whose rightsas outlined in the billare violated can resort to judicial or administrative proceedings. They can seek injunctive or declaratory relief together with reimbursement of costs and reasonable attorney fees. Citizens should not be left defenseless when their government attempts to burden their ability to live and worship according to their faith, Greg Chafuen, legal counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), said in a March 9 statement. The law doesnt automatically decide who will win every disagreement, but it does ensure that every West Virginianregardless of belief system or political powerreceives a fair hearing when government action forces a person to violate his or her religious beliefs. Protecting Religious Rights The bills critics insist that the Equal Protection for Religion Act will pave way for discriminatory behaviors. Cabell County Democrat Sen. Mike Woelfel noted that the bills language will allow discrimination against religious minorities and the LGBT community. He predicted the bill wont hold up when it goes to court. Sen. Amy Grady, a Republican supporter of the bill, said that there is a lot of misinformation circulating about the Equal Protection for Religion Act and that the bill is not going to harm the people of West Virginia. The bottom line is we shouldnt punish someone for practicing their religion unless theres a very good reason to do so, she said, according to AP. At least 23 other states have passed similar laws to protect religious rights. These laws are largely inspired by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act which was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1993 that empowers Americans to challenge federal rules interfering with religious beliefs. Cracking Down Religious Freedom On Campuses West Virginias push to protect religious freedoms comes as the Biden administration is looking to revoke a Trump-era regulation that sought to preserve these rights in colleges. In response to an executive order by Trump called Improving Free Inquiry, Transparency, and Accountability at Colleges and Universities, the Department of Education formulated a new rule in 2019. The rule sought to suspend federal funding to colleges that were found to be impeding the activities of religious organizations on campuses. It went into effect in November 2020. After Biden came into power in 2021, the DOE announced that it was reviewing this rule. In a Feb. 21 post, Nasser H. Paydar, DOEs assistant secretary for Postsecondary Education, said that the agency is proposing to rescind a portion of the regulation related to religious student organizations because the Department believes it is not necessary in order to protect the First Amendment right to free speech and free exercise of religion given existing legal protections. In a September 2020 post, Keisha Russell, a counsel at non-profit First Liberty, had pointed out that the Trump-era rule is necessary and important to protect students of all faiths on campus. In the past few decades, some public universities have effectively evicted religious organizations from campus by blocking them from communicating with students. Such universities impose stricter standards on religious groups when compared to other student groups, Russell noted. Fortunately, because of the administrations Final Rule, public institutions risk losing federal funding if they bully religious organizations into abandoning their religious beliefs in order to have a presence on campus, she said at the time. White House Denies US Stepping Back From Middle East After IranSaudi Deal Brokered by China John Kirby, coordinator for strategic communications at the National Security Council in the White House, speaks during a press briefing at the White House on Jan. 12, 2023. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) The White House is pushing back against the idea that the United States is stepping away from the Middle East following the announcement that Iran and Saudi Arabia have agreed to reestablish relations, in a deal brokered by the Chinese regime. I would stridently push back on this idea that were stepping back in the Middle Eastfar from it, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on March 10. It really does remain to be seen whether the Iranians are going to honor their side of the deal. This is not a regime that typically honors its word. He said that while the United States was kept informed about talks between Saudi Arabia and other parties, U.S. officials werent directly involved. Tehran and Riyadh announced their agreement on March 10, following four days of previously unreported negotiations between top security officials from the two Middle Eastern rivals in Beijing. The two nations agreed to resume diplomatic relations and reopen embassies within two months, according to a statement issued by Iran, Saudi Arabia, and China. The agreement includes their affirmation of the respect for the sovereignty of states and the non-interference in internal affairs, the statement reads. Chinas top diplomat, Wang Yi, hailed the agreement as a victory for dialogue, according to a Chinese foreign ministry readout. When asked about Chinas role in brokering the agreement, Kirby said, This is not about China. We support any effort to deescalate tensions there in the region. He dismissed concerns about Chinas growing influence in the Middle East. As for Chinese influence [in the Middle East] or in Africa or Latin America, its not like we have blinders on, Kirby said. Well certainly continue to watch China as they try to gain influence and foothold elsewhere around the world in their own selfish interest. In the recently announced agreement, Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed to reactivate a 2001 security cooperation agreement, as well as an earlier agreement on trade, economics, and investment. Both countries expressed gratitude to China, Iraq, and Oman for holding previous talks in 2021 and 2022. Iran has been in the headlines in recent weeks since it was discovered that the Middle East nation docked warships in Rio de Janeiro. The event, which took place between Feb. 26 and March 4, sparked concern among democratic nations in the region. The presence of the warships, political and security analysts say, is because of a new wave of leftist politicians that has swept across Latin America in recent years, including Brazils new president. According to experts, Iran appears to be delivering on its promise to moor warships in the Panama Canal by the end of 2023. Brazils former minister of foreign affairs, Ernesto Araujo, previously told The Epoch Times, The big picture here doesnt look good. Reuters contributed to this report. Why Are There No EV Charging Stations at Interstate Rest Stops? Blame the Federal Government Commentary When Georgia resident Anita Jefferson pulls her Tesla out of her garage each morning, she knows its fully charged and ready to go. But she told a local reporter her confidence disappears when she hits the interstate. Charging stations seem few and far between, even at places where youd expect them to be, like rest stops. The one place you would want to travel and stop would be a state rest stop, Jefferson told an Atlanta news station. I want to get an answer as to why theyre not there. Jefferson got her answer from WXIA-TV Atlantas Verify team: There are no charging stations at rest stops because they are prohibited under a federal lawone that stretches all the way back to the Eisenhower administration. You Would Be Paying for That Energy In 1956, Ike signed into law a billthe Federal-Aid Highway Actthat paved the way (pun intended) for the interstate highway system, which included rest areas at convenient locations. While there were numerous problems with the legislation, a relatively minor one was that it created strict limits on what could be sold at these rest stops. Today, federal law limits commercial sales to only a few items (including lottery tickets), the Verify team found. When President Joe Biden rolled out a $5 billion funding plan for states to create EV charging stations, he neglected to carve out a commercial exemption for EVs. You would be paying for that energy, Natalie Dale of the Georgia Department of Transportation told WXIA-TV Atlanta. That would count as commercialized use of the right-of-way and therefore not allowed under current federal regulations. The Difference Between Bureaucrats and Nonbureaucrats If you think this sounds like an inauspicious rollout to the massive federal EV program, youre not wrong. Allowing drivers to charge their EVs at convenient, familiar locations that already exist along interstate highways is a no-braineryet this simple idea alluded lawmakers in Washington, DC. Unfortunately, it illustrates a much larger problem with the top-down blueprint central planners are using to create their EV charging station network. We have approved plans for all 50 States, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia to help ensure that Americans in every part of the country can be positioned to unlock the savings and benefits of electric vehicles, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a 2022 statement. While its good the Department of Transportation (DOT) isnt trying to single-handedly map out the locations of thousands of EV charging stations across the country, theres little reason to believe that state bureaucrats will be much more efficient. A review of state plans reveals a labyrinth of rules, regulations, and stakeholders dictating everything from the maximum distance of EV stations from highways and interstates to the types of charging equipment stations can use to the types of power capabilities charging stations must have. The primary reason drivers enjoy the great convenience of gasoline stations across the countrythere are some 145,000 of them todayis that they rely on market forces, not central planning. Each year hundreds of new filling stations are created, not because a bureaucrat identified the right location but because an entrepreneur saw an opportunity for profit. Bureaucracy will never be able to match the efficiency of markets, which use millions of signals to reach decisions, and are constantly being corrected by market changes, all in the pursuit of serving customers and making a profit. This, the economist Ludwig von Mises pointed out, is precisely the opposite of what bureaucrats do. A bureaucrat differs from a nonbureaucrat precisely because he is working in a field in which it is impossible to appraise the result of a mans effort in terms of money, Mises wrote in his seminal work Bureaucracy. Incentives and Knowledge Just how burdensome these regulations will prove remains to be seen. While some states will develop EV charging plans more amenable to market forces than others, all of them are likely to suffer to some extent because the push toward EVs itself has been top-down, driven by politicians trying to push consumers off gas-powered vehicles. Whats clear is that the bureaucratic structure of DOTs charging station blueprint doesnt bode well for consumers. Charging technology and transportation are constantly evolving, and politicians and bureaucrats simply cant respond to these changes as efficiently as markets. So while theres much talk today that EV charging stations will soon outnumber gas stations, theres reason to be skeptical of this claimeven with the governments $5 billion spending spree. Theres little reason to believe that state planners will create a framework with the proper incentive structure to meet the markets needs. Bureaucrats and politicians lack both the knowledge and proper incentives to create a functional EV market. If you doubt this, just ask Anita Jefferson, who cant even charge her Tesla at rest stopsbecause of a federal law passed in 1956. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Woman Fails to Reduce Her 40-Year Sentence for 2012 Husband Killing in Carlsbad VISTA, Calif.A woman who fatally shot her husband at their Carlsbad home over a decade ago was re-sentenced March 9 to 40 years to life in state prison. Julie Harper, 49, was convicted of second-degree murder and a gun-use allegation for the 2012 slaying of her husband, Jason Harper, 39. She was convicted in a 2015 retrial after a prior jury acquitted her of first-degree murder and deadlocked on a second-degree murder count. The shooting happened in an upstairs room of the Badger Lane home while the couples three kids were downstairs watching television. Harper testified that she fired the gun accidentally as her husband charged at her during an argument. The second-degree murder conviction resulted in a 15-year-to-life sentence, with 25 years to life added for the firearm allegation. A recent California Supreme Court ruling allows judges the discretion to wipe out the gun enhancement, which Harper recently requested in order to shorten her prison term. Superior Court Judge Blaine Bowman previously rejected a similar sentence reduction request in 2018 and on Thursday, Bowman maintained the original sentence he imposed. Deputy District Attorney Keith Watanabe argued in court filings that dismissing the gun enhancement would endanger public safety. He alleged Harper committed the killing with aims of fleeing indicated by a getaway bag she had prepared with passports and a large amount of cash, as well as her disposal of the murder weapon, which has never been found. In a written statement, Jason Harpers mother, Lina Harper, urged for the 40-year-to-life sentence to remain in place. She should not be free until she has served at least the number of years she took away from Jason when she shot him, otherwise, justice and fairness for Jason will not have been served, she wrote. Wreckage of Missing Philippine Plane Found After Month-Long Search, No Survivors 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 Feb. 20, 2023. (Bureau of Fire Protection Camalig via AP) A Philippine rescue team has found the wreckage of a Philippine air force plane that crashed in northern Isabela province on Jan. 24 and went missing, but there were no survivors, an official said on Thursday. Constante Foronda, head of the Isabela incident management team, said the wreckage was found within a 20-kilometer (12 miles) radius of the Maconacon airport, where the Cessna 206 plane was meant to land on the day it crashed. There were no survivors, Foronda told reporters, according to ABS-CBN News. We delayed this briefing until all the relatives of the passengers and the pilot have been informed. A pilot and five passengers boarded the single-engine aircraft, which took off from Cauayan city in Isabela province on Jan. 24. The plane was supposed to arrive in Maconacon after 45 minutes, but it never did. Poor weather conditions and rugged terrain hampered search and rescue efforts that lasted for over a month. Rescuers will take at least three days to retrieve the remains of the victims. The challenges are really the weather and the terrain, Foronda said. There is no established path in that area, especially because they will carry the remains of the passengers and pilot, it will take a long time for them to get down. Recent Plane Crash Incidents The discovery of the Cessna 206 plane came just a week after local authorities recovered the remains of four passengers and crew from a crashed Cessna 340 plane near the Philippines restive Mayon Volcano. Two Filipino pilots and two Australians were aboard the Cessna 340, which lost contact after takeoff from Albay province southeast of the capital on Feb. 20 on its way to Manila. Rescuers continue their search for passengers of a Cessna 340 aircraft with registry number RP-C2080 at Tumpa Gulley, Camalig town, Albay province, the Philippines, on Feb. 20, 2023. (Bureau of Fire Protection Camalig via AP) The Cessna 340 plane was found after a high-risk search by authorities and mountaineers on the slope of one of the countrys most active volcanos. Mayon Volcano last erupted in 2018. Its a very risky operation, Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology director Teresito Bacolcol told The Associated Press. Its a race against time and its a matter of life and death but theres also the danger of rockfalls and volcanic lahar. In a separate incident, an air and sea search by Philippine authorities backed by the United States and Malaysia continues for a medical evacuation helicopter that went missing in western Palawan province on March 1. The helicopter was carrying a pilot, a nurse, a patient, and two companions. According to the Philippines civil aviation bureau, everyone on board is a Filipino except for the nurse, who is an American. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Xi Jinping Takes Third Term as Head of the State Amidst Historic Challenges China's leader Xi Jinping swears under oath after being firmly confirmed as head of the state for a third term during the third plenary session of the National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing on March 10, 2023. (Noel Celis/AFP via Getty Images) Chinese leader Xi Jinping formally awarded himself a record-breaking third term as the head of the state, completing his transition into the countrys most powerful ruler in decades at a time of severe economic challenges and rising tensions with the United States and others. Xi, 69, had already secured a third five-year term as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the most powerful post in the nations ruling system, last October. On Friday, roughly 3,000 carefully-picked delegates in Chinas rubber-stamp legislature, the National Peoples Congress, approved Xis new term as the head of the state. The reappointment of Xi in the largely ceremonial role is not a surprise. Xi scrapped a two-term limit on the head of the state role by revising the constitution in 2018, prompting suggestions he might stay in power for life. Xi was also reappointed as chairman of the Central Military Commission, making him the commander of the two million-member Peoples Liberation Army, a force that is the army of the party rather than the country. Having secured the new term in office and having appointed his allies to the upper echelons of power, Xi is no doubt Chinas most powerful leader since Mao Zedong now. But in reality, Xi is likely to encounter unprecedented challenges during this term of office, said Li Linyi, a U.S.-based China commentator. Li pointed to the countrys battered economy and the rising international pressures on the party. Xis third term in office comes at a time of rising tensions with the United States and other western countries over the communist regimes economic espionage, technology theft, assertive military actions around Asia, human rights abuses, and other issues. Meanwhile, Chinas economic growth fell to 3 percent, the second-weakest level since at least the 1970s, after three years of harsh COVID-19 curbs, a sweeping crackdown on an array of homegrown tech giants along with real estate developers. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang set this years growth target of just around 5 percent. Despite the sluggish economic growth, the Ministry of Finance on March 5 announced a 7.2 percent budget increase in the defense budget to 1.55 trillion yuan ($224 billion), marking a slight increase over 2022. Chinas military spending is the worlds second highest after the United States. On Wednesday, Xi called for more quickly elevating the armed forces to world-class standards. Days before the opening of the annual session of Chinas National Peoples Congress, people wait to cross a road near a military propaganda billboard in Beijing on March 2, 2023. (Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images) This weeks two sessions, the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference and the National Peoples Congress, also ushered in the biggest political reshuffle as Xi strengthened the partys grip over the country. On Friday, Zhao Leji was appointed as the head of the National Peoples Congress, Chinas rubber-stamp legislature. A holdover from the previous CCPs Politburo Standing Committee, the apex of political power in China headed by Xi, Zhao, 67, won Xis trust as head of the partys anti-corruption watchdog, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, pursuing an anti-graft campaign that has frozen all potential opposition to the leader. Meanwhile, Han Zheng was named to the largely ceremonial post of state vice leader. Han is viewed as a member of a political factionknown as the Jiang faction for its loyalty to former CCP leader Jiang Zeminthat opposes Xi Jinpings leadership. The 68-year-old stepped down from the new Politburo Standing Committee last October as he reached retirement age. Chinas leader Xi Jinping (R) is congratulated by the second-ranked Li Qiang after being confirmed as the head of the state for a third term during the third plenary session of the National Peoples Congress in Beijing on March 10, 2023. (Noel Celis/AFP via Getty Images) Second-ranked Li Qiang is widely expected to take over as premier, nominally caretaker of the economy. Li is best known for ruthlessly enforcing a brutal zero-COVID lockdown in Shanghai last spring as party boss of the Chinese financial hub, proving his loyalty to Xi in the face of complaints from residents over their lack of access to food, medical care, and basic services. Other top positions of the state will also be announced in the upcoming weekends, including the vice premier and different ministers. The Associated Press contributed to this report. You Are Not a Mother; You Are a Soldier Commentary You are not a mother, you are a soldier! I will never forget those words. That was in 2007, in Mosul, Iraq, my first of many deployments. I was a newly pinned staff sergeant (SSG) and for the first time in my adult life was in a place without my family for a very long time. I was a mother of four children, ranging from ages 3 to 17. I was in charge of the operating room (OR) section of my forward surgical team. We had been in Iraq for only two months when our detachment sergeant was sent to another location and in his place, we got a sergeant first class (SFC) from another unit who, from the get-go, seemed to have an issue with me. Those were his first words to me, standing in formation while introducing himself to the enlisted members of the team. I didnt understand where those words came from. They were like a stab to my heart. Who the hell was this guy to tell me I was not a mother? He didnt know anything about me, and as time passed, I realized he couldnt have cared less. Everyone on my team knew I was a motherand a dedicated surgical team leader to my soldiers. I promised myself that the soldiers under my care would come home safe to their families. It is what I would have wanted if any one of my children were deployed. I was an older NCO (non-commissioned officer), I joined the Army at age 30, and believe me, basic training was not a cakewalk back in 99. Drill sergeants were not what they are today. Why did I join? Was it patriotism, a need to excel in something most women feared, or excitement? No, no, and no! I joined out of pure necessity. I was a single mother of three children at the time. I had done everything I could to take care of my children and not live off government assistance. I knew I could do it until I couldnt. Prior to joining the Army, I worked as a police and fire dispatcher, working the night shift and donating plasma twice a week to be able to buy milk and cereal for my kids. The day I realized I wasnt going to make it was the day I had just gotten off work and was standing in line ready to pay and felt like everything was spinning. The cashier was talking and I couldnt hear her, my ears were ringing so loudly, she grabbed my hand from the cart I was holding with a death grip as my youngest child sat in the cart crying. The cashier walked me to a bench and asked me if I was ok. I thought you were going to pass out at the register; you turned white as a ghost. She looked at my arm, which still had the self-adhesive wrap from when I had donated plasma, less than an hour before. She said: You should eat something before you get up. I grabbed a banana from one of the bags and started eating it. Mikey, my baby, started to cry. I knew I was not going to be able to do this much longer. That was when I decided I had to do better for my children. They deserved a mother who was physically able to take care of them, to provide them with basic needs, something I was struggling to do. I grew up in the military. My father was, and always will be, my hero. He was a U.S. Army combat engineer who always seemed to be in the field training but somehow also always managed to be present. That was something that at that moment in my life, I was not. I made it home, and after making my list of pros and cons, decided that joining the Army was the best thing for my children and me. I knew what I needed to do to prepare my body physically and mentally. I kept that decision to myself until I was ready to leave. I would have done anything and everything for my children and joining the Army was the best decision I could make. I knew what a great non-commissioned officer looked like and acted like. I had the best example there was: my father. It meant I would have to leave my children while attending basic training and AIT (Advanced Individual Training) but in the end, we would have a better life and be together again. The sacrifice was worth the wait. Basic was hell, no lie! I thought I had been loaded up in a cattle truck and shipped off to a prison camp. What the hell had I gotten myself into? But I knew it was all just a mind game to get us all thinking the same. Just keep my mouth shut. Do as I was told. It would be over in a few months. I fell off one of the wooden bars on an obstacle course during the third week or so. It hurt like hell for the entire time I was in basic. The day we came back from the field training exercise (FTX)3 or 4 long nights with barely any sleepI remember the drill sergeants saying: You have two choices after breakfast: sleep or sick call. At this point, it hurt to even walk, so sick call it was. In the clinic, I was put in a room with three other soldiers, all males, and Im not sure that was even appropriate or legal (did HIPAA even exist at the time?) [Editors Note: Yes]. A tech came in and asked each of us what our ailments were. I told him it hurt to walk and that if I even hit a rock with my foot the pain shot up my leg into my hip. So he proceeded to grab my leg as I lay on the exam table and hit the bottom of my foot. I nearly jumped off the bed and hit him: the pain was excruciating. He sent me for x-rays before seeing the doc. After my x-rays, I was separated from the group and put into a room alone. A colonel came in, the first time I had ever seen an officer in basic. He was an older gentleman and his first words to me were: When did you injure yourself? I told him it was sometime at the beginning of training, maybe the third week or so. He looked at me in disbelief. Youve been walking around injured this whole time? Yes, sir, I need to complete basic training; I cant be held back, my children are waiting for me. He told me that I had managed to break my lateral pubic ramus in two places and he could not explain how I managed to make it to my final week without being seen. Again, I explained to him, I am here for my children; I cant be recycled. Please just let me walk until graduation so that I can go home. He said the only way he would let me walk out of the clinic without crutches was if I could hop on one foot. He made me hop on the good leg then the side that hurt. I gritted my teeth and hopped, he looked at me and said, You are a determined young woman and I respect that. He gave me a walking profile that expired the night before graduation. We could not graduate if we had a profile that extended past graduation. He told me his only stipulation was that I get seen when I got to AIT and not continue to suck it upwhich I promised to do. When I got back to my platoon, they were in the dining facility eating lunch. I walked up to my drill sergeant and handed him my profile. He crushed it up into a ball and threw it at my face. I picked it up and walked away. Every day until graduation, he tasked me to be the road guard in formation (you run out of your place in formation each time the platoon has to cross a road). I did what I was told, and wish I had known he couldnt make me run. But I did it. I ran at each crossing, all the way up to the theater where we were graduating. No one was there cheering me on. I didnt tell anyone when I was graduating. When my name was called I walked across that stage: head held high, back straight, and shoulders back. I gritted my teeth and made sure I didnt limp even once. I wanted to cry; all I could think about were my children. I did it, Denise, Toni, and Mikey, Mommy did it! I did it for them. It was the beginning of a better life for all of us. Why did I tell you all this? Remember that detachment sergeant who said I was not a mother, that I was a soldier? He was wrong. I will always be a mother first, soldier second, and proud to be both. Being a mother has never kept me from being the soldier, NCO, or leader I have always strived to be. In fact, being a mother made me a better soldier, NCO, and leader. Do not assume that because a woman is a mother, she lacks the motivation to be the best. Women throughout history have sacrificed their lives to protect their families, and many have fought alongside men when women were still considered weak and our place was at home. Those women are my heroes. They showed me that determination and unconditional love are a womans greatest weapons. So yes, I AM A MOTHER AND A SOLDIER. This article first appeared in The Havok Journal. The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. BLACK RIVER FALLS A traffic stop for speeding led to a Feb. 28 drug arrest in Jackson County. According to the Jackson County Sheriffs Office, 31-year-old Justin Kamrowski of Minnesota was traveling above the speed limit on Hwy. 27 in the town of Manchester when police conducted a traffic stop. A deputy detected the odor of marijuana emitting from the vehicle, and Kamrowski reportedly told the deputy there was a small amount of marijuana inside. The deputy searched the vehicle and reportedly found 3 pounds of marijuana and $9,000 in cash. Kamrowski was arrested and booked into the Jackson County Jail for a felony charge of possession of marijuana with intent to deliver and a misdemeanor charge of possession of drug paraphernalia. The sheriffs office reports Kamrowski is on probation and has previous felony convictions in Minnesota for drug and firearm offenses. Jackson County Judge Daniel Diehl ordered Kamrowski held on a $5,000 cash bond and scheduled an adjourned initial appearance for March 27. That release could not be found. The Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide has confronted His Excellency, Barr Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, CON, the Governor of Rivers State over his alleged roles against Mr. Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) during the presidential election which held on February 25, 2023. The meeting between the Ohanaeze Ndigbo and Governor Wike took place on Thursaday, March 9, 2023 at the Exco Chambers, Government House, Port-Harcourt. The Ohanaeze delegation was led by Dr. Kingsley Chidozie, the Vice President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo (Abia) who nominated Barr Peter Aneke, PhD to speak on behalf of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, after a one minute silence for the late Ambassador Professor George Obiozor, CON and late Chief Joel Kroham, the former President General and Deputy President General respectively. Dr. Aneke thanked Governor Wike over the cordial relationship between him and the Igbo community in Rivers State. Aneke highlighted on both the consanguity and contiguity between the people of the South East of Nigeria and the Rivers State and wondered "how an Ikwere man will in good conscience, work against the Igbo in a presidential race where the candidacy of Peter Obi was a low hanging fruit". He informed Wike that the "Igbo all over the world are aggrieved with him, especially as the alleged rigging operations are circulating on the Internet". Aneke informed Wike that the Ohanaeze Ndigbo considers it a duty to confront him over the alleged wide-spread electoral malpractices in Rivers State against our son, Peter Obi. He expressed deep sadness that "Obi would win in the metropolitan Lagos, Abuja, and several other places in the North only to record so low in Rivers State". Aneke added that the "delegation is on a fact finding; and that both the Igbo elders and youths are eager to know why he should go the extra mile to pull Obi down in Rivers State". He expressed his worries that the body of the late Professor Obiozor would have turned in the grave because of the alleged atrocities in Rivers State. Obiozor, according to him had "set the Igbo project on a success line before his demise and would be sad in the grave that those he considered his sons turned against the Igbo interest when it mattered most". He asked Wike to "imagine what could have been the outcome of the election if he, Wike had supported Obi during the presidential election". He ended with the remark that the Igbo are very sad and will want his explanations In his own remarks Governor Wike expressed surprise that the Ohanaeze were on a fact finding; but he would however explain his roles in the last presidential election. Wike explained that the Southern Governors Forum first met at Asaba, Delta State and agreed that "power must shift to the South after President Muhammadu Buhari; and that they also met at Enugu in September 2021 to reaffirm their position for a power shift to the South". Wike stated that throughout their meetings, "the issue of presidency to the South East was never on the table. And that throughout his political adventure in this dispensation, he tried as much as possible to maintain the position by the Southern governors". Wike expressed disgust that "during the PDP presidential primaries, several well known people of the South East betrayed and sabotaged the Southern interest by voting for the Northern candidates for presidency". He added that his unalloyed commitment for the South motivated him to "provide logistics for Peter Obi when he was in the Rivers State for presidential campaigns and that he refused to provide even a campaign ground for Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the PDP on principles". The governor stated that "what is circulating on the social media is the handiwork of the Wike adversaries". For instance, the Full Audio of Governor Wike Caught on Tape Arranging Bribe for INEC Officials and published by an online medium, "has been on YouTube since December 16, 2016". He explained that "some mischief makers were using some doctored and false audio and visual materials on the internet to dent his image". The governor in admitting that all the decisions he took "with respect to the 2023 presidential elections were based on his personal convictions and queried if Ohanaeze Ndigbo ever requested him to support Peter Obi". He added that he is a "man with the courage of his convictions and that he neither has reasons to tell lies nor to owe apology to anyone". And that he is "always ready to defend his actions any day any time" Wike stressed that "he did not rig the presidential election against Peter Obi". Other Ohanaeze officials who braved the delegation include Chief Emeka Ogwu, the Vice President General (Delta); Hon Chiedozie Alex Ogbonnia, PhD; Chief Ezechi Chukwu, PhD; Prof Fred Eze, PhD, President, Enugu State Chapter; Mr. Lucky Ekeji, President, Rivers State Chapter; Comrade Okey Nwankwo, President, Abia State Chapter; Prince Nwandu, President, Delta State Chapter; among others. Several eminent persons from Rivers State such as Rt. Hon. Chibudom Nwuche were in attendance. E-Signed: Dr. Chiedozie Alex Ogbonnia (National Publicity Secretary, Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide) Body found floating off Phuket believed to be missing Romanian diver PHUKET: Officials believe that a body found floating off Koh Kaew Nok and delivered to Phuket earlier today (Mar 10) is that of 46-year-old Romanian diver Sebastian Emil Somesan who disappeared on Jan 8. The identity was preliminary confirmed by Mr Somesans wife, but officials need to conduct a DNA test to be 100% sure. marinedeath By Eakkapop Thongtub Friday 10 March 2023, 05:53PM Romanian diver Sebastian Emil Somesan disappeared on Jan 8. Today (Jan 10) a body matching the descrpition was found floating in the sea without legs. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub Romanian diver Sebastian Emil Somesan disappeared on Jan 8. Today (Jan 10) a body matching the descrpition was found floating in the sea without legs. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub Romanian diver Sebastian Emil Somesan disappeared on Jan 8. Today (Jan 10) a body matching the descrpition was found floating in the sea without legs. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub Romanian diver Sebastian Emil Somesan disappeared on Jan 8. Today (Jan 10) a body matching the descrpition was found floating in the sea without legs. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub Mr Somesan was reported missing on Jan 8. The expat was on a diving trip at Koh Kaew Nok with another Romanian man and a Thai woman. When the trio went to leave the area, they became aware that the boat anchor had caught on a rock on the seabed and Mr Somesan dived down to free the anchor. He failed to resurface. Mobilised to join the search efforts were officers from Rawai Municipality, Marine Police, Tourist Police, Chalong Police, Tourist Assistance Center, Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers, disaster officials and personnel form the Royal Thai Navy. After nine days the operation was suspended without any results. At around 12.30pm today (Mar 10), Chalong Police Station was notified by an unnamed local captain that he found a legless body in the water some 11 nautical miles from Koh Kaew where the diver went missing two months ago. The corpse was recovered and taken to Chalong Pier. Police then contacted Mr Somersans wife (named in the report as Ms Saengrawee) who came to the pier and confirmed that the body could be that of her husband and Mr Somesan had a similar wetsuit with him on Jan 8. The body was taken to Vachira Phuket Hospital for autopsy. Police are now waiting for Mr Somesans son to pass a DNA test to confirm if the dead man is really the missing diver. Bookings boost Phuket occupancy to 80% PHUKET: Advance bookings are holding the average occupancy at tourist accommodations in Phuket in March at about 80%, according to Suksit Suwanditkul, President of the Thai Hotels Association (THA) Southern Thailand chapter. By The Phuket News Friday 10 March 2023, 09:00AM Suksit Suwanditkul, President of the Thai Hotels Association (THA) Southern Thailand chapter. Photo: Radio Thailand Phuket Hotel businesses especially in Phuket have had very high occupancy rates due to advance bookings since the beginning of the year, Mr Suksit said. During March, more than 70-80% of the bookings have been made in advance due to the high season, he added. April is expected to see the occupancy rate close to 60-70%, as advance bookings for next month are already at 20-30%, which is considered a good result from Phase 5 of the government-sponsored We Travel Together project, Mr Suksit added. The We travel Together subsidised domestic tourism campaign has helped to stimulate tourism and provided business operators with income, causing the economy to grow exponentially, Mr Suksit continued. More than 50 hotels in Phuket are taking part in Phase 5 of the campaign, which began on Tuesday (Mar 7), he noted. It is expected to generate a lot of money in Phuket during the projects rollout, Mr Suksit said. It is expected that tourism businesses during March and April will surely have more than double the revenue than last year, he added. PEOPLE SNAP UP ROOMS People rushed to book hotels during the first day of the latest phase of the hotel subsidy programme, with 112,876 room nights reserved out of 560,000 available under the scheme within six hours, reported the Bangkok Post. Tourism Authority of Thailand Governor Yuthasak Supasorn said the value of transactions during the first six hours of availability on Tuesday reached B443 million from 112,876 room nights. Of the total amount, B273mn (60%) was paid by the purchaser and B170mn (40%) came from the government subsidy, he said. The rate of bookings was faster than predicted, reaching an average of 300 bookings per minute, Mr Yuthasak noted. The volume of bookings confirmed there is pent-up demand for the next one to two months as well as strong purchasing power, said Mr Yuthasak. The strong demand was partially because of an easing in Covid-19 infections, which encouraged locals to plan leisure trips or visit their hometown during the Songkran holiday in April. The 500 hotels added for the fifth phase of the scheme provides travellers with greater choice while the short duration (ending in April) and limited number of privileges, at less than a million, accelerated peoples purchases, he said. BROADENING PUSH After returning from a road show trip to Saudi Arabia, Thanet Tantipiriyakit, President of Phuket Tourist Association, earlier this week said expectations were high that a recent flurry of road shows promoting Phuket as a tourist destination to source market countries abroad would boost the islands tourism industry during the upcoming rainy season. Key markets where the road shows were held included Saudi Arabia, India and Europe, Mr Thanet said. The road shows were organised with the support of the Phuket Provincial Administration Organisation (PPAO), Mr Thanet pointed out. In January we held tourism marketing road shows in Dammam, Riyadh and Jeddah, and we expect to see more Premium and Extra visitors during the green season [May-Oct], Mr Thanet said. During the period from July to September is when Saudis travel abroad. This gives Phuket an opportunity to grow its tourism industry during the green season, he said. India is also expected to play an increasing role in the ongoing recovery of Phukets tourism industry, Mr Thanet said. Visitors from India to Phuket were second only to Russians, Mr Thanet said. And last year there were about 230,000 tourists visiting Phuket. This year, at least 800,000 Indian tourists are expected to visit Phuket. This will definitely generate good revolving income, he noted. Other markets expected to deliver promising returns were Belgium, France, Germany and Australia, where the Phuket Tourist Association has held road shows, all supported by the PPAO, Mr Thanet added. I am confident that the tourism market among European and Indian tourists will definitely come back to make Phuket and Thailand bustling again, he said. Mr Thanet noted that the road shows also provided a good opportunity to present Phuket to potential visitors and key corporate clients, and promote the island and garner support for Phukets bid to host Expo 2028, Mr Thanet concluded. Authorities have identified a woman who died days after she was shot in January in Iowa County. Nicole C. Bliesner, 35, of Spring Green, was found shot Jan. 25 after authorities responded to a call at 4382 Percussion Road in the town of Wyoming, Iowa County Sheriff Michael Peterson said in a statement. Bliesner died from her injuries on Jan. 30, the Sheriffs Office said. Timothy D. Sontic, of Hillpoint, is charged with homicide by intoxicated use of a weapon. Sontic remains in the Iowa County jail on $250,000 cash bond, with his next court date set for May 24at 9:30 a.m., Peterson said. Copyright infringement highlighted on Bangla PHUKET: Awut Wongsawat, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Intellectual Property (DIP), was in Phuket yesterday (Mar 9) to highlight to vendors and tourists the importance of protecting intellectual property rights. tourismeconomicspatongcrime By The Phuket News Friday 10 March 2023, 10:14AM Mr Awut conducted a tour of Bangla Rd, Patong, yesterday evening as part of his campaign, joined by Phuket Vice Governor Anupap Rodkwan Yodrabam and a host of hgh-ranking local officials from agencies including the Phuket branch of the Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc), Royal Thai Police Crime Suppression Division, Phuket Provincial Police, Phuket Customs Office, Phuket Provincial Commercial Office, among others. Mr Awut said that it was important to step up prevention and suppression of intellectual property violations to build confidence with trading partners and create an atmosphere for trade and investment as well as protecting consumers from harm caused by consuming counterfeit products that are not up to standard. This will help to create a good image for the country, especially during the opening of the country with a lot of tourists coming in, Mr Awut said. The tour of Bangla followed Mr Awut earlier yesterday meeting with key officials about efforts in the province to prevent copyright infringement.Present for the meeting were Phuket Vice Governor Danai Sunantarod, Phuket Isoc Deputy Director Rear Admiral Nattapong Yanothaikhachit and Phuket Provincial Commerce Office chief Voranit Apiratchirawong, among others. The Department of Intellectual Property will continue its efforts to take action against those involved in copyright infringement, with support from local and national agencies, he said. The department will also continue its campaign to raise awareness among local people and tourists to be aware of the impact and damage from the use of infringing intellectual property products that are inferior and substandard, which may cause danger to life and property. Mr Awut pointed out that last year the DIP conducted prosecutions in 5,827 cases nationwide, with 2,308,176 illegal items seized amounting to more than B1.58 billion in damage. The figures represented a decrease of more than 54.96% compared with 2021, Mr Awut said. People who wanted to report copyright infringement were asked to call the DIPs Intellectual Property Infringement Prevention Division Phone at 02-5474702, or the DIP hotline 1368, via www.ipthailand.go.th. French consul voices support for crackdown on motorbike hoons PHUKET: Alain Faudot, the French Honorary Consul in Phuket, accompanied by Christophe Hemmings, Consul at the French Embassy in Thailand, have expressed their thanks to the Phuket officials for the action taken in curtailing French tourists disturbing the peace with dangerous driving on motorbikes. tourismSafetytransportcrime By The Phuket News Friday 10 March 2023, 12:04PM Mr Faudot and Mr Hemmings expressed their gratitude during a meeting with Phuket Vice Governor Anupap Rodkwan Yodrambam yesterday (Mar 9). Present for the meeting were several key Phuket officials, including Tourist Police and Adcha Buachan, Chief of the Phuket Land Transport Office (PLTO). Mr Hemmings thanked Vice Governor Anupap for the work done to take care of French nationals on the island, said an official report of the meeting. If French tourists who travel in Phuket do not comply with the laws of Phuket, I ask Phuket [officials] to take decisive steps, including by enforcing the deportation rule for tourists who do not comply with Phukets regulations, he said. France strongly supports the highest enforcement of the law for non-compliance tourists, especially regarding the traffic rules in Phuket. France would like to thank Phuket for taking good care of French tourists residing in Phuket, he added. V/Gov Anupap said that Phuket as a good host is very pleased to welcome tourists of all nationalities equally, which included reducing any harmful effects on tourists as well, said the report. V/Gov Anupap thanked the French envoys for their understanding of the action taken by government officials and thanked him for seeing the importance it had for Phuket and Thailand. Phuket is a small place that French tourists love to visit, he said. Graft-busters receive truckload of documents on Immigration Bureau corruption BANGKOK: The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) has been given a 139,000-page police report into 107 immigration officers accused of helping Chinese nationals involved in grey businesses to obtain visas. policeimmigrationcorruptionChinese By Bangkok Post Friday 10 March 2023, 01:55PM Gen Surachate Hakparn, Deputy Police Chief, checks boxes of documents to be submitted to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) in connection with an investigation into illegal visa issuance for Chinese nationals by immigration officers. Photo: supplied / Wassayos Ngamkham / Bangkok Post Investigators from the Weluwan police station in Khon Kaen played a key role in gathering evidence about the racket, which benefited mainly Chinese business people but also some other foreign nationals, reports Bangkok Post. In many cases, documents issued by language schools or volunteer foundations were used to support applications for visa extensions. Gen Surachate Hakparn Deputy Royal Thai Police Chief currently and Immigration Bureau Chief in the past on Thursday (Mar 9) observed the submission of the final report in dozens of cardboard file boxes to the NACC. The investigation team questioned 446 witnesses and examined documents related to 107 immigration officers who face charges of malfeasance said Gen Surachate. Investigators have also pressed additional charges against nine of the officers for accepting money or other benefits unlawfully. Gen Surachate said it would now be up to the NACC to examine the documents and take legal action against the officers. Authorities are now strictly enforcing the law against corrupt officers who abused their power to help Chinese nationals involved in illicit businesses commit offences in the kingdom, he said. Legal action against the officers would help restore faith and confidence in the police, he added. Pol Lt Gen Pakphumpipat, commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, said last month that more than 100 immigration officers were suspected of involvement in the illegal issuing of visas for Chinese investors involved in grey businesses. Among them were three generals and a mix of officers of every rank, according to the commissioner. The accusations first surfaced after former politician Chuvit Kamolvisit alleged that three Immigration Bureau commanders in Khon Kaen and Chiang Mai were accepting bribes of between 100,000 and 300,000 baht for each non-immigration visa approved. The approvals were issued to a total of 3,325 Chinese nationals between 2020 and 2022, according to Mr Chuvit. The disclosures prompted the national police chief to set up an inquiry panel. Among the foreigners suspected of criminal activity, the highest-profile arrest so far has been that of the Chinese businessman Chaiyanat Tuhao Kornchayanant, who also holds Thai nationality. He and 40 others face multiple charges related to narcotics, organised transnational crime, money-laundering and more. Russian nabbed in Phuket for illegal love drug smuggling, distribution PHUKET: A Russian man has been arrested at Phuket International Airport on charges of being part of an organised group importing and distributing MDA in the country, Phuket Immigration has reported. The said illegal love drug is similar to MDMA and not quite well-known in Thailand, yet it might be used by party-goers as a substitute to Ecstasy. drugsRussiancrime By The Phuket News Friday 10 March 2023, 02:27PM Aleksandr Khubbeev, 36, after being arrested at Phuket International Airport. Photo: Phuket Immigration Russian national Aleksandr Khubbeev, 36, was arrested at Phuket Airports passport control in the arrival zone of the International Flights Terminal at around 6pm this Tuesday (Mar 7). Mr Khubeevs arrest was reported on Mar 8 by the Phuket Immigration Checkpoint Facebook page, mostly publicising news about the work of the Immigration Bureau officers stationed at the airport. According to the report, Mr Khubeev was arrested on a court warrant issued on Feb 16. Royal Thai Polices Crime Suppression Division (CSD) and other officers took part in the arrest. According to an extract from the warrant, quoted by Phuket Immigration, Mr Khubeev is considered to be a member of an organised group importing 3,4-Methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA) into Thailand for distribution, but not for sale. The Russian mans actions were considered to create threat to the security of the state and people in general, Immigration Bureau said not providing any details on the exact part Mr Khubeev played in the alleged import and distribution of MDA, which is a Category 1 drug in Thailand. MDA is bought, sold, and used as a recreational love drug, due to its enhancement of mood and empathy. Yet even abroad the substance is rarely sought after for recreational use compared to other drugs in the amphetamine family. Urgent aid needed for expat mum injured in Phuket accident PHUKET: A fundraising campaign has been launched to help Alisa Leonova, a Phuket expat who has been seriously injured in a road accident last week. The accident left Ms Leonova in critical condition and urgently needing O-Positive blood for transfusion as well as money to pay extensive medical and related bills that will not be covered by her insurance. accidentshealthRussian By The Phuket News Friday 10 March 2023, 05:01PM Alisa Leonova was seriously injured in a road accident on Mar 5. The womans ordeal became known to the community only on Mar 9. Photo: Supplied Alisa Leonova was seriously injured in a road accident on Mar 5. The womans ordeal became known to the community only on Mar 9. Photo: Supplied Alisa Leonova was seriously injured in a road accident on Mar 5. The womans ordeal became known to the community only on Mar 9. Photo: Supplied Alisa Leonova was seriously injured in a road accident on Mar 5. The womans ordeal became known to the community only on Mar 9. Photo: Supplied Alisa Leonova was seriously injured in a road accident on Mar 5. The womans ordeal became known to the community only on Mar 9. Photo: Supplied Alisa Leonova was seriously injured in a road accident on Mar 5. The womans ordeal became known to the community only on Mar 9. Photo: Supplied Ms Leonova has been living in Phuket for 12 years and gained love and respect both in the local Russian-speaking community and beyond. Known for good nature and readiness to help others, she has also been a gifted artist spending time creating beautiful paintings. This all was dramatically changed when her car flipped on Mar 5. As the accident has not been recognised by Phuket officials, it is yet to be known how Ms Leonovas car overturned leaving her with a badly injured right arm. When delivered to Vachira Phuket Hospital, Ms Leonova was told by doctors that they would have to amputate her right arm from the shoulder blade, but then the medical team managed to miraculously save the womans limb. Yet, making Ms Leonovas arm functional again will require a lot of money as the task is beyond the capabilities of Thai medicine and requires treatment abroad. The very fact of the accident and Ms Leonovas ordeal came to light only when the first appeal for blood donations was posted on Mar 9. In mere hours the blood was provided by donors and the further appeal for money supported by dozens of local residents who have known or even not known Ms Leonova personally. She is a Human with a capital H, always ready to lend a helping hand even to people she doesnt know personally. Now she is the one requiring help. On Mar 5, Alisa was injured in a terrific road accident in Phuket and had her arm injured very badly. Initially doctors were considering amputation, but managed to avoid it (luckily, this has been settled). Yet Alisas shoulder joint and part of her shoulder blade are completely gone, said one of Ms Leonovas friends in a Facebook publication. Alisas current medical condition is stable, she has undergone two surgeries, but more procedures are to follow including a CT. The results will be sent to Russian, Israeli and Chinese clinics as local doctors do not dare to perform such a difficult main surgery. This means that the current hospital bills will be further increased by medavac to one of the aforementioned countries and the most important treatment there. Any donation counts. Do not be embarrassed if you can spare only a little sum, the woman continued. A different campaigner for Ms Leonova emphasied that her family and friends are ready to do everything they can so the woman can recover and come back to painting. She is a nail artist and a painter, this is the only craft she loves. And sadly, this is the thing one, probably, would never be able to do again. But we are fighting. We are fighting for her to stay alive, to be able to do what she loves most, to raise her son, said another friend, posting an X-Ray image of Ms Leonovas arm sewn as is to the body. The original need for O-Positive blood is now longer included in the appeals, which continue to multiply online. Yet the Phuket blood crisis is ongoing, thus people are always welcome to donate at Vachiras Blood Bank with an option to mention that they would want the blood to be used for Alisa Leonovas treatment if she needs more transfusions. For details about blood donations, see this story by The Phuket News. Money the most important thing for Ms Leonovas further recovery can be donated via an interbank transfer into the womans personal account in Thailand: Bank name: Krungsri Bank Swift: AYUDTHBK Account number: 1391689578 Account name: ALISA LEONOVA Those willing to donate from a Russian bank account can use Tinkoff Banks fundraising service via the following link: https://www.tinkoff.ru/cf/NZ1WVUXZEb. Kind contributors are advised to specify in transfer notes that the donation is for Alisa Leonovas medical treatment. Thus the transfers should not raise any questions from relevant authorities. A GoFundMe campaign for those willing to donate from abroad has not been launched yet. The third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Yan Yan) BEIJING, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Deputies to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), China's national legislature, started to elect state leaders Friday morning. Lawmakers will elect president and vice president of the People's Republic of China (PRC), chairperson of the Central Military Commission of the PRC, as well as chairperson, vice chairpersons and secretary-general of the 14th NPC Standing Committee. Diana Wanyonyi interviewed organizers around her region of Kenya who work to heal and prevent gender based violence against girls. Topics include sexual exploitation, discrimination at work, breakdown of community and family guidance, poverty and criminality, interactions with the justice system, and mental health supports for both the victims and their traumatized families. Keywords: Politics and Activism, Society and Culture, Poverty and Wealth, Children and Reproductive Health, Mental Health, Governance / Law, Eastern Africa, Kenya, Childhood, Parenthood Credits: Speakers: Fadhila Juma, confidante of teenage girls; Peggy Namadi Masika, Coast Regional Coordinator of Kenya Alliance for Advancement of Children; Nailah Abdallah, founder and director of Sisters for Justice; Esther Ingolo, former radio host, now director for gender and social services at Mombasa County. Music is by girls from the Mijikenda community. There are no tracks in this playlist. 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. Volodymyr Tolkunov was hosted as an exchange student by Charles Adler and Barbara Clark of Attleboro during the 1993-94 school year. While here, he displayed a keen interest in the history of World War II military operations in the Pacific. After graduating with the Attleboro High School Class of 1994, Tolkunov returned to his home city, Zaporizhzhia, in southeastern, Ukraine, to attend medical school. Having been born in a Russian-speaking region and known as Vladimir, he now uses the Ukrainian spelling, Volodymyr. Adler and Clark lost touch with Tolkunov over the years, then reconnected via LinkedIn not long before Russia attacked his sovereign homeland. We returned from Keep America Beautiful conference in Washington, D.C. recharged and ready to keep moving forward with our mission. We took part in many educational sessions and have some new ideas on programs we could implement here locally. Our board president Natasha Gonzalez also brought home some ideas. I personally had the opportunity to present our seasonal food waste program for Feed the Goats to the attendees of the national conference and had many affiliates ask information on how to get the program going in their communities. Which is very exciting! In other exciting news, in March we had our very first KCB club meeting. This is a new program at the Columbus Middle School to get students more involved in Keeping Columbus Beautiful. There was a good turnout of students, and we look forward to getting to know these future stewards of our community. We also have a very busy season coming up. We have some events coming up we would like to share some more information on. First is the community paper shred day on April 8 at Ag Park from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. On this day residents can bring in up to 100 pounds of documents to be shredded and recycled. On April 22 we will be hosting the only 2023 electronics collection event at NPPD from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Residents can bring in old electronics to be recycled properly. TVs will be accepted but there is a fee to recycle them -- $10 for 20 inches and under or $20 for anything over 20 inches. For any questions on either of these events give us a call at 402-563-9223. We look forward to seeing you at some of the upcoming events here in town. Happy Spring, Vanessa Vanessa Oceguera is the executive director of Keep Columbus Beautiful. Her column is normally published in The Columbus Telegram every second Friday of the month. 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 The six-month battle for the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut has been the longest and bloodiest fight of the war so far. Little known outside Ukraine before the Russian invasion, Bakhmut has become a symbol of the countrys fortitude and perseverance in the face of the Kremlins onslaught. The Ukrainian leadership vowed again this week to keep defending the city, but some observers have warned that holding on to it could be too dangerous and costly. Here is a look at Bakhmut, the battle and its possible consequences. WHAT KIND OF CITY IS BAKHMUT? Bakhmut, which had a prewar population of more than 70,000, was an important center for salt and gypsum mining in the Donetsk region of the countrys industrial heartland known as the Donbas. The city was also known for its sparkling wine production in historic underground caves. Its broad tree-lined avenues, lush parks and stately downtown with imposing late 19th century buildings made it a popular tourist attraction. When a separatist rebellion engulfed the Donbas in April 2014, weeks after Moscows illegal annexation of Ukraines Crimean Peninsula, Russia-backed separatists won control of the city but lost it a few months later. HOW DID THE FIGHTING EVOLVE? Russian troops first attempted to recapture Bakhmut in early August but were pushed back. The fighting abated in the following months as the Russian military faced Ukrainian counteroffensives in the east and the south, but it resumed at full pace late last year. In January, the Russians captured the salt-mining town of Soledar just a few kilometers (miles) north of Bakhmut and advanced to the citys suburbs. The relentless Russian bombardment has reduced Bakhmut to a smoldering wasteland with few buildings still standing. Russian and Ukrainian soldiers have fought ferocious house-to-house battles in the ruins. Soldiers from Russias private Wagner Group contractor have spearheaded the offensive, marching on the corpses of their own troops as Ukrainian officials put it. By the end of February, the Russians approached the only highway leading out of the city and targeted it with artillery, forcing Ukrainian defenders to rely increasingly on country roads, which are hard to use before the ground dries. WHAT DO UKRAINIAN AND RUSSIAN OFFICIALS SAY ABOUT THE BATTLE? Ukrainian authorities have hailed the city as the invincible fortress Bakhmut that has destroyed waves of Russian assailants. As Russian pincers were closing on the city, a presidential aide warned last week that the military could strategically pull back if needed. But on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his top generals decided that the army will keep defending Bakhmut and reinforce its troops there. For the Kremlin, capturing Bakhmut is essential for achieving its stated goal of taking full control of Donetsk, one of the four Ukrainian regions that Moscow illegally annexed in September. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Tuesday that the seizure of Bakhmut would allow Russia to press its offensive deeper into the region. Yevgeny Prigozhin, the rogue millionaire who owns the Wagner Group, charged that his forces were destroying the best Ukrainian units in Bakhmut to prevent them from launching attacks elsewhere. At the same time, he harshly criticized the Russian Defense Ministry for failing to provide Wagner with ammunition in comments that reflected his longtime tensions with the top military brass and exposed problems that could slow down the Russian offensive. WHAT DO EXPERTS SAY? Military experts note that Ukraine has turned Bakhmut into a meat grinder for Russias most capable forces. It has achieved its aim as effectively being the anvil on which so many Russian lives have been broken, Lord Richard Dannatt, the former chief of the general staff of the British armed forces, said on Sky News. Phillips P. OBrien, professor of strategic studies at the University of St Andrews, said the battle for Bakhmut confirms that the Russian army is still struggling with basic operations. He noted that the Kremlins continuing emphasis on land grabs regardless of losses means that Russian strategic aims are bleeding the Russian army greatly. While Ukrainian and Western officials pointed out that Russian combat losses were much higher than Ukrainian, some observers argued that the defense of Bakhmut was distracting Ukrainian resources that could be used in a planned counteroffensive later in the spring. Michael Kofman, director of Russia studies at CAN, a Washington-based think tank, observed that the Ukrainian defenders achieved a great deal, expending Russian manpower and ammunition, but added that it could be wise for Ukraine to save its forces for future offensive operations. Strategies can reach points of diminishing returns, and given that Ukraine is trying to husband resources for an offensive, it could impede the success of a more important operation, he said. WHAT COULD HAPPEN NEXT? Ukrainian and Western officials emphasize that a Ukrainian retreat from Bakhmut will not have strategic significance or change the course of the conflict. The Ukrainian military has already strengthened defensive lines west of Bakhmut to block the Russian advance if Ukrainian troops finally retreat from the city. The nearby town of Chasiv Yar that sits on a hill just a few kilometers west could become the next bulwark against the Russians. Further west are Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, the heavily fortified Ukrainian strongholds in Donetsk. And even as the Russian military tries to pursue its offensive in Donetsk, it needs to keep large contingents in other sections of the Donbas and in the southern Zaporizhzhia region where Ukrainian forces are widely expected to launch their next counteroffensive. (AP) The Senate voted Wednesday to block new District of Columbia crime laws and overrule the city government as lawmakers in both parties have expressed concern about rising violent crime rates in cities nationwide. President Joe Biden said last week that he will sign the Republican resolution, which passed the Senate 81-14 after passing the House last month. It marked the first time in more than three decades that Congress has nullified the capital citys laws through the disapproval process and a shift in the long-held Democratic position that the federal government should let D.C. govern itself. Biden, who is set to announce a reelection campaign in the coming months, has been under increasing pressure on the issue from Republicans who have made reducing crime a political priority. In D.C., homicides in the city had risen for four years straight before they dropped around 10% in 2022. The 2021 murder count of 227 was the highest since 2003. We are the greatest superpower nation in history, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said on the Senate floor Wednesday morning. This is our capital city. But local politicians have let its streets become a danger and an embarrassment. Eleanor Holmes Norton, the districts nonvoting delegate in the House, pushed back on the effort, speaking at a Hands off D.C. rally ahead of the vote. There are no exceptions and there is no middle ground on D.C.s right to self-government, Norton said. In a statement released after Wednesday nights vote, D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb said, Any attempt to replace District residents will with that of federal politicians elected hundreds of miles away violates the basic freedoms and principles on which this country was founded. To overturn our local, democratically enacted laws the product of 10+ years of collaboration between law enforcement, judges, and policy experts without any independent analysis, review, or alternative proposal, is not only undemocratic, but also careless. The overhaul of D.C.s criminal code was approved late last year by the city council after years of failed attempts. It would redefine crimes, change criminal justice policies and rework how sentences should be handed down after convictions. It would also do away with mandatory minimum sentences for many crimes and reduce the maximum penalties for burglary, carjacking and robbery. Mayor Muriel Bowser vetoed the overhaul in January, writing in a letter that she had very significant concerns about some of the bills proposals. She later suggested changes after the council overrode her veto. Senate Democrats supporting the measure have cited Bowsers veto, arguing that it needs another look. What weve heard from the mayor of D.C. is theres more work to be done, said Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow. Virginia Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, both Democrats, said they would vote for the resolution and urge the mayor and council to work together to create a safer city for all, including the many Virginians who commute to DC for work every day. Washington, D.C.s criminal code was originally written in 1901 and received a handful of piecemeal updates since then. It contains multiple anachronistic details, such as a reference to steamboats and regulations for the care and feeding of livestock being transported through the city. The changes were set to effect in October 2025. But to become law, it had to survive a 60-day review period during which Congress and the president could override it, thanks to a 1970s-era law called the Home Rule Act. Though Congress has imposed various limits on D.C. through spending bills over the years, the formal disapproval process hasnt been used since 1991. As it stands now, criminal justice experts say that the D.C. criminal code has disproportionately affected Black people, similar to many other cities. Defending the revisions, D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson and other councilmembers maintain that the reduced sentences for offenses such as carjacking would still place the maximum sentences well above the penalties chosen by the vast majority of judges. They argue that the current high sentence maximums have done little to deter rising crime in the District in recent years. Bidens surprise decision to support the Republican measure angered many House Democrats, like Norton, who had voted against the measure in the House after the White House signaled opposition. The White House did not explicitly say then that Biden would veto the measure. But the statement issued ahead of the House vote said the White House opposed the resolution and called it an example of how the District of Columbia continues to be denied true self-governance and why it deserves statehood. While we work towards making Washington, D.C., the 51st state of our Union, Congress should respect the District of Columbias autonomy to govern its own local affairs, the White House statement said. After announcing in a Senate Democratic caucus luncheon last week that he would instead support the resolution and sign it, Biden tweeted that he supports D.C. statehood. But he added, I dont support some of the changes D.C. Council put forward over the mayors objections such as lowering penalties for carjackings. McConnell called Bidens move a flip-flop. The public pressure was so great that the president now says he wants to sign the same Republican bill that hed previously announced he opposed, McConnell said. While many Democrats supported the bill, some were less than enthusiastic. Im going to vote yes, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters Tuesday. It was a tough question, but on balance I am voting yes. (AP) The pro-business track record of the man poised to become Chinas top economic official will make his term a test of whether he might moderate President Xi Jinping s tendency to intervene. Li Qiang, 63, who is expected to be chosen Chinas premier on Saturday, will have to grapple with a slowdown in the worlds second-largest economy, which is dealing with emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic, weak global demand for exports, lingering U.S. tariff hikes, a shrinking workforce and an aging population. Xi, who has bolstered the state sector, has said that he wants the ruling party to return to its original mission as Chinas economic, social and cultural leader. That has been accompanied by tighter control over some industries, more aggressive censorship of TV and pop culture and the spread of a social credit system that penalizes the public for offenses ranging from fraud to littering. Xi took Chinas most powerful role in 2012. Now, observers are watching whether Li can roll out pragmatic policies during his five-year term. But the process of political decision-making in China is opaque, making analyzing the countrys direction a difficult matter for outsiders. Expectations are based on Lis performance as the party chief of the countrys largest city Shanghai and as the governor of neighboring Zhejiang province, a hub of small and mid-sized business. And, perhaps more importantly, his close ties with Xi. Li was quoted as saying in a 2013 interview with respected business magazine Caixin that officials should put the governments hands back in place, put away the restless hands, retract the overstretched hands. Li hailed Zhejiangs businessmen as the most valuable resource in the province, pointing to e-commerce billionaire Jack Ma, and he highlighted his governments cutting red tape. In contrast, Li has also strictly enforced some state controls, including rules meant to prevent the spread of COVID-19. When his local rule has been out of tune with national policies set by the president and his team, he has eventually fallen into step, seen as key to his rise. Under President Xi, entrepreneurs have been rattled not just by tighter political controls and anti-COVID curbs but more control over e-commerce and other tech companies. Anti-monopoly and data security crackdowns have wiped billions of dollars off companies stock-market value. Beijing is also pressing them to pay for social programs and official initiatives to develop processor chips and other technology. A native of Zhejiang, Li studied agricultural mechanization and worked his way up the provincial party ranks. In 2003, he started an executive MBA program at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, common among ambitious party cadres. Priscilla Lau, a former professor of the university and former Hong Kong delegate to Chinas legislature, said Li attended her class on Hong Kongs free-market economy for a chamber in the city and said he recalled her class when they met in Shanghai more than a decade later. It shows hes very diligent, Lau said. Lis working relationship with Xi began in the 2000s when the latter was appointed party chief in Zhejiang. Following Xis eventual move to Beijing and appointment as party general secretary, Li was promoted to Zhejiang governor in 2013, the No. 2 role in the provincial government. Three years later, Li was appointed party chief of Jiangsu province, an economic powerhouse on the east coast of China, marking the first time he held a position outside his home province. In 2017, he was named party boss of Shanghai, a role held by Xi before the president stepped into Chinas core leadership roles. In the commercial hub of Shanghai, Li continued to pursue pro-business policies. In 2018, electric car producer Tesla announced it would build its first factory outside the United States. It broke ground half a year later as the first wholly foreign-owned automaker in China. Even during the strict COVID lockdown in Shanghai last year, the factory managed to resume production after a roughly 20-day suspension, official news agency Xinhua reported. Tesla vice-president Tao Lin was quoted saying that several government departments had worked almost round-the-clock to help businesses resume work. The Shanghai government bent over backwards, said Tu Le, managing director of Sino Auto Insights, a Beijing-based advisory firm. On more complicated issues, not everything has been smooth sailing. Though Li helped shepherd an agreement between Chinese and European companies to produce mRNA vaccines, Beijing was not in favor and the deal was put on hold, said Joerg Wuttke, the president of the EU Chamber of Commerce in China. Before the citywide lockdown, Li appeared to have more leeway to manage the financial hubs smaller previous outbreaks than most other cities leaders did. Rather than sealing districts off, the government implemented limited lockdowns of housing compounds and workplaces. When the highly contagious Omicron variant hit Shanghai, Li took a moderate approach until the central government stepped in and sealed off the city. The brutal two-month lockdown last spring confined 25 million people to their homes and severely disrupted the economy. Li was named No. 2 in the ruling Communist Party in October when Chinas president broke with past norms and awarded himself a third five-year term as general secretary. Unlike most of his predecessors, Li has no government experience at the national level, and his reputation was dented by ruthless enforcement of the lengthy COVID-19 lockdown in the financial hub that was criticized as excessive. His expected appointment appears to indicate that an ability to win the trust of Xi, Chinas most powerful figure in decades, is the key determinant when it comes to political advancement. As premier, Li faces a diminishing role for the State Council, Chinas Cabinet, as Xi moves to absorb government powers into party bodies, believing the party should play a greater role in Chinese society. Still, some commentators believe he will be more trusted, and therefore more influential, than his predecessor, who was seen as a rival to Xi, not a protege. Xi Jinping does not have to worry about Li Qiang being a separate locus of power, said Ho Pin, a veteran journalist and Chinese political observer. Trust between them also allows Li Qiang to work more proactively and share his worries, and he will directly give Xi a lot of information and suggestions. Iris Pang, INGs chief China economist, sees Li mainly as a loyal enforcer of Xis will rather than a moderating influence. Li was pro-business because he was required to be so in his previous government roles, Pang said. His key trait, she said, is his strong execution. (AP) A suspected Israeli airstrike targeting Aleppo International Airport in Syria again left multiple craters on its runway, satellite images analyzed by The Associated Press showed Thursday. Separately, a U.N. official criticized the attack for hindering earthquake relief for the hard-hit, war-torn Syria. The attack on Aleppo airport comes as Israel previously struck the airfield as part of an Israeli campaign to disrupt Iranian weapons transfers to the country. Those attacks have continued despite ongoing political turmoil in Israel and as Irans nuclear program edges closer to enriching weapons-grade levels of uranium as negotiations over it have fallen apart. The satellite photos, taken early Tuesday afternoon by Planet Labs PBC, show vehicles gathered on the airports single asphalt runway around the damage. One spot, directly south of its passenger terminal, appeared to be a new, significant crater. It appeared the strike also targeted three patched areas earlier struck in suspected Israeli attacks in September. The runway also was struck in late August at another spot, though that patch work appeared undamaged. Aleppos airport, like many others in Middle East nations, is a dual-use facility that include civilian and military sides. Iran has been key in arming and supporting President Bashar Assad in his countrys long civil war. The attack Tuesday shut the Aleppo airport, with Syrias Foreign Ministry describing it as a double crime as it targeted a civilian airport and a main channel for the flow of aid to areas hit by last months earthquake. Since the Feb. 6, earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria and killed more than 50,000 people, including about 6,000 in Syria, scores of flights carrying aid from different countries have landed at the Aleppo airport. Authorities say relief flights now have been diverted to airports in Damascus and Latakia. Syrias state-run SANA news agency, citing the countrys transportation minister, said Thursday the airport would reopen on Friday and be available for earthquake relief flights around the clock. On Wednesday, a U.N. official overseeing relief efforts in Syria asked that all feasible precautions be taken to spare civilians and civilian objects in the conduct of hostilities. The impact of this closure impedes humanitarian access and could have drastic humanitarian consequences for millions of people who have been affected by the earthquake, El-Mostafa Benlamlih said. Even more so, it could have adverse effects on the wider vulnerable population in need of humanitarian assistance. The office of Israels prime minister declined to comment Thursday when reached by the AP. (AP) Palestinians have for years celebrated murderous terrorists and the attacks they carry out against innocent Israelis whose only crime is being a Jew. Thursday was no different, as hundreds of Arabs celebrated in sick, stomach-turning fashion a murderous rampage carried out by one of their own on Tel Avivs Dizengoff Street. Handing out sweets and dancing over spilled blood, the terrorist lovers filled themselves with equal parts of hate for Jews and joy over their fellows evil violence. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) Air Force Commander Major-General Tomer Bar on Thursday made a decision to dismiss a senior reservist fighter pilot for his role in encouraging other reservists not to show up for training due to the governments judicial reform plan, Channel 12 News reported on Thursday. Major-General (Res.) Gilad Peled was a leader of the planned boycott of a day of training by 37 out of 40 fighter pilots from the IAFs 69th Squadron. Peled had successfully encouraged his colleagues to announce their refusal to show up for a training day on Wednesday of this week. However, after a meeting of the pilots with Bar, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, the pilots withdrew their decision and attended the training. The IDF stated that Commander Bar spoke with Maj.-Gen. (Res.) Peled on Wednesday evening. The conversation focused on the continuation of his service in light of his recent conduct regarding recent events. At the end of the conversation, Commander Bar informed the officer that in light of his conduct, he would not be able to continue in the reserves until further notice, since he had acted contrary to the commanders instructions in a manner that did not suit the rank and status of the officer. (YWN Israel Desk Jerusalem) Chaim Topol, zl, a leading Israeli actor who charmed generations of theatergoers and movie-watchers with his portrayal of Tevye, the long-suffering and charismatic milkman in Fiddler on the Roof, passed away on Thursday morning in Tel Aviv at the age of 87. A recipient of two Golden Globe awards and nominee for both an Academy Award and a Tony Award, Topol long has ranked among Israels most decorated actors. Up until a few years ago, he remained involved in theater and said he still fielded requests to play Tevye. Topol got his start in acting in a theatrical troupe in the Israeli army in the 1950s. The role of his life arrived in the long-running musical Fiddler on the Roof, in which he played the dairyman protagonist, Tevye, a Jewish father trying to maintain his familys cultural traditions despite the turmoil gripping their Russian shtetl. With his rich voice, folkish witticisms and commanding stage presence, Topols Tevye, driving his horse-drawn buggy and delivering milk, butter and eggs to the rich, became a popular hero in Israel and around the world. Topol played the part more than 3,500 times on stage, most recently in 2009. With the help of heavy makeup and costume work, he first portrayed the much older, burlier dairyman in his 30s and quite literally aged into the role. Topol has said his personal experience as a descendant of Russian Jews helped him relate to Tevye and deepen his performance. Topol, who was born and raised on a kibbutz, once confided in an interview about his love for learning Gemara. Ive been learning Gemara for 40 years, he said in an interview on the Orot channel. I try never to skip it because I really like it and enjoy it. Its sitting down and sharpening your mind and saying: Why did Rebbe Akiva say this and why did Reb Shimon Bar Yochai say that and why did Abaye say that and why does it say that? The interesting thing is that theres no consensus, that is that ultimately they say that the halacha is like this but on the way, they clarify and agree with things. Despite starring in multiple roles during his acting career, Topol became synonymous with just one role Tevye. Pouring his heart out about his impoverished Jewish community over the years, Topol made audiences laugh and cry from Broadway and West End stages. How many people are known for one part? How many people in my profession are known worldwide? he said in an interview with The Associated Press from his Tel Aviv home in 2015, on the occasion of accepting the Israel Prize for lifetime achievement. Yet Topol said he sometimes needed to look outside of acting to find meaning in his life. He devoted much of his later years to charity as chairman of the board of Jordan River Village, a camp serving Middle Eastern children with life-threatening diseases. Years earlier, he founded a nonprofit that services children with special needs. I am interested in charities and find it more fulfilling than running from one (acting) part to another, he said. When you are successful in a film and the money flows, yes, obviously, it is very nice. But to tell you that is the most important thing, I am not sure. Topol is survived by his wife and three children. (YWN Israel Desk Jerusalem & AP) Authorities in the Virginia city where a 6-year-old shot and wounded his teacher will not seek criminal charges against the child, the local prosecutor told NBC News Wednesday, in a decision that was anticipated by legal experts. But Newport News Commonwealths Attorney Howard Gwynn said his office has yet to decide if any adults will be held criminally accountable. Newport News police have said that the boy used his mothers 9mm handgun in the Jan. 6 shooting at Richneck Elementary School. A lawyer for the childs mother has previously stated that the weapon, which was legally purchased, was secured on a high closet shelf and had a lock on it. Gwynn did not immediately respond to two phone messages and two emails from The Associated Press seeking comment. He told NBC that the prospect that a 6-year-old can stand trial is problematic because he wouldnt have the competency to understand the legal system and what a charge means. Gwynn told the news outlet that his office is still focusing on others besides the child. Once we analyze all the facts, we will charge any person or persons that we believe we can prove beyond a reasonable doubt committed a crime, he said. The decision did not come as a surprise. Even though it is possible under Virginia law to criminally charge a 6-year-old child, legal experts said it would be highly unlikely that a prosecutor would even try. A common-law doctrine known as the infancy defense holds that children under 7 cannot be prosecuted for a crime because they are too young to be capable of forming criminal intent. A judge also would have to find that the child was competent to stand trial, meaning that he could understand the legal proceedings and assist attorneys defending him. You have to be able to show that they understand the seriousness of it, planned it, and executed it, Julie McConnell, a law professor at the University of Richmond, told the AP. It would be very hard to prove that a 6-year-old could understand that what he did could have permanent consequences, McConnell said. She added: The question is not how do we hold the child accountable? The question is how do we hold ourselves accountable as a society? How do we address the fact that it is so easy for children to get guns in the first place? Newport News police turned over their investigation to Gwynns office last month. Police Chief Steve Drew said in February that he understands that people would like to have a case open and shut thats just not what we have here. Drew described a complicated investigation that involved coordinating interviews with first-graders, which required permission from their parents as well as the expertise of a child psychologist. Gwynn told the AP last month that the citys detectives handed over three binders of information to his office. Its a lot of information, and were going to carefully review it as we do in every case, Gwynn said in February. The decision to not charge the child is the latest development from the shooting, which sent shockwaves through the shipbuilding city of about 185,000 people near the Chesapeake Bay. The 6-year-old boy, who has not been identified, shot first-grade teacher Abby Zwerner while she was teaching inside her classroom. The police chief has repeatedly characterized the shooting as intentional. Drew said there was no warning and no struggle before the child pointed the gun at Zwerner and fired one round, striking her in the hand and chest. Zwerner, 25, hustled her students out of the classroom before being rushed to the hospital, where she stayed for nearly two weeks before she was released to continue recovering at home. An attorney for the 6-year-olds family, James Ellenson, told the AP in January that the gun the boy used was secured in his mothers closet on a shelf well over 6 feet (1.8 meters) high and had a trigger lock that required a key. The familys statement in the wake of the shooting also said that the boy has an acute disability and was under a care plan that included his mother or father attending school with him and accompanying him to class every day. The week of the shooting was the first when a parent was not in class with him, the family said. The family said in the days after the shooting that the child was placed under hospital care and was receiving the treatment he needs. Zwerners attorney, Diane Toscano, told reporters in January that concerned staff at Richneck Elementary School had warned administrators three times that the 6-year-old had a gun and was threatening other students in the hours before Zwerner was shot. Toscano said the administration was paralyzed by apathy and didnt call police, remove the boy from class or lock down the school. In early February, Toscano filed a legal notice informing Newport News Public Schools of Zwerners intent to sue, laying out even more allegations. They included claims that the same boy who shot Zwerner had constantly cursed at staff and teachers, tried to whip students with his belt and once choked another teacher until she couldnt breathe. Two days before the shooting, the boy allegedly slammed Zwerners cellphone and broke it, according to the claim notice. He was given a one-day suspension, the notice says. But when he returned to Zwerners class the following day, he pulled a 9mm handgun out of his pocket and shot her while she sat at a reading table, the notice says. (AP) After years of refusing to expand Medicaid benefits for new moms, Republican officials in more than a half-dozen states are now reversing course and trumpeting that coverage as central to their conservative, anti-abortion agenda. The shift in GOP support for postpartum Medicaid coverage is occurring in some states that have severely limited or outlawed abortion access since the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion last June. The effort also comes as federal protections guaranteeing people stay continuously enrolled in Medicaid during the COVID-19 pandemic is set to expire in a few weeks. Deep-red Mississippi on Tuesday became the latest state to require Medicaid to provide a full year of coverage for low-income mothers after giving birth. Days earlier, Republican Gov. Tate Reeves declared the policy was part of the states new pro-life agenda. Extended postpartum coverage had been rejected three times by the states lawmakers since 2021 but a push for the measure succeeded after most abortions became illegal in Mississippi, following the U.S. Supreme Courts ruling. In Wyoming, where an abortion ban remains in legal limbo, Republican Gov. Mark Gordon echoed a similar refrain when he signed a bill extending postpartum Medicaid coverage into law on Friday, calling it a signature piece of pro-life legislation. The Biden administration is encouraging all states to extend postpartum Medicaid coverage to a full year, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure said in a statement. Postpartum care is crucial for the health and wellbeing of women, and can have benefits for their babies and their growing families, she said. In addition to comprehensive pregnancy and postpartum care, reproductive health care is essential to support the health of women and families. Republicans, however, have long criticized efforts to expand Medicaid, a taxpayer funded program that provides health care coverage to roughly 84 million of the countrys poorest people. Roughly 40% of births are covered by Medicaid, and states are required to keep women enrolled for up to two months after giving birth. Most states have already extended Medicaid coverage, guaranteeing access to the program for up to a year after a woman gives birth. That coverage can be crucial in a country where maternal deaths many of which occur in the days or months following a delivery are rising. Research has found that women are less likely to be hospitalized during the postpartum period if they live in a state that has broaden Medicaid coverage to those with slightly higher incomes. Mothers who are cut off from Medicaid after 60 days might not only lose access to their insurance, but the doctors they developed relationships with throughout their pregnancy as well, noted Laura Wherry, a New York University economics professor who researches Medicaid expansion. A lot of those maternal deaths occur after this period when pregnancy Medicaid coverage ends, Wherry said. There are a number of different ways that expanding coverage could effect women and their health outcomes and their mortality outcomes. But 13 states have held out on expanding postpartum coverage for up to a year, a decision that has been met with intensified criticism when some of those states restricted or banned abortions last year. Texas, Wisconsin, Missouri, Iowa, Idaho and South Dakota are among the states that have mostly banned abortion and only offer women 60 days of postpartum Medicaid coverage. Wisconsins Democratic Gov. Tony Evers proposed a budget last month that would extend the postpartum coverage period to a year, but the Republican-controlled Legislature has expressed little interest in supporting the plan. Republicans in other states, however, are now quickly pushing to expand the coverage. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a Republican who has long opposed expanding the income eligibility threshold for Medicaid to those who make up to $18,800 annually, announced in February that shed seek to extend the postpartum Medicaid coverage period to 12 months. In Alaska, where abortion is still legal, Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy introduced legislation earlier this year that would do the same. Meanwhile, Idaho state representative Megan Blanksma, a Republican, proposed a similar law for her state in February. Last week, Missouris Senate signed off on a plan to expand the postpartum coverage for a year. The bill will now be considered by the House. The proposal would have had little support from Republican Senate Majority Leader Cindy OLaughlin in years past, the lawmaker told reporters just last week. Prior to now I would have probably said, `I dont want to expand welfare, OLaughlin said. But shes since changed her to tune saying that without Medicaid coverage, the person that might suffer the most would be the child or the children. (AP) The Columbus Public Schools Board of Education on March 9 approved calling a special election in May for voters to decide on a $53.5 million facilities bond referendum. Columbus Public Schools (CPS) will need to submit the official paperwork, hold an informational meeting for staff and launch campaign efforts to educate the public, but voters residing within the school district can expect to receive a ballot in the mail near the end of April. According to a bond issue information sheet provided by CPS, if voters approve the bond issue, those residing in the school district would see a property tax increase of $4 per month on a $100,000 home. Last year, CPS paid off its 1999 and 2003 bonds early. A 2014 bond for the construction of a new Columbus High School and conversion of the old high school into Columbus Middle School was refinanced in 2020 the middle school portion of that bond will be retired early in 2024. Due to its refinancing and early bond retirements, CPS has saved roughly $13 million. Columbus is the fourth fastest growing community in Nebraska, data from CPS shows, with the school district having exceeded capacity at Lost Creek Elementary and Columbus Middle School. CPS is within 10 students of capacity at three of its other elementary schools Emerson, North Park and West Park. Conversations with the community began in December 2021, with public meetings being held regularly to gain feedback about the districts needs and efforts the public would support in expanding CPS facilities. Based on feedback gained through survey results from those meetings, online and by phone, the projects are set to include: Construction of a new K-4 elementary school, the districts sixth elementary school, to be built on land CPS currently owns, which is located on Third Avenue, north of 30th Street Additions and improvements at existing elementary schools dining areas at North Park and Centennial and new health and physical education facilities at Emerson and West Park Classroom addition and remodeling of dining facilities at the middle school Renovating and improving district facilities for education and operational use remodeling the current administration building for specialized instruction (typically called alternative education) Classroom addition and improvements to the high school there is limited space for more programming The special election is set to be held on May 9, but it is a mail election so no polling places will be open. The Platte County Election Commissioners Office will mail ballots to registered voters residing within the CPS school district between April 17 and 29. It's got to be received through the mail or in person by five o'clock that day on May 9, CPS Superintendent Troy Loeffelholz said. Anything after five o'clock is not counted. Loeffelholz told the Telegram a mail-in ballot is preferred by election officials as it is easier on the election commissioners staff and it costs less than traditional voting. Loeffelholz told the board the first staff meeting would be held Friday morning to explain the bond issue while a campaign committee would be working on setting up events and speaking engagements. Ahead of the boards March 9 meeting, CPS staff had spoken to local rotary clubs about the districts need for expanded facilities and the bond issue efforts. We've put a lot of work in the last two years but now it's real and we need to go out and tell our story. That's what it's all about, telling our story about our needs, Loeffelholz told the Telegram. Overwhelmed, but excited. We've got a good road to go. Lincoln-based architecture firm Clark and Enersen was brought on this past October, and the CPS board OKd on March 9 an agreement with Boyd Jones as the construction manager at risk for the potential projects. Loeffelholz noted there will be no costs with Boyd Jones until the bond referendum passes. The public has a big decision to make, and our job is to make it as clear as possible, CPS Board President Doug Willoughby said. During the board sharing portion of the meeting, Willoughby added that a good step had been taken that day. I think its going to pass and I hope Im right, Willoughby said. The bond referendum appears to be 100% supported by the CPS board members, with all of them commenting on the need for expanded facilities at the meeting. Doug Molczyk noted he is looking forward to seeing what voters say while Candy Becher said the school district is progressive and she believes voters will see how updated facilities will serve the community. We're bursting at the seams, Becher said. We have to have this and so Im just hoping, the way everyone else is, that it will pass. Mark Brown added that its the right time for CPS to attempt the facilities bond referendum and its the right opportunity for the public to be heard. I think everyone in here has done a fantastic job of going out and searching for the input and, for the board, the permission to keep moving forward, Brown said. The next step is to find out really where our voters are. Mike Jeffryes noted he had served on the bond election committee during CPS last bond issue in 2014. What made it easy to sell last time is what I hope to sell this time is that it's a district-wide K-12 solution, Jeffryes said. It's not just a Band-Aid on one thing, it's an entire K-12 solution that affects all of our kids. Theresa Seipel added that while it may seem like the planning and bond issue is being done quickly, its been in the works for a couple of years. I do think, for the most part, we have a lot of young families in this town, Seipel said. Everybody wants to do what's right for the kids. The town of Beitar Illit is under a lockdown Thursday night as Israeli forces search for a suspected terrorist who was believed to have planted an improvised explosive device on a bus. Residents have been instructed to stay inside their homes and lock their doors and windows until further notice. Security footage from the bus showed a person leaving the vehicle before smoke was seen rising from one of the seats, followed by another person running out of the bus. The IDF confirmed that the suspicious bag found on the bus contained a suspected IED, which was neutralized by police sappers. The incident occurred shortly after a Palestinian terrorist wounded three people in a shooting outside a cafe in Tel Aviv. Tensions between Israel and the Palestinians have been high, with the IDF conducting nightly raids in the West Bank amid a series of deadly Palestinian terror attacks. Palestinian attacks in Jerusalem and the West Bank in recent months have left 14 Israelis dead. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will be in Iowa on Friday to introduce himself to an expectant audience of Republicans, making a long-awaited visit ahead of a likely 2024 presidential bid. DeSantis planned appearances in Davenport and Des Moines mark his first trip to the leadoff voting state and come as anticipation over his expected White House campaign has been building. With the Iowa caucuses less than a year away, Republicans in the state are ready to take a harder look at DeSantis, a top-tier presidential prospect viewed as a rival to former President Donald Trump. A lot of people are excited with DeSantis people that I talk to. There has been so much talk. The expectations are really high for him, said Emma Aquino-Nemecek, an eastern Iowa county Republican committee member who is curious about DeSantis but feels deep loyalty to Trump. DeSantis is scheduled to appear with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds on Friday morning in Davenport and that evening in Des Moines to promote his new book, The Courage to be Free, which was released last week. The books subtitle, Floridas Blueprint for Americas Revival, suggests an opportunity for DeSantis to test a national message before Republican audiences critical to the early steps of the GOP nominating campaign. We defied the experts. We bucked the elites. We ignored the chatter. We did it our way, the Florida way, DeSantis told Florida lawmakers Tuesday in a State of the State address in Tallahassee. And the result is that we are the No. 1 destination for our fellow Americans who are looking for a better life. DeSantis is also expected to visit the Iowa Capitol in Des Moines between his public events to meet with a small contingent of Republican lawmakers. DeSantis visit coincides with a trip to the state by former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, who announced her 2024 candidacy last month. Trump is scheduled to make a campaign stop in Iowa on Monday, his first visit to the state since launching his third presidential bid. As presidential prospects campaigned for Iowa candidates in last years midterm elections, activists like Nemecek routinely named DeSantis as someone they would like to see, especially as he has become a frequent national voice on Fox News Channel on conservative cultural fights. DeSantis has begun to look beyond Florida, where his attention was fixed last year ahead of his commanding reelection victory over Democrat Charlie Crist and expanding Floridas Republican legislative majorities. In recent weeks, his team has begun holding internal conversations with a handful of prospective campaign staffers in key states. Late last month, he gathered privately with donors, elected officials and national conservative activists to discuss his vision, which includes limiting how race and sexuality are taught in schools. DeSantis is expected to announce his candidacy in late spring or early summer, after the conclusion of the Florida legislative session, which ends in mid-May. The anticipation is reminiscent, to an extent, of the clamor in Iowa for George W. Bush ahead of the 2000 election, though with significant differences, said veteran Iowa GOP activist David Oman. DeSantis is seen, as Bush was, as a next-generation, big-state Republican governor who won reelection resoundingly, said Oman, who was among Iowa Republicans who sought to recruit Bush to run. Bush swooped into Iowa amid fanfare in June 1999 and sailed to victory in the Iowa caucuses the following year en route to the 2000 GOP nomination and the White House. Not insignificantly, Bush enjoyed the hands-on campaign outreach in Iowa of his father, former President George H. W. Bush, who had built lasting relationships during his 1980 and 1988 Iowa caucus campaigns. Theres another former president in this cycle. Only he is not interested in helping a first time candidate, Oman said, referring to Trump. W was the overwhelming favorite in Iowa. I believe there is not an overwhelming favorite this time. Haley will be finishing up her second trip to Iowa as a candidate with stops in the western and central parts of the state on Friday. Trump will be stopping in Davenport, the site of DeSantis first appearance. Because his name has been out there for a while, people have been looking forward to Gov. DeSantis first visit, said Jeanita McNulty, the Republican Party chair in Scott County, where Davenport is located. But the activists are very excited about both Gov. DeSantis and President Trump, very excited that they are both coming. (AP) A man was arrested in the center of Jerusalem on Friday afternoon after a brief manhunt that brought the light rail to a halt. Reports suggest the suspect was about to carry out an attack. Light rail service in the area between Central Station and Damascus Gate was briefly shut down as Israeli police searched the area. Videos posted to social media showed Israels elite counterterrorism Yamam unit heavily armed while operating in the area. The suspect was later spotted on Hanaviyim Street off of Yaffo and was detained. An investigation is underway. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed Friday to reestablish diplomatic relations and reopen embassies after seven years of tensions. The major diplomatic breakthrough negotiated with China lowers the chance of armed conflict between the Mideast rivals both directly and in proxy conflicts around the region. The deal, struck in Beijing this week amid its ceremonial National Peoples Congress, represents a major diplomatic victory for the Chinese as Gulf Arab states perceive the United States slowly withdrawing from the wider Middle East. It also comes as diplomats have been trying to end a long war in Yemen, a conflict in which both Iran and Saudi Arabia are deeply entrenched. The two countries released a joint communique on the deal with China, which brokered the agreement as President Xi Jinping was awarded a third five-year term as leader earlier Friday Videos released by Iranian state media showed Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Irans Supreme National Security Council, with Saudi national security adviser Musaad bin Mohammed al-Aiban and Wang Yi, Chinas most senior diplomat. The joint statement calls for the reestablishing of ties and the reopening of embassies to happen within a maximum period of two months. A meeting of their foreign ministers is also planned. In the video, Wang could be heard offering wholehearted congratulations on the two countries wisdom. Both sides have displayed sincerity, he said. China fully supports this agreement. China, which last month hosted Irans hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi, is also a top purchaser of Saudi oil. Xi visited Riyadh in December for meetings with oil-rich Gulf Arab nations crucial to Chinas energy supplies. Irans state-run IRNA news agency quoted Shamkhani as calling the talks clear, transparent, comprehensive and constructive. Removing misunderstandings and the future-oriented views in relations between Tehran and Riyadh will definitely lead to improving regional stability and security, as well as increasing cooperation among Persian Gulf nations and the world of Islam for managing current challenges, Shamkhani said. Al-Aiban thanked Iraq and Oman for mediating talks between Iran and the kingdom, according to a transcript of his remarks published by the state-run Saudi Press Agency. While we value what we have reached, we hope that we will continue to continue the constructive dialogue, the Saudi official said. Tensions long have been high between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The kingdom broke off ties with Iran in 2016 after protesters invaded Saudi diplomatic posts there. Saudi Arabia had executed a prominent Shiite cleric with 46 others days earlier, triggering the demonstrations. The execution came as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, then a deputy, began his rise to power. The son of King Salman, Prince Mohammed previously compared Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to Nazi Germanys Adolf Hitler, and also threatened to strike Iran. In the years since, the U.S. unilaterally withdrew from Irans nuclear deal with world powers in 2018. Iran has been blamed for a series of attacks after that, including one targeting the heart of Saudi Arabias oil industry in 2019, temporarily halving the kingdoms crude production. Though Yemens Iranian-backed Houthi rebels initially claimed the attack, Western nations and experts have blamed it on Tehran. Iran long has denied launching the attack. It has also denied carrying out other assaults later attributed to the Islamic Republic. Religion also plays a key role in their relations. Saudi Arabia, home to the cube-shaped Kaaba that Muslims pray toward five times a day, has long portrayed itself as the worlds leading Sunni nation. Irans theocracy meanwhile views itself as the protector of the Islams Shiite minority. The two powerhouses also have competing interests elsewhere, such as in the turmoil now tearing at Lebanon and in the rebuilding of Iraq after decades of war following the U.S.-led 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. The leader of the Iranian-backed Lebanese militia and political group Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, praised the agreement as an important development that could open new horizons in Lebanon, Syria and Yemen. Iraq, Oman and the United Arab Emirates also praised the accord. Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, a research fellow at Rice Universitys Baker Institute who long has studied the region, said Saudi Arabia reaching the deal with Iran came after the United Arab Emirates reached a similar understanding with Tehran. This dialing down of tensions and de-escalation has been underway for three years and this was triggered by Saudi acknowledgement in their view that without unconditional U.S. backing they were unable to project power vis-a-vis Iran and the rest of the region, he said. Prince Mohammed, now focused on massive construction projects in his own country, likely wants to finally pull out of the Yemen war as well, Ulrichsen added. Instability could do a lot of damage to his plans, he said. The Houthis seized Yemens capital, Sanaa, in September 2014 and forced the internationally recognized government into exile in Saudi Arabia. A Saudi-led coalition armed with U.S. weaponry and intelligence entered the war on the side of Yemens exiled government in March 2015. Years of inconclusive fighting created a humanitarian disaster and pushed the Arab worlds poorest nation to the brink of famine. A six-month cease-fire in Yemens war, the longest of the conflict, expired in October despite diplomatic efforts to renew it. In recent months, negotiations have been ongoing, including in Oman, a longtime interlocutor between Iran and the U.S. Some have hoped for an agreement ahead of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which will begin later in March. Iran and Saudi Arabia have held off-and-on talks in recent years, but it wasnt immediately clear if Yemen was the impetus for this new detente. Yemeni rebel spokesman Mohamed Abdulsalam appeared to welcome the deal in a statement that also slammed the U.S. and Israel. The region needs the return of normal relations between its countries, through which the Islamic society can regain its lost security as a result of the foreign interventions, led by the Zionists and Americans, he wrote online. For Israel, which has wanted to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia despite the Palestinians remaining without a state of their own, Riyadh easing tensions with Iran could complicate its own calculations in the region. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, under pressure politically at home, has threatened to take military action against Irans nuclear program as it enriches closer than ever to weapons-grade levels. Riyadh seeking peace with Tehran takes one potential ally for a strike off the table. Netanyahus government offered no immediate comment Friday to the news. It remains unclear, however, what this means for America. Though long viewed as guaranteeing Mideast energy security, regional leaders have grown increasingly wary of Washingtons intentions after its chaotic 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan. The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment over the announced deal. However, the White House bristled at the notion that a Saudi-Iran agreement in Beijing suggests a rise of Chinese influence in the Mideast. I would stridently push back on this idea that were stepping back in the Middle East far from it, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said. He added: It really does remain to be seen whether the Iranians are going to honor their side of the deal. This is not a regime that typically honors its word. (AP) Dull, dull, dull. This is the view of the stock markets among a number of British companies that claim UK investors are tediously risk-averse. These businesses are shunning Britain, choosing instead to have their shares listed in the US, where there is more of a taste for a gamble. Software giant Arm and construction company CRH are among those taking the trip across the Atlantic. Others are set to follow. You may feel somewhat insulted by this assessment of your investor profile, believing that you too know how to be audacious. But you may also be sensing that the focus on UK markets could offer opportunities, as the Government is forced into action to re-establish the image of Britannia as cool, rather than boring and backward-looking. In particular, this could be the time to take a bet on the FTSE 100's insurers Aviva, Legal & General and Phoenix. Opportunity: This could be the time to take a bet on FTSE 100 insurers Aviva, Legal & General and Phoenix These giants who concentrate on the management of pension and other savings offer bumper dividends, plus the prospect of growth. One key source of this growth is set to be an overhaul of rules and regulations that promises to inject fresh dynamism into the UK markets. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt's Edinburgh reforms should enhance the City's allure. Meanwhile, the revisions to the Solvency II regime (an EU directive covering the capital that insurers are required to hold) are also set to bring considerable benefits. Insurers are enthusiastic about the shake-up. Andy Briggs, boss of Phoenix Group, which owns Standard Life, is poised to commit billions to UK infrastructure. Aviva chief executive Amanda Blanc also emphasises the company's willingness to invest billions in energy, housing and start-ups. Such projects would reinvigorate the economy. But they should also help insurers' share prices to prosper. This optimism contrasts with the gloom that surrounded insurers in the wake of the mini-Budget, whose measures sparked a sell-off in the gilts market. This rout spread alarm among defined benefit company pension schemes which were obliged to meet margin cash calls on complex liability driven investments (LDIs). Insurers are the major players in the 1 trillion LDI sector. Today, however, this unhappy set of circumstances is seen as a 'black swan', a once-in-a-lifetime event which may even prove another boon for insurers. As a consequence of LDI angst, more company bosses may offload defined benefit schemes to Aviva, Legal & General and Phoenix. Investing: Aviva chief executive Amanda Blanc Phoenix is best known as the buyer of closed life funds (where no new policies are being sold), but it has been doing more bulk-annuity business. Thanks to the potential for more such profitable transfers, analysts rate the company as a buy. The shares are trading at 617.8p. This week, Legal & General which William Meadon, manager of the JP Morgan Claverhouse investment trust, describes as 'one of the UK's best capitalised insurers' reported a surge in bulk annuity activities. Job Curtis, manager of the City of London investment trust, a holder of the stock, calls a 'good company' high praise. The shares stand at 252p and dividend yield is 7.3 per cent. Boss Sir Nigel Wilson contends that there is 'strong headroom' for further rises in payouts, given its 'high synergy, strong capital backing and ambitious growth targets in each of its markets'. Blanc is also ushering in a new era at Aviva. This week, the group unveiled a 300m share buyback scheme following a 35 per cent jump in operating profits. Acquiring shares in Aviva, Legal & General and Phoenix ought to enable you to back a regulatory revolution that gives Britain a new impetus. You could also spread the bet to the whole UK market and further improve your income through 'dividend hero' trusts like City of London, JP Morgan Claverhouse and Merchants. Unloved UK shares are seen as attractively cheap. It could be the start of a beautiful adventure, with fat dividends as great company on the way. In this series, we bust the jargon and explain a popular investing term or theme. Here it's GMV. What is this acronym? GMV is an easy-to-calculate metric popular in the e-commerce sector. It stands for gross merchandise value, that is, the total amount of products sold through a website over period of time, and it appears in the results of such UK and global e-commerce companies as Alibaba, Asos, Boohoo, Deliveroo and Mercado Libre, the Latin American titan. The GMV is a measure of performance, but although it may show a company's total revenues, this is before the deduction of costs such as advertising and discounts. Goods that have been returned may also be included. How is it used? Online retailers who want to know how they are performing compare GMV figures on a quarterly or annual basis, or on a single day's trading in the case of a promotional event held every year, like Black Friday. Businesses also often outline their ambitions in terms of increases in GMV. GMVs are closely monitored by analysts, because sometimes they can reveal that a business, which seems to have another mission, is actually a retailer. For example, although the Tik Tok app is full of videos of people dancing, it is China's fourth largest e-commerce business, as measured by GMV. Performance: Although it may show a company's total revenues, this is before the deduction of costs such as advertising and discounts Any other examples? Klarna may be a buy-now-pay-later lender but it publishes a GMV a figure that is the total of the sales made by retailers to customers relying on Klarna credit. This month, boss Sebastian Siemiatkowski said that a 22 per cent jump in its GMV was evidence that the company's new strategy was putting it on the path to profitability. Why are we hearing about GMVs just now? More attention is being paid to these figures as rivalry between e-commerce names heats up against the background of the cost of living crisis. To some surprise, the Temu fast fashion platform, founded in September 2022, has just become the most downloaded app in the US. The business is said to have vowed to report a single day of GMV that tops that of its chief rival Shein between now and September. Temu is owned by the Chinese giant PDD Holdings, formerly Pinduoduo. Shein, which was founded by the secretive billionaire Xu Yangtian, is the world's largest fashion retailer. Should I be buying shares in companies with fast-rising GMVs? Not so fast. The GMV is not a guide as to whether a business is profitable because it excludes costs. Indeed, one critic has dubbed the GMV the 'most useless metric', while others prefer the description 'slippery' or dismiss it as a 'vanity metric'. This is largely because there is no standard definition of how the metric should be calculated. E-commerce players measure their figures in different ways. The figure can include goods that have been returned, and perhaps those that have never been delivered. Any other e-commerce acronyms that I need to know? AOV (average order value), Bopis (buy online pick up in store), Boris (buy online and return in store), Serp (search engine results page) and VTP (visits to purchase), which shows how many visits a customer makes before making a purchase. Wildlife, Mike Gutzmer, principal of New Century Environmental said, has always been important to him. As a result, his work protecting wildlife areas and ensuring corporate standard compliance has reached from his hometown of Columbus to many places. Recently, that work was recognized by an organization very close to Gutzmer, The Wildlife Society, founded by Iowan conservationist and writer Aldo Leopold. Gutzmer was named Career Professional of The Year by both South Dakota and Nebraska's chapters. A Columbus native who started and bases his business in Columbus, "I've done a lot of environmental work, from environmental compliance to threatened and endangered species, to pollution," Gutzmer said. Nathan Baker, chair of the awards committee for the South Dakota chapter, said while he hasn't worked with Gutzmer directly, he has heard a lot about him and the many things he's done for the various chapters and states he's worked in. The award, Baker said, is peer-nominated, meaning it's entirely based on Gutzmer's colleagues' observations. Gutzmer said one of his bigger achievements in both states has been helping ensure funding for their Native American tribes' wildlife management efforts. He estimates that, to date, he's helped secure approximately $3 million between Nebraska and South Dakota. "We do a lot of wetland work and actually get involved with a lot of big game and bird management on about 300 acres of reservation land as well," Gutzmer said. In 2017-2022, during the decision-making process for a pipeline project, his company was the only group that brought forth data sets related to important flora and fauna in the areas affected, which impacted the United States Army Corps of Engineers' decision-making and review process on the upper Missouri River. Gutzmer's journey as a professional wetlands management expert started after college in Montana. He began working with fisheries and came back to Nebraska where he acquired his bachelor's degree. Shortly after attaining his degree, Gutzmer went to work for the Iowa Conservation Commission on the Mississippi River, then headed to Texas. "I got my master's, then I worked for state environmental agencies, the Texas Water Commission, I worked all over the state of Texas," Gutzmer said. He spent 14 years working for Nebraska Public Power District as an environmental supervisor and specialist, as well as some time with the Electric Research Institute in Palo Alto, California, before founding his company, New Century Environmental in 2007. Currently, he works pretty much anywhere he's needed. He regularly does work for Loup Public Power District, ensuring they are up to certain standards, and has for 20-some years. Neal Suess, president and CEO of Loup, said that when it comes to this field, Gutzmer is the man for the job. "Quite frankly, within the state of Nebraska I would claim he is the expert in threatened and endangered species and invasive species in waterways and water areas," Suess said. The Platte River, one of the principal places Gutzmer monitors for Loup, is home for Gutzmer, as he grew up around it. As he got older and started looking for possible career paths, it just made sense for him to go into wetland ecology and wildlife management. "I really didn't have a choice. I was so into it. The double-edged sword is you have to know a lot but if you are dedicated, you can overcome it," Gutzmer said. "It's not like you get rich (doing this) but in my case I was so passionate about it I couldn't see myself doing anything else." Suess attested to Gutzmer's extensive knowledge of local wildlife, especially on the Platte River. Suess said Gutzmer will often know the scientific names for many of the species and where they came from, how they got where they are and much more. That was a big part of why they have partnered with him over the years. "To use anybody else didn't make any sense. That he is located in Columbus and his pricing is reasonable compared to others helped but his ability to identify birds, fish, flora and fauna is top-notch," Suess said. The fact that Gutzmer was named for both awards, Suess said, doesn't surprise him, as Gutzmer's knowledge of the wildlife and of the standards the organizations he works for have to meet is impeccable. "He does know so much about it, writes articles on it. If you ever drive around with him, go on a boat with him up and down the river, he'll spot things you'd never think to look for in your life," Suess said. Gutzmer himself, however was surprised and very happy to receive both states' awards as being recognized by a state is a major accomplishment for those in the field. As an independent and smaller company, he said, it's a great thing for business. "Quite frankly, I was shocked just to get recognized by one. Most people live for, look forward to and appreciate that but the fact that both appreciate what I've done over my career, that's awesome," Gutzmer said. Tony Byrne, president and principal ecologist at EcoResource out of Colorado, said he and Gutzmer have been on many assignments together, including the Platte River, where they monitored forage fish and least tern populations. What they do, Byrne said, is focused on protecting threatened species, through monitoring things like wetlands, solar and wind farms. Gutzmer especially enjoys plants, Byrne said. "We're essentially helping our clients and protecting the environment as best we can at the same time," Byrne said. "He loves plants, he's a tremendous plant scientist and taxonomist in the great plains and Rocky Mountains, he's worked with the American Fisheries Society, The Wildlife Society, the list goes on and on." Protecting the environment for the future, Gutzmer said, is one of the most important things in his line of work. In a recent trip to the Mediterranean Sea, to the island of Malta, he said, he noticed that there was a lot of trash in one of their waterways. While different countries have different codes and Malta is a very old country, he said, it made him stop and ask questions. "If you can see trash, what about the contamination you don't see?" Gutzmer said. He added that he hopes to, somehow, connect with everyone he can to educate people on biodiversity and how to properly steward the world they live in. One message, he said, is his mission. "Let's go above and beyond. A lot of us have kids and they're going to have kids," Gutzmer said. "Let's leave the world better than when we found it." Carlisle resident Vivian Kline had one goal for attending Wednesday nights Carlisles Community Town Hall meeting. Basically I wanted to hear everything that they had to say and I wanted to know more about what theyre doing with Bedford Street, she said. Bedford Street references a five-leg intersectionthat could be undergoing changes over the next two years. Its one of many projects the borough will be undertaking focused on roadwork and causing traffic concerns. Wednesdays town hall, held at Carlisle Alliance Church at 237 E. North St., allowed residents to meet informally with borough representatives to address a variety of matters in the community. Among other topics that were addressed, the meeting covered an update on the Carlisle Connectivity Project, a review of the boroughs new trash contract that began in January, borough employment opportunities and assistance programs. But roads and traffic were the hot topics. Dawood presentation The meeting included a presentation by Chad Decker, vice president of Dawood Engineering, about a potential traffic calming project that could bring changes to the intersection at East Penn Street, North Bedford Street and Kerrs Avenue. The intersection consists of all one-way streets and the first phase of the projects preliminary plan includes the installation of curb extensions at each corner to slow traffic, the relocation of an existing crosswalk across Penn Street and signage. Curb extensions could narrow the intersections, and the crosswalk relocation could involve moving the existing walkway across East Penn Street west of the intersection to a point further west, narrowing the crossing distance and improving the sight distance in that area. Pedestrian crossing signs and yield arrows at the crosswalks anticipated new location are proposed. Decker said the final design for phase one could be reviewed in May with potential construction in the summer. He said phase one is a gateway project with the potential of additional work in the future. A graphic of the plan includes possibilities for a second phase of the traffic calming project, which could involve the installation of bicycle lanes and angled parking along the west side of North Bedford Street south of its intersection with East Penn Street. I think well spend 2023 designing this intersection, getting it constructed, observe in early 2024 and then decide what to do about phase two of the project, Decker said. This years borough budget includes funding for phase one, and additional money would need to be set aside for phase two. Kline said that while the traffic calming project addresses the intersection at Bedford Street, Penn Street and Kerrs Avenue, speeding in the area begins along Bedford Street well before that intersection. Residents asked whether speedbumps or rumble strips might be beneficial, but Decker said speed bumps are typically used in areas with lower traffic volumes than Bedford Street and can be obstacles for snow plows. Rumble strips can also be noisy for residents, he said. Kline said she felt the town hall meeting allowed borough officials to hear more about what residents were thinking to help determine the how to move forward both with the traffic calming project at the intersection as well as with other borough-related topics. Carlisle Connectivity Project Public Works Director Mark Malarich provided an update about the Carlisle Connectivity Project during the meeting. The project is designed to redevelop three vacant industrial sites: Carlisle Tire and Wheel, Masland/IAC and AMP Carlisle. It consisted of three phases. The Western Phase and the TIGER Project, which included the installation of roundabouts at B Street and Fairground Avenue and B and North College streets, are essentially complete. Project One, the third phase, involves the realignment of Carlisle Springs Road and North Hanover Street as well as the installation of a five-point roundabout at North Hanover Street, West and East Penn streets and Fairground Avenue, in addition to other street improvements. Malarich said work will also be completed on water mains in the area and Norfolk Southerns rail lines. He said the borough is waiting for the final permits necessary for the project, something he anticipates will happen by the end of the month. Malarich said once the permits have been attained, the borough could open bids for construction in July and possibly begin work on the two-year project in September. So the question is ... is the road going to remain open, and the answer to that is yes, the road will remain open, he said. There will be a time period where we will need to close the road for approximately a week to two-week period to allow Norfolk Southern to replace their railroad, but in any other times, itll be phased so that there will always be traffic moving in that area. During that one to two-week span during which the road is closed, detours will be in place, Malarich said. Town hall meetings The meeting was one of several town halls intended to increase transparency and engagement with residents. The first was held at Memorial Park in October and borough officials said other town halls will be held at locations throughout the borough. Carlisle resident Michael Shanaman said hes new to the area and attended the town hall to learn how borough operations work and to meet neighbors. I think it impacts the community a lot, he said of the meeting. Its great for the community, they get to come here, they get to open up about issues in the community, their personal issues and the borough listens and they consider it. Danette Lay, who also lives in Carlisle, said she didnt attend the meeting to learn about any specific issues, but wanted to hear about whats going on in the borough. I think it shows that the mayor and the borough care what the people think that live here, she said. I think its important for the people to be here to get that one-on-one time with the mayor and the staff, open communication back and forth and so everyones kind of on the same page and aware of whats happening. Photos: Carlisle Borough Community Town Hall German police were searching for a motive on Friday after a gunman, believed to have been acting alone, killed several people in a Jehovahs Witnesses church in Hamburg. Police declined to say how many people had been killed in Thursday nights attack but said the gunman was believed to be among the dead. The Bild newspaper reported seven people were dead and eight wounded in the shooting in the northern city that is home to Germanys biggest port. Several of the wounded were seriously hurt, the Jehovahs Witnesses said. No details of the suspected killer have been released. Hamburg police were due to brief the media at noon (1100 GMT). Bad news from Hamburg, Chancellor Olaf Scholz wrote on Twitter early on Friday, calling the attack a brutal act of violence. He said his thoughts were with the victims, their families and the security forces, who he said have been through a difficult deployment since the shooting at around 9 p.m. (2000 GMT). Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said on Twitter that the authorities were working urgently to investigate the crime. We assume that there is one perpetrator, police said late on Thursday. Investigations into the motives behind the crime are continuing. Germany has some of the most stringent rules around gun control in Europe and the interior minister said late last year the government planned to tighten gun laws after a suspected plot by a far-right group to violently overthrow the state. HORRIFIC ATTACK The Jehovahs Witnesses said in a statement on their website that the religious community was deeply affected by the horrific attack on its members of the faith in a Kingdom Hall in Hamburg after a service. The group expressed sympathy for the victims, families and the traumatized eyewitnesses. Ministers were doing their best to support them in this difficult hour. We pray for all those affected and wish them the power of the God of all comfort. Police established an internet portal for people to upload photos and videos of the crime or relevant events. Soon after the violence began, residents in the Alsterdorf district received warnings on their mobile phones of a life threatening situation and the area was sealed off, the DPA news agency reported. Television footage showed dozens of police cars as well as fire engines blocking off streets and some people, wrapped in blankets, being led by emergency service workers into a bus. We heard shots, one unidentified witness told reporters. There were 12 continuous shots, he said. Then we saw how people were taken away in black bags. Police arrived at the scene to find several people seriously wounded and some dead. Then they heard a shot from above, they went upstairs and found one further person, said a police spokesperson. Germany has been shaken by a number of shootings in the last few years. In February 2020, a gunman with suspected far-right links shot dead nine people, including migrants from Turkey, in the western town of Hanau before killing himself and his mother. In October 2019, a gunman killed two people when he opened fire outside a synagogue in the eastern city of Halle on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur. SOURCE: REUTERS Russias first missile blitz on Ukrainian cities in weeks was met in Kyiv with defiance and disgust over the targeting of civilians, while Ukrainian forces defending the eastern town of Bakhmut continued to thwart Russian attempts to break through. The Ukrainian military said on Friday that its soldiers had repelled 102 attacks in past 24 hours in Bakhmut, a town which has been a key objective for Russian forces since August. The pre-dawn missile barrage on Thursday killed at least nine civilians and cut electricity supplies in several cities, but there was relief that the risk of a catastrophic meltdown at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant was averted as power was restored after a temporary disconnection from the Ukrainian grid. Ukraine said its air defences shot down many drones and missiles but Russia also fired six Kinzhal hypersonic cruise missiles which they had no way to stop. Moscow confirmed it had used Kinzhal Russian for dagger missiles in Thursdays attack. The mass strikes on targets far from the front were the first such wave since mid-February, breaking a lull in the air campaign against Ukraines civil infrastructure that Russia launched five months ago. The occupiers can only terrorise civilians. Thats all they can do, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. But it wont help them. They wont avoid responsibility for everything they have done. Russia has repeatedly denied targeting civilians. Its defence ministry said it had carried out a massive retaliatory strike as payback for a cross-border raid last week, and claimed to have destroyed drone bases, disrupted railways and damaged facilities that make and repair arms. Moscow says such hits are intended to reduce Ukraines ability to fight. Kyiv says the air strikes have no military purpose and aim to harm and intimidate civilians, a war crime. The missiles killed villagers in the western Lviv region, and closer to the frontline in the central Dnipro region, while Russian artillery also killed at least three people in the northeastern city of Kharkiv, Ukrainian officials said. In Kyiv, a woman stood outside her shattered apartment, holding a toddler while venting her anger with Russia in the aftermath of the attack. How can they do this? How is this possible? They are not humans, said Liudmyla, 58, after a night in which the air sirens sounded for seven hours. Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov said the failure of Russian intelligence to identify military targets had led to a Plan B demoralising the population. CLASH OF EMPIRES Expressing a readiness to talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin to call for peace, Pope Francis said in an interview published on Friday that the war in Ukraine was fuelled by imperial interests, not just of the Russian empire, but of empires from elsewhere. The White House said the missile barrage was devastating to see and Washington would continue to provide Ukraine with air defence capabilities. The missile attacks briefly knocked out power to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europes largest, severing it from the grid and forcing it onto emergency diesel power to prevent a meltdown. It was later reconnected to Ukraines energy grid, operator Ukrenergo said. The plant, which Russia has held since capturing it early in the war, is near the front line and both sides have warned in the past of a potential for disaster. Moscow said it was safe. U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi appealed for a protection zone around the plant. Each time we are rolling a dice. And if we allow this to continue time after time then one day our luck will run out, Grossi told the IAEAs 35-nation Board of Governors. UKRAINE FIGHTS ON AT BAKHMUT On the battlefield, the week has seen an apparent shift as Ukraine has decided to fight on in Bakhmut, a town that has borne the brunt of a Russian winter offensive in the bloodiest fighting of the war. Moscow says Bakhmut is important as a step to securing the surrounding Donbas region, a major war aim. The West says the ruined city has little value and Russian forces are sacrificing lives to give Putin his only victory since sending hundreds of thousands of reservists into battle at the end of last year. Reuters Graphics Reuters Graphics Ukrainian military analyst Zhdanov said defenders had foiled Russian attempts to completely surround Bakhmut from the west. The frontline to the south had held for several days, but the Russians had made some headway in villages to the north. Moscow, which claims to have annexed a fifth of Ukraine, says it launched its special military operation a year ago to combat a security threat. Kyiv and the West call it an unprovoked war to subdue an independent state. SOURCE: REUTERS Which businesses are the best-of-the-best in the Parkland? Thats determined by the people of the Parkland who pick up a Daily Journal this weekend to see who they can start voting for on Tuesday. This is the 7th year were offering Best of the Parkland, which gives area businesses and professionals their chance to shine. This weekends edition, available at convenience and grocery stores all over the Parkland, will list all the nominees from 12 categories and more than 100 subcategories. Nominations were taken online from readers through Feb. 16, and now its up to the Parkland to determine the cream of the crop, from burgers to roofing, nail salons to ATV dealers. Voting begins at https://dailyjournalonline.com/contests/ on Tuesday and ends March 30. The winners will be announced in our annual Best of the Parkland Winners' Edition on May 20. This weekend's edition gives the people of the Parkland a chance to see all the nominees at a glance. The Best of the Parkland contest has grown tremendously in popularity with our readers over the past seven years," said Michelle Menley, advertising manager for the Parkland paper of record. "Its a real lift to see great businesses get the support and recognition they deserve through this annual contest. Plus, its exciting to see whos won it for the first time ever, or whos won it again, proving continuous excellence in their products and services. Since the contest began, dozens of locally-owned and operated businesses in St. Francois, Washington, Madison, Iron and Ste. Genevieve counties have been recognized by the public for the Best of the Parkland logo they sport. So whether its your favorite place for ice cream, your favorite place for barbecue or even your favorite place to get your oil changed, make sure your voice is heard in this years contest, said Menley. Nominated businesses are urged to promote themselves on social media and encourage their customers to vote them to the top of the ranks. For more information on Best of the Parkland, contact your sales executive or contact us at advertising@dailyjournalonline.com What is surrogacy? Surrogacy is when a woman becomes pregnant with the intention of handing over the child to someone else after giving birth. Surrogacy is a way for a childless couple or individual to have a child, with a surrogate mother carrying the child. She then carries the child to term, intending to give custody of the child to the person/couple (known as the commissioning person/couple) with whom she has agreed. How does surrogacy work? Traditional surrogacy is where the surrogate carries a child conceived using her egg and sperm from the intended father. Artificial insemination is used, and the surrogate is genetically related to the child. Gestational surrogacy is when the surrogate carries a child conceived using the intended mother's egg or egg donor and sperm from the intended father. In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) is used, and the surrogate is not genetically related to the child. Is Surrogacy Legal? The laws vary from country to country. Countries such as France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Bulgaria prohibit all forms of surrogacy. In countries including the UK, Denmark and Belgium, surrogacy is allowed where the surrogate mother is unpaid or only paid for reasonable expenses. Paying the mother a fee (known as commercial surrogacy) is prohibited. Commercial surrogacy is legal in some US states and countries, such as India. Who are the child's legal parents? In Irish law, the mother is the individual who gives birth even if the 'intended' or 'commissioning' mother supplied the egg used in the surrogacy. As a result, the surrogate is the child's legal parent and the legal guardian in traditional and gestational cases. This means that the surrogate mother has the rights and duties for the child. If the surrogate mother is married, her husband is presumed by law to be the father and will be considered a joint guardian. This can be disproved via DNA testing. What are the legal complications of surrogacy? There are no internationally recognised laws for surrogacy. Therefore, many parents and children can be left vulnerable or even stateless. It can take several months to bring a surrogate baby back to the parent's home country, as the law may not automatically recognise them as the legal parents. An example of the complications can be seen in the Gammy case. This case involved an Australian couple and a Thai surrogate. In Thailand, surrogates are legal mothers. So, if the parents leave the baby with the mother, she is legally responsible. This was a case where twins were conceived and carried through surrogacy. One twin, Gammy, was born with down syndrome and congenital heart difficulty. The intended parents left Thailand to return to Western Australia with the healthy twin. It ultimately transpired that the surrogate mother had fallen in love with the twins when she was pregnant. An international crisis then developed, and the surrogate mother sought the healthy child, Pippa's, return. A Court ruled that she should remain with her Australian parents. This crisis led to Thailand passing a law banning foreign couples from using Thai women as surrogates. This happened after a series of high-profile scandals tainting the image of the previously unregulated industry. If someone is considering going abroad, are there any differences in law between different jurisdictions? These laws differ drastically from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. In India, the law sees the intended parents as the legal parents. Contrastingly, under UK law, the law recognises the surrogate mother as the legal mother. If someone is thinking about surrogacy, what should they do? The first step on your surrogacy journey should be to obtain legal advice. It is vital before commencing the journey to ensure that you have the correct advice on the requirements for getting your baby back to your home country and obtaining legal parenthood. The second step is to decide what country and clinic you will engage with. This decision is very personal for the intended parents. Once you have chosen your clinic and destination, you must sign a surrogacy agreement. This is an agreement between you (the intended parents), the surrogate, and the clinic. It must be done before the embryo transfer. The agreement sets out the parameters for the gestation period. It also sets out what is expected of the surrogate and intended parents. What documents are required before bringing a surrogate child back to Ireland? Before choosing a country or clinic, it is crucial to investigate whether the child is entitled to a passport from the country of birth, allowing them to travel home to Ireland or whether you need to apply to the Irish authorities for an emergency travel certificate. The biological father will be required to file several documents with the Irish embassy/consulate in the country of the child's birth. These include: A DNA test and results of the father and child/children to establish their genetic connection; Undertakings to the Irish authorities to notify the appropriate local health authorities in the location where the parents reside of the child/children's arrival in Ireland and; To apply for the requisite court orders within the stipulated periods. Once all the necessary documents are provided to the Irish embassy or consulate, and they are satisfied with them, they will furnish the requisite emergency travel documentation for the child or children to allow them to travel to Ireland with their Irish parents. What should surrogate parents do when they return to Ireland? When you arrive back in Ireland with your new baby, you must notify the HSE of your arrival within 48 hours and issue proceedings within ten days for your Declaration of Parentage. This legal process gives the biological father his parentage rights and, in turn, to his son or daughter. Following a recent change to Irish guardianship laws, the mother can, after two years residing with the child, and if married to the father, apply for an order appointing her joint guardian of the child or children. Otherwise, she will have had to cohabit with the father for at least three years before the application. While Irish law currently does not provide specifically for a domestic surrogacy system, the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 provides specific orders for children. It allows for critical legal recognitions for the parents of children born through foreign surrogacies, such as declarations of parentage, appointment as a guardian, granting of custody, citizenship and issuance of travel documentation & Passports. How long does the legal process take? The Irish courts' formal recognition can vary depending on what part of Ireland the commissioning parents live in, principally due to administrative issues. Paperwork must be served on the surrogate mother and Attorney General. Is the commissioning mother entitled to maternity leave? As the commissioning mother does not become pregnant, she is not entitled to maternity leave or Maternity Benefits if employed. Legal developments in surrogacy It has long been recommended that a child born through surrogacy should be presumed to be the child of the commissioning couple, rather than the surrogate mother. This was set out in the Report of the Commission on Assisted Human Reproduction (2005). The Commission also recommended that a regulatory body be set up for assisted human reproduction, including surrogacy. The Assisted Human Reproduction Bill was first published in 2017 and it contained proposals to regulate many aspects of assisted human reproduction and domestic surrogacy. The Joint Oireachtas Health Committee undertook pre-legislative scrutiny of the General Scheme of the Assisted Human Reproduction Bill and, in 2019, issued its report with recommendations for improvement of the legislation. In April 2021, the Review of Childrens Rights and Best Interests in the Context of Donor Assisted Human Reproduction and Surrogacy in Irish Law was published. The review made many recommendations, including that comprehensive legislation regulating surrogacy be enacted in Ireland at the earliest opportunity. On 10 March 2022, the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Bill 2022 was published. The Bill is currently before the Dail. The main purposes of the Bill are to: Put in place a specific regulatory framework for the for the provision of assisted human reproduction (AHR) treatment and related research Allow for the establishment of the Assisted Human Reproduction Regulatory Authority (AHRRA) Set out criteria for the provision of AHR treatments including posthumous assisted human reproduction and pre-implantation genetic diagnosis Set out the circumstances under which surrogacy may be permitted in Ireland, including that the surrogacy agreement is gestational only (that is, the surrogates egg is not used) Ensure that any child born will have a genetic link to at least one intending parent Under the Bill, any surrogacy agreement must also be non-commercial (altruistic) and approved by the AHRRA in advance. In regard to international surrogacy, a Joint Committee on International Surrogacy was asked to consider and make recommendations on measures to address issues arising from international surrogacy, having particular regard to the rights, interests and welfare of children born through surrogacy (both in the future, and existing children), of surrogates and of intended parents. In July 2022, the Final Report of the Joint Committee on International Surrogacy was published. On 13 December 2022, the Government announced that it has approved policy and legislative proposals on international surrogacy and the recognition of certain past surrogacy arrangements. The new legislative provisions will need to be further approved by Government when drafted and then inserted into the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Bill 2022 at Committee Stage. For further advice or if you wish to discuss any other legal area please contact reception@lynchsolicitors.ie or telephone 052-6124344. The material contained in this blog is provided for general information purposes only and does not amount to legal or other professional advice. While every care has been taken in the preparation of the information, we advise you to seek specific advice from us about any legal decision or course of action. *SPONSORED CONTENT [March 09, 2023] FESCIOF concludes after convening more than 100 international organizations, forging a roadmap for effective collaboration and sustainable solutions The Future of Education, Science, and Culture International Organizations Forum (FESCIOF) successfully ended its inaugural convening in Riyadh, uniting for the first time the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO), the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) plus more than 100 international organizations, leveraging the power of collaboration to drive meaningful impact for the future of international organizations in the fields of education, science, and culture. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230309005847/en/ (from left to right) H.E. Mohamed Ould Amar, Director General, ALECSO, H.E. Dr. Salim Al Malik, ICESCO and Costanza Farina, Director, Regional Bureau for Education in the Arab States - UNESCO Representative to Lebanon and Syria (Photo: AETOSWire) After the forum concluded, the organizers announced their commitment to facilitate further collaboration among international organizations in education, science, and culture. They affirmed the importance of FESCIOF as an innovative effor to align efforts and maximize positive impact through collaboration. Saudi Arabia also took the initiative to host the next two editions of FESCIOF, in 2025 and 2027. FESCIOF, which featured more than 20 panel sessions with more than 65 speakers under the theme of "Together for Impact in the 21st Century," aimed to foster insightful discourse and facilitate knowledge exchange to develop a shared vision and identify opportunities for collaboration. Alongside high-level representatives from UNESCO, ALECSO, and ICESCO, the event facilitated cross-organizational dialogue within a broad ecosystem of change-makers, featuring speakers and attendees from international organizations, including the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), as well as experts and thought leaders in organizational design and management from prestigious academic institutions and prominent organizations, such as Harvard Business School, London Business School, INSEAD Blue Ocean Strategy Institute, Google, and Visa, among others. The representatives from the education, culture and science international organizations reflected on the discussions during the Forum and highlighted its successes, recognizing the value that partnerships between civil society and the private sector bring to the world. During the final session "Preparing the Ground for Future Collaboration," the panelists, H.E. Mohamed Ouled Amar, Director General of ALECSO; H.E. Dr. Salim Al-Malik, Director General of ICESCO; Costanza Farina, Director Regional Bureau in Beirut and Representative of UNESCO to Lebanon and Syria, emphasized the need to continue working together to create a "Together for Impact" roadmap to achieve shared goals and create a better future for all. "As organizations and those who are organizing, we need to work at the right time and the right place because the challenge is the value of time," H.E. Al-Malik said. He also praised the objectives of FESCIOF and said that ICESCO will maximize the conference outcomes and "convert them into action." Farina highlighted the interdependence of the three sectors of education, culture, and science, stressing, "we cannot advance on education if we do not advance in science and in culture at the same time." Finally, H.E. Mohamed Ould Amar, Director General of ALECSO concluded that "the goals from this Forum are crystal clear, we are working together to achieve them." FESCIOF aims to establish a collaborative and trusted global platform for international organizations to come together and capitalize on future opportunities. The event fosters open dialogue and partnership among stakeholders to create a roadmap for international organizations to collaborate more effectively, while establishing a sustainable mechanism for partnerships resulting from the forum. FESCIOF, which took place from 8-9 March, is jointly organized by the ALECSO and the SNC. *Source: AETOSWire View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230309005847/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [March 09, 2023] SourceFuse Achieves AWS Migration Competency Status Demonstrating its Expertise in Cloud Migration Solutions JACKSONVILLE, Fla., March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- SourceFuse, a leading provider of cloud native, bespoke solutions and services for enterprises, today announces that it has achieved Amazon Web Services (AWS) Migration Competency status. This designation is a testament to the work SourceFuse has been undertaking, accelerating the cloud migration and modernization of mission-critical workloads and applications. The AWS Competency Program validates and promotes AWS Partners with demonstrated AWS technical expertise and proven customer success with specific focus on complex and large-scale & mass AWS cloud migration. Partners with the AWS Migration Competency accelerate their customers' cloud adoption journey by providing business expertise, migration and modernization tools, education, and support to customers in the form of professional services. To receive this designation, AWS Partners must possess deep AWS expertise and deliver solutions seamlessly on AWS. "We're thrilled to add the AWS Migration Competency to our growing portfolio of AWS tools and services, which includes the AWS Healthcare, DevOps, and Microsoft Workloads Competencies. Our dedicated AWS Business Unit and talented teams of experts have made this accomplishment possible, time and again bringing value and success to our customers," says Gautam Ghai, Co-Founder and Co-CEO at SourceFuse. "By achieving this competency, SourceFuse has demonstrated its ability to help customers accelerate their migration journey, lower costs, and achieve greater agility on AWS." SourceFuse is committed to ensuring customers unlock the full potential of the cloud, integrating the most advanced technology available to provide secure, scalable, and cost-effective solutions. With its modernization-led migration approach as a differentiator from a lift and shift model, we at SourceFuse believe modernization should be the end goal for any organization moving to the cloud. And with its own factory model of prebuilt microservices to support migration and modernization - ARC by SourceFuse - achieving business goals and objectives is accelerated 35% faster than industry benchmarks, including infrastructure modernization and custom application development. 2023 will be the year for modernization-led migrations to AWS. With AWS, SourceFuse is enabling scalable, flexible, and cost-effective solutions to migrate and modernize organizations' applications and data on AWS. About SourceFuse Media Contact: Vaidant Singh, CMO, SourceFuse, Phone: +1-551-227-6123, [email protected] SOURCE SourceFuse [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [March 09, 2023] Comadran wins legal battle and keeps Medabots trademark in Japan The robot game has more than 200,000 users ANDORRA, Spain, March 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Japanese Trademark Office has rejected the arguments filed by Japanese giant Imagineer on 21 January 2022 against the registration of Andorran Kevin Comadran's Medabots trademark. Imagineer sought the cancellation of this trademark on the grounds that it could create confusion with its trademark Medarot, which it changed internationally to Medabots. In the pleadings, Imagineer sought cancellation of Comadran's mark on the grounds that the marks are similar and that it was acquired by Comadran in bad faith. However, each of the points raised in the opposition brief was ultimately rejected by the court. The Japanese Trademark Office's decision finds that Imagineer's mark cannot be sid to be widely known to consumers, in Japan or abroad. Furthermore, it rejects that confusion or bad faith has been shown. Currently, the Medabots game, created by Comadran Studios, in which consumers can battle each other with robots assembled from scratch, continues to grow daily and has more than 200,000 users. It is a fully strategic game in which, in addition to having to complete daily missions, players can compete in different leagues. In 2017 Kevin Comadran started to design a video game about robot battles and, when he was thinking about the name of the trademark and the possibilities of registration, he discovered that the name Medabots was available because it had been abandoned by its owner, so he decided to register it as a trademark for his game. It was not until a few years later that Imagineer remembered the trademark (which once belonged to another company and for which this company was a publisher) and wanted to register it, trying to do so in several countries and opposing the trademarks registered by Comadran. Now the Japanese Office considers that Comadran is right. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/comadran-wins-legal-battle-and-keeps-medabots-trademark-in-japan-301765845.html [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [March 09, 2023] Zinnov and Microsoft launch a study on the Indian Gig Economy and the role of technology in driving growth for the sector Indian gig workers will generate USD 250 Bn of work by 2030 BANGALORE, India, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Gig workers will play an instrumental role in enabling India's USD 5 Tn economy, with the current 7.7 Mn-strong gig workforce leading the charge. With this talent pool set to more than triple to a massive 23.5 Mn by 2030, these workers will generate USD 250 Bn of work, notes a joint study by Zinnov and Microsoft. Zinnov, a leading global management consulting and strategy advisory firm, along with Microsoft, released the findings of the study titled, 'Unlocking the Power of the Gig Economy with Cloud PC', which highlights how technology will be critical in enabling the gig economy. The joint study also explores the industry challenges that the gig workforce faces, and reveals that in the post-pandemic business environment, Finance & Insurance, and IT sectors are witnessing 31% and 20% increased engagement with gig workers. Pre-pandemic, nearly half of all gig workers were concentrated in two sectors Retail Trade and Transportation, which is rapidly giving way to nearly 35% of gig workers being employed in the IT sector. In fact, soon every third 'employee' of an IT organization will be a gig worker. This is especially significant, given the current dichotomy of mass layoffs and skilled labour shortage that companies are grappling with. As organizations explore new, innovative business models to circumvent this dichotomy, they will increasingly engage with the rising gig economy. Engaging with the gig economy is not only beneficial for enterprises, but gig workers as well, notes the study. Viewed through the economical, operational, and innovation lens, gig workers benefit through high-paying, multiple short-term jobs that enable flexibility. It also allows for rapid upskilling while in some cases, enables investment in passions and interests that pay them. For enterprises, engagement with the gig workforce ensures cost savings, flexibility of an ad-hoc, project-based working model that can be scaled or descaled quickly, enable quick onboarding, and access to highly skilled, niche talent. However, engaging with gig workers comes with its own set of challenges, including concerns around data security, IP theft, access management, cultural orientation, etc. And these challenges span across planning, onboarding, execution, and payment phases in the lifecycle of gig workers. The stud reveals that more than 70% of CXOs feel that Onboarding and Execution are the two difficult yet crucial phases, addressing which can enable widespread adoption of the gig economy model. Technologies such as Cloud, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Cybersecurity are being leveraged to address such challenges in a transparent and productive way. Cloud technology, which enabled the seamless transition to remote work, will be critical in addressing the challenges of the gig economy. It enables independent professionals such as gig workers to operate remotely, communicate freely, and navigate financial and technical complexities with dexterity and ease. Products such as the Windows 365 Cloud PC combine the power and security of the Cloud with the versatility and simplicity of the PC, empowering both gig workers and enterprises to collaborate from anywhere in the new world of work. Rajat Kohli, Partner at Zinnov, commented, "The current dichotomy of skilled talent deficit and layoffs, underscore the importance of a strong gig workforce strategy. With every enterprise in need of digital skills such as AI, Automation, Data Analytics, etc., leaders will look to the gig workforce to fulfil short- to medium-term projects on an ad-hoc basis. With the percentage of gig workers in IT organizations expected to touch 35% in the near future, newer enabling engagement models and platforms will take center stage. Hence, products such as Microsoft's Cloud PC will act as two-way enablers. On one hand, they will become critical in overcoming the barriers for widespread gig economy adoption and enable cost and time savings for enterprises. On the other, they will enable seamless gigs, offering flexibility and upskilling opportunities for the gig workers." Bhaskar Basu, Country Head, Modern Work, Microsoft India, said, "Technology is a key enabler of the gig economy and will play a foundational role in defining the future of work and workplaces. To thrive in a hybrid world, people and organizations need solutions that are fluid, dynamic, and Cloud-powered. At Microsoft, we are committed to supporting organizations and individuals to work on their own terms, without compromising on security or accessibility. By providing secure and reliable solutions that support working from anywhere and on any device, our aim is to empower a diverse range of talent to participate in this growing sector." About Microsoft India Microsoft enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Microsoft set up its India operations in 1990. Today, Microsoft entities in India have over 20,000 employees, engaged in sales and marketing, research, development and customer services and support, across 11 Indian cities Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, New Delhi, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Noida, and Pune. Microsoft offers its global cloud services from local data centers to accelerate digital transformation across Indian startups, businesses, and government organizations. About Zinnov Founded in 2002, Zinnov is a global management and strategy consulting firm in New York, Santa Clara, Houston, Seattle, Bangalore, Gurgaon, Paris, and Pune. Over the past 20 years, Zinnov has successfully consulted with over 250+ Fortune 500 enterprises to develop actionable insights to help them accelerate their Digital Transformation journeys to create value across dimensions of both revenue and optimization. With core expertise in Digital Engineering, Digital Transformation, Innovation, and Outsourcing Advisory, Zinnov assists clients by: Structuring and implementing Digital Transformation levers enabled by technologies like AI/ML, Cloud, IoT, and Intelligent Automation; Advising global PE firms in asset shortlisting and target evaluation, commercial due diligence, and value creation; Helping global companies outline and drive their open innovation programs, design and operate accelerator programs, and enable collaboration with start-ups across specific use cases and predefined outcomes; Enabling global companies to develop and optimize a global engineering footprint through center setups, and technology and functional accelerators to achieve higher R&D efficiencies, innovation, and productivity; Growing revenue for companies' products and services in newer markets through account intelligence, market entry, and market expansion advisory. With their team of experienced consultants, subject matter experts, and research professionals, Zinnov serves clients from across multiple industry verticals including Enterprise Software, BFSI, Healthcare, Automotive, Retail, and Telecom in the US, Europe, Japan, and India. For more information, visit http://zinnov.com . Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/694742/Zinnov_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/in/news-releases/zinnov-and-microsoft-launch-a-study-on-the-indian-gig-economy-and-the-role-of-technology-in-driving-growth-for-the-sector-301767970.html [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [March 09, 2023] ZTO Provides Updates on Response to Short Seller Report SHANGHAI, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE: ZTO and SEHK: 2057), a leading and fast-growing express delivery company in China ("ZTO" or the "Company"), today announced that following its previous statement in response to the allegations made in a report issued by the short-seller firm Grizzly Research LLC on March 2, 2023 (the "Short Seller Report"), the audit committee of the Company's board of directors (the "Audit Committee"), after having reviewed the allegations, at the recommendation of the management of the Company and in order to protect the interests of all shareholders, has decided to conduct an independent investigation into the allegations made in the Short Seller Report (the "Independent Investigation"). The Audit Committee has engaged and will be assisted by independent professional advisors, including an international law firm and a forensic accounting firm that is not the Company's auditor. The Company will provide updates on the Independent Investigation in due course consistent with the requirements of applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the New York Stock Exchange, and The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited. The Company reiterates its continued and unwavering commitment to maintaining high standards of corporate governance and internal control, as well as transparent and timely disclosure in compliance with applicable rules and regulations. About ZTO ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE: ZTO and SEHK:2057) ("ZTO" or the "Company") is a leading and fast-growing expres delivery company in China. ZTO provides express delivery service as well as other value-added logistics services through its extensive and reliable nationwide network coverage in China. ZTO operates a highly scalable network partner model, which the Company believes is best suited to support the significant growth of e-commerce in China. The Company leverages its network partners to provide pickup and last-mile delivery services, while controlling the mission-critical line-haul transportation and sorting network within the express delivery service value chain. For more information, please visit http://zto.investorroom.com. Safe Harbor Statement This press release contains statements that may constitute "forward-looking" statements pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. ZTO may also make forward-looking statements in the Company's periodic reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), in its interim and annual reports to shareholders, in announcements, circulars or other publications made on the website of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the " Hong Kong Stock Exchange" ), in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about the Company's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology, such as " will," " expects," " anticipates," " future," " intends," " plans," " believes," " confidence," " estimates," "likely to" and similar statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the development of the e-commerce industry in China, its significant reliance on the Alibaba ecosystem, risks associated with its network partners and their employees and personnel, intense competition which could adversely affect the Company's results of operations and market share, any service disruption of the Company's sorting hubs or the outlets operated by its network partners or its technology system. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in ZTO's annual report on Form 20-Fs and other filings with the SEC and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. All information provided in this press release is current as of the date hereof, and ZTO assumes no obligation to update such information, except as required under applicable law. For investor and media inquiries, please contact: ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. Investor Relations E-mail: [email protected] Phone: +86 21 5980 4508 SOURCE ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [March 10, 2023] Chandigarh University with 703 patents becomes the Highest Patent filing Indian University in 2021-22 Chandigarh University is working robustly to make India a self-reliant & self-sufficient nation in Science & Technology: Satnam Singh Sandhu, CU Chancellor Chandigarh University rises to First position in filing highest number of patents in 2022 from Top 3 Universities in previous year CHANDIGARH, India, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- With a mission to project India as the hub of research and innovation, Chandigarh University Gharuan is working to develop new technologies and products by filing patents in emerging areas. Chandigarh University has been ranked at the top with the highest number of 703 patents filed in a year. According to the recently released report for 2021-22 by the Office of Controller General of Patents, Designs, Trade Marks and Geographical Indications (CGPDTM), Government of India, Chandigarh University has maintained its position as the top research-intensive university of India. For the last three consecutive years, Chandigarh University Gharuan has been amongst the top three universities for filing highest number of patents in a year. The university has also ranked 3rd in India for filing most number of patents in the field of Information Technology (IT). Contributing to about 1.05% of the research in the country, Chandigarh University has shared the first position with Sanskriti University for filing the highest number of patents in 2021-22. During this year, a total of 66440 patent applications have been filed in India, exhibiting an increase of about 13.57% as compared to the previous year. As per the statistics, the total filing of 23 IITs across the country is 597 patents whereas CU alone has filed 703 patents this year. Over the years, the students and faculty of Chandigarh University have filed a total of 400 patents, out of which 1747 have been published. As of now, 72.79% of the patents filed by CU have been published already. As per the latest report published by the Office of Controller General of Patents, Designs, Trade Marks and Geographical Indications (CGPDTM), Chandigarh University has filed 139 patents in Computer Science Engineering - IT and 84 patents in Manufacturing. In 2021-22, the university filed 81 patents in the field of Medical and Healthcare, 72 patents in Mechanical & Mechatronics, and 50 in Agriculture. In the field of IT, the university has ranked 3rd in the country for filing most patents whereas TCS is in the first position is in this category. The increasing trend in filing of applications for patents by Chandigarh University has been observed in 2021-22 as compared to previous years, which has eventually boosted Punjab's position in research at a national level. At present Punjab ranks 5th in patent filing among all the states in comparison to its prior ranks, i.e. 8th and 13th. According to World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), India's global position, both in innovations and publications, has been rising over the years. In 2022, India ranks at the 12th position globally for patent filing with an increase of 25% in comparison to the last year. Speaking about the achievement of the university, Chandigarh University Chancellor Satnam Singh Sandhu said, "Universities and Institutions of Higher Education play a major role in shaping young minds and encouraging them to contribute in the field of research and innovation, which impacts the economic prosperity and global position of a nation. With 703 out of the total 66440 patents filed in 2021-22 by the universities across the country, Chandigarh University contributes to a major share of over 1% research and innovation in the country. The university is working robustly on a mission to make India self-reliant and self-sufficient in terms of research and innovation in various fields such as science, technology, and medicine. The university aims to make India rank amongst the top five nations in patent filing at a global level." Dr. Sanjeet Singh, Dean Research, CU, said, "The University has allocated an annual budget of Rs. 15 Crore for promoting enhanced research and innovation on the campus. Additionally, there are over 100 Core Research Groups (CRG) with more than 1500 students and faculty involved in the development of futuristic products and technologies." Satnam Singh Sandhu also stated that Chandigarh University has more than 30 R&D Centres and Centres of Excellence on the campus for providing practical training for enhanced learning and research. About Chandigarh University Chandigarh University is a NAAC A+ Grade University and QS World Ranked University. This autonomous educational institution is approved by UGC and is located near Chandigarh in the state of Punjab. It is the youngest university in India and the only private university in Punjab to be honoured with A+ Grade by NAAC (National Assessment and Accreditation Council). CU offers more than 109 UG and PG programs in the field of engineering, management, pharmacy, law, architecture, journalism, animation, hotel management, commerce, and others. It has been awarded as The University with Best Placements by WCRC. Website: https://www.cuchd.in/ Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2030449/Chandigarh_University.jpg View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/in/news-releases/chandigarh-university-with-703-patents-becomes-the-highest-patent-filing-indian-university-in-2021-22-301768838.html [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [March 10, 2023] PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust Announces Doug Jones Joined Its Board of Trustees PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust (NYSE: PMT) announced today that Doug Jones, President and Chief Mortgage Banking Officer, joined its Board of Trustees effective March 7, 2023. In his role as President of PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust, Mr. Jones is responsible for the company's mortgage banking activities, including correspondent loan production and loan servicing. He previously served as Chief Correspondent Lending Officer and has been a member of the company's executive management team since 2011. "I am delighted to announce Doug Jones' election to our Board of Trustees," said PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer David Spector. "Doug has a long track record of success in mortgage banking and the contributions he has made since joining our executive management team more than 10 years ago have driven Pennymac to become the largest correspondent leder, supporting nearly 800 independent mortgage companies, community banks and credit unions across the country. On behalf of our Board, I welcome Doug with great enthusiasm." Prior to joining PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust, Mr. Jones worked in several executive positions at both Countrywide Financial Corporation and Bank of America Corporation, as its successor, where he was responsible for correspondent and warehouse lending, the management and oversight of retail sales, and other ancillary mortgage businesses. He earned a B.A. in Economics from California State University, Sacramento. About PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust is a mortgage real estate investment trust (REIT) that invests primarily in residential mortgage loans and mortgage-related assets. PMT is externally managed by PNMAC Capital Management, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of PennyMac Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE: PFSI). Additional information about PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust is available at pmt.pennymac.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230310005131/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [March 10, 2023] Komodo Health Unveils New Insights in Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer at White House Cancer Moonshot Forum Today, Komodo Health, a leading healthcare technology company, deepens its commitment to the White House Cancer Moonshot Initiative, joining patient advocates, industry innovators, federal policymakers, and public health officials to accelerate progress against colorectal cancer (CRC). During the meeting, Komodo will unveil new findings from its Healthcare Map supporting the need for earlier screening, which is especially urgent in light of pandemic-related impacts. While CRC screening rates have returned to the normal baseline, they have not made up for the 90% drop in colonoscopies seen in the spring of 2020, at the height of the pandemic. As part of the company's research collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Fight CRC, Komodo is evaluating the time from first screening to diagnosis across different screening modalities - examining how factors such as age, race, gender, geography, and other socioeconomic considerations play roles in CRC disparities. The research effort aims to drive insights at the federal level to improve early detection in the communities that need it most. "Putting a spotlight around inequities in healthcare has never been more important, and colorectal cancer unfortunately paints a clear picture of how healthcare disparities play out in the real world," said Arif Nathoo, MD, CEO and Co-Founder of Komodo Health. "We know that insights from real-world data can play a valuable role in better supporting the incredible work of advocacy leaders like Fight CRC and efforts of President Biden's Moonshot Initiative. This coalition brings together a network of industry leaders to break down industry silos and drive us toward a new vision of what's possible in colorectal cancer care." Colorectal cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S. While CRC diagnoses and deaths have steadily declined in recent decades as a result of increased screening rates, rates of both continue to increase in younger patient populations, and stark location- and race-based disparities continue to put many Americans at higher risk. Insights from Komodo's Healthcare Map underscore the urgency of action among advocates, governments, and healthcare providers to improve early detection and access to care, especially because CRC presents in many different ways and can even be asymptomatic. Komodo's Fast Facts: Colorectal Cancer, also unveiled today, sheds additional light on trends in CRC screening, diagnosis, treatment, and care. Key findings on early-onset CRC trends include: Impact of the pandemic: While colonoscopy screenings have rebounded to the pre-pandemic rate, there's been no influx to compensate for the drop in care. Screenings had declined by 90% in mid-2020, and new CRC diagnoses had declined by 50%. While colonoscopy screenings have rebounded to the pre-pandemic rate, there's been no influx to compensate for the drop in care. Screenings had declined by 90% in mid-2020, and new CRC diagnoses had declined by 50%. Trends in early onset: Patients under age 35 are most likely to first present with symptoms of anemia and abdominal pain. These are also the most common red flags for CRC diagnosis in emergency department visits for patients under age 35. Patients under age 35 are most likely to first present with symptoms of anemia and abdominal pain. These are also the most common red flags for CRC diagnosis in emergency department visits for patients under age 35. Disparities in care: While only 24% of all patients diagnosed with colon cancer in 2021-2022 identified as Black/Hispanic, this number rose to 35% in the 40-45 age group. In addition to the forum, Komodo Health will join Fight CRC's coalition dedicated to developing a blueprint for addressing the serious equity gaps facing communities and affecting CRC prevention in America. It will also highlight the patient screening journey and set bold metrics for increasing screening and improving patient care. The White House Cancer Moonshot Colorectal Cancer Forum builds on a meeting convened by the White House and Fight CRC in July 2022 with the White House Cancer Moonshot coordinators and representatives from federal agencies in response to President Joe Biden's call to improve and increase access to CRC screening. In support of this effort, Komodo has generated reports on pandemic impacts to CRC care, disparities in care, and trends in early-age CRC onset. Effective public and provider awareness campaigns require reliable, high-fidelity evidence from real-world data. As such, insights from Komodo continue to shape policy discussions and inform the work of federal and state agencies, policymakers, advocacy organizations, payers, drugmakers, and academic institutions alike. "Our focus at the Cancer Moonshot Colorectal Cancer Forum is to advocate for taking action, not just talk about it but operationalize change," said Anjee Davis, Fight CRC President. "We need to dig deeper into the systemic and behavioral patterns that accompany colorectal cancer from screening to treatment and identify the best opportunities to intervene, educate, and -ultimately - drive large-scale advancements. We have the momentum to do this, and it will ultimately save lives." The White House Cancer Moonshot Colorectal Cancer Forum takes place today, Friday, March 10, from 3 PM to 5:30 PM ET. The forum will be closed to the media; however, it will be livestreamed by the White House at wh.gov/live. Komodo Health's involvement in the Cancer Moonshot Initiative is part of Komodo's broader commitment to reduce the global burden of disease and use its full-stack technology platform to democratize access to patient-level insights that can improve health outcomes. About Komodo Health Komodo Health is a technology platform company creating the new standard for real-world data and analytics. Komodo pairs the industry's most complete view of patient encounters with enterprise software and machine learning to connect the dots between individual patient journeys and large-scale health outcomes. Across Life Sciences, payers, providers, and developers, Komodo helps its customers unearth patient-centric insights at scale. The company marries clinical data with advanced algorithms and AI-powered software solutions to inform decision-making, close gaps in care, address disease burden, and help enterprises create a more cost-effective, equitable, and value-driven healthcare system. For more information, visit komodohealth.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230310005081/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Vicky Crocker Realty, at 1136B N Desloge Dr., Desloge, recently celebrated 10 years of providing excellent service in real estate with a ribbon cutting on March 7. Owner and broker Vicky Crocker said the milestone signifies the persistence needed to adapt to constantly changing conditions in the field, and most of all, it signifies the support of her clients. I am truly blessed with the support of clients, both past and present, along with third-party affiliates that have allowed me to continue to provide services to the community for 10 years, Crocker said. On March 7, the real estate company was featured at the Desloge Chamber of Commerce luncheon, after which chamber members and friends joined her for a ribbon-cutting picture in front of Crockers business. I feel I do not sell homes but I provide a service for those buying and selling, she said. While buying and selling property can be an exciting time for some, it can also be a very emotional and stressful time. My motto is, I'll do the running for you, and that includes all aspects of the transactions. For more information about Vicky Crocker Realty, call 573-747-8099 or check out www.vickycrocker.com [March 10, 2023] iShared Transportation Adds former XPO'er and AFC Exec as New Chief Sales Officer TAMPA, Fla., March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- iShared Transportation ("iShared"), a Patriot Capital portfolio company, is pleased to welcome Kyle Ingraham as the new Chief Sales Officer. Ingraham joins iShared with nearly a decade of leadership experience across sales and operations in the freight transportation industry. In this role, Ingraham will have direct leadership over all sales and marketing functions within the organization. Ingraham cut his teeth at XPO Logistics where he received a "first class education" in building a scalable and sustainable businesses through leveraging technology and industry-leading service. Ingraham rose through the ranks at XPO from sales to leadership eventually building and leading one of their largest brokerage operations. Post XPO, Ingraham was President of AFC Logistics the sister company of AFC Transport, a Top 30 Specialized trucking company accordingly to Transport Topics. While at AFC Ingraham worked closely with ownership to relocate the logistics company to Tampa and create scalable processes across the organization. "In the current macro-economic climate, you must have a niche where you can add value without being commoditized by the competition and that's what we offer at iShared. Our Shared Truckload product stands alone amongt others in the industry where we're able to eliminate claims, crossdocking, and decrease transit times all while providing a fair cost that often beats out volume LTL shipping quotes," says Ingraham. iShared's Shared Truckload (STL) service provides a unique and attractive solution for midsize freight shippers with a pallet count Less than Truckload (LTL) shipments, between three and 14 pallet positions. This unique service solves many transportation problems, as iShared co-loads shipment with a few others, and deliver to customers in-route, without all the cross-docking performed by traditional LTL providers. "We're thrilled that Kyle has joined iShared to bring his expertise in leading and growing sales within the asset light environment. We have significant revenue goals and Kyle will be instrumental in achieving those results," says Charles Bryan, Partner and Special Advisor at Patriot Capital. About iShared.com iShared (formerly Smith Transportation Services) is based in Tampa, Fla., and has been serving the supply chain needs of customers since 1980. iShared.com started as a freight brokerage, specializing in produce and other commodities, then proceeded to grow over the years via customer demand for new services. Over the past ten years, iShared has become an asset-light company, with sales reaching $100 million and terminals in Tampa, Miami, and Los Angeles. Comprehensive Supply Chain Solutions are iShared's core competency. iShared can support customers in any leg of their supply chain. For more information about the company, visit: ishared.com. Contact: [email protected] 888-422-7417 View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ishared-transportation-adds-former-xpoer-and-afc-exec-as-new-chief-sales-officer-301768047.html SOURCE iShared Transportation [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [March 10, 2023] Calgary Fintech Launches Pre-sale of Locally Designed and Sourced T-shirts in Support of Chic Geek Calgary, Canada, March 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- To celebrate International Womens Day, Helcim launches an online store to sell locally designed and sourced t-shirts. Proceeds from the sales of the apparel will go to Calgary based Chic Geek to support their mission of attracting more women into tech based roles an industry wide challenge that sees 56% of the women in tech roles leaving the industry midway through their careers . The t-shirt depicts a fierce lioness surrounded by binary code to symbolize the strength of diverse tech teams explains Helcim designer and t-shirt artist Gina Gong. The tagline beyond limits is meant to empower women pursuing a role in tech and speak to the limitless growth we believe they can experience throughout their careers. The Helcim team is excited to continue being an active partner of Chic Geek for a third year in a row. Creating a pathway for diverse tech teams and ensuring more women feel supported to join and stay in the tech industry is a very important part of the culture at Helcim. In fact, Helcim staff who have signed up as mentors with Chic Geeks career pathing program have contributed o 49% of Chic Geek mentees experiencing role changes over the past year. The t-shirt initiative is another way we are excited to grow our involvement with Chic Geek, shares Helcim CFO Marjorie Juno-Read. We are delighted that the artist behind the shirt is a female Helcim team member. Highlighting her talents while raising money and awareness for a great partner and the important cause that is gender diversity and gender equality in the workplace is something I am excited about. Women only hold 25% of computing roles across the industry and of those women 56% leave their technical roles midway through their career. The number one reason we see women leaving their tech roles mid-career is not because of family demands, but because they can not see a path for advancement shares Chic Geek Founder Kylie Woods. Partners like Helcim, help us break through these challenges and our hope with the Helcim t-shirt initiative is that it could create more visibility of mentors and allies that support diverse and inclusive teams. Beyond Limits t-shirts will be sold using Helcims free Online Checkout tool and produced by one of Helcims Calgary-based merchants Local Laundry, reinforcing the companys commitment to supporting local businesses and the booming Calgary tech economy. For additional information on Helcim, the initiative, and to purchase your shirt please visit Helcims shop here. About Helcim Helcim is on a mission to be the worlds most loved payments company by giving small businesses every possible edge to thrive and enrich our communities. The company delivers an easier, smarter, and more affordable payment experience with a human touch. Helcim serves thousands of businesses in Canada and the US across 800 different industries, processing billions in payments each year. About Chic Geek Chic Geek is an organization committed to building gender diversity in technology. Chic Geek curates people, content and companies to build a supportive community where women techbuilders can advance their careers. Its Career Pathing initiative is designed to help women in technology build strategic networks and achieve greater career visibility. Learn more at thechicgeek.ca. Source: https://thenewsfront.com/calgary-fintech-launches-pre-sale-of-locally-designed-and-sourced-t-shirts-in-support-of-chic-geek/ Helcim Suite 400 - 440 2nd Avenue SW Calgary AB T2P 5E9 Canada +1 877-643-5246 https://www.helcim.com [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [March 10, 2023] Scotiabank releases its 2022 ESG Report, highlighting efforts to advance sustainability and ESG performance Annual reporting on the Bank's sustainability activities features progress updates on net-zero targets and support for community investment and economic resilience initiatives TORONTO, March 10, 2023 /CNW/ - Today, Scotiabank released its 2022 Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) Report. Annually, the ESG report provides key updates and insights into Scotiabank's progress on its environmental, social and governance initiatives in its operations, with its customers and in communities across its footprint. "Purpose is embedded in Scotiabank's DNAwe're here for every future, to help our customers, colleagues, shareholders, and communities thrive," said Scott Thomson, President & CEO of Scotiabank. "Through our role as a global financial services company, our position as a world-class employer, and the impactful investments that we make in the communities in which we operate, Scotiabank plays a positive and meaningful role in addressing some of the biggest challenges facing society and the world today." "This report reflects the pivotal year we had in 2022, as we accelerated our ESG efforts across the Bank and made meaningful progress against our stated commitments," said Meigan Terry, SVP and Chief Sustainability, Social Impact and Communications Officer at Scotiabank. "We reached a number of important milestones, including launching our inaugural Net-Zero Pathways Report, ScotiaRISE Impact Report, and Allyship Summit, amongst other achievements. These accomplishments are a demonstration of the positive and meaningful impact that the Bank and our team continue to have on the world around us." This year's report provides updates on the Bank's enhanced climate reporting, net-zero transition activities, and progress on its ScotiaRISE program, and integrtes the Bank's Canadian Public Accountability Statement. Scotiabank's 2022 ESG Report demonstrates the Bank's ongoing commitment to transparency, reporting on key ESG topics across its four-pillars Environmental Action, Economic Resilience, Inclusive Society and Leadership and Governance. Key highlights from the report include: Environment Mobilized $96 billion in climate-related financing since November 1, 2018 , towards a target of $350 billion by 2030. in climate-related financing since , towards a target of by 2030. Generated $35.3 billion of sustainable finance activity in 2022, including green, social, sustainability and sustainability-linked bonds, loans and M&A advisory services. of sustainable finance activity in 2022, including green, social, sustainability and sustainability-linked bonds, loans and M&A advisory services. Achieved 29% reduction of Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions within the Bank's operations (from 2016 levels) against our target of 35% reduction by 2030. Outlined net-zero activities and granted $2 million to 21 organizations exploring decarbonization and climate-related systems change since the launch of Scotiabank's $10 million Net- Zero Research Fund in 2021. to 21 organizations exploring decarbonization and climate-related systems change since the launch of Scotiabank's Net- Zero Research Fund in 2021. See also page 106 on Net Zero. Social Deployed $5.6 billion in capital through The Scotiabank Women Initiative in Canada and expanded the program to Jamaica , Costa Rica and Chile to help increase economic and professional opportunities for women-owned businesses. in capital through The Scotiabank Women Initiative in and expanded the program to , and to help increase economic and professional opportunities for women-owned businesses. Contributed $91 million globally to communities through donations, community sponsorships, employee volunteering and other community investments. globally to communities through donations, community sponsorships, employee volunteering and other community investments. Through ScotiaRISE, distributed $34 million in 2022, reaching people at more than 400,000 critical moments in time. ScotiaRISE has supported more than 200 community partners with community investments in a 10-year, $500 million initiative to promote economic resilience among disadvantaged groups. in 2022, reaching people at more than 400,000 critical moments in time. ScotiaRISE has supported more than 200 community partners with community investments in a 10-year, initiative to promote economic resilience among disadvantaged groups. Ranked one of the top 25 World's Best Workplaces by Great Place to Work in 2022 the only Bank and the only Canadian-headquartered company to make the list. Governance Enhanced Scotiabank's enterprise-wide Risk Management Framework, expanding its principal risk definition from environmental risk to ESG risk and established an ESG performance metric as a risk appetite metric. to and established an ESG performance metric as a risk appetite metric. Linked ESG performance, including progress on the Bank's climate commitments, to all Bank performance pay. Published Data Ethics Principles and launched new tools to enhance the Bank's investments in data and analytics related to new AI and machine learning projects. Reporting on ESG topics and Scotiabank's efforts is provided through the 2022 ESG Report and companion ESG Data Pack and Indices, providing multi-year performance data in excel format and references to recognized ESG reporting frameworks. Please refer to the About This Report, Forward-Looking Statements sections and data considerations provided in the 2022 ESG Report. Visit our Responsibility & Impact page to access other sustainability-related publications, commitments and initiatives. About Scotiabank Scotiabank is a leading bank in the Americas. Guided by our purpose: "for every future", we help our customers, their families and their communities achieve success through a broad range of advice, products and services, including personal and commercial banking, wealth management and private banking, corporate and investment banking, and capital markets. With a team of over 90,000 employees and assets of over $1.3 trillion (as at January 31, 2023), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: BNS) and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BNS). For more information, please visit http://www.scotiabank.com and follow us on Twitter @Scotiabank. SOURCE Scotiabank [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [March 10, 2023] Decarbonization expert Airex Energy completes a $38 million funding round led by Cycle Capital The Fonds de solidarite FTQ joins as an investor MONTREAL, March 10, 2023 /CNW/ - Airex Energy, a Canadian-based company that develops and delivers world-class decarbonization solutions, recently concluded a Series B funding round valued at C$38 million. Led by Cycle Capital, the most recent round welcomed the FTQ Fonds de solidarite, which joined the syndicate of existing investors, including Investissement Quebec; Desjardins-Innovatech; Export, Development Canada (EDC); and Cycle Capital. An innovative and fast-growing leader, Airex Energy produces biochar, biocarbon and biocoal, each of which has multiple applications contributing to the fight against climate change. Among the applications eagerly sought by major industrial players, biochar sequesters carbon in the ground and in other materials, biocarbon is used to produce green steel and other metals and biocoal is an environmentally friendly fuel and coal replacement. Thanks to this funding round, Airex Energy will be fast-tracking its growth initiatives, including a Quebec biochar project tying in with its partnership with Suez, which aims to significantly boost biochar production in Europe and North America by 2035. Other initiatives include the conclusion of agreements in Quebec's biocarbon and Asia's biocoal sector, as well as continuous improvements in the underlying technology, already regarded as the most advanced and the most environmentally friendly in the world. "We are proud to count on the support of recognized local investors. Their backing is a wonderful acknowledgment of our shared sustainable development ambitions, as well as a sign of confidence," said Michel Gagnon, CEO of Airex Energy. "Thanks to our one-of-a-kind technology, we are poised to become a leader in the area of innovative and environmentally friendly decarbonization solutions both insie and outside Canada." "From the outset, we have been convinced of decarbonization's potential, particularly in polluting industries, as well as of Airex's patented technology," noted Andree-Lise Methot, Founder and Managing Partner of Cycle Capital. "As we get ready to launch the large-scale commercialization of biochar and biocoal, we look forward to contributing to Airex's growth, alongside Airex's team, strategic partners such as Suez and renowned investors like the Fonds de solidarite FTQ, Investissement Quebec and Desjardins." Janie C. Beique, President and CEO of the Fonds de solidarite FTQ, added: "Delivering effective solutions aimed at reducing GHG emissions and eliminating carbon in the air, Airex Energy is an innovative company in its sector. Quebec needs to focus on making an efficient environmental transition to ensure the well-being of future generations. The Fonds seeks to contribute to this transition, and our investment in Airex represents another step toward our ambitious goal of holding $12 billion in sustainable development assets." About Airex Energy An innovative leader, Airex Energy develops and delivers world-class decarbonization solutions having the capacity to significantly reduce GHG emissions. Thanks to CarbonFX, its proprietary technology, Airex Energy transforms biomass into high-value-added environmentally friendly products such as biochar, biocoal and biocarbon. Since 2016, the company has operated the first and only industrial production facility in Canada specializing in biocoal. The company now exports its products around the world, in particular to the US, Europe and Asia. About Cycle Capital Cycle Capital is a leading private ClimateTech venture capital investment platform with offices in North America, Europe and Asia. Cycle Capital invests in growing and commercializing innovative climatetech companies that develop solutions to contribute towards climate change mitigation by enabling a net-zero transition, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and optimizing resources and processes. Cycle Capital is the founder of Cycle Momentum Accelerator + Innovation Engine. About the Fonds de solidarite FTQ The Fonds de solidarite FTQ invests to build a better society by channeling the savings of its 753,125 shareholders into development and risk capital investments to help Quebec transition to a green economy, to a human-centred world of work, and to a healthier society. The Fonds offers businesses unsecured financing and strategic support. With $17.8 billion in net assets as of November 30, 2022, the Fonds supported more than 3,600 partner companies and over 296,000 jobs. SOURCE Airex Energie [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [March 10, 2023] Five UBS Advisor Teams in Arizona Named to the Forbes Best-In-State Wealth Management Teams List UBS Wealth Management USA announced today that five of the firm's financial advisor teams in Arizona have been named to the Forbes Best-In-State Wealth Management Teams list for 2023. Three of the five teams are based in Phoenix, and two are in Tucson. "Our advisor teams develop lasting relationships with clients by listening to and understanding their priorities and concerns, and then working to develop comprehensive financial plans that support their individual needs and goals," said Shawn Bernhard, Arizona Market Director at UBS Wealth Management USA. "We are proud that our advisor teams here in Arizona, as well as many others across the US, have received this prestigious industry recognition." The advisor teams in the UBS Phoenix office named to the list are: The Schultz Group, ranked at #2 in the state, includes Steven Schultz, Stockton Schultz, Justin Low, Nathan G. Laidig, and Joseph F. Varga. A multi-generational team, The Schultz Group is committed to this generation and the next as they specialize in working with families for retirement planning, sustainable investing, and legacy planning. The Biltmore Financial Group, listed at #15, is comprised of Michael Bell, T. Ryan Moore, and Geoff Moore. They take a team approach, focused on personalized service to provide goal-based planning and investment management for multi-generational families. The Choy Group, #38, includes brothers Peter and Michael Choy. The Choy Group concentrates on developing long-term relationships through a commitment to quality client service to become their clients' primary source of financial advice. The advisor teams in the UBS Tucson office named to the list are: Rottenstein Wealth Management and Consulting, #39 in the state, is composed of Myron Rottenstein and Aaron Rottenstein, a father-son team. Of the more than 6,000 UBS advisors in the United States, Aaron and Myron are among the select few who have been admitted into the UBS Institutional Consulting Group, empowering them both to work with some of UBS's largest and most sophisticated clients as fiduciaries. Mitchell/Abdy Team, #44, is made up of Jonathan Mitchell and Nicolas Abdy, who partner with their clients to help them grow, preserve and pass on their wealth. In addition, Ethos Wealth Advisors, which includes Phoenix-based advisor Jeoffrey Wasson, was ranked the top team in Nevada. West Coast Wealth Management, which includes Scottsdale-based advisor Owen Sweeney, was ranked #23 in Washington. The 2023 Forbes Best-In-State Wealth Management Teams list is comprised of more than 2,800 teams across the country who collectively manage approximately $4 trillion in client assets. The ranking, developed by SHOOK Research, is based on in-person, virtual and telephone due diligence meetings and a ranking algorithm that includes: a measure of best practices, client retention, industry experience, review of compliance records, firm nominations; and quantitative criteria, including assets under management and revenue generated for their firms. For the full list and further information, visit: https://www.forbes.com/lists/wealth-management-teams-best-in-state/ Notes to Editors About UBS UBS convenes the global ecosystem for investing, where people and ideas are connected and opportunities brought to life, and provides financial advice and solutions to wealthy, institutional and corporate clients worldwide, as well as to private clients in Switzerland. UBS offers investment solutions, products and impactful thought leadership, is the leading global wealth manager, provides large-scale and diversified asset management, focused investment banking capabilities, and personal and corporate banking services in Switzerland. The firm focuses on businesses that have a strong competitive position in their target markets, are capital efficient and have an attractive long-term structural growth or profitability outlook. UBS is present in all major financial centers worldwide. It has offices in more than 50 regions and locations, with about 30% of its employees working in the Americas, 30% in Switzerland, 19% in the rest of Europe, the Middle East and Africa and 21% in Asia Pacific. UBS Group AG employs more than 72,000 people worldwide. Its shares are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). https://www.ubs.com UBS 2023. All rights reserved. The key symbol and UBS are among the registered and unregistered trademarks of UBS. Although neither UBS Financial Services Inc. or its employees pay a fee in exchange for these ratings, UBS may hire RJ Shook to be a speaker for events. Past performance is not an indication of future results. For press use only. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230310005117/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [March 10, 2023] Octopus Energy Announces 1 Billion Investment in French Green Energy Market and New European Tech Hub in Paris Octopus Energy, the UK's third largest energy retailer, has announced plans to invest 1 billion in the French green energy market over the next two years. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230310005341/en/ French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Greg Jackson, founder of Octopus Energy and Zoisa North-Bond, CEO of Octopus Energy Generation discussing Octopus' plans to back the green energy revolution in France. (Photo: Business Wire) The investment will be used to accelerate the energy transition in France and generate enough local green power to supply 300,000 households. Building on its investments already made in France, the company is launching a new European tech hub in Paris through its subsidiary Kraken. The new hub will create hundreds of clean energy jobs and support millions of customers across the continent. Octopus Energy first entered the French market in January 2022 with its acquisition of French energy supplier Plum energie. The company is now targeting 1 million customers by 2026 in France. While offering better customer service and bringing down prices, Octopus Energy France is also helping and rewarding French households to ower their energy consumption through innovative products. The company's customers already use 10% less energy than the average French household, and Octopus is committed to continue innovating to help French consumers use less, but stay warm. Announcing the plans at the 36th Franco-British Summit, chaired by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris today, Octopus Energy CEO and Founder, Greg Jackson, commented: "Octopus operates across 10 European countries, and today we're delighted to announce a huge increase in our cooperation with France. We're planning to invest an extra billion Euros in French generation - but we're also going to make Paris our EU technology hub. This is testament to the mutual commitment to investing in a clean energy system, and pioneering the digitisation which will drive costs down alongside carbon." Vincent Maillard, CEO of Octopus Energy France, commented: "We are very proud to see Octopus Energy's role in France's energy transition recognized at the highest level of the French government. In doing so, the group combines retail energy expertise, major investments in renewable generation and cutting-edge technology to unlock innovative tariffs and deliver an outstanding customer experience to French households." About Octopus Energy Group Octopus Energy Group is a global energy tech pioneer, launched in 2016 to use technology to unlock a customer focused and affordable green energy revolution. It is part of Octopus Group, which is a certified BCorp. With operations in 14 countries, Octopus Energy Group's mission is going global. Octopus's domestic energy arm already serves 3.4 million customers with cheaper greener power, through Octopus Energy, Affect Energy, Ebico, London Power and Co-op Energy. In December 2022, it was announced that Octopus would also take on the 1.5 million customers of failed supplier Bulb Energy. Octopus Electric Vehicles is helping make clean transport cheaper and easier, and Octopus Energy Services is bringing smart products to thousands of homes. Octopus Energy Generation is one of Europe's largest investors in renewable energy, managing a 4bn portfolio of renewable energy assets throughout the continent. All of these are made possible by Octopus's tech arm, Kraken Technologies, which offers a proprietary, in-house platform based on advanced data and machine learning capabilities, Kraken automates much of the energy supply chain to allow outstanding service and efficiency as the world transitions to a decentralized, decarbonized energy system. This technology has been licensed to support over 20 million customer accounts worldwide, through deals with EDF Energy, Good Energy, E.ON energy and Origin Energy. In December 2021, Octopus Energy Group was valued at approximately $5 billion following a $600 million investment from Generation Investment Management and a $300 million investment from Canada Pensions Plan Investments Board. Both investors back businesses that drive sustainability, promote green energy and tackle climate change. It was the company's third major investment round since launching to the market. For more information, check out our website. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230310005341/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Library, Clerical & Theatre Workers Reach Tentative Agreement with UBC CUPE 2950, representing library, clerical and theatre workers at the University of British Columbia, has reached a tentative agreement with the university. The union and UBC came to the agreement Thursday after more than three months of bargaining. It covers over 1500 support staff at several UBC campuses and other facilities. "I want to thank our CUPE 2950 members for their support during this round of negotiations. The bargaining committee worked hard to advocate for improvements to the rights and benefits of our members. We are pleased with the results," says Chle Martin-Cabanne, a worker at UBC and president of CUPE 2950. "The tentative agreement will enable us to continue to provide the services that UBC students, faculty and staff depend upon." When ratified, the renewed collective agreement will be in place from April 1, 2022 (retroactively) to March 31, 2025. Details of the 3-year agreement will not be released until presented to CUPE 2950 members for a ratification vote later this month. CUPE 2950 represents library, clerical and theatre workers in several UBC campuses and facilities including the UBC Point Grey campus, UBC Robson Square, Faculty of Medicine facilities across the province, and Chan Centre. cope491 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230310005350/en/ [March 10, 2023] Lockheed Martin and Royal Bahraini Air Force Celebrate Bahrain's First F-16 Block 70 Aircraft in Greenville, South Carolina GREENVILLE, S.C., March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Bahraini, American and Lockheed Martin officials today celebrated the first F-16 Block 70 for the Royal Bahraini Air Force today at Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] in Greenville, South Carolina. The Kingdom of Bahrain has a unique history with the F-16: It was the first F-16 operator in the Gulf Cooperation Council beginning in the early 1990s, and now is receiving the first F-16 Block 70. "Today's ceremony represents the next generation of the powerful and proven legacy of the F-16, and demonstrates Lockheed Martin's commitment to advancing this program and getting this much-needed aircraft and its advanced 21st Century Security capabilities to the warfighter," said OJ Sanchez, vice president, Integrated Fighter Group, which includes the F-16 program. "With the Block 70 iteration, we are transforming 4th generation for the next generation for the Royal Bahraini Air Force and other partners and allies around the world." This F-16 Block 70 jet is the first of 16 jets for Bahrain, and took its first flight on Jan. 24, 2023. From here, it will begin additional flight tests at Edwards Air Force Base beforearriving in Bahrain in 2024. Six countries have selected Block 70/72 aircraft. In addition to the current official backlog of 127 jets to-date to be built in Greenville, Jordan has signed a Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) for 12 jets and Lockheed Martin has received a contract to begin its long-lead activities. Bulgaria has also signed an LOA for an additional eight jets for its fleet. Once these are finalized, the backlog will increase to 147. "The F-16 celebrated today was built by our talented, committed workforce in Greenville," said Danya Trent, vice president, F-16 Programs and Greenville site leader. "We are proud to call Greenville the global home of the F-16 and look forward to continuing to produce jets serving missions around the world." Additional photos from the event are available for download here, and a video of the aircraft's reveal is available for download here. About Lockheed Martin Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin Corporation is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 116,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. Please follow @LMNews on Twitter for the latest announcements and news across the corporation. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lockheed-martin-and-royal-bahraini-air-force-celebrate-bahrains-first-f-16-block-70-aircraft-in-greenville-south-carolina-301769318.html SOURCE Lockheed Martin Aeronautics [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [March 10, 2023] Five Dad Bloggers Go Wild again VANCOUVER, BC, March 10, 2023 /CNW/ - Five dad bloggers from across British Columbia are heading back out on another content-creating adventure. This time, they're replacing the cold tents for motels on a road trip from Vancouver, BC to Southern Oregon. Their main objective is a mission to put bonding among fathers back on the priority list along with having fun and reconnecting with nature. The Dads are; James Smith / SocialDad.ca, Stacey Robinsmith / A Dad in the Burbs, Stephen Fung, Michael Kwan / Beyond the Rhetoric, and Jon Wiebe/The Road to Dapper. "Since becoming a father, I haven't made any time for myself or to spend time with friends", says James aka SocialDad.ca . "I wanted to organize a trip with some other dads in my area and the only ones I knew were fellow bloggers. Thanks to the incredible support from brands like the Canadian-owned and run KalTire who are reminding us to make sure the vehicles are serviced and ready for the road. In addition, Canadian brands like Bean Around the World Coffee are keeping the Dads fully caffeinated, Howled the Wolf making sure they're warm and styled, House of Knives give them the gear they need, and SparoHawk Watch Co. has generously provided beautiful watches as a reminder to be the best versions of themselves while pushing themselves to be great Dads. The brands they reached out to recognise that these experiences are important to cultivate, as well as noticing that the Dads are a group of content creators with engaged readers and social media audiences. All five of the BC-based Dads met online and organised the trip through a group chat, but even though the chat is often lively, they realized that it's no replacement for in-person interactions. A longitudinal study from Harvard has revealed that the greatest predictor of overall health and happiness among men is friendship. "The surprising finding is that our relationships and how happy we are in our relationships have a powerful influence on our health," said Robert Waldinger , director of the study, a psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital and a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School . "Taking care of your body is important, but tending to your relationships is a form of self-care too. That, I think, is the revelation." - 'Good genes are nice, but joy is better', by Liz Mineo April 2017 . The dad blogger community, and the growing list of brands that support them, is about fostering this sense of connectedness and belonging while talking about the issues, passions, and interests that drive them. "I used to love camping and the outdoors as a kid," says Stephen Fung, father of three, and a self-professed gadget geek and city slicker. "I hope this experience will connect me back to my youth, and maybe, help me find a way to share these types of experiences with my own kids." "I like to think of myself as reasonably well-travelled," says Michael Kwan of Beyond the Rhetoric. "I've been everywhere from Beijing to the Bahamas, Amsterdam to Alice Springs, but I really haven't explored the incredible natural beauty of my own backyard right here in British Columbia. The #5DadsGoWild camping trip will not only give this city boy an opportunity to reconnect with nature, but also bond with like-minded, progressive-thinking dad bloggers in a supportive environment." The Dads will be heading out and back again in mid-April. Join their conversation by following their hashtag #5DadsGoWild on Instagram and Twitter and follow @JamesRCS , @MichaelKwan , @adadintheburbs , @stephenfung , and @theroadtoDapper. About SocialDad.ca: Hi, I'm James and I'm a new Dad. I talk about my adventures through Dad-life via SocialDad.ca, @JamesRCS on Instagram, and on the SocialDad Podcast. Feel free to get in touch via [email protected] or Tweet me @JamesRCS . Thanks to Cision for sponsoring this announcement. SOURCE SocialDad [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Local prep for the weekend . . . Here's the aftermath of the runaround that's worth a look and serves as a reminder to drive carefully AND that our local criminal class is becoming more brazen . . . Deputies continued pursuing the vehicle and was able to stop it in the 13200 block of Byars Road with the use of the Grappler device, which is mounted to the front bumper of a police cruiser to tether a suspect's rear axle and prevent them from fleeing the authorities. . . . Both suspects are involved in multiple business burglaries throughout the Kansas City area and are currently pending formal charges, according to the Cass County Sheriff's Office. Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . . 2 suspects in custody after shots fired in police chase across 2 Missouri counties KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Two suspects are in custody after one of them fired shots during a police chase that spanned two Missouri counties. On Friday at 3:30 a.m. Grandview Police attempted to stop a vehicle believed to be involved in a theft from an Overland Park business. Police chase suspects believed to have 'numerous stolen items' arrested after firing on deputies in Cass Co. Two people are in custody after a theft and police chase incident that spanned state lines in the early hours of Friday morning. During that time, shots were fired at deputies, authorities say. Grandview police said officers attempted to stop a vehicle suspected of theft from an Overland Park, Kansas, business around 3:30 a.m. Developing . . . Friday follow-up . . . Yesterday afternoon TKC reported council dude Bunch remaining entrenched in "defund the police" rhetoric that has mostly been shunned amid a devastating rise in American crime. Political coward tardy dude that he is . . . Council dude Bunch dropped out of showed up EXTREMELY late to a Northland forum using an excuse of an admittedly adorable tweet of his family. He's not the first politico to hide behind his youngsters, but his social media share might actually prove effective for voters with any compassion. Thankfully, here at TKC we are initiated against theatrically and deception and so we're not afflicted with anything resembling political sympathy. Similarly . . . This week council dude has been slapping small biz and whole swaths of the city in the face. We can only guess that they might hold a grudge . . . Even if low turnout will influence this election more than any other factor. And all this leads us to a simple conclusion for Friday . . . KANSAS CITY COUNCIL FORUMS FAIL 2023 AND NO LONGER PROVIDE AN EFFECTIVE WAY TO ENGAGE THE PUBLIC OR HOLD CANDIDATES ACCOUNTABLE!!! OR . . . COVID might've killed neighborhood politics. In fact . . . What we've seen is more than a few faux forums attempt to fake a consensus along with well-meaning gatherings attended only by a smattering of old school voters. Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . . Community gets to know KCPS candidates Daisy Garcia MontoyaEducation reporter On Sunday evening, community members gathered at the Show Me KC Schools space at 2201 Lexington Avenue for a school board candidate forum. The event, co-hosted by Parent Power Lab and Parent Leadership Training Institute Kansas City, provided an opportunity for voters to hear from the candidates running for school board and ask them questions about their views and priorities for the Kansas City Public School District (KCPS). A guide to candidate forums for south KC voters With the upcoming April 4th municipal election comes an inordinate amount of candidate forums. We have listed those that pertain to voters in south Kansas City and Grandview. Five questions with your 2023 Lee's Summit R-7 school board candidates The Beacon in your inbox. Want to stay informed? Sign up for our free newsletter today! A donation to The Beacon goes beyond the newsroom. We amplify community voices, share resources and investigate systems, not just symptoms. In the race to serve on the school board for the Lee's Summit R-7 School District, seven candidates are competing for three slots, each serving a three-year term. 1, 2, 5 and 6 At-Large City Council Candidate Forum On Saturday, March 4, the Northeast News, the Citizens' Association and the Northeast Kansas City Chamber of Commerce hosted a candidate forum for City Council candidates running for First, Second, Fifth and Sixth districts. In District & At Large Fourth District City Council Forum On Tuesday, March 7, the Northeast News, the Citizens' Association and the Northeast Kansas City Chamber of Commerce hosted candidates for Kansas City's Fourth District at large and in district candidates ahead of the April 4 election. In attendance were at-large candidates Grace Cabrera, Crispin Rea, Justin Short and John DiCapo. *TKC CORRECTION: In an earlier version of this post I blogged that council dude Eric Bunch didn't show up to the forum. That was incorrect, this post was written BEFORE he updated his tweet indicating that he did, in fact, attend a recent NNI forum. I've left the error but crossed it out and updated the correct info. We still stand by our assertion that most of these forums are a waste of time. You decide . . . A quick glimpse at police action, court cases and some of the more important crime reporting we've noticed over the past couple of days . . . Here's where we're starting . . . CHECK DEFENSE OF STL LOCAL CONTROL THAT HAS BEEN AN ABYSMAL FAILURE IF HOMICIDE STATS ARE ANY INDICATION!!! Still, many disingenuous pundits argue that free money, rainbows & hugs would help more than police. Check TKC news gathering . . . TRACKING THE DATA: Is local control of St. Louis Police the reason for St. Louis crime? News 4 is working to answer the question, "Is local control of St. Louis Police the reason for St. Louis crime? It's a the belief of some Jefferson City lawmakers, fueling their argument the state needs to grab the reins again. Man charged in deaths of Kansas City officer and pedestrian has a past record of careless driving The man currently facing two manslaughter charges for the deaths of Kansas City Police Officer James Muhlbauer and pedestrian Jesse Eckes pleaded guilty to careless driving less than two months before the fatal crash.Court records claim Jerron Lightfoot, 19, was driving nearly 90 miles per hour just two seconds before he ran a red light heading south on Benton at the intersection of Truman and crashed into Officer Muhlbauer's police cruiser on Feb. Caught on camera: Vandals torch van belonging to Boys & Girls Club in Kansas City KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A van belonging to a chapter of the Boys and Girls Club was torched by vandals early Thursday morning. Surveillance video captured the incident which occurred at the Thornberry unit of the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Kansas City. Woman pleads guilty to four counts of child abuse in Johnson County WESTWOOD, Kan. (KCTV) - A woman has pleaded guilty to abusing children at a day care in Johnson County, Kansas. On Thursday, Rachel Beth Schrader pleaded guilty to four counts of abuse of a child younger than 6 years old. A scheduling conference is set for May 3 of this year. Woman on run from feds discovered living in Lenexa for months under stolen identity A former Virginia nurse on the run from U.S. Marshals after being convicted in a multi-million dollar fraud case was found living under a stolen identity in Johnson County last weekend, according to federal authorities. Heather Huffman, 53, of Pleasant Hill, California, was arrested Saturday at a Lenexa hotel where she had been staying while using another name. Man who pleaded guilty in Northland murder now accused of killing man in KCMO KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A man who pleaded guilty to a deadly stabbing at an apartment in Gladstone in 2021 is now charged in a Kansas City, Missouri, murder that happened two days after the Gladstone killing. The Jackson County Prosecutor's Office charged Noah Cole with second-degree murder in the Nov. KC Unsolved: Detective, relatives search for justice for Mickey Blevins more than 2 years after homicide WYANDOTTE COUNTY, Kan. (KCTV) - Family members and investigators are trying to get justice for a man who was shot and killed in October of 2020 at Eisenhower Park in Wyandotte County. KCTV5 News spoke with two of Mickey Blevins' sisters and Wyandotte County Sheriff's Office Detective Tom Zamora. Developing . . . The GOP get serious about waging culture war in Kansas after suffering election defeat against Guv Kelly and Congress lady Sharice Davids. Here's a glimpse at their strategy that doubles down against the smallish number of trans people in the state and the much larger percentage of progressives who support them . . . Check-it . . . The state Senate voted 28-11 to approve the bill, which would impose the ban for K-12, college and club sports, starting July 1. It next goes to Gov. Laura Kelly, as the state House approved it two weeks earlier on an 82-40 vote. Kelly vetoed two previous versions of the ban. Republicans made it a major issue when she ran for reelection last year, focusing multiple television ads on it. While she won a narrow victory, supporters of a ban appeared to pick up just enough legislative seats to have the two-thirds majorities necessary in both chambers to override a veto. Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . . We would've just thrown this in a compilation BUT it's worth noting for one reason . . . Remember when they said they were building this without any subsidy (???) . . . Yeah, they don't say that anymore . . . Here's the far more optimistic perspective . . . The $118 million, 11,500-seat stadium is being built as part of a 50-year lease with Port KC. The Kansas City Business Journal reports that it's expected to factor into $16.9 million and $20.2 million in new Kansas City and state tax revenues. Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . . KC Current stadium will begin to rise in March Posted: Updated: KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The team building the Kansas City Current stadium in Berkley Riverfront Park will hit a milestone this month as crews begin erecting steel columns and pouring concrete, making the stadium's foundation visible for the first time. The team referred to the progress as "going vertical" in a tweet on Friday morning . Current Riverfront Stadium to start building vertical later this month, team announces KANSAS CITY, Mo. - With the site excavated and utility structures installed, the new Kansas City Current Stadium, which will be located at Berkley Riverfront Park, is ready to be built vertically later this month, the team announced on Instagram. Developing . . . TKC quick fun fact about Kansas City political reality . . . For as much as we love Congressman Cleaver . . . One of his main achievements back when he was mayor was dumping a landfill in the Northland despite public outcry and because that part of town never really voted for him. And so . . . For those who don't trust KCMO to do the right thing and (wisely) don't put much faith in a non-binding resolution . . . Check our suburban neighbors going to Jeff City in order to prevent a KCMO landfill from stinking up their neighborhood . . . "This area is, and has been, a residential community for quite some time. It is home to a great many neighborhoods that are full of families. It is zoned residential, and the desire of the developers to abruptly change the rules on the use of this land for tens of thousands of my constituents would have a disastrous effect on our people, their homes, northern Cass County, and our friends in southern Jackson County." Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . . For this post . . . TKC can't help but feel a little old even if I'm less than a decade more "ripened" than Staubio. It's just that a grown man sharing heartache over a development deal confronting community opposition is kinda curious. In fact . . . Here at TKC we remember the 90s and small biz, neighbors along with policy leaders pushing back skyscrapers was once regarded as a good thing. Now . . . Our Twitter overlords have invented their own logic that's mostly supported by bots. But I digress . . . Once again small biz spoke out against this project. A weird rhetorical tactic from pro-skyscraper proponents emerged . . . Developers argue: "If you want us to build a smaller skyscraper, we'll just have to take out affordable housing. Harrumph!!! You love cars more than people!!! Give us our skyscraper damn it!!!" Okay. That is powerful ciphering but that kind of Twitter logic FAILS once adults put down their phone. Anyhoo . . . Here's a glimpse at the debate as it stands now . . . The debate echoed one last month when City Plan Commission recommended against the plan. It pitted River Market merchants who want to maintain existing parking against supporters of transit-oriented development and more affordable housing. Im concerned about losing parking for my employees and my customers as a result of the current plan for the City Harvest project, said David Lindahl, a River Market resident and owner of HyperKC. The city manager, as far as I understand it, gave away millions of dollars of desperately needed parking in exchange for under a dozen affordable housing units. To be fair . . . Here's a really elitist tweet from streetcar dude & local transit leader Staub along with a link to his Twitter where you can keep up with the latest pro-developer rhetoric to help save the planet: Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . . Push for More Parking, Less Affordable Housing at City Harvest Project The proposed City Harvest apartment tower in the River Market likely will be revised to expand its garage at the cost of 15 affordable units following a contentious City Council committee meeting Wednesday. City Harvest apartments could trade affordable housing units for parking spaces - Kansas City Business Journal Flaherty & Collins Properties may return to an original version of its 13-story, 300-apartment City Harvest plan in the River Market, following feedback from Kansas City's Neighborhood Planning and Development Committee. The shift would trade affordable housing units for more parking spaces. Developing . . . Special thanks to KICK-ASS TKC READERS for sending this important bit of community journalism our way . . . We won't stand in the way of it . . . Here's the word . . . KC Schools get low grades in new MSIP 6 report The numbers came out on our Missouri's schools, and long story short: it's a sh*tshow. And I haven't seen really any coverage of this release, which happened yesterday, but local news media was given this stuff by the state over a week ago... I took the liberty of pulling the percentage of points earned (based on the MSIP 6 rubric) for each school. This takes into account test scores/improvement, but also a few items like attendance and school improvement plans. Taking a look at these numbers, the worst performing districts in Jackson County are all in KC - DeLaSalle, Hogan (charter school commission working to shut them down), Gordon Parks, Genesis School (also will be shut down), and Hickman Mills. Somewhat shockingly, Independence had a slightly lower score than KCPS, and Fort Osage also had a very disappointing score. Here's a look at the chart via www.TonysKansasCity.com embed . . . Developing . . . 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. A new exhibition opening Saturday at Les Yeux du Monde in Charlottesville is exploring mortality, grief and the human condition from a personal perspective. Russ Warren: The Denial of Death will open with an event from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday at the gallery at 841 Wolf Trap Road, where it will remain on view through April 30. The new exhibition takes its name from a book by existentialist philosopher Ernest Becker, which examines global perspectives on the human condition, particularly on different concepts surrounding mortality, including human vulnerability in an impassive universe and the relationship between madness and creativity. Although Warren has explored these concepts throughout his career, they have taken on special resonance since the death of Lyn Bolen Warren, his wife, who was the founder and director of Les Yeux du Monde. Visitors will be able to recognize the influences of Mexican artist Rufino Tamayo and Spanish masters Diego Velazquez, Francisco Goya and Pablo Picasso in Warrens paintings. Warrens latest body of work takes a more somber, edgy approach to his customary use of bold colors and lines, wide variations in scale and emotional and humorous depictions of his subjects. The new works, created in the months after his wifes death on Nov. 21, 2021, dive into the disorientation and distortion brought by grief. Works include The Scream II, High Anxiety, A Good Mans Dilemma, Jacobs Ladder: The Fall from Grace and The Denial of Death. A luncheon and artist talk with Warren have been scheduled for 12:30 p.m. on April 16. Warren, a native of Washington, D.C., grew up in Houston. He began his training in the arts at the University of St. Thomas in Houston in 1969 and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of New Mexico in 1973 and his Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio in 1977. He taught painting and printmaking at Davidson College in North Carolina from 1978 to 2008. Warrens paintings have been exhibited in the Venice Biennale, the Whitney Biennial, the North Carolina Museum of Art, the Mint Museum and the Hickory Museum of Art. His work is part of public and private collections, including the Virginia Museum of Art, the North Carolina Museum of Art, the Gibbes in Charleston and the New Orleans Museum of Art. The Les Yeux du Monde gallery is open from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., Thursdays through Sundays. For information, go to LYDM.co, email LYDMGallery@gmail.com or call (434) 882-2622. Warrens work also will be on view in the Mary M. Torggler Fine Arts Center at Christopher Newport University from March 31 through June 11. For details on that exhibition, go to thetorggler.org. On March 3rd, the deputies to the National People's Congress from Anhui Province departed for Beijing to attend the first session of the 14th National People's Congress. Hui Fenglian, a deputy to the National People's Congress and a teacher from Sixian County No. 2 Middle School in Anhui Province, went to Beijing to fulfill her duties for the first time as a new deputy. She was both excited and felt that she had a heavy responsibility on her shoulders. Now, let us follow the lens of the reporter to see how the new deputy Hui Fenglian fulfill her duties. The Emily Couric Leadership Forum plans to honor Charlottesville native and one of the famed Charlottesville 12, Sandra Wicks Lewis, with its Womens Leadership Award at its upcoming annual luncheon. The award recognizes a woman of international or national distinction who exemplifies leadership in her profession and in her community, according to the forum named after the late Democratic state senator and the awards first recipient. Lewis is one of the first 12 Black students in Charlottesville to attend the citys previously all-white schools in 1959. At the age of nine, she, along with eleven other students, integrated the public schools in 1959 after a one year period known as Massive Resistance when two schools in Charlottesville were ordered to be closed by the Governor and the local school board, rather than obey a court order to integrate, a profile of Lewis on the forums website says. Lewis is a graduate of the University of Virginia, earning her bachelors degree in sociology at the school in 1972. She went on to get her masters in business administration from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in 1980. Her class at UVA was the first class of women to graduate from the College of Arts and Sciences, and she was also the first African-American woman to graduate from the College of Arts and Sciences, the forum says. With a long career in financial services, Lewis has worked for Merrill Lynch, Nations Bank and Nations Banks successor Bank of America. She credits being a child thrust in the middle of the integration and civil rights movement in Charlottesville for her motivation and ability to enter jobs in management and financial at a time where there were few if any women and minorities, according to the forum. Lewis has served on numerous nonprofit boards including Leadership Nashville in Nashville, Tennessee; United Way of South Hampton Roads; and the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk. She has also served on the UVa Alumni Association Board of Managers and is currently a charter member of the Advisory Board of the Karsh Institute of Democracy at UVa. Lewis is also responsible for establishing the Charlottesville 12 Scholarship Fund at the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation for graduating students at Charlottesville High School as well as a donor adviser fund in her parents name: the Robert and Elizabeth Wicks Fund for local community organizations. In its profile on Lewis, the Emily Couric Leadership Forum pointed out an interesting twist of fate: Lewis attended the same elementary school where the forums namesake began her activism in the Charlottesville community. It was at Venable Elementary that Emily began her activism by volunteering in the 1980s as a reading teacher, then promoted to room mother. Venable principal at the time, Dr. William Chapman, urged Emily to become vice-president and then president of the Parent Teacher Organization. Emily said that was the beginning of her political career, according to the forum. Emily Couric, the sister of journalist and television presenter Katie Couric, died of pancreatic cancer in October 2001. The 23rd annual Emily Couric Leadership Luncheon is scheduled to take place on April 24. Reservations for the event are not yet open and are expected to become available on March 17. For many of his loved ones, the death of Chaguanas Businessman Rishard Ali came as a shock. In cooperation with the United States, Norway will provide Ukraine with two NASAMS firing units. This is said in a statement published on the website of the Norwegian government, Ukrinform reprots. Ukraine has a critical need to defend itself against missile attacks, and Norway will assist, says Norways minister of defence, said Norways Minister of Defense Bjrn Arild Gram. In cooperation with the United States, Norway will provide Ukraine with two NASAMS firing units. They will come in addition to the two firing units provided by the United States last autumn. NASAMS have proved to be an effective air defence system. Adding two more firing units will significantly improve Ukraines ability to protect its cities and critical infrastructure from Russian missile attacks, the report says. Norway will also train Ukrainian personnel in the maintenance and operation of the system. As reported by Ukrinform, in response to Russia's war of aggression, Norway will provide Ukraine with assistance worth EUR 7.5 billion over the next five years, which will include military, economic and humanitarian aid. Regional elementary and middle schoolers will gather Saturday morning for a good old-fashioned spell-off. Champion spellers from public and private schools will clash at the Daily Progress-News Virginian Central Virginia Regional Spelling Bee. The last speller standing will earn a spot at the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Maryland on June 2. Saturday's bee will be held at 9 a.m. in the auditorium of Albemarle High School at 2775 Hydraulic Road in Charlottesville. Last years regional champion was Henry Mathewes of Henley Middle School. His winning word was "quittance." An Italian navy officer was sentenced to 30 years in prison on espionage charges as the court ruled he had been spying for Russia. That's according to ANSA, Ukrinform reports. Frigate captain Walter Biot, 58, was found guilty of selling classified documents to a Russian operative with the Russian embassy in Rome. The judges recognized general extenuating circumstances in the case, while military prosecutors requested that Biot be handed a life term. The prosecutors presented images purportedly showing Biot using his cell phone to take photos of a series of documents and a computer screen. "Some of the 19 documents photographed by Biot were highly reserved NATO secrets and one was a top secret document," a prosecutor said. As Ukrinform reported earlier, Italys foreign ministry as part of the espionage probe expressed a protest to the Russian ambassador in Italy and expelled two Russian embassy officials in 2021. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and Minister of Defense of Norway Bjrn Arild Gram discussed increasing the volume and speeding up the weapons supply to Ukraine. Norway has been supporting Ukraine since the first day of the full-scale war and has done a lot for our soldiers to become stronger on the battlefield. We appreciate it, Zelensky posted on Telegram. As the President noted, strengthening the Armed Forces of Ukraine remains the key priority. Both by increasing the supply of weapons and accelerating the delivery of the already announced assistance, he stressed. Zelensky thanked the Government, the Parliament, and all the people of Norway for their comprehensive assistance to Ukraine and the Ukrainians. Earlier, Zelensky and Prime Minister of Finland Sanna Marin confirmed Ukraine's inalienable right to self-defense and the choice of its own security measures and reiterated the demand for the Russian Federation to immediately withdraw its troops from Ukrainian territory. The U.S. Treasury announced sanctions against a network of Chinese companies that supplied Iran with spare parts for military drones, including the Shahed-136. This is stated by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Ukrinform reports. "OFAC is designating a network of five companies and one individual for supporting Iran's unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) procurement efforts," the statement said. It is clarified that the list includes Koto Machinery, Raven, Guilin Alpha, S&C Trade, and Caspro. Read also: United States designates Wagner Group as transnational criminal organization The network is responsible for the sale and shipment of components that can be used for the production of combat drones. In particular, they are used by the Iranian Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company HESA (sanctioned earlier), which produces Shahed-136 kamikaze drones. "Iran is directly implicated in the Ukrainian civilian casualties that result from Russia's use of Iranian UAVs in Ukraine," U.S. Under Secretary of the U.S. Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson said in this regard. He emphasized that the United States would continue to target global Iranian procurement networks that supply Russia with deadly UAVs for use in its illegal war against Ukraine. As Ukrinform reported earlier, on Thursday the international REPO network announced that it had frozen or blocked more than $58 billion worth of Russian assets, sanctioned over the Kremlins war on Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine insists on putting pressure on individuals and entities in Russia and other countries who help the aggressor state restore its missile potential and obtain technology. He stated this during a joint press conference with Prime Minister Sanna Marin of Finland in Kyiv, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. "It is important to put pressure on all entities and individuals of the terrorist state who participate in this (missile - ed.) attack and the missile program, and on all actors in other countries who help Russia pursue this terror. We must come to have global sanctions imposed, completely blocking any possibilities to restore Russias missile potential, obtain new drones, new technology, etc.," Zelensky said. In addition, he emphasized the importance of preventing Russians from circumventing EU sanctions through trade with third countries. "This applies to goods that are critical for the terrorist states military industry and other industries that support and directly sponsor Russias war and aggression," the president added. As reported, Prime Minister Sanna Marin of Finland is visiting Ukraine on Friday. By repelling the Russian onslaught, Ukrainians protect not only their Motherland, but also the whole of Europe. This was stated by Prime Minister of Moldova, Dorin Recean, Ukrinform reports with reference to Point.md. "These missiles land here because of the war and Russia's aggression against Ukraine. We should thank Ukraine and Ukrainians for protecting their Motherland, protecting us and all of Europe," Recean said. At the same time, he emphasized the need to strengthen Moldovas air defense capabilities. The prime minister added that, although during the last large-scale shelling of Ukraine, no Russian missiles flew over Moldova, this does not mean that the country does not need to prepare for risks. "Today, the Republic of Moldova is facing challenges, and we will continue to ensure peace and tranquility," the head of government said. It is noted that, since Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine, at least four cases have been recorded where Russian missiles or their debris were found on Moldovas soil. As reported, on the night and morning of March 9, the Russian Federation launched a massive missile and drone attack on Ukraine. Ukraines defense forces destroyed 34 of 48 Russian Kh-101/Kh-555 and Kalibr cruise missiles. Photo: facebook.com/recean.md U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held in Tel-Aviv on Thursday spoke of the consequences of military cooperation between Russia and Iran. Thats according to an Ukrinform correspondent, referring to the Pentagon press service. During the meeting, Secretary Austin highlighted the lethal consequences of Russia's expanding military cooperation with Iran in Ukraine, where the use of lethal attack drones is killing innocent civilians and the negative implications this trend poses for the Middle East region. Among other things, this is about Russia providing technology to Iran in exchange for its assistance. The two leaders discussed the threats posed by Iran in the region and agreed to increase cooperation to confront Iranian aggression. Secretary Austin reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to never allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon, the report reads. As Ukrinform reported earlier, the U.S. sanctioned a network of five Chinese companies supplying components for Irans military drones Russia has been using to attack Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron has appointed former EBRD Vice President for Policy and Partnerships Pierre Heilbronn as Frances special envoy for relief and reconstruction of Ukraine. Very honored to be appointed France's Special Envoy for Ukraines Relief and Reconstruction by Emmanuel Macron. A great challenge, a huge collective responsibility, Heilbronn wrote on Twitter. As reported by Ukrinform, EU High Representative Josep Borrell said that the European Union and its partners would help create attractive conditions for private investors who can participate in the reconstruction of Ukraine, while Russia must also pay for the destruction and damage caused by its aggression. President Volodymyr Zelensky expects that at the NATO summit in Vilnius this July, the Alliance will make steps towards providing Ukraine with security guarantees. He stated this during a joint press conference with Prime Minister Sanna Marin of Finland in Kyiv, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. "As for the summit in Vilnius, we have been invited, but we would like to see some appropriate steps forward, apart from the status we have today, in our relations with NATO," the head of state said. He expressed gratitude to all NATO allies who have been supporting Ukrainians on the battlefield. At the same time, the president emphasized the importance of obtaining security guarantees for Ukraine. "Even if we cannot be in NATO amid war, we would like to have appropriate security guarantees on this path, while we are not yet in NATO. And it is exactly the corresponding steps towards Ukraine by the NATO allies that we expect at the Vilnius summit toward these security guarantees," Zelensky emphasized. As reported, Finlands Prime Minister Sanna Marin is visiting Ukraine on Friday. The NATO summit is scheduled to be held in Vilnius on July 11-12. President Volodymyr Zelensky discussed the defense and security issues, the restoration of Ukraine, sanctions against the Russian Federation, holding Russia accountable, and the peace formula with Prime Minister of Finland Sanna Marin. "The key topic of our negotiations today was defense and security. This is a priority. I am grateful to Finland for the defense support packages provided to Ukraine, for effective participation in our tank coalition. I am sure that we will continue to strengthen this area of cooperation for the sake of the interests of both our peoples, our independence, the sovereignty of Ukraine, Finland, our European neighbors," Zelensky said at a joint press conference with Marin in Kyiv, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. The parties also discussed the sanctions policy against Russia, the issue of bringing Russian criminals to justice, the reconstruction of Ukraine, and the implementation of the Ukrainian peace formula. In particular, the President said that Finland is ready to coordinate actions together with partners regarding the formulas point on the ecocide carried out by the Russians in Ukraine. In addition, the Head of State thanked Finnish partners for supporting Ukraine's path toward the EU and NATO. Zelensky stressed that Ukraine and Finland have friendly, partnership relations. As reported, Prime Minister of Finland Sanna Marin is visiting Ukraine on Friday, March 10. First photo: Presidents Office On February 27, the Center for Strategic Communication and Information Security, together with partners, held a round table on the topic Russian propaganda in the Middle East: narratives, dissemination, counteraction. At the event, the results of the analysis by the CSCIS of the media landscape in Turkiye and Egypt based on the monitoring conducted by the Ukraine-based social startup LetsData in partnership with the Detector Media NGO in January 2023 were presented. The analysis showed what the online media in the Middle East countries tell about Ukraine, and how Russian propaganda affects this media space. The study presents only those narratives that reproduce Russian propaganda, which does not rule out the presence of productive and neutral narratives. Methodology: using machine learning technology, publications were collected with at least one mention of Ukraine and/or the war in Ukraine in the online media of the said countries. For each country, the most visited online media platforms (also considering those that share pro-Russian rhetoric), TV channels, and newspapers that have an online version were selected. Original-language data was collected and analyzed. Data preparation and processing were conducted in Python. Text processing was based on content analysis. Spread of Russian narratives in Turkiye and Egypt: main features One of the features of Russian narratives circulating in Turkiye and Egypt, which were identified during the monitoring, was the mutually contradictory messages targeting the same country. For example, on the one hand, the narrative was spread that Western nations supply Ukraine with weapons, which continues to escalate the war on the part of Russia, on the other hand, Western countries refuse to supply weapons. Another feature was that one message could illustrate and reinforce several narratives at once. Some messages develop over time. For example, new variations emerge or several previously separate narratives combine by cause-effect scheme. Common narratives for Turkiye and Egypt A comparative analysis of the Russian narratives that were identified during the monitoring showed those that were common to both countries, and those that circulated in only one of them. In particular, among the narratives found in both countries were the following: Western aid to Ukraine provokes Russia/ The supply of weapons to Ukraine confirms that the West is fighting against Russia For example, in January, the following messages were noted among the publications: the largest US aid package to Ukraine is a step to anger Russia, the increase in the number of the Russian army is associated with the proxy war waged by the West, and if the West provides Ukraine with more weapons, this will only lead to escalation. The West prolongs the war of Russia against Ukraine (the Ukraine crisis)/ The supply of weapons prolongs the suffering of the Ukrainians Similar messages were spread about the prolongation of the suffering of the Ukrainians due to military assistance to Ukraine. For example, the supply of Western armored vehicles and other weapons to Ukraine prolongs the suffering of the Ukrainians and does not change the balance of power and the Ukrainians will have to pay a heavy price if the West provides tanks. Ukraine is creating provocations against Russia For example, the analyzed publications alleged that Ukraine will blow up its own breadbaskets, Ukraine is going to exhume the graves of the dead. All of these messages were used in the context that in this way, Ukraine plots provocations against Russia. Split/quarrels within the West/Attempts to divide the EU countries In particular, Ukraine is allegedly the cause of pitting and splits. For example, the Ukraine crisis causes tension in relations between Washington and Berlin. Manipulation of the topic of religion in Ukraine Among the identified messages were the following: the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is used as a tool to incite Russian-Ukrainian hostility, the Ukrainian authorities are involved in a campaign against religious institutions, and Kyiv and Western countries are trying to separate the Russians from the Ukrainians on religious grounds. Circulation of the topic of how to persuade Ukraine to peace negotiations For example, the publications claimed that Kyiv only needs to be coerced to peace and there are no prospects for peace negotiations with Ukraine because of its position and because the West does not allow them to negotiate. Other common narratives for the media space of Egypt and Turkiye were: Russias victory is inevitable Threats from Russia to the West regarding the destruction of weapons provided to Ukraine The West does not plan to provide more weapons to Ukraine. Threats with nuclear weapons The AFU is killing civilians/shelling residential neighbourhoods Mentions of the World War III Russian narratives in the media space of Egypt In Egypt, one of the main topics for manipulation in January was that of Germany providing Leopard tanks to Ukraine. In addition, other universal narratives for Russian propaganda were also common, such as: The United States is at war with the world. For example, in January publications, it was said that America is the only beneficiary of the armed conflict and NATO is waging a war against all the states of the world and Ukraine. The supply of weapons weakens the countries that provide them. In particular, it said that the use of ammunition by Ukraine exceeds the production capacity of the EU. The West/US is using Ukraine for its own purposes For example, in January, publications stating that allegedly Washington uses the Ukrainians to serve the interests of its military-industrial complex, Western countries stubbornly support Kyivs offensive policy and prepare a bloody year for Kyiv, Biden has the key to ending the conflict in Ukraine, but he does not use it were quite popular. In addition, there were reports of an alleged American conspiracy, according to which Ukraine was chosen by the United States as the starting point for a war against Russia in order to weaken Europe as its competitor. Western weapons are stolen/ Due to corruption in Ukraine, the West ceases to support Ukraine financially For example, in January, there was a call for the termination of financial assistance to Ukraine, since allegedly corruption scandals are rocking Ukraine in difficult wartime, so, there is a need to stop sending money to Ukraine. The Pentagon, Western countries are participating in the war with Russia/ The West is fighting against Russia Military aid and military training are supposed to incline to such conclusions. For example, the Pentagons training of the Ukrainian army confirms Washingtons involvement in the conflict, Germany would be drawn into the war against Russia by sending heavy wheeled vehicles to Ukraine, the United States withdrew troops from Afghanistan to focus on Ukraine, and the Kremlins statement that the supply of weapons to Ukraine by Europe and the United States is a direct participation in the conflict were spread. Ukraine discriminates against the Hungarians For example, Egyptian media spread messages that Hungary will not accept Ukraine into the EU while the Hungarian minority is persecuted and in Ukraine, the rights of national minorities are not respected, the rights of the Hungarians are violated. Among other narratives, the following were circulated: Economic sanctions against Russia are ineffective Marches against Ukraine in the world Russian narratives in the media space of Turkiye In the Turkish information space, a comparative analysis of narratives in both countries showed that there were not so many narratives that were inherent only in Turkey. However, among them, the following were noted: Russia is not fighting Ukraine, but the nationalist regime in Ukraine. Russia is doing everything for peace. For example, in January, one of the leading publications on this topic in the Turkish media space was the statement of the Russian ombudsman not to incite hostility but to unite. In particular, Russia allegedly does everything for peace, while the West supplies Ukraine with long-range weapons. Center for Strategic Communication and Information Security Former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, who served as a top immigration official in the Trump administration, announced Thursday that he has formed a PAC to urge Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to run for president in 2024. "It's time for fresh, conservative leadership," Cuccinelli said in a video posted Thursday on Twitter, announcing his Never Back Down Pac. "Every election is about the future and the future is not Joe Biden," Cuccinelli says in the video. "America's future is Ron DeSantis. Ron DeSantis doesn't just talk, he acts. But most of all, he never backs down. "Governor DeSantis, today I'm asking you to run for president." Cuccinelli was a state senator from Fairfax before he served as attorney general from 2010 to 2014. He narrowly lost Virginia's 2013 contest for governor to Democrat Terry McAuliffe. In 2016, Cuccinelli worked with the presidential campaign of Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Cruz said last month that he will not run for president in 2024. In a statement about the new PAC, Cuccinelli said: "I have been speaking to many grassroots conservative activists around the country who are very enthusiastic for Governor DeSantis to run for President in 2024. "The energy is there, grassroots conservatives see the Governor as a leader and a fighter with a winning conservative track record who will lead the Republican Party to victory in 2024. "Based on those conversations, I am most confident that we will build an unmatched grassroots political army for Governor DeSantis to help carry him to the White House." While DeSantis has not yet announced a presidential bid, he is making moves that appear he plans to run, releasing a book, speaking Monday at the Reagan library in California and planning a trip to Iowa on Friday. Trump's campaign already is trolling DeSantis. Chris LaCivita, a Virginia-based campaign strategist who is a senior adviser to Trump's campaign, recently responded to a Tweet in which someone posted a photo of a noticeably trimmer DeSantis visiting a museum exhibit. Wrote LaCivita: "Love the backdrop. C-3PO and a life boat from you guessed it. The Titanic." Trump and DeSantis are dominating the GOP presidential field in early polling. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin - who will appear Thursday night in a nationally televised CNN town hall on education - has not ruled out a run for national office. In a recent Roanoke College poll, Youngkin's approval rating rose to 57% in February, but a sizable majority of respondents said they do not want him to run for president. facebook like button Tweet tweet button for twitter Published March 10, 2023 MONROE, LA ULM history professor Dr. Ralph W. Brown, III recently published an article in Louisiana History, the journal of The Louisiana Historical Association. The article, entitled Lyndon B. Johnsons War with the Shreveport Newspapers, was featured in the Fall 2022 edition of Louisiana History. A photo relating to Browns article was featured on the cover. "The roots of our current political divisions go back to the controversies of the 1960s, a period where we can also find examples of the media shaping political narratives, said Dr. Brown. Consequently, many people in North Louisiana believed that Johnson had betrayed the South in order to secure national applause and the presidency. Johnson in turn viewed criticism of him in the Shreveport press as the source of his unpopularity in North Louisiana and applied pressure behind the scenes to suppress such criticism," he added. "It is a pleasure seeing scholars like Dr. Brown addressing the intersection of national and Louisiana history, said Dr. Jeffrey Anderson, Associate Director of ULMs School of Humanities. Articles like this one help show how national developments, such as the Civil Rights movement and opposition to it, played out in our own state," said Anderson. The following is a summary of the article provided by Dr. Brown: The Shreveport Journal and the Shreveport Times challenged Lyndon B. Johnson in his own backyard. With a readership in Louisiana and Texas, the Shreveport press's denunciation of the president as a traitor to the South was particularly problematic for Johnson. To be sure, other conservative newspapers also criticized Johnson on their editorial pages. That said, most other regional newspapers simply did not publish as many anti-Johnson letters to the editor, nor did they associate directly with groups of the radical right, as was the case with the Shreveport Journal. The Shreveport newspapers also challenged Johnson's carefully constructive narrative that though he had once opposed civil rights, he had come to see the necessity that all people have equal rights. Most significant, though Johnson won the 1964 presidential election nationally by a landslide, he blamed the Shreveport press for his overwhelming electoral defeat in North Louisiana. Feza Tulinabo, a displaced mother of eight, next to the shelter she built herself in a new site for internally displaced people in Rusayu, North Kivu. UNHCR/Blaise Sanyila GENEVA - UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is greatly alarmed as violent clashes between non-state armed groups and government forces drive hundreds of thousands to flee their homes in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). In February alone, nearly 300,000 people fled across Rutshuru and Masisi territories in North Kivu Province. UNHCR teams and partners are mapping the displacement and the needs of those forced to flee. Violence has particularly surged from the Kitchanga region in Masisi territory towards the strategically important city of Sake, with 49,000 people displaced in the week of 17 February. In the locality of Kibirizi in Rutshuru territory, a further 20,000 fled during the week of 6 March. Civilians continue to pay the heavy and bloody price of conflict, including women and children who barely escaped the violence and are now sleeping out in the open air in spontaneous or organized sites, exhausted and traumatised. The resurgence of violence in the region has displaced over 800,000 people since March last year, including towards the provinces of South Kivu and Ituri. The needs of vulnerable displaced populations are multiplying as already dire conditions deteriorate and resources in overcrowded locations buckle under the strain of new arrivals. UNHCR teams on the ground reported horrifying testimonies of human rights violations in affected areas, especially in Rutshuru and Masisi territories, including arbitrary killings, kidnappings, extortion and rapes. Where access permits, UNHCR teams are positioned to provide psychosocial counselling and community support to manage the traumas that displaced people are experiencing. UNHCR and partners are urgently scaling up humanitarian and protection assistance to tackle urgent needs stemming from overcrowding and inadequate shelter in spontaneous sites, as well as limited access to food and clean water. With our partners, we have relocated more than 14,000 vulnerable, displaced people to Buchagara displacement site, 5 kilometres from Goma, North Kivus provincial capital .where they received emergency shelter. Further relief is planned this month in the form of kits containing blankets and jerrycans for water. However, the growing needs are outstripping the available resources at a dramatic rate. While all efforts are made to provide protection and assistance to those displaced close to Goma, UNHCR is deeply concerned about restricted humanitarian access to displaced populations in other parts of North Kivu Province as the major routes to those impacted areas have frequently been inaccessible in recent months as a result of the on-going conflict. More than 5,500 people have also crossed the border into neighbouring Rwanda since January, and a further 5,300 into Uganda as insecurity and violence continue to ravage the border regions. UNHCR strongly reiterates its call on all actors in eastern DRC to stop the violence which is taking an enormous toll on the civilian population. The DRC is the largest internal displacement crisis in Africa, with 5.8 million people internally displaced, mainly in the east of the country. It also hosts over a million refugees from neighbouring countries. It is also one of UNHCRs most underfunded operations worldwide. For 2023, UNHCR is asking for US$232.6 million to assist internally displaced people and refugees in the DRC. As of today, the DRC operation is only 8 per cent funded. For more information, please contact: A Washington state-based apparel business plans to invest at least $50 million to build a 1.1 million-square-foot distribution center in Hanover County, creating 1,000 jobs, the Youngkin administration announced Thursday. The project by SanMar Corp. would create the companys flagship center for East Coast distribution. The center is being planned in the East Coast Commerce Center, a 128-acre development in the 10400 block of Hickory Hill Road in Ashland. Equity Industrial Partners Corp. and Raith Capital Partners are developing the site. SanMar was founded in 1971 and is based near Seattle. The privately held company sells T-shirts, sweatshirts, caps, outerwear, bags and other accessories sold by various retailers. About 30 brands including Nike, Eddie Bauer, The North Face, Carhartt and Champion are distributed through eight centers. Plans for a new Dallas center were announced last month. The investment Thursday was announced by Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who in a statement said the distribution center highlights Virginias strategic location, infrastructure and workforce for companies in the logistics field. Hanover County has become a regional hub for the U.S. supply chain, and we are proud that the East Coast Commerce Centers attracted an industry leader like SanMar, Youngkin said in a statement. Virginia competed with North Carolina for the project, the governors office said. The company is eligible to receive benefits from the Port of Virginia Economic and Infrastructure Development Zone Grant Program. In a statement, SanMar CEO Jeremy Lott said: When we came here, we knew right away that this is a place we wanted to be. As we met and talked with people in the area, we knew this could be a great fit for us and for our future growth. We couldn't be more excited to be here to fill up this building, to build our team here, and to make this a home for a really long time. 17 archive photos of Regency Mall When the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced earlier this year that it would allow drugstore chains to sell mifepristone, the highly regulated first drug taken in a two-drug regimen for medication abortion, Walgreens and other pharmacy chains eagerly stepped up and said they would go through the required certification process. But after attorneys general in 20 Republican-led states wrote an ominous letter to Walgreens executive vice president reminding her of abortion laws and warning questionably that it was illegal to mail abortion pills in the U.S., the company told several news outlets that it would not sell in those states. The company received a similar letter from Kansas Atty. Gen. Kris Kobach and wrote back saying it wouldnt sell the drug in Kansas. Walgreens insisted in statements in recent days that once it was certified, it would sell the abortion pills in states where it was legal. But the retailers statements to the general public conflict with what it has told those conservative states. Abortion including medication abortion is legal in half of the 21 states that wrote to Walgreens and later received assurances the retailer would not sell in those states. And most of those states where its legal allow people to take abortion medication outside of a providers office which means Walgreens can sell in those states. In the rest of those states abortion is banned with limited exceptions or, in one case, unavailable because there is no abortion clinic. The one thing that all the 21 states have in common are elected officials hostile to abortion rights. It would be understandable if Walgreens officials put out a statement saying their hands were tied in the 10 states where abortion is banned. But instead the pharmacy chain caved to political pressure, and that is despicable. No wonder California Gov. Gavin Newsom exploded on Twitter on Monday, declaring, California wont be doing business with Walgreens or any company that cowers to the extremists and puts womens lives at risk. Were done. Its still not clear whether the state of California can be done with Walgreens, and what it might mean for government-subsidized prescriptions. The relationship is more complicated than Newsoms statement suggests, but we certainly understand his frustration. In a post-Roe era when states are trying to restrict abortion, including medication abortion, which is more easily available than a surgical abortion, its outrageous for a drugstore chain to be in any way connected to thwarting access. Abortion care is healthcare, and that should be Walgreens primary concern. It also sets a dangerous example that could induce more people to try to bully businesses into taking away peoples right to healthcare. In states where abortion is precariously available and constantly under attack, chains like Walgreens are lifelines for pregnant people with limited resources to travel to a clinic. When Walgreens capitulated to Kobachs letter warning the company not to send mail-order mifepristone into Kansas where access to medication abortion is under attack and assured him that it would not sell the drug at all in the state, the attorney general chortled in a news release that Walgreens decision was a significant victory for the pro-life cause and for womens health. Medication abortion is extremely safe. This was nothing more than a political scare tactic and the fact that Walgreens fell for it is deeply disturbing. Shame on Walgreens executives who have rewarded years of support from customers with a cold shoulder just when they need help most. This spineless betrayal has already caused the companys stock to dip amid understandable calls for boycotts. Walgreens should reverse course, take back promises made to antiabortion politicians and loudly affirm that the chain will indeed sell mifepristone in every state where abortion is legal. Iraq welcomed a surprise agreement reached between Iran and Saudi Arabia Friday to restore diplomatic ties, saying the move would turn a new leaf in relations between the regional heavyweights Baghdad, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Mar, 2023 ) :Iraq welcomed a surprise agreement reached between Iran and Saudi Arabia Friday to restore diplomatic ties, saying the move would turn a new leaf in relations between the regional heavyweights. Riyadh cut ties with Tehran after Iranian protesters attacked Saudi diplomatic missions in the Islamic republic in 2016 following the Saudi execution of revered cleric Nimr al-Nimr. They said in a joint statement that they had agreed to restore ties and to reopen diplomatic missions within two months after five days of unannounced talks in China. "A new page has been opened in diplomatic relations between the two countries," the Iraqi foreign ministry said. The agreement between Iraq's neighbours would provide "impetus for the cooperation of countries in the region", it said in a brief statement. Iraq had hosted several rounds of reconciliation talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia since April 2021. Those encounters were held at a relatively low level, involving security and intelligence officials. WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 11th March, 2023) European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed thanks during a meeting with US President Joe Biden for "tremendously" helping the European Union by delivering more liquefied natural gas (LNG) to decrease the bloc's dependency on Russian gas, according to a White House press pool on Friday. "Thank you very much, Mr. President," the White House pool cited Von der Leyen as saying. "Indeed, you helped us enormously when we wanted to get rid of the Russian fossil fuel dependency, you helped us tremendously by delivering more LNG, you helped us through the energy crisis." Von der Leyen is visiting Washington to review mutual cooperation between the United States and the European Union in support of Ukraine and to discuss addressing the climate crisis through investments in "clean" technology based on secure supply chains. After Russia began its special military operation in Ukraine, the countries of the collective West have been actively searching for ways to limit Moscow's energy-related income, notably from oil and gas. On Thursday, European Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson called for EU member states to completely stop importing Russian liquefied natural gas and refrain from signing new gas contracts with Moscow all the while being mindful of the bloc's energy security. Homeowners in a struggling, partially built Philomath development shared frustration and anger during a neighborhood meeting hosted at City Hall on Wednesday, March 8. City Manager Chris Workman invited the residents of Millpond Crossing, a 30-acre housing subdivision starting at South 15th Street and Chapel Drive, to hear their feedback. More than a dozen residents took him up on it and aired their grievances about a developer who some described as unresponsive or untrustworthy. Issues with the city as well as state regulators were also mentioned. Mayor Chas Jones attended the meeting, as did Councilor Jessica Andrade. Workman admitted some culpability in the situation, saying he had been too lenient with developer Levi Miller and his company, MPC Builders LLC, in pursuit of more housing for the growing city of Philomath. Of the 212 planned homes, including some townhouses, 60 units have been built at Millpond Crossing, the site of a former mill. We were trying to be very accommodating to a developer who was telling us, Were here to build houses; we want to keep the houses affordable; were trying to get first-time homebuyers in here; give us a little bit of slack and were going to come back and get all this stuff done,' Workman said. But thats not how it played out. The next thing Workman knew, his phone was ringing off the hook with future homeowners who couldnt move in because their houses werent ready, despite having financing and moving plans in place. So, Workman made several decisions to let people get occupancy. I lost any leverage to get X, Y and Z done on that list because now people are in homes; hes closed on the deal; hes got money in his pocket. Hes moved on to the next house and not gone back to take care of the infrastructure issues, he said. Thats on me, he said. We let this developer get too far down the road on promises that stuff was going to get fixed. Communication issues have been a theme at Millpond and not just for residents. In January, Workman told the Philomath City Council he was disappointed that correspondence and calls from Miller had really dropped off in previous weeks. In a recent meeting with Miller and others that Workman characterized as positive overall, the two reportedly overcame a stalemate regarding problems with grading that has halted construction progress since fall 2022. Workman said a compromise is forthcoming, but the relationship between Miller and the city is different now. We were giving him the benefit of the doubt that things were going to get taken care of, Workman said. Were done doing that. Now, its just doubt, no more benefit. Grading irregularities pushed the city to issue a stop work order in November, requiring a section of Millpond be fenced off for safety and limiting access points along the east side of 16th Street and north side of Chapel Drive. Because the excavated areas east of South 16th Street collected rainwater, the city declared the partially built tract an "attractive nuisance and potentially dangerous. The stop work order notes the housing subdivisions approval prohibits creating additional wetlands. Its not yet clear how the ponds of water will be drained, and concerns around erosion and breaching are further complicated by water quality issues and discharge regulations. Construction can't continue until the developer gets approval for new grading plans that lower the grades from the previously-approved plans or alters the current grading to comply with the approved plans. Workman said foundations built in the excavated areas are sitting 3 to 4 feet below where they should be. Until the grading issue is resolved, no work is allowed east of South 16th Street except for installing temporary fencing, removing construction materials, corrective grading work, and specific items on a 15-page public works punch list," according to the stop work order, which remains in place at this time. The next phase of construction will remain on hold until all of the previous expectations are met, Workman told residents at the meeting. Hes shown that he cant be trusted, Workman said of Millers unmet promises. In addition to concerns about people falling into water hazards, kids have been seen playing around the edges of the work area and on top of massive mounds of excavated dirt sitting alongside the site. A resident said someone had been riding a motorized dirt bike on the mounds too. On the bright side for Millpond residents, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality recently lifted a 2021 advisory asking residents to avoid using anything that could spark an explosion. After the developer volunteered to participate in a DEQ testing program, investigators discovered methane onsite, likely from decaying wood after the earliest residents had moved in already. Methane is flammable and in confined spaces can cause explosions or displace oxygen. 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. At the neighborhood meeting, Workman said Millpond Crossing spurred DEQ to create new rules for fill sites since the project began. The decaying organic matter that can lead to methane gas hadn't been on the agency's radar. While its unfortunate that it started with Philomath, Workman said the rest of the state is benefiting from the learned experience, particularly as housing demand makes repurposing industrial sites more common in Oregon. Everybody at DEQ knows now when youre looking at a site, if its a millpond or an industrial site or anything, theyre looking for fill, and theyre looking at organic material, he said. Thats not something they were consciously doing when this development got approved. Related stories: Maastricht, Netherlands, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Mar, 2023 ) :One of the world's largest art fairs opens its doors this weekend in the Netherlands, with organisers saying they have thrown a ring of steel around it after a brazen heist last year. From Saturday until March 19, visitors at The European Fine Art Fair, better known as TEFAF, will be able to view a treasure trove of the world's greatest artworks for sale in the southern city of Maastricht. But after Covid-19 forced the fair online in 2021, it hit the headlines again last year when thieves smashed a display case before making off with jewellery worth millions of Euros in an audacious robbery. The raid hit the organisation hard, TEFAF's Head of Fairs Will Korner said, but he stressed the fair wanted to put the incident behind it. "It was a horrible experience. The worst part was the repercussive effect that it had on a lot of people," he told AFP. Dubbed the "Peaky Blinders" heist because the robbers wore flat caps like those in the British crime drama, the loot included a yellow 114-carat diamond worth a reported 27 million euros ($28.5 million). Dutch police last week said they were closing in on the gang, believed to be a sophisticated organised crime group based in the Balkans. They also recovered one stolen item but the diamond remains missing. "We worked on what we should be doing for 2023, such as security gates at the entrance of the fair... and many other measures I won't talk about for obvious reasons," said Korner. On a day reserved for art dealers, AFP journalists noticed increased security staff. Bags were searched at the entrance and exit. While London jewellery dealer Symbolic & Chase, the targets of last year's robbery, did not return, exhibitors said they felt safe with the extra security measures. "We have all these gates. It's like entering an airport, so it takes some time, but we all feel happy about it," Amsterdam-based exhibitor Paul van Rosmalen said. "This year, I have the feeling that it's been done perfectly," he told AFP. "They have hugely tightened security," added Milo Dickinson, of the London-based Dickinson art dealerships, adding: "TEFAF is the most secure art fair in the world, I am sure." Organisers stressed they wanted to put the robbery behind them and have visitors focus on the amazing art on display, in what is often called a "super museum" for the duration of the exhibit. "This year it's certainly a feeling that we are back in the groove. We know what we need to do," Korner said. Art for sale ranged from old masters like Flemish Baroque master Anthony van Dyck, through ancient Chinese and modern South Korean art, to the first printed map of Amsterdam from around 1544. The print's asking price is 395,000 euros, according to its price tag on display. Jewellery is also up for sale, including a Bulgari-designed emerald and diamond "Trombino" ring featuring an emerald of 10.4 carats. Another work for sale is French Pointillist Paul Signac's 1924 painting of the Dutch port of Rotterdam, asking price of 3.8 million euros. TEFAF however was more than just putting up art for sale, exhibitors insisted. In one remarkable coincidence, the London-based Dickinson dealers discovered that a silver "tazza" -- a type of 17th-century goblet featured in their 1648 painting by Dutch master Willem Claesz Heda -- was actually on display just a few corners away. "An amazing find," said Dickinson. Tbilisi, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Mar, 2023 ) :Georgia's parliament voted Friday to drop controversial new legislation, which it earlier approved in an initial reading, sparking an international outcry and mass protests in the Caucasus country. Tens of thousands took to the streets this week after lawmakers moved to introduce the "foreign agent" law. On Friday, the bill was voted down in second reading after only one lawmaker -- out of 36 who voted -- backed the legislation that critics had compared to laws in Russia that authorities have leveraged to silence Kremlin's opponents. Hundreds of anti-government protesters rallied outside the legislature during the vote. Protesters clashed with police on Tuesday and Wednesday and law enforcement fired water cannon and tear gas at the demonstrators. The Georgian Dream ruling party backtracked under pressure, announcing on Thursday that it would drop the bill. But opposition parties said in a joint statement that the protests would continue, pointing to a lack of guarantees "that Georgia is firmly on a pro-Western course." Georgian authorities have faced mounting international criticism over a perceived backsliding on democracy, seriously damaging Tbilisi's ties with Brussels. The ruling party has insisted it remains committed to Georgia's EU and NATO membership bid, enshrined in the constitution and supported -- according to opinion polls -- by 80 percent of the population. Georgia applied for EU membership together with Ukraine and Moldova days after Russia invaded Ukraine in February, 2022. Last June, EU leaders granted formal candidate status to Kyiv and Chisinau, but said Tbilisi must implement reforms first. RIYADH, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Mar, 2023 ) :Members of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) Enquiry Mission on Friday met with H.E. Majid Alkassabi, Minister of Commerce, who went over the Riyadh Expo 2030 candidacy file with the members of the delegation. The Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) Enquiry Mission also met with H.E. Ahmed Al-Khateeb, Minister of Tourism, who laid out the government's blueprint for what he called "the most impactful site and visitor footprint" for Riyadh Expo 2030. The minister declared: "We are on track towards developing a sustainable tourism sector and realizing promising projects that will make the Kingdom and Riyadh, in particular, one of the most important tourist destinations in the world. Our plans will contribute to achieving our vision to welcome 100 million tourists by 2030. His Excellency affirmed the Kingdom's determination and the readiness of the capital to accommodate the largest number of visitors to the Riyadh Expo 2030. Since the Kingdom first opened its doors to international visitors, it has seen fundamental changes in its hospitality industry, making it attractive to the global leisure traveler. The BIE delegation continued its visit to the headquarters of the DGDA, where they were briefed on its development plans by the CEO, Mr. Jerry Inzerillo. The delegation then took a tour at the Turaif and Bujairi districts. The day ended for the Enquiry Mission members with a dinner with H.E. Faisal Al- Ibrahim, Minister of Economy and Planning, who highlighted Saudi Arabia's efforts to diversify its economy and increase the share and GDP contribution of the non-oil sector. "Riyadh has a great role to play in the Kingdom's economic diversification strategy, as a growing regional hub for larger multinational companies of different strategic sectors," H.E. Al-Ibrahim commented. Boosting tourism is a key part of the economic diversification strategy. Since Saudi Arabia opened its doors to the world for the first time with the launch of a tourism visa, visitors from around the world have come to explore the country's ancient history, striking landscapes and hospitality. Last year, Saudi Arabia welcomed 67 million visitors. The proposed date to host the World Expo in Riyadh in 2030 is from October 1, 2030 till March 31, 2031, given the pleasant weather in the capital during this period. (@FahadShabbir) ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Mar, 2023 ) :A judicial magistrate court on Friday granted a three-day physical remand of accused Shoaib Sheikh to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for alleged bribing to a judge in the Axact degree case. The FIA produced the accused before Judicial Magistrate Umar Shabbir and requested for his 10-day physical remand to carry out an investigation into the matter. The FIA's investigation officer informed the court that the high court had ordered an inquiry against the accused, and during the investigation transaction of some amount in the account of the former judge was found. However, the judge did not confess to taking any bribe, he added. The accused said he had no connection with the transaction and he should have been given some time to join the investigation. Whether the accused, who had transferred the said amount into the judge's account, had been arrested, he asked. Prosecutor Ishfaq Naqvi said a total of 26 accused were named in the case. The statement of the said former additional session judge was part of an appeal pending with the high court, he added. Shoaib Sheikh had filed the appeal without going to jail, the prosecutor said. He stated that the former judge had confessed before the two high court judges to receiving the bribe, and opposed the request of the defence seeking to discharge the accused from the case. The counsel for accused, Latif Khosa Advocate said the inquiry was conducted in 2018 and the FIA was now thinking to file the case. A verbal statement could not be considered a confession, he said and prayed to the court to discharge his client from the case. The court, however, granted three-day remand of the accused to the FIA. (@ChaudhryMAli88) The security forces on Friday killed five terrorists in heavy exchanges of fire during intelligence-based operations (IBOs) in North and South Waziristan districts RAWALPINDI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Mar, 2023 ) :The security forces on Friday killed five terrorists in heavy exchanges of fire during intelligence-based operations (IBOs) in North and South Waziristan districts. Weapons, ammunition and a large quantity of equipment were also recovered from the killed terrorists, an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) news release said. "The Pakistan Army is determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism from every inch of our territory with an unflinching resolve," the ISPR added The European Union has excluded Russia from the list of countries invited to participate in an international donor conference organized by Brussels on March 20 to raise funds for earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria, the European Commission said Friday MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 10th March, 2023) The European Union has excluded Russia from the list of countries invited to participate in an international donor conference organized by Brussels on March 20 to raise funds for earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria, the European Commission said Friday. "Co-hosted by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and by Prime Minister of Sweden, Ulf Kristersson, for the Swedish Presidency of the Council, and organised in coordination with the Turkish authorities, the Donors' Conference will be open to EU Member States, candidate countries and potential candidates, neighbouring and partner countries, G20 members - except for Russia - Member States of the Gulf Cooperation, as well as the UN, international organisations, humanitarian actors and international and European financial institutions," the statement read. The commission noted that the EU intended to make substantial commitments to further aid, recovery and reconstruction in Turkey and Syria. The EU urged the international community and global donors to "show solidarity" with the people of Turkey and Syria in such difficult circumstances "by mobilising pledges in line with the scale and magnitude of the damage," according to the statement. The commission added that invitations to the conference would be sent out shortly. In February, two earthquakes of magnitudes 7.7 and 7.6 hit the south-eastern regions of Turkey at a nine-hour interval. They were followed by hundreds of aftershocks that were felt in 11 Turkish provinces and in the neighboring countries, with Syria being affected the most. Over 46,000 people have been confirmed dead in the disaster in Turkey alone, according to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Thousands more died in Syria. According to a United Nations Development Programme official, the economic damage from the earthquakes will exceed $100 billion in Turkey alone. The EU has already provided about 12 million Euros ($12.8 million) in humanitarian aid to Turkey and about 10 million euros to Syria to meet the urgent needs of the population and eliminate the catastrophic consequences of the earthquakes, according to the commission. Immediately after the natural disaster, Russia offered help to Turkey and Syria. Moscow sent groups of rescuers and military personnel, as well as the necessary special equipment, to the areas most affected by the earthquakes. They were removing debris, searching for victims and providing medical assistance among other activities. In addition, Russian Muslims have organized fundraising to help the people of Syria and Turkey. Many other countries were seeking to help the two states, but faced difficulties with providing aid to Syria over sanctions imposed on the country's government by the EU, the United States and the United Kingdom after the start of the civil war in 2011. The West has currently lifted sanctions at the request of the international community, but only temporarily. One by one, black body bags under flurries of snow are wheeled out from the unassuming Jehovah's Witness centre where six people were killed in the German city of Hamburg Hamburg, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Mar, 2023 ) :One by one, black body bags under flurries of snow are wheeled out from the unassuming Jehovah's Witness centre where six people were killed in the German city of Hamburg. "The world has gone mad," says one mourner holding a bouquet of white roses and approaching the entrance of the brick building, cordoned off by police. The body bags are carefully placed in hearses before being driven away and the man with the bouquet leaves with his flowers still in hand. "It really upsets me," says Tatjana Popczy, who lives just 200 metres (yards) from the centre where a former member of the Jehovah's Witnesses burst into a service at around 9:00 pm (2000 GMT) on Thursday, killing six people. There is nothing remarkable about the building, located on a busy thoroughfare between a petrol station and auto repair shops. The group's logo, a small square with "JW" in white letters on a blue background, is affixed to the facade. "It doesn't matter where it is, it's awful," says Popczy as a clutch of people come to pay their respects and place flowers in front of a sign displaying the centre's opening hours. "I cannot understand how you could do such a thing."Across the road, residents in a large apartment complex describe the Jehovah's Witnesses opposite as "discreet". ISTANBUL (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 11th March, 2023) Turkey's High Electoral Commission approved on Friday the date of the presidential elections proposed by the president, May 14, this decision was published in the country's official publication Resmi Gazete. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed a decree on Friday scheduling general elections for May 14. "Our commission unanimously voted to approve May 14 as the date of the presidential and parliamentary elections. The second round of the presidential election, if necessary, is scheduled for May 28," the commission's decision reads. Erdogan's opponent is the only candidate of the opposition People's Alliance, the leader of the People's Republican Party, Kemal Kilicdaroglu. One of the main reasons for screening for prostate cancer is to detect it in patients as early as possible as this can lead to better outcomes from treatment, said Dr Agne Krilaviciute, a researcher at DKFZ and lead author of the study. But our study suggests that the DRE is simply not sensitive enough to detect those early stage cancers. If the aim of a screening programme is to pick up cancers as early as possible and the current screening tool isnt doing that job, then that is a fundamental failure of that approach, said Professor Albers. We speculate in our paper that not only is the DRE not useful for detecting cancer, but it may also be one reason why people dont come to screening visits the examination probably puts a lot of men off. Reno, Nevada (UroToday.com) -- A common method of detecting prostate cancer may not be accurate enough as a reliable screening tool by itself, scientists have warned.The digital rectal exam (DRE) is widely used by medical professionals to check the prostate gland with a finger for unusual swelling or lumps in the rectum as an initial check for the signs of prostate cancer in men.In some countries, such as Germany, it is the sole method used in a national screening programme for the disease.But new research by scientists of the PROBASE trial coordinated at the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) in Heidelberg, suggests the technique may be missing many cancers in their early stages.The findings, which are presented today at the European Association of Urology Annual Congress in Milan, could have implications for the early detection of prostate cancer, say the researchers. They are calling for other testing methods to be used in routine screening instead.The PROBASE trial is a multicenter German prostate cancer screening study across four university sites (TU Munich, Hannover, Heidelberg, Dusseldorf) and involves 46,495 men aged 45 years who were enrolled between 2014 and 2019. The men have since been had follow ups to assess their health in the years after the screening. Half of the participants in the trial were offered prostate specific antigen (PSA) blood test immediately at age 45 while the other half were initially offered DRE with delayed PSA screening at age 50.Ultimately, 6,537 men in the delayed screening group underwent DRE and only 57 of these men were referred for a follow-up biopsy due to suspicious findings. Only three were found to have cancer.When compared to the detection rate using other methods, such as a PSA test, the rate of detection using DRE was substantially lower, says Dr Krilaviciute.The DRE was giving a negative result in 99% of cases and even those that were deemed to be suspicious had a low detection rate, says Dr Krilaviciute. Results weve seen from the PROBASE trial show that PSA testing at the age of 45 detected four times more prostate cancers.The researchers believe one of the reasons why the DRE might be failing to detect cancers, particularly in younger men, is because the changes in the tissue in the prostate may be too slight to detect with a finger. In addition, some cancers occur in a part of the prostate that cannot be easily reached by a finger.Early stage cancer may not have the size and stiffness to be palpable, said Professor Peter Albers, a urologist at Dusseldorf University who was the senior author of the study.Separate analysis that used MRI scans before biopsies to locate cancers in the prostate showed that about 80% of these are in an area that should be easy to reach with a finger and still cancers were not detectable by DRE.The researchers are now calling for widespread use of PSA testing and MRI scans as part of screening programmes instead of DRE.In Germany, for example, the participation rate is less than 20% in the screening programme for men 45 to 50 years. If we were to offer PSA testing instead, more of them might be willing to come.Source: European Association of Urology. 2023. Digital rectal examination is not useful to early detect prostate cancers [Press release]. https://eaucongress.uroweb.org/digital-rectal-examination-is-not-useful-to-early-detect-prostate-cancers/. The World Health Organization has called for Africa to step up the fight against cholera, which in the last year killed more than 3,000 people in 12 African countries, with more than half the victims dying in Malawis record outbreak. The global health body and the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention held a two-day emergency meeting on cholera this week in Malawi with ministers from 14 African countries. The two-day meeting ended Friday with a call for countries to take a holistic approach in improving issues of water, sanitation and health among their populations. A closing statement said more commitment was needed on surveillance and prevention to eliminate the deadly cholera bacteria, which is spread by dirty water. The participants also resolved that African countries need to start producing their own cholera vaccine. Dr. Ambrose Talisuna, WHOs regional adviser for health security in Africa, said the continent continues to face cholera outbreaks despite past commitments to eliminate the disease. They committed themselves in 2018 by Regional Framework for Africa but we are lagging behind, the milestones are lagging behind, Talisuna said. So we really want to revitalize cholera prevention and control sustainably in Africa. Talisuna said 12 African countries have current cholera outbreaks, totaling some 130,000 cases, with more than 51,000 in Malawi. This is just too much, and we dont know how many countries will have cholera before the end of the year, he said. But the outbreak we see in Malawi is so far the largest and it is related to issues around climate change but also cross-border movement. Malawi has recorded more than half of Africas cholera fatalities, making it the worst outbreak the country has battled in decades. Malawian Vice President Saulos Chilima told the delegates Friday the country is now seeing a drop in cases largely because of an anti-cholera campaign the Malawi government launched last month. The country has also seen a drop in the fatality rate, from 3.3% in August, to 1.8% now, still above the WHO target rate of 1 percent. Malawis Minister of Health, Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda, confirmed that progress has been made. The numbers have significantly gone down, Chiponda said. About three weeks or two weeks ago we were having about 700 or 800 cases on a daily basis. But as of now there are about 200, sometimes 300. Even people who are dying from cholera, the numbers have gone down. Health rights campaigner Maziko Matemba told VOA that the involvement of WHO and the Africa CDC in the cholera fight could help the country abolish some common diseases too. "We hope that there will be more research and surveillance in Africa, which will help and support the ending of some of these conditions which are preventable in nature, Matemba said. But also, it will create awareness to countries to put more resources toward health to end some of these conditions which are preventable in nature. Dr. Merawi Aragaw, head of emergency preparedness and response unit at Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said there is a historical precedent for eliminating cholera: Europe. He said African outbreaks can be stopped if governments take a well-coordinated, collective and multi-sector approach like Europe did 150 years ago, which helped that continent virtually eliminate the waterborne disease. Aragaw said the approach would center around improving water and sanitation infrastructures across Africa. Alarmed by China's success in wooing Pacific island nations, the Biden administration is proposing to spend billions to keep three of those countries in the U.S. orbit. President Joe Biden's proposed federal budget released Thursday includes more than $7.1 billion in funding for the Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau. The money is included in the $63.1 billion request for the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development. It's unclear if Congress would approve such aid. The overall budget proposal faces certain opposition in the Republican-led House and some GOP lawmakers are pushing for severe foreign aid cuts as they look to slash federal spending. But members of Congress have shown rare bipartisan unity on countering China, offering the prospect that the Pacific island aid could be seen more favorably. The money, to be paid out over 20 years, would extend agreements with the three states. Under the agreements, the U.S. provides the three states with essential services and economic support in exchange for military basing rights and other preferential treatment. The so-called Compacts of Free Association deals were set to expire later this year and next, and U.S. officials say China has been trying to exploit extension negotiations for its own advantage. The White House said the payments are part of its strategy to "outcompete China" and strengthen America's alliances and partnerships in the Indo-Pacific. But apart from direct military programs they are the largest single budget line for the region in the spending plan. The Defense Department's portion of the budget request, totaling $842 billion, prioritizes ramping up the U.S. military presence in the Indo-Pacific. "China is the United States' only competitor with both the intent to reshape the international order and, increasingly, the economic, diplomatic, military and technological power to do it," the White House said. "During these unprecedented and extraordinary times, the budget requests both discretionary and mandatory resources to outcompete China and advance American prosperity globally," it said. If the funds are approved by Congress, Micronesia would receive $3.3 billion, the Marshall Islands $2.3 billion and Palau $890 million over the period of fiscal years 2024 to 2044. In addition, $634 million would be allocated to the U.S. Postal Service to continue to operate the three countries' mail. Under the Compacts of Free Association that date to the 1960s, the U.S. provides the three countries with postal services and runs their weather forecasting, air traffic control and emergency management operations. In return, the U.S. gets basing rights for military, intelligence, telecommunications and space exploration facilities. However, islanders have long complained that previous agreements did not adequately address their needs or long-term environmental and health issues caused by U.S. nuclear testing in the 1950s and '60s. Over the past several years, China has sought to exploit divisions between the U.S. and the islands in a bid to expand its influence in the region, alarming both the Trump and Biden administrations, which have tried to blunt those efforts. The current compacts with the Marshall Islands and Micronesia expire this year and the one with Palau expires in 2024. But, in January, the administration signed memorandums of understanding on their renewals with the Marshalls and Palau and a month later with Micronesia. All are contingent on congressional approval of the budget. The bodies of two U.S. citizens who died after they were kidnapped in Mexico by suspected drug traffickers were repatriated Thursday, officials said. The four abductees were taken at gunpoint after crossing the border into crime-plagued Tamaulipas state on Friday, apparently so one could have cosmetic surgery. Two survivors, one of whom suffered a gunshot wound to the leg, were returned to the United States on Tuesday via a land border crossing, hours after they were rescued. The two bodies were handed over to U.S. officials after forensic studies were completed, Tamaulipas prosecutor Irving Barrios said. They were identified by U.S. media as Shaeed Woodard and Zindell Brown, and the survivors as Latavia Washington McGee and Eric James Williams. Mexican authorities believe the kidnappers, allegedly members of the Gulf Cartel, mistook the U.S. citizens for rivals and shot at them when they tried to escape. On Thursday, local media published a pamphlet purportedly from the Gulf Cartel that said the group apologizes for the incident. It said that it had decided to hand the perpetrators over to Mexican authorities because they acted without authorization from their superiors. So far, prosecutors have only reported the capture of one man who was guarding the captives when they were found. Tamaulipas is one of the Mexican states most affected by drug trafficking and other organized crime. While Mexico is a popular destination for medical tourism, the U.S. government has warned against travel to Tamaulipas because of the risk of murder, kidnapping and other crimes. The Latin American country is plagued by cartel-related bloodshed that has seen about 350,000 people killed since the government deployed the military in the war on drugs in 2006. Mexico and the United States agreed Thursday to launch a joint campaign to warn of the risks of consuming fentanyl, the often-deadly opioid smuggled across the border by Mexican drug cartels, officials said. Ukraine's capital restored most of its power supply on Friday, officials said, as the country again responded swiftly and defiantly to the latest Russian missile and drone barrage targeting critical infrastructure. In what has become a familiar Russian tactic since last fall, the Kremlin's forces struck Ukraine from afar amid months of a grinding battlefield stalemate on the front line in eastern areas. The apparent aim is to weaken Ukraine's resolve and compel the Ukrainian government to negotiate peace on Moscow's terms. Ukrainian authorities scrambled to counter the bombardment's consequences, part of a recurring cycle of urban smash-and-repair that has brought little change in the course of the war that recently moved into its second year. The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said in an assessment that "these missile strikes will not undermine Ukraine's will or improve Russia's positions on the front lines." Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov said the Russians are striking civilian infrastructure, because they can't efficiently target Ukrainian military assets. "The Russians lack data about the location of Ukrainian troops and weapons, so they are targeting civilian infrastructure and using the same old methods of attacking civilians to sow fear and panic in the society," he said. "Ukraine has survived the winter and Russia's strikes on the energy system in the spring hardly make any sense." Power and water were restored in Kyiv, said Serhii Popko, the head of the city's military administration. Popko said that about 30% of consumers in the capital remained without heating and that repair work was ongoing. The electricity supply was restored to more than nine in 10 consumers in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region, local officials said, while power was also restored to a third of consumers in Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia region. The Russian onslaught was the largest such attack in three weeks, deploying more than 80 Russian missiles and exploding drones. The barrage, which also damaged residential buildings, killed six people and left hundreds of thousands without heat or running water. The salvo was noteworthy for the range of munitions the Kremlin's forces used, including hypersonic Kinzhal cruise missiles that are among the most sophisticated weapons in Russian's arsenal. Even so, the bombardments on energy infrastructure that gathered pace last fall have become less frequent. "The interval between waves of strikes is probably growing, because Russia now needs to stockpile a critical mass of newly produced missiles directly from industry," the U.K. Ministry of Defense said in an assessment Friday. The Russian Defense Ministry said the strikes were in retaliation for a recent incursion into the Bryansk region of western Russia by what Moscow claimed were Ukrainian saboteurs. Ukraine denied the claim and warned that Moscow could use the allegations to justify stepping up its own assaults. Cameroon's military says separatists in its North-West region have blocked roads and attacked military vehicles to disrupt Sunday's Senate elections. Witnesses say several bodies were seen around the destroyed vehicles. The military has not confirmed any casualties and vowed to protect voting, despite the rebel blockade. Cameroonian government troops exchange fire with separatist fighters in Tadu, a village in the central African states North-West region. In the audio, extracted from a video shared on social media, a man identifying himself as separatist general Viper says fighters will chase out or kill government troops deployed to protect voters in Cameroon's March 12 senatorial election. Cameron's Senate, the upper house of Parliament, has 100 seats. The election will be held for 70 seats. The other 30 will be appointed by President Paul Biya. The military confirms that the video was taken in Tadu on Thursday. The military says besides Tadu village, government troops have fought gun battles with separatist fighters in several dozen locations, including Bamenda, Ndop, Wum, Jakiri, Oku, Bambili and Sabga in the North-West region and Manfe, Menji and Tiko in the South-West region. The government says several military vehicles have been destroyed by improvised bombs planted by separatists in the Northwest. Army captain and military spokesman Cyrille Serge Atonfack Guemo refused to comment on the number of troops killed but said about two dozen fighters have died in two weeks. Civilians say bodies were seen around destroyed military vehicles. Vanigansen Mochiggle is an opposition Social Democratic Front, or SDF, candidate. He says battles between Cameroon government troops and separatists are making it impossible for Senate candidates to campaign. "The prevailing situation in the region is not propitious for an election. The conflict exacerbated," said Vanigansen. "The separatists are all over the place. It is even very difficult for the candidates to move to their various divisional headquarters, so we have that challenge." A statement from the Roman Catholic Church in Kumbo and Ndop says transport buses and private vehicles are grounded and there has been no movement of people or goods in the past three days. The government says civilians who disrespect separatist orders and move out of their homes are being abducted and tortured. The SDF says candidates must send campaign messages through radio and TV, telephone calls and social media platforms, including WhatsApp and Facebook. The SDF accuses Cameroons government of ordering the military to protect only candidates with the ruling Cameroon Peoples Democratic Movement, which the government denies. Deben Tchoffo is the governor of the Northwest region. Tchoffo says Biya has given instructions to the military to protect all civilians and make sure the March 12 senatorial elections are hitch-free. He says separatists who are attacking government troops and civilians to disrupt the elections will be killed if they do not surrender. Tchoffo said despite the separatist threats Cameroon will prove to the world that it is a democratic state by organizing free, fair and transparent senatorial elections. Separatists who have vowed to disrupt the elections in English-speaking western regions launched their rebellion in 2017 after what they said was years of discrimination by the countrys French-speaking majority. The conflict has killed more than 3,500 people and displaced more than half a million, according to the United Nations. China on Friday accused Canada of smearing its reputation over allegations China is secretly operating two overseas police stations in Quebec. Canada should stop sensationalizing and hyping the matter and stop attacks and smears on China, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a daily briefing. China has been ... strictly abiding by international law and respecting all countries judicial sovereignty," Mao said. The spokesperson did not comment on the existence of the police stations or whether they were operated by Chinese government authorities. Canadians of Chinese origin have been victims of activities carried out by the stations, Sgt. Charles Poirier of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said Thursday. Canada will not tolerate any type of intimidation, harassment or targeting of diaspora communities, Poirier said. The RCMPs Integrated National Security Team has opened investigations into the suspected police stations in Montreal and Brossard, a suburb just south of the city, he said. The Spanish human rights organization Safeguard Defenders says China has scores of such stations across the globe, including in the U.K. and the U.S. In a report last September, it said the stations were used to harass, threaten, intimidate and force targets to return to China for persecution." The Chinese Foreign Ministry has previously described the foreign outposts as service stations for Chinese people who are abroad and need help with bureaucratic tasks such as renewing their Chinese drivers licenses. Such citizen services are normally performed by an embassy or consulate. Beijing has launched dual multi-year campaigns to bring suspects wanted mostly for economic crimes back to China, but says its agents overseas operate in line with international law. U.S. authorities say that has not always been the case. The outposts have fueled global concerns that the ruling Chinese Communist Party is seeking control over its citizens abroad, often by using threats against their families and welfare, while undermining democratic institutions overseas and gathering economic and political intelligence. Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said Thursday concerns over foreign interference were behind Canada's refusal to issue a diplomatic visa to a political operative for China last fall. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the presence of Chinese police stations in Canada concerns us enormously." Weve known about the [presence of] Chinese police stations across the country for many months, and we are making sure that the RCMP is following up on it and that our intelligence services take it seriously, Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa. Canada-China relations nosedived in 2018 after China jailed two Canadians on allegedly trumped-up charges shortly after Canada arrested Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of technology giant Huawei and the daughter of the companys founder, on a U.S. extradition request. They were sent back to Canada in 2021 on the same day Meng returned to China after reaching a deal with U.S. authorities in her case. Top Chinese officials have lashed out at the United States this week with unusually direct, hostile rhetoric coming from Beijing's new foreign minister. Qin Gang warned of conflict and confrontation if the US continues to try to contain China. The US says it is not seeking to contain China and sees no change in relations, as VOA's senior diplomatic correspondent Cindy Saine reports. The European Union wants to hold joint naval exercises as part of plans published Friday to step up its efforts to protect critical infrastructure at sea. Concerns about threats to Europe's maritime infrastructure were heightened by attacks in September on the Nord Stream pipelines, which left them spewing natural gas into the Baltic Sea. The EU has updated its maritime security strategy, outlining plans to hold an annual naval exercise from 2024 and coordinate member countries' national efforts to protect gas pipelines, undersea data cables, offshore wind farms and other critical maritime infrastructure. EU environment commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius told Reuters that planning had been underway before the Nord Stream blasts, but had been strengthened in response to them. "After that, member states were very clear that we need to further strengthen cooperation, build capacity, ensure that our critical infrastructure is better protected," he said. The EU plan sets out to increase cooperation between the EU and NATO, expand coastal patrols and improve efforts to identify threats early such as by using EU satellite programs to detect unidentified vessels. The EU will also produce a risk assessment, disaster recovery plans and regional surveillance plans, according to the strategy. "The threat level is increasing," Sinkevicius said. Energy infrastructure is a particular concern, as Europe expands its offshore wind farms and its use of liquefied natural gas terminals to replace Russian pipeline gas. The Netherlands said a Russian ship detected at an offshore wind farm in the North Sea last month was part of attempts by Moscow to gain intelligence to sabotage infrastructure. Improved surveillance of maritime areas should also help countries monitor and respond to environmental degradation and the effects of climate change such as sea level rise. Authorities in Sweden, Germany and Denmark are investigating the blasts on the Nord Stream pipelines, which were constructed to supply Russian gas to Europe. They have said the explosions were deliberate but have not said who might be responsible. In a dramatic turn of events, Georgian lawmakers have voted to drop a controversial "foreign agents" bill just days after its first reading sparked massive protests over fears the legislation, which mirrored a similar law in Russia, and would have severely restricted dissent and the activity of civil society groups in the country and push it toward authoritarianism. Parliament on March 10 voted in the second reading of the draft, a day after the ruling Georgian Dream party announced it was withdrawing the proposed legislation in the face of the protests. Lawmakers voted 35-1 against the bill, thus canceling it. The legislation can be brought back within 30 days, but only if it contains changes. Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of the Georgian capital over the legislation, and another gathering is planned for March 10, though it is likely to be more celebratory than protest. Police had met the demonstrators with tear gas, stun grenades, and water cannons while detaining dozens. Georgia's Interior Ministry said on March 10 that all 133 people who were detained during the protests had been released. It added that almost 60 police officers were injured in clashes during the demonstrations. The protests began on March 7 as parliament took up the "foreign agents" legislation despite warnings from critics that the bill, which would force civil society organizations that receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad to be classified as "foreign agents," mirrors Russian legislation that has been used to stifle opposition voices and the independent media. Georgian Dream officials said the legislation was aimed at bringing transparency and that it needed to hold consultations to "better explain" the law's purpose in the future. In Georgia, anti-Russian sentiment can often be strong. Russian troops still control around one-fifth of Georgia's territory, most of it taken during a lightning war in 2008 that was ostensibly about breakaway efforts in two northeastern regions, Abkhazia and South Ossetia. By suddenly announcing that the bill was being "unconditionally" withdrawn, Georgian Dream deescalated the current crisis but tensions are likely to persist over the ruling party and its opponents' competing visions for the heavily polarized Caucasus country and its nearly 5 million residents. The opposition has often criticized Georgian Dream for being too closely aligned with Moscow, and the Kremlin's current war against another former Soviet republic, Ukraine, has heightened those concerns. The introduction of the legislation prompted rebukes from several corners, including diplomats from the European Union and the United States. Georgia has been moving toward joining the European Union, but EU officials said the "foreign agents" law would complicate that membership path. Last year, the bloc declined to grant candidate status to Georgia, citing stalled political and judicial reforms. President Salome Zurabishvili has said she would veto the bill, although parliament could have overridden her veto. Speaking on March 10, French President Emmanuel Macron said Georgia was under pressure while expressing hope that the country could find a "path towards greater serenity" and that there is a "calming down of regional tensions." "Georgia is under some heavy pressure and I hope it can find calm," he said at a joint news conference with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in Paris. Macron dismissed Russian claims that protests in the Caucasus country were orchestrated by the West. "There is a tendency in the Kremlin, which is not new, to imagine that every public demonstration is a foreign manipulation because the fundamental belief is that there is neither public opinion nor free people," Macron said. "As an old democracy, we have the right to believe the opposite." Some information for this report came from Reuters and Agence France-Presses. Australia and India made significant progress in consolidating defense and security ties during talks the leaders of the two countries held Friday in New Delhi. "Prime Minister [Narendra] Modi and I discussed an increasingly uncertain global security environment and committed to strengthening the Australia-India defense and security partnership to address shared challenges, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters at a joint briefing with the Indian leader after the discussions. He said they made significant and ambitious progress. The defense relationship between the two countries has been gaining momentum since 2020 as they step up joint military exercises and information exchanges. Both countries are members of the Quad grouping, along with the United States and Japan, that seeks to counter Chinas efforts to dominate the Indo-Pacific region. Security cooperation is an important pillar of our comprehensive strategic ties," Modi said after the talks with Albanese. Modi said the discussions included maritime security in the Indo-Pacific and ways to enhance mutual security. The meeting was the first of what the two countries have decided will be annual summits. During his three-day visit, Albanese called India a top-tier security partner, saying the Indian Ocean is central to both countries' security and prosperity. "We need to ensure that Australias defense assets are the best they can be, and that we build our capability. At the same time, we need to build relationships. Ive been doing that here in India, were doing that throughout the Indo-Pacific, he told a news conference before holding talks with Modi. The visit by Albanese, who was accompanied by a large business delegation, also focused on boosting economic ties. While China remains its top trading partner, Canberra has been trying to find new markets following a trade spat with Beijing that erupted when it imposed sanctions on a range of Australian exports in 2020. Albanese said the two countries hope to conclude a trade pact this year that is expected to be more comprehensive than a free trade agreement sealed last year. This transformational deal will realize the full potential of the bilateral economic relationship, creating new employment opportunities and raising living standards for the people of both Australia and India, Albanese said. The two countries also discussed closer cooperation in such areas as climate and green energy and building secure supply chains for critical minerals. Modi said he had raised the issue of some attacks on Hindu temples in Australia with Albanese and had been assured of the safety of Indians living there. The attacks were reportedly carried out by Sikh separatist groups. Albanese visited Indias indigenously built aircraft carrier, the INS Vikrant, becoming the first foreign leader to go aboard the carrier, commissioned last year. The visit is seen as a signal that India is significantly strengthening its security partnership with Australia. Besides boosting bilateral ties, Albanese visit is seen as a sign of the growing convergence between Quad countries. Albanese invited Modi to attend a scheduled Quad country summit in Australia in May. Earlier this month, the foreign ministers of the group held a meeting in New Delhi, where, in a veiled reference to China, they expressed concerns about the militarization of disputed territories in the South China and East China seas. Israel's president urged the government to abandon attempts to push through bitterly contested plans to overhaul the judiciary and seek a model with broad support as tens of thousands of protesters returned to the streets Thursday. The drive by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-right government to enact sweeping changes to Israel's courts has sparked domestic uproar and alarm among the country's Western allies. If the proposal passed, it would mean greater government sway in selecting judges and limit the power of the Supreme Court to strike down legislation. After weeks of demonstrations across the country that have exposed deep divisions in Israeli society, President Isaac Herzog, who has been mediating between the sides, warned in a televised prime time address of a disaster. He said Israel had reached a "point of no return" and called on the coalition government to rethink the proposed legislation, which is strongly backed by nationalist and religious parties. "It is wrong, it is harsh, it undermines our democratic foundations. And therefore it must be replaced with another, agreed upon outline immediately," Herzog said. As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left on a visit to Rome, he had to elude flag-waving Israelis who filled the access routes to Ben Gurion Airport with motor convoys. Before leaving, he managed to greet visiting U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who later underlined Washington's concern over the proposals by saying that both U.S. and Israeli democracy were built on an independent judiciary. The interventions by Herzog and Austin underlined the unusual depth of concern over the proposals, which Netanyahu, on trial on graft charges he denies, says are needed to rein in what it calls activist judges who have interfered in political decision making. Critics, who range from the business elite to former military officers as well as opposition parties, say the changes would destroy the system of checks and balances needed in a democracy and hand uncontrolled powers to the government of the day. Opinion polls have found that most Israelis want the proposals shelved or amended to satisfy a national consensus. Tens of thousands have demonstrated and some military reservists have also refused to show up for training exercises. Austin postponed and shortened his Israel leg of a regional tour. Rather than travel to Israel's Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, around which demonstrators were facing off with police, his meetings were relocated to an aerospace compound near Ben Gurion. At a news conference later with his Israeli counterpart, Austin evoked comments by President Joe Biden, who has called for reaching a consensus on the issue in Israel. "The genius of American democracy and Israeli democracy is that they are both built on strong institutions, on checks and balances, and on an independent judiciary," he said. Israeli police minister Itamar Ben-Gvir told reporters at the airport, where he was coordinating the response to the demonstrations, that "nobody said don't protest." "But it's not OK, it's not right, it's not proper to ruin the lives of 70,000 people," he said. He appeared to be referring to people stuck in traffic as well as those traveling through Ben Gurion, whose spokesperson said the expected passenger volume for Thursday was 65,000. For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flashpoint Ukraine. The latest developments in Russia's war on Ukraine. All times EST. 8:12 p.m.: Switzerland's government said on Friday it will not change its long-standing policy banning the transfer of Swiss-made arms to a third country despite growing pressure from European nations to export them to Ukraine, Reuters reported. Calls for Switzerland to break with centuries of tradition as a neutral state have been growing both internally and externally since Russia invaded Ukraine more than a year ago. "The Federal Council is committed to the values of Swiss neutrality and will continue to work to ensure the benefits of neutrality are realized," it said in a statement. However, it said it would continue to monitor the debates and make a further statement "if necessary." Since the war began, Switzerland has received requests from Germany, Denmark and Spain for the re-export of Swiss war material to Ukraine but those requests were all denied. It has however adopted the European Union's sanctions and has repeatedly called for a withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine. 7:27 p.m.: Canada on Friday banned the import of all Russian aluminum and steel products in a move that Ottawa said was aimed at denying Moscow the ability to fund its war against Ukraine, Reuters reported. "Ukraine can and must win this war. We continue to do everything we can to cut off or limit the revenue used to fund Putin's illegal and barbaric invasion of Ukraine," Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said in a statement. The ban covers both finished and unfinished products, and would impact the import of products such as aluminum sheets, aluminum containers as well steel tubes and pipes, according to the statement. Canada, along with its Western allies, has taken coordinated actions against Russia over its invasion in Ukraine. Ottawa has placed sanctions on more than 1,600 individuals and entities over the invasion and supported Kyiv with more than $3.6 billion in financial, military and other aid. 6:47 p.m.: Ukraine has decided to fight on in the ruined city of Bakhmut because the battle is pinning down Russia's best units and degrading them ahead of a planned Ukrainian spring counter-offensive, an aide to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. Russia has made Bakhmut the main target of a winter push involving hundreds of thousands of reservists and mercenaries. Russia "has converged on Bakhmut with a large part of its trained military personnel, the remnants of its professional army, as well as the private companies," Mykhailo Podolyak said in an interview published by Italy's La Stampa newspaper. "We, therefore, have two objectives: to reduce their capable personnel as much as possible, and to fix them in a few key wearisome battles, to disrupt their offensive and concentrate our resources elsewhere, for the spring counter-offensive. So, today Bakhmut is completely effective, even exceeding its key tasks," he added. 5:55 p.m.: Kremlin-installed courts in Russian-controlled regions of Ukraine have sentenced three Ukrainian servicemen, including a human rights activist, to lengthy prison terms for allegedly mistreating civilians, Russian investigators said Friday, according to Agence France-Presse. "The supreme courts of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics issued sentences in three criminal cases against Ukrainian citizens Viktor Pokhozey, Maksym Butkevych and Vladislav Shel," Russia's Investigative Committee said in a statement. Moscow last year declared the Donetsk and Lugansk regions in eastern Ukraine part of Russia following referendums denounced by Kyiv and the West. "All of them were found guilty of mistreating the civilian population and using prohibited methods (of fighting) in an armed conflict," the statement added. Butkevych, a Ukrainian rights activist and co-founder of the independent Hromadske radio, and Shel were also convicted of attempted murder. Ukraine's foreign ministry denounced the verdicts as "illegal and void", calling on the international community to "condemn" the trials and "demand" the soldiers' release. 5:19 p.m.: Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Friday his Wagner private army had opened recruitment centers in 42 cities as he seeks to replenish its ranks after heavy losses in fighting for the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, Reuters reported. In an upbeat audio message, Prigozhin said new fighters were coming forward but gave no indication of the numbers involved. He also said ammunition supplies had improved, but remained a concern. "In spite of the colossal resistance of the Ukrainian armed forces, we will go forward," he said. "Despite the sticks in the wheels that are thrown at us at every step, we will overcome this together." Wagner has led some of the fiercest fighting in Russia's attempt to take Bakhmut, where the Ukrainian army is still holding out after more than seven months of attritional warfare - a bloody campaign that Prigozhin calls "the meat grinder." 4:36 p.m.: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy led tributes on Friday to Dmytro Kotsiubailo, a renowned commander known as "Da Vinci" who won public affection for committing his entire adult life to fighting Russia and its proxies, Reuters reported. The 27-year-old, whose unit is called Da Vinci's Wolves, was killed this week in Bakhmut, the eastern Ukrainian city that has since August experienced the deadliest fighting of the war and remains fiercely contested. Zelenskyy appeared with the visiting Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin at the ornate, golden-domed St. Michael's Cathedral in central Kyiv to lay flowers on Kotsiubailo's coffin. "It hurts to lose our heroes. Brave, courageous, strong. Loyal to themselves and to the state," Zelenskyy said on the Telegram app. "I handed over to Oksana Kotsiubailo, Da Vinci's mother, the Cross of Military Merit, which her son was posthumously awarded. We will never forget. And we will always be grateful." 3:57 p.m.: The Group of Seven and other like-minded organizations renewed their pledge to support Ukraine's energy sector, Japan's foreign ministry said after the group convened for a meeting on Friday. Japan's foreign minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said Japan intends to provide about 10 autotransformers and 140 units of power-related equipment to Ukraine, according to a statement released by the Japanese foreign ministry. During the meeting, which was co-hosted by Hayashi and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Hayashi also praised Ukraine for overcoming "the harsh winter despite repeated Russian attacks on energy infrastructure." Although Ukraine is currently meeting its energy needs, it has seen between 40% and 50% of its energy system damaged by Russian missile and drone strikes during the winter, according to Ukrainian prime minister Denys Shmyhal. 3 p.m.: The United States on Friday accused Russia of trying to destabilize the ex-Soviet republic of Moldova, including through the use of street protests, with the goal of eventually bringing in a pro-Moscow government, Agence France-Presse reported. "We believe Russia is pursuing options to weaken the Moldovan government, probably with the eventual goal of seeing a more Russia-friendly administration," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters. Moldova's government is seeking closer ties to Western institutions and is close to the pro-Western government of neighboring Ukraine, which has been battling a Russian invasion for more than a year. A slice of Moldovan territory, Transnistria, is controlled by Russian-backed separatists and Washington believes Moscow is seeking to stir wider instability. 2:10 p.m.: Anti-corruption authorities in Ukraine are seeking the pretrial detention of the former head of a state oil and gas giant in a case at the forefront of Kyiv's battle against corruption, which has also attracted public criticism, Reuters reported. In early February, four members of an anti-junta group in the Myanmar city of Mandalay said they received a secret, one-page, handwritten note spirited out of a prison that details two days of clashes and beatings of female political prisoners. The note, received by the "Anti-Junta Forces Coordination Committee - Mandalay" and since seen by Reuters, provides the first detailed account of a crackdown on defiant female prisoners inside Mandalay's Obo prison that left scores of women injured, according to six activists and lawyers who work with political prisoners. Two family members of prison inmates contacted the anti-junta group after being told by prison authorities that they couldn't send food and packages to relatives, the four anti-junta group members said. The group started looking into the matter and, within days, received the note, the four members said. Two lawyers, two family members of inmates and the human rights minister from Myanmar's exiled parallel civilian government confirmed the information contained in the note. Reuters could not independently verify the authenticity of the note or the details it contains. A spokesman for Myanmar's military government that has ruled since seizing power in 2021 and two prison department officers did not answer repeated calls over two days from Reuters seeking comment. The junta has previously denied holding political prisoners, saying people in jail broke the law and were sentenced after due legal process. Human rights organizations have frequently criticized the hearings as kangaroo courts. Inside the prison, which rights activists say houses some 2,000 political inmates including 330 women, an altercation between an inmate and a prison official on Feb. 3 led to around 150 male prison guards arriving with slingshots, batons and bamboo sticks, the note, written in Burmese, said. "During that incident, more than 100 female political prisoners were seriously injured including a broken arm, eye injuries and facial bruises," the note said. The following day, some female prisoners and prison guards faced off again, leading to another bout of violent clashes, according to the note and the lawyers, activists and family members who spoke to Reuters. They said they obtained the information from around a dozen people, including prison wardens, medical staff and inmates. Serious injuries All four activists declined to reveal exactly how the note was smuggled out, citing risk to individuals involved in the process and fearful that such routes to leak information from inside the prison may be blocked by authorities. The activists and lawyers said the note, and the details of the clashes on Feb. 3-4 they pieced together from conversations with prison staff and others, afforded a rare insight into what they described as harsh conditions faced by thousands of prisoners across Myanmar under military rule, including women, who are often given limited food and medicines. The activists, lawyers and family members interviewed by Reuters asked not to be identified for fear of repercussions as they are working inside Myanmar. In the second week of February, the parallel civilian government said in a social media post that 150 male guards at Obo prison had "violently beaten up" women inmates, supporting the version of events that the activists, lawyers and family members separately provided to Reuters. Of the 100 female inmates injured in the clashes, all aged between 20 and 35, 21 were seriously injured, including six who were hit in the head, according to activists and lawyers. The smuggled note did not specify injuries or provide such detailed figures. Myanmar's jails were inundated by new prisoners in 2021 after the junta seized power from the elected government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, triggering a wave of protests that has morphed into a guerrilla resistance movement. Accused by local and international rights activists of rampant abuses in its response, the junta has said that it has a duty to ensure peace and security, and that it is carrying out a legitimate campaign against terrorists. The junta has imprisoned around 16,000 people, more than 3,000 of them women, as of Feb. 28, according to the non-profit Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. 'They used men' to guard women Aung Myo Min, the human rights minister in Myanmar's exiled parallel civilian government, said Obo prison authorities had violated prison rules by using male guards to handle female inmates. "As these people are women prisoners, they have to be handled by women prison guards. But they used men, he told Reuters, echoing similar allegations made separately by activists and lawyers. Male guards cannot enter dormitories housing female inmates without the presence of women guards and female inmates cannot be physically beaten, according to a copy of a nationwide prison rule book published in 1992 seen by Reuters. Reuters could not independently verify if there were any female guards present during the incidents on Feb. 3-4 or if the rule book remains current. "They used excessive force," Aung Myo Min said, adding that his ministry had investigated the violence at Obo prison. He declined to explain how the investigation was conducted and offered no evidence to support the allegation. The anti-junta group and two Mandalay-based lawyers who work with political prisoners said those involved in the violence were also denied medical care. "They refused to give medicines to the injured prisoners after beating them severely. We had to use under-the-table methods to be able to send medicine," one lawyer said. Reuters could not independently verify that information. After the violence, 72 female political prisoners were isolated from other inmates at Obo and dozens were transferred to other jails without their families being notified, according to three activists, two lawyers and two family members. From antisemitic leaflets to racist banners, American white supremacists sharply ramped up efforts to spread propaganda last year, according to a new report from the Anti-Defamation League. White supremacist propaganda incidents reached a record high of 6,751 last year, the ADL said in its annual assessment of propaganda activity. That figure is up 38% from the previous high of 4,876 cases in 2021. The propaganda activity included the mass distribution of racist, antisemitic and anti-LGBTQ+ flyers, stickers, banners and posters; creation of graffiti; and laser projections on buildings and stadiums, the ADL said. As in 2021, white supremacist propaganda was reported in every U.S. state except Hawaii, with Texas, Massachusetts, Virginia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, California, Utah, Florida, Connecticut and Georgia leading the nation in incidents, according to the report. In addition to serving as a recruitment tool, propaganda enables extremist groups to broadcast their worldview to a wider audience and harass victims. "There's no question that white supremacists and antisemites are trying to terrorize and harass Americans and have significantly stepped up their use of propaganda as a tactic to make their presence known in communities nationwide," Jonathan Greenblatt, Anti-Defamation League CEO, said in a statement. Rise in antisemitic propaganda Amid a nationwide rise in antisemitism, reported incidents of "explicitly antisemitic propaganda" more than doubled last year, jumping to 852 cases from 352 cases the previous year. The ADL said three white supremacist groups Patriot Front, Goyim Defense League and White Lives Matter were responsible for 93% of the antisemitic propaganda reported last year. The Patriot Front drove 80% of the propaganda effort in 2022. The Southern Poverty Law Center describes the Patriot Front as an "image obsessed" hate group that "focuses on theatrical rhetoric and activism that can be easily distributed as propaganda for its chapters across the country." According to the ADL, the Texas-based Patriot Front eschews traditional white supremacist language and symbolism in favor of more ambiguous slogans, such as "For the Nation Against the State," "Revolution Is Tradition," "Reclaim America," "America First" and "One Nation Against Immigration." The antisemitic Goyim Defense League was responsible for 492 incidents last year, representing 58% of all antisemitic incidents, the ADL said. The group's goal is "to expel Jews from America," the ADL said. "To that end, their propaganda casts aspersions on Jews and spreads antisemitic myths and conspiracy theories in hopes of turning Americans against the Jewish people," the report said. Sowing anxiety, creating fear Oren Segal, vice president of the ADL's Center on Extremism, expressed alarm at the spike in white supremacist propaganda. "Hardly a day goes by without communities being targeted by these coordinated, hateful actions, which are designed to sow anxiety and create fear," Segal said. White supremacist groups also held more events across the nation last year. The ADL said it recorded 167 white supremacist events, a 55% increase from 2021. The White Lives Matter network, launched in response to the Black Lives Matter movement, was responsible for 43% of all white nationalist events, ADL said. The network's monthly demonstrations, usually held along a roadside, on an overpass, in a park or outside a government building, attract about five to 15 people. The foreign ministers of Syria and its close ally Iran on Thursday welcomed a thaw in diplomacy between Damascus and regional states in the aftermath of last month's deadly earthquake, they said at a joint news conference in Damascus. Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad said Syria aimed to normalize relations with regional states after President Bashar al-Assad's political isolation for more than a decade of war. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said Iran welcomed any initiative for talks aimed at reaching an understanding in the region, including meetings of four countries Iran, Russia, Syria and Turkey aimed at resolving Syria's crisis. Turkey backs rebels opposed to Assad's rule in a patch of land in the country's northwest. Syria had been isolated by most regional states over Assad's deadly crackdown of protests against him, with the Arab League suspending Syria's membership in 2011 and many Arab countries withdrawing their envoys from Damascus. But Assad has benefited from an outpouring of support by Arab states following the earthquake, which killed more than 5,900 people across his country, according to a tally of U.N. and Syrian government figures. The foreign minister of Saudi Arabia, which has backed rebels seeking Assad's ouster, said last month that isolating Syria was not working and that dialogue with Damascus was needed, especially to address the humanitarian situation there. The foreign ministers of Jordan and Egypt both visited Damascus last month for the first time since the war began, the Egyptian after Assad and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi spoke by phone for the first time on February 7. Tanzania's opposition has welcomed President Samia Suluhu Hassan's pledge to restore competitive politics and review the country's constitution. The longstanding demands from the opposition were ignored by her predecessor, the late John Magufuli. The president made the remarks Wednesday at an opposition gathering celebrating International Women's Day, where she was invited as the guest of honor. Hassan said that every journey of development begins with a step, and that progress will come gradually according to the laws and guidelines set for Tanzania. She also promised that reforms for the country are here, saying a new nation will be built with competitive politics and without violence. Since coming to power in 2021 following the sudden death of Magufuli, Hassan has been working on changing some of her predecessor's policies, including lifting the ban on political rallies. Magufuli's government passed various strict laws, such as the Media Services Act to censor critics, opposition politicians, and journalists. The law resulted in the suspension of four newspapers and several online media platforms. It was also under Magufuli's rule that several opposition members were arrested and jailed for participating in political activities. Devotha Minja, a member of the women's wing of the opposition Party for Democracy and Progress, better known as CHADEMA, said she believes Hassan will give the people democratic politics that allow citizens to choose a leader who will be announced by the Electoral Commission and will be held accountable, unlike the current situation. Tanzanian rights activists are optimistic about the future of democracy in the country. Kumbusho Dawson, executive director of Reach Out Tanzania, a non-governmental organization that promotes civil and political rights, said this is a big step, and it shows that the president is creating an opportunity for other political parties and competitive politics. This includes allowing political rallies, he added, saying that when it comes to the issue of a new constitution, it has been a longstanding demand. Her predecessor rejected it outright, saying he was prioritizing development. Political analyst Deus Kibamba, a lecturer at the Center for Foreign Relations in Tanzania, said the president's comments regarding the restoration of competitive politics and constitutional review are welcome. However, he wondered whether members of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi Party will support these moves. He said there is a trend where candidates win elections without competition, and a party that is used to swimming in such waters cannot please a president who desires genuine competition. Meanwhile, opposition politicians and rights activists hope a level political playing field is around the corner, but expressed concerns since it's the president's party that created the current environment. An Israeli settler shot dead a Palestinian man on Friday in the occupied West Bank who the Israeli military said was planning an attack, and soldiers killed a teenager during clashes there, Palestinian health officials said. The Israeli military said soldiers opened fire at a suspect who threw a firebomb at them at close range near the city of Qalqilya, hours after the Israeli settler fired at a Palestinian man armed with knives and explosive devices nearby. The Palestinian health ministry confirmed a 16-year-old had been killed by Israeli forces and that earlier a 21-year-old man was killed by a settler. The West Bank has been tense for months, with near-daily military raids and escalating settler violence in the West Bank amid a spate of attacks by Palestinians. Over the past year, Israeli forces have made thousands of arrests in the West Bank and killed more than 200 Palestinians, including fighters and civilians. More than 40 Israelis have died in attacks by Palestinians over the same period. Relatives of the man killed by a settler told Reuters he was religious but were not aware of any membership in Palestinian militant groups. They said the military was still withholding his body. On Thursday, a Hamas gunman opened fire in Tel Aviv, wounding three people, one of them critically, before being killed by police and passersby. The Islamist militant group said the attack was a response to Israel's killing of three Palestinian gunmen in the West Bank earlier that day. The Israeli military said it arrested two relatives of the Hamas gunman on Friday and had made initial preparations to demolish his home. Israel says such demolitions are meant to deter potential Palestinian assailants. Palestinians and rights groups condemn the policy as collective punishment. U.S.-brokered peace talks aimed at establishing an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza have been frozen for almost a decade and show little prospect of revival. Ugandan lawmakers began a new session Thursday, and lawmakers introduced an anti-homosexuality bill that would allow the jailing of LGBTQ individuals for up to 10 years for declaring their identity or touching with homosexual intention. The text of the bill says it "seeks to protect the cherished culture of the people of Uganda" and its traditional family values against "the acts of sexual rights activists seeking to impose their values of sexual promiscuity on the people of Uganda." Anita Among, Uganda's parliament speaker, stated reasons why the country needs the law. "For us it's about our morals and our culture. And I want to urge members of parliament, please don't get intimidated. Never get intimidated, we are doing all of this for humanity," Among said. Legislator Asuman Basalirwa read the goals of the bill: "Criminalization of homosexuality, with a liability of imprisonment of two to ten years, for committing homosexuality, aggravated homosexuality, attempted homosexuality, aiding and abetting homosexuality, conspiracy to commit homosexuality and related practices." In 2019, Eric Ndawula, the executive director of the Lifeline Youth Empowerment Center, a gay, bisexual and queer men's organization, was outed after a police raid at a shelter. Speaking to VOA, Ndawula said his family described him as abnormal and a disgrace to society, forcing him to live a double life. Since then, he said, he has lived as a gay man in Uganda through resilience and being rebellious. Ndawula described the bill as absurd and annoying, but not surprising. "Our community is lacking some information especially in regards to understanding the nuances that come with being queer, being LGBT," he said. "People don't become gay at 18. Because at the end of the day, when you look at the bill, it's just regulating how we are having sex. The moment that you come out and speak that you're gay, you're reduced to a sexual being." In a statement after the bill was introduced, rights group Human Rights Watch said that if adopted, the law would violate fundamental rights, including the rights to freedom of expression and association, privacy, equality, and non-discrimination. Human Rights Watch researcher Oryem Nyeko told VOA that even though the law does not include a death penalty sentence, as was the case in a similar anti-gay act passed in 2013 but later annulled, no one should be sent to prison because they are having consensual sex with an adult. Nyeko said the criminalization of same-sex conduct in Uganda will continue to have far-reaching impact. "What we found when the first iteration of the law was passed, you know, people were arbitrarily arrested just because people thought they might be homosexual, they were beaten, they were evicted from their homes, they lost jobs. And organizations said they wouldn't provide them with services that they need for health care. And these are all important considerations because even if they are a minority, they still matter," Nyeko said. The 2013 anti-homosexuality act was annulled in court for, among other reasons, parliament passing it without a quorum. During the first reading of the 2023 bill, Speaker Among made it clear what will happen when the time comes to take a vote. "All the members will vote by tally," Among said. "We will call the person and the person will vote. We don't want the technicalities of saying there was no quorum. This is the time you're going to show us whether you are a homo or you're not." The bill has been sent to the legal and parliamentary affairs committee, which will hold public hearings. Editor's note: Here is a fast take on what the international community has been up to this past week, as seen from the United Nations perch. UN chief makes brief trip to Ukraine U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday assailed Russia's yearlong invasion of Ukraine as a violation of international law as he arrived in Kyiv, Ukraine, for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on extending grain shipments from the war-torn country and securing the safety of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The two men met on Thursday in the Ukrainian capital. UN nuclear board meets following chief's visit to Tehran The International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-nation board of governors met this week in Vienna. Part of its discussions centered on Iran and its nuclear program. Agency chief Rafael Grossi traveled to Iran's capital, Tehran, last week after reports the IAEA found traces at the Fordow fuel enrichment plant of uranium particles enriched to 83.7% just below the weapons grade threshold of about 90%. Iran said it would cooperate with the agency's investigation of the particles. Tehran denies seeking a nuclear bomb and says the resource is only for civilian purposes. UN buys oil tanker to start salvage operation off Yemen The United Nations said Thursday it has purchased a $55 million vessel to transfer more than a million barrels of oil from a neglected tanker that threatens Yemen's Red Sea coast, and the salvage operation is planned for early May. The U.N. has warned for several years that the 47-year-old FSO Safer supertanker is a ticking time bomb that could leak, sink or explode, unleashing a massive ecological and humanitarian catastrophe. David Gressly, the U.N. resident and humanitarian coordinator for Yemen, said the tanker purchase is "the most significant step forward" in resolving the issue in many years. Commission on status of women gets underway At the start of the Commission on the Status of Women on Monday, Secretary-General Guterres warned that at the current pace, gender equality is projected to be 300 years away. He warned that progress is "vanishing before our eyes" as women's rights "are being abused, threatened and violated around the world." Wednesday marked International Women's Day. While there was a lot of talk about empowering women and protecting their rights, there was little action at U.N. meetings. [[At UN on International Women's Day, Talk of Women's Rights, Little Action In brief Secretary-General Guterres welcomed the announcement Friday that adversaries Saudi Arabia and Iran have agreed to resume diplomatic relations in the next two months. The deal was agreed to in Beijing, which hosted talks between the two countries. Guterres said good neighborly relations between Tehran and Riyadh are essential for the stability of the Gulf region, and he offered his good offices to further advance regional dialogue. The development comes as the U.N. and other nations have been working to end the war in Yemen, a conflict in which both Iran and Saudi Arabia are deeply involved. March 11 will mark 12 years since Syria's civil war began with a crackdown on anti-government protesters that turned into a full-out conflict that has killed thousands and launched a massive refugee crisis. The suffering has been compounded by the February 6 earthquake. Secretary-General Guterres said support that has come for earthquake survivors must be channeled into the political track, and he called for peace in a statement marking the anniversary. He said, "Now is the time for us to act in unison, to secure a nationwide cease-fire, advance the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people, and create the conditions necessary for the voluntary return of refugees in safety and dignity, with our strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity, and territorial integrity of Syria, and to regional stability." The World Health Organization said Wednesday that it had fired its regional director for the Western Pacific following an internal investigation into allegations of misconduct. The WHO probe was triggered by an investigation published by The Associated Press in January last year in which more than two dozen staff members accused Dr. Takeshi Kasai of racist, abusive and unethical behavior that may have undermined the agency's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He denied the charges. The U.N. Security Council is on a field mission to the Congo from March 9-12. The ambassadors are there to assess the security situation and implementation of the U.N. peacekeeping mission's mandate. They are meeting senior Congolese officials in Kinshasa and plan travel to Goma, in the violence-plagued east. International Atomic Energy Agency Chief Rafael Grossi was confirmed Friday by the agency's Board of Governors for a second four-year term. Grossi expressed appreciation for his reappointment and said it comes at a time when "we face many major challenges, and I'm fully committed to continue to do everything in my power to implement the IAEA's crucial mission in support of global peace and development." His new term starts December 3 and runs until December 2, 2027. Quote of note "Discrimination diminishes us all. And it is incumbent on all of us to stand up against it. We must never be bystanders to bigotry." Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to a U.N. meeting Friday marking the international day to combat Islamophobia. What we are watching next week The package deal that facilitates the export of Ukrainian grain and Russian food and fertilizer products to international markets will expire on March 18. If neither party objects to its renewal, it will automatically continue. But Russia has made noises about the Black Sea Grain Initiative and the corresponding Memorandum of Understanding for Russian food and fertilizer, saying Moscow is not benefiting enough. Secretary-General Guterres made a brief trip to Ukraine, meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday to discuss the deal. Next week, senior U.N. and Russian officials are set to meet in Geneva to discuss implementation. Under the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Ukraine has exported more than 23 million metric tons of grain and other foodstuffs from three ports since the deal was signed in late July. The Republican chairman of a special House committee targeting China called Beijing's government bloodthirsty and power hungry on Friday at a rally outside the Chinese Embassy in Washington. Representative Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin attended a rally to commemorate the failed 1959 Tibetan uprising against China's rule. The gathering took place on what is known as Tibetan National Uprising Day and came as tensions between the U.S. and China continue to escalate. Speaking to members of the Tibetan community, Gallagher said he wanted to recognize their courage in fighting for their freedom and culture. He described Tibetans as victims of a cultural genocide" by the Chinese Communist Party. Theyve not changed one bit, Gallagher said. The CCP is still a threat, still duplicitous, still power hungry, still bloodthirsty. Tibet is governed as an autonomous region in western China, with authorities maintaining tight control over Tibetan Buddhist monasteries, and harassing and punishing Tibetans suspected of being followers of Tibets exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, who after the failed uprising would flee across the Himalayas to India. China has claimed Tibet as part of its territory for centuries and argues it has improved living conditions and reduced poverty in the region. It says the U.S. and its allies falsely accuse Beijing of violating Tibetans' human rights. Tibetans say they were essentially independent before the People's Liberation Army fought its way into Tibet in 1950. China has built a sprawling network of police stations and extrajudicial detention centers for rebellious monks and nuns measures that Beijing mimicked in Xinjiang province against Uyghurs. Gallagher said that prioritizing human rights early on in the new committee's work is a way of communicating to Americans that the Chinese Communist Party is not just a distant threat. Increasingly, we see the CCP trying to undermine our own sovereignty, whether it's through a Chinese spy balloon or a CCP-controlled algorithm that an American teenager uses, or fentanyl precursors from China ultimately killing 70,000 Americans a year, Gallagher said. One of the questions arising from lawmakers' increasingly harsh criticism of China is whether it will make relations between the two countries worse. Earlier this week, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang warned in unusually stark terms about the consequences of U.S.-China friction. If the United States does not hit the brake, but continues to speed down the wrong path, no amount of guardrails can prevent derailing and there surely will be conflict and confrontation, Qin said in his first news conference since taking up his post last year. Gallagher stressed that no one wants a war with China over Taiwan or any other issue, but said there has been a shift in thinking in Washington that the policy of economic engagement with the country has failed. I think recognizing CCP aggression for what it is and taking sensible steps to combat that aggression is the best path to deterring that aggression over the long term," Gallagher told The Associated Press after the rally. I think the best path towards preventing an escalation is a strategy of strength, of communicating we will not be bullied. Taking steps to curb China is one of the few ideas that generates bipartisan support in Congress. The Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party held its first hearing last month. China responded by demanding its members discard their ideological bias and zero-sum Cold War mentality. Gallagher met with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries earlier this week to discuss the committee's future work. Congress is going to disagree about a lot over the next year, but they want this to be an area where we try and identify that bipartisan center of gravity, Gallagher said. Key U.S. lawmakers are warning the countrys top intelligence officials that they could soon find themselves without a much-talked-about surveillance authority unless their agencies are able to prove they can be trusted. Republican Representative Mike Turner, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, announced Thursday the creation of a bipartisan working group to examine the way the government is doing surveillance under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). FISA Section 702 allows agencies such as the FBI and the National Security Agency to gather electronic data of non-Americans without first obtaining a warrant. But its use has stirred controversy because of repeated incidents in which officials have collected information on U.S. citizens. Section 702 is essential, Turner said. It has provided successes and has provided those successes against our adversaries. However, there have been and there continue to be many abuses of FISA, he added. It must be reformed. 'A nonstarter' Republican Representative Darin LaHood, tapped to lead the new working group, was equally blunt. "A clean legislative reauthorization of 702 is a nonstarter," he told Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, as well as the heads of the CIA, FBI, NSA and Defense Intelligence Agency. Unfortunately, there are far too many members of Congress on both sides of the aisle that question whether the executive branch can be trusted with this powerful tool, LaHood said, accusing the FBI of searching for his name multiple times in foreign data collected under the FISA authority. FBI Director Christopher Wray acknowledged mistakes had been made but sought to assure the lawmakers that the necessary changes have been made. "There have been compliance incidences that have to be addressed, and we have taken all sorts of steps, Wray told LaHood, adding, "No violations are defensible, in my view. FBI reforms Wray said the number of times the FBI searched for U.S. citizens or their information under Section 702 had dropped 93%, from 2021 to 2022, and by 85% over the past two years. It's a dramatic increase in the judiciousness with which our people are running their queries, he said. And we are absolutely committed to making sure that we show you, the rest of the members of Congress and the American people that we're worthy of these incredibly valuable authorities. Without action from Congress, the FISA Section 702 authorities will expire at the end of the year. Top U.S. intelligence officials have said FISA Section 702 warrantless surveillance authorities were critical to the U.S. strike that killed al-Qaida terror leader Ayman al-Zawahiri and, more recently, to efforts to take down networks running fentanyl, an opioid blamed for tens of thousands of overdose deaths in the U.S. Haines also defended the program, calling it the most effective way for us to gather intelligence on non-U.S. persons outside of the United States," and noting it was critical in understanding Chinas efforts to send spies into the U.S., as well as in countering Beijings efforts in cyberspace. 'That's a loaded gun' China came up repeatedly during Thursdays Worldwide Threat Assessment hearing in the House, with some lawmakers restating concerns about how Beijing could leverage Chinese-owned ByteDance and its popular social media app, TikTok, against Americans. "The control of the recommendation algorithm could be used to conduct influence operations, Wray said, cautioning, "That's not something that would be easily detected." General Paul Nakasone, National Security Agency chief, also raised concerns. One-third of Americans get their news on TikTok every single day. One-sixth of American youth say they're constantly on TikTok, he said. That's a loaded gun. Xi studying Putin U.S. intelligence officials also told lawmakers that China is learning from Russias stalled invasion of Ukraine as it pushes for reunification with Taiwan. Nobody has watched more intently [Russian President] Vladimir Putin's experience in Ukraine than [Chinese President] Xi Jinping," said CIA Director William Burns. And I think he's been sobered to some extent, at least it's our analysis, by the extent to which the West was able to maintain solidarity and absorb some short-term economic costs in the interests of imposing even greater long-term economic costs on Russia. Thats something President Xi has to weigh as he comes out of zero-COVID, tries to restore Chinese economic growth, tries to engage with the rest of the global economy. As for whether Xi will resort to military force to take Taiwan, U.S. intelligence officials said they still believe that is not his first choice. It is not our assessment that China wants to go to war," Haines said. They nevertheless are utterly committed to unification." "We don't see evidence today that Xi has made a decision to invade Taiwan, Burns added, though he cautioned, I would never underestimate the ambition of the current Chinese leadership in that regard. A requirement that travelers to the U.S. from China present a negative COVID-19 test before boarding their flights expired Friday after more than two months as cases in China have fallen. The restrictions were put in place December 28 and took effect January 5 amid a surge in infections in China after the nation sharply eased pandemic restrictions and as U.S. health officials expressed concerns that their Chinese counterparts were not being truthful to the world about the true number of infections and deaths. The requirement from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expired for flights leaving after 3 p.m. Eastern time Friday. When the restriction was imposed, U.S. officials also said it was necessary to protect U.S. citizens and communities because there was a lack of transparency from the Chinese government about the size of the surge or the variants that were circulating within China. The rules imposed in January require travelers to the U.S. from China, Hong Kong and Macau to take a COVID-19 test no more than two days before travel and provide a negative test before boarding their flight. The testing applies to anyone 2 years and older, including U.S. citizens. China saw infections and deaths surge after it eased back from its zero COVID strategy in early December after rare public protests of the policy that confined millions of people to their homes and sparked demands for President Xi Jinping to resign. But as China eased its strict rules, infections and deaths surged, and parts of the country for weeks saw their hospitals overwhelmed by infected patients looking for help. Still, the Chinese government has been slow to release data on the number of deaths and infections. The U.S. decision to lift restrictions comes at a moment when U.S.-China relations are strained. U.S. President Joe Biden ordered a Chinese spy balloon shot down last month after it traversed the continental United States. The Biden administration has also publicized U.S. intelligence findings that raise concern Beijing is considering providing Russia weaponry for its ongoing war on Ukraine. All U.S. women getting mammograms will soon receive information about their breast density, which can sometimes make cancer harder to spot. The new requirements, finalized Thursday by the Food and Drug Administration, are aimed at standardizing the information given to millions of women following scans to detect breast cancer. Regulators first proposed the changes in 2019; health care providers will have 18 months to comply with the policy. Some states already require that women receive information on breast density. About half of women over age 40 have dense breasts, with less fatty tissue and more connective and glandular tissue. That tissue appears white on X-rays, the same color as growths in the breast, making mammograms harder to read. Dense breast tissue is one of the factors that can increase a woman's chances of developing cancer. Under the new rules, women with dense breasts will receive a written memo alerting them that their status "makes it harder to find breast cancer." Those patients will also be directed to speak with their doctor about their results. Professional guidelines don't specify next steps for women identified with dense breasts, but some physicians may recommend additional forms of scanning, including ultrasound or MRI. The United States Agency for Global Medias Chief Executive Officer Amanda Bennett said Thursday the agency she leads is facing a critical time globally in which access to credible news is threatened by authoritarian regimes. During a hearing before the House Appropriations Committee, Bennett told lawmakers that Voice of America, Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia and other news networks overseen by USAGM routinely outperform better-funded Russian and Chinese media operations in many key markets around the world because of their independent journalism. "If we miss this opportunity to target investments to counter inroads Russia and [China] are making, we run the risk of losing the global information war, Bennett said. Bennett discussed efforts to improve journalistic standards at the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, described USAGM news networks use of satellite and circumvention technologies to reach audiences in places like China and Iran, and she described the reach and impact that USAGM networks have in countering attempts by Russia to block access to credible news. VOA censorship allegations Bennett, who led Voice of America for four years until she resigned in 2020, said in response to lawmaker questions that she abides by the agencys editorial firewall and was not involved in a decision to change a recent VOA article about the agency. In a March 8 letter to USAGM, House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul said he was concerned about alleged censorship at USAGM and Voice of America (VOA) in relation to an article published by VOA about its hiring process. As a publicly funded media organization, it is imperative that USAGM and VOA comply with these strict requirements for both integrity and nonpartisanship, keeping USAGM leadership out of the editorial decision-making process, McCaul said. The article reported how VOA had placed on paid leave two recently hired journalists in its Russian Service over their prior work at Russian-backed media outlets. It also detailed previous management controversies, including a case involving Seterah Derakhshesh Sieg, the chief of VOAs Persian Service. She was removed from her position in the Persian Service in 2020 during the administration of former President Donald Trump, after a USAGM-led investigation concluded Sieg had misrepresented her credentials and abused public funds. Sieg was moved to a new position after a new USAGM investigation in 2021 during the administration of President Joe Biden exonerated her of those charges. Bennett was not yet confirmed as the CEO of USAGM at that time. The previous leaderships investigations of staff are the subject of an Office of Special Counsel investigation being carried out at the agency. The results have not yet been released. During Thursdays regular House Appropriations subcommittee hearing overseeing USAGMs use of government funds, Representative Guy Reschenthaler alleged Bennetts office had not responded to McCauls requests for more information. Bennett said her office would commit to complying with all required congressional requests. In response to allegations the article had been edited to remove embarrassing information, Bennett said, The firewall does not permit me to reach across to influence their decisions in terms of what they do with their journalists. When asked about the allegations raised in the hearing, VOA spokesperson Bridget Serchak said, VOAs editorial firewall prohibits any interference from USAGM management in news coverage decisions. The updates to the VOA news story in question were made after a standard editorial review of the content by VOA newsroom editors. A spokesperson for USAGM also denied that agency was involved in the VOAs editorial process, calling the firewall sacrosanct. Neither VOA journalists, nor any journalist at our entities, are given editorial direction from USAGM. Framing this as a 'firewall violation' is factually incorrect and misleading, a spokesperson wrote in an email. When asked for comment in her personal capacity Thursday, Sieg said she had no comment. Office of Cuba Broadcasting Lawmakers also expressed concern about the state of free media in Cuba and suggested U.S. broadcasting could do more to address the problem. "Cuba is one of the most restrictive media environments in the world," Bennett told lawmakers. "I think it has very successfully cut people off from the rest of the world. And yet at the same time, we do see as I have some data to show you that the Cuban people still want and crave that information and will go to lengths to find it. USAGM's Office of Cuba Broadcasting has been broadcasting news and information to Cubans since 1985. But in recent years, the Miami-based broadcaster has faced criticism about the journalistic integrity of its staff. Bennett acknowledged there had been significant lapses in the past and said there have been a number of reforms. "We are really very aggressively moving towards putting in place structures that will help guarantee that," Bennett told lawmakers. "More aggressive content review to help us look and see what is going out and to assure those high standards through program reviews and basically making sure that there is no tolerance for anything other than the highest standards of journalistic ethics," she said. Bennett was confirmed for a three-year term as CEO of USAGM last year in the U.S. Senate by a vote of 60-36. She served as the director of Voice of America from 2016-20, when she resigned prior to Trump-appointee Michael Pack taking over as USAGM CEO. Bennett faced some Republican criticism during her confirmation process due to concerns about the security clearance process for employees during her tenure and a 2017 decision to cut short a VOA Mandarin Service interview with a Chinese dissident. Subsequent investigations into that decision found that the decision was justified. Prior to her time at VOA, Bennett served as executive editor at Bloomberg News and was managing editor of The Oregonian newspaper. She also was a reporter for The Wall Street Journal for more than two decades, wrote six nonfiction books and has twice shared the Pulitzer Prize. According to USAGM estimates, 394 million people access its programming each week. The federally funded agency overseen by the U.S. Congress has two federal entities, the Voice of America and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting. It also has four nonprofits: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, and the Open Technology Fund. The latest Russian missile barrage against Ukraine's civilian infrastructure has marked one of the largest such attacks in months. On Thursday, Russia fired more than 80 missiles in a massive effort to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses and cripple the country's energy system. Russia has been regularly launching similar strikes since October in a bid to demoralize Ukrainians and force the government to bow to the Kremlin's demands. Thursday's strikes differed from earlier attacks, though, by including a larger number of sophisticated hypersonic missiles that are the most advanced weapons in the Russian arsenal. But just like previous barrages it has failed to cause lasting damage to the country's energy network, with repair crews quickly restoring power supplies to most regions. Here is a look at the latest Russian missile attack and the weapons involved. What did Ukrainian and Russian officials say? Ukraine's military chief, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, said that Russia launched 81 missiles and eight exploding Iranian-made Shahed drones in a barrage early Thursday, and Ukraine's air defenses downed 34 missiles and four drones. According to Zaluzhnyi, those missiles included six hypersonic Kinzhal missiles. Ukrainian air force spokesman Yurii Ihnat emphasized that Ukraine lacks assets to intercept the Kinzhal and the older Kh-22 missiles that were also used in Thursday's strikes. Russia's Defense Ministry described the barrage as a "strike of retribution" in retaliation for what Moscow described as a cross-border raid by Ukrainian saboteurs who attacked two villages in the Bryansk region in western Russia last week. A group of self-exiled Russians fighting alongside Ukrainian forces claimed responsibility for the attack, while Ukraine denied involvement. Moscow didn't say how many missiles were fired, but claimed they hit the designated targets. How did the latest barrage differ from earlier Russian attacks? Military analysts noted that the number of Kinzhal missiles used in Thursday's barrage was significantly higher compared with previous strikes, which have typically involved no more than a couple of such weapons. The Russian military says the Kinzhal, an air-launched ballistic missile, has a range of up to 2,000 kilometers and flies at 10 times the speed of sound, making it hard to intercept. A combination of hypersonic speed and a heavy warhead allows the Kinzhal to destroy heavily fortified targets, like underground bunkers or mountain tunnels. Russia has used the Kinzhal to strike targets in Ukraine starting from the early days of the invasion, but it has used the expensive weapon sparingly and against priority targets, apparently reflecting the small number of Kinzhals available. The precise targets for Russian strikes and the resulting damage remain unclear as Ukrainian authorities have maintained a tight lid of secrecy on such information to avoid giving Russia a clue for planning future attacks. It's also unclear what missiles Russia has used to hit which targeted facilities, although Western officials and military analysts have argued that Russia has faced an increasing shortage of state-of-the-art weapons, with new production far too slow to compensate for the amount already spent. The British Defense Ministry noted Friday that the intervals between Russian missile strikes have grown longer, probably "because Russia now needs to stockpile a critical mass of newly produced missiles directly from industry before it can resource a strike big enough to credibly overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses." The Kinzhal is carried by MiG-31 fighter jets, some of which are based in Belarus. Russia has used the territory of its ally as a staging ground for the invasion and maintained its troops and weapons there. What other weapons did Russia use? The Ukrainian military said that Thursday's barrage also included six older Kh-22 missiles, which are launched by Tu-22M heavy bombers and fly at more than three times the speed of sound. The massive weapon, which has a range of 600 kilometers and dates to the 1970s, was designed by the Soviet Union to strike U.S. aircraft carriers and other warships. It packs a big punch thanks to its supersonic speed and a heavy load of 630 kilograms of explosives, but its outdated guidance system could make it highly inaccurate against ground targets, raising the probability of collateral damage. Like in previous strikes, Russia also fired the modern Kh-101 cruise missiles carried by strategic bombers and the Kalibr cruise missiles that are launched by warships. The long-range, high-precision missiles are subsonic, and the Ukrainian military has said it successfully engaged them. Another fixture in the Russian strikes were S-300 air defense missiles that Russia uses against ground targets at a comparatively smaller distance from the front line. While its relatively small warhead lacks the punch of bigger weapons designed to hit ground targets, Russia appears to have a big stock of such missiles, and Ukraine can't intercept them. Russia has also used some shorter-range air-launched missiles carried by fighter jets and the Iranian exploding drones. Ukrainian officials have said that the military has become increasingly successful in tackling them, downing the bulk of drones launched in each strike. Ukrainian officials and experts say that by using numerous types of missiles as well as drones in one massive attack, Russia tries to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses. 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. Kateryna, center, the mother of soldier Denys Averiiev, 32, reacts during the funeral of her son at Lviv cemetery, western Ukraine, on Feb. 23, 2023. Averiiev died in Bakhmut on Feb. 16, 2023. 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. SEE ALSO: WASHINGTON - Zimbabwes ambassador to South Africa, David Hamadziripi, says his government is willing to assist and facilitate the return of thousands of Zimbabweans, who want to go back home if they fail to regularize their status in that country by the end of June. In an exclusive interview, Hamadziripi said the Zimbabwean government has decided to deploy a special team in South Africa, which will help those planning to return home. There will be three teams and each team will cover three provinces between the period March 12 and April 01 and during that period at each location that they will be at they will be offering consular services as well to our nationals. So, apart from the mapping exercise for Zimbabwe Exemption Permit holders we are also going to offer consular services such as birth certificates, passports and temporary travel documents. He said his office issued a public notice on Monday providing information on the deployment of these teams in all the nine provinces of South Africa and times and dates they will be in those locations. Hamadziripi said the International Organization for Migration is expected to provide technical support. Beyond that, we will need some finances in order to support the integration of some of our nationals when they get back home. Some of the returning citizens are said to have requested for assistance in transport from South Africa to Zimbabwe and support in resettling back home, while others are asking for facilitation in terms of clearance of their personal household items such as vehicles and equipment that they may take home. On such issues, Hamadziripi said his government is presently working on a statutory instrument that will provide certain specific conditions in terms of waivers of some of the existing customs regulations as they apply to returning citizens. These will be waived in respect of the Zimbabwe Exemption Permit holders. Almost 180,000 Zimbabweans will be affected when their permits expire on June 30. They face deportation if they dont regularize their status in South Africa. They are expected to migrate to other visas in which they dont qualify as South Africa is looking for skilled manpower. Most of the ZEP holders are domestic workers, farm laborers and waiters. Russia launched a barrage of missile attacks across Ukraine on Thursday, killing at least six people and leaving hundreds of thousands of people without heat and electricity. It was the largest such attack on Ukraine in three weeks, with Ukrainian forces saying they shot down 34 of the 81 missiles that Russia fired, far less than the usual ratio, as well as four Iranian-made drones. Air raid sirens blared through the night across a wide swath of Ukraine, including in western Ukraine, far from the main front battle lines in the eastern regions of the country. The governor of the Lviv region said five people were killed there when a missile hit a residential area. In the Dnipropetrovsk region, officials said the Russian attacks killed one person and injured two others. The occupiers can only terrorize civilians, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted on Telegram. That's all they can do. But it wont help them. They wont avoid responsibility for everything they have done. The Russian defense ministry said the attacks were in retaliation for a recent assault on the Bryansk region of western Russia by what Moscow alleged were Ukrainian saboteurs. Ukraine has denied the claim and warned that Moscow could use the allegations to justify stepping up its own assaults. Moscow said it hit military and industrial targets in Ukraine as well as the energy facilities that supply them. Nearly half of the households in the capital of Kyiv were left without heat as were many in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, where the regional governor said 15 Russian strikes hit the city. About 150,000 households were left without power in Ukraines northwestern Zhytomyr region. In the southern port of Odesa, emergency blackouts occurred because of damaged power lines. Among the weapons fired were six hypersonic Kinzhal cruise missiles, Ukrainian air force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said. SEE ALSO: Nuclear power fears Thursdays attack also knocked out the power supply to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europes largest. The plants operator, Energoatom, said diesel generators were being used to run the plant and that there was enough fuel available to continue for 10 days. The plant was later reconnected to the electrical grid. International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Grossi called for urgent action, noting the plants power supply had been cut for a sixth time since Russia invaded Ukraine more than a year ago. I am astonished by the complacency what are we doing to prevent this happening? We are the IAEA; we are meant to care about nuclear safety, Grossi said. Each time we are rolling a dice. And if we allow this to continue time after time then one day our luck will run out. Important stretch Top U.S. intelligence officials, testifying before lawmakers Thursday, cautioned that the war between Russia and Ukraine is entering a critical period. The next four, five, six months are going to be crucial on the battlefield to Ukraine, CIA Director Williams Burns told members of the House Intelligence Committee. "Any prospect for a serious negotiation, which President [Vladimir] Putin I don't think is ready for today, is going to depend on progress on the battlefield, Burns said. "Therefore, I think, analytically, what's important is to provide all the support that we possibly can, which is what the president and our Western allies are doing for the Ukrainians as they prepare for a significant offensive in the spring." During testimony before the United States Senate on Wednesday, U.S. National Intelligence Director Avril Haines said Russias military has been so badly damaged that it is unlikely Russian forces will be able to make any significant territorial gains for the rest of the year. But Haines also cautioned Ukraine forces have suffered casualties as well and have been forced to draw heavily on their reserves due to what she described as a grinding war of attrition. SEE ALSO: 'He has to come here' Ukraines Zelenskyy Wednesday invited the top U.S. House lawmaker to visit Kyiv to see whats happening here in an interview broadcast on CNN. "Mr. [Kevin] McCarthy, he has to come here to see how we work, what's happening here, what war caused us, which people are fighting now, who are fighting now. And then after that, make your assumptions," Zelenskyy told the news outlet through an interpreter. Responding to CNN, House Speaker McCarthy said, I dont have to go to Ukraine or Kyiv" to understand it. He said he received information in briefings and other ways. SEE ALSO: Since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 of last year, the U.S. has sent nearly $100 billion in military, economic and relief aid to Ukraine. That aid was sent when the Democratic Party controlled both chambers in Congress. The Republican Party took control of the U.S. House after the November midterm elections. Some Republicans have expressed opposition to sending additional arms and financial aid to Ukraine. McCarthy has said he supports Ukraine, but that House Republicans will not provide "a blank check" for additional U.S. assistance to Kyiv without closer scrutiny of how it is being spent. Some information in this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters. GABORONE, BOTSWANA - Botswana will not drop its demand to sell a bigger share of the diamonds produced by its joint venture with De Beers, President Mokgweetsi Masisi said on Thursday, raising the stakes in talks to renew a sales deal that expires in June. Last month, Masisi threatened to walk away from talks to renew the sales deal with DeBeers unless Botswana gets a larger share of output from the joint venture. He did not specify the size of the share it sought. Botswana and De Beers mine diamonds under an equally-owned joint venture, Debswana. Three-quarters of Debswana's production, which was 24 million carats in 2022, is sold to De Beers. The balance is sold to state-owned Okavango Diamond Company(ODC), which was set up under the current 2011 sales deal as Botswana sought to market gems outside the De Beers system. Masisi told reporters on Thursday that Botswana had denied itself the opportunity to sell its own diamonds through the 54 year-old joint venture agreement. He added that the experience of selling diamonds outside the De Beers system, which sells unpolished, or rough, stones, had shown that Botswana could get more revenue. Besides the fact that the diamonds are ours, it doesnt make sense for us to continue to relegate ourselves to participating in the rough space only. So, its only logical that we want more and we are going to get more. But through negotiation," Masisi said. De Beers Chief Executive Officer Al Cook, who met Masisi in Gaborone on Friday morning, said he had a "constructive discussion" with the president. "It's very clear that, front and foremost in the president's mind is the interest of the Botswana people. We as De Beers want to play our role in a strong, strategic partnership. I'm very confident that this partnership will go forward in a very good way," Cook told reporters after the meeting. De Beers says Botswana's government receives more than 80% of returns from Debswana, including taxes and royalties. WASHINGTON - Alpha Media Holdings boss, Trevor Ncube, says the interim president of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), Nelson Chamisa, lacks leadership qualities, his dreams are being frowned upon by his peers and may become a dictator if elected by the people of Zimbabwe. In a series of tweets, Ncube said Chamisa is allegedly afraid of Tendai Biti, Job Sikhala, Welshman Ncube and Hopewell Chinono. He said, I am making this thread with a deep sense of love for my brother in Christ, Nelson Chamisa. The same kind of love and frankness that characterized the meeting he requested in my office a while back. What people very close to Nelson say to me concerns me These people say they have given up on Nelson but cant tell him. That he is not a leader. That he is not a democrat. Some of these people have suggested exploring a Third Way, which I have since given up on, although Robert Chapmans effort could be just that. These people say Nelson does not want to be accountable. That he feels threatened by people such as Tendai Biti, Welshman Ncube, Job Sikhala, Hopewell Chinono etc .Those who remain around him do so because they see him as a ticket to their own political ambitions. These people are frightened by the dreams that Nelson shares of him hearing from God. Dreams of him being told he will be at State House until old age. Most fervent Christians hear from God but there is always purity to what God says to us. Ncube, who is the chairperson of Alpha Media Holdings which publishes The Standard, Zimbabwe Independent, NewsDay and Weekly Digest, said there is need for Chamisa to always strive for team work. My own prayer for Nelson is that he realizes that successful national leadership is always a product of a strong team of rivals. Men and women who disagree passionately but are united around the big picture. Weak people, Yes Minister types, are why Zimbabwe is where it is. I am speaking out because nobody else will say this publicly because they are frightened of Nelson and his supporters. People think criticizing Nelson weakens the opposition. A leader who cant stand scrutiny in opposition will be a dictator once elected into office. Foreign diplomats also share their deep concern and so do NGOs who have previously supported Nelson. The military/intelligence believe they have Nelson under control. His supporters clearly dont know this and they follow blindly. And why is this any of my business? Because a strong and principle opposition is important for prosperity. Because of the danger of electing another dictator to State House. Criticism and transparency strengthen leaders and institutions. There was no immediate reaction from CCC as party interim spokesperson, Fadzai Mahere, and her deputy, Ostallos Siziba, did not respond to questions sent to them. Siziba indicated that he was attending a meeting. But some citizens took a swipe at Ncube saying he has become an appendage of the Zanu PF system of governance and therefore he was unfit to criticize or give advice to Chamisa. Dr. Glen Muda, one of the people who responded to Ncubes tweets, said, First things first, you lied to the whole world in 2019 that Chamisa was going to abandon his supporters and wld be awarded an offer by Mnangagwa that he would not resist. That never happened. Did u apologize to him as your brother in Christ whom u have a deep sense of love for? Not to be outdone, a person using the twitter handle, D4, said, This thread does not resonate well with the electorate. We are and shall remain behind Chamisa. Those you call are feared by Chamisa, why do you think they still hang around him if they have the capacity to stand alone. Your intentions are known and will be rejected. Cde Treasure Basopo was also unhappy about Ncubes remarks. I will make this comment with a deep sense of love for my brother in Christ, Trevor Ncube. The same kind of love presumably demonstrated by your thread to NC .Junior employees as NEWSDAY are complaining that you havent been paying their salaries in a long time However, Back to Bla, one of the citizens who also responded to Ncubes tweets, said, Theyll come here savaging your person and ridicule you, but, youve articulated well what many well enlightened Zimbabweans think. You are going to be labelled Zanu PF, Murakashi, Zanu PF project and even vulgar words unleashed on you. This is who they are! Mzingaye Brilliant Xaba, another respondent, had this to say: Very interesting analysis. I feel like these were the same weaknesses which people like Joshua Nkomo, Oliver Rambo et al were accused of. Probably the bigger challenge is the strength of Zanu PF, than Chamisa's weaknesses. I could be wrong though. Thousands remain in camps almost two years after a volcanic eruption in the Democratic Republic of the Congo forced their displacement. Renewed fighting between the military and rebels has pushed even more people into the camps. Ruth Omar Esther reports from Munigi, DRC. Camera: Esdras Tsongo. -- Boasting the world's longest and most extensively used high-speed rail network, China has been helping multiple countries construct and upgrade their rail transit with its advanced railway technology. -- Through multilateral mechanisms such as the Belt and Road Initiative and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, China's sci-tech achievements have delivered new options in 5G communications, biomedicine and numerous realms, while also providing growth momentum. -- Over recent years, China has adopted various policy tools to promote global sci-tech cooperation, opened up large-scale scientific infrastructure, jointly established R&D platforms and expanded the scope, field and scale of open innovation. BEIJING, March 9 (Xinhua) -- From the Yutu-2 lunar rover roaming on the "dark side" of the moon to the Fendouzhe submersible exploring the 10,000-meter deep ocean, and from salt-tolerant rice growing in tidal flats near the sea to Chinese unmanned equipment guided by the Beidou Navigation Satellite System to help African farmers boost crop yields ... the saga of China's sci-tech innovation continues to unfold. During the ongoing "two sessions," Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasized the imperative to accelerate the implementation of the innovation-driven development strategy, saying that speeding up efforts to achieve greater self-reliance and strength in science and technology is the path China must take to advance high-quality development. Over 10 years into the nation's innovation-driven development strategy, China saw its ranking in the Global Innovation Index jump from 34th in 2012 to 11th last year, with the economy expanding at an average annual rate of 6.6 percent between 2013 and 2021, contributing over 30 percent to world economic growth. When reinforcing its strength in science and technology, the country has also been committed to sharing its technology with worldwide partners and cooperating to improve global science and technology governance. INNOVATION-DRIVEN DEVELOPMENT "The close attention paid by the government and the country to innovation as an engine of growth is paying off," said Daren Tang, director general of the World Intellectual Property Organization. Indeed, China's historic progress in building an innovative country attests to the judgment: science and technology are the primary productive force, talent the primary resource and innovation the primary driver of growth. The innovation-driven development strategy put forward at the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) has led China to join the ranks of the world's innovators, with success on various fronts over the past decade. The country has expanded its research and development (R&D) expenditure from 1 trillion yuan (about 145 billion U.S. dollars) to 3.09 trillion yuan (about 445 billion dollars) in the past decade, the second highest in the world, with its R&D intensity rising from 1.91 percent to 2.55 percent, according to Ministry of Science and Technology. This screen image captured at Beijing Aerospace Control Center on Feb. 9, 2023 shows Shenzhou-15 taikonaut Fei Junlong waving after exiting the space station lab module Wentian.(Xinhua/Liu Fang) Furthermore, China has coordinated its innovation blueprint with its strategy for invigorating China through science and education, which underscores development based on progress in science and technology and the workforce development strategy focusing on fostering high-quality talent. Now the country has become home to the largest cohort of R&D personnel around the globe. Apart from calling for moving faster toward self-reliance in science and technology, Xi in late January pledged more efforts to ensure better allocation of innovation-related resources to make the country a global pacesetter in major sci-tech areas and a pioneer in advanced interdisciplinary fields, and ensure that China will become a major world hub for science and innovation as soon as possible. GLOBAL PUBLIC GOODS The implications of China's innovation-driven development extend beyond its borders. Boasting the world's longest and most extensively used high-speed rail network, China has been helping multiple countries construct and upgrade their rail transit with its advanced railway technology. World Bank Vice President for South Asia Martin Raiser said China's rail technology would bring urban development, tourism and regional economic growth. An Fuxing bullet train runs on the China's section of the China-Laos Railway on Jan. 27, 2023.(Photo by Xu Zhangwei/Xinhua) Take the China-Laos Railway, a landmark Belt and Road project. Since operations began in December 2021, landlocked Laos has become a land-linked hub in Southeast Asia. The railway's Lao section has created more than 110,000 local jobs. Through multilateral mechanisms such as the Belt and Road Initiative and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, China's sci-tech achievements have delivered new options in 5G communications, biomedicine and numerous realms, while also providing growth momentum. Gu Qingyang, a scholar at the National University of Singapore, said the extensive application of China's sci-tech accomplishments not only leads to its domestic industrial upgrading, but also lends impetus to the neighboring areas. Photo taken on Nov. 20, 2021 shows the venue of China 5G+ Industrial Internet Conference at the China Optics Valley Convention & Exhibition Center in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province. (Xinhua/Wu Zhizun) Similarly, at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2023 earlier this year, Saadia Zahidi, the forum's managing director, said, "when it comes to technology and innovation, much of what is being developed in China will change the world." Given the size of its economy, China will help boost worldwide growth and inject optimism in the medium and long term, Zahidi told Xinhua. GLOBAL SCI-TECH GOVERNANCE China would never innovate behind closed doors. That's why the country has been dedicated to advancing global governance in science and technology. In late February, Xi restated his call for promoting the openness, trust and cooperation of the international science and technology community and making new and more significant contributions to the progress of human civilization. Over recent years, China has adopted various policy tools to promote global sci-tech cooperation, opened up large-scale scientific infrastructure, jointly established R&D platforms and expanded the scope, field and scale of open innovation. In a typical example, China has advocated expanding international cooperation in the space sector. Romanian astronaut Dumitru Prunariu said China "actually invited all countries to perform scientific experiments" on its Tiangong space station. In addition, the country also welcomes broader collaboration in deep space exploration. China has engaged in sci-tech cooperation with more than 160 countries and regions, participating in global science projects such as the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor program -- one of the most ambitious energy projects in the world and the Square Kilometre Array -- an intergovernmental radio telescope project. This aerial photo shows vehicles to be exported at a port in Lianyungang, east China's Jiangsu Province, Jan. 13, 2023. (Photo by Geng Yuhe/Xinhua) Meanwhile, the country's accelerated transition from "Made in China" to "Created in China" shows the developing world how to uncover a development path suited to their own conditions. China's experience in education, scientific research and technology is "inspiring" to Arab countries, Mohamed Abdel-Fattah Moustafa, head of the Arab Union for Education and Scientific Research, told Xinhua. Its cooperation with other developing countries in education, scientific research and technology localization will help "create a new international community based on cooperation, exchange of benefits and mutual win," he said. The URL has been copied to your clipboard The code has been copied to your clipboard. Is the fight for democracy at a turning point? Freedom House documents a global decline for the 17th consecutive year. One of the biggest concerns: media freedom. VOAs Veronica Balderas Iglesias explains. VOA footage by Saqib Ul Islam. THURSDAY, March 9, 2023 (American Heart Association News) -- On March 11, 2020, when the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, everyone wanted to know: "What is this disease, and how can we stop it?" After three years of terrible loss including more than 1.1 million U.S. deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention along with remarkable scientific progress, some experts say the question has become, "How do we adapt to a world where that disease is here to stay?" "It's really a glass-half-empty, half-full approach, where some people say, 'Well, you know, COVID is much less morbid than it was two or three years ago, and things are so much better,'" said Dr. Sandeep R. Das, professor of internal medicine in the cardiology division at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. At the same time, thousands of people are dying monthly from COVID-19, the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, a virus that's still "quite dangerous," Das said. "So, it's not something where we can just sort of declare victory and ignore it." That two-sided reality means he and other experts agree there is no one-size-fits-all approach to facing the risks. "We definitely don't want people to run around terrified," said Das, co-chair of the American Heart Association's COVID-19 Cardiovascular Disease Registry. "It's something that you have to take seriously, and you have to do what you can to mitigate risk." At the same time, he said, "you have to be able to live your life." Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in Baltimore, agreed that the urgency with which people take protective measures will depend on their individual circumstances. "It depends on how hard you're trying to avoid getting a ubiquitous virus," said Adalja, an infectious disease specialist. And that means advice on common concerns will vary. Are masks still important? The CDC says wearing a mask is still considered helpful in preventing exposure to COVID-19 and in helping infected people limit the spread of the disease. In areas with medium to high levels of COVID-19 cases, the CDC "especially recommends considering" masks and social distancing. Adalja said that people at high risk for developing severe COVID-19 the CDC's list includes people with diabetes, heart and lung conditions, weakened immune systems, kidney disease and more still might want to wear masks in crowded indoor settings. But for people with lower risk, in a world that now has vaccines to protect against infection and severe illness and antiviral drugs for treatment, he considers masks just "one tool that people can use." Dr. Nicole Bhave, an associate professor at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, said that for older and sicker people, "masking is really important." But she also tailors her advice to individual patients. Bhave, a cardiologist who sees many patients who are on dialysis or have had kidney or liver transplants, said that for such patients, "I strongly recommend mask-wearing, particularly in crowded public settings. For young, healthy people, I actually do not routinely recommend that," especially if they are up to date on vaccinations. Das said that studies about masking "are all over the place." But he and other physicians wear masks regularly at work, he said, and it's not a problem. "It's such a small ask, in most contexts," he said. Who needs a COVID-19 vaccine? The CDC says everyone as young as 6 months should receive an updated, or bivalent, booster, which protects against both the original virus and more recent variants. The issue is not whether vaccines work, Adalja said. "I think vaccines are extremely valuable at minimizing the impacts of COVID-19." According to CDC data from December, hospitalization rates for unvaccinated adults were 16 times higher than those who had received the updated booster, which became available in September. "If you're somebody that's high risk, the vaccine could literally mean the difference between life or death," Adalja said. As of early March, the CDC reported that while 81% of people in the U.S. had received at least one dose of a vaccine, only 16% had received the updated bivalent booster. "I still would advise everyone to have the boosters on the schedule that the CDC recommends," said Bhave, who helped write American College of Cardiology guidance on post-COVID-19 issues. "But for a younger, healthier person, that may be less critical," given how most people around them either have been vaccinated or have some immunity from having had the disease. Das said getting vaccinated and boosted remains the No. 1 thing someone can do to protect themselves. So if the question is, "'Should a 90-year-old in the nursing home get vaccinated?' Of course, 100%, that should be not one bit controversial," he said. "Should a 20-year-old who's super healthy get vaccinated? That's an individual decision. Obviously, the absolute benefit to that person is much smaller. But they could still decide to do it." For example, staying up to date with COVID-19 vaccines means a young, healthy person is less likely to spread the disease to at-risk people they live or work with or encounter in everyday life. What are COVID-19's risks to the heart? Early in the pandemic, Das said, doctors were fearful the coronavirus might directly cause heart problems. "That has largely turned out not to be the case," he said. But in the throes of an infection, people still struggle, Bhave said, and are at increased risk for heart attacks, atrial fibrillation (a type of irregular heartbeat) and more. The stress from a COVID-19 infection might be exposing previously unknown heart problems, Bhave said. And longer-term studies have shown COVID-19 survivors to be at higher risk of problems such as stroke and heart failure. "I think we do have more to learn about all the mechanisms," she said. Among the lingering questions are those surrounding long COVID, Das said. "We absolutely, desperately need more research into the long-term implications." Co-existing with the coronavirus COVID-19 is here to stay, Adalja emphasized. "We're talking about the three-year anniversary," he said. "At the 30-year anniversary, COVID-19 will still be a threat." The coronavirus will continue to evolve, and new variants are simply a biological fact. But Adalja celebrates how far science has come, so fast. Before 2020, "COVID-19 and the virus that causes it were not known to science. And now, three years later, we probably have more tools to deal with COVID-19 than we do for any other respiratory virus." Adalja said he's optimistic "in the sense that humans have tackled the most pressing problem with COVID-19, which is being able to reduce its ability to cause severe disease and death and crush hospitals." But for individuals, "the way you deal with COVID-19 is very personalized, based on your risk factors for severe disease and your personal risk tolerance." Das also celebrates the scientific successes and agrees that people need to find the balance that works for their situation. "I definitely think people need to not be terrified," he said. "That said, if you have a lot of cardiovascular comorbidities, it's not a trivial thing to get COVID. People are writing it off as, 'Oh, it's just the flu.' But the flu kills people." After three years, people may want to move on from thinking about COVID-19, Das said. "The problem is that really, we're not on our own timeline," he said. "We are, to some extent, on the virus' timeline." American Heart Association News covers heart and brain health. Not all views expressed in this story reflect the official position of the American Heart Association. Copyright is owned or held by the American Heart Association, Inc., and all rights are reserved. By Michael Merschel, American Heart Association News United Arab Emirates operator E& announced it is sending AED20 million worth of telecoms equipment to Turkey as part of efforts to aid the country in its recent natural disasters, reported Emirates News Agency. The operator will donate over 4,000 radio and digital units to reactivate mobile phone networks and restore connectivity in earthquake-hit regions. E& chairman of the board of directors Jassem Mohamed Bu Ataba Alzaabi said: "The E& group always supports the honourable initiatives of the UAE leadership that inspires us to be proactive in giving and providing support to individuals and communities. "E& continues its humanitarian duty and stands in solidarity with the earthquake victims in Turkiye. Through this initiative, we seek to contribute to repairing and supporting the telecommunications infrastructure in those areas. We reaffirm our commitment to connecting communities and keeping individuals always connected." The infrastructure donation is a continuation of a programme called Gallant Knight/2 which was started by the president and ruler of the UAE, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to support earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria. Admissions Counselor Reporting to the Director of Undergraduate Admissions & Director of Graduate Admissions, the Admissions Counselor contributes to all aspects of admissions, particularly converting prospects to applicants, selection, and advising newly admitted undergraduate and graduate students as they prepare to enroll at The American University of Rome. The Admissions Counselor executes AURs recruitment and yield strategies to build its pool of diverse and qualified applicants and ultimately select and enroll excellent students in the universitys undergraduate and masters degree programs. Job Responsibilities Prospect management (i.e., converting qualified leads into applicants; responding to inquiries) Plans and manage activities for recruitment and yield; both in-person and virtually; Provides individual and group advising to applicants re: the Universitys application process from inquiry through selection; continuing with admitted students through their acceptance confirmation and arrival on campus; Interviews prospective students; Serves as panelist and speaker for prospective and admitted student events; and attends events locally, sometimes internationally, and often virtually; Processes and completes applications; makes selection recommendations; maintains decision and other applicant data in CRM; Pre-evaluates advance standing and transfer credits of incoming students; Collaborates with colleagues and faculty to provide a wide range of services to students in support of recruitment, admissions, admissions counseling, and related operations; Assists with the onboarding process and orientation week for new enrolling students; Answers phones, responds to email, chats with inquiries, and assists visitors to campus; Performs other related duties as assigned or requested. Required: Bachelors degree in business/management, marketing, communication, public relations, education, or a related field Collaborative with a strong team orientation and ability to support others toward collective goals and objectives. Excellent interpersonal, time, and project management skills with the ability to balance multiple deadlines and time-sensitive deliverables Strong English communication and interpersonal skills. The ability to communicate effectively and persuasively, both verbally and in writing. This position engages frequently with prospective students and parents, both individually and in groups, sharing up-to-date information on AUR undergraduate and graduate majors and programs and answering questions about the admissions process. Italian language proficiency at a professional level Excellent time and project management skills with the ability to balance multiple deadlines and time-sensitive deliverables. Strong organizational skills and an ability to manage multiple activities concurrently. Ability to work independently and complete tasks within established time constraints. Ability to learn quickly and work with flexibility in an environment that changes throughout the recruitment-selection-enrollment cycle. Technical aptitude; strong Excel skills, word processing, databases, CRM, and related systems Ability to travel and organize travel. Preferred: Prior admissions experience and with admissions software (e.g., Salesforce or Slate) Strong presentation skills Knowledge of the US higher education system Social media experience in professional contexts How to apply: Please send your motivation letter and CV in English to applications@aur.edu, quoting ref: HR4/2023 Admissions Counselor. Deadlines: Send application preferably by April. Position begins in May, 2023. All applicants must have the right to work in Italy. The position is based in Rome. The American University of Rome provides equal opportunity for all qualified individuals in its educational programs and activities. The university does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, family responsibilities, political affiliation, source of income, or Vietnam-era veteran status. It conforms to all applicable federal and state nondiscrimination laws. The policy of equal opportunity applies to every aspect of the operations and activities of the university generally and includes admissions and employment. Developing Telecoms met recently with Huawei FinTech and Mobile Financial Services (MFS) team, to discuss the development and growth of Huaweis MFS business. The interview started by asking them to outline how Huawei first entered the MFS market. HUAWEI: Huawei first became involved in MFS when it won a contract with a famous African operator. After the growth of mobile finance business, the operator was developing its own software for mobile financial services. The branding of mobile finance for this operator was already the leading name in mobile phone finance by 2010/11. The service was feature phone based, but included some early kinds of purchasing services. The operator was also in the process of establishing services in other markets and executed an RFP for a technology partner to support this goal and Huawei was chosen. Huawei believes it won the RFP based on 2 strengths, its R&D and Engineering capability to deliver a platform with the performance, reliability, flexibility and availability which establish the foundations for the trust you need from customers and businesses to successful grow a FinTech ecosystem. Secondly Huaweis commitment to deliver the platform and migration to support the needs of the largest and most complex market, Kenya, where Huawei has now successfully supported a decade of growth. DT: What success has Huaweis MFS platform achieved? HUAWEI: Since development of the current FinTech products started in 2012, Huawei's has deployed its platform across all of the existing mobile finance markets and expanding across Asia and Africa to more than 30 markets. Based published mobile financial services data, and Excluding China and PayPal, Huaweis platform supports more than 50% of the global MFS market activity. In total Huaweis FinTech solutions now provide access to digital financial services to over 400 million people in markets worldwide who otherwise would not have this benefit. DT: What markets has Huawei MFS entered recently? HUAWEI: One of Huaweis most recent customers is telebirr in Ethiopia. Ethiopia is the second most populous country in Africa, with over 120 million people. Prior to 2019 around 55% of the population did not have access to financial services due to lack of bank coverage, and the total mobile financial services user base in Ethiopia was around 10 million people. telebirr was launched by Ethio Telecom with help from Huawei in May 2021 with the aim of meeting the governments target of increasing financial inclusion. telebirr is aiming to achieve this by enabling rapid financial transactions throughout Ethiopia including the most remote areas. The service also aims to transform the overall economy and help Ethiopia move towards becoming a cashless society and improve cash flow throughout the economy. Another advantage that telebirr is offering is to provides a more 'democratic' digital ecosystem, in particular giving women control over their own earnings and finances, enabling payments to be made directly to women, and for women to control their own savings and finances. The DNA behind successful FinTech services is to design your business, product and service from the beginning to meet everyone's needs rather than to target specific segments. DT: What results have you seen so far? HUAWEI: telebirr has gained the support of over 98,000 agents, of which 30%+ are run by women, 25,000 merchants, 18 banks and over 52 public and private institutions. It is currently serving 28.6 million users and making a total value of over 288 billion Birr transactions. Moreover, financial inclusion in Ethiopia has increased by around 15%, and is well on the way to achieving the governments five year target in under two years. Mobile Financial service adoption is accelerating globally and this has benefited telebirr and Ethiopia. If you compare with another market launched in 2018, a similar level of growth took over 3 years to achieve. When telebirr launched, it registered a million customers in two weeks; it has taken other successful markets a year or more to do that. DT: What factors have contributed to this impressive growth for telebirr? telebirr and Ethiopia was able to benefit from Huaweis extensive experience in MFS in other emerging markets. Rather than stating with a simple point-of-sale (POS) transactional service, it started with dozens of new services based on the App, USSD and SMS, including send and receive money, deposit cash, remittance, pay bills, withdraw cash, fundraising, bulk disbursement, ticket purchase, utility service, passport service, digital lottery, donate, credit loan, micro loan, saving services and more. Other bank players in Ethiopia only provide basic services and, moreover, there are interconnection issues between different banks. To do this telebirr and Huawei had to gain the backing of the regulators who were willing to accept things like holding biometric information electronically and registering customers electronically by matching faces and ID cards. This is actually more reliable than giving the information to a physical person. telebirr is now in the process of launching new payment services and financial services, on top of the basic wallet. It's quite an incredible journey to see that take off in one of the most populous countries in North Africa. DT: What are the advantages of using Huaweis MFS solutions? HUAWEI: The first point I want to emphasise is that our solution is modular. The core product consists of the wallet, the finance services and the payment services. We then add enabling technologies for API integration, APP development frameworks, and for the future, AI Technologies to enable smarter more secure ecosystems. A Key benefit of Huawei's extensive R&D and software portfolio means that we can easily obtain and pre-integrate such world class enabling technologies to accelerate the growth and development of FinTech ecosystems. The second point is that, in line with our product strategy, one product is the basis for all of our implementations, adapted, scaled and integrated for the needs of each market. For example, the needs of our largest market like Kenya drives key standards for performance, security, availability and reliability to the highest possible levels. The benefit of the single product strategy is a reduction in complexity and more focussed and effective use of software development investments, this also means that for all of our customers there is one product from the largest to the smallest market. DT: How will MFS evolve in the future? HUAWEI: The service models for MFS are now mature, and China in particular has had them for a number of years. Operators in emerging markets understand that to be successful in MFS it is now about more than the technology. Operators need to help their customers become more digital. Success will be dictated by the quality of the total package of services operators provide, and about developing super-apps to deliver these to compete with OTT service providers. DT: Thank you for sharing your insights. Event Planning, Marketing & Management Instructor The American University of Rome is looking for an instructor to teach the course Event Planning, Marketing & Management for the U.S.-accredited Bachelor of Science in Business Administration program. The course involves teaching 3 credits hours during the period from September 5 to December 14. The course is scheduled on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12:30 to 1:55 PM. Teaching is conducted in person at AURs Monteverde campus. Required qualifications: Experience teaching events marketing or management courses at the undergraduate/graduate level, and/or relevant professional events experience Excellent knowledge of English Appropriate academic background, including a minimum of a masters degree in business or a related discipline Desirable qualifications Previous teaching experience with North American university programs Availability to potentially teach additional marketing or management courses in future semesters Application & Procedure All applicants must have the right to work in Italy. Applicants should submit a letter of application to applications@aur.edu detailing their teaching and other relevant experience and a CV that includes the names of three references to be contacted should the candidate proceed to the interview stage. Please include ref: HR3/2023 Adjunct Faculty for MGMK 312 and the candidate's full name in the subject field. Further details APPLICATION CLOSING DATE: Open until filled POSITION START DATE: September 5, 2023 The American University of Rome provides equal opportunity for all qualified individuals in its educational programs and activities. The university does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, family responsibilities, political affiliation, source of income, or Vietnam-era veteran status. It conforms to all applicable federal and state nondiscrimination laws. The policy of equal opportunity applies to every aspect of the operations and activities of the university generally and includes admissions and employment. Psychology Instructor The American University of Rome is looking for an adjunct instructor to teach the course Introduction to Psychology in our U.S.-accredited undergraduate program. The course involves teaching three credit hours during the period from August 2023 to December 2023. The course is scheduled to meet two times a week. Teaching is conducted in person at AURs Rome campus. Required qualifications: Experience teaching psychology courses at the undergraduate/graduate level Excellent knowledge of English Appropriate academic background, including a minimum of a masters degree in psychology Previous teaching experience with North American university programs Availability to potentially teach other psychology courses in future semesters A doctoral degree in psychology All applicants must have the right to work in Italy. Applicants should submit a letter of application to applications@aur.edu detailing their teaching and other relevant experience and a CV that includes the names of three references to be contacted should the candidate proceed to the interview stage. Please include ref: HR7/2023 Adjunct Faculty for Psychology Course and the candidate's full name in the subject field. AUR is an equal-opportunity employer. APPLICATION CLOSING DATE: April 1, 2023 POSITION START DATE: End of August 2023 From unassuming trattorias to gourmet establishments, here is a directory of divine locations for indulging in the staple dish of Roman cuisine. Carbonara, along with gricia, amatriciana and cacio e pepe, is among the fundamental recipes of traditional and popular Roman cooking. A simple but not elementary first course, carbonara requires unexpected mastery in managing the perfect connection of three (plus one) essential ingredients: eggs, guanciale, pecorino cheese - Roman of course - and pepper, the plus one ingredient.The pepper in fact is a twist of flavor loved and praised by some, less so by others, made to feel guilty perhaps, of covering up an already exceptional and perfect flavor. What makes the real difference though, the needle that tips the scale between a carbonara to fall in love with and an omelet, is one basic step: the complete prohibition of pan- frying carbonara with the stove on. Although there are multiple schools of thought (with or without the use of garlic or onion, guanciale versus pancetta, pecorino versus parmesan, and so on) one thing tends not to be debated: do not cook the egg. The complications compound: which is the correct type of pasta? What is the correct cooking time? What is the right quality of the ingredients? In Rome, dont take these things for granted, you will come across this dish almost everywhere. We therefore recommend 5 guaranteed places to go. Some are absolutely no- frills trattorias; others are gourmet restaurants where carbonara is reinvented, but not too much, with an haute cuisine flair. You will surely come out with a smile on your lips and butterflies in your stomach (which, in this case, will more likely be spaghetti or rigatoni) from each one. Here is a list of the top 5 fantastic carbonara pastas and where to find them in Rome. Armando al Pantheon Photo credit: rarrarorro / Shutterstock.com Tel: 06 6880 3034 Roscioli Salumeria Restaurant Photo credit: REPORT / Shutterstock.com Tel: 06 687 5287 Flavio al Velavevodetto We start our list with a classic gem set at the foot of one of Rome's oldest basilicas. Sixty years old and not feeling it. The kitchen, first run by Armando, now by his son Claudio Gargioli continues to be a true guarantee of quality. Since 1961, this little place located near the Pantheon has not missed a beat. iIn addition to the spaghetti alla carbonara, truly memorable and generous in flavor and quantity, the other traditional dishes satisfy just as much as the first day, if not more. Book far in advance!Address: Salita dei Crescenzi 31,Around Roscioli, a brand that over the years has evolved into a veritable machine, orbit many different satellites, from the historic bakery to the cafe-pasticceria, to the salumeria/restaurant, where forking up a plate of carbonara becomes an almost mystical experience. The creator of such perfection is Nabil Hadj Hassein, also dubbed by some as the "king of carbonara" who, thanks in part to the hand of Arcangelo Dandini, has won the hearts and palates of Romans and non-Romans alike. The ingredients are the classic ones, but amplified up one (two, three) more gears, including Paolo Parisi's celebrated organic eggs.Address: Via dei Giubbonari 21/22Let's head to Testaccio, another hotbed of traditional Roman cuisine. We are warning you right now that, at Flavio al Velavevodetto you must get there hungry. Dishes of carbonara, but also the timeless gricia and cacio e pepe are no less delicious, will make your eyes shine with excitement. Oozing with excellent seasoning, they make it with a slightly modified recipe. The carbonara ends up on the fire, for one thing. But don't worry, that creaminess you love so much is all there, you can see it and taste it. One entire egg per serving and off to taste bud paradise you go. Enzo's at 29 Photo credit: ColorMaker / Shutterstock.com Address: Via di Monte Testaccio 97Tel: 06 574 4194Let us now head to Trastevere, into the beating heart of the truest Rome. As an area with a very high concentration of tourists, it goes without saying that Trastevere is a minefield of traps for those visitors, Romans included, who are less experienced and less aware. But while you may risk stumbling upon (a)typical trattorias that peep out among checkered placemats and questionable menus, you will also be catapulted into hidden alleys and streets that conceal respectable establishments. This is the case of Enzo al 29. Here, despite the three young brothers at the helm of the place taken over in the 1980s, you'll find a carbonara worthy of an osteria of days gone by: hearty, flavorful, and splendidly full of calories. Tel: 06 581 2260 L'Arcangelo Restaurant Address: Via dei Vascellari 29,Let's end with a bang talking about a carbonara that is often dubbed the best in the Capital. The chef and owner of L'Arcangelo Restaurant, in the elegant and central Prati district, is Arcangelo Dandini, born in 1962, the latest in a long line of famous Roman restaurateurs. Every portion of Rigatoni di Benedetto Cavalieri alla carbonara, writes its own philosophy very dear to the chef. Food is a language and, as such, it must be studied, told, and only in the end, prepared (masterfully, we add). Address: via Giuseppe Giaocchinio Belli 59 Tel: 06 321 0992 The misstatements are part of a pattern that has raised questions about how the justice views his obligation to report details about his finances to the public. Mere weeks after JPMorgan Chase & Co defended Jes Staley against accusations he knew about Jeffrey Epsteins sex crimes, the bank is accusing the former senior executive of deception blaming him for its dealings with Epstein and seeking to recoup eight years of compensation. The firms sudden turn against its former private banking chief who went on to run Barclays unfolded at federal court in Manhattan this week. JPMorgan accused him of concealing an inappropriate relationship with Epstein and vouching for the sex offenders character to keep him as a client. JPMorgan accused Staley of concealing an inappropriate relationship with Epstein and vouching for the sex offenders character to keep him as a client. Credit: Bloomberg The banks court filings demand Staley hand over all of his compensation from 2006 through 2013 a figure surpassing $US80 million ($121 million). They also argue he should bear the cost of any payouts in two lawsuits accusing the lender of facilitating Epsteins crimes. Staleys acts of disloyalty occurred repeatedly, lasted for years, and persisted despite numerous opportunities to correct them, JPMorgan wrote. Work-life balance, flexibility, making a positive impact and career progression. Its a long list, but according to the results of a recent study commissioned by Fiverr on Gen Z and work, all four are priorities for Australians aged between 18 and 22. But theres something else too: Gen Z employees want their career path to be tailored from day one. They also want plenty of opportunity to move across an organisation respondents in full-time jobs said they expected to stay in that role for just 21 months. Oliver Woolrych from Fiverr says young Australians are using the platform to build their skillsets as freelancers. Employers must take note of Gen Zs customised approach to their careers and adapt their hiring strategies accordingly, says Australian community manager at Fiverr Oliver Woolrych. Brian Donn, managing director Australia and New Zealand for global software company Ceridian, says its also important to remember Gen Z entered the workforce in the shadow of the pandemic and the resulting upheaval. The organisations 2023 Pulse of Talent report reflects many of the themes in the Fiverr survey, including Gen Zs demand for flexibility. Is this a sign that I am getting too old to be considered for new employment? I am 49 and have been employed recently, but only on a short-term contractual basis. I am looking to get something more long-term or even permanent, but I am unsure if hearing nothing from employers is down to laziness, under-staffed talent acquisition teams or just the way things are now. It used not to be like this. Is this a new reality of the post-Covid world of work? Is age discrimination rife everywhere now or am I being too paranoid? Over the last few months, I have been looking for work in my chosen field, whether it be temporary, permanent or contract work and I am finding now that a lot of employers just dont get back to you even when they say that they will following an interview. Or if they do get back, its in the form of a rejection letter. Answer: I dont think youre being paranoid. I think age discrimination is still a major problem in many parts of the world, including Australia. I dont generally like to refer back to old Work Therapy columns, but a couple of years ago, I spoke with Ruth Williams from the University of Melbourne, an expert on the relationship between age and the labour market. She told me that it was clearly a problem for older individuals who are being judged without reference to their own personal abilities and qualities. When I read your question I initially asked myself whether 49 is really that old. But, on reflection, I realised this is beside the point, and probably just another form of ageist thinking. If you have plenty of experience, are capable of doing the job and your date of birth is working against you in the selection process, it doesnt matter whether youre 19, 39 or 69 - theres discrimination at play. As for recruiters and potential employers not getting back to you, I think youre right: it wasnt like this all that long ago. Under-staffed acquisition teams could well be one reason for your submission going completely unanswered. COVID may have something to do with that, as could the size of the company in question and the priorities of management. In some cases, it might also be a case of an enormous number of applicants making the job of replying to everyone practically impossible, no matter the size of the acquisition team. But failing to get back to someone by phone after an interview - goodness! Thats incredibly poor form. I cant think of an excuse for that beyond the most extraordinary circumstances. Aside from anything else, its exceptionally rude; it shows no regard for the time and effort it takes to submit a good job application and to prepare for an interview. Roman busts, Indian carvings, Japanese textiles, birds of paradise and other exotic stuffed animals, images from mythology and the classical world, atlases, globes and artwork from Europe and across the seas: Rembrandt was a keen collector, and his cabinet of curiosities became a microcosm of strange and wonderful ephemera. Curator Petra Kayser pictured with objects from the upcoming Rembrandt exhibtion at NGV, which will include a recreation of the artists cabinet of curiosities. Credit: Jason South In the 1600s, the wunderkammer literally a wonder chamber was a portal to the world outside his own, providing subject matter for his art and stimuli for his imagination. That cabinet of curiosities will be recreated in Rembrandt: True to Life, which opens at the National Gallery of Victoria in June. Its the most comprehensive survey of the 17th century Dutch artists work to be held in Australia for 25 years. Now regarded as one of the greatest artists of all time, Rembrandt is best-known for paintings such as The Night Watch, but he was a prolific producer of etchings. His mastery of the form created a nightmare for art historians: people could and did continue printing his work after his death, passing it off as original. She added with a grin: Its actually better when people underestimate you. Then you can prove them wrong. Its all the more satisfying. New Beginnings Zhangs first issue, in September 2021, was called New Beginnings and was produced during quarantine by a group of women, including a little-known photographer, Hailun Ma. It featured a 19-year-old dance student from Beijing Sport University on the cover. Since then, Zhang, who now lives in Beijing, has continued plotting her vision for Vogue and what it can represent in 21st-century China. Zhangs covers have a distinct style. Credit: Instagram/@voguechina Her handle on Instagram, where she has 1.8 million followers, does not say Editor-in-Chief; instead, it says Film Director. (She is working on a screenplay.) Little surprise, then, that one of her most high-profile projects is Vogue Film, a platform to support Chinese women in film. To date, it has produced 11 short films. Then there is Vogue Open Casting, an annual model scouting program that will go worldwide this year, and the Chinese Craftsmanship Initiative, which facilitates collaborations among international designers, local design talent and traditional Chinese craft communities. Zhang has also spearheaded a mentorship program pairing rising Chinese designers with international names, like Pierpaolo Piccioli of Valentino. Zhangs magazine covers and the content inside are striking, rooted in bold saturated colour and the candid style that initially found her fame as an influencer. A September 2022 digital cover series explored fashions collision with the metaverse; the splashy cover of the December 2022 issue, photographed by Zhang, featured supermodel Liu Wen. Circle of influence ... Zhang (left) with Metas head of fashion, Eva Chen. Credit: Getty In China, male movie stars and influencers known locally as KOLs are often more popular than their female counterparts. The cover of movie star Jackson Yee, in a modern interpretation of traditional Beijing Opera characters that incorporated current-season fashion, was Vogue Chinas first solo male cover star. When Margaret was hired, we were all very surprised, said Emma Zhang (no relation to Margaret), a fashion director of Gusto Collective, which helps Western luxury brands navigate expansions in Asia. But it is clearer now, when Generation Z is such a priority consumer, why they wanted someone with a younger perspective and visual style. Her approach is different from what came before. Many see it as a breath of fresh air. It is a digital native approach that feels, to many in the fashion industry and elsewhere, young and experimental. There is a spotlight on emerging talent, while still revering aspects of Chinese heritage at a time of growing appreciation among many consumers for the countrys cultural history. For Margaret Zhang, Vogue can no longer portray itself as an arbiter that dictates style and trends. That is simply not acceptable to readers anymore, especially in China, where Zhang described the audience as 15 years ahead in consumption of product, content and engagement. Her approach is different from what came before. Many see it as a breath of fresh air. Emma Zhang, fashion strategist The way we engage with our Chinese audience, and increasingly internationally, is by presenting Vogue as a way of seeing the world rather than just as an output platform of content, she said. Yes, we act as a curator, but what is the Vogue lens on life? What access and exclusivity can Vogue provide you with? Its a dialogue, she continued. Vogue in China plays a much greater institutional role than most other markets because its such a young industry and theres so much new talent to embrace and encourage. At the same time, there isnt the same amount of baggage or preconceived notions about what Vogue should and can be. Thats really exciting. A Cultural Bridge Loading China is so vast that Zhang, who runs a team of 50, said the magazine must produce significantly more content than Vogue editions in other countries. Every social media audience matters whether Weibo, Douyin (Chinas version of TikTok) or shopping platform Little Red Book and has different requirements. Print magazines, she said, are viewed more as coffee table collectables than disposable monthly compilations of runway trends or glitzy events. But she also has international markets in her sights, including the Chinese diaspora across the world. In the past year-and-a-half, she said, Vogue had repositioned itself as a cultural bridge China to the world, the world to China. Leaf Greener, a former Elle China fashion editor turned creative consultant, questioned whether Zhang was fluent enough in Mandarin to edit a magazine and said that many in the Chinese fashion industry remained sceptical. She asked whether a foreign point of view was what the Chinese market needed at this time. Margaret is trying to break the rules and bring fresh content to the table, Greener said in a phone call. She has some good ideas and is supporting young local designers, but sometimes the execution is really not there. In order to succeed, shes going to need to fix what I see as a major cover problem and aim for diverse as opposed to chaotic styling. I dont think it is where it needs to be to be a world-class fashion magazine. Leaf Greener has been critical of Margaret Zhangs tenure at Vogue China so far. Credit: Getty Zhang thinks her Mandarin skill is sufficient. (She conceded she speaks it rather formally, and lacks local colloquialisms, but added that it had proved very useful for communicating with grandmothers in markets in Shanghai.) She also appears sanguine about naysayers, which she said she has grappled with her whole working life. I would be lying if I said that this job or the task wasnt intimidating, she said. But Ive become used to being the youngest person in the room. Often, Im also the most creative in a business room, or the most business-literate in a creative room. Basically, the odd one out. But two years in, I feel like everything that Ive learned in my career, and all of my different threads of skills, strangely converge for this role. Anthony Albanese is set to announce Australias most significant defence acquisition in the nations history, procuring two types of nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS pact in a move that has surprised experts and raised fears of cost blowouts and delays. The prime minister is expected to use a visit to San Diego next week to announce Australia will buy up to five Virginia-class submarines from the US, defying repeated warnings that American shipyards were stretched to full capacity and could not sell any boats to Australia. They are expected to arrive some time in the 2030s and could require Australia to spend billions of dollars to expand Americas shipbuilding capacity, on top of paying for the submarines. Australian Strategic Policy Institute analysts have previously estimated the submarine project could cost as much as $170 billion. Washington: The US intelligence community assesses that China doesnt want a military conflict over Taiwan even as its determined to bring the independently governed island under its control, officials told a House of Representatives hearing on Thursday. Its not our assessment that China wants to go to war, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told the House Intelligence Committee as part of an annual briefing on worldwide threats faced by the US. Taiwanese soldiers take part in military exercises in January simulating a possible intrusion by Beijing. Credit: AP Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns testified at the same hearing that President Xi Jinping has been sobered by US and allied support for Ukraine in response to Russias invasion a year ago. Thats something that President Xi has to weigh as he comes out of Zero COVID, tries to restore Chinese economic growth, tries to engage with the rest of the global economy, Burns said. Tbilisi: Following days of massive protests, Georgias governing party said it would withdraw draft legislation that opponents warned could stifle dissent and hinder Georgias aspirations of one day joining NATO and the European Union. The bill would have required media and non-governmental organisations that receive more than 20 per cent of their funding from foreign sources to register as agents of foreign influence. Its opponents argued that it was inspired by a similar law used by authorities in Russia to silence critics and would curtail media freedoms, ushering in Russian-style repression. A man waves a Georgian national flag in front of a burning barricade, not far from the Georgian parliament building in Tbilisi, Georgia. Credit: AP Protests against the bill began last week, but swelled in recent days to bring tens of thousands of people to the streets of the capital, Tbilisi, where they were met with tear gas and water cannons. The Interior Ministry said 133 demonstrators had been arrested. The Georgian Dream party said in a statement it would unconditionally withdraw the bill we supported, without any reservations. It cited the need to reduce confrontation in society, while denouncing lies about the bill spread by the radical opposition. From 27 February to 3 March 2023, the WCO Secretariat organized a national workshop on Customs Valuation in Azerbaijan with the support of the Customs Cooperation Fund of Germany. More than 40 Customs Officials from various directorates of the State Customs Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan (the SCC) attended the workshop. In his opening remarks, Mr. Ismayil Huseynov, the First Deputy Chairman of the SCC, emphasized the importance of Customs valuation in duty collection process. He encouraged the attendees to actively participate in the workshop and leverage this opportunity to address valuation issues they encounter in their daily work. During the five-day workshop, the participants were familiarized with the key principles of the WTO Customs Valuation Agreement (the Agreement) and the methods provided for in the Agreement, with a specific focus on the transaction value method. The importance of applying the process as described in Decision 6.1 of the WTO Committee on Customs Valuation was highlighted in cases where Customs have doubts about the truth or accuracy of the value declared. The workshop also covered tools and guidelines developed by the WCO Secretariat to assist Members in establishing effective valuation control programme, such as the use of a Customs valuation database and mirror analysis as risk management tools, importer segmentation to address specific risks, conducting post clearance audit. The workshop concluded with a session on advance rulings as a means of trade facilitation and control. At the invitation of Ms. Slavica Kutirov, Director General of Customs, North Macedonia, the Secretary General of the World Customs Organization (WCO), Dr. Kunio Mikuriya, visited Skopje, North Macedonia on 8 and 9 March 2023. He delivered, on the second day, a keynote speech at the High-Level Meeting on regional cooperation through digitalization, co-hosted by the World Bank and the Customs administrations of North Macedonia, with the participation of six Customs administrations in Western Balkans and Bulgaria Customs. In his keynote speech, Secretary General Mikuriya recalled that in recent years the digital transformation journey of Customs has focused on data analysis and coordinated border management, which have become vital for Customs in fostering connectivity at borders. Towards this end, a single window (SW) approach is required, with strongercoordination with various government agencies, and thus political commitment at the highest level. Hence, he appreciated the presence of both the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance of North Macedonia at the opening session. Following the recent supply chain realignment, in view of the global economic and political situation, leading to an enhanced resilience and sustainability, Dr. Mikuriya suggested that the future of Customs lies in regional integration. It would, therefore, be critical to base Customs procedures, including national SW, on WCO standards to ensure connectivity and interoperability for Customs administrations of Western Balkan and its neighbouring countries. This would provide a good basis for sharing data at a regional level, possibly leading to a regional SW approach. He asserted that knowledge sharing has become even more valuable for the young generation of Customs officers in implementing international standards, managing technology and demonstrating professional pride. During the meeting, participating Customs administrations shared their progress in digitalization. The World Bank and other development partners supported further digitalization of Customs and regional integration. Secretary General Mikuriya also opened the WCO Europe regional workshop on the Role of Customs in disaster relief on 8 March. This was the last of a series of regional workshops of COVID-19 project, funded by Japan. In his opening speech, Dr. Mikuriya underlined the need for Customs preparedness and coordination with its partners. During his stay, Dr. Mikuriya met with Dr. Stevo Pendarovski, President of North Macedonia, and exchanged views on trend in global and regional trade while stressing the importance of Customs. He also had a briefing session with Customs management team and a discussion with business representatives. Finally, Dr. Mikuriya attended the gathering of young e-commerce business people of North Macedonia and wished them success in consolidating the partnership with Customs. Rep. Elisabeth Epps speaks to the media during a press conference in the West Foyer at the Colorado State Capitol on Thursday, March 9, 2023 in Denver. Colorado lawmakers are looking to strengthen the states role as an oasis for abortion rights in a region largely dominated by conservative states that have restricted the practice. Today Increasing clouds with a round of showers overnight and perhaps a thunderstorm. Tonight Increasing clouds with a round of showers overnight and perhaps a thunderstorm. Tomorrow A shower lingering early; otherwise, morning clouds break for some afternoon sun. Brisk and cooler as temperatures take another step back closer to seasonable levels. Houston County commissioners voiced their concerns during an administrative meeting on Thursday after a restaurant located on the site of a former troubled gentlemans club applied for a liquor license. That location has been a concern in the community, Chairman Brandon Shoupe said. Im very concerned with it being close to schools and churches. There have been a lot of deadly accidents at that intersection so Im a little concerned about a bar being there. The Horizon Bar and Grill is managed by Jack Ramu of Ramu Enterprises and is located on US 84 in Wicksburg, where the old Teasers Gentlemans Club used to be. Teasers was closed in 2021 after the club had a history of violence and criminal activity. Notably, in 2012 three people were shot and killed outside of the club and in 2021, another shooting took place, and the bar shuttered its doors soon afterwards. Commissioners were concerned Horizon was just going to be another Teasers, but Ramu reassured the commission that Horizon would be nothing like the business that once occupied the same building. We want people to come in and have a good time, Ramu said. We have a ton of games in there so people will be occupied. Ive done my research on other bars and grilles and these days the trend is going towards putting ping pong tables and dart boards in there so people arent just sitting. Ramus attorney told commissioners now might be the time to change the buildings reputation. Maybe this is the time to change it, Ramus attorney said. Were trying to change the location and turn it into something the people of Wicksburg would be happy with. This is not another Teasers. Ramu plans to be hands on in the day-to-day operation of the restaurant. I plan to be there four or five days a week, Im even going to cook at the beginning, Ramu said. Commissioners will vote on whether to grant Horizon a liquor license during a meeting on Monday. HAMBURG, Pa. A Hamburg baton twirler held a raffle tonight to raise money for a big trip. Emelia Adam performed at the Hamburg Field House Thursday night, along with some youth groups. A raffle basket fundraiser took place to help Adam cover the costs of a trip to England in August, where she plans to compete at the International Baton Twirling Federation Nations Cup. Adam says she's been a baton twirler since she was 5 years old, and she has always wanted to compete overseas. ABINGTON TWP., Pa. A man wanted on robbery and kidnapping charges stemming from an incident at a convenience store in Berks County is in custody. Rodney Moyer, 45, was arrested Tuesday in Abington Township, Montgomery County, on charges related to another incident there, according to the police. Moyer was taken into custody by the Abington police after he allegedly tried to rob four people in the span of 10 minutes on March 7. The incidents happened within a one-block radius, and all involved Moyer stating he had a gun and then demanding money from the victim, police said. Abington Det. Lt. Steve Fink said Moyer did not actually have a gun but kept a hand in his pocket as if to conceal a weapon. He's currently behind bars in the Montgomery County Correctional Facility on $75,000 bail. Police have not said when Moyer will be returned to Berks County for arraignment on charges in the Colebrookdale robbery and kidnapping, which took place in Feb. 27. "He was arrested on new charges with that department (Abington), and then, of course, our warrant will be dealt with as a result of that," said Eastern Berks Regional Police Chief Barry Leatherman. In the Berks County incident, authorities said Moyer approached a 29-year-old man at the Circle K in the 1200 block of Montgomery Avenue in Colebrookdale Township in the early morning hours of Feb. 27. Moyer threatened the victim, the police said, by claiming to have a gun, and forced him to withdraw money from an ATM. That's when the police said Moyer ordered the victim to drive him to the Philadelphia area, forcing the man to stop at another ATM along the way to withdraw more cash. At one point during the drive, while stopped in traffic, the police said Moyer got out of the car and walked away. The victim contacted police soon after. Police said they did not know if Moyer actually had a gun at that time. "Our department was contacted, and our detective has been in contact with them (Abington police), and is working on arrangements to see him at Montgomery County prison regarding our investigation that's ongoing," Leatherman said. Moyer is charged with robbery, terroristic threats and other offenses in Montgomery County, while he faces charges of robbery, kidnapping, false imprisonment and related offenses in Berks County. Moyer's next court appearance is scheduled for March 21. LOWER HEIDELBERG TWP., Pa. - There aren't too many cold cases that one ponders on a grocery store run. "We feel very strongly that there are folks out there that know what happened, said Trooper David Beohm with State Police. As the 15th anniversary of the murder of grocery executive Gary Redner comes to pass, the Crime Alert Berks signs, still offering an over six-figure sum for information, continue to greet customers as they enter the family's stores. Could a regular shopper even hold clues? "We always like for you guys to follow up on this cause maybe it's the off chance that somebody heard something a little funky one day in the last ten, fifteen years, Beohm said. With the passage of time, the Reading State Police barracks is once again in a transitional period in terms of cold case leadership. Could a fresh set of investigative eyes help? "We've had a couple different cold case investigators since this homicide and you know they're gonna look into this and see what they think, Beohm said. Redner was found bludgeoned to death outside his home in Lower Heidelberg Township on the morning of March 9th, 2008. His family continues to seek justice. This isn't a cold case where we have an unidentified victim, right? We have Gary Redner, we know who he was, Beohm said. Redner was last seen alive at Ganly's Pub and Restaurant on the night of March 8th, just minutes from his home. Police are asking anyone with information to come forward. "The reward is $125,000 dollars, Beohm said. That's the reward for information that would lead to the arrest of who killed Gary Redner." If you have any information you are asked to call Crime Alert Berks County. BETHLEHEM, Pa. The Bethlehem Planning Commission heard an application requesting a deferral of the sidewalk along Emery Street for the proposed Sheetz development at 1780 E. Fourth St. The 6,139-square-foot convenience store/gas station will be in the Lehigh Valley Industrial Park VII Saucon tract, on the southern side of East Fourth Street (Route 412). City documents say the site will have a right in/out driveway at the western end of the lot on Route 412 and a private rear access road along the back of the lot, which is accessible from Emery Street. The applicant asked for a deferral of the sidewalk along the public frontage with Emery Street. The applicant reasoned that the private street in the rear would not contain a sidewalk. According to city documents, "installing a sidewalk along this portion of Emery Street would serve little purpose in providing connectivity within the site." Planner Matthew Malozi expressed concern over pedestrian safety as the area grows. Planner Joy Cohen expressed similar concerns. "Make sure it is easy to put in a sidewalk without having to do major work," she advised. The planners agreed and included language in the motion to approve deferral with the condition that site work allows for the installation of a sidewalk at a later time if deferral is called in question. When a vote was completed, the measure passed with Cohen dissenting. Planning report In other news, Darlene Heller, Bethlehem's director of planning and zoning, completed a year-end report on the planning department's activities over the past year. She reported on an extensive list of varied development projects. "Generally speaking, it's been a busy year," she said. "Development is still booming." "The variety of development is a sign of good healthy development," she added. Greenway Heller also gave an update on the South Bethlehem Greenway. "We've built out the Greenway as much as we can," she said. "All that's left is the connection to the Saucon Rail Trail." Plans include the installation of pedestrian wayfinding signage and a continuation of the Broad Street Active Transportation Plan. Heller said the city is also conducting a housing analysis, noting a lack of affordable units. "That's one of the drivers of the housing analysis," she said. New development Zoning change recommended to allow 240 apartments near Fahy Bridge Serfass Development proposes a six-story building with 240 apartments for the nearly 4-acre site near the Fahy Bridge. The planning commission also voted Thursday to recommend a zoning change allowing residential development at 119 Technology Drive. The property is currently zoned for Industrial Redevelopment, but Serfass Development requested it be changed to Central Business. The developer proposes a six-story building with 240 apartments for the nearly 4-acre site near the Fahy Bridge. ALLENTOWN, Pa. - By a 7-2 vote Thursday night, the Allentown School Board hired Carol Birks as superintendent. Lisa Conover and Phoebe Harris cast the negative votes. Birks has been acting superintendent since October 2022, following the departure of John Stanford. "I'm humble. I'm grateful. I want to thank the school board of directors," Birks said upon being officially sworn in. Before the vote, public comments were mixed about Birks' expected appointment, with opponents questioning her proposed salary and others complaining that the process was not transparent and lacked community inclusion. Some opponents claim the superintendent search was too narrow. The Allentown Latino Coalition said in a statement, "We would like to state clearly that this hire is being made without first conducting a transparent search or even considering our recommended and highly qualified candidates who are from this region." Birks' supporters said she is "more than qualified," and had done an outstanding job during her interim term. Further delay in appointing a superintendent, they claimed, would put the district even further behind in its efforts to improve outcomes. Birks' contract states: "After carefully observing the performance of Dr. Birks in her capacity of Acting Superintendent, the Board has determined that her performance has been so exemplary that conducting a search for a successor Superintendent would not be in the District's best interest and would constitute an unnecessary expenditure of District funds." The four-year contract with Birks commences March 10, 2023, and ends June 30, 2027. Her starting salary will be $250,000. She will be reimbursed up to $15,000 for moving from Connecticut to Allentown. Prior to her time in Allentown, Birks was the superintendent of New Haven Public Schools in Connecticut until she was let go in 2019 two years before her contract was up. According to a Connecticut news outlet, it was due to a clash with the school board, teachers and parents over staffing and budgeting. But now, a fresh start in Allentown. "I'm so excited," Birks said. "I really believe in this community," she commented. "I love these children and their family and this community. I'm just so honored to be here." While many in the district are excited to move forward, the hiring of Birks is controversial. The school district has had seven superintendents since 2011. "Nothing was put in place," board member Lisa Conover said of the approach towards selecting a new superintendent. "There was no process. Still no talk about process," Conover added. "It was very unprofessional." "I would like a motion tonight for us to create a policy and procedure so this doesn't happen again because I'm very systematic," said board member LaTarsha Brown. "I like things on paper." For her part, Birks says she wants full transparency with every decision made by the board moving forward. "My team will listen and will actually invite them (board members) to be active participants and not just listening," she said. She says her ultimate goal is to get Allentown in the top percentage of districts. "It's going to take all the passion, all the fire for us to say, 'Yes, we can make Allentown School District one of the highest school districts,'" Birks said. "I truly believe that." L. MACUNGIE TWP., Pa. - There are several reasons why it appears Josef Raszler may have made the bullet in his parents' house. First, the bullet is irregularly shaped, not like something you'd find in the store. Second, it's much bigger than a store-bought bullet, about 10 times bigger than a 9-millimeter handgun bullet. And third, police found a frying pan with melted lead in his basement. And this morning, we saw pictures of what that basement looked like. State Police Lieutenant Jason Troutman took the stand this morning describing pictures he took in the Raszler's basement. They showed a workshop with a drill press and several other tools the prosecution says could have been used not only to make the bullets, but the air gun used in the crime. Police found two homemade bullets at Raszler's parents' cabin that matched the metal composition of the bullet that killed Stephanie Roof and the melted metal found in the frying pan. Also on the stand this morning was a security guard from the lake community where the Raszler's family cabin is. Security video he was able to pull shows the Raszler family car pulling into the lake community on September 9th, 2016, 4 days before Roof was killed. The video did not show the driver, but we know Raszler's parents were in Colorado at the time. Neighbors in the lake community reported hearing sounds of compressed air being released and state police found a makeshift target in the cabin's backyard, along with two bullets. Remember, state police never recovered the actual weapon used to kill Roof. They had to re-create it from pieces they found in Josef Raszler's parents' home. The officer in charge of that reconstruction is expected to take the stand today. Dothan Police are seeking the publics help in locating a missing 15-year-old. According to police reports, Lashawn Daquan Corbitt was last seen outside of his mothers residence near the 1000 block of Lake Street on the morning of Monday, March 6. Corbitt is about 5 foot, 7 inches tall and weighs about 170 pounds. He was wearing a black puffer jacket and multicolored shorts. He was not in possession of any additional clothes, shoes, or electronics. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Dothan Police Department at 334-793-0215 or 334-615-3632. BETHLEHEM, Pa. The Bethlehem Planning Commission voted Thursday to recommend a zoning change allowing residential development at 119 Technology Drive. The property is currently zoned for Industrial Redevelopment, but Serfass Development requested it be changed to Central Business. The change would allow for various uses, including retail, restaurant, office, some light industrial, and most importantly, residential development, explained Darlene Heller, Bethlehem's planning and zoning director. Serfass Development proposes a six-story building with 240 apartments for the nearly 4-acre site near the Fahy Bridge. The land is zoned for industry, and has been occupied by IQE Plc, a U.K.-based maker of semiconductor wafers. The company will close its doors by 2024. The building was listed for sale for $6.95 million. As the matter was debated, residents voiced their concerns about traffic, the units' affordability and the potential increase in density for which the project will be responsible. Affordable housing is a continuing issue in the city, with only a 2% vacancy rate. "It's really no vacancy," Heller said. "There's really not a slate of rental properties that people can rent," she explained. "As fast as they can be constructed, they're full." Regarding housing, residents expressed concerns over the transient nature of rental units. "If we're just going to make [the housing] transient, we already have that," said Riverport resident Cindy Marsh. Despite the city's housing needs, some touted the value of having a business on the site, offering jobs to which employees could walk. Marsh opposed the requested change, and said maintaining the site's current zoning and attracting a business would be an "opportunity to make Bethlehem bigger and better." Sarah Miller, with the property's broker NAI Summit, expressed doubts about finding that kind of tenant. "As much as we would like to see it as a tech building, [the listing] hasn't had success going that route," Miller said. Planning commission Chair Robert Melosky expressed gratitude for the feedback on the issue. "All comments that come help as we proceed forward," he said. "Most of the time, we get it right. We want to make sure we get it right." After much debate, the planners voted to approve sending a recommendation for the zoning change, but noted that the road to final plan approval has many steps. Planners cautioned that they hold the authority only to recommend changes such as those related to zoning. They said City Council has the power to decide on the changes after a series of public meetings and votes. The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission will also weigh in on the request. Heller said the matter would be discussed at meetings on March 21 and March 23. WASHINGTON, D.C. It has been just over a month since a 38-car train carrying hazardous materials derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, on the Pennsylvania border. For many, people's health and safety in the surrounding areas still hang in the balance. "I'm committed to doing what's right," said Norfolk Southern's CEO Alan Shaw at a Senate hearing Thursday. "We're going to be there today, tomorrow, a year from now, five years from now, 10 years from now." "I've told the community," he said. "I've been there in person. I've looked into their eyes." Shaw tried to do damage control at Thursday's Senate hearing, but for the senators on the Environment and Public Works committee, the damage has been done. "So these residents are scared, particularly of the potential exposure that could lead to health impacts for themselves and their families for years, and we do have a response, at least for the future," Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pennsylvania) said at the hearing. Casey shared testimony from residents in Beaver County. "Jenny Santana of Darlington Township said, and I quote, 'I wanna know it's safe to stay, all the people deserve honest answers and nobody's getting them.'" Casey says farmers are worried about the safety of their crops and livestock. He used the remainder of his time to tout the Railway Safety Act of 2023, a bipartisan bill he and Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania) and a number of Republicans are proposing. "It would be a good start by Norfolk Southern to tell us today, in addition to what they're going to do for the people of Ohio and Pennsylvania, tell us today that they support the bill," Casey said. When pressed, Shaw said he wouldn't support all of the provisions of the bill, but he said the company is committed to the legislative intent to make rail safer. TAMAQUA, Pa. - People in Schuylkill County celebrated Thursday, as it finally became official: the historic Tamaqua train station is now a U.S. postal stamp. It's one of five railroad stations chosen across the entire country. We're used to trains taking us places. But now the historic Tamaqua Railroad Station in Schuylkill County is going places itself... opr, at least its image is. The landmark station is one of just five in the entire country immortalized on a U.S. postal stamp. "I do believe when your blood, sweat and tears go into it and you see the end result and then you see it to be nationally recognized," Beth Trexler, Postmaster of Tamaqua Post Office, said. "I think that's a huge commitment and honor to the community." The blood, sweat and tears Trexler is talking about has to do with the station's nearly 150-year history. It opened in 1874 and was once a regional hub, but eventually as anthracite coal was replaced by other fuels, usage dwindled and it closed in 1980. "It was really a blighted property right in the middle of Tamaqua," Micah Gursky, Director of Tamaqua SOS Save Our Station, said the station was on the brink of demolition in the 80s. "The building had fallen into disrepair," Gursky said. "There were several arson fires here, the windows were boarded up, the roof was collapsing. But instead of turning it into a parking lot, a few community members took a stand to save it, buying it in 1992 and spending 13 years restoring it. And while it's no longer that kind of train station that actually helps you go places, it does bring in tourists from all over for the fine-dining restaurant, free summer concerts and other events. "You don't see anything like this anywhere," Debbie Wagner, Concierge of Tamaqua Train Station, said. "Other towns are trying to do this, but they're not near as far as we are." Now, folks from all over the country can stick its likeness on their letters. Aside from Tamaqua's, the other stations chosen are Point of Rocks Station in Maryland; Main Street Station in Richmond, VA; Santa Fe Station in San Bernardino, CA; and Union Terminal in Cincinnati, OH. The cast of Wildfire Road ( Helen Murray) One can well see a good play about climate change dependent on the hi-jacking of an aeroplane flight by a mysterious stranger to take them to safety while Europe burns below. Sadly, I dont think Wildfire Road is that play, though it does provide 55 minutes of eventful, varied and (at times literally) explosive action. The Playhouse is transformed by the presence of six airline seats across the acting area, a little space for the flight attendant and a screen which can reflect the passengers or open up to reveal the flight deck. Before the start Rina, the flight attendant, welcomes passengers aboard at considerable intervals of time. Then we go into the safety procedure which suddenly transforms into a wild dance for all and sundry up and down the aisle. Clearly it is going to be no ordinary flight! A television screen at the front of the cabin serves as a commentary on the action, identifying characters by name, pointing out whats going on: the passengers discussing who first noticed the hi-jacker, the reasons why they are going to Tokyo, the planned destination, time for prayer and so on. Concerted howls, yells and passengers shaking in their seats reinforce the horror while in between we get cold statistics about wildfires in Australia. As we near destruction, a model of the aeroplane makes its uncertain way across the acting area while the cast sings, The Wind Beneath My Wings. As Rina the flight attendant, Siubhan Harrison tries to maintain a somewhat frosty calm before descending into a mess of screamed obscenities. Mariella (Phoebe Naughton) and Dave (Mark Weinman) debate the mysterious circumstances that brought them there in pleasingly inconsequential terms. Raj Bajaj doubles the co-pilot with an ultra-cautious passenger and Zoe West as the pilot bemoans the fact that this had to happen with a female pilot and (at first) looks forward to her honeymoon in Tokyo with Ruby (Robyn Sinclair). And, among all those, no mention of the hi-jacker who, in fact, is just a mask assumed by various cast members. All six performers do well, not especially as individual characters, but in finding the right intensity or poetry in short extracts or in responding perfectly together in agonising shrieks or manic dancing. Director Laura Keefe fills the limited space with dynamic action and a stylish design team supports her admirably. Its Eve Leighs script that troubles me, with its seemingly random mix of styles. At its current very short length, Leigh hardly has time to develop her thoughts. Perhaps a strange thing to say, but I believe it could even benefit from being twice as long. Vietnam is the fifth most popular destination for property investment for wealthy Singaporeans after Australia, India, Hong Kong, and mainland China, according to a new report. Ultra-high-net-worth (UHNWI) individuals, defined as those with a net worth of US$30 million or more, find property prices in Vietnam reasonable compared to other top investment destinations, the 2023 Wealth Report by market data researcher Knight Frank said. With $1 million an investor could buy 162 square meters of property in Ho Chi Minh City last year, ranking it third behind Sao Paulo in Brazil (256 square meters) and Cape Town in South Africa (220 sq.m). This was more affordable than in Dubai, Mumbai, Madrid, Melbourne, and Berlin. Managing director of Knight Frank Vietnam, Alex Crane, said foreign investors have special interest in the Vietnamese property market as shown by large private property investments last year. But in 2023 Vietnam property might face competition from all around Asia because investors are also looking to gain from other developing economies in the region, he said. Singapore is the second biggest investor in Vietnam out of 140 countries and territories with a total of $71.85 billion, and the biggest in HCMC with nearly $14.02 billion. Globally, the top five property investment destinations for the wealthy are France, Spain, Italy, the UK, and Greece. UHNWI in the Asia Pacific region invested $1.53 billion in property last year, up 30% from 2021. China's reopening as Covid-19 restrictions have been lifted has strongly lifted Vietnamese agricultural and fishery exports to the country, according to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam. Speaking at a recent trade promotion forum, he opined that China's dismantling of its Covid-19 lockdowns had given a big push to bilateral trade, with Vietnamese exports to China in February rising by 33% month-on-month. The Mong Cai-Dongxing Border Gate was immediately reopened after the good news came in, leading to scores of traders flocking to the gate to look for Chinese partners. The gate plays a prominent role in bilateral trade because it commercially connects Quang Ninh province with China's Guangxi province. The latter is the third-largest importer of Vietnamese seafood, importing 75% of its annual fishery consumption. To Van Quang, vice chairman of the Vietnam-China Business Association in Guangxi, mentioned his Dong Dang Industrial Investment Company, which was pushing hard for a Vietnamese seafood trading centre in Fangchenggang City. He said its efforts have paid off as 600,000 tonnes of cold storeage warehouse are being built by the municipal authorities. Once finished, the warehouse would allow Vietnamese seafood to enter China in larger quantities and with lower lead times. He also revealed that the company plans to import 35,000 tonnes of durians, 120,000 tonnes of purple sweet potatoes, and certain quantities of seafood to China this year. Tran Thi Bich Ngoc, head of the Management Board, Mong Cai International Border Gate, estimated that Vietnamese agricultural and fishery exports to China via the gate grew by around 60% year by year. Many people first walk into a yoga studio and expect a lot of stretching, touching your toes, and a slow workout in a heated room on a sweaty mat but theres a lot more to it, says Muddy Waters Yoga Studio owner Heather Beier. Thats just one little bit of it. Yoga is an ancient practice of how to live well essentially how to live free, free from suffering, free from what burdens you. Thats really what the practice is, said Beier. Its an invitation for more inward experience and more introspection. I feel really strongly that yoga isnt just what we do on the mat, but off the map. So thats where those experiences are a way that we can apply these principles of yoga in our lives. After working in the Winona school district for nine years teaching elementary English language learners, Beier transitioned to yoga studio owner in 2017. She had been engaged in yoga and teaching yoga since before Muddy Waters opened its doors on West Third Street in downtown Winona. With the core values of education, connection and experience, the studio offers a variety of classes including slow flow, power flow and barre, which takes the form of a combination between yoga and Pilates. Beier said the studio also offers yoga retreats and teacher training. When we first opened there were about five of us, and now my team has over 12 people, said Beier. We do big things, too. We started teacher trainings. Were a yoga school through the state of Minnesota. The other big thing is retreats. Weve gone to Greece, Spain and places in the States. Thats really grown, too. I never thought that was possible when we first opened. Beier said walking into Muddy Waters for a session is a chance to leave everything happening outside the studio behind, which can be the hardest part. Entering a space for introspection and getting comfortable in the physical practice doesnt happen overnight, said Beier, but yoga is about small, incremental changes in the direction of where you want to go. Starting anything new is scary and, I think, especially a group class. Our community is awesome though; you walk in and someones got your back. The other thing is that yoga is a practice, not something to perfect, said Beier. Our biggest thing is to listen to what you need and listen to your body. Everyones at different levels. You walk into any class and youll see all different ages and ranges and shapes and sizes. Each of Muddy Waters teachers has at least 200 hours of education, said Beier, and all of them prioritize helping people feel safe and welcomed. Being a part of the Winona community is something Beier said shes proud of. Muddy Waters has hosted yoga around the city at festivals like Mid West Music Fest, at the levee, and at Garvin Heights City Park. Muddy Waters Yoga Studio Address: 270 W. Third Street, Suite 3, Winona Contact: 507-556-1865 Schedule & Hours: muddywatersyoga.com When the COVID-19 pandemic hit within three years of opening Muddy Waters, Beier said the studio had to go into hibernation, and opening back up was like starting brand new. Since then, I would say were still not back to where we were before COVID, but were getting there. Our classes are getting bigger again and we have a great community and people that support us. It feels so great to pack the room, but then it feels great to just have a small class, too. Whether its one person or 20 people were here to support, Beier said. I think all of us at Muddy Waters are really about helping people, and so now I think the future is bright. I think people start to realize that while the physical practices are important, even more so the mental piece is too. We live such a fast-paced life, and to give yourself some time to put the phone away and to quiet the fluctuations of the mind is important too. Photos: Street yoga on the North Side of La Crosse Street yoga in La Crosse Street yoga in La Crosse Street yoga in La Crosse Street yoga in La Crosse Street yoga in La Crosse Street yoga in La Crosse Street yoga in La Crosse Street yoga in La Crosse Street yoga in La Crosse The Al. Ringling Brewery, 623 Broadway, Baraboo, will host Give Back Sunday from 11 a.m. to close March 26. Silent auction and raffle offered. Open to the public with 10% of sales benefiting the Wisconsin Big Cat Rescue and Education Center. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation will host a public involvement meeting to discuss improvements on Highway 113 from Hwy. 78 in Merrimac to Mount Street in Baraboo, in Sauk County, from 5-7 p.m. March 23 at Baraboo Council Chambers at City Hall, 135 Fourth St., Baraboo. The objective of this meeting is to familiarize the public with the purpose and need for the project and to obtain input on the proposed improvements. This project will improve Hwy. 113 by replacing the existing pavement. The horizontal curve will also be reconstructed to a safer radius. Hwy. 113 will be closed during construction, detour to be determined. Construction is anticipated for 2026. Adjacent property owners are encouraged to attend. If unable to attend or for more information, contact WisDOT project manager Marc Schweiger at 608-245-2633, marc.schweiger@dot.wi.gov or mail comments to Marc Schweiger, 2101 Wright St., Madison, WI 53704. Citizens who are deaf or hard of hearing and require an interpreter may request one by contacting Marc Schweiger at least three working days prior to the meeting. There can be heart in huevos rancheros. There can be soul in enchiladas suizas. There can be a sense of community over a platter of carnitas. Jose Louis Parra Vera knows this. Thats why his restaurants in the area are so successful and why hes expanding. We are here to work hard and bring bread to the table, he said. That bread is being broken a lot in the last handful of days. Joses Authentic Mexican Restaurant had a ribbon-cutting at their new location in Sauk City this week. Last week, the Baraboo location celebrated its 11th anniversary. I love what I do, he said. I look forward every day to get to work. Work is hard. Work is good. The 42-year-old was born and raised in Veracruz, Mexico. He moved to the United States at the age of 12, bringing with him a strong work ethic, a desire to help others, and the memories of being in the kitchen with his mother. In Eau Claire, in the early 2000s, he worked at a Mexican restaurant, learning the ropes. By 2007 he was working in Baraboo and opened Joses Authentic Mexican Restaurant in 2012. I love the Baraboo community, he said over a plate of special vallarta. We come together for big things. Big things could mean many things. Big things, in the community, could be helping out a local family in need; contributing to an organization or a cause; or simply having a birthday party with family and friends. The walls of photographs in the Baraboo restaurant of people enjoying their birthday at the establishment are a testament to Joses food, work, and efforts to warmly bring people together. We care about our customers, he said. We want our restaurant to feel like home. Thats because, for Jose, the area is home. He and his family they have five children want the community to enjoy themselves over plates of nachos fajitas del mar, burritos el vallarta, and queso fondito, But, also, more than that, the restauranteur wants us all to respect one another. No colors, he said, No races. We should see each other as people. People, maybe with a margarita at hand, or a pile of chips with some fresh guacamole. I do this with all my heart, he said. The restaurant has consistently been voted best of. One of his newer locations is inside the Ho-Chunk Casino. He also has dining in Wisconsin Dells on Stand Rock Road. He also has a mobile truck that he deploys frequently to small Wisconsin towns that may not ordinarily have access to eat authentic Mexican food. The Sauk City location is on Phillips Boulevard. Open at 11 a.m. seven days a week, Jose is excited about building yet another community bond by way of churros and chimichangas. I have the best job, he said proudly. I make people happy. A man is facing numerous counts of possession of child pornography in Sauk County after law enforcement received tips from a national exploited children organization. Robert A. Scace, 50, Poynette, allegedly told police he downloaded the images to see if they had been edited, according to court documents. Scace is facing five counts of possession of child pornography. If convicted, Scace faces up to 15 years in prison followed by up to 10 years of extended supervision for each count. Online records show Scace remains in custody at the Sauk County Jail. His cash bond was set at $2,500 at his initial appearance is on March 8. According to the criminal complaint: The Baraboo Police Department received the case from the Wisconsin Department of Justice on Feb. 14. A pair of cyber tips of apparent child pornography from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children were received in December. The two images showed nude prepubescent children, and one included an adult male in the photo. Baraboo police learned the image was downloaded by an IP address on Moore Street in Baraboo. Authorities obtained a search warrant of the home on Feb. 27 and surveilled the home where Scace lived with Paul Anderson. The search warrant was served on March 3 by Baraboo Police and a multi-jurisdictional Sauk County task force including the Sauk County Emergency Response Team and the State Division of Criminal Investigation. Scace and Anderson were detained without incident. Scace agreed to talk to police, who initially believed Anderson was downloading the images. Scace said Anderson was his roommate and was not savvy with technology and allegedly admitting it was he who downloaded the photos. The complaint details all 15 of the images the DCI recovered from Scaces computer. Most of the images described in the complaint show pre-pubescent and early pubescent children, some allegedly performing sex acts with adult men. Anderson was charged with possession of a firearm by a felon following the search warrant of the Moore Street residence. Court records show he was convicted in 2016 of felony stalking in Sauk County. Scace is set to be back in Sauk County Courthouse for a pre-trial conference in April and a preliminary hearing scheduled for May. The Portage Parks and Recreation Department is set to plant 89 trees this year with the help of a grant. The city is also continuing to remove invasive trees across the city to stop the spread of emerald ash borer. Parks and Recreations Department Manager Toby Monogue gave his annual report to the city council Thursday night. He talked about removing trees and gearing up for spring/summer programs during another Thursday snow storm. We continue planting more trees than we are removing, Monogue said. The city is set to plant 89 trees this spring with the potential for more with the help of a grant from Alliant Energy. Monogue said the Alliant Community Tree program grant amounts to $4,645 and will be used to plant 32 trees by the Columbia County Fairgrounds. Those grant funds will give us the opportunity to plant 25-30 trees in the fall, Monogue said. Portage has been recognized as a Tree City USA by the Arbor Day Foundation for 28 years. In 2021 the city planted 95 trees and marked 160 trees for removal mostly due to the emerald ash borer. Last year the city planted 111 trees and removed 83 trees across Portage. The city council later also approved a resolution to enter into agreement with a logging company to harvest trees on city property and land owned by the Historic Indian Agency House. The black locust trees will be harvested in hopes of preventing them from becoming invasive in the area. The contract with McElroy Logging outlines the trees will be removed in March. Monogue said this wont cost the city any money as McElroy Logging will be taking the timber as payment for removing the trees. The council also approved changes to the citys tree nuisance ordinance. Monogue said these changes will give the city forester the ability to determine if trees on private property have the potential to damage structures. This will allow the forester to inspect trees to determine if they could potentially fall on your garage or cause damage to property, Monogue said. He added the person who owns the land is responsible for removing nuisance trees. Portage Cab Fare to increase The Portage City Council voted to approve increased taxicab fares for all riders. The council voted 8-0 in favor of raising fares Thursday night. Each fare will increase at least 25 cents. An adult ride will increase from $4.25 to $4.75 and student, senior and disabled fares will increase from $3.25 to $3.50. Agency fares will increase from $9 to $10 a ride. Out-of-town rates will remain at $2.25 per mile. The surcharge from midnight to 5 a.m. will stay at $1 more per ride. The new fares will go into effect on April 1. The Portage Cab Company is owned by Running Inc. of Viroqua. The company provides shared rides through a mass transportation service offered by the city through federal funding. The Public Transit Assistance Program administered through the Wisconsin Department of Transportation ensures municipalities with populations of 50,000 or less, likely unable to support public mass transit like a bus system throughout the city, can provide public transit. A train runs on the Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien metro line in HCMC as a trial, December 21, 2022. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran Ho Chi Minh City is calling on Singapore to invest in several major infrastructure projects worth billions of U.S. dollars, including highways, ring roads and metro lines. At a Thursday meeting on the current business climate and cooperation between Vietnam and Singapore, Ho Chi Minh Citys Investment and Trade Promotion Center (ITPC) presented several upcoming projects to investors from Singapore. ITPCs presentation included major traffic infrastructure projects like the HCMC-Moc Bai highway (worth VND15.9 trillion, or $671 million), the Can Gio Bridge (VND10 trillion), Ring Road 4 (VND19.2 trillion) and the Long Binh ICD Port (VND6 trillion). Metro rail projects were also included, such as two sections of the 3A metro line (worth VND42.4 trillion and VND21.1 trillion), the 3B metro line (VND41.1 trillion) and the No.4 metro line (VND100.5 trillion). Other projects included a smart city operation center and a data processing center. Khoo Choon Keng, head of the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI), said the investment environment in Ho Chi Minh City and throughout Vietnam is advantageous after the countrys post-Covid-19 reopening. He said he holds the Vietnamese market in high regard. Its population of almost a hundred million people, as well as its young and well-trained workforce, make Vietnam very attractive, Keng added. Cao Xuan Thang, First Secretary of the Vietnam Trade Office in Singapore, said Singaporean businesses are paying attention to Vietnam, especially after Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinhs visit to Singapore last month. Industry and commerce are the two fields that investors from both countries are most interested in, he added. In January, Singapore ranked second among 140 countries and territories currently investing in Vietnam, with a total registered capital of around $72 billion. In Ho Chi Minh City, Singapore accounts for more FDI than any of the other 116 countries and territories investing in the city. Singapore has deployed over 1,677 projects in the southern hub, with a total investment of over $14 billion. Director General of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Samantha Power speaks at a press meet in Hanoi on March 10 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Vu Anh The U.S. will supply DNA technology to help Vietnam to identify the remains of soldiers who died during the Vietnam War, said U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Marc Knapper. "We will bring the best and most advanced DNA technology to Vietnam in the hope of helping Vietnamese people find their relatives who died in the war," Knapper said on Friday. His statement was made at a press conference at which Director General of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Samantha Power was in attendance. Power has been on a visit to Vietnam for a week already. Knapper said that Washington is very interested in searching for missing soldiers, emphasizing that the US will increase cooperation efforts with Vietnam to cope with the consequences of war. In addition to technology sharing, Knapper said the U.S. needs to help the Vietnamese government and researchers access data sources developed by the U.S. that help identify the remains of soldiers killed in action (KIA) during the war. "This is a very time-consuming process but the U.S. government and USAID have a very strong commitment to support Vietnam," Knapper said. USAID Director General Samantha Power said the U.S. can also apply its DNA analyzing experience accumulated in Bosnia and African to aid Vietnam in searching for the remains of hundreds of thousands of its soldiers who remain missing in action (MIA). "I see the prospect of a strategic partnership between the U.S. and Vietnam. USAID will do all it can to strengthen the friendship between the peoples of two countries, which we both cherish," Power said. As part of her visit to Vietnam, Power met Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Friday. The PM suggested that USAID continue stepping up its support to Vietnam in overcoming the consequences of the war, especially in dioxin (Agent Orange) decontamination, unexploded ordnance clearance and other areas of cooperation. During a meeting with Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son, Power said that USAID will continue to focus on solving war legacy issues, including dioxin decontamination at Bien Hoa Airport, and improving DNA testing capacity for Vietnamese scientists to search for and identify the remains of Vietnamese MIAs, improve health and social services to boost the quality of life of people with disabilities, and assist Vietnam in mitigating the effects of climate change. Power on Wednesday attended the handover ceremony of 30,000 m2 of clean land at the Bien Hoa Airport to the defense ministry following dioxin contamination removal. The land area, located to the southwest of the airport in the southern Dong Nai Province, will eventually be turned into a park. The US also provided an additional $73 million for the treatment and cleansing of soil at the Bien Hoa Airport. Between 1961 and 1971, the U.S. military sprayed some 80 million liters of Agent Orange, a compound of dioxins and dioxin-like mixtures, over 78,000 square kilometers (30,000 square miles) of southern Vietnam. Tibetan people perform dances during Losar. [Xinhua] Tibetan New Year, also known as Losar, is the most important festival in Tibet and is celebrated for 15 days, typically falling in February or March. In 2023, Tibetan New Year fell on Feb 21. This festive season is a time of renewal and optimism, marking the start of the Tibetan lunar calendar. The celebrations include a range of customs and traditions that reflect the unique culture and identity of the Tibetan people. Preparation Before the arrival of the New Year, Tibetans engage in thorough cleaning of their homes and surroundings. This practice is to get rid of any negativity or bad luck that might have accumulated in the previous year. They also make offerings to the gods and ancestors to seek blessings for the upcoming year. Tibetan people pray for a prosperous new year. [Xinhua] Decoration Decorating homes and public places is a common custom during Losar. Houses are adorned with bright and colorful banners and prayer flags, while the streets are lined with lanterns and colorful decorations. In addition, people also decorate their clothes with intricate patterns, and their hair is styled in an intricate fashion. A local family get-together during Tibetan New Year [Xinhua] Feasting During the New Year celebrations, Tibetans indulge in rich and delicious feasts with their family and friends. Traditional dishes such as momos, a type of steamed dumpling filled with meat or vegetables, and Tibetan butter tea, made from yak butter and tea leaves, are served. Sweet treats like Tibetan butter cookies and dried fruit are also enjoyed. Dancing and Singing Music and dance are an integral part of the Losar celebrations. Villagers gather in public spaces and dance around bonfires, singing and playing traditional instruments like the Dungchen (a long trumpet), the Gyaling (a double-reed horn) and the Damru (a small drum). A Tibetan prepares offerings during Losar. [Xinhua] Offerings Tibetan people offer prayers and make offerings to the gods and deities during Losar. The offerings typically include food, incense and flowers. These offerings are believed to bring good fortune and blessings to the individuals and community. Closing Ceremonies The Losar celebrations come to an end with the Chunga Choepa ceremony, a ritualistic offering to appease the local deities. People gather in public spaces and light incense and candles while offering food, drinks and other items to the gods. This is followed by the ritual of throwing Tsampa, a roasted barley flour, into the air as a symbol of letting go of the past year and embracing new beginnings The customs of Tibetan New Year are deeply rooted in the culture and traditions of the Tibetan people. The Losar celebrations are a time of joy, renewal and reflection, and the customs and traditions associated with this festival reflect the rich history and heritage of this fascinating culture. Tibetan New Year, also known as Losar, is the most important festival in Tibet and is celebrated for 15 days. [Xinhua] Tibetan New Year, also known as Losar, is the most important festival in Tibet and is celebrated for 15 days. [Xinhua] Tibetan New Year, also known as Losar, is the most important festival in Tibet and is celebrated for 15 days. [Xinhua] Tibetan New Year, also known as Losar, is the most important festival in Tibet and is celebrated for 15 days. [Xinhua] Tibetan New Year, also known as Losar, is the most important festival in Tibet and is celebrated for 15 days. [Xinhua] Tibetan New Year, also known as Losar, is the most important festival in Tibet and is celebrated for 15 days. [Xinhua] (Source: chinadaily.com.cn) This photo taken on March 1, 2023 shows a homestay at Muguashan Village in Jingle County, north China's Shanxi Province. [Xinhua/Wang Hao] TAIYUAN, March 8 (Xinhua) Yao Yanmei, a thin woman with slightly dark skin, is busy sorting goods in her sesame oil workshop in a farmyard in north China's Shanxi Province. In her early thirties, she is already a well-known figure in her village. From growing rice and processing agricultural products to live-streaming marketing and opening a homestay, Yao's entrepreneurship in her hometown has benefitted more than 600 people from about 300 households. Yao is one of many women in China's rural areas who use their innovation and hard work to bring about changes and is part of a larger trend towards greater involvement of women in rural vitalization. Yao grew up in a small mountain village in Duanjiazhai Township in Shanxi. After graduating from the university and working for a few years, she returned to her hometown and led the effort to create rice paddy art, drawing inspiration from local paper-cutting. She also sells agricultural products from the mountains to customers across China through livestreaming and hosts a homestay that receives urbanites looking to experience life in the countryside. "Rural communities need such young people with local attachments and innovative spirit to play a leading role in driving rural economic development and improving farmers' employment and income," said Yang Fang, a local official in Duanjiazhai Township. The gradual improvement of China's digital economy infrastructure increased women's entrepreneurship and employment opportunities under digitalization. The increased level of employment of women with lower education levels has expanded the space for women's employment in China, according to the BRICS Women's Development Report 2022. In recent years, with the deepening of China's rural vitalization and policies to increase women's engagement in the workforce, women are playing an increasingly prominent role in the process. In the mountainous village of Paimo in southwest China's Guizhou Province, Zhang Yiping, 29, led women to set up a batik cooperative. Their products, made with distinct ethnic minority features, have been sold to many domestic and overseas markets. Zhang learned batik from her mother at an early age. As the local government pushes for rural vitalization and cultivation of local talents, she took the initiative to set up the cooperative, which helped boost the income of nearly 200 women. "The cooperative is close to home and has steady orders. I can earn more than 3,000 yuan (about 431 U.S. dollars) a month," said Wang Jianhou, a local woman who has worked in the cooperative for six years. China Women's Development Foundation has introduced a project for empowering women to contribute to the cause of rural vitalization. The project provides inclusive training for women in e-commerce and video creation and offers venture capital support and other resources for women entrepreneurs. In Yao's case, she received financial support from the foundation and traffic support from livestreaming platforms. "I see an increasingly broad prospect for distinct rural industries, live-streaming marketing, and e-commerce in rural areas. I have more confidence and passion to lead our rural sisters to prosperity," Yao said. Zhang Yiping (C) and other members of a batik cooperative check a batik skirt at Paimo Village of Yangwu Township in Danzhai County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Oct. 16, 2019. [Xinhua] This photo taken on March 1, 2023 shows samples of products that Yao Yanmei promotes via live-streaming at Muguashan Village in Jingle County, north China's Shanxi Province. [Xinhua/Wang Hao] (Source: Xinhua) A flooding sign on the Embarcadero during a rain storm in San Francisco, California, on Thursday. China's President Xi Jinping takes the oath of office in Beijing, on March 10 2023 after being re-elected as president for a third term. Photo by AFP Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and State President and President of Council for National Defense and Security Vo Van Thuong have congratulated Xi Jinping on his re-election as Chinas President for the third time. The two Vietnamese leaders sent the congratulatory messages on Friday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release. National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue also congratulated Zhao Leji on being elected as chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee. Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan sent a congratulatory message to Han Zhengo on his election as Vice President of China. Xi, 69, was voted as China's president for a third five-year term following an election on Friday morning, Reuters reported. During a decade of Xi's rule, China has made many achievements in poverty reduction. At the 20th National Congress last year, Xi outlined China's priority policies for the coming time, with an emphasis on high-quality education and innovation in economic growth. He identified innovation as the heart of China's modernization drive, aiming to create an open and globally competitive innovation ecosystem. In the coming working days, China's parliament is expected to elect other high-ranking positions such as prime minister, deputy prime minister, central bank governor and head of the financial agency. Man hospitalized after car crashes into farm equipment being hauled on trailer in Graves County Long-time Mideast rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia took another significant step toward reconciliation Thursday, formally restoring diplomatic ties after a seven-year rift. The agreement was reached in Beijing during a meeting between the Iranian and Saudi foreign ministers. For the first time ever, Vietnam published a white book on religion and religious policies Thursday. The 130-page book, issued by the Government Committee for Religious Affairs, includes basic information about religion in Vietnam, the Communist Partys stance on religion, the definition of religious freedom as described in Vietnams Constitution, as well as Vietnams achievements and priorities in ensuring religious freedom. Nguyen Tien Trong, deputy head of the committee, said Vietnam has around 26.5 million religious followers, accounting for 27% of the population, and around 29,600 religious facilities. Thousands of religious groups can be found in Vietnam, including a variety of congregations within the expat community, he added. According to Trong, Vietnam has consistently improved how its legal system handles religion. These improvements have been implemented to meet the peoples demands and develop the country with democracy, fairness and civility. The countrys religious situation has been improving, with several religious activities attracting followers and passersby alike. The state has recognized 36 religious organizations and approved registration certificates for religious activities for four groups, he said. (CNN) Manhattan prosecutors have invited former President Donald Trump to appear before the grand jury investigating his alleged role in a hush money payment scheme and cover-up, a person familiar with the matter said, indicating a decision on charging Trump may come soon. Potential defendants in New York are required by law to be notified and invited to appear before a grand jury weighing charges. It is unclear if Trump would appear. The New York Times first reported the development. Trump would be the first former president ever indicted and also the first major presidential candidate under indictment seeking office. He has said he "wouldn't even think about leaving" the race if charged. Trump is facing criminal inquiries related to his activities before, during and after his presidency. In addition to the New York City investigation, Fulton County, Georgia, prosecutors have been probing the effort by Trump and his allies to overturn Georgia's 2020 election results, and a Justice Department special counsel is investigating Trump's role in the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, and Trump's handling of classified material after he left office. Trump's lawyer recently met with the district attorney's office, one source told CNN. His legal team has been concerned with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's intentions because of recently ramped up activity at the grand jury, according to another source familiar with the matter. Former Trump White House aides Hope Hicks and Kellyanne Conway recently appeared before the grand jury. The Manhattan district attorney's office declined to comment to CNN. "The Manhattan District Attorney's threat to indict President Trump is simply insane. For the past five years, the DA's office has been on a Witch Hunt, investigating every aspect of President Trump's life, and they've come up empty at every turn and now this," Trump's spokesman said in a statement to CNN. Stormy Daniels hush money payment The investigation relates to a $130,000 payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels in late October 2016, days before the 2016 presidential election, to silence her from going public about an alleged affair with Trump a decade earlier. Trump has denied the affair. Court orders Donald Trump to pay legal fees in Stormy Daniels suit In his decision this week, Judge Robert Broadbelt III ruled that Clifford was entitled to legal fees, finding her the "prevailing party" under California law, despite the case having been dismissed. In a lengthy response on his Truth Social account Thursday night, Trump said in part, "I did absolutely nothing wrong, I never had an affair with Stormy Daniels." Hush money payments aren't illegal. Prosecutors are weighing whether to charge Trump with falsifying the business records of the Trump Organization for how it reflected the reimbursement of the payment to Michael Cohen, Trump's then-fixer who said he advanced the money to Daniels. Falsifying business records is a misdemeanor in New York. Prosecutors are also weighing whether to charge Trump with falsifying business records in the first degree for falsifying a record with the intent to commit another crime or to aid or conceal another crime, which in this case could be a violation of campaign finance laws. That is a Class E felony and carries a sentence of a minimum of one year and as much as four years. The Trump Organization noted the reimbursements as a legal expense in its internal books. Trump has previously denied knowledge of the payment. If the district attorney's office moves forward with charges, it's not without risk. Trump's lawyers could challenge whether campaign finance laws would apply as a crime to make the case a felony. CNN reported last month that Jeffrey McConney, the controller of the Trump Organization, would appear in front of the grand jury, according to people familiar with matter. McConney is one of the highest-ranking financial officers at the Trump Organization and has responsibility for its books and records. Cohen meets with prosecutors Trump's former personal attorney Michael Cohen is meeting with the Manhattan district attorney's office on Friday and is set to appear Monday as well, CNN's Don Lemon has reported. Speaking to reporters has he walked into court Friday, Cohen said he has not yet testified in front of a grand jury. "I have to applaud District Attorney Bragg for giving Donald the opportunity to come in and to tell his story," Cohen said. "Now knowing Donald as well as I do, understand that, he doesn't tell the truth. It's one thing to turn around and to lie on your 'Untruth Social' and it's another thing to turn around and to lie before a grand jury. So I don't suspect that he's going to be coming." When asked about whether the invitation for Trump to testify in front of the grand jury may indicate an indictment is near, Cohen said, "That seems to be the general consensus." The gunman who killed three Michigan State University students and critically wounded five others last month in a mass shooting wrote in a note found in his pocket that he was "tired of being rejected and was hurt, police said on March 10. Designer Tran Phuong Hoa presented her latest collection of delicate, high-end silk wedding dresses at Paris Fashion Week. The collection of 15 designs, titled "Thuong", was inspired by Hoas love for her family and homeland. "I have lived in the U.S. for two years. I wanted to return to Vietnam but couldnt due to Covid-19. During that time, many of my friends and customers had to cancel their weddings. This inspired me to create this collection," Hoa said. Hoas designs aim to be sustainable fashion wear through the use of natural and environmentally friendly materials including silk, organza, satin, and chiffon. In addition to the two familiar colors of the wedding dress, white and beige, Hoa also made a black wedding dress from the famous Lanh My A silk in Tan Chau, An Giang Province. Vietnamese designer showcases wedding dresses on Paris Fashion Week runway Phuong Hoa mang vay cuoi Lanh My A len san thoi trang Paris Tran Phuong Hoa's collection "Thuong" on the runway of Paris Fashion Week. Video by Tran Phuong Hoa In mid-2022, she went to the Tam Lang textile workshop to order Lanh My A silk because the fabric had to be woven by hand and is only available in limited quantities. This type of fabric is warm in winter, cool in summer and it exudes luxuriousness. Hoa said: "After three years of research, I decided to use this fabric for the collection. During my visits to the textile workshop, I appreciated it even more when I saw how hard people there work to make the fabric. Tran Phuong Hoa (L) and the models are at backstage of her show in Paris Fashion Week. Photo by Tran Phuong Hoa According to Hoa, currently, there are not many people in the Vietnamese silk business, so the mulberry trees used to dye Lanh My A silk are no longer farmed because it takes a lot of effort and time for only meager profits. Through "Thuong", Hoa said she wants to preserve and promote more Lanh My A, a precious and fashionable Vietnamese fabric in danger of dying out and disappearing. Before Hoa, designers Vo Viet Chung and Cong Tri also presented outfits made of this fabric to the world. It took Hoa half a year to make the collection. The process of transporting the collection from Vietnam to France was a challenge for Hoa as she had to keep the form of the dresses because the material was prone to wrinkles. The rose wedding dress in the collection "Thuong" are made of the rare Lanh My A silk The 31-year-old focuses on using modern 3D rendering techniques, pleating and attaching dried flowers to the dresses. Some of the dresses are inspired by the traditional Vietnamese ao dai fused with classic European designs. In 2022, Hoa introduced the "Viet Flora" collection on the runway of New York Fashion Week. The small Pacific nation of Vanuatu, 2,600 kms north east of Sydney, is under a state of emergency after two cyclones and two earthquakes hit in as many days last week. Satellite image of path of Judy and Kevin cyclones that swept through Vanuatu, March 4 and 6, 2023. [Photo: Zoom Earth] Tropical Cyclone Kevin built to a category four on March 4 as it passed the capital Port Vila and travelled south-east. Wind gusts reached up to 230 kilometres an hour in the early morning hours. Hundreds of people were in emergency evacuation centres as destructive winds and heavy rainfall hit. No casualties were immediately reported but a number of properties were flattened and many homes and businesses reported power outages. Initial reports from Vanuatus National Disaster Management Office indicated about 80 percent of the countrys population of 320,000 has been affected, including 125,500 children. Many still remain without power, clean water or telecommunications. Cyclone Kevin came just two days after category four Cyclone Judy, that caused widespread damage and flooding. Cyclone Judy battered Port Vila the previous Wednesday, cutting power and forcing some residents to evacuate. Port Vila experienced the full force of Kevins winds. Evacuations took place in the capital. Vanuatu journalist Dan McGarry told Radio NZ Port Vila had been badly knocked about. Fuel was in short supply and a boil water order was in effect. UNICEF's Eric Durpaire said: Its crazy, Vanuatu is used to natural disasters, but I think this is the first time it has had two cyclones back to back. Devastated Vanuatu village. [Photo: @KatiegIFRC] Prime Minister Ishmael Kalsakau announced a state of emergency last Friday, saying the cyclones had created a sad state of affairs. He called on local authorities to support the communities in their clean-up and prevent the spread of diseases. Boats were advised to avoid going to sea and a red alert was in effect for Tafea province, home to just over 30,000 people. As with all such natural disasters, the twin cyclones are exposing the consequences of mass poverty and the lack of basic infrastructure. Thousands of people who live in makeshift shanty towns will be homeless in coming weeks and months and left to fend for themselves. Up to two thirds of the population relies on subsistence agriculture of yams, taro and sweet potato and face the destruction of their crops. According to McGarry, vulnerability to the impact of the cyclones was most evident in poorer communities, many in rural areas. The most vulnerable are those living in impromptu housing theyre the ones who lost their houses and had their belongings destroyed, he said. Dickinson Tevi, secretary general of the Vanuatu Red Cross Society, noted that medical centers, hospitals, and schools have been affected. Some children may not be able to go to school for weeks, maybe months, he said. Making matters worse, the island of Espiritu Santo was rocked by twin earthquakes as residents began to clean up Cyclone Judys damage. The first, a magnitude 6.5 earthquake, struck around 90 km from the city of Luganville at 5 a.m. on Friday, while a second 5.4 magnitude tremor was felt at 6.30 a.m. The island of 40,000 residents reported no casualties, but with communications down the situation remains unclear. Spread across 13 principal islands, Vanuatu is in the Pacific Ring of Fire, where tectonic plates collide, and experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity. As the cyclone system moved away from Vanuatu, Fiji was the next hit. Fijis National Disaster Management Office on Monday reported flash flooding in the West, North & Central Divisions. Schools were closed on Tuesday due to continuous rain, flooding, and disruptions to public transport. Heavy rain and flood warnings remain in place for Fiji. While the damage from the twin cyclones was reportedly not as bad as Cyclone Pam in 2015, which devastated Vanuatu, Climate Change Minister Ralph Regenvanu has now invoked the Disaster Risk Management Act to extend a six-month state of emergency to cover the entire nation. McGarry has previously noted that Pacific governments are increasingly quick to invoke extraordinary emergency powers to secure themselves in positions of increasing impunity. Vanuatus Disaster Risk Management Act has been used by successive governments, but the constitution requires that a state of emergency extension may only be made by parliament, and only for three months. The state of emergency has never been debated in parliament, McGarry reported. Cyclones Judy and Kevin hit Vanuatu late in the regions cyclone season, which stretches from November to April, but the coincidence of two such events occurring at the same time is extremely rare. They followed Cyclone Gabrielle, which hit New Zealand on February 13 and left large parts of the North Island, including the major city of Auckland, in a state of devastation after unprecedented flooding, affecting hundreds of thousands of people. Cyclone Gabrielle also followed similarly catastrophic flooding in California in January and in Lismore, Australia last year. While individual extreme weather events cannot be traced directly to global warming, a UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report (2022) found that catastrophic flooding is becoming more likely. The report noted that small islands such as those in the Pacific are increasingly affected by increases in temperature, the growing impacts of tropical cyclones (TCs), storm surges, droughts, changing precipitation patterns, sea level rise (SLR), coral bleaching and invasive species. A 2018 communique by the Pacific Islands Forum declared climate change as the single greatest threat to the livelihoods, security and wellbeing of the peoples of the Pacific. According to the UN World Risk Index, Vanuatu is more vulnerable to natural disasters than any other country on the planet. The 10 most vulnerable countries also include the Philippines, the Solomon Islands, Tonga and Papua New Guinea. Yet the populations of these countries lack basic protection against disasters. The regional imperialist powers, Australia and New Zealand, which have maintained neo-colonial control over the region for over a century, keeping Pacific nations in a state of impoverishment and backwardness, have done nothing to mitigate the increasingly existential threats of climate change. Last week, Vanuatus United Nations representative said that 105 states, including Australia, had co-sponsored a bid to have the International Court of Justice rule on the legal obligations that states have to respond to climate change. A General Assembly vote would seek a formal opinion from the international legal body on what legal obligations countries have in countering climate change. Any ruling, however, will not be binding. The initial bid did not have signatures from China or the United States, nor Indo-Pacific powers such as Indonesia and India. As has become usual with such disastrous events, the response of the major powers is not to address the urgent needs of the population but to utilise them to boost their diplomatic and geo-strategic interests and push back against China, including despatching military hardware and personnel. Canberra has sent the naval ship HMAS Canberra to Port Vila with more than 600 Australian Defence Force personnel on board along with supplies. A small, 12-strong Australian rapid assistance team is in the country and Australian Air Force aircraft are conducting aerial surveillance. France has meanwhile mobilised military assistance from its base in New Caledonia. Whatever aid funding is allocated to the disaster-affected region will be a miserable pittance compared to what is required. New Zealands Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta has announced an initial financial contribution of just $150,000, along with an Air Force transport plane containing some supplies. Dating back to Canadas founding as a federal state, public inquiries and royal commissions have served as choice instruments of the capitalist ruling elite and its political and legal-juridical representatives to defuse crises, whitewash their crimes, and prepare important, potentially controversial policy shifts and legislative changes. The just-concluded public inquiry into the Trudeau Liberal governments use of emergency powers to disperse the far-right Freedom Convoywhich menacingly occupied downtown Ottawa for more than three weeks in January-February 2022 and shut down multiple Canada-US border crossingsfollowed this pattern to a tee. Headed by Ontario Court of Appeal Justice Paul Rouleau, the Public Order Emergency Commission (POEC) published a voluminous, more than 2,000-page report that: endorses the Trudeau governments first-ever invocation of the Emergencies Act; whitewashes the support given the fascist-led Convoy by much of the ruling class and their efforts to fashion it into a far-right extra-parliamentary movement to push politics far to the right; urges Canadas governments to enhance the repressive powers of the state, including through the modernization of the Emergencies Act. Police officers gather as they prepare to dismantle the "Freedom" Convoy blockade using emergency powers Ottawa, Friday, Feb. 18, 2022. [AP Photo/Robert Bumsted] The Convoy was an event without precedent in Canadian history. Although there was and is only negligible popular support for their noxious politics, the far-right elements who instigated and led the Convoy dominated the national political stage for the better part of a month, because a powerful faction of the ruling class promoted them. Much of the corporate media, the Conservative official opposition, and the hard-right premiers of Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan supported and fanned the far-right movement to bulldoze over opposition to the elimination of all anti-COVID public health measures and to destabilize, if not unseat, the minority Trudeau government. They promoted the Convoy as the voice of ordinary working Joes and other patriotic Canadians and demanded that Trudeau negotiate with its fascistic leaders. Crucial support was also provided from within the police and national-security apparatus, as well as by retired police and Canadian Armed Forces personnel. Testimony at the POEC detailed numerous acts of omission and commission by the Ottawa Police, Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) that enabled the Convoy to occupy the environs of parliament and downtown Ottawa for weeks on end, committing acts of violence and otherwise wantonly breaking the law unimpeded. Frustrated by this opposition from within the state and political establishment, the Trudeau Liberal government ultimately reached for emergency powers. With the full-throated support of the social-democratic New Democratic Party and the trade unions, it invoked for the first time ever the more than three-decade-old Emergencies Act. The authoritarian powers the government deployed and empowered police to use included the rights: to designate No-Go areas; detain en masse those not following government orders; commandeer property and personnel (in this case tow-trucks and their drivers); and freeze bank accounts and suspend financial transactions. While invoking these draconian powers, Trudeau cynically claimed that he was acting to defend democracy. In truth, as the World Socialist Web Site explained at the time, the government deployed emergency powers to uphold the core economic, geopolitical and political interests of Canadas capitalist elite. The Convoys blockades of border-crossings were threatening billions of dollars in Canada-US trade and Ottawas relations with Washington, the cornerstone of Canadian imperialisms global strategy. There were also growing concerns in ruling-class circles that the federal governments manifest failure to enforce law and order in the national capital was undermining the authority and legitimacy of the capitalist state. No sooner was law and order restored than the Trudeau government greenlighted the provinces dismantling of whatever anti-COVID-19 mitigation measures remaineda key Convoy demandand joined hands with the pro-Convoy Conservatives in proclaiming Canadas unbreakable commitment to the US-NATO war on Russia. The Liberal governments hostility to Canadians democratic rights emerged strikingly in the testimony of the prime minister, Justice Minister David Lametti, and other top officials before the POEC. There they admitted that the cabinet had secretly reinterpretedin effect, rewrotethe Emergencies Act so as to meet the legal threshold for invoking emergency powers. To this day, the government steadfastly refuses to make public the Justice Departments reinterpretation of the Emergencies Act, the legal instrument whereby it rewrote the law. This sets, to say the least, a most ominous precedent. The very legislation that is meant to stipulate under what purportedly exceptional circumstances the government can suspend basic democratic rights can be secretly amended to make it easier to do so at will, behind the backs of the Canadian people and parliament. Not even Justice Rouleau in his capacity as head of the POEC was allowed to see the governments legal justification for invoking the Emergencies Act. He criticized this both during the POECs hearings last November and in his final report. Nevertheless, this did not stop him, in his rush to paper over the growing breakdown of Canadas bourgeois democratic order, from asserting in the commissions report that the governments resort to emergency powers was appropriate and the very high threshold for invocation was met. Rouleau covers up the reactionary political forces who backed the Convoy In like fashion Rouleaus report minimizes the fascistic character of the Convoy and, even more importantly, politically exonerates those sections of the political establishment and police-national security apparatus that encouraged it and sought to use it as a weapon to intimidate the public and destabilize the elected federal government. Rouleau attributes the authorities inaction in the face of the Convoys occupation of Ottawa and subsequent border blockades to what he calls failures in federalism and policing. The so-called failure in federalism he puts down to excessive political partisanship. Adopting the language of a high school civics class, he explains that Canadas federal system demands that governments at all levels, and those who lead them ... rise above politics and collaborate for the common good. During the Convoy crisis, he goes on to lament, Unfortunately, this did not always happen. All of this serves to cover up that a powerful faction of the ruling classcomprised of those who are typically the most vehement in denouncing and quickest to illegalize working class opposition and who treat addicts and the homeless as criminalsencouraged the Convoy in what Rouleau himself calls lawlessness for definite reactionary political ends. A group of Saskatchewan Conservative MPs and a Senator show their support for the far-right "Freedom" Convoy occupation of downtown Ottawa. Ex-Conservative leader Andrew Scheer is third from left. [Photo: Twitter/CPC] The POEC report does single out Ontarios hard-right, Doug Ford-led Progressive Conservative government for special criticism, calling its actions troubling. It observes that for weeks the Ford government refused to take any serious action to bring the Ottawa occupation to an end, although it, not the federal government, had the constitutional responsibility and authority to do so. On Fords orders, Ontario ministers and officials also systematically boycotted planned tripartite Ottawa-Ontario-federal government meetings to discuss the crisis. The Ontario governments laissez-faire attitude only changed when the automakers and other sections of big business demanded it put an end to the blockade of the Ambassador Bridge that joins Windsor, Ontario and Detroit. The political motivations for the actions of Fordan erstwhile Donald Trump enthusiast who has cultivated his own far-right followingand his government are clear. Like the federal Conservatives, they sought to use the Convoy as a bludgeon against anti-COVID measures and to destabilize the Liberal government. They wanted Trudeau to have to politically own any police action against the Convoy, so as not to upset their allies in the far-right. Moreover, in the event it ended in violence, they calculated that they could use it to blame and muster opposition to the Liberal government. Rouleau however scrupulously avoids drawing any such political conclusions. He merely expresses his frustration that Ford and Ontarios Deputy Premier and then- Attorney-General Sylvia Jones went to court to escape having to testify before the POEC. Rouleau is similarly willfully blind when it comes to evaluating the many police failures. Numerous police and police-intelligence witnesses before the POEC, all of them senior officials, expressed their sympathy for the Convoy. Other evidence revealed police top brass were concerned whether any order they might issue to take meaningful action against the Convoy would be followed. Convoy leaders, for their part, testified that they benefited from numerous leaks from the police and Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS). Yet Rouleau attributes the polices failure and apparent inability to enforce the law against the Convoy and disperse it in a timely fashion to jurisdictional squabbles among the various police and national-security agencies, legal impediments to their joint action, incompetence, and resentments over the recent appointment of Ottawas first-ever black police chief. This narrative underpins the POECs 56 recommendations, which as a whole would further empower the very repressive institutions of the state that the Convoy crisis revealed to be chock-full of far-right sympathizers. Bolstering the repressive powers of the state Many of Rouleaus recommendations are aimed at making the national security apparatus and police more effective in responding to and, if need be suppressing, large-scale protests and social unrest. These include increasing police inter-operability so forces can be more rapidly deployed, including across provincial boundaries; and better pooling intelligence, including by reducing or eliminating any remaining legal barriers to intelligence sharing between CSIS, the premier domestic spy agency, and the countrys police forces. Rouleau urges the federal and provincial governments and police and intelligence agencies to establish a national intelligence coordinator for major eventsa catchphrase which could subsume everything from official international gatherings to strikes, indigenous protests or mass anti-war actionsof a national or interprovincial or inter-territorial dimension. The Ontario government is similarly urged to create a major event management unit. Public Order Emergency Commission hearing Nov. 21, 2022. Justice Rouleau is on the far right. On the screen is a slide that explains CSIS Director David Vigneault recommended Trudeau invoke emergency powers based on "everything he had seen to that point" and the government's secret reinterpretation of the act. [Photo: Public Order Emergency Committee/Twitter ] Rouleau recommends the federal government work with other levels of government to identify critical trade transportation corridors and infrastructure, and establish protocols to prevent them being disrupted or shut down by protests. He proposes Canadas governments empower police to create exclusion zones to exclude large protests and or vehicles from important public spaces and facilities, citing repressive laws in Britain and Australia as models to follow. He further recommends the federal government consider tasking a specific agency or department with monitoringthat is spying onsocial media. Rouleau justifies the above and many of his other recommendations as a means of avoiding having to use such a blunt, transparently anti-democratic instrument as the Emergencies Act. Yet he also recommends that the Emergencies Act be modernized to give the federal government greater latitude in its use by including all situations that could legitimately pose a serious risk to the public order, now and in the foreseeable future. In their testimony at the POEC, Deputy Prime Minister Freeland, other top Liberal government officials, and the current and several previous CSIS directors argued that the government needed a more expansive definition of threats to public orderspecifically one that identified threats to the economic security of Canada as national security threats. This would make it even easier to invoke emergency powers against any upsurge in the class struggle, be it a general strike or mass defiance, as undertaken by Ontario education support workers last November, against a draconian anti-strike law that precipitated large-scale sympathy strikes. On February 8, 2022, less than a week before Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act, a World Socialist Web Site Perspective warned, Absent the political intervention of the working class, all possible outcomes to the current standoff in Ottawa will produce only a further lurch to the right, imperiling the most fundamental democratic and social rights of the working class. This prognosis has been validated in spades. The Rouleau reportwith its sanctioning of Trudeaus resort to emergency powers, whitewashing of the support extended to the far-right Convoy by much of the political establishment and state apparatus, and its proposals to enhance the repressive powers of the stateconstitutes a further warning as to the extent to which Canadian democracy is rotting on its feet. While the population has been bombarded over the past month with unsubstantiated claims from anonymous intelligence-agency sources that China is seeking to subvert Canadian democracy, the evidence collected by, if not the conclusions of, the Rouleau report underscore that workers democratic and social rights face an incomparably greater threat from all factions of the ruling elitebe they supporters of the far-right Convoy, more expansive powers of state repression, or both. The breakdown of bourgeois democracy is a global process, exemplified by Trumps failed January 6, 2021 coup and the derisory response of the Democrats. The latter are more concerned with propping up the Republican Party to wage war against Russia than prosecuting the coup plotters and alerting the American people to the threat to their democratic rights. Everywhere the ruling class is turning to authoritarian methods of rule and cultivating fascist forces as its shock troops to suppress an inevitable explosion of working-class opposition to war, its ruinous profits-before-lives pandemic policy, and decades of austerity and deepening social inequality. The defence of democratic rights depends upon infusing the growing movement of the working class with an anti-capitalist, that is an international-socialist, perspective. In an earlier comment, the World Socialist Web Site described the major earthquake disaster that shook large areas of southern Turkey and northern Syria in early February as a devastating indictment of world capitalism. While governments worldwide expend enormous resources on rearmament and war, they are neglecting the most urgent needs of the broad masses of the population. The victims of the earthquake are being given only paltry handouts. Aerial photo shows the destruction in Kahramanmaras, southern Turkey, Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. [AP Photo/Ahmet Akpolat] German imperialism is playing a particularly vile role in this regard. To date, the German government has pledged just 108 million euros to support those in the affected region. Compare this sum to the 100 billion euros made available virtually overnight to finance the biggest military rearmament in Germany since Hitler, announced a year ago by Chancellor Scholz (SPD) in his infamous new foreign policy era speech. The sum allocated for extra spending on the German army is almost a thousand times more than the money allotted for the earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria! Almost a fortnight ago, both Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Green Party) and Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) travelled to the earthquake region to feign sympathy for the victims. Our sympathy is not exhausted in words, declared Baerbock, adding that such sympathy would not abate even if the catastrophe and its consequences were replaced by other headlines in the news. Her colleague Faeser laid it on even thicker: It tears our hearts to see the inconceivable devastation and endless suffering this earthquake has caused in Turkey and Syria. It was very important for the German government to provide immediate and comprehensive assistance in close coordination with the Turkish authorities, the Interior Minister said. Who are Baerbock and Faeser trying to kid with their crocodile tears? The German government is coldly abandoning the people in Turkey and Syria to their fate. The special funding provided by the government to escalate NATOs war against Russia in Ukraine would be sufficient to repair the worst of the earthquake damage and also provide considerable reconstruction aid. According to the World Bank, the material damage caused by the earthquake, which caused countless people to lose all their belongings, amounts to at least 34.2 billion US dollars (about 32.4 billion euros) for Turkey. For Syria, the property damage is estimated at around 5.1 billion US dollars (around 4.8 billion euros), although this figure is provisional. The reconstruction costs for both countries are estimated to be about double that sum. Although severe aftershocks may still increase the property damage (and also the human suffering), even then the 100 billion euros would probably not be exhausted. The sum pledged so far by the German government to earthquake victims is merely a drop in the ocean, at the same time the ruling class in Germany is demanding even more for rearmament. More and more heavy weapons are being delivered to Kiev for the NATO war against Russia, as Scholz revealed in his government statement on the anniversary of his new era speech. Far more serious than the material damage is the human tragedy of the disaster: According to current estimates, 53,000 people have died so far. In Turkey, 45,089 deaths have been confirmed and 8,476 in Syria. More victims are being added every day, and the number of unreported cases is likely to be far higher than the official figures for both countries. Meanwhile, an entire region suffers from homelessness, hunger and adverse climate conditions. Many have to hold out in emergency shelters or even in tents. Many people in Germany want to help their relatives in the affected region in Turkey, but the German Foreign Offices supposedly simplified, pragmatic visa procedure reads like a bad joke. In cooperation with the Ministry of the Interior, this procedure is supposed to enable relatives from the disaster area to travel to Germany quickly. The list of required documents, which according to the Foreign Ministry have been reduced to a minimum, is utterly cynical in view of the situation on the ground. In order to go through the procedure successfully, earthquake victims are expected to submit the following documents: Official application form Valid Turkish passport Health insurance for the Schengen area Biometric passport photo Letter of commitment from a first or second degree relative Copy of the identity card/passport and, if applicable, the residence permit of the inviting person Proof of residence (which must have been in the earthquake area at the time of the disaster) Proof of relationship Written description of the emergency situation Signatures/notarised consent of parents in the case of minors The Foreign Offices requirements are not only an extra affront for traumatised people from the Turkish earthquake region trying to save their lives; the actual and bureaucratic hurdles simply make it impossible to fulfill the requirements of the visa process. A special arrangement for those who have lost their travel documents in the rubble of their former homeswhich is likely in the vast majority of caseshas been ruled out by the Foreign Office. In such cases, those affected must rely on the (unlikely) cooperation of the Turkish authorities. In addition, the declaration of commitment of the relatives in Germany must be sent as a copy to an existing address to the applicant in Turkeya completely hopeless undertaking in view of the destruction on the ground. The same applies to the copy of the inviting persons identity document. In the meantime, families in Germany have set off by car to the dangerous earthquake region to bring their relatives the required documents in person. The route from Berlin to the completely destroyed city of Gaziantep in Turkey is no less than 3,635 km. Moreover, many families of Turkish origin in Germany do not know whether and for how long they will be able to bear the financial burden (currently up to 500 euros per person per month) that comes with the declaration of commitment. The scurrilous demand to describe the personal plight of the applicant in writing shows the utter indifference with which the German ruling class regards the earthquake region. About 20 million people in Turkey have been affected by the earthquake, according to the German Foreign Office, but only 1,097 three-month visas have been issued so far under the simplified procedure for Turkish citizens. Just 159 persons, about half of them from Syria, have received a visa for the purpose of family reunification. Earthquake victims in Syria are excluded from the ostensibly simplified visa procedure. They have been allowed their own ostensibly simplified procedure for permanent residence in Germany, but in fact the hurdles are even higher than for those trying to migrate from Turkey. Those who want to take advantage of the visa procedure must, in addition to having the financial means to travel to Lebanon, Jordan or Istanbul, embark on a journey that was already almost impossible before the earthquakes. (The German embassy in Damascus remains closed.) Only in exceptional cases is it even possible to cross the Syrian-Turkish border. The German ruling class bears a massive share of responsibility for the fact that Syria has been plunged into an even deeper social catastrophe by the earthquakes and that necessary aid has failed to arrive. Since 2011, it has supported the war for regime change in Syria, a war which has cost the lives of hundreds of thousands and forced millions to flee with large parts of the country destroyed. At that time, the then German government led by Angela Merkel supported EU sanctions against Syria, which have been extended every year since. According to the aid organisation Malteser International, these sanctions make it even more difficult to deliver aid today to the earthquake zone. The German Foreign Office boasted at the beginning of February that the sanctions took into account the need to avoid negative consequences of any kind for the civilian population. This is a blatant lie. As a result of the sanctions, direct bank transfers, for example, which could be used to support relatives on the ground, are prohibited. Nor can any sort of medical care in hospitals be guaranteed because equipment, spare parts or medicines cannot be paid for by bank transfer. In an attempt to intimidate those who have been holding demonstrations against the building of a massive military-style police training center in Atlanta, law enforcement authorities arrested and charged 23 people on March 5 with domestic terrorism under the state statutes. Over the past several months 18 others have also been charged with the same offence, bringing the total number facing these grave charges to 41. This draconian charge is a felony and carries a prison sentence of up to 35 years. "Stop Cop City" protesters demonstrate in Atlanta, Georgia on Saturday following the police killing of Manuel Esteban Paez Teran on January 18, 2023 [AP Photo/R.J. Rico] Demonstrations against what the opponents of the training facility have dubbed Cop City have been ongoing since 2021 and have gathered significant momentum and international attention after police killed a protester in January. The growing protest has rattled city and state authorities who are now resorting to increasingly repressive measures to suppress this opposition. On Wednesday, Atlanta police threatened about a dozen activists with arrest if they continue to distribute leaflets opposing the facility on city sidewalks. Atlantas Democratic mayor Andre Dickens and the city council are determined to steamroll the opposition so as to proceed with the construction of the military-style training facility. Dickens took over the reins of the city in January 2022 with law and order as a central feature of his mayoral campaign just like in the recent Chicago mayoral primary election and in New York City in 2021. The police claim that those arrested last Sunday were violent agitators who mounted a coordinated attack against police officers and construction equipment at the sprawling construction site just outside the southern limits of the city. According to the police, multiple protesters entered a construction site and burnt construction equipment while they threw bricks, Molotov cocktails and fireworks at the police. The claim that they arrested violent agitators is belied by the fact that those arrested were scooped up after the police stormed a music festival that was being held in a park outside the construction site. The peaceful event attended by around 1,500 persons, including families with children, was to kick off a week of action comprising of demonstrations, cultural activities and various family friendly events the organizers have planned against the facility. The organizers include a group of clergy, environmental activists, members of the Stop Cop City coalition, and residents of the area where the facility is to be located. Masked anarchists have participated in the protests and it is more than likely that some of them are either police agents or are working with police as agents provocateurs. The police in turn are using the violent tactics of some in this group as a reason to use extremely violent methods and repression against overwhelmingly peaceful protesters. This latest repression comes on the heels of Georgia state troopers shooting dead 26-year-old environmental activist Manuel Tortuguita Esteban Paez Teran on January 18. Teran was camped out in the forest where the police facility is to be built when he was shot dead with about a dozen bullets by a group of state troopers. The brutal killing of Teran was justified by the police using the highly questionable claim that Teran, an avowed pacifist, shot at them. Subsequent body camera footage released by the Atlanta police showed that a trooper who sustained a gunshot wound was more than likely shot by a fellow cop. After Terans killing set off week long angry protests, Georgias reactionary Republican governor Brian Kemp issued an emergency order activating 1,000 heavily armed Georgia National Guard troops to subdue riot and unlawful assembly. Those initially arrested Sunday at the music festival numbered 35 but subsequently 23 were charged with domestic terrorism. Most of those arrested are young people in their mid- to late twenties and most of those charged are from outside Georgia. The protesters have charged the police with deliberately selecting those from outside of Georgia to fit with the authorities right-wing narrative that the opposition to Cop City is being fomented by outsiders. In the subsequent bond hearing Tuesday for the 23 charged with domestic terrorism, bail was denied for 22 who are now languishing in jail. Eli Bennett, an attorney representing some of the defendants, commented to The Intercept, We havent seen a charge for arson or interference with government property. He also observed that Georgias domestic terrorism statute is laughably unconstitutional. If built, the sprawling Cop City police training center will spread across 85 acres in the midst of 381 acres of forested land. The facility will contain a mockup of a city with bars, high-rise buildings and such so that the police can undergo training to wage urban warfare. Democratic Party politicians have taken the leading role in pushing for this military-style police training facility. It was first announced by then-mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms in April 2021. In September 2021 the Atlanta City Council, with Mayor Dickens, then a councilperson, voting for it, approved leasing the land. The forest to be demolished had been deemed environmentally significant by the government of Atlanta as one of the lungs of the city. The city is leasing forested land it owns to the Atlanta Police Foundation (APF), a private organization that promotes pro-police propaganda and solicits corporate funding for police. The building of the facility is set to cost $90 million, $60 million of which is to be raised from corporations and private philanthropy. The remaining $30 million is being financed by the city. Numerous corporations with corporate headquarters in Georgia, including Coca Cola, Norfolk Southern, Home Depot, Delta Airlines and UPS, have eagerly chipped in. The increasing militarization of the police is for their benefit, as these forces will be deployed to suppress any sign of social opposition, including demands by workers for higher wages and better working conditions. The corporate executives and the politicians in both parties who they fund are keenly aware that the growing level of social inequality in the US requires them to prepare for a mass eruption of social struggles. It is not yet clear as to how much money the APF has raised from from these companies but it is estimated to be in the tens of millions. On Wednesday, the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic held its first hearing, with all participants, Democratic and Republican, seeking to promote the conspiracy theory that COVID-19 escaped from a laboratory in China as a possible explanation for the origins of the pandemic. Every participant, from the witnesses who testified to the members of Congress asking questions, accepted the false claim that there are two theories about the origins of COVID-19, zoonosis, which has caused every pandemic in the past, and escape from a laboratory, for which there is no concrete evidence with regard to COVID-19. An aide to ranking member Ruiz holds up a quote from former KKK leader David Duke praising Wade. From the standpoint of science, there is only one theory of the origins of COVID-19. Theres an overwhelming feeling in the scientific community regarding the natural origin of COVID-19, vaccinologist Dr. Peter Hotez told ABC News. The scientific literature contains essentially nothing but original research articles that support a natural origin of this virus pandemic, evolutionary biologist Michael Worobey added to the Associated Press. The fascist-led Republican Party has advocated the Wuhan lab conspiracy theory since 2020. The conspiracy theory was created by Steve Bannon, an architect of the January 6 coup, and his Chinese expatriate business partners. The conspiracy thory was fully embraced by former President Donald Trump, his secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, and his trade adviser, Peter Navarro. Over the three years since Bannon created the conspiracy theory as a way to demonize China, the Democratic Party and its aligned media outlets have sought to launder Bannons lie, washing away its fascist origins and seeking to present it as a plausible explanation for the pandemic. On May 25, 2021, the Washington Posts fact checker column declared the lab leak theory credible. The Democrats are seeking to promote a version of the conspiracy theory stripped of its overtly racist, xenophobic and fascist characteristics, so that they can paint the US crusade to subjugate China as a struggle for freedom and equality. The problem for this effort, however, is that the Wuhan lab theory is just that, a racist conspiracy theory, promoted by a Republican Party dominated entirely by fascists like Trump and Marjorie Taylor Greene and Jim Jordan, who sit on the select committee. This undeniable reality threw the Democrats into a crisis on Wednesdays hearing, after Republicans invited Nicholas Wade, a notorious racist praised by former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke, to promote the lab leak theory. The World Socialist Web Site, in a June 6, 2021 article broadly shared within the scientific community, made clear that Wades promotion of the Wuhan Lab conspiracy theory was grounded in his racist views. So widely is this known that the Committees ranking Democratic member, Representative Raul Ruiz, felt compelled to issue a statement distancing the Democrats from Wade. Ruiz opened the hearing by declaring: When House Republicans announced this hearing with their slate of handpicked witnesses, I was alarmed to see someone who wrote a book applauded by white supremacists. Mr. Nicholas Wades 2014 book, A Troublesome Inheritance, suggests that different racial and ethnic groups have evolved to possess genetic variations and traits and behaviors tied to whether they prosper or not. For example, Mr. Wade speculates that certain populations have evolved to develop greater innate intelligence. He writes that intelligence can be more highly rewarded in modern societies because it is in far greater demand and core and conversely, he claims that certain populations have been slower to experience an evolutionary change he has described as the transformation of a populations social traits from the violent short term impulsive behavior typical of many hunter gatherer and tribal societies into the more disciplined future oriented behavior observed in other populations. The notion that people of different racial or ethnic groups are more successful or intellectually superior to another because of predisposed genetic makeup is grossly inconsistent with the consensus of scientific and medical scholarship. That is why I sent a letter to my Republican colleagues this morning strongly urging them to disinvite Mr. Wade as a witness was not to give legitimacy to a man of such discredited, unscientific and harmful views. Ruizs characterization, which echoes in all points the claims made by the World Socialist Web Site in its June 2021 article, Wuhan lab theory proponent Nicholas Wade pushed racist pseudo-science in 2014 book, is correct. But Ruizs statement stands as an indictment not only of Wade and the Republicans, but of the three leading US newspapers, the New York Times, the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal, all of which had cited Wade in numerous articles and editorials prior to June 2021 without explaining that he is a racist. The WSWSs exposure made it impossible for the Times and the Post to cite Wade any further uncritically, and, it is clear, for Democrats to accept him as a witness. After a week of wall-to-wall media coverage claiming major new evidence that had compelled sections of the US government to accept the lab leak theory as its leading explanation of the pandemic, the House hearing received extraordinarily thin coverage in the major news outlets, simply because Ruizs exposure of Wade raised uncomfortable questions about the origins of the conspiracy theory. Strikingly, however, none of the Democrats drew any conclusions from the fact that the leading expert advocating the lab leak theory is a raving racist. Far from it, they hastened to declare their faith in two theories with the caveat that no public health officials should be demonized. It did not occur to anyone to ask how it is possible not to demonize public health officials under condition where all of the leading advocates of the conspiracy theory claim Dr. Anthony Fauci, the countrys leading public health official, personally authorized the experiments that created COVID-19, then covered it up. The crown for total absurdity was taken by Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin, who claimed that Donald Trump, who pioneered the vicious anti-China policy that the Democrats are now adopting, was somehow insufficiently aggressive against China. Raskin began by declaring, [i]f COVID was actually the product of a lab, a leak, or the worst bio weapon of mass destruction ever invented, it would only deepen Donald Trumps culpability for failing to hold China to account. Raskin said that on more than 42 different occasions that we have identified so far, President Trump openly praised and defended the performance of Communist Party Secretary and Chinese President Xi in his handling of COVID-19 and boasted of how closely they were working together and boasted of Xis openness and transparency. He concluded, Donald Trump was the biggest apologist in the United States of America for President Xi and the Chinese Communist Party. Raskins anti-communist rant, which rivaled the contributions of the fascists Marjorie Taylor Greene and Jim Jordan, shows the extent to which the Democratic Party has embraced Trumps aggressive calls for conflict with China. Ultimately, it is the bipartisan support for trade war and military conflict that underlies the promotion of the Wuhan lab lie within the US political establishment, and the Democrats political contortions to justify it. The Albanese Labor government is drafting a blueprint to tie Australias universities ever-more closely to the demands of the corporate elite, and the military and intelligence apparatus. That is clear from the very first words of a discussion paper published last month by a government-appointed advisory panel: The Australian Government is working to establish an Australian Universities Accord to drive lasting alignment between Australias high quality higher education system and national needs. By national needs, the panel means the private profit, geo-strategic and war requirements of the capitalist class, particularly for vocational training to meet the narrow needs of employers, and for the dedication of research to commercial and military purposes. This necessarily means denying students the essential social right to a decent, all-round critical education and depriving educators and researchers of the capacity to conduct genuinely socially-useful and scientifically-important teaching and research. Striking NTEU members at University of Newcastle in September 2022. [Photo: WSWS] In our intervention into the New South Wales (NSW) state election on March 25, the Socialist Equality Party alone is opposing this drive. We demand the spending of tens of billions on education, healthcare and other essential social programs, instead of handouts to big business, tax cuts for the wealthy and massive military spending. The Accord document repeatedly spells out the demand to dovetail courses for the benefit of business. Preparing the workforce to meet the changing needs of industry and contribute to a more innovative, productive economy is a major challenge for higher education, it declares. A key question for Australian higher education providers is how to respond to the various employer and entrepreneurial needs across the labour force. The paper claims: By international standards, the current links in Australia between higher education and industry in learning and teaching are under-developed. It calls for increased work placements and work-integrated learning (WIL) to get students to apply knowledge they gain in the classroom to practical settings, thus giving employers access to highly skilled, career-ready graduates. Likewise, the document complains that university research is not sufficiently tailored to profit-making outcomes. Australia has for many years scored poorly compared to OECD peers, with Australia ranking 37th in knowledge and technology outputs, as measured by the Global Innovation Index. Universities are failing to translate research into high impact innovation outputs (new processes, products and services). This is posed as a requirement that can no longer be put off. Why the links and collaboration between industry and universities are not stronger and more productive is an ongoing, multi-decadal question in Australia. The increasing integration of universities into military and other war-related research is not specifically mentioned in the document. But it does so implicitly. It speaks of higher education contributing to sovereign capability amid the growth of geopolitical tension, the risks of cyberattack and unauthorised surveillance and concern about foreign interference and sovereign risk. All the public universities have already signed up to the Defence Science Partnership to provide a uniform model for universities to engage with Defence on research projects. Universities Australia, the body representing the countrys university managements, has also urged the Albanese government to establish internships to funnel studentsincluding international studentsinto the Australian military. When Education Minister Jason Clare confirmed plans for the Accord last July, he bluntly nominated nuclear subs as an example of the fields in which university skills and talents could be harnessed. That was an obvious reference to the AUKUS pact signed with the US and UK to provide Australia with access to nuclear-powered submarines and other hi-tech weaponry for use against China. In our election statement, we warn that the US and its allies, including Australia, are pouring billions of dollars into weaponry to escalate the Ukraine war in order to dismember Russia and prepare for a similar catastrophic war against China to assert the global domination of American imperialism. Another national need emphasised in the discussion paper is to exceed pre-pandemic levels of exploiting full fee-paying international students, both to finance the universities and provide broader revenue and profits to Australian capitalism. The document refers to the international students as the fourth largest export industry in Australia and declares that rebuilding and strengthening this industry is a key focus for the sector. Ever since the education revolution of the last Labor government of 2007 to 2013, international students have been milked as cash cows to offset chronic under-funding. The paper is silent on the fact that higher education expenditure is expected to decrease by more than 9 percent in real terms from 202122 to 202425, according to the Albanese governments budget papers last October. The Accord blueprint will intensify Labors pro-business revolution. Its demand-driven funding system forced universities to compete for enrolments, primarily by offering vocational courses, while cutting funding by $3 billion in 201213. This drove institutions to rely on insecure casual staff. The paper estimates that sessionals now deliver 50-80 percent of undergraduate teaching in universities. It admits that this reliance on under-paid educators mirrors the growth of international student numbers. The handpicked Accord panel personifies Labors corporate agenda. It is led by Mary OKane, an ex-university vice-chancellor, company director, and executive chairman of OKane Associates, a consulting practice. The panel features Shemara Wikramanayake, managing director and CEO of the Macquarie banking group, a global financial conglomerate. The main trade union covering university workers, the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU), has welcomed the Accord process and is participating in its roundtable discussions. The NTEU submission to the panel advocates for a higher education sector that provides the graduates with the necessary skill sets for future productivity and is positioned to support innovation and creativity in teaching and research. This is in line with the NTEUs own record of suppressing educators opposition to the increasing corporatisation of universities under successive governments. The NTEU has facilitated the ongoing offensive on university conditions and jobs, opposing any unified mobilisation against it. When the pandemic first hit in 2020, the NTEU officials volunteered wage cuts of up to 15 percent and up to 18,000 job cuts. That triggered widespread disgust and opposition among university workers, and a precipitous loss of its membership, but the union proceeded to push through cuts at individual universities. As part of our election campaign, the SEP demands free, high-quality education, from kindergarten to university, and the right of all education workers to secure employment with decent pay and conditions, instead of governments pouring billions of dollars into corporate pockets and preparations for more US-led wars. Such demands inevitably mean taking a stand against the Labor government, the pro-business union bureaucrats and the ruling class as a whole. This is part of a broader necessary struggle against capitalism aimed at reorganising society along genuinely democratic and egalitarian, that is socialist lines, in the interests of humanity, not the soaring profits and wealth accumulation of billionaires. We appeal to all educators and students to support our election campaign. Contact the SEP: 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. On Tuesday, the Wickremesinghe government unleashed a brutal state attack on a student demonstration organised by the Inter University Students Federation (IUSF). Students from universities across the island participated in the protest. Security forces assembled near Colombo Campus on March 7, 2023, in response to student protest against governments austerity and attacks on democratic rights. [Photo: WSWS] Hundreds of police personnel, including from the anti-riot unit and the special task force, were deployed along with army personnel at several road junctions to block the student demonstration. They were armed with guns, tear gas, and water cannon. Some used iron clubs and wooden rods against the students. The IUSF had planned to begin their protest at Colombo Fort railway station at about 12 noon. The police, however, read out an order obtained from the Colombo Fort magistrates court to about 1,000 students who had already gathered outside the station. The order barred demonstrators from entering Galle Face Green, the Presidential Secretariat, the Presidents House, Finance Ministry premises and several roads in central Colombo between 11 a.m. and 10 p.m. Students march to protest Wickremesinghe governments attacks on social conditions and democratic rights on March 7, 2023. [Photo: WSWS] The students then travelled by buses to the New Town Hall area about three kilometres away from Fort, planning to march up to Nugegoda, a city bordering Colombo, and hold a rally. They carried banners and placards with the slogans, Abolish Prevention of Terrorism Act, Stop witch-hunting students, Release two detained students of Kelaniya University, Chase away Ranil-Rajapakse junta, Get ready for a system change, Return robbed money, Bring down the price of goods and taxes, and Win a new constitution. The police opened fire with water cannons and tear gas as the marchers approached Colombo University. When the protesters ran inside the universitys law faculty, police and soldiers entered the university premises and kept attacking students. The students attempted to defend themselves with whatever they could find. Students attending lectures were also badly affected by tear gas with some hospitalised. University officials rushed to the campus entrance, confronting the police and condemning their attacks. Military personnel armed with wooden clubs and rifles confront IUSF student march in Colombo, 7 March 2023. [Photo: Shehan Gunasekara Facebook] On Wednesday, two separate protests were held at universities in Colombo and Kelaniya denouncing the previous days police assault. Police then attacked the Kelaniya students protest on the main road along the university. Six students were arrested. Colombo University students marched from the university premises to the National Museum and the Royal College, where they were also assaulted by police. The police attack was so reckless that other students, teachers and passersby were impacted. That morning President Wickremesinghe made a special statement bragging about the possible approval of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout loan and declaring that the international banks economic reforms are crucial in order to move forward. He warned: If this program is disrupted by agitations, this government will act strongly for it. In other words, all protests against IMF austerity will be brutally crushed. Speaking to journalists, IUSF convener Wasantha Mudalige said last years mass demonstrations had succeeded in expelling then President Gotabhaya Rajapakse and his government. But the real long-standing needs of the people require real economic and political change, Mudalige added. We have a democratic right to chase away scoundrels like Wickremesinghe This society is in a grave crisis. To get out of this crisis we will have to take radical decisions and make radical economic reforms, he said. The IUSF is controlled by the pseudo-left Frontline Socialist Party (FSP). Mudaliges call for radical economic reforms is in line with the FSPs political perspective, which is to demand reforms within the capitalist system. This is why the FSP backs the trade unions, which are promoting the political illusion that workers can win their social demands by pressuring the Wickremesinghe regime. Workers and students must reject the pro-capitalist program of the FSP, the IUSF, the trade unions and similar opportunist organisations. The capitalist crisis in Sri Lanka is part of an historic crisis of the global capitalist system. As in every other country, Sri Lankan workers and the poor cannot overcome the worsening social problems they confront within the decaying capitalist order. While Sri Lankan students, who confront unbearable economic and social problems, are attracted to the protests organised by the IUSF, they have little political faith in this organisation. This was expressed in some of the protesters comments to WSWS reporters. One second-year student told the WSWS on Tuesday that he was not supporting the IUSF but had decided to attend the protest because students were determined to win their basic rights. The IMF austerity measures, he said, are pushing people into the abyss. Our bursary [student allowance] has not been paid. Students are undergoing real hardships because of the countrys situation. A second-year applied science student from Sabaragamuwa University, about 150 kilometres south-east of Colombo, participated in Tuesdays demonstration. She explained the increasing police repression at her campus. Ten of our comrades are under police detention. They have been charged under the anti-ragging [disorderly conduct] act, even though our university does not have ragging as such. That is why we came here to give maximum support to this protest, she said. Another student referred to the demands of the IUSF and the FSP for a system [and] constitutional change and added, Even if new clean leaders are elected to the parliament, the system will remain the same. The problem is the capitalist system. He then asked about the analysis advanced by the Socialist Equality Party (SEP) and the International Youth and Student for Socialist Equality (IYSSE). WSWS reporters explained that in order to fight the governments attacks, workers and the rural poor need to build their own independent action committees at every workplace, factory, plantation and neighbourhood. During the discussion, WSWS reporters emphasised that this struggle had to be developed as an independent political movement of the working class, rallying the rural masses to build a government of workers and peasants based on socialist policies. Students could only defend their social rights, including free education, by joining the IYSSE and turning to the working class to fight for this revolutionary socialist program, they explained. The Wickremesinghe governments violent and ongoing state attacks on student protests and his threatening speech in the parliament are a warning that Colombo is preparing to step up its repressive measures. The SEP and the IYSSE stand shoulder to shoulder with students protesting the government attacks. Students have certainly displayed their courage and determination to fight, but the pro-capitalist illusions cultivated by the FSP and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and their insistence that the government can be pressured to end its social attacks, are a dangerous trap. The SEP and IYSSE call upon the students and youth to assimilate the lessons of last years popular upsurge as analysed by WSWS, join the SEP and fight for its perspective: the independent mobilisation of the working class and the rural masses on a socialist and internationalist program to put an end to the profit system. Three more people were arrested by police Thursday, nine days after the deaths of 57 people in the February 28 Tempi train crash. Two of those arrested were station masters, who allegedly ended their work shifts early at Larissa rail station on the night of the crash. A Hellenic Rail supervisor was also arrested, accused of placing an inexperienced stationmaster on duty at the time of the crash. That station master, Vassilis Samaras, was arrested within 24 hours of the crash, near Larissa, in which a Thessaloniki-bound InterCity 62 high-speed passenger train and a southbound freight train collided head-on in the deadliest rail disaster in the countrys history. Debris of trains lie on the rail lines after a collision in Tempi, about 376 kilometres (235 miles) north of Athens, near Larissa city, Greece, Wednesday, March 1, 2023. A passenger train carrying hundreds of people, including many university students returning home from holiday, collided at high speed with an oncoming freight train before midnight on Tuesday. [AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos] The four arrested are to stand trial on charges ranging from involuntary manslaughter to causing transport disruption and mass bodily harm. The avoidable mass loss of life, with a carriage in the train setting on fire and reaching furnace temperatures of 1,300 degrees Celsius (2,370 degrees Fahrenheit)and burning many victims to deathsparked an eruption of protests and strikes which threatens to end the rule of the conservative New Democracy (ND) government and embroils every political party in power over several decades. Every day since the crash there have been protests, with a general strike held Wednesday in which hundreds of thousands participated. A railway workers strike that began hours after the disaster was extended to Friday. What has characterised this revolt is a rejection of the governments attempt to evade all responsibility, with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis declaring within hours of the crash that it was down the human error of the station master at Larissa. Placards and banners responded by denouncing the government and the privatised Hellenic Trains as murderers. A poll published Thursday by Ant1 TV found that only 12.1 percent of respondents thought it was the station masters human error/bad luck that caused the crash, while 87 percent said there are also other factors responsible that must be sought. The Tempi train disaster took place on an antiquated rail network, using decades old technology and with drivers and station masters communicating with each other and station masters by walkie-talkies. Such were the cutbacks imposed by successive ND, social democratic PASOK, and SYRIZA (Coalition of the Radical Left) governments that only a few hundred workers now run the entire rail networkprivatised in 2017 by SYRIZA and sold off for peanutsdown from more than 6,000 in 2008. Young people who have known nothing but grinding austerity and widespread poverty their whole lives, have turned out en masse. Among their placards and chants during Wednesdays general strike were, We will become the voice of the dead, the new generation does not forgive you, State negligence kills, and We do not forget, we do not forgive. Among their chants were, Profits drenched in students blood. Many of the dead were students returning from vacation. People gather during a protest at Syntagma square, in Athens, Greece, Sunday, March 5, 2023. Tens of thousands of protesters took part in rallies around the country for a fifth day, protesting the conditions that led the deaths of 57 people late Tuesday, in Greece's worst recorded rail accident. [AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis] Further protests will be held March 12 in Athens, Thessaloniki, Alexandroupolis, Volos, Larissa, Chania, Patras and other cities, including by students occupying dozens of schools and universities. The trade union federation of the Stalinist Communist Party of Greece (KKE), PAME, is holding rallies the same day. At a cabinet meeting Thursday, Mitsotakis was forced to declare, We take responsibility and we cannot, should not and do not want to hide behind a series of human errors I want to reiterate a public apology on behalf of those who ruled the country over the years, and mainly personally. I assume responsibility. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at the Thessaloniki International Fair on September 10, 2022 [AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos] At the same meeting the government confirmed that an April general election would not be held as planned, with the first and second round of voting put back to May and June. On Thursday, the first opinion poll on voting intentions released since the crash found that support for ND is at 29.6 percent, a fall of almost 3 percent, over second place SYRIZA on 25 percent (a drop from 25.1 percent) and PASOK on 9.7 percent. The Greek Reporter website noted, The poll shows a significant drop in the popularity of ND, but also SYRIZA and PASOK are unable to reap NDs losses. Political analysts note that the angry and shell-shocked public is joining the pool of undecided voters and the smaller parties, such as the Communist Party (KKE), Yanis Varoufakis Mera 25, and right-wing populists. Kathimerini warned of the sharp plunge of 2.92% recorded on the Athens Stock Exchange on Monday [March 6] after days of mass anti-government protests had already shook Greece. It raised that, This shift does not mean that there is a fear of the next government not continuing the course of reforms [read austerity]. It simply reflects the fact that investors currently see a murky landscape politically and prefer to step aside and take a wait-and-see attitude until there is greater visibility. The turn away from the major parties of state is indicative of a leftward shift within the working class, crushed by years of savage austerity. Millions of households are mired in poverty, while vast portions of the state budget are assigned to military spending with Greece playing a critical role in NATOs war against Russia. Greek Reporter noted in a February article, In the event of military escalation in Ukraine one would expect to see ramped-up US military operations out of Souda Bay and Greeces army base at Alexandroupolis under the terms of the current U.S.-Greece Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement. Souda Bay delivers critical logistical support and services to the US and allied ships, as well as aircraft, operating in or transiting the eastern Mediterranean. It is home to approximately 750 assigned military and civilian personnel. The base ensures the combat readiness of assigned units, including ships, aircraft, and detachments. The Greek City Times reported last month that Athens has finalized plans to buy 20 new F-35 fighter jets from the US at a cost of $80 million dollars apiece. It reported, Just to buy the first 20 fighter jets, without weapons and not including the cost of training Air Force pilots, will require $1.6 billion If we add the cost of the F-35 infrastructure, the work to be done by Greek companies, the training of Air Force pilots and the required spare parts for the period from the delivery of the 1st to the delivery of the 20th fighter aircraft, the programs budget may jump to $3.5-3.7 billion. French daily La Monde cited the comments of Elpida Kalpakidi, a 50-year-old teacher in an article on the mood of the population. This train accident was the last straw. Nothing in Greece works. Education, the health system, public transport, everything's in ruins. This government has done nothing to improve this awful situation in the public sector, but it has spent money on the army and the police! The newspaper wrote, She believes that the country has never recovered from the austerity measures imposed by Greece's creditors (the European Central Bank, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund) in exchange for bailout loans. Despite mass deaths at the hands of the state, Mitsotakis and the Hellenic Rail profiteers are working to get the railways fully reopened by the end of August. Meanwhile the government is already putting together a plan for the privatization of the water industry as part of a commitment to raise billions more in privatisations by 2025. European Union Commission head Ursula von der Leyen tweeted this week of discussions she had with Mitsotakis over what technical support that the EU can provide to Greece to modernise its railways and improve their safety. But not a cent in funding for this is mentioned anywhere, with the EU insisting that Greece continue to honour the terms of the austerity packages enforced faithfully by ND, PASOK and SYRIZA. In the strike ballot at Deutsche Post DHL that ended Wednesday, 85.9 percent of the approximately 100,000 Verdi union members voted in favour of a strike. But Verdi is not thinking of organising a strike and regards its main task as preventing one. Postal workers rally in Berlin on February 6 [Photo: WSWS] Although the threshold of 75 percent in favour was clearly exceeded, Verdi stated tersely in an initial statement Thursday: Deutsche Post today called on Verdi to resume collective bargaining. Negotiations will continue on Friday, March 10, 2023. Deutsche Post has not even submitted an offer yet. Nevertheless, Verdi wants to hold talks until Saturday noon. Verdi thus opposes the decision of some 90,000 of its members and is backing the companys top management, which has just celebrated making record profits. On Thursday, Deutsche Post CEO Frank Appel announced 5.35 billion in net profits, an increase of over 6 percent. Operating profits rose to 8.4 billion, while sales increased by 16 percent to over 94 billion. But there is supposedly no money for the 1 billion that a 15 percent wage increase would cost annually. In an internal online meeting for works council representatives and shop stewards at Deutsche Post, attended by up to 2,400, Verdi chief negotiator Andrea Kocsis provided the arguments that would be used to justify a lousy deal for the workforce. This years record result would not be achieved next year, she said, the economy was weakening. Thats why it [Deutsche Post] expected only six to seven billion euros in profits next year. Deutsche Post workers, on the other hand, are ready to strike. This was also evident in the feedback many gave to the Postal Workers Action Committee. They had already suspected in the last few days that Verdi wanted to stall the strike even before it had begun. We are all irritated, one worker from Bavaria said yesterday on the phone. Her Verdi representative had told her she didnt know if the strike would even happen, and that would be discussed on Friday. We all planned it differently, said the postal worker, who has worked at Deutsche Post for 30 years. We want to strike. Especially in these times, its important to stand up for our interests. In the online meeting, Kocsis was joined by deputy negotiator Stephan Teuscher in justifying Verdis strikebreaking. Teuscher said verbatim, Our goal is to avert a labour dispute. While Verdi was very satisfied with the result of the strike ballot, Teuscher said, The right thing is, that wont solve the problem, after all. Because the problem is to push through a good compromise, a good collective agreement. Teuscher could not express more clearly that Verdi does not even consider enforcing a good pay result with the help of a strike. Kocsis added that they could have called industrial action today. But weve said, now we wont organise industrial action Friday and Saturday. Because then the employers would be so pissed off, annoyed and pissed off again. After all, Deutsche Post CEO Frank Appel and Thomas Ogilvie, chief human resources officer and labour director, had already made that known, she said. They can strike until they drop, Kocsis said, summing up their stance. We have now said we dont need such a bad mood for the [next] two days now. The online event was designed to keep participants discontent out of sight. Only moderator Julia Klein could see the entire chat. At the beginning, she read out some grovelling posts. But at some point, she felt compelled to read out critical remarks as well. For example, one participant said it was a slap in the face of all Verdi members that negotiations would now continue. Now there has to be a strike. This is impossible from Verdi. Teuscher responded, I dont share that view. The point of the strike is, with the strike notice and with the strike ballot and with the strike itself, to make it clear to the employer what will happen if they dont try to reach a compromise in negotiations. When asked why there wasnt a strike, as the members had decided, Kocsis responded: Because the pressure is so particularly great right now. We forced Deutsche Post back to the bargaining table. So, while workers want to use a nationwide all-out strike to force through their demand for a 15 percent wage increase over a 12-month period, Verdi wants to prevent just that. Verdi fears that a strike at Deutsche Post would immediately encourage public sector employees to also take all-out strike action, and that a powerful wave of strikes would develop against wage theft and cutbacks, as in France, Greece and Britain. This is because Verdi does not stand for the interests of the workers but is the extended arm of the corporations. Ten union functionaries and Verdi works council representatives sit on the 20-member Deutsche Post Supervisory Board, collectively receiving over 1 million annually, including Deutsche Post works council members Thomas Koczelnik, Thomas Held, Stefanie Weckesser, Mario Jacubasch, Ulrike Lennartz-Pipenbacher and Gabriele Gulzau, as well as Verdi functionaries Rolf Bauermeister, Teuscher and Kocsis. The latter is also deputy chairwoman of the Deutsche Post Supervisory Board, for which she receives a quarter of a million euros a year for her work. It is the supervisory board that agreed the hiring of people from management consultants McKinsey as board members, approves their salaries and decides on fundamental issues such as flexibilization. This is the case in all public corporations and sectors. Verdi is closely linked with the public sector employers and the establishment parties through a diverse and tightly bound network. The current head of Verdi, Frank Werneke, has been a member of Chancellor Olaf Scholzs Social Democratic Party (SPD) for 40 years. His predecessor, Frank Bsirske, sweetened his retirement from the union financially by sitting as a member of the Green Party in the Bundestag (federal parliament). Numerous Verdi functionaries are members of the Bundestag parties, above all the SPD, Greens, and the Left Party. Many positions in public companies are given to deserving party members or Verdi functionaries. To this day, more than 30 years after the privatisation of Deutsche Bundespost began, the state is still the largest shareholder in Deutsche Post. The government holds more than 20 percent of the shares through the federally owned Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau (KfW). The chairman of KfWs board of directors is German Economics Minister Robert Habeck, of the Green Party. So, if Deutsche Post increases its dividend this year thanks to making record profits and again pays out well over 2 billion in dividends, the government will receive almost half a billion. Verdi wants to make sure this money continues to be squeezed out of the workforce. On Saturday, the union wants to announce a negotiation result. Without being specific, Kocsis and Teuscher indicated that they consider both the 15 percent demand and the 12-month term to be unrealistic. On Saturday, they and the bargaining committee will sign off on a sellout and put it to the next ballot. Then Verdi will do everything in its power to enforce the offer and prevent a strike. The last few days have made two things clear. First, that the 15 percent wage increase can only be pushed through by an all-out strike against Deutsche Post. And second, that an all-out strike can only be implemented against Verdi. Postal workers are therefore urged to join the new independent Postal Workers Action Committee and to set up their own rank-and-file committees at their delivery hubs and distribution centres. Verdi must be stripped of its mandate for further negotiations in order to organize a nationwide strike. Such a strike would have an enormous impact. It would galvanize the 2.5 million public sector workers in Germany who, for their part, face the same problems and opponents. Postal and logistics workers in other European countries, who are fighting for their wages and working conditions, would also follow suit. The great willingness of Deutsche Post workers to strike is part of the reawakening of the European working class, which in many countries and numerous industries is increasingly standing up and fighting against the costs of the NATO war against Russia being imposed on them and the accompanying social devastation. In France, Greece, Belgium, the UK, Israelhundreds of thousands are on the streets everywhere. These struggles must be united against the governments and their allies in the trade unions. The first step is to contact the Postal Workers Action Committee by WhatsApp message to the mobile number +491633378340. The meeting of European Union defence ministers in Stockholm on Wednesday was dominated by NATOs escalation of the war with Russia. The aim was to quickly provide the Ukrainian army with massive amounts of ammunition in order to repel the Russian army on the front in eastern Ukraine and to move on to the counter-offensive. German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, right, talks to soldiers during a visit to Bundeswehr tank battalion 203 at the Field Marshal Rommel Barracks in Augustdorf, Germany, Wednesday, February 1, 2023. [AP Photo/Martin Meissner] Significantly, Ukrainian Defense Minister Olexiy Resnikov also attended the meeting. He called on the EU member states to provide Ukraine with 1 million rounds of ammunition worth 4 billion so that Kiev can continue to defend itself. The EU ministers agreed in Stockholm to supply Kiev ammunition. Josep Borrell, the EUs foreign policy chief, called it a fundamental agreement on a procedure. He proposed initially to release 1 billion from the so-called European Peace Facility in order to supply Ukraine with rounds of ammunition from its own stockpiles. At the same time, further steps are already being prepared behind the scenes. In order to help Ukraine, the EU must make fresh money available, and quickly, said Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur. After the meeting, Swedish Defence Minister Pal Jonson promised, We will act quickly to meet Ukraines demand for ammunition. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who attended the meeting, said that work was underway to massively ramp up ammunition production. NATO countries have reached agreements with the defense industry to increase production, and several NATO countries have already agreed on joint projects for the procurement of various types of ammunition, but also for the storage of ammunition, he announced in Stockholm. The demand is enormous and the current consumption and production rate of ammunition is not sustainable. According to reports, about 300,000 155 mm artillery shells are produced in Europe every year. That is about as many as the Ukrainian army shoots within three months. In order to meet demand, replenish their own stockpiles and prepare for a long and comprehensive war against Russia, the European states are in the process of organizing a veritable war economy. This goal was openly formulated in Stockholm. To ramp up capacity, the arms industry should switch to the war economy mode, demanded EU Commissioner Thierry Breton. Borrell said the same thing. He said he was sorry to say so, but a war mentality is needed. After all, we are in times of war. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (Social Democrats) began by saying that he definitely does not adopt the concept of the war economy. The EU and Germany are not at war and war economy would mean that we subordinate everything to the production of weapons and ammunition. In fact, that is exactly what is happening. And Pistorius left no doubt about this in his further remarks in Stockholm. Among other things, he called it worthwhile to subsidise the defence industry at the ramp-up of ammunition production. In fact, the arms industry is making real money, thats macabre, but in times of war its just like that, demand rises, and then sales also rise, he cynically explained. That is why it is all the more important that we now react flexibly. German imperialism in particular is driving the massive rearmament in Europe and the transition to a war economy. In his government statement on the first anniversary of his declaration of a new epoch for German foreign policy, Chancellor Olaf Scholz told the German parliament last Thursday that he and Pistorius were currently talking to the defense industry about a real lane change to a fast, predictable and efficient procurement of armaments for the Bundeswehr and other European armies. This requires an ongoing production of important weapons, equipment and ammunition and long-term contracts and down payments to build up manufacturing capacity and an industrial base here in Germany. Behind the backs of the population, these plans are being aggressively pushed forward. Last November, representatives of the arms industry met in the Chancellery with the relevant top officials of the federal government for an arms and ammunition summit to increase production. According to reports, Germany plans to spend 20 billion on ammunition alone in the next few years. In doing so, the same corporations that played a central role in the war economy of the Nazis and rearmed the Wehrmacht for the Second World War within a few years are once again rubbing their bloody hands. Shortly before the notorious summit in the Chancellery, Rheinmetall announced the acquisition of its Spanish competitor Expal Systems for 1.2 billion. With an annual turnover of 400 million, Expal Systems is one of the largest ammunition producers in Europe. Since then, one announcement has followed another. Rheinmetall is currently setting up a new ammunition production facility for the so-called Mittelcaliber cannon rounds (20 to 35 millimeters) at the Unterluss site in the Luneburg Heide, a rural area in northern Germany. For safety reasons, the planned annual capacity is secret, but the goal is to set up the ammunition supply in Germany again in principle independent of foreign production facilities, said a company spokesman. The Unterluss site, where thousands of forced labourers were employed during the Second World War, is already the largest Rheinmetall ammunition site, covering over 55 square kilometres. Currently, large-caliber ammunition is being produced there, including for the Leopard tank, which the Bundeswehr (German army) is supplying to Ukraine. Previous production levels are being massively ramped up. When Pistorius visited the plant at the end of February, Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger boasted that production had been doubled and in some cases trebled, especially in Unterluss. They are operating on full steam and will increase the production with another shift even more, he commented. Pistorius praised the arms industry and declared that the new epocha euphemism for the return of German militarismwas not possible without it. In order to defeat nuclear-armed Russiaafter the terrible crimes of two world warsin a third attempt, German imperialism is even planning the production of battle tanks directly in Ukraine. We are ready to build a plant for the production of the Panther in Ukraine, Papperger recently announced in the Handelsblatt. So far, the pledges of battle tanks have increased Ukraines clout, but they are not enough. Russia has vastly greater reserves. Further help is therefore necessary, also and especially with battle tanks, he continued. The cost of the insanity of war, which is already claiming the lives of hundreds of Russian and Ukrainian soldiers every day and threatens the survival of all humanity in the event of a nuclear escalation, is also borne financially by the working class. Already last year, when the German army special fund of 100 billion was decided, there were massive cuts to health and social affairs. Now Pistorius is calling for an additional 10 billion a year in the war budget, which will lead to further attacks. But in Germany and throughout Europe, resistance is growing to this ultra-militaristic and reactionary policy, which is being pursued by the entire EU. Tens of thousands of public service workers are currently participating in warning strikes in Germany every day. On Thursday, 120,000 postal workers voted for an all-out strike. In France, several million took to the streets on Wednesday against the planned pension reform, and in Greece hundreds of thousands protested after the deadly train disaster. In other European countries, major strikes and protests are also developing. The sentiments that drive millions of workers and youth into struggle across the continent are increasingly anti-capitalist, anti-militarist and socialist. The decisive task is to transform this movement into a conscious movement for socialism. This means combining the struggle against war with the struggle against its root, capitalism, and building the European sections of the International Committee of the Fourth Internationalin Germany the Sozialistische Gleichheitsparteias new revolutionary parties of the working class. A college student tries out a cafe with beds in Hanois Cau Giay District in order to relax and study in the afternoon on Feb. 28, 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Nguyen Phuong Linh, a sophomore at the Hanoi University of Economics, made her first visit to one of the capital's new cafe-in-bed shops. At these novel coffee shops, coffee and other drinks can be served to you in your own private pod with bed, which youre encouraged to nap in At the "bed coffee" shop in Hanois Cau Giay District, Linh slept in her pod for an hour during her lunch break. When she awoke feeling refreshed, she took her textbooks to the cafes communal area and joined a group of students immersed in studying there. "Contrary to our expectations of noisy, busy cafes, the atmosphere here is relatively quiet and emphasizes privacy," said Linh, who had tried the new cafe concept with a friend. At the cafe with beds in Cau Giay District, customers are charged VND65,000 (US$2.7) for a drink plus one-hour use of a private single-bed room. After one hour, customers can extend their stay or simply move out into the shared area that looks like any typical coffee shop. To Linh, the price is not expensive considering that she can both relax and study, the beds are especially spacious, and every pod is equipped with good lighting, an electrical fan, a small desk, a mattress and pillows. Occupying a pod next to Linhs, Hai Dang, also a sophomore from Hanoi Trade Union University, is a frequent patron of this cafe in Cau Giay. Whenever he has classes all day, and during finals at a semesters end, Dang visits the cafe at lunch to study and, more importantly, to relax. "The price here is cheaper than a hostels, and the place is clean and just a 7-minute drive from my school," said 22 year-old Dang. The coffee & beds model, which was first developed in Japan and South Korea to cater to customers who want to take a break from a busy workday, started making its way to Vietnam several years ago. Young people relax at a cafe with beds in Ho Chi Minh Citys Binh Thanh District at noon on March 1, 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Minh Tam Concentrated in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, these cafes attract mostly young students and office employees who need a quiet place to study or take naps. These venues are often busy on weekends, between noon and early afternoon, or in the evenings. According to various shop owners, first-time customers end up returning 70-80% of the time. According to Dieu Linh, a representative from the coffee-in-bed venue in Cau Giay District, her cafe first opened last October, has 5 floors and 10 spacious pods, which were inspired by South Korean "gosiwon" or matchbox-styled hostels. The pods are well furnished, and all bedding sets are replaced anew every day. Depending on service levels, prices range from VND65,000 to 150,000 ($6.3). While relatively new in Hanoi, the concept has been popular in HCMC for a while. The first entrepreneurs to introduce the coffee-in-bed model to the southern metropolis in 2018 were Soh Saito from Japan and his Vietnamese wife, Nguyen Thuy Duong. At that time, the couple found that young people in Vietnam lacked private space to take naps and relax. According to Duong, in the beginning, customers tried the services out of curiosity. But after the Covid-19 pandemic, she said many started to pay more attention to their health, increasingly seeking out their shops to take naps as well as heal and recharge their minds. For the past 4 years, Duong and her husbands chain has sprawled out into 7 branches across HCMC, with 40,000 customers registering as members. Nguyen Mai Anh, a 21-year-old student from the Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, frequently visits a cafe with beds near her school in Binh Thanh District at noon to take a nap. Nguyen Mai Anh often visits this coffee & bed shop in Ho Chi Minh Citys Binh Thanh District 3 to 4 times a week. Photo by VnExpress/Minh Tam Mai Anh said having a nap at noon relieves stress in her body and her mind becomes more alert. In the past, she used to idle her lunch away at a convenience store to wait for classes in the afternoon. Another frequent customer of the Binh Thanh District cafe, Pham Trung Nghia, a 27-year-old office employee, also finds that a half-an-hour nap at noon in a cozy, fragrant and quiet place leaves him feeling refreshed for the rest of the day. Nghia said when he first tried the cafe, he felt hesitant when he noticed a camera watching over him in bed. "But after the staff explained the purpose of installing cameras, I felt it was quite a good idea to ensure proper behavior," he said. At cafes with beds, cameras are installed in private rooms for security purposes and to discourage sexual behavior for a healthy atmosphere all customers to enjoy. Besides singles, many couples have also tried these cafes. On February 28, Quoc Hung from Hanois Gia Lam District also visited the venue in Cau Giay to meet his girlfriend, a senior college student. The couple looked for some private place to talk. "Were only here to relax and wont do anything improper so we dont feel bothered by the camera," said the 27-year-old customer. Hung found the services interesting and said he would return. This is the fourth article on the 2023 Berlin International Film Festival, held February 16 to February 26. The first was posted on February 22, the second on March 2 and the third on March 6. Filmgoers may be most familiar with Jacob the Liar (Jakob der Lugner) in the form of the 1999 Hollywood adaptation (directed by Peter Kassovitz), starring Robin Williams. This year, the Berlin film festival (Berlinale) screened the original 1974 version by East German (GDR) director Frank Beyer (1932-2006), with a screenplay by Jurek Becker (1937-1997). The 1975 Berlinale awarded its Silver Bear prize to the films lead performer, Czech actor Vlastimil Brodsky. Jacob the Liar was also the only East German film to be nominated for a foreign language Academy Award. Vlastimil Brodsky and Erwin Geschonneck in Jacob the Liar (1974) The films drama takes place in a Jewish ghetto in Nazi-occupied Poland in 1944. The Soviet army is marching westward. No news reaches the strictly isolated ghetto. When Jacob Heym has to report to the Nazi SS for allegedly breaking the curfew, he learns by chance (from a radio) that the Soviet army is not far away. When the hungry Mischa (Henry Hubchen) recklessly risks his life to get hold of some potatoes, Jacob reassures him the Russians will arrive soon. Mischa, however, doesnt believe the story. No one has ever come back alive after reporting to the SS. Jacob fibs that he has a radio, a lie which puts his own life in danger. At the same time, it gives those in the ghetto a glimmer of hope. No one kills him or herself any more. Little Lina (Manuela Simon) presses Jacob to show her the radio. Because she has never seen one before, she takes the paraffin lamp for a radio that only she is allowed to listen to. Jacob creates fake radio announcements from an adjoining room. Now, however, on a daily basis, Jacob has to invent fresh news for the ghetto inhabitants. In the event, he is sorely tried keeping up the masquerade, especially when deportations begin because of the approaching Soviet forces. He explains that the radio is broken, but the others find a repairman. Eventually, Jacob tells the truth, whereupon his friend, the barber Kowalski (Erwin Geschonneck), takes his own life. At the end of the film, the deportation train rolls towards Auschwitz. Becker and Beyer deliberately chose this ending, matter-of-fact and without martyrs, unlike the Hollywood adaptation in which Jacob even leads a resistance group. This is precisely what Beyer and Becker did not wanta hero who stands above the rest of the population. Beyer remarked ironically that the happy ending of the Hollywood film reminded him somewhat of the Socialist Realism policy pursued under Stalin. By the 1960s, cinema audiences in East Germany were fed up with the hackneyed portrayal of square-jawed Communists being hunted by Nazis, while everybody else stood on the sidelines and played the role of extras. A number of films were made that realistically portrayed East German life, thereby raising existential questions about the GDR itself. All the films made in 1965 and 1966 by the state-run East German film production company, DEFA, were ultimately banned, including Beyers construction site comedy Spur der Steine (Trace of Stones). Manuela Simon and Vlastimil Brodsky in Jacob the Liar The ruling Stalinist party (SED) claimed such films incited popular unrest, under conditions of considerable social tension. This was only a few years after the construction of the Berlin Wall. The films implied at least that the SED was preventing the working population, especially the youth, from playing any meaningful social role, i.e., the films called upon the Stalinist party to carry out its own stated programme of realising the power of the working class. It was this democratic spirit that also influenced the script for Jacob the Liar, which Becker submitted at the end of 1966. The film dispenses with the usual didactic and overbearing Stalinist functionaries (and lecturing). The historical figure of Jacob Heym, who deliberately violated the Nazi ban on owning a radio, became the fictional, apolitical, former baker Jacob, who does not own a radio and by chance finds himself in a situation in which he reacts spontaneously (but not by chance) in a very humane way. Instead of reconstructing a ghetto with overcrowded streets and apartments strewn with corpses, the film concentrates on the sensitively played main characters. Jacob the Liar could not be filmed until 1974 because Beyer was not permitted to make any films for nearly a decade after the success of the regime-critical Spur der Steine. In the meantime, Becker developed the script into a successful novel, which the West German television channel ZDF was interested in filming. The veteran German film actor Heinz Ruhmann, who lived in West Germany, was prepared to play the lead role in the GDR production. GDR state and party leader Erich Honecker personally prevented Ruhmanns participation. The GDR had been recognised as an independent state by its admission to the UN in 1973. Everything that could point towards a unified cultural nation was to be avoided, Beyer says in his autobiography. There were also difficulties with neighbouring Poland (also under Stalinist rule). Polish actors engaged for the film were not allowed to travel to take part in the film. This was probably related to the relationship of the Poles to the countrys Jewish community. Along with acts of solidarity during the war, there was also anti-Semitism and betrayal. But that was a taboo in Poland at the time. Between 1966 and 1974, when the film project was on hold, the mood in the GDR changed. The time of radical demands was over. In a changed situation which opened up certain freedoms, realist films now concentrated on the struggle for the right for personal advancement and personal happiness. This was the case in Beyers television multi-part The Seven Affairs of Dona Juanita (1973) or Heiner Carows The Legend of Paul and Paula (1973), which became a cult film. The film Jacob the Liar, with its poetic and sober approach, fits well into this period. The Berlinale screening of the old GDR classic is a welcome rediscovery. Not least, the film reminds present-day audiences of the hopes bound up with the existence of the Soviet Union, whose army, consisting of both Ukrainian and Russian soldiers, liberated signficant portions of Europe from fascism in World War II. The film is now available for viewing on the internet here: To be continued President Joe Biden speaks about his 2024 budget proposal at the Finishing Trades Institute, Thursday, March 9, 2023, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) [AP Photo/Evan Vucci] The White House unveiled its budget request for the 2024 fiscal year Thursday, with the largest ever proposed spending on the military. It is a $1 trillion budget for world war. The Biden administration wants the resources to fight Russia in Ukraine, intensify its buildup towards war with China in the Far East and sustain US military aggression in the Middle East. Besides $842 billion for the Pentagon, which will undoubtedly be pushed even higher in Congress, there is $24 billion for the Department of Energy, which maintains the US nuclear arsenal, and $20 billion for military-related programs in the State Department, CIA and other agencies, bringing the total official military spending to $886 billion. To this must be added the real cost of the war in Ukraine, which is listed as only $6 billion for the 2024 fiscal year, which begins October 1. In the previous fiscal year, the Biden administration requested $6.9 billion but ended up spending $114 billion. Given that there is no sign of the war endingon the contrary, it is escalating rapidlythe cost of US support for the otherwise bankrupt regime in Kiev is likely to surpass the current level. This would swell total military outlays well above the $1 trillion mark. Since Biden took office, the budget for the Pentagon alone has jumped from $718 billion in fiscal 2022, the first full year of his administration, to $816 billion last year. The $842 billion requested for this year could rise past the $900 billion mark once Congress and lobbyists for the weapons manufacturers have their say. Congressional Republicans have already denounced the budget for providing too little funding for the military. The name Department of Defense is itself a gross distortion since there is not an inch of American soil that needs to be defended against an external enemy. It is rather the world which is under threat from the Pentagon. The US government maintains a global military presence without precedent in history, with more than 700 US bases worldwide, while its main targets, Russia and China, have only one base each outside their own borders. The department should be renamed the Department of Maintaining Americas Global Empire, or perhaps more simply, the Department of World Destruction. Some $38 billion of the Pentagon budget will go to nuclear weapons modernization, bringing the total spending this year on the US nuclear arsenal, to carry out the worldwide annihilation of civilization and perhaps all life on the planet, to more than $60 billion. Much of the non-military budget also contributes to the US capacity to wage war around the world. One White House statement declares that the budget invests in key technologies and sectors of the U.S. industrial base such as microelectronics, submarine construction, munitions production, and biomanufacturing. It also includes the recapitalization and optimization of the four public Naval Shipyards to meet future submarine and carrier maintenance requirements. Much of last years $250 billion CHIPS Act was funding routed through the Department of Commerce to underwrite the transfer to the United States of production of key semiconductor chips that are vital for high-tech weapons. The Energy Department budget will support the strong technical and engineering foundation for the anti-China AUKUS agreement between the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom. Biden will host British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at an AUKUS summit in San Diego on Monday. There are billions more in the budget for police repression, including $25 billion for Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and $14.5 billion for other anti-immigrant activities of the Department of Homeland Security, including immigration courts and the vast network of detention facilities. Tens of billions more go to the FBI and other Justice Department agencies, and in grants that go directly to state and local police departments. Military violence and police repression constitute the bulk of the $1.7 trillion in discretionary spending, the amount that Congress must authorize and appropriate each year, as opposed to automatic outlays from the Treasury for interest payments and entitlement programs like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. The budget request issued Thursday by the Biden administration is a political perspective, not just a spending plan. It is shared by both capitalist parties, Republican and Democrat, whatever their tactical differences about where and how much to spend. American imperialism seeks to maintain its global domination, and it is now focused on defeating what it regards as its main adversaries, Russia and above all China. The proxy war against Russia in Ukraine is only the antechamber to an even greater conflict with China, which now takes the form of a rapid military buildup towards what one top general suggested would be open warfare by 2025. The corporate media is doing its part to suppress popular opposition to these wars, seeking to shift public opinion with a propaganda blitz over Russias reactionary invasion of Ukraine, and whipping up hysteria over alleged Chinese spy balloons and the social media app TikTok, depicted as a nefarious scheme by Beijing to collect intelligence on ordinary Americans. It was noteworthy that in Bidens first campaign-style appearance to sell his budget to the public, he made no mention of military spending, instead greatly exaggerating the level of spending on health care, education and other social welfare programs, which will inevitably be slashed rather than increased in the course of budget negotiations with the Republicans. This was accompanied by populist demagogy over proposals to raise taxes on corporations and the super-rich, which he knows will go nowhere in Congress. The White House could not get a few hundred billion in tax increases on the wealthy through a Democratic-controlled Congress in 2021-2022. To suggest that a Republican-controlled House of Representatives will pass $5 trillion in such levies on the financial aristocracy is a blatant lie. Biden proceeds like a crude carnival barker, holding up the shiny objects of tax increases for the wealthy and increases in social spending, which are popular among working people, to distract from the real essence of his program, which is to continue and escalate the war with Russia in Ukraine and to prepare the impending war with China. This is the central axis of the policies of the Democratic Party, a party of Wall Street and the military-intelligence apparatus, which has long ago abandoned any genuine connection to policies of social concessions to working people. Bidens only dispute with the Republicans is over whether to target Russia or China first. But this conflict is secondary. Both parties uphold the worldwide interests of the American oligarchy. In a militarist barrage, Nine Media and its main mastheadsthe Sydney Morning Herald and the Agepublished a major series this week insisting that Australia must prepare to fight an imminent war against China. In recent days, two of Australia's most important newspapers, the Sydney Morning Herald and the Melbourne-based The Age, have published a series of articles urging that much must be done to prepare for war with China, including introducing conscription, [Photo: WSWS, from Nine images] Red Alert called for the stationing of nuclear weapons and long-range missiles in northern Australia, the introduction of mass conscription and preparations for the country to host as many as 200,000 US military personnel. The articles are a demand for total war, not far off in the future, but as an immediate practical order of business. The series stressed that a war will be fought in the Indo-Pacific, not in twenty years or a decade, but within the next three years. The multi-part series was not published in response to any specific development. Over the past week, there has not been a major geo-political occurrence in the region. China has not carried out any acts of aggression. Instead, Red Alert is part of a coordinated onslaught by those sections of the US and allied media that speak directly for the American military-intelligence apparatus. In concert, publications such as the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post have published frothing condemnations of China. It is as though someone in the White House, the Pentagon or both flicked a switch that sent out an alert to their lackeys in the media. The provocative attacks on Beijing come as the US and NATO escalate their proxy war against Russia in Ukraine. It is becoming ever more open that the war effort in Eastern Europe is one prong of a far broader militarist project. The US is seeking to inflict a crippling military defeat on Russia, as the essential prelude to war with China, which is viewed as the chief threat to American imperialist interests. Red Alert was couched as an independent review by five experts of Australias capabilities to fight a major war over the coming years. It was timed to precede the release of an official review commissioned by the federal Labor government, due out later this month. The claims of independence are a violation of the most basic journalistic ethics and standards related to disclosure. One is employed directly by the Australian government, four are employed by or contribute to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, one of the most hawkish government-funded think tanks, or the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, which is among the most militaristic Washington think tanks. In other words, they could not be any less independent. They are mouthpieces of the state apparatus, as well as of private arms manufacturers that are making a fortune on the back of the military build-up. The contents of the Red Alert review are no less false than its purported independence. The series is a compendium of the lies, double speak and incendiary accusations used by Washington and its allies in the Australian political establishment to justify an aggressive military encirclement of China. The timeline featured by Red Alert, of a war with China within three years, comes straight from the American military. It is simply a promotion of views advanced by US Air Force General Michael Minihan, who earlier this year forecast an American war with China by 2025. The supposed cause of such a war advanced by Red Alert is identical to that put forward by Minihan. The Chinese government would purportedly launch an invasion of Taiwan, compelling US intervention and rapidly spiralling into an all-out war. Red Alert tries to present the US, as well as its allies, such as Australia, as engaging in a defensive effort on behalf of little Taiwan, as they have supposedly done in defence of little Ukraine. This depiction is a fraud on every level. The US has been carrying out a vast military build-up throughout the Indo-Pacific since it unveiled the pivot to Asia in 2011. The Pentagon has outlined an Air Sea Battle plan as to how an aggressive US war against China would be waged. Chief US strategists have openly acknowledged that this is motivated by fears of Chinas economic rise, and American imperialisms relative decline. Taiwan is simply a pretext. The US and its allies have sought to transform it into a flashpoint. Successive US governments, beginning with Obama, have undermined the status quo. Since the 1970s, the international community, including American administrations, de facto acknowledged the Chinese Communist Party as the sole legitimate government of all of China, including Taiwan, located just 160 kilometres from mainland China. But now, Biden has repeatedly declared that the US would fight a war to defend Taiwanese independence. His administration has tripled US forces on the island, while directly providing military aid and expanding diplomatic ties with Taipei. The aim is to provoke a Chinese response, which would serve as the justification for longstanding US war plans. Red Alert asserts that such a war would immediately become region-wide. Australia would be involved from the outset and within 72 hours of such a conflict, there would be Chinese attacks on Australian cyber networks and critical infrastructure. The US Pine Gap spy and military coordination base in central Australia would be a target, as would other Australian-US installations. The series declares that in the event of such a war, as many as 200,000 American troops would descend on Northern Australia. That is, 47,000 less than the entire population of the Northern Territory, meaning the entire region would be transformed into a massive US base. Red Alert links this scenario to a call for the acquisition of major missile systems and other offensive weaponry. This is in line with a rapid build-up already underway, which is being dramatically accelerated by the Labor government. Virtually every week, there is a new announcement of military acquisition, be it sea mines, US HIMARS or naval strike missiles. Conscious of the historic opposition to war among workers and young people, the document cites the necessity to break the taboos of conscription and nuclear weapons. Perhaps the one note of truth in the series is its description of what a major war in the Indo-Pacific would involve. It would be a whole of nation effort, essentially requiring the militarisation of the entire society. Along these lines, the Red Alert series calls for the introduction of conscription. This would involve not only teenagers and young adults, but potentially anyone required for the war effort in what would be a war economy and the militarisation of society. The series also advocates the stationing of US nuclear weapons in Northern Australia, on long-range missile systems that could fire them into the Indo-Pacific. As is the case whenever such proposals are made, the experts assert that this would serve as a deterrent. But they contradict themselves because in the previous parts of the series, the experts insisted that war is inevitable. The inescapable conclusion is that they are calling for nuclear war. Red Alert serves several purposes. It comes amid a debate within the Australian ruling elite, over Australias full alignment with the US war drive against China. A minority wing has voiced concerns over the implications of this. It is not anti-war or anti-imperialist, but fears that war with Australias largest trading partner will devastate the economy while provoking mass social and political upheavals. The dominant sections of the political establishment, however, are all the way with the US. Australia, as a middle-order power, has always functioned under the umbrella of the dominant power of the day to prosecute its own imperialist interests. Australia, moreover, is completely integrated into the US war machine, meaning its participation in a conflict with China would be automatic. This integration is only deepening. Next week, Labor Prime Minister Albanese will stand alongside President Biden in San Diego, as they announce that Australia will purchase US nuclear-powered submarines. The Labor government has already permitted nuclear-capable American B-52 bombers to rotate through northern Australia, meaning American nuclear weapons may already be stationed here. The primary target of the Red Alert series is the population itself. Its authors write about the need to change Australian psychology. They know that their mad plans for war are deeply opposed by the vast mass of workers and young people. Conscription provoked massive social upheavals, both in World War I and during the Vietnam War. There is likewise a long history of broad opposition to nuclear weapons. The propaganda blitz is aimed at bulldozing these popular sentiments by asserting that there is no alternative but to fight a war. A conflict is inevitable, so the population will simply have to accept it. But the response to Red Alert itself shows that this will not happen. The series has received a torrent of hostile commentary on social media. The Sydney Morning Herald posted the final part, containing the recommendation for nuclear weapons and conscription, to its Twitter account yesterday. The tweet has been viewed by 161,000 people. But only 20 of them hit the like button. While proclaiming the need for an open and bold discussion, the Herald has hidden all responses to its Twitter post. The type of war that Red Alert advocates is incompatible with democracy. That is the real meaning of the comments by the experts on the Zelensky test. They are referencing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, a front man for the US and NATO. The Zelensky test is a willingness to place the entire country on a war footing. In Ukraine, this has involved the banning of all opposition parties and the promotion of fascist and Nazi forces. The working class must take a sharp warning from the Red Alert series and the broader turn to war with China. Longstanding plans for a catastrophic conflict are being activated. Governments and their mouthpieces are not only asserting that war is near. They are making it so. This is a product of the deepest crisis of the profit system since the 1930s. The alternative to the catastrophe that is being prepared is the fight to build an international anti-war movement of the working class directed against the capitalist system itself and fighting for the socialist reorganisation of society. Contact the SEP 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. The Florida legislative session which began on March 7 has seen lawmakers introduce a series of new bills aimed at burnishing the right-wing credentials of Republican Governor Ron DeSantis in the lead-up to the 2024 Republican presidential primaries. With his party holding super-majorities in both chambers of the legislature, DeSantis has a free hand to further his fascistic agenda, restrained only by his own political calculations and the inevitable legal challenges which each major piece of legislation will generate. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Feb. 24, 2022, in Orlando, Fla. [AP Photo/John Raoux,] Many of the proposed bills lack popular support in Florida, even among Republicans. One bill that would grant the automatic right to carry a concealed firearm without a permit or background check was opposed by 77 percent of respondents, including 62 percent who identified as Republican, in a recent poll taken by the University of North Florida. Across Florida gun violence is pervasive, and its largest cities are among the most violent in the US. But DeSantis is aiming for Washington D.C., not Tallahassee, and his new policies are shaped to appeal to the national Republican electorate. The legislature is set to further restrict abortion rights, after already banning the procedure after the first 15 weeks of pregnancy during last years legislative session. Under the new bill being considered, abortions would be illegal after the first six weeks of pregnancy. This would nearly outlaw the procedure altogether, as many women do not become aware that they are pregnant until after six weeks have passed. In 2020 DeSantis burnished his reputation among the far right by being one of the first governors to force educators and students to return to in-person instruction at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now he aims to gut public education in Florida by eliminating income requirements for the states school voucher program. Previously, to qualify for the states Family Empowerment Scholarship program, which grants families up to $7,850 per child to pay for private schooling, a family had to fall at or below 400 percent of the federal poverty level. Now all families can apply for the vouchers, including homeschoolers. This will channel millions of dollars of state education funds into the bank accounts of the various charter school companies. The governor has recently exploited the 2018 Parkland school shooting, where 17 students were killed by 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz using an AR-15 assault rifle that he had legally purchased, to expand the use of capital punishment in Florida. State law currently requires a unanimous Jury to sentence a convicted murderer to death, a result of a 2016 Supreme Court decision that forced the state to re-write the law that previously allowed a judge to impose the death penalty if a simple majority of jurors vote for it. After the jury in Cruzs trial recently imposed a sentence of life without parole, rather than sentencing him to die, the governor publicly expressed interest in rolling back the unanimous jury requirement. Two new bills under consideration would only require either eight or 10 jurors, depending on which bill passes, to recommend the death penalty for the presiding judge to impose it. DeSantis is seeking an additional $3.1 million in funding for the states Office of Election Crimes and Security (OECS), a police agency created in the aftermath of the 2020 elections to investigate alleged voter fraud. Former President Donald Trump falsely claimed the election was stolen from him and used this lie to launch an attempted coup on January 6, 2021 in an effort to block the certification of Joe Bidens victory. Since its establishment, the agency has arrested only 10 individuals, most of whose charges were later dropped. No actual voter fraud has been uncovered. Those charged were primarily convicted felons who had failed to pay all of their various fines and were thus ineligible to have their voting rights restored under Floridas anti-democratic constitution. In spite of this, DeSantis is aiming to add 27 new officers to the OECS. Given his presidential ambitions it is likely the governor will use his private election cops to intimidate and monitor any opposition in the lead-up to the 2024 elections. Even more extreme legislation has been introduced by DeSantis lackeys in the legislature who want to ride his coattails to national prominence. One bill which has been widely covered by the media would require any paid blogger who writes about Florida politics to register with the governors office, revealing their identity and employer. A transparent violation of the First Amendment that would likely be immediately overturned by the courts, the proposed legislation was criticized from all quarters, even by far-right-wing figures like former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. After an initial period of silence DeSantis stated that he would not support the bill. Another proposed piece of legislation unlikely to be passed into law would ban any political party in Florida that once supported slavery in its platform. An obvious piece of political theatre, dubbed by its author The Ultimate Cancel Act, the bills purpose is to embarrass the Democrats, the former party of slavery and Jim Crow segregation. DeSantis has been elevated by sections of the mainstream media and the Republican establishment as the leading alternative to Trump as the partys 2024 presidential nominee. His popularity among these layers derives primarily from the fact that he was the first governor of a large state to dismantle all COVID-19 protections in the early days of the pandemic and to forbid, by executive order, mask mandates or vaccine requirements throughout the state. DeSantis anti-scientific measures were eventually adopted by the ruling class as a whole, once pandemic restrictions became an unbearable obstacle to the continuing accumulation of wealth. Because DeSantis was among the earliest to implement the homicidal let it rip policyforcing the population to accept mass infection and death so that commerce can flow unimpededhe has been hailed as a visionary. The second major source of his national popularity derives from the fact that he has skillfully exploited the relentless promotion of identity politics by the Democratic Party and its pseudo-left satellites. Over at least the last decade, as inequality has deepened and more workers have entered into open struggle against capitalism, the sections of the ruling class affiliated with the Democratic Party have made a concerted effort to prevent workers from uniting as a class and fighting for their social interests by pushing the politics of race, gender and sexuality. This has had the predictable, and desired, effect of alienating broad swaths of the population and strengthening the far right. Posing as a defender of traditional values and democratic rights, DeSantis has used the opening provided by the Democrats to exert control over the state education system. The Stop Woke Act, passed into law last year, prohibits the teaching of divisive concepts related to racism and sexism. Another law, the Curriculum Transparency Billwhich requires that all books and instructional materials used in schools be made available for review, and possible removal, by parentsled to 41 percent of textbooks used in Florida classrooms being removed. School libraries throughout the state have been emptied out and bookshelves covered up until their content can be approved by one of the governors certified media specialists. DeSantis has attributed his landslide victory in last years elections to support for his right-wing agenda. A compliant press has supported this narrative. Rarely noted is the salient fact that his opponent in that election was former Republican Governor Charlie Crist, one of the most discredited and nakedly opportunist politicians in a state with no shortage of such figures. Crist has variously sought office as a Republican, Independent, and now a Democrat, depending on which way the political winds are blowing. His nomination by the Florida Democratic Party to be their candidate for governor is a testament to the partys corruption and hostility to the working class and his defeat was predictable. Above all, DeSantis new national prominence stems from the fact that billionaire donors that fund the Republican Party view the governor as a figure who can further their far-right agenda in the White House without the endless scandals and theatrics for which former president Trump was infamous. Whether or not he can defeat Trump in the primaries is still an open question. Ten years ago, DeSantis began his political career in the US House of Representatives by calling for the privatization of Medicare and Social Security. The next president, regardless of party, will be tasked with carrying out far-reaching attacks on these programs as part of a broader assault on the living standards and democratic rights of the working class in the build-up to open war against Russia and China. DeSantis, who as a Naval officer in 2006 supervised the torture of inmates at Guantanamo Bay, is increasingly seen by a section of the ruling elite as the man for the job. Vladimir Putins full-scale invasion of Ukraine has resulted in devastating human costs, as U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice Beth Van Schaack noted at a recent press briefing. We have seen thousands of civilians killed, millions of Ukrainian citizens forced to flee their homes. Many have become refugees in other countries, and historic cities have been pounded to rubble, she said. The government of Russias war of aggression against a sovereign state is a manifest violation of the United Nations Charter. Members of Russias forces have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity, including the crimes of murder, rape, torture, and, along with other Russian officials, deportation of Ukraines population, including children. There is mounting evidence, said Ambassador Van Schaack, that these mass atrocities are being committed in every region of Ukraine, wherever Russias forces are deployed. Winning the war is more than just winning on the battlefield; it also means winning the fight for justice, she declared. It is imperative that justice and accountability remain a focus of the international community. The Ambassador observed that currently there are three operational pathways to investigate war crimes and other atrocities in Ukraine. The first involves Ukraines own domestic courts. Ukraines prosecutor general has already recorded over 70,000 potential war crimes and other atrocities. The Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group, established by the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom, is supporting Ukraines prosecutor general by sending in experts to help document, preserve and analyze evidence. The second pathway is the International Criminal court. The ICC is engaged because the government of Ukraine consented to its jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed in Ukraine since February 20, 2014, when Russia seized Crimea. Finally, Ambassador Van Schaack said domestic courts around the world, particularly in Europe, are opening investigations of war crimes and other atrocities in Ukraine under the principles of universal jurisdiction, which allow for the prosecution of crimes committed outside a countrys territory. Russias war against Ukraine presents a profound moral issue that the international community needs to grapple with, said Ambassador Van Schaack. It is only if we have robust accountability that the deterrence impact will be at its greatest, so other world leaders will think twice before they launch a war of aggression in a way that President Putin has done so. With the forecast calling for a wet, warm, and windy week ahead, those looking to recreate in the back country of Nevada need to do so with care. This weeks forecast calls for daytime highs climbing into the low 40s in many areas with the snow level on some days above 7,000 feet of elevation. The warmer weather combined with projected rain and snowfall could cause flooding as much of northern Nevada is under a flood watch through this weekend. Even though many areas are predicting more snow than rain, the snow will be wet and heavy. Spring can be a very dangerous time of year as both road and ice conditions can change very quickly. The warm wet weather combined with high winds predicted can cause problems with our ice. If nothing else, it could make for some very slushy wet conditions on top of the ice. With the warmer weather comes snow melt that will increase flows in area streams. There is also the chance that water engineers may let some water out of reservoirs to make room for the heavy snowmelt as it comes off the mountains. Snowmelt may also start raising water levels in area reservoirs which will impact ice safety, especially around the edges. Another issue in the backcountry is avalanches. There are several well defined layers of snow already on the ground in the mountains and when you add the weight of very wet snow on top, avalanche danger increases. Travel off the main roads is not recommended this weekend and it might be a good weekend to go through your fishing gear, preparing for the spring and summer ahead. WILDHORSEVery little change here. The ice at Wildhorse is ranging from 15 to 20 inches of ice with up to a foot of snow on top depending where upon the lake you are. Ice closer to the dam is a bit porous and there is open water between the old and new dams so anglers should stay away from the dam. Slush pockets can be found, mostly where others have drilled holes allowing water up on the ice underneath the snow. Expect more slush with the warmer weather and the possibility of some rain. Fishing continues to be good for 18- to 20-inch trout that are fat and chunky. Fish up to 25 inches are also being reported. Perch fishing has been slow with few taken. Anglers on the ice should stay far away from the bridge over the Hendricks Arm as recently there was open water there and it has become ice covered with unsafe ice due to recent cold temperatures. Dead sticking worms or PowerBait and jigging gold Kastmasters, jigs, or small spinners tipped with worms or PowerBait three to four feet below the ice in water that is seven to 13 feet deep has been productive for trout. If trout fishing is slow in the spot fishing moving to a different spot often makes a difference. If fishing for perch, look for water ranging between 25 and 35 feet deep and fish just off the bottom using a small piece of worm on a small soft plastic jig. Lift the rod tip up few inches every minute or so in a jigging action to entice the perch. Often there will be a bite as the bait settles down. However, expect fishing for yellow perch through the ice to be extremely slow due to the fishery recovering from the spring 2022 die-off. SOUTH FORK RESERVOIRThe main boat ramp cove and the east side of the reservoir is covered with seven to eight inches of ice with a pressure ridge at the mouth of the cove that should be avoided. Jet Ski Beach and the east side of the lake has ice averaging 12 to 14 inches. The south end where the river enters the reservoir has unsafe ice and should be avoided. Anglers report fair fishing for 14- to 18-inch fish with an occasional 20+ inch fish along Jet Ski Beach and slow fishing on the east side. Most anglers were having success with worms, PowerBait or corn, though jigging small jigs and spoons is also producing a few fish. The fish are being caught in spurts with several fish being caught in about a half hour and then a slow period for an hour or two. Fish appear to be hanging in water that is 10 to 12 feet deep or shallower hanging three to six feet below the ice. WILSON RESERVOIRNo report on the lake itself, but expect very poor road conditions to continue with this weeks warm wet weather. Travel is not recommended here this weekend. Water conditions here are generally similar to South Fork so there may be ice of variable thicknesses with the good possibility safe ice. Anglers can expect fair to good ice fishing this winter for 12- to 16-inch trout. Use the same techniques and baits as at Wildhorse and South Fork. RUBY LAKE NWRAt this time, travel to Ruby Lake NWR is not recommended due to continued snow and drifting. Much of the valley is single lane driving and there isnt any off road parking for fishing. Even if you get there, there is no access off the main road and anglers will find deep snow to walk through to the collection ditch. The best way to the refuge appears to be through Overland Pass to the south of the Ruby Mountains, but travel at your own risk. The collection ditch is mostly ice at the north end starting at Bressman cabin. The south end of the ditch has some areas of open water for fishing but lots of snow on the ground making walking difficult. No recent report from anglers due to travel conditions, but at last report (early February) fishing was good in the collection ditch. Chironomid patterns such as zebra midges, red butt buzzers, chironocones and ice cream cones should catch fish. Other flies such as copper Johns, leech patterns, balanced leeches, crystal buggers, #14-16 hares ears, and #16-18 PT nymphs fished under an indicator are recommended. Expect fair to good fishing for Spin anglers should be using small spinners in black or olive with contrasting yellow or red colors as well as small minnow imitations. With the colder water temperatures anglers should slow down their presentations as the fish are moving slower this time of year. The collection ditch is artificial lures only, no bait. Wading is not allowed in the ditch. JAKES CREEK/BOIES RESERVOIRAs of Wednesday, March 8, Jakes Creek has approximately 19 inches of ice with several inches of snow on top. The road in was lightly snow packed, but very drivable though this road is notorious for mud once things warm up as is predicted over the next week. Snow and rain are also in the forecast for the weekend so travel at your own risk. Anglers report fair fishing for 10- to 12-inch chunky trout using worms or PowerBait jigged slowly a few feet below the ice. The road is snow packed and may have drifting. Expect 4WD conditions to the reservoir. COLD CREEK RESERVOIRAccess to the lake is poor due to snow conditions and the road around the lake wasnt plowed as of last week. The lake is only 50% covered in ice and is variable in thickness and considered unsafe. Ice fishing is not recommended but if anglers do decide to try their luck they should drill test holes before venturing onto the ice. Anglers can expect to catch eight to 10-inch rainbow or tiger trout. CAVE LAKECave Lake is lowered to minimum pool and unfishable. Fish stocking will resume once the dam repairs are completed. Cave Lake is closed to fishing due to shorelines that are very soft and dangerous due to the complete saturation of the soil. For more information on Cave Lake, please contact the NDOW Ely Field Office. COMINS LAKENo change here as Comins Lake is 100% covered with ice with approximately 20 inches of good ice in most areas. Fishing continues to be good on both the north and south lakes for 14- to 18-inch rainbow trout through the ice with an occasional brown or tiger trout. Nightcrawlers and plastic jigs have consistently produced trout. Northern Pike and bass are also showing up in the creel by jigging Rat-L Traps, flashy spoons, and even nightcrawlers. Please note that NDOW has placed radio tags in several Northern Pike. These pike will have an orange Floy tag near their dorsal fin and a small antenna (~ 7 inches long) coming from their stomach. Please return these fish to the water for research purposes. All other pike should be humanely dispatched. There is no limit on the pike. ILLIPAHDue to equipment issues the BLM has not been able to plow the road into the lake. Access may be possible with 4WD and chains, but travel isnt recommended at this time. NDOW personnel havent been able to reach the lake since mid-February but at last report the reservoir was covered with 10 to 12 inches of solid ice with snow on top. Anglers should expect to catch 8-to-12-inch Rainbow Trout and the occasional Brown Trout. Nightcrawlers, a variety of jigs, and PowerBait are all producing trout. ANGEL LAKEThe road is closed for the winter and the lake is ice covered. There will be no reports until late spring or early summer depending upon weather and snow conditions. ALPINE LAKESAvalanche danger is high in the Ruby Mountains and those wanting to hike into the Rubies will find very deep snow conditions, very cold temperatures and only experienced back country trekkers should attempt to get away from the roads. The lakes are ice and snow covered. With the snowpack expect a late start to summer fishing at the high elevations. It will probably be July before some of the lakes will be accessible. STREAMSThere is a flood watch across much of northern Nevada this weekend. Expect flows to increase significantly with the forecast of warmer temperatures and the possibility of some rain. Access to the fishable parts of streams is very difficult due to road conditions and very deep snow in most areas. Travel is not recommended at this time as Elko Countys Search and Rescue Team have been busy this winter helping back country travelers. Carry chains and a shovel and be prepared to spend the night. Please leave a trip plan with someone responsible so that if you dont return home at the expected time someone can start looking for you. If anglers get to the streams expect ice and deep snow making fishing difficult. With cold water temperatures the fish are moving slower and anglers should slow their presentations down. Lamoille Canyon access is by snowshoe, skis or snow mobile due to snow which is still almost six feet deep at the Snotel site in the canyon. Access to both the Bruneau and Jarbidge Rivers is now through Idaho due to snow conditions and even then, it is difficult to impossible to travel into the Bruneau by anything but a snowmobile and travel is not recommended. Access the Jarbidge through Rogerson, Idaho north of Jackpot. As of March 9, the East Fork of the Owyhee had minimal flows below Wildhorse dam, while the station near Mountain City was flowing at 35 cfs. The Jarbidge River at 6.61 cfs, the Bruneau River flowing at 40.3 cfs, Salmon Falls Creek at 70.8 cfs, Lamoille Creek at 7.47 cfs, the South Fork of the Humboldt at 25.8 cfs, Cleve Creek showing ice, Steptoe Creek at 1.67 cfs and Kingston Creek at 3.13 cfs. MineConnect USA is carrying on with its mission of helping to make connections between mining companies in Nevada and Northern Ontario. Northern Ontario is a global powerhouse in the mining industry, with many world leaders in mining technology and manufacturing providing their quality products and services to mines in Canada, so it made sense to start an incubator project to help these Ontario businesses share their technology and expertise in Nevada, another global mining powerhouse. The Nevada mining industry has struggled for years to fill various gaps within its supply chain; we are thrilled to have top tier companies from a world class mining district establishing their U.S. based operations right here locally, Northeastern Nevada Regional Development Authority Executive Director Sheldon Mudd said in an early announcement about MineConnect USA. Mudd has been talking about the possibility of this kind of incubator project with people in northern Ontario since 2015. Their talks finally came to fruition in 2020. MineConnect USA was set up under the auspices of Ontarios North Economic Development Corporation with funding from several sources. There are about 900 mining supply and service companies in Northern Ontario, and around 230 of these are members of MineConnect, Ontarios not-for-profit mining supply and services association. Members of MineConnect were invited to apply to become part of the first group of 10 companies that would participate in the MineConnect USA project. MineConnect USA officially began as a three-year project on Oct. 31, 2020. That wasnt the best time for this venture to get started, because there were a lot of restrictions on travel and mine visits due to the Covid pandemic. The first year turned out to be mostly a time of laying some groundwork. In December 2021 MineConnect USA opened its office in Elko. Since then, the Ontario businesses participating in MineConnect USA have been visiting northern Nevada, and occasionally using the MineConnect offices, while testing out the market and introducing people in Nevada to their products and services. Follow Mining the West on Facebook Want more content like this? Follow us on Facebook to catch the latest news from Mining the West. Some have been down here quite a bit and have found that the market is exactly what they want to plunge into, said Sheena Hansen-Mallea, the strategic development director for MineConnect USA. Theyve been able to secure contracts. Theyve been building really strong relationships and rapport within the Nevada mining industry. She said one of the Ontario companies, after experiencing success in the Nevada market, was in the process of hiring a Nevada representative. The companies participating in MineConnect USA this past year have primarily focused on introducing themselves to Nevada mining companies, although some have also made additional contacts around the region, including in Utah, Arizona and Montana. A few of the businesses have decided that the northern Nevada market may not be quite right for them at this time, or that with the labor market challenges they dont currently have the capacity to expand, but MineConnect USA has still been beneficial for them by giving them the opportunity to test the waters without having to make a big commitment. MineConnect Executive Director Marla Tremblay said several activities are planned for 2023 to help facilitate introducing Ontario mining businesses to Nevada. She said they are planning to bring a delegation of companies to Nevada during the Reverse Mining Expo which is hosted by the Northeastern Nevada Regional Development Authority and the Nevada Mining Association in the spring. She said they plan to attend the Reverse Mining Expo, do some mine site visits, and hold some networking events. They plan to do something similar during the Elko Mining Expo. Tremblay said they are also about to launch a big web-based campaign with Crownsmen Partners to help promote Ontario mining companies. The original plan for MineConnect USA was to have a different group of 10 northern Ontario businesses participate for each of the three years of the project. However, with the slow start the first year, the first group of 10 companies which started introducing themselves to Nevada mining companies in 2022 will continue to participate in MineConnect USA in 2023 if they are interested, and additional Ontario mining businesses are joining MineConnect USA this spring. MineConnect USA will come to the end of its initial three years on Oct. 31, 2023, but Tremblay said they hope to be able to extend the project. Were hoping that with this new group coming on, and with some of the things that weve been able to accomplish over the last few months, if we can get a few more wins under our belt, then we can go back to the government and say, even though we were only able to really be super active for a little over a year, look at how much weve accomplished, and wed really like to get further support. One change for MineConnect USA is 2023 is that they are moving into a different office space in Elko. They were in the former Barrick office building, but that building has sold, so MineConnect USA is moving its offices into the Blohm Jewelers building downtown. The first ten companies which have participated with the MineConnect USA project are Walden Equipment, the Hurley Group, Nordic Minesteel Technologies, Norcat, Inovinta, Jannatec Technologies, Maestro Digital Mine, Hard-Line, Rock-Tech, and Symboticware. Representatives from two of the companies, Norcat and Jannatec Technologies, shared a little bit about their companies and the goods and services they have to offer, and they shared some of their experiences in being part of the MineConnect USA project over the past year. Norcat Norcat is a training and development and innovation company that was founded in 1995. Our mandate is to bring skills training to the mining industry, as well as help facilitate companies who are developing new mining technology to bring that technology to the market, said Norcat Chief Operating Officer Jason Bubba. And were unique in that we have our own operating mine. Their mine in northern Ontario, which has been in operation about 25 years, does not produce much in the way of valuable ore the value that comes from the mine is the miners who go through five weeks of training in the mine. We also use that mine as a technology innovation center, Bubba said. Mining supply companies can install their new mining technologies and use it as a living laboratory to test and advance their technology. They can then use the mine as a living showcase where they can bring clients and showcase their technology actually functioning in an operating mine. Norcat offers a wide range of training and development services. They offer training for everyone from entry level workers to experienced workers and supervisors. They have training programs for many different skills and equipment, as well as health and safety. People can go to Norcats training facility for training, or Norcat can work with a mining company in developing their training program, and Norcat can provide trainers. The company has been providing its services internationally for many years. The bulk of their international work is in advisory services on training as well as operational readiness planning. Follow Mining the West on Twitter Did you know Mining the West is on Twitter? For the latest mining updates, give us a follow. For several years Norcat has been working with mining companies across Northern Nevada, providing off-the-shelf training programs, performing training audits to ensure the training that workers are getting from their in-house training program are being implemented appropriately in the field, and working with companies to produce custom curriculum packages, complete with instructor manuals, student guides, and competency checklists, to help ensure consistent training over time throughout the company. MineConnect USA has helped Norcat grow its business in Northern Nevada. Weve been good partners with MineConnect for many, many years, Bubba said. MineConnects office is in Norcats 70,000 square foot training facility in Sudbury, Ontario. When they decided to build this co-location facility in Elko, it was a natural fit for us because it offered us the opportunity to expand our client base in the United States while de-risking it for us, Bubba said. Its offered us the opportunity to have a professional office here in Elko, Nevada. And Sheena and MineConnect USA have been instrumental in introducing myself and Norcat to the right people at the right time and helping us navigate the Nevada mining industry culture, Bubba said. If Im coming to town, Ill connect with Sheena and say, Hey, Ive got a couple of extra days. Who can you introduce me to? And she has a remarkable contact list and has been instrumental in introducing me to the key stakeholders in the region at the various mines so that were able to knock on the right doors at the right time and make those connections to individuals who are relevant to whatever topics Im looking to discuss with them. Its been very helpful. In Ontario and more broadly across Canada, people know the Norcat name. If youre in the mining industry, you know Norcat and youve probably interacted with us one way or another. But that may not be true for some of these mines in Nevada. So its critical to be able to knock on those doors and introduce Norcat and the services that we offer to the Nevada mining industry. And its a wide product offering. Norcat has been incorporating advanced technologies like virtual reality, augmented reality and simulation into some of its training. For example, we have a program that we developed for one mining company thats a pre-operational check virtual reality system, Bubba said. He said that if someone is being trained to do a pre-operational check, they will probably be looking at a piece of equipment that is in good condition. With Norcats training, you start out with classroom training on how to perform a pre-operational check on a piece of equipment. Then you don the VR headset and you perform that pre-operational check on that same piece of equipment in the virtual world, Bubba said. Once youve proven that youre competent in doing that, then we can throw over 200 fault conditions at that piece of equipment. Maybe theres an oil leak underneath. Maybe theres a flat tire. Maybe theres an oily rag thats laying on the engine compartment. This kind of training, Bubba said, can help the miner to be better prepared to find any issues with a piece of equipment in the real world, and take care of the problem before it becomes something catastrophic. Norcat has not had the opportunity yet to showcase this kind of training technology to its U.S. clients, Bubba said. But we will be bringing it to the Nevada region, he said. We intend to bring some of these new learning technologies to the various mining shows in the region over the next year so that the mines can see and try some of these new learning technologies that weve developed and see how they can possibly implement those within their own operations. Jannatec Technologies Jannatec Technologies, which has been providing its products and services to mines across Canada for more than 25 years, focuses on three pillars: safety, lighting, and communications. The Johnny Light G3T radio cap lamp has been a big seller for Jannatec for many years, and it combines all three of the companys priorities into one unit. Underground miners need a lamp and a radio, and sometimes the radio might get misplaced. The Johnny Light solves this problem by attaching the radio to the lamp. Jannatec Sales Manager Marc Brunet explained the origin of the Johnny Light. About 25 years ago, a local mine manager came to the owner of Jannatec at the time, Wayne Ablitt, and asked if there was a way to combine the radio and cap lamp together. And we did, and its been a success ever since. I dont think theres another lamp in the world that that does that. The Johnny Light has continued to advance over the years, incorporating developments in lighting and batteries and the new models of Motorola radios. A tracking tag can be put into the hip portion of the unit, and a different tag for proximity detection or collision avoidance can be put into the head of the lamp. The Johnny Light was the first Internet of Things device of its kind before the Internet of Things became a mainstream topic in the mining industry, according to Jannatec. The Internet of Things allows communication and data sharing among many different devices. Jannetecs core competency is communication, and they will work with mining companies to make sure the tracking tags they use at their mine will not only fit in the unit but will not be too much of a battery draw and will communicate effectively over a mines network. The company says their knowledge of communication has been proven as they have provided 24/7 Leaky Feeder and LTE/WiFi service to Northern Ontario mining companies. Jannatec also offers cordless cap lamps with battery life of up to 17 hours. Other products and services available through Jannatec include SmartHelmets with tracking tags and LED lights around the brim, SmartView, which Jannatec says is the most advanced underground wireless communication system in mining, Jannatecs J.A.W.S. application for proximity detection, a collision avoidance system, and communications devices and communications systems. Jannatecs tablets currently offer a proven platform with five active modules including Training Based Access Control, Circle Check, Proximity/CAS modules, TPMS, and Backup Camera. The platform can store data onboard for manual retrieval or upload via LTE/Wifi though a dedicated client communication network. In the future the tablets will be available with camera technology which will make it possible, for example, for a technician in another country to see the work being done on an engine. A few years ago, Brunet said, Jannatec made some ventures into Nevada, especially the Elko area, because its a like the Sudbury area, with a lot of mines in the region. Covid put a stop to those trips for a while, but now, with help from MineConnect USA, Jannatec is developing contacts with Nevada mines again. Jannatec people have made several trips to the Elko area in the past year and have had some good meetings with Sheena Hansen-Mallea. I think this year our goals are a little loftier than they were last year, Brunet said. Were really looking to take advantage of the MineConnect office space, have customers come in if we cant go to site, and show them some working demos. We have a quarterly trip scheduled to Elko, and from there leapfrog to Winnemucca and Reno and all those spots in between to try to develop this market. Well be using contacts from Sheena to try to get us in front of the right people. Johnny Light is a big seller for us up here, so theres no reason it cant take off in Elko, Brunet said. A Motorola radio is a Motorola radio wherever you go in the world, and its a known good system. A lot of mining companies use Motorola as their base for their system, so its pretty easy to penetrate the market with that. So its going to be a big push this year. And obviously proximity detection and collision avoidance are big topics now, to try to alleviate machine-to-machine or machine-to-people collisions. Thats where everythings going. Jannatec has partnered with New Trend Services in Carlin to have New Trend serve as the local representative for Jannatec. Brunet said for now Jannatec is not going to venture into the larger region but will stay focused on northern Nevada. Weve got the relationship with MineConnect, so well start there and hopefully open an office down in Nevada, or have a rep like New Trend take on the proximity detection and collision avoidance, and go from there. WEST WENDOVER An effort by Planned Parenthood to open a health clinic in the border city of West Wendover is running up against local politics, as city officials declined to grant a necessary permit based on opposition to abortion. The proposed clinic would have been the closest out-of-state abortion provider to Salt Lake City, and in a city that is already a weekend destination for Utahns thanks to Nevadas liquor and gambling laws. West Wendover Mayor Jasie Holm said the rural city, with a population just shy of 4,500 in 2021, is in dire need of basic health care, with many residents regularly making the nearly two-hour drive to Salt Lake City for routine appointments. Planned Parenthood Mar Monte which serves patients throughout central California and northern Nevada proposed to help fill the gap by opening a full primary care clinic on one of the citys main thoroughfares. Although Planned Parenthood is known nationally for providing abortion care, Planned Parenthood Mar Monte representatives said the regional organization specializes in rural medicine and would provide a broad range of care to residents in West Wendover. And while abortion makes up less than 5% of care provided by Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, West Wendover city council members denied the organizations request for a conditional use permit, primarily citing opposition to the practice. Health care in West Wendover During a tense city council meeting on Tuesday, citizens on both sides of the issue urged city leaders to either approve or deny Planned Parenthoods request. Abortion is legal in Nevada up to 24 weeks of pregnancy, but only licensed physicians can provide the procedure, according to the Guttmacher Institute. So while citizens took strong stances as to the morality of abortions, the decision before the council was only to approve or deny a clinic that would offer services that are legal in the state. Holm said she has been working for years to secure more health care options for residents, and the proposed Planned Parenthood clinic could fill several gaps in care. The city currently has a community health center that provides a limited scope of care several days each month. Health care has been the No. 1 complaint about living in West Wendover for years, Holm said in a Facebook post. Prenatal care, for instance, usually involves 10-15 visits to the (doctor) during pregnancy. She said a clinic in West Wendover would mean 10 less trips to SLC, 10 less days off work, 10 less time paying for gas and maintenance on your vehicle, 10 less times worrying about road conditions. This could greatly improve the quality of life for this pregnant woman. Holm told KSL.com that the citys needs include services like kidney dialysis, physical therapy, cardiology, prenatal care, down to setting and casting bones or doing stitches. She said West Wendover has a local clinic that provides family primary care, but lacks urgent care and all the services listed above. Planned Parenthood Mar Montes services extend well beyond just reproductive care and would include annual preventive visits, immunizations, screenings for cancer and disease risk, episodic illness care, management of chronic medical conditions, gender-affirming care and education about healthy lifestyle choices. Stacy Cross, CEO and president at Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, said the organization is unique because they have several clinics that can provide full primary care. Cross spoke with KSL.com prior to the councils vote on the clinic. When we looked at that site its a site that really needs primary care. They have a critical shortage of primary care providers, so were looking forward to providing an entire range of health services, including reproductive and sexual health care, she said. Cross said the clinic could have been completed within six months of being approved. West Wendovers city manager told the council the clinic would have no negative impact on accessibility, utilities or other city functions, but the proposal was voted down by the council 4-1. Holm vetoed the councils vote but admitted that the result would be the same because Planned Parenthood needed an affirmative vote to get the permit. We have explored dialysis centers, physical therapy centers, urgent care facilities with funding always being the biggest factor, Holm said. With the conditional use permit being denied, its unclear what the next step is for them, if any, in West Wendover. Planned Parenthood Mar Monte did not respond to a further request for comment about future plans. Abortion in Utah If the clinic was approved, it would have been the nearest out-of-state clinic to Salt Lake City. It would have provided elective abortions to anyone seeking the procedure in Utah. Durango and Glenwood Springs, Colorado, have Planned Parenthood clinics, but each is more than 350 miles from Salt Lake City. Grand Junction, Colorado located just over 30 miles from the Utah border has a so-called crisis pregnancy center, operated by Care Net, an evangelical Christian network. Although the centers website provides some abortion information, crisis pregnancy centers are often run by anti-abortion activists and dont perform or recommend abortion care. Utahs legislature has eroded abortion access in the state in recent years, and the states restrictive trigger ban is temporarily paused while the courts consider its legality. That law would prohibit all abortions except in cases of rape or incest, the fetus has a fatal abnormality, or the womans life is in danger. Currently, abortions in Utah are legal through 18 weeks of pregnancy, pending a court decision on the trigger ban. While the primary purpose of the proposed West Wendover clinic would be to provide services to local residents, Cross acknowledged it would have served patients from other states who seek legal abortions there. We see patients, currently, from almost all 50 states, and since the abortion bans, over one-third of our patients are forced to travel from their home state to California and Nevada, she said. Its an incredibly challenging time across our country that people are forced to leave their home state to get basic health care. The agricultural press is all aflutter over the earth-shattering news that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is going to redefine the standards for affixing a voluntary Product of the USA or Made in the USA label on meat, eggs, and poultry in a newly proposed rule. The stated purpose of the new voluntary standards is to put a stop to the current policy that allows imported beef, for example, to bear a Product of the USA label so long as the foreign beef was repackaged in the United States. In other words, the current standard allows a U.S. packer to import a big box of beef from Uruguay, to take the foreign beef out of the big box, put it in a smaller package, and then affix a Product of the USA label on the smaller package containing the Uruguayan beef. The proposed rule would supposedly stop this deceptive practice by reserving the Product of USA and Made in the USA labels only for meat that is born, raised, slaughtered, and processed in the United States. We view this portion of the proposed rule as a good thing because it stops the deceptive practice of putting the USA label on foreign meat. But in addition, the proposed rule would allow the term United States on a package of foreign beef so long as the label describes the processing steps completed in the United States. Heres the example provided by the USDA. The agency said it could approve a label that states, Sliced and packaged in the United States using imported Pork. From here on Im going to substitute the term Pork with Beef. Now wait a minute. The current deceptive standard allows a U.S. label if a foreign beef product is repackaged in the United States. And now the proposed rule will allow the term United States on a label provided it was sliced and packaged in the United States, and so long as the label also states the package was using imported beef. Think about this: Do you use imported beef to slice and package? Or do you slice and package imported beef so you can use the term United States on the package? And why isnt the name of the foreign country required to be on the package as well? I think this loophole was written into the proposed rule so foreign beef can continue to be labeled with the term United States. Its my belief that the term United States, however its used on a package, will conjure up a sense of national pride in the minds of shoppers. And busy shoppers are likely to see the term United States and not read any further. This is a psychological marketing tactic. If a shopper is predisposed to prefer a product produced in the United States, then just the term United States viewed anywhere on the package is likely to be enough to cause the shopper to select the product for purchase. To make matters worse, this sliced and packaged foreign beef will also be labeled with a USDA inspection stamp. So, shoppers will see both the term United States and the USDA inspection stamp. So how do we correct this? Well, the easiest thing to do is to tell Congress to reinstate mandatory country of origin labeling or MCOOL for beef by enacting the American Beef Labeling Act (S.52), and to tell the USDA to enforce the regulations implementing the Tariff Act of 1930 that requires imported product to retain its foreign label unless the product was substantially transformed in the United States. Lets walk through this. When the mandatory country of origin labeling law included beef, which was the case until Congress repealed MCOOL for beef in 2015, imported beef was required to retain its foreign country of origin label through retail sale. This is why the mislabeling of foreign beef with a Product of USA label did not occur when MCOOL was in place. And thats why the most effective way to correct the misuse of the USA label is for Congress to restore MCOOL for beef. Further, because the regulations implementing the Tariff Act of 1930 require imported products to bear its foreign country of origin designation unless the product has been substantially transformed, the enforcement of this regulation would prevent the nondisclosure of the specific country from which the product was imported. By now youve probably figured out that R-CALF USA does not like this proposed rule. We view it as a distraction from the real solution the swift enactment of the American Beef Labeling Act and the proper enforcement of the Tariff Act of 1930. So why is Congress dragging its feet on MCOOL and allowing the USDA to carve out loopholes for the multinational beef packers at the expense of U.S. consumers? Ill let you answer that question. -- Boasting the world's longest and most extensively used high-speed rail network, China has been helping multiple countries construct and upgrade their rail transit with its advanced railway technology. -- Through multilateral mechanisms such as the Belt and Road Initiative and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, China's sci-tech achievements have delivered new options in 5G communications, biomedicine and numerous realms, while also providing growth momentum. -- Over recent years, China has adopted various policy tools to promote global sci-tech cooperation, opened up large-scale scientific infrastructure, jointly established R&D platforms and expanded the scope, field and scale of open innovation. From the Yutu-2 lunar rover roaming on the "dark side" of the moon to the Fendouzhe submersible exploring the 10,000-meter deep ocean, and from salt-tolerant rice growing in tidal flats near the sea to Chinese unmanned equipment guided by the Beidou Navigation Satellite System to help African farmers boost crop yields ... the saga of China's sci-tech innovation continues to unfold. During the ongoing "two sessions," Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasized the imperative to accelerate the implementation of the innovation-driven development strategy, saying that speeding up efforts to achieve greater self-reliance and strength in science and technology is the path China must take to advance high-quality development. Over 10 years into the nation's innovation-driven development strategy, China saw its ranking in the Global Innovation Index jump from 34th in 2012 to 11th last year, with the economy expanding at an average annual rate of 6.6 percent between 2013 and 2021, contributing over 30 percent to world economic growth. When reinforcing its strength in science and technology, the country has also been committed to sharing its technology with worldwide partners and cooperating to improve global science and technology governance. INNOVATION-DRIVEN DEVELOPMENT "The close attention paid by the government and the country to innovation as an engine of growth is paying off," said Daren Tang, director general of the World Intellectual Property Organization. Indeed, China's historic progress in building an innovative country attests to the judgment: science and technology are the primary productive force, talent the primary resource and innovation the primary driver of growth. The innovation-driven development strategy put forward at the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) has led China to join the ranks of the world's innovators, with success on various fronts over the past decade. The country has expanded its research and development (R&D) expenditure from 1 trillion yuan (about 145 billion U.S. dollars) to 3.09 trillion yuan (about 445 billion dollars) in the past decade, the second highest in the world, with its R&D intensity rising from 1.91 percent to 2.55 percent, according to Ministry of Science and Technology. This screen image captured at Beijing Aerospace Control Center on Feb. 9, 2023 shows Shenzhou-15 taikonaut Fei Junlong waving after exiting the space station lab module Wentian.(Xinhua/Liu Fang) Furthermore, China has coordinated its innovation blueprint with its strategy for invigorating China through science and education, which underscores development based on progress in science and technology and the workforce development strategy focusing on fostering high-quality talent. Now the country has become home to the largest cohort of R&D personnel around the globe. Apart from calling for moving faster toward self-reliance in science and technology, Xi in late January pledged more efforts to ensure better allocation of innovation-related resources to make the country a global pacesetter in major sci-tech areas and a pioneer in advanced interdisciplinary fields, and ensure that China will become a major world hub for science and innovation as soon as possible. GLOBAL PUBLIC GOODS The implications of China's innovation-driven development extend beyond its borders. Boasting the world's longest and most extensively used high-speed rail network, China has been helping multiple countries construct and upgrade their rail transit with its advanced railway technology. World Bank Vice President for South Asia Martin Raiser said China's rail technology would bring urban development, tourism and regional economic growth. An Fuxing bullet train runs on the China's section of the China-Laos Railway on Jan. 27, 2023.(Photo by Xu Zhangwei/Xinhua) Take the China-Laos Railway, a landmark Belt and Road project. Since operations began in December 2021, landlocked Laos has become a land-linked hub in Southeast Asia. The railway's Lao section has created more than 110,000 local jobs. Through multilateral mechanisms such as the Belt and Road Initiative and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, China's sci-tech achievements have delivered new options in 5G communications, biomedicine and numerous realms, while also providing growth momentum. Gu Qingyang, a scholar at the National University of Singapore, said the extensive application of China's sci-tech accomplishments not only leads to its domestic industrial upgrading, but also lends impetus to the neighboring areas. Photo taken on Nov. 20, 2021 shows the venue of China 5G+ Industrial Internet Conference at the China Optics Valley Convention & Exhibition Center in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province. (Xinhua/Wu Zhizun) Similarly, at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2023 earlier this year, Saadia Zahidi, the forum's managing director, said, "when it comes to technology and innovation, much of what is being developed in China will change the world." Given the size of its economy, China will help boost worldwide growth and inject optimism in the medium and long term, Zahidi told Xinhua. GLOBAL SCI-TECH GOVERNANCE China would never innovate behind closed doors. That's why the country has been dedicated to advancing global governance in science and technology. In late February, Xi restated his call for promoting the openness, trust and cooperation of the international science and technology community and making new and more significant contributions to the progress of human civilization. Over recent years, China has adopted various policy tools to promote global sci-tech cooperation, opened up large-scale scientific infrastructure, jointly established R&D platforms and expanded the scope, field and scale of open innovation. In a typical example, China has advocated expanding international cooperation in the space sector. Romanian astronaut Dumitru Prunariu said China "actually invited all countries to perform scientific experiments" on its Tiangong space station. In addition, the country also welcomes broader collaboration in deep space exploration. China has engaged in sci-tech cooperation with more than 160 countries and regions, participating in global science projects such as the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor program -- one of the most ambitious energy projects in the world and the Square Kilometre Array -- an intergovernmental radio telescope project. This aerial photo shows vehicles to be exported at a port in Lianyungang, east China's Jiangsu Province, Jan. 13, 2023. (Photo by Geng Yuhe/Xinhua) Meanwhile, the country's accelerated transition from "Made in China" to "Created in China" shows the developing world how to uncover a development path suited to their own conditions. China's experience in education, scientific research and technology is "inspiring" to Arab countries, Mohamed Abdel-Fattah Moustafa, head of the Arab Union for Education and Scientific Research, told Xinhua. Its cooperation with other developing countries in education, scientific research and technology localization will help "create a new international community based on cooperation, exchange of benefits and mutual win," he said. Whether you make them at home, or opt to purchase pre-mixed blends, these spice blends are a must-have for any home cook. Getty Images Spices are the key to making spectacular meals at home, and having a few spice blends on hand customized combinations of multiple spices are one easy way to use spices before they go stale. From jerk seasoning with its sweet, heady notes of allspice to ground blends like garam masala and ras el hanout that are warming with cinnamon and cloves, spice blends are responsible for creating the signature flavors of some of our favorite recipes, and play an integral role in culinary traditions around the world. Here, were sharing seven iconic spice blends, each with its own unique flavor profile and culinary significance, along with some of our favorite ways to use them and these spice blends can all be easily made at home. For the freshest, most potent spice blend, start with whole spices and grind them up in a spice grinder. However if you dont have the time or equipment to do so, you can purchase ground spices in bulk (many Latin, Mexican, Indian, Asian, Mediterranean, and Middle Eastern grocery stores sell ground spices in large quantities at an affordable price) and mix them yourself. Alternatively, there are plenty of pre-mixed spice blends available at grocery stores or from specialty retailers like Spice Walla or Burlap & Barrel. Related:These Are the Essential Spices Every Kitchen Should Have Za'atar A popular seasoning in the Middle East, Zaatar is a spice blend that is typically made with dried thyme, oregano, sumac, sesame seeds, caraway, marjoram, and dill. The combination of spices has an earthy, tangy, and nutty flavor that complements a variety of dishes. Its an essential topping on Lachuch, a soft and spongy Yemenite flatbread. Additionally, its versatile enough to use on vegetables like these Roasted Carrots with Preserved Lemons and Dates, or with earthy meats like lamb as featured in this Lamb Sliders with Yogurt-Tahini Sauce. Zaatar can also be a star at breakfast, too. Win your next brunch with this Za'atar Baked Eggs recipe. Story continues Ras el Hanout Ras el hanout is a spice blend that originated in Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria. The name translates to "head of the shop," indicating that it is a spice blend that often varies from market to market and region to region. While theres no set recipe, youll typically find some mixture of black pepper, white pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, anise cloves, ginger, cumin, coriander, cayenne, turmeric, and sumac. It has a well-rounded flavor profile with warm and slightly sweet notes from the nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves. This blend is traditionally used in tajines but is also particularly well-suited for rich meats like pork and duck in recipes like Pork Chops with Sherry Pan Sauce with Ras Al Hanout and these Spiced Duck Breasts with Mandarin Oranges and Dates. Garam Masala Garam masala is a warm aromatic spice blend that originates from northern India. Garam means "hot" while masala means "blend," but the spice itself is not necessarily spicy-hot. It is often made up of ground spices such as cinnamon, cumin, cloves, and nutmeg. While the exact combination of spices can vary, this blend is widely used throughout Indian cuisine. It is often added to stews, curries, or used in marinades. Chef Maneet Chauhan showcases how to make her own garam masala in her Hyderabadi Lamb Biryani recipe to add an extra depth of flavor to the dish. The process involves toasting black peppercorns, whole cloves, cinnamon stick, caraway seeds, grated nutmeg, mace, and green cardamom pods before grinding them into a powder. This homemade blend adds an extra depth of flavor to the dish. We love letting this warm blend shine in recipes like Chicken Tikka Masala Samosas, Tandoori Chicken, Masala Paneer Kathi Rolls, and Madeira-Braised Swiss Chard with Garam Masala, Sultanas, and Toasted Almonds. Related:Cinnamon Explained: Everything To Know About This Kitchen Staple Jerk Spice Jerk seasoning has a long history in Jamaican cuisine and is believed to have originated with the Maroons, a group of enslaved Africans who escaped from the plantations and settled in the hills of Jamaica. Today, it is a beloved spice blend around the world, featuring prominently in many Caribbean and Jamaican dishes. The blend is typically made of Scotch bonnet peppers, cayenne pepper, allspice, nutmeg, pimento, cinnamon, garlic powder, onion powder, and thyme. Its versatility and heat are two reasons why its so beloved. It can add a ton of savory heat to dishes like Chicken and Okra Gumbo, or bring out the best in proteins like in this recipe for Caribbean Jerk Pork Chops and vegetables seen in this Spicy Jerk Vegetables with Yogurt-Scallion Sauce recipe that uses a homemade jerk seasoning blend. Five-Spice Powder Five-spice powder, also known as wu xiang fen, is a Chinese spice blend that is made up of five spices: cinnamon, fennel seed, cloves, sichuan peppercorns, and star anise. The five also refers to the five flavors represented in the spice blend: sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and umami. They work harmoniously to create a distinctive taste that is characteristic of many classic recipes like Peking Duck and Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup. Buy it premixed, or make your own like in this Homemade Applesauce with Chinese Five-Spice recipe that bundles cloves, fennel, peppercorns, star anise, and cinnamon as a bouquet garni to cook with the apples. Apart from being a key ingredient in traditional Chinese and Twianese dishes, this blend also adds a punch to recipes such as Purple Sweet Potato Pie with Coconut and Five-Spice, Five-Spice Short Ribs with Ginger and Cilantro, and Spiced Brown-Butter Apples. Berbere Spice Spices including garlic, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, chili, nigella, fenugreek, and ajwain are the foundation for Berbere, an iconic Ethiopian spice blend. This seasoning packs some heat, and lends its distinct flavors in Ethiopian cuisine. Berbere can be used in various forms; it can be used as a paste, like in this recipe for Berber-Spiced Chicken Breasts where Berbere seasoning is blended with oil, or to add spice to an Ethiopian staple like Awaze Tibs (Ethiopian Spiced Lamb Stew) or to vegetables like this Roasted Butternut Squash with Spiced Pecans. (2018 F&W Best New Chef Kwame Onwuachi even likes to use it as a seasoning for Waffle Fries.) You could buy a pre-mixed blend, or make it at home as demonstrated in this Berber-Spiced Chicken Breasts recipe, which includes a DIY Berbere blend with ingredients like cloves, paprika, coriander, pepper, cinnamon, and cardamon to season flavor-packed grilled chicken breasts. Related:Finally, a Smarter, More Flavorful Way to Store Spices Chili Powder Chili powder is a popular spice blend that is used in a variety of recipes, but is especially popular in Tex-Mex dishes to add heat and flavor. Grown in the Americans for centuries, chili peppers were used by the Mayans in their cuisine. In the 16th century, Spanish explorers brought chili peppers to Europe and quickly spread globally. It wasnt until the 19th century when chili powder was first commercially produced throughout the U.S. by a Texan entrepreneur, William Gebhardt that created a blend of chili powder that included ground cayenne, cumin, and oregano. Today, the blend typically consists of a mix of garlic powder, paprika, oregano, cayenne, cumin, dried chiles, and onion powder, all of which work together to create the blends iconic flavor. The chili powder is a key ingredient in our Classic Beef Chili recipe, and can also be used to add a kick to other recipes, such as Air Fryer Fish Tacos and Slow-Cooker Burnt Honey Barbecue Chicken. For more Food & Wine news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on Food & Wine. UPDATE, 4:35 PM: Alec Baldwins defense team are wrong that the gun that killed Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins has been destroyed, says the Santa Fe District Attorneys office. The gun Alec Baldwin used in the shooting that killed Halyna Hutchins has not been destroyed by the state, asserts New Mexico First Judicial D.A. spokesperson Heather Brewer to Deadline today. The gun is in evidence and is available for the defense to review, she adds. More from Deadline Earlier Thursday, Baldwin attorney Alex Spiro announced in a virtual hearing in the criminal case that the 1880s prop gun that contained the live ammo that Hutchins and wounded Rust director Joel Souza was destroyed by the state. The shocker of a statement went unchallenged and basically unacknowledged by Judge Mary Marlow Sommer, D.A. Mary Carmack-Altwies and others. Now the D.A.s office is attempting to clarify, with a little tea leave reading of their own. The defenses unexpected statement in the status hearing today that the gun had been destroyed by the state may be a reference to a statement in the FBIs July 2022 firearms testing report that said damage was done to internal components of the gun during the FBIs functionality testing, spokesperson Brewer postulated. However, the gun still exists and can be used as evidence. Made public in August last year, the FBI report not only noted the mangling of the gun in question at the time, but also refuted Baldwins repeated assertions that he did not pull the trigger on the gun during the rehearsal on the indie Western. A preliminary examination a.k.a. minitrial set for early May could shed more light on the damaged and destroyed gulf between prosecutors and the defense. Story continues PREVIOUSLY, 3:13 PM: The gun that killed Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in October 2021 has been destroyed, a lawyer for Alec Baldwin revealed Thursday. Related Story Alec Baldwin To Skip Latest Rust Hearing; Actor Gets Waiver From Judge Just Ahead Of Virtual Session On Fatal Shooting Criminal Case Related Story Alec Baldwin Sees 'Rust' Crew Member's L.A. Negligence Trial Paused As New Mexico Criminal Case Moves Forward Related Story Alec Baldwin & 'Rust' Producers Slapped For "Negligent & Reckless Conduct" In Latest Suit From Crew Members; Claim Actor Pulled Trigger On Gun That Killed Halyna Hutchins Treated as almost an aside in a virtual hearing in the criminal case, attorney Alex Spiro told Judge Mary Marlow Sommer that the defense team recently learned that the 1880s prop gun that fatally shot Hutchins and wounded Rust director Joel Souza on the set of the indie Western is basically no more. The court, I dont think is aware of this point, but I think I should tell the court that the firearm in this case, thats a great subject of it, was destroyed by the state, said Spiro, the Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan lawyer. So, thats obviously an issue and were going to need to see that firearm, or whats left of it. Neither Sommer nor Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies responded to Spiros statement about the gun. With assertions from his lawyer that the absent Baldwin wanted his day in court, the brisk session moved on to setting dates for future hearings. Baldwins defense team, the D.A.s office and the attorney for co-defendant and ex-Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed did not respond to request for comment from Deadline on Spiros statement. It is unclear whether the potentially hyperbolic Spiro was referring to damage that the gun suffered during FBI testing in the investigation of the tragedy on the Rust set at the Bonanza Creek Ranch. That testing resulted in the internal portions of the gun cracking and more, the bureau said. Released in August 2022, the FBIs forensic report also stated that accidental discharge testing determined the .45 Colt (.45 Long Colt) caliber F.lli Pietta single-action revolver needed a trigger pull to fire. Baldwin told ABCs George Stephanopoulos in a primetime interview soon after the October 21, 2021 death of Hutchins and has insisted on other occasions that he did not pull the trigger of the gun. What is clear is the pivotal role as evidence the gun could play in the upcoming two-week preliminary examination set to start May 3 in the Land of Enchantment. If the judge agrees during that the prosecution has a strong enough case, the matter will move on to a formal trial later this year. Following the release of an FBI-assisted investigation by the Santa Fe County Sheriffs office last November, Baldwin and Reed in January were formally charged by prosecutors with two counts of involuntary manslaughter over the killing of Hutchins. With still no indication of how live ammo got on the set of the $7 million-budgeted indie Western, those charges initially included an enhancement that came with a mandatory five-year prison stint if Baldwin and/or Reed were found guilty. Under protest from the defendants attorneys that the charge was unconstitutional, Carmack-Altwies backtracked and dropped that enhancement on February 20. In that context, the preliminary examination starting in early May, which is a minitrial in all but name, will see prosecutors put forth the gist of their case, as well as call witnesses from an already released list of 46 individuals including law enforcement officials, Rust crew members, and Souza and first assistant director David Halls, the latter of whom struck a plea agreement with the D.A. earlier this year. Also on that list is Halyna Hutchins husband, who settled a wrongful death suit with Baldwin and Rust producers last year and is to serve as an executive producer on the resurrected production of the indie Western Noting that they had just received an email on their discovery requests, Baldwins NYC-based team asked for confirmation from prosecutors on who would actually be called as witnesses for the preliminary examination. So we can make sure Mr. Baldwin has a fair opportunity to prepare for this, that the state identify the actual subset of witnesses that they intend to call, Spiro said of the roadmap he wanted. That will also allow us to notify and subpoena the necessary witnesses that we need, that theyre not calling or that we need to answer some of these allegations. Over some rebutting from Carmack-Altwies, who was suffering from technical glitches throughout todays Google Meets-held hearing, Sommer agreed and set an April 17 deadline for prosecutors to provide their true witness list for the preliminary examination. Before that, the participants will meet March 27 for a hearing on Baldwins and Reeds motions to disqualify special prosecutor Andrea Reed. The defendants want the D.A.-appointed Reed removed from the case because of her dual role as a recently elected GOP New Mexico legislator. Carmack-Altwies has argued in recent court filings that there is no conflict of interest involving Reed, a former Ninth Judicial D.A. 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. University of Florida police arrest two people at Turlington Plaza during a counter protest to anti-abortion display. Two people were arrested inside the University of Florida's Turlington Plaza Friday afternoon during an anti-abortion display protest that turned violent. Bryn Taylor, president of the UF Graduates Assistant United union, and student Ian Dinkla were taken into custody by campus police and charged with multiple felonies, court records show. Taylor, 26, and Dinkla, 21, were protesting the large graphic images of aborted fetuses on display by the traveling organization Created Equal. Police say that Dinkla stole one of the signs valued at $120. When an officer attempted to arrest Dinkla, he pushed the officer and pulled away, the report said. Taylor then struck an officer in the back of the head with a bullhorn for trying to arrest Dinkla. An arrest report states that Taylor also punched an officer wearing plain clothes in the face. A video of the incident shows the two wrestling with police after law enforcement were called to the scene for Dinkla taking the sign. Dinkla is charged with robbery and resisting an officer with violence, both felonies, while Taylor faces felony charges of aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting an officer with violence and a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest without violence. No bond has been set as of Friday evening. Students walk by anti-abortion displays from Created Equal in UF's Turlington Plaza on March 10, 2023. Anti-abortion displays The signs being displayed at UF, while controversial, aren't new. The group Created Equal spends time regularly touring Florida campuses to share its message. The anti-abortion group was at UF earlier in the week, as well as the University of Central Florida and the University of South Florida. The self-described "justice ride" tour, which first dates back to 2011, is inspired by civil rights-era freedom rides and argues unborn fetuses are protected by the 14th amendment comparing abortion to historical tragedies, such as the Holocaust. Two counter-protest groups posted up in the plaza to deflect from the images, seemingly outnumbering Created Equal. Story continues Planned Parenthood Generation Action drew its own crowd of students and gave out pink bans off our bodies signs. Other students held up signs demanding free abortion access for all and were among the nearly two dozen holding their own rally for bodily autonomy. Olivia Packham, a member of Generation Action group, said the controversial displays are more dangerous for women than ever considering the overturning of Roe V. Wade and other anti-abortion laws being passed, including the recently proposed six-week abortion ban in Florida. A local Planned Parenthood group set up a table in opposition to the anti-abortion group Created Equal's displays on UF campus on March 10, 2023. Florida was kind of a safe haven, the 19-year-old health science major said. Now (protections) are being erased so that in pretty much the entire south there is not a safe place for abortions. Weve had experiences where students have had panic attacks in response to these photos just because of how distressing they are. But in the end, weve been receiving much more support and response from the student body than they are. Seth Drayer, the vice president of Created Equal, said the graphic images represent the realities of abortion. Students stand in UF's Turlington Plaza near the anti-abortion displays on March 10, 2023. You cant make abortion look pretty, he said. The reason its graphic is because abortion is graphic. Students on the universitys unofficial sub-Reddit channel, r/ufl, warned sensitive students to avoid the area on Wednesday and Friday. Trigger warning for anyone walking through Turlington over the next hour or so, one user wrote in a post with over 150 upvotes. You shouldnt force anyone to see those images real or fake, especially people who are just trying to get to class. Another popular post celebrated a student dubbed our hero who ran off with one of the displays on Wednesday. On Friday some students knocked over the displays as they walked through the plaza. Delaney Doum, a 19-year-old UF nursing sophomore, sat in the plaza near the display promoting the group Gator Christian Life. Though unaffiliated with Created Equal, she said she supports the group's work. A member of the traveling Created Equal organization stands beside one of the group's anti-abortion displays in UF's Turlington Plaza on March 10, 2023. Its controversial, but its an effective way of doing it, Doum said. It might be emotional to see some of the pictures that are shown, but I think its important that people know what is happening when an abortion occurs. Maria Peralta, a 20-year-old UF finance junior who grabbed a Planned Parenthood sign in the plaza, said she believes the display is a largely ineffective way to achieve the groups goals. Those pictures are so unnecessary, people are just trying to go to class, Peralta said. I dont even think it looks real. This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Created Equal met by Planned Parenthood over graphic images at UF ASHEVILLE - A public vote has elevated Western North Carolina to the top of several lists of bests, beating out competitors across the South. Southern Livings seventh annual Souths Best Awards recognizes readers' favorite Southern destinations and experiences with categories including the Top 50 Southern small towns, cities, hotels, state parks and BBQ joints. A few Western North Carolina winners made the top 10 cuts with several more earning recognition. Asheville ranked No. 3 on the Souths Best Cities. Blowing Rock ranked No. 5 for the Souths Best Small Towns. The Best State Parks In Every Southern State list includes Chimney Rock State Park, located southeast of Asheville, ranked No. 8. And an Asheville brewery claimed the title of the best brewery in North Carolina. Best Southern cities On the Souths Best Cities list, Asheville landed in the No. 3 position, under Charleston, South Carolina, and Savannah, Georgia. Ashevilles Biltmore Estate and the Blue Ridge Mountains were mentioned as leading attractions, as well as its craft beer industry. The Biltmore Estate, June 10, 2022. In addition to the citys many breweriesyoud be hard pressed to find another region as richly steeped in the stuffits a hub for hiking as well as arts and culture, with several arts districts offering gallery and studio space for the citys creatives, Southern Living said. The WNC city ranked higher than Atlanta, Nashville and New Orleans, and Greenville, South Carolina, which placed at No. 7. Charlotte and Raleigh ranked 11th and 12th, respectively. More:Asheville hotel, restaurant receive Forbes Travel Guide's 2023 Star Award More:Asheville ranked #10 on list of Best Food Destinations in U.S. in 2023 Best Southern towns On Southern Livings list of the Top 50 best Southern small towns, St. Augustine, Florida, ranked at No. 1 followed by Beaufort, South Carolina; Gatlinburg, Tennessee; Dahlonega, Georgia; and Blowing Rock, which ranked at No. 5. Blowing Rock, located northeast of Asheville, is popular for what Southern Living described as its 4,000-foot cliff that overlooks a spectacular gorge, distant peaks, and dense forests. Story continues It also received mention as a one of the South's Best Tiny Towns with a population of 1,397. The Souths Best Small Towns list continued with Fairhope, Alabama; Tybee Island, Georgia; and Sanibel, Florida. Other North Carolina towns to make the list are Beaufort with a No. 11 ranking, Hendersonville at No. 12, and Boone made the cut at No. 45. Best Southern state parks Chimney Rock State Park earned the No. 8 spot on the list of the Best State Parks in Every Southern State, noted for its 315-foot spire of Chimney Rock, an ancient rock formation that offers breathtaking views. After seeing the 75-mile views to Lake Lure and Hickory Nut Gorge, hikers can set off on one of the many trails around the Rock, including Hickory Nut Falls, where The Last of the Mohicans was filmed, and catch a glimpse of the areas peregrine falcons, Southern Living stated. Alabamas Gulf State Park topped the list at No. 1 followed by Petit Jean State Park in Arkansas and John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Florida. Best Southern food, beer Southern Living named Asheville's Highland Brewing Company as the South's Best Brewery in North Carolina. Next year, Highland Brewing Company touted as Ashevilles first brewery since Prohibition celebrates its 30-year anniversary. Ahead of the milestone, the business is making improvements to its taproom at the S&W Market and main campus at 12 Old Charlotte Highway. The Best Locally-Owned Restaurants In Every Southern State 2023 list named Angus Barn in Raleigh-Durham, ranked No. 8. The Top BBQ by State includes Lexington Barbecue in Lexington, North Carolina. More:Which Asheville restaurant ranks on Yelp's list of top pizzerias in all of US & Canada? More to explore Southern Livings 2023 Souths Best Awards winners were determined by readers votes in an online survey Southern Living developed and conducted on the publications website, SouthernLiving.com. Southern Living editors then compiled the lists of nominations. Southern Living's double issue, on sale March 17, will feature its Souths Best Award winners and NBC "Todays" Hoda Kotb, who is the first celebrity to grace the cover of the magazine. The 14 Southern state participants were Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. The Souths Best Award winners will be highlighted in Southern Livings double issue, on sale March 17. NBC "Todays" Hoda Kotb is the first celebrity to grace the cover of the magazine. Inside, Kotb shares what she loves about New Orleans, which ranked sixth on the Souths Best Cities list. The flip side of the issue showcases St. Augustine, Florida. View the full lists at SouthernLiving.com. Tiana Kennell is the food and dining reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at tkennell@citizentimes.com or follow her on Twitter/Instagram @PrincessOfPage. Please support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times. This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville, WNC towns rank on 'Southern Living' 2023 South's Best lists Audi has decided to give its electric rally car a two-wheeled twin. The German marque just unveiled a new electric mountain bike inspired by the RS Q e-tron. For the unversed, the off-roader scored four stage wins during its debut at the 2022 Dakar Rally and tore up the desert again in January. The racers smaller successor is no slouch, either, with a decent amount of grunt and a ton of attitude. More from Robb Report The newcomer was been developed in collaboration with Italys Fantic Motor, which explains that mouthful of a name. (Its officially called the Audi Electric Mountain Bike Powered by Fantic.) Built around an aluminum enduro frame with carbon components, the bike is lightweight yet sturdy and can make mincemeat of rocky terrain. As the Four Rings puts it, its up to any challenge. The mid-mounted 250 W Brose S-MAG motor churns out just over 66 ft lbs of torque and provides riders with four levels of pedal assist. Boost is the most powerful and will help you out on hilly routes. The bike is equipped with a 720 Wh Fantic Integra battery pack, but the marque did not specify how much range it offers. There is a digital display on the handlebars, however, that will indicate battery status and speed. The bike is also fitted with an SRAM GX Eagle 12-speed mechanical drivetrain if you want some exercise. It should be quite a comfortable ride, too. Audi opted for an Ohlins fork and shock and a Sella Italia Novus Boost EVO saddle. The bike rides on Mavic wheels (29 inches at the front; 27.5 inches at the back) thick Vittoria tires. The frame also comes in three sizes to accommodate a range of riders. As for the fine print, the bike will set you back $10,000 (8,499). Audi hasnt yet shared any information regarding the production run, but you are able to register interest on the Audi Genuine Accessories site. Story continues 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. President Biden will travel to Ottawa, Canada, from March 23-24 to meet with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and address the Canadian Parliament, the White House announced on Thursday. The first lady will join the president on the trip later this month, which is focused on the U.S.-Canada partnership and promoting our shared security, shared prosperity, and shared values, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement. Biden and Trudeau will discuss defense cooperation and modernizing the North American Aerospace Defense Command, as well as strengthening supply chain resilience, climate change, and accelerating the clean energy transition. They plan to discuss the instability in Haiti and the war in Ukraine, as well as address the synthetic opioid crisis and the irregular migration in the region, according to the statement. Bidens trip to Canada comes as he has tried to show he is focused on fentanyl coming into the U.S. and the influx of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. The president had met with Trudeau in January in Mexico City for a summit with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador; migration was also a top focus at that summit. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. At the donation handover ceremony (Photo: VNA) Statistics show that the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck southeastern Turkey and neighbouring Syria on February 6 was one of the strongest in the region over the past century, killing more than 50,000 people and destroying thousands of houses. It has caused economic losses worth some tens of billion of US dollars. The money was raised during the first phase of a fundraising campaign launched by the VRC Central Committee on February 17 in support of people hit by the devastating earthquake. As of March 6, it received donations and commitments of more than 12 billion VND (506,436 USD) and goods from agencies, businesses and individuals. At the donation handover ceremony on March 9, over 4 billion VND, in both cash and kind was also raised by units and enterprises. In her remarks, VRC President Bui Thi Hoa called for more donations and pledged that all the donations will be allocated in line with legal regulations. The donations should be sent to the VRCs headquarters at 82 Nguyen Du, Hanoi. Its representative office in the southern region is also available for the donations, at 201 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. Apart from bank accounts, the association has opened an app named Thien Nguyen to serve the campaign, which will last until May 30./. OTTAWA President Joe Biden is heading to Ottawa on March 23 and will address Parliament during his two-day stay. The White House confirmed the dates of the presidents much-anticipated visit to the Canadian capital, Bidens first in-person trip north as president. Russias war in Ukraine will cast a long shadow over the bilat with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, focusing discussions on defense, decarbonization and supply chains. Haiti, clean energy, supply chains, climate change and modernizing the North American Aerospace Defense Command will be priority topics of discussion between the two leaders, according to a White House release. Trudeaus office issued its own statement, adding that critical minerals will be a top agenda item, which wasnt specifically highlighted in the White House release. The spectre of Beijings alleged interference in Canadas elections will also loom over the talks. It will also be the leaders first in-person meeting since high-altitude objects, and one confirmed balloon from China, were shot down over North America. The dramatic takedowns alarmed politicians and military on both sides of the border, stoking discussions on continental defense, setting it up as a discussion point for bilateral talks. Biden last visited Ottawa as vice president in December 2016 in the twilight of the Obama administration. During an A-list dinner thrown in his honor, Biden touted North America as a region better positioned than any time since the end of World War II to lead the hemisphere and world in promoting liberal values. Viva la Canada because we need you very, very badly, he said in a toast. Beyond friendly photo-ops, the two G-7 leaders are expected to clarify joint action on the development of critical minerals. Pressure will be on the leaders to announce progress on the Joint Action Plan on Critical Minerals that was finalized in 2020 during the final days of the Trump administration. California Mother And Boyfriend Convicted Of 2018 Murder And Torture Of Her 10-Year-Old Son A California mother and her boyfriend were each found guilty on Tuesday of first-degree murder and torture for the 2018 death of her son, Anthony Avalos. Heather Barron, 33, and Kareem Leiva, 37, were convicted of torturing and killing 10-year-old Avalos, and are facing life sentences without parole, according to the Associated Press. The pair were also convicted of child abuse of two other kids in their home in northern Los Angeles County's Lancaster. Prosecutors alleged that a pattern of abuse occurred for years before Avalos' death, noting the boy was severely malnourished and dehydrated when he was taken to the hospital the day before he died. RELATED: Mom Sentenced For Forcing 5-Year-Old Daughter To Fake Seizures And Fabricating Girl's Medical Condition Avalos and his two half-siblings were often whipped, dropped, burned with cigarettes, rammed into furniture, denied food and water and, at times, force-fed by Barron and Leiva. County District Attorney George Gascon stated that Barron and Leiva tortured the boy every day for two weeks leading up to his death, the AP noted. The brutality that was meted out on this young child was unimaginable. Anthony Avalos Fb Anthony Avalos Photo: Facebook Los Angeles County sheriffs deputies responded to a 911 call from Barron on June 20, 2018, stating that Avalos had been injured in a fall. They found Avalos unresponsive in his Lancaster home, according to a press release from the Los Angeles County District Attorneys Office. The defendants blamed Avalos for his own injuries, stating that he starved himself and intentionally threw himself to the ground. The prosecution argued that both of these defendants are evil individuals who had a history of abuse before meeting one another, according to NBC Los Angeles. Leiva confessed to the violence after his arrest, noting everything is just my fault. Barrons defense attorney said that she had also been abused by Leiva. Missing person Dylan Rounds Story continues It wasnt just Leiva doing the abuse, Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Hatami argued. Heather Barron participated in the torture ... Heather Barron participated in the abuse, NBC L.A. reported. In 2022, L.A. County counselor Barbara Dixon was placed on probation for neglecting to report the suspected abuse of Avalos and Gabriel Fernandez, a 9-year-old boy who died in 2013 after suffering abuse at the hands of his mother and her boyfriend. The torture practices that Avalos endured closely resembled those inflicted on Fernandez by his mother, Pearl Fernandez, and her boyfriend, Isauro Aguirre, according to previous Oxygen.com reporting. Oxy App Several complaints of child abuse were made in both cases before the deaths of Avalos and Fernandez, encouraging criticism of the L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services. Thirteen reports of abuse allegations were filed by Avalos relatives, teachers, counselors and law enforcement, the AP specified. Avalos half-siblings also testified about the abuse, elaborating on the many punishments they received from Barron and Leiva. The pair are due to be sentenced on April 25, when they face up to life in prison without the possibility of parole. A man working in California was killed after a group of four dogs mauled him, according to Riverside County officials. The man's identity has not been released. He was working at a home that had recently been converted into a business when the attack occurred, according to People. The victim looked to be in his 30s, according to Riverside County Department of Animals Services John Welsh, who spoke with NBC Los Angeles. Deputies were dispatched to the property around 7:30am on Wednesday after receiving a 911 call from someone who heard screaming in the vicinity. The owner of the property was not at home at the time of the attack, according to the RCDAS. The dogs involved in the attack include three Belgian Malinois and a Cane Corso. All of the dogs were surrendered to animal services for "humane euthanasia." The worker had reportedly been at the property in the past without incident. The RCDAS Director Erin Gettis told NBC Los Angeles the mauling was a "horrific reminder for dog owners to be vigilant in keeping communities, dogs, and people safe." She called the incident a "tragedy." "Here's a guy just wanting to do some work, earn some money for his family and now he is deceased. This is a tragedy," John Welsh, a worker with the RCDAS, told ABC7. The property was fenced in and had signs warning that the dogs were on the property, according to NBC Los Angeles. However, a woman speaking with the outlet said the gates to the fence are often let open and claims they chased cars and individuals in the neighborhood. "The dogs chase the cars, the high school students. They're dangerous, that's why I close my gate all the time I have small children and that's why I close it," she said. Police told the outlet that two other dogs had been found at the property that were not registered nor did they have a vaccination history. Officers are still determining if the owner of the dogs will face citation. Chance The Rapper family Chance The Rapper Instagram Chance the Rapper is dedicated to being the best girl dad. When he's not performing to sold-out crowds, the "No Problem" rapper is spending quality time at home with his family. Chance tied the knot with his longtime girlfriend Kirsten Corley in March 2019, and together they share two daughters: Kensli, 7, and Marli, 3. After welcoming his first daughter, Chance opened up to Complex in March 2017 about how having his own children transformed the relationship he has with his parents. Not only did it make him "want to be closer" to them, but it also gave the musician a greater appreciation for the values they instilled in him. "I have the world's best dad currently," he said. "Most of the stuff that he showed me has been his dedication, his time management, his commitment to being truthful. It's all about what he's instilled in me. So, I wanna have the type of relationship where I'm a trusted figure beyond a dad. I wanna be a good friend and a good example." Chance has also been candid about how the Black Lives Matter movement has informed the way he and his wife raise their two children. During an August 2020 interview with Parents, the rapper discussed the importance of teaching his daughters about the history of oppression and self-love. "If we thought that teaching our kids how to read was hard, imagine teaching them that there's an entire system of oppression that our society is built on, that they can either be complicit in or work to change," he said. "It's a difficult task, but it's like we were born or live in this time for a reason. I think we have a pretty crazy opportunity right now to change the trajectory of humanity." He continued, "Mainly, we've been teaching Kensli to love herself, to understand that her opinion is important, to understand that Black is beautiful and that Black power is her superpower." Chance The Rapper family Chance The Rapper Instagram While Chance and Corley are a relatively private couple, they do occasionally share glimpses of their life as a family of four on Instagram. In September 2022, the mom of two posted a gallery of photos from their vacation to Italy, which featured images of her daughters walking around the city and posing for the camera. Story continues From the birth of his daughters to his heartwarming tributes on social media, here's everything to know about Chance the Rapper's kids. Kensli Bennett, 7 Chance The Rapper daughter Kensli Chance The Rapper Instagram Kensli Bennett was born in Chicago in September 2015. A few days after her birth, Chance announced the arrival of his first child with a post on Instagram of his hospital bracelet. "I got to take my child home. Thank God, her mother, our families, the medical staff at Women's Prentice and an amazing organization called The Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicago," he wrote. "I love this time in my life, and I've learned to love better because of it." In December 2018, the rapper revealed in a tweet that Kensli had spent over a week in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) due to a heart arrhythmia, and the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland & Northwest Indiana provided a place for him and Corley to stay during that time. Now, Chance and his older daughter are often spotted spending quality time together. They've attended a Chicago Bulls game together, took a daddy/daughter trip to Los Angeles and wore matching face masks while doing their nighttime skincare routine. Kensli even received a special shout-out during Chance's acceptance speech for best new artist at the 2017 Grammys. "I wanna thank God for my mother and my father who've supported me since I was young. For Kirsten and Kensli, for all of Chicago," he said. By the time she was 4, Chance shared with PEOPLE that Kensli was growing into an "intelligent" and "opinionated" person. "Kensli says really funny stuff and she's very, very advanced for her age," he said. "I know all parents say that about their kids, but it's ridiculous. She's so intelligent and she just speaks. She's very opinionated too. She says exactly how she feels about stuff. She's 4, but she acts like a 7 year old that's acting like she's 13." Kirsten Corley, Kensli Bennett, and Chance The Rapper attend the World Premiere of Disney's "THE LION KING" at the Dolby Theatre on July 09, 2019 in Hollywood, California Charley Gallay/Getty In June 2021, Chance further praised his older daughter for excelling in an "accelerated Kindergarten course," even though her September birthday "would've placed her in preschool again" for that year. He shared a video on Instagram of Kensli in her white graduation cap and gown to celebrate the occasion. "She's moving on to the FIRST GRADE and tested in the 97 percentile in math and 99 percentile for reading... OUT OF THE KIDS THATS OLDER THAN HER," he wrote in the caption. "If u ever met my dad you would understand I come from a long line of people being extremely proud of their kids, but KENSLI YOU GIVE ME THE BEST REASONS." During an appearance on the Jennifer Hudson Show in October 2022, Chance revealed that both his daughters have already become performers who "love singing" and "love to dance." According to the rapper, Kensli has "perfect pitch" and "goes crazy" with any song she sings. While she may have caught the performing bug, Chance also told host Jennifer Hudson that Kensli and her younger sister don't yet understand the concept of fame. "They know I'm famous, but I don't think they know anybody else is famous, which is awesome," he said. "They don't get impressed by anybody that I bring around, that I show them that I'm with, but they know that I sing and they like my songs, so I'm going to hold on to that while I can." Most recently, Kensli made headlines when Chance shared a story on Twitter about how actor Martin Short kindly gave the 7-year-old his seat on an airplane. "So I just got on this plane with my daughter, and found out our seats weren't next to each other. I really ain't wanna inconvenience anyone by asking them to swap seats, but before I could say anything this kind older gentleman offered his seat to Kensli so we could sit together," he recalled. "We both said thank you and as he stands up, I realize it's THE Martin Short!! So cool and Kensli freaked out cause she's obsessed with The Santa Clause 3." Marli Grace Bennett, 3 Chance The Rapper's daughter Marli Chance The Rapper Instagram On Aug. 29, 2019, Chance and Corley welcomed their second daughter together, Marli Grace Bennett. The mom of two announced her arrival a few days later when she posted a photo of the newborn on Instagram and captioned it, "Our sweet baby girl, Marli, is here." The couple revealed they were expecting their second child in March 2019, less than a week after they got married in Newport Beach, California. The rapper shared a screenshot of his Notes app on Instagram, which read: "We pregnant again. It's a girl. JESUS CHRIST. WE LOVE YOU GOD." Following the birth of Marli, Chance decided to postpone his tour for his first-ever album, The Big Day, to spend more time with his family. The rapper shared the news with his fans on Instagram by posting a photo with his two daughters and explained he was finding it "very strenuous" to balance work with his family life. "When Kensli was born, I went on tour 2 weeks later and missed some of the most important milestones in her life, but more importantly I was absent when her mother needed me the most," he recalled. "At this point as a husband and father of two, I realize that I can't make that mistake again. I need to be as helpful and available as possible to my wife in these early months of raising Kensli and Marli." Chance The Rapper's daughter Marli Keerstin Bennett Instagram During his time off, Chance was able to witness one of Marli's major milestones: her first words. In April 2020, the rapper revealed to PEOPLE the infant had learned the words "dada" and "hey." "Her first word was 'Dada,' which I'm proud to say both of my girls' first words were 'Dad' basically," he said. "She calls everybody 'Dada' now. She even calls her toys and her pacifier 'Dada,' so that's just her go-to phrase now." He continued, "I was making a bite for Kensli, and [Marli] was in her little walker. She wobbled over to me and I was like, 'Heyyyy' and she responded the exact same little 'Heyyyy' back to me. It was in key and matched my energy perfectly. I was like 'Damn, can you talk? That's crazy.' That was a crazy moment for me. I laughed at it." In August 2020, Chance marked Marli's first birthday with a heartwarming tribute on Instagram. Alongside a photo of his daughter sitting on a changing table, he wrote, "Happy first birthday, my forever daughter. I have learned so so much about fatherhood from YOU miss Marli Grace. I now clearly see the limitations of what I owe to this world versus what I owe the family that keeps me." Though Marli and her sister don't often make red carpet appearances, the siblings did attend Chance's Books & Breakfast event in August 2022 and often model for their mom's children's apparel line, World of Boby. HOLLAND An annual fundraiser supporting the Holland Community Health Center returned to an in-person format this year and saw great success, raising nearly $200,000. The Holland Hospital Culinary Cabaret was held Thursday, March 2, in-person for the first time since 2020. Around 450 guests and volunteers came together at The Pinnacle Center in Hudsonville for the night to support HCHC. The annual Holland Hospital Culinary Cabaret returned to an in-person format this year and raised more than $196,000 for the Holland Community Health Center. Guests were able to sample food and drink from various local restaurants and participate in silent and live auctions for items donated by sponsors, local businesses and private donors. In total, $196,581 was raised for the Holland Community Health Center. For more than 25 years, the center has provided primary healthcare services for uninsured and underinsured individuals and families in the greater Holland area. Holland Hospital Fund Development Coordinator Colleen Perdok thanked the community for its generosity in supporting the event and HCHC. The annual Holland Hospital Culinary Cabaret returned to an in-person format this year and raised more than $196,000 for the Holland Community Health Center. Culinary Cabaret is Holland Community Health Centers largest fundraiser of the year, she said. All of the proceeds from this event go directly to caring for patients living right here in West Michigan. The resources and services HCHC provides to the community are made possible because of the generous donors and sponsors who support us every year. Holland Community Health Center is funded entirely by Holland Hospital. It offers primary care services to over 5,900 people annually. Those seeking care come from Holland, Fennville, Saugatuck, West Olive and the surrounding area, with 70 percent falling in low-income or federal poverty levels. Subscribe:Receive unlimited access to your local news coverage HCHC is a full-service, nonprofit facility that reaches across language, cultural, and financial barriers to deliver comprehensive, affordable healthcare services. Last year, in a virtual format, Culinary Cabaret raised $124,000. The last in-person event in 2020 raised $215,000. Contact reporter Mitchell Boatman at mboatman@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @SentinelMitch. This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Culinary Cabaret raises nearly $200K for Holland Community Health Center EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been updated to reflect that the Criminal Justice Council will oversee the money in the Justice Reinvestment Fund, as well as clarify that House Bill 1 aims to legalize a "personal use quantity" of marijuana, which varies by cannabis form. House lawmakers in a historic vote Thursday passed a bill that would create and regulate a recreational marijuana industry in Delaware, a policy Democrats have sought to enact for a decade. This is the first time Delaware lawmakers have been able to garner the necessary three-fifths vote to pass a version of this legislation. Last year, a similar bill failed by a single vote due to a Democratic lawmaker being sick. Earlier this week, the House also passed separate legislation in an overwhelming majority to legalize the possession of marijuana in a personal use quantity, defined as one ounce or less of leaf marijuana (with varying amounts for other forms of cannabis). Both bills now head to the Senate, where Democrats have a supermajority. It legalizes the possession of a personal use quantity of marijuana (defined as one ounce or less of leaf marijuana, 12 grams or less of concentrated cannabis, or cannabis products containing 750 milligrams or less of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol). Though there are no official estimates on how much money this would bring to Delaware in tax revenue, it would likely bring in millions of dollars to the state. New Jersey collected more than $7 million in taxes on cannabis from July to September 2022 alone. The bill, which was sponsored by Rep. Ed Osienski, D-Newark, passed with bipartisan support. EARLIER THIS WEEK:Delaware House votes to legalize recreational marijuana with more Democrats voting yes Who supported this legislation? Rep. Michael Smith, a Republican from Pike Creek, and Rep. Jeff Spiegelman, a Republican from Clayton, voted in favor of the legislation along with all present Democrats for a three-fifths majority. Rep. Stephanie Bolden, a Democrat from Wilmington, was absent but relayed the message that she would vote in favor of the bill if she was there. Story continues Rep. Bill Bush, a Dover Democrat who voted no on a similar bill last year, voted yes on Thursday, and House Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf, a Democrat from Rehoboth Beach who has previously been against legalizing marijuana, also voted in favor of the legislation. I'm glad we've gotten to the finish line here so far, Osienski said after the bill passed. What is the path forward for legal weed in Delaware? Now, if the Senate passes both recreational marijuana bills, Democrats will likely once again face another battle with Gov. John Carney, the rare Democrat who is adamantly against the legalization of marijuana. Carney vetoed a legalization bill last year, which fell apart after some Democrats refused to override the governor. Gov. John Carney vetoed a legalization bill last year after it passed both the Delaware House and Senate. A Carney spokesperson said on Thursday after the vote that the governors office had no comment. Still, activists remain hopeful. The people of Delaware overwhelmingly support cannabis legalization and we deserve to see our legislature finally make this important change in 2023, said Delaware Cannabis Advocacy Network Executive Director Zoe Patchell. It has taken more than a decade of work on the part of grassroots volunteers and our bill sponsors to get to this historic victory." Whats in the bill? The bill passed on Thursday would create a framework to regulate the growth, sale and possession of weed. Lawmakers say marijuana would be regulated and taxed the same way alcohol is. This legislation required a three-fifths vote because it deals with revenue and taxation. Delawareans would buy marijuana from a licensed retail marijuana store. The bill would allow for up to 30 retail licenses to be distributed within 16 months of the legislation going into effect. The process will be competitive, with prospective retailers being rewarded for providing good salaries and benefits and hiring a diverse workforce. People of color and those who have been convicted of previous marijuana offenses would be able to get recreational business licenses. The bill also creates a marijuana control enforcement fee of 15%. And 7% of the marijuana tax revenue would go to a Justice Reinvestment Fund, which has been a key area for members of the Democratic Black Caucus. This money, controlled by the Criminal Justice Council, would create grants and services that focus on restorative justice and reducing the states prison population, among other things. Rep. Ed Osienski While those who voted no on the bill acknowledged during floor debate that they did not have the numbers to prevent it from passing, they raised questions about the ethics of legalizing marijuana, specifically through the lens of addiction. Still, they praised Osienski for his perseverance with the bill, and the Republicans who voted in support of it thanked him for his willingness to engage and make concessions. As Spiegelman put it, considering all of the agreements they were able to come to, he couldnt vote no and look at (himself) in the mirror afterwards. This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware recreational marijuana industry creation bill clears House Ron-DeSantis - Credit: (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Ron DeSantis has all but said hes running for the Republican nomination for president in 2024. The Washington Post reported on Thursday that he actually has said it, just not publicly. The Florida governor is heading to Davenport, Iowa, on Friday, which is just as strong of an indication he intends to run as the Posts report. Hell head to Nevada on Saturday, where already-declared candidate Nikki Haley just held a town hall. DeSantis traveled beyond Floridas borders ahead of last years midterms, as well, rallying for Doug Mastriano in Pennsylvania and J.D. Vance in Ohio. More from Rolling Stone The Post notes that though DeSantis appears to have made up his mind, he isnt likely to formally announce his candidacy until after the Florida legislative session ends in May. DeSantis certainly has plenty of support. Hes long been siphoning donors from from President Donald Trump, and on Thursday former Trump official Ken Cuccinelli launched a new political action committee while calling for DeSantis to run. I have been speaking to many grassroots conservative activists around the country who are very enthusiastic for Governor DeSantis to run for president in 2024, Cuccinelli said in a statement. The energy is there, grassroots conservatives see the governor as a leader and a fighter with a winning conservative track record who will lead the Republican Party to victory in 2024. Based on those conversations, I am most confident that we will build an unmatched grassroots political army for Governor DeSantis to help carry him to the White House. Trump has been leading in polls of a still-hypothetical matchup between him and DeSantis, but hes clearly scared the governor could dethrone him atop the party. The former president has been attacking DeSantis relentlessly for weeks, suggesting hes a Jeb Bush-loving globalist RINO who wants to cut Medicare and Social Security. Hes also suggested DeSantis is a pedophile. Story continues Trumps latest attack came Thursday night. Why on earth (farmers love earth!) would the wonderful people of the GREAT State of Iowa vote for Ron DeSanctimonious when he voted and fought to KILL Ethanol (and will definitely do so if given the chance), voted 4 times, as a disciple of Paul Ryan, to decimate Social Security and MediCare, and bring the minimum age on Social Security to at least 70 years old (he wanted higher!), Trump wrote on Truth Social. He will be in Iowa on Friday to beg for mercy. I supported Ethanol, FIRED NAFTA, & made USMCA & China Trade Deals! Trump will stop through shortly after DeSantis leaves for Nevada. A recent Des Moines Register poll found the two GOP heavyweights might be close to neck-and-neck, with each pulling in a favorability rating of just over 40 percent. Best of Rolling Stone Click here to read the full article. Henrik Ibsens world-(in)famous play A Dolls House has not been seen on Broadway in over 25 years, when Janet McTeer led a production under the direction of Anthony Page. Now, into the shoes of legendary character Nora Helmer steps Oscar winner Jessica Chastain, starring in a work adapted by Pulitzer Prize-finalist Amy Herzog and directed by Tony Award nominee Jamie Lloyd. A Dolls House opened March 9 at the Hudson Theatre and will play through June 10, just one day before the Tonys. Joining Chastain in Ibsens form-defining domestic drama about the oppressive gender politics of the so-called private sphere in nineteenth-century Norway are Emmy nominee Arian Moayed as her husband Torvald, Okieriete Onaodowan as the opportunistic Nils Krogstad, Michael Patrick Thornton as the sympathetic Dr. Rank, Jesmille Darbouze as Noras old friend Kristine Linde, and Tasha Lawrence as the Helmers nanny. More from GoldDerby SEE 2023 Tony Awards nominations prediction center is active! 23 plays jockey for Broadways top honors A Dolls House received mostly positive notices. Jesse Green (New York Times) gives the production a Critics Pick, calling it incisive and a compelling, surgically precise revival that is chic and visually minimal. He applauds Herzogs adaptation, saying that her dialogue, pruning the social floweriness and conversational whorls of Ibsens naturalism, gets right to the point of every line, leaving the text raw and red, as if exfoliated. Though he quibbles with some of the supporting players, he commends star Chastain, who beautifully conveys all of Noras increasingly precarious situations and emotional state. Peter Marks (Washington Post) also found the production an impeccable revival, writing that audiences will be blown away by the attention thats been given to elucidating conflict and exploring character. He shares compliments for the entire cast, describing Moayed as magnetic for bringing to Torvald a terrifying fury, slowly bubbling up like molten lava, saying, Darbouze and Thornton turn in outstanding portrayals, and spotlighting Chastains smashingly fine-tuned performance. Story continues Not all of the critics were as effusive, though. Jackson McHenry (Vulture), for one, says that in this production, the just-the-bones approach makes for thin broth. He thinks director Lloyd over-eggs the dread, distorting your ability to get subtext. Even so, he does give kudos to Moayed as a believably insecure mansplainer in skinny jeans, Onaodowan, who brings out the sadness in Nils, and Thornton, who lends a sweetness to his Dr. Rank. The end of his review also crucially hints at a key visual in the staging that doesnt play perfectly to every seat in the house. SEE 2023 Tony Awards eligibility rulings (round 1): Kimberly Akimbo, Into the Woods, 1776 and a change in voting procedure If Lloyds approach sounds familiar, it is because his work here largely draws on an arsenal he previously deployed to great effect in his recent, stark remounting of Harold Pinters Betrayal. That 2019 production earned four Tony nominations, including Best Revival, Actor (Tom Hiddleston), Director, and Scenic Design (Soutra Gilmour, who did the set and collaborated with Enver Chakartash on the costumes for Dolls House). His take on Ibsen will likely fare just as well come the nominations announcement in May, if not even better. Since Tony nominators embraced his similarly minimalist take on Pinter with a Director nomination, they could very easily do the same this time around, especially as a counterpoint in a season with lush realism in Leopoldstadt and technical marvels like Life of Pi. With only five eligible revivals opening this 2022-23 Broadway season, the Best Revival category will have three nominees, barring any statistical ties. A Dolls House is a strong contender but not a lock for one of those slots, especially given the strong responses to revivals of Death of a Salesman, The Piano Lesson, Topdog/Underdog, and Ohio State Murders. Chastain, meanwhile, will make a very strong claim for her first Tony nomination. She will compete for one of four slots with Jodie Comer (Prima Facie), Audra McDonald (Ohio State Murders), Adrienne Warren (Room), Laura Linney and Jessica Hecht (Summer, 1976), and Zoe Wanamaker (Pictures From Home), and could very likely take home her first award, too. In the Featured categories, look out for not only previous nominee Moayed, who drew Tony attention in the past for Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, but also standout Thornton. In the design categories, the productions sparse set may not seem like an obvious nominee for Scenic Design and indeed, there are almost two dozen productions vying for one of the five slots in these design categories but Gilmours work on Betrayal did earn her a nomination in the past, albeit in a truncated season. Lighting Designer Jon Clark just won his first Tony for The Lehman Trilogy last year and could return to defend his title, but some reviewers did quibble with how the lighting is utilized in some moments in this production. A Dolls House does seem like a solid contender for Sound Design, though, because of how it amplifies the nuances of Ibsen and Herzogs words to magnetic effect. Marks describes the work of Ben and Max Ringham as so sensitive that we hear every syllable, every gasp. PREDICT the 2023 Tony Award nominees through May 2 Make your predictions at Gold Derby now. Download our free and easy app for Apple/iPhone devices or Android (Google Play) to compete against legions of other fans plus our experts and editors for best prediction accuracy scores. See our latest prediction champs. Can you top our esteemed leaderboards next? Always remember to keep your predictions updated because they impact our latest racetrack odds, which terrify Hollywood chiefs and stars. Dont miss the fun. Speak up and share your huffy opinions in our famous forums where 5,000 showbiz leaders lurk every day to track latest awards buzz. Everybody wants to know: What do you think? Who do you predict and why? Best of GoldDerby Sign up for Gold Derby's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. The Cleveland Browns have never been shy about adding depth in their secondary, and even less shy about adding former highly-drafted players. This is what they did when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers cut former second rounder M.J. Stewart back in 2020. Stewart then went on to carve out a role with the Browns, including a hefty amount of valuable snaps in 2021 before signing with the Houston Texans in free agency after that season. And now Stewart has signed an extension with the Texans as he played well on a one-year, $3 million deal for them in 2022. The 27-year-old now gets a two-year deal in Houston, but the financials have yet to be disclosed. More Free Agency! 5 recognizable names linked to Browns in free agency by insider Wide receiver Parris Campbell interested in a return to Ohio Is Eagles DT Javon Hargrave the ideal free agent for the Browns? Story originally appeared on Browns Wire House GOP Members Hold News Conference At RNC Headquarters In D.C. - Credit: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images A Brazilian man who was convicted of credit card fraud and deported from the United States told the FBI that Long Island Congressman George Santos taught him how to skim card information and how to clone cards, and gave him all the materials and taught me how to put skimming devices and cameras on ATM machines. In a letter, obtained by Politico, Gustavo Ribeiro Trelha describes meeting Santos in 2016 when he rented a spare room in his Florida apartment. At the time, Ribeiro says Santos was going by the name Anthony Devolder. Santos reportedly instructed Trelha on the use of credit card cloning material and flew him to Seattle to begin stealing financial information. My deal with Santos was 50% for him, 50% for me, Trelha wrote. More from Rolling Stone Trelha stated to the FBI that following his 2017 arrest, Santos visited him in jail and instructed him not to say anything about him, and threatened his friends in Florida. I no longer have contact with my friends in Florida because they were all afraid of something happening to them, he wrote. In an interview with Politico, Trelha elaborated that he agreed to cover for Santos after the now-congressman threatened to have his friends deported, and instead told authorities that he had been working with Brazil-based accomplices. Santos did in fact appear before Trelhas judge at his arraignment, and even told the judge his now infamous lie that he was an employee at Goldman Sachs. Trelha also accused Santos of stealing his bail funds. Before coming to visit Trelha, Santos allegedly took $20,000 in cash from a safe with the promise to help hire him a lawyer (El Chapos lawyer, to be specific) and then reportedly ghosted Trelha and their other roommate. Santos is facing multiple criminal investigations by federal authorities, including a probe into whether he stole thousands of fundraising dollars from a disabled veteran, and a check fraud case stemming from his time living in Brazil. Story continues The Department of Justice is also probing the possibility that Santos may have committed campaign finance violations in the course of his two runs for congress. Last week, the House Ethics Committee announced that it would establish an investigative subcommittee tasked with determining whether Representative George Santos may have: engaged in unlawful activity with respect to his 2022 congressional campaign; failed to properly disclose required information on statements filed with the House; violated federal conflict of interest laws in connection with his role in a firm providing fiduciary services; and/or engaged in sexual misconduct towards an individual seeking employment in his congressional office. Best of Rolling Stone Click here to read the full article. Vietnamese Foreign Ministrys deputy spokesperson Pham Thu Hang (Photo: VNA) Such moves are expected to contribute to consolidating and strengthening the friendship and good cooperation between the two countries and their peoples, she continued. Hang made the statement while answering the query on Vietnams response to the information about the RoK governments appealing a court order regarding the massacre in Vietnams central province of Quang Nam in 1968, at the ministrys regular press conference in Hanoi. We are very regretful that the RoK government appealed the court ruling. This has failed to reflect the objective fact of the matter, she said. Vietnam advocates shelving the past and looking toward the future, but that does not mean denying the historical truth, the deputy spokesperson stressed. Earlier, the Seoul Central District Court ordered the government to provide some 30 million KRW (24,000 USD) in compensation to Nguyen Thi Thanh, who lost her relatives in the massacre on 74 people carried out by the second Marine Brigade of the RoK in Phong Nhat-Phong Nhi village, Dien An commune, Quang Nam province, in 1968. The judgment marked the first time that a RoK court acknowledged the state's responsibility to compensate the victims of the 1968 slaughter./. George Santos is officially a congressman Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images Rep. George Santos outside his office on Capitol Hill George Santos' ex-roommate says the freshman congressman once spearheaded a credit card-skimming fraud at ATMs that landed the ex-roommate in jail. Politico reports that the former roommate Gustavo Ribeiro Trelha made the allegations in a sworn declaration submitted to the FBI. Trelha was convicted of the fraud in 2017, Politico reports, and deported to Brazil as a result. "I am coming forward today to declare that the person in charge of the crime of credit card fraud when I was arrested was George Santos / Anthony Devolder," Trelha wrote in the declaration. Elsewhere in the declaration, Trelha wrote: "Santos taught me how to skim card information and how to clone cards. He gave me all the materials and taught me how to put skimming devices and cameras on ATM machines." RELATED: George Santos' Ex-Boyfriend Addresses Lawmaker's Lies and Sudden Rise to Power: 'He Always Looked for Fame' Politico earlier reported that Santos allegedly lied to a Seattle judge at a 2017 bail hearing for Trelha, saying that he worked for Goldman Sachs at the time (a lie he told frequently on the campaign trail, and has since admitted was not true). Santos was questioned about the Seattle ATM fraud by investigators for the U.S. Secret Service, CBS News reported, though he was never charged in the scam. Politico reports that Trelha said he met Santos via a Facebook group before renting a room in Santos' apartment near Orlando. That's where, Trelha said in the declaration (which was translated by Politico from Portuguese), he "learned from him how to clone ATM and credit cards." Trelha further alleges in the declaration that Santos kept a warehouse full of credit card-skimming equipment"parts, printers, blank ATM and credit cards to be painted and engraved with stolen account and personal information"and "taught me how to use them." Trelha was arrested when he was caught on security footage removing one of the pieces of equipment from an ATM in Seattle. Story continues While he was the only one charged, he claims in the declaration that Santos and he had a deal"50% for him and 50% for me"but that he didn't tell authorities at the time because he was "threatened" not to. According to Politico, Trelha further alleges that Santos "stole" money he had collected for his bail, asking another roommate to give him $20,000 in cash after promising Trelha he was going to hire drug kingpin El Chapo's attorney to help get him out. Instead, Santos allegedly took the money and left, and Trelha never heard from him again. RELATED: Fact-Checking the George Santos Claims: From Goldman Sachs Employee to College 'Volleyball Star' Santos has been the subject of numerous headlines after The New York Times found that many of the claims he made on the campaign trail and on his resume were unsubstantiated. After the Republican admitted that he had "embellished" some portions of his resume, more mysteries began to crop up, like the source of his income, which has seemingly grown by hundreds of thousands of dollars in recent years. In 2020, when he launched his first run for the House, he stated in a financial disclosure that he had no assets and no earned income. But his financial situation appeared to have markedly improved by the time he decided to launch a second run for the House in 2022, with Federal Election Commission filings showing he lent at least $700,000 to his campaign, and $27,000 to his political action committee. Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer. Santos is currently under federal investigation over questions about his finances, and the Nassau County District Attorney's Office in New York has announced that it, too, is investigating the incoming lawmakerfor fabrications that DA Anne T. Donnelly called "nothing short of stunning." Santos recently told colleagues he would temporarily resign from his assignments on the Small Business and Science Committees while various investigations into his past play out. Federal investigators are also reportedly looking into claims that Santos once scammed a Navy veteran out of $3,000 meant for his ailing service dog, CNN and Politico reported in February. A Rheinmetall Panther KF51 main battle tank at the Rheinmetall plant in Lower Saxony in July. Julian Stratenschulte/picture alliance via Getty Images Prominent German defense firm Rheinmetall is offering Ukraine its new Panther Kf51 tank. The KF51 would leapfrog the other older Western-made tanks that are being sent to Ukraine. While the KF51 has advanced capabilities, its newness may create more headaches for the Ukrainians. While Ukraine waits on the older Abrams and Leopard tanks that the US and Europe have promised to deliver, it may have the opportunity to buy a cutting-edge German tank. Acquiring the next-generation Panther KF51 would give Ukraine the chance to leapfrog the older tanks that Western donors are sending as well as the mostly Cold War-era tanks that Ukraine already uses but taking on an unproven vehicle could further tax Ukraine's military as it struggles to incorporate older Western tank models into its armed forces. Rheinmetall, the prominent German arms firm that developed the KF51, seems confident the idea could work. Its CEO, Armin Papperger, told the German business newspaper Handelsblatt that the Panther could be delivered to Ukraine "in 15 to 18 months." "We are talking to Kyiv about exporting the Panther," Papperger said. Interestingly, Papperger said that Ukraine had also expressed interest in Rheinmetall's next-generation Lynx infantry fighting vehicle. An illustration of Rheinmetall's Panther KF51. Rheinmetall Defence Rheinmetall is reportedly negotiating with Ukraine to build a tank factory there, though it's not clear whether it would produce the Panther or the older Leopard 2 tank. The KF51 Panther is a new tank with some old features. Its hull is based on the Leopard 2, which debuted in 1979. But the turret contains Rheinmetall's next-generation Future Gun System, a 130 mm smoothbore cannon that replaces the standard 120mm found on Western tanks such as the M1 Abrams, Leopard 2, and the Challenger 2. The Panther also has advanced features, including launchers for HERO 120 loitering munitions that give the tank an onboard kamikaze drone capability. Sophisticated networking capabilities allow it to be integrated into detect-and-shoot kill chains and the ability to control "wingman" unmanned-ground vehicles that provide capabilities "such as platoon-level air and drone defense," according to Rheinmetall, which describes the Panther as a "truly software-defined tank." Story continues Rheinmetall presented the Panther at a Paris trade fair last summer and "touted it as the strongest battle tank in the world," according to Handelsblatt. A German Leopard 2 tank in Munster in May 2019. Christophe Gateau/picture alliance via Getty Images Two aspects of the Kf51 stand out. One is the autoloader that replaces the crew member who loads shells into the main gun, enabling the tank to have a crew of three rather than the four usually found in Western tanks Russian tanks also use an autoloader for a crew of three. Like the next-generation Abrams tank, the Panther's turret can be unmanned, with its crew operating the vehicle behind the thicker armor of the tank's hull. Perhaps not coincidentally, an unmanned turret and onboard drones are also a feature of Russia's next-generation T-14 Armata tank, which first appeared in 2014. Russia's army has only bought a few T-14s, possibly because of the high price as well as production and mechanical issues. The Kremlin also appears reluctant to commit T-14s to combat in Ukraine. It's also notable that the Panther has a combat weight of just 59 tons. This is lighter than the latest Leopard 2A7, which is 67 tons, and Abrams and Challenger, which weigh 70 to 80 tons, both of which Ukraine is slated to receive. Lighter vehicles can more easily cross bridges or muddy terrain, which are key considerations on Ukrainian battlefields. An illustration of the Panther KF51. Rheinmetall Defence But tank design is about tradeoffs, especially when it comes to weight. One reason the KF51 is slimmer is because just like the Leopard 2 it is not as thickly armored as the Abrams and Challenger. Instead of bulky armor plates, the Panther relies more on active and passive-protection systems, such as jammers, smokescreens, and projectiles to destroy incoming anti-tank rockets. There is no doubt that Ukraine needs more tanks. Russia has lost almost 2,000 tanks since the war began a year ago, according to a tally by the open-source website Oryx, but Ukraine has lost almost 500 tanks. While Ukraine has been able to replenish some losses by putting more than 500 captured Russian tanks into service, it is still going to need foreign vehicles as the Soviet-era designs it had before the war are destroyed or worn out. Nonetheless, one consideration for Ukraine and any foreign donors who would subsidize its purchase is that no military has yet bought the Kf51. Even the best new weapons have teething problems. If Ukraine becomes the first to field the Panther, then it will become the first to deal with the inevitable bugs. With all the challenges that Ukraine already faces, that's a gamble. Michael Peck is a defense writer whose work has appeared in Forbes, Defense News, Foreign Policy magazine, and other publications. He holds a master's in political science. Follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn. Read the original article on Business Insider Carrie Coon, Donna Murphy and Nathan Lane in The Gilded Age. | Photograph by Alison Cohen Rosa/HBO HBO Maxs The Gilded Age Season 1 followed the highs and lows, affluence and melodrama, of the real-life Gilded Age in New York City. The show is full of historically accurate feuds, classism, costumes and real-life figures. Fans might be interested to learn that The Gilded Age Season 1 isnt all fiction. In fact, it follows and chronicles real-life people and their drama. As fans eagerly await The Gilded Age Season 2, lets dive into the real people depicted in the dramatic period piece. Related Who are The Gilded Age characters based on? HBO Maxs The Gilded Age is fictional, but its also deeply rooted in historical events. 1880s New York City was filled with opulence and classism, with an elite group of wealthy, prominent families ruling New Yorks upper society. So while the plot in The Gilded Age Season 1 is fiction, its heavily based on true events. Some characters are only based on real-life figures such as Bertha Russell but others are based on real people. Were the Russells a real family? The Russells are a fictional family. But the Russells are based on the real-life Vanderbilts, who were considered new money to the older, more established New York families. According to ScreenRant, the Vanderbilts acquired their wealth in shipping and railroads, much like the Russells. The real-life people in The Gilded Age Caroline Schermerhorn Astor Photograph by Alison Cohen Rosa/HBO In The Gilded Age Season 1, Caroline Astor reigns over New York society and is hesitant to include the Russells into the fold, because theyre new money. Not only was Astor real, but the feud between her and Bertha Russell is based on real-life events. Related Astor was was the daughter of a wealthy merchant, per Britannica, who married William Astor in 1853. Caroline Astor was a prominent tastemaker in New York society, and cultivated a list of the 400 most relevant and fashionable New Yorkers with her friend Ward McAllister. The 400 were those who had Astors calling card and who attended her famous parties, as the Deseret News previously reported Story continues Astor famously disliked the Vanderbilt family due to their reputation as new money, per Vogue. This is likely the inspiration for Russell and Astors friction in The Gilded Age Season 1. Eventually, Astor accepted the Vanderbilts into the fold. Ward McAllister Alison Cohen Rosa, HBO In The Gilded Age, Russell seeks out the approval of Ward McAllister in order to make her way into the elite of New Yorks society. In real life, McAllister was an actual tastemaker and helped establish the 400 with Caroline Astor. Per Britannica, McAllister was a lawyer from Savannah, Georgia. After making a fortune on his law firm by 1852, he retired and devoted himself to social life. After a trip with his wife to Europe, McAllister found himself smitten with the Society he found there, per Slate. He moved to New York City and played a heavy hand in establishing upper New York society. However, per Britannica, he spent most of his time in Newport as he does in The Gilded Age Season 1. McAllister believed that fashionable people, and the wealthy, were job makers, writing that they cause the expenditure of money and its distribution. He wrote a memoir about society and his life, called Society as I Have Found It, in 1890. According to Slate, McAllisters memoir created quite a stir in his social circle and was the downfall of his influence. Mamie Fish Alison Cohen Rosa, HBO In The Gilded Age, Russell advises her son, Larry, to get close to socialite and hostess Mamie Fish shes the center of Newport society and is known for her lavish parties. The real-life Fish was the same. Fish was notorious for her quick wit and outrageous parties in New York and Newport, per Vogue fans of The Gilded Age most likely remember her for her doll tea party. According to The Newport Daily News, A symbol of ultrafashionable society, at the height of her reign Mamie was a favorite topic for the newspapers, whether it was a bit of speculation about the plans for her latest party, a description of an outfit, or a rumor regarding her most recent social squabble. After Caroline Astors death, Fish, along with Alva Vanderbilt, took over the reigns as the leaders of New York Society, per Vogue. The Gilded Age characters based on real-life people Bertha Russell based on Alva Vanderbilt Alison Cohen Rosa, HBO According to Vogue, the ambitious and wealthy Bertha Russell is heavily based on Alva Vanderbilt. So much so that The Gilded Age creator Julian Fellowes said, Bertha is completely Alva, per Rhode Island Monthly. Per Britannica, Alva Vanderbilt married William K. Vanderbilt in 1875 and, at the time, the Vanderbilts were one of the wealthiest families in the world. Despite this, Vanderbilt lacked the coveted 400 status bequeathed by the Astors because they were new money. Vanderbilt did everything in her power to join the 400, including hiring famous architect Richard M. Hunt to design their $3 million mansion on Fifth Avenue. In 1883, Vanderbilt planned what is perhaps the party of the century an Olympian masquerade ball with 1,200 invited. According to Brittanica, Astor acquiesced and asked Vanderbilt to put her daughter, Carolina Astor, on the invite list. Vanderbilt agreed, and her spot amongst the 400 was finally secured, as the Deseret News previously reported. Gladys Russell based on Consuelo Vanderbilt Alison Cohen Rosa, HBO If Bertha Russell is based on Alva Vanderbilt, then Russells daughter is certainly based on the beautiful socialite Consuelo Vanderbilt, daughter of the Vanderbilt family. Much like in The Gilded Age Season 1, the Vanderbilt daughter was ready to marry for love but her mother had her sights set on a stratospheric social match, per Vogue. Eventually, Vanderbilt was married to a cash-poor but pedigree-rich Englishman, the ninth Duke of Marlborough, according to NPR. The Vanderbilts paid the duke a $2.5 million dowry to marry their daughter, per Vogue, and the unhappy bride reportedly cried behind her veil at her wedding. Her marriage to the duke proved to be loveless they eventually divorced and Vanderbilt dedicated her life to political activism, per NPR. Sylvia Chamberlain based on Arabella Huntington Photograph by Alison Cohen Rosa/HBO | Alison Cohen Rosa, HBO By all accounts, the wealthy widow and social pariah Sylvia Chamberlain is heavily based on Arabella Huntington, according to Vogue. Much like Sylvia in The Gilded Age Season 1, Huntington was in a controversial marriage: she married Collis Huntington, rich American industrialist, only nine months after his first wife died. And, much like in The Gilded Age, Huntington was a social pariah. According to the Los Angeles Times, The newlyweds moved to Fifth Avenue, but even that address could not overcome Arabellas mysterious past and Huntingtons ruthless dealings notable even in that rapacious age. The Astors and Vanderbilts barred them from New York society. Also similarly to Sylvia, Huntington had a child out of wedlock and the identity of the father is still up for debate. A man suspected of going on a killing spree in Hamburg was a former Jehovahs Witness, German officials say. Police said seven people were killed - which officials said includes an unborn baby- inside a Kingdom Hall of the Jehovahs Witnesses while eight were hurt, including four seriously. The gunman, a 35-year-old German citizen, turned the weapon on himself, the state interior minister Andy Grote told a briefing on Friday. A quick police intervention prevented more people from being killed, Grote said, adding that the gunman, believed to be a former Jehovahs Witness member, acted alone. The scene of the shooting was a Kingdom Hall, next to a car repair shop in the Gross Borstel district, a few miles from Hamburg city centre. Police spokesman Holger Vehren said officers were alerted to the shooting at about 9.15pm and on the scene quickly. After officers arrived and found people with apparent gunshot wounds on the ground floor, they heard a shot from an upper floor and found a fatally wounded person upstairs who may have been the gunman, he said. Key Points Unborn baby among seven killed Eight dead in Jehovahs Witness Church shooting in Hamburg Gunman believed to be dead was sole perpetrator, say police Police yet to ascertain motive behind shooting Witnesses heard 'four periods of shooting' 'Brutal act of violence' says German Chancellor Olaf Scholz Gunman a former member of Jehovahs Witnesses' 11:45 , Emily Atkinson German officials say the suspected perpetrator of a mass shooting in Hamburg was a former member of the Jehovahs Witnesses. Thomas Radszuweit, a Hamburg security official, said the man was a 35-year-old German national whom he identified only as Philipp F. in line with German privacy rules. He said that its not possible yet to pinpoint why the man went on the shooting rampage but there is no indication of a political motive. Police say the perpetrator shot himself inside the Jehovahs Witnesses hall after officers forced their way into the building. Story continues Unborn baby among seven killed 11:35 , Emily Atkinson An unborn baby has been identified among the victims of a shooting at a Jehovahs Witness church centre in Germany, the state interior minister has confirmed. The gunman, a 35-year-old German citizen, killed seven people before turning the weapon on himself, Andy Grote told a briefing on Friday. A quick police intervention prevented more people from being killed, Grote said, adding that the gunman, believed to be a former Jehovahs Witness member, acted alone. Four men, two women, and an unborn girl, seven months old, were killed in the attack. Watch: Hamburg police storm building where deadly shooting occurred 11:02 , Emily Atkinson Gunman believed to be former Jehovahs Witness 10:15 , Emily Atkinson The gunman was believed to be a former member of the Jehovahs Witness community, Spiegel magazine reported. The man was aged between 30 and 40 and was not known to authorities as an extremist, the report said, citing unnamed sources. A spokesperson for Hamburg police could not confirm the details, referring to a press conference planned for 1100 GMT. In pictures: Forensics teams arrive at scene in Hamburg 09:50 , Emily Atkinson (EPA) (EPA) (EPA) Watch: Multiple dead in shooting at Jehovahs Witness church in Hamburg 09:10 , Emily Atkinson Jehovahs Witnesses worldwide grieve for the victims, says US spokesperson 08:39 , Emily Atkinson David Semonian, a US-based spokesman for Jehovahs Witnesses, said in an emailed statement early on Friday that members worldwide grieve for the victims of this traumatic event. The congregation elders in the local area are providing pastoral care for those affected by the event, he wrote. We understand that the authorities are still investigating the details of this crime. We appreciate the courageous help provided by the police and emergency services. At a glance: Jehovah's Witness beliefs, history in Germany 08:00 , Sravasti Dasgupta Several people were killed and injured Thursday night after shots were fired inside a building where Jehovahs Witnesses met in the northern German city of Hamburg, officials said. The international Christian denomination founded in the United States has a more than 100-year history in Germany. Today, about 170,000 members call the European country home, according to the denominations website. Read more in this report by the Associated Press: At a glance: Jehovah's Witness beliefs, history in Germany Eight including gunman killed, police say 07:46 , Sravasti Dasgupta Eight people have been killed and several others wounded in a shooting at a Jehovahs Witness church centre in Hamburg, Germany. Police gave the figure on their website. A possible motive for the shooting has still not been declared. Police said that the deaths included the gunman who is believed to have acted alone. Germany Shooting ((c) Tnn) ICYMI: Several killed and others injured after shooting at church in Hamburg 07:00 , Sravasti Dasgupta Multiple people have died and several others are injured after a shooting in a church in Hamburg. Lucy Skoulding, Josh Marcus report: Several killed and others injured after shooting at church in Hamburg Who are Jehovah's Witnesses? 06:00 , Sravasti Dasgupta Multiple people were killed at a Jehovahs Witness church in Germany by a gunman who police believe acted alone. There are about 170,000 Jehovahs Witnesses in Germany. They are part of an international church, founded in the United States in the 19th century and headquartered in Warwick, New York. It claims a worldwide membership of about 8.7 million. Members are known for their evangelistic efforts that include knocking on doors and distributing literature in public squares. The denominations distinctive practices include a refusal to bear arms, receive blood transfusions, salute a national flag or participate in secular government. Additional reporting by Associated Press. Jehovahs Witness Glance (1954 AP) Police yet to release official death toll 05:30 , Sravasti Dasgupta After a shooting at a Jehovahs Witness church in Hamburg, Germany, police are yet to release an official death toll. We only know that several people died here; several people are wounded, they were taken to hospitals, police spokesperson Holger Vehren was quoted as saying by Associated Press. He said he had no information on the severity of the injuries suffered by the wounded. Police did not confirm German media reports, which named no sources, of six or seven dead. Police officers in special equipment stand next to a Jehovah's Witness building in Hamburg, Germany, (AP) Witnesses heard 'four periods of shooting' 05:00 , Sravasti Dasgupta There were about four periods of shooting, said student Laura Bauch, who lives near the Jehovahs Witness church in Germany where multiple people were killed. There were always several shots in these periods, roughly at intervals of 20 seconds to a minute, she was quoted as saying by German news agency DPA. She said she looked out her window and saw a person running from the ground floor to the second floor of the Jehovahs Witnesses hall. Gregor Miesbach, who lives within sight of the building, said to German television news agency NonstopNews that he heard at least 25 shots. After police arrived, one last shot followed about five minutes later, he said. Police had no information on the event that was underway in the building when the shooting took place. Germany Shooting ((c) Copyright 2023, dpa (www.dpa.de). Alle Rechte vorbehalten) Gunman believed to be dead was sole perpetrator, say police 04:00 , Sravasti Dasgupta While police in Hamburg have declined to say how many people have been killed at a shooting at a Jehovahs Witness church, they believe that the gunman was among the dead. In a statement on Twitter, police said they are discontinuing operations at the shooting site. According to the current state of affairs, we assume that there is one perpetrator, police said. Police activities in the surrounding area are being successively discontinued. Investigations into the motives behind the crime are continuing. Wir haben in einem Gemeindehaus in #GroBorstel eine leblose Person aufgefunden, bei der wir davon ausgehen, dass es sich um einen Tater handeln konnte. Um die Beteiligung weiterer Tater auszuschlieen, fuhren wir Uberprufungen durch & fahnden umfassend.#schieerei #hh0903 Polizei Hamburg (@PolizeiHamburg) March 10, 2023 Unit of armed police already in area when shooting broke out 03:30 , Josh Marcus German police swarmed a Jehovahs Witness facility in Hamburg after a shooting left multiple people dead on Thursday evening. As it happened, officers from a specialised armed unit were already in the area when violence broke out. Police officers happened to be near the crime scene because they were on their way back to their accommodation at the police headquarters in Alsterdorf, Welt reported. Jehovahs Witnesses faced history of persecution in Germany 03:00 , Josh Marcus Jehovahs Witnesses, like a variety of minorities in Germany, were targeted for persecution by the Nazis, as members of the group refused to join the Nazi party or let their children into the Hitler Youth. By 1939, an estimated 6,000 Witnesses (including some from Austria and Czechoslovakia) were detained in prisons or camps, according to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. Others fled Germany, continued their religious observance in private, or ceased to observe altogether. ICYMI: Mass shooting strikes Hamburg 02:30 , Josh Marcus Multiple people have died and several others are injured after a shooting in a church in Hamburg. The Hamburg city government said the shooting took place at a Jehovahs Witness church in the Gross Borstel district on Thursday evening. My deepest condolences to the families of the victims, Hamburg mayor Peter Tschentscher wrote on Twitter in German on Thursday. The emergency services are working flat out to track down the perpetrator(s) and to clarify the background. Get all the details in our breaking news report. Several killed and others injured after shooting at church in Hamburg Mass shootings are rare in Germany 02:00 , Josh Marcus The shooting on Thursday in a Jehovahs Witness centre in Hamburg marks a relative rarity in Germany. Compared to the United States, which often has more than one mass shooting per day, such killings are uncommon in Germany. That said, in recent years, the country has experienced some shootings. Heres more information on those incidents. Gunman killed and several injured in shooting at German university Six dead after gunman opens fire in Germany How many Jehovahs Witnesses are there in Germany? 01:40 , Josh Marcus Jehovahs Witnesses are a minority in Germany. The country has a population of more than 84 million people, while there are about 175,000 Jehovahs Witnesses across Germany who practice in an estimated 900 Kingdom Halls, according to The New York Times. The front page in Germany: Bloodbath in Church!' 01:25 , Josh Marcus A shooting at a Jehovahs Witness centre in Hamburg, Germany, has claimed upwards of six lives, according to local media. Heres how one publication, Bild, covered the story. The paper described the shooting, in German, as a Bloodbath in Church. A German news headline reading Bloodbath in Church! about a shooting on 9 March in the city of Hamburg (Bild) Were shattered: Shock in local community after church shooting 01:10 , Josh Marcus Hamburg is in shock after at least six people were killed in a shooting at a Jehovahs Witness centre on Thursday evening. God, tonight were shattered, shocked, the Archdiocese of Hamburg wrote on Twitter on Thursday in German. Tonight our thoughts will not rest. Tonight we are with those whose lives have changed in the blink of an eye. Potential body of shooter found on scene: police 00:55 , Josh Marcus Police have discovered the body of an individual who may be responsible for tonights shooting. We found a lifeless person in a community center in #GroBorstel who we believe could be a perpetrator. In order to rule out the involvement of other perpetrators, we carry out checks and search extensively, the Hamburg police department wrote on Twitter in German on Thursday. Witnesses describe hectic' Hamburg shooting 00:41 , Josh Marcus Witnesses are beginning to recount what happened on Thursday evening during a shooting at a church centre in Hamburg. It was about four firing periods. During these periods, several shots were always fired, approximately 20 seconds to one minute apart, said Lara Bauch, 23, according to The Guardian. I then looked further out of the window and saw a person running hectically from the ground floor to the first floor at the Jehovahs Witnesses, she added. Photos show scene outside Hamburg church 00:23 , Josh Marcus Police are in the process of investigating a shooting that claimed multiple lives at a Hamburg church centre. Dramatic photos captured the operation, where local officials say they havent identified a motive behind the violence. (Getty Images) (AP) (REUTERS) Several killed and others injured after shooting at church in Hamburg 00:11 , Josh Marcus Multiple people have died and several others are injured after a shooting in a church in Hamburg. The Hamburg city government said the shooting took place at a Jehovahs Witness church in the Gross Borstel district on Thursday evening. My deepest condolences to the families of the victims, Hamburg mayor Peter Tschentscher wrote on Twitter in German on Thursday. The emergency services are working flat out to track down the perpetrator(s) and to clarify the background. Get all the details in our breaking news story. Several killed and others injured after shooting at church in Hamburg A shocking shooting in Hamburg 00:10 , Josh Marcus Good evening and welcome to our live coverage of the reported shooting at a church centre in Hamburg. Well be following all the latest details live. candle As previously reported by REVOLT, last Friday (March 3), four friends rode from South Carolina to Matamoros, Mexico so that one could proceed with cosmetic surgery. Before the group could make it to the appointment, they were stopped by members of the Gulf Cartel and forced into the back of a pickup truck at gunpoint. The violent kidnapping was caught on cellphone video and quickly went viral. Unfortunately, two Americans Shaeed Woodard and Zindell Brown were killed during the abduction. The remaining survivors are LaTavia Tay Washington McGee and Eric Williams. While many have focused their attention on the United States citizens who were victims, some may have overlooked that an innocent Mexican bystander was shot and killed during the cartel kidnapping. Rest in peace, Arely Servando. She was the innocent bystander killed by the Mexican Cartel last week in Matamoros. My condolences to the family. pic.twitter.com/UqPrEUL0eq Mayra Flores (@MayraFlores2022) March 10, 2023 Yesterday (March 9), authorities identified the slain Mexico resident as 33-year-old Arely Servando. According to the New York Post, the woman was a church official who worked with kids at a summer school. Tamaulipas Gov. Americo Villarreal said the victim was standing nearly a block and a half away from the chaotic scene when she was fatally struck by bullets from the Gulf Cartels Scorpions Group. Servando was also a graduate of the National College of Technical Professional Education and helped children at the Biblical Summer School. Those familiar with her say she was a member of the Association of Young Ambassadors of Pentecostal Power. Priscila Andrade, the associations president, shared fond memories of her former co-worker. Arelita, as I affectionately called her, was my vice president along with many other things. My little sister, best friend and companion, Andrade said. In a surprising turn of events, an anonymous person claiming to be a member of the Gulf Cartel sent officials a hand-written letter apologizing for the deaths. We have decided to turn over those who were directly involved and responsible in the events, who at all times acted under their own decision-making and lack of discipline, a portion of the message read. It also contained a photo of five men, believed to be the individuals involved, bound on the ground. Trending Stories Japan Airlines had to cancel its JAL Smile Campaign promotion seconds after it went on sale. In a 9 March 2023 statement, the airline said: "We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused to our customers and related parties." RICHARD A. BROOKS/AFP via Getty Images Japan Airlines' Smile Campaign included a flat rate of $48 for one-way domestic tickets The airline's website crashed seconds after the tickets went on sale at midnight on March 9. The website was down for over 10 hours, leading the airline to discontinue the promotion. A Japanese airline's flight deal of less than $50 for domestic flights was indeed too good to be true. Almost as soon as Japan Airlines' latest promotion started it was over. The tickets went on sale at midnight local time on March 9 and the website crashed almost immediately. By early afternoon, the airline announced in a press release it was canceling the promotion. Called the "JAL Smile Campaign", the promotion offered one-way domestic tickets for 6,600 yen, or $48, for adults, and 4,950 yen, or $36, for children according to Japanese news agency Kyodo News. The flat-rate tickets were for flights from April 14 to May 31. The airline also canceled a similar promotion for flights in the month of June which was scheduled to go on sale on March 12. According to the company's statement, the surge in demand made it "almost impossible" to access its website, affecting regular sales in addition to promotional ones. The airline said it was trying to fix the connection issues before it completely canceled the sale in a later release. The promotions will not be rescheduled. The heavy demand for tickets is no doubt a positive sign for Japan's domestic tourism sector. Other Japanese airlines, like Airdo and ANA, are also planning similar promotions, according to Bloomberg, as Japan prepares to reclassify COVID-19 as a less dangerous disease and consider making wearing a mask optional on public transportation. Japan opened its borders to visa-free foreign tourists in October 2022. Read the original article on Business Insider Jenna Ortega is eyeing a role in Tim Burtons Beetlejuice 2, Variety has confirmed. Ortega, best known for her role as Wednesday Addams in Netflixs recent series reboot Wednesday, is in talks to play the daughter of Lydia Deetz, portrayed by Winona Ryder in the original film. This marks her second time working with Burton, who was an executive producer on Wednesday and directed four of its eight episodes. Michael Keaton is also set to reprise his role as the title character. More from Variety Representatives for Warner Bros. and Ortega did not immediately respond to Varietys request for comment. The sequel has been in the works at Warner Bros. for some time before Brad Pitts production company Plan B officially boarded it in February of last year. The original Beetlejuice centers on Charles (Jeffrey Jones), Delia (Catherine OHara) and Lydia Deetz (Ryder), who inhabit a home previously occupied by the Maitlands (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis). The Maitlands died in a car accident, but their ghost selves want to re-inhabit their former house, recruiting Beetlejuice (Keaton), a bio-exorcist, to scare away the Deetzes. Met with critical acclaim, Beetlejuice grossed $74 million in North America on a $15 million budget. Varietys 1987 review praised Keatons performance, saying: Keaton pops up from his grave to liven things up when the antics pitting the good ghosts against the intruders become a trite cat & mouse game. Talks of a sequel surfaced in 2013, when Keaton confirmed that he and Burton were talking about doing a sequel. Burton said in 2014 that he missed the character of Beetlejuice, saying, Theres only one Beetlejuice, and thats Michael. There is a script, and I would love to work with him again. I think there is now a better chance than ever I miss that character. Theres something thats cathartic and amazing about it. I think its closer than ever. Ryder re-confirmed that the film was in the works on a Late Night With Seth Meyers appearance in 2015. Story continues The Hot Mic podcast was the first to report the news of her casting. Ortega is repped by CAA, Gilbertson Entertainment and Jackoway Austen. 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. Jeremy Renner (Jeremy Renner) Jeremy Renner shared a sweet photo of his protector dog as he continues his recovery at home over two months on from his serious snowplough accident. The Marvel star was crushed by a six-tonne snowplough while trying to save his nephew near his home close to the Nevada-California state border in the US. On Thursday, the actor, 52, posted a snap of his pet sitting on the bed looking out of the window, with the caption: My little protector. Sweet love Hershey. Renner has been focused on his recovery ever since the accident on New Years Day but recently featured in the trailer for his new docuseries Rennervations, which was shot before the incident. The Disney+ series sees him enlists his celebrity pals, including Anthony Mackie, Vanessa Hudgens, Anil Kapoor and Sebastian Yatra, to help repurpose vehicles which can serve communities. Earlier this month, Renner said he is doing whatever it takes to recover from his accident. Renner took to his Instagram Story to share a sweet photo of his dog (Instagram/Jeremy Renner) At the time, the Hawkeye actor posted a video on his Instagram story of him working on rebuilding the strength of his leg using a stationary exercise bike. He used his hand to assist with the motion and wrote alongside the video: Whatever it takes. The actor also revealed he is working on his mental recovery too by reading The Book Of Awakening: Having The Life You Want By Being Present In The Life You Have, by Mark Nepo which is a series of daily reflections. The actor has kept fans updated with his recovery process so far, previously revealing that he had broken more than 30 bones in the incident. Jeremy Renner - In pictures Avengers: Age Of Ultron (2015) (Handout) Jeremy Renner (jeremy renner) Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011) (AP) The Hurt Locker (2008) (REUTERS) (PA Wire) The Avengers (2012) (Marvel) S.W.A.T (2003) (YouTube) 28 Weeks Later (2007) (Handout) American Hustle (2013 (Annapurna Productions ) Earlier this month, his Marvel co-star Evangeline Lilly said she had recently visited the wheelchair-bound actor at his home and that she felt his swift recovery was a straight-up miracle. Lilly told US outlet Access Hollywood: I walked in his house and got chicken skin, because I was like, Why are you mobile? Why are you mobile? Whats happening? I expected to sit at his bedside and hold his hand while he moaned and groaned in pain and wasnt able to move. He was wheeling himself around, laughing with his friends. Its a miracle, a straight-up miracle. Hes made of something really tough, that guy. Youve always been able to see that in him. He is recovering incredibly, and Im so grateful. The second phase of the Boyne City-Charlevoix non-motorized recreational trail will follow along the highway to connect to the Little Traverse Wheelway in Charlevoix Township. CHARLEVOIX COUNTY This years Leadership Charlevoix County group is aiming to make outdoor recreation in the county safer and more enjoyable by working with the Top of Michigan Trails Council to connect the Boyne Valley Trail and Boyne City to Charlevoix Trail. The walking path between these trails already exists, what Leadership Charlevoix County is aiming to accomplish is raise the funds needed to buy and install the signage that will help trail users navigate. According to the trails council's executive director Brent Bolin, the project needs between $5,000 and $6,000 for signage, depending on how much the council decides to purchase. Two kinds of signs will be needed: safety signs, which are pre-made and ready to purchase, and wayfinding signage, which are customized with information specific to the trail. In total, the connection will create a trail system of around 13 to 14 miles. The Boyne City to Charlevoix trail is currently still incomplete, but a segment of the trail will be built this year extending to Horton Bay and the rest of the trail will be completed at a future date, Bolin said. More:Trails council: Residents' experience, research show trails can boost quality of life More:Beards Brewery chooses Top of Michigan Trails Council as its latest community partner In addition to signage, the project will raise funds for mapping the trail system. Normally, a map is created when a trail is opened but because the Boyne Valley Trail opened in the summer of 2020, after COVID-19 first broke out, the trails council was never able to create one. The participants in Leadership Charlevoix County this year wanted to find a project that would have a county-wide impact, affect people of varying socioeconomic levels and support outdoor recreation. Bolin recommended the trail project because he is involved with Leadership Little Traverse, so he understood the kind of project the group was looking for: something meaningful, but discreet, that can be accomplished in approximately six months. Story continues This was a conversation that we were already having with Boyne City and it seemed like it fit those other criteria really well and would make a good community project. Also, there has to be some working with the local governments, outreach to citizens and so it ticks the boxes, Bolin said. Getting the extra help on this project really helps the trails council move it forward much faster than we'd be able to on our own. Subscribe: Check out our offers and read the local news that matters to you For Jordan Peck and Ryan Deery, participants in Leadership Charlevoix County, the project was appealing because it will connect communities in Charlevoix County, improve safety so bikers and people walking on the trails dont have to travel on the side of the road to reach the next trail section and it will have an economic benefit on the community. We already know people are coming up to Northern Michigan for outdoor recreation, that's our big draw. I'm a biker, (if) I want to go out for a longer ride, now I've got a route to connect these trails, Deery said. But it also is going to carry bikers and trail users right through downtown and invariably, someone's going to stop for a snack. Someone's going to stop for an ice cream cone, cup of water. So it will impact downtown Boyne City, but I think it can be a promotional tool for all of Charlevoix County. Peck added that The possibilities are limitless once those trails are linked together all the way." "This is just a great way to start this," he said. "I think there's a lot of impact, too, for Boyne Falls and Boyne Mountain. One could travel from northside of Boyne City, all the way out to Boyne Mountain, spend a large portion of their day out there and then head back." While the Leadership Charlevoix County program ends in May, the trail connection may not be completed until summer, depending on how quickly the group is able to fundraise. Donations can be sent to the Top of Michigan Trails Council through the donation link on its website. Contact reporter Tess Ware at tware@petoskeynews.com. Follow her on Twitter, @Tess_Petoskey. This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: LCC to help build Boyne City trail connection for community project PORTSMOUTH Author Marianne Williamson, who is making a second attempt at running for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2024, visited the city Thursday as part of an early campaign swing through New Hampshire. She promoted her vision for universal health care, student debt cancellation, tuition-free college, free child care and the need for an economic U-turn in America. She spoke at Cup of Joe Cafe & Bar, owned by Portsmouth Assistant Mayor Joanna Kelley. She said President Joe Biden is a nice man trying to help people survive within an unjust economic system. But more is needed, she argued. Author Marianne Williamson, a 2024 Democratic presidential candidate, made a campaign stop at Cup of Joe Cafe & Bar in Portsmouth on Thursday, March 9, 2023. I do not believe that the agenda of the president, which does include incremental changes and does include the message that the economy is doing well, I do not believe that thats the winning message for 2024, Williamson said. We are a government of the corporations, by the corporations and for the corporations. That has not changed under the Biden administration and it wont change under the Biden administration," she added later. Williamson, 70, is a spiritual leader who has written 15 books, including bestsellers, and is founder of Project Angel Food, a nonprofit that has delivered millions of meals to ill and dying homebound patients. She unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic Party presidential nomination in 2020. Whats different now? Williamson believes times have changed politically, saying many voters in 2020 just hoped to see an end to former President Donald Trumps administration. Those of us who did not support that program were hoping that once his administration was over, we would go back to some level of normalcy, she said. People realize now that the problem has gone deeper than one president. That there is a division of hatred plaguing our nation that does not submit itself to easy, simplistic answers. That right there shows a kind of maturation of the American public. Author Marianne Williamson, a 2024 Democratic presidential candidate, made a campaign stop at Cup of Joe Cafe & Bar in Portsmouth on Thursday, March 9, 2023. The business is owned by Joanna Kelley, the city's assistant mayor. Williamson began her remarks Thursday by reflecting on the recent display of hateful graffiti targeted at numerous Portsmouth businesses, including Cup of Joe, late last month. At Cup of Joe, which had a crucifix and swastika spray painted on a window, Kelley hosted a Love Blooms Here event in the days afterward, passing out flowers donated by local florists to the public, who then brought them around to the businesses hit in the barrage, as well as the nearby Temple Israel. Story continues The incidents that have occurred here at this place and this beautiful environment, this town, this street, this neighborhood where you least expect a swastika to be on the window, obviously thats a wake-up call for all of us, Williamson said. Williamson called for paid family leave, guaranteed sick leave and guaranteed living wages for American workers, touting her support for unions and remarking as president, she would cancel all government contracts with union busters. Describing the nations two-party dominance, Williamson said Republicans are owned by corporate tyranny and that corporate Democrats are the ones leading the party. Washington is still the two basic categories of leaders. One, a group which does not care. Another group, who, for whatever reason with a few brave exceptions such as Bernie Sanders and others, do not have the moral courage or the spine to get in there and fix it, she told the crowd. Im here today to say to you, let me in there. I will. 2024 NH primary:Nikki Haley packs Exeter Town Hall. Her message and expert's view of her chances. Author Marianne Williamson, a 2024 Democratic presidential candidate, made a campaign stop at Cup of Joe Cafe & Bar in Portsmouth on Thursday, March 9, 2023. Kelley said she is not endorsing any political candidates, adding Cup of Joe welcomes all presidential candidates, including those from the Republican Party. Its an open door for people, she said. Its a community connector. Williamsons visit on Thursday came amid Cup of Joes fifth anniversary on Market Street. When introducing the presidential candidate, Kelley said though she herself is an elected politician, she views herself and Williamson more as community leaders who care about people. One of the great privileges we have as Granite Staters (is) that most of us have access to every single candidate running for every office, because they know how important we are here. They know that our first-in-the-nation primary is so important to us. They know that we as Granite Staters are committed to positive change in the country and really try to lead that way, Kelley said. Big Bean Cafe coming to Exeter: Couple takes over former Tavern at Rivers Edge space Author Marianne Williamson, a 2024 Democratic presidential candidate, made a campaign stop at Cup of Joe Cafe & Bar in Portsmouth on Thursday, March 9, 2023. New Hampshire Democrats and Republicans have banded together in support of maintaining the states status as the first-in-the-nation presidential primary after the Democratic National Committee voted to award the distinction to South Carolina, a Biden-backed plan. Williamson told the crowd that she hopes Biden will travel to New Hampshire to debate her. Williamson acknowledged her status as a longshot taking on the incumbent president, comparing it to running into a burning building but called her supporters my fire retardants. Let me in that house and youre going to see some changes, and I believe with all my heart that you would like them, she said. Rebecca Buttignol of York, Maine, said she supported Williamson in the run-up to the 2020 election, noting she felt restricted by the two-party political system. I feel like I really need to support her as far as I can this time, because we really are at that precipice and what she says resonates with me spiritually and practically, she said. This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Marianne Williamson, 2024 Democratic hopeful, says Biden falls short Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Thanh Hai (Photo: VNA) Speaking at the event, Chairman of the FICCI Kerala State Council M. I. Sahadulla reviewed the trade ties between Vietnam and India since 1972 when they established diplomatic ties. He highlighted similarities between Vietnam and Kerala in pepper, cashew nut and fishery production, and suggested the two sides cooperate in IT, education and health care. Ambassador Nguyen Thanh Hai affirmed that commerce is one of the five pillars in the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership, with two-way trade exceeding 15 billion USD for the first time last year, meeting the target set by their leaders, making India one of the eight leading trade partners of Vietnam. However, the figure has yet to match potential and expectations of both sides, the diplomat said, adding that India makes up only around 2% of Vietnams total trade value, while Vietnam accounts for some 1.5% of Indias. Vietnamese localities and the Indian state share a lot of similarities and are reciprocal in many sectors, especially agriculture, fishery and IT, he noted. Do Quoc Hung, deputy head of the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT)'s Department of Asia-Africa Markets, said Vietnam and Kerala have various cooperation opportunities in navigation and other spheres thanks to their similar climate conditions. The MoIT and the Trade Office stand ready to help businesses seek cooperation opportunities and address their concern, contributing to promoting trade between Vietnam and India and Kerala in particular, he affirmed./. [Source] An infant Buddha statue thats less than 6 inches tall will be put up for auction with a starting bid of $100,000. In 2018, Leon Deschamps and Shayne Thompson discovered the figurine with a metal detector while searching Shark Bay, Australia. Infant Buddha statues were typically presented during ceremonies celebrating the Buddha's birthday, thus the youthful imagery. Since the discovery, the Australian filmmakers, who run FINN Films, have been trying to solve the mystery of why the Buddha statue was in Australia and whether its discovery may reveal an earlier arrival to Australia by Chinese explorers than previously thought. More from NextShark: Jeremy Lin fined by China over 'inappropriate' COVID remarks In the last four years, it has cost us significant personal capital and time to be able to investigate and protect the Buddha appropriately, Deschamps and Thompson said. Since their discovery, the two have spent more than $50,000 on efforts to reveal the artifacts origins, including laboratory research and travel to meet with scientists. After the figurine was evaluated by an art expert on the British TV program Antiques Roadshow, it was identified as originating in the Ming Dynasty. Asian art specialist Lee Young labeled the figurine a world treasure. More from NextShark: 66-year-old man in China transforms his terrace into ice rink to play hockey with grandson Lets clear it up straight away. Yes, it is Ming, Young said. He added that the location of its discovery would increase its value from between $5,000 and $9,000 to over $100,000 if its link to 15th-century China is confirmed. Corrosion expert and retired Western Australian Museum fellow Dr. Ian McLeod confirmed that the statue was not a forgery and must have been buried in that exact location for more than 100 years. It is not possible, even with the most sophisticated chemical methods, to develop a complex patina such as found on the Shark Bay bronze object, McLeod determined. Story continues More from NextShark: 'It is just a joke': Australian Restaurant Sparks Outrage After Two Very Annoying Asians Receipt Deschamps and Thompson said that the discovery site is blocked off and under surveillance. They hope that the government will work with the Chinese community and Indigenous custodians to find the statues missing index fingers and learn more about its origins through a co-funded archaeological dig. In the future, the two discoverers hope that a replica of the statue will be made to be kept in an Australian museum where its story can be displayed. They also hope that the statue will find an appropriate home. "Sacred objects belong with the communities they are sacred to," Deschamps wrote in a statement. "We do not consider ourselves owners of the Infant Buddha but rather custodians and we have done our utmost to show this sacred object the respect it deserves." More from NextShark: Australias worst pedophile sentenced to 129 years in prison for child sex abuse in Philippines cross burning Yesterday (March 9), a Mississippi man received federal hate crime charges after he burned a cross in his front yard to intimidate a Black family. U.S. District Judge Halil S. Ozerden sentenced 24-year-old Axel Cox of Gulfport to 42 months in prison. According to the Department of Justice, the crime happened on Dec. 3, 2020 when Cox attempted to scare his Black neighbors by burning the cross. Documents revealed he violated the Fair Housing Act by using threatening and racially derogatory language toward the residents. What led to the extreme racist behavior? Officials say a verbal altercation between Cox and the neighboring family was the motivating factor. After the argument, the young man took two pieces of wood to make a cross, placed it in plain sight of the victims home, poured oil onto it and set it on fire. As this was going on, Cox shouted racial slurs and threatened the family. He later confessed that he did it because the victims were Black, and he wanted them to move away from his Mississippi home. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Departments Civil Rights Division said, This cross burning was an abhorrent act that used a traditional symbol of hatred and violence to stoke fear and drive a Black family out of their home. She continued speaking about Coxs vile ways: While one might think cross-burnings and white supremacist threats and violence are things of the past, the unfortunate reality is that these incidents continue today. This sentence demonstrates the importance of holding people accountable for threatening the safety and security of Black people in their homes because of the color of their skin or where they are from. U.S. Attorney Darren LaMarca for the Southern District of Mississippi condemned the practice. No one should endure such hatred and intimidation because of the color of his skin. This defendant has been held accountable. His sentence should permeate among his kind and declare that Mississippi and the Department of Justice will not tolerate this hateful behavior, he vowed. The FBIs Jackson branch was also involved in the investigation. In addition to Coxs prison sentence, he must also pay $7,810 in restitution and comply with three years of supervised release. Trending Stories When Cierra Chubb looks at her phone, she said she'll often see texts throughout the day from her husband with messages like, "I'm so glad you're here." That's because at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, Chubb's family did not think the 34-year-old mom of three from Lancaster, South Carolina, would come home to them. Chubb was one of the hundreds of women in the United States who faced severe complications from COVID-19 during pregnancy. In Chubb's case, within days of being hospitalized in July 2021, with her pregnancy in distress, doctors made the decision to perform an emergency C-section. Her son, Myles, was born two weeks premature but healthy. Chubb, though, would go on to spend the next over 100 days hospitalized, with many of those days spent on a ventilator, an ECMO machine and in intensive care. PHOTO: Cierra Chubb has been hospitalized with life-threatening COVID-19 complications since giving birth to her son, Myles, in an emergency c-section. (Jamal Chubb) Chubb's husband, Jamal Chubb, was by his wife's side the entire time. He remembers a conversation he had to have with their oldest child, a daughter named Eden, as a sign of how close Cierra Chubb was to dying. "Eden was 7 when Cierra got sick and there was a very intimate conversation that she and I had to have," Jamal Chubb recalled to "Good Morning America." "Hey, all the doctors think your mom is going to die, and you need to hear from me before you find it out from anybody else. There are only a few people that believe she's going to live.'" In the end, Cierra Chubb ended up being one of the lucky ones. She went home to her husband and three kids in November 2021, five months after being hospitalized. Her return home was the first time she had been reunited with her three children and husband all at once. "For me personally, looking around our house is like looking at a battlefield almost," Jamal Chubb said. "There was a battle that was fought and won. When I look at Cierra and I look at our children ... it just feels like victory has been won." PHOTO: Cierra Chubb, 34, spent over 100 days away from her husband and three kids while battling complications from COVID-19. (ABC News Photo Illustration / Cierra and Jamal Chubb) The toll COVID-19 took on pregnant women Saturday, March 11, marks the third anniversary of the World Health Organization declaring COVID-19 a global pandemic. Story continues Since the start of the pandemic, hundreds of pregnant women in the U.S. have died due to complications from COVID-19, data shows. In two months alone, August and September 2021, in the United States, more than three dozen pregnant people died of COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those deaths came during the height of the Delta variant, which took a particularly hard toll on pregnant women. Thousands more pregnant women, like Chubb, were hospitalized, often with severe complications, but ultimately survived. PHOTO: Cierra Chubb, of South Carolina, is pictured while hospitalized with complications from COVID-19. (Courtesy Jamal Chubb) During the pandemic, COVID caused a two-fold risk of admission into intensive care and a 70% increased risk of death for pregnant people, and increases the risk of a stillbirth or delivering preterm, or earlier than 37 weeks, according to the CDC. MORE: Infants of COVID-positive mothers have high rates of health complications, study finds Why COVID-19 caused such severe illness in pregnant women became a focus of research over the pandemic, some of which continues to this day. What doctors do know is that pregnancy causes changes to the immune and respiratory systems that seem to make pregnant women more vulnerable to the disease. The severe lung disease caused by COVID-19 in pregnancy is the major cause of death in pregnancy due to COVID-19 infection. Research has also shown that pregnant women who are vaccinated have a much lower risk of death and severe complications from COVID-19. Still, vaccinated pregnant women remain nearly twice as likely to get the virus than those who are vaccinated and not pregnant, data shows. Moving at the 'speed of gratitude' Cierra Chubb, who was not vaccinated at the time she contracted COVID-19, said she still struggles with fatigue and has to pace herself doing everyday chores like laundry. For several weeks, she had supplemental oxygen at home, and for many months she wore a leg brace, but now both of those are gone. PHOTO: Cierra Chubb holds her son during a family outing after her months-long hospitalization due to COVID-19. (Jamal and Cierra Chubb) She still has lingering nerve damage in her foot that she said is painful and makes it difficult to walk, but doctors have told her she may see improvement with more time. Given how sick she was for so many months though, she said she has "improved drastically" and has no long-term health complications from her COVID battle. "It's been great to do things with my kids that I wasn't doing before, stuff that my daughter is passionate about or helping Langston with video games and watching Myles grow up," she said, referring to her daughter and two sons. Cierra Chubb poses with two of her three children after her months-long hospitalization due to COVID-19. (Jamal and Cierra Chubb) Nearly two years after her own COVID battle, Cierra Chubb said it feels like an "out-of-body experience" to look back on not only her personal struggle but the coronavirus as a whole and the number of people who suffered. More than six million people around the world have died due to COVID-19 to date, according to the World Health Organization. Jamal Chubb, who spread his wife's story around the world through his viral TikTok updates, said he keeps in touch with people he met along the way, including recently meeting in-person for the first time a woman whose husband was sick with COVID at the same time as Cierra Chubb and passed away. The Chubbs say they also hear often through social media from people who are hoping for miracles for their loved ones as they say they saw happen with Cierra Chubb. "There are so many more stories of people who died from COVID than there are people who miraculously made it through COVID," said Jamal Chubb. "So, yes this is a miracle. No, we don't understand it ... Yes, we're holding space for people who lost loved ones, always." MORE: Mom of 3 who gave birth while battling COVID-19 goes home after nearly 100 days Both Jamal and Cierra Chubb say life for them has returned to a level of normal that they do not take for granted considering the physical and emotional obstacles they've overcome. For many weeks after Cierra Chubb came home, she said their 4-year-old son worried she would leave again and never return. "For many [normalcy] is an anti-climactic answer, but when you've had a loved one dying and kids not knowing if their mother's coming home, normalcy feels really good," said Jamal Chubb, who continues to share on social media and is now working on a book about his family's journey. Cierra Chubb said her family has learned to live as though you can go from being sick at home to being near-death in the hospital for five months, as she was. When frustrations arise, she said they have the perspective now to quickly find a solution and move on, adding, "We don't have time to sit and be mad. We're not doing that anymore." And when Cierra Chubb needs to walk slowly or take a break due to her lingering complications, Jamal Chubb calls it "moving at the speed of gratitude." "It really slows everything down and causes you to take it all in because there was a battle that we won, and we won it together," he said. Mom says her perspective has changed after nearly dying of COVID-19 originally appeared on goodmorningamerica.com The TikTok startup page is displayed on an iPhone in Ottawa, Ontario, Feb. 27, 2023. The Montana Senate advanced a bill that would place a ban TikTok statewide on March 3, 2023. | Sean Kilpatrick, The Canadian Press via Associated Press Governmental bodies on state and national levels have been increasing efforts in opposition to TikTok, a short-form video app owned by a Chinese company called ByteDance. Over 20 states, including Utah, even banned the app from all government devices, and several college campuses nationwide have prohibited use of the app on school property. Related However, some Montana lawmakers want to take these bans a step further. Last week, a bipartisan bill to ban TikTok statewide even on personal devices was passed by the state Senate, according to NBC Montana. If the bill is approved by the House and the governor, TikTok will not be able to operate within state lines. With all of these efforts to do away with TikTok popping up across the country, questions might arise. How does this relate to the First Amendment? Is it even realistic or possible for the government to take apps off of personal devices? Montanas proposal If passed, Montana Senate Bill 419 would prevent TikTok from working within Montanas state borders. It will also prevent companies such as Apple or Google from allowing users to download the app on app stores and enact a $10,000 per day fine for each violation of the law. However, the bill states that TikTok users will not be penalized if they did somehow use the app. Originally the bill was fitted also to penalize internet service providers if they supported TikTok on their networks, but the bill was later amended to remove this detail. A lobbyist on behalf of AT&T stated that attempting to place responsibility on internet service providers would not be a feasible solution, as it would be unprecedented, expensive and potentially impossible, NBC Montana said. Related Why ban TikTok? Supporters of the Montana ban want to do away with the app for much of the same reasons other states cited when announcing bans of the app on government-owned devices: privacy and national security concerns. Story continues TikTok endangers the safety of Montanans and Americans at large, said Sen. Shelley Vance, R-Belgrade the primary sponsor of the bill via Montana Free Press. We know beyond a doubt that TikToks parent company ByteDance is operating as a surveillance arm of the Chinese Communist Party and gathers information about Americans against their will. The bill also claims that TikTok holds a threat outside of privacy concerns, citing viral challenges that have promoted dangerous behavior. Some of these challenges include taking excessive amounts of medication ... cooking chicken in NyQuil ... licking doorknobs and toilet seats to place oneself at risk of contracting the coronavirus, attempting to climb stacks of milkcrates, shooting passersby with air rifles, loosening lug nuts on vehicles and stealing utilities from public places, the bill said. Vance and those behind the Montana bill arent alone in their concerns. On Tuesday a group of U.S. senators, including Utahs Sen. Mitt Romney, unveiled legislation that would make it easier for the president to place a ban on the app, or any other technology owned by adversarial countries, the Deseret News reported. This bill isnt the first of its kind. The DATA Act, a Republican-backed act passed by the House Foreign Affairs Committee last week would grant authorities the power to ban foreign-owned apps and would place sanctions on companies with ties to TikTok or other Chinese-owned programs, per Politico. In 2020 former President Donald Trump attempted to get rid of the app, but it never went through, according to the Deseret News. Related On Wednesday FBI Director Chris Wray joined the anti-TikTok chorus, once again speaking out against the app, per Reuters. Wray said that TikTok screams of national security concerns, stating that the Chinese government could use its software to control the millions of devices that have downloaded the app. A step too far? It may not surprise anyone that the chief operating officer of TikTok, V Pappas, has spoken against banning TikTok in the U.S., specifically Montana, saying the following in a statement via NBC Montana: Every day, Montanans come to TikTok to learn something new, to share their voice and creativity, to chronicle Montanas natural beauty, and to help build their businesses. This piece of legislation is an egregious violation of Montanans free speech rights, and it will close off Montana from the 100 million strong TikTok community in the United States. We hope that Montana legislators will consider those serious consequences and the disastrous precedent theyre setting and weigh them against the deeply flawed arguments put forward to justify this ban. One Republican senator from Montana, Jeremy Trebas, added to the conversation, saying that TikTok isnt the only social media site that presents privacy concerns, noting that there have been privacy breaches from American-owned companies such as Facebook, according to Montana Free Press. I understand government banning it on sensitive government devices that makes sense, Trebas said. But to me, banning it to the general public is high overreach. The ACLU has also been outspoken in its opposition to TikTok bans. Whether were discussing the news of the day, live streaming protests, or even watching cat videos, we have a right to use TikTok and other platforms to exchange our thoughts, ideas and opinions with people around the country and around the world, said Jenna Leventook, senior policy counsel at ACLU in a press release. TikTok has also previously stated, per the Deseret News, that the U.S. branch of the app does not comply with Chinese government moderation requirements. However, it was later uncovered in July 2022 that U.S. user data actually is available to its Chinese employees, according to CNBC. TikTok responded by rolling out Project Texas which is intended to fully safeguard user data and U.S. national security interests. TikTok also says that they store all U.S. data in the Oracle Cloud, which is a North American-based company. Despite the precautions TikTok is taking to secure their data, Wray said that Under Chinese law, Chinese companies are required to ... basically do what the Chinese government wants them to do, in terms of sharing information or serving as a tool of the Chinese government, per Deseret News. And so, thats plenty of reason by itself to be concerned. How realistic is a total TikTok ban? The New York Times says that its unclear how the government can ban or remove an app from privately owned devices, but Caitlin Chin from the Center for Strategic and International Studies said that there are a few ways they might go about doing so. Chin told the Times that the U.S. government could block TikTok from selling advertisements or making updates to its systems, making the app basically nonfunctional. As proposed in the Montana bill, companies like Apple and Google could also prevent the apps from being downloaded or updated on a national scale. Justin Cappos, a professor at the New York University Tandon School of Engineering, told the Times that companies like Apple and Google can also remove apps that are already installed on a users phone. He said that that usually doesnt happen though. Users can also refuse to update their phones in order to keep the app, but Cappos says that thats a bad idea. Singer-songwriter Shea Diamond took the stage at Tribe Thursday with emotions running high. The Los Angeles-based singer is a transgender rights activist and told the story of young child who recently committed suicide after not being accepted by their father as trans. More than 350 people felt that emotion inside Tribe. Many, including Diamond, are angry after Gov. Bill Lee signed legislation prohibiting drag performances in public property or where someone under the age of 18 could be present. "I feel like our community cares," Diamond said. "And our community knows what's going on. We don't have all the names, so giving voice to those who don't have a voice and their stories and their experiences, especially during this time." Slay Hate Thursday's Slay Hate: Fight Back Tennessee rally featured drag performances, guest speakers and other performances as activists spoke out against Lee's decision. Robinson said lawmakers are trying to put LGBTQ+ people back in the closet. Rally goers pack the room at Tribe during the Slay Hate: Fight Back Tennessee rally in Nashville , Tenn., Thursday, March 9, 2023. Tennessee recently became the first state to restrict drag performances in public, making it a criminal offense. "What we see in this room is only a taste about what they're going to get," Kelley Robinson, Human Rights Campaign president said. "We are in a crisis, and I know that all eyes are on Tennessee." Drag is joy Robinson said she loves drag, because it is fundamentally about expression. "It's about joy, it's about love, it's about a little shade that we always need, but it's about loving ourselves and be boldly, unapologetically. ourselves," Robinson said. More:LGBTQ advocates protest, sing Dolly Parton's '9 to 5' as Tennessee House pushes anti-drag bill forward A flame ignited Robinson said the hundreds of people inside Tribe Thursday are not going to back down at new laws in place. "We are not going to give up, not today, not ever," Robinson said to cheers. "They don't know what they have ignited in this room." Ignited is right. Perplexity, a drag performer in Nashville, performed to the song "Firework" by Katy Perry. Perplexity performs at PLAY following the Slay Hate: Fight Back Tennessee rally in Nashville , Tenn., Thursday, March 9, 2023. Tennessee recently became the first state to restrict drag performances in public. Robinson said activists are going to bring their passion for equality to the statehouse and United States House of Representatives, saying lawmakers are taking away gender affirming care, rejecting HIV funding and providing education about Black and LGBTQ+ history. Story continues But Robinson said those in the LGBTQ+ community are not abandoning their families, theirs friend and are not leaving Tennessee. Plazas: Do LGBTQ residents fight or flee Tennessee after the new drag law takes effect? Fighting in court Fighting the fight in court will be attorneys like National Womens Law Center Director of Federal Reproductive Rights Leila Abolfazli. Abolfazli said the bill Lee signed banning gender-affirming care and banning of drag performances are unlawful. As lawyers like Abolfazli fight battles in court, she said it is important for community members to continue be loud about seeking rights. National Womens Law Center Director of Federal Reproductive Rights Leila Abolfazli speaks at Tribe during the Slay Hate: Fight Back Tennessee rally in Nashville , Tenn., Thursday, March 9, 2023. Tennessee recently became the first state to restrict drag performances in public. "The fight is not going away, and the question is, are you still calling your legislators, are you still showing up to events," Abolfazli said. Abolfazli said the swift passage of the gender affirming care and drag ban is the consequences of politicians feeling no heat from previous actions they took, like abortion bans. Reach reporter Craig Shoup by email at cshoup@gannett.com and on Twitter @Craig_Shoup. To support his work, sign up for a digital subscription to www.tennessean.com. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee drag law: Performers, activist sound defiant at pro-LGBTQ rally BIPOC skincare brand Eadem is now available in over 261 brick-and-mortar Sephora stores. The brand first launched on the DTC side of Sephora in September of 2021 with their cult-favorite Milk Marvel Dark Spot Serum and has since developed a cult following as a BIPOC-founded brand that's dedicated to the needs of melanated skin. Not only will Eadem be available for IRL grabs in 261 stores, but they will be available in major city locations such as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Miami, etching out a huge milestone for the community and the brand itself. For those not aware, Eadem was born out of a friendship between Marie Kouadio Amouzame and Alice Lin Glover, two women with different skin tones and backgrounds who met while working at Google. What makes Eadem important to the culture of the BIPOC community is that they address melanin-rich skin issues such as hyperpigmentation, dryness and more, keeping all in mind with an emphasis on people of color. Sephora opened up its world to beauty as a place of discovery and experimentation place for people of all ages and ethnicities. After the success that Eadem had on Sephora's website, it was time for the next chapter in the brand's book. Rounds of applause are due. The state Executive Building in downtown Salem houses the Oregon Department of Administrative Services. Thousands of Oregon state employees are still receiving incorrect paychecks, three months after the state implemented a new payroll system. Employees have filed a second lawsuit, demanding the state immediately fix the errors and provide an accurate accounting of their pay. An initial lawsuit was filed in late January. Its pure terror for a lot of people, Elena Martinez, a correctional officer at the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem, said. Ive had nurses quit because they didnt get paid and they were so frustrated. Nobodys ever going to trust the state again. Martinez, president of the Association of Oregon Corrections Employees, is one of eight plaintiffs in the newest lawsuit, filed Feb. 28 in Marion County Circuit Court. This is chaos, she said. Payroll problems are improving, Berri Leslie, interim director of the state Department of Administrative Services, told state legislators during a committee hearing last week. There were 2,151 employees impacted by payroll issues in March, compared with 2,767 in February and 4,500 in January, Leslie said. It is nothing short of courageous to take on information technology projects in state government, Berri said of payroll project staff. It is a really difficult climate to do this work. Problems not anticipated The states new payroll system, called Workday, went live Dec. 1, serving about 45,000 employees. The previous system was built in the 1980s. The first paychecks under the new system were issued Jan. 3. Employees associated with Oregon AFSCME filed the first lawsuit, on Jan. 30, in Multnomah County Circuit Court. It claims tens of thousands of employees were affected by errors. According to that lawsuit, employees experienced missing or late paychecks; incorrect pay rates; incorrect and excess deductions for retirement, health and dental benefits; misreporting of wages to the Oregon Public Employees Retirement System; incorrect accrual and deductions from vacation and leave banks; and late payments to employees at retirement or end of employment. Story continues The second lawsuit lists the same problems. It also claims court-mandated deductions, such as those for child support, were not properly taken out of paychecks, and that employees who had previously used direct deposit were sent paper checks and had to wait for them to clear. Joyce Martinez, project manager for the states Workday payroll program, told legislators there was no indication there would be the kinds of issues listed in the lawsuit before the system went live. We were fine-tuning the system all along. Any kind of issues we ran into, we fixed them ahead of go-live, she said. We did anticipate there would be something that we hadnt anticipated happening after go-live, but we couldnt anticipate specifically the kinds of issues that we ran into. Errors continue State officials say all the payroll errors from January and February have been fixed. However, employees are still working out repayment plans with their agencies to return overpayments they experienced. Employees who were underpaid have been made whole, DAS said in written information provided to legislators. But employees say thats not true. Many people still have their schedules wrong in the system and the state cant figure out how to fix them, leading to very large overpayments, David Kreisman, public affairs manager for Oregon AFSCME Council 75, said. Corrections submitted back to January pay are still not fixed. Taxes are still messed up for many. Overtime rates are off for many, he said. Pati Urias, communications director for SEIU Local 503, said things are still a mess for her union members. There are fewer problems, but errors continue to happen, such as taxes not being collected on smaller checks (overtime, people on leave, etc.) and the process to recoup overpayments is still a problem, Urias said. Workers are confused about the new pay slips, and they are worried that they will continue to experience problems with each pay period, she said. Elena Martinez, with the correction workers union, said every one of her approximately 800 members have had payroll issues. About 60% of my membership is very young. They live check to check. A lot have young families and a single income, she said. They just say were working on it. Thats not cutting it anymore. Theres multiple violations of our contracts. People are so frustrated. It just breaks my heart. More than 1,000 time codes Joyce Martinez, the Workday project manager, said the system has mostly been used in the private sector. Oregon is the first state to fully adopt it. Part of the problem is that Oregons pay rules are different than those of most Workday customers, Martinez told legislators. For example, Oregon pays its employees monthly. Pretty much everyone else out there in the United States pays every two weeks, she said. We also forecast during the last week of the month, so theres always corrections that are occurring in that last week after payroll. Oregon also has many pay codes, which vary by department and employee, for things like overtime, shift differentials or comp time. The vast number of time-tracking rules that the state of Oregon has was probably the issue, Martinez said. We have over 30-some labor unions. They all have different time-tracking rules. Department of Corrections, at least a thousand on their own. Its vast. Most Oregon state employees are salaried and overtime eligible, Martinez said. In most places, overtime-eligible employees are hourly and not salaried, she said. So, there was a lot of unique things that Oregon does and has that had to be configured and some of them were very tricky, she said. Short on grocery money Patty Larios, 35, is a direct support crisis specialist at the states stabilization and crisis unit in Salem. Larios said she has direct deposit and auto pay for her bills, and ended up with a negative balance in her bank account and overdraft fees before she realized what was going on. She considers herself lucky because she has savings and credit cards and was able to maneuver money around to pay her bills. But shes been short on grocery money for her family of seven. And its taken her hours to figure out all the errors in her pay, and to shuffle money around to meet her obligations, she said. She estimates the state still owes her at least $800. My salary rate was incorrect, my overtime rate was incorrect, my overtime was not paid. My shift differential was not paid. My comp time was not added to my pay, she said. As of now, the issue has not been resolved. Tracy Loew covers the environment at the Statesman Journal. Send comments, questions and tips to tloew@statesmanjournal.com, 503-399-6779. Follow her on Twitter at @Tracy_Loew This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Oregon state workers file lawsuit over incorrect paychecks Whatever happens at the 2023 Oscars on Sunday, Germanys All Quiet on the Western Front has already made awards history. Edward Bergers World War I drama, the first German adaptation of Erich Maria Remarques German-language anti-war classic after Lewis Milestones double Oscar-winning version in 1930 and an Emmy-award winning TV take in 1979 goes into this years Oscars with nine nominations, including for best film. Thats the second-highest tally ever for a non-English-language film, just behind the 10 garnered by Ang Lees wuxia classic Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and by Alfonso Cuarons black-and-white Mexican drama Roma. The accomplishment is all the more impressive given Bergers relative anonymity in Hollywood. Lee and Cuaron were already established studio directors by the time of their local-language Oscar triumphs. By contrast, Berger has paid his dues in TV. After cutting his teeth on German procedurals and making a well-received feature debut (2014s Jack), Berger shifted to high-end series, directing a string of acclaimed dramas, including Deutschland 83, Patrick Melrose and Your Honor. More from The Hollywood Reporter All Quiet on the Western Front was a slow awards-season starter. The Netflix film had a relatively soft launch in Toronto last year where it received strong reviews but little buzz. It was only after Netflix dropped All Quiet on its platform in late October and more people began to see the movie helped by Netflixs all-out awards push that the momentum began to build, rising to a crescendo with a record-setting 14 BAFTA nominations (the film won seven, including best film and best director) and nine Oscar nods. Much of the credit for All Quiets come-from-nowhere awards success has to go the films behind-the-camera talent. The craft nominations for best makeup and hairstyling, best music, best sound, best visual effects, best cinematography, best production design speak to peer recognition from within the Academy. Story continues The Best Picture nomination obviously, is fantastic, because thats mine, says All Quiet on the Western Front producer Malte Grunert, but Im extremely happy and proud about the recognition that all the heads of departments and all the crafts are getting. Because there were so many fantastic people working on this film that gave it their very best. To see them recognized is really beautiful. All Quiet on the Western Front Berger and All Quiet cinematography James Friend eschewed the visual gimmickry of war epics like Sam Mendes 1917, with its digitally constructed one shot concept, or Christopher Nolans Dunkirk, with its separate color and sound palates for battles on land, sea and air, in favor of a more classic and realistic approach. From the costumes to the makeup, from visual effects to sound design, the goal was to be as realistic as possible and underscore the movies anti-war and deliberately unheroic depiction of an ordinary soldier in battle. We didnt want to create another grand spectacle of a war movie, especially when it came to the visual effects, says Frank Petzold, head of All Quiets VFX team. Now thats hard to do. Because what you learn all your life, when you do this craft is, especially on war films, you usually want bigger, louder, more and more, but here the goal was the opposite: to be invisible to the audience. We knew it was going to be a lot of work. And, on top of it all, it had to be absolutely historically correct. It had to be fully real to the point where nothing would distract from the actors, because there are such long takes on the actors faces. Staying away from crazy technology as much as possible, Petzold and his team focused on in-camera effects for the bulk of VFX shots in the film. Of course, we had to use computer simulations for certain things, like fog rolling over the battlefield, but all the explosions, the dirt kicking up, all that stuff, we wanted to keep that real, he says, so we actually went through the trouble, which is a lot more work, of doing it all set. Even silly things, like theres a shot in the film with the camera looking down the barrel of a tank when it fires. That shot is maybe seven or eight frames. Usually youd go to one of those Houdini computer guys and ask them to knock something out. We actually went on a stage and built steel pipes, stuffed them full of black powder so we could film the real explosion. Even if we had a separate piece we shot on a greenscreen in the field, wed do the effect in camera so it could be laid in later. All Quiet on the Western Front And that scene late in the movie, where in a French bunker, hundreds of rats suddenly run out, feeling the incoming attack? Real rodents. Everybody has a 3D rat model somewhere on their hard drive, says Petzold, but the philosophy was always: make it real. There are a lot of little things but they add up. If you notice, the cutting pace in this film is quite slow. Its almost like a spaghetti western, we spend a lot of time looking at individual shots. So for the VFX people, it was great, because people can actually look at our stuff, see all those little details. A visual touchstone for the All Quiet team was Peter Jacksons They Shall Not Grow Old, a 2018 documentary film created using original WWI footage from the archives of the Imperial War Museum that Jackson painstakingly restored and colorized, using photography and original references from the period. Id never done a war movie before and I didnt know the period [WWI] at all, so the documentary basically changed a lot for me, says All Quiet makeup and hairstyle artist Heike Merker. I took so many screenshots from it and shared those pictures with our different departments. One of the first things everyone said was: Oh my god, their teeth are so bad, we have to do something with that.' Every actor playing a soldier got a dentist appointment, where they got imprints of their teeth. Using so-called invisible line dentures, which she painted in tones of yellow and brown, Merker was able to re-create a time before modern dentistry. An admitted obsessive, Merker mixed dozens of different types of mud for the trench and battle scenes mud after a rainfall, mud that had dried out and began to cake, old mud layered on new mud. The death mask of half-caked gray mud on lead Felix Kammerers face near the end of the movie in the scene where his character brutally murderers a French soldier in a bomb crater was the result of hours of layering. We used several different products to build up the mask and then food coloring on that, which we had to re-apply, re-apply, re-apply, after every take, often spraying it to keep the mask moist so it didnt crack and fall off, she says. Merker spent hours more on the blood. When it comes to blood, I always have the sense watching movies that the blood used is too thick and the color is not right. It never looks like blood does when I cut my finger in the kitchen, she says, so we made our own blood, of different consistencies and different colors. But it is used sparingly. The film doesnt really live from its gore or violence. When we have moments of violence, they are very short and precise. The editing is done so that those moments are brief. You barely see anything, but the impact is there. Whatever the Academy decides Sunday, the impact of All Quiet on the Western Front is undeniable. Not least from the film professionals who endured the shoot. It was a really tough shoot, says Petzold. Behind the camera looked the same as what you see on the screen. Wed be there at three in the morning, in the snow and the mud, getting the shots. For a German film it was a big budget, thanks to Netflix for that, but Ive worked on big U.S. features and compared to those it was very small. But its like Roger Corman said: the smaller the budget, the more they leave you alone. We had incredible freedom on set, we worked very closely with Edward [Berger] and the DOP, discussion shots, even ones we werent involved in. It was an incredible team effort. So, for the Oscars, just to be nominated is an incredible reward. Click here to read the full article. Missing Student Cold Case - Credit: David Middlecamp/"The Tribune of San Luis Obispo"/AP Nearly 27 years since Cal Poly student Kristin Smart went missing after attending a party near campus, former classmate Paul Flores has been sentenced to 25 years to life without parole for her murder. The sentencing came on the heels of Defense Attorney Robert Sangers failed attempts to secure a retrial and reverse Flores guilty verdict. During the sentencing hearing for Flores in Monterey County Superior Court, Smart family members and friends gave their victim impact statements. More from Rolling Stone Paul chose to take a life, my sister Kristins life, a beautiful life, Matthew Smart told the court, per the San Luis Obispo Tribune. And now he must pay. This is a parents worst nightmare the disappearance and death of their child, said Stan Smart, Kristin Smarts father. We shared her hopes, her dreams, her aspirations as she became a beautiful young adult, and now she will never be able to have a full life. Flores was found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Smart in October of 2022, while his father, Ruben Flores, was found not guilty of being an accessory to the crime. Smart went missing in May 1996 at age 19 after a party near California Polytechnic State University; Flores was the last person to see her that night. The investigation into Smarts disappearance was initially hampered after campus police refused to take a missing persons report from a dorm mate. After the student called Smarts parents, however, authorities began searching for her albeit a week later. Flores was interviewed by the Cal Poly police investigators at the end of May 1996, but they didnt search his room until June 10. At that point, his room had been cleaned out. Still, when the room was searched again on June 29, a team of cadaver dogs signaled the smell of human decay. Flores and his parents have long kept quiet about Smarts disappearance, maintaining his innocence. She was declared dead in 2002 and her body has yet to be found. Story continues Local authorities stayed on the case for decades, though, most recently spurred on by the 2019 launch of the popular true-crime podcast, Your Own Backyard, hosted by local musician Chris Lambert. True crime podcasting is not something that particularly captivated me, Lambert previously told Rolling Stone. But it was a local story and the thing that stood out to me is that nobody was talking about it anymore. I didnt understand why. How are we not all talking about this every day until shes found? Lambert has been covering the case for years now, culminating in the 2021 arrest of Flores on one count of murder in connection to the case. After Flores arrest, Sheriff Ian Parkinson stated that Lamberts podcast helped move the investigation forward. What Chris did was take a local story and turn it into an international story. It did produce some information that I believe was valuable, he said. Denise Smart, Kristins mother, previously told Rolling Stone. We feel like the stars aligned when the podcast aired. It encouraged the previously reluctant to come forward. This obviously gave law enforcement new leads to follow and connect with what they already were holding close. Previously released documents detailed a March 15th, 2021 search by the San Luis Obispo County Sheriffs Office of Ruben Flores Arroyo Grande property that included ground-penetrating radar that uncovered a soil disturbance under the deck as well as four soil samples that tested positive for human blood. An April evacuation also tested positive for blood; authorities also uncovered fibers consistent with the color clothing Smart was last seen wearing. No remains have been found. Best of Rolling Stone Click here to read the full article. The post Shake the Room: Lola Brooke on the Success of Dont Play with It and New Song So Disrespectful appeared first on Consequence. Shake the Room is a new interview series in which we highlight rising rappers you need to know. For the inaugural edition, we spoke to Brooklyn native Lola Brooke ahead of her new single, So Disrespectful. Like a modern-day Lil Kim in her prime, Lola Brooke exudes a fiery New York energy straight out of the late 90s and early 2000s from every inch of her petite 49 frame. Drawing inspiration from the likes of Lil Wayne, 50 Cent, and Meek Mill, the BedStuy native kicked down the door in 2022 with her viral hit Dont Play with It. Now signed to Arista Records, Brooke is set to keep the ball rolling with her latest single, So Disrespectful. First, it was 50 Cent when he had Wanksta. Then Lil Wayne came and I remember listening to Cannon [from Dedication 2] back to back to back to back, just so that I could catch the punchlines, Brooke tells Consequence about her biggest influences. I wanted to learn on my own, to understand what exactly he was saying. I even pulled up the lyrics to understand it as well Then, Meek Mill, it was just the aggression, the hunger. Not knowing him, you can tell what hes been through and the places that hes going. Elements of each rapper come through on So Disrespectful, in which Brooke lets off 42 shots in tribute to Brooklyn Dodgers pioneer Jackie Robinson over a knocking beat from Reefa Music and Gyard. Gator Season is in full effect, shining through with the hardened attitude that has caught the attention of Lil Kim herself and Future who each brought out the hometown hero at recent shows as well as Missy Elliott. They was telling me that Future wanted to bring me out at the Barclays, but I thought it was a joke, Brooke remembers about her New Years Eve performance with the I Never Liked You rapper. So Im going around, getting my outfit together, finally pulled up to the Barclays, and I met him. Im like, This is real. Like, Oh, my God, this is really real. And then I just took off, but I was so fiending to get on the stage, I didnt even let Pluto finish introducing who I was or who he was bringing out. I just heard my music and I just ran out. And when I watched the video back, I see he was like, Oh, oh, woah. Okay, Lola. I was so excited, I couldnt even hold it in. Story continues Shell be taking on more big stages this year, including Billboards The Stage at SXSW in Austin, Texas next week. Brooke will also join A Boogie with da Hoodie on tour in the UK and hit a number of festivals throughout the summer. You can catch her live by snagging tickets here. Brookes music career is really just getting started, but she has already begun branching out into acting with a cameo in the CBS series East New York. However, dont expect any outside aspirations to keep the rapper from staying focused. I know theres more to come, theres more to accomplish and this is only the beginning, says Brooke. Watch the BenMarc-directed music video for So Disrespectful and read the full interview with Lola Brooke below. The energy you bring reminds me of the late 90s and early 2000s New York energy. Where does that come from? Honestly, I think its the air. I cant even explain it enough. Ive been born and raised in Brooklyn, Bed-Stuy. So its just really in me. Do you remember when you started rapping for fun? And which rappers were you getting inspiration from? I started rapping at a very young age, like eight, nine years old. The thing was that I didnt even realize that I wanted to be a rapper. I was doing poetry and just writing in my journals a lot. My grandma came to me and told me that I told her that when I was eight years old. I had nothing but Lil Wayne on my iPod. I loved 50 [Cent] and then Meek Mill was like the icing on the cake. Meek Mill just made me just go for it like, Oh, you got to find your rap name. You got to figure out like what would be your image. Like, What do you want to showcase to the world? So was that like mixtape Wayne era? Wayne? Yeah, mixtape-era Wayne for sure, though. But first, it was 50 Cent when he had Wanksta. Then Lil Wayne came and I remember listening to Cannon [from Dedication 2] back to back to back to back, just so that I could catch the punchlines. I wanted to learn on my own, to understand what exactly he was saying. I even pulled up the lyrics to understand it as well. So that was one of my favorite Lil Wayne songs. Then, Meek Mill, it was just the aggression, the hunger. Not knowing him, you can tell what hes been through and the places that hes going. One of the first people I thought of when I first heard your music was 50. You two have that aggressive New York energy. 50 Cent is really so New York. Thats why I loved him so much because when I go to my family gatherings, and I see my uncles and things like that, or when Im outside, just on a regular, he is what I see. Have you spoken to 50 at all yet? No, no, I have never even met him. Hopefully, the way youre going, that should not be too far away for you. Yeah. Its not too far. Im being patient though. Where does your Big Gator, Gator Season phrase come from? I did a radio freestyle, and I said, Im Big Gator. I said, 2020, I aint giving no favors/ My skin bulletproof, n***a, Im Big Gator. So basically its like Im solid. You know how alligators got they skin, it protects them. Im protected without anything. Im just protected regardless, no matter how you dish it, and whether Im with my brothers, whether Im with my family, my team, or whoever. If theyre not there, I still stand strong. My fans were just like, Gator, gator. Your breakout hit, Dont Play with It, grew slowly, but when it hit, it really blew up. When did you realize this was going to be your moment? And how did it make you feel? I didnt realize how big of a moment I would have from this song. I know it would be a moment, but I didnt know how big. When I put the song out, my intention was to just promote it just because I was a fan of my own music. So even though it wasnt pitching on the first release, it wasnt pitching yet, but it still was a good song to me. So I didnt have no choice but to keep promoting the song. So, when it finally started to go viral by accident, I just was surprised like, Oh, my God its getting bigger than New York City. I was just grateful for it and as an artist, I just was saying to myself, consistency means a lot. I was just proud that I never gave up on the song or myself. Was it on TikTok when you started seeing it blow up? It started going viral on Twitter first. Twitter takes the trophy because it was there first and then it went on TikTok, and then it went back on Instagram. Twitters definitely done a lot for you. Ive seen a huge amount of support from beyond New York, like Missy Elliott. How much did it mean to you to have her shout you out because shes such a huge innovator? I love that Missy is a huge creator. Shes not just the artist, shes a director. Shes everything in one like she comes in a bundle. So for her to say that my stage presence was A1 meant a lot to me because when you watch her videos, thats her. Thats all her, regardless of who she worked with. Theyre creating a vision for her, like theyre making her vision come true. That takes a lot because sometimes a lot of artists dont really tap into visuals on treatment for their songs because itd be so much to do, but shes so dedicated that she stands firm on it. So for her to say that my stage presence was good was a blessing and I appreciate her for that. Is that something you try to do with your music videos? Yes, Im really big on being hands-on with my music, music videos, anything. Im hands-on because when youre making music, you know exactly what you want to see or how you want to feel and what you want to show to your fans. How would you describe the image of Lola Brooke as a musician, as an artist, as someone from Brooklyn who holds it down for New York? My image is the around-the-way girl thats relatable and sounds familiar, but has a new fresh feeling. Its a familiar feeling, but its still fresh because its me, and I cant change who I am and a lot of people that are from Brooklyn cant change who they are as well, because we come in [one of] one. Its safe to say . I got Brooklyn vote forsure, I love you NYC pic.twitter.com/JV7Qybql2x Lola Brooke (@lolabrooke718) December 31, 2022 Speaking of Brooklyn, being brought on stage by Future in your hometown, can you walk me through how that happened? They was telling me that Future wanted to bring me out at the Barclays, but I thought it was a joke. I always think its a joke because I dont know, I be thinking my life is changing so, so much. But I just paid it no mind like, Yeah, yeah, yeah whatever. Yall people was playing with me. So then when it was time, for when the day finally came, and then my brothers was like, Hey, do you have your outfit for the stage? Do you have your outfit for your set? Are you good? And Im like, Oh, this is really happening. So Im going around, getting my outfit together, finally pulled up to the Barclays, and I met him. Im like, This is real. Like, Oh, my God, this is really real. And then I just took off, but I was so fiending to get on the stage, I didnt even let Pluto finish introducing who I was or who he was bringing out. I just heard my music and I just ran out. And when I watched the video back, I see he was like, Oh, oh, woah. Okay, Lola. I was so excited, I couldnt even hold it in. Thats definitely the biggest stage that youve been on. But it seems like once you got on there, you were ready for it. Yeah, I was definitely ready for it. Ive been waiting all my life to touch that Barclays stage and I went for it. How have you been able to stay grounded with, like you said, everything moving so fast this early in your career? Well, I know theres more to come, theres more to accomplish and this is only the beginning. I dont get stuck on whats happening now because I know whatevers happening now has consequences for the future. Thats how I stay grounded. I have a dope team, I have a dope family, and they just keep me on my toes as much as they can. Weve been talking about this New York energy, this Brooklyn energy. Thats what youve become known for, except for this song On My Mind. Do you plan on showing more of your softer side? Of course, because thats who I am at home, and Im not afraid to show it because I love love. Theres nothing wrong with it, and more than likely, Im gonna be in my feelings as time moves on so I aint got no choice but to talk about it. Lets talk about your latest single, So Disrespectful. Its what weve come to expect from you. What were you feeling like in the studio when you heard the beat? The beat was knocking, so I just went and start punching in on the mic. Ill just start doing punches. How the hook came, honestly, I think it was like a full 16 maybe, or something like that. I just was going and then I went into my verse and I picked out a hook. Put it there, came back into it. I just have fun, I just didnt think too much about it. I was just being myself. Is that how you usually approach recording songs? Yes. More than likely, I just have a full verse and then I structure it. Or sometimes I will have a hook. It just depends on how Im feeling or how much the beat is knocking to me. When the beat is so good, its like, Oh, I cant stop rapping. I just cant stop rapping. If Im hearing it right, theres this phrase in there like feeling like a bat. Is that a reference to Batman? Or is that something different? These 42 shots, shots, shots. 42 is a Brooklyn number. Shoutout to Jackie [Robinson]. So these 42 shots go like a bat, feels like Brooklyn. Feel like Jackie Rob, homerun. Youve put out this whole string of singles now. You have all this momentum. Youve signed to Artista Records, and youre going on tour with A Boogie wit da Hoodie. What can we expect from you as far as a project or anything else? You could expect a project from me, but most importantly, consistency. No matter what it is, Imma be consistent. Im gonna make sure that my fans know exactly what Im doing and Im actually putting it out, putting some good quality music out. As well as, it might be me on TV acting or anything but just being consistent, staying in they face, and showing how much of a star I am. You just mentioned acting. Music is obviously a big thing for you and you have a big personality and you mentioned Missy, how she does a lot of things. How do you want to expand what Lola Brooke is? Acting for sure. I cant tell you the name of the series, but I am in a series on CBS. So I just finished my second episode. So, you guys gonna be seeing me on a screen. [Editors Note: This interview took place before Brookes episode of East New York aired.] Shake the Room: Lola Brooke on the Success of Dont Play with It and New Song So Disrespectful Eddie Fu 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. President Vo Van Thuong addresses the meeting in Hanoi on March 9. (Photo: VNA) He was speaking at the second meeting of the Central Steering Committee for reviewing the 20-year implementation of the 9th-tenure Party Central Committees Resolution No 23 on bringing into play the strength of the great national solidarity for the sake of wealthy citizens, a strong country, and an equal, democratic, and civilised society. Many members of the steering committee said that after 20 years of implementing Resolution 23 and the Partys guidelines on the great national solidarity, Vietnam has obtained a number of enormous achievements, with the great national solidarity intensified, and socialist democracy further promoted. However, they also pointed out that sometimes and in certain places, the great national solidarity hasnt been fully brought into play, peoples creativity has yet to be tapped into, while some guidelines and policies havent been implemented properly. Therefore, the implementation of Resolution 23 should be reviewed comprehensively to devise all-round and feasible enforcement measures, they said. Addressing the event, President Vo Van Thuong, who is also head of the Central Steering Committee, affirmed that the great national solidarity is the core and also holds strategic significance to the Partys revolutionary cause. He stressed the importance of the great national solidarity in the new context, with the Party and political system building and rectification being the centre. The State leader also underlined the need for a clean and strong State apparatus, the promotion of socialist democracy and the peoples right to mastery. He also pointed out the facilitation of all peoples transparent and equal access to development conditions, which is a factor for strengthening the great national solidarity and creating the foundation for Vietnam to become a developed and high-income country by the mid-21st century./. chocolate candy Getty A "suspicious older male" who was handing out chocolates to kids in Ontario was simply acting out of kindness, according to local authorities who investigated the incident. The man, who has not been identified, approached a child who was walking home from school on 13th street in Hanover last Wednesday, according to a press release from the Hanover Police Service (HPS) in Ontario, Canada. Police said the man parked his car between 9th and 10th Streets and approached a child, who was walking home from school, and offered him a box of the "Pot of Gold" candies. The man reportedly "insisted" the reluctant child take the chocolates. RELATED: Ariz. Man Who Lost Cashier Job Gets Help from Hundreds of Strangers Thanks to Son's LinkedIn Post Authorities eventually caught up with the man in question, and learned that he was performing a random act of kindness, according to HPS Chief Christopher Knoll. Random Acts of Kindness Day occurs each year on Feb. 17. The organization behind the celebration seeks to make kindness the norm, according to its website, and provides several ideas on how to be kind. Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. The "suspicious older" man had, in fact, handed out chocolates "to several people of varying ages," Chief Knoll wrote Sunday on Twitter, nothing that police had interviewed him. "Police determined the motives were pure and genuine," Knoll added in his tweet. "Thank you to everyone who helped us make this determination." Tame Impala (Kevin Parker) - Photo: Dana Trippe/Bella Union PR Tame Impala (Kevin Parker) has released Wings Of Time, an original song written for Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves from Paramount Pictures and eOne. You can check the song out below. Shop the best of Tame Impala's discography on vinyl and more. Being asked to do a track for the D&D soundtrack seemed like an unmissable opportunity to indulge in my long time love of fantasy prog rock, Parker says of Wings Of Time. I recruited my good friend Nicholas Allbrook, who is the person I know appreciates this subject matter the most. We rented a villa in Spain, that kind of felt like a castle, for two nights whilst on tour for Primavera. That location got us in the right frame of mind and it went from there. We stayed up late coming up with weird ideas and song lyrics. In Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, a charming thief and a band of unlikely adventurers undertake an epic heist to retrieve a lost relic, but things go dangerously awry when they run afoul of the wrong people. The film brings the rich world and playful spirit of the legendary roleplaying game to the big screen in a hilarious and action-packed adventure. Written, directed, and executive produced by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, and starring Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Hugh Grant, Rege-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis, Chloe Coleman, and Daisy Head, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves will be released in theaters worldwide by Paramount Pictures and eOne on March 31, 2023. Parker has emerged as one of the most influential voices of the last decade. Renowned for their transcendent live performance, Tame Impala has headlined festivals and theaters around the world and released four full length Gold-certified albums - InnerSpeaker, Lonerism, Currents and The Slow Rush. As a writer and producer Parker has collaborated with The Weeknd, SZA, Lady Gaga, Travis Scott, Gorillaz, Mark Ronson, Kali Uchis, 070 Shake, Miguel, A$AP Rocky and more. Story continues This past summer Parker appeared on two other major film soundtracks. He joined the legendary Diana Ross for the new song Turn Up The Sunshine, featured on the star-studded Minions: Rise of the Gru soundtrack and was tapped to reinvent Edge Of Reality for Baz Luhrmans Oscar-nominated Elvis. Listen to the best of Tame Impala on Apple Music and Spotify. 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. Trump-Stormy-Daniels - Credit: Brandon Bell/Getty Images; Ethan Miller/Getty Images Former President Trump has been offered the opportunity to testify before a Manhattan grand jury regarding his 2016 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, a sign that sources tell the New York Times indicates an indictment against Trump is likely. The investigation previously resulted in the conviction of Trump lawyer Michael Cohen on charges of campaign finance violations and tax fraud. Cohen admitted to prosecutors that, on Trumps orders, he had paid off two women who had affairs with the former president in order to avoid a potential scandal in the run-up to the 2016 election. More from Rolling Stone Manhattans District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced in November of 2022 that the years-long investigation into the $130,000 payment to Daniels would be shifting its focus to its original protagonist: Trump himself. The investigation honed on allegations that the payment given to Daniels was a violation of election and business record laws. Trump responded in a lengthy statement released via Truth Social. I did absolutely nothing wrong, he wrote. I never had an affair with Stormy Daniels, nor would I have wanted to have an affair with Stormy Daniels. The former president accused investigators of conducting a witch hunt aimed at crippling his 2024 campaign. Trump responds to reports that the Manhattan DA is signaling preparations to indict him over Stormy Daniels payment pic.twitter.com/HZiUcWVC8I nikki mccann ramirez (@NikkiMcR) March 10, 2023 I am guilty of nothing except for the fact that I am beating all Republicans and Democrats badly in the Presidential race, Trump wrote. Additionally, the statute of limitations has long since ended, he added. Story continues As previously reported by Rolling Stone, sources close to the former president advised him that his best strategy avoid an indictment is to insist that the payments were not made in order to prevent electoral falloutbut to keep the peace at home and avoid conflict with Melania Trump. The possibility of federal charges against Trump hinges on prosecutors ability to prove that the reimbursement Michael Cohen received from the former president after he made the payment to Daniels was effectively a cover-up of an illegal campaign contribution. But even if Trump does manage to convince a grand jury that he spent 130K to avoid pissing off his wife, the Manhattan investigation is only the tip of the Trump-legal-woe iceberg. A Georgia grand jury has also hinted that it is preparing to recommend criminal charges against the former president regarding his role in efforts to subvert the states electoral process in the aftermath of the 2020 election. Trump is also facing a special counsel investigation regarding his retention of hundreds of highly classified documents after leaving office. An indictment against Trump would be the first criminal indictment against a former president. Manhattan prosecutors have been circling the former president for years now, and it remains to be seen if Bragg will be the first to attempt to take a bite. Best of Rolling Stone Click here to read the full article. https://twitter.com/dcfireems/status/1633901637755387912?s=20 DC Fire and EMS @dcfireems Update Working Fire 3300 block 6th St SE. A 2nd pediatric patient being evaluated for possible transport. Several other residents treated on scene. We sheltered multiple occupants on balconies due to heavy smoke in hallways. Investigators on scene. #DCsBravest DC Fire and EMS Two boys have been listed in serious and critical condition following a fire in southeast Washington, D.C., on Thursday. According to D.C. Fire and EMS, the fire started on the first floor of an apartment complex in the Congress Heights area of D.C. The children, ages 6 and 9, were transported to a hospital after firefighters arrived. The 6-year-old was rescued by firefighters, while the 9-year-old was outside when emergency personnel arrived. In a tweet, they said one of the children had "critical life-threatening injuries," while the other had "serious" injuries. A third child was taken to a hospital for evaluation unrelated to the fire. RELATED: Man Fined $300K for Setting Signal Fire That Turned Into Wildfire While Lost in Arizona Forests According to NBC affiliate WRC-TV, both of the hospitalized children are boys. The third child is 1 year old. Photographs shared by the department on Twitter showed damaged windows on the first floor of the building. WRC-TV, citing officials, reported that both boys were inside the building when the fire began. RELATED: Mich. Firefighter Dead from Fallen Power Line as Thousands Are Without Power amid Winter Storm After they arrived, firefighters sheltered numerous other residents on balconies to protect them from heavy smoke in the hallways, the outlet said. The fire was extinguished around 1:20 p.m. local time, and it did not seem to have spread to any other units. RELATED VIDEO: At Least 20 Firefighters Injured, 3 Seriously, in Multi-Alarm Staten Island House Fire According to FOX affiliate WTTG, the cause of the fire is still under investigation. In a tweet, the department said smoke alarms in the building were present and operational at the time of the fire. Firefighters plan to return to the neighborhood on Friday to check and install smoke alarms. The Red Cross advises installing smoke detectors on every level of a home, testing them every month, and speaking with family members about an escape plan in the event of a fire. Kalush Orchestra, the Ukrainian act that captured the worlds attention last year when it won the Eurovision Song Contest as its country was being torn apart by war, wraps up a second North American tour on March 16 with a performance at SXSW in Austin. The seven-member groups song Stefania won Eurovision in Turin, Italy, with a record-setting 438 points from the public, reflecting the widespread pro-Ukraine sentiment at least years event three months after Russia launched its unprovoked invasion. More from Billboard Related TVORCHI With Their Country Under Siege, Ukrainian Dance Music Duo Tvorchi Prepare For Eurovision 03/09/2023 03/09/2023 After the competition, Kalush Orchestra did an 18-show promotional tour, with performances in Poland, Spain, Italy, Germany, France and at Glastonbury Festival in the U.K., before embarking on a 13-city North American tour. The shows helped raise funds for the Ukrainian armed forces. The group also sold its Eurovision trophy for $900,000, with the proceeds earmarked for the purchase of combat drones for Ukraines military. (The band raised $1.6 million overall.) The current five-city U.S. jog cements the group as one of the few Eurovision winners to turn a victory at the pan-European competition into global success, following in the footsteps of ABBA, which won with Waterloo in 1974, and Maneskin, which triumphed with Zitti e Buoni in 2021. Billboard talked to the Kalush Orchestras founder and leader, rapper Oleh Psiuk, via Zoom about returning to the U.S., the impact of Eurovision on the bands career and the ongoing war with Russia, which is now in its second year. BB: Who came up with the idea for this new tour? First, we were invited to the big showcase festival SXSW in Austin. We considered it to be a very cool opportunity, so we decided we should show our creativity, our works and of course we decided that then we could visit several cities which weve never been to in the U.S. before. Thats how our new tour was born, even though the previous one was just five months ago. Story continues What was that first tour like and what would you like to see this time? We had 18 concerts during the previous tour, and they were daily, so unfortunately, we saw only airports and the venues where we had those concerts. But still, we had a little bit of time to see sunny Los Angeles. L.A. is my favorite because Ive always been listening to the music and to the performers from that area. And this time I do hope well have more time to see and enjoy your country. What performers from the West Coast are your favorites? I love the performers from the so-called Golden Era. Like N.W.A, Tupac Shakur, Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube and Dr. Dre. I listen to lots of music from the West Coast. Related Oleg Skrypka, Vopli Vidopliasova A Year Later, Ukrainian Musicians Are Navigating Wartime Lives 03/09/2023 03/09/2023 Last time you met Arnold Schwarzenegger, and he appeared in your video for Generous Evening and spoke in Ukrainian. Are there any plans this time to meet any celebrities or government figures? We dont have any plans now, but honestly speaking we didnt have any plans then as well. We wrote to Arnold that very day when we met and that was a lucky coincidence. So we do hope that this time well also have such a day when we write to someone famous and well have an opportunity to meet. In the U.S., Eurovision is not that well known, though the Will Ferrell film (Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga) has helped increase awareness. How did American audiences find you on your first tour? The bigger part of our audience was still Ukrainians who are living in the U.S. But there were other people who were coming to our concerts. The people who knew Eurovision, what it is, or people who just saw some announcement or billboard in the city and they decided to see us. They were just curious to get to know who we are, but after the concert, all kinds of people came up to us because they really loved it. What are the main goals you want to accomplish for both the band and Ukraine? First, we would like to show our music, for it to be known both in the U.S. and in Europe. Whatever city we visit, wed like to perform and disseminate Ukrainian culture, for it to be well known anywhere. And, of course, we are raising money using the QR codes and the auctions. Last year, we raised 60 million hryvnia ($1.6 million) and we do hope to raise even more this time. What does the money you raise support? We send this money to some of the well-known foundations like United24 and the Sergey Prytula Foundation. And we buy armored vests and helmets and other important things for our war servicemen and military. Kalush Orchestra How do you feel when youre out of your country? Does the trauma of the war continue? Honestly speaking, it does not affect me. It does not influence me whether Im in Ukraine or not, because there are lots of relatives and my parents and close friends, my good acquaintances who are now in Ukraine and I would say that I worry for them more than for myself. Because I dont worry about myself that much. Obviously, I carry this burden with me everywhere and this kind of anxiety for them. Lets talk about what American audiences can expect on this current tour. Will you play new songs? Yes. We have prepared a program which includes some of the new songs and some of the ones which have just been issued. For instance, we just issued a very new song which has the title Changes. Its a very cool song with a cool video, which reflects all the changes which we are waiting for. We have a program which unites something authentic with some new styles. Will an album be coming out soon? So far, we plan to release singles. If we speak about the album coming out, it is planned closer to the end of the current year or maybe in the beginning of the next year. So far, we are issuing singles with cool videos in English. Related Moscow, Russia. Russia Blocks SoundCloud Over False Content About Its Ukraine Invasion 03/09/2023 03/09/2023 Its been not quite a year since you won Eurovision. How has your life changed, and the career trajectory of the band changed since? We can now play a bigger role. We can have more impact on the bigger and vaster audience. We can disseminate our concert abroad and we can cover a broader audience with that. We can tell more about Ukrainian culture abroad. That must have been an important reason for participating in Eurovision in the first place. Yes, there were many reasons. Not only this one, but it was so important for us to win at this Eurovision, because victory is so important for Ukraine in every aspect. We made lots of people happy with this victory and we do hope it will go on like this. Ukraine first won Eurovision in 2004 when Ruslana triumphed with Wild Dances. Where were you that year when she won? What did her victory mean to you and Ukraine? I was only 10 years old then, so I dont remember that much. But I do remember that it was a big noise, a big event in Ukraine. It had a huge resonance as an event. It was because Eurovision for Ukraine was always a very important competition. What is next for the band after the American tour? Will there be any more touring in other countries? Sure. We would like to get to as many of various festivals as possible to show our music and culture to the maximum. We would like to have as productive a year as the previous one was, to raise as much money and to disseminate information about us, about Ukraine. The Kalush Orchestras 2023 U.S. tour dates: March 9 Cleveland, OH @ Cleveland Masonic March 10 Orlando, FL @ The Beacham March 11 Detroit, MI @ The Magic Stick March 12 Atlanta, GA @ District Atlanta March 16 Austin, TX @ SXSW Best of Billboard Click here to read the full article. Bubble watch is officially on for the USC Trojans after they fell to the Arizona State Sun Devils on Thursday night. This wasnt the result they were hoping for, yet here we are. All of a sudden, USC will be watching the Arizona State-Arizona Pac-12 Tournament semifinal on Friday night rooting for the Wildcats to get the win. Arizona State entered the week on the bubble, but wins against Oregon State and now USC likely has the Devils right on the cusp of a bid. If they beat the Wildcats, they could pass USC on the NCAA Tournament seed list, meaning USC could get pushed to Dayton for the First Four. USC wants to remain ahead of ASU on the seed list so that ASU becomes the Pac-12 team which goes to Dayton. If the Sun Devils lose to the U of A, theres a good chance Bobby Hurley not Andy Enfield will have to board a plane for Ohio next week. Arizona State defeated Arizona on February 25, thanks to a desperation, last-second heave by Desmond Cambridge Jr. Shot of his life for former Nevada guard Desmond Cambridge Jr.pic.twitter.com/qwwcKDAPru Chris Murray (@ByChrisMurray) February 25, 2023 Its simple: If Arizona State wins, USC is in a dangerous situation on Selection Sunday relative to Dayton and the First Four. If not, the Trojans should feel pretty certain about making the Round of 64 next Thursday or Friday. Pac-12 Tournament Day 3 will have UCLA and Oregon facing off in semifinal number one. The Ducks need to win the entire tournament to get a bid. USC wants UCLA to win there so that Oregon doesnt grab an extra bid. Arizona State-Arizona is the Friday nightcap, followed by the title game on Saturday. There is a lot at stake for Andy Enfields team, and a potential trip to Dayton which USC wants to avoid could hinge on the shoulders of Tommy Lloyd and the Arizona Wildcats. Story continues Consult our full bubble guide for the remainder of the weekend. More #WeAreUnited! One athlete's view of #WeAreUnited: defining real progress Story originally appeared on Trojans Wire English designer Grace Wales Bonner is dreaming of a romantic and whimsical season, unveiling her eponymous brand's Spring/Summer 2023 collection "Horizon Blues," starring model Binx Walton. Captured by renowned 27-year-old photographer Tyler Mitchell, the offering is illuminated by its backdrop of Florence, Italy, painting a picture of golden hour rendezvous. "It's an honor to continue expanding my ongoing collaborative relationship with Wales Bonner. I was extremely excited to photograph Walton, a friend and one of my favorite models. There was a magic energy that day and I'm glad we elegantly captured it," the artist shares in an exclusive press release. The collection introduces Wales Bonner's jewelry and footwear collection, vastly expanding the fashion label's categories. The inaugural capsule of accessories are handmade by local artisans in Krobo, Ghana, whereas the brand's debut assortment of shoes are produced in Italy in tandem with Himco. Featuring sumptuous suede sandals and loafers enrobed in deep shades of red and blue, while vivacious zebra and leopard prints add a sense of playfulness to cobblestone strolls. Elsewhere, heeled ankle boots, bearing pointed toes arrive in a classic shiny black leather, alongside an edgy silver studded option. Walton is outfitted in the intricately designed Java Macrame dress is handcrafted with Ghanian wood and artisanal recycled glass beads. "I love the intimacy of these images that depicts the strong friendship between Binx and Tyler. The photographs record a special moment in time for us and highlight the craftsmanship and care that goes into making these unique pieces," Bonner adds. Indulge in a bit of wanderlust and take a look at Wales Bonner's SS23 "Horizon Blues" collection in the gallery above. Starbucks Credit - Beata ZawrzelNurPhoto/via Getty Images During the crypto bull market of 2021, countless major brands flooded into the space with their own NFTs (non-fungible tokens), hoping to profit from a very lucrative craze. Two years later, as crypto doldrums have set in, many of those projects have shrunk or been abandoned. NFT sales dropped 83% year-over-year in 2022, according to Non Fungible data. But in December, one of the biggest brands stepped into the NFT world: Starbucks. The companys project, called Starbucks Odyssey, serves as an extension of their rewards program, in which users can earn perks for buying coffee and completing online games and quizzes. Starbucks called it a revolutionary Web3 experience, and hailed the project as a new, next-generation loyalty program model. Since the project launched in betaa testing phase with select customersin December, it has already raked in a surprising amount of money. More than $200,000 in sales have been completed, with NFTs that cost customers little more than a few cups of coffee being sold on the secondary market for as much as $1,900. Crypto enthusiasts are rallying behind the program on social media, arguing that it serves as the perfect bridge for crypto to enter the mainstream. Bank of America analysts praised the program as being more holistic than the industrys prior NFT forays. On Thursday, a newly released batch of 2,000 Starbucks NFTs sold out within minutes for $100 apiece, with the website momentarily crashing amid the frenzy of activity. Buyers excitedly showed off their purchases on social media soon after. But the hype may be overblown. So far, this frenzy of activity still has little to no bearing on whether most regular coffee drinkers will integrate Starbucks NFTs into their daily habits. While Starbucks has promised future rewards and perks to entice a wider audience, for now, the program appears to be triggering Starbucks adoption amongst the crypto community as opposed to the other way around. Story continues Chasing Pokemon Starbucks NFTs arent even called NFTs: the company is calling them stamps, and they mostly arent held on the blockchain. Stamps are collected when customers perform a certain array of tasks, including passing a quiz containing coffee and Starbucks trivia or ordering two drinks with non-dairy milk. The stamps are then stored in users Starbucks Rewards accounts. The company recently opened up the option to buy some stamps directly as opposed to having to earn them. For now, the programs adoption is being driven by people who love Starbucks and crypto. Chris Fierro, who lives in Rhode Island, is an avid NFT collector, an ex-barista, and a self-professed coffee fanatic. He says that when he heard about the Starbucks Odyssey, it sounded like a home run, he says. Fierro says the experience has been seamless with his previous Starbucks routine: when he goes to a store and completes a task, like buying a bag of coffee beans, the credit is automatically loaded into the program. Fierro has earned all four stamps, and largely enjoys completing the online activities needed to win them. I think its kind of the next generation of gaming where its like, Oh, I might get something free out of this. I have two minutes to take this quiz, or see where my coffee was grown. I dont think theres anything in there thats onerous or feels like homework, he says. But Fierros activity, which consists of minor purchases and demonstrating brand loyalty, doesnt explain why Starbucks NFTs are being sold for hundreds of dollars on the secondary market. This trading activity, instead, is happening because NFT enthusiasts (read: gamblers) have found the project, and are betting that these NFTs will increase in value. The value of most NFTs comes from their scarcity and utility, and Starbucks is tapping into both traits to drive up values. Starbucks only issued 5,000 editions of their first NFT, a Holiday Cheer stamp. The perks of owning such a stamp have yet to be announced, but the company has hinted that NFTs will give holders exclusive benefits, from martini-making classes to trips to Costa Rica coffee farms. NFT traders, then, are essentially betting that the going rate of this NFT, which has skyrocketed to more than $1,000, will be less than whatever yet-to-be-announced rewards Starbucks doles out. People are speculating the value will go up, or they want to have the complete set, which is a big thing of crypto. Were still all chasing Pokemon, Fierro says. Slow Adoption Starbucks is making a tidy sum from these transactions. But the activity isnt an indicator of whether regular Starbucks customersmany of whom barely understand the concept of NFTswill jump through the hoops required to join the program and earn rewards. Starbucks has tried to make it as easy as possible to sign up, creating a streamlined experience with the NFT marketplace Nifty Gateway that doesnt require users to set up a crypto wallet or remember a seed phrase for security. This system, however, makes the users stamps less secure, and prone to disappearing entirely in the event that the program is shut down, in the same way that FTXs NFTs disappeared after the company went bankrupt. So far, it seems like mainstream adoption is going slowly. It seemed more like a gimmick and i got bored within minutes of using it, Reddit user cobieheath, who posts often in the Starbucks subreddit about life as a barista, wrote in a message to TIME in January. I dont personally know anyone else that has used it. I havent even heard customers talk about it. When TIME asked Starbucks baristas at JFK Airport this week if they knew about the program, they responded with confusion. Ive asked every Starbucks employee Ive met if theyve heard of odyssey Yet to get a yes Most of these web2 companies are half pregnant, yet we call them leaders Chris Lyons | TCF (@ChrisLyonsTCF) February 16, 2023 And even winning over Starbucks Odysseys target audience has been a slow progress in some instances. In January, Maika Isogawa, a Web3 founder who is also an avid Starbucks fan, described the app to TIME as poorly done, especially disliking a Flappy Bird-esque game that looked like something I built freshman year of college. But in March, Isogawa said that she has since warmed up to the program. I think Starbucks is one of the few companies that is 1. attempting any sort of web3 loyalty program and 2. doing a decent job at it, she wrote in an email to TIME. A representative for Starbucks declined to comment. An illustration of a rainbow-colored cloud of gas in space getting sucked into a funnel-like opening If wormholes exist, they could magnify the light of distant objects by up to 100,000 times and that could be the key to finding them. Wormholes are theoretical funnel-shaped portals through which matter (or perhaps spacecraft) could travel great distances. To imagine a wormhole, suppose all of the universe were a sheet of paper. If your starting point were a dot at the top of the sheet and your destination were a dot on the bottom of the sheet, the wormhole would appear if you folded that sheet of paper so the two dots met. You could traverse the entire sheet in an instant, rather than traveling the entire length of the sheet. Wormholes have never been proven to exist, but physicists have nonetheless spent decades theorizing what these exotic objects might look and how they might behave. In their new paper, the researchers built a model to simulate an electrically charged, spherical wormhole and its effects on the universe around it. The researchers wanted to find out whether wormholes could be detectable by their observed effects on their surroundings. Their research was published Jan. 19 in the journal Physical Review D. Related: The hunt for wormholes: How scientists look for space-time tunnels The researchers' model shows that wormholes, should they exist, could be massive enough to trigger one aspect of Einstein's theory of relativity: That extremely massive objects bend the fabric of space-time to such a degree that they cause light to curve. This bent light magnifies whatever lurks behind the massive object, as seen from our perspective on Earth. This phenomenon is known as "microlensing," and it allows scientists to use massive objects, like galaxies and black holes, to view extremely distant objects, like stars and galaxies from the early universe. In the paper, the researchers argue that wormholes, like black holes, would be massive enough to magnify distant objects behind them. "The magnification via the distortion by a wormhole can be very large, which could be tested one day," lead study author Lei-Hua Liu, a physicist at Jishou University in Hunan, China, told Live Science in an email. Story continues Liu also noted that wormholes would magnify objects differently than black holes do, meaning scientists could distinguish the two. For example, microlensing via a black hole is known to produce four mirror images of the object behind it. Microlensing via a wormhole, on the other hand, would produce three images: Two dim ones, and one very bright one, the authors' simulations showed. However, because other objects like galaxies, black holes and stars also produce a microlensing effect, finding a wormhole with no clear clues about where to start looking would be a difficult undertaking, Andreas Karch, a physicist at the University of Texas at Austin who was not involved in the study, told Live Science in an email. RELATED STORIES: Breakthrough wormhole simulation may unite quantum physics and general relativity What is a black hole event horizon (and what happens there)? Black holes: Everything you need to know Trying to tease out the microlensing caused by a wormhole versus other large objects would be like "trying to make out the soft voice of a single person in the middle of a rock concert," Karch said. He also noted that while the paper authors offered an interesting theoretical way to identify wormholes, "they don't even talk about how to do this in practice yet that's future work." Although wormholes are still solidly theoretical, the fact that the researchers' model could one day be tested is "the dream for most physicists," Liu said. Originally published on LiveScience. As the era of artificial intelligence, or AI, continues to expand, the groundbreaking technology is now being used as a tool to detect breast cancer. More and more breast imaging centers across the country are now using a type of AI called computer-assisted detection, or CAD, to help reduce the number of breast cancer cases that are missed by the traditional mammogram. One major study estimates that mammogram screenings miss about 1 in 8 cases of breast cancer. "The major advantage to AI right now is it speeds up the reading of the mammogram, so that a radiologist can see more mammograms accurately over a certain period of time," Dr. Larry Norton, medical director of the Evelyn H. Lauder Breast Cancer Center at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, told "Good Morning America." With CAD, a patient undergoes a typical mammogram, an X-ray of the breast, and then the results of the scan undergo additional computer screenings to mark areas of potential cancer. Studies show CAD helps review images, assess breast density and flag high-risk mammograms that may have been missed by radiologists. It can also tell a technologist that a mammogram needs to be redone. PHOTO: This stock image shows a doctor looking at her patient's mammogram. (Andresr/Getty Images) "It's really changed the paradigm and it's changed the value of the mammogram itself," Dr. Constance Lehman, a diagnostic radiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital told "GMA." "And that's really exciting." Medical guidelines suggest most women should start getting regular mammograms starting at age 50, or even earlier, depending on additional risk factors. About 1 in every 8 women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. MORE: FDA says mammogram facilities must notify women if they have dense breast tissue to reduce cancer risk For most women, mammograms are considered the best way to detect breast cancer early, according to the CDC, which can lead to better outcomes and easier treatment. Story continues While the use of AI is exciting in the field of breast cancer, it is still a work in progress. Studies show that using AI in breast cancer screenings can be associated with false positive rates. "Machine learning is very good for what you've taught it," Norton explained. "Machines, when they see something that they have no experience with, they're not very good at identifying it." So far, studies show that AI technology is used best alongside humans. One recent study found that humans and AI working together are capable of detecting 2.6% more breast cancers with fewer false alarms. MORE: Young women take to social media to share breast cancer diagnoses, raise awareness Lehman said she can see a future where AI is used not just to detect but to prevent breast and other cancers. "The tools of AI are going to advance breast cancer detection, risk assessment, cancer prevention," she said. "Not just detecting early, but actually preventing cancers." How artificial intelligence is being used to detect breast cancer originally appeared on goodmorningamerica.com At the ceremony (Photo: PANO) This was the second time that the National Archives Center III received a large amount of documents from writer Son Tung. The contents of the documents include materials and images of the homeland, family, life and journey of President Ho Chi Minh; documents and images of Party and State leaders such as Party General Secretary Le Duan, Prime Minister Pham Van Dong, General Vo Nguyen Giap; documents on patriotic senior journalists; and documents about the life and career of writer Son Tung. The authentic, vivid and diverse documents of writer Son Tung are a reliable and valuable source of information for historical researchers, cultural workers, teachers, students, as well as those who love the history and culture of the country. The source material has contributed to enriching the collection of the National Archives of Vietnam. Speaking at the reception ceremony, Ms. Tran Viet Hoa, Director of the National Archives Center III, affirmed that writer Son Tung is not only a seriously wounded soldier, a person with meritorious services to the country, but also an example of humanity and extraordinary efforts in labor. Sharing at the reception ceremony, Mr. Bui Son Dinh, son of writer Son Tung, recounted his father's journey of collecting documents, especially since 1975. Writer Son Tung and his wife, Mrs. Phan Hong Mai, overcame many difficulties and obstacles to go to the South to collect documents about Uncle Ho. In order to promote the extremevalue of the above documents, in the near future, the National Archives Center III will carry out the scientific editing and arrangement, along with bringing the documents to the public, serving the cause of national construction. Writer, Hero of Labor Son Tung (1928-2021) was born in Nghe An. He was a writer specializing in writing about Uncle Ho and revolutionary celebrities, including 16 books about Uncle Ho./. The claim: Biden rescinded a Trump executive order targeting child sex trafficking on his second day in office A Feb. 26 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) claims President Joe Biden reversed an effort by President Donald Trump to combat child sex trafficking. Trump was the 1st President in U.S. History to acknowledge that children are being sold for sex in the U.S., and the 1st President to open a White House office to form coalitions with law enforcement to save Americas children, reads the post. On his 2nd day in office, Biden rescinded Trumps Executive Order that helped combat child sex trafficking. The post was liked more than 2,000 times in less than two weeks. Follow us on Facebook! Like our page to get updates throughout the day on our latest debunks Our rating: False Biden did not rescind Trumps orders on child sex trafficking. He introduced an updated plan for fighting child trafficking in December 2021. The post is also wrong about Trump being the first president to acknowledge child sex trafficking. Early Biden actions did not change Trump orders The social media post does not specify what order was supposedly rescinded, but Trump did issue at least two that directly addressed human trafficking. He signed an executive order in 2017, titled Enforcing Federal Law With Respect to Transnational Criminal Organizations and Preventing International Trafficking," and another in 2020, titled Combating Human Trafficking and Online Child Exploitation in the United States. The president can rescind a predecessors executive orders by issuing new ones, but none of Bidens 19 orders issued through Jan. 22, 2021 his third day in office touched on Trumps trafficking orders. One of Bidens 77 published orders in 2021 did alter the 2017 Trump order on trafficking. But it didn't "rescind" anything, it just assigned the same work to a new, similar group. Trump's order tasked the existing Threat Mitigation Working Group with coordinating the government's response to transnational organized crime, a category that includes human trafficking. Biden's Dec. 15, 2021, order replaced that working group with the United States Council on Transnational Organized Crime. Story continues Both the working group and the Biden council included the secretary of state, attorney general, secretary of homeland security and director of national intelligence. Biden's group added the secretaries of defense and treasury to the list as well. Biden also released an updated National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking in December 2021. The social media post's claim that Trump was the first president to acknowledge sex trafficking in the U.S. is also false. In fact, his immediate predecessors gave speeches highlighting the issue. Fact check: ICE officials say Operation Talon cancelation wasn't Biden's decision In a September 2012 speech to the Clinton Global Initiative, former President Barack Obama spoke about human trafficking in the U.S. "The bitter truth is that trafficking also goes on right here, in the United States, he said. Its the migrant worker unable to pay off the debt to his trafficker. The man, lured here with the promise of a job, his documents then taken, and forced to work endless hours in a kitchen. The teenage girl, beaten, forced to walk the streets. In July 2004, former President George W. Bush announced several initiatives to combat human trafficking. U.S. law enforcement has documented cases of Latvian girls trafficked into sexual slavery in Chicago, or Ukrainian girls trafficked in Los Angeles, and Maryland, or Thai, Korean, Malaysian and Vietnamese girls trafficked in Georgia, or and Mexican girls trafficked in California, New Jersey and here in Florida, Bush said at the time. Many of the victims are teenagers, some as young as 12 years old. It is unclear what the social media post is referring to when it says Trump created the first White House office to form coalitions with law enforcement to save Americas children. Obama, Bush and Clinton each launched initiatives during their terms to fight human trafficking that included focus on child trafficking. USA TODAY reached out to the social media user who shared the claim for comment. PolitiFact and the Associated Press also debunked versions of the claim. 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: Biden updated approach to fighting child trafficking A dietary supplement that federal officials said was falsely marketed as a treatment for COVID-19 is being recalled, according to a company announcement published by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration this week, years after the producer received similar backlash for a purported Ebola treatment. The recall of Natural Solutions Foundation's "Dr. Rima Recommends Nano Silver 10ppm" was initiated after the federal government found that the product's labeling and distributors made "unsubstantiated health claims that the product will prevent, treat, or cure COVID-19." The government determined that consumers using this "nano silver" product, instead seeking proper medical care and treatment, could face serious and/or life-threatening health consequences, the recall notice said. This isn't the first time that Natural Solutions Foundation and Rima Laibow, the company's medical director, have illegally distributed unapproved drugs, a complaint filed by the federal government in 2020 said. Natural Solutions Foundations, Laibow and the company's vice president of legal affairs Ralph Fucetola have previously distributed "nano silver" products with claims of curing or preventing other outbreaks including the Ebola epidemic in the mid-2010s, according to the complaint. 'You cannot hide': Biden administration to go after scammers who stole billions in COVID relief January: Utah plastic surgeon sold fake COVID vaccination cards, destroyed vaccines, DOJ claims Feds in 2021: Stop distributing 'nano silver' product In December 2021, a federal court ordered Natural Solutions Foundation, along with trustees Fucetola and Laibow, to stop the distributing the unapproved and misbranded "nano silver" product. "Marketing unproven products as treatments for COVID-19 endangers public health and violates the law," Brian M. Boynton, the current Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Departments Civil Division, said in a DOJ release at the time. "The department will work closely with the FDA to stop anyone attempting to take advantage of the pandemic by selling unapproved, misbranded drugs." Story continues Natural Solutions Foundation's "Dr. Rima Recommends Nano Silver 10ppm." In a November 2020 complaint, the United States alleged that Natural Solutions Foundation, Fucetola and Laibow violated the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act by distributing the unapproved product, which allegedly contained silver particles in a solution. Fact check: Yes, colloidal silver can turn your skin blue, medical experts say Recalls: Stay up to date on all consumer-product recalls with this USA TODAY database According to the complaint, "nano silver is not generally recognized by qualified experts as safe and effective to prevent, treat or cure COVID-19, and that the defendants claims were not supported by credible scientific evidence or studies," the DOJ wrote. Natural Solutions Foundation ordered to destroy products, initiate recall According to the DOJ's December 2021 release, the defendants agreed to settle the lawsuit and be bound by a consent decree of permanent injunction. The order required the defendants to destroy all of the "nano silver" products and initiate a recall. This week's recall notice urges distributors to check their inventory to see if they posses the recalled product, immediately stop distribution and notify customers about the recall. Within 22 days of the company announcement date, identified as March 7 on the FDA's website, unused portions of the product can be sent to Natural Solutions Foundation's Newton, New Jersey, address for a refund. More information can be found here. "Dr. Rima Recommends Nano Silver 10ppm" was sold from January 2020 to December 2021, according to the recall notice. USA TODAY reached out to the company's listed recall contact for statement Thursday. What's everyone talking about? Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news of the day. Company tried to push Ebola treatment in 2014 Laibow and Natural Solutions Foundation previously came under fire in 2014, when the company was among those that received warnings from the FDA and Federal Trade Commission for selling products that claimed to be treatments, solutions or therapies for Ebola. Laibow similarly advertised a "nano silver" product and stood by it following the FDA and FTC's letter. According to the 2020 complaint filed against Natural Solutions Foundation, at the time of the 2014 warning letter, the defendants stated on their website that nano silver "was known ... as the definitive antiviral agent against Ebola virus." As of September 2020, the defendants were still making claims about nano silver and Ebola on their website, the complaint said. 2014: FDA cracks down on Ebola scams This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Nano silver' recall: Product misbranded as COVID treatment, per FDA The National Weather Service overnight upgraded tonight's snow to a winter storm warning with all of the Milwaukee area now expecting 5-9 inches of snow. Most counties in south-central Wisconsin remain under a winter weather advisory and are expecting slightly less snow. Many southern counties were initially placed on a winter storm watch, but as the storm continued to develop lakeshore counties were upgraded to a winter storm warning as experts grew more confident that those areas will see 5+ inches of snow. Heres what you need to know about how it will play out. Thursday weather update: Winter weather parked from Montana to Illinois; California could see up to 6 feet of snow: Thursday forecast Southern counties from La Crosse to Milwaukee are expected to get the most snow The storm is approaching on a more southern track and will hit southern Wisconsin the hardest. Forecasters at one point predicted 4 to 6 inches of snow for much of southern Wisconsin, but the latest data now shows that lakeshore counties along with Washington and Waukesha Counties can expect 5 to 9 inches. Some counties in the southwest and southcentral portion of the state, like La Crosse, Jackson and Grant, were also changed from a watch to a warning as they expect 6 or more inches of snow. Snow will begin in southcentral and southwest Wisconsin at 2 p.m. Thursday, and in southeast Wisconsin at 6 p.m. Peak snowfall is predicted to be from 6 p.m. Thursday to 3 a.m. Friday. Snow will start as wet and heavy but as the storm persists it will become lighter and more fluffy. The morning commute on Friday is expected to be heavily affected by the weather. Taylor Patterson, a meteorologist at the weather service, said that east to northeast winds coming off Lake Michigan have a good chance of enhancing snowfalls during this storm. Because of those winds in Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Sheboygan, Kenosha and Racine counties, there's a potential that they're going to have more snowfall than the people in further inland, Patterson said. Story continues Patterson added that areas near the lake should see light snowfall and flurries linger on Friday. The northern part of the state will see smaller snowfall amounts While the storm looks like it will affect southern Wisconsin the most, it will still be big enough to drop snow on all of the state, but Patterson said that the further north you are the smaller snowfall numbers are expected to be. Places near Lake Superior, like Ashland County, are expected to get about 2 inches of snow, but as you go south, near Wood, Portage and Jackson counties, accumulation is expected to get as high as 4 to 6 inches. More:Road salt can have lasting impact on fresh water. Here's how to use less and stay safe. More:How to keep safe if you have to drive, travel in Wisconsin during a winter storm Winter storm tracker US weather watches and warnings 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 USA TODAY: Milwaukee, Waukesha under winter storm warning; 5-9 inches expected Dotdash Meredith and Yahoo Inc. may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below. These ethical handbags dont skimp on style. InStyle / Marcus Millan We may not have a collection of Birkin bags in storage, but we all have a few bags that we like to alternate between, depending on our mood, outfit, and how much we need to carry. They say a lot about us whether were bold and playful or mysterious and minimalist and now more than ever, they also tell the world what we value. After all, the fashion industry is responsible for 10 percent of global carbon emissions, says Alexandra Shadrow, a sustainability activist known as @sustainabae and the CEO of Trailblaze Consulting. Not to mention the waste it accrues from water waste to chemical pollution to filling up landfills. Dr. Sweta Chakraborty, a behavioral climate scientist and the U.S. president of We Dont Have Time, says, Consumers need to support companies that are not only already sustainable, but also those that are truly trying to pivot in the right direction. But supporting ethical companies doesnt mean you have to choose between sustainability and style. The fashion industry has the power to inspire the whole world not only to dress more sustainably, but to live a more sustainable life overall, Shadrow says. For this list, we researched brands that take sustainability and their environmental and social impact seriously and make pieces that dont fall short on style. The brands below use responsible leather, vegan leather, and upcycled materials, and treat their workers fairly, no matter where in the world they are. So what are you waiting for? Below are eight excuses to buy a new bag you can feel great about. From woven straw bags for a Jane Birkin moment to modern sculptural pieces and slouchy baguettes, shop some of our favorite sustainable handbag brands below. Kayu Buy at Kayudesign.com Kayu preserves the indigenous craft of weaving, as many of the workshops Kayu partners with are in Southeast Asia and have been in the same family for generations. Local artisans in the Philippines and Ecuador make Kayus woven totes and clutches that are embroidered, accessorized with pom poms and monograms, lined with peekaboo cotton, and adorned with woven tassels or stone clasps. Their straw is also ethically harvested (and dried from seagrass), and they donate their scraps to farmers for fertilizer. Story continues Mashu Buy at Mashu.co.uk Mashus hand-made bags marry modern and nature-inspired details that call to mind Cult Gaia but are made with vegan leather within a closed-loop system by Greek artisans. We love their structured bags with square handles made of furniture factory wood offcuts, baguettes with gold details, and mini bags with their signature gold-plated wiggle handles. They also offer free repairs on their bags for life, which they mail in low-impact packaging. Able Buy at Ableclothing.com ABLE offers ethical leather basics clutch-like wallets, jewelry rolls, totes, and slouchy weekenders made from discarded animal hides, deadstock, and scraps in a closed-loop water system. Theyre one of Alexandra Shadrows favorite handbag brands for a reason: Ninety percent of the brands staff from Ethiopia to Portugal are women, and they third-party audit their manufacturers worldwide. In addition, ABLE designs its bags to be durable and stay out of landfills: Every piece they sell has a lifetime guarantee. So if you ever want to repair or replace your bag, you can. Until then, add one of their leather conditioners to your purchase itll help keep your items in great shape. Mio Mojo Buy at Miomojo.com Isaias Hernandez, an environmental educator and the founder of @QueerBrownVegan, loves how Mio Mijo advocates for ecological and animal wellness. After all, sustainable fashion celebrates culture, people, and the environment. For Hernandez, Mio Mijo is rooted in disrupting the leather space, thanks to their use of apple leather (made from the skins and core) and plastic bottles for their statement bucket bags and endlessly versatile crossbodies. Related:The 9 Best Ethical and Sustainable Jewelry Brands To Shop Now Pixie Mood Buy at Pixiemood.com Pixie Mood sells climate-positive staple bags with modern elements like acrylic handles and laser-cut details in various colors. Their leather is 100 percent vegan and PETA-approved, as it's made from recycled plastic bottles, and some designs include cork (which is biodegradable and sustainably harvested in Portugal). The entire company is labeled climate positive, making them a favorite brand of Shadrow. But just because theyre sustainable doesnt mean they arent cutting-edge: Their wallets even have RFID protection so people cant steal your credit card information. Behno Buy at Behno.com Behno designs trendy yet sustainable handbags like structured mini bucket bags and slouchy baguettes in a range of colors (metallic green or bubblegum, anyone?) to match any outfit. Behno means sisters in Hindi, referring to the community theyve built among their workers. They have access to healthcare clinics, family planning, and clean water and the brand pays them fair wages. While Behno isnt vegan, its Italian leather tanneries are certified gold by the Leather Working Group, which means they minimize energy and water usage, can trace their materials, and have safe working conditions for workers. They also use renewable energy in production and have partnered with Canopy to ensure their materials are ethical. BEEN London Buy at Been.london BEEN London creates leather and suede elevated basics like boxy totes, pleated top-handle bags, and minimalist backpacks as a solution to the prevailing waste in the fashion industry. The brand estimates that its carbon footprint is 87 percent smaller than other bags on the market. How? The brand only uses recycled leather and plastic that otherwise would have gone to a landfill to make their zero-waste bags, and they create accessories like passport holders, makeup bags, and keyrings from their scraps. The brand also upcycles apple peels and pineapple leaves to make their vegan leather and even plants a tree in the Amazon for each bag purchased. Raven + Lily Buy at Ravenandlily.com Raven + Lily is a certified B-Corp and a member of the Fair Trade Federation, so you can be sure they treat their workers and the environment with respect. They use responsibly sourced materials and support women artisans in Ethiopia to make their made-to-last bohemian bags. Their 70s hobos and relaxed carryalls come in colors, like cactus flower, climbing ivy, and wisteria, inspired by the land around their headquarters in Austin, Texas. Why Shop With Us Lee Musho is an accomplished writer with work in New York Magazine, The Cut, Thrillist, Eater, and much more. She specializes in digital media, e-commerce, branded content, social media, and photography. She also has a deep interest in sustainability as it relates to fashion. For this story, she tirelessly researched the best brands that actually can be called sustainable and consulted Dr. Sweta Chakraborty, a climate behavioral scientist and the U.S. president of We Dont Have Time, Isaias Hernandez, an environmental educator and the founder of @QueerBrownVegan, and Alexandra Shadrow, a sustainability activist known as @sustainabae and the CEO of Trailblaze Consulting, for more advice Related:The 7 Best Sustainable Shoe Brands of 2023 That Are Actually Kind to the Planet For more InStyle news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on InStyle. Norm Sayler in 2009 (left) and Norm Sayler in his snow plow in 2011. Bill Oudegeest, George Lamson/Donner Summit Historical Society An 89-year-old California snow plow driver has cleared more than 50 feet of snow so far this winter. Norm Sayler has been snow plowing for 65 years, and says "it's a way of life." A series of storms have pummeled the Lake Tahoe region over the past few weeks, continuing into this weekend. 89-year-old Norm Sayler has been plowing snow in the Lake Tahoe region of northern California for over six decades, but this year's winter storms have been especially "vicious." Still, even at his age, he says he has no plans of stopping any time soon. Northern California has been clobbered by a series of storms over the past several weeks, with more than 15 feet of snow accumulating in some parts of the Sierra Nevada mountains, according to SFGate. The region surrounding Lake Tahoe near where Sayler works has received more than 51 feet of snow since November 1, according to the UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab located in Donner Pass. And Sayler, who lives in Soda Springs, has been working hard all through the winter to plow all that snow. ABC7 shared a video on Twitter of massive banks of snow that Sayler had plowed on the side of a driveway. ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) March 7, 2023 He says the storms this winter have been so "vicious" that they sometimes cause whiteouts where you can't see a thing around you in any direction. "When it gets like that, all you can do is stop because you don't know where you are," Sayler told Insider on Friday. "Hopefully it would clear just a little bit and you'd catch a tree or some kind of a building or something to where you could keep working again." When Sayler spoke to Insider over the phone from inside his snow plow, he said he had been plowing for the past 7 hours, since around 4 a.m. He said he doesn't know how many hours a day he works, he just "keeps going until it's done." Sayler is racing to clear away snow before a series of storms are due to bring rain to the area, prompting concerns that the heavy snow will soak up rainwater. Story continues For Sayler, who owns his own business, snow-plowing is a "way of life" that he loves. "I can get in this little machine and I can sit in it all day long and have a ball," he said. Sayler says he can't imagine ever stopping. "What would I do if I stopped?" he asked "I don't know what I'd do." When asked if he ever plans to retire, Sayler said he's been, in a way, "retired" ever since he first moved to the mountain in 1954. "That's the way I look at it," he said. "How much more lucky can you be than to live like this? It's been a wonderful thing." Read the original article on Insider Warm weather is on the horizon for metro Phoenix this weekend as temperatures hit the 80s through much of the region. Dry weather will last through Monday as temperatures warm through the low to mid-80s, according to National Weather Service Phoenix. "The warmest temperatures so far this year will continue through the weekend and extend into early next week," the weather service said. Temperatures in the lower desert will reach the low 80s as early as Friday, with a high likelihood of afternoon highs reaching or exceeding 80 degrees Friday through Sunday. Light breezes will accompany the warmth. Overcast skies throughout the weekend were expected to keep temperatures warm until Monday and Tuesday, the weather service said. Low chances of precipitation were expected to accompany the cloudy skies on Saturday and Sunday, though the showers will be few and far between. Weather news:La Nina, which worsens hurricanes and drought, is gone after 3 years Cloudy and rainy weather in northern Arizona Rain accompanied by increased cloud cover was expected across northern Arizona over the weekend and into early next week as a Pacific moisture front moves over the state, the National Weather Service Flagstaff said. There was a chance of snowfall in very high elevation areas of the high country starting Friday, though rain and increased dew point temperatures are the most likely weather impacts. "Accumulating rainfall looks to extend from the Kaibab Plateau and expand west and south down toward Happy Jack," National Weather Service Flagstaff said in a weekend weather forecast discussion. Snow in the desert on Feb. 15, 2023, northeast of Phoenix. The weather service said high country residents should plan for increased snowmelt from the incoming weekend rainfall. Friday will see increased southwest winds and seasonable temperatures across the area. Increased cloud cover across the region will result in chances of rain throughout Friday afternoon and evening. Saturday and Sunday will follow suit with breezy winds, rain chances will increase on Saturday with temperatures at a seasonal average. Sunday will bring mostly sunny skies with decreased rain chances. Temperatures could get as high as 70 degrees in some areas. Story continues The calm and dry conditions will be interrupted by late Tuesday as a winter storm was expected to hit the high country on Tuesday afternoon. Though the full impact of the winter storm can't be determined until later in the week, the weather service said increased precipitation is expected. "For now, it's noteworthy to say additional precipitation looks to be an impact that will likely result in increased snowmelt," National Weather Service Flagstaff said in a forecast discussion. Allergy sufferers beware!Spring arrives weeks early. Here's what to expect Flood warnings in Tonto Creek and Salt River Flood warnings, which expire at 2 p.m. Tuesday, were issued for Tonto Creek and the Salt River due to high water levels caused by snowmelt as a result of the warming temperatures. The rapid snowmelt is expected to cause elevated water flow in many creeks, streams, lakes and washes across Arizona's lower desert regions. SRP is releasing water from Salt River Project reservoirs in order to make room to accommodate the snow melt as snow in high elevation areas begins to melt throughout the Spring, with this weekend expected to see increased snow melt as temperatures warm. The next several weeks of warmer temperatures is expected to bring elevated runoff from snow packs into lakes, rivers, creeks and dams. The runoff will be especially large this Spring as a result of the moisture heavy winter storms during the first two months of the year, according to the Arizona Department of Water Resources. "They need to release water in order to prevent any sort of dam failure," said National Weather Service Phoenix meteorologist Gabriel Lojero. "They're releasing that water and as a result we're seeing these elevated water flows along the Salt River." The flood warning will be in effect until Tuesday and covers the Salt River between Granite Reef Dam and Tempe Town Lake, according to Lojero. The weather service said that floods will impact unbridged crossings and low-lying roads near washes. Crossings especially along 67th Avenue and 91st Avenue west of Loop 202 in metro Phoenix are expected to be especially impacted by flooding as elevated water flows continue. "Right now there is not imminent flood danger," said Lojero. "But, as we continue to see elevated flows there's a potential for some minor flooding in those areas." 'Weather chaos':Storms bring enough snow to fill Verde River reservoirs How do I drive through a flooded area? The Arizona Department of Transportation recommends the following safety tips for driving near flooded areas: Dont risk crossing a flooded wash, even if it doesnt look deep. It's easy to underestimate the power of running water; just a foot can carry off a vehicle. Avoid areas where water is pooling in travel lanes; if possible, use center lanes and drive in the tracks of the vehicle ahead of you. Do not drive around Road Closed signs. You risk your life and face being cited under the states stupid motorist law. If traffic lights are out, treat an intersection just like a four-way stop. Expect the unexpected. Have extra supplies, including an emergency kit and drinking water, in case you experience an extended highway closure. Storm runoff can loosen boulders and rocks on slopes above highways. Stay alert in rockfall-prone areas. Before you drive, inspect your windshield wipers and replace them if necessary. Turn on your headlights while driving. Avoid sudden braking, which can cause you to slide on the wet pavement. To slow down, take your foot off the gas pedal and brake slowly. The tires of larger vehicles, like trucks and buses, create spray that can lessen visibility, so dont follow them too closely. Be cautious of hydroplaning. If you feel you are hydroplaning, ease your foot off the gas pedal until you regain traction. Do not brake suddenly. If you are sliding or drifting, gently turn your steering wheel in the direction of your slide. Tranquil weather expected in Tucson Tucson will follow the warming trend with above-average temperatures accompanied by light clouds and afternoon breezes expected over the weekend and into late next week. Friday and Tuesday will see the highest temperatures in Tucson and the surrounding desert regions, with the high on Friday forecast at 82 degrees and the high on Tuesday expected to reach 83 degrees, according to NWS Tucson. Saturday and Sunday were expected to be particularly breezy, with the strongest winds focused east of Tucson as a slight weather front moves over the area. Conditions will remain dry and warm throughout through the weekend, slight chances of rain are possible in areas north of Tucson, though they are not likely. Wednesday will bring a chance of rain, cooler temperatures and winds as a winter weather front moves over the state's lower desert region. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Warming Arizona weather increases flood risks in parts of state Along Colombia's Caribbean coast, discover the buzz of Cartagena, see the wild beaches of the Magdalena region, and explore the region's rich Indigenous history. Sofia Jaramillo A surfer catches waves near Casa Bambu. I floated on my back in the lapis-blue pool at Casa Bambu Tayrona, a hotel in the Magdalena region of Colombias Caribbean coast, searching for the North Star in the equatorial sky. A chorus of frogs and toads sang in the surrounding jungle as my husband joined me in the water. The pool, like the eight thatched-roof cabins around us, was elevated just a few feet above the forest floor, where blue crabs nestled amid the bamboo roots. In the distance, I could hear waves crashing on the beach. With a splash, our teenage daughter dove into the pool. I remembered myself at her age, when, in the 1990s, I first began to examine my heritage. I had always been embarrassed that I was born in Colombia, that my father was from the South American country infamous for its civil war, drug cartels, domestic terrorism, and kidnappings. I grew up with an American mother in Minnesota, where my surname prompted probing questions and my classmates teased me about cocaine and coffee. When I first returned to visit my father in 1995, Colombia was one of the most dangerous countries on earth. Now at Casa Bambu, amid the banana trees and birds-of-paradise, the only threats were the strong currents at the beach and the three caimans said to live in the river behind the hotel. Placards near the riverbanks warn guests to avoid the area, but when we asked the hotel manager if anyone had been attacked, she said ominously, but with a smile Not yet. Sofia Jaramillo From left: A doorman at Sofitel Legend Santa Clara Cartagena, built as a convent in 1621; a view of the pool at Sofitel Legend Santa Clara. Today, these natural wonders (or dangers, depending on your perspective) are attracting travelers to the area, a five-hour drive from Cartagena. The four-year-old Casa Bambu sits in the jungle at the foot of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains. Its one of a handful of resorts that have popped up to cater to ecotourists visiting Tayrona National Natural Park, a five-minute drive away. The park 60 square miles of protected mangrove swamps, rain forest, and tropical beaches is home to animals like howler monkeys, poisonous dart frogs, and jaguars. Story continues Even in the tropical heat, a chill went up my spine. I was ready to rediscover my country, too. Our local guide, Cristian Sierra, a tall, 30-something Costeno (the local expression for a person from the coast), said he credits the 2016 peace accords, which won then president Juan Manuel Santos a Nobel Peace Prize, for addressing the violence and drug trade in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta region. Not all of Colombia has benefited equally from the governments demilitarization efforts some rural and Indigenous communities still suffer unrest. But many places, particularly Cartagena and the more touristed spots along the Caribbean shore, are welcoming places to visit. Now that the region has become safer, the people who live there are experiencing a greater sense of pride in their culture, Sierra noted. Were rediscovering our country, he said. Even in the tropical heat, a chill went up my spine. I was ready to rediscover my country, too. Sofia Jaramillo From left: Tour guide Victor Alfonso Miranda Salgado, in San Basilio de Palenque; traditional drums at the studio of Kombilesa Mi, a well-known band from San Basilio de Palenque. Colombia is made up of six regions, their borders naturally formed by mountains, rivers, and jungle. Each area has its own distinct culture, ecosystem, and climate. I was born in Popayan, a southern city in the Andes; this was the first time my family and I had explored the northern coast along the Caribbean Sea. After waking to the sound of the sea the next morning, we were served a substantial but slow breakfast poolside at Casa Bambu so slow, in fact, that Sierra, who had come to take us on an excursion, had to wait while we finished our eggs and arepas, fresh passion-fruit juice, and strong black coffee. This didnt bother him; he told us that this leisurely pace is part of the local culture. At last, we loaded into the van, and our driver headed east on the Troncal del Caribe highway. About 40 minutes later, he stopped at a dirt road that disappeared into the jungle: we were at the entrance to Katanzama, an Arhuaco village. In Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta there are 42 separate communities of Arhuaco, one of the 102 Indigenous groups in Colombia, many of whom live on reservations like Katanzama. We call them the Elder Brothers, Sierra explained, because theyve been in the area for so long. Our guide in Katanzama was Jason Arroyo, who is Arhuaco. A slight man with a trim black beard and soft curls, he was dressed in a traditional white cotton tunic and hat. Like many Colombians, particularly Indigenous people, Arroyo carried a mochila, a traditional bag crocheted in wool or cotton in distinct patterns that vary by region. Sofia Jaramillo From left: Fresh-cooked seafood at Cartagenas open-air Bazurto Market; a hat vendor on Marbella Beach, in Cartagena. I remember, when I was growing up in Minnesota, being embarrassed by the lanolin smell of the scratchy brown wool mochila my mom sometimes carried; now I have one of my own. Unlike mine, though, Arroyos bag was filled with dried coca leaves, which locals legally cultivate and chew. In the same way the Arhuaco people have done for generations, Arroyo dipped a stick into his poporo, a hollowed-out gourd that held crushed seashells, and added it to the leaves in his mouth. Lime from the shells activates the coca, giving a mellow high. It was a reminder that, though the plant has been responsible for so much conflict in Colombia, it remains an important part of Indigenous culture. More Trip Ideas: These Small Towns in Colombia Are Glamping Hot Spots With Igloo-shaped Tents, Refurbished Wagons, and Panoramic Domes Overlooking the Andes Arroyo led us to a field of plantain, yucca, and cocoa (to be one day transformed into milk, dark, or white chocolate), the main crops of the Arhuaco. He explained how the communities live and farm in a sustainable, self-sufficient way just as their ancestors have done for centuries. He talked slowly, a rhythm we were becoming accustomed to. Looking at the slope of Arroyos nose, I wondered if my DNA carried any Indigenous code. After a tour of a handful of homes and meetinghouses in Katanzama, we stopped on the beach under the lacy shade of the Gliricidia trees and snacked on local plums and granola bars while blue waves crashed on the sand. Arroyos wife, also carrying a mochila, showed us how to make a bag. When our needles got tangled in the yarn, she chuckled and unpicked our mistaken stitches. Sofia Jaramillo From left: Decor in the Sofitel Baru Calablancas lobby nods to the nearby National Aviary of Colombia; a guest cools off in the pool at Casa San Agustin, in Cartagena. I felt simultaneously Colombian and American when we arrived at the Sofitel Baru Calablanca Beach Resort, where the attentive staff switched back and forth between addressing me in Spanish and English. My husband, daughter, and I were among the few Americans at the resort. Its one of the newest luxe additions on Isla Baru, a curve of sandy beach that faces Cartagena, which is a breezy 25-minute catamaran ride away. The only other time I had stayed at a South American resort was when my father and his wife took me on a vacation to a small fishing village in Ecuador in the late 1990s. We had been the only guests, and the hotel restaurant had served nothing but fish and eggs at every meal. The beach where my stepmother and I attempted to sunbathe turned out to be a thoroughfare for trucks hauling fish. This mix of magic and legend is what I love about Colombia. Its one thing about this country that hasnt changed and probably never will. Calablanca is nothing like that. We sipped mango mojitos and ate fresh fish tamales at Bahia, the resorts casual beachside restaurant, and ordered room service in our ocean-view suite. When we werent eating, we alternated between the manicured beach and one of three infinity pools. From Isla Baru we drove an hour and a half north to our next hotel, the Sofitel Legend Santa Clara, in the heart of Cartagenas historic center. The district, still known by locals as Cartagena de Indias (named after a port city in Spain), began as a conquistador colony in 1533 and was fortified by seven miles of wall that still stand today. As we approached the hotel, our driver wound through narrow streets and open plazas and between pastel houses with second-floor balconies, every sight a distillation of the neighborhoods colonial history. Sofia Jaramillo A view from a rooftop in Cartagenas historic center. The San Pedro Claver monastery is on the right, and the Bay of Cartagena and modern Bocagrande district are in the distance. The citys architecture may remind travelers especially those with young children of the Disney film Encanto, which has helped spur a shift in the public perception of Colombia. We heard the song We Dont Talk About Bruno blasting out of a house and saw advertising with the characters from the movie. The Colombians we talked with were proud to have their countrys culture, music, food, and landscape represented in popular American culture. Hearing the pride in their voices, I found myself wishing such a film had existed when I was young. The Santa Clara was built as a convent in the 17th century. Now recast as a luxury resort, the building has retained much of its original architectural charm. When it was converted to a hotel in 1995, the initial restoration preserved a crypt that was, the story goes, the inspiration for Nobel Prizewinning author Gabriel Garcia Marquezs novel "Of Love and Other Demons." As we walked into the hotel, a white-suited butler pointed out a wall in the hotels French restaurant, 1621. The room, originally the nuns dining hall, is elegantly appointed and painted gold except for that one wall. No matter how many coats of paint are applied, he told me, mysterious patterns seep through the paint in turquoise splotches like a Rorschach test. As with many things in Colombia, there may be a logical explanation for this or not. Even we dont know whats true anymore, the butler said. This mix of magic and legend is what I love about Colombia. Its one thing about this country that hasnt changed and probably never will. Sofia Jaramillo From left: The beach outside Casa Bambu Tayrona hotel, on the Caribbean Sea; hostess Maria Del Carmen at Restaurante Cande, in Cartagena. That first time I visited my father in Colombia, in 1995, we rode along the Pan-American Highway between the cities of Cali and Popayan. I remember being startled to see towns segregated by race and culture: one would be home to Indigenous people, the next populated solely by Afro-Colombians. Colombias 1991 constitution recognized the country as multicultural, granting territorial and cultural rights to Indigenous and Afro-Colombian groups, a move that was then strengthened by the 2016 peace agreement. These protections, and the physical isolation of many Indigenous and Afro-Colombian towns and reservations, continue to preserve communities like Katanzama, where people live in much the same way as they have for centuries. Related: In Colombia's Eje Cafetero, Coffee Is Just the Beginning On our second to last day, we visited another of these preserved places. San Basilio de Palenque is an Afro-Colombian community about an hour inland from Cartagena. Recognized by unesco on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (a designation that honors living cultural expression), Palenque credits its origins to Benkos Bioho, a 17th-century African leader who escaped his colonial enslavers and established a hidden hamlet in the countryside. In 1713, San Basilio de Palenque was officially recognized as a free town one of the first in the country to be given that title. Sofia Jaramillo From left: Guest cabins at Casa Bambu Tayrona; a waitress delivers cocktails at Sofitel Baru Calablanca Beach Resort. Our Palenquero guide, Nuno Bembele, led us across the hot, dry central plaza, which features a statue of Bioho, his arm stretched eastward toward Africa. Chickens, goats, and children in school uniforms stepped around the construction on the main dirt road that is only now being paved. As we crossed the square, we passed another group of tourists. Were happy when visitors come, Bembele told us. The community of 3,500 has perfected the art of catering to outsiders, who help to support the economy. Women on their verandas waved, greeted Bembele, and worried aloud about my husbands pale complexion in the midday sun. I gazed up at the blue sky beyond the red tiled roofs. Potted plants hung over wooden balconies and trailed across whitewashed walls the scene looked like it could have been the inspiration for the magical house in Encanto. Bembele, along with a drummer and dancer, invited us to stop in the shade for ice water and fresh-cut pineapple. Kumo kusa ta, our hosts taught us to say, in a kind of call-and-response folkloric rap song. How are you? The people of Palenque still speak Palenquero, the traditional local language born from a mix of African and European dialects. They use songs like this to teach both Colombian and international visitors. Kusa ta bien (I am fine), we repeated clumsily. My husband and daughter took turns attempting the drumming patterns of the chalupa, an upbeat traditional rhythm. Our hosts laughed along with us or maybe at us. Before we left Palenque, we met two healers who gave us a lesson on medicinal plants and herbs, then served us shots of a strong homemade tonic made with rum. They sold us beaded bracelets, which they blessed with drops of scented oil, which they said promised safety, good luck, and long life. I didnt mind exchanging a few pesos for a little Colombian magic. Sofia Jaramillo Salad and the fish of the day (red snapper) at Sofitel Baru Calablanca. That afternoon, we arrived at our last hotel of the trip, Casa San Agustin, also in Cartagena. I plunged into the L-shaped pool and skimmed through the water, rinsing away the heat of the day. The pool is located in a courtyard between what had been three 17th-century homes built for wealthy colonial families, and as I floated on my back, I gazed up at the blue sky beyond the red tiled roofs. Potted plants hung over wooden balconies and trailed across whitewashed walls the scene looked like it could have been the inspiration for the magical house in Encanto. Later, we ate at the hotels award-winning Alma restaurant, where we ordered cocktails made with dark rum and coconut and scooped up tangy ceviche with plantain chips. Cartagena comes alive when the sun sets, and after dinner we wandered through the narrow streets. Near the Plaza de Bolivar, we joined a crowd watching a group of buskers breakdance under the yellow streetlights. My daughter stopped in a shop to buy a locally made white cotton sundress and her own brown mochila. Shes proud of her Colombian heritage. And so am I. See Colombias Caribbean Side Where to Stay Casa Bambu Tayrona: This peaceful, eight-cabin property is surrounded by tropical foliage and located two miles from the entrance to Tayrona National Natural Park. Casa San Agustin: The architecture at this sophisticated boutique hotel in Cartagena includes 17th-century frescoes and exposed-beam ceilings. Sofitel Baru Calablanca Beach Resort: On the Isla Baru peninsula, 187 rooms face the Caribbean Sea. Perks include four pools and a childcare center. Sofitel Legend Santa Clara Cartagena: With impeccable service, colonial-style decor, and a rare full-size pool, this is the largest and oldest hotel in Cartagenas historic center. Where to Eat Alma: One of the best restaurants in Cartagena. Try the fish-and-coconut-milk ceviche and the short ribs posta negra cartagenera, which are marinated in a sweet, dark sauce. Bururake Parrilla Fusion: At this casual, weekend-only spot in the town of Minca, in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains, cooks whip up local dishes like lomo tamarindo (pork tenderloin with tamarind sauce) in an open-air kitchen. Restaurante Cande: In Cartagena, this place serves upscale cuisine and cocktails and has live music and folk dancers performing among the tables. How to Book Amakuna: Helmed by T+L A-List travel advisor Boris Seckovic, this Medellin-based agency can arrange itineraries that include a tour of La Victoria Cafeteria, a working coffee farm in Minca; a visit to the town of San Basilio de Palenque; or a walking tour of Cartagena. A version of this story first appeared in the March 2023 issue of Travel + Leisure under the headline "Thicker Than Water." For more Travel & Leisure news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on Travel & Leisure. Its one of aviations greatest mysteries. On March 8, 2014, an everyday commercial aircraft took off from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing only to vanish off radar screens. So, did they ever find Malaysian Airlines Flight 370? And if not, what are the prominent theories surrounding its disappearance? Its the subject of Netflixs MH 370: The Plane That Disappeared documentary, which debuted nine years after the Boeing 777 seemingly dropped off the face of the earth with 12 crew members and 227 passengers onboard. A multi-national investigation into the incident was launched and the streaming giant interviewed aviation journalists and online sleuths to deliver their opinions. More from StyleCaster Did They Ever Find Malaysian Airlines Flight 370? Did they ever find Malaysian Airlines Flight 370? The bulk of the planes hull has never been found but pieces of debris that washed up on an Australian beach in October 2020 were believed to be pieces of MH370. Parts of the wreckage have also been found on African coastlines and Islands in the Indian Ocean. In January 2023, British aerospace engineer Richard Godfrey completed an analysis of such debris and confirmed it to be pieces of the missing plane. Click here to read the full article. The Plane That Disappeared. Courtesy of Netflix The location of where the piece of debris was found in Antsiraka Beach in Madagascar, where a total of 20 items of floating debris from MH370 have been found in Madagascar and 4 on the same Antsiraka Beach, confirms the likelihood that this new item of floating debris is also from MH370. Out of the items washed ashore in Madagascar and officially analyzed, six items have been determined to be almost certain, highly likely or likely from MH370 by the authorities, he said per Airline Ratings.com. Story continues Considering that MH370 (aircraft registered as 9M-MRO) ended its flight in the South Indian Ocean, the location of this recent find is consistent with the drift path modeling produced by the University of Western Australia (UWA) and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). This suggests that the part is likely from MH370 given that the likelihood of it originating from another source is quite remote. What happened to Malaysian Airlines Flight 370? What happened to Malaysian Airlines Flight 370? Unfortunately, its likely well never know for sure. The plane took off from Kuala Lumpur at 12.41 am local time and around three minutes later, it lost all contact with traffic control. Officials say the planes transponder was turned off over the South China Sea. The last voice contact was at 1:19 am Malaysian time and at 2:22 am, about 230 miles from Penang, it disappeared. Cyndi Hendry, who worked for Tomnod, a satellite imagery company, says in the Netflix series that she was randomly assigned satellite imagery by Tomnod. The satellite images were empty. It was just the blackness of the sea. Then you press next, more black scans. So much black. And then finally, theres something white, she said. In the Netflix documentary, there are three prevailing theories. The first, and a theory held by the then-Prime Minister of Australia Tony Abbott, was that pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah committed a mass-murder suicide by taking the plane down into the Indian Ocean. (Australia led the hunt for the missing jet but ended it in 2017 after it proved unsuccessful.) Good night, Malaysia 370, Shah told air traffic controllers as they ready to relay communications duties to the Vietnamese. Those were his final words before the plane lost all radar contact less than two minutes later. The docu-series takes another look at the evidence found on Shahs computer in 2016, which showed that hed done a simulation of the planes suspected flight path a mere month before MH370 took off. Its not exactly a smoking gun, though. The Plane That Disappeared. Courtesy of Netflix Its very odd you would have a simulation end with fuel exhaustion in the Southern Indian Ocean, Mike Exner of Independent Group, a watchdog of aviation experts that was established to figure out the flights final moments, admitted to the New York Post in March 2023. I dont think taking the simulator data by itself proves a whole lot The simulator data is not the whole puzzle, its just one piece in the puzzle that fits. Aviation journalist Jeff Wise, whose theories on the missing flight were considered controversial among experts, said the Shah suicide theory would require an aggressive and sophisticated plot to overpower and lock his co-pilot out of the cockpit and cut radar communications. The final report on MH370 found that there is no evidence to suggest any recent behavioral changes for the [pilot]. The second theory is that Russian hijackers took control of the plane. Journalist Jeff Wise suggested in the Netflix show that three Russian passengers were seated close to an electrical hatch and managed to create a distraction so that they could take over the plane. Malaysia Airlines former crisis director, Fuad Sharuji, doesnt see the theory as credible. Anyone who gets into the hatch can disable the transponder and disable the communications systems, Sharuji said. But it is impossible to fly the aircraft from the avionics compartment. The final theory is that the United States had something to do with the tragedy but obviously, its just a theory. The plane was apparently carrying a huge amount of electronics and the idea is that the American military shot it down in a bid to seize the equipment which was bound for Chinaa diplomatic rival. French journalist Florence de Changy says MH370 had 2.5 tons of electronic devices on board. Its public knowledge that China was very eager to acquire highly sensitive US technology in the field of surveillance, stealth, drone technology, she said. This could be at the heart of what happened to MH370. Harry Hewland, the producer of the Netflix documentary on MH370, says, More than anything, we want to pull the hidden truths about MH370 out from the carpet under which theyve been swept, and remind people that this is still a story with no ending, a mystery that hasnt been solved, that somebody out there knows more than the world has been told. MH370: The Plane That Disappeared is available to stream on Netflix. Did They Ever Find Malaysian Airlines Flight 370? Good Night Were The Pilots Chilling Last Words To Air Traffic Control Richard Quest, CNNs Aviation Correspondent, was one of the leading journalists covering the story. In a coincidence, Quest had interviewed one of the two pilots a few weeks before the disappearance. It is here that he begins his gripping account of those tense weeks in March, presenting a fascinating chronicle of an international search effort, which despite years of searching and tens of millions of dollars spent has failed to find the plane. Buy: Buy The Vanishing of Flight MH370 $17.20+ Our mission at STYLECASTER is to bring style to the people, and we only feature products we think youll love as much as we do. Please note that if you purchase something by clicking on a link within this story, we may receive a small commission from the sale. Best of StyleCaster Three years ago this week, millions of people across Oregon and the world were united in outrage at a group of vandals caught on camera knocking down a famous rock formation on the Oregon Coast. Known as The Duckbill and The Pedestal, the sandstone hoodoo skyrocketed to fame on Instagram but had been a major attraction as far back as the 1930s and 1940s at Cape Kiwanda in Pacific City. Long before the Internet or social media, pictures of that rock were used by tourism companies to show people how beautiful the Oregon Coast was, Oregon Parks and Recreation Department spokesman Chris Havel said. But the rock was also located in one of the deadliest spots in Oregon. At least 18 people died on the unstable cliffs of Cape Kiwanda between 1960 and 2016. And despite a fence, signs and even a park ranger, people continued to flood into the dangerous area, often to visit the rock, until the day it was knocked down. Which makes the anniversary of the Duckbills toppling an awkward occasion. Since it was knocked down, there have been zero deaths, fewer rescues and not as many people traveling into the dangerous area, officials said. But to praise those who destroyed a centuries-old rock formation is also unthinkable. Nobody should ever change the landscape preserved at a park we dont see any silver lining in their actions, Havel said of the vandals, who were never caught. That said, now that its gone, there is less temptation to hop the fence and go into a dangerous area to get that picture you saw online. Thats just an honest reality. Heartbreak, again and again, at Cape Kiwanda Twice each year, Kari Owens returns to Cape Kiwanda to visit her daughter, Megan. Its almost 300 miles from her home in Marysville, Wash. to Pacific City, but Owens makes the trip each February and August to commemorate specific dates. The August trip is for Megans birthday. The February trip is for the anniversary she died at 17 years old. Story continues We have a grave site at home for daily things, Kari Owens says. But I go to Cape Kiwanda because thats where she is they never found her body. Thats where I feel at peace. The death of Megan Owens, and a few weeks later David Lopez of Woodburn, marked a heart-wrenching milestone at Cape Kiwanda. Seven people died in two years after falling or being trapped on the parks unstable sandstone cliffs between 2014 and 16. Almost all were teenagers. Among the dead was 17-year-old Slick Rick Nelson of Sprague High School. A popular football player, hed left a bonfire on the beach, climbed up the cape with friends and passed through the fence. On a cliff edge, Nelson fell backward, dropping hundreds of feet onto the rocks below. At a candlelight vigil in June 2015, Nelsons little sister knelt before a cross, pleading for her brother to come back. You're supposed to take care of me, she screamed. I'm your baby sister. I didn't get to say goodbye. But heartbreak at Cape Kiwanda is nothing new. After Julie Lethin-Keysers son and his girlfriend died at Cape Kiwanda, she took a deep look at the parks history. She was stunned by what she found. This was such a dangerous place from the beginning, Lethin-Keyser said. They should have done more. Visitors stand out on a rock to take in views of Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area. Where they are standing is not illegal, but it is beyond a barrier fence that rangers would prefer visitors to the park not cross. Cape was almost a nuclear power plant There are two main reasons Cape Kiwanda became a state park: it was a death trap during the 1960 and 70s; and Oregonians didnt want it turned into a nuclear power plant. Some backstory: Cape Kiwanda was previously owned by a McMinnville banker named Barney McPhillips, but people frequently trespassed onto the cape. By the 1960s, there were major problems. Eleven people died at the cape from 1960 to 72, according to newspaper archives. The sandstone cliffs at Cape Kiwanda are gradually being eroded, piece by piece, by ocean waves. It leads to cliffs giving way, and waves snatching visitors and pulling them into the ocean. It was such a dangerous place McPhillips could have been sued for owning an attractive nuisance a doctrine that says a landowner may be held liable for injuries to children trespassing on the land, if the injury is caused by something likely to attract them. Views of Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area, a state park in Pacific City, Oregon. The 185-acre site was acquired by purchase and by a gift from B. A. McPhillips in 1973 and is a popular destination for locals and tourists. Seven people have died falling into the ocean and onto the rocks since 2009 prompting park officials to put up fencing around the area while preserving great views from established viewpoints. He was ready to sell. But Oregon State Parks was not excited about taking it on because it was such a dangerous place that had already been the site of numerous tragedies, said John Lilly, who worked on the issue in the 1970s. And so, one idea considered was using the land for a nuclear power plant. Believe it or not, it's true, Lilly said. In those days, Pacific City at the Cape wasn't much more than sand, beach grass and shore pine not much development. Obviously, many folks were stunned at the idea of the Cape being despoiled by a nuke. Pressure mounted to make the cape a park, and by 1973 it became Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area. One of Lillys tasks was designing a system that would limit the danger. He helped design the first fence and signs at the Cape that attempted to keep people back from the most dangerous places. Overall, it worked well; fatal accidents decreased. But the unstable geology of the Cape made upkeep of the fence difficult. Drifting sand would cover it up and knock it down, he said. Eventually, the fence was moved back, specifically to block access to a beautiful but deadly sandstone feature known as The Punchbowl. But the moved-back fence made it feel as though visitors were being kept from the best views, and over the years the fence was ignored more often, officials said. Even so, Pacific City was a sleepy town. It wasnt on the radar of most Oregonians. The perfect storm targets Duckbill By most accounts, the perfect storm on Oregons public lands began around 2013. Fueled by the states population boom and focused by the rise of social media, massive numbers began flooding to Oregons most beautiful places at unpredicted numbers. From Smith Rock to Opal Creek, Jefferson Park to Silver Falls, Blue Pool to Oneonta Gorge to the Grove of the Titans, the same pattern emerged: places with the most dramatic scenery were slammed by record-breaking waves of people. If the location made for a great picture on Instagram or Facebook, it was quickly overrun. And it didnt take long for social media to discover the Duckbill Rock. A natural rock pedestal above the sweep of ocean, the rock was an ideal place to pose for a picture. It was the perfect spot for the growing engagement photos in nature industry that grew from Instagram. The fence still blocked access to the Duckbill, but by that time it was widely ignored by every demographic, from parents with young children to thrill-seeking teenagers who took pictures literally hanging from the capes cliffs. The beach and cape also developed a reputation as a party spot that included a beer tree where people, often drunk, attempted to place a beer on a tree hanging over the cliffs. Across most of Oregon, when a place was overrun it resulted in the familiar loved to death lament. But at Cape Kiwanda people actually began dying. Five people died in eight months. Numerous rescue operations were required, sometimes costing $106,000 per incident when the U.S. Coast Guard was called in. Why were children dying? In the aftermath of the deaths, a number of theories were floated over what was happening. The main one: teenagers take risks. The average age of the people dying was 19, a group most likely to ignore signs of danger. I dont know if you could ever do enough, because young adults are going to be young adults theyre dangerous and take risks, Kari Owens said. You can do more to keep people out, but if they want to be dangerous, theyre going to do it. I dont know what type of fence you could build to keep them out. Views of Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area, a state park in Pacific City, Oregon. The 185-acre site was acquired by purchase and by a gift from B. A. McPhillips in 1973 and is a popular destination for locals and tourists. Seven people have died falling into the ocean and onto the rocks since 2009 prompting park officials to put up fencing around the area while preserving great views from established viewpoints. Lethin-Keyser, who lost her son Sean Yamaguchi, 22, and his girlfriend, Elise Dickey, 18, saw something different. That fence was rotten and didnt stop anybody, and nobody paid attention to those brown informative signs, she said. On the other hand, there was an ant-trail of 200 people going past the fence every day, people drinking and partying and camping out there. They just let it happen at this place with a history of being incredibly dangerous. And then they turn around and blame the kids. Lethin-Keyser said officials didnt take enough action, even after the deaths. She said she had to bring up a lawsuit just to get officials to cut down the beer tree. Even after Oregon State Parks added a ranger to patrol the fence, some commercial photographers still ignored warnings because their clients had paid money and traveled a long distance to get that perfect shot of them kissing atop the Duckbill Rock. Death of the Duckbill Rock The story that brought Cape Kiwanda to a national audience was a group of around eight people who decided to knock down the Duckbill Rock on Aug. 29, 2016. David Kalas told KATU News he was helping a friend film parts of the coast with his drone when they noticed a group pushing the pedestal down. He started recording just as they managed to knock it down. "I asked them, you know, why they knocked the rock down, and the reply I got was: their buddy broke their leg earlier because of that rock," Kalas told KATU. "They basically told me that it was a safety hazard, and that they did the world or Oregon a favor." Kalas says once they toppled the rock, they stood on the crumbled sandstone, snapped a few pictures and left. "They were just standing on top of the rubble of the rock, laughing, smiling, giggling," he told the news station. "I just want them to learn a lesson you know, because if they do this here they will probably do it elsewhere." The story went viral. Headlines appeared in CNN, NPR and the New York Times about the incident. Punks Who Destroyed Oregon's Most Romantic Coast Rock Asked to Give Themselves Up, wrote Willamette Week. 18-Million-year-old rock formation in Oregon destroyed by vandals, wrote The Vintage News. Police investigation fizzles One thing everybody seemed to agree upon, in the wake of the Duckbills death, was that the vandals would be brought to justice. They were, after all, caught on camera. But the investigation by Oregon State Police didnt lead anywhere. After six months, police said theyd exhausted all their information. Documents from the investigation, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, include two interviews. In one, a person whod posted on social media that they knew who knocked over the rock, told police the post was pure sarcasm to one of his friends and that he does not know who the suspects are, even though he posted that he knew them, according to a police report. Based on my interview, I believed (the person) was being honest, the police report said. A second interview went much the same way. There were a handful of names and notes and perhaps more from the Clackamas County Sheriffs Office but apparently not enough to go on. (The detective) exhausted quite a bit of leads and interviewed people who had reported knowing who the video was from and no solid information was obtained, Lt. Cari Boyd told KOIN 6 News. Parks rerouting fence, planning viewing platform Even as the number of people visiting Cape Kiwanda continues to rise, safety has improved at the park, according to multiple interviews. No deaths, and fewer rescue operations, said James Oeder, division chief for Nestucca Rural Fire Protection District. It has improved drastically," Oeder said. The changes that Oregon Parks made in having rangers out there made a big difference. Each of the last three summers, two rangers have patrolled the fence, warning people who cross the fence about the areas danger. It would be exceedingly complex to make it illegal to travel beyond the fence, parks spokesman Havel said, due to public access laws on Oregon beaches. We prefer to inform people of the dangers and leave it up to them to make a good choice, Havel said. If we tried to close every place that might be dangerous, wed have a very different parks system, and Im not sure its one Oregonians would enjoy. Next, officials are planning a re-route of the fence that allows people to get better views. That should be completed in the next year. The next phase of the project would include adding a viewing platform to a place that offers the best views, within the area currently fenced off. So did the death of Duckbill make Cape Kiwanda safer? Nobody interviewed for this story said knocking the Duckbill Rock over was a good thing. And yet. I dont condone it, but I do think it keeps people from being enticed by it and theres no photographers taking people out there, Lethin-Keyser said. Id also like to know more about the people who knocked it down. Maybe they were the family of someone who died there. Havel, with state parks, added: Were never happy about vandalism full stop. But its honest to acknowledge that maybe, in some way, it did keep someone from jumping a fence and getting in trouble. Ultimately, the problems are not solved. Cape Kiwanda is more popular than ever. People still ignore the fence. And people are still posting photos from the dangerous area on Instagram. A fatal accident could happen again. But Havel said he thought there had been a shift. For a few years it felt like people were treating the area as a playground, Havel said. You get the sense that maybe thats changed. That maybe people realize, 'Hey, getting that picture isnt worth dying for.' Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter, photographer and videographer in Oregon for 11 years. To support his work, subscribe to the Statesman Journal. Urness is the author of Best Hikes with Kids: Oregon and Hiking Southern Oregon. He can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on Twitter at @ZachsORoutdoors. This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Did vandalism of famed Duckbill Rock make Cape Kiwanda a safer place? Tina Husted hugs Tamia Woods, whose 17-year-old son, James, died by suicide after he became a sextortion victim. Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, left, held a press conference Thursdayon the Social Media Parental Notification Act at Educational Service Center of Northeast Ohio in Independence. Portage County Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski stands at back and Woods' husband, Tim Woods, is behind Tina Husted and Woods. Less than four months after she and her husband lost their 17-year-old son, James, to suicide, Tamia Woods said they aren't backing down from the sextortion schemers who drove him to take his own life. "These evil people, they want you to be embarrassed, they want you to be ashamed and they want us to hide and not tell the story of our children and how they victimize our children every day," she said. "We lost our everything. We have no reason to stand here, because our son is gone. Or so they thought. We going to keep fighting." Streetsboro residents Tim and Tamia Woods, whose 17-year-old son, James, died by suicide in November after a sextortion incident., share their experience Thursday during a press conference about the proposed Social Media Parental Notification Act. Her husband, Tim Woods, said the impact of what happened is still with them. "My wife and I are now left with a big void that can never be filled," he said. "We lost our only child to a predator who only wanted money. That's all they wanted was money. Nothing else. They didn't care who they hurt or how that person got hurt." The Woods were at a press conference Thursday organized by Lt. Gov. Jon Husted's office to support the proposed Social Media Parental Notification Act. The proposed state law part of Gov. Mike DeWine's 2023-24 executive budget presented to the Ohio General Assembly in late January would require social media companies to obtain verifiable parental consent before permitting minors under the age of 16 to use their platforms. It is designed to be a tool to combat the epidemic of sextortion, with juveniles like James Woods, a Streetsboro High School student, often targeted. Lt. Governor Jon Husted talks with Tamia Woods, whose 17-year-old son, James, died by suicide in November after he was a victim of sextortion. Sextortion typically involves an adult pretending to be the same age of a younger victim to get them to share explicit photos or videos of themselves. Common avenues for these scams are social media, dating apps and chat forums. "These unsuspecting victims are then threatened with vast exposure of their photos if they do not send money to the perpetrator," State Rep. Gail Pavliga, who represents Portage County, said during the press conference at the Educational Service Center of Northeast Ohio in Independence. "These fraudsters will also threaten to harm people's families and further psychological abuse through social media." Story continues State Rep. Gail Pavliga speaks in support of state efforts to protect youth on social media. Thousands of juveniles become victims of sextortion Cases of sextortion are on the rise locally and nationwide. A 23-year-old Kent man pleaded guilty and was recently sentenced in Portage County Court of Common Pleas to 24 years in prison for threatening minors around the world if they did not continue sending him photos and videos of themselves. He has since asked the Ohio 11th District Court of Appeals to review his sentence. Streetsboro police say Woods was one of three sextortion victims in the city who have been targeted. The most recent was a Streetsboro Middle School student who reported to his mother on Monday that he had been threatened out of $200 in gift cards by someone posing as a girl who he had been in contact with through an app. His mother then called police. "It warms my heart," said Tamia Woods. "A lot of people may have looked at that and said, 'why did he do that? Did he hear about James?' But the great thing about that is he heard about James. Yes, he made a mistake. He did. But he remembered James' story. James' awareness. The parents may have heard James' story. they knew what to do. I don't know exactly what came out from all of that, but us making awareness, it makes a difference. He is still here today, don't you know that? It's a wonderful day. He is still here today." During the press conference, Portage County Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski said that law enforcement is in its infancy in dealing with the issue. "Four months ago, I hadn't even heard of sextortion," he said. Portage County Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski talks about the growing threat of sextortion as Streetsboro residents Tim and Tamia Woods listen. The Woods' 17-year-old son died by suicide after he became a sextortion victim last year. He said the challenge in dealing with sextortion is that perpetrators could be local but often are outside the country, making bringing them to justice difficult. Zuchowski said the FBI has reported that thousands of juveniles have been victims of sextortion, more than a dozen of whom including James died by suicide. "This heinous crimes needs to be exposed by as many people as possible," he said. 'Worst day of my life' Tim and Tamia Woods spoke about their son, who ran track in school and was planning to go to college. "He grew up his whole childhood as a happy, jubilant person," said Tim. "He was friendly, kind, you know, went to school every day, didn't cause troubleEveryone loved him, neighbors, old, young, white black, whoever. He got along with everyone." Streetsboro residents Tim and Tamia Woods, whose 17-year-old son, James, died by suicide in November after becoming a sextortion victim, appear with Lt. Governor Jon Husted during a press conference Thursday on the proposed Social Media Parental Notification Act. But then one night, James started communicating with someone over Instagram. The person began demanding money. James then went into "panic mode," said Tim. "We get home, he's talking to us like normal. Nothing came up, we didn't notice anything," his dad recalled. Tim spoke to his son before going to work the next morning. James' college plans dominated the conversation. Tim then went to work. He said he now believes James had been up all night stressing over what was happening. "Time goes by, I get home from work and I found out," said Tim, who paused a moment before continuing. "I found out that day, Nov. 19, turned out to be the worst day of my life. I had to grab my phone and call my wife and let her know what I had found when I got home. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done." Streetsboro resident Tamia Woods talks about her 17-year-old son, James, who died by suicide last year after he became a sextortion victim. She and her husband, Tim, are trying to raise awareness about the growing online threat to juveniles. In the months since, the Woods have started the Do It For James Foundation as an effort to educate people about sextortion. Do It For James Foundation Donations "We are going to continue to fight," said Tamia. "We are going to continue to make our parents aware and the children aware. We are talking directly to the children" After James' death, it was discovered he had received some 200 messages over less than 20 hours that apparently wore him down, she said. "We thought that we had a wonderful relationship, that no matter what, James would come to us in his time of need and these evil people tormented his brain, made him stay up all night and told him the most hideous things to make him believe otherwise," she said. She said children must me made to speak up and not feel ashamed when they are victimized. "Parents, you guys get the privilege to know what sextortion is," she said. "We unfortunately had to find out after our son's death. Please don't question why they have done something so stupid. We all have. Talk to them. Make them aware of what these people are doing to them and give them tools to proceed." Streetsboro resident Tamia Woods, whose 17-year-old son, James, died by suicide in November after a sextortion incident, answers a question from the media on Thursday during a press conference about the Social Media Parental Notification Act. What is in the Social Media Parental Notification Act? The proposed new law would impact social media and online gaming/activity companies such as Facebook (Meta), Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, etc. It would not include e-commerce online shopping sites. Companies would be required to create a splash page that verifies the user's age and obtains the necessary consent from a parent or guardian. They must then send written confirmation to parents to ensure children are not circumventing the system. If parents do not OK the terms of service, the companies would have to bar the kids from their apps. Under the proposed legislation, companies would be required to: Create a method to determine whether the user is a child under the age of 16. Obtain verifiable parental or legal guardian consent. Send written confirmation of the consent to the parent or legal guardian. If a parent or legal guardian fails or refuses to consent to the terms of service, the company would be required to deny access or use of the online website, service, product, or feature by the juvenile. Lt. Governor Jon Husted speaks during a press conference on the Social Media Parental Notification Act with Portage County Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski and Streetsboro residents Tim and Tamia Woods, whose 17-year-old son, James, died by suicide. If the Ohio General Assembly passes it and DeWine signs it into law, companies would have 90 days to comply. The process would apply only to new account creation, but a Husted spokeswoman said in February that he is open to ideas on how active accounts could be reviewed. "Tina and I, we have teenage daughters," said Husted, referring to his wife standing next to him during the press conference. "We see what's happening in that world today. We see how vulnerable kids are." "All of this is born out of love," said Tina Husted. "We love our kids." Husted said enforcement would be through criminal penalties against the companies, but he hopes they will cooperate and work with the state. Pavliga said her office will quickly have a proposed bill prepared. "This is a bipartisan issue," she said. But Husted and Pavliga said the effort is still a work in progress. Husted said he is open to changes, such as increasing the age parental permission is required to under 18. He also said that the verification process could be tweaked, including for dealing with the question of what happens if a juvenile under 16 claims to be older. Husted said he wants to see a compromise between something effective, but not burdensome. "All ideas are welcome," said Husted. "It's a problem that we need to look at and we look forward to working for solutions with the general assembly and the public in general and moms and dads and law enforcement to help us come up with the right answers." The USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau contributed to this story. Reporter Jeff Saunders can be reached at jsaunders@recordpub.com. This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Parents of Streetsboro sextortion victim who died by suicide speak out This photo taken on March 9, 2023 shows a freight train heading for Yiwu of China in Madrid, Spain. A freight train loaded with 70 standard containers of Spanish goods, including red wine and olive oil, departed from Madrid and headed for Yiwu on Thursday. The commemoration trip came as Thursday marked the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Spain.(Xinhua/Meng Dingbo) HANGZHOU, March 9 (Xinhua) -- A China-Europe train carrying 100 standard containers of China-made small commodities and ceramic products left Yiwu, a major hub of small commodities in east China's Zhejiang Province, for Madrid, Spain, Thursday. On the same day, a train loaded with 70 standard containers of Spanish goods, including red wine and olive oil, departed from Madrid and headed for Yiwu. The commemoration trips came as Thursday marked the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Spain. The freight train service between Yiwu and Madrid has facilitated trade between the two countries. The train service from Yiwu to Madrid was officially launched in November 2014, spanning eight countries in Eurasia with a total length of more than 13,000 kilometers. Wang Wen, executive dean of the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at the Renmin University of China, said the train service from Yiwu to Madrid has become a carrier of economic and trade cooperation and cultural exchanges between countries along the railway and has built a new bridge for opening and cooperation between countries and peoples along the line. Zhou Xufeng, who is engaged in the import business of Spanish wine and olive oil in the Yiwu International Trade Market, said that over the years, the varieties of imported Spanish products have expanded from wine and olive oil to soft drinks, daily necessities, biscuits, and mineral water, and the prices are more than 30 percent lower. "Some 1.5 million bottles of red wine are shipped from Spain through the China-Europe freight train service every year," Zhou said. Feng Xubin, chairman of the freight train service operator Yiwu Tianmeng Industrial Investment Co., Ltd., said since 2014, the freight train travel time from Yiwu to Madrid has been shortened, and the number of freight trains has been increased from one to two per week. Feng said railway transport is more environmentally friendly and flexible for customized products. It is faster than sea transport and cheaper than air transport. By 2022, China-Europe freight trains had made 1,326 trips between Yiwu and Madrid, carrying more than 100,000 standard containers of goods, according to Yiwu Customs. From 2014 to 2022, Yiwu's trade with Spain increased from 400 million U.S. dollars to 870 million U.S. dollars, local customs data showed. People attend a launching ceremony of a freight train heading for Yiwu of China in Madrid, Spain, March 9, 2023. A freight train loaded with 70 standard containers of Spanish goods, including red wine and olive oil, departed from Madrid and headed for Yiwu on Thursday. The commemoration trip came as Thursday marked the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Spain.(Xinhua/Meng Dingbo) A visitor takes photos of the live streaming screens showing a freight train departing from Yiwu West Railway Station of China in Madrid, Spain, March 9, 2023. A freight train loaded with 70 standard containers of Spanish goods, including red wine and olive oil, departed from Madrid and headed for Yiwu on Thursday. The commemoration trip came as Thursday marked the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Spain.(Xinhua/Meng Dingbo) A freight train heading for Yiwu of China departs from Madrid, Spain, March 9, 2023. A freight train loaded with 70 standard containers of Spanish goods, including red wine and olive oil, departed from Madrid and headed for Yiwu on Thursday. The commemoration trip came as Thursday marked the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Spain.(Xinhua/Meng Dingbo) A freight train departs from Yiwu West Railway Station in Yiwu, east China's Zhejiang Province, March 9, 2023. A China-Europe train carrying 100 standard containers of China-made small commodities and ceramic products left Yiwu, a major hub of small commodities in east China's Zhejiang Province, for Madrid, Spain, Thursday. The commemoration trip came as Thursday marked the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Spain.(Xinhua/Huang Zongzhi) A freight train departs from Yiwu West Railway Station in Yiwu, east China's Zhejiang Province, March 9, 2023. A China-Europe train carrying 100 standard containers of China-made small commodities and ceramic products left Yiwu, a major hub of small commodities in east China's Zhejiang Province, for Madrid, Spain, Thursday. The commemoration trip came as Thursday marked the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Spain.(Xinhua/Huang Zongzhi) A freight train departs from Yiwu West Railway Station in Yiwu, east China's Zhejiang Province, March 9, 2023. A China-Europe train carrying 100 standard containers of China-made small commodities and ceramic products left Yiwu, a major hub of small commodities in east China's Zhejiang Province, for Madrid, Spain, Thursday. The commemoration trip came as Thursday marked the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Spain.(Xinhua/Huang Zongzhi) Editor: WJH The Cochise County Board of Supervisors will hire an outside attorney to defend them against a lawsuit filed by the Attorney General's Office that seeks to block the county from consolidating nearly all of the election duties under the county recorder. The lawsuit filed by Attorney General Kris Mayes named Supervisors Peggy Judd, Tom Crosby and Ann English as defendants, as well as County Recorder David Stevens, and claims the board does not have the legal power to hand over election duties to another elected office. During an emergency meeting in Bisbee on Wednesday, the board voted 2-1 to hire outside legal counsel, with Republican supervisors Judd and Crosby voting in favor and English, the lone Democrat, voting against the move. The county plans to hire Phoenix-based attorney Timothy La Sota, although questions remain about where the money to pay him will come from. La Sota has previously represented Republican candidates, including attorney general candidate Abe Hamadeh and gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, along with various state and county government offices. The board met with the county attorney in a closed-door session before the vote at the emergency meeting. Mayes' lawsuit states that the County Attorney's Office agrees with the attorney general's position, which led the board to seek outside counsel, English said. Related story:Cochise County recorder to run elections, raising concerns about illegal practices County proceeding with election plans Wednesday's meeting came just about two months before a scheduled special election May 16 on an excise tax for a jail district in Cochise County. Despite the lawsuit, and questions about who is in charge of the Elections Department, the county will go ahead with preparations for the election, according to county spokesperson Jane Montgomery. "At the moment we are working on the assumption that we will proceed," she said. The decision to hand election duties to the recorder came at a Feb. 28 meeting, where Crosby and Judd voted to approve the move while English voted against it. Story continues Stevens was to replace former elections director Lisa Marra, who resigned earlier this year citing threats and harassment from the two Republican supervisors and community members. Marra had objected to a controversial full hand count of all ballots in the November election that was passed by the supervisors. Stevens was willing to carry out the hand count. The hand count was blocked by a court ruling. Coverage of southern Arizona on azcentral.com and in The Arizona Republic is funded by the nonprofit Report for America in association with The Republic. Reach the reporter at sarah.lapidus@gannett.com. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Cochise County supervisors hire attorney to defend elections lawsuit Florida Boy, 4, Wandered Off While Father Slept and Drowned in Retention Pond Go Fund Me A 4-year-old boy drowned in Florida last Thursday after wandering away from his father, who was taking a nap. Kash Waylan Hodges died last Thursday after he was found in a retention pond behind Celeste's Pet Spa & Mobile Grooming in Gainesville, where his mother Taychianna Figueroa works, according to CBS affiliate WGFL and ABC affiliate WCJB. The Gainesville Police Department (GPD) says the child wandered out of the business just before 5 p.m., and "walked down to water," where he fell in. Kash and his father had both fallen asleep, but Kash woke up from his nap and ventured outside, per the reports. RELATED: Second Body Found on Texas Beach After Twins, 13, Disappeared While Swimming: 'It Is Some Closure' The boy was unresponsive when crews arrived at the scene just before 5:30 p.m., according to the GPD. Crews attempted to revive the child, but he was pronounced dead about 45 minutes later at Shands Hospital. "No amount of money or materialistic things could ever fix this heartbreak. I can't replace my son," Figueroa said, per WCJB. "I can't think about having another child in his place." Figueroa said she had left Kash with his father last Thursday while she went on her lunch break at work, according to WCJB. When she returned, her son was missing. "His father shot out this front door so quick, so fast, without hesitation, to find our son," she told WGFL. "And we're screaming his name and calling." Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. After a brief search, the parents located their son in the retention pond behind Oakwood Commons Shopping Center, per the reports. Figueroa said her "heart sank" as she watched Kash's father pull the boy from the water, according to WCJB. Kash was transported to Shands Hospital as crews attempted to revive him. Figuroa said a doctor approached her a short time later and told her they were unable to restart her son's heart, according to WGFL. Story continues "I lost it," Figuroa told the outlet. "I grieve that day. I screamed at the top of my lungs, 'Why me?' " RELATED: Carnival Cruise Line Says Passenger Died 'Natural Death' on Its Ship After FBI Said It Was 'Suspicious' Kash had just celebrated his 4th birthday on Valentine's Day, per the reports. The young boy was Figueroa's only child, according to a GoFundMe campaign started by Celeste Gomes, who owns the pet spa business where Figueroa has worked for the last two months. At a vigil on Saturday, Gomes praised Figueroa for being "an awesome mother" and said last Thursday's incident was nothing but a tragic accident, according to WCJB. "I will stand by her with everything," Gomes said, adding, "It breaks my heart because I see this little boy everyday and he blows me kisses, and I won't never see that again." "Beetlejuice" will make its Wisconsin premiere at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center during the 2023-24 season. APPLETON Two touring Broadway musicals will make their Wisconsin premieres when they come to the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center during the upcoming 2023-24 season. It will be the first time Wisconsin audiences get to see "Beetlejuice," coming Dec. 5 to 10, and "TINA The Tina Turner Musical," coming April 16 to 21, 2024. Other shows making their way to Appleton in the coming season include "Les Miserables," "Pretty Woman: the Musical," "Moulin Rouge! The Musical" and "Clue." The full 2023-24 PAC season lineup was announced at an in-person event Monday evening. Each year, the PAC's season includes three series: the Kimberly-Clark Broadway Across America Fox Cities Series, which features touring Broadway shows; the Boldt Arts Alive! Series, which focuses on diverse communities and "a variety of performances that provide a window to the world," according to the PAC's website; and the Spotlight Series, which holds performances in the PAC's smaller, more intimate Kimberly-Clark Theater. "TINA The Tina Turner Musical" will make its Wisconsin premiere when it comes to the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center in April 2024. Maria Van Laanen, president and CEO of the PAC, said the arts center focuses on a theme for its performances each season. The upcoming season's theme is identity. "For the 2023-24 season, all of the performances that make up the Boldt Arts Alive! series, The Spotlight Series, as well as the Kimberly Clark Broadway Across America series, provide an opportunity for us to get glimpses at different parts of the world, different cultures (and) storytelling that all come together to give us an opportunity to really explore the many facets that make up how we define identity," Van Laanen said. The upcoming season will feature performances from groups audience-goers may already be familiar with, like the Fox Valley Symphony Orchestra, as well as new performances the PAC has never seen before, like The Hip Hop Nutcracker, she said. In addition, the PAC's Community First Community Engagement Discussions "will build off of the performances happening on stage" through interactive activities and workshops, Van Laanen said. These discussions are aimed at people of all ages, abilities and interests, according to a PAC news release. Story continues RELATED:'Hamilton' is returning, while 'Aladdin' and 'To Kill A Mockingbird' will make Wisconsin debuts in 2022-23 season at the Fox Cities PAC More:'To Kill a Mockingbird' play is edgy, poignant adaptation of classic novel The current 2022-23 season was the PAC's first season since the pandemic that attendees were not impacted by COVID-19 restrictions. She said the Fox Valley community has been supportive throughout the pandemic and its recovery. In fact, two engagements to come during the current season, "SIX" and "To Kill a Mockingbird," were entirely sold out. "We have seen such a great return from our audiences and we are thrilled to be able to welcome audiences of all sizes," Van Lannen said. "Our area is so supportive of the arts. And you see that at all levels, from how strong the arts programs are in our school, our community arts organizations and what happens here at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center. It's a real testament to that community, and how they live their values through supporting a wide variety of organizations to help us all thrive." Tickets to this season's Boldt Arts Alive! Series and Spotlight Series go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. Tuesday. Tickets for individual shows part of the 2023-24 Kimberly Clark Broadway Across America Fox Cities Series are not yet available, but season tickets can be purchased now online at the PAC's website or by phone at 800-216-7469 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Broadway season ticket packages start at $230 for the five-show package and $275 for the six-show package, which adds "Les Miserables." Starting with the 2023-24 season, season ticket holders will have their ticket packages automatically renewed. Season ticket packages will be renewed March 15, according to the news release. The Fox Cities Performing Arts Center's 2023-24 season lineup "Les Miserables" is one of six shows coming to the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center as part of the 2023-24 Kimberly-Clark Broadway Across America Fox Cities Series. Kimberly-Clark Broadway Across America Fox Cities Series Oct. 24-29, 2023: "Pretty Woman: The Musical" Dec. 5-10, 2023: "Beetlejuice" Feb. 20-24, 2024: "Les Miserables" March 19-24, 2024: "Clue" April 16-21, 2024: "TINA The Tina Turner Musical" June 11-23, 2024: "Moulin Rouge! The Musical" Boldt Arts Alive! Series Sept. 23, 2023: The Rodney Marsalis Philadelphia Big Brass and the Fox Valley Symphony Orchestra Oct. 3, 2023: Step Afrika! Nov. 25, 2023: The Hip Hop Nutcracker Feb. 17, 2024: Jessica Vosk March 14, 2024: San Jose Taiko April 9, 2024: "MOMIX - ALICE" April 13, 2024: Mariachi Herencia de Mexico Spotlight Series Oct. 20, 2023: Jackie Venson Feb. 10, 2024: "The Magic of Kevin Spencer" Feb. 27, 2024: Makin' Cake with Dasha Kelly Hamilton March 8, 2024: Adam Jacobs "Right Where I Belong: Songs of Alan Menken" Contact Kelli Arseneau at (920) 213-3721 or karseneau@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @ArseneauKelli. This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: 'Beetlejuice,' 'TINA' to make Wisconsin premieres at Fox Cities PAC HOLLAND The Michigan Supreme Court has ruled that a 22-year-old man serving a mandatory life sentence for killing a 14-year-old boy in 2019 should be resentenced. Juan Sandro Cabrera is escorted from the courtroom during a recess for his trial on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2019, at 20th Circuit Court in Grand Haven. The order, issued March 6, says Juan Sandro Cabrera should be resentenced by Ottawa County's 20th Circuit Court. Last year, the court ruled automatic life sentences for 18-year-old murderers violated the Michigan Constitution's ban on "cruel or unusual" punishment. More:Supreme Court ruling could mean shorter sentences for Holland area murderers Prosecutors can still pursue life sentences for 18-year-olds, but a judge must hold a hearing where defense lawyers are allowed to present mitigating evidence, such as education, family life, decision-making skills and other factors. "The defendants mandatory sentence of life without parole for first-degree murder, committed when he was 18 years old, is cruel or unusual punishment," per the court's new order. Cabrera, now 22, was 18 when he shot and killed 14-year-old Troy "TJ" Wells in Holland Township in 2019. More:Juan Cabrera convicted of murdering TJ Wells Cabrera was convicted by a jury of first-degree murder, along with felony firearms and gang membership charges. He was automatically sentenced to life in prison on the murder charge and currently resides in the Michigan Department of Corrections Baraga Maximum Facility in the Upper Peninsula. 'Juvenile lifer' back in court In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned automatic life sentences for juvenile murderers. In that decision, prosecutors were able to file for resentencing offenders who fit that definition. Holland murderer Juan Nunez sits with his attorney, Nichole Derks, during his resentencing hearing in Grand Haven on Tuesday, April 23, 2019. Ottawa County's only "juvenile lifer" Juan Nunez, now 42, shot and killed 22-year-old Scott Anderson during a robbery gone wrong at a local restaurant. Nunez was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, as the law required. After the 2016 court ruling, Nunez was granted a resentencing hearing. At the resentencing in 2019, Ottawa County Judge Jon Hulsing heard testimony about the original crime, as well as information about Nunez's behavior while incarcerated. The judge determined Nunez should not be released from prison and resentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Nunez appealed again. In December, the Michigan Supreme Court vacated his life sentence and sent the case back to Ottawa County Circuit Court for resentencing. That case is still ongoing. This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Hampton Inn killer to be resentenced after high court says life without parole 'cruel and unusual' Sue Lohr Adams has a passion for helping veterans. She is a daughter of Harley and Melvey Shope Lohr and sister to Chuck, David, Pam Barker and Peggy Cavallo. Sue grew up going to Wynford Schools, where she was the most valuable player in her junior year of volleyball and held the county record for throwing discus for two years. Sue began volunteering at a young age and worked at Sunset Springs, doing the chores at the campground. Her parents' rules were to get up very early, mow the grass, feed the animals, tend the garden and then you could swim. She graduated from Wynford H. S. in 1975 and began working at the old L and K restaurant, waiting tables from 1976 to1996. Next, she went to work at BPT as their safety and environmental team leader and later as quality team leader, oftentimes on 12-hour shifts for over 24 years until they closed. Sue Adams has been recognized statewide for her efforts to support our veterans. In 2009, after some rough patches in life, Sue met her special friend, Rodney Millington, a veteran of the Vietnam Era. He was active in the Village of Prospects American Legion until he moved to Bucyrus. Millington was then influential in getting Sue active in the American Legion Auxiliary, supporting the needs of over 1,000 members (at that time) of Post 181. Rod passed away in 2020, but Sue is still helping our vets. In 2012 she was selected as one of 10 Outstanding Women of Crawford County, having been recognized for her work with veterans programs and volunteering. She has been poppy chairperson since 2014, under the mentorship of long-time Auxiliary leader Frances Ruth. Frances was an active matriarch of the Legion until she died at age 97. Under her leadership, Unit 181 always collected in excess of $2,000 by donation, and Sue continues achieving that goal today. Sue enjoys planning the casino trips to Columbus to raise money for the Poppy Fund. She arranges for a bus and takes reservations to fill the seats. They start playing games right away, up until and during the return trip home with "weary heads" and empty pockets. Sue and Rod started their Posts annual Memorial Day hog roast over 10 years ago. The Hord Farms donate the hog; the Legion, Sons, and Auxiliary of the Legion cook and serve the free meal to the vets. It also has desserts and picnic-style food for a donation. A fun day for all. Sue started the Bratwurst and Hot Dog Day for the Bucyrus First Fridays, and those proceeds go to worthy causes. She also volunteers for the citys Spooktacular, when the Legion serves 1,000 hot dogs. Its their community project for the city and everyone enjoys it. The kids are really lucky to have such a fun-filled event. Sue remarked she probably wouldnt be doing any of these things without Denny and Alice Teynor, who help prepare the food; both are big supporters at the Legion. Sue also helped serve the brats for the Bicentennial Fly-In at the airport for the City of Bucyrus in 2021. Never done volunteering, Sue also helps with the Units annual patriotic dinner show held upstairs in the Legion each spring. United in Harmony performs as well as many other talented members of the community. The cost is $25 per person and, after the expenses for food, the balance goes to the American Legion Auxiliary Department of Ohio special projects. Now that Sue is semi-retired, she is a server at the Posts canteen, offering breakfast and lunch three days a week and open to the public. She volunteers to make desserts for Friday nights meals, also open to the public in the evening. First Friday Fish Fry is for the Gifts for Yanks and the money goes to the Ohio Veterans Home in Sandusky for their needs. Sue also prepares food for funeral luncheons and helps during other special occasions held at the Legion; good food and desserts such as pumpkin bars, cream puff cake, monkey bread and lots of cookies. The Legion recently sponsored its annual Make & Bake benefit. This years auction helped local veteran Jack Zornes, who is undergoing treatment for acute myeloid leukemia. Sue was proud that her peanut butter bars sold for $35 each. In her spare time, when shes not baking, cooking, or volunteering at the Legion, shes busy doing the same thing at the AMVETS Post 27 in Bucyrus. Sue Adams's delicious baked goods have been sold to raise money in support of local veterans. Sue was nominated for the Colonel Crawford Unit 181s Member of the Year Award at the State of Ohio Convention for her years of volunteerism and committee projects for 2021-22. Before the award, there were little hints from Brandy Robertson and Alice Teynor, causing Sue to be suspicious what was going on. The award was such a big honor, it represented 14 districts in the entire state. She was also named the Central Division Unit Member of the Year at the ALA National Convention in Milwaukee at the end of August. In closing, Sue is thankful for our veterans who give her freedom as well as for all Americans. She is also very thankful for her Legion Family and their friendships. Go online for more of Mary Foxs stories and photos on bucyrustelegraphforum.com. If you are interested in sharing a story, write Mary Fox, 931 Marion Road, Bucyrus, OH 44820 or email littlefoxfactory@columbus.rr.com. This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: The ways Sue Adams supports veterans in Crawford County and beyond The Asian premiere of Soi Cheangs Mad Fate is just one of three locally produced movies that have been set as the opening and closing titles of the upcoming Hong Kong International Film Festival, which runs March 30-April 10. Mad Fate is joined in the festival opening slot on March 30 by Elegies, Ann Huis documentary portrayal of the topography of contemporary local poetry, which will have its world premiere. The closing film, another world premiere, is Vital Sign, a drama directed by Cheuk Wan-chi and starring Louis Koo, Yau Hawk-sau and Angela Yuen, which will wrap up proceedings on April 10. More from Variety In total, the festival has programmed some 200 films from 64 countries and territories. These include nine world premieres, six international premieres and 67 Asian premieres. Mad Fate, an examination of murder, local superstition and the lower depths of society, premiered last month at the Berlin festival in a special section. Cheang will be a major feature of the HKIFF, which will pay tribute to the prolific filmmaker with a previously announced 10-film showcase. He will also hold a masterclass presentation on April 8. The festival is to be held in-person and in its usual calendar slot for the first time since 2019. In recent weeks, the Hong Kong authorities have eased travel restrictions imposed due to the COVID pandemic and from the beginning of this month have dropped the mask mandate from almost all indoor public places. That has made it easier for overseas filmmakers to return to the event. Those confirmed for the fest include Tsai Ming-Liang, who will bring his latest feature, Where, and hold a masterclass with Lee Kang-Sheng following the screenings of his short Where Do You Stand, Tsai Ming-Liang? Story continues The festivals Firebird competition section for young directors working in Chinese is impressive and includes Absence, by mainland Chinese director Wu Lan, which premiered in Berlin; Bad Education, by Taiwanese actor-director Kai Ko; Coo-Coo 043, an already much decorated Taiwan family drama by Chan Ching-lin; Kissing the Ground You Walked on, by Hong Heng-fai; Night Falls, by Chinas Jian Haodong; Stonewalling, by Huang Ji and Otsuka Ryuji; To Love Again, by Gao Linyang; and Tomorrow Is a Long Time, which also appeared in Berlins Gerneration 14-Plus section and is directed by Singapores Jow Zhi Wei. The Firebird international competition is also strong, and includes Berlin hit 20,000 Species of Bees, from Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren, Animalia, by Sofia Alouai, which won the special jury prize in Sundance; David Depressevilles Astrakan; acclaimed Autobiography, by Indonesias Makbul Mubarak; Malika Muisaevas Berlin film The Cage Is Looking for a Bird; Argentinian director Martin Benchimols The Castle; Giacomo Abruzzeses Disco Boy; and Lila Aviles Berlin Ecumenical jury prize winner Totem. 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. Lacey Chabert producing for Hallmark 2022-2023 Lacey Chabert has been a busy bee over at Hallmark in recent months. The actress recently produced and starred in the second trilogy of Wedding Veil movies and then she hopped on a plane to Malta for another exciting adventure. Fans may already know shes filming another dancing movie with The Christmas Waltz co-star Will Kemp, and this week we got a look at the stunning views shes been soaking in while on set. They are impressive. Her selfie game? Not so much. In a new post, Chabert shared a selfie of a glorious morning filming in Malta. (Her Hallmark films really do get shot in stunning locations.) Her new movie is expected to be of the HMM murder variety and reportedly will be called The Dancing Detective: A Deadly Tango. In addition to showing off the sunshine, she commented on her apparent lack of ability to take photos capably for her social media. A post shared by Lacey Chabert (@thereallacey) A photo posted by on I mean, I would not call that selfie on pointe, but at least she has the chutzpah to poke a little fun at herself. Some of her Hallmark pals, former movie co-stars, and GAF defecting pals thought so too and shared their amused takes on her caption. Jen Lilley: Bahahahahaha. Your caption. I was like awww Lacey. Yay! Congrats!! And then finished the caption and died. I love you!! Youre amazing and talented and have the best sense of humor Amanda Seyfried: Doesnt matter- its a perfect shot!! Jonathan Bennett: I agree with that. (About the selfie part). Karen Kruper: Theres GOT to be a selfie training elective somewhere you could enroll in. Even a weekend course. It might really help your career? Lacey Chabert did a little better in her second selfie from the set. This one featured Will Kemp and dancing instructor Christian Millette, both of whom also commented on her post. A post shared by Lacey Chabert (@thereallacey) A photo posted by on Kemp shared a bunch of emojis, Love you guys!! and Millette said he hoped to work with the Hallmark gang again, writing, Thank you so much ! It is such a pleasure working with you. Hopefully not the last time . Story continues Oh and in case all of this wasnt enough of a stunning view of Malta, Chabert also took to her Instagram Stories to share more of the scenery, noting each view is better than the last. Lacey Chabert in Malta for Hallmark Movie with Will Kemp. Lacey Chabert is a big fan of made-for-TV romance, so much so in fact that in recent years she has re-upped her deal with Hallmark to take on a larger role on the producing end, as well as still acting in major roles. Shes also responded to criticism of the cabler's "formula," noting that she and the network are striving to do something a little different each time. In this case, while we've seen her do both mystery movies (See: Crossword Puzzle Mysteries) and a dancing movie (See: The Christmas Waltz) in the past, hopefully there will be enough that's likable and new in this combined dancing mystery that fans will find it refreshing. In the meantime, here's hoping for more selfies, bad or no, from beautiful Malta. US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham questions Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on March 23, 2022. SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images Sen. Lindsey Graham wants to unleash the "fury and might" of the US on Mexico's cartels. Graham says the US needs to destroy cartels because too many Americans have died of fentanyl overdoses. He clarified that he isn't asking the US Army to "invade Mexico." South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham wants the US to unleash its "fury and might" on Mexico's cartels. "We're going to destroy their business model and their lifestyle because our national security and the security of the United States as a whole depends on us taking decisive action," Graham said at a press conference on Wednesday with Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy. Graham said he plans to introduce bipartisan legislation in the coming days, to designate the drug cartels as terrorist organizations. He also said he wants to introduce legislation authorizing the US military to use force to destroy Mexican drug labs. Graham clarified that he isn't asking for the US Army to launch a military attack on Mexico. "Not to invade Mexico, not to shoot Mexican airplanes down, but to destroy drug labs that are poisoning Americans," he said. Graham said he wants to dismantle the Mexican cartels because of the number of people in the US who have died from fentanyl overdoses. "I think John and I believe that if there were an ISIS or Al Qaeda cell in Mexico that lobbed a rocket into Texas, we would wipe them off the planet. They are doing that times thousands and our response is inadequate," Graham added. Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid 50 times stronger than heroin. The majority of the 107,500 lethal drug overdoses recorded in the US in the 12 months ending August 2022 were linked to fentanyl, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In February, the Arizona police found around 30 million potentially lethal doses of fentanyl. The Drug Enforcement Administration said the drug bust came after a three-year investigation into Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel. A spokesman for Graham did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. Read the original article on Business Insider Google Girl Scout cookie season is well under way! And all across the country, people are placing their orders for Thin Mints, Samoas, and those classic shortbread Trefoils. But which Girl Scout cookie has the biggest fan base? To help better understand which cookies rank among the best, Google recently revealed the most searched Girl Scout cookies in every stateand the answer might just surprise you! Francine Orr - Getty Images If you didn't already know, the 2023 Girl Scout cookie season kicked off in January with a brand-new cookie flavor added to the lineup. The Raspberry Rally, which looks like a Thin Mint but has a fruity raspberry flavor, has quickly become a nation-wide favorite. According to The New York Times, the chocolate-coated raspberry-infused cookie is "selling for as much as five times the usual price on the secondary market" after selling out completely online. So, it's no surprise that, according to Google Trends, "Raspberry cookies" are the top trending Girl Scout Cookies in the past week. Looking at data from this past month, Google also found that Adventurefuls are the most searched cookie in 25 states. The brownie-inspired cookies are topped with caramel flavored creme and a hint of sea saltperfect for those who like the balance of sweet and salty in their chocolate desserts! While these two relatively new flavors are making waves, other cookies (including some of the classics) still remain top contenders across the country. Samoas are among the most searched in Idaho, Wyoming, and Alabama; and Girl Scout S'mores are the top searched cookie in Arizona. Take a look at the map and let us know in the comments if you agree with your states pick! Google What are the Girl Scout cookies for 2023? Along with the new Raspberry Rally flavor, the Girl Scout cookies for 2023 include some long-time favorites: Thin Mints Tagalongs (Peanut Butter Patties) Adventurefuls Samoas (Caramel deLites) Toast-Yay! Toffee-tastic Lemon-Ups Trefoils Do-si-dos (Peanut Butter Sandwich) Girl Scout Smores Lemonades Caramel Chocolate Chip Story continues Now that we know which cookies are being sold in 2023, do you know which is the most searched Girl Scout cookie flavor of all time, according to Google? The winner goes to Drum roll please Thin Mints! Where can I buy Girl Scout cookies? Looking to stock up on your favorite Girl Scout cookies is easier than ever. Between January and April, you can find a local troop or booth to buy cookies from and they'll deliver nationwide! Or, text "COOKIES" to 59618 for more ways to buy. And remember, buying boxes (and eating cookies) is for a good cause! You Might Also Like Ronny Mauricio / Rich Storry - USA TODAY Sports The Mets lost to Team Venezuela, 6-4, on Thursday afternoon as their spring training slate continued. Here are the takeaways... - Ronny Mauricio started at shortstop. He drilled an opposite-field double off the left field wall in the fourth inning and had an infield single in the sixth. - Brett Baty pinch-hit in the sixth inning and wasted no time, lining an RBI single to center field. He grounded into a double play his second and last time up. - Mark Vientos went 0-for-3 with a strikeout. - Darin Ruf, who went 0-for-3 earlier this week in his first spring training appearance, grounded out to third base on a 3-0 count his first time up and grounded out to second base his second time up. He drew a walk in his third and final plate appearance. - Drew Smith worked around a single and walk while striking out two in a scoreless inning. - Bryce Montes de Oca fired a dominant, perfect inning that included swinging strikeouts of Andres Gimenez and Salvador Perez -- both on 101 mph fastballs. Montes de Oca is on the periphery of the Mets' bullpen battle. - Jose Butto, starting against a loaded Venezuela lineup that featured Jose Altuve and Ronald Acuna Jr., gave up three runs in a first inning that included a leadoff first-pitch homer by Altuve, a single by Eduardo Escobar, and an RBI single off the bat of Omar Narvaez. Altuve ambushed Butto again leading off the second, depositing the first pitch he saw over the left field fence. Overall, Butto allowed five runs on five hits while walking four and striking out two in 2.0 innings. - With many of the Mets' regulars participating in the WBC, their starting lineup featured one regular (Mark Canha, who had an RBI single), one backup (Tommy Pham, who went 0-for 2), one player on the roster bubble (Ruf), and lots of players who don't have much of a chance to make the team. Highlights What's next The Mets host the Houston Astros on Friday at 1:10 p.m. on SNY. Justin Verlander gets the start for New York. Revellers play with colored powder during a celebration of the Holi festival in New Delhi, India, March 8, 2023. (Xinhua/Javed Dar) by Peerzada Arshad Hamid NEW DELHI, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Millions of Indians, mostly Hindus, celebrated the Holi festival on Wedensday across the South Asian country with religious fervor and gaiety. The ancient Indian festival marks the end of winter and the onset of the spring season. Holi, or the festival of colors, signifies the victory of good over evil. Participants gathered outside their houses in jubilation, holding colored powder in plates and smearing them on each other to express love and affection. "The festival holds great cultural significance for us, representing a fresh beginning and offering us the chance to reconcile relationships and begin anew," Atul Kulkarni, a Holi reveller said. "Apart from throwing colors, we offer prayers and burn a bonfire in the evening to symbolically destroy the bad so that the good can triumph." As India's merriest festival, Holi is celebrated by throwing bright colored water or powder at each other. People, including young and old, women and children, were seen splashing and smearing colored powder on each other, besides exchanging pleasantries. Color-splattered teenagers and young adults happily strolled along roads and streets, tossing pigments and pelting one another with balloons filled with hues. Reports pouring in from major cities and towns of India said huge congregations were held to mark the festival, where people hued in colors danced and sang to the tunes of Bollywood numbers and the beats of drums. Many people were taking selfies with their mobile phones to save the colorful moments during the celebrations. The major events took place in Mathura in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, the birthplace of the Hindu god Krishna. Celebrations started 40 days ahead of the main Holi festival in the city. Holi is most popular with young and grown-up children, who begin the colorful celebrations days ahead of the main fete. On the eve of Holi, elderly people also join in. During Holi, revellers consider everyone to be a suitable target for play. "We apply color to whosoever comes across as the rule is 'Don't feel bad it's Holi'," said Sumit, another Holi reveller. The social networking websites on the internet were abuzz with Holi greetings and colorful pictures. People also wished each other by sending Holi messages and animated graphics interchange format on their mobile phones. Indian President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi also greeted people on Holi and extended their wishes to them. Every Holi festivity in India is associated with the special food that is prepared to celebrate the event. People prepare special meals, sweets and other dishes for the festival. Even some people take the traditional Holi drink, a beverage made by mixing fresh cannabis leaves with sweetened almond milk. Meanwhile, Indian Railways is running 491 trips of 196 special trains for the convenience of rail travellers and to clear extra rush of passengers on Holi. According to railway officials, crowd control measures have been put in place at the railway stations and additional Railway Protection Force personnel have been deployed at major stations to ensure the security of passengers and ensure the smooth running of trains. Women smeared with colored powder take selfies during a celebration of the Holi festival in New Delhi, India, March 8, 2023. (Xinhua/Javed Dar) A man is smeared with colored powder during a celebration of the Holi festival in New Delhi, India, March 8, 2023. (Xinhua/Javed Dar) Editor: JYZ Northern Pacific Airways Boeing 757 aircraft. Bryan Giardinelli/Northern Pacific Airways Northern Pacific Airways is launching its first-ever flights from Ontario, California, to Las Vegas on June 2. The carrier will use a 181-seater Boeing 757 with both economy and business class on the one-hour flights. The odd starting route is a far leap from the airline's original plan of flying from the US to Asia via Alaska. Low-cost startup Northern Pacific Airways is finally launching flights this June but it's a far cry from the long-haul business model it started with. The Anchorage-based airline announced on Tuesday that it will launch its first-ever commercial flight on June 2, flying once weekly between Ontario, California just outside of Los Angeles and Las Vegas. The one-hour route will use a 181-seater Boeing 757 aircraft with both economy and business class, flying to Nevada on Fridays and returning to California on Sundays. CEO Rob McKinney described Northern Pacific's upcoming service as an "incredibly convenient and cost-effective" way to enjoy Las Vegas. "This announcement today represents the achievement of a major milestone for Northern Pacific Airways," he said. "The airline now has a live flight schedule, purchasable tickets, and refurbished aircraft ready to go, and I can't wait for passengers to meet our team onboard and fly with us." Fares start at $69 one-way, and the carrier will compete with Frontier Airlines and Southwest Airlines on the nonstop route two already well-established low-cost airlines. According to Tuesday's press release, customers could only book the route via online travel agencies. But, the option to book via Northern Pacific's website appears to be working as of Thursday. A screenshot of Northern Pacific Airway's booking process on its website. Northern Pacific Airways The already heavily trafficked route between Southern California and Sin City was not Northern Pacific's original plan. The airline initially wanted to fly from the US to Asia via Anchorage, Alaska similar to Icelandair's routes from the US to Europe via Reykjavik. However, Northern Pacific still plans to eventually fly the route, saying it first wants to "fine-tune" its operation and "make sure that we can deliver the best possible service" before it expands to international destinations, like Japan and South Korea. Story continues The one-stop international routes, which the carrier said would save passengers 20% on fares, were first put on pause due to reasons relating to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and subsequent airspace closure a situation reminiscent of the Cold War era. Moreover, the airline hasn't yet obtained a special aircraft rating known as ETOPS, which certifies its twin-engine 757s can still safely fly for hours even if one loses an engine en route a necessity when flying across the Pacific with few diversion airports. The Los Angeles to Las Vegas route wasn't the carrier's Plan B, either. In August 2022, it announced possible flights from California to Mexico, and then in October 2022, it leapfrogged to launching flights from Saipan a US commonwealth island in the western Pacific to places like Australia and the Philippines. Read the original article on Business Insider Roman Kidanemariam, 35, holds her malnourished daughter, Merkab Ataklti, 22 months old, in the treatment tent of a medical clinic in the town of Abi Adi, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia on May 11, 2021. | Ben Curtis, Associated Press When peace talks between the Ethiopian government and the fighters in Tigray were concluding late last fall, a young woman told the BBC she spent the night hiding from her Eritrean rapists under a bridge in northeast Tigray. In other villages east of the town of Adwa, The Washington Post reports that Eritrean soldiers were going door-to-door shooting civilians, apparently in retaliation for a recent battlefield loss. Eritrea, Ethiopias northern neighbor, joined Ethiopian forces to wipe out what they called a rebellion in Tigray, but did not participate in the peace process. Despite a United Nations human rights report detailing crimes against humanity and war crimes, there has been no accountability process put into place. In fact, when Eritreas President Isaias Afwerki was asked about the abuses on a recent visit to Kenya, he dismissed all claims. According to the BBC, he said Everybody talking about human rights violations (by Eritrean forces), rape, looting, this is a fantasy in the minds of those who own this factory, that I call a factory of fabricating misinformation. The BBC, the United Nations and multiple human rights organizations have documented ongoing sexual assaults on Tigray women, including some so violent they caused their victim to become incontinent of urine. According to data from the official Tigray Health Bureau in November and December 2022 after the peace deal was signed 852 cases were reported to rape crisis centers. However, aid workers believe that many instances of sexual violence continue to go unreported. A news source out of Israel, YNetNews, reports that Ethiopian women are being trafficked to neighboring countries like Jordan. Some have been able to escape to Israel, where local refugee organizations have been helping the survivors. Related The Washington Post investigated reports of Eritrean soldiers going door-to-door and massacring civilians as peace talks were underway in the Ethiopian capitol of Addis Ababa. There they found accounts of more than 300 victims being killed. After the Tigrayan troops withdrew from the village of Mariam Shewito, for example, the villagers were left unprotected. Eritrean soldiers shot 92-year-old Gebremariam Niguse, then killed his son, two daughters, a son-in-law, daughter-in-law and 15-year-old granddaughter. Survivors told The Washington Post that soldiers had ordered the daughter-in-law to untie her 5-month-old baby from her back, then shot her in front of her five sons, ages 10 and younger. Story continues In the village of Kumro, The Washington Post reports 35-40 villager deaths. In Endabagerima, another 80. Almost 50 villagers killed in Geria, while Mariam Shewito had at least 140 victims. It is no wonder then, that a request by Ethiopia to cut short U.N. inquiries into war atrocities in the region has been met with alarm. Human Rights Watch published a letter last week, expressing concern about Ethiopias plans to introduce a motion to end the commission probing the war in Tigray region. Sixty-three human rights groups have signed on as well. The letter reads in part: Ethiopias attempts to terminate ICHREEs mandate during its term are unprecedented. Not only does it suggest that states can politically maneuver to overturn the decisions of the Human Rights Council to avoid independent scrutiny and accountability, but it could also set a dangerous precedent regarding international scrutiny and impunity for rights abuses elsewhere. Meanwhile this week, the executive director of U.N. Women, Sima Bahous, spoke during a U.N Security Council meeting and criticized the lack of female representation in peace talks. Academic research by Marie OReilly, Andrea O Suilleabhain, and Thania Paffenholz has already shown that when women are at the negotiating table, the peace agreement reached is 35% more likely to last at least 15 years. Desiree Nilssons research from 2012 found that when civil society groups, including womens organizations, are involved in making a peace agreement, it is 64% less likely to fail than if they are not involved. In 2006, the former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, said that the world was starting to grasp that the empowerment of women and girls was the most effective policy in promoting state development, health and education, and further, he said, I would venture that (there) is no policy more important in preventing conflict or in achieving reconciliation after a conflict has ended. And. yet this week, as Bahous noted, there has been no significant change in the composition of those negotiating peace, nor has there been any change in the impunity enjoyed by those who commit atrocities against women and girls. If peace is to actually be peace, we need, as Bahous argued, a radical change in direction. Holly Richardson is the editor of Utah Policy, a weekday newsletter about the people, policies and politics affecting Utahns. Learn something new. Biletskiy Evgeniy/Getty Images Close your eyes. Now, think of a dreamy vacation destination. Does it have palm trees slowly waving in the warm breeze? Blue skies and soft, golden sand? We bet your daydream getaway contains one more thing, too: turquoise waters. Be it a honeymoon in Bora Bora, a friends-only weekend away in the Bahamas, or a family trip to the Greek Islands, that blue water has us all hooked. But how, exactly, does it get to be that unbelievable hue anyway? "The reason the ocean is blue is due to the absorption and scattering of light," NASA explains. "The blue wavelengths of light are scattered, similar to the scattering of blue light in the sky, but absorption is a much larger factor than scattering for the clear ocean water. In water, absorption is strong in the red and weak in the blue, thus red light is absorbed quickly in the ocean, leaving blue." However, as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) adds, most of the world's oceans are "completely dark," as almost no light can penetrate depths beyond 656 feet, and absolutely "no light penetrates deeper than 3,280 feet." So how, then, is the water in places like the Caribbean, South Pacific, and Greece such a specific shade of azure blue? As the Oceanic Research Group explains, it's because not only are the waters around the islands shallower, but those same waters are also almost completely free of plankton, causing other waters to turn a more greenish hue. Additionally, these lighter blue waters are usually home to heavier sand and sediment, which churns up less, leaving waters more clear. One last thing that works in these little slices of paradise is the fact that the waters are exceptionally calm. These destinations tend to experience less "upwelling," which NOAA explains is when the wind blows "across the ocean surface," pushing the water away. "Water then rises up from beneath the surface to replace the water that was pushed away." Though the water that rises up is nutrient-rich, it also comes with "high biological productivity," which turns it a murkier shade. Story continues So, there you have it everything you'd ever need to know about why some waters around the world are bluer than others. Now, all that's left to do is go see it in real life and appreciate all the scientific reasons why it's so beautiful as you stare at it from sunrise to sundown. For more Travel & Leisure news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on Travel & Leisure. Is nothing sacred? Is Hamlet, The Melancholy Dane, now to be a conflicted college kid at a backyard barbecue? Are the young lovers of "Romeo and Juliet" now to express themselves in Britney Spears, Katy Perry and Backstreet Boys songs? If you're inclined to ask such questions about "Fat Ham" and "& Juliet" two top offerings of Broadway, 2023 keep in mind that 17th century audiences might have had the same kinds of objections to Shakespeare. His plays were adaptations, too. "Fat Ham" "We're always in conversations with the stories that have already been told," said James Ijames pronounced "I'ms" whose "Fat Ham," opening at the American Airlines Theatre April 12 (previews begin March 21) is one of Broadway's most buzzed-about new productions. "Fat Ham" got attention, and rave reviews, when it ran in Philadelphia and then off-Broadway at the Public Theater. In 2022, it took home a Pulitzer Prize. Stop us if you've heard this The Hamlet of his play is "Juicy," a queer undergrad of color (Marcel Spears) whose family barbecue in North Carolina is a fraught affair because see if this rings a bell his uncle happens to have murdered his father and married his mother. "Fat Ham": Marcel Spears as Juicy "Fat Ham" is more a comedy than a tragedy, Ijames says. But it still has Shakespeare's basic setup: Ghost Dad pops in demanding his son avenge his murder. And that gives Ijames a springboard to talk about cycles of violence, toxic masculinity, queerness, and a host of other very modern issues. "I ain't never killed nobody," Juicy laments. "Yeah, I think it's probably mad hard," says his cousin Tio (Chris Herbie Holland). Tio, as in "HoraTio." The familiarity is the hook. Everyone thinks they know "Hamlet." That's what makes "Fat Ham" so much fun. "There's a perception on the part of the audience that they know what this journey is going to be," Ijames said. "Then you subvert it, take a detour." Which is just what Shakespeare was doing in his own "Hamlet." Tale as old as time Everyone thought they knew "Hamlet." There were "Hamlet" stories going back to the 13th century. There had been a "Hamlet" play just 11 years prior to Shakespeare's. Audiences, in 1600, were primed for the old chestnut about the small boy who has to keep himself alive until he grows old enough to avenge his father's murder. Story continues What they got was something else. An already grown-up prince whose weird shilly-shallying has fascinated theatergoers for 400 years. Shakespeare liked to play with audience expectations. He killed off King Lear, subverting the happy ending of previous versions. His "Romeo and Juliet" turned the original story on its head. The reckless young lovers were the good guys. The disapproving adults were the bad guys. "It was a way of surprising his audience," said Stark Sands, one of the leads of "& Juliet," the jukebox musical that opened at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre on Nov. 17. Stark Sands, Betsy Wolfe in "& Juliet" "Audiences knew these stories," Sands said. "And he would throw a twist in there to keep them on their toes." He should know. In "& Juliet," Sands is Will Shakespeare himself upstaged by wife Anne Hathaway (Betsy Wolfe), who insists on rescuing Juliet (Lorna Courtney) from the grave and sending her out on a whole new series of romantic adventures. "We have a built-in audience," Sands said. "You probably know the music, unless you're very young. And everybody has some acquaintance with 'Romeo and Juliet.' " "& Juliet" Messing with the masters Some of them involve that favorite Shakespeare topic, gender non-conformity ("Twelfth Night," "As You Like It"). And all involve the tunes of Max Martin, the Swedish pop songwriter responsible for such megahits as "Oops!... I Did It Again," "Roar," and "I Want it That Way." Those are just some of the familiar tunes in this glitzy production, which came to Broadway from the West End. "Beyond the fun you have in this show, there are multiple messages you can latch onto and walk away with," Sands said. These two shows are hardly the first to play games with The Swan of Avon. "Rosenkranz and Guildenstern are Dead," "West Side Story," "MacBird!" "Ubu Roi" are just some of the famous plays that riff on Shakespeare. And, as Ijames points out, they're part of a larger tradition. "Mourning Becomes Electra" is Eugene O'Neill's answer to Sophocles. "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike" is Christopher Durang's answer to Chekhov. Lorraine Hansberry's "A Raisin in the Sun" inspired not one but two answer plays: "Clybourne Park" by Bruce Norris, and "Beneatha's Place" by Kwame Kwei-Armah. Playwrights have always engaged with their predecessors. "I think it's because we want to talk to them," said Ijames, a Philadelphia resident who will be turning his attention, in future projects, to two other Shakespeare characters: Othello and Cleopatra. James Ijames, author of "Fat Ham" "I can't talk to Shakespeare," Ijames said. "I can't sit down and say, 'What made you think of that?' or 'Why did you make that choice?' This is a way to sort of be in conversation with those writers." Just as Shakespeare was in conversation with the writers who came before him. "Shakespeare, Chekhov, Lorraine Hansberry, Amiri Baraka those are the four writers I carry around as a kind of artistic DNA," Ijames said. "Throw a little James Baldwin in there and you have me." If you go... "Fat Ham," American Airlines Theatre, 227 W. 42nd St. Previews begin March 21. fathambroadway.com "& Juliet," Stephen Sondheim Theatre, 124 W. 43rd St. andjulietbroadway.com This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Two new Broadway plays give Shakespeare a twist Head to Cabo, Jamaica, and California with these new routes. Stephen M Keller/Courtesy of Southwest Airlines Southwest Airlines is adding four new routes to its fall schedule in Kansas City, Missouri, and Long Beach, California and is boosting its service at its busy hub in Denver. Starting Oct. 7, Southwest will launch seasonal service on Saturdays between Kansas City and both Montego Bay, Jamaica, and Los Cabos, Mexico. The new routes, according to the airline, will complement Southwests current service between Kansas City and Cancun, which will operate daily starting Oct. 5. The new routes also come on the heels of the Kansas City International Airport opening its first new terminal in 50 years, which features a large international arrivals area. We are grateful for Southwests continued growth in Kansas City and for easier access to some of our most requested leisure destinations, Pat Klein, the director of Kansas Citys Aviation Department, said in a statement. Travelers will love the convenience of clearing customs at their home airport. In addition to Kansas City, Southwest will launch new flights on Saturdays and Sundays from Long Beach, CA, to Boise, ID, and Portland, OR, also on Oct. 7. The carrier also just started flying nonstop daily service between Long Beach and Kansas City. In Denver, Southwest will add seven more flights to its October schedule and is preparing to begin nonstop service on Saturdays between Denver and San Jose, Costa Rica, which launches this weekend. The route expansion comes months after Southwest canceled thousands of flights over the holiday season, leaving countless passengers stranded and resulting in government hearings. This week, the airline partnered with Amazon to both support ticket bookings through digital platforms and optimize flight operations. The carrier is also working to install modern amenities on its fleet, like USB A and USB C power ports at every seat and larger overhead bins, and upgrade its onboard Wi-Fi, changing its internet pricing structure in the process. For more Travel & Leisure news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on Travel & Leisure. "Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Nicholas Elliott and Kim Philby were British spies and lifelong friends. But Philby wasn't loyal to the United Kingdomhe was a double agent for the Soviet Union, and his defection to Moscow in 1963 shocked intelligence services. Shop Now A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal $13.99 amazon.com A Spy Among Friends, based on Ben Macintyre's book of the same name, is the story of Philby's defection and the impact it had on Elliott. Starring Guy Pearce as Philby and Damian Lewis as Elliott, the six part miniseries dramatizes one of the most notorious spy stories in history. "Everybody knows about Kim Philby. Hes the rock star: poisonous, devastatingly dangerous, brilliant, adored. He hoodwinked an entire generation. Elliotts the best friend. Who knows about the best friend who was duped? Hes the sap, the second guy. The friendship is brilliantly interesting," Lewis explained. The Cold War drama premiered in the United Kingdom in December 2022, and is hitting American TV screens this weekend. Anna Maxwell Martin, Stephen Kunken, and Adrian Edmondson also star in the show. Where to stream A Spy Among Friends: The miniseries will stream on MGM+, a brand-new streaming platform. "Im very happy to be bringing our Cold War tale of friendship and betrayal to MGM+. Theyre the perfect partners for us and I cant wait for people to see it," Lewis said in a statement. Adi Marineci There will be six episodes, and they will drop weekly on MGM+ on Sundays. Note that the final three episodes will drop at a different time: Episode 1, "Boom-Ooh-Yatatahtah": Sunday, March 12, 10 p.m. eastern Episode 2, "The Admiral's Glass": Sunday, March 19, 10 p.m. eastern Episode 3, "Allegory of the Catholic Faith": Sunday March 26, 10 p.m. eastern Episode 4, "Vodka": Sunday, April 2, 9 p.m. eastern Episode 5, "Snow": Sunday, April 9, 9 p.m. eastern Episode 6, "No Man's Land": Sunday April 16, 9 p.m. eastern You can sign up for a monthly plan, which is a $5.99/month, or an annual plan, which is currently $49.99 for the year. Try it out with a 7 day free trial: Story continues Sign up for MGM+ You Might Also Like Netflix One of Netflix's newest three-part docuseries, MH370: The Plane That Disappeared, explores the eerie, never-been-solved story of a commercial Malaysia Airlines flight that went missing back in 2014 and was never found. Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 took off on March 8, 2014, from Kuala Lumpur, and was headed for Beijing, the docuseries explains. But the Boeing 777 disappeared along the way with 227 passengers and 12 crew members on board, per Brittanica. To this day, no one knows what happened. Planes go up, planes go down, aviation journalist Jeff Wise says in the trailer. What planes dont do is just vanish off the face of the Earth. But what happened to MH370, and was it ever found? Heres what you need to know. What happened to MH370? Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 was a red eye flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing that was scheduled to arrive on the morning of March 8, 2014, Brittanica explains. The plane reached cruising altitude at 1:07 a.m., and had its last communication with air traffic control around 1:21 a.m. Just as it was about to enter Vietnamese airspace over the South China Sea, Malaysian radar detected that the plane turned around and flew southwest over the Malay Peninsula before turning northwest. Malaysian military radar lost contact with the plane over the Andaman Sea at 2:22 a.m. However, an Inmarsat satellite over the Indian Ocean received hourly signals from the flight and last detected the plane at 8:11 a.m. How many people went missing? The plane contained 227 passengers and 12 crew members. In total, 239 people disappeared on the flight. What is Tomnod? The first thing to know is that Tomnod was a crowdsourcing tool people used to help figure out what happened to the flight and its passengers. The technology technically uses satellite imagery to identify evidence of urbanization across the globe, and was a tool originally developed by Professor Amit Khandelwal at Columbia Business School. But when MH370 disappeared, people began to volunteer to search high-res imagery of different locations in an effort to try to find debris from the plane or survivors, the documentary explains. Tomnod ended up using 2.3 million internet users, according to The Guardian, but its findings were found to be inconclusive. Story continues Was flight MH370 ever found? Malaysia Airlines told families in late March of 2014 that the company believed the plane crashed into the Indian ocean and that it was was assumed "beyond reasonable doubt" that there were no survivors, per BBC News. The documentary also details how debris that seemed to be from a commercial airliner washed up on the coast of Africa and islands along the Indian Ocean, with a statement from Australian authorities saying that the pieces were almost certainly from the missing plane, per BBC News. What are the theories about what happened to the fight? There are still a lot of unknowns when it comes to the story of this doomed flight. However, The Sun, a newspaper in the UK, breaks down a few theories. One is that the planes captain plotted a mass murder-suicide, with the theory that Captain Zaharie Amad Shah flew the jet in circles to ensure he wasnt being followed and then landed at a high speed to make sure no one survived. Another theory is that the pilot tried to do a controlled emergency landing into the ocean that didnt work. Other theories say that the plane was hijacked, shot down by the US Air Force, or was in cruising mode when it crashed. But still, to this day, no one seems to know what truly happened. You can catch more details about MH370, the plane that disappeared, and the lives on board, in Netflix's docuseries. You Might Also Like Elizabeth Baranyai - Getty Images Despite their often gruesome contents, true crime documentaries have so many of us hooked a phenomenon that's been questioned more than once. Yet, every time Netflix announces a new true crime series, we find ourselves becoming one with our sofa again, ready for a binge. Next up on our binge list is Waco: American Apocalypse, which according to Netflix will unpack "the infamous 51-day standoff outside of Waco, Texas, between the US government and the Branch Davidian religious sect led by David Koresh." So, who was David Koresh? And how did his religious sect lead to the Waco Siege? Ahead of the release of the three part documentary, here's what you need to know about Waco: American Apocalypse... Who was David Koresh? Before we can unpack the Waco Siege, it's important to go back to where it all began, and that's with David Koresh. Koresh was born (as David Howell) in 1959 in Houston, Texas, and was predominantly raised by his grandparents. The family were avid church-goers, and Koresh attended a Seventh-day Adventist Church, although he was later kicked out for clashing with church leaders. After trying to make it as a rock star in Los Angeles, Koresh headed back to Texas and joined Branch Davidians a religious group whose leaders claimed they were of messianic (messiah) status, and whose teachings heavily focuses on end-times (apocalyptic) prophecy. In 1990, he changed his surname from Howell to Koresh and later attempted to murder the Branch Davidians' leader. This resulted in Koresh taking over as leader and claiming himself a prophet. Elizabeth Baranyai - Getty Images Did David Koresh run a cult? Under his leadership, Koresh brought in a number of "teachings", including the practice of "spiritual weddings" which he described as the right to bed "God-chosen" female followers of all ages. As a result, Koresh fathered at least a dozen children with several members other than his legal wife. As the years went by, Koresh became further entrenched in his beliefs, and former members have since described what went on as cult-like. "He believed he was King David," one ex-member told ABC News of Koresh, as another explained that he believed he was on a "mission" from God. Story continues "His message changed over the years because he was always looking for the next big thing to teach that would shock people into listening to him," the former member said. "It was important for David Koresh to isolate the group from the world because the world is an influence that is constantly pulling and distracting you from the message." Ex-members also later revealed that Koresh restricted what women were allowed to wear, banning them from wearing jewellery or makeup. He would also tell them where to sleep and what foods they could eat, saying that sugar and dairy products were forbidden. Those who broke the rules were disciplined, with one former member who grew up within the sect telling ABC News: "Youre raised with just fear." What was the Waco Siege? The Waco Siege began in early 1993 when the US government raided a compound in Axtell, Texas, following reports that Koresh and the Branch Davidians were violating federal firearms regulations. Several agents and members of the sect were killed in the initial gun battle, before almost 1,000 law enforcement officials surrounded the compound, including hostage negotiators. As news spread about what was happening and reporters gathered at the scene, a 51-day standoff between police and members of Koresh's cult ensued. Although at times, negotiations between law enforcement and Koresh seemed promising, with the Branch Davidians sending some children out in exchange for food and other supplies, the siege did not end peacefully. Gregory Smith - Getty Images In total, the siege claimed the lives of 80 people, including cult members, children and US agents, as well as Koresh himself. Koresh's exact cause of death is unknown, but he's believed to have died from a gunshot wound to the head, or wounds from the fire that engulfed the compound on the final day of the siege. What is Waco: American Apocalypse about? "This immersive three-part Netflix documentary series is the definitive account of what happened in Waco, Texas, in 1993 when cult leader David Koresh faced off against the federal government in a bloody 51-day siege," reads a Netflix press release explaining what the docu-series is about. "Released to coincide with the 30th anniversary of this national tragedy, the series is directed by acclaimed filmmaker Tiller Russell (Night Stalker) and features exclusive access to recently unearthed videotapes filmed inside the FBI Crisis Negotiation Unit, as well as raw news footage never released to the American public and FBI recordings," the press release adds. According to Netflix, the documentary is "driven by intimate and revealing interviews with people from all sides of the conflict, including one of David Koreshs spiritual wives, the last child released from the compound alive, a sniper from the FBI Hostage Rescue Team, the FBI Crisis Negotiation Unit Chief, the key journalists covering the story, as well as members of the ATF tactical team who watched their colleagues die in the shootout against members of the religious sect." The documentary also uses "cutting-edge visual technology" to "plunge viewers" inside the siege. When is Waco: American Apocalypse released? Waco: American Apocalypse will be available to stream on Netflix on 22 March. You Might Also Like Sirens WORCESTER - The state police are asking for the public's help in identifying a vehicle involved in an alleged shooting on Interstate 290 westbound in the area of Exit 12, exit to Route 146. Shortly after 9 p.m. Wednesday, a blue Toyota RAV4 was struck by numerous rounds of ammunition that had been fired from a passing vehicle. State police said the shots were fired from another moving car, possibly a black Cadillac sedan, that had pulled alongside the RAV4. The suspect vehicle is believed to have exited I-290 at Exit 12 and continued onto Route 146. The three occupants in the RAV4 a 20-year-old Massachusetts woman and two 18-year-old Connecticut men had no apparent injuries, state police said. Troopers documented multiple possible gunshot marks on the RAV4. The investigation into the facts and circumstances of the shooting, including specific information about the suspect vehicle and its occupants, is ongoing. Anyone who has any information or may have witnessed the incident is urged to contact Trooper Scott Lucas at (508) 829-8410. This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Vehicle info sought in alleged shooting on I-290 in Worcester Staff members operate at a workshop in a technology equipment company in Ganzhou, east China's Jiangxi Province, Feb. 13, 2023. (Photo by Hu Jiangtao/Xinhua) - As a major contributor to the UN peacekeeping budget and the largest troop-contributing country among the permanent members of the UN Security Council, China has sent more than 50,000 personnel on peacekeeping missions over the last three decades. - The BRI has attracted more than three-quarters of the world's countries and 32 international organizations. Over the past decade, the initiative has galvanized nearly one trillion dollars of investment, established more than 3,000 cooperation projects, created 420,000 local jobs and helped lift almost 40 million people out of poverty. BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- China will always keep in mind the interests of the world, take an active part in global governance and contribute more to world peace, development and human progress, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said Tuesday at a press conference on the sidelines of the annual sessions of China's top legislature and political advisory body. As the second-largest economy and a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, China's foreign policy draws much global attention. And the ongoing "two sessions" provide a window. Observers in many countries said that with an independent foreign policy of peace and a mutually beneficial strategy of opening-up, China has always contributed to world peace and development. FOR WORLD PEACE "Peaceful development as emblematic of China's international cooperation has seen Beijing welcomed in many countries around the world," said Cavince Adhere, a Kenya-based international relations scholar. Currently, a myriad of factors, including geopolitical conflicts, bloc confrontation and terrorism, are posing challenges to global peace and stability. The world pays more attention to China's insights into how to stave off security dilemmas and achieve lasting peace. "China's commitment to peace is historic since the appearance of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence," said Eduardo Regalado, senior researcher at the International Policy Research Center of Cuba. China has always been for peace and dialogue. As a major contributor to the UN peacekeeping budget and the largest troop-contributing country among the permanent members of the UN Security Council, China has sent more than 50,000 personnel on peacekeeping missions over the last three decades. Chinese peacekeepers march at a medal parade ceremony in Hanniyah village, southern Lebanon, July 1, 2022. (Xinhua/Liu Zongya) "We are very grateful to Chinese peacekeepers. They offer us the most realistic help when we face the hardest time," a resident of Mali's Gao region told Xinhua. Last month, China released The Global Security Initiative (GSI) Concept Paper, demonstrating the country's responsibility to safeguard world peace and its resolve to defend global security. "Through the GSI, China commits itself to bringing about security through political dialogue and peaceful negotiation, as well as resolving conflicts through development," said Keith Bennett, a long-term China specialist and vice chair of Britain's 48 Group Club. Earlier last month, China released a paper stating its position on the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis, emphasizing that dialogue and negotiation are the only viable solution to the crisis. "China believes in a 'Let's grow together' policy, a policy of peace, equality and friendship," said Mohammad Reza Manafi, editor-in-chief for the Asia-Pacific news desk of Iran's official news agency IRNA. If such a policy becomes popular worldwide, it would end unhealthy competition and deadly wars, Manafi said. FOR COMMON PROSPERITY In China's view, development holds the key to fixing many of the world's daunting problems. Over the years, the country has been committed to joining hands with the rest of the world to spur common growth. Amadou Diop, a Senegalese expert on China, has visited many Chinese cities where he saw firsthand China's achievements in poverty reduction and green development. "China offers a great opportunity for the rest of the world to commit together towards a community with a shared future and common prosperity," Diop said. "Chinese modernization and high-quality development will continue to inspire the world, including Senegal." This aerial photo taken on Nov. 8, 2022 shows a comprehensive inspection train running on the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway trial section to conduct inspection in Bandung, Indonesia. (Xinhua/Xu Qin) Meanwhile, China has promoted common development through infrastructure connectivity in the past decade by advancing the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The BRI has attracted more than three-quarters of the world's countries and 32 international organizations. Over the past decade, the initiative has galvanized nearly one trillion dollars of investment, established more than 3,000 cooperation projects, created 420,000 local jobs and helped lift almost 40 million people out of poverty. "African countries, including Nigeria, have benefited greatly from win-win cooperation with China ... Infrastructure projects covering roads, railways, ports and airports built by Chinese enterprises have strengthened the interconnection within the African continent and promoted the integration process," said Charles Onunaiju, director of the Center for China Studies in Nigeria. "Only a few years ago, Africa was described as a continent without hope. Today we speak of the African common market," he said. African countries are hopeful for the Chinese government's commitment to continue opening up and high-quality BRI cooperation because it means more cooperation opportunities between China and Africa, Onunaiju said. In addition to the BRI, China on its path towards modernization has been sharing opportunities with the world through the China International Import Expo, establishing pilot zones for Silk Road e-commerce cooperation, bringing into force the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and applying for membership in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. China's proposals for common development illustrate a solid understanding of global issues and a focus on collective progress, said Farhad Javanbakht Kheirabadi, a China scholar at Shahid Beheshti University in Iran. A China-Europe freight train loaded with 1,300 tonnes of flour from Kazakhstan arrives at Xi'an International Port in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Jan. 13, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Yibo) FOR A SHARED FUTURE In the face of rapid changes rarely seen in a century, China has always championed multilateralism with the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind, promoting democracy in international relations and making global governance fairer and more equitable. "Unilateralism and willfully wielding the baton of hegemony are important reasons for the persistent geopolitical tensions in the world today," said Ang Teck Sin, a political commentator in Singapore. "Only when countries develop a healthy partnership can they achieve sound interactions, which will promote cooperation and development and serve the well-being of the people," Ang added. As a major country, China believes that the correct way out of international crises lies in strengthening unity and cooperation under the banner of multilateralism, said Abu Bakr al-Deeb, advisor to the Cairo-based Arab Center for Research and Studies. China's vision is "based on the desire for broad, inclusive international cooperation," said Oleg Timofeev, associate professor with the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia. The notion aims to facilitate interactions among countries with different civilizations and cultures, different socio-economic systems and different paths of development, he said. Hailing that the idea has won increasing support in many countries over the past 10 years, Timofeev said it has injected stability into international affairs. Editor: Zhang Zhou From left: Sharice Davids, Danica Roem, Angie Craig, and Andrea Jenkins These LGBTQ+ Women Have Made History Women have been able to vote (in most states) only for a little over 100 years, less than have the time the U.S. has been in existence, and they've been running for office in large numbers and getting appointed to major government positions only since the 1970s. But in the last 50 years, and especially since the 1990s, many have left their mark, and more than a few of them have been lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer. Following is a look at some of the women from our community who've made history. Oh, and there are no Republicans among their numbers. Pictured from left: U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, Virginia Rep. Danica Roem, U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, and Minneapolis City Council President Andrea Jenkins Kathy Kozachenko Kathy Kozachenko KATHY KOZACHENKO, a lesbian, was the first out member of the LGBTQ+ community elected to any political office in the U.S., winning a City Council seat in Ann Arbor, Mich., in April 1974. There were two gay men on the council in the liberal college town (home to the University of Michigan), but they didn't come out until after they were elected. Kozachenko served one two-year term, then moved away, but she remained an activist, volunteering in political campaigns and helping to organize the March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights in 1979. She was named to the LGBTQ Victory Institute's first Hall of Fame class in 2021. Elaine Noble Elaine Noble 1974 saw another first: In November, lesbian ELAINE NOBLE became the first out candidate elected to a state legislature when voters in a Boston district sent her to the Massachusetts House of Representatives. A Democrat, she was encouraged to run for office by Ann Lewis, sister of another groundbreaker, Barney Frank, who was already in the Massachusetts House but wasn't out yet. Noble served two terms, and in 1977 she was part of the first gay and lesbian delegation to visit the White House. She later founded an LGBTQ-supportive drug and alcohol treatment center, taught school, sold real estate, and volunteered in Democratic politics. Story continues Roberta Achtenberg ROBERTA ACHTENBERG weathered the wrath of infamously homophobic U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms to win the distinction of being the first Senate-confirmed out presidential appointee. A former member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, Achtenberg was nominated by President Bill Clinton to be assistant secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Helms called her a "damn lesbian" and accused her of a vendetta against the Boy Scouts simply because she wanted the group to be inclusive. But the Senate confirmed her by a vote of 58-31 in 1993. Achtenberg later served on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Tammy Baldwin Tanny Baldwin TAMMY BALDWIN began her political career in her native Wisconsin, serving on the Madison Common Council in 1986 and then being elected to four terms on the Dane County Board of Supervisors. She was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1992, and in 1998, Wisconsin sent the lesbian legislator to Washington as the first member of Congress who was out from the get-go (others had come out while in office). She served seven terms in the U.S. House and then, in 2012, was elected as the nation's first out U.S. senator. She's still in the Senate, advocating for LGBTQ+ equality including the Respect for Marriage Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law last year and other progressive causes. Annise Parker Annise Parker In 2010, ANNISE PARKER was elected mayor of Houston, making her the first out mayor of a top 10 U.S. city (Houston is the fourth largest). Parker, a lesbian, had previously worked in the oil and gas industry and served on the Houston City Council and as city controller. After three terms as mayor, in which she helped pass an LGBTQ-inclusive civil rights ordinance only to see it repealed by voters, she became president and CEO of the LGBTQ Victory Fund and Victory Institute, helping train and elect out candidates. Kate Brown Kate Brown KATE BROWN became the nation's first out bisexual governor in 2015, when she was sworn in as Oregon's top official after the resignation of Gov. John Kitzhaber. The state has no lieutenant governor, so as secretary of state she was next in line. She was elected in her own right in a special election in 2016 and reelected in 2018, both LGBTQ+ firsts. She could not run again in 2022 due to term limits, but her successor, lesbian and fellow Democrat Tina Kotek, has continued our community's representation in Oregon's highest office. Danica Roem Danica Roem DANICA ROEM in 2017 defeated the most anti-LGBTQ+ member of the Virginia House of Delegates and was then sworn in as the first out trans person to serve in any state's legislature (a trans candidate had been elected in New Hampshire in 2012 but withdrew before taking office). Roem has now been reelected twice, both times taking down homophobic, transphobic challengers. She's running for state Senate this year. Andrea Jenkins Andrea Jenkins There was another first for trans people in 2017 when ANDREA JENKINS was elected to the Minneapolis City Council she was the first out African American trans woman elected to any office in the U.S. She was elected council president in 2022. Before becoming a council member, she was on the body's staff and was later curator of the Transgender Oral History Project at the University of Minnesota's Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection in Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Studies. She has been a trans activist for years and has won national and international acclaim with her poetry and other writings. Dana Nessel Dana Nessel DANA NESSEL, a lesbian, was elected Michigan's attorney general in 2018, making her its first out statewide official, and she was reelected in 2022. She has fought for the rights of LGBTQ+ people and other marginalized populations as AG, as she did before that. As an attorney in private practice, she handled DeBoer v. Snyder, in which a Michigan lesbian couple challenged the state's ban on same-sex marriage, a case that was eventually consolidated with Ohio's Obergefell v. Hodges and cases from Kentucky and Tennessee and heard before the U.S. Supreme Court, resulting in the 2015 marriage equality ruling. Angie Craig Angie Craig ANGIE CRAIG was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Minnesota's Second Congressional District in 2018, flipping the seat from Republican to Democratic. She has been reelected twice; in one race a third-party candidate said he was recruited specifically to siphon votes from her, but she prevailed. She has the distinction of being the first lesbian wife and mother in Congress she and her wife, Cheryl Greene, have four sons. In February of this year, she was attacked in an elevator at her D.C. apartment building but defended herself by throwing hot coffee at the assailant. She shows the same resolve in fighting for LGBTQ+ rights and other progressive actions. Sharice Davids Sharice Davids SHARICE DAVIDS is one of the first two Native American women elected to Congress and the first gay one. Elected in 2018 (unseating a four-term Republican) and reelected in 2020 and 2022, she represents a Kansas district in the U.S. House. "I would never say that I speak for all Native people or even my tribe [Ho-Chunk]," she told The Advocate in 2021. She added, "Like any group, Native people are not a monolith. I think it's helpful to constantly remind people of that and make sure that folks know that I might be an expert on my lived experience or certain parts of legislation or policy." Sarah McBride Sarah McBride In 2020, SARAH MCBRIDE, the former national press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign, was elected to the Delaware Senate, becoming the first out trans state senator in the U.S. She was reelected last year. She also made history while working for HRC in 2016, she addressed the Democratic National Convention, making her the first out trans person to speak at a major party's national convention. She is a longtime activist and has written a moving memoir, Tomorrow Will Be Different: Love, Loss, and the Fight for Trans Equality, about her time as caregiver to partner and husband Andrew Cray, a trans man who died of cancer four days after their wedding in 2014. Rachel Levine Rachel Levine DR. RACHEL LEVINE became the first out transgender official confirmed by the U.S. Senate when the chamber in 2021 approved her appointment as assistant secretary for health at the Department of Health and Human Services. Levine, who was previously Pennsylvania's health secretary, is the highest-ranking out trans person in the federal government. She is also a four-star admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, the first woman to achieve that rank in the corps and the first trans four-star admiral overall. Karine Jean-Pierre Karine Jean-Pierr Last May, KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, a lesbian and longtime activist, became the first African American and first out LGBTQ+ person to be White House press secretary. She had been the principal deputy White House press secretary and took over the top post when Jen Psaki left for a job with MSNBC. Jean-Pierre has promoted President Biden's programs and has also used her post to speak out against homophobia and transphobia; in one recent press briefing, she pointed out how ridiculous it is for politicians to seek to ban or restrict drag performances. Becca Balint Becca Balint In November's election, BECCA BALINT was elected to Vermont's sole seat in the U.S. House, making her the first woman and first out LGBTQ+ person to represent the state in Congress. As her district covers the whole state, she also became one of Vermont's first two out statewide officials; Michael Pieciak, a gay man, was elected state treasurer last November. Balint, a lesbian, was previously a Vermont state legislator, serving as Senate majority leader and president pro tempore. Maura Healey Maura Healey 2022 saw the election of the nation's first two lesbian governors. MAURA HEALEY was elected easily in Massachusetts, where she's also the state's first woman governor. She previously made history in 2014, when she became the first out LGBTQ+ person elected as attorney general of any state. As AG, she brought the first state challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act. In her inaugural address as governor, she said, "We must center equity in all we do. I will be directing each agency in my administration to conduct a full equity audit. Let Massachusetts be the place that shines a light on every systemic barrier, and then does the hard work to break them down. Because that's who we are." Tina Kotek Tina Kotek Oregonians chose TINA KOTEK as their governor in 2022. She prevailed in a tough three-way race. She was previously a state legislator and was the first member of the LGBTQ+ community to be Oregon's House speaker. In her inaugural address, she promised to deal with the most pressing issues facing Oregon, including homelessness, a lack of affordable housing, and the need for access to behavioral health care. "We won't be perfect, but we will improve every year, so Oregonians can proudly say their state government was there for them," she said. APTOPIX Murdaugh Killings (ASSOCIATED PRESS) Alex Murdaugh has left himself with no escape from a lifetime behind bars after he admitted to a string of financial crimes under oath at his murder trial. Murdaugh was found guilty of murdering his wife Maggie and son Paul at the familys $4m Moselle estate in Islandton and has been sentenced to life in prison in South Carolina. Despite his conviction, Murdaugh continues to profess his innocence even when given a last-ditch chance to confess at his sentencing hearing. His legal team of State Senator Dick Harpootlian and friend Jim Griffin have already vowed to fight the guilty verdict, by appealing the case all the way up to the US Supreme Court. But, as prominent attorney Duncan Levin told The Independent this week, it wont make any difference. For one, Mr Levin is doubtful an appeal would be successful. I dont see any basis for an appeal. When he took the stand he erased any real chance of error as he said it in his own words, said the former assistant district attorney in the Manhattan DAs office and prominent criminal defence attorney at Levin & Associates who has represented clients including Harvey Weinstein and Anna Delvey. And secondly, even if an appeal were successful, Mr Levin said that Murdaugh has sentenced himself to life in prison after implicating himself in a slew of financial fraud crimes. He will spend the rest of his life in prison theres no getting out of this at this point, he said. Not only has he been convicted of two heinous murders, but he has also implicated himself in financial crimes to give himself a lifetime in prison. Separate from the murder case, Murdaugh is facing a staggering 99 charges - punishable by up to 700 years in prison - for stealing at least $8.7m from settlements from dozens of legal clients he represented through his law firm PMPED. Alex Murdaugh is cross examined by prosecutor Creighton Waters (AP) The alleged schemes date back as far as 2011. They are detailed in a collection of 19 separate indictments in cases that have not yet gone to trial, but the crimes surfaced as a motive during his double murder trial. Story continues Prosecutors said that Murdaugh killed his wife and son to distract from his financial crimes which were on the brink of being exposed. When Murdaugh then took the witness stand to testify in his own defence, he confessed to stealing from PMPED and at least 18 law firm clients. These confessions while testifying under oath are likely to now have major ramifications in the fraud cases. He had to admit to committing other crimes in his testimony and thats part of the problem with him testifying, said Mr Levin. At this time hes already facing two life sentences. Having worked as a defence lawyer on numerous high-profile cases, Mr Levin said it was certainly unusual to see a defendant confess to other crimes on the stand. But then most people are not engaged in a lifetime of pervasive crime so its an unusual situation where he is not only facing double murders charges but also a slew of financial crimes lasting a lifetime, he said. So it is unusual [to confess to other crimes on the stand] but everything about this case is unusual. Incriminating himself in a string of financial fraud crimes isnt the only reason that Murdaughs decision to testify was a colossal mistake, said the legal expert. Buster, Maggie, Paul and Alex Murdaugh left to right (Maggie Murdaugh/Facebook) Mr Levin described Murdaughs move to take the witness stand like navigating a field of landmines given the other crimes and lies he was confronted with under cross-examination. I thought it was a colossal mistake in this case for him to take the stand, he said. First off he had to acknowledge lying to investigators about his whereabouts on the night of the murders. He also had to acknowledge years upon years of deceit and lies to his clients from whom he stole hundreds of thousands of dollars. He looked them in the eyes like he looked jurors in the eyes and lied to them to take their money he had to look jurors in the eyes and say I lied to so many people so many occasions but this one time you should trust me that Im telling the truth. Mr Levin added: His testimony was an abomination and he actually helped prosecutors convict him. When he took the stand, Murdaugh confessed to lying about his alibi on the night of the murders. For the past 20 months, he had claimed that he had never gone to the dog kennels with his wife and son that night. But he was forced to admit he had lied after jurors were shown a damning cellphone video captured by Paul, which placed Murdaugh at the crime scene minutes before the murders. Despite the abomination that was his testimony, Mr Levin said he doubts the verdict would have turned out differently even if he hadnt taken the stand given that all evidence pointed to Murdaugh as the killer. In fact, Mr Levin said he was surprised it took jurors as long as it did to convict him. The jury spent less than three hours deliberating before returning a unanimous guilty verdict a timeframe that has led to speculation from some on social media that the panel didnt spend enough time looking at the evidence. Im surprised it took three hours. I actually predicted one hour, said Mr Levin. Theres no magic amount of time, he said, defending how long the jurors took. The jurors paid close attention to the trial over the many weeks. They didnt just have a few hours to consider the evidence theyve actually been thinking about it and deliberating and considering it for weeks and weeks. In a dramatic day in the double-murder trial of Alex Murdaugh, the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, was suddenly evacuated due to a bomb threat. The threat was reported at around 12.30pm Wednesday, forcing officials to whisk Murdaugh and the jury away to secure locations. After the threat was deemed a hoax, testimony resumed with an examination of data recovered from Murdaughs SUV. The data offered jurors a potential timeline for Murdaughs movements on the night of 7 June 2021 when Maggie and Paul were shot dead. It indicates the suspect only stayed at his parents home for around 20 minutes and not the 30 to 40 minutes he asked his mothers carer to tell authorities. Earlier in the day, jurors also heard more about the significant amount of gunshot residue discovered on a blue raincoat Murdaugh allegedly hid in his parents home. At least 38 particles were found inside the coat an amount that fits with the prosecutions claim he used the garment to hide and move one or both of the guns used in the murders. Jurors also heard testimony about Murdaughs financial crimes which prosecutors claim establish his motive. Watch the Alex Murdaugh trial LIVE Alex Murdaugh murder trial SUV data offers timeline of Murdaughs movements Bomb threat causes emergency evacuation of court Gunshot residue found all over blue raincoat Murdaugh allegedly hid in parents home Jury hears about Murdaughs financial crimes for first time Third witness identifies Murdaugh 100% in kennel video Alex Murdaugh was fidgety at sick mothers home on night of murders 16:47 , Oliver O'Connell The prosecution concludes its questioning of Mr Wilson. Cross-examination begins led by defence attorney Jim Griffin. 16:45 , Oliver O'Connell Mr Wilson is telling the jury about his conversation with Mr Murdaugh when the theft from clients was uncovered. Heres our earlier coverage: On 3 September 2021 three months on from the murders Mr Wilson said he finally learned his friend had been scamming him and many other people. Story continues That day, the PMPED partners had discovered Mr Murdaugh was pocketing clients money and he allegedly admitted to the fraud scheme and was forced to resign. The scandal was not publicly announced that day but the PMPED partners got in touch with Mr Wilson and informed him what they knew. It knocked me down... I didnt know what to do, he said. Mr Wilson testified that he met Mr Murdaugh the following day on 4 September 2021 and confronted him about his fraud scheme. He said he asked Mr Murdaugh if there was anything else that he should know about. Choking back tears, Mr Wilson revealed that his longtime friend broke down and confessed to stealing the money to fund a secret 20-year opioid addiction. He broke down crying, he said. I was so mad. I had loved the guy for so long, and I probably still loved him a little bit, but I was so mad, and I dont remember how it ended. How did I not know these things or see these things? When asked how Mr Murdaugh confessed to him, he said: He said he s*** me up... he said he had s*** a lot of people up. Court resumes 16:34 , Oliver O'Connell The jury returns and court resumes with Mr Wilsons testimony regarding his conversations with Mr Murdaugh about the missing money that he was covering. He recalls law firm partner Lee Cope calling him on 3 September 2021 telling him about Mr Murdaughs financial crimes. Mr Cope asked him to pay the $792k from the trust account, where it was being held, to the firm. He was also asked to keep the matter quiet until Tuesday (after the Labor Day holiday) when the firm could issue a press release. Mr Wilson said he was shocked. 16:21 , Oliver O'Connell If you are unfamiliar with the side of the road incident, heres The Independents coverage from the time of this bizarre twist in the case: Prominent South Carolina lawyer shot months after unsolved killing of wife and son ...and what a witness said on a 911 call after having come across the scene: Witnesss 911 call casts doubt on Alex Murdaughs shooting story 16:16 , Oliver O'Connell Judge Newman sustains the objection of the defence team that the side of the road incident is not relevant to Mr Wilsons testimony as it happened after his conversation with Mr Murdaugh that day and he only found out about it secondhand afterward when law firm partner Lee Cope called to tell him. The prosecution makes sure Mr Wilson knows when to stop his testimony so as not to include it. Judge Newman calls a 10-minute recess. 16:12 , Oliver O'Connell The jury has been sent out of the room as the prosecution argues that the defendants drug use will be brought up and potentially, based on the in-camera testimony, the side of the road events may be brought up in which Mr Murdaugh was shot in what appeared to be a botched hit allegedly arranged as a suicide attempt. Judge Clifton Newman says the drug use has already been brought up by yesterdays testimony regarding rehab. The defence objects to the introduction of the side of the road incident, saying Mr Wilson is not the person to testify about those events. Watch the trial LIVE 15:58 , Oliver O'Connell Want to watch todays testimony live? The Independents live stream can be found here on our YouTube page: 15:53 , Oliver O'Connell In the aftermath of the murders, Mr Wilson talks about being there for Mr Murdaugh and being concerned that he may try and take his life. He says the shock of what happened has not gone away. In July the issue of the Mack Trucks case money was brought back up by Mr Murdaugh. See previous posts for the details or check out our original reporting: Alex Murdaughs friend breaks down describing murder suspects financial crimes 15:47 , Oliver O'Connell An emotional Mr Wilson recalls the moment he heard the news of the murders. He had gone to bed and his wife woke him to tell him having heard from a friend. It was after 11pm and he set off for Moselle Road, arriving around 1am. 15:44 , Oliver O'Connell In new evidence that was not revealed during Mr Wilsons in-camera testimony, we learn that he was in contact by text and phone on the night of 7 June (the night of the murders) between the hours of 9pm and 10pm. According to screenshots provided by Mr Wilson, Mr Murdaugh and he spoke twice during that hour as he arrived at his mothers house and before he arrived back home at Moselle Road. Alex called Wilson at 9:11pm, Wilson told him he was fixing pool pump & would call him back. He said #AlexMurdaugh seemed normal. (records show Alex was driving to his mom's at this point.) He called Alex back at 9:20, Alex said he was just getting to his mom's 2/2 pic.twitter.com/053BiS273E Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson) February 9, 2023 9:52pm - #AlexMurdaugh texted Chris Wilson asking if he was still up. "Call me if you up". Chris called Alex back, first time Alex didn't answer. Called him right back at 9:53pm. Alex answered they had a conversation about Alex's mom. pic.twitter.com/H5la8jowv5 Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson) February 9, 2023 15:30 , Oliver O'Connell However, in July 2021 one month on from the murders Mr Wilson said that his friend got in touch saying he had been unable to structure the fees as planned and needed to pay the money back and have it paid directly to PMPED. At that time, PMPED had discovered that the $792,000 was missing and had asked Mr Murdaugh about it. Mr Murdaugh only had $600,000 to pay it back, with Mr Wilson saying that he covered the additional $192,000, on the basis that Mr Murdaugh would pay him back. One month later, he said he still hadnt received the money but did not want to push the issue because he was worried about his friend. I didnt want to push him, he said. Mr Wilson became emotional as he said he grew increasingly concerned that Mr Murdaugh might kill himself. I was concerned just like everybody else, everyone in his firm, everyone in his family, that he was going to do something to himself. That he was going to kill himself, he said. He had Mr Murdaugh sign a handwritten note pledging to pay him the money back so that he would be able to make a claim against his estate if he died. On 3 September 2021 three months on from the murders Mr Wilson said he finally learned his friend had been scamming him and many other people. 15:18 , Oliver O'Connell Mr Wilson is recounting the final Mack Trucks case that led to the discovery of Mr Murdaughs fraud. The two men had a close professional relationship, with Mr Wilson telling the court about one particular personal injury case they worked on together in January 2021. In total, the clients won $5.5m from two verdicts in the case, with Mr Murdaughs firm making a $792,000 cut. Mr Wilson testified how his friend asked him to make the $792,000 check payable directly to him instead of PMPED so that he could structure them through an annuity. Mr Murdaugh told him that his law firm had already agreed to this happening, he said. Because he trusted his friend, Mr Wilson testified that it didnt raise any suspicions. It was different, but it didnt raise any red flags or suspicions that something was going on, he said. New Witness: Chris Wilson, Murdaughs friend and business associate 14:45 , Oliver O'Connell Chris Wilson returns to the stand as one of the prosecutions financial crimes witnesses. We have heard his testimony before as part of the in-camera proceedings but this is his first time in front of the jury. Mr Wilson was intricately involved in the fraud case perpetuated by Mr Murdaugh that was uncovered by his firm ahead of the murders leading to the revelation of the full extent of his crimes. The two were best friends and had known each other since high school, before becoming friends during law school. Heres Rachel Sharps reporting on Mr Wilsons original testimony. Alex Murdaughs friend breaks down describing murder suspects financial crimes 14:41 , Oliver O'Connell We learn that only one phone was connected to the SUV via Bluetooth in June 2021. It appears to be Alex Murdaughs phone. No location data was captured during the data retrieval process. No further questions from the defence or state. 14:37 , Oliver O'Connell Mr Falkofske reveals the work analysing the Chevrolet Suburban took one year and some of it can now be used on other cases. The manufacturer was not approached for help, but in the past they have not been helpful. Mr Falkofske said in this type of work they often find data that the manufacturer did not know was there. Court resumes 14:33 , Oliver O'Connell Court resumes with FBI electronics analysis specialist Dwight Falkofske back on the stand for cross-examination by the defence team. The jury is being brought back into the courtroom. What to expect in court on Thursday: 14:20 , Rachel Sharp Alex Murdaughs murder trial will resume at 9.30am ET in Colleton County Courthouse. First up will be the cross-examination of Dwight Falkofske, an FBI electronic analysis specialist. Mr Falkofske gave direct testimony on Wednesday afternoon about data that was extracted from Alex Murdaughs 2021 Suburban SUV. The data offered jurors a potential timeline for Mr Murdaughs movements on the night of 7 June 2021 when Maggie and Paul were shot dead. It indicates the suspect only stayed at his parents home for around 20 minutes and not the 30 to 40 minutes he asked his mothers carer to tell authorities. RECAP Day 13: Car data offers timeline for night of murders 14:10 , Rachel Sharp After testimony resumed after the bomb threat, jurors heard from FBI electronics engineer Dwight Falkofske who testified about his examination of data recovered from Mr Murdaughs SUV. The data offered jurors a potential timeline for Murdaughs movements on the night of 7 June 2021 when Maggie and Paul were shot dead. The data indicates that Mr Murdaugh did leave his property and drove to his parents home at around 9pm. However, it also indicates the suspect only stayed at his parents home for around 21 minutes and not the 30 to 40 minutes he asked his mothers carer to tell authorities. RECAP Day 13: Bomb threat prompts emergency evacuation at court 13:50 , Rachel Sharp Mr Murdaughs high-profile murder trial was dramatically evacuated over a bomb threat received at the courthouse. The bomb threat came in to staff at Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, just before 12.30pm ET on Wednesday, prompting a sudden evacuation of the entire building. SLED released a statement confirming that the threat was under investigation. A bomb threat was received by Colleton County courthouse personnel. The building has been evacuated and SLED along with the Colleton County Sheriffs Office are investigating the threat, the statement read. No additional information is available from SLED at this time. By 2.30pm the threat was marked all-clear and testimony resumed at around 3.10pm. Read the full story here: Alex Murdaugh murder trial suddenly evacuated due to bomb threat RECAP Day 13: Murdaughs rehab text revealed in court 13:30 , Rachel Sharp Jurors also heard more details about Mr Murdaughs alleged financial crimes. Separate to the murders, Mr Murdaugh is currently facing around 100 charges for stealing almost $8.5m from law firm clients dating back to 2011. Annette Griswold, who worked as a paralegal at Mr Murdaughs former law firm PMPED, outlined how she learned that he had been stealing the money from the firm. After his scheme had been uncovered and he was ousted from PMPED, Mr Murdaugh checked into rehab. Ms Griswold testified that she received a text from Mr Murdaugh in late September 2021 apologising for what he had done. He also sent the text to another colleague. Hey, its Alex. Im finally feeling a little bit better each day, the text message said. Im over the worst but still feel like i have the flu. Real weak. Im have been worried about yall and Im sorry I didnt get to tell yall myself. I know both of you have been hurt badly by me. I know it sounds hollow, but I am truly sorry. The better I get, the more guilt I have. I have an awful lot to try to make right when I get out of here. The worst part is knowing I did the most damage to those I love the most. Im not sure how I let myself get where I did. I am committed to getting better and hope to mend as many relationships as I can. You both are special people and important to me. Please know how sorry I am to have made you part of my misdeeds. I hope you are doing as well as possible. I love you very much. Michael Gunn, principal of Forge Consulting, also testified hwo Mr Murdaugh set up a fake account called Forge and impersonated his company so that he could steal money from law firm clients. RECAP Day 13: Gunshot residue particles on blue raincoat 13:10 , Rachel Sharp Day 13 of the trial began with more testimony about the significant amount of gunshot residue discovered on a blue raincoat Alex Murdaugh allegedly hid in his parents home after the murders. At least 38 particles were found inside the coat an amount that fits with the prosecutions claim he used the garment to hide and move one or both of the guns used in the murders. Another 14 were found on the outside, with 52 in total on the item. SLED forensic scientist Megan Fletcher confirmed that this is consistent with a recently fired firearm being placed inside the rainjacket. A smaller amount of gunshot residue particles were also found on Mr Murdaughs hands, t shirt and shorts and the seatbelt buckle on his car. Under cross-examination, Agent Fletcher confirmed that it is not possible to determine how or when the gunshot residue was deposited on the item, with the defence seeking to suggest it could have even been there years. Does data from the SUV help establish a timeline of the night of the murders? 12:40 , Oliver O'Connell Dwight Falkofske is the FBI electronic analysis specialist who extracted data from Alex Murdaughs 2021 Suburban SUV. The data shows the times the infotainment system would start up or go off and when the vehicle would go in and out of Park mode. A rough timeline of the events based on evidence heard so far in the trial would run as follows: At 9.06pm Murdaugh departs Moselle Road for his parents house. He arrives at 9.22pm. Murdaugh stays for 21 minutes (as Shelly Smith testified though he asked her to say he stayed almost double that time). At 9.43pm/9.44pm the vehicle goes out-in-out of Park mode and Murdaugh departs his parents home for Moselle Road. He arrives at the house at 10pm. The car then goes out and into Park mode twice for a few seconds. At 10.04pm the vehicle comes out of Park mode as he drives from the house to the kennels having not found Maggie and Paul at home. This takes approximately a minute. We know at 10.06pm he called 911 after discovering the bodies of his wife and son and allegedly checking their pulses and trying to turn Paul over in the preceding minute. At 10.11 he drives back to the house to get his shotgun over the course of a minute while still on the 911 call. It takes a minute to get the weapon. He then drives back down to the kennels where the first responding police officers would find him minutes later. As many people have commented on Twitter, its all fine and well for the prosecution to produce all of this data, but as yet they have not put it all in context for the jury or stitched together a timeline as above to illustrate how they believe the night played out. The jury could well be confused at this point. During closing arguments, the prosecution will have to work hard to piece together the SUV data, cellphone data, phone and text records, videos, and crime scene evidence and how all this relates to the alleged financial crimes in a coherent manner for the jury to understand what they think happened at Moselle Road that night. Bomb threat reportedly came from South Carolina inmate 12:10 , Rachel Sharp The bomb threat which prompted an emergency evacuation of the courthouse and derailed the trial of Alex Murdaugh reportedly came from a South Carolina prison inmate. Multiple sources told FITS News that the hoax threat was called in from Ridgeland, South Carolina, from an unidentified incarcerated individual. The outlet reported that the incident appears to have no connection to Mr Murdaughs trial. The incident unfolded at around 12.30pm Wednesday when Judge Newman announced that the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, was being evacuated. Officials whisked Mr Murdaugh and the jury away to secure locations and multiple law enforcement agencies descended on the scene. At around 3pm the court was deemed secure and testimony resumed. Multiple sources familiar with the situation telling us yesterday's bomb threat at the Colleton County courthouse was called in from Ridgeland, S.C. Initial reports point to the call emanating from an incarcerated individual. Apparently nothing to do with #MurdaughTrial pic.twitter.com/MXu824GNG9 FITSNews (@fitsnews) February 9, 2023 Fidgety Murdaugh visited mom on night of murders 11:40 , Oliver O'Connell A fidgety Alex Murdaugh showed up at his sick mothers house for a brief 20-minute visit on the night of his wife and sons murders before later claiming he was there double the length of time and offering to pay towards the wedding of the caretaker who could refute his alibi. Muschelle Shelly Smith, who had been working as a caregiver to Mr Murdaughs mother Libby from October 2019, gave emotional and at-times damning testimony in Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, on Monday. Rachel Sharp has the story. Alex Murdaugh was fidgety when he visited sick mothers home on night of murders Profile: Alex Murdaugh 09:40 , Oliver O'Connell Who is the man at centre of a legal hurricane involving the murders of his wife and son, more than 100 criminal charges over white-collar fraud, and a botched hitman job? Who is Alex Murdaugh? The legal scion on trial for the murders of his wife and son By time of murders, fuse was lit to expose Murdaughs financial crimes, attorney says 07:40 , Oliver O'Connell The fuse had been lit to expose Alex Murdaughs slew of alleged financial crimes at the time of his wife and sons murders but his problems would likely be over if the family was the victim of an unspeakable tragedy, according to dramatic courtroom testimony at his trial. Attorney Mark Tinsley took the witness stand at Colleton County Courthouse in South Carolina on Monday morning to testify about the lawsuit he brought against Mr Murdaugh on behalf of the family of Mallory Beach. Beach, 19, died in a February 2019 crash in the Murdaugh family boat. Read on: Boat crash attorney speaks on Alex Murdaughs financial crimes Gunshot residue found all over blue raincoat Murdaugh allegedly hid in parents home 05:40 , Oliver O'Connell Gunshot residue was found all over the mystery blue raincoat that Alex Murdaugh allegedly hid in his parents home in the days after his wife and son were shot dead, according to bombshell courtroom testimony. SLED forensic scientist Megan Fletcher testified in Colleton County Courthouse in South Carolina that at least 38 gunshot residue (GSR) particles were found on the inside of the jacket which was seized from Mr Murdaughs parents home. Rachel Sharp reports. Gunshot residue found all over blue raincoat in Alex Murdaugh case All the key revelations from the Alex Murdaugh murder trial so far... 03:40 , Oliver O'Connell Its a dramatic saga that now includes murder, a botched hitman plot, multi-million-dollar fraud schemes and a series of unexplained deaths. The now-disbarred attorney denies the allegations and has pleaded not guilty. Mr Murdaughs trial got underway at Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro on 23 January. Here are the key revelations from the trial so far: Confession, bloody scene and clean shirt: Key moments from Alex Murdaugh trial Does data from the SUV help establish a timeline of the night of the murders? 02:40 , Oliver O'Connell Dwight Falkofske is the FBI electronic analysis specialist who extracted data from Alex Murdaughs 2021 Suburban SUV. The data shows the times the infotainment system would start up or go off and when the vehicle would go in and out of Park mode. A rough timeline of the events based on evidence heard so far in the trial would run as follows: At 9.06pm Murdaugh departs Moselle Road for his parents house. He arrives at 9.22pm. Murdaugh stays for 21 minutes (as Shelly Smith testified though he asked her to say he stayed almost double that time). At 9.43pm/9.44pm the vehicle goes out-in-out of Park mode and Murdaugh departs his parents home for Moselle Road. He arrives at the house at 10pm. The car then goes out and into Park mode twice for a few seconds. At 10.04pm the vehicle comes out of Park mode as he drives from the house to the kennels having not found Maggie and Paul at home. This takes approximately a minute. We know at 10.06pm he called 911 after discovering the bodies of his wife and son and allegedly checking their pulses and trying to turn Paul over in the preceding minute. At 10.11 he drives back to the house to get his shotgun over the course of a minute while still on the 911 call. It takes a minute to get the weapon. He then drives back down to the kennels where the first responding police officers would find him minutes later. As many people have commented on Twitter, its all fine and well for the prosecution to produce all of this data, but as yet they have not put it all in context for the jury or stitched together a timeline as above to illustrate how they believe the night played out. The jury could well be confused at this point. During closing arguments, the prosecution will have to work hard to piece together the SUV data, cellphone data, phone and text records, videos, and crime scene evidence and how all this relates to the alleged financial crimes in a coherent manner for the jury to understand what they think happened at Moselle Road that night. The full story of Alex Murdaughs spectacular fall from grace 01:40 , Oliver O'Connell On the surface, Alex Murdaugh had it all. He was a high-powered attorney who ran both his own law firm and worked in the local prosecutors office. He was the son of a powerful legal dynasty that dominated the local South Carolina community for almost a century. And he was a family man who lived with his wife and two adult sons on their sprawling country estate. But over the last 19 months, Mr Murdaugh has experienced a spectacular fall from grace, culminating in what has been described as the trial of the century now taking place in a courtroom in Walterboro, South Carolina. Alex Murdaugh trial: Story of the legal scions spectacular fall from grace Watch: The moment the court was evacuated 00:40 , Oliver O'Connell Full Story: Murdaugh murder trial suddenly evacuated due to bomb threat Wednesday 8 February 2023 23:40 , Oliver O'Connell Alex Murdaughs high-profile murder trial was dramatically evacuated over a bomb threat received at the courthouse. The bomb threat came in to staff at Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, just before 12.30pm ET on Wednesday, prompting a sudden evacuation of the entire building. SLED released a statement confirming that the threat was under investigation. Rachel Sharp reports on the dramatic turn of events. Alex Murdaugh murder trial suddenly evacuated due to bomb threat Paralegal angered by Murdaugh theft, knew he loved family Wednesday 8 February 2023 22:40 , Oliver O'Connell Alex Murdaughs paralegal testified Wednesday at his double murder trial about the betrayal she felt when she discovered he lied and manipulated to steal millions of dollars from clients. But Annette Griswold also told jurors Murdaugh was a dedicated family man so distraught after his wife and son were killed he could no longer stay at the home where the killings took place and texted a lengthy apology for his misdeeds to his paralegals while in rehab. Read on: Paralegal angry by Alex Murdaugh theft, knew he loved family Court adjourns for the day Wednesday 8 February 2023 21:39 , Oliver O'Connell After a day of gunshot residue, financial misdeeds, car data and a bomb scare, Judge Newman calls time on proceedings. The court is in recess until 9.30am on Thursday at which point cross-examination of Mr Falkofske will continue. Wednesday 8 February 2023 21:37 , Oliver O'Connell Lots of people are commenting on Twitter that its all fine and well for the prosecution to produce all of this data, but as yet they have not put it all in context for the jury or stitched together a timeline as below to illustrate how they believe the night played out. The jury could well be confused at this point. Wednesday 8 February 2023 21:34 , Oliver O'Connell Cathy Russon of Law & Crime has also compiled a timeline crossreferencing the data from Alex Murdaughs SUV with Maggie Murdaughs cellphone. SUV log compared to Maggie's phone log: 9:03:44 SUV door opens. 9:04:23 missed called from Alex to Maggie. 9:06:12 orientation change on Maggie's phone. 9:06:14 missed call from Alex to Maggie 9:06:49 SUV starts. 9:06:50 SUV taken out of park 9:06:51 missed call Alex to Maggie Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson) February 8, 2023 Heres the rest of the timeline: 9:43:05 SUV leaves off of park 9:45:32 Missed call from Alex to Maggie 9:47:23 Alex text to Maggie "Call me babe" 9:53:59 SUV put into park Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson) February 8, 2023 Wednesday 8 February 2023 21:23 , Oliver O'Connell In cross-examination, Mr Falkofske clarifies the data he extracted was encrypted by the manufacturer and not the defendant. He did not reach out to General Motors for help with the encryption, saying that manufacturers usually dont help. Wednesday 8 February 2023 21:17 , Oliver O'Connell A rough outline of the timeline appears to be: At 9.06pm Murdaugh departs Moselle Road for his parents house. He arrives at 9.22pm. Murdaugh stays for 21 minutes (as Shelly Smith testified though he asked her to say he stay almost double that time). At 9.43pm/9.44pm the vehicle goes out-in-out of Park mode and Murdaugh departs his parents home for Moselle Road. He arrives at the house at 10pm. The car then goes out and into Park mode twice for a few seconds. At 10.04pm the vehicle comes out of Park mode as he drives from the house to the kennels having not found Maggie and Paul at home. This takes approximately a minute. We know at 10.06pm he called 911 after discovering the bodies of his wife and son and allegedly checking their pulses and trying to turn Paul over in the preceding minute. At 10.11 he drives back to the house to get his shotgun over the course of a minute while still on the 911 call. It takes a minute to get the weapon. He then drives back down to the kennels where the first responding police officers would find him minutes later. Wednesday 8 February 2023 21:09 , Oliver O'Connell 10.04.49pm out of Park mode. 10.05.55pm back into Park mode after approximately one minute. 10.11.45pm out of Park mode. 10.12.45pm back into Park mode. At 10.13.39pm it goes out of Park mode, there is no corresponding data point showing the car going back into Park mode. While the data cannot tell you who was in the car or whether it was in motion, the prosecution has built a timeline based on whether the car is in Park mode or not. That timeline appears to match with a version of events from the night of the murders. Wednesday 8 February 2023 21:04 , Oliver O'Connell At 9.44pm the vehicle goes back out of Park mode and then goes back into Park mode at 10pm. A gap of approximately 16 minutes. There is another pair of events a moment later with the vehicle going in and out of Park mode over 12 seconds around 10.01pm. Seconds later there is another pair of events in which the vehicle is out of Park mode for 13 seconds. Wednesday 8 February 2023 21:00 , Oliver O'Connell At 9.43.05pm the vehicle goes out of Park mode again. At 9.43.59pm it goes back into Park mode. Just under a minute had elapsed. Wednesday 8 February 2023 20:59 , Oliver O'Connell The data shows that at 9.04pm on 7 June 2021 the system began starting up again. There are more data points at 9.05.56pm continuing for approximately one minute. The cars engine is now running. The vehicle is taken out of Park mode at 9.06.56pm. The vehicle went back into Park mode at 9.22.45pm. It could have been moving between these two timestamps, but there is no direct evidence from the data for that. There is a 16-minute gap between these two events. Wednesday 8 February 2023 20:51 , Oliver O'Connell There are records showing the infotainment system coming on this can happen when the door is opened or if the car is turned on. Records also show when it powers down. Other data shows the car shifting out of Park mode. The prosecution is walking the witness through the spreadsheet he created from the data. Wednesday 8 February 2023 20:44 , Oliver O'Connell Mr Falkofske testifies he pulled data from another 2021 model Suburban as a test to determine how to read the extracted data from Mr Murdaughs vehicle. In looking at the data from the defendants car, he first testifies that two calls were logged at 10.06pm on 7 June 2021 one to 9111 and a second a few seconds later to 911. This corresponds to the timing of the 911 call made by Mr Murdaugh. Wednesday 8 February 2023 20:33 , Oliver O'Connell He extracted data from Mr Murdaughs SUV. This included call logs, contact lists, a little bit of location data, and other data via Bluetooth connectivity with the defendants phone. It also included an event log for the vehicle ranging from windows going up and down, doors opening, and the screen going on, to the car changing gears or going into park mode. New Witness: Dwight Falkofske Wednesday 8 February 2023 20:19 , Oliver O'Connell The next witness is the FBI electronic analysis specialist Dwight Falkofske. He focuses on automotive systems and extracts data from those systems and makes it readable for the purposes of investigations. Wednesday 8 February 2023 20:16 , Oliver O'Connell After identifying the two pieces of equipment removed from the vehicle, Mr Hudak steps down. Court resumes Wednesday 8 February 2023 20:10 , Oliver O'Connell After the bomb scare and extended lunch recess, the court is back in session and the jury is brought in. Brian Hudak, a computer crimes special agent for SLED, is back on the stand. He examined the infotainment module and OnStar module of Mr Murdaughs SUV. Forge Consulting preparing to take legal action against Murdaugh and Bank of America Wednesday 8 February 2023 19:45 , Oliver O'Connell As we wait for court to resume, a statement has been issued by Michael Gunn, the principal and senior settlement consultant for Forge Consulting, who testified before the jury earlier today. Forge Consulting has been in business for over 20 years building our reputation on professionalism, experience and integrity. Weve built our business on the truth and thats exactly why were here today: to tell the truth.I dont know what happened that horrible night in Islandton when Maggie and Paul Murdaugh were murdered. But I do know that Alex Murdaugh used our good name to defraud his clients, his law firm and countless others. I know that Bank of America could have stopped it all there with a single phone call to verify the truth. Unfortunately, that call was never made. I wonder how much tragedy could have been avoided if it was. Michael Gunn, Forge Consulting LLC Further, attorneys for Forge Consulting have said that theyre preparing to take legal action in response to the serious harm Alex Murdaugh and Bank of America have done to the financial firms business reputation and credibility due to Murdaughs and Bank of Americas participation in a scheme that allowed Murdaugh to use the Forge brand in order to defraud millions of dollars from his clients and colleagues. Wednesday 8 February 2023 19:38 , Oliver O'Connell The general public is lining up to reenter the courthouse. And general public now lining up to get back into court. It was like a st Patricks day land rush or running to be first in line for tickets to an amusement park. Wild to see. @wsav pic.twitter.com/mpP9wcY04t Andrew Davis (@WSAVAndrewD) February 8, 2023 Security allowing people back into the courthouse Wednesday 8 February 2023 19:34 , Oliver O'Connell The threat has been cleared and people are now being allowed back into the courthouse. Security is letting everyone back inside the courthouse now - threat has been cleared #breaking #AlexMurdaughTrial @CourtTV https://t.co/mhcZKbVCbC Chanley Sha Painter (@ChanleyCourtTV) February 8, 2023 Full story: Murdaugh murder trial suddenly evacuated due to bomb threat Wednesday 8 February 2023 19:28 , Oliver O'Connell Alex Murdaughs high-profile murder trial has been dramatically evacuated after a bomb threat was reported at the courthouse. The bomb threat came in to staff at Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, just before 12.30pm ET on Wednesday, prompting a sudden evacuation of the entire building. SLED released a statement confirming that the threat was under investigation. Rachel Sharp reports on todays dramatic developments. Alex Murdaugh murder trial suddenly evacuated due to bomb threat Update: Bomb squad called in, report says Wednesday 8 February 2023 18:55 , Oliver O'Connell Bomb threat update. More than an hour since evacuation. Hearing bomb squad was called in. They are coming from Summerville which is an hour away. Court was supposed to start back at 2:30 but building isnt cleared yet. @WSAV pic.twitter.com/Kw9ONr2jAt Andrew Davis (@WSAVAndrewD) February 8, 2023 Wednesday 8 February 2023 18:29 , Oliver O'Connell Colleton County Sheriffs Office urges citizens to use an alternate route of travel and will update traffic conditions as needed. Statement from Colleton County Sheriff's Office after bomb threat during Murdaugh Trial: "The Colleton Sheriff's Office urges citizens to use an alternate route of travel and will update traffic conditions as needed." Mandy Matney (@MandyMatney) February 8, 2023 Reporters on the ground say there is currently no sign of canine units of the bomb squad, and traffic is moving freely not too far from the building. Wednesday 8 February 2023 18:21 , Oliver O'Connell Scenes from outside the courthouse after the area was cleared. Scenes outside the Colleton County courthouse, just cleared for a bomb threat during the Murdaugh trial: Attorney General Alan Wilson walking to his car to drive away, TV sets left empty, and traffic blocked near the area where Alex Murdaugh comes and goes each day. pic.twitter.com/pIMeMGcQcJ Thad Moore (@thadmoore) February 8, 2023 Wednesday 8 February 2023 18:11 , Oliver O'Connell Jurors were evacuated in vans according to a report from ABC News. @TaraJabour just informed us the jurors were taken out the back of the courthouse and put into vans. #AlexMurdaugh #MurdaughTrial #chsnews Katy Solt (@katysolt) February 8, 2023 Wednesday 8 February 2023 18:09 , Oliver O'Connell A reporter for The Post and Courier saw the van that Alex Murdaugh usually arrives in leave the area. He was not able to see if Mr Murdaugh was inside. SLED releases statement on bomb threat Wednesday 8 February 2023 18:04 , Oliver O'Connell A bomb threat was received by Colleton County courthouse personnel. The building has been evacuated and SLED along with the Colleton County Sheriffs Office are investigating the threat. Wednesday 8 February 2023 17:47 , Oliver O'Connell Initially Judge Newman said court would resume at 2:30. This of course now depends on if law enforcement declares the area safe #MurdaughTrial #chsnews #AlexMurdaugh Katy Solt (@katysolt) February 8, 2023 Wednesday 8 February 2023 17:40 , Oliver O'Connell Security rushed media away from the property and a fire truck has pulled up, according to reports from the scene. Two reporters have had the reason for the evacuation confirmed as a bomb threat by lawyers on the Murdaugh case. Wednesday 8 February 2023 17:35 , Oliver O'Connell There are multiple unconfirmed reports of a bomb threat being made to the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina. The courthouse has been evacuated. Wednesday 8 February 2023 17:32 , Oliver O'Connell Waiting to hear the reason for the evacuation. The Colleton county courthouse is being evacuated per Judge Newman. @ABCNews4 pic.twitter.com/1vWkWVbjs2 Tara Jabour (@TaraJabour) February 8, 2023 Wednesday 8 February 2023 17:26 , Oliver O'Connell The purpose of this recess becomes apparent. Judge Newman says: We have to evacuate the building at this time. Well be in recess until we discover whats going on. Well couple this with a lunch break until 2:30. New Witness: Brian Hudak, SLED computer crimes special agent Wednesday 8 February 2023 17:25 , Oliver O'Connell The next witness for the prosecution is Brian Hudak, a computer crimes special agent for SLED. As he introduces himself, Judge Newman excuses the jury for a recess. Wednesday 8 February 2023 17:23 , Oliver O'Connell On cross-examination, Mr Griffin again focuses on the Murdaughs as a close family and that Mr Gunn and his wife had been friends with them. The Murdaughs had attended the Gunns wedding in New York in 2016 and he recalls Paul and Buster being brought to family events connected to legal conferences they would attend. Mr Gunn attended Paul and Maggies funerals and described Mr Mursdaugh as a broken man. Wednesday 8 February 2023 17:19 , Oliver O'Connell As in his earlier testimony, Mr Gunn explains he had not banked with Bank of America for more than four or five years when Mr Murdaughs partners approached him with evidence of the crimes chiefly the Bank of America accounts in the name of Forge. He confirms that the account is not his and he never gave Mr Murdaugh permission to operate in the name of Forge. Wednesday 8 February 2023 17:11 , Oliver O'Connell Mr Gunn is asked about how much he worked with Mr Murdaugh, how often they saw each other socially, and whether he had ever visited any of the properties or met up with the purpose of handing over checks. He says the relationship with Mr Murdaugh was limited and he had worked more with other people at the firm. He had run into him socially but had not visited any of the properties and had never met him with the purpose of exchanging checks. Ms Griswald testified that Mr Murdaugh had told her he would personally hand checks to Mr Gunn. New Witness: Michael Gunn, principal of Forge Consulting Wednesday 8 February 2023 17:00 , Oliver O'Connell The next witness is Michael Gunn, principal of Forge Consulting. He is a senior figure in the firm Mr Murdaugh impersonated using a fake bank account to steal from his own clients. Mr Gunn previously testified without the jury present. The firm structures annuities for people who win settlements from workers comp lawsuits, wrongful deaths, etc. Mr Murdaugh would argue cases for clients who if they won would then have an annuity put in place to pay them over time, with interest, in a tax efficient way. Wednesday 8 February 2023 16:56 , Oliver O'Connell After a brief redirect establishing the timeline of when Mr Murdaugh was fired, Ms Griswald is excused. Wednesday 8 February 2023 16:55 , Oliver O'Connell Ms Griswald reads out the message she received from Mr Murdaugh in late September 2021. She confirms the message was sent from rehab. I assumed it was probably one of the steps of reaching out to those you hurt and telling them you were sorry. In the message, he says he has hurt those he loves and says he is truly sorry. I am committing to getting better and hope to mend as many relationships as I can, he wrote. Please know how sorry I am to have made you part of my misdeeds. Wednesday 8 February 2023 16:50 , Oliver O'Connell Mr Griffins questioning revolves around establishing that Mr Murdaugh was a family man who would put Paul, Buster, and Maggie first. His wife would accompany him on business trips and he would prioritise his sons events over work. We learn that he never spent another night at the Moselle Road property after the murders and stayed with family or at other properties. He seemed more mellow after the killings. Wednesday 8 February 2023 16:41 , Oliver O'Connell Cross-examination begins with Jim Griffin for the defence. He begins by asking Ms Griswald about her employment at the law firm and then her relationship with Mr Murdaugh. I cared about him. I respected him. I loved him, she says. It was hard to work for him sometimes. He was a bit erratic. Yeah, for all the respect and love I had for him, it was still very difficult to work for him. Mr Griffin reminds her she described him like a Tasmanian devil. Wednesday 8 February 2023 16:36 , Oliver O'Connell Mr Waters asks Ms Griswald about Mr Murdaughs cell phone use. As with other witnesses she says he was always on his phone or his office phone, sometimes both together. The prosecution plays the kennel video of Cash the puppy taken by Paul moments before the murders. Ms Griswald identifies the voices of Paul, Maggie and Alex Murdaugh, and like other witnesses who knew the family well, says she is 100 per cent sure of who is speaking. Wednesday 8 February 2023 16:33 , Oliver O'Connell Court resumes. Judge Newman rules the email from Mr Murdaugh to Ms Griswald is admissible but offers for a portion to be redacted. The defence team tries to have all of the financial crimes struck from the court records. Judge Newman denies that motion. He asks again if they would like to have the document redacted. The defence asks for a limiting instruction on how the jury may use it in their deliberating. Judge Newman says he has issued that instruction twice and will not be doing so with every witness in the middle of their testimony. The jury is brought back in and the exhibit is admitted into evidence. Wednesday 8 February 2023 16:06 , Oliver O'Connell Court takes a 15-minute break. Wednesday 8 February 2023 16:06 , Oliver O'Connell The jury is excused while the prosecution and defence argue over whether an email from Mr Murdaugh to Ms Griswald can be admitted into evidence. The subject of the email concerns his time in rehab. Mr Murdaughs defence does not want his use of drugs to be included in testimony. The prosecution notes that there is no mention of drugs in the email, but this is an issue they have to address as his friend Chris Wilson will be called to testify again in front of the jury, and in camera testimony he spoke of Mr Murdaughs use of opioids. Wednesday 8 February 2023 15:57 , Oliver O'Connell On 2 September 2021 she picked up a file and one of the missing checks from the Mack Trucks case fell out. It was dated March and it had been deposited by mobile deposit with Mr Murdaughs signature on the back. Ms Griswald says she felt hurt, angry, and a bit enraged. Hes been lying this whole time. He had these funds. He lied to me. That feeling in the back of my mind was correct. He did take these funds. She called Ms Seckinger and went to see her and handed over the check that allegedly did not exist. Mr Murdaugh was fired the next day. Further investigation uncovered the extent of Mr Murdaughs crimes. Griswold said she went to Jeannie Seckinger's office and showed her the check. Jeannie told her she thinks there are more stolen funds. #AlexMurdaugh. Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson) February 8, 2023 Wednesday 8 February 2023 15:52 , Oliver O'Connell After the murders, Ms Griswald remembers the law firm and wider community rallying around the Murdaugh family. Questions about the missing attorney fees for the Mack Trucks case stopped. Wednesday 8 February 2023 15:48 , Oliver O'Connell Ms Griswald remembers being very concerned about what might happen now that she had raised concerns about what Mr Murdaugh might be doing. She reached out to Mr Wilsons paralegal Vicky Lyman to voice her concerns. Ms Griswald says her daughter told her to get her resume ready because she might get fired for her role in uncovering the apparent theft. She remembers Ms Seckinger coming into the office and going to see Mr Murdaugh on 7 June 2021, the day of the murders. She exited without saying anything. Ms Griswald went home at 5.15pm leaving Mr Murdaugh at the office. She woke up in the middle of the night to numerous texts and missed calls and spoke with Randy Murdaugh, learning about the murders of Paul and Maggie. Wednesday 8 February 2023 15:40 , Oliver O'Connell In early 2021, the Mack Trucks case that Mr Murdaugh worked on with his friend Chris Wilson raised further red flags. Ms Griswold says she was shocked to find out that legal fees had been directly paid to Mr Murdaugh. She assumed this was a mistake or he had lost the checks. He claimed that he never got the checks and after a lot of chasing Mr Murdaugh said Mr Wilson has the money. This was the missing $792k that sparked the eventual uncovering of the extent of Mr Murdaughs theft. Ms Griswold brought in CFO Jeanne Seckinger (who testified yesterday) and they both agreed that it did not look good but hoped it was some kind of misunderstanding. She says they both had a feeling that something was wrong. Wednesday 8 February 2023 15:27 , Oliver O'Connell Ms Griswold testifies that she began to notice oddities in the files tied to times when she was away from the office and someone else had to cover for her, or when things were being rushed through at the end of the working day. Waters: Was the defendant using the opportunity of you being out of the office to push these things through? Griswold: Yes. He would do it a few minutes before 5 p.m. on Fridays when it was less likely people would pay attention and ask questions. Avery G. Wilks (@AveryGWilks) February 8, 2023 Wednesday 8 February 2023 15:21 , Oliver O'Connell As the court heard earlier, Mr Murdaugh was depositing these checks money due to clients into his fake Forge account at Bank of America. Wednesday 8 February 2023 15:15 , Oliver O'Connell Getting into the details of the financial crimes, Ms Griswold recalls Mr Murdaugh instructing her to change disbursement sheets and get checks cut to Forge and not Forge Consulting. She also remembers that Mr Murdaugh would then take charge of those checks personally and say he would pass them on himself rather than them being mailed to their contact at Forge Consulting, Michael Gunn. Wednesday 8 February 2023 15:13 , Oliver O'Connell Ms Griswold recalls that everything changed after the boat accident. Mr Murdaugh changed, was often shut away in his office, was hard to reach, and treated his paralegals differently. She describes it as very tense. You could tell the boat crash was weighing heavily on him. It was consuming his life, almost. New Witness: Annette Griswold, paralegal for Alex Murdaugh Wednesday 8 February 2023 15:09 , Oliver O'Connell The next witness is Mr Murdaughs former paralegal Annette Griswold. She is being questioned by Prosecutor Creighton Waters. Ms Griswold handled Mr Murdaughs larger case files workers comp, medical malpractice, wrongful death etc. She speaks fondly of working for Mr Murdaugh saying he was extremely intelligent and she respected and admired him for that. Wednesday 8 February 2023 15:05 , Oliver O'Connell Agent Fletcher testifies that it is unusual for so many GSR particles to be found on the interior of a garment rather than on the exterior as people tend to wear their clothes the right way out. It remains a matter of speculation as to how the GSR came to be on the inside of the raincoat. The prosecution appears to be hinting toward firearms being wrapped up in the garment. There is a further quick question from Mr Griffin, clarifying that Agent Fletcher can only tell them what she saw under a microscope. She agrees. Rain Jacket GSR: 14 particles on the outside of the rain jacket. 38 (or more) on the inside of the rain jacket. Prosecutor asks the large amount on the inside of the jacket - is that consistent with transfer from a recently fired gun. "that's a possibility"#AlexMurdaugh pic.twitter.com/snaBAtCJf3 Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson) February 8, 2023 Wednesday 8 February 2023 15:02 , Oliver O'Connell Prosecutor John Meadors is now questioning Agent Fletcher on redirect after the end of the cross-examination. There was some confusion during direct examination as to how many particles were found on the raincoat. There were 14 found on the outside of the garment and 38 found on the inside, though they stopped counting as there were do many. These were sampled from 13 lifts on the outside and 12 lifts on the inside. Wednesday 8 February 2023 15:00 , Oliver O'Connell In addition to the GSR test, the raincoat was also sent for DNA analysis. Agent Fletcher is not aware of the results of the testing. Wednesday 8 February 2023 14:57 , Oliver O'Connell During the search of Mr Murdaughs parents home, a blue tarp was taken into evidence in addition to the blue raincoat. Only the raincoat was tested for GSR as it was balled up in a closet, whereas the tarp was found in a storage box above some dishes and was not. Wednesday 8 February 2023 14:54 , Oliver O'Connell Moving on to the blue raincoat, Agent Fletcher agrees with the possibility that the GSR could be years old. Mr Griffin suggests that Mr Murdaughs father, Randolph, at whose house the raincoat was found could have transferred GSR to the garment from its contact with his own firearms while out shooting. Wednesday 8 February 2023 14:49 , Oliver O'Connell Defence attorney Jim Griffin is questioning Agent Fletcher. Through his questioning, he confirms that gunshot residue (GSR) can remain on an inanimate surface indefinitely or until it was washed or brushed off. It is not possible to tell how or when it got there. Asked about whether GSR accumulates on guns themselves, she says: If you touch a gun that had been fired at any point, then you have the potential to transfer it to your hands. She agrees that the GSR found on Mr Murdaughs hands and clothes could have been from when he got the shotgun from the main house after calling 911 on the night of the murders. Agent Fletcher is also asked about the GSR particle found on the seatbelt buckle. I could not tell you when that particle was deposited, she says. Watch the trial LIVE Wednesday 8 February 2023 14:43 , Oliver O'Connell Court resumes Wednesday 8 February 2023 14:35 , Oliver O'Connell Court resumes. Judge Clifton Newman presiding. The jury is being brought in. SLED forensic scientist Megan Fletcher will return to the witness stand for cross-examination by the defence team. What to expect from day 13: Wednesday 8 February 2023 14:20 , Rachel Sharp The trial will resume at 9.30am ET on Wednesday. SLED forensic scientist Megan Fletcher will return to the stand for cross-examination by Alex Murdaughs attorneys. Agent Fletcher testified on Tuesday that a significant amount of gunshot residue particles were found on a blue raincoat found at Mr Murdaughs parents home and smaller amounts on Mr Murdaughs hands, the shirt and short he was wearing on the night of Maggie and Pauls murders and his seatbelt buckle in his car. After that, jurors are expected to hear more testimony from witnesses speaking to Mr Murdaughs financial crimes. Catch up on yesterdays story here: Gunshot residue found all over blue raincoat in Alex Murdaugh case RECAP: What happened in court on Tuesday? Gunshot residue evidence Wednesday 8 February 2023 14:10 , Rachel Sharp Gunshot residue was found all over the mystery blue raincoat that Alex Murdaugh allegedly hid in his parents home in the days after his wife and son were shot dead, according to SLED forensic scientist Megan Fletcher. Agent Fletcher said that a significant number of GSR particles at least 38 were found on the inside of the jacket which was seized from Mr Murdaughs parents home. She said this would be consistent with a recently-fired gun being wrapped up inside the jacket. The two firearms used to kill Maggie and Paul an AR-15-style rifle and a shotgun have never been found. Days after the 7 June 2021 murders, Mr Murdaughs mothers caretaker said that the disgraced attorney had shown up at his parents house at around 6.30am cradling a bundled-up blue something in his hands. Shelly Smith testified on Monday that he took the item upstairs and left it before leaving again. In a search of the parents home, investigators discovered a blue tarp and a blue rainjacket. Tests also found smaller amounts of gunshot residue on Mr Murdaughs hands, the shirt and short he was wearing on the night of Maggie and Pauls murders and his seatbelt buckle in his car. Ms Fletcher told the court that the presence of gunshot residue particles on an item means one of two things: the item was in the vicinity of a gun being fired or it came into contact with something else with GSR on it. It is not possible to say which of the two scenarios took place or when it happened. RECAP: What happened in court on Tuesday? Law firm partner says Murdaugh lied about the kennels Wednesday 8 February 2023 13:50 , Rachel Sharp Ronnie Crosby, Mr Murdaughs law firm partner and longtime friend, gave emotional testimony revealing that the accused killer lied to him about going to the dog kennels where his wife and son were brutally murdered. Mr Crosby testified that Mr Murdaugh had told him personally on the night of the murders that he had never gone down to the kennels, when he rushed to the Murdaugh home on learning about the murders. That came up in one of the conversations, and he specifically said that he did not, he testified. Instead, Mr Murdaugh gave him the same alibi story that he gave to law enforcement that he was napping at the family home, woke up and drove to his parents home to visit his sick mother. Mr Crosby became the third state witness to say he is 100 per cent sure that the voice captured in a cellphone video at the kennels minutes before the murders belongs to Mr Murdaugh. The three voices in that video are Paul, Maggie and Alex, he said. When asked how sure he was, Mr Crosby responded: Im 100 per cent sure. RECAP: What happened in court on Tuesday? Jury hears financial crimes for first time Wednesday 8 February 2023 13:30 , Rachel Sharp Jurors heard testimony for the first time about Mr Murdaughs alleged financial crimes and how they were reaching a head at the time of the murders. Mr Murdaughs law firm PMPED was closing in on his alleged multi-million-dollar fraud scheme with a colleague confronting him about missing payments on the morning of the killings. His finances were also coming under intense scrutiny in a lawsuit brought by the family of Mallory Beach a 19-year-old woman who died in a 2019 crash in the Murdaugh family boat. A hearing for the boat crash lawsuit was also scheduled for the week of the murders. It was postponed following Maggie and Pauls murders. Now, separate from his murder trial, Mr Murdaugh is currently facing around 100 charges for stealing almost $8.5m from law firm clients dating back to 2011. Last week, several witnesses testified without the jury present as the judge weighed whether to allow evidence of Mr Murdaughs alleged financial crimes to be presented at trial. Prosecutors claimed that Mr Murdaughs alleged financial crimes are key to proving the motive while the defence asked the judge to throw the evidence out of the trial. On 6 February, the judge ruled in the states favour that evidence about Mr Murdaughs financial crimes is admissible in court dealing a blow to the defence. Jeanne Seckinger, PMPED CFO, testified that she had confronted Mr Murdaugh over a missing $792,000 payment on the morning of the murders. When she approached Mr Murdaugh to ask him about it that morning she said he appeared disgusted with her. Hours later, Maggie and Paul were shot dead. Over the coming months, the law firm partners uncovered an alleged multi-million-dollar fraud scheme where he had stolen millions from their clients and pocketed it himself reaching a head with the confrontation and resignation on 3 September. The day after he was forced to resign, Mr Murdaugh was shot in the head in what turned out to be a botched hitman plot which he orchestrated with alleged accomplice, distant cousin and drug dealer Curtis Eddie Smith. They are now both facing charges over the plot. WATCH: Footage that three witnesses say places Murdaugh at crime scene Wednesday 8 February 2023 13:15 , Rachel Sharp Three witnesses have now testified that they are 100 percent sure that the voice captured in a cellphone video minutes before Maggie and Paul were murdered belongs to Alex Murdaugh. At the time of the murders, Mr Murdaugh claims that he was napping at the family home, woke up and drove to his parents home to visit his sick mother. Video, which was captured on Pauls phone from 8.44.49pm to 8.45.47pm, reveals three voices off camera at the dog kennels. Two of Pauls friends have already testified that Mr Murdaugh is the third voice. Ronnie Crosby, who has known Mr Murdaugh for 25 years and was a law partner at his former law firm PMPED, on Tuesday testified: The three voices in that video are Paul, Maggie and Alex. Who do you hear? Listen to the voices in the video below: Gunshot residue found all over blue raincoat Murdaugh allegedly hid in parents home Wednesday 8 February 2023 12:40 , Oliver O'Connell Gunshot residue was found all over the mystery blue raincoat that Alex Murdaugh allegedly hid in his parents home in the days after his wife and son were shot dead, according to bombshell courtroom testimony. SLED forensic scientist Megan Fletcher testified in Colleton County Courthouse in South Carolina that at least 38 gunshot residue (GSR) particles were found on the inside of the jacket which was seized from Mr Murdaughs parents home. Agent Fletcher said that this significant number of GSR particles would be consistent with a recently-fired gun being wrapped up inside the jacket. The two firearms used to kill Maggie and Paul an AR-15-style rifle and a shotgun have never been found. Rachel Sharp reports. Gunshot residue found all over blue raincoat in Alex Murdaugh case A timeline of murders, financial fraud, unexplained deaths and arrest Wednesday 8 February 2023 11:40 , Oliver O'Connell Disgraced legal dynasty heir Alex Murdaugh is currently on trial in a South Carolina courthouse for the murders of his wife and son. Mr Murdaugh, 54, is accused of shooting Paul, 22, twice with a shotgun and Maggie, 52, five times with a rifle on the familys sprawling hunting lodge in Islandton on 7 June 2021. He was arrested more than a year later in July 2022 and charged with their murders. In the 19 months since the brutal double murders propelled the Murdaughs onto national headlines, a series of other scandals, allegations and alleged crimes have also come to light. Heres a timeline of the key moments in the case: Alex Murdaugh: A timeline of murders, financial fraud, unexplained deaths and arrest Click here to read the full blog on The Independent's website Zuhier Mahmoud Khatib was best known in the Valley for running the Tempe Middle Eastern restaurant Haji Baba. He was also a "loving, caring, generous and passionate" husband and father, according to his son Ahmad Khatib. After spending three weeks in the hospital with COVID-19, he died on Feb. 4, 2023. He was 66 years old. He is survived by his wife of 38 years, Nidaa, and their four sons: Mahmoud, Ahmad, Hamzah and Bilal. Zuhier moved to the U.S. from Syria when he was about 20 years old. He was the only member of his family to do so and arrived in the U.S. alone with a dream of going to college and making a life for himself. He enrolled at Arizona State University, and despite not being fluent in English, he had natural charisma that made it easy for him to make friends, who helped him learn English and thrive during his college days, according to his son Ahmad. The education system in Syria was very strict, so when he came to the U.S., Zuhier was excited by how much control he had over his own future. "Someone had asked him, 'What do you want to be when you graduate?' And he said, 'What do you mean, I get to choose?'" Ahmad said. Local legends:An author looks at the people who have made Tempe After graduation, Zuhier and his best friend at ASU opened a small printing business together. After a few years, the print shop closed and Zuhier decided to pursue another one of his passions: food. He and his friend Nabil Torfa became co-owners of Haji Baba, and they stayed in business together for over three decades. "We have been partners for over 33 years and friends for 42 years," Torfa said. "I will continue to run Haji Baba hopefully for many more years." Zuhier Mahmoud Khatib was best known in the Valley for running the Tempe Middle Eastern restaurant Haji Baba with his friend Nabil Torfa. The kind and caring face of Haji Baba restaurant Haji Baba served Middle Eastern foods like shawarma, kabobs, falafel and baklava to the Tempe community since the early 1980s, racking up a number of awards for best Middle Eastern food from The Arizona Republic, Phoenix New Times and others. Story continues The restaurant is a staple of the ASU community, beloved for feeding delicious food to hungry students, providing them jobs as they worked to pay for college and, most of all, for the warm and welcoming environment fostered by Zuhier. "We are both from Syria, so we want to give a good face for Syrian people. That's our nature to be nice, nice hospitality and inviting to people, always happy. It was more of our nature to be welcoming to our store, and we want to show our values," Torfa said. Ahmad said he worked in the restaurant for a few years when he was attending ASU and working to pay off his own student loans, before moving on to his current technology job. Ahmad said his father was the same person at work and at home, always making people laugh and treating everyone with respect, no matter their age or background. "He has some kind of charisma," Ahmad said. "When you see him, you're like, this guy's nice. You could trust him. He's always smiling, you know, always giving positive vibes." A taste of home: 3 Phoenix-area faith groups come together to welcome a Syrian refugee family Remembering a family man who made everyone feel like a friend When he wasn't working in the restaurant, Zuhier loved spending time with his children. Family dinners were always very important to him, and he enjoyed going to restaurants and having picnics. He also loved nature and animals and had a passion for photography. "He had a bunch of Canon cameras, like the old ones, and he used to take photos," Ahmad said. "He was one of the first people that had a video camera, you know, those big ones. He used to buy those all the time and record us. So we have a bunch of tapes, memories of him, you know, videotaping us. He was the camera guy. If he wasn't there, we wouldn't have any memory. Because nobody likes doing the camera stuff. But he had a passion for that." When Zuhier was in the hospital, Ahmad and his brothers alternated staying at his bedside during the entire three weeks that he was there. "We struggled three weeks in the hospital, watching somebody you love, and not being able to do anything about it," Ahmad said. Zuhier was a loving father who was very proud of all four of his children, and would always tell them so, Ahmad said. He is remembered for offering advice when asked for it and treating both his children and employees as friends. Feb. 4 will be 'Zuhier Mahmoud Khatib Day' in Tempe When Haji Baba announced Zuhier's passing on its Facebook page, comments came flooding in, offering condolences to the family and sharing the positive impact Zuhier had on the community. His funeral service was attended by the restaurant's employees and members of the community in addition to the Khatib family. "There're people that I don't even know that were reaching out to me like, 'I knew your father for 40 years,'" Ahmad said. "When we had the (funeral) service, I did not expect that many people to come. Everybody there was saying it was the biggest service they'd ever seen. So I was happy because we got a lot of love and there were a lot of people that cared." After his passing, the mayor of Tempe declared Feb. 4 "Zuhier Mahmoud Khatib Day" to show appreciation for a lifetime of service to the community. The official announcement is planned for mid-March. Haji Baba will remain open and continue to serve the Tempe community, but Zuhier's biggest legacy are his children, who carry on the lessons their father taught them. "He taught me how to give and not expect anything in return, and that the world will bring it back and reward you," Ahmad said. "Patience was his big thing too. He was very patient. He said, just be good and patient and then things will work out. I think that's his biggest message, the biggest thing he wanted to teach his kids." 'I am here to serve everyone:'He pulls all-nighters to feed metro Phoenix during Ramadan Reach the reporter at endia.fontanez@gannett.com. Follow @EndiaFontanez on Twitter. Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Remembering Zuhier Mahmoud Khatib of Haji Baba restaurant in Tempe Police at an airport in Chile that was the target of an attempted heist of over $32 million. Karin Pozo/AFP via Getty Images Two people died in a shootout during an attempted robbery at an airport in Chile Wednesday. A group of men tried to steal $32 million as it was transported from a plane to armored trucks. One alleged robber and one security officer were killed, and two of the vehicles used by the robbers have been destroyed. An attempted heist was thwarted Wednesday at an airport in Chile after a group of about 10 men tried to steal millions of dollars that were being loaded into armored trucks. The "highly armed" men allegedly entered Arturo Merino Benitez International Airport in three different vehicles before shooting and killing an airport security officer as they tried to steal approximately $32.5 million, according to CNN Chile. The money was brought into the country from a LATAM Airlines plane arriving from Miami, and set to be transferred to several armed trucks and then taken to banks in the country, CBS News reported. One of the robbers was also shot and killed in the robbery as a shootout ensured with security officials, per CNN. Two of the vehicles allegedly used in the attempted heist were later found destroyed on a nearby highway. Video circulating on social media appears to have captured some of the shootout, including the sounds of several gunshots and the image of an armored truck seen driving in the background. Manuel Monsalve, undersecretary of the Interior, said the "courageous actions" of the security officers employees of of Chile's Directorate General of Civil Aviation stopped the attackers from stealing millions, CNN Chile reported. The incident marks the latest high-profile theft at Chile's largest airport, located in the nation's capital of Santiago, including a 2020 attack where robbers got away with about $15 million, according to the BBC. DGAC chief Raul Jorquera said there was never any risk to passengers at the airport, adding the incident will likely lead them to change their policies and processes to avoid a similar incident, according to CBS News. Story continues An officer inspects burnt out vehicles allegedly destroyed by the robbers after the unsuccessful heist. Karin Pozo/AFP via Getty Images A LATAM spokesperson told Insider the airline "regrets the loss of life resulting from the attempted robbery," adding that it is "working in coordination with the corresponding authorities in order to support their investigations." While some social media posts have claimed the gunfire resulted in damage to a nearby Delta Airlines plane, a Delta spokesperson told Insider Thursday that the plane was unharmed and returned to Atlanta, its scheduled destination, after several hours of inspection Wednesday night. "Our hearts go out to the loved ones of those impacted by yesterday's sad events at Arturo Merino Benitez International Airport," the spokesperson said. "Delta will work closely with all aviation stakeholders as these events are investigated. Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and our people." Read the original article on Business Insider Rep. John Curtis, R-Utah, attends a South Valley Chamber of Commerce meeting in Sandy on Aug. 18, 2022. Utahs four congressmen want to investigate the origin of the COVID-19 virus to be better prepared for future outbreaks. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News Congress convened its first committee hearing Wednesday investigating the origins of COVID-19. The subcommittees Republican chairman Rep. Brad Wenstrup of Ohio called its work determining the genesis of the virus fundamental to helping us predict and prevent a future pandemic. During the hearing, the witnesses were asked whether they thought Dr. Anthony Fauci, former head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and Dr. Francis Collins, former head of the National Institute of Health, misled Americans on the origin of the virus and about the potential that it leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China. Both the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Energy have recently said they favor the lab leak theory over the theory that the virus jumped from bats to humans. Dr. Robert Redfield, former head of the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, told the committee he believes he was intentionally excluded from meetings on the origins of COVID-19 by Fauci because he had made it clear he disagreed with him that the virus had mutated naturally and instead was a product of gain-of-function research. I was told they made a decision that they would keep (the meetings) confidential until they came up with a single narrative, Redfield said. Which I will argue is antithetical to science. Science never selects a single narrative, we foster debate and we are confident that with debate science will eventually get to the truth. Nicholas Wade, former science editor at The New York Times and Nature, agreed, saying although he doesnt know why, he believes Fauci and Collins attempted to direct the scientific communitys focus away from the gain-of-function research origins hypothesis. Dr. Francis Collins and Dr. Anthony Fauci are well known to the public and on Capitol Hill, Wade said. Its hard to believe that in the twilight of their long careers they would mishandle an issue as serious as the origin of the COVID virus. Yet that is what the evidence seems to point to. Story continues Ranking member Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Calif., agreed that determining the origins of COVID-19 is important but insisted that the congressional investigation not get political or that it vilify our public health experts. Ng Han Guan, Associated Press Utah congressmens support of investigation Although none of Utahs House delegation sit on the committee, they each told the Deseret News a congressional investigation is important to rebuild trust between Americans and public health professionals and scientists. The SARS-CoV-2 virus is believed to have originated in and around Wuhan, China, at the end of 2019 before spreading rapidly around the globe. States and nations quickly implemented social distancing polices of varying intensity. To date, COVID-19 has been listed as a cause of death for more than 1 million Americans and nearly 7 million worldwide. Three years ago, Americans heard warnings and direction from Dr. Anthony Fauci and accepted it as true, Utah Republican Rep. Chris Stewart said. They were willing to comply in order to help, but he said now the veracity of the reasoning behind what was done to mitigate the effects of the pandemic is generally taken to be not true. Stewart said that inaction today to address Americans concerns might lead to further disaster in the future. There will be another emergency at some point, but how will Americans respond if we dont rebuild trust in those federal agencies? he said. Rep. John Curtis, R-Utah, said after over a million American deaths and a slowdown of the world economy, we deserve to know where COVID came from. And if for nothing else, we need to know to make sure that we avoid this in the future. Related He added that federal health officials need to be forthright if they were wrong. Clearly, as a country and throughout the world, we werent ready for this, he said in response to a question regarding Americas reaction to the pandemic. It would be a huge mistake not to look back retrospectively and learn from our mistakes, he said. If (federal health officials) did nothing wrong, they should welcome the review. If they were less honest or forthright with the American people, they will probably be defensive, Curtis said. School closures and learning-loss Utah Reps. Blake Moore and Burgess Owens both said via email and text message that one of the most damaging pandemic effects was the learning loss in students across the country, caused in part by school closures and masking requirements. Owens said the initial response to COVID-19 was exaggerated, and instead of correcting their response, Democrats doubled down on their course of action and many schools were closed far beyond a reasonable time frame, he said. Owens accused big government Democrats and progressive teachers unions for disregarding the science and putting partisan interests over the needs of students. Moore encouraged the subcommittees investigation on whether requirements including masking and vaccines were repealed as soon as they could have been. He said that masking hindered childrens developmental progress. The American people deserve transparency and evidence-based policy making from the federal government, and I hope we can learn from the failures of federal agencies during the pandemic to improve our response to future crises, Moore said. Should Congress reinstate a ban on gain-of-function research? Redfield testified that fully understanding the origin of COVID-19 is critical to future science research, particularly as it affects an ongoing ethical debate around gain-of-function research. Gain-of-function research has long been controversial in the scientific community, Redfield said. In my own opinion, COVID presents a case study on the dangers of gain-of-function research. While many believe that gain-of-function research is critical to get ahead of viruses by developing vaccines, in this case I believe it was the exact opposite unleashing a new virus to the world without any means of stopping it and resulting in the deaths of millions of people. Redfield called for a moratorium on gain-of-function research. Stewart told the Deseret News he is likely to reintroduce legislation he sponsored last Congress that will ban gain-of-function research. Who is to blame? Trump ... Fauci ... the Chinese government? At the committee hearing, Dr. Jamie Metzl, a senior fellow at The Atlantic Council, accused the Chinese government of stonewalling efforts to find a definitive source of the virus. The primary reason there has been no investigation is because of the reprehensible actions of the Chinese government, he said. Since the early days of the pandemic, Chinas government has destroyed samples, hidden records, and imprisoned brave Chinese journalists. Zeng Yixin, the vice-minister of Chinas National Health Commission refused to comply with a 2021 plan from the World Health Organization to investigate the allegation that Chinas breach of laboratory protocols caused the virus to leak. Metzl further said that although the Chinese have searched for animals in the Wuhan area that have the SARS-CoV-2 virus present in their bodies, they have failed to produce any specimens. Wenstrup opened the hearing by saying he was concerned an origins investigation hadnt been started by Congress years ago. He also listed the ways he believes federal health officials discouraged an investigation into the lab leak theory, by saying they wanted to protect international harmony and by labeling it a conspiracy theory. Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland said he laid much of the blame at former President Donald Trumps feet. That presidents policy failures and magical thinking and total recklessness caused, according to his own special adviser on COVID-19, Dr. Deborah Birx, the unnecessary death of hundreds of thousands of Americans, he said. Stewart said Trump was not to blame when asked by the Deseret News. He referenced Trumps early decision to shut down travel to and from China even though it was criticized at the time. The State Building and Construction Trades Council of California, Southern Nevada Building Trades Union and Brightline West announced a historic memorandum of understanding to construct the high-speed rail system connecting Las Vegas and Southern California. An historic agreement between State Building and Construction Trades Council of California, the Southern Nevada Building Trades Union and Brightline West could bring be a big step toward starting construction. On Thursday, the unions signed a memorandum of understanding with Brightline for the construction of Americas first true high-speed rail system that will connect Las Vegas and Southern California, with stops in the Victor Valley. The agreement will ensure that Brightline West will use unionized labor in California and Nevada, creating nearly 10,000 construction jobs and career opportunities at various pay rates. As the California affiliate of North Americas Building Trades Unions, the trade council has 157 affiliated unions from 14 different construction craft unions, 22 local building trades councils, and about 125 affiliated Joint Apprenticeship Training Committees. These unions are responsible for training apprentices and providing journeyman upgrade training throughout the state. In total, the trade council has nearly 500,000 members including roughly 70,000 apprentices. The California Building Trades is excited to partner with Brightline West and the Southern Nevada Building Trades on this historic project bringing high-speed rail and thousands of new construction jobs to Southern California and Southern Nevada. Our members are ready to get to work building this vital transportation project linking California to Las Vegas, said SBCTC President Andrew Meredith. Its important to remember that we have a long history of building Californias most vital and groundbreaking projects, Meredith said. We applaud Brightline Wests commitment to using the highest quality, skilled and trained workforce to build this project on time and under budget. Making that commitment means the women and men building the project are receiving the compensation, benefits, and protections they deserve. The SNBTU, an alliance of craft unions for highly skilled and productive construction labor, joins the agreement on behalf of 14 local labor unions across the region. Representing thousands including ironworkers, insulators, electrical workers and more, the partnership brings the project one step closer to connecting Las Vegas and Southern California with a green, efficient, high-speed rail system. Story continues "This is a momentous day for the workers of Southern Nevada, specifically members of the Southern Nevada Building Trades Union, as we announce our partnership with Brightline West and the California Building Trades to create our countrys first true high-speed rail system, said SNBTU Executive Secretary-Treasurer Vince Saavedra. "Our thousands of high-skilled members of our allied unions are standing at the ready to build this rail system, Saavedra said. Nevada was built on the backs of our labor union members, and this historic rail project will continue that legacy. This project will create hundreds of thousands of jobs and bring millions of dollars into our economy, and I am proud of the role our unions will play in it." Economists show that Brightline West will create more than 35,000 jobs including 10,000 construction jobs and nearly 1,000 permanent jobs for operations and maintenance. The agreement follows a recent commitment between Brightline West and the High-Speed Rail Labor Coalition to operate and maintain Brightline West. That coalition is composed of 13 rail unions representing more than 160,000 freight, regional, commuter and passenger railroad workers in the U.S. The project is expected to generate more than $10 billion in economic impact on California and Nevada. We continue to build a powerful coalition around Brightline West and our vision for high-speed rail in America, said Brightline Holdings CEO Mike Reininger. Brightline West will provide unmatched economic benefits and career opportunities for thousands in Nevada and California. This partnership brings us one step closer to putting a shovel in the ground. Artist rendering of the proposed Brightline West train station in Rancho Cucamonga. The rail system will connect Southern California and Las Vegas. The project Brightline West is a 218-mile system connecting Las Vegas and Southern California along Interstate 15 right-of-way with trains capable of speeds of 200 miles per hour. The journey will begin with a station in Rancho Cucamonga that will offer direct connectivity with Metrolink. Additional stations will be built in Hesperia, Apple Valley and Las Vegas. The fully electric, emission-free system will be one of the greenest forms of transportation in the U.S., removing 3 million cars and 400,000 tons of CO2 each year. Brightline West in February, agreed to establish a commitment with several craft rail unions to operate and maintain the high-speed rail project that will connect Las Vegas, the Victor Valley and Rancho Cucamonga. Funding Hopes for construction of the Brightline West project have been high since 2020 when the company earmarked a groundbreaking for its Southern California and Nevada connection. Brightline was ready to break ground in 2020 after receiving tax-exempt private activity bond allocations from California, Nevada, and the Department of Transportation that infused $4.2 billion into the project. But the groundbreaking shovels remained in storage when the plan for bond sales was halted in early 2020 due to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and a lack of investor enthusiasm for the trains original Southern California terminus in Apple Valley. During that year, Brightline announced that Fortress Investment Group, its parent company, had put the brakes on the then $8 billion privately financed XpressWest project when it could not complete financing. In April 2021, Reininger predicted that construction of the line would start in a matter of weeks if there were no further delays to the project, according to Railway Journal. Town spokeswoman Shannon Dunkle in December told the Daily Press that The project will continue seeking funding in early 2023 with an expected construction start date in late 2023. If work proceeds as planned, the line could open in 2026 or 2027, the article stated. Construction of the line between Las Vegas and the Victor Valley has already been approved, and the FRA has released an environmental assessment report for the stretch through the Cajon Pass between the Victor Valley and Rancho Cucamonga. The assessment concluded that the planned rail line would have no significant adverse impacts on the environment or low-income or minority populations. Project permits were expected to be finalized in March, according to RJ. Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227 or RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Brightline West will use union labor for Las Vegas rail: pact Escambia County and Clerk of Court and Comptroller Pam Childers are heading back to court this time over Childers' blocking a payment for a former EMS paramedic's fine with the Department of Health. Escambia County filed suit this week asking a judge to order Childers to issue the payment to former EMS paramedic Matt Selover. Childers told the County Commission in February that absent a court order, "my decision is not to pay." The County Commission voted 3-1 to pay Selover's DOH fine after the county's former medical director Dr. Rayme Edler alleged Selover violated Florida law with patient care during five separate incidents from July 2018 to March 2019. Two of the incidents resulted in the patient dying, and Edler placed the culpability on Selover's actions. The DOH investigation resulted in a settlement between DOH and Selover in which he agreed to pay the $6,960 fine while neither admitting nor denying allegations made against him. He was allowed to keep his paramedic's license. Selover had previously sued the county in 2019, alleging he was the victim of harassment and retaliation by Edler. The case resulted in the county agreeing to a $200,000 settlement with Selover. Setting up court fightEscambia commissioners seeks legal help to compel Clerk of Court to pay former employee's fine 'A lot of red flags':Escambia County and Clerk of Court at odds over paramedic fines In October, the County Commission voted 3-1 to pay Selover's $6,960 DOH fine at the request of Commissioner Jeff Bergosh, who has long defended Selover and argued the county mishandled the whole situation. However, Childers never issued the payment and confirmed in February that she would not, arguing it was akin to paying a private citizen's speeding ticket with taxpayer money. The issue is the second legal battle over the Clerk's refusal to issue payments, as the two local government offices are embroiled in a legal battle over the county's optional local retirement plan for commissioners. In the plan, the county contributes the equivalent of 57% of a commissioner's salary to their retirement accounts, which Childers contends is so egregious it constitutes illegal pay for commissioners. Story continues The county argues in its Tuesday filing that Childers has a ministerial duty to approve all legal payments, and the payments to Selover are legal. "The County is not aware of any authority which prohibits the County from paying administrative fines and costs or which declares that such payment is illegal," Senior County Attorney William Nelson wrote in the complaint. "To the contrary, the Board has previously authorized payment of administrative fines assessed against the County, and the Clerk has issued payment to satisfy these fines." Childers told the News Journal that she believes this case is nothing like when the county has paid administrative fines because the fines are assessed against Selover as a private citizen, and paying the fines serves no public purpose. Childers contends that DOH cannot issue fines, even in the case of a settlement, unless the law has been violated. "This is being led by District 1 Commissioner Jeff Bergosh," Childers said. "This is a clear abuse of discretion and 'discretionary dollars' are not his back-pocket money. He has no law behind him to make Selover whole. This is a private fine between DOH and Selover, and it is a penalty. Fines are issued for punishment." Bergosh said Childers is wrong, and he believes Selover was wrongly accused and wrongly prosecuted by DOH. He said the accusations against Selover were not substantiated. "Any penalty assessed that goes along with those charges that were untrue would be appropriate for the county to pay to clear the man's name," Bergosh said. "That's why the board voted to do it." As with the county's previous lawsuit, circuit court judges in Escambia County will not oversee the case. As of Thursday, the case had been assigned to Okaloosa County Circuit Court Judge John Brown. This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Escambia County sues Clerk and Comptroller Pam Childers again Family members of a 16-year-old Georgia girl who was found dead after she disappeared demanded changes in how local police handle investigations into missing juveniles in a new petition. Susana Morales' sister Jasmine also wants a review of Doraville police hiring practices after a now-former police officer was arrested in connection with the teen's death. Miles Bryant, who was preliminarily charged with falsely reporting a crime and concealing the death of another, was later charged with felony murder and kidnapping. Morales vanished in Norcross, Georgia, on July 26, 2022, her family said. She'd been at a friend's house that night and texted her mom around 9:40 p.m. when she was on her way home. The teen should have arrived home quickly it was a nine-minute walk through local streets but she never made it back. "We knew something went wrong," Jasmine Morales wrote in a petition. "We BEGGED Gwinnett County police to look for her, but they told us that people aren't considered missing until after 48 hours. We knew we couldn't wait that long." The teen's remains were found in a wooded area off a highway about 20 miles from where she'd lived on Feb. 6, 2023. Bryant was arrested on Feb. 13. Georgia police officer, Miles Bryant, is arrested in connection with the death of a 16-year-old girl whose remains were found. / Credit: Gwinnett Police Department Police dismissed the concerns of Morales' family during the investigation, the teen's sister said. Local authorities have defended the police search in the months since the teen's disappearance. "Our detectives have continuously worked on Susana Morales's case since we received it," police in Gwinnett County said. "We have kept in constant contact with Susana's family and told them what was happening in the case. On the day Susana was reported missing, our officers conducted a canvass at several locations where people said she might be but did not find any leads." The teen's family wants the police search process for missing minors to be updated. "We demand that the process for missing minors be evaluated and changed so that families can have access to full transparency during investigation," they wrote in a petition. Story continues They also allege Bryant, who was fired after officials were made aware of the charges against him, has a history of stalking and harassing women. The 22-year-old worked for the Doraville Police Department in DeKalb County, about 5 miles from Morales' home in neighboring Gwinnett County. He was reprimanded multiple times when he was employed by the Doraville Police Department, the Atlanta-Journal Constitution reported. "We want the Doraville County Police Department to be held accountable for knowingly hiring a man with a history of violence, and for not taking accountability for the harm their officer has committed against any sister, my family, and the other women he has victimized," Morales' sister said. Thousands have signed the family's petition calling for a transparent investigation by Doraville police. "Everyone involved needs to be held accountable for this horrible injustice," Morales' family wrote. California could see major flooding, forecast shows 2023 Oscar predictions and what to watch for at this year's Academy Awards Health risks associated with daylight saving time Entrepreneurs Mikhail Fridman and Pyotr Aven plan to exit the capital of Alfa Bank by selling their stake to banking business partner Andrei Kosogov in order to achieve the lifting of Western sanctions; and the credit institution is valued at 178 billion rubles, or $2.3 billion, the Financial Times reported citing sources. According to the sources, Kosogov will buy Alfa Bank from Cyprus-based ABH Financial Ltd, one of the beneficiaries of which is himself, along with Fridman and Aven. Alfa Bank's current ownership composition is not known. Russia's JSC AB Holding was the final link in the chain of the bank's ownership at the time of the latest disclosure of the corresponding information. The publication does not specify whether the composition will continue or whether Kosogov will own Alfa Bank shares directly as an individual. The deal is scheduled to close this spring, but it must be approved by regulators, including the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) and the tax authorities. Moreover, approval of the U.S. and EU sanctions authorities could be required. [Alfa Bank is included in the U.S. and European sanctions lists, while Fridman and Aven are under EU and UK sanctions.] Friedman and Aven have declined to comment. Kosogov confirmed that the deal had been agreed, but declined to comment further. The deal is "beautiful on paper", because it is being carried out between non-sanctioned individuals, one of the newspaper's sources said. "Friedman and Aven rid themselves of sanctions, Kosogov receives the bank, and the bank has one, single Russian shareholder," the source explained. However, the FT sources warn that completion of the transaction could be complicated owing to difficulties in obtaining regulatory approval from several jurisdictions. ABH Financial Ltd is controlled by Luxembourg-based ABH Holdings, whose co-owners as of March last year were Kosogov (41%), Fridman (32.9%), Aven (12.4%), UniCredit S.p.A. (9.9%) and the Mark Foundation for Cancer Research (3.9%). Kosogov became the largest co-owner of ABH Holdings last spring, having bought shares from Herman Khan and Alexei Kuzmichev. Alfa Bank had five minority shareholders following this, and the stake of each one is not a controlling share. UniCredit has declined to comment, and Alfa Bank and ABH Financial have not responded to a request. Alfa Bank, one of the largest private banks in the Russian Federation, ranked fourth in terms of assets in the Interfax-100 ranking in 2021. A man convicted of a credit card skimming fraud and deported to Brazil has reportedly told federal authorities that Rep George Santos of New York was the mastermind of the scheme. I am coming forward today to declare that the person in charge of the crime of credit card fraud when I was arrested was George Santos / Anthony Devolder, Gustavo Ribeiro Trelha wrote in a declaration obtained by Politico. The outlet reported that the letter was sent by express mail and email to the FBI, the US Secret Service office in New York, and the US Attorneys Office in the Eastern District of New York, by Trelhas attorney Mark Demetropoulos. Trelha claimed Mr Santos directed the scheme in Seattle in 2017 wherein they would clone cards and siphon money from the linked accounts. Santos taught me how to skim card information and how to clone cards. He gave me all the materials and taught me how to put skimming devices and cameras on ATM machines, Trelha wrote in his statement. Trelha claimed Mr Santos visited him in jail in Seattle after his arrest and threatened him not to reveal his part in the scheme to authorities. We used a computer to be able to download the information on the pieces, Trelha wrote in his declaration. We also used an external hard drive to save the filming, because the skimmer took the information from the card, and the camera took the password. It didnt work out so well, because I was arrested, he wrote. Trelha said he met Mr Santos, whose full name is George Anthony Devolder Santos and went by Anthony Devolder at various points, in a Facebook group for Brazilians living in Orlando in 2016. Mr Santos congressional office did not return multiple requests for comment from The Independent. Trelhas claims, while widely reported by news outlets, have not been substantiated in any capacity by US officials. The alleged recipients of the letter have made no public comment on its existence or content. Mr Santos was previously linked to Trelha last month when CBS News reported that the congressman had been questioned by the Secret Service in connection with Trelhas case. Story continues The outlet said that following his arrest in the scheme, Trelha allowed detectives to search his rental car. A police report showed they found an empty FedEx package with a sender address in Winter Park, Florida, that matched one of Mr Santos former residences, CBS News reported. A law enforcement search confirmed to the outlet that Mr Santos was interviewed in that investigation, which is still ongoing, but it was unclear if he was ever considered a person of interest or a suspect. Politico also reported last month that Mr Santos told a friend of his that he served as an informant in the case. He has never been charged in any capacity. There are no shortage of legal and ethical questions swirling around Mr Santos, a first-term Republican who represents a Long Island-based district in the US House. Mr Santos is currently the subject of a House Ethnic panel investigation relating to his Congressional campaign as well as state and federal investigations for various financial crimes. He is also the subject of an investigation in Brazil and has been accused of serial dishonesty about his biography in the lead-up to his election. Despite all that, Mr Santos has refused calls to resign and is actively serving in the Republican majority. NEW YORK Rep. George Santos orchestrated a 2017 credit card skimming operation in Seattle, the man who was convicted of the fraud and deported to Brazil said in a sworn declaration submitted to federal authorities Wednesday. I am coming forward today to declare that the person in charge of the crime of credit card fraud when I was arrested was George Santos / Anthony Devolder, Gustavo Ribeiro Trelha wrote in the declaration. It was sent by express mail and email to the FBI, the U.S. Secret Service New York office and the U.S. Attorneys Office in the Eastern District of New York, according to a copy of the receipt from the United States Postal Service. Telha decided to contact law enforcement officials after seeing the newly minted congressman on television, he said in the declaration. Santos, whose full name is George Anthony Devolder Santos, often went by Anthony Devolder before his first congressional bid in 2020. The New York Republican won a Long Island swing district last November after lying on the campaign trail about his education, work experience and supposed Jewish ancestry. The House ethics panel initiatedan investigation into Santos last week to explore possible unlawful activity related to his run. State, federal and Brazilian authorities are also probing Santos related to a string of potential financial crimes. Santos has admitted to embellishing parts of his background, but said he never broke any laws. He was previously questioned about the Seattle scheme by investigators for the U.S. Secret Service, CBS News has reported. He was never charged, but the investigation remains open. Santos also told an attorney friend he was an informant in the fraud case. Trelha insists he was its mastermind. Santos taught me how to skim card information and how to clone cards. He gave me all the materials and taught me how to put skimming devices and cameras on ATM machines, Trelha said in the declaration that was submitted to authorities by his New York attorney, Mark Demetropoulos. POLITICO obtained a copy of the declaration. Story continues Spokespeople for the FBI did not return messages. Representatives for the Secret Service and the U.S. Attorneys Office declined to comment. A lawyer for Santos also did not respond to emails and text messages for comment. Trelha and Santos met in the fall of 2016 on a Facebook group for Brazilians living in Orlando, Fla., he said in the declaration and in an interview with POLITICO. By November, Trelha had rented a room in Santos Winter Park, Fla., apartment, according to a copy of the lease viewed by POLITICO. That is when and where I learned from him how to clone ATM and credit cards, Trelha wrote in the declaration that was translated from his native Portuguese. Santos kept a warehouse on Kirkman Road in Orlando to store the skimming equipment, according to the declaration. He had a lot of material parts, printers, blank ATM and credit cards to be painted and engraved with stolen account and personal information. Santos gave me at his warehouse, some of the parts to illegally skim credit card information. Right after he gave me the card skimming and cloning machines, he taught me how to use them, Trelha wrote. Trelha then flew out to Seattle where he was caught on a security camera removing a skimming device from a Chase ATM on Pike Street, according to law enforcement records. He was arrested on April 27. A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorneys Office in Seattle previously told POLITICO its not unusual for credit card thieves to go far from home to nab numbers so theres less chance of the stolen numbers being traced back to the perpetrators. That spokesperson, Emily Langlie, said she didnt have any information about Santos involvement in the Trelha case. At the time of his arrest, Trelha had a fake Brazilian ID card and 10 suspected fraudulent cards in his hotel room, according to police documents. An empty FedEx package police found in his rental car was sent from the Winter Park unit he shared with Santos. Trelha told federal authorities in the declaration Wednesday that his deal with Santos was 50% for him and 50% for me. We used a computer to be able to download the information on the pieces. We also used an external hard drive to save the filming, because the skimmer took the information from the card, and the camera took the password, he wrote. It didnt work out so well, because I was arrested, he admitted. Trelha said Santos visited him in jail in Seattle, but told him not to implicate him in the scheme. Santos threatened my friends in Florida that I must not say that he was my boss, he wrote. Trelha agreed to say he was working for someone in Brazil and not with Santos, because he was worried Santos would have his friends in Orlando deported, he said in a telephone interview last month. Trelha recalled Santos warning he could make things worse for him since he was already in jail and Santos was a U.S. citizen. In an audio recording of Trelhas May 15, 2017 arraignment in King County Superior Court, Santos tells the judge hes a family friend who was there to secure a local Airbnb if the defendant was released on bail. Santos also claimed to the judge he worked for Goldman Sachs in New York, a key part of his campaign biography he later admitted wasnt true. Trehla was unable to post the $75,000 bail. He pleaded guilty to felony access device fraud, served seven months in jail and was deported to Brazil in early 2018. Santos did not help me to get out of jail. He also stole the money that I had collected for my bail, Trelha told federal investigators in the declaration. Trelha told POLITICO that before flying to Seattle, Santos had traveled to Orlando to pick up $20,000 in cash he instructed Leide Oliveira Santos, another roommate, to give him from a safe. Santos had promised to hire El Chapos lawyer for Trelha, he said. A third roommate in the Winter Park apartment told POLITICO in a phone interview that Oliveira Santos told him Santos had come to get money for Trelha. The third roommate spoke on condition of anonymity because he was in the country as an undocumented immigrant. But Trelha never heard from Santos after Santos visited him in Seattle, the third roommate said. He later learned from Oliveira Santos that her attempts to contact Santos over the next few months were futile. Trelha realized he had been conned, he said, when no lawyer appeared let alone El Chapos. But he still didnt want to name Santos as a co-conspirator, fearing retaliation against Oliveira Santos, who was also an undocumented immigrant, he said. Trelha told the federal authorities in the declaration that he had witnesses to support his statements. Oliveira Santos declined to discuss the matter with POLITICO. I am available to speak with any American government investigator, Trelha wrote before providing his email address and cellular phone number and attesting that he signed the declaration willingly and truthfully. A federal prosecutor who handled Trelhas case described the scheme as sophisticated, adding that the Seattle portion was only the tip of the iceberg, according to court records reportedby CBS News. But a person close to the investigation who is not authorized to speak publicly said they saw no evidence that prosecutors did forensic reports on Trelhas phone or seemed motivated to pursue international co-conspirators. For years the popular belief has been, if youre charged with a crime, the last person you want representing you is a public defender. The image of a public defender is an overworked, underpaid hack who just wants you to plead guilty so that they can close another file. Theres this idea that public defenders arent even real attorneys. But that image has nothing to do with reality. The reality is that public defenders are not just real attorneys, but really good attorneys. Were experienced litigators. We win trials lots of them. We secure favorable outcomes for our clients, and when we dont, we win appeals lots of them. Were in it for our clients. We are dedicated to fulfilling the promise that everyone, regardless of income, is entitled to a zealous defense. March 18 is the 60th anniversary of Gideon v. Wainwright, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that recognized a persons Sixth Amendment right to counsel in a criminal case. The anniversary is an opportunity to reflect upon where weve been as public defenders. But its also a moment to look ahead to where were going. The anniversary of the Gideon decision challenges us as public servants to think about the stereotype and consider past actions that informed the notion that a public defender is less than an attorney. The historic marker currently in front of the Bay County Courthouse building marking the Gideon v. Wainwright decision. [CONTRIBUTED PHOTO] When Delaware first established the Office of the Public Defender in 1964, a few attorneys handled a total of 874 cases. Now, as we near the sixth decade of public defense in Delaware, things have changed. For starters, were known as the Office of Defense Services , and we handle a lot more cases than 874; more than 20,000 criminal matters were handled by our team of lawyers and non-legal professionals last year alone. We represent approximately 85% of justice involved individuals in the First State. In 2016, ODS attorneys successfully argued that Delawares death penalty was unconstitutional. In 2018, we became a pilot location for Partners for Justice, a national nonprofit whose advocates help us address both the root causes that led our clients into the criminal legal system as well as the collateral consequences of being justice-involved. Last year, our second chances unit assessed 900 criminal records for individuals seeking a second chance, reached out to 400 youth with juvenile records, and held nearly a dozen expungement clinics across the state. We are getting out of our offices and spending time in the community, making "know your rights" presentations at schools and holding public listening sessions at community centers. This is just a small sample of the type of work our office is engaged in, and I am so excited about where were going next. Story continues The next 60 years for the Office of Defense Services will be defined by what we call holistic defense a focus on not just the case, but the person as well. Holistic defense is zealous legal advocacy, complemented by an interdisciplinary team to better assist our clients outside of the courtroom. The best way to describe holistic defense is to illustrate its impact. I had a client, lets call him Robert. Robert was a veteran of the United States military who served his country honorably, but his service left him with trauma. One day, when Robert was unmedicated, he found himself in serious legal trouble. Through our efforts, he received a favorable outcome that reflected his situation and mental health history. Our work didnt stop there, though. We knew that Robert had nowhere to live when once he was released from prison. Thanks to his client advocate, Robert was matched with housing specifically for veterans. His advocate also made sure that he had bridge medication before he left jail and ensured that his personal belongings from his prior residence would follow him to his new location. That is what client-centered, holistic defense looks like. The next 60 years of public defense in Delaware will continue to be client-centered, collaborative, and community-driven. This is what our clients and their families can expect from our office. Where the first five or six decades focused solely on the results of the case, our future is focused upon the human beings that we are privileged to represent and their lives beyond the courtroom. I truly believe that a healthy, well-funded, and well-resourced indigent defense system leads to a safe and healthy society. If we do our job well, the justice-involved people of Delaware will not only receive a fair trial, but will also be less likely to become justice-involved in the future, and that benefits all of us. The principle that everyone is entitled to a defense is not just a constitutional right, but a part of the shared fabric of our common identity. Public defenders may not fit your image of what it means to be a hero, but the work that they are doing each and every day is nothing short of heroic. Kevin OConnell is Delawares Chief Defender. He leads the Office of Defense Services, the state agency that represents individuals who are charged with criminal offenses and who cannot afford an attorney. He was appointed by Gov. John Carney in 2021. Kevin O'Connell This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Gideon v. Wainwright at 60: This is why it matters for Delaware Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed Friday to reestablish diplomatic relations and reopen embassies after seven years of tensions. The major diplomatic breakthrough negotiated with China lowers the chance of armed conflict between the Middle East rivals both directly and in proxy conflicts around the region. The deal, struck in Beijing this week amid its ceremonial National Peoples Congress, represents a major diplomatic victory for the Chinese as Gulf Arab states perceive the United States slowly withdrawing from the wider Middle East. It also comes as diplomats have been trying to end a long war in Yemen, a conflict in which both Iran and Saudi Arabia are deeply entrenched. The two countries released a joint communique on the deal with China, which brokered the agreement as President Xi Jinping was awarded a third five-year term as leader earlier Friday. Videos released by Iranian state media showed Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Irans Supreme National Security Council, with Saudi national security adviser Musaad bin Mohammed al-Aiban and Wang Yi, Chinas most senior diplomat. The joint statement calls for the reestablishing of ties and the reopening of embassies to happen within a maximum period of two months. A meeting of their foreign ministers is also planned. In the video, Wang could be heard offering wholehearted congratulations on the two countries wisdom. Both sides have displayed sincerity, he said. China fully supports this agreement. China, which last month hosted Irans hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi, is also a top purchaser of Saudi oil. Xi visited Riyadh in December for meetings with oil-rich Gulf Arab nations crucial to Chinas energy supplies. Irans state-run IRNA news agency quoted Shamkhani as calling the talks clear, transparent, comprehensive and constructive. Removing misunderstandings and the future-oriented views in relations between Tehran and Riyadh will definitely lead to improving regional stability and security, as well as increasing cooperation among Persian Gulf nations and the world of Islam for managing current challenges, Shamkhani said. Story continues Al-Aiban thanked Iraq and Oman for mediating talks between Iran and the kingdom, according to a transcript of his remarks published by the state-run Saudi Press Agency. While we value what we have reached, we hope that we will continue to continue the constructive dialogue, the Saudi official said. Tensions long have been high between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The kingdom broke off ties with Iran in 2016 after protesters invaded Saudi diplomatic posts there. Saudi Arabia had executed a prominent Shiite cleric with 46 others days earlier, triggering the demonstrations. The execution came as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, then a deputy, began his rise to power. The son of King Salman, Prince Mohammed previously compared Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to Adolf Hitler, and also threatened to strike Iran. In the years since, the U.S. unilaterally withdrew from Irans nuclear deal with world powers in 2018. Iran has been blamed for a series of attacks after that, including one targeting the heart of Saudi Arabias oil industry in 2019, temporarily halving the kingdoms crude production. Though Yemens Iranian-backed Houthi rebels initially claimed the attack, Western nations and experts have blamed it on Tehran. Iran long has denied launching the attack. It has also denied carrying out other assaults later attributed to the Islamic Republic. Religion also plays a key role in their relations. Saudi Arabia, home to the cube-shaped Kaaba that Muslims pray toward five times a day, has long portrayed itself as the worlds leading Sunni nation. Irans theocracy meanwhile views itself as the protector of the Islams Shiite minority. The two powerhouses also have competing interests elsewhere, such as in the turmoil now tearing at Lebanon and in the rebuilding of Iraq after decades of war following the U.S.-led 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. The leader of the Iranian-backed Lebanese militia and political group Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, praised the agreement as an important development that could open new horizons in Lebanon, Syria and Yemen. Iraq, Oman and the United Arab Emirates also praised the accord. Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, a research fellow at Rice Universitys Baker Institute who long has studied the region, said Saudi Arabia reaching the deal with Iran came after the United Arab Emirates reached a similar understanding with Tehran. This dialing down of tensions and deescalation has been underway for three years and this was triggered by Saudi acknowledgement in their view that without unconditional U.S. backing they were unable to project power vis-a-vis Iran and the rest of the region, he said. Prince Mohammed, now focused on massive construction projects in his own country, likely wants to finally pull out of the Yemen war as well, Ulrichsen added. Instability could do a lot of damage to his plans, he said. The Houthis seized Yemens capital, Sanaa, in September 2014 and forced the internationally recognized government into exile in Saudi Arabia. A Saudi-led coalition armed with U.S. weaponry and intelligence entered the war on the side of Yemens exiled government in March 2015. Years of inconclusive fighting created a humanitarian disaster and pushed the Arab worlds poorest nation to the brink of famine. A six-month cease-fire in Yemens war, the longest of the conflict, expired in October despite diplomatic efforts to renew it. In recent months, negotiations have been ongoing, including in Oman, a longtime interlocutor between Iran and the U.S. Some have hoped for an agreement ahead of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which will begin later in March. Iran and Saudi Arabia have held off-and-on talks in recent years, but it wasnt immediately clear whether Yemen was the impetus for this new detente. Yemeni rebel spokesperson Mohamed Abdulsalam appeared to welcome the deal in a statement that also slammed the U.S. and Israel. The region needs the return of normal relations between its countries, through which the Islamic society can regain its lost security as a result of the foreign interventions, led by the Zionists and Americans, he wrote online. For Israel, which has wanted to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia despite the Palestinians remaining without a state of their own, Riyadh easing tensions with Iran could complicate its own calculations in the region. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, under pressure politically at home, has threatened to take military action against Irans nuclear program as it enriches closer than ever to weapons-grade levels. Riyadh seeking peace with Tehran takes one potential ally for a strike off the table. Netanyahus government offered no immediate comment Friday to the news. It remains unclear, however, what this means for America. Though long viewed as guaranteeing Middle East energy security, regional leaders have grown increasingly wary of Washingtons intentions after its chaotic 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan. The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment over the announced deal. However, the White House bristled at the notion that a Saudi-Iran agreement in Beijing suggests a rise of Chinese influence in the Mideast. I would stridently push back on this idea that were stepping back in the Middle East far from it, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said. He added: It really does remain to be seen whether the Iranians are going to honor their side of the deal. This is not a regime that typically honors its word. Florida is abundant in a lot of things: people, sunshine, gators ... fast-food restaurants. And there's always room for more food. Now the Jack in the Box restaurant chain is returning to Florida. The company said it is expanding to Florida and Arkansas and will open 14 new restaurants. While the company hasn't said for sure where they will open, they have posted "franchise opportunities" in Tampa and Orlando. The California-based food chain is most notable for their burgers, tacos, salads and their iconic branding. Their staple mascot is familiar to anyone from the West Coast, a strange ping-pong ball clown head, often seen nodding from car antennas. This will be the company's first time opening Florida restaurants in more than 30 years. What are the best new restaurants in FL?Here are 10 of our favorites that opened in 2022 Other possible Jack in the Box locations in Florida West Palm Beach Boca Raton Jacksonville Port St. Lucie Gainesville Lakeland Fort Myers Cape Coral Palm Bay Palm Coast More possible locations: Miami St. Petersburg Hialeah Fort Lauderdale Pembroke Pines Hollywood Miramar Coral Springs Clearwater Pompano Beach Miami Gardens Davie Sunrise Deltona Plantation Deerfield Beach What kind of food do they serve? Jack in the Box menu items What makes them unique is that they have a vast menu, which differs depending on the location. But aside from hamburgers and cheeseburgers, they serve all kinds of fries (regular, curly and "spicy triple cheese and bacon sauced and loaded fries), onion rings, all kinds of fried chicken (strips and poppers), egg rolls, hard-shell tacos, stuffed jalapenos, various salads, breakfast burritos, sausage croissants, milkshakes and mini churros. Is Jack in the Box in Florida? They used to be According to Jack in the Box, this would be their first foray into Florida in 30 years. Burgerbeast.com reports that in 1979, Jack in the Box's then-parent company, Ralston-Purina, closed or sold all of their restaurants in the southeast. The site says that all locations in Florida in Tallahassee, Sanford, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Bradenton and Orlando were gone by 1980. Story continues Where does Jack in the Box exist? According to the Jack in the Box website, the burger chain has locations in Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisana, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennesse, Texas, Utah and Washington What is Jack in the Box famous for? Interesting facts about the burger restaurant The restaurant was founded by Robert Oscar Peterson in 1951 in San Diego, just as the whole drive-in concept was gaining steam (think of those old TV shows showing meals being delivered to cars in parking lots by waiters and waitresses on roller skates). According to Mashed, Jack in the Box was originally called "Topsy's Drive-In," part of a popular San Diego chain of drive-in restaurants. But that's where Peterson separated himself by taking the concept of drive-in eating a step further. While Jack in the Box wasn't the first fast-food restaurant to use an intercom system to speed up orders, it was, apparently, according to History.com, the first to use a two-way intercom system in a drive-thru. The restaurant's mascot is Jack Box, a clown with a ping-pong-shaped head. They got rid of the mascot in 1980, according to Mashed, and changed the name of some restaurants to Monterey Jack's, which didn't last long. The mascot returned in 1984 in a weird series of commercials. Jack in the Box is a corporate sponsor of the NFL's San Francisco 49ers and once held gave out a free burger and soda to everyone in the Bay Area if the team scored more than two touchdowns in a game (they did). Chain restaurants not in Florida, but we wish they were ... Big Boy A newly rebranded Big Boy statue at the new Frisch's Big Boy location at Carew Tower in downtown Cincinnati on Monday, June 4, 2018. Best known for its chubby mascot in red-and-white checkered overalls, holding its signature sandwich the original double-deck cheeseburger Big Boy offers breakfast; burgers and sandwiches; salads; dinner; and various desserts, including Michigan 4-Berry pie it's home office is in Warren, Michigan, after all and its legendary strawberry pie. Don't be afraid to wash down that cheeseburger with a Famous Big Boy Caramel Butter Pecan shake, too. Big Boy was founded 82 years ago in California as Bob's Pantry. In-N-Out Burger Besides serving great-tasting hamburgers, In-N-Out Burger gets mad props for its top-notch customer service. (It also ranked No. 28 on Forbes' list of America's Best Employers.) Chomping into its signature Double-Double two burgers and two slices of cheese feels so much better when it's served to you with kindness, right? In-N-Out's menu is limited, but its not-so-secret menu shows customers how to add a little zing to their orders. It can't go without mentioning that their fries are made fresh, and you can taste that freshness. Sheetz OK, so Sheetz isn't a restaurant. However, like Wawa, it has a following and people are passionate about it, so it's included on the list. Both convenience stores offer freshly made food and also are gas stations. The Altoona, Pennsylvania-based Sheetz sells a mix of fast food and other convenience store items, including MTOs made-to-order food items donuts, burritos, french fries and its newest brand of specialty coffees called Sheetz Bros. Coffee. Tim Hortons Tim Hortons is getting ready to open shown Wednesday, Feb. 21, at 612 Roosevelt Road. In the 1980s, Florida was home to two Tim Hortons, in Deerfield Beach and Pompano Beach, but they proved unsuccessful, so here's our plea to try again. Tim Hortons was founded 55 years ago in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and first specialized in coffee and donuts. Now its menu includes breakfast, sandwiches, wraps, salads, soups and baked goods. WE WANT!...:6 national restaurant, supermarket and convenience store chains we want to see in Florida (Psst! Florida's missing these, too!) The following restaurants are hyper-local for instance, Taco Villa is available only in central and north Texas, and Blake's Lotaburger has locations just in the southwest but they're worth mentioning, too. The Sarasota Herald-Tribune and Treasure Coast Newspapers contributed to this report. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Jack in the Box fast-food burger restaurant opening in Florida James Douglass West, who worked as a child actor alongside Roddy McDowall and Natalie Wood and spent a decade as a writer on Lassie, has died. He was 93. West died Sunday of natural causes at his home in Studio City, his son, Daniel West, told The Hollywood Reporter. More from The Hollywood Reporter For the big screen, West penned the original screenplay for the musical Hey Boy! Hey Girl! (1959), starring married couple Keely Smith and Louis Prima, and wrote California (1963), a Western starring Jock Mahoney. West served for about a year as a story editor for writer-producer Charles Marquis Warren on NBCs The Virginian, then joined the writing staff of CBS Lassie in 1963. He was on the job during the 1964-65 season when the collies family (played by June Lockhart, Hugh Reilly and Jon Provost) move to Australia and Lassie gets paired with a Forest Service Ranger portrayed by Robert Bray. Campbell Soup, the shows longtime sponsor, insisted that the storyline be changed, West told his son. He remained with the series through 1973, which included two final seasons in syndication. West was born on July 17, 1929, in Redwood City, California. After appearing onstage in Paul Osborns On Borrowed Time, he was signed to a contract at MGM and came to Hollywood with his mother, Hazel, when he was 8. The youngster appeared in such movies as The Way of All Flesh (1940), playing the violin as the son of Akim Tamiroffs character; On the Sunny Side (1942), starring McDowall; and Happy Land (1943), which marked one of Woods first film appearances. West enrolled at Los Angeles City College when he was just 14 and eventually went to work for screenwriter Jack DeWitt at Monogram Pictures. After a two-stint with the U.S. Army in Korea, he briefly returned to acting, playing a DJ in Our Very Own (1950), also starring Wood. Story continues West wrote the script for Battles of Chief Pontiac (1952), starring Lex Barker and Lon Chaney Jr., though it was DeWitt who got the credit, he said. In 1974, he co-wrote a popular two-part episode of NBCs The Wonderful World of Disney titled Two Against the Arctic, about a pair of stranded kids fighting to survive. West was done with TV writing in 1980 and launched his own medical transmission business, working into his 80s. His wife of 47 years, Geri, died in 2007. Click here to read the full article. Since we published USA TODAY's investigation into people wanted for crimes in the Jan. 6 insurrection who have been identified, but not yet arrested, two people charged in the Capitol riot have gone on the lam. Meanwhile, 23 people were arrested and charged with domestic terrorism during an Atlanta protest. And the Boogaloo Bois melted out of sight, but have big plans for resurrection. It's the week in extremism. Jan. 6 wanted suspects identified to FBI: After Jan. 6 riot, hundreds of identifiable people remain free. FBI arrests could take years Olivia Pollock of Lakeland, Florida is among those charged with participating in the Capitol riot. Capitol riot defendants on the lam Two defendants charged with storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 are being hunted by the FBI after they tampered with or removed their ankle monitors. One of the two is the sister of a Capitol riot defendant who has been on the lam since 2021. Arrest warrants were issued for Olivia Pollock and Joseph Hutchinson III last week after the FBI informed a federal judge in Washington DC they had gone missing. Pollock and Hutchinson were arrested in 2021 and charged as part of a five-person indictment that includes Olivia Pollock's brother, Jonathan Pollock. Jonathan was never arrested and has been sought ever since. The FBI has offered a $30,000 reward for information leading to his capture. The charges against the defendants include assaulting law enforcement officers, theft of government property and other crimes. No update: As we reported last week, more than 100 other wanted Capitol rioters have been identified to the FBI, but have never even been charged. Neither of the two men we identified by name in our story has been arrested. A makeshift memorial for environmental activist who was killed by law enforcement on Jan. 18 during a raid to clear the construction site of a police training facility that activists have nicknamed "Cop City" near Atlanta, Georgia. 23 charged with domestic terrorism in Atlanta Protests against a planned police training facility in Georgia again grew violent this week, after more than 100 people breached the proposed site for the facility, setting fire to construction equipment and police vehicles and setting off fireworks. Police charged 23 people with domestic terrorism for the attack. Story continues "Stop Cop City" attack: 23 people charged with domestic terrorism after attack on Atlanta police center 'Cop City' It's not the first time the protests, dubbed #StopCopCity, have seen violence. In January during a law enforcement operation to clear out the area, one protester was shot and killed and a state trooper was also shot and injured. The domestic terrorism charges are a major test of a new Georgia state law that was heavily criticized during its creation by civil rights groups, who worried it would be misused to quell legal protests. The 23 people charged included an employee of the Southern Poverty Law Center, who was later released on bail. In a statement, the SPLC said the employee " was arrested while acting and identifying as a legal observer on behalf of the National Lawyers Guild." Members of the "boogaloo boys" join other gun rights advocates in front of the State House as pro-gun supporters gather on January 18, 2021 in Richmond, Virginia. Boogaloo Bois biding their time The Boogaloo Bois, an anti-government, pro-gun movement spawned online that hankers for a second civil war, had seemingly disappeared ever since dozens of arrests in 2020. But as Vice News' Tess Owen reports this week, the movement is rising again online and is planning a "bloody comeback." Boogaloo Bois back on Facebook: Extremist Boogaloo Bois back on Facebook since Mar-a-Lago raid as anger toward feds mounts The Boogaloo Bois are a leaderless, mainly online phenomenon, driven by a heavy emphasis on specific memes, iconography and in-jokes. Central to the movement is an anti-federal government ideology, an anticipation of a second civil war and an obsession with firearms. I reported back in September that the Boogaloo Bois had a rising presence on Facebook. Comeback: As Owens writes: "While its true that the threat of prosecution caused the Boogaloo Bois to lower their profile, the fierce anti-government ideology underpinning the movement never went anywhere. And now, the Boogaloo Bois appear to be regrouping, plotting their public comeback to coincide with what many fear could be a tense, even violent, presidential election season." Statistic of the week: 38% That's how much incidents of white supremacist propaganda increased between 2021 and 2022, according to an annual review by the Anti-Defamation League I wrote about this week. White supremacist propaganda was at its highest level since the ADL started tallying it in 2018, according to the report, which you can read here. Last week in extremism: Jan. 6 suspects, antisemitic threats, bomb plots and ... Dilbert? This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Cop City' arrests; Olivia Pollock, Joseph Hutchinson on run in Jan. 6 How Kate Middleton's sheer headscarf reflects Queen's respectful style Kate Middleton followed in the footsteps of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday, emulating the late monarch's respectful style during a visit to a Muslim center in London with Prince William. Kate Middleton emulated Queen Elizabeth II's respectful style today, covering her hair on a visit to a Muslim center in London with Prince William. The Princess of Wales wore a black and white headscarf with a pleated coal dress to thank volunteers who have raised money for victims of the 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquake. In other royal news, where to buy Kate Middleton's Superga plimsols - the Princess of Wales' go-to sneakers loved by Diana too. Kate Middleton echoed Queen Elizabeth II's consistently respectful style on Thursday, wearing a culturally appropriate outfit for her visit to an Islamic center in London with Prince William. The Prince and Princess of Wales arrived at the Hayes Muslim Centre this morning to meet those who had supported the relief aid for victims of the devastating Turkey and Syria earthquake last month. Volunteers from the community hub helped raise more than 25,000 through bucket collections and other donations in the wake of the catastrophe, which has left more than 50,000 people dead and an estimated 1.5 million homeless. m The royal couple's appearance comes shortly after it was confirmed that Buckingham Palace has updated the titles of Meghan and Harry's children, in light of the news that Lilibet had been christened in a private ceremony in Los Angeles. Always one to dress for the occasion, Kate showed her respect for her hosts' cultural and religious values by covering her hair with a floral headscarf by the luxury Pakistani brand, Elan. The sheer white shawl, which was delicately embroidered with black detailing, appears to belong to a set the Princess of Wales had previously worn during her visit to the Middle Eastern country in 2019. Kate The 41-year-old teamed her elegant headscarf with the same black Alexander McQueen dress she wore to greet well-wishers at Sandringham after the Queen's death in September 2022. Story continues For extra warmth, Kate added a bespoke grey woolen coat, also by Alexander McQueen, and a pair of matching grey tights. She kept the accessories simple with black heels and a black leather bag, allowing all the focus to fall on the beauty of the Elan headscarf. Kate's culturally suitable outfit in London today was reminiscent of one Queen Elizabeth II in 2008, during her visit to Burma's Green Mosque. Her Majesty was pictured in a sheer, striped headscarf, which she paired with a cream jacket, a polka dot dress, and white gloves, as she listened to a verse of the Koran being read inside the 15th-century worship place. The previous year, the monarch covered her hat with a scarf during a visit to a mosque in Islamabad, Pakistan. m Kate has also previously worn a turquoise headscarf in Lahore, Pakistan, in 2019, and a white one in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 2012. The cleanup of the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, has, if you have ears attuned to the far right media, been botched because the people who live there are predominantly white and supporters of former president Donald Trump and thus are being ignored. As The Guardian put it, Leading the charge, as is so often the case with such white-America nativist fearmongering, is the Fox News star Tucker Carlson. East Palestine is overwhelmingly white, and its politically conservative, he said recently. That shouldnt be relevant, but it very much is." Kendall P. Stanley Carlson went on to describe East Palestine as a poor benighted town whose people are forgotten, and in the view of the people who lead this country, forgettable. He highlighted the indisputable suffering of local residents who were forced to evacuate a two-mile area and since they have returned home remain fearful about the quality of the air and water. Then Carlson contrasted such hardship with what he called the "favored poor" who live in favored cities" such as Detroit and Philadelphia a clear euphemism for urban centers, often led by Democratic mayors, with large Black populations. In other, shorter words, East Palestine gets ignored because its a white city. You want ignored? Talk to the people in Jackson, Mississippi, and Flint. Carlson continues to play the poor white people card suggesting white Americans are an embattled and unappreciated segment of society. That is also part of the replacement theory that those in power, read Joe Biden, are willing to let other nationalities into the country to replace and overrun the white population. Where those white people are supposed to disappear to is a question that needs to be asked. Oh wait, Tucker would ask a question like that, but theres no answer for it other than the whites are just going to be replaced. Remember the chant of some white nationalists in Charlottesville Jews will not replace us! Yes indeed, replacement theory in the flesh. Story continues The idea of Western civilization being overrun by the dark-skinned hordes is the premise of the book The Camp of the Saints by French author Jean Raspail. The book has been a mainstay of white supremacy groups in Europe and the United States. The Social Contract Press, founded by Petoskeys late John Tanton, the architect of the modern American anti-immigration movement according to The New York Times, published an English version of the novel. The publishers note to the Social Contract edition explains how, unlike in a work of nonfiction, storytellers can advance notions prohibited to others, predicting that the book could become the 1984 of the 21st century, referencing the famous George Orwell novel about totalitarianism. More on the white front came a couple of weekends ago when Scott Adams, author of the cartoon strip Dilbert, went on a rant about black people hating white people and white people should just avoid them. Adams made his claims after a survey by Rasmussen and called Black Americans a hate group and said White people should get the hell away from them. As reported by The Washington Post, which pulled Adams cartoon, the once widely celebrated Adams, who has been entertaining extreme-right ideologies and conspiracy theories for several years, was upset Wednesday by a Rasmussen poll that found a thin majority of Black Americans agreed with the statement Its okay to be White a phrase sometimes associated with racist memes. If nearly half of all Blacks are not okay with White people thats a hate group, Adams said on his live-streaming YouTube show. I dont want to have anything to do with them. And 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 because there is no fixing this. Adams rightly figured that after his rant on his live YouTube channel that his career is probably shot at this point. Hed be right. One could grow weary of all those who are decrying the poor plight of White people. Not that there isnt a large group of White folks whose lives, to be succinct, pretty much suck. The constant harping by Carlson and his ilk continues to push the idea that White people are being discriminated against through the efforts of those who are the elites, media, black and brown people, who look down on them. It is playing to the idea of them and us. Carlson may push the idea hes just backing the people in East Palestine in their fight against the others but in reality hes part of the media elite. Its all about the ratings folks, all about the ratings (see Dominion suit against Fox News where Foxs talking heads knew they were lying to the American public when they kept pushing election fraud commentaries). The next time you hear about reverse discrimination or replacement theory, ignore it, whether youre Black, brown and yes, white. Kendall P. Stanley is retired editor of the News-Review. He can be contacted at kendallstanley@charter.net. The opinions expressed in this column are those of the writer and not necessarily of the Petoskey News-Review or its employees. This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Kendall Stanley: Its alright to be white? [Source] South Korea has appealed a court ruling that ordered its government to compensate a Vietnamese victim 30 million won (approximately $23,000) due to atrocities committed by South Korean troops during the Vietnam War. South Koreas defense ministry announced the appeal on Thursday, citing a lack of evidence. We will fully cooperate with the trial proceedings under continued consultations with related agencies to receive an appellate ruling based on substantial truth, the ministry told Reuters. Following the news, Vietnam's foreign ministry spokesperson Pham Thu Hang described the South Korean governments move to appeal the ruling as extremely regrettable. More from NextShark: Biden calls Labor nominee Julie Su the 'American dream' Vietnam's policy is to put aside the past and look towards the future but this does not mean that we deny the truth of history, Hang said in a press conference on Thursday. Last month, South Korean troops were implicated in mass killings during the Vietnam War. The suit was filed by Nguyen Thi Than, 62, in 2020 for the wartime civilian massacre that took place in the villages of Phong Nhi and Phong Nhut on Feb. 12, 1968. More from NextShark: Popeyes returns to S. Korea for round 2 against Korean fried chicken Nguyen, who was 8 years old at the time, lost five of her family members to the massacre, which ultimately left 74 dead. She continues to suffer from gunshot injuries sustained in the attack. The Seoul Central District Court held the government responsible for the clear illegal actions of its troops and ordered it to compensate the victim. The ruling marked the first legal acknowledgement of the countrys involvement in Vietnam War atrocities. About 350,000 South Korean military personnel were deployed in Vietnam between the years of 1964 and 1973. More from NextShark: 42-year-old Vietnamese refugee ready for deportation after being behind bars since he was 15 in Hong Kong During the trial, the South Korean government denied allegations of its militarys involvement in the massacre. South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-Sup said there were absolutely no massacres committed by our troops, adding that the decision had damaged the honor of South Korean soldiers. We cannot agree with the ruling, he said at the time. We will hold discussions with related agencies to determine our next legal step. More from NextShark: Vietnamese EV company VinFast to open over 30 showrooms in California The Security Service of Ukraine within the case of the destruction of the Mriya aircraft announces the arrest of the former general director of Antonov state enterprise, Serhiy Bychkov, and head of the aviation security division Oleksandr Netesov, while former deputy general director Mykhailo Kharchenko has been put on the wanted list. The service reports that it has collected a solid evidence base on the former general director of Antonov state enterprise, his deputy and the head of the aviation security unit. "According to the materials of the investigation, on the eve of a full-scale invasion, the officials did not allow the military personnel of the National Guard of Ukraine to the territory of Hostomel airport to prepare for its defense. Such criminal actions led to the temporary capture of the strategically important airfield, the surrounding settlements and the destruction of the An-225 Mriya aircraft," the report says. The SBU claims that in the period of January-February 2022, the officials directly prohibited the Ukrainian military from building defense fortifications at the airfield, for this an order was given to block the admission of National Guard soldiers to the territory of the facility. Based on the collected evidence, the investigators of the main investigation department of the SBU informed all three defendants of suspicion under Part 2 of Article 114-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (obstruction of the lawful activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military formations during a special period, resulting in death of people and other grave consequences). "Two defendants in the proceedings have been taken into custody as a measure of restraint. Comprehensive measures are being taken to bring to justice the former deputy general director of Antonov state enterprise, who is now a fugitive from justice. He has been put on the wanted list," the SBU informs. "We are conducting an objective investigation into this case. Those who actually helped the enemy destroy one of the symbols of Ukraine should be punished. The SBU will do everything necessary for this. Our state will definitely build a new plane, because Mriya, like Ukraine, cannot be destroyed," head of the SBU Vasyl Maliuk said. A source in law enforcement agencies told Interfax-Ukraine former deputy general director of Antonov enterprise Kharchenko, put on the wanted list, is probably now in Crimea. Republicans are lining up to take potshots at Democrats over education an issue on which President Bidens party used to enjoy a sizable advantage. The line of Republicans rushing to embrace the issue shows just how sharply the political dynamics have shifted. On Thursday evening, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin spoke at a CNN town hall on the topic. Education was central to Youngkins 2021 election win over Democrat Terry McAuliffe, which in turn has fueled buzz about Youngkin as a potential 2024 White House candidate. On Monday, former President Trump will give a Davenport, Iowa speech on what his campaign is billing as an America First education policy. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) Trumps most serious rival for the GOPs nomination, if he enters the race has made fights over education central to his political brand, whether in regard to the teaching of sexuality, critical race theory (CRT) or Black history. Other leading figures in the party have also championed a vigorously conservative approach. The early days of former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haleys presidential campaign have featured claims that a controversial Florida bill advocated by DeSantis, which bars the teaching of sexuality or gender identity through the third grade, doesnt go far enough. Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) signed an education overhaul in her state into law on Wednesday. Though the Arkansas measure boosts teacher salaries, it also takes aim at many of the same issues as DeSantis has done, including the teaching of sexuality and CRT. Just before the signing, Sanders celebrated on Twitter that CRT and all forms of racism and leftist indoctrination in our schools will be outlawed. The barrage of Republican attacks, which has been going on at least for a couple of years, has clearly had a political effect. A Washington Post-ABC News poll back in November 2021 showed Democrats enjoying only a three-point advantage, 44 percent to 41 percent, when voters were asked which party they favored on education. Story continues Post reporter Aaron Blake noted at that point that the last time the Post-ABC poll surveyed this issue was in the mid-2000s; at the time, Democrats led by more than 20 points. Last year, some polls even showed the GOP had an edge on the topic. A 2022 poll from the pro-charter school group Democrats for Education Reform found a 3-point edge for Republicans among voters in swing districts. Whatever the specifics, the big picture is that education has become much more friendly political territory for Republicans than used to be the case. There was once a Democratic stranglehold on education and now it seems there are self-inflicted wounds that are hurting them, said Republican strategist and pollster Glen Bolger. Democrats see the issue very differently, contending that the GOP has cynically weaponized education What I see on the Republican side is a party using the issue as part of its culture wars, said Democratic strategist Mark Longabaugh. I dont think they give a whit about education. They are just dragging the school libraries and the teachers into their culture wars. Whatever the truth, it seems plain that the COVID-19 pandemic was a pivot point when it comes to voters attitudes on education. School closures, debates over masking and vaccination for young children, and in-home learning created a febrile atmosphere. That, in turn, appears to have led parents, especially those of a more conservative worldview, to get more involved in school boards and discussions over curriculum. Post-pandemic, its an issue that people care about and its a great way to stir peoples emotions, said Julian Zelizer, a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University. Zelizer also contended that the emotional potency of the topic could distract from other, less favorable subjects for the GOP, such as economic policies that he said were at odds with the partys populist rhetoric. In the 2021 Virginia gubernatorial contest, Youngkins team wrung a political dividend from McAuliffes comment at a debate that I dont think parents should be telling schools what they should teach. But education has also become a nexus for big national discussions about race and sexual identity. When DeSantis pushed back against a proposed Advanced Placement course in African-American studies in January, for example, he cited its proposed teaching of queer theory as part of the evidence that the course had been designed for political purposes. Democrats like Longabaugh worry that their party hasnt been forceful enough in firing back at some of the GOP attacks. He contended that parents and the public at large are outraged at [Republicans] notion of book-banning. Democrats ought to lean into those issues and call them out on it, he said. But, he added, If we get pushed back on our heels and allow the Republicans to play culture war issues inside the schools, we are just on defense and we lose. Right now, its clear that the politics of education are in flux. And Democrats havent yet found a way to halt the GOPs momentum. The Memo is a reported column by Niall Stanage. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Environmental regulators in New Mexico worried they might not have the funds needed to control pollution from state industries like oil and gas, based on the budget proposed by lawmakers and awaiting approval during the ongoing 2023 Legislative Session. House Bill 2, the General Appropriations Act of 2023, will set New Mexicos spending levels for all its state departments including the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED), tasked with overseeing natural resource development like fossil fuels and the impacts of operations. NMED Cabinet Secretary James Kenney said his agency made special appropriations requests this year tied to worsening air pollution in the southeast Permian Basin region where most of New Mexicos oil and gas development takes place. More:Bill tightening oil and gas rules in New Mexico passes committee, opposed by industry Those activities and their recent growth led New Mexico to become the second-biggest, oil-producing state in the U.S. second only to Texas which shares the Permian. Expanded extraction also meant more emissions of air pollutants like volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which form cancer-causing ground-level ozone, or smog. Ozone levels were recently deemed in excess of federal standards, meaning the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency could step in, adding more stringent federal requirements on regulatory actions like permitting of oil and gas sites in the region. More:Oil and gas air pollution, climate change targeted by New Mexico Senate bill Its a certainty Kenney said his department needs to be ready for, to ensure a consistent rate of permitting, and why the department asked Legislature for a $2 million appropriation to fund staff additions in preparation for the EPAs actions expected later this year. But in the Legislatures proposed budget, now before the Senate Finance Committee after passing the House on Feb. 16, that request was largely denied. The current version of the bill combined the ozone appropriation with another $4.1 million request to address infrastructure needs tied to climate change, offering a total of $3.5 million for both initiatives. Story continues More:Bill to block nuclear waste project in New Mexico gaining momentum in State House Kenney said thats just not enough for the NMED to continue achieving its mission amid growing oil and gas production. New Mexico Environment Secretary James Kenney said surveillance testing used by supermarkets is a proactive approach to fighting COVID-19 in New Mexico. We have more to do, we have less to do it. Thats going to result in a pretty big problem for my department in particular, he said. Its been a rough budget session. Were not getting what weve asked for. The bill in its current form does make an 11.2 percent increase in overall funding to NMED, according to an analysis from the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC), along with a 14.7 percent increase to the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department New Mexicos other agency that oversees oil and gas. More:New Mexico Senate considering bill to enshrine renewable energy development in state law That should be enough for NMED to achieve its goals, said Sen. Gay Kernan (R-42) of Hobbs, a frequent supporter of the oil and gas industry and critic of tighter regulations she said could stymie the industry. She pointed to recent rules enacted by NMED and EMNRD that increased leak detection and repair requirements at oil and gas sites throughout the state, gas capture requirements and banned routine flaring or the burning of excess gas. Gay Kernan When you see these kinds of increases, you know there are going to be a lot more activities, Kernan said of NMEDs requests. Thats concerning to me, because we already made a lot of progress especially on venting and flaring. Why do they need more money? What theyre doing has been working. I think theyre sufficiently funded at this point. More:New Mexico Senate passes bill to block nuclear waste project near Carlsbad and Hobbs Without the full allocation NMED asked for, Kenney said there could be disruptions in oil and gas permitting under the added federal requirements, which he said would slow growth in the extraction industry more so than any state regulation or policy. If we dont get that money in the amount we need, I cannot make any kind of forward-looking statement that there will not be a disruption in oil and gas permitting coming out of our department, Kenney said. Its a monumental change, and not one you can just pivot to overnight. More:New Mexico bill seeks millions of dollars in fossil fuel tax credits for gas capture He said Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham supported NMEDs proposals in her recommendation to lawmakers, and that lawmakers should do the same to support an agency Kenney said continues to see its mission expanded instep with the booming oil and gas industrys growth. I know the governor supports our budget. These are monumental investments for public health and the environment at relatively low cost, Kenney said. Lets bet on NMED succeeding. Lets put the money in the programs New Mexicans want to see us succeed on. Sen. Jeff Steinborn (D-36) of Las Cruces who sits on the Senate Finance Committee agreed with Kenney, saying he planned to support all of the NMEDs requests as needed investments, Steinborn said, to combat growing pollution throughout the state. More:Electric police cars? Bill would require 75% of state-owned vehicles be battery powered This is an agency that puts out so many fires for our state, Steinborn said. The problems dont go away. We have lots of new venting and flaring. Weve had an explosion of oil and gas. Its important for us to have a department that is well-funded. Its a lot more expensive when bad things happen. Kernan was critical of Democrats for looking to spend more to tighten oil and gas regulations, as she said it could mean less revenue to pay for the initiatives themselves. We all know theyre attempting to reduce fossil fuels in New Mexico, and that will affect the revenue that comes in that theyre trying to spend, she said. Its just not sustainable. Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, achedden@currentargus.com or @AdrianHedden on Twitter. This article originally appeared on Carlsbad Current-Argus: Will New Mexico lawmakers fund oil and gas oversight in budget bill? MrBeast accepts the award for favorite male creator during the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards on Saturday, March 4, 2023, at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. | Richard Shotwell, Invision, Associated Press MrBeast is under fire again. This time, its because the YouTube star gave shoes to 20,000 South African kids. For hundreds of thousand of kids in South Africa, the only thing standing between them and an education is a simple pair of shoes, MrBeast explained in a video posted on Wednesday. He went to to explain that many kids in South Africa have to walk barefoot for miles over harsh terrain, broken glass and contaminated water to get to school. MrBeast teamed up with Johannesburg charity called Barefoot No More. The nonprofit makes shoes out of an innovative material designed for durability, comfort and flexibility. The shoes are also waterproof and stretch to fit a growing foot. Once he acquired the shoes, MrBeast traveled to Cape Town to find the schools whose students are in the most desperate need of help. He then gave out 20,000 pairs of Barefoot No More shoes to South African students. This is not the first of the social media stars philanthropic efforts. Earlier this year, he funded cataracts surgery for 1,000 people suffering blindness an act for which he was called demonic, per the Deseret News. In 2020, MrBeast said be planned to use my main channels influence to one day open hundreds of homeless shelters/food banks and give away all the money. Thats my gameplan and if you dont believe me, just watch. I promise Im dying with 0 dollars in my bank account and I refuse to live a materialistic life, he wrote in a followup tweet. I want to build other channels like beast gaming and beast reacts so I can run my main channel at a loss and grow as big as possible. And then use my main channels influence to one day open hundreds of homeless shelters/food banks and give away all the money. MrBeast (@MrBeast) August 10, 2020 Thats my gameplan and if you dont believe me, just watch. I promise Im dying with 0 dollars in my bank account and I refuse to live a materialistic life. MrBeast (@MrBeast) August 10, 2020 To make good on his claims, MrBeast created a channel called BeastPhilanthropy where he posts videos of his philanthropic efforts, some of which include: saving an orphanage, building wells in Africa, cleaning the ocean and rebuilding homes damaged by tornados. Story continues Related Why is MrBeast facing backlash for donating shoes? Fans criticize the YouTube star because they claim he profits off of his videos. One fan called his donation of shoes a millionaire bandaid. People praising things like this like good guy Mr Beast ignore the reality that he makes a profit from these types of videos. This isnt really charity. pic.twitter.com/tSYW7wp0Eo Zackary Beach (@ZackaryBeach4) March 9, 2023 Millionaire philanthropy is a bandaid that covers the core issues that force people into terrible conditions in the first place. People are not mad at Mr. Beast. They are mad at the system. https://t.co/fXrYHFTymF Salty Suga (@SaltySugga) March 8, 2023 I dont wanna get yelled at again but you guys know this is all really weird right? Like can you look beyond the X thing is good and think about the wider context in which all of this happens, including the nature and incentives of charity content https://t.co/Ygg9CVNDb2 Lolo (@LolOverruled) March 8, 2023 Some fans are supportive of Mr. Beasts charity work Loyal MrBeast fans shared their support of the YouTubers philanthropic efforts. Mr beast found an infinite money glitch where philanthropy pays for more philanthropy. Yall need to chill on him lmao Easterhands (@Easterhandz) March 9, 2023 Mr. Beast: *Gives away millions of dollars through philanthropic efforts* Internet haters: "He's doing it for views/money" Mr. Beast: "I don't keep the money from this channel, I just give it away to help more people Moral of the story: Haters gon Hate...DO YOU! Brycent (@brycent_) March 9, 2023 WASHINGTON Embattled Rep. George Santos is denying the latest fraud claim against him, saying reports that he orchestrated a credit card scam are untrue. In a sworn statement, first reported by Politico, a former roommate accused Santos of orchestrating a skimming operation in Seattle to steal information from ATMs and credit cards. Santos described the report late Thursday as "the newest insanity" and "categorically false." What does the George Santos ATM report say? "I am coming forward today to declare that the person in charge of the crime of credit card fraud when I was arrested was George Santos / Anthony Devolder," Gustavo Ribeiro Trelha wrote in a sworn statement, according to Politico. "Santos taught me how to skim card information and how to clone cards. He gave me all the materials and taught me how to put skimming devices and cameras on ATM machines," the report said. Trelha, who was convicted of fraud and deported to Brazil in 2017, sent the information to the FBI, the U.S. Secret Service office in New York and the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of New York, the report said. 'Sociopath,' 'sick puppy': What Mitt Romney, other Republicans have called George Santos George Santos connected to ATM scam Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., leaves a House GOP conference meeting on Capitol Hill, in Washington, Jan. 25, 2023. Santos was questioned by the Secret Service in the 2017 ATM skimming investigation, according to a CBS News report last month. The investigation was prompted when Santos' Florida address was discovered in a rental car used by the suspect in the scheme. "Santos voluntarily surrendered two cellphones at the Secret Service's New York field office, where the interview took place," CBS News reported, citing two sources familiar with the investigation. Santos was not identified as a suspect of the investigation in 2017, according to the report. A law enforcement source said there "was not enough evidence to associate Santos as an accomplice," according to CBS. CBS News also reported: Story continues Santos appeared at Trelha's bail hearing on May 15, 2017, describing him as a "family friend" from Brazil. During the hearing, Santos can be heard in court audio falsely telling the judge that he was employed at the investment firm Goldman Sachs. George Santos investigations mount The latest report follows a wave of state and federal investigations into Santos, who is facing legal scrutiny and public pressure for lying about his personal and professional biography. Lies range from saying he was a volleyball star and graduated from a college he never attended to work experience and a crafted Jewish ancestry. He is also accused, among other things, of stealing from a fundraiser for a dying dog. The House Ethics Committee launched an investigation last week into whether Santos engaged in "unlawful activity" during his campaign and since taking office. Additionally, multiple complaints have been filed with the Federal Election Commission about unanswered questions in Santos' campaign finances. George Santos controversy: Here's a look at investigations of the House Republican Candy Woodall is a Congress reporter for USA TODAY. She can be reached at cwoodall@usatoday.com or on Twitter at @candynotcandace. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: George Santos denies orchestrating ATM scam, skimming credit cards Republicans were critical of the president's $6.9 trillion budget proposal, but have yet to release their own counter plan. Also in the news: Officials confirmed an investigation is ongoing in a mass shooting in Germany's second-largest city and a Mexican cartel has apologized for kidnapping and killing American citizens. I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. Thank you to USA TODAY reporter David Oliver for writing a wish list of the 23 (13+10) songs Taylor Swift needs to sing on her ''Eras'' tour. Now, here we go with Friday's news. Biden defends $6.9 trillion budget proposal President Joe Biden fired the opening shot in his budget negotiations with congressional Republicans on Thursday, saying he's ready to sit down with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and go through their spending plans line by line. No date yet on GOP budget: Republicans have yet to release their own budget but McCarthy blasted the presidents proposal as completely unserious." Bidens budget blueprint got a big thumbs down from the U. S. Chamber of Commerce. Neil Bradley, the business groups head of policy, called the plan a recipe for economic and fiscal disaster. The budget negotiations come amid a battle over raising the limit on how much money the federal government can borrow. GOP leaders say they wont raise the debt ceiling unless Biden agrees to cut spending. Doubling down on Medicare and Social Security: Biden sought to draw a contrast with Republicans who have not specified which domestic programs they want to cut. Keep reading: With the budget, Biden signals his reelection bid. President Joe Biden speaks about his 2024 budget proposal at the Finishing Trades Institute, Thursday, March 9, 2023, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Investigation ongoing in German church shooting Eight people, including apparently the perpetrator, were killed in a shooting at a Jehovahs Witnesses hall in Hamburg, German police said Friday, and an unspecified number of others were wounded. There was still no word on a possible motive for the shooting on Thursday evening that stunned Germanys second-biggest city. In a Twitter update early Friday, Hamburg police said they believed there was only one gunman involved and confirmed they were gradually rolling back security forces from the area as an investigation into a motive continues. Read more Story continues Armed police officers near the scene of a shooting in Hamburg, Germany on Thursday March 9, 2023 after one or more people opened fire in a church. More news to know now What's the weather today? Check your local forecast here. Mexican cartel apologizes for kidnapping, killing Americans A Mexican drug cartel claiming its members were behind the brazen kidnapping of four Americans last week handed over five members and left a note of apology, Mexican media outlets and The Associated Press reported Thursday. The AP reported obtaining a copy of the letter from a law enforcement source in Tamaulipas, the Mexican state where the American travelers were attacked. Two of them were killed and another one wounded in a shooting Friday shortly after arriving in the border city of Matamoros for cosmetic surgery. Read more GloRilla concert stampede claims third victim A third woman who was severely injured when a large crowd rushed out of a rap concert in Rochester, New York, has died, Rochester police confirmed Thursday. All three women were trampled as the crowd was leaving Rochester's Main Street Armory following a GloRilla concert on Sunday night. Two women Rhondesia Belton, 33, of Buffalo, New York, and Brandy Miller, 35, of Rochester both died on Monday. The incident occurred just after 11 p.m. Sunday, as people were exiting the Armory following a concert featuring Memphis rappers GloRilla and Finesse2tymes. Read more Rochester Police Chief David Smith on Monday said the injuries appeared to be the result of a crowd pushing toward the exits Sunday night after they thought they heard gunshots. Just for subscribers: These articles are for USA TODAY subscribers. You can sign up here. 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' is the film to beat at Sunday's Oscars A year ago, we never could have guessed that a film with hot-dog hands and a singing raccoon would win best picture. But Everything Everywhere All at Once is predicted to do just that at Sundays Academy Awards, where it leads with 11 nominations. After winning over critics and moviegoers, the poignant sci-fi adventure has dominated awards season, scoring record-setting wins from the Screen Actors Guild and Independent Spirit Awards last week. Read USA TODAY's Oscars predictions. Jamie Lee Curtis and Michelle Yeoh, winners of the Best Feature award for Everything Everywhere All at Once pose in the press room during the 2023 Film Independent Spirit Awards. One more thing Photo of the Day: North Carolina's NCAA Tournament bubble bursts in loss to Virginia The countdown to Selection Sunday is on, with all six major conferences in the thick of league tournament games. No. 13 Virginia dealt a damaging blow Thursday to North Carolinas already shaky NCAA Tournament hopes, beating the Tar Heels 68-59 in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament quarterfinals. Tonight Virginia will keep fighting in a match-up against Clemson. Quick reminder: the official bracket will be announced Sunday at 6 p.m. ET on CBS. Click here for a recap of last night's games and click here for conference tournament schedules. North Carolina's R.J. Davis reacts after being called for a foul against Virginia. Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at USA TODAY, sign up for the email here. Want to send Nicole a note? Shoot her an email at NFallert@usatoday.com or follow along with her musings on Twitter. Support journalism like this subscribe to USA TODAY here. Associated Press contributed reporting. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: GOP budget proposal, Germany shooting, Mexican cartel, GloRilla, Oscars, March Madness: Daily Briefing Oklahoma House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, said his chamber won't hear any Senate education bills if his tax-credit and school funding package are amended. McCall speaks to members of the House at the Oklahoma state Capitol in this file photo from January 2019. Kicking off a war of words at the Capitol on Thursday, Oklahoma's House speaker said the state Senate can't amend his $800 million education package, or else all Senate education priorities are "dead on arrival" in his chamber. Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, said he would interpret any amendments to his legislation on family tax credits, teacher pay raises and school funding as an act of "sabotage." The Senate's top leader, Pro Tem Greg Treat, said McCall's stance is "asinine." The speaker called a news conference at the state Capitol on Thursday to announce he would not give a hearing to any education bills from the Senate if House Bills 2775 and 1935 are changed. Were not saying thats all that we would consider in terms of education initiatives this year, McCall said. I think we could find agreement on other issues, but the correct place for those is in different pieces of legislation, not messing with the balance of 2775 and 1935. More:Union leader calls Mullin 'greedy CEO' during heated Senate hearing exchange Both bills have earned Gov. Kevin Stitt's endorsement. Treat, R-Oklahoma City, indicated the package is not likely to pass the Senate without any amendments. If the speakers goal is to kill school choice, hes doing a great job," Treat said while speaking with reporters on Thursday. "By saying if we amend it at all, its setting the trap to be able to blame me for school choice dying." Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat speaks from the chamber floor on the second day of the 2023 Legislative Session on Feb. 7. HB 1935 would offer families a $5,000 refundable tax credit for each student who attends a private school and a $2,500 refundable tax credit for every child in home school. Families with limited tax liability could receive a check from the state while higher-earning households could take the tax credit off the top of their taxable income. McCall estimated the measure would cost $300 million if all families of private-school and home-school children applied. Oklahomas public education system would get an extra $500 million from HB 2775, a massive bill that includes a $2,500 raise for all public-school teachers. Story continues More:House Speaker Charles McCall says lawmakers are still out on Oklahoma school vouchers The bill also encompasses $300 million to be distributed to schools on a per-student basis for classroom expenses and further staff raises. School districts couldn't receive more than $2 million each, meaning rural schools with low student counts would see a greater impact than high-population districts. The House speaker said hes had little communication from the Senate since Sen. Julie Daniels agreed to become an author on his legislation an allegation Treat denied. The pro tem said McCall hasn't brought up education priorities in their weekly meetings lately. Daniels, R-Bartlesville, said last week she agreed to allow two private-school voucher bills to die in the Senate Rules Committee, which she leads, in favor of advancing McCalls tax credits. She said the Senate was reviewing how McCalls package overlaps with policies that already had passed in the upper chamber. Daniels Sen. Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, proposed a 13-bill, $541 million education plan that would give $3,000-$6,000 raises to teachers minimum salaries, 12 weeks of teacher maternity leave and other incentives for public school educators. He did not include any measures that would financially benefit private-school or home-school families. The Senate will continue to bring its own ideas to the table, the pro tem said. "It seems to be a theme the last two sessions that you do it exactly how we send it to you or were not going to pass school choice," Treat said of McCall's rhetoric. "We wont be bullied into a position." McCall said the House could be amenable to some of Pughs ideas but said any Senate proposals would have to come in the form of other bills that follow his legislation. They could not, he said, be merged into HB 2775 or 1935. More:Governor says something may have to give in Legislature's spending plans Wed like to see the Senate build on top of that, not try to amend that package, the speaker said. 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 House speaker: Changes to school bills would be 'sabotage' 100 East office tower is to be converted into 350 apartments within 40 months. 100 East, one of downtown Milwaukee's biggest office towers, would be converted into around 350 high-end apartments by 2026, according to new revealed plans. The 35-story, 435,629-square-foot building, 100 E. Wisconsin Ave., is being sold to a group led by Klein Development Inc. and developer and investor John Vassallo. Their plan is to complete that purchase within a few months, and then relocate office tenants from the half-full tower, Vassallo said. That would be followed by renovations to create the apartments. That work would likely be completed, with units available for rent, by around summer 2026, he said. "We're bullish on people moving to downtown Milwaukee," he told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The Journal Sentinel on Thursday reported Klein Development was planning to buy and convert 100 East. It's among a series of underused downtown office buildings that will likely be converted to apartments over the next few years. More:Well-known office buildings might be transformed into apartments after remote work reduced demand for downtown office space That trend is fueled by the overall demand for office space softening as employers adjust to the new world of remote work combined with continuing strong demand for apartments. 100 East is the most prominent of Milwaukee's conversion candidates. It opened in 1989, and was 88% leased when it was sold in 2016 for $78 million to an affiliate of Santa Monica, California-based Hertz Investment Group. But 100 East suffered a major blow when the Michael Best & Friedrich law firm, its anchor tenant, announced in 2016 that it would move to the new BMO Tower, which opened in 2020 at 790 N. Water St. That news came just three months after 100 East was sold to Hertz. It's now in foreclosure. Removing it from downtown's office space supply will help shore up that market, which finished 2022 with a 17.1% overall vacancy rate, according to the latest quarterly report from Commercial Association of Realtors-Wisconsin. Story continues Klein Development declined to talk about its plans for 100 East. Vassallo's role in the project was first reported by the Milwaukee Business Journal. Meanwhile, Gruber Law Offices LLC, a long-time 100 East tenant, is planning to look for a new location. "The likely conversion does not come as a surprise to us," said attorney Steven Gruber, in a statement. "Our current lease runs through November of 2024, and we will of course continue to evaluate the market for future options." Other tenants include Marcus Corp. and Wells Fargo Bank. Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.com and followed on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. 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 Subscribe to get the BusinessWatch email newsletter. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 100 East office tower conversion to 350 apartments to happen by 2026 (Natasha Pszenicki) Marie Antoinette had the Petit Trianon at Versailles as her go-to escape, Tolstoy had Yasnaya Polyana in the Russian countryside and the Duke and Duchess of Sussexes had the ten-bedroom rustic haven of Frogmore Cottage on the Windsor estate. At least they did have it. The couple, who fled the courtly environment for Canada in a door-slamming Megxit and have since made their home in LA will be required to vacate the property bequeathed after their marriage by the Queen in 2018. King Charles is cleaning house in more ways than one as his coronation in May beckons. Prince Andrew has, we gather, been offered the residence, as a cut to his royal grant leaves him unable to pay for the upkeep of a larger Crown Estate property. Entanglements with Jeffery Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell have ended Andrews life as a core working royal and the Frogmore address is beginning to look awkwardly like the sheltered housing arrangement for difficult royal relatives. One thing is certain from the volley of royal HiMAR launches against alienated members of the Firm namely that the new King is resetting the unwritten rules of his job description and that he is prepared to take substantial risks to do so. Treating the (very large) cottage merely as an asset which is his to dispose of is true in terms of its formal status as part of the Crown Estate. But royal residency rules tend to be made up as they go along. In this case, the sequencing of the move and relatively short notice make something else clear to the two Montecito exiles. Henceforth, they are welcome to attend the coronation as family members, but no one will much mind if they dont, nor indeed how volubly angry they may get about it on US networks or streaming services. Neither will there be an olive branch by means of inviting the Sussexes children to have a formal role. Someone elses adorable, closer to Camilla, will adorn the day. Had the King wished to be emollient, he could have left the house-swapping part of the job till after May, but he has chosen not to. The coronation will mark the beginning of a new era in the fractious Windsor tribe as well as the nations fortunes. Remember that this domestic contretemps-by-proxy comes in the week when he rolled out the carpet-and-tea at Windsor for Ursula von der Leyen, the EU Commission President, creating leverage for Rishi Sunak to get his Northern Ireland Protocol remedy across the line and adding the Windsor agreement to its heft. Given that it is opposed by many Unionists (and now also Boris Johnson as part of a Tory rump of hold-outs) and that the consultation period had not even started when the tea was poured, this was a targeted intervention to make something big and valuable happen as fast as possible. It was also departure from the one step back gradualism from direct involvement in live issues that the late Queen would have favoured. Story continues A man over 70, Charles feels he has lost time to make up for. Discussing the design for new coinage for the Royal Mint, he was, I hear, determined that the image should reflect his age and experience and the resulting Caesar-style profile reflects that sternly. Downsides do abound though to bringing reckoning to the boil where close family are concerned, because however annoying the Sussexes are (which is plenty) and however unsympathetic a character Prince Andrew might be (also plenty), the family can never wholly be cut adrift because the monarchy is based on the structures of family, however inconvenient or flawed these prove. The Frogmore context is undoubtedly Charless fury over the pasting Harry and Meghan have given the royal family, notably Queen Camilla in their multi-part Netflix jaccuse. Revenge in this case is consumed via repossession, (which leaves open whether the couple can claim back part or whole of the over 2million refurbishment they undertook a further casus belli). It leaves us wondering whether Charles could have waited longer to make clear that his son and wife had delighted Frogmore long enough. A spokespersons story that they considered it their forever home in the UK (apart from sounding like something from a home improvement show) sits oddly with the alienation they described in their time there and rare visits since. But the message from the big house at Windsor to the more bijoux, eco-painted one is loud and very clear grace-and favour residence means precisely that. Out of grace equals out of favour. And that means out. Anne McElvoy is executive editor at Politico Riders make the home stretch during the first race at Turf Paradise in Phoenix on Jan. 22, 2019. Turf Paradise agreed to pay more than $150,000 in assessed fees after officials with the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority found the Phoenix-based racetrack was not in compliance with some of its policies A copy of the agreement showed Turf Paradise received a notice on Jan. 11 where HISA officials found one of the racetrack's rails didn't meet its safety standards. Turf Paradise has hosted numerous races at 19th Avenue and Bell Road since it opened in 1956, according to its website. According to the agreement, the racetrack will "repair all junctures between panels on the rails so that all panels uniformly run together, and no gaps or sharp edges remain, and secure all beginnings of the rails in chutes along the track and over them in protective padding and covering, as determined by the joint inspection." Turf Paradise also agreed to restore a detention area where horses are kept while veterinarians inspect them before they return to their normal stables. The racetrack also agreed to pay HISA $155,611 in fees it failed to pay in 2022, in three monthly installments between March 3 and May 3. HISA was formed after the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act was introduced into Congress by Rep. Paul Tonko, D-N.Y., in 2020 and was later signed into law as part of an omnibus and COVID-19 relief bill. The act formed the authority as a private, self-regulatory organization overseen by the Federal Trade Commission. The leader of an animal rights group lauded the agreement, describing it as an example of HISA reining in a business. We applaud the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority for dropping the hammer on Turf Paradise, a track thats been ridden with scandals and dozens of racehorse deaths in recent years," said Mark Irby, executive director of Animal Wellness Action. "Leaders in American horseracing like The Jockey Club, National Thoroughbred Racing Association, and others have worked diligently to clean up the sport, but tracks like Turf Paradise continue to give the industry a black eye, and were elated to see the new authority cracking down against violators in the industry." Story continues Officials with Turf Paradise, however, said they largely agreed with HISA's policies but were concerned the racetrack could lose its Arizona operating license as HISA's policies conflicted with state regulations. "The recently signed agreement with HISA clarifies that state regulations do not apply in areas that HISA regulates. Turf Paradise needed to do additional research to ensure it would be allowed to operate in Arizona if it adhered to the new federal regulations under HISA," Mike Scerbo, a Turf Paradise spokesperson, said in a written statement. "The $150K are assessment fees covering the disputed time period, they are not fines. These assessment fees are intended to cover services such as veterinary examinations and steward monitoring, and farrier pre-race examinations of horseshoes." Vincent Francia, general manager of Turf Paradise, told The Arizona Republic on Wednesday that the racetrack was working with HISA but was largely following state regulations over HISA's policies. Francia and Turf Paradise owner Jerry Simms also promised to try and persuade Arizona lawmakers and officials with the Arizona Division of Racing to allow HISA to enforce its own policies within the state as part of the agreement. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Turf Paradise in Phoenix to pay over $150,000 after safety violations The government of Finland has provided Ukraine with a total of EUR29 million in humanitarian aid and development cooperation support, the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports. "Russias war of aggression against Ukraine, which has continued for more than a year, has caused immense destruction and suffering. The UN estimates that 17.5 million people, or nearly half of Ukraines population, are in need of humanitarian assistance. To alleviate human suffering and help Ukraine in the midst of the war, Finland will allocate EUR 15 million to humanitarian assistance and EUR 14 million to development cooperation," the ministry said. "Ukraine has requested support from Finland, particularly to meet the immediate and longer-term needs related to education, the environment and radiation safety," the report says. "We must combat war fatigue. To cope with this crisis, people need food, shelter and medication, and children need to get to school. We must also keep in mind that our support should help Ukraine recover from the war," said Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari. Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech before a ceremony celebrating Women's Day in Moscow on March 8, 2023. Mikhail Metzel/Getty Images Putin is playing the long game in Ukraine, according to CIA chief Bill Burns. "He's convinced that he can make time work for him," Burns told House lawmakers. Putin still thinks he can win, Burns said, even though the war has been disastrous for Russia. Between heavy casualties on the battlefield and crippling economic sanctions, the war in Ukraine has been disastrous for Russia. But CIA Director Bill Burns said that Russian President Vladimir Putin remains convinced he can win the fight because he believes that time is on his side. "I think he's doubling down," Burns, a former US ambassador to Russia, said during a House Intelligence Committee hearing on Thursday. "I believe he's convinced that he can make time work for him, that he can grind down the Ukrainians through this war of attrition, that he can wear down Western supporters of Ukraine." Putin is taking a "longer-term view" and is convinced that "Ukraine matters more to him than to us," Burns added, underscoring that the West needs to "puncture" that perception. The conflict in Ukraine has now dragged on for more than a year, and has morphed into a grinding war of attrition in the process. After Russia failed in its initial goal of seizing Kyiv, the war largely shifted to eastern Ukraine and has continued to be the primary battleground ever since. Western intelligence assessments suggest that roughly 60,000 Russians have been killed in the fighting so far an astonishing toll in comparison to other modern conflicts. Russia has also struggled with equipment problems, losing a staggering number of tanks and armored vehicles and facing a diminishing stockpile of munitions. But Putin shows no signs of backing down. Russia is continuing its push to seize Bakhmut, a city in eastern Ukraine with a pre-war population of 70,000. Though Russian forces appear to be on the verge of taking the city, it's widely agreed that Bakhmut's capture would be little more than a symbolic victory for Moscow. Russia on Thursday also launched a massive missile attack across Ukraine on Thursday. The attack included the use of hypersonic missiles, which the Ukrainian military is unable to shoot down. As the war rages on, serious questions have been raised as to whether the West has the political will to continue providing vital security aid to Kyiv. Some Republicans in Congress have expressed opposition to providing further assistance to Ukraine, though lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have generally offered strong support for the billions in military equipment and other aid the US has provided. Read the original article on Business Insider The CEO of railroad giant Norfolk Southern, the company responsible for the disastrous train derailment in rural Ohio last month, pledged during a congressional hearing on Thursday to drastically improve the companys safety culture and make East Palestine and surrounding communities whole again. I am determined to make this right, Alan Shaw told members of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. Norfolk Southern will clean the site safely, thoroughly and with urgency. You have my personal commitment. Norfolk Southern will get the job done and help East Palestine thrive. But he refused to commit to a number of specific actions that senators view as key to fulfilling those promises, from supporting new rail safety legislation and temporarily halting stock buybacks to compensating homeowners for lost property value. Thursdays hearing, the first of what is expected to be many on the Ohio derailment, comes more than a month after a Norfolk Southern train careered off the tracks in East Palestine, Ohio, while hauling tons of toxic chemicals. Of the 50 train cars that either derailed or were damaged in the resulting fire, 20 contained hazardous material. Of primary concern are the hundreds of thousands of pounds of vinyl chloride, a common organic chemical used in the production of plastics that has been linked to several types of cancer. The National Transportation Safety Board concluded that an overheated wheel bearing caused the derailment, andopened a special investigation into Norfolk Southerns safety practices. The probe targets a series of recent accidents, including the fiery derailment in East Palestine and a conductors death on Tuesday. Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation this month to improve safety in the freight rail industry. The bill would create new safety rules for all trains carrying hazardous materials and increase penalties for safety violations. Its sponsors include Sens. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and John Fetterman (D-Penn.). Story continues Shaw said Norfolk Southern supports certain provisions in the bill but stopped short of endorsing the legislation in its entirety. We are committed to the legislative intent to make rail safer, he said. Norfolk Southern runs a safe railroad, and it is my commitment to improve that safety and make our safety culture the best in the industry. Alan Shaw, president and CEO of Norfolk Southern Corporation, testifies before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Capitol Hill on March 9, 2023, in Washington, D.C. Alan Shaw, president and CEO of Norfolk Southern Corporation, testifies before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Capitol Hill on March 9, 2023, in Washington, D.C. The railroad industry, including the Association of American Railroads, an industry lobbying group of which Norfolk Southern is a member, has a long history of fighting stricter safety regulations. Several lawmakers pressed Shaw about both the companys safety record and its long-term commitment to East Palestine and other communities impacted by the chemical disaster. Shaw reminded the committee several times that hes only been CEO of the company since May of last year. He stressed that the companys $20 million investment in East Palestine is only an initial down payment. And he repeatedly returned to a talking point about doing whats right. Will you commit to compensating affected homeowners for their diminished property values? Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) asked. Im committing to do whats right, Shaw said. Well, whats right is a family that had a home worth $100,000 that is now worth $50,000 will probably never be able to sell that home for $100,000 again, Markey said. Will you compensate that family for that loss? Senator, Im committing to do whats right, Shaw said again. That is the right thing to do! Markey shot back. These are the people who are innocent victims, Mr. Shaw. Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA): A family that had a home worth $100,000 that is now worth $50,000 will you compensate that family? Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw: Im committing to do whats right. Markey: That is the right thing to do Norfolk Southern owes these people. pic.twitter.com/7HUKDri56m The Recount (@therecount) March 9, 2023 Shaw offered the same vague answer when Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) asked him about covering residents health care needs into the future. We are going to do whats right for the citizens, Shaw began. Whats right is to cover their health care needs. Will you do that? Sanders interjected. Everything is on the table, Shaw replied. Sanders also pressed the railroad executive about the companys adoption of a cost-cutting strategy called precision-scheduled railroading, which involves reducing railroad employees and increasing the length of trains. Sanders noted that Norfolk Southern has reduced its workforce nearly 40% over a six-year period. Will you make a commitment, right now, to the American people, that you will lead the industry in ending this disastrous precision-scheduled railroading, which has slashed your workforce and made railroading much less safe? Sanders asked. Shaw said the company has been on a hiring spree since he took over as CEO, adding 1,500 employees over the last year, but did not directly answer Sanders question. Other lines of questioning ran a similar course. When Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) asked if Norfolk Southern planned to hire the workers necessary to inspect rail cars and track infrastructure in order to prevent accidents like this in the future, Shaw again said the company has been on an aggressive hiring spree since he started as CEO. If we need to hire more signal workers to maintain and inspect the signals, we will absolutely do that, Shaw said. When Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) asked if the public could count on the company to lobby for, rather than against, safety improvements moving forward, Shaw said Norfolk Southern would continue to follow the science and invest in safety. I just really thought when you said turn over a new leaf, I thought you were saying you were going to now support safety regulations, Merkley said. Im sorry you cant tell this crowd here today, that would like to hear that, that that is the case. Merkley also asked Shaw to pledge to halt stock buybacks until the company puts a raft of safety measures in place to reduce derailments. (Norfolk Southern spent a combined $6.5 billion on stock repurchases in 2021 and 2022 and has plans to spend another $7.5 billion on stock buybacks, CNN reported. Those figures dwarf the millions the company has pledged to spend in East Palestine.) I will commit to continuing to invest in safety, Shaw said, stating that the company invests over $1 billion annually on safety. There is always more that we will do, and I am committed to having the best safety culture in the industry. Senator Merkley pressed Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw to commit to halting stock buybacks for wealthy shareholders until he completes the major safety overhauls that the company admits it needs to undertake. The CEO refused to commit. pic.twitter.com/3rlIXRKPg9 More Perfect Union (@MorePerfectUS) March 9, 2023 Shaws most bureaucratic, noncommittal answer came when Sanders asked him to pledge to provide all Norfolk Southern employees with guaranteed paid sick leave. I will commit to continuing to discuss with them important quality-of-life issues, Shaw said. With all due respect, you sound like a politician here, Mr. Shaw, Sanders said. Paid sick days is not a radical concept in the year 2023. Several committee members stressed the importance of holding Norfolk Southern accountable for immediate and longer-term cleanup and monitoring in East Palestine and the surrounding area. Some have argued that the disaster is the direct result of corporate greed. If Norfolk Southern had paid a little more attention to safety and a little less attention to profits it cared a little more about the Ohioans along its tracks and a little less about its executives and shareholders these accidents would not have been as bad or not happened at all, Sen. Brown said. Paige Lavender contributed reporting. Related... Russian military servicemen ride a heavy T-90 tank during rehearsals of the Victory Day military parade, on April 29, 2021 in Moscow, Russia. Konstantin Zavrazhin/Getty Images Lithuanian intelligence estimated that Russia can hit Ukraine hard for two more years, per Reuters. Support from Iran and North Korea will also impact how long it can fight intensively, the intel said. Lithuania has long called for greater military support for Ukraine. One of Ukraine's firmest allies in NATO said Russia can continue its war in Ukraine with the same force for the next two years, according to Reuters. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Lithuanian intelligence chief Elegijus Paulavicius said that Russia's current resources would allow it to continue this level of warfare. He added: "How long Russia is be able to wage the war will also depend on the support for Russia's military from states such as Iran and North Korea." The assessment contrasts with the more optimistic picture given late last year at the Pentagon, which said that early 2023 would probably bring a decline in Russian capability, predicting that it would be forced to rely on degraded weapons and ammunition. Russia launched a rare large-scale bombardment of exploding drones and high-powered missiles in Ukraine on Thursday, many of which managed to evade Ukraine's defenses. It was an apparent attempt to break past the war's ground front lines, which have been largely deadlocked for weeks. Russia is estimated to have lost about half of its total number of modern tanks in the past year of war, and is said to have a severe backlog in manufacturing new ones. However, it still has thousands of older tanks in storage ready to be deployed, per figures from of the International Institute of Strategic Studies, a military think tank. Russia has also taken delivery of drones from Iran and ammunition from North Korea throughout the war. A written reporting accompanying Paulavicius' remarks, cited by Reuters, said "long chains of intermediaries" are in use to evade sanctions and obtain Western technology for other weapons. Multiple investigations of downed drones used by Russia in Ukraine have revealed Western parts in their construction, despite both Russia and Iran, which also supplies drones to the conflict being under international sanctions. Story continues The report also said that international sanctions are having a limited effect on Russia's ability to fund its military, Reuters reported. Lithuania, along with other Baltic states, has been among the most vocal critics of President Vladimir Putin's expansionism, as Insider's Sinead Baker reported, and makes frequent calls for more generous support for Ukraine from Europe. Read the original article on Business Insider After the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001, Americans worried for years about the increasing number of domestic terrorism attacks by radical Islamists. However, in the past seven years, most terrorist attacks in the United States, probably two-thirds to three-fourths, would be categorized by the FBI and by a University of Maryland project as right-wing terrorism, said Brandon Prins, professor and director of graduate studies in the University of Tennessee's political science department. He was the guest speaker at a recent League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge luncheon. In the United States, Islamic terrorism attacks have been eclipsed by white nationalist violence that we see more of today, he said. Brandon Prins Prins defined right-wing, white nationalist attacks as violence perpetrated by people who are anti-government in that theyre reacting negatively to liberal policies, LGBTQ rights and excessive government regulation. Some of the conclusions Prins cited about domestic terrorism groups came from Profiles of Individual Radicalization in the United States (PIRUS), that was part of the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), which is a Department of Homeland Security Emeritus Center of Excellence led by the University of Maryland. According to German Lopezs Aug. 18, 2017, article on The Radicalization of White Americans in the news website Vox, right-wing terror attacks outnumber Islamist and left-wing attacks combined. A Feb. 23 report by the Anti-Defamation League (reported on Feb. 24 in The Oak Ridger) stated that the number of mass killings linked to right-wing extremism and white supremacy was at least three times higher than the total from any one 10-year period since the 1970s. In the 2010s, 21 domestic extremism-related mass killings were reported, with five more in 2021 and 2022. Most mass shootings committed by 'lone wolves' Most of these mass shootings are committed by "lone wolves," Prins said, noting that many of these lone gunmen have experienced a drop in their social standing. Story continues He cited examples like Brenton Harrison Tarrant, who confessed to killing 51 people and injuring 40 in attacks in 2019 on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, and Patrick Wood Crusius, who pleaded guilty to killing 23 and injuring 22 Latinos the same year at a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas. Crusias claimed he was inspired by the Christchurch attacks and the far-right Great Replacement conspiracy theory that holds that Latinos are being brought into the United States to replace white Europeans. Most domestic terrorist groups would not accept lone wolves because they would not help extremist groups accomplish their goals, Prins said, adding that in 2021 the United States experienced 26 attacks by domestic terrorist groups.He gave a definition of domestic terrorism from STARTs Global Terrorism Database: the threatened or actual use of illegal force and violence by individuals or sub-national groups against noncombatants to attain a political, economic, religious or social goal through fear, coercion or intimidation. Pathways to extremism explained In discussing pathways to extremism, Prins said that a persons radicalization involves a change in behavior that can be caused by a belief that one group is superior to another group and that violence is justified against the people considered inferior. Another cause is a perceived injustice, a belief that a person or his group has been wronged and should seek revenge. Those joining terrorist groups must undergo a socialization process that trains them not only to support the groups worldview, but also to be willing and able to perpetrate violence. "Once you become committed to the group, you fear leaving the group or being kicked out or being shamed for not doing what the group wants you to do, Prins added. A PIRUS study of 1,500 individuals has identified the common life experiences of people that tend to join domestic terrorist groups. The study found that both right-wing and left-wing terrorists had a criminal history and suffered childhood abuse. "All of them had personal difficulties, Prins said. Many of them felt an absence of belonging. Almost all were involved in drugs. Many of them have spent time in prison. And they also had experience with violence in the past. In a study of the life histories of violent white supremacists in the United States, more than half reported a family history of mental health problems and their own mental health issues before or during extremist involvement. Some 62% attempted or considered suicide. Violent white supremacists in the study also admitted engaging in high-risk behaviors. Some 72% reported problems with alcohol and/or illegal drugs, 58% reported truancy and 54% reported academic failure that resulted in their being expelled from or dropping out of school. "Terrorist attacks happen all over our country, Prins said. He noted that right-wing terrorism is also occurring increasingly in European nations, including France, Germany and Great Britain. He remarked that most terrorists are men, but a few women terrorists and suicide bombers have caused fatalities. At the beginning of his talk, he pointed out that data from 2007 through 2013 showed that the most terrorist attacks were in Iraq (9,445), Pakistan (6,935) and Afghanistan (4,905). In that period, he said, the U.S. was ranked 30th in reported terrorist attacks, with 87 that were mostly right wing and not jihadi. But, he added, a lot of terrorist violence between 2007 and 2013 is the consequence of U.S. invasions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Prins said that France and Saudi Arabia have the most effective programs for deradicalizing and rehabilitating former terrorist group members by getting them employment and involving their families in giving them a social structure. Asked about the effects of right-wing media reports and disinformation campaigns, Prins said, Its certainly the case that right-wing media like Fox News have spread stories that inflame anger in individuals that already think the government is acting in some wrong way. He mentioned the response by right-wing groups to a National Guard exercise in Texas carried out by the Obama administration. The right-wing media portrayed this exercise as an attempt by the president to establish martial law and start taking over the United States. The governor of Texas gave legitimacy to the conspiracy theory that spread like wildfire through the right-wing media by deploying the Texas National Guard to monitor the exercise. UT is studying disinformation campaigns by the Russian government that attempt to spur social antagonism and unrest in the United States, Prins said, noting that in the 1980s, the Soviet government disseminated the fake story that the AIDS virus was created and spread by the U.S. government. This article originally appeared on Oakridger: UT prof: Most recent U.S. terrorist attacks made by right-wing groups NORTH CANTON The city's attorneys asked the Ohio Supreme Court Monday to force the Stark County Board of Elections to put two proposed levy increases for the May 2 ballot. The filing with the state's high court came after the Board of Elections on Feb. 7 rejected two replacement and increase levies one to fund roads and the other to fund storm sewers and flood defenses. The board's attorney, Assistant Stark County Prosecutor Deborah Dawson, advised the board that state law did not generally permit the placement of replacement levies on a ballot prior to the year the original levies would expire. North Canton's road and storm sewer levies expire next year. She said that the city could not bring those issues before voters prior to the general election in November 2024. North Canton's law director, Wayne Boyer, right, on Feb. 7 explains to North Canton council the city's legal situation when it comes to two proposed levy increases that the Stark County Board of Elections declined to certify for the May 2 ballot. More:North Canton levy requests rejected from May ballot Both proposed levies are a 1-mill replacement and 1-mill increase that would adjust for the city's updated, higher property values and double the millage rate. For each levy approved, the cost to the owner of a $100,000 home would increase by nearly $48 a year, according to the Stark County Auditor's office. So if both levies went into effect, the increase starting next year would total more than $95 a year for every $100,000 in home property value. Each levy would generate $1.03 million a year, an increase from the current $385,496 a year. What is the argument about North Canton's levies? The city's attorneys, who work for the firm Krugliak Wilkins, argue that the levies are exempt from the law cited by Dawson. Under another provision of state law, levies related to "public assistance, human or social services, relief, welfare, hospitalization, health, and support of general hospitals," can be placed on a ballot at any time. The city says levies for roads and storm sewers are for public assistance and health purposes, an argument Dawson rejected. Dawson said the city never mentioned that section of the law in the resolutions council approved Jan. 23. And though council passed new levy resolutions on Feb. 7 citing that law, that action came after the Feb. 1 ballot deadline, making it moot, she argues. Story continues The city's filing also suggests the Board of Elections should have told the city it was not certifying the issues before the ballot deadline of Feb. 1, rather than Feb. 3, denying the city the opportunity to fix the legal issues. The federal deadline is March 17 for the ballots to be finalized, allowing military personnel and U.S. voters overseas enough time to cast absentee ballots. The attorneys signing North Canton's filing were Matthew Onest, North Canton's law director Wayne Boyer and Angela Connelly, all attorneys of Krugliak Wilkins. Dawson Monday evening in a text message said she had not yet received or read the city's filing with the Ohio Supreme Court so she could not yet comment. Reactions to North Canton's legal move North Canton Administrator Patrick DeOrio declined to comment, repeating that the matter is a "difference of opinion" with the Board of Elections, which would be decided by the court. Chuck Osborne, a former councilman and regular critic of the city's government, in remarks to council Monday raised the question of why Krugliak Wilkins didn't run the issues language by the Stark County Prosecutor's office, which advises the board of elections, prior to the ballot deadline of Feb. 1. Now, the city is going to pay thousands of dollars in legal fees to litigate the issue, he said. DeOrio said he didn't know how much the legal fees would end up being. "Why not simply admit the city made a mistake and move on?" Osborne asked. "The problem is the ballot language will not comply with the law." Council Member David Metheney, Ward 2, said, "my hope is the voters get a chance to decide." Reach Robert at robert.wang@cantonrep.com. Twitter: @rwangREP. This article originally appeared on The Repository: North Canton wants state's high court to rule in levies case RFA/Health Care Access Reporter Santiago Ochoa is a bilingual journalist covering health care access at the Yakima Herald-Republic in Yakima, Washington. Before joining the Herald, Ochoa reported for Flint Beat in Flint, Michigan, covering the citys Latino populationhealth care, education, community building and more, and winning top honors in the Michigan Press Associations feature category. He served as photographer and later editor for his college newspaper, The Michigan Times. When hes not working, Ochoa enjoys cross-country trips on his motorcycle, going to the movies, reading and skiing. Business Reporter Joel Donofrio is the business reporter for the Yakima Herald. He was born and raised in the Chicago area, but he and his wife, Cathy, fell in love with the beauty (and low humidity) of the West and moved here in 2009, eventually relocating to Yakima in September 2021. They have two young adult children, Anthony and Joanna, and a dog, Molly. When he is not taking photos of construction sites, tracking down new and relocating businesses or catching up on agricultural trends, Joel enjoys playing guitar, singing, listening to music and playing and watching sports. The Government of Japan and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will provide farmers in Kharkiv region with sunflower and corn seeds for the spring sowing season. According to the website of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, this project was agreed upon by head of the department Mykola Solsky, representatives of the Japanese Embassy in Ukraine and the Office of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). It is specified that Japan has purchased sunflower and corn seeds for Ukrainian farmers in the amount of more than $1 million, they have already been delivered to warehouses in the country and will soon begin to be distributed through the State Agrarian Register. "Mykola Solsky expressed gratitude to the Japanese side for the comprehensive support of Ukraine's agrarian sector. In addition, the minister agreed with the Japanese side to create a training program for Ukrainian students at the Dokuchaev Kharkiv National Agrarian University as part of the exchange," the Ministry of Agrarian Policy noted in the message. It also recalled that JICA is a Japanese government organization that provides technical, grant assistance and concessional loans to foreign governments to strengthen their capacity and institutional development. Since 2017, JICA has been represented in Ukraine, where it deals with the restoration of the country, in particular, its agricultural sector. The mining and metallurgical group Metinvest within the military initiative Rinat Akhmetov's Steel Front handed over to the soldiers of the third separate assault brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine equipment for building communication networks, special equipment for armored personnel carriers and charging stations with a total value of more than UAH 20 million. According to the company's press release, Metinvest sent the defenders the equipment needed to build communication networks: 100 command radios, 100 car radios, more than 200 antennas, routers and repeaters. More than 100 EcoFlow charging stations and special communication equipment for armored personnel carriers were also handed over to the defenders. Since February 24, 2022, Metinvest has sent more than UAH 3.1 billion to help the country, of which more than UAH 1.6 billion goes to military projects of the Steel Front. As part of this initiative, the company donated 1,200 drones, nearly 1,700 thermal imagers, 321 vehicles, including ambulances, more than 150,000 bulletproof vests and 25,000 helmets to the defenders. Metinvest is a vertically integrated group of mining and metallurgical enterprises. Its enterprises are located in Ukraine - in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions, as well as in European countries. 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. The Council of Europes European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) released a report on Hungary, commending the countrys efforts to offer protection and support to refugees from Ukraine. ECRI welcomed the positive changes in Hungary since the latest report adopted in 2015. At the same time, the body said the human rights of LGBTI persons have significantly deteriorated due to increasingly hostile political discourse and the adoption of a series of restrictive laws. The report said: The Hungarian public discourse has become increasingly xenophobic in recent years, and political speech has taken on highly divisive and antagonistic overtones particularly targeting refugees, asylum seekers and migrants, Muslims and LGBTI persons. It called on public figures to take a stand against racist and anti-LGBTI hate speech. The commission has also raised concerns regarding the high school drop-out rate of Roma children, and widespread segregation in schools. Roma are still in serious disadvantage on the labour market and forced evictions of Roma continue, often without any re-housing solutions being provided, it said. Hungarys Equal Treatment Authority (Egyenlo Banasmod Hatosag) was merged with the Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights from January 2021 without the move having been preceded by appropriate consultations, ECRI said. To date, no information campaign for the wider public has been organised to explain the current institutional framework and available remedies, the report said. The commission recommended that Hungary launch an independent review of the legislative measures taken during the state of emergency, especially on its impact on LGBTI communities, and the measures compliance with Council of Europe and other human rights standards in the fields of equality and non-discrimination. The capacity of law enforcement authorities should be boosted in identifying and handling hate speech and hate crime against LGBTI communities, it said. Further recommendations include a call on authorities to organise a nation-wide awareness-raising campaign on the avenues of complaints available to victims of discrimination. ECRI also urged legislative steps to ensure the legal recognition of a persons gender through procedures that are quick, transparent and accessible to all. All forms of school segregation of Roma children should be ended and a comprehensive strategy should be adopted for the integration of migrants, it said. The fresh newsletter for the International Community in Hungary - described by readers as a "Great read each week" - is now available for your interest and use via the link below. You can see the new edition of the Xpat E-Magazine here: https://xpatloop.com/newsletters/2023/9-march.html Welcome! Thanks for enjoying a moment here - along with fellow Xpats in the Loop! You're in good company with 1000's of expats + locals in this cosmopolitan community. 1. First-up, since the weather's getting better, here's a great variety of trip ideas: 1. Sopron, 2. Koszeg, 3. Lillafured, 4. Lake Tisza, 5. Esztergom 6. Ram Ravine, 7. Gemenc Forest, 8. Pecs Region, 9. Eger & Surroundings - Inc Miskolctapolca. 2. You can see example events happening these days below + in Xpat Calendar: E.g. National Restaurant Week, Jumble of Dance and Circus, Robbie Williams Concert. 3. Plus you can see the latest Movies + Specials, and fresh News, Information & Inspiration: E.g. Xpat Explainer: 15 March Commemoration, More Taxi Drivers Assaulted, 2nd Warmest Winter... We hope you like what's in it for you below. Yours with best wishes, Team XpatLoop When Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems arrive in Ukraine, Ukrainians will know if there will be information about the first downed enemy aircraft, Spokesman for the command of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Yuriy Ihnat has said. "No, I haven't seen it yet. When they are, you will find out when the first rashist aircraft will be shot down," Ihnat said on the air of the national telethon on Friday. He also said many people ask if the complex is capable of shooting down Kinzhal air-launched cruise missiles, but this will become known only after "the use of air defense systems in practice." Earlier, the Financial Times said one of the two Patriot systems (announced earlier by the United States and Germany) arrived in Ukraine, but it has not yet been put into operation. The Hungarian economy has to provide jobs for Hungarians first of all, and everyone else can only come after, Prime Minister Viktor Orban told a conference in Budapest. Hungary will need some 500,000 new workers in the coming 1-2 years, Orban said in his address at the year-opening event of the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce (MKIK). The priority is to mobilise internal resources, he said. Employees in fostered work programmes are not part of that reserve as they make a living in their current employment, rather than relying on subsidies, he said. At the same time, Hungary still has domestic reserves, which is why large industry development projects are focusing on eastern Hungary, he said. Full employment is nearly achieved in the area of Debrecen, and Nyiregyhaza will follow suit in a year, while northern Hungarian Miskolc is more complicated, he said. Next, labour policy efforts will concentrate on Bekes County, in southeast Hungary, he said. The European Unions current political atmosphere, which prioritises regional cooperation and helps relations with Hungarian communities across the border, also gives Hungary an opportunity to mobilise workforce there, he said. We cant give an advantage to foreigners over Hungarians, we can only consider guest workers once we have exhausted these reserves, he said. Hungary must also avoid the trap of employing guest workers as a commodity because Hungarians are unwilling to take on certain jobs, he said. If the job is uncomfortable or difficult, it should pay more, but foreigners cannot have advantages over Hungarians, he said. Guest workers would only be allowed temporary residence, he said. The government will keep taxes low, Orban said, citing OTP Bank chairman - CEO Sandor Csanyi as saying that instead of introducing new taxes, the focus should be on collecting the existing ones. Concerning the global minimum tax, Orban said the extra burden from the tax would fall on foreign players rather than Hungarians. Hungary has it on paper from the European Union that the local business tax can be included in the calculation of the minimum tax, he said. This protects almost all Hungarian large companies, meaning that the introduction of the global minimum tax will not result in any additional burdens for them, the prime minister added. YORK -- York County Government Day looked a little different this year. The event was held at the National Guard Armory in York, where students assembled at nine different booths and learned about the daily operations of local government. Logistically it worked better for us to hold County Government day here, said Nick Wollenburg, York County Veterans Service officer and organizer. The schools dont have to worry about transporting kids from the courthouse to the armory for lunch and the offices dont get congested. This year, we have over 60 students from Heartland, York and McCool. The booths were interactive and educational with door prizes and pop quizzes on the various fields in local government. Students had the opportunity to explore military equipment and massive machinery. If they were lucky, some students tried on law enforcement tactical gear with the help of York County Sheriffs Captain Josh Gillespie. Jenny Rees, University of Lincoln Extension educator, spoke to students about the role Extension offices play in providing residents information about crops and water, childcare, livestock, 4-H and education. Other speakers were Kurt Bulgrin, York County Assessor; Gary Olson, York County Attorney; Chad Red and Greg Heine, York County Roads Department; Maria Scamehorn, York County Emergency Communications; Mary Melby and Kelly Turner, deputy clerk and county clerk; Aaron Alvarez and Skyler Aegerter with the National Guard. Alvarez said, The students learned about the various weapons used in combat and the benefits of the National Guard, the differences between the National Guard and Army and the training needed. They learned that the National Guard is a way of living and what we do is protect our country. Scamehorn said, Overall, today was fun and it was different because the students didnt go into the offices. There were a lot of questions asked about voting and it pleased me to see young people be interested in learning about their local and state government. Overall I think it went well. Boeing, one of the largest aircraft manufacturers in the world, is now preparing to set up a new conversion line in India in association with its supplier - GMR Aero Technic. The line will be used to modify passenger aircrafts to freighters in a bid to cater the ever-increasing demand for cargo planes. The plane manufacturer revealed that GMR Aero Technic will be the companys first supplier to facilitate this conversion for both domestic and international planes. This came out from Boeing after the manufacturer received the largest-ever order from an Indian carrier - Air India, for around 220 planes. Without disclosing financial details, Boeing India President Salil Gupte said its cooperation with GMR Aero Technic supports the anticipated growth of the cargo sector in the region. "Indian market is like no other maret because it combines both an incredible market with an incredible capability, both in civil and defence. There is synergy between civil and defence that is so valuable," Gupte told PTI here after the announcement. Once the operation of the conversion line starts in Hyderabad, it will be for converting Boeing 737-800 passenger planes into freighters. Basically, the conversion will be of used aircraft, "usually mid-life asset", he said, adding that the work requires a very complex set of modifications. Both sides expect to start working on the conversion line over the next 18 months. Also read - Philippines Flight Crash: Wreckage Of Plane Found After A Month of Crash, All 6 Dead The latest collaboration adds to Boeing's investments to support the cargo growth and help expand complex aircraft modification capabilities and Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) in the country. "The collaboration with Boeing reaffirms our capability to provide world class MRO services and further contribute to the 'Make in India' initiative," GMR Aero Technic CEO Ashok Gopinath said. As per Boeing's forecast, India's air cargo growth is expected to average 6.3 per cent annually, driven by the country's manufacturing and e-commerce sectors. About the Indian market, Gupte said it is about combining the synergy and technological capability, such as from simple to complex assemblies and working with advanced composite materials. Many components, including Apache fuselage and vertical fin of B737 plane are made in India by Boeing. "... You combine all of that together, you have the wonderful ecosystem that we and other OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) can work with to make the next generation products of tomorrow. That really is what it is all about," he noted. According to him, as India gets into the higher value elements of manufacturing, it fits hand in glove with having more air cargo. "India has a unique opportunity... The growth in higher manufacturing, higher value density, there is a significant opportunity (for entities) that (are) involved in manufacturing, in purchase of these goods to shorten the time to shorten the supply chain... By leveraging air cargo as opposed to alternate modes of transportation," Gupte said. To a query on whether Indian carriers are expected to place more orders, Gupte said, "we are always in talks for across our entire product portfolio". Also read - Heist Attempt At Chile's Santiago Airport Leaves Delta Airline's Plane Damaged With Bullets: Watch Video Currently, the American plane manufacturer has more than 300 suppliers in India and makes sourcing worth over Rs 8,300 crore annually. According to Gupte, over 1,720 freighter conversions are required globally and a significant chunk of those will be in Asia and we believe India will play a big role in that as well. While emphasising that the time for the cargo market has come, he said, "so, it is only fair that we have a capability to have a line to make those freighters in India, not just for India but for the region". On February 14, Air India announced placing orders for 220 planes from Boeing for USD 34 billion. The orders are for 190 B737 MAX, 20 B787, and 10 B777X. There will also be an option to buy 70 more aircraft that could take the total transaction value to USD 45.9 billion. On the same day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with US President Joe Biden and the two leaders hailed the landmark agreement between Air India and Boeing as a shining example of mutually beneficial cooperation that will help create new employment opportunities in both countries. Modi had also invited Boeing and other US companies to make use of the opportunities arising due to the expanding civil aviation sector in India. Indian carriers, including Air India, SpiceJet, Akasa Air and Air India Express, operate around 160 Boeing planes. This includes freighters as well. A Philippine search team guided by sniffer dogs on Thursday found the wreckage of a single-engine plane that crashed on a mountain more than a month ago and confirmed that all six people on board were dead, officials said. The Cessna 206 plane went missing after taking off January 24 from Cauayan city in northern Isabela province with a pilot and five passengers en route to Maconacon town on what should have been a 45-minute flight. Rain, winds and rough mountain terrain hampered the weekslong search, and it may take at least three days more to recover the remains of the victims, officials said. Constante Foronda of Isabela's disaster response office said the families of the victims, who were all Filipinos, have been notified of the discovery of the wreckage. "They're very sad but at least they now have closure," he told reporters. The crash was among a series of accidents involving small aircraft in the country in recent months. An air and sea search by Philippine authorities backed by the United States and Malaysia is continuing for a helicopter carrying five people, including a patient and a nurse, which went missing last week in western Palawan province, officials said. All those aboard are Filipinos except for the nurse, who is American, said Eric Apolonio, the civil aviation agency's spokesperson, citing a report from a rescue coordination center. Last month, a plane carrying two Australian energy consultants and two Filipino crew members crashed on the slopes of Mayon volcano after taking off from Albay province on its way to Manila, killing all those aboard, officials said. The wreckage was found after a high-risk search by authorities and mountaineers on the slope of one of the country's most active volcanos. New Delhi: Treating the internet with his dashboard abs and toned muscles, Aayush Sharma shared shirtless BTS pictures from an action sequence shoot in Baku, Azerbaijan for his upcoming film AS04. Emerging as the new action hero of Bollywood, Aayush Sharma is leaving no stone unturned to pack a punch for his upcoming action entertainer AS04. From rigorous training in gym to skilled assistance to perform hardcore action stunts, Aayush is doing it all! Offering regular insights into the prep and shoot of his action entertainer, Aayush Sharma keeps teasing his fans and followers adding to their excitement and anticipation. With BTS pictures from the last schedule of AS04, Aayush served a glimpse into a heavy action sequence shoot of the film. The actor flaunted his chiseled body in the pictures updating his fans, Khoon Nakli magar Paseena asli hai #AS04. Announcing his fourth film on his birthday last year, Aayush dropped the teaser of AS04 presenting his suave and swagger character performing stylised action. Not only the exciting teaser but also the untitled name with initials and number of the film caught everyones attention as Aayush employs the prevailing tradition of untitled films announcement in Hindi market for the first time. Launching debutante Sushrii Mishraa with AS04, Aayush Sharma also roped in veteran South Indian actor Jagapathi Babu for the film. Produced by KK Radhamohan, under the banner of Srisathyasai Arts, the yet untitled action entertainer AS04 stars Aayush Sharma as the lead, co-starring debutante Sushrii Mishraa. Directed by Katyayan Shivpuri, the film is slated for release in 2023. New Delhi: The businessman and investor Keith Rabois recently asserted that Google and Meta have employed thousands of IT staff members to perform "false labour" and satisfy the company's vanity statistic. The CEO of OpenStore and a general partner at Founder Fund is Rabois. He also belongs to the group known as "PayPal Mafia," which was founded by former workers of the fintech company. Major IT companies, according to Rabois, were 'over-hiring,' and the ongoing mass layoffs to control costs were 'overdue. (Also Read: Flipkart Co-Founder Binny Bansal Looks To Invest $100-150 Million In PhonePe: Report) According to Business Insider India, he claimed that "all these people were unnecessary, this has been true for a long time, the vanity criteria of employing staff was this false god in some ways." He made this statement at an event hosted by the banking company Evercore. (Also Read: ChatGPT On Apple Watch: Users Can Communicate With AI Chatbot Directly With This App) The internet entrepreneur continued that "it's all phoney work" and claimed that Google and Meta had hundreds of employees "who don't do anything". What do these folks truly do, as this has been revealed, is attend meetings. Cutting headcount was "one of the finest strategies to protect and generate free cash flow," he said, advising sectors to turn away from vanity metrics and towards profitability measures. Vanity metrics are business data that appear positive on the surface but don't always correspond to significant outcomes. About 1,000 corporations terminated more than 1.6 lakh employees in 2022, and as of this writing, the number has reached 1 lakh. Savitribai Phule Death Anniversary: Indias first woman teacher, Savitribai Phule was one of the most remarkable figures in the nations history. She was an Indian social reformer, poet, and educationalist who breathed her last on March 10, 1897, battling the bubonic plague and leaving behind a legacy of courage, resilience, and compassion. Her contributions to the Indian social reform movement and the struggle for women's rights continue to inspire people today. Famously known as Indias first modern feminist, Phule was India's first female teacher. But who was she? Where was she from? Lets have a look at her life. Savitribai Phule Death Anniversary: Here Are 10 Facts About Indias First Teacher Savitribai Phule Birth Born on January 3, 1831, in Naigaon, Maharashtra, Savitribai Phule was married at the age of nine to Jyotirao Phule, a social reformer and activist. Her husband, who was a progressive thinker, recognized the importance of education and women's empowerment in the struggle for social equality. Savitribai Phule Education Savitribai Phule was the first woman in Maharashtra to receive a formal education, and she used her knowledge to educate and empower women from all walks of life. Savitribai learned reading and writing and soon started teaching girls in Maharashtras Maharwada, Pune. She started teaching girls with Sagunabai who was her husbands mentor. Also read: Want Those Smokey Eyes? Makeup Brushes That You Must Have Savitribai Phule Revolutionary Step She opened a school for girls in Pune at Bhide Wada in 1848, which was a revolutionary step in a society that did not allow women to learn to read and write. The school was initially met with opposition and hostility, but Savitribai persisted in her mission to provide education to girls and women. The curriculum included maths, science, and social studies. By 1851, Savitribai along with her husband Jyotiroa Phule was running three schools in Pune. Despite societal constraints, approximately 150 girls were gaining education from them. Savitribai Phule Prominent Contribution To Indian Society Throughout her life, Savitribai worked tirelessly to fight against social evils such as caste discrimination, child marriage, and the exploitation of women. She wrote poetry and prose that highlighted the struggles of women and the need for social reform. Her writings and speeches inspired many people and played a crucial role in the Indian social reform movement. Savitribai Phules Fight Against Social Evils Savitribai Phule was also an advocate for women's rights and played a significant role in the fight for suffrage. She fought against dowry and social evils that came in the way of women's empowerment. Satyashodhak Samaj She and her husband Jyotirao Phule founded the Satyashodhak Samaj in 1873, which was an organization that worked for the upliftment of the lower castes and women. She was also a part of the Indian National Congress and actively participated in the freedom struggle. Savitribai Phule Taught Children From Downtrodden Castes Savitribai Phule also started teaching children from backward castes including Mang and Mahar (who were considered untouchables). Savitribai Phule with her husband established two educational trusts - the Native Female School, Pune, and the Society for Promoting the Education of Mahars, Mangs along with opening up schools for children from different castes. Savitribai Phule Achievements - Savitribai Phule along with her husband was honoured by the British government in 1852 for their contribution towards education. - She also wrote two books which are compilations of her poems. - In 1855, the couple started a night school for farmers and labourers. - In 1863, Jyotirao and Savitribai started the first-ever infanticide prohibition home in India called Balhatya Pratibandhak Griha - which helped pregnant Brahmin widows and rape victims deliver children. - Savitribai organised a barbers strike in Mumbai and Pune to protest the custom of shaving the heads of widows. Savitribai Phule Children Savitribai and Jyotirao never had any children. But they later adopted a son and named him Yashwantrao. Savitribai Phule Death Savitribai Phule passed away on March 10, 1897, at the age of 66, battling the bubonic plague. She left behind a legacy of courage, resilience, and compassion. New Delhi: Newly appointed Delhi government Ministers Saurabh Bharadwaj and Atishi Marlena on Friday took charge of their respective departments in the Delhi Secretariat. Both were sworn in as Ministers in the Delhi Cabinet on Thursday in the presence of Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena at Raj Niwas. This came after President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday accepted the resignations of former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Minister Satyendar Jain, both of whom are currently lodged in Tihar jail. Saurabh Bhardwaj has been allocated the portfolios of Health, Industry, Services, Vigilance, Urban Development, Water, and Irrigation & flood control. Meanwhile, Atishi has taken charge of Education, Power, the Public Works Department, Women and Child Development, Tourism, Art, Culture & Language. President Murmu on Tuesday appointed Atishi and Bharadwaj as ministers in the Delhi cabinet on the advice of chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, with effect from the date they are sworn in, stated Ministry of Home Affairs. Kejriwal had forwarded the names to the Lieutenant Governor for their appointment to the Cabinet. Atishi represents the Kalkaji constituency and has been a key member of Sisodia`s education team. She had also contested the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from the East Delhi constituency and lost to BJP`s Gautam Gambhir. Bharadwaj, the party`s national spokesperson, had served the Delhi Jal Board as its vice chairman. The legislator from Greater Kailash was also a minister during the first stint of the AAP government. The Delhi council of ministers now has a strength of five, including CM Arvind Kejriwal, who does not hold any portfolios. Sisodia had resigned from all his 18 posts following his arrest in the alleged excise policy scam. After former Delhi Minister Satyendar Jain`s arrest last year, seven portfolios handled by him were shifted to Sisodia, who was looking after 18 departments when he was arrested. Following the resignations of Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and minister Satyendar Jain, both currently in Tihar jail in alleged corruption and money laundering cases, respectively, two Cabinet berths had fallen vacant. Sisodia was arrested by the CBI on February 26 in connection with alleged corruption in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy for 2021-22. He is in judicial custody till March 20. Jain, who is also in judicial custody, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a case of alleged money laundering on May 30 last year. New Delhi: Delhi BJP has hit out at AAP convenor and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over the fresh arrest of former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the Excise Policy case, saying, "you reap what you sow." "Manish Sisodia has been a part of a big chain of financial beneficiaries in the Delhi liquor scam. Legal media reports had always suggested that the day inquiry of Telangana Chief Minister`s daughter K. Kavita gets started, Manish Sisodia, too, will land up in ED custody," Delhi BJP working president Virendra Sachdeva said. "Liquor scam of the Kejriwal government is a big scam and henceforth in every election the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will accept that it will have to explain a lot to the people on Manish Sisodia`s role," he added. Sisodia has been arrested by another central agency a day before his bail hearing in the Delhi liquor policy case comes up before a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court. The ED arrested the Delhi Deputy Chief Minister after questioning him for two days over alleged money laundering while framing the new liquor policy, which was scrapped after Delhi Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena directed the CBI to investigate the case. After filling the arrest memo of former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in connection with the Delhi excise policy scam, a team of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) left the Tihar jail on Thursday night. Sisodia To Remain In Jail The Tihar Jail authorities, meanwhile, said that Sisodia will remain in jail. The senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader has been arrested a day before the hearing on his bail plea in the matter. Earlier on Thursday, a team of ED went to Tihar jail to question him in connection with the excise policy scam case. The ED on Thursday questioned Sisodia in connection with the alleged kickbacks of Rs 100 crore which the AAP and its leaders received through hawala channels from the South Group. He was also asked about Hyderabad-based businessman Arun Pillai and K Kavitha, the daughter of Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao. He will be produced before the Rouse Avenue district court. The ED will seek his custodial remand. Sisodia was earlier arrested by the CBI and later remanded to judicial custody by Rouse Avenue district court. His bail plea is also pending before the court which will hear it on March 10. Sisodia's Open Letter After his arrest by the ED, Sisodia wrote an open letter from inside Tihar Jail, saying "jail politics has the upper hand in today`s politics but tomorrow`s politics will hover around education". "Today, the politics of jail seems to be successful, but the future of India`s politics lies in education. Education is also in politics. India will become the Vishwaguru not because of how much strength the jails have, but because of the power of education in the country. In today`s politics of India, the politics of jail has a heavy upper hand, but the coming days will be the education of politics," Sisodia wrote in the letter "addressed to the countrymen". "While working as the Education Minister of Delhi, many times the question kept arising in my mind why the leaders who reached power at national and state level did not make arrangements for excellent schools and colleges for every child in the country'' he stated. He further said, "Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal`s guilt is much more terrible as he introduced a new form of politics that challenges Prime Minister Narendra Modi`s approach". New Delhi: India`s gem and jewellery exports witnessed a resurgence in February, supported by a swift recovery of both the Chinese and Middle East markets. In February 2023, the overall gem and jewellery exports witnessed a surge of 24 per cent to Rs 28,832.86 crore as compared to Rs 23,326.8 crore for the same month last year, Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) data showed. In a breakup, the total gross export of gold jewellery (plain and studded) grew 29.89 per cent to Rs 5,829.65 crore in February, compared to Rs 4,488.3 crore for the same period last year.For cut and polished diamonds, the exports witnessed a strong growth of 32 per cent to Rs 19,582.4 crore versus Rs 14,841.9 crore in February 2022. ALSO READ | OYO Founder Ritesh Agarwal Gets Married With Geetansha Sood In Delhi, PICS Go Viral Vipul Shah, Chairman, of GJEPC, partly attributed the surge in cut and polished diamond exports to the strong demand from China and the Lunar New Year festivities."Additionally, thanks to the forward-thinking CEPA deal signed with the UAE, there was an equally impressive 45 per cent increase in plain gold jewellery exports, indicating that the Middle East market is rebounding strongly after a slight dip. Furthermore, studded gold jewellery, which is primarily exported to the US, is also showing a promising improvement of around 20 per cent," Shah said."The Hong Kong market had experienced a negative trend in the last few months, but now we`re seeing signs of a rebound. This resurgence in Chinese consumption could potentially lead to even greater improvements. In China, the average savings rate is around 40 per cent, which translates to trillions of dollars that could potentially be spent in a "revenge buying" frenzy, similar to what we`ve seen in other world markets after prolonged lockdown periods. As a result, we anticipate significant growth in the diamond and diamond jewelry industry over the next 6 months." Coming to the cumulative exports during April-February 2022-23, the overall gross exports of gems and jewellery witnessed a growth of 5.27 per cent to Rs 278,960.6 crore as compared to Rs 264,994.8 crore for the same period of 2021-22. In order to completely block Russia's ability to restore its missile potential, receive drones and new technologies, global sanctions must be imposed, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said. "It is important to put pressure on all individuals and legal entities of the terrorist state who take part in attacks, in the missile program. And on all subjects of other states that help Russia carry out terror activities. We must conclude that global sanctions must be imposed, in order to completely block Russia's ability to restore its missile potential, receive new drones, new technologies, and others," Zelenskyy said at a press conference with Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin in Kyiv. He also said it is important, through joint efforts with partner states, to create obstacles for a terrorist state in its attempts to circumvent EU sanctions through trade with third countries. First of all, as the president said, this concerns goods that are important for the military and industrial complex of Russia and its other industries that directly support and sponsor the war. According to Zelenskyy, he also discussed with Marin the issues of Finnish defense assistance to Ukraine, holding Russia accountable for the crimes of aggression and Ukraine's post-war reconstruction. In conclusion, the head of state expressed gratitude to Finland for the assistance provided to Ukraine after the Russian missile strikes on the Ukrainian energy sector. "The equipment we received is really important for our people," he said. Elon Musk-run Tesla is facing a preliminary probe by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of the United States into 120,000 Model Y cars (2023 models) as reports surfaced about steering wheels dangerously falling off while driving. The agency said it was aware of at least two incidents in which the wheel detached from the steering column in 2023 Model Y cars. According to a filing posted on NHTSA's website, the affected vehicles were delivered to owners without the "retaining bolt that holds the steering wheel in place". The NHTSA is assessing "the scope, frequency and manufacturing processes associated with this condition". Tesla recently "recalled" more than 321,000 vehicles for a software glitch and deployed an over-the-air (OTA) firmware update to correct the anomaly in tail lights that may cause false fault detections. It also recalled almost 30,000 Model X vehicles over an issue that could cause the front passenger airbag to improperly deploy in "low-speed" collisions.In September last year, the electric car-maker recalled around 1.1 million vehicles to prevent drivers from getting pinched by the windows while being rolled up. The windows in these Tesla cars would not recognise certain objects while closing, which could result in "a pinching injury to the occupant".In May, Tesla physically recalled 1,30,000 cars to fix touchscreen issues caused by an overheating central processing unit (CPU). The company also paused the rollout of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) beta software in the US and Canada until a firmware update can be issued to address a safety recall.Despite a rocky takeover of Twitter which saw Tesla stock tumbling by over 60 per cent, Tesla made more money than ever in 2022, as total revenue grew 51 per cent to $81.5 billion and net income more than doubled to $12.6 billion. Mumbai: A 10-year-old girl fought and prevented a bike-riding man's attempt to steal her grandmother's chain in a Pune street on Thursday, officials said. According to the police report, the incident occurred on February 25 in Pune's Model Colony neighborhood while Lata Ghag, 60, was returning home with her granddaughter Rutvi Ghag. "A bike-riding man tried to steal the chain my grandmother was wearing under the guise of asking for directions. When Rutvi Ghag, 10, saw this, he began punching him in the face with a bag. Once his effort to take the chain failed, the man departed the scene " as per the complaint. "A 10-year-old girl foiled an attempt by a chain snatcher to snatch her grandmother's chain in Maharashtra's Pune City The incident took place on February 25 & an FIR was registered yesterday after the video of the incident went viral," as quoted by ANI. #WATCH | A 10-year-old girl foiled an attempt by a chain snatcher to snatch her grandmother's chain in Maharashtra's Pune City The incident took place on February 25 & an FIR was registered yesterday after the video of the incident went viral. (CCTV visuals confirmed by police) pic.twitter.com/LnTur7pTeU ANI (@ANI) March 10, 2023 The woman's son-in-law said she and her two granddaughters were on their way to her daughter's house when the incident took place. According to the officials, "While they were walking, a man on scooter stopped on the pretext of asking for directions and tried to snatch the chain my mother-in-law was wearing. She started shouting and caught hold of his collar, and ten-year-old Juhi (name changed) started hitting him with a bag," he said. "The man then fled from the spot as his attempt to snatch the chain was foiled," he said. His mother-in-law fell during the scuffle and received bruises on her hands, he added. New Delhi: With an eye on the 2024 General Elections, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has decided to launch a special campaign to strengthen the 160 Lok Sabha seats the party had lost in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. As part of this strategy, the saffron party is planning to organize over 45 rallies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in these constituencies. BJP national president JP Nadda has been developing strategies continuously on the basis of feedback received on these seats, according to party sources. The BJP has tasked its three national general secretaries Sunil Bansal, Vinod Tawde and Tarun Chugh to undertake the preparations for these rallies. According to the sources, these Lok Sabha seats have been divided into different clusters. "These Lok Sabha seats where the party had lost last elections have been divided into different clusters and each cluster has 4 seats. The big public meetings of Prime Minister Modi will be organized in these clusters. A strategy has been made to hold about 45 to 55 rallies or public meetings on these seats by PM Modi," said sources. The sources further said that the Prime Minister`s public meetings will be organised in the form of programs for the foundation stone or inauguration of the project of the Central or BJP-ruled state government. "Apart from this, these 160 seats are divided separately into two parts (each part has 80 seats) under the strategy. Nadda will hold rallies in the first 80 seats and public meetings of Home Minister Amit Shah will be organized in the other 80 seats," sources said. The sources said that the BJP`s strategy is that these rallies and public meetings of tall party leaders on these 160 seats will create a favourable atmosphere for the party and will also ensure that the party has a chance to return to power for the third time in the 2024 general elections. After the completion of the first phase of the party campaign on these 160 seats, the party will begin campaigning for the second phase, in which programs for Prime Minister Modi and other big leaders will also be decided for the remaining 383 seats in the country. Hoping to get a massive mandate, the saffron party has set its eye on winning more than 400 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. In the last general elections in 2019, the BJP won 303 Lok Sabha seats. Party insiders say that in 2014, the BJP worked on "Mission 273+" and managed to win more than 300 seats. For the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the party has made plans to achieve the target of 400 seats. As per the plans, Union Ministers and senior BJP functionaries have already started visiting these 160 Lok Sabha constituencies and more visits are planned until the polls. Several BJP-linked outfits like the Mahila Morcha, Kisan Morcha, and Minority Morcha have been tasked to reach out to voters across the country. While Mahila Morcha is organising the "Kamal Doot" programme in panchayats to connect with beneficiaries of various schemes of the Modi government, the Minority Morcha has identified at least 60 minority-dominated constituencies across the country and will be launching a drive to make at least 5,000 new members in each of these constituencies. Conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar, who has been behind bars in money laundering case, today claimed that truth has prevailed in case of Manish Sisodia and the next number will be of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. He said that Sisodia and Satyendar Jain are just puppets of Kejriwal. Speaking to media, Chandrashekhar claimed that he has given his submission in written. "Truth has won and the next number will be of Arvind Kejriwal. I have given everything in writing in the matter of liquor policy and I will expose all of them...Arvind Kejriwal is their (Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain) master. I am associated with them since 2015," alleged Chandrashekhar. It may be recalled that Former Deputy CM of Delhi Manish Sisodia was arrested by ED on Thursday on money laundering charges in connection with alleged irregularities in the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy. Sisodia is already in Tihar jail here after he was sent to 14-day judicial custody by a CBI court on March 6 in a related case lodged by the Central Bureau of Investigation in connection with alleged corruption in the formulation and implementation of the excise policy for 2021-22. He was arrested by the CBI on February 26. The arrest of the Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) leader by the ED comes a day before the expected hearing of his bail plea before the CBI court on Friday. Earlier, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Sukesh Chandrashekhar in a fresh money laundering case linked to duping former Religare promoter Malvinder Singh's wife by posing as Union home and law secretaries last month. Chandrashekhar, 33, was taken into custody under criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) from a local jail on Thursday evening and a Delhi court later sent him to nine-day ED custody. This was the third money laundering case in which the ED has arrested Chandrashekhar. The other two cases relate to Chandrashekar allegedly duping Aditi Singh, the wife of Malvinder Singh's brother Shivinder Singh, of Rs 200 crore and to purported bribing of Election Commission officials to get the AIADMK's 'two leaves' symbol for the V K Sasikala faction. The ED had said that "Chandrasekhar is the mastermind of this fraud and has been part of the crime world since the age of 17. He has multiple FIRs (registered) against him...." (With PTI/ANI Inputs) Mandya: Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Mandya to inaugurate the 10-lane Mysuru-Bengaluru Expressway, independent MP Sumalatha Ambareesh on Friday extended her complete support to the Bharatiya Janata Party at the Centre. The actor-turned-politician, who remained a neutral MP till now, also said the decision was taken in view of the stability given to India and the reputation earned by the country across the globe. The Mandya MP also promised that so long as she is in politics, her son Abhishek will never venture into politics, for she was against dynastic politics. "After consulting my well-wishers and supporters, I have arrived at a decision. On this day, I am extending my full support to the Narendra Modi government at the Centre," Sumalatha said at a press conference here. Karnataka | Independent MP from Mandya, Sumalatha Ambareesh says "I extend my support to BJP led by PM Narendra Modi. I believe in the leadership of PM Modi." (file photo) pic.twitter.com/3YI5ObTHBg ANI (@ANI) March 10, 2023 She said after four years as an independent MP and facing numerous challenges, especially obstacles in holding public meetings, she realised that she needed support. "People can draw their conclusions but I have faith in the leadership of Narendra Modi, who is admired across the globe," Sumalatha said. She also said it is an honour for Mandya that the Prime Minister of the country was visiting the district to inaugurate the expressway. "The Prime Minister could have chosen to inaugurate it either in Mysuru or Bengaluru but he opted for Mandya, which shows the importance of the district," the MP said. The MP clarified that the move is aimed at the overall development of Mandya, which according to her, is suffering from a vitiated atmosphere. In an apparent attack on the JD(S), Sumalatha slammed those "who have turned Mandya into their political citadel and did nothing for the district." "There is a need for change in Mandya. A vitiated atmosphere has been created here. Let's carry out a 'Swachch Bharat Mission' here in Mandya first," Sumalatha said. The decision came just two days before PM Modi's visit to the district. The BJP had backed the MP during the Lok Sabha elections in 2019, which resulted in her victory defeating the former Chief Minister and JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy's son Nikhil. Who Is Sumalatha Ambareesh? Sumalatha represents the Mandya constituency in the Lok Sabha. She has acted in more than 220 films in Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil and Hindi. She gained popularity in Telugu cinema and Malayalam cinema and later married Kannada actor-politician Ambareesh and has a son Abhishek Gowda. Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway Prime Minister Modi on Friday said that the Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway connectivity project would help contribute to the growth trajectory of Karnataka. PM Modi took to Twitter to express the significance of the project."An important connectivity project which will contribute to Karnataka`s growth trajectory," PM Modi tweeted. The Prime Minster was responding to a tweet thread by Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari in which Gadkari gave details about the construction of the Bengaluru Mysuru Expressway project will help improve accessibility to regions such as Shrirangpatna, Coorg, Ooty, and Kerala. Prime Minister Modi will inaugurate the Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway project on March 12. Congress MP Karti P Chidambaram has alleged that the BJP will turn India into 'Hindutva Iran' as the Ayatollahs of the saffron party will do moral policing on the streets. Karti Chidambaram was reacting to a viral video of Karnataka BJP MP S Muniswamy scolding a lady vendor for not wearing a bindi. The video was shared on social media and attracted comments from the netizens. "The @BJP4India will turn India into a 'Hindutva Iran'. The Ayatollahs of the BJP will have their version of the 'Moral Police' patrolling the streets," tweeted Congress MP Karti P Chidambaram. The Kolar BJP MP triggered a controversy on International Women's Day after he publicly tried to do moral policing while scolding a woman for not sporting a bindi despite being married. The MP was visiting a fairground in the Kolar district where many vendors have set up their stalls. During his tour of the stalls, Muniswamy stopped by one stall being run by the lady vendor. He then asked the woman whether her husband is alive. The @BJP4India will turn India into a Hindutva Iran The Ayatollahs of the BJP will have their version of the Moral Police patrolling the streets. Karti P Chidambaram (@KartiPC) March 8, 2023 "What's your name? Why is there no bindi on your forehead? Your stall named Vaishnavi? Wear bindi on your forehead. Your husband is alive, isn't it?" he told the woman. While the MP was scolding the woman, the same was recorded on camera and is now being widely shared on social media platforms. Since the incident took place on women's day, the netizens also criticised the BJP MP for moral policing. NEW DELHI: In a major development, the Enforcement Directorate on Friday carried out raids at Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav's Delhi residence in connection with the land-for-jobs case. The central probe agency is also conducting raids at 15 other locations in Bihar in connection with the land-for-job scam in which the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had recently grilled former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi and former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad. Enforcement Directorate is conducting searches at multiple locations in Delhi and Bihar, in connection with alleged land for job scam: Sources Recently, CBI questioned RJD chief Lalu Yadav in the case in Delhi. ANI (@ANI) March 10, 2023 The ED action is being carried out on the basis of the FIR filed by the CBI in connection with the case. In its case, the CBI has alleged that it was found during the investigation that the accused in conspiracy with the then GM and CPO of Central Railways engaged persons as substitutes in lieu of land either in their name or in the name of close relatives of Lalu Prasad`s family. Enforcement Directorate conducts raids at 12 locations including premises of RJD chief Lalu Yadav's CA and Tejashwi Yadav's residence in Delhi, in connection with alleged land for jobs scam. ANI (@ANI) March 10, 2023 The CBI has earlier registered a case against RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, his wife Rabri Devi, their two daughters and 15 others. "During the period 2004-2009 Yadav had obtained pecuniary advantages in the form of transfer of landed property in the name of his family members in lieu of appointment of Substitutes in Group `D` Post in different zones of railways," the official said. It us alleged that a number of residents of Patna themselves or through their family members sold and gifted their land in the state capital in favour of the Yadavs and a private company controlled by Lalu Prasad and his family and they were also involved in the transfer of such immovable properties. "No advertisement or any public notice was issued for such appointment of substitutes in Zonal Railways, yet the appointees who were residents of Patna were appointed as Substitutes in different Zonal Railways located at Mumbai, Jabalpur, Kolkata, Jaipur and Hazipur,'' the CBI said. "In continuation of this modus operandi, about 1,05,292 sq. feet of land, immovable properties situated at Patna were acquired by Yadav and his family members through five sales deeds and two gift deeds, showing the payment made to seller in cash in most of the land transfer," the CBI has alleged. The CBI case is based on accusations that Lalu Yadav and his family members bought land at cheap rates in exchange for jobs during his tenure as Union Railway Minister from 2004 to 2009. Besides the veteran Bihar politician, his wife and his daughters, the CBI FIR, registered in May 2022, has named 12 other people who allegedly got jobs in exchange for land. In July last year, the CBI arrested Lalu Yadav's aide and former Officer on Special Duty (OSD) Bhola Yadav in connection with the case. New Delhi: The Centre on Friday blocked at least six youtube channels for allegedly promoting pro-Khalistan sentiments, news agency PTI quoted a senior official as saying. Apurva Chandra, the secretary for information and broadcasting, claimed that during the last ten days, six to eight foreign-operated YouTube channels had been disabled. He said that the Punjabi-language channels were attempting to stir up unrest in the border state. The government move followed supporters of the radical preacher and Khalistan sympathiser Amritpal Singh storming into the Ajnala police station with swords and guns to seek the release of one of their aides. Singh was appointed leader of the 'Waris Punjab De', founded by actor and activist late Deep Sidhu, last year during a ceremony in Moga's Rode, the hometown of slain militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. Another senior official said YouTube has been taking action on the government's requests to block channels within 48 hours. The official said that the government has also asked YouTube to use artificial intelligence and algorithms to identify and block objectionable content automatically. However, in the Indian context YouTube was facing problems as content was being uploaded in regional languages and the systems were in place to screen content in the English language. Also Read: Who Is Amritpal Singh - Pro-Khalistani Leader And Head Of Waris Punjab De Earlier in January, the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting busted six YouTube channels that were working in a coordinated manner and spreading false information in India. These six channels were found to be operating as part of a coordinated disinformation network and had over 20 lakh subscribers. According to the Ministry, their videos have been watched over 51 crore times and spread fake news about Prime Minister Narendra Modi, elections, proceedings in the Supreme Court and Parliament of India, the functioning of the Government of India, etc. They also made false claims regarding the ban on Electronic Voting Machines (ECMs), and false statements attributed to senior Constitutional functionaries including the President of India and the Chief Justice of India. "The channels are part of a fake news economy that thrives on monetization of fake news. The channels use fake, clickbait and sensational thumbnails and images of television news anchors of TV Channels to mislead the viewers to believe that the news was authentic and drive traffic to their channels in order to monetize the videos published by them," the IB Ministry said. New Delhi: Union Health Minister Manshukh Mandaviya on Friday (March 10) held a meeting to review the situation of rising cases of the H3N2 Influenza virus in the country. In the meeting, the Ministry issued an advisory to states and union territories to be alert and closely monitor the situation of viral disease. The Union Health Ministry has also launched an integrated network to monitor the spread of seasonal influenza in the country. The Ministry is also tracking and keeping a close watch on morbidity and mortality due to the H3N2 subtype of seasonal Influenza. According to the press release issued by the ministry children and older people with co-morbidities are prone to H3N2 Influenza virus infection. "Young children and old age persons with co-morbidities are the most vulnerable groups in the context of seasonal influenza," stated the ministry. According to the latest data released by the ministry a total of 3038 laboratory-confirmed cases of various subtypes of Influenza including H3N2 have been reported till 9th March 2023 by the States. This includes 1245 cases in January 1307 in February and 486 cases in March (till 9th March). Cases of seasonal influenza to decline from March end According to the health ministry, seasonal influenza is an acute respiratory infection and every year India witnesses two peaks of seasonal influenza: one from Jan to March and the other in the post-monsoon season. The ministry also stated that the cases arising from seasonal influenza are expected to decline from March end. Deaths due to seasonal influenza Meanwhile, India has recorded its first two deaths due to seasonal influenza subtype H3N2, one each from Karnataka and Haryana, with the Union health ministry on Friday saying it is keeping a close watch on the situation and cases are expected to decline from month end. New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday hit out at Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar for his criticism of Rahul Gandhi's remarks in the UK, saying that the Rajya Sabha chairman is an umpire and cannot be a cheerleader for any ruling dispensation. The Congress' reaction came after Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Dhankhar attacked Gandhi for his comments regarding microphones being turned off in Parliament and said he would be on the "wrong side" of the Constitution if he stayed silent on the issue. Congress Slams V-P Dhankhar In a statement, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh noted that at an event on Thursday to mark the launch of a book, the vice president made certain remarks on Rahul Gandhi's speech delivered in the United Kingdom. "There are certain offices which require us to shed our prejudices, our party allegiances and compel us to rid ourselves of whatever propaganda we may have imbibed along the way. "The office of the Vice President of India, an office on which the Constitution bestows the additional responsibility of being the Chair of the Rajya Sabha, is foremost amongst these," Ramesh said. The vice president's statement on Gandhi, therefore, was surprising, to say the least, he said. "He (Dhankhar) rushed to the defence of a government from which he is constitutionally required to be at arms-length and in a manner that was both confusing as well as disappointing," Ramesh said. He said Rahul Gandhi has not said anything abroad that he has not said several times here. "And unlike certain other individuals, his stand does not vary depending on where he sits," Ramesh said. The Congress leader argued that Gandhi's statement was factual and representative of the reality on the ground. "Over the last two weeks, more than twelve Members of Parliament belonging to Opposition Parties have been served with Breach of Privilege Notices for protesting the suppression of their voices in Parliament on an issue that is inconvenient to the ruling regime," he said. Over the last eight years, channels and newspapers have been blacked out, raided, and intimidated to the point that the only voice that is carried is that of the government, he alleged. Institutions that maintained a studied distance from the governments of the past are now subordinated to the point that they choke on any order or finding adversarial to the ruling regime, he claimed. "Those who dissent are penalised. There may be no declaration of emergency but make no mistake, the actions of this regime are not those of a secure government that respects the Constitution," Ramesh said. The Vice President's remarks on this occasion, as well as on certain previous ones, only serve to underscore this point, he alleged. In these times, to be petrified to dissent would be a betrayal of the Constitution and all that our founding fathers fought for, he said. "We at the Indian National Congress have been the most consistent voice in opposition to this regime and will continue to do so," Ramesh said. "The Chairman, however, is an umpire, a referee, a friend, philosopher and guide to all. He cannot be a cheerleader for any ruling dispensation. History measures leaders not on the zealousness with which they defended their party, but the dignity with which they performed their roles in the service of the people," the Congress general secretary said. In a tweet, Congress general secretary-in-charge organization K C Venugopal also hit out at the vice president. "Misrepresenting parliamentary proceedings is unbecoming of the office of the Vice President," he said. "Opposition MPs' mics are routinely switched off, and proceedings reached a new low last session when the LS Speaker expunged Rahul Gandhi ji's allegations on the Adani scam," Venugopal said. Instead of denying something that is out in the public glare, the vice president should ensure that the opposition is given ample space to raise issues of public importance, no matter how uncomfortable they make the Modi government, he said. Misrepresenting parliamentary proceedings is unbecoming of the office of the Hon'ble Vice President. Opposition MPs' mics are routinely switched off, and proceedings reached a new low last session when the LS Speaker expunged @RahulGandhi ji's allegations on the Adani scam. K C Venugopal (@kcvenugopalmp) March 9, 2023 Dhankhar Slams Rahul Gandhi's Remarks Speaking at an event to launch veteran Congress leader and former parliamentarian Karan Singh's book on the Mundaka Upanishad, Dhankhar spoke extensively on the former Congress president's remarks made in London. "The world is applauding our historic accomplishments and functional, vibrant democracy. Some amongst us, including parliamentarians, in overdrive, are engaged in the thoughtless, unfair denigration of our well-nurtured democratic values," he said. Rahul Gandhi told British parliamentarians in London on Monday that functioning microphones in the Lok Sabha are often silenced against the Opposition. He made the comment during an event organised by veteran Indian-origin Opposition Labour Party MP Virendra Sharma in the Grand Committee Room within the House of Commons complex. In his address, the vice president said, "How do we justify such wanton orchestration of factually untenable narrative and mark the timing... India is having a moment of glory being president of G20. And there are people from the country working in overdrive to denigrate us. Such misplaced campaign mode to taint and tarnish our Parliament and Constitution is too serious and exceptional to be ignored." "No political strategy or partisan stance can justify compromising our nationalism and democratic values. I am before a noble soul, my silence on this misadventure...If I observe silence on this orchestration by a Member of Parliament outside the country which is ill-premised and motivated, I would be on the wrong side of the Constitution. It would be constitutional culpability and outrage of my oath," Dhankhar said, in an obvious reference to Gandhi's remarks. About 10,000 civilians remain in temporarily occupied Severodonetsk, Head of the city's military-civilian administration Oleksandr Striuk has said. "According to our estimates, there are about 10,000 of them, these are the native citizens [before the full-scale invasion, the population of Severodonetsk was 100,000 people]. If we talk about the statements of the occupying authorities that people are returning to the city, and at the same time, the number 30,000, it looks more like a fake, although from neighboring cities from Rubizhne, Kreminna people are offered to move to the North, to occupy more or less surviving residential premises," he told Interfax-Ukraine. Striuk said in this way people are artificially "pulled" to Severodonetsk as a more or less safe point in the occupied territory. According to him, the city "has added people due to seconded people who arrived in Severodonetsk for its fake restoration, creating a picture of supposedly actively ongoing work, as well as the military, who are concentrating on the city's territory." In addition, the administration's head said as of the beginning of the school year, there were up to 1,000 schoolchildren in Severodonetsk. "The occupiers are trying to conduct the educational process for them according to some Russian programs, they are importing textbooks from Luhansk. This is actually 'inculcating' rashist ideas on children's minds. Unfortunately, we have a situation that will require significant psychological and, let's say, ideological work," Striuk said. NEW DELHI: Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur on Friday accused The New York Times of "spreading lies" about India, describing an opinion piece published in it on the freedom of press in Kashmir as "mischievous and fictitious". "New York Times had long back dropped all pretensions of neutrality while publishing anything about India. NYT's so-called opinion piece on freedom of press in Kashmir is mischievous and fictitious, published with a sole motive to spread a propaganda about India and its democratic institutions and values," Thakur said on Twitter. "This is in continuation with what NYT and a few other link-minded foreign media have been spreading lies about India and our democratically elected Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modiji. Such lies can't last long," the minister said. The strong rebuttal by Thakur came after the US-based newspaper published an opinion piece on alleged curbs on information flow in Kashmir. "Some foreign media nourishing a grudge against India and our Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi have long been systematically trying to peddle lies about our democracy and pluralistic society," Thakur said. He said freedom of press in India is as sacrosanct as other fundamental rights. New York Times had long back dropped all pretensions of neutrality while publishing anything about India. NYT's so called opinion piece on freedom of press in Kashmir is mischievous & fictitious published w/ a sole motive to spread a propaganda about India 1/n Anurag Thakur (@ianuragthakur) March 10, 2023 "Democracy in India and We the people are very mature and we don't need to learn grammar of democracy from such agenda driven media," he said. Thakur said the "blatant lies" spread by NYT about press freedom in Kashmir is condemnable. "Indians will not allow such mindsets to run their decisive agenda on India soil," the minister said. New Delhi: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Friday joined several other Opposition leaders in alleging that the Centre is 'misusing' agencies such as the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate to target Opposition parties across states. While speaking to reporters, Baghel claimed the BJP is only interested in fighting corruption in states where they are weak or not in power. He asked why no action was being taken in BJP-ruled states and if no corruption existed in these places. As quoted by the news agency ANI, he said, "BJP is raiding places where they are weak. Now ED, IT, and CBI have become their B team. If there is corruption it is obvious to take action, but why is an action taken in particular states & not in BJP-ruled states? Is corruption over there." Delhi | BJP started this (talking about the nation abroad). PM went abroad and attacked Congress. They should have thought at that time that the nation's politics should not be discussed abroad: Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel on BJP targeting Congress leader Rahul Gandhi pic.twitter.com/hcRpCIbqHh ANI (@ANI) March 10, 2023 Responding to BJP leaders' criticism of Rahul Gandhi for his remarks about the country during his UK trip, Baghel said that BJP started the practice of discussing the nation's politics abroad. "BJP started this (talking about the nation abroad). PM went abroad and attacked Congress. They should have thought at that time that the nation's politics should not be discussed abroad," he said. In the UK, Rahul Gandhi, at an event organised by veteran Indian-origin Opposition Labour Party MP Virendra Sharma in the Grand Committee Room within the House of Commons in London, told British parliamentarians that functioning microphones in the Indian Parliament are often silenced against the Opposition. "Our mics are not out of order, they are functioning, but you still can't switch them on. That's happened to me a number of times while I am speaking," Gandhi told the gathering, in response to a question about sharing his experience of being a politician in India with his British counterparts. Several BJP leaders including Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Kiren Rijiju, and Karnataka BJP president Nalin Kumar Kateel among others slammed Rahul Gandhi for making remarks about national politics in a foreign land. New Delhi [India], March 10 (ANI): Responding to Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar`s `veiled attack` at Rahul Gandhi`s Cambridge speech, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Friday said the remarks by the Rajya Sabha Chairman were "surprising" as well as "disappointing". In a statement Jairam Ramesh said that in adherence to his Constitutional post Jagdeep Dhankhar should be at arms-length from the government. The Congress leader also said that the speech by Rahul Gandhi in the United Kingdom was not different from what he has said several times on Indian shores. "At an event held on March 9, 2023, to mark the launch of a book, the Hon`ble Vice President of India made certain remarks on Rahul Gandhi`s speech delivered in the United Kingdom. There are certain offices which require us to shed our prejudices, our party allegiances and compel us to rid ourselves of whatever propaganda we may have imbibed along the way."The office of the Vice President of India, an office on which the Constitution bestows the additional responsibility of being the Chair of the Rajya Sabha, is foremost amongst these. The Honourable Vice President`s statement on Shri Rahul Gandhi, therefore, was surprising, to say the least. He rushed to the defence of a government from which he is constitutionally required to be at arms-length and in a manner that was both confusing as well as disappointing. Shri Rahul Gandhi has not said anything abroad that he has not said several times here. And unlike certain other individuals, his stand does not vary depending on where he sits," Jairam Ramesh said in a statement. Jairam Ramesh also said that Rahul Gandhi`s statements were a reflection of the reality on the ground. " His [Rahul Gandhi`s] statement was factual and representative of the reality on the ground. Over the last two weeks, more than twelve Members of Parliament belonging to Opposition Parties have been served with Breach of Privilege Notices for protesting the suppression of their voices in Parliament on an issue that is inconvenient to the ruling regime. Over the last eight years, channels and newspapers have been blacked out, raided, and intimidated to the point that the only voice that is carried is that of the Government. Institutions that maintained a studied distance from the governments of the past are now subordinated to the point that they choke on any order or finding adversarial to the ruling regime. Those who dissent are penalised. There may be no declaration of emergency but make no mistake, the actions of this regime are not those of a secure government that respects the Constitution. The Hon`ble Vice President`s remarks on this occasion, as well on certain previous ones, only serve to underscore this point," the Congress leader`s statement read. "In these times, to be petrified to dissent would be a betrayal of the Constitution and all that our founding fathers fought for. We at the Indian National Congress have been the most consistent voice in opposition to this regime and will continue to do so. The Chairman, however, is an umpire, a referee, a friend, philosopher and guide to all. He cannot be a cheerleader for any ruling dispensation. History measures leaders not on the zealousness with which they defended their party, but the dignity with which they performed their roles in the service of the people," it read further. Earlier on Thursday, Vice President Dhankhar attacked Congress MP Rahul Gandhi`s lecture at Cambridge University in the UK, by saying that while India is having its moments of glory G20 presidency, some parliamentarians are engaged in the thoughtless unfair denigration of our well-nurtured democratic values. (ANI) (The above article is sourced from news agency ANI. Zeenews.com has made no editorial changes to the article. News agency ANI is solely responsible for the contents of the article) NEW DELHI/PATNA: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) Friday conducted searches in multiple cities of Bihar in connection with a money laundering investigation into the land for jobs 'scam' case in which RJD leaders Lalu Prasad and his wife Rabri Devi were questioned recently by the CBI. The searches are covering some leaders linked to the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in towns like Patna and Phulwari Sharif, officials said. The case pertains to people allegedly given employment in the railways in return for land parcels gifted or sold at cheap rates to the Yadav family and its associates, they said. The CBI has filed a charge sheet in the case against Prasad, his wife and former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi and 14 others under charges of criminal conspiracy and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, and all the accused have been summoned on March 15, officials had said. The ED case, filed under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, stems from this CBI complaint. Both Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi were questioned by the CBI in this case recently. RJD president Lalu Prasad's daughter Rohini Acharya charged the ruling dispensation at the Centre with "harassment" of the ailing septuagenarian. Singapore-based Acharya took to Twitter to express her anguish over Prasad's interrogation by the CBI in connection with the land for jobs case in Delhi, pertaining to his tenure as the railway minister. "These people are harassing papa. If the harassment leads to any problem, we will rock the seat of power in Delhi. Patience is running out", tweeted Acharya, upon learning that the agency, which had on Monday questioned her mother Rabri Devi at the latter's Patna residence, was now at elder sister Misa Bharti's Delhi house. Prasad underwent a kidney transplant in Singapore last year and returned to India a month ago. In view of the high risk of infections, the mass leader has chosen to stay away from his home state and convalesce at the residence of Bharti, who is a Rajya Sabha member. During the questioning, being videographed, Prasad was confronted with some documents in a room where he is quarantined post his kidney transplant surgery, officials said. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a chargesheet in the case against Prasad, his wife and former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi and 14 others under charges of criminal conspiracy and provisions of the Prevention of Corru Jaipur: In an apparent attack on the Ashok Gehlot-led government in Rajasthan over the protest by the widows of soldiers killed in the 2019 Pulwama terror attack, former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot Friday said the issue should be heard out keeping ego aside. Rajasthan police early on Friday morning removed the widows from the protest site outside Congress leader Sachin Pilot's house here and shifted them to hospitals near their respective residential areas. The widows have been protesting since February 28 and launched an indefinite hunger strike six days ago, demanding a change in rules so that their relatives and not just children can get government jobs on compassionate grounds. Their other demands include the construction of roads and the installation of statues of the martyrs in their villages. Reacting to the police action, Pilot told reporters in Tonk that the issues of the widows should be heard with sensitivity. "Even today I believe that we can fulfil demands like laying roads, erecting houses and installing statues. A message should not go out that we are not ready to listen to the demands of the widows of the martyrs. It is another thing whether we agree to their issues or not but one should put aside his ego while listening to their demands," the Congress leader said. Pilot said the sacrifice of jawans for the country is incomparable and it is the duty of every government and individual to honour them. If there is any demand other than the package given to the martyrs by the state and the Centre, then those should have been heard with sensitivity to resolve them, the former deputy chief minister said. Gehlot and Pilot have been at loggerheads publicly for more than two years. In 2020, Pilot had led a rebellion in the party for a change of leadership in the state. However, Gehlot managed to survive and Pilot and some of his loyalists were later ousted from the state cabinet. Their conflict has simmered since, with both the senior Congress leaders using sharp words against each other publicly, including when Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra had entered the state in December last year. New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party leader and former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia was sent to a 7-day Enforcement Directorate remand till March 17 in the Delhi excise policy case on Friday (March 10) after a court hearing. During the hearing, the ED requested 10-day custody of Sisodia, stating that they needed to investigate the modus operandi of the scam and confront Sisodia with other individuals involved. The ED claimed that private entities received large benefits from a policy formulated to establish a cartel to operate 30% of the liquor business in Delhi, reported IANS. The ED accused Sisodia of granting relaxations in the excise policy to restaurants, including reducing the legal drinking age, after meetings with the restaurant association. The agency also claimed that Sisodia destroyed evidence, and used phones purchased by others with SIM cards that were not in his name and that he had been evasive from the start. What Manish Sisodia's lawyers said Senior advocates Krishanan, Mathur, and Aggarwal argued for Sisodia, claiming that he was not summoned by the ED and that his arrest was illegal since the law was not complied with. Sisodia was arrested by the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) following his second round of questioning at the Tihar jail. Much like the CBI, the ED claimed that Sisodia was "evasive" in his replies during the questioning and was "not cooperating in the probe." He was sent to judicial custody till March 20 after a seven-day remand with the CBI, during which heavy security was present inside and outside the Rouse Avenue Courts premises. Reacting to the recent developments in the case, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had taken to Twitter on Thursday and said, "First, Manish was arrested by the CBI. CBI did not find any evidence and no money was found during the raids. Tomorrow there is a bail hearing. He would have been released tomorrow. So ED arrested him today. They have only one aim -- to keep Manish inside at all costs by slapping false cases. People are watching. They will reply." Bhopal: 20-year-old youth on Thursday was admitted to the hospital with minor injuries after the motorcycle he was riding collided with a car in which Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh was moving. The accident took place at Zirapur in Rajgarh district in the Agar-Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh. The bike collided with the Congress leader`s car when the rider was trying to make a U-turn. The motorcycle then went on to hit a pole. Madhya Pradesh: A biker got injured after he collided with Congress leader Digvijaya Singh's car in Rajgarh yesterday "He didn't suffer major injuries. He came suddenly in front of the car. I sent him to the hospital, I also went to the hospital & met him," said Digvijaya Singh pic.twitter.com/iUCfexF14x ANI MP/CG/Rajasthan (@ANI_MP_CG_RJ) March 10, 2023 Digvijaya Singh, who was on the back seat of his car, got out of the vehicle immediately and rushed towards the biker. Meanwhile, some passers-by also gathered at the spot. The injured person has been identified as Rambabu, a resident of Parauli in Uttar Pradesh, who works as a labourer. He was taken to Chirayu Hospital in Bhopal after the accident in which he sustained minor injuries. Later, while talking to the reporters, Singh said that the victim sustained minor injuries and received treatment at the hospital. He also visited the hospital to enquire about Rambabu`s health status. His condition is said to be stable. Singh had gone to pay his condolences to Congress district president Prakash Purohit following the demise of his mother. While returning to Rajgarh from Purohit`s village, Kodkya, Singh`s car collided with a motorcycle in Zirapur. The driver of the Fortuner car, Akhtar Khan, a resident of Guna, was arrested and the car was seized by the Zirapur police. Mumbai: Mumbai's weather which has already been affected by rain, strong winds, dust storms, and rising temperatures, is only expected to get worse. According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), the city has had maximum temperatures above 35 degrees since March 2. Maximum temperatures were forecast to rise by 2-3 degrees Celsius along Maharashtra's coast and by 4-6 degrees Celsius in the state's interior on Wednesday. K S Hosalikar, head, IMD, Pune said that Heat wave conditions are likely to occur at isolated places over Konkan and Goa from March 9 to March 10. Both Goa and Konkan regions will witness a rise in temperature by 2-3 degrees Celsius over Konkan and Goa during this time. Parts of Central India and Interior Maharashtra will witness a rise in temperature by 4-6 degrees Celsius," as per the reports. While temperatures have dropped by 3 to 4 degrees due to unseasonal rain and thundershowers in the last two days, meteorologists forecast that temperatures will rise to 37-38 degrees Celsius by the weekend. The Ministry of Family Health and Welfare also wrote to all the states and union territories on February 28 to ask them to consider the IMD's forecast for temperatures to be higher than usual in March. It recommended that states distribute the National Action Plan on Heat-Related Illnesses to all of their districts so that health officials can plan for strategies to treat and control the effects of heat on people, as well as keep records of it. NEW DELHI: Amid a war of words between the Centre and the main opposition party Congress over Rahul Gandhi, Nagaland BJP leader Temjen Imna Along has taken a fresh swipe at the latters recent visit to the United Kingdom. The Nagaland BJP chief, who has earlier praised Rahul Gandhis UK trip with a Manna Padega tweet, this time made fun of the Congress MP for going to the UK for getting his pictures clicked. Through a quirky tweet, Along compared him with PM Modi and said, while others go abroad from clicking pictures, foreigners come to India to get themselves clicked with PM Narendra Modi. He also shared a photo of visiting Australian PM Anthony Albanese clicking a selfie with PM Modi, along with his tweet. Photo Cambridge ! ?... ? pic.twitter.com/qMGgtO0YgN Temjen Imna Along (@AlongImna) March 9, 2023 The latest tweet from the Nagaland BJP leader, who is extremely popular online for his humorous posts, has become an instant hit on Twitter and has garnered more than 30 thousand likes and over 3000 re-tweets within hours of being posted. Along recently commented on Rahul Gandhi's photo amid the raging war of words between the BJP and the Congress over Rahul Gandhi's speech in London. Nagaland BJP MLA commented on a post made by the Congress' official handle. 'Stand up for what you believe in, even if it means you stand alone' - says a photo of Rahul Gandhi in the post. Rahul Gandhi is seen in a suit with his hands in his pockets, smiling for the photograph while attending an interactive session at Chatham House in London. "One has to accept that the photo is nice. confidence and pose are next levels." Temjen tweeted evoking a tremendous response from social media users, who found it extremely hilarious. , Photo Confidence Pose Next Level Temjen Imna Along (@AlongImna) March 7, 2023 Rahul Gandhi is caught in the eye of a storm over his controversial United Kingdom visit. The ruling BJP has accused him of insulting India and democracy on foreign land. It may be recalled that Rahul Gandhi made extremely critical remarks about India, the RSS, the India-China dispute, and other topics during his London visit. In response to Rahul Gandhi's claim that opposition politicians' microphones are turned off in Parliament, the BJP cited Rahul Gandhi's Parliament attendance data, claiming that his attendance is far lower than the national and Kerala averages. Rejecting BJPs charge, the Congress said that the saffron brigade distorted, twisted, and defamed Rahul Gandhi's words about India's democracy, Parliament, and judiciary. New Delhi: Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao`s daughter and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLC K Kavitha, who has been called for questioning by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the alleged liquor scam on March 11, has attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his proximity to Gautam Adani, asking the country to reject the "one-nation-one-friend government". Attacking the Centre, Kavitha said the "double-engine government" that the BJP dangles during state elections "actually stands for Pradhani and Adani Sarkar". Her brother and Telangana minister K T Rama Rao said in Hyderabad that Adani was the "benami of Modi". Kavitha, however, assured of cooperating fully with the agency and said she will answer all the questions, adding that "if things go out of hand, then the courts shall be approached". While talking to ANI, Kavitha said, "I am ready to give all answers. The truth shall remain the truth. I am not related to this liquor policy. A lot of businessmen from Hyderabad have come here and invested. So they want that somehow my name is dragged into it." Allegation Of Receiving Kickbacks The Central investigation agencies have alleged that Kavitha benefited from the kickbacks in the now withdrawn liquor policy of Delhi, in which Aam Aadmi Party leader Manish Sisodia has been arrested. Reiterating her stance on the agencies functioning in the country, she said, "I will cooperate with all institutions, but there is no legitimacy and transparency in these agencies, be it CBI, ED or others. They are no more independent. In the last 10 years, the attacks on the opposition have proved it. The agencies are biased." "I will cooperate fully and answer all the questions but if things go out of hand, then the courts shall be approached," she added. Kavitha launched a scathing attack on Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) and said that the opposition in the country is "oppressed" and "harassed" by the BJP for raising their voices. Addressing a press conference ahead of her protest and ED visit, she said, "The double engine sarkar which actually stands for "Pradhani and Adani Sarkar," works in the interests of only a few, and therefore the opposition is oppressed and harassed for raising their voices." In a statement, she said she will appear before the agency on March 11. "You can be assured of my full cooperation in the matter," she said. DK Aruna, BJP National vice President said, "Wherever there is corruption ED goes not PM Modi, they are scared of PM Modi as he said in 2014 before forming the government itself that they will not spare corruption. The investigation agencies are doing their job, wherever there is a complaint. What is the role of the BJP in this? "Condemning Manish Sisodia`s arrest, the BRS MLC said, "I do not wish to comment on this. The behaviour of the agencies is absolutely unconstitutional. There was manhandling and we condemn the arrest. The arrest has been condemned by our party as well." "People should have faith that if a white colour crime is committed then the ED can be trusted. However, the people have lost faith after the actions of the ED. It is unfortunate that Mr Sisodia is arrested." The ED and the CBI had 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. As per the allegations, the Excise Department had decided to refund the Earnest Money Deposit of about Rs 30 crore to a successful tenderer against the set rules. Even though there was no enabling provision, a waiver on tendered licence fees was allowed from December 28, 2021, to January 27, 2022, due to COVID-19. This allegedly caused a loss of Rs 144.36 crore to the exchequer, which has been instituted on a reference from the Union Home Ministry following a recommendation from Delhi Lieutenant-Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena. Sisodia was arrested by the CBI on February 26 in an ongoing investigation of a case related to alleged irregularities in the framing and implementation of the excise policy of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD). The Special Judge MK Nagpal on March 6 remanded Sisodia to 14 days in judicial custody after noting that expiry of CBI custody in the case noting that the probe didn`t demand further custody of him at this time, but it may be sought later if required. Renewed Push To Women`s Reservation Bill Meanwhile, Kavitha said that a hunger strike will be held in the national capital on March 10 and that 18 political parties have said that they will participate in the protest launched to seek the introduction of the Women`s Reservation Bill in the current session of Parliament. Elaborating about the strike, Kavitha said, "The strike will start from 10 am and go on till 4 pm. Approximately 18 parties will join tomorrow. We expect the parties to keep their viewpoints. We will try and build up pressure on the government. We have also invited the Congress." "We have the complete list of the parties coming. I can share it. Yechury ji will start the fast. Priyanka Chaturvedi from Shiv Sena shall also join us. Apart from this, there will be several women`s organisations that have worked on this bill," she added. Urging that the larger political interest should be kept aside in the matter, she said, "Women make up 50 per cent of the country`s population and I have picked up their issue. The views of different parties on the matter are important." "This is an important and historical opportunity. The BJP has the majority, they can easily pass the bill," she added. MLC Kavitha requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Murmu to make the Women`s Reservation Bill a reality with 33 per cent reservation since the BJP still has sessions left before the completion of its term. Prime Minister of Finland Sanna Marin has supported the idea of freezing and seizing Russian assets and transferring them to Ukraine. Finland backs the idea that Russia musts pay the full price for aggression, the loss of Ukraine as a result of the invasion. The country supports the fact that it is possible to freeze and seize Russian assets, they can be used for the restoration and revival of Ukraine, she said after talks with the president Ukraine by Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday in Kyiv. Marin said that her country supports the efforts of the International Criminal Court, the Ukrainian authorities, the creation of the International Center for the Prosecution of Crimes of Aggression in The Hague. She said that Finland understands Ukraine well. From its history, Finland knows better than anyone that Ukraine needs to be supported as long as necessary. Finland was alone in its struggle and remained alone when peace came. Finland wants Ukraine to receive peace on its own terms, the Finnish Prime Minister said. According to her, today, Finland announced a new aid package of EUR 29 million for education. New Delhi: Bharat Rashtra Samithi MLC and Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao`s daughter K Kavitha on Friday launched a hunger strike at Jantar Mantar in the national capital demanding the introduction of the Women`s Reservation Bill in the current Budget session of Parliament.Sitaram Yechury, CPI(M) General Secretary is also present at the protest. The sit-in dharna at Jantar Mantar is being attended by opposition parties and women organisations who have supported the Women`s Reservation Bill from across India.While addressing a gathering, Kavitha said this Bill will help in the development of the nation and requested the central government to introduce the Bill in Parliament. "Women`s Reservation bill is important and we need to bring it soon. I promise all women this protest will not stop until the bill is introduced. This Bill will help in the development of the nation. I request the BJP-led central government to introduce this Bill in parliament," she said. She also thanked the BRS party leaders and cadre for extending their support to this protest. "Empowering women in the legislative discourse cannot be demanded, it must be guaranteed particularly by the Government. I thank BRS party leaders and cadre for extending their support to this protest," the Telangana leader said in a tweet. The protest will also witness programs like plays and songs. Earlier on Thursday said that 18 parties have confirmed their participation in the protest. The BRS leader`s hunger strike comes a day before her questioning by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the Delhi liquor policy scam. "We released a poster on March 2 about the hunger strike in Delhi over the Women`s Reservation Bill. 18 parties confirmed their participation...ED summoned me on March 9. I requested for March 16 but don`t know what haste they`re in, so I agreed for March 11.""When an agency wants to interrogate a woman, she has a fundamental right that it be done at her home," she stated. "So, I requested ED that they can come to my house on 11th March to investigate but they said that I will have to come to them," the BRS leader said. Kavitha arrived in Delhi on Thursday and said that she will be appearing before the Enforcement Directorate on March 11. On March 8, the BRS came down heavily on the Centre after the ED summoned Kavitha in connection with its ongoing probe of the Delhi excise policy case, saying that the central probe agencies have become an extended arm of the BJP. Referring to the summons as "politically motivated", BRS leader Ravula Sridhar Reddy had said that except ED and BJP, nobody really understands the case registered in connection with the new-withdrawn new Delhi excise policy. Parents of an Indian child in German child rights` custody landed in Mumbai on Thursday to meet Indian authorities in a bid to expedite the process of getting their daughter`s custody from the German government.Their three-year-old daughter has been in the custody of German authorities for the last one-and-a-half years. At a press conference in Mumbai on Thursday, the girl`s mother said, "In September 2021, our daughter was taken away by German child services. She accidentally hurt her private part and we took her to a doctor. The doctors sent us back saying that she was fine. Then we went for a follow-up check. My daughter was again said to be fine, but the doctors, this time, called child services and gave them my daughter`s custody. And we later learned that because of the nature of her injury, they suspected sexual abuse.""In the interest of clarification, we even gave our DNA samples. After the DNA test, police investigation, and medical reports, the case of sexual abuse was closed in February 2022. And in December 2021, an expert from the same hospital ruled out any suspicion of sexual abuse," she added. The child`s father said, "After all this, we thought that our girl would be back with us. But the German child services opened a case against us for the termination of custody. We went to court for that/. The court ordered that we have to make a parental ability report. We got the 150-page parental ability test report after a year during which the psychologist spoke to us for only 12 hours." "We got the next trial date after receiving the report. The report suggested the bond between the parents and the child is very strong and the child should return to the parents but the parents don`t know how to bring up the child. For that, we should stay in a family house till the girl attains the age of 3 to 6 years. The girl of that age would be able to decide whether she wants to stay with her parents or in foster care," he added. Her father said, "They reasoned that we let her eat as much as they want, let her play like she wants, and they don`t discipline her enough. They also mentioned that the child has an attachment disorder. They alleged that the attachment disorder was because the child wanted to do things by herself.""We asked them to let the child come to India since the court case was going to last long. They said that they cannot send her to India as she does not know any Indian language, which can result in trauma. We have been asking them to let us teach her at least one Indian language. A teacher, a volunteer or a mentor is also not needed. Our friends and family could easily do that. There were many Indians in Germany, who were ready to volunteer to teach her Hindi or Gujarati but they refused," he added. He further stated, "Like many others, I was also laid off from the IT company that I worked for. I don`t know how we are going to manage. We are already in INR 30-40 lakhs in debt."The mother said, "We are allowed to meet the girl for an hour every month under the supervision of a social worker. She reported positively about our attachment with the girl. We demanded more visits but they refused saying that it could exhaust the girl. But in September 2022, we were allowed to meet her twice a month. But German child services are not following the court order as well. It was after the Indian government intervened in December 2022 that they started obeying the court order." "We have been saying that she is an Indian baby, she must know an Indian language and acquire cultural knowledge. We also demanded consular access for her. Criminals also get consular access but our daughter is being treated worse than a criminal," she added. "We want to bring her to india as we have not got a fair trial. There are cultural differences which are difficult to explain to the German authorities. We request PM Modi to help us bring her back to India. We also request Foreign minister S. Jaishankar to look into this problem and help us bring our child back. Matters will be resolved if PM Modi takes matters into his hands," she added. (The above article is sourced from news agency ANI. Zeenews.com has made no editorial changes to the article. News agency ANI is solely responsible for the contents of the article) Mumbai: Reacting over the assurances of Maha government Shiv Sena Leader (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Thursday said that assurances have been given by the government in the state budget for the year 2023-24 but it needs to be seen as `how many of them will be fulfilled`."Assurances have been given to all but the question is how many will be fulfilled. Those who are giving assurance today are traitors so how can they be trusted," said Aaditya Thackeray. "How much can you trust upon them? Assurances were given by the previous government during 2014-2019. How many of them were fulfilled," he added. The Maharashtra government presented the state budget for the year 2023-24 in the state assembly on Thursday, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde described the state budget for the year as "historic and inclusive". Thackery also stated that the government has provided support to farmers so that they can stand on their own and have given tax benefits to women. Deputy Chief Minister and state Finance Minister Devendra Fadnavis tabled the state budget in the Assembly here on Thursday. According to CM Shinde, this budget is for all, including students, senior citizens, and women. He also announced that the Balasaheb Apla Hospital will offer free medical checkups and medicines, which had been previously halted by the previous government. The chief minister further said that the budget has given development to all projects and that the government stands with farmers. He also noted that the restoration work of an old temple is being carried out and that the amount for the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule scheme has been increased to Rs 5 lakh. Furthermore, Rs 1,729 crore has been allocated for Mumbai`s development and all the roads in Mumbai will be made of concrete. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said, "this budget has provided everything, and the Opposition has nothing to say."Shinde highlighted the government`s efforts to provide support to various groups in society and carry out developmental projects. "The focus on farmers and women is noteworthy, and the allocation of funds for infrastructure development indicates the government`s commitment to overall progress," he said. In the state budget, the Shinde government announced an annual Rs 6,000 cash benefit to about 1.15 crore farmers. For the scheme. the state will outlay Rs 6,900 crore a year for the scheme. Further, farmers in 14 suicide-hit districts will be provided Rs 1,800 annually instead of grains distributed through PDS. The state government made a proposition of Rs 39,000 crore for Metro rail projects in Nashik, Thane, and Pimpri-Chinchwad. Jaipur: Rajasthan police early Friday removed the widows of the three CRPF jawans killed in the 2019 Pulwama terror attack from the protest site outside Congress leader Sachin Pilot's house here and shifted them to hospitals near their respective residential areas. Jaipur Commissioner Anand Srivastava said their supporters were taken to SEZ police station. The police action happened around 3 am when BJP MP Kirodi Lal Meena, who was supporting the protest by the widows, had gone to his residence, one of his close aides said. The widows have been protesting since February 28 and launched an indefinite hunger strike six days ago, demanding a change in rules so that their relatives and not just children can get government jobs on compassionate grounds. Their other demands include construction of roads and installation of statues of the martyrs in their villages. On Thursday, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot responded to the demands, asking on Twitter whether it would be "appropriate" to give jobs to other relatives of the martyred jawans instead of their children. "What will happen to the children of the martyr when they grow up? Is it appropriate to trample upon their rights?" he asked. On Friday morning, Meena went to SEZ police station and said the government will not be able to suppress voice of the widows. "Why is the government so afraid of 3 women warriors that the police picked them up overnight. Don't know where they have been taken? The women are only pleading to meet Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot ji. Why is the chief minister so nervous to hear them?" Meena told reporters. He added in a tweet, "Sitting on a dharna outside the SEZ police station. The government will not be able to suppress the voice of the martyrs wives on the strength of the police. An autocratic and dictatorial government will be resisted with more force." Later, Meena left to meet the wives of the martyrs, but was stopped by Samod police falling under Chomu town in Jaipur district."I was going to visit Samod Balaji with my supporters, but Samod police stopped me and abused and manhandled me. Is standing with the wives of martyrs such a big crime that the @ashokgehlot51 government is behaving like this with a people's representative?" Meena tweeted. NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday raised with his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese the issue of recent attacks on temples in Australia. The matter came up for discussion during their wide-ranging dialogue that was aimed at expanding overall ties. In his media statement, Modi said it is a matter of regret that reports of attacks on temples have been coming regularly from Australia over the past few weeks and that it is natural that such news worries everyone in India. "I conveyed these feelings and concerns to Prime Minister Albanese and he has assured me that the safety of the Indian community is of special priority for him," Modi said in presence of the Australian prime minister. "Our teams will be in regular contact on this matter, and will cooperate as much as possible," he said. Modi said he discussed maritime security in the Indo-Pacific and ways to enhance mutual security with his Australian counterpart. "We discussed mutual cooperation to develop reliable and strong global supply chains," Modi said. Addressing the joint press meet with PM @AlboMP. https://t.co/dsbdtzKsEG Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 10, 2023 Prime Minister Modi also said that both sides are working on a comprehensive economic agreement. "In the field of defence, we have made remarkable agreements in the last few years, including logistics support for each other's militaries," Modi said. In his comments, Albanese said Modi and he agreed on the conclusion of India-Australia Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement as soon as possible. "I am hopeful that we will be able to finalise it this year," he said. The Australian prime minister arrived in Delhi on Thursday evening after concluding his engagements in Ahmedabad and Mumbai. Bengaluru: The High Court of Karnataka on Friday quashed circulars issued by the Education Department introducing board-level assessment for classes 5 and 8. This applied to students studying in the state syllabus and the question papers were set to be designed by the Karnataka School Examinations and Assessment Board. The Education Department's notices were challenged by the Organisation for Unaided Recognised Schools and the Registered Unaided Private Schools' Management Association. A single judge bench of Justice Pradeep Singh Yerur today set aside the circulars dated December 12, 2022, December 13, 2022 and January 4, 2023 issued by Commissioner of Public Instructions and the Department of State Education. The High Court said that the circulars are contrary to the intentions of the Right to Education Act under which they were issued. "Such circulars issued can only supplement the Act or rules but under no circumstances can supplant the rules. In situations when such circulars are issued to supplant the rules, which is in the guise of rules, the prescribed procedures and process have to be followed as contemplated under Section 38(4) of the Act," the High Court said. Quashing the circulars, the High Court Judge in his judgment said, "Under the circumstances I find force in the arguments put forth by the respective counsels for the petitioners as a new format for assessment and evaluation implemented by the State Government is contrary to Section 16 of the RTE Act and the procedure prescribed under the Act. Therefore the Writ Petitions are allowed." The High Court found that the State Government had not followed the procedure and placed the issue before the State Legislatures before issuing the circulars. "The State Government had issued the impugned circular to prescribe certain assessments and evaluation procedures under the RTE Act. The State Government is empowered to make rules and regulations and carry out provisions of the Act. In doing so, it has to necessarily follow the procedure under the Act. Section 38(4) of the Act states every rule or notification made under this Act shall be made after it is laid before the State Legislatures," it said. The additional advocate general who had argued for the State had contended that the government was not making any rule or notification and it was only formulating certain assessments and evaluations to aid and benefit students coming under the State syllabus. Therefore, the question of following the process and procedure of the Act, more specifically Section 38 or any other provisions of the Act would not attract. The Judge, however, said, "Such arguments are flawed. I am afraid that the said contentions of learned AAG cannot be accepted for the virtue of the reason of the impugned circular there is a change brought up by the State Government by way of evaluation and assessment. Awarding of 20 marks for the academic year 2022-23 which would invariable be assessed by the Board; KSEAB of the State. Thereby, an external agency is coming into play to award 20 marks to the students of 5th and 8th standards. This is not contemplated under Section 16 of the RTE Act." The judgment, however, applauded the intent behind the circulars. "The intent of the State Government order is laudable and appreciable wherein it is making an attempt to have checks and balances on mechanism for assessment and evaluation and also for remedial action. At present where a large number of schools are mushrooming in every nook and corner of the streets at district and state level, it is necessary to bring about a mechanism with checks and balances and evaluation and assessment of school children from first to 9th standard and similar assessment of the schools and teaching staff," the High Court said. "But the manner in which it was tried to be implemented was found to be inappropriate," the bench noted. "However while bringing about such mechanism, the appropriate state government or the schools for that matter have to necessarily follow the process and procedure laid down and prescribed under the statute. It is cardinal principle of law that when any scheme circular is ordered it has to evolve or emanate under the statue under which it is contemplated," the judgment said. MUMBAI: The final countdown has begun. Ahead of the 95th Academy Awards, Deepika Padukone, who has been selected as one of the presenters this year, flew to the US. The pictures and videos of Deepika at Mumbai airport surfaced online on Thursday night. The 'Gehraiyaan' actor was dressed in all-black and made heads turn with her chic avatar. She opted for a turtle-neck black sweater, teaming it up with a black blazer. The nerdy black glass added to the glam quotient of Deepika. However, what caught out attention was her husband and actor Ranveer Singh accompanied her to the airport as he got captured seated inside the car. As Deepika headed inside the airport, she posed for the paparazzi stationed there. The actor smiled and greeted them saying 'Thank You'. Even Deepika shared a gratitude emoji on the post of a paparazzo, who shared the video on Instagram. Deepika took to Instagram on March 3 to share a post with the names of all the presenters. The list also includes Dwayne Johnson, Michael B. Jordan, Riz Ahmed, Emily Blunt, Glenn Close, Troy Kotsur, Jennifer Connelly, Samuel L. Jackson, Melissa McCarthy, Zoe Saldana, Donnie Yen, Jonathan Majors and Questlove. Deepika made head turns with her Gothic-inspired look at the Paris Fashion Week just a few days back. Deepika wore Louis Vuitton's leather stud button coat at PFW. She accentuated her dress by carrying a stylish black bag. She paired the coat with black long boots and laced stockings. Meanwhile, on the film front, Deepika has already started the shoot of 'Fighter', also starring Hrithik Roshan, Akshay Oberoi, Anil Kapoor, Karan Singh Grover among others. The film, helmed by Siddharth Anand is scheduled for release on anuary 25, 2024, on the eve of India's 75th Republic Day. As per reports, Deepika and Hrithik play Indian Air Force pilots in the aerial action-thriller. 'Fighter' marks the first ever on-screen collaboration of Deepika Padukone and Hrithik Roshan and the 'Dhoom: 2' actor's third collaboration with director Siddharth Anand after 'Bang Baang' and 'War'. Deepika also has 'Project K' with Prabhas and megastar Amitabh Bachchan. Fans will also see her in 'The Intern' remake with Big B. New Delhi: Late actor-filmmaker Satish Kaushik suffered a heart attack while his short trip to Delhi for a Holi Party on Thursday, March 9, 2023. His mortal remains were airlifted to Mumbai where an ocean of Bollywood celebrities, his family and friends paid their last respects and bid him a tearful goodbye. His untimely and sudden death left many shocked as fans prayed for his near and dear ones. He was 66. Satish Kaushik's 10-year-old daughter Vanishka took to her social media handle after the last rites were performed by his nephew and shared a heart-numbing picture with her late dad. The photo has got reactions from netizens and many celebs as well. Satish Kaushik's close friend and co-star of many films Anupam Kher was inconsolable at his funeral and broke down many times. He told PTI that Satish Kaushik was at a friend's home in Delhi to celebrate Holi when he began to feel uneasy. "He told his driver to take him to the hospital... He suffered a heart attack around 1 am on the way," he said. Following a post-mortem at Delhi's Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital, the actor's body was flown to Mumbai and taken to his residence in Mumbai's Versova locality at around 6.30 pm. A host of Kaushik's industry friends and colleagues, including directors David Dhawan and Subhash Ghai, lyricist-poet Javed Akhtar, and actors Anupam Kher, Salman Khan, Arjun Kapoor, Ranbir Kapoor, Abhishek Bachchan, Tabu and Shilpa Shetty, visited his residence to offer their condolences. Satish Kaushik, who acted, directed, wrote and produced a range of films over four decades, was loved and respected by many in the Hindi movie industry. His comic timing in classics such as "Mr India" and "Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro" is still remembered. Kaushik, whose directing credits include "Tere Naam" and "Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai", is survived by his wife Shashi and daughter Vanshika. The Haryana-born Kaushik was raised in Delhi's Karol Bagh and later moved to Mumbai to pursue a career in acting. (With PTI inputs) New Delhi: American tech giant Google last month released the first Developer Preview of Android 14, and now the company is back with the second Developer Preview. According to GSM Arena, a tech news-related website, the new release comes with additional enhancements to privacy, security, and performance, and continues to refine the experience on tablets and foldable. Google's official timeline suggests that following this Developer Preview, the first Beta release will arrive in April, followed by three more in subsequent months. Android 14 Development Preview 2 includes support for enabling apps to access only specific photographs and videos, or access to all of them, or no access at all. (Also Read: Bharat Matrimony's Holi Ad Sparks Row, Company Faces Flak For Hurting Religious Sentiments, Twitterati Calls For Boycott) In Android 14, Credential Manager is a platform API, and this allows apps to sign in using passkeys. In the second DP, there are improvements to the UI styling of the account selector, along with changes to the API based on feedback to DP1, reported GSM Arena. (Also Read: You Can Buy Gold Without Paying Tax In This Country - Read Here) Apps targeting Android 14, which will be a very small subset initially, will need to grant privileges to start activities in the background. DP2 comes with optimizations to Android's memory management system, improving resource usage while apps are running in the background. There will also be fewer non-dismissible notifications in Android 14, and there are improved APIs for app stores too. As per GSM Arena, the second Developer Preview is still, as the name implies, only recommended for app developers to use for app testing. Once the first beta hits next month, consumers will get easier access too. Android 14 Developer Preview 2 is installable on the Pixel 4a 5G and later Google devices. New Delhi: Meta Platforms Inc is exploring plans to launch a new social media app in its bid to displace Twitter as the world's "digital town square". Meta's app will be based on a decentralized framework like Mastodon, a Twitter-like service that was launched in 2016 and now has about 2 million monthly active users. "We're exploring a standalone decentralized social network for sharing text updates. We believe there's an opportunity for a separate space where creators and public figures can share timely updates about their interests," a Meta spokesperson told Reuters in an emailed statement. It was not immediately clear when Meta would roll out the new app. Meta, which saw user growth boom after the acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp in the early 2010s, has of late faced intense competition from Chinese short-video app TikTok. Meta's monthly active users for its family of apps grew 4.2% in the December 2022 quarter, compared with 8.8% growth a year earlier. "It is a strategy to dominate all spaces under the social media and have offerings that cover all use-cases and demographics," said Jehil Thakkar, Partner, Deloitte India. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister of the Republic of Finland Sanna Marin signed a joint statement in Kyiv on Friday, which, in particular, condemns Russia's threats to use nuclear weapons. Both Ukraine and Finland condemn Russia's irresponsible nuclear rhetoric and recall that the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible. Both sides underline full support for the work of the International Atomic Energy Agency to assist Ukraine in ensuring nuclear safety. According to the statement, Ukraine and Finland also agreed together to ensure full accountability, including by establishing an effective judicial mechanism for the crime of aggression, the prosecution of which is of interest to the international community as a whole. Also, they agreed to work towards the use of Russia's frozen assets to support Ukraines reconstruction and for the purposes of reparation, in accordance with EU and international law. Finland welcomed Ukraine's Peace Formula and supported the idea of the Peace Formula summit to ensure broad international participation. The President and Prime Minister also stressed the importance of expanding the Black Sea Grain Initiative and extending it to other Ukrainian seaports. In a joint statement, the President of Ukraine and the Prime Minister of Finland confirmed their commitment to strengthen joint efforts to ensure further progress towards the implementation of EU standards and the integration of Ukraine with the European Union and the Euro-Atlantic community. It is emphasized that Ukraine will looks forward to EU decision in 2023 on the next step towards accession negotiations. In addition, Finland underlined its readiness to participate in the recovery, reconstruction and modernization of Ukraine, including in the green transition, digitalization and telecommunication, education, energy and energy-efficiency, waste and water processing, construction, planning and infrastructure. Both leaders welcomed the signatures of both the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine and the Ministry of the Environment of the Republic of Finland; and the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine and the Ministry of the Environment of the Republic of Finland. The parties condemned in strongest possible terms the Russian Federations unprovoked and unlawful aggression against Ukraine and illegal attempts to annex Ukraines territories in violation of the United Nations Charter. Mumbai: 'Shark Tank India 2' judge Aman Gupta recently attended the wedding of OYO CEO Ritesh Agarwal and shared a picture from the marriage. However, what caught the attention of everyone was seeing 'Shark Tank India season 1' judge and businessman Ashneer Grover in the same photograph. As they both clicked together for the first time after Ashneer left the business reality show, it grabbed the eyeballs of social media users. Aman posted the picture on his Instagram handle and wrote in the caption: "Wishing you a happy married life @riteshagar. Asking on behalf of millions of Indians:- I hope the honeymoon is also at one of the Oyo Rooms" After Aman's post, many social media users reacted. One of them wrote: "Uff Ashneer-aman in one frame 1! How much we missed you both". Another mentioned: "So happy to see ashneer and you together." In the picture, Aman, his wife Priya, Ashneer, and his wife Madhuri Jain can be seen posing with other couples. Ashneer also posted the same picture on his Instagram handle and wrote in the caption: "Wish you a happy married life @riteshagar and Geetansha! Lovely party !!" After the announcement of 'Shark Tank India 2' judges, Ashneer unfollowed Aman and other judges stating that he is not interested to know about the show or BTS moments from it as he is no longer part of 'Shark Tank India'. Ashneer, accused of misappropriation of funds by BharatPe, was removed from the positions of the company. He was also not included among the panel of judges of the second season of the business reality show. Although, he was among the judges in the first season of 'Shark Tank India'. So, after leaving the show, this was the first time Aman and Ashneer were captured in one frame. New Delhi: Festival of colours Holi was celebrated with great fun and fervour across the country. Social media platforms are flooded with videos and pictures of people celebrating Holi with their loved ones. Amid all these celebration visuals, a video of a Japanese tourist being manhandled during holi celebration is going viral on social media. 'Bura na mano holi hai' ( a Hindi phrase that translates to Don't feel bad? It's Holi!) serves as a justification for certain people to engage in morality and decency but playing Holi is only enjoyable if the colours are applied with love. In the video, some people are seen taking out their frustration on women on the pretext of playing Holi. As per media reports, the video of the Japanese girl is from the capital Delhi. It claims that the girl came to India for the first time from Japan to play Holi. In the video, a boy can be seen forcefully applying colours to a Japanese tourist. After this, some other boys also reach there and start misbehaving with the woman. The woman tries her best to escape from them, but the boys do not take the name of leaving her. In the end, the woman slaps a boy who tries to colour her cheeks and leaves the scene. Actress Richa Chadha shared the video on Twitter with the caption 'Arrest these men'. This video of just 24 seconds has been viewed over 4,92,000 times, while thousands of people have also liked the video and given different reactions. This video was initially shared on Twitter with an ID named @Sweety52216366. It has received 5,740 likes and over 1300 retweets. The post also received several comments, most of them condemning the act and demanding action against the men seen in the video. Meanwhile, a lot of users called it a common incident during Holi and feel the woman enjoyed the whole act. Delhi Police Takes Cognisance Of The Incident As per news agecny ANI, Delhi Police said that it has taken cognisance of viral video. It said no complaint has been received so far. Email sent to embassy for details of the woman & information on men seen in the video also being collected. WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD: Cash-strapped Pakistan and the IMF have failed to reach a staff-level agreement on a much-needed USD 1.1 billion bailout package aimed at preventing the country from going bankrupt. After 10 days of talks here, discussions between the two sides remained inclusive, with the Washington-based global lender saying that discussions will continue virtually in the coming days. Pakistan, whose foreign exchange has dropped below USD 3 billion, is in desperate need of financial assistance and a bailout package from the International Monetary Fund in order to avoid an economic collapse. The 9th review is currently pending and its successful completion will bring USD 1.1 billion in the form of the next tranche. An IMF mission led by Nathan Porter visited Islamabad from January 31 to February 9 to hold discussions under the ninth review of the authorities' programme supported by the IMF Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement. The Pakistan side was led by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar. In a statement Porter said, the IMF team welcomes Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's commitment to implementing policies needed to safeguard macroeconomic stability and thanks the authorities for the constructive discussions. "Considerable progress was made during the mission on policy measures to address domestic and external imbalances," he said. "Virtual discussions will continue in the coming days to finalise the implementation details of these policies," he added. Key priorities include strengthening the fiscal position with permanent revenue measures and reduction in untargeted subsidies while scaling up social protection to help the most vulnerable and those affected by the floods, he said. Among other priorities include allowing the exchange rate to be market determined to gradually eliminate the foreign exchange shortage; and enhancing energy provision by preventing further accumulation of circular debt and ensuring the viability of the energy sector. "The timely and decisive implementation of these policies along with resolute financial support from official partners are critical for Pakistan to successfully regain macroeconomic stability and advance its sustainable development," Porter said. Pakistan Finance Minister Dar said in a press conference on Friday the government has received a memorandum on the terms and conditions from the IMF for the completion of a USD 7 billion loan programme, but acknowledged that both sides are yet to clinch a staff-level agreement. "We insisted that they (the Fund delegation) give us the MEFP before leaving so we could look at it over the weekend," he said, adding that the government and the IMF officials would hold a virtual meeting on it on Monday. "I am confirming that the MEFP draft has been received by us at 9 am today (Friday). We will completely go through the [MEFP] over the weekend and will hold a virtual meeting with [Fund officials]. It will obviously take a few days," he said. The finance minister acknowledged that reforms in certain sectors required by the IMF were in Pakistan's interest, criticising the previous Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led government for 'economic destruction and misgovernance'. "It is necessary to fix those things. These reforms are painful but necessary," Dar added. He made the statement after the IMF delegation left Pakistan on Thursday night after 10 days of talks with the government. "It is a standard process which can neither be shortened and hopefully they won't extend it unnecessarily," Dar said. The finance minister shared that the country would receive a USD 1.2 billion Disbursement in the form of Special Drawing Rights (SDR) after the review's completion. SDRs are international reserve assets created by the IMF in 1969 and are allocated to member states to supplement existing official reserves. Outlining the policy measures agreed upon between the government and the IMF, Dar said taxes amounting to Rs 170 billion would be imposed. He, however, added that the government would try to ensure that the taxes did not directly burden the common man. To impose the taxes, the government would introduce a finance bill or ordinance, depending on the situation at the time, Dar said. "Secondly, we will implement the agreed-upon energy reforms through the federal cabinet," he said, adding that the primary focus would be on minimising untargeted subsidies and reducing the 'flow' in the gas sector to zero so there was no addition to the circular debt. The Pakistan government initially conveyed to the media at the conclusion of talks on Thursday evening that everything thing was settled and Dar would announce the details at a press conference. But the conference was postponed and instead Finance Secretary Hamed Yaqoob Shaikh told the media that the two sides agreed on a set of prior actions but a staff-level agreement (SLA) on the Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies (MEFP) was not signed yet. "All issues have been settled and prior actions agreed upon," said Shaikh, adding that the SLA would be finalised in the days to come. The IMF mission is going to share the details of talks with the top IMF officials in Washington and then issue a statement. The finance secretary rejected the impression that there was any disagreement by saying that 'all things have been settled'. He, however, refused to divulge the details of the prior actions. He said the finance minister would address a press conference after the fund had issued its statement. The IMF mission came to Pakistan after Islamabad agreed to take tough decisions, including restoring the market-based exchange rate and increasing petroleum prices. In the first phase, Pakistan's technical discussion with the IMF went on till February 3. It was followed by the second phase of policy negotiations that concluded on February 9 to finalise a memorandum of economic and financial policies. Pakistan inked a USD 6 billion IMF programme in 2019, which last year expanded to USD 7 billion. Earlier, talks on the review were originally scheduled to be held in October but were delayed after Dar refused to implement some of the conditions of the fund after taking the finance ministry from Miftah Ismail. Ismail has said Pakistan would have to enter another IMF programme after the current one ends in June due to declining foreign exchange reserves. Pakistan's reserves have fallen below USD 3 billion and the country is feared to default on its external liabilities unless the IMF unlocks its funds for it. The availability of IMF money will avoid the default but it is feared to bring a tsunami of price hikes. "When this [programme] ends in June, we will probably not have much more than USD 10 billion in reserves, if that. That would be about a month and a half of import cover," he was quoted as saying by Dawn News. He said that as a consequence of low reserves, the country would have to approach the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank for loans, which would require it to enter another IMF programme. "Because of the debt repayment we have to do now about USD 20bn for the foreseeable future. I am pretty sure we will have to have back-to-back IMF programmes," he said. Terming the IMF a lender of last resort, Ismail said it was similar to being admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). "You want to avoid going to the ICU, you have to start living a healthy life. Once we start living within our means, once we start pursuing rational and intelligent economic policies, then we can avoid going to the IMF...But if we continue living as we are, going from one boom-bust cycle to another, the IMF is the lender of last resort and we have to keep going to it," the former finance minister said. New York: Former President Donald Trump will release a new book next month that features letters from celebrities and politicians written to him through the years. "Letters to Trump" includes private correspondence with former presidents including Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Richard Nixon, along with celebrities like Oprah Winfrey and Michael Jackson. Letters from former Brazilian President, Princess Diana, Michael Jackson There are letters from the late Princess Diana, as well as foreign leaders, including former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and North Korea's Kim Jong Un. The letters serve, in part, as a time capsule from an era before Trump became a polarizing political figure, when he was still a New York celebrity only flirting with running for office. They also feature a collection of strongmen with whom Trump has kept in touch since leaving office and as he wages a third White House run. "We had lots of great letters from lots of great people and not-so-great people, to be honest with you," Trump told reporters in a phone call to discuss the book on Thursday. "But they're very famous people. And probably there's never been such diversity as this in terms of people where the letters come from and who they come from." Trump's letters have also taken on new significance amid the ongoing federal investigation into his retention of presidential records and how documents with classified markings ended up at his Mar-a-Lago club. 'He wrote me beautiful letters,' Trump on North Korea leader Kim Jong Un That investigation began when archives officials noticed they were missing documents that Trump had spoken about publicly, including letters from Kim, with whom Trump corresponded often as president. "He wrote me beautiful letters," Trump once said. "We fell in love.'" In addition to letters from Kim, the book includes a letter from Bolsonaro, the former far-right president of Brazil, who, like Trump, refused to accept his election defeat, claiming, without evidence, that the nation's voting system was prone to fraud. The disinformation campaign culminated in thousands of his supporters swarming Brazil's Congress, Supreme Court, and the presidential palace in a riot that bore striking similarities to the one at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. Also Read: Donald Trump To Remain In 2024 Presidential Race Even If Criminally Indicted The letter, which was sent in January after Bolsonaro was voted out of office, and shared with The Associated Press ahead of the book's publication, begins with a wistful tone. "During the time we were both presidents of our countries, we achieved great accomplishments for our nations," Bolsonaro wrote in Portuguese, describing the "historic relationship" between Brazil and the U.S. As "a source of extreme importance" for both nations, "whether in the economic cooperation, national defense, or for the political stability of our continents." "Working together we accomplished several lasting victories which will be fruitful for future generations,? he added. ?You will always have a partner and friend in Brazil." The letter is signed in thick black ink, reminiscent of Trump's well-known Sharpie scrawl. Trump, in the phone call, said that he had a "fantastic relationship" with Bolsonaro. "I think he's a very good man and he will be heard from again, I suspect, in Brazil," Trump said, adding that he has kept in touch with the Brazilian who has been living in Florida and spoke at the CPAC conference last week along with a number of other world leaders. "You know, you don't just leave and you never speak to somebody again," he said. "I've kept the relationships with quite a few of them and, you know, I think that bodes well for the campaign." Trump who at one point declared, "I'm a denier, I'm an election denier" also acknowledged his pattern of building close relationships with strongmen like Kim and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, which some former White House aides have said they believe stems from Trump's desire to share their unchecked power. "I get along great with, for the most part, almost everyone. And the tougher they were, the better I got along with them, which is sort of an interesting phenomenon," he said. Oprah Winfrey's letter to Donald Trump Another letter featured in the book was sent by Winfrey, the famous talk show host, in 2000. According to Axios, which first published details of the book on Thursday, she wrote in response to an excerpt Trump had sent her from one of his books in which he talked her up as a vice presidential candidate. ("If I can't get Oprah, I'd like someone like her," he had written.) She wrote back to tell Trump his words had "made me a little weepy." "Too bad we're not running for office," she added. "What a TEAM!" The book, which will be released on April 25, features around 150 letters, along with commentary and photos. Like "Our Journey Together," a coffee table book of photos from Trump's time in the White House, is being published by Winning Team publishing, founded by Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr., and Republican political operative Sergio Gor. "Long before entering politics, Donald Trump lived an extraordinary life. No book highlights his iconic relationships like Letters to Trump, and we are thrilled to be able to share it with our readers," said Gor. WASHINGTON: India is a global strategic partner of the United States, the Biden administration said on Thursday amidst a series of high-level of exchanges between the two countries. "Our message to India and about India is consistent. India is a global strategic partner of the United States. The engagements we've had with our Indian partners at the ministerial level, at the leader level, at all levels has been in furtherance of deepening the already extensive ties between our two countries," State Department Spokesperson Ned Price told reporters at a news conference here. "These are ties that are political in nature, diplomatic, economic, security and importantly, people-to-people ties," he said. There is a vibrant Indian diaspora in this country, he said, adding that there is quite a bit of interest on the part of the American private sector in India, exchange students. "There are various ways in which our two societies are intertwined. So every time we have an opportunity to meet with our Indian counterparts, it is an effort to deepen what is that already quite extensive global strategic partnership," Price said. Kyiv: Russia used strategic bombers, hypersonic cruise missiles and killer drones in a wave of fresh attacks across Ukraine early on Friday killing at least 9 people, while Moscow's military push that Kyiv says has been brewing for days appeared to pick up pace in eastern areas ahead of the one-year anniversary of its invasion. Russian forces launched 71 cruise missiles, 35 S-300 missiles and seven Shahed drones since late Thursday, Ukraine's military chief, Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi said. Ukrainian forces downed 61 cruise missiles and five drones, he said. The cruise missiles were launched by Russian Tu-95 strategic bombers and from Russian navy ships in the Black Sea, Zaluzhnyi said, while the S-300 missiles were launched from the Belgorod region just inside Russia and the occupied part of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region. Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Moscow once again targeted the power supply in another attempt to destroy the Ukrainian energy system and deprive Ukrainians of light, heat, water. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has campaigned for more Western support, said, This is terror that can and must be stopped. The Kremlin's forces focused on Ukraine's industrial east, especially the Luhansk and Donetsk provinces that make up the industrial Donbas region where recent fighting has been most intense, the Ukrainian military said. Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian forces there since 2014. But the barrage went further, also taking aim at the capital, Kyiv, and Lviv, near Ukraine's Western border with Poland. It also struck critical infrastructure in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city in the northeast. Seven people were wounded there, two of them seriously, regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov said. Air raid sirens went off across much of the country. Moscow Planning Ground Assault In East Kyiv believes Moscow is planning a ground assault in the east, where the Kremlin is striving to secure areas it has illegally annexed and where it claims its rule is welcomed. In the Donetsk region, local Ukrainian officials reported that the Russian military deployed additional troops and launched offensive operations. There is a daily escalation and Russian attacks are becoming active throughout the region," Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said. In Luhansk province, the Russian army is trying to punch through Ukrainian defenses, according to regional Gov. Serhii Haidai. The situation is deteriorating, the enemy is constantly attacking, and the Russians are bringing in a large amount of heavy equipment and aircraft, Haidai said. There has been little change in battlefield positions for weeks. Also on Friday, Moldova's Ministry of Defence said that a missile was detected traversing its airspace near the border with Ukraine. Moldova's foreign ministry said in a statement that the Russian ambassador in Chisinau has been summoned for talks over the unacceptable violation. The ministry said that the missile was detected in its airspace at around 10 am and flew over two border villages before heading toward Ukraine. The spokesperson for Ukraine's Air Forces, Yurii Ihnat, said another missile crossed the airspace of Romania, a NATO member country. Romania's defence ministry denied that, however, saying the closest the missile came to Romania's airspace was approximately 35 kilometres (20 miles). Ukraines Power Supply Hit High-voltage infrastructure facilities were hit in the eastern, western and southern regions, Ukraine's energy company, Ukrenergo, said, resulting in power outages in some areas. It was the 14th round of massive strikes on the country's power supply, the company said. The last one occurred on January 26 as Moscow seeks to demoralise Ukrainians by leaving them without heat and water in the bitter winter. Zaporizhzhia City Council Secretary Anatolii Kurtiev said the city had been hit 17 times in one hour, which he said made it the most intense period of attacks since the beginning of the full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022. Ukraines Counter-Attack Ukraine's Air Force shot down 10 Russian missiles over Kyiv, according to the Kyiv City Administration. The fragments of one missile damaged two cars, a house and electricity wires. No casualties were reported. The Ukraine Air Force said Russia launched S-300 anti-aircraft guided missiles on the Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia provinces. Those missiles cannot be destroyed in mid-air by air defences but they have a relatively short range so the Russians have used them for attacks on areas not far from Russian-controlled territory. The Khmelnytskyi province in Western Ukraine was also attacked with Shahed drones, according to regional Gov. Serhii Hamalii. Russia has in the past used Iranian-made Shahed drones to strike at key Ukrainian infrastructure and sow fear among civilians, according to Western analysts. They are known as suicide drones because they nosedive into targets and explode on impact like a missile. A Russian rocket fell but did not explode in Ukraine's Lviv province, near to Poland, according to regional Gov. Maksym Kozytskyi. He said on Telegram that there were no victims when the rocket impacted close to a village bus stop. Moscow's ambitions have narrowed since it launched its full-scale invasion, military analysts say, when the capital Kyiv and the installation of a puppet government were among its targets. It is now focusing its efforts on gaining full control of the Donbas. Numerous battlefield setbacks, including yielding eastern areas it had initially captured, have embarrassed Russian President Vladimir Putin. Macron: Military aid to Ukraine is priority, peace talks with Russia should be held on Ukrainian terms On Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed his country's policy of providing military assistance to Ukraine. "If we talk about the short term, now our priority is military assistance," he said at a press conference in Paris. According to Macron, he still advocates a peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, but believes that negotiations should take place "when Ukraine decides, and on its terms." President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Defense Minister of Norway Bjrn Arild Gram on Friday. "I had a meeting with Minister of Defense of Norway Bjrn Arild Gram. Norway has been supporting Ukraine since the first day of the full-scale war and has done a lot for our soldiers to become stronger on the battlefield. We appreciate it," the head of state said on the Telegram channel. Ukraine's key priority remains the strengthening of the Armed Forces. Both by increasing the supply of weapons and accelerating the delivery of the already announced assistance, Zelenskyy said. "I thank the Government, the Parliament and all the people of Norway for their comprehensive assistance to Ukraine and our people," he said. Later, the presidential press service said that during the meeting the head of state noted the recent decision by Norway to provide EUR 7 billion under a five-year support program for Ukraine. "I am grateful for this opportunity and for this decision. It is a good example for some countries of how to take not theoretical but practical steps to support Ukraine. Thank you very much for taking such a position," Zelenskyy said. Several employees of Severodonetsk City Administration agreed to cooperate with the Russian occupation authorities, Oleksandr Striuk, the head of the city military and civilian administration, said. "Several people indeed agreed to cooperate with the occupation authorities. Speaking specifically about representatives of the administration, there are several such people. So far, I am informed about four [such people]," he said in an exclusive interview with the Interfax-Ukraine News Agency. The head of the city does not rule out that there may be more collaborators, however, "not everyone shows their belonging, they do not speak about it in the media, in social media." "Relevant services deal with them. A number of criminal proceedings have been launched against them. Investigations are underway. Such persons will be brought to justice," Striuk said. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (MFA) calls on the international community to condemn the sentence of the so-called occupation "court" in Luhansk region, which sentenced Ukrainian human rights activist Maksym Butkevych to 13 years in prison. "The so-called 'court' of the Russian occupation administration in the temporarily occupied territory in Luhansk region sentenced Ukrainian human rights activist and journalist Maksym Butkevych to 13 years in prison, as well as to other terms of two other citizens of Ukraine," the Foreign Ministry said on Friday. It clarifies that "the fake trial staged in Russia is aimed at legalizing another political massacre of Ukrainian citizens." "The announced verdicts are illegal and void," the ministry said. "We call on the international community to condemn the trial of Maksym Butkevych and the other two citizens, to demand from Russia their release, as well as other Ukrainians illegally imprisoned in the temporarily occupied territories and in Russia, and to take effective measures to counter Russia's aggression against Ukraine," the Foreign Ministry said. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) dispatched a plane with humanitarian aid to Ukraine for residents of Kherson and Mykolaiv regions as part of a support program, the Economy Ministry of Ukraine has said. "The cargo is intended for residents of Kherson and Mykolaiv regions, people in this region will receive warm clothes and hygiene products," the ministry's press service told Interfax-Ukraine on Friday. "I would like to thank the United Arab Emirates on behalf of all Ukraine for their help in this difficult time. This is an important support for many people who, after the liberation of territories from the invaders, need warmth and other vital things," the ministry's press service said, citing First Deputy Prime Minister, Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko. According to her, the team of the State Property Fund of Ukraine will deal with the distribution of aid to recipients. Earlier it was reported that as part of a $100 million assistance program, the UAE had already sent 2,500 generators to Ukraine, which were delivered to ten of the most affected areas in the East and South. USA hands over to Ukraine cultural heritage items seized during attempt to smuggle them from Russia The Ukrainian Embassy in Washington hosted the transfer to Ukraine of historical heritage items seized while trying to smuggle them from Russia to the United States, Minister of Culture and Information Policy Oleksandr Tkachenko has said. "Today, the Embassy of Ukraine in the United States hosted an official ceremony of handing over to Ukraine objects of historical heritage that were detained by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection while trying to smuggle from Russia to the United States," he said on his Telegram channel on Friday. Among the transferred values are "akinaki swords of the Scythian cultureof the 6th-5th centuries B.C. (the distribution area is the forest-steppe, steppe part of Ukraine and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea) and a flint polished axe of the 3rd millennium B.C., which, according to the Institute of Archeology Ukraine belongs to the Globular Amphora Culture," Tkachenko said. The minister expressed his gratitude to the law enforcement agencies of the United States and Ukraine and all those involved who carried out such an operation. "We will return everything that Russia has stolen from us territories, people, objects of art and cultural heritage. We are starting now," the minister said. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a regular meeting of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief on Friday, where, in particular, the situation in Bakhmut was considered. "The meeting of the Headquarters has just ended. The Commander-in-Chief, the commanders of the directions reported on the situation on the frontline, in general, on the defense of the state. The East, the South and the border, Bakhmut and our ability to strengthen there. Our responses to terrorist strikes. Defense of Kherson and the communities of Dnipropetrovsk, Chernihiv, Sumy regions. Our needs for ammunition and supplies," Zelenskyy said in a video address. Ukraine starts negotiations with Norway on organization of pilot training Zelenskyy Ukraine has started negotiations with Norway on organizing training for Ukrainian pilots, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said. "We are starting communication with Norway regarding the possibilities of a training mission for our pilots," Zelenskyy said in a video address. As reported, on Friday, Zelenskyy met in Kyiv with Norwegian Defense Minister Bjrn Arild Gram. During the meeting, the President of Ukraine positively noted the Kingdom's recent decision to allocate EUR 7 billion for a five-year support program for Ukraine. The Norwegian authorities, in cooperation with the United States, will send two NASAMS air defense systems to Ukraine, Norwegian Defense Minister Bjrn Arild Gram said during a visit to Kyiv on Friday. "Ukraine has a critical need to defend itself against missile attacks, and Norway will assist," Norwegian media said, citing the minister. Norway will also train Ukrainian personnel in the maintenance and operation of the system. The Minister also said that earlier Oslo helped the United States with the supply of U.S. NASAMS systems to Ukraine. Last October, it was reported the United States handed over two NASAMS systems to Ukraine. In addition, Canada last November announced the allocation of military assistance to Ukraine in the amount of $500 million, and a significant part of these funds went to the purchase of one unit of NASAMS and missiles for Ukraine. In December, it became known that the United States, along with NATO allies, were negotiating with several countries in the Middle East to move NASAMS to Ukraine. According to CEO of Raytheon Co. Gregory J. Hayes, the task is to send air defense systems to Kyiv within three to six months, and then the United States will have to send new NASAMS to the Middle East in return over the next 24 months. Stefanishyna: Best response to Russian aggression, except winning on battlefield, to be formation of strong European agenda, where Ukraine should be leader Ukraine has shown the whole world that European values must be fought for, and the best response to Russian aggression, in addition to winning on the battlefield, will be the formation of a strong agenda, a strong Europe, where Ukraine should be the leader, Deputy Prime Minister on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Olha Stefanishyna has said. "Measuring security has become part of EU policy, since Ukraine has shown the whole world that it is necessary to fight for values, for the European way of life. Unfortunately, with weapons in hand. But this is a reality that was formulated not by Ukraine, not Europe, but by Russia," she said at Ukraine-France Forum on Friday. Stefanishyna also said the best response to Russian aggression, apart from winning on the battlefield, would be "forming a strong agenda, a strong Europe." She stressed the need to create its own European agenda, where Ukraine should be a leader. At the same time, she noted a series of unprecedented decisions by the EU in support of Ukraine's struggle for values and freedom. In particular, the first decision in the history of the EU to finance military assistance; EU decisions on the development of the defense industry. "Now, when the war is going on, we are fighting not just for our European future, we are fighting for the life that we know, for which we fought for the Revolution of Dignity the life of a free, democratic country. But since February 24, Ukraine has also changed the world, and this role, this Ukrainian spirit should become part of the EU. We have returned the EU to the global arena," she said. Power supply in Kharkiv region has been restored for the majority of consumers after another Russian missile attack, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said. "Kharkiv region: as of the evening, the supply of electricity to most consumers has been restored," Zelenskyy said in a video address. At the same time, he said, many consumers in Kharkiv itself are still disconnected from the electricity, there are problems with communication in the city. "All services are working to restore energy supply to consumers. We managed to provide electricity to critical infrastructure," the president said. "It is still not easy in Zhytomyr. Although the system as a whole has been balanced, there may be shutdowns. Power engineers are working. Zaporizhia: everything is being done to protect people and the city's energy system. Kyiv: heating networks are being restored. Thanks to everyone involved in these works and to everyone who helps," Zelenskyy said. Saudi Arabia committed to UN Charter, rejects any violation of sovereignty of all countries - Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Ukraine An exclusive interview of Interfax-Ukraine and Ukraine in Arabic with Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Ukraine Mohammed bin Suleiman al-Mashar Text by: Mohammad Farajallah (editor-in-chief of the agency Ukraine in Arabic) Maksim Urakin (Interfax-Ukraine) Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan arrived in Kyiv on a surprise visit, met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other officials, and agreed on a previously announced aid package. Are there any changes in Riyadh's position on the war in Ukraine, especially since the Kingdom has been criticized for siding with Russia in the war against Ukraine? Under the guidance of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud - God bless him - and under the guidance of His Royal Highness Crown Prince and Prime Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz - God bless him - the Kingdom is eager to provide humanitarian and emergency assistance to countries affected by natural or humanitarian disasters, and to provide support to all countries and peoples without discrimination or any other motives, based on the awareness of Saudi Arabia of the importance of its humanitarian role at the international level. His Highness the Crown Prince pays great attention to the implementation of humanitarian efforts along with political efforts with various countries to achieve a peaceful solution to end the Russian-Ukrainian war as part of His Highness's desire to achieve regional and global security, peace and stability. Your Excellency, is a position of neutrality considered positive in such crises? What role can neutral states play? The neutral and balanced position of Saudi Arabia in the Russian-Ukrainian war contributed to the success of the mediation led by His Highness the Crown Prince on purely humanitarian principles, which led to the release of ten foreign captives - citizens of the Kingdom of Morocco, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Sweden and the Republic of Croatia, who were held captive by the armed forces of Russia. In October 2022, the Kingdom announced a humanitarian aid package for Ukraine, which is in line with Saudi Arabia's position in supporting countries and peoples that are prone to various crises. What role does Saudi Arabia play in the world in humanitarian matters? The Kingdom's $400 million humanitarian aid initiative for Ukraine, including power generators and medical supplies, is significant in light of the humanitarian conditions facing the Ukrainian people, especially during the harsh winter. Previously, the Kingdom provided through the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre, the World Health Organization and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees $10 million worth of medical assistance and shelter materials intended for Ukrainian refugees in Poland. In recent years, Saudi Arabia has provided over $96 billion worth of humanitarian aid to 156 countries. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has always been among the top ten countries in the world for aid, and in 2021, the Kingdom ranked third in the world for humanitarian aid. Your Excellency, may I ask what the Kingdom provided to the citizens of Ukraine who were on its territory during the war? After the start of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the competent authorities in the Kingdom, by royal decrees and for humanitarian reasons, took the initiative to extend the visas of Ukrainian tourists, businessmen and families in the Kingdom for a period of three months with the possibility of extending them without charging any fees or fines. His Highness the Crown Prince, Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman held a telephone conversation with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy in October 2022 and reaffirmed the Kingdom's position in support of everything that contributes to de-escalation and the country's readiness to continue mediation efforts. Can we rely on foreign mediation to end the war in Ukraine? Since the beginning of the war, the Kingdom has taken a balanced position regarding the Russian-Ukrainian crisis. It was welcomed by both countries, which have strong relations with Saudi Arabia in several areas. The Crown Prince seeks to use this relationship to reach a peaceful solution to the war. Since the beginning of the crisis, His Highness has been mediating efforts between the two countries to reach a political solution to end the war as his contribution to maintaining international security and stability. Saudi Arabia supports international efforts to reduce tensions and escalation between Russia and Ukraine, as well as to initiate measures to ensure the restoration of stability and create conditions for negotiations leading to a peaceful and political solution to the crisis based on the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law. Saudi Arabia was among 141 countries that voted in favor of a UN resolution to withdraw Russian troops from Ukraine. Can this position affect relations between Riyadh and Moscow? The position of the Kingdom and its vote in support of the United Nations resolutions adopted regarding the Ukrainian crisis stems from the commitment to the need for all countries to comply with the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law and our complete rejection of any violation of the sovereignty of all countries. The Kingdom declared a clear position on the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, based on the principles of international law. It reaffirmed its support for all efforts aimed at resolving the Ukrainian crisis through dialogue and diplomacy, as well as continuing to work on the implementation of the agreements concluded between the parties concerned and approved by the Security Council in Resolution 2202 on regional security and conflict settlement in eastern Ukraine. The visit to Kyiv of His Highness the Minister of Foreign Affairs was called historical. Do you agree with this characterization? The visit of His Highness Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud to Kyiv and his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is considered historic. On the one hand, this is the first visit of an Arab foreign minister to Ukraine since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and on the other hand, the first visit of a Saudi Arabian foreign minister to Ukraine since the beginning of diplomatic relations between the two countries over thirty years ago. His Excellency the President of Ukraine justifiably called it historic. In fact, we are very grateful to His Excellency for all his friendly statements about Saudi Arabia. I also hope that this visit will give a new impetus to intensify our mutual dialogue in order to develop bilateral relations. Can you tell us the details of communication and negotiation? Support by the Kingdom of everything that contributes to de-escalation, protection of civilians, a serious search for political solutions through negotiations, support for all international efforts aimed at resolving the political crisis, as well as opportunities for expanding cooperation between the two friendly countries and ways to support and develop them in many areas. In addition, we discussed the development of the situation in the regional and international arenas. Can you tell us about the content of the agreements signed during the visit? During the visit of His Highness Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, two documents were signed in the President's Office of Ukraine as documentation of the package of Saudi Arabian assistance to Ukraine in the humanitarian sphere, the decision to allocate a separate support package in the amount of $400 million. Supervisor General of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre Abdullah Al Rabeeah and Deputy Prime Minister for Reconstruction of Ukraine and Minister of Communities, Regions and Infrastructure Development Oleksandr Kubrakov signed a joint program of cooperation between the Ministry of Communities, Regions and Infrastructure Development the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre in the amount of $100 million. CEO of the Saudi Fund for Development Sultan Abdulrahman Al-Marshad and Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Haluschenko signed a Memorandum of Understanding regarding a $300 million Saudi grant to finance oil derivatives. The Egyptian Armed Forces urged on Saturday evening for "the safeguarding of the safety and security of Egyptian troops who were in Sudan to conduct joint training with their Sudanese counterparts." US Secretary of Defense LIoyd J Austin is visiting the Middle East this week to reinforce relations with partners in Egypt, Jordan, and Israel, reports Gamal Essam El-Din US Defense Secretary LIoyd Austin arrived in Jordan on Sunday at the start of a Middle East tour that will also take him to Egypt and Israel. Before his departure from the US, Austin wrote on Twitter that he would meet key leaders in the region and reaffirm the US commitment to regional stability and advancing the shared interests of our allies and partners. A senior US Defense Department official said ahead of Austins visit that discussions with the leaders of Egypt and Jordan would focus on advancing multilateral security cooperation with integrated air and missile defence. In Israel, he would debate the growing threat that Iran poses to regional stability, the official said. Austin will also raise concerns about a surge in violence in the occupied West Bank that has alarmed Egypt and Jordan and discuss diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions ahead of Muslim and Jewish religious holidays, he said. He said that Austins trip to the Middle East in the first week of March seeks to reaffirm the US commitment to the security and stability of its three strategic allies Egypt, Jordan, and Israel. Secretary Austin will convey the enduring US commitment to the Middle East and provide reassurance to our partners in Jordan, Egypt, and Israel that the United States remains committed to supporting their defence and increasing and strengthening the strategic partnerships with each of these countries, the official said. While in talks in the Middle East, Austin would convey his belief and that of the Defence Department that the best path for sustainable and effective security in the Middle East is through integration and multilateral security cooperation among partners, he said. Austin would address the leaders of Jordan, Egypt, and Israel about the tremendous opportunities that the US represents because of cutting-edge innovation, emerging technology, shared assessments of what the threats are facing our partners in the region and that now is the time to improve collective and shared defence, the official said. Also central to the discussions will be the full constellation of Iran-associated threats, the official said, adding that these include Irans arming, training, and funding of violent proxy groups, aggression at sea, cyber-threats, its ballistic missile programme, and drone attacks. Every partner in every capital Austin visits in the Middle East will talk about their concerns related to these threats, the official said. Austin will consult with those partners on how these threats can be pushed back and undermined. According to the Western media, Austins visit shows that the US is determined to keep its foothold in the region and that the war in Ukraine and the tensions in relations with Russia and China will not distract Washington from advancing its close military relations with three of its key allies in the region. It is a visit to convey a message of reassurance about Americas commitment to the security of its allies in Jordan, Egypt, and Israel and that it will not let Russia and China gain a foothold in the Middle East, said one Western newspaper. Austins visit to Egypt is the first since he took office in January 2021. However, he met with President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi in Washington last December and also spoke on the telephone with Egypts Defence Minister Mohamed Zaki last August to thank Egypt for its leadership role in the region and vital assistance in securing the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. President Al-Sisi visited Washington last December to attend the US-Africa Leaders Summit. He also visited the Pentagon and met with Austin, who welcomed him by saying that Egypt is not only a leader in the Middle East and Africa, but also on the world stage. Austin noted that the US and Egypt are marking 100 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Al-Sisi and Austin discussed a number of issues during their meeting. The administration greatly appreciates Egypts leadership and cooperation in achieving our shared objectives, Austin said in the meeting. We have seen that leadership and Egypts courage in achieving peace in the region and the vital assistance that Egypt provided for securing the ceasefire in Gaza. Austin thanked President Al-Sisi for Egypts assuming the command of the Combined Task Force 153 that ensures the security of communications in the Red Sea. The United States remains committed to ensuring Egypt has the capabilities to defend its people and its territory, and that we will continue to work with Egypt to strengthen interoperability, integrated air and missile defence, and maritime security, Austin said. President Al-Sisi thanked Austin for his welcome at the meeting in December and said that Egypt and the US had much in common and that Egypt was keen to strengthen its strategic partnership with the US in the areas of defence and security in the light of the threats facing the Middle East region. He said that he and Austin had had many constructive conversations when the latter served as the commander of US Central Command. A presidential statement said at that time that Egypt and the US had agreed to push their joint military relations forward, given that these are the cornerstone of US-Egypt ties. These relations were essential to achieving stability and security in the Middle East, the statement said. * A version of this article appears in print in the 9 March, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: Iran and Saudi Arabia on Friday agreed to reestablish diplomatic relations and reopen embassies after years of tensions between the two countries in a deal that was brokered by China; Iraq hailed the deal, Israelis sounded the alarms and the US welcomed it cautiously. The two countries released a joint communique with China on the deal, which apparently brokered the agreement. The Saudi Press Agency SPA published the statement on Friday. Chinese state media did not immediately report on the deal. Iranian state media posted images and video it described as being taken in China with the meeting. It showed Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Irans Supreme National Security Council, with Dr. Musaed bin Muhammad Al-Aiban, Minister of State and National Security Adviser in Saudi Arabia with Wang Yi, the director of foreign affairs in the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. "Following talks, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have agreed to resume diplomatic relations and reopen embassies and missions within two months," the official Iranian news agency IRNA said, citing a joint statement. China, which recently hosted Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi, is also a top purchaser of Saudi oil. President Xi Jinping, just awarded a third five-year term as president earlier on Friday, visited Riyadh in December to attend meetings with oil-rich Gulf Arab nations crucial to Chinas energy supplies. Iran's state-run IRNA news agency quoted Shamkhani as calling the talks "clear, transparent, comprehensive and constructive. Removing misunderstandings and the future-oriented views in relations between Tehran and Riyadh will definitely lead to improving regional stability and security, as well as increasing cooperation among Persian Gulf nations and the world of Islam for managing current challenges, Shamkhani was quoted as saying. Dr. Musaed bin Muhammad Al-Aiban headed the Saudi delegation at the talks, according to the SPA. The agreement includes a commitment to respect the sovereignty of countries and non-interference in their internal affairs, according to SPA. The foreign ministers of both countries will meet to activate the agreement, arrange the exchange of ambassadors, and discuss ways to strengthen relations. Additionally, the security cooperation agreement signed in 2001 and the general agreement for cooperation in various fields signed in 1998 will be activated. The three countries expressed their commitment to enhancing regional and international peace and security, added SPA. Riyadh cut ties with Tehran after Iranian protesters attacked Saudi diplomatic missions in the Islamic republic in 2016 following the Saudi execution of Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr. Ali Shamkhani had travelled to Beijing on Monday for "intensive negotiations with his Saudi counterpart in China in order to finally resolve the problems between Tehran and Riyadh", IRNA said. Shia-majority Iran and Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia support rival sides in several conflict zones across the Middle East, including in Yemen where the Houthi rebels are backed by Tehran, and Riyadh leads a military coalition supporting the government. Iraq, a neighbour to both countries, had hosted several rounds of talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia since April 2021. Those encounters were held at a relatively low level, involving security and intelligence officials. In Friday's statement, Iran and Saudi Arabia said they "thank the Republic of Iraq and the Sultanate of Oman for hosting the talks held between the two sides in 2021 and 2022 as well as the leaders and government of the People's Republic of China for hosting and supporting the talks held in that country." Iraq hails deal Iraq has welcomed the agreement reached between Saudi Arabia and Iran, saying it would improve regional cooperation and fulfill the aspirations of all parties. "A new page has been opened in diplomatic relations between the two countries," said a statement from the foreign ministry of Iraq that was published by the Iraqi News Agency (INA). The statement noted that "the efforts made by the Iraqi government through Baghdad hosting the dialogue rounds between the two sides" paved the way for reconciliation. It added that these Iraqi efforts "established a solid base for the dialogues that followed through the Sultanate of Oman and the People's Republic of China, leading to the moment of agreement." The integration of relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran would improve regional cooperation and fulfill the aspirations of all parties, heralding the inauguration of a new phase, the statement stressed. Israel and the US Shortly after the news broke, former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett took to his official Twitter account on Friday to express his concerns regarding the renewal of relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Bennett said: "The renewal of relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran is a serious and dangerous development for Israel and is a political victory for Iran. This is a fatal blow to the effort to build a regional coalition against Iran." His remarks reflect concerns in Israel that Iran's regional influence constitutes a threat to Israel's security. Meanwhile, a White House National Security Council spokesperson said the US is aware of reports that Iran and Saudi Arabia have resumed diplomatic ties, but referred further details to the Saudis. "We welcome any efforts to help end the war in Yemen and de-escalate tensions in Mideast." "De-escalation and diplomacy together with deterrence are key pillars of the policy President Biden outlined during his visit to the region last year," the White House spokesperson told Reuters. Tensions between Israel and the Biden administration have come to the fore recently due to their differing approaches towards Iran's nuclear ambitions. While the US is advocating for diplomatic means to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, Israel has not ruled out the possibility of military action to achieve the same objective. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has recently visited Israel and discussed the issue with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Austin reiterated the US's stance on diplomacy, while Gallant emphasized that "all measures necessary" must be taken to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. The Biden administration is seeking to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, which gave Iran relief from economic sanctions in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program. However, talks have stalled for months, and the recent reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Iran has added an additional layer of complexity to an already delicate situation. The ongoing tensions between the US, Israel, and Iran have caused concerns globally, particularly given the potential for military conflict in the region. Search Keywords: Short link: Israel's former prime minister Naftali Bennett sounded alarms on Friday for his country's security shortly after the announcement of a China-brokered reconciliation deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran, describing the deal as a "political victory" for Iran. Bennett tweeted: "The renewal of relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran is a serious and dangerous development for Israel and is a political victory for Iran. This is a fatal blow to the effort to build a regional coalition against Iran." Bennett also criticised the Netanyahu government, which he labeled a "resounding economic, political, and security failure." He called for the establishment of a broad national emergency government to address the damage caused. Tensions between Israel and the Biden administration have also come to the fore due to their differing approaches towards Iran's nuclear ambitions. While the US is advocating for diplomatic means to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, Israel has not ruled out the possibility of military action to achieve the same objective. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has recently visited Israel and discussed the issue with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Austin reiterated the US's stance on diplomacy, while Gallant emphasized that "all measures necessary" must be taken to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. The Biden administration is seeking to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, which gave Iran relief from economic sanctions in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program. However, talks have stalled for months, and the recent reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Iran has added an additional layer of complexity to an already delicate situation. The ongoing tensions between the US, Israel, and Iran have caused concerns globally, particularly given the potential for military conflict in the region. The announcement of a reconciliation deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran would only add to these concerns, as it remains unclear how this will affect the balance of power in the Middle East. Search Keywords: Short link: The US is aware of reports that Iran and Saudi Arabia have resumed diplomatic ties, a White House National Security Council spokesperson said, but referred further details to the Saudis. "We welcome any efforts to help end the war in Yemen and de-escalate tensions in Mideast." "De-escalation and diplomacy together with deterrence are key pillars of the policy President Biden outlined during his visit to the region last year," the White House spokesperson told Reuters. Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed on Friday to reestablish diplomatic relations and reopen embassies after years of tensions between the two countries in a deal that was brokered by China. The US is advocating for diplomatic means to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Israel, the US closest ally in the Middle East, has not ruled out the possibility of military action to achieve the same objective. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has recently visited Israel and discussed the issue with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Austin reiterated the US's stance on diplomacy, while Gallant emphasized that "all measures necessary" must be taken to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. The Biden administration is seeking to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, which gave Iran relief from economic sanctions in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program. However, talks have stalled for months, and the recent reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Iran has added an additional layer of complexity to an already delicate situation. The Iran Saudi reconciliation agreement could have wide implications for the war in Yemen, where Iran-backed Houthi rebels have been fighting a Saudi-led coalition since 2015. Agreement could pave the way for a political solution to end the conflict and alleviate humanitarian crisis. Search Keywords: Short link: Iraq has welcomed the agreement reached between Saudi Arabia and Iran to resume diplomatic ties, saying it would improve regional cooperation and fulfill the aspirations of all parties. "A new page has been opened in diplomatic relations between the two countries," said a statement from the foreign ministry of Iraq that was published by the Iraqi News Agency (INA). The statement noted that "the efforts made by the Iraqi government through Baghdad hosting the dialogue rounds between the two sides" paved the way for reconciliation. It added that these Iraqi efforts "established a solid base for the dialogues that followed through the Sultanate of Oman and the People's Republic of China, leading to the moment of agreement." The integration of relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran would improve regional cooperation and fulfill the aspirations of all parties, heralding the inauguration of a new phase, the statement stressed. Search Keywords: Short link: President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi stressed to US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin Egypt's keeness on strengthening the strategic partnership with the US. The president's remarks came during a meeting with Austin and an accompanying delegation in Cairo on Wednesday. The meeting was attended by Minister of Defence and Military Production General Mohamed Zaki and US Charge dAffaires in Egypt Daniel Rubinstein. According to a statement by the Spokesman for the Presidency Ahmed Fahmy, El-Sisi emphasised to Austin Egypts commitment to further intensifying cooperation and coordination between the two countries in an array of areas, particularly in the military and security fields, given their importance in reinforcing efforts to restore security and stability and consolidate peace in the Middle East region. From his side, Austin reaffirmed to El-Sisi that his country holds the Egyptian leadership in high esteem and highly appreciates Egypts key role in the Middle East as a rational and responsible stabilising force. He stressed the US commitment to further advancing and strengthening cooperation and the strategic partnership with Egypt, particularly their defence cooperation, which constitutes a fundamental cornerstone in the two countries relations. The meeting focused on a number of regional and international issues. President El-Sisi reiterated the need to exert intensive international efforts so as to achieve calm in the Palestinian territories and halt unilateral measures and escalation. El-Sisi stressed that a two-state solution, according to the relevant references of international legitimacy, is considered the pathway toward achieving just and comprehensive peace for the benefit of the peoples of the region. The meeting also touched on efforts to reinforce peace and stability at the international level, in light of the successive global crises, which cast shadow on the various countries around the world. Austin's Cairo visit on Wednesday is the third stop in his Middle East tour which included Jordan and Iraq before departing for Israel, according to AP. It also comes a few days after the US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milleys unannounced visit to Israel on Friday to discuss regional security challenges'' at a time of heightened tensions with Iran and its allies across the Middle East, where he met with senior Israeli military and intelligence leaders at an air base in southern Israel and held a video conference with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israels visit was a day ahead of Milleys snap visit to Syria on Saturday, where he met US troops stationed in areas of war-torn Syria under the control of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Austin's visit comes amid growing clashes between the Israeli forces and Palestinians over Israels repeated deadly raids in the West Bank and its continued demolition of Palestinian homes there. The latest raid was carried out on Tuesday on the Jenin refugee camp, which left a number of Palestinians killed and wounded. Search Keywords: Short link: Egypt is following with interest the recent agreement to resume diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran and hopes "it will ease tensions and achieve the aspirations of the peoples in the region," according to a statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday. "Egypt hopes the agreement will ease tensions in the region and contribute to stabilising and preserving the capabilities of Arab national security," read the statement. Egypt also hopes that agreement "would achieve the aspirations of the peoples in the region toward prosperity, development, and stability," added the statement. Earlier on Friday, Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to reestablish diplomatic relations and reopen embassies after years of tensions between the two countries in a deal that was brokered by China. Dr. Musaed bin Muhammad Al-Aiban headed the Saudi delegation at the talks, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA). The agreement includes a commitment to respect the sovereignty of countries and non-interference in their internal affairs, according to SPA. The foreign ministers of both countries will meet to activate the agreement, arrange the exchange of ambassadors, and discuss ways to strengthen relations. Additionally, the security cooperation agreement signed in 2001 and the general agreement for cooperation in various fields signed in 1998 will be activated. The three countries - Saudi Arabia, Iran and China - expressed their commitment to enhancing regional and international peace and security, added SPA. Regional & international reactions Iraq welcomed the agreement reached between Saudi Arabia and Iran, saying it would improve regional cooperation and fulfill the aspirations of all parties. "A new page has been opened in diplomatic relations between the two countries," said a statement from the foreign ministry of Iraq that was published by the Iraqi News Agency (INA) on Friday. The statement noted that "the efforts made by the Iraqi government through Baghdad hosting the dialogue rounds between the two sides" paved the way for reconciliation. It added that these Iraqi efforts "established a solid base for the dialogues that followed through the Sultanate of Oman and the People's Republic of China, leading to the moment of agreement." \ Shortly after the news broke, former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett took to his official Twitter account on Friday to express his concerns regarding the renewal of relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Bennett said: "The renewal of relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran is a serious and dangerous development for Israel and is a political victory for Iran. This is a fatal blow to the effort to build a regional coalition against Iran." His remarks reflect concerns in Israel that Iran's regional influence constitutes a threat to Israel's security. Meanwhile, a White House National Security Council spokesperson said the US is aware of reports that Iran and Saudi Arabia have resumed diplomatic ties, but referred further details to the Saudis. "We welcome any efforts to help end the war in Yemen and de-escalate tensions in Mideast." "De-escalation and diplomacy together with deterrence are key pillars of the policy President Biden outlined during his visit to the region last year," the White House spokesperson told Reuters. Search Keywords: Short link: The Egyptian national airline EgyptAir urged passengers departing on board its Munich-Cairo MS788 flight on Friday to arrive at Cairo International Airport at least four hours prior to departure to Munich due to a strike at Germany's Munich Airport. In an official statement on Thursday, EgyptAir said that it has received a report from Munich airport administration about a partial strike at the terminal set for Friday, March 10, from 5 am till 10 am (Munich local time). EgyptAir urged travelers to arrive to the airport early to avoid the jam expected as a result of the strike and so as not to miss the flight. Search Keywords: Short link: Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi performed Friday prayers at Mosheer Tantawy Mosque in New Cairos Fifth Settlement district on the occasion of Martyrs Day, which falls on 9 March. The president was accompanied by Minister of Defence and Military Production Mohamed Zaki, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmed El-Tayyeb, the country's Grand Mufti Shawki Allam, Minister of Religious Endowments Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa, and Cairo Governor Khaled Abdel-Aal. On Thursday, the president delivered a speech marking the 37th Armed Forces cultural symposium on Martyrs Day held in Cairo. The Armed Forces Martyr's Day was designated in honour of former army chief of staff Abdel-Moneim Riad, who was killed on the front on 9 March 1969. Riad was killed by Israeli fire while overseeing military operations during the War of Attrition against Israel in preparation for the liberation of Sinai. Search Keywords: Short link: An Israeli settler killed an alleged Palestinian assailant in the occupied West Bank on Friday after a gunman wounded three people in Tel Aviv, according to the Israeli army. Tensions remained high a day after Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin had, on a visit to Israel, called for de-escalation ahead of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan in March and the Jewish holiday of Passover in April. But within hours of his appeal, a member of the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas opened fire outside a Tel Aviv cafe, wounding three people before being shot dead by police. The shooting took place Thursday night on Dizengoff Avenue, a popular nightlife spot in Israel's commercial capital, where a Palestinian attack killed three people in April 2022. "I heard gunshots and saw people running away," David Friedmann, a police officer who helped shoot the assailant, told AFP adding that he "ran towards" the scene. "I fired three rounds at him, (a fellow officer) also fired three rounds, and when he fell, he shot again so he wouldn't get up again," he added. On Friday morning an Israeli settler shot dead an armed Palestinian attacker at Dorot Illit settlement in the northern West Bank, the Israeli military said. The West Bank, occupied by Israel since the 1967 Six-Day War, is home to hundreds of thousands of Jewish settlers who live in state-approved settlements considered illegal under international law. "A terrorist armed with knives and explosive devices arrived at the Dorot Illit area" before the settler spotted the assailant, opened fire, and "neutralized" him, it said, later confirming he had been killed. The Palestinian health ministry identified him as Abd al-Karim al-Sheikh, 21. The day after the Tel Aviv shooting, one of the wounded remained in critical condition, said the hospital where he is being treated. US 'disturbed' by settler violence Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said he had ordered the immediate destruction of the Tel Aviv assailant's house in Nilin, near the West Bank city of Ramallah. Such demolitions take place under a long-standing policy to punish the families of Palestinians who kill Israelis. Austin held talks in Israel hours after three suspected Palestinian militants were killed in the West Bank and as protesters rallied against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-right government. Islamic Jihad and Hamas vowed to avenge the deaths. Violence intensified last year but has worsened in the West Bank during the tenure of Netanyahu's government which took office in December, a coalition with ultra-Orthodox Jewish and extreme-right allies. The government of Netanyahu, which is on trial for corruption, has vowed to continue the expansion of West Bank settlements. About 230,000 Israelis live in annexed east Jerusalem, along with at least 360,000 Palestinians who want to make the sector the capital of their future state. But Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations have been stalled since 2014. Austin had said on Thursday, in a joint news conference with Gallant, that the US commitment to Israel's security was "iron-clad". But the US remained "firmly opposed to any acts that could trigger more insecurity, including settlement expansion and inflammatory rhetoric," he said, adding: "We are especially disturbed by violence by settlers against Palestinians." Thousands of Israelis opposed to the Netanyahu government's controversial legal reform plans had blocked roads in and around Ben Gurion airport, near Tel Aviv, forcing a last-minute change of venue for Austin's talks. The new legislation aims to curtail the powers of the supreme court and give politicians greater powers over the selection of judges, raising concerns that it threatens Israel's democracy. Since the start of the year, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has claimed the lives of 77 Palestinian adults and children, including militants and civilians. Twelve Israeli civilians, including three children, and one policeman, as well as one Ukrainian civilian, have been killed over the same period, according to an AFP tally based on official sources from both sides. Search Keywords: Short link: More than 1,000 Africans trying to reach Europe have been rescued in a single night off Tunisia, the coast guard said Friday, after a wave of violence against black migrants. Last month President Kais Saied ordered officials in the North African country to take "urgent measures" to tackle irregular migration, claiming without evidence that "a criminal plot" was underway to change Tunisia's demographic makeup. His comments fuelled attacks, evictions, and other retaliation against migrants, international rights groups said Thursday, after West African countries, flew home hundreds of their fearful nationals. Tunisia's coast guard said in a statement that it had rescued 1,008 migrants overnight Thursday-Friday off the coast, which lies about 130 kilometers (80 miles) from the Italian island of Lampedusa at its closest point. Most of the rescued migrants were from sub-Saharan Africa but 54 Tunisians were also rescued, the coast guard said. Its spokesman added that at least 25 crossing attempts to Italy had been disrupted overnight. Fourteen Africans drowned in the Mediterranean when two migrant boats sank off Tunisia this week, a spokesman for the court in charge of the investigation into the deaths said on Thursday. According to figures from the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES), drawn from official sources, around 21,000 undocumented migrants from other parts of Africa live in Tunisia, a country of about 12 million inhabitants. The World Bank effectively suspended new lending to cash-strapped Tunisia after Saied's remarks. On Wednesday he denied racism. "I am African and I am proud to be African," Saied said in a video released by the presidency. More than 32,000 migrants, including 18,000 Tunisians, reached Italy from Tunisia last year, Rome said in February. Thousands more have departed from neighboring Libya. Search Keywords: Short link: Karam Said keeps up with the most recent development on the Turkish elections scene. On 3 March, the Turkish opposition IYI (Good) Party implicitly signalled its withdrawal from the so-called Table of Six, pushing the opposition bloc to a critical threshold. In a meeting of the Table of Six the previous day, the IYI Party vehemently rejected the proposal of the blocs five other members to support Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of the Republican Peoples Party (CHP), as a joint candidate for president in the forthcoming elections scheduled for 14 May. The party was faced with a choice between death and malaria, IYI Party leader Meral Aksener explained in an emergency meeting of her partys general administrative board which she convened on 3 March. While the other five parties wanted Kilicdaroglu, she said the IYI Party forwarded two names that had gained widespread popularity, leading Erdogan by a wide margin in the opinion polls Mansur Yavas and Ekrem Imamoglu. The party, she said, had argued that the joint presidential candidate should be determined in an empirical and rational manner, but to know avail: They wanted to nominate Kemal Kilicdaroglu while we felt that Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu and Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavas are more appropriate. Both Yavas and Imamoglu are prominent members of the CHP. Akseners stance could weaken the opposition front and damage her party and her own political standing. In addition to IYI and CHP, the Table of Six includes the Islamist Felicity (Saadat) Party (SP), led by Temel Karamollaoglu, the Democrat Party led by Gultekin Uysal, the DEVA Party founded by Ali Babacan and the Future Party founded by Ahmet Davutoglu. Babacan and Davutoglu had been prominent members of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) before forming breakaway parties. Some observers believe that the IYI partys stance could precipitate a domino effect, leading to the collapse of the opposition bloc as a whole and the emergence of new but smaller and less effective blocs. For example, the IYI might align with some smaller parties that share some of its conservative and nationalist outlooks and values and its opposition to Kurdish rights. The fragmentation would naturally work in favour of the electoral prospects of the incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. An opinion poll conducted shortly before the devastating earthquake that struck southern Turkey last month indicated that the opposition parties were failing to gain ground because of their inability to reach a consensus on a joint presidential candidate. Their inability to come up with concrete plans or proposals for reconstructing the areas decimated by the quake could erode popular support. A more recent poll, conducted on 2 March, showed that the ruling AKP holds almost the same level of public support that it held before the earthquake despite the widespread and harsh criticisms that had been levelled against the government for its handling of the aftermath of the disaster and for not having taken the proper precautions to begin with. The other Table of Six members played down the effect of Akseners position on the cohesion of the alliance. Dont worry. All the pieces will come together, said CHP leader Kilicdaroglu, adding that the Table of Six should not be a place for political games or rudeness. But there is no denying that the IYI Partys decision delivered a blow to an alliance whose members agree on little apart from their determination to oust Erdogan and reinstate the parliamentary system. Although Kilicdaroglu, as leader of the main opposition party, is scrambling to hold the coalition together, internal differences and tensions are more likely to surface. This may explain why the five other members restricted their official reactions to brief and vague statements to the press downplaying Akseners remarks. Perhaps the main factor that brought matters to a head in the Table of Six is the court verdict handed down against Ekrem Imamoglu for having insulted a senior election official following the municipal polls that elected him mayor of Istanbul. The court sentenced him to two years and seven months in prison, and bans him from holding political office, but he is still appealing the ruling. Imamoglu is a charismatic figure who outperformed Erdogan in some opinion polls last year. Although the ban would not go into effect unless the verdict is upheld, the ruling threw the Table of Six into a quandary that they had hoped to resolve in their meeting in early March. The loss of the IYI Party from its ranks could reduce the opposition alliances prospects for winning support among large swathes of moderate nationalists and conservative secularists. Meral Aksener, who founded the IYI in 2017, brought together a political gathering that was more liberal and enlightened, and less dogmatic and fanatic than the right wing Nationalist Movement Party (MHK) that she had broken away from. She thus succeeded in forging a new moderate nationalism situated on the moderate right of the Turkish political spectrum. Although Imamoglu and Yavas both issued statements on 4 March, declaring their support for their party leader, Kilicdaroglu, as a candidate for president, this still may not be enough to enable the opposition bloc to weather the challenges that lie ahead. Although Future Party leader Ahmet Davutoglu and DEVA leader Ali Babacan have indicated their continued support for Kilicdaroglus candidacy, they are secretly concerned about the effect this could have on their standing among their respective constituencies. Kilicdaroglus secularist liberal left outlooks will not sit with the DEVA and Future parties religious and conservative bases. Their support for his candidacy could expose them to criticism from both within their parties and from Erdogan and the AKP to which they had once belonged. As firm as her opposition to Kilicdaroglus candidacy is, Akseners implicit withdrawal from the Table of Six has not yet reached the point of formal rupture. She represents the second largest party in this opposition bloc and still shares its other members conviction of the need to overcome differences in order to remove Erdogan through the ballot box and reinstate the parliamentary system. * A version of this article appears in print in the 9 March, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: This week the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi left Tehran on a positive note regarding Irans nuclear programme. Over two days meetings with Iranian officials that culminated with an audience with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Grossi received sweeping assurances of full cooperation on safeguards from the Iranians. Iran is supposed to provide access to information, locations and people, Grossi told a news conference at Vienna Airport soon after returning from Tehran. By the end of his visit, the joint statement said, Iran expressed its readiness to... provide further information and access to address the outstanding safeguards issues. Iran would also allow the re-installation of extra monitoring equipment that had been put in place under the 2015 nuclear deal, but then removed last year as the deal unravelled in the wake of the US withdrawal under then president Donald Trump in 2018 . Yet, it is not clear if the IAEA accepted the Iranian explanation for traces of uranium enriched to 84 per cent a level close to weapons grade fissile material. A quarterly meeting of the IAEAs 35-nation Board of Governors this week will decide on the matter. A confidential IAEA report to member states seen by Reuters, Grossi said, looks forward to... prompt and full implementation of the joint statement. Western powers were expected to push for another resolution in the Board of Governors meeting, ordering Iran to cooperate. European signatories to the 2015 deal Germany, France and the UK want to take the matter to the UN Security Council to further censure Iran, which the Israelis have been pushing for. But according to an exclusive report in the The Wall Street Journal this week, the US administration is not in favour of the kind of public rebuke of Iran that the Europeans and Israelis would like. This news did not receive the warmest of welcomes in Israel, which has been campaigning for more American and European pressure on Iran probably as a pretext to a possible Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear installations. US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin toured the Middle East, visiting Egypt, Israel and Jordan. Though tension in the Occupied Palestinian Territories might be the headline of the visit, Iran was still high on the agenda. So far, the Biden administration is not keen on Israels desire for escalation against Iran to the point of war. But, while the effort to rejoin the nuclear deal remains frozen now, Washington might see the Israelis calculated escalation as a bargaining chip to bring Iran back to the negotiating table and improve provisions for a renewed deal. European and American think tanks have been cautioning against that US approach. At the end of last month Foreign Affairs published a lengthy analysis of the dangers of American tolerance to Israeli escalation towards Iran concluding, the bottom line is that Washington should not put too much faith in its ability to calibrate the pressure to just the right level. Military escalation is containable until it is not, and the time horizon for conflict can be longer and more painful than countries anticipate. Two senior researchers at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) wrote this week in Foreign Policy magazine warning that too little is being done to avert the possibility of war with Iran. They summed up the situation: Military confrontation would be catastrophic. It must be averted before it is too late; war would have significant and counterproductive consequences for the West, Israel, Irans neighbours, and the Iranian people. Arguably even the Gulf countries are not on the same page when it comes to war or negotiations with Iran. Saudi Arabia and Bahrain might be content with any escalation with Iran while Qatar and Oman are for negotiations, with reports noting Doha and Muscat are already playing a behind-the-scenes role in reviving Iranian-American contacts. In fact, some in the region have been expecting the recent escalation in political manoeuvring ahead of a new round of negotiations between Iran and The West. Last month, Saudi political commentator Abdul- Aziz Alkhames told Al-Ahram Weekly that this is a known Iranian tactic: they keep blackmailing the world and at the eleventh hour they compromise and go for a deal. He added then: I still think, as long as the Democrats are in the White House, there will be a deal with Iran. It is essentially just political manoeuvring. The outcome of the IAEA heads visit to Tehran and the promised full cooperation might be a last attempt to return to negotiations to revive the nuclear deal. Though Israel and many in the West are keen to keep the issue of Irans nuclear violations separate from the deal negotiations, the main concerned parties, Tehran and Washington, are using that IAEA dispute to push for returning to dialogue. Though some are anxious enough to compare the latest inspectors dispute to the one that preceded the war on Iraq in 2003, the situation seems totally different. Iran looks like its resetting its position on nuclear cooperation with the UN watchdog. Still, nothing can be ruled out. And if hardliners succeed in referring the matter to the Security Council with another resolution against Iran, escalation may not be avoidable. * A version of this article appears in print in the 9 March, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: Hong Kong: Choi Yuk-lin tours schools in GZ Secretary for Education Choi Yuk-lin today visited two schools in Nansha, Guangzhou. In the morning, the delegation went to Minxin Hong Kong School (Guangzhou Nansha) to observe classes and speak with teachers to learn about the study situation of Hong Kong pupils on the Mainland. Ms Choi then had lunch with Deputy Director of the Office of Hong Kong, Macao & Taiwan Affairs of the Ministry of Education Shu Gangbo and First-level Inspector of the Department of Education of Guangdong Province Zhu Chaohua. In addition to exchanging views on educational issues of mutual concern, they discussed ways to foster education exchanges and co-operation between Guangdong and Hong Kong. In the afternoon, the delegation headed to the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology (Guangzhou) where they met teachers and students while touring the campus. They also attended a thematic seminar about the development opportunities in Nansha and major Guangzhou-Hong Kong co-operative projects concerning the university. The two-day visit by the education delegation for Mainland study tours of the senior secondary subject of citizenship and social development was concluded today. Apart from emphasising that the visit programme was very meaningful, the delegates said they believed the study activities would help students learn about the country, deepen their understanding and appreciation of Chinese culture, and enhance their sense of national identity. This story has been published on: 2023-03-10. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Russia launched a barrage of missile attacks across Ukraine on Thursday, killing at least six people and leaving hundreds of thousands of people without heat and electricity. It was the largest such attack on Ukraine in three weeks, with Ukrainian forces saying they shot down 34 of the 81 missiles that Russia fired, far less than the usual ratio, as well as four Iranian-made drones. Air raid sirens blared through the night across a wide swath of Ukraine, including in western Ukraine, far from the main front battle lines in the eastern regions of the country. The governor of the Lviv region said five people were killed there when a missile hit a residential area. In the Dnipropetrovsk region, officials said the Russian attacks killed one person and injured two others. "The occupiers can only terrorize civilians," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted on Telegram. "That's all they can do. But it won't help them. They won't avoid responsibility for everything they have done." The Russian defense ministry said the attacks were in retaliation for a recent assault on the Bryansk region of western Russia by what Moscow alleged were Ukrainian saboteurs. Ukraine has denied the claim and warned that Moscow could use the allegations to justify stepping up its own assaults. Moscow said it hit military and industrial targets in Ukraine "as well as the energy facilities that supply them." Nearly half of the households in the capital of Kyiv were left without heat as were many in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, where the regional governor said 15 Russian strikes hit the city. About 150,000 households were left without power in Ukraine's northwestern Zhytomyr region. In the southern port of Odesa, emergency blackouts occurred because of damaged power lines. Among the weapons fired were six hypersonic Kinzhal cruise missiles, Ukrainian air force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said. Nuclear Power Fears Thursday's attack also knocked out the power supply to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe's largest. The plant's operator, Energoatom, said diesel generators were being used to run the plant and that there was enough fuel available to continue for 10 days. The plant was later reconnected to the electrical grid. International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Grossi called for urgent action, noting the plant's power supply had been cut for a sixth time since Russia invaded Ukraine more than a year ago. "I am astonished by the complacency -- what are we doing to prevent this happening? We are the IAEA; we are meant to care about nuclear safety," Grossi said. "Each time we are rolling a dice. And if we allow this to continue time after time then one day our luck will run out." Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni on Thursday brought her planned crackdown on people smugglers to a southern town near the coast where a wooden boat packed with migrants broke apart, killing scores and leaving many missing. In a symbolic move to highlight what she has described as her conservative government's genuine concern for migrant lives, Meloni and her ministers flew to Calabria, in the toe of the Italian peninsula, to hold a Cabinet session in Cutro's town council hall. Meloni, anti-migrant leader Matteo Salvini, who heads the infrastructure ministry that includes the coast guard, and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, posed for photos outside the town hall after she was greeted by the local bishop and other dignitaries. The Cabinet was widely expected to approve far stiffer punishments for smugglers, who guide unseaworthy boats crowded with migrants to Italy's shores. Also expected to be adopted are measures to facilitate refugees' access to so-called humanitarian corridors to Europe as they flee persecution or war in their homelands. Many of the dead and survivors in the Feb. 26 tragedy were fleeing from Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and Syria, hoping to join family members in Italy and other Western European countries. Earlier this week, a 72nd body was recovered, nine days after the boat crashed into a sandbank just off Steccato di Cutro beach, started taking on water and splintered apart. Eighty people survived, many of them staggering ashore on the beach after swimming from the wreck. Dozens are still believed to be missing after the wreck of the boat, which survivors said had set out from Turkey with about 180 passengers days earlier. Opposition leaders and humanitarian groups have decried Italian authorities' decision not to quickly dispatch coast guard rescue boats after a Frontex patrol aircraft spotted the wooden boat about 72 kilometers off Calabria's coast hours before the pre-dawn wreck on Cutro's beach in adverse sea conditions. Frontex is the European Union's border and coastal protection agency. President Yoon Suk-yeol will visit Japan on March 16-17 at the invitation of the Japanese government and meet with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the presidential office said Thursday. The last time a Korean president visited the island country was in June 2019. The presidential office here said that means shuttle diplomacy, where the heads of the two countries visit each other every year for a summit, will resume after a 12-year hiatus, making the trip "an important milestone for the improvement and development of bilateral relations." Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno expressed hopes that the visit will help further develop bilateral relations "based on friendly and cooperative ties that were maintained since the normalization of diplomatic relations." A senior presidential official told reporters, "There's been a forward-looking statement from the Japanese government with regard to Japanese export restrictions against Korea. We will also see what will happen to the bilateral intelligence-sharing pact," which was effectively put on hold over the export curbs. Yoon will be accompanied by business leaders on his trip. North Korea fired several short-range ballistic missiles into the West Sea on Thursday, the Joint Chiefs of Staff here said. The provocation comes ahead of yet another large-scale military exercise by South Korea and the U.S. that starts next week. The number of Korean users peaked at 13.4 million in August 2021 but has been declining since, reaching 10.06 million in January this year. According to big data analysis company Mobile Index, 9.8 million Koreans were registered as active users of Facebook on Google Play Store and Apple Appstore last month. It was the first time the number fell below 10 million since Mobile Index began compiling the figures. The number of Facebook users in Korea has fallen below 10 million for the first time as the social network's algorithms increasingly push nothing but spam and younger viewers embrace new platforms like TikTok. Users in their teens and 20s tend to favor Instagram and TikTok, and see Facebook as the preserve of out-of-touch old people. A survey by the Korea Press Foundation showed that the schoolkids who use Facebook fell from 80.3 percent in 2019 to just 46.1 percent in 2022. In contrast, the proportion who use Instagram rose 20.6 percentage points over the same period to 81.6 percent. TikTok is taking over even though Chinese platforms are usually shunned here, and Korean users increased from 3.64 million in May 2020 to 4.13 million last July. Another reason for the exodus is the emergence of alternatives that do not push advertising so hard and are seen as less commercial. Singapore-based Bondee, which allows only up to 50 connections, has become hugely popular by creating a new sense of intimacy, while open-source Mastodon appeals to older, more educated users. There is also a growing trend to disengage from social media in general as people become concerned about their addiction to them. President Yoon Suk-yeol travels to Japan for a two-day visit on March 16 to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the first time in four years that a South Korean president sets foot in the neighboring country. Yoon recently decided to enlist Korean businesses to compensate victims of wartime forced labor under Japanese rule, and to restore regular "shuttle diplomacy" between the two countries that was halted due to historical and territorial disputes 12 years ago. The idea of making South Korean businesses that benefited from lump sum reparations under the 1965 normalization treaty pay compensation to the forced labor victims faces considerable opposition at home. But bilateral relations cannot be left to fester because cooperation is growing ever more essential as the North Korean nuclear threat escalates, China throws its weight around in the region and supply chains are being realigned. That is why U.S. President Joe Biden and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as well as the leaders of Australia, Canada, Germany, the EU and the U.K. have welcomed Yoon's proposal. The American Chamber of Commerce here has even promised to contribute to the force-labor compensation fund, and Japanese companies may chip in voluntarily. Politicians and activists in both countries have been stirring ancient hatred for political gain. But exchanges between ordinary people are booming. One out of every three tourists in Japan so far this year have been Korean, while the Japanese animated movie "Slam Dunk" is a huge success here and Korean pop stars top the Japanese music charts. KYODO NEWS - Mar 10, 2023 - 14:18 | All, Japan, Coronavirus The Diamond Princess liner returned to Yokohama near Tokyo on Friday for the first time since a mass COVID outbreak three years ago led Japan to quarantine those onboard and suspend the arrival of foreign cruise ships until this month. After the ship, with a capacity of around 2,700 passengers, arrived at the Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal at 7:15 a.m., passengers descended for sightseeing. The outbreak of infections on the Diamond Princess in February 2020 led to thousands being quarantined and left 13 of the over 700 infected crew and passengers dead. Japan suspended accepting foreign cruise ships the following month. The country announced in November last year that it would allow foreign cruise ships to return as part of efforts to boost inbound tourism. The Diamond Princess left the United States in February and docked at the Port of Kobe on Wednesday before its arrival in Yokohama. Nobuyoshi Shiratori, a local resident who was taking pictures of the Diamond Princess, said, "It is a large and beautiful ship beyond my expectations. While I hope that (its arrival) will not lead to spreading the coronavirus, I am glad that liveliness has returned to the port." Related coverage: Japan sees 1st foreign cruise ship arrival in 3 years Foreign cruise ships' arrivals in Japan to near pre-COVID level Japan cruise ship returns after passenger tests positive for COVID-19 By Eduardo Martinez, KYODO NEWS - Mar 10, 2023 - 18:27 | All, Japan, World Ukrainian Ambassador to Japan Sergiy Korsunsky said Friday he hopes his country's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, can attend the upcoming Group of Seven summit talks in May in Hiroshima as the "voice of the country," amid increasing fears that Russia could use nuclear weapons on its neighbor. Korsunsky told a press conference in Tokyo that the vast majority of Ukrainians are willing to fight against Russia even in the face of the nuclear threat, adding that "we have to win or disappear" as Russia's war with the country drags into its second year. The war has also shone a spotlight on Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe's largest nuclear facility, which fell into Russian control in the early phase of the invasion. Russian attacks near the plant have repeatedly led to a temporary loss of power supply to the facility, heightening concerns about a serious accident in the country that suffered the world's worst nuclear disaster in 1986 in Chernobyl. Speaking on the eve of the 12th anniversary of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, which triggered the Fukushima nuclear disaster, Korsunksy said nuclear power is an "important source of energy" and he saw no need to decommission all nuclear power plants because of the two major accidents. The ambassador voiced support for Japan's plan to discharge treated water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi power plant into the nearby sea, saying the plan has been "managed in a proper and scientifically justified way" and "is very carefully designed not to harm the environment." The plan, for which Japan will seek endorsement from G-7 nations when it hosts a meeting of the group's energy ministers in April, has drawn concerns from neighboring countries such as China and South Korea. Vast amounts of water used to continually cool melted fuel and fuel debris have been accumulating in over 1,000 storage tanks at the coastal plant. With the tanks nearing capacity, the government and the plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc., are set to discharge the water into the Pacific Ocean beginning around this spring or summer. The government says the treated water, which contains low-level concentrations of tritium, will be diluted with seawater so the levels will be lower than the World Health Organization's tritium limit in drinking water. But local fishing communities remain opposed to the plan, while China has urged Japan to "properly handle this matter in a responsible manner." Related coverage: Zelenskyy open to visiting Hiroshima for G-7 summit: Ukraine envoy KYODO NEWS - Mar 10, 2023 - 20:48 | Sports, All Two-time Olympic figure skating champion Yuzuru Hanyu premiered an ice show Friday marking the 12th anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami disaster that devastated northeastern Japan. Entitled "notte stellata," meaning starry night in Italian, the show runs through Sunday at Sekisui Heim Super Arena in Hanyu's home prefecture of Miyagi, which was hit hard by the disaster. Hanyu was practicing in his hometown Sendai when the earthquake and tsunami struck, causing his family to lose their home. The name of the new production was inspired by the comfort he took from looking at the night sky while forced to live in a temporary shelter. He moved his training base to Canada the year after the disaster, going on to win the first of his two consecutive men's individual figure skating gold medals at the 2014 Sochi Games. Hanyu has been active in raising funds to help emergency relief, including donating royalties from book sales. Since retiring from competitive figure skating last year, he has focused on producing and starring in his own ice shows. He performed a one-day-only show in front of a sold-out Tokyo Dome last month. His latest production features guest appearances from retired figure skater Akiko Suzuki and retired two-time Olympic men's all-around gymnastics champion Kohei Uchimura. Related coverage: Figure skating: Yuzuru Hanyu performs solo ice show at Tokyo Dome Yuzuru Hanyu becomes face of 2022 in Yahoo Japan's portal searches KYODO NEWS - Mar 10, 2023 - 14:44 | All, World Chinese President Xi Jinping was unanimously re-elected to a norm-breaking third term at a plenary session of the country's parliament Friday, with a new government leadership set to face challenges such as dealing with a deepening rivalry with the United States. Last October, the 69-year-old started a historic third five-year term as general secretary of the ruling Communist Party. The party has supreme political power in China and senior government positions are held by party leaders. In 2018, China removed the two-term limit for the president from its Constitution, essentially enabling Xi to retain power for life. Xi took the oath of office by pledging to build a "powerful modern socialist country." The National People's Congress also elected Vice Premier Han Zheng, 68, who retired from the Communist Party's apex of power last October, as vice president and Zhao Leji, 66, who was promoted to the party's No. 3 post in October, as chairman of the NPC Standing Committee which puts him at the head of the top legislative body. They respectively replaced Wang Qishan and Li Zhanshu. Han is expected to help Xi steer diplomacy in place of Wang, who made numerous foreign visits during his five-year term including attending the state funeral of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and the inauguration ceremony of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Zhao formerly headed the commission for discipline inspection, the Communist Party's anti-corruption body. Xi's close aide Li Qiang, a former Shanghai party boss who is ranked No. 2 in the Communist Party's highest decision-making body -- the seven-strong Politburo Standing Committee -- is certain to be elected premier on Saturday. He will replace Premier Li Keqiang, who will retire after serving two five-year terms. The parliamentary session attended by some 3,000 delegates at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing also approved a plan to reorganize government institutions. The plan covers the establishment of a new national data bureau and national financial regulatory administration as well as strengthening functions of the science and technology ministry. The data bureau will push forward the building of the digital economy, while the financial body will regulate aspects of the financial industry apart from the securities sector. The restructured science and technology ministry will be in charge of promoting technological breakthroughs, optimizing innovation and facilitating the application of advances. Related coverage: China warns Japan not to join U.S. efforts to contain it China sets modest 2023 GDP goal of some 5% after COVID Xi Jinping secures unprecedented 3rd term as China party chief KYODO NEWS - Mar 10, 2023 - 12:28 | All, Japan Police on Friday searched a century-old ryokan-style inn in southwestern Japan that had only changed its hot-spring bathwater twice a year, allowing legionella bacteria to proliferate beyond the allowable limit. Daimaru Besso, the inn in Chikushino, Fukuoka Prefecture, is alleged to have falsely reported to the prefectural government that it had changed the bathwater in the proper manner and added chlorine, after an inspection in August last year found legionella at twice the limit. An additional inspection in November found the bacteria level had skyrocketed to 3,700 times the limit, prompting the prefectural government to demand the inn rectify the situation. The prefecture filed a criminal complaint this week for suspected violations of the Public Bath Houses Act. At a press conference late last month, Makoto Yamada, then head of the inn operator, admitted making a false report, saying, "I told my staff it was OK not to change the bathwater as fewer people were using it." Yamada also admitted to instructing staff to falsify bathwater chlorination records submitted to a public health office despite knowing that doing so was against the law. A local ordinance says recirculated bathwater that is used on a daily basis must be changed at least once a week. The inn was founded in 1865 and its past guests include Emperor Hirohito, posthumously known as Emperor Showa, according to its website. Related coverage: Japan inn operator admits telling staff not to change hot-spring bathwater Japan inn in hot water for bathwater bacteria 3,700 times the limit By Takuya Karube, KYODO NEWS - Mar 10, 2023 - 11:06 | All, World U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday proposed a record defense budget of $886 billion for fiscal 2024, up 3.3 percent from the previous year as his administration prioritizes China as its pacing challenge and seeks to boost deterrence in the Indo-Pacific region. The administration plans to spend a total of $6.88 trillion, an increase of 8 percent, in the whole federal budget for the year starting Oct. 1, but at the same time it pledged to trim the national deficit by nearly $3 trillion over 10 years by levying more taxes on billionaires, large companies and investors. Budgets are not typically enacted by Congress as initially proposed. Given that control of the House of Representatives went in last November's midterm elections to the Republicans, who oppose tax increases and want to slash spending, Biden's latest budget is certain to face hurdles prior to approval. Only a few points of the proposal are likely to be accepted by both Democrats and Republicans, with less than two years to go until the 2024 presidential election. Although the proposed budget may serve only as a basis for forthcoming congressional discussions, the two parties are unlikely to refuse to come to terms on increasing spending on national defense as they are both wary of China's muscle-flexing. "This budget cements our commitment to confronting global challenges and keeping America safe," Biden said in the proposal. "It outlines crucial investments to out-compete China globally and to continue support for Ukraine in the face of unprovoked Russian aggression." The Democrat president said the increase will contribute to boosting integrated deterrence in the Indo-Pacific and elsewhere along with allies and partners. He also said it will enable the Defense Department "to counter other persistent threats including those posed by North Korea, Iran and violent extremist organizations." The proposed budget includes over $2.3 billion in discretionary funding for the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development to promote an "open, secure, and connected Indo-Pacific" and to strengthen Washington's alliances in the region. Of the total, the Pentagon alone sought $842 billion for the next fiscal year, representing a $26 billion, or 3.2 percent, rise from the 2023 enacted level, of which it allocated $9.1 billion to its programs intended to optimize U.S. military capabilities in the region. The blueprint also includes $37.7 billion for the Pentagon to secure a strong nuclear deterrent, noting that it remains "a foundational aspect of integrated deterrence." The details of the Pentagon's request are not yet available and they are due to be disclosed on Monday. China said Sunday at the opening of the annual gathering of the National People's Congress that it plans a 7.2 percent increase in this year's defense budget to 1.55 trillion yuan ($225 billion). In the afternoon, Biden delivered a speech at a union hall in the battleground state of Philadelphia to outline his budget plan priorities, emphasizing that they are needed to help working people and rebuild the middle class. "I value everyone having an even shot, not just labor but small business owners, farmers and so many other people who hold the country together who've been basically invisible for a long time," Biden told the crowd. Reversing course from his predecessor Donald Trump, who gave tax breaks to the rich, Biden said he wants to restore the top tax rate of 39.6 percent for people earning more than $400,000 annually, while vowing no tax hikes for anyone making less than that amount. The proposal also includes raising tax rates for capital gains and corporate profits as well as scrapping tax breaks for oil and gas companies. Overall, the Biden administration estimates the revenue for the next fiscal year to be $5.04 trillion, while the deficit is expected to increase to $1.85 trillion from $1.57 trillion. The total budgetary deficit over the 10 years until fiscal 2033 is likely to stand at $17.05 trillion. Related coverage: U.S. eyes new framework on nuclear deterrence with Japan, South Korea Biden to host South Korea's president for state visit on April 26 U.S. unveils new sanctions against Russia, more aid for Ukraine KYODO NEWS - Mar 10, 2023 - 08:48 | World, All North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered the military to be ready to fight and called for intensified exercises after he oversaw a "fire assault drill" that demonstrated a capability "to counter an actual war," state-run media reported Friday. The report came a day after North Korea fired at least one short-range ballistic missile from the western city of Nampo toward the Yellow Sea, according to the South Korean military. The launch came ahead of a major joint military exercise known as the "Freedom Shield" between South Korea and the United States next week. Photos released by the Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the Workers' Party of Korea, showed six missiles fired simultaneously, as well as Kim with his daughter during Thursday's drill. The official Korean Central News Agency said Kim guided a unit trained for "strike missions in the definite and minute war posture of containing any military moves of the enemy at a time" that "fired a powerful volley at the targeted waters." Kim urged the military to "always stay alert for all sorts of more frantic war preparation moves being committed by the enemy recently," and be ready "to overwhelmingly respond to and contain them," according to KCNA. He also called for assault units to intensify "various simulated drills for real war" and be prepared to carry out two missions which are "first to deter war and second to take the initiative in war." The KCNA report did not mention the type or volume of artillery used on Thursday. The "Freedom Shield" exercise is designed to strengthen the defense posture of South Korea and the United States against growing threats from North Korea. South Korea's spy agency recently said the North may fire an intercontinental ballistic missile to coincide with the exercise. Tensions on the Korean Peninsula remain high, with North Korea having last year launched missiles on a record 37 occasions. Related coverage: North Korea fires short-range ballistic missile: South Korean military North Korea's Kim calls for increase in grain production in key meeting North Korea says it fired cruise missiles that flew 2,000 km KYODO NEWS - Mar 10, 2023 - 22:27 | World, All, Japan Nearly 60 percent of South Koreans said they are against a move to resolve a wartime labor row between the country and Japan that would see Seoul compensate former Korean laborers, a public opinion poll found Friday. The result by Gallup Korea reflects public antagonism toward the resolution, which would not require direct payments from Japanese companies, regarding alleged forced labor during Japan's colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. The survey found 59 percent of respondents are opposed to the plan as they believe it provides no apology or reparations from Japan, while 35 percent said the solution will help bilateral relations and national interest. The South Korean government announced earlier in the week its decision to compensate wartime laborers under Japan's 1910-1945 colonization through a government foundation with donations from South Korean companies. The move came after two Japanese firms -- Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. and Nippon Steel Corp. -- were ordered in separate rulings by South Korea's Supreme Court in 2018 to pay damages to former Korean laborers and their relatives over alleged forced labor during World War II. The two Japanese companies have refused to comply with the South Korean top court rulings, as the Japanese government has maintained that all issues stemming from its colonization of the Korean Peninsula were settled under a bilateral agreement signed in 1965. Efforts to mend ties between Japan and South Korea have accelerated under South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who took office last year. Sixty-four percent of those surveyed said they do not view the compensation from a government-backed foundation as reparations, while 27 percent answered that they do. Yoon's approval rating stood at 34 percent, down two percentage points from the previous week. Meanwhile, Gallup Korea found that 85 percent believe the current Japanese government is not remorseful about its colonial rule or historical issues. Related coverage: South Korea President Yoon to visit Japan on March 16 amid improving ties Japan, South Korea move to solve wartime labor dispute, other concerns KYODO NEWS - Mar 10, 2023 - 20:28 | World, All Former Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin was charged on Friday with corruption and money laundering over dealings related to a COVID-19 fund he set up while in power, dealing a blow to the opposition ahead of state elections in the coming months. Muhyiddin, who was in office between March 2020 and August 2021, pleaded not guilty at a Kuala Lumpur court to all charges, including abusing his power as prime minister and president of his Bersatu party to solicit and receive bribes totaling roughly 230 million ringgit ($51 million) from various sources on behalf of Bersatu. The four corruption charges could see him facing a maximum of 20 years in prison, while the two money-laundering charges could mean up to 15 years in prison, in addition to a hefty fine, if he is convicted. Speaking to reporters outside the court, Muhyiddin slammed the charges as a form of "organized political persecution" by the ruling coalition parties intended to destroy the opposition. He urged party members to stay calm, saying, "Give me the chance to defend myself through the legal process." Muhyiddin was detained Thursday when he presented himself for questioning over the Jana Wibawa program, created as part of a COVID-19 stimulus package to assist ethnic Malay contractors under a government affirmative action policy. He was released on bail later in the day. The move came ahead of six state elections, which must be held by August. Muhyiddin is the second prime minister to face corruption charges after former Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, who is serving a 12-year jail term after millions of dollars found in his bank account were later traced to a subsidiary belonging to the beleaguered state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad. Muhyiddin came to power just as COVID-19 swept across the globe, which he responded to by instituting strict public health measures, including closing the country's borders and imposing emergency rules. But his reign lasted only 17 months due to a power struggle between the United Malays National Organization and Bersatu. Muhyiddin was in a neck-and-neck race for the premiership with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim after the general election last November that resulted in a hung parliament. Muhyiddin's National Alliance, anchored by the ethnic Malay-centric Bersatu, lost against Anwar's multi-ethnic Alliance of Hope, but Anwar was only able to secure the top job after another bloc -- the National Front -- threw its support behind Anwar. Related coverage: Opposition leader Anwar sworn in as Malaysia's PM Malaysia faces hung parliament after election, ex-PM Mahathir loses Malaysians vote in general election amid political instability This photo taken on March 9, 2023 shows the scene of a train-bus collision in Lagos, Nigeria. The death toll has climbed to seven in the collision early Thursday in Lagos, Nigeria's economic hub, various sources told Xinhua. (Photo by Toye Ayoku/Xinhua) LAGOS, March 9 (Xinhua) -- The death toll has climbed to seven in a train-bus collision early Thursday in Lagos, Nigeria's economic hub, various sources told Xinhua. According to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), three dead bodies were retrieved on the spot after a state government staff bus crammed with about 90 people collided with a train while trying to cross the rail at 7:20 a.m., local time, Thursday. The NEMA said around 84 people have been injured, and all the casualties are from the bus. Hospital sources told Xinhua that four out of the injured were later confirmed dead, bringing the death toll to seven. A rescue operation is underway. This photo taken on March 9, 2023 shows the scene of a train-bus collision in Lagos, Nigeria. The death toll has climbed to seven in the collision early Thursday in Lagos, Nigeria's economic hub, various sources told Xinhua. (Photo by Toye Ayoku/Xinhua) This photo taken on March 9, 2023 shows the scene of a train-bus collision in Lagos, Nigeria. The death toll has climbed to seven in the collision early Thursday in Lagos, Nigeria's economic hub, various sources told Xinhua. (Photo by Toye Ayoku/Xinhua) Buyers check on tobacco at the Tobacco Auction Floors in Harare, Zimbabwe, March 9, 2023. Zimbabwe's 2023 tobacco marketing season opened on Wednesday. Tobacco is Zimbabwe's largest agricultural export earner and the second-largest commodity export earner after gold. (Photo by Shaun Jusa/Xinhua) HARARE, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwe's 2023 tobacco marketing season opened on Wednesday with Vice President Constantino Chiwenga calling for increased value addition of the crop before it is exported. "It is disheartening that we export 98 percent of our tobacco in semi-processed form, which means we are literally exporting jobs and value," Chiwenga said when he officially opened the selling season. The first kg was sold for 4.35 U.S. dollars compared to 4.20 U.S. dollars last year. Chiwenga said he was pleased to note that the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development is in advanced discussions for the value addition of tobacco with both local and foreign investors. Zimbabwe is projected to produce 230 million kilograms of tobacco this year, up from 212 million kg last year following good rains and increased hectarage. Chiwenga said Zimbabwe is aiming to increase tobacco production to 300 million kg and the level of value addition from the current 2 percent to 30 percent by 2025. Patrick Devenish, the chairman of the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board, said there was increased appetite by farmers to grow the crop, as 3,283 new growers were registered. Devenish said sales will be conducted in Harare as well as in five decentralized centers throughout the country. Tobacco is Zimbabwe's largest agricultural export earner and the second-largest commodity export earner after gold. A farmer checks on her tobacco before an auction at the Tobacco Auction Floors in Harare, Zimbabwe, March 9, 2023. Zimbabwe's 2023 tobacco marketing season opened on Wednesday. Tobacco is Zimbabwe's largest agricultural export earner and the second-largest commodity export earner after gold.(Photo by Shaun Jusa/Xinhua) Participants attend the groundbreaking ceremony of BYD Passenger Vehicle Manufacturing Base in Thailand, in Rayong, Thailand, March 10, 2023. China's leading electric vehicle manufacturer BYD held a groundbreaking ceremony on Friday for its first car plant in Thailand, marking the latest move by Chinese automakers to expand their footprint in Southeast Asia. (Xinhua/Wang Teng) RAYONG, Thailand, March 10 (Xinhua) -- China's leading electric vehicle manufacturer BYD held a groundbreaking ceremony on Friday for its first car plant in Thailand, marking the latest move by Chinese automakers to expand their footprint in Southeast Asia. The new factory, located in the Eastern Economic Corridor Special Zone in coastal Rayong province, is expected to serve as a hub for the production and distribution of electric vehicles (EVs) in Thailand, neighboring ASEAN countries and other regions. As a major player in the global EV market, BYD's cumulative sales of new energy vehicles exceeded 1.86 million units in 2022, representing a year-on-year increase of 208.6 percent, according to the company. Joining SAIC Motor's MG and Great Wall Motor, BYD becomes another Chinese car brand to establish manufacturing operations in Thailand, a market that has long been dominated by Japanese brands. Last year, BYD brought its most popular model, the ATTO3, to Thailand. Liu Xueliang, general manager of BYD Asia-Pacific Auto Sales Division, described the sales scene as "booming" with people lining up overnight to purchase the car. The sales target of 10,000 units was achieved in just 42 days. On the day of the groundbreaking ceremony, BYD also held a delivery ceremony for the 9,999th and 10,000th ATTO 3 cars. The plant is scheduled to start production in 2024 with an annual capacity of 150,000 new energy vehicles. BYD's investment in Thailand is also in line with the Thai government's goal of having 30 percent of vehicles manufactured in the country be EVs by 2030. "BYD's decision to make Thailand its production base in the Asia-Pacific region aligns with Thailand's bio-, circular and green (BCG) economic model and the direction of China's green and sustainable development," said Wang Liping, minister-counsellor for economic and commercial affairs of the Chinese Embassy in Thailand. "This move will not only create more job opportunities and drive economic development in Thailand but also promote the deep integration of the new energy vehicle industries in China and Thailand," he added. Thai officials, including Thailand Board of Investment Secretary General Narit Therdsteerasukdi and Rayong Province Deputy Governor Suphot Torartharn, warmly welcomed BYD's entry into Thailand. They believe that BYD's presence in the Thai market will invigorate the country's EV industry. According to data from the Thailand Automotive Institute and the Department of Land Transport, sales of pure electric vehicles in Thailand reached 13,454 units last year, a sharp increase over the past few years, representing a year-on-year increase of 588.5 percent. Many EV brands have joined the government's subsidy measures, including Chinese, Western and Japanese companies, said Kevalin Wangpichayasuk, assistant managing director of Kasikorn Research Center, adding that this is not only good news for car buyers who will have more choices, but also for the Thai automotive industry during the transition period to catch up with future trends. Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw (Front) prepares to testify at a hearing before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on protecting public health and the environment in the wake of the Norfolk Southern train derailment and chemical release in East Palestine, Ohio in Washington, D.C., the United States, March 9, 2023. The chief executive of U.S. transportation company Norfolk Southern said on Thursday that he's "deeply sorry" for the impact of the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, in early February. Local residents, meanwhile, are demanding more action. (Photo by Aaron Schwartz/Xinhua) WASHINGTON, March 9 (Xinhua) -- The chief executive of U.S. transportation company Norfolk Southern said on Thursday that he's "deeply sorry" for the impact of the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, in early February. Local residents, meanwhile, are demanding more action. At a Senate hearing on Capitol Hill, Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw said the railroad "will clean the site safely, thoroughly, and with urgency," noting that the company has committed to reimbursements and investments of more than 20 million U.S. dollars in order to address the impact of the derailment. U.S. Senator Thomas Carper said the hearing "is an opportunity to put ourselves in the shoes of those impacted by this disaster, examine the immediate response and ensure long-term accountability for the clean-up efforts." A Norfolk Southern freight train carrying hazardous materials derailed in East Palestine on Feb. 3, which resulted in a significant fire and hazardous materials release in the area. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said last week that it will require Norfolk Southern to test directly for dioxins in East Palestine. "If dioxins are found at a level that poses any unacceptable risk to human health and the environment, EPA will direct the immediate cleanup of the area as needed," the agency said. Jami Cozza, an East Palestine resident, wrote in an opinion published by MSNBC on Thursday that her family's lives "were turned upside down" and that "a toxicologist found that my house was unsafe for me and my family." "The information we've gotten from the company and different government agencies has been confusing and contradictory," Cozza said. "Politicians from both parties promise action, but we're still waiting." "When the national media loses interest and the celebrities finally go home, our community will still be left dealing with this disaster," Cozza warned. "My story is just like so many others," she added. "The only path forward for us is to come together and demand action from both Norfolk Southern and federal and state officials." The incident involved 11 tank cars carrying hazardous materials that subsequently ignited, fueling fires that damaged an additional 12 non-derailed railcars. First responders implemented an evacuation zone surrounding the derailment site that affected up to 2,000 residents. There were no reported fatalities or injuries, according to a report issued by the National Transportation Security Board (NTSB). Responders mitigated the fire on Feb. 5, the NTSB report said. But five derailed "specification tank cars carrying 115,580 gallons of vinyl chloride" continued to concern authorities because the temperature inside one tank car was still rising. The NTSB said responders later scheduled a "controlled venting" of the five vinyl chloride tank cars to release and burn the vinyl chloride and dug ditches to contain released vinyl chloride liquid while it vaporized and burned. The controlled venting began on Feb. 6, which discharged toxic and potentially deadly fumes into the air. While residents were allowed to return to their homes in East Palestine two days later, they remain concerned about the handling of the incident as well as the health impact of exposure to those chemicals. Headache, anxiety, coughing, fatigue and irritation, pain, and burning of the skin continue to be the most common symptoms reported by residents in the East Palestine area, according to a health assessment survey. Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw testifies at a hearing before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on protecting public health and the environment in the wake of the Norfolk Southern train derailment and chemical release in East Palestine, Ohio in Washington, D.C., the United States, March 9, 2023. The chief executive of U.S. transportation company Norfolk Southern said on Thursday that he's "deeply sorry" for the impact of the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, in early February. Local residents, meanwhile, are demanding more action. (Photo by Aaron Schwartz/Xinhua) Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw (Front) testifies at a hearing before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on protecting public health and the environment in the wake of the Norfolk Southern train derailment and chemical release in East Palestine, Ohio in Washington, D.C., the United States, March 9, 2023. The chief executive of U.S. transportation company Norfolk Southern said on Thursday that he's "deeply sorry" for the impact of the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, in early February. Local residents, meanwhile, are demanding more action. (Photo by Aaron Schwartz/Xinhua) Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw testifies at a hearing before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on protecting public health and the environment in the wake of the Norfolk Southern train derailment and chemical release in East Palestine, Ohio in Washington, D.C., the United States, March 9, 2023. The chief executive of U.S. transportation company Norfolk Southern said on Thursday that he's "deeply sorry" for the impact of the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, in early February. Local residents, meanwhile, are demanding more action. (Photo by Aaron Schwartz/Xinhua) Xi Jinping, newly elected president of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and chairman of the Central Military Commission of the PRC, makes a public pledge of allegiance to the Constitution at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. Xi was unanimously elected president of the People's Republic of China and chairman of the Central Military Commission of the PRC at the third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) on Friday. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi) BEIJING, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Xi Jinping, newly elected president of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and chairman of the Central Military Commission of the PRC, made a public pledge of allegiance to the Constitution at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Friday. Press Release March 10, 2023 REVILLA TO TEVES: COME HOME AND FACE ACCUSATION Senator Ramon Bong Revilla, Jr. today called on fellow lawmaker Arnolfo Teves, Jr. of the 3rd District of Negros Oriental to return to the Philippines and confront the allegation that he masterminded the assassination of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo. "Kailangan niyang bumalik sa Pilipinas at harapin ang mga alegasyon. That is just the most prudent and right thing to do lalo na at isa siyang halal na opisyal. Linisin niya ang kanyang pangalan kung talagang wala siyang kinalaman," Revilla said. "Flight is an indication of guilt at kung wala siyang kinalaman, hindi niya gugustuhin na ganun ang mangyari," he explained. This is after suspected hitmen publicly identified him as the brains behind the slay which the Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) Degamo confirmed Thursday, March 9, 2023. Police Lieutenant Colonel Gerard Ace Pelare, SITG Degamo spokesperson, said the suspects arrested in their manhunt operations revealed in an interview with the media in Manila on Thursday, March 9, that Teves ordered them to kill Degamo. Revilla also called on the other perpetrators still at large to give themselves up and surrender as he said the long arm of the law is closing in. He cited the President's resolve to put an end to senseless violence and warlordism and assured those on the run that they will be caught by any means necessary sooner than later. "No less than President Bongbong Marcos is overseeing this," Revilla pointed out. President Bongbong Marcos earlier warned all those involved in the killing: "You can run but you cannot hide." "We will find you. If you surrender now it will be your best option," he strongly warned. BEIJING, March 10 (Xinhua) -- A total of 14 people were elected vice chairpersons of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), China's national legislature, on Friday. They are Li Hongzhong, Wang Dongming, Xiao Jie, Zheng Jianbang, Ding Zhongli, Hao Mingjin, Cai Dafeng, He Wei, Wu Weihua, Tie Ning, Peng Qinghua, Zhang Qingwei, Losang Jamcan, and Shohrat Zakir. Liu Qi was elected secretary-general of the 14th NPC Standing Committee. The following is a brief introduction of them: Li Hongzhong is elected vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the ongoing session of the 14th NPC in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua) Li Hongzhong Li Hongzhong, male, Han ethnicity, was born in August 1956 and is from Changle, Shandong Province. He began his first job in August 1975 and joined the Communist Party of China (CPC) in December 1976. He graduated from the Department of History, Jilin University where he completed an undergraduate program in history. He holds a professional title of economist. Li is currently a member of the Political Bureau of the 20th CPC Central Committee and vice chairman of the 14th NPC Standing Committee. Wang Dongming is elected vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the ongoing session of the 14th NPC in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua) Wang Dongming Wang Dongming, male, Han ethnicity, was born in July 1956 and is from Kuandian, Liaoning Province. He began his first job in August 1975 and joined the Communist Party of China (CPC) in June 1975. He received a graduate education at the Central Party School. Wang is currently a member of the 20th CPC Central Committee, vice chairman of the 14th NPC Standing Committee and chairman of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions. Xiao Jie is elected vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the ongoing session of the 14th NPC in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua) Xiao Jie Xiao Jie, male, Han ethnicity, was born in June 1957 and is from Kaiyuan, Liaoning Province. He began his first job in March 1976 and joined the Communist Party of China (CPC) in August 1985. He graduated from the Research Institute for Fiscal Science of the Ministry of Finance where he completed an in-service graduate program in public finance. He holds a Doctor of Economics degree and a professional title of economist. Xiao is currently a member of the 20th CPC Central Committee and vice chairman of the 14th NPC Standing Committee. Zheng Jianbang is elected vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the ongoing session of the 14th NPC in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua) Zheng Jianbang Zheng Jianbang, male, Han ethnicity, was born in January 1957 and is from Shimen, Hunan Province. He is a member of the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang (RCCK). He began his first job in August 1976 and graduated from Northeast Normal University where he completed an undergraduate program in economics. Zheng is currently vice chairman of the 14th NPC Standing Committee and chairman of the RCCK Central Committee. Ding Zhongli is elected vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the ongoing session of the 14th NPC in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua) Ding Zhongli Ding Zhongli, male, Han ethnicity, was born in January 1957 and is from Shengzhou, Zhejiang Province. He is a member of the China Democratic League (CDL). He began his first job in August 1988 and graduated from the Institute of Geology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) where he completed a graduate program in paleontology and stratigraphy. He holds a Doctor of Science degree and a professional title of research fellow, and is a CAS academician. Ding is currently vice chairman of the 14th NPC Standing Committee and chairman of the CDL Central Committee. Hao Mingjin is elected vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the ongoing session of the 14th NPC in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua) Hao Mingjin Hao Mingjin, male, Han ethnicity, was born in December 1956 and is from Jiaxiang, Shandong Province. He is a member of the China National Democratic Construction Association (CNDCA). He began his first job in December 1971 and graduated from the Law School of China University of Political Science and Law where he completed a graduate program in sciences of procedure law. He holds a Doctor of Law degree and a professional title of professor. Hao is currently vice chairman of the 14th NPC Standing Committee, chairman of the CNDCA Central Committee and president of the Central Institute of Socialism. Cai Dafeng is elected vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the ongoing session of the 14th NPC in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua) Cai Dafeng Cai Dafeng, male, Han ethnicity, was born in June 1960 and is from Ningbo, Zhejiang Province. He is a member of the China Association for Promoting Democracy (CAPD). Cai began his first job in July 1985. He graduated from the Department of Architecture, Tongji University where he completed a graduate program in architecture history and theories. He holds a Doctor of Engineering degree and a professional title of professor. Cai is currently vice chairman of the 14th NPC Standing Committee and chairman of the CAPD Central Committee. He Wei is elected vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the ongoing session of the 14th NPC in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua) He Wei He Wei, male, Han ethnicity, was born in December 1955 and is from Harbin, Heilongjiang Province. He is a member of the Chinese Peasants and Workers Democratic Party (CPWDP). He began his first job in December 1975. He graduated from Heidelberg University, Germany, where he completed a graduate program in immunology. He holds a Doctor of Medicine degree and a professional title of professor. He is currently vice chairman of the 14th NPC Standing Committee and chairman of the CPWDP Central Committee. Wu Weihua is elected vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the ongoing session of the 14th NPC in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua) Wu Weihua Wu Weihua, male, Han ethnicity, was born in September 1956 and is from Xiaoyi, Shanxi Province. He is a member of the Jiusan Society. Wu began his first job in December 1974. He graduated from the State University of New Jersey where he completed a graduate program in plant sciences. He holds a Doctor of Science degree and a professional title of professor. He is an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Wu is currently vice chairman of the 14th NPC Standing Committee and chairman of the Jiusan Society Central Committee. Tie Ning is elected vice chairperson of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the ongoing session of the 14th NPC in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua) Tie Ning Tie Ning, female, Han ethnicity, was born in September 1957 and is from Zhaoxian, Hebei Province. She began her first job in July 1975 and joined the Communist Party of China (CPC) in November 1975. Tie holds a high-school degree and a top-degree professional title in creative writing. Tie is currently a member of the 20th CPC Central Committee, vice chairperson of the 14th NPC Standing Committee, chairperson of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, and chairperson of the China Writers Association. Peng Qinghua is elected vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the ongoing session of the 14th NPC in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua) Peng Qinghua Peng Qinghua, male, Han ethnicity, was born in April 1957 and is from Daye, Hubei Province. He began his first job in August 1974 and joined the Communist Party of China in June 1976. He graduated from Sun Yat-sen University where he completed an in-service graduate program in business administration. He holds a Doctor of Management degree and a professional title of research fellow. Peng is currently vice chairman of the 14th NPC Standing Committee. Zhang Qingwei is elected vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the ongoing session of the 14th NPC in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua) Zhang Qingwei Zhang Qingwei, male, Han ethnicity, was born in November 1961 and is from Laoting, Hebei Province. He began his first job in August 1982 and joined the Communist Party of China (CPC) in December 1992. He graduated from Northwestern Polytechnical University where he completed a graduate program in aircraft design. He holds a Doctor of Management degree and a professional title of research fellow. Zhang is currently a member of the 20th CPC Central Committee, vice chairman of the 14th NPC Standing Committee, secretary of the CPC Hunan Provincial Committee, and chairman of the Standing Committee of the Hunan Provincial People's Congress. Losang Jamcan is elected vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the ongoing session of the 14th NPC in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua) Losang Jamcan Losang Jamcan, male, Tibetan ethnicity, was born in July 1957 and is from Chagyab, Tibet Autonomous Region. He began his first job in February 1976 and joined the Communist Party of China (CPC) in December 1978. He received a graduate education at the Central Party School. He is currently vice chairman of the 14th NPC Standing Committee, deputy secretary of the CPC Tibet Autonomous Regional Committee and chairman of the Standing Committee of the Tibet Autonomous Regional People's Congress. Shohrat Zakir is elected vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the ongoing session of the 14th NPC in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua) Shohrat Zakir Shohrat Zakir, male, Uygur ethnicity, was born in August 1953 and is from Yining, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. He began his first job in December 1970 and joined the Communist Party of China in June 1985. He received an undergraduate education at the Central Party School and holds an executive MBA degree. He is currently vice chairman of the 14th NPC Standing Committee. Liu Qi Liu Qi, male, Han ethnicity, was born in September 1957 and is from Yishui, Shandong Province. He began his first job in March 1974 and joined the Communist Party of China in October 1976. He graduated from Xi'an Jiaotong University where he completed an in-service graduate program in applied economics. He holds a Doctor of Economics degree and a professional title of senior engineer. Liu is currently secretary-general of the 14th NPC Standing Committee. Children from an earthquake-stricken area are pictured at a shelter in the city of Jableh, Latakia province, Syria, March 9, 2023. According to recent data, the earthquakes that struck Syria and Turkiye on Feb. 6, and subsequent powerful quakes, have killed more than 51,000 people in the two countries, and left millions sheltering in tents. In Syria, at least 8.8 million people were affected by the earthquakes. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua) UNITED NATIONS, March 9 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations and its specialized agencies continue delivering aid for victims of last month's Syria-Turkiye earthquakes, a UN spokesman said on Thursday. In Syria, at least 8.8 million people were affected by the earthquakes, which, among other factors, also have a significant impact on the response to a cholera outbreak, said Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. "Our partners launched a cholera vaccination campaign in earthquake-hit areas of Northwest Syria on Tuesday," Haq said. "They plan to distribute 1.7 million vaccine doses in high-risk areas. More than 53,000 suspected cholera cases and 23 associated deaths have been reported in Northwest Syria as of March 5." More than 100,000 people who had their water infrastructure damaged received water since the start of the response, he said. Humanitarian workers have also provided hygiene kits to more than 100,000 people in reception centers. "Our colleagues also tell us that 3.7 million children in earthquake-affected areas across Syria are facing the risk of contracting diseases and lack access to basic services," Haq told a regular briefing. He said the Syria earthquake flash appeal has received 218 million U.S. dollars, or 55 percent, of the nearly 400 million dollars needed. Turning to Turkiye, the spokesman said the world body continues to support the government-led response to the Feb. 6 earthquakes. "The UN and our partners have provided more than 42,000 tents and hundreds of thousands of blankets, bedsheets and mattresses," he said. "More than 900,000 people have received food assistance and the World Food Programme has supplied more than 5.7 million food packages and hot meals." Haq said the World Health Organization provides healthcare to nearly 24,000 people. The UN Children's Fund reached 319,000 people, including more than 183,000 children, with hygiene kits and non-food items, winter clothes and heaters, among other critical supplies. However, Haq said the Turkiye earthquake appeal of 1 billion dollars is only 10.4 percent funded. A child from an earthquake-stricken area plays football at a shelter in the city of Jableh, Latakia province, Syria, March 9, 2023. According to recent data, the earthquakes that struck Syria and Turkiye on Feb. 6, and subsequent powerful quakes, have killed more than 51,000 people in the two countries, and left millions sheltering in tents. In Syria, at least 8.8 million people were affected by the earthquakes. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua) A child from an earthquake-stricken area is pictured at a shelter in the city of Jableh, Latakia province, Syria, March 9, 2023. According to recent data, the earthquakes that struck Syria and Turkiye on Feb. 6, and subsequent powerful quakes, have killed more than 51,000 people in the two countries, and left millions sheltering in tents. In Syria, at least 8.8 million people were affected by the earthquakes. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua) Children from an earthquake-stricken area are pictured at a shelter in the city of Jableh, Latakia province, Syria, March 9, 2023. According to recent data, the earthquakes that struck Syria and Turkiye on Feb. 6, and subsequent powerful quakes, have killed more than 51,000 people in the two countries, and left millions sheltering in tents. In Syria, at least 8.8 million people were affected by the earthquakes. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua) A child from an earthquake-stricken area is pictured at a shelter in the city of Jableh, Latakia province, Syria, March 9, 2023. According to recent data, the earthquakes that struck Syria and Turkiye on Feb. 6, and subsequent powerful quakes, have killed more than 51,000 people in the two countries, and left millions sheltering in tents. In Syria, at least 8.8 million people were affected by the earthquakes. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua) A child from an earthquake-stricken area is pictured at a shelter in the city of Jableh, Latakia province, Syria, March 9, 2023. According to recent data, the earthquakes that struck Syria and Turkiye on Feb. 6, and subsequent powerful quakes, have killed more than 51,000 people in the two countries, and left millions sheltering in tents. In Syria, at least 8.8 million people were affected by the earthquakes. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua) NANJING, March 10 (Xinhua) -- For Luca Pozzi, general manager of Manuli Hydraulics (Suzhou) Co., Ltd., the Chinese market is the largest in the world and its potential remains enormous, so he has never lost confidence in expanding the Italian firm's presence in China. "Of course, the environment will be more competitive, but we remain very confident due to the specific projects we have launched here," Pozzi said. China's optimization of its COVID-19 response has been fundamental for the company's business development, he said, as they can ink deals while meeting their partners face-to-face. Manuli, which mainly produces hydraulic hoses, entered Suzhou City in east China's Jiangsu Province in 2005, and has since been on the fast track of development. "Our hose plant in Suzhou is running on a high capacity and we expect the total volumes this year to remain stable compared to last year," Pozzi said. "We focus on quality and cost efficiency, and the dedicated R&D branch in Suzhou continues to support innovative solutions for our Chinese and Asian clients," he said, noting that they are considering investing in the energy field to become more sustainable. Suzhou, which was called the "Venice of the East" by Marco Polo, has deepened its relationship with Italy. Home to about 150 Italian companies, it has become a city with one of the largest concentrations of Italian investment overseas. "Suzhou has an ideal environment to run operations since there is a big manufacturing industry, with an established offer of suppliers and services," Pozzi said. "The administration is well prepared and can support you when it comes to technical and environmental projects." "A good business environment and highly efficient government are among the favorable factors for choosing China to develop our business," said Flavio Zaghini, CEO Asia of Piovan Group, a leading automation system production company. Italy-based Piovan has been in the Chinese market for over 20 years. In 2021, it added to its footprint in the country by signing an agreement to build a new factory in Suzhou, which will be completed by 2024 and become the headquarters for all of the group's branches in the Asia region. "We are confident that our investment in China will be one of the key factors for our growth in the next years," Zaghini said. Paolo Ottaviani, general manager of Viani Trade Consulting Co., Ltd., has also cast his vote of confidence in the Chinese economy. The Italian established the firm in Jiangsu's Yancheng City in 2018, aiming to provide consulting services for foreign investors. He takes the initiative to introduce China's business environment and policies to potential investors in Italy. "I hope to be a bridge between China and Italy and promote a win-win situation through cooperation," Ottaviani said. He said he believes that China will continue to promote high-standard opening-up and that there is great potential for investment. China will intensify efforts to attract and utilize foreign investment, according to a government work report unveiled on March 5 at the first session of the 14th National People's Congress, the national legislature. The country will expand market access, continue to open up the modern services sector, ensure foreign-funded companies receive the same treatment as domestic firms, improve services for foreign-funded companies, and facilitate the launch of landmark foreign-funded projects, the report said. And more foreign companies are eyeing opportunities in China, hoping to gain growth drivers in the world's second-largest economy amid global uncertainties. Foreign direct investment into the Chinese mainland, in actual use, expanded 14.5 percent year on year to 127.69 billion yuan in January this year, according to the Ministry of Commerce. In U.S. dollar terms, the FDI inflow increased 10 percent year on year to total 19.02 billion U.S. dollars. "Despite the pandemic and international troubles, our business worldwide has been very good in recent years," Zaghini said. "And we are confidently preparing to face future challenges." This photo taken on Feb. 27, 2023 shows an employee working at the plant of Bitzer Refrigeration Technology (China) Co., Ltd. in Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua/Peng Ziyang) BEIJING, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Despite the impact of the pandemic, Bitzer, a German compressor technology company, decided to invest another 300 million yuan (about 43 million U.S. dollars) in its Beijing factory this year. Part of the investment will be spent on a 4,800-square-meter building for the research and development (R&D) department, and the foundation-laying ceremony is scheduled in April. "We have brought in some equipment, so we desperately need the building as soon as possible," said Karl Heinz Meister, vice president of the Bitzer Asia Pacific Area. It is the fifth time the company invested in its Beijing subsidiary over the past three years, with a total of 84 million yuan poured for the previous four times. Meister said the Chinese government has emphasized high-quality development and environmental protection, so the company needs to design and put forward new products in the Chinese market. The country's "no food waste" campaign has also benefitted the refrigeration business, he added. China will intensify efforts to attract and utilize foreign investment, according to a government work report unveiled on March 5 at the first session of the 14th National People's Congress, the national legislature. The country will expand market access, continue to open up the modern services sector, ensure national treatment for foreign-funded companies, improve services for foreign-funded companies, and facilitate the launch of landmark foreign-funded projects, said the report. Bitzer started investing in Beijing in 1994, with a joint venture established in Tongzhou District. In 2006, the company founded its wholly-owned subsidiary -- Bitzer Refrigeration Technology (China) Co., Ltd. -- in the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area. The compressor is the heart of any refrigeration or air conditioning system. Bitzer's products are applied in central air-conditioning systems in buildings, freezers in supermarkets, as well as air conditioners in automobiles and trains. Apart from the market, the increasingly complete supply chain in China is another reason for them to keep investing in the Beijing factory. "In the past, the company could only assemble compressors using imported parts, with almost no R&D staff, but now, with some 100 suppliers across China, the factory has become more and more independent in both production and the development of new products," said Fang Yuyan, financial director of the factory. To encourage foreign investors to continue to expand their investment, China has issued a deferring tax policy, which would exempt the withholding tax temporarily if foreign investors' profits from Chinese domestic enterprises were directly invested in China, said Cong Lin, an official in charge of the international sector with the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area Tax Service, State Taxation Administration. To simplify the related procedures, an e-channel taxation service has been set up where companies can apply for different kinds of services online, without having to send staff to the taxation service hall. "We have also conducted English training for our team for easier communication with international companies and foreign taxpayers," Cong said. Despite the epidemic, the sales revenue of Bitzer Beijing factory has been stable over the past three years, with a record of 1.6 billion yuan set in 2021. Bill Feng has worked in the company for 16 years. He said China has been through multiple difficulties over the years, like the SARS and financial crisis, but the long-term uptrend of the country's development remains unchanged all these years. "The impact of COVID-19 is only short-term, and we are confident about the business prospects in China in the long run," said Feng, now vice president of Bitzer Greater China. This photo taken on Feb. 27, 2023 shows the warehouse of Bitzer Refrigeration Technology (China) Co., Ltd. in Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua/Peng Ziyang) This photo taken on Feb. 27, 2023 shows the plant area of Bitzer Refrigeration Technology (China) Co., Ltd. in Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua/Peng Ziyang) ZHENGZHOU, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese archaeologists have discovered the ruins of a Neolithic settlement site dating back more than 7,000 years in Anyang City, central China, providing valuable insight into the lifestyle of prehistoric ancestors. The site is situated in Balizhuang Village and occupies a roughly elliptical area of about 27,000 square meters, measuring approximately 230 meters wide and 150 meters long, according to Anyang city institute of cultural relics and archaeology. Based on the carbon-14 dating results, the Balizhuang Village site dates back to approximately 7,800 to 7,400 years ago, the middle Neolithic period. The site has been linked to the Peiligang culture. Peiligang is one of the earliest village ruins in China, dating back about 8,000 years. It provides important evidence for the study of the origin and development of agriculture, pottery making, the textile industry as well as ancient alcohol making techniques. Archaeologists also found an ancient river channel approximately 100 meters wide on the southwest side of the site. "It is speculated that the ancient residents of the Balizhuang Village site lived along this river," said Shen Wenxi, with the institute. "The entire site is well-preserved, with a rich cultural heritage." Furthermore, archaeologists discovered prehistoric building materials scattered throughout the site and bases of semi-underground buildings. According to Kong Deming, the leader of the archaeological team, the discovery of the ruins indicates that the residents of the site had already settled down, offering archaeological insights into the settlement lifestyle of people from more than 7,000 years ago. Numerous stone tools were unearthed at the site, including shovels, axes, sickles, grinding stones, and pestles, which had been processed astonishingly nicely, said Kong. From felling trees to tilling the soil, from harvesting crops to threshing, there were stone tools available for every step of the agricultural production process, fully demonstrating that agricultural production during that time had already entered a new period of hoe-farming. Additionally, the discoveries of fragmentary skeletons of animals found in the ancient river channel indicate that gathering and fishing were still important means of livelihood for the residents of the site. "Preliminary observations show that there were mammals such as hogs, dogs and deer, and shellfish, conchs, fish, and we even found some bird bones," said Shen Wenxi, adding that the findings lay the foundation for understanding the production and economic activities of that time. The Peiligang culture boasted the highest level of development among various mid-Neolithic archaeological cultures, whose migration and expansion caused a series of cultural interactions, driving the evolution and development of surrounding archaeological cultures, Kong told Xinhua. "It is one of the important sources of Chinese civilization," Kong said. Ongoing excavation and research are being conducted at the Balizhuang Village site, with further study focusing on the cultural connotations and settlement distribution of the site. The third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Cao Can) BEIJING, March 10 (Xinhua) -- China's national political advisors met on Friday afternoon to elect a new leadership for the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). The top political advisory body's new leadership, including chairperson, vice chairpersons, secretary-general and standing committee members, is due to be elected at the third plenary meeting of the ongoing session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee. The CPPCC serves as an important mechanism for multiparty cooperation and political consultation led by the Communist Party of China. Shi Taifeng presides over the third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing) The third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing) The third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Ye) Staff members distribute ballots at the third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Yao Dawei) Staff members prepare to distribute ballots at the third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing) Staff members distribute ballots at the third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Ye) The third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Ye) A member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) casts her ballots at the third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Ye) The third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Shen Hong) A member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) casts his ballots at the third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Yao Dawei) A member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) casts her ballots at the third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Shen Hong) The third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Yue Yuewei) A member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) casts his ballots at the third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing) The third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Shen Hong) The third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Cheng Tingting) The third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing) Huo Wei(R), charge d'affaires at the Chinese embassy in Madagascar meets with Liu Dongyun(C), the head of the 23rd Chinese medical team in Madagascar, and Li Sumei(L), the head of the 22nd Chinese medical team in Madagascar at the Chinese embassy in Antananarivo, Madagascar, March 9, 2023. (Photo by Sitraka Rajaonarison/Xinhua) ANTANANARIVO, March 9 (Xinhua) -- A health official from Madagascar's Ministry of Public Health on Thursday praised China for sparing no effort in helping strengthen her country's health system for decades. "China has spared no effort to strengthen the health system in Madagascar and improve access to health care for the (Malagasy) population," said Onivelo Gabhy Andriamanantena, chief of staff of Madagascar's Ministry of Public Health. She made the remarks at a welcoming ceremony for the 23rd Chinese medical team in Madagascar, which also celebrated the outgoing 22nd Chinese medical team in Madagascar on its successful completion of its mission. "Chinese medical teams are an integral part of this valuable support from China," said the official, adding "the presence and support of these medical teams will help meet the challenge of the (Malagasy) Ministry of Public Health in terms of community-based care and achieve the goals of 'Health for All' in Madagascar." Starting from 1975, China has dispatched 23 medical teams to Madagascar, with a total of nearly 700 Chinese doctors bringing health care to millions of Malagasy patients, said Huo Wei, charge d'affaires at the Chinese embassy in Madagascar. The Chinese diplomat added that China would continue to actively cooperate with Madagascar within the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation to promote bilateral health cooperation. The 23rd Chinese medical team, composed of 32 members, will be sent to four Malagasy public hospitals, according to Liu Dongyun, the head of the team. Liu said the team would work hard to help improve the health of the Malagasy people, promote joint projects in the medical field and deepen the friendship between the two countries. Onivelo Gabhy Andriamanantena(2nd, L), chief of staff of Madagascar's Ministry of Public Health and Huo Wei(3rd, R), charge d'affaires at the Chinese embassy in Madagascar meet with Liu Dongyun(2nd, R), the head of the 23rd Chinese medical team in Madagascar, and Li Sumei(1st, R), the head of the 22nd Chinese medical team in Madagascar at the Chinese embassy in Antananarivo, Madagascar, March 9, 2023. (Photo by Sitraka Rajaonarison/Xinhua) UNITED NATIONS, March 9 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday proposed strengthening the international response to complex global shocks through an "Emergency Platform." The global response to such shocks is often ad hoc, fragmented, and improvised. There is a need for a mechanism to tackle multidimensional threats with a multidimensional response, he said in his presentation of a policy brief for the Summit of the Future scheduled for 2024. "Our global interconnectedness means that shocks that occur in one country or sector can quickly have cascading consequences elsewhere, often in unforeseen ways. Those shocks are coming at us with greater strength and frequency, with serious implications for peace and security, economic stability, and environmental sustainability," he said. Those shocks can have a disproportionate impact in some areas. Both the COVID-19 pandemic and the global cost-of-living crisis hit the poorest and most vulnerable hardest, throwing Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) progress and Agenda 2030 further off-track, he added. For the sake of a more formal, predictable, and structured approach, the Emergency Platform would leverage the United Nations' convening power and capacities in a timely and predictable way. It would identify and bring together actors at the appropriate level to respond. It would be flexible and agile, responding to different types of shocks. Crucially, it would promote a global response based on solidarity and equity, and the key principle of leaving no one behind. All people and countries hit by a shock must have access to the support they need, said Guterres. Accountability would be built into the Emergency Platform, in order to hold all parties to their concrete commitments, he said. While decisions would continue to lie with member states, the Emergency Platform would also include the private sector, civil society, and other non-state partners with an ability to contribute to the global response. But he clarified that the Emergency Platform would not be a standing entity or body. It would, instead, consist of a set of protocols around convening key actors in the event of complex, global shocks, and operationalizing their coordinated response. The Emergency Platform would not displace or duplicate the work of intergovernmental bodies, including the Security Council. Nor would it interfere with the mandate of specialized agencies or existing mechanisms. It would be a tool for the multilateral system to support intergovernmental decisions and complement existing mechanisms, he said. The United Nations is the only organization that can bring together all stakeholders in the event of complex global shocks, and has them work together to the best effect. It is time to take decisions that enable it to do so, said the UN chief. BEIJING, March 10 (Xinhua) -- China's basic medical insurance fund recorded an accumulated balance of 4.25 trillion yuan (about 610.15 billion U.S. dollars) at the end of 2022, statistics from the National Healthcare Security Administration showed Thursday. The income and expenditure of the fund hit nearly 3.07 trillion yuan and 2.44 trillion yuan, respectively, in 2022, according to the administration. More than 1.34 billion people, accounting for over 95 percent of the Chinese population, had been enrolled in the country's basic medical insurance, the administration said. Last year, the fund paid 4.3 billion yuan for nucleic acid testing, and from 2021 to 2022, a bill of more than 150 billion yuan for COVID-19 vaccines and vaccinations was settled by the fund and government subsidies. As of the end of 2022, the number of designated medical institutions where direct settlement of cross-provincial hospitalization expenses is available, had grown to 63,000. The same service for outpatient costs had been provided at 89,000 designated facilities nationwide, according to the administration. Now at least one designated institution that offers direct settlement of cross-provincial medical expenses, including outpatient expenses, can be found in every Chinese county. Heartwarming: Patrolling police officers found an unconscious girl in a street and rushed her to hospital in Aksu, China's Xinjiang. The Public Defender of Georgia, Levan Ioseliani, visited people detained at the March 8 rally and said that Zurab Japaridze, the leader of Girchi-More for Freedom, has the most serious visible injury among those arrested on Rustaveli Avenue, who is placed in the Solitary confinement in the Main division of police department."I visited all the detainees who are here in this Solitary confinement. There are 25 detainees here, we had a face-to-face conversation with all of them and I heard about the circumstances under which they were detained. Several of them have external injuries, I visited, and of course, Zura Japaridze, who is here, also has external injuries.All stated that they had consulted a doctor and had been visited by a doctor. In addition to that, several of them claim that they were arrested under unknown conditions, and suddenly, when they had nothing to do with the rally, they were just standing there. one of them was a passer-by, who said that they grabbed him by hand and put him in the car," Ioseliani said.Democracy Research Institute published a statement on Zurab Japaridze and said that at least three articles of the European Convention were violated against opposition leader Zurab Japaridze.The President of Georgia, Salome Zourabichvili shared a video of young people dancing to the sound of sirens to her personal Facebook page and wrote: "They are dancing to the sound of sirens. A generation of cool young people."Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia Shalva Papuashvili responded to the President's post and said that he is surprised how political groups or non-governmental organizations are able to express sympathy or empathy towards violence.He expressed disappointment that the president had 'romanticized violence'. According to him, when there is an operation to restore order by the police, people expect the president to call for peace and not romanticize the encouragement of disobedience to the police."I'm very disappointed by the position of the president, who somewhat romanticized this violence yesterday when she posted one of the videos and described it as teenagers dancing to sirens. These sirens were police event sirens, meaning that there was violence and the police had to restore order. When the president romanticizes teenagers dancing in the background of sirens, this is not the attitude that the president should have towards the parliament, and I, as the chairman of the parliament, am obliged to emphasize this," Papuashvili said.According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the 133 people detained at protest rallies in the last couple of days were released from administrative custody."On March 7 and 8 of this year, on March 7 and 8 of this year, at the protest action held in the vicinity of the Parliament, all the persons arrested in accordance with the Code of Administrative Offenses were released.Some of the detainees were brought before the court. And the rest of the persons were released on the basis of the expiration of the term of stay in the pre-trial detention isolator.In the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the investigation in connection with the violent events that took place on March 7-8 continues under Articles 353 and 187 of the Criminal Code of Georgia," reads the MIA statement. BEIJING, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday sent a message to his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, warmly congratulating him on his election as Chinese president. Putin said he would like to extend his warm congratulations to Xi on the occasion of his election as president of the People's Republic of China. The decision adopted by the National People's Congress of China shows that Xi, as the head of state, enjoys high prestige and that the strategies he has formulated on promoting China's economic and social development and on safeguarding China's interests on the international stage have won the support of the Chinese people, Putin said. The Russian side speaks highly of Xi's contribution to strengthening the Russia-China comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination, Putin said, expressing his firm belief that with joint efforts of both sides, the Russia-China cooperation in various fields will continue to yield fruitful results. Putin said he will continue to maintain close communication and coordination with Xi on major regional and international issues. He wishes that Xi will make new and greater achievements in promoting the welfare of the friendly Chinese people. TEHRAN, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Five people were killed and seven others were injured in a fire at a complex of makeshift rooms on farmland in Ray county of Tehran province, Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA) reported on Friday. The incident occurred Thursday night when gas cylinders explosion in the rooms set combustible materials in an area of 250 square meters to blaze, ISNA quoted the spokesman of Tehran Fire Department Jalal Maleki as saying. Casualties include children, among them the injured were sent to medical centers, and firefighters have managed to contain the fire, Maleki noted. He added the complex, comprising 10 rooms, was inhabited by 40 foreign nationals from neighboring countries. Han Zheng is elected vice president of the People's Republic of China at the ongoing session of the 14th National People's Congress in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua) BEIJING, March 10 (Xinhua) -- The following is a brief introduction of Han Zheng: Han Zheng, male, Han ethnicity, was born in April 1954 and is from Cixi, Zhejiang Province. He began his first job in December 1975 and joined the Communist Party of China in May 1979. Han graduated from the Institute of International Studies, East China Normal University, where he completed an in-service graduate program in international relations and world economy. He holds a Master of Economics degree and a professional title of senior economist. Han is currently vice president of the People's Republic of China. BEIJING, March 10 (Xinhua) -- As announced by China, Saudi Arabia and Iran, the latter two have reached a deal which includes the agreement to resume diplomatic relations and reopen embassies and missions within two months. A policeman works at the scene of a shooting attack on Dizengoff street in Tel Aviv, Israel, on March 9, 2023. A gun-wielding Palestinian man opened fire on a busy street in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv on Thursday night, injuring three individuals in what was described by Israeli officials as a "terror attack." Tel Aviv district police chief Amichai Eshed told reporters at the scene that the gunman opened fire at passersby before fleeing the scene, but was soon chased and killed by a policeman and policewoman. (Gideon Markowicz/JINI via Xinhua) JERUSALEM, March 9 (Xinhua) -- A gun-wielding Palestinian man opened fire on a busy street in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv on Thursday night, injuring three individuals in what was described by Israeli officials as a "terror attack." Tel Aviv district police chief Amichai Eshed told reporters at the scene that the gunman opened fire at passersby before fleeing the scene, but was soon chased and killed by a policeman and policewoman. He said that large police forces were searching the city for a possible second person who drove the shooter to Tel Aviv. Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service said in a press release that three people were injured and taken to a hospital. Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai, speaking on the N12 TV news, confirmed that the attack took place on the Dizengoff Street, a major street known for its bars and restaurants. The street was crowded on Thursday night at the beginning of the Israeli weekend, while thousands were marching in protest against the controversial government plan to overhaul the judiciary. The Dizengoff Street has seen other attacks over the years, including one in April 2022, in which a Palestinian gunman opened fire into a crowded bar, killing two Israelis. Earlier in the day, Israeli troops killed three Palestinian militants during a raid in the occupied West Bank. Tensions between Israel and the Palestinians have been escalating in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since the beginning of this year. Official Palestinian and Israeli figures showed that more than 70 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces so far, while 14 Israelis have been killed in attacks carried out by Palestinians. Police stand guard at the scene of a shooting attack on Dizengoff street in Tel Aviv, Israel, on March 9, 2023. A gun-wielding Palestinian man opened fire on a busy street in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv on Thursday night, injuring three individuals in what was described by Israeli officials as a "terror attack." Tel Aviv district police chief Amichai Eshed told reporters at the scene that the gunman opened fire at passersby before fleeing the scene, but was soon chased and killed by a policeman and policewoman. (Gideon Markowicz/JINI via Xinhua) Police and emergency service members work at the scene of a shooting attack on Dizengoff street in Tel Aviv, Israel, on March 9, 2023. A gun-wielding Palestinian man opened fire on a busy street in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv on Thursday night, injuring three individuals in what was described by Israeli officials as a "terror attack." Tel Aviv district police chief Amichai Eshed told reporters at the scene that the gunman opened fire at passersby before fleeing the scene, but was soon chased and killed by a policeman and policewoman. (Gideon Markowicz/JINI via Xinhua) Police work at the scene of a shooting attack on Dizengoff street in Tel Aviv, Israel, on March 9, 2023. A gun-wielding Palestinian man opened fire on a busy street in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv on Thursday night, injuring three individuals in what was described by Israeli officials as a "terror attack." Tel Aviv district police chief Amichai Eshed told reporters at the scene that the gunman opened fire at passersby before fleeing the scene, but was soon chased and killed by a policeman and policewoman. (Gideon Markowicz/JINI via Xinhua) Police work at the scene of a shooting attack on Dizengoff street in Tel Aviv, Israel, on March 9, 2023. A gun-wielding Palestinian man opened fire on a busy street in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv on Thursday night, injuring three individuals in what was described by Israeli officials as a "terror attack." Tel Aviv district police chief Amichai Eshed told reporters at the scene that the gunman opened fire at passersby before fleeing the scene, but was soon chased and killed by a policeman and policewoman. (Gideon Markowicz/JINI via Xinhua) BEIJING, March 10 (Xinhua) -- The following is the full text of a joint statement released by the People's Republic of China, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the Islamic Republic of Iran on Friday. Joint Trilateral Statement by the People's Republic of China, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the Islamic Republic of Iran In response to the noble initiative of His Excellency President Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China, of China's support for developing good neighborly relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran; And based on the agreement between His Excellency President Xi Jinping and the leaderships of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran, whereby the People's Republic of China would host and sponsor talks between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran; Proceeding from their shared desire to resolve the disagreements between them through dialogue and diplomacy, and in light of their brotherly ties; Adhering to the principles and objectives of the Charters of the United Nations and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and international conventions and norms; The delegations from the two countries held talks on 6-10 March 2023 in Beijing - the delegation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia headed by His Excellency Dr. Musaad bin Mohammed Al-Aiban, Minister of State, Member of the Council of Ministers, and National Security Advisor, and the delegation of the Islamic Republic of Iran headed by His Excellency Admiral Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Saudi and Iranian sides expressed their appreciation and gratitude to the Republic of Iraq and the Sultanate of Oman for hosting rounds of dialogue that took place between both sides during the years 2021-2022. The two sides also expressed their appreciation and gratitude to the leadership and government of the People's Republic of China for hosting and sponsoring the talks, and the efforts they placed towards its success. The three countries announce that an agreement has been reached between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran, that includes an agreement to resume diplomatic relations between them and re-open their embassies and missions within a period not exceeding two months, and the agreement includes their affirmation of the respect for the sovereignty of states and the non-interference in internal affairs of states. They also agreed that the ministers of foreign affairs of both countries shall meet to implement this, arrange for the return of their ambassadors, and discuss means of enhancing bilateral relations. They also agreed to implement the Security Cooperation Agreement between them, which was signed on 22/1/1422 (H), corresponding to 17/4/2001, and the General Agreement for Cooperation in the Fields of Economy, Trade, Investment, Technology, Science, Culture, Sports, and Youth, which was signed on 2/2/1419 (H), corresponding to 27/5/1998. The three countries expressed their keenness to exert all efforts towards enhancing regional and international peace and security. Issued in Beijing on 10 March 2023. The statement was co-signed by Representative for the People's Republic of China Wang Yi, Member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Director of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, Representative for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Musaad bin Mohammed Al-Aiban, Minister of State, Member of the Council of Ministers, and National Security Advisor, and Representative for the Islamic Republic of Iran Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council. TEHRAN, March 10 (Xinhua) -- The Iranian Foreign Ministry said on Friday Iran had never become dependent on the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX), a special-purpose vehicle for facilitating business between European countries and Iran. Nasser Kanaani, the spokesman of Iran's Foreign Ministry, made the remarks when answering a question about the INSTEX shareholders' decision to dissolve the mechanism. He said following the U.S. unilateral withdrawal from a 2015 nuclear deal in 2018, the European governments made a commitment to safeguarding Iran's economic interests within the agreement's framework, noting that among the mechanisms proposed to this end was the establishment of the INSTEX as a financial channel to facilitate trade between Iran and Europe. Kanaani added although Iran had never become "reliant" on the mechanism, the country spared no effort to cooperate in keeping the channel active. Kanaani cited as the main reasons behind the INSTEX's failure a "lack of determination" on the European states' side, their inability to fulfill their commitments in compensating the U.S. withdrawal from the agreement, their compliance with Washington's illegal sanctions and not injecting any financial resources or long-term credit lines into the channel ever since its activation. He said Iran has, all the while, conducted its international trade transactions through other international financial and banking channels, stressing that attempting to put the blame on Tehran by the INSTEX shareholders in their statement is a "futile bid" to conceal Europe's "absolute failure" to have minimum financial independence from the United States. In a joint statement released on Thursday, the E3 group of Britain, France and Germany announced the dissolution of the INSTEX. The statement added the decision was made by INSTEX shareholders -- namely Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and Britain, which voted in favor of the dissolution of the INSTEX at the extraordinary general assembly on Thursday. The E3 cited "Iran's persistent refusal to engage with the company," as the reason for its dissolution. The INSTEX, a European special-purpose vehicle, was established on Jan. 31, 2019 to facilitate non-U.S. dollar and non-SWIFT (the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) transactions with Iran to avoid breaking U.S. sanctions following Washington's May 2018 unilateral withdrawal from the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and reimposition of sanctions on Tehran. AMMAN, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Jordan's Foreign Ministry on Friday welcomed the decision by Iran and Saudi Arabia to resume their diplomatic ties. It is hoped that the step will enhance stability and security in the region in a manner based on the preservation of the sovereignty of states and non-interference in their internal affairs, the ministry said in a statement. Saudi Arabia and Iran have agreed to restore diplomatic relations and reopen their embassies and missions within two months after China-mediated talks in Beijing. They have also agreed to hold talks between foreign ministers to arrange ambassadors' exchange and explore ways to strengthen bilateral relations. 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, presides over the closing meeting of the talks between a Saudi delegation and an Iranian delegation in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Luo Xiaoguang) BEIJING, March 10 (Xinhua) -- As announced by China, Saudi Arabia and Iran on Friday, the latter two have reached a deal which includes the agreement to resume diplomatic relations and reopen embassies and missions within two months. Musaad bin Mohammed Al-Aiban, Saudi Arabia's Minister of State, Member of the Council of Ministers, and National Security Advisor, led the Saudi delegation, and Admiral Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, led the Iranian delegation during talks in Beijing from March 6 to 10, according to a trilateral statement from China, Saudi Arabia and Iran. Saudi Arabia and Iran held the talks to solve their differences through dialogue and diplomatic means, to abide by the purposes and principles of the Charters of the United Nations and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and to follow international regulations and practices, according to the joint statement. Both Saudi Arabia and Iran extended their appreciation and thanks to Iraq and Oman for hosting multiple rounds of dialogue between 2021 and 2022, and to Chinese leaders and the Chinese government for hosting, supporting and contributing to the success of the talks, the statement said. Saudi Arabia and Iran have agreed to restore diplomatic relations and reopen their embassies and missions within a period not exceeding two months, and agreed to hold talks between foreign ministers to arrange for the exchange of ambassadors and explore ways to strengthen bilateral relations, it said. While congratulating the two sides on taking a historical step forward, Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said China supports the two sides in making firm strides as agreed in the deal to work for the common bright future with patience and wisdom. "As a reliable friend of the two countries, China will continue to play a constructive role," said Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. He said the improvement of ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran has opened a path leading to regional peace and stability in the Middle East, and has set an example of settling divergences and differences among countries via dialogue and consultation. Al-Aiban and Shamkhani expressed their willingness to continue constructive dialogues, fully implement their consensus, and enhance good neighborliness to jointly safeguard regional security. Wang Yi (C), 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, attends a closing meeting of the talks between the Saudi delegation led by Musaad bin Mohammed Al-Aiban (L), Saudi Arabia's Minister of State, Member of the Council of Ministers and National Security Advisor, and Iranian delegation led by Admiral Ali Shamkhani (R), Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. Wang Yi presided over the closing meeting here on Friday. (Xinhua/Luo Xiaoguang) Zhao Leji, executive chairman of the presidium of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), presides over the sixth meeting of the presidium at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Yan Yan) BEIJING, March 10 (Xinhua) -- The lists of candidates for premier of the State Council and some other Chinese leaders and legislators were finalized on Friday after the presidium of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) held its fifth and sixth meetings. Both presidium meetings were presided over by Executive Chairman of the Presidium Zhao Leji. At its fifth meeting on Friday morning, the presidium decided that the lists of candidates for premier, vice chairpersons and members of the Central Military Commission (CMC) of the People's Republic of China, director of the National Commission of Supervision, president of the Supreme People's Court, procurator-general of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and members of the 14th NPC Standing Committee, would be sent to all NPC delegations for discussion and consultation. The candidates for premier and CMC vice chairpersons and members were nominated by Chinese President and CMC Chairman Xi Jinping. The candidates for director of the National Commission of Supervision, the chief justice, the procurator-general, and members of the 14th NPC Standing Committee were proposed by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China to the presidium. At its sixth meeting Friday afternoon, the presidium decided by voting the final lists of candidates for these leaders and legislators. NPC deputies will vote to decide on premier and CMC vice chairpersons and vote to elect the rest at an upcoming plenary meeting. Between the two presidium meetings, executive chairpersons held their fifth meeting, chaired by Zhao. Zhao Leji, executive chairman of the presidium of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), presides over the fifth meeting of the executive chairpersons of the presidium at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Yan Yan) Zhao Leji, executive chairman of the presidium of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), presides over the sixth meeting of the presidium at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Yan Yan) Zhao Leji, executive chairman of the presidium of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), presides over the fifth meeting of the presidium at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei) Zhao Leji, executive chairman of the presidium of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), presides over the fifth meeting of the presidium at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei) Reuters: The Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Liesje Schreinemacher said in a letter to Parliament that the Netherlands will apply new restrictions on chip exports before the summer on national security grounds. Whats Chinas comment? Mao Ning: We noted the reports. We disapprove of the Dutch sides interference through administrative means in the normal trade between Dutch and Chinese businesses and have made demarches to the Netherlands. In recent years, the US, in an attempt to deprive China of its right to development and maintain its hegemony, has overstretched the concept of national security, politicized and instrumentalized trade and tech issues, and coerced or courted some countries to adopt export restrictions against China. Such bullying acts seriously violate market principles and the international trade order. They not only harm Chinese companies lawful rights and interests, but also seriously undermine the stability of the global industrial and supply chains as well as global economic growth. China firmly opposes them. It is hoped that the Netherlands will hold an objective and just position, adhere to market principles, respect the spirit of contract, refrain from abusing export control regimes, and work to safeguard the stability of global industrial and supply chains, the free and open international trade order, and the shared interests of the Netherlands and China and the companies of the two countries. CCTV: The US Senate passed the COVID-19 Origin Act of 2023 a few days ago, which says that the COVID-19 pandemic may have originated in China. It has been reported that the House of Representatives is also moving to bring a similar bill to the House floor. On March 8, Director of the US National Intelligence Avril Haines noted that there isnt a consensus among the US intelligence community on whether or not the outbreak is a result of a lab leak or natural exposure to an infected animal. Polish virologist Agnieszka Szuster-Ciesielska recently said in an interview that the COVID lab leak theory rehashed by the US Department of Energy and FBI is sensation-seeking and has no factual or scientific basis. What is your comment? Mao Ning: For some time now, the US has been politicizing, weaponizing and instrumentalizing COVID origins-tracing. It has let a matter of science be dominated by lawmakers and the intelligence community and spread myths such as the lab leak theory without any evidence to discredit and attack China. This has seriously poisoned the atmosphere for science-based global origins-tracing and been perceived by people in the rest of the world. Chinas position on the origins-tracing is consistent. We have supported and participated in global science-based origins-tracing since day one. In the meantime, we have been firmly opposed to all forms of political manipulation on this issue. The political manipulation by the US is the main stumbling block to the science-based research on COVID origins. The US has been pointing fingers at WHOs origins-tracing process, politically punishing scientists with conscience and attacking countries with lies that make no scientific sense. The US has done nothing responsible on origins-tracing. It has never invited WHO expert groups to the US for joint research or shared any early data on COVID origins. It has turned a deaf ear to the worlds concerns about US bio-military bases at Fort Detrick and around the world. Politicizing origins-tracing would only hamper science-based cooperation on the issue, disrupt solidarity against the virus, and undermine global health governance mechanisms. We once again urge the US side to immediately stop political manipulation on this issue, respond to the worlds legitimate concerns, voluntarily share the data of suspected early cases in the US with the WHO, disclose information about its bio-labs at Fort Detrick and around the world, and give the rest of the world the truth it deserves. NRC: I have a question also concerning ASML. There is also concern within the Netherlands itself that we will lose our competitive edge in semiconductor machine production if we sell these ASML machines, advanced chip production machines, to China. Do you understand this fear in Holland? Mao Ning: If the Netherlands loses from normal trade with China, then it might need to think about why that is the case. Is it because a certain country uses trade issues as a tool and a weapon and has imposed a list of demands on the Netherlands? China firmly opposes any deliberate disruption of trade and global supply and industrial chains, which serves no ones interests. Global Times: According to Western media reports, there are residential schools in Tibet that are part of the Chinese governments large-scale assimilation campaign targeting Tibetans. Whats Chinas response? Mao Ning: This is certainly not true and apparently just another allegation meant to mislead the public about China and smear Chinas image. As is commonly seen around the world, there are boarding schools across Chinese provinces and regions to meet the need of the local students. These schools provide accommodation, catering and other boarding services. They are not closed facilities and still less run in military style. In the case of Chinas Tibet, this is a region of high altitude and highly scattered population in many areas. For children from herding families in particular, they have to travel long distances to get to school. If schools were to be built in every place the students live, it would be very difficult to ensure adequate teachers and quality of teaching in each school. That is why boarding schools have been set up as a practical way to ensure all childrens equal right to education. It is entirely up to the students and their parents whether to board or not. Just like schools in other Chinese provinces and regions, the boarding schools in the Tibet Autonomous Region attach great importance to the participation of students families. Parents are invited to take part in the management and planning of school life through parent committees and open days. Students can choose to go home on every weekend, holiday and festival (including traditional Tibetan festivals such as the Tibetan New Year and the Shoton Festival), as well as during the winter and summer breaks. Parents can visit their children at school any time and take their children home whenever needed. Courses of traditional culture, such as Tibetan language and literature and folk dance, are widely available, traditional food unique to the Tibet Plateau is provided, and students are allowed to wear traditional dresses at these schools. When reporting on the boarding schools in China, it is important to respect the facts and be objective and rational, rather than quote hearsay or even make up stories and spread false accusations. Bloomberg: The Dutch foreign trade minister has told a Dutch newspaper that the country wants to reduce its dependence on China. At the same time it wants to keep its relationship with China. So my question to the foreign ministry is, given the circumstances around these new restrictions on chip machinery, can the Netherlands reduce its dependence on China while also keeping good relations? What are the implications for the relationship between China and the Netherlands of these recent developments? Mao Ning: The global industrial and supply chains are shaped by market behavior. China and the Netherlands have normal trade relations. Any dependence there may be only exists because of a mutual need. No country would benefit from politicizing trade and tech issues, disrupting normal cooperation, and destabilizing the global industrial and supply chains. NOS: The fact that the Dutch minister of trade says so bluntly that these measures are both to maintain technology leadership and also to reduce strategic dependence on China, what does that mean for the trade relationship and the overall relationship between China and the Netherlands? Can we expect any repercussions from the Chinese side? And if so, what sorts of repercussions are you thinking of? Mao Ning: It is understandable that countries want to preserve their technological and competitive edge, but it should be done through fair competition rather than deliberately politicizing and weaponizing trade and tech issues. What they refer to as dependence on China is in fact the result of the laws of market and business choices combined. It only underscores the interdependence among all countries in a globalized world. Deliberately severing global supply and industrial chains doesnt serve anyones interests. We hope the Netherlands will hold an objective and just position, adhere to market principles, respect the spirit of contract, refrain from abusing export control regimes, and safeguard the shared interests of our two countries and Chinese and Dutch companies. China is committed to protecting our lawful rights and interests. Bloomberg: Just a question on Australias nuclear submarines. Its reported that they will use both British design as well as American parts and upgrades. Does the foreign ministry have any position or view on this? Mao Ning: China has made clear its strong position on nuclear submarine cooperation between the US, the UK and Australia on multiple occasions. This trilateral cooperation constitutes serious nuclear proliferation risks, undermines the international non-proliferation system, exacerbates arms race and hurts peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific. It has been widely questioned and opposed by regional countries and the wider international community. We urge the US, the UK and Australia to abandon the Cold War mentality and zero-sum games, honor international obligations in good faith and do more things that are conducive to regional peace and stability. China News Service: Today marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Spain. What do you think of the development of China-Spain relations? Will the two sides hold commemorative activities? Mao Ning: Today marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Spain. President Xi Jinping has exchanged message of congratulations with King Felipe VI. Over the past half century, our two countries, guided by the spirit of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit, have advanced cooperation and deepened friendship, delivering tangible benefits for both peoples. We stand ready to work with Spain to take the 50th anniversary as a new starting point to consolidate political mutual trust, enhance exchange across the board, expand practical cooperation, step up exchange and coordination in international and regional affairs, enrich our comprehensive strategic partnership, and add a new chapter of friendship between our two countries. Acting on the common understanding reached by our leaders, both sides have launched activities to jointly celebrate the occasion. This afternoon, a YXE train in commemoration of the establishment of China-Spain diplomatic relations will depart from Yiwu for Madrid and another from Madrid to Yiwu. China Media Group will broadcast a series of programs to mark the 50th anniversary. At the end of March, the China-Spain Year of Culture and Tourism will open in Madrid. A rich variety of related activities including exhibitions of cultural relics, concerts, cultural displays and tourism promotion will be held throughout the year. We hope to have your continued attention to jointly support greater progress in China-Spain friendship, exchange and cooperation. Reuters: The Australian government lifted COVID testing restrictions on travelers from China on Thursday local time. Whats your comment? Will China take reciprocal measures? Mao Ning: We have noted relevant reports. China believes that for all countries, COVID response measures need to be science-based and proportionate. We hope countries concerned will work with China to do more to facilitate cross-border travel. Bloomberg: A report from the US intelligence community mentioned China quite prominently, including such things as Chinas dominance of critical minerals, as well as its control over TikTok. It said that China was advancing its nuclear weapons capability and deepening ties with Russia. Does the foreign ministry have a comment on this latest report from the US intelligence community? Mao Ning: This US report is a clear misrepresentation of facts and full of slanders and smears against China. The US persistently sees China as its most consequential geopolitical challenge and most serious competitor and seeks to contain and suppress China in all respects. This is the root cause of the tensions in China-US relations. The US repeatedly hypes up the China threat narrative by releasing various reports to smear and attack China. Its sole purpose is seeking justification for its own military build-up so as to maintain its hegemony. Before criticizing other countries, the US, as the only superpower armed to the teeth, should reflect on what it has done and should do. China pursues development in order to bring better lives to the people. We have no intention to challenge, threaten or undercut anyone. China views and grows its relations with the US in accordance with the three principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation. The US needs to stop seeking to contain and suppress China, work with China in the same direction to bring bilateral relations back to the track of sound and steady development. This serves the interests of both countries and the entire world. Kyodo: If what you said about Tibet is true, then why arent foreign journalists allowed to go there? Mao Ning: Tibet is an open region. In light of the unique geographical and climatic conditions, there are some necessary procedures to go through for foreign nationals who wish to go to the Tibet Autonomous Region. BEIJING, March 10 (Xinhua) -- China calls on the United States to immediately end the troops' illegal occupation and plundering in Syria, remove illegal unilateral sanctions, foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Friday. Mao made the remarks at a regular press briefing when answering a query concerning the U.S. House voting down a bill directing removal of troops from Syria this week. Mao said since the U.S. began its illegal interference in the Syrian crisis, its military operations in Syria have taken away a large number of innocent civilian lives and caused grave humanitarian disasters. The U.S. has been criticized multiple times by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic of the UN for indiscriminate attacks that may amount to a war crime, said the spokesperson. Noting that the Syrian crisis will soon enter its 13th year, Mao said at least 350,000 people have lost their lives and 14 million people are in dire need of humanitarian assistance. "The U.S., however, insists that a withdrawal is 'premature' and has shown no inclination to end its illegal military presence in Syria," Mao said. "We call on the U.S. to respect other countries' sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, immediately end the troops' illegal occupation and plundering in Syria, remove illegal unilateral sanctions and stop creating and aggravating humanitarian disasters," Mao said. BEIJING, March 10 (Xinhua) -- A total of 23 people were elected vice chairpersons of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the country's top political advisory body, on Friday. The following is a brief introduction of them: Shi Taifeng is elected vice chairman of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua) Shi Taifeng, male, Han ethnicity, was born in September 1956 and is from Yushe, Shanxi Province. He began his first job in May 1974 and joined the Communist Party of China (CPC) in June 1982. He graduated from the Law Department, Peking University, where he completed a graduate program in basic theories of law. He holds a Master of Laws degree and a professional title of professor. Shi is currently a member of the 20th CPC Central Committee Political Bureau, a member of the CPC Central Committee Secretariat, vice chairperson of the 14th CPPCC National Committee, and head of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee. Hu Chunhua is elected vice chairman of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua) Hu Chunhua, male, Han ethnicity, was born in April 1963 and is from Wufeng, Hubei Province. He began his first job in August 1983 and joined the CPC in April 1983. He graduated from the Department of Chinese Language and Literature, Peking University, where he completed an undergraduate program. Hu is currently a member of the 20th CPC Central Committee and vice chairperson of the 14th CPPCC National Committee. Shen Yueyue is elected vice chairperson of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua) Shen Yueyue, female, Han ethnicity, was born in January 1957 and is from Ningbo, Zhejiang Province. She began her first job in May 1977 and joined the CPC in September 1981. She received a graduate education at the Central Party School. Shen is currently a member of the 20th CPC Central Committee, vice chairperson of the 14th CPPCC National Committee, and president of the All-China Women's Federation. Wang Yong is elected vice chairman of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua) Wang Yong, male, Han ethnicity, was born in December 1955 and is from Gaizhou, Liaoning Province. He began his first job in August 1969 and joined the CPC in August 1974. He graduated from Harbin Institute of Technology, where he completed a graduate program in technical and economic engineering. He holds a Master of Engineering degree and a professional title of research fellow. Wang is currently a member of the 20th CPC Central Committee and vice chairperson of the 14th CPPCC National Committee. Zhou Qiang is elected vice chairman of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua) Zhou Qiang, male, Han ethnicity, was born in April 1960 and is from Huangmei, Hubei Province. He began his first job in August 1976 and joined the CPC in September 1978. He graduated from Southwest College of Political Science and Law, where he completed a graduate program in civil law. He holds a Master of Laws degree. He is currently a member of the 20th CPC Central Committee and vice chairperson of the 14th CPPCC National Committee. Pagbalha Geleg Namgyai is elected vice chairman of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua) Pagbalha Geleg Namgyai, male, Tibetan ethnicity, was born in February 1940 and is from Litang, Sichuan Province. He completed an undergraduate program. He is currently vice chairperson of the 14th CPPCC National Committee, honorary president of the Buddhist Association of China, and chairperson of the Tibet Autonomous Regional Committee of the CPPCC. Ho Hau Wah is elected vice chairman of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua) Ho Hau Wah, male, Han ethnicity, was born in Macao in March 1955. He graduated from York University, Canada, where he completed an undergraduate program. Ho is currently vice chairperson of the 14th CPPCC National Committee. Leung Chun-ying is elected vice chairman of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua) Leung Chun-ying, male, Han ethnicity, was born in August 1954. He graduated from Bristol Polytechnic, UK, where he completed an undergraduate program. Leung is currently vice chairperson of the 14th CPPCC National Committee. Bater is elected vice chairman of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua) Bater, male, Mongolian ethnicity, was born in February 1955 and is from Kangping, Liaoning Province. Bater began his first job in January 1973 and joined the CPC in December 1981. He received a graduate education at the Central Party School and holds a Master of Economics degree. Bater is currently a member of the 20th CPC Central Committee and vice chairperson of the 14th CPPCC National Committee. Su Hui is elected vice chairperson of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua) Su Hui, female, Han ethnicity, was born in May 1956 and is from Tainan, Taiwan. She is a member of the Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League and a CPC member. Su began her first job in July 1975 and graduated from Central Institute of Finance and Banking, where she completed an undergraduate program in finance. She holds a professional title of senior accountant. Su is currently vice chairperson of the 14th CPPCC National Committee and chairperson of the Central Committee of the Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League. Shao Hong is elected vice chairman of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua) Shao Hong, male, Han ethnicity, was born in November 1957 and is from Gaizhou, Liaoning Province. Shao is a member of the Jiusan Society and began his first job in November 1975. He graduated from the Faculty of History, Nankai University, where he completed a graduate program in ancient Chinese history. Shao holds a Doctor of History degree and a professional title of professor. Shao is currently vice chairperson of the 14th CPPCC National Committee and executive vice chairperson of the Central Committee of the Jiusan Society. Gao Yunlong is elected vice chairman of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua) Gao Yunlong, male, Han ethnicity, was born in December 1958 and is from Laiwu, Shandong Province. He is a member of the China National Democratic Construction Association. He began his first job in May 1985. He graduated from Tsinghua University, where he completed a graduate program in chemical engineering. He holds a Doctor of Engineering degree and a professional title of senior engineer. Gao is currently vice chairperson of the 14th CPPCC National Committee and chairperson of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce. Chen Wu is elected vice chairman of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua) Chen Wu, male, Zhuang ethnicity, was born in November 1954 and is from Chongzuo, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. He began his first job in October 1972 and joined the CPC in February 1975. He received a graduate education at the Central Party School and holds a professional title of research fellow. Chen is currently vice chairperson of the 14th CPPCC National Committee. Mu Hong is elected vice chairman of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua) Mu Hong, male, Han ethnicity, was born in December 1956 and is from Dalian, Liaoning Province. He began his first job in March 1976 and joined the CPC in November 1984. He graduated from Central Institute of Finance and Banking, where he completed an undergraduate program in finance. He holds a professional title of economist. Mu is currently vice chairperson of the 14th CPPCC National Committee and deputy director of the Office of the Central Commission for Deepening Reform in charge of routine work. Xian Hui is elected vice chairperson of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua) Xian Hui, female, Hui ethnicity, was born in March 1958 and is from Dingxi, Gansu Province. She began her first job in March 1975 and joined the CPC in December 1976. She graduated from Lanzhou University. She holds a Doctor of Management degree. Xian is currently vice chairperson of the 14th CPPCC National Committee. Wang Dongfeng is elected vice chairman of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua) Wang Dongfeng, male, Han ethnicity, was born in February 1958 and is from Xi'an, Shaanxi Province. He began his first job in July 1981 and joined the CPC in December 1980. He graduated from Xi'an Jiaotong University, where he completed an in-service graduate program in applied economics. He holds a Master of Economics degree and a professional title of senior economist. Wang is currently vice chairperson of the 14th CPPCC National Committee and secretary-general of the 14th CPPCC National Committee. Jiang Xinzhi is elected vice chairman of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua) Jiang Xinzhi, male, Han ethnicity, was born in February 1958 and is from Dunhuang, Gansu Province. He began his first job in February 1974 and joined the CPC in September 1980. He graduated from Lanzhou University, where he completed an in-service undergraduate program. Jiang is currently vice chairperson of the 14th CPPCC National Committee and deputy head of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee in charge of routine work. Jiang Zuojun is elected vice chairman of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua) Jiang Zuojun, male, Han ethnicity, was born in July 1955 and is from Huaining, Anhui Province. He is a member of the China Zhi Gong Party. He began his first job in March 1974. He graduated from Nanjing Medical College. He holds a Doctor of Medical Science degree and a professional title of professor. He is currently vice chairperson of the 14th CPPCC National Committee and chairperson of the Central Committee of the China Zhi Gong Party. He Baoxiang is elected vice chairman of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua) He Baoxiang, male, Han ethnicity, was born in April 1963, and is from Yueyang, Hunan Province. He is a member of the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang (RCCK). He began his first job in July 1982 and graduated from Central South University, where he completed an in-service graduate program in management science and engineering. He holds a Doctor of Management degree and a professional title of senior engineer. He is currently vice chairperson of the 14th CPPCC National Committee and executive vice chairperson of the RCCK Central Committee. Wang Guangqian is elected vice chairman of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua) Wang Guangqian, male, Han ethnicity, was born in April 1962 and is from Zhenping, Henan Province. He is a member of the China Democratic League (CDL). He began his first job in December 1989 and graduated from Tsinghua University, where he completed a graduate program in hydraulics and river dynamics. He holds a Doctor of Engineering degree and a professional title of professor. He is an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He is currently vice chairperson of the 14th CPPCC National Committee, executive vice chairperson of the CDL Central Committee, and vice president of Tsinghua University. Qin Boyong is elected vice chairperson of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua) Qin Boyong, female, Han ethnicity, was born in November 1964, and is from Yongqing, Hebei Province. She is a member of the China National Democratic Construction Association (CNDCA). She began her first job in July 1986, and graduated from the Law Department, Peking University, where she completed an in-service graduate program in criminal law. She holds a Master of Laws degree. She is currently vice chairperson of the 14th CPPCC National Committee, executive vice chairperson of the CNDCA Central Committee and deputy auditor-general of the National Audit Office. Zhu Yongxin is elected vice chairman of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua) Zhu Yongxin, male, Han ethnicity, was born in August 1958 and is from Yancheng, Jiangsu Province. He is a member of the China Association for Promoting Democracy (CAPD). He began his first job in May 1976, and graduated from the School of Economics and Management of Tongji University, where he completed an in-service graduate program. He holds a Doctor of Management degree and a professional title of professor. He is currently vice chairperson of the 14th CPPCC National Committee and executive vice chairperson of the CAPD Central Committee. Yang Zhen is elected vice chairman of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. (Xinhua) Yang Zhen, male, Han ethnicity, was born in November 1961 and is from Changzhou, Jiangsu Province. He is a member of the Chinese Peasants and Workers Democratic Party (CPWDP). He began his first job in July 1983. He graduated from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, where he completed a graduate program in communications and information system. He holds a Doctor of Engineering degree and a professional title of professor. He is currently vice chairperson of the 14th CPPCC National Committee and executive vice chairperson of the CPWDP Central Committee. Wang Huning (L, front) shakes hands with Wang Yang at the third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 10, 2023. Wang Huning was elected chairman of the 14th National Committee of the CPPCC, the country's top political advisory body, on Friday. (Xinhua/Li Xueren) BEIJING, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Wang Huning was elected chairman of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the country's top political advisory body, on Friday. Wang was elected at the third plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee by over 2,100 political advisors. Wang was born in 1955 in east China's Shandong Province. He began his first job in February 1977 and joined the Communist Party of China (CPC) in April 1984. He graduated from the Department of International Politics, Fudan University, where he completed a graduate program in international politics and was awarded a Master of Laws degree. He holds a professional title of professor. Wang is also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the 20th CPC Central Committee, and director of the Office of the Central Commission for Deepening Reform. Altogether 23 vice chairpersons and 299 standing committee members of the 14th CPPCC National Committee were also elected at the plenary meeting. Wang Dongfeng was elected secretary-general of the 14th CPPCC National Committee. The newly elected chairman and vice chairpersons of the top political advisory body are aged 65.3 on average. Among the vice chairpersons, 12 are not CPC members. Four are from ethnic minority groups and four are women. The standing committee members are aged 60.8 on average, about 65 percent of whom are not CPC members. Thirty-two are from ethnic minority groups, and 48 are women. The CPPCC serves as an important mechanism for multiparty cooperation and political consultation led by the CPC. The first session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee opened on March 4 and will conclude Saturday. BEIJING, March 10 (Xinhua) -- China firmly opposes the U.S. placing 24 Chinese companies and one individual on its Specially Designated Nationals List on the so-called Iran-related excuses to impose sanctions on them, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce said Friday. The United States should immediately rectify its wrong practices and cease unreasonable suppression on Chinese enterprises and individuals, the spokesperson said, adding that China will take necessary actions to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises and individuals. The United States has repeatedly imposed sanctions on Chinese enterprises on the so-called grounds related to Iran or Russia, the spokesperson said. The abusive use of unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction by the United States does not align with the international law, seriously undermines the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises and individuals, interrupts the normal economic and trade exchanges between other countries, threatens the security and stability of the global industrial and supply chains, and hinders the recovery and development of the world economy, said the spokesperson. People visit the exhibition booth of a Chinese publishing house at the Bologna Children's Book Fair in Bologna, Italy, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Jin Mamengni) At the Bologna fair, China Science and Technology Press inked cooperation deals with Brazilian and Russian publishing houses to publish 10 sets of Chinese works in their countries. BOLOGNA, Italy, March 10 (Xinhua) -- A picture book series titled "Palace Cats," depicting a few of the furry occupants of the Palace Museum, the huge national museum complex housed in the Forbidden City in the heart of Beijing, caught the eyes of nearly all visitors to the exhibition area of a Chinese publishing house at the Bologna Children's Book Fair, which ran from March 6 to March 9 in the central Italian city. In its 60th edition, the annual book fair is a major international forum for publishers, authors and illustrators of children's literature to exchange ideas, forge bonds and select partners. At the 32-square-meter stand of China Science and Technology Press, hundreds of Chinese story books and science books for children were on display. Audrey Lorenzini, an independent publisher from Padova, Italy, discussed copyright issues with the Chinese exhibitors. Books published by China Science and Technology Press are displayed at the Bologna Children's Book Fair in Bologna, Italy, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Jin Mamengni) "It's very difficult for children in Italy to access books about Chinese culture," she said while she was looking for books for Italians who want to learn about China. Publishers and licensing professionals were also drawn to the exhibition booths of other Chinese publishers, such as Beijing-based UTOP publishing house and China Children's Press and Publication Group, to seek deals for cooperation. Popular selections from these industry insiders included "Palace Cats," which tactfully integrates information about the 24 solar terms in the Chinese lunar calendar and the imperial palace into the stories, as well as "My Hillside, My Fallen Leaves," an educational story. Chen Lu (R), copyright manager of the China Science and Technology Press, talks with a visitor at the Bologna Children's Book Fair in Bologna, Italy, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Jin Mamengni) "I like the style of the illustration. It's bright, simple but impressive," Christina Wu, principal consultant with Wellread & Boekenreis Agency commented. She said she wants to publish "My Hillside, My Fallen Leaves" in Dutch for Dutch readers. "I am also impressed by the core message the book conveys -- support and help between friends foster their mental growth." Zhu Weina, senior project manager with the book fair organizer's Chinese subsidiary Ronbo BolognaFiere Shanghai Ltd., said three works from China won major awards at this year's Bologna fair -- "the best performance Chinese original stories achieved at the book fair in recent years." "This is an important signal to the world that Chinese original stories are becoming more and more competitive," she said. "In the past, China was generally seen by industry insiders as a major buyer of content and copyright in the global market. Now that China is growing in content creation, it is attracting more buyers worldwide." At the Bologna fair, China Science and Technology Press inked cooperation deals with Brazilian and Russian publishing houses to publish 10 sets of Chinese works in their countries. Slava Fedorov (L), chief executive of Russia's IRSI Publishing House, and Carlos Eduardo Cavalheiro Filho, chief executive of Bom Bom Book's LTDA of Brazil, receive an interview at the Bologna Children's Book Fair in Bologna, Italy, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Jin Mamengni) Praising the way Chinese history was presented in the books and the illustrations, Carlos Eduardo Cavalheiro Filho, chief executive of Bom Bom Book's LTDA of Brazil, said he and his whole team are excited about the cooperation with the Chinese press. "Many (book) contents we translated are already famous in Brazil," he said. "We're looking forward to publishing these works in Portuguese and selling them in the country." Slava Fedorov, chief executive of Russia's IRSI Publishing House, said many Russians have a basic understanding of traditional Chinese culture but are not familiar with modern Chinese literature, especially children's literature. "We are in the very beginning to open this market to introduce modern Chinese literature to Russia, and we see the interest from our readers," he told Xinhua. Over 1,400 exhibitors from 90 countries and regions attended the fair, including world-renowned publishers, such as Penguin Random House and HarperCollins Publishers. TRIPOLI, March 9 (Xinhua) -- The UN refugee agency on Thursday evacuated 150 asylum-seekers and refugees from Libya to Rwanda. This was the first such evacuation flight arranged by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) this year, the UNHCR said in a statement. The flight carries children, women at risk, survivors of violence, people with serious medical conditions, survivors of trafficking, and newly released people from detention, said the statement. In Rwanda, the asylum-seekers and refugees will stay at the Emergency Transit Center, where the UNHCR will provide them with accommodation, food, water, medical care, psychosocial support, and language classes. The UNHCR said it aimed to help the evacuated asylum-seekers to find durable solutions such as resettlement to third countries or voluntary return if it is possible. Since 2017, the UNHCR has assisted more than 10,000 people to depart for third countries through resettlement, evacuation, and complementary pathways, it added. CAIRO, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi on Thursday held phone talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to discuss bilateral, regional and international issues, said the Egyptian presidency. The two presidents "stressed the importance of boosting efforts to reinforce stability in the Middle East and to resolve current crises in the region," Egyptian presidential spokesman Ahmed Fahmy said in a statement. They also touched on ways to overcome ongoing global crises, especially the food crisis, he said. "The two presidents confirmed the importance of enhancing food security, especially in countries affected in the African continent," Fahmy said. The two leaders also exchanged congratulations on the 80th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between the two countries, vowing to work together to boost their "historic" ties, he added. PHNOM PENH, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's tourism earned gross revenue of 1.41 billion U.S. dollars in 2022, a 669 percent rise compared to the year before, according to a Ministry of Tourism report released on Friday. The Southeast Asian country received 2.28 million international tourists last year, up 1,058 percent from a year earlier, the report said. "Tourism industry contributed 3.6 percent to Cambodia's gross domestic product (GDP) last year," the report said. Averagely, a tourist stayed two nights and three days in Cambodia, the report noted. Tourism Minister Thong Khon said the kingdom is expected to attract 4 million international visitors in 2023. "This year, we hope to attract between 800,000 and 1 million Chinese tourists," he said. Tourism is one of the four pillars supporting Cambodia's economy. The country has three world heritage sites, namely the Angkor archeological park in northwest Siem Reap province, Preah Vihear Temple in northwest Preah Vihear province, and Sambor Prei Kuk archeological site in central Kampong Thom province. Besides, it has a pristine coastline stretching in the length of 450 km in four southwest provinces of Sihanoukville, Kampot, Kep and Koh Kong. ROME, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced new measures against human traffickers Thursday, after holding a cabinet meeting in the seaside town of Cutro, the site of a recent shipwreck that claimed at least 72 lives. She said the cabinet had signed off on a new migration flow management decree featuring harsher penalties for human smugglers and more effective expulsion practices. "The fact that the entire Cabinet of Ministers traveled to hold the meeting here and now is proof of how serious we take this subject," Meloni said. She said the new decree makes it a felony if traffickers cause death or serious injury while smuggling migrants to European shores, and such crimes will be punishable by up to 30 years in prison. However, the new rules will not apply retroactively to the four traffickers arrested in connection with the Feb. 26 tragedy or anyone associated with the wave of arrivals in recent days. Meloni said she believed such policies would act as a deterrent against human trafficking. "We respond to what happened with more firmness," she said. "We will do everything that needs to be done to defeat these criminals." The new decree also sets up a system of quotas for legal work permits, but these would only be available for citizens of countries that "cooperate" with Italy on discouraging illegal departures from their territory. According to media reports, there was another shipwreck on Wednesday, leaving one woman dead, while 20 people were saved and brought safely to shore. This ship was coming from Tunisia. Between Wednesday and Thursday, there were 17 landings involving more than 1,000 migrants on the southern Italian island of Lampedusa, according to media reports. BERLIN, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Seven people died and at least eight others were injured in a church shooting in the German city of Hamburg Thursday evening, German newspaper Bild reported. Earlier media reports said the shooting, which occurred around 9 p.m., killed six people. One more body was found on the upper part of the building later, reported the newspaper, adding that the police said it was currently unclear whether it was the perpetrator. The police added that there was no evidence of a fleeing perpetrator. Local police tweeted earlier that a large-scale operation was underway in the area. Hamburg's Mayor Peter Tschentscher expressed his condolences to the victims' families. Police were working flat out to pursue the perpetrators and clarify the background, he said on Twitter. CCTV: US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley recently visited a US military base in northeast Syria, saying that US troops withdrawal from Syria would threaten the security of the US and its allies. Syrias foreign ministry condemned the visit as a flagrant violation of the countrys sovereignty and territorial integrity and asked the US to stop its persistent, systematic violation of international law. This week, the US House voted down a bill directing removal of troops from Syria. Whats Chinas comment? Mao Ning: Since the US began its illegal interference in the Syrian crisis, its military operations in Syria have taken away a large number of innocent civilian lives and caused grave humanitarian disasters. The US has been criticized multiple times by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic of the UN for indiscriminate attacks that may amount to a war crime. The Syrian crisis will soon enter its 13th year. At least 350,000 people have lost their lives and 14 million people are in dire need of humanitarian assistance. The US, however, insists that a withdrawal is premature and has shown no inclination to end its illegal military presence in Syria. We call on the US to respect other countries sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, immediately end the troops illegal occupation and plundering in Syria, remove illegal unilateral sanctions and stop creating and aggravating humanitarian disasters. Shenzhen TV: Lao Ambassador to China Khamphao Ernthavanh said in a recent interview that the China-Laos Railway is an important project of win-win cooperation between the two countries, which opened up new prospects for the socioeconomic development of Laos and turned the dreams of people along the route into reality. The ambassador also noted that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has turned land-locked Laos into a land-linked country, contributing to regional connectivity and mutual benefits. Whats your comment? Mao Ning: The China-Laos Railway has been running for 15 months. Its freight train service brings goods to countries including Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Bangladesh and Singapore. The number of freight trains in operation has increased from two pairs to 12 pairs per day. The categories of goods have expanded from more than 100 early on to more than 2,000. All this shows the China-Laos Railway has become a golden route for international logistics. The China-Laos Railway is a good example of BRI cooperation and how it benefits the participating countries. It is also a project that signifies the high ethical standards that the Belt and Road aims for. Just as Foreign Minister Qin Gang pointed out when he met the press on the margins of the two sessions, a decade of efforts since the BRIs launch have laid down a pathway toward common development, and created an array of national landmarks, livelihood projects, and milestones of cooperation. We believe that there will be more excellent projects resulting from high-quality Belt and Road cooperation which will boost development, improve peoples lives, and generate more opportunities for countries to prosper together. Reuters: The outgoing President David Panuelo of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) claims that he met with Taiwanese officials in February and asked for $50 million in exchange for the country recognizing Taiwan and that Taiwan agreed. Do you have any comment? Mao Ning: I have seen relevant reports. I would like to stress that Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinas territory. The one-China principle is a universally recognized norm in international relations and the political premise and foundation on which China establishes diplomatic relations with other countries including the FSM. China firmly opposes countries that have diplomatic ties with China engaging in any form of official interaction with the Taiwan region in violation of the one-China principle. On the basis of the one-China principle and in the spirit of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit, China stands ready to work with the FSM to enhance friendship and cooperation. The Paper: We learned that the Chinese embassy in the Netherlands announced Chinas accession to the Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents after China officially deposited the instrument of accession. Could you share with us how this will benefit Chinese nationals and businesses? Mao Ning: On March 8, Chinese Ambassador to the Netherlands Tan Jian officially deposited on behalf of China the instrument of accession with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, the depository of the Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents. This marks Chinas official accession to the Convention. In early November, the Convention shall enter into force in China. The main purpose of the Convention is to simplify procedures for the use of public documents abroad and facilitate international trade and people-to-people exchange. Chinas accession is an important step towards greater institutional opening-up in the use of public documents abroad and will be a boon in two aspects. First, it will significantly reduce time and cost. It will be easier for Chinese citizens to complete relevant procedures for the use abroad of such documents as health certificate, drivers licence certificate, household registry certificate and certificate of academic degree. It will only take a few days to get one document ready for use abroad, compared with around 20 days previously. With the cost greatly reduced, it will save Chinese and foreign individuals and businesses more than 300 million yuan every year. The time required to complete relevant procedures between China and other contracting states to the Convention will be slashed by about 90% on average. Second, it will help improve business environment. With Chinas accession to the Convention, foreign companies investing in or exporting to China will no longer need to seek consular legalisation for commercial documents. There will be similar benefits for over 70% of Chinas export-related commercial documents. We look forward to working with all sides for the smooth implementation of the Convention and to further facilitate trade and people-to-people exchange. China Daily: The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy issued a statement a few days ago, welcoming the alignment of certain countries concerning the EUs restrictive measures against human rights violations and abuses. It was learned that these restrictive measures include sanctions adopted in 2021 on relevant persons and entities in Xinjiang. What is Chinas comment? Mao Ning: In March 2021, the EU made the wrong decision on unilateral sanctions based on lies and disinformation, which grossly interfered in Chinas internal affairs, blatantly violated international law and the basic norms in international relations, and seriously harmed China-EU relations. China is strongly opposed to this and has repeatedly urged the EU to correct the wrongdoing and withdraw the unilateral sanctions. The progress of the human rights cause in Xinjiang is widely recognized in the world. We ask relevant countries to see clearly the facts and truth, observe international law and the basic norms in international relations, and refrain from undermining Chinas sovereignty, security and development interests. Reuters: What does China hope to achieve by hosting the bishop of Hong Kong for the first time in nearly 30 years? Will the Chinese side be giving the bishop a message for Catholics in Hong Kong? Mao Ning: Im not aware of the specifics. This is not a question about foreign affairs. AFP: The Canadian police say they are investigating two new police service stations operated by the Ministry of Public Security of China, which allegedly conduct harassment of Chinese nationals in Canada as well as other illegal operations. Whats your comment? Mao Ning: We have shared relevant information on this and made our position clear many times. China follows the principle of non-interference in other countries internal affairs, strictly observes international law and respects the judicial sovereignty of all countries. We hope relevant parties will stop hyping up this and discrediting China. Yonhap News Agency: According to reports, the DPRK fired a short-range missile toward the sea west of the Korean Peninsula on March 9. Do you have any comment? Mao Ning: We have noted relevant reports. We have also noted that certain parties have recently held successive joint military exercises in the region. We hope all parties can face up to the crux of the Korean Peninsula issues, and jointly promote their political settlement. CCTV: Suh Kune-yull, a professor emeritus of Nuclear Energy System Engineering at Seoul National University, recently said in an interview that the huge amount of 1.35 million tonnes of nuclear-contaminated water from Fukushima cannot be fully purified. An artificial lake of 200,000 square meters can meet Japans need to dump the water in the next 50 years, and will only cost US$25 million, which is the least expensive solution. The Pacific is the worlds shared asset. Japan could have chosen a better option, yet it has insisted on discharging the water into the ocean. This is tantamount to launching a terrorist attack against the Pacific Ocean, depriving it of the peace it enjoys. Whats Chinas comment? Mao Ning: We have noted that many experts and scholars have made strong criticisms over Japans plan to discharge nuclear-contaminated water from Fukushima into the ocean. Japan has obligations under the international law to prevent the pollution of the environment and ensure minimization of the hazard. The IAEA Task Force has yet to complete its assessment of Japans discharge plan, still less reach a final conclusion. The Japanese side, without full consultation with stakeholders, went ahead with approving the discharge plan and accelerated the construction of discharge facilities. This move is extremely irresponsible. Let me stress that the disposal of the Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water bears on the global marine environment and public health. This is not Japans domestic affair. China urges Japan to take seriously the legitimate concerns of all parties, earnestly live up to its obligations, place itself under the strict monitoring of the international community, dispose of the nuclear-contaminated water in a science-based, open, transparent and safe manner, including assessing the alternatives to ocean discharge. Japan must not start discharging the nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean before reaching consensus through full consultation with neighboring countries and other stakeholders as well as relevant international agencies. Bloomberg: The Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told the US House Intelligence Committee that the US intelligence community doesnt think that China wants a military conflict over Taiwan. How does the foreign ministry respond to this? Mao Ning: Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinas territory. Resolving the Taiwan question is a matter for the Chinese and must be decided by Chinese ourselves. No one shall ever underestimate the firm resolve, staunch will and strong capability of the Chinese government and people to defend sovereignty and territorial integrity. We urge the US to abide by the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques, deliver on US leaders commitment of not supporting Taiwan independence or two Chinas or one China, one Taiwan, stop all forms of official interaction with Taiwan, stop upgrading its substantive exchanges with the region, and stop obscuring and hollowing out the one-China principle. Bloomberg: The US Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on five more Chinese companies and one individual. Theyre accused of supplying aerospace components to an Iranian maker of drones sold to Russia and used in attacks on oil tankers. How does the ministry respond to these latest sanctions? Mao Ning: China has all along been firmly opposed to the unilateral sanctions of the US side which violate international law and the basic norms in international relations. We will continue to resolutely safeguard the lawful rights and interests of Chinese companies in accordance with law. Reuters: There has been a continued presence of Chinese vessels, including those from the navy, within the vicinity of Thitu and other features in the Spratly archipelago. Do you have any comment? Mao Ning: China has sovereignty over Nansha Islands and its adjacent waters and jurisdiction over relevant waters. It is legitimate and lawful for Chinese vessels to operate in waters under Chinas jurisdiction. NPR: I have quite a broad question. Later this month will be the 20th anniversary of the start of the US war in Iraq. Im wondering what the Chinese government thinks is an appropriate way to remember the start of this war? What lessons are to be drawn 20 years later? Mao Ning: We have made clear Chinas position on the Iraq war on multiple occasions. As to what lessons are to be drawn, those who initiated the war are the ones who should do some soul-searching. AFP: President Xi Jinping was elected president today. I was wondering whats the significance of his election to Chinas foreign relations, especially the relations with the US and other Western countries in the next five years to come? Mao Ning: General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee and Chairman of the Central Military Commission Xi Jinping was unanimously elected president of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) and chairman of the Central Military Commission of the PRC. This fully reflects the common will of the Party, the armed forces, and Chinese people of all ethnic groups. This also fully embodies the high degree of unity between the will of the Party, the people and the state. It is what the Party hopes for and what the people hope for. It is of great significance for advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts. China pursues an independent foreign policy of peace and develops friendly cooperative relations with all countries on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit. We will continue to view and grow relations with the US in accordance with the three principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation. At the same time, we will firmly safeguard our sovereignty, security and development interests. We hope that the US side will work with China through concrete actions to bring bilateral relations back to the track of healthy and stable growth. BERLIN, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Six people were killed and several others were seriously injured in a shooting at a church in the German city of Hamburg Thursday evening, broadcaster RTL reported. It said the perpetrator or perpetrators are still on the run. Local police said on Twitter that some were fatally injured. A large-scale operation is underway in the area. So far, there is no reliable information pointing to the motive for the shooting, according to the police. BUDAPEST, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday that the world is closer than ever to a world war because the leaders of the West are "gripped by war fever." "They are making speeches calling for the war to be won, which demands more sacrifices, and are sending more powerful weapons to Ukraine," Orban said on public broadcaster Radio Kossuth. He argued that the international public opinion is sharply divided: the West is on one side, while the Arabs, the Chinese, the Africans and the Turkic states are on the other. The latter he said, want peace: "They are proposing a ceasefire and negotiations." Orban recalled that the Russia-Ukraine armed conflict resulted in the loss of thousands of people on both sides. He said Germany "started with sending helmets, now they are on to tanks, and the new topic now is whether they should send fighter jets." The possibility of soldiers from countries allied with Ukraine crossing the Ukrainian border is also not to be excluded, he said. "We have never been so close to a local war escalating into a world war," he said. According to him, only the Vatican and Hungary want peace in Europe, and only Hungary within the European Union. He said Hungary needs to invest in developing a modern army, which is the only way to guarantee the country's safety. Zhaluo (2nd R), an expert with the China Tibetology Research Center, speaks at a side-event themed "the Concept and Practice of Human Rights in China" on the sidelines of the 52nd session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, March 9, 2023. (Xinhua/Lian Yi) GENEVA, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Boarding schools in China's Xizang Autonomous Region are totally different from those "colonial-era residential schools in Canada, Australia, and the United States," where "astonishing tragedies once happened," a professor said at a human rights conference on Thursday. Did boarding schools in Xizang "separate Tibetan children from their families" and "force them to receive assimilation education in boarding schools"? Zhaluo, an expert with the China Tibetology Research Center, asked at a side-event of the 52nd session of the UN Human Rights Council. Those with a positive answer either know little about Xizang or purposely stigmatize China, Zhaluo said at the event themed "The Concept and Practice of Human Rights in China." "I once studied at a boarding school. Besides, over the past 30 years I have been committed to researching Xizang's development, so I am familiar with boarding schools in the autonomous region," he said at the meeting organized by the China Society for Human Rights Studies. The main reasons that Xizang established and developed boarding schools are as follows: First, the population is widely dispersed, making it difficult to attend a school close to home; Second, the mountainous geographical conditions render transportation inconvenient. "Boarding schools that allow school-age children to study and live together are the best way to promote school education," he noted. The expert told attendees that based on his observations in the past 30 years, the infrastructure of boarding schools in Xizang and students' living allowance standards have seen obvious improvements, and the student management and care system has become increasingly mature and standardized. He said that the boarding schools maximally guarantee that children of farmers and herders in Xizang's remote areas enjoy the right to education, and thanks to the implementation of the boarding school system, both rural and urban students can share high-quality educational resources and receive school education equally, thus narrowing the rural-urban educational gap. "As a matter of fact, a variety of boarding schools full of humanism and vitality have provided a favorable environment for the growth of numerous students in many parts of the world, including China's Xizang Autonomous Region, and offered them the golden key to a splendid life," he stressed. This photo taken on March 9, 2023 shows a side-event themed "the Concept and Practice of Human Rights in China" on the sidelines of the 52nd session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland. (Xinhua/Lian Yi) BERLIN, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Eight people, including the gunman himself, died and eight others were injured in a shooting at a Jehovah's Witnesses hall in the German city of Hamburg on Thursday evening, local police said. According to the police, the 35-year-old gunman took his own life after the police arrived. He was a former member of the Jehovah's Witnesses congregation with a valid gun permit, and had left the religious community voluntarily a year and a half ago. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he was stunned by this violence. "My thoughts are with the victims and their families in these difficult hours. We mourn for those who were so brutally torn from life," he said. The investigations by the public prosecutor's office and the police are still ongoing, also concerning the perpetrator's motive. Participants watch a live demonstration of a surgical procedure at the 2023 Pacific Dental Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on March 9, 2023. The three-day event featured a trade show with more than 225 exhibitors showcasing their latest products, technologies and services in the dental industry. (Photo by Liang Sen/Xinhua) An attendee tries out some dental equipment at the 2023 Pacific Dental Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on March 9, 2023. The three-day event featured a trade show with more than 225 exhibitors showcasing their latest products, technologies and services in the dental industry. (Photo by Liang Sen/Xinhua) Some dental equipment is displayed at the 2023 Pacific Dental Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on March 9, 2023. The three-day event featured a trade show with more than 225 exhibitors showcasing their latest products, technologies and services in the dental industry. (Photo by Liang Sen/Xinhua) An attendee tries out a dental loupe set at the 2023 Pacific Dental Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on March 9, 2023. The three-day event featured a trade show with more than 225 exhibitors showcasing their latest products, technologies and services in the dental industry. (Photo by Liang Sen/Xinhua) An exhibitor demonstrates a dental 3D scanner at the 2023 Pacific Dental Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on March 9, 2023. The three-day event featured a trade show with more than 225 exhibitors showcasing their latest products, technologies and services in the dental industry. (Photo by Liang Sen/Xinhua) An exhibitor explains the function of a dental chair product to attendees at the 2023 Pacific Dental Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on March 9, 2023. The three-day event featured a trade show with more than 225 exhibitors showcasing their latest products, technologies and services in the dental industry. (Photo by Liang Sen/Xinhua) An attendee looks at dental equipment at the 2023 Pacific Dental Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on March 9, 2023. The three-day event featured a trade show with more than 225 exhibitors showcasing their latest products, technologies and services in the dental industry. (Photo by Liang Sen/Xinhua) MEXICO CITY, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Thursday rebuked a U.S. lawmaker for offering to send U.S. troops into Mexico to combat the drug trade. "We are not a protectorate of the United States or a colony of the United States," said Lopez Obrador, denouncing the proposal as an "offense" to Mexico's sovereignty, as well as "interventionist," "inhumane" and "hypocritical." "We do not receive orders from anyone. The people of Mexico govern here," the president said at his daily press conference. U.S. Republican Representative Dan Crenshaw of Texas submitted a bill to the legislature that seeks to authorize deployment of armed forces in Mexico to fight drug trafficking, particularly fentanyl. "We are not going to allow any foreign governments to intervene in our territory, much less the armed forces of a foreign government," the Mexican president said. The United States, he said, is failing to tackle drug abuse at home, especially fentanyl addiction among its youths, which is a problem Mexico does not share. "Why don't they take care of their young people? Why don't they take care of their serious problems of social breakdowns?" he asked. Lopez Obrador described the lawmaker's initiative as more of an "electoral" stunt rather than a sincere effort to address drug abuse and trafficking, noting that elections are coming up in the United States. Finnish Prime Minister attends memorial service for volunteer fighter "Da Vinci" 10 March, 05:40 PM Sanna Marin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Photo:NV) The Prime Minister of Finland, Sanna Marin, arrived in Kyiv on March 10 on a surprise visit during which she, together with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, attended a memorial service for volunteer fighter Dmytro "Da Vinci" Kotsyubailo, according to pictures taken by NV at Kyiv's St. Michael's Cathedral. 27-year-old Dmytro Kotsyubailo, a member of the 67th Separate Mechanized Brigade, was killed on March 7. He had been an active participant in the Revolution of Dignity and had fought for Ukraine since the Russian war began in 2014. He commanded a volunteer platoon at first, then he became a company commander in 2015. He was awarded with the title of Hero of Ukraine in December 2021. He also served as the commander of the 1st Separate Mechanized Battalion Da Vinci Wolves of the ground forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Video of day Read also: Hero of Ukraine Dmytro Kotsyubailo killed in battle for Bakhmut 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 Italian navy officer found guilty of spying for Moscow 10 March, 01:27 AM Flag of Italy (Photo:juliacasado1 / pixabay) A military tribunal in Rome has sentenced Walter Biot, the naval officer accused of spying for Russia, to 30 years imprisonment, Italian news agency ANSA reported on March 9. According to the prosecution, Biot handed over secret documents to an employee of the Russian embassy in Italy, in March 2021. Biot took photos of 19 confidential NATO documents, including those marked Top Secret, in exchange for a promised reward of EUR 5,000 ($5,292). While the prosecutors asked for Biot to be imprisoned for life, he was ultimately sentenced to 30 years in prison. Biots lawyer maintains the defendant had no chance to defend himself. Video of day Back in 2023, Biots wife said the officer decided to work for Russia due to personal financial difficulties exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and asserted her husband supplied Moscow with information of little significance. 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 Norway to supply two additional NASAMS anti-air batteries to Ukraine 11 March, 12:04 AM NASAMS AIR DEFENSE SYSTEM (Photo:ukrmilitary.com) Norway will send Ukraine additional NASAMS air defense batteries on top of the ones provided by the United States in 2022, Norwegian Defense Minister Bjorn Arild Gram said during a visit to Kyiv on March 10. The decision was made after a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov. According to a statement on the ministrys website, Ukraine will receive six launchers and two control centers, effectively doubling the number of NASAMS systems Kyiv has at its disposal. The United States provided the first two batteries in 2022. Video of day Ukraine has a strong need for more air defense, and Norway will contribute what we can, Norwegian broadcaster TV2 quotes Gram. Additionally, Ukraine is negotiating with Norway about training Ukrainian pilots, according to Zelenskyy. Were beginning talks with Norway as to the possibility of a mission to train our pilots, the president said during his evening address. First NASAMS systems arrived in Ukraine on Nov. 7, 2022. Ukrainian military officials praised their effectiveness, claiming they have a perfect track record in intercepting Russian cruise missiles. 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 Over 80% of Ukrainians think Belarus involved in Russias war against Ukraine 10 March, 04:25 PM Belarus has been training its military since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukraine (Photo: /Telegram) Some 80.6% of Ukrainians believe that Belarus is involved in Russias war against Ukraine, according to a Razumkov Center poll whose results were released on March 9. Yet, 7.5% of those polled hold the opposite opinion. Additionally, a grant majority holds a negative attitude toward Belarus (56.3% negative, 24.4% mainly negative). However, 12.4% of those polled have a positive attitude toward Belarus (3.1% positive, 9.3% mainly positive). Read also: Russia dispatches more echelons with troops and equipment from Belarus to Ukraine Meanwhile, over 90% of Ukrainians have a negative attitude toward Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko (76.3% negative, 15.9% mainly negative), with only 3.3% having a positive attitude toward the dictator (0.5% positive, and 2.8% mainly positive). Video of day Two-thirds of those polled fully (46.7%) or rather (22.5%) support the complete severing of all relations between Kyiv and Minsk after Ukraines victory. In contrast, 5.4% of Ukrainians are fully against the complete severing of all relations between Ukraine and Belarus, and 11.2% rather do not support it. Read also: Belarusian opposition leader takes credit for damaging Russian plane in Belarus The survey was conducted through face-to-face interviews from Feb. 22 to March 1, 2023. A total of 2,020 people were polled in all regions of Ukraine, except for in the Russian-occupied territories. Directly prior to Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Lukashenko provided Belarusian territory as a staging ground for the invading forces. The troops gathered in Belarus were primarily used to attack the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv. The Russian army also continues to launch missile strikes at Ukraine from Belarus. Belarusian troops do not directly participate in hostilities. However, experts have warned that it is possible for Belarus or Russia to attempt another attack on Kyiv from the north. 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 By Azernews Qabil Ashirov Azerbaijani Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov received Head of the Chancery of the Latvian President Andris Teikmanis, Azernews reports, citing a tweet by Mikayil Jabbarov. The meeting discussed the development of the bilateral ties between Azerbaijan and Latvia, the current state of the trade and economic relations, as well as the prospective cooperation opportunities. Moreover, Azerbaijani Export and Investment Promotion Agency and the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia inked a Memorandum of Understanding. During the meeting with Andris Teikmanis (@teikmanis), the Head of the Chancery of the Latvian President, we have touched upon the development of the bilateral ties between our countries, the current state of the #trade-#economic relations, as well as the prospective cooperation opportunities. The #MemorandumofUnderstanding, signed between the Export and Investment Promotion Agency of Azerbaijan Republic (@AzpromoPr) and the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (@LIAALatvija) within the framework of the meeting, will contribute to the strengthening of the bilateral economic relations and implementation of joint #investment projects, the minister tweeted. Turkey resumes Finland and Sweden NATO accession talks 10 March, 04:41 AM Flags of Sweden, Finland and NATO (Photo:REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration) Turkey has resumed its participation in talks with Finland and Sweden on ratifying their NATO membership on some conditions NATO press service announced on March 9. The negotiations were held at NATO HQ in Brussels. This was the third round of talks that sought to resolve Ankaras concerns about what it perceives as Sweden and Finland supporting Turkeys Kurdish opposition. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that both Finland and Sweden have taken unprecedented steps to accommodate Turkeys demands, adding that he hopes both countries could become full members of the alliance in the coming months. Video of day Some of the results of the meeting include removing restriction on arms trade between the three countries, and Swedens pledge to enact new laws related to countering terrorism. Read also: Finland will transfer tanks to Ukraine only after it joins NATO The parties agreed that the decision to invite Finland and Sweden to become NATO members was historic, the press release reads. They further agreed that rapid ratifications for both Finland and Sweden would be in everyones interest, and that their membership will strengthen the alliance. On Feb. 17, Stoltenberg said the time has come for Turkey and Hungary to finally ratify Sweden and Finlands accession to NATO. 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 (Adds quotes from briefing, details) By Steve Holland and Doina Chiacu WASHINGTON, March 10 (Reuters) - The United States accused Russia on Friday of seeking to destabilize Moldova and said it would help the Eastern European country fight off such attempts by sharing information and providing other assistance, the White House said. The United States agrees with Moldovan President Maia Sandu's view that there is no imminent military threat from Russia but shares her concern that Moscow is trying to destabilize her country to install a more pro-Russian government, John Kirby, the White House's national security spokesperson, said in a briefing. "As Moldova continues to integrate with Europe, we believe Russia is pursuing options to weaken the Moldovan government probably with the eventual goal of seeing a more Russian friendly administration in the capital," Kirby said. "More specifically, Russian actors, some with current ties to Russian intelligence, are seeking to stage and use protests in Moldova as a basis to foment and manufacture insurrection against the Moldovan government." Other Russian actors, he said, will work to provide training and help manufacture demonstrations in Moldova, a former Soviet republic. The United States will take a range of steps in response to Russian attempts to destabilize Moldova, including building on the information Moldovan government has and working with the U.S. Congress to provide Moldova an additional $300 million in energy assistance to address urgent needs because of the war in Ukraine. Russian officials are falsely alleging that Ukraine is planning to target separatists from Transdniestria, Kirby said, referring to a Moscow-backed breakaway region of Moldova. "Let me be clear, these allegations are unfounded they're false, and they can create baseless alarm," he said. Sandu, whose country borders Ukraine, has repeatedly expressed concern about Moscow's intentions towards her country and about the presence of Russian troops in Transdniestria. Story continues U.S. President Joe Biden met with Sandu in February during a trip to Warsaw and reaffirmed strong U.S. support for Moldova's sovereignty and territorial integrity, the White House said. The United States would continue to "shine a light" on the activities of these Russian actors, including with additional sanctions, Kirby added. "We have shared the information I have outlined as well as additional details with our Moldova and counterparts so that they can further investigate and disrupt Russian plans," he said. (Reporting by Steve Holland and Doina Chiacu; Writing by Susan Heavey; Editing by Tim Ahmann and Paul Simao) Clinical data submitted are consistent with global data and support enfortumab vedotin as a platinum-free option in patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer who received prior treatment with a PD-1/L1 inhibitor and platinum-based chemotherapy TOKYO and BOTHELL, Wash., March 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Astellas Pharma Inc. (TSE:4503, President and CEO: Kenji Yasukawa, Ph.D., "Astellas") and Seagen Inc. (Nasdaq: SGEN) today announced that the Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) of the China National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) has accepted the Biologics License Application (BLA) for enfortumab vedotin for the treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer (la/mUC) who received prior treatment with a PD-1/L1 inhibitor and platinum-based chemotherapy. Astellas stands on the forefront of healthcare change to turn innovative science into value for patients.(PRNewsFoto/Astellas Pharma Inc.) "In China, there were nearly 86,000 new cases of bladder cancer in 2020, and we are working with the NMPA to seek approval for enfortumab vedotin for patients with advanced stage disease," said Ahsan Arozullah, M.D., M.P.H., Senior Vice President and Head of Development Therapeutic Areas, Astellas. "Enfortumab vedotin has become a second- and third-line treatment option for many patients around the world with previously treated locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer, and an approval in China may bring this therapy to those patients." The BLA submission for enfortumab vedotin is based on data from the EV-203 study (NCT04995419), a single-arm, open-label, multicenter Phase 2 study of enfortumab vedotin in Chinese patients with la/mUC who previously received a PD-1/L1 inhibitor and platinum-based chemotherapy. Results showed that EV-203 met its primary endpoint, showing statistical significance in objective response rate (ORR) by independent review committee (IRC) for patients treated with enfortumab vedotin alone compared to historical controls. Efficacy and pharmacokinetic data from the study are in line with global data, and EV-203 is a bridging study to EV-301, a Phase 3 randomized study that has supported global registrations of enfortumab vedotin, and EV-201 Cohort 1. Story continues Please see Important Safety Information, including BOXED WARNING, at the end of this press release for further safety information regarding enfortumab vedotin including serious skin reactions. Enfortumab vedotin alone and in combination with other therapies is the subject of a robust clinical development program aimed at addressing unmet medical needs across the continuum of urothelial cancer and in other solid tumors. About Bladder and Urothelial Cancer Globally, approximately 573,000 new cases of bladder cancer and 212,000 deaths are reported annually.1 Urothelial cancer accounts for 90% of all bladder cancers and can also be found in the renal pelvis, ureter and urethra.2 Approximately 12% of cases are locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer at diagnosis.3 In China, the incidence rate of bladder cancer in 2020 ranked 12th among all cancers, with an estimated 85,649 new cases that year. The five-year prevalence of bladder cancer in China is estimated to be 16.26/100,000 cases, or 235,393 cases.4 About the EV-203 Trial The EV-203 trial (NCT04995419) is a Phase 2, multicenter, single-arm bridging study in China designed to evaluate the efficacy, safety and pharmacokinetic performance of enfortumab vedotin as treatment for patients in China. A total of 40 patients were enrolled in the study. About the EV-301 Trial The EV-301 trial (NCT03474107) is a global, multicenter, open-label, randomized Phase 3 trial designed to evaluate enfortumab vedotin versus physician's choice of chemotherapy (docetaxel, paclitaxel or vinflunine) in 608 patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer who were previously treated with a PD-1/L1 inhibitor and platinum-based chemotherapies. The primary endpoint is overall survival, and secondary endpoints include progression-free survival, overall response rate, duration of response and disease control rate, as well as assessment of safety/tolerability and quality-of-life parameters. About the EV-201 Trial The EV-201 trial (NCT03219333) is a single-arm, multi-cohort, multicenter, pivotal phase 2 clinical trial of enfortumab vedotin for patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer who have been previously treated with a PD-1 or PD-L1 inhibitor, including those who have also been treated with a platinum-containing chemotherapy (Cohort 1) and those who have not received a platinum-containing chemotherapy in this setting and who are ineligible for cisplatin (Cohort 2). The trial enrolled 125 patients in Cohort 1 and 89 patients in Cohort 2 at multiple centers internationally. The primary endpoint is confirmed objective response rate per blinded independent central review. Secondary endpoints include assessments of duration of response, disease control rate, progression-free survival, overall survival, safety and tolerability. Results of EV-301 and EV-201 Cohort 2 clinical trials supported the full and supplemental approval of PADCEV (enfortumab vedotin-ejfv) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in July 2021. Additionally, results from EV-301 and EV-201 Cohort 1 serve as core data to support the Marketing Authorization Applications for enfortumab vedotin in the global market, including the European Union, Japan and Singapore. About PADCEV PADCEV (enfortumab vedotin-ejfv) is a first-in-class antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) that is directed against Nectin-4, a protein located on the surface of cells and highly expressed in bladder cancer.5 Nonclinical data suggest the anticancer activity of PADCEV is due to its binding to Nectin-4-expressing cells followed by the internalization and release of the anti-tumor agent monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE) into the cell, which result in the cell not reproducing (cell cycle arrest) and in programmed cell death (apoptosis).6 PADCEV (enfortumab vedotin-ejfv) U.S. Indication & Important Safety Information BOXED WARNING: SERIOUS SKIN REACTIONS PADCEV can cause severe and fatal cutaneous adverse reactions including Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (TEN), which occurred predominantly during the first cycle of treatment, but may occur later. Closely monitor patients for skin reactions. Immediately withhold PADCEV and consider referral for specialized care for suspected SJS or TEN or severe skin reactions. Permanently discontinue PADCEV in patients with confirmed SJS or TEN; or Grade 4 or recurrent Grade 3 skin reactions. Indication PADCEV is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer (mUC) who: have previously received a programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1) or programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitor and platinum-containing chemotherapy, or are ineligible for cisplatin-containing chemotherapy and have previously received one or more prior lines of therapy.6 Important Safety Information Warnings and Precautions Skin reactions Severe cutaneous adverse reactions, including fatal cases of SJS or TEN, occurred in patients treated with PADCEV. SJS and TEN occurred predominantly during the first cycle of treatment but may occur later. Skin reactions occurred in 55% of the 680 patients treated with PADCEV in clinical trials. Twenty-three percent (23%) of patients had maculo-papular rash and 33% had pruritus. Grade 3-4 skin reactions occurred in 13% of patients, including maculo-papular rash, rash erythematous, rash or drug eruption, symmetrical drug-related intertriginous and flexural exanthema (SDRIFE), dermatitis bullous, dermatitis exfoliative, and palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia. In clinical trials, the median time to onset of severe skin reactions was 0.6 months (range: 0.1 to 6.4 months). Among patients experiencing a skin reaction leading to dose interruption who then restarted PADCEV (n=59), 24% of patients restarting at the same dose and 16% of patients restarting at a reduced dose experienced recurrent severe skin reactions. Skin reactions led to discontinuation of PADCEV in 2.6% of patients. Monitor patients closely throughout treatment for skin reactions. Consider topical corticosteroids and antihistamines, as clinically indicated. For persistent or recurrent Grade 2 skin reactions, consider withholding PADCEV until Grade 1. Withhold PADCEV and refer for specialized care for suspected SJS, TEN or for Grade 3 skin reactions. Permanently discontinue PADCEV in patients with confirmed SJS or TEN, or for Grade 4 or recurrent Grade 3 skin reactions. Hyperglycemia and diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), including fatal events, occurred in patients with and without pre-existing diabetes mellitus, treated with PADCEV. Patients with baseline hemoglobin A1C 8% were excluded from clinical trials. In clinical trials, 14% of the 680 patients treated with PADCEV developed hyperglycemia; 7% of patients developed Grade 3-4 hyperglycemia. The incidence of Grade 3-4 hyperglycemia increased consistently in patients with higher body mass index and in patients with higher baseline A1C. Five percent (5%) of patients required initiation of insulin therapy for treatment of hyperglycemia. The median time to onset of hyperglycemia was 0.6 months (range: 0.1 to 20.3 months). Hyperglycemia led to discontinuation of PADCEV in 0.6% of patients. Closely monitor blood glucose levels in patients with, or at risk for, diabetes mellitus or hyperglycemia. If blood glucose is elevated (>250 mg/dL), withhold PADCEV. Pneumonitis Severe, life-threatening or fatal pneumonitis occurred in patients treated with PADCEV. In clinical trials, 3.1% of the 680 patients treated with PADCEV had pneumonitis of any grade and 0.7% had Grade 3-4. In clinical trials, the median time to onset of pneumonitis was 2.9 months (range: 0.6 to 6 months). Monitor patients for signs and symptoms indicative of pneumonitis, such as hypoxia, cough, dyspnea or interstitial infiltrates on radiologic exams. Evaluate and exclude infectious, neoplastic and other causes for such signs and symptoms through appropriate investigations. Withhold PADCEV for patients who develop persistent or recurrent Grade 2 pneumonitis and consider dose reduction. Permanently discontinue PADCEV in all patients with Grade 3 or 4 pneumonitis. Peripheral neuropathy (PN) occurred in 52% of the 680 patients treated with PADCEV in clinical trials, including 39% with sensory neuropathy, 7% with muscular weakness and 6% with motor neuropathy; 4% experienced Grade 3-4 reactions. PN occurred in patients treated with PADCEV with or without pre-existing PN. The median time to onset of Grade 2 PN was 4.6 months (range: 0.1 to 15.8 months). Neuropathy led to treatment discontinuation in 5% of patients. Monitor patients for symptoms of new or worsening peripheral neuropathy and consider dose interruption or dose reduction of PADCEV when PN occurs. Permanently discontinue PADCEV in patients who develop Grade 3 PN. Ocular disorders were reported in 40% of the 384 patients treated with PADCEV in clinical trials in which ophthalmologic exams were scheduled. The majority of these events involved the cornea and included events associated with dry eye such as keratitis, blurred vision, increased lacrimation, conjunctivitis, limbal stem cell deficiency, and keratopathy. Dry eye symptoms occurred in 34% of patients, and blurred vision occurred in 13% of patients, during treatment with PADCEV. The median time to onset to symptomatic ocular disorder was 1.6 months (range: 0 to 19.1 months). Monitor patients for ocular disorders. Consider artificial tears for prophylaxis of dry eyes and ophthalmologic evaluation if ocular symptoms occur or do not resolve. Consider treatment with ophthalmic topical steroids, if indicated after an ophthalmic exam. Consider dose interruption or dose reduction of PADCEV for symptomatic ocular disorders. Infusion site extravasation Skin and soft tissue reactions secondary to extravasation have been observed after administration of PADCEV. Of the 680 patients, 1.6% of patients experienced skin and soft tissue reactions, including 0.3% who experienced Grade 3-4 reactions. Reactions may be delayed. Erythema, swelling, increased temperature, and pain worsened until 2-7 days after extravasation and resolved within 1-4 weeks of peak. Two patients (0.3%) developed extravasation reactions with secondary cellulitis, bullae, or exfoliation. Ensure adequate venous access prior to starting PADCEV and monitor for possible extravasation during administration. If extravasation occurs, stop the infusion and monitor for adverse reactions. Embryo-fetal toxicity PADCEV can cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman. Advise patients of the potential risk to the fetus. Advise female patients of reproductive potential to use effective contraception during PADCEV treatment and for 2 months after the last dose. Advise male patients with female partners of reproductive potential to use effective contraception during treatment with PADCEV and for 4 months after the last dose. Adverse Reactions Most Common Adverse Reactions, Including Laboratory Abnormalities (20%) Rash, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) increased, glucose increased, creatinine increased, fatigue, PN, lymphocytes decreased, alopecia, decreased appetite, hemoglobin decreased, diarrhea, sodium decreased, nausea, pruritus, phosphate decreased, dysgeusia, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) increased, anemia, albumin decreased, neutrophils decreased, urate increased, lipase increased, platelets decreased, weight decreased and dry skin. EV-301 Study: 296 patients previously treated with a PD-1/L1 inhibitor and platinum-based chemotherapy. Serious adverse reactions occurred in 47% of patients treated with PADCEV; the most common (2%) were urinary tract infection, acute kidney injury (7% each) and pneumonia (5%). Fatal adverse reactions occurred in 3% of patients, including multiorgan dysfunction (1.0%), hepatic dysfunction, septic shock, hyperglycemia, pneumonitis and pelvic abscess (0.3% each). Adverse reactions leading to discontinuation occurred in 17% of patients; the most common (2%) were PN (5%) and rash (4%). Adverse reactions leading to dose interruption occurred in 61% of patients; the most common (4%) were PN (23%), rash (11%) and fatigue (9%). Adverse reactions leading to dose reduction occurred in 34% of patients; the most common (2%) were PN (10%), rash (8%), decreased appetite and fatigue (3% each). Clinically relevant adverse reactions (<15%) include vomiting (14%), AST increased (12%), hyperglycemia (10%), ALT increased (9%), pneumonitis (3%) and infusion site extravasation (0.7%). EV-201, Cohort 2 Study: 89 patients previously treated with a PD-1/L1 inhibitor and not eligible for platinum-based chemotherapy. Serious adverse reactions occurred in 39% of patients treated with PADCEV; the most common (3%) were pneumonia, sepsis and diarrhea (5% each). Fatal adverse reactions occurred in 8% of patients, including acute kidney injury (2.2%), metabolic acidosis, sepsis, multiorgan dysfunction, pneumonia and pneumonitis (1.1% each). Adverse reactions leading to discontinuation occurred in 20% of patients; the most common (2%) was PN (7%). Adverse reactions leading to dose interruption occurred in 60% of patients; the most common (3%) were PN (19%), rash (9%), fatigue (8%), diarrhea (5%), AST increased and hyperglycemia (3% each). Adverse reactions leading to dose reduction occurred in 49% of patients; the most common (3%) were PN (19%), rash (11%) and fatigue (7%). Clinically relevant adverse reactions (<15%) include vomiting (13%), AST increased (12%), lipase increased (11%), ALT increased (10%), pneumonitis (4%) and infusion site extravasation (1%). Drug Interactions Effects of other drugs on PADCEV (Dual P-gp and Strong CYP3A4 Inhibitors) Concomitant use with dual P-gp and strong CYP3A4 inhibitors may increase unconjugated monomethyl auristatin E exposure, which may increase the incidence or severity of PADCEV toxicities. Closely monitor patients for signs of toxicity when PADCEV is given concomitantly with dual P-gp and strong CYP3A4 inhibitors. Specific Populations Lactation Advise lactating women not to breastfeed during treatment with PADCEV and for at least 3 weeks after the last dose. Hepatic impairment Avoid the use of PADCEV in patients with moderate or severe hepatic impairment. For more information, please see the full Prescribing Information including BOXED WARNING for PADCEV here. About Astellas Astellas Pharma Inc. is a pharmaceutical company conducting business in more than 70 countries around the world. We are promoting the Focus Area Approach that is designed to identify opportunities for the continuous creation of new drugs to address diseases with high unmet medical needs by focusing on Biology and Modality. Furthermore, we are also looking beyond our foundational Rx focus to create Rx+ healthcare solutions that combine our expertise and knowledge with cutting-edge technology in different fields of external partners. Through these efforts, Astellas stands on the forefront of healthcare change to turn innovative science into VALUE for patients. For more information, please visit our website at https://www.astellas.com/en. About Seagen Seagen Inc. is a global biotechnology company that discovers, develops and commercializes transformative cancer medicines to make a meaningful difference in people's lives. Seagen is headquartered in the Seattle, Washington area, and has locations in California, Canada, Switzerland and the European Union. For more information on the company's marketed products and robust pipeline, visit www.seagen.com and follow @SeagenGlobal on Twitter. About the Astellas and Seagen Collaboration Astellas and Seagen are co-developing enfortumab vedotin under a 50:50 worldwide development and commercialization collaboration. In the United States, Astellas and Seagen co-promote enfortumab vedotin under the brand name PADCEV (enfortumab vedotin-ejfv). In the Americas outside the US, Seagen holds responsibility for commercialization activities and regulatory filings. Outside of the Americas, Astellas holds responsibility for commercialization activities and regulatory filings. Astellas Cautionary Notes In this press release, statements made with respect to current plans, estimates, strategies and beliefs and other statements that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements about the future performance of Astellas. These statements are based on management's current assumptions and beliefs in light of the information currently available to it and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: (i) changes in general economic conditions and in laws and regulations, relating to pharmaceutical markets, (ii) currency exchange rate fluctuations, (iii) delays in new product launches, (iv) the inability of Astellas to market existing and new products effectively, (v) the inability of Astellas to continue to effectively research and develop products accepted by customers in highly competitive markets, and (vi) infringements of Astellas' intellectual property rights by third parties. Information about pharmaceutical products (including products currently in development), which is included in this press release, is not intended to constitute an advertisement or medical advice. Seagen Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements made in this press release are forward-looking, such as those, among others, relating to the potential for NMPA approval in the referenced indication; the timing of any potential approval; the therapeutic potential of enfortumab vedotin alone or in combination; its possible efficacy, safety and therapeutic uses; clinical development programs; and planned and ongoing clinical trials. Actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected or implied in these forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause such a difference include, without limitation, the possibility that the referenced application may not be approved in a timely manner or at all or with the requested label; the risk of adverse events and the potential for newly-emerging safety signals; the risk of adverse regulatory actions; and the risk of delays, setbacks or failures in clinical development and regulatory activities, the submission of regulatory applications and the regulatory review process for a variety of reasons, including without limitation the inherent difficulty and uncertainty of pharmaceutical product development, possible required modifications to clinical trials, the inability to provide information and institute safety mitigation measures as may be required by regulatory authorities from time to time, failure to properly conduct or manage clinical trials, and failure of clinical results to support continued development or regulatory approvals. More information about the risks and uncertainties faced by Seagen is contained under the caption "Risk Factors" included in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Seagen disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. 1 International Agency for Research on Cancer. Cancer Tomorrow: Bladder. http://gco.iarc.fr/tomorrow. Accessed March 6, 2023. 2 American Society of Clinical Oncology. Bladder Cancer: Introduction (12-21). https://www.cancer.net/cancer-types/bladder-cancer/introduction. Accessed March 6, 2023. 3 National Cancer Institute Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program. Cancer stat facts: bladder cancer. 2022. https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/urinb.html. Accessed March 6, 2023. 4 International Agency for Research on Cancer. Cancer Today. https://gco.iarc.fr/today. Accessed March 6, 2023. 5 Challita-Eid P, Satpayev D, Yang P, et al. Enfortumab Vedotin Antibody-Drug Conjugate Targeting Nectin-4 Is a Highly Potent Therapeutic Agent in Multiple Preclinical Cancer Models. Cancer Res 2016;76(10):3003-13. 6 PADCEV [package insert]. Northbrook, IL: Astellas Pharma US, Inc. Seagen Logo Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/astellas-and-seagen-announce-chinas-national-medical-products-administration-accepts-biologics-license-application-for-enfortumab-vedotin-in-certain-patients-with-locally-advanced-or-metastatic-urothelial-cancer-301768359.html SOURCE Astellas Pharma Inc. MAXIMIZE MARKET RESEARCH PRIVATE LIMITED Automotive Lead Acid Battery Market size is expected to increase during the forecast period majorly due to the increasing use of automotive lead acid batteries in the automotive sector. The Automotive Lead Acid Battery Market analysis was conducted by dividing the market into three main segments: Type, Vehicle Type and Product Type. New York, US, March 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A global Automotive and Transportation research and business-consulting firm, Maximize Market research, has published a market intelligence and competitive landscape report on the Automotive Lead Acid Battery Market . The report is a combination of primary and secondary data and domain experts have analyzed the Automotive Lead Acid Battery Market from a local and a global point of view. Over the forecast period, Maximize Market research expects the market to grow from USD 12.85 Bn in 2021 to USD 16.54 Bn in 2029 at a CAGR of 3.2 percent. As per the report, the Asia-Pacific region is expected to dominate the global Automotive Lead Acid Battery Market during the forecast period. Automotive Lead Acid Battery Market Report Scope and Research Methodology Market Size in 2021 USD 12.85 Bn. Market Size in 2029 USD 16.54 Bn. CAGR 3.2 percent (2022-2029) Forecast Period 2022-2029 Base Year 2021 Number of Pages 279 No. of Tables 118 No. of Charts and Figures 114 Segment Covered Type, Vehicle Type and Product Type 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/105160 The report presents a detailed analysis of the Automotive Lead Acid Battery Market including current trends and forecasts. To estimate the Automotive Lead Acid Battery Market size, the bottom-up approach was used. The report provides segment-wise and region-wise analysis of the drivers, restraints, opportunities and challenges in the market. Story continues The data was collected by using primary and secondary research methods for the Automotive Lead Acid Battery Market report. Estimating and forecasting the Automotive Lead Acid Battery Market began with capturing the data on key players revenues through secondary research. Secondary research was majorly conducted to obtain detailed information about the Automotive Lead Acid Battery industrys supply chain, the market monetary chain, regional markets, key developments from both market and technology -oriented perspectives. Primary sources are mainly manufacturers, distributors, experts from core and related industries, technology developers, services providers and organizations related to all segments related to the Automotive Lead Acid Battery industrys supply chain. To obtain and verify the quantitative data, in-depth interviews were conducted with a large sample of primary respondents including key industry participants, industry consultants, key market players and subject matter experts (SME). SWOT analysis was conducted to provide the strengths and weaknesses of the Automotive Lead Acid Battery Market while PESTLE was employed to understand the potential impact of the micro-economic factors affecting the Automotive Lead Acid Battery Market. Automotive Lead Acid Battery Market Overview The automotive lead acid battery is used for the storage of electricity for emergency purposes in the vehicle. This battery is a rechargeable battery with low energy density. The global Automotive Lead Acid Battery Market is expected to be majorly driven by the increasing production of vehicles, especially multi-utility vehicles . Automotive Lead Acid Battery Market Dynamics One of the major factors that are expected to drive Automotive Lead Acid Battery Market growth during the forecast period is the stringent government regulations regarding carbon emissions and energy solutions. The global Automotive Lead Acid Battery Market is majorly driven by the increasing population with higher per capita income across the world. The increasing use of electric vehicles is expected to create market growth opportunities during the forecast period. The increasing risks of battery explosion due to overcharging and the increasing demand for lithium-ion batteries are expected to hamper the global Automotive Lead Acid Battery Market growth. Automotive Lead Acid Battery Market Regional Insights The Asia Pacific region is expected to hold the largest market share by the end of the forecast period. Factor that majorly contributes to the Automotive Lead Acid Battery Market growth is the increase in the adoption of premium cars . Get the Sample PDF of the Report: https://www.maximizemarketresearch.com/request-sample/105160 The Automotive Lead Acid Battery Market in the North America region is expected to grow at a significant rate during the forecast period. This growth of the market is expected majorly due to the high investments in hybrid vehicles and hybrid marine propulsion. Automotive Lead Acid Battery Market Segmentation By Type Flooded Batteries Enhanced Flooded Batteries VRLA Batteries By Vehicle Type Passenger Commercial By Product type SLI Batteries Micro Hybrid Batteries Automotive Lead Acid Battery Market Key Competitors include: Johnson Controls Exide Technologies GS Yuasa International Ltd. Mebco Reem Batteries & Power Appliances Co. SAOC ENERSYS Saft NorthStar C&D TECHNOLOGIES Robert Bosch GmbH East Penn Manufacturing Company Panasonic Corporation Trojan Battery Company SAMSUNG SDI CO. LTD Leoch Battery Corporation EXIDE INDUSTRIES LTD CENTURY BATTERIES INDONESIA Tai Mao Battery Co., Ltd. CSB Energy Technology Co., Ltd Exide Technologies FIAMM S.p.A American Axle & Manufacturing, Inc. (AAM) BorgWarner Inc. Dana Incorporated Eaton Hyundai Wia Corporation Get Customization on this Report for Specific Research Solutions: https://www.maximizemarketresearch.com/request-customization/105160 Key questions answered in the Automotive Lead Acid Battery Market are: What is an Automotive lead Acid battery? What is the expected CAGR of the Automotive Lead Acid Battery Market by the end of the forecast period? What was the Automotive Lead Acid Battery Market size in 2021? Which Automotive Lead Acid Battery Market segment is expected to have the largest market share during the forecast period? What are the global trends in the Automotive Lead Acid Battery Market? How is the intervention from regulatory authority shaping the Automotive Lead Acid Battery Market? What are the upcoming industry applications and trends for the Automotive Lead Acid Battery Market? What are the factors contributing to the final price of Automotive lead batteries? What are the recent industry trends that can be implemented to generate additional revenue streams for Automotive Lead Acid Battery Market? Who held the largest market share in the Automotive Lead Acid Battery Market? Who are the leading companies and what are their portfolios in the Automotive Lead Acid Battery Market? What are the major challenges that the Automotive Lead Acid Battery Market could face in the future? Get a Sample Copy of the Report: https://www.maximizemarketresearch.com/request-sample/105160 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 Automotive Lead Acid Battery Market Dynamics Growth Drivers, Restraints, Opportunities, and Key Trends by region Automotive Lead Acid Battery Market Segmentation A detailed analysis by Type, Vehicle Type, Product Type 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: Absorbent Glass Mat Battery Market - The market size is expected to reach USD 16.97 billion by 2029 at a CAGR of 5.47 percent during the forecast period. The market is expected to be driven by the increasing installation of AGM batteries by trucks in the automotive industry because it requires less maintenance. Traction Battery Market - The market size is expected to reach USD 64.22 billion by 2029 at a CAGR of 8.2 percent during the forecast period. The market is expected to be driven by the high demand in the automotive and manufacturing industries leading to global demand for traction batteries. Automotive Battery Market - The market size is expected to reach USD 23.99 billion by 2029 at a CAGR of 4.2 percent during the forecast period. The market is expected to be driven by the increasing demand for the automotive industry and stringent emission standards set by several government agencies. Motorcycle Battery Market - The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.16 percent during the forecast period reaching 9288.4 thousand units by 2029. The market is expected to be driven by the increasing adoption of electric vehicles globally with the increasing number of motorcycles on road. Hybrid EV Battery Market - The market size is expected to reach USD 40.43 billion by 2029 at a CAGR of 23.9 percent during the forecast period. The market is expected to be driven by the optimistic adoption of electric vehicles that use electric batteries by the governments of many countries. 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. CONTACT: Contact Maximize Market Research: 3rd Floor, Navale IT Park, Phase 2 Pune Banglore Highway, Narhe, Pune, Maharashtra 411041, India sales@maximizemarketresearch.com +91 96071 95908, +91 9607365656 Bunker Hill Mining Corp. TORONTO, March 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bunker Hill Mining Corp. (the Company) (CSE: BNKR, OTCQB: BHLL) is pleased to affirm its total capital cost and budget estimates for the restart of the Bunker Hill Mine and provide an update regarding its project finance initiatives. Sam Ash, CEO, stated: Based on further optimization of our restart plan, we are pleased to report that the total project budget remains in line with prior estimates. I can also report that our finance plan, centered on the release of $37 million of stream finance from Sprott Private Resource Streaming & Royalty Corp. (Sprott), has now been complemented by expressions of interest for an upsized offer of $20 million from potential providers of offtake finance. TOTAL PROJECT CAPITAL BUDGET AFFIRMED The project team remains on site at short notice awaiting the conclusion of the on-going equity financing activity and the finalization of the offtake finance negotiations. Completion of detailed engineering and the commencement of process plant construction activities are to recommence in Q2 2023. Working in partnership with its key contractors to adjust certain of its payment schedules the Company has maintained the integrity of its total pre-production budget. This includes all site and corporate costs and other working capital requirements; and aims to ensure first concentrate production in Q2 2024. PROJECT FINANCE PLAN ENHANCED BY UPSIZED OFFTAKE FINANCE PROPOSAL Based on recent indications of interest, the Company anticipates the ability to increase the targeted amount of offtake finance to up to $20 million (increased from $15 million previously). This $5 million upsize de-risks the project finance plan by backstopping ongoing equity financing activities. The Company expects to select its final offtake partner by Q2 2023 as part of securing access to the $37 million of stream finance and thereafter begin the execution of its final project plan. Story continues ABOUT BUNKER HILL MINING CORP. Under new Idaho-based leadership the Bunker Hill Mining Corp, intends to sustainably restart and develop the Bunker Hill Mine as the first step in consolidating a portfolio of North American mining assets with a focus on silver. Information about the Company is available on its website, www.bunkerhillmining.com, or within the SEDAR and EDGAR databases. For additional information contact: David Wiens, CFA CFO & Corporate Secretary +1 208 370 3665 ir@bunkerhillmining.com Cautionary Statements Certain statements in this news release are forward-looking and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements are within the meaning of that term in Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, as well as within the meaning of the phrase forward-looking information in the Canadian Securities Administrators National Instrument 51-102 Continuous Disclosure Obligations (collectively, forward-looking statements). Forward-looking statements are not comprised of historical facts. Forward-looking statements include estimates and statements that describe the Companys future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that the Company or management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Forward-looking statements may be identified by such terms as believes, anticipates, expects, estimates, may, could, would, will, plan or variations of such words and phrases. Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Although these forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to the Company, the Company provides no assurances that actual results will meet managements expectations. Risks, uncertainties and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to: the Companys intentions regarding its objectives, goals or future plans and statements; the Company anticipating an upsized amount of offtake finance based on expressions of interest; the Company expecting to select a final offtake partner over the coming weeks; the projected total project budget for the restart of the Bunker Hill Mine; the anticipated timing for the completion of detailed engineering, commencement of process plant construction activities and first concentrate production; the Companys ability to raise capital through its project finance initiatives including the equity financing, concentrate offtake financing of up to $20-million and satisfaction of the conditions for the $37-million stream from Sprott; the Companys ability to continue operations; Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: the Companys inability to raise capital, including through equity or concentrate offtake financing or otherwise; the ability 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; restrictions on labor and its effects on international travel and supply chains; failure to identify mineral resources; failure to convert estimated mineral resources to reserves; the preliminary nature of metallurgical test results; the Companys ability to restart and develop the Bunker Hill Mine and the risks of not basing a production decision on a feasibility study of mineral reserves demonstrating economic and technical viability, resulting in increased uncertainty due to multiple technical and economic risks of failure which are associated with this production decision including, among others, areas that are analyzed in more detail in a feasibility study, such as applying economic analysis to resources and reserves, more detailed metallurgy and a number of specialized studies in areas such as mining and recovery methods, market analysis, and environmental and community impacts and, as a result, there may be an increased uncertainty of achieving any particular level of recovery of minerals or the cost of such recovery, including increased risks associated with developing a commercially mineable deposit, with no guarantee that production will begin as anticipated or at all or that anticipated production costs will be achieved; failure to commence production would have a material adverse impact on the Company's ability to generate revenue and cash flow to fund operations; failure to achieve the anticipated production costs would have a material adverse impact on the Company's cash flow and future profitability; delays in obtaining or failures to obtain required governmental, environmental or other project approvals; political risks; changes in equity markets; uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future; the inability of the Company to budget and manage its liquidity in light of the failure to obtain additional financing, including the ability of the Company to complete the payments pursuant to the terms of the agreement to acquire the Bunker Hill Mine complex; inflation; changes in exchange rates; fluctuations in commodity prices; delays in the development of projects; capital, operating and reclamation costs varying significantly from estimates and the other risks involved in the mineral exploration and development industry; and those risks set out in the Companys public documents filed on SEDAR and in the Companys filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking statements in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such statements or information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all, including as to whether or when the Company will achieve its project finance initiatives, or as to the actual size or terms of those financing initiatives. 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, other than as required by law. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing risks and uncertainties are not exhaustive. Additional information on these and other risk factors that could affect the Companys operations or financial results are included in the Companys annual information form or annual report and may be accessed through the SEDAR website (www.sedar.com) or through EDGAR on the SEC website (www.sec.gov), respectively. First Up in the "Artist Discovery Program" Will be a Spotlight on Local Caribbean Artists MIAMI, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Royal Caribbean International has launched a search for iconic artistry to bring the Caribbean spirit to life on the iconic canvas that is the world's best family vacation, Icon of the Seas. In the new "Artist Discovery Program," up-and-coming artists from destinations the cruise line visits can vie to put their work on display for millions of vacationers who will set sail for years to come. The program's purpose is to infuse every region's spirit and culture into the curated art collections on board ships, in order to highlight and celebrate the very destinations and their people at the heart of Royal Caribbean's memorable vacations. Beginning in the Caribbean, local artists can send their submissions starting today and through April 4 here. Royal Caribbean Internationals new Artist Discovery Program offers up-and-coming artists a chance to display their work to millions of vacationers. Beginning with the Caribbean destinations the cruise line visits and on the highly anticipated Icon of the Seas, local artists can vie to spotlight their cultures and people by applying online through April 4, 2023. Winners will create nine large-scale murals in three highly visible locations on board. "The Artist Discovery Program is a project close to our hearts at Royal Caribbean International because the destinations we visit are family. And it's only fitting that we begin our search for up-and-coming artists who are in the Caribbean; it's where we got our start more than 50 years ago," said Michael Bayley, president and CEO, Royal Caribbean International. "Vacationers want to immerse themselves in the places they visit. This is a way to spotlight the beauty of the local cultures and people in the places they see and enjoy every day on their cruise, beginning with large-scale canvases on a first-of-its-kind adventure Icon of the Seas." The first group of budding artists, making up the Artist Discovery Program: Caribbean Edition, will be commissioned to paint nine large-scale murals in three highly visible locations: the Royal Promenade neighborhood, the heartbeat of the new ship; among the first sights guests see at Icon's main entrance; and within the Suite Neighborhood. Each piece will invoke the vibrancy of the Caribbean, joining the collection on board that will include an array of pieces created by Caribbean artists or inspired by the region. Story continues Every artist will receive a grant from the cruise line, ranging from $20,000 to more than $100,000, to see their vision through. Later this year, as artists in residence, the winners will work closely with the Newbuilding team behind Royal Caribbean's renowned ships to bring their concepts to life in Turku, Finland, where Icon is under construction. To vie for a spot in the first edition of Artist Discovery Program, artists must submit the following: Five samples of conceptual work: The work must be original and may not currently be published or on display. A brief artist statement that helps explain their work, inspiration and other details regarding the pieces submitted. A copy of their resume. Icon is the first-of-its-kind combination of the best of every vacation. From the beach retreat to the resort escape and the theme park adventure, the brand-new getaway delivers every kind of family and vacationers their version of the ultimate family adventure. In store is an all-encompassing lineup of firsts and next-level favorites across eight neighborhoods. Between the adrenaline-pumping thrills at the new Thrill Island neighborhood and unrivaled ways to chill at neighborhoods like the new Chill Island and the luxurious four-level Suite Neighborhood, adventurers bonding with their families or getting away with friends will have all the ways to stay and play their way. The first Icon Class ship will sail year-round, 7-night Eastern and Western Caribbean vacations from Miami. Every cruise will visit Royal Caribbean's top-rated private island destination, Perfect Day at CocoCay in The Bahamas, and a mix of destinations like Cozumel, Mexico; Philipsburg, St. Maarten; and Basseterre, St. Kitts. More details about Icon are available at www.RoyalCaribbean.com/Icon. Future editions of the Artist Discovery Program will be announced at a future date. Additional information on the program can be found here. About Royal Caribbean International Royal Caribbean International, owned by Royal Caribbean Group (NYSE: RCL), has been delivering innovation at sea for more than 50 years. Each successive class of ships is an architectural marvel that features the latest technology and guest experiences for today's adventurous traveler. The cruise line continues to revolutionize vacations with itineraries to 240 destinations in 61 countries on six continents, including Royal Caribbean's private island destination in The Bahamas, Perfect Day at CocoCay, the first in the Perfect Day Island Collection. Royal Caribbean has also been voted "Best Cruise Line Overall" for 20 consecutive years in the Travel Weekly Readers Choice Awards. Media can stay up to date by following @RoyalCaribPR on Twitter and visiting RoyalCaribbeanPressCenter.com. For additional information or to make reservations, vacationers can call their travel advisor; visit RoyalCaribbean.com; or call (800) ROYAL-CARIBBEAN. Royal Caribbean Internationals new Artist Discovery Program offers up-and-coming artists a chance to display their work to millions of vacationers. Beginning with the Caribbean destinations the cruise line visits and on the highly anticipated Icon of the Seas, local artists can vie to spotlight their cultures and people by applying online through April 4, 2023. Winners will create nine large-scale murals in three highly visible locations on board. Royal Caribbean Internationals new Artist Discovery Program offers up-and-coming artists a chance to display their work to millions of vacationers. Beginning with the Caribbean destinations the cruise line visits and on the highly anticipated Icon of the Seas, local artists can vie to spotlight their cultures and people by applying online through April 4, 2023. Winners will create nine large-scale murals in three highly visible locations on board. Royal Caribbean International launches the new Artist Discovery Program, beginning with a Caribbean edition that will debut on Icon of the Seas in January 2024. Up-and-coming artists in the destinations the cruise line visits can vie to spotlight their regions culture and people with the opportunity to put their work on display for millions of vacationers on board Royal Caribbean ships. (PRNewsfoto/Royal Caribbean International) Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/calling-up-and-coming-artists-royal-caribbean-launches-art-program-to-debut-on-icon-of-the-seas-301768950.html SOURCE Royal Caribbean International SNS Insider pvt ltd According to SNS Insider, as the prevalence of cancer continues to rise, the demand for accurate diagnosis and treatment options is increasing, thereby fueling growth for the cancer biopsy market. Pune, March 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Cancer Biopsy Market had a worth of USD 26.24 billion in 2022 and is anticipated to expand to USD 61.06 billion by 2030, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.13% during the forecast period of 2023-2030, as reported by SNS Insider. Market Report Overview A cancer biopsy is a medical procedure in which a small sample of tissue or cells is removed from a suspicious area of the body and examined under a microscope to determine whether cancer is present. Biopsies are typically performed when a patient has symptoms or imaging tests that suggest the possibility of cancer, or when a screening test, such as a mammogram or colonoscopy, reveals an abnormality. Market Analysis The cancer biopsy market is expected to experience significant growth in the coming years, fueled by several key factors. One of the main drivers of this growth is the increasing prevalence of oncology indications. As cancer rates continue to rise around the world, the demand for biopsy procedures is also increasing. Additionally, the growing geriatric population is expected to contribute to the growth of the market, as cancer is more common among older adults. Another key factor driving growth in the market is the advent of liquid biopsy. This innovative technique allows for the detection and analysis of cancer cells and genetic material through a simple blood test, eliminating the need for invasive tissue biopsies. Key Company Profiles Listed in this Report Are: ANGLE PLC BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) Biocept, Inc. Danaher F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. Hologic, Inc. Illumina, Inc. Myriad Genetics Qiagen N.V. Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc Request a Sample Report PDF of Cancer Biopsy Market@ https://www.snsinsider.com/sample-request/1759 Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the cancer biopsy market. Biopsy is a crucial procedure for diagnosing cancer, and its demand has increased significantly during the pandemic. However, the outbreak of the virus has also resulted in several challenges and disruptions in the market. One of the major impacts of the pandemic on the market is the delay or cancellation of elective procedures, including biopsies. Story continues Key Regional Development: According to recent market research, North America is the dominant region in the cancer biopsy market. The region is expected to maintain its lead in the industry throughout the forecast period, with the United States playing a significant role in contributing to regional revenue. The strong presence of distributors and manufacturers in North America has allowed for the development and distribution of innovative biopsy kits that are well-suited for rapid diagnostic applications. Market Report Scope: Report Attributes Details Market Size in 2022 US$ 26.24 Billion US$ 26.24 Billion US$ 61.06 Billion CAGR CAGR of 11.13% From 2023 to 2030 Base Year 2022 Forecast Period 2023-2030 Historical Data 2020-2021 Key Market Segments By Product (Kits and Consumables, Instruments, Services) By Type (Tissue Biopsies, Surgical Biopsies, Liquid Biopsies, Core Needle Biopsy (CNB), Needle Biopsies, Fine Needle Aspiration (FNA), Others) By Application (Breast Cancer, Prostate Cancers, Cervical Cancers, Colorectal Cancer, Pancreatic Cancers, Lung Cancers, Kidney Cancers, Blood Cancers, Ovarian Cancers, Skin Cancers, Liver Cancers) Key Regional Coverage North America (USA, Canada, Mexico), Europe (Germany, UK, France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific (Japan, South Korea, China, India, Australia, Rest of Asia-Pacific), The Middle East & Africa (Israel, UAE, South Africa, Rest of Middle East & Africa), Latin America (Brazil, Argentina, Rest of Latin America) Do you have any specific queries related to this research? Ask Your Query@ https://www.snsinsider.com/enquiry/1759 Key Takeaway from Cancer Biopsy Market Study The kits and consumables segment is projected to account for the largest revenue share during the forecast period. The rising incidence of cancer has led to an increase in the number of biopsies performed, which, in turn, has boosted the demand for biopsy kits and consumables. The tissue biopsy is now recognized as the most reliable and accurate diagnostic tool for cancer, and its continued use is expected to drive further growth in the market in the coming years. Recent Developments Related to Cancer Biopsy Market mDetect, a liquid biopsy startup based in Canada, has received a grant of C$900,000 (US$669,510) from the Canadian Institute of Health Research to launch a clinical trial of its DNA methylation pattern-based breast cancer test. This innovative test is designed to detect breast cancer through analyzing the DNA methylation patterns in the blood. This technology has the potential to revolutionize breast cancer diagnosis and treatment, as it can detect breast cancer at an early stage, even before any symptoms appear. Guardant Health has recently announced that it has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its liquid biopsy companion diagnostic (CDx) test in combination with Menarini Silicon Biosystems' drug, a therapy used to treat breast cancer patients. This approval is a significant milestone for the company, as it further strengthens its position in the liquid biopsy market. Table of Contents Major Key Points 1. Introduction 2. Research Methodology 3. Market Dynamics 4. Impact Analysis 5. Value Chain Analysis 6. Porters 5 Forces Model 7. PEST Analysis 8. Cancer Biopsy Market Segmentation, By Product 9. Cancer Biopsy Market Segmentation, By Type 10. Cancer Biopsy Market Segmentation, By Application 11. Regional Analysis 12 Company Profiles 13 Competitive Landscape 14 Conclusion Buy Single-User PDF of Cancer Biopsy Market Report@ https://www.snsinsider.com/checkout/1759 About Us: SNS Insider is one of the leading market research and consulting agencies that dominate the market research industry globally. Our company's aim is to give clients the knowledge they require in order to function in changing circumstances. In order to give you current, accurate market data, consumer insights, and opinions so that you can make decisions with confidence, we employ a variety of techniques, including surveys, video talks, and focus groups around the world. CONTACT: Contact Us: Akash Anand Head of Business Development & Strategy info@snsinsider.com Phone: +1-415-230-0044 (US) SkyQuest Technology Consulting Pvt. Ltd. SkyQuest, a renowned market research firm, has recently released a detailed report on the cell cryopreservation market. The report offers valuable insights and analysis on the industry, such as growth projections, segment breakdowns, emerging trends, and lucrative business prospects. This report is a reliable source of information for companies and individuals looking to invest in the market. The analysis provides a comprehensive view of the industry's current state, along with predictions for future growth and potential areas of opportunity. Westford, USA, March 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The cell cryopreservation market is witnessing significant growth in North America, primarily due to the increasing cases of infertility among the population. Besides, major key players in the market for stem cells are investing heavily in research and development activities, fueling the growth of this market. In addition, the government's recent support for developing novel medical equipment also contributes to the market's growth. Furthermore, the growing geriatric population worldwide, coupled with the rising awareness about the benefits of cryopreservation cell lines and the high focus on drug development, are further expected to drive the market's growth. SkyQuest's global research has revealed that a staggering 45 million couples and 178 million individuals of reproductive age worldwide struggle with infertility. This startling figure indicates a significant need for advanced medical treatments and technologies, including the emerging field of cell cryopreservation. Given the growing demand for infertility treatments and the increasing success rates of cell cryopreservation techniques, the market is poised for significant growth in the coming years. Browse in-depth TOC on the "Cell Cryopreservation Market" Pages - 245 Tables - 62 Figures - 75 Get a sample copy of this report: https://skyquestt.com/sample-request/cell-cryopreservation-market Story continues Cryopreservation is a vital technique in the medical field that involves preserving biological materials at extremely low temperatures. This process is critical in maintaining the viability of cells, tissues, and other biological constructs over extended periods. Cryopreservation is commonly used to store sperm, eggs, embryos, and tissues for transplant purposes or research studies. Prominent Players in Cell Cryopreservation Market ThermoFisher Inc. Cytiva Lonza Corning Inc. PromoCEll GmbH Sigma Aldrich Himedia Laboratories Creative Biolabs Sartorius AG Eppendorf Corporate GE Healthcare Miltenyi Biotec Merck KGaA Nippon Genetics AMS Biotechnology Limited Promocell GmbH Mediatech Inc. Biolife Solutions Inc. Browse summary of the report and Complete Table of Contents (ToC): https://skyquestt.com/report/cell-cryopreservation-market Cryopreservation Media Segment to Witness Swift Growth due to Rising Use of Cell Cryopreservation in Research, Drug Development, and Cell-Based Therapies According to recent market research, the cryopreservation media segment emerged as the leading contributor to the growth of the cell cryopreservation market in 2022. This trend is expected to continue from 2023 to 2030. One of the key factors driving this growth is the increasing use of cryopreservation media in preserving cells used in cell therapy development. According to SkyQuest, more than 48% of all deaths globally are attributable to chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, and chronic respiratory disease. This alarming statistic indicates the urgent need for innovative solutions to prevent and treat these conditions. One promising solution is cell cryopreservation, which involves freezing living cells to preserve them for future use. The North American cell cryopreservation market is expected to hold the largest market share by the end of 2030 compared to other regions. This is due to the region's increasing healthcare expenditure on research and development activities by pharmaceutical and biotech companies, which is estimated to impact the market in the coming years significantly. In addition, the pharmaceutical and biotech companies in the region are investing heavily in R&D activities to develop new and innovative drugs and therapies for various diseases, driving the demand for cell cryopreservation. Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Segment to Drive High Growth as Cell Cryopreservation Widely Used to Store and Transport Living Cells and Tissues The pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector was the frontrunner in the cell cryopreservation market in 2022, and it is expected to maintain its dominant position in the future. The increasing demand for cell-based therapies and regenerative medicines has been a major factor driving the growth of this segment. The pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry has been at the forefront of these applications, relying heavily on cell-based assays and models for drug development and testing. The Asia Pacific region is poised to witness the highest growth rate in the cell cryopreservation market between 2023 and 2030. This growth is due to various factors, including improving healthcare infrastructure and increasing product management operations. The optimization of cryopreservation is a rapidly developing segment in this region, which is expected to boost the demand for cryopreservation cell lines in Asia Pacific countries. In addition, the acceleration of product management operations is anticipated to boost market growth further, enabling more efficient and effective distribution of cryopreservation cell lines. To succeed in the highly competitive field of the cell cryopreservation market, companies must stay updated with the latest industry trends and capitalize on emerging opportunities. SkyQuest's report offers valuable insights and recommendations to help businesses expand their operations and make informed decisions that can lead to success in this dynamic market. By constantly monitoring and analyzing the market, companies can differentiate themselves from their competitors. Speak to Analyst for your custom requirements: https://skyquestt.com/speak-with-analyst/cell-cryopreservation-market Key Developments in Cell Cryopreservation Market FUJIFILM Irvine Scientific, Inc. has recently made an exciting announcement regarding the use of its cryopreservation medium in a clinical trial conducted by Vitro Biopharma. The world-renowned company specializes in developing and manufacturing serum-free and chemically defined cell culture media, specifically for bioproduction and cell therapy manufacturing. The use of this medium in a clinical trial is expected to advance the field of regenerative medicine by providing a viable alternative to traditional cryopreservation methods that utilize DMSO, a toxic substance. BioPharma Dynamics, a leading player in the cell and gene therapy market, has recently announced the expansion of its product portfolio. The company now offers chemically defined T-Cell media, DMSO-free cryopreservation solutions, and recombinant growth factors. These products are suitable for cell therapy applications at any stage. In addition, these products are designed to provide researchers and clinicians with the necessary tools to improve the efficiency, consistency, and safety of their cell therapy protocols. LifeCell and Cellutions BioStorage have allied to provide high-quality cryopreservation services. Cryopreservation is preserving biological materials at extremely low temperatures, typically below -150C, to maintain their viability and functionality for future use. The alliance between LifeCell and Cellutions BioStorage will offer advanced cryopreservation services to various clients, including research institutions, biotech and pharmaceutical companies, and individuals. Key Questions Answered in Cell Cryopreservation Market Report How do external factors impact the growth of industries in the global market, and what are the economic, political, and social factors drive this growth? Can you share case studies of companies that have implemented innovative strategies to succeed in the global market, and what are some common themes among these strategies? Which regions are expected to experience the most significant sales and revenue growth in the global market, and what factors contribute to this growth? What are the key challenges vendors face when operating in the global market, and what strategies can they adopt to improve their competitive position and market share? Related Reports in SkyQuests Library: Global Animal Diagnostics Market Global Microbiome Market Global Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT) Market Global NGS Library Preparation Market US Secondary Hyperparathyroidism Treatment (SHPT) 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 35-year higher education veteran to serve as 29th president PHILADELPHIA , March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Saint Joseph's University's Board of Trustees elected Cheryl A. McConnell, PhD, its 29th and first female president in the University's 172-year history, effective immediately. Dr. McConnell is a 35-year veteran of Jesuit higher education, having most recently served as Saint Joseph's interim president since last June, and as provost and chief academic officer for three years prior. Saint Josephs Universitys Board of Trustees elected Cheryl A. McConnell, PhD, its 29th and first female president in the Universitys 172-year history, effective immediately. "Dr. McConnell is the right person to lead Saint Joseph's at this time of exceptional change," says James M. Norris '85, chair of the University's Board of Trustees and also chair of the search committee. "Cheryl has strong business acumen, deep higher education experience, a career marked by dedicated commitment to our Jesuit mission and exceptional leadership skills. She was the unanimous choice of the committee, even among an impressive and diverse pool of external candidates." McConnell joined Saint Joseph's in 2019, immediately accelerating academic and student life goals and initiatives as part of the University's strategic plan. Among her most notable achievements was the creation of several undergraduate and graduate programs in response to market demand, societal need and the University's mission, along with an increased and more effective focus on diversity, equity and inclusion. Early in her tenure she launched an annual, University-wide Day of Dialogue featuring lectures, workshops and events. She played an essential and central role in the University's COVID-19 response, making Saint Joseph's a leader in on-ground, in-person operations through the pandemic. Most recently, she led the historic acquisition of the University of the Sciences. After assuming the interim presidency last summer, she finalized another merger with the Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences expected to close next January. She also implemented a leadership council to ensure accountability, timely progress and implementation of strategic priorities and has overseen the start of several campus construction projects. Story continues Before her arrival at Saint Joseph's, McConnell held several leadership positions at Rockhurst University, a Jesuit institution in Kansas City, Missouri. She served as dean of both the College of Business, Influence, and Information Analysis and the Helzberg School of Management, as well as associate provost for academic affairs and full professor of accounting. While there she developed a strong track record of interdisciplinary collaboration, program innovation and growth, faculty development, budget management and strategic partnerships. "Cheryl's advocacy for and partnership with faculty have been hallmarks of her career," adds Norris. "She understands academia from many perspectives, has tremendous strategic insight and is someone who brings people together and inspires thoughtful action." McConnell is a first-generation college graduate, having earned her Bachelor of Business Administration and her Master of Professional Accountancy degrees from Wichita State University. She went on to earn a PhD in higher education administration from fellow Jesuit institution Saint Louis University. A sought-after speaker on women in leadership, she is also a certified public accountant and a certified fraud examiner. Her decades-long commitment to Jesuit education has been strengthened through leadership experiences including the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities' Ignatian Colleagues Program and Leadership Institute, as well as the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola. "I look forward to working with President McConnell as she leads our Catholic, Jesuit University into its next chapters of teaching excellence, scholarship and service to the Philadelphia community, our nation and larger world," adds Joseph M. O'Keefe, S.J., provincial of the Society of Jesus' USA East Province. Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cheryl-a-mcconnell-phd-elected-first-woman-to-lead-saint-josephs-university-301769084.html SOURCE Saint Joseph's University Company Logo Dublin, March 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "China Energy Industry - PEST Framework Analysis" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The report analyzes the Chinese Energy Industry in a PEST Framework Analysis. The report presents a complete analysis of all the factors that could affect the strategic development of a business operating in the Chinese Energy Industry. This PEST analysis helps you understand what all external forces are there that affect the organizations active in this industry and how these factors could ultimately create the perfect opportunity for investment for your business. At the same time, the PEST analysis of the Chinese energy industry also identifies any potential threats there might be to your business if you are considering investing in the Chinese energy sector. Since the 1980's China has invested significantly to develop its coal, natural gas, and petroleum industries. It is no wonder then that the Chinese energy industry is today one of the biggest energy markets in the world. Having undergone a complete restructuring, the Chinese government is committed to developing its energy sector by putting in place favorable policies that attract substantial investment into the markets. Addressing the growing environmental problem that is facing China, the Chinese government has also turned its attention towards the development of renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, geothermal, and tidal power. Its abundant wind energy resources have given China the potential for mass-producing wind power. China has also become a name to reckon with in the market for wind turbines in recent years. As the energy industry develops at a rapid pace, there is no doubt that China will continue to progress in the field of energy in the coming years. Key Topics Covered: A. Executive Summary B. Introduction to the Industry B.1 Industry Definition B.2 Industry Profile B.3 Industry Structure B.4 Industry Outlook Story continues C. PEST Framework Analysis C.1 Political Aspects C.2 Economic Aspects C.3 Social Aspects C.4 Technological Aspects D. Glossary of Terms For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/1rv3l0 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 By Azernews Qabil Ashirov A business dialogue was held between Azerbaijan Berry Producers and Exporters Association and Kapital Bank within the framework of the "Private sector development project" organized by the One Window Export Support Center of the Center for Analysis of Economic Reforms and Communication (CAERC), Azernews reports, citing CAERC. According to the information received from CAERC, the meeting was organized to support agrarian entrepreneurship and increase access to financial resources, berry producers and exporters and to inform them about banking products. Nijat Hajizade, the department head of CAERC, delivered an opening speech and emphasized the importance of trade and financial instruments for Azerbaijan's non-oil exports. He also gave information about the position of agricultural and agro-industrial products in non-oil exports in 2022 and shared his views on the activity of using bank products by farmers representing that field. At the meeting, financing of trade operations by "Kapital Bank" OJSC, advance payments during export, letters of credit, factoring, guarantees, credit products, loans for export activities, etc. entrepreneurs were informed. The main part of the event was dedicated to answering farmers' questions, and in turn, the farmers' questions about bank instruments and customs procedures supporting export were answered interactively. Skyfish Major events timeline banning Chinese (DJI) drones from U.S. Federal Government use Major events timeline banning Chinese (DJI) drones from U.S. Federal Government use MISSOULA, Mont., March 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Until recently, Communist Chinese drone company Da-Jiang Innovations (DJI) was the leading drone maker flying over American skies and had captured over 75% of the U.S. domestic drone market. However, DJI is now considered a national security threat by the Department of Defense and many U.S. lawmakers. Recently, the U.S. federal government banned the purchase of Chinese drones within the federal sector. As a result, DJIs market share is falling, and American drone manufacturers, like Skyfish are gaining momentum. Chinese drones flying in American skies were officially recognized as a national security threat when the Department of the Navy Memorandum titled Operation Risks with Regards to DJI Family of Products cited several risks and urged for a thorough study of the cyber vulnerabilities of these systems: https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/document/19804-national-security-archive-department-navy. This national security threat is further evidenced by the mysterious Chinese spy balloon that was recently shot down and according to analysis of the wreckage was used for spying on various American sites and infrastructure. Here is a timeline and highlights of the recent drone security legislation banning DJI: Major events timeline banning Chinese (DJI) drones from U.S. Federal Government use Since the Chinese (DJI) formal ban has come into effect, Skyfish has seen a definite uptick in Federal and State business and interest. We have seen an increase in government business, with many agencies looking to end-of-life their DJI drone program and replace it with American made drones. Fortunately, Skyfish is NDAA compliant and can take advantage of this market momentum as we sell commercial models very comparable to the DJI larger format drones. said Dr. Orest Pilskalns, CEO, Skyfish. He continued, DJI has tens of thousands of drones that need replacement, this Federal ban of DJI is a good news story for NDAA compliant, American drone manufacturers like Skyfish and will have a positive impact on the American drone industry for many years to come. Finally, we want to thank both sides of the aisle for the bipartisan support banning Chinese drones. Story continues About Skyfish The Leading Engineering-Grade Drone Platform Founded by mapping technology pioneer Dr. Orest Pilskalns, Skyfish drones are made in America and NDAA compliant. Skyfish.ai is headquartered in beautiful Stevensville, Montana, creating a local thriving community of mapping, modeling, and radar technology specialists. The companys full (UAS) technology stack, autonomous navigation platform, and precision measurement capability are mission built for engineering use cases and critical infrastructure targets requiring highly accurate inspection, measurement, and analysis. Contact www.skyfish.ai for more info. Company Contact: orest@skyfish.ai 1.406.880.7104 Media Contact: john@skyfish.ai 1.604.763.1008 A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/13438f56-9e84-4a12-90ba-430f99b5de7b (Bloomberg) -- ASMPT Ltd., a semiconductor and electronics equipment maker, is attracting takeover interest from private equity firms, people with knowledge of the matter said. Most Read from Bloomberg Alternative investment firm PAG is among those that have expressed interest in taking the Hong Kong-listed company private, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information. PAG has sounded out several lenders about financing the potential deal, the people said. Deliberations are at an early stage and theres no certainty that they will result in a transaction, the people said. A representative for PAG declined to comment, while a representative for ASMPT didnt immediately respond to requests for comment. Shares of ASMPT erased losses and rose as much as 5.2% after the Bloomberg News report. The stock has climbed about 32% this year, giving it a market value of about HK$30 billion ($3.9 billion). Founded in 1975, Singapore-headquartered ASMPT has more than 12,000 employees and operates in over 30 countries, according to its website. ASM International NV, a Dutch semiconductor-equipment maker which has about a 25% stake in ASMPT, was pushed by activist investors Elliott Investment Management and Eminence Capital to sell the shares about five years ago, Bloomberg News reported at the time. Chinas TCL Corp. had weighed a bid for the stake, people familiar with the matter said in 2018. PAG, jointly founded by Weijian Shan, Chris Gradel and Jon-Paul Toppino, manages $50 billion in assets for about 300 institutional fund investors worldwide as of end-June last year, the firms website shows. --With assistance from Cathy Chan. Story continues (Updates share move in fourth paragraph.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. SNL Star Brings Comedy Brilliance to East San Diego County's Top Destination for Entertainment and Fun JAMUL, Calif., March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On Saturday, April 1, 2023 at 5:30pm and 8pm, Jamul Casino will welcome Darrell Hammond to The Rooftop for a one-of-a-kind dinner and comedy show. Widely recognized for his sharp humor and masterful impressions of politicians, celebrities and newsmakers on Saturday Night Live (SNL), Hammond has been keeping audiences laughing for nearly three decades. He comes to Jamul Casino as part of its Supper Club at The Rooftop series, which pairs outstanding entertainment with exceptional cuisine at Jamul Casino's spacious outdoor event venue. The show demonstrates Jamul Casino's commitment to offering its guests world-class entertainment, food, and fun. Comedy legend Darrell Hammond will perform at Jamul Casino on Saturday, April 1, 2023 as part of its Supper Club at The Rooftop series, which pairs outstanding entertainment with exceptional cuisine at Jamul Casino's spacious outdoor event venue. Darrell Hammond is one of the most prolific comedians of his time. He holds the title for being the second-longest running cast member on SNL at 14 seasons, and has served as the show's announcer since 2014. He has appeared in a number of feature filmsa few of which include Weiners, Scary Movie 3, Scary Movie 6, Agent Cody Banks, and The Devil and Daniel Websteras well as numerous television shows such as Law & Order: SVU, and Third Rock from the Sun. He frequently tours comedy clubs and theaters, where his quick wit and masterful impressions have made him a favorite on the comedy circuit. While he has impersonated a number national figures throughout his career, his imitations of US presidents have earned him the highest acclaim. He made a surprise appearance with President Bill Clinton in April 1997 at an event before celebrities, government officials and members of the press. He also performed at the White House Correspondents' Dinner in 2001, where he received a standing ovation in front of 2000 members of the media and President George W. Bush. In recent years, he saw a massive resurgence in his popularity due to his uncanny impression of Donald Trump, whom he first began impersonating in the late 1990s. Story continues In addition to Darrell Hammond's comedic talents, the event will feature excellent cuisine prepared by Jamul Casino's award-winning chefs. Jamul Casino has been recognized annually as the winner in several categories of the San Diego Union-Tribune's "San Diego's Best" Reader's Poll. The Casino's fine dining restaurant, Prime Cut Steak & Seafood, has also received a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence for five (5) years running. Tickets to the Darrell Hammond comedy event at Jamul Casino, which are $85 each, can be purchased here. President and General Manager of Jamul Casino, Mary Cheeks, states, "At Jamul Casino, we're serious about having funit's one of our core values. We strive to make every day at Jamul Casino a fun, and exciting experience. It makes perfect sense to welcome Darrell Hammond as a highlight of our April programminghe's a master at bringing laughter, enjoyment, and fun to his audiences." About Jamul Casino Opened in 2016, the Jamul Casino is located in Jamul, California, San Diego County, and is owned and operated by Jamul Indian Village Development Corporation (JIVDC), a wholly owned enterprise of the Tribe. The $430 million, award-winning casino features nearly 1,700 slot machines, 46 live table games, a dedicated poker room, and various restaurants, bars and lounges. Jamul Casino supports 1,200 permanent jobs in the region and is the closest casino to downtown San Diego, which is the eighth-largest city in the United States by population. For more information about Jamul Casino, please visit www.jamulcasinosd.com. Media Contact: Beth Binger BCIpr 619-987-6658 beth.binger@BCIpr.com Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/comedy-legend-darrell-hammond-to-perform-at-jamul-casino-301769442.html SOURCE Jamul Casino CMI Expanding Coronary Stents Market: Innovations and Advancements Driving Growth in Cardiovascular Disease Treatment Burlingame, March 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to Coherent Market Insights, Global Coronary Stents Market is estimated to be valued at US$ 11,971.0 million in 2023 and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 7.9% during the forecast period (2023-2030). Analysts Views on Global Coronary Stents Market: Rising demand for coronary stents for the treatment of coronary artery diseases is expected to drive the market in the forecast period. For instance, in June 2022, according to a report published on National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), stated that coronary artery disease (CAD) accounts for approximately 610,000 deaths annually (estimated 1 in 4 deaths) and is the leading cause of mortality in the U.S. Key Trends and Analysis of the Global Coronary Stents Market: The increasing inorganic growth strategies such as agreements by key players in the market to expand product portfolio is expected to drive the market growth over the forecast period. For instance, in October 2022, M.A. Med Alliance SA, a medical device manufacturing company announced that it has developed an agreement with Cordis, a company that develops and manufactures medical devices, which will expand the product portfolio of M.A. Med Alliance SA. Request Sample copy of this Report @ https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/2031 Global Coronary Stents Market- Drivers Increasing prevalence of coronary artery disease Increasing prevalence of coronary artery diseases needs the use of coronary stents for treatment, which is expected to drive the market growth over the forecast period. For instance, in February 2023, according to a report published by World Health Organization (WHO), cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death globally, taking an estimated 17.9 million lives each year. Increasing product approval by regulatory authorities Increasing product approvals by regulatory authorities is expected to drive market growth over the forecast period. For instance, in April 2022, Biosensors International Group, Ltd., a company developing and marketing critical care catheter systems and related devices, announced that it has received U.S. Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) approval for Biolimus A9 coated polymer free coronary stent systems. Story continues Global Coronary Stents Market- Restraint Disadvantages of using coronary stents Major factors that can hamper the growth of the global coronary stents market over the forecast period, includes damage to the artery, where the sheath was inserted, neointimal hyperplasia, allergic reaction to the contrast agent used during the procedure, damage to an artery in the heart, excessive bleeding requiring a blood transfusion, heart attack, stroke or death. For instance, in June 2022, according to an article published in National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), stated that the main disadvantages of coronary stents is the excessive neointimal hyperplasia that leads to a gradual loss of initial lumen gain. Global Coronary Stents Market- Opportunity Increasing technological advancement in field of coronary stents Various technological advancements are progressing rapidly in the medical field, leading to the development of new technologies in manufacturing of coronary stents. For instance, in July 2022, an article published on National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), it was stated that new technological advancements are recently developing in the field of coronary stents, have led to an optimization of clinical outcomes. Global Coronary Stents Market Cross Sectional Analysis: In product type segment, drug eluting stents segment is dominant during forecast period in North America region due to increasing product launches by key players in the market to expand their product portfolio is expected to drive segment growth over the forecast period. For instance, in September 2020, Biotronik, a leading global medical technology company, announced the launch of its new product Orsiro Mission, which is a bio absorbable polymer coronary drug-eluting stent system. Coronary Stents Market Report Coverage Report Coverage Details Base Year: 2022 Market Size in 2023: US$ 11,971.0 Mn Historical Data for: 2017 to 2021 Forecast Period: 2023 to 2030 Forecast Period 2023 to 2030 CAGR: 7.9% 2030 Value Projection: US$ 20,423.0 Mn Geographies covered: North America: U.S. and Canada Latin America: Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, and Rest of Latin America Europe: Germany, U.K., Spain, France, Italy, Russia, and Rest of Europe Asia Pacific: China, India, Japan, Australia, South Korea, ASEAN, and Rest of Asia Pacific Middle East: GCC Countries, Israel, and Rest of Middle East Africa: South Africa, North Africa, and Central Africa Segments covered: By Product Type: Bare-Metal Stents, Drug Eluting Stents, Bioabsorbable Stents By Material: Metallic (Stainless Steel, Silicon Carbide, Titanium Nitride Oxide, Cobalt Chromium, Platinum Chromium, Others), Polymeric (Non-degradable/Permanent Stents, Degradable/Temporary Stents) By End User: Hospitals, Specialty Clinics, Ambulatory Surgical Centers, Others Companies covered: Medtronic, iVascular, Alvimedica, Alta Biomaterials, Japan Medical Device Technology Co., Ltd., Veritas Bioventions Pvt Ltd, Nano Therapeutics Pvt. Ltd, Abbott, SLTL Group, Translumina Therapeutics LLP, DSM, Arterius, Terumo Corporation, SMT, Boston Scientific Corporation, Cook, Biotronik, B. Braun SE, MicroPort Scientific Corporation, Meril Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd, C. R. Bard, Inc, KYOTO MEDICAL PLANNING Co., Ltd, QualiMed, Elixir Medical Corporation, ENDOCOR GmbH & CO. KG, Amaranth Medical, Inc. Growth Drivers: Increasing product approvals by regulatory authorities Increasing prevalence of coronary artery diseases Restraints & Challenges: High cost of angioplasty for insertion of coronary stents Global Coronary Stents Market Segmentation: The global coronary stents market report is segmented into Product Type, Material, Application, End User, and Region Based on Product Type, the market is segmented into bare-metal stents, drug eluting stents, and bio absorbable stents. Out of which, drug eluting stents segment is expected to dominate in the coronary stents market during the forecast period and this is due to the increase in the organic growth strategies such as product launch by key players in the market. Based on Material, the market is segmented into metallic (stainless steel, silicon carbide, titanium nitride oxide, cobalt chromium, platinum chromium, and others) and polymeric (non-degradable/permanent stents and degradable/temporary stents. Out of which, polymeric segment is expected to dominate in the market over the forecast period and this is a due to an increase in the use of polymeric stents for the treatment of coronary artery disease. Based on End User, the coronary stents market is segmented into Hospitals, Specialty Clinics, and Ambulatory Surgical Centers. Of which, Hospitals segment is expected to be dominant in the market over the forecast period and this is due to the increase use of coronary stents for the treatment of coronary artery diseases. Among all segmentation, End User segment has the highest potential due to increasing use of coronary stents for the treatment of coronary artery diseases. For instance, in September 2022, according to a report published on Springer Nature, which is a scientific journal stated that the incidence of hospital admissions due to coronary artery disease (CAD) in 2020 was 3,030.52 per 10,000 people. Global Coronary Stents Market: Key Developments In January 2022, Relisys Medical Devices Limited, one of the world's largest manufacturer of cardiovascular medical devices, announced the launch of its new product Release-R, which is the first indigenously developed Drug Eluting Stent in India. In January 2021, Boston Scientific Corporation, a medical technology company, announced that it has received approval from U.S. Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) for its product Synergy Megatron Drug-Eluting Stent (DES) system. The stent is designed for higher strength applications in proximal, fibrotic and calcified lesions. In June 2021, Cardiovascular Systems, Inc., a medical device company, developing and commercializing innovative interventional treatment systems for patients with peripheral and coronary artery disease, announced that the U.S. commercial launch of OrbusNeich JADE percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) over-the-wire (OTW) balloon catheters. In August 2020, Meril Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd, a global medical device company, announced the launch of its new product Evermine50, which is an Everolimus-eluting coronary stent system having an ultrathin (50 m) strut. The increasing number of product launches by key players in the market is expected to create new opportunities for new startups and products, which will drive the growth of global coronary stent market over the forecast period. Buy-Now this Research Report @ https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/buy-now/2031 Key Market Takeaways: The global coronary stents market is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 7.9% during the forecast period due to increasing adoption of inorganic growth strategies such as acquisitions by key players in the market to increase their product portfolio and presence in the market. For instance, on January 3, 2023, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc., supplier of scientific instrumentation, reagents and consumables, and software services, announced that it has acquired The Binding Site Group Ltd., a global leader in specialty diagnostics for early diagnosis and well-informed treatment decisions. Among end user, hospitals segment is dominant due to increasing prevalence of coronary artery disease, which is expected to drive the segment growth over the forecast period. For instance, in July 2022, a report published on AME Publishing Company, which is an open source journal, stated that the prevalence of coronary artery disease increased from 4.22% to 5.40% in the recent years. On the basis of product type, drug eluting stents segment is expected to hold a dominant position over the forecast period, owing to increasing adoption of organic growth strategies such as product launches by key players in the market to expand their product portfolio. For instance, in November 2021, Intelligent Kinetics, a medical device company launched its new product ABARIS Rapamycin-Eluting Coronary Stent System, which is the first carbonized stent with a completely biodegradable polymer coating, which contains Rapamycin as a highly effective drug for preventing thrombotic and re-stenotic events. Competitive Landscape: Key players operating in the global coronary stents market include Medtronic, iVascular, Alvimedica, Alta Biomaterials, Japan Medical Device Technology Co., Ltd., Veritas Bioventions Pvt Ltd, Nano Therapeutics Pvt. Ltd, Abbott, SLTL Group, Translumina Therapeutics LLP, DSM, Arterius, Terumo Corporation, SMT, Boston Scientific Corporation, Cook, Biotronik, B. Braun SE, MicroPort Scientific Corporation, Meril Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd, C. R. Bard, Inc, KYOTO MEDICAL PLANNING Co., Ltd, QualiMed, Elixir Medical Corporation, ENDOCOR GmbH & CO. KG, Amaranth Medical, Inc. Market Segmentation: Global Coronary Stents Market, By Product Type: Bare-Metal Stents Drug Eluting Stents Bioabsorbable Stents Global Coronary Stents Market, By Material: Metallic Stainless Steel Silicon Carbide Titanium Nitride Oxide Cobalt Chromium Platinum Chromium Others Polymeric Non-degradable/Permanent Stents Degradable/Temporary Stents Global Coronary Stents Market By End User: Hospitals Specialty Clinics Ambulatory Surgical Centers Others Global Coronary Stents Market, By Region: North America By Country: U.S. Canada Latin America By Country: Brazil Mexico Argentina Rest of Latin America Europe By Country: Germany U.K. France Italy Spain Russia Rest of Europe Asia Pacific By Country China India Japan Australia South Korea ASEAN Rest of Asia Pacific Middle East By Country: GCC Israel Rest of Middle East Africa By Country/Region: South Africa Central Africa North Africa Related Market Intelligence Reports: Ureteral Stents Market, by Product Type (Double Pigtail Stents and Multiloop Stents), by Material Type (Metal Stents and Polymer Stents (Silicone Ureteral Stents, Hybrid Ureteral Stents, and Polyurethane Ureteral Stents)), by Application (Kidney Stones (Ureteroscopy, Lithotripsy, and Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy), Kidney Transplantation, Urinary Incontinence, Tumors, and Others), by End User (Hospitals, Gastrointestinal Surgery Clinics, and Ambulatory Surgical Centers), and by Region (North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa) - Size, Share, Outlook, and Opportunity Analysis, 2022 2030 Pediatric Interventional Cardiology Market, By Product (Closure Devices, Transcatheter Heart Valves, Atherectomy Devices, Catheters, Guidewires, Balloons, Stents, Imaging Technique, and Others) and By Geography (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa, and South America)- Size, Share, Outlook, and Opportunity Analysis, 2022 - 2028 About Us: Coherent Market Insights is a global market intelligence and consulting organization focused on assisting our plethora of clients achieve transformational growth by helping them make critical business decisions. We are headquartered in India, having sales office at global financial capital in the U.S. and sales consultants in United Kingdom and Japan. Our client base includes players from across various business verticals in over 57 countries worldwide. We create value for clients through our highly reliable and accurate reports. We are also committed in playing a leading role in offering insights in various sectors post-COVID-19 and continue to deliver measurable, sustainable results for our clients. Follow Us: LinkedIn | Twitter CONTACT: Mr. Shah Senior Client Partner Business Development Coherent Market Insights Phone: US: +1-206-701-6702 UK: +44-020-8133-4027 Japan: +81-050-5539-1737 India: +91-848-285-0837 Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.com Website: https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com Growth Plus Reports Newark, New Castle, USA, March 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to a new market research report titled, Digital Temperature Monitoring Devices Market by Product (Tabletop, Handheld), Type (Contact-Based, Non-Contact-Based), End User (Hospitals, Clinics) Global Outlook & Forecast 2022-2030" published by Growth Plus Reports, the digital temperature monitoring devices market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.8% from 2021 to reach US$ 2.9 billion by 2030. Owing to the rising prevalence of infectious diseases, increasing demand for remote monitoring devices, and growing awareness about the importance of temperature control for the medical product. Get a Sample Copy of the Research Report: https://www.growthplusreports.com/inquiry/request-sample/digital-temperature-monitoring-devices-market/8221 Digital Temperature Monitoring Devices Market Scope Report Attribute Details Market size value in 2021 US$ 1.07 billion Revenue forecast in 2030 US$ 2.9 billion Growth Rate CAGR of 11.8% from 2022 to 2030 Base year for estimation 2021 Forecast period 2022-2030 Historical Year 2020 Segments covered Product, Application, End User, and Region Regional scope North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Rest of the World (ROW) Market Drivers The rising prevalence of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, influenza, swine flu, ebola, and many others which eventually lead to high body temperature is the primary driving factor for the growth of the global digital temperature monitoring devices market. For instance, according to WHOs October 2022 factsheet, in 2021 approximately 10.6 million people were ill because of tuberculosis globally. Among these 6 million men, 3.4 million women, and 1.2 million children. The pediatric population is more susceptible to illnesses and viruses that can cause fever, therefore the growing pediatric population may raise demand for body temperature monitoring equipment. Partnerships between big companies are also contributing to the overall growth of the global digital temperature monitoring devices market. Story continues Furthermore, as people become more aware of the need for temperature management for medical items such as vaccinations and pharmaceuticals, demand for digital temperature monitoring systems has grown. The global digital temperature monitoring devices market is analyzed from four perspectives: Product, Application, End-user, and Region. Excerpts from By Product Segmentation Based on product, the global digital temperature monitoring devices market is segmented into: Tabletop Handheld Wearable Continuous Monitoring Thermometers Smart Temperature Patches & Sensors The handheld segment accounted for the majority of revenue share in 2021, owing to its mobility and ease of use, allowing users to swiftly and reliably detect the temperature in a variety of scenarios. The hand-held device segment of the digital temperature monitoring device market refers to portable and small temperature-measuring devices that can be held in one's hand. These devices are frequently employed in a variety of applications, including food safety, medicinal, HVAC, and industrial operations. This segment's growth is being fuelled further by technological improvements, such as the incorporation of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi networking, which enables real-time temperature monitoring and data sharing. These factors all contribute to the overall growth of the handheld segment. Request for Customization https://www.growthplusreports.com/inquiry/customization/digital-temperature-monitoring-devices-market/8221 Excerpts from By Type Segmentation Based on the type, the global digital temperature monitoring devices market is bifurcated into: Contact-Based Non-Contact-Based The contact-based digital temperature monitoring devices are the fastest growing segment during the forecast period, owing to measuring the temperature at the point of contact, contact-based temperature monitoring eliminates the potential for errors due to factors such as ambient temperature or emissivity. Additionally, contact-based temperature monitoring provides highly accurate temperature readings, making it ideal for applications that require precise temperature control. They are typically simple to use and require little to no setup or preparation, making them ideal for applications where quick and straightforward temperature measurements are needed. Moreover, they are cost-effective and versatile to use, these benefits contribute to the segment's growth. Excerpts from By End User Segmentation Based on the end user, the global digital temperature monitoring devices market is segmented into: Hospitals Clinics Nursing Facilities Ambulatory Care Centers Long-Term Care Centers Homecare Settings Others Because of the increased frequency of infectious illnesses, hospitals held the greatest revenue share in 2021. Additionally, these devices allow for non-invasive temperature readings and can be quickly cleaned between usage, the adoption of digital temperature monitoring systems in hospitals and healthcare institutions helps to decrease the danger of infections and cross-contamination. Furthermore, as compared to traditional thermometers, digital temperature monitoring devices give more precise and consistent temperature readings, making them useful tools in the care of patients with fever and other temperature-related illnesses. These reasons all contribute to the expansion of the hospital market. Excerpts from By Region Segmentation Geographically, the global digital temperature monitoring devices market has been segmented into: North America Europe Asia Pacific rest of the world North America dominated the global digital temperature monitoring devices in 2021, owing to Advancements in technology, Growing demand in healthcare, and the presence of major market players. Additionally, companies are continuously working on launching new and innovative products with improved functionality, and providing better customer service is also driving the regional digital temperature monitoring devices market. For instance, in December 2022, SmartFuture, a well-known health-tech company that provides integrated RPM (Remote Patient Monitoring) solutions, released an RPM SDK (Software Development Kit). This includes the ability to wirelessly connect to 400 wireless medical devices from 40+ brands in order to capture and send health vitals such as blood glucose meters, smart body scales, blood pressure monitors, oximeters, ECG monitors, thermometers, ultrasound, otoscopes, and so on to their own cloud database. SmartFuture's RPM SDK solution saves providers and payers significant time and money. Excerpts from Competitive Landscape Some prominent players operating in the global wound care films market are: Celsium (SMARTR Health Ltd.) 3M Company Cosinuss GmbH Dragerwerk AG & Co. KGaA Koninklijke Philips N.V. Microlife Corporation Omron Healthcare Terumo Corporation Welch Allyn, Inc. Exergen Corporation Mediaid Inc. Radiant Innovation Inc. Table of Content INTRODUCTION Market Ecosystem Timeline Under Consideration Historical Years 2020 Base Year 2021 Forecast Years 2022 to 2030 Currency Used in the Report RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Research Approach Data Collection Methodology Data Sources Secondary Sources Primary Sources Market Estimation Approach Bottom Up Top Down Market Forecasting Model Limitations and Assumptions PREMIUM INSIGHTS Current Market Trends (COVID-19 Perspective) Key Players & Competitive Positioning (2021) MARKET DYNAMICS Drivers Restraints/Challenges Opportunities GLOBAL DIGITAL TEMPERATURE MONITORING DEVICES MARKET - ANALYSIS & FORECAST, BY TYPE Tabletop Handheld Wearable Continuous Monitoring Thermometers Smart Temperature Patches & Sensors GLOBAL DIGITAL TEMPERATURE MONITORING DEVICES MARKET - ANALYSIS & FORECAST, BY APPLICATION Contact-Based Non-Contact-Based TOC Continued Buy this Premium Research Report: https://www.growthplusreports.com/checkout-8221 VALUE PROPOSITIONS RELATED TO THE REPORT: Powered with Complimentary Analyst Hours and Expert Interviews with Each Report Comprehensive quantitative and qualitative insights at segment and sub-segment level Covid 19 impact trends and perspective Granular insights at global/regional/country level Deep-rooted insights on market dynamics (drivers, restraints, opportunities) and business environment Blanket coverage on competitive landscape Winning imperatives Exhaustive coverage on 'Strategic Developments' registered by leading players of the market CUSTOMIZATION OPTIONS: Distributor Landscape Assessment Pricing Intelligence Customer Base Assessment Investment & Initiatives Analysis 'Business Profile' of Key Players Schedule a call with our analyst: https://appoint.ly/s/salesZ3Jvd3RocGx1c3JlcG9ydHMuY29t/introduction Visit our report store at - https://www.growthplusreports.com/report-store Browse related reports: Veterinary Antibiotics Market by Product Type (Tetracyclines, Penicillin, Sulfonamides), Dosage Form (Oral Powders, Injections, Oral Solutions), Animal Type (Food-Producing Animals, Companion Animals) - Global Outlook and Forecast 2023-2031 Vascular Plugs Market by Type (Congenital Heart Malformation Closure Plugs, Arterial or Venous Closure Plugs), Material (Titanium-Nickel, Others), End-user (Hospitals, Ambulatory Surgical Centers)-Global Outlook & Forecast 2023-2031 Phenylketonuria Market by Treatment (Drugs, Protein Ingredients), Distribution Channel (Hospital Pharmacies, Retail Pharmacies) - Global Outlook and Forecast 2023-2031 Personal Emergency Response System Market by Product (Mobile Devices, Landline Devices, Standalone Devices, Mobile App), Connectivity (Wired, Wireless), End-user (Home-based Users, Assisted Living Facilities, Hospitals, Others) Global Outlook & Forecast 2023-2031 Orthotic Devices Market by Type (Static Orthotic Devices, Dynamic Orthotic Devices), Product (Upper Limb Orthotic Devices, Lower Limb Orthotic Devices), End-user (Hospitals & Clinics, Ambulatory Surgical Centers) - Global Outlook and Forecast 2023-2031 About Us: Growth Plus Reports is part of GRG Health, a global healthcare knowledge service company. We are proud members of EPhMRA (European Pharmaceutical Marketing Research Association). Growth Plus portfolio of services draws on our core capabilities of secondary & primary research, market modelling & forecasting, benchmarking, analysis and strategy formulation to help clients create scalable, ground-breaking solutions that prepare them for future growth and success. We were awarded by the prestigious CEO Magazine as "Most Innovative Healthcare Market Research Company in 2020. CONTACT: Manan Sethi Director, Market Insights Email: sales@growthplusreports.com 256 Chapman Road STE 105-4, Newark, New Castle - 19702, USA Phone no: +1 888 550 5009 Web: https://www.growthplusreports.com/ InsightAce Analytic Pvt. LTd. Companies Covered in this Study are ABB Group, ANSYS Inc., Accenture plc, Autodesk Inc, bentley systems, AVEVA Inc., bosch rexroth ag, Oracle Corporation, Siemens AG, Rockwell Automation Inc., Schneider Electric Pune, March 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global Digital Twin Market is estimated to reach over USD 195.96 billion by 2031, exhibiting a CAGR of 40.76% during the forecast period. A virtual machine that offers a real-time online version of a physical object or process is called a "digital twin." The performance of industrial assets is profiled, predicted, and optimized using simulation models and data intelligence. Because it enables automatic vehicle control and monitoring of industrial assets and processes like product development, design & manufacturing planning, investment performance management, and business & operation optimization, digital twins are a crucial part of the industrial internet of things. Get Free Sample Copy of Report @ https://www.insightaceanalytic.com/request-sample/1598 Digital twins could be used to create predictive models and assess the likelihood of success before releasing physical prototypes. The pandemic has sped up the implementation of digital twin technology across various applications in several industries outside of manufacturing, such as real estate, healthcare, telecom, and retail, fueling the market's development potential. Adopting digital twin technology with IoT, AI, and cloud computing is also anticipated to accelerate market expansion. Additionally, organizations use Iao and AI technologies to gather and analyze behavioral information from connected products and IoT devices. This information can then be applied to the digital twin model to duplicate the functionality and use of the existing item. This aids product engineers and designers in monitoring the functionality of their work. Furthermore, businesses are using the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence technologies to gather and process behavioral data from connected products and IoT devices. This data can then be applied to the digital twin model to replicate the functionality and use of the current device. Story continues List of Prominent Players in the Digital Twin Market: ABB (Switzerland), Altair (US), ANSYS Inc. (U.S.) Autodesk Inc. (U.S.) AVEVA Group plc Bentley Systems (US) Dassault Systemes SE (France) Emerson (US), General Electric (U.S.) Hexagon AB Hitachi Ltd. (Japan) Honeywell (US) IBM Corporation Microsoft Corporation (U.S.) Oracle (US), Oracle (US) DNV (Norway), PTC Inc. (U.S.) River Logic (US), Robert Bosch (Germany), SAP SE Schneider Electric (France) Siemens AG (Germany) SWIM AI (US) Buy 180 Pages Exclusive Published Report @ https://www.insightaceanalytic.com/buy-report/1598 Digital Twin Market Report Scope: Report Attribute Specifications Market size value in 2022 USD 9.10 Bn Revenue forecast in 2031 USD 195.96 Bn Growth rate CAGR CAGR of 40.76% from 2023 to 2031 Quantitative units Representation of revenue in US$ Billion, and CAGR from 2023 to 2031 Historic Year 2019 to 2022 Forecast Year 2023-2031 Report coverage The forecast of revenue, the position of the company, the competitive market statistics, growth prospects, and trends Segments covered Type, Industries Regional scope North America; Europe; Asia Pacific; Latin America; Middle East & Africa Country scope U.S.; Canada; U.K.; Germany; China; India; Japan; Brazil; Mexico; The UK; France; Italy; Spain; China; Japan; India; South Korea; Southeast Asia; South Korea; Southeast Asia Market Dynamics: Drivers- The expanding use of cloud and IoT technology also increases the potential for intrusions and security and data privacy issues. Digital twins built on the cloud need to store asset data online, which raises privacy risks. Companies are investing in product R&D and process automation due to the fierce competition among market leaders to introduce cutting-edge and novel items. Additionally, several automakers are implementing digital twin technology by utilizing interactive dashboards for cars on their websites, allowing customers to personalize their cars whenever they like. This aids businesses in understanding consumer behavior and modifying current models. Challenges: Businesses find it more difficult to efficiently create and implement cybersecurity plans due to a need for qualified professionals. As a result, many small and medium-sized businesses still need to be willing to spend significantly on cutting-edge technology, which is anticipated to hinder the growth of the digital twin industry. Regional Trends: The North America digital twin market is expected to register a major market share in revenue and is projected to grow at a high CAGR soon due to the early availability and adoption of new technology. Concerning supporting emerging technologies like digital twins, the areas have some of the most sophisticated infrastructures, which is the main factor in the technology's widespread adoption. Besides, the Asia Pacific region had a substantial share of the market. The nations' established manufacturing and automotive sectors are responsible for this region's expansion. The growth of smart cities around the region and the increasing demand for consumer goods also drive the regional market. Additionally, the proliferation of connected devices would support regional expansion throughout the projected period. The areas supporting emerging technologies like digital twins have some of the most sophisticated infrastructures, which is the main factor in the technology's widespread adoption. Check Discount on Report @ https://www.insightaceanalytic.com/discount/1598 Recent Developments: In December 2021-Dassault Systems announced a collaboration with Renault Group. The collaboration aims to use the cloud-based 3DEXPERIENCE platform from Dassault Systems to create applications for new vehicles and other mobility services. Segmentation of Digital Twin Market- By Type System Digital Twin Product Digital Twin Process Digital Twin By Industry Aerospace & Defense Automotive & Transportation Home & Commercial Healthcare Energy & Utilities Oil & Gas Agriculture Telecommunication Others By Region- North America- The US Canada Mexico Europe- Germany The UK France Italy Spain Rest of Europe Asia-Pacific- China Japan India South Korea Southeast Asia Rest of Asia Pacific Latin America- Brazil Argentina Rest of Latin America Middle East & Africa- GCC Countries South Africa Rest of Middle East and Africa Get Customized Report @ https://www.insightaceanalytic.com/customisation/1598 About Us: InsighAce Analytic is a specializing in market research and consulting services that helps in building business strategies. Our mission is to provide high quality insights with using data analytics techniques and visualization tools that drives the disruption and innovation in market research industry. Our expertise is in providing syndicated and custom market intelligence reports with in-depth analysis and key market insights in a timely and cost-effective manner. Follow Us @ https://www.linkedin.com/company/insightace-analytic-pvt-ltd/ Subscribe Our Exclusive Newsletters @ https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/latest-market-research-reports-6929319878155739136/ CONTACT: Contact Us: InsightAce Analytic Pvt. Ltd. Tel.: +1 551 226 6109 Email: info@insightaceanalytic.com Site Visit: www.insightaceanalytic.com Diversified Royalty Corp. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Diversified Royalty Corp. (TSX: DIV and DIV.DB.A) (the Corporation or DIV) announced that earlier today LoyaltyOne, Co. (LoyaltyOne), which operates the AIR MILES reward program in Canada, and the Bank of Montreal (BMO) issued a joint news release (the AIR MILES News Release) announcing that LoyaltyOne and BMO have entered into a purchase agreement for BMO to acquire LoyaltyOnes AIR MILES Reward Program (the Purchase Agreement). According to the AIR MILES News Release, BMOs acquisition of the AIR MILES Reward Program business has been proposed as part of LoyaltyOnes proceeding under the Companies Creditors Arrangement Act (Canada) (the CCAA) commenced in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Commercial List) (the Court). The AIR MILES News Release also notes that LoyaltyOnes CCAA proceeding will also involve a sale and investment solicitation process (SISP) to solicit any other interest in the AIR MILES business. BMOs acquisition, or a proposed acquisition by any other bidder of LoyaltyOnes AIR MILES Reward Program, will be subject to Court approval as well as other regulatory approvals and other customary conditions. LoyaltyOnes parent company Loyalty Ventures Inc. (Loyalty Ventures) also issued a news release (the Loyalty Ventures News Release) earlier today advising that it had filed a voluntary petition for relief under chapter 11 of title 11 of the United States Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas (the Bankruptcy Court). The Loyalty Ventures News Release provided additional details with respect the LoyaltyOne CCAA and SISP proceedings and interim arrangements with BMO noting that: (i) the SISP procedures provide that the consummation of the sale transaction with BMO is conditioned on LoyaltyOne not receiving a more favourable offer from another party in accordance with the SISP; and (ii) subject to approval of the Court, LoyaltyOne, as borrower, will enter into a debtor-in-possession (DIP) facility with an affiliate of BMO, as lender, pursuant to which the lender will make available to LoyaltyOne a non-revolving secured credit facility in the amount of $70 million, and that subject to the approval of the Bankruptcy Court and the Court, Loyalty Ventures, as borrower, and LoyaltyOne, as lender, will enter into an intercompany DIP facility. Additional information with respect to the Purchase Agreement, the DIP facility and the CCAA and Bankruptcy Court proceedings have been disclosed by Loyalty Ventures under its profile on EDGAR at www.sec.gov/edgar. Story continues DIVs wholly-owned subsidiary AM Royalties Limited Partnership (AM LP) owns the Canadian AIR MILES trademarks and certain related Canadian intellectual property rights (collectively, the AIR MILES Rights). AM LP licences the AIR MILES Rights to LoyaltyOne for use in the AIR Miles reward program business in Canada in accordance with the terms of two license agreements (collectively, the AIR MILES Licenses). As of the date of this news release LoyaltyOne is current in its royalty payments to AM LP under the AIR MILES Licences, which remain in force, with the most recent payment being made in January 2023. None of DIV, AM LP, or the AIR MILES Rights are subject to the CCAA or the Bankruptcy Court proceedings. DIV will be monitoring the CCAA and SISP proceedings in respect of LoyaltyOne closely. About Diversified Royalty Corp. DIV is a multi-royalty corporation, engaged in the business of acquiring top-line royalties from well-managed multi-location businesses and franchisors in North America. DIVs objective is to acquire predictable, growing royalty streams from a diverse group of multi-location businesses and franchisors. DIV currently owns the Mr. Lube, AIR MILES, Sutton, Mr. Mikes, Nurse Next Door, Oxford Learning Centres and Stratus Building Solutions trademarks. Mr. Lube is the leading quick lube service business in Canada, with locations across Canada. AIR MILES is Canadas largest coalition loyalty program. Sutton is among the leading residential real estate brokerage franchisor businesses in Canada. Mr. Mikes operates casual steakhouse restaurants primarily in western Canadian communities. Nurse Next Door is one of North Americas fastest growing home care providers with locations across Canada and the United States as well as in Australia. Oxford Learning Centres is one of Canadas leading franchised supplemental education services. Stratus Building Solutions is a leading commercial cleaning service franchise company providing comprehensive environmentally friendly janitorial, building cleaning, and office cleaning services primarily in the United States. DIVs objective is to increase cash flow per share by making accretive royalty purchases and through the growth of purchased royalties. DIV intends to continue to pay a predictable and stable monthly dividend to shareholders and increase the dividend over time, in each case as cash flow per share allows. Forward Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this news release may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws that 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 information. The use of any of the words anticipate, continue, estimate, expect, intend, may, will, project, should, believe, confident, plan and intends and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking information, although not all forward-looking information contains these identifying words. Specifically, forward-looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, statements made in relation to: the potential sale of the AIR MILES Reward Program Business by LoyaltyOne to BMO and that such sale will involve a SISP process; LoyaltyOne entering into a DIP facility with an affiliate of BMO and intercompany DIP facility with Loyalty Ventures; DIV will be monitoring the CCAA and SISP proceedings in respect of LoyaltyOne closely; DIVs objective to continue to pay predictable and stable monthly dividends to shareholders; and DIVs corporate objectives. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events, performance, or achievements of DIV to differ materially from those anticipated or implied by such forward-looking information. DIV believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information included in this news release are reasonable but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct. In particular there can be no assurance that: the transactions under the Purchase Agreement will be completed; LoyaltyOne or BMO will not seek temporary or permanent royalty relief from DIV; that LoyaltyOne will continue to make its royalty payments to DIV; an alternative transaction with a party other than BMO will not be entered into through the SISP process or otherwise; LoyaltyOne and Loyalty Ventures will receive necessary orders from the Court and the Bankruptcy Court to operate their businesses in the ordinary course during their CCAA and bankruptcy proceedings; Loyalty Ventures will receive the support of their lenders for the transactions contemplated by the Purchase Agreement; the DIP financings will be completed; DIV will be able to make monthly dividend payments to the holders of its common shares; or DIV will achieve any of its corporate objectives. Given these uncertainties, readers are cautioned that forward-looking information included in this news release are not guarantees of future performance, and such forward-looking information should not be unduly relied upon. More information about the risks and uncertainties affecting DIVs business and the businesses of its royalty partners can be found in the Risk Factors section of its Annual Information Form dated March 9, 2023 and in its most recent Managements Discussion and Analysis, copies of each of which are available under DIVs profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. In formulating the forward-looking information contained herein, management has assumed that, among other things, the transactions under the Purchase Agreement will be completed; LoyaltyOne will not seek temporary or permanent royalty relief from DIV; that LoyaltyOne will continue to make its royalty payments to DIV; LoyaltyOne and Loyalty Ventures will receive necessary orders from the Court and the Bankruptcy Court to operate their businesses in the ordinary course during their CCAA and bankruptcy proceedings; Loyalty Ventures will receive the support of their lenders for the transactions contemplated by the Purchase Agreement; the DIP financings will be completed; DIV will generate sufficient cash flows from its royalties to service its debt and pay dividends to shareholders; the business and economic conditions affecting DIV and its royalty partners will continue substantially in the ordinary course, including without limitation with respect to general industry conditions, general levels of economic activity and regulations. These assumptions, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect. All of the forward-looking statements made in this news release are qualified by these cautionary statements and other cautionary statements or factors contained herein, and there can be no assurance that the actual results or developments will be realized or, even if substantially realized, that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, DIV. The forward-looking information included in this news release is presented as of the date of this news release and DIV assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise such information to reflect new events or circumstances, except as may be required by applicable law. Third Party Information This news release includes information obtained from third party company filings and reports and other publicly available sources. DIV has not independently verified any of the information from third party sources referred to in this news release nor ascertained the underlying assumptions relied upon by such sources. Accordingly, the accuracy and completeness of this information is not guaranteed. THE TORONTO STOCK EXCHANGE HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR THE ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE. Additional Information Additional information relating to the Corporation and other public filings, is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Contact: Sean Morrison, President and Chief Executive Officer Diversified Royalty Corp. (236) 521-8470 Greg Gutmanis, Chief Financial Officer and VP Acquisitions Diversified Royalty Corp. (236) 521-8471 NEW YORK, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Dominari Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: DOMH) ("Dominari" or the "Company") today provided an update on the $2 million share repurchase program (the "Share Repurchase Program") authorized by the Company's Board of Directors on December 5, 2022. Dominari Holdings Logo (PRNewsfoto/Dominari Holdings Inc.) The Company reported that on March 9, 2023, the Company purchased 4,100 shares of common stock at $4.0457 per share. Additional shares may be repurchased from time to time in open market transactions, or other means in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), and Rule 10b -18 of the Exchange Act. The timing, number of shares repurchased, and prices paid for the stock under this program will depend on general business and market conditions as well as corporate and regulatory limitations, including blackout period restrictions. About Dominari Holdings Inc. Dominari Holdings Inc. (f/k/a Aikido Pharma Inc.) until recently was focused primarily on the development of a diverse portfolio of small-molecule anticancer and antiviral therapeutics and related patent technology. In September 2022, the Company agreed to acquire a registered broker-dealer and transition its primary business operations to fintech and financial services. Upon the final closing of this acquisition, the Company's fintech and financial services business will be operated through its subsidiary, Dominari Financial Inc. The Company continues to develop its therapeutics and related patent technology, as well as other ventures, through its subsidiary, Aikido Labs, LLC. Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Words such as "may," "might," "will," "should," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "continue," "predict," "forecast," "project," "plan," "intend" or similar expressions, or statements regarding intent, belief, or current expectations, are forward-looking statements. While the Company believes these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on any such forward-looking statements, which are based on information available to us on the date of this release. These forward-looking statements are based upon current estimates and assumptions and are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including without limitation those set forth in the Company's filings with the SEC, not limited to Risk Factors relating to its business contained therein. Thus, actual results could be materially different. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Story continues Contact: Investor Relations: Hayden IR Brett Maas, Managing Partner Phone: (646) 536-7331 Email: brett@haydenir.com www.haydenir.com Dominari Holdings Inc. (f/k/a AIkido Pharma Inc): Phone: 212-745-1373 Email: investorrelations@aikidopharma.com www.aikidopharma.com Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dominari-holdings-provides-update-on-share-repurchase-program-301768581.html SOURCE Dominari Holdings Inc. Transparency Market Research An increase in the number of women experiencing painful coitus is anticipated to drive the global dyspareunia treatment market in the forthcoming years Wilmington, Delaware, United States, March 11, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Transparency Market Research Inc. In 2021, the Global Dyspareunia Treatment Market size was worth US$ 689.0 Mn. Dyspareunia treatment market analysis predicts the market to expand at 4.1% CAGR during the forecast period, from 2022 to 2031. By 2031, the global dyspareunia treatment market is projected to cross valuation of US$ 1.02 Bn. The percentage of women experiencing painful coitus is predicted to increase during the forecast timeline, thereby driving the global dyspareunia treatment market. Incidence of dyspareunia is rising, which is estimated to accelerate research and development into painful coitus treatment in the dyspareunia treatment market. As part of the marketing strategy for dyspareunia treatment, major market participants are spending significantly and working together to develop new drugs that could be used to address coitalgia or dyspareunia condition. Given the recent U.S. FDA drug approvals, in 2021, the medicine segment held the highest global market share for dyspareunia treatment. For instance, the once-daily drug MYFEMBREE from Pfizer and Myovant Sciences was authorized by the FDA on August 5, 2022, to address severe to moderate pain caused by endometriosis. The commercialization of MYFEMBREE is now taking place and will continue jointly by Pfizer and Myovant. Request for a Sample PDF Report with Latest Industry Insights (Use Corporate Mail Id for Quick Response): https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=85106 Dyspareunia Treatment Market: Regional Analysis In 2021, North America held a sizable portion of the global dyspareunia treatment market, according to the TMR study. Dyspareunia affects between 10% and 20% of Americans, in accordance with the WHO, with different age groups experiencing the condition for different contributing factors. Story continues Key Findings of Market Report The oral route is the most popular way to administer drugs, depending on the route of administration. The benefits of non-invasiveness, ease of drug delivery, and patient compliance make it the most popular option both amongst patients and dyspareunia treatment market manufacturers. Among the most persistent problems experienced by postmenopausal women is dyspareunia. However, at some point, over 75% of women endure painful sex, as reported by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Important predictors and risk factors for dyspareunia include urinary younger age, mental problems or stress, and poor to fair health. The global market for dyspareunia treatment is anticipated to be driven by urinary tract infection as well. Non-invasive treatment method is among the most advanced methods available for dyspareunia and since it involves genital organs, individuals are often hesitant to take any risk. Due to their preference for non-invasive procedures, the global dyspareunia treatment market is anticipated to grow rapidly. 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